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 All-round and historic progress has been made in the human rights cause in China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to a white paper released on Friday. The document, titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era," was released by the State Council Information Office at a press conference held in Lhasa, capital city of the region. The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government have implemented effective measures to develop the economy, improve living standards and people's well-being, promote ethnic unity and progress, and protect the basic rights of all the people in the region, it said. The year 2025 marks the 60th founding anniversary of Xizang Autonomous Region. Reflecting on the development of human rights in the region over the past six decades, especially since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, Gama Cedain, chairman of the regional government, said on Friday that the Party's leadership has provided a fundamental guarantee for lasting stability and high-quality development in the region. An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 8, 2024 shows the Qinghai-Xizang Expressway (R), Beijing-Xizang Expressway (C) and Qinghai-Xizang Railway in Damxung County of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua] He noted at the press conference that people of all ethnic groups in Xizang have made historic achievements in their rights to subsistence and development. The white paper expounded in details on remarkable human rights progress in Xizang in fields such as whole-process people's democracy, the protection of economic and social rights, cultural rights and environmental rights, effective safeguards for the freedom of religious belief, equal protection of the rights of specific groups, and steady improvement in the legal protection of human rights. The document showed that by the end of 2019, all 628,000 registered impoverished people in the region had been lifted out of poverty, and in 2024, the per capita net income of those lifted out of poverty in Xizang increased by over 12.5 percent. The region's road length had nearly doubled in 12 years and every town or township is covered by the 5G wireless network, with 2.14 million 5G mobile phone users, or 60.5 percent of the total in the region. The average life expectancy in Xizang rose from 68.17 years in 2010 to 72.19 years in 2020, according to the document. Respecting and protecting human rights has been made an important part of the Party Central Committee's guidelines for the governance of the region, it said. Villagers pick tea leaves in a valley in Cona of Shannan City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, July 28, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] The CPC has maintained a people-centered approach to human rights and a commitment to ensuring human rights through development, and has vigorously promoted whole-process people's democracy, it said. The Party has strengthened legal protection of human rights, and coordinated efforts to increase people's civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights, to achieve well-rounded development and common prosperity for all people from all ethnic groups, according to the white paper. Today, Xizang enjoys political stability, ethnic unity, economic development, social harmony, and amity among different religions, the document said. Its environment is sound, and local people are content with their work and daily lives. This progress represents a remarkable achievement in protecting human rights on the snowy plateau, it said. The white paper pointed out that over the years, lies about the "worsening human rights situation" in Xizang were spread outside China with ulterior political motives and the goal to destabilize Xizang and separate it from China. The human rights progress in Xizang will not be undermined or wiped out by lies, nor will the advancements being made in the new era by the people of all ethnic groups in the region be halted by deceit, it said. Full text: Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era 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 Cancun taxi gets the worst of it in city bus collision Cancun, Q.R. Transit officers were on scene in the Cancun Hotel Zone for the second time Thursday to deal with a car-bus accident. While the first rear end entailed only minor fender-bender damage, the second left a taxi destroyed. The second bus-involved accident of the day happened near kilometer 2 of the Cancun Hotel Zone. Police were summoned to Kukulcan Boulevard after a public transportation bus collided with a taxi. The two vehicles left debris scattered and at least one lane partially blocked. The accident happened around 3:00 p.m. when the driver of a city bus on Route 2 collided with a taxi. Glass littered the boulevard from busted taxi windows. The bus was left partially blocking a lane when it ended up stopped in the central median. No injuries were reported. The two vehicle crash caused a significant line of backedup traffic along one of the citys most already-congested veins while authorities had the damaged vehicles removed. Cancun Transit did not say who was at fault or speculate on how the bus-taxi accident happened. Woman bound for France with 26 kilos of cocaine arrested at Cancun International Cancun, Q.R. A woman heading for a flight to France was taken into custody at the Cancun International Airport. The woman was arrested as she was boarding after National Guard found 26 kilos of cocaine in her luggage. The Security Cabinet (Gabinete de Seguridad) of the Government of Mexico announced the arrest that took place March 25. Her arrest, they said, was part of the ongoing drug battle by the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) in operations under the National Security Strategy. The woman, of unidentified nationality, was found transporting 27 packages of wrapped cocaine in her luggage. Authorities reported the total weight was 26 kilos with a value of 6.2 million pesos. According to the report by the Security Cabinet, her luggage had already made it on the plane when the drugs were discovered. She was taken into custody as just before boarding. In Benito Juarez, National Guard and Customs officers inspected a suitcase on a plane bound for France and detained a woman. They seized 26 kilos of cocaine in 27 packages. The cost of the seized drugs is 6.2 million pesos, the Gabinete de Seguridad reported Wednesday. In coordinated actions by the Security Cabinet, National Guard and Customs officers arrested a woman who was found to have 26 kilos of cocaine in 27 packages. The value of the seized drugs is 6.2 million pesos, the SSPC (Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana) confirmed. Earlier this month, an airline baggage handler that worked at the Cancun airport was arrested and charged with transporting narcotics. Baggage handler Dilan G was arrested by National Guard after they located two suitcases containing 46 kilos of cocaine during an inspection inside Terminal 4. Police did not elaborate on if Dilan G was part of an inside trafficking organization or if it was an isolated incident. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with representatives of the international business community at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] China has been and will remain an ideal, secure, and promising destination for foreign investors, Chinese President Xi Jinping said while meeting with representatives of the international business community in Beijing on Friday. Xi pointed out that the country, which is on a Chinese path to modernization in all respects, has been a major contributor to and anchor of stability for global growth for many years. Committed to the fundamental national policy of opening up to the world, China is advancing high-standard opening up and taking solid steps to expand institutional opening up, such as that of rules, regulations, management, and standards, Xi said. "China's door will only open wider. The policy of welcoming foreign investment has not changed and will not change," said the president. Having the world's second largest consumer market and largest middle-income group, China offers great potential for investment and consumption, Xi noted. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with representatives of the international business community at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] With a commitment to high-quality development, China is accelerating green, digital and smart transformation, which, coupled with the country's sophisticated industrial ecosystem, provides the best testing ground for the latest outcomes of technological revolution and industrial upgrading, he said. Xi said China has developed sound regulations, policies and procedures for foreign investment, promoted trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and made active efforts to foster a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized. China enjoys long-standing political and social stability, and is widely recognized as one of the safest countries in the world, he added. Xi said all these show that China offers a vast stage for business development, vast market prospects, stable policy outlook, and a secure environment, making it a favored choice for foreign investment and business operations. "China has been and will remain an ideal, secure, and promising destination for foreign investors. Embracing China is embracing opportunities, believing in China is believing in a better tomorrow, and investing in China is investing in the future," he said. SINGAPORE, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- What happens when you bring together the excitement of travel, the irresistible appeal of hotpot, and the dynamic energy of Chengdu? You get a campaign that's not only memorable but legendary. At FY Ads Singapore, we didn't just organize an event we acted as the business matchmaker between Trip.com, Haidilao Singapore, and Sichuan Airlines, creating an unforgettable cross-brand collaboration that captivated audiences both online and offline. Here's how we brought this groundbreaking partnership to life. Transforming Ideas into Impactful Experiences Our mission was simple: establish Chengdu as a must-visit destination while highlighting the experiences offered by Trip.com, the culinary excellence of Haidilao Singapore, and the seamless travel service of Sichuan Airlines. The real challenge? Fostering a collaboration between these three brands and bringing their visions together. That's where FY Ads came in as the business matchmaker, aligning their unique strengths to create a unified and powerful campaign. The Strategy Behind the Success Dream Big, Plan Smart The foundation of our approach was based on creating synergy between the brands, with careful planning and attention to detail: Thematic Brilliance : A campaign theme that intertwined Chengdu's rich culture, exciting travel possibilities with Trip.com and Sichuan Airlines , and the vibrant dining culture of Haidilao Singapore . Business Matchmaking : As the catalyst for this cross-brand collaboration, FY Ads played a crucial role in connecting the right brands at the right time, ensuring their offerings complemented each other perfectly. Meticulous Planning: We took charge of every aspect, ensuring that each brand's vision came to life seamlessly across all touchpoints, from online to offline engagement. Creating Visuals That Captivate The visuals were essential in driving the campaign's success. Here's how we brought it all together: SIOUX CITY Twelve dollars. When James D. Mosley Jr. made it to Sioux City from Birmingham, Alabama, in the dead of winter, he had $12 in his pocket, didn't know anyone in town and was in his early 20s. But like a mustard seed, that $12 grew into something much greater. Since 2009, the now-60-year-old Mosley has led the flock at the New Life in Christ Church at 2929 W. Fourth St. The church owns the whole block it's on, averages about 50 congregants on a good Sunday morning and has plans for community services such as a low-income daycare center and mobile homeless outreach. James Mosely in front of church New Life in Christ Pastor James Mosley stands outside of the church. The latest outgrowth is the Soul Food Saturdays event which church volunteers have run for three Saturdays in March so far (March 1, March 8 and March 15) and will run one final time on Saturday before looking to shift to a once-a-month affair. The meals have run $15 a plate and have previously featured home-cooked goods such as fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. The money raised is meant to go toward a fundraiser the church is doing to mark its 18th anniversary (which comes Sunday). Mosley said the church wants to make improvements to its exterior. "We're trying to look at it to see if maybe after April we could implement a Soul Food Saturday once a month," Mosley said. For the March 15 iteration of Soul Food Saturdays, parishioner Angie McGee was up at about 1:30 a.m. on the day of cleaning chicken and ribs and boiling noodles for the macaroni and cheese. A member for two years, McGee said she appreciates how welcome she has been made to feel. And to show that appreciation, she cooks. "I feel like if you are available to do something that is going to help with the kingdom, then you should do that. I do what I can and do it with love. I cook everything. I cook with love." John Nunn, Dianne Brown, Angie McGee From left, John Nunn, Dianne Brown and Angie McGee help with food preparation during Soul Food Saturdays at New Life in Christ Church. Soul Food Saturdays spread The March 15 meal workers at New Life in Christ Church served for Soul Food Saturdays included macaroni and cheese, baked beans, barbecue ribs Soul Food Saturdays Mac and Cheese New Life in Christ parishioner Angie McGee said she started work on the Soul Food Saturdays food at 1:30 a.m. Because of cold temperatures and high winds on March 15, traffic was a little lighter for that Soul Food Saturday in the church's basement. But that didn't do anything to dampen the spirits of the helpers who were making sure food was staying warm and prepping to-go orders. The New Life workers had music from gospel musician Charles Jenkins playing on a smartphone and were singing and dancing while tending to those duties. Anyone who got parched could grab a SunnyD orange drink or mini water bottle from the fridge. "We prepare and put things together for the community and we just love doing it," volunteer and churchgoer Dianne Brown said. She's been going to New Life for about eight years and is quick to thank Mosley for ideas such as Soul Food Saturday. The graduate of Knoxville College, a small and private historically Black college in Tennessee, Mosley didn't really set out to help shepherd people. After the Buffalo, N.Y., native finished school he went to live with his mother in Alabama but grew restless. "(I) got tired of answering a lot of questions," Mosley said. "So I looked in the paper one day and IBP was hiring. I ain't know nothing about IBP. So my momma asked me: 'What are you doing?' I'm like: Well I'm looking for a job. I'm going to Iowa. She said: 'What? Ain't nothing but pigs and corn in Iowa.' I said: Well, I'm going to be there now." It took a few years for Mosley to start regularly attending church at Mount Olive Baptist (he followed his wife, Sherry L. Mosley, there). Then he moved on to Tabernacle at 610 Center St., eventually becoming an assistant pastor. After he left there, an opportunity came together to start a new church at what was Family Worship Center under another pastor. "She dissolved the ministry but at the same time I was in prayer about starting my own ministry. So we all met here with her and after she dissolved and went over a few financial reports she said, 'Pastor Mosley will be starting his ministry here.'" Seating at church New Life in Christ Pastor James Mosley said his church averages about 35-40 on a Sunday morning. Part of that ministry, for Mosley, has meant always being available. "My phone is always on. I answer every phone call. You dont have to have an appointment to see me," Mosley said. A future part of the ministry is the potential low-income daycare center which Mosley said would be for single women and families in the community. Mosley said the plan would be for his wife to help with the center once she retires from Wells Enterprises. "We want to add on as time goes on," he said. Another add-on is the homeless meal session proposed by church deacon John Nunn, which would help put a food truck at Gospel Mission to feed whoever is hungry. "So we're doing that," Mosley said. "(And) we're getting ready for our youth event outside here. I'm looking to have about three food trucks that day because I don't want to cook no more." Fortunately there are other folks who are plenty fond of cooking. And not just cooking. Cassandra McNeil helped out with cornbread for the recent meal but she also drove food to people and promoted the event online. One of the song choices for the promotion? "The Best is Yet To Come," she said. 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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 Xizang is open to the world, and the region welcomes foreign friends to visit and travel and foreign journalists to conduct interviews, said a senior official of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Friday. Xu Zhitao, deputy head of the regional government, made the remarks at a press conference on the release of a white paper titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era" held in the regional capital of Lhasa. He noted that given Xizang's unique geographical and climatic conditions, the government implements certain management measures for foreigners entering the region. "Xizang attaches great importance to further opening up, as vitality comes from an open society," said Xu, adding that in recent years, the number of foreigners visiting Xizang has been steadily increasing. He said that Xizang received approximately 320,000 foreign tourists in 2024 and the region would quicken its opening up and continue to improve conditions for foreigners visiting Xizang in line with changes in the region's reception capacity and infrastructure development. "We will create more opportunities for media coverage in Xizang based on the region's actual conditions, and we also hope that journalists will conduct their reporting with a positive attitude and uphold objectivity and fairness," Xu added. Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here. Dear Care and Feeding. My 14-year-old, Kim, was recently diagnosed with a condition that is not life-threatening but that does need to be managed by a specialist. There are not many specialists, as the condition is relatively rare. She must see this specialist every 4-to-6 weeks for at least a year or two. Our family gets our health insurance from my husbands employer; if the doctor is in-network, the copays are very affordable. A handful of in-network specialists are within a two-hour drive of our house, and they are all male doctors. The problem is, Kim refuses to see a male doctor, as her condition may require occasional physical examinations on a private area. I totally get Kims feelings; I prefer female doctors if they will see me naked, but I will see a male doctor in an emergency or if there are no other options. There are one or two female doctors out-of-network that are driving distance, but paying out-of-pocket for monthly visits (not to mention testing if these doctors use only out-of-network labs) will be cost-prohibitive without cutting the budget elsewhere. I am unsure what to do and feel there is no good answer. It does feel wrong to make Kim see a doctor she feels uncomfortable with. On the other hand, I do not want to lessen our contributions to retirement accounts, college funds, and other savings. My daughters (I have two other teens) do one non-school-sponsored extracurricular (music lessons, dance classes, etc.). I do not want this to impact my other girls, and it feels unfair to ask Kim to choose between flute lessons or a female doctor. Forgoing medical care is out of the question. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have considered the remote possibility that Kim feels uncomfortable because of a nonconsensual sexual experience, but she maintains that nothing like that has happened to her. I have told her that these male doctors will allow her to have a female nurse or patient advocate in the room with her during the exams and that I (her mom) could go in the examination room with her if she wants me to. But Kim still protests when I bring up seeing the male doctor. What do you think I should do? Doctors Orders Dear Doctors Orders, Youre right, theres really no good answer here. Either Kim will have to get past her discomfort with male doctors, or there will have to be significant financial sacrifices made to accommodate her. I think you should let your daughter know that there are likely to be times in her life when a female doctor may not be an option, such as on a trip to the emergency room; its also possible that if she continues to have to manage this rare condition, there may not be female specialists available in the futureit would be best to help her get past this aversion now. Advertisement Advertisement Be honest with her about the fact that you simply cant afford to take her to an out-of-network woman doctor this time, and let her know that its still the case that most doctors are male and the vast majority of them care for female patients with no issues. Reiterate your promise to be in the exam room with her, and alert the practice about your daughters anxiety, so that the doctors and staff may be extra sensitive. Gently explain to her that she simply cannot forgo this care and that she has no choice but to allow a man to treat her. Advertisement Get parenting and family advicesubmit a question! Please keep questions short (<150 words), and dont submit the same question to multiple columns. We are unable to edit or remove questions after publication. Use pseudonyms to maintain anonymity. Your submission may be used in other Slate advice columns and may be edited for publication. Thanks! Your question has been submitted. Dear Care and Feeding, * Your letter signoff Your pronouns Your email (optional and confidentialplease include if you're open to Care and Feeding following up) Submit Dear Care and Feeding, My daughter is very intelligent, but she has taken some fringe positions recently, and the weird thing is, I think I might actually agree with her! Ever since last year, when her friend had to drop out because she got long-COVID, my daughter has become obsessed with it. First, she was just obsessively reading articles on health and wellness, but now shes sending me studies from medical journals about how getting COVID affects all these organs and aspects of the body. Worse yet, now shes bought this high-end respirator that looks like some kind of space alien mask and refuses to be around people if shes not wearing it. Shes even talking about changing her major to epidemiology and abandoning her dream of being a teacher. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im worried that shes alienating herself from her peers and making herself a target for social ostracism. We were reasonably cautious during the pandemic when she was in high school, but I dont bother masking anymore since weve had the virus a few times and it didnt seem so bad. Now, however, my daughter has me reconsidering the choice to stop masking since shes constantly telling me about some horrible outcome that someone she read about had from it. I dont want her to be right about this, especially since this choice is almost certainly hurting her socially, but the more Ive researched it myself, the more I think she may have a point. How can I help her balance these fears without letting her get totally alienated from her peers for being the weird girl in the mask? Mother of Darth Daughter Dear Mother, Advertisement While this is not a medical column and I cant advise in that capacity, I will say that personally, I think your daughter is has a point. Most of us stopped taking COVID seriously a couple of years ago, but it is still very much out here; furthermore, long-COVID sufferers are experiencing devastating symptoms, and we still dont know all the long-term effects of even a short course of the virus. It seems unreasonable to me to be concerned about the social impact on your daughter when it sounds like shes taking wise steps to protect herself from what could be a devastating illness, particularly when you consider what happened to her classmate. Ask yourself, does she have meaningful friendships? Has her social life suffered since she started taking COVID more seriously, or are you just assuming that the respirator turns people off? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a compromise, you could encourage her to continue masking up but ask her to consider a less obtrusive N95 mask for situations in which she needs to interact with people, such as at school or at family functions. But honestly, it sounds like she knows what shes doing here better than a lot of us do. If your daughters concern about this starts to turn into a true fixation or obsession, in the sense that it is damaging the rest of her life, get her to a therapist to parse out sensible protection from problematic anxiety. But for now, Id say let her take care of her own health as she chooses. Catch Up on Care and Feeding Missed earlier columns this week? Read them here. Discuss this column in the Slate Parenting Facebook group! Dear Care and Feeding, Advertisement My ex says hes in love with his new girlfriend. He says everything about her is better and hes never been happier. I broke up with him, hoping he would realize his abusive ways need to change. Instead, he got this girlfriend and now messages me multiple times a day about how he hates me (with awful insults) and loves her. Im so heartbroken! He claims to have gotten a job, but all the years I was with him, he never worked once. He says hes gonna marry her, but would tell me I dont deserve it. I dont understand why he can do all these things for someone new who wont even give him a place to stay, but not me? Whats wrong with me? Advertisement Advertisement On top of everything, he hasnt seen our son since we broke up. Hell only see him if Im not there, but if I say fine, he gets mad at me and accuses me of wanting to go be with other men during that time. Im at my wits end. Should I wait and hope this passes and that he will come to his senses? Do I write him a letter about how sad I am? Should I contact his mother or aunt? I used to tell his dad about how his son was behaving, and he would set him straight, but he died recently. I just want this whole ordeal to end. Dont Want to Be Alone Forever Dear Dont Want to Be, Advertisement Advertisement You did the right thing by leaving this man. He abused you during the relationship and continues to abuse you via text message. There is nothing wrong with you that is preventing your ex from treating you the way you deserve to be treated. He is not a good guy, and you know that. Instead of agonizing over what he may or may not be doing for his alleged new woman (whom he may be fabricating just to get under your skin), you need to be focused on taking care of yourself and your child. Why would you want a man who mistreats you, doesnt work, and uses his relationship to you to determine if he sees his son or not? Are you in need of child support? I am assuming that this guy doesnt voluntarily give you money for your child. If you could use some additional support, consider going through the process of having him forced to pay child support through the court system. As far as facilitating visits goes, see if you can coordinate through his mother or aunt so you dont have to deal with him harassing you about what youre doing during that time. Let this man know that you are interested in allowing him to have a relationship with his son, but that you will only be willing to do that if he can both treat you with respect and be consistent. If he is unwilling to accept these terms, then do away with visitation. Advertisement Your role as a mother must be a top priority, and you cant effectively do that work while trying to navigate an abusive relationship. Has your son been a witness to how his father talks to you? If not, would you want him to see that? If so, have you considered the impact that may have on his relationships with women in the future? Would you want your son to grow up to be like his father? You have to (quickly) dry your eyes and move past your interest in this guy. The only thing he can do for you is step-up and be an active father to your child. If he refuses to do that, then you need to eliminate him from your life altogether. But the longer you hold on to the fantasy of having him as a partner, the longer hell be able to hurt you, and that will certainly impact your child in ways you do not want. Jamilah Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Twenty years into the smartphone era, you can depend on seeing a natural disaster on video a few seconds after it occurs. If a rainstorm floods a subway tunnel or a fire consumes a residential neighborhood, a real-time documentary is not far behind. On Friday at midday local time, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar. Thousands are feared dead. Even in one of the poorest countries in the world, footage of the event itself was immediately available: monks cowering as a building collapsed down the block, a stupa tipping off a temple building in a shower of red dirt. Hundreds of miles away in Bangkok, a construction worker filmed his colleagues running from a half-finished skyscraper as it collapsed into a cloud of dust. Im mesmerized by a relatively new entrant into this genre: The sight of rooftop pools sloshing over their parapets, raining water onto the streets below. A handful of skyscrapers in Bangkok spilled over on Friday. Like a lamp swinging from the ceiling, these high-rise waterfalls are a testament to the seismically generated building movement that can be hard to see with the naked eye. Water suddenly appears in places there is not supposed to be water. Its like seeing a building cry. Moment of the 7.7 Magnitude powerful earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand (28.03.2025) pic.twitter.com/KOLTBVS4ES Disaster News (@Top_Disaster) March 28, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pov: the situation on top of the tallest building near the swimming pool during the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand pic.twitter.com/njNC7QTSfL Glo Hermawan (@gloriahermawan) March 28, 2025 If you really want a lesson in fluid dynamics, you can watch the videos of the pools themselves. Its unsettling to see a tall building spill its drink like a drunk at a party. But ultimately, its proof of structural achievement: The buildings rock enough to send hundreds of gallons of water overboard, but in spite of their height, they are strong enough to resist the tremors. (It is the age of a building, not its height, that generally puts occupants at risk during an earthquake.) Advertisement While this phenomenon is not brand newquake-driven rooftop pool waterfalls have been caught on camera in Manila, Puerto Vallarta, and Taipei in recent yearsits increasingly frequent. And not just because more people are pointing their phones at the sky. Advertisement Putting a pool at the top of a building is a relatively recent development in the history of high-rise construction. Water is heavy (dont fill up an inflatable pool on your roof), and when pools arent well-built, the damage can be enormous. Theres a reason landlords dont want tenants to have fish tanks. Advertisement According to a report on high-rise pools from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Chicagos John Hancock Center was the first super-tall building to offer a swim with a view when its 44th-floor pool opened in 1969. But as recently as 2000, most of the worlds super-tall buildings (over 900 feet) did not include pools. That has changed: Since the millennium, most of them do. Advertisement Related From Slate A Nation of First Responders Read More Some of that reflects the engineering innovations that have allowed giant buildings to proliferate in recent decades. But its also a testament to the changing geography of global growth, as skyscraper construction has shifted from North America and Europe to the Gulf and East Asia. Two-thirds of the worlds super-tall buildings have been built in China and the UAE alone, and rooftop pools are obviously a more desirable amenity in warm-weather locales. Advertisement Advertisement In Southeast Asia, the skyscrapers with rooftop poolsoften flanked by cocktail bars, dance floors, or expensive restaurantsare a societal status symbol. The most famous visual landmark associated with Singapore is probably the Marina Bay Sands, with Moshe Safdies oblong, swimmable rooftop straddling three buildings. Most rooftop pools arent so easy to spot from below. And thats part of what makes the videos from Bangkok so revelatory. Disasters pretend to be egalitarian. Ultimately, though, they expose the fissures in society, revealing the disparate experiences between those who have a well-built home, an insurance policy, or somewhere else to goand those who do not. When water tumbles from a roof, it reveals the power of the earthquake, but also the hidden inequality of the city, provoking the sudden realization, from a lower floor or a hot street below, that those people up there can go for a swim. Meanwhile, in Myanmar, first responders are trying to find people trapped in the wreckage of collapsed structures. The grim reason it takes a long time to confirm an earthquakes death toll is that many people, if not most, survive the initial collapse. What determines their fate is how quickly someone comes to look for them. This article contains spoilers for Episodes 12 and 13 of The Pitt. This week, on Episode 13 of Maxs hospital drama The Pitt, Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) and the rest of the emergency rooms staff were in their second hour of treating the victims of a mass shooting at a music festival. In the eye-opening Episode 12, we saw the emergency department enter code triage, preparing for the massive influx of gunshot wounds by moving every other patient to other parts of the hospital and using color-coded slap bracelets (yes, just like the ones from the 90s) to mark whether patients were at risk of death within five minutes, or merely at risk of death within an hour. In Episode 13, which unfolds between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., the staff tends to multiple critical patients at once, and Dr. Robby triesand failsto save Leah, the girlfriend of Jake, the boy whos been a son to him, from her gunshot wounds. Dr. Christopher Colwell is a physician with 30 years experience in urban Level 1 trauma centers. He was called to the scene after the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999, was in the emergency department during the response to the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shootings in 2012, and again during the response to the UPS shootings in San Francisco in 2017. He is now the chief of emergency medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center and an endowed professor and vice chair in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UCSF School of Medicine. We asked Dr. Colwell whether the show did a good job reflecting the reality of these horrific situations. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Advertisement Slate: What, overall, did you think of the accuracy of these episodes? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Christopher Colwell: I think they did a remarkable job. I was very impressed with the way they were able to capture a number of very real things, not just the obvious structural operational issues but even some of the emotional issues. And Ive got to say in some cases, it was a little hard to watch for that reason. The dilemma that you face when it becomes at all personal is extremely real. Ive had the opportunity to serve on panels and talk to a lot of people whove been involved in mass shootings in addition to myself, and some are in communities where they know a number of the victims, and theres no way to have that not impact you. I didnt know any of the Columbine or Aurora victims personally, but certainly Aurora brought up thoughts of Columbine and other shootings. Advertisement I remember even justwalking through the high school at Columbine and seeing a version of the high school math textbook I had used, out on the table in the library, on the table under which there were three dead students. I have such a vivid memory of that. Wow. What do you think about how Dr. Robby handled the situation with Leah, Jakes girlfriend? Advertisement The only way you can truly know that youre giving the best care is being able to take yourself out of it personally. We talk about the idea of VIP care, which is when there are people coming in that are high-profile people and we give them special carebut sometimes we risk actually giving them inferior care because we deviate from what we do every day. With Leah, Dr. Robby deviated from what even he had articulated earlier were their plans. Everybody was recognizing that he was doing something that was different than he wouldve done had he not had a connection to the victim. Your primary driver in situations like this has to be the greatest good for the greater number. And thats a whole different discussion on how you define that, because that may not necessarily be lives saved. Advertisement Advertisement And in these episodes of The Pitt, there was a very limited number of attending physicians despite a very high number of very high acuity patients. I will say, they went away a little bit from reality there. You typically are only going to see about 10 percent of patients in a mass shooting situation that really need the OR that quickly. I get it, thats part of the dramatic effect. But regardless, in this situation, there was a very clear limited number of attendings that were very much needed, and Dr. Robby spent that very focused attention on one patient when he was needed elsewhere, and what cost was that? Who lost their lives because of that when youre focusing your resources on somebody who is very, very unlikely to gain any benefit from it? Advertisement Advertisement About that greatest good for the greatest number idea: Im assuming thats something you guys talk about specifically, when preparing for this kind of event? Or is that more of a general principle? Advertisement Both. But we do talk very specifically about it in relationship to this kind of event. And the reason is because, we have to assume until proven otherwise that our resources are going to be overwhelmed. If you walk into my normal shiftlike the shift I had yesterdayif somebody had collapsed in the emergency department or in the waiting room or come in with a gunshot wound to the chest and did not have a pulse, everybody wouldve dropped everything and focused every resource we have on that patient until we had done everything we could for that patient. Whereas if youve got multiple victims, some of which might be somebody that we could save, and here we have somebody who is extremely unlikely, even if we give them everything, to be saved, you have to start thinking in terms of Where am I most likely to do good? Advertisement Advertisement In this kind of situation, we have to be very honest: Older patients are going to be much more fragile, and its going to be much more difficult for them to survive some of the same injuries that a young patient might be able to survive and go on to have 40 or 50 years of functional living after that. Thats the kind of factor that goes into your decision-making. What do I apply to this patient in front of me and what do I have to keep, to apply to the others that are coming in? Advertisement One interesting aspect of these two episodes is that it seems like people in this ER are pretty well prepared. Oh, more so than in actuality. First of all, opening up 25 ORs? I dont know any place that can do that. And Ive worked in some of the busiest trauma centers. The Pitt opened up 25 ORs, and I said right away, Theres just no way. We could bring in every resource that we have in a matter of an hour, which is not practical to do, and we still couldnt open up 25 ORs. And having those beautiful MCI [mass casualty incident] kits that they brought in? We struggle with just keeping nonexpired equipment for those types of situations, because you just dont use them very often. Advertisement Heres another thing I remember feeling a little bit uncomfortable with. They intubated a lot of patients, and thats one of the areas you have to really think about, in reality. If your resources are overwhelmed, youre not going to have the ability to intubate and ventilate multiple patients. Youre going to run out of equipment, and youre going to run out of personnel. And every time you intubate and ventilate somebody, you are taking up at least one person and often many people in order to manage that person. And in a true MCI, until you have defined the limits of that MCI, you have to assume that a patient that is not able to breathe on their own is not a salvageable patient. If patients are able to breathe on their own, then those might fall into what they were defining as the red categorythe highest priority. And if theyre not breathing on their own, then they would fall more into the expectant categorymeaning either dead, or expected to die. We wouldnt intubate them, and they intubated a number of those patients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, in some ways it sounds like the show has an optimistic view of how many people wouldve been able to get that kind of attention. Yeah. And thats the drama of it. I mean, its not that much fun if you bring in 100 victims and only five get the intense treatment. One of the things that they did well is showing them setting up doctors to receive incoming patients in front. They assign someone who just started as an attending three months ago. But in reality, you would put your most experienced people up there, because theyre the ones that can make the quickest decisions as to who needs the OR, who needs the red zone, who needs the other zones. You would take your most experienced emergency physician and your most experienced surgeon and put them up front and have them do the triage. Advertisement Thats hard to do becausehaving been in that situation, I know, you want to lay hands on patients, and yet many times thats the last thing you should be doing. There are more people that can lay hands on patients and fewer people that can actually make the most important decisions as to whos most likely to benefit from what care. I get that they wanted the drama of Dr. Robby being a badass. But when you have a situation like this where you have an unknown number of victims, you might hear, Active shooting going on, multiple victims, expect hundreds. That was the exact message we got during Columbine and the pretty similar message that we got during Aurora. And when you hear that, then yes, you would want to really strongly consider taking your most experienced people, putting them up front to make those decisions. Advertisement Advertisement I really was impressed with the way they depicted the hospital administrator. This hospital administrator did exactly what you want an incident commander to do, which is to basically say, Im at your service. Let me know what you need. Im going to stay out of herebecause you dont want the incident commander in the middle of the muck. You want them to be somebody you call saying, I need X, get me X, and they then go about getting X, and theyre not involved in patient care. The first early renditions of these incident command systems, people thought, Well, youd have your head surgeon or your head emergency physician be the incident commander. Thats the last thing you want. You want an incident commander that is not laying hands on patients in any way, shape, or form and is just concentrating on getting resources available that are needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking of equipment, there are a number of off-book treatments that they do, creative uses of equipment. How realistic is that? I love the idea, but in point of fact, something that you only do once in a blue moon, you dont do in a setting like this. We do well what we do often, and you need to revert to what you do often. They put a Foley catheter in the neck to stop bleeding? I havent seen that done in 30 years. You can put a Foley catheter in the heart if you have a wound in the heart. This has been done a couple of times. Not very common. But Ive never seen that done in the neck. There were a couple of the ways that they got neck intubations that were new and novel ways to do that. This is not the time you would revert to something that you havent done in 25 years. Advertisement Advertisement When Dr. Santos put a REBOA in it was very dramatic. The concept is a wonderful one, and its one that I personally really like. Somebody with a retroperitoneal fracture thats bleeding out that you cant compressyou dont have other good means of doing it, and cant go to the OR immediately. Putting a balloon in and inflating it under the renal vessels, which is what they were talking about, that is a great idea. But it isnt established yet as a clear standard, and it would never be done by an intern. Advertisement In these two episodes, there are some people, like Santos, who seem to take on more responsibility than they would in a normal day. Is that realistic? I couldnt believe that they werent more worried about malpractice suits. Advertisement There are a couple of answers to that, because you do need to think differently in an event like this. We are assuming until proven otherwise that we are not going to have the resources to address the situation. Thats a disaster, right? Its when the situation overwhelms the resources, you have to address that. You do have to put people in different roles. But you dont have people doing procedures that they dont do, because thats not going to benefit anybody. I dont do craniotomies. A neurosurgeon does that. To have me do a craniotomy in this situationwell, desperate times call for desperate measures. And I would say that when youre in a situation like this, theres not a contraindication to doing something if the only other option is death, and you know you have the resources to do it. But mostly what that entails in reality is assigning people responsibilities they wouldnt normally have but are within their scope. So for example, I might be able to take you, I dont know what your medical background is, but lets just say its none? Oh yeah. None. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I may be able to say to you, OK, Ive intubated the patient, all I need for you to do is to squeeze this bag once every 10 seconds for the next 10 or 15 minutes until I can get back to this patient. I could do something like that, where I would never do that under normal circumstances. Its something that I could reasonably have you do or a medical student do or something like that. I would potentially put a third- or fourth-year resident in charge of a yellow or green zone where the primary responsibilities are to recognize if somebodys getting sicker and move them up. They can do that. It would be more than what they would do under normal circumstances, but still within their skill set. What about malpractice suits, in this kind of situation? Are people preparing for this kind of incident thinking about legal matters? Advertisement The way we need to be thinking about this is what are we held to for a malpractice situation? And Im going into the legal part of this, because I do some work in this area. We are held to a standard of care, and a standard of care is defined as what a reasonable person would do under the same or similar circumstances. And so, we are now in a disaster, right? So its different than under normal circumstances. And so the question isnt what would be the standard of care for this person under normal circumstances; its what is the standard of care under the same or similar circumstances? We have to think about that in terms of we cant go rogue. You cant do things that are unreasonable. But its back to that question of what would a reasonable person do under the same or similar circumstances? Thats the question you have to ask. And thats the standard to which we are held. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OK, I have to ask you about this IO drill thing, where they just drill right in the bone marrow. Im not the only one obsessed with it now. Is this real? Yes, it absolutely is real. It allows us to give medications and, in some cases, fluid and even blood, when we cant get intravascular access for any variety of reasons. We do use this on critical patients fairly oftenI would say, maybe not daily, but certainly every week we have patients that have IO lines in. But none of them are awake and talking and stable, like the patient Whitaker drilled, because then we wouldnt need to put in an IO. I can definitely say that! So we can relax about that. These doctors and nurses are working like crazy, even though this situation happens near the end of their regular shift. I wonder if you could say anything more about the energy that comes into the situation when you are facing something like this. Advertisement One of the most impressive parts of these episodes in my mind was the way they captured the emotional effect and toll of these things. You absolutely feel the adrenaline. When I was called to Columbine, I arrived there in the afternoon. I didnt leave there until 8 that night. It wasnt until 10:30 at night that I realized because Id been up since 7 that morning, how exhausted I was. Advertisement Advertisement In Episode 12, Dr. Robby said, We need to call some people to tell them to go home and get to bed because theyll need to relieve us. That was brilliant, thats exactly what you need to do at the beginning of this kind of response. We saw this at Columbine. We saw it in Aurora. We saw it in the UPS shootings. And you see it in events like this. Everybody shows up and everybody comes to the emergency department. In fact, sometimes you have too many people. And one of the things you can forget about is that, in an event thats going to go on for a period of time, we have to send people home, to go to bed so they can come relieve us. Advertisement Advertisement Thats a critical resource, because this is exactly whats going to happen. Youre going to have adrenaline and youre going to be able to go full tilt for a lot longer than you thought, and then youre going to collapse and youre going to be no good to anybody. And you have to be able to have some people who can recognize that and say, first of all, OK, tap out. Youre gone. You must leave. And No. 2, theyve got to have somebody to replace you. I loved that they incorporated that in the show. Well, thank you so much for talking to us about this. Advertisement These episodes were tough to watch, because they did capture some of the real emotions that come up in events like this. But I will say, my son is a Pitt viewer. And we talked about these episodes, and it allowed us to talk about my experiences in a way we never had. It was still a year before he was born, when Columbine happened. So he obviously knows a lot about it, but had some more specific questions, after watching this, that I was glad to be able to answer. Some discussion that was not easy but was really important to have. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Since OpenAI released an update earlier this week that improved ChatGPTs ability to generate images based on detailed requests, a dark evil has infected the internet, responsible for the shriveling of souls and the wanton destruction of life and nature itself: Studio Ghibli A.I. slop. Social media has been flooded with images of the most random shit imaginable rendered in the signature style of Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary animator and co-founder of the Japanese company Studio Ghibli, renowned for hand-drawn animated films such as Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and My Neighbor Totoro. X in particular, Elon Musks land of the rising bot, is rife with viral posts extolling the virtues of an innovation that steals human-made creations, chews them into paste, and spits out the reassembled remains, stripped of any of the originality, spirit, and labor that makes art art. It's been 24 hours since OpenAI unexpectedly shook the AI image world with 4o image generation. Here are the 14 most mindblowing examples so far (100% AI-generated): 1. Studio ghibli style memespic.twitter.com/E38mBnPnQh Barsee (@heyBarsee) March 26, 2025 Advertisement tremendous alpha right now in sending your wife photos of yall converted to studio ghibli anime pic.twitter.com/FROszdFSfN Grant Slatton (@GrantSlatton) March 25, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nobody asked for Bollywood movie scenes in Ghibli style but here they are. pic.twitter.com/umiDAA7LNu Vivek Choudhary (@ivivekch) March 26, 2025 Advertisement Clearly, the new 4o tools Ghibli-bilitywhich Business Insider reports is currently not available on the free version of ChatGPT due to copyright, but is apparently available on the paid version for reasons unknownis a hit among people who have no imagination of their own to speak of. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, joked about the Ghibli generator overshadowing any of his other accomplishments, changed his X profile picture to one of a Ghibli-style white nerd (presumably him, presumably generated through ChatGPT), and seemingly hit back at critics calling his companys slop slop. On Thursday, the White Houses X account posted its own Ghibli slop handcuffing an ICE agent arresting a weeping woman, modeled after a Dominican Republic immigrant who had been convicted of fentanyl trafficking. Advertisement Advertisement If that doesnt convince you that A.I. slop is wretched, fetid rot, unworthy of the resources, funding, and jobs that it costs, not to mention the environmental toll it takes, then perhaps nothing will. Not even the words of Miyazaki, who famously once saidin a clip, currently recirculating online, from the 2016 documentary Never-Ending Manof machine-created art: I am utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself. I feel like we are nearing to the end of times. We humans are losing faith in ourselves. Advertisement Advertisement Since this utter garbage is trending, we should take a look at what Hayao Miyazaki, the founder of Studio Ghibli, said about machine created art. https://t.co/1TMPcFGIJE pic.twitter.com/IvaM9WZL3T Nuberodesign (@nuberodesign) March 26, 2025 Advertisement The truth is, Hayao Miyazaki would hate you fucking losers. Every last one of you using this abomination of technology, whether just for a lark or because you actually hold an ideological commitment to killing artistry, jobs, and the Earth in favor of enriching the most craven, grasping, ruinous people alive. Miyazaki, whose films are made possible only by the painstaking toil of human imagination and hands, putting countless hours into producing the moving images that are instantly recognizable as Studio Ghiblis: the deceptively simple-looking forms paired with fantastical figures, outlined in clean lines, against exquisitely painted backgrounds. Advertisement Advertisement Miyazaki, whose movies are shaped by core beliefs against fascism and war, against unchecked greed, and against the decimation of nature and its bountythemes that are evident to any 8-year-old who asks, Mommy, why did the spirits who took the gold get eaten by the monster? but clearly not to the many adults clamoring to ape the filmmakers style but none of his substance. Advertisement Miyazaki, who confesses to a deep pessimism about the future of the world, calling humanitys dreams cursed, and yet has made his lifes work about ordinary people trying to be kinder, braver, and more compassionate in the face of adversity. His final film, How Do You Live?known to English-speaking audiences as The Boy and the Heronposes that question of what kind of life we should strive for to its young protagonist, who is presented with the puzzle of how to build a better world. Related From Slate I Knew the Signal Chat Leak Reminded Me of Something. Now I Know What. Read More So, yes, Im comfortable concluding that Miyazaki would despise you. You are his stories warmongers and industrialists and uncaring grown-upsonly, here, there is no empathetic backstory complicating your actions, no lepers youre cutting down trees to save. Youre just contributing to the theft and devaluation of originality and labor, the waste of resources growing ever scarcer, and the power of creeps and fascistsall just for a throwaway pic, a few thousand likes, and the slim chance that Elon Musk will reply to you with a emoji. So how do you live? Perhaps Miyazakis more militant defenders have a point: Maybe he should be allowed to hunt you for sport. Last weekend, second lady Usha Chilukuri Vance shared an Instagram video from the White House announcing an upcoming trip to Greenland and offering a special message for its America-hating residents. Clad in a white suit and speaking extremely monotonically into the camera, Vance informed her viewers that she would be visiting Kalaallit Nunaat in time for the autonomous Danish territorys Avannaata Qimussersua dog sledding race, which the United States is sponsoring. Im also coming to celebrate the long history of mutual respect and cooperation between our nations, and to express hope that our relationship will only grow stronger in the coming years, Vance concluded. I look forward to meeting many of you soon. The video may have been intended as a message of goodwill, but thats not how it was received by Danes, Greenlanders, or really anybody. (I mean, just look at the Instagram comments.) The announcement was coupled with the news that Vance would be traveling with other U.S. officials like national security adviser and group-chat-emoji-enthusiast Mike Waltz. This, Greenlands prime minister claimed, was a highly aggressive move, especially in light of President Donald Trumps relentless threats to annex Greenland. (Trump, for his part, claimed that this diplomacy was a gesture of friendliness, not provocation, before once again insisting that we have to have Greenland.) Things got even hairier when Ushas execrable husband, Vice President J.D. Vance, declared on Tuesday that hed be joining the second lady, because there was so much excitement around Ushas visit to Greenland this Friday that I decided that I didnt want her to have all that fun by herself. As the week progressed, a bunch of Greenland companies and locals that had committed to meeting with Usha Vance dropped those plans like an icy snowball, shrinking the Vances planned travel itinerary rather significantly. No dog sled race for you! So what did come of the Greenland visit when the Vance couple touched down on Friday? Well, see for yourself: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After rapturously greeting all the Greenlanders who wanted them there (none), the Vances and their entourage proceeded to the one area where they were welcome: the Pituffik Space Base, which is staffed with American troops, owned by the U.S. Space Force, and known as one of the most remote military installations in the world, per the New York Times. In other words, its far away from the people of Greenland. Advertisement Well, except for a protester or two, naturally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the base itself, the vice president made the astute observation that it was cold as shit here and gave a speech that mostly railed against Denmark for not protecting Greenland and its vast natural resources from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China, and from other nations. While he did not repeat Trumps explicit military threats, Vance did encourage the Greenland independence movement from Denmark and also went off, naturally, about tariffs, claiming the U.S. could help the island territory avoid economic exploitation by Europe. Advertisement Advertisement After a grand total of a few hours, the Vances then flew back to the States, still loathed by Greenlandersand by Americans. A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll found that only 19 percent of Americans support annexing Greenland; another European poll found that only 6 percent of Greenlanders would be interested in joining the U.S. When you consider that Greenland has a population of about 57,000, you realize just how tiny that number is. Advertisement Its not that Greenlanders dont want to secede from Denmarkthey just dont want to become a U.S. state in turn. And who can blame them? Have you seen the guys in the White House? Anyway, have fun with this new batch of photos, kids. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. On Friday morning, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court for permission to continue deporting Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador without providing them with any semblance of due process. The Trump administration claims that the migrants are members of the Tren de Aragua gang, but its evidence for these allegations is alarmingly weak. It invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as the basis for its actions, a law meant to apply only to invading foreign powers during wartime. Judge James Boasberg initially directed the administration to turn back flights headed to the notoriously violent El Salvador black sitethough government officials evidently defied his order. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit backed up Boasberg on Wednesday in a 21 decision. Now the Supreme Court must decide whether these rushed expulsions may proceed. Briefing is due on Tuesday. Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discussed the case, and the DOJs latest plea to SCOTUS, on this weeks episode of Amicus. A preview of their conversation, below, has been edited and condensed for clarity. Dahlia Lithwick: James Boasberg issued an opinion at the beginning of this week maintaining his temporary restraining order. The D.C. Circuit came down with a decision in the middle of the week, refusing to set aside Boasbergs order. And on Friday, surprising nobody, the Justice Department ran to the Supreme Court. How did it ask SCOTUS to save it this time? Advertisement Mark Joseph Stern: The DOJ asked for an immediate stay and an order vacating these orders blocking the rendition of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. It claimed, The administration detained designated [gang] members identified through a rigorous process. That is a lie: We know that this rigorous process meant identifying people who may be Venezuelan, then falsely claiming that their tattoos were proof of gang membership, then throwing them on a plane to El Salvador before they could even file an objection. I think we should note that weve already reached the stage at which the second Trump administration is actively lying to the Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Departments application also claims that the lower courts orders are forcing the United States to harbor individuals whom national-security officials have identified as members of a foreign terrorist organization bent upon grievously harming Americans and jeopardizing sensitive diplomatic negotiations and delicate national-security operations. That, too, is demonstrably false. It is bogus. We know that many of these individuals have been misclassified as members of Tren de Aragua and are not threatening the United States. There has been no process to sort out those who are actually gang members from those who are innocent. And there is no evidence that they somehow harm the homeland when they are being detained on an ongoing basis. Advertisement Remember, these plaintiffs are not asking for release into the U.S. All they are saying is that they want to stay detained here rather than being sent to a prison in El Salvador. It is a very rare case in which a detained immigrant says, I want to stay detained. But that is the situation we have here. How can the DOJ possibly argue that simply keeping them here, locked away in detention, imperils national security? It doesnt really tryit just says, Trust us. Its worth flagging that these DOJ lawyers have been absolutely disrespectful to the courts in this case from the start, right? Their line has been: You dont need to know anything. You dont want to know anything. Judges know nothing about national security. We have an absolute claim on the power to decide what makes America safe. Then they try to melt down and repurpose the Alien Enemies Act and these World War IIera cases to mean something entirely different from what they plainly mean. I dont think theyre winning points with judges who are on the fence. Advertisement Advertisement Thats one reason why Im cautiously optimistic that the Supreme Court wont take up the government invitation here. What the government is asking for is extreme: The case is still in its early stages, and there are jurisdictional questions about whether Boasbergs temporary restraining order can even be appealed. But beyond that, the government has just beclowned itself at every turn. Its not just the derogatory language insulting the judiciary; its also the obvious mistakes in the deportation operation itself. Theres now extensive reporting showing that the government got the wrong guys, that it has no reliable process for identifying whos a dangerous gang member and whos an innocent person. That will look terrible to the justices: Are they really going to grant this extraordinary relief when the administrations factual assertions, the basis of its urgent request, dont withstand scrutiny? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I also think, as weve discussed before, that the government did itself no favors in repeatedly criticizing Boasberg for his orders, and the president himself calling for him to be impeached. That, of course, triggered Chief Justice John Roberts to issue that rare and unusual statement that helped draw the attention of the nation to this case and pushed the DOJ into a corner. It has become even more petulant and insulting in court. And so I think there is a real chance that Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett will say: We are not bailing you out of this one. Partly because the law is so clear, and partly because the government has given the Supreme Court no reason to believe that its acting in anything close to good faith. Lets also just re-up the argument that the ACLUs Lee Gelernt made multiple times to the appeals court, which is clearly true: With each passing day, we get more fantastic journalistic work supporting the idea that many of these individuals were lawful asylum applicants going through the correct legal process. El Salvador even turned a bunch of people around, including multiple women, whom it said it could not detain. The administrations quick-and-dirty assessments are in some instances based on nothing but a tattoo. That is just not due process. What Gelernt saidand I think its really important to understand thisis that the factual record barely exists at this point. Boasberg is working as fast as he possibly can to develop that record. But now is not the time for courts to defer to the Justice Department when it says it can decide whom to deport, without any due process, based on false facts and mistruths. Its way too early. Thats why we dont run these emergency cases up to the Supreme Court before we have the facts on the ground. This is part of Trumps Great American Crypto Scam, a series about the catastrophic collision between the second Trump administration and the wild world of cryptocurrency. Read it all here. According to Donald Trump, theres a simple reason that the United States has had to impose economy-exploding tariffs against Canada: fentanyl. Although only a soup cans worth of the unusually deadly synthetic opioid has been discovered by agents at the U.S.Canada border so far this year, the president insists that a massive amount of the drug is being trafficked into America from the northand that until this possibly imaginary flow of poison is halted, punitive measures against imports will continue. The same, he says, goes for tariffs on Mexico. Trumps long-standing belief is that fentanyl is smuggled into the U.S. largely by undocumented migrants, and that this flow will, accordingly, be cut off if the southern border is secured. His tariffs, he says, have the goal of forcing the Mexican state to take measures like deploying its national guard to intercept migrant caravans. But this premise doesnt hold up either. Its true that fentanyl generally enters the U.S. from the south, but when law enforcement discovers the drug being smuggled, its almost always in the possession of American citizens attempting to cross through official ports of entry. Its rarely found, by contrast, by border agents apprehending migrants who are attempting to enter the country undetected through the desert. And given how many of these individuals have been taken into custody in recent yearsliterally millions of themwed almost certainly know by now if they were a major vector for trafficking. Advertisement In other words, blindsiding the Canadian aluminum industry and building a wall on the border might not be the most effective ways to reduce the amount of fentanyl that ends up inside the U.S. One that might have promise, though, is regulation and scrutiny of cryptocurrency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why is that? Well, the point of cryptocurrency 1 is that its not controlled by governments or banksthe gatekeepers of the traditional financial system. Its more idealistic proponents believe thats a good thing, because its not subject to manipulation by self-interested elites. Its less idealistic users realized immediately that the whole not monitored by governments or banks aspect makes crypto platforms a great medium for transactions that involve weapons, terrorism, stolen money, and hard drugs like fentanyl. Various official reports and journalistic investigations have documented how the system works. Fentanyls precursor chemicals are largely manufactured in China, then shipped to Mexico, where theyre combined in laboratories controlled by cartels before being moved north. When the cartels pay their Chinese suppliers, they increasingly do so by using cryptocurrency. Advertisement Some of the crypto exchanges 2 in which these transactions have been conducted, according to watchdog groups and law enforcement, include major platforms like Tron, Binance, and the infamous, now-defunct drug marketplace Silk Road. (Tron did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this article. Binance has admitted in legal filings that it was culpable for failing to prevent illicit activity, and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 of facilitating illegal commerce in federal court.) Advertisement Another thing those platforms and their proprietors have in common are connections to Donald Trump, in his roles as both the president of the United States and an active participant in the crypto business. Trump wasnt always a fan of crypto. As recently as 2021, he was referring to Bitcoin 3 , the most well-known type of cryptocurrency, as a scam. At the time, some elected Republicans were crypto boosters, but others were involved in bipartisan efforts to regulate the industry. Advertisement As Trump geared up for his 2024 presidential campaign, though, he realized that crypto was popular in the so-called manosphere of right-leaning podcasters, video-game streamers, and mixed martial arts enthusiasts through which he sought to reach young male voters. In seeking the support of these crypto enthusiasts, he made big promises about promoting the industry. He pledged, among other things, to enshrine a national Bitcoin reserve and to replace Securities and Exchange Commission 4 Chair Gary Gensler, who had been trying to apply the same laws to crypto companies that already apply to firms trading in conventional securities. Advertisement Trump has followed through on those promises. His pending nominee to replace Gensler, Paul Atkins, is a longtime member of a cryptocurrency advocacy organization called the Token Alliance. His top adviser on A.I. and crypto issues, an associate of Elon Musks named David Sacks, is himself a major crypto investor. And last fall, Trump and his family joined forces with a former colon-cleanse salesman named Chase Herro to launch a crypto business called World Liberty Financial 5 , which issues its own token (i.e., unit of cryptocurrency) called WLFI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thus far in Trumps term, the result has been a very forgiving environment for crypto enforcementand, indirectly, fentanyl payment networks. One of Trumps very first moves in office, in fact, was pardoning Ulbricht, the Silk Road founder. The symbolism is striking: On a recent Vox podcast, Ulbricht biographer Nick Bilton described Silk Roads facilitation of Bitcoin-denominated Chinese fentanyl shipments in the early 2010s as a key step in the drugs apocalyptic takeover of the U.S. opioid market. It gets to a point where Ulbricht is making so much money, and so much is being sold on Silk Road, that it captures the attention of people in China who were starting to make fentanyl at the time. Silk Road enabled them to mail fentanyl to the U.S., Bilton said. You start to see the beginning of the fentanyl epidemic, and the first people affected by it are kids. Advertisement Even before Trump was sworn in, meanwhile, a Chinese American entrepreneur named Justin Sunthe founder of Tron 6 , which operates a crypto-transaction platform and also issues its own tokens 7 announced that hed bought $30 million of World Liberty Financials token and joined the company as an adviser. According to Bloomberg News, the investment may have triggered a $15 million payout to the Trump family. Advertisement Advertisement Observers immediately noted that Sun was facing civil charges, filed by the SEC, of pump and dump 8 style market manipulation involving two crypto tokens. (Tron has maintained that the charges of market manipulation lack merit, and Sun told Bloomberg that there was no political purpose behind his purchase. The company did not respond to Slates requests for comment about the SEC suit, the World Liberty purchase, or any of the other issues raised in this piece.) The Tron platform, multiple reports have noted, is also used frequently by criminal groups including, but not limited to, fentanyl manufacturers. A report by a firm called Elliptic identified millions of dollars worth of transactions conducted on Tron between Mexican drug cartels and Chinese manufacturers who make fentanyls precursor ingredients, while a November 2023 article in Reuters reported that Tron had overtaken Bitcoins network as the platform used most commonly for crypto transfers by Hamas and Hezbollah. All told, a report about 2023 crypto activity published by a crypto security firm called TRM Labs found that the Tron platform hosted an estimated 45 percent of all illicit worldwide blockchain transactions in 2023. The same report noted that the volume of drug sales on Tron had more than quadrupled from the year before. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In late February, the SECnow controlled by Trumpfiled a request with a judge to halt Suns prosecution, a move that signals that a negotiated settlement or a dismissal of charges is imminent. Two weeks later, the Wall Street Journal reported that representatives of the Trump family have held discussions about taking a stake in another crypto exchange, Binance, which was banned from operating in the U.S. in 2019 over allegations that it was circumventing money laundering laws. In 2023 the companys founder, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to money laundering violations and served four months in prison. According to the Journal, Zhao also currently happens to be pushing for the Trump administration to grant him a pardon. Binance executives, the Journal writes, view Suns case as a legal playbook that they hope to use in order to regain access to the U.S. market. (Zhao wrote on Twitter/X that no felon would mind a pardon but that he had not been involved in any discussions about the Trump familys potential investment in Binance.) Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. initially investigated Binance, official documents state, in part for its role in transactions involving illegal narcotics and controlled substances. In communications obtained by the government, a member of the companys compliance staff once semi-facetiously suggested advertising its services to users who felt that washing drug money on other platforms had become too difficult. (In 2023 Department of Justice indictments of a number of alleged China-based drug manufacturers named Binance as a platform used for transactions involving fentanyl and methamphetamine. In 2024 Forbes reported that a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation of fentanyl manufacturers targeted a Chinese entity that used a Binance account to conduct transactions.) Advertisement Tron has previously disputed the notion that it bears responsibility for transactions that take place on its platform. The company told Reuters in 2024 that it does not have the ability to control the behavior of individuals using its product, and in 2023 noted to the same outlet that any technology can in theory be used for questionable activities. Advertisement To explain: According to published reports, illicit transactions on the Tron platform are typically conducted using a crypto token called Tether 9 . And Tron does not issue or control the Tether token. Roughly speaking, if you Venmo a friend $20 for pizza, the crypto equivalent of the money in that exchange are the tokens, and Venmo is the equivalent of the platform. The issuer of a token can freeze a transaction it deems to be suspicious, but a platform cant. Platforms can report suspicious transactions to law enforcement, though, and can take so-called know-your-customer precautions, which enable them to identify users whose patterns of activity indicate potential illegality. On that front, Tron announced an agreement in September 2024 to collaborate with Tether and TRM Labs, the aforementioned security firm, to combat illicit activity. The three entities subsequently said in a joint statement that they had frozen $130 million in suspicious transactions in their first four months of work, while a separate TRM annual report credited Tron with cutting down the volume of illicit exchanges on its platform in 2024. That report, however, still estimated that more than half of 2024s worldwide illicit crypto transactionswhich it said could amount to $75 billion in totaloccurred on the TRON blockchain 10 . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The United States, for its part, could pass laws requiring crypto companies to take precautions. In 2023, in fact, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall introduced a bill called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, which would have extended the know-your-customer laws that govern bank activity to the world of crypto. Essentially, KYC laws require financial institutions to take steps to actively prevent criminals from using their systems; if they dont, they can be prosecuted. But in July 2024, Marshall withdrew his sponsorship of Warrens billand now, with Trumps win, the chances that the U.S. passes laws subjecting any crypto entity to strict oversight seem slim. Related From Slate These Are the 13 Crypto Bros Who Are Running Our Country Read More Earlier this month, for instance, the (Republican-controlled) Senate Banking Committee voted to advance a bill called the GENIUS Act, which would formalize the regulation of a subset of cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins. Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the committees chair, says that the bill will ensure that the tokens are safe and reliable tools in the financial system. Warren disagrees. In a statement to Slate, she warns that the bill fails to hold a number of entities that deal with stablecoins to the same standards to which other financial institutions are subjectand that it would essentially encourage large companies that are not subject to banking regulations, like Musks X, to issue their own currency. (Musk has said he would like X to become an everything app on which users can make financial transactions.) Advertisement Advertisement Instead of making it easier for Elon Musk and the Trump Organization to control our money, Republicans should work with Democrats to prevent the exploitation of cryptocurrency to traffic fentanyl into America, Warren said. We can start by fixing the real problems with the GENIUS Act that make it even easier for cartels and other bad actors to move dirty moneyand make it harder for law enforcement to crack down on deadly networks. Advertisement Warrens advocacy aside, tail winds appear favorable right now for illicit actorsincluding the manufacturers and distributors of fentanylusing crypto networks. I always try to get across that by the time you get to the border, its too late, said Regina LaBelle of Georgetowns ONeill Institute for National and Global Health Law, who served as acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy during the Biden administration. According to LaBelle, even the few laws that do currently govern crypto transactions are not enforced as vigorously or uniformly as they might be. If the focus is going to be on deregulating crypto even more than it already is, that could spell trouble, she said. If theres more anonymity, then theres more opportunity for criminal networks to use crypto for drug trafficking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donald Trump, though, isnt one for looking too closely under the hood of things. His embrace of crypto may have been politically strategic, but indifference to where his customers, business partners, and political allies get their money has long been one of his guiding principles. A 1991 piece in the Village Voice noted that tenants of Trumps signature Fifth Ave. Trump Tower property included felons convicted of investment fraud, Medicaid fraud, cocaine trafficking, tax evasion, and running a gambling ring for the Lucchese crime family. In 2012 Trump launched a hotel project in Azerbaijan in partnership with a local kingpin who is believed to have laundered money for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. Other recent Trump real estate partners and investors include a convicted Colombian narcotics trafficker, numerous suspected organized crime figures from the former Soviet Union, and a mob-affiliated Russian American who was once convicted of stabbing a man in the face. Advertisement Advertisement In theory, in other words, Trump believes that terrorists and drug traffickers should be treated harshlybut in practice, hes always been a little more flexible. While he might have been elected because voters wanted to see bigger numbers in their bank accounts, the next four years will likely be boom times for the kind of money that moves off the books too. This work is made possible by Slate Plus. Please consider supporting our coverage of the second Trump administrationwe wont even make you pay in $bwainwuhm. cryptocurrency (noun) Electronic money, basically. Cryptocurrency is different from regular money in that it lacks the backing of either some precious metal (like gold) or the full faith and credit of a country. It does have a ledger of transactions in a place (the blockchain) where everyone can see how it has changed hands (if not exactly to whom). crypto exchanges (noun) Hubs for people to put their crypto, and where the exchange takes over the management of that crypto. A way to own crypto without having to think too much about the mechanics of it or risk losing it (unless the exchange turns out to be fraudulent, as some have, in which case customers without any insurance may lose their deposits). Think of a crypto exchange as the bank and the blockchain as the vault. Bitcoin (noun) The main cryptocurrency and the one that the most people are willing to buy at any given time. Its creator is an anonymous white paper author who goes by the name Satoshi Nakamoto. A Bitcoin is worth about $80,000 these days, give or take, though it crossed $100,000 for the first time in 2024. It goes up and down a lot, but if you were to pick one direction over its history to date, its definitely been up. Securities and Exchange Commission (noun) A governmental agency that at one point was hostile to crypto but now lets crypto companies do whatever they want World Liberty Financial (noun) A crypto venture designed to migrate money from enthusiastic supporters of Donald Trump to the president and his business associates. It created both the Trump coin and the Melania coin, both of which launched soon after the inauguration and are largely viewed as a money grab. Tron (noun) A blockchain that works kind of like Ethereum, with its smart contract functionality. But also: founded by a guy whom the Securities and Exchange Commission has accused of a variety of financial misdeeds, including fraud tokens (noun) Real things that have been embodied into cryptocurrency. As in: My name is Alex, and Ive launched AlexCoin. Would you buy my token? pump and dump (noun) The practice of owning an asset, talking it up, and selling it at an inflated price to the losers who believe you. Historically popular with stocks (see: GameStop) but now a real boom sector in crypto. Because in crypto, the literal creators of coins can be the ones doing it. Tether (noun) The biggest stablecoin, pegged to the U.S. dollar. In case the U.S. dollar wasnt working for you. blockchain (noun) The place where records of crypto transactions are kept, like a bank statement, but for crypto. One thing that makes cryptocurrency so different is that because it is on the blockchain, the transaction list is accessible to anyone who knows how to peruse it. (Actually, though, navigating to a blockchain explorer is a bit like putting a fire hose in your mouth.) This is part of Trumps Great American Crypto Scam, a series about the catastrophic collision between the second Trump administration and the wild world of cryptocurrency. Read it all here. If you are a person who reads the news, you are a crypto news consumer, because in this new American moment, the people heading the crypto industry are very powerful and never stop talking. More than that, if you are an index fund investor tracking the whole U.S. stock market, you are now a crypto investor, by way of your fractional holdings of companies that have made crypto essential to their businesses. These things were true long before Donald Trump returned for a second term, put crypto buddies in government posts, and issued a flurry of executive directives for which the crypto industry had long been frothing at the mouth. If you dont care about crypto and have been trying to ignore it, Ive got bad news: Its time to pay attention. If you are like me, you may find all of this utterly impossible. I had no trouble comprehending that some people on the internet had developed a coin inspired by a picture of a Shiba Inu, or that it came to be called Doge, or that Dogecoin 1 got popular enough to reach a nominal market capitalization of more than $70 billion. (Now its worth a mere $40 billion or so.) It is harder to comprehend that there is now a governmental entity called DOGE 2 , and that it got its acronym because the richest man in the world still has said token on his mind four years after it first took off. I can grasp that there are unelected racist teenagers looting my government, but not that they are flying under the banner of a shit coin that broke containment. How can something so unserious be so mission-critical to living here in 2025? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just by existing in Americas political and financial systems, we and crypto have taken a substantial interest in each other. Our best hope of surviving the deluge is to master the art of separating the serious crypto things from the unserious ones. Lord knows well have time to practice. Unserious: A Form of Currency Less than 1 in 5 Americans has ever directly owned crypto, let alone used it to buy something. In fact, the rate of crypto users among us has barely budged in three years. The predictions of cryptos true believersthat it would become a common medium for people to buy and sell things, one that could rival fiat currencyremain fantasy. It feels surreal to type out those facts, though, because cryptos failure to break through as a payment form has not stopped it from becoming culturally inescapable. Advertisement Serious: An Electoral Influence Machine Crypto backers seem to have a pathological inability not only to stop talking but to stay off the rest of our screens and airwaves. Crypto interests accounted for nearly half of the corporate money spent on the 2024 federal elections, according to progressive think tank Public Citizen. Only the defending champion, fossil fuels, outflanks crypto in rich peoples spending to influence politics. Its like the corporate money Death Star, one of the researchers behind that report told Slate last fall. Advertisement Both Serious and Unserious: An Investment Vehicle Bitcoin 3 just passed $100,000 for the first time. This is a bit weird, given that Bitcoin does not represent a share of the future cash flow of anything and has no underlying value aside from our collective confidence that someone else will be there to buy it from us. I find this a bit surreal, but its been four years since GameStop, and meme stocks are still chugging along as a class, aided by deepening internet delusion. I wouldnt put my name on a prediction that all crypto holdings will one day crash. Advertisement Advertisement Serious: Corruption Donald and Melania Trump each launched their own crypto tokens in January, which will serve as useful bribery mechanisms for those whod like to declare financial fealty to the new president and lift the paper value of his holdings at the same time. Anyone who would like to boost the Trumps net worth for the sake of it is welcome to do so. But thats not everyone who bought $TRUMP. Sophisticated traders made a lot of money in a mad dash to own the coinmore on that in a minutebut plenty of traders were out of their depth and lost their shirts. How many are die-hard Trump supporters? We may never know. Meanwhile, the Trump family made something on the order of $100 million in trading fees alone, according to reporting and analysis by crypto experts and a review by the New York Times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Call it what it is: The president and his family are using regular people as a piggy bank, without any of the altruistic pretense required when Trump or his campaign asks them directly for money. Plenty of market actors will enthusiastically make that deal, and plenty cannot possibly afford it. Many crypto industry types thought Trumps meme coin 4 was a betrayal. How dare he take a speculative currency backed by nothing other than other peoples continuing to buy it, then use it to enrich himself? Our president is neither the first nor last person to make this move. (He didnt even beat Hawk Tuah Girl.) But our nations anti-corruption laws, not that theyve had much sway of late, were never meant to contemplate the most powerful person in the country establishing a crypto token in his name. Advertisement Unserious: Big Numbers In January, Trumps meme coin launch caused some of the most severe crypto whiplash that the American publicand certainly its major news outletshas ever experienced. Trump and his partners created a billion coins, with 800 million of them in the possession of Trumps own companies. The price of the coin popped, with some people buying it on Jan. 19 for more than $70. Trump, owning 800 million of those coins, found himself minted a crypto billionaire in the pages of Axios. Seventy dollars multiplied by 800 million coins is indeed $56 billion. Trumps net worth, the outlet reported, had increased several times over. Advertisement Advertisement That assessment was technically accurate but fundamentally unsound. $TRUMP was a popular token 5 that day, with about $20 billion worth of it changing hands. But 80 percent of the coin was never available to the general public, and it was certain that trading would slow down after the first day or two. There was no reason to believe that Trumps $56 billion stake was liquid. If his companies were to actually off-load hundreds of millions of coins in a classic pulling of the rug on his biggest fans, those coins would have sold for much, much less than $56 billion. Advertisement A version of this problem exists with all large holdings of any investment, because selling big amounts pushes the price down. But the dynamic is more extreme when the asset at hand just does not trade that frequently. Trumps holdings in the coin are now nominally worth more like $3 billion, as the price of one $TRUMP has dropped below $15. This inadequate presentation of crypto value is a common theme, as the crypto journalist Molly White has detailed. Some coins that barely trade at all have nominal values of many millions of dollars, because establishing a market capitalization for a niche piece of crypto, hoping that itll go to the moon, is hilariously easy. Advertisement Advertisement For example, Slate could create 1 million SlateCoins, and I, a Slate contributor, could buy one for $10. Slates holding of SlateCoins would suddenly have a market capitalization of $10 milliona tremendous but totally fake windfall for our organization. I am exaggerating about how easy it would be, but only a little bit. The collapse of Sam Bankman-Frieds FTX stemmed from a calculation quite like this made-up one. Advertisement You will get enough whiplash from learning that all the Bitcoin in the world is now worth almost $2 trillion, a figure that is more or less accurate, because lots of people are always (for now, anyway) happy to buy Bitcoin. No need to add to your bewilderment by paying too much attention to fugazis. Advertisement Serious: Big Companies There is a company that has long gone by the name MicroStrategy. It opened up shop in 1989, and its Wikipedia page still notes that it is an American development company that provides business intelligence (BI), mobile software, and cloud-based services. None of that is why anyone talks about MicroStrategy now, though. In 2020 the business decided to start buying a big pile of Bitcoins. It has spent about $29 billion on Bitcoin, and its big ol Bitcoin pile is currently worth about $45 billion. It isnt quite right to say that buying Bitcoin is the only thing MicroStrategy does these daysits software business turned an $82 million profit in the third quarter of 2024but I dont think most people really care about MicroStrategys software business. That venture shows up only when you scroll way down the page on the companys earnings reports. Advertisement Advertisement MicroStrategy owns Bitcoin now. That is what it does. And for owning $45 billion of Bitcoin, the company has a market capitalization of about $90 billion. It helps to be good at marketing and have a charismatic CEO named Michael Saylor who can get people so excited about crypto that theyll pay roughly twice the value of a companys crypto holdings (which are pretty much all its holdings) to own the companys stock. Maybe you do not have the appetite to buy the stock of a company whose business plan is We buy Bitcoin. But you may very well own that stock anyway. MicroStrategy is now 0.1 percent of Vanguards big exchange-traded fund that tracks the total stock market. Coinbase and Robinhood Markets, two companies whose businesses hinge on the trading of crypto, are another 0.14 percent. BlackRock, the asset manager that offers a fund that tracks the price of Bitcoin in stock form, is 0.24 percent. Advertisement Advertisement These are not huge numbers, but you can take your own guess about whether they will go up or down. You did not plan to stake your 401(k) on artificial intelligence, but now Nvidia alone is more than 5 percent of your portfolio if you own only funds that track the market. Your retirement will have something to do with the performance of crypto even if you own all the nations big companies, not crypto. Advertisement Advertisement Oh. MicroStrategy just changed its name to Strategy and made its logo look like the Bitcoin logo. Unserious: Decentralization The defining value proposition for crypto as a serious currency, from its early days, was that nobody was in charge. It was a truly decentral medium, one beyond the reach of bad actors, be they meddling regulators, authoritarian governments, or an abusive spouse who controls the family bank account. Advertisement For a while, this was a reasonable point. People had highly personal solutions to hold their Bitcoin. Some kept them in cold storage, on computers or drives disconnected from the internet. Some printed out private keys to access their Bitcoin and stored the paper somewhere safe. (Risky! Dont lose that paper!) Crypto went from person to person on a blockchain 6 rather than through the banking system, and there was nothing resembling a central repository for regular people to put all their Bitcoin. Its decentralized, so theres no country or company that controls it, Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase and the industrys most aggressive spokesperson for crypto, told the Hoover Institution in 2024. Its a little bit like gold in that sense. Theres no central authority. Not exactly. Blockchains are inherently decentralized, but the way regular people use crypto is now extremely centralized. They keep it on exchanges like Coinbase 7 , which has myriad powers over its users and their crypto. Coinbase decides which tokens are listed for sale on its platform, playing a bit of God over which ones get public exposure. Coinbase lives by the same money-laundering and know-your-customer laws that an actual bank does. Coinbase is the custodian of its customers holdings, giving it the ability to freeze funds when it believes it has a legal reason (or, in theory, whenever). Advertisement Advertisement Crypto purists have argued these points for years. Not your keys, not your coins, they like to say. But these people have lost the war. The functional user experience of crypto is now as centralized as anything in finance. And if you dont like or trust major crypto exchanges but still want to hold some Bitcoin, good news! You can effectively buy it via an exchange-traded fund offered by BlackRock, the worlds largest asset manager, with more than $11 trillion under management. You can entertain crypto as part of the world financial system, or you can maintain the pretense that crypto is the countercultural beacon of freedom that its earliest boosters claimed it would be. You cannot do both, but you may be able to buy a lot of TV commercials for a politician who will help you keep up the act. This work is made possible by Slate Plus. Please consider supporting our coverage of the second Trump administrationwe wont even make you pay in $bwainwuhm. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250327/putin-says-temporary-governance-in-ukraine-could-be-discussed-under-auspices-of-un-1121702606.html Putin Says Temporary Governance in Ukraine Could Be Discussed Under Auspices of UN Putin Says Temporary Governance in Ukraine Could Be Discussed Under Auspices of UN Sputnik International The possibility of introducing temporary governance in Ukraine could be discussed under the auspices of the United Nations together with the United States, European countries and Russian partners, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. 2025-03-27T20:41+0000 2025-03-27T20:41+0000 2025-03-28T03:41+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine russia ukraine europe peace process volodymyr zelensky murmansk https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/03/1c/1121702444_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_e2b7197a2822e1ee922ea0986c0bc21d.jpg The introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine would allow democratic elections to be held in the country, Putin added."And for what? To hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the people's trust. And then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty, sign legitimate documents that will be recognized throughout the world and will be reliable and stable. This is only one option, I am not saying that there are no others," the president noted.Russian President made other statements regarding foreign policy and the conflict in Ukraine while talking to sailors of the nuclear-powered submarine cruiser Arkhangelsk.Russia has a strategic initiative along the entire front line, the President stressed. Russia controls 99% of the territory of the Lugansk People's Republic and more than 70% of the territory of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, Putin noted.Russia is ready to cooperate with all countries that want to eliminate the causes of the Ukrainian conflict for a peaceful settlement. Moscow is ready to collaborate with Europe on Ukraine, but the EU behaves inconsistently and constantly tries to "lead Russia by the nose," he added. Russia will no longer make mistakes based on excessive trust in its so-called partners, Putin stressed. The Russian President mentioned the BRICS countries and the DPRK among the partners Russia is ready to work with for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250327/eu-leaders-fear-peace-in-ukraine-french-army-veteran-1121702072.html russia ukraine murmansk Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International vladimir putin, temporary governance, zelensky legitimacy, elections in ukraine, ukraine peace process https://sputnikglobe.com/20250327/putins-proposal-is-a-trap-for-the-europeans--larry-johnson-1121702966.html Putin's Proposal Is a Trap for the Europeans Larry Johnson Putin's Proposal Is a Trap for the Europeans Larry Johnson Sputnik International Britain and France will be pressured by the US to support Russia's proposal for interim rule in Ukraine at the UN, the retired CIA intelligence officer and State Department official told Sputnik. 2025-03-27T23:19+0000 2025-03-27T23:19+0000 2025-03-28T03:50+0000 analysis larry johnson russia us-russia relations europe ukraine https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/03/1c/1121702809_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_c641e99dc6742a6502c89b085af5dae4.jpg Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier said that the possibility of introducing temporary governance in Ukraine could be discussed under the auspices of the United Nations together with the United States, European countries and Russian partners."The possibility of introducing temporary governance in Ukraine under the auspices of the UN could be discussed with the United States and even with European countries, of course, with our partners and friends," Putin said.The introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine would allow democratic elections to be held in the country, Putin added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250327/putin-says-temporary-governance-in-ukraine-could-be-discussed-under-auspices-of-un-1121702606.html russia ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Putin's proposal is a trap for the Europeans - Larry Johnson Sputnik International Putin's proposal is a trap for the Europeans - Larry Johnson 2025-03-27T23:19+0000 true PT1M26S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International larry johnson, ukraine peace process, is zelensky legitimate president, why zelensky is dictator, future elections in ukraine https://sputnikglobe.com/20250328/disintegration-of-syria-would-only-benefit-israel---iranian-foreign-minister-1121704339.html Disintegration of Syria Would Only Benefit Israel - Iranian Foreign Minister Disintegration of Syria Would Only Benefit Israel - Iranian Foreign Minister Sputnik International "The entire Middle East is our strategic field, and each country in it has its significance. Regarding the recent events in Syria, our main concern is the stability of the Syrian state, the preservation of its unity, and territorial integrity. 2025-03-28T10:19+0000 2025-03-28T10:19+0000 2025-03-28T10:19+0000 world middle east iran-israel row syria israel iran bashar al-assad abbas araghchi benjamin netanyahu syria conflict https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/0c/0a/1121139910_0:161:3070:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_3ec1f5f23e46231269f9a8f12d076e9c.jpg "The entire Middle East is our strategic field, and each country in it has its significance. Regarding the recent events in Syria, our main concern is the stability of the Syrian state, the preservation of its unity, and territorial integrity. This is of crucial importance, not only for us but for the entire Middle East," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. On the same day, Israeli forces took control of the Syrian side of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the 1974 separation agreement void after Syrian troops withdrew, and Israel began airstrikes on Syrian military sites. He also insisted on maintaining control over southern Syria and demanded full demilitarization of the region. syria israel iran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International syria turmoil, syria collapse, syria political crisis, mideast politics, middle eastern politics, iran-israel row https://sputnikglobe.com/20250328/european-sanctions-on-russia-likely-key-factor-in-any-final-ukraine-peace-deal---rubio-1121706964.html European Sanctions on Russia Likely Key Factor in Any Final Ukraine Peace Deal - Rubio European Sanctions on Russia Likely Key Factor in Any Final Ukraine Peace Deal - Rubio Sputnik International European sanctions against Russia will likely have to be taken into account as part of any final peace deal on Ukraine, US State Secretary Marco Rubio said in a readout of press remarks published by the Department of State on Friday. 2025-03-28T18:29+0000 2025-03-28T18:29+0000 2025-03-28T18:29+0000 world marco rubio donald trump saudi arabia russia ukraine us state department sanction sanctions https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/09/07/1100514036_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_56183273b0824a0a74e30544b9a05417.jpg Asked about how long he anticipated the negotiations to continue, Rubio responded, "I just can't put a timeframe on it because it doesn't depend on us." The talks are still at the "technical" level, and the US needs to process the outcomes of the meetings in Saudi Arabia before making any decisions on possibly upgrading to a higher-level negotiation, Rubio said. Saudi Arabia hosted meetings between US negotiators with a Russian delegation on Monday and with a Ukrainian delegation on Sunday and Tuesday. On March 25, the Kremlin published a statement on the results of the meeting of the Russian and US delegations. The statement said that both sides had agreed to ensure the implementation of the Black Sea initiative in line with the agreement reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, including by providing security of navigation in the Black Sea, preventing the use of force against commercial vessels and ensuring that commercial vessels are not used for military purposes. The agreement will take effect once several conditions are met, specifically once sanctions are lifted on the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank). https://sputnikglobe.com/20250114/did-anti-russian-sanctions-become-bidens-poison-chalice-for-trump-1121429139.html saudi arabia russia ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia, us, ukrianian conflict, ukrainian crisis, war in ukraine, sanctions, sanctions against russia https://sputnikglobe.com/20250328/himars-attack-on-sudzha-gas-station-reveals-ukraines-continued-assault-on-russian-infrastructure-1121704697.html Ukraines HIMARS Attack on Sudzha Gas Station Reveals Continued Assault on Russian Infrastructure Ukraines HIMARS Attack on Sudzha Gas Station Reveals Continued Assault on Russian Infrastructure Sputnik International The Ukrainian regime effectively destroyed the Sudzha gas measurement station with a HIMARS strike, the Ministry of Defense reported. 2025-03-28T11:07+0000 2025-03-28T11:07+0000 2025-03-28T11:19+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine volodymyr zelensky russia ukraine ministry of defense high mobility artillery rocket system (himars) russian ministry of defense https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/03/1c/1121704540_0:3:1254:708_1920x0_80_0_0_35e5a5a834b8f5df653d408989663183.jpg "On March 28th, around 10:20, the Ukrainian regime carried out a double strike using, according to preliminary information, HIMARS MLRS rockets on the Sudzha gas measurement station. As a result, a large fire broke out, and the energy facility was virtually destroyed," the ministry specified.The ministry noted that over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces continued to attack Russian energy infrastructure. Strikes were carried out using drones of various types, as well as the HIMARS multiple rocket launch system.The ongoing attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, including the Sudzha gas measurement station, confirm that the Ukrainian regime's commitments to allegedly cease attacks on Russian civilian energy infrastructure are yet another trick by Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated on Friday. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250328/ukraines-mps-back-putins-proposal-to-put-ukraine-under-temporary-international-administration--1121703527.html russia ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Ukraine strikes Sudzha gas measuring station with HIMARS Sputnik International Ukraine strikes Sudzha gas measuring station with HIMARS 2025-03-28T11:07+0000 true PT0M35S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russian special military operation in ukraine, kursk region, sudzha gas measuring station, ukraine crisis , ukraine conflict, war in ukraine https://sputnikglobe.com/20250328/un-led-ukraine-which-countries-have-experienced-international-rule-1121705338.html UN-Led Ukraine: Which Countries Have Experienced International Rule? UN-Led Ukraine: Which Countries Have Experienced International Rule? Sputnik International Vladimir Putin stressed that a temporary administration in Ukraine with the supervision from the UN could be discussed "with the United States, with European countries, and of course with our partners and friends". 2025-03-28T13:01+0000 2025-03-28T13:01+0000 2025-03-29T08:26+0000 world vladimir putin ukraine the united nations (un) government mission kosovo liberia https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/03/1c/1121705617_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_dae5a6baf4bb96d80f538f40cb6838d7.jpg Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested an interim international government for Ukraine under UN auspices, recalling that "such practice does exist". Where exactly?Western Sahara (1991present): This disputed territory, claimed by Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, remains under UN administration to help facilitate the self-determination process.The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (1999present): The UN Organization Stabilization Mission aims to help bring peace to the DRC during and after the 1998-2003 Second Congo WarA Look Back Parts of former Yugoslavia: After the breakup of the country, Bosnia and Herzegovina had international governance from 1995 till 2002 with a UN-led mission, while Kosovo was under direct UN administration from 1999 to 2008 as a part of the post-war settlement.East Timor: The UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was formed in 1999 in response to the violence after the independence referendum. The UNTAET mission ended in 2002.Papua New Guinea: It was under international governance under UN auspices as part of the UN Trusteeship System from 1949 to 1975 to promote the countrys transition to self-government or independence.Sierra Leone: The UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was deployed in 1999 to help stabilize the country after a brutal civil war. The mission came to a close in 2005.Liberia: The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was in place between 2003 and 2016 to govern and stabilize the country, hit by two brutal civil wars. ukraine kosovo liberia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Oleg Burunov https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg Oleg Burunov https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Oleg Burunov https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg possible temporary administration in ukraine, interim international government for ukraine under un auspices, division of the island https://sputnikglobe.com/20250328/us-sponsored-white-helmets-al-qaeda-offshoot-loses-usaid-funding--1121706472.html US-Sponsored White Helmets: Al-Qaeda* Offshoot Loses USAID Funding US-Sponsored White Helmets: Al-Qaeda* Offshoot Loses USAID Funding Sputnik International The Trump administration has halted the flow of millions of US tax dollars to the White Helmets, a controversial Syrian group. What did they do and who benefitted? 2025-03-28T16:21+0000 2025-03-28T16:21+0000 2025-03-28T18:31+0000 world middle east donald trump vanessa beeley syria russia white helmets al-qaeda united kingdom (uk) usaid https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104842/13/1048421375_0:5:1245:705_1920x0_80_0_0_5d809ccb54307c0bf42f99ba0f3e2927.jpg The group staged false flag chemical attacks to provoke the West's retaliation against then Syrian government. At least 40 White Helmets members admitted to staging attacks in the country, according to Russia's Foundation for the Study of Democracy. In 2016, the White Helmets used five-year-old Omran as a propaganda tool during the Syrian Army's siege of Aleppo. A viral photo of him covered in dust and blood aimed to smear Damascus and its Russian allies. In 2017, his father revealed it was staged. White Helmets filmed a false flag attack in rebel-controlled Douma in April 2018. Russian media verified testimony from multiple eyewitnesses saying the attack was staged. However, the Western coalition used it as a pretext for strikes on Syria. Witness testimonies claim White Helmet members were not humanitarian volunteers but armed militants who recruited others and threatened them with death if they disobeyed. As the Syrian Army advanced in July 2018, around 429 White Helmets were hastily evacuated through Israel to Western countries, according to Syria's then-Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari.Who Founded the White Helmets, and How Was It Linked to Al-Qaeda*? The White Helmets (Syrian Civil Defense) were founded in 2013 amid the Syrian civil war. James Le Mesurier, a former British Army officer and intelligence operative with ties to terrorist organizations, established the group and funded it through Mayday Rescue. Posing as a rescue organization in jihadist-controlled areas, the White Helmets were soon exposed as a front for al-Qaeda by independent researchers Vanessa Beeley (UK) and Eva Bartlett (Canada), as well as eyewitnesses and verified photo and video evidence. Speaking to the Russian press in 2019, then-President Bashar al-Assad stressed there is enough evidence to identify former and current al-Qaeda members in the White Helmets ranks. How Much Funding Did They Receive and From Whom? In 2019, Le Mesurier died under suspicious circumstances in Istanbul after being exposed for fraud. By then, around $129 million in taxpayer money from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and other nations had been funneled to the White Helmets via Mayday Rescue alone. As of 2018, the US had contributed about one-third of the group's total funding, according to the Atlantic Council, providing around $33 million between 2013 and 2018. The UK reportedly funneled $50 million to the White Helmets during the same period, while the Netherlands contributed $13.4 million. Funding dropped to $12 million in 2018 amid Mayday fraud allegations. Despite this, CNN calls USAID the White Helmets largest donor for nearly a decade. The Trump administration recently terminated a $30 million USAID contract for the group.*terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries https://sputnikglobe.com/20210510/how-white-helmets-cashbox-mayday-profited-off-syrian-regime-change-op-at-expense-of-eu-taxpayers-1082847172.html syria russia united kingdom (uk) Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Ekaterina Blinova Ekaterina Blinova News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Ekaterina Blinova donald trump, usaid, the white helmets, al-qaeda, syrian terrorists, syrian civil defense, james le mesurier, mi6, british intelligence services, usaid, usaid funded terrorist-linked syrian organization Born A Spy and driver Scott Knight made a first-over charge to capture the $10,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Handicap Pace at Fraser Downs on Thursday, March 27. Off of the gate, even money favourite Born A Spy and Outlaw Spiced Rum (Rod Therres) battled for early command, but Outlaw Spiced Rum secured the top spot, setting a :27.1 opening quarter. In High Cotton (Kelly Hoerdt) then swept to the lead, with Born A Spy settling into third as the field reached the half in :56.4. As they entered the backstretch, Born A Spy tipped to the outside, with Ima Beach Diva (Philip Giesbrecht) picking up the cover. The field hit three-quarters in 1:25.4 and Born A Spy surged forward, taking command around the final turn. With a determined stretch drive, she held off In High Cotton to win by half a length in 1:55.1 over the good track. Ima Beach Diva rounded out the top three. This marked the fourth consecutive win for Born A Spy, who has been in excellent form. The four-year-old Smart SharkHF Agent Ninetynine mare is trained by Rebecca Kanak for Trevor Williams of Landmark, Man., and Harness The Energy Inc of Water Valley, Alta. The victory was her 12th career win, pushing her seasonal earnings to $19,930 and her lifetime bankroll to $66,793. To view Thursday's harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Fraser Downs. (Standardbred Canada) What makes a good neighbor? Most people would probably say theyre considerate, helpful and generally make the area a better place to live. The Longview City Council recently voted to allow cryptocurrency mining and data centers in the city on a case-by-case basis. We think embracing such operations is a bad move for the city. When it comes to the quality of a good neighbor, crypto miners are particularly lacking. Southwest Washington business leaders have already told The Daily News that the excessive power needed and few people employed at data centers make them less than ideal. Ted Sprague, president of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council said the organization is not interested in them. Like data centers, crypto mines also employ few people and suck up excessive power. While city government is often dry, it does offer opportunities to dream. Like Councilmember MaryAlice Wallis said: What do we want to be when we grow up? Setting zoning and business policy can create that vision. This is ultimately a question of where the city sets its priorities. Does Longview want to be the place where crypto mines and data centers end up? Or do we want to hold out for businesses that will create jobs and contribute to the community? Prior research This isnt the first time the issue of crypto mining in Longview has been discussed at length. The Longview Planning Commission has been suggesting the ban of crypto mining since at least 2023. Planning Commission member Craig Collins described his reasons for making the recommendation at the time as: They take up a lot of land, obviously use a lot of power, and dont provide a lot of payroll. We think those conclusions are sound. The planning commission has also spent hours holding public hearings and taking public comment on whether crypto mining facilities should be in the city, and they recommended to ban them. Longview City Councils March 13 discussion seemingly ignored the planning commissions research, essentially starting the conversation at square one, and ignoring the commissions expertise. Effects on the community At the March 13 meeting, Councilmember Keith Young mentioned that the land involved in what was previously proposed to be a crypto mine at Mint Farm Industrial Park is still sitting dormant. Its understandable why councilmembers would be eager to have that parcel of land leased, rather than let it sit vacant. But wed ask that they first consider the effect it will have on other nearby businesses, and the city overall. This is not unlike the situation faced by Kelsos Three Rivers Crossing, formally the Three Rivers Mall. The new owners have asked vendors with limited hours to leave in order to ensure mores businesses are available when customers visit. Taking any tenant to rent space, isnt always the best policy. There are some worrying points about hosting a crypto mining operation that will pose problems for its neighbors and the larger community, which we feel should be reason not to allow such an operation. First is the noise, an issue Councilmember Angie Wean also mentioned from her personal experiences. Industry publication Bitcoin Magazine reports crypto operations create up to 90 decibels of sound. According to Yale Environmental Health and Safety, that level is enough to cause hearing loss with sustained exposure. A constant ambient noise on that level means anyone else operating nearby would be affected, possibly discouraging further development in the area. Were also concerned about the effect it could have on power bills. The model used by many cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, requires computers to solve progressively more complex math equations to earn a token on the blockchain. As the equations get longer and more complex, the demand for computing power, and therefore electricity, increases. This could create an ever-increasing pressure this will put on our power grid, driving up market prices for electricity. Not only will this cost families more, it could have a negative effect on our existing industries. It wouldnt be the first time power costs have been a problem for local industry; a massive power crunch was one of the key factors in the demise of the Reynolds Metals plant. Not an anti-business move We also understand the impulse to try and avoid being painted with an anti-business brush by turning down certain kinds of industries. However, we think not all businesses are equal. Policy which allows businesses which are not good neighbors isnt anti-business, it protects our established businesses and quality of life. We also encourage moving away from a case-by-case basis on crypto mining. It may seem more permissive, but injects uncertainty into the future of business in Longview, and businesses thrive on consistency and certainty. We hope for a definite ruling instead, ensuring current businesses they wont ever have to try and coexist with a massive crypto miner next door. The desire to try and find a midway point is reasonable, but were not sure its possible. The issues with crypto operations questionable tax revenue, virtually no jobs generated and a high consumption of resources that will likely drive up costs for the rest of the city are core elements of the industry. In the end, the question needs to be asked: is this an industry we want in Longview? We think the answer is no. Adding a single job to the city isnt worth the cost the rest of us will pay in our increased utilities and the negative effects it will have on the area in which it operates. 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 An estimated 240 million calls are made to 911 in the U.S. each year, with wireless devices accounting for 80% or more of these calls. Making sure emergency calls connect and stay connected to 911 dispatchers is essential and could have life-threatening consequences. MSU researchers found that in certain situations, 90% of emergency wireless calls failed to connect to 911 within 120 seconds but have developed an app to correct this. Guan-Hua "Scott" Tu, an associate professor in the College of Engineering, and his team observed that despite sufficient wireless signal coverage, users may still experience prolonged emergency call setup times, call initiation failures, or call drops. "The systems and networks that support cellular emergency services are a double-edged sword," said Tu. "While they allow for widespread access, they are numerous and complex in their interactions, leaving cellular emergency services prone to errors." Regulatory authorities like the Federal Communications Commission or FCC in the U.S. and standard organizations such as Third Generation Partnership Project or 3GPP have specifications to enhance the availability and effectiveness of these cellular emergency services. The FCC requires carriers to transmit all 911 calls to a Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP such as a 911 call center, regardless of whether the caller subscribes to them or not. 3GPP allows wireless callers to access emergency services across cellular and Wi-Fi networks. The researchers discovered that in locations with weak cellular signals but strong Wi-Fi signals, the problematic network selection can prevent 90% of emergency calls from reaching PSAPs within 2 minutes, compared to just 5.85 seconds for non-emergency calls in the same locations. "These locations are more common in indoor environments," said Yiwen Hu, a Ph.D. candidate working with Tu. "Additionally, emergency call failures and drops occur when the user is moving, even with sufficient wireless coverage, due to restrictions in emergency services." To identify potential design defects that lead to failures or delays in emergency services, Tu and Hu along with Li Xiao and University Foundation Professor Jiliang Tang collaborated with researchers from Purdue University and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan to develop the M911-Verifier, an emergency-specific model-checking tool. Tu's team also developed Emerg-Call-Dialer which is a free app that phone users can download. It helps address issues with cellular and Wi-Fi networks and prevents unnecessary long emergency call setup times. "In our study, most emergency-specific designs function properly," Tu said. "Our goal is not to criticize emergency service designs but to push for improvements that make them more reliable." The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the 30th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking in the Association for Computing Machinery's digital library as part of MobiCom 2024. More information: Yiwen Hu et al, Uncovering Problematic Designs Hindering Ubiquitous Cellular Emergency Services Access, Proceedings of the 30th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking (2024). DOI: 10.1145/3636534.3690704 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: Data collection workflow. Credit: Nature Machine Intelligence (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42256-024-00964-x Anyone who develops an AI solution sometimes goes on a journey into the unknown. At least at the beginning, researchers and designers do not always know whether their algorithms and AI models will work as expected or whether the AI will ultimately make mistakes. Sometimes, AI applications that work well in theory perform poorly under real-life conditions. In order to gain the trust of users, however, an AI should work reliably and correctly. This applies just as much to popular chatbots as it does to AI tools in research. Any new AI tool has to be tested thoroughly before it is deployed in the real world. However, testing in the real world can be an expensive, or even risky endeavor. For this reason, researchers often test their algorithms in computer simulations of reality. However, since simulations are approximations of reality, testing AI solutions in this way can lead researchers to overestimate an AI's performance. Writing in Nature Machine Intelligence, ETH mathematician Juan Gamella presents a new approach that researchers can use to check how reliably and correctly their algorithms and AI models work. An AI model is based on certain assumptions and is trained to learn from data and perform given tasks intelligently. An algorithm comprises the mathematical rules that the AI model follows to process a task. Credit: ETH Zurich Testing AI instead of overestimating Gamella has built special miniature laboratories ("mini-labs") that can be used as test beds for new AI algorithms. "The mini-labs provide a flexible test environment that delivers real measurement data. They're a bit like a playground for algorithms, where researchers can test their AI beyond simulated data in a controlled and safe environment," says Gamella. The mini-labs are built around well-understood physics, so that researchers can use this knowledge to check whether their algorithms arrive at the correct solution for a variety of problems. If an AI fails the test, researchers can make targeted improvements to the underlying mathematical assumptions and algorithms early on in the development process. Gamella's first mini-labs are based on two physical systems that exhibit essential properties that many AI tools have to deal with under real-world conditions. How the mini-labs are used depends on the issue being examined and what the algorithm is intended to do. For example, his first mini-lab contains a dynamic system such as wind that is constantly changing and reacting to external influences. It can be used to test AI tools for control problems. His second mini-lab, which obeys well-understood laws of physics for light, can be used to test an AI that aims to automatically learn such laws from data and thus assists scientists in making new discoveries. The mini-labs are tangible devices, about the size of a desktop computer, that can be operated by remote control. They are reminiscent of the historical demonstration experiments conducted by researchers from the 16th century onwards to present, discuss and improve their theories and findings in scientific societies. Gamella compares the role of the mini-labs in the design of AI algorithms to that of a wind tunnel in aircraft construction: when a new aircraft is being developed, most of the design work is initially carried out using computer simulations because it is more efficient and cost-effective. Once the engineers have agreed on their designs, they build miniature models and test them in a wind tunnel. Only then do they build a full-sized aircraft and test it on real flights. Examples of data produced by the chambers. Credit: Nature Machine Intelligence (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42256-024-00964-x An intermediate step between simulation and reality "Like the wind tunnel for aircraft, the mini-labs serve as a sanity check to make sure everything works early on as we move from simulation to reality," says Gamella. He views testing AI algorithms in a controlled environment as a crucial, intermediate step to ensure an AI works in complex real-world scenarios. The mini-labs provide this for certain types of AI, particularly those designed to directly interact with the physical world. The mini-labs help researchers study the problem of the transition from simulation to reality by providing a test bed where they can carry out as many experiments as they need. This transitional problem is also relevant at the intersection between robotics and AI, where AI algorithms are often trained to solve tasks in a simulated environment first, and only then in the real world. This increases the reliability. Gamella himself started out with a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics before pursuing a Master's Degree in Robotics at ETH. As a doctoral student, he returned to mathematics and AI research. He has kept his flair for physics and technology. "I want to develop tools that help scientists solve research questions." The application for his mini-labs is not limited to engineering. Together with a colleague from the Charite University Hospital in Berlin, he attempted to design a mini-lab to test AI algorithms in cell biology and synthetic biology. However, the costs were too high. By contrast, his second mini-lab, a light tunnel, is already being used as a test environment in industrial productionfor an optical problem. The mini-labs have also helped to test various new methods for how large language models (LLMs) can make external pagemore accurate predictions in the real world. Causal AIthe silver bullet for correct AI Gamella has adopted the silver bullet approach to proving the suitability of his mini-labsand ultimately demonstrates that they are useful even for questions of causal AI. Causality research and causal AI are a key area of statistics and theoretical computer science that is fundamental to AI models: for AI models to function reliably and correctly, they should understand causal relationships. However, AI models often do not reflect the causal relationships of the world, but instead make predictions based on statistical correlations. Scientifically speaking, causality is a fundamental concept that describes the relationships between cause and effect. Causal AI refers to AI models that recognize cause-and-effect relationships. The results of causal AI are more precise and transparent. That is why causal AI is important for fields such as medicine, economics and climate research. New statistical methods are needed to develop causal AI, since causal relationships are sometimes influenced by special circumstances and coincidences. In addition, they cannot be easily separated from one another in complex contexts. Gamella has worked on research in partnership with ETH mathematics professors Peter Buhlmann and Jonas Peters. Both have developed important approaches for identifying causal relationships under changing conditions and distinguishing them from confounding influences or random noise. "However, these methods are generally difficult to test in the real world," says Gamella. "To do so, we need data from systems where the cause-effect relationships are already known to check whether our algorithms can accurately learn them. This data is difficult to find." For the publication, the three ETH researchers therefore tested causal AI algorithms in the mini-labs built by Gamella. He himself also refers to his mini-labs as "causal chambers". First, they tested whether the algorithms learned the correct causal model for each mini-lab, i.e. for wind and light. They also observed how well the algorithms identified which factors influence each other and how they perform under unusual conditions or when sudden changes occur. Peter Buhlmann, Gamella's doctoral supervisor, is full of praise, saying, "The causal chambers are a valuable addition to causality research. New algorithms can be validated in an unprecedented way." Gamella is pleased by the unexpected benefits the causal chambers provide for teaching. "Since the mini-labs provide a safe playground for algorithms, they are also a great playground for students," he says. Lecturers in AI, statistics and other engineering fields can use them to allow their students to directly apply what they have learned in a practical environment. Lecturers from around the world have already expressed their interest, and Gamella is now setting up pilot studies at ETH Zurich and the University of Liege. More information: Juan L. Gamella et al, Causal chambers as a real-world physical testbed for AI methodology, Nature Machine Intelligence (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42256-024-00964-x Journal information: Nature Machine Intelligence Flash Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic in Beijing, capital of China, March 27, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] China is willing to work with the EU to strengthen dialogue and exchange, handle economic and trade differences in the proper manner, expand mutual openness, and promote the healthy, stable development of China-EU economic and trade relations, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said on Thursday. He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the EU, He said that China stands ready to work with the EU to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two sides, resist unilateralism and protectionism, and safeguard the multilateral trading system. Sefcovic noted that China is an important partner of the EU, expressed a willingness to use the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties as an opportunity to deepen China-EU economic and trade cooperation, and agreed that differences should be resolved through dialogue and consultation. Flash Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Beijing, capital of China, March 27, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday in Beijing. In the current international situation, China and France -- as independent, mature and responsible major countries -- should strengthen communication and coordination to inject more stability and certainty into the common development of the two countries and the world, Li said. He said China is willing to work with France to follow the strategic guidance of their two heads of state, maintain close high-level exchanges, expand mutually-beneficial cooperation, and strengthen multilateral coordination on issues including climate change response to bring more benefits to the two peoples and the world. Li noted that as staunch defenders of free trade and multilateralism, China and France, with closely intertwined economic interests, should work together to resist protectionism and unilateralism, continue strengthening cooperation with an open attitude, and give full play to their complementary advantages to add impetus to the economic development of the two countries continuously. China has always regarded France as an important cooperation partner and stands ready to work with the country. While strengthening long-standing cooperation on aviation, aerospace and nuclear energy, they should continuously tap into cooperation potential in emerging and future industries such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence and biotechnology to foster and strengthen new economic drivers, Li said. China hopes that France will create a fair, equitable and predictable development environment for Chinese enterprises investing in the country, he added. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the EU. China is ready to use this as an opportunity to deepen bilateral relations, and address concerns through dialogue and consultation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits, Li said, expressing the hope that France will play a positive role in this regard. Barrot said that in the face of increasing uncertainties in today's world, France and China -- as permanent members of the UN Security Council -- should shoulder their important, joint responsibility of safeguarding multilateralism. France attaches great importance to its relations with China and is willing to work with China to actively implement the important consensus reached by their two heads of state, expand mutually beneficial cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, science and technology, and to tackle climate change and other global challenges, Barrot said. France always adheres to strategic independence, and opposes trade protectionism and trade wars. France supports the EU and China strengthening dialogue and cooperation in the economic and trade fields, addressing the concerns of both sides in a proper manner, and exploring more positive agendas, he said. Flash Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Beijing, capital of China, March 27, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Beijing on Thursday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China is willing to work with France to follow the guidance of the consensus reached by the two heads of state, enhance dialogue across all domains and levels, transcend differences and deepen cooperation. He said that in the current international situation, China and France should assume the responsibility of major countries, enhance strategic coordination, and support each other's significant multilateral propositions and initiatives. Noting that China regards France as a priority partner in achieving high-quality development, Wang said China is willing to deepen cooperation with France in traditional sectors, encourage mutual investment, and expand cooperation in emerging fields to inject new momentum into bilateral cooperation. He also called on the two sides to deepen mutual understanding and friendship to solidify the public support foundation. Barrot spoke highly of the pragmatic cooperation achievements between France and China. He said the current international situation is marked by increasing uncertainty and a rise in protectionism, rendering the importance of France-China relations even more prominent. France regards China as an important partner, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is committed to developing a future-oriented and long-term stable relationship with China. France supports free trade, opposes decoupling, and is against trade wars, he added. The two sides also exchanged views on China-EU relations. Noting that the cooperation between China and the EU outweighs competition, and consensus surpasses differences, Wang said there are ample conditions to further enhance the relationship between the two sides. Barrot said that France supports dialogue between the EU and China to solve their trade differences. After the talks, China and France issued a joint statement on climate change. A brigade of Cuban doctors arrives in SVG to support the countrys efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the Cubans who have been resident and working in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for five years get permanent residency. Those who marry Vincentians or were here for seven years or more have citizenship. This was disclosed by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves as he reported on last week Wednesdays meeting with U.S. officials, during which they met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Secretaries, Labour Commissioner, and ministers of Health, Agriculture, and Education. Dr. Gonsalves indicated that U.S. officials expressed surprise upon discovering various aspects concerning the Cubans employed on the island. Among the surprises were: * A Cuban who has a three-year contract, part of the contract is that they get 30 days of holidays, and they can go back to Cuba if they want. * If they go back to Cuba, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) pays for their passage going for their holidays and pay for the return to SVG. * If the Cubans have to go through Trinidad, Barbados or Panama to get to Cuba and have any expenses in between, they keep the bills for which they will be compensated. * SVG has six persons in education who did not come in through the Cuban government, and one of them is also a pastor in a church. * The Cubans who are here with the programme through the government, their money is put into the bank and they have their own bank cards like everybody else. * Cubans who are on government contracts are expected to return to Cuba on completion of those contract. Some of these workers are known to decide they dont want to work anymore with the Cuban government, and opt to return to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Prime Minister assured, in response to what has emanated from the Trump Administration, that "Theres no forced labour. The entry program is voluntary. They were recruited. In fact, we send people to Cuba to make sure that the level of their English is acceptable in the practice of their particular profession. Dr. Gonsalves said that he was assembling all of the fore-mentioned information for dispatch to the Americans but he had impressed upon the U.S. officials that a copy of the definitive agreement between Cuba and SVG cannot be provided due to a confidentiality clause. "As in all agreements between sovereign states and this particular clause, I can only make it available after the expiration of a year after the end of the agreement, or if I ask the Cuban government if they can waive the confidentiality provision, Dr. Gonsalves said. Flash This photo taken on March 24, 2025 shows rubble of buildings damaged by an Israeli shelling in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. [Photo/Xinhua] The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that it killed Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif al-Qanou in an overnight airstrike in northern Gaza. In a statement, the military described al-Qanou as "one of Hamas' key inciters," accusing him of using media platforms for propaganda, psychological terror, and spreading false information about Hamas' activities both within and outside Gaza. Earlier on Thursday, Hamas said al-Qanou was killed in an airstrike on his tent in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Several other individuals were reportedly injured in the strike, according to Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television, citing health officials. Hamas vowed that the killing of its spokesperson would only strengthen its resistance efforts. Al-Qanou died when an Israeli missile struck his tent in Jabalia refugee camp at dawn on Thursday. His death is the latest in a series of high-profile Hamas figures targeted by Israel as part of its ongoing assassination campaign. Israeli airstrikes resumed on March 18 after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which had been in effect since Jan. 19, collapsed. Following the breakdown of the truce, Israeli forces launched ground operations across southern, northern, and central Gaza. The death toll from this latest escalation has exceeded 855, according to Gaza-based health authorities. Daniel Lugay (r), former MP, in conversation with a police officer while being taken into custody. (Credit: DNO) Dr. Thomson Fontaine, the political leader of the main opposition party - United Workers Party (UWP) in Dominica, has expressed his concerns regarding the arrest of former Parliamentary representative for Roseau North, Danny Lugay, as police continue to take suspects into custody in the wake of a protest in capital Roseau, against the governments controversial electoral reform legislation. Dominica News Online (DNO) reported on the arrest on Tuesday and said that police action has already seen the arrest of several individuals, including Hector John, the former MP for Salisbury. John and others were charged with unlawful assembly but John and two others, Bernard Moreau and Johnbaptiste Charles, were released on bail while Samuel Durand was denied bail and remanded at the State prison. "Weve just been informed that Danny Lugay, the former member of parliament for the Roseau North constituency, has been taken into police custody and is currently at the Roseau Police Headquarters, DNO reported Fontaine as saying. "There are several other individuals being targeted by the police, and it seems they have decided to arrest him as part of a broader crackdown. Fontaine, when pressed, indicated that he wouldnt be surprised if he was also on the polices radar and referenced the growing tension between the Roosevelt Skerrit-led Dominica Labour Party government and the opposition. Not holding back on his tirades against the government, Fontaine told the media, "We talked this morning about this march towards a police state and a tyrant in government. It looks like it was closer than I could have imagined. As reported in last weeks issue of THE VINCENTIAN, The protests IN Dominica erupted in response to the electoral reform legislation which was brought to Parliament last week Wednesday, and eventually passed by the government. The protest escalated to a point that police saw it appropriate to fire tear gas and rubber bullets at the protestors who they claim had become violent. The opposition criticized the polices actions, stating, "What we see here is a police force involved in all sorts of human rights abuses that have been documented on video. Fontaine remained resolute, urging his supporters to stay vigilant and to let the matter take its course. He mentioned receiving reports from individuals in the Laplaine area, suggesting that more arrests may be underway. ON Thursday night, when hosted at the Diplomatic Centre, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared an experience that has been preserved by the nations diaspora for 180 years. In images that have since gone viral, Modi was seen eating on the leaves of the sohari (Calathea lutea). In a social media post to Angelo Bissessarsinghs Virtual Museum of Trinidad and Tobago Facebook page, Patricia Bissessar said the serving of food on the leaves of the sohari is a practice rooted in Indo-Trinidadian cultural heritage, particularly among the Hindu community. A PRIVATE contractor is dead after an accident in Tobago. Police have identified the victim as Darryl Figaro of Black Rock, Tobago. He died on Wednesday after falling from a ladder while working at a private villa. An autopsy of Figaros body yesterday at the Scarborough Mortuary determined injuries were consistent with a fall, and it ruled out foul play. The body was previously identified by the victims daughter. Last Tuesday, Gwynne Dyer headlined his Express column Stupid old men. You could substitute all sorts of adjectives before the words, old men, to describe the characteristics of the cohort that has had the most influence on the world we inhabit. Greedy, self-righteous, racist, arrogant, selfish, a multitude of negative words readily suit the clique. At first, angrily thinking about the subject of todays column, I was focusing on Caribbean men in leadership positions who have been sleazy lechers, foisting themselves on hapless females and males with impunity. SINGAPORE, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Ministry of Social and Family Development announced on Friday that eligible working parents will soon be able to share an additional 10 weeks of paid leave under the new Shared Parental Leave scheme, effective April 1. The scheme will be rolled out in two phases. Starting April 1, working parents of Singapore Citizen children born on or after this date will be entitled to six weeks of leave, to be shared between both parents. For children born on or after April 1, 2026, the leave will be extended to 10 weeks. The ministry explained that the phased approach allows employers time to adjust their manpower and operational arrangements. The leave must be consumed within 12 months of the child's birth and only after other leave schemes have been fully utilized. While the leave is usually equally distributed between parents, the scheme allows flexibility for parents to adjust the sharing arrangement based on their family's caregiving needs. With these enhancements, eligible couples will be entitled to 30 weeks of paid parental leave during the child's first year, said the ministry. This initiative highlights the government's commitment to providing stronger caregiving support during the critical infancy stage of a child's life, as well as encouraging shared parental responsibility and enabling fathers to take a more active role in caring for their children, it noted. Folks in dusty jackets and knit caps, backpacks and pets close at hand, stand in line in the lobby or smoke and drink coffee in the courtyard. A few sit at computers or telephones; others use the restrooms. A city shower van is parked in front. Aides provide towels and distribute socks and underwear. A young man, hair still wet, emerges from a stall wearing a clean tracksuit; a middle-aged man in a wheelchair waits his turn. Its an active Thursday morning at the Primavera Foundation Homeless Intervention and Prevention Drop-in Center on South Sixth Avenue. Volunteer Nancy Bissell, 85, steps away from behind the counter to show a visitor around. She has been distributing hygiene products razors, soap, shampoo, tampons, Band-Aids, lip balm. At the counter, another volunteer offers snacks, a third takes requests for assistance or clothing, a fourth retrieves participants mail. In an adjacent office, a staff member counsels a woman. Recipients consistently thank them, often adding a have a good day. Bissell nods toward groups at the courtyard coffee station and tables. Its like a living room for them, she says proudly. Bissell has reason to be proud. Forty-two years ago, she and just one other person Gordon Packard founded this enterprise. From a two-person project to serve food to the poor, the Primavera Foundation has grown to a staff of more than 200. It served north of 8,000 people last year, with volunteers racking up 1,370 shifts. Later, in her Armory Park home, Bissell recounts the history of the foundation. In the 1970s and 80s, she says, homelessness was on the rise. Manufacturing was drying up in the East, and men, particularly, began coming west in search of work. Along with Reagan policies and changes in mental health treatment, Tucson began seeing more homeless people on the streets. It was in response to an admonition by the pastor of their church, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal, that Bissell and Packard acted. Rev. John C. Fowler told us to get off our knees and out into the world, she says. The year 1982 was a time of social activism led by clerics in Tucson, and it was that aspect of Christianity that we were attracted to. They thought they would start with a soup kitchen. But that wouldnt proceed without glitches. Supported by the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, in 1982, Bissell and Packard opened a daily feeding program in a building adjacent to the Armory Park neighborhood. They called it St. Martins Center and staffed it with a couple hundred mostly Episcopalian volunteers. Armory Park, however, didnt welcome the population the center attracted as was borne out in local politics and local and national press: The last thing we want to do, Newsweek quoted Tucson Mayor Lew Murphy as saying, is provide them with amenities. The neighborhood filed a lawsuit against the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona that got up to the Arizona Supreme Court. Primavera lost and St. Martins Center closed after two years. Even though Bissell had to defend Primavera in court, it was, she claims, a great learning experience. They learned how to deal better with neighborhoods and community groups, to build cooperation person by person. Which is what they applied to the next challenge emergency housing. In September 1983, Bissell and Packard incorporated as an independent nonprofit called Primavera and strategized to avoid a repeat of the Armory Park misstep. Finding a parcel on Benson Highway, they reached out to the surrounding businesses. They pointed out that the homeless people would be off the streets if they had a place to sleep, and assured neighbors that participants would be transported in and out of the shelter evenings and mornings. They landed a generous construction grant from Hands Across America and built the Primavera Mens Shelter. Opened in 1986, with a capacity of 110, the Mens Shelter offered showers, beds and meals, and is still in operation. As Bissell wrote in a 2020 booklet, The Daily Banquet: Stories of Nourishment from the Primavera Foundation, volunteers have been integral to the foundations success. A schedule was established whereby teams church groups, families, school or fraternal organizations provided home-cooked dinners every night. The program expanded to breakfasts and sack lunches and would grow to meal teams of over 1,000 people. Once the shelter was established, Primavera addressed employment and housing. They started with several transitional programs and some small housing units. They built a shelter for homeless women, several shelters for families, and even one for grandparents raising their grandchildren. To connect workers with jobs, they set up a program called Primavera Works that included classes in financial literacy and skills essential to re-entering the workforce. Today, under the motto Providing Pathways out of Poverty, the Primavera Foundation provides multiple pathways: the mens shelter and housing for unaccompanied women and families, affordable rental housing, veterans services, homelessness intervention and prevention, workplace development, homeownership and financial empowerment. When she was approached about this profile on her retirement volunteering, Bissell hesitated. The big successes at Primavera came after I retired from a leadership role, she said. But she agreed as long as the focus was on the foundation. Its a great pleasure to return to it anonymously as a volunteer and not be recognized by most folks. Here, she said that Thursday as she handed out shampoo and razors, Im just Nancy. Just Nancy, right without whom the Primavera Foundation wouldnt exist. For more information, visit primavera.org. A masked gunman tried to abduct an employee at Banner University Medical Center early Saturday as she walked across a parking lot, authorities say. The woman told police she was approached about 6 a.m. by a man in a red pickup truck who told her to get into the vehicle, according to a complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court. The woman said she saw a flash inside the truck as she backed away, leading her to believe a gun had been discharged. She heard a second shot while running toward the building, the complaint said. A pickup truck matching the vehicle was later found by police in the area, along with a revolver and ammunition, the court document said. Andy Loya, 42, was arrested on suspicion of attempted kidnapping, aggravated, assault with a deadly weapon and firing a gun in the city, police said. Loya told police he wore a bandana to cover his face and fired the gun to scare the woman. He also told police he had been drinking heavily and had blacked out, the complaint says. He was being held at the Pima County jail on $100,000 bond. Provost finalist William Bernhard noted the University of Arizona is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution and one that serves Native Americans and said the fundamental value and responsibility of serving the diverse population isnt going away. We dont want to panic over this, Bernhard said at an open forum Thursday, when asked how he would handle diversity, equity and inclusion issues now that the Trump administration has ordered universities to end DEI programs or lose federal funding. We dont want to pre-comply, we dont want to over-comply, Bernhard told the nearly 50 in-person attendees and more than 250 watching online. He said this was also the attitude he picked up from UAs provost search committee. We want to understand exactly what it is we need to do to comply, and we have to comply. At the end of the day, if we dont comply, its going to be even worse for the very populations we want to protect. He said university leaders should think about how current conversations around DEI affect students, and make sure students from all backgrounds feel welcome and have communities and support resources. Bernhard, executive vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, as well as interim associate chancellor and vice provost for budget and resource planning there, is the third of four finalists for UA provost and senior vice president for academic affairs to visit campus for in-person interviews. The first two, Eric Barker and Jenna Rickus, are both administrators at Purdue University. The fourth candidates identity has not yet been announced by UA officials. Bernhard told the Arizona Daily Star he is drawn to the provost position here due to UAs history, legacy and significance as a land-grant institution. He said every university has issues and the UAs recent budget deficit, which is expected to be resolved by July 1, is just a part of a bigger picture. At the forum, Bernhard spent about 15 minutes discussing student success. While graduation rates are a headline indicator of student success, he said it is also important to look at students graduating on time, taking full advantage of opportunities the UA offers, having a full range of experiences including getting involved in leadership, studying abroad, and taking on internships and research projects. Further factors emphasized by Bernhard included financial aid and fulfilling the basic needs of students; making the first-year experience great by building communities and cohorts; offering resources such as mental health support; empowering academic advisors to support students and their struggles; and addressing systemic barriers students are struggling with and resolving them. So, theres some systemic, high-level things we can be doing to promote student success. But I think its, again, tremendously important to our fundamental mission and fundamental value, value proposition of higher education, he said. We teach a lot of students, we teach them well, we are committed to that, and how we can continue to improve is so vital to the future, not just of the U of A but of higher education. Asked about cases of law enforcement officials being involved in university situations, Bernhard cited the example of on-campus protests and said university leaders need to talk about the big strategy of how theyll respond. I think there are two aspects of this, he said. One is the pre-conversation and its having clear policies, as clear as possible, about the conditions under which universities would escalate in this way, and clear expectations about follow through having that understanding ahead of time is tremendously important. The second thing is to be as transparent as possible after the fact, Bernhard continued. There are things that cant be shared for a variety of legal and personnel reasons, but (we) got to do the best to go out and explain heres why the decision is made. Here are the processes that we follow. Here are the processes were going to use to evaluate those consequences. The current political climate for universities is difficult and complicated, Bernhard said, without elaborating, but added its important to talk about academic freedom and freedom of speech. We are talking more about some of the challenges around that, what it means for us as a community and how we navigate these issues, Bernhard said, referring to current strategies at his University of Illinois campus. Surfacing those underlying issues will in the long run be tremendously beneficial to the university and its community, he said. He discussed an issue that came up at UIUC a few years ago regarding departmental political statements, where one wing of the universitys Faculty Senate thought they were a violation of academic freedom according to the American Association of University Professors. So, we talked about the importance of having defined processes around the decision, said Bernhard, a political scientist who most recently authored a book on Congress titled Legislative Style. We talked about the importance of, rather than just the department making a statement, maybe having everyone sign on to the statement. Trevor Milton, the founder of Arizona-based electric vehicle start-up Nikola who was sentenced to prison last year, was pardoned by President Donald Trump, the White House confirmed Friday. The pardon of Milton, who was sentenced to four years in prison for exaggerating the potential of his technology, could wipe out hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution that prosecutors were seeking for defrauded investors. Milton and his wife donated more than $1.8 million to a Trump re-election campaign fund less than a month before the November election, according to the Federal Election Commission. At Miltons trial, prosecutors say a company video of a prototype truck appearing to be driven down a desert highway was actually a video of a nonfunctioning Nikola that had been rolled down a hill. Milton had not been incarcerated pending an appeal. Milton said late Thursday on social media that he had been pardoned by Trump. I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for his courage in standing up for what is right and for granting me this sacred pardon of innocence, Milton said. The White House confirmed the pardon Friday, though there was no notice of a pardon on the White House website. Trump wasted little time in using his pardon power since beginning his second term. Hours after taking office, he wiped clean the records of roughly 1,500 people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The next day, Trump announced that he had pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an underground website for selling drugs. Ulbricht had been sentenced to life in prison in 2015 after a high-profile prosecution that highlighted the role of the internet in illegal markets. Nikola, which was a hot start-up and rising star on Wall Street before becoming enmeshed in scandal, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February. Milton, convicted of fraud, was portrayed by prosecutors as a con man six years after he had founded the company in a basement in Utah. Prosecutors said Milton falsely claimed to have built its own revolutionary truck that was actually a General Motors product with Nikolas logo stamped onto it. Called as a government witness, Nikolas CEO testified that Milton was prone to exaggeration when pitching his venture to investors. Milton resigned in 2020 amid reports of fraud that sent Nikolas stock prices into a tailspin. Investors suffered heavy losses as reports questioned Miltons claims that the company had already produced zero-emission 18-wheel trucks. The company paid $125 million in 2021 to settle a civil case against it by the SEC. Nikola didnt admit any wrongdoing. A voicemail left with the U.S. District Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, which prosecuted the case, was not immediately returned. PHOENIX An Arizona bill to create a missing Indigenous or endangered person alert system passed the House with unanimous support and is now in the final stages of review by the Senate before heading to the governor. HB 2281 explicitly focuses on missing Native persons or non-Native endangered individuals and aims to address the growing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples in Arizonas 22 federally recognized tribal nations. It would facilitate an emergency advisory similar to Amber alerts and Silver alerts. For Anthony Sanchez Jr., head councilman of the Pueblo of Zuni Tribal Council, the notification system represents an important step in combating the high rates of missing and murdered tribal persons that have plagued North America for hundreds of years. Pueblo of Zuni tribal lands sit on the border of Arizona and New Mexico. Now were finally being recognized as equals, Sanchez said. It shows power of the community coming back together. Theyre out there, not for themselves, but trying to get these individuals back home. Native communities have long faced obstacles to finding and protecting their populations. The lack of adequate resources, timely responses and jurisdictional challenges have left many families without support in finding their loved ones and feeling safe. Arizona ranks third in the country for the highest number of Indigenous missing person cases, according to 2022 data from the National Institute of Justices National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). The Arizona bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Garcia, D-Tempe and a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, seeks to change that. (The bill) gets us that much closer to making sure that all of Arizonas communities are protected and safe. What were asking with this bill is when someone goes missing, is endangered, were able to send out that alert and hopefully save their life, Garcia said. Garcia pointed to the case of Emily Pike, a San Carlos Apache teen who went missing and whose mutilated remains were found near Globe last month. The state of Pikes remains have led police to suspect foul play. An Amber alert was not sent out for her because there was no indication she had been abducted or was in danger, the primary requirements for activating an Amber alert. Pikes death has resurfaced conversations about the missing and murdered Indigenous people crisis across the country, and Native community members have been protesting and raising awareness for the cause in her name. The response from community members and the awareness around it highlights it in a very real and upsetting way. Indigenous peoples are just tired of having our own gone missing, becoming endangered and being murdered, Garcia said. Conditions would exist for notification qualification, similar to the Amber Alert and Silver Alert procedures. If triggered, authorities would be required to use all available local resources and determine that the person is in danger either at risk to themselves or because they may be in the presence of a potentially dangerous person. Additionally, the individual must be over 18, and information that could assist in finding the person must be available. Tribal members under 18 are covered by the Amber Alert system. The bill also represents non-Native people in potentially dangerous situations if the individual meets the qualification for the emergency alert. The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) would oversee the notifications through the Emergency Alert System to ensure timely public distribution. DPS would also coordinate with similar systems in other states to expand the reach. Arizonas Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Task Force played a part in the formation of the notice system. Gov. Katie Hobbs formed the task force in March 2023. Sen. Theresa Hatathlie, D-Tuba City, who is Navajo and chair of the task force, has seen research of other states advisory systems weaving into Arizonas approach. Every law, especially in this sense, would have some conditions. We just need to see how itll be implemented, Hatathlie said. As an Arizona tribal member, Hatathlie has watched her tribal nation evolve as its crisis grows. When we have a missing person, an Indigenous missing person, its not elevated. Many times these entities brush it aside. They think its because of alcoholism or its because of some addiction, Hatathlie said. No matter what the situation is, loved ones report people missing and that needs to be elevated, it needs to be investigated. According to 2023 FBI data, 10,650 missing American Indian and Alaskan Native people were reported in the United States. The Native alert system concept was first introduced in Washington in 2022, paving the way for other states, including California, Colorado and soon New Mexico, to implement similar measures. With 29 federally recognized tribal nations, Washington is one of the leading contributors to missing Native person cases nationwide, per NamUs data. Chris Loftis, director of communications for the Washington State Patrol, said the states system has sent 148 notifications since its launch, and only 22 people remain missing. Notifications have led to locating people who had been kidnapped, run away or killed. Native people, who make up 6% of Washingtons population, are three times more likely to go missing. Even if the alert doesnt directly lead to resolution, it helps us get the broader story out that Indigenous communities are uniquely vulnerable to crimes against a person. Theyre uniquely vulnerable to being victims of violent crimes and being victims of sexual crimes or sexual trafficking, Loftis said. He said these notifications serve as a tool for recovery and a deterrent. We have one case where the person who had taken someone heard the alert on the radio and had let their victim go because he knew that he was being looked for. It only has to happen once before it makes it all worthwhile, Loftis said. The main differences between Arizonas proposed system and Washingtons are the qualifying conditions and broadcasting method. In Washington, any missing Indigenous person automatically triggers a notification, while Arizonas system would have specific criteria. Because Washingtons system has no restrictions, it isnt sent as a loud emergency notification to cellphones, like Amber or Silver alerts. Arizona would use the cellphone broadcasting system. Washingtons advisories are shared through email subscriptions and social media, which lowers the visibility but doesnt potentially desensitize the public with mass alerts, said Carrie Gordon, program manager and missing person alert coordinator at the Washington State Patrol. Emergency broadcasts are only used if a recovery is imminent. Arizonas system also has an age requirement, making support more limited. Gordon explained how these differences affect the notifications impact. All were doing is posting a poster to social media and sending it out to people whove subscribed to receive it. That is a very limited audience compared to an Amber Alert. But were not able to use the other tools that we would like to be able to use, because there is no other criteria. Carolyn DeFord, anti-trafficking program manager of the domestic violence program for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians in Washington, knows how crucial the implementation of these systems can be for vulnerable communities. DeFord, whose mother went missing in 1999, understands the uncertainty that comes with a missing loved one. Her personal experiences, along with the tragic loss of her cousin to domestic violence, led to her advocacy. She now serves as a co-chair on the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force, where she works with families to address the unique challenges they face. I didnt even realize it was advocacy. It was just empathy, DeFord said. Once that alert is issued, its a reminder. Its reassurance that were doing everything we can, that were getting that message out to as many people as fast as possible. DeFord worries that frequent signals could lead to desensitization in Arizona. While she acknowledges that visibility is crucial in addressing the disparity, she fears the alerts might become another reason for the general public to tune out Indigenous issues. Jimmie Tramel Tulsa World Scene Reporter Follow Jimmie Tramel 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 Arent you that person? Kolbi Jordan of Tulsa is that person, and you can watch her continue on an American Idol journey when Hollywood Week begins with a Monday, March 31 episode of the ABC reality competition. Jordan, a 2016 graduate of Union High School, aced her audition in a season premiere that aired March 9. Judges Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan were so taken with Jordan that they summoned her back for another performance at the end of the episode, and she was awarded a platinum ticket. How has life changed since then? Heres an example: I was at Walmart with my mother and my younger siblings, and we were actually going home to watch Wicked, so we stopped by Walmart to grab some snacks popcorn and cookies and things, Jordan said during a Friday phone interview. And I was standing there. I was on the phone with a friend of mine. And a big group of people, I kind of saw them pointing at me and staring at me. I kind of turned away, but, as they were walking towards the exit, they were like, Are you that girl from American Idol? And I said, Yes, I am. And they all started flipping out and we took pictures and they asked me how my experience was and I just told them to watch and they added my social media. That has happened in several different stores for the last couple weeks. It makes my heart glow. Its very sweet. Jordans platinum ticket (only three are awarded each season) allows her to skip the first week of competition during Hollywood Week, but she will nonetheless be featured in the first Hollywood episode, according to a publicist for the show. Jordan had never been to California before traveling west for Hollywood Week. It was wonderful, she said. All the talent is actually crazy. There are talented people everywhere, and of course we get to hear each other alongside three icons, and then we get to meet Jelly Roll (the shows first artist in residence). I mean, its just awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. The only negative: Jordan got sick the day before arriving. She feared it was the flu or COVID-19, but it turned out to be what she described as an upper respiratory situation. I could barely talk, she said. I did not feel good at all. I had to take some trips to urgent care. It really was not the best timing for me. But ... everyone was so patient and so understanding, and I was able to go at my own pace and and do the best I can with what I had. Jordan said she smiled through the pain. Maybe its easy to smile when the artist whose song you performed during your American Idol audition gives you a public shout-out. Jordan sang Chrisette Micheles Epiphany (Im Leaving) in her Idol debut. Michele later posted a photo of Jordan on social media and said this: This sugar just sang Epiphany like its never been sung. Jordan, of course, shared that on her socials. She said she has received many messages on various platforms and said people have been sweet in wanting to support her as she continues the Idol adventure. Regardless of what happens on the show, I have come out with wonderful friends and new connections and beautiful people. Other than me being sick, it has been wonderful working with all these artists and just beautiful souls that Im fortunate enough to even be in the same room with. So I think its great, and Im blessed. The date has been set and as voters head to the polls on 3 May the ABC wants to hear from all Australians on issues you care about, the questions you want us to ask and the information you need from the politicians and parties. During this federal election campaign ABC News will harness our unmatched network of reporters and radio programs in 67 locations across Australia to find out what really matters to voters, says Justin Stevens, ABC Director, NEWS. With an array of special content features across our platforms, our coverage offers something for all Australians. Our Your Say initiative will ensure their voices are heard in the national conversation. And our powerhouse line-up of political journalists will keep them on top of unfolding events every day. The Your Say project gives all Australians an opportunity to tell us whats on your mind in this election. You can have Your Say here and tune in to your Local ABC Radio to talk to us. The ABC is the place Australians turn to feel informed at the ballot box. Catch all the campaign coverage on whatever device you choose via the ABC NEWS website and app, ABC TV, ABC iview, ABC NEWS channel, ABC listen and local, regional and national radio networks. During the campaign, the ABC NEWS website and app will have every moment covered with live blogs and the latest news and analysis from a team of top columnists, including Annabel Crabb, David Speers, Michelle Grattan, Laura Tingle, Jacob Greber, Patricia Karvelas, Alan Kohler and Ian Verrender. A daily column, led by Brett Worthington, will deconstruct the days campaigning. Are you democracy sausage ready? On the ABC NEWS app read Chief Elections Analyst Antony Greens guide to the seats to watch, see updates from crucial stages of the campaign and sign up for notifications delivered to your mobile so you never miss a thing. ABC News Breakfast will be crossing the country, with presenters Bridget Brennan and James Glenday hearing from locals on the ground during live broadcasts from Queensland to Western Australia. Every weekday from 4pm on ABC NEWS channel, unpack the days events on Afternoon Briefing. Patricia Karvelas asks politicians the tough questions and talks to experts on the issues driving the news cycle. And on Q+A, audience members get to ask the questions of a panel of politicians and other thought leaders. The 7pm News wraps the days important moments, with reports and analysis from National Affairs correspondent Jane Norman, Greg Jennett and other senior reporters. Join Sarah Ferguson on 7.30 for probing interviews and debates, comprehensive coverage from reporters across the country and analysis from 7.30 Political Editor Laura Tingle. Each Sunday throughout the campaign, David Speers will assemble the sharpest minds in politics for extended 90-minute editions of Insiders, running the ruler over the pollies and their policies, with Casey Briggs on the touchscreen. Casey will also present on-demand series Swingers, exploring how traditional politics has fractured. Vote Compass returns on Monday 31 March to show Australians how their views align with those of the candidates and the political parties. Answer some quick questions at abc.net.au/australiavotes . Reporter Isabella Higgins will be mining the data to tell the story of the issues that matter most. Hidden Campaign will expose the tactics used to target and woo voters while ABC NEWS Verify scrutinises misinformation and disinformation on the campaign trail. On election night the live Australia Votes broadcast TV coverage will be co-anchored by David Speers and Sarah Ferguson with Laura Tingle, Annabel Crabb, Antony Green, Bridget Brennan, Jeremy Fernandez and guests. Live coverage can also be heard across the ABC radio network with results and analysis from our election-night team, including Tom Oriti, Sabra Lane, Melissa Clarke and special guests. Compass returns to ABC for 2025, profiling the collaboration between The Soweto Gospel Choir and DJ Groove Terminator. The Soweto Gospel Choir are famous around the world, but not many people know that journey started here, in Australia. Now theyre back, collaborating with one of Australias greatest DJs Groove Terminator, with The History of House. In Compass 2025 season return, we go on tour with History of House and Hope. We learn about the choirs early beginnings, their experiences of the Soweto uprising, the inspiring role music played in the struggle against apartheid, and how they came to work with Australias DJ Groove Terminator on a project celebrating dance music through the decades. Compass 2025 return is a musical and spiritual celebration that has non-believers bowing at the altar of music. 6:30pm Sunday on ABC Special Correspondent, TCN Dammam (Saudi Arabia): For the past three years, the month of Ramzan in the Arabian Peninsula has coincided with the winter season, making it somewhat easier for the rozedars (those who are observing fast) compared to the extreme heat that usually prevails in the region. Support TwoCircles TwoCircles.net spoke to people from different walks of life to learn how they spend the holy month away from their homeland, India. Fortunately, for us, the working hours change during Ramzan. The afternoons are off, so we come home from work to rest. Then we wake up to offer the Asar prayer and prepare for iftar. There are many masjids (mosques) nearby, so we can easily walk over to offer prayers. Afterward, we return home to read the Quran or have a light meal, before heading back to the masjid for Tarawih prayers, said A (name withheld on request), a resident of Hyderabad who has been living in Saudi Arabia for the past 10-12 years. He works as an engineer and lives with his family. His workday begins at 6 a.m. and finishes at 12 p.m. However, not everyone enjoys such flexibility. B (who also did not wish to be named), an employee at an Indian airline in Dammam, has to work eight to ten hours a day. He lives far from the airport and has a long commute to work. His shifts vary every week, and on days when he works the night shift, he does not have time for suhoor he typically manages with just a glass of water or juice. But since I sleep during the day, I do not find it that difficult. When my shift is during the day, I have suhoor with my parents at home, leave for work and return after iftar. Iftar is usually with my fasting colleagues, he explained. D, who works as a manager at an Indian restaurant in Al Khobar, said, Ramzan is one of the busiest times for us, even though the restaurant is closed during the day. We host iftar buffets and iftar parties, so the kitchen staff is kept busy preparing snacks, fruit juices and other delicacies for dinner. It is an elaborate spread with dishes like Haleem, Biryani, kebabs, chicken and mutton fry and three different types of sweets. We are constantly on our feet setting up tables for different groups hosting their iftar here. Our waiters are running around serving drinks, tea and refilling dishes on the buffet table. When asked how he and his staff manage while fasting, he replied, We break our fast with dates and water. That is the time when everyone breaks their fast, so we quickly offer our dua and eat something. Afterward, we manage with quick bites like samosas or pakoras. We only sit down for a proper meal once the last customer has left. He added, Till date, no one has ever asked us when or how we eat during Ramzan while we are busy serving others. Thank you for asking. Amina and Haroon, from Karnataka, are both pharmacists working in a corporate hospital in Riyadh. Though they have been living in capital city for over 15 years, they have been employed at the same hospital for the past four years. However, their shifts are different. Amina finishes her work in the afternoon, giving her time to read the Quran and prepare for iftar. On the other hand, Haroon works the night shift, which ends just in time for suhoor. After suhoor, I drop Amina off at work. Then, I try to sleep for a few hours, but soon it is time for the afternoon prayer, which is around 11:50 a.m. After praying, I sleep for another couple of hours, and when the alarm rings, I pick up my wife from work. After iftar, I rush to my shift, Haroon explained. He also said his wife does not drive, as women in Saudi Arabia only gained the right to drive in recent years. The streets of the city sparkle with vibrant lights, and the shops are bustling with activity. Huge crescent-shaped billboards adorn the city, and hotels, malls and shops stay open all night. Many offer Ramzan special discounts. This is also the time when people who have saved up buy stuff for their children back home. Sadiq, a maintenance worker from Chennai, shared his Ramzan experience. During Ramzan, I have very little cooking to do. I go to the masjid to break my fast, where we are given an iftar box containing dates, water, laban (a cold drink made with yogurt), fruit pieces, samosas and khabza (a rice dish with chicken or mutton). The meals are enough to satisfy me after iftar. I save some for suhoor. This helps me save money, which I send back home to my family. He further said residents of his apartment complex often offer him iftar meals during Ramzan. The Saudi government provides iftar boxes for all 30 days of Ramzan, and in some masjids, generous individuals distribute additional iftar boxes. There are people from different countries in these apartments, so I get to taste different dishes, Sadiq said with a smile. Many men in small jobs, such as sweepers, garbage collectors, construction workers, car washers and salespeople also head to the masjid in their locality to break their fast. Earlier, we used to eat in the masjid itself, but ever since new orders were introduced, we only get dates and water. The food is now packed, and we take it home to eat, said Faiyaz, a worker. Yes, we miss home, he added. For many of those in small jobs, the goal is to save as much as possible since their families are not with them. One day, we will go back home, said Faiyaz, who hails from a small town in Andhra Pradesh. In the Gulf, away from the comforts of home, the experience of Ramzan remains marked by resilience and a sense of community. Despite being far from family, these individuals continue to observe their fasts with devotion, forging connections with fellow workers and strangers alike in the spirit of the holy month. Sami Ahmad, TwoCircles.net Patna: A group of poor Muslim women gathered at the Mazar near Patna High Court to receive the much-anticipated Saugat-e-Modi on March 27. However, their excitement quickly turned to frustration, with many exclaiming, Yeh kya diya hai (what have they given us)? Support TwoCircles One of the women said, The sari costs Rs 100 and the lungi is worth Rs 80. There is neither petticoat (underskirt) nor blouse with the sari. Also there is no ganji (vest) or kurta with the lungi. Another woman added in anger, We came fasting, under the scorching sun, and Modi ji is mocking us. Others too expressed their discontent over the meager portions, complaining about the ek pauwa lachha (just a quarter kilogram of lachcha). This was the immediate reaction to the Saugat-e-Modi (an Eid kit for underprivileged Muslims) initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Yet, many Muslims question the sincerity of this program, which they view as nothing more than an outreach initiative by a Hindutva-centric political party to appease the Muslim community ahead of crucial Bihar Assembly elections, which will be held this year. The Saugat-e-Modi was announced by BJP Minority Morcha National President Jamal Siddiqui on March 26 in New Delhi. The media portrayed it as a continuation of Modis Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (Together with all, development for all) policy. The first distribution of the Saugat-e-Modi kits took place at Ghalib Academy, a prestigious institution located in the affluent Hazrat Nizamuddin area of the national capital. Though the initiative is reportedly aimed at all minority communities, its timing, just before Eid, appears targeted at winning Muslim support. The BJP has been attempting to woo the Pasmanda (marginalised) Muslims, though this term was notably absent in the announcement; instead, the focus was solely on the poor section. According to media reports, around 32 lakh minority community members are expected to receive the kit during festivals such as Vaisakhi, Good Friday and Easter. The kit is said to cost around Rs 500-600 each. Siddiqui claimed the BJP Minority Morcha has 32,000 active members, each tasked with identifying 100 needy individuals. They are encouraged to visit religious places to distribute the kits. Ali Anwar, president of the All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, speaking to TwoCirles.net, shared his skepticism, calling it a Chhlawa (deception) by the Modi government and the BJP. He asked, They talk about Muslim outreach and Pasmanda outreach, but what have they really done? Mob lynchings, bulldozer injustice, seizing and demolishing mosques and killing people in the name of Gau Raksha. Is this the Saugat they are offering? The former Janata Dal (United) Rajya Sabha MP, Anwar, who has now joined the Congress, pointed out that the Pasmanda community has long opposed both Jinnah and Savarkar, and yet, this government, following the path of Savarkar, is hoping to win over the Pasmanda community. Are Pasmanda people fools? he questioned. Professor Abdul Qadir, an observer of Modis policies, stated, The Saugat-e-Modi initiative does not surprise me. Gimmickry has become the hallmark of this government. These are the tactics of bahroopiyas (impostors). Perhaps, recipients will be identified by the clothes they wear. Many observers speculate that this kit scheme is primarily aimed at Muslims in Bihar, especially as the state heads to the polls in October. The BJP is desperate to form its own government in the state, as the popularity of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has significantly declined. This initiative is seen as an attempt to win over the states poor Muslim population. Earlier this year, Arif Mohammad Khan was appointed as the Governor of Bihar, a move seen by some as an attempt to confuse Muslim voters. Despite being unpopular among the common Muslim populace, Khan has been actively participating in programs organised for Muslims. Jokingly, many say he is currently the most accessible governor for Muslims in India. Will Saugat-e-Modi help BJP in Pasmanda Outreach? DM Diwakar, former director of the AN Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, said, Modi ji is always focused on how to confuse voters and attract them for his immediate political needs, converting them into his supporters, regardless of their community. So, this does not surprise me. It does not indicate any shift in his agenda. Professor Abdul Qadir echoed this sentiment, saying, I have my doubts that this will help the BJP in its Muslim or Pasmanda outreach. People are not as gullible as some think. The public knows what is going on. Moreover, the track record of this government does not inspire confidence among minorities. Diwakar added, People are aware of Modis strategies. This does not increase his outreach to Muslims or Pasmanda communities at all. Will this benefit BJP in Bihar polls? Diwakar asserted, In the case of Bihar, where Nitish Kumar is struggling to retain Muslim voters, there is little chance that the BJP will gain Muslim support. Professor Qadir was also skeptical about the kit programs potential to influence the Bihar Assembly election. Modi ki Saugat is deceptive, if not fraudulent. It does not reveal the true identity of the people who funded it. Many might believe the government paid for it, but it is unclear whether it is the party or the government footing the bill. Both Qadir and Anwar believe that this kit initiative is also aimed at enhancing Modis image in Middle Eastern countries, which are flush with money. Anwar suggested that it could be a diversionary tactic to shift attention away from the ongoing protests against the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill. Muslim organisations view this bill as an attempt by the government to seize Waqf properties and deprive Muslims of their rights. Critics are viewing the Saugat-e-Modi as a calculated political move rather than a genuine gesture of goodwill. As the 2025 Bihar elections draw closer, it remains to be seen whether this initiative will resonate with the electorate or be dismissed as just another political stunt. Tyler ISD honored its top educators Thursday at the annual Teachers of the Year Gala, celebrating those who go above and beyond for their students. The event, held at Green Acres Baptist Church Crosswalk, brought together honorees, their guests, and district leaders to recognize their dedication. The evening kicked off with a warm welcome from Jennifer Hines, Chief Communications Officer, followed by an invocation from Andy Albright of Glenwood Church of Christ. Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford addressed the crowd, offering a blend of heartfelt and humorous remarks. Tim Miller, President of Cooperative Teachers Credit Union, one of the galas sponsors, also spoke to attendees. Miller joined Dr. Crawford in recognizing the 30 Campus Teachers of the Year for their contributions to education. Sheri Taylor, Executive Director of Resources, announced Adrianna Gauna from Tyler High School as Rookie of the Year, sponsored by The Mortgage House. According to Tyler ISD, Gaunas enthusiasm and commitment in her first year of teaching set her apart as a rising star in education. Dr. Bobby Markle, Principal of Caldwell Arts Academy, was named Principal of the Year, sponsored by Rubys Mexican Restaurant. His leadership and dedication to student success have left a lasting impact on both his campus and the broader community, as noted by Tyler ISD. Our educators are the driving force behind Tyler ISD, Crawford said. Their dedication to excellence, leadership, and student success is what makes our district strong and successful. Scott Carter from Caldwell Arts Academy Elementary was named Elementary Teacher of the Year, while Abbey Smith from Moore Middle School earned the Secondary Teacher of the Year award. Both will represent Tyler ISD at the regional level, competing for the Region 7 Teacher of the Year title. Tonight is a celebration of the dedication, passion, and talent of our teachers and leaders, Crawford said. Their influence reaches beyond the classroom, shaping the future of both our students and our community. The evening was filled with emotion as educators reflected on the impact they have on their students. For many, it was more than just a celebration of achievements; it was a moment to recognize the dedication and passion that defines their work. Its just so surreal right now, Gauna said. I feel like my hard work paid off and I know that my kids are cheering for me. At just 22 years old, Gauna teaches Algebra I to freshmen at Tyler High School. To aspiring educators, Gauna advises, Have fun, be strong you know who you are. Smith, who has taught for 14 years, currently teaches eighth grade science at Moore Middle School. Im surrounded by amazing educators and to be among them is such a big deal, but to be chosen for this Im overwhelmed and eternally grateful, Smith said. The winners were grateful to receive recognition for their hard work and commitment to their students. I am just blessed to be able to teach and do what God created me to do, Smith said. To spend each day loving and pouring into my kids, teaching is my mission. I couldnt imagine doing anything else. Continuing their banner year, as principal, Markle does everything he can to support his educators and staff at Caldwell Arts Academy. Educators put in a lot of work, a lot of hours everyone from our teachers, our aides, cafeteria workers and custodians, Markle said. So when a leader gets a chance to be honored like this, its really honoring the school community that we serve, honoring all of the families to be a symbol for that means a lot. Im very proud. Carter teaches fifth grade science and social studies at Caldwell Arts Academy. I am so lucky and blessed to work for a school that has so many wonderful avenues of influence and encouragement, Carter said. They are my biggest fans and I try every day to be theirs, but it all comes back to the kids they are the best part of my job. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Justice UAE, Religious Authorities and Moon Sighting Committees in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan and other Arab states in separate appeals issued Thursday called upon the local residents to sight the crescent, new moon, of the month of Shawwal 1446 AH today i.e. Saturday 29th of Ramadan 1446 AH corresponding to March 29, 2025 Sunday March 30, 2025 5:09 PM , Team ummid.com Eid al Fitr 2025 Moon Announcement: The Crescent Moon of the Hijri month of Shawwal 1446 H has been sighted in Saudi Arabia, marking the end of the month of Ramadan, the Saudi Supreme Court announced on Saturday. "Eid Al-Fitr - the annual Islamic celebration that runs for the first five days of Shawwal, the 10th month of the Hijri calendar, begins on Sunday, March 30, 2025", the Saudi Royal Court said. The Eid Al-Fitr prayer will take place across the Kingdom on Sunday shortly after sunrise. Meanwhile, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Palestine and part of Iraq along with North America have also confirmed Sunday March 30, 2025 as the first day of Eid al Fitr. On the other hand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Brunei, Tunisia, Algeria, Iran and the United Kingdom (UK) have confirmed Monday March 31, 2025 as the first day of Eid al Fitr. 06:35 PM (Makkah Time): The Shawwal Moon is sighted in Saudi Arabia, accordingly Sunday March 30, 2025 will be the First Day of Eid al Fitr 2025, reports from the Kingdom's observatories said. The Saudi Royal Court is in the midst of the important meeting to deliberate on the Shawwal 1446 crescent sighting. An official announcement by the Royal Court confirming Eid Moon is expected any moment. 05:00 PM (Makkah Time): Saudi Arabia's Chief Astronomer Abdullah Al-Khudairi talking from Sudair observatory a little while ago said, "sighting of the Eid Crescent is possible today." Sunset today, Saturday, at the Sudair Observatory site is at 6:12 PM, and the Crescent Moon will set 8 minutes later. Whether its visibility duration is short or long, sighting the crescent is possible if the skies are clear", he said. 04:00 PM (Makkah Time): Saudi Supreme Court will meet after Maghrib Salah today to confirm the first day of Eid al Fitr in the Kingdom. Likewise, Moon Sighting Committees and Religious authorities in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and other Arab states will decide after sun set today the first day of the beginning of Eid 2025 celebrations. An official announcement is expected around 06:30 PM Makkah Time. 02:30 PM (Makkah Time): Saudi Arabia Royal Court normally makes Eid Moon Announcements soon after the sun set based on reports from the Kingdom's observatories. Accordingly, a confirmation if the Eid Moon has sighted or not is expected by 06:30 PM today. Eid 2025 in North America Sunday Meanwhile, the Fiqh Council of North America has confirmed to celebrate Eid al Fitr on Sunday March 31, 2025. "The Astronomical New Moon will be born on the evening of Saturday, March 29, 2025. On that evening the elongation is more than 8 degrees and the moon is more than 5 degrees above the sun. Hence the first day of Shawwal (Eid al-Fitr) is Sunday, March 30th, 2025, inshaAllah", the Council said. The Australian Fatwa Council on the other hand announced Monday March 31, 2025 as the first day of Eid al Fitr in Australia where Islam is the second largest religion. Meanwhile, Wifaqul Ulama (UK) in the United Kingdom has issued appeals to Muslims to sight the Eid Moon today as do the Muslim organisations in France, Germany and other western countries. Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura also tentatively announced the first day of Eid al Fitr as Monday March 31, 2025. 01:15 AM (Makkah Time): The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Justice UAE, Religious Authorities and Moon Sighting Committees in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan and other Arab states in separate appeals issued Thursday called upon the local residents to sight the crescent, new moon, of the month of Shawwal 1446 AH today i.e. Saturday 29th of Ramadan 1446 AH corresponding to March 29, 2025. "In case the Eid crescent or the new moon is spotted Saturday local residents should report to the nearest court so that a decision to confirm the first day of Eid al Fitr 2025 is taken", they said. The Royal Court of Saudi Arabia called on whoever sights the crescent with naked eyes or through binoculars to report to a nearest court and register his testimony, or report to an authority of a region's centre in his area. As per the normal practice, the UAE has also announced the formation of a moon-sighting committee to spot the crescent. "The committee will meet after Maghrib prayers on Saturday 29th of Ramadan 1446 AH corresponding to March 29, 2025 at Abu Dhabi Judicial Department to spot the crescent", the government sources said. Eid al Fitr 2025 Moon sighting Special arrangements have also been made and general appeals issued by the authorities in Qatar and other Gulf states including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Muscat, Yemen, Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Iraq, Syria and Palestine to sight the Eid Moon today on Saturday 29th of Ramadan 1446 AH of the Islamic Calendar corresponding to March 29, 2025. "Eid will be celebrated on Sunday March 30, 2025 if the new moon is spotted today. If the moon is not sighted today, then Sunday will mark a regular fasting day and Eid will be celebrated on Monday March 31, 2025", Saudi Royal Court said. How Eid Moon is confirmed Islamic Calendar is based on lunar system. Under this system, a new month begins with sighting of moon on 29th of every month. If the crescent is spotted on 29th, the prevailing month ends and the new month begin on the next day. However, if the moon is not spotted on 29th, the next day is counted as the 30th day of the prevailing month and the new month starts a day later. Accordingly, Eid al Fitr celebrations in Saudi Arabia will commence on Sunday March 30, 2025 if the New Moon is spotted in the Kingdom on Saturday. Else, the first day of Eid will be Monday March 31, 2025. As for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, also for Turkey, Egypt and Palestine, Eid al Fitr is normally celebrated in these countries along with Saudi Arabia. Though these countries have their own observatories and moon committees, they normally go with the announcement made by Saudi Arabia. Eid al Fitr 2025 Moon Sighting in other countries Muslims in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries will spot the Eid Moon on Sunday March 30, 2025, which coincides with the 29th day of Ramadan in these countries. Similarly, Muslims in the United States (USA), United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Austria, New Zealand, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, Germany and other countries too will confirm the first day of Eid al Fitr on Saturday March 29, 2025. The final decision will be taken Saturday by the moon sighting committee operating in these countries. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Palestine and other Arab countries have also announced Eid holidays that start from this Sunday. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and other countries confirmed that Eid al Fitr 2025 holidays in these countries will begin on March 30, 2025. The Eid holidays in these countries vary from 2 day to a total of 9 days if combined with weekly off. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. This premier trade event will showcase the entire textile and garment industry, bringing together manufacturers, suppliers, and buyers from Viet Nam and across the globe. Spanning approximately 34,000 square metres, SaigonTex - SaigonFabric 2025 will feature around 1,100 exhibitors, a 6 per cent increase from the event 2024. The exhibitors come from around 25 countries and territories, including Bangladesh, Belgium, Cambodia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Turkey, the Netherlands, the US, UK, and Viet Nam. Notable participants in the textile and garment industry include A Nguyen, Asia Pacific Rayon (Indonesia), Baolun Computer, Brother, Canlar Mekatronik (Turkey), Celikhan Yikama (Turkey), China Texmatech, Phenitex (Thailand), Phon Thinh Tae Gwang, Phuc Hung, Thien Hong Phuc, Timtex, and Timing, among others. In the fabric and garment accessories sector, famous brands such as Baihe, Brotex, Dalat Worsted Spinning, Daluen, DH Textile, Eastman, Jay Chemical (India), Junzu, Grand Textile, Hong Viet, Hwajong label, Hyosung, KCC, Morito, Moririn, Marushin, Nhat Quang label, Nice Trims, and Thinh Gia Huy will join in the show. Key highlights of the event: *The second Product Presentation Programme (PPP), which will showcase eight main themes through static product displays, live technology demonstrations, and a dynamic fashion parade featuring professional dancers donned in the latest styles made from exhibitors' materials. *Official pavilions will feature dedicated spaces from Jiangsu Province and Nantong City in China, the Taiwan Textile Federation, and other official representations from Korea and India. *Business matching section organised by the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (VITAS) will foster crucial connections between exhibitors and potential buyers while providing visitors the opportunity to engage with leading international brands and explore the latest innovations and technologies in textile and garment production. The exhibition is endorsed and co-organised by the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (VITAS), the Vietnam National Textile & Garment Group (VINATEX), the HCM City Textile and Garment Embroidery Knitting Association (AGTEK), the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), CP Exhibition Ltd (Hong Kong), and CP Vietnam Exhibition Organising Co., Ltd. It is sponsored by Cotton Council International (CCI). SaigonTex - SaigonFabric has solidified its position as Viet Nam's leading textile and garment exhibition over its 35-year history. Held two times annually in HCM City and Ha Noi, the exhibition features a comprehensive display of textile machinery, garment machinery, dyes, chemicals, fabrics, and garment accessories. With the backing of Viet Nam's key industry associations VITAS, VINATEX, and AGTEK, SaigonTex - SaigonFabric is the ultimate must-attend event for professionals looking to stay ahead in the textile and garment sectors. For more information, press inquiries, or to register for the event, please contact: CP Exhibition Ltd - Hong Kong - Email: jason@cpexhibition.com or CP Vietnam Exhibition Organising Co Ltd in HCM City - Email: sales@cpvietnamexpo.com. https://saigontex.com.vn/vi/dang-ki-tham-du HA NOI There has been ongoing discussion regarding the proposed increase in the Special Consumption Tax (SCT) on pickup trucks, a move that has sparked debate among various National Assembly deputies. The draft Law on Special Consumption Tax (SCT) suggests raising the tax rate on pickup trucks to 60 per cent of that applied to passenger cars with the same engine capacity. While this proposal is under review, several key issues have been raised about the impact of such an increase. Under the existing law, pickup trucks are taxed at a rate ranging from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. The draft law proposes that the tax rate for double-cabin pickup trucks should be set at 60 per cent of the SCT rate for passenger cars. This means the tax on pickup trucks would increase from a range of 15 per cent-25 per cent to 24 per cent-54 per cent, a significant rise. Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga expressed concern about the immediate effect of such an abrupt tax increase. She argued that implementing this tax hike in one go could negatively impact consumer behavior, potentially reducing vehicle sales. This, in turn, could lead to job losses and a decrease in State revenue from related taxes, such as import duties, registration fees and value-added taxes on both domestically produced and imported vehicles. To mitigate the negative consequences of a sudden tax increase, Nga proposed that the Government implement a gradual increase over a three-year period, from 2027 to 2030. Under this plan, the tax rate would increase by 3 per cent per year, with a total increase of 9 per cent spread evenly across the three years, as opposed to a sharp rise of 9 to 20 per cent in the first year. Delegate Nguyen Van Canh highlighted that in countries like the US and Thailand, pickup trucks are popular in rural areas and are primarily used for agricultural purposes. In Viet Nam, however, pickup trucks are often used in both rural and urban settings, with some even restricted from operating in urban areas during peak traffic hours. He emphasised that if pickup trucks are treated as trucks, they should be subject to the same road use restrictions and taxes as trucks. On the other hand, if they are considered passenger vehicles, roads that allow passenger cars should also allow pickup trucks. The National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee reviewed the proposal and acknowledged concerns about the potential disruption to small businesses, particularly those in rural areas, which rely on pickup trucks for transporting goods. The Committee pointed out that pickup trucks are often used by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and increasing the tax rate could adversely affect their operations and the broader business environment. This concern was further supported by the observation that double-cabin cargo pickup trucks are typically used for at least 25 years and have a significant role in supporting small businesses outside urban centres. The Economic - Financial Committee suggested considering postponing the application of the new tax regulations for pickup trucks to avoid negatively impacting businesses and the overall economy. They argued that, under the current special consumption tax system, pickup trucks already benefit from favourable taxation compared to other vehicle types. Deputy Minister of Finance Cao Anh Tuan clarified that the proposal to increase the tax rate stems from the fact that, under current traffic regulations, pickup trucks are treated like passenger vehicles. However, acknowledging the concerns raised about the potential sudden impact, the Government is considering a phased approach, with the SCT tax rate gradually increasing from 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the passenger car rate over the next three years. The final decision on this matter will likely depend on further consultations and adjustments to the proposal, ensuring that it takes into account both the long-term benefits for the national budget and the short-term impacts on businesses and consumers. VNS HCM CITY Takeda Vietnam is delighted to announce the appointment of its new General Manager Benjamin Ping. Benjamin is an experienced pharmaceutical executive who has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical space working in roles of increasing responsibilities over various cities like Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong (China) and most recently Dubai. As Viet Nam experiences an era of national rise, he is committed to supporting the governments push to advance healthcare and meet patient needs by bringing Takedas life-transforming medicine and vaccine portfolio to the Vietnamese population. Viet Nam News reporter Nguyen Diep speaks with Benjamin Ping about his leadership approach of fostering innovation and collaboration aimed at ensuring Takedas positive impactful presence in Viet Nams healthcare landscape, as well as bringing meaningful improvements in patient care across the country. Welcome to Viet Nam at your new role as General Manager of Takeda Vietnam. We would like to first understand what inspired you to join the country team, and what are your initial impressions of the country? On a personal basis, having visited Viet Nam many times in the past, the culture, people and food were something I could relate to. In addition, as a Singaporean who has been based overseas over the past three years, coming back to Southeast Asia was similar to coming home. On a professional perspective, Viet Nams economic development and growth have been nothing short of astounding and the opportunity to be part of this growth and bringing Takedas portfolio of innovative medical and vaccines to its population was very attractive. As I read more into Viet Nams culture, Viet Nams bamboo trees highly resonated with me, symbolising resilience, strength, and adaptabilitya reflection of both the countrys spirit and our corporate philosophy. In my view, bamboo represents the strong foundation of values akin to its roots, the pivotal role of our people comparable to its sturdy trunk, and strategic flexibility much like its bending branches. This metaphor encapsulates the essence of how I envision leading Takeda Vietnam, ensuring we remain rooted in our core mission and values while adapting to evolving healthcare needs. What is Takedas corporate philosophy from your perspective? Takeda has a strong foundation for delivering long-term value and our philosophy is passed down through generations. Our history began in 1781 with the sale of traditional Japanese and Chinese medicines in Japan, guided by the principle of SANPO-YOSHI. A principle first practiced by a prominent group of Japanese merchants, it means good for the seller, good for the buyer and good for society. Our successive CEOs have remained true to SANPO-YOSHI in both word and action for more than 240 years while articulating their own way to bring it to life. Today, Takeda's corporate philosophy articulates why we exist (our purpose), where we are going (our vision) and how we deliver on our vision (our values). Our corporate philosophy imperatives - Patient, People and Planet - bring our corporate philosophy to life and guides where Takeda must invest to deliver on our purpose. More importantly, we cannot do this alone, thus Takeda looks to work with relevant stakeholders in Viet Nam to bring these imperatives to fruition, ensuring that we continue the principles of SANPO-YOSHI by bringing values to the country, its people and Takeda. How does Takeda's global corporate philosophy guide your commitments to patients, and how is this philosophy implemented in Viet Nam? Takeda's global corporate philosophy is centred around our commitment to delivering life-transforming treatments to patients. We prioritise patient-centric innovation, ensuring that our drug and vaccine development processes are aligned with the needs of patients. In Viet Nam, we tailor this philosophy to address local health challenges by enhancing access to our innovative therapies in rare diseases, oncology, neuroscience, plasma-derived therapies and vaccine. For instance, the introduction of dengue vaccine in the country exemplifies our commitment to addressing vector-borne diseases exacerbated by climate change. Another key area of focus for Takeda is ensuring patients access to healthcare, medicines and vaccines; this is where Takeda has introduced tiered pricing of our products. At its heart, Tiered Pricing is a framework designed to differentiate price levels based on a countrys economic development and health care system maturity. Takeda places significant emphasis on people within its corporate philosophy. How does this translate into strategies for employee development and diversity in Viet Nam? At Takeda, we believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our corporate philosophy reflects this through our commitment to fostering a culture of life-long learning, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). Takeda people live our values every day which are guided by Takeda-ism, that incorporates Integrity, Fairness, Honesty and Perseverance, with Integrity at the core. They are brought to life through actions based on Patient-Trust- Reputation-Business, in that order. To me, the last three words in that order are very powerful and truly reflect how we prioritise patients in our decision making at Takeda, and which is something I proudly remind the team regularly. Every employee, wherever they are in the organisation, has a responsibility to meet the highest standards of ethical behavior at all times because everything we do impacts the most vital aspect of people's lives - their health. Planet is also a key pillar of Takeda's corporate philosophy. Can you elaborate on Takeda's sustainability goals and how they are adapted to the Vietnamese context? Takeda's commitment to environmental sustainability is reflected in our ambitious goals to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in our operations by 2035 and across our value chain by 2040. We integrate environmental considerations into product development and operations through initiatives like the Sustainability by Design programme. For example, Takeda is committed to scaling its Plasma-Derived Therapies (PDT) business while reducing its environmental footprint. Notable achievements include opening a zero-GHG emissions BioLife donation center in Linz, Austria, and significant reductions in emissions, water consumption, and energy use across U.S. BioLife centres. In Viet Nam, we are aligning our local strategies with these global goals by assessing options to reduce our environmental footprint across the country's value chain. The deployment of the dengue vaccine is an example of how we are addressing health issues linked to climate change. By collaborating with the Vietnamese government and local partners, we aim to contribute to national solutions for climate resilience and environmental sustainability. Takedas office was also specifically selected as it met both LEED (Leadership in energy and environmental design) and WELL (supporting health and well-being of its tenants). We hear a lot about Takeda digital dexterity. Could you explain this concept and how does Takeda leverage data, digital, and technology to enhance its operations and patient engagement globally, and what are the specific applications in Viet Nam? Takeda is at the forefront of harnessing data, digital, and technology to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes. Our global digital transformation initiatives include virtual clinical trials, AI-driven drug discovery, and digital patient support programmes. These efforts are designed to increase accessibility and diversity in clinical research while optimising our operations. In Viet Nam, we are applying these technologies to enhance patient engagement and support. For example, we are exploring and applying digital tools to provide educational resources and personalised support to patients, ensuring they can manage their health effectively. By leveraging technology, we aim to create a seamless experience for patients and healthcare providers, ultimately improving health outcomes in the region and Viet Nam. In addition, we are exploring various digital tools to augment our employees to do their work more efficiently and productively so that they can focus on more value-added work to better serve patients. VNS (C-ANPROM/VN/NON/0010/ Mar 2025) HCM CITY The 2025 UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week launched in HCM City on Thursday is expected to be a major milestone in the journey towards a more interconnected digital future between Viet Nam and the UK. It has brought together the two countries' government leaders, industry executives, technology innovators, and academics. A delegation comprising 12 British artificial intelligence and data companies has come to explore opportunities for collaboration with Vietnamese partners. The event has an agenda that includes the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the HCM City Digital Transformation Centre and the British Consulate General for greater cooperation in science, technology and innovation, including digital transformation, smart city technology, financial technology, transformational technologies, and healthcare technology. A meeting between the British ambassador to Viet Nam, Iain Frew, and the director of the city Department of Science and Technology, Lam inh Thang, was held to discuss the establishment of a UK Tech Centre of Expertise to conduct AI governance training in Viet Nam, discuss policy frameworks and regulations related to technology and innovation and opportunities for increased cooperation. There are business matching sessions to explore new partnerships and investment opportunities and drive bilateral trade. The MoU marks a significant step forward in strengthening the partnership between the UK and HCM City in the digital and technology sector, Frew said. By fostering deeper collaboration in digital transformation, we are paving the way for new opportunities that will drive economic growth and technological advancement. Tran Thi Dieu Thuy, deputy chairwoman of the city Peoples Committee, expressed appreciation for the support provided by UK agencies to digital transformation initiatives. She added that UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week is an opportunity to connect investors, experts and businesses from Viet Nam and the UK to create breakthroughs for a comprehensive and sustainable digital future. Rhiannon Harries, the UKs deputy trade commissioner for the Asia Pacific, said: I am delighted that we have 12 cutting-edge companies in Viet Nam this week to build long-lasting, productive relationships for mutual prosperity and growth. Whether in AI, fintech or cybersecurity, the UK and Viet Nam are stronger when we innovate together. The two-day event is hosted by the UK government. VNS A NANG Local tech giant FPT Group has launched a research and development centre focused on AI and semiconductors at the newly-opened a Nang Software Park No 2, the first of its kind at the park. The FPT-invested R&D centre will gather 500 top experts in producing global made-in-Viet Nam and made-in-a Nang products, all under one roof. General director of FPT Nguyen Van Khoa said the semiconductor and AI centre aims to research the development of 200 products and services related to the industry, bringing at least 10 new made-by FPT products each year. Khoa said the introduction of the centre marked a positive move in the 20-year partnership with a Nang City in IT industries and development, including a five-year drastic concentration direction in the sector. The R&D centre would help promote the park as the Silicon Bay of Viet Nam, a nod to the Silicon Valley in the US. Vice chairman of the citys peoples committee Ho Ky Minh said the citys digital economy would be a key bread-winner industry, and responsible for between 35 to 40 per cent to the Regional Gross Domestic Product (GRDP) by 2030. The city has been speeding up the digital transformation process to build a Nang into an eco-urban and a liveable and smart city, aiming to get it on the list of the ASEAN smart city network in 2030, he added. A report from FPT Group unveiled that it earned a revenue of VN2.3 trillion (US$92 million) from its bases in a Nang, achieving 31 per cent year-on-year growth. The group now employs 80,000 staff globally, in which 10,000 engineers (12.5 per cent) are working at FPTs member companies. FPT Group has previously agreed to open Advancing Packing and Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) Testing service at a Nang Citys Hi-tech Park and the duty-free zone. The software exporter had already invested VN2.5 trillion ($108 million) in infrastructure projects to develop an IT ecological system including FPT Software, FPT Telecom and FPT Education, and training 18,000 students in IT, along with offering a smart education service for 25,000 school students. It has started building the residential FPT Plaza 4 apartment project the fourth of its kind in FPT City with an investment of VN2.8 trillion (US$112 million) in the information technology (CIT) FPT Complex zone, in 2025. a Nang has hosted leading companies in the AI and semiconductor industries, including Synopsys, Uniquify, Renesas, Synapse (now Quest Global), Sannei Hytechs, Mixel Viet Nam, Marvell Viet Nam, Sibridges Viet Nam, Ideas2Silicon Viet Nam, FPT Semiconductor, Viettel Hi-Tech, and Acronics. a Nang accommodates four CIT zones including a Nang Software Park, a Nang IT Park, FPT Complex and Software Park 2, creating 53,000 jobs. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam and Cambodia share a strong partnership in natural rubber trade and investment, said participants at a seminar held in Phnom Penh on March 27 discussing the development of rubber production and investment opportunities on both sides of the border. The seminar was held against the backdrop of new European Union (EU) regulations on forest protection, which are posing significant challenges to the rubber supply chain in the Southeast Asian region. According to customs data, Viet Nam imported nearly one million tonnes of natural rubber from Cambodia in 2024, accounting for over 64 per cent of its total rubber imports and valued at more than US$1.2 billion. This volume is nearly equivalent to Viet Nam's domestic rubber production. To date, Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) is one of the largest investors in Cambodia, with 16 rubber plantation projects covering nearly 90,000 hectares and seven processing facilities. Despite its growth potential, the Viet Nam-Cambodia rubber industry faces challenges from international regulations, particularly the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The EUDR prohibits imports of rubber linked to deforestation and requires importers to ensure full traceability of their products down to the plantation level. "The EUDR presents both opportunities and challenges for the rubber industry. Companies with strong environmental management systems will have an advantage. However, ensuring full traceability remains a major hurdle, especially given the complexity of current supply chains," said Deputy Secretary-General of the Vietnam Rubber Association Phan Tran Hong Van. To Xuan Phuc, from the environmental organisation Forest Trends, said one of the biggest challenges stems from the fragmented nature of rubber production in the region. Smallholder farmers account for 44 per cent of rubber production in Cambodia, 30 per cent in Laos and approximately 50 per cent in Viet Nam. These small-scale producers often lack complete legal documentation, making it difficult to meet EUDRs traceability requirements. In Viet Nam, 66 per cent of rubber farms operated by smallholders are smaller than three hectares, increasing the risk of non-compliance with export standards and driving up costs for businesses. Truong Tat o, a representative from the Department of Forestry and Forest Protection under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said that smallholder farmers struggle with inadequate land records and incomplete production documentation, making it difficult to verify the legality of their rubber plantations. Rubber theft also remains a serious issue, particularly in Laos a neighbour of both Viet Nam and Cambodia -- where some companies report that up to 20 per cent of their latex is stolen and illegally exported. This poses significant legal risks for Vietnamese enterprises importing rubber from unverified sources. Adaptations To address these challenges, the Department of Forestry and Forest Protection has recommended that smallholder farmers form co-operatives to establish regional planting databases. Authorities are also urged to expand training programmes on production record-keeping and proper latex storage to ensure compliance with international standards. According to Truong Tat o, the rubber industry must implement comprehensive solutions to overcome the challenges posed by the EUDR. Enhancing data management systems, supporting smallholders in meeting regulatory requirements and ensuring the legal status of rubber plantations will be crucial for maintaining Viet Nams competitiveness in the EU market. In response to EUDR pressures, many Vietnamese companies have proactively adjusted their operations to comply with the new regulations. The Vietnamese Government is also working closely with the rubber industry to ensure adequate preparation. For instance, Chu Se Kampong Thom Rubber JSC, a subsidiary of VRG, has invested heavily in technology to enhance transparency and traceability. With 16,000 hectares of rubber plantations in Cambodia, the company is building a sustainable production model that adheres to international standards. VNS HA NOI Samsung Vietnam and Junior Achievement Vietnam (JA Vietnam) on Friday officially launched the 'Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025', providing students with the opportunity to apply STEM education knowledge related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics while nurturing the ability to access technology and create solutions to solve social problems. Speaking at the ceremony, Na Ki Hong, President of Samsung Vietnam said: Samsung is actively implementing Solve for Tomorrow with the desire to support Viet Nam in its journey to become a developed country in technology. "Furthermore, Samsung is also carrying out many social responsibility activities to express gratitude for the support of Vietnamese people, especially the active support from the government. Samsung's social responsibility activities not only enhance Viet Nam's basic competitiveness but also connect with future leadership training. Building on the success of previous competitions, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025 will be implemented over eight months, from March 28, 2025, to October 31, 2025. This year, students will apply STEM knowledge, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Design Thinking to develop and realise innovative solutions to current social issues. Students and teachers will have the opportunity to participate in online and in-person courses, as well as useful training programmes across the three regions throughout the competition. Notably, as AI the core technology of the fourth industrial revolution continues to develop rapidly and is widely applied, playing a crucial role in many social fields, this year, in addition to the training on Design Thinking, the competition will also provide students with knowledge about AI for the first time. They will learn how to apply AI to solve problems and utilise it to develop their competition products. This is part of Samsung's efforts to equip Viet Nam's youth with valuable knowledge in the high-tech era, contributing to the realisation of future goals. Solve for Tomorrow 2025 is expected to attract approximately 160,000 students registering for online courses, along with 2,400 entries submitted from middle and high schools nationwide. The total prize value for this year's competition is up to VN6 billion (US$235,000), with many attractive prize categories. Additionally, first-place winning schools will receive sponsorship from Samsung to build a STEM Lab valued at $60,000. VNS HA NOI The Ministry of Industry and Trade has formed an inter-agency inspection team to oversee rice export business activities in the Mekong Delta region. The objective is to ensure transparency, stabilise the market and protect the interests of rice producers amid domestic and international fluctuations. The inspection team will focus on enforcing legal regulations related to rice export businesses, addressing violations while reviewing market supply and demand, as well investigating pricing conditions. The inspection period covers transactions from September 2024 to the end of February 2025, with the actual inspections taking place March 25 to 28. The inspection team, announced under Decision No. 831/Q-BCT issued on March 21, 2025, will work closely with key export enterprises, industry associations and local authorities, assessing the current market situation of the grain and propose measures to stabilise it. The findings from the inspection will be reported to the government before March 31. A total of 44 businesses are being inspected and they will be required to comply with legal regulations on rice export and ensure transparency in trading and exporting activities. They need to provide complete documentation and relevant materials related to their business operations, export contracts and product origin upon request. Businesses are being warned they must not engage in trade fraud, price manipulation or be using any legal loopholes in rice exports. They must strictly adhere to state regulatory measures, refrain from exploiting market conditions to destabilise the rice industry and cooperate fully with the inspection team by providing truthful and timely information. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is also expediting amendments to Decree 107/2018/N-CP and Decree 01/2025/N-CP on rice export business activities under a fast-tracked process, with completion expected in March. Previously, Official Dispatch No. 21/C-TTg, issued by the Prime Minister on March 4, instructed ministries, sectors and local authorities to implement comprehensive measures to balance supply and demand, stabilise rice exports and control any price manipulation that could impact the market. According to the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA), rice prices in the Mekong Delta region experienced slight fluctuations on March 24. However market demand remained stable, with some raw rice categories seeing a slight decline, while fresh paddy prices held steady compared to the weekend. BIZHUB/VNS HA NOI The National Innovation Centre (NIC) and FPT Semiconductor, a subsidiary of FPT Corporation, along with technology partners on March 28 inaugurated the Vietnam Semiconductor Innovation Centre (VSIC) and the semiconductor start-up incubation space FPT-ALCHIP in Ha Noi. The event marked a significant step forward in Viet Nams efforts to develop its semiconductor industry, reinforcing the nations commitment to fostering innovation, public-private collaboration and developing a highly skilled workforce. Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen uc Tam highlighted the importance of public-private collaboration in developing a strong workforce and helping Viet Nam compete globally. Public-private collaboration and the Three Houses model Government, Academia and Enterprises are key to Viet Nams semiconductor growth, Tam said, adding that the Ministry of Finance has tasked NIC with partnering with top tech firms, notably FPT, to train talent and support chip design at universities. He said the Ministry of Finance pledged continued support for businesses and international partners in growing the industry. Director of NIC Vu Quoc Huy highlighted the importance of VSIC and the FPT-ALCHIP incubation space in implementing national policies on technological breakthroughs, innovation and public-private partnerships. He emphasised that the initiative aims to contribute to the Governments target of training 50,000 semiconductor engineers by the end of the year and fostering the growth of 100 chip design enterprises. Tran ang Hoa, chairman of FPT IS and FPT Semiconductor, underscored the significance of partnerships in launching the semiconductor incubation and development centre. He said the initiative will enable FPT to support government policies while creating greater opportunities for Vietnamese engineers to enhance their skills and advance their careers. NIC and FPT led the launch of VSIC, backed by top tech firms and universities such as Cadence, Keysight, Tektronix, Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Vietnam National University. A key success is bringing in Alchip, Taiwan (China)s top AI chip company, as a partner. Alchip, valued at approximately US$7 billion, is a major player in AI chip design, with TSMC as one of its key shareholders. Vice president of Alchip Technologies Peter Teng expressed his enthusiasm for Alchips first offshore development centre in Ha Noi, describing it as a milestone in Viet Nams innovation journey and a testament to the power of international collaboration. In recent years, NIC has actively partnered with leading global technology companies to implement various initiatives, including short-term semiconductor training scholarships for students and technical support for chip design at approximately 40 universities in Viet Nam. NIC and FPT have also worked together to attract major technology firms from the US, Japan, Taiwan (China) and South Korea to explore investment opportunities in Viet Nam. BIZHUB/VNS AN GIANG The Steering Committee of the Chau oc Can Tho Soc Trang Expressway Project has held a meeting with contractors in An Giang Province to speed up construction progress to ensure the basic completion in June 2026 and full operation in 2027. At the meeting, the contractors committed to the leaders of An Giang Province to further speed up the construction progress and complete the project on time. Nguyen Phi Long, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Thanh Huy Group, one of the contractors building the expressway, said that the contractor is determined to complete all of its work before June 30, 2026, about nine months ahead of the contract schedule in accordance with the direction of the Prime Minister and the province. To speed up the project's progress, at the meeting, the contractors proposed many new and modern methods to shorten construction time while still ensuring the quality of the project. Currently, the project section through An Giang Province is being accelerated by contractors and is ahead of schedule compared to other projects. The construction was able to be ahead of schedule thanks to the initiative of An Giang Provincial People's Committee to ensure the source of construction materials for the project. To ensure sufficient sand for the project, the An Giang Provincial People's Committee has taken drastic measures to supplement the sand source. Currently, contractors are urgently supplying sand to the project. Regarding the stone supply, the locality is ready to exploit the stone quarry at Dai Mountain with a reserve of nearly three million cubic metres this month to provide stone for the highway project. The Chau oc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway project has a total length of more than 188 kilometres, starting at National Highway No.91 in Anh Giang Provinces Chau oc City, passing through Can Tho City and Hau Giang Province and ending at Tran e Port in Soc Trang Province. The section passing through An Giang Province is nearly 57 kilometres long. The expressway, which runs horizontally through the Mekong Delta, promises to shorten travel times between the delta provinces and HCM City. Furthermore, it will connect with Soc Trang Provinces Tran e Port, an important gateway and economic engine of the region, facilitating the transit of imports and exports not only for Viet Nam but also for Cambodia and the wider Mekong sub-region. With a total investment of VN44.7 trillion (US$1.9 billion), the project is separated into four component projects carried out by four localities - An Giang, Hau Giang and Soc Trang provinces and Can Tho City - where it passes through. In the first phase, it will have four lanes and allow speeds of up to 100km per hour. It is identified as a national project and key to facilitating socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta. The localities are speeding up site clearance, compensation and resettlement for affected households. Other planned expressways to be built in the Mekong Delta include Can Tho - Ca Mau and Ha Tien - Rach Gia - Bac Lieu. VNS HA NOI A Venezuelan professor has introduced Viet Nams history, values and martial arts to students in the Latin American country through his passionate academic mission. While visiting the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela, Professor Jose Javier Diaz Macadan, head of the Viet Nam in Ho Chi Minhs era department under the National Experimental Polytechnic University of the Armed Forces (UNEFA), said that spreading Vietnamese values is not just a political task, but a mission from the heart. His classes have attracted numerous students, creating a vibrant academic space for exploring the journey of a nation that rose from the ashes of war to become a global influence. Topics on President Ho Chi Minh not only highlights the Vietnamese revolutionary leaders life, career, and contributions but also help students have a better insight into his personal qualities, intellect, humanism, morality, and lifestyle. As a martial arts expert with more than 30 years of experience, Macadan is passionate about introducing Vovinam, Viet Nams traditional martial art, to the UNEFA. With support from the embassy, he is working to establish connections with the Viet Nam Vovinam Federation to make the plan a reality. Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Trung My praised the UNEFA and Macadans efforts, promising continued support for initiatives that help strengthen mutual understanding as well as the traditional relations between the two nations. He noted that with the professors plan to widely establish Vovinam instruction, Venezuela is set to become the first Latin American country to have a Vovinam martial arts club. VNA/VNS HA NOI The US news website Bloomberg.com has recently issued a report highlighting Viet Nam as the fastest growing tourism destination in Southeast Asia. The global data and media service said that looser visa policies, nonstop flights and luxurious hotels opening on pristine islands are among the factors raising Viet Nams profile this year. "Thailand may be fully in the spotlight where Southeast Asian tourism is concerned. Its starring role in Season 3 of The White Lotus has supercharged vacationers (already high) interest," Bloomberg stated. "But theres a neighbouring destination thats one-upping it in terms of growth: Viet Nam now ranks as the third-most-visited country in Southeast Asia, with 17.5 million international arrivals in 2024, edging ahead of Singapore. It follows Malaysia, which claims 25 million visitors, and Thailand, at the top spot with 35 million," it noted. The US media service also praised Viet Nam as the regional leader in terms of its tourism recovery pace compared to 2019, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. The country has regained 98 per cent of that business, outpacing all of its neighbours, including Thailand and Singapore. And by all accounts, Viet Nams popularity is continuing to soar. Nearly four million international tourists visited in January and February, representing an increase of 30.2 per cent year over year, Bloomberg stated, citing figures from the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT). Viet Nam is setting its sights high, aiming to attract 22-23 million international visitors this year. While ambitious, this target reflects the countrys steadfast commitment to positioning tourism as a key pillar of economic growth. Despite the remaining effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastation wrought by natural disasters, the country's tourism sector has staged a stunning recovery. However, industry experts caution against overconfidence, noting that while its progress is impressive, the sector cannot afford to become complacent. To achieve these goals, the focus will be on enhancing quality, professionalism, sustainability and brand promotion. Efforts will be made to improve service standards, offer premium tourism products and provide exceptional, memorable experiences for visitors. The economic challenges of 2024, marked by natural disasters, including widespread flooding, could have derailed the tourism resurgence. Yet, the VNAT reported that the country achieved the highest tourism recovery rate in Southeast Asia. VNS BRUSSELS The State visit to Viet Nam by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium from March 31 to April 4 will be an important turning point in strengthening the relationship between the two countries, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao. Thao, who is head of Viet Nam's Delegation to the European Union, emphasised that although Belgium is a small country, it holds a strategically important position at the heart of Europe, where the administrative and political bodies of the EU are based. With a strong and developed economy, Belgium is among the high-income countries in the EU. It established diplomatic relations with Viet Nam in 1973, opening up long-term cooperation opportunities between the two countries. Over the past 50 years, the relationship has achieved significant accomplishments in various fields. However, the diplomat affirmed that the potential for cooperation between Viet Nam and the EU in general, and Belgium in particular, remains huge. Therefore, high-level visits aimed at strengthening political trust and creating new frameworks for cooperation are very important, he said, noting that the Kings upcoming trip, one of his two state visits each year, highlights the special importance of Viet Nam in Belgium's foreign relations. This is also a crucial opportunity to promote cooperation between the two countries, as well as between Viet Nam and the EU, he added. According to the ambassador, after signing the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the EU, Viet Nam closely cooperated with Belgium to establish a strategic partnership in the agricultural sector in 2018. Since the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was inked in 2019, the relationship has strengthened significantly, especially in investment and trade. Currently, many Belgian businesses are paying attention to Viet Nam, and the delegation accompanying King Philippe during this visit includes 34 CEOs of large corporations and 18 Belgian universities. This reflects Belgium's growing interest in Viet Nam as a strategic partner in various fields, including areas where both countries have strengths and cooperation needs, stressed Thao. He pointed out to three outstanding areas for cooperation between the two nations, namely green transport, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy. Health and education are also promising collaboration aspects, Thao affirmed, believing that Belgian universities are attractive choices for Vietnamese students. Regarding future collaboration, the ambassador expected that numerous opportunities will be opened up, considering the fact that both countries have reached a certain level of development, and need to diversify and expand their cooperation in the current international context. For Viet Nam, Belgium plays a crucial role as a gateway to the EU market, a large region with around 450 million people and a total GDP of nearly EUR17 trillion (US$18.3 trillion). It has strong purchasing power and significant import demand, approximately EUR3 trillion annually. Moreover, Thao also mentioned that the demand for imports from Viet Nam to the EU is very high, which is why Viet Nam is currently the EU's largest trade partner in ASEAN. He expressed his belief that with further enhancing cooperation, the two-way trade turnover will not just maintain its current level but will continue to grow strongly in the coming time. VNS GENEVA Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Head of the Vietnamese Delegation in Geneva, praised Cambodia as one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, with an average annual GDP growth of nearly 5 per cent since 2017 driven by trade liberalisation, tourism, foreign direct investment FDI, and export-oriented production. Addressing the third Trade Policy Review (TPR) session of Cambodia at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 26, the Vietnamese diplomat applauded Cambodias efforts to realise the target of escaping from the least developed country (LDC) status by 2029. Additionally, the Southeast Asian nation increased its per capita GDP to US$2,520 from nearly $1,900 in 2017, and reduced the number of poor people to 2.8 million in 2020 from 3.9 million in 2014. Since 2017, Cambodia has introduced and issued many laws and regulations on trade and investment, demonstrating its commitment to modernising and reforming its legal framework in line with international standards. These efforts have facilitated market opening and supported deeper integration into the global economy. Viet Nam also highly valued Cambodias growth in digital economy, with digital service exports nearly tripling from $146 million in 2017 to $426 million in 2023, driven by investment, new legal frameworks, and initiatives in e-commerce and licensing, Dung said. The Vietnamese side acknowledged Cambodias progress in trade liberalisation and its high level of market openness. Notably, Cambodia reduced its average MFN tariff from 12.3 per cent to 10.8 per cent last year. Within multilateral agreements involving both countries, preferential tariff rates range from 0.2 per cent under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) to 8.3 per cent under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Regarding relations with Viet Nam, through bilateral frameworks such as the Border Trade Agreement and the Trade Promotion Agreement, as well as multilateral mechanisms like ASEAN and RCEP, the two countries have built a legal foundation to optimise trade potential and opportunities. Viet Nam reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening cooperation with Cambodia to further boost bilateral trade and investment, contributing to development within ASEAN and WTO. At the multilateral level, Viet Nam praised Cambodias active participation in WTO activities, including its role as a focal point for LDCs on various issues. At the event, ASEAN member states delegations delivered a joint statement recognising Cambodias role since joining ASEAN in 1999. Cambodia has contributed to deeper regional economic integration through the ASEAN Economic Community; and strengthened commitments to trade liberalisation, economic stability, and sustainable development. Cambodia-ASEAN trade reached 15.7 billion USD in 2024. ASEAN reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Cambodia in deepening regional economic integration and upholding a rules-based multilateral trading system. The bloc stressed that a fair and inclusive international trade environment is essential for the shared interests of developing countries and LDCs, ensuring collective prosperity in the region. VNA/VNS TEL AVIV The Vietnamese community in Israel has taken a significant step forward with the official launch of the Vietnamese Association in Israel, following a conference held in Tel Aviv on March 27 (local time). With a relatively small number of approximately seven hundred people, comprising long-term residents, labourers, agricultural trainees, and students, the Vietnamese community in Israel has consistently demonstrated its strong solidarity and a deep-rooted commitment to preserving their cultural heritage. Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel Ly uc Trung commended the communitys unwavering unity and cultural pride. He expressed his optimism that the newly formed association would become a common house to enhance cultural preservation, provide mutual support, safeguard legitimate rights, and serve as an effective bridge between the community and the embassy. Representing the associations executive committee, Hong Shuranys outlined its future goals, emphasising the enhancement of citizen protection and emergency support in light of the regions ongoing political instability and conflicts. The association also aims to promote the community's cohesion, safeguard members' rights, and foster stronger ties with both local authorities and the homeland. On this occasion, the executive committee awarded financial support grants to three Vietnamese researchers pursuing studies at Israeli institutions. Each recipient received US$4,200 as part of a broader $42,000 support initiative. VNS HA NOI State President Luong Cuong on Friday presided over the official State-level welcome ceremony for President Lula da Silva at the Presidential Palace in Ha Noi. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, along with the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan, Chairman of the Presidents Office Le Khanh Hai, Minister of Agriculture and Environment o uc Duy, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son. Also in attendance, Chairman of the Ha Noi Peoples Committee Tran Sy Thanh, Deputy Minister of National Defence Pham Hoai Nam, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy, Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Van Tuyen, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs o Hung Viet, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Xuan Sang, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong, along with the Assistant to the President Tong Thanh Tri and Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Bui Van Nghi. Representatives of the diplomatic corps included ambassadors and charge daffaires of Latin American and Caribbean countries based in Ha Noi. A large group of children from the capital gathered at the Presidential Palace, waving the flags of both nations to welcome President Lula da Silva and the high-level Brazilian delegation. This is President Lula da Silvas second visit to Viet Nam, coming seventeen years after his first in 2008. He has long held deep admiration and affection for Viet Nam, having previously joined demonstrations in support of the countrys struggle for national liberation. His visit to Viet Nam this time also marks the first State visit by a foreign Head of State in 2025, underscoring Viet Nams respect for the Brazilian President and the importance attached to the Viet NamBrazil relationship. The motorcade escorting President Lula da Silva entered the Presidential Palace, where President Luong Cuong warmly welcomed him on the red carpet and a group of Ha Noi children presented him with a bouquet of fresh flowers. To the sounds of the ceremonial music, President Luong Cuong and President Lula da Silva walked along the red carpet and stepped onto the honour platform. After listening to the national anthems of both countries, the two leaders moved to salute the national flag and review the guards of honour of the Viet Nam Peoples Army. Then, the two leaders introduced members of the high-level delegations attending the ceremony. President Lula da Silvas visit marks a significant milestone in the bilateral relationship, aligning with Viet Nams foreign policy direction. The visit supports international commitments and strengthens new cooperation frameworks, while reaffirming Viet Nams determination to deepen ties with important Latin American partners, particularly Brazil. This visit also highlights the continuous development of bilateral relations and the shared commitment of both sides to implement practical measures that will effectively advance the Viet NamBrazil Strategic Partnership. It aims to elevate cooperation across politics and security, economics, trade and investment, science and technology, innovation, culture and society and climate change to new heights. It further presents an opportunity for the two leaders to exchange views and agree on concrete steps to realise the full potential of the Strategic Partnership. The visit also represents a turning point for Viet Nam in advancing cooperation with Brazil, Latin Americas largest economy and a key regional leader. In terms of economic and trade collaboration, Brazil is currently Viet Nams largest trading partner in Latin America, while Viet Nam is a key partner for Brazil in Southeast Asia. Bilateral trade has grown rapidly, from US$1.53 billion in 2011 to $7.98 billion in 2024. The two sides are now aiming to raise this figure to $10 billion by 2025 and $15 billion by 2030. In addition to trade, there is great potential for cooperation in agriculture, energy, science and technology, security and defence, environmental protection and responding to climate change. Viet Nam also wishes to initiate negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) with MERCOSUR, of which Brazil is a member. Beyond economic and trade agreements, the visit opens up avenues for the two countries to share experiences and collaborate in other promising sectors such as tourism, aviation, seaports and logistics. These are areas where both countries have significant potential that remains largely untapped, therefore expanding cooperation in these fields would help boost bilateral relations even further. With a strong foundation built over the past thirty-five years, President Lula da Silvas State visit to Viet Nam is expected to elevate Viet NamBrazil relations to a new level. It will reinforce political trust and commitments, expand cooperation horizons and foster deeper and more sustainable comprehensive ties, delivering tangible benefits to the people of both countries. Following the welcome ceremony, President Luong Cuong and President Lula da Silva led their respective high-level delegations into official talks where the two sides have reviewed recent developments in bilateral cooperation and discussed future directions. The two leaders are also scheduled to witness the signing of cooperation agreements and hold a joint press briefing. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), organised a seminar in Vienna on March 26 on the upcoming signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime in Ha Noi, during which participants praised the country's efforts in preparing for this event. Although the seminar was specifically dedicated for European delegates, it attracted significant attention and participation of representatives from countries in other regions as well as several international organisations. Viet Nam's inter-agency delegation, including Ambassador Vu Le Thai Hoang, head of the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the UN and international organisations in Vienna, along with representatives from the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provided updates on the preparations for the signing ceremony to be held later this year. Viet Nam is committed to ensuring that the event will serve as a meaningful forum to promote the implementation of the convention and strengthen global cooperation in combating cybercrime. The Vietnamese delegation thanked all countries that supported Ha Noi as the chosen location for the signing, and affirmed that Viet Nam will continue to work closely with the UNODC, the UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), and member countries to promote the early entry into force of the Ha Noi Convention and ensure its effective implementation in the coming time. The Vietnamese delegation assessed that over the past decades, Europe has always been at the forefront of building a legal framework to combat cybercrime. The Budapest Convention, adopted by the European Council in 2001, laid the foundation for global thinking on the issue. This was the first international legal document to criminalise cybercrime and enhance international cooperation. However, the increasingly sophisticated nature of this type of crime is directly threatening critical infrastructure, government systems and the lives of people across Europe and around the world, creating an urgent need for comprehensive and universal frameworks to supplement existing ones. The new UN Convention has met that need by providing a comprehensive platform for cooperation, harmonising procedures and sharing electronic evidence under the auspices of the UN. Vietnam believes that it does not compete with but rather complements existing frameworks, including the Budapest Convention. This new convention expands the scope of international cooperation and reflects a shared concern for ensuring a safe, secure, and rule-compliant cyberspace. Agreeing with the Vietnamese delegation, representatives of the UNODC and the European Union Delegation to the UN in Vienna affirmed that they will continue to accompany and cooperate with Viet Nam. Representatives of many European countries and some other regional groups appreciated the country's active preparations for the signing ceremony, affirming that they will strive to soon complete internal procedures to participate in the ceremony in Ha Noi and soon ratify the convention. They also committed to supporting and closely coordinating with Viet Nam to successfully organise the ceremony. In addition, the seminar also raised awareness of the complexity of cybercrime and highlighted the UNODC's efforts to coordinate with other international organisations such as the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) to support UN member states in their efforts to prevent cybercrime, through international cooperation. The Ha Noi Convention, comprising nine chapters and 71 articles, was officially adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 24, 2024. VNA/VNS MEXICO CITY Although Viet Nam and Mexico have witnessed significant progress in their relations over the past 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, there is still much potential for further development, said Pedro Vazquez Gonzalez, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico. Receiving Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Van Hai on March 27, Gonzalez suggested that the two nations should continue to strengthen cooperation in key areas such as trade, investment, education, and culture. These sectors are crucial for building and further solidifying the comprehensive and robust relationship between the two nations, he explained. Particularly, Gonzalez, who is also a member of the Mexicos Labour Party (PT)s parliamentarians' group at the Chamber of Deputies, urged businesses to enhance connectivity and capitalise on the advantages provided by free trade agreements (FTAs), especially the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which both Mexico and Vietnam are members. According to Gonzalez, effectively leveraging the benefits of the CPTPP in recent years has contributed to increasing bilateral trade, particularly in key sectors such as high technology, manufacturing, and agriculture. He expressed his support for the establishment of a Viet Nam-Mexico Friendship Parliamentarians Group, viewing it as a significant milestone in further promoting relations between the parliaments of the two countries, especially in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (May 19, 1975 2025). For his part, Hai affirmed that Viet Nam always attaches great importance to promoting traditional relations with Latin American countries, particularly with the State, parliament, and people of Mexico. He highlighted the expansion of bilateral cooperation in various fields from politics, economy, to cultural diplomacy, as well as the mutual support the two sides have offered each other at international forums such as the United Nations (UN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and multilateral parliamentary forums. Regarding bilateral trade and investment collaboration, Hai noted that Vietnamese enterprises have increased investment in Mexico. Notably, FPT Group has opened a representative office in Guadalajara city of Jalisco state, while Formula Air JSC established a representative office in Puebla, and VinFast, a subordinate automaker of Vingroup, signed a memorandum of understanding to supply electric buses in Durango. The diplomat said that based on the historical friendship between the two nations, it is time to elevate bilateral relations, and expressed his hope that lawmakers from both sides will work together to improve legal frameworks, thereby further strengthening the Viet Nam-Mexico relationship. VNA/VNS HA NOI Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has penned an article sharing his feelings about his second visit to Ha Noi from March 27-29 and assessments of the relations between Brazil and Viet Nam over the past 35 years. President Lula da Silva's return to Ha Noi, 17 years after his first visit, lands at a pivotal moment. Last year, both countries not only celebrated the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties but also elevated their ties to a new level. Since November 2024, they have officially become strategic partners. This is more than just a diplomatic term, it is the fruit of a long-standing, sustainable partnership that brings tangible benefits to both nations. Since his first visit to Viet Nam, two-way trade surged from US$534 million in 2008 to nearly $7.7 billion in 2024. Brazil now buys more from Viet Nam than from some of its traditional partners, taking pride in being Viet Nams largest trade partner in Latin America and a key supplier of pork, chicken, and cotton, contributing to Viet Nams food security and the growth of its textile industry. Brazils economic growth considerably outpaced the average of developed countries last year, he noted, adding that the nation's stable legal and policy frameworks have created a safe business environment for investment and trade. In the article, he is eyeing $15 billion in trade between Brazil and Viet Nam by 2030, fueled by higher-value exports. Brazil is ready to supply modern aircraft for Viet Nams civil aviation sector and explore cooperation in national defence. Additionally, both countries hold vast potential for collaboration in sci-tech, innovation, and renewable energy, he wrote. Brazil looks forward to working with Viet Nam in semiconductor development, artificial intelligence, and digital technology, he said, noting decades of experience in biofuel production, a clean energy solutions for the automotive, aviation, maritime transport, and even power generation industries. Reinforcing bilateral ties is a necessary step amid profound global changes, he added. According to him, Latin America and Southeast Asia stand as dynamic regions, contributing to shaping a multipolar world order. The GDPs of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached $2.8 trillion and $3.8 trillion, respectively, reflecting their significance on the global stage. In times of uncertainty, collaboration is essential to ensure that a multipolar world is built upon fair rules and institutions, rather than being dominated by the influence of major powers. History has shown that the path to independence is the only one bringing prosperity to nations. He wrote that Brazils firm commitment to multilateralism has driven its active participation in international forums. The country looks forward to Viet Nams support during its presidency of BRICS and COP30 this year. Viet Nam, with its strong voice in the Global South, remains a key partner in collective efforts to foster a more representative and responsive system of global governance that better serves the interests of developing nations. As Brazil prepares to host major international events, it hopes to build on the successes of its recently concluded G20 presidency. Viet Nam actively participated in working group meetings and the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro and was among the earliest supporters of Brazils Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty initiative. The leader went on writing about cultural connections between the two countries. In Viet Nam, showing care often means asking if someone has eaten, while in Brazil, people express concern by cooking for one another. Cuisine is integral to both nations' cultures, just as food security remains a top priority for their governments. Having lifted millions out of poverty in recent decades, Brazil and Viet Nam have valuable lessons to share with the world. Together, both nations can overcome challenges and drive a better future for all, the President concluded. VNS HA NOI Minister of Public Security General Luong Tam Quang held talks with Chief-Minister of the Institutional Security Office of the Presidency of Brazil General Marcos Antonio Amaro dos Santos in Ha Noi on March 28. Welcoming Amaro dos Santos, who accompanied Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his visit to Viet Nam, Quang affirmed that the trip further strengthens the traditional friendship and strategic partnership between the two nations, and sets orientations for future development in line with strength and potential of each side. Quang said Viet Nam and Brazil, both members of the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), have actively participated in major international treaties on crime prevention and effectively contribute to the prevention and control of cross-border crime, maintaining peace, stability and development in the region and the world. Highlighting the significance of the agreement on the exchange and protection of confidential information, which was signed earlier in the day with the witness of Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Quang stressed that it is not just a political gesture but a legal framework that lays the foundation for concrete cooperation in the future. It will enable both nations to share strategic information and coordinate efforts in fighting transnational crime, terrorism, and other non-traditional security threats. To further enhance bilateral cooperation, the Minister proposed increasing the exchange of delegations at various levels to increase mutual understanding and explore new areas of collaboration in security and safety. He underscored the need for both sides to ensure the absolute security and safety of each country's high-level delegations during their visits to each other. Additionally, he emphasised the importance of using security channels as an efficient mechanism for conveying critical national issues to senior leaders, ensuring the strategic interests of both nations. Quang suggested promoting study and develop bilateral agreements to address non-traditional security threats, including high-tech crime and terrorism, while sharing information and experiences on measures to protect political and economic security, as well as national institution of each country. The Vietnamese minister stressed the urgency of joint efforts to counter large-scale cyberattacks, which could threaten national security and critical information systems. He urged both sides to collaborate in research and development of information security technology development to strengthen cyberspace protection capacity. Additionally, he underlined the importance of training programmes to enhance the professional skills and foreign language proficiency of law enforcement forces. For his part, Amaro dos Santos emphasised that in the context of growing global and regional security complexities, both sides need to strengthen close cooperation to address both traditional and non-traditional security threats. There remain big room for bilateral cooperation in security and law enforcement areas, he proposed further expanding specialised cooperation activities, contributing to ensuring national security and social order in each country while maintaining peace and stability in their respective regions and the world. VNS HA NOI National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his spouse will attend the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150) and pay official visits to Uzbekistan and Armenia from April 2 to 8, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The attendance and visits will be made at the invitation of IPU President Tulia Ackson, IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong, President of the Senate of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbaeva, and President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan. VNS A NANG Party General Secretary To Lam on Friday met with veterans and revolution contributors, and distinguished policy beneficiaries from the Central and Central Highlands regions in a Nang, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30, 1975 2025). During the gathering, after listening to heartfelt opinions from revolutionary veterans and those who have contributed to the country, the Party chief extended his warm regards and best wishes. He expressed his hope that they will continue to provide valuable insight and wisdom for the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party, the people, and their local communities. He noted that the 14th National Party Congress is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2026. This congress is expected to mark the beginning of a new era of national advancement toward a strong, prosperous, and thriving Viet Nam. Documents prepared for the congress have been meticulously crafted to be concise, easy to understand, and practical, while embodying revolutionary spirit, clear objectives, strategic direction, and feasibility. Outlining future development directions, the general secretary stressed the need for national stability as a foundation for progress. In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, he said that the development of science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation is not only an inevitable trend but also an urgent requirement. It will help Viet Nam bridge the development gap with regional and global counterparts, enhance labour productivity, foster innovation, and improve the quality of life for all citizens. Regarding economic targets, Viet Nam aims for an economic growth rate of at least 8 per cent in 2025 and double-digit growth from 2026 to 2030. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to reaffirm the critical role of the private sector as a leading driver of national economic growth while ensuring continued efforts to improve people's livelihoods and well-being. He highlighted that under the Party leadership, the Vietnamese people have demonstrated unity and resilience, achieving remarkable feats in the struggle for national liberation, reunification, and building and safeguarding the socialist fatherland. He acknowledged the invaluable contributions of revolutionary veterans, military leaders, officers, heroes of the People's Armed Forces, and heroic mothers. He also paid special tribute to the immense sacrifices of fallen soldiers and the broader Vietnamese populace. Lam called on the delegates to continue contributing, within their capacities, to the ongoing revolutionary cause of the Party, the people, and the nation. VNS HA NOI The Department of Overseas Labour Management, at the Ministry of Home Affairs, has reported that 37,027 Vietnamese workers went abroad for employment in the first three months of this year, accounting for 28.4 per cent of this year target. Of the total, 7,061 were women, making up around 19 per cent. Japan remained the top destination, receiving over 18,930 workers, followed by Taiwan (China) with 11,076 and South Korea with more than 4,140. Viet Nam has set a target of sending 130,000 workers abroad under labour contracts in 2025. Currently, 505 enterprises are authorised to provide overseas employment services for Vietnamese workers. In 2024, a total of 158,588 workers were sent abroad for employment. For 2025, authorities aim to maintain and strengthen traditional overseas labour markets, while expanding into high-income destinations that match the skills and qualifications of Vietnamese workers. Enterprises will be encouraged to proactively develop labour sources and enhance vocational and language training to better prepare workers before departure. All workers must undergo orientation sessions covering customs, traditions and legal regulations of their host countries. At the same time, efforts will be stepped up to protect workers legal rights and interests while also providing job counselling and employment support for those returning to Viet Nam. VNS HA NOI The Ministry of Health has proposed increasing the minimum health insurance contribution support from 30 per cent to 50 per cent for students from grades 1 to 12, according to a draft decree providing detailed instructions on the Law on Health Insurance. Deputy Director of the ministrys Health Insurance Department Vu Nu Anh said the State budget will need an additional VN3.7 trillion to raise the support level from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. The proposal will be submitted to the Government in the near future. The ministry on Thursday held a conference to disseminate new regulations in the health insurance law and related decrees. Anh said for university students, which currently number around 2.8 million, the support level will remain at 30 per cent. Some specific groups will enjoy 50 per cent State financial support when participating in social insurance. These include village-based health workers, part-time workers in villages and residential groups, individuals participating in local security and order protection forces, victims of post-war bombs and explosives and individuals awarded the titles of 'Peoples Artisan' and 'Meritorious Artisan' under the Cultural Heritage Law. On November 27, 2024, the amended Law on Health Insurance was passed by the National Assembly, demonstrating a commitment to administrative reform, facilitating convenience for citizens, reducing paperwork, promoting the digital transformation and enhancing the effectiveness of health insurance policy implementation. The revised Health Insurance Law will take effect on July 1, with certain key provisions applied from January 1, to ensure the timely payment for patients using health insurance services. At the conference, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Thuan highlighted several notable new policies in the amended Health Insurance Law. The law revises participant categories, adjusts health insurance contribution responsibilities, modifies payment methods and deadlines, defines responsibilities for compiling the list of insured individuals and sets the validity period of insurance cards, he said. Patients will have the right to choose their primary healthcare facility and be referred to other healthcare facilities flexibly based on medical expertise, he said. They will also receive full coverage for medical services at any primary healthcare facility nationwide, full coverage for inpatient treatment at any basic-level healthcare facility nationwide and full coverage for services at any facility that was classified as a district-level facility before January 1. In cases of rare or critical illnesses, patients may be directly referred to specialised medical institutions. Duong uc Tuan, head of the Department of Social Insurance Implementation under the Vietnam Social Security, proposed enhancing resource use efficiency and fund supervision by implementing controlled payment methods, applying information technology, authenticating electronic data and enabling the inter-operability of diagnostic imaging and laboratory test results across medical facilities. VNS AN GIANG Police in An Giang Province have detained Le Van Truong from Tan Chau Town in connection to an ongoing investigation into the suspected murder of a five-year-old girl. Truong has been identified as the primary suspect in the alleged abuse and death of K., his wife's daughter, in suspicious circumstances. The case came to light on Thursday, when the Criminal Investigation Agency of An Giang Province received a report from the Long Thanh Ward Police about the unusual death of K. Despite the unusual circumstances, the family had swiftly arranged a funeral for K. At the same time, K.s biological father filed a petition requesting an exhumation to clarify his daughters cause of death, suspecting foul play. Given the complexity of the case, provincial police have collaborated with other relevant authorities to exhume the body and investigate the matter thoroughly. The results of the autopsy revealed that five-year-old's death was caused by acute blood loss due to a ruptured liver and spleen. The investigation soon focused on Truong, who was living with K.s mother, Nguyen Thi Thuy Nguyen. Both Truong and Nguyen were brought in for questioning. Initially, both suspects denied any involvement in Ks death. However, after hours of intensive questioning, police said both Truong and Nguyen admitted to their roles in the crime. Preliminary investigations revealed that Nguyen, 31, from Tan Chau Town, had previously been in a relationship with T.V.K. from Ca Mau Province and had two children, K. and A. After their breakup in mid-2024, Nguyen met and began living with Truong, bringing her two children to live with them as well. In recent weeks, Truong allegedly became angry with K.s behaviour, as he claimed she frequently ignored him and made demands. Police said he admitted to repeatedly beating K. On the afternoon of March 23, when Truong returned home from work, K asked him to take her to find her mother. Authorities said that in a fit of rage, Truong dragged K into his bedroom and struck her several times on her stomach and body. Truongs mother allegedly witnessed the incident and intervened. A few days later, K developed a fever, but the family did not take her to hospital, believing it to be a common illness. On Wednesday, K. felt very weak, but Truong still took her to kindergarten. On the way there, K. suddenly fainted, and Truong rushed her to Tan Chau Regional General Hospital for emergency care but K. died around 20 minutes later. Truong and Nguyen later took K.s body to Nguyens mothers home in Long Hung Ward to prepare for her burial, and the funeral was held that evening. Nguyen later also confessed to repeatedly beating K. with a whip. During these beatings, Nguyen allegedly told police that K. would beg her in pain, and Nguyen would only stop when K. could no longer endure it. The investigation is ongoing. VNS HA NOI Mica David Bass, a US national wanted for murder, was arrested in Ha Noi on March 20 following a covert overnight operation led by Viet Nams Immigration Department. Acting on intelligence from the US diplomatic mission, Vietnamese authorities tracked and apprehended the suspect after a meticulous search involving surveillance footage and on-the-ground reconnaissance, ensuring a swift and discreet handover for extradition, the department said on Friday. Immediately after the arrest, the Immigration Department completed the necessary procedures to repatriate the suspect for prosecution. On March 19, the Immigration Department received a request from the diplomatic mission of the US in Viet Nam regarding the entry of Mica David Bass into the country. The US side confirmed that Bass is a dangerous fugitive wanted by American law enforcement for murder. Upon receiving this information, the Immigration Departments leadership instructed relevant units to launch a confidential investigation to locate and apprehend the suspect in accordance with the law while ensuring national security and preserving Viet Nams international image. The intelligence came in at around 8pm. Surveillance teams from the Immigration Department immediately began verifying the suspects whereabouts. At Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi, thousands of incoming passengers were reviewed via security camera footage in an attempt to identify the suspect. Simultaneously, another team was dispatched to verify the suspects registered lodging at a hotel in Hoan Kiem District in the centre of Ha Noi. However, by late evening, the search had yielded no results. The suspect was not present at the declared address. In what was described as a needle-in-a-haystack situation amid the busy streams of international passengers at Noi Bai Airport, the department's leadership urged its agents to persevere, analysing the smallest of clues for leads. Their persistence paid off. Late that evening, surveillance footage revealed that the suspect had boarded a vehicle headed into central Ha Noi. With this lead, the task force coordinated with other units to determine the suspect's destination. However, they were only able to confirm that the suspect had disembarked near Hoan Kiem Lake. The area surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake is a bustling tourist hub, crowded with both locals and foreigners, and lined with hotels and guesthouses. Locating a foreign national here could take days or even weeks. However, the urgency of the mission left no room for delay. Despite the difficulty and the late hour, the Immigration Departments leadership narrowed down likely locations, relying on sharp instincts and limited information. All units remained mobilised, determined to track down the fugitive. At 11.45pm, plain-clothes officers spotted a suspicious individual dining at a restaurant in central Hoan Kiem District. Continuing discreet surveillance, they followed the man as he returned to a hotel in Hang Bac ward. Once the suspects location was confirmed, officers maintained covert surveillance throughout the night to prevent any chance of escape. Operating through the night presented its own challenges, particularly as late-night movements carried risks of exposure and the potential to provoke dangerous reactions from the suspect. On the morning of March 20, the Immigration Department reported to the Ministry of Public Security and requested support from specialised units to detain the suspect. However, a new complication emerged: the suspect began showing signs of movement. The operations team was immediately instructed to continue monitoring Basss movements and to time the arrest with precision. This task was especially challenging given the suspects criminal record, which includes illegal weapons possession and resistance to law enforcement. Compounding the difficulty was the hotels large number of foreign guests and the busy commercial area outside, where any resistance or escape attempt could have led to unpredictable consequences. Within a short time of receiving final orders, the task force drew up a tactical plan. Various arrest scenarios were considered, and contingency plans prepared. At around 10am on March 20, the arrest was executed by the Immigration Department in coordination with other units. The operation was swift and discreeteven tourists in the vicinity were unaware they had just brushed shoulders with a highly dangerous fugitive. Only when the man was taken away in custody did the hotel owner realise that their guest was a dangerous wanted fugitive. VNS HA NOI There has been so far no reports on Vietnamese nationals in Myanmar and Thailand affected by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake occurring in central Myanmar on Friday afternoon that sent shockwaves across Southeast Asia, Vietnamese foreign ministry said. Immediately after receiving the information, the foreign ministry stated it has directed Vietnamese representative agencies in Thailand and Myanmar to quickly grasp information about the situation of Vietnamese citizens. According to preliminary information from Vietnamese representative agencies in Myanmar and Thailand, so far, there has been no information available about Vietnamese people being impacted by the earthquake. Following the direction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnamese representative agencies in Myanmar and Thailand continue to maintain close contact with local authorities and Vietnamese community contacts in earthquake-affected localities to closely monitor the situation; be ready to deploy citizen protection plans if necessary; advise people to closely monitor announcements and follow the instructions of local authorities to prevent earthquake aftershocks in the next 24 hours. Vietnamese citizens in need of assistance can contact Vietnamese representative agencies in Myanmar and Thailand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Citizen Protection Hotline at the following numbers: - Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar: +95 966088 8998, email: vnembmyr2012@gmail.com - Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand: +66898966653, email: vnemb.th@mofa.gov.vn - Vietnamese Foreign Ministry's Citizen Protection Hotline: +84.981.84.84.84. Emergency responses Myanmars military government has called for international humanitarian aid and declared a state of emergency across six areas in the wake of the earthquake. The six areas are Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, Shan State, Naypyidaw and Bago. Foreign media reported that Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing visited a hospital in Naypyidaw where injured victims are being treated after the disaster. Myanmar authorities have not yet released official information about the damage. However, as the earthquakes epicentre was at a depth of 10km, the impact level could be very strong. Images posted on the country's electronic information pages show many high-rise buildings tilted or collapsed. It is predicted that human and property damage could be very large. According to Myanmar's DVP news agency, the Aung Pan Hotel in the southern state of Shan collapsed after the earthquake, killing two people and trapping 20 others. In Thailand, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has declared a Level-2 disaster zone after suffering severe damage from the earthquake's aftershocks from the neighbouring country. The Bangkok mayor has been tasked with coordinating emergency response operations. The latest information showed that at least two people have died in the capital. In Laos and Viet Nam, tremors could be felt in many high-rise buildings. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he is concerned by the situation and ready to offer all possible assistance. Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Also asked the MEA to remain in touch with the Governments of Myanmar and Thailand, Modi said via a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). VNS Marco Della Seta, ambassador of Italy to Vietnam Vietnam is a rapidly growing economy, where awareness of healthy eating is on the rise. A growing middle class is driving the demand for more diversified and safer farmed food. In such a market, a broad awareness is beginning to develop. The country-of-origin label plays a role in guaranteeing quality. Italian farmed products stand out globally thanks to deep-rooted traditions and continuous advances in production that make the made-in-Italy label synonymous with excellence, taste, and reliability. However, despite the reduction of duties under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, there is a shortage of high-quality Italian food products in Vietnam. We aim to help fill this gap, supporting Italian labelled products in being available to the Vietnamese consumers and thus encouraging an improved culture based on quality and safety. At Food and Hospitality Vietnam, Vietnamese companies will have the opportunity to meet 16 carefully selected Italian companies, each showcasing some of the finest programmes and products. Beyond our most renowned delicacies, we will also experience the strict regulations and high standards when we find Italian American products. For Italian companies, we believe the event offers a fantastic opportunity to gain insights into the Vietnamese market, understand potential consumers, and assess competition. Moreover, the expansion of retail chains further exemplifies the importance of Italian food products, making Vietnam an attractive market for Italian exporters and a strategic entry point to other regional markets. Courtney Beale, deputy Chief of Mission US Embassy to Vietnam Vietnam is a significant market for our agriculture and food exports. Its the 10th largest agricultural export market in the US, valued at $3.4 billion. This growing market is a testament to the expanding opportunities for American farmers, ranchers and food producers, increasing demand for their highly regarded products. Our farmers take great pride in ensuring that their products meet the highest standards, which is why theyre trusted worldwide. This success would not be possible without the foreign agriculture service team here in Vietnam as part of our US Embassy. The foreign agriculture service team plays a key role in expanding trade, addressing challenges and ensuring that US products are welcomed in Vietnam. For businesses and communities in both of our countries. The exhibition this year holds special significance as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the US and Vietnam. This milestone is a testament to the strength of the success of our partnership. Agriculture trade has been a major driver of this growth as it generates jobs, stimulates innovation, and enhances the overall prosperity of both of our countries. The success weve seen in markets like Vietnam is a direct result of the commitment of us, our farmers and food producers and ranchers. Were excited about the future and the potential for growth in the sector. Le Nguyen Doan Duy, director of Business Development Asia Ingredients Group The F&B industry is experiencing significant changes. Consumers are increasingly prioritising products that are natural, organic and environmentally friendly. In particular, transparency about origins and production processes is becoming key in purchasing decisions. We have implemented a series of long-term strategies to proactively develop organic raw material areas that meet high standards in key localities such as Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, and Hung Yen. These areas are established based on sustainable farming models, ensuring stable supply, high quality, and transparency in sourcing. We have built an ecosystem with over eight member companies specialising in supplying materials to various industries, serving leading F&B brands in Vietnam and exporting to over 40 countries. In early 2025, we made a significant step forward by establishing the Strategy Council and appointing numerous global experts commerce and supply chain operations. Going forward, we will continue to invest in developing organic raw material areas, enhancing product quality, and applying advanced deep processing technologies. Additionally, we will strengthen cooperation with global partners and expand distribution channels. Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung, director, Kien An Vietnam Vietnamese demand for alcoholic beverages has changed a lot in recent times. With the issuance of new alcohol rules, there has been increased use of non-alcoholic beverages. Recognising this, we have partnered with premium beverage producers from Austria to distribute and introduce fruit juices and wines to Vietnam. Beverages in Europe are subject to very strict quality control standards, ensuring safety and quality. Some from Italy, France, Spain, and Chile are already well-known in Vietnam, but beverages from Austria are not widely recognised. In Europe, beverages from Austria often occupy the premium segment and are more expensive than those from other countries. Therefore, we plan to introduce some of these beverages to explore market demand and provide Vietnamese consumers the chance to enjoy new types of drinks. Compared to well-established beverage brands, our products will require time to prove their suitability for the market and compete with them. The company plans to retail through online channels or distribution agents to reach a wider range of consumers. We have just completed all the necessary procedures to import products, but the official listed prices have not been finalised yet. However, the price range is expected to be below $50 per bottle, with some premium products at $100-150 per bottle. Nguyen Hoai Nam, business development manager at coffee solutions provider Cubes Asia, told VIR that Vietnams food and beverages (F&B) market will evolve in phases, emphasising the importance of catering to a diverse range of customer groups. Over the next three years, the market will see both horizontal and vertical growth. Local brands will emerge as strong contenders, as they have the in-depth understanding of regional tastes. Each part of Vietnam has distinct culinary preferences: northern consumers have different tastes from those in the central region, and both differ from southern consumers, Nam said. Discussing corporate strategy and market expansion, Nam pointed to Highlands Coffee as an example of a successful business model. He noted that brands focusing on storytelling, coupled with structured and modern operations, will have an edge in attracting investors and business partners. Highlands started with Vietnamese coffee beans and the traditional phin brewing method. However, they adapted by incorporating espresso-based brewing to offer a wider variety of coffee flavours while maintaining their Vietnamese identity, he said. Furthermore, by transitioning to espresso machines, Highlands Coffee has rebranded itself as a modern and professional chain. As their equipment provider, Cubes Asia has also benefited, gaining greater market reach. The synergy between Highlands Coffees high-quality Vietnamese coffee and our advanced coffee machine solutions creates significant value for consumers, Nam said. Takahiro Inomata, general manager at Fujiseiki Co., Ltd, a Japanese company specialising in cutting-edge food processing technology, sees Vietnams F&B market as a fertile ground for investment. With a 90 per cent market share in Japan, we approach Vietnam by first collaborating with local distributors, assessing the market, and then making deeper investments. If the conditions are right, a joint venture model is what we envision, Inomata said. From our initial observations, the demand for convenient, takeaway food and beverages is growing rapidly. Vietnamese consumers are smart and increasingly prioritise convenience and speed. This presents an opportunity for the expansion of ready-to-eat and grab-and-go food models. We believe that the quality of our machines will help deliver nutritious and hygienic meals to consumers, he added. Lola Wan, sales director at smart kitchen appliance group Shanghai Ronnie Technology, shared internal data from her company, reinforcing that Vietnams F&B industry was experiencing strong growth. Higher disposable income allows consumers to indulge more. Thats when we started seeing a rising interest in premium coffee experiences, automation in coffee preparation, and a shift towards convenience. Consumers are seeking high-quality products and innovative brewing solutions, Wan said. Viewing Vietnam as a long-term market, Wan outlined a phased expansion strategy when asked about specific plans for growth in the country. In the short term, the plan is to establish a strong distribution network and build brand awareness. A team composed of engineers and sales representatives will visit Vietnam more frequently to support our partners and gain deeper insights into market needs, Wan said. In the medium term, the aim is to set up an official office in Vietnam to oversee sales, marketing, and customer support. If market conditions are favourable, we may even establish a local production facility in the coming years. Ultimately, our goal is to make Vietnam one of our key markets in the region, Wan added. Dynamic M&A landscape felt in food and beverages Vietnams food and beverage market remains a fertile land for investors to step up merger and acquisition activities, with a focus on expanding product portfolios and developing markets. Vietnamese startup Filum AI in mid-March announced mobilisation of $1 million from funds such as Nextrans, VinVentures, TheVentures, and several strategic investors. More young people are using AI for learning purposes, Photo: Shutterstock The investment will serve as a powerful catalyst to further accelerate the development of advanced AI products, particularly AI Agents, to help businesses optimise costs, improve customer experience quality, and operate more efficiently, said Tran Van Vien, CEO of Filum AI. We hope that this deal will unlock more collaboration opportunities not only in terms of financial investment but also in strategy and technology, helping Vietnam gradually become a leading AI hub in the region, said Vien. The new funding will enable the startup to expand its research and development team, accelerate product development, enhance customer support capabilities, and enter the Southeast Asian market. The success of a Vietnamese AI startup in securing capital clearly demonstrates strong confidence and high expectations from investors. This is one of the rare startups with robust technological capabilities, strategic vision, and the ability to create practical value for businesses, a representative from the VinVentures technology investment fund shared. This is also one of our first investments following launch in October 2024. Meanwhile, at the AISC 2025 conference on March 12-16, co-hosted by US technology company Aitomatic, the National Innovation Centre, and knowledge discovery platform AI Hay, opportunities were provided to meet 1,000 leaders and experts from tech corporations including Google, Nvidia, IBM, Meta, Intel, and Samsung. At the AISC, Vietnamese tech companies had an opportunity to pitch their projects to top venture capital firms, secure strategic partnerships, and expand their global market presence, Nguyen Tho Chuong, chief technology officer at AI Hay, told VIR at the conference. This initiative is expected to be a significant stepping stone for Vietnamese enterprises to access cutting-edge technologies and further integrate into the global supply chain. Since last year, AI Hay has been taking advantage of the support of AWS GenAI Accelerator, Nvidia Inception, and Google Startups Cloud to complete a knowledge discovery platform to seamlessly integrates conversational search, social, and AI to transform how users across Asia access collective intelligence, beginning in Vietnam. As per the ASEAN Gen AI Startup Report 2024 by Gen AI Fund, released last September, Vietnam ranks second among six Southeast Asian countries in AI startup potential. While Singapore leads with 44 per cent of the regions AI startups, Vietnam follows with 27 per cent, far outpacing Indonesia and Thailand. I think that Vietnam has tremendous potential for AI. According to our study, in education, the young population accounts for a high proportion, and in reality, more than half of current AI Hay users are students. Initially, they used it to read news, but later they realised its most important application was solving homework - a very distinctly Vietnamese approach, said Chuong. According to AI Hays leaders, the number of startups raising seed-stage funding in Vietnam was fewer than 15, illustrating the complexities of attaining big sums. In fact, one of the reasons why raising capital has been difficult for us isnt just the market, but because we need to find investors willing to play the long game with us. We have to convince them that were building a company for the era and that five years from now, AI Hay will become a household name, said Chuong. Vietnam is prioritising policies to develop its AI ecosystem, with a focus on fostering personnel and AI platforms. The former Ministry of Planning and Investment collaborated with Google to establish the AI Space platform, providing startups with free access to cloud services and other digital tools. This initiative could save startups up to $350,000 over two years, offering significant financial backing to help them confidently invest and grow in Vietnam. Additionally, the Vietnamese government has implemented numerous policies to accelerate digital technology adoption in recent times. The fact that AI has been included as one of the key pillars of national technology development is a positive signal. It feels like this is our moment theres interest from higher levels, it motivates us to work harder and deliver products that truly add value, Chuong added. More startups wanted to aid innovation Changing policies related to innovation startup funds is expected to diversify the capital market for the startup business community. The meeting was attended by Nguyen Thi Hong, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and chairwoman of VBSPs Board of Directors; Nguyen Thi Tuyen, president of the Vietnam Womens Union; Phan Nhu Nguyen, vice president of the Vietnam Farmers' Union; along with other members of VBSP's board and representatives from relevant ministries and agencies. Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc In his address, VBSP general director Duong Quyet Thang revealed total social policy credit sources have surpassed $16.6 billion, with an average annual growth rate of over 21 per cent. Of this, $2.35 billion is entrusted capital volume by local governments. The outstanding balance of social policy credit schemes stands at just over $15 billion. Currently, over 6.8 million poor households, near-poor households, and policy beneficiaries still have outstanding loans with VBSP. Over the past 23 years, nearly 48 million poor households and other policy beneficiaries have received preferential loans, helping more than seven million households escape poverty. The bank has also created jobs for more than 7.6 million workers, supported over four million students in need, and contributed to the construction of over 20 million clean water and sanitation facilities in rural areas. Additionally, nearly 784,000 homes for the poor and low-income households, and policy beneficiaries have been built, purchased, or rented with support from VBSP schemes. VBSP general director Duong Quyet Thang (standing) VBSP has been tasked with several important missions by the government, including implementing credit policies to support individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic under the governments Resolution No.68/NQ-CP. These efforts have provided loans to almost 1,550 businesses, amounting to $193 million, to pay wages for over 1.2 million workers and help businesses recover production. Furthermore, VBSP has also participated in materialising economic rebound and development initiatives under National Assembly Resolution No.43/2022/QH15 and governments Resolution No.11/NQ-CP. During the meeting, representatives from various state management agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, and the Government Office expressed their high consensus with reports from the SBV and VBSP. They praised VBSP's achievements over the past 23 years, particularly in developing a modern and rational governance model, which has effectively served the target beneficiaries and contributed to maintaining and enhancing the quality of social policy credit. The rate of overdue and suspended debts in VBSPs whole system has decreased from 13.75 per cent of total outstanding loans when it was handed over in 2002 to just 0.55 per cent as of March 20, with overdue debt accounting for under 0.2 per cent of total outstanding loans. This reflects VBSPs successful efforts to preserve and grow state capital. Nguyen Thi Hong, SBV Governor and VBSP chairwoman At the meeting, Governor Hong emphasised that VBSPs activities receive attention from party, state, and government leaders, praising the bank for its important achievements, which have been highly appreciated by relevant authorities and the public. "VBSP is a typical microfinance institution and has been internationally recognised for helping Vietnam achieve its Millennium Development Goals ahead of schedule," said Hong. Concluding the meeting, DPM Phoc highlighted that VBSP is one of the 'pillars' of Vietnams poverty reduction and social welfare policies. Its innovative approaches and increasingly improved organisational structure have served the needs of the poor and other policy beneficiaries effectively. Looking ahead, the DPM outlined several key tasks for VBSP, including stabilising the organisational structure to align with the current administrative unit reorganisation process. He emphasised the importance of maintaining the client network during any restructuring. Additionally, VBSP should diversify its capital sources, especially low-cost funding. The bank should continue to improve efficiency and explore new avenues for receiving entrusted capital not only from local governments but also from businesses and corporations. DPM Phoc also urged VBSP to continue focusing on developing a professional and modern workforce and to enhance the application of IT, digital transformation, and big data to improve operational efficiency. Policy credit a boon to Yen Bai residents in the wake of Typhoon Yagi Yen Bai province suffered some of the most significant damage from Typhoon Yagi in September, with heavy rainfall and floods. In response, Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) has stepped up the pace of policy credit allocation to affected areas in the locality. Central Bank of Cuba chief visits Hanoi to work with VBSP A high-ranking delegation from Cuba, led by Juanna Lilia Delgado Portal, president of the Central Bank of Cuba, arrived in Hanoi on November 20 to work with Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP). F&B players in coffee, tea, and others are moving to expand and invest in their factories, photo Le Toan In mid-March, Trung Nguyen Legend broke ground on a coffee factory in Buon Ma Thuot city of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, at a cost of over $78 million. This is Trung Nguyen Legends fifth factory in Vietnam, with the venture expected to boost robusta coffee processing and exporting capabilities in Vietnams largest coffee-growing region. Vanusia Nogueira, executive director of the International Coffee Organisation, said, With the growing demand for robusta coffee beans globally, we appreciate Trung Nguyen Legends efforts to expand and invest in a factory in Buon Ma Thuot. The project extends beyond economic development to prove a harmonious blend of global vision and indigenous traditions. It sets a model for sustainable development, bringing benefits to farmers, communities, and consumers around the world. Elsewhere, in early February, HiteJinro, a South Korean beverage company, started construction of its soju plant at the Green I-Park Industrial Complex in the northern province of Thai Binh. The initiative is slated to be completed in 2026, with an annual production capacity of up to five million cases. The plant will produce products to serve the Vietnamese and global markets. HiteJinro CEO Kim In-Kyu said, The new plant is of strategic importance as a bridgehead for global market expansion centred on Southeast Asia. The venture marks a pivotal turning point in our journey towards becoming a global comprehensive liquor company. It is significant to break ground for our first overseas production plant in Vietnam, which was the starting point for soju exports. As reported by Bangkok Post, Suntory Beverage & Food, part of Suntory Group, is gearing up to boost production capacity in Thailand and Vietnam. Its president and chief executive Makiko Ono said the Asia-Pacific region is a vital growth driver for the company, highlighting the significant potential in Thailand and Vietnam as key markets. We are building a new factory in Vietnam. In Thailand, we are now expanding our capacity by installing two new production lines this year and next year, Ono added. Last April, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam commenced construction on a $300 million beverage plant in the Mekong Delta province of Long An. The 20-hectare facility in Duc Hoa district will have an annual capacity of 800 million litres, and become the companys largest and most advanced plant in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the Vietnam Food & Beverage (F&B) market report 2024 released by iPOS.vn and Nestle Professional on March 18, Vietnams market is set to register a growth rate of 9.6 per cent in 2025. At the end of 2024, the number of F&B establishments was estimated at just over 323,000, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year. Despite consumption challenges, the F&B market posted a revenue of $27 billion in 2024, marking a rise of 16.6 per cent against 2023. Besides expanding manufacturing capacity, F&B players also boost their dealmaking activities to get a bigger slice of the market. Vietnamese restaurant group Golden Gate is reportedly acquiring The Coffee House from local retail group Seedcom. The deal takes place amid The Coffee Houses lacklustre performance. Last year, the chain shut down over 30 outlets in Can Tho, Danang, Haiphong, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City. At present, the chain runs 93 outlets, a sharp drop from 150 outlets in late 2023. Meanwhile, Golden Gate was the largest player in terms of value sales in 2024, supported by its ownership of the Kichi Kichi (hot pot), Gogi House (Korean BBQ), and Manwah (Taiwanese) full-service restaurant chains, according to Euromonitor International. Private equity firm Excelsior Capital Vietnam Partners has made an investment in local restaurant operator Aladdin. Founded in 2017, Aladdin is one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry, with restaurant chains like Bo To Quan Moc, Long Wang Hotpot, and Banh Trang An Vu. Nguyen Thai Binh, co-founder of Hoc Vien Concepts, said that instead of investing in new brands, many funds are prioritising the purchase of F&B chains to optimise cash flows and reduce risks. Through acquisitions, investors can shorten the time to build a new business and take advantage of the system in efficient operation while increasing the value of their investment portfolio. Owning a business with stable revenue not only ensures positive cash flow but also helps increase valuation value, creating an advantage in the next fundraising rounds, Binh said. F&B companies ramp up net-zero missions The risk of supply chain disruptions and reduced raw material availability due to climate change is prompting the food and beverage industry to accelerate its transition towards greener and more sustainable practices. F&B players remain upbeat about market Despite unexpected store closures showing no sign of stopping, food and beverage (F&B) businesses remain optimistic about the prospects for growth and the future of the market in Vietnam. Restructuring can help F&B groups optimise profit The food and beverage market in Vietnam is evolving rapidly, with businesses exploring global expansion and adapting to digital solutions. VIRs Luu Huong spoke with Taku Tanaka, founder and CEO of food sourcing platform Kamereo, about how leveraging technology and maintaining authenticity can drive growth. M&As pick up pace in sectors from food to energy A raft of transactions are still taking place in the Vietnamese market across different industries, from food to renewable energy, signalling improved sentiment from investors. The launch of the FPT High-Tech and Semiconductor R&D Centre follows a strategic cooperation agreement between the tech giant and the Danang Department of Information and Communications announced in January. The partnership aims to invest in technology R&D and staff in the semiconductor and AI sectors, which are expected to become key focus areas in the city's new technology ecosystem. The centre covers an area of 3,000 square meters at Danang Software Park 2 and is expected to host 500 tech experts in 2025. It aims to develop all of FPT's products, with a view to rolling out an average of 10 new products per year. FPT will develop technology solutions, train high-quality workers, provide scholarships, and create job opportunities for students specialising in semiconductors and AI from educational institutions in Danang. In addition, FPT will expand its focus beyond integrated circuit design to advanced packaging and ATE testing in the high-tech zones and free trade areas of Danang. Nguyen Dang Khoa, CEO of FPT, reaffirmed the corporation's commitment to accompanying and contributing resources, experts, and technology solutions to help Danang achieve its vision. "The R&D centre will play a role in encouraging innovation in Danang, creating an ecosystem connected with the startup community. The centre is a gathering place of top-notch experts to research and develop locally made technology products," he said Semiconductors can be pillar for growth The global semiconductor industry is making headlines, fuelled by surging demand for electronic devices and groundbreaking advancements in technology. The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organisation revised its 2024 projections, forecasting a remarkable 19 per cent on-year growth, pushing the markets value to an estimated $627 billion. AISC 2025: Vietnam's new role in AI and semiconductors The 2025 International Conference on AI and Semiconductors (AISC), organised by US-based Aitomactic and the National Innovation Centre (NIC) under Vietnam's Ministry of Finance, will run from March 12-14 in Hanoi. The sixth Informatics Olympiad, exclusively sponsored by Hanwha Life, was held on March 21-22 at the Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology (VKU). As a premier IT competition, the Olympiad identifies and fosters outstanding talents across Vietnam. The company has been sponsoring this event for two consecutive years, thus strengthening its commitment to regional technological advancement. Hong Jeong-pyo, senior executive vice president of Hanwha Life, presenting a certificate and trophy to the winning team of the AI track. Photo: Hanwha Life This year, the competition garnered significant attention, with a record-breaking number of participants. The number of participating schools surged by 48.3 per cent on-year to 525 institutions, while student participation increased by 19.5 per cent, with 2,848 competitors, the largest turnout so far. These figures show the growing interest in Vietnamese IT sector as well as the growing influence of increasing competition. Huynh Cong Phap, president of the VKU and chairman of the organising committee; Le Thi Bich Thuan, director of education and training for Danang; Hong Jeong-pyo, senior executive vice president of Hanwha Life; and Shin Jung Won, head of corporate social responsibility of ChildFund, attended the event to encourage participants and discuss the significance of the competition. The newly introduced AI track was an exceptional contribution to this years event, marking a milestone in the competitions evolution. This aligns with Hanwha Lifes vision of promoting AI and digital innovation within the global financial industry. The company has been actively expanding its AI research and business operations, establishing specialised units such as AI Division, AI Research Lab, and Hanwha AI Center (HAC) in San Francisco. These efforts aim not only to drive financial service innovation, but also to enhance personalised digital experiences for customers. The winner of the AI track, Phung Nguyen Nhu Bach, stated, "I am sincerely grateful to Hanwha Life for providing a platform that showcases Vietnams AI capabilities on the global stage." Vietnamese participants have made their mark internationally. Last year, the Super Cup champion went to compete in the International Olympiad in Informatics, securing an impressive two gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal. During the competition, the company hosted "Hanwha Life Lecture Series", providing the participants and residents with insights into global finance and fintech. The event featured a keynote lecture by Jung Yoo Shin head of Korea Digital Economic and Financial Institute and a professor at Sogang University, titled Digital Finance and Korean Fintech & Best Practices. Through this initiative, the company aimed to enhance financial literacy among local youth and inhabitants, contributing to the development of the Vietnamese financial ecosystem while expanding its future customer base. Hong Jeong-pyo said, "The introduction of the AI track and financial education initiatives are part of Hanwha Lifes overseas corporate social responsibility strategy, Future Plus Global. Through this programme, we will strengthen global financial and digital capabilities of local youth. We will also continue to seek local talents and develop regional financial education infrastructure." Phap added, "Thanks to Hanwha Lifes strong support as well as the introduction of the AI track, young Vietnamese have gained a valuable opportunity to grow as future leaders. This competition evolves into an inclusive platform where young talents can showcase their potential, regardless of their socioeconomic background." Hanwha Life Vietnam supports community and sales force with $130,430 against COVID-19 Showing solidarity to all Vietnamese people during the pandemic, Hanwha Life Vietnam Insurance Co., Ltd. (Hanwha Life Vietnam) has just contributed VND1 billion ($43,480) to the Vaccine Fund of the Vietnamese government to contribute to immunising 75 per cent of Vietnam's population, thereby controlling the epidemic and bringing life back to normal. Hanwha Life gives strength to the community through meaningful activities Hanwha Life Vietnam has presented many meaningful gifts to those who have been severely affected by the pandemic in Binh Thanh and Binh Chanh districts, Ho Chi Minh City to support the community to overcome the pandemic. Worker housing area in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park The Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) has submitted feedback to the prime minister on a draft pilot project for policies aimed at accelerating social housing development. In its document dated March 21, HoREA proposed allowing manufacturers in industrial parks (IPs) to invest in building dormitory housing for workers. The association also called for changes to permit enterprises to rent social housing or worker dormitories located outside IP boundaries. The proposal follows the Ministry of Constructions (MoC) submission to the government on March 17 of Document No. 08/TTr-BXD, which outlines a draft National Assembly resolution on piloting policies for social housing development. The MoC also issued an accompanying impact assessment, Report No. 14/BC-BXD. The documents aim to pave the way for at least one million social housing units to be built during the 2021-2030 period and beyond. They outline seven pilot policies intended to accelerate progress and expand access to affordable housing. After reviewing the MoCs proposal, HoREA recommended that costs related to constructing or renting worker dormitories be recognised as legitimate business expenses and included in production costs. It also highlighted a gap in the current Housing Law, which only allows enterprises to rent worker housing within IPs. There are no regulations allowing enterprises to rent social housing outside IPs or to build their own dormitories for workers, said HoREA chairman Le Hoang Chau. He noted that the demand for worker housing is rising, but supply remains constrained, while commercial housing is often unaffordable for workers. HoREA urged the government to support manufacturersregardless of whether they are involved in real estateso they can take an active role in resolving housing issues. Allowing this would help stabilise the workforce, give workers more security, and support the sustainable development of industrial zones, HoREA stated. To encourage participation, the association also recommended financial support policies such as tax incentives, preferential loans, and reciprocal mechanisms from the state to ease the financial burden on businesses. Previously, some enterprises proposed buying land, building homes, and selling them to workers through instalment schemes. However, legal procedures remain a significant barrier to implementation. Sizable IPs approved for investment in January The government gave the greenlight for a series of new multi-million dollar industrial parks across the country in January. Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong and vice president of KEXIM Bank Hong Soon-young Deputy Minister Phuong said that since establishing bilateral diplomatic relations, cooperation between the two countries has continuously developed, especially in economics. He respected and appreciated the support and assistance of the South Korean government and KEXIM. As the agency of the South Korean government managing the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), KEXIM has boosted the effective implementation of projects in transportation, health, and the environment in Vietnam. "These affirm the interest and close cooperation between the two sides towards future development goals," he said. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) and KEXIM have signed 65 agreements with a total funding value of nearly $3 billion within the EDCF Framework Agreement over the years. Most recently, loans from the EDCF for the 2024-2030 period worth $2 billion were signed at the end of 2023. Phuong said that the loans required official development assistance (ODA) standards. Mobilising ODA capital is one of the top priorities of the Vietnamese government. "With this close coordination, upcoming projects will achieve many good results," the deputy minister said. Soon-young said that the South Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance is interested in two projects - a road from Tuyen Quang city centre to the My Lam mineral spring tourist area in the northern province of Tuyen Quang, and three bridges over the Can Giuoc, Vam Co Dong, and Vam Co Tay rivers in in the Mekong Delta province of Long An. He asked the MoF to push the implementation of these projects this year. The bank will also continue exploring new projects suitable for cooperation between the two countries. Japanese ODA is massive contribution for Vietnam Japan has been providing official development assistance for 70 years. Sugano Yuichi, chief representative at the Japan International Cooperation Agencys (JICA) Vietnam office, spoke with VIRs Thanh Dat about the prospects of cooperation in this field in Vietnam. Cooperation underscores Japans links to Vietnam Since joining the Colombo Plan in 1954, Japan has provided financial and technical cooperation to low-resource countries through official development assistance (ODA) with the aim of contributing to the peace and development of the international community. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is drafting a brand-new personal income tax (PIT) law which will oust the existing version, under which it has been suggested that PIT imposed on salaries of those working in high-tech industries will be removed. The prime minister will specify the criteria for determining high-tech human resources as a flexible policy that is suitable to the reality of the nations personnel development strategies. The draft also proposes tax exemption for individuals performing sci-tech tasks using the state budget, income from the transfer of emission reduction certificates, the first transfer of carbon credits, and interest from green bonds. This is similar to the experience in other countries, the MoF said. Commenting on the draft law, the former Ministry of Information and Communications proposed to add the subject of digital technology human resources to Article 5 of the draft law. The draft Law on Digital Technology Industry is introducing a policy to draw in digital technology personnel, digital technology talents who are Vietnamese, foreign experts with qualifications and skills meeting some criteria, the ministry noted. Preferential policies on PIT will attract digital tech human resources to work and contribute to Vietnam, creating motivation and development space, meeting the requirements of developing the digital tech industry. Bui Thanh Long, an IT engineer from FPT Software, said, The proposal of no PIT for people in high technologies has attracted me. But I am not sure whether all IT engineers are high-tech employees or not. I am waiting to see which specific sectors will be accepted, and I am willing to study some more courses in order to benefit. The concept of high-tech workers in Clause 10, Article 3 of the Law on High Technology 2008 defines it as people with qualifications and skills that meet the requirements of research and development, adoption of related technology and services, management of related activities, operation of equipment, and production lines of relevant products. Meanwhile, the draft resolution on establishing and operating financial centres proposed that managers, scientists, and experts with high professional qualifications in this area would be exempted from PIT. Other groups of subjects also with PIT arising at state authorities or members of financial centres are exempted from tax until the end of 2035. In the following years, the MoF proposed to reduce by half of PIT. The exemption of PIT is necessary to attract highly qualified scientists to Vietnam, into the financial sector to build and operate financial centres, the MoF noted in the dossier of the draft law. However, according to the MoF, the current law on PIT does not stipulate tax incentives applicable to specific subjects. The law only stipulates tax exemption for certain types of income to ensure social security. The ministry emphasised that not all employees in financial centres are the subjects to be attracted and preferential policies (if any) need to be applied selectively, focusing on qualified human resources in some sectors of the economy. Moreover, the MoF is considering supplementing appropriate regulations in the law on PIT for the income of high-tech human resources working in various enterprises and projects prioritised for investment and development. The rate of PIT reduction for this group of subjects needs to be considered to ensure harmony between encouraging prioritised subjects, maintaining state budget revenue, and not distorting the role of PIT, the MoF emphasised. Policy breakthroughs, including tax policies, are conditions for attracting talents in the high-tech sector, being the motivation to implement key national tasks on science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, development of AI technology and training. Do Thanh Binh, director of International Cooperation of the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association, said, Between now and 2030, Vietnam needs about one million more workers in the IT sector to meet the needs of todays technology explosion; and increase of 75 per cent in personnel demand for AI; 20,000 experts per year in cybersecurity; and 30 per cent more personnel related to blockchain technology. The draft law on PIT is expected to be discussed by the National Assembly in October, approved in May 2026, and take effect from 2027. New rules a boon for high-tech players New regulations for procedures and standards for determining high-tech product manufacturing are expected to help pull in more high-tech funding. High-tech transition plans reach new stage Chip and semiconductor manufacturers as well as 5G network infrastructure developers in Vietnam will be entitled to various incentives from the government. The New Indian Express cited its sources from the Industries Department showing that VinFast's integrated EV manufacturing facility is 90 per cent complete and is expected to commence within the next two to three months. Thoothukudi is quickly becoming as a prominent player in India's automotive sector, with the construction of VinFast's new plant nearing completion in the region. "Thoothukudi is now emerging as the states fourth major auto-cluster after Chennai, Krishnagiri, and Coimbatore, further strengthening our position in the sector," said Industries Minister TRB Rajaa. VinFast executives spoke earlier this week about the import of critical EV components. The discussions also included efforts to create shipping logistics and liner connectivity with Haiphong. This will make it easier to import key parts and export finished vehicles to markets in India and around the world. According to industry insiders, VinFast wants to bring in 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of components to begin production in May, with an official inauguration of the factory scheduled for June. Initially, the company will concentrate on the home market before extending its exports internationally. According to Guidance, Tamil Nadu's investment promotion agency, Thoothukudi is poised to become the state's next major hub for EV and battery production. "The first phase will produce 150,000 units per year, with support from a supplier park that is now being developed. Thoothukudi's superior seaport link ensures speedier exports and higher efficiency. The undertaking is also expected to create 3,500 new jobs," Guidance noted. On February 25, VinFast broke ground on its first integrated EV manufacturing facility in India. Spanning 400 acres within the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu's industrial estate, the EV facility boasts a total initial investment of $500 million over five years, with a projected capacity of 150,000 vehicles annually. India represents a key market in VinFast's global expansion plan, capitalising on the potential presented by this rapidly growing market. The future of EVs in India is promising, driven by strong governmental support, technological progress, and shifting consumer preferences. VinFast plans first EV factory in India Vietnamese carmaker VinFast said it will build its first electric vehicle factory in India as part of a planned $2 billion investment, as it looks to expand into the rapidly growing market. Construction starts on $200 million VinFast EV assembly plant in Indonesia VinFast officially broke ground on its new electric vehicle (EV) assembly plant in Subang, West Java, Indonesia, on July 15. Vingroup has sent an official dispatch to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son proposing to add large-scale renewable energy and LNG power projects into the country's revised Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8). The renewable energy initiatives will have a total capacity of 47,500 MW in the 2025-2035 period. They are expected to be deployed across seven localities, namely Son La, Dak Lak, Ninh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Tra Vinh/Soc Trang, and Khanh Hoa. The initiatives include a floating solar power project in the Son La hydropower reservoir with a total capacity of 8,000 MW; solar power combined with wind power in Dak Lak with a total capacity of 9,000 MW; and a solar power venture in Binh Phuoc with a total capacity of more than 8,000 MW. By 2030, Vingroup expects to generate a total of 20,500 MW of renewable energy, including 13,900 MW from solar power and 6,600 MW from wind power, with an estimated investment of $20-25 billion. Another proposal is integrating a 5,000 MW LNG power plant in Haiphong into PDP8. If approved, construction would last from 2025 to 2030 with an investment of $5.5 billion. The Haiphong LNG power plant will compensate capacity for other delayed thermal power plants such as BOT Nam Dinh 1 (1,200 MW), Quang Tri (1,320 MW), Vinh Tan 3 (1,980 MW), and Song Hau 2 (2,120 MW). The government has set an ambitious target of 8 per cent GDP growth this year, with aspirations of double-digit expansion in the years to follow. In the draft adjusted PDP8, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) proposed five scenarios for installed power capacity and calculated the total installed power capacity nationwide by 2030 to reach 211,800 MW, an increase of 56,200 MW compared to the PDP8 approved nearly two years ago. To achieve the increased capacity, the MoIT proposed to expand the room for developing renewable energy sources, imported electricity, and flexible thermal power sources. Accordingly, solar power capacity is set to quadruple to 34,000 MW. Pumped storage hydropower and battery storage are also proposed to increase six-fold from 2,700 MW to 15,250 MW. Meanwhile, imported power from China and Laos could triple to 14,600 MW. Energy tech enterprises play pivotal role with innovation Vietnams energy transition plan is drawing acute interest from foreign funds, with more investments bestowed on local firms. Excelerate Energy ties up with PV Gas for LNG supply Excelerate Energy, Inc., a leading provider of floating storage and regasification units and liquefied natural gas (LNG) solutions, and Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas), a subsidiary of PetroVietnam, have entered into a strategic partnership for US LNG supply. archives 29 Jun - 6 Jul (2) 22 Jun - 29 Jun (4) 15 Jun - 22 Jun (1) 8 Jun - 15 Jun (3) 1 Jun - 8 Jun (4) 25 May - 1 Jun (5) 18 May - 25 May (2) 11 May - 18 May (3) 4 May - 11 May (2) 27 Apr - 4 May (5) 20 Apr - 27 Apr (1) 13 Apr - 20 Apr (2) 30 Mar - 6 Apr (5) 23 Mar - 30 Mar (2) 9 Mar - 16 Mar (1) 2 Mar - 9 Mar (2) 16 Feb - 23 Feb (3) 9 Feb - 16 Feb (1) 2 Feb - 9 Feb (3) 26 Jan - 2 Feb (2) 12 Jan - 19 Jan (1) 5 Jan - 12 Jan (1) 22 Dec - 29 Dec (1) 15 Dec - 22 Dec (2) 8 Dec - 15 Dec (1) 24 Nov - 1 Dec (1) 17 Nov - 24 Nov (4) 10 Nov - 17 Nov (2) 3 Nov - 10 Nov (1) 27 Oct - 3 Nov (4) 20 Oct - 27 Oct (4) 13 Oct - 20 Oct (1) 6 Oct - 13 Oct (1) 29 Sep - 6 Oct (1) 22 Sep - 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5 Oct (14) 21 Sep - 28 Sep (17) 14 Sep - 21 Sep (19) 7 Sep - 14 Sep (22) 31 Aug - 7 Sep (15) 24 Aug - 31 Aug (14) 17 Aug - 24 Aug (9) 10 Aug - 17 Aug (5) We are in favor of resolving these issues by peaceful means But the root causes must be eliminated. We must ensure Russias security for the long historical perspective, Putin said. also Putin said, Not long ago I said, Well squeeze them. Now theres reason to believe well finish them off. Then, I think a moment of realization must come to the Ukrainian people themselves. I once said, God help the USA and the West if you persist in tempting and manage to rouse the bear. This is what happens when you poke and agitate the bear. You will then understand the full extent of what a disciplined, well-trained, patriotic army can accomplish Very few in the West have been paying attention and those that have, tried to benefit monetarily by manipulation of facts. We are now looking at the Wests strategic defeat. A massive defeat by Western miscalculation There will most likely be a battle to the end as the West is pushed into the background due to global insignificance Naturally, they are attempting to use Ukraine as its sounding board. NATO and the EU are isolating themselves in a tiny corner while blaring their own propaganda from a boom boom box and acting as though everyone else is listening. The USA is now running away (after blaring that same propaganda) and trying to find those missing Emperors Clothes. Those clothes are in the Salvation Army and for sale The United States actually flees because it is scared of peer level adversaries and as a nasty bully, enjoys attacking weaker populations that lack the means to defend themselves, such as those in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Gaza, and other places and and Hmm WtR https://swentr.site/russia/614885-putin-finish-ukraine-forces/ Winona's Main Street Program is getting a refresh, with a new director and a shift in focus. Winona State University graduate Travis Lybeck, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, recently took over as the program's leader. Lybeck has been with the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce since June and previously served as its director of member services and business development. Lybeck was interested in changing roles in the Chamber, because of his passion for the city's downtown. I love our downtown," he said. "It's beautiful. It's right on the river. There's no place like this in the world with the bluffs, the river, the businesses, the restaurants. That was what really drove me to it. He does really value our downtown," said the chamber's president/CEO Christie Ransom, noting that Lybeck lives downtown. Lybeck understands the importance of a strong downtown, as he said that it helps businesses attract new employees. It really is a drive to bring those employees from out of Winona to stay in Winona," he said. He said Winona's downtown needs to provide these potential employees places to eat, shop and enjoy the arts. While former directors of the program have been passionate about downtown, Ransom believes Lybeck brings a new perspective with him. He understands how the whole community plays a role together," she said, noting that she believes Lybeck will take a holistic approach to the program. She also believes Lybeck's previous work with the chamber will benefit stakeholders. I think we haven't necessarily had people that understood how the chamber fits in to the Main Street role," she said. "(Lybeck) understands how to position the chamber and the main street organization to best market our downtown, but also can help in the role of helping to solicit sponsors for our different events and things like that." So far, Lybeck said a lot of his time in the role has gone to the behind-the-scenes work on the program's summer events. He said he looks forward to being in the streets and meeting people during those events, including during the upcoming Touch a Truck event in May. Lybeck is moving his attention more toward those connections with the community and taking every chance he can to visit local businesses. If there's an open door, I'm gonna walk into it," he said. Changing focus Lybeck will lead the program as it changes its focus. We're kind of trying to be a lot more intentional about where we spend our time, how we spend our time, Ransom said. The Chamber has handed off some of the smaller events it has built up over the years to others in the community. Some larger events will continue to be organized by the program, though. The program plans to invest even more time into its annual Crazy Days and Big Muddy Brew 'n Que. We're kind of stepping away from some of those little events like that, and really putting a lot more emphasis on education for our business owners from a building perspective," Ransom said. That education includes helping guide business owners as they look into options such as adding new windows, doors, awnings, or signs to their business. Additionally, the program's focus will start to lean more toward its economic development work. Lybeck hopes to get more design projects completed with the city, including things like lighting, street benches and more. Ransom said the change in focus is a move back to what the program previously stepped away from. The program is trying to get back to the roots of how we make our downtown more favorable for people to come and visit, but also for businesses to thrive," Ransom said. Being heavily event focused, she said, took away from some of the real core of what that committee and what that program is designed to do. The program will continue to promote downtown, its businesses and its events, though. Businesses need those events to get people in the doors. They need the social media to get all those voices heard," Lybeck said. Making sure the voices of the city's businesses continues to be one of Lybeck's and the program's goals as they enter into the future. Wrexham travel firm Delmar World celebrates 60 Years with national award win This article is old - Published: Friday, Mar 28th, 2025 A long-standing Wrexham travel agency has marked its 60th anniversary with a prestigious national accolade bringing home top honours at the TTG Luxury Travel Awards. Delmar World, based on Chester Road in Gresford, has been helping customers plan their holidays since 1964. Now led by managing director Ann Anglesea and her brother Howard, the family-run firm continues to thrive six decades on. The agency was named a winner at this years TTG Luxury Travel Awards one of the most respected events in the UK travel industry calendar. The awards recognise excellence in customer care, staff wellbeing, industry knowledge and destination expertise. Delmar stood out among hundreds of entries from across the country, with the award presented at a ceremony in London earlier this month. Councillor Williams said: Sixty years is a huge milestone, and what better way to celebrate than by winning a prestigious national award? Delmar World is a fantastic local business that continues to thrive and grow underlining the fact that Wrexham is a great place to do business. Its so important that we support local enterprises and it was wonderful to meet Ann and the team, and to listen to their plans for the future. I hope they continue to enjoy every success. Ann said: Having grown up with the family business, Im so proud that my brother Howard and I are celebrating its 60th year in the travel industry. Together weve not only grown the business, but weve kept the same values and ethos from when it started in 1964. Many of our customers remember our early days and their children and grandchildren are booking their worldwide adventures with us today, which means the world to us! Winning this national award is the big one for us. We have so much to offer in the luxury holiday arena and are glad weve been recognised for our hard work. However, we also offer great value holidays too! Top pic: Ann Anglesea and Councillor Nigel Williams The Mammoth Lakes Police Department has released body cam footage following a fatal shooting incident involving police earlier this month. It happened on March 4 when officers opened fire on 39-year-old Jesus Corona Uribe of Mammoth Lakes. Uribe was armed with rocks, which he was allegedly throwing at cars before officers arrived. When police got on scene, he allegedly charged toward them holding the rocks after refusing orders from officers. Officers then opened fire. Lifesaving measures were attempted, and first responders provided medical aid. Uribe was taken to Mammoth Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. You can watch the video in full on the Mammoth Lakes Police Department YouTube channel. It displays graphic images and foul language. Viewer discretion is advised. If you wish to watch it, you can view it at this link. --- March 7 Update: The Mammoth Lakes Police Department has released details about a shooting on Tuesday where officers shot a man at the Mammoth Lakes Branch Library. According to the report, around noon on Tuesday, March 4, officers responded to a call about a disturbance at the library. When police arrived, they encountered 39-year old Jesus Corona Uribe armed with rocks. He was uncooperative with officers, and ran towards them holding the rocks - which prompted the officers to open fire. After the shooting, lifesaving measures were attempted as medical responders arrived at the scene. Uribe was moved to Mammoth Hospital, where he died from the gunshots. The California Department of Justice will be investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting, in accordance with state law. Anyone with information about this incident is being asked to contact the California Department of Justice at (916) 210-2871. The Mammoth Lakes Police Department is planning to release a video regarding the shooting. Original Story (3/4/2025, 10:54 p.m.): The California Department of Justice is investigating a shooting that involved the Mammoth Lakes Police Department on Tuesday. Officials say one person is dead. It happened at noon at the Mono County Library Mammoth Lakes branch. Officers said they encountered a man at the front entrance of the library, and the California DOJ said one person died as a result of the shooting. The identity of that person has not yet been released. The California DOJ will be handling the investigation. Governor Lombardo has sent a letter to the Secretaries of Interior and Housing and Urban Development requesting that Nevada be included on the Joint Task Force on Federal Land for Housing. The letter - seen below - is addressed to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner, following their recent announcement of the joint task force. In the letter, Governor Lombardo requests Nevada be included in the task force since more than 85% of Nevadas land is managed by the federal government adding that projections show that Washoe County could run out of developable land by 2027, and Clark County may face the same issue by 2032. We simply cannot afford to let this happen. Lombardo previously stated that he would prioritize state funding that could support $1 billion in new, attainable housing units across the state. That bill, Assembly Bill 540, or the Nevada Attainable Housing Act, was introduced earlier this week where it was referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor. UPDATE - March 31: The Churchill County Sheriff's Office reports that Nancy Griffiths and Jayson Daniel have both been found, according to an updated online post. No other details were provided. The community was thanked by the sheriff's office for all of its assistance in finding them. The public is being asked to assist the Churchill County Sheriff's Office in finding a man whose family has asked for a welfare check. In an online post, CCSO says that Jayson Daniel was last seen around the Peppermill Casino in the Reno-Sparks area. Jason is said to be driving a charcoal gray, 2021 Ford Ranger with Nevada license plate 70H-911. According to the post, in a missing person report already filed, the Churchill County Sheriff's Office is also trying to find Nancy Griffiths, who is said to be in the company of Jayson. The Churchill County Sheriff's office is asking anyone with any information that could help their agency find this man and woman to contact Sergeant Brad Kufalk, the case agent assigned to this case, at (775) 423-3116 or bkufalk@so.churchill.nv.us; refer to case number C25-01547. (The Churchill County Sheriff's Office contributed to this story.) A man who set fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas and who painted the word resist for authorities to find at the scene has been arrested, police announced Tuesday. Paul Hyon Kim, 36, faces charges of arson, possession of an explosive device and shooting into a vehicle in state court, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference. Kim was expected to be taken into the federal government's custody later Tuesday to face additional charges, said Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI division. An attorney for Kim who could comment on his behalf was not listed Tuesday in court records. Security video played at the news conference showed the suspect, dressed all in black and covering his face, paint the word resist across the glass doors of a Tesla service center early on March 18. McMahill said the suspect threw Molotov cocktails crude bombs filled with gasoline or another flammable liquid and fired several rounds from a weapon into multiple vehicles. McMahill said Tuesday they were actively investigating a motive and whether it is connected to other recent cases of vandalism targeting Tesla property across the country. There has been a clear uptick of violent attacks on property carrying the Tesla logo across the U.S. and overseas since President Donald Trump took office and empowered Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency that has slashed government spending. The attacks are keeping law enforcement busy. Prosecutors in Colorado charged a woman last month in connection with attacks on Tesla dealerships, including Molotov cocktails thrown at vehicles and the words Nazi cars spray-painted on a building. And federal agents in South Carolina have arrested a man they say set fire to Tesla charging stations near Charleston Some of the most prominent incidents have been reported in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest, like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, where anti-Trump and anti-Musk sentiment runs high. An Oregon man faces charges after allegedly throwing several Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store in Salem, then returning another day and shooting out windows. In the Portland suburb of Tigard, more than a dozen bullets were fired at a Tesla showroom last week, damaging vehicles and windows, the second time in a week that the store was targeted. Evans, the special FBI agent in charge of the Las Vegas office, declined Tuesday to comment on the similarities of the cases. But he told reporters last week that the Las Vegas case has some of the hallmarks of terrorism. Was this terrorism? Was it something else? It certainly has some of the hallmarks that we might think the writing on the wall, potential political agenda, an act of violence, Evans said. None of those factors are lost on us. (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.) As youth delinquency has hit 20-year lows across the nation, Washoe County is now hyper-focused on a small pocket of violent youth offenders. Staff at the Jan Evans Juvenile Justice Center are also handling sharp increases in youth mental health challenges, with 60 to 70% of detainees suffering from a diagnosable mental illness or substance abuse disorder. And the community is reckoning with a spike in the number of teens facing felony-level charges for possession of concentrated cannabis. Watch this 2 News Nevada investigation to learn more about the challenges and risks Northern Nevada youth face, and how the county is trying to rehabilitate the regions most vulnerable children and teens and find help through the interactive resource guide below. Instructions for navigating the resource guide: A 3 a.m. phone call to a dementia helpline turned Sharon Hall into a champion for a new Medicare pilot program called GUIDE. She is the primary caregiver for her husband, Rod Hall, 72, who was diagnosed a decade ago with dementia, which affects memory, thinking and the ability to do tasks of daily living. Shes called that helpline a couple of times, including at 3 a.m. Members only Thats what keeps you out of the hospital, says Hall, of Suwanee, an Atlanta suburb. He fell out of the bed and hit his head. Do we go or dont we go to the hospital? Im able to call 24/7 and know I will have a nurse practitioner who has [Rods] records, even if its 3 oclock in the morning, she says. You may only use it a couple of times in the course of your treatment, but when you need it, its so needed. Keeping people with dementia safe and avoiding visits to the hospital are among the goals of GUIDE (Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience), a pilot program launched last July by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Of 390 programs that CMS approved for GUIDE, 96 were already operating; they began the pilot in July 2024. Today, 93 of those are still operating. They include large academic medical centers, hospital health systems, small group practices, community-based organizations and hospice agencies. The program expansion, scheduled for July 1, includes an additional 278 providers approved by CMS. Atlantas Integrated Memory Care at Emory (a joint effort of Emory University and Emory Healthcare) is one of the pilot centers, and its where Rod Hall receives both primary and dementia care. GUIDE also provides up to $2,500 each year for respite benefits, which can pay for in-home caregivers, overnight respite care or adult day care so caregivers can take a break. Hall says paying out-of-pocket for respite care got too expensive for her until GUIDE started pitching in. Even a day center becomes very cost prohibitive, she says. A couple of years ago, he was going to a day center two days a week. That was the minimum and it was like $85 a day. Help for caregivers For the Halls and others in the same situation, GUIDEs eight-year pilot aims to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. In addition to the helpline, families are assigned to a care navigator to help them find local services, such as meals and transportation. They also can get education and training. For health care providers, the GUIDE model incentivizes delivery and expansion of coordinated, high-quality and cost-efficient care. The ultimate goal is that this works, saves Medicare money, improves the lives of people with dementia and their caregivers and keeps people out of nursing homes, says David Reuben, M.D., a geriatrician and the program director for GUIDE at UCLA Health in Los Angeles. Research by Reuben and others published in 2019 in JAMA Internal Medicine and 2020 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society shows that coordinating care and support for caregivers and their loved ones with dementia can lower Medicare costs while reducing emergency department visits, shortening hospital stays and delaying admission to long-term care. We Are China Chinese military stands ready to defeat any "Taiwan independence" attempt: spokesperson Xinhua) 16:45, March 27, 2025 BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A mainland spokesperson on Thursday reaffirmed the Chinese military's resolve and capability to defeat any separatist attempt for "Taiwan independence." Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to recent separatist statements by Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Ten years on from the implementation of pension freedoms, older savers are taking money out of their pension without seeking advice or finding out what tax theyll have to pay, new research from mutual pension and investment company Royal London shows. Only 4 in 10 (37%) of those with a DC or personal pension considered whether taking out a lump sum would mean they paid more tax or moved them into a higher tax bracket. While the research with over 2,000 UK adults aged 50+ also shows only 4 in 10 (39%) took advice from a financial adviser. Royal London also found that nearly 1 in 12 (8%) took their tax-free cash lump sum within six months of their 55th birthday, which is currently the earliest age at which most people can access money from their pension. Since April 2015, pension freedoms have allowed older savers to take lump sums directly from their pension, to cash in their entire pension or to take ongoing income using income drawdown. They can also use some or all of their pension to buy a lifetime income with an annuity, and can use a mix and match approach, using one or more of these options. However, deciding when and how to start taking money out of your retirement pot remains one of the most complex challenges of later life. More than two in five (42%) of those aged 50 or over said they worried about running out of money in retirement. According to the research, more than half (55%) of those eligible to take a tax-free lump sum chose to take the maximum of 25% of their pension. Nearly a third (32%) of those who took out a tax-free cash lump sum used it to pay off a home loan or other debt, with over 1 in 10 (15%) paying off their mortgage debt and 18% paying off other borrowing, such as a credit card or car finance. Over one in four (26%) of those who opted to take a tax-free sum simply deposited the money in a bank or savings account, while almost 1 in 5 (19%) spent the money on home improvements and 1 in 12 (8%) gave it to family members. Despite the complexity of these decisions, almost 1 in 5 (18%) of those eligible to make a withdrawal had not taken any advice at all, whether from financial professionals or family and friends, before taking money out of their pension. Only 20% of consumers aged 50 or over with a DC or personal pension made use of guidance from government-backed advisory service Pension Wise. Royal Londons pensions and tax expert Clare Moffat commented: "Pension freedoms were designed to give consumers more flexibility and choice about their retirement, and theyve certainly done that. Despite comments at the time that people could buy a Lamborghini with their retirement pot if they so wished, weve found little evidence of people doing so. However, the changes have also left consumers making difficult decisions that could affect their standard of living for many years to come. "It is concerning that so few people took financial advice or made use of free guidance services, such as Pension Wise. Worryingly, our research shows that many made decisions that may not have been in their best interests over the longer-term. "It demonstrates why theres a need for more people to access the right level of support, including from their pension provider; something that the financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, is exploring this year. "We would encourage people facing complex financial decisions to take advice from a financial adviser - it could be time, and money, well spent." After the successful run of the Diamond States Summit (DSS) organised by News18 India across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Jammu & Kashmir, the DSS Grand Finale concluded on a high note in Delhi. The summit brought together top leaders and policymakers from different states to discuss development plans. The event highlighted success stories in infrastructure, digital advancements, education, and cultural preservation. Emphasising the balance between tradition and development, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav shared, "Heritage and progress go hand in hand. Ujjain, the city of Mahakal, is not just a spiritual place but a symbol of Indias rich culture. We are proud of our traditions and are working hard to build a bright future while respecting our roots." Sharing his vision for the state, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated, "Himachal Pradesh is moving forward despite challenges. By 2032, we aim to be the richest state with strong economic growth, smart financial planning, and the dedication of our people." Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar emphasized the significance of justice and inclusivity in development, stating, "Justice and equality are the pillars of a progressive society. Our commitment is to ensure every community gets fair opportunities to grow and thrive. Change is a constant, and through constitutional means, we strive to build a future where inclusivity and development go hand in hand. Better days are ahead!" Highlighting the states rapid progress, Bihars Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha shared, "Farmers in Bihar are now using digital tools, and young people are leading as digital warriors. The states budget has grown 14 times, villages have better roads, and more people have access to banking. Bihar is fast becoming a land of knowledge and opportunity." Talking about the importance of language and skills, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma stated, "Language should connect, not divide us. Theres no harm in learning any languageHindi, Japanese, or our local dialects. In Meghalaya, we are using language as a tool for opportunity, helping our youth build global careers while staying rooted in our culture." State Minister, Government of India, Jitin Prasada highlighted the unity and strength of the nation, remarking, "Faith, unity, and hard work define the spirit of our nation. The Maha Kumbh was a testament to India's strength, culture, and resolve. When people come together beyond caste and creed, we achieve the extraordinary. With this spirit, India is ready to embrace a brighter and more developed future!" Manjinder Sirsa, Minister of Food & Supplies, Industry, Forest & Environment, Delhi, emphasized sustainable development, saying, "A cleaner, greener Delhi is not a distant dreamit is a promise we are turning into reality. With advanced waste management, we are ensuring that future generations won't see mountains of garbage but a city that leads in sustainability. By 2027, these waste heaps will be history!" Ashish Sood, Minister of Home, Power, Urban Development, Education & Training, Delhi, reinforced the city's commitment to law and order, stating, "Delhi is the heart of New Indiabuilt on law, order, and integrity. We are committed to protecting our city and ensuring only lawful citizens contribute to its growth. Those who break the law will face action, and those who uphold it will always have our unwavering support." The Diamond States Summit has been a platform for showcasing progress and innovation across India. With its grand finale in Delhi, the summit reaffirmed News18 Indias commitment to highlighting impactful governance and transformative policies. By bringing together leaders and policymakers, DSS continues to drive meaningful conversations that inspire action and contribute to Indias development journey. Routematic, a leading corporate mobility solutions provider, has announced the appointment of Chidananda Murthy as Vice President - People and Culture, effective immediately. In this role, Chidananda will lead Routematics people strategy, talent development, and organizational culture, fostering a high-performance and inclusive workplace. With a strong focus on sustainable growth and employee well-being, Chidananda will play a key role in driving the companys next phase of growth. Chidananda brings over 20 years of experience with leading global brands in HR leadership roles. Prior to joining Routematic, he led the HR function for Walmart Global Sourcing across India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, where he spearheaded initiatives like business expansion, talent retention programs, talent reviews, succession planning, and HR operations for the region. He has also worked with Nokia Networks, IBM, Oracle, and Huawei, successfully driving HR strategy, post-M&A integrations, leadership development, and workforce transformation. Welcoming Chidananda to the leadership team, Kavitha Ramachandragowda, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Routematic, said: "Chidananda's expertise in human capital management will be crucial as we scale our sustainable mobility solutions and expand our organizational footprint. His strategic leadership will not only strengthen our people-first culture but also ensure we continue to attract, retain, and nurture top talent while fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration and inclusivity." Expressing his excitement about joining Routematic, Chidananda Murthy, Vice President - People and Culture, Routematic said: Routematic is at a pivotal growth stage, and Im excited to help shape its people strategy. We are committed to fostering an empowering and inclusive cultureone that attracts top talent, nurtures innovation, and drives long-term success. As we work toward redefining corporate mobility, I look forward to contributing to Routematics growth, well-being, and transformation." Routematic is redefining daily commuting with efficient, reliable, and environmentally conscious transportation solutions. Strengthening its leadership in corporate mobility, the company recently expanded its presence in India with the launch of its third Command Center in Hyderabad, following successful operations in Bengaluru and Pune. By integrating electric vehicles into its fleet, Routematic is actively aligning with Indias green mobility goals, helping businesses transition to sustainable and cost-effective transport solutions. As Routematic continues its journey of innovation and expansion, the appointment of Chidanand Murthy reaffirms its commitment to fostering a dynamic, people-centric workplace. Madras HC Grants Interim Anticipatory Bail to Comedian Kunal Kamra 2 The Madras High Court on Friday granted interim anticipatory bail to comedian Kunal Kamra, who is facing the heat over his jokes on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The court granted Kamra the relief on the condition that he should execute a bond to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrate at Vanur in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu. Justice Sunder Mohan also issued notice to 2nd Respondent (Khar Police) and posted the matter to April 7. Kamra had submitted he moved to Tamil Nadu from Mumbai in 2021 and has been ordinarily a resident of this State since then and that he feared arrest by Mumbai Police. Twice summoned by the Mumbai police, the 36-year-old stand-up comics caustic comments on Shinde during his latest show in Mumbai have landed him in trouble and triggered a huge row. The controversy stems from Kamras show at the Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbais Khar, where he performed a parody song targeting Shinde. The act prompted a strong backlash from Shiv Sena supporters, who vandalised the club and the hotel in which it is located on Sunday night. Kamra was booked by the Khar police on a complaint by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the deputy CM. When the Joke's on Democracy: Kunal Kamra, Political Satire, and the Curious Case of Offended Power 2 Let me be perfectly neutralif thats still legaland say this: the whole Kunal Kamra saga has been inflated beyond reasonable proportions, like a political balloon with too much hot air and no escape valve. What began as a comedy set has now snowballed into a full-blown constitutional crisisor at least, thats what the politicians would like you to believe. The dramatic overreaction, complete with FIRs, vandalism, and privilege motions, makes one wonder whether weve all somehow woken up in a political parody skit. Except, unfortunately, the jokes on democracy. Now, Kunal Kamra is not exactly a stranger to controversy. If controversies were frequent flyer miles, hed be cruising in a private jet by now. Since 2014, hes been poking fun at the ruling establishment with surgical precision, something the powers that be find less humorous and more heretical. In his latest act of comedic blasphemy, Kamra daredgaspto sing a parody song referencing Maharashtras Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as a gaddar, a term that has now apparently joined the list of banned words alongside common sense and self-reflection. For context (in case your remote broke and you missed this soap opera), Eknath Shinde pulled a Houdini in June 2022 by leading a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray, taking a loyal brigade of MLAs on a political pilgrimage to Guwahatibecause nothing says party ethics like cross-state defections. His justification? That Thackeray had watered down Hindutva by cozying up to the NCP and Congress. Cue melodrama, legal battles, and backroom bargaining, and soon Shinde emerged as the rightful heir to the Shiv Sena throneaccording to the Election Commission, not necessarily the voters. Naturally, Kamra found this entire situation too juicy to ignore. In a recent performance, he riffed: Pehle Shiv Sena BJP se bahar gayi, fir Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena se bahar gayi, NCP bhi NCP se bahar gayi ek voter ko 9 button de diye. If confusion was a strategy, this election was a masterpiece. But apparently, calling out political somersaults through stand-up comedy now qualifies as a national security threat. Enter the Zero FIR, served hot and spicy, courtesy Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel. The police, in a tremendous display of urgency usually reserved for traffic fines and street vendors, summoned Kamra, who lives in Puducherry. Through his lawyer, Kamra politely asked for a weeks time citing workbecause even professional troublemakers have schedules. Meanwhile, Shiv Senas more muscular wing expressed their disagreement the old-fashioned wayby vandalising the venue of Kamras show and the hotel it was hosted in. Nothing screams dignity quite like breaking chairs because a joke hurts your feelings. As if this wasnt dramatic enough, the Maharashtra Legislative Council got in on the act, with breach of privilege motions flying around like wedding confetti. One might think theyd have better things to dolike governance, maybe? But apparently, nothing screams legislative pride like hauling a comedian over the coals for a song parody. Shakespeare would be rolling in his grave, likely muttering, Et tu, parody? Despite Kamra never naming names in his act, the allusions were sharper than a Twitter roast. His jibe about ending dynastic politics by stealing someones father was a direct dig at the intra-Sena family feud and the iconic Shiv Sena symbol war, where ECI handed the bow and arrow (and the emotional legacy) to Shinde. This, of course, added fuel to an already blazing fire. Kamras critics branded him a habitual offender, a contract comedian, and probably next in line for the title of Enemy of the State. Still, Kamra stayed cool. He posted a picture holding the Indian Constitution, as if to say, I read the manualdid you? And herein lies the rub. A joke is not a crime. A parody is not sedition. And satire, like the Constitution, is meant to be protected, not prosecuted. Unless, of course, the state sees the Constitution as more of a suggestion than a binding document. While the BMC conveniently discovered unauthorised structures outside the comedy venue (what timing!), the message was loud and clear: you can joke, but not about them. The timing and intensity of this crackdown raises a question that would make even Kafka proudwhen does the law stop being about justice and start being about control? Lets not kid ourselves. The phrase hurt sentiments has become the Swiss Army knife of political victimhood. Used liberally, it justifies everything from censorship to violence. Meanwhile, irony took early retirementAjit Pawar, who once labelled Shinde a traitor, now shares office snacks with him in the same cabinet. So, satire is dangerous, but hypocrisy? Totally chill. Whats most disturbing here isnt the legal overreach or even the thuggery. Its the systematic shrinking of our public discourse. The attack on Kamra is not just an attack on a comedianits an attack on the very idea that dissent can be funny. And whats more democratic than the ability to laugh at our leaders? Support for Kamra poured in across social media, with many echoing a simple truth: if politicians can call each other names on live TV, then surely a stand-up comic should be allowed to sing a joke. The right to free speech is not an a la carte menu, reserved only for the powerful. It either applies to everyone, or its a performance in bad faith. Kamra, love him or loathe him, said nothing that politicians themselves havent said. The difference? He did it on stage, with rhythm, rhyme, and timing. For that, hes being punished. If this is the standard going forward, then every cartoonist, satirist, and high-school mimic better lawyer up. The comedian may have performed a parody, but the real joke here is on the idea of freedom of expression. Lets see where this leadsbut one things certain: were rapidly turning into a country where political satire needs police protection, and comedians are forced to carry the Constitution like a passport. And if that doesnt make you laugh or cry, then congratulationsyoure already living the punchline. Five U.S. residents have agreed to plea deals in connection with a Nigerian sextortion plot. (MLive File Photo) Daniel Shular | MLive.com Five U.S. residents have reached plea agreements in connection with a Nigerian-based sextortion scheme that led to a Michigan teens death by suicide. Kendall Ormond London, Jr., 32, Lithonia, Georgia, pleaded guilty Wednesday, March 26, in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, to conspiracy to launder money tied to the scheme. In January, Dinsimore Guyton Robinson, 30, of Huntsville, also pleaded guilty as charged to conspiracy. Related: Alabama man pleads guilty in Nigeria-based sextortion case tied to teens suicide Three other U.S. residents are set to enter guilty pleas in coming days, court records show. Federal prosecutors say sextortionists in Nigeria bought multiple hacked social media accounts to exploit young male victims from February 2021 through May 2022. An Instagram profile pretending to be a woman named Dani Roberts would convince boys and young men to provide nude images of themselves then blackmail them for money. Related: We will track you down: Prosecutor blames Nigerian sextortion plot for Michigan teens death London, Robinson and the three other U.S. defendants collected proceeds through online payment systems, kept about 20 percent for themselves, then converted the rest to bitcoin and sent it to Nigeria, prosecutors said. Brothers Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, both of Lagos, Nigeria, are serving 17 -year prison sentences. The U.S. is seeking extradition of another Nigerian defendant. Jordan DeMay, a high school student in Marquette, died by suicide after he was sexually exploited by the brothers, federal prosecutors said. Related: 5 men in U.S. allegedly tied to Nigerian sextortion that led to Michigan teens death by suicide On March 25, 2022, Samuel Ogoshi, who had posed as a woman, threatened to share the teens photo if he did not pay $1,000. Demay said he had only $300, which he had sent through an online cash application. Ogoshi wrote: Enjoy your miserable life. Demay responded that he was going to kill himself because of the threat. Ogoshi responded, Good and do that fast, court records said. Demay died by suicide later that day. Related: Victims mom gives emotional statement at deadly sextortion plot sentencing Prosecutors say over 100 victims paid $179,000 in the sextortion plot. Typically, schemers posed as young women on social media and convinced teens and young men to send sexually explicit photographs. They then threatened to share images with victims family, friends and classmates if they did not pay the ransom. The U.S. defendants face up to 20 years in prison. Robinson is scheduled to be sentenced April 24, while London is to be sentenced on July 21. Johnathan Demetrius Green, 33, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Jarell Daivon Williams, 32, of McDonough, Georgia, and Brian Keith Coldmon, Jr., 31, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, have reached plea agreements. Green is scheduled to plea on Friday, March 28, while the other two have court appearances early next week. The FBI has noted a huge increase in sextortion cases targeting young victims. The FBI said those being exploited should contact their local FBI field office, call 800-CALL-FBI or report it online at tips.fbi.gov. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Authorities are trying to identify four men who bound, beat and robbed Montgomery businessman Jim Massey in his office on March 10. (Central Alabama Crime Stoppers) A 58-year-old man has been charged for his alleged role in the assault earlier this month of a well-known Montgomery businessman who was bound, beaten, and robbed in a holdup at his dry-cleaning business. Zedekiah Sykes is charged federally with armed robbery, carjacking and brandishing a firearm in a federal crime of violence, Middle District of Alabama Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson announced Friday. Sykes is charged in the March 10 attack by a group of men on Jim Massey III at Jim Massey Cleaners on South Street in Montgomery. Authorities described Sykes as the man who orchestrated the robbery and said he had been planning it for months. He was taken into custody Wednesday and is set to make his first court appearance today. Masseys ordeal began at 6:10 p.m. that Monday when he was inside his business and heard a noise at the door. When he went to investigate, Massey was confronted by four men dressed as construction workers, including hard hats and high-visibility vests. The assailants grabbed Massey and forced him into an office where his locked safe was located, according to the federal complaint. Massey told them he didnt know the combination from memory and would need his phone. One of the men punched Massey in the eye. Someone else went and retrieved Masseys phone. Massey, documents said, opened the safe and stole between $6,000 and $8,000. After collecting the cash, the men walked Massey back into an office where they bound his feet and hands with zip-ties, ripped the businesss phones from their connections and stole Masseys cell phone and car keys. All four left in Masseys vehicle. Moments later, all four suspects were captured on home surveillance cameras near Noble Avenue in Montgomery. That footage showed them walking and one of them told the others to take off their jackets, which they did. Authorities are trying to identify four men who bound, beat and robbed Montgomery businessman Jim Massey in his office on March 10. (Central Alabama Crime Stoppers) An investigation was immediately launched by Montgomery police, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the FBI and the Metro Area Crime Suppression Task Force. On March 19, according to the criminal complaint, two men went to Masseys business and told him they knew what happened. They wanted money to tell him, saying they would need it to leave town after disclosing the facts. Investigators then responded to the business, where those two people told them that Sykes orchestrated the robbery and had been planning it for months. They also said they had been recruited by Sykes to help him carry out the crime. They met Sykes at a pre-determined location and were patted down to make sure they didnt have any recording devices, the complaint states. They got into a vehicle and drove by Jim Masseys Cleaners, learning that would be their target. Sykes also drove them to Masseys home and said if they could not get him at the business, they would get him at his home. The plan, the witnesses told investigators, was for the attackers to dress in all black. Sykes, they said, later changed that to construction gear as if they worked with Alabama Power Company since it would be daylight outside during the offense. Those two witnesses said they backed out. When they saw the news story of the robbery, they felt they need to inform the victim of what happened, an investigator wrote. A confidential information also came forward and identified Sykes as the culprit. The Metro Area Crime Suppression Task Force then began to conduct surveillance on Sykes on March 21 while he was at the Wind Creek Casino. Sykes was then followed back to Montgomery and remained under surveillance and under investigation. Authorities learned that Sykes credit card had been used to buy hard hats and safety vests similar to those worn by the suspects in the Massey holdup. As investigator continued to watch Sykes, they saw him open the trunk to his Buick and spotted a large duffle bag that appeared to be similar to the one used in the robbery. Agents also spotted bottles in the vehicle that appeared to be filled with urine, leading them to believe Sykes was living in the Buick. No other charges have been announced. If convicted on all charges, Sykes faces a sentence of seven years to life in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul Markovits. Jim Massey Sr. started the dry-cleaning business in Montgomery in 1941. Since then it has grown into more than 40 locations in Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Luke Grimes, Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Kelsey Asbille, Cole Hauser, Gil Birmingham at the "Yellowstone" Season 5 New York Premiere at The Museum of Modern Art on November 7, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo by John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images) Variety via Getty Images The Yellowstone is in early discussions for a spinoff that will feature Luke Grimes Kayce Dutton. Variety reported the news Wednesday, though, there is no deals in place. According to Deadline, the series would likely explore Kayces background as a Navy SEAL. Grimes, 41, played the youngest son of Kevin Costners John Dutton on all five seasons of Yellowstone. Taste of Country is reporting that there is speculation about a show starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, who played Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone. The popular franchise has been in the news of late. Wings Hauser of Young and Restless fame and the father of Yellowstone actor Cole Hauser has died at the age of 78. Wings Hausers wife, Cali Lili Hauser, took to Instagram on Wednesday to announce his death. Meanwhile, a Birmingham star of film and television is heading back to Alabama after selling her familys little piece of seaside paradise. According to a report, Yellowstone actress Barret Swatek is returning home once she and her husband auction off their eight-bedroom beachfront home in Maui. Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on The Opening Kickoff on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily. The Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled that the case of a man who died by suicide in Limestone Correctional Facility will remain in the Montgomery County court system. This decision comes in response to the Montgomery Circuit Court previously granting the defendants motion to move the case to Limestone County courts, where the incident took place. From 2017 to 2018, Timothy John Chumney was undergoing regular mental health evaluations after he was beaten and raped by a group of six inmates a few days into his six-year sentence at Easterling Correctional Facility, court documents state. Chumney was transferred to Limestone County Correctional Facility in Feb. 2018 and was diagnosed with adjustment disorder with anxiety by healthcare providers at the facility, according to court records. He was scheduled for monthly health appointments. Wexford began providing health-care services to Alabamas correctional facilities on April 1, 2018. Those services included monitoring, and conducting risk assessments of, inmates with suicidal behavior, court documents say. During April and May of 2018, it was noted that Chumney was paranoid about attacks from other inmates and was having suicidal thoughts. Nurse practitioner Deora Johnson and counselor Shari Barfield reported Chumney as a moderate suicide risk and ordered him to undergo mental-health observations with suicide precautions. On May 8, 2018, Johnson and Barfield placed Chumney on suicide watch but later changed their minds and placed Chumney in mental health observation, instead, court documents read. Three days after Chumney was initially placed on suicide watch, Johnson discharged Chumney from mental health observation and sent him back into the general population despite his remaining adamant that he would be harmed by other inmates. Although discharging a patient requires a suicide assessment of the patient, no one performed an assessment on Chumney, it continues. The following day, Chumney hung himself in his cell. Chumney hanged himself using a bed sheet in his segregation cell. Andrew J. Scarborough, the administrator of Chumneys estate, filed a complaint alleging negligence in Montgomery Circuit Court on May 7, 2020. The complaint names Wexford, Johnson, and Barfield, and three fictitiously named parties as defendants. Last year, the defendants filed a motion to have the case moved to Limestone County Circuit Court, claiming that Montgomery County was an improper venue. In their decision, the court states that the Montgomery Circuit Court exceeded its discretion when it granted the defendants motion to transfer the action to the Limestone Circuit Court roughly four years after the action was commenced. The court says that this was too long of a period for the issue of venue to be raised in the case, and states that the case will be heard in Montgomery County because it deals with a state-owned prison. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson in 2019 used the stories of Chumney and 14 other men in a 210-page ruling that found the states prison system fails to adequately prevent inmate suicides. Thompson ordered the Alabama Department of Corrections to implement specific steps to address what he called severe and systemic inadequacies. The risk of suicide is so severe and imminent that the court must redress it immediately, Thompson wrote. Jacksonville State Universitys student senate voted down a resolution that urged the schools student government association to acknowledge the kingship of Jesus Christ. The student senate is the schools 30-member legislative body, and the vote took place March 17 according to the campus newspaper, The Chanticleer. The resolution was voted down after debate over whether it was constitutional. By the students in Jacksonville State University that the Jacksonville State University Student Government Association acknowledges the kingship of Jesus Christ over all the world so that this great university may, at last, receive the great blessing of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony, the resolution stated. Student Judiciary Advocate Jonathan Duncan said the resolution was not constitutional, due to a clause in the SGA Constitution that enables the right for representation. He also argued it could have violated the personal beliefs of some students on campus. The document simply said that the Student Government Association acknowledges, and every student on campus is a member of the Student Government Association, whether theyre elected, appointed or not, Duncan said. However, Nick Shell, who wrote the resolution, called it an urging of acknowledgement. Its not saying we establish Christs law on this university and you have to follow it, he said. Senator Diego de Assis, the only member who voted for the resolution, called it divisive but said he felt compelled by his faith to vote for it. Parliamentarian Trey Landman, who said he is a Christian, nevertheless said he doesnt believe religion belongs in a state school. We have religious avenues at our school that have been built up for years, Landman said. What is the point of this? What is this actually accomplishing? Why dont you go out and talk to people one-on-one? An Avondale Park sidewalk near the Miss Fancy statue is flooded on March 25, 2025, after a recent rain. (Photo by Greg Garrison/AL.com) ggarrison@al.com Its a good thing that Miss Fancy, the bronze statue of Avondales famous elephant, stands on an elevated pedestal. If not, shed be wading in water much of the time. After it rains, the spring at Avondale Park has been flooding the pond it feeds into and flowing over onto the sidewalks. Its been going on for awhile, said Jeff McGee, president of the Forest Park/South Avondale Neighborhood Association. Birmingham City Council President Darrell OQuinn said in an interview after the March 29 council meeting that he and council member Valerie Abbott, whose districts are near the park, are aware of the problem. Its a situation that Councilor Abbott and I especially want to see resolved as soon as possible, OQuinn said. That project is in our capital improvements department and were pushing to get them to go ahead and remediate that, OQuinn said. In the meantime, Ive asked the city attorneys office to make sure that area is properly barricaded off. Its hazardous for walkers and runners, he said. Its really slick, OQuinn said. Theres mud and algae growing there. On Wednesday, city officials with the Parks and Recreation Department notified the Friends of Avondale, a group of neighborhood residents, that they are in the process of hiring a contractor for the project. We got word from the city yesterday that theyre about to repair the stoppage, McGee said. The Birmingham Parks and Recreation Board plans to hire a company to use high-speed water jets to clear the blockage and cameras to look at drainage areas that need work. There is a natural spring in Avondale Park that feeds the pond, OQuinn said. 41st Street used to be called Spring Street. The creek that came from the spring used to run down the middle of the street to drain into Valley Creek down at First Avenue South. So, that creek is now in a culvert that runs right under 41st Street, that from time to time the drainage gets blocked. The city has to hire outside experts, he said. The city doesnt have the equipment to send a camera down the drainage pipe to identify where the blockage is, OQuinn said. In the past, weve hired an outside company to come in and make that determination where the blockage is and have special equipment that can go down and clear the blockage. For the sake of Miss Fancys friends, neighborhood residents hope its resolved soon. A couple people have now fallen down there because its slippery, McGee said. Its a huge liability for the city. U.S. Reps. Dale Strong, R-AL, and Mike Collins, R-GA, discuss repairs made to Wilson Lock and Dam on Friday, March 28, 2025. Scott Turner/AL.com Manufacturers along the Tennessee River using the locks at Wilson Dam should receive some relief in June from delays caused by damage to its gates. Thats when repairs by the U,S. Army Corps of Engineers will be complete, U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Ala, and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., were told during a tour at the dam on Friday. The project will cost about $18 million. The big thing were trying to do is meet commerces demand, Strong said. You start looking at not only agriculture, steel, but you look at national security. Were just a matter of miles from a 2.4 million square feet, under roof United Launch Alliance (in Decatur), which is the largest rocket plan in the world. They navigate this water also. Strong, who represents north Alabamas 5th Congressional District, said damage to the main lock created hardships for businesses and industries dependent on barge traffic. But again, were one day closer to recovery, the congressman said. Lt. Col. Robert Green of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the Corps regional repair fleet is repairing the downstream minor gates at the Tennessee Valley Authority dam. He said the gates were found to have some cracks in the steel. These are the gates that hold back water while we operate the main gates of the locks, Green said. While the main lock is being repaired, barges are currently using the auxiliary lock. The auxiliary lock is 100 years old. It was the original lock, Green said. It was constructed in the 1920s. Its a lot smaller. Its a two-phase system. It takes a lot longer to navigate and traverse that lock. It still allows some barge traffic to operate up and down the river system. We have to bring in extra personnel to operate that, Green said. Green said what normally takes a two-hour barge lift in the main system takes as long as 24 hours with the auxiliary system. Collins, who chairs the House Transportation and infrastructure on Water Resources Subcommittee, said TVA has manufactured a lot of the components involved with the project, which he said has speeded up the process. The Corps of Engineers and TVA are working together to solve this problem, Strong added. Its mechanical engineers at their best. A two-year-old drowned Thursday night in the New Hope community, according to the Madison County Sheriffs Office. The incident happened in the area of Ed Spears Road at about 6 p.m. Deputies were called to the scene following reports of a missing child. Upon arrival, first responders located the child unresponsive in a body of water, according to the sheriffs office. The child was pronounced dead at the scene. Sheriffs office spokesman Brent Patterson said there is no indication of foul play. The childs body has been turned over to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy. The Madison County Sheriffs Office extends its deepest condolences to the family during this tragic time, the office said in a statement. She was supposed to be planning her wedding, but now, Sama Bajgani is planning how she is going to get her fiance out of jail. Earlier this week, Alireza Doroudi, a University of Alabama doctoral student originally from Iran, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He had been held at the Pickens County Jail, but as of Friday he was transferred to federal custody in Jena, La. Bajgani said it was traumatizing to witness ICE officers take her fiance out of their Tuscaloosa apartment at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. Im sure it was traumatizing to everyone else [in the complex] too, because they could all hear the knocks and the sounds, she said. Public records from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement do not detail any specifics on why Doroudi was detained. ICE HSI made this arrest in accordance with the State Departments revocation of Doroudis student visa. This individual posed significant national security concerns, a DHS spokesperson said. Doroudis attorney, David Rozas, said in a statement to AL.com he was unaware of any allegations concerning significant national security issues. He has not been arrested for any crime, nor has he participated in any anti-government protests, the statement from Rozas said. He is legally present in the U.S., pursuing his American dream by working towards his doctorate in mechanical engineering. Rozas added that Doroudis student visa was still active and that he was applying for permanent residency as a researcher. The downtown apartment complex is home to many other migrant families. Many refused to speak on record but said they were shaken by the event. The property manager for the apartments, who witnessed the arrest, declined to comment. Bajgani has set up a GoFundMe to help with Doroudis legal expenses. She shared that the couple had been planning to get married in two months, but now all of her focus is on ensuring Doroudis freedom. If something like this can happen to such a hardworking and harmless student it makes us all wonder if it could happen to anyone, Doroudis friend, Sam Saberi, told CBS 42. The entire international student community is confused and unsettled, Saberi told the station. The National Iranian American Council, an advocacy organization, issued a statement on March 27. We are deeply disturbed by the arrest of Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, by ICE agents, it reads. At a minimum, ICE must make his whereabouts known and make clear if he has been charged with any crime. If not, he should be immediately released. The University of Alabama enrolled about 1,200 international students in the fall 2024 semester, according to a recent report, and 90 of those students were from Iran. Across Alabama, about 9,000 international students were enrolled at different universities, according to the Alabama Council on Higher Education. University of Alabama guidelines for international student orientation say that students may have an expired visa as long as they maintain their studies. The schools International Students and Scholars Service supports people on F-1 and J-1 visas. AL.com contacted the ISSS office who directed comments to the universitys communications office. The University of Alabama College Democrats issued the following statement. Donald Trump, [ICE Acting Director] Tom Homan and ICE have struck a cold vicious dagger through the heart of UAs international community, the organization wrote. As far as we know right now, ICE is yet to provide any justification for their actions, so we are not sure if this persecution is politically motivated as has been seen in other universities across the country. ICE agents may be in public spaces on university campuses. They typically need a warrant in order to enter private spaces, such as a home or residence hall. AL.com reporter Williesha Morris contributed to this report. According to Hillary Clinton, its the stupidity, stupid. The former first lady and erstwhile secretary of state faced political attacks from then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 election over using a home server to view government emails. Clinton said the Trump administration carelessly handling sensitive information is not her main concern of the Signal scandal. Its not the hypocrisy that bothers me; its the stupidity, Clinton wrote in an op-ed published Friday in The New York Times. Were all shocked shocked! that President Trump and his team dont actually care about protecting classified information or federal record retention laws. But we knew that already," Clinton wrote, alluding to both the current scandal and the 40 felony federal counts Trump was charged with for allegedly mishandling classified information. Those charges were dropped after Trump was elected to a second term in November. Whats much worse, Clinton wrote, is that top Trump administration officials put our troops in jeopardy by sharing military plans on a commercial messaging app and unwittingly invited a journalist into the chat. Thats dangerous. And its just dumb." Fridays op-ed was the first time Clinton addressed the Signal scandal in detail. When The Atlantics Jeffrey Goldberg broke the story on Monday, Clinton tweeted, You have got to be kidding me. You have got to be kidding me.https://t.co/IhhvFvw6DG pic.twitter.com/bnNG4dGSpI Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2025 This is the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds by the new administration that are squandering Americas strength and threatening our national security, the former secretary of state claimed, referencing the Department of Government Efficiency inadvertently terminating government employees who work with Americas nuclear arsenal and the administrations canceling of aid to combat the Ebola virus in Africa, among other policies. Clinton went on to attack Trumps foreign policy as dumb power. In a dangerous and complex world, its not enough to be strong. You must also be smart. As secretary of state during the Obama administration, I argued for smart power, integrating the hard power of our military with the soft power of our diplomacy, development assistance, economic might and cultural influence. None of those tools can do the job alone, she wrote. The Trump approach is dumb power. Instead of a strong America using all our strengths to lead the world and confront our adversaries, Mr. Trumps America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless. She claimed the efforts by Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who purportedly gave a blow-by-blow account of U.S. airstrikes in Yemen in the Signal chat viewed by a journalist, to rid the military of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a distraction. Mr. Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (of group chat fame) are apparently more focused on performative fights over wokeness than preparing for real fights with Americas adversaries. Does anyone really think deleting tributes to the Tuskegee Airmen makes us more safe? The Trump Pentagon purged images of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb that ended World War II because its name is the Enola Gay. Dumb," Clinton wrote. While the administrations goal of ridding the federal government of waste, fraud and abuse is a noble one, Clinton said Trumps slash-and-burn approach is not effective. All of this is both dumb and dangerous, she said. A YouGov survey released Wednesday comparing the Clinton and Trump scandals found American voters view the Signal controversy as more serious. Nearly 75% of U.S. adults believe the Trump scandal is very or somewhat serious, the found, with 53% in the very serious camp and 21% viewing the scandal as somewhat serious. While a majority of U.S. adults believed Clinton using a private email server from home was very or somewhat serious, the margins were far slimmer compared to the Trump scandal. When the Clinton scandal was polled by YouGov in 2015, 30% of American adults viewed it as very serious and 26% said it was somewhat serious. By 2022, Americans grew more concerned over Clintons emails, with 41% describing the matter as very serious and 21% labeling it somewhat serious. One of the chief concerns about Clintons email server was that it was insecure, and that sensitive information could fall into the wrong hands. But former FBI Director James Comey said in recommending that no charges be brought against Clinton that there was no evidence that her email account had been hacked by hostile actors. Katherine Maher delivers her closing remarks on center stage at the Web Summit technology conference, in Lisbon, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) AP Fox Business Maria Bartiromo strongly implied nefarious ties between NPR and the private messaging app Trump administration officials used to discuss a military operation According to Bartiromo, both NPR and Signal share a suspiciously common connection. What are the odds that Katherine Maher, the leftist NPR CEO, is on the board of Signal as well? Bartiromo asked Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Tex., during Fox Business Mornings with Maria on Friday. A Fox News spokeswoman said Bartiromo wasnt implying anything by the comment. She raised that Maher being on the board was quite the coincidence, the spokeswoman said. Maher, who became NPRs chief executive last year and testified Wednesday before the House Oversight Committees DOGE subcommittee that Fallon sits on, is on the Signal Foundations board of directors. The Signal app was used by Trump administration officials to discuss an upcoming military operation in Yemen in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth purportedly gave a blow-by-blow account of the operation. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, was to the conversation after he was apparently inadvertently added to the group text by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Bartiromo did not elaborate on the alleged conspiracy, which Fallon agreed with. Yeah, shes a hard lefty, too, when you see some of the comments shes made, said Fallon, that shes so tired, done with, quote-unquote late-stage capitalism, and President Trump is racist and America is addicted to white supremacy. This is the CEO of NPR." During her testimony, Maher expressed contrition for her tweets about Trump, which were posted before she took the helm of NPR. I regret those tweets, the NPR chief executive said. I would not tweet them again today. They represented a time where I was reflecting on something that I believe the president had said, rather than who he is. I dont presume that anyone is a racist. Updated 6:27 p.m. March 31 to include comment from Fox News. There is no indication the University of Alabama student detained this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was involved in any pro-Palestinian protests or criminal activity. However, the Department of Homeland Security told CBS42 on Thursday that Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student from Iran studying mechanical engineering whose student visa was revoked, posed significant national security concerns. DHS did not provide any specific information regarding what Doroudi may have done or was charged with. Efforts by AL.com to reach DHS have not been successful. Douroudi attorney David Rozas told The Associated Press he was not aware of his client being involved in protests or criminal activity. With the words of his fiance, he is a nerd. All he does is study and is literally trying to fulfill his dream, the American dream, of becoming a researcher and professor of mechanical engineering, Rozas told AP. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala, told the nonprofit news agency NOTUS that he supported the Trump administration despite not knowing about Doroudis arrest. If theyre doing something wrong everybody should be arrested, Tuberville told the outlet. Efforts by AL.com to reach Tuberville were not successful. Aside from Tuberville, none of Alabamas congressional officials publicly commented on Doroudis detainment as of Thursday. You can [either] break the law or go with the law. If they break the law, lets put them in jail, Tuberville said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked Thursday about the detention of of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, issued a warning that more international students would be arrested, deported and have their visa revoked if they are found to be causing a ruckus. According to Rubio, about 300 students have already had their visas revoked. Video depicts Ozturk being surrounded by plain-clothed immigration agents as she is arrested and taken away in Somerville, Massachusetts on Tuesday. Ozturk is currently at a detention facility in Louisiana, despite a judge barring her transfer from Massachusetts without proper notice. Rubio said the visas of other students are being taken away because they are destabilizing and being disruptive on college campuses. Why would any country in the world allow people to come and disrupt, Rubio said. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree not to become a social activist that tears up our university campusesWere just not going to have it, so well revoke your visa. And once your visa is revoked, youre illegally in the country and you have to leave. The Trump administrations targeting of international students is due to their participation in campus protests or criticisms of Israel last year during the war in Gaza. A Department of Homeland Security official alleged that Ozturk acted in, support of Hamas, but no evidence was provided to support the claim. Ozturk co-authored an op-ed in March 2024 in support of Palestine and divestment from Israel. Critics have argued that the targeting of students who have been critical of a foreign government are attacks on First Amendment rights to free speech. Doroudi was being held at Pickens County Jail in Alabama for transport to an immigration facility in Jena, Louisiana. As of Thursday, Doroudi has not been formally charged with any crime, according to court records. Doroudis only known offense while in America was for speeding in Tuscaloosa County two years ago. A GoFundMe has been created by Doroudis apparent fiance to assist with his legal expenses. As of Thursday night, more than $13,000 have been raised out of a $15,000 goal. Tomorrows the big day! The Boston Red Sox will kick off the 2025 MLB season with a three-game series against the Texas Rangers starting on Thursday. After going 81-81 in 2024, the Red Sox are looking to have an improved season following the signings of Walker Buehler, Aroldis Chapman and Alex Bregman. Luckily for Red Sox fans, Fanatics partnered with Hey Dude to create a new line of MLB shoes, with Boston being one of the select teams chosen. Fans can purchase the Red Sox Hey Dude shoes here. The Boston Red Sox Hey Dude Wally Casual Shoes - Navy retails for $74.99 and is available in the following sizes: 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15. Fans can also get free shipping on this order with code 24SHIP at checkout. English News China advances end-to-end governance of AI-generated content Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 26 Mars 2025 A pivotal innovation within the AI-generated content identification measures lies in the codified differentiation between explicit and implicit labeling systems. The regulations mandate that metadata associated with AI-synthesized content incorporate implicit identification markers, which systematically encode critical attributes including: content classification category; service provider identification (name/unique code); content serialization identifier. By Jin Xin, People's Daily When planning an upcoming trip, Li instinctively opened a prominent AI application for recommendations. While the app promptly generated its usual suggestions, a newly added disclaimer caught his attention: "This AI-generated response serves for reference only. Please verify information carefully." The rapid advancement of generative AI and deep synthesis technologies in recent years has fueled economic expansion, diversified digital content, and enhanced daily convenience. However, these innovations have simultaneously facilitated misinformation proliferation and disrupted digital ecosystems. In response, China recently issued "Measures for identifying AI-generated synthetic content," which will take effect on Sept. 1, 2025. A spokesperson from the Cyberspace Administration of China clarified that the measures aim to standardize the labeling of AI-generated synthetic content. Mandatory disclosure mechanisms enable s to differentiate authentic from synthetic content while clarifying service providers' responsibilities throughout content creation and dissemination processes. The framework aims to optimize security protocols through cost-effective solutions and foster sustainable AI industry development. Tian, a user of a knowledge-sharing platform, encountered a film review stating: "This drama features a compelling narrative structure with multidimensional character development. Through episodic storytelling, it provokes critical reflection on contemporary social issues..." The post displayed a header label marked "Suspected AI-Generated Content" and received substantially reduced algorithmic prioritization in recommendation feeds. A platform spokesperson clarified that existing community guidelines mandate disclosure of AI-assisted content creation. Non-compliant posts trigger automated detection protocols, resulting in mandatory labeling, visibility demotion in ranking systems, content collapse mechanisms, or potential account suspension. Such governance protocols will gain strengthened legal foundations under the Measures for identifying AI-generated synthetic content. The regulations require online content distribution services to verify whether file metadata contains embedded identification markers. Upon detecting explicit identifiers or technical signatures of AI synthesis, platforms must apply: automated classification as suspected AI-generated material; prominent warning labels adjacent to content; public notification through standardized disclaimers. Jin Bo, deputy director of the Third Research Institute at the Ministry of Public Security, further emphasized the regulations' expanded accountability framework. Key provisions now explicitly define obligations for application distribution platforms and auxiliary service providers, establishing comprehensive ecosystem governance spanning content creation, modification, and dissemination processes. A pivotal innovation within the AI-generated content identification measures lies in the codified differentiation between explicit and implicit labeling systems. The regulations mandate that metadata associated with AI-synthesized content incorporate implicit identification markers, which systematically encode critical attributes including: content classification category; service provider identification (name/unique code); content serialization identifier. Zhang Zhen, a senior engineer at the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China, elaborated: "As a supplementary protoco, the cybersecurity technical standard for AI-generated content identification specifies the metadata fields required for implicit labels. These fields are designed to record critical information while minimizing disruption to metadata processing and transmission, ensuring that AI-generated content remains traceable throughout its lifecycle." These regulations not only enhance transparency and security in AI usage but also foster an environment that encourages innovation and responsible AI development. Dans la meme rubrique : < > Low-altitude economy lifts off as Chinese automakers enter the eVTOL era China expands efforts to boost global e-commerce cooperation Legacy of Tea-Horse Road lives on at China-Laos border Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) English News China races ahead in intelligent driving technology Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 26 Mars 2025 Driven by advancements in large AI models and collaborative innovation across the industry, intelligent driving in China is steadily bridging the gap to full autonomy, redefining the global automotive landscape along the way. By Wang Zheng, People's Daily On a fog-shrouded mountain road in southwest China's Guizhou province, a sedan equipped with cutting-edge intelligent driving technology detects a flock of sheep crossing the path. Without hesitation, the vehicle automatically swerves to avoid them, simultaneously activating its hazard lights to alert following drivers. At a recent press conference, Wang Chuanfu, chairman and president of Chinese automaker BYD, showcased this real-world test as evidence that advanced intelligent driving is set to become as indispensable as seat belts and airbags within the next two or three years. His remarks come amid a broader push by China's automakers to integrate smart driving systems into everyday vehicles. Chinese car manufacturers such as Changan, BYD, and Geely have announced plans to bring intelligent driving into the mainstream. Changan's "Beidou Tian Shu 2.0" initiative, for instance, aims to unveil 35 new intelligent vehicles over the next three years. Geely, meanwhile, is rolling out its "Qianli Haohan" intelligent driving system with future models under its Galaxy and Star series designed to incorporate the technology from the outset. BYD has pledged to outfit its entire lineup with the "Tianshen Zhi Yan" advanced intelligent driving system. The automaker's latest model, the BYD Seagull, is priced at a modest 69,800 yuan (about $9,609.3), signaling a dramatic shift in making such technology accessible. "Safety is the cornerstone of intelligent driving," said Gan Jiayue, CEO of Geely Auto Group. "We are working toward a system where every vehicle benefits from integrated perception and comprehensive risk prediction." Beyond collision avoidance, AI-powered intelligent driving technology is also redefining vehicle navigation and parking. Huawei's ADS 3.0 system, enhanced by the Pangu Large Model, has raised the success rate of navigating complex intersections from 85 percent to 98 percent. Likewise, NIO's NOP+ system now boasts a 95 percent success rate for automatic parking in home garages, even learning the specifics of individual parking spots. The leap in performance can largely be attributed to the advent of end-to-end large models. Unlike traditional "perception-decision-execution" architectures that rely on tens of thousands of engineered rules, these new models use vast amounts of real-world data - collected over tens of millions of kilometers - to generate adaptive solutions for over 95 percent of driving scenarios. Industry experts believe that this technological transformation, combined with a surge in Chinese domestically produced large AI models, is reshaping both the technological and economic landscape of intelligent driving. Cost reduction has been a central theme in this revolution. In Shenzhen, at the factory of Robosense Technology Co., Ltd., an M Platform LiDAR sensor rolls off the production line every 12 seconds. Once a prohibitively expensive component, costing as much as $80,000 in 2016, LiDAR sensors now retail for around $200 thanks to advances in solid-state design and chip integration. "More than 30 intelligent electric vehicle models already incorporate this sensor, and over 14 additional models are scheduled to follow in 2025," said Qiu Chunchao, CEO of Robosense Technology Co., Ltd. Similarly, BYD has slashed the cost of its 4D millimeter-wave radar to one-third of the industry average by leveraging its self-developed "Xuanji" intelligent driving chip. Changan, through its in-house domain controller and collaboration with China's autonomous driving chipmaker Black Sesame Technologies, has reduced the hardware cost for its intelligent driving system by 58 percent compared with 2024 levels. "China is setting the new cost benchmark for intelligent driving," said Zhang Yongwei, secretary-general of the China EV100, a new energy vehicle industry think tank. According to Shi Shuai, a partner of the Automotive Team in Roland Berger Greater China, China's competitive advantage lies not in a single technological breakthrough but in a synergistic combination of localized chip production, rapid algorithm iteration, and robust manufacturing capabilities. This ecosystem, he noted, is allowing Chinese firms to scale innovations at an unprecedented pace. With a new version released every two months, advanced intelligent driving is growing rapidly among Chinese automakers. While several companies plan to launch Level 3 autonomous driving models this year, experts warn that widespread adoption hinges on clarifying the legal responsibilities of drivers and automakers. According to data from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 55.7 percent of new passenger vehicles in the country were equipped with Level 2 or higher autonomous driving systems from January to June in 2024. Zhang predicts this figure will rise to 65 percent by 2025. Driven by advancements in large AI models and collaborative innovation across the industry, intelligent driving in China is steadily bridging the gap to full autonomy, redefining the global automotive landscape along the way. Dans la meme rubrique : < > Low-altitude economy lifts off as Chinese automakers enter the eVTOL era China expands efforts to boost global e-commerce cooperation Legacy of Tea-Horse Road lives on at China-Laos border Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) The mainstream media has covered the news of the Signal leak with copious overstatements and blatant lies. What else can be expected from Democrat propagandists masquerading as journalists? So, here are some facts. Signal is an encrypted messaging app. The Biden administration recommended using the app as best practice for highly targeted officials. A Signal messaging group called Houthi PC small group was set up for the Trump administrations security team, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Chief John Ratcliffe, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, Trump adviser Stephen Miller, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Vice President J.D. Vance, etc. The purpose was to facilitate interactions and keep members updated about the targeting of Houthi terrorists. At the beginning of March, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic Monthly, was added to the group, giving Goldberg access to all the messages. Goldberg isnt a Trump critic; he is a rabid Trump hater and is the last person who should be part of such a group. Goldberg claims that, on 11 March, he initially received a connection request on Signal from a user identified as Michael Waltz, Trumps national security adviser, and he subsequently received a notice that he was to be included in a Signal group titled the Houthi PC small group. Goldberg claims the group received a message from Waltz, which also noted one of his deputies was pulling together a team of top staffers relevant to the discussion. Ideally, Goldberg should have notified authorities about the breach and quit the group. Goldberg was perfectly entitled to write about it and provide proof of his addition, citing the serious risks it presented. But instead, he remained in the group for about 10 days and waited for something juicy to report. Goldberg finally got his big scoop on March 15, when the Trump administration decided to bomb the Houthis in retaliation against the terrorist group blocking maritime transportation on the Red Sea. On March 24, Goldberg published a piece claiming that U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didnt think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling. Goldberg is making an excuse for not leaving the group by claiming he didnt think it could be real. The Trump administration said that no classified information or details about the operations were shared on the chat group. Waltz told Laura Ingraham, I take full responsibility. I built the - I built the group. Marco Rubio also conceded that the mistake had occurred. There were noisy hearings on Capitol Hill where Democrat lawmakers engaged in grandstanding before hapless Trump officials. Democrats with worse skeletons in their closets viciously condemned the leak. Goldberg toured from one network to another as he blew his own trumpet. On March 26, Goldberg published a follow-up titled Here Are the Attack Plans That Trumps Advisers Shared on Signal; the contents are updates and discussions relating to the terror strikes in Yemen. The Democrats are hoping that Trump is forced to sack a cabinet member. Such sudden departures cause instability and even paranoia among officials, which could impede the MAGA agenda. It also enables Democrat propagandists to claim, Trump cabinet member departs in just over 60 days of his being sworn in and push the chaos and incompetence narrative. The Democrats also hope it will lead to a probe or a lawsuit that will allow prolonged inquiries, audits, and access to the inner workings of the Trump administration. Their goal is to disrupt the implementation of the MAGA agenda and use government agencies to target Trump officials as they did during Trumps first term. The first steps to facilitate this may have just occurred. Activist Judge James Boasberg was assigned to a lawsuit alleging that Trump officials violated federal record-keeping laws due to the Signal chat leak. Last week, Boasberg attempted to block Trump from using wartime powers to deport Venezuelan migrants. Hopefully, AG Pamela Bondi is ready to prevent such judicial overreach. Lets focus on the content of the leaks. It would have been problematic if they were caught making obscene or bigoted remarks, using expletives, or engaging in jingoistic bravado. It would have been scandalous had they been conversing about targeting political opponents or disparaging the MAGA agenda. But the opposite occurred. Vance had concerns about the strikes going against the MAGA initiative of not wanting to have optional military engagements, adding he wanted to raise the matter with Trump. Hegseth concurs with Vance but adds that its about restoring navigational freedom and reestablishing deterrence. It would have been scandalous if officials sounded inept, uncaring, laid back, or casual. However, the chat revealed that members of Trumps security team were serious, focused, competent, and disciplined while not forgetting why they were elected. Usually, politicians from both parties receive votes on promises they have no intention of keeping. The messages were logical, precise, and thoughtful. The English was formal, and there were almost no short forms or emojis. Voters curious to know the inner workings of the Trump administration will be pleased. But these good revelations do not excuse the seriousness of leaks. Many on the right chose to engage in WhatAboutism following the news. It is worth remembering that the Democrats are guilty of much worse and never took any remedial action. Thirteen American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan following Bidens withdrawal, but no official was punished. But pointing out Democrat recklessness doesnt absolve Trump officials from their grave error. People voted for President Trump because they wanted to end the corruption and incompetence of the Democrats. There are a few questions about the leak. Most firms that use apps such as Signal for internal communication include additional security measures to prevent non-employees from joining group chats and even have stronger encryption to prevent interception. The cabinet officials were using the regular version of Signal, with no additional security, where any mobile user with the app installed can be added. This is unforgivable when matters of national security are being discussed. Ideally, an Information Security team should have conducted a review of the Signal app before it was deemed suitable for use. If Waltz had used his government phone, there was no reason for Goldberg to be in his address book. Waltz told Laura Ingraham he doesnt know Goldberg and has never interacted with him. He said he received the contact from someone else and that the contact was erroneously labeled, i.e., the name was that of another individual, but the number was that of Goldberg. If this claim is true, the sender of the contact could be the saboteur assigned to cause trouble. Perhaps officials must be ordered to have limited contacts (such as cabinet members with similar security clearance) in the address book of their office-issued mobile device. Maybe restrictions are placed on adding new contacts. This will prevent erroneous additions to a group chat. Personal phones are the place for random contacts. It is also a serious problem that Goldberg was able to remain on the chat group for 10 days undetected. The members of the group should have noticed this. Usually, notifications are received when a new member is added, and the person doing the adding introduces the new member. The question remains: how did all members of the group not notice the addition? Now, it is possible that the member was added when an active chat was in progress, and the notification drifted upwards beyond the visible screen. It is presumed that an information security compliance official oversees the addition and removal of members to such groups where national security matters are discussed. It is hoped that such officials would immediately notify everyone of a breach, such as the addition of Goldberg, and have privileges to take remedial actions, i.e., the removal of Goldberg. But either such an official doesnt exist, or the official allowed it to happen due to incompetence or malice. It also raises questions of whether such recklessness has occurred before and if it went unreported. We must also be concerned that saboteurs and moles still havent been booted out. A thorough, fair, and swift investigation is desperately required. Immediate remedial actions must be taken, and the public must be updated about it. Perhaps Musks IT team can help with the investigation and implementation of security measures, including a safer and more secure app for communication. It is also essential that Goldberg be investigated for not quitting in the chat group despite knowing he wasnt supposed to have access. It must be ascertained whether Goldberg shared privileged information. Trump officials must never forget that they are pilgrims in the unholy land of D.C., and hence, they must operate with extreme caution. Image: Signal Immigration law was never meant to run through federal district courtsand thats no accident. Congress explicitly stripped district courts of jurisdiction over immigration cases because, quite frankly, federal judges have no business making ad hoc immigration policy from the bench. Yet, time and again, activist attorneys have tried to drag immigration disputes into district court, knowing full well its a legal avenue Congress closed for a reason. As Mahmoud Khalils case winds its way through the courts, its time to confront why Congress shut district courts out of immigration lawand why their recent defiance marks a troubling breach of that boundary. Congress Shut the DoorActivists Keep Picking the Lock Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Congress established that immigration cases are to be handled through the administrative processfirst before an immigration judge, then before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and finally in the federal circuit courts. District courts? Nowhere in that hierarchy. Why? Because allowing district judgeswho may have no expertise in immigration lawto rule on deportation cases creates a fractured, inconsistent, and politicized mess. Congress recognized this and enacted sweeping reforms, most notably the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996, which explicitly removed district court jurisdiction over deportation orders. The entire purpose of these reforms was to stop what we are seeing today: activist attorneys venue-shopping for a friendly district judge who will override federal immigration enforcement. And yet, here we are. Habeas Corpus: A Procedural Battering Ram Against Immigration Law One of the primary tools activist lawyers use to circumvent jurisdictional limits is the writ of habeas corpus. In theory, habeas is a safeguard against unlawful detention by the state. In practice, in the immigration context, its been weaponized to stalland even thwartlawful deportations by dragging cases into district court, where sympathetic judges often rule far beyond their statutory authority. Traditionally, habeas corpus was reserved for extreme cases: when someone is held without charges, detained beyond the expiration of a lawful sentence, or imprisoned by a court that lacked jurisdiction in the first place. Its a shield against tyrannical imprisonmentnot a sandbox for relitigating lawful deportation orders. Yet, in todays immigration context, habeas actions are being stretched far beyond that historic purpose. Simply disagreeing with the executive branchs enforcement prioritiesor facing removal after due processis enough to trigger a habeas claim and grind the system to a halt. This is precisely what happened in Mahmoud Khalil's case. His attorneys filed for habeas relief not because of unlawful detention but because it gave them an opening to get a district judge to intervene in a case outside that courts jurisdiction. Its a legal shell game: keep moving the pieces until they land before the right judge. And its far from an isolated case. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently detained Badar Khan Suri, an Indian citizen and doctoral student at Georgetown University, for allegedly spreading Hamas propaganda online. Despite the national security implications, Suris attorneys ran the same habeas playbookfiling in district court to halt removal proceedings. And it worked. Judge Patricia Giles issued an order barring ICE from deporting Suri, stating he shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order. More telling still was how Georgetown University chose to respond. A university spokesman told the BBC that Suri had been granted a visa to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan and that the school was not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity. It was the Sgt. Schultz defenseI know nothing!from one of Americas top universities, willfully blind as a foreign national allegedly spread terrorist propaganda on their watch. The Suri case illustrates how thoroughly district courts have been co-opted into the activist legal networks strategy. They are no longer passive arbiters of lawthey are now active participants in obstructing immigration enforcement through procedural end-runs around Congresss jurisdictional framework. And Congress anticipated this maneuver. Under the REAL ID Act of 2005, Congress explicitly barred district courts from hearing habeas corpus petitions in immigration cases. The statute states: A petition for review filed with an appropriate court of appeals... shall be the sole and exclusive means for judicial review of an order of removal. And further: Judicial review of all questions of law and fact... including interpretation and application of constitutional and statutory provisions... shall be available only in judicial review of a final order... and shall be governed only by [8 U.S.C. 1252]. Activist attorneys often argue that constitutional claimssuch as alleged due process violationsshould carve out an exception, allowing them to bypass the REAL ID Act and head straight to district court. But thats a misread of the law. The statute is explicit: judicial review of all questions of law or fact, including interpretation and application of constitutional... provisions must go through the federal courts of appealsnot district courts. The Supreme Court affirmed this in DHS v. Thuraissigiam (2020), holding that the REAL ID Act constitutionally channels all review of removal ordersincluding constitutional claimsinto the appellate courts, not district courts. Constitutional claims are not a free pass to override immigration lawtheyre part of the same streamlined judicial process Congress put in place. These provisions were designed to prevent jurisdictional gamesmanship and ensure that deportation cases are handled consistently at the appellate levelnot through scattered rulings by district judges with no immigration mandate. The Danger of Letting District Judges Hijack Immigration Policy This is a high-stakes power struggle over who controls immigration policy: Congress and the Executive Branch, or unelected district judges willing to override both. Theres a reason immigration law isnt entrusted to the whims of politically inclined district judges. If every deportation case could be hauled into district court, enforcement would grind to a halt. Congress deliberately vested immigration authority in Article II administrative officers, with a judicial review process that bypasses Article III district courts entirely. Short-circuiting that framework is far more insidious than simple judicial overreachit undermines democratic principles and dismantles the carefully structured system Congress created. The result? A patchwork of rulings from individual judges injecting personal ideology into national policywell outside their constitutional role. And in many cases, those judges were appointed by political opponents of the very president charged with enforcing immigration law. Weve already seen the chaos this creates. Judges issue last-minute stays on deportations, override executive branch determinations, and, in some cases, outright block entire categories of enforcement actions. The Khalil and Suri cases are just the latest examples of activist lawfare aimed at undermining immigration law, not enforcing it. Time for the Supreme Court to Body-Check the Lower Courts The abuse of jurisdiction in immigration cases is a direct attack on Congresss constitutional authority to regulate immigrationand a broader assault on the presidents ability to execute the law. Congress deliberately removed district courts from this process for a reason, and their creeping re-entry through habeas petitions threatens to undo decades of legal precedent and constitutional balance. The Supreme Court must intervene decisively. Its time for an extreme body check on rogue actions by certain district court judges who have taken it upon themselves to rewrite immigration policy from the bench. Congress built a streamlined process for immigration review through the appellate courtsnot a revolving door for ideological litigation in district court. If the Supreme Court fails to act and rein in the lower courts, the president will lose the ability to enforce the law, and Congress will effectively surrender its legislative authority. Immigration policy will no longer be governed by statute or national interest butusing a term fashionable in todays lexiconby oligarchs in black robes. The judiciary must stay in its lane, or it will drive the rule of law off a cliff. And with all due respect to the Chief Justice, the gravest threat to the judiciarys legitimacy isnt external pressureits coming from inside the chambers of certain federal district courts. Charlton Allen is an attorney, former chief executive officer, and chief judicial officer of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. He is the founder of the Madison Center for Law & Liberty, Inc., editor of The American Salient, and the host of the Modern Federalist podcast. X: @CharltonAllenNC Image: Public domain. By any honest reckoning, the American Midwest has long stood as the republics last great firewall of common sense -- where decency is currency and a handshake still means something. But lately, the regions governors have sounded less like the voice of the plowman and more like the echo of a faculty lounge panel at Oberlin. In Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois, the executive mansions seem to have been annexed by ideology, not elected by people. Lets begin with Minnesota governor Tim Walz. His administration mandated tampons in boys bathrooms -- a sentence that would have been flagged as satire only a few years ago. Heres a state where winters kill you, and potholes breed like rabbits, yet were told the urgent moral crisis is menstrual equity for high school males. Does anyone really believe Tim from Two Harbors, who works 10-hour days and hunts on the weekend, is pounding the table for tampon dispensers in the boys' gym? Its a cartoonish abstraction -- policy driven not by reality but by performative progressivism. Even George Orwell would have rolled his eyes. And then theres Wisconsins governor Tony Evers, who referred to a pregnant woman as an inseminated person. That isnt a typo. Thats a full-frontal assault on language and humanity in one breathless phrase. Its as if someone replaced the Midwestern political lexicon with the instruction manual for artificial cattle breeding. Everss comment would be laughable if it werent such a naked attempt to erase the distinction -- and the dignity -- of womanhood. The same logic that births birthing persons and chest feeders now gives us insemination people, and the silence from the sane is growing louder. But wait -- were not done yet. Lets roll east. In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has thrown her support behind what can only be called a crusade to scrub gendered language from the entire bureaucratic structure. Her administration pushed for new guidance in state-run documents and agencies that favor "gender-neutral terminology" over "mother" and "father." A Michigan birth certificate might soon read like a sterile census report: "Parent A" and "Parent B." One wonders: is this what the auto industry died for? Did Motown's legacy of grit and soul give way to linguistic sanitation that could make a robot blush? Cross south to the state line into Illinois; the fever only burns hotter. Governor J.B. Pritzker recently championed initiatives that ensure menstruating individuals -- regardless of gender identity -- receive free products in all public buildings, including men's prisons and locker rooms. His office doubled down when challenged, citing the importance of inclusivity and access. Its not just that the policy is unscientific -- it insists everyone else suspend disbelief to prop up its illusion. This isnt governance. Its theater. Now lets pause and ask: whats going on in the minds of these governors? These are not the raving radicals of either coast. These are executives from states once associated with straight talk, civic responsibility, and -- dare we say it -- reality. Were living through an elite delusion -- a cultural detour powered by privilege, not principle. It would be one thing if these were isolated gaffes. But they arent. They are consistent signals from people in charge that their worldview no longer aligns with the citizens they govern. Whether its a transgender tampon policy, erasing womanhood with technocratic language, or redefining family into interchangeable parts, the governing class has divorced itself from the governed. The one thread tying together governors Walz, Evers, Whitmer, and Pritzker -- beyond their baffling policies and biologically incoherent declarations -- is their shared allegiance to the Democratic Party. Each governs not as a steward of regional values but as a mouthpiece for a national progressive agenda, more at home in coastal think tanks than cornfields. Whether it's putting tampons in boys bathrooms, redefining motherhood with sterile bureaucratic jargon, or scrubbing gender from birth certificates, these policies dont emerge from the lived realities of Midwestern voters -- they're imports from an ideology-first playbook. The problem isn't geography -- it's political orthodoxy. The Midwest has always prided itself on being the sturdy middle beam of Americas cultural barn. But when the leaders of its largest states use that barn to host a masquerade ball of ideology -- complete with costumes, new vocabulary, and rituals no one understands -- you cant help but ask: is it something in the air? The lakes? Is the corn fermenting wrong? At the ground level, folks still believe in things everyday. They know what a woman is. They know boys dont need tampons. They understand pregnancy involves mothers, not "insemination people." And theyre not cruel or callous. Theyre rooted in nature, tradition, and the common sense that built towns, not Twitter trends. So heres the question: How long can a region project normalcy while its leadership writes policy in a fantasy dialect? The answer lies not in another speech or task force -- but in the kitchen tables, church pews, and factory floors of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois. If theres hope for the Midwest, its not coming from the top. Its coming from the men and women -- yes, women -- who still know the difference between reality and roleplay. And theyre tired of pretending. Image: Sgroey The skirmishes between the judiciary and the executive branch, particularly since Trumps election, have escalated into a full-scale war with unelected partisan judges refusing to let President Trump govern. Although this looks like a war between the President and the Courts, its really about the Left vs. the Right. And the Constitution is caught in the middle. Destroying the Constitution The Progressives, especially since President Woodrow Wilson, have a long history of undermining the Constitution to meet their own agendas: Progressives demanded that Congress delegate its lawmaking authority to supposedly neutral and apolitical experts. They then sought to shelter these professionals and technicians from the play of raw democratic forces by providing them with robust protections against presidential removal. Progressives take not as a flaw but as a positive design feature the ability of these independent agencies to subvert a presidential agenda and frustrate the majoritarian preferences that lie behind it. When we study the actions of the judiciary carefully, the political left claims that Trump is creating a constitutional crisis; in fact, the crisis is an ideological one. The term constitutional crisis is meant to cause alarm, not define the facts of what is occurring. From John Yoo, former U.S. Assistant Attorney General: I confess that I have no clear definition of a constitutional crisis, he said, adding that he does have clear ideas about what is not a constitutional crisis: It cannot just be a disagreement over the meaning of the constitution. It cannot be just a fight between the branches of government. Not only do we have these conflicts all the time, but the Framers designed the separation of powers according to James Madison to encourage the three branches to fight. Yoo, currently a visiting scholar at the University of Texas at Austin, sees it differently, and told me claims of a constitutional crisis today are examples of the hyper-partisan policies of our time than any real assault on the Constitution. What is actually going on? The judges are ruling in ways that deliberately hamstring the president: Whether its U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg attempting to block the Trump administration from deporting suspected illegal alien gang members to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, or U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander blocking the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing Social Security Administration data, federal judges have repeatedly stepped in to undermine executive authority. [snip] America increasingly lives under a Judicial Oligarchy, where the district court system that functions below the Supreme Court has assumed power far beyond its intended limited role, subverting the executive and legislative branches to impose a policy agenda dictated not by elected representatives but by unelected judges. Can we expect the Republicans in the Senate to stand behind Trump, or will they back the activist judges? Chuck Schumer expects cowardice from our representatives: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told the New York Times that the question of whether Trump defies courts is what wakes him up at 2, 3 in the morning. I believe Republican senators, on this issue, will stand up, Schumer said of a handful of his colleagues on the other side of the aisle. About five or six have said publicly they will work to uphold the courts, and to uphold the law if Trump tries to break it. And we can do that legislatively if we have to. And, the Progressive media continue to gaslight: It is, of course, too early to offer definitive verdicts, but the first few weeks of the Trump administration may well constitute the most severe attack on the rule of law in the United States since confederate armed forces began lobbing artillery shells into Fort Sumter in 1861. Aided by a supine Congress dominated by his own political party, a determined presidentwith a long track record of disrespect for the law and the judicial systemis attempting to enhance his own power by upending institutional arrangements outlined in our Constitution and gradually constructed over the course of many decades. Her attacks focus on the dislike for Trump and his agenda, rather than basing her arguments on facts. Aside from the authors use of hyperbole, comparing Trumps actions to the South in the Civil War, no evidence is given that he has attacked the rule of law. He hasnt shown disrespect for the law, but only for the attorneys and justices who have practiced lawfare. And in fact, he is trying to re-establish the meaning of the Constitution that the Founders intended. Since his approach is unconventional, the progressives insist he must be wrong. Restoring the Constitution Given that the lower courts are fabricating the confines of the Constitution to meet their agenda, heres what Trump is trying to do to restore the Constitution. Insisting that agencies are not independent and are subject to his management is one strategy: A Supreme Court rejection of independent agencies would mark an enormous shift of power away from the administrative state and back into the hands of the president. It would restore political accountability for public policy choices to the elected branches. And it would bring the dominant understanding of the executive power closer to the constitutional text and the prevailing understanding of the Founders. The federal bureaucracy often resists the wishes of the president and Congress and may do so by progressive design. Agencies can refuse to carry out presidential directives: They can slow-walk regulatory initiatives, they can conceal important information from the White House or presidential appointees, they can carry out operations that they keep off the books. This friction, which makes it hard or even impossible for a president to carry out his agenda, is intensified when the agency is headed by a leader or board that has no fear of removal. Meanwhile, a rule called Humphreys Executor has unconstitutionally limited the power of the president over the heads of agencies: Humphreys Executor has not stood the test of time. In Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2020), the Court held that Congress could not vest the power to enforce the laws in the hands of a single agency head who is protected from presidential removal. The Court wrote: In our constitutional system, the executive power belongs to the president, and that power generally includes the ability to supervise and remove the agents who wield executive power in his stead . . . While we have previously upheld limits on the presidents removal authority in certain contexts, we decline to do so when it comes to principal officers who, acting alone, wield significant executive power. President Trump must continue his work to restore the Constitution, in spite of the pushback from the judiciary: If the deliberate legal obstruction of Trumps presidency continues without significant pushback, either by winning legal appeals, impeaching partisan justices, eliminating some federal courts, openly defying court orders, or the Supreme Court granting the Trump administrations request to narrow the scope of the district court injunctions, the judiciary will effectively cement itself as Americas unelected ruling class. Trump is simply trying to take back our country. He must be successful. Image: U.S. Consitution. Im just asking how you think my equitable powers do not attach to a plane that has departed the U.S., even if its in international airspace, said Judge Boasberg. Since he had ordered any targeted plane already in flight to turn around, clearly, he thought this mysterious equitable power could accomplish his desired outcome. Who knew that every federal judge had superpowers? The U.S. Constitution does not have Infinity Stones; just Article III. Section 1 states that the judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. And Section 2 clarifies that the judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity. Law and equity are mentioned separately because in Anglo-Saxon tradition, the cases of each were historically heard in different courts. In fact, there were distinct federal courts for law and equity in the United States until 1938, when they were merged. This fact lays the foundation for where to apply Elon Musks chainsaw: trim equity away from law in the federal courts. Congress can do it without the Supreme Court by simply repealing the 1934 law which delegated its authority over procedural rule-making to SCOTUS. Why is this cut the solution? Bluntly, since the new, separate courts could create new seats, new judges would have to be appointed to wield that equitable superpower and make equity great again. The more traditional perspective covers some interesting territory. During President Trumps first term, as the original Russia hoax was being uncovered, Chief Justice Roberts appointed Judge Boasberg to preside over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). The DOJ inspector general reviewed the FISA warrants to assess the governments role in the hoax, and Judge Boasberg asked Mary McCord to advise the FISC during the I.G. investigation. Now, not only did Mary McCord participate in some of the DOJ decisions that led to the abuse, but her husband, Sheldon Snook, worked in the office of Chief Justice Roberts (full story here). This social network is why any appeal of Judge Boasbergs rulings will probably not lead to a clear decision from SCOTUS. To succeed on appeal, Justice Barrett would have to forsake her mojo for conjuring a 5-4 decision with Justice Roberts et al. Although that is unlikely in itself, the real understanding of equity in the Supreme Court is in even worse shape. Justice Thomas wrote a dissenting opinion in Liu v. SEC, in which a recently invented equitable superpower called disgorgement was reviewed by SCOTUS. Disgorgement refers to forcing someone who unjustly enriched himself to give up those ill-gotten gains; it was used by Judge Engoron to justify his $355,000,000 judgment against President Trump in New York State (more about the N.Y. case here). Four years before Judge Engorons decision, Justice Thomas wrote: The majority believes that insistence on the traditional rules of equity is unnecessarily formalistic ... but the Founders accepted federal equitable powers only because those powers depended on traditional forms. The Constitution was ratified on the understanding that equity was a precise legal system with specific equitable remed[ies]. A few historical facts are needed to fully understand Justice Thomas argument. The Court of Chancery was that of the chancellor, the highest official after the king (for Gilbert and Sullivan fans, think Iolanthe). When the issue of a suit came within the scope of a law, whether statutory or common law, the law courts would determine the facts and apply that law. As strange as it might seem to us today, a few hundred years ago, not every act that a person might think of was covered by a law. The disputes without a controlling law went into a court of equity, where a judge tried to fashion an equitable or fair remedy. A source nearly contemporaneous with our nations founding outlines the development of equity: The court of equity ... was held before the king and his council, in the palace, where one supreme court for business of every kind was kept. At first the chancellor became a judge, to hear and determine petitions to the king, which were preferred to him; and in the end, as business increased, the people addressed their suit to the chancellor, and not to the king; and thus the chancellors equitable power, by degrees, commenced by prescription. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1771, Article: Chancellor) The king, quite understandably, does not want to spend all day settling squabbles among his subjects, so he delegates his authority all of it to his chancellor to do that job. Over time, the chancellors begin to see patterns among these bewildering complaints and, being not just human, but also English, fashion off-the-shelf remedies to fix them. Thus, equity became superficially a precise legal system with specific equitable remed[ies] as Justice Thomas quotes. Now we can understand what Justice Thomas means by the Founders accepted federal equitable powers only because those powers depended on traditional forms. A judge in equity who did not feel constrained by the traditional remedies could claim all the power of a king to fashion one according to his fancy. Looking at Judge Boasbergs statement in this light raises the concern that he really believes that there are no limits to his equitable power. And there are eight Supreme Court Justices who may agree with him; Justice Thomas was alone in his dissent. People should not think these equitable superpowers will never be used against them because, as N.Y. governor Hochul so eloquently put it, theyre different than Donald Trump. Many government agencies, like the SEC, have the authority to seek equitable relief in federal court to enforce their regulations. Unlike 1787, when the U.S. Constitution was written, we live in a time with so many regulations that an average person commits three felonies a day. Each of us faces the very real possibility of appearing without the right to a jury before a judge with equitable superpowers, who weighs our case against that of his federal coworkers. We have to use Musks chainsaw. Its our only hope. Centinel is a pen name meant to recollect the insight and prescience of the Anti-Federalists. Image via Picryl. For those of us in the states, Burma's earthquake disaster, as it was seen in next-door Thailand, was heartbreaking. It will inevitably draw back memories of 9/11 in New York. Buildings collapsing into apocalyptic clouds of dust and people running: A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. pic.twitter.com/wOb65quagE The Associated Press (@AP) March 28, 2025 Heartbreaking News A massive 7.7 quake devastates Mandalay, Myanmar, and impacts Bangkok, Thailand. A Thread Not for the soft-hearted pic.twitter.com/7JnzJjJQHn Vertigo_Warrior (@VertigoWarrior) March 28, 2025 People falling from tall buildings to their deaths: The 7.7 magnitude earthquake that occurred in #Myanmar also hit #China and #Thailand. In #Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the water from a pool on the terrace of a building spilled out due to the impact of the tremor, while those swimming in the pool fell down. pic.twitter.com/ouHRdg7osR (@HamdiCelikbas) March 28, 2025 Masses of people walking home: Bangkok on Friday afternoon after the severe earthquake. Trains aren't running and taxis are scarce. So people have to walk home: pic.twitter.com/mr4zyFxdmh gkk-y - (@Bangkokboy17) March 28, 2025 I am waiting for signs for the missing. While the shock is horrible, and our sadness and concern for the wonderful people of Thailand (and Burma) is predominant now, one thing leaps to mind based on how we've seen the Thais react to disasters in the past: They will clean up. They will rebuild. And they will do it quickly. This is not Los Angeles, the Other City of Angels on the Pacific Rim (both Bangkok and L.A. mean 'city of angels'), where Democrat officials have told residents of fire-ravaged Altadena and Pacific Palisades they can expect to rebuild in around five years. It's not going to be like that in Thailand, based on what we have seen in the past. Thailand is no stranger to coups, military or otherwise. There have been fearsome riots there, leaving the place a mess, with fires, garbage and other signs of disorder ... and within days, the place is all cleaned up. The quake was probably the worst ever felt in Thailand, and had to be a new one for them, a surprise, and probably felt worse than the 7.7 Richter scale intensity owing to the city being built on a swamp, which creates a Jell-O effect during a quake. But they do know natural disasters, and the natural disasters they're most likely to be dealing with is storms and floods -- this Wikipedia page lists quite a few of them. Some have been terrible on its agricultural sector, which serves as the breadbasket to the entire region. Thailand also had a lot of disaster to deal with during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Yet in every instance, they got right to work and cleaned up right away to get back to normal. They are ferociously self-sufficient self-starters and have even been known to turn down aid in the past when it was offered. And with huge floods and the damage therein, nobody has ever seen mass starvation or other horrors associated with an entirely ruined food supply. They save for rainy days. Here is a 2011 editorial I wrote when I was an editorial writer at Investor's Business Daily about how to help Thailand when huge swathes of its territory, including much of its capital, was literally under water after a flood. I haven't been following Thai affairs very closely in recent years, but I have lived in the region in the late 1990s, in Singapore, and made at least four trips to Bangkok for work or pleasure and know the cultural feel of the place. They are trade oriented -- and nationalistic as any nation ever gets. They also understand that without a good economy, nothing else is going to work. So you don't see the surreal attitudes toward wokesterism or work that are very obvious in blue cities such as San Francisco or Los Angeles, where citizen flight is dismissed as unimportant, tax policy is only a matter of harvesting more from taxpayers, public money is viewed as bottomless, and bailouts are a natural and normal way of responding to self-induced crises. They don't do things that way in Thailand. And I've yet to hear any tales of corruption that rival the recent report of $2 billion unaccounted for from the homeless fund in Los Angeles, nobody knowing where the cash went. I've seen less-than-transparent billionaires there, when I did the Forbes billionaire list for Southeast Asia some 20 years ago, but never the kind of stealing we now see in California -- or the bureaucracy, or the red tape, or the delays, or the utter failure to come up with a plan for quick recovery from disaster, such as we are likely to see from Thailand -- or for that matter, Japan in the wake of its tsunamis and quakes, or New Zealand in the wake of its Christchurch quake in recent years. Knowing what we know of the Thais, they'll bounce back and get right to work to ensure it happens. They may need to enact Mexico City standards for building construction, which since Mexico's 1986 quake, has made every earthquake since a minimal affair in Mexico and in all the nations that have copied it (which includes the U.S.). They may need to take earthquake-proofing technology and know-how from Chile's engineers, in a country that gets some monster quakes in the 9-range -- and no fallen skyscrapers. When I visited Chile around 2011, the Chileans showed how they put rockers and rollers into newly constructed buildings to ensure that the edifices would be able to withstand shaking from quakes. But I am confident they will do this. We have seen them do it before. Bangkok will be back to normal as Los Angeles continues to stew in the ruins, the victim of atrocious governance with wokester blue leaders who don't see economies as important. Put them side by side and Thailand will be back to normal, while the bluesters aren't going to come out of this with anything to brag about. One can only wish the Thais well as they work to recover. Image: Screen shot from X video. Among the many beliefs necessary for membership in the contemporary Democrat Party is the Partys political enemies must never be normalized. How could it be otherwise with a Party that claims a brief, minor riot at the Capitol was worse than Pearl Harbor or 9-11, and that their enemies are worse than Adolf Hitler who plunged the world into war and presided over the murder of millions? Normal Americans can find much to admire about people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump, even if they might disagree with their politics or think them less than perfect people. Musk, a naturalized American genius, used to be praised by Dems because his manufacture of Teslaselectric vehiclesfit into their Green New Scam goals. Innumerable Dems bought Teslas as rolling virtue signals. Suddenly, even as his rocket and spaceship were rescuing two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station, Dems turned on Musk and began vandalizing and torching Tesla dealers and Teslas, occupied or unoccupied. Musk, who has received innumerable death threats, had suddenly becomeyou guessed itHitler. What could he have possibly done to provoke such venom? He allied himself with Donald Trump and began to root out corruption, fraud and theft in the Deep State. He began a process that will surely wipe out most of the Democrat Partys illicit, taxpayer-funded, cash flow and with it, their political power. Donald Trump, a political outsider, has always been more Hitler than Hitler to Dems, and not a few Republicans, though they arent usually so unsophisticated and vitriolic in rhetoric. Musk now joins Trump in being one the self-imagined elite cant normalize by treating either as a human being. This is why comedian and talk show host Bill Maher, long of the left, finds himself telling Dems f**k you. Comedian Bill Maher had two words for those who would criticize his scheduled meeting with President Trump at the White House: fuck you. During an interview with comedian Andrew Schulz on his Club Random podcast, Maher discussed his scheduled meeting with President Trump and how it would bother hard leftists. It seems Kid Rock was recently on Mahers show and arranged for Maher to meet Trump. Maher wisely accepted. Wisely because what sane talk show host wouldnt gladly take the opportunity to meet, and in this case have dinner with, the POTUS? And also wisely because Maher is a man who has long vilified Trump, a sentiment Trump has returned, yet hes willing to invite Maher to dinner. That takes character, and Maher has demonstrated the same by accepting. Graphic: X Screenshot There will be lots of people on the left who will be like How dare you talk to this man? Like f**k you. Im not playing this game that you mean girls play, he continued. Where youre like you cant sit at my lunch table, because Im not talking to you. Not talking to you? You lost the election. Who the f**k do you think you have to talk to? Its one thing if you win it. Its another thing if you lose it, he added. Maher makes a good point, one Dems apparently cant grasp. A party that lost as badly as Dems lost to Trump is not going to attract disaffected voters by rushing even more to the left and by screaming invective at Trump and his supporters. At the very least wise strategists would want to learn all they could about their opponent, which explains why Dems continue to scream NAZI! They still havent learned calling someone racist has long ago lost its effectiveness, as has accusing someone of being a Nazi. Maher mentioned how a change has happened in the Democrat Party, noting that certain figureheads like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and others have moderated by courting voices on the right in a spirit of conversation. One hopes Maher understands Newsoms cynical attempt to portray himself as a centrist is a scam. Newsom certainly isnt applying any of that new-found centrism to California, which Maher should appreciate. He recently complained about taking years chasing permits and inspections for necessary improvements on his California home. We got to get more of this going, said Maher. This has to become the center. This has to become a real center. Its a few lonely islands that need to become a bigger sandbar. Maher refers to actually speaking with ones opponents. On one hand, practicing civility in the halls of Congress and elsewhere is necessary if were going to live together in peace rather than experience eternal fiery but mostly peaceful protests. On the other hand, if it cleans the thieves and corruptocrats out of government, its probably better if Dems never figure that out. Have fun, Bill! On a different subject, if you are not already a subscriber, you may not know that weve implemented something new: A weekly newsletter with unique content from our editors for subscribers only. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription. Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. I used to regularly listen to NPR. And then Car Talk went off the air. I loved those guys. Not only did they know their stuff, they took their work but not themselves seriously, laughed uproariously and unlike much of what NPR put on the air, provided a useful service for all Americans. Still, I never liked paying for leftists to insult me, which was what the majority of NPRs offerings did. It wasnt awfully long ago that Democrats would feign outrage at anyone suggesting they were partisan hacks. The outrage was particularly outrageous for the Dems media propaganda arm. How dare you accuse us of bias? Were journalists! More recently, most Dems no longer bother to pretend theyre not insanely biased, largely engaging in projection instead, though a few still make feckless protestations no one believes. Thats why NPRs CEO, Katherine Mahers lies including claims her views have evolved during a recent congressional appearance, were particularly ironic and pathetic. Rep. Brandon Gill caught her in many, blatantly obvious lies. He brought receipts: Graphic: X Screenshot REP. BRANDON GILL: Do you believe that America is addicted to white supremacy? KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I believe that I tweeted that, and as Ive said earlier, I believe much of my thinking has evolved over the last half decade. It has evolved. REP. BRANDON GILL: Why did you tweet that? KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I dont recall the exact context, sir, so I wouldnt be able to say. REP. BRANDON GILL: OK. Do you believe that America believes in "black plunder and white democracy"? KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I dont believe that. REP. BRANDON GILL: You tweeted that you were reading at the time, apparently, The Case for Reparations. KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I dont think Ive ever read that book, sir. REP. BRANDON GILL: You tweeted about it. You said you took a day off to fully read The Case for Reparations. You put that on Twitter in January of 2020. KARATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I apologize, I dont recall that I did. I have no doubt that your tweet there is correct, but I dont recall that. REP. BRANDON GILL: OK. Do you believe that white people inherently feel superior to other races? KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I do not. REP. BRANDON GILL: You dont? You tweeted something to that effect. You said, "I grew up feeling superiorha, how white of me." Why did you tweet that? KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I think I was probably on what it was to beto grow up in an environment where I had lots of advantages. REP. BRANDON GILL: It sounds like youre saying that white people feel superior. KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I dont believe that anybody feels that way, sir. I was just reflecting on my own experiences. REP. BRANDON GILL: You think that people should pay reparations? KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I have never said that, sir. REP. BRANDON GILL: Yes, you did. You said it in January of 2020. You tweetedyes, the North, yes, all of us, yes, America, yes, our original collective sin and unpaid debt, yes, reparations, yes, on this day. KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I dont believe that was a reference to fiscal reparations, sir. REP. BRANDON GILL: What kind of reparations was it a reference to? KATHERINE MAHER, NPR: I think it was just a reference to the idea that we all owe much to the people who came before us. Gill also pointed out that most NPR staffers were obvious leftists, and only two were Republicans. Maher maintained she was concerned about thatshe apparently did nothing about itbut that all those leftists were completely unbiased. NPR also commonly takes a very feminist/socialist/communist viewpoint, so this is not surprising: Graphic: X Screenshot One wonders if all the estrogen floating about those hallways could have a dampening effect on the testosterone of male NPR staffers? She testified her views on America being a bastion of white supremacy have evolved, but she cant recall what they were or state what they are now? In any case, were to believe Maher took a day off to read a book on reparations, which she obviously considered very meaningful and important in her tweet, yet cant recall reading it? And her clearly tweeted preference for reparationspaying taxpayer dollars to people who were never enslaved or in any way harmed by slaverywasnt really a preference for reparations, it was a sort of nebulous acknowledgement of the debt we owe someones ancestors? Take the link to read the rest. Maher claimed only a tiny part of NPRs budget comes from taxpayer dollars, yet she, and virtually all Dems, scream bloody murder at the possibility that tiny part might end. Mahers deceptions are an eloquent argument for ending all federal funding for NPR and PBS. If their offerings are that valuable and popular, the marketplace will surely sustain them? On a different subject, if you are not already a subscriber, you may not know that weve implemented something new: A weekly newsletter with unique content from our editors for subscribers only. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription. Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and collected to Karge English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. The name of NPR's chief was corrected to Katherine fro Karoline The current government of the United States of America (the Trump administration) rounded up a few hundred gang members and leaders members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, among the most vicious organized crime groups on Earth and flew them to El Salvador, whose government has committed to keeping them all behind bars in an absolute maximum security prison, where they will never again endanger law-abiding citizens of either country. No sane person could find fault with this. The only sensible complaint would be against the Biden-Harris regime, and against other prior regimes such as the Obama-Biden administration, which had illegally allowed these demons into the United States in the first place through their willful neglect of our border controls. And yet, the mainstream press is acting its usual role, shilling for the Democrat party, arguing that deporting known gate-crashing murderers and locking them up is somehow a bad thing. This isnt a surprise. The Democrat party has been the party of criminals for decades now, with the news organizations of the major networks their primary accomplices. But this story comes with an unusually effective visual aid, in the form of a photo op provided by the Secretary of Homeland Security and a particularly interesting moment exposing the medias lack of self-awareness. I toured the CECOT, El Salvadors Terrorism Confinement Center. President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW. If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison. pic.twitter.com/OItDqNsFxM Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 26, 2025 Secretary Kristi Noem, until recently the two-term governor of South Dakota (following terms as both a state and federal legislator), flew to El Salvador to inspect the prison and to film a message for public consumption. She stood in front of a jail cell jam-packed with heavily tattooed gang members, and put the criminals of the world on notice, essentially saying that if you come to America illegally, if you join crime gangs and commit crimes on American soil, youll spend the rest of your sorry life in a place like this. It's an effective photo op. Its a powerful and welcome warning, following years of soft American leftist prosecutors and judges whove grown famous for releasing criminals back onto the streets without punishment, however dangerous their crimes, without the slightest regard for the well-being of law-abiding citizens. Law-abiding citizens, after all, are hardly the Democratic Partys customer base, anymore. The press doesnt want to support the potential victims of these thugs; they want to find a way to support the thugs themselves. They dont want to help an administration that opposes the gangs; they want to support the gangs. So they look for a weakness, a chink in the armor to take advantage of. And they thought theyd found one. The press first made fun of Kristi Noem for doing a photo op at all, viewing it as a cheap stunt. Then they noticed she was wearing an expensive wristwatch, and made fun of that, implying that its politically tactless to be photographed wearing an expensive wristwatch. So this has been the theme of the articles that accompany the omnipresent still shots from the Secretarys trip: a presumably fragile middle-aged white woman with an expensive watch, showing that shes safe from these hundreds of cold-blooded killers just because of a set of iron prison bars. And the media sees no irony in their report at all. Are they that lacking in self-awareness? The picture not only succeeds in spreading the message intended by Secretary Noem, it goes beyond, because the public is forced to recognize the medias opposition to those bars. The left wanted to let these killers into the United States, and never wanted to drive them out, even when theyre caught committing crimes. The left wanted to stop the Trump-Vance administration from its intended crackdown, and erected both a judicial attack and a media barrage in opposition to it. When the criminals were quickly caught and flown to El Salvador for imprisonment, the lefts pocket judges actually attempted to stop the plane in mid-flight and make it turn around! And now that these hoods are in jail for life, the left tries to stop the Trump administration from spreading the word about it, from communicating to their American constituents that the law is finally being enforced again. The public sees this in real time, and files it away in their memories for the future hopefully to remember it all on future election days. It is a powerful image, one with deeper meanings that the out-of-touch left doesnt realize: That cell full of illegal aliens the dozens of drug dealers, thugs, robbers, rapists, and murderers -- represents tens of thousands more such specific, individual threats that Democrat administrations and sanctuary cities have purposely invited into our midst, again and again. That pretty cabinet secretary with a treasured wristwatch represents the honest, vulnerable, law-abiding public the men and women, workers and students, young and old, black and white, Hispanic and Asian whose homes, cars, possessions and very lives are jeopardized every day by those criminals. And that wall of iron bars that far-off El Salvadoran prison cell keeping Kristi Noem safe from the monsters behind it represents the American criminal justice system and the forces of federal law enforcement, when directed by a team that honors its obligation to the American public. The press thought it would make Secretary Noem look foolish by pointing out that the bars of a jail are all thats keeping her safe. The press doesnt realize that this was exactly the point, and the press has chosen the wrong side. Because, on this issue, as on so many others, the press is allied with the brutal threats to peace and security and the Trump administration is allied with the law enforcement system thats determined to protect those thugs intended victims. Every week, every day, every hour that passes, the message is clearer to more American citizens: the Trump Republicans dare we say, the MAGA Republicans support the law enforcement tools that keep the American people safe. And MAGAs opponents the modern Democrats and their allies in the media and pop culture - blatantly, vocally support the bloodthirsty threats who endanger us all. John F. Di Leo is a Chicagoland-based international transportation manager, trade compliance trainer, and speaker. Read his book on the surprisingly numerous varieties of vote fraud (The Tales of Little Pavel), his political satires on the Biden-Harris years (Evening Soup with Basement Joe, Volumes I, II, and III), and his most recent collection of public policy essays, Current Events and the Issues of Our Age, all available in eBook or paperback, only on Amazon. Image: Screen shot from X video Remember the missing children craze of decades past? Photos of moppets appeared on milk cartons, and the numbers of supposedly missing kids were so high cooler heads eventually began asking questions and it was quickly discovered the numbers activists were pushing were nonsensical, their methods and data political rather than replicable. Perhaps the activists had good intentions, perhaps not, but as Americans realized they were being hoaxed, the milk carton photos disappeared. Were well into the process of discovering just how badly weve been hoaxed by gun control cracktivists. The latest comes from Gabriel Giffords anti-liberty/gun group which is lauding research purporting to show one in 15 Americans have survived a mass shooting. In other words, some 7% of the population, nearly 24 million people, have been directly involved in a mass shooting, loosely defined as an incident in which four or more people were shot. Graphic: X Screenshot These figures were derived from a survey of 10,000 people, a survey, not independent, verifiable, research that sampled data from multiple, reliable sources, but a survey of only 0.00293% of the population. This is the expansive definition used in the survey: Being present at the scene of a mass shooting or sustaining a physical injury from the event, whether by being shot, trampled, or experiencing another injury during the incident. Its worse than even that definition might suggest: The survey gave the Surveyed wide-ranging choices to choose from when deciding if they qualified as being present on the scene, from actually being shot to simply being able to hear the gunfire. At the Parkland attack, the killer was present in only one three-story building on a widely spread campus of 13 separate buildings. Given the survey definition, respondents at Parkland could claim survivor status even if they werent in that building. Just being on the Parkland campus would qualify. And at Parkland, many in that building were in no danger, nor were they aware of the killer. From the first to the last shot less than six minutes elapsed. The study locations included shopping outlets and concerts or outdoor events which also may be very misleading because the vast majority of people in these locations during the time of an incident although able to hear a gunshot may not have been near the actual site. In a concert situation you could have anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 or more people in attendance while only a small number of people may be affected by a so-called mass shooting, but under the criteria of the study could claim to have had direct exposure. The study also apparently ignores the human tendency to want to be a part of some notorious event in even the most tangential way. Oh yeah, I was there. One would reasonably believe to be a survivor of a mass shooting one would need to have been in actual physical danger or even injured and recovered from their wounds. Mere proximity to an attack when one was never in danger wouldnt qualify. Its rather like being within 20 miles of a tornado, suffering no injury or property damage, yet claiming survivor status. Locations where the study by David C Pyrooz claims 7% of the U.S. population were present on the scene of a shooting included the following: *12.38% bars and restaurants *12.09% schools *11.51% shopping outlets *11.05% concerts or outdoor events. *34.69% of locations were vaguely listed as a neighborhood. Even in a bar or restaurant, many patrons would likely have never been in danger, and the survey apparently does not differentiate between gang shootings or arguments among people who know each other that devolved into gunfire. Such events are very different from a stranger walking into a place intent on killing as many innocent strangers as possible. The rest of the places Pyrooz cited are large enough to ensure most people present were never in actual danger, and likely werent aware anything was happening, though in hindsight, and presented with Pyroozs expansive definition, could think themselves a survivor. And what is a neighborhood? What are its geographic boundaries? A block? A mile? How many people could possibly have been in direct danger? We have no idea. Giffords reveals her real, fear-inspiring, goal with this: In what appears to be an attempt at further perpetuating the irrational fear of guns, Pyrooz said when referring to mass shootings, its not a question of if one will occur in your community anymore, but when. Fortunately, actual mass shootings remain rare. Dr. John R. Lott has proved with replicable research, between 1950 and 2019, 94% of actual mass shootings occurred in gun free zones, useful information that suggests, as Pyroozs does not, two functional solutions: (1) eliminate gun free zones, and (2) more widespread armament of the law-abiding. On a different subject, if you are not already a subscriber, you may not know that weve implemented something new: A weekly newsletter with unique content from our editors for subscribers only. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription. Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. Rep. Elise Stefanik has impressed a lot of us over the years, most recently with her takedown of at least two Ivy League presidents just through her expert questioning on their attitudes and policies towards antisemitism. Now she's showing us something almost unheard of in politics -- genuine selflessness. According to the New York Post: Rep. Elise Stefanik framed President Trumps surprising move to withdraw her nomination for United Nations ambassador as a strategic decision necessary for the greater Republican good that she is proud to be a part of. This is about stepping up as a team, the New York Republican told Fox News Kayleigh McEnany, who was hosting Hannity on Thursday, in her first public remarks since the president announced that her nomination would be withdrawn. I am doing that as a leader to ensure that we can take hold of this mandate and deliver these historic results, Stefanik continued. It's sad. She had faced easy confirmation in the Senate for the job, and probably wanted the job, a U.N. envoy's job always having a certain number of pleasures and perks in New York City. What's more, she would have been really good at it, taking down the world's biggest third world clown shows and outmaneuvering our adversaries, just with her sharp mind, always having the facts pared down to the essence. And third, she was offered the position as a political stepping stone based on her strong loyalty to President Trump's agenda as well as her invaluable help in getting him re-elected. In short, she was and is a rising star, who should be bouncing up to bigger and better things quickly. But she is obviously bigger than that, standing with President Trump as he asked her to stay, in order to help Trump preserve his House majority, which is paper thin already and needs buttressing. Her doing this will help keep that majority, help advance the MAGA agenda, and keep Democrat jackals at bay. With midterms on the horizon, it's standard that the ruling president always loses a few seats if not his majority. If that happens, it's Adam Schiff-style politics all over again, and Trump's mighty agenda to clean up government and create a country people want to live in again will come to a screeching halt. The Washington Post giggles that "electoral fear" is why President Trump asked her to stay. While the glee is disgusting, it probably is true, and it should be true -- the GOP needs to be serious about guarding its majority, given the consequences of reversing course and handing Democrats power again. Scott Presler, who registers Republicans, said there was cause for concern: Im going to be honest with you, even if you dont want to hear it: Republicans have been losing special elections all over the country even red districts in Iowa & Pennsylvania. Democrats are fired up. Unless we begin focusing on ground game, we will lose 2025 & 2026. ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) March 27, 2025 So now she's helping where Trump needs it most, at the expense of her own ambitions. That's a selfless person who knows what's important. One hopes Trump will find another role for her eventually as the MAGA agenda advances, as well as a new way to reward her. But more important, one hopes the voters notice this. Stefanik is taking a chance with her own future, and throwing her lot into the prospect of keeping it. I suspect she won't just keep her own seat, but might entice some voters elsewhere to vote to keep the GOP majority, given that it has people like her in it calling the shots. Image: Gage Skidmore, via Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0 Do you remember the 2020 Summer of Love? Early in that glorious summer, as Americas blue cities, beginning with Minneapolis, exploded in colorful reds and yellows, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, responded to various loving occupations of Portland by poo-pooing the idea such spontaneous outpourings of affection were riots. Why, they might portend a summer of love, she quipped. Donald Trump, as usual, was right: Graphic: X Screenshot And Durkan quickly backtracked: In an interview Thursday, prior to the deadly shooting in CHOP, Mayor Durkan acknowledged her poor choice of words. I clearly said that in jest, it probably was not the smart thing to do, she said. She clearly said that in jest. That Durkan, she was such a jester! Graphic: X Screenshot Circa March, 2025 we find ourselves in the prelude to a second "summer of love" consisting of Dems vandalizing and torching the preferred and planet-saving vehicles of other Dems: Teslas. But why? Wasnt the Tesla the preferred virtue signal of enlightened Dems desperate to save the planet, which will be doomed in 5-12 years or so on an ever-rotating schedule if Americans dont do what they demand? Wasnt Elon Musk their savior? Sure, until he began discovering and eliminating governmental fraud and theft, and eliminating Democrats financing and power base. Aligning himself with the evil Trump, Musk immediately became Nazier than Hitler. So, Dems had only one possible course of action to try to restore their electoral viability: start vandalizing and torching Tesla dealerships and Teslas, occupied or unoccupied. Theyd hit on lawfare against every legitimate use of Trumps Article II powers earlier. That was just a logical extension of their lawfare during Trumps first term and their failed lawfare attempts to bankrupt and jail Trump during the Bidens handlers/autopen years. Is the anti-Tesla campaign merely prelude to a second summer of love? Rising Democrat Party star Jasmine Crockett seems to be on that track: Graphic: X Screenshot Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) believes Democrats have to punch to win elections in Texas, stating that Republican politicians such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) need to be knocked over the head, like, hard. True, Crockett didnt explicitly say Dems should key or otherwise vandalize Teslas, nor set them aflame, but the nudge, nudge, wink, wink implication was there. Attorney General Pam Bondi was not amused: Last week, Crockett (D-Texas) addressed a virtual rally for the Tesla Takedown movement and heralded its plans for a Global Day of Action this coming weekend to protest the electric car company. She is an elected public official, so she needs to tread very carefully, because nothing will happen to Elon Musk, and we are going to fight to protect all the Tesla owners throughout this country, Bondi told Fox News Channels Sunday Morning Futures. This is cute: Tesla Takedown bills itself as a peaceful protest platform encouraging Tesla owners to sell their cars and stock in the company to protest Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Thats fiery but mostly peaceful protests in the manner of the first summer of love. Tesla Takedown is also planning a global day of action for March 29th. According to the Tesla Takedown website, the movement opposes Musks alleged illegal coup and his use of his Tesla fortune to destroy our democracy. The organizers emphasize that the protests are intended to be peaceful, stating, Tesla Takedown is a peaceful protest movement. We oppose violence, vandalism and destruction of property. Suuuure they are and sure they do. Comedian Rob SchneiderI dont know if hes a Tesla owneris less than convinced and has expressed a common sentiment: Graphic: X Screenshot No doubt Dems are hoping Normal Americans use violence against violent Tesla Takedown acolytes, particularly in blue states, which will give their Soros prosecutors leave to prosecute them. It will also give them rhetorical ammunition to use against Trump as they cry: see? Theyre all trying to destroy our democracy! That will, in turn, give them what they consider the moral authority for a second, fiery but mostly peaceful, summer of love. The Democrat Party, with an approval rating of 27% and falling, is getting desperate. Its looking more and more likely theyll lose seats in the House and Senate in the upcoming midterms, and in their race to find some kind of charismatic leader, theyre not moving toward the middle and the possibility of attracting additional voters. Theyre moving towardwait for itAOC?! Theyre doubling down, moving further toward the currently ruling Socialist/Communist wing of their party. Thatll bring voters flocking to their standard! The more they sprint to the left, the more they embrace the fiery part rather than the mostly peaceful part, the more likely it is well experience the joys of a second summer of love. Desperation tends to do that. On a different subject, if you are not already a subscriber, you may not know that weve implemented something new: A weekly newsletter with unique content from our editors for subscribers only. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription. Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. The Paris Climate Agreement was flawed; doomed to fail from its inception. It is long past time for all parties to it and the media to acknowledge this fact. The mainstream media have bemoaned the Paris Agreements fate since Donald Trumps reelection. Trump took the United States out of the Paris Agreement during his first term, and vowed to do so again after President Biden put America back into the agreement. While Trump withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement was a visible and public rebuke of the pact, undermining its effectiveness, in point of fact, the agreement was dead even before the ink of the last signature on it was dry. Physics, economic, and social realities on the ground, and the structure of the treaty itself ensured that the Paris Agreement would be ineffective in preventing greenhouse gas emissions from rising. As I noted shortly after the time of its completion in 2015, even those who developed the agreement at the time quietly acknowledged that emission reduction pledges made by the signatory countries would be insufficient to keep temperatures below the 2.0 threshold. By their accounting at the time, if every party to the agreement actually cut emissions by the amount they agreed to, it would result in less than half the greenhouse gas cuts required to halt temperatures at the upper limit of 2.0 degrees. By 2017, the UN reported that even if every country abides by its Paris commitments, a dubious proposition at best, temperatures would still rise by 3 degrees C by 2100. Also dooming the Paris Agreement is the fact, as reported by the BBC, that a number of countries are openly discussing not keeping their commitments. Mind you, those same countries have failed to keep their commitments so far, but now they are openly conversing about it. Argentina, Indonesia (a top 10 global CO2 emitter), South Africa (Africas largest emitter), and South Korea, among other countries supposedly committed to reining in fossil fuel use and cutting their emissions, are now openly saying they will increase production of coal, natural gas, and oil. Moreover, they hope to import those products from the United States. They are blaming Trump for their decision, but the data show that every single country now saying they want more fossil fuels was, in fact, increasing its use of fossil fuels long before Trump was reelected and pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement. In fact, no country that set specific targets for emission reductions in the first Paris commitment period has made significant progress toward meeting its goals. Further evidence the Paris Agreement is dead has been reported by Yahoonews.com. Of the nearly 200 countries that signed the Paris agreement, only 10 submitted their updated carbon reduction commitments by the deadline. That makes 190 scofflaws. Also, even those 10 have failed to meet their previous carbon reduction commitments. It also bears noting that two of the three biggest carbon dioxide emitters in the world, China and India, have no firm commitments under the Paris Agreement. Rather than promising to cut emissions, they vaguely said that they expect at some point in the future to see their emissions peak. If CO2 emissions are driving climate change, Chinas emissions trajectory -- which has grown steadily since 2015 -- would ensure more atmospheric CO2 in 2030 and 2050, regardless of what the rest of the world did or did not do. Another compelling reason that the Paris Agreement was bound to fail was aptly described by philosopher Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan: Covenants, without the sword, are but words, and of no strength to secure a man at all. That describes each and every climate agreement developed thus far, in a nutshell. The Paris Agreement was never a binding treaty. Under its terms, the nearly 200 nations that signed were supposed to set individualized targets to reduce or cap carbon dioxide emissions. However, none of those goals, or even the commitment to set such goals, was enforceable internationally. Unless and until the individual countries actually enact the targets through domestic law, they arent even binding within the legal system of any individual country. In the end, the Paris Agreement requires sacrifice, sustained and deep sacrifice, for no discernable gain. Politicians want to stay in power and are loathe to stay a policy course that visibly harms their constituents for payoffs decades after they are out of office. That is the main, realpolitik reason the Paris Climate Agreement was doomed from day one. Now is the time to speak its eulogy, without regret. The trillions of dollars wasted to date on it are sunk costs, but at least we can now cease throwing good money after bad. H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., (hsburnett@heartland.org) is the Director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at The Heartland Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit research organization based in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Image: Pexels For conservatives, the Signal leak has boiled down to a nothingburger. It was not a high-security chat, as evidenced by the fact that the participants said that certain things would need to be taken offline for security reasons. It didnt compromise a mission, which was successful. Jeffrey Goldberg seems to have grossly exaggerated the nature of the plans discussed. And, of course, the people on the chat didnt say anything that was embarrassing to the administration. For leftists, though, Goldbergs auditing the chat is a gift from God because it fills the airways with claims that Republicans are incompetents who are jeopardizing national security. Democrats are unfazed by the fact that they expressed no such concerns when Hillary deliberately ran all State Department info through an unsecured server, Joe Biden stored classified documents in his garage, and the Biden administration opened the border to every hostile in the world. Image by Grok. However you look at it, though, it was embarrassing, so the Trump administration needs to find out what happened. Two stories emerged today, one of which suggests a potentially compromised bad actor in Michael Waltzs employ, and the other of which suggested to me the possibility of a serious Deep State attempt to take down the Trump administration. As for my theory, its either genius or totally crazy. Michael Waltz, President Trumps National Security Advisor, is the one who put together the Signal chat. However, that doesnt mean that he personally did so. Instead, he delegated the job to a staffer. Laura Loomer thinks she has the goods on that staffer. Its important to note here that (a) we dont know if Loomers info is accurate, and (b) even if everything she says is true, it doesnt mean that the staffer acted deliberately or even negligently. With those caveats: EXCLUSIVE Alex Wong, the Chinese Deputy National Security Advisor appointed by President Trump, who is at the center of the Signalgate scandal, is married to U.S. Attorney Candice Chiu Wong, a Chinese Woman who was one of the key attorneys involved in PROSECUTING J6ers. pic.twitter.com/j5OFnuZmaq Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 26, 2025 EXCLUSIVE Deputy National Security advisor Alex Wongs father in law had direct ties to the CCP @MikeWaltz47 The father of Candice Chiu Wong, the wife of Alex Wong, the Trump-appointed Chinese Deputy National Security Advisor under @michaelgwaltz who is now at the center https://t.co/adHatO6Sgm pic.twitter.com/pYVDILPY5o Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 26, 2025 Let me be clear again: I am not endorsing Loomers information. Its publicly available, and Im passing it along. Sen. Tom Cotton has strongly defended Wong against the implication that he engaged in wrongdoing: Alex Wong and his wife Candice are complete and total patriots, 100% MAGA Warriors who always put America First. For three years, Alex worked hard for me until President Trump smartly hired him away. President Trump made another great decision to hire Alex as his Deputy National Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 27, 2025 I worked closely with Candice Wong, a former law clerk to Justice Kavanaugh, to get him confirmed. Candice is a conservative Republican. At the recommendation of conservative judges, Justice OConnor hired Candice as a law clerk. Retired justices share their law clerks with https://t.co/e0oG2z47KH Mike Davis (@mrddmia) March 27, 2025 Let me be clear again: I am not endorsing Loomers information. Its publicly available, and Im passing it along. Sen. Tom Cotton has strongly defended Wong against the implication that he engaged in wrongdoing: So, thats one theorythat a careless or bad actor looped Jeffrey Goldberg into the chat. However, a different story broke today, and it caused me to put on my tin-foil hat and develop a theory of my own. The predicate to this second story is that it was the Biden administration that encouraged everyone in the Trump administration to use the Signal app on official White House phones: Under the Biden administration in 2024, CISA released a "Mobile Communications Best Practice Guidance" for "highly targeted individuals," who were defined as high-ranking government officials or politicians who are "likely to possess information of interest to these threat actors." The document specifically addressed high-targeted politicos and officials, though it noted the guide was "applicable to all audiences." "CISA strongly urges highly targeted individuals to immediately review and apply the best practices below to protect mobile communications. Highly targeted individuals should assume that all communications between mobile devices including government and personal devices and internet services are at risk of interception or manipulation. While no single solution eliminates all risks, implementing these best practices significantly enhances protection of sensitive communications against government-affiliated and other malicious cyber actors," the guide reads. [snip] The CISA guidance specifically cited that government officials should download "end-to-end encrypted communications" platforms to their cellphones and computers, specifically citing Signal as an app to download to comply with the best practices. What emerged today is news about Signal itself. To appreciate the news, you need to know that NPR, which used to be slightly left of center, has become insanely leftist over the years. Its current head, Katherine Maher, is on board with the madness, for shes espoused every radical idea there is, plus being a fanatic anti-Trumper. In a House hearing yesterday, her radicalism was fully exposed: NPR CEO Katherine Maher was completely caught off guard today after Rep. Brandon Gill started reading her past tweets to her one by one. Absolutely brutal. Gill: Do you believe that America is addicted to white supremacy? Maher: I believe that I tweeted that. I believe much pic.twitter.com/TfBt0h1qDF Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 26, 2025 It turns out that Maher is Chairman of the Board of Directors for...wait for it...Signal Foundation, which developed and controls the Signal messenger app. Wikipedia is anxious for everyone to know that the Foundations chairman is separate from leadership roles in the Messenger app. Well, maybe... [UPDATE: Daniel Greenfield has reminded me that the people directly behind Signal are even more to the left than Maher, and with truly anarchistic tendencies.] Heres my theory: Is it too crazy to believe that the Biden White House, on its way out, gave someone at Signal information about the phones that the new national security team is using, thereby providing a back door into those peoples apps? And I dont care that the app is technically encrypted from end to end. That doesnt mean there isnt a back door. Under my theory, someone at Signal could be monitoring high-level Trump administration conversations and could, at will, slot people into those conversations, people such as Jeffrey Goldberg. Ten years ago, I would never have come up with this idea, but the last decade has educated me about two things: (1) the lengths to which people will go to destroy Donald Trump and (2) the vulnerability within all technology. This is a total theory, free from useful facts for any accusations. Im not naming names (I have none to name), Im not accusing anyone (as I said, I have no facts), and Im truly just spitballing. Still, Id love to be told either that what I suggest is impossible or that someone is investigating the possibility. Here's my 2025 version of 'You just might be a Democrat." *If you believe that Fox News is crazily biased but NPR and MSNBC are trusted sources of unbiased journalism you just might be a Democrat. *If you think an inanimate object can be racist ... you just might be a Democrat. *If you think Elon Musk is out to steal your identity and your money, but that the people in the Deep State would never do that you just may be a Democrat. *If you think firebombing a Tesla dealership is a necessary protest by the Resistance, but that strolling around or through the Capitol after a questionable election is grounds for being thrown in jail for years you just might be a Democrat. *If you refuse to recognize an unborn baby in the womb as fully human but demand the rest of us call a biological man a woman you just might be a Democrat. *If you believe President Trump is unstable and out for himself, but that Joe Biden, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kamala Harris, Adam Schiff, and Jasmine Crocket are selfless, competent politicians with your best interests in mind you just might be a Democrat. *If you believe that Ukraines borders are inviolate but those of the U.S. should stay wide open you just might be a Democrat. *If you believe members of Hamas are mistreated freedom fighters but that the Jews who are fighting them are fascist monsters you just might be a Democrat. *If you think Joe Biden was right to import millions of unvetted immigrants from around the world, but that President Trump has no right to deport even members of the violent Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization you just might be a Democrat. *If you are more concerned about guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens than young girls in the hands of Muslim rape gangs you just might be a Democrat. *If you think that migrants should not be made to assimilate into the country to which they move, but that the residents of that country should assimilate to the migrants you just might be a Democrat. *If you dont think that death threats to conservatives are violence but that misgendering someone is you just might be a Democrat. *If you think the Trump administrations attempt to equalize tariffs among the nations it trades with is unfair, but that the unequal tariffs that prompted the attempt in the first place are not unfair you just might be a Democrat. *If you think Tim Walz wouldve made a better vice president than J.D. Vance you just might be a Democrat. *If you get extremely upset when Black folks vote for Republicans you just might be a raging racist Democrat. *If you think the top 1% of income earners, who pay 40+% of all income taxes, should pay their fair share -- and by that you mean even more ... you just might be a Democrat. *If you think that invasive species somehow disproportionately affect marginalized peoples ... you just might be a Democrat. *If you think that most items you come in contact with during the day are signs of the white male patriarchy you just might be a Democrat. *If youre a woman who engages in frequent, unprotected casual sex, but thinks folks who are anti-abortion are trying to force you to have a baby you just might be a Democrat. *If you talk to your plants and your pets more than you do to your kids you just might be a Democrat. * If you are a member of the LGBTQ community and also strongly support Hamas you just might be a Democrat. *If youve ever wondered if your toaster contributes to global warming you just may be a Democrat. *If you believe that the truth is propaganda and that propaganda is truth you are, without doubt, a Democrat. Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License [This article was updated with a statement from Google] Downloading apps from outside the Play Store without being 100% sure of their legitimacy or that they come from a reliable source isnt the best idea. This is the starting point for many malware attacks. Bad actors take advantage of the ignorance or naivety of internet users. A new banking trojan targeting Android devices has emerged as a reminder. Researchers discover TsarBot, an Android banking trojan that impersonates legitimate financial apps The research team at Cyble, a cyber threat intelligence company, discovered the TsarBot banking trojan. According to the report, TsarBot disguises itself as a dropper in Google Play Services and spreads through phishing tactics. Attackers clone popular websites or platforms from which they try to trick potential victims into downloading and installing the malware on their phones. The cybersecurity researchers claim that TsarBot has attempted to impersonate more than 750 popular apps around the world. The developers primarily target users of banking, fintech, e-commerce, and cryptocurrency apps. Basically, the main goal of malware is to steal your credentials and your funds before you realize it. TsarBot uses overlay attacks, a technique where the malware places screens or windows that pretend to be from legitimate apps and request your credentials. It could mimic your banking apps login screen or even your phones lock screen, for example. When you type and submit your credentials or PIN on that scammy screen, a third party will receive them on a remote server. However, Cyble claims that the banking trojan also uses other methods to try to be more effective. The list includes screen recording and remote control, as well as device manipulation. Cyble suspects that the new banking trojan targeting Android devices is of Russian origin. Researchers found strings or entries in Russian while exploring the infected app. The malware cannot act if you do not grant the necessary permissions Its worth noting that for malware to execute all the actions described above, it requires some special permissions. An app cant execute these types of commands if you dont approve them first. Thats why its so important not to grant every permission an app requests. Such precaution is especially important with sensitive permissions and even more so for apps from dubious sources. Android tries to defend you against these attacks, but you should also use common sense. If you allow malware to do whatever it wants, the OS cant stop it. Furthermore, as always, its best to download your apps from the Play Store whenever possible. When downloading an app from an external website, please ensure the source is legitimate and trustworthy. Googles statement Android users are automatically protected against known versions of this malware by Google Play Protect, which is on by default on Android devices with Google Play Services. Google Play Protect can warn users or block apps known to exhibit malicious behavior, even when those apps come from sources outside of Play. A Google spokesperson Chicken tenders. Theyre cheap, and theyre tasty, but who knew a one-cent Wingstop chicken tenders combo could also expose the slow, greasy rot at the heart of a once-beloved wireless rebel that is T-Mobile? On paper, it was the kind of deal that made T-Mobile legendary. T-Mobile Tuesdays were the kind of deal that made T-Mobile seem like the every persons carrier, a company that prioritized its customers happiness that extended beyond mobile plans and contracts. It was a three-piece Wingstop combo for a single centcheaper than a packet of chili flakes at Dominos. But instead of a snack, customers were served a full family combo platter of disappointment, complete with fries and a large soda. The promo didnt just sell outit evaporated like those godawful paper straws, leaving even users who had pre-saved the offer holding cold, empty coupons like leftover bones. T-Mobile handed out promo codes, letting its customers get excited. It felt like the good old Un-carrier T-Mobile from back in the day. But then, it quietly pulled the deal, snatching your plate mid-bite. It offered no substitutions or alternatives. Heck, T-Mobile couldnt even bother with boilerplate apologies that looked like they came straight from the PR crisis playbook. It just issued a bland corporate statement that could be summed up in one word: Oops. But if were being honest, this isnt just about chicken. No. Its more about trust. What was once the loud, brash, and leather-jacket, rule-breaking Un-Carrier now tastes a lot like the sad, leftover rotisserie chickens at the supermarket at closing time. Spoiled Leftovers: This Isnt the First Time If this whole Wingstop mess feels familiar, thats because it is. T-Mobile has a history of dropping the ball when the kitchen gets too crowded. Just swap out chicken for pizza. Long-time customers will remember the Great Dominos Disastera promotional free pizza deal that turned into a nationwide meltdown. Stores ran out of dough, apps crashed, and T-Mobile was forced to cancel the offer permanently. However, at least back then, customers who saved the code actually got their pizza. This time, people saved the offer and got their codes, but instead of walking out of Wingstop with a chicken tender in each hand, they left empty-handed. But its not just chicken or pizza. Its a disturbing and worrying pattern that will most likely repeat itself over and over again. Over the past year, T-Mobiles customer perks have started feeling more like empty promises that would change on a whim. Prices on legacy plans have gone up under the suspiciously vague label of adjustments. Their once-fun T-Mobile Tuesdays app has mutated into the deeply cursed T-Life, a sluggish, buggy loyalty portal that seems more interested in collecting data than delivering deals. Even the legendary Un-contract, which once famously promised customers theyd never face surprise price hikes, has quietly been shoved to the back of the fridge, next to the moldy good intentions. The branding still says Un-Carrier, but its behavior? Tastes generic. The Great T-Mobile Wingstop Disaster Heres how the great T-Mobile Wingstop chicken tender mess took place. For its next T-Mobile Tuesdays promo, the carrier announced the Wingstop deal: 3 chicken tenders, seasoned fries, and a drink, all for the absurd price of one cent. Unless youre vegan or hate Wingstop, who wouldnt be tempted? One user on Reddit writes, I cant ever remember when I saw a deal this good in the T-Mobile app. It convinced users to open their T-Life app, tap Save, and assume, as past experiences taught them, that this offer was now theirs. It almost felt like they had secured a reservation at Le Bernardin in New York City. What happened next is where things went from finger-lickin good to full-blown bait-and-switch. Even customers who had saved the offer and received actual promo codes found themselves blocked from redeeming it. Wingstops site threw up a Sold Out error like it was a limited-edition drop for a pair of Nike Air Force 1 sneakers. This wasnt a case of first come, first served. This was first come, first duped. What was the T-Mobile official response to the Wingstop chicken tenders fiasco? Customers loved the $0.01 Wingstop combo so much that stores sold out something that hasnt happened for a few years! Basically, no thanks to T-Mobiles poor planning or lousy anticipation, customers were paying the price. Its the kind of thing that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, and its not from the chicken tenders. As Redditor holow29 puts it, Refusing to give out more codes via the T-Life app is one thing. Invalidating existing codes that people had already saved is another. Really bad behavior. When the Un-Carrier Gets Overcooked But like we said, this isnt about those oh-so-yummy chicken tenders. Its a metaphor. Deep-fried. Served cold. T-Mobile once branded itself as the Un-Carrier. It was the cool one, the rebel, the wireless provider that stuck it to the man because it wasnt the man. It tore up contracts, gave away freebies, and threw in weekly perks like free food and discounted movie nights just because it could. T-Mobile was spicy, bold, and messy, but in the best way possible. But this Wingstop fiasco was anything but bold. Customers didnt just lose a fast food promo, they lost a little more faith in the idea that T-Mobile was different. Because heres the thing: If they cant even honor a one-cent chicken deal, how are we supposed to trust them with our bills? Thats like saying your loyalty isnt worth honoring, your time isnt worth the cost of a chicken tender. T-Mobile is no longer the Un-Carrier. Its just another telecom giant charging $80 a month to make people feel like fools for believing they care. In the end, T-Mobile didnt just fumble a promo. It reminded everyone that the revolution is over, and the new regime wears magenta. Were sure T-Mobile hopes its customers will eventually get over this snafu, but will they? As Reddit iHass so astutely points out, The point of these promos is to get you in the door to hopefully buy other stuff and perhaps help them gain new regular customers. This is a cheap customer acquisition cost ($9.99) but the fallout from denying the offer can be long lasting and permanent if a new customer cant redeem a legitimate offer. The Bitter Aftertaste Lets be honest: A one-cent chicken tender combo isnt going to change your life. But the reason this tiny promo sucks so badly is that it represents something bigger. It represents how much T-Mobile has changed. This wasnt just about the foodit was about the promise, the wink, the we got you energy that made T-Mobile more than just a giant, faceless megacorporation. All of that energy and imagery just got tossed out like an invalid coupon this week. Now? Customers arent just hungrytheyre mad, and we dont blame them. And not just about tenders. Theyre hungry for honesty. For a company that doesnt treat loyalty like a side dish you can scrape off the plate when its inconvenient. Sure, the app still hands out $5 movie tickets and the occasional Slurpee. But after the Wingstop fiasco, those perks dont feel like rewards anymore; they feel like apologies. Worse, they kind of feel like pity. Well, guess what, T-Mobile? Your customers noticed. The tweets, the Reddit threads, the refund requests. They all paint the same picture: The Un-Carrier is overcooked. T-Mobile didnt just drop the ballit dropped the whole damn tray. And all we wanted was a little chicken. Was that really too much to ask? Qualcomm might be on the tip of everyones tongue, but the real winner? MediaTek. According to Counterpoint Researchs latest data, for the seventh straight quarter, MediaTek held the crown in the global smartphone SoC market. Some companies like Apple made a surprise comeback, but others, such as Qualcomm dipped. As for Samsungs Exynos, its still fighting for relevance. MediaTek: Quiet, consistent dominance Q4 2024 results are in According to the figures, MediaTek ended Q4 2024 with 34% market share, slightly down from the previous quarter, but still comfortably ahead of the pack. This might surprise some of you who think that Qualcomm is the dominant player when it comes to chipsets. After all, almost every major flagship phone uses its products. But it turns out MediaTek is going after quantity by targeting mid-range devices. This is thanks to new mid-range chips like the Dimensity 8350 and 8400. The company is also targeting the budget sector with its Helios series of chipsets. This shouldnt be surprising. While flagship phones are what typically makes the news, budget and mid-range phones are the true needle movers. As for the competition, the data shows that Apples share jumped to 23% in Q4 2024. This is its highest all year. Its also thanks to the A18 series launch which made its way into the iPhone 16 series. Interestingly enough, Apples market share actually outnumbered Qualcomm during that particular quarter. Qualcomms share dropped to 21% for Q4 2024. Note that more phones using Qualcomms chipsets will launch in 2025, so it is possible Qualcomm will steal back its spot from Apple. However, its still a far cry from its rival MediaTek. Samsung Exynos: Still in free fall This is where it gets a bit sad. Samsungs Exynos is stuck at 4%. For at least the past year or so, Samsungs Exynos never went more than 6%. This could be due to the fact that the Exynos chipsets are almost exclusive to Samsungs own phones. It doesnt help that the Galaxy S25 series dumped the Exynos 2500 in favor of Qualcomms chips. Will we ever see the Exynos chipsets grow more than that in the global smartphone SoC market? Right now, its hard to see that happening. Samsung damaged the reputation of its Exynos chips, so unless it can pull off a PR miracle, we wouldnt be surprised if one day the company were to eventually call it quits on Exynos and just go all-in with Qualcomm or MediaTek. Everyone loves a good controversy. After all, theres no such thing as bad publicity, right? Now it looks like Signal is reaping the benefits from it. The encrypted messaging app Signal just got a lot more attention, especially in the US and Yemen, following a massive security blunder, leading to Signal downloads in the US jumping by 45% in a single day. The government blunder The boost came after news broke that Trump officials had been discussing military plans for a Houthi strike inside a private Signal chat. We know that Trump and his allies favor Signal. This is because of the apps strong encryption protocols that keep conversations private. However, privacy is only good if you keep the doors shut. If you leave the door to your home wide open and people peep in, can you really get too upset? This is what happened when Trump officials accidentally added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the thread. He later published everything that he read. We should make this clear: Signal itself didnt fail. Its encryptions are still in place, and all your conversations are still private. However, this is a simplebut catastrophiccase of human error. The kind of government officials discussing top-secret military plans should be well aware of. Signals enjoying the attention However, this blunder and seeing Signals name hit the headlines gave the app massive publicity. According to Appfigures, Signal downloads spiked by 28% globally on iOS and Android. In the US, that number hit 45%. Over in Yemen, it saw a 42% increase as well. In fact, Signal jumped from 50th position to the 9th position among social media apps in Yemen within hours of the article going live. That being said, Signal wasnt built to handle national secrets. At the end of the day, its a consumer chat app that happens to have strong security and privacy features attached to it. However, its not hard to see why governments are adopting it. Its readily available and its free. In fact, the US isnt alone in using Signal. The European Commission had previously recommended its employees to use the app. However, Signal isnt without its controversies. The app has been linked to criminals. Thanks to its secure and private nature, extremist groups and criminals conducting illegal activities have relied on it to keep their illicit conversations and operations quiet and away from prying eyes. In a world where were talking about chipsets built on the 2nm process, talking about 5nm chipsets seems rather outdated. But for China and SMIC, its a big deal. According to @Jukanlosreve on X, they cite a report from Koreas Kiwoon Securities that claims that SMIC will complete its 5nm process by 2025. 5nm chips in 2025, but at what cost? As we said, talking about 5nm in 2025 when companies are pushing for 2nm in 2026 feels borderline ancient. However, this is an important step for Chinas semiconductor ambitions. The countrys semiconductor plans have been hobbled in its ongoing trade war with the US. The US government has convinced its allies not to sell key technologies to China and its companies, severely limiting their ability to produce more advanced chipsets. However, despite those setbacks, China and SMIC have soldiered on, but it comes at a cost. According to the report, SMIC plans to complete its 5nm process by 2025, a step up from the 7nm process. But without important technologies like EUV machines, such as those built by ASML, SMICs process costs 40-50% more than TSMC. Its yield is also around one-third. This means that for now, it produces more failed chips than successful ones. This is obviously not good. But when you think about the limitations it has been given, its actually kind of impressive. SMIC is Chinas lifeline SMIC, Chinas biggest chipmaker, surprised the world with its 7nm N+2 process. This helped Huawei produce its Kirin 9000S chipset, which later made its way into the Mate 60. It also proved that China could make relatively modern chips without access to the most advanced tools. Because Chinas still blocked from buying ASMLs EUV machines, SMIC has no choice but to rely on older DUV (deep ultraviolet) equipment. DUV works, but to hit 5nm, it requires a ton of additional patterning steps. That makes everything slower, more expensive, and much harder to produce. Clearly, neither we nor China should expect these 5nm chips to perform at the same level as those made by TSMC. However, it does prove to the world that China can be self-sufficient. But maybe SMIC doesnt need to wait too long to get on TSMCs level. There are plans to develop its own EUV machines, with trial production kicking off in Q3 2025. Local companies like SiCarrier are also already working to build homegrown EUV alternatives. Whether or not theyre successful remains to be seen. Actress Jing Lusi told the Guardian that Noel Clarke would use an honorary Bafta to dupe girls and lure them back to his lair or use it to silence them, the High Court has heard. Ms Lusi, who starred in ITV thriller Red Eye, told the newspaper it was terrifying that Clarke was due to be given an honorary Bafta in 2021. The Gangs Of London actress is the latest witness to give evidence in Clarkes libel battle against Guardian News and Media (GNM). Clarke is suing the publisher of the Guardian over seven articles and a podcast, including an article in April 2021 that said 20 women who knew him professionally had come forward with allegations of misconduct. The Doctor Who actor, 49, denies the allegations and claims several people who have made allegations against him are part of a conspiracy to defame him. On Friday, audio of a conversation between Ms Lusi and Guardian journalists weeks before the articles were published was played in court, where she discussed Baftas announcement that it would give Clarke the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award. In the conversation, she said the award was a loaded gun. She said: He is either going to use it to dupe girls and lure them back to his lair or use it to silence them. She continued: It is a double-edged sword he is going to bring down on women. Referring to Clarkes first Bafta win in 2009, Ms Lusi also said that he dined out on that ticket, and that he could not stop talking about it when the pair worked together on a film in 2018. In court, Clarkes barrister, Philip Williams, said that Ms Lusis claims were outrageous, and asked whether she wished to withdraw the lair allegation. Ms Lusi replied: No. Mr Williams later said: You were part of the campaign against Mr Clarkes Bafta. That was fuelled by jealousy, spite and the fact you thought that he was mediocre. Ms Lusi replied: That is not correct. Jing Lusi at a premiere in London last year (Ian West/PA) The court in London was told that Clarke and Ms Lusi worked together on the film SAS: Red Notice, which was filmed in Budapest, Hungary. In her witness statement, Ms Lusi said that at a dinner with Clarke and others during filming, she said she was aspiring to become a writer and suggested they could do a read-through of a script she had written. In her statement, she said: Noel seemed keen at the idea, so I asked where?, to which he responded, without missing a beat, in my bed or in my bedroom. I was taken aback and said what? and he repeated in my bedroom, the second time playing mock shy, sipping on this drink. This was all in front of the others. In court, Mr Williams said: The opportunity was there to go through the script. He continued: He would read the script through in front of other people. There would be no reason to separate you off. Ms Lusi replied: I did not have the script with me. I did not mean right there at that dinner. She continued: He said something that was not about the work but sexualising a legitimate idea I had involving other actors. She added: He turned it into a sexual connotation. Ms Lusi also later claimed that at the same dinner, Clarke asked to look at her hands, which she refused. She claimed Clarke replied: Why? You wont let a black man touch you? In court, Mr Williams told Ms Lusi that Clarke never said the comment, to which Ms Lusi replied: He absolutely did. I found it horrifying. Mr Williams suggested to Ms Lusi that during her and Clarkes time in Budapest, the pair engaged in sexual banter and conversation, which she volunteered. Ms Lusi told the court that she had made some disclosures about her sex life to Clarke, but described herself as a prude and said he had a way of making the most innocuous thing sexual and was very probing. In her witness statement, Ms Lusi then described another dinner between the pair in Budapest at which Clarke told me in explicit terms that he had fantasised about me, describing to me what he wanted to do to me, which she said left her feeling so disgusted. She later claimed he threatened her, stating: When I rebutted what Noel had said, thats when the threat came. He said something to the effect of dont tell anyone about this, or I will find out about it. Its a small world, I know everyone, if you do tell anyone I will find out about it and Ill come for you or Ill get you. It was a clear threat. I think I agreed to what he asked, more out of shock and disbelief in the moment than out of fear. In court, Mr Williams asked Ms Lusi why she did not confront Clarke the following day, to which she responded: You are asking me why I did not confront the man who I felt had harassed me and threatened me. She continued: I think he knew he was out of order. If he did not know that, why did he silence me? She added: I did not feel comfortable. The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn is due to conclude in April, with a decision expected in writing at a later date. Non-compete clauses regularly appear in contracts of workers on modest incomes who do not possess trade secrets, such as hairdressers. Photograph: Renata Angerami/Getty Images The federal government has proposed a ban on non-compete clauses for most employees, including hairdressers, construction workers and childcare centre staff, in a reform designed to free up people to seek better jobs. The proposal has triggered widespread criticism from business groups over claims it is heavy-handed and will cripple their enterprises. But is the criticism valid? What is a non-compete agreement? Non-compete agreements are contracts that prohibit an employee from competing against that company for a certain timeframe and in a specified geographic location after they leave. While they are routinely used to prevent high-level employees or executives from using confidential information or relationships to harm their former employee, the clauses now regularly appear in contracts of workers on modest incomes who do not possess trade secrets. Here are three examples of how non-compete clauses have been used to threaten workers: A nurse employed by a community aged care provider in a regional area was required to sign a contract prohibiting her from working post-employment in an area of up to 250km from her current workplace, according to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. A chef was told by a former employer he would need to repay $45,000 in incentive payments after he started working for another restaurant, according to the Employment Rights Legal Service. A hairdresser on a sponsored visa with an annual base salary of less than $41,000 was subject to legal proceedings after switching employers. Her former employer sought to recoup $27,000. Who is affected by these clauses? Seri Feldman-Gubbay, a senior solicitor at the Redfern Legal Centre, says its concerning how often she sees such clauses. I advise low-income employees, so these are people that, generally speaking, dont hold confidential business information or trade secrets, says Feldman-Gubbay. The clauses can be an underhanded way to try to force someone into remaining in employment, as opposed to, I dont know, giving someone a pay rise. Government figures suggest more than three million Australian workers are covered by such contracts. While the clauses are used in all industries, they are most common in what the government refers to as knowledge and relationship-focused sectors including finance, real estate, professional services and healthcare. What is covered in a non-compete clause? These clauses are also increasingly broad in scope. One clause, seen by Guardian Australia, in a contract for a part-time role in the private education sector in Sydney says the employee must not engage in any role in competition with the employer within any geographic area in or around Australia for two years after they leave. While such a clause is almost certainly unenforceable, an employee subject to it may adhere out of fear. The reality is most people comply with whats in their contract; they dont want to deal with the risk of someone taking them to court even if its not enforceable, says Feldman-Gubbay. In a lot of cases it will be fair to say you cant solicit our clients, but thats different from saying you cant work in the role you are qualified to perform to earn an income. When are the reforms due to take effect? The reforms are scheduled to take effect from 2027, with the ban on non-compete clauses applying to workers earning less than the highincome threshold, currently $175,000. The government is also seeking to prevent employers from using nopoach agreements to block staff from being hired by competitors. What will the reforms mean for workers? Feldman-Gubbay says the reforms would empower workers. Anyone who earns less than the high-income threshold will know, point blank, its not enforceable, and so the threat wont hold any weight, she says. Business groups have tended to take a dim view of the proposed reforms. Cynthia Elachi, special counsel at Clayton Utz, says the reforms should give workers greater bargaining power to negotiate higher wages and more favourable conditions of employment generally. This would, for the most part, promote competition, says Elachi. She says employers will need to ensure their employment agreements include adequate protections of confidential information as they will no longer be able to rely on non-compete restraints if the ban is imposed. Non-compete clauses can have a chilling effect on the mobility of workers, according to university researchers, which is a particular problem for workers who would benefit from a higher-paying job in an economy marked by fast-rising living costs. Related: The election is coming: what moments will define the campaign? - podcast How has business reacted? The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry called the government measure heavy-handed while the Business Council of Australia told the ABC it would favour education rather than regulation to improve contracts. The Australian Hairdressing Council told the SMH the reforms could be crippling to salons. Guardian Australia contacted several industry groups, including the Australian Hairdressing Council and Australian Retailers Association, for comment. The government has said it will consult further with industry before introducing the legislation. Andrew Tate and his former girlfriend Bri Stern - Social media Andrew Tate has been accused of choking his girlfriend so violently she nearly lost consciousness in a Los Angeles hotel earlier this month. Bri Stern is suing the influencer for sexual assault, battery and gender violence after the alleged attack at the Beverly Hills Hotel on March 11. Ms Stern claimed Mr Tate choked her and would not relent despite her crying and begging him to stop, she claims, causing her to nearly lose consciousness. The last words he said to me before I left the hotel were: Shut the fk up, bh. You will never backtalk me. You are my property, she said. Ms Stern claims the assault happened when Mr Tate, 38, and his brother Tristan, 36, travelled to Florida on a private jet from Romania last month after a court order restricting their travel was lifted. Bri Stern claims Andrew Tate choked her - Social media In a statement posted on Instagram Ms Stern added that Mr Tate threatened to ruin my life, rape me and kill me if she betrayed him. Ms Stern said she had been in a relationship with Mr Tate for almost a year before he attacked her during his three-week visit to the US. The brothers returned to Romania for a court appearance last week. They are facing a string of criminal allegations including forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking and sexual intercourse with a minor. They have denied wrongdoing. According to a lawsuit seen by TMZ Ms Stern claims she was having consensual sex with Mr Tate in his hotel room when he suddenly became violent. She said he would often degrade her during sexual intercourse but this was much worse, more aggressive and more violent. Ms Stern claims she had been in a relationship with Mr Tate for almost a year before he attacked her - Social media He used his other hand to beat her face and head and threatened to kill her if she ever betrayed him, the outlet reported. Ms Stern claimed she was too scared to leave after the attack and left the following morning and reported Mr Tate to the police. Due to the events that had transpired in the early hours of that day, as well as his final degrading words, something just clicked; I finally recognised that someone who truly loved me wouldnt say those things to me or hurt me repeatedly the way that he did, she wrote on social media. This wasnt a joke or an internet facade. This was the reality of my boyfriend and my life, and I needed to take back control... I grabbed my things and walked out out of the hotel and out of our relationship, she added. The last week has been very difficult and extremely scary for me. I am an emotional wreck and am constantly looking over my shoulder. Im not the person I was before. Andrew texted me recently and let me know if you ever betray me, you will regret it. He has told me on many occasions before that if I crossed him, he would ruin my life, rape me, or kill me. Coming out about this is really terrifying in all aspects. Text messages allegedly sent between Ms Stern and Mr Tate - Social media Ms Stern has hired lawyer Tony Buzbee, who is representing dozens of alleged victims of Sean Combs, to represent her. Mr Tates lawyer Joseph McBride said his client firmly denies the allegations against him. This is a blatant cash grab a desperate attempt by a sad individual to exploit Andrews success and reputation for personal gain, he said. Instead of seeking a private resolution, Ms Stern has chosen to air her false claims in the press, revealing her true motives: money and attention, not justice. He added: This is a classic example of someone weaponising serious accusations for financial benefit, a tactic that undermines genuine victims and erodes trust in the legal system. We will not allow our clients character to be tarnished for profit. Two brothers who raped girls in Rotherham almost two decades ago have been jailed for 17 and 14 years respectively. Robert Evans, 40, who received the longer sentence, and his brother Mark Evans, 37, were about 21 and 18 years old respectively when they sexually abused teenagers as young as 13 in the South Yorkshire town over a two-year period, raping two of them, Sheffield Crown Court heard. The pair were both found guilty of raping two girls and Mark Evans was convicted of a sexual offence against a third teenager. Referring to one of Robert Evanss attacks on a 13-year-old girl, Judge David Dixon said he forcibly and viciously raped her before laughing at her when she was clearly in pain. The judge said this was difficult to comprehend. One of the girls who was attacked by Mark Evans when she was 13 said in a statement read to the court on Friday: They were predators. They didnt care about me. I was a commodity in their eyes, a sexual possession. One of the girls who was raped said in her statement read to the court that she still suffers from severe panic attacks and collapsed when she saw one of the brothers in Rotherham years after, never returning to the town centre. Another of the women said in her statement that she had hoped to go to university but her life chances were taken away by these people who did these horrid things to me. The Evans brothers, who appeared for sentencing by videolink from prison, denied the offences but a jury convicted them of two counts of rape each after a two-week trial last year, with Mark Evans also found guilty of sexual activity with a child and assault by penetration. The jury heard the brothers, who had a reputation for violence in Rotherham, intimidated the girls and plied them with drugs and alcohol before luring them to locations where they attacked them. Robert and Mark Evans both received substantial prison sentences at Sheffield Crown Court (Danny Lawson/PA) One of the girls, who was 13 at the time, was given alcohol by Mark Evans before she and some friends went with him to a disused barn. He separated her from the rest of the group and raped her. The same victim was attacked by Robert Evans months later when he lured her to a house in Rotherham by lying that one of her friends would be there, plying her with alcohol en route, and raping her when they got there. Judge Dixon said he accepted Mark Evans had a learning difficulty which meant he still had a mental age said to be that of an older child heading towards their teenage years. The pair were arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of Operation Stovewood, which 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 1997 and 2013. 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. While the brothers were awaiting trial, NCA officers arrested and charged their sister, Ann Marie Evans, 29, of Barnsley, under the Sexual Offences Act, after she published social media posts identifying two of their victims. She was convicted and sentenced last year. Samantha Thompson, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: The Evans brothers targeted and groomed young girls including with alcohol and drugs, for child sexual abuse and rape. The lifelong physical and emotional trauma caused to victims by men like the Evans brothers cannot be understated. This type of conduct has equally damaged the community confidence of Rotherham. We would like to thank the victims in this case for coming forward and reporting this devastating crime. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that the CPS will continue to relentlessly pursue justice and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, whenever that abuse took place. NCA senior investigator Kim Boreham said: I would like to recognise the courage and strength of the three victims in this case. For almost 20 years these women have suffered the profound consequences of Mark and Robert Evanss crimes, while the two men continued their lives as normal. These brave women have been determined to receive justice and the National Crime Agency has matched their resolve, ensuring the Evans brothers have been held to account. Chelsea FC owner Todd Boehlys investment vehicle has made an approach to buy newspaper group National World. The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post owner told shareholders on Friday that it received confirmation from Mr Boehlys Eldridge Media Holdings business that it is considering making a proposal to acquire the entirety of the company. It comes only a week after shareholders at National World approved a 65.1 million deal for it to be bought by major shareholder Media Concierge. Bosses at National World said they will consider the terms of any proposal put forward by Eldridge that may deliver superior value compared to the current takeover plan. National World owns titles including The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post (Jane Barlow/PA) However, the company founded by former Mirror Group boss David Montgomery stressed there is still no certainty that a formal offer will be made. The interest from Mr Boehly comes amid reports that the US businessman is still seeking to buy The Telegraph newspaper business, and would combine this with National World. Abu-Dhabi-based RedBird IMI has been trying to sell the Telegraph Media Group business after its original takeover of the firm was blocked by UK legislators. RedBird IMI took control of the media business when it was put on the market in 2023 in order to help previous owners, the Barclay family, repay heavy debts to lenders at Lloyds bank. The deal drew fierce criticism over free speech concerns before it was ultimately blocked by the Government earlier this year, resulting in the sale process. In October, the seller announced that owner of The New York Sun, Dovid Efune, entered exclusive talks to buy the Telegraph in a deal worth around 550 million. However, RedBird IMI is understood to now be considering a variety of potential deals, including Mr Efune, amid difficulties from the proposed buyer to quickly secure financing. National World was among the firms vying with Mr Efune to take control of the influential media company. It was also reported in December that Mr Boehly held talks over potentially being involved in a deal to buy the Telegraph. Chinese vice-premier Ding Xuexiang speaks at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum on Thursday. Photograph: China Daily/Reuters Chinese vice-premier Ding Xuexiang has pledged to give stronger policy support to the Chinese economy as he delivered the keynote speech at a forum focused on bolstering the countrys role in Asia and ties with the global south. With the tariffs on Chinese goods mounting, China is trying to find a foundation for growth that does not rely on an increasingly capricious United States. At the Boao Forum for Asia, a conference in south Chinas Hainan province, Chinese officials and academics stressed the need for partnerships with global south countries. Despite its rapid economic growth in the past three decades, China still identifies as being part of this group. Related: China can live with Trumps tariffs his bullish foreign policy will help Beijing in the long term | Steve Tsang Ding, Chinas sixth-ranking official, said on Thursday that policies would be implemented this year to stabilise foreign trade and investment. At the Boao Forum, an annual business and political summit, the line-up of speakers reflected Chinas diplomatic pivot towards low- and middle-income countries. The only head of state to participate was the Laos prime minister, Sonexay Siphandone, while the deputy prime ministers of Russia and Kazakhstan also attended. One panel featured a senior Iranian official who was reportedly involved in talks for Iran to acquire ammonium perchlorate, an explosive agent used in missiles, from China. The official told the Guardian he did not remember the reports and had not been involved in the negotiations. The US is never on the side of the global south, said Aravind Yelery, an associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, on one panel, adding that countries like India should look within the global south for economic support. Yelerys comments came as the Indian government is said to be in discussions about relaxing restrictions on Chinese trade and investment, which were put in place five years ago after clashes at the India-China border. US tariff resilience A major theme at Boao was how Asian economies could improve their resilience against US tariffs. Ding said that countries should resolutely oppose trade and investment protectionism, a reference to the US levies. Zhang Yuyan, an economist from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, warned that the major turbulence of US policies would affect Asian economic outlooks, although he, along with a group of other researchers, nonetheless predicted Asias GDP growth would be 4.5% in 2025, a slight increase on 2024s growth figures, in a report released on Tuesday. Huang Yiping, an economist from Peking University and an influential adviser to the Peoples Bank of China, stressed the importance of countries co-operating without the US. Barriers for trade are rising very quickly, he said, warning that US-led globalisation could go into reverse. The comments come a few months after Xi Jinping, Chinas leader, unveiled a raft of measures to support global south countries at the G20 summit in Brazil last year. China now has more than a dozen free trade agreements with global south countries, and the share of its exports bound for the US is shrinking, down to around 13% in 2023. But experts have noted that rising exports to South-east Asian countries may just represent companies shipping goods to the US via third countries to avoid tariffs. A significant part of Chinas trade with the global south is derivative of US demand, said Brad Sester, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, in an interview earlier this year. But for all the talk of deepening trade and political relations with global south countries, many economists believe that the real answer to tariff-proofing Chinas economy lies in domestic demand. Policymakers expect exports to contribute little to Chinas growth this year, meaning that they will have to turn to other levers to reach the 5% GDP growth target. As well as stabilising foreign investment, Ding said China would find ways to comprehensively expand domestic demand. Several provinces have been told to focus on boosting consumption rather than investment, although the mechanisms for doing this remain unclear, as many ordinary Chinese people still choose to save a higher share of their incomes than global averages. Huang, the Peking University economist, addressed this explicitly at Boao. The priority for China is to boost domestic demand, he told the forum, with another economist arguing that China should take steps to boost consumptions share of GDP to 70% by 2035. The Ministry of Defence is investigating after a cache of documents containing sensitive military information was found discarded in the street. The papers, some marked official sensitive, were discovered spilling out of a black bin bag in the Scotswood area of Newcastle on March 16. Downing Street said appropriate action would be taken after the discovery. The BBC reported that the documents include details about soldiers ranks, shift patterns, email addresses, weapon issue records and access information for military facilities. They appear to relate to units based at Catterick Garrison, the broadcaster said. Among them was a sheet reportedly headed armoury keys and hold IDS codes believed to reference an armoury and intruder detection system. The find was made by Mike Gibbard, a football fan from Gateshead, who stumbled across the documents while parking ahead of Newcastle Uniteds Carabao Cup final clash with Liverpool. He told the BBC he was shocked by what he saw. I peered down and started to see names on bits of papers, and numbers, and I thought whats that? he said. They were piled up against a wall, in a black bag, in the road, underneath cars spread all the way up the road. He said he found more documents on the other side of the road and was alarmed by the contents. Details of the perimeter, the patrol, checking weapons in and out, requests for leave, mobile phone numbers, high-ranking officers, he told the BBC. This shouldnt be here, anyone could pick it up. Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire (Danny Lawson/PA) Government guidance states that some official sensitive documents could pose a threat to life if compromised. The documents were handed in to Northumbria Police and a spokesperson said they were subsequently given to the MoD. In a statement, a MoD spokesperson said: We are aware that documentation allegedly relating to the department was recently handed in to the police. We are looking into this urgently and the matter is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation. Government guidelines recommend that sensitive documents be destroyed using shredders or burn bags. A Number 10 spokesman added: The Ministry of Defence is currently looking at documents handed to the police, but the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Army. As you will appreciate, I wont be able to comment on any specifics while that takes place, but you can expect that appropriate action will be taken in response to any potential information breach. Its obviously important that that investigation is allowed to take its course. Details of the four The Grand Tour specials have been revealed following Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May saying goodbye to the motoring show last year. Prime Video said it will release four retrospective episodes, which will look back at the best moments of the series. The show was launched in 2016 after the presenting trio moving on from the BBCs motoring programme Top Gear. Jeremy Clarkson. (Ian West/PA) The first special on Prime Video will be The Not Very Grand Tour: The Power And The Glory, which sees Hammond and May celebrate the glory of the internal combustion engine by looking back at the series. These include the hyper car holy trinity, muscle cars in Detroit, a city sprint in a Bugatti, the worlds craziest tank, and a race between the past, present and future, Prime Video said. More instalments, such as The Grand-ish Tour: A Trip Down Memory Lane, The Grand-ish Tour: A Bit Further Down Memory Lane and The Grand-ish Tour: Completely Lost Down Memory Lane, are set for release later this year and 2026. Clarkson will take part in those, with the trio looking back at moments in California, Morocco, Colorado, Scandinavia, and Mongolia. Hammond and May will also remind Clarkson of his mechanical incompetence, and enjoy an excellent montage of each other falling over. They will also celebrate stuff they built including a self-assembly car that crossed Mongolia, and Clarksons home-made SUV, along with their explosions, and making a heartfelt farewell to an old friend. In September, their two-hour finale saw the trio travel to Zimbabwe where they explored challenging landscapes in cars the three men have always wanted, a Lancia Montecarlo, a Ford Capri three-litre, and a Triumph Stag. They signed off from the programme by looking out across the landscape, with the image briefly cutting to a near-identical shot from their younger years. In recent years, Clarkson has been busy filming a Prime Video farming show called Clarksons Farm, which sees him tackling how to grow crops and look after animals on his land in Oxfordshire. May has has several series about cars and technology, including a Discovery+ show called James May And The Dull Mens Club, which sees him inspired by the online phenomenon of dull mens forums. Hammond hosts the podcast Who We Are Now With Izzy & Richard Hammond along with his daughter, while his Discovery+ series Richard Hammonds Workshop sees him starting a restoration business in Herefordshire. The Not Very Grand Tour: The Power And The Glory, airs on April 18. Emmett J Scanlan: Wonderful to go toe to toe with acting giants in MobLand Irish actor Emmett J Scanlan has said it was wonderful to go toe to toe with giants such as Pierce Brosnan in a new crime TV series. The Peaky Blinders actor, 46, plays Brosnans head of security in MobLand, which follows two crime families as they battle for power. Speaking at the London premiere, Scanlon reflected on what it was like to work in the star-studded cast, which includes Irish actor Brosnan, The Queen star Helen Mirren, and Legend actor Tom Hardy. Emmett J Scanlan attending the UK premiere of MobLand at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Scanlan told the PA news agency: I am Pierce Brosnans right-hand man, his head of security. What I have loved most about this experience is, I love the craft. I just absolutely love it. I am my happiest when Im on set and Im getting to dance with these giants. I spent my life growing up watching them and admiring them from afar and to be able to share a stage with them and be able to share dialogue and share scenes with them, to go toe to toe with them, be welcomed by them, embraced by them. It is a wonderful thing that is not lost on me. In the film, Hardy, 47, plays fixer Harry Da Souza who is called upon to make a problem disappear after a night out goes awry for the sons of two warring crime families. Scanlan said: Two of the most ferocious, most unapologetic families go head to head. They go to war. And the repercussions of that inevitably mean that guilty and innocent are going to be hurt and caught in the crossfire and the shrapnel of their actions echoes across the world. So this aint for the faint-hearted. (left to right) Helen Mirren, Guy Ritchie, Pierce Brosnan and Tom Hardy attend the UK premiere of MobLand at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Some Girls actress Mandeep Dhillon, who plays Brosnans daughter, Seraphina Harrigan, told PA that filming the series was epic. She said: My role is amazing, Im playing Pierce Brosnans daughter, Helen Mirren is my step mum, Tom Hardy is the family fixer its been epic. The series is directed by Guy Ritchie who created 1998 film Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, 2000s Snatch, and 2024 Netflix show The Gentlemen. MobLand airs on Paramount+ on Sunday March 30 in the UK and Ireland. Signs for government departments including the Ministry of Justice, Crown Prosecution Service and the Attorney General's office In ancient Rome, the state services of haruspices were much in demand. By inspecting the entrails of birds and animals (the sheeps liver was a favourite), these priestly officials divined whether the gods would look favourably on any important future action, such as a war. Even our secular modern world likes this mixture of forecasting, prophecy, and hieratic hocus-pocus. Twenty-first century British governments have the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). It is not wrong, of course, to convene experts to test and project the figures which governments come up with, but it is wrong for political leaders to outsource their decisions to them. This may not have been the intention, but it is the effect. When he created the OBR on becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2010, George Osborne emphasised its independence. Its endorsement, he thought, would lend financial respectability to his policies. But such independence is problematic. First, it is somewhat notional: the OBR is fully funded from the Treasury budget, so its officials will almost certainly share the establishment groupthink of the era, rather than the views of elected politicians, let alone the attitudes of the public. Worse, political power shifts, over time, to these independent bodies. The public is encouraged to think they are more honest than politicians. The politicians therefore seek their approval. In response, the bodies tend to behave more politically (though not usually party-politically). They get too big for their boots. The eternal Climate Change Committee, for example, tries to lay down the law about how we should get to net zero. The Supreme Court, which Tony Blair invented, decided, with the Remainer Lady Hale wearing her spider brooch for the occasion, that it could tell prime ministers not to prorogue Parliament. In Parliament itself, the conduct of MPs, for which they should answer to one another and the electorate, is now policed by an independent commissioner who can ruin careers without due process. There are dozens of such bodies nowadays. Their cumulative effect is to make Britain governed more by a permanent bureaucracy than by a parliamentary democracy. Bad politicians quite like this trend, because the buck no longer stops clearly with them. They can wriggle out of the doctrine that Advisers advise: ministers decide. In a properly run government, the departments themselves, and ultimately the Cabinet, should be responsible. That very name Office for Budget Responsibility implies that the Treasury, which creates the budget, does not do so responsibly. What is the Treasury for, then? Towards the OBR, Labour is even more slavish than were the Conservatives in Mr Osbornes time. When Liz Truss was briefly prime minister, Labour professed absolute horror that she and her Chancellor had launched their tax-cutting mini-Budget without seeking the OBRs forecast. She did, indeed, behave in a politically inept way, which caused the Blob to spread panic in the markets, but she had not committed a constitutional outrage. Caught by its own rhetoric, Labour must now beg approval from the OBR to bolster the confidence so shaken by the recession-inducing decisions of Rachel Reevess first Budget last October. This dependence simultaneously confines her room for manoeuvre and puts pressure on the OBR to concede, un-independently, something she wants. It decided, with the bogus precision which its methods demand, to state that the Governments planning reforms, not yet implemented, could produce 0.2 per cent growth by 2029. A further problem with the OBRs dominance is that where its remit does not run, not enough work seems to have been done. It has not had the chance to forecast the costs of the Employment Rights Bill currently going through Parliament. Yet they will be big. The Bill culminates the Governments relentless campaign, which began with NI employers increases and attacks on farmers and small businesses, to dissuade any private-sector business from giving anyone a job ever again. Hence the Spring Statements peculiar mixture of everything has changed rhetoric and nothing-very-much measures. Almost the main aim of the Chancellor seems to be to recapture the headroom which her own choices have lost over the past six months. Most of the dramatic things she said were not true. We are building a third runway at Heathrow, she announced. I hereby invite her to take me along and show me the diggers at work. The mostly undramatic things she is actually offering fall below the level of events. I am not saying the Government is wilfully ignoring all the evil economic omens of a world in turmoil. It is clearly very worried about them. Some of its reactions seeing the need to increase defence spending, improve defence procurement and alliances, cut and improve the Civil Service, prevent welfare being the great destroyer of work are the right ones. But what I do question is whether it is prepared to kitchen-sink the problems. If it did so, would it put quite so much emphasis on the absolute primacy of financial and fiscal rules? Rules usually do lend credibility to economic policy and increase business confidence, but if it is true, as Ms Reeves also says, that everything has changed, might not the old rules prove as irrelevant as the Maginot Line? Remember Gordon Browns golden rule and remember that he had to break it. In her Budget speech last autumn, the Chancellor mentioned spending to help Ukraine, but offered no estimation of the vast effect of the war on global economic stability. So obsessed was she by the 22 billion black hole left by the Tories, that she could not look further to that much bigger, blacker and more expensive hole further afield the spread of European war. Only now, in her Spring Statement, does she speak of a world that is changing before our eyes because the threat facing our Continent was transformed when Putin invaded Ukraine, almost as if that were new. If the Chancellor and Prime Minister really do believe that the defence of Britain is profoundly insecure because of the Putin-Trump combination (which it is), then this becomes the first-order question, threatening both our security and prosperity. It will therefore need to be funded in a way quite out of the ordinary. As I recently argued, it would need to be something like the War Loan (though its effect would make it a Peace Loan) which began in 1915 and took a century to pay off. Such a perpetual loan is normally pre-agreed with the backing of big national business institutions, such as banks and pension funds. Its size and patriotic motive, rather than frightening people off, tend to make them want to buy. It convinces them that both the crisis and the Government are serious. At present, people are unconvinced. Other things should be thrown into the kitchen sink, if not in a single speech and coming from the Prime Minister as well as the Chancellor. One would be net zero which, interestingly, was not mentioned at all in the Spring Statement. We have now reached the right moment for Sir Keir Starmer to say, at the very least, that the current timetable is unaffordable. Another topic not dealt with by the Chancellor is mass immigration, especially its economic effects, which the Treasury always, and wrongly, asserts are wholly beneficial. And yet another, already under scrutiny, but not nearly enough to make a difference, is welfare. The current phrase luxury beliefs could have been invented for the attitudes of Sir Keir before he became Prime Minister. They have to go. There are no political or economic luxuries left. JD Vance told troops in Greenland that the US has to gain control of the Arctic island to stop the threat of China and Russia as he doubled down on criticising Denmark, which he said has not done a good job. Under increasingly strained relations between the White House and Greenland and Denmark, the US vice-president said during a visit to Pituffik space base on Friday: Our message to Denmark is very simple: you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass. Speaking alongside US troops, as well as Donald Trumps national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who is at the centre of the Signal message group security breach, Waltzs wife, Julia Nesheiwat, the US energy secretary, Chris Wright, and the senator for Utah, Mike Lee, he said the Trump administrations argument was not with the people of Greenland. It was, he said, with the leadership in Denmark, which he accused of having underinvested in Greenland and its security. That simply must change, he added. It is the policy of the United States that that will change. Greenland, he said, would better off coming under the United Statess security umbrella than you have been under Denmarks security umbrella. He claimed the territory was not being kept safe by Denmark from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and other nations. Shortly after he flew into the ice-locked US military base of Pituffik in north-west Greenland with his wife, Usha, and other senior US officials on Friday, the vice-president told US troops he was really interested in Arctic security. As you all know, its a big issue and its only going to get bigger over the coming decades, he said. Vance also said it was cold as shit here as he arrived to temperatures of -19C. In the White House, Trump reiterated his previous claims that the US needs Greenland for world peace. I think Greenland understands that the United States should own it, he said in a press conference on Friday. And if Denmark and the EU dont understand it, we have to explain it to them. We need Greenland. Very importantly, for international security, we have to have Greenland. There are, he claimed, Chinese and Russian ships all over the place. Hours before Vances arrival, in Nuuk political leaders agreed to form a broad four-party coalition government in a show of national unity. In a rebuke to the Trump administration and its public campaign to gain control of Greenland, four of the territorys five parties signed the coalition agreement on Friday, which states on page one: Greenland belongs to us. There has been a week of heightened tension, amid already strained relations between the US, Greenland and Denmark as a result of Trumps repeated threats to acquire Greenland. Writing on social media before his plane landed, JD Vance said: Were on our way and looking forward to it! Greenland, a former Danish colony, is a semi-autonomous territory within the kingdom of Denmark, its foreign and security policies run by Copenhagen. Related: Welcome to the top of the world: the Pituffik US space base in Greenland Earlier in the week, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, accused the US of putting unacceptable pressure on Greenland and Denmark to give up the territory, adding: It is pressure that we will resist. On Thursday Trump renewed his vow to take control of the island: We need Greenland for national security and international security. So well go as far as we have to go. We need Greenland. And the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark. Denmark has to have us have Greenland. And well see what happens. But if we dont have Greenland, we cant have great international security. The US delegation took off from Maryland and were due to fly directly to the ice-locked American military base, built after a 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the US with no further stops on the island now planned by the vice-president or his wife. The delegations plans were hastily rescheduled just days before to cut out visits to the capital, Nuuk, and a dog sled race in Sisimiut after widespread outrage in Nuuk and Copenhagen over the unsolicited trip. Originally the second lady was scheduled to travel without the vice-president. Under the changed plans, understood to include a traditional troop visit, Vance made an address from the base at 5.45pm GMT. The Greenlandic governments coalition agreement was signed on Friday after all but one of the parties reached a deal with the ruling party, the Democrats, which received the most votes in the 11 March election, on Thursday. The most US-friendly party, Naleraq, which came second in the election, left the talks on Monday, and will not be part of the coalition. The first page of the coalition agreement states that no one should have any doubt that Greenland belongs to us. We decide our own future. We must choose our partners ourselves. And we are the ones who dictate the pace in this regard, it reads. We must show the world that we are a people and a country that stands together in prosperity and adversity. Our unity as a people must always outweigh political disagreements in individual areas. In response to a reporters question about Vance, the new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said the US had not shown respect for Greenland. JD Vance is landing at a facility that is theirs [the US base]. This whole situation of coming to visit when there is no government in place, we insist, is not showing respect for an ally. Its a shame, but now we have a government that needs to get its act together, he said. Frederiksen congratulated Greenlands new prime minister, saying: I wish Jens-Frederik Nielsen and the rest of the Greenland government all the best for your work and for Greenland. And I look forward to close cooperation in an unnecessarily conflict-filled time. Strong with a broad government and unity between different political parties. You show the strength of democracy. Denmarks King Frederik said: There should be no doubt about my love for Greenland, and my connection to the Greenlandic people is intact. The new coalition has also stated that it will work to significantly increase Greenlands self-determination. A clear roadmap must be drawn up as soon as possible for which areas it is realistic to take back, after which the process must be initiated, it stated. The former Greenlandic prime minister, Mute B Egede, leader of Inuit Ataqatigiit, who will now be minister for finance and taxes, said that it is only together that Greenland can meet the great pressure from outside. The leader of Siumut, Vivian Motzfeldt, said: We have listened to the Greenlandic population. We have listened to the need for us to be united as the Greenlandic population. We must be able to look forward and not get stuck in the past. She added: It is important that we gather our strengths, our identity and our culture. There are few sounds more youthful in rock and roll than the pummelling chords of The Whos 1965 single I Cant Explain, now 60 years on at Londons Royal Albert Hall the band prove the track can still stir up a storm. The crowd rises from their seats as guitarist Pete Townshend pounds out the riff, after he, singer Roger Daltrey and the rest of the band arrive on stage with Daltrey announcing: Who the f*** are you? They follow it up with another of their classic early singles, Substitute, before reaching for 1978s Who Are You?, with the crowd chanting along with its who, who, who, who chorus. The band played classic 1960s singles I Cant Explain, Substitute and My Generation (Ian West/PA) Its only when the song finishes that Daltrey and Townshends advancing years become apparent, with the 79-year-old guitarist announcing that four and a half weeks ago, I had my left knee replaced, later revealing he had done it by dancing in the style of Sir Mick Jagger. After thanking the crowd for coming to the gig in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust, and telling them we couldnt do it without you, well we could, but we wouldnt raise much money, the band continue to dig into their goldmine of 1960s singles. First comes The Kids Are Alright, followed by The Who Sell Out cut I Can See For Miles, which Daltrey dedicates to a 19-year-old girl he visited in hospital, who recently died, telling the audience early diagnosis is everything. During the song 81-year-old Daltreys voice cracks, and after its conclusion, he calls it a senior moment, before adding: No apologies, I f***** up. He later adds: The joys of getting old mean you go deaf, I also now have got the joy of going blind, fortunately I still have my voice, because that Ill have a full Tommy (referring to the main character on the bands 1969 album). Despite the mistakes, in recent times the band has often resorted to playing rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia in full, sometimes even backed by an orchestra, but on Thursday the pretence of any carefully arranged set list was removed, this is The Who at their raw best. The bands set pulled heavily from 1971s Whos Next (Ian West/PA) At one point, Townshend even asks the crowd, do you miss the orchestra?, no they reply at the top of their voices. Tonight the audience are treated to the sound that, along with the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Pretty Things, and The Kinks, launched a thousand US garage and British freakbeat imitators, which in turn helped to usher in punk rock as we know it today. The bands highly praised 1971 hard rock record Whos Next is also well covered during the evening, with instantly recognisable singles Baba O Riley and Wont Get Fooled Again, joined by album tracks such as Bargain, Love Aint For Keepin and Behind Blue Eyes. The Seeker, 5.15 and My Generation also feature in the hits-packed set, which ended with Daltrey telling the crowd thats all folks, Im f***** after screaming to the heavens at the end of Wont Get Fooled Again. He finishes by telling the audience: People say to me, how the f*** do you still do it, and Ive got to tell you Ive had one dream in life, and got really, really lucky. Roger Daltrey in action at the Royal Albert Hall (Ian West/PA) And I look at those youngsters every night that come on the stage here, and I think, if they can deal with their lot, this is a piece of piss. Daltrey also urges the audience to look after the NHS, adding: We cant let it go, even when Im gone. The gig comes as Daltrey steps back from his role as curator of the Teenage Cancer Trusts Royal Albert Hall concerts, having launched the series in 2000, however, he will remain an honorary patron of the charity, with The Cures Robert Smith taking over curation duties next year. The Who will return to the Royal Albert Hall for another gig in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust on Sunday. A man who was riding an e-bike in Sydney has been killed when a police car attempted to pull him over. A so-called single unit acting sergeant attempted to pull over the 48-year-old man on Allen Street in Waterloo at about 3am on Friday, the New South Wales police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna told reporters. At some point, the police vehicle and the e-bike [were] involved in a collision, McKenna said. The man was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics but died at the scene. The mans family members were interstate and were being contacted. Related: Former NSW police officer Kristian White avoids jail after fatally shooting 95-year-old Clare Nowland with Taser Why the man was being pulled over would form part of a critical incident investigation, NSW police said. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission said it would monitor the police investigation. A crime scene was established and examined by specialist forensic police. Police allege over three ounces of methamphetamine and $10,000 in cash were found on the man. McKenna could not comment on whether the acting sergeant would have known the man allegedly had methamphetamine or cash on him at the time he was pulled over. That will form part of the investigation, he said. There was no vehicle or body-cam footage from the incident. Detectives were seeking other CCTV footage. NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong said on Friday: This incident will have serious repercussions for our local Waterloo and Redfern communities and it is critical that there is an independent investigation of this matter it is unacceptable for police to be investigating police. In a separate incident in Sydneys west, a pedestrian carrying a baby died after being hit by a car, with the baby taken to hospital in a critical condition. A 57-year-old man was found with life-threatening injuries on Carlisle Avenue in Mount Druitt by emergency services at about 7.45pm on Thursday, NSW police said in a statement on Friday. They were called to the scene after reports of a crash. The man carrying the one-year-old was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics but died at the scene. The baby was taken to Mount Druitt hospital by a man believed to be the childs father, police said. The one-year-old was then transferred to Westmead Childrens hospital. The 37-year-old car driver was taken to Mount Druitt hospital for mandatory testing. She was assisting police with inquiries. A crime scene was established with the NSW police crash investigation unit examining the incident. No one has been charged in relation to either fatality. This article was amended on 28 March 2025. An earlier version stated the e-bike rider was Indigenous based on information provided by NSW police. Israel has conducted an airstrike on Beirut for the first time since signing a November ceasefire with Hezbollah. Huge smoke plumes rose from the site of the attack in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh and residents reported hearing the explosion from the mountains surrounding the Lebanese capital. The strike threatens to upset the fragile truce in place between Hezbollah and Israel since a ceasefire was signed on 27 November last year. Before the bombing, Israels military issued an evacuation order and warned it would attack a building in Dahiyeh. A spokesperson posted a map on X with a building marked in red, telling residents to flee more than 300 metres away, reminiscent of the daily maps the Israeli military issued before bombings during its war with Hezbollah. You are present near facilities belonging to Hezbollah, the spokesperson warned, pointing to a building near two schools in Dahiyeh. The warning was followed by two drone strikes. An Israeli military spokesperson later said the airstrikes targeted a truck and Hezbollah drone storage facility known as Unit 127. The warning caused people in Dahiyeh to flee, with men shooting in the air to warn those who had not seen the announcement on social media. Videos showed residents sheltering on pavements in central Beirut. Earlier in the morning, Israel announced it had intercepted one of two rockets coming from Lebanon, the second time in a week that rocket fire was directed towards it, after three rockets were fired at the town of Metula on 22 March. According to the military, one of the rockets was intercepted, while the other fell short inside Lebanese territory as rocket sirens sounded in the city of Kiryat Shmona and the communes of Tel Hai, Margaliot and Misgav Am. No one claimed responsibility for Fridays rocket fire, and Hezbollah issued no statement. Israel conducted several airstrikes in southern Lebanon before the evacuation warning in Beirut on Friday. Lebanon announced the closure of schools in the south in fear of further strikes. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Fridays strike marked an example of Israels determination to act against its northern neighbour. We will not allow firing on our communities, not even a trickle, Netanyahu said in a statement. We will continue to vigorously enforce the ceasefire; we will attack everywhere in Lebanon, against any threat to the State of Israel, and we will ensure that all our residents in the north return to their homes safely. The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said: If calm does not prevail in the Galilee towns, there will be no calm in Beirut We will not allow a return to the situation before October 7. I am sending a clear message from here to the Lebanese government: if you do not enforce the ceasefire agreement we will enforce it, Katz added. It is unclear how Hezbollah will respond to a strike on Dahiyeh, where the group enjoys large public support. Hezbollah claims its role is to protect Lebanon from the Israeli military, so a strike near the countrys capital could challenge the basis of its legitimacy. There has been no resumption of major hostilities since the ceasefire began in November, despite Israel conducting hundreds of strikes in Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for one strike in Israel a few days after the signing of the ceasefire. The ceasefire had brought an end to more than 13 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, which killed more than 3,900 people and displaced about 1 million in Lebanon. Lebanons prime minister, Nawaf Salam, has emphasised his commitment to the ceasefire deal and reiterated that the decision for Lebanon to go to war lay with the state, not with Hezbollah. Salam issued a statement calling on the military to uncover those behind the irresponsible rocket fire that threatens Lebanons stability and security. The new Lebanese government, elected after the signing of the ceasefire, has made disarming the non-state militia a priority. In Gaza, where Israel resumed its military operation on 18 March, shattering the relative calm of a January ceasefire with Hamas, the aid group World Central Kitchen said an Israeli airstrike killed one of its volunteers near a facility distributing meals to besieged Palestinians. The strike wounded six other people, the US-based charity said. World Central Kitchen said it would continue to operate its field kitchens where possible, based on daily assessments. It did not give the location of the strike and the Israeli military did not immediately comment. The UN Human Rights Office accused Israel on Friday of violating international law by forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza under mandatory evacuation orders. The Israeli army has issued what the UN described as 10 mandatory evacuation orders, which fail to comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law, the bodys spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement on Friday. Israels permanent mission to Geneva said it was operating in accordance with international humanitarian law. Israel is evacuating civilians to protect them from Hamas terrorists, who relentlessly use them as human shields in a blatant violation of international law, the mission said. JD Vance arrives at the US militarys Pituffik Space Base in Greenland - Jim Watson JD Vance has ruffled feathers during a controversial trip to Greenland, where he accused Denmark of effectively abandoning the territory to Beijing and Moscow and told residents their climate was cold as s---. Mr Vance declared that the US could no longer bury our head in the snow and ignore Chinas attempts to establish itself in the semi-autonomous territory during the first ever visit to Greenland by a US vice-president on Friday. He explicitly urged Greenlanders to vote for independence from Denmark, urging its citizens to join the USs security umbrella in comments that have caused outrage in Copenhagen. Donald Trump has repeatedly said the US should take over Greenland and has not ruled out the possibility of using military force to do so. When asked by reporters if he thought that would be necessary, Mr Vance said he did not think it would come to that. One Danish politician told The Telegraph that the remarks were deeply concerning and said they would not tolerate foreign interference. Mr Vance travelled to Greenland on Friday accompanied by Usha Vance, the second lady, where the vice-president was briefed on Arctic security at the US militarys Pituffik Space Base alongside Mike Waltz, the US national security adviser. Mr Vance is expected to receive a security briefing during the visit - JIM WATSON Its cold as s--- here, Mr Vance said as he met troops, adding; Nobody told me. Temperatures in the capital were a chilly -8C (18F) on Friday afternoon. After being briefed on national security matters, Mr Vance ramped up the Trump administrations attacks on Denmark and waded into a debate on Greenlands independence. Denmark hasnt done a good job at keeping Greenland safe, he said, accusing the US ally of failing to spend enough protecting the territory and endangering world peace. He urged Greenlanders to vote to secede from Denmark, after the pro-independence Democratic party took a shock victory in its elections earlier this month. The visit is viewed as a further provocation following Mr Trumps comments - JIM WATSON Mr Vance and Mrs Vance eat a meal with soldiers at the US militarys Pituffik Space Base Mr Vance continued: We can make them much more secure. We can do a lot more protection, and I think theyll fare a lot better economically as well. This has to happen, and the reason it has to happen, I hate to say it, is because our friends in Denmark have not done their job in keeping this area safe. Mr Vance said the alternative would be to give up the North Atlantic, to give up the Arctic to China, to Russia and other regimes that dont have the best interests of the American people at heart. The US vice-president accused China and Russia of taking greater and greater interest in Greenland, accusing Beijing of setting ridiculous debt traps and deploying military forces to the region. Mr Vance giving a speech at the US military Pituffik Space Base - JIM WATSON We need to wake up from a failed 40 year consensus that said that we can ignore the encroachment of powerful countries as they expand their ambitions, Mr Vance added. We cant just bury our head in the sand or in Greenland, bury our head in the snow and pretend that the Chinese are not interested in this very large land mass. The Vances left Greenland on Friday evening after their visit to the military base, meaning they spent a matter of hours in the territory before flying back. When the White House initially announced the trip, intended to be solo visit by Mrs Vance, it was billed as lasting three days and including stops at the national dogsled race and multiple historical sites. Mr Vance announced he would accompany his wife at the last minute amid reports of planned protests and after Greenlands prime minister called the US delegations visit aggressive. During Mr Vances speech on Friday, Mr Trump posted a video on social media about how the US had defended Greenland from the Nazis during the Second World War with the tagline: America stands with Greenland. The video was paid for by Securing American Greatness Inc, a campaign group that has previously spent millions of dollars producing adverts attacking Joe Biden, the former US president and political rival of Mr Trumps. It came after Mr Trump doubled down on his comments about annexing Greenland, claiming US national security was being threatened by Chinese and Russian warships in the region. Its not a question of, do you think we can do without it? We cant, the US president told reporters in the Oval Office. If you look at Greenland right now, Chinese and Russian ships all over the place, and were not going to be able to do that. Were not relying on Denmark or anybody else to take care of that situation. And were not talking about peace for the United States. Were talking about world peace. Were talking about international security. Two protesters ahead of the visit by the US delegation - Leon Neal Mr Trump and Mr Vance have become unpopular figures in Greenland following their comments about annexation. On Thursday, it was reported members of the US consulate had gone door-to-door trying to find businesses willing to host the Vances, without success. Anders Vistisen, a Danish MEP, told The Telegraph that the repeated snubs were not only a diplomatic humiliation but a disgrace to the office of the American presidency. He accused Mr Vance of talking fiction in his speech, saying: Denmark and Greenland have made it abundantly clear: we will not tolerate foreign interference no matter how high up it comes in Washington. Photos appeared to show a two-woman protest taking place in Nuuk, Greenlands capital, as the Vances landed. One of the women, standing on top of a snow mound, carried a sign demonstrating against the installation of US B-2 stealth bombers on the military base. The King has appeared in public for the first time since his short stay in hospital after experiencing side effects from his cancer treatment. Charles was pictured smiling and waving as he left his Clarence House home in central London where he spent the night with the Queen following the minor bump in his cancer journey. The head of state was driven through the gates on his way to Highgrove, his Gloucestershire residence, after clearing his diary to prioritise his recovery as a precaution following the temporary side effects. Charles was due to attend a busy away-day in Birmingham on Friday and be the guest at four events in the city which he hopes to reschedule. His engagements during Thursday afternoon, meeting ambassadors in audiences at Buckingham Palace, were also postponed following his weekly cancer treatment session that morning. As he left Clarence House the King, sat in the back of a black Audi, wound down the window and smiled and waved at a large crowd of well-wishers and photographers. Some of the public held up camera phones to capture the moment as Charles sped past around 10.30am, a few minutes after his sister the Princess Royal was driven away in a black Bentley on her way to host an investiture at nearby Buckingham Palace. The King, 76, was said to be on good form at his London home last night, working on state papers and making calls from his study and it is likely he will continue with official paperwork while at Highgrove. Well-wishers watch as the King is driven from Clarence House (Ben Whitley/PA) A source has described the development as the most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction. Buckingham Palace said in a statement: Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, the King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital. His Majestys afternoon engagements were therefore postponed. His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrows diary programme will also be rescheduled. His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result. Charles has been treated for more than an year for an undisclosed form of cancer (Liam McBurney/PA) Sources have stressed the Kings visit to the London Clinic on Thursday was not a major development and no further updates are expected on his health, with any minor alterations to his diary that may be required next week being announced in due course. Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February 2024 and returned to public-facing duties in April despite still undergoing weekly treatment. He has had a busy run of engagements this month, including a reception for media on Wednesday evening after a visit to a soil exhibition in the day, and is due to make a historic state visit to Italy in 10 days time. It is understood the overseas tour with the Queen from April 7-10, which will see Charles become the first British sovereign to address both houses of the Italian parliament, is expected to go ahead as planned. Last week, the King made a whirlwind three-day visit to Northern Ireland with Camilla, and earlier in March hosted high-profile audiences with key political figures including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, outgoing Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and new Canadian PM Mark Carney. Charles was being driven to his Gloucestershire home (Yui Mok/PA) Charles, who is known for being a workaholic, is said to have thrived on carrying out public and state duties in recent months, seeing them as being of great benefit to his overall wellbeing. It was hoped this year would be a fresh start for the royal family after they endured what the Prince of Wales called a brutal 2024 and probably the hardest year of my life with both the King and the Princess of Wales being diagnosed with cancer. Kate is now in remission and is gradually returning to public duties. Products featured in this Yahoo article are selected by our shopping writers. We will earn a commission from purchases made via links in this article. Pricing and availability are subject to change. Today, Mother's Day is a commercial juggernaut - but the founder didn't even want flowers given. (Getty Images) (Halfpoint Images via Getty Images) On Sunday, March 30, families in the United Kingdom will celebrate Mothers Day, when mums across the country will find themselves deluged with flowers, chocolates and cards. But it is the polar opposite of what the days founder, Anna Jarvis, actually intended. Born in Webster, West Virginia in 1864, Anna Jarvis was one of 13 children, although just four lived to adulthood. Her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, was a social activist and community organiser who also taught at the local Methodist Church Sunday School. When she was 12 years old, Anna overheard her mother telling her class that there should be a day to honour mothers for "the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life." When her mother died on May 9, 1905, Anna decided to dedicate her life to fulfilling her late mothers wishes, eventually launching 'Mothers Day'. Katharine Lane Antolini is associate professor of American history at West Virginia Wesleyan College and the author of Memorializing Motherhood: Anna Jarvis and the Struggle for Control of Mothers Day. "Being the founder of Mothers Day was an essential part of her identity, and she was a minor celebrity because of it while she lived," she explains. Jarvis picked the Sunday closest to the date of her mothers death and chose her mothers favourite flower, a white carnation, as the emblem for the day as it signified what she called "the truth, purity, and broad charity of mother love." Anna Jarvis's own devotion to her own mother resulted in the global observance of Mother's Day. (Getty Images) (Bettmann via Getty Images) Like Thanksgiving Day, she also encouraged sons and daughters to visit their mothers on the day and, if they couldnt, to write letters, just as she had to her mother when they lived apart. She also called it 'Mothers Day' (as a possessive singular) rather than the 'Mothers Day' (possessive plural) and she used the motto "For the Best Mother who Ever LivedYour Mother." The first Mothers Day was held on May 10, 1908, three years after her mothers death, when a memorial service to honour her mother and mothers everywhere was held at the Andrew Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. While Jarvis herself wasnt there, she did send a telegram and arranged for five hundred white carnations to be delivered to the attendees. What made Anna Jarviss determination to get Mothers Day recognised more remarkable was that she never married and never had any children of her own. In fact, her older brother was the only one of 13 siblings in her family to ever have any children. She repeatedly stressed that she saw Mothers Day, not from the viewpoint of a mother but from that of a child and that it was always intended to be that way. In 1910, West Virginia designated Mothers Day a state holiday, and within two years, most other states followed suit. But when President Woodrow Wilson officially recognised Mothers Day as a national day of observance in 1914, Jarviss idea soon span out of control as commercial interests saw the huge potential of another money-spinning celebration. Jarvis intended for Mother's Day to be a day for children to honour their mums. Not a spending spree. (Getty Images) (FG Trade via Getty Images) Shop the book Soon, you could not buy a white carnation on Mothers Day because of the overwhelming demand and by 1920 Jarvis was urging people to refrain from buying flowers for the day. "Commercial industries quickly recognised the marketability of Jarvis sentimental celebration of motherhood," says Katharine Lane Antolini. "She never intended for the observance to become what she called the 'burdensome, wasteful, expensive gift-day" as other holidays had become by the early 20th century." Jarviss efforts to retain and restore the original ethos of Mothers Day would dominate her life. Having copyrighted the name and established the Mothers Day International Association, she spent almost every penny of the inheritance left by her father, Granville, and her brother, Claude, fighting those people and companies who were exploiting her idea for commercial benefit. At one point in 1944, Newsweek reported that she had 33 lawsuits pending against those people and companies who were exploiting Mothers Day and she even turned down lucrative deals with the floristry industry on principle. By then, however, Jarvis was in a sanatorium in West Chester, Pennsylvania where her medical bills, its said, were paid by donations from the floristry and greetings card industries. She died, from heart failure, in November 1948, aged 84, and one of the last things she did was to start a petition for the idea of Mothers Day to be scrapped entirely. Despite her efforts to keep it true to the vision she had, the commercial juggernaut that was Mothers Day was now unstoppable. "A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world," she once said. "And candy! You take a box to Motherand then eat most of it yourself." And today, Mothers Day is very big business. According to Mintel UK Mothers Day Market Report, as a nation we will spend an estimated 1.6 billion on our beloved mums, whether thats on flowers, chocolates, jewellery or dinner in a restaurant. In the United States, meanwhile, they spend over $33 billion, according to the National Federation of Retailers. And that, explains Katharine Lane Antolini, would infuriate Anna Jarvis. Anna would be happy that the day is still celebrated but she would resent the commercialisation, just as she did during her lifetime, she says. Yet that would not be her greatest bugbear about how we celebrate Mothers Day today. "What would bother her more is that no one remembers her name," she adds. "Being the founder of Mothers Day was an essential part of her identity but most people now believe Hallmark founded the holiday, not her. "Such a statement would go right through her today." Read more about Mother's Day: A Bill that would take failing water companies back into public ownership offers a route out of Britains water crisis, according to the MP behind the proposals. Clive Lewis said his Water Bill would mean any firms in England and Wales that have three major sewage spills would have their licence terminated and be nationalised, without owners getting compensation. The private members bill would also compel the Government to ensure water is affordable, with the provision of free water where appropriate. In a passionate speech introducing the Bill in the Commons, Mr Lewis (Norwich South) criticised the legacy of private ownership and said his reforms would send failing owners into the sunset without a penny in compensation. The Labour MP said: Under the Bill, if a water company breaches the terms of its licence with a major sewage discharge it can forget shareholder payouts and piling on more debt. Do it twice and youre in the last chance saloon. Three strikes and youre out. Licence terminated, on your bike, and those price gouging, asset stripping, river killing, vulture capitalist outfits, theyll be rolled into the sunset without a penny in compensation. Oh and those water infrastructure theyve been sweating for private gain, back into the public realm thank you very much. Mr Lewis was critical of Margaret Thatchers privatisation, telling MPs: Thatcherisms shadow looms dark over our water system today. However, he added: Yet whether we see ourselves standing on her shoulders or trapped in her shadow, one thing is undeniable. She proved that wealth can be made differently, and if it can be made differently once it can be made differently again. Water companies have faced in increased pressure in recent years, amid increased awareness of pollution being discharged into rivers and seas at the same time as a lack of investment in infrastructure by bosses. Bills have increased for many consumers as companies scramble for extra funds to pay for improvements. Less than a fortnight ago Thames Water cleared the latest hurdle in getting a 3 billion rescue loan, which will allow it to operate for another year and restructure its debt of at least 16 billion. That money from Thames Water, that half a billion in interest payments, it will keep a rotten system afloat for just a little longer, Mr Lewis said. He added: Heres the great irony. The very greed, recklessness and contempt of the water industry, their excesses have cracked open the door and through that crack, we glimpse an opportunity. He was critical of the Governments Water (Special Measures) Bill, saying it had been diluted and did not go far enough. Under the Governments Bill, which was given Royal Assent in February, company bosses could face up to two years in jail if they obstruct investigations and regulators will have strengthened powers to ban bonuses if environmental standards are not met. He quoted Environment Secretary Steve Reed: One of its leading proponents has a particular rhetorical flourish they love to use when dismissing calls for public ownership. They would say Im more interested in the purity of our water, than the purity of our ideology. I love this quote, I love it because it lays bare just how deeply the ideology of privatisation has embedded itself. So entrenched is it within our collective consciousness that we no longer recognise it as an ideology. We no longer see it for what it is, a systemic exploitation of a common resource for private gain. He went on to tell MPs renationalisation was popular, and that neither the Government nor the Conservative Party supporting it only increased public disillusionment with politics. His Bill, which is being given its second reading in the Commons, would also mean the Government would have to publish a water strategy, establish a commission that would examine water ownership and value for money, and set up a citizens assembly on water ownership. It doesnt live up to what was promised, and unfortunately it doesnt live up to what is needed. It certainly, Im afraid, live up to its name. Its a start, but its not a solution, he said. He later said: And as the desert-dwelling Fremen in James Herberts novel Dune believed, a mans flesh is his own, but the water belongs to the tribe. Its time our water returned to the tribe, to the people, to the public. We can do better. We must, and with this Bill we will. Labour former minister Dame Meg Hillier said: The nationalisation argument sounds appealing to many on the face of it, but there is a cost, and its not a hidden cost. Its a cost to those people who have bought shares in good faith, those pension funds that are investing, and there is a cost and upheaval to turning around an organisation. Where would you get the people to run a nationalised water company? It would probably be likely to be the same executives, if they were to take the pay cut, to do it. There isnt a wealth of expertise. The MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch also criticised the Bills proposal to establish a citizens assembly on water ownership, saying only a certain subset of society would have the time to participate. Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) said water, which is an absolutely essential and basic need, should be completely in public hands. He told MPs: Privatised water companies do not have their top line of conserving the natural world, the environment. They have as their top line, their middle line, their bottom line, their every line, the profits they can take out of it. We are subsidising tax havens all over the world on the back of our polluted and privatised water industry. Carrying on: Mumford and Sons - Mumford and Sons Following a winning streak of three consecutive US chart-topping albums (and two in the UK), Marcus Mumfords folk-rock giants sit only behind Coldplay as Britains biggest post-millennial band. Its been seven long years since their last outing: in the interim, country & western has helpfully come back into fashion, but that aside theres sufficient ammo on this fifth long-player to keep their band up top. Often cast as posh lads without the cares that affect us lesser mortals, Mumford & Sons have latterly suffered a minor mid-life crisis. In his lyrics for 2018s Delta, their California-born leader appeared to be battling depression, and that was before the strange mid-pandemic resignation of banjo player Winston Marshall after endorsing a book which critiqued a far-Left protest organisation (and which saw him accused of promoting the far Right), Marshall left under a cloud. In the aftermath of a public severance, its all too tempting to read those songs transmitting fury, accusation or regret as a direct comment. Certainly, Where It Belongs would potentially qualify: Are you really gone? Everybody keeps asking, runs the opening couplet, against funereal piano chords and acoustic guitar picking, before this withering message: When you speak, do you think you could do it kindly?...And let your anger go to hell/Where it belongs? This downbeat and rather bitter broadside holds a dominant place in Rushmere. The album also begins in a forlorn mood of defeat: In all my doubt/In all my weakness/Can you lead? purrs the usually foghorn-voiced stadium belter in the first moments of Malibu. This, though, is an anthem of the Mumfords post-Marshall rebuilding, and as Marcus sings more robustly about feeling the spirit move in me again, keyboardist Ben Lovett and bassist Ted Dwane chime in with rousing Crosby, Stills & Nash-style harmonies, before the tension bursts into the sort of shimmering feel-good chorus with which U2 and, yes, Coldplay fill the biggest arenas. Rushmere, the album, is named after a lake on Wimbledon Common, where Mumford, Lovett, Dwayne (and, presumably, Marshall) would hang out as kids (and across the road from which was Kings College School, attended by Lovett and Mumford). The title track urges a reconnection with those days foundational dreams, to a fittingly expansive chorus: Dont you miss the breathlessness, the wildness in the eye, sings Mumford, and beseeches his cohorts to light me up, Im wasted in the dark again, to put Deltas black dog behind him. Now 38, and married to British actor Carey Mulligan since 2012 (three kids and counting), Mumford is possessed of that all-pleasing gene which drives superhero rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Bono. Hed never let even an M&S record drag, so upbeat bangers arrive to balance out the downs chest-beating, country-rocker Caroline veritably screams FM radio, while Truth channels all the rootsy oomph of Led Zeppelin III. Textured with synthy atmospherics more than old-time banjos, Rushmere was recorded with Grammy-laden Americana producer Dave Cobb, mostly in Nashvilles fabled RCA Studio A, where he cut multi-platinum blockbusters with Kentucky star Chris Stapleton. Clearly, he has the knack for making an epic-scale, ultra-modern production feel intimate and enticing. Folky stand-outs like Monochrome cast a warm glow, and Carry On concludes with the expertly poignant wordplay and emotive refrain which will surely have Anglo-American audiences weeping. Five albums in, the Mumfords will, indeed, carry on. Best New Songs By Poppie Platt Ariana Grande, Twilight Zone Every pop star worth their salt has jumped on the deluxe album bandwagon Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and now Ariana Grande, fresh from touring the world on the Wicked-hype train, joins in the fun. This fun, flirty addition to last years terrific Eternal Sunshine is an electro-drenched love song posing as the perfect vehicle for her unparalleled vocals, every breathy note disarmingly powerful. Dua Lipa and Troye Sivan, Physical Five years since lockdown means five years since Dua Lipas chart-topping dancefloor (or, back then, bedroom) filler, Future Nostalgia. This bonus anniversary edition of smash-hit single Physical recruits pal and pop maverick Troye Sivan to inject some freshness. Jack Garratt, Catherine Wheel The former Brits Critics Choice Award winner is back with new music for the first time in five years and Catherine Wheel marks an exciting new direction: emotionally raw, soul-baring, but still hinging on catchy hooks and Mumford and Sons-esque thumping bass and choral backing. St Vincent, DOA St Vincent (Annie Clark) is one of the most singular voices in American indie-rock endlessly inventive, always evolving. Her set at Glastonbury later this summer promises to be a highlight, so to prepare yourself check out this pulsating, synth-laden banger that should get the crowds at Worthy Farm dancing all night long. The US president privately cherishes the work of British artist Nadey Hakim Donald Trump may have had a bust-up with one British artist, but has been drawn to another. The US president took issue with a portrait created by English painter Sarah Boardman. He demanded the removal of the artwork from the Colorado capitol building, branding it truly the worst attempt to capture his likeness. However, it has emerged the president privately cherishes another British artist, whose work has been given pride of place. Nadey Hakim sculpted a bronze bust of Mr Trump that the president has hailed as incredible. Mr Hakims bronze bust of Mr Trump has been given pride of place at the presidents Florida home Mr Hakim, 66, is a Harley Street transplant surgeon with a passion for sculpture, who has depicted leaders from Boris Johnson to Pope Francis. He so impressed Mr Trump with his bronze work that he was officially invited to the inauguration in Washington in January. Far from being banished from the presidents sight like the offending portrait, the 50cm-tall sculpture created in 2020 now stands in Mr Trumps Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago. What did Mr Hakim do so right that he earned the praise of Mr Trump? He explained that he created a sculpture with a proud presidential air of dignified authority and timeless gravitas. The piece, he told The Telegraph, has a sense of leadership and confidence eyes that seem to gaze into the future and a slightly raised chin that suggests both resolve and pride. Ms Boardman, the recent target of Mr Trumps ire, said her vilified portrait in oils shows the president as serious, thoughtful, non-confrontational. Donald Trump decried his portrait by Sarah Boardman Mr Trump panned the portrait on his social media site Truth Social on March 23, writing that it was a purposely distorted image, and that Ms Boardman had lost her talent as she got older. The Republican administration requested that Colorados Democratic leaders take down the portrait, which was commissioned during Mr Trumps first term in office in 2018. While the row with Ms Boardman has been aired in public, Mr Trumps appreciation of Mr Hakim has been private, and began when the surgeon offered him a bronze bust in 2020. Mr Trumps team invited Mr Hakim to the White House to present the piece, the sculptor said, but Covid complications got in the way. However, a letter signed by Mr Trump said the piece was an incredible sculpture and proof of endless talent, with the president adding: I am honoured that you would spend so much time on my behalf on such a meaningful gift. The letter added that should there be an opportunity to meet, arrangements would be made. Ahead of the 2025 inauguration ceremony, Mr Hakim said he received an official invitation and attended the celebration at the Capital One arena alongside Maga faithful. Mr Hakim has delighted a number of world leaders with his sculptures, including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whose likeness he captured in a 2018 piece. He has also created sculptures of Rishi Sunak, Vladimir Putin and the late Queen. Mr Hakim, born in Britain to Lebanese parents, said he was not drawn to the powerful per se, but had to appreciate a face artistically in order to attempt it. However, he said he did like Mr Trump, and believed the president to be the type of person, either he likes somebody or he doesnt like somebody its black or white. There is still some debate over the future of the presidential likeness in Colorado. Jarrett Freedman, the Colorado House Democrats spokesman, said: If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the capitol, then thats up to them. The Metals Company has been exploring the seabed in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an area of the Pacific Ocean that is rich in metals but also many newly discovered species. Photograph: TMC A Canadian deep-sea mining firm has revealed it has been negotiating with the Trump administration to bypass a UN treaty and potentially gain authorisation from the US to mine in international waters. The revelation has stunned environmentalists, who condemned the move as reckless and a slap in the face for multilateralism. It comes at a time when calls for a pause in deep-sea mining are intensifying. More than 30 governments are calling for a moratorium, arguing that there is not enough data for exploitation of the seabed to go ahead, and scientists have warned industrial mining could cause irreversible loss of biodiversity. In a statement on its website on Thursday, Gerard Barron, chief executive of The Metals Company (TMC), said: We believe we have sufficient knowledge to get started and prove we can manage environmental risks. What we need is a regulator with a robust regulatory regime, and who is willing to give our application a fair hearing. Thats why weve formally initiated the process of applying for licences and permits under the existing US seabed mining code. Leticia Carvalho, the secretary general of the International Seabed Authority, a UN body set up to govern deep sea mining, has expressed deep concern over TMCs announcement. At a meeting of delegates on Friday, Carvalho said: All exploration and exploitation activities in the Area must be carried out under the Authoritys control. Any unilateral action would constitute a violation of international law and directly undermine the fundamental principles of multilateralism, the peaceful use of the oceans and the collective governance framework set up under the treaty. Countries have been meeting in Jamaica this week at the UN-affiliated International Seabed Authority (ISA) to decide rules governing the extraction of metals such as copper and cobalt from the seabed. They also discussed actions to take if a mining application was submitted before regulations were set. The ISA council has said no application should be considered before its rules are finalised, which is a long way off. The Metals Company said it had initiated a process under the US Department of Commerce to apply for exploration and permits to extract minerals from the ocean floor. It plans to apply under the 1980 Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act instead of the ISA, and is moving forward with urgency. TMC has already carried out extensive exploratory work in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an area of the Pacific Ocean seabed between Mexico and Hawaii that is rich in polymetallic nodules but also a wealth of newly discovered species. The ISA, established in 1994 under a treaty ratified by 169 member states plus the EU, has jurisdiction over mining in international waters and decides how extraction should proceed. However, the US has never ratified the treaty. Related: Deep-sea mining: why is interest growing and what are the risks? Louisa Casson, a campaigner for Greenpeace International, said: This announcement is a slap in the face to international cooperation, adding that it was an insult to multilateralism. Duncan Currie, legal adviser for the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, said: TMC appears to want to pivot from seabed mining without regulations to seabed mining entirely outside of all international frameworks. A moratorium is needed to prevent this kind of international conflict, discord and chaos. Georgina Maria Guillen Grillo, a representative from Costa Rica at the ISA talks, told the New York Times: This seems a totally improper move by the Metals Company. London Museum The London Museum has urged staff to address the problem of whiteness as part of a diversity drive. Employees have been requested to tackle concepts such as hierarchical working under a long-term push for greater inclusion. The publicly funded museum dedicated to the history of London has created a pamphlet to help staff to challenge embedded whiteness in the workplace. It has told staff that whiteness is defined by ideas, ways of working and normative values that can support, directly or indirectly, the continuation of racial inequalities and a lack or racial diversity in institutions. To tackle these ideas the museum has produced a tool for culture change, part of its equity, diversity and inclusion strategy that aims to make the attraction become genuinely anti-racist. This tool, a pamphlet for staff, states that the museums culture and ways of working support institutional forms of racism and needs to change. It consists of a series of questions which staff should ask themselves in order to work differently and in a way that will challenge inequity. The pamphlet forms part of the museums strategy to become genuinely anti-racist The prompts to challenge whiteness include asking whether they can promote less hierarchical working, and whether they encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work. Others include how am I contributing to advancing race equity in my daily work? and how will I know I am nurturing a safe space for everyone?. A key question includes: Am I making space and time for important conversations about race equity? How are we continuing to challenge embedded whiteness? The term whiteness is used by critical race theorists to refer to the values of white society. It is argued that the actions of white people are taken for granted as the norm, and that this excludes or belittles the cultures of other races. The tool for culture change pamphlet given to museum employees Concepts such as punctuality and hard work have been suggested by some US institutions to be white values which exclude others. The London Museum, under the directorship of Sharon Ament since 2012, was rebranded from the Museum of London in 2024. The museum was based in the City, but will be moving its main location to Smithfield Market. Its tool for culture change was first produced in 2023 to support the museums plans to become more anti-racist, particularly after Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. After these protests, a statue of slave owner Robert Milligan was removed from outside the London Museum Docklands site. Leaders said the statue was part of the ongoing problematic regime of whitewashing history and the piece was put into storage before being added to the museum collection for reinterpretation. The statue of slave owner Robert Milligan was removed from outside the museum in 2020 - John Sibley In 2023, Dr Rebecca Redfern, a curator at the museum, produced research suggesting that racism in mediaeval England may have contributed to black people dying of bubonic plague. A paper put forward the theory that misogynoir, prejudice against black women, created a risk of death by plague in 14th-century London. The London Museum has committed to ensuring that its research output will touch on the issues of diversity affecting our society, our collection and our own organisation. The museum has been contacted for comment. Erin Giumba outside the court. She said she had got used to a luxurious lifestyle during her relationship with Ernest Siow An estate agent faces a 300,000 court bill after selling her multimillionaire ex-boyfriends Lamborghini. Erin Giumba, 28, a London estate agent, and Ernest Siow, 28, an international property tycoon, enjoyed a brief but intense relationship after meeting in a nightclub in Miami in 2022, a court heard. Within weeks Miss Giumba quit her job to constantly party and drive around London in a 260,000 Lamborghini Urus SUV, which her boyfriend bought and put in her name. The couple broke up in November 2022. Miss Giumba then sold the green and black supercar without telling him, and spent the money on holidays, clothes, clubs and alcohol, a judge heard. When her ex-boyfriend complained, she argued he had given her the 260,000 SUV as a present, prompting him to launch legal action. She now faces a 300,000 court bill after a judge found she had no right to sell the car. The Lamborghini Urus has four seats, unlike many other supercars - Champion News Judge Nicholas Parfitt found the Lamborghini was not Miss Giumbas, should have been used for his business and was part of their relationship. He ordered her to hand Mr Siow the 219,500 she was paid when she sold it in November 2022, plus interest and his lawyers bills totalling 60,000. She insisted she had no money. During the trial at Mayors and City County Court, London, the judge heard how high-flying Singapore national Mr Siow and Miss Giumba met while on holiday in Miami in April 2022. The relationship was brief but intense with Miss Giumba quitting her job and working part-time for Mr Siow in his international rent to rent property business. Mr Siow bought the Lamborghini in May 2022. He claimed it was for business use and registered to Miss Giumba only because he was not a UK resident. But after the relationship ended she sold the car, spent the money and moved back in with her mother in Hertfordshire. She had started working as a part-time estate agent again by February 2023. Miss Giumba said the Lamborghini, which she described as her dream car, had been a gift to her from Mr Siow who she claimed was planning to buy a McLaren for himself. I initiated the break-up but wanted to give it another go he was the one who then said no, she told the judge. He was very sweet when we saw each other the final time. He told me I could keep the gifts, including the car. He only asked that he could drive the car when he was in the UK a few times a year, and I agreed with that. Jonathan de Rohan, for Mr Siow, suggested she had exploited his generosity and kindness and sold his car from under his nose after they split, before changing her phone number. These are not the actions of a person who honestly believed the car to be their property, he said. We know that the vehicle was sold on Nov 24 2022, for 219,500. That was transferred into your bank account. What happened to it thereafter? Miss Giumba replied: I spent a lot of it on holidays, things that have no real value or investment. I was in a very deranged time of my life and I was just spending stupidly, as I had learnt from Ernest. Im not blaming him. I was just used to doing that. Ernest Siow said he wanted the car for when he was in London - Champion News Mr Siow denied planning to buy a McLaren and said he had chosen the Lamborghini Urus because it had seats in the back. I dont like supercars with two seats because I like to drive around with my friends and family, he said. His barrister said he accepted buying gifts for Miss Giumba but it had been a transient, international, inherently unstable relationship. It was never intended to be a gift to Miss Giumba, but was to be Mr Siows car for when he was in London, he said. Mr de Rohan said Miss Giumba had confused being registered keeper of a car with being its actual legal owner. Judge Parfitt said messages between the pair showed Mr Siow to be exercising dominion over the car. He added: Not telling him about the sale is consistent with her understanding that it hadnt been a gift to her. It was to be used for his business and was part of their relationship. He told Miss Giumba: When you sold the car that money shouldnt have gone to you. It should have gone to the claimant. He ordered that she pay Mr Siow the sale price of 219,500, plus two years and four months interest at 5 per cent, plus his legal bills of 60,000. Canal in London Labour is implementing stricter net zero measures on fishing boats, canal barges and pleasure craft, The Telegraph can reveal. Under the maritime decarbonisation strategy, boat owners will be forced to swap out diesel engines, petrol generators and wood-fired stoves for electric motors, batteries and extra shore power hookups. There will also be tax rises on marine fuel, with new boats required to be entirely electric. Maritime bosses branded the Governments plans completely and utterly impractical. Richard Gregson, the owner of Worcester-based Classic Yacht Brokerage, said: Its complete nonsense to have net zero on yachts. The technology for electric engines on small boats isnt really there. The amount of diesel a yacht burns in a year is negligible, and even if the diesel engines were replaced it would be offset by the making of electric batteries. Its not going to be easy Jerry Percy, the chief executive of the New Under Ten Fishermens Association, representing operators of craft less than 10 metres in length, said that adding emissions taxes to fuel for Britains fishing boats would destroy the industry overnight. At the moment we get a subsidy on diesel for fishing vessels; we pay less than you pay for it at the pumps. If they even remove that subsidy three quarters of the fleet would go bankrupt, he said. Speaking about proposals to force fishing boats to go electric, he added: Its going to take some persuasion for companies to build port infrastructure for what is a relatively small number of vessels I think we need to transition, but its not going to be easy. Peter Braybrook, the secretary of the National Association of Boat Owners, cautioned that replacing diesel engines and generators on canal boats would be impractical. The major problem is charging them on most canal boats, which are about seven foot wide and 60 foot long, he said. He added that the available space was not enough to install solar panels capable of charging boats for more than six hours operation. Mr Braybrook warned the net zero measures could trigger a wave of homelessness, as people who lived on canal boats because of the high cost of housing would be unable to afford an enforced switch to electric power. No way they could do it, said Mr Braybrook. Theyd be forced off the water, off their off-grid lifestyle, and probably into homelessness. The National Association of Boat Owners warned that many marinas and yards would struggle afford the installation costs of extra shore power points for electric boats. Lack of high-quality data It comes after the car industry spent 4.5 billion last year trying to comply with similar net zero policies that have been linked to factory closures and thousands of job losses. Ministers signalled that those plans would be watered down because of the problems caused. Ministers hope to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector in line with the highest end of the International Maritime Organisations targets of a 30 per cent reduction by 2030 achieving net zero by 2050. All ships and boats below 400 gross registered tons will have to comply with the measures. In the document, published the day before Rachel Reevess Spring Statement, the Government said: Due to the diversity of the fleet of vessels below 400 GT and the variable nature of their operations (both technically and commercially), it is likely that a range of different interventions will need to be implemented throughout the late 2020s and early 2030s to address their emissions and it is possible that in some instances, workable solutions may not be identified. Government statistics show international shipping accounted for just 6 per cent of Britains greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, the latest year for which data are available. Officials admitted that no accurate estimates for small vessels emissions were available in part due to the lack of high-quality data available on their operations. Punishing people and businesses Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, who during her time as business secretary introduced the automotive sectors zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, announced earlier this month that the target of reaching net zero by 2050 was impossible. Andrew Bowie MP, the Conservative shadow energy secretary, said: As Kemi Badenoch has said, net zero by 2050 is impossible. This is yet another example of Ed Miliband punishing people and businesses in the UK in pursuit of his eco zealotry. The Conservatives are under new leadership, and will tell the truth about net zero and always put our national interest first, he added. A Department for Transport spokesman said: Smaller vessels like canal boats will not face emissions pricing or fuel regulations, as our focus remains on larger ships. We are engaging with the sector to better understand the challenges that smaller vessels face and how we can support them to reduce emissions. The Government is committed to decarbonising the shipping industry as part of our mission to tackle climate change and establish the UK as a clean energy superpower. The British tourist pins down the knife suspect off Dam Square, kneeling on top of him A British tourist has been described as a hero and awarded a medal for bravery after he tackled a suspected knifeman to the ground in central Amsterdam, ending his rampage. In widely shared video footage, the Briton who has not been named is seen chasing a man suspected of stabbing five people on the Dutch capitals historic centre on Thursday. The tourist pinned the suspect down just off Dam Square, kneeling on top of him as he waited for police to arrive. On Friday, Femke Halsema, Amsterdams mayor, thanked the man for his actions and awarded him the citys heldenspeld which means heros badge for bravery at her official residence. He is a very modest British man, she told the Amsterdam news channel AT5. He has no desire to become famous. He is now mainly concerned with the victims, he feels responsible for them. She said the tourist had shown great instinct by overpowering the suspect moments after he had stabbed the fifth victim. This man made a decision in a split second, which is truly exceptional and for which there should be a lot of appreciation, she added. All five victims are in a stable condition, say police - Inter Visual Studio/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Four of the victims were foreign nationals two Americans, a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man, a 26-year-old Polish man and a 73-year-old Belgian woman. The fifth victim was a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam. Ms Halsema said all the victims were in a stable condition, adding: Everything is being done to determine the identity of the perpetrator. An Amsterdam police spokesman told the Dutch news outlet AD the heroic British man did a great job performing a rare citizens arrest. Were very proud of him, but we also want to point out that you need to be very careful if you want to make a citizens arrest. Most people are not trained for this sort of thing, he added. Maarten Brink, a police spokesman, wrote on X: A big thumbs up for the decisive action of this hero, alongside dozens of comments calling for the Briton to be made an honorary Amsterdammer. The stabbings, which started around 3.30pm local time, took place in various locations in the tourist-packed city centre. Witnesses reported that the attacker was running through the cobbled streets towards Dam Square, stabbing at people as he went. A female victim, believed to be the 19-year-old, was reportedly seen with a 4-inch knife sticking out of her back. The suspect was knocked down and restrained by the British tourist on Nieuwendijk, just off the square, outside a burger restaurant, where a crowd of customers can be seen surrounding him in the footage. Police appeared and arrested the suspect, who was then taken to hospital to be treated for a leg injury. Police at the scene near Dam Square - Simon Lenskens/AFP via Getty Police said that the motive was still unknown and under investigation, but that they believed he had targeted his victims at random. Police sources told De Telegraaf the suspect had been using a false identity, which had complicated the investigation. A hotel in the city centre, where the man had been staying since Wednesday, was searched after his arrest. Liam Matthews was convicted of the manslaughter of father-of-one Lewis Bell - Cleveland Police A prisoner who was freed as part of Sir Keir Starmers controversial prison scheme killed someone on the same day he was released. Liam Matthews, 26, left HMP Holme House in Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, just hours before the brutal knife attack. Father-of-one Lewis Bell, 26, was hunted down like prey by Matthews, Ashton White, 18, and Sean McLeod, 23, over a drug dispute, a court heard. After a trial at Teesside Crown Court, Matthews and White were convicted of his manslaughter, and McLeod of his murder. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has since insisted it had no choice but to implement the emergency early release programme. In June last year, Matthews was jailed for 22 months at the same court for violent disorder after kicking and stamping on his victim in a street fight. However, he was released early as part of Labours plan to free up space amid a boom in prison population during the first month of the emergency measures. After his release on the morning of Sept 18, Matthews was involved in the fatal knife attack, which resulted in Mr Bell being left to die in the street. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: This tragic death was preventable. Prisoners sentenced for violent offences obviously shouldnt be let out early. The Justice Secretarys plans to let out more serious offenders are a very real risk to the public. She must think again. Instead, the Government need to deport more foreign nationals offenders clogging up cells and reduce the remand population in prison by speeding up trials. Lewis Bell, 26, was left to die on the street after a brutal knife attack An MoJ spokesman said: Our thoughts today are with the family and friends of Lewis Bell. This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. Had that happened, the police would have been forced to stop making arrests, and the public would have been put at unconscionable risk. We had no choice but to introduce an emergency early release programme. We did so with protections in place, including exclusions for those serving for serious violent crimes. The MoJ said the case would be investigated fully as a serious further offence. Killed in the most brutal and heartless way In a statement released after their conviction, Mr Bells family said they were devastated to have lost a much-loved father, son, brother and uncle. Lewis was killed in the most brutal and heartless way, they added. We hold all three males convicted responsible for his murder despite the convictions of two of them for manslaughter. We hope that the convictions of his killers today would bring some form of closure, however we will never get over the loss of our Lewis and we now must re-build our lives without him. We will miss and love him every day. The three men will be sentenced on June 19, alongside Macauley Wright, 26, who was convicted of assisting an offender. Initial hours of freedom The court heard during his initial hours of freedom he met with his probation officer and attended a job centre appointment before going to the pub. He then used his 96 prison release grant to help fund his purchase of drugs and spent the rest of the day taking crack cocaine. Matthews then joined in the violent attack on Mr Bell, wielding a chisel before stamping on him as he lay there. Det Ch Insp David Glass, Cleveland Polices senior investigating officer, said: Lewis Bell did not deserve to die. This was a pre-planned, sustained attack by a gang who chased him down with weapons in the street. They inflicted a number of stab wounds, one of which was fatal, and they left him to die. The death of Lewis has had a huge impact on his family, and Id like to thank them for their support throughout this complex investigation. While todays outcome wont bring Lewis back, I do hope that it provides them with some form of comfort. This week, a new 400 million super-prison where inmates will be able to choose the names of their cell blocks opened. HMP Millsike, in North Yorkshire, will take its first 200 prisoners next month, before expanding to 1,468 inmates. It aims to introduce reforms to short sentences, which would see lower-level offenders punished in the community rather than in jail in a bid to ease prison overcrowding. Figures from the MoJ released in January showed the number of ex-prisoners recalled to jail had increased by more than 40 per cent after the early release of thousands. Despite the launch of the controversial scheme, internal forecasts predict prisons will be back at full capacity within a year. As a result, jails in England and Wales will be full by early 2026 and short of 5,400 spaces by November 2027, according to the data provided to the Commons public accounts committee. Parents are being warned by police and schools about a sinister emoji code used by incel teenagers in the wake of Netflix hit Adolescence. Forces and teachers across Britain have issued parents with a periodic table of sinister emojis said to be used by under-18s to surreptitiously discuss violence, sex and extremism. The plot of Adolescence involves the use of emojis by children to spread hidden messages about toxic masculinity and misogyny. But critics have said the guide reflects a moral panic that has gripped the country following the airing of the television programme. The emoji code, produced by education charity For Working Parents, outlines 60 symbols used to talk about drugs, violence, sex, self-harm, extremism and incels, meaning involuntary celibates. These include a hedgehog, which denotes neo-Nazi, a pill, meaning incel, and the OK hand gesture, said to refer to the far-Right. Other symbols are a dragon for heroin, a ghost for anti-woman and the Devil for lust. For Working Parents, which aims to create inclusive communities, said schools in the South West, London, the Midlands and the North of England were telling parents about the so-called emoji code. Sharing this brilliant resource Merseyside Police shared the table with schools and parents across the region earlier this week, according to the Liverpool Echo. South Wirral High School in Eastham, Cheshire, said emojis arent always as innocent as they seem as it publicised the code. It said: Were sharing this brilliant resource from For Working Parents a periodic table of sinister emojis, showing how some emojis are used to hide worrying messages. Hailsham Community College, in East Sussex, told parents that Adolescence featured dark emojis that every parent should know. It said: The programme had shone a light on how emojis can, in some instances, be used as a coded language with a more sinister meaning. Cllr Simon Minas-Bound, of Basingstoke and Deane borough council, said the table helps parents understand what your child might really be saying. Owen Cooper has won huge praise for his role as the troubled 13-year-old accused of murder in Adolescence Keeping up with your kids online conversations can feel like decoding a secret language, he said. Founder Amit Kalley said that parents have to be curious about the emojis their children use, even if they seldom have sinister meanings when used by most people. He said: The table I created is far from an exhaustive list, but I wanted to include emojis beyond incel and misogyny, because lots of young people are groomed online into drugs and violence and lots of young people are involved in dangerous sexual behaviours, which they can hide from parents by using emojis and acronyms. Emojis and acronyms change, so parents have to keep researching and keep asking the right questions. We need to normalise conversations about the online world with our children. Anti-male propaganda Mike Buchanan, founder of Justice for Men & Boys, said crimes by boys and young men were not being caused by emojis. This is a moral panic, he said. There is a boy crisis but of course due to gynocentrism the mainstream medias focus is on the impact on girls. Adolescence is a scandalous anti-male propaganda piece. Adolescence became the first streaming show to top the UKs weekly TV ratings last week with 6.45 million people in Britain watching it, according to Barb. It has been praised by Sir Keir Starmer and writer Jack Thorne has said he wants it shown in schools across the country. The Prime Minister said on Monday: Theres a reason why the debate has suddenly sparked into life. A lot of people who work with young people at school or elsewhere recognise that we may have a problem with boys and young men that we need to address. The emoji guide is not the first to be drawn up. In December 2022, Surrey Police said a secret world of emojis was being used by teenagers to refer to drugs and sex. Earlier tin March, Nottinghamshire Police issued a list of 52 codewords, hashtags and acronyms that children allegedly use to talk about sex, drugs and mental health conditions. Jason Rogers, 47, a teacher at Underwood School in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, is accused of stepping on the back of a sixth grader during a lockdown drill in February. Underwood School A sixth grade teacher in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, is facing charges of malicious punishment after he allegedly stood on the backs of three students during a lockdown drill in February. Jason Rogers, 47, a science teacher at Underwood School, is accused of stepping on three students during the Feb. 10 drill, according to the Tri-City Herald, which obtained a criminal complaint filed earlier this month. Rogers, who told investigators he weighs more than 350 pounds, said in the court documents that some students werent taking the drill seriously and were lying on their stomachs instead of sitting down. Rogers told the students he could step on them, and then intentionally stepped on one of the students, authorities said. (The child) did not know why Defendant did this because he did not hear him say anything about it and just stepped on him like he was a stepping stool, according to the complaint. He stated the entire class saw it and thought Defendant had broken (the boys) back. After the student could be heard audibly groaning, Rogers told investigators that he asked the boy if he was OK. Rogers said he was concerned about the student after he missed classes for the rest of the week, according to the Tri-City Herald. When detectives questioned Rogers about the accusations, he admitted to placing his foot on the lower back of one of the students and stepping on him. Rogers said he couldnt remember if he used one foot or two on the boy but also admitted to stepping on two other students, the complaint noted. Although the victim is described as healthy, his mother told authorities that, as a result of Rogers action, her son walked around like an 80-year-old from the pain in his back after the incident. Rogers was charged with one count of malicious punishment, a gross misdemeanor, and is due in court on April 8. He has been placed on administrative leave, according to Underwood School District Superintendent Jeff Wilson. Related... The death toll from a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar jumped to more than 1,600 on Saturday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of the scores of buildings that collapsed when it struck near the country's second-largest city. As the search for survivors stretches into a second night, friends and family wait anxiously for any news of their loved ones. Citing the countrys military junta, AFP reported a total of 1,644 people have now been confirmed dead as a result of the earthquake, while 3,408 people have been injured and 139 are still missing. The countrys military-led government warned the numbers could continue to rise, adding: Detailed figures are still being collected. The UK Foreign Office has said it will send a package of up to 10 million to support people in Myanmar. Commenting on the package, Baroness Chapman, the development minister, said: "The UK is sending immediate and life-saving support to the people of Myanmar following the devastating earthquake. "UK-funded local partners are already mobilising a humanitarian response on the ground, and this 10 million package will bolster their efforts. "I offer my deepest sympathies to the people of Myanmar after this tragic event." Myanmar is in the midst of a prolonged and bloody civil war, already responsible for a massive humanitarian crisis. It has made movement around the country both difficult and dangerous, complicating relief efforts and raising fears the death toll could climb dramatically. The moment the high rise building under construction collapsed (Supplied) The earthquake struck on Friday afternoon, with an epicentre not far from Mandalay, followed by several aftershocks including one measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude. The tremors sent buildings toppling, buckled roads, caused bridges to collapse and burst a dam. In neighbouring Thailand, the quake was felt across the greater Bangkok area home to around 17 million people and other parts of the country. Latest official figures suggest that 11 people have died in Bangkok, 32 are injured and 83 missing, mostly from a collapsed construction site near the capital's popular Chatuchak market, but Fire and Rescue Thailand have posted on Facebook saying another body has been recovered from the collapsed building in the capital. When the quake hit, a 33-storey high-rise under construction by a Chinese firm for the Thai government wobbled before crashing to the ground in a massive plume of dust, sending people screaming and fleeing. On Saturday, more heavy equipment was brought in to shift the rubble, but hope was fading among families waiting for news of missing loved ones. See also: Everything we know so far about the catastrophic earthquake Damaged caused by the earthquake in Myanmar (AP) "I was praying they had survived, but when I got here and saw the ruin where could they be? In which corner? Are they still alive? I am still praying that all six are alive," said 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek, sobbing as she waited for news about her partner, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who were working at the site. "I cannot accept this. When I see this, I cant accept this. A close friend of mine is in there, too," she added. Waenphet Panta said she hadnt heard from her daughter Kanlayanee since a phone call about an hour before the quake. A friend told her Kanlayanee had been working high up on the building on Friday. "I am praying my daughter is safe, that she has survived and that she's at the hospital," she said, her husband sitting quietly beside her. Earthquakes are rare in Bangkok, but relatively common in Myanmar. The country sits along the Sagaing Fault, a major northsouth fault line separating the India plate and the Sunda plate. Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey, said it appears a 200-kilometre section of the fault ruptured for just over a minute, with a slip of up to five metres in places, causing intense ground shaking in areas with vulnerable infrastructure. "When you have a large earthquake in an area where there are over a million people, many of them living in vulnerable buildings, the consequences can often be disastrous," he said in a statement. "From initial reports, that seems likely to be the case here." The Myanmar government said blood donations are in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where previous governments have been slow to accept international aid, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was now open to outside assistance. Myanmars military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and is now engaged in a brutal civil war with long-standing militias and newly formed pro-democracy groups. Government forces have lost control of much of the country, and many areas are too dangerous or inaccessible for aid groups. More than three million people have been displaced by fighting, and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations. "Although a full picture of the damage is still emerging, most of us have never seen such destruction," said Haider Yaqub, Myanmar country director for Plan International, speaking from Yangon. "Without a doubt, the humanitarian needs will be significant." 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Southeast Asia, mainly impacting Myanmar and Thailand. pic.twitter.com/hIEgS2w712 Pop Base (@PopBase) March 28, 2025 See also: What are the biggest earthquakes in history? China and Russia two of the Myanmar militarys main arms suppliers were among the first to send aid. A 37-member team from Chinas Yunnan province arrived in Yangon early Saturday with drones, earthquake detectors, and other supplies, according to the Xinhua news agency. Russias emergencies ministry sent two planes with 120 rescuers and humanitarian aid, state media reported. India also dispatched a search and rescue team, a medical team, and emergency provisions. Malaysia said it would send 50 responders on Sunday, while South Korea announced $2 million in humanitarian aid via international organisations and said it was monitoring the situation closely. The United Nations has allocated $5 million to kick-start relief efforts. Former US President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States would also help though some experts questioned the scope of that assistance, given his administration's significant cuts to foreign aid. USAID cuts under Trumps leadership have already forced the UN and NGOs to scale back several programmes in Myanmar. Bangkok city hall says Thailand's capital has been declared a disaster area. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. Alarms went off in buildings as the quake hit around 1.30pm and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of apartment blocks and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok. They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the earthquake. Paul Vincent, who is visiting Thailand from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse, he said. 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Southeast Asia, mainly impacting Myanmar and Thailand. pic.twitter.com/hIEgS2w712 Pop Base (@PopBase) March 28, 2025 There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really." Fraser Morton, from Scotland, was in one of Bangkok's malls shopping for camera equipment when he felt the ground shake. I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense, he recalled. All of a sudden the whole building began to move. Immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic. I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall." People remain in the streets on Bangkok, seeking shade from the midday sun (AP) Thailands Department of Disaster Prevention said the earthquake was felt in almost all regions of the country. In Myanmars capital Naypyidaw, the earthquake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes. Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC show the earthquake toppled the air traffic control tower at Myanmar's Naypyitaw International Airport. The photos taken on Saturday show the tower toppled over as if sheered from its base. Debris lay scattered from the top of the tower, which controlled all air traffic in the capital of Myanmar. It was not immediately clear if there had been any injuries in the collapse, though the tower would have had staff inside of it at the time of the earthquake on Friday. It likely also stopped air traffic into the international airport, given all electronics and radar would have been routed into the tower for controllers. A Buddhist monastery in Naypyitaw, Myanmar has been heavily damaged by the earthquake (AP) In the countrys Bago region, at least three people were killed after a mosque partially collapsed. Social media posts from Mandalay showed collapsed buildings and debris strewn across streets. Witnesses contacted in Yangon, Myanmars largest city with around five million people, said many people ran out from buildings. Further reports of damage were not immediately available from Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war ignited by the 2021 military coup. Earthquakes are more common in Myanmar, compared to Thailand. Between 1930 and 1956, there where six quakes of 7.0 magnitude near the Sagaing Fault, which runs though Myanmar. Peter Dutton is focussing on Australias housing woes and the cost of living for his campaign. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP The alternative prime minister boldly declared the 2025 federal election was a sliding doors moment for the nation. Peter Duttons budget reply speech on Thursday evening was filled with facts and figures to paint Labor as hopeless at managing Australias best interests. But how well do Duttons claims stack up? The worst collapse in living standards Perhaps the standout claim from the opposition leader on Thursday was that Australia had experienced the longest household recession and the worst collapse in living standards in our countrys history. On Friday morning he repeated: Australias had the biggest fall in living standards in the developed world. The economist Saul Eslake says the best single measure of living standards is real household disposable income per capita. That figure, derived from the national accounts, fell by about 10% between its somewhat inflated peak in September 2021 and June 2024. It is the largest fall in the history of the data stretching back to 1959, and worse than in comparable countries such as Canada, New Zealand and the US. But a significant proportion of that happened in the quarters under the former government, Eslake says. Housing and groceries Dutton made further claims about the cost of housing and domestic bills. Heres the facts of the Albanese governments economic record, he told parliament in his budget reply speech. Rents are up by 18% Housing is up by 14%. Groceries up by a staggering 30%. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, rents did rise by 18% between the March quarter in 2022 and December quarter in 2024. House prices have risen 6.5% nationally since May 2022, according to CoreLogic, and units 5.1%. On grocery prices, Dutton appears to have taken the 30% figure from a Daily Telegraph secret shopping study in March. The ABS puts the increase in food costs at about 14% with only fats and oils surpassing the 30% increase mark. Power bills Dutton said Australia has some of the highest power prices in the world. Specifically, that electricity was up by 32% this term despite Labor promising an average reduction of $275 per household, and that gas bills had increased by up to 43%. He blamed Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowens reckless renewables-only policy train wreck. Related: Nuclear curious? Heres what you need to know about the Coalitions energy claims Electricity and gas bills did rise significantly shortly after Labor was elected, but the experts say the hike was mostly not due to the rollout of solar and windfarms. It was largely due to a rise in fossil fuel prices after Russia invaded Ukraine, and to a quarter of the countrys coal plants being offline during winter. ABS stats show electricity bills have actually fallen 10% between the March 2022 quarter and the December 2024 quarter, largely due to a series of government subsidies. The ABS indicates power bills in the December quarter would have been almost 50% higher but for billions of dollars in federal and state government rebates. Gas prices are up by 31% in the 33-month period, according to the ABS. Experts have said it is very likely the rises would have happened whoever was in government. Its worth also noting Labors policy is not renewables only it is renewable energy backed by firming from batteries, pumped hydro and fast-start gas plants. Health Dutton claims bulk-billing availability has fallen by 11 percentage points, resulting in 41m fewer bulk-billing claims. On this governments watch, bulk billing nationally has fallen by 11%. Theres 41m fewer bulk-billing episodes with GP services under this government, and more than 270 GP practices have closed under this governments watch, he said. Australians should never have to choose between seeing a doctor or paying their bills. Related:Avoiding the doctor due to cost is at a 10-year high. Heres why GP bulk billing needs to change The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says the bulk-billing rate peaked in 2020 and 2021 at 89% after the Morrison government doubled the bulk-billing incentive for six months and required bulk-billing be applied to a number of services. In 2022 it fell back to 85% before dropping to 77% in 2023 and 78% for the first 10 months of 2024. Between 2021 and 2024 the fall was 11 percentage points, but that includes more than a year under the Morrison government. Is a flood of migrants driving up houses prices? Dutton claimed a million people came through Australias migration program in the Albanese governments first two years in government which, he said, amounted to 70% more migrants than in any two-year period in the countrys history. Analysis of the figures suggests thats broadly accurate, although the ABS migration figures stretch back only as far as 1981. The opposition leader also linked these figures to the cost of housing. Australians are generous and welcoming people, but they want migration to be sustainable and the government to be in control of it. Labor is neither in control of migration, nor has it kept migration at sustainable levels, and Australians know it, he said. High migration levels do have an effect on house prices, but its not the primary driver as Dutton has suggested. The population is no larger now than it was expected to be before the pandemic. In other words, an unusually large rise in housing costs has not been matched by an unusually large rise in the population. Dutton also said Labors housing policies had not delivered a single new home. Related: Peter Dutton keeps blaming migration for the housing crisis. But can it really be that simple? Its true that no new houses have been built from scratch under the $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund, although a number have been acquired or renovated to an acceptable living standard where they were not before. Under the $2bn Social Housing Accelerator, 402 social housing dwellings have been completed across the country, including some from scratch, but the majority have also been acquired and refurbished. A national gas emergency? Dutton said Labor had created a national gas emergency due to insufficient supply and as a result the country was facing blackouts and brownouts and energy rationing. He said the Coalition would create a gas reservation policy that would require gas companies to supply an extra 10-20% of gas locally, rather than export it. Australia does not have a gas emergency. The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) has said it expects an annual shortage in southern states from 2029 later than previously forecast unless more supply is found. Some steps are being taken to address it. Aemo proposed new production, new gas storage facilities and short-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. Analysts have suggested an additional option: doing more to cut gas demand by replacing it where possible with renewable electricity. The potential medium-term gas shortfall is not putting the national electricity grid at risk of blackouts and brownouts. Relatively little gas is used in the national grid supplying the eastern states it provided only 5.2% of generation in the past year and the reliability of the system has remained within the target band. When concern about potential shortages has been raised on particular days it has mostly been due to old coal plants being offline. Related: Peter Duttons new energy plan sounds like a gas. In reality it means more emissions and more profits for industry | Tim Buckley Aemo has suggested there could be reliability issues if all proposed new renewable generation is not built roughly within the proposed timeframe. Labor has taken steps to accelerate the rollout the Coalition has said it would slow it. Few details were available about the Coalitions gas reservation policy, but it is worth noting that its rationale that Australians are using more gas as claimed by the resources spokesperson, Susan McDonald is not backed by data. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis found gas demand in eastern Australia, not counting that used for LNG exports, had fallen 32% since peaking in 2012-13. Rewiring the Nation Dutton said the Coalition would end the reckless $20bn Rewiring the Nation Fund and stop the rollout of 28,000km of new transmission lines under Labor. That will be difficult as $16.75bn of the funding has already been allocated to the states and territories, including transmission links to the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project and Marinus Link to Tasmania, both of which have had Coalition support. Rather than 28,000km, Labor says it is planning about 10,000km of new or strengthened transmission lines, consistent with what Aemo calls a step change scenario in the grid. About 4,500km has to be built by 2030. The funding for Rewiring the Nation is not a direct cost on the federal budget. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation manages it as a series of loans issued at below market rates. The loans are designed make the government a profit. Ammunition As we enter the final round of the war in Ukraine there is a mist of claims and counter claims of battlefield progress, with a bevy of outrageous Russian demands thrown into the mix. It all points to the increasingly likely prospect of a ceasefire perhaps around Easter. As the deadline looms, both sides are in a desperate land grab in order to strengthen their hand at the negotiating table. For Ukraine, under pressure from President Trump, bargaining chips are few. Recently we have seen further incursions into Russia by Ukrainian troops, notably in the Belgorod region. This operation is smaller in scale than the massive incursion into Kursk last year but its making progress. With analysts trying to divine what we are seeing, this could be several things. The force is relatively small battle group size with dozens of US supplied Bradley armoured fighting vehicles giving it swift mobility. Seizing high ground and threatening several villages, the incursion is drawing Russian forces from elsewhere to contain it. This may be the aim. It may be, alternatively, to conduct a reconnaissance in force looking to find weak spots to exploit with heavier forces swiftly moved from elsewhere on the frontline. This is very much in the style of the old Soviet doctrine which is still in vogue with both the Russians and (to the frustration of Western military trainers and advisers) the Ukrainians. It may be quite simply a reflection of the fact that, as in a game of musical chairs, the music will stop, perhaps in the next month. When it does, you have what you hold. Speaking to some Ukrainian soldiers visiting the UK on a lecture tour last week, they tell me the manifestation of this on the Russian side is last gasp attempts, with human wave attacks. These assaults are initially led by the walking wounded, some on crutches, pushed forward to draw Ukrainian fire before the ramshackle main effort is thrown forward in reckless charges. This all indicates that both sides recognise that an end is near, with the Ukranians using the precious equipment sent from the West to gain ground and leverage and Putin throwing away what he sees as the useless mouths of the wounded in a last push ahead of some tough negotiations in the Stalinist style. For Putin, ammunition costs money, and the dead cost nothing. Colonel Tim Collins is a former British Army officer. He served in the SAS and as commander of the Royal Irish for the invasion of Iraq, on which occasion his before-battle speech to his soldiers made headlines around the world By Ronald Popeski (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Ukraine be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections and the signature of key accords to reach a settlement in the war, Russian news agencies reported early on Friday. Putin's comments, during a visit to the northern port of Murmansk, come amid U.S. attempts to forge a settlement to the conflict by re-establishing links with Russia and engaging with both Moscow and Kyiv, in separate talks. The Kremlin leader has been accused by Ukraine and European leaders of trying to prolong ceasefire talks without any serious intent of stopping fighting. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the sharpest confrontation for decades between Moscow and the West. Putin's suggestion of a temporary administration appeared to address his long-held complaint that Ukraine's authorities are not a legitimate negotiating partner as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has stayed in power beyond the May 2024 end of his mandate. "In principle, of course, a temporary administration could be introduced in Ukraine under the auspices of the U.N, the United States, European countries and our partners," Putin was quoted as saying in talks with seamen at the port. "This would be in order to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks with them about a peace treaty." He said Trump's efforts to proceed with direct talks with Russia - in contrast with his predecessor Joe Biden, who shunned contacts - showed the new president wanted peace. "In my opinion, the newly elected president of the United States sincerely wants an end to the conflict for a number of reasons," the agencies quoted him as saying. A White House National Security Council spokesperson, asked about Putin's remarks on temporary administration, said governance in Ukraine was determined by its constitution and the people of the country. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine Trump has said he wants to broker a swift end to the war but a series of talks has yet to yield a significant change in hostilities. The U.S. said on Tuesday it had signed separate agreements with Moscow and Kyiv for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, but Russia said subsequently that pact would only enter into force when further conditions were met, including the lifting of sanctions on a state bank. Moscow had previously rebuffed an American proposal for a broader 30-day ceasefire. EUROPE PLEDGES SUPPORT European leaders have pressed on with their own efforts, pledging after a meeting in Paris on Thursday to strengthen Kyiv's army to ensure it was the cornerstone of future security in Ukraine. France and Britain tried to expand support for a foreign "reassurance force" in the event of a truce with Russia, although Moscow rejects any presence of foreign troops in Ukraine. Zelenskiy has rejected any notion questioning his legitimacy, saying Ukraine is barred by law from holding elections under martial law and holding a poll in wartime conditions would in any case prove impossible. Zelenskiy has repeatedly accused Putin in recent days of wanting to press on with the conflict. The Trump administration has proposed a new, more expansive minerals deal with Ukraine, according to three people familiar with the ongoing negotiations and a summary of a draft proposal obtained by Reuters. Trump has said a minerals deal will help secure a peace agreement by giving the United States a financial stake in Ukraine's future. In his comments, Putin said Russia was steadily moving forward to achieving the goals it had set out in its Ukraine operation. Russia, Putin said, was in favour of "peaceful solutions to any conflict, including this one, through peaceful means, but not at our expense". "Throughout the entire line of military contact, our troops are holding the strategic initiative," he said. "We are gradually - perhaps not as quickly as some might like - but still persistently and with confidence moving towards achieving the goals set out at the beginning of this operation," the agencies quoted him as saying. More than three years after launching their full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces now hold about 20% of the country, with Moscow declaring four regions annexed. Its forces have also recovered much of the territory it initially lost in a Ukrainian incursion last August into its western Kursk region. Putin praised the efforts in seeking a solution from the BRICS grouping it promotes as an alternative to traditional alliances - singling out China and India for praise. He said Russia was ready to cooperate with many countries, including North Korea, to help end the war. Western and Ukrainian sources say more than 11,000 North Korean troops have been sent to bolster Russian forces in the Kursk region, although Moscow has not confirmed this. Putin said Russia was also ready to work with Europe, but adding that Europe "conducts itself in inconsistent fashion". European countries, he said, were trying to "lead us around by the nose, but it's okay, we've become used to it. I hope that we won't make any mistakes based on excessive trust in our so-called partners." (Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) The shoe and clothing company Hoka has been accused of misappropriating Maori culture by Indigenous intellectual property experts in New Zealand. Photograph: PR IMAGE Popular sportswear company Hoka has been accused of failing to acknowledge the Maori origins of its name by Indigenous intellectual property experts in New Zealand, making it the latest in a string of global brands to be accused of misappropriating Maori culture. The French American firm, which specialises in running shoes, takes its name from the Maori word hoka, meaning to fly. Its logo, a bird in flight, mirrors the words meaning, as does its tagline fly, human, fly. In its early days, the company attributed its name which was then Hoka One One, loosely meaning to fly over the earth in Maori to the ancient Maori language. That attribution disappeared from its about section after Deckers Brands took ownership in 2012. The brand now makes no mention of the names origin on its website. Related: Row erupts in New Zealand parliament over use of Maori name Aotearoa If they dont want to associate themselves as being a Maori word they need to stop using it, said Lynell Tuffery Huria, who is recognised as the first Maori patent attorney and is a leading expert on Indigenous intellectual property rights. Why are you using that word if youre not prepared to acknowledge its whakapapa [origin] and its history and to engage with the Indigenous people from which the word comes from? she asked. Hoka has not responded to the Guardians requests for comment. Maori words, concepts and motifs be they tattoo, design or art are often rich in meaning and history, and their use is frequently governed by a set of protocols, or tikanga. Not observing tikanga risks undermining Maori culture, and puts brands at risk of being challenged, Tuffery Huria said. In recent years, a number of international brands have faced criticism for using Maori words and imagery. In 2020, Formula One driver Fernando Alonsos clothing line was accused of cashing in on Maori culture. A year later, a UK carpet company was criticised for using Maori culture to sell carpet. Gaming companies have come under fire for using Maori tattoos on their characters, while social media companies have faced outrage for creating Maori facial tattoo filters. In New Zealand, Air New Zealand prompted outrage when it attempted to trademark an image of the Maori greeting Kia Ora in 2019. That same year, a cruise ship company was forced to apologise after its staff dressed up in wildly inaccurate Maori costumes to perform a greeting for its guests. Beer companies have similarly faced backlash for using Maori ancestors on their bottles. Tuffery Huria is not against brands using Maori words, as long as they have followed best practice, including consulting with Indigenous communities. We want to share our culture, we want to share our language, we want to share our narratives but it needs to be respected and protected in a manner thats consistent with how we view it. Two of Hokas shoe styles Arahi and Hopara also take their names from Maori. Hopara should be spelled hopara, and means to explore. Arahi can mean to lead and, in some contexts, its use is considered sacred, says Dr Karaitiana Taiuru, a leading intellectual property rights expert. By putting something sacred on your feet, or on your shoes, its kind of saying you have got no respect for the culture. Thats quite offensive, Taiuru said, adding that it would be akin to putting an image of a royal family member on the bottom of his shoe. A Hoka video on social media from 2019 shows a Maori musician teaching viewers how to pronounce the brands name correctly, during Maori language week. But in the companys more recent videos, the word Hoka and its Maori-named shoe styles, are mispronounced. Hoka should, at a minimum, pronounce its own name correctly, Taiuru said. By not doing it, that shows a huge amount of disrespect. There is a very fine line between appropriation and appreciation of cultures, Taiuru said, and the best way brands such as Hoka can honour Indigenous cultures is to consult with them. If youre going to use someone elses culture for your own product, you should at least know what the value of that cultural item is and acknowledge it. Harvard Medical School: a number of foreign scholars and students at several US universities have recently been detained by Ice. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters A Russian scientist from Harvard Medical School has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to her friends and colleagues. On Wednesday, Cora Anderson, who works with the Russian scientist Kseniia Petrova, shared the news of Petrovas detention on Facebook, saying the Russian scientist arrived at Boston Logan international airport on 16 February from a trip to France when she was stopped by US authorities. According to Anderson, authorities revoked Petrovas visa and told her that she was to be deported to Russia. In response, Petrova said that she feared political persecution and was instead sent by authorities to a detention facility, Anderson said. Related: Rubio boasts of canceling more than 300 visas over pro-Palestine protests We had no idea initially what had happened to her since she was unable to send any messages or make any calls upon detention. She was moved to a facility in Vermont at first and then Louisiana where she is now. Where she is now is a jail that has space rented by ICE and is kept in a room with over 80 other female detainees, Anderson wrote in her Facebook post. Despite having lawyers and the fact she did not do anything illegal in the first place, she is still there, and we have no idea when she will be paroled (or released, however simply released is unlikely), she added. Petrovas boss, Leon Peshkin, said in an interview on Thursday that the researcher had good reason to fear being returned to Russia because she had publicly protested the Russian invasion of Ukraine in its first days, called for the impeachment of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and was arrested. She managed to flee, first to the former Soviet republic of Georgia and then to the United States, to continue her research on genomes. Peshkin said that Petrova was a highly skilled researcher she is spectacular, the best Ive ever seen in 20 years at Harvard, and had a visa that enabled her to work in the US and travel abroad freely. In February, however, when she was in Paris on vacation, her boss made a huge mistake. He asked her to pick up a box of frog embryo samples from colleagues in France and bring them back to the lab at Harvard. The import of these samples, Peshkin said, was legal, but Petrova made some sort of paperwork mistake on the US customs declaration form and was stopped by customs officers on her return to Logan airport in Boston. Although the legal penalty for improperly importing this non-toxic, non-hazardous frog material is simply a fine of up to $500, Peshkin said, immigration officers decided to deny Petrova re-entry to the US. When she informed the authorities of her very real fear of being jailed for protesting Putins war on Ukraine should she be returned to Russia, she was transferred to Ice, into detention, to wait for an asylum hearing, Peshkin said. Petrova should be eligible for parole while she waits for that hearing, Peshkin added, but paroles are now not happening. A GoFundMe page set up by Anderson for Petrova said that the researcher was hired to work for Harvard Medical School and had entered the US on a work visa. Anderson did not specify which work visa category Petrova was under. She said that Petrova is supported in applying for a new visa but added that it is a multi-month process during which she will not be able to work thus not collect a paycheck. Reports of Petrovas detention come just weeks after a French scientist was denied entry in the US this month after US immigration officers searched his phone and found messages critical of Donald Trump. But Petrovas boss told the Guardian that she does not seem to have had her visa revoked over any type of protest activity in the US. She never protested against Trump or in support of Palestinians under siege in Gaza, Peshkin said. Also earlier this month, Canadian citizen Jasmine Mooney was detained by US authorities and was held by Ice for two weeks before being released. In another case, a German tourist, 29-year-old tattoo artist Jessica Brosche, spent six weeks in detention including eight days in solitary confinement after she was arrested at the Mexican border on 18 February. In recent weeks, federal authorities have detained a handful of other university students and researchers including green card holders who have expressed Palestinian solidarity amid Israels deadly war on Gaza. Earlier this week, 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, was detained by masked federal officials in dramatic footage that has caused widespread outrage. Immigration officials also detained Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil a green card holder earlier this month in front of his pregnant wife, Noor, a US citizen. Other students detained by immigration officials include Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, after the Department of Homeland Security accused him of having ties to Hamas. Scot in Bangkok says blood rushed to his head as earthquake struck A Scottish expat in Bangkok said blood rushed to his head as an earthquake shook his apartment building and forced him to evacuate his home. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused widespread damage in Thailand and a state of emergency was declared in Myanmar on Friday, with hundreds feared dead or injured. Alex MacGregor, a PR consultant who has been living in the Thai capital for the last six months, was working from home and waiting for the delivery of his lunch when the tremors began at around 1.30pm local time. I was just waiting for the driver to come with my food and I look in the pool and noticed the water started to kind of lap at the edges but then it started to get violent, the 36-year-old, originally from Inverness, told the PA news agency. All of a sudden I started feeling faint, like that kind of blood rushing to the head feeling, and I was like: Am I ill here, or whats going on? Then I looked up the other condo, which is a really high skyscraper and I saw their pool water coming over the sides and thats when I knew it was an earthquake. Its a weird sensation, youre seeing a lot of things happen in slow motion around you I actually went and sat down because I was feeling unsteady on my feet. Despite the tremors, Mr MacGregor said people were remarkably calm as an alarm went off in his building telling all occupants to evacuate. Shortly after I left my condo area to come to a coffee shop all the shops here in this eastern part of Bangkok were closed, so people were lining the streets, he said. We knew there was going to be an aftershock, so Ive made my way to an outdoor space and theres a lot of people just sitting out here working on their laptops generally being chill. The Thai people are really friendly people, very chill the last people that are going to panic in this kind of situation. People take shelter outdoors after an earthquake (David Cohen/AP) Living in the fairly residential On Nut in eastern Bangkok, Mr MacGregor said the worst of the earthquake appeared to have impacted other areas of the city. On the opposite side of the city, 90 people remain missing and three are confirmed dead after the collapse of a high-rise building under construction near the popular Chatuchak Market. A British tourist on holiday in Bangkok said she initially thought the shaking was due to effects from the film she was watching. Mandy Tang, 38, from London, told PA: I was watching a film called The Red Envelope. It happened to be quite an action-packed scene when the shake happened, so I initially thought it could have been Imax effects. I looked around and none of the local audience left their seats. However, my Taiwanese friend insisted its an earthquake, so I walked out of the theatre with her, and we met the security guards coming to evacuate us just outside the theatre. We could see the doors were opening and closing, all the chairs were shaking. Ms Tang said she was trying to get a car back to her hotel, adding: Basically Im tired and Im trying to get back. It was quite nerve wracking, Ive never experienced such a strong shake. It is quite scary. Scottish tourist Fraser Morton told AP there was panic when the earthquake hit while he was shopping for camera equipment in a Bangkok shopping centre. All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic, he said. I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense. Rescuers work at the site in Bangkok (Wason Wanichakorn/AP) Issuing a travel warning on Friday, the Foreign Office (FCDO) said the earthquakes epicentre was in Sagaing region near Mandalay in Myanmar where a state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states. A member of a rescue team in Mandalay told the BBC they expect casualties to be at least in the hundreds. There may be several strong aftershocks, the FCDO said on its website. If youre in the area or planning to travel there, follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local media. Starmer Equality before the law is the cornerstone of the criminal justice system. Without the principle that every defendant, if found guilty, will be penalised on an equal basis, a fair trial is impossible. Unsurprisingly, the proposal by the Sentencing Council to require judges and magistrates to treat ethnic, religious and cultural minorities differently has provoked passionate opposition from many quarters. This dispute highlights the abject failure of judicial activism and multiculturalism to create a society at ease with itself. Sensitive to the accusation that two-tier Keir has a record of promoting such discrimination, Downing Street ordered the Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to put pressure on the council to rethink its guidelines. She has, however, been rebuffed. Lord Justice William Davis, who chairs the body, rejected her demand that their new guidance to courts should drop its insistence on pre-sentence reports for members of various minorities. The guidelines are due to take effect on April Fools Day. Mrs Mahmood has responded by issuing a vague threat: All options are on the table and I will legislate if necessary. As Lord Chancellor, she is the titular head of the legal profession, but she has no power over the Sentencing Council, which is an independent panel that includes the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Unless the council members recoil from the consequences of their own folly, the Government should pre-empt this deeply flawed guidance by introducing emergency legislation on Monday. Such a procedure would be unusual but, given cross-party support, nevertheless possible. In effect, Parliament would thereby come to the rescue of our legal system. How, though, did we arrive at yet another confrontation between unelected liberal judges and the more conservative representatives of parliamentary democracy? Downing Street should have seen this battle of ideas coming and acted in good time to avoid it. But Sir Keir Starmer, the KC and former DPP, leads a government of lawyers, by lawyers and for lawyers. The Prime Minister may be disappointed by the Sentencing Councils stubborn resistance, but he shares the same assumptions about institutional racism that underlie its differential approach to sentencing. The Keir Starmer who took the knee in response to Black Lives Matter is the same Keir Starmer who now promises new laws against Islamophobia. Sir Keir must now choose: are some people more equal before the law than others? Keir Starmer talks to Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting hosted in Paris by Emmanuel Macron - Lauren Hurley/No 10 Downing Street A Tory frontbencher has publicly criticised Sir Keir Starmers plans for a coalition of the willing to keep the peace in Ukraine. Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said he was unconvinced by the proposals and suggested other Western nations would not play their part in any such force. Kemi Badenoch welcomed a coalition of the willing at the start of the month, although the Conservatives have pivoted in the past few weeks to a more sceptical stance. The Prime Minister has convened 30 nations to look at how Ukraine could defend itself in the event of a future peace deal, although his plans have been criticised by some military experts. In an interview with The Telegraphs Politics Newsletter, Mr Griffith was asked whether a coalition of the willing would accept UK command and control if European troops were deployed. He replied: Well, Ill just be honest. I am sceptical about proposals for a pan-European coalition of the willing, because when the going gets tough, the willing dont turn out to be that willing. Nor, at the current levels of funding, [which] the Conservatives have long called to be increased, do I see where the United Kingdom has excessive capability beyond defending our own needs that could be applied elsewhere. So I remain to be convinced, and to the question asked, I also remain to be convinced that a pan-European force would take UK leadership. Andrew Griffith: I am sceptical about proposals for a pan-European coalition of the willing, because when the going gets tough, the willing dont turn out to be that willing - PA/Lucy North Responding to Sir Keirs creation of the coalition on March 2, Mrs Badenoch said it was a welcome development. The following day, she told MPs: I also welcome the coalition of the willing to support Ukraine, and agree that Europe must do the heavy lifting. Tory sources pointed to a letter sent last weekend by James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, in which he sought clarity on seven points about a hypothetical coalition. Mr Cartlidge asked for reassurances from John Healey, his opposite number, that British troops will not face vexatious human rights prosecutions. In his letter, he also asked whether the Army, Navy and RAF would all be deployed as part of the UKs contribution to the initiative. Mrs Badenoch sounded a slightly more sceptical note last week, saying British troops ideally would not be deployed to Ukraine and that such a move warranted a Commons vote. John Foreman, a former UK defence attache to Moscow and Kyiv, said this week there were concerns that the Prime Ministers initiative was proving hollow. Accusing Sir Keir of deploying cringey, gnomic cliches, Mr Foreman said the Prime Ministers efforts were little more than a tentative first step. Senior military sources have also dismissed the plans, pointing to a lack of concrete detail on what troops and equipment would be sent. Sources at the Ministry of Defence pointed to Sir Keirs remarks after a meeting of the coalition in Paris earlier this week. The coalition of the willing lines up at the Elysee Palace - Lauren Hurley/No 10 Downing Street Sir Keir said: Clearly, there has been progress in terms of the numbers and the intent of the group, and that sense of it being now a stronger and broader group. Emmanuel and I have now hosted four meetings to bring this group together. And the mood today was very much a clear and resolute mood about the strength that comes from working together in this collective way. And, of course, this is not a EU grouping. Its a broader grouping... He added: Nobody knows whether it will be a deal or what the shape of it will be. But theres clearly been political progress, in the sense of momentum, if you like, in the political group that weve been able to put together, which is significant in its own right. Elsewhere in his interview, Mr Griffith criticised the record of some of his Conservative predecessors as he said his party had failed to walk the walk on cutting red tape and championing small businesses. He said: It is imperative that [entrepreneurs] reap the rewards I regret the fact that that has not always been the case even under Conservative governments. I dont want to be another Conservative business secretary that talks the talk about reducing red tape but, when in office, doesnt walk the walk. Boris Johnsons government appeared to scrap Lord Frosts plan to free the UK from EU red tape in favour of net zero regulations. Ministers later rowed back on plans to scrap all EU laws by the end of 2023, saying it was impossible to proceed with the plans because of Whitehall intransigence. Mr Griffith was a key backer of Mr Johnson and worked with him on his 2019 Tory leadership campaign, months before entering the Commons as the MP for Arundel and South Downs. But when asked about the prospect of the former prime minister making a comeback, he said: The job of work we all have right now is to provide desperately needed opposition to this Government, which is taking our country in the wrong direction each and every day. Ive long said all voices are welcome to join that fight. But we have, in my view, an excellent leader of the opposition, somebody I supported. I was one of the first, if not the first, to nominate her. And I think that all of our focus and energy, including that of former leaders, should be to help Kemi take the fight to Labour. The full interview is available to subscribers of The Telegraphs Politics Newsletter. A construction worker flees after a building under construction collapses in Bangkok, Thailand Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect Thousands of people are feared dead after powerful earthquakes shook large areas of war-torn Myanmar and left a path of destruction as far afield as Bangkok. The quakes brought down a 30-storey skyscraper in the Thai capital, killing at least eight people and trapping ninety more under the rubble. The skyscraper was still under construction but collapsed dramatically as the quake jolted through the ground in the early afternoon in Southeast Asia on Friday. Myanmars military junta confirmed that at least 144 people had died there, with the epicentre being located close to Mandalay, the reclusive countrys second largest city. While quakes are common in Myanmar, which lies on the fault line between the Indian and Eurasian plates, this quake is being described as the most devastating since the 1950s. Video that has emerged from Myanmar shows people screaming as the 7.7-magnitude tremor pulled down buildings and tore holes in the street. The countrys junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, appealed to any country, any organisation to help with relief and said he had opened routes for international assistance. Footage from cities near the epicentre shows buildings keeled over or collapsed in a heap of rubble. According to locals, the destruction is even worse in the nearby countryside. One rescue worker told the BBC that a hundred casualties had been counted in a single village. An air traffic control tower at the countrys main international airport also collapsed, killing all staff who were on duty, Burmese media said. The US Geological Survey issued a red alert for deaths and damage, estimating that thousands of people are likely to have been killed. In Bangkok, as night fell in the Thai capital, rescue workers were working against the clock to save people caught under the ruins of a collapsed sky scraper. Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight dead bodies have been recovered and, with between 90 and 110 people unaccounted for, the toll is expected to rise. We see several dead bodies under the rubble. We will take time to bring the bodies out to avoid any further collapses, he told reporters. I heard people calling for help, saying help me, Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. The WHO, which has done an assessment in recent weeks of the best ways to get supplies into Myanmar, said on Friday it was ready to move. We have to know exactly where, what and why. Its information from the ground thats really critical right now, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said. In China, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to local media reports. 05:14 PM GMT This blog is now closed Thanks for reading along. 04:33 PM GMT WHO ready to move in to Myanmar By chance, the WHO had done an assessment in recent weeks of the best ways to get supplies into Myanmar, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing. We are ready to move in - but now we have to know exactly where, what and why. Its information from the ground thats really critical right now, she said . Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called for rapid access to affected areas and the timely approval of supplies and personnel. MSF medical and humanitarian staff in Myanmar and neighbouring countries are ready to respond at scale to the urgent needs of affected communities, once authorities facilitate swift and unhindered access for teams to do assessments and provide medical care, it said in a statement. The ability to deploy assessment teams - and ideally, surgical teams - is crucial in the first hours and days after an earthquake to deliver life-saving surgical care for the injured. 04:21 PM GMT Video shows destruction in Sagaing, Myanmar 2. This is Myanmar, devastated by the 7.7 earthquake. Many are missing.pic.twitter.com/0WkRumpFUg Vertigo_Warrior (@VertigoWarrior) March 28, 2025 03:33 PM GMT Weeks before we understand full extent of destruction The impact of the earthquake in Myanmar is likely to be severe, with possibly thousands of displaced people in need of urgent shelter, food and medical aid, said Mohammed Riyas, regional director of the International Rescue Committee. We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake, as communication network lines are down and transport is disrupted, he said. The damage to infrastructure and homes, loss of life, and injuries sustained by communities affected should not be underestimated. Riyas said the IRC and its partners are working to understand how communities have been affected with the aim of launching an emergency response. He said in a statement that search and rescue operations are underway. 03:30 PM GMT UN fully mobilising resources The United Nations is mobilising in Southeast Asia to help those in need, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday. The government of Myanmar has asked for international support and our team in Myanmar is already in contact in order to fully mobilise our resources in the region to support the people of Myanmar, Guterres said. But of course there are other countries impacted. The epicentre is in Myanmar, and Myanmar is the weakest country in this present situation, he added. 03:15 PM GMT Bangkok death toll rises to nine At least nine people have died in Bangkok as a result of Fridays earthquake, an official told Reuters, with the death toll steadily rising in Thailand as well as in neighbouring Myanmar, where the quake was centred. Of the confirmed casualties in the Thai capital, eight died when a building under construction collapsed, while the ninth person died in a different location, said Bangkoks Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej. 02:59 PM GMT Junta asks for any country, any organisation to help with relief At least 144 people have been killed in Myanmar by the massive earthquake, the countrys junta chief said, inviting any country, any organisation to help with relief. The quake caused widespread destruction across the country and the death toll is expected to rise, ruler Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech aired on state media. He said he had opened routes for international assistance and had accepted offers of help from India and the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN. 02:47 PM GMT Childrens hospital badly damaged in Myanmar In Taungoo, 15 amputee children who had been rushed out of a rehabilitation centre were still sheltering in the shade under bushes on Friday afternoon, unsure what to do next, writes The Telegraphs Sarah Newey from Bangkok. Doctors told The Telegraph they did not want to return into the four-story facility, which caters to children with disabilities and war injuries in the region. Completed in 2023, the building now has gaping cracks in the walls and lines growing across the ceiling. We asked them to wait and will check, waiting [for] some statement from experts whether its safe or not, the doctor, who asked not to be named, said. People everywhere are still so scared to enter their home. He added that news of fatalities is mounting across Taungoo, a town roughly 130 miles from Myanmars main commercial hub, Yangon. We heard around 15 people have already died - most were victims at the mosque, as today is Friday, he said. Were waiting for the picture to get clearer. 02:42 PM GMT At least 144 people killed in Myanmar quake, state TV says At least 144 people in Myanmar have been killed and 732 injured by the earthquake, state-run MRTV said on the Telegram messaging app on Friday. 02:30 PM GMT The Telegraphs Sarah Newey reports from Bangkok 02:02 PM GMT Monks watch on as living quarters collapse In Mandalay, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery, one of the largest in the city, and damaged the former royal palace. A video posted online showed robed monks in the street shooting video of the multistory monastery before it suddenly fell into the ground. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed. Newly built MaSoeYane monastery living quarters crumbled down as the second quake hit Mandalay. The natural disaster happened days before the Buddhist monks are to take their exams. #myanmarearthquake #MyanmarFactCheck pic.twitter.com/WArJTcsRwA Thet Zaw (@msthetzaw) March 28, 2025 01:50 PM GMT Injuries reported in China The earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north-east of Ruili, was so strong that people couldnt stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. 01:48 PM GMT Historic Mahamuni Pagoda Damaged in Myanmar Earthquake 01:34 PM GMT Air control tower collapses at Myanmars main airport An air control tower at the Naypyidaw International Airport near the capital in Myanmar has collapsed. All five members of staff on duty in the tower reportedly died due to the collapse. BREAKING Severe damage reported at Naypyidaw International Airport near Myanmar's capitalair traffic control tower collapsed, killing at least 5. Runway also hit. pic.twitter.com/h9roPZA3nL Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 28, 2025 01:24 PM GMT 81 trapped inside collapsed skyscraper, say Thai authorities The Thai defence ministry says that rescuers are searching for 81 people trapped in the rubble of a skyscraper that was under construction and collapsed into a pile of rubble. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said there had been three deaths at the building site. He warned of possible aftershocks but urged people to be calm and said the situation was largely under control. 01:16 PM GMT Rescue workers near a collapsed building in Bangkok Rescue personnel work near a building that collapsed. - Reuters Rescue personnel work near a building that collapsed. - Getty Images AsiaPac 01:12 PM GMT WHO readying medical supplies for huge Myanmar quake The WHO has triggered its emergency management system in response to Fridays huge earthquake in Myanmar and is mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies. The World Health Organization is coordinating its earthquake response from its Geneva headquarters because we see this as a huge event with clearly a very, very big threat to life and health, spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing. Weve activated our logistics hub to look particularly for trauma supplies and things like external fixators because we expect that there will be many, many injuries that need to be dealt with, Harris said. 12:58 PM GMT Thailands PM arrives at site of building collapse Thailands Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives at a construction site where a building collapsed in Bangkok. - LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP 12:24 PM GMT Pictured: Chaos in eastern Myanmar The Inle Lake in eastern Myanmar suffered damage 12:11 PM GMT Earthquake could not have come at a worse time The earthquake could not have come at a worse time for Myanmar, Amnesty International has warned, with a third of the countrys population already in need of humanitarian assistance after four brutal years of civil war. At the same time, the impacts of US aid cuts on humanitarian services in the country are just starting to bite, said Joe Freeman, Amnestys Myanmar researcher. The US is one of the largest donors to Myanmar, spending roughly $200 million a year. A significant chunk of that looks set to be cut by the Trump administration. Mr Freeman added that all parties involved in the conflict should be prioritising the needs of civilians ... and ensuring that they have unfettered access to aid. He said: Central Myanmar, which is believed to be the epicentre of the earthquake, has been ravaged by military air strikes and clashes between resistance groups and the military. Myanmars military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active. It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organisations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments. 12:01 PM GMT At least 20 dead in Myanmars capital At least 20 people have died at a major hospital in Myanmars capital, according to AFP. About 20 people died after they arrived at our hospital so far. Many people were injured, said the doctor at the 1,000-bed general hospital in Naypyidaw, who requested anonymity. 11:47 AM GMT Human Rights Watch urges junta to allow access Human Rights Watch has urged Myanmars military junta to grant humanitarian access. The Myanmar junta should immediately facilitate humanitarian access to areas affected by the earthquake, said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The military has an appalling history of blocking aid following natural disasters, depriving people of assistance and increasing the suffering of communities affected. 11:41 AM GMT Pictured: Water falls from high-rise pool A hotel infinity pool during the earthquake 11:39 AM GMT Mandalay locals die from doctor shortages A woman was killed in Mandalay because there were not enough doctors to treat her injuries, her daughter told The Telegraph. Thiri San rushed her mother to Mandalays main hospital after bricks fell onto her head. When my mother arrived at the Mandalay General hospital, she was still alive, she said. But there werent enough doctors to treat her, and she lost too much blood from her head injury and passed away. The 39-year-old said she was still waiting to receive treatment for her own injuries and that she was in pain inside out. Her 89-year-old father said that this is the worst earthquake he had ever seen. 11:22 AM GMT Where the earthquake was felt This map shows how far the intensity of the quake could be felt. 11:17 AM GMT Pictured: Earthquake survivor Blood is seen on the face of an earthquake survivor as she rests in a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. Blood is seen on the face of an earthquake survivor - Sai Aung MAIN / AFP 11:13 AM GMT France ready to provide support France said on Friday it stood ready to provide support, adding that its diplomatic premises in the Thai capital had been evacuated. We are ready to provide support as soon as the need has been expressed and we have evacuated our premises in Bangkok to guard against any form of risk, said Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who was in Shanghai on Friday, referring to the French embassy, schools, and other buildings. 11:07 AM GMT At least 200 patients at Mandalay Hospital At least 200 people have already arrived at the main hospital Mandalay, The Telegraphs Nandi Theint reports from the site. Dr Yan Naing told The Telegraph that 19 people have died so far due to the earthquake. There arent enough doctors and space, he said. Patients are scattered inside the hospital. So far, 19 people have died here due to the earthquake. Across Myanmar, I believe the death toll will be in the hundreds. 10:53 AM GMT Pictured: Patients evacuated from Rajavithi Hospital Patients are being evacuated from Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok. Pictures show chaos at the hospital, with patients overflowing from the wards to outside. Patients are evacuated from Rajavithi Hospital after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar - REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa 10:41 AM GMT At least 90 missing in Bangkok At least 90 people are missing at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok, according to Thailands defence minister. Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai provided no additional details on the rescue efforts, though first responders earlier reported rescuing seven people from the area outside the collapsed building. 10:39 AM GMT Our correspondent live from Bangkok reports of shocked locals Workers caked in a thick white dust are outside the collapsed building in Bangkok, shocked at the scale of destruction and their close escape. Sompon, who has worked in construction for 16 years, works for one of the construction companies here, and had been on site for a month. When he first felt the tremors, he shouted to those around him to get out immediately. He struggled to describe how hes feeling now. Its indescribable. Im speechless, he told the Telegraph. Because all the dust is coming everywhere, we could see only dust. I run out as fast as I could, to be safe. He added: This is the scariest experience Ive ever had. 10:34 AM GMT What we know so far Weve been providing live coverage of the earthquake in Myanmar and its aftermath in Thailand. A 7.7 magnitude tremor struck north-east of Mandalay at a depth of 10km just before 6.30am UK time. If youre just joining us, here is what we know so far: The US Geological Survey has estimated that thousands of deaths are likely. At least 10 worshippers are reported to have been killed in a mosque in Mandalay. More than 20 children are feared to be trapped in a destroyed school in the city of Taungoo. Three people have died in Bangkok, while around 90 are missing. 10:21 AM GMT Earthquakes impact could be disastrous Initial reports from Myanmar suggest the earthquakes impact could be disastrous, experts told The Telegraph. Dr Brian Baptie, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, noted that the population live in buildings vulnerable to natural disasters, worsening the situation. When a large earthquake strikes an area with over a million people, many of whom live in vulnerable buildings, the consequences are often disastrous, he said. From initial reports, that seems likely to be the case here. Dr Baptie added that Myanmar is often exposed to large earthquakes, having experienced 14 with a magnitude of six or higher in the past 100 years. This toll includes a magnitude 6.8 quake near Mandalay in 1956 and a 7.6 quake further north in 1946. 10:14 AM GMT Downed power lines hinder rescue efforts Downed power lines are complicating rescue efforts in Myanmar. The Red Cross said that is it adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state. Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage, the Red Cross said. Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered. 10:08 AM GMT Thailands death toll rises to three The death toll in Thailand has risen to three after a building collapsed in Bangkok. Chadchart Sittipunt, the citys governor, warned of possible aftershocks but urged people to be calm and said the situation was largely under control. Authorities had received 169 calls about damage to buildings in Bangkok, he said. Urban rail systems in Bangkok were temporarily closed but expected to resume services on Saturday. 10:01 AM GMT Naypyidaw hospital treating hundreds of patients A large hospital in Myanmars capital is treating hundreds of patients, according to officials on site. Hundreds of injured people are arriving... but the emergency building here also collapsed, security officials at the hospital in Naypyidaw told AFP. Some have arrived in cars, others in pickups, and others carried on stretchers, their bodies bloody and covered in dust. An earthquake survivor lies on a bed in the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw - Sai Aung MAIN / AFP An earthquake survivor is carried as she waits to receive medical attention at a hospital in Naypyidaw - Sai Aung MAIN / AFP 09:56 AM GMT Trapped people heard screaming in Bangkok People could be heard screaming while trapped in the debris of a 30 storey building block collapsed in Bangkok. Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bangkoks Bang Sue district, said the capital had never experienced an earthquake like it before. I heard people calling for help, saying help me, he told AFP. We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties. I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before. 09:49 AM GMT Myanmar hospital declares mass casualty area A hospital in Myanmar has been described as a mass casualty area by officials. Rows of injured people are being treated outside of the hospital in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. The hospital has 1,000 beds, the official added, describing people writhing in pain as relatives sought to comfort them. The emergency department was also severely damaged, with a car crushed beneath the heavy concrete of its collapsed entrance. Many injured people have been arriving, I havent seen anything like this before, a doctor at the hospital told AFP. We are trying to handle the situation. Im so exhausted. 09:47 AM GMT Pictured: Chaos hits Bangkok Women react in Bangkok - LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images Injured people receive medical attention near the site of a collapsed building - REUTERS/Ann Wang A worker reacts near a site of a collapsed building - REUTERS/Ann Wang 09:39 AM GMT Myanmar issues plea for international humanitarian aid Myanmars ruling junta has issued a rare request for international humanitarian aid. Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing visiting a hospital in Naypyidaw, where victims of the 7.7-magnitude quake were being treated, according to AFP. We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP at the hospital. 09:36 AM GMT Watch: Chaos filmed from rooftop pool Credit: X/@msuhcoff 09:33 AM GMT Myanmar hit by two earthquakes, according to reports It is now being reported that a second earthquake hit Myanmar just minutes after the first. The agency said that 12 minutes after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, another 6.4 magnitude one hit. The epicentre was 18km (11.1 miles) south of Sagaing. 09:24 AM GMT US Geological Survey estimates thousands of deaths likely The US Geological Survey has issued a red alert for deaths and damage, estimating that thousands of deaths are likely. The agency warned that high casualties and extensive damage are probable, with the disaster likely widespread. 09:23 AM GMT Pictured: Bangkok building collapses Rescue teams are seen at a construction site where a building collapsed in Bangkok - Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP 09:18 AM GMT Myanmar declares state of emergency A state of emergency has been declared in Myanmar after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The countrys national disaster management committee added that it had declared a state of emergency in the Sagaing region, Mandalay region, Magway region, northeastern Shan State, Naypyitaw Council Area, and Bago region. 09:11 AM GMT Two confirmed dead from Bangkok building collapse Bangkok emergency responders have reported two deaths inside a high-rise building that collapsed during the earthquake. They added that seven people had been rescued from the rubble. 09:10 AM GMT Bangkok building collapse sounded like jet plane Iana, 40, a piano teacher from Russia in Bangkok on holiday, was in a nearby shopping centre when she heard the building collapse. It was in the Chatuchak area, I hear the sound - its like a jet. The building was shaking, shaking, shaking. We went down to the first floor and then we saw all the smoke (from the collapsed building). She added: People were afraid. 50 people maybe, 60 people there. We go down on the first floor and we see smoke. We dont know what is it. Iana, who goes home tomorrow, thought there might be aftershocks and wasnt sure where to go next. 09:05 AM GMT At least 20 children trapped in Myanmar More than 20 children are reported trapped in a school in Myanmar after the building collapsed, according to reports. Charitable organisations are working to rescue them from the school in Taungoo, central Myanmar, the Yangon Times reported. 09:01 AM GMT Thai locals share shock and fear People are sitting on the side of the streets with their pet cats and dogs - theyre not sure if the high rise buildings they live inside are safe to go into. Boom, 23, a student who was working from home today, told The Telegraph shes still freaked out after the earthquake - mainly because shes concerned about aftershocks. Shes sitting in the 37 degree heat on the side of a busy main road with her two cats in a cat bag - Fuku, a ginger and a white two month old kitten. It was scary.. Its my first time (in an earthquake) , I was really nervous and I wasnt sure what to do, she said. She was on the 10th floor of a 23 floor apartment block. Then it started shaking more, there was a crack in the wall, so I grabbed my cat and sat under the table. Afterwards, I just went down the emergency ladder. She added: No I dont feel safe. I think I will wait outside in case theres an aftershock. Im waiting until someone like the government tells me its safe. 09:00 AM GMT Mandalay airport suspends flights It is thought that Mandalay airport has suspended flights after suffering significant damage. Videos shared online show dozens of panicked passengers fleeing the airport as alarm bells ring loudly. Inside Mandalay International Airport - @heungburma on X 08:55 AM GMT Thai PM interrupts official visit Thai prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has interrupted an official visit to Phuket, an island to the countrys south, to hold an urgent meeting. Ms Paetongtarn was in Phuket for a meeting when the earthquake occurred. 08:47 AM GMT At least ten killed in Myanmar mosque Local media reports say at least 10 people have been killed in Myanmar after an earthquake struck the Shwe Phone Shein Mosque in Mandalay. It collapsed while we were worshipping. About three mosques collapsed. There were people trapped, so at least 10 people have died now. The death toll could be higher, a rescue worker told the Yangon Times. 08:40 AM GMT Myanmar reports widespread damage Myanmar was at the epicentre of the earthquake, which the US Geological Survey said was a shallow 10 kilometres (6.2 miles). In Mandalay, the countrys second-largest city and close to the epicentre, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on social media. A 90-year-old bridge in the Sagaing region, south-west of Mandalay, collapsed, and several sections of the highway connecting Mandalay to Yangon were damaged. Breaking: A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake has struck Myanmar and the surrounding region. The iconic Ava Bridge in Mandalay has collapsed into the Irrawaddy River. pic.twitter.com/aKEl96x9DZ Heung Min Son (@heungburma) March 28, 2025 In Yangon, residents rushed out of their homes as the quake hit, though no injuries or fatalities were immediately reported. In the capital, Naypyitaw, the quake caused damage to religious shrines and some homes, with parts of the structures falling to the ground. 08:32 AM GMT Quake shakes water free from rooftop pool in Thailand Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect 08:28 AM GMT Pictured: Devastation after 7.7 earthquake Rescuers assemble at the site of a collapsed building - Ann Wang A motorcyclist drives around a rupture in the road in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar - Sai Aung Main/AFP 08:23 AM GMT 43 people trapped in collapsed skyscraper, authorities say A 30-storey building under construction in Bangkok has collapsed, trapping 43 workers, according to local police and medics. The building was reduced to rubble and twisted metal in a matter of seconds, footage shared on social media shows. Worapat Sukthai, the deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told local media: When I arrived to inspect the site, I heard people calling for help, saying help me. We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties, he added. 08:16 AM GMT Thailand declares state of emergency A state of emergency has been declared in Bangkok after the earthquake, Thailands prime minister said. Meanwhile, Thailands stock exchange has suspended all trading activities after a powerful earthquake triggered evacuations in Bangkok. Footage posted on social media showed building collapses and water cascading out of rooftop pools in the Thai capital. The earthquake registered 7.7 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre in the city of Mandalay in neighbouring Myanmar. Donald Trump (right) has spoken with Mark Carney two weeks into the latters tenure as Canadian prime minister. Composite: Canadian Press, Rex/Shutterstock, AFP via Getty Images Donald Trump described a long-awaited call with the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, as extremely productive amid a trade war between the two nations launched by the US president. The Friday morning call, requested by the White House, marks the first time the two leaders have spoken since Carney became prime minister on 14 March. In a post on social media, Trump took a decidedly softer tone than he has in recent months, correctly referring to Carney as prime minister after repeatedly denigrating his predecessor Justin Trudeau as governor. In remarks later in the day, Trump said he hoped to to end up with a very good relationship with Canada, long one of the largest trading partners and closest allies of the US. Related: Donald Trump announces new 25% tariffs on cars from overseas Carney had previously said he would not speak to the president until Trump showed respect for Canadas independence. Im available for a call, but were going to talk on our terms. As a sovereign country not as what he pretends we are and on a comprehensive deal, Carney said earlier this week. Trump said in the post that he and Carney, who has previously served as governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, agree on many things and that the pair would be meeting immediately after Canadas federal election on 28 April. In a readout of the conversation released by the prime ministers office, Carney described the call as a very constructive conversation and said the two would begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship after the election. Carney said he would be working hard for the next month to earn the right to represent Canada in those discussions. On Sunday, Carney called a snap election following numerous polls that show a dramatic and unprecedented surge for his Liberal party. Current projections have the Liberals winning a majority government, a stark reversal from their dismal fortunes as recently as late February. Ahead of the call with Trump, Carney told reporters the conversation would be only the beginning of a negotiation, not the end. In fiery rhetoric since Trump launched his trade war and began threatening to make Canada the 51st US state, the prime minister lamented the collapse of relations between the two nations. Related: Mark Carney laments Canadas lost friendship with US in visit to 9/11 town It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that, with comprehensive negotiations, we will be able to restore some trust, but there will be no turning back, Carney told reporters in Ottawa earlier. We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States, he said. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere. Earlier this week, the White House announced 25% tariffs that threaten to destroy Canadas auto sector. More than 1m cars and light trucks are manufactured in Canada for export to the US. Washington also promised reciprocal tariffs against any levies imposed by trading partners in response that it feels are unfair to American consumers. In the call, Carney also said his government would implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy ahead of expected levies from the US due to come into effect on 2 April. UK reserves right to respond to US tariffs, says Starmer The UK reserves the right to respond to American tariffs, Sir Keir Starmer has said after US President Donald Trumps decision to slap a 25% import tax on cars. The Prime Minister said his Government was involved in ongoing discussions with the White House aimed at mitigating the impact of any levies but that ultimately our national interest has to come first. The US is the second largest export market after the European Union for cars built in the UK. Asked whether the UK reserves the right to respond to tariffs during a visit to Yorkshire, he said: Yes, of course. Obviously, any tariffs are concerning and were working hard with the industries and sectors likely to be impacted. None of them want to see a trade war, which is why were engaged in discussions with the United States about mitigating the impact of tariffs. Now, thats what were working hard on, but in answer to your question, yes in the end, our national interest has to come first, which means all options are on the table. Some 16.9% of UK car exports were to the US last year, representing a total of more than 101,000 units worth 7.6 billion. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones suggested the UK had to take a different approach to other countries when it came to negotiating tariffs with the US (James Manning/PA) Ministers have said they will take a pragmatic approach towards the threat of tariffs, seeking to strengthen transatlantic trade ties and pursue a wider UK-US economic deal. Industry minister Sarah Jones held a virtual meeting with automotive industry leaders to discuss tariffs on Friday. A Government spokesperson said the minister listened to the attendees views on trade with the US, and they expressed their support for the Governments approach. They added that the US is an indispensable ally and one of our closest trading partners, with 1.2 trillion invested in each others economies. On Thursday evening, a Treasury minister suggested the UK has to take a different approach to other countries when it comes to negotiating tariffs with the US. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones told BBCs Question Time: We have to take a different approach in Britain, and look whether its on the debate on tax or the debate on tariffs, there is no easy answer. If there was an easy answer, we would take it, obviously. These are complicated issues, but we think were providing the right type of leadership in negotiating with the Americans. The import tax on cars is on top of a series of reciprocal tariffs set to come into effect on April 2, which could include a general 20% levy on UK products in response to the rate of VAT. Sir Keirs reluctance to hit back with the threat of reciprocal tariffs is driven by fears of the economic harm a trade war would cause. In its assessment of the UK economy, the budget watchdog warned a full-blown tariff war with the US could wipe 1% off gross domestic product next year and derail Chancellor Rachel Reeves hopes of balancing the books, forcing her to implement more cuts or tax hikes. That worst-case scenario would come about if Mr Trump imposed 20% tariffs on British goods and the UK reciprocated in kind. The US is an important export market for Jaguar Land Rover (David Jones/PA) Shares in UK luxury carmaker Aston Martin dropped sharply when stock markets opened on Thursday morning. The firm, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, saw its share price fall about 6% shortly after opening. Jaguar Land Rover could be one of the UK vehicle manufacturers most affected by tariffs. Its latest annual report shows 22% of its sales were to North America in the year to the end of March 2024. Mike Hawes, chief executive of industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the announcement of tariffs was not surprising but, nevertheless, disappointing and he urged both governments to strike a deal that avoids further damage. But Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper called for the UK to be ready to hit back. She said: Our car industry is being left at the mercy of Trump and his destructive trade war. We should be preparing to respond if needed, including through Tesla tariffs that hit Trumps crony Elon Musk in the pocket. Shadow chancellor Mel Stride stressed the need to secure a trade deal with the US to protect against the impact of tariffs. The US announcement hit carmakers around the world, including in the US where manufacturers rely on parts sourced from outside the country which could incur extra costs. General Motors sank 6.8% while Ford Motor dropped 2.6% on US markets. But Mr Musks Tesla was up 6.9%, even though he acknowledged the use of parts made overseas meant the cost impact is not trivial for his firm. Lisa Jane Smith, author of the hit supernatural series The Vampire Diaries, has died aged 66. The American writer, known as LJ Smith, created the stories of the warring vampire brothers which were turned into a popular show of the same name starring Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Paul Wesley. A statement on her website said she died peacefully on March 8 after a long bout of illness. It added: Lisa was a kind and gentle soul whose brilliance, creativity, resilience and empathy illuminated the lives of her family, friends and fans alike. Ian Somerhalder, left, Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley, pictured in London in 2010, starred in The Vampire Diaries (Yui Mok/PA) She will be remembered for her imaginative spirit, her pioneering role in supernatural fiction, and her generosity, warmth and heart, both on and off the page. Born on September 4, 1958 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she grew up in the Southern California town of Villa Park. Smith, from Danville, California, authored other series including Night World books, The Forbidden Game trilogies, and the Wildworld series. Her first novel, The Night Of The Solstice, was published in 1987, before the then teacher was asked to write The Vampire Diaries volumes by a book packager. She wrote further books in the series from the 1990s to the 2010s, before her contract was ended and ghostwriter Aubrey Clark took over. Smith told Salt Lake Magazine in 2012 that she gave up her rights on the series, including the right to continue writing, under the contract she had with the company. Paul Wesley, pictured in 2012 in London (Ian West/PA) She said the company told her that her services were no longer required because they wanted shorter books that were promoting the television series. Smith later put out fan fiction about the novels through Amazons Kindle books. The Vampire Diaries ended in 2017, after eight seasons which mainly saw Stefan (Wesley) and Damon (Somerhalder) Salvatore compete for the love of the human Elena Gilbert (Dobrev). It spawned spin-off shows The Originals, and Legacies, which aired in the US on The CW network. The statement on Smiths website also said: She is survived by her devoted long-time friend, Julie Divola, her beloved younger sister, Judy Clifford, Judys children, Lauren Clifford and Brian Clifford, Brians wife, Taylor Acampora, and Laurens son, Wyatt Nicholson. The base has an upgraded early warning radar weapon system that can detect ballistic missiles, and monitors space for debris from decommissioned satellites. Photograph: Ritzau Scanpix/Reuters When JD Vance and his delegation touch down at Pituffik space base in Greenland on Friday, they will be greeted by the words: Welcome to the top of the world. As well as being the USs most northerly military base and its only one on the vast Arctic island it is also among the worlds most isolated places. For nine months of the year, the base (formerly known as Thule airbase) in north-western Greenland is locked in by ice, although it remains accessible by plane throughout the year. For three months there is no sunlight. The strategically important site about 932 miles (1,500km) from Nuuk, Greenlands capital, 750 miles (1,207km) north of the Arctic Circle, and across Baffin Bay from Nunavut in Canada plays an essential role in US missile detection. Home to an upgraded early warning radar weapon system that can detect ballistic missiles, the base also monitors space for debris from decommissioned satellites and is home to the worlds most northerly deep-water port. Related: Greenland election: Arctic island prepares to vote amid Trump interest in pictures The US has had a military presence on Greenland since the second world war, when the island was left undefended during the Nazi occupation of its then colonial ruler, Denmark. The US moved in, setting up airfields, weather stations and defences and watched for German submarines in the North Atlantic. Ten years later, the arrangement was formalised via a defence treaty with Denmark, which is part of Nato, that allowed the US the right to operate military facilities there. During the cold war, Pituffik again became an important Arctic base for the US. Greenland is now a semi-autonomous territory it stopped being a Danish colony in 1953 but it remains part of the kingdom of Denmark, which continues to control its foreign and security policy. Approximately 150 US air force and space force personnel are stationed at Pituffik, alongside Danes and Greenlanders. It is also home to arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox and polar bears. The US said it renamed the base in 2023 to recognise Greenlandic cultural heritage and its role in the US space force. Historic retailer WH Smith has quit the UK high street after 233 years. The books and stationery retailer has sold its 480 high street stores, which employ around 5,000 people, to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital for 76 million. WH Smith said the move will allow it to focus on its growing travel shops business. The WH Smith brand was not included in the sale to Modella and the high street shops will now be rebranded to TG Jones as a result. Here the PA news agency looks at the history of WH Smith as it became a mainstay of UK high streets. WH Smith has 480 high street shops which will be rebranded (Chris Radburn/PA) Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna first established WH Smith in 1792 in Little Grosvenor Street in Mayfair as a news vendor. After their deaths, the business was taken over by youngest son William Henry Smith in 1812. He then renamed the business as WH Smith & Son in 1846 when his son, also called William Henry, joined him as a partner in the business. It was around this time that the business started to notably expand. It took advantage of the UK railway boom by opening its first railway news stand at Euston Station in 1848. Two years later the business opened its first depots in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. As the group expanded nationally, it also expanded its business operations, launching a circulating library service and a publishing operation based in Cirencester. Meanwhile, the younger WH Smith served as a Conservative MP while running the business, before his death in 1891, where it was passed onto his widow, Viscountess Hambleden. The business continued to be passed down by the family and became a limited company in 1928, with all shares owned by the third Viscount. The company became a public limited business after his death in 1948, with staff and members of the public taking shares. Members of the family stayed on the board for the following decades before the final member of the Smith family left the board in 1996. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the business witnessed a particularly sharp expansion. During this period, the company dropped its WH Smith & Sons title in favour of just WH Smith and developed its well-known blue branding. The group also grew through a series of deals including the creation of the Do It All DIY chain and 1989 takeover of Waterstones book shops. It sold off Waterstones nine years later. WH Smith started to come under pressure from online retail and supermarkets in the 2000s (Anthony Devlin/PA) Despite still being dominant in the UK high street, the company came under pressure in the 2000s and onwards as online retailers and supermarkets tapped more into the high street businesss core customer base. As part of a shake-up of its operations, it split up its retail and news distribution businesses with the demerger of Smiths News in 2006. It also struck a number of further deals, such as the takeovers of The Gadget Shop and Funky Pigeon in a bid to target growth areas. In more recent years, the group continued to expand its travel business of shops at train stations and airports. In 2018, it furthered this by snapping up travel tech retailer InMotion. While travel sales continued to surge, the company continued to flag a weaker performance across its traditional high street stores. Ultimately, the company confirmed in January that it was seeking to sell off the high street business following a strategic review. An auction process saw Modella and rival Alteri bid to buy the shops, with Modella ultimately securing the business and confirming its planned rebrand. The Trump administration wants to transport detainees to the Cecot megaprison in El Salvador. Photograph: Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images The Trump administration on Friday asked the US supreme court to intervene to allow the government to continue to deport immigrants using the obscure Alien Enemies Act. The request came one day after a federal appeals court upheld a Washington DC federal judges temporary block on immigrant expulsions via a wartime act that allows the administration to bypass normal due process, for example by allowing people a court hearing before shipping them out of the US. Related: Human rights groups rebuke Kristi Noems visit to El Salvador prison: political theater Fridays emergency request claims that the federal courts order temporarily blocking the removal of Venezuelans forces the US to harbor individuals whom national-security officials have identified as members of a foreign terrorist organization bent upon grievously harming Americans. Trumps invocation of the Alien Enemies Act has spurred a legal battle between the executive and judiciary branches of the US federal government. We will urge the supreme court to preserve the status quo to give the courts time to hear this case, so that more individuals are not sent off to a notorious foreign prison without any process, based on an unprecedented and unlawful use of a wartime authority, said Lee Gelernt in a statement on Friday afternoon. Gelernt is the deputy director of the ACLUs immigrants rights project and lead counsel in the case. As the executive branch continues to battle the constitutionally coequal judiciary branch for primacy, the US justice department said in its filing on Friday that the case presents the question of who decides how to conduct sensitive national security-related operations, the president or the judiciary. The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President, the department wrote. The republic cannot afford a different choice. On 15 March, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime statute allowing the government to expel foreign nationals considered to be enemies to the US. When invoking the act, Trump, without proof, claimed that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had infiltrated the US at the behest of the Venezuelan government. Related: Deported because of his tattoos: has the US targeted Venezuelans for their body art? A US intelligence document accessed by the New York Times contradicts Trumps claim about the Venezuelan governments ties to the gang. That day, attorneys filed an emergency motion to block the use of the Alien Enemies Act to expel migrants to El Salvador. Then planes took off from the US, transporting the nearly 300 immigrants accused of being gang members. As the planes were in mid-air, a federal judge in Washington blocked the use of the Alien Enemies Act to expel the immigrants, but the Venezuelans were not returned to the US. Despite the Trump administration in its supreme court filing claiming that it engaged in a rigorous process to identify members of the Venezuelan gang, news stories are increasingly placing those claims into question. Family members of many of the deported Venezuelan migrants deny the alleged gang ties. This month, the US district judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to engage in individualized hearings for immigrants accused of being members of Tren de Aragua. The King is balancing public engagements, the duties of a head of state, and some semblance of a personal life, with regular treatment - Max Mumby/Indigo When the King bade farewell to fellow cancer patients during a trip to a research laboratory last week, he gave a grin, his trademark point of the finger, and some parting words of advice. Whats that Winston Churchill saying? he said brightly as he walked away. Keep buggering on. It raised a laugh and a knowing nod and it is as good a mantra as any for King Charles III, who like no monarch before him is living with cancer, in the words of aides. For more than a year now, he has balanced public engagements, the heavy duties of a head of state, and some semblance of a personal life, with regular long-term cancer treatment. To that, he can now add an unexpected hospital admission. On Thursday afternoon, the King was driven to hospital for a short period of observation, explained as the result of the temporary side-effects of his scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer. The King was driven out of Clarence House on Friday, looking out of an open window to show people that he is still up and about after being in hospital - Yui Mok/PA After returning home and consulting senior aides, he postponed an audience with ambassadors and an outing to Birmingham on Friday, and has headed off for a weekend at Highgrove. As has become his habit following a health update that might worry the public, he was driven out of Clarence House on Friday morning, looking out of an open window to show people who had gathered at the side of the road that he is still up and about. It was a reminder, if nothing else, of all the King has been dealing with. In Northern Ireland on a busy three-day trip last week, he looked physically tired but personally energised, as interested as ever in the chance to learn about local artists, family businesses and university research. It has sometimes been easy to forget all that is happening behind the scenes. On paper, his diary shows little sign of conceding to illness. A steady stream of audiences and behind palace doors engagements are fitted in around public-facing events, factoring in time to recover from medical treatment away from prying eyes and cameras. After his latest trip to hospital, palace sources said the King did not take to his bed but had dinner with the Queen and retired to his office in the evening to read state papers as usual. There is no need to convalesce in particular, it was said, but the Queen at least will hope to persuade him to spend this weekend doing something more restful than his favourite hobby of hedge-laying. On Monday, doctors and Buckingham Palace staff will liaise once again to decide whether to lighten some elements of the Kings work next week to prioritise his recovery. In little over a week, the King and Queen are due to fly into Italy for a short state visit that has already had a one-day trip to the Holy See cancelled because of the Popes health. Their engagements in Rome and Ravenna will now be spread out a little to fill the time (two days of activity scheduled over three), making for a relatively more relaxed schedule than the King would prefer. The King visits the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in the English Channel earlier this month - MoD This latest hospital visit is not, the palace has insisted, a major change in the Kings health or working life, talking instead of a blip, a bump in the road, and a precautionary measure. And now? The path to recovery is heading in the right direction, a source insists. There are no immediate alarm bells ringing. The Prince of Wales is continuing with his own work, rather than being asked to take over any of his fathers, and will head off for the Easter holidays with his children as usual. What you see is what you get, said one palace source of the King, meaning that his lively public interactions should speak for themselves, alongside the many photographs capturing his current appearance. While he has agreed to updates about his hospital visit being shared, his staff hope not to need to issue more imminently. He dislikes fuss and headlines about his health when so many other people are also living with cancer, it is said. The King, therefore, will keep buggering on. It is not just a very British, slightly amusing, stiff-upper-lip saying. It also gets to the heart of how he has managed his illness, and his life, so far: by keeping going. The King pictured shaking hands with Mark Carney, Canadas PM, at Buckingham Palace earlier this month, has managed his illness by keeping going - Aaron Chown/Getty Images His work brings him joy and purpose lifting the spirits, according to those who know him. The duty part of the job has been of great benefit to His Majestys overall well-being. He has a stated mind, body and soul approach to cancer, believing that, while doctors can look after his body, he must also stay mentally and spiritually engaged. The King wants to work, the Queen would like him to slow down a little, and their aides will do the best they can to make it all happen. This latest hospitalisation has been described as the most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction. The bump, nevertheless, has been felt. But the road, if all goes to plan in the coming week, leads to Rome. Advertising Week by Shutterstock; Courtesy Alex Ross (L) Alex Ross onstage for PEOPLE at Advertising Week (R) Alex in the hospital before surgery Jan 3 Every day, I ask people to let me into the most personal parts of their lives. Its my job as a journalist at PEOPLE, and the responsibility that comes with storytelling is immense. So, when my gynecologist first sat me down last fall to tell me she suspected I had endometriosis, the next thing I did was read every single story on our website about women who have been brave enough to open up about their experience with the disease. And then, I immediately wished we had more stories, especially from younger women. In honor of endometriosis awareness month in March, I figured I may as well answer my own call. In January, a dear mentor of mine happened to tell me just days after I'd had surgery unbeknownst to her that the whole point of what we do is to get the story and get it right and (hopefully) help someone make their life better after reading it. I thought a lot about what she said as I decided to write this. She's right, of course. This story is about me, but its not for me. Its for everybody after me. Courtesy Alex Ross Alex Ross at the VMAs carpet for PEOPLE in September 2024 a week before learning she likely had endometriosis Endometriosis. Sure, Id heard of it. Im very fortunate to be well educated, and Im a journalist. We know a little bit about a lot of things. Im also a hypochondriac who loves to catastrophize. Even still, having spent years asking Doctor Google (and my real doctors, in fairness) what was wrong with me, I never once thought it was endometriosis, and neither did they. Celiac disease? Appendicitis? Maybe. Pancreatic cancer? Colon cancer? God, I hoped not. IBS? Crohns? Diverticulitis? Sure, I guess. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth? Wait, what? Ironically, none of those conditions or diseases or disorders are gynecological. Im immensely grateful that the one I do actually have isnt life-threatening, like some of the others so devastatingly are. But an endometriosis diagnosis is life-altering, at least a little. Endometriosis is what they call it when the lining of your uterus also grows in a bunch of other places where its not supposed to grow. It looks like tiny purple dots scattered around your pelvic cavity, though it can really show up anywhere internally. And, just like the lining inside your uterus, those tiny purple dots break down and bleed every month. It's just as fun as it sounds, folks. Related: Bindi Irwin Felt 'Desperately Alone' Before Endometriosis Diagnosis: 'Very Difficult Time' (Exclusive) Ive had terrible cramps since I got my first period when I was about 13. The cramps and the periods have always been painful, but like most women, I was taught that the pain is just a fact of life. I didnt have any other glaringly obvious problems, so I dealt with the horrible cramping that I assumed everybody else had, too until I mentioned it, somewhat offhandedly, to my primary care doctor the summer before I went to college. She wasnt too concerned, started me on hormonal birth control and the cramps got better. That was the story for almost six years, until I started having gastrointestinal issues seemingly out of nowhere. For the better part of a year, I spent almost every morning at work sick to my stomach. The nausea was debilitating, but I would chew some gum (a trick of the trade) and try to take my mind off my roiling stomach. Doing work you love is good for that, and so is the support and watchful eyes of four friends just desks away. Alex Ross Alex (far right) with those four friends who sit just desks away: (from left) Alexandra Schonfeld, Lizzie Hyman, Zoey Lyttle and Carly Breit The nausea almost always passed by lunch time. The only problem with eating, however, was that it exacerbated the bloating I was dealing with, too. In retrospect, the bloating shouldve clued me in to endometriosis a lot sooner than it did (which was never). As test after test came back negative, I thought it must be a food allergy. I thought maybe I had poor gut health and in turn couldnt digest my food correctly. I was running out of ideas, and the doctors were running out of tests. Again, in hindsight, it all seems quite clear. There is no test for endometriosis. They couldnt give me something they didnt have. Meanwhile, in addition to all of my GI problems, Id started having other simultaneous gynecological issues. My cramps had steadily returned with a vengeance despite the hormonal birth control, and I was constantly, chronically uncomfortable. My gynecologist and I both threw our hands into the air. Me, because I was ready to give up. Her, because, well, now she was pretty sure she had a diagnosis. Turns out, I had a majority of the most common hallmarks for endometriosis (cramps, chronic gastrointestinal distress, what well lump together as otherwise unexplained gynecological discomfort you get the picture). Courtesy Alex Ross Alex in the hospital watching (and holding the speaker up to her ear to listen to) the TODAY show before surgery When my gynecologist sat me down in September to tell me she suspected I had endometriosis, I had two thoughts. Really, just two. The first was a sense of relief that she hadnt said I had something, again, life-threatening. The second thought I had was Oh, [insert expletive]. What does that mean for my fertility? My gynecologist started throwing out words like "surgery" and "pregnancy" and "hysterectomy" and the room did spin, just a bit. I did like one rotation on the crazy catastrophe carousel. But then I got off, and I actually started listening to what she was saying. One in 10 women have endometriosis (hi, thats me!) and it takes an average of 10 years to get a proper diagnosis. According to the Endometriosis Foundation of America, the lack of knowledge about the condition both in the general public and within the medical community really holds us all back. A lot of the efforts are actually just aimed at raising awareness (if youre still here with me, now you know a lot more, too. See how that works?) Related: The Bachelor Contestant Lexi Young Opens Up About Endometriosis Diagnosis: 'My Pain Was Validated' My gynecologist showed me on her computer what endometriosis actually looks like inside a pelvis. Im squeamish, but I was fascinated. It helped to finally see what was going on inside me. Thats whats responsible for all of this pain? I asked her, incredulous that tiny little purple pinpricks of tissue where they weren't supposed to be were what made me feel so awful all of the time. She concurred, and she even informed me that, ironically, most women with endometriosis see their symptoms improve during pregnancy (this is due to an increase in the hormone progesterone, but there is no cure for the disease). And, while doctors dont know what causes endometriosis, they do believe theres a genetic component. Girls with a close female relative with the condition are three to seven times more likely to have it themselves, according to the Endometriosis Foundation. While theres no documented evidence of endometriosis in my family, its a hugely under-diagnosed (and misdiagnosed) condition to begin with, so who really knows? I was also heartened by the fact that these truths all pointed towards me still being able to have children despite the fact that endometriosis is one of the top three causes of female infertility. God-willing all goes well, once I start having kids, doctor's orders dictate that Im supposed to have them all in fairly rapid succession and then, when Im sure Im finished, have a hysterectomy. Thats a lot to wrap my head around at 24, but I guess well cross that bridge (or bassinet) when we come to it. In all honesty, this is the part I think about (read: worry over) the most. Courtesy Alex Ross Alex seven hours post-surgery with her three incisions I decided within a week of the conversation with my gynecologist that Id go ahead and opt for surgery in January. A laparoscopy is the only official way to diagnose endometriosis anyway, and, assuming they find it inside you, they cut it out! I wanted a definitive answer, I wanted those purple dots gone, and I just wanted to feel better. The thing is, despite this laparoscopic surgery being consistently advertised as minimally invasive (because compared to the menu of surgeries performed on any given day, it is) it feels far more invasive as the person whose abdomen and pelvis are being rooted around with robotic arms and tools and cameras for hours. After the fact, you can hardly move on your own. Its the definition of glamour (not), and its incredibly humbling. It also wasnt nearly as bad as I had been expecting. I think thats one of the things I wanted to stress most with this essay every TikTok video and reddit thread I scoured in the lead-up seemed only to have horror stories about the recovery process. It was made scarier by the fact that your doctor cant really tell you how long the recovery process will take, or what it will be like, because they dont know what theyre going to find inside you until the moment they get in there. But, as an otherwise healthy 24-year-old, recovery proved to be just fine. I wasnt in pain so much as I was just exhausted and wholly sore. My friends mailed me flowers and cookies and books and letters. My brother watched movies with me and made sure I always had plenty of ginger ale to drink and soup to eat. My mom took me to the hospital and waited there for me so that she was one of the first faces I'd see in recovery after surgery (which took about three and a half hours). She physically helped me in and out of bed for days, and she made sure I took my cocktail of extra-strength Tylenol and Motrin when I was supposed to. I was back to work (remotely, and admittedly from my bed) within five days, and I went back to work in person after two weeks. Courtesy Alex Ross Alex at the TODAY Show with Jenna Bush Hager in January Alex's first assignment back at work 2 weeks post-surgery Related: Olivia Culpo Reveals Endometriosis Diagnosis, Urges Others with Symptoms to 'Take It Seriously' My boss, who will likely hate this public shout out, kept me laughing and entertained the entire time via text since we live on opposite coasts. Early on, shed started referring to the whole ordeal as the state of my innards because were two very professional women with large vocabularies and, really, what else were we going to call it? I had no choice but to be vulnerable, and she met me there with good humor and figurative pompoms that she's yet to put down. She lifted me (and this story) up, and she makes me feel important and smart and valued and capable. I read somewhere while I was in the process of writing this that great leaders dont create followers, they inspire other great leaders. It made me think of us. Its been almost three months now, and save for the two little tiny scars on either side of my abdomen, I forget most days that I even had surgery. Im back on hormonal birth control as a sort of therapy because thats supposed to help slow the growth of the errant tissue, and Im admittedly still adjusting. I have a six month follow-up scheduled for June because the truth is that having a chronic condition is hard sometimes, but the old knowledge is power adage rings particularly true. Im glad I was diagnosed now versus 10 years down the line when Im trying to start a family. Im glad I have answers and smart doctors and access to the medical treatment I need. 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. I'm also glad to have learned that I can do things that scare me (including writing this!) The laparoscopic surgery confirmed that I have endometriosis, but I've confirmed something else all on my own: endometriosis doesnt have me, and what's more, now People.com has one more story from one more woman to prove just that. Read the original article on People While painful, regret can also be a motivator for learning and growth, encouraging us to avoid repeating past mistakes and make better decisions in the future. We guess thats why self-help author Debbie Ford once said, Pain can be our greatest teacher. Someone on the web asked hospital workers, What regrets do you hear from dying patients?, and folks whove been there in peoples last moments shared the words that hit them the hardest. Heres a list of some of their most profound responses. More info: Reddit #1 Some people just want you to let them go. I had a man with terminal cancer break down crying after his daughters left the room because they wanted him to "keep fighting" and he just wanted to rest and pass peacefully. Learn when to let go. Image credits: SheWolf04 #2 I was a hospice nurse. One of my elderly patients had skin cancer, a huge malignant melanoma on the side of his neck that was growing rapidly. He had been a farmer all his life and never married. One night we were talking and I asked him if there was anything he wished he had done differently in his life, and he thought about it a minute and said he wished he had worn a hat when he was farming. I wish he did too. Image credits: BollweevilKnievil #3 My mom did home health and hospice. My step dad was very a*****e and my mom would take me to work with her to try and protect me. She didnt want to leave him due to religious beliefs. Thats a different story. There was an old man. Id play cards with him. Wed talk about working on the farm we had. He was a nice guy. He figured out I was being physically abused. His health started declining and he couldnt play cards or get out of bed. The last time I saw him. He said he was sorry he wasnt younger and that he couldnt help me. Almost 25yrs ago and I still remember him. Image credits: anon Bored Panda reached out to therapist Dr. Tirrell De Gannes from the Thriving Center of Psychology to ask him why so many people only confront their deepest regrets at the end of their lives, and what we can do to recognize and address them sooner. He had this to say, The main reasons that many people only confront their deepest regrets late are they live a life of routine that does not allow for backtracking and the fear of making a mistake in life is greater than most fears, but not the fear of death. Every day, week, and month we live our lives doing roughly the same things and find ourselves at the end of our lives without a second thought and that leads to many regrets and missed opportunities. Many people fear that making the wrong decision in life will lead them to discomfort or worse but when you are sure you're going to die, that's when the average person reflects on the life decisions that got them through to that point, often leading to acknowledging regrets, De Gannes added. #4 I worked in long term care for 12 years. I remember a married couple that shared a room. She had cancer and kidney failure. I was helping her eat lunch one day with her husband sitting there with us. She looked like death but her husband looked at her then at me and said have you ever seen a more beautiful woman? I had to leave and go to the bathroom and cry. I cried for days every time I thought of what he said. I thought I would never know what it was like to be loved like that. I had been divorced for years. I couldnt even tell the story without tearing up. Footnote....I was divorced 23 years when I met Rod. Been together for 11 years. I know that love now. Its never too late. Image credits: Moonpixy #5 That her son wouldnt put her out of her misery. She only said it once but I hope Ill have the opportunity to be a euthanasia nurse one of these days. The way we are forced drag out death for those who are of sound mind and in unbearable pain is f*****g cruel. Image credits: slayalldayyyy #6 He wished he had been a better father to his daughter. He wished they had reconnected. His dementia prevented him from remembering they had reconnected years before and that she visited often. I wish I could have made him aware that he had accomplished his last wish. But he died not really understanding that. Image credits: shesagdb De Gannes says, in terms of recognizing and addressing our regrets sooner, the recognition of regrets requires either a break from the routine, or added reflection points in the routine. This means going on vacations, using your sick days, asking someone out, saying yes to an event you weren't planning on going to, or at least scheduling one day a week where you assess if you're happy with your life and make changes according to your answer. In addition, we as people need to overcome the idea of making the right choice and instead accept that whatever choice we make for our lives is correct based on the knowledge we have at the time. Take the risk - the regret of not knowing is worse than knowing and moving on, concluded De Gannes. #7 My grandmother used to be a nurse and she would say "I've seen a lot of people through their last days and heard a lot of regrets, but I have never heard anyone coming up to the end wishing they had spent more time working.". Image credits: TheMatt666 #8 This was a weird one for me and actually apropos for my current life. I still think about her. Happened maybe 6-7 years ago. Older 70s female with hx of breast cancer. In ICU for sepsis I believe. I talked to her and she mentioned she was widowed. I gave my condolences and stated Thats hard, Im sorry about your loss. I imagine you miss him. To my surprise she told me No, actually I dont. I was relieved when he died. I was never happy with him. I didnt leave him because thats not what we did back in the day. So here I wasted many years with a man who didnt treat me well, and now I have cancer. Oof. Life lesson folks. Image credits: Like_The_Spice #9 Paramedic but close enough. Made a run on a woman in her 30s for shortness of breath. Her and her boyfriend had just moved into an apartment together. They were fighting over something trivial, which room to unpack first or something. He thought she was just being dramatic. We transported, she never made it. Went from awake and talking to unresponsive and asystolic (no cardiac activity) in a matter of seconds. They were so caught up in a little argument that they never said goodbye. They never told each other they loved them. She didnt have any last words. And honestly thats even worse. Image credits: Flame5135 #10 I worked as an oncology nurse right out of nursing school. I was barely 21 years old. Had a patient about my age who was dying of lung cancer. A few hours before he died I sat with him and he was telling me how much he wished that he would have had more time-to maybe fall in love, marry, have kids. He was so young. He asked me to call his parents and he died shortly after they arrived. It was awful. His regrets were more about the life not lived. Many older patients had some interesting life stories and most wanted to tell them before they died. Most were at peace with the life they lived. Many regretted working so much and not spending enough time with family. Image credits: MagiBee218 Regret is one of the heaviest emotions we carry. Whether its missed opportunities, words left unsaid, or choices we wish we could change, regret can haunt us. But life doesnt have to be filled with "what ifs." By living intentionally and learning how to process past regrets, we can create a more fulfilling future. In her article for Psychology Today, Tchiki Davis (Ph.D.) writes that a recent meta-analytic study aimed to look across several studies on regret to see what the most common causes of regret are. The research showed that Americans six biggest regrets involve education, career, romance, parenting, self-improvement, and leisure. #11 He was one of my first patients as a nursing student, named Frank. He was 92. After knowing him a few days, he disclosed to me his regret was outliving everyone he loved.. that he and his wife hadnt had kids, and he was all that was left and that he wanted to see his wife again. I wasnt sure how to respond , so I just listened... and it made me realize how living so long isnt great if everyone you love is gone. He passed away later that week, and while I distinctly recall some of my classmates being upset, I felt relief for him. I knew he was where he wanted to be. Ive had many patients since, but you tend to remember your first ones. Other than that, ditto what everyones saying, more time with family/loved ones, wish they wasted less time with work or other b******t, etc. Image credits: Reiiran #12 Not taking their sick leave and PTOs. Grinding their whole life. Not being there for loved ones. Image credits: manila_slim #13 I was a new nurse, flying solo. We got a call for an incoming trauma, woman in her 50's involved in a multi-car accident. We were all ready at the ambulance bay, unsure of the woman's complete condition. She rolled in breathing on her own, but very labored with asymmetrical chest expansion. She was profusely bleeding, had multiple deep lacerations, pupils blown, debris covering most of her, etc. Her vitals were unstable, she was circling the drain, we knew she was on the verge of coding... I was standing near her head, ready to assist in supporting her airway but also providing comfort and doing my best to calm her. The woman looked me directly in the eyes and in a hoarse, labored voice stated, "I was angry, I told her I was disappointed in her." She began to cry, her vitals plummeted. "I'm sorry," was the last thing she said before her heart stopped. We coded her, intubated her, performed round after round of ACLS, only to eventually have to call time of death. I still see her face at times, her eyes filled with more emotional pain than physical. It took much longer and was so much harder to write this than I thought it would be.... Image credits: NurseAshley216 According to Davis, common regrets include missed educational opportunities, failure to seize the moment, not spending enough time with friends and family, missed romantic opportunities, rushing into something too soon, and unwise romantic relationships. Research shows that action (vs. inaction) produces more regret in the short term. For example, we might feel regret for saying something embarrassing or agreeing to do an annoying task for someone else. But these experiences of regret pass rather quickly. #14 I've been a nurse for 14 years, the one thing that still hits me is a 14year old boy fighting cancer, did the transplant but died fighting the side-effects of that transplant. Ive nursed him for almost a year and we have grown very close. The day he went away to his home country in the US I told him I am his big momma and when he returned, we would be together doing many plans. His dream was to be a doctor, so I told him I would quit my job and be his nurse the moment he becomes a Doctor. On the night before he and his family left, my husband(chef) cooked for the family and all the nurses his favourite foods. My husband taught my patient on how to cook the recipes. My patient also loves to cook. We had dinner together and I was crying my eyes out afterwards. He is like a second son to me. His last words to me are, I will make sure to meet you again. The day I found out from his mother he had passed away, I was devastated. Image credits: Professional-Try-118 #15 I don't know what to make of this. But I worked patient transportation for about 4 years so I got to encounter a lot of people. The number one thing I always heard was "don't get old". It felt like I'd hear it at least a few times a week if not more often. I won't say much more but hearing that from dozens of different people with different backgrounds who all end up in the same situation, it makes ya think. Image credits: anon #16 I work in a hospital. Whenever someone is at the end of their life, they always just want to be with their loved ones. Any regrets I've heard is always family related... They wanted more time with the people they love. Most people are at peace with things though. People also tend to wish they took their health seriously. Image credits: ghost_zebra Those in the know agree the things were most likely to regret are actually the things we didnt do. Regrets of inaction are stronger and persist longer than regrets of action. So, if we feel we should have taken that trip, or should have gone to college, these regrets likely last longer than regrets of having done something we might rather have not done. In their article for PsychCentral, Sarah Barkley and Carrie Byrd write that living with regret can impact your mental health in several ways, including depression and lower life satisfaction, increased anxiety, lower self-esteem and confidence, a lack of motivation, and a feeling of hopelessness. #17 Ive worked in long term care for over a decade. I cant speak for the young, but most often old people regret the things they DIDNT do. Image credits: anon #18 I work in a hospital delivering trays to patients. I've had multiple patients that have requested a final meal, only to be gone by the time I get it up to them. I haven't heard their last words, but I think seeing what their last meal would have been says a lot on its own. EDIT: Thank you for the award. I have no idea what this means but it made my day. Image credits: greenouroboros8 #19 I work in long term care. Majority male. A LOT of the men regret their marriage. Also one patient had a psychotic breakdown in his 50s. Hes in his mid 70s/ hospice now and says his entire family havent talked to him since. All he knows is words were said and I burned all my bridges. HAPPY THINGS HAPPEN TOO! Image credits: Scat_Olympics The good news is that, if youre living with regret and want to shake free from it, there are many ways to do it. In her article for VeryWellMind, Kendra Cherry writes that, while you cant avoid regret, there are things that you can do to minimize these feelings or at least take the negativity out of them and turn your regrets into opportunities for growth. Cherry suggests practicing self-acceptance, forgiving yourself, making amends for mistakes, and reframing your regret. In her article for Psyche, Jelena Kecmanovich says the content of your regrets can illuminate what matters most to you, so you can use your regrets to clarify your key values - what a useful way to turn your regret on its head! #20 I use to work in a the respiratory ward of a hospital almost a decade ago. I was young and everything and occasionally took a puff of smoke from my friends when we were out drinking. Only a few off times tbh. One of my patients held my hand one day, she was dying and out of breath and I was trying to just be there to calm her down and give some reassurance, she told me to never, ever smoke. She regretted smoking when young as now she is dying because of it. She hates smoking so badly because of all the damage. She described it as drowning, and said that when you are being choked to death and that sensation you are losing your breath is just absolutely terrifying and the worst. Her words stuck with me, and in her final days we kept her as comfortable as we could as she struggled to breathe (with meds and everything). She passed not too long after but I wasnt working that day. Never forgot her advice. Never took another puff. Edit: thanks for my first award!!! . Image credits: foreverjae #21 In the ER it's not something most people see coming when they arrive but it's usually the same regret when they are coherent. They all wish their family was there (which sucks even more lately with covid since family can't come in initially). Or they cry out for their SO in a panic. It's gotten to the point recently where we tell them ""SO" is right here with you". The look of relief on people's faces just hearing that gets me everytime. People just want to not be alone at the end. Image credits: Ralph_Offen #22 "Not yet! I can't die yet. I still have so much growing to do. I want to see my children and grandchildren grow up..." I am a physician trainee who has done a decent amount of palliative care. I have been privileged to hear many stories and be part of many deaths, but I still can't explain why it is that certain lines remain with me and hit me so much harder. The gentleman who told me the line above was in his late 60s-early 70s. It made me reflect on how I view patients in this age group - yes, much older than myself, but still with growing and living to do. I also think of a woman in her 50s I met early on in my training. She and her female partner had never married - partly due to laws, partly because it had never seemed important. When she was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer, they regretted never making that step. I attended their small wedding in the hospital. She died a few days later. Image credits: yuanchosaan By now you should have a handle on the nature of regret, how it can affect you, and a few of the ways you can start dealing with it. Theres no time like the present to rid yourself of even your deepest regrets, so dont wait until its too late. Do any of the regrets in this list resonate with you? Upvote the ones that made you think and feel free to leave a comment if you can relate! #23 Ex-ICU nurse. I had a patient in his 40s once die from AIDS related complications- at the end he developed an acute respiratory infection, and the time that I and my colleagues looked after him was during the span while he was acutely decompensating. We had to intubate but he quickly became comatous and passed away within a couple days despite all treatment. He came from a religious family, but was estranged due to his homosexuality. He found religion again when he realized he was dying and it breaks my f*****g heart that he had convinced himself god was punishing him for being gay. Me and my colleagues tried our best, but his belief and his regret was a lifetime-deep, and our time with him was so short. I will never forget being at his bedside, hes gasping for air, with him telling me desperately between breaths how this is his pumishment from god and he DESERVED it. He died before we had a chance to even help him I feel. Image credits: My_Robot_Double #24 Being alone. Although the ones with family around them face different problems, the ones that have no one there in the end seem to have the toughest time. Image credits: lolrin #25 It always seems to be things people regret not doing (ex i wish i had gone to england) and regreting not spending time with the people they love the most. Remember to do what you love and dont do anything during the day that you will regret at night. Image credits: crackerjack222 #26 That they hadnt utilized hospice services sooner. Image credits: azaleapirate Boao forum sends reassuring message to unstable, uncertain world Xinhua) 08:03, March 28, 2025 BOAO, Hainan, March 27 (Xinhua) -- As crises flare across global hotspots -- from geopolitical conflicts to rising protectionism -- a strikingly different scene unfolded in the coastal town of Boao in southern Chinese province of Hainan. Amid the tranquility of the small town, the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference opened with a timely theme: "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future," offering a rare space for cooperation and dialogue in an increasingly fractured world. "Our world is experiencing far greater instability and uncertainty," Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said at the conference's opening ceremony on Thursday morning. Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called for strengthening mutual trust, enhancing win-win cooperation, promoting economic globalization and safeguarding the free trade system. This photo shows the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi) Since Tuesday, when the BFA annual conference began its panels and sub-forums, the world has witnessed a series of escalating crises. U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on all vehicles and auto parts imported into the United States, a move seen as expanding trade protectionism. In the Middle East, Yemen's Houthi group launched fresh attacks on a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Red Sea and "military targets" in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, in East Asia, deadly wildfires engulfed parts of the Republic of Korea (ROK), claiming lives and causing damage. Against this backdrop, Boao became more than just a venue for speeches; it became a space for confronting common challenges. Participants delved into issues that transcend borders, from building an open global economy and accelerating modernization in the Global South to addressing the climate crisis, demographic shifts, and the implications of artificial intelligence (AI). ASIAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION Addressing the opening ceremony, Ding said that significant progress has been made in building an Asian community with a shared future over the past decade. He added that regional economic integration has been strengthened, and Asia's share in the global economy is steadily rising. Highlighting the profound global transformations and the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, BFA Chairman and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the "Asian miracle" as, to a large extent, a product of globalization, free trade, and open regionalism. Ban Ki-moon, chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) and former UN secretary-general, speaks at the opening ceremony of the BFA Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) Asian economic integration, many speakers noted, is gaining momentum, with regional frameworks like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) serving as a cornerstone for deepening economic ties. The RCEP has emerged as an important anchor for global free trade, said Kuang Xianming, deputy head of the China Institute for Reform and Development, adding that the world's largest free trade agreement keeps opening up regional markets and advancing regional liberalization. The RCEP includes 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its five free trade agreement partners, namely China, Japan, the ROK, Australia, and New Zealand. Signs of growing cooperation were also seen in a recent high-level economic dialogue between China and Japan, which reached 20 consensus points on collaboration in areas such as green development, environmental protection, and elderly care services, among others. Meanwhile, a BFA report identified China and ASEAN as the most appealing economies in Asia. It noted that the inward and outward foreign direct investment dependence of Asian economies on the region itself reached 49.15 percent in 2023, underscoring the region's growing economic interdependence. ANSWERS FOR AN UNCERTAIN WORLD For many participants, the BFA annual conference was more than just an event for Asia. It served as a reminder that, amid global turbulence, platforms for dialogue and trust-building still exist and still matter. The Global South, whose economies contribute 80 percent to world economic growth, took center stage at the meeting. South-South cooperation today is greener, smarter, and more inclusive, said Xiaojun Grace Wang, Trust Fund Director of UN Office for South-South Cooperation, calling on the Global South nations to seize this era's opportunities by enhancing collaboration on digital and data-driven solutions for sustainable development. Climate change and the governance of emerging technologies also dominated conversations. Helena Mcleod, deputy director general and head of the Green Growth Planning &Implementation Division at the Global Green Growth Institute, speaks at a panel discussion themed on "Addressing Climate Change: Issues and Solutions" during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) Helena McLeod, deputy director general and head of the Green Growth Planning & Implementation Division at the Global Green Growth Institute, underscored the vital role of legislation in accelerating the global green transition. "The legislative approaches have to be addressed, and that includes the carbon pricing and pollution control policies." On AI, experts have warned of the risks of unregulated development. "If countries fail to anticipate and manage the risks of AI, they may find themselves inadequately prepared when challenges arise," said Zeng Yi, a researcher with the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China's reform and opening up continue to draw global attention. Since launching the drive in 1978, the country has transformed from an impoverished nation into a market-oriented economic powerhouse, driving high-quality development and creating opportunities shared with the rest of the world. Its GDP grew by 5 percent year on year in 2024, ranking among the world's fastest-growing major economies while continuing to contribute about 30 percent to global economic growth. A panel discussion themed on "AI: How to Strike a Balance between Application and Governance" is held during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu) China's resolve to deepen reform and opening up, Ban noted, has bolstered confidence in inclusive globalization and an open world economy, injected fresh impetus into a strong and balanced global recovery, and created new opportunities for international cooperation. "Opening up is a distinct hallmark of Chinese modernization," Ding said, adding that the country will steadily expand institutional opening up, further improve market access for foreign investors, and expand trials to open sectors such as telecommunications, medical services, and education. "We warmly welcome businesses from all countries to invest and operate in China, participate in the process of Chinese modernization, and share in China's development opportunities," he added. (Reporting by Han Song, Cheng Lu, Zhao Jiasong, Luo Qi, Zheng Jingxia, Zhong Qun, Zhou Huimin, Chen Ziwei, Li Yue, Yan Yujing and Zhao Yeping) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the heart of war-ravaged Myanmar of Friday, killing scores of people and prompting the countrys military junta to make a rare plea for international assistance. The earthquake cut through a vast and varied corner of Southeast Asia, sending terrifying tremors through rural villages caught in the middle of Myanmars civil war all the way to the glitzy high-rises of the traffic-filled Thai capital Bangkok. Shaking was even felt across the border in Chinas southwestern remote and mountainous Yunnan province. At least 144 people have been killed and more than 730 injured, the head of Myanmars military government said late Friday evening. Deaths have also been reported in Thailand. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates the final toll could surpass 10,000 people, according to their early modeling, and that high casualties and extensive damage was likely. Having largely shut the country off from the world during its four years of civil war, Min Aung Hlaing the leader of Myanmars military government declared a state of emergency and issued an open invitation to any organizations and nations willing to come and help the people in need within our country, adding the toll was likely to rise. With electricity and internet down in parts of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaings unexpected call for help is a measure of the devastation the quake has wrought in the country his junta has helped turn into a pariah state. Rescue efforts are likely to vary hugely between the two countries. Myanmar, one of Asias poorest nations, has a long and troubled track record of struggling to respond to major natural disasters, often rebuffing international aid offers and publicly downplaying damage. In contrast, neighboring Thailand is far more prosperous and a major tourist destination, with well-resourced and experienced rescue teams. The quake was felt hundreds of miles from the epicenter near the city of Mandalay in northern Myanmar. Erik Honan, a US citizen visiting a friend in the eastern Thai city of Pattaya, said when he saw items begin to slide on a coffee table early Friday, he knew immediately what it was. Mother Nature was having its way like swatting a fly, Honan told CNN. Bangkok high rise crumbles Video posted online showed panicked residents across Myanmar and Thailand running from swaying residential towers as dust fills the air, and traffic comes to a sudden stop on busy city streets. Rescue efforts in Bangkok are focusing on the site of a high-rise tower that was under construction and collapsed during the quake. Thai authorities fear more than 100 people, mostly construction workers, are thought to be trapped under the building, which was being built by a Chinese state owned company and is now a mess of twisted steel and shattered concrete. Sunan Kenkiat, 31, was working on the fire sprinkler system at the building before it collapsed on Friday. It was shaking and I felt dizzy, Kenkiat told CNN of the moment the high-rise building began to rock. After that, debris like cement pieces started falling down, and the shaking got stronger, so I shouted for everyone to run. He then heard three booms, and his eyes filled with white dust and he knew he the building was about to give way. He managed to escape, dazed and covered in dust, but many of his colleagues remain trapped. As of 10 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) on Friday, at least 10 people had died in the Thai capital due to the quake, according to Deputy Bangkok Governor Tavida Kamolvej. The Thai capital is not a city used to earthquakes and in recent decades condominiums have sprung up across its congested streets. City authorities advised residents of two buildings in the city to evacuate after they sustained damage in the quake. One building was in the Chatuchak district, while the other was in Phra Khanong. Both will be inspected for damage, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said. The administration added that it had received nearly 1,000 reports of structural concerns across the city following the quake and a team of engineers will assess cases based on severity, with three high-risk cases identified so far. The structural assessments will ramp up on Saturday morning. In addition, five public parks and six temporary shelters have been opened for residents to seek refuge, with police and city officials being deployed to maintain safety, the administration said. This screengrab taken from a video shows a building collapse in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 28, 2025, following an earthquake centered in neighboring Myanmar. A portion of the image has been blurred by CNN. - Obtained from Social Media Disaster on top of disaster for Myanmar Myanmar is already reeling from four years of civil war sparked by a bloody and economically destructive military coup, which has seen junta forces battle rebel groups across the country. The coup and ensuing conflict has battered its health infrastructure, leaving it ill-equipped to deal with major natural disasters. Swathes of the country lie outside the control of the junta and are a run by a patchwork of ethnic rebels and militias, making compiling reliable information extremely difficult. Almost 80% of the country is outside of the control (of the military), and then they are controlled by different ethnic armed groups, a country director for an international NGO operating there told CNN. Theyre controlled by the PDF (Peoples Defense Force) under the NUG (National Unity Government), so you cant have a full picture of what is going on. Reports on the damage are still emerging and it could be weeks before the full extent of the devastation is known, but its likely to be severe, according to the International Rescue Committees Myanmar director. The limited amount of available information is partly due to communication lines being down and transport being disrupted, Mohamed Riyas said in a statement. The rescue chief added that the damage to infrastructure and homes, loss of life, and injuries sustained by communities affected should not be underestimated. Amnesty International has urged the ruling junta to allow aid groups to enter freely, saying the quake could not come at a worse time for the war-ravaged country. Tom Andrew, the United Nations special rapporteur for Myanmar, said the quake would pile a disaster on top of a disaster. With more than 20 million people already in need of humanitarian aid and some 3.5 million internally displaced, I shudder to think what will be happening in the next few days as rescue operations kick in, Andrews told CNN. A resident of Mandalay told CNN they werent sure they would survive the quake. The quake was very powerful, we could not run out of the building immediately, said Tun Kyaw, 26, asking to use a pseudonym. It was like the whole building was going to collapse. I was not sure I would get out alive. The quake hit around 12:50 p.m. local time close to Mandalay, the former royal capital that is home to about 1.5 million people and boasts a host of historic temple complexes and palaces. Several aftershocks have since struck nearby, including one of 6.4-magnitude, according to the United States Geological Survey. The epicenter was recorded in Myanmars central Sagaing region, which has been ravaged by the civil war, with the junta, pro-military militia and rebel groups battling for control and all running checkpoints, making travel by road or river extremely difficult. Sagaing is largely rural with dwellings mostly built with wood and thatch. Communications in the area are typically patchy due to intermittent fighting between the junta and rebel groups. Medical workers treat an earthquake survivor in the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. - Sai Aung Main/AFP/Getty Images In the town of Taungoo, 70 miles south of the capital Naypyidaw, three people were killed after a mosque partially collapsed, Reuters reported. One resident in Yangon, Myanmars commercial hub and around 380 miles away from the epicenter, told CNN: We felt the quake for about one minute and then we ran out of the building. We saw other people running out of the buildings too. It was very sudden and very strong. Another resident said phone networks in the city home to around 8 million people were briefly down following the quake, but were now working again. A Yangon resident named Wang, who was on the 20th floor of a building when the quake hit, said people next to me were all scared to death. The quake felt so strong, and lasted really long, said Wang, who did not want to give her first name. Video obtained by CNN from Myanmar appeared to show a road bridge spanning the Irrawaddy River, which runs through Mandalay, collapsing into the river in a cloud of dust and water. This story has been updated with developments. CNNs Lex Harvey, Todd Symons, Edward Szekeres, Hassan Tayir, Manveena Suri, Chris Lau, Rob Picheta, Lauren Kent, Billy Stockwell and Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Jena Ardell - Getty Images "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Dealing with stubby nails that grow at a sloths pace can be frustrating when youre dreaming of Cynthia Erivo-inspired tips. But theres a hack floating around TikTok that promises to help you get manicure-ready nails quickly: Use minoxidil, the active ingredient in Rogaine. The information comes courtesy of dermatologist Lindsey Zubritsky, MD, aka @dermguru on TikTok, who slipped this little nugget of info into a larger post about things she wishes more people knew. In the video, she writes, If you want to grow nails like weeds, drop some Rogaine at the base. Naturally, people slid into the comments with lots of questionsand honestly, same. So, we tapped three more dermatologists for their take on this hack. Meet the experts: Cindy Wassef, MD, an associate professor at the Rutgers Center for Dermatology; Gary Goldenberg, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital; Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital What is minoxidil, again? Minoxidil is medication thats used to stimulate hair growth in people who are balding, explains Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital. Its often used topicallyboth in prescription and over-the-counter formto help hair growth, but minoxidil also comes in an oral prescription. It works by dilating blood vessels, Zeichner says. Originally, it was prescribed orally to treat high blood pressure, and doctors found that patients using the drug grew more hair on their head. It was from that discovery that minoxidil was developed as a topical formula for hair thinning. Ok, but can minoxidil help your nails grow? Yep, @dermguru is onto something: minoxidil can, in fact, help your nails grow. Minoxidil is thought to work on the nails similarly to how it works on the hairby widening blood vessels and increasing blood flow to the area, says Cindy Wassef, MD, an associate professor at the Rutgers Center for Dermatology. That results in nail growth. There isnt a ton of research into this, but there is some. A 2017 pilot study published in the International Journal of Dermatology found that there was statistically significant nail growth in 16 people who applied two squirts of a 5% concentration of topical minoxidil to their nail folds over eight weeks compared to people who didnt use the medication. And a scientific letter published in the journal Experimental Dermatology in 2021 did a head-to-head comparison on the effectiveness of 5% topical minoxidil and 2.5 mg oral biotin in increasing the nail growth rate of fingernails in healthy adults over 28 days. The researchers found that people in the minoxidil group had a 19 percent increase in nail growth rate compared to those in the biotin group (they had just a 13 percent increase). But while most of the (admittedly small) research centers around using topical minoxidil for nail growth, its feasible that the perks would extend to people who use the oral form of the medication, too, according to Gary Goldenberg, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Are there any downsides to using minoxidil for nail growth? Dermatologists have a few concerns about going this route, actually. Topical minoxidil comes with the risk of a few uncomfortable side effects, including irritation, burning, and stinging, Dr. Wassef points out. That means you could be left with wildly angry nail beds, which can make it hard to text and type comfortably. You should also be careful that it does not drip on other areas of skin and it is completely dry before touching other areas of the body, he says. If minoxidil comes in contact with other areas unintentionally, you may notice increased hair growth there. Zeichner also warns about accidentally spreading the medication to your face and other areas of your body. You probably dont even realize how many times you touch your face during the day, he says. Finally, Zeichner points out that minoxidil just isnt approved by the Food and Drug Administration to be used on your nails. We do not have good data on its safety or effectiveness when used there, he says. Still, if you really want to try this hack, Zeichner suggests dipping a cotton swab into the minoxidil and rubbing it along the cuticle area of your fingernail. After a single application, discard the swab and then dip a clean one into the bottle, he says. You do not want to double dip the swab and potentially contaminate the bottle of minoxidil. But if nail growth is a big issue for you, Wassef recommends checking in with a dermatologist to find out what could be behind this. You Might Also Like An attorney for Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts University graduate student who was arrested in the street Tuesday by plain clothes immigration officers and had her visa revoked, says federal officers are intentionally targeting Muslim students during the holy month of Ramadan. The allegation comes as senators and House members, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons Friday morning to call for Ozturk's release. Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish national with a valid F-1 student visa as a doctoral student at the Massachusetts school, was on her way to meet friends for iftar, a meal that breaks the day-time fast observed by Muslims during Ramadan, when she was detained on Tuesday evening, her attorney Mahsa Khanbabai said in a statement. "This appears to be a pattern ICE stalking Muslim students as they are heading to or from iftar to break their fast," Khanbabai said in a Thursday statement. He added that Ozturk was being unlawfully targeted because she co-authored a March 2024 op-ed article about Palestine. Khanbabai said the video of his client's arrest which was published and seen around the world on Wednesday shows the moment Department of Homeland Security agents "grabbed at her clothes, her hands, and her backpack before detaining her and taking her to an unknown location, in an unmarked car." Nothing in this video indicates that these are law enforcement agents and from which agency. This video should shake everyone to their core," he added. "We should all be horrified at the way DHS spirited away Rumeysa in broad daylight." Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national is arrested in Somerville, Mass., on Tuesday. Khanbabai also said that Ozturk was sent to an ICE processing center in Louisiana just like high-profile Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who remains there "despite a federal court order that she not be removed from Massachusetts." According to her LinkedIn profile, Ozturk is a PhD student in child study and human development and a Fulbright scholar. She also holds a masters degree from Teachers College at Columbia University. Since her arrest, a group of lawmakers has been calling for Ozturk's immediate release. These include 10 senators and 18 House members, who released a joint letter Friday morning asking federal agencies why she and many others have been targeted. "We are calling for full due process in this case and are seeking answers about this case and about ICEs policy that has led to the identification and arrest of university students with valid legal status," the letter said. Protesters in Somerville, Mass., on Wednesday demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk. Referring to a string of similar incidents in recent weeks some 300 visas have been revoked including that of many students linked to political activism the lawmakers said: "These are deeply troubling incidents. The Administration should not summarily detain and deport legal residents of this country merely for expressing their political views." The letter asks Noem and ICE a series of questions, including why Ozturk was arrested and under what authority her visa was revoked. "DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News. The statement continued: "A visa is a privilege not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security." Getty Images / InStyle "The way we get dressed every morning is as personal as it gets. There are outfit repeaters, vintage treasure hunters, and even emotional dressers. But while everyone loves a good fashion trend, here at InStyle, we're interested in the deeper stuff, too: the way jewelry makes us feel, the way a beloved coat can spark joy on a cold day, the way a pair of shoes can pull a whole look together. How I Get Dressed unpacks fashion routines, rituals, and go-tosstraight from the fashion tastemakers we love." Surviving ten years in any business, especially one as fickle as fashion, is no joke. With new luxury lines coming and going quicker than the turn of a season, breaking through the noise and withstanding the ever-churning trend cycles is more difficult than ever for an independent fashion label. But somehow, Jamaican and Chinese designer Brandon Blackwood has figured it outall while staying true to his brand ethos. Not only is the self-made talent celebrating a decade since he first launched his collection of insanely popular handbags, which has since been carried by the likes of Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Oprah, and Taylor Swift, but over the years he has expanded his reach with saucy shoes, a line of affordable yet chic ready-to-wear, and even custom red carpet dresses. Brandon Blackwood Blackwoods momentum can be credited to his unwavering commitment to his devoted customer base, who he lovingly refers to as his "cousins." He provides them with a slew of endlessly chic options and actively listens to their every want and need (frequently expressed in the comment section). A quick scroll through the brand's Instagram account reveals just how invested his fans are in Blackwood and how excited they get for every fresh drop. His latest offering for spring, a collection titled "New Species," is no exception. "Everyone brings out their really loud pieces more so in the spring," Blackwood tells InStyle. "So with the latest collection, we are offering pieces that are sophisticated but still young and fresh." If you're wondering what the It Bag from "New Species" will be, the designer has a hunch. "The Jordi bag. That's the one I think is going to be a hit with us," says Blackwood. "She's small but big enough for your phone and everything else. We are offering a bunch of different colorways." The collection features deliciously rich colors like olive oil greens, burnt oranges, chocolatey brown, and zesty zebra prints for those wanting to lean into their wild sides. To celebrate the release of his spring collection, InStyle spoke with the designer about everything from his first couture purchase to staying inspiredand tips for those in a style rut. Ahead Brandon Blackwood's How I Get Dressed. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. His Style in Three Words New York, clean, cool. Brandon Blackwood His Fashion Muses The women in my family, especially my mom. She had me pretty young, and I got to grow up watching her work a corporate job, while never dressing boring. She would wear a purple pencil skirt with a little cropped blazer to the office, and I was always in awe of her. I'd even try on some of her stuff when she wasn't home. Also, my grandmother was extremely stylish, especially when she was going to church. My aunt Camille was also a muse for me growing up. She was definitely the black sheep of the group and she always had the giant door knocker earrings. Everything she wore was Tommy Hilfiger. How He Styles His Outfits I used to be really out there and try a lot of different things. I've learned over time that I like to look chic, but I also love comfort. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, but I've been loving a really tight shirt, a leather pant, and a boot. I feel like I always look clean. I've been doing a lot of Canadian tuxedos lately, like a cropped denim jacket with a pant. At home, I'm lazy. It's just going to always be like a little sweatsuit matching sweat moment. I just love being cozy at home. Brandon Blackwood His First Fashion Splurge I bought a Santos de Cartier watch that I've always wanted for my 30th. That was my big boy purchase. How He Fell in Love With Couture I was in Paris, and I was like, "Oh, Schiaparelli doesn't have a store in New York, so they have to have one here." I basically just Googled Schiaparelli, but my Google Translate was French, so I'm not reading it. I was like, "Oh shit, it's like two blocks away." I walk there, I go and say, "I'm here to shop." The girls looked at me like, "Um, do you have an appointment?" Not knowing that their atelier and everything are in this building, they still let me go in. I ended up being there for hours, and lots of champagne later, I actually left with a couple of things. Then, two days later, they invited me to my first couture show. It was a happy accident, you could say. Brandon Blackwood Where He Shops I love Essx in New York. They carry brands like Martine Rose, Will Bond, and really niche ones, too. Also, I'm always at Dover Street Marketshout out to Hanako at Dover Street. They always really take care of me. I spend lots of time on The Real Real, and I am not shy to admit that if something pops up on my Instagram that I like or I've never heard of, I'm not afraid to buy it. I'm the person they make those ads for because I'm the first one to say, "Let me try it on." That's how I found a brand that I'm currently really into called Salt Murphy. Brandon Blackwood Why He's Not Afraid of Trends Everyone has their own aesthetic. Everyone wants to do their own thing. And if you like it, I love it. I'm never gonna yuck someone's yum, per se. But I would say I think if you're classic all the time, where's the fun in that? Trends happen for a reason, you know? It's the time; it's what we're doing. You don't want to be too trendy. You don't want to be too classic. I like me somewhere in the middle. The Piece He Always Wears I love all of my jewelry, especially my nameplate necklace. It's kind of become the thing that I always wear. And then there's all of my Anthony Lent jewelry. He's a jeweler in New York, and his designs are really cool and almost pseudo-Gothic. I also have lots of custom Bernard James pieces. Brandon Blackwood His Style Advice If you're in a style rut I would say start simple. I think the easiest thing to do is find a pair of pants that fits you really well. Then just style and rotate the top. Then, once you feel comfortable, start rotating the outfit. I think you'll see that it's easier to find your style when you have a go-to piece, and you can start choosing and picking things to accompany it. I always say that a good fitting pair of pants will do wonders, and it makes such a difference when you're looking at the overall look. Brandon Blackwood His Fashion Ick Neon Colors. Like really, really bright neon clothing. I can't do it; its my one thing. Read the original article on InStyle Elon Musk at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, Calif., on March 14, 2019. Elon Musk said Friday that his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, had acquired his social media platform, X. He said that the deal was an all-stock transaction that valued X at $33 billion. "xAI and Xs futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent," Musk wrote in a post on X. The deal combines two of Musk's most high-profile companies, but because they are not publicly traded, no details about the deal were made public outside of Musk's post. It's unclear if the deal included any immediate windfall for Musk. X recently raised $1 billion from investors, valuing it at $44 billion, according to Bloomberg. Musk took X (then Twitter) private in 2022 at nearly the same valuation. Musk was recently served with an SEC summons in the long-running lawsuit over Musk's alleged failure to disclose his ownership in Twitter before bidding to buy it entirely. Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, reposted Musk's message adding: "The future could not be brighter." Musk launched xAI in 2023 and rolled out Grok, an AI-powered chatbot similar to those from OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and many other AI companies. Since then, Grok has been infused into X, with many users now often asking it to respond to posts and weigh in on arguments. Musk has billed Grok as an anti-"woke" AI that is "truth-seeking," though it has been found to disagree with him on many issues. "This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAIs advanced AI capability and expertise with Xs massive reach," Must wrote. "The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge. This will allow us to build a platform that doesnt just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress." Amid the broader boom in AI companies, Musk's xAI has found interest from investors. Major Wall Street firms Blackrock, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, Sequoia Capital, and the top chip companies Nvidia and AMD invested in xAI in December. That funding took the AI companys value to $45 billion. As recently as last month, reports said xAI was considering another fundraising round that would value the company at $75 billion. The rush to develop and invest in advanced AI has included billions of dollars in plans to build out the computing power, electricity infrastructure and human capital necessary to develop increasingly powerful models capable of performing complex tasks. Money has poured into AI startups while tech giants including Google, Amazon and Meta have announced plans for significant spending on all things AI. Meanwhile, both AI and Musk have grown more political. Musk has emerged as among the most high-profile of President Donald Trump's advisers, and Trump made AI a campaign issue, promising to rein in regulation. Just days into his second term, Trump signed an executive order aimed at undoing Biden administration efforts to put some safeguards on AI development while encouraging its growth. Many AI and tech executives as well as technologists and industry watchdogs have warned about the implications of an all-out AI arms race, particularly as other countries including China are pushing to lead on the technology. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho are torn apart over their decision to quit Sentebale, the charity they cofounded in 2006, a former trustee said. Speaking to The Times of London on Thursday, March 27, Dr Kelello Lerotholi one of the charitys trustees who also quit said he was worried about the emotional wellbeing of both princes following the news. I think given their commitment to the welfare of kids, they are torn apart at the thought of looking like theyre abandoning them when they know that theyre not abandoning them, Lerotholi told the outlet. Lerotholi is a cousin of Seeiso, 58, and a close friend to Harry, 40, according to The Times. He told the outlet he regards the British royal as family. Prince Harry Returns to Southern Africa for the 1st Time in 5 Years After London, New York Trips Harry, Seeiso, and several trustees announced their shocking departure from Sentebale amid conflict with the chair of the board, Dr. Sophie Chandauka, on Tuesday, March 25. It is devastating that the relationship between the charitys trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation, Harry and Seeiso said in a joint statement obtained by multiple outlets. Ethan Cairns/Getty Images) Harry and Seeiso alleged that Chaundauka sued the charity after being asked to step down from her voluntary position. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebales beneficiaries, so we will be sharing all of our concerns with the [U.K.] Charity Commission as to how this came about, the statement added. Prince Harry Traveled to Florida for Charity Event: Where and Why Hes Going However, in part of a statement issued to Us Weekly on Wednesday, March 26, Chandauka accused the charity of poor governance, weak executive management [and] abuse of power. There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct, Chandauka said. Samir Hussein/WireImage Discerning readers will ask themselves: why would the Chair of the Board report her own Trustees to the Charity Commission? Why would the High Court of England and Wales accept her application to hear the matter at all if the case had no merit? she added. Well, because beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir and the coverup that ensued. Prince Harry Had a Great Experience Playing in Sentebales Royal Salute Polo Challenge Harry and Seeiso launched the charity to support vulnerable children in Lesotho dealing with issues such as poverty and HIV/AIDS. For his part, Harry was inspired to continue the legacy of his mother, Princess Diana, who was known for her work challenging the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. Even the charitys name which translates to forget-me-not is a nod to Dianas favorite flower. Given how much [the princes] put of themselves and their mothers in this, if you think about this, the name Sentebale, the literal translation is forget-me-not, they clearly named this entity in memory of both their mothers, who were global mothers, I would say, Lerotholi told The Times. And so for me, I dont understand why if somebody takes over quote unquote the entity without them, what is that entity in remembrance of? he added. Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images Passenger airplane flying over clouds. Budget-airline Ryanair recently introduced a new paid membership program. The Ryanair Prime costs approximately $102.27 a year, and provides advanced seat assignment, and access to discounted tickets. The program also provides travel insurance on Ryanair flights. It's "prime" time for travelers within Europe. Ryanair, a popular low-cost airline that operates service throughout Europe, recently introduced a brand new travel membership program called Ryanair Prime. The program offers discounted tickets, free seat assignment, and travel insurance to passengers who book with the airline. The program's seat reservation benefit allows members to choose their seat; however it is limited to a maximum of 12 seats per year. The airline will email 12 exclusive sales to members, and the travel insurance covers all flights on Ryanair. The program costs 79 per year, or approximately $102.27. The airline says that a frequent flyer who takes twelve trips per year would save approximately $543 with the subscription, versus not having the subscription. In order to sign up, travelers visit the Ryanair website or app, and then can immediately use the benefits for future trips. This paid membership program may be the extent of a frequent flyer program for travelers on Ryanair. The airline's CEO had previously denounced all frequent-flyer programs in a press interview. Buy a dog if you want some loyalty, Ryanair CEO Michael OLeary said at a press event covered by The Independent. Low-cost airlines in the United States also have paid membership programs. For example, Frontier Airlines offers access to its Discount Den for $99.99 in the first year, which provides lower-priced tickets, and free flights for a traveler's children. Spirit Airlines offers a free program, aptly named Free Spirit, which helps travelers earn points when flying that can be redeemed for future flights. United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest, and JetBlue all have loyalty programs as well, where travelers earn miles and status for future free flights and benefits. Read the original article on Travel & Leisure President Trump says he still intends to levy tariffs on semiconductors produced outside the US, despite TSMC (TSM) and other tech companies promising to invest billions in the countrys chip manufacturing capabilities. During a press event Monday, Trump said he would impose the import tax down the road without providing an exact date or time frame. He previously called for a 25% tariff on processors but has been vague on the details of the plan, including how it will work, whether it will stack on top of other tariffs, and if it will apply to individual chips or products shipped to the US with chips in them already. Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet The tariff talk comes after Trump criticized the CHIPS Act during an address before Congress and as chip companies struggle amid a sell-off of tech stocks. Shares of TSMC are off 15% on the year, while Nvidia (NVDA) is down 16%. AMDs (AMD) stock price has fallen 11%, and Broadcoms (AVGO) has dropped 25%. Intel (INTC) shares are up 17%, though that has more to do with the company naming a new CEO and reports that TSMC could take over its manufacturing business. The US imports relatively few individual chips compared to the enormous number of products it imports with chips already inside them. That includes everything from smartphones and cars to refrigerators, laptops, and TVs. Whats more, chips dont just come from one country. Semiconductor chips move across a lot of national borders. They start out as raw silicon wafers, which may come from Japan or Taiwan or Germany. Then you're going to put the chips on and then you're going to send it somewhere else, explained Willy Shih, a professor of management practice in business administration at Harvard Business School. A view of wafers in a production line of Dutch semiconductor company Nexperia, in Hamburg, Germany, June 27, 2024. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer (REUTERS / Reuters) Who's going to dice it and package it? And then Ive got to put it on printed circuit boards, Shih said. What they're proposing is much more complicated than maybe they appreciate. Semiconductors are a global industry Broadly speaking, manufacturing a chip often includes producing a silicon wafer in one country that is then sent to a factory in a different country, where a circuit is printed onto it. It is then shipped to another factory in a separate country to be cut into individual chips and packaged as semiconductors. From there, the processors are sent to another factory, where theyre put into laptops, cars, or virtually any other electronic device. And thats not even accounting for the various chemicals needed throughout the chipmaking process. In 2022, Russias war in Ukraine sent the world into a panic over fears that a lack of access to neon gas would slow chip manufacturing in other countries. Neon is used in the lasers needed to make processors, and Ukraine accounted for upward of 54% of the gas. A silicon wafer with chips etched into it, seen at a site where Applied Materials plans to build a research facility in Sunnyvale, Calif., May 22, 2023. (Jim Wilson/Pool via REUTERS) (REUTERS / Reuters) And while Trump has talked up Taiwans chip exports to the US, the truth, Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon explained, is that the US imports more chips from Malaysia, where theyre packaged before being sent to America. Even Intel chips built in the US are shipped to other countries where theyre packaged or dropped into other devices. If you have a PC that has an Intel microprocessor in it, that chip could have been made in Arizona. It could have been made in Ireland. It could have been made in Israel, Shih explained. It probably went either to Vietnam or Malaysia for packaging. Then it might have gone to a circuit board plant in China or Vietnam to go into a notebook computer. The complexities of chip tariffs If Trump does implement tariffs on chips, it raises a number of key questions, ranging from whether he places a tariff on the final product chips are shipped in to which country counts as the country of origin for a chip thats crossed borders a number of times before its completed. It gets even more complex when you take into account that most devices require several chips to operate properly. Lets take Apples (AAPL) iPhone, for example. Theres the main CPU, but then there are chips that handle power management, storage, display, and the radios that allow the smartphone to connect to the internet. Each of those chips may cross 20 different borders, Rasgon said. Wafers on display are pictured at the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) at Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan, September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang (REUTERS / Reuters) The question then becomes, do tariffs apply to each chip, or only those that come from certain countries? Even then, experts say, youre right back to the issue of determining country of origin. If that gets sorted, device makers will have to determine how they handle tariffs. It's going to affect the price of the finished product, explained Morris Cohen, professor of manufacturing and logistics at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School. And the assembler and seller of those finished products still has to deal with the fact that they now have a higher cost of building their product and therefore they have to decide how they're going to deal with it. That could involve eating part or all of the cost of the tariff, eroding margins, or passing it on to consumers. What does all of this mean for your wallet? Like everything else, its up in the air. 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. A Florida death row inmate who was convicted of kidnapping and killing a woman in 2000 is asking the court to show him leniency regarding his execution, scheduled for early next month, because he is "morbidly obese." In an appeal filed Monday, lawyers say that 48-year-old Michael Tanzi "is morbidly obese and suffers from severe chronic sciatica" as well as other conditions, such as "hyperlipidemia, uncontrolled hypertension, and gastroesophageal reflux disease." Tanzi believes, according to his attorneys, that his execution by lethal injection would violate the Constitution's Eighth Amendment, which prevents cruel and unusual punishment. Michael Tanzi. "The existing protocols for lethal injection do not contemplate the execution of someone with obesity and uncontrolled medical conditions, like Mr. Tanzis, that are likely to complicate the lethal injection process," the filing read. "Executing Mr. Tanzi using the existing protocols is likely to cause serious illness and needless suffering," it continued. His lawyers requested that the court stay his April 8th execution and bring the case back to circuit court for an evidentiary hearing. In a response filed on Wednesday, Attorney General of Florida James Uthmeier denied Tanzi's appeal for relief. Uthmeier's office said Tanzi "has failed to show that the Governors warrant powers violate the Eighth Amendment," and that the state's lethal injection procedure has been in place since 2017. The filing also said that Tanzi could have raised his "meritless" concerns about lethal injection earlier. "Tanzi has offered no legitimate reason for this Court to depart from its longstanding precedent," the attorney general's office said. Tanzi's legal team responded Friday, urging the court to reverse the attorney general offices order denying their client relief. Tanzi was convicted of carjacking and later killing Janet Acosta in April 2000. According to court documents, Tanzi approached Acosta, who was sat in her vehicle with the window rolled down, and proceeded to attack her after asking her for the time and a cigarette. He then drove off in Acosta's vehicle, taking her as hostage while threatening her with a razor blade, and later sexually assaulting and strangling her, per court documents. Attorneys for Tanzi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HHS The US Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that it is cutting 10,000 full-time employees across health agencies, the department told CNN. This comes on top of 10,000 employees whove left voluntarily, shrinking the workforce from about 82,000 full-time employees to 62,000. In addition, there are about 5,200 probationary workers, who have been in their positions less than a year or two and were terminated last month. Most are on temporary administrative leave as their fate winds its way through federal courts. They are not included in the latest announcement, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said. The cuts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. In its announcement, HHS said it will consolidate from 28 to 15 divisions, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, and will reduce regional offices from 10 to five. The workforce reduction will save $1.8 billion per year, the agency said. HHSs new priority will be to end Americas epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins, the agency said. We arent just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. This Department will do more a lot more at a lower cost to the taxpayer. But the agency also said that it will ensure that Medicare, Medicaid and other essential health services will remain intact in the restructuring. After the cuts were announced Thursday, public health experts said that maintaining services would be a challenge or impossible based on the existing public health workload, steep reductions in funding to state and local health departments and possible cuts to Medicaid. Reducing duplication and improving government efficiency is needed, the question is consequences, said Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, a nonprofit that studies and supports the US public health workforce. Cutting your home budget might be a good idea, but not if it means your kids starve. Makes one wonder who will be left at HHS to lead their efforts to Make America Healthy Again. In a video posted on X on Thursday, Kennedy acknowledged it will be a painful period as health agencies shrink but promised they would be more efficient, do more with less and focus on the new mission. No American is going to be left behind, Kennedy said in the video. I want every HHS employee to wake up every morning asking themselves, what can I do to restore American health today? Thousands of jobs cut across agencies HHS said Thursday that cuts will include: 3,500 full-time employees at the US Food and Drug Administration, not affecting drug, medical device or food reviewers or inspectors 2,400 employees at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health due to centralizing procurement, human resources and communications 300 employees at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Among the changes will be the new Administration for a Healthy America, which will combine the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. HHS said it will focus on areas such as primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, environmental health, HIV/AIDS and workforce development. HHS will also create a new assistant secretary for enforcement, who will oversee the Office for Civil Rights, the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals and the Departmental Appeals Board. A new Office of Strategy will combine the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to enhance research that informs the Secretarys policies and improves the effectiveness of federal health programs. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which handles disaster and public health emergency responses, will move under the CDC. About 1,000 employees will move to the CDC as part of the change. The Administration for Community Living, which support older adults and people with disabilities, will be integrated into other HHS agencies. At the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the cuts will weigh heavily on caseworkers and account management teams, according to a former HHS employee. Caseworkers assist Affordable Care Act health plan consumers and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with enrollment if they cant be helped by call center personnel. And account management teams deal with health insurance plans to make sure they are complying with regulations and to answer their questions. Service standards for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries and Affordable Care Act consumers will suffer with a reduction in the people that handle their cases and with diminished oversight of the Medicare Advantage plans, the person said. Employee notices to go out as soon as Friday HHS sent a formal reduction in force, or RIF, notice to American Federation of Government Employees union leaders early Thursday morning. About 8,000 to 10,000 employees will be affected by the layoffs, with the probable effective date being May 27, said the email, which was sent by Thomas J. Nagy Jr., deputy assistant secretary for human resources at HHS, and viewed by CNN. Specific notices to employees may be sent as soon as Friday, the email said. The reductions are mainly aimed at administrative jobs, including human resources, information technology, procurement and finance, according to the email. It will also target roles in high-cost regions and employees in areas that have been deemed redundant or duplicative within HHS or across the federal government. HHS is still finalizing the list of so-called competitive areas, which defines the organizational or geographical scope in which employees compete for positions during a RIF, the email said. The union was asked to advise if or when it would like to start negotiating on impact and implementation. The National Treasury Employees Union, which also represents workers at the agency, called the plan disastrous and vowed to fight for its members and HHS overall mission. The American people do not support indiscriminate cuts curtailing or eliminating local health programs, endangering the health and safety of children and families, and inflicting real economic harm in small towns and big cities across the country, union National President Doreen Greenwald said in a statement. Heavy workloads and impacts to care Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, likened the cuts to a wrecking ball. Any cut you make to a health agency should be done with incredible care and consideration for the hundreds of millions of Americans who rely on their work to stay healthy and get treatment when theyre sick, Brooks-LaSure, now a fellow at the Century Foundation, said in a statement. We certainly have progress to make to ensure every American can access safe, affordable, timely health care, but laying off thousands of people working toward that progress doesnt move us forward. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said morale at public health agencies was already the lowest its ever been as people struggle with heavy workloads. Ive done big reorganizations before. You have to do them very, very carefully, very deliberately. Every time you move the boxes around, every time you downsize or upsize organizations, you make them dysfunctional for some period of time, he said. With the confirmation of staffing cuts and defunding of state health agencies, Benjamin said American life expectancy would almost certainly get worse, not better, as a result of these changes. Not only are they breaking the federal infrastructure, but they just broke the state and local infrastructure on top of this, so the states and locals cant even pick up the slack, Benjamin said. The personnel reductions will ultimately affect government services and be felt by the public and health care providers, said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, a nonpartisan health research group. Reductions in the federal workforce may seem more efficient, but it could result in more wasteful spending down the road, Levitt said. New efforts to improve healthy behaviors may work at cross purposes to dramatic reductions in federal programs and big cuts to Medicaid being considered by Congress. Dr. Stella Dantas, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement that the the work and expertise of HHS staff are critical to the well-being of our entire populationand to physicians ability to provide care to patients. The cuts were alarming, she said, and risk reverberating damage to the US health system now and in the future: This attack on public healthand HHS ability to advance itwill hurt people across the United States every single day. Americas Essential Hospitals, the trade association for hospitals that care for low-income and uninsured people, also voiced concerns that the restructuring could compromise the infrastructure needed to serve patients effectively. Assistance from federal partners is key for our hospitals to ensure that low-income and older Americans have access to health care, Beth Feldpush, the groups senior vice president of policy and advocacy, said in a statement. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A federal grand jury indicted a man from the Dominican Republic in connection with a grandparent fraud scheme, the latest case in a growing trend where scammers pose as desperate relatives and convince seniors to handing over their savings. Luis Alfonso Bisono Rodriguez, a citizen of the Caribbean nation living in Cleveland, was charged in Pennsylvania with working with partners in the Dominican Republic to defraud at least five victims of some $50,000. They called people as old as age 91 and posed as a cast of characters ranging from the victim's children to attorneys to bail bondsmen. This fraud scheme not only targets elderly, vulnerable victims, but further traumatizes them by placing them in fear for their loved ones, Troy Rivetti, acting U.S. attorney for the federal district in Pennsylvania, told USA TODAY on Thursday. We encourage any additional victims to contact the FBI as soon as possible and urge our elderly population to stay informed and remain vigilant in protecting themselves from these scams. The case out of the Western District of Pennsylvania is the latest in the trend of financial fraud schemes targeting elderly people. Recent FBI reports show that elderly people lose as much as $3.4 billion annually to grandparent schemes. Bisono Rodriguez, 34, is charged with five counts of receipt of stolen money that crossed a state border, according to a federal indictment. The scam lasted from June 2024 to January 2025, court filings say. Victims handed over up to $20,000 in envelopes labeled as "legal documents" to unsuspecting Uber and Lyft drivers, who drove the envelopes from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, to locations in Ohio where Bisono Rodriguez picked it up and deposited it, according to the FBI. Financial records say Bisono Rodriguez wired at least $14,000 to a recipient in the Dominican Republic shortly after completing the handoffs, court filings say. Chalon Pfeifer, Bisono Rodriguezs attorney, told USA TODAY her client plans to plead not guilty. More: Scammers accused of preying upon worried grandparents How grandparent fraud schemes work Fraud schemes targeting the elderly have developed in recent years into elaborate dramas involving whole casts of characters. For a set of victims in their 70s, it started with a call from someone posing as their son, David, according to the FBI. David reported he was in an accident; transferred the call to someone claiming to be Davids attorney who outlined supposed charges against their son; and finally transferred the call to a supposed bail bondsman who said the parents needed to send $9,000 in cash so David could post bond. Scam artists use stolen data or public information from social media to learn about their victims in order to develop credible narratives, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Characters they invent may have cameo roles in scamming multiple victims. For example, Matthew Arnold, a supposed public defender, called at least three of the victims, according to court records. Scammers tell victims not to tell anyone about the money, sometimes saying that a judges order prevents anyone involved in the case from talking about it. One 74-year-old victim in the recent case told a curious bank teller that the $9,500 she withdrew was just a gift for her grandson. Security footage taken from gas stations and rest stops show the same man identified as Bisono Rodriguez entering stores to buy a drink after taking the money, according to court records. Often, he wore the same all-maroon sweatsuit and olive-colored beanie. Drivers showed police messages from the rideshare account holder saying that instead of picking up a passenger, they were retrieving legal documents. Tips of up to $100 were offered if they successfully delivered packages, court filings say. An international crime ring Financial records and data obtained from Uber via a legal request indicate Bisono Rodriguez was working in concert with partners in his native country, according to an FBI affidavit. Bisono Rodriguez sent approximately $14,000 to someone in the Dominican Republic, according to bank records obtained by the FBI. Money transfers tended to happen shortly after someone received cash delivered to Ohio by rideshare drivers. Transfers amounted to roughly 20% of the cash received in a handoff, according to court filings. Data provided to the FBI by Uber showed the rides were called not by Bisono Rodriguez but by a man named Jesus Cardona, according to an FBI statement. Cardona was not in Ohio or Pennsylvania but in the same city in the Dominican Republic where money was being sent. Cardona ordered some 80 rides between December 2024 and March 2025, according to the FBI. Investigators have found other victims linked to the account, including an elderly couple in Connecticut defrauded out of $14,000 and an elderly person in Kentucky scammed out of $9,000. Bisono Rodriguez, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, originally entered the United States on a tourist visa, according to Department of Homeland Security records. He was supposed to exit the country in 2022 but overstayed his visa, according to court records. Snapchat gotcha: Feds are sending people to prison after snaps show gangs, guns, ammo How widespread are these scams The scammers targeting elderly people in Western Pennsylvania represent just a fraction of the fraudsters targeting unsuspecting grandparents nationwide. The FBI reported last June that they recorded a double-digit increase in financial fraud targeting elder adults. $1.6 billion in losses was reported to the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center between January and May of 2024, amounting to a $300 million increase compared to the same period in 2023. A total of $3.4 billion in losses was reported to the FBI in 2023, an increase of 14% over losses in 2022, the report says. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Vermont reported one of the most significant cases of the scheme earlier this month. Federal prosecutors charged more than two dozen Canadian nationals in a massive scam that bilked more than $21 million from elderly people in more than 40 U.S. states. According to a federal indictment in the case, which was unsealed this week, the grandparent scam operated between summer 2021 and June 2024 from call centers in and around Montreal. Calls were made through phone providers that made it appear as if they were coming from within the U.S., the indictment said. The swindled money was then transmitted to Canada. The indictment says the transactions sometimes involved cryptocurrency, which veiled the source of the money and identities of those involved. Canadian law enforcement officers said they found many of the defendants actively engaged in phone conversations with elderly victims in Virginia when they executed search warrants at several call centers last year. All but two of 25 defendants, who are ages 27 to 45, were arrested in Canada. At the time the indictment was announced, the pair who remained at large 38-year-old Gareth West, known as Buddy or Muscles, and 35-year-old Jimmy Ylimaki, aka Coop are among those accused of managing the fake call centers. Contributing: Marc Ramirez Michael Loria is a national reporter on the USA TODAY breaking news desk. Contact him at mloria@usatoday.com, @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man accused in international 'grandparent scheme' Vice President J.D. Vance doubled down on the Trump administration's interest in acquiring Greenland on Friday while visiting the United States' Pituffik Space Base as President Donald Trump argued the U.S. "can't" do without the island. Vance emphasized how Greenland is vital to U.S. national security while speaking to reporters Friday afternoon. "Well, the president said we have to have Greenland. And I think that we do have to be more serious about the security of Greenland," he said. "We can't just ignore this place. We can't just ignore the president's desires." PHOTO: Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance eat a meal with soldiers at the U.S. military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, March 28, 2025. (Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Trump has repeatedly suggested the U.S. should take over Greenland "one way or the another" for national security purposes and as he continues to emphasize Greenland's importance as China and Russia ramp up activity in the Arctic. "We have to have Greenland. It's not a question of: Do you think we can do without it? We can't," he claimed in the Oval Office on Friday. "If you look at Greenland right now, if you look at the waterways, you have Chinese and Russian ships all over the place, and we're not going to be able to do that. "We're not relying on Denmark or anybody else to take care of that situation," he added. "And we're not talking about peace for the United States." MORE: Trump says US will 'go as far as we have to' to get control of Greenland PHOTO: Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance arrive at the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, March 28, 2025. (Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) "Greenland's very important for the peace of the world -- not us, the peace of the entire world," said Trump, who made overtures about buying Greenland in his first term in office. "And I think Denmark understands it. I think the European Union understands it. And if they don't, we're going to have to explain it to them." However, Vance noted that the administration "respects the self-determination of the people of Greenland" but that they'd be better served by the U.S. security umbrella. PHOTO: Vice President JD Vance, with Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaks the U.S. military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, March 28, 2025. (Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) "Yes, the people of Greenland are going to have self-determination," he said. "We hope that they choose to partner with the United States because we're the only nation on Earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security -- because their security is very much our security, as these brave Americans show." Vance added that Denmark has not kept the people of Greenland and U.S. troops at the base safe from "very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and from other nations." "Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change," he said. PHOTO: Vice President JD Vance tours the U.S. military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, March 28, 2025. (Jim Watson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) The vice president and second lady Usha Vance arrived in Greenland on Friday for a scaled-back visit to the Pituffik Space Base, where he delivered remarks and received briefings after the couple greeted U.S. service members stationed there. While meeting with service members, J.D. Vance noted he is the first vice president to visit Greenland, saying it is "a pretty cool thing," before giving an overview of the visit. "We're talk to the command and some of the Guardians about what exactly the base does and all the important ways it contributes to national security. We're going to get a briefing, of course, about, you know, what you guys do every day," he said. The vice president said he was told that assignment to the base was a one-year, unaccompanied assignment, meaning service members are not able to bring their families along. "So I know it's a lot of sacrifices, spending a year away from your families, but the mission is really important," he added. "The Trump administration, the president is really interested in Arctic security. As you all know, that's a big issue, and it's only going to get bigger over the coming decades. So thanks for doing what you do." PHOTO: Vice President JD Vance arrives at the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, Mar. 28, 2025. (Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) The Vances were joined on the trip by national security adviser Mike Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Sen. Mike Lee. The trip was originally planned as a visit by the second lady to attend a dogsled race, but that plan was scrapped after heavy criticism. Wright told Fox News on Thursday that Greenland has tried for years to interest U.S. mining companies to develop resources there because there's not enough infrastructure to make mining economical. "So, heck, maybe that is going to happen," he said. "I think that is in the best interest of Greenland and Greenlanders, and they have expressed that for years. If the United States can have the right cooperation, I think capital can flow there, which would bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States -- a win for both sides." The idea of Greenland becoming part of the U.S. is opposed by many in Greenland and Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory. PHOTO: Vance (Jim Watson/Pool via AP) MORE: JD, Usha Vance to visit Greenland as prime minister blasts 'aggressive American pressure' Usha Vance was originally scheduled to make the trip to learn about Greenland's cultural heritage and attend the race before it was announced that the vice president, Waltz and Wright would join her. The trip was later scaled back to just a visit to the space base. J.D. Vance and Waltz are at the center of the scandal over the purported conversation discussing the attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen over the commercially available Signal app that inadvertently included The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, who reported details of the conversation on Monday. Officials in Greenland and Denmark have pushed backagainst the visit. PHOTO: The sun rises over the mountain tops, Mar. 27, 2025 in Nuuk, Greenland. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) Reuters reported that Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called Trump's statements an "escalation" in Trump's rhetoric. "These very powerful statements about a close ally do not suit the U.S. president," Poulsen told reporters in Copenhagen on Thursday. "I need to clearly speak out against what I see as an escalation from the American side." On Wednesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a post on social media the U.S. is putting "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark ahead of the unsolicited visit, adding that the two regions will "resist." The timing of the visit was criticized in both Greenland and Denmark as Greenland tries to put together a coalition government after parliamentary elections two weeks ago. -ABC News' Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report. Trump says 'we can't' do without Greenland as Vance tours territory amid US takeover controversy originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Sgt. Joe Harris, believed to be the oldest surviving World War II paratrooper and a member of the U.S. Armys first all-Black parachute infantry battalion, has died. He was 108. Harris died March 15 in a hospital in Los Angeles surrounded by family, grandson Ashton Pittman told The Associated Press. He will be honored with a full military funeral on April 5. He was a very loving, loving, loving man, said Pittman. That was one of the things that he was very strict upon was loving one another. Harris was among the last surviving members of the historic 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, nicknamed the Triple Nickles. The battalion helped protect the U.S. from deadly Japanese balloon bombs, according to Robert L. Bartlett, a retired Eastern Washington University professor who specializes in the 555th. In 1944 and 1945, the Japanese launched thousands of the balloons to be carried by the Pacific jet stream to the U.S. mainland to explode and start fires. During World War II, Black Americans were often relegated to more support-level jobs in the racially segregated military and President Franklin Roosevelt faced pressure to put them in combat units. As a result, the military recruited Harris and hundreds of other Black men, trained them and sent them into blazes on the West Coast, where they fought fires, Bartlett said. Throughout their time in the military, they faced overt racism, including being barred from going to the base commissary and officers clubs unless they were specifically for Black people. This unit had to fight to be recognized as human beings while training to fight an enemy overseas, fight in their own country for respect even within the military, Bartlett said. That was not lost on Pittman, who said his grandfather was brave enough to serve the U.S. during a time when the country didnt love him, honestly, didnt care about him. Harris was born on June 19, 1916, in West Dale, Louisiana, according to Tracie Hunter, spokesperson for WWII Beyond The Call, a nonprofit organization that works to document veterans' accounts. After filling out his draft registration card, he began his military service in 1941 when he was 24. By the time he was honorably discharged in November 1945, he had completed 72 parachute jumps, according to Hunter. After the war, he worked for the U.S. Border Patrol. He also spent more than 60 years in Compton, California, where Pittman said he was the neighborhood patriarch, a man everyone on the block knew and gravitated to. His life is to be celebrated, Pittman said. Obviously people are going to morn because hes not here anymore. But ultimately what I know from conversations that Ive had with my grandfather is that he wants to be celebrated. He deserves to be celebrated. He is survived by his son, Pirate Joe Harris Sr., and two daughters, Michaun Harris and Latanya Pittman, along with five grandchildren, according to Hunter. His wife, Louise Harris, died in 1981, and a sixth grandchild has also died. Pittman said that his grandfather would sometimes ask him if he would ever jump out of a plane. In October, Pittman had the opportunity to follow in his grandfathers airborne footsteps. For a week, he did paratrooper jump training in Corsicana, Texas, through the Liberty Jump Team, an organization that works to preserve the memory of veterans. When I got my wings, I actually broke down and started crying because everything in that moment just resonated with me, he said. It was like, dang Im literally doing what my grandfather did. Shortly before Harris' death, he got a landing zone, in Tuskegee, Alabama, dedicated in his name. Pittman said he plans to be the very first person to jump in the Sgt. Joe Harris Dropzone. FILE - Advocates for cooling Texas prisons construct a makeshift cell before a rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Austin, Texas. The group is called for an emergency special session to address the deadly heat effecting inmates. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) AUSTIN, Texas (AP) A federal judge's rebuke of Texas housing prisoners in lockups without air conditioning stopped short of ordering a fix before summer in what has become of the country's biggest lawsuits over keeping prisoners safe during dangerous extreme heat. But U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman's warnings to Texas to act after finding the conditions in the prison system unconstitutional could resonate elsewhere in the U.S. where similar challenges are ongoing, according to attorneys leading the Texas case and other prisoner advocates. Texas is just one of several states, mostly in the South, facing lawsuits over prison conditions when temperatures often rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius). In Louisiana, a group of men incarcerated at a state penitentiary this week again asked a federal judge to take steps to protect prisoners doing outdoor agricultural labor in dangerous heat. Texas is the largest prison system in the country and the judge found it to be acting in an unconstitutional manner and indifferent to dangerous conditions, said Jeff Edwards, lead attorney in the Texas case. Every warden and leader of a correctional system is going to be aware of it, Edwards said. It sends an incredibly powerful message. The Texas case will not have authority over prisons in other states. But Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the ACLU National Prison Project, said the judge's findings will be significant for lawsuits with the same issues of extreme heat, limited or no air conditioning, and inmates at risk of dying. "It's influential, Kendrick said. Texas has more than 130,000 people in prisons. Only about a third of roughly 100 prison units are fully air-conditioned, and the rest have either partial or no electrical cooling. The lawsuit was initially filed in 2023 by Bernie Tiede, the former mortician serving a life sentence whose murder case inspired the movie Bernie. Several prisoners rights groups then asked to join his legal fight and expand it. Several people who were formerly incarcerated in Texas testified that inmates would fake suicide attempts to be moved to cooler medical areas, while some would set fires so that guards would be forced to hose down cells. Texas officials acknowledged that heat may have been a factor in a handful of deaths in 2023 but dispute claims that the impact has been far greater. On Thursday, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said it has asked lawmakers for $118 million to install air conditioning for about 16,000 more beds. TDCJ is dedicated to continuing to add air-conditioned beds in our facilities, the agency said. In Louisiana, a federal judge last year ordered prison officials to increase shaded areas, schedule additional breaks, provide sunscreen and medical checks to those especially vulnerable to high temperatures. But the order did not shut down work on a former slave plantation when heat indexes reach 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31.1 degrees Celsius) or higher, which was what the plaintiffs had requested. The judges order has since expired and a group of inmates filed a new request for help. As we enter the summer season in Louisiana, the State continues to force incarcerated people to work in the fields of a former plantation, under dangerous conditions, putting them at extreme risk of heat-related illness, said Samantha Pourciau, Senior Staff Attorney at the Promise of Justice Initiative. The Louisiana Department of Correction did not immediately respond for comment. A federal lawsuit in New Mexico claims eight inmates were confined for hours in stifling summer heat in a prison transport van without working air conditioning. In Georgia, prison officials face a federal lawsuit from the family of a man who said he died after he was left in an outdoor cell without water, shade or ice in July 2023. The Texas case will proceed toward trial, where the judge warned the state of the likelihood it could be ordered to spend billions to install permanent air conditioning. The Texas Legislature is in session and currently writing the two-year state budget. Lawmakers have filed at least three bills that would provide some relief. Temperatures are rising as the Texas summer approaches. Some areas of the state have already hit above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius). Im regretful we cant protect them with relief this summer, Edwards said. But we will move as fast as we can. ___ Associated Press journalists Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Kate Brumback in Atlanta, Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix contributed. Kermit the Frog is slated to impart wisdom upon this years graduating class at the University of Maryland. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters Kermit the Frog once sang its not easy being green and now he gets to see how easy it is to impart wise words to graduating college students in these times. The university announced this week that it had chosen the fictional Muppets star and so-called worlds most famous amphibian to deliver its commencement speech on 21 May at University of Marylands SECU Stadium in College Park. Kermits selection for the role occurred a year after other US universities grappled with protests against commencement speakers or canceled the speeches altogether over Israels military strikes in Gaza. Related: DoJ investigating four California universities over race in admissions It also comes as Donald Trumps presidential administration has been pressuring US universities to reform their admissions policies and crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations or risk investigations as well as the loss of millions of dollars in federal money. Marylands announcement avoided saying whether it took such factors into account before tapping a childhood idol as its commencement speaker. Nothing could make these feet happier than to speak at the University of Maryland, said a statement attributed to Kermit and the Muppets Studio. I just know the class of 2025 is going to leap into the world and make it a better place, so if a few encouraging words from a frog can help, then Ill be there! A promotional video published by Maryland hailed Kermit as a Peabody award winner, bestselling author, environmental advocate and friend to all creatures. The video also alluded to how the late Jim Henson, who created the Emmy-winning Muppets, came up with Kermit while he was a student at Maryland. Henson graduated from the university in 1960 as a home economics major, and he is commemorated at the campus with a sculpture depicting him sitting next to Kermit. I am thrilled that our graduates and their families will experience the optimism and insight of the world-renowned Kermit the Frog at such a meaningful time in their lives, said a statement attributed to Marylands president, Darryll J Pines. Our pride in Jim Henson knows no bounds, and it is an honor to welcome Kermit the Frog to our campus. The Muppets Studio said the plan is for Kermits puppeteer since 2017, Matt Vogel, to voice and perform the character. At least one graduating senior at Maryland described looking forward to Kermits address. The theater student Adam Hawley told the network: Its not often that a frog speaks at your graduation. Despite being a frog and puppet, its remarkable how relatable and human Kermit is. He makes mistakes just like us, but whats truly special is how he learns from his experiences and shares with us a deep wisdom on how to be kind to ourselves and treat one another with care. Kermit is not a commencement-speaking rookie. He spoke to the graduating class of the former Southampton College of Long Island University in 1996 and accepted an honorary doctorate of amphibious letters from the institution. I am sure that when you were children growing up back in your own particular swamps or suburbs, you never imagined you would sit here on one of the most important days of your life listening to a short, green talking frog deliver your commencement address, Kermit said at the time, according to a transcript. All of us should feel very proud of ourselves and just a little bit silly. He wished the graduates ribbit-knee-deep-ribbit, which he said translated to: May success and a smile always be yours even when youre knee deep in the sticky muck of life. You are no longer tadpoles, Kermit said in conclusion. The time has come for you to drop your tails and leave this swamp. But I am sure that where I go as I travel around the world, I will find each and every one of you working your tails off to save other swamps and give those of us who live there a chance to survive. We love you for it. Enjoy life! And thank you very much. As the sun began to set Tuesday over Somerville, Massachusetts, Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk was on her way to meet friends at an Iftar dinner where they would break their Ramadan fast. But she would never make it to the gathering, according to her attorney. Instead, the 30-year-old was arrested and physically restrained by immigration officers near her apartment, close to Tufts Universitys Somerville campus where she was a PhD student, lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai told CNN. Six plainclothes officers surrounded Ozturk as she walked alone, neighborhood surveillance video appears to show. The officers did not show their badges until she was restrained, the video shows. Now, she is being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana, according to the Department of Homeland Security. While no charges have been filed against Ozturk, her attorney told CNN, Ozturks visa status has been terminated, according to a statement released Thursday by Tufts President Sunil Kumar. A federal judge in Boston issued an order late Friday to stop Ozturk from being deported. Judge Denise Casper wrote in the order that Ozturk shall not be removed from the United States until further order from this court. Caspers order directs immigration authorities to stop deportation proceedings against Ozturk until she can determine whether the Boston court has jurisdiction to decide if Ozturk was lawfully detained. Ozturk is one of several foreign nationals affiliated with prestigious American universities to be arrested for purported activities related to terrorist organizations amid the Trump administrations immigration crackdown. They include Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist taken into custody this month outside his Columbia University apartment. In her order, Casper cited Columbia graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalils case specifically referencing a New York judges decision to not allow Khalil to be deported until a court settles whether it has jurisdiction over his case. Khalil and Ozturks cases share some striking similarities both were arrested near their homes without notice, both were transferred across state lines and jurisdictions and both have been transferred to Louisiana. Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement without specifying what those alleged activities were. Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined Ozturks alleged activities would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told CNN Thursday. She declined to provide further details about Ozturks alleged activities or how they could pose adverse consequences to US foreign policy. DHS cited the same provision in the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate who was arrested by immigration officers earlier this month. Asked about Ozturks case Thursday, Rubio suggested without evidence she was involved in disruptive student protests over Israels military operations in Gaza. If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why youre coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, were not going to give you a visa, Rubio said. To date, the Trump administration has revoked hundreds of visas, Rubio said. Might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day, he added. Meanwhile, Ozturks lawyers praised the judges decision Friday. This is a first step in getting Rumeysa released and back home to Boston so she can continue her studies. But we never should have gotten here in the first place: Rumeysas experience is shocking, cruel, and unconstitutional, Khanbabai said in a statement. Who is Rumeysa Ozturk? Ozturk was enrolled in a PhD program at Tufts University on a valid F-1 visa, which allows international students to pursue full-time academic studies, Khanbabai said. A student of psychology, Ozturk has been studying in the US since 2018, her brother Asim said in a Thursday statement on behalf of the family. She went to America after winning a Fulbright scholarship, successfully completed her masters degree at Columbia University, and then started her doctorate at Tufts University in Boston, Asim Ozturk wrote in a statement in Turkish he posted to X. Ozturk was working on her dissertation when she was arrested and had about 10 months left to complete her doctorate, Asim said. In March 2024, Ozturk cowrote an op-ed in the schools newspaper in which she criticized Tufts response to a student government groups call for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel because of the conflict in Gaza, among other demands. Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide, the op-ed says. Ozturks brother, Asim, said he believes she is being targeted for her beliefs. Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student at Tufts University in Massachusetts, was taken into custody Tuesday by federal agents near her home, her lawyer said. - Mahsa Khanbabai Apart from expressing her opinion within the framework of freedom of expression without engaging in any provocative or aggressive action regarding the Palestine issue, she has not taken any action, Asim added. It seems that she has been subjected to the activities of ICE, which has been on a witch hunt in the post-Trump period, against those who support Palestine. Tufts University officials had no prior knowledge of her arrest, Kumar has said. Kumar shared the concerns of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell in calling the video of Ozturks arrest disturbing, he said in an updated statement late Wednesday that included additional guidance and resources for international students. We recognize how frightening and distressing this situation is for (Ozturk), her loved ones, and the larger community here at Tufts, especially our international students, staff, and faculty who may be feeling vulnerable or unsettled by these events, Kumar added. Let me assure you that the university is doing everything in our power to support our community, as we continue to learn more information about this troubling event in real time, a Tufts official wrote to university alumni in an email obtained by CNN. Hundreds protested Ozturks detention Wednesday night at a park on the edge of the Tufts campus, CNN affiliate WBZ reported. The fact that someone can just be disappeared into the abyss for voicing an idea is absolutely horrifying, rally attendee Sam Wachman told WBZ. The university is in touch with local, state and federal elected officials and hope that Rumeysa is provided the opportunity to avail herself of her due process rights, he said. The Turkish government is monitoring the case and staying in touch with Ozturks family, it said. Initiatives have been made with the US Department of State, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Unit and other authorized units, the Turkish embassy said on X, on Wednesday. Every effort is being made to provide the necessary consular services and legal support to protect the rights of our citizens. A US State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the case. Due to privacy and other considerations, and visa confidentiality, we generally will not comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases, a State Department spokesperson told CNN. Sudden arrest caught on camera Surveillance video released Wednesday and obtained from a neighbor by the advocacy group Muslim Justice League appears to show six plainclothes officers casually approaching Ozturk as she walks alone on a sidewalk. One officer wearing a hat and hoodie grabs her arms, causing Ozturk to shriek in fear as another pulls out a concealed badge on a lanyard and confiscates her cell phone. Shortly afterward, the officers all pull cloth coverings over their mouths and noses, some of them wearing sunglasses, as one of them restrains Ozturks hands behind her back. As the officers say, Were the police, a person not seen in the video can be heard responding, Yeah, you dont look like it. Why are you hiding your faces? One minute after the encounter began, Ozturk is walked into a waiting SUV and driven away. ICE has not responded to CNNs request for comment on Ozturks case. The use of facial coverings is similar to an account of the arrest of Georgetown University fellow Badar Khan Suri, whose attorney Nermeen Arastu told CNN the officers who detained Khan Suri were brandishing weapons. ICE agents came in the night, took him captive, taking him from his wife and children, and hauled him away to an unknown location before transferring him to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana, far from his family and attorneys, Arastu added on Suri. Detained in Louisiana After her arrest on Tuesday night, Ozturk was driven to multiple government offices in New England, a spokesperson for Ozturks legal team said. The next morning, Ozturk was flown to southern Louisiana where she is being detained. Throughout that period of time, Ozturk was not charged or given the opportunity to speak with a lawyer, according to the statement. Following her detainment, Khanbabai filed a petition in federal district court in Boston, challenging the legality of her detention and asking she not be moved out of Massachusetts. (Ozturk) shall not be moved outside the District of Massachusetts without first providing advance notice of the intended move, District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, wrote Tuesday in an order. The government must respond to the motion no later than Tuesday, District Judge Denise Casper said. However, Ozturk was already detained outside Massachusetts when federal officials got the courts order, government attorney Mark Sauter said in a court filing Thursday morning. She is scheduled to face an initial hearing in removal proceedings April 7 in Louisiana, according to an amended petition filed Friday. Her attorneys have asked a federal court in Massachusetts to assert jurisdiction over her case and release her on bail as the litigation moves forward. The petition also asks the court to restore her F-1 student visa. The state department revoked her visa on March 21 but she was not notified until she received a notice to appear from ICE after her arrest on March 25, the petition says. The court filing describes how Ozturk was taken to Louisiana by ICE agents after her arrest. Without access to her medications or legal counsel Ozturk was transferred to a staging facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, then moved again to another facility in southern Louisiana where shes currently being held. A Turkish consulate representative traveled to the ICE office in Burlington, Massachusetts, Wednesday to inquire about Ozturk but was denied information on her location, according to the filing. Ozturks attorneys, who were unable to reach her for nearly 24 hours after her arrest, contacted area hospitals fearing she couldve had a medical episode, the filing says. Rumeysas friends frantically tried to find out more information about what had happened to her, her counsel wrote in the filing. For more than 24 hours after her arrest, Rumeysas friends, family and legal counsel did not hear from her and could not speak to her. Ozturk had an asthma attack while in transit to Louisiana, according to the filing that says she told her attorney when they made contact a day after her arrest. Her lawyers also allege that ICE failed to notify them, the court and DOJ lawyers that she was being transferred to Louisiana prior to that transfer, even though the Massachusetts court had entered the order requiring notification. Ozturk is detained at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, according to ICEs online detainee locator system. Ozturk is now the third international student known to be transferred to Louisiana after being detained by federal officers. Khalil and Georgetown fellow Badar Khan Suri were both transferred to an ICE detention facility in Jena. Like all the other immigration cases related to international students and activists who have spoken up about the atrocities in Palestine, the government throws around wild accusations but provides no evidence, Khanbabai said. We hope Rumeysa will be released immediately. This story has been updated with additional information. CNNs Lauren del Valle, Amanda Musa, Braden Walker, Caroll Alvarado, Zenebou Sylla, Gul Tuysuz, Sana Noor Haq, Jennifer Hansler and Benjamin Gittleson contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Amy Neunsinger for Country Living The kitchen might be the heart of your home, but it's also a major selling point. According to the National Association of Realtors, upgrading your kitchen is one of the most valuable investments you can make because it'll significantly increase the value of your home. In fact, the organization says sellers can often expect to have as much as 67 percent of the renovation fees recovered. Even if you have zero interest in listing your home, sprucing up your kitchen will make your time cooking more considerably more enjoyable. Regardless of your level of culinary expertise, you likely spend a lot of time in your kitchen, so why settle for a subpar backsplash or a dishwasher that's on its last legs? A beautiful kitchen can work wonders for your home, but don't forget that an outdated space can do the exact opposite: Not only can a musty, old-school kitchen drive your home's value down, but it can also make a task as simple as reheating leftovers feel burdensome. While rickety appliances and cracked tiles might be associated with a decrepit space, there may be some more subtle features you don't even realize are dating your home. To help, we asked several designers to share the details that instantly make any kitchen look outdatedplus, how to fix them. Though their insights run the gamut between out-of-touch finishes and an old-school color scheme, one thing's for sure: You're just a few tweaks away from creating a timeless kitchen. Outdated Appliances Emily Tucker Design While high-end appliances can make everything from meal prep to cleanup a lot easier, they can fall out of fashion rather quickly. "Nothing ages a kitchen faster than outdated appliances," says Colorado-based designer Emily Tucker. "With technology advancing so quickly, modern models can often replace two or three separate machines, making older designs feel instantly obsolete." If you don't want to replace your refrigerator every few years, Tucker recommends paneling some larger appliances for a barely-there effect. Or, if you're looking to update your kitchen on a budget, Tucker recommends cleverly concealing your smaller gadgets. "Call me old-fashioned, but I love the idea of tucking a freestanding microwave inside a cabinet," she shares. "It keeps the space looking clean and uncluttered while still being easy to access when needed." Lackluster Lighting Design: CWG Design; Photo: Baxter Miller Never underestimate the power of good lightingespecially in your kitchen. Beyond flattering lighting, Cate Gutter of CWG Design says that the fixtures themselves can have some major sway in how timeless (or timed-out) your kitchen appears. For the Charlotte-based designer, hanging a bunch of smaller pendants above an island is so early-aughts. To keep up with modern times, Gutter recommends experimenting with scale. "Swap them for two large, statement-making pendants or a sleek linear light for a more streamlined, modern look," she shares. If you'd like to give you fixture some more personality, Gutter recommends looking for pieces with a pop of color or a fabric shade. "Its a quick and affordable way to brighten up your space and create a kitchen that feels warm, inviting, and ready to impress," she adds. Overly Matchy Details Caitlin Creer If you ask Caitlin Creer, matching every last detail of your kitchenbe it the countertops with the backsplash or your cafe curtains with your table linensfeels outdated and "boring." She says, "Think of your kitchen as a recipe and each ingredient should enhance the flavors and make something interesting and delicious. I always tell clients, we are trying for things to match, we want them to coordinate, there is a big difference." To toe the line in style, consider sticking with a cohesive color palette but incorporating different textures through the backsplash, cabinets, and accessories. "Swap out ornate hardware for something sleeker, introduce natural textures like woven barstools or a softer stone," Chicago-based designer Tom Stringer says. "Think of it like accessorizingsometimes, less really is more." Silver Hardware Design: Jayne Design Studio; Photo: Don Freeman According to New York-based designer Thomas Jayne, a kitchen's timeliness lies in the details. "Hardwareespecially kitchen faucetscan easily age a kitchen," he says. "Outlet covers are usually an afterthought, but white plates are also pretty noticeable and can feel a bit tired." While certain silhouettes can make the room feel outdatedfor example, Jayne says angular "boomerang" pulls are outthe finish also matters. If you want to make your kitchen feel modern, stay away overly shiny silver hardware like chrome, which is falling out of fashion in 2025. "You can go more simple or more decorative depending on the style, but I usually opt for subtle, timeless and antiqued finishes like aged brass," he recommends. "It can complement a variety of styles without becoming too much of a focal point." While you're at it, pick up some outlet plates in a matching finish for a chic, cohesive touch. Overly Ornate Hoods Design: Centered by Design; Photo: Aimee Mazzenga While a range's hood can improve air quality, reduce odors, and add some style, an old-school one will give your kitchen an antiquated look. "I often feel like kitchen hoods are so noticeably terrible, or ostentatious," Claire Staszak of Centered by Design. If you want to switch things up, Staszak says replacing or even removing a hood will "drastically change the overall feeling of a kitchen." She adds, "Aside from painting cabinets, it's a pretty actionable option with a big impact," she adds. Sleek, ceramic hoods are having a moment now, but a metallic option like the one Staszak used above has timeless appeal. A Bland Color Palette Design: Boland Lord Design; Photo: Max Kim Bee When it comes to outdated kitchen features, designers agree that a poor choice of color is the biggest offender. "A monotone palette lacking depth or layers can drain a space of warmth and character, leaving it feeling uninspired and outdated," says Martha Lord of Boland Lord Design in Denver, Colorado. Meanwhile, Creer says all-white kitchens are particularly stuck in yesteryear. "When a kitchen is white on white on white, for example, I think you miss out on the opportunity to create an original space that is actually designed," she says. A simple switch? Repaint your cabinets. While a bold emerald green or a moody navy are great choice for a color-loving maximalist, even a warm cream can bring some extra depth to an otherwise all-white room. You Might Also Like Watertown Free Public Library/Instagram Couple Marries at Public Library After Bookstore Proposal A Massachusetts couple celebrated their love for books together from the moment they got engaged to the moment they tied the knot. Speaking with Boston CBS affiliate station WBZ on Wednesday, March 26, Andrew Ivey revealed that he proposed to his now-wife Maricruz Osorio with a copy of Leigh Bardugo's 2024 historical romance novel The Familiar. "I wrote her a nice note and at the end of it I said, 'Will you marry me?' I had her circle yes or no - like a prom thing," Ivey told the outlet, recalling how he popped the question while they were visiting a bookstore in Houston. "Reading and books have been such a central part of our life. It came together pretty naturally. I think it's a good way to bookend the courtship," he continued. Watertown Free Public Library/Instagram Andrew Ivey proposed to his now-wife Maricruz Osorio with a copy of Leigh Bardugo's 2024 historical romance novel 'The Familiar.' Related: Atlanta Falcons' Keith Taylor Marries Jaeden Hooker in Black and White Desert Wedding (Exclusive) The couple soon relocated to Massachusetts, and their wedding planning process began shortly after. While they had a few ideas of where they might hold their ceremony, one idea stuck out more than others simply because of how much they both love to read. So, Ivey and Osorio headed to the Watertown Free Public Library, the outlet reported. Although the facility in Watertown, about 9 miles outside of Boston, doesn't rent out its space for private events, visitors can freely reserve a room at the library. The couple did just that, abiding by library rules for their ceremony. CBS News Boston The Watertown Free Public Library, where the couple reserved a private room to tie the knot. According to the couple, they also chose a theme for their nuptials: kindness. "Not only is she drop dead gorgeous, but she is the smartest and most empathetic person I've ever known," Ivey told WBZ of Osorio. "She's just got a sense of empathy that is contagious. It makes me always want to care and it makes want to be a kinder and stronger person." "To his friends, to his family, to random people in need, he's just kind and loving and that's something to be treasured. I treasure it so much. So I think we really fit well together," Osorio added. CBS News Boston Newlyweds Andrew Ivey and Maricruz Osorio. Speaking directly to WBZ's viewers, Osorio also shared advice for any bookworms still looking for love. "For all the nerdy kids out there, you're going to find your person," the newlywed shared. "You don't know where, you don't know when, but you do." 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. 2025 has already been filled with weddings set in unique locations last month PEOPLE reported that one couple tied the knot on a special Valentine's Day flight from Iceland to Paris. "We love traveling. When we heard about the idea that it was possible to get married on board this flight, we thought, why not? It just fit perfectly with all of our adventures to get married in the skies between Iceland and France," the groom, 26-year-old Alexander Valur Wium Brynjolfsson, shared with PEOPLE. Read the original article on People Kirsten Dunn/TikTok Kirsten Dunn TikTok Childhood friends Kirsten Dunn and Conrad Fogdestam lost touch after growing up together in Qatar, where their dads worked as pilots Years later, a random Snapchat notification reconnected them, sparking an unexpected romance Their emotional first reunion was captured in a now-viral TikTok. Dunn says, "I never thought we'd cross paths again, let alone fall in love." When Kirsten Dunn said goodbye to her friend, Conrad Fogdestam, in 2016, she didnt know seven years later they would reunite as boyfriend and girlfriend. Using the trend A moment that felt like Hoziers yell, Dunn shared an emotional reunion in a now-viral TikTok clip that feels like pure cinematic magic. Dunn and Fogdestam first met as kids, growing up on the same street in a Qatar expat compound. Their fathers, both pilots for Qatar Airways, had brought their families to the Middle East, where they lived in a close-knit community. Dunn and Fogdestams families shared experiences, like camping in the desert. We were just kids running around the compound, Dunn exclusively tells PEOPLE. Related: Woman Pressured to End Interracial Relationship Reunites with True Love 42 Years Later When Fogdestams family left for Sweden in 2016 and Dunn remained until 2020 before moving to Canada, they lost touch entirely. At 12, they didnt have social media, and the only connection that remained was Dunn following Fogdestam's sisters on Instagram. But everything changed in December 2022 when a Snapchat notification popped up on Dunns phone with Fogdestams name. I thought, wait is this actually happening? she remembers. He had stumbled upon her profile through Quick Add, and their casual reconnection quickly turned into something more. Within two weeks of talking, it was clear there was a spark even through a screen. We stayed up talking until 5 a.m. every night, which is so unlike me. But with him, it just felt different, Dunn says. By mid-January 2023, they decided to give their long-distance relationship a real shot. Committed to seeing each other in person, they planned their first reunion. One day, Fogdestam surprised Dunn by announcing that he had already booked his flights. Kirsten Dunn/TikTok Kirsten Dunn reuniting with Conrad Fodgestam On March 8, 2023, after three long flights, he landed in Canada. I was so nervous, I thought I might pass out, Dunn shares about the minutes leading up to their reunion. The moment they saw each other was filled with anxiety and excitement, but as soon as they hugged, it was pure relief. Now in a long-distance relationship, the two have faced some challenges like him having to miss Dunns upcoming college graduation. Despite the difficulties, they make it work with constant communication. Related: Childhood Sweethearts Reconnect and Marry 66 Years Later: 'We Just Love Being Together' FaceTime has become their lifeline, and Snapchat remains a daily habit. Before him, I barely used Snapchat. Now, I cant go a day without it, Dunn says with a laugh. Prioritizing each other is key, even if it means sacrificing sleep to talk before Fogdestam heads to work. 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. Following Dunns upcoming graduation, the two are preparing to close the distance. Carefully considering their options, they've decided Dunn will move to Sweden in the coming year or two. Sweden already feels like home to me, she says. Its multicultural, open-minded, and honestly, it just suits me better than Canada ever has. And for those navigating long-distance love like Dunn and Fogdestam, their advice is simple: prioritize each other, make time for calls, be patient and trust the process. People always say if it's mean to be, it'll find a way, Dunn shares, I never really believed that until now." Read the original article on People WASHINGTON Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused President Trump of seeking an illusory peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the former Senate Republican leader accepted the Star of Ukraine award Thursday evening. McConnell, 83, said Trumps advisers dont seem ready to summon the resources and national will it requires to deter US adversaries and accused the White House of moving the nation toward a headline that reads, Russia wins, America loses,' during remarks accepting the honor from the US-Ukraine Foundation. The Kentuckian also ripped the administrations approach so far to winding down the three-year war, saying it shreds Americas credibility, leaves Ukraine under threat, weakens our alliances and emboldens our enemies. Peace is a noble goal. And few deserve it more than the people of Ukraine, who feel the absence of peace most viscerally When they stand in the rubble of their homes, their schools, and their churches, he went on. And when they say goodbye to children or parents bound for the front, some never to return. If theres anyone who Ill take at their word when they say they want peace, its the people who had peace stolen from them, he added. The nation whose unique identity has led Kremlin totalitarians time and time again to starve, subjugate, and try to destroy it. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blasted President Trumps pursuit of an illusory peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a speech at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, DC, on Thursday. Getty Images Trump, 78, and Vice President JD Vance, 40, went off on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an Oval Office meeting Feb. 28, sinking plans for an economic deal that would have seen the US jointly invest in Kyivs rare-earth minerals. Zelensky had locked horns with Vance over what the Ukrainian suggested was a toothless diplomatic approach to Russian aggression leading Trump to lash out: Youre gambling with World War III. After the setback in US-Ukraine relations, the president briefly stopped sharing critical intelligence with Kyiv and halted military aid. Trump, 78, and Vice President JD Vance exploded on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an Oval Office meeting Feb. 28, scuppering talks for an economic deal that would have seen the US jointly invest in Kyivs rare-earth minerals. AFP via Getty Images US special envoy Steve Witkoff has since flown to Moscow twice to meet with Putin in an effort to reach a cease-fire without reaching an agreement either time. In Thursdays remarks, McConnell knocked Trump without directly naming him or his advisers for the fallout from the stalled negotiations. When American officials court the favor of an adversary at the expense of allies when they mock our friends to impress an enemy they reveal their embarrassing naivete, he said. To cut off Ukraine is to stab ourselves in the back. So is the denigration of allies who have fought and died alongside us, he added. The Americans should be dangerous allies. The kind so dangerous that enemies of democracy, sovereignty, and free commerce wouldnt dare to doubt our commitments or our resolve. Weve got a long road ahead. But Im proud to share it with all of you. US special envoy Steve Witkoff has also flown to Moscow twice to meet with Putin in an effort to reach a cease-fire without reaching an agreement either time. Getty Images The US-Ukraine foundation noted on its webpage that the award given to McConnell was meant for members of Congress who stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. When announcing his decision to step down at the end of his current term in January 2027, McConnell hinted at having some unfinished business to attend to and has remained a stalwart supporter of Kyivs war effort and a robust American military presence on the global stage. Every debate over agriculture or infrastructure or education or taxes is downstream of the obligations of national security, he said last month. Every question of policy here at home is contingent on our duty to provide for the common defense. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) during a visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 28, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Off Thanks to Ronald Reagans determination, the work of strengthening American hard power was well underway when I arrived in the Senate, McConnell added. But since then, weve allowed that power to atrophy. And today, a dangerous world threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it. McConnell voted against confirming three of Trumps cabinet officials Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. though they ascended to their posts with a majority vote from other Republicans. Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism McCamel I don't make it a rule to go to the first McDonald's I see when I travel abroad I'd rather eat literally anywhere else. But on my recent trip to Tangier, Morocco, anywhere else wasn't really an option. We happened to be there during one of the biggest religious holidays, Ramadan when Moroccans are legally obliged to fast from dawn to dusk, and most dining options only open after 7 p.m. So, conveniently enough, the Golden Arches right next to our hotel came to the rescue. This McDo (as McDonald's is known in several countries) had a "Moroccan" vibe, with a Bedouin tent outside, and other local touches. But the real surprise was the menu. While we didn't find McTajine or McCouscous as Id hoped we did order everything you can't find in the U.S. And boy, was it an experience. Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism Chicken Mythic Sandwich As a fan of the McChicken, I'd say this feels like a bigger, amped-updare I say betterversion of the classic. It has all the usual suspects: breaded chicken fillet, tomatoes, lettuce, and a sesame bun. But it also has an Emmental cheese slice, which honestly does nothing for the sandwichit's just there for the sake of it and the "Mythic" sauce, generously dripping from a bun that does its best not to get soggy under all that weight. The sauce itself is a creamy garlic-herb mayo situation, kind of like ranch but with a twist of local spices. It adds a subtle smokiness and a slightly exotic kick to what would otherwise be just another McChicken. Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism Cheezy Box This was the item we were all excited about especially my 3-year-old. The Cheezy Box came with six McNuggets, eight triangle-shaped bites filled with Gouda, and eight chili cheese nuggets. It also included two complimentary sauces of our choice: curry and Chinoise. The winner, without any second thoughts, was the perfectly coated Gouda bites. They were just the right two-bite size, with a level of meltiness that had us fighting over them. The chili cheese nuggets tasted like jalapeno poppers they were fine, but nothing to write home about. Honestly, the McNuggets were the obvious third wheel in this situation. If you like your cheese bites drenched in sauce, the curry worked fine but it wasn't anything mind-blowing. Too vinegary, and the curry part got lost in all the tanginess. The Chinoise sauce was basically sweet and sour, so ... it was whatever. Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism McFlavor Fries with Algerian Sauce It's weird not to see McDonald's fries in their natural habitat the classic paper bag but instead packed in a neat little box that, when opened, hits you with an instant whiff of onions. That's thanks to the mountain of crispy onions piled so high over the fries you can barely see them, plus the orangey Algerian sauce that's also heavy on the onion content. The Algerian sauce never mind the exotic name is a combo of tomato paste, mayo, onion, garlic, paprika, and chili. It gives a spicy kick, hints surprisingly cheesy notes as well, but I didn't care too much for it or the crispy onions either I'll give it this: It made the fries feel different. Interesting, at least. The impressive bit is the fries didn't get soggy not even one. Until the last bite, they kept their composure. Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism Grand McWrap with Algerian Sauce and with Honey Mustard Sauce Yes, the McWrap is on the menu in Morocco, but it was by far the thing we liked the least out of everything we tried (and we ate a lot of food). There are two versions: one with Algerian sauce and crispy chicken strips, and another with honey mustard sauce and grilled chicken. Both were subpar disappointments. The flour tortillas for both wraps were stale and very dry and had a real cardboard vibe. The Algerian sauce helps a bit with a spicy and cheesy kick, but not enough. The crispy chicken just makes things worse, and you find yourself hoping for a bite with more lettuce or tomato anything with some moisture. If there were a more generous amount of the sauce, maybe it would be a different story. The McWrap with honey mustard sauce was a little more forgiving, moisture-wise. The grilled chicken combined with the sauce made it slightly easier on the taste buds. McWrap fans in the U.S. still grieving the discontinued McDonald's item will probably come for me but hey, to each their own. Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism Big Tasty Listen, I don't say this lightly, but the Big Tasty is one of the best fast-food chain burgers I've ever had. Ever! First of all, I was shocked by how big it was and even more shocked to admit how juicy and complete it tasted. It's most comparable to the American Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe, but this one comes with an oversized beef patty, Emmental cheese, onions, tomato, lettuce, and the signature sauce: a smoky, mayo-based blend with hints of onion, garlic, and liquid smoke. It was top-tier burger joint material even my chef husband approved it as a shockingly good hamburger. The kind you crave later. Which, I do right now. Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism Limonade Pina Colada This was a big disappointment. Since it was Ramadan, the already alcohol-free Muslim country goes full Prohibition-level dry so I was hoping the Pina Colada would at least give me the illusion of a creamy coconut cocktail. Alas, it was just fizzy, sugary water that barely tasted like pineapple let alone coconut. Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism McFizz Mojito Now, this is what the Pina Colada failed to be. I swear to Pete, it was a perfect virgin mojito. I would go to McDonald's just to drink this. It was spot-on sweet enough, fresh enough, and checked all the boxes. Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism Parfait with Salted Caramel Sauce This is soft-serve vanilla ice cream with a generous swirl of salted caramel sauce, topped with crushed caramel bits. It's overwhelmingly sweet. My kid was the only one who liked it maybe because he's three, and that amount of sugar in a cup is basically his idea of a good time. This article was originally published on Cheapism Alex Andonovska/ Cheapism More From Cheapism FBI Madalina Cojocari Madalina Cojocari will be 13 next month. She would be in junior high now were she back home in North Carolina, but instead she remains missing almost three years after she disappeared without a trace. Now, new details about that disappearance are being brought to light thanks to newly unsealed search warrants. PEOPLE obtained all 32 of the newly unsealed warrants, which allege that Madalina's mother and stepfather burned her belongings, paid thousands to a priest in her home country of Moldova and informed Madalina's grandmother of a large bag of cash she had hidden away. Authorities did arrest Diana Cojocari and her husband, Christopher Palmiter, just a few weeks after she disappeared, but having served time for that crime, the two are now free. Now, Diana is back home in Moldova, even as no one can find her daughter. Among the newly unsealed warrants filed in the case is one seeking access to the family home. In that warrant, Det. J.J. Sarver of the Cornelius Police Department writes that he went to the home of Cojocari and Palmiter to speak with the two and saw evidence of a fire pit in the backyard. That is when Palmiter told him that Madalina's "mattress, clothing, Halloween costume and family photos" had been burned in the pit in the weeks since she went missing, according to the warrant. FBI Madalina Cojocari 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. Meanwhile, Det. Gina Patterson of the CPD sought access all of Diana's known bank accounts in a series of warrants tied to payments allegedly made by the mother. The first financial decision that drew suspicion occurred days after Madalina went missing, when Diana made the first of two payments to a priest in Moldova that totaled $4,000, according to the affidavit. She also said in a phone call with her mother from prison that she had hidden a large bag of cash, a separate affidavit states. In none of the calls, however, did Diana or Palmiter say anything about Madalina's whereabouts. Madalina was last seen exiting her school bus on Nov. 22, 2022. Search efforts for Madalina did not get underway until three weeks later, when the girl's school forced Diana to address her daughter's truancy, according to the probable cause affidavit. That delay in reporting Madalina missing is what led to charges being filed against Diana and Palmiter. A grand jury then indicted both Diana and Palmiter on a single count of failing to report the disappearance of a child. Court records show that Madalina moved to the United States with her mother in 2016, when Diana wed Palmiter. Prosecutors entered an image from that day as evidence when Palmiter stood trial last year, which ended with a jury convicting him for failing to report his stepdaughter missing. He was sentenced to 30 months probation. Diana entered a guilty plea to a single count of failure to report a child missing one month prior, but the judge credited her for 521 days time served and ordered her release the following day. Just last week, the couple finalized their divorce according to court records. Read the original article on People Auto tariffs announced by President Donald Trump will likely raise car prices by thousands of dollars, while hiking costs for repairs and insurance, some experts told ABC News. Within hours of the policy rollout, Ferrari said it will raise prices by as much as 10% for some models to compensate for the tariffs. The 25% tariffs, set to take effect next week, will apply to imported passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks, according to a White House statement released after Trump's Oval Office remarks on Wednesday. MORE: US stocks seesaw between gains and losses after Trump's auto tariffs announced The tariffs will also apply to key imported auto parts, including engines, powertrain parts and electrical components. "I have talked to consumers who say, 'Well, I'm not buying a car, so it doesn't really matter.' Well, think again," Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, told ABC News. "This is really all encompassing." In a statement on Wednesday, the White House touted the tariffs as a means of safeguarding U.S. national security and economic strength. "President Trump is taking action to protect America's automobile industry, which is vital to national security and has been undermined by excessive imports threatening America's domestic industrial base and supply chains," the White House said. The tariffs will almost certainly raise foreign-made car prices, experts said, since importers typically pass along a share of the tax burden to consumers in the form of extra costs. Last year, U.S. shoppers bought approximately 16 million cars, SUVs, and light trucks, half of which were imported, the White House said. The other half of the auto sector made up of U.S.-made cars will also undergo significant price hikes since manufacturers will face higher costs for imported parts and face an uptick in demand as buyers seek out domestic alternatives, experts said. "The question is: What will happen to all the cars made here in the U.S?" Christopher Conlon, a professor of economics at New York University who studies trade, told ABC News. "Competing vehicles will be much, much, much more expensive. We'll see some substitution for U.S. models, and I'd expect those prices to go up significantly," Conlon added. Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush, predicted general tariff-related price increases for U.S. buyers between $5,000 and $10,000 per vehicle. The added costs could reach as high as $20,000 per vehicle, Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, who studies the auto industry, told ABC News in a statement. The sticker shock for new cars will send many buyers into the market for used cars, sending prices higher for pre-owned vehicles, experts said. "The market will get very competitive for used-car buyers," Conlon said. "I expect those prices to go up." PHOTO: President Donald Trump delivers remarks on auto tariffs and other topics in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Mar. 26, 2025. (Francis Chung/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) The tariffs on auto parts are also likely to raise the price for car repairs, since auto shops may pass along the added costs to customers, experts said. In turn, they add, insurance costs will likely rise to account for additional expenses in the event of an accident. "If you get into an accident that requires a lot of parts, it's going to probably cause those costs to rise," Caldwell said. Prices of new cars could rise within days of the onset of tariffs on April 3, some experts said. Some firms may raise prices for inventory already in the U.S., even though those cars were not subject to the tariffs, since the expectation of higher costs could drive up prices, Thomas Hoenig, senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and former president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, told ABC News. "Some sellers will raise prices in anticipation of the tariffs," Hoenig said. Some experts disagreed, saying the price increases could take weeks or the timing remains unknown. "It's going to take a while for automakers to figure everything out," Caldwell said, forecasting that the price hikes would take hold "fairly soon." MORE: Trump announces 25% tariffs on imported cars, ratcheting up global trade war The U.S. auto sector relies on a supply chain intricately intertwined with Mexico and Canada. Mexico and Canada make up the top two U.S. trading partners for both finished motor vehicles and car parts, according to an analysis of data from the U.S. International Trade Commission by Cato Institute, a right-leaning think tank. The auto tariffs ease the tax burden slapped on vehicles covered by a free trade agreement between the U.S. and Canada known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. For such cars, the tariffs will only apply to the value of their non-U.S. content, the White House said. Car parts covered by the USMCA, meanwhile, will remain tariff-free until the Trump administration establishes a process for evaluating the value of their non-U.S. content, the White House added. The easing of tariffs for vehicles covered by the USMCA could slow initial price increases, Hoenig said. 'Much more expensive': What do Trump's auto tariffs mean for car prices? originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Extensive flooding inundated the Cameron County city of Palm Valley, Texas, on Friday. - Cameron County Constable PCT 5 Abandoned vehicles littered submerged roads across South Texas Rio Grande Valley Thursday and Friday after over half years worth of rain - approaching a full years worth in some places - caused at least four deaths and forced dozens of water rescues near the US-Mexico border. Intense thunderstorms on top of heavy rain since Wednesday dumped more than a foot of rain on the region and triggered rare flash flood emergencies and flooding that began on Thursday afternoon. Its yet another example of overwhelming rainfall becoming more frequent in a warming world, as rising global temperatures push weather toward the extremes. The United States saw a record number of flash flood emergencies last year. Hidalgo, Willacy and Cameron counties all located on the southern tip of the state along the Mexican border bore the brunt of the heavy storms that pounded South Texas for about 48 hours. Four flash flood emergencies the most serious flash flood warning were issued Thursday night into early Friday morning in Hidalgo and Cameron counties as the National Weather Service warned of life-threatening flash flooding. At least three deaths were reported in Hidalgo County Friday, Carlos Sanchez, the countys director of public affairs, told CNN. No information was immediately available, except that it involved law enforcement efforts, a statement from the county said. The county also issued a declaration of local disaster to help in cleanup operations, it said. An 83-year-old man drowned in Reynosa, Mexico, the Associated Press reported, citing authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Over 690 people were rescued in the state after heavy rains caused flooding, according to Mexicos Civil Protection Coordination. Law enforcement in Willacy County were still working to save residents trapped in their homes Friday after about 12 to 15 inches of rain pummeled the area over a six-hour period, the countys Emergency Management Coordinator Frank Torres said. Last night, we were in boats in waist-deep water through some of the streets in downtown Sebastian, Torres told CNN on Friday. Its my understanding that it is still pretty deep. In fact, a couple of people have called and said its gotten worse since last night. While no deaths have been reported from this weeks storm, some injuries have been reported from traffic crashes, he said. Torres, a lifelong Willacy County resident, said he hasnt seen this kind of deluge since Hurricane Beulah in September 1967. The City of Alamo, in Hidalgo County, declared a local state of disaster after being hit hard by the recent storms, Mayor J.R. Garza said during a news conference Friday. Our teams have been working around the clock. We are not alone in this. Cities across the valley are facing the same challenges and were all working together to get through it, Garza said. Alamo fire and police conducted approximately 100 rescues due to flooding, said Police Chief Saul Solis, who estimated around a couple hundred homes were impacted. Earlier, Alamo Fire Chief RC Flores told CNN affiliate KRGV at one point, an emergency vehicle was unable to rescue a pregnant woman having contractions near a Walmart but a fire truck eventually made it through the floodwaters. Water rescues were also performed in neighboring Cameron County, according to the National Weather Service, which urged people to seek higher ground as the life-threatening flash floods hit. In the Cameron County city of Harlingen, nearly a years worth of rain fell in less than 48 hours and triggered extensive flooding. Many of our streets flooded, some homes took in water, and there are still residents who havent made it home, Harlingen District 5 Commissioner Rene Perez posted Friday morning on Facebook. Vehicles remain stranded across the city, and we know this storm has disrupted lives in a big way, Perez continued. Between 18 and 21 inches of rain gushed over parts of the city from Wednesday to early Friday, with the majority falling on Thursday alone, according to the National Weather Service. Harlingen typically gets about 24 inches of rain in a year. Other parts of the Rio Grande Valley also saw more than a foot of rain from Wednesday afternoon to Friday morning. Port Isabel, Texas, recorded half a years worth of rain after 13 inches fell in that time frame. Port Isabels deluge marks a 1-in-100-year rainfall event while Harlingens is close to a 1-in-500-year event. Some thunderstorms turned severe and unleashed damaging winds as the rain came gushing down Thursday. At least one thunderstorm also produced a brief tornado in neighboring Hidalgo County Thursday afternoon. Portions of Interstate 2 in Hidalgo County were underwater and abandoned vehicles lined the roadway early Friday morning. More than 8 inches of rain drenched McAllen, Texas, the countys largest city. South Texas Health Systems hospital in McAllen experienced minor flooding Thursday afternoon on the facilitys first floor from issues with the stormwater drain, according to a hospital spokesperson. A video circulating on social media showed a forceful stream of water bursting a wall open at the hospital, with water reaching ankle height flowing through a corridor. The hospital briefly diverted walk-in and ambulance patients to other nearby hospitals and paused visitation hours, it said in a Thursday evening update on Instagram. The hospital was reopening to visitors on Friday, though some parts of the first floor could be restricted because of the damage. Rain ended in waterlogged South Texas late Friday morning and shifted north into eastern Texas and Louisiana. Flood risks wont end even though the rain is over. Swollen rivers could breach their banks in the coming days as floodwater filters back into area waterways. Stay away or be swept away, the weather service warned. River banks and culverts can become unstable and unsafe. The weather service also cautioned against entering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles, it noted. CNNs Martin Goillandeau, Kia Fatahi, David Williams, Amanda Jackson, Ritu Prasad, Taylor Romine and Veronica Calderon contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake rattled much of Southeast Asia on Friday, resulting in mounting casualties and flattened skyscrapers from Myanmar to Thailand. The epicenter was in Mandalay, Myanmar, the country's second-largest city. Even Bangkok, some 600 miles away, felt widespread shaking and saw significant damage from the quake -- including the total collapse of a skyscraper under construction. PHOTO: Map locator where earthquake hit in Myanmar, Mar. 28, 2025. (AP) Latest Developments Mar 29, 2:14 PM Myanmar resistance group announces partial ceasefire Myanmar's National Unity Government has announced it will implement a "two-week pause in offensive military operations" in areas affected by the earthquake starting March 30. PHOTO: This frame grab taken from state-run Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) video footage released on March 28, 2025 shows Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing making a speech in Naypyidaw. (Myanmar Radio and Television/AFP via Getty Images) The National Unity Government is the representative body of the ousted civilian government that was overthrown in the 2021 military coup, which led to the ongoing civil war. The military government in Myanmar has not made a similar announcement. Mar 29, 11:28 AM American couple talks about surviving quake Garret Briere and his wife told ABC News they never could have imagined that their first vacation to Thailand ended up being one of the most terrifying experiences of their lives. The couple from Washington state were in the mall across the street from the 34-story building when they saw it implode and crash to the ground. PHOTO: Rescue personnel work at the site of a building that collapsed, following a strong earthquake, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 29, 2025. (Patipat Janthong/Reuters) "We ran out of the building because it started shaking," Garret said. "I grabbed my wifes hand and I said, 'Dont let go.' Immediately, we were just covered in dust and debris, and we couldnt see, and there were thousands of people just in a panic." It took just several seconds for the entire building to be reduced to a 7-story high pile of rubble, the couple said. -ABC News' Brit Clennett, Karson Yiu, Gamay Palacios and Preechaya Rassadanukul Mar 29, 11:09 AM Death toll rises to 1,002 in Myanmar, 9 in Thailand The death toll in Thailand from Fridays earthquake has increased to nine, according to the countrys Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Another 1,002 have died in Myanmar. Another nine people remain injured and 101 others are still missing. The earthquake and its aftershocks caused damage across 13 Thai provinces as well as in Bangkok, the agency said. A 30-story building that was under construction collapsed in the Thai capital on Friday when the powerful quake struck the region. PHOTO: Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Mar. 28, 2025. (Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Search and rescue efforts were ongoing at the scene, with crews detecting 15 signs of life beneath the rubble on Saturday, according to Thailands National Institute of Emergency Medicine. -ABC News' Morgan Windsor Mar 28, 3:53 PM Rubio says US willing to help, but not actively assisting yet Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted about the potential U.S. response to the earthquake, and seemed to suggest the president meant the U.S. was willing to help rather than actively assisting. "My prayers go out to the people of Burma and Thailand who are impacted by the earthquake," he wrote. "We've been in contact with these countries and, as @POTUS said, stand ready to provide assistance." My prayers go out to the people of Burma and Thailand who are impacted by the earthquake. Grateful to confirm our teams on the ground are safe and secure amidst reports of severe damage and casualties. We've been in contact with these countries and, as @POTUS said, stand ready Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 28, 2025 Rubio also confirmed the State Departments teams in the impacted countries were safe and accounted for. The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has suspended nonemergency consular services for the time being. The U.S. mission to Thailand has not reported any disruption in services. -ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston Mar 28, 3:51 PM State Department 'evaluating the need' for earthquake response State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said despite the tumult at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. has maintained "a team of disaster experts with the capacity to respond if disaster strikes," which are commonly referred to as DART teams. "These expert teams provide immediate assistance, including food and safe drinking water needed aftermath of a disaster. The United States is evaluating the need for assistance based on requests and dynamic reporting, she said. [14:47:29] PHOTO: Rescue workers are seen working at the collapsed construction building in Chatuchak area on March 28, 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand. (Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images) But despite President Donald Trump's assertion that the U.S. is going to be helping, Bruce suggested the State Department was still in standby mode. "What I can tell you is that we wait for formal requests," she said. "We are ready. Obviously, we are watching what is transpiring." Bruce insisted that despite the funding flip-flops and reorganization of USAID, "there has been no impact on our ability to perform those duties, those requests for aid, if and when they come in." -ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston Mar 28, 4:09 PM American recounts being stranded after earthquake An American who was on a subway train in Bangkok when the earthquake struck recounted being stranded as transportation in the city ground to a halt. When her train stopped, Sid Simone said she went on Facebook to find out what was going on. "I saw 'earthquake in Bangkok,' and so at that point, I knew that the entire city was going to start to diminish," the Michigan native told ABC Grand Rapids affiliate WZZM in an interview earlier Friday. "I have been trying to get home for five hours now." PHOTO: American Sid Simone speaks with WZZM from Bangkok following the earthquake, March 28, 2025. (WZZM) With no train service, Simone, who is in Bangkok to make a documentary on vegan food, said she got into a taxi but abandoned it when traffic came to a standstill and the vehicle was low on gas. WZZM spoke to her as she was walking along a highway, still about an hour from home. "It's unfortunate because there's so many people that, we're all fighting trying to get home, but some people are trying to fight to get home because their family member is under that building, you know. Somebody didn't make it home," she told WZZM. She told the station that her apartment complex was just down the street from where the under-construction high-rise collapsed. "I was so blessed that I was not there today," she said. I could have been shopping in that area." PHOTO: Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Mar. 28, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters) Mar 28, 1:30 PM Trump: 'We're going to be helping' Asked about the Myanmar earthquake during a press event at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said, "We're going to be helping." "It's terrible what's happened," he said. "We've already spoken with the country." Trump did not elaborate on how the U.S. plans to send foreign aid. PHOTO: President Donald Trump participates in a swearing-in ceremony for Alina Habba as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, March 28, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Mar 28, 1:30 PM State Department 'not aware' of any US casualties at this time The U.S. State Department is "not aware of any U.S. citizens injured or killed" in the earthquake at this time, a State Department official said. "We continue to monitor the situation closely and are in touch with local authorities," the official added. The State Department said in a statement it extends "our deepest condolences to all affected in Burma and Thailand by the earthquake that struck near Mandalay earlier this morning." PHOTO: People inspect the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake. (Str/AFP via Getty Images) -ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston Click here to read the rest of the blog. A naked lunatic accused of intentionally ramming his car into a police cruiser will spend more than four decades behind bars for killing a veteran deputy who was just hours away from retiring, prosecutors said. A naked lunatic accused of intentionally ramming his car into a police cruiser will spend more than four decades behind bars for killing a veteran deputy who was just hours away from retiring, prosecutors said. Travis Garrett, 32, was handed the 45-year sentence Tuesday for killing Hillsborough County Sheriff Sgt. Brian LaVigne when he crashed into the drivers side of the patrol car at high-speed while on the run from authorities on Jan. 11, 2021, according to the 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorneys Office. LaVigne, 54, who was described as a devoted husband, father and public servant, was just one shift away from retirement after more than 30 years on the force, police said. Sgt. Brian LaVigne was just one shift away from retiring when he was killed in the line of duty on Jan. 11, 2021. FOX 13 This senseless crime robbed a family of a tremendous father and husband who deserved a long and happy retirement with the family he built, State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in a statement. While this sentence can never bring Sgt. LaVigne back, it ensures this defendant will spend the majority of his life behind bars while allowing the victims family a chance at healing without a lengthy trial. Sgt. LaVigne died a hero and selflessly served his community until his last day, she continued His life and legacy will never be forgotten. The sheriffs office initially responded to the Paddock Club Apartments in Brandon after residents complained that Garrett was throwing furniture out of his apartment window and front door. Deputies determined there was no cause to place the man under arrest and left, law enforcement said. Deputies returned to the complex hours later when a neighbor reported that Garrett was naked and acting erratically, authorities said, adding that the whacko became combative and repeatedly punched a responding officer in the head. Travis Garrett, 32, was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Tuesday for killing the Hillsborough County Sheriff deputy. FOX 13 Garrett was stunned by a taser multiple times as he hopped into his car and sped away, eventually crashing through the apartments gated entrance before deliberately accelerating on Lumsden Road and ramming into LaVignes parked squad car at about 76 mph, deputies said. Hes aiming for your car, a deputy reportedly yelled to LaVigne over a police radio prior to the fatal collision. Get out of the way! Get out of the way! The scene of the high-speed crash that killed LaVigne at the age of 54. FOX 13 LaVigne, who was trapped inside the car, was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was posthumously promoted from master corporal to the rank of sergeant, police said. The deadly crash left Garrett paralyzed. LaVignes wife told the court at sentencing that Garrett ripped away the years she had left with her husband. His daughter, also a Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office deputy, said she lost her mentor, hero and best friend. Cathleen LaVigne gave a victim impact statement in court on March 25, 2025. FOX 13 Family members said they agreed to the plea deal to avoid a painful trial. Garrett pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, fleeing to elude high speed (serious bodily injury or death, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and criminal mischief. While there is no sentence that can ever truly account for the extraordinary life Travis Garrett took, todays sentencing delivers a measure of justice for Sgt. Brian LaVignes family, his brothers and sisters in uniform, and every citizen whose life he touched, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said. A student walks the campus of the University of Toronto in Canada on Friday, August 9, 2024. - Angela Lewis/Bloomberg/Getty Images Yale philosophy professor Jason Stanley, who is leaving the prestigious Ivy League university for Toronto as the Trump administrations battle with higher education in the US continues, said mid-phone interview with CNN while walking the campus, Hold on one second. A group of worried students approached the scholar as he walked the grounds of Yale Thursday in New Haven, Connecticut. Was he really leaving?, they wanted to know. I love Yale, Stanley, who has taught at the university for 12 years, reassured the students. But Marci, Tim and I, were gonna go defend democracy somewhere else, he said, referring to the Yale colleagues joining him in Canada. Stanley set off a firestorm at the highest levels of American academia last Friday, when he decided to leave Yale and the United States largely, he said, because of the direction of the country under the Trump administration. Suddenly if youre not a citizen of the United States, you cant comment on politics if youre a professor? said Stanley, who has written books such as How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them and Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. Thats crazy, said Stanley, whose academic background is in social and political philosophy and epistemology. Thats not a free society. The final straw for Stanley came after Columbia University made sweeping policy changes in an attempt to prevent the Trump administration from pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from the Ivy League institution. Amid the Trump administrations crackdown on immigration and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses, Columbia was the first to experience funding cuts as President Donald Trump threatened to halt federal money going to colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that started in October 2023. Its just humiliating, Stanley told CNN. Theyre humiliating the universities and I dont see the universities standing up to it. Now Stanley, along with Yale history professors Marci Shore and her husband Timothy Snyder, are taking their teaching to the University of Toronto to advocate for democracy, speak out against fascism and teach without fear of academic capitulation to the White House, they say. The thing about being a historian is that its not that you know what will happen, but you know what can happen, Shore, who teaches modern European intellectual history, explained in an interview with CNN. Shore said she and Snyder, who teaches history and global affairs, decided to leave after the 2024 presidential election, and the administrations threats against higher education during President Trumps first 100 days in office reinforced their decision. Its not that I think everyone has put their head down and gotten in line, Shore said. (But) I think a lot of people have, and I fear that university administrations will, because institutions naturally have an incentive to act in the interest of self-preservation, she said. While Yale has not directly seen ire from the Trump administration, recent events unfolding between the administration and other Ivy League schools provide cautionary tales. In early March, the Trump administration announced it was pausing $400 million of federal funding to Columbia University, citing the schools failure to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment. Students wait in long security lines outside of Columbia University as demonstrators rallied in support of Palestine on March 24, 2025. - Spencer Platt/Getty Images Columbia responded by starting to make changes demanded by the administration, such as banning face coverings during protests, boosting disciplinary policies and reviewing curriculums in subject areas like the Middle East. During his second week in office, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at combating antisemitism in schools and on college campuses, and last month announced a multiagency task force would root out anti-Semitic harassment on campuses. Yale and Columbia were among 60 universities that received warnings from the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights earlier this month regarding possible consequences if they fail to take adequate steps to protect Jewish students. The office said it sent letters to universities under investigation for alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination. Last week, a White House official told CNN the administration paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania, claiming it has violated an executive order barring transgender women from competing in womens sports. While Penn said as of this week it hadnt received official word of the paused funding, the school maintains it has always been in compliance with federal guidelines. Theres a tremendous amount of money on the line, explained Keith Whittington, a Yale professor and cofounder of the Academic Freedom Alliance, which defends the speech of professors and higher education faculty across the country. I mean really these are practically existential threats to universities, he said. But he noted if more elite educators decide to leave for similar reasons as the Yale professors, the universities will be weakened as well. I think from an overall American leadership position and sort of scientific research, thats a real threat, Whittington argued. If you lose your best people who decide to go to other countries, thats going to have long-term consequences. In a statement provided to CNN, a spokesperson for Yale University wrote, Yale University has been and continues to be home to world-class faculty members who are dedicated to excellence in scholarship and teaching. These faculty members conduct groundbreaking research, train aspiring leaders who will serve all sectors of society, and offer insights that can help improve the world, and the university is committed to supporting them in these endeavors. Yale is proud of its global faculty community which includes faculty who may no longer work at the institution, or whose contributions to academia may continue at a different home institution. Faculty members make decisions about their careers for a variety of reasons and the university respects all such decisions, the statement continued. Its not fear, Im not afraid, reiterated Stanley regarding his decision to leave for Canada. Stanley said hed rather just spend his energy fighting for democracy and against the administrations policies, rather than fighting the universities he loves. Ill be in a much better position to fight bullies, he said. CNNs Karina Tsui, Elizabeth Wolfe, Emma Tucker and Michelle Watson contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com By Joe Cash and Casey Hall BEIJING (Reuters) -China's President Xi Jinping urged a gathering of multinational CEOs on Friday to protect global industry and supply chains, as Beijing seeks to assuage foreign firms' concerns over the Chinese economy's health amid threats of more U.S. tariffs. Beijing is battling to dispel fears that a renewed trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump will further pinch growth in the world's second-largest economy, which has been struggling to recover from the pandemic. Longstanding unease over China's tightening regulations, abrupt crackdowns on foreign firms, and an uneven playing field favouring state-owned Chinese companies are also sapping business sentiment. "We need to work together to maintain the stability of global industry and supply chains, which is an important guarantee for the healthy development of the world economy," Xi told the business leaders, who included the bosses of AstraZeneca, FedEx, Saudi Aramco, Standard Chartered and Toyota. "I hope everyone can take a broad perspective, not be swayed by transient distractions in the industry, and not blindly follow actions that disrupt the security and stability of global industry and supply chains." Around 40 executives joined the meeting, the majority of whom represented the pharmaceuticals sector. The meeting ran for just over 90 minutes and seven companies were invited to speak, a source with direct knowledge of its planning said. "This meeting is a big illustration of business diplomacy. Now there is not just dialogue between bodies, WTO entities and states, but diplomacy being led by companies that are not just representing themselves, but also their sectors," said Frank Bournois, VP and dean of the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, adding that its success would depend on future actions and not just words. The executives sat in a horseshoe formation, with Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius and FedEx's Raj Subramaniam sitting directly across from Xi. HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery, SK Hynix boss Kwak Noh-jung, Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser, and chair of Hitachi Toshiaki Higashihara also sat in the first row. "Foreign enterprises contribute one-third of China's imports and exports, one-quarter of industrial added value and one-seventh of tax revenue, creating more than 30 million jobs," Xi said. "In recent years, foreign investment in China has also been interfered with by geopolitical factors... I often say that blowing out other people's lights does not make you brighter." Xi last year met with American business leaders after the China Development Forum, prompting questions about whether China's top leader meeting members of the global business community a few days after the annual business forum would become an annual fixture. China's second-ranking premier used to meet them on the CDF's sidelines. "The essence of China-U.S. economic and trade relations is mutually beneficial and win-win," Xi told this year's meeting. Trump has announced a wave of fresh "reciprocal" tariffs to take effect on April 2, targeting countries with trade barriers on U.S. products, which could include China. He imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese exports this month, prompting China to retaliate with additional duties on American agricultural products. The frequency of meetings between foreign executives and high-level Chinese officials has picked up over the past month, after official data showed foreign direct investment plummeted 27.1% year-on-year in local currency terms in 2024. That marked the biggest drop in FDI since the 2008 global financial crisis. "From the outside you can get the impression that this dialogue is just like a shuffling of papers, but I believe if it is followed by deeds and measures, only then we will see FDI trends change," Bournois said. (Reporting by Joe Cash and Xiuhao Chen in Beijing and Casey Hall in Shanghai; Additional reporting by Liz Lee and Bu Shi; Editing by Saad Sayeed, Stephen Coates and Mark Potter) The U.S. cities most vulnerable to a trade war with Canada turn out to largely be in the states that helped return Donald Trump to the White House a sign of the possible political risk he's taking with his tariff plans. A new analysis released Thursday by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce detailed the areas most dependent on exports to Canada, with San Antonio and Detroit topping the list of 41 U.S. metro areas. The findings show that the United States' 25% tariffs on Canada and Canada's retaliations could inflict meaningful damage in key states for U.S. politics. The analysis was conducted before the Republican president announced Wednesday that he was placing additional 25% tariffs on imported autos and parts starting on April 3. "The consequences of today's escalation in this destructive tariff war will not be contained to Canada, as much as the U.S. administration would like to pretend," said Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "Throwing away tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border will mean giving up North America's auto leadership role, instead encouraging companies to build and hire anywhere else but here. This tax hike puts plants and workers at risk for generations, if not forever." RELATED STORY | Trump announces 25% tariffs on foreign-made vehicles in bid to boost US manufacturing Nearly half of what San Antonio exports, with its aerospace, auto and energy sectors, goes to Canada. About 40% of what the auto-driven Detroit area exports also goes to Canada. Trump's wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were crucial for his overall victory in November's presidential election and Milwaukee and Pittsburgh also rank in the top 10 for exposure to a trade war with Canada. Other cities most dependent on exports to Canada include Kansas City, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; Chicago; and Cleveland. All of those states aside from Illinois backed Trump in the last election. Trump has placed 25% tariffs on many goods from Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tax on energy products from Canada. Some of those tariffs have been suspended or delayed, though they're set to fully hit in April. Canadian leaders have warned that the United States would suffer in the form of higher prices, fewer jobs and slower growth because of the trade war. But an analysis by the Brookings Institution found that the economic pain would be more severe in Mexico and Canada because those countries are more reliant on the United States in terms of trade. Trump's stated reason for the tariffs is to stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling, though he's also said that he dislikes the trade deficit with both countries and has taunted Canada by suggesting that it could become the 51st U.S. state. RELATED STORY | Trump targets countries that buy oil and gas from Venezuela with 25% tariff Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Facebook | Gov. Andy Beshear (The Center Square) Election integrity advocates are applauding a new Kentucky law that bans foreign money from promoting ballot measures in the state. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed House Bill 45 into law this week. Similar to a new Wyoming law signed earlier this month by Gov. Mark Gordon, HB 45 prohibits non-U.S. citizens from funding any statewide ballot initiatives. It also prohibits "political issues committees from knowingly and willfully soliciting or accepting contributions from prohibited sources" and establishes "certification requirements for treasurers of political issues committees and donors making contributions and independent expenditures." The measure passed in both the state House (85-12) and in the state Senate (29-6) with bipartisan support. Because the Senate amended the bill, it returned to the House, where it passed again. Americans For Public Trust Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland said the new law was needed to keep foreign special interests from influencing elections in the state. "Closing this foreign funding loophole is a big win for the people of Kentucky," Sutherland said in a statement emailed to The Center Square. "For far too long, ballot issue campaigns have been an opening for foreign megadonors to influence politics across America, and this ban sends the message loud and clear that foreign dark money has no place in the Bluegrass State. Jason Snead of Honest Elections Project Action also applauded the legislation. Kentucky voters deserve elections that are free from foreign influence, and ... the Kentucky legislature delivered, making Kentucky the third state to ban foreign funding of ballot issue campaigns," Snead said in a statement. For years, a loophole in federal law has left state ballot issues susceptible to citizens of foreign adversaries being able to affect our democratic process, which has been taken advantage of by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss through his prolific giving to the Left-wing Sixteen Thirty Fund," Snead added. "Fortunately for Kentuckians, that ends today. Wyss also was cited as an impetus behind the Wyoming law. Foreign policy A trio of retired top military leaders warned congressional lawmakers this week that major cuts to US foreign aid could embolden China to step in and fill the void allowing the communist state to further its global influence. The Trump administration moved quickly to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as a part of the presidents cost-cutting crusade when he retook the White House, blasting the governments main arm for doling out foreign aid as a hotbed of waste and a haven for lefty pet projects overseas. However, former military leaders are now raising concerns as China has begun rolling out new funding initiatives in countries like Cambodia, which saw USAID funds severed. Anytime that we the United States depart an area that we used to be in, either with USAID as a program, or other soft power initiatives, some foes, whether its China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, are filling that void, retired Lt. Gen. John Bednarek told The Post in between meetings on Capitol Hill. Its an area that we need to watch and be very mindful of, from a US foreign policy perspective. China has announced loans and other support for countries that lost USAID funding. Getty Images Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team targeted USAID early on. REUTERS Bednarek, who served as chief of the United States Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq and former commander of the United States First Army, swung through Capitol Hill Thursday alongside retired Gen. Laura Richardson and retired Vice Admiral John Miller. The group sat on the US Global Leadership Coalitions (USGLC) National Security Advisory Council. USGLC advocates for a strong budget on foreign affairs and has been critical of the USAID reforms. It argues that when the US pulls out of foreign initiatives, it leaves a wide gap for foes to fill. For instance, over a decade ago, China began angling to make diplomatic inroads overseas with its Belt and Road Initiative, in which it provides loans and capital to an assortment of infrastructure projects in developing countries. This includes investments in Central and South America. Weve got a $3 billion deep water port in the Bahamas that China has funded, Richardson, formerly the commander of US Southern Command and SAF chief of staff in Afghanistan, explained. Weve got the first mega port in the region that China has build north of Lima Peru, he added. All in the Western Hemisphere, all in our neighborhood. Critics have decried those overtures as debt trap diplomacy, accusing Beijing of offering loans to poor countries that lack the means to repay them, giving China significant diplomatic leverage. I think a lot of countries are sort of catching on to the potential pitfalls of teaming with China, but still, if theres no one else to team with then thats who theyre going to team with, Miller, who led Naval Forces Central Command until 2015, said. They dont have a choice. Concerns about China taking advantage of USAIDs demise have festered among US lawmakers. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), for example, has argued that USAID is our way to combat the Belt and Road Initiative. The trio argued that US foreign aid helps boost Americas standing around the world. ZUMAPRESS.com One recent example of this has been Chinas announcement several weeks ago that it was funding programs in Cambodia to support childrens development there. In late February, the US had cut off two aid programs, including one for nutrition in children under five and another to boost child literacy. Beyond countering China, the USGLC trio argued that US foreign aid, including programs outside the traditional USAID umbrella, also helps national security broadly. It is creating stability, or creating the conditions for stability, or addressing food hunger, or the spread of disease, Miller said. These are all American first interests, because we are the beneficiary of that stability throughout the world. [US] strength isnt just our military, Miller emphasized. Its also our diplomatic strength and its our ability to help with the development of allies and partners around the world. Richardson also pointed to the State Departments Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) as one of the foreign aid programs she wishes hadnt been frozen. INL helps countries clamp down on their crime and drug problems to prevent those issues from spilling over into the US. The transnational organized crime apparatus is very strong and very powerful, Richardson warned. USAID had a roughly $40 billion annual budget, which is less than 1% of Uncle Sams total spending last year. Trumps team has highlighted expenses like $2.5 million spent on electric vehicles for Vietnam, $32,000 spent on a transgender comic book in Peru, and more as examples of waste and abuse. President Trump has argued that USAID was rife with wasteful spending and funding for politically divisive programs. AFP via Getty Images Honestly, yeah, we can be a bit more efficient, Bednarek acknowledged, saying that some programs may be eliminated in favor of programs that are going to benefit the American people. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose department essentially absorbed USAID, has estimated that about 83% of the agencys programs have been scrapped. Some of the cuts to USAID and other foreign aid programs are subject to litigation, and there is a possibility that Congress may try to revive some of the initiatives. Some GOP lawmakers have expressed interest in steering foreign policy dollars from politically charged endeavors and towards more clear-cut humanitarian missions. The meetings were very, very, very receptive, Bednarek recounted of the sessions he and his partners had with a bipartisan assortment of lawmakers. Its not just America first, America not alone, because we are always going to have historically, the need for our allies and partners around the world, he added. That requires an investment. By Tim Kelly and Katya Golubkova TOKYO (Reuters) -Alaska's governor will brief U.S. President Donald Trump's administration next week on progress in securing Asian backing for a $44 billion natural gas export project, he told Reuters, part of Washingtons broader push on trade and tariffs. Trump wants Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan to join the project and Governor Mike Dunleavy is winding up a trip through Asia where he has been seeking investors and long-term buyers. He is travelling with the heads of the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) and development partner Glenfarne Group and has held talks in Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan. "Buying gas and then investing in America helps with the discussions that are happening at the federal level and at the national level," Dunleavy told Reuters in an interview in Tokyo. "I would like to talk with the president, but at least Ill be talking with some of the secretaries that are intimately focused on this project," he told Reuters. The delegations visit coincides with renewed trade pressure from Washington. On Wednesday, Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks starting April 3 a threat to the auto sectors of Japan and South Korea. Dunleavy said he had not secured investment or purchase commitments in Japan or South Korea but would return home with a letter of intent from Taiwan to buy 6 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually following two meetings with President Lai Ching-te. The project's target production capacity is 20 million tons per annum. "The desire to be linked to the United States for geopolitical purposes is strongest out of Taiwan by far," Brendan Duval, founder and CEO of Glenfarne, told Reuters. Alaska plans to transport natural gas from the state's remote north along a proposed $44 billion, 1,300 km (800-mile) pipeline to the south, where it will be liquefied and shipped to East Asia beginning in 2030. Construction for the LNG pipeline would begin in 2026 with gas flowing in 2028, and the conditioning plant and export facility completed in 2030, the governor's office said in an emailed statement earlier this month. Trump, who has pushed allies to buy U.S. energy while simultaneously threatening trade tariffs, asked Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in February to support the Alaskan plan. In a recent address to Congress, he said Japan and South Korea wanted to partner in a project he claims could inject trillions of dollars into the U.S. economy. Japanese energy companies, including Inpex Corp, the country's largest oil and gas explorer, say they remain unconvinced about the project's viability. In Tokyo, the Alaskan delegation also met with Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Yoji Muto. Earlier in Seoul, they held talks with South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun. Detailed project plans, including the front-end engineering design, are expected to be completed in the third quarter, with a final investment decision for the pipeline part of the project likely by the end of the year. That would pave the way for Asian buyers to commit to a project that, according to Glenfarne's Duval, will be able to deliver gas at a competitive price. U.S. investors will provide most of the financing for the pipeline, while any equity from Japan or other Asian buyers will likely be tied to offtake from the liquefaction plant that will prepare the gas for export, Duval said. "Some leadership out of Japan clearly is going to be helpful," he said. (Reporting by Tim Kelly and Katya Golubkova; editing by Tomasz Janowski and Jason Neely) Influencer Andrew Tate, center, arrives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in February. (Marta Lavandier / Associated Press) Online influencer Andrew Tate beat and choked his ex-girlfriend at the Beverly Hills Hotel, according to a civil lawsuit she filed in Los Angeles on Thursday. Model Brianna Stern, who has appeared in Maxim Australia Magazine and Playboy, accused Tate of sexual assault and battery, gender violence, negligence and other actions that allegedly took place during their 10-month relationship. Tate's attorney, Joseph McBride, called the allegations false, accusing Stern of filing the lawsuit for financial gain. "This is a blatant cash grab a desperate attempt by a sad individual to exploit Andrews success and reputation for personal gain," McBride said in an email response. . The lawsuit asks for unspecified statutory and punitive damages. Tate, 38, a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who has amassed more than 10 million followers on X, is currently charged with human trafficking in Romania with his brother, Tristan Tate. The two were recently allowed to return to the U.S. after Romanian officials lifted a travel ban on them. Tate met Stern last summer in Romania. While the brothers were banned from leaving Romania, they invited models to meet with them to help promote their cryptocurrency coin. One of those models was Stern, who wanted to promote her own cryptocurrency coin, according to her lawsuit. She joined a group that landed in the Romanian capital of Bucharest in July 2024. But she says she was singled out from the other models and personally picked up by Tate in his car. The two drove for nearly three hours from her hotel to an Airbnb villa in Transylvania where the cryptocurrency photo shoots were set to take place. During the car ride, Tate won Stern over by saying that he provides for women he dates and that she would no longer have to work if they were together, according to the lawsuit. During their relationship, Tate was kind and loving, but he was also cold and dismissive, she said in the lawsuit. He called her derogatory names and stated she was his "property," according to the complaint. He told her, "I'm punishing you for your behaviors" and "You have an attitude because you're not hit enough," according to Stern. Tate would follow up his insults with loving text messages, according to screenshots from text message exchanges included in the lawsuit. But Tate's behavior eventually became violent, according to Stern. On March 10, the two spent the night together at the Beverly Hills Hotel. He started to beat her while they were having sex, according to the complaint. "Initially, the sex was consensual, but things soon changed," Stern said in the suit. "Tate began verbally degrading Plaintiff as he routinely did but this time it was much worse, more aggressive, and more violent. Tate then began to choke Plaintiff." She began to cry and begged him to stop, but he choked her until she nearly lost consciousness, the lawsuit alleges. Read more:Woman's lawsuit claims Motel 6 and other chains allowed her to be raped nearly 1,000 times He used one hand to choke her and the other to beat her repeatedly on the side of her face and top of her head, Stern said. "While doing so, Tate told her repeatedly that if she ever crossed him, he was going to kill her," the complaint said. "Plaintiff did the best she could to protect herself as she sobbed and pleaded until Tate climaxed and stopped beating and choking her." He eventually fell asleep, according to the complaint. She wanted to leave right away but was too scared. The next morning, she pretended nothing happened and then left, according to the complaint. She sought help from friends and saw a physician, according to the lawsuit. Stern said she was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and the physician told her to report the choking and beating to police. But Stern said she was scared and didn't want to say anything. She included a screenshot of a text message exchange in which Tate allegedly wrote, "if you ever betray me you will regret it." Stern wrote back, "ok crazy." "No I'm serious," he allegedly wrote back. Read more:Andrew Tate placed under house arrest as new human trafficking allegations emerge involving minors She was so afraid she said she waited to file a police report with the Beverly Hills Police Department until after Tate had left the country and until her sister could go with her to the police station, according to the complaint. In a statement posted to her Instagram account, Stern said she was still in love with Tate even though he hurt her. While they were together, Stern and Tate talked about starting a family. But after the beating, she said, she realized the gravity of her situation. "This was the reality of my boyfriend and my life, and I needed to take back control," she said in her statement. "'You are my property' echoed in my mind and I knew that was not the future I wanted for myself or for my future children." Stern said she is "an emotional wreck and am constantly looking over my shoulder." "This entire situation is very traumatic and extremely difficult," she said. "I considered many times just silently leaving Andrew and saying nothing, doing nothing, because I was scared and because it was honestly hard for me to accept that I was being abused. But I can now see that doing so would be the cowardly approach." 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 Laila Bassam, Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan (Reuters) -Israel's air force conducted a large strike on a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on Friday, a Reuters reporter said, the first heavy bombardment there since a truce deal in November ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel's military said it hit a drone storage facility in the area belonging to Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. The strike, which was heard across Beirut and produced a large column of black smoke, followed an evacuation order by the Israeli military for the neighbourhood and three smaller targeted drone strikes on the building intended as warning shots, security sources told Reuters. The evacuation order sent residents of the area into a panic, rushing to escape on foot as traffic clogged the streets out of the area, Reuters reporters in the area said. Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh, were pounded last year by Israeli strikes that killed many of the group's top leaders, including its powerful chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a September air attack. A U.S.-brokered truce in November put an end to the fighting and mandated that southern Lebanon be free of Hezbollah fighters and weapons, that Lebanese troops deploy to the area and that Israeli ground troops withdraw from the zone. But the truce has been shaken over the last week by two cases of outgoing fire from southern Lebanon - several rockets fired on March 22 and another set fired on Friday morning. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Lebanese government bore direct responsibility for the attack and said that as long as there was no peace in Galilee "there will be no peace in Beirut either." Israeli ministers have vowed to ensure that the tens of thousands of Israelis who evacuated their homes in border areas when Hezbollah began bombarding the area in 2023 would be able to return safely. But with more Israeli units deployed around Gaza, where a separate ceasefire has also broken down, it remained unclear whether Israel was prepared for any wider intervention. Hezbollah denied links to either attack. No other group has claimed responsibility. But Israel's statement confirming its raid on Dahiyeh said that the Friday morning rocket fire "constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and a direct threat to the citizens of the State of Israel." It added that the Lebanese state bears responsibility for upholding the agreement. Israel also bombarded Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon on Friday after intercepting the incoming rocket fire, the Israeli military said. Israel has vowed a strong response to any threats to its security, prompting fears that last year's conflict - which displaced more than 1.3 million people in Lebanon and destroyed much of the country's south - could resume. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in Paris to meet his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, said in a written statement from France that the onus was on the international community to "put an end to these attacks and force Israel to abide by the agreement, just as Lebanon is committed to it." The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the exchange of fire across the southern border on Friday was "deeply concerning." "Any exchange of fire is one too many. A return to wider conflict in Lebanon would be devastating for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line and must be avoided at all costs," she said in a written statement. (Reporting by Tala Ramadan, Jana Choukeir in Dubai; Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam in Beirut, and James Mackenzie in Jerusalem; Writing by Tala Ramadan and Jana Choukeir; editing by Christian Schmollinger, Lincoln Feast, Mark Heinrich, Timothy Heritage, William Maclean) By Maria Paula Laguna and Sarah Morland MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A growing number of Latin American women are choosing not to give birth in a radical departure from the traditional family roles that have long dominated in the region. Latin America and the Caribbean has experienced the most dramatic decline in birth rates of any region globally since 1950, according to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL). As in South Korea, this has raised fears of an ageing population that burdens the taxpayer. But it also reflects how women are turning away from deeply-ingrained expectations of motherhood, in part because of a lack of state support and in part because they are prioritizing their own careers and livelihoods. Mexican property manager Iran Sosa founded the Nunca Madres (Never Mothers) global online community for Spanish-speaking women in 2021 with Isabel Cortes, a Colombian commodities trader, to address a lack of space where Latinas could discuss social issues and cultural taboos regarding decisions about motherhood. "When I was a little girl, the only representation I had of women who were not mothers were bitter, single, Disney stereotypes, the childless witch with no family who is abandoned and thrown away," Sosa said. "Representation is always important, so we can imagine different futures and different choices." She said many of the group's members say they feel pressured into motherhood, with relatives warning them they would regret the decision not to have children and would have no one to look after them as they grow old. "People come with many fears," she said. "But how else can you make this decision, but from a place of love?" As well as an online space, Nunca Madres runs workshops where people - including mothers - share information and advice on how their decisions have affected their lives, from societal stigma to workplace discrimination to personal finance. "There is still a lot of taboo around that decision," said Cortes. "It depends on your social circle but generally it is very deeply rooted in our culture that woman equals mother." There is little global data on why women choose not to have children, but a Pew Research survey of U.S. adults last year found 57% of respondents under 50 who said they were unlikely to have children gave as a reason that they just didn't want to, 38% were concerned about the state of the world and 36% couldn't afford it. At Nunca Madres, Sosa said economic concerns were the top reason women gave, including the risk of losing their jobs or freezing career prospects, alongside the massive and often heavily lopsided unpaid labor of raising a child. Climate change, which is contributing to worsening natural disasters in the region, came next. Women questioned the wisdom of raising children in places where water is being rationed. Lucero Sanchez, a Mexican doctor who had decided when she was 16 that she did not want children, told Reuters that adult women seeking sterilization are routinely told by medical practitioners they are too young and will regret it, while teens who get pregnant are rarely told they are too young to have babies. "The biggest challenge is society," she said. "You are constantly being invited to make a different decision or your decision is being questioned as invalid." 'AGAINST GOD, AGAINST THE FAMILY' Activists have warned that a political pushback in the United States against many hard-won rights - including abortion, access to contraception, and sex education in schools - is spilling over across the region. Argentina's President Javier Milei has cut funding for sex education, contraception and abortion pills - just a few years after the procedure was made legal. He told the United Nations in September that policies around reproductive rights were "ridiculous" given shrinking birth rates in Western countries. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele has cracked down on a broad-ranging set of "gender ideology" policies that he has described as "against God and against the family." Those include sex education and access to contraception, say women's rights groups. El Salvador, which is overwhelmingly Catholic, already has a total ban and severe penalties for abortion. Andressa Cavalcante, a Brazilian family medic, said joining a group like Nunca Madres helped her feel "less like an alien." "Living in a country with a largely Christian-based culture that values the traditional family and considers the concept of having children as an act of faith, I often refrain from expressing my decision or opinion on the subject," she said. Cavalcante is now donating her eggs to women and LGBTQ+ couples who cannot have children. While birth rates have shrunk globally since contraceptives became widely available in the 1960s, experts at CEPAL and UN Women have attributed the steeper Latin American decline to a failure by authorities to tackle domestic violence and provide support for prospective mothers. In Europe policies such as free early childcare and paternity leave have had some success in boosting birth rates, but there are few such policies across Latin America, according to Martina Yopo, a sociologist at Chile's Pontifical Catholic University. Meanwhile, more women have been joining the workforce. The percentage of women in Latin America and the Caribbean in the labor force rose 8.8 percentage points to 51.3% between 1990 and 2023, according to the World Bank, even as they continue to shoulder the bulk of unpaid domestic and care work. More support from governments in terms of social and healthcare security would help Latin American women as their roles shift, said Sosa. "It's about autonomy," she said. "They need to recognize that we exist, and not only that, but many more generations of girls are growing up and making the same decisions." (Reporting by Sarah Morland and Maria Paula Laguna, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a cadet practicing on the parallel bars during his visit to the Kang Kon Military Academy, in Pyongyang, North Korea, February 25, 2025. - KCNA/Reuters North Korea appears to have sent at least 3,000 more soldiers to Russia early this year, South Koreas military said Thursday, demonstrating Pyongyangs continued support for Moscows war on Ukraine as world leaders push for an end to the three-year conflict. The news comes as Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia is being prepared, according to state media TASS. The reinforcements, sent in January and February, add to the roughly 11,000 troops North Korea has sent to Russia so far, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said. About 4,000 of them have been killed or injured in combat, according to Seoul. Pyongyang has also sent a significant amount of short-range ballistic missiles and about 220 pieces of 170-millimeter self-propelled howitzers and 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers, South Korea said. It said the Norths contributions are expected to increase according to the situation. While North Korea appears to be ramping up its support for Russias war, European leaders and allies are set to meet in Paris Thursday to discuss aid for Ukraine and long-term stability in the region, amid shaky efforts by the White House to broker a ceasefire. Following talks in Saudi Arabia this week, the US said both Russia and Ukraine agreed to stop using force in the Black Sea and uphold a previously announced pause on attacks against energy infrastructure. But Russia introduced some far-reaching conditions for signing up to the partial truce, which falls far short of a 30-day full ceasefire initially proposed by the White House. The Kremlin said it would only implement the agreements once sanctions on its banks and exports are lifted, showing the significant gulf in expectations between the negotiating parties. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russias President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, have been deepening security ties since they signed a landmark defense pact last year and pledged to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event the other is attacked. Putins top security adviser Sergei Shoigu met with Kim last week in Pyongyang, where he conveyed Putins warmest wishes and greetings, Russian state-run news agency TASS reported. He pays the utmost attention to the implementation of agreements reached with you, Shoigu told Kim, according to TASS. Deepening partnership The United States has warned that Russia may be close to sharing advanced space and satellite technology with North Korea, on top of military equipment and training it is already providing, in exchange for North Korean support for the war in Ukraine. North Korean troops had been deployed to the Russian region of Kursk to repel Ukraines incursion since at least November. But they withdrew from the front lines in January after reports of mass casualties, Ukrainian officials said. South Korean lawmaker Yoo Yong-won, who visited Ukraine in late February, said about 400 North Korean soldiers in Russia had been killed and about 3,600 injured as of February 26. CNN has previously reported on the brutal and near-suicidal tactics of North Korean soldiers, who in some cases have detonated grenades rather than be captured by Ukrainian forces, and have written pledges of allegiance to Kim on the battlefield. Since the war began, North Korea has also sent thousands of shipping containers of munitions or munitions-related material to Russia, and Moscows forces have launched North Korea-made missiles on Ukraine, according to US officials. North Korean medical facilities have also treated hundreds of Russian soldiers injured in Ukraine, Moscows ambassador to Pyongyang said in an interview with state-run outlet Rossiyskaya Gazeta in February. Meanwhile, Russia supplies North Korea with coal, food and medicine, Ambassador Alexander Matsegora told the outlet. He also said children of Russian troops killed in Ukraine had vacationed in North Korea last summer, and Russia and North Korea are developing student exchanges. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks alongside officials while inspecting a large reconnaissance drone in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 27, 2025. - KCNA/Reuters North Korean drones South Korean officials have echoed US concerns that the deepening partnership between Russia and North Korea could facilitate technology transfers to the Kim regime. This week, Kim oversaw a test of new AI-powered attack drones, North Korean state-run news agency KCNA reported, and directed that they be further developed in keeping with the trend of modern warfare. Pyongyang also unveiled a new reconnaissance drone that could have partly come from Russia, South Koreas military said Thursday. South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Seong-jun said that the aircraft model had been modified from an original North Korean plane, but the internal equipment and such parts could be related to Russia. Drones have become a central weapon in the fighting between Russia and Ukraine. The number of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine skyrocketed from just 379 in May 2024 to nearly 2,500 in November. Amid ongoing talks of a ceasefire, Ukraine and Russia have continued to exchange attacks. Late Wednesday, Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, injuring at least nine people and damaging civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian authorities said. No country should have to go through this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram following the attack. In an interview with Newsmax Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he believes Russia wants to end the war, but it could be theyre dragging their feet. CNNs Gawon Bae and Sebastian Shukla contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Germany jails people for tweets. France fines them for hateful posts 1,500 last month for a man who insulted a politician online. Europes censorship wave is surging, echoing decrees from Nazi Germanys past. But CBSs Margaret Brennan doesnt think so. Last month on Face the Nation, she claimed that free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide in Nazi Germany. She is dead wrong. Hitlers regime didnt thrive on open debate. When the Nazis took power in 1933, they didnt exploit free speech they torched it. Decrees banned criticism, shuttered dissenting newspapers, and turned journalists into propaganda puppets. Brennans gaffe wasnt just a historical fumble. Its a symptom of a deeper misreading: the idea that silencing speech protects the marginalized. My recent research shows the opposite: Free speech is a lifeline for tolerance and minority rights. Nazis did not rise by debating in an open forum. They thrived where counter-voices were crushed. Contrast that with what global data show us. According to Afrobarometer survey data of 33 African nations, people who value media free from government chokeholds are far more likely to embrace ethnic diversity. The Integrated Values Survey, which tracks changes in values and attitudes across 116 countries over four decades, also shows that valuing free speech correlates with racial tolerance. This isnt a fluke. Open discourse lets prejudices be challenged rather than fester in silence. Zoom to the national stage, and the story holds. According to data, countries with robust free speech laws like Denmark or Japan consistently protect minority rights better and curb government discrimination. Shift from a speech-stifled nation like Russia in 1950 to a free one like Japan in 2017, and political access for marginalized groups greatly increases. Where speech flows, accountability follows. Nazi Germany proves the reverse: State-controlled media, not free voices, unleashed hate speech and violence. And there was no option for counter-speech to stop it. Brennans claim echoes a growing chorus on campuses, in Congress, online that free speech threatens safety. In fact, a majority of U.S. teens now prioritize online safety over free expression, per Pew polling. And this sentiment is turning into legal restrictions. Germanys online censorship law law fines platforms millions for hate left online past 24 hours. Hate speech laws are designed with the intention of protecting marginalized groups. History shows they do not work. In Rwanda, genocide surged not due to open debate, but from state-controlled radio spewing unchallenged lies. My research backs this up: Free speech reduces government exclusion, not the other way around. A rise in speech freedom cuts government-based discrimination. In other words, silence is the real weapon of hate. Yes, words can wound. Studies on Nazi radio show how propaganda sways the prejudiced. But censorship? Its a boomerang. Who decides whats too dangerous? The Nazis did, and they didnt stop at hate. They banned truth. Todays calls for limits on speech risk the same trap. There is a better path: More speech, not less. Its what the United Nations urged in 2001 fight racism with ideas, not gag orders. Counter lies with facts. Amplify marginalized voices. Germanys Twitter jail is a warning, not a model. The policy fix is clear: We must scrap laws that choke debate. We must protect independent media and teach children to challenge, not conform. Free speech is messy raw, loud, imperfect. But as research shows, its not tolerances enemy. Its the ground where it grows. Hate doesnt win when we speak freely it wins when we cant speak at all. Claudia Williamson Kramer is the Probasco Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise and Professor of Economics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Elon Musk defended his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency Thursday, pushing back on mounting criticism of the massive disruption caused by DOGE in an unusual joint interview with other top leaders of the group. Musk minimized the number of people who have been fired by DOGE amid a wave of federal layoffs. His team lambasted the government's records, payment and other systems and promised to implement a tech savvy, user-friendly approach. And they shrugged off concerns about how DOGE has operated. "This is a revolution and I think it might be the biggest revolution in the government since the original revolution," said Musk, a billionaire tech entrepreneur who has become a leading figure in President Donald Trump's second administration. DOGE is blitzing through federal agencies, generating criticism from Democrats and unions that it's sowing turmoil and harming important government functions. There have been mass layoffs and entire agencies effectively shuttered. Many of the DOGE initiatives have been challenged as illegal and are tied up in court. The CEO of electric car company Tesla, Musk also lashed out Thursday at people he accused of spreading "lies and propaganda" that he blamed for a spate of vandalism at Tesla locations. "Were going after them," Musk said in a subsequent one-on-one Fox interview. DOGE mostly has operated behind the scenes. The joint interview was a notable public moment for the DOGE team, which - other than Musk - has not been highly visible despite the intense media attention on their efforts. Here are five takeaways from the interviews. Musk blames 'far left' for Tesla vandalism Musk's work with DOGE has made him a lightning rod for critics, who have staged protests at Tesla locations, including a nationwide "Tesla Takedown" campaign. There also has been vandalism and acts of violence directed at Tesla, including at dealerships in Florida and Colorado and a Tesla Collision Center in Nevada. Asked by a reporter this month if he would label those attacking Tesla locations "domestic terrorists," Trump said I'll do it. I'm going to stop them because they're harming a great American company." The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said a week later in announcing charges against "several perpetrators" of Tesla attacks. But Musk - a self-described "free speech absolutist" - focused less on the attackers Thursday than on the information he believes they're absorbing, delving into territory about what speech is acceptable. "Whats happening it seems to me is theyre being fed propaganda by the far left and they believe it," Musk said of those attacking Teslas and Tesla locations. Musk said "the real problem" is not the "crazy guy that fire bombs a Tesla dealership. Its the people pushing the propaganda that caused that guy to do it. Those are the real villains here, and were going to go after them." What the Trump administration means for you: Sign up for USA TODAY's On Politics newsletter. Tesla CEO Elon Musk wears a 'Trump Was Right About Everything!' hat while attending a Cabinet meeting at the White House, in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2025. "And the presidents made it clear, were going to go after them," Musk continued. "The ones providing the money, the ones pushing the lies and propaganda. Were going after them. Musk minimizes layoffs During the interview, Anthony Armstrong - a former Morgan Stanley banker who is working as a senior adviser for DOGE at the Office of Personnel Management - defended how his team has approached reducing a federal workforce of more than 2 million employees. Theres a very heavy focus on being generous, being caring, being compassionate and treating everyone with dignity and respect," Armstrong said. Armstrong said federal workers are leaving "largely through voluntary means." Early on DOGE sent an email to every federal worker offering them pay and benefits through Sept. 30 if they voluntarily leave. Since then there have been mass layoffs of probationary workers and the Trump administration started the process for a further "reduction in force" - or RIF - aimed at employees with longer tenure. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) rallies with hundreds of demonstrators to protest against Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts outside the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on March 03, 2025 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Armstrong said currently less than 0.15 of the federal workforce has been "given a RIF notice." "Basically almost no one has gotten fired is what we're saying," Musk interjected. More than 100,000 federal employees lost their jobs in the past two months through layoffs of probationary employees, who are new to government work or recently moved between agencies or accepted a promotion. Another about 75,000 federal employees accepted the original buyout offer Trump extended shortly after he took office. And additional layoffs have begun at a host of agencies. About half of Department of Education employees were laid off. The Department of Veterans Affairs is laying off about 16% or 76,000 workers. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is laying off more than 1,000 people, or about 20% of its staff. And Health and Human Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he will cut about 10,000 full-time jobs from the Cabinet department. Social Security problems The chaotic situation around DOGE has raised concerns that federal programs such as Social Security that many Americans rely on could be impacted. Protesters rally for Social Security on March 22, 2025, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Those fears were amplified when the Washington Post reported this week that the Social Security system is "engulfed in crisis." The report said the Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month. Fox played clips of Democrats accusing DOGE of attacking Social Security. Aram Moghaddassi, a DOGE software engineer, said the criticism "doesn't line up with my experience on the ground." He added that he's trying to combat fraud and "make the experience better." 'Apple Store like experience' Throughout the interview the DOGE team lambasted the federal governments record-keeping and technology programs and pledged to improve the experience. Mar 22, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Elon Musk and President Donald Trump during the Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Joe Gebbia, the billionaire co-founder of vacation rental company Airbnb who is working with DOGE, highlighted the system for keeping federal employee retirement records, which are stored in an old Pennsylvania mine. "The process takes many months and we're going to make it just many days," Gebbia said of processing retirement records, adding: "I really think it's an injustice to civil servants who are subjected to these processes." "We really believe the government can have an Apple Store like experience," he added. 'A lot of complaints along the way' Fox interviewer Brett Baier said DOGE has been "pretty disruptive." Musk made no apologies. Musk acknowledge that there would be "a lot of complaints along the way" but shrugged them off. He said his experience is that those who complain "the loudest and with the most amount of fake righteous indignation" are "fraudsters." Contributing: Sarah Wire and Joey Garrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'This is a revolution': Takeaways from Elon Musk/DOGE interview By David Thomas and Mike Scarcella WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Thursday targeting law firm WilmerHale, the fifth time the president has taken aim at a major firm with connections to his legal or political adversaries. The proclamation cited WilmerHale's ties to Robert Mueller, the former U.S. special counsel who investigated Russian contacts with Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. It also accused the firm of donating free legal work to support "destructive" causes related to immigration and voting, and said it discriminated based on race. Like three earlier executive orders issued by Trump against other firms, the proclamation suspended security clearances held by lawyers at WilmerHale, restricted their access to government officials and ordered a review meant to terminate federal contracts held by the firm's clients. A WilmerHale spokesperson said Trump's proclamation resembled an earlier executive order that was suspended by a judge. "We look forward to pursuing all appropriate remedies to this unlawful order," the firm said. Mueller retired from the firm in 2021 after a "long, distinguished career in public service," the spokesperson said. Mueller could not immediately be reached for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump, a Republican, has vowed to target more law firms, accusing them of "weaponizing" the legal system against him and his allies. A federal judge on March 12 temporarily blocked most of a similar executive order Trump issued against Perkins Coie, finding it likely violated the U.S. Constitution. The president agreed to drop his executive order against Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss after it agreed last week to donate the equivalent of $40 million in free legal work to administration causes, and to commit to nonpartisanship and merit-based hiring. An earlier, narrower order by Trump suspended security clearances for some lawyers at law firm Covington & Burling. Trump last week directed the Justice Department to recommend similar moves against lawyers and law firms that handle immigration cases or that sued the government over the past eight years - a group that includes many of the largest U.S. firms. WilmerHale, Covington, Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block, another firm named in an executive order earlier this week, are each representing clients in lawsuits against the Trump administration over issues such as immigration, transgender rights and firings of government workers. In WilmerHale's case, the firm represents a group of inspectors general who allege the administration illegally ousted them. The firm also played a key role in lawsuits against the prior Trump administration. Trump's moves against law firms have drawn growing condemnation from lawyers and legal experts. A group of 20 Democratic state attorneys general and the American Bar Association each warned on Wednesday that Trump's efforts posed dangers to the U.S. legal system by chilling lawyers' freedom to choose their clients. WilmerHale, which has a large D.C. office just blocks from the White House, employs more than 1,100 lawyers and has a leading U.S. Supreme Court practice. Some of its major clients include Apple, Harvard University, Meta, and Tesla. The Justice Department appointed Mueller early in Trump's first term to probe Russias alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion between Trumps campaign and Moscow. In 2019, Mueller published a report that identified links between the Russian government and Trump's campaign. But Mueller, a former Republican-appointed FBI director, found there was not enough evidence to establish that Trump's campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow. Other prominent former government officials at WilmerHale include former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, and Seth Waxman, who served as U.S. solicitor general during the Democratic Bill Clinton administration. (Reporting by Jasper Ward, Mike Scarcella and David Thomas; Editing by David Bario and Stephen Coates) ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish authorities have detained a lawyer for jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan's biggest political rival, an MP of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said on Friday. Imamoglu, a CHP member who leads Erdogan in some polls, was jailed on Sunday pending trial on graft allegations, provoking the largest anti-government protests in a decade that led to mass arrests nationwide. Mehmet Pehlivan, a lawyer who defended Imamoglu in the latest investigation, was detained "for fabricated reasons", CHP MP Turan Taskin Ozer said in a post on X, without giving details. Private broadcaster Haberturk later reported that the lawyer was detained on charges of "laundering assets derived from a criminal act". The interior and justice ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Imamoglu, who has been temporarily dismissed from his job because of the case, demanded the immediate release of his lawyer. "As if the coup on democracy wasn't enough, they can't stand the victims of this coup defending themselves," Imamoglu said on X. Imamoglu's CHP, other opposition parties, rights groups and Western powers have all said the case against the mayor was a politicised effort to eliminate a potential electoral threat to Erdogan. The government denies any influence over the judiciary and says the courts are independent. Separately, two journalists who covered the anti-government protests in Istanbul were detained early on Friday, the Journalists' Union of Turkey said. The detention of the journalists came a day after a Turkish court freed seven other journalists, including an Agence France-Presse photojournalist Yasin Akgul, who were earlier jailed for "attending an illegal march" while covering the last week's mass protests. The CHP has called on Turks to continue protesting, saying it would organise rallies and gatherings at different locations in Istanbul and elsewhere. Erdogan has dismissed the protests as a "show" and warned of legal consequences for protesters. Protests, particularly by university students in Istanbul and Ankara, continued on Thursday and police detained many protesters, Haberturk and other Turkish media reported. Also on Thursday, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 1,879 people had been detained since the protests began more than a week ago, adding that courts jailed 260 of them pending trial. The CHP has called a mass rally in Istanbul's Maltepe district on Saturday. (Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Alex Richardson) By Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad" commitment to a defence treaty with the Philippines on Friday and pledged to deploy advanced capabilities to its partner to strengthen a deterrence against threats, including Chinese "aggression". Hegseth met with counterpart Gilberto Teodoro and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and they signalled continued strong cooperation amid growing threats from China, emphasising a shared commitment to peace in the Indo-Pacific region and in the South China Sea, where Manila accuses Beijing of repeated hostile actions. "Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the communist Chinese," Hegseth said. He also said the United States was not seeking war and described President Donald Trump as a peacemaker. "President Trump seeks peace ... but in order to bring that peace, we will be strong," he told a news press conference with Teodoro. "Our allies will know we stand with them. Our admirals are prepared, and they will be properly equipped," he said. "We're rebuilding our military under President Trump." China argued there was no issues with freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and urged the United States to stop "instigating ideological confrontation" and "sowing discord" in the region. "All along, it is the U.S. side that has been indulging its allies in provocations in the South China Sea, and it is the U.S. side that has repeatedly fabricated false propositions about China's threat to freedom... in the South China Sea," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular news briefing on Friday. China also advises the Philippines not to act in accordance with the United States, and not to try to provoke military confrontation, Guo said. The Philippines is Hegseth's first stop on a trip to Asia that has been overshadowed by revelations that highly sensitive attack plans against Houthi militants in Yemen were shared on a commercial messaging app that included a journalist. SPECIAL FORCES EXERCISES Hegseth sidestepped a question on the sharing of the plan on the Signal app, replying that he was responsible for ensuring the defence department was prepared and ready. Hegseth said the United States would deploy additional advanced capabilities to the Philippines, including the NMESIS anti-ship missile system and unmanned surface vehicles that he described as "highly capable". He said they also agreed to conduct bilateral special forces training operations on the Philippines' northernmost islands of Batanes, close to Taiwan. "Our partnership not only continues today, but we are doubling down on that partnership, and our ironclad alliance has never been stronger," he said. Marcos, who pledged to work closely with Washington to uphold regional stability, said Hegseth's visit was a sign of the U.S. support for its treaty ally. "It sends a very strong message of the commitment of both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific region within the South China Sea," he said. The meeting comes against the backdrop of tensions between the Philippines and an increasingly powerful China over disputed islands in the South China Sea, where the two nations have had frequent maritime run-ins. Ahead of Hegseth's visit, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said military co-operation between the United States and the Philippines should not harm security interests of other countries. "Throughout history, the U.S. has maintained an eye-popping record of breaking its promises and turning its back on its allies," Wu said at a news briefing in Beijing on Thursday. (Reporting by Karen Lema and Mikhail Flores; Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski, Ethan Wang and Joe Cash in Beijing; Editing by John Mair, Martin Petty and Gerry Doyle) U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, right, walks with Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente at the National Palace in Mexico City, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) MEXICO CITY (AP) U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem landed in Mexico on Friday to cap off a tour to three Latin American nations to discuss immigration, crime and deportation. Noem's first visit to the region comes as it gains increasing importance to the Trump administration, which is attempting to scale up deportation efforts and warn against migration north. As Noem visited El Salvador and Colombia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Guyana to meet with a number of Caribbean leaders. After being greeted at the airport by Mexico's foreign minister, Noem met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and other top Mexican officials. The two leaders were photographed sitting next to each other in a meeting room along with other aids and together in front of American and Mexican flags. Sheinbaum's government has been working to offset tariffs lodged by the Trump administration, which economic forecasters say could thrust the Mexican economy into a recession. In exchange for delaying sanctions in past months, the Mexican government sent 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and reported sharp crackdowns on drug labs. It also sent 29 top cartel figures long sought by the American government to the U.S. to face justice. After the meeting on Friday, Noem wrote on a post on the social media platform on X that the moves were a positive step. But there is still much work to be done to stop the flow of drugs and illegal immigrants into our country, she added. Sheinbaum, meanwhile, called the meeting fruitful and said Mexico and the U.S. maintain a good relationship within a framework of respect for each others sovereignty. Despite 25% tariffs on auto parts announced by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week, Sheinbaum said ahead of the meeting that the focus of her conversation with Noem would largely be about security and migration, adding that she would emphasize Mexico's sovereignty in the meeting. More that informing, we're going to share with her what is being done and also the coordination and collaboration that has been established with the United States, Sheinbaum said in her morning press briefing. It is going to be a cordial meeting on coordination. While other leaders have taken a more confrontational approach with Trump and imposed reciprocal tariffs, Sheinbaum has walked a fine line with the Republican U.S. president, and the government has taken a collaborative approach to offset the economic blow. On Wednesday, Sheinbaum said Mexico would seek preferential treatment to Trump's auto tariffs. Sheinbaum's managing of the relationship with Trump has been met by soaring approval in Mexico. ___ USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. A former longtime North Dakota state senator is heading to prison for traveling to the Czech Republic about 14 times to have sex with underage male prostitutes, the Justice Department announced. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Raymon "Ray" Everett Holmberg Wednesday to 10 years in prison for the trips he took between 2011 and 2021, where he stayed at a Czech brothel to have sex with adolescent boys, the Justice Department said in a Thursday release. Prosecutors said Holmberg, who was still a senator at the time of the visits, used the alias Sean Evans. A witness told law enforcement Holmberg didn't want his name on the brothel's registry because of his position as a prominent state politician. Holmberg served as a Republican North Dakota state senator from 1977 to 2022, representing Grand Forks, according to the state's legislative council. At one point in his political career, he served in the legislature's top role as chairman of appropriations. He retired in 2022, according to a statement from former Gov. Doug Burgum, who lauded Holmberg as "a true statesman of the legislature, with his eloquent floor speeches, his razor wit and his willingness to work together to solve our biggest challenges and seize our greatest opportunities." Holmberg pleaded guilty in August 2024 to traveling to a foreign country for illicit sexual conduct. Federal law requires him to register as a sex offender. "The boys and young men with whom Holmberg sought to engage in commercial sex were some of the most vulnerable in the world," prosecutors wrote in court papers, adding that Holmberg visited the Villa Mansland gay brothel. "Especially in Prague, they were homeless boys and men often recruited to work at the Villa by its owner because of their vulnerabilities." Prosecutors: Legislator sought out 'vulnerable' boys in different countries According to court papers, prosecutors said Holmberg persuaded other men to join him on his trips to Prague, using the Sean Evans alias. In some of the messages, Holmberg wrote to a person that the age of consent in Czech was 15 and that he was looking for "some young kid." "In these communications, Holmberg shared an image of an adolescent boy that he called 'his twink,' and said that 'no one is ever to [sic] young . . . remember Prague,'" the DOJ said in the release. "He emailed a different friend a link to a brothel in Prague and suggested that they go that summer, writing: 'The boys rent at around $60 . . . (sex is extra).'" Prosecutors said that Holmberg sent messages to other men where he boasted about having sex with children as young as 12 years old in his travels. He emailed one person, "What happens in Prague - Stays in Prague." One person recalled Holmberg telling them, If you think I travel thousands of miles to have sex with a 16-year-old, youd be right, according to court papers. Holmberg brought a University of North Dakota student with him to Prague in 2016 and instructed the student to call him Sean Evans. Law enforcement spoke to a Slovakian man who was familiar with Holmberg, who said the politician sent him sexually explicit photos of "adolescent-age boys as well as young adult males, including a young adult male from North Dakota." His encounters with the minors either happened at or around the villa, which reviewers on travel website TripAdvisor have described as being Prague's "unique gay resort." "It is impossible to know how many boys Holmberg victimized in Prague and elsewhere because law enforcement was not able to identify them, in part, because his visits spanned more than a decade and they were homeless runaways who often lived in poverty," prosecutors said in court papers. "But, make no mistake, this is not a victimless crime. There is no doubt that Holmbergs exploitation of them has had devastating consequences for them, which are long-lasting." Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@USATODAY.com. Follow her on X @KrystalRNurse, and on BlueSky @krystalrnuse.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Once-powerful senator gets prison for exploiting children in Prague Matt Damon is ripped and ready. The shirtless actor, 54, was pictured with a chiseled physique while shooting on set of Christopher Nolans upcoming film The Odyssey in Favignana, Italy, on Tuesday. Damon was on location with Zendaya, 28, as the pair were photographed on a rocky hillside. The Air star showed off his rugged look and abs as he donned tan pants and a scruffy grey beard. Matt Damon rocks a beard and abs. CIAOPIX/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID Nolans 2026 action feature, which is about Homers ancient Greek poem, The Odyssey, also stars Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyongo and Charlize Theron. Zendaya wore her hair pulled back and donned a long, tan dress. Matt Damon filming The Odyssey. CIAOPIX/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID Matt Damon shooting The Odyssey. CIAOPIX/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID Details about the project are under wraps, but Damon will portray protagonist Odysseus and Holland, 28, will play his son, Telemachus. In December, Universal Pictures confirmed the film on X, writing, Christopher Nolans next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homers foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026, the post concluded. Matt Damon shows off his body transformation on location. CIAOPIX/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID Matt Damon in Italy filming the action feature. CIAOPIX/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID In February, the studio shared a first look to Instagram, with Damon wearing armor, a cape and a matching headpiece. Matt Damon is Odysseus. A film by Christopher Nolan, #TheOdysseyMovie is in theaters July 17, 2026, the caption read. Fans flocked to the comments section to share their excitement about the project. The journey begins! Cant wait to see more of the cast! one fan wrote, while another chimed in, I AM SO GLAD DAMON IS PLAYING THE LEAD. Matt Damon was seen on set in Favignana, Italy. CIAOPIX/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID The actor, seen here in 2020, was a bit less buff than he is now. BACKGRID But not everyone was thrilled about the casting choice, with a third user stating, No real Greeks cast in a movie about Ancient Greece very very very disappointing. As a Greek this is so disappointing on all levels. Not a single Greek cast member in sight, the movie wont film at all in any parts of Greece. Very upsetting considering Nolan is known for his authenticity, another follower explained. On Tuesday, Damons longtime friend and producing partner, Ben Affleck, detailed how The Instigators star was in stunt rehearsal for the movie and what its like taking on action roles in their 50s. I used to be very gung ho about like, Oh, Ill do the fights, Ill do the stunts. And now I am very much, At what point is the stunt performer going to come in and do this?' Affleck told GQ. Its one of the things I was talking to Matt about hes going off to do this Chris Nolan movie and doing a lot of stunt rehearsal, and it was kind of like, Boy, its been a while, hasnt it? Where you really have to go learn the fights this is Bourne Identity kind of territory. Zendaya was seen on set in Favignana, Italy, shooting scenes for The Odyssey. CIAOPIX/COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID Affleck, 52, noted he admires Nolans work and would love to jet-set off to Italy to see his friend. I may go visit Matt on the set just to watch Nolan direct, he quipped. Im not even kidding at all. You know what they say: if you got it, flaunt it! Tons of the hottest celebs live by this motto, showing off their assets in some seriously steamy lingerie looks. Kim Kardashian is no stranger to a sexy snap. In one of our favorite shots, she showed off her Calvin Klein undies in a black and white mirror selfie, looking strong and absolutely beautiful. Her younger sis Kendall Jenner also snapped a picture in a lacy thong and a cropped white t-shirt that displayed just a bit of underboob. While promoting her lingerie collaboration with Frederick's of Hollywood, Megan Fox posted an Instagram in a lacy white bodice similar to Bella Hadid's black lace bustier minidress only Hadid wore hers out on the town one night for a Paris Fashion Week party, pairing it with sheer tights and patent leather Mary Jane heels for the occasion. Ashley Graham also had her curves on full display during 2017 New York Fashion Week in a Boomerang video that showed her jumping on the bed in nothing but a bra and underwear. But nothing quite compares to the queen of skimpy-wear Emily Ratajkowski. Even though she has so many to choose from, one of our favorites is a t-shirt, thong combo that shows off her flawless backside Keep scrolling to see the hottest celeb lingerie looks: FILE - This photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the state's death chamber in Columbia, S.C., including the electric chair, right, and a firing squad chair, left. The South Carolina Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, on whether the state can use the electric chair, firing squad or a new lethal injection protocol to carry out its first executions in nearly 13 years. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP, File) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) A South Carolina death row inmate on Friday chose execution by firing squad, just five weeks after the state carried out its first death by bullets. Mikal Mahdi, who pleaded guilty to murder for killing a police officer in 2004, is scheduled to be executed April 11. Mahdi, 41, had the choice of dying by firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair. He will be the first inmate to be executed in the state since Brad Sigmon chose to be shot to death on March 7. A doctor pronounced Sigmon dead less than three minutes after three bullets tore into his heart. Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils," one of his lawyers, David Weiss, said in a statement. "Mikal chose the firing squad instead of being burned and mutilated in the electric chair, or suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney. Mahdi ambushed Orangeburg public safety officer James Myers at the officer's shed in Calhoun County in July 2004. Myers had just returned from an out-of-town birthday celebration for his wife, sister and daughter, prosecutors said. Myers wife found his burned body, shot at least eight times including twice in the head, in the shed that had been the backdrop for their wedding less than 15 months earlier, authorities said. Mahdi will be strapped to a chair 15 feet (4.6 meters) from three prison employees who volunteered to be on the firing squad. A target will be placed on his chest. Their rifles will all be loaded with a live round that shatters when it hits his rib cage. Aside from Sigmon, only three other U.S. inmates all in Utah have been killed by a firing squad in the past 50 years. Sigmon was the first inmate killed by bullets in the U.S. since 2010. Mahdis lawyers have filed a final appeal with the states highest court, saying Mahdis case for a life sentence at his original trial took only 30 minutes and that his lawyers failed to call anyone who could testify on his behalf. It didnt even span the length of a Law & Order episode, and was just as superficial, they said. Several defense lawyer organizations have filed briefs saying no one should be executed after such little effort to defend them. Mahdis lawyers said that as a juvenile Mahdi spent months in isolation in prison and that this altered his developing brain and affected his judgement. After Mahdi pleaded guilty to murder, Judge Clifton Newman said he sentenced the young man to death because a sense of humanity he tried to find in every defendant seemed not to exist in Mahdi. Prosecutors responded to the claim of a poor defense by saying Mahdi was able to present much more evidence during a 2011 appeal that had to be heard inside a prison because Mahdi had stabbed a death row guard during in an escape attempt. A judge rejected the appeal. In Mahdis vernacular, if his mitigation presentation before Judge Newman didnt even span the length of a Law & Order episode, the review of any potential error is in its 24th season, the state Attorney Generals Office wrote in court papers. Prosecutors said a lot of the new evidence would help Mahdi's case, including a string of attacks and threats on prison employees; his guilty plea to killing a convenience store clerk in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, before the South Carolina killing; and two other deaths that authorities in Virginia think he may be connected to. The nature of the man is violence, prosecutors wrote. Mahdi has one more opportunity to live he can ask Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to reduce his sentence to life in prison without parole just minutes before his scheduled execution at 6 p.m. on April 11 at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. But no South Carolina governor has offered clemency in the 47 executions in the state since the death penalty resumed in the U.S. in 1976. In the past seven months, South Carolina has executed Freddie Owens on Sept. 20; Richard Moore on Nov. 1; Marion Bowman Jr. on Jan. 31; and Sigmon. Sian Gray, right, with her wife Amie, who was stabbed while sitting around a fire on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth last year A criminology student stabbed a personal trainer to death on Bournemouth beach because he hated women, a court heard. Nasen Saadi, 21, murdered personal trainer Amie Gray, 34, and wounded her friend Leanne Miles in an attack on May 24 last year as the two women chatted by a fire. The killer had collected knives and researched locations to carry out the killing, and had even asked his course lecturers at the University of Greenwich questions on how to get away with murder. Saadi, of Croydon, south London, was jailed at Winchester Crown Court for life with a minimum term of 39 years for murder and attempted murder. He was also sentenced for failing to give his mobile phone pin code to the police. The judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, said Saadi felt humiliated after being rejected by girls and women, which has led over time to a deeply suppressed rage towards society and women in particular. She added that Saadi had chosen to deny his guilt because he wanted the notoriety of a trial and had a complete lack of remorse. The clear evidence is you planned to kill and went to Bournemouth to do so, the judge said. The judge added: You chose Amie Gray and Leanne Miles because you had a grievance of society as a whole, and of women. Nasen Saadi, 21, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 39 years for murder and attempted murder - Dorset Police In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mrs Grays wife, Sian Gray, said that her wifes death would haunt her forever. She said: At the age of 36, I should not have to hold my deceased wifes cold hand, nor should my daughter have to say goodbye and grieve over a coffin. Our tragedy has been a public display for all to see. In such a small town, we have no privacy so cannot hide our grief. That has been taken away from us. Amies beautiful life has now been reduced to forever being remembered as the murder victim. Mrs Grays mother, Sharon Macklin, said in a statement: Amie was an amazing, funny, kind and energetic soul. She had a big smile and a loud laugh and when she entered the room it was filled with laughter and her presence couldnt be ignored. She was beautiful inside and out, even if life wasnt great for her she would always find the time to help others. She added that she now struggled to sleep and was taking medication and receiving counselling after her daughters death. Mrs Grays aunt, Joy Lawrence, said: I see the impact it has had on my husband, daughters and grandchildren, the younger ones only 11 and eight, coping with everyones grief. They are so distraught that they will never have fun with her again. CCTV footage shows Nasen Saadi walking along Bournemouth seafront doing a recce - CPS/Solent The trial heard that Saadi was fascinated with knives and had bought six blades from websites, with several found at his aunts house, where he was living, and at his parents home. Saadi used the name Ninja Killer for his Snapchat account and also used the username NSkills on his computer. He had also carried out searches about the Milly Dowler and Brianna Ghey killings. The court was told Saadi had booked two hotels for a four-night stay in Bournemouth starting May 21 and was shown on CCTV carrying out recces of the seafront and the scene of the murder, which happened at about 11.40pm on May 24. During his stay at the Dorset resort, the defendant went to the cinema to see slasher film The Strangers: Chapter 1. His trial was told Ms Gray had tried to distract Saadi while he was attacking Ms Miles, shouting get away, allowing her friend to flee. Saadis tutors told the nine-day trial that he had shown a degree of specific interest in matters not related to the subject of his lectures and plied them with questions relating to forensics, DNA, self-defence and policing. One academic, Lisa-Maria Reiss, described Saadi asking her questions on how to get away with murder before asking her how often a self-defence argument would go through if a person was attacked first. His questions prompted her to ask him Youre not planning a murder are you?, to which Saadi did not respond. Saadi, who chose not to give evidence, denied carrying out the attacks, saying it was a case of mistaken identity and adding that he must have blacked out when they happened. Tributes were left on Bournemouth beach in memory of Amie Gray and Leanne Miles, who survived the attack - BNPS Benjamin May, a senior crown prosecutor, said: Amies courageous final act to protect her friend truly defines who she was, and her life will forever be remembered for the love and protection she gave to her loved ones. Our thoughts continue to remain with her friends and family, as well as with Leanne Miles, whose bravery through this ordeal helped us to deliver justice. Saadis perverse fascination with murder and violence morphed into vile, real-world consequences, for which he has faced justice. Det Insp Mark Jenkins, of Dorset Police, added: We were able to show how carefully the defendant planned his attack, intending to kill, choosing Bournemouth somewhere he had never been before as the location seemingly purely because it had a sandy beach and how he travelled down several days before with the intention of committing this horrific act. It appears that he targeted Amie and Leanne, whom he had never met and were simply enjoying a peaceful evening on the beach, just because he saw an opportunity to surprise and overpower them. I want to again thank Amies family and Leanne for the support they have provided throughout the investigation and court process and the dignified way they have conducted themselves during this extremely difficult period for them all. Infamy became a goal Charles Sherrard KC, defending, said that Saadi had recognised his guilt after his conviction and demonstrated a willingness to receive therapy. He added: He is a social misfit, someone who had hardly any friends at school, never had a girlfriend and seemed to be somebody who was avoided rather than somebodys mate. The fact of that was to provide him with significantly low esteem and general sense of inadequacy. He said that Saadi compensated by obsessing over horror films and was fascinated by the mind of a psychopath and had a growing sense of rage against society for the rejection. Mr Sherrard continued: Infamy became a valid goal in itself. Without using the words of a psychologist, without anything from a thesaurus, what it comes down to, in the words of the defendant I never got noticed when I did a good thing, people have only noticed when I did a bad thing and thats perhaps the nearest one can get to an explanation. 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. Oners are so stupid. Its just the director jacking off while making everyone elses lives miserable. Audiences do not care about this shit. Welcome to Seth Rogen and Evan Goldbergs satirical comedy The Studio. The Apple TV+ limited series pokes fun at Hollywood, including directors love for shooting scenes as one continuous take. The shows second episode, The Oner, dives into the behind-the-scenes filming of how the shot comes together. In the episode, Ike Barinholtzs executive Sal complains to new studio boss Rogen, who plays Matt Remick, head of Continental Studios, about the one-take. Filmmaker Sarah Polley plays the director who is shooting her film and trying to shoot the important one-take before she loses her lighting. Matt and Sal are frantically driving through the Hollywood Hills to watch the scene being filmed. But things dont go as seamlessly as they should, because Matt keeps getting in the way of the important one-take shot. On more than one occasion, the scene needs to be reset. In a very meta way, the episode mirrors whats on screen because its also shot as a oner. More from Variety When cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra heard about Rogen and Goldbergs plan to use a lot of oners throughout the series, as well as shoot an entire episode in a continuous take, he was more than game for the challenge. There were no shortcuts, Newport-Berra says. Speaking with Variety, Newport-Berra says it came down to slogging through every beat. That meant walking with Rogen and Goldberg with script in hand to get the beats of how they would shoot it. We would go to these locations and walk through it with an iPhone, the script, and just see how it timed out, Newport-Berra explains. Often wed have to figure out how to blend two locations, or how we would get out of one scene and into another. A perfect example of that is in the opening minutes of the episode, where after driving up through the Hollywood Hills, Matt and Sal stop to talk in the driveway. The Ronin gimbal helped Newport-Berra get from one scene to the next. Here, Newport-Berra breaks down his prep process, his lens choice, working with Martin Scorsese and Kathryn Hahn. How did you map out Episode 2? What went into that? That was one of the more terrifying and exciting propositions to shoot. We found an incredible location that we loved, but it was also probably the least conducive to doing what we wanted to do, because it was all glass walls. The time of day was always obvious so we werent able to cheat. There was nowhere to stage any gear or people. Wherever the camera was, if that camera had to pan a little bit left or right, you would have seen a million crew members, monitors and lights that werent supposed to be seen. But we spent a lot of time with the location. We went there weeks in advance and started talking through it. Seth and Evan would walk the route, and we would identify any moments that felt like they were lacking or could be more interesting, and we moved through the script fine-tuning it until we had come up with the most exciting route through the space and the best way to show off the location, while also giving the actors a lot to do. It was a process of returning to the location as many times as we could, and everyone in the crew had great ideas. Some of those came early on, and some came in the moment from the actors or the camera operator. What went into the driving sequence that ends with the two of them talking in the driveway? That was one of the trickier parts of the episode because it happens at the beginning and the end of the episode. But the technology for camera support is incredible these days. We were using a Ronin gimbal, and were able to operate it remotely. We had a car with the operator ahead of our picture car as we were driving up. As they park, that car is in front of the picture car. It then has to disappear, because seconds later, we pull the gimbal off, and then we wrap around the car, and that led us into the rest of the episode. There were a lot of moving parts with people coordinating gear and vehicle movement. Theres so much happening behind the scenes, but its also a testament to the actors because it gives them space to change what theyre doing, and they have to focus on their performance while a million things are happening around them. One of the first things Seth and Evan told you was that they wanted to use one lens, what was your lens and camera of choice for this, and why? We used the ARRI 21mm Master Prime Lens. We tested a few different focal lens and lengths, but we loved this one because its a really fast lens. The close focus on it is quite short, so you can get very close to somebody without having to add any diopters. Its a really just versatile lens. Its quite sharp, so if youre in a close up, its really powerful. We shot on the Alexa 35 which is ARRIs newer camera, and it renders skin tones really beautifully, it works great in low light, and also works really great in high contrast situations. So we didnt have to overlight things, and we could work with a lot of natural and available light. Going back to about the rest of the episode, its an actual film set where you have lines about whip pans, but with that many people talking, what happened when someone flubs their lines, or stepped into the shot? We called cut and reset back to one. We tried to be kind, gracious and supportive of everyone, but the truth is everyone would make mistakes, and every single member of the crew at some point flubbed a take or walked into a shot or bumped the camera, and its just the nature of what were doing. Seth and Evan went into it knowing that, and so theyre patient. It made it feel like a team, and it really brought everyone up to a similar level. Everyone knew they had to bring 100% to every single take. When we were able to pull off a take, its one of the most euphoric moments you can imagine, because its collaboration at its peak. With this, you nail a take, and that is the show. Once you knew this episode was happening, did you go off and watch any films or scenes that had oners? We referenced a lot of stuff. A lot of our inspirations were firmly seared into our memory, and I could probably recite them. But the opening scene of Robert Altmans The Player was a big inspiration; it moved through a studio lot that was kind of like the first touchstone of the show. We knew we wanted to capture that energy, but in our own way. The other obvious references were Birdman and Children of Men, which have a more handheld approach. My favorite references, though, were from Mikhail Kalatozo, who directed Soy Cuba, which is also referenced in the show. He also made The Cranes Are Flying, and theyre still able to pull off some of the most unique and elaborate camera movements and shots Ive ever seen. It made me realize that I had no excuse not to pull off any of these shots, because it takes willpower to complete these shots, and theres always a way to figure it out. Were there any last-minute changes or things that were decided during filming? We would come in and find a general blocking and figure out what worked best for the actors. And then they would often leave the set for a while, while we figured out how to pull off the shot that we had just come up with. We would often do five or six takes of a shot, and then there would be obvious points where things were maybe less dynamic than they could be, or we were missing a reaction or a performance, and we would take a break in the filming and walk through it again asking how to make the shot better. A lot of times it was because an actor came up with a great improv line that we wanted to then fold into the plan, or if we felt we were missing something, or something could be better. In general, every single day, there were changes to the plan, but that was just built into our process. How many takes of this episode did it take until they finally had it? I would say dozens of takes. Martin Scorsese appears in episode 1. What was it like working with him and his sequences? It was intimidating. I know Seth was nervous. I was nervous. I think Evan was nervous. We just wanted to do right by him and impress him. We know he has incredibly high standards, and that he was a huge inspiration for the show, so we really wanted to show up for him. He didnt know ahead of time that we were doing these oners, and it was something that Seth broke to him very late. We were worried that he wasnt going to be interested in that or excited about it, so Seth had us order a second camera just in case Marty asked, Wheres the set where are the other cameras? When Marty came to set, Seth said, Hey, Marty, were doing this all as oners. Marty said, Great, lets do it. He was totally up to the task. It took a lot of figuring it out together, but just like any of the other cameos, everyone was excited by the fact that we were doing something different and that we were trying to push the medium. Do you have a favorite mishap, especially when you were so close to getting a take? I think Kathryn Hahnshe would break the scene a lot of times because she would say something so ridiculously funny, and Seth would crack up, or half the cast or the operator would start laughing. Kathryn is so funny and has such good timing and improv that she cant help but inject these brilliant moments. There were a lot of takes where she would say something just totally unplanned and hilarious, the take would be ruined, but we would then take that line and reincorporate it into the scene in the next take, and we would keep going. She was an amazing source of comedic relief at all times, and a wild card that was very much needed and adored in the show. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. ABC13 Houston/Youtube Playground where Anaya Zachary was shot and killed Anaya Naya Zachary, 14, and a 13-year-old boy from her school got into a verbal argument on a school bus on Friday, March 21, in Baytown, Texas Once the boy returned home, he went to Anaya's apartment complex and allegedly shot her four times Baytown Police Department confirmed on Tuesday, March 25, that the boy has been charged with murder The teenage boy who allegedly fatally shot his classmate on Friday, March 21, has been charged with murder, per a Tuesday, March 25, Baytown Police Department news release. Anaya Naya Zachary, 14, was shot four times by a 13-year-old boy from her school at a playground outside an apartment complex in Baytown, Texas, at around 4 p.m. EST local time on March 21, local news outlets ABC 13 and Fox 26 reported. Baytown is 26 miles east of Houston. The 13-year-old suspect was charged with murder and placed into custody at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center, per the Tuesday news release. His identity has not been publicly revealed due to his age. The two Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) students were involved in a verbal argument on a school bus. Her and the little boy got into it on the bus, and he got off the bus, he went home, he came back, he went home again. Anaya came in and asked me, Tia, can I go outside? Anayas godmother, Sonya Stanford, told KPRC 2. Related: 13-Year-Old Charged with Murder in 'Planned' and Filmed Hit-and-Run of Bicyclist That Was Later Posted on Social Media He went home, put on all black, put on a black mask, and came back and called my babys name and he shot my baby four times," Anayas godmother told KPRC 2. "She tried to turn around and run and he shot her twice in the back and then when she fell, he shot her two more times," her cousin Janet Zachery said, per ABC 13. Authorities responded to a call reporting a shooting, and upon arrival, they found Anaya near the playground suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers immediately administered life-saving measures until medics arrived. Anaya was transported to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased. The Harris County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide, and noted she had two gunshot wounds in her torso and one in her right arm, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE. Getty Stock image of a police siren Additionally, a nearby female bystander, who was with her baby, also sustained an injury from the shooting. The two were transported to the hospital and were cleared of any injuries, police said. This tragic incident has deeply affected our community, Police Chief John Stringer said in the news release. Our officers responded quickly, providing aid and securing the scene. As we continue to investigate, our thoughts are with the victims family and all those impacted by this senseless act of violence. This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of peaceful conflict resolution and the severe consequences that violence can have. This case is still under investigation. Larry W. Smith/Getty Stock image of police tape Related: Girl, 13, Charged with Murdering Her Mom Says She Feels 'Regret, Guilt and Self-Disgust' After Arrest Anayas cousin Janet said that the 14-year-old moved to Baytown from Opelousas, La., for a better life. "As hurtful as it is for us, her mother, who lives in Louisiana, we had to send her child back in a body bag," Janet said, per ABC 13. Janet also said she believes the boys parents should face consequences. "That little boy didn't go purchase that gun," she said, per ABC 13. "That little boy didn't go next door and get the gun. He didn't get the gun off the bus. For him to go home and get it, he knew it was there." 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. Stanford shared a similar sentiment. Im very disappointed in his parents because your parenting skills are not right at all, but as for the little boy, I forgive him, Stanford said, per KHOU11. You should have put your weapon up so your 13-year-old son wouldnt have gotten this gun and shot my child. I am very hurt, I am very disappointed, she added. It has not been determined if the parents will be charged. If I knew there was an altercation, me being who I am again, I wouldve went to the little boys parents with Anaya to see if we can get this resolved because stuff like this occurs all the time, but this does not make any sense at all, Stanford said. For more information on safe firearm storage and the most effective ways to protect children from unsecured firearms, visit BeSMARTforkids.org. Read the original article on People Angela Celeste Moreno A Texas mother working as a DoorDash driver was arrested Wednesday, five months after she allegedly left her children alone in the car and one of them nearly strangled himself to death playing with the cars moonroof, police said. Angela Morenos 3-year-old son suffered life-threatening injuries when the parent ran inside a Belton restaurant to pick up a delivery order for 10 minutes around 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 10, 2024, according to authorities. Angela Moreno was arrested Wednesday. Bell County Jail The unsupervised toddler, who was in the car with his 1-year-old brother, climbed up and poked his head out of the moonroof before inadvertently closing the window on his neck by hitting a button on the car ceiling, Belton police said. Local restaurant staff performed life-saving measures on the unconscious child who wasnt breathing as the 24-year-old mother watched helplessly. First responders then rushed him to McLane Childrens Hospital, where he was treated and survived. After investigators conferred with the Bell County District Attorneys Office, Moreno was charged with injury to a child and taken into custody. Belton is roughly an hours drive from Austin. In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Damaged buildings caused by an earthquake is seen Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. was going to help with the response to Southeast Asia's deadly earthquake. But the effects of his administration's deep cuts in foreign assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department will likely be tested in any response to the first big natural disaster of his second term. Sarah Charles, a former senior USAID official who oversaw disaster-response teams and overall humanitarian work under the Biden administration, said the system was now in shambles, without the people or resources to move quickly to pull out survivors from collapsed buildings and otherwise save lives. A powerful quake shook Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, killing at least 150 people and burying others under the rubble of high-rises. Asked about the quake by reporters in Washington, Trump said: Were going to be helping. Weve already alerted the people. Yeah, its terrible what happened. At the State Department, spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters the administration would use requests for assistance and reports from the region to shape its response to the quake. USAID has maintained a team of disaster experts with the capacity to respond if disaster strikes, Bruce said. These expert teams provide immediate assistance, including food and safe drinking water, needed to save lives in the aftermath of a disaster. Despite cuts, there has been no impact on our ability to perform those duties, Bruce said. But it was also Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a former associate of Elon Musk now in a senior position at USAID, Jeremy Lewin, notified staff and Congress they were firing most remaining USAID staffers and moving surviving agency programs under the State Department. The Trump administration, working with Musk's teams, has gutted foreign assistance since Trump took office on Jan. 20. Mass firings and forced leaves and thousands of abrupt contract terminations have thrown much of the global aid and development work into crisis, with U.S. partners scrambling to fill the hole left by USAID and the billions of dollars owed for past work. After an earthquake in 2023 in Turkey and Syria, USAID-backed civilian teams from Los Angeles County and Fairfax County, Virginia, skilled in urban search and rescue scrambled to the scene to help recover any survivors from rubble. Those teams normally can be on their way within as few as 24 hours, Charles said. But while intervention by lawmakers and others kept the contracts for the civilian search-and-rescue teams intact, contracts for the special transport needed to get the search teams, dogs and heavy equipment to a disaster area are believed to have been cut, Charles said. Meanwhile, staffing cuts at USAID have decimated the teams that normally would be coordinating with allies to target rescue and response efforts in the field, Charles said. Other foreign assistance contract cuts by the administration have hit disaster-response emergency services with the United Nations and others. - AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney WASHINGTON President Trump spoke Friday with Canadas new prime minister as the US prepares to slap 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports and referred to Mark Carney by his title, dropping the governor moniker he applied to predecessor Justin Trudeau. I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada, Trump wrote on Truth Social. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canadas upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada, Trump said. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carneys government is bracing for a new whopping tariff on exports to the US. Getty Images Carneys office issued a less-conciliatory statement, saying that the PM informed [Trump] that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protest Canadian workers and our economy, following the announcement of additional US trade actions on April 2. Trump brushed off the statement when asked about it Friday afternoon in the Oval Office. Were going to end up with a very good relationship with Canada and a lot of the other countries, the president told reporters. The president famously butted heads with Canadian former Prime Minister Trudeau, who Trump derisively referred to as Governor while claiming the USs northern neighbor would be better off as Americas 51st state. Carney replaced Trudeau earlier this month. Trump recently announced a new 25% tariff on Canadian, Chinese and Mexican imports but delayed adoption of the levies on most Canadian and Mexican imports until April 2. President Trump repeatedly derisively referred to Carneys predecessor, Justin Trudeau, as governor while suggesting Canada become the 51st state. AP Carney, a member of Trudeaus Liberal Party, is a former chairman of Bloomberg Inc.s board of directors and has called for new elections April 28. Trump, in his first term, led a renegotiation of the NAFTA trade pact between the US, Canada and Mexico, with the new deal known as USMCA, after objecting to policies he said incentivized the outsourcing of American manufacturing. Trumps second-term tariff threats against the USs neighbors were premised initially because of fentanyl smuggling and illegal immigration, but he has since more broadly cited US trade imbalances with both nations and said the steep fees would return industry to the States. He also has objected to protectionist Canadian policies on banking and agricultural products and scoffed at the necessity of importing the northern neighbors lumber and energy products. Thailand is a key auto hub in Asia. Yvan Cohen/LightRocket/Getty Images Trump's 25% tariffs on auto imports stand to impact global carmakers and supply chains. Thailand's auto exports are expected to be hit, adding to investor gloom and risk. China's offshore manufacturing facilities could also be impacted. US President Donald Trump's auto import tariffs are impacting more than carmakers' stocks global supply chains connected to the vast vehicle industry are also getting hit, adding to investment risk. "South Korea is most exposed, followed by Japan. Within ASEAN, Thailand a regional manufacturing hub is most vulnerable," Nomura economists wrote in a note on March 27 about the auto tariff risks in Asia. In Thailand, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told reporters on Thursday that the country's auto part exports will be affected by the tariffs. Pichai did not quantify the impact of Trump's impending levies on Thailand. The country is Southeast Asia's largest car production hub, with an extensive network of factories that supply parts and raw materials for global players from carmakers to tiremakers. Thailand's benchmark SET Index dropped 1% on Friday to a one-week low. The index is about 16% lower year to date as Trump's trade war injects more uncertainties into a market already battered by corporate scandals, weak economic growth, poor corporate earnings, and political instability. Thailand's auto shipments account for just 4.3% of its exports to the US, but weak global demand could depress shipments of auto parts elsewhere. "These effects may take some time to materialize but, in our view, pose a clear medium-term threat to one of Thailand's leading industries," wrote Nomura analysts. The vulnerabilities in Thailand underscore the existence of investor landmines worldwide as investors move some investments away from the US's volatile markets. The 25% tariff on all imported finished vehicles is slated to take effect on April 3. A 25% tariff on auto parts is slated to take effect no later than May 3. Trump's executive order did not name China, but it said the pandemic and its impact on global supply chains has undermined the US's ability to maintain a resilient domestic industrial base. In contrast, foreign auto industries "propelled by unfair subsidies and aggressive industrial policies, have grown substantially," the order stated. The tariff announcement sent domestic and foreign auto stocks tumbling. In Asia, Japan's and South Korea's car makers are expected to be in the direct line of fire, with shares of auto giants Toyota and Hyundai posting sharp losses since the executive order was signed. In Europe, shares of automakers also fell, with Germany's Volkswagen and BMW down 4% since Trump signed the executive order. Read the original article on Business Insider Federal immigration agents have detained a University of Alabama doctoral student who is a citizen of Iran, according to the school and ICE records. Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student from Iran studying mechanical engineering, is currently being held in a county jail, awaiting transfer to an immigration facility, his attorney, David Rozas, confirmed to ABC News. A spokesperson for the Pickens County Jail in Alabama confirmed to ABC News that an Alireza Doroudi has been in their custody since Tuesday and is being held at the behest of ICE. PHOTO: Alireza Doroudi is shown in this undated photo. (LinkedIn) Doroudi was taken into custody by ICE at 3 a.m. Thursday at his home, his attorney said. The Department of Homeland Security said Doroudis student visa was revoked and he was subsequently arrested because he "posed significant national security concerns." Rozas, though, said in a statement to ABC News he has " not been informed of any allegations concerning significant national security issues." No federal charges have been filed against Doroudi, according to a search of federal court records. Rozas also told ABC News that the student has "not been arrested for any crime, nor has he participated in any anti-government protests." "He is legally present in the U.S., pursuing his American dream by working towards his doctorate in mechanical engineering," Rozas said. "He is also in the early stages of applying for an EB-1/Adjustment of Status as a researcher with extraordinary ability. MORE: Tufts PhD student on visa arrested by immigration authorities, school says Doroudi's LinkedIn page says he is a "trained metallurgy engineer with over ten years of academic experience in Materials Science, welding, and brazing." He is studying at the University of Alabama with an active I-20/SEVIS status at the university, his attorney said. "The University of Alabama recently learned that a doctoral student has been detained off campus by federal immigration authorities," the university said in a statement. "Federal privacy laws limit what can be shared about an individual student. International students studying at the University are valued members of the campus community, and International Student and Scholar Services is available to assist international students who have questions." "UA has and will continue to follow all immigration laws and cooperate with federal authorities," it said. PHOTO: The Autherine Lucy Clock Tower at the Malone Hood Plaza stands in front of Foster Auditorium on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala., June 16, 2019. (Bill Sikes/AP) Doroudi is one of multiple college students to be recently detained by ICE. Tufts University Ph.D. student Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national, was arrested by immigration authorities as she was headed to meet her friends and break her fast on Tuesday. Earlier this month, pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by ICE. Khalil had been one of the leaders of pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University last spring. Khalil was taken from his student apartment building in lower Manhattan, and then to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, before being transferred to Louisiana. MORE: Video shows moment Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil is detained President Donald Trump claimed Khalil was a "Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student" and said this is the "first arrest of many to come" in a post on his Truth Social platform this month. "We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country -- never to return again," he added. Khalil and his lawyers have denied he supports Hamas or has any ties to the group. A second student involved with the protests at Columbia University was also arrested by the Department of Homeland Security this month. Leqaa Korda was arrested by agents from Homeland Security Investigations for allegedly overstaying her expired visa -- which terminated on Jan. 26, 2022. Korda was also allegedly arrested in 2024 for her involvement in the protests, according to DHS. ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman contributed to this report. University of Alabama graduate student detained by ICE, school says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com FILE - An entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy campus in Annapolis, Md., is seen Jan. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) The U.S. Naval Academy will no longer consider race, ethnicity or sex as a factor for admission to the service institution, a response to an executive order by President Donald Trump, according to federal court documents made public Friday. The change in policy was made in February by Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, the academy's superintendent, in response to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January, according to a court filing by the U.S. Justice Department in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The president's order on Jan. 27 said that every element of the Armed Forces should operate free from any preference based on race or sex. It also directed the secretary of defense to conduct an internal review with respect to all activities designed to promote a race- or sex-based preferences system, including reviews at the service academies. Under revised internal guidance issued by the Superintendent on Feb. 14, 2025, neither race, ethnicity, nor sex can be considered as a factor for admission at any point during the admissions process, including qualification and acceptance, according to the court filing made public Friday. The decision comes after a federal judge ruled in December that the academy could continue considering race in its admissions process. In that case, the judge found that military cohesion and other national security factors mean the school should not be subjected to the same standards as civilian universities. During a two-week bench trial in September, attorneys for the academy argued that prioritizing diversity in the military makes it stronger, more effective and more widely respected. The case against the policy was brought by the group Students for Fair Admissions, which was appealing the judge's decision. The Justice Department asked in the filing on Friday to suspend the current briefing schedule in the case while the parties consider the change in the academy's policy. 'The parties require a reasonable amount of time to discuss the details of the Academys new policy and to consider the appropriate next steps for this litigation, including whether this litigation is now moot and, if so, whether the district court judgment should be vacated," the Justice Department wrote. Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions, praised the academys decision. Students for Fair Admissions welcomes the announcement that the U.S. Naval Academy will end its unfair and illegal race-based admissions policies. Racial discrimination is wrong and racial classifications have no place at our nations military academies, Blum said in a statement. Maryland Rep. Sarah Elfreth, a Democrat who serves on the academys Board of Visitors, criticized the change, saying this disastrous decision will have negative implications on our militarys recruitment and retention for decades to come. A Navy and Marine Corps that reflect the diversity of our country is our strongest Navy and Marine Corps, Elfreth said. Diversity and inclusion allow our academies to not just reflect how our country looks but are critical to mission readiness and strong national security. Students for Fair Admissions also brought the lawsuit challenging affirmative action that resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2023. The high courts conservative majority broadly prohibited the consideration of race and ethnicity in college admissions, ending a long-standing practice meant to boost opportunities for historically marginalized groups and sending shock waves through higher education. But it carved out a potential exemption for military academies, suggesting that national security interests could affect the legal analysis. Students for Fair Admissions later sued the Annapolis-based Naval Academy, challenging the exemption. But Judge Richard Bennett rejected their arguments, saying that the school had established a compelling national security interest in a diverse officer corps. Attorneys for the group argued during trial that prioritizing minority candidates is unfair to qualified white applicants and that cohesion should arise from other sources such as training and command structure. The academy argued in that case that its admissions process considers many factors, including grades, extracurricular activities, life experience and socioeconomic status, according to court testimony. Race often played no role in the process, but sometimes it came under consideration in a limited fashion, attorneys for the academy wrote in court papers. NUUK, Greenland (AP) U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Friday that Denmark has "underinvested" in Greenlands security and demanded that Denmark change its approach as President Donald Trump pushes to take over the Danish territory. The pointed remarks came as Vance visited U.S. troops on Pituffik Space Base on the mineral-rich, strategically critical island alongside his wife and other senior U.S. officials for a trip that was ultimately scaled back after an uproar among Greenlanders and Danes who were not consulted about the original itinerary. Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland, Vance said. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change. Vance said the U.S. has no option but to take a significant position to ensure the security of Greenland as he encouraged a push in Greenland for independence from Denmark. I think that they ultimately will partner with the United States, Vance said. We could make them much more secure. We could do a lot more protection. And I think theyd fare a lot better economically as well. The reaction by members of Greenland's parliament and residents has rendered that unlikely, with anger erupting over the Trump administrations attempts to annex the vast Arctic island. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pushed back on Vance's claim that Denmark isn't doing enough for defense in the Arctic, calling her country a good and strong ally. Soon after arriving, Vance briefly addressed U.S. troops stationed at the base as he and his wife sat down to lunch with them, saying that the Trump administration is very interested in Arctic security. He and his entourage, including national security adviser Mike Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, later received briefings from military officials. It was minus-3 degrees F (minus-19 degrees C) when the delegation landed at the remote base 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) north of the Arctic Circle. Its cold as s- here. Nobody told me, Vance said, prompting laughs. The revised trip to the semi-autonomous Danish territory comes as relations between the U.S. and the Nordic country, a traditional U.S. ally and NATO member, have soured. Trump had repeatedly suggested that the United States should in some form control the island. During his remarks at the end of the brief visit, Vance underscored that he did not think military force was ever going to be necessary as he pressed the idea of a dramatically enhanced American position on the island. Because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think were going to have to cut a deal, Donald Trump style, to ensure the security of this territory but also the United States of America, Vance said while adding that the people of Greenland had the right to determine their own future. In Washington, Trump on Friday said the U.S. needs Greenland for international security. Trump, speaking to reporters soon after Vances arrival, alluded to the rising Chinese and Russian interest in the Arctic, where sea lanes have opened up because of climate change. Greenlands very important for the peace of the world, Trump said. And I think Denmark understands, and I think the European Union understands it. And if they dont, were going to have to explain it to them. After Vance's speech, Frederiksen said Denmark was increasing its defense capabilities in the region, including new Arctic ships and long-range drones. With Greenland part of NATO, she also emphasized the collective responsibility of the alliance to defend the Arctic in response to the Russian threat. After Denmark stood side by side with Americans in its war against terror, she said it was not a fair way for Vance to refer to Denmark. Denmark's ambassador to the U.S., Jesper Mller Srensen, thanked Vance for taking a closer look at Arctic security and said both countries agree more could be done. Greenland & Denmark share a desire to strengthen our already incredibly close ties with our friend & ally," he wrote on social media. Ahead of Vance's arrival, four of the five parties elected to Greenland's parliament earlier this month signed an agreement to form a new, broad-based coalition government. The parties banded together in the face of Trump's designs on the territory. It is a time when we as a population are under pressure, the prime minister-designate, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said before the accord was signed to applause and cheers in the capital, Nuuk. He added that we must stick together. Together we are strongest, Greenland broadcaster KNR reported. In a post on Instagram, Frederiksen congratulated Nielsen and his incoming government, and said, I look forward to close cooperation in an unnecessarily conflict-filled time. Frederiksen said Tuesday that the U.S. visit, which was originally set for three days, created unacceptable pressure." She has said Denmark wants to work with the U.S. on defense and security, but Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. Initially, Vance's wife, Usha Vance, had announced a solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut. The vice president subsequently said he would join her on that trip, only to change that itinerary again after protests from Greenland and Denmark to a one-day visit to the military post only. Inhabitants of Nuuk, which is about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) south of Pituffik, voiced concern about Vance's visit and the U.S. interest in their island. Cora Hy, 22, said Vance was welcome if he wants to see it but of course Greenland is not for sale. She added that its not normal around here with all the attention Greenland is getting. "I feel now every day is about (Trump) and I just want to get away from it. Its all a bit crazy. Of course the population here is a bit shook up, said 30-year-old Inuk Kristensen. "My opinion is the same as everyones: Of course you dont do things this way. You dont just come here and say that you want to buy the place. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources. We need to ensure that America is leading in the Arctic, because we know that if America doesnt, other nations will fill the gap where we fall behind, Vance said. ___ Grieshaber reported from Berlin and Madhani from Washington. Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin and Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report. Vice President JD Vance and other senior Trump administration officials arrived at a U.S. military base in Greenland on Friday hundreds of miles away from any Greenlandic officials or a major civilian population. Vance, his wife, Usha; national security adviser Mike Waltz; and Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to the Danish territory as President Donald Trump continues to openly talk about acquiring Greenland. At the base, Vance cracked jokes about the cold and troops undertaking a "polar bear plunge," a dunk in Greenland's icy waters. "As you've heard, we may have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration," he told troops. Back in Washington, Trump was more direct. "We need Greenland, very importantly for international security," he said in the Oval Office during Vance's visit. "We have to have Greenland." "It's not a question of, 'Do you think we can do without it?' We can't." Speaking to reporters, Vance lashed out at Europe and Denmark, saying both "have not done their job in keeping Greenland safe." "We need to have more of a position in Greenland," he said. But Vance retreated from Trump's past suggestions that the U.S. could take control of the island by force, saying Greelanders themselves would choose to split from Denmark. "We think we're going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump style." The visit has raised eyebrows. Vance goes to Greenland: VP's trip raises questions over Trump bid for island Friday's trip is a scaled-back version of an excursion that was supposed to see the second lady and one of the Vances' sons attend cultural events, a dog-sledding race and spend time talking to Greenlanders in the capital Nuuk. The high-powered U.S. delegation revised its itinerary amid a backlash from Greenlandic and Danish officials because of Trump's repeated comments. Here's what you need to know about the scrambled trip and what threatened to be a frosty reception. Why did the U.S. change its Greenland plans? The initial plan called for the second lady to visit the Avannaata Qimussersua, a popular dog-sled race, together with Waltz. But they were not invited by official authorities in either Greenland or Denmark. They were invited by a private sponsor of the race and the dog-sledding association. Officials in both places said the visit appeared like an effort to meddle in the island's internal politics and rally support for closer U.S. ties. Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede called the visit a "provocation," partly because the territory had not yet, when the trip was announced, formed a new government after a March 11 election. A pro-business party that emerged as the winner of the vote formally announced a coalition on Friday, led by Jens-Frederik Nielsen. What will the Vances do in Greenland now? The American delegation was expected to fly directly to the U.S. Space Force base at Pituffik in the remote northern part of the Arctic island, about 750 miles from the North Pole. There, they will receive a briefing on security issues and meet with U.S. service members. The vice president will deliver remarks. Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Waltzs wife, Julia Nesheiwat, a former Department of Homeland Security advisor, were also on the trip, according to the White House. It was expected to be a day visit. Pituffik Space Base has about 650 personnel. This includes U.S. Air Force and Space Force members, as well as Canadian, Danish and Greenlandic civilian contractors. Vice President JD Vance speaks during a visit to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia, on March 26, 2025. Some Greenlandic and Danish media reports suggested that one of the reasons why the White House downgraded the trip to a single day was because they had a hard time finding locals willing to greet the second lady. One travel agency based in Nuuk said it rescinded its offer to receive the second lady after initially saying it would. "After closer consideration," the travel agency based in Nuuk said in a Facebook post, "we have now informed the (U.S.) consulate that we do not want her visit, as we cannot accept the underlying agenda and will not be part of the press show that of course, comes with it." The firm added: Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. 'No, thank you': Greenland residents asked if they want to greet Usha Vance There were also protests planned at the dog-sledding race, according to Martin Breum, a Danish journalist and author who specializes in Greenland and Arctic affairs and is currently in Nuuk. He said protesters intended to turn their backs at the second lady at the event Saturday in Sisimiut, Greenland's second-largest city. Why does Trump want to control Greenland? A longstanding defense agreement between the U.S. and Denmark gave the U.S. the right to construct military bases in Greenland and move around the island freely, provided Denmark and Greenland are notified. A man passes a state housing building with an Inuit mural, in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 27, 2025. Trump: Greenland officials invited US delegation. Not true, says Greenland But Trump says and Denmark rejects the U.S. needs to exert more control over the territory so it can expand a ballistic missile warning system capable of shooting down missiles from American adversaries. Greenland also boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth. There are mining companies operating in Greenland. They are mostly Australian, Canadian or British. The White House wants more U.S. companies to operate in Greenland so they can provide the U.S. with so-called rare earth minerals used in the production of cellphones, electric vehicles and other technology and defense systems. The U.S. currently gets most of its rare earths from China. Who invited the Vances to Greenland? According to his own admission, it was Tom Dans, a former member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission during Trump's first presidency, who invited the U.S. delegation. Dans runs a company called American Daybreak that promotes closer U.S.-Greenland business ties. He said the visit would help the Trump administration understand where it could collaborate further with Greenland. USAID cuts fallout: Wasted food, 'free-for-all' ISIS camps, less HIV prevention Dans was also a sponsor of the dog-sled race, along with the U.S. State Department, according to an NPR report. The outlet said the State Department provided a grant to transport the dogs, sleds and racers by air from around Greenland for the race. NPR noted that the grant, which it reported was in the "range of tens of thousands of dollars," came at a time when Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cancelled more than 80% of foreign aid grants. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Greenland prepares for visit from JD Vance, Usha Vance, Mike Waltz Vice President JD Vance on Friday made the highest-profile case to date for American control of Greenland during a controversial visit to the semiautonomous island, which its residents had resisted and its leaders said was unwelcome. We want to have good relationships with everybody, Vance said during a visit to an American military installation high above the Arctic Circle. But part of having good relations is showing your strength when you have to. It was the clearest message yet to Greenlanders who have been watching with anxiety as President Donald Trump vows to acquire their land one way or another. Vance, who only decided in the last few days to make the trip, said Denmark had neglected its territory and that America could no longer ignore Russian and Chinese alleged designs on the island. Our message to Denmark is very simple, Vance said. You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. He repeatedly claimed the island was vulnerable and that the United States had no other option than to ramp up its presence there. Greenland would be better off coming under the United States security umbrella than you have been under Denmarks security umbrella, he said, saying it was the policy of the United States to see changes to the islands Danish leadership. Still, he acknowledged the future of the island should be up to its residents. Yes, the people of Greenland are going to have self determination. We hope that they choose to partner with the US because were the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security, because their security is very much our security, he said. Vances visit was a very different trip than the cultural foray White House officials had originally planned for his wife, second lady Usha Vance. Instead of viewing a dog sled race as she had originally planned, the Vances visited the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, 1,000 miles from the capital of Nuuk. Miles away from any civilian population center, they were greeted by enthusiastic troops in the sub-freezing weather. Its cold as sh*t here! Vance exclaimed when he arrived. Why the VP decided to join the trip What the White House initially characterized as a visit by the second lady to learn more about the culture of the island, quickly became contentious earlier this week with the outgoing leader of the semiautonomous Danish territory Mute Egede describing it as highly aggressive. As JD Vance watched the outrage over his wifes trip grow, he decided to join her, a senior White House official told CNN on Thursday. It was a combination of a little bit of commotion from Danish leaders combined with Vance wanting to go for a while, said the official. I decided I didnt want her to have all that fun by herself and so Im going to join her, Vance said in a video announcing his participation earlier this week. Vances 11th-hour decision elevated the US delegation visit, with the vice president becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit Greenland, and in so doing, traveling further north than any senior American leader has ever gone on an official visit, the White House official said. But the shortened trip also carried a more overtly militaristic tenor and kept the American visitors sequestered away from any planned protests. Vances first trip abroad to conferences in Paris and Germany was notable for his tough rhetoric about Europe, a viewpoint reinforced by his texts revealed this week in a private Signal chat about military action in Yemen. His message on this second trip overseas struck a similar tone. The visit to the American military base avoided any potentially embarrassing incidents between the Vances and either members of the public or government officials, many of whom openly spoke out against Usha Vances original plans. Protests had been planned in the capital Nuuk, where about a third of Greenlanders live, and Greenlands second largest city Sisimiut, where the dog sled race is taking place. Trumps talk of annexation and the visit of the Vances has united Greenlanders in defiance, with Greenlanders rallying together to protest, Dwayne Ryan Menezes, director of the UK-based think tank Polar Research and Policy Initiative, told CNN in an email. The Vances clearly realised that if they visited Nuuk or Sisimiut, the strategy would backfire even more than it has: it would be a PR disaster, as all footage would likely feature protestors with placards of the sort we saw earlier this month (Yankee Go Home, and Make America Go Away), and would expose to the US electorate the misinformation they were fed about how enthusiastically Greenlanders wished for Greenland to join the US, he said. The White House official pushed back on that assertion, telling CNN, The itinerary changes had nothing to do with any potential protests. The official argued that Usha Vances original plans were scrapped because her itinerary was not compatible with her husbands schedule. Her visit to Nuuk, for example, was off the table because Greenland was still forming its government after recent elections and did not have the officials in place to receive him, the White House official said. Meanwhile, the dogsledding race was in a remote part of Greenland, and installing the vice presidents full security footprint wasnt possible on just a few days notice, they added. A visit far away from anyone Greenlandic Just hours before the Vances were due to arrive, a new coalition government with Greenlands four leading parties was announced Friday, shutting out a staunch pro-independence party that expressed interest in working with the United States. Demokraatit party leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen will be the next prime minister and has urged unity in the face of pressure from the United States. The coalition agreement could not have come at a better time as it will signal to the Vances the unity forged in defiance of Trumps aggressive rhetoric and their ill-timed visit, Menezes said in a statement Friday. The visit to the space base was less likely to put the Vances near Greenlanders who may be expressing those opinions. Ulrik Pram Gad, senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said that Vance going to Pituffik Space Base from a Greenlandic perspective, is a lot less aggressive, because thats a place where Greenlanders are used to American officials. Its far away from anyone Greenlandic, basically. Usha Vance has largely remained above the political fray since her husband took office, assembling a small team of staff, transitioning her three children to life at the Naval Observatory, and settling into the public role, for which she will have her own platform and responsibilities. Her original visit to Greenland for the dogsled race appeared to originate with an invitation from American Daybreak, a group founded by Tom Dans, who worked on Arctic issues in the first Trump administration. As a sponsor and supporter of this event I encouraged and invited the Second Lady and other senior Administration officials to attend this monumental race. This visit was always intended to be purely personal in nature and in the spirit of the friendship between our two nations, Dans wrote on X, describing himself as very disappointed by the negative and hostile reaction to the visit. Organizers for the race said they didnt invite Usha Vance specifically, but that anyone could attend. But residents in Sisimiut planned to silently demonstrate her visit by turning their backs to her motorcade, according to Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq. We want to show the world that we dont want to be a part of America, said Minik Lange, a resident of Sisimiut, who helped organize the protest against Vances now-cancelled visit. We are also aware that there are a lot of propaganda from the president to the American population that we want to be American citizens. That is one huge lie from him, Lange told CNN. And we see it as a very disrespectful action for the Greenlandic population. All we want is to be respected as a Greenlandic population from all sides. Jakob Nordstrm, who runs a local pilot business in Nuuk, said he thinks Greenlanders were relieved that the original visit to Sisimiut and Nuuk was cancelled. Most Greenlanders welcome tourists from the United States, but obviously this was not a tourist visit, Nordstrm said. American officials have downplayed the role potential protests played in altering plans for the trip. One person close to JD Vance said he had wanted to go to the island since Donald Trump Jr. returned from a visit earlier this year and raved about how cool it was. Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance are proud to visit the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland this Friday, said Taylor Van Kirk, Vances press secretary. The US Consulate in Nuuk declined to comment, referring questions to the vice presidents office. Also part of the delegation were national security adviser Mike Waltz who has been at the center of this weeks scandal over top Trump Cabinet officials discussing strikes in Yemen in a Signal chain that included a reporter and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, as well as Republican Sen. Mike Lee, a vocal supporter of Trumps desire to control Greenland. White House officials have argued for months that the presidents fixation with acquiring Greenland has dual benefits, both economic and for national security. Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric in recent months, insisting his administration will acquire the territory despite Greenland and Denmarks leaders repeatedly making clear the island isnt for sale. We have to have it, he said on the VINCE podcast earlier this week. And I think we will have it. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs Lauren Kent contributed to this story. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Today's news: Australia will go to early elections on 3 May; Duterte supporters take to the streets in the Philippines on the day the former president turns 80 in prison in The Hague: China expands the internal market for carbon credits to reduce emissions; Astronomers: it is impossible to see the crescent moon from Saudi Arabia that will announce the end of Ramadan on Sunday. MYANMAR-THAILAND An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck central Myanmar and Thailand today at around 1 pm local time. The epicentre was located about 17 km from the Burmese city of Mandalay, which has a population of 1.2 million. The tremor was also strongly felt in Bangkok, where a skyscraper under construction collapsed, and in some regions of China. The extent of the damage and the number of victims are not yet clear. AUSTRALIA Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called a general election for 3 May, kicking off a five-week campaign that is expected to be dominated by the rising cost of living. Albanese's Labour Party won a majority in the last federal election in 2022, but the most recent polls show it neck and neck with the opposition Liberal-National coalition. PHILIPPINES Supporters of Rodrigo Duterte are organising demonstrations today in various cities in the Philippines, to coincide with the 80th birthday of the former president, who is currently detained in The Hague. The demonstrators are calling for Duterte's freedom; he was arrested on 11th March on charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court after being deposed by the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. CHINA China is expanding its domestic carbon credit market to include 1500 companies in the steel, cement and aluminium smelting sectors. The move will increase the coverage of China's total carbon dioxide emissions from 40% to over 60%. According to the Ministry of Ecology and the Environment, these industries release around 3 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, making their inclusion a fundamental step towards reaching the carbon peak by 2030 and the carbon neutrality objectives by 2060. MIDDLE EAST According to astronomers, the crescent moon whose sighting each year heralds the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr the day that concludes the holy month of Ramadan will not be visible this year from most of the world, including the Middle East, on Saturday 29 March, when many are expected to look for it. Some Muslim countries rely on local observers to spot the new crescent, while many leave it to Saudi Arabia to call it, which Riyadh is expected to do in the next few hours by declaring Eid for Sunday. For years, the kingdom - home to Islam's holiest sites - has been accused by critics of faking moon sightings, reporting them on days when scientists and astronomers insist it is impossible to see. Saudi authorities have never responded to these criticisms. RUSSIA The Chechen veteran of the war in Ukraine, Nursultan Mussagaleev, accused of being one of the main people responsible for the massacre of Ukrainian civilians in Buca and recognised as a Hero of Russia, has been nominated president of the province of Novosergiev in the Orenburg region, praising his ability to make effective decisions in difficult situations. ARMENIA The parliament in Erevan has approved the law on Armenia's entry into the European Union, with 64 votes in favour and only 7 against, in the final version which states that the country longs for the development of democratic institutions, the growth of the well-being of society, the strengthening of state security and the sovereignty of the law. by Dario Salvi Khalil Sayegh, originally from Gaza and co-founder of Agora Initiative, talks about a population tired of war and the domination of the extremist movement. Today the protests are more evident because Hamas is weakened and cannot repress them with brutality. The humanitarian situation is a disaster and a large part of the population is at risk of famine due to the block on aid. Milan (AsiaNews) - The population is tired of war, there is widespread discontent over the conflict and the genocide that Israel has perpetrated in Gaza; however, in the protests of these last few days there is an equally evident cry against the domination of Hamas, for the movement to give up control not only of the government, but also of security and armed militancy and free the Strip from oppression. Khalil Sayegh, a political analyst and expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, born and raised in Gaza and now based in the United States, president and co-founder of the Agora Initiative to promote dialogue and understanding between the two sides, highlights some of the unique aspects of the Gazan protests. Today the demonstrations - he explains to AsiaNews - have a different significance, even with respect to the ongoing war itself. In recent days, there has been a significant outcry against Hamas, warns the Christian scholar, which is the real target of the dissatisfaction and anger of a population now at risk of famine. There are calls for an end to the armed struggle, continues Sayegh, and for the complete dismantling of its militant activism. This request is also the result of looking to the future: if the militiamen continue to control the Strip, he says, more destruction and more wars are bound to happen. The local population has suffered a genocide in the last 16 months, emphasises the Christian activist, but already in the past they had suffered due to the numerous wars and conflicts that have followed one another since Hamas came to power in 2007. Khalil Sayegh is a Palestinian Christian, born and raised in Gaza, with a propensity for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine, which has led him to work for dialogue and understanding between the parties. Furthermore, inspired by the Christian faith, he is actively engaged in interfaith dialogue, promoting harmony between different communities. Due to his knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, dialogue and religious freedom, he has participated in conferences and meetings in different parts of the world, such as his speech at the Oslo Freedom Forum. Previously he was Senior Research Fellow and Advocacy Fellow at the Philos Project, contributing to the scientific study of the conflict. Founder of Agora Initiative, he is now also on the board of directors of US Friends of Roots, an NGO dedicated to grassroots initiatives for coexistence. He holds a master's degree in comparative politics from American University in Washington and a bachelor's degree in biblical studies from Bethlehem Bible College. Over the last three days, protests against Hamas have flared up in various locations in the Strip, with the participation of hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians. Demonstrations have been recorded in Beit Lahiya and in the Jabalia refugee camp in the north, in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City and in Khan Younis and Nuseirat in the south and centre of the enclave. At the moment there have been no documented protests in the central area of Gaza, in Deir al-Balah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced persons from both the north and south have taken refuge; however, even in this area there are reports of demonstrations against the war and in solidarity with the inhabitants of the Strip who are protesting elsewhere, confirming that this is anything but an isolated phenomenon. People are rebelling against Hamas rule, but the new element is that today they are not being brutally repressed by the extremist movement, because its armed wing cannot operate at full strength this time because of the Israeli bombings. In the past, discontent was stifled, even during the two months when the fragile truce was in force, any attempt to express dissatisfaction was blocked and people were threatened. This, says Sayegh, is the approach Hamas has used many times in the past. Even before 7 October 2023, there had been protests, for example in August of that year, with people taking to the streets against the rule, the lack of freedom, the repression, and the responsibilities in the conflict. However, at that time Hamas was able to block the protest and no media reported it, the news was obscured and the newspapers, at the time, had no interest in giving voice to the discontent. Today the situation is different and Hamas is unable to block the flow of news, there is an opening even if there is no lack of dangers because Hamas is still trying to exert pressure on the people. Finally, the Christian scholar reflects on the humanitarian situation which is a disaster because for weeks there have been no deliveries of food, humanitarian aid and basic necessities due to the blockade by Israel. This approach, he warns, could bring the entire Strip to a state of famine, a real disaster, with a significant impact on the overall picture. Looking towards the future, Khalil Sayegh calls for a Strip free from Israeli occupation but, at the same time, also free from Hamas, which must be completely dismantled not only at the level of government, but also of security management, its presence on the territory with its armed wing. This, he concludes, is the only way to ensure that another war does not break out in the future, to guarantee the safety and security of all. But as long as Hamas remains, the situation will remain critical for everyone. Arrested in the province of Tra Vinh on charges of abusing democratic freedoms. Almost 1.3 million Khmer Krom live in a part of Vietnam that was once south-eastern Cambodia. Activists tell Radio Free Asia: The Vietnamese government wants to prevent the expression of our cultural identity. Hanoi (AsiaNews/Agencies) Vietnamese authorities yesterday arrested a Khmer Krom monk and two activists on charges of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state, the legitimate rights and interests of organisations and/or citizens, a charge often used to silence dissent. The venerable Kim Som Rinh, a respected spiritual leader who has long fought for the rights of the Khmer Krom people by peaceful means, denounced the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation to Radio Free Asia. The other two activists are Thach Nga and Thach Xuan Dong. Almost 1.3 million Khmer Krom live in a part of Vietnam that was once south-eastern Cambodia. They have faced severe restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and movement. The three were arrested in Preah Trapeang, known in Vietnamese as Tra Vinh province. A year ago, on 25 March 2024, the state-controlled Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam had already stripped Kim Som Rinh of his monk status. This arbitrary decision to de-consecrate and arrest him was part of a broader effort to suppress the religious freedoms of the Khmer Krom community and prevent the expression of their cultural identity, said the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation. Calling on the United Nations and the international community to act. Vietnam, the activists add, as a member of the Human Rights Council, must be called to account for its blatant disregard of international human rights standards. A crowd stormed a Sufi shrine, replacing the green flag with a saffron flag, a symbol of Hindu nationalism. In Nagpur, clashes broke out on 17 March after extremist groups called for the removal of Mughal Emperor Aurangzebs tomb. In this tense climate, Prime Minister Modi is expected in the city. Once a symbol of harmony, it has become a stronghold of the RSS paramilitary organisation and the centre of religious and political tensions. Mumbai (AsiaNews) In the Indian state of Maharashtra, communal tensions continue following clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Nagpur. A crowd recently stormed the Hazrat Ahmed Chishti Dargah, a Sufi shrine known locally as Buwasind Baba, in the village of Rahuri. The green flag traditionally flying at the site was forcibly removed and replaced by a saffron-coloured flag, a symbol of Hindu identity used by ultranationalist Hindutva movements. In videos circulating on social media, a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a Maratha hero, is smeared with black paint and members of the crowd can be heard chanting religious slogans such as "Jai Shree Ram". Local sources report that the violence eventually spread to surrounding areas, with stone-throwing incidents near a mosque and alleged attacks targeting the homes of Muslim residents. Traditionally both Muslim and Hindu worshippers have visited the mausoleum, but in recent months, some Hindu far-right groups have begun to claim that the structure was built on an ancient Hindu temple, demanding it be returned. Rahuri has a population of about 53,000 people, including around 14,000 Muslims. According to some witnesses, the police, although present during the attack, did not stop the crowd. Local authorities have not announced an investigation into the incident so far. The episode is part of a broader pattern of sectarian tensions. For some time, Hindutva groups have been questioning the history of certain places of worship with provocative acts to reinforce a narrative according to which Hinduism should be the only religion of India. On 17 March, clashes also broke out in Nagpur, another city in Maharashtra. Two Hindu ultranationalist groups, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal, call for the removal of the tomb of Aurangzeb, a controversial Mughal emperor who persecuted Hindus and Sikhs. According to early reports, protesters burnt an effigy of Aurangzeb and even a chadar (ritual cloth) with verses from the Quran, although local authorities were quick to deny this claim. By then, rumours had spread quickly on social media, further fuelling tensions. Within hours, the situation degenerated into stone throwing and attacks, with more than 30 police officers injured. Even BJP members raised questions about the way police handled the situation when violence spread to the Mahal area, near the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a far-right paramilitary organisation, founded in Nagpur in 1925. In the days following the clashes, more than 100 people were arrested and, despite recent Supreme Court rulings prohibiting the demolition of houses as a punitive measure, city authorities razed the home of a Muslim man accused of starting the violence. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Hindu nationalist party of Prime Minister Modi, hails from Nagpur, the city that became a symbol of the Dalit and anti-caste movement led by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who converted to Buddhism here in 1956. According to some commentators, the city has always served as a virtuous example of mutual communal respect and has long remained immune from sectarianism. in fact, RSS head Sunil Ambekar seems to have tried to contain tensions by saying that Aurangzeb's tomb holds no relevance. Conversely, BJP members did not condemn Hindutva groups for the violence (Chief Minister Fadnavis tried to shift responsibility on police and blamed a film for inflaming passions). Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who started out in the RSS, will visit the movement's headquarters in Nagpur on Sunday, his first visit since taking office in 2014, on a date that coincides with the Marathi New Year in the Hindu calendar. According to local newspapers, Modi will lay the foundation stone for an expanded Madhav Netralaya Eye Institute & Research Centre, an ophthalmology and research institute supported by the RSS. Some analysts note that during last year's national election, the BJP distanced itself from the RSS, which might explain the partys lower-than-expected performance, forcing it to look for allies to govern. For this reason, the party tried quickly to "mend the rift, which allowed it to win local elections in some key states, including Maharashtra. (Nirmala Carvalho contributed to this article) INDIAN MANDALA IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO INDIA. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY FRIDAY? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE. 28 March 2025 10:55 (UTC+04:00) The UN General Assembly held a special session marking March 30 International Zero Waste Day, with Azerbaijans Permanent Representative to the UN, Tofiq Musayev, delivering a speech, Azernews reports. Musayev expressed gratitude to Turkiyes Permanent Mission, UN-Habitat, and UNEP for co-organizing the event. He praised Turkeys leadership and First Lady Emine Erdogans efforts in elevating the Zero Waste initiative from a national policy to a global movement. Musayev emphasized that zero waste is fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a greener planet. Azerbaijan has taken concrete steps to accelerate progress, including: Supporting circular economy projects, Promoting sustainable textile production, Reducing waste through innovation and education. Musayev noted that COP29 in Baku last November gave significant momentum to the zero waste movement. Key initiatives included: A joint Azerbaijan-Turkiye pavilion in the COP29 Green Zone, symbolizing a shared commitment to global environmental progress. The COP29 Declaration on Methane Emission Reduction from Organic Waste, stressing the need for comprehensive waste prevention strategies. The Multisectoral Action Pathways (MAP) for Sustainable and Healthy Cities Declaration, aimed at fostering multilateral cooperation, climate finance, and policy consistency in tackling urban climate challenges. Musayev highlighted that Azerbaijan will host the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF) next year, providing a key platform to advance sustainable urban development, zero waste initiatives, and climate-resilient cities. 28 March 2025 12:23 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijan commemorates the 106th anniversary of its national security agencies, tracing their origins to March 28, 1919, when the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established its first intelligence and counterintelligence service to ensure state security, Azernews reports. By decree of National Leader Heydar Aliyev on March 23, 1997, March 28 has been officially recognized as Security Officers Professional Day in Azerbaijan. Defending National Security against modern threats Today, Azerbaijans state security and foreign intelligence officers work diligently to protect the country from external threats and sabotage. They play a crucial role in countering foreign intelligence activities, international terrorism, transnational organized crime, religious extremism, and cybercrime, demonstrating exceptional patriotism in safeguarding national security. 28 March 2025 17:20 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has extended his congratulations to the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of Ramadan holiday, Azernews reports. The message reads: "Dear compatriots! I sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of the blessed Ramadan holiday and convey my best wishes to all of you. The month of Ramadan, in which our holy book, the Holy Quran, was revealed, calls for unity in the name of good intentions and deeds, encourages people to take the path of peace and equality. During this month, Muslims gain the opportunity to fulfill their conscientious duties and responsibilities before God and religion with dignity through fasting, rising to spiritual and moral perfection. Every year, fast breaking ceremonies are held in Azerbaijan, as in the entire Muslim world, with great joy and satisfaction. During the month of Ramadan, which has become a celebration of national-spiritual solidarity, humanism, compassion and mercy in our country, people pray for the well-being and progress of our state, remembering with gratitude the immortal memory of our martyrs. I do believe that in the blessed days of Ramadan, which illuminates the hearts and souls of people with divine wisdom, your prayers, wishes and pure intentions are accepted by God and the Almighty does not withhold His mercy from our people. My dear sisters and brothers! Let me once again extend my Ramadan greetings to you and all our compatriots living in different corners of the world, wish happiness to your families and abundance to your tables. May Allah accept your fasting and prayers! Happy Ramadan!" 28 March 2025 12:49 (UTC+04:00) A Russian citizen planning to carry out explosions in crowded areas of Moscow has been arrested, according to the countrys Federal Security Service (FSB),Azernews reports, citing the local media reported. The suspects identity has not been disclosed, but he is reportedly a 1972-born individual with a criminal record, having previously served time for murder, extortion, and robbery under Russias Criminal Code. The FSB claims that the planned attack was orchestrated at the request of Ukrainian intelligence services. 28 March 2025 18:30 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump remains committed to strengthening cooperation with the Philippines in both military and economic spheres, Azernews reports. This commitment was reaffirmed by U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, during a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila. Addressing the importance of the U.S.-Philippines alliance, Secretary Hegseth stated: "Both President Trump and I want to express our unwavering commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Philippines, as well as our broader economic and military partnership." He further emphasized, "The world we are talking about is one in which strength and deterrence are paramountthis is especially true in your region, given the growing threats posed by communist China." Secretary Hegseths comments were broadcast on local television in the Philippines, where he underscored the need for international allies to "stand shoulder to shoulder" to prevent conflict and ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, a crucial global shipping route. In the face of rising tensions in the region, the U.S. has reiterated its commitment to protecting the sovereignty of its allies and maintaining peace through strength. Hegseth highlighted that cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines is more vital than ever in addressing shared security concerns, including China's expanding influence in the Asia-Pacific region. On March 21, the Pentagon announced that Secretary Hegseth would embark on a diplomatic tour to Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, and Japan. This trip marks his first working visit to the region since taking office as Secretary of Defense. His visit reflects the Pentagon's ongoing efforts to strengthen defense ties and bolster security arrangements in the Indo-Pacific, a region that remains a focal point of U.S. foreign policy. Notably, the U.S.-Philippines relationship, rooted in historical ties and mutual defense commitments, continues to evolve as both nations adapt to the rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape. As the United States and the Philippines move forward with their partnership, the collaboration on military exercises, joint training, and humanitarian assistance remains a cornerstone of their alliance. 28 March 2025 19:35 (UTC+04:00) The UNs World Food Programme warned Friday of an unprecedented crisis as it faces a 40 percent drop in funding this year, risking life-saving aid for 58 million people Azernews reports, Arab News. The WFP said that despite the generosity of many governments and individuals, it is experiencing a steep decline in funding across its major donors. Right now, the organization is facing an alarming 40 percent drop in funding for 2025, as compared to last year, the Rome-based agency said in statement. It added: The severity of these cuts, combined with record levels of people in need, have led to an unprecedented crisis for tens of millions across the globe reliant on food aid. It did not name any individual country, but the United States, by far the WFPs biggest donor, has dramatically cut its aid funding since President Donald Trump took office in January. Other countries have also cut overseas aid, including Germany, the second biggest development aid donor behind the United States, and the UK, which is instead boosting defense spending. WFP is prioritizing countries with the greatest needs and stretching food rations at the frontlines, said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation. While we are doing everything possible to reduce operational costs, make no mistake, we are facing a funding cliff with life-threatening consequences. The WFP highlighted 28 of its most critical operations which it said were facing severe funding constraints and dangerously low food supplies through to August. They include Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, South Sudan, Chad, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Uganda, Niger, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Mali, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Haiti, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Kenya, Ukraine, Malawi, Burundi, Ethiopia, the Palestinian territories, Central African Republic, Jordan, and Egypt. The WFP had Thursday warned it had only two weeks worth of food left in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of severe hunger and malnutrition. 28 March 2025 20:58 (UTC+04:00) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has criticized Donald Trump and declared that the long-standing relationship between Canada and the United States is now 'over'. In his early weeks as Prime Minister, Carney made his disapproval of Trump's tariffs clear, announcing that Canada would introduce its own retaliatory tariffs on US goods. The situation is tense, with Trump accused of sparking a global trade conflict by imposing tariffs on nations including Mexico, Canada, and the EU. During a press briefing in Ottawa, Carney highlighted that Canada would need to "fundamentally reimagine" its economy in light of Trump's decision to impose a permanent 25% tax on imported vehicles and vehicle parts. 28 March 2025 21:19 (UTC+04:00) In the early hours of Friday, March 28, Ukrainian drones launched a significant assault on several Russian regions. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it intercepted and destroyed about 80 drones, with 32 taken down over the Voronezh region, 19 over Saratov, 17 in Kursk, six in Belgorod, two in Lipetsk, and one each in Rostov and Tambov. Following the attacks, a representative from Rosaviatsiya announced that restrictions had been placed on aircraft arrivals and departures at Saratov Airport. Residents in Saratov and Engels reported hearing numerous explosions in the sky throughout the night. Ukrainian media, using geolocation data, reported a strike on the Research Institute of Chemical Power Sources in Saratov. Video footage, geolocated by ASTRA, suggested that the drone was possibly targeting a local oil refinery. Saratovs Governor, Roman Busargin, stated that initial reports showed no casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure. This isnt the first drone attack on Saratov, which is targeted because of the nearby military airfield in Engels. Meanwhile, Voronezhs Governor, Alexander Gusev, reported the downing of 30 drones and confirmed that there were no casualties. 28 March 2025 22:55 (UTC+04:00) Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Friday pledged support to the Philippines against communist China during his meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Azernews reports, citing Yeni Safak. "Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the communist Chinese and that friends need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to deter conflict to ensure that there's free navigation," Hegseth said during his meeting with Marcos in Manila, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency. Hegseth also said that the US was eager to enhance the defense cooperation with the Philippines, adding that US President Donald Trump was very committed to deepening Washington's alliance, friendship, and partnership with the Southeast Asian nation. And he and I both want to express the ironclad commitment we have to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and to the partnership, economically and militarily." Washington and Manila have longstanding ties, solidified by a mutual defense treaty, and the Philippines has granted the US military access to its bases. Hegseth is on a two-day visit to the Philippines. The fact that you have come to the Philippines as your first stop is a very strong indication and sends a very strong message of the commitment of both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific Region within the South China Sea, Marcos told Hegseth, adding Manila has always understood the principle that the greatest force for peace in this part of the world would be the US. Hegseth also held bilateral talks with his Filipino counterpart Gibo Teodoro. In their joint news conference, Hegseth announced that the US will deploy the NMESIS anti-ship missile system and highly capable unmanned surface vehicles in their annual Balikatan drills to be held between April and May. Besides special forces training between the two militaries in the northern Philippines island province of Batanes, said he adding that Washington and Manila will boost defense industrial cooperation, including co-producing unmanned systems and increasing combined logistics support. Hegseth also said that two sides agreed to launch a bilateral cyber campaign" to "work together to reduce cyber vulnerabilities" across the alliance. Emphasizing the US wants peace through strength and in the face of communist China's aggression in the region, Hegseth said Washington is resolved to establish deterrence first and foremost in this region. We will establish deterrence to prevent war, he said, adding that the current policy of the Pentagon was leaning forward in our posture creating dynamic and strategic dilemmas for communist China to reconsider violent actions they want to take. The visit to Manila by Hegseth comes amid ongoing maritime tensions between Manila and Beijing, with both having overlapping claims in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. China on Thursday urged the US and the Philippines to avoid actions that could harm regional peace and stability in anticipation of the visit. Open Letter to the Citizens of Beaufort County School Board District 2 BY: The Beaufort Observer Editorial Team Austin Garrison announced his intent to run for the Beaufort County School Board District 2 seat next year against conservative Republican incumbent Charles Hickman. He posted his announcement March 27, 2025, on the Whats Happening In Washington, NC & the IBX Facebook page. Mr. Garrison says we should not accept failure in our schools any longer, specifically referring to the SW Snowden School in Aurora. Furthermore, he claims that the current board member, Charles Hickman, a conservative Republican has done nothing. Specifically, he states, No fight, no advocacy. He could not be further from the truth! Charles Hickman was one of only two, yes two, School Board members who voted in opposition to closing the SW Snowden School at the School Board meeting on March 25th. This topic was brought to the boards attention by the Big Cheese, most likely due to his continued effort to consolidate schools and make it easier to indoctrinate our youth further from their homes. All four of the RINO board members (TW Allen, Terry Williams, Carolyn Walker, and Daniel Hudson) as well as Democrat member Eltha Booth, voted in favor of closing the school. Mr. Hickman not only advocated for keeping the school open, but he discussed the detrimental effects that would occur if the school were closed. These include bussing children more than 35-45 miles, each way, to attend school in Chocowinity. If Mr. Garrison were as familiar with the current corruption, incompetence, waste, fraud and abuse that reign and have reigned on the School Board for years now, he would realize that the very person he seeks to remove from office is one of only four conservative board members (Charles Hickman, Donald Shreve, Stacey Davis, and Gary Carlton). The weak School Board, although supposedly made up of a Republican majority, continues to bow to every whim of Big Cheese, the Superintendent. The only way to solve the issues that currently plague our schools is to reelect our conservative Republican members and find one more to replace Terry Williams, a weak member who caters to Cheesemans every order. Until we have strong board members who truly support conservative Republican values, we will not be able to remove the Big Cheese from his would-be throne. Unfortunately, Cheeseman realizes he has five useful idiots, and knows he is untouchable as long as they remain seated on the board. One only needs to remember the Big Cheese has never received a performance review as required by statute and policy by this weak board. Mr. Garrison is unfortunately underinformed as to the realities on the ground in our schools. If you look at the support he receives from the RINOs, it is clear to see that his candidacy is only a bid for Cheeseman to gain additional support and it is Garrison, not Hickman, who receives his talking points from others as opposed to being an independent thinker himself. Although 40-50 citizens of District 2 attended this weeks School Board meeting, Mr. Garrison was nowhere to be found to speak with them or hear their concerns following the meeting. Mr. Hickman, however, was outside listening to the concerns of the public until such time as he was called into closed session by the remaining board who were impatient to get finished and go home. Please do your homework and connect the dots prior to voting this year. Mr. Garrison is the wrong choice for SW Snowden, Aurora, and Beaufort County School Board District 2. The far left in America and Europe has been engaged in a War on History, attacking a wide variety of historic statues on both continents. This is a totalitarian campaign and is the same thing that the communists, the nazis, the Taliban, and ISIS have done. It is identical to Mao Tse-Tung's deplorable Cultural Revolution. Now PResident Trump has stepped into the breach to stop this wanton attack on our history and heritage. He has issued an executive order to review all the inappopriate statue removals over the last five years and vows to restore truth to history. Only a few western leaders have taken such decisive action. One was French President Macron who responded to a BLM campaign against French historic monuments by making a televised address to the nation in which he vowed that no one would be erased from French history and no monuments would be taken down. https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2025/03/28/trump-signs-eo-to-restore-statues-improperly-removed-in-past-5-years-restore-truth-to-american-history-n2187204 If the box office was dropping, hed do something outrageous so that people would go and buy tickets: Actor Jared Harris on his father Richards legacy Oasis thank their fans as they close their first gig together in 16 years A Co Antrim woman who became the first female professor of medicine in Britain and Ireland is to be commemorated with an Ulster History Circle Blue Plaque at Ballycastle Presbyterian Church. Dame Louise McIlroy (1874-1968), originally from the village of Loughguile, was the first woman to graduate in medicine from Glasgow University and became a pioneer for women working in the medical profession. She went on to defy officials in London to take charge of a mobile hospital in France at the start of the First World War when, despite being told that battlefields are no place for a woman, she joined the Scottish Womens Hospitals Foreign Service. As Chief Medical Officer with the French Expeditionary Force she set up tented hospitals caring for hundreds of patients in Serbia and later in the Greek port of Salonika. She had to cope with overcrowding, extreme weather, remoteness and disease. She was a surgeon in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Constantinople and in recognition of her service during the war she was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government. Annie Louise McIlroy, known as Louise, was born on November 11, 1874 in the townland of Knockahollet. The family relocated to Ballycastle when her father James became medical officer to the district which included the Workhouse and the Fever Hospital. Louise was educated in Ballymena and Ballycastle and shared her fathers love of healing, going on to study medicine at Glasgow University where she quickly became a star pupil, winning prizes in medicine and pathology. So began, according to Sir Peter Froggatts A Directory of Ulster Doctors, the career of one of the most highly respected woman medical professors. She was appointed surgeon at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, though her war service intervened when, according to Sir Peter, the field hospitals she ran became known for their surgical brilliance and efficient administration. After the war, in 1921, she became the first woman Professor of obstetrics and gynaecology in Britain and Ireland. She took over at the London School of Medicine for Women, now the Royal Free Hospital Medical School. One of her particular interests was the relief of pain in childbirth. Her work was recognised when she was made a dame in 1929 for services to midwifery and two years later she was awarded an honorary degree by Queens University Belfast, of which she was particularly proud. She retired in 1934 but came back to work at the start of the Second World War, organising maternity services in Buckinghamshire where she worked day and night in the blackout with limited equipment. In later years Dame Louise went to live with her sister, Dr Jane McIlroy, in Turnberry in Scotland. At the time of her death in 1968 she wanted to be buried in the family grave in the grounds of Ballycastle Presbyterian church with her father and mother and two brothers. The Very Rev Dr Godfrey Brown, former minister of Ballycastle church, conducted the service at the graveside. Dame Louise McIlroys career was unique at a time when women were not afforded the opportunity to exercise such singular influence in the profession, he explained. On May 24, 1968, as she had wished, her ashes were laid to rest with her family in the grave beside the front door of the church and close to the church hall where she received her final education in preparation for her entry to university. Chris Spurr, chairman of the Ulster History Circle, said: Dame Louise McIlroy was a pioneering doctor from County Antrim who devoted her career to advancing the areas of obstetrics, gynaecology and child welfare. In the month of International Womens Day, the Ulster History Circle is delighted to commemorate the first female Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Britain and Ireland with a blue plaque. The Circle is grateful to the Ulster-Scots Agency for their financial support towards the plaque, and to Ballycastle Presbyterian Church for their kind assistance. The plaque to Dame Louise McIlroy will be unveiled on Friday at 11am at Ballycastle Presbyterian Church. A disabled young woman said she was left shocked and distressed after being bitten by a rat in broad daylight outside a major shopping centre in Belfast city centre. Alex Bull said she was unwell after the rat took a chunk out of her finger outside CastleCourt Shopping Centre. Speaking on The Nolan Show on BBC Radio Ulster, she recounted the incident. I was meeting up with my friends just after class, because I was feeling a bit down, she said. "So we met up outside CastleCourt and we were just outside CastleCourt next to a wee telephone box and there was a rat in the telephone box. It ended up scurrying over to me, climbing up my wheelchair and then biting me in the hand. It was actually quite shocking, I didnt know what to do. It was honestly really quite scary. She explained that the rat climbed up the wheel of her wheelchair and sat in her lap. The young woman added that she put her hand down to block the rat as it tried to climb up, but said that despite her efforts the rat made it on to her wheelchair after some crazy parkour. She added: It was really, really quite scary, honestly. It actually was quite big, it was bigger than my hands, that's for sure. After climbing onto her wheelchair the rat sat on her lap and bit her finger. 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 She continued: "It took a chunk out of me. It's healing up well now, though. I didn't feel all that bad after the bite. I was very emotionally distressed. I was crying after it. "I remember we called the medical services and we were like, 'What do we do, do we go to hospital?' They instructed us to go to hospital immediately." She added that some time after the bite she was sick experiencing a high temperature and vomiting. While in hospital she was given a tetanus shot and antibiotics. She added: A lot of us are immuno-compromised or have auto-immune diseases. I got quite sick after. I had to go to hospital afterwards. "Im thinking that if there are other people with mobility aids - Ive heard that there is actually an increasing rat problem around Belfast within the daylight hours - and if theyre crawling up mobility aids then that puts disabled people at risk. "Really I feel that like, really, its a public health issue. A rat in Belfast that climbed onto a womans wheelchair News Catch Up - Friday 28 March A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: We are aware of this incident and appreciate the distress that this has caused. Council takes a proactive approach to pest control in the city. The vast majority of our service is focused on supporting domestic properties through advice and inspections. We also carry out a sewer baiting programme in the city, on behalf of NI Water, treating thousands of manholes each year. Teams of officers routinely provide advice and guidance to businesses on best environmental health practice. Social habits like littering and discarding food scraps can attract rats. This is something we actively discourage through our various anti-litter campaigns, and we would again remind residents to please dispose of all litter in the bins provided. 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 A horse has been successfully rescued after getting stuck in a tank of water. The incident happened outside Ballymoney last night. Images from the scene of the rescue show crews from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service working with the Large Animal Rescue Team and Specialist Rescue Team all on the scene as they worked to help the animal. 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 In a statement on social media, NIFRS North wrote: Tonight crews from Ballymoney, the Large Animal Rescue Team from Omagh and the Specialist Rescue Team from Belfast attended the rescue of a horse outside Ballymoney. Crews used harnesses and a telehandler to successfully rescue the horse from a tank of water. Users on social media were quick to praise those behind the rescue, with one person writing: A group of amazing people right there. Poor horse. It will be glad to be rescued. Michelle ONeill did not break Ministerial Code over McMonagle explanation, report finds Complaints from two unionist MLAs had been received by the Committee on Standards and Privileges Michelle ONeill had come under fire for the partys handling of Michael McMonagle Liam Tunney Fri 28 Mar 2025 at 13:38 First Minister Michelle ONeill did not break the Ministerial Code over claims she was unaware former Sinn Fein press officer Michael McMonagle was working for the British Heart Foundation. Conor McGregor made several comments about the Dublin riots of 2023. Photo: Mark Condren Conor McGregor will not be charged with inciting hatred around the time of Dublin riots in November 2023, gardai have confirmed. In the early hours of Thursday morning, McGregor shared a post on social media indicating the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had decided there would be no prosecution in the case. They will have to kill me to stop me, McGregor wrote on X. Gardai have confirmed the DPP has directed no charges be brought against McGregor, as reported by the Irish Mirror. An Garda Siochana submitted an investigation file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The DPP has directed no prosecution in this case, a Garda spokesperson said. An Garda Siochana does not comment on decisions of the DPP. Conor McGregor made several comments about the Dublin riots of 2023. Photo: Mark Condren An investigation into McGregor had been opened by gardai into posts he made on X around the time of the Dublin riots. On November 22, 2023, the night before the Dublin riots, McGregor wrote that Ireland was at war. That comment came in response to Ukrainian people being allowed to vote in the local elections. There was significant unrest in Dublin city centre the following day, with trams and cars set alight and shops looted. Dozens have been arrested since the riots. Cadets during the commissioning ceremony of the 100th cadet class & the 12th potential officers class, at the Defence Forces Training Centre, in Curragh, Co Kildare (Brian Lawless/PA) The Tanaiste has said Ireland needs to invest more in Irish soldiers because of neutrality. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence Simon Harris told a cadet commissioning ceremony on Friday that he will ensure Ireland does not become a laggard on defence spending. He highlighted Defence Forces personnel, as well as radar and sonar, as elements where he would like to see further investment during this Governments term. He said that investment in monitoring capabilities needed to happen with a degree of urgency. Just because were a militarily neutral country, and in fact, because, perhaps, were a militarily neutral country, we need to invest more in the personnel, the men and women of the Defence Forces, but also our capabilities, he said at the Curragh in Co Kildare. We need to do more when it comes to radar, we need to do more when it comes to sonar. Asked to clarify if Ireland is a laggard on defence spending, Mr Harris said he would not. He said he was proud of the peacekeeping work that 339 Irish soldiers do in southern Lebanon, which he paid a visit to this week. I am making the point that the world has changed, and that we can no longer presume that we are immune in a way perhaps Irish people have somewhat presumed, that past governments have presumed, from the threats that the world faces. Were part of the European Union. There is a war on the continent in Europe, the type of threats that countries face has changed significantly hybrid and cyber and we need to make sure that were prepared to protect and defend ourselves. He said that this would include making a contribution to peacekeeping and being able to gather information on what happens around our seas and in our skies. Tanaiste Simon Harris inspects a guard of honour as he attends the commissioning ceremony of the 100th cadet class & the 12th potential officers class (Brian Lawless/PA) So its more about realising that we need to get with 21st century needs in terms of defence, and weve started that work already with a record level of funding for defence this year. I really want to see a significant investment in capability and I do think when it comes to defence and security, and that needs to happen with a degree of urgency. Ireland has a very large sea area that we have responsibility for, we need to know more there. Mr Harris was speaking at a ceremony held at the Defence Forces training camp in the Curragh, Co Kildare, where 35 cadets and 29 potential officers were commissioned. Among them was Captain Kira Connaughton, who received her first salute from her husband Sgt Dave Connaughton, who celebrated the day with their daughters Molly and Fiadh. Speaking at the Curragh, Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sean Clancy said a greater emphasis has been put on defence in recent years, both in Ireland and across Europe. We occupy, obviously, a very significant geographic strategic position here on the western extremity of Europe, and therefore we have a significant role to play. Im confident that were growing into that role every single day and we will continue to do so. Vice premier calls for safeguarding free trade at Boao annual conference Xinhua) 08:05, March 28, 2025 Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, delivers a keynote speech while attending the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) BOAO, Hainan, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 opened on Thursday in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony, calling for strengthening mutual trust, enhancing win-win cooperation, promoting economic globalization and safeguarding the free trade system. Founded in 2001, the BFA is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals. Running from March 25 to 28, this year's conference is themed "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future." Addressing the opening ceremony, Ding said that significant progress has been made in building an Asian community with a shared future over the past decade. "China and ASEAN have established a comprehensive strategic partnership, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership has entered into effect," the vice premier said. He added that regional economic integration has been strengthened, and Asia's share in the global economy is steadily rising. "Our world is experiencing far greater instability and uncertainty," Ding noted, calling for joint efforts to address global challenges, build a shared Asian home and usher in a brighter future for Asia and beyond. It is necessary to strengthen solidarity and cooperation through greater mutual trust, Ding said. Efforts should be made to champion the Asian values built around peace, cooperation, inclusiveness and integration, and respect each other's core interests and major concerns, he added. Ding stressed the importance of promoting economic globalization through openness and integration, urging efforts to jointly safeguard the free trade system, uphold open regionalism, and firmly oppose trade and investment protectionism. To promote prosperity and development through mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, it is imperative to deliver on the Global Development Initiative and actively improve people's livelihood, Ding noted. He underscored the need of safeguarding tranquility and stability through peaceful coexistence. The vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security in Asia should be upheld, while efforts should be made to ensure that Asia continues to be a land of peace and stability, Ding said. On the Chinese economy, Ding said economic performance in the country has been running steadily with a stronger outlook. The country will do its best to fulfill this year's goals and tasks for economic and social development, he said. "China is confident of realizing these goals and will contribute to development in Asia and the world." China's innovation-driven growth has gathered stronger momentum, presenting opportunities not only for the country itself but also for Asia and the world, Ding said. Describing opening up as a distinct hallmark of Chinese modernization, the vice premier pledged that China will open wider to the world no matter how the external environment changes. "We warmly welcome businesses from all countries to invest and operate in China, join in the process of Chinese modernization, and share in China's development opportunities," he said. Thursday's opening ceremony was attended by more than 1,500 representatives from over 60 countries and regions, including officials, business leaders and scholars. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, delivers a keynote speech while attending the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, poses for a group photo with representatives attending the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 before the ceremony in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 27, 2025. Ding attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech on Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Sarraj Alsersawi from Gaza, who graduated top of his Masters class in Electronic and Computer Technology, at the DCU (DCU/PA) A Palestinian student has come top of his class in electronic and computer technology at Dublin City University (DCU). Sarraj Alsersawi achieved the top marks while the conflict in Gaza claimed the lives of many of his friends and threatened his familys safety. Mr Alsersawi arrived in Dublin from Gaza in September 2023 as part of the Ireland-Palestine Scholarship Programme (IPSP) to study for his masters. With a background in mechatronics, Mr Alsersawi earned his undergraduate degree at Al Azhar University, Gaza where he went on to work as a teaching assistant. After the attacks by Hamas on October 7 2023, Mr Alsersawi said he was constantly worried about the safety of his family. At one point I lost contact with my family because of the blackout of the internet and communications and everything. So it was really stressful at that point, he said. His parents and brother managed to escape the conflict, finding refuge outside Gaza. However, Mr Alsersawis thoughts were also with his friends and colleagues at home. His former University, Al Azhar, was completely flattened by Israeli shells and Mr Alsersawi lost friends, colleagues and students in what he describes as this genocide. Mr Alsersawi says DCU, and particularly the programmes chairman Dr Derek Molloy, were very supportive, offering him the option to defer exams due to his extraordinary circumstances. However, he said the only way to cope was to throw himself into his studies. He added: I didnt have the luxury to just sit down and do nothing and I thought that maybe excelling in my education would be the best way forward for myself and my family. Mr Alsersawi got first-class honours in his final exams and came first in his class. Im proud of that, he says. The modules included in the programme were just what I needed to enter the Irish job market, says Mr Alsersawi, who has secured a job in Cork with multinational company, Stryker, which develops medical devices. Mr Alsersawi says the job is a great fit for him, as he is passionate about using his qualifications to improve peoples quality of life. Some people would like to work in the automotive or other industries but for me, the medical device industry adds purpose and meaning to what Im doing. He is enjoying his new role and is currently working on the development of a new electrosurgical unit, which uses high radio frequencies to cut tissue and control bleeding by causing immediate coagulation. Even though his parents and brother are safe, the new year brought more distressing news for the family when they discovered their house was destroyed by Israeli bombs. Through all of this, music has kept him going. Mr Alsersawi is a talented musician who plays the traditional Arabic instrument the Oud and has played with the Gaza Orchestra. Music is an essential part of my life and it also helped me immensely during that time to be able to play music. It helps a lot, he added. Since coming to Ireland, he has played several charity concerts for the Palestine Childrens Relief Fund and has started learning to play the mandolin. Im slowly getting into the trad music scene, he says. Reflecting on what is next for Gaza, Mr Alsersawi points out that the war has claimed the lives of a large proportion of the regions professional people including engineers, medics and academics. He feels a sense of responsibility to return home whenever the rebuilding phase begins. Its essential for us young people who were able to get a good education at some point to go back and try to help rebuild their communities at some point. Its a bit early now, but this is something that I always keep in the back of my mind. Minister for Transport and former housing minister Darragh OBrien, centre, said the Government wanted to see house prices moderate (Cate McCurry/PA) A record 15,378 people were living in emergency accommodation last month, according to the latest figures from the Department of Housing. The figures, published on Friday, show that of those living in emergency accommodation in February, a total of 4,653 were children. The data indicates that there was an increase of 92 people accessing emergency accommodation last month when compared with January. There was also an increase in the number of children in homelessness, which increased from 4,603 in January. 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 There were a total of 2,185 families in homelessness, and more than half of those were single-parent families. The data shows that people aged between 25 and 44 make up the highest proportion of adults in homelessness. The true figure of homelessness is thought to be much higher, as the monthly figures do not include people sleeping rough on the street, people couch-surfing or those who access accommodation in domestic violence refuges. Focus Ireland chief executive Pat Dennigan said: As the clocks move forward tomorrow, bringing longer and brighter evenings, it should be a time when all children look forward to playing outside. Instead, 4,653 children are stuck living in emergency accommodation, with no place to call home. This situation would have been considered utterly unacceptable just 10 years ago, and we must remember that is something that can be solved. One key measure would be for new Minister for Housing James Browne to implement the Programme for Government commitment that more of the new supply of social housing is used to provide homes for long-term homeless families. This same approach drove the sharp fall in homelessness during the pandemic five years ago and we should learn from this approach. We believe that it is possible to reduce and then end homelessness if the right actions are taken. It comes as a property survey shows that in the first quarter of the year, the average price of a second-hand property in Dublin stands at 593,936 euro, an increase of more than 50,000 euro since the end of March last year. The residential market review from estate agents DNG forecasts that prices will continue to rise because of the lack of new homes to purchase by private buyers. The review shows that the average price of a resale property in the city increased by 1.9% in the first three months of the year. DNG said it believes that the total number of new houses built last year was around 32,500 similar to that reported by the Central Statistics Office. Minister for Transport and former housing minister Darragh OBrien said the Government wanted to see house prices moderate. He added: I havent seen the full detail of the (DNG) report. Ive seen the headlines of it, and obviously, Government want to see house prices moderate and return to a level where theyre affordable. Thats why its so important, particularly in the current situation, that we continue as a state to invest in housing. This year, well invest over six billion euro in housing, in affordable housing, continue to ramp up the First Home scheme, which has been really successful in helping people purchase homes. We need to accelerate delivery. We know that. I think under the last administration, were able to deliver over 130,000 new homes, make a real impact with regard to vacancy, bringing vacant stock into use. The phenomenon that were seeing in relation to continuing increase in prices is not unique to Ireland, either. We have a housing deficit across Europe. I was looking with interest as well with regard to Australia, which is mentioned quite often in the Dail, people talk about Australia and people leaving to move to Australia, from a housing perspective, very serious situation with housing there as well, which will be central to the general election in Australia. I just say that, by way of example, that these are not issues that are unique to Ireland, but certainly we want to see house prices moderate. Its important that we continue to accelerate the delivery of particularly first-time buyer homes, continue to roll out cost rental housing, and to continue to accelerate the delivery of really good quality social housing, which we were able to do in the last five years. Ministers pledged that one in 10 civil servants will be employed in a digital or data role by 2030 as part of Whitehall reforms (PA) Government data scientists will get training in AI under a new scheme, in the hope they will be able to build programmes to save money and time across Whitehall. The AI accelerator programme will see 25 Government staff trained across 12 weeks in the first run-through of the scheme. Civil servants taking part in the programme will come from across Government, including the Ministry of Justice, the Welsh Government, Scottish Government and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). It comes after ministers pledged that one in 10 civil servants will be employed in a digital or data role by 2030 as part of Whitehall reforms. Officials hope that, after the training, the data scientists will have the skills to build AI tools in their departments to help save time and money. AI and digital government minister Feryal Clark said the public should expect the same service from the public sector that they do the private. Marking the start of the scheme, she said: We have started to build generative AI chatbots to change how people interact with the state, AI helpers to put an end to the mindless hours we spend on hold waiting for someone to pick up the phone, and tools to help get the views of citizens on policy proposals much more quickly but AI can help with so much more. There is no reason people shouldnt expect the same experience from public services, as they get from the most innovative businesses. By building AI skills across government, well be able to deliver just that all while finding efficiencies and transforming services to deliver our plan for change. In a message to staff earlier this month, Sir Keir Starmer and Civil Service chief Sir Chris Wormald said civil servants will get better opportunities in areas such as digital. They said in a message to all civil servants: We will transform your work for the better, giving you clearer links between that work and its direct impact on peoples lives, improving senior leadership and strengthening our connection to our renewed communities enabling you to live, work and develop your career across the UK. You will be given better opportunities to develop your skills in priority areas like digital and leadership. You will be supported to do things differently, and be rewarded for delivery. The first T-levels were introduced in September 2020 to help meet the needs of industry and prepare students for work (Alamy/PA) Issues with student take-up, awareness and availability of industry placements should be addressed to cement T-levels as the main post-16 technical qualification, a Government spending watchdog has suggested. The Department for Education (DfE) must make more efforts to boost the number of students on T-level courses to realise all the potential benefits of the technical qualification, the National Audit Office (NAO) said. The first T-levels were introduced in September 2020 to help meet the needs of industry and prepare students for work. The two-year courses, which are considered to be broadly equivalent to three A-levels, are being gradually rolled out in England. The NAO report said the future economic benefits of T-levels are uncertain as students earnings data is not yet available and student numbers are hard to estimate and it will take time for them to be realised. Concerns have been raised about low student numbers, the value of awarding organisation contracts, challenges recruiting students, and the cost of T-levels to the government compared with other qualifications, the watchdog said. The NAO has called on the DfE to better understand the potential impacts on the demand, benefits and cost of T-levels before making decisions around the development of the technical qualifications landscape. It comes after the Government announced plans in December to scrap a series of vocational courses as part of a review of post-16 qualifications. Education minister Janet Daby said at the time that the current post-16 education environment was too confusing as too many courses, including BTecs and apprenticeships, overlap with T-levels in England. More than 200 qualifications that had either no enrolments, or fewer than 100 per year over the last three years, will be cancelled from August 2025. The report from the watchdog said low student numbers, the announcement of the Advanced British Standard which is no longer being introduced and delays defunding overlapping qualifications have affected market interest from organisations contracted to award individual T-levels. The DfEs ambition for T-level student numbers was significantly overstated initially, but the DfE has since revised down its estimates, the NAO said. In September 2024, 25,508 students started a T-level in England which was 42% of the DfEs November 2022 estimate, 85% of its August 2023 estimate and 1% higher than its October 2023 estimate. The report said the DfE has identified a lack of student awareness and prior attainment as barriers to increasing numbers wanting to enrol on T-levels. The DfE also considered the availability of industry placements as a potential constraint to scaling up the programme, although it downgraded this risk earlier this month, the NAO said. The watchdog has called on the DfE to continue efforts to expand industry placements and monitor the impact of student take-up on revised commercial arrangements with awarding bodies, the watchdog has said. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said T-levels have the potential to offer new opportunities for young people and address critical skills gaps. He added: Although the DfE has made progress in delivering the wide range of courses available, efforts must be made to increase student numbers and realise all the potential benefits of T-levels. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said: Todays NAO report shows that a lack of widespread awareness, declining pass rates and challenges securing industry placements risk the Departments ability to scale up T-levels. For T-levels to be a success, the Department has much to do to convince students and providers of their worth as a desirable and valuable qualification. Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA), said the NAO report reinforces the need to retain a middle pathway of applied general qualifications for students for whom neither A-level nor T-level presents the best way forward. He added: Todays report is clear that the DfE cannot yet measure whether T-levels are achieving their aims. Until it can, we believe the Department should change its current policy to allow medium and large AGQs (applied general qualifications) to co-exist with T-levels. This would ensure that the pipeline of skilled workers to key sectors of the economy is not disrupted and avoid the creation of a qualifications gap that tens of thousands of students could fall through. A DfE spokesperson said: The 28 million investment recently announced by the Prime Minister shows the Governments clear commitment to T-levels as a high-quality technical qualification which offers young people a great route into further study and a rewarding career. T-levels continue to grow, with nearly 60% more young people taking them last year than in the previous year. Based on employer-designed standards and with a substantial industry placement on every course, T-levels will be important contributors to our mission to grow the economy under the Plan for Change. Nasen Saadi is to be sentenced for the stabbing murder of Amie Gray (Dorset Police/PA) A 21-year-old criminology student is set to be jailed for life when he is sentenced on Friday for the murder of Amie Gray and attempted murder of Leanne Miles on Bournemouth beach. Nasen Saadi, of Croydon, south London, fatally stabbed the 34-year-old physical trainer and seriously wounded her friend as the pair were enjoying a late-night chat next to a small fire to keep warm at the Dorset seaside resort on May 24 last year. He is to be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court after the judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, ordered sentencing reports on Saadi when he was found guilty following a trial in December. Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue told the trial that Ms Gray died as a result of 10 knife wounds including one to the heart while Ms Miles suffered 20 knife injuries. Amie Gray, left, pictured with her wife, Sian Gray, was stabbed to death on Bournemouth beach (Dorset Police/PA) The defendant, who had been studying criminology and criminal psychology at the University of Greenwich, had researched locations to carry out the killing and had even asked his course lecturers questions on how to get away with murder. The trial heard that Saadi was fascinated with knives and had bought six blades from websites, with several found at his aunts house where he was living as well as at his parents home. Saadi used the name Ninja Killer for his Snapchat account and also used the username NSkills on his computer. Saadi, who had dropped out out of a physical education course, had carried out searches about the Milly Dowler and Brianna Ghey killings. Lecturer Dr Lisa-Maria Reiss told the court Saadi had asked questions on how to get away with murder, which had led her to ask him: Youre not planning a murder are you? It can now be reported that Saadi touched himself while in his prison cell ahead of the trial after he asked a female prison officer how much publicity the case was getting. The court was told Saadi had booked two hotels for a four-night stay in Bournemouth starting May 21 and was shown on CCTV carrying out reccies of the seafront and the scene of the murder, which happened at about 11.40pm on May 24. During his stay at the Dorset resort, the defendant, who is a fan of horror movies, went to the cinema to see slasher movie The Strangers Chapter 1. Suggesting a motive for the attack, Ms Jones said: This defendant seems to have wanted to know what it would be like to take life, perhaps he wanted to know what it would be like to make women feel afraid, perhaps he thought it would make him feel powerful, make him interesting to others. Perhaps he just couldnt bear to see people engaged in a happy, normal social interaction and he decided to lash out, to hurt, to butcher. In a statement released after the trial, Sian Gray said: Amie will never be forgotten. She touched the lives of so many. The immense support and love shown by everyone, reflects just that. Amies life has been brutally taken but now she can rest in peace. Her strength lives on in all of us. The defendant, who chose not to give evidence, always denied carrying out the attacks saying it was a case of mistaken identity and adding that he must have blacked out when they happened. He is also to be sentenced for failing to provide his mobile phone pin code to police. Attorneys Sarah Warbelow of Human Rights Campaign and Sasha Buchert of Lambda Legal outside a federal court in Tacoma after a US judge heard arguments on whether to block President Donald Trumps order banning transgender people from serving in the military (AP/Manuel Valdes) A US judge in Washington state has blocked enforcement of president Donald Trumps order banning transgender people from serving in the military. It is the second nationwide injunction against the policy in as many weeks. The order on Thursday from US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma came in a case brought by several long-serving transgender military members who say the ban is insulting and discriminatory, and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations. In his 65-page ruling, Mr Settle an appointee of former president George W Bush and a former captain in the US Army Judge Advocate General Corps said the administration offered no explanation as to why transgender troops, who have been able to serve openly over the past four years with no evidence of problems, should suddenly be banned. US President Donald Trump signs an executive order at the White House in Washington barring transgender female athletes from competing in womens or girls sporting events (AP/Alex Brandon) The governments arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record, Mr Settle wrote. The governments unrelenting reliance on deference to military judgment is unjustified in the absence of any evidence supporting the militarys new judgment reflected in the Military Ban. US District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, DC, similarly issued an order blocking the policy last week but then put her own ruling temporarily on hold pending the governments appeal. The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia late on Thursday told the parties that it would consider putting the ruling into effect if any action occurs that negatively impacts transgender service members. In a more limited ruling on Monday, a judge in New Jersey barred the Air Force from removing two transgender men, saying they showed their separation would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations that no monetary settlement could repair. Mr Trump signed an executive order on January 27 that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members conflicts with a soldiers commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in ones personal life and is harmful to military readiness. In response, defence secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service. They can do the right number of pullups. They can do the right amount of pushups. They can shoot straight, Sasha Buchert, an attorney with the civil rights law firm Lambda Legal, said after arguments Monday in Tacoma. Yet, theyre being told they have to leave the military simply because of who they are. Those challenging the policy and Mr Trumps executive order in Tacoma include the Gender Justice League, which counts transgender troops among its members, and several transgender members of the military. Among them is US navy commander Emily Hawking Shilling, a 42-year-old woman who has served for more than 19 years, including 60 missions as a combat aviator in Iraq and Afghanistan. In his ruling, Mr Settle highlighted her case. There is no claim and no evidence that she is now, or ever was, a detriment to her units cohesion, or to the militarys lethality or readiness, or that she is mentally or physically unable to continue her service, he wrote. There is no claim and no evidence that Shilling herself is dishonest or selfish, or that she lacks humility or integrity. Yet absent an injunction, she will be promptly discharged solely because she is transgender. During arguments on Monday, Justice Department lawyer Jason Lynch insisted that the president was entitled to deference in military affairs and suggested the service ban was not as broad as the plaintiffs had suggested. US Army Sergeant 1st Class Sierra Moran, a transgender service member, listens during a press conference in Tacoma (AP/Manuel Valdes) The judge peppered Mr Lynch with questions, noting that the government had offered no evidence that allowing transgender troops to serve openly had caused any problems for military readiness. Thousands of transgender people serve in the military, but they represent less than 1% of the total number of active-duty service members. In 2016, a Defence Department policy permitted transgender people to serve openly in the military. During Mr Trumps first term in the White House, the Republican issued a directive to ban transgender service members, with an exception for some of those who had already started transitioning under more lenient rules that were in effect during the Obama administration. The Supreme Court allowed that ban to take effect. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, scrapped it when he took office. The rules imposed by Mr Hegseth include no such exceptions. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Philippines Secretary of Defence Gilberto Teodoro shake hands after a joint press conference at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Quezon City, Philippines (Gerard Carreon/AP) US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the Trump administration would work with allies to ramp up deterrence against threats across the world, including Chinas aggression in the South China Sea. Mr Hegseth, who was visiting the Philippines, blamed the previous Biden administration for insufficient actions that emboldened aggressors such as China over the years. He said the US military was being rebuilt under President Donald Trump and was re-establishing its warrior ethos in the region, but did not elaborate. What were dealing with right now is many years of deferred maintenance, of weakness, that we need to re-establish strength and deterrence in multiple places around the globe, Mr Hegseth told a news conference with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, after meeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Manila. Theres a long line of countries in the past who have attempted to test US resolve, Mr Hegseth added. We are resolved at this time to work with our partners. Earlier, he told Mr Marcos that deterrence was particularly needed in the Indo-Pacific region considering the threats from the communist Chinese. Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict, to ensure that there is free navigation whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea, he told Mr Marcos. Secretary of Defence Gilberto Teodoro looks on as Pete Hegseth signs the guestbook at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, the Philippines (Gerard Carreon/AP) The US was not gearing up for war, Mr Hegseth said, while underscoring that peace would be won through strength. The Philippines was the first stop in Mr Hegseths first trip to Asia. He is due to travel next to Japan, another staunch US ally. Ahead of his visit to the region, China called the United States a predator and an unreliable ally. Hegseth said the Trump administration would commit more security assistance to the Philippines in addition to a 500 million-dollar (386 million) fund to help the Philippine military modernise. The US funding was first announced by the previous Biden administration. University students march past a photograph of Turkeys founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Istanbul during one protest (Francisco Seco/AP) Two journalists were detained in dawn raids in Istanbul early on Friday as part of a crackdown on media workers covering Turkeys largest protests for more than a decade, their outlets reported. Elif Bayburt, who works for the Etkin News Agency, and Nisa Suda Demirel, from the Evrensel news website, were the latest to be arrested in early morning sweeps that have targeted political activists and trade unionists as well as journalists. Our reporter, Nisa Sude Demirel, was detained by the police who came to her house at around 6am this morning, Evrensel said in a statement. Demirel, who was following the (Istanbul City Hall) protests and the boycotts at the universities, was taken to the Istanbul Police Departments Counter-Terrorism Branch office. Anti-riot police officers use pepper spray during clashes with demonstrators in Istanbul on Thursday (Emrah Gurel/AP) The demonstrations began last week following the arrest of Istanbuls opposition Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mr Imamoglu was jailed pending trial on corruption charges many see as politically motivated. The government insists the judiciary is independent and free from political interference. Reporters Without Borders condemned the reporters arrests. There is no end to the detentions of journalists, its Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu said. The Turkish Journalists Union called for the news media to be allowed to do its work and an end to these unlawful detentions. University students shout slogans in Istanbul during a protest after Istanbuls Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested (Francisco Seco/AP) Earlier this week, 11 journalists were detained in morning raids. Although initially jailed pending trial, they were freed on Thursday but still face charges of taking part in illegal rallies and marches. Turkeys broadcasting authority issued a 10-day airwave ban on Sozcu TV on Thursday, as well as fines and programme suspensions to other opposition channels. BBC News correspondent Mark Lowen was deported from Turkey on Thursday after being detained for around 17 hours. Courts across Turkey are dealing with a spike in cases as a result of the protests. Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said nearly 1,900 people had been arrested since March 19. Anxious families have been gathering outside court buildings to await the fate of their loved ones, who police can hold for four days. The youth we call Generation Z are more likely to participate in these protests. They sense that something is wrong, Savas Ozbek, whose daughter was detained on Sunday, told ANKA News Agency outside Ankara Courthouse late on Thursday. A woman is detained by police in Istanbul (Francisco Seco/AP) Zeynep Ulger, who was waiting for news of her friend, said they were protesting for a free, democratic country, adding: The only thing we have achieved in the face of this is being beaten by the police on the streets and being detained. Istanbul-based lawyer Arif Anil Ozturk, who represents many detained protesters, said: It is an unlawful process from beginning to end. There is no evidence, no footage. Children are being treated like terrorists. Nightly Istanbul rallies organised by Mr Imamoglus Republican Peoples Party, or CHP, ended on Tuesday. In other cities, and in Istanbul since the end of the CHP gatherings, largely peaceful protests have been more organic. Police, however, have used tear gas, water cannon and plastic pellets to suppress demonstrations that have been banned in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. At the Middle East Technical University campus on the outskirts of the capital Ankara, nine students were detained early on Friday, opposition politicians who visited the site said. Young people have set up tents inside (the campus). Officious administrators have evaluated this situation as a threat and invited the police to the university to conduct an operation, CHP provincial chairperson Umit Erkol said on social media. Aylin Yaman, a CHP MP, said students were sitting on the grass and singing when police stormed the area at 2am. We object to the police entering here as if it were a dawn operation and creating an atmosphere of fear, she said. The Istanbul Bar Association announced that three lawyers had been among some 100 people arrested at a Thursday demonstration in the citys Sisli district. Lawyers also said they had been kept waiting for hours outside police headquarters to gain access to detainees. Following the overnight arrest of Mr Imamoglus lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan, it was revealed on Friday that he is accused of money-laundering. Mr Imamoglu, in a social media post, said Mr Pehlivan had been detained on fictitious grounds. Turkeys Nobel-winning author Orhan Pamuk, writing in several European newspapers, said events over the past 10 days represented Erdogans strong-fisted, autocratic rule (at) a level we have not seen before. Following a meeting with Turkeys foreign minister earlier in the week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described events in Turkey as disturbing. Speaking on a return flight from Suriname late on Thursday, he said: We are concerned, we dont like to see the direction thats going Any time you have instability on the ground you dont like to see it. Mr Imamoglu faces charges stemming from two investigations into the opposition-controlled Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality a corruption case and one alleging support for terrorism. The mayor has been confirmed as the CHPs presidential candidate in an election currently scheduled for 2028 but which is likely to take place earlier. He has performed well in recent polls against Mr Erdogan, and his election as mayor of Turkeys largest city in 2019 was a major blow to the president. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremonial ship launching for the nuclear-powered submarine Perm at the Atomflot, in Murmansk, Russia, on Thursday (Sergei Karpukhin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed putting Ukraine under external governance under the UN as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement. Speaking to the crew of a Russian nuclear submarine in televised remarks broadcast early on Friday, Mr Putin reaffirmed his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal. Under Ukraines constitution it is illegal for the country to hold national elections while the country is under martial law. Russian President Vladimir Putin with a crew member of the nuclear-powered submarine Arkhangelsk at the Atomflot, a service base for nuclear-powered fleet, in Murmansk, Russia (Kirill Zykov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Mr Putin claimed that any agreement that is signed with the current Ukrainian government could be challenged by its successors and said new elections could be held under external governance. Under the auspices of the United Nations, with the United States, even with European countries, and, of course, with our partners and friends, we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine, Mr Putin said. He added that it would allow the country to hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the trust of the people, and then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty. He added that such external governance is just one of the options, but did not elaborate. Mr Putins remarks came hours after the conclusion of a summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron that considered plans to deploy troops to Ukraine to cement an eventual peace deal. Mr Macron said several other nations want to be part of the force alongside France and the UK. Russia has warned it would not accept any troops from Nato members as part of a prospective peacekeeping force. Mr Macron and other participants of the Paris summit on Thursday accused Russia of only pretending to want a negotiated settlement. They are playing games and theyre playing for time, said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. We cant let them drag this out while they continue prosecuting their illegal invasion. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, but quickly accused each other of violations, underscoring the challenges to negotiating a broader peace. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer walks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky as he leaves the UK ambassadors residence in Paris, on Thursday (Stephanie Lecocq/PA) Russia launched 163 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine late on Thursday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said 89 of them were downed and 51 more jammed. The drones damaged multiple residential buildings and injured a 19-year-old in Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said. In Poltava, drones damaged warehouses, administrative building, and a high-voltage transformer, according to regional head Volodymyr Kohut. Damage to buildings and infrastructure facilities was also reported by the authorities in the Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions. The Russian Defence Ministry said that Ukrainian forces struck a gas metering station in Sudzha in the Kursk region with US-made HIMARS rockets, destroying the facility. It said another Ukrainian strike on an energy facility in Russias Bryansk region led to a power cut-off, and added that air defences downed 19 Ukrainian drones that attempted to strike an oil refinery in Saratov. The ministry charged that the continuing strikes show that Kyivs pledge of adherence to a US-proposed halt on strikes on energy facilities was just another ruse by Zelensky to prevent the collapse of Ukrainian defences and to restore military potential with the help of European allies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy assets was a sign that Mr Zelensky cannot control his military. The Ukrainian armed forces arent following orders from the countrys leadership and are continuing attempts to strike Russias energy infrastructure, Mr Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. He said Russia will continue sticking to the halt on strikes on energy facilities but reserves the right to opt out of the deal if violations continue. While Ukraine has agreed to a full, 30-day ceasefire that US President Donald Trump has proposed, Mr Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraines military mobilisation demands rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies. Mr Putin declared in overnight remarks that the Russian military has gained steam and is now pushing offensives all along the front line. Our troops, our guys are moving forward and liberate one territory after another, he said. Our troops are holding strategic initiative all along the line of contact. He noted that Russia is open to a peaceful settlement, but emphasised the need to remove root causes that led to the current situation. We certainly need to ensure Russias security for a long historic perspective, he said. Mr Putin has demanded that Kyiv withdraw its forces from the four regions Moscow has partially seized. He also wants Ukraine to renounce joining Nato, sharply cut its army and legally protect Russian language and culture to keep the country in Moscows orbit. Russian officials also have said that any prospective peace deal should involve unfreezing Russian assets in the West and lifting other US and European Union sanctions. The Trump administration has said it would consider potential sanctions relief. Ukraines Co-ordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War of Ukraine said on Friday that it has repatriated the bodies of 909 Ukrainian soldiers, the largest one-time number since the start of the invasion. Russian war bloggers said that Ukraine has handed the bodies of 43 Russian soldiers in return. Philippine secretary of defence Gilberto Teodoro welcomes Pete Hegseth upon his arrival at the Armed Forces Headquarters (AP/Gerard V Carreon) US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration would boost military ties with the Philippines to strengthen deterrence against threats from the communist Chinese and ensure freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea. Mr Hegseth spoke on Friday during a meeting with president Ferdinand Marcos Jr in the Philippines, his first stop in his first trip to Asia, to reaffirm Washingtons ironclad commitment to the region under Mr Trump. Ahead of the visit, China called the United States a predator and an unreliable ally. Mr Trumps America First foreign policy thrust has triggered concerns in Asia about the scale and depth of the US commitment to the region. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, centre, along with Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Romeo Brawner (AP/Gerard Carreon) Mr Hegseths decision to make the Philippines his first stop in Asia, followed by Japan both US treaty allies facing territorial disputes with China was the strongest assurance yet by the US under Mr Trump to maintain a security presence in the region. Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the communist Chinese, Mr Hegseth told Mr Marcos. Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict, to ensure that there is free navigation, whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea. Peace through strength is a very real thing, Mr Hegseth said. He praised the Philippines for standing very firm to defend its interests in the contested waters. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, a major security and global trade route. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims to the resource-rich and busy waters, but confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces in the last two years. Chinese forces have used powerful water cannons and dangerous manoeuvres in the high seas to block what Beijing said were encroachments by Philippine ships into Chinas waters. Chinese military aircraft have also approached Philippine patrol planes at alarmingly close distances to drive them away from the Scarborough Shoal, a hotly disputed fishing atoll in the disputed waterway. Under the previous Biden administration, the US has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to help defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea. Mr Hegseth echoed that pledge by expressing the ironclad commitment of Mr Trump and him to the Mutual Defence Treaty and to the partnership. Mr Marcos told the US defence chief that by visiting the Philippines first in Asia, he sends a very strong message of the commitment of both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific region, within the South China Sea. We have always understood the principle that the greatest force for peace in this part of the world would be the United States, Mr Marcos said. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr meets with US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, third left, at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila (AP/Basilio Sepe) Ahead of Mr Hegseths visit, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said China opposes interference from outside countries in the South China Sea. US-Philippines military cooperation must not harm the security interests of other countries or undermine regional peace and stability, he said on Thursday in a monthly news conference. He added without elaborating that the United States has an astonishing record of breaking its promises and abandoning its allies throughout its history. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun separately warned the Philippines in a news conference on Tuesday, that nothing good could come out of opening the door to a predator. He added: Those who willingly serve as chess pieces will be deserted in the end. Mr Hegseths visit to the Philippines comes a month before the longtime treaty allies hold the Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder to shoulder, their largest annual combat exercises that include live-fire drills. In recent years, the exercises have been held near the South China Sea and the sea border between the Philippines and Taiwan. The defence secretary projected composure and camaraderie, as he had received harsh criticism for texting attack plans to a Signal group that included top-level US security officials and the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine. Vice President JD Vance, his wife and other senior US officials have visited an American military base in Greenland in a trip that was scaled back after Greenlanders and Danes were angered that the original itinerary was planned without consulting them. Soon after arriving, Mr Vance briefly addressed US troops stationed at the base as he and his wife sat down to lunch with them, saying that the administration of Donald Trump is very interested in Arctic security. As you all know, its a big issue and its only going to get bigger over the coming decades, Mr Vance said, noting that he was the first US vice president to visit Greenland. The revised trip came as relations between the US and the Nordic country soured after Donald Trump repeatedly suggested the United States should, in some form, control the mineral-rich semi-autonomous territory of Denmark a traditional US ally and Nato member. JD Vance and Usha Vance ate a meal with soldiers (Jim Watson/Pool via AP) Fridays one-day visit to the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the north-west coast of Greenland, has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. It also reduced the likelihood that Mr Vance and his wife will cross paths with residents angered by Mr Trumps annexation announcements. Ahead of the visit, four of the five parties elected to Greenlands parliament earlier this month agreed to form a new, broad-based coalition government, banding together to resist Mr Trumps designs on the territory. People take part in a march ending in front of the US consulate, under the slogan, Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, in Nuuk, Greenland (Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that the visit, which was originally set for three days, created unacceptable pressure. On Thursday, she was cited by Danish public broadcaster DR as saying: We really want to work with the Americans on defence and security in the kingdom. But Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. Initially, Usha Vance had announced a solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut. People at a demonstration march ending in front of the US consulate, under the slogan, Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, in Nuuk, Greenland (Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) Her husband then subsequently said he would join her on that trip, only to change that itinerary again, after protests from Greenland and Denmark, to a one-day visit by the couple to the military post only. Nonetheless, in an interview on Wednesday, Mr Trump repeated his desire for US control of Greenland. Asked if the people there were eager to become US citizens, Mr Trump said he did not know but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them. Inhabitants of Greenlands capital, Nuuk, which is about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) south of Pituffik, voiced concern about Mr Vances visit and the US interest in their island. Cora Hoy, 22, said Mr Vance was welcome if he wants to see it but of course Greenland is not for sale. She added that its not normal around here with all the attention Greenland is getting. I feel now every day is about (Trump) and I just want to get away from it. Its all a bit crazy. Of course the population here is a bit shook up, said Inuk Kristensen, 30. My opinion is the same as everyones: Of course you dont do things this way. You dont just come here and say that you want to buy the place. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources. The remote Pituffik Space Base is the US Department of Defences northernmost installation. The base was built following a 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the US. It supports missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the US and Nato. The Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, in northern Greenland (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, file) The Pituffik base is located about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) north of the the Arctic Circle and 1,524 kilometres (947 miles) south of the North Pole. The base is locked in by ice for nine months of the year, but its airfield remains open all year round. It is in constant darkness from November to February and constant daylight from May to August. It is operated by the 821st Space Base Group and is also home to the worlds northernmost deepwater sea port. During his first term, Mr Trump floated the idea of purchasing the worlds largest island, even as Denmark insisted it was not for sale. The people of Greenland also have firmly rejected Mr Trumps plans. Mr Vance has several times criticised long-standing European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonising partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the US. In the meantime, opponents of Mr Trumps plans to control Greenland announced a rally in front of the American embassy in the Danish capital for Saturday, DR reported on Thursday. 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. BENNINGTON One of the accused murderers of Massachusetts teen Isaiah Rodriguez in Danby in 2022 has been sentenced in a federal court in Burlington to a term of 78 months in jail and a five-year probation after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, as well as using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Christopher Morgan, 21, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, is under an active Bennington arrest warrant for his involvement in the homicide of Isaiah Rodriguez along a rural stretch of Danby Mountain Road in February 2022, as part of a gang-related killing. The United States Department of Justice, District of Vermont, released a press statement announcing Morgans sentence last week. According to court records, Morgan spent substantial time in Bennington in 2022 distributing fentanyl and cocaine. During a portion of that time, Morgan was hosted by co-defendants and Bennington residents Shavonne Doucette and Kyle Winnie. Morgan employed locals to sell drugs for them. Doucette and Winnie also occasionally sold drugs for Morgan. In early September 2022, according to those records, Morgan threatened his hosts with firearms and assaulted one over a drug debt. Portions of the assault were captured on video. The video depicted Morgan pointing a gun at the victim and issuing threats. The victim sustained scalp injuries that required staples. Morgans co-defendant, Javon Calderon, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine and to using and carrying a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking crime last December. He was sentenced to 85 months of imprisonment, followed by an 8-year probation term. Doucette and Winnie pleaded guilty to making their residence available for the distribution of fentanyl and cocaine. On January 21, 2025, Doucette was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release. On February 18, 2025, Kyle Winnie was sentenced to time served, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release. An arrest warrant from Bennington County was issued for Morgan in February in connection to the Rodriguez murder. The state of Vermont alleges that on the night of Feb. 2, 2022, several individuals, including Morgan, shot and killed Rodriguez on a lonely stretch of Danby Mountain Road next to a gravel pit. A passerby found Rodriguez the following day as he walked past a large snow berm. Rodriguez was wearing a winter coat and "slide" summer sandals on his feet. A Vermont State Police investigation found that Rodriguez was part of a violent drug-related gang that was involved in a narcotics distribution in the Bennington County area. Evidence revealed in court documents says Rodriguez, an alleged member of the 03 gang out of Springfield, Mass., had soured in the eyes of his gang leadership over a dispute about a missing handgun. A week later, members of his gang allegedly kidnapped him and took him to a deserted spot along Danby Mountain Road. There, they told him to run and then murdered him, according to police reports. Six individuals with connections to a violent Massachusetts street gang from the Springfield-Chicopee area have been charged in connection to the Danby homicide. Joerick Johnson, 24, was charged with four counts conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, accessory after the fact, aiding in the commission of a murder first degree, and murder in the first degree. John Pena-Baez, who, along with Morgan, is in federal custody, is currently behind bars on unrelated Federal drug and gun charges. Pena also has an active arrest warrant outstanding from Bennington related to the Danby murder. Another man, Elijah Johnson, is currently charged with four related counts, including murder in the first degree. Police believe Johnson is, along with Pena Baez, one of the shooters in the crime. Two others, Ashley Wicks and Shawn Bulson, both of Bennington, have already taken plea deals in the case. According to a police affidavit, Wicks drove the getaway car, and Bulson was charged with providing false information to police during their investigation in an attempt to cover for Wicks. Both Wicks and Bulson pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. Both also pleaded guilty to several unrelated counts in a global resolution that included multiple dockets for each over the past two years. It was alleged that Wicks drove the men, including Rodriguez, from Bennington to Danby on the night of the murder. Bulson was also allegedly inside the vehicle but got out before they left Bennington. Over the next several days, both Bulson and Wicks reportedly provided safe haven to the killers, gave false information to investigators, and disabled a security camera at their home. Johnson was close to taking a plea deal at the same time as Wicks and Bulson, but negotiations between the state and defense ultimately collapsed. There is currently no resolution in Johnsons case, which is on track to go to trial. Rodriguezs murder came at the height of a violent drug period in southern Vermont. Gangs with ties to groups such as the Latin Kings and other lesser-known organizations from the Springfield and Holyoke areas of Massachusetts were known to set up shop in Bennington and other local areas to take advantage of some of the demand for narcotics and other addicting drugs, including fentanyl, which many in Bennington, in particular, were struggling with. State Prosecutor Jared Bianchi confirmed that the Bennington States Attorneys Office will request that Morgan be transferred to Bennington to stand trial in the Rodriguez case. That request is forthcoming. This is an ongoing story. The Banner will update details as new information becomes available. William Lambers partnered with the UN World Food Program on the book Ending World Hunger. His writings have been published by the Washington Post, NY Times, Newsweek, History News Network and many other news outlets. Opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media. You voted: Here's who has the best burger in Berkshire County Engaging directly with strategic customers can significantly boost revenue. The CEOs role may be to set strategy, develop products, and enhance the user experience, not necessarily closing deals. However, the CEO's job isnt just to do great things for the clients but to do so for more clients. Donald Morrison is an Eagle columnist and co-chairman of the advisory board. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle. 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 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. 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Advertisement Wicked star Erivo has previously said she was really proud I came out the way I did, when disclosing she is bisexual. Cynthia Erivo at the Glaad awards. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) I have spoken about being your whole self and your true self. I speak about the prizes that come from being you against (the) odds, she said at the Glaad Media Awards on Thursday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. But rarely do I acknowledge how hard it can be. So I thought that I would make some room for those of us who are trying to find the courage to exist as we want, because I think this is the space to do that. It isnt easy. None of it is. Waking up and choosing to be yourself, proclaiming a space belongs to you when you dont feel welcomed, teaching people on a daily basis how to address you and dealing with the frustration of reteaching people a word that has been in the human vocabulary since the dawn of time: they/them. Advertisement She added that the word is used to describe people who are simple more, and said that it is not easy to ask people to treat you with dignity since you should just have it because its simply a given. While referencing the yellow brick road of The Wizard Of Oz (1939), which musical Wicked serves as a prequel to, she added: Here in this room, we have all been the recipients of the gift that is the opportunity to be more. I doubt that it has come easy to any of us, but more, for some, the road has not been one paved with yellow bricks, but instead paved with bumps and potholes. Whichever road you have travelled, how beautiful it is that youve had a road to travel on at all. There are the invisible ones who have had no road at all. Advertisement She added that she hopes people will be encouraged, and said the real work is making sure there is a level playing field for the next generation. Erivo said that she is proud of those wanting to be out, while urging the audience to think of those who are not seen. I ask every single one of you in this room with the spaces that youre in and the lights that you hold to point it in the direction for someone who just needs a little guidance, she added. Erivo plays Elphaba in Wicked, which explores the friendship she has with Glinda, played by US pop star Ariana Grande, as the green witch is misunderstood due to her skin colour, before they become estranged. Advertisement The Londoner will return for the Wicked sequel Wicked: For Good, which is set to come out later this year, and is also directed by Jon M Chu. Her other roles include playing Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin in the series Genius: Aretha, for which she was Emmy nominated, and abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet. Irish actor Emmett J Scanlan has said it was wonderful to go toe to toe with giants such as Pierce Brosnan in a new crime TV series. The Peaky Blinders actor, 46, plays Brosnans head of security in MobLand, which follows two crime families as they battle for power. Advertisement Speaking at the London premiere, Scanlon reflected on what it was like to work in the star-studded cast, which includes Irish actor Brosnan, The Queen star Helen Mirren, and Legend actor Tom Hardy. Emmett J Scanlan attending the UK premiere of MobLand at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Scanlan told the PA news agency: I am Pierce Brosnans right-hand man, his head of security. What I have loved most about this experience is, I love the craft. I just absolutely love it. I am my happiest when Im on set and Im getting to dance with these giants. Advertisement I spent my life growing up watching them and admiring them from afar and to be able to share a stage with them and be able to share dialogue and share scenes with them, to go toe to toe with them, be welcomed by them, embraced by them. It is a wonderful thing that is not lost on me. In the film, Hardy, 47, plays fixer Harry Da Souza who is called upon to make a problem disappear after a night out goes awry for the sons of two warring crime families. Scanlan said: Two of the most ferocious, most unapologetic families go head to head. They go to war. And the repercussions of that inevitably mean that guilty and innocent are going to be hurt and caught in the crossfire and the shrapnel of their actions echoes across the world. So this aint for the faint-hearted. Advertisement (left to right) Helen Mirren, Guy Ritchie, Pierce Brosnan and Tom Hardy attend the UK premiere of MobLand at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Some Girls actress Mandeep Dhillon, who plays Brosnans daughter, Seraphina Harrigan, told PA that filming the series was epic. She said: My role is amazing, Im playing Pierce Brosnans daughter, Helen Mirren is my step mum, Tom Hardy is the family fixer its been epic. The series is directed by Guy Ritchie who created 1998 film Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, 2000s Snatch, and 2024 Netflix show The Gentlemen. MobLand airs on Paramount+ on Sunday, March 30th in Ireland. Hozier, Chappell Roan, and Sam Fender have been announced as part of the Electric Picnic 2025 lineup. In a surprise announcement by the festival on Friday, the first five headline acts were announced. Advertisement Fatboy Slim and Kings of Leon were also announced to play the festival this year. Before we discuss the headliners, the nights they will play, and what songs they are known for, are you happy with the lineup of the 2025 festival so far? Let us know by answering our poll! Hozier and Chappell Roan will both headline the Friday night, with Hozier returning to the Electric Picnic Main Stage to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his debut album. Chappell Roan, who has established herself as "your favourite artist's favourite artist," also makes her Stradbally debut, bringing the Pink Pony Club to Co Laois. Advertisement Roan performed 'Pink Pony Club', which recalls her first visit to a West Hollywood gay club, at the Grammys in February, when she won the award for best new artist, and later scooped two Brit awards for international artist of the year and international song of the year for Good Luck, Babe! Roan recently released her long-teased country-inspired single The Giver, describing the genre shift as bold and scary. On Saturday at Electric Picnic, Brit Award-winner and multi-platinum artist Sam Fender and the icnonic Fatboy Slim will take to the stage. English singer-songwriter Fender is perhaps best known for his hits 'Seventeen Going Under', 'Get You Down', and 'Spit of You'. Advertisement His most recent album, People Watching, came out on February 21st of this year. Kings of Leon will headline the festival on the Sunday. Although they have played in Ireland numerous times, they are only now making their Picnic debut. Known for classic hits like 'Sex On Fire' and 'Use Somebody', the American rock band will undoubtedly attract a large crowd on the final day of the festival. The group has won four Grammy Awards and their most recent album, Can We Please Have Fun, was released in May of 2024. Usually, there are two headliners for each day of the three-day festival, leaving fans wondering who could be the sixth addition to this star-studded lineup. In 2023, the festival did not announce the sixth and final headliner, The Script, until just days before the event got underway. Electric Picnic is Ireland's biggest music and arts festival, and will take place from August 29th-31st this year in Stradbally, Co Laois. The festival have also confirmed the return of the Trailer Park, Croi, Salty Dog, Providencia, Fish Town, and more, and have promised more lineup announcements soon. Selena Quintanilla's killer has been denied early release from prison. Selena Quintanilla was killed in March 1995 Yolanda Saldivar was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 30 years back in 1995, after she was convicted of murdering the music star, and Saldivar has now been denied parole in Texas. In a statement given to PEOPLE, the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole said: "After a thorough consideration of all available information, which included any confidential interviews conducted, it was the parole panels determination to deny parole to Yolanda Saldivar and set her next parole review for March 2030." The board cited the "nature" of the crime as the reason for denying parole. The statement continued: "The record indicates that the instant offense has elements of brutality, violence, assaultive behaviour or conscious selection of victims vulnerability indicating a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others, such that the offender poses a continuing threat to public safety." Saldivar, 64 - who served as the president of the Selena fan club, but was fired from the role shortly before the murder - has always maintained that the shooting was accidental. What's more, she suggested that her sentencing was influenced by Selena's fame and popularity. Speaking in the documentary 'Selena and Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them', Saldivar said: "I was convicted by public opinion even before my trial started." However, the parole board has refuted the suggestion, insisting that they followed the usual procedure with Saldivar's case. The board said in a statement: "As with any other initial review of an offender for parole, approximately six months prior to her parole eligibility, she went into the parole review process. "An Institutional Parole Officer prepared her file for submission to the parole panel responsible for rendering the discretionary decision. "Within that confidential file there is a plethora of information including but not limited to: court documents, offense reports, support/protest information, criminal history, institutional adjustment and information/statements provided by the offender. The file was then sent to a parole panel of three. A simple majority was required to either grant or deny parole." The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal against the extradition of a 67-year-old man, who described himself as a soldier at war, wanted in the North to face trial for the murder of a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment over 45 years ago. In February, the High Court put a stay on its ordered surrender of pensioner James Donegan of Bruce Manor, Arva, Co Cavan, who is accused of the murder of 64-year-old Joseph James Porter at Mountnorris in Co Armagh on a date unknown between June 22nd and 25th, 1979. Advertisement Mr Donegan is also wanted for alleged possession of a firearm and ammunition with the intent to endanger life as well as allegedly belonging to a proscribed organisation, namely the Irish Republican Army. In January at the High Court, Mr Justice Patrick McGrath ordered Mr Donegan's surrender to the UK authorities but put a stay on that order to allow Mr Donegan to try to appeal his extradition. The Supreme Court this week rejected Mr Donegans application to have the appeal heard, finding that it did not meet the constitutional threshold required. Mr Donegan was arrested at Dublin Airport last June, having agreed to meet gardai as he returned home from holidays. He told the arresting officers: "I'm an innocent man". Advertisement The High Court heard that the arresting detective asked Mr Donegan whether he knew what the offences were about and replied: "Yes, I guess so". Mr Donegan was arrested by detectives from the Garda Extradition Unit at the airport following the endorsement of a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) Warrant issued by the Northern Ireland Authorities. The extradition warrant issued in April 2014 states that Mr Porter's body was found close to the entrance of his farm at Creggan Road, Mountnorris, on June 24th, 1979. A post-mortem examination conducted that day concluded that Mr Porter had died of gunshot wounds to the head and trunk. Advertisement In the Supreme Court determination refusing permission to appeal, the court noted that the application for leave focused on the contention that the issuing state has not properly met the legal threshold for compliance in that correspondence has not been established. The Supreme Court said it was necessary to further consider information provided by authorities in the North to establish a corresponding offence in the South to satisfy the conditions for the surrender of Mr Donegan. The determination said that the Northern authorities relied on the fact that the victim was a member of the UDR, that a rifle used in the attack was used in subsequent attacks on security forces in Northern Ireland for which the IRA claimed responsibility and that it was recovered in a Provisional IRA arms cache in April 1980. The Supreme Court determination states that when interviewed by gardai in 2017, Mr Donegan, while denying involvement in the murder, referred to himself as a soldier at war and described the victim as a legitimate target. Advertisement Four fingerprints had been recovered from the inside of Mr Porter's house, and a right thumbprint on a bedroom door had been found to match a fingerprint of Mr Donegan, the court noted. The State argued that the issue of correspondence put forward by lawyers for Mr Donegan was one of want of sufficient detail. In refusing the application to appeal, the Supreme Court said it was not satisfied that the High Court decision to surrender Mr Donegan raised any issue of general public importance. Rather, the [High Court's] decision was the application of well-established law to the particular facts of this case, it said The co-owner of a healthcare recruitment agency has claimed in the High Court that her business partners employment with the Health Service Executive (HSE) is a conflict of interest and threatens the survival of the company. AGS Healthcare Recruitment Ltd, with offices Corcullen House, Corcullen, Galway is owned jointly by Sharon Conlon and Geo Jose Aruvelickal they own 50 per cent of the companys shares each and was founded in February 2021 to address nursing recruitment challenges in Ireland. Advertisement The HSE is AGSs biggest customer, accounting for 90 per cent of the companys business, according to court documents. In a sworn statement to the court, Paul Conlon, Ms Conlons son and general manager at AGS, says that Mr Aruvelickal took a full-time role with the HSE in January 2024. He alleges that Mr Aruvelickals HSE role and ongoing directorship at AGS places the company at risk of being excluded from future HSE contracts. Mr Conlon alleges that the company has already lost work and income due to Mr Aruvelickals employment with the HSE. Advertisement The action of the respondent is seriously jeopardising this relationship and good will and the loss of this customer would threaten the very survival of the company, Mr Conlon says. Ms Conlon and Mr Conlon, of Cartur Mor, Knocknacarra, Galway, are suing Mr Aruvelickal for alleged shareholder oppression. The allegations made against Mr Aruvelickal are denied. Ireland Judge urged to extend pause on Dublin Airport pass... Read More This week, lawyers for the Conlons sought an order compelling Mr Aruvelickal to disclose to the plaintiffs the companys banking access codes. Mr Conlon alleged that Mr Aruvelickal changed the access codes, blocking his ability to pay the companys staff and bills. Following the application, which was made with only the plaintiffs represented in court, Mr Justice Brian Cregan granted the order on an interim basis. Advertisement On Friday, Mr Justice Cregan was initially told by Con Crowley BL, for the plaintiffs, that his order had not been complied with. After the matter was adjourned for a short period, Hugh Byrne BL, for Mr Aruvelickal, said that the banking codes had been shared with the plaintiffs. Mr Byrne said it was disputed that the plaintiffs had been blocked from accessing the companys banking facility. He said he would be challenging the plaintiffs case, that there were inaccuracies before the court and that he would be filing replying affidavits. The case was adjourned to next month. Northern Irelands First Minister Michelle ONeill did not see a former Sinn Fein press officer who was facing sex charges when they both appeared at an event in Stormont in 2023, a report has found. The independent Assembly Commissioner for Standards, Dr Melissa McCullough, has found that Ms ONeill did not breach the Ministerial Code of Conduct. Advertisement The Committee on Standards and Privileges has published the commissioners report into two complaints made against Ms ONeill last year. Former Sinn Fein press officer Michael McMonagle was suspended by the party after he was arrested in 2021. He went on to work for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in 2022. Former Sinn Fein press officer Michael McMonagle was jailed last year (Liam McBurney/PA) McMonagle, from Limewood Street in Derry, was jailed last year after being found guilty of a series of offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. Two other Sinn Fein press officers, Sean Mag Uidhir and Caolan McGinley, resigned from the party after Sinn Fein began disciplinary proceedings against them after providing references for McMonagle. Advertisement One complaint against Ms ONeill came from TUV MLA Timothy Gaston who said she had breached the ministerial code by telling the Executive Office committee she had not known about the whereabouts of McMonagle after his suspension from Sinn Fein in 2021, but she was pictured standing yards from him at a Stormont event in February 2023. A separate complaint from Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie claimed she had breached the code by stating that her account that she only became aware of references provided by Mag Uidhir and McGinley for McMonagle the day before the story broke in the media was not credible. The commissioner said the First Minister did not take up the opportunity to make a written or oral response to the complaints. The commissioner established Ms ONeill had had no contact with McMonagle since before his suspension from Sinn Fein in August 2021. Advertisement She also said: First Minister ONeill did not see Mr McMonagle in Parliament Buildings on February 14th, 2023, and had no interaction with him on that day. She added: While the photograph may lead some to believe that the First Minister must have seen Mr McMonagle due to their proximity, both she and Mr McMonagle have affirmed that there was no interaction between them. What the photograph does not convey is that the Great Hall was quite busy on that day, as the Assembly had been recalled to discuss the organ donation legislation. Sean Mag Uidhir who along with Caolan McGinley resigned as Sinn Fein press officers (PA) The commissioner also found that Mr McGinley and Mr Mag Uidhir did not notify anyone in Sinn Fein that they had provided references for McMonagle. Advertisement She said a former Sinn Fein HR director had engaged in email discussion in August 2023 with the BHF regarding the references provided to them. His report said: The Sinn Fein HR director did not notify First Minister ONeill, or anyone in the party, about the email correspondence from the BHF in relation to its queries about the reference providers. First Minister ONeill became aware of the references provided by Mr McGinley and Mr Mag Uidhir on September 25th, 2024. The chairperson of the Committee on Standards and Privileges, Cathy Mason, said: While the current procedures do not provide the committee with an adjudication role in relation to complaints against ministers, by publishing this report, the committee has fulfilled its function in relation to considering and publishing all investigation reports by the Commissioner. Advertisement The committees report includes the commissioners investigation report, which sets out the factual findings, analysis and reasoning from her investigation of the complaints. The committee notes that the commissioner has concluded from the evidence gathered and analysed that the First Minister has not breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct. A Garda overtime bill of 4.86 million for policing crowds at the UEFA Europa League Final in Dublin last May and the Garda response to the November 2023 Dublin riots contributed to the Garda overtime bill soaring to a record 197 million for 2024. New figures published by An Garda Siochana show that the Garda overtime bill increased by 16.24 million or nine per cent from 180.86 million in 2023 to 197.1 million or a daily overtime spend of 540,000 across 2024. Advertisement A spokesman for An Garda Siochana said on Friday: Crime investigation, crime prevention, national security, court related activity, high visibility policing in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, policing of protests, and policing of large events such as the UEFA Europa League final were the key drivers of overtime in 2024. He said: In addition, significant overtime relating to the response to the Dublin riots of November 2023 was paid in 2024." The spokesman said that the increase in pay from 2023 to 2024 as granted by Public Sector pay agreements is also a contributing factor in increasing the cost of overtime. The single largest draw on the Garda overtime bill was 44.13 million spent on Garda HQ and National Units which was an 18 per cent increase on the 37.49 million under the same heading in 2023. Advertisement On the 18 per cent overtime increase in Garda HQ and National Units, the Garda spokesman said: All overtime associated with the policing of the UEFA Europa League Final was allocated to a cost centre that fell within the Garda HQ and National Units categorisation. The highest quarterly overtime spend for 2024 was the second quarter which also coincided with the overtime operation for the May 22nd Europa Cup final between Bayern Leverkusen of Germany and Atalanta of Italy at the Aviva Stadium. During the 2nd quarter, the overtime spend totalled 62.3m and this compares to 46.32 million in the 4th quarter, 45.33 million in the third quarter and 43.15 million between January and the end of March. The total Garda spend for the policing of the Europa Cup Final totalled 7.12 million that also included travel and subsistence costs of 400,000 and 1.17 million in other expenses along with the overtime spend of 4.86 million. Advertisement On the overall overtime spend for 2024, the Garda spokesman said: "An Garda Siochana takes very seriously its requirement to ensure value for money in relation to all spend, including overtime. The financial position of An Garda Siochana is reviewed regularly and, when required, measures are put in place to reduce over-spends." He said: The cost of overtime associated with protests, public gatherings and/or serious public disorder across the country is not separately identifiable." Business Profits at Michael Healy Rae plant-hire firm incre... Read More The figures show that the Garda overtime spend in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) totalled 72.02 million which was a 12 per cent increase on the DMR overtime bill of 64.38 million for 2023. The 72 million spend on overtime for Dublin last year compared to an overtime spend in the DMR of 43.6 million in 2022 - a jump of 65 per cent. The Garda area with the largest overtime bill in 2024 was Dublin Metropolitan Region (DRM) North at 15.16 million followed by an overtime spend of 14.32 million at DMR South Central . There was an overtime spend of 13.85 million in DMR West and 13.17 million DMR North Central. The overtime spend for Cork city was 3.96 million and Cork county 4 million. A wealthy US businessman has appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting a man in Dublins Shelbourne Hotel. The accused, in his 50s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Judge John Brennan on Friday after the investigation was accelerated and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) issued directions to gardai. Advertisement The central allegation was that he groped inside and outside a mans shorts in the luxury five-star hotel on a date earlier this month, Dublin District Court was told. He was granted bail, temporarily set at 500, with tight conditions and must appear again next week to lodge 30,000. Detective Garda Alan Ryan, attached to Pearse Street Station, told Judge Brennan that the businessmans response to the charge after caution was It was consensual. The detective objected to bail on the grounds the accused did not live in Ireland and due to the serious nature of the allegations. Advertisement He outlined that the investigation file was expedited and the DPP had directed the accuseds case could be dealt with at the District Court level, on a guilty plea only". Otherwise, he must face trial on indictment in the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers. The charge carries a possible jail sentence of up to five years. Detective Garda Ryan voiced flight risk concerns because the accused was a tourist from the United States with no ties to this jurisdiction whatsoever. The detective said the man, has no family friends or any connection to the State and both he and his partner had exceptional means and were quite wealthy. Advertisement The officer explained that the financial implications of bail would not be an issue for the man if he did not return. Questioned by defence counsel Oisin Clarke, he agreed that his clients instructing solicitor Brian Keenan had been in touch with gardai from the outset and indicated he met gardai by appointment once the DPPs decision was given. He agreed with the barrister that the financial aspect had been mentioned by the accused himself. The court heard his partner was a company director and together had significant means of income. The detective garda acknowledged that the accused had indicated to him that he had no difficulty in returning to Ireland for his case. Advertisement Addressing the seriousness of the accusation, Mr Clarke said, The actual allegation related to touching outside the clothes of another mans penis. Detective Garda Ryan replied: Judge, the allegation relates to reaching inside the shorts of the victim, groping his buttocks and then grabbing his penis from outside his shorts at the same time. He added that while the DPP stated that the case could stay in the District Court if there was a guilty plea, I still categorise it as a very serious offence. Mr Clarke revealed that his current instructions were that his client intended to plead not guilty, having indicated to the garda that it was consensual. Advertisement Counsel put it to him that if it proceeded to trial it the Circuit Court, the earliest date would probably be in 2027. Currently, Mr Clarke added that the trial dates for those cases are in December 2026, and a book of evidence had not yet been prepared in his clients case. Interview Detective Garda Ryan agreed the accused was cooperative, gave a full account, and answered all questions put to him during his interview. There were no issues during the arrest or any need to handcuff him. However, given the serious nature of the allegation, his primary concern was the extreme possibility of flight risk. Counsel said his client was happy to surrender his passport until he could get bail money. Judge Brennan held that given the substantive evidence against the defendant and surrounding circumstances and the detectives concerns, strict conditions would be appropriate. He also noted that the American denied the allegation. His solicitor Brian Keenan has been in contact with the defendants partner. Counsel said it would take a little bit of time for funds to be transferred from the United States. The defence suggested a short adjournment and to release him on minimal bail with several terms provided he comes back with a more substantial sum to have more conditions imposed. The accused, who is now staying at a different hotel, was ordered to surrender his passport immediately, and gave a sworn undertaking saying I agree to sign on daily at a Garda station in Dublin, not contact the complainant and not leave the jurisdiction. A woman who it was claimed fell in a toilet cubicle of Beaumont Hospital a day and a half after brain surgery has settled a High Court action for 2 million. Jacinta Flood, the High Court heard, was recovering from surgery for a benign brain tumour at the Dublin hospital six years ago when it is claimed she allegedly suffered injuries in the unwitnessed fall. Advertisement Her counsel, John Healy SC, with Doireann OMahony BL instructed by Callan Tansey solicitors, told the court that while there was nursing supervision of Ms Flood after the surgery, it was their case that at the time of the fall, two nurses were allegedly outside the toilet cubicle. The court was told that there was no criticism of the surgery carried out at Beaumont Hospital. Counsel said it was their case that after the fall, Ms Flood suffered a severe and sudden deterioration and was rushed to the theatre for emergency brain surgery. Mr Healy said there were profound changes in Ms Floods cognition, personality and mobility, and she now requires constant supervision. Advertisement He said she has right-sided weakness, is at risk of falling and has severely impaired memory. The settlement, which was reached after mediation, is without an admission of liability, and Counsel said a full defence was put forward in the case. All of the claims were denied, and the hospital contended that Ms Flood was closely monitored. Counsel said the case involved multiple risks. He said there was no criticism of the brain surgery or the supervision after but solely during the time Ms Flood was in the toilet cubicle. Advertisement Outside the court, Ms Floods daughter Rachel said her mother was an amazing woman, and her personality has now changed, and she forgets everything, and she needs 24-hour care. She said the settlement would make it easier on the family. Jacinta Flood (57) of Letterkenny, Co Donegal, had, through her husband, Cathal Flood, sued Beaumont Hospital. Ms Flood, who two years earlier had developed epilepsy, was transferred to Beaumont Hospital on May 16th, 2019. She had an uncomplicated craniotomy and surgery for the benign tumour. In the proceedings it was claimed that alleged substandard care had been provided to Ms Flood and there have been an alleged failure to put in place any or any adequate plan of management for Ms Flood after her surgery. Advertisement It was also claimed there was an alleged failure to provide any adequate supervision of Ms Flood, even though she was at risk of a fall. It was contended that if Ms Flood had undergone the initial brain surgery and had not fallen and allegedly struck her head, she would have made a complete physical recovery. Ireland Reported cases of phone call fraud up almost 80% i... Read More She might have been left with some mild memory disturbance, but otherwise, her life would have been back to normal, though he would have remained liable to epileptic fits, it was contended. All of the claims were denied. Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was clear that every aspect of the case would have been contested if it had gone to a full hearing. He said the settlement was fair and reasonable. Addressing Ms Flood's family, who were in court, he said he wanted to wish her all the best for the future. A young mother died as a result of a sustained and brutal attack at the hands of her controlling and jealous partner who murdered her in cold blood, stabbing her in the heart and attacking her "with such ferocity" that he severed a bone in her elbow, a prosecution barrister has told a jury at the Central Criminal Court. Eilis Brennan SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, suggested lawyers for the accused man, Daniel Blanaru, were throwing the kitchen sink at everything without having any particular plausible defence to put before the jury. Advertisement However, defence senior counsel Giollaiosa O Lideadha, asked the jury to decide this case in accordance with the evidence rather than on policy or prejudice or pre-conceived notions. Mr Blanaru (37), from Rathmore, Athboy, Co Meath, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Larisa Serban (26) on or about August 12th, 2022. In her closing speech to the jury on Friday, Ms Brennan said this was a very simple case which resolved itself to a few key facts. I say Daniel Blanaru murdered Larisa Seran and murdered her in cold blood, she said. He attacked her with a knife, he beat her, he cut her. He stabbed her with such ferocity that he severed a bone in her elbow. Advertisement She said Mr Blanaru had also stabbed the deceased in the chest, puncturing her lung and her heart, going through both sides of her aorta. She said the evidence showed Ms Serban had numerous defensive injuries while Daniel Blanaru had barely a nick on him. I maintain Larisa Serban sustained those injuries while she was trying to protect herself from an attack. Ms Brennan said there could be no doubt from the evidence of the pathologist and the evidence of the blood staining in the room that Ms Serban suffered a sustained and brutal attack. Counsel said it is up to the jurors to decide whether they are satisfied that Daniel Blanaru carried out that attack. I suggest to you that if you are satisfied he carried out that attack, you will have no difficulty bringing in a verdict of murder, she said. Advertisement Ms Brennan urged the jury not to get distracted by some of the fanciful theories floated by the defence and suggested the evidence in the case all points one way. Counsel said Mr Blanaru appeared to be relying on three alternative defences, the first of which was that he does not accept that he killed Larisa Serban and that possibly it was someone else. She said the second, based on what he told gardai, was that there was a struggle where Ms Serban came at him with a knife and accidentally the knife went into her. Counsel said it was her understanding that the third defence was that the deceased came at Mr Blanaru with a knife, and he was trying to protect himself. Advertisement Ms Brennan suggested that a very high degree of mental gymnastics was needed to reconcile each defence. It appears to me there is a certain element of throwing the kitchen sink at everything, she said. Shifting sands without having any particular plausible defence to put before you as a jury. Counsel contended Mr Blanaru was controlling and jealous and said evidence had been heard from Ms Serbans parents in relation to separate threats he had made to kill his partner in the months before her death. The threats to kill, they are significant, and I think you should keep them in mind, she said. She said this murderous attack did not come out of the blue and had been simmering for some time. Advertisement Counsel said on Mr Blanarus account, at some stage on the night of the fatal incident there was a tall unnamed Romanian mystery man in the house. She said this man has never been identified and Ms Serbans brother David gave evidence to say there was no one else in the house that night. That man, I suggest, is an invention in the mind of Daniel Blanaru, she said. Ms Brennan said the last messages from Larisas phone were sent at around 3.10am. I say that those messages were sent by Daniel Blanaru, said counsel. At this stage Larisa was dying or dead. I say he left the house like a bat out of hell at that stage. He was captured on CCTV soon after, she said. Ms Brennan said once Mr Blanaru left the house, there was no more outward traffic on that phone. She said there was no attempt to call for an ambulance or for help of any kind. Mr Blanaru drove to his sister Simonas house in Drogheda, counsel said. She said Simona and her husband Raul told gardai in their statements that when he arrived at their home, Mr Blanaru said he had killed Larisa. She suggested that if Ms Serban had really come at Mr Blanaru with a knife, this would be the first thing he would be shouting from the rooftops when he came to his sisters house. Ms Brennan said the defence had cast aspersions on the professionalism of absolutely everyone who dealt with the accused, including gardai, doctors, the translator and the member in charge. The accuseds garda interviews were rambling and self-serving, counsel said. Counsel said the accused told gardai that when he got to the house, Ms Serban was partying with a tall guy and her brother. She reminded the jury that a toxicology report showed there wasnt a trace of alcohol or drugs in Ms Serbans system. In his fourth garda interview, as detectives are putting witness statements to him, Mr Blanaru said: I am guilty, I killed her. Please lock me up, said Ms Brennan. She said Mr Blanaru concedes that he was in the house and was involved in the knife going into Ms Serbans chest. Ms Brennan said State pathologist Heidi Okkers had given evidence of finding numerous incise wounds, abrasions and puncture wounds on the back of Ms Serbans hands in keeping with defensive type injuries. It was a ludicrous proposition to suggest that Ms Serban was partly injured in one attack and that someone then came back and carried out a second attack, counsel suggested. Ms Brennan said the fact the accused had told Ms Serbans parents that one day he would kill her showed his murderous intent. In his closing address, Mr O Lideadha urged the jury to look at all the facts and decide this case in accordance with the evidence rather than on policy or prejudice or pre-conceived notions. He said the suggestion by prosecution counsel that the messages sent from Ms Serbans phone were in fact sent by Mr Blanaru was made without any evidence to back it up. Mr O Lideadha said prosecuting counsel had said it was ludicrous to suggest the fatal blow could have been inflicted after Mr Blanaru left the scene. Counsel said this ignored expert evidence in the trial in relation to blood splatter and the pathology evidence which, he said, suggested the wound to the arm could have occurred long before the injury to the chest. There was no suggestion of any blood on the hands or under the nails of the accused, counsel said, and no blood in the car. Mr O Lideadha said the implications of the possibility of the involvement of somebody else was simply not addressed. Counsel said all the objective independent evidence pointed to the likelihood that Daniel Blanaru did not inflict the fatal wound. Ireland No evidence murder accused (23) is feigning schizo... Read More However, he said if the jury, having considered all the evidence, found that Mr Blanaru did inflict the fatal wound, they then had to look at the concrete, independent evidence on the question of accident and the question of self-defence. He said if the jury accepted the description Mr Blanaru gave in interviews about what happened as being reasonably possibly true then there is an issue as to whether he intended to cause serious harm during that conflict. If theres a reasonable possibility that the accused man honestly believed he was using reasonable force then the conviction is for manslaughter and not for murder, he said, adding the jury could only convict Mr Blanaru of murder if they came to the conclusion that he used more force than was reasonable. The trial continues on Monday before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and an enlarged jury of 11 men and four women when Mr O Lideadha will continue his closing address. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the US Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing parts of president Donald Trumps executive orders aimed at curbing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts among federal contractors and grant recipients. Judge Matthew Kennelly of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois halted the Labor Department from requiring federal contractors or grant recipients from certifying that they do not operate any programmes in violation of Mr Trumps anti-DEI executive orders. Advertisement That certification provision has stepped up pressure on companies and other organisations to revisit their DEI practices because if the government were to determine they violated the provision, they would be subject to crippling financial penalties under the False Claims Act. Thursdays ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit founded in 1981 that helps prepare women for work in skilled construction trades and has several contracts with the Department of Labor. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a briefing at the White House (AP/Mark Schiefelbein) There was no immediate reaction from Chicago Women in Trades to Mr Kennellys order. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Advertisement A hearing on Chicago Women in Trades bid for a longer-lasting halt on Mr Trumps anti-DEI executive orders is scheduled for April 10. The organisations lawsuit is one of several challenging Mr Trumps executive orders targeting DEI programmes in both the private and public sectors. Mr Trump signed an order on his first day in office directing federal agencies to terminate all equity-related grants or contracts. He signed a follow-up order that included a requirement that federal contractors and grantees certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws. Advertisement Mr Kennellys decision comes nearly two weeks after an appeals court lifted a broader nationwide injunction against Mr Trumps anti-DEI executive orders in a separate lawsuit in Baltimore. But Thursdays ruling is limited in scope because Mr Kennelly declined to extend the temporary restraining order to other federal agencies. Chicago Women in Trades, which filed its case against the Trump administration last month, argued that the presidents executive orders on DEI are so broad and vague that the organisation had no way to ensure compliance, and thus they threaten its core mission. Mr Kennelly wrote that Chicago Women in Trades, which is being represented by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, was likely to succeed in its arguments that parts of the executive orders are a violation of free speech rights and are unconstitutionally vague. Advertisement Although the government argued that the certification provision implicates only illegal DEI programs, it has studiously declined to shed any light on what this means. The answer is anything but obvious, Mr Kennelly wrote. Mr Kennelly wrote that he extended his order to all Labor Department contractors and grant recipients because the vagueness of Mr Trumps executive orders, coupled with the threat of financial penalties, would likely pressure organisations to curb DEI programmes in potential violation of free speech rights. Mr Kennelly wrote that rather than face potentially crippling penalties, it is likely that many of these grantees will take the safer route and choose to simply stop speaking on anything remotely related to what the government might consider to promote DEI or equity. He added: A nationwide restraining order is appropriate to protect grantees who cannot afford the risks inherent in biting the hand that feeds them. Advertisement The judge also blocked the DOL from freezing or cancelling any funding with Chicago Women in Trades, and the Trump administration from pursuing any False Claims Act enforcement against them. During a hearing on Tuesday, the Trump administration argued that Chicago Women in Trades motion for relief was premature because its arguments rely on speculation as to how the executive orders will be implemented. But Chicago Women in Trades noted in court filings that it has multiple communications from the Department of Labor directing them to ensure compliance with both DEI executive orders. The organisation also said in court it has already lost a subcontract with a contractor trying to comply with the executive order. A powerful earthquake has rocked Myanmar, causing extensive damage across a wide swathe of one of the worlds poorest countries and prompting officials to warn that the initial death toll of more than 140 is likely to rise. In neighbouring Thailand, at least six died in Bangkok, where a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Advertisement The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear, particularly in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war, and where information is tightly controlled. The death toll and injuries are expected to rise, the head of Myanmars military government, Min Aung Hlaing, said as he announced on television that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured. In Thailand, authorities in Bangkok said six people were killed, 22 injured, and 101 were missing from three construction sites, including the high-rise. The 7.7 magnitude quake struck at midday, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar s second-largest city. Aftershocks followed, one of them measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude. Advertisement Myanmar is in an active earthquake belt, though many happen in sparsely populated areas, not cities like those affected on Friday. The US Geological Survey, an American government science agency, estimated that the death toll could top 1,000. In Mandalay, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including one of the citys largest monasteries. Photos from the capital city of Naypyidaw showed rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble of multiple buildings used to house civil servants. Rescuers work at the site the high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok (Wason Wanichakorn/AP) Myanmars government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Mr Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept assistance. The United Nations allocated five million dollars (3.86 3.86 million) to start relief efforts, while President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US was going to help with the response, but some experts were concerned about this effort given his administrations deep cuts in foreign assistance. Advertisement But amid images of buckled and cracked roads and reports of a collapsed bridge and a burst dam, there were concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a humanitarian crisis. We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake, said Mohammed Riyas, the International Rescue Committees Myanmar director. Rescuers carry an injured person from the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok (Sakchai Lalit/AP) Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake. All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic, said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkoks many centres shopping for camera equipment. Advertisement I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall. Workers from an Ikea in a high-rise shopping centre and others seek shelter in Bangkoks Benjasiri Park (Adam Schreck/AP) Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Mr Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park, away from the tall buildings. I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense, he said. Lots of chaos. Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer working in central Bangkok, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking as it moved from the shockwaves. Advertisement She and her colleagues ran down 12 flights of stairs. In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok, she said. Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse, he said. As he came onto the street, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool. When I saw the building, oh my God, thats when it hit me, he said. There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really. People wait to be told it is safe to go back inside the Sathorn Gardens condominium building in Bangkok (Brian P D Hannon/AP) The US Geological Survey and Germanys GFZ centre for geosciences said the incident was at a shallow 6.2 miles, with an epicentre in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports. A state of emergency was declared in six regions and states in Myanmar. State-run MRTV television said the military-run governments proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay. A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. People evacuated from buildings gather in the street in Bangkok (Chutima Lalit/AP) Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok. They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake. The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook. Thailands Department of Disaster Prevention said the earthquake was felt in almost all regions of the country. The epicentre of the earthquake was 30 miles east of the city of Monywa in Myanmar. Damaged pagodas in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP) In the capital Naypyitaw, the earthquake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes. In Mandalay, the countrys second-largest city and close to the epicentre, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook. A destroyed monastery in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP) While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures. In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the road connecting Mandalay and Myanmars largest city, Yangon, were also damaged. Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. Vehicles on a road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar which was damaged by the earthquake (Aung Shine Oo/AP) The Red Cross said downed power lines are adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state. Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage, the Red Cross said. Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered. Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in Mandalay, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area. This disaster will have left people devastated and in need of drinking water, food and shelter, said Julie Mehigan, head of Asia, Middle East and Europe for Christian Aid. Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world. Even before this heartbreaking earthquake, we know conflict and displacement has left countless people in real need. Rescue workers help an injured women who was trapped under a building in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP) To the northeast, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people could not stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. Pope Francis, who is convalescing after a five-week hospital stay for life-threatening double pneumonia, offered prayers to the victims of the earthquake. The pope has been informed of the disaster in Myanmar and is praying for the dramatic situation and for the many victims, also in Thailand, the Vatican said in a statement. A former Australian police officer avoided a prison term when was he was sentenced on Friday for killing a 95-year-old nursing home resident with a stun gun. Kristian White was sentenced to 450 hours of community service and placed under the supervision of a corrections officer for two years for manslaughter. Advertisement Mr White made by what any measure was a terrible mistake, Justice Ian Harrison said in the New South Wales state Supreme Court. Prosecutors had called for a prison term in the killing of Clare Nowland, a great-grandmother who suffered from dementia, but the judge said such a punishment was disproportionate. It is at the lower end of seriousness of crimes amounting to wrongful death, Mr Harrison said. A jury convicted White last year, and he was sacked from the New South Wales police in December. He had faced a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for manslaughter. Advertisement Staff called police to a nursing home in Cooma on May 17 2023, because Mrs Nowland was wandering through the building with a walker and holding a steak knife. White fired his Taser at her within minutes of confronting her. She fell back and hit her head on the floor. She died in a hospital a week later from an inoperable brain bleed. The judge said: A frail and confused 95-year-old woman in fact posed nothing that could reasonably be described as a threat of any substance. Outside court, the victims son Michael Nowland expressed his familys disappointment that White had not been sent to prison. Advertisement It was very disappointing for the family, because, well, a slap on the wrist for someone thats killed our mother, he said. Its very, very hard to process that. In a letter to Mrs Nowlands family presented to the court, White gave his sincere apologies for my actions. I deeply regret my actions and the severe consequences it has caused to not only Mrs Nowland but also to your family and the greater community, White wrote. I take full responsibility for my actions. I felt and still feel horrible about what happened, he added. Advertisement White did not speak to the media as he walked from the Sydney court on Friday. His lawyer Warwick Anderson told reporters outside court White and his partner were relieved that White had avoided jail. Theyre going to take their time and move on with their lives, Anderson said. King Charles spent time in hospital on Thursday (27.03.25) after experiencing "temporary side effects" during his cancer treatment. King Charles has been undergoing cancer treatment The 76-year-old monarch has now returned to Clarence House, but he's cancelled a tour of Birmingham on Friday after taking advice from his doctors. Buckingham Palace said in a statement: "Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, The King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital. His Majesty's afternoon engagements were therefore postponed. "His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow's diary programme will also be rescheduled. "His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result." Buckingham Palace announced news of the King's diagnosis in February 2024. The monarch underwent a "corrective procedure" for an enlarged prostate and doctors noticed a "separate issue of concern" that led to his cancer diagnosis. The Palace said at the time: "During The Kings recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer. "His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties. Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual. "The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure." Charles - who ascended to the throne in 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth - was said to be feeling "positive about his treatment". The statement continued: "He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible. "His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer." Charles underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate in late January 2024. The Palace said in a statement at the time: "The King was this afternoon discharged from hospital following planned medical treatment and has rescheduled forthcoming public engagements to allow for a period of private recuperation. "He would like to thank the medical team and all those involved in supporting his hospital visit, and is grateful for all the kind messages he has received in recent days." US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the Trump administration would work with allies to ramp up deterrence against threats across the world, including Chinas aggression in the South China Sea. Mr Hegseth, who was visiting the Philippines, blamed the previous Biden administration for insufficient actions that emboldened aggressors such as China over the years. Advertisement He said the US military was being rebuilt under President Donald Trump and was re-establishing its warrior ethos in the region, but did not elaborate. What were dealing with right now is many years of deferred maintenance, of weakness, that we need to re-establish strength and deterrence in multiple places around the globe, Mr Hegseth told a news conference with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, after meeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Manila. Theres a long line of countries in the past who have attempted to test US resolve, Mr Hegseth added. We are resolved at this time to work with our partners. Earlier, he told Mr Marcos that deterrence was particularly needed in the Indo-Pacific region considering the threats from the communist Chinese. Advertisement Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict, to ensure that there is free navigation whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea, he told Mr Marcos. Secretary of Defence Gilberto Teodoro looks on as Pete Hegseth signs the guestbook at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, the Philippines (Gerard Carreon/AP) The US was not gearing up for war, Mr Hegseth said, while underscoring that peace would be won through strength. The Philippines was the first stop in Mr Hegseths first trip to Asia. He is due to travel next to Japan, another staunch US ally. Ahead of his visit to the region, China called the United States a predator and an unreliable ally. Advertisement Hegseth said the Trump administration would commit more security assistance to the Philippines in addition to a 500 million-dollar (386 million) fund to help the Philippine military modernise. The US funding was first announced by the previous Biden administration. Israel has launched an attack on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, for the first time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November. Associated Press reporters in Beirut heard a large boom and witnessed smoke rising from the area that Israels military had vowed to strike. Advertisement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his militarys strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut marked an example of Israels determination to act against its northern neighbour. We will not allow firing on our communities, not even a trickle, Mr Netanyahu said in a statement on Friday. We will continue to vigorously enforce the ceasefire, we will attack everywhere in Lebanon, against any threat to the State of Israel, and we will ensure that all our residents in the north return to their homes safely. After the strike, Israels army said it attacked a Hezbollah drone storage facility in the area of Dahiyeh, which it called a key Hezbollah stronghold. Advertisement A bomb dropped from an Israeli jet before it hits a building in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut on Friday (Hassan Ammar/AP) Israel said Hezbollah uses civilians as human shields. The area struck is a residential and commercial area and is in close proximity to at least two schools. It comes after Israels army urgently warned people to evacuate parts of a Beirut suburb on Friday as it vowed to retaliate against strikes which it said were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel. Lebanons government ordered all schools and universities in Beiruts southern suburb of Hadath to close for the day. Advertisement In some parts of the southern suburbs, shooting could be heard warning people to leave their homes and many residents were seen fleeing the area in cars and on foot. A strike on Beirut would be the first time since a ceasefire took hold on November 27 2024, between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, although Israel has struck targets in southern Lebanon almost daily since then. Israels military warned people in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in Arabic to evacuate buildings in Beiruts southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamass October 7 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Advertisement The Israel-Hezbollah conflict boiled over into all-out war in September as Israel carried out waves of airstrikes and killed most of the militant groups senior leaders. The fighting killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about 60,000 Israelis. Smoke rises from a strike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut (Hassan Ammar/AP) Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January under the ceasefire deal. The deadline was extended to February 18, but Israel has remained in five locations in Lebanon across from communities in northern Israel. Advertisement Meanwhile, Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it attacked Hezbollah, while continuing drone attacks that have killed several members of the militant group. Last week, Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Lebanon killed six people. The UN special co-ordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said the exchange of fire was deeply concerning. This is a critical period for Lebanon and the wider region, she said on Friday. According to an Israeli official who was not authorised to speak to the media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting top security officials to discuss an impending strike on the capital. The escalation comes as Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people in Gaza. Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid to Gazas roughly two million Palestinians. Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns 59 hostages it still holds 24 of them believed to be alive. Israel is demanding that the group give up power, disarm and send its leaders into exile. Hamas has said it will release the remaining captives only in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israels defence minister said on Friday that if there was no peace in Israels northern communities there would be no peace in Beirut either. Hezbollah denied firing the rockets at northern Israel, and accused Israel of seeking a pretext to continue attacking Lebanon. Speaking from Paris, Lebanons President Joseph Aoun said the strike on a Beirut suburb was a continuation of Israels violations of the agreement that was sponsored by France and the US. Billionaire Elon Musk has deleted a social media post in which he had announced plans to hold a rally in Wisconsin to personally hand over $2 million (1.85 million) to a pair of voters who have already cast ballots in the states hotly contested Supreme Court race. Mr Musk deleted the post from his social media platform, X, about 12 hours after he initially posted it late on Thursday night. Advertisement He posted that he planned to give 1 million dollars each to two voters at the event on Sunday, just two days before the election that will determine ideological control of the court in the battleground state. The action was announced despite a Wisconsin law that explicitly prohibits giving anything of value in exchange for a vote. Mr Musk said that attendance at his talk would be limited only to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election, without explaining how he would verify that. I will also personally hand over two cheques for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote, Mr Musk posted. This is super important. Advertisement He did not say how the two people were chosen. The Supreme Court race has shattered previous spending records for a US judicial election and has become a referendum on Mr Musk and the first months of President Donald Trumps administration. Mr Trump, a Republican, endorsed Brad Schimel and hosted a telephone town hall with him on Thursday night. Its a very important race, Mr Trump said in brief remarks by phone, in a call organised by Schimels campaign. I know you feel its local, but its not. Its really much more than local. The whole country is watching. Advertisement Mr Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, faces Dane County judge Susan Crawford in Tuesdays election. Ms Crawford is backed by a wide range of Democrats, including the liberal justices who hold a 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and former president Barack Obama. The retirement this year of a liberal justice puts majority control of the court in play. Mr Musk earlier this week said he had awarded a voter in Green Bay one million dollars for signing a petition his political action committee created targeting activist judges. Mr Musk promised 100 dollars to any registered Wisconsin voter who signed the petition or forwarded it to someone who did. Advertisement That raised questions about whether the petition violated Wisconsin law that makes it a felony to offer, give, lend or promise to lend or give anything of value to induce a voter to cast a ballot or not vote. Donald Trump said the whole country is watching the forthcoming vote in Wisconsin (Pool via AP) Ms Crawfords campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman, though, called Mr Musks visit to Wisconsin a last-minute desperate distraction. Wisconsinites dont want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and, on Tuesday, voters should reject Musks lackey Brad Schimel, he said. Mr Musks political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the White House election last year, offering to pay a million dollars a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. Advertisement During last years presidential race, Philadelphias district attorney sued in an attempt to stop the payments under Pennsylvania law. But a judge said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through to election day. Mr Musk and groups he funds have already spent more than $20 million (18.5 million) in an effort to elect Mr Schimel, while billionaire George Soros has given two million dollars to bolster Ms Crawford, and Democratic Illinois governor JB Pritzker has donated $1.5 million. Mr Musk got involved in the race just days after his electric car company, Tesla, filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin in an effort to open dealerships in the state. Ms Crawford and her allies have accused Mr Musk of trying to buy influence on the court given that Teslas lawsuit could end up before the justices. The race comes as the Wisconsin Supreme Court is also expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Wisconsin is one of a handful of true battleground states, which only intensifies the focus on court races where rules for voting will be decided. Billionaire Elon Musk said he plans to hold a rally in Wisconsin to personally hand over two million dollars (1.5 million) to two voters who have already cast their ballots in the states hotly contested Supreme Court race, despite a state law that prohibits giving anything of value in exchange for voting. Mr Musk posted late on Thursday night on his social media platform X that he plans to give one million dollars each to two voters at the event on Sunday, just two days before the election that will determine ideological control of the court. Advertisement Attendance at Mr Musks talk will be limited only to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election, he said, without explaining how he would verify that. He did not say how the two people were chosen. I will also personally hand over two cheques for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote, Mr Musk posted. This is super important. The Supreme Court race has shattered previous spending records for a US judicial election and has become a referendum on Mr Musk and the first months of President Donald Trumps administration. Advertisement Mr Trump, a Republican, endorsed Brad Schimel and hosted a telephone town hall with him on Thursday night. Its a very important race, Mr Trump said in brief remarks by phone, in a call organised by Schimels campaign. I know you feel its local, but its not. Its really much more than local. The whole country is watching. On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2025 Mr Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, faces Dane County judge Susan Crawford in Tuesdays election. Ms Crawford is backed by a wide range of Democrats, including the liberal justices who hold a 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and former president Barack Obama. The retirement this year of a liberal justice puts majority control of the court in play. Advertisement Mr Musk earlier this week said he had awarded a voter in Green Bay one million dollars for signing a petition his political action committee created targeting activist judges. Mr Musk promised 100 dollars to any registered Wisconsin voter who signed the petition or forwarded it to someone who did. That raised questions about whether the petition violated Wisconsin law that makes it a felony to offer, give, lend or promise to lend or give anything of value to induce a voter to cast a ballot or not vote. Mr Schimels campaign spokesperson did not immediately return a message early Friday about whether Mr Schimel would attend the event with Mr Musk. Advertisement Mr Schimel, a former attorney general, also did not respond to a question about whether he thought the giveaway was legal. Donald Trump said the whole country is watching the forthcoming vote in Wisconsin (Pool via AP) Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul, a Democrat, did not respond to messages Thursday or early Friday about Mr Musks giveaways. Crawfords campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman, though, called Mr Musks visit to Wisconsin a last-minute desperate distraction. Wisconsinites dont want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and, on Tuesday, voters should reject Musks lackey Brad Schimel, he said. Advertisement Mr Musks political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the White House election last year, offering to pay a million dollars a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. During last years presidential race, Philadelphias district attorney sued in an attempt to stop the payments under Pennsylvania law. But a judge said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through to election day. Mr Musk and groups he funds have already spent more than 20 million dollars (15.4 million) in an effort to elect Mr Schimel, while billionaire George Soros has given two million dollars to bolster Ms Crawford, and Democratic Illinois governor JB Pritzker has donated 1.5 million dollars. Mr Musk got involved in the race just days after his electric car company, Tesla, filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin in an effort to open dealerships in the state. Ms Crawford and her allies have accused Mr Musk of trying to buy influence on the court given that Teslas lawsuit could end up before the justices. The race comes as the Wisconsin Supreme Court is also expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Wisconsin is one of a handful of true battleground states, which only intensifies the focus on court races where rules for voting will be decided. Mr Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 and 2024 by less than a percentage point, but he lost it in 2020 by a similar margin. Five of the past seven presidential elections in the state have been decided by less than a percentage point. More than 81 million dollars (62 million) has been spent on the Supreme Court race so far, obliterating the record for a judicial race in the US of 51 million dollars (39 million) set in Wisconsin just two years ago, according to Brennan Centre tallies. A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Friday, killing more than 150 people and destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam. At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least eight died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise building was under construction collapsed. Advertisement The 7.7 magnitude earthquake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmars second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Thailands defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai earlier said 90 people were missing at the site where a high-rise building under construction collapsed in the powerful earthquake. Seven people were rescued earlier on Friday from the collapsed building near Bangkoks popular Chatuchak Market. The epicentre of the earthquake was in neighbouring Myanmar which is embroiled in a brutal civil war that has already caused a widespread humanitarian crisis. Advertisement Rescuers work at the site the high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok (Wason Wanichakorn/AP) The full extent of the death, injury and destruction in Myanmar was not yet clear. Myanmars government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas, and videos from the country showed multiple collapsed houses and buckled and cracked roads. The multi-story structure in Bangkok collapsed after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck at midday local time on Friday, sending a crane on top toppling to the ground and a massive plume of dust into the air. A dramatic video circulated on social media showed the collapse of the building, which was under construction, while onlookers screamed and ran. Police told The Associated Press they were responding to the scene, and had no immediate information on how many workers were on the site at the time of the collapse. Advertisement One construction worker was killed when rubble from the collapsing building site hit his truck and another was crushed by the falling debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters. Rescuers carry an injured person from the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok (Sakchai Lalit/AP) Rescuers said the rubble is still too unstable for them to try to find people possibly trapped beneath. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake. All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic, said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkoks many centres shopping for camera equipment. Advertisement I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall. Workers from an Ikea in a high-rise shopping centre and others seek shelter in Bangkoks Benjasiri Park (Adam Schreck/AP) Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Mr Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park, away from the tall buildings. I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense, he said. Lots of chaos. Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer working in central Bangkok, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking as it moved from the shockwaves. Advertisement She and her colleagues ran down 12 flights of stairs. In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok, she said. Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse, he said. As he came onto the street, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool. When I saw the building, oh my God, thats when it hit me, he said. There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really. People wait to be told it is safe to go back inside the Sathorn Gardens condominium building in Bangkok (Brian P D Hannon/AP) The US Geological Survey and Germanys GFZ centre for geosciences said the incident was at a shallow 6.2 miles, with an epicentre in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports. A state of emergency was declared in six regions and states in Myanmar. State-run MRTV television said the military-run governments proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay. A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. People evacuated from buildings gather in the street in Bangkok (Chutima Lalit/AP) Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok. They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake. The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook. Thailands Department of Disaster Prevention said the earthquake was felt in almost all regions of the country. The epicentre of the earthquake was 30 miles east of the city of Monywa in Myanmar. Damaged pagodas in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP) In the capital Naypyitaw, the earthquake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes. In Mandalay, the countrys second-largest city and close to the epicentre, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook. A destroyed monastery in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP) While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures. In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the road connecting Mandalay and Myanmars largest city, Yangon, were also damaged. Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. Vehicles on a road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar which was damaged by the earthquake (Aung Shine Oo/AP) The Red Cross said downed power lines are adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state. Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage, the Red Cross said. Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered. Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in Mandalay, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area. This disaster will have left people devastated and in need of drinking water, food and shelter, said Julie Mehigan, head of Asia, Middle East and Europe for Christian Aid. Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world. Even before this heartbreaking earthquake, we know conflict and displacement has left countless people in real need. Rescue workers help an injured women who was trapped under a building in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP) To the northeast, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people could not stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. Pope Francis, who is convalescing after a five-week hospital stay for life-threatening double pneumonia, offered prayers to the victims of the earthquake. The pope has been informed of the disaster in Myanmar and is praying for the dramatic situation and for the many victims, also in Thailand, the Vatican said in a statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed putting Ukraine under external governance under the UN as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement. Speaking to the crew of a Russian nuclear submarine in televised remarks broadcast early on Friday, Mr Putin reaffirmed his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal. Advertisement Under Ukraines constitution it is illegal for the country to hold national elections while the country is under martial law. Russian President Vladimir Putin with a crew member of the nuclear-powered submarine Arkhangelsk at the Atomflot, a service base for nuclear-powered fleet, in Murmansk, Russia (Kirill Zykov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Mr Putin claimed that any agreement that is signed with the current Ukrainian government could be challenged by its successors and said new elections could be held under external governance. Under the auspices of the United Nations, with the United States, even with European countries, and, of course, with our partners and friends, we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine, Mr Putin said. He added that it would allow the country to hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the trust of the people, and then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty. Advertisement He added that such external governance is just one of the options, but did not elaborate. Mr Putins remarks came hours after the conclusion of a summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron that considered plans to deploy troops to Ukraine to cement an eventual peace deal. Mr Macron said several other nations want to be part of the force alongside France and the UK. Russia has warned it would not accept any troops from Nato members as part of a prospective peacekeeping force. Advertisement Mr Macron and other participants of the Paris summit on Thursday accused Russia of only pretending to want a negotiated settlement. They are playing games and theyre playing for time, said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. We cant let them drag this out while they continue prosecuting their illegal invasion. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, but quickly accused each other of violations, underscoring the challenges to negotiating a broader peace. Advertisement Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer walks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky as he leaves the UK ambassadors residence in Paris, on Thursday (Stephanie Lecocq/PA) Russia launched 163 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine late on Thursday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said 89 of them were downed and 51 more jammed. The drones damaged multiple residential buildings and injured a 19-year-old in Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said. In Poltava, drones damaged warehouses, administrative building, and a high-voltage transformer, according to regional head Volodymyr Kohut. Damage to buildings and infrastructure facilities was also reported by the authorities in the Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions. Advertisement The Russian Defence Ministry said that Ukrainian forces struck a gas metering station in Sudzha in the Kursk region with US-made HIMARS rockets, destroying the facility. It said another Ukrainian strike on an energy facility in Russias Bryansk region led to a power cut-off, and added that air defences downed 19 Ukrainian drones that attempted to strike an oil refinery in Saratov. The ministry charged that the continuing strikes show that Kyivs pledge of adherence to a US-proposed halt on strikes on energy facilities was just another ruse by Zelensky to prevent the collapse of Ukrainian defences and to restore military potential with the help of European allies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy assets was a sign that Mr Zelensky cannot control his military. The Ukrainian armed forces arent following orders from the countrys leadership and are continuing attempts to strike Russias energy infrastructure, Mr Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. He said Russia will continue sticking to the halt on strikes on energy facilities but reserves the right to opt out of the deal if violations continue. While Ukraine has agreed to a full, 30-day ceasefire that US President Donald Trump has proposed, Mr Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraines military mobilisation demands rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies. Mr Putin declared in overnight remarks that the Russian military has gained steam and is now pushing offensives all along the front line. Our troops, our guys are moving forward and liberate one territory after another, he said. Our troops are holding strategic initiative all along the line of contact. He noted that Russia is open to a peaceful settlement, but emphasised the need to remove root causes that led to the current situation. We certainly need to ensure Russias security for a long historic perspective, he said. Mr Putin has demanded that Kyiv withdraw its forces from the four regions Moscow has partially seized. He also wants Ukraine to renounce joining Nato, sharply cut its army and legally protect Russian language and culture to keep the country in Moscows orbit. Russian officials also have said that any prospective peace deal should involve unfreezing Russian assets in the West and lifting other US and European Union sanctions. The Trump administration has said it would consider potential sanctions relief. Ukraines Co-ordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War of Ukraine said on Friday that it has repatriated the bodies of 909 Ukrainian soldiers, the largest one-time number since the start of the invasion. Russian war bloggers said that Ukraine has handed the bodies of 43 Russian soldiers in return. Russia said on Friday it had recaptured another village in its Kursk region, where it is seeking to finally expel Ukrainian troops after nearly eight months of fighting. But pro-Moscow military bloggers expressed concern about the situation in Belgorod, an adjacent region of Russia where Ukrainian troops staged an incursion this month. Advertisement In Kursk, the Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had recaptured the village of Gogolevka, one of only a handful of settlements still held by Ukraine out of around 100 that it seized last August. Ukraine's General Staff said its military had stopped 18 Russian assaults in Kursk region over the past day. It did not comment on the situation in Belgorod. Open source mapping from Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian military blogging resource, showed Russian forces in control of some but not all of Gogolevka, and indicated Kyiv's troops still controlled just under 80 square kilometres of Kursk. Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports. Advertisement Russian president Vladimir Putin visited Kursk this month in a sign of increasing confidence that Russia will shortly win it back, depriving Ukraine of a bargaining chip in future peace talks that the United States is trying to arrange. In Belgorod, Russia first said on March 18th that Ukrainian units had tried to push across the border. As of Friday, several of Russia's influential war bloggers said Ukrainian groups were maintaining a foothold inside the region. One of them, Arkhangel Spetsnaza, said Ukrainian troops were still present in the settlement of Popovka, and fighting continued, adding that "the situation remains tense". Another, Rybar, said there had been heavy clashes in Popovka and each side was hitting the other with drones. A third blog, Two Majors, said Russian forces were continuing defensive operations in the region. "There are constant strikes on concentrations of Ukrainian Armed Forces, but the enemy still has serious offensive potential for this direction and has not abandoned plans for further breakthroughs, including in new areas of the front," Two Majors posted on Telegram. Newly released police body cam footage has revealed that Gene Hackman's wife, Betsy Arakawa, had expressed concerns about a suspicious man following them before their tragic deaths. The footage, obtained by Fox News, includes a conversation with Arakawa's hairstylist, Christopher, who informed authorities that the couple had encountered the unidentified man on multiple occasions. According to Christopher, Arakawa was deeply unsettled after she and Hackman were followed from their gated community to a restaurant in White Rock. "She said, 'Christopher, I'm surprised that security didn't [know] how he got there,'" he recalled. According to Us Magazine, the same man allegedly approached them at the restaurant with a folder of photos, seeking Hackman's autograph. Later, he reportedly returned with a bottle of wine, which they declined. Arakawa confronts the individual, telling him to "have more respect." The footage was released nearly a month after Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 64, were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on February 26, 2024. Authorities later determined that Arakawa died first from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease linked to exposure to rodent droppings. Initially believed to have passed on February 11, her actual date of death remains uncertain. Hackman died a week later on February 18 from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease cited as a contributing factor. The hairstylist of Betsy Arakawa, Gene Hackmans late wife, has revealed in newly released bodycam footage that Arakawa was fearful of a stalker in the... https://t.co/zjGFBplx9x Far Out Magazine (@FarOutMag) March 26, 2025 Police Ruled Out Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Hackman and Arakawa's Deaths In an emotional exchange captured on body cam footage, a maintenance worker expressed his grief over Hackman's passing. "He was just a normal person," the worker said, struggling to hold back tears. "They treated me really well. And like her [Arakawa], she was a sweetheart." The footage also includes conversations between police and witnesses who speculated on the cause of death, initially considering the possibility of a carbon monoxide leak. Authorities initially considered carbon monoxide poisoning as a potential cause but later ruled it out after tests confirmed that neither Hackman nor Arakawa had been exposed, USA Today said. A necropsy report revealed that one of their German shepherds, Zinfandel, tragically died due to starvation and dehydration. The dog was found in close proximity to Arakawa's body, while two other dogs were discovered alive inside the home. A contractor who worked for Hackman and Arakawa also shared his experience of finding Arakawa's body. He said he had grown concerned after not hearing from the couple for three weeks and contacted Arakawa's mother to request a wellness check. Upon entering their home, he discovered Arakawa in the bathroom. "I was close to them both, and they treated me like gold for 16 years," the contractor said. "I'm major heartbroken over this." Originally published on Enstarz US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration would boost military ties with the Philippines to strengthen deterrence against threats from the communist Chinese and ensure freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea. Mr Hegseth spoke on Friday during a meeting with president Ferdinand Marcos Jr in the Philippines, his first stop in his first trip to Asia, to reaffirm Washingtons ironclad commitment to the region under Mr Trump. Advertisement Ahead of the visit, China called the United States a predator and an unreliable ally. Mr Trumps America First foreign policy thrust has triggered concerns in Asia about the scale and depth of the US commitment to the region. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, centre, along with Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Romeo Brawner (AP/Gerard Carreon) Mr Hegseths decision to make the Philippines his first stop in Asia, followed by Japan both US treaty allies facing territorial disputes with China was the strongest assurance yet by the US under Mr Trump to maintain a security presence in the region. Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the communist Chinese, Mr Hegseth told Mr Marcos. Advertisement Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict, to ensure that there is free navigation, whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea. Peace through strength is a very real thing, Mr Hegseth said. He praised the Philippines for standing very firm to defend its interests in the contested waters. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, a major security and global trade route. Advertisement The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims to the resource-rich and busy waters, but confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces in the last two years. Chinese forces have used powerful water cannons and dangerous manoeuvres in the high seas to block what Beijing said were encroachments by Philippine ships into Chinas waters. Chinese military aircraft have also approached Philippine patrol planes at alarmingly close distances to drive them away from the Scarborough Shoal, a hotly disputed fishing atoll in the disputed waterway. Under the previous Biden administration, the US has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to help defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea. Advertisement Mr Hegseth echoed that pledge by expressing the ironclad commitment of Mr Trump and him to the Mutual Defence Treaty and to the partnership. Mr Marcos told the US defence chief that by visiting the Philippines first in Asia, he sends a very strong message of the commitment of both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific region, within the South China Sea. We have always understood the principle that the greatest force for peace in this part of the world would be the United States, Mr Marcos said. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr meets with US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, third left, at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila (AP/Basilio Sepe) Ahead of Mr Hegseths visit, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said China opposes interference from outside countries in the South China Sea. Advertisement US-Philippines military cooperation must not harm the security interests of other countries or undermine regional peace and stability, he said on Thursday in a monthly news conference. He added without elaborating that the United States has an astonishing record of breaking its promises and abandoning its allies throughout its history. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun separately warned the Philippines in a news conference on Tuesday, that nothing good could come out of opening the door to a predator. He added: Those who willingly serve as chess pieces will be deserted in the end. Mr Hegseths visit to the Philippines comes a month before the longtime treaty allies hold the Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder to shoulder, their largest annual combat exercises that include live-fire drills. In recent years, the exercises have been held near the South China Sea and the sea border between the Philippines and Taiwan. The defence secretary projected composure and camaraderie, as he had received harsh criticism for texting attack plans to a Signal group that included top-level US security officials and the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine. Vice President JD Vance, his wife and other senior US officials have visited an American military base in Greenland in a trip that was scaled back after Greenlanders and Danes were angered that the original itinerary was planned without consulting them. Soon after arriving, Mr Vance briefly addressed US troops stationed at the base as he and his wife sat down to lunch with them, saying that the administration of Donald Trump is very interested in Arctic security. Advertisement As you all know, its a big issue and its only going to get bigger over the coming decades, Mr Vance said, noting that he was the first US vice president to visit Greenland. The revised trip came as relations between the US and the Nordic country soured after Donald Trump repeatedly suggested the United States should, in some form, control the mineral-rich semi-autonomous territory of Denmark a traditional US ally and Nato member. JD Vance and Usha Vance ate a meal with soldiers (Jim Watson/Pool via AP) Fridays one-day visit to the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the north-west coast of Greenland, has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. It also reduced the likelihood that Mr Vance and his wife will cross paths with residents angered by Mr Trumps annexation announcements. Advertisement Ahead of the visit, four of the five parties elected to Greenlands parliament earlier this month agreed to form a new, broad-based coalition government, banding together to resist Mr Trumps designs on the territory. People take part in a march ending in front of the US consulate, under the slogan, Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, in Nuuk, Greenland (Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that the visit, which was originally set for three days, created unacceptable pressure. On Thursday, she was cited by Danish public broadcaster DR as saying: We really want to work with the Americans on defence and security in the kingdom. But Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. Initially, Usha Vance had announced a solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut. Advertisement People at a demonstration march ending in front of the US consulate, under the slogan, Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, in Nuuk, Greenland (Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) Her husband then subsequently said he would join her on that trip, only to change that itinerary again, after protests from Greenland and Denmark, to a one-day visit by the couple to the military post only. Nonetheless, in an interview on Wednesday, Mr Trump repeated his desire for US control of Greenland. Asked if the people there were eager to become US citizens, Mr Trump said he did not know but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them. Inhabitants of Greenlands capital, Nuuk, which is about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) south of Pituffik, voiced concern about Mr Vances visit and the US interest in their island. Advertisement Cora Hoy, 22, said Mr Vance was welcome if he wants to see it but of course Greenland is not for sale. She added that its not normal around here with all the attention Greenland is getting. I feel now every day is about (Trump) and I just want to get away from it. Its all a bit crazy. Of course the population here is a bit shook up, said Inuk Kristensen, 30. Advertisement My opinion is the same as everyones: Of course you dont do things this way. You dont just come here and say that you want to buy the place. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources. The remote Pituffik Space Base is the US Department of Defences northernmost installation. The base was built following a 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the US. It supports missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the US and Nato. The Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, in northern Greenland (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, file) The Pituffik base is located about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) north of the the Arctic Circle and 1,524 kilometres (947 miles) south of the North Pole. The base is locked in by ice for nine months of the year, but its airfield remains open all year round. It is in constant darkness from November to February and constant daylight from May to August. It is operated by the 821st Space Base Group and is also home to the worlds northernmost deepwater sea port. During his first term, Mr Trump floated the idea of purchasing the worlds largest island, even as Denmark insisted it was not for sale. The people of Greenland also have firmly rejected Mr Trumps plans. Mr Vance has several times criticised long-standing European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonising partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the US. In the meantime, opponents of Mr Trumps plans to control Greenland announced a rally in front of the American embassy in the Danish capital for Saturday, DR reported on Thursday. US Vice President JD Vance and his wife are due to visit an American military base in Greenland in a trip that was scaled back after an uproar by Greenlanders and Danes who were irked that the original itinerary was planned without consulting them. The couples revised trip to the semi-autonomous Danish territory comes as relations between the US and the Nordic country have soured after US President Donald Trump repeatedly suggested that the United States should, in some form, control the mineral-rich territory of Denmark a traditional US ally and Nato member. Advertisement People take part in a march ending in front of the US consulate, under the slogan, Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, in Nuuk, Greenland (Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) Fridays one-day visit to the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. It will also reduce the likelihood that Mr Vance and his wife will cross paths with residents angered by Mr Trumps annexation announcements. Ahead of the visit, four of the five parties elected to Greenlands parliament earlier this month agreed to form a new, broad-based coalition government, banding together to resist Mr Trumps designs on the territory. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that the visit, which was originally set for three days, created unacceptable pressure. Advertisement On Thursday, she was cited by Danish public broadcaster DR as saying: We really want to work with the Americans on defence and security in the kingdom. But Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. Initially, Usha Vance had announced a solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut. People at a demonstration march ending in front of the US consulate, under the slogan, Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, in Nuuk, Greenland (Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) Her husband then subsequently said he would join her on that trip, only to change that itinerary again, after protests from Greenland and Denmark, to a one-day visit by the couple to the military post only. Nonetheless, in an interview on Wednesday, Mr Trump repeated his desire for US control of Greenland. Advertisement Asked if the people there were eager to become US citizens, Mr Trump said he did not know but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them. Inhabitants of Greenlands capital, Nuuk, which is about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) south of Pituffik, voiced concern about Mr Vances visit and the US interest in their island. Cora Hoy, 22, said Mr Vance was welcome if he wants to see it but of course Greenland is not for sale. She added that its not normal around here with all the attention Greenland is getting. Advertisement I feel now every day is about (Trump) and I just want to get away from it. Its all a bit crazy. Of course the population here is a bit shook up, said Inuk Kristensen, 30. My opinion is the same as everyones: Of course you dont do things this way. You dont just come here and say that you want to buy the place. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources. Advertisement The remote Pituffik Space Base is the US Department of Defences northernmost installation. The base was built following a 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the US. It supports missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the US and Nato. The Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, in northern Greenland (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, file) The Pituffik base is located about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) north of the the Arctic Circle and 1,524 kilometres (947 miles) south of the North Pole. The base is locked in by ice for nine months of the year, but its airfield remains open all year round. It is in constant darkness from November to February and constant daylight from May to August. It is operated by the 821st Space Base Group and is also home to the worlds northernmost deepwater sea port. During his first term, Mr Trump floated the idea of purchasing the worlds largest island, even as Denmark insisted it wasnt for sale. The people of Greenland also have firmly rejected Mr Trumps plans. Mr Vance has several times criticised long-standing European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonising partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the US. In the meantime, opponents of Mr Trumps plans to control Greenland announced a rally in front of the American embassy in the Danish capital for Saturday, DR reported on Thursday. Credit: Matt Golding Australias equity-heavy super funds have become more equity heavy recently. And theyve increasingly been going offshore for those needs after reaching something of a saturation point domestically; we estimate they now own just under a quarter of the ASX, Dynan wrote. In the decade to 2024, the typical growth funds allocation to international shares has increased from 28 per cent to 31.7 per cent, research house Chant West says, while the allocation to Australian shares has fallen from 26.3 per cent to 24.4 per cent. Much of the money invested overseas ends up in American shares, which account for about 60 per cent of the worlds equity markets by value. IFM Investors last month said super funds had $US400 billion ($635 billion) invested in the US, and it predicted this would pass $US1 trillion in a decade, releasing the numbers as super fund bosses and Treasurer Jim Chalmers met US officials in Washington, DC. Australian savings are not only in invested in US corporate giants such as Tesla, Meta and Amazon, but also unlisted assets such as container terminals, toll roads or gas pipelines. Overall, the overseas foray has paid off handsomely for members. Chant West senior investment manager Mano Mohankumar say international shares have beaten ASX returns over the past five, seven and 10 years. Over 10 years, for example, international shares have returned an average of 13.2 per cent a year, compared with 8.5 per cent for Australian shares. He describes the outperformance of international shares as meaningful. Thats benefited super fund members, he says. Loading The recent market volatility, however, has been a reminder that with high returns can come more volatility much of which has been in response to Trump. Super funds dipped in February due to a Wall Street sell-off that rippled around the world, and Chant West estimates the typical growth fund is down about 2 per cent since the end of January. Even so, super returns were about 2.2 per cent in January, meaning returns are close to flat since the start of the year. Super giants stay the course Investors think this sort of volatility will be more common during Trumps term, so could this cause funds to rethink their strategies? The message from big super funds has been that they are committed to staying the course, despite the market ups and downs weve seen lately. Sam Sicilia, chief investment officer of the $115 billion fund Hostplus, said short-term market movements were a natural part of investment cycles, stressing the fund was diversified across different types of assets, industries and markets. While we have investments in the US, they are part of this broader diversification strategy, and we do not anticipate any significant changes in response to current market dynamics, he said in a statement. Australian Retirement Trust chief investment officer Ian Patrick said the fund factored in geopolitical risk, and its ability to invest around the world meant it had more ability to diversify its investments. Were in a unique position due to how long-term our investment strategies are were looking at investment over decades, not months or a year, he said in a statement. AustralianSupers investment chief, Mark Delaney, also told a Melbourne conference that volatility would probably continue, but the fund could handle such swings. Delaney said recent volatility has been within the context of a pretty solid underlying economic backdrop, according to Bloomberg, and the fund could absorb it. The fund has said it puts about 70 in every dollar of contributions it receives into overseas investments. Loading Despite the recent swings on sharemarkets, experts largely agree that that volatility caused by Trump is unlikely to spark any major changes in the sectors long-term push to invest more overseas. Thats because investing overseas allows diversification (not putting too many eggs in one basket) that isnt possible to get in Australia, given the sheer size of the super pool. Executive director of SuperRatings Kirby Rappell says he hasnt seen much change in super funds overseas plans, but there could be changes in the type of assets funds invest in. For example, they may seek out assets less likely to be harmed by tariffs, such as the defence industry. There might be a shift in the mix of which sectors are more favoured by funds, he says. Aside from US shares, another big growth area has been in unlisted assets such as property, infrastructure and private equity. Indeed, the growth in super funds holdings of these assets in the decade to 2024 was even greater than the increase in holdings of offshore, according to recent Chant West data. 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 Going into his fourth season of Taskmaster Australia, Tom Cashman is accustomed to our nations finest comedians calling him names. In fact, he kind of likes it. Some of the contestants Im friends with, so its quite natural joking around, he says. But it is [strange tormenting] people like Julia Morris, Dave Hughes, Wil Anderson and Peter Helliar the generation above me that I grew up watching When its someone you idolise calling you a piece of shit, its like Hey, Im just glad you know my name! Loading Over the past three seasons, Cashman who stars as the much-maligned referee-type figure, and is also involved in production and the rest of the Taskmaster team have made a fine art of light humiliation. The show, based on Alex Hornes hugely popular UK format that has run for a decade, subjects five comedians to strange tasks designed to provoke chaos, creativity and a fair amount of cringe. The first episode of the new season included Cashman slyly bamboozling Australias sweetheart Lisa McCune, and Dave Hughes flopping over in the mud while trying to throw balls in the rain. But the real magic, Cashman says, is in the moments that catch you by surprise. Lets look back at some of the best. Danielle Walkers passwords crisis Advertisement This infamous task from season one which brought Cashman, the stoic straight man, to tears required contestants to guess 26 passwords. Others soon figured out that each word must start with a different letter of the alphabet; Danielle Walker spent more than one-and-a-half hours naming every random word that came into her mind. This is someone truly going through a crisis, Cashman says. The task took so long, he says, production had to pay the entire crew overtime. It was the last task we filmed on a Friday and I swear they structure the order of the tasks to mess with you psychologically, Walker says. My brain felt like it was melting. When she watched the footage for the first time, she went even further: That was the worst thing thats ever happened to me in my whole life. Concetta Caristo and the mystery scales When youre coming up with the tasks, you have a vague idea of what might happen, Cashman says. The passwords one, for example, was designed for the turmoil Walker experienced. This task ... not so much. Not in a million years would anyone have ever predicted that someone would think what Concetta thought. When asked to record the largest weight on a set of scales on a wall, an increasingly frustrated Caristo spent the whole time driving a truck onto an irrelevant mat on the floor thinking there was some kind of Bluetooth weighing machine underneath. Advertisement Its the hardest Ive ever tried not to laugh [at] in my life, Cashman says. He stayed stone-faced about it for months so it wouldnt be spoiled for her before the studio reveal. Watching this back, I cant believe it never occurred to me to take the scales off the wall, Caristo says. I didnt win Taskmaster, but I did make Tom cry, which is way better. Peter Helliar laughing for nine minutes straight It is exactly what it sounds like. Although, a little meaner. Peter Helliar was the only contestant given this task: to continuously laugh as long as possible. I had a headache for an hour after filming this, Helliar says. It was a rollercoaster because I would swing back and forth between fake laughing to real laughing. When I saw Tom Cashman crying and laughing that certainly helped. Cashman adds: I reckon Peter Helliar was actually a bit annoyed. He had a sore neck for a few days afterwards. He mentioned it a few times. And then he found out he was the only one to do it I do feel a bit bad. But the funny overwhelms the badness. Hes such a lovely and positive person. Its funny to pervert that. Advertisement Josh Thomas sock hunt Clocking the longest time on this list, Josh Thomas spent one hour and 43 minutes hunting for a toy minivan in a red sock (its more entertaining than it sounds). Loading Others noticed fairly quickly that Cashman was wearing said item. But Thomas instead retrieved and inspected dozens of socks hanging from the exterior of the Taskmaster house. Towards the end I was deliberately making quite clear puns about feet, Cashman says. I reckon I made 20 different allusions to the fact that [the toy] was in my shoe. When Thomas eventually realised what was going on, he immediately left the task. He gets cranky when hes tired so he was legitimately mad at me after that, Cashman says. Thomas was the only comedian unavailable to provide comment for this story. But lets give him the benefit of the doubt that hes not still mad about it. Advertisement A senior media adviser with NSW Corrective Services has been charged with possession of child abuse material and prohibited drugs. NSW Police charged Matthew John Bachl, 38, on Friday after officers with Sydney City Police Area Command under Strike Force Salta executed a search warrant at a Chatswood unit, seizing electronic devices and the drug gamma butyrolactone (GBL). Matthew Bachl has been placed on special leave from his role with NSW Corrective Services. Credit: Instagram Bachl was arrested and taken to Chatswood Police Station, where he was charged with two counts of possession of child abuse material and one count of possession of a prohibited drug. He appeared in Hornsby Local Court, where he was granted conditional bail. Follow our live coverage of the 2025 Federal election here. The major parties are harvesting voters personal details in the guise of helping people apply for postal ballots at the very start of a hotly contested election campaign. Labor and the Liberal Party both have websites that claim to enable people to apply for postal ballots, but before redirecting users to the Australian Electoral Commission website make them fill in personal details, including their full name, phone number, address and email. The major parties both have websites set up to harvest personal data from voters under the guise of helping apply for postal votes. The AEC is the only place voters can register for any form of voting. The party websites offer no advantage above what the AEC already provides. Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin says he wants to ensure his predecessor John Pesutto remains in parliament despite the threat he could be bankrupted by his defamation loss to a Liberal party room colleague. The Age revealed on Thursday the NSW developer who helped bankroll Liberal MP Moira Deemings Federal Court defamation win through a loan had no interest in bailing out Pesutto after Liberal elders tried to spare the party a potential byelection and further distraction. Opposition Leader Brad Battin is pictured earlier this month. Credit: Christopher Hopkins Pesutto was ordered to pay Deeming $300,000 in damages, as well as her legal bill, when the Federal Court in December found he repeatedly defamed her by falsely implying she associated with neo-Nazis. The court has been hearing debate on what that figure should be. Deemings team is seeking almost $2.4 million. That, on top of his own costs and the damages bill, would push Pesutto perilously close to bankruptcy despite financial support from all living former Liberal Victorian premiers, including Jeff Kennett, Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine. London: The militant climate activist group Just Stop Oil has announced it will end its high-profile campaigns of disruptive protests, including road blockades and attacks on cultural landmarks, as it shifts its approach to tackle climate change. In a statement, the group revealed it would hang up the high-vis vests after one final demonstration in London at the end of April. Just Stop Oil supporters are arrested after they blocked a road in London as part of a series of guerilla protests in 2022. Credit: Getty Images Formed in 2022, Just Stop Oil rose to prominence with attention-grabbing stunts targeting iconic artworks such as Vincent van Goghs Sunflowers, sites such as Stonehenge, and high-profile events such as snooker matches and a West End performance of The Tempest. Two members of the group aged in their 80s also damaged the case around the Magna Carta, at the British Library. Currently, there is a 3% buffer on servicing rates... this could be reduced to 1.5 or 2% and it would allow a lot more first-home buyers to get into the market, while still being a safety measure, he said. President Donald Trump withdrew right-wing firebrand Elise Stefanik as his nominee for US ambassador to the United Nations Thursday, as Republican concerns mount about holding their narrow majority in Congress. The New York congresswoman is just the second Trump cabinet pick not to go through, after Matt Gaetz pulled out of running to be attorney general following allegations of sexual misconduct. Stefanik is a vocal Trump ally and pro-Israel stalwart. "With a very tight Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat" in the House of Representatives, Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Trump said it was "essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress." "The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations," he added. The president said he had asked Stefanik to stay in Congress and "rejoin the House leadership team," although he did not say in what capacity. Republicans won both the House and Senate in the November 2024 election that returned Trump to the White House, but they have a very tight lead in the lower chamber. They control the House by 218 seats to 213, giving them just a tiny margin and making it difficult to pass key legislation. Two crucial special elections will be held on April 1 to fill the seats vacated by Mike Waltz, who is now Trump's national security advisor, and Gaetz. Stefanik has effectively been in limbo since Trump's nomination, keeping her place in the House for a number of key votes. A firebrand who was considered a moderate before the Trump era, Stefanik is seen as one of the most vocal supporters in Congress of both Israel and US Jewish causes. In January, she railed against "anti-Semitic rot" in the United Nations as she was grilled by senators at her confirmation hearing. She also called for UN reform to ensure its tax dollars were not "propping up entities that are counter to American interests, anti-Semitic, or engaging in fraud, corruption or terrorism." During that hearing, Stefanik noted that she voted to defund UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Former president Joe Biden halted its US funding over allegations that members were possibly involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks. Stefanik also revealed that she agreed with far-right Israeli ministers who believe Israel has a "biblical right to the entire West Bank" -- but avoided being pinned down on whether she supported Palestinian self-determination. "Technology should be doing the heavy lifting around the data entry," Srbinovski said. "All the bits and pieces, so brokers can continue to serve their customers, spend more time with their customers, have meaningful conversations with their customers, get to know their requirements and objectives what they want to do, and not just with the loan and then move on. [Technology] gives brokers more time to serve more people, more customers." Implications of Thomsons actions ASIC, which has recently stepped up its fight against online investment scams by taking down more than 10,000 fraudulent websites and ads this year alone, concluded that Thomsons actions demonstrated he is not a fit and proper person to engage in the financial services industry. UB School of Nursing to bring psychedelic medicine into curriculum BUFFALO, N.Y. A University at Buffalo School of Nursing researcher plans to bring scientific, evidence-based education on psychedelic-assisted therapies into the universitys nursing instruction programs. Leading the initiative is Clinical Assistant Professor Zoe Spyralatos, DNP, a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. She has extensive experience assessing, diagnosing and providing pharmacological treatment and education for patients with a variety of mental health disorders, including addiction. She also has become an advocate for the increasingly popular field of psychedelic-assisted mental health care. Studies have shown psychedelics can have a rapid antidepressant response and other benefits for mental health, says Spyralatos. When working with depression, it may take patients a long time to achieve those effects with therapy and antidepressants. This may be a way to work a little faster and can be used as an adjunct to treatment. Spyralatos was recently appointed a faculty fellow in the University Psychedelic Education Program (U-PEP), which will meet June 2-7 at the Usona Institute in Wisconsin. U-PEP aims to broaden education about the therapeutic use of psychedelic medicines by providing faculty with knowledge and resources to develop and integrate this evidence-based content into nursing curriculums. We are pleased that Dr. Spyralatos has been selected as a U-PEP Faculty Fellow to advance our efforts to equip our nurse practitioner students and faculty with the most recent approaches to the use of psychedelic-assisted care, and then integrating this knowledge into our programs based on evidence, says School of Nursing Dean Annette B. Wysocki. The program was first piloted by the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University schools of nursing and social work. As a fellow, she will foster the development of innovative care to address ongoing and unmet needs in mental health care, and act as a community resource for other psychiatric and mental health service providers. Spyralatos acknowledges the unconventional nature of psychedelic research, but says there is ample research in peer-reviewed scientific journals of patients experiencing dramatic results from the supervised use of psychedelics. The improvements have been known to last for weeks or months after a single or a few treatments. Kwasi Adusei, DNP, who graduated from UBs School of Nursing with Spyralatos in 2019, piqued her interest in psychedelic medicine when they both were graduate students at UB. Psychedelics can act as a phenomenal adjunct to therapy, according to Adusei, who says he has seen almost 1,000 patients specifically for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy while working for various health care groups. The reason psychedelics are really promising is because yes, again, it can help with the symptoms and the research supports that significantly. But the way it can help with symptoms is by helping people become aware the root of their issues and helping them become more investigative about their lives, says Adusei, co-founder of the Psychedelic Society of Western New York and owner/founder of Mosaic Medicine, which is a private practice offering integrative and holistic psychiatric care to patients in New York and California. Spyralatos agrees and is excited to bring this novel form of care to help patients who have struggled with conventional psychological treatment. Psychedelics are not new, but they are being recognized for their healing potential, and I am honored to have been accepted into the program and to have the support of my school, says Spyralatos. I look forward to learning new insights, skills and perspectives I can share with colleagues and students, as well as applying this into my clinical practice. The White House posted a photo mocking a migrant with a criminal record who broke down in tears after being arrested this month. Concretely, the White House's official X account posted a cartoon picture of the woman crying while being handcuffed by an immigration enforcement agent. The publication has no caption, but is replying to a previous post detailing the event in question. Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, a previously deported alien felon convicted of fentanyl trafficking, was arrested by @ICEgov in Philadelphia after illegally reentering the U.S. She wept when taken into custody (picture attached). pic.twitter.com/qwTpCgTRu9 The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 18, 2025 "Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, a previously deported alien felon convicted of fentanyl trafficking, was arrested by ICE in Philadelphia after illegally reentering the U.S. She wept when taken into custody," reads the publication from March 18. ICE detailed that 36-year-old Basora Gonzalez is a Dominican national and has "prior convictions for attempted possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and aiding and abetting." She had been removed from the country and reentered unlawfully again. She had been sentenced to a year and a day in prison in 2019 and was deported in 2020. The White House's X account routinely mocks deportees, more recently uploading a video to the tune of 90s song "Closing Time" by Supersonic. The clip was accompanied by a caption consisting of a line from the song which reads "You don't have to go home but you can't stay here." The band responded swiftly criticizing the decision. In an exclusive statement to Rolling Stone magazine, the alt-rock band stated: "We did not authorize or condone the White House's use of our song in any way, And no, they didn't ask. The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely." The video shows two tattooed young men being secured in handcuffs on a runway by Border Patrol agents. It then cuts to a shot of them being escorted onto a plane in the background with a truck labeled "Border Patrol" taking up the foreground. The video is captioned with the lyrics from the song, "You don't have to go home but you can't stay here." Originally published on Latin Times By David Young, PA The trial of a former paratrooper accused of the murder of two men on Bloody Sunday is to start on September 15th. Soldier F, who cannot be identified, is accused of murdering James Wray and William McKinney when members of the Parachute Regiment shot dead 13 civil rights protesters on the streets of Derry on January 30th, 1972. He is also charged with five attempted murders during the incident in Derrys Bogside area. He has pleaded not guilty to the seven counts. A Bloody Sunday commemoration mural in Derry (Liam McBurney/PA) Judge Mr Justice Fowler fixed the date for the trial during a brief mention hearing at Belfast Crown Court on Friday afternoon. Soldier F was not in court for the hearing, instead appearing remotely by videolink. The court also heard that a separate judge has been appointed to deal with issues related to the disclosure of evidence before the trial. Mark Mulholland KC, representing Soldier F, noted that Mr Justice Fowler had previously expressed concern about fixing a date until he was confident the disclosure issues would be resolved before the trial. Mr Mulholland said: We would be confident that all matters can be dealt with well before the summer. In fact, Id like to have all these dealt with in the next eight weeks, so that theres a clear run into this case. Sam Magee KC, on behalf of the prosecution, described the disclosure issues as complex. This isnt entirely straightforward, he said. Mr Justice Fowler scheduled another mention hearing for April 11th to fix dates for the completion of legal position papers on the disclosure issues. Well fix the trial date for 15 September, he added. China releases top 10 scientific advances of 2024 Xinhua) 08:06, March 28, 2025 BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The National Natural Science Foundation of China released the country's top 10 scientific advances of 2024 during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) Annual Conference in Beijing on Thursday. The advances were mainly achieved in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, information science, chemistry, materials science, energy, earth and environmental science, and life and medical science. The list includes the Chang'e-6 mission's returned samples, which revealed volcanic activity on the far side of the moon dating back 2.8 billion years, the realization of intelligent reasoning and training using large-scale photonic computing chips, and the discovery of key evidence that supermassive black holes affect the formation and evolution of their host galaxies. The annual selection of China's top 10 scientific advances began in 2005, said Dou Xiankang, director of the foundation. This year's top 10 advancements were chosen from over 700 groundbreaking basic research achievements. The 2025 ZGC Forum runs from March 27 to 31, focusing on cutting-edge fields from large AI models to quantum technology. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said Moscow is preparing for a visit from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year. Rudenko revealed the news during a conference titled "Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda" hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) on Thursday. The Russian diplomat explained that preparations for Kim's visit were discussed during his recent trip to North Korea, which he visited just two weeks ago. "I have been to the DPRK myself just two weeks ago, where we discussed this issue among other things," Rudenko shared, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Rudenko emphasized that preparations for high-level diplomatic visits are always underway, underscoring the ongoing efforts by both countries to maintain strong relations. "We always make preparations," he noted in response to a question regarding the visit. The deputy minister also mentioned that further discussions are taking place regarding a potential visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Pyongyang. This visit would focus on continuing Russia's "strategic dialogue" with North Korea, which has been central to strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations. Earlier in March, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that an invitation for Kim to visit Russia, which was extended during President Vladimir Putin's trip to North Korea last year, remains open. However, the specific timing of Kim's visit has yet to be determined. Kim Jong-un has visited Russia twice, in 2019 and 2023, but he has not made an official visit to the country. The planned visit is expected to further deepen the already developing relationship between the two countries, particularly in the areas of military cooperation, economic partnerships, and diplomatic alignment. In recent months, reports have emerged suggesting that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia's military efforts in Ukraine. This development follows the growing alignment between Moscow and Pyongyang, particularly after their high-level meetings and Kim's personal ties with President Putin. Sources claim that these North Korean troops could be providing logistical support, technical assistance, or even direct combat aid, although specifics remain unclear. Russia and North Korea have grown closer in recent years, sharing mutual interests in countering Western influence. Kenneth Fox Foreign visitors decreased by 30 per cent in February 2025, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Some 304,300 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in February 2025, a decrease of 30 per cent compared with February 2024. The visitors spent 196 million on their trips (excluding fares), down 31 per cent compared with February 2024. The largest contingent of visitors came from Great Britain (49 per cent), and the second largest came from the United States (10 per cent). The most frequent reason for travelling to Ireland was to visit family or friends (3 per cent). The visitors stayed a total of 1.8 million nights in the country, a drop of 33 per cent when compared with February 2024. The average length of stay for foreign resident overnight visitors was 5.9 nights, down from an average of 6.2 nights in February 2024.. Commenting on the release, Gregg Patrick, statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said: The results show that 304,300 foreign visitors departed Ireland on overseas routes in February 2025, a decrease of 30 per cent compared with February 2024. "This decrease represents an acceleration of the downward year-on-year trend in foreign visitor numbers that first emerged in September 2024." The visitors' expenditure in Ireland (excluding fares) was 196 million, a decrease of 31 per cent compared with February 2024. However, the mean expenditure per visitor decreased by just 1.8 per cent to 643. In terms of revenue generated, the most important tourism markets were both Continental Europe (36 per cent) and Great Britain (36 per cent). These were followed by North America (18 per cent) and the Rest of the World (10 per cent). The most frequent reason for their journey (37 per cent) was to visit family or friends. Mr Patrick said: "More of the visitors stayed in their property or with family or friends (44 per cent) than in any other accommodation type, and the typical visit lasted 5.9 nights." Tom Tuite A Garda Superintendent has appeared in court accused of attacking a woman during an alleged incident in Dublin. Gavin O'Reilly, whose address is given on his summons as Phoenix Park, came before Judge Michele Finan at Dublin District Court on Friday. He is accused of assaulting a named woman at Strand Street Great on August 26th, 2023, and a connected charge for engaging in threatening, abusive, and insulting behaviour on the same occasion. It follows an investigation by the Garda ombudsman (Gsoc). State solicitor Rory Staines told Judge Michele Finan that this was the first listing of the case. Mr Staines confirmed he knew the accused was present and standing at the back of the courtroom. Mr O'Reilly was not required to come forward. The State solicitor applied for an adjournment to comply with a disclosure order. The defence said there was consent and that he had discussed it with his client, who did not address the court. The accused's lawyer requested a hearing be scheduled on "the earliest date possible". Judge Finan adjourned the case to the contested hearing court. She ordered it be listed for mention on April 7th, when the hearing date would be allocated. She also directed the disclosure of prosecution evidence to the defence. Judge Finan allowed Mr O'Reilly to be excused from attending on the following date after noting the State solicitor had no difficulty with that. She told the accused, "You will get your hearing date next door". He did not reply and then left the court. He was not required to address the proceedings, and no evidence concerning the alleged incident was given during the brief hearing. The assault under section two of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, which is dealt with solely at a District Court level, carries a maximum six-month sentence. Under section six of the Public Order Act, the second charge on conviction can result in a three-month term of imprisonment. Olivia Kelleher The brother of a woman who died after her throat was cut in a single swipe has said that she wanted a divorce, but her husband had told him that he would not let her go". Regin Parithapara Rajan (43) is on trial in Cork, charged with the murder of Deepa Paruthiyezhuth Dinamani (38) at Cardinal Court, Wilton, Cork, on July 14th, 2023. Regin, Deepa and their five young son moved from their native India to Ireland four months before she was found dead in a blood-soaked bed at her terraced home. She had sustained a 14cm wound to her throat and died of massive blood loss. Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan previously said in evidence that once the wound was inflicted, Deepa was breathing in and swallowing her own blood. The wound also left her unable to speak a single word. On Friday Ullas Dinamani, the younger brother and only sibling of the late Deepa, gave evidence at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork via video link. He said that Deepa, a native of Kerala, was a really great human. She was a great mother and sister. She was a good friend to me. All of the companies she worked for, they speak very highly of her. She had a good circle of friends. She was, of course, a help to their parents. Mr Dinamani said that he was aware that Regin and Deepa were experiencing marital problems. He told the jurors and Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford that he paid for his brother-in-law to attend a therapist after the couple moved to Ireland in March 2023. Mr Dinamani, who travelled to Ireland following the death of his only sibling, said that the couple had got married within a few months of meeting each other some years earlier. They had met via a website which sets up alliances for marriage. He said that everything appeared to be going well in the marriage initially, but then the couple started developing problems. Mr Dinamani said that he had talked to his brother-in-law about the situation. My sister wanted a divorce and Regin was not ready to. He said he will not let her go. I said that you should consult with a counsellor and find a solution. Mr Dinamani said that he told Regin that even if he and Deepa lived apart, they could work together so that they could both contribute to the life of their five-year-old son. I also said that it is up to them to make a decision. My sister gave him (Regin) the contact for a therapist and I was making payments for a therapist for Rejin. Under cross-examination by Brian McInerney, SC, counsel for Mr Rajan, Mr Dinamani agreed with the proposition that marriage and family is important in Indian culture. When asked if divorce was not favoured in his country, he said that the proposition wasnt completely true. It is always peoples choice. It is ultimately up to the couple. He agreed with the proposition put forward by McInerney that Deepa and Regin were effectively living as a unit under the same roof but were sleeping in separate bedrooms. Mr McInerney said that the brother of the deceased had given a statement to gardai in Ireland after her murder in which he said that he had never got the impression that his sister was scared or frightened of her husband. Mr Dinamani agreed that this was the case. Meanwhile, Det Garda Alan Johnson said that the accused had stated in his garda interviews that he had been married for eight years and that he enjoyed being a father. Mr Rajan also told gardai that he had married for love and got on well with his in-laws. Mr Rajan said that he was suffering from depression but was not on medication. Mr Rajan also told gardai that he found it hard to be without a job in Ireland and had been actively looking for work. The trial also heard from Rejani Jose, a nurse at CUH who is from Kerala in India. She was renting a room at the home of Regin and Deepa in Cork. She said that Deepa was good at everything. She has excellent English, was good at organising and a good cook, excellent in everything in my view. But I am just a bystander. I dont have an interpersonal relationship with her. Ms Jose said that Regin tried to please his wife, but she was quite indifferent to him. I used to think that he was trying to get her attention or love. They would never go out much as a family and nor were they active in the Indian community. The case will resume next Monday at 2 pm in front of the jury and Ms Justice Lankford. Kenneth Fox Ryanair has welcomed the decision by the Malta court to convict a passenger who disrupted a flight from Cologne to Malta on March 22nd by smoking onboard and refusing to follow crew instructions. The passenger pleaded guilty in court and received a 2,000 fine. Ryanair said they committed to ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a safe and respectful environment free of unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers. They have a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take action to combat unruly passenger behaviour on aircraft for the benefit of the vast majority of passengers who do not disrupt flights. A Ryanair spokesperson said: It is unacceptable that passengers, many of whom are travelling with young families, are forced to suffer unnecessary disruption because of one unruly passengers behaviour. "Ryanair supports the Malta court decision to issue a 2,000 fine to an unruly passenger who disrupted flight FR5205 from Cologne to Malta on Saturday, March 22nd. "This underscores our commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for both crew and passengers on all Ryanair flights. "Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct, and we will continue to take action, including travel bans, supporting investigations by local law enforcement authorities, and pursuing civil damages to combat passenger misconduct onboard our flights. High Court reporters A solicitor has secured a High Court injunction against the Department of Justices decision to pause the processing of his firm's applications to the Governments controversial Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP). The IIP, or golden visa scheme, allowed well-off non-EU foreign nationals who invested large sums of money in various projects to secure visas allowing them to reside in Ireland. The Government suddenly announced in 2023 that the scheme, which had run from 2012, was to be closed. However, there are still hundreds of projects in the system that remain approved that can be invested in two years after the closure was announced in February 2023. Solicitor Jonathan Cosgrove is seeking various reliefs in the High Court, including an order for the quashing of the Department of Justices decision last November pausing, prohibiting or otherwise interfering with the processing of applications to the IIP scheme made by him on behalf of various clients. Mr Cosgrove, the principal solicitor at Aidan T Stapleton Solicitors, Marys Abbey, Dublin 7, claims the level of harm posed to his practice by the Departments decision is serious and potentially existential. Last month, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty granted Mr Cosgrove leave to pursue his judicial review proceedings. In a judgment published today, Mr Justice Anthony Barr granted the injunction sought by Mr Cosgrove, preventing the Minister from continuing with the decision to pause the firm's applications until the conclusion of the judicial review proceedings in front of Ms Justice Gearty. Mr Justice Barr said he would grant the interim injunction on the grounds of fairness of procedure, noting that the pausing of the applications would have a financial impact on the solicitors practice and his ability to earn a livelihood. Mr Cosgrove alleges that he received an email on November 15, 2024, from a Department of Justice official, informing him that the department had been made aware of a complaint made to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) in relation to his practice and its involvement with the IIP. The email states that the department would be pausing the processing of all Aidan Stapleton Solicitors IIP applications while the investigation is ongoing. Mr Cosgrove says that this email did not explain the basis for or reasoning upon which this decision was made. In his grounding affidavit, Mr Cosgrove says that he believes that the decision appears to be connected to a complaint made to the LSRA made by a named individual, regarding investments made in a company. Mr Cosgrove goes on to state his belief that this complaint has also been raised with An Garda Siochana, but that his practice has not been contacted by gardai to it. Mr Cosgrove says that he fully rejects the complaint made about him. Mr Cosgrove states that the adverse effects of the Departments decision are grave, and that he has been losing clients to a competitor solicitor firm. The level of harm to the firm, its practice and staff, is serious and potentially existential, he claims. Under the scheme, non-EU nationals who were of high net worth, meaning that they had personal wealth of at least 2 million, could apply for a visa to enter and reside in the State if they could establish that they had invested between 500,000 and 1 million in an approved investment project here. After its 2023 closure, however, existing projects and applications were allowed to run through the system. There were approximately 1,500 applications in the system at the time and 400 projects that had been accepted as being suitable for investment but investors had not been obtained or identified at the time of the announcement of the closure. The matter appears before Ms Justice Gearty next month at the High Court for mention. Sign up to get our news digest delivered directly to your inbox twice a week. After weeks of awful and heartbreaking news in the cg animation industry, we have our first glimmer of hope. Montreal-headquartered Rodeo FX, which is known for its vfx services on projects like Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, The Rings of Power, and the new Dune films, has acquired Mikros Animation, the animation studio behind PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Orion and the Dark, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Previously owned by Technicolor Group, which imploded in spectacular fashion last month, Mikros Animation has worked on 17 animated features for Dreamworks Animation, Paramount Animation, and Netflix, among other studios. Mikros has also produced nearly 300 hours of episodic series that have aired on networks including Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, TF1, and France TV. (UPDATE: Mikros Animations episodic division has been separately acquired by OuiDO Proudctions. For more information, see this followup story.) This is a deeply meaningful moment for me and for all of us at Rodeo FX, Sebastien Moreau, founder & CEO of Rodeo FX, said in a statement. Welcoming Mikros Animation into our creative family isnt just about growth, its about aligning with people who share our values, our passion for storytelling, and our belief in the magic of animation. Together, were building something that goes beyond business: a creative home where artists can dream bigger, push further, and inspire the world. The acquisition, for which terms were not disclosed, includes all of Mikros Animations operations, as well as Technicolor Canadas equipment. A Rodeo spokesperson confirmed to Cartoon Brew that the vast majority of the recent headcount at Mikros in both Montreal, Canada, and Paris, France, will continue working, including creative, technical, and leadership teams. The Technicolor India group, which provided services on Mikros Animations productions, is not part of the current deal. Quebec law firm Lavery Lawyers, which served as an advisor to Technicolor Canada on the sale of Mikros Animation, said in a statement that the sale would preserve up to 207 jobs in Montreal and an additional 80 jobs at the French operation. Further, Mikros will retain its brand identity under Rodeo FX, maintaining its own slate of projects and production pipeline. That includes ongoing production on Paramount Animations third PAW Patrol feature, which is currently scheduled for release in summer 2026. Rodeo said that acquiring Mikros was part of a strategic expansion that aligns with its ongoing global growth, including the establishment of its fifth international office and studio in Paris in 2023. As a tantalizing sidenote, Rodeo FX announced its intentions last year to begin creating original stories and animation projects. Longtime Mikros Animation executive Julien Meesters has been appointed the president of the new Mikros operation under Rodeo FX. Mikros Animation and Rodeo FX have always shared a mutual respect and admiration, he said in a statement. This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for us. Joining the Rodeo FX family opens new doors for us to explore broader animation horizons and to continually reinvent ourselves. Over the years, weve built incredible stories alongside our partners. Now, were embracing new challenges and evolving landscapes to ensure Mikros Animation remains a leading home for filmmakers. Sign up to get our news digest delivered directly to your inbox twice a week. Netflix has commissioned the first live-action Scooby-Doo series. The origin tale, based on the Hanna-Barbera series which premiered 56 years ago, is set for an eight-episode first season. The modern reimagining takes place during the gangs final summer at camp. Per Netflix: Old friends Shaggy and Daphne get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma, and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets. Netflix is no stranger to commissioning live-action adaptations of animated series, and has previously done the same with One Piece and Avatar: The Last Airbender. The new Scoob series is being produced through Warner Bros. Television by Berlanti Productions (NBCs Brilliant Minds and Found, and The CWs All American) and Midnight Radio, which is the producing team of Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg. Peter Friedlander, vice president, scripted series at Netflix, said in a statement, The beloved franchise has had an impact on pop culture that is undeniable its rich with universal themes of friendship that generations of fans have long embraced. Together with creative powerhouses Berlanti Productions and Midnight Radio, were committed to delighting longtime fans and opening up a world of groovy adventures for a new era of meddling kids. The showrunners/writers/executive producers are Appelbaum (writer, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2014], Wonder Park) and Rosenberg (writer, Gone in 60 Seconds, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Venom). Other EPs are Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman (via Berlanti Productions and its overall deal with Warner Bros. Television), Andre Nemec, and Jeff Pinkner (via Midnight Radio). The Trump administration is reportedly considering pulling Rep. Elise Stefanik's candidacy to be the country's next ambassador to the UN to secure its slim majority in the House of Representatives. Punchbowl News journalist Jake Sherman, who specializes in Congress-related news, said on Thursday she could also be asked to withdraw from consideration. Stefanik has been a strong supporter of Trump and was once considered a possible vice president pick for the former president. The possibility comes as the administration is increasingly concerned about what its narrow majority in the Lower House could mean for President Donald Trump's legislative agenda, Sherman added. Republicans currently hold a 218-213 majority in the House of Representatives, the smallest margin since 1931. And the advantage could narrow further next week as the party is facing two tougher-than-expected special elections in Florida. In the state's 6th district, which is holding an election to replace National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, candidate Randy Fine raised less than $1 million and currently has a little over $90,000 on hand, while Democrat Josh Weil raised $9 million and has $1.2 million on hand. "Republicans on the Hill and in W.H. are getting a bit worried about this seat," said Jake Sherman about the race. Waltz won the district by 30 points before being tapped by Donald Trump. It is unclear if Democrats' cash advantage will be enough to pull the upset, considering that Trump won 65% of the vote in the district in November. But Weil, a teacher from Orlando, is moving forward, recently telling the Daytona Beach news-Journal that he is not "running against Mike Waltz, who is their chosen representative time after time," but against "Randy Fine, who is someone they have never elected or voted on, who is someone they have never sat back and said, 'This is our guy.'" The other election will take place in Florida's 1st district, vacated by Matt Gaetz when he sought (and ultimately failed) to become Donald Trump's attorney general. The race seems to be more comfortable for GOP candidate Jimmy Patronis, facing opponent Gay Valimont. Republicans have won the seat every election since 1994. Originally published on Latin Times Advertisement December EUA prices dropped sharply during February and March, now testing the long-term uptrend in the range of EUR65-68. The fall in gas and coal prices combined with massive focus in the EU on competitiveness in EU talks, has driven funds and speculators from long to short. The new Clean Industrial Deal and Omnibus initiatives will look to support heavy industry with some rumours of lifting the CBAM. However, the EU is expected to maintain a firm stand on CBAM but with regulatory easing for small amounts of carbon importers. cembureau and other industry associations have been welcoming the initiatives but also warned against delaying the implementation of CBAM. The EUA trading range is seen higher towards EUR74-84/t (US$76.35-86.66/t) while long-term prices for 2030 advanced by EUR7 to EUR95/t. The front (Dec 25) contract fell sharply by 15 per cent to EUR68.50/t when compared with previous issue of ICR. The UK Allowance (UKA) December 2025 contract collapsed by 20 per cent to GBP 39 (EUR46.50). Brannvoll forecasts a range of EUR65-85 in 2025 with a Dec 25 contract average of EUR75. by Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Advertisement On 25 March 2025, the US House of Representatives voted 350-73 to pass Representatives Valerie Foushee (D-NC) and Max Millers (R-OH) bill, the Innovative Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies Act, or the IMPACT Act. The Sierra Club applauds the overwhelming bipartisan support for the IMPACT Act, which boosts American innovation in low-emissions cement, concrete and asphalt production in response to demand for cutting-edge, clean industrial processes and high-quality building materials. The IMPACT Act is a major step forward in the decarbonisation and competitiveness of the domestic cement, concrete, and asphalt industries. Legislation like the IMPACT Act, which supports innovation in low-pollution production, and additional efforts to create markets for these technologies, can ensure America reaps public health benefits and economic wins alike, said Harry Manin, deputy legislative director for industrial policy and trade at the Sierra Club. The IMPACT Act was first introduced in early March, followed by the introduction of the IMPACT Act 2.0 in late March. The act addresses research and development into cement technologies, while IMPACT Act 2.0 gives state Departments of Transportation the ability to confirm to innovative producers that they will buy their low carbon cement, asphalt and concrete if it is made. A routine fishing trip off the southern coast of India led to a thrilling discovery: a previously unknown species of eel. Trawlers hauling in their nets stumbled upon a 1-foot-long ocean predator with "bright" eyes, sparking a breakthrough for researchers. Between 2021 and 2022, a team of scientists visited several fish landing sites and ports in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in search of long-fin short-tail conger eels, or Ariosoma dolichopterum. Though similar eels had been documented off southern India before, these ones seemed different. To resolve the mystery, the researchers collected numerous eel samples and conducted extensive examinations, including DNA tests. The results were stunning: they had discovered a new species, which they named Ariosoma tamilicumor the Tamil short-tail conger. The Tamil short-tail conger eels are described as having "stout" bodies that can reach up to 12 inches in length, with "short" heads, "bright" eyes, "long" tongues, and "small" teeth. According to the study, these eels are typically found on the "sandy bottom of shallow waters" and are carnivores, feeding mostly on small crustaceans and fish. Interestingly, these eels are often caught by accident by trawlers, who typically don't set out to catch them. The study, published on March 12 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa, reveals that the new species appears to be widespread along India's shallow coastal waters. Researchers believe this discovery could add to our understanding of marine life in the region, as it shows how much there is still to explore beneath the ocean's surface. "Titanium" fashion show, benefiting CADAS, will make its debut on Saturday, May 31 at the Chattanooga Convention Center from 6-9 p.m. This event will feature designer Christian Siriano, who gained fame as the winner of the fourth season of "Project Runway."Officials said, "Christian Siriano is renowned for his whimsical and show-stopping designs, which have graced the red carpets of prestigious events, including the Grammys and the Academy Awards. His extraordinary talent has attracted a star-studded clientele that includes celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama and Ariana Grande, each of whom has worn his creations to major public appearances, showcasing the versatility and artistry of his work."'Titanium' promises to seamlessly blend the elegance of high fashion with the dynamic spirit of art and community.Attendees will be treated to a breathtaking runway show, where models - both men and women - will grace the catwalk, each step synchronized to the pulse of a techno symphony. The evening will come alive with a First Verse Production techno collaboration with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Chamber Ensemble, Chattanooga Ballet and the extraordinary Christian Siriano, creating a vibrant atmosphere that celebrates art, fashion, celebrityengagement and community connection."As the inaugural event of its kind, "Titanium" is poised to become the largest and most spectacular fashion experience in the South, and a beloved annual tradition for our community to embrace year after year."'Titanium' is not just an event; it is a celebration of recovery, benefiting CADAS, a nonprofit alcohol and drug treatment center, committed to saving lives and helping to rebuild families." Dear Global Community, With humility and profound remorse, wethe people of the United States of Americareach out to extend our deepest apologies. Our actions in recent months have often fallen short of the ideals we claim to cherish, and we recognize the pain and disappointment we have caused. To Our Beloved Neighbors Canada, our steadfast friend and closest ally, we owe you more than words can express. Your patience has been a beacon of grace, illuminating our shortcomings while maintaining a spirit of friendship that transcends political turbulence. You have stood by us, even when our own internal divisions threatened to erode the trust between our nations. Your resilience and compassion have been a testament to the true meaning of neighborly love. Mexico, our vibrant and cherished neighbor to the south, we extend our sincerest apologies for the rhetoric and actions that have sought to diminish your dignity. Your rich cultural tapestry, your hardworking people, and your profound historical legacy deserve nothing but the deepest respect. We acknowledge the harm caused by misguided policies and inflammatory language, and we commit to rebuilding a relationship of mutual understanding and genuine partnership. To Our Transatlantic Family Europe, our spiritual and historical touchstone, we hear your wisdom and feel the weight of the lessons you've tried to impart. Your centuries of complex historymarked by both devastating conflicts and remarkable reconciliationhave offered us invaluable insights that we have too often ignored. We recognize that our recent actions have threatened the delicate global order you have worked tirelessly to maintain. Greenland, Canada, and all nations whose sovereignty we have carelessly threatened or disrespected: We understand the gravity of our provocations. Our actions have been not just inappropriate, but fundamentally counter to the principles of international cooperation and mutual respect. We categorically renounce any suggestion of territorial aggression or imperial ambition. A Promise of Transformation To the entire world, we acknowledge that our recent months have been marked by volatility, divisiveness, and a retreat from the collaborative spirit that once defined our global leadership. We recognize that our internal conflicts have had far-reaching consequences, impacting global stability, diplomatic relations, and the collective hope for a more just and interconnected world. But we are not without hope. The majority of Americans yearn for healing, for reconnection, and for a recommitment to the values of mutual respect, understanding, and genuine global citizenship. We understand that trust is earned through consistent action, not merely proclaimed through eloquent words. Our pledge is not just a promise, but a commitment etched into the heart of our democratic process. We will work tirelesslythrough grassroots movements, political engagement, educational initiatives, and genuine diplomatic outreachto rebuild the bridges we have damaged. We ask for your patience as we navigate our internal challenges. We request your continued engagement as we strive to realign our national character with the principles of compassion, inclusivity, and global cooperation. Hopefully within the next two to four years, we are able to overcome our current indifference and demonstrate through concrete actions that the ideals of understanding, respect, and collaborative progress are not just rhetoric, but the very foundation of our national renewal. To our global family: We are listening. We are learning. We are committed to doing better. With profound humility and hope, The People of the United States of America John Mathna * * * Mr. Mathna, Firstly, your letter was one of the "better" Kumbaya letters this forum has seen in quite a while. In my humble opinion. But, for the record, I would like to opt out of being included in the conciliatory "we" of your letter. I prefer the current, stronger, "leveling the playing field" stance of President Trump. Secondly, on what date will you be joining Rosie O'Donnell in Ireland? Phil Snider * * * Oh, how we, the People of The United States of America, have wronged the entire world. Our unfeeling and chauvinistic policies have done nothing but hurt our world community. We should have allowed the Barbary pirates to continue their acts of terror. We interfered when the Central Powers were running wild thru Europe. Later, our supplies wrongfully helped England and Russia to fight the Axis Powers. Of course, other nations played a part but the majority of the effort was ours. The people of The United States do sincerely apologize for this selfishness. We take full responsibility for assisting South Korea in their struggle against Communist aggression. We should have minded our own business and, possibly, sent flowers. It has been our money-grubbing, capitalist dollar that has kept the U.N. afloat when we were usually the target of their criticism. In short, we have done so little to benefit our worldly neighbors that we should be thoroughly ashamed to be Americans. Perhaps we should give more foreign aid. Perhaps we should bow down to the so obvious superior wisdom of other nations. After all, it was mainly us that kept the world from having to speak German or Japanese. Had we but kept to ourselves..... Again, I apologize to the entire world for being an American and proud of it. I also apologize for not having a touchy-feely attitude. It pains me so. Ed Bradley * * * Mr. Mathna. First off do not be apologizing for me. You dont have that right. I dont apologize for any actions that our nation is presently taking. You are apologetic to Mexico (corrupt government in my opinion) which has allowed the cartels mostly before Trump came into office to cross our borders with drugs, human sex trafficking smugglers, and illegals committing heinous murders and other crimes by the thousands. MS 13 and TDA gangs setting up throughout the nation. You apologized for that? The corrupt judges (Boasberg just one of many) trying to stop President Trump from deportation of these worst of the worst gang members - are you apologizing for that? It has been estimated that at least 11 million illegals have entered America during your hero Joe Bidens open borders administration. What a failure, to put it nicely, not to mention the rest of the problems he left. I would think a man of your liberal compassion would be housing and supporting at least a dozen of these illegals and paying for their every need. How many have you got living in your house? Every bleeding heart liberal should have as many as possible in their care taking them off the government dime. I just paid IRS taxes today so your opinion piece kinda hit a nerve as I dont want to continue funding these illegals with my tax dollars. Im all for DOGE and immigration into America should be done the right way - no crossing open borders. China is our nation's biggest threat. Cyber and militarily. You apologized to them for all the fentanyl chemicals they are sending through Mexico to make drugs to poison and kill thousands of our citizens. If China has their way youll need to learn Chinese as their intentions are to be the world superpower and have dominance over us. Read up on the failed VP candidate Walz and check out his ties to communist China. It is alarming about Walz. Thank goodness the Harris/Walz ticket failed as Americans saw them for the frauds they were. You also seem to think that we are wrong for wanting America to have fair trade agreements with various nations that have for decades been lopsided with respect to trade and tariffs. How much tax (tariffs) does Canada charge the USA for dairy into Canada? Look that up youll see for yourself as just one example. The European Union is the same way, charging way more than reciprocal. I have no apologies for them. The Europeans should be the ones taking care of the Houthis and the shipping lanes, much less the war between Ukraine and Russia, since its in their backyard. The UN and the WHO is a joke that America doesnt need to be a part of as well. Im glad President Trump is trying to correct the many issues that this nation has faced for decades. His administration has a monumental task ahead and he is being obstructed in every way by Democrats who refuse to even clean up the waste, fraud and corruption of our taxpayers' money. No apologies needed for fixing this broken government. As the great Dr. Michael Savage PHD says: Liberalism is a Mental Disorder. Arch Tinker * * * Mr. Snider, Its my hope that Mr. Mathna stays and stays in Tennessee. We need people willing to stay and fight against all the wrong we see being perpetuated by the current administration. Im often asked why, as a liberal, I stay in Tennessee? Im a lifelong Tennessean. This is my home. Im not going anywhere. Yes, by the numbers we are smaller than conservatives in this state, but we small number are still Tennesseans and Americans who will continue to voice our opposition and opinions - just like you. Robbie Nicholson * * * I like this particular line: As the great Dr. Michael Savage PHD says: Liberalism is a Mental Disorder." I find that interesting when you consider the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and later those that wrote the Constitution were certainly not Conservatives. Also, when you think about it, neither was Jesus Christ. Raleigh C. Perry * * * Mr. Mathna, I must disagree with you regarding your blanket apology to the global community. First, how can you speak for an entire nation based on your opinion? Your letter is not only overreach, it also attempts to simplify the complexity of a free people exercising their rights. Second, the presumption that we should all apologize for the actions or decisions of otherswhether we supported them or notis not humility. Its a blatant attempt at self-erasure. Count me out. Chuck McDonald Student Pitch Competition participants are pictured. Back row, left to right: Hurley Buff, CBBI executive director; Christian Nolen, fourth place winner; and Rodney Burrows, second place winner. Front row, left to right: Sandra Godsey, CSCC dean of Business and Healthcare; Jessica Fields, competition judge; Talis Moody, first place winner; Elizabeth Blair, third place winner; and competition judges Frenise Mann and Beau Burris. Student Pitch Winner, Talis Moody (center), with Sandra Godsey, CSCC dean of Business and Healthcare, and Hurley Buff, CBBI executive director. Community Pitch Competition participants are pictured. Back row, left to right: Kristi Rice, Canaan Bowling, Kaylee Brown and Janson Brown. Middle row, left to right: Dr. Andy White, CSCC president, Ryan Albright, Tonya Daniel, Laura Ashley Fairbanks, Bryson Killian, Liana Magda, Sarah Berry and Hurley Buff, CBBI executive director. Seated on front row are competition judges Jim Fairweather, Margaret Schenck and Dr. Corey Campbell. Community Pitch Winners, Janson and Kaylee Brown, owners of Ruddles Bread and Bake Previous Next The George R. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Cleveland State Community College recently hosted an Entrepreneurship Event that included student and community pitch competitions. The event was sponsored by the Lynn Jones Foundation, the Cleveland Bradley Business Incubator and the Small Business Development Center. Four students competed in the fourth annual Student Pitch Competition. Talis Moody, a business major, won the competition. She will graduate in May and plans to expand her pet care business, Talis and Tails. With the $2,000 prize money, Ms. Moody will invest in a website and marketing for her business. A Tennessee Valley Early College student, Ms. Moody is also a senior at Cleveland High School. She will graduate in May with an associate degree a week before high school graduation.The remaining student finalists were also awarded prize money from the Lynn Jones Foundation and CBBI.Seven businesses competed in the third annual Community Pitch Competition. The businesses are located in Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe or Polk counties and have been in operation for at least six months, but no longer than two years.Janson and Kaylee Brown, owners of Ruddles Bread and Book, won first place. Ruddles is a coffee shop and used bookstore in historic downtown Cleveland. The Browns will purchase a commercial grade coffee grinder and commercial grade refrigerator with the $7,500 prize money donated by the Lynn Jones Foundation.Ocoee River Distilling in Polk County won $4,000 for second place, and the Red Barn Pet Resort, LLC won $1,500 for third place. Other finalists were Ryan Albright with Apex Pro Home Repair, LLC, Liana Magda with Liberty Acres Dog Lodge, Bryson Killian and Canaan Bowling with Take Root Studio, and Kristi Rice with Trailhead Counseling and Consulting, PLLC.Judges for the Community Pitch Competition were Dr. Corey Campbell, CSCC vice president for Academic Affairs, Jim Fairweather, owner of Fairweather Financial in Monroe County, and Margaret Schenck, founder of United Knitting in Cleveland and an advisory board member of the George R. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Judges for the Student Pitch Competition were Beau Burris, vice president of SmartBank, Jessica Fields, CBBI board of directors president, and Frenise Mann, owner of Mann Financial Consulting and an advisory board member of the George R. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Detectives from the Hamilton County Criminal Investigations Unit and the Narcotics and Special Investigations Unit located and arrested Edward Wynn on Wednesday. Through investigative efforts stemming from an incident that occurred in November of 2024, Wynn was identified throwing a package over the perimeter fence that surrounds the Hamilton County Jail & Detention Center. This package was found to contain multiple types of narcotics, a cell phone, and other prohibited items. This package was found to contain multiple types of narcotics, a cell phone, and other prohibited items.In total, 60 grams of Methamphetamine, 12 Hydrocodone pills, 13 grams of Marijuana, and one pound of tobacco were recovered. Wynn has been charged with contraband in penal institutions and three counts of drug possession with intent to resell. Additionally, he had outstanding probation violations in Hamilton County Criminal Court for aggravated assault, vandalism, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Drivers traveling near the I-75 at I-24 interchange in Hamilton County should be aware of upcoming road construction activities that will temporarily impact traffic. As part of Phase 2 (the second of two projects) to widen and improve the I-75 at I-24 interchange, Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) contract crews must implement weekend lane closures on I-75 near the SR 153 interchange to repair damaged concrete roadway slabs. This work is scheduled to take place over the next several weekends. Beginning Friday, at 9 p.m. and continuing through Monday, at 6 a.m., contract crews will close the right lane on I-75 South from SR 153 to the bridge over the CSX railroad. Traffic from the SR 153 South ramp to I-75 South will be required to yield before merging onto I-75 South. I-75 North will not be affected by this work. As soon as the new concrete cures long enough to pass the required strength testing, the roadway will reopen to traffic. Drivers should consider an alternate route and are encouraged to avoid the area during these times. Significant delays are expected. Drivers should follow all posted signage and remain alert to changing traffic conditions. This work is weather-dependent. Should inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances cause delays, it will be rescheduled to take place at a later date. Uniformed police officers will be present to assist with traffic control and law enforcement. Additional information and resources can be found on the projects website: https://www.tn.gov/tdot/ projects/region-2/i-75- interchange-at-i-24-phase2. html . Tennessees statewide unemployment rate has remained steady at 3.7 percent for six consecutive months and continues to track below the national average, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.The states seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in February was 3.7 percent, the same as it has been each month since September. In February 2024, the rate was 3.1 percent.Tennessees unemployment rate continues to remain well below the national rate, which was 4.1 percent in February 2025, up one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month and two-tenths of a percentage point from one year ago.Over the past year, total nonfarm employment in Tennessee increased by 19,200 jobs.The largest gains were in Government, followed by the Leisure and Hospitality sector and the Education and Health Services sector.Between January and February, total nonfarm employment increased by 9,100 jobs. The Education and Health Services sector accounted for the biggest increases, followed by the Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector and the Leisure and Hospitality sector.A complete analysis of the February 2025 unemployment data for Tennessee is available here Whether a recent college graduate or a seasoned employee, Tennesseans looking for a new career can find help at an American Job Center (AJC), all at no cost. Find the AJC closest to you.April is Second Chance Month, a nationwide effort to increase awareness about the challenges that justice-involved individuals face in securing meaningful employment. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Developments Tennessee Office of Reentry (TOOR) is a statewide comprehensive source for reentry information, direction and planning. TOOR advances efforts to help justice-involved individuals overcome barriers to employment. TOOR also creates and coordinates opportunities to enable these individuals to receive a second chance at entering the states workforce.Tennessee will release the February 2025 unemployment data for each of the states 95 counties on Thursday, April 3 at 1:30 p.m. CDT. Amazon has bid farewell to Dr. Vin Gupta, the chief medical officer of its pharmacy division, marking another leadership shift in the company's expanding healthcare sector. Gupta, who played a key role in shaping Amazon Pharmacy's strategy, has left after five years with the company. According to NBC NewYork, Dr. Gupta joined Amazon in 2020 as the company was making significant strides in healthcare. Over the years, he took on multiple leadership roles, including serving as the Covid response lead and chief medical officer of new products in Amazon's devices and services unit. His departure comes at a time when Amazon continues to grow its presence in the healthcare industry through acquisitions and service expansions. In his next career move, Gupta joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP as a managing director to oversee a portfolio focused on health innovation. Dr. Vin Gupta, Amazon Pharmacy's chief medical officer, has left the company after five years. His departure follows other leadership changes in Amazon's healthcare ventures, including One Medical. https://t.co/bax1Yr0CSc pic.twitter.com/3x5Lu5IzPp The Market Daily (@justtmd_com) March 26, 2025 Amazon Health Services Sees Leadership Shift as Dr. Vin Gupta Exits In a statement, Gupta emphasized that Manatt, like Amazon, is dedicated to addressing critical healthcare challenges, such as improving access to care and leveraging artificial intelligence in medical services. "We are grateful to Dr. Gupta for all of his contributions to Amazon Health Services and wish him the best in his next endeavor," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC. Gupta's departure is part of a broader wave of leadership changes in Amazon's healthcare division. Earlier this month, Trent Green, the CEO of One Medical, announced he would step down in April. Amazon acquired One Medical for $3.9 billion in 2023, further solidifying its presence in the healthcare space following its 2018 purchase of online pharmacy startup PillPack for approximately $750 million. During his tenure at Amazon, Gupta played a crucial role in developing and expanding key healthcare services. He helped launch RxPass, a prescription benefit for US Prime members, and contributed to Amazon's efforts to introduce medication delivery via drones. His work also extended to Amazon's Grand Challenge incubator, an initiative that aimed to develop innovative healthcare solutions under founder Jeff Bezos. Originally published on vcpost.com A Florida man was sentenced to 90 months in a child sex case in Chattanooga Federal Court. Rodney Paul Martin, 58, of Homosassa, Fla., appeared before Judge Charles E. Atchley, Jr., Following Martins imprisonment, he will be on supervised release for 15 years and will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions. As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Martin agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. According to the filed plea agreement, Martin, using a social media platform, contacted a notional 15-year-old minor boy, who was, in fact, an undercover officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Using a messaging application, Martin attempted to entice the notional minor into creating sexually explicit images and transmitting those images to Martin over the internet. U.S. Attorney, Francis M. Hamilton III, of the Eastern District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge, Joseph E. Carrico, of the FBI, made the announcement. The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the FBI. Special Assistant United States Attorney Charles D. Minor, assigned from the Hamilton County District Attorneys Office, and Assistant United States Attorney James T. Brooks represented the United States. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. This week, we celebrate National Medal of Honor Day, an opportunity to recognize all recipients of our nations highest military award for their conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. In doing so, we honor their extraordinary service and sacrifice on behalf of their brothers in arms, in keeping with their oaths to support and defend our Constitution and the American Liberty it enshrines. It marks the anniversary observance of the first Medals awarded on March 25, 1863, for actions by Andrews Raiders.The first recipients were volunteers from three Ohio infantry regiments, and their valorous actions were memorialized in books and films as The Great Locomotive Chase. Since those first Medals were awarded, American presidents and military commanders have, in the name of Congress, presented 3,535 Medals of Honor to a very elite few among the almost 40 million American veterans who have served our nation since 1861. In a country of some 330 million people today, there are only 61 living recipients. Traditionally, I would devote this column to a Medal of Honor recipient, but today, I devote it to a man who, by all accounts, should be a recipient. In doing so, we join others who, likewise, are advocating for a Medal of Honor review and consideration. In a recent Profile of Valor on Georgia native Maj. Gen. James Livingston, I noted, When contemplating a Marines Marine, the first name that comes to mind is Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell Puller. (He got the nickname Chesty because, in his typical aggressive stance, his barrel chest protruded.) Over the course of his 37-year career, "Chesty Puller commanded the 1st Marine Division, 2nd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Division, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Battalion/7th Marines, and 2nd Battalion/4th Marines. His theaters of service included Haiti, Nicaragua, World War II (Guadalcanal, Operation Cartwheel, Mariana, and Palau Islands), and the Korean War (Battle of Inchon, Second Battle of Seoul, and Battle of Chosin Reservoir). He is the recipient of five Navy Cross citations (the nations second-highest Navy/Marine award for valor in combat), a Distinguished Service Cross (Army), a Silver Star, two Legion of Merit medals for valor, a Bronze Star for valor, three Air Medals, and a Purple Heart. Puller is the most decorated Marine in American history. Puller was born in West Point, Virginia, and his ancestors had been in Virginia since 1621. His father owned a small grocery store, but he died in 1908 when Lewis was 10 years old, adding to his family responsibilities. Growing up on a steady historical study of distinguished Virginia military men, including his idol, Thomas Stonewall Jackson, he wanted to enlist for the Border War with Mexico in 1916 but was too young. He then attended Virginia Military Institute, but in August 1918, during World War I, he left VMI, insisting he wanted to go where the guns are! Taking inspiration from the actions of the 5th Marines at Belleau Wood, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and departed for boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. After completing boot camp, he attended the non-commissioned officer school at Paris Island and then Officer Candidates School at Quantico, Virginia. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, but 10 days later, as the numbers of officers were cut drastically after World War I, he was put on inactive status as a Corporal. Serving in various military actions during the interwar years, he earned his first Navy Cross in Nicaragua for his actions from February 16 to August 19, 1930, when he led five successive engagements against superior numbers of armed bandit forces. His citation notes, By his intelligent and forceful leadership without thought of his own personal safety, by great physical exertion and by suffering many hardships, Lieutenant Puller surmounted all obstacles and dealt five successive and severe blows against organized banditry in the Republic of Nicaragua. He was awarded a second Navy Cross for leading American Marines and Nicaraguan National Guardsmen into battle against Sandinista rebels in what would be the last major engagement of the Sandino Rebellion on December 26, 1932. According to his citation, Pullers patrol was ambushed on 26 September 1932, at a point northeast of Mount Kilambe by an insurgent force of one hundred fifty in a well-prepared position armed with not less than seven automatic weapons and various classes of small arms and well-supplied with ammunition. Then, Returning with the wounded to Jinotega, the patrol was ambushed twice by superior forces on 30 September. On both of the occasions the enemy was dispersed with severe losses. Pullers third Navy Cross was earned during World War II while serving as commanding officer of the 1st Marine Divisions 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, on Guadalcanal. His citation notes: Courageously withstanding the enemys desperate and determined attacks, Lieutenant Colonel Puller not only held his battalion to its position until reinforcements arrived three hours later, but also effectively commanded the augmented force until late in the afternoon of the next day. By his tireless devotion to duty and cool judgment under fire, he prevented a hostile penetration of our lines and was largely responsible for the successful defense of the sector assigned to his troops. His fourth Navy Cross was earned while serving as executive officer of the 7th Marines during the Battle of Cape Gloucester on the island of New Britain in 1944. His citation notes: Assigned temporary command of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, from Jan. 4-9, Lieutenant Colonel Puller quickly reorganized and advanced his unit, effecting the seizure of the objective without delay. Assuming additional duty in command of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines Jan. 7-8, after the commanding officer and executive officer had been wounded, Lieutenant Colonel Puller unhesitatingly exposed himself to rifle, machine-gun and mortar fire from strongly entrenched Japanese positions to move from company to company in his front lines, reorganizing and maintaining a critical position along a fire-swept ridge. His forceful leadership and gallant fighting spirit under the most hazardous conditions were contributing factors in the defeat of the enemy during this campaign. His fifth Navy Cross and his Distinguished Service Cross were earned in Korea while serving as commanding officer of the 1st Marine Regiment. Upon learning that he and his Marines were completely surrounded by tens of thousands of Communist Chinese soldiers, he declared, Weve been looking for the enemy for several days now, weve finally found them. Were surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them. His citation notes: Colonel Puller drove off repeated and fanatical enemy attacks upon his regimental defense sector and supply points. Although the area was frequently covered by grazing machine-gun fire and intense artillery and mortar fire, he coolly moved along his troops to insure their correct tactical employment, reinforced the lines as the situation demanded, and successfully defended the perimeter, keeping open the main supply routes for the movement of the Division. During the attack from Koto-ri to Hungnam, he expertly utilized his Regiment as the Division rear guard, repelling two fierce enemy assaults, which severely threatened the security of the unit, and personally supervised the care and prompt evacuation of all casualties. By his unflagging determination, he served to inspire his men to heroic efforts in defense of their positions and assured the safety of much valuable equipment, which would otherwise have been lost to the enemy. His skilled leadership, superb courage and valiant devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds reflect the highest credit upon Colonel Puller and the United States Naval Service. It was for this action that he also was awarded the Armys equivalent of the Navy Cross for, according to his citation, his extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as commanding officer, 1st Marines Colonel Pullers actions contributed materially to the breakthrough of the 1st Marine Regiment in the Chosin Reservoir area and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service. Beyond his classic response about being surrounded by overwhelming enemy forces That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them here are a few more that exemplify this Marines Marine: Old breed? New breed? Theres not a damn bit of difference so long as its the Marine breed. Dont forget that youre First Marines! Not all the Communists in hell can overrun you! You dont hurt em if you dont hit 'em. Hit hard, hit fast, hit often. Oh, that. Its a dud [after a grenade landed next to him but did not detonate]. Take me to the Brig. I want to see the real Marines. Where the hell do you put the bayonet [during a flamethrower demonstration]? They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us! They cant get away from us now! Great. Now we can shoot at those bastards from every direction. Alright, you bastards, try and shoot me [yelled at North Koreans]! There are not enough chinamen in the world to stop a fully armed Marine regiment from going wherever they want to go. There were some occasional digs at service branches: They are a damn site better than the U.S. Army, at least we know that they will be there in the morning. The mail service has been excellent out here, and in my opinion, this is all that the Air Force has accomplished during the war. Finally, his response to a young Marine who asked permission to marry: Son, when the Marine Corps wants you to have a wife, you will be issued one. LtGen Chesty Puller was admired by enlisted Marines for his efforts to improve their quarters, equipment, and discipline. And notable in Puller folklore is the time he addressed a 2nd Lieutenant who, after an enlisted man failed to salute him, ordered that he be saluted 100 times. Puller told the Lieutenant, You were absolutely correct in making him salute you 100 times, Lieutenant, but you know that an officer must return every salute he receives. Now return them all. Regarding his personal life, Chesty Puller was married to Virginia Montague Evans, and they had two children, Martha and Lewis Burwell Puller Jr. Lewis Jr. was a highly decorated Marine who served in Vietnam. While serving with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, he was grievously wounded when he tripped a booby-trapped howitzer round, losing both legs and parts of his hands. His father sobbed upon seeing him in the hospital, where he hovered near death for days, and his weight fell to 55 pounds. Battling alcoholism and despair, Lewis Jr. struggled to rebuild his life. In 1991, he published a bestselling memoir, Fortunate Son, which won the Pulitzer Prize. He never overcame his demons, though, and on May 11, 1994, he died at age 48 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Pullers son-in-law, Marine LtCol William H. Dabney, was also a VMI graduate and a distinguished Vietnam Veteran. Dabney would receive the Navy Cross for his actions defending Hill 881 South during the 77-day siege of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. Chesty Puller died on October 11, 1971, at age 73. He is buried next to his wife at Christ Church Parish Cemetery in Virginia. To this day, a common incantation at the end of a training day in Marine Corps boot camp is to declare: Good night, Chesty Puller, wherever you are! Military writer Michael Lane Smith wrote of Puller: Born in the 19th century, fought in the heaviest fighting of the 20th century and is now a legend in this century. The most decorated Marine to ever wear the uniform, and also the most beloved, Puller left a mark on the Marine Corps that would define its culture for years to come. In his honor, the guided-missile frigate USS Lewis B. Puller (FFG-23) was commissioned on 17 April 1982, and the USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3) expeditionary mobile base vessel was commissioned in August 2017. The headquarters building for 2nd Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team on Yorktown Naval Weapons Station in Yorktown, Virginia, is named Puller Hall in his honor. And the Marine Corps mascot is perpetually named Chesty Pullerton (e.g., Chesty Pullerton XIII), always an English Bulldog. Puller was a military leader whose service stood in stark contrast to the Pentagon brass tapped by the recently departed Biden/Harris regime, which eroded military readiness and morale. Fortunately, military recruiting and morale are rising under Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump. In consideration of his extraordinary service and unprecedented military decorations, including the aforementioned five Navy Crosses, second only to the Medal of Honor, I believe it is past time that his service and citations be reviewed for upgrade to a Medal of Honor. Despite two previous attempts to upgrade one of his Navy Cross awards, I hope that President Trump and SecDef Pete Hegseth will again take up this mantle. LtGen Lewis Chesty Puller: Your example of valor a humble American Patriot defending Liberty for all above and beyond the call of duty and in disregard for the peril to your own life is eternal. Semper Fi! "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down ones life for his friends." (John 15:13) Live your life worthy of his sacrifice. Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis Pro Deo et Libertate -- 1776 Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen -- standing in harms way in defense of American Liberty, and for Veterans, First Responders, and their families. 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) ALFORD,JEFFERY LABRON 1549 MOUNTAIN VIEW CT CHATTANOOGA, 374091036 Age at Arrest: 45 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Charges: NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT ANDERSON,JAMES DEWAYNE 1202 TIMESVILLE ROAD SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, 37377 Age at Arrest: 61 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Charges: FAILURE TO APPEAR BALL,LUKE HOMELESS FORSYTH, 31029 Age at Arrest: 38 years old Arresting Agency: East Ridge Charges: CRIMINAL IMPERSONATION BRAKEFIELD,JUSTIN MARCUS 7310 STANDIFER GAP RD CHATTANOOGA, 37421 Age at Arrest: 35 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Charges: THEFT OF PROPERTY BURGLARY CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE IN SCHEDULE II POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF BROWN SR,TERRANCE TRAMAINE 727 E 11TH STREET CHATTANOOGA, 374033104 Age at Arrest: 44 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Charges: DOMESTIC ASSAULT BUCK,ROBERT ANTHONY 1089 LONG HOLLOW RD ROCK SPRING, 30739 Age at Arrest: 45 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Charges: UNLAWFUL ACTION BY HOME IMPROVEMENTSERVICES PROV CAMERON,CYLETHIA ALICE 3737 DEE DR CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 24 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Charges: VIOLATION OF PROBATION THEFT UNDER $1,000 CARTER,ERIC LEBRON 119 HOLLYBERRY LN, APT 177 CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 37 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Charges: DOMESTIC ASSAULT DANIEL,KEYVON TYRE 3831 WILCOX BLVD CHATTANOOGA, 37403 Age at Arrest: 20 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Charges: DOMESTIC ASSAULT DAVIDSON,JONIQUA A 2913 CURTIS ST CHATTANOOGA, 37406 Age at Arrest: 23 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Charges: THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) DELANEY,MICHAEL BLAKE 7652 BORIS STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37416 Age at Arrest: 29 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Charges: VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESION OF CONTROLLED SU DICKERT SHAW,JESSICA LEIGH 529 JACKSON ROAD CHATTANOOGA, 37343 Age at Arrest: 46 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Charges: CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE IN SCHEDULE II POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA THEFT OF PROPERTY BURGLARY GONZALEZ,JULIO FARINAZ 314 MCBRIEN RD APT 21 CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 32 years old Arresting Agency: Tenn Hwy Patrol Charges: SPEEDING EVADING ARREST RECKLESS DRIVING RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT DRIVING ON ROADWAYS LANED FOR TRAFFIC, VIOLATION GREEN,GEORGE LEBRON NONE GIVEN CHATTANOOGA, 37402 Age at Arrest: 65 years old Arresting Agency: Chatt Housing Auth Charges: POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA CRIMINAL IMPERSONATION AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL TRESPASS POSSESSING A FIREARM WITH INTENT TO GO ARMED VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF GREEN,GEORGE LEBRON NONE GIVEN CHATTANOOGA, 37402 Age at Arrest: 65 years old Arresting Agency: Chatt Housing Auth Charges: VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF METH) GUEDRON,KENDALL ELIZABETH 1732 CRABTREE ROAD HIXSON, 37343 Age at Arrest: 31 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Charges: DOMESTIC ASSAULT HARVEY,BRANDON WILL 808 RETRO HUGHES ROAD BAKEWELL, 37373 Age at Arrest: 33 years old Arresting Agency: Federal Marshall Charges: HEFFNER,JUSTIN THOMAS 727 E 11TH ST CHATTANOOGA, 37403 Age at Arrest: 41 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Charges: THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) HUTSELL,MANDI LEIGH 3929 MANOR RD CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 38 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Charges: THEFT OF PROPERTY POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE HUTSELL,MANDI LEIGH 3929 MANOR RD CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 38 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Charges: POSSESSION OF METH (SELL, DEL. OR MANUFACTURING)POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIAJACKSON-RUSSELL,NELLIE ANN2525 IGOU FERRY ROAD SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest:47 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:VIOLATION OF PROBATION RECKLESS ENDANGERMENTVIOLATION OF PROBATION POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERJOHNSON,JACOB MICHAEL1050 ROACH HOLLOW ROAD RINGOLD, 30736Age at Arrest:36 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY)KIRK,DIMESHA MESHAWN4406 14TH AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest:32 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:VIOLATION OF PROBATION9THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATION ( THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATION 9THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATIO (THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (EVADING ARREST)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (RECKLESS AGGRAVATED ASSAULKIRK,DIMESHA MESHAWN4406 14TH AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest:32 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:THEFT OF SERVICESLANIER,JAMES CALE728 ELINOR ST CHATTANOOGA, 37405Age at Arrest:36 years oldArresting Agency:Chattanooga PDCharges:DISORDERLY CONDUCTLANIER,JAMES CALE728 ELINOR ST CHATTANOOGA, 37405Age at Arrest:36 years oldArresting Agency:Chattanooga PDCharges:VIOLATION OF PROBATION (EVADING ARREST)MCALLISTER,LARRY LEROY3411 7TH AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest:85 years oldArresting Agency:Chattanooga PDCharges:DOMESTIC ASSAULTNELSON,GERALD WAYLON2308 WHEELER AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest:34 years oldArresting Agency:Chattanooga PDCharges:VIOLATION OF PROBATION DOMESTIC ASSAULTVIOLATION OF PROBATION ASSAULTNELSON,GERALD WAYLON2308 WHEELER AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest:34 years oldArresting Agency:Chattanooga PDCharges:POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCEPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIANOLLIE,KENNETH MARCELHOMELESS CHATTANOOGA, 37403Age at Arrest:54 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:THEFT OF PROPERTYDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEDRIVERS TO EXERCISE DUE CAREFAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANEFINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITYOPEN CONTAINER LAWFAILURE TO REPORT ACCIDENTTHEFT OF PROPERTYNOLLIE,KENNETH MARCELHOMELESS CHATTANOOGA, 37403Age at Arrest:54 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:VOP POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCEVOP POSSESSION OF METH (SELL, DEL. OR MANUFACTURINTHEFT OF PROPERTYPATTERSON,QUINNESHIA NICOLE119 HOLLYBERRY LN, APT 177 CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest:39 years oldArresting Agency:Chattanooga PDCharges:DOMESTIC ASSAULTPITTMAN,CHARLES JACKSON5559 FOREST DRIVE HOMELESS ACWORTH, 30102Age at Arrest:46 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:DOMESTIC ASSAULTPRIEST,MICHAEL LEE ANTHONY2707 NORTH CHAMBERLAND CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest:36 years oldArresting Agency:Red Bank PDCharges:FAILURE TO APPEARRAPER,CHRISTIAN ARMAN441 2ND ST NW CLEVELAND, 37311Age at Arrest:28 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:REGISTRATION, EXPIREDFINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITYDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSERAY,JOHNNY THOMAS13924 MOORE LN SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest:59 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:RAY,MELVIN LERICE1111 HAMILTON AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37405Age at Arrest:56 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF METH)REED,STEPHANIE NICOLE1304 HOLLY AVE SOUTH PITTSBURG, 373801655Age at Arrest:43 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:RUSSELL,KENYA LARRITTA1821 TUNNEL BLVD CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest:43 years oldArresting Agency:Chatt Housing AuthCharges:CRIMINAL TRESPASSINGCONTROLLED SUBSTANCE IN SCHEDULE IIRUSSELL,KENYA LARRITTA1821 TUNNEL BLVD CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest:43 years oldArresting Agency:Chatt Housing AuthCharges:DOMESTIC ASSAULTSELF,MELISSA RENAY491 HORNS CREEK RD OLD FORT, 373627698Age at Arrest:48 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:FUGITIVE (FANNIN CO GA)SMITH,KAIDEN HAVIK104 S STOVALL ST FORT OGLETHORPE, 307423838Age at Arrest:19 years oldArresting Agency:East RidgeCharges:CRIMINAL TRESPASSINGSMITH,KEVIN LEVERNE2709 CITICO AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest:52 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:THEFT OF PROPERTYSTEVENSON,PURNELL LAMONTE1718 S KELLEY ST CHATTANOOGA, 37404Age at Arrest:35 years oldArresting Agency:Chattanooga PDCharges:ASSAULTRETALIATION AGAINST JUDGE, JUROR, OFFICERPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCEHEADLIGHTS ON MOTOR VEHICLES (INCLEMENT WEATHER)DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSETINTED WINDOWS VIOLATIONSTUART,ERIK MICHAEL1362 PASSENGER STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37408Age at Arrest:44 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:DRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALEDRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALEDRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALEPOSSESSION OF LEGEND DRUGS W/O PRESCRIPTIONPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIATERON,JABES MISAEL308 OAKWOOD DRIVE KEENE, 760592020Age at Arrest:19 years oldArresting Agency:Cleveland PDCharges:TREW,KYLE EVAN6701 FLAG CREST DRIVE HOMELESS OOLTEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest:39 years oldArresting Agency:Norfork SouthernCharges:AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL TRESPASSTROXTEL,ABIGAIL MADISON6022 MILL RD HIXSON, 373432878Age at Arrest:27 years oldArresting Agency:Chattanooga PDCharges:VIOLATION OF PROBATION( POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SVARNER,DENNIS JAMES317 BRANCH DRIVE HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest:43 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:VIOLATION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRYVIOLATION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRYVASQUEZ,OLGA5121 HOWARDSVILLE ROAD APISON, 37302Age at Arrest:68 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEREGISTRATION, EXPIREDVAUGHN,SARA JANE506 HAMILTON RD CHIGAMAUGA, 32025Age at Arrest:48 years oldArresting Agency:East RidgeCharges:DOMESTIC ASSAULTWEBSTER,HALEY JADE6222 OOTLEWAH GEORGETOWN ROAD OOTLEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest:25 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:THEFT OF PROPERTYWEBSTER,HALEY JADE6222 OOTLEWAH GEORGETOWN ROAD OOTLEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest:25 years oldArresting Agency:HC SheriffCharges:FAILURE TO APPEARWILLIAMS,DANMEGA NATUNGA1902 SHARP ST CHATTANOOGA, 37404Age at Arrest:31 years oldArresting Agency:Chatt St PoliceCharges:RETALIATION AGAINST JUDGE, JUROR, OFFICERDISORDERLY CONDUCTHARASSMENTPUBLIC INTOXICATIONVIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROTECTION OR RESTRAINING ORWYNN,AMANDA DESHAY5021 SWAN RD CHATTANOOGA, 374161950Age at Arrest:36 years oldArresting Agency:East Ridge Here are the mug shots: ALFORD, JEFFERY LABRON Age at Arrest: 45 Date of Birth: 01/06/1980 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT ANDERSON, SHERRY L Age at Arrest: 65 Date of Birth: 02/21/1960 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT BALL, LUKE Age at Arrest: 38 Date of Birth: 03/01/1987 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): CRIMINAL IMPERSONATION BROCK, ROBERT F Age at Arrest: 35 Date of Birth: 02/15/1980 Arresting Agency: Red Bank PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): FORGERY THEFT OVER $250,000 EXPLOITATION OF VULN ADULT BROWN SR, TERRANCE TRAMAINE Age at Arrest: 44 Date of Birth: 07/11/1980 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT BUCK, ROBERT ANTHONY Age at Arrest: 45 Date of Birth: 05/13/1979 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): UNLAWFUL ACTION BY HOME IMPROVEMENTSERVICES PROV CAMERON, CYLETHIA ALICE Age at Arrest: 24 Date of Birth: 04/10/2000 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION THEFT UNDER $1,000 CARTER, ERIC LEBRON Age at Arrest: 37 Date of Birth: 04/11/1987 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT DANIEL, KEYVON TYRE Age at Arrest: 20 Date of Birth: 06/29/2004 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT DAVIDSON, JONIQUA A Age at Arrest: 23 Date of Birth: 02/11/2002 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) DICKERT SHAW, JESSICA LEIGH Age at Arrest: 46 Date of Birth: 12/17/1978 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE IN SCHEDULE II POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA THEFT OF PROPERTY BURGLARY FORTSON, ALEYAH Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 10/02/1995 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) GEORGE, ASHLEY RANESE Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 10/10/1986 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION GOMEZ, ADYLENY Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 04/18/1990 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) GONZALEZ, JULIO FARINAZ Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 07/30/1992 Arresting Agency: Tenn Hwy Patrol Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): SPEEDING EVADING ARREST RECKLESS DRIVING RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT DRIVING ON ROADWAYS LANED FOR TRAFFIC, VIOLATION GREEN, GEORGE LEBRON Age at Arrest: 65 Date of Birth: 01/20/1960 Arresting Agency: Chatt Housing Auth Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA CRIMINAL IMPERSONATION AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL TRESPASS POSSESSING A FIREARM WITH INTENT TO GO ARMED VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF GUEDRON, KENDALL ELIZABETH Age at Arrest: 31 Date of Birth: 03/08/1994 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT HARVEY, BRANDON WILL Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 08/22/1991 Arresting Agency: Federal Marshall Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) HEFFNER, JUSTIN THOMAS Age at Arrest: 41 Date of Birth: 05/13/1983 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) HUTSELL, MANDI LEIGH Age at Arrest: 38 Date of Birth: 08/27/1986 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE INGLE, JOSHUA MATTHEW Age at Arrest: 38 Date of Birth: 06/29/1986 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) JACKSON-RUSSELL, NELLIE ANN Age at Arrest: 47 Date of Birth: 07/19/1977 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT VIOLATION OF PROBATION POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHER JOHNSON, JACOB MICHAEL Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 01/28/1987 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY) LANIER, JAMES CALE Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 12/15/1988 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DISORDERLY CONDUCT MCALLISTER, LARRY LEROY Age at Arrest: 85 Date of Birth: 03/15/1940 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT MURPHY, THOMAS EMERSON Age at Arrest: 24 Date of Birth: 01/01/2001 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) NELSON, GERALD WAYLON Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 11/03/1990 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA NOLLIE, KENNETH MARCEL Age at Arrest: 54 Date of Birth: 11/11/1970 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): VOP POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE VOP POSSESSION OF METH (SELL, DEL. OR MANUFACTURIN THEFT OF PROPERTY PATTERSON, QUINNESHIA NICOLE Age at Arrest: 39 Date of Birth: 11/16/1985 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT PENLEY DYE, JENNIFER LYNN Age at Arrest: 43 Date of Birth: 06/10/1981 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): THEFT UNDER $500 PITTMAN, CHARLES JACKSON Age at Arrest: 46 Date of Birth: 12/07/1978 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT PRIEST, MICHAEL LEE ANTHONY Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 02/24/1989 Arresting Agency: Red Bank PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): FAILURE TO APPEAR RAPER, CHRISTIAN ARMAN Age at Arrest: 28 Date of Birth: 04/13/1996 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): REGISTRATION, EXPIRED FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE RAY, JOHNNY THOMAS Age at Arrest: 59 Date of Birth: 11/03/1965 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) RAY, MELVIN LERICE Age at Arrest: 56 Date of Birth: 06/23/1968 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF METH) RUSSELL, KENYA LARRITTA Age at Arrest: 43 Date of Birth: 05/25/1981 Arresting Agency: Chatt Housing Auth Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): CRIMINAL TRESPASSING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE IN SCHEDULE II SCHLEIF, IVAN LEE Age at Arrest: 51 Date of Birth: 05/22/1973 Arresting Agency: Soddy Daisy PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) SELF, MELISSA RENAY Age at Arrest: 48 Date of Birth: 08/02/1976 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): FUGITIVE (FANNIN CO GA) SMITH, KAIDEN HAVIK Age at Arrest: 19 Date of Birth: 11/29/2005 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): CRIMINAL TRESPASSING SMITH, KEVIN LEVERNE Age at Arrest: 52 Date of Birth: 12/10/1972 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY STEVENSON, PURNELL LAMONTE Age at Arrest: 35 Date of Birth: 02/20/1990 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): ASSAULT RETALIATION AGAINST JUDGE, JUROR, OFFICER POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE HEADLIGHTS ON MOTOR VEHICLES (INCLEMENT WEATHER) DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE TINTED WINDOWS VIOLATION STINSON, LEBRON EUGENE Age at Arrest: 60 Date of Birth: 03/06/1963 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY) TINDAL, KATRINA DESTINY Age at Arrest: 24 Date of Birth: 02/17/2001 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): EVADING ARREST RECKLESS DRIVING FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TREW, KYLE EVAN Age at Arrest: 39 Date of Birth: 10/18/1985 Arresting Agency: Norfork Southern Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL TRESPASS VARNER, DENNIS JAMES Age at Arrest: 43 Date of Birth: 08/09/1981 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY VIOLATION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY VASQUEZ, OLGA Age at Arrest: 68 Date of Birth: 09/09/1956 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE REGISTRATION, EXPIRED VAUGHN, SARA JANE Age at Arrest: 48 Date of Birth: 12/01/1976 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT WEBSTER, HALEY JADE Age at Arrest: 25 Date of Birth: 07/31/1999 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY WILLIAMS, DANMEGA NATUNGA Age at Arrest: 31 Date of Birth: 06/17/1993 Arresting Agency: Chatt St Police Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): RETALIATION AGAINST JUDGE, JUROR, OFFICER DISORDERLY CONDUCT HARASSMENT PUBLIC INTOXICATION VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROTECTION OR RESTRAINING OR WRIGHT, SHANE EUGENE Age at Arrest: 22 Date of Birth: 10/17/2002 Arresting Agency: Red Bank PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY WYNN, AMANDA DESHAY Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 03/06/1989 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 03/27/2025 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) The Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced on Friday the best interest plea of Erika Akridge, 35, of Crandall, Ga. Ms. Akridge pled nolo contendere (no contest), and a judicial diversion order was entered relating to the one count of TennCare fraud for failing to report to TennCare that she had moved out of state. During this time, Ms. Akridge continued to receive TennCare benefits while residing in Georgia. Had Ms. Akridge provided accurate information regarding her residency, she and her children would have been deemed ineligible to qualify for and subsequently receive TennCare benefits. Ms. Akridge was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and 30 hours in jail. She is required to pay restitution of $37,302.08 at a rate of $200 per month for three years. If she fulfills all the conditions of her probation, a judicial diversion will be granted upon completion of the probationary period. Bradley County District Attorney General Stephen Hatchett prosecuted Ms. Akridges case. "Although it should be a well-understood requirement for TennCare recipients to reside in the state of Tennessee, from which their benefits are provided, we continue to encounter instances like this," said Inspector General Chad D. Holman. "Excluding income-related cases, out-of-state cases present our biggest challenge, but the Office of Inspector General remains committed to protecting the integrity of the TennCare program." Tennesseans can receive cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions through the OIG Cash for Tips Program. Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 800 433-3982, emailing Tenncare.Fraud@tn.gov or through the Office of Inspector General website. In 1933, Eudora Brown Almond, the wife of a Georgia physician, set out to recognize the invaluable contributions of doctors to their patients and communities. She chose March 30the anniversary of the first use of ether anesthesia during surgeryas the first Doctors Day in Winder, Ga. More than 90 years later, this tradition continues across the country and around the world. For 138 years, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society has worked alongside our regions physicians to improve the health and well-being of our community. From early efforts to combat diseases like polio and promote immunizations to advocating for public health initiatives, the Medical Society has always been at the forefront of care. Today, we continue this mission by addressing critical issues such as food insecurity, the opioid crisis, and physician wellness, while also inspiring the next generation of medical professionals through programs like Future Docs. Through our charitable arm, the Medical Foundation of Chattanooga, we launched Southeast Tennessee Project Access, ensuring that low-income, uninsured residents receive life-saving medical care. Now in its 21st year, Project Access has coordinated more than $240 million in donated health care, thanks to the generosity of more than 1,500 volunteer physicians, local hospitals, and community partners. On this Doctors Day, we extend our deepest gratitude to the physicians who dedicate their lives to healing, as well as to the community that entrusts us with their care. Todd Thurston, MD President, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society J. Eugene Huffstutter, MD President, Medical Foundation of Chattanooga Kevin Lusk Director of Physician & Community Engagement County Mayor Weston Wamp told members of the Rotary Club that students at many schools within the city are not performing well, and he said the city should join the county in funding education. He said, "We need the city of Chattanooga to participate in public education." The county mayor said Chattanooga is doing what is required in school funding, "but other cities comparable to Chattanoogas size in the state are doing more than is required." The speaker noted that when the city and county schools were merged in 1997 to all become part of the Hamilton County school district, the city was not part of the funding plan. "But funding is needed now," he said. He said, "That would be an investment that will show results 10-20 years in the future." Haley Burton, the county mayor's press secretary, said afterward, Mayor Wamp simply suggested the city of Chattanooga consider how its peer cities in Tennessee are choosing to invest in public education. "Today, only the minimum required by state law, 50 percent of the 2.25 percent local sales tax collected in Chattanooga, goes to Hamilton County Schools. "Meanwhile, Knoxville and Clarksville are going beyond the minimum to invest in their future. Knoxville allocates 72.2 percent, an additional $51 million more than required, to Knox County Schools and Clarksville gives 75.3 percent, $28 million more than the minimum for its school system. These cities are prioritizing education - and its making a difference. "Chattanooga has the same opportunity. If we want to stay competitive, support working families, and strengthen our community, investing in public education should be our top priority. County Mayor Wamp said that the culture in each of the Hamilton County schools creates the recipe for success. A handful of the schools were singled out as having excellent performance, but he said that just four of the 34 schools in the Chattanooga city limits are performing above the average. He said the city of Chattanooga is the economic engine of the region, and he said the performance of high schools in proximity of downtown is especially low, naming Howard and Brainerd. "But you can change the culture," he said. Examples of success are Girls Leadership Academy and Chattanooga Prep, both public charter schools which he said outperform other schools that the students there would otherwise be zoned to attend. Both innovation and establishing charter schools through public philanthropy are ways this can be done and is one path to entrepreneurship, he said. Public education does not like competition that comes with charter schools, he said, but competition customarily makes things better. For example, in this community with deep roots in private schools McCallie is better because of Baylor. The same can be applied to public education, he stated. And, the city needs the resurgence of entrepreneurship that Chattanooga was known for in the past, he said. In the 20th century, he said, Chattanooga was a place where business leaders envisioned the future of the city and Hamilton County. He mentioned large companies founded here such as Coca Cola bottling, Provident Insurance, Brock Candy and Chattanooga Medicine, and by the 1920s he said Chattanooga was known as the Dynamo of Dixie. It is the story of leaders and philanthropists who also developed mountains and buildings, he said.. But he said that entrepreneurship that defined the community is now not what it used to be in Chattanooga. He said that his goal is to shape the county where his five children are growing up. And reviving the entrepreneurial spirit is one way to do that. Another way is using tax dollars for incentives differently. That money should help local businesses that traditionally have been the philanthropists, in addition to foreign investors, he said. Ultimately there is a need to boost small business ownership, and that helps public education, he said. The public sector needs to support rethinking the way tax incentives are made. He said that young people are not being taught skills and there is a need for people to learn the skills that are needed by many industries. Now is the time to invest in education, including technical and vocational education, he said. "The state of our schools is a window into our community," he said, "and the competency of our young people in 10-20 years will be based on education they get now." It is misguided to believe that everybody will be going to college and that all high schools should be aimed at college readiness, he said. There are advantages of vocational schools. A student might not be a great in certain subjects because everybody does not learn the same way, but those leaving a vocational school are ready for the future, he said. And these students are the ones who often start successful businesses. Mayor Wamp is asking for help to convert the Golden Gateway site into a school that will pattern after Kirkman, the technical and vocational high school that was in downtown Chattanooga from 1928 until 1991. He said that the culture in the schools creates the recipe for success. A handful of the schools were singled out as having excellent performance but he said that is just four of the 34 schools in the Chattanooga city limits, or 39 percent, that are performing above the average. The city of Chattanooga is the economic engine of the region, and he said that the performance of some high schools within the city is especially low, naming Howard and Brainerd. "But you can change the culture," he said. Examples of success are Girls Leadership Academy and Chattanooga Prep, both public charter schools which outperform other schools that the students there would otherwise be zoned to attend. Both innovation and establishing charter schools through public philanthropy, are ways this can be done and is one path to entrepreneurship, he said. Public education does not like competition that comes with charter schools, he said but competition customarily makes things better. For example, in this community with deep roots in private schools McCallie is better because of Baylor. The same can be applied to public education. The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, Medical Foundation of Chattanooga, and Southeast Tennessee Project Access are recognizing local physicians by saluting 12 honorees for Doctors Day Appreciation. The honorees were selected from 65 nominations submitted by local residents. The ten honorees are: Francis Cuozzo, MD Vascular Institute of Chattanooga Jason Dunn, MD Premier Surgical Cleveland Marshall Horton, MD Volunteers in Medicine Shannon McCallie, MD Galen Mountain View William Oellerich, MD Chattanooga Heart Institute Christina Parkhurst, MD CHI Memorial Surgical Associates Lee Perry, MD Chattanooga Allergy Clinic Jack Rowland, MD River City Womens Specialists Jessica Scotchie, MD Tennessee Reproductive Medicine Beth Snell, MD University Surgical Associates Madison Torrence, MD Karis Community Health Ryan Voskuil, MD Erlanger Orthopedics National Doctors Day provides a time for people to show appreciation to the doctors who care for them or their loved ones. The first Doctors Day observance was March 30, 1933, in Winder, Georgia, on the anniversary of the first use of general anesthetic in surgery. The U.S. House of Representatives adopted a resolution commemorating Doctors Day on March 30, 1958. In 1990, Congress established March 30 each year as the National Doctors Day. Doctors Day 2025 is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield Community Trust, SVMIC, and WDEF News 12. The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, established in 1883, is an advocate for physicians and for the continual improvement of community health. The Society protects and promotes the patient-physician relationship, seeks to increase access to quality medical care for all persons, and promotes the highest standards of professionalism, ethics and patient care. The Medical Foundation is an affiliated non-profit organization that provides access to health care for low-income uninsured residents and works to improve community health. Titanium, a fashion event fundraiser for Council for Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services, will feature Christian Siriano on Saturday, May 31, at 6 p.m. Organizers said Titanium "promises to seamlessly blend the elegance of high fashion with the dynamic spirit of art and community." Attendees will be treated to a runway show, where modelsboth men and womenwill grace the catwalk, each step synchronized to the pulse of a techno symphony. The evening will come alive with sounds of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Chamber Ensemble, Chattanooga Ballet and Christian Siriano, creating an atmosphere that celebrates art, fashion, celebrity engagement and community connection. Titanium is a celebration of recovery, benefiting CADAS, a nonprofit alcohol and drug treatment center, committed to saving lives and helping to rebuild families. The event will be held at the Chattanooga Convention Center. For more information and tickets, visit Eventbrite. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office has officially released the name of the victim in the drowning incident that occurred Wednesday evening near the 10800 block of Birchwood Pike at Skull Island. The victim has been identified as Maurice Clanton, Jr. Free Movie Night at Tennessee Riverpark will be held Friday, April 4, and the show will be Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure. It will be held at the Tennessee Riverpark Hubert Fry Center Oval, 4301 Amnicola Hwy. Guests are invited to bring chairs and blankets to enjoy the free movie. Free activities start at 7 p.m. and the movie at 8:30 p.m. Activities will include free popcorn, games and parking, and there will be food and beverage vendors. No registration is required, just show up and enjoy the fun. It will be held rain or shine. For more information visit the Facebook event page or contact Recreation Specialist Kylee Saunders at 710-0274 or KyleeS@HamiltonTN.gov. A video of a New Jersey mayor stumbling while being administered a DUI test by law enforcement is making rounds online, with viewers expressing concern for her young son, who had been in the car with her. Mayor Gina LaPlaca was pulled over by police around 5:40 p.m. on March 17, after she had reportedly been driving erratically. She had just picked her son up from daycare, as reported by NBC Philadelphia. Body camera footage obtained by WPVI shows LaPlaca losing her balance as she attempts to remove her son from his car seat. Officers began to question her about one of her side mirrors, which was visibly damaged. She admitted that the mirror sustained damage after she hit something, but did not tell officers what she hit, simply claiming "I don't know." Officers then conducted field sobriety tests, which LaPlaca failed, stumbling once more. A search of her vehicle reportedly turned up a small liquor bottle as well as a water bottle filled with alcohol. The Lumberton mayor was then arrested and taken into custody, subsequently charged with driving under the influence and related charges. Her husband, former executive director of the New Jersey Brewers Guild turned political activist Jason Carty, published a statement on social media outlining LaPlaca's struggle with addiction and revealing that she was seeking rehabilitation. "This is not a political issue. This is not a Republican or Democrat [issue], it is a human being issue," said Carty. "People suffer from addiction and many people don't get help. She is finally getting the help she needs... unfortunately you have to hit rock bottom before you get better. This is obviously rock bottom," he continued. There have been calls from local residents for LaPlaca to resign from her position as mayor following her arrest. However, under state law and township code, there are no measures the Lumberton Township Committee can take to forcibly remove LaPlaca from office, according to the town's attorney. Originally published on Lawyer Herald Grant Evitts, president of Tennessee American Water, issued the following statement in response to the grades of C- for drinking water and D+ for wastewater in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2025 Report Card for Americas Infrastructure. The ASCE 2025 Report Card reveals no change or improvement over the last four years America's drinking water and wastewater infrastructure is stagnant. The Report Card highlights the urgent need for significant investment in water infrastructure, not just across the nation, but also here in Tennessee, said Grant Evitts. Our state continues to face challenges when it comes to investing in critical infrastructure, particularly in these sectors. With over $11.5 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs across Tennessee over the next two decades, American Water continues to work with local, state and federal leaders to provide expertise and investment in communities across the state that need to strengthen their water systems, said officials. In 2024, Tennessee American Water invested over $37 million to help ensure safe, clean, reliable and affordable water service. Over the next 10 years, American Water plans to invest $40-$42 billion in they systems across the country to help ensure safe, clean, reliable and affordable water and wastewater service, said officials. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Front row: Cherokee Nation District 2 Councilor Candessa Tehee, left, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., FHL Bank CEO Jeff Kuzbel, District 1 Councilor Sasha Blackfox-Qualls, District 3 Councilor Lisa Robison Hall, FHLBank Community Investment Officer Kylie Mergen, Cherokee Nation Secretary of Veteran Affairs S. Joe Crittenden. Back row: Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation Boardmember Tony Yates, left, District 8 Councilor Codey Poindexter, Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation Executive Director Todd Enlow, Housing Authority Senior Deputy Executive Director Jerri Killer, FHLBank Chief Legal Executive and Mission Officer Matt Koupal, and FHLBank Director of Government and Industry Relations Ryan Gilliland. Dave Dummitt, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in the Greater Chicago Area, Ill | Screenshot: YouTube/ Willow Creek Community Church After serving as senior pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago for five years, Dave Dummitt announced to the congregation on Sunday that he is stepping down to pursue other dreams. Willow Creek Elder Board Chair Harold Engelmann confirmed that Shawn Williams, the current pastor of the South Barrington campus and executive pastor of weekends, will replace Dummitt as the church's new senior pastor starting in April. In his address on Sunday, Dummitt clarified that this leadership transition is a healthy one. There is no moral failure. There's no scandal. No one has forced me to step down, so sorry bloggers. There's no dirt to dig up, he stated. This is just a beautiful healthy handoff, smooth momentum building. He reflected on his privilege of serving the church over the last five years, noting, The board that hired me five years ago and I, in the very beginning, talked about what would need to be done. We were entering into a season at the church that was very challenging, to say the least. Dummitt shared that he and the elders discussed their goals to bring beauty back to our church, aiming to reach lost individuals, raise up leaders, and cultivate fully devoted followers of Jesus. Dummitt, who hired and mentored Williams, praised him as a man of great character, a proven leader around here, and a phenomenal communicator. Dummitt plans to remain at the church until July to assist with the transition but expects to take a break from ministry after passing the leadership to Williams. He expressed, I've been doing this job, senior ministry, for over 20 years, and I'm ready for a break, and I've got some other sandboxes that I'm looking forward to playing in and dreams that I want to pursue. Dummitt mentioned that he and his family have businesses in Chicago, saying, I've got a friend who does consulting with churches and executive leaders, as well as some development work, and I'm going to join him in that. Dummitt was appointed senior pastor in April 2020, two years after the resignation of the churchs high-profile founder, Bill Hybels, amid sexual misconduct allegations. Home News Catholic archdiocese refutes claim of 'miracle' blood wafer at Indiana church A Roman Catholic archdiocese has concluded that no miracle was involved in a communion wafer showing red spots resembling blood, refuting earlier claims. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis investigated claims that a communion host from a mass held at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Morris had showed signs of miraculously bleeding. However, the results of a laboratory examining the wafer showed no signs of bleeding, according to a statement the archdiocese gave to the Catholic site Our Sunday Visitor. 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 A biochemical analysis of a host from St. Anthony Catholic Church in Morris, Ind., that was displaying red discoloration revealed the presence of a common bacteria found on all humans, stated the archdiocese. No presence of human blood was discovered. Following policy established by the Holy See, the host was submitted for professional, biochemical analysis at a local laboratory. The results indicate the presence of fungus and three different species of bacteria, all of which are commonly found on human hands. The Indianapolis Archdiocese went on to state that in the history of the Catholic Church, there have been well-documented miracles and apparitions, and each has been thoroughly and carefully reviewed. Last month, a Catholic group known as the Corpus Christi for Unity and Peace posted on Facebook the claim of an unnamed individual that a miraculous event took place at her church. According to the account, two pieces of the wafer were dropped during a mass and they were put into water to dissolve. Hours later, however, the host was found to have red spots on it. She immediately showed the priest, they removed it from the water and kept it in the tabernacle. When I saw it today it looked like a very thin piece of skin with blood on it, stated the witness, as quoted by CCUP. For its part, CCUP posted a link on Tuesday to a news report announcing the results of the wafer test, with the caption: Sad to report. For centuries, there have been periodic reports in Catholic churches of communion wafers miraculously bleeding. These purported miracles allude to the Catholic teaching of transubstantiation, which says that, during the mass, the communion elements transform into the body and blood of Jesus. In 2016, Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Legnica, Poland, announced that a communion host that appeared to bleed after a 2013 worship service had been confirmed as miraculous. According to the bishops announcement, the host had been examined and found to have fragmented parts of the cross striated muscle which is most similar to the heart muscle. Home News Dutch under 60 can now starve themselves to death with help from their doctor A Dutch medical federation has lifted the age limit for patients seeking to die by ceasing to eat and drink. Last week, the Royal Dutch Society for the Promotion of Medicine (KNMG) shared the new guidelines, titled Care for people who consciously stop eating and drinking to hasten the end of life. The previous guideline from 2014 did not recommend assisting people younger than 60 to die of starvation and dehydration. People increasingly need control over their own end of life. They have various options for this, including consciously stopping eating and drinking, the KNMG stated. Every competent person can choose and implement this themselves. Good guidance from healthcare providers is important. 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 medical federation opted to drop the initial guidance due to several cases of individuals younger than 60 requesting to die in this manner. "The reason for maintaining an age limit in the old guideline was that at the time, no patients were actually described who were under the age of 60, and who brought the process to an end," Alexander de Graeff, who chairs the committee behind the new guidelines, explained in a statement to NOS. De Graeff added that he believes if patients want to end their lives, then it's better for them to do it with guidance than without guidance." As the outlet reported, there have been multiple cases within the last 10 years of people under 60 ending their lives, sometimes without the help of hospice, by ceasing to eat and drink. Approximately 700 people in the Netherlands die every year by deliberately depriving themselves of food and water. Academic Hospice Demeter has temporarily stopped admitting patients who are physically healthy but are seeking to die, even if theyre over 60, according to NOS. Niels Mulder, chairman of the Dutch Psychiatry Association, told NOS that someone expressing a desire to die should speak with a mental health professional to explore why they feel this way. Mulder also proposed that hospices work to offer mental health care so that these people can still see life prospects. The Royal Dutch Society for the Promotion of Medicine did not respond to The Christian Posts request for comment. According to a brochure from the Dutch Association for a Voluntary End of Life, the cessation of eating and drinking can be more difficult for younger people attempting to end their lives this way while they are still healthy, as it can take longer to die. In November, the Dutch news outlet NL Times reported that a poll conducted by Kieskompas of nearly 200,000 people found that 80% of the Dutch supported allowing elderly people who feel they've reached the end of their lives to obtain assisted suicide. Ten percent of participants said they opposed expanding eligibility for legal assisted suicide to include those who merely think their useful lives have come to an end, while another 10% did not express an opinion. According to a DutchNews report from last April, more than 8,700 people died by euthanasia in the Netherlands last year, a 14% increase from the previous year. The report also noted a 34% increase in the number of euthanized patients who had been suffering from dementia. Another study, "Does Legalizing Assisted Suicide Make Things Better Or Worse?" released in November 2022 by the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, found that nations that have legalized assisted suicide or euthanasia have higher rates of self-initiated suicides. The study also found that women were the most likely to die by self-inflicted suicide in jurisdictions that have permitted euthanasia and assisted suicide. Wesley J. Smith, chair and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism, told CP at the time that the studys results did not surprise him. Assisted suicide advocacy is, literally, suicide advocacy, even if promoters deploy deflecting euphemisms such as, aid in dying, Smith said. A society cant be pro-some suicides and then be surprised that some suicidal people outside the permitted categories think it includes them. Home News Euthanasia deaths rise to all-time high in the Netherlands Over 8,700 people died by euthanasia in the Netherlands in 2022, with a 34% increase in requests coming from dementia patients, according to data from the regional monitoring committees that also saw a spike in couples seeking to die together. In 2022, the number of people who died by euthanasia rose to 8,720, increasing by nearly 14%, according to DutchNews, which said the number of deaths by euthanasia has been increasing by almost 10% each year. The percentage of euthanasia-related deaths in The Netherlands rose from 4.5% to 5.1% among all deaths last year. In addition, the RTE noted that 288 euthanasia requests were carried out on dementia patients, increasing by 34% from 2021. 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 A total of 379 couples suffering from various illnesses died by euthanasia because they reportedly felt they had no chance of recovery, an increase of 23% from 2021. Fifty-eight of these couples chose to die together, which involves meeting with separate consultants to see if both patients meet the criteria for euthanasia. Regarding people with severe psychiatric illnesses, 115 such individuals received help hastening their deaths, the same number as in 2021. RTE noted that in 13 cases, doctors did not meet the legal requirements for carrying out an assisted death. Under Dutch law, euthanasia is legal only if a patient is experiencing unbearable suffering with no hope of improvement and the attending physician fulfills certain care criteria. "Since euthanasia was legalized 20 years ago, just 133 of the 91,565 reports had not met the legal criteria," DutchNews reported. During a panel discussion hosted by the Institute for Human Ecology at The Catholic University of America in April, titled "What is Euthanasia Doing to the West?," professor Charlie Camosy at the Creighton University School of Medicine, said the Dutch Parliament approved a bill legalizing euthanasia in the Netherlands in 2001. Belgium copied this example in 2002, taking it further in 2014 by lifting its age restriction on euthanasia in 2014. Camosy warned about a "slippery slope," stressing that accepting assisted suicide turns into acceptance of euthanasia. This eventually turns into accepting euthanasia for physical illness to euthanasia for psychological distress, he said. In Canada, which legalized assisted suicide in 2016, the country initially only permitted doctor-assisted suicide for citizens or permanent residents who were 18 years old or older with "a serious and incurable disease, illness or disability" that included "enduring and intolerable suffering." The countrys parliament expanded the law in 2022 to patients with non-threatening physical disabilities, intending to offer assisted suicide to people with mental illness by March before the Canadian government announced a temporary delay in December last year. If Canada proceeds with the expansion, it will be one of six countries where an individual suffering from mental illness can seek assisted suicide. "Once you permit it, it's very difficult to keep it where it originally was intended because medically and morally, it seems unjust to limit it to the particular population for which it was intended," Camosy said. According to data from the Oregon Public Health Division, 278 people died by assisted suicide in 2022 in the state, a 17% increase from the previous year and a new record. Since Oregon legalized assisted suicide in 1997, over 3,000 people in the state have received prescriptions under the state's Death With Dignity Act, and 2,454 people have died from taking the medications. Among the concerns listed by those who ended their lives, 88.8% said they feared losing the ability "to engage in activities making life enjoyable" and 86.3% said they were worried about "losing autonomy." Over 40% said they were concerned about being a "[b]urden on family, friends/caregivers." Home News Gafcon G25 conference emphasizes biblical authority, raising the next generation of leaders Leaders from Gafcon, a global Anglican movement committed to restoring biblical values to the heart of the Anglican Communion, gathered March 12 for their annual G25 conference with a central focus on raising the next generation of bishops. The Gafcon Primates Council convened 170 leaders from 25 countries, including 10 primates and 83 other archbishops and bishops, at Christ Church Plano, a cathedral church of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Bishop Paul Donison, rector and dean of the church, also serves as Gafcons general secretary. A press release from Gafcon said the conference reinvigorated the movements mission to reorder the Anglican Communion in joyful submission to Holy Scripture, under the theme Leading the Renewal. 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 Gafcon has sometimes been criticized, even vilified, as a sectarian and schismatic movement that has sought to undermine the unity of the Anglican Communion. But that is simply untrue, the statement said. We cherish the worldwide fellowship that we enjoy through the Anglican Communion. Gafcon emphasized its goal to renew the Anglican Communion and reaffirm biblical authority. We represent the Anglican Communion as we stand for the orthodox Anglican theology that is upheld by a vast majority of the Communion. It is those who have promoted unbiblical teachings who have torn the fabric of our Communion and shown themselves to be out of step with the apostolic faith, the statement continued. The conference featured an uplifting and inspiring service of Holy Communion, with a sermon by ACNA Archbishop and Primate Steve Wood. Morning prayer was led by bishops from Nigeria, Rwanda and Myanmar, with clear and stimulating Bible teaching from the early chapters of Joshua by the general secretary [Paul Donison] that encouraged us in our personal walk with Christ. We ended our time together with another service of Holy Communion, where the Primate of All Nigeria, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, encouraged us from the word, the statement added. Gafcon also revisited its origins, beginning with the 2008 assembly in Jerusalem where 1,100 Anglicans met under Archbishop Peter Akinola. That event produced the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration, which remain foundational documents which continue to guide our movement. Gafcon emphasized its goal to renew the Anglican Communion and reaffirm biblical authority. We represent the Anglican Communion as we stand for the orthodox Anglican theology that is upheld by a vast majority of the Communion. It is those who have promoted unbiblical teachings who have torn the fabric of our Communion and shown themselves to be out of step with the apostolic faith, the statement continued. The conference featured an uplifting and inspiring service of Holy Communion, with a sermon by ACNA Archbishop and Primate Steve Wood. Morning prayer was led by bishops from Nigeria, Rwanda and Myanmar, with clear and stimulating Bible teaching from the early chapters of Joshua by the general secretary [Paul Donison] that encouraged us in our personal walk with Christ. We ended our time together with another service of Holy Communion, where the Primate of All Nigeria, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, encouraged us from the word, the statement added. Gafcon also revisited its origins, beginning with the 2008 assembly in Jerusalem where 1,100 Anglicans met under Archbishop Peter Akinola. That event produced the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration, which remain foundational documents which continue to guide our movement. Revisiting our history is essential to understand the ongoing challenges facing the Anglican Communion today, especially as many of our conference participants were bishops who have been consecrated within the past five years, the statement said. The Gafcon movement continues to grow, continues to gather, and continues to stand firm for the faith once delivered to the saints, the statement read. We also continue to grieve over how some leaders in the Anglican Communion have led the flock of Christ astray, diluted the authority of Scripture and distorted the gospel, endangering many souls. We once again call them to repentance. Small group discussions addressed four defining features of Gafcon. The first, Gathering Authentic Anglicans, referred to members united by their commitment to the gospel and the authority of Scripture rather than through communion with the failing office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Gafcon is a confessional fellowship of Anglicans held together by the theology, liturgy and vision of the Reformation Formularies. We rejoice in our theological unity and cultural diversity as we all work and pray together in the common mission of Christ (Jerusalem Statement 2008), the statement said. The second, Guarding Gods Gospel, criticized the Canterbury-based Instruments of Communion for failing to discipline or protect doctrine. Gafcon has taken up this responsibility by reaffirming the gospel of Christ, rebuking false teaching that undermines it, and providing theological resources, the statement read. Where Anglican leaders in some regions have departed from the truth of the gospel, Gafcon has rejected their spiritual authority, and recognised new expressions of faithful Anglicans, in order to guard and boldly proclaim the life-giving gospel of Christ throughout the world. The third feature, Growing Orthodox Leaders, underscored training and raising up new faithful leaders through Gafcon conferences, the Bishops Training Institute (BTI), and new episcopal consecrations in challenging areas. We were grateful to hear suggestions from both speakers and participants as to how we can further strengthen theological education around the Communion for the equipping of all Gods people for the work of ministry, the statement added. The fourth, Generating Missional Resources, encouraged churches to break free from a poverty mindset rooted in fear and ingratitude, which often restricts resources for ministry. Speakers shared examples of Gods provision and cross-provincial partnerships: Recognising that we have been gifted in distinct ways by God, we commit to use the resources that we have received in service of one another and of the kingdom of God. We give thanks to God for the work of Gafcon and for our time together, the statement concluded. We have prayed together, worshipped together, studied Scripture together, and been encouraged and edified by the faith that unites us across our differing languages and cultures. Gafcon reported continued expansion since its founding and said, Our resolve to proclaim the gospel has not been weakened but strengthened. Our commitment to reform and renew the Anglican Communion has not wavered or faltered. Looking ahead, Gafcon described itself as a gospel people, a rooted people, an orthodox people, and a Bible people, and previewed several new initiatives, including a theological writing group, a theological commission, and expanded inter-provincial relationships. A series of annual mini-conferences are planned as well, with the location of G26 set to take place in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2026. This article was originally published at Christian Daily International Home News Trump 'policy shifts' will 'undoubtedly impact' religious freedom abroad, commission chair warns WASHINGTON The chair of a top federal religious freedom advisory panel warned this week that some "policy shifts" under the Trump administration, such as the suspension of refugee resettlement, may negatively impact religious freedom abroad. The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its 2025 annual report this week, outlining multiple countries and entities that threaten religious liberty and recommendations for steps the U.S. government can take to ensure consequences for the foreign governments that violate the rights of religious people. Human rights advocates and a bipartisan group of lawmakers attended a Tuesday launch event on Capitol Hill for the report's release, featuring remarks by two senators, eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives and multiple USCIRF commissioners. 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 Congress mandates the independent body to monitor religious freedom abroad and provide policy recommendations to advance religious liberty, with volunteer commissioners appointed by the president and congressional leadership from both parties. Many of the speakers, all of whom represented a variety of political beliefs, pointed to the United States' recognition of religious freedom as a fundamental right as a reason to support it around the world. Some commissioners and lawmakers suggested that specific Trump administration policies such as suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and certain foreign aid cuts may hurt those being persecuted abroad. USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck, a retired professor and dean at The Catholic University of America known as an advocate for Catholic social justice teachings in public life, said the transition into a new administration "has involved policy shifts that will undoubtedly impact international religious freedom." "This has included the suspension or cancellation of programs that Congress had funded specifically for IRFA-related work, including emergency support to victims of religious repression," Schneck, who served as a member of the White House Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships during the Obama administration, said. "We have likewise seen a suspension of refugee resettlement programs for those fleeing religious persecution in their countries of origin." The USCIRF chair cited the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, noting that the policy calls for a "holistic approach" to the issue of religious liberty abroad. "As such, the statute requires religious freedom to be an element not only of U.S. bilateral and multilateral diplomacy but also of U.S. foreign assistance, cultural exchange and international broadcasting programs," Schneck said, reading the policy's text aloud. "With these issues in mind, we at USCIRF encouraged the new administration of Donald J. Trump to demonstrate the same or even greater commitment to advancing international religious freedom as was so evident in his first administration." In its latest report, USCIRF urged the Trump administration to continue resettling refugees who have "fled countries with the most egregious forms of religious persecution" through the refugee admission program, which the Trump administration suspended in January via executive order. USCIRF also calls for "a robust annual USRAP admissions ceiling for refugees," noting that the Biden administration announced a refugee resettlement ceiling of 125,000 for fiscal year 2025. Trump's order issued on the first day of his second term contends, however, that the U.S. "lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees." "[T]he United States has been inundated with record levels of migration, including through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)," the order reads. "Cities and small towns alike, from Charleroi, Pennsylvania, and Springfield, Ohio, to Whitewater, Wisconsin, have seen significant influxes of migrants. Even major urban centers such as New York City, Chicago, and Denver have sought Federal aid to manage the burden of new arrivals. Some jurisdictions, like New York and Massachusetts, have even recently declared states of emergency because of increased migration." Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat who serves as the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, disagreed with the Trump administration's plans to cancel Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty grants. The lawmaker noted that USCIRF's reporting relies on the information RFA and RFE/RL provide about developments in countries like China, Vietnam and North Korea. McGovern said during his remarks that the decision to cancel RFA and RFE/RL's grants "is as shocking as it is self-defeating." "How can we speak up for those who are suffering for their beliefs if we lose the ability to know what they are experiencing?" he asked. The Trump administration stated in new court filings that it had restored funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Open Technology Fund amid lawsuits. Since taking office, Trump has sought to drastically cut foreign aid funding and personnel from the United States Agency for International Development, with the White House highlighting examples of certain things that the administration viewed as wasteful spending. Some of these expenses included $1.5 million spent on advancing "diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia's workplaces and business communities," $2 million spent on sex change operations and "LGBT activism" in Guatemala, and the delivery of hundreds of thousands of free meals to al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in Syria. Democratic Rep. Lateefah Simon, the first Muslim member of Congress from California, supports the U.S. advocating for religious liberty abroad but believes that Trump's cabinet lacks religious diversity and would like to see the administration resemble what "America looks like." She said the country is made up of people from various faith backgrounds. "The United States has to be the mirrored version of what we want to see around the world," Simon told The Christian Post. "A country that doesn't persecute any religious practice. If we are marginalizing other faiths and only centering one, then who are we to try to police the world?" In its 2025 annual report, USCIRF recommended 16 countries that the U.S. State Department should designate as "countries of particular concern," places where there are "systematic, ongoing, and egregious" violations of religious freedoms. The commission maintained most of its recommendations from its 2024 annual report, such as Nigeria, Afghanistan, China and Iran. Last year, USCIRF placed Azerbaijan on its list of countries it recommended that the State Department label as CPCs. While the list does not entail immediate punishments, the designation means the country requires close monitoring. USCIRF's 2025 report recommended that the State Department place Azerbaijan on its second-tier Special Watch List, along with Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Since the State Department did not issue CPC recommendations by the end of 2024 or the conclusion of Biden's administration, the 2023 designations were left in effect. Among its latest recommendations for most countries on the CPC list, USCIRF advised the Trump administration to impose targeted sanctions, including on government officials, which involves freezing their assets or barring their entry into the U.S. A Pennsylvania man is facing multiple charges after allegedly vandalizing a Tesla SUV by scratching a swastika into its side while it was parked outside a gym, police said. The incident occurred on the morning of March 24, at a Planet Fitness in Doylestown Borough. According to officials, the Tesla's cameras captured the suspect parking a silver Lexus beside the vehicle, ducking behind it and using an unknown object to etch what "appeared to be ... in the shape of a swastika" into the SUV's exterior. After the act of vandalism, the suspect was seen entering the gym, scanning his membership card at the front desk and proceeded to work out. Police identified the man through his gym membership records and Pennsylvania Driver's License photo. The suspect has been charged with criminal mischief, harassment and disorderly conduct. Authorities have not disclosed the suspect's identity, but a criminal complaint has been filed in connection with the case. Originally published on Latin Times Home News Audreys Children brings to life trailblazing Christian doctor who changed lives of millions The little-known story of Dr. Audrey Evans, a trailblazing pediatric oncologist whose work saved generations of children and whose vision birthed the global network of Ronald McDonald House Charities, comes to life in "Audrey's Children," starring "Game of Thrones" actress Natalie Dormer. "When I read the script, I just couldn't believe that I'd never heard her name before," the 43-year-old award-winning actress told The Christian Post. "And having read the story, I couldn't believe that she wasn't a household name. So I thought any film that is offering me the opportunity to play such a pioneering, incredible human being ... I'm going to have to say yes to." Directed by Ami Canaan Mann, "Audrey's Children" unfolds in 1969 Philadelphia, at a time when women in medicine were still anomalies and the survival rate for pediatric cancer hovered at a grim 10%. 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 Born in England in 1925, Evans, a devout Christian, overcame the odds before she even set foot in an American hospital. In an era where British women were discouraged from entering medicine, she became a Fulbright Scholar and crossed the Atlantic, eventually landing at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Over her 40-year career, she developed new methods to diagnose and treat neuroblastoma, served as head of oncology at CHOP and co-founded Ronald McDonald House Charities, now present in more than 60 countries. By the time of her death in 2022, Evans had changed the lives of millions. Now, with "Audrey's Children," Dormer hopes that legacy will reach even further. "There couldn't be a better moment for a film that speaks to what the individual can achieve," she said. "With everything happening in the world at the moment ... it just goes to show how much there is in common between the 1960s and now." "Audrey's Children" portrays Evans as fearless, often facing off against bureaucrats and condescending male colleagues, yet always grounded by her faith and unwavering love for her patients the "children" in the film's title. "I was just profoundly impressed by her," Dormer said. "She'd wanted to be a doctor since she was a little girl in the U.K. In the 50s, there was going to be no chance of that. So she upped sticks, moved to America. ... She just came at her passion to help children from every angle until she could make it happen." Evans didn't just make it happen; she transformed the field. As one of the world's foremost experts on neuroblastoma, a deadly pediatric cancer, Evans developed what became known as the "Evans staging system," a new method to determine the severity and spread of the disease. Her work helped pioneer chemotherapy protocols for children, cutting mortality rates dramatically. Later, she co-founded the very first Ronald McDonald House a place where families of seriously ill children could stay together, free of charge, near the hospital. "The fact that all these amazing positive results and energy could come from one woman I was just a bit blown away by, to be honest with you," Dormer said. While Dormer shoulders the weight of portraying a medical legend, she's quick to credit "Audrey's Children" screenwriter and producer Julia Fisher Farbman a close family friend of Dr. Evans for giving the film its intimate heartbeat. "Julia is, to all intents and purposes, like Audrey's honorary goddaughter," Dormer explained. "She'd been a family friend her entire life and childhood. She grew up with this woman." Farbman embedded Dormer and the rest of the cast including Jimmi Simpson as Dr. Dan D'Angio and Brandon Micheal Hall as Dr. Brian into the broader Philadelphia medical community, Dormer revealed. CHOP, where Evans worked for decades, opened its doors, with colleagues, former patients and friends coming forward to share memories. "We were really embraced," Dormer recalled. "It's like we felt the support of the city. ... People sitting down with us, telling us stories, hours and hours of talking about who they were and what they did." Dormer also had a rare chance to meet Evans herself. Though the doctor passed away during the film's production, Dormer was able to sit with her beforehand. "I was able to sit down with Audrey and hold her hand before she passed," she said. "We were plugged in ... mainline plugged into the very, very core of the story." In the film, rated PG, Dormer masterfully portrays Evans as both saintly and steely, a woman of deep compassion, spiritual conviction and unrelenting willpower. She is tender with patients, for example, but fierce in meetings with medical boards. "Audrey was deeply empathetic and absolutely unafraid to challenge the status quo," Dormer said. The actress emphasized that "Audrey's Children" is, at its heart, a story about resistance: a doctor pushing past red tape and discrimination to get life-saving trials funded and a visionary fighting for families too poor to afford proximity to care. One recurring thread in the film shows Evans discovering that families were pulling their children from treatment because they had no place to stay in the city, a realization that led to the creation of the Ronald McDonald House. The film culminates in Evans securing funding first from the Philadelphia Eagles, then from McDonald's itself to build the house. "[Audrey] said to Julia that Julia was only allowed to make the film if it would make a difference to children's lives," Dormer said. "She was like, if it will make a difference to children ... then go ahead." "Still, pediatric cancer needs funding," she added. "Audrey had hoped that cancer would be licked, as she said, before she left this mortal world. And that has not quite happened. ... The work continues." Dormer hopes that audiences come away not only with admiration for Evans but also with a challenge to themselves. "I think it's a story about what you can do within your lane," she said. "You can't fix everything ... but you can work out what you can achieve, what is doable, within your remit. Focus on what you can do for the greater good. Keep asking until they say yes. Don't take no for an answer." "Audrey's Children" hits theaters on Friday. Home News Family vows to bring back Iowa woman missing in Mexico with prayer Family members of an Iowa woman who has been missing in Mexico since traveling across the border seven months ago vowed during a vigil at her church Wednesday night to bring her home with prayer. Chris Leguisano, the 51-year-old mother of four and parishioner at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Des Moines, has been missing in Mexico since Aug. 9, KCCI8 reports. Family members say she drove a truck full of belongings to Mexico as a favor to her ex-brother-in-law, who the family alleges has not been cooperating with the FBI to help locate her. During a vigil at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Leguisano's son insisted that as long as they keep praying, she will return home. 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 long as we continue to pray and fight for her return, she'll be here," said Edgar Leguisano. "I know my mom is still out there, and I hope you guys keep praying for my mom each and every day." Well-wishers lit candles and sang hymns at the vigil to strengthen the missing mother's spirit, but her daughter told WeAreIowa that it is difficult not knowing where she is. "It's been depressing, sad, not knowing where our mother could be at," said daughter Stephanie Quintana Leguisano. Chris Leguisano was supposed to return to the U.S. on Aug. 10, after traveling to Reynosa, Mexico, to deliver the truck. When she did not return, a missing person report was filed. Her family has been waiting for her safe return ever since. "Across the border, things like this happen every day," Edgar Leguisano said. "You know we're not the only individuals left with uncertainty." Although the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico have been warning Americans about the risk of ransom kidnapping around Reynosa, Edgar Leguisano doesn't believe his mother was aware of the dangers in the border town. He told Iowa News Now in an earlier interview that they traveled to Mexico numerous times without a problem. "I've traveled with my mom to Mexico plenty of times, and we've never encountered any situation of being held captive or, you know, being targeted as a tourist," he said. The family has been contacted by unknown individuals seeking a ransom payment for Chris Leguisano's return, prompting Iowa Republican U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst to lobby Mexican authorities for answers. The family is now inviting people to mass this Sunday at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, where they'll again dedicate the service to their mother. "I want to be super optimistic, but at the same time trying to keep realistic as well," son Brian Garay said. Home News Planned Parenthood executive salaries continue to increase; many pulling in over $500K: report Many of Planned Parenthood's top executives are pulling in six-figure salaries as the average pay for CEOs of regional affiliates for the nation's largest abortion provider is more than three times that of the average nonprofit CEO, according to a new report. The American Life League, a pro-life advocacy group, published its "2025 Report on Planned Parenthood CEO Compensation" on Thursday. The publication was compiled based on research conducted from November 2024 through January and primarily includes salaries and figures from fiscal year 2023, which spanned October 2022 through September 2023. The remaining statistics came from fiscal year 2022. The findings show that Planned Parenthood CEOs "continue to rank in the 98th percentile of US wage earners." The average compensation for Planned Parenthood affiliate CEOs increased 11% from 2020 to 2023 from over 317,000 to more than 352,000. 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 fact is that Planned Parenthood funnels its millions into political campaigns, abortion' services,' and its own CEOs," the report states. "In the US, the average salary for a nonprofit CEO is roughly $117,000 a year. Planned Parenthood more than triples that with an average annual CEO salary of $352,661. It is extremely clear that Planned Parenthood's priority is money and the ability to funnel that money back into the pockets of its own CEOs." The Christian Post reached out to Planned Parenthood for comment. A response was not immediately received. Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson is the highest-paid employee at the abortion provider, with a salary of $904,014, the report shows. Other top-paid officials include Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Dawn Lugens ($619,971), Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Vickie Barrow-Klein ($559,239), and Executive Vice President of Federal Engagement & Impact Kimberly Custer ($545,347). Sue Dunlap of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles was the highest-paid CEO of a Planned Parenthood affiliate, raking in $875,942. Stacy Cross of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte came in second, earning $725,671. Other Planned Parenthood affiliate CEOs who made over $500,000 annual salary include Jon Dunn from Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, who brought in $692,905, and Ken Lambrecht of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas. Lambrecht was paid $646,672. Four additional Planned Parenthood affiliate CEOs earned over half a million dollars, the report states, including Darrah DiGiorgio Johnson of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, Inc. ($644,958), Gilda Gonzales of PP Northern California ($617,707), Sheri Bonner of Planned Parenthood of Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley ($609,797) and Melaney Linton of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Inc. ($503,133). Only a handful of Planned Parenthood affiliate CEOs received less than $100,000 a year. "Hundreds of millions of our tax dollars are forked over to the oligarchs at Planned Parenthood, and in turn, they kill nearly half a million preborn Americans each year," American Life League National Director Katie Brown Xavios said in a statement. "And the reward? A government-funded nonprofit CEO making nearly $1 million a year. That should enrage Americans." Katherine Van Dyke, the lead researcher for the report, notes that Planned Parenthood's CEO and affiliate earnings "continue to grow each year" even though the organization is "experiencing financial decline." "The data collected in our CEO report is vital, as it shows that taxpayer money is truly the fuel for Planned Parenthood's earnings and that the financial facts from their own reports do not align with the organization's claims of financial woes," she stated. "Now is the time for our country's leaders to truly assess these numbers and give Planned Parenthood the boot when it comes to receiving government reimbursements or benefitting from any form of appropriations. In other words, it is time to defund this very wealthy and profitable abortion megacorporation." Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood affiliates across the U.S. reported millions of dollars in income. Planned Parenthood Los Angeles had the highest income of any Planned Parenthood affiliate nationwide, bringing in $155,081,369. Other affiliates with incomes of greater than $100 million were Planned Parenthood Mar Monte ($130,383,572), Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, Inc. ($130,374,525) and Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, Inc. ($106,549,598). The report only listed the 20 highest incomes by affiliate. The lowest income included on the list was Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, Inc., which brought in $36,295,084. The report concluded by noting that "Planned Parenthood's latest annual report cited $699.3 million in federal funding, a massive 34% of the organization's total annual revenue." In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal last year, the individuals tapped by then-President-elect Donald Trump to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency planned to examine cutting "nearly $300 million to progressive groups like Planned Parenthood." Home News Rare protests against Hamas break out in Gaza after IDF strikes weaken groups leadership Protests against Hamas rule broke out in at least three neighborhoods of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, marking a rare display of public dissent against the terror organization. Demonstrations were reported in Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and even Khan Younis a former terror hub. During the march in Beit Lahiya, demonstrators carried white flags and held signs critical of Hamas. In one video shared on social media, people can be heard calling for the release of the Israeli hostages. 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 protests took place in front of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, located in the northern Gaza Strip. Following Al Jazeera's extensive coverage of hostage release ceremonies and its consistently positive reporting on Hamas during the war, several protesters questioned why the Qatari news agency was absent and not covering the anti-Hamas demonstration. The people are demanding the press to cover these events! one participant said. People are demanding freedom, theyre demanding a halt to the hostilities against Gaza, theyre demanding peace and an end to this war. Anti-Hamas protests are breaking out in northern and southern Gaza, asking "Where is the press?!" Of course, Aljazeera & leftists or "independent" Western media are nowhere to be seen because they will never disrupt the Hamas-centric "resistance" narrative. Expose them all now! pic.twitter.com/GLFAAPKLiB Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (@afalkhatib) March 25, 2025 Another protester said that Arab media journalists had entered the Indonesian Hospital to avoid covering the march. In another video showing hundreds of protesters marching by, the cameraman can be heard saying in Arabic, "Large crowds are protesting now against the rule of Hamas. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The people here are calling to free the prisoners so we can remain alive. He was apparently referring to the Israeli hostages, whom Hamas has continuously referred to as prisoners. Later Tuesday evening, additional videos surfaced on social media showing smaller protest events taking place in other parts of the Gaza Strip. While the exact size of the crowds is difficult to determine, a pro-Palestinian, anti-Hamas account on X compared the turnout to that of the hostage handover ceremonies, suggesting that even more people participated in the protests. The same X account also shared two images, allegedly from clan leaders in both the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, expressing support for the protests and denouncing Hamas. By Tuesday night, armed members of Hamas arrived to disperse the crowds, however, footage showed some of the protesters hurling rocks at them. While the exact cause of the protests is unclear along with the true level of public support for them it appears that Israels recent attempts to target Hamas leadership and assets over the past several days have emboldened at least some Gaza residents to take a stand. Several times throughout the war, and even before Oct. 7, 2023, there were scattered protests against Hamas, however, the terror group typically responded quickly and brutally to suppress them. Hamas, itself, appears to have been surprised by the protests, which came just a day after the terror group released a call for protests and marches across the world in solidarity with the resistance. In social media posts, the organization attempted to downplay the protests, referring to some statements made by local leaders as fake. Al Jazeera, which has a long-running policy of avoiding criticism of Hamas, attempted to portray the protests as demonstrations in support of Hamas and focused only on calls for an end to the war. It is also unclear what, if any, involvement the Palestinian Authority had in the protests or whether the marches were organized locally. In one letter, claiming to be from the clan leaders (mukhtars) of Shejaya, there was a call to hold additional protests on Wednesday at noon. Kan News' Arab affairs correspondent Roee Kais shared a statement from one of the mukhtars from Beit Lahiya, who said the people of Gaza do not want any more weapons or war. "We say to our brothers in Hamas, enough, enough, enough, this is injustice, every two or three years a problem is forced on us and the whole world comes out against us, Hisham al-Barawi, head of the al-Barawi clan, said. We are not satisfied with this Hamas government, we are not against Hamas, but it is impossible to live under Hamas rule. Al-Bawari said the Palestinians in Gaza want to get rid of their weapons and surrender. It is forbidden to possess weapons, we need to wave white flags to the world and say to the world, stand by the Palestinian people, we are interested in living in peace and not on weapons. We are not interested in weapons and we are not interested in living in the resistance, we want to wave white flags to the whole world. This article was originally published by All Israel News. Home News TD Jakes reveals he suffered heart attack, went to cloud-enveloped space The founder of the 80,000-member Potter's House in Dallas, Texas, T.D. Jakes revealed that the "slight health incident" he suffered on stage while preaching on Nov. 24 was a heart attack, and he found himself in a "cloud-enveloped space" during the near-death experience. "You know, I didn't really realize what was happening to me on stage until I got to the hospital in an ambulance. And [I was] fussing that it happened on stage, by the way, because I didn't want it to happen," Jakes told NBC's Craig Melvin on the "Today" show Wednesday. "The doctor leaned over in my ear and said, 'You had a massive heart attack.' And the reason I didn't realize it is I had no symptoms that they say: no numbness, no sharp pain, no anything. I just kind of drifted off to sleep. I didn't know what it was, but I almost died," Jakes added. 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 megachurch pastor previously shared details from the event during his emotional return to his pulpit on New Year's Eve, suggesting he had trouble with his heart but stopped short of saying he had a heart attack. On Wednesday, however, he was more explicit. "He [the doctor] said five minutes later, I would have been dead on arrival. The right side of my heart had completely stopped giving blood at all. As long as I was up preaching, I felt fine. When I sat down, the adrenaline dropped and exposed the fact I was preaching with half of my heart closed through a clot," Jakes explained. "They had to go get it." Jakes suggested he may have gotten a glimpse of what the afterlife might be like for him during his near-death experience, and it was comforting. "In my mind, I was in a quiet, peaceful, serene, white-enveloped, cloud-enveloped space," he said. "I was on my way out. Afterwards, in retrospect, it was such a privilege to stand on the other side to get a little glimpse of what that might be like I think it was absolutely amazing." Jakes' disclosure comes as he pursues a defamation lawsuit amid a wave of legal claims from several men alleging sexual assault and misconduct. The most recent claim came from 57-year-old Timothy Anderson of Manatee County, Florida, who alleged in February that Jakes tried to kiss him in the 1990s while he worked as his youth pastor. Anderson's claim is part of a legal response filed on Feb. 21 by Duane Youngblood's attorney, Tyrone A. Blackburn, in support of a motion seeking to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed by Jakes over claims Youngblood made during interviews with internet personality Larry Reid on his "Larry Reid Live" show. A week earlier, Jakes formally denied separate allegations he sexually assaulted Youngblood, now a registered sex offender, when he was a teenager and his older brother, Pastor Richard Edwin Youngblood. Dustin Pusch, a lawyer for Jakes, also dismissed Anderson's claim, telling the Dallas Morning News that Anderson is an unreliable ally of the Youngbloods who are trying to destroy Jakes' reputation. When Melvin asked him on Wednesday if he vehemently denies the allegations, Jakes declared, "Absolutely!" "I haven't seen this person for 40 years, and this particular individual has been arrested as a child predator twice and convicted," he said of Duane Youngblood. Asked if he expected any more accusers to come forward with claims against him, Jakes said he doesn't know. "I don't know where we are right now. From the looks of last year and how many black celebrities and celebrities in general have had to endure this kind of stuff, I don't know where we are right now," he said. "I think that there is a hopelessness, . desperate people do desperate things. And they filed a motion to have it (defamation lawsuit) dismissed. So far it's been denied. We filed 600 pages of information. I don't know what's next. I didn't see this coming." Home News Mosque behind proposed Muslim community in rural Texas ordered to stop illegally operating funeral home Move comes after Gov. Greg Abbott cites 'serious legal issues' with Plano Islamic center plans A mosque behind a proposed Muslim community development in rural Texas is now under investigation by state authorities for allegedly operating a funeral home without a license. The East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), located about 20 miles north of Dallas, is the mosque behind the ambitious EPIC City and EPIC Ranches project that aims to establish a self-sustaining neighborhood approximately 40 miles northeast of Dallas, featuring over 1,000 homes, a mosque, Islamic schools, clinics, stores, parks, and a nursing home on a 402-acre site spanning Collin and Hunt Counties. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that the Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC), which oversees all funeral operations in the state, sent a cease-and-desist letter ordering the EPIC compound to immediately stop all illegal funeral service operations. While details were scant, the letter addressed to EPIC from TFSC Executive Director Scott Bingaman accused the Islamic center of "operating as a funeral home without an establishment license" in violation of state law. 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 "Effective immediately, you are ordered to cease and desist funeral service operations," wrote Bingaman, who added the agency is making a criminal referral to the Collin County District Attorney's office. "Here in Texas, we uphold the rule of law, said Abbott. "The group behind the proposed East Plano Islamic Center compound in Collin County is knowingly breaking state law in many ways, including by operating a funeral home without a license. This is a crime, and it will not be tolerated. Texas will continue to defend our communities from any threats posed by EPIC City." Earlier this week, Abbott announced that a dozen state agencies are investigating potential illegal activities taking place at EPIC. The governor took to X on Monday to voice concerns about the development, stating, The proposed EPIC compound in Collin [County] has serious legal issues. A dozen state agencies are investigating it, the Attorney General will look into it, and legislators are considering laws to restrict it, as well as laws to prevent foreign adversaries from buying land in Texas. The announcement signals a robust state response, involving multiple agencies and Attorney General Ken Paxton, to scrutinize the projects legal standing and implications. Abbotts comments are the latest response from the governors office following his warning in February that Sharia law is not allowed in Texas in response to reports about the proposed development in rural North Texas. He further warned against the creation of Sharia cities or no-go zones, suggesting the development could imply exclusionary practices. To be clear, Sharia law is not allowed in Texas. Nor are Sharia cities. Nor are no go zones which this project seems to imply, Abbott wrote. Bottom line: The project as proposed in the video is not allowed in Texas. In response, an X account named Epic Ranches replied, Governor Abbott, our vision is to build a diverse, safe, and inclusive community one in which people of every background, faith, and culture can live together in harmony. It should go without saying that our community, like any other in this great state, will follow all local, state, and federal laws. We would love for you to see the site and learn about our project over some Hutchins BBQ. With an estimated Muslim population of over 313,000, Texas has one of the largest Muslim communities in the U.S., with nearly 150,000 Muslim residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Located in the Dallas suburb of Plano, EPIC opened in July 2015 as a nonprofit formed exclusively for educational, religious, and social purposes and bills itself as a a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-lingual, non-sectarian, diverse, and open community committed to full and equal participation and involvement of men and women who are community members of EPIC and subscribe to accept its rules, regulations, and procedures. Well known among the Muslim community and with millions of followers on social media, Qadhi, who also studied at the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia, and at Yale University, has played a key role in the promotion of the EPIC project: hes said the latest offering, EPIC Ranches, is a limited time opportunity that aims to change the entire dawah scene by showing the world what it means to be a Muslim living in the West. In Islam, dawah is described by the Christian apologetics website Got Questions as the Islamic equivalent" to Christian evangelism. Home Opinion No, all religions dont lead to God We hear a lot these days about re-enchantment, by which people usually mean that Richard-Dawkins-style secular materialism is going out of style, being replaced by a renewed fascination with spirituality, the occult, and the supernatural. But this resurgent spirituality is often deeply unserious, treating actual religious doctrines like items on a buffet. Thats insulting to those who take religion seriously, but its also potentially dangerous to those welcoming and promoting this kind of re-enchantment. Consider a new podcast called Soul Boom, hosted by actor Rainn Wilson, whom most will know as Dwight from The Office. The shows rainbow unicorn logo says a lot about how seriously spiritual matters are being taken. Wilson has welcomed guests from across the belief spectrum in the last year to explore the potential for spiritual revolution, to instigate healing transformations, and to delve into what it means to be human with a body and soul, whatever all that means. 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 description fits nicely within Wilsons Bahai faith, which teaches that the religions of the world come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God. According to Bahai writings, the revealed religions all ultimately lead toward the same deity. Divine Educators (Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and so on) who gave us the major faiths each revealed a part of that truth. But the whole truth is ultimately found in uniting their teaching or the parts of their teaching we like. Its the sort of claim that goes down smoothly for those with post-Christian, pluralistic sensibilities. In fact, many modern Westerners already profess essentially this without calling themselves Bahai. But there are a lot of problems with the all religions lead to God creed. One is that it fails to take any religions actual doctrines seriously. Because, of course, Islam and Christianity, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism ultimately make incompatible claims about God, reality, and salvation, yet consider those claims among their most important teachings. If Buddha is the way, Jesus is not. If the non-Trinitarian Allah of Islam is God, then he is not the Father of the Eternal Son who took on flesh, and so on. That hasnt stopped many modern spiritual people from sampling the religion buffet. Recently, Wilson was joined by YouTube comedy duo Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, AKA Rhett and Link, to talk about why they no longer call themselves Christians. Rhett explained that his evangelical upbringing taught him that Jesus died and rose from the dead. He realized (correctly) that if this is true, it is the most important thing to know. But he came to doubt the authenticity of Christian claims and eventually distanced himself from Christianity because he didnt think there was enough evidence. Wilson replied again, in line with his Bahai faith that maybe Christianity doesnt require such historically rooted dogmas as the Resurrection. Maybe Jesus didnt claim to be God, and this was a metaphor developed by theologians trying to understand His miraculous ministry, and what really matters is Jesus ethical teaching His command to love thy neighbor. This, of course, is nothing new. Its the point of the old parable about the blind men and the elephant, each feeling a part of it and describing it differently, not realizing they were all touching the same reality. The whole elephant is supposed to be some universal spirituality toward which all the worlds religions strive, but which only an enlightened few have recently grasped in its entirety. As Tim Keller once pointed out, this assumes the parable-teller alone can see the whole elephant! Everyone who claims to know the unifying truth in all religions is claiming to have a privileged perspective and to know the whole truth. Far from being broadminded or humble, this is actually arrogant. Its a refusal to take any of the central claims of the worlds religions seriously enough to admit they clash. C.S. Lewis called this patronizing nonsense in the case of Christianity. Jesus was not crucified merely for telling people to love one another. He was crucified because He claimed to be equal with God! This picking-and-choosing from the worlds religions and not taking any of them very seriously is a problem because spirituality is serious, the spiritual realm is real, and not all its inhabitants believe in loving their neighbors. As Peter Leithart recently wrote at First Things, Not every mystery should be plumbed. Tales arent true just because they poke scientific naturalism in the eye. And the generic, buffet-style spirituality of Rainn Wilsons Soul Boom podcast and his guests is no major improvement over secular materialism. Its based, fundamentally, on the secular conceit that none of the worlds major religions or their truth-claims need to be taken seriously. But they do. Deadly seriously. Because mutually contradictory accounts of God, salvation, and our ultimate destiny cannot all be true. Those claiming to worship a higher power while picking and choosing what they think is true may be fooling a lot of people these days. But the main people theyre fooling are themselves. Originally published at BreakPoint. Russia has proposed supplying a nuclear power plant for Elon Musk's ambitious Mars mission, according to Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Dmitriev announced Thursday during the Arctic Forum in Murmansk, Russia, suggesting that Russia could offer "small-sized nuclear power plants" to support Musk's plans for space exploration, particularly his goal of sending humans to Mars. "Russia can offer a small-sized nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars and other advanced technological capabilities," Dmitriev said during his remarks, according to Reuters. He highlighted that Russia's expertise in nuclear technology could be a valuable asset for future space missions. Dmitriev, who was appointed by the Kremlin to handle negotiations with the U.S. on the ongoing war in Ukraine, expressed his admiration for Musk, describing him as a "great visionary." He also indicated that Russia could play a significant role in the future of Mars exploration. His comments came after a series of discussions regarding potential cooperation between Russia and Musk's SpaceX. This proposal is part of a broader strategy, with Dmitriev previously stating on March 18 that Russia anticipates talks with Musk in the near future. The discussions could involve collaboration between Musk's SpaceX and Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, as well as the state-run nuclear energy company, Rosatom. Dmitriev emphasized that Russia's nuclear technology expertise could be a critical asset for Mars missions, especially given the challenges of energy supply in space. The idea of working with Musk, who has previously discussed the possibility of human landings on Mars as soon as 2029, comes amid renewed U.S.-Russia diplomatic exchanges. These talks, initiated by President Donald Trump, have aimed to improve relations that have been heavily strained due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Despite the geopolitical tensions, Moscow and Washington continue to cooperate on certain space-related matters, particularly in the field of space exploration. Musk's company, SpaceX, has been at the forefront of private space travel, with plans to establish a human presence on Mars by the early 2030s. Musk has publicly stated that while a Mars landing could occur as soon as 2029, 2031 is a more realistic timeframe for such a historic mission. Abonati-va sa primiti pe email saptamanal lista articolelor adaugate pe parcursul saptamanii. Adresele .ru nu sunt acceptate. Email NEWSLETTER Anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism are prevalent at Save the Children UK (SCUK), according to independent reviews of the charitys working culture. SCUK had enabled anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism to persist, a report published this week by consultancy Global HPO says, with some staff afraid of participating in certain events and of speaking out. The report found that there was a persistence of anti-Muslim and antisemitic slurs at SCUK, which had caused staff to leave the charity. As part of two reviews conducted for the report, staff also voiced concerns that there was a lack of leadership in handling these matters. SCUK chief executive Moazzam Malik said he was sorry that colleagues have experienced any form of hatred and that the charity has accepted all the reports recommendations. Meanwhile, SCUK has confirmed that a campaigns manager who posted a TikTok video asking for recommendations of bagel shops that were actively pro-Palestinians and known to not be in support of that hell-hole place and Zionism no longer works for the charity. Malik said the employees comments, which led to her being put on leave while the charity conducted an internal investigation , in no way reflected the views of Save the Children. Charity does not know how to learn The report, commissioned by SCUK, was based on two separate reviews with 89 of the charitys staff and is part of the charitys wider effort to address diversity and inclusion. In particular, the reviews focused on the experiences of Muslim and Jewish employees who attended a series of staff events in November and December 2023. It found that there was no code or universally understood framework for respect and dignity at the charity, and senior leaders, in particular, were unable to deal with offensive behaviour. The organisation does not know how to learn, and the DEI programme is not developed well enough to even begin to tackle the issues, it states. SCUK has a diversity and inclusion strategy called Free to Be Me, which the report recommends should be updated to clarify what is acceptable behaviour in the workplace. Free to Be Me is meaningless in an environment that excludes and disrespects members of its community, it says. The report also recommends that SCUK should create spaces to learn and discuss issues, set clear boundaries on what staff can and cant say and carry out such initiatives in a proactive way rather than reactive. CEO: We are deeply sad and sorry Moazzam Malik, chief executive of the charity, said: In August 2024, Save the Children UK commissioned a report on anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism in response to feedback from colleagues following internal meetings stemming from the Israel-Palestinian conflict. We are deeply sad and sorry that colleagues have experienced any form of hatred whether anti-Muslim hate, antisemitism or other - in the workplace. We recognise the personal and professional impact on individuals - Muslim, Jewish, people with faith and none. All colleagues Muslim, Jewish, people with faith and none - should feel valued and respected and able to offer their best with confidence and safety. We are utterly committed to tackling all forms of discrimination, including anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism. We accept all the recommendations of the report and have set out our responses to all 20 recommendations to address anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism as well as our wider approach to diversity and inclusion. In taking forward the action plan, we will liaise closely with staff and our board and review progress annually. Earlier this year, SCUK announced it was considering making 197 staff redundancies in an effort to save 6m from its annual wage bill. sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, By eyewave/ Adobe Concerns have been expressed about the UKs future aid spending after the government this week announced changes to how it calculates its budget. NGO umbrella body Bond warned that changes to the Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations could result in the government falling below its recently reduced target to spend 0.3% of gross national income (GNI) on aid. In her first spring statement on Wednesday, chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the governments plans to cut the ODA budget from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3% by 2027 to boost defence spending, putting UK aid at its lowest level in over 25 years. In a letter to the international development committee yesterday, development minister Baroness Chapman said the Treasury would no longer allocate ODA based on a percentage of GNI. Instead, the ODA allocations will now be in cash equivalent terms, meaning that the budget will be based on GNI forecasts that will not be later adjusted for fluctuations. Bond said if the Office for Budget Responsibilitys (OBR) March 2023 projections for GNI for 2023-24 and 2025-26 were used to fix the ODA budget over this period, then there would have been billions less than the level required to meet 0.5% of GNI target. The government estimated that reducing the ODA budget could save it 500m in 2025-26; 4.8bn in 2026-27; and 6.5bn in 2027-28, with final ODA allocations due to be set after its spending review concludes on 11 June. Minister: Significant and positive change Baroness Darlington said the transition to spending 0.3% of GNI on ODA demands significant shifts in the scale and shape of our ODA spending, in line with the shifts underway as we modernise our approach to development. She said the government is prioritising maximising the Foreign, Commonwealth & Developments (FCDO) flexibility in 2025-26 while meeting legally binding commitments and existing live contracts and agreements. The change to ODA allocations will result in the FCDO no longer holding the ODA spender and saver of last resort role, meaning it will no longer required to adjust budgets to hit a calendar year spending commitment. This is a significant and positive change to the way the FCDO manages its ODA budget, Baroness Darlington said. The FCDO will no longer be automatically exposed to the volatility of GNI fluctuations or ODA spending by other departments, including demand-driven in-donor refugee costs, thereby increasing the predictability of our budgets and allowing us to plan with more certainty. Bond: 0.3% of GNI no longer a firm government target In a statement , Bond said that for 2023-24 and 2025-26, the GNI projections made by the OBR have been [nearly] consistently revised upwards over the last two years. So much so, that if the March 2023 OBR projections for GNI for 2023-24 to 2025-26 were used to fix the ODA budget over this period, then UK ODA would have been around 1bn less in each of these three years than the level currently estimated to be required to meet the 0.5% of GNI target, it said. Unless the OBR has found a way to avoid under-estimating GNI in future years, then the move to fix the ODA budget for 2025-26 to 2029-30 based on current projections of GNI over this period means that its very possible that UK ODA will fall below 0.3% of GNI in the coming years. In recent years, FCDO has lost out from having its status of spender and saver, Bond said, especially with the ballooning levels of in-donor refugee costs reported as ODA by the Home Office during 2021-23, which led to FCDO sacrificing huge portions of its budget. However, Bond added that the FCDO received an extra 540m in ODA last year due to higher-than-expected GNI and lower-than-expected levels of in-donor refugee costs. Its also the case that, as the government has ambitions to reduce in-donor refugee costs further, and could speed these efforts up with added reforms, theres significant potential for FCDO to benefit as spender of last resort in the coming years. Losing this status means that FCDO wont benefit from the upside of these costs coming down faster than planned. A federal judge has dismissed a proposed class action filed on behalf of Pennsylvania homeowners who believe that State Farm undervalued their property damage claims in its use of the Xactimate software that is popular with insurers. The lead plaintiffs, Jamie and Becky Belotti, sustained a fire loss at their home in Duryea, Pennsylvania. Their complaint contains counts for bad faith, fraud and deceptive business practices, breach of contract, bad faith, and unfair trade practices. They sought relief as a class action. The homeowners maintained that State Farm wrongfully treated their home damage repair as new construction when it should have used Verisk Analytics Xactimate numbers for repair/reconstruction and the difference led to an alleged underpayment. The plaintiffs did not contest that State Farm failed to pay for the cost of repair and replacement of its losses with similar construction. Rather the plaintiffs concerns related to the insurers alleged failure to use a specific method of computation concerning its assessment of their losses. State Farm filed a motion for summary judgment seeking to dismiss all claims alleged, arguing that it had no contractual duty to use a particular setting when estimating losses and it did not breach its loss settlement obligations. After the parties could not agree on a loss payment amount, they entered into an appraisal process as called for in the policy. At the time, the parties were approximately $200,000 apart in their respective replacement cost estimates. The appraisers selected by State Farm and the plaintiffs agreed that the replacement cost estimate and the actual cash value amounts for the plaintiffs loss were $267,382 and $240,643 respectively. The appraisal award was not prepared using Xactimate and did not use either Xactimates new construction or Restoration/Service/Remodel settings. State Farm paid the plaintiffs the difference between its initial total payments and the amount resulting from the appraisal process. Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr., in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, agreed with State Farm that its policy did not require the insurer to use a specific computation method for loss calculations. The judge also noted that the insurer agreed to an appraisal process after the homeowners public adjuster and the insurer differed over the right amount and the insurer paid the difference. The judge said he could not identify any policy language that directly or indirectly concerns any method of computation, much less any language that requires a singular method of computation. The language of an insurance policy should not be stretched beyond its plain meaning to create ambiguous terms, the judge commented. Indeed, the court said, the reason that the policy does not include a provision allowing the defendant to use the new construction model for damages is because the policy is wholly independent from a method of computation. The Belottis failed to provide any additional information that indicates any potential ambiguity or any additional general support for their contention that State Farm breached the contract. The fact that the parties appraisers ultimately assigned a higher value to the claim than State Farms estimate does not mean State Farm acted in bad faith, the judge also found. The court granted State Farms motion for summary judgment. State Farm has faced other cases involving its calculation of damages including one in California where it won dismissal and another in Indiana where it lost summary judgment and the parties settled before trial. The National Transportation Safety Board is harshly criticizing Maryland officials for failing to conduct a risk assessment of the Francis Scott Key Bridge before it collapsed a year ago and is recommending that 30 owners of 68 bridges across 19 states conduct a vulnerability assessment to determine the risk of bridge collapse from a vessel collision. The NTSB indicated that had Maryland conducted such an assessment, it could have taken steps to reduce the risk of and possibly prevented last years tragic Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. In its own assessment, NTSB found that the Key Bridge was considerably above the acceptable risk threshold for essential bridges. The federal agency warned that many of the nations bridges may be above the acceptable level of risk, although it stopped short of suggesting they are in danger of imminent collapse. The report is part of the ongoing investigation into the Key Bridge collapse. The NTSB found that the Key Bridge, which collapsed after being struck by the containership Dali on March 26, 2024, was almost 30 times above the acceptable risk threshold for critical or essential bridges, according to guidance established by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or AASHTO. Over the last year, the NTSB said it identified 68 bridges including the Key Bridge that were designed before 1991 when the AASHTO guidance was established and do not have a current vulnerability assessment using AASHTOs calculation. The NTSB is recommending that these 30 bridge owners evaluate whether the bridges are above the AASHTO acceptable level of risk and implement a risk reduction plan if their bridge has a risk level above the AASHTO threshold. Since 1994, the Federal Highway Administration, or FHWA, has required new bridges be designed to minimize the risk of a catastrophic bridge collapse from a vessel collision, given the size, speed and other characteristics of vessels navigating the channel under the bridge. The Key Bridge was built before vulnerability assessments were required by FHWA. Neither the FHWA nor AASHTO can require a bridge owner to complete a vulnerability assessment for a bridge designed before the release of the 1991 guidelines. The MDTA had not performed, nor was it required to perform a vulnerability analysis, NTSB noted. Maryland Assessment However, the NTSB concluded that had the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) conducted a vulnerability assessment on the Key Bridge based on recent vessel traffic, MDTA would have learned that the bridge was above the AASHTO threshold of risk for catastrophic collapse from a vessel collision before the Dali collision occurred and MDTA would have had information to proactively reduce the bridges risk of a collapse and loss of lives associated with a vessel collision with the bridge. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said during its investigation her agency asked Maryland for the data needed to conduct an assessment based on current traffic volume but MDTA was unable to provide the data. NTSB had to develop the data itself. She said MDTA had still not done a vulnerability assessment based on current data as of October. Bridge owners need to know the risk and determine what action they need to take, she told reporters. MDTA said that an evaluation using AASHTO methodology was underway when the NTSB requested its results last fall and is still underway. The MDTA said it is reviewing the NTSB recommendations but maintains the catastrophe and the tragic loss of life was the sole fault of the DALI and the gross negligence of her owners and operators who put profits above safety. It noted that the Key Bridge was approved and permitted by the federal government and in compliance with those permits. Designs for New Baltimore Bridge Unveiled Almost a Year After Deadly Collapse MDTA said it will provide an update to the NTSB within 30 days. NTSB has alerted officials in California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Baltimores Bay Bridge is among those on the NTSB list. The NTSB is also recommending that FHWA, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers establish an interdisciplinary team to assist bridge owners on evaluating and reducing the risk, which could mean infrastructure improvements or operational changes. The Collision The 984-foot Singapore-flagged cargo vessel Dali was transiting out of Baltimore Harbor when it experienced a loss of electrical power and propulsion and struck the southern pier supporting the central truss spans of the Key Bridge, which subsequently collapsed. Six construction crewmembers were killed and another was injured, as well as one person onboard the vessel. The Key Bridge and its pier protection systems were subject to regular safety inspections by nationally certified bridge inspectors. The Key Bridges most recent inspections in March 2021 and May 2023 found the condition of the deck, the superstructure, and the substructure as being in satisfactory condition, and the pier protection was rated as in place and functioning properly Baltimores Johns Hopkins Team Assessing Likelihood of Another Tragic Bridge Disaster Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore are working on a project assessing the countrys bridges to determine the likelihood of another disaster like the one that collapsed the Key Bridge. A spokesperson for the research team told Insurance Journal that preliminary findings would be released March 24. The state of Maryland is suing the owner and operator of the Dali cargo ship that caused the collapse of the bridge, as have the families of six workers killed in the tragedy, the city of Baltimore, small businesses and others. The owner and manager of the Dali have denied responsibility and cast blame on the state for not better protecting the bridge against ship strikes. The U.S. Department of Justice settled claims against the cargo ship Dalis owner Grace Ocean Private Limited and operator Synergy Marine for $103 million last October. The NTSBs Marine Investigation Report is available online. A Las Vegas resident appeared in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada, to face federal charges related to an arson at a Tesla collision business. Paul Hyon Kim, 36, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of arson. According to the complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department patrol officers responded on March 18 to an emergency call about a person setting vehicles on fire and hearing gunshots at a Tesla collision business. The Clark County Fire Department arrived to suppress the fires. Related: Man Torches Tesla Chargers in South Carolina But Catches His Clothes on Fire An investigation found that Molotov cocktails and a .30 caliber AR-style firearm were used to damage and destroy five Tesla vehicles, and graffiti was sprayed to write Resist on the front of the building. Law enforcement officials on March 26 executed state search warrants, including a search warrant at Kims residence. Inside the residence, they reportedly found various firearms, including an AR style rifle consistent with the firearm used in the March 18, incident and with a suppressor on it, a black gun belt with a pouch and a small drop of pink paint residue, a black hoodie, face masks, and a handwritten note with what appeared to be an escape plan. Kim faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for the unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison up to a maximum of 20 years in prison for the arson charge. Kim, who was arrested by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers on March 26. He remains in federal custody. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Clark County District Attorneys Office, the FBI, and the ATF are investigating the case and with significant assistance from the Clark County Fire Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Operskalski for the District of Nevada and Trial Attorney Patrick Cashman of the National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case. In today's Asking Eric, Eric responds to someone who cares for their mother but is frustrated by their living situation. Dreamstime/TCA Dear Eric: My mother is 92 and lives alone in the Midwest; Im here in Southern California. She lives around 18 miles from town on 65 acres. I phone her twice weekly and sometimes more often. After I retired, I asked her to move here and found a lovely place for her as she prefers her own space. She refused and I tried my best to offer all the reasons why it would be the best option. I visit her twice yearly and my sister and brother visit as well, but not as often. She doesnt drive and thankfully my niece lives close to her, shops and helps her whenever my mom asks her for help. I know shes lonely and it upsets me, but I feel like she made the decision to stay in her home. Heres the dilemma: when I call, I talk about my life and whats going on with my daughters and grandsons, etc. She has such a narrow life without much to talk about, so the conversation is one-sided. She reads but doesnt want to discuss books or what shes watching on television. I try to bring up memories and she enjoys this angle of conversation. Sometimes, after talking for an hour, I try to end our conversation, and her response is scolding and negative that I dont have time for her. Its hurtful and guilting. Id appreciate your thoughts. Loving but Frustrated Daughter Dear Daughter: This is a tough spot for you; Im sorry. I suspect your moms reaction comes from the conflict between wanting a well-earned autonomy and finding herself lonely, nonetheless. So, when she guilts you, try to remind yourself that its a reflection of the circumstance, not a fault in your actions. Try scheduling your calls before another appointment and letting her know in advance that youre setting aside this time for her. A preset end time may help you to redirect any guilting. Of course I have time for you, Mom. Ive got to go do [X] right now, but remember Ill call you again tomorrow at 10. Im looking forward to it. You can also talk through this pattern before the next call ends. I feel sad when you say I dont have time for you. Can we talk about why you feel that way and try to find solutions? Youre already actively listening and using your observations to guide the conversation to topics that interest her. But you can also gently toss the ball back to her court by asking what she would like to talk about. Lastly, see if she has interest in scheduling a call during one of her shows, like a friend date. You could chat during the commercials and simply be in each others company when the show comes back on. Sometimes a call demands conversation, but at other times its just nice to know someone is on the other end of the line. (Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.) 2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC Bacteria found in recalled Tec Italy Shampoo Totale may lead to an infection which can cause pneumonia, UTIs, and sepsis in vulnerable people. Henkel The Klebsiella oxytoca bacteria that caused a Mexican company to recall its contaminated Tec Italy Shampoo Totale is harmless when kept in check but dangerous when it ventures beyond its usual territory. Microbiologists found the bacteria, prompting the recall of 1,068 units of the shampoo this week. If the bacteria travels outside of its normal territory, it can cause severe infections to the eyes, nose or skin especially among people who have a serious medical condition, use medical devices, been on prolonged antibiotic treatments and those whose immune systems have already been compromised, MedicalNewsToday reported. If someone gets an infection from the bacteria, it can manifest in many ways depending on where in the body the bacteria it spread, MNT also reported. Common symptoms of infection include chills, coughing with mucus, difficulty breathing, fever and flu-like body aches, MNT said. In some cases, the infection can lead to pneumonia, urinary tract infections and even life-threatening complications like sepsis, the news outlet reported. To diagnose this bacterial infections, doctors test blood, urine, or mucus samples and may use X-rays or CT scans to check for pneumonia, MNT said. Klebsiella oxytoca does not spread through the air, but it can be transmitted through physical contact and contaminated surfaces. The shampoo, from Henkel Capital S.A. de C.V., was distributed in the United States through distributors in New York and California, but it is possible it may have been further distributed to other states, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration said. The recalled shampoo has lot No. 1G27542266. UPC code is 7501438375850. Kaylee Remington is a trending news and metro reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read her work online. Generative AI was used to draft this story based on information from MedicalNewToday. It was reviewed and edited by cleveland.com staff. The Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the United States, will be centered in downtown Boulder starting in 2027. Arthur Mola/AP Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the United States, is saying goodbye to Park City, Utah and will relocate to Boulder, Colorado in January 2027, the organization confirmed on its website. After a lengthy search, festival organizers chose Boulder for its small-town charm, engaged community, natural beauty and vibrant arts scene, according to a statement from the organization. Boulder offers small-town charm with an engaged community, distinctive natural beauty, and a vibrant arts scene, making it the ideal location for the festival to grow, organizers said in the statement. The festivals heart will be centered in downtown Boulder, using various theaters and venues, and spaces around the Pearl Street Mall, a pedestrian-only street. Nearby locations, including select spots on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, will provide dedicated spaces for the Sundance community to gather. Before the move to Boulder, the Sundance Film Festival will return to Park City, Utah one last time for the 2026 edition, running from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1, according to the statement. The Sundance Film Festival, founded by Robert Redford, attracts thousands of filmmakers, industry professionals and movie enthusiasts each year, the statement added. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said the state is thrilled to welcome the festival. Here in our state, we celebrate the arts and film industry as a key economic driver, job creator and important contributor to our thriving culture, Polis said in the statement. Now, with the addition of the iconic Sundance Film Festival, we can expect even more jobs, a huge benefit for our small businesses including stores and restaurants. Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1981 so independent artists could develop and be discovered through their work," he said in the statement, adding that his mission is more critical today and shared his gratitude to Park City and the community that helped build the organization. What weve created is remarkably special and defining, he said. As change is inevitable, we must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival. This move will ensure that the festival continues its work of risk taking, supporting innovative storytellers, fostering independence and entertaining and enlightening audiences. Kaylee Remington is a trending news and metro reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read her work online. Digital bill boards like this one in Pennsylvania and others in Cleveland carry a Canadian message to Americans. Canadians are taking advantage of free speech rights, which are under assault by the Trump administration and the Ohio Legislature (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar AP In a display of both irony and marketing savvy, the Canadian government has launched a billboard campaign in Cleveland and other U.S. cities directly challenging the narrative surrounding tariffs and the hosts of the Today in Ohio podcast cant help but admire the strategy. The electronic billboards, with their stark black backgrounds and simple white text, deliver pointed messages like tariffs are a tax on your grocery bill and tariffs are a tax at the gas pump. Each is simply signed Canada, creating what podcast host Laura Johnston describes as messaging more effective than what Americans are seeing from their own political leaders. They are advertising directly to American consumers This is the Canadian government thats doing it. Its not just a company in Canada. Its not a tourism bureau, Johnston said. And what they are doing is telling you what the tariffs are doing because obviously weve got a boatload of tariffs between the countries at this point. The campaign specifically targets 12 states that voted for Trump, with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie making appearances on CNN to outline the strategy. The goal is refreshingly straightforward to directly inform American consumers about the real-world impact of the tariffs on their everyday lives. What makes this approach particularly noteworthy is how it contrasts with what podcast host Chris Quinn characterized as growing attempts to restrict free speech within the United States. Credit to Canada for doing what we have forgotten about, which is to use our right to free speech, Quinn said, pointing to the irony of Canada utilizing American constitutional rights while some American politicians seek to undermine them. The campaign comes as various tariffs between the United States and Canada have already gone into effect 25 percent on certain goods and 10 percent on others with more anticipated. Trump has announced plans to implement reciprocal tariffs on all countries, a move that experts warn could dramatically increase costs for American consumers. The podcast conversation highlights a growing tension in American political discourse around free speech, with Quinn drawing attention to what he perceives as concerning developments: You got Donald Trump squashing speech. Every green card holder who has said something he disagrees with could lose their right to be in America, even though that flat out violates the law. Quinn also mentioned an effort in Columbus to prohibit people from yelling at police, a clear First Amendment violation. Meanwhile, Canadian citizens appear to be responding to the deteriorating relationship with their own economic choices. Johnston, a native Canadian and naturalized U.S. citizen, mentioned being part of a Facebook group called Made in Canada with 1.3 billion members who are looking for any way to not spend money on any American products. The cross-border tension extends beyond billboards and social media groups. As the podcast explores later in the episode, the political climate is already impacting tourism, with Clevelands Rock and Roll Hall of Fame reporting a 30 percent decline in Canadian visitors in just the first three months of 2025. The Canadian billboard campaign represents more than just advertising its a clever diplomatic strategy that uses Americas own cherished principles to communicate directly with citizens about policies they believe will harm both countries. Want to hear the full discussion about Canadas innovative free speech strategy and the broader implications of the growing trade tensions? Listen to the complete Today in Ohio podcast episode for more insights from hosts Chris Quinn, Laura Johnston, Leila Atassi, and Lisa Garvin. Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from Today in Ohio, a news podcast discussion by cleveland.com editors. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions. Listen to full Today in Ohio episodes where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with impact editor Leila Atassi and content director Laura Johnston. One likelihood if Amtrak expands service in Cleveland: Trains that arrive during daylight hours. This photo was taken in 2007, during a trial period when the Lake Shore Limited, which travels between Chicago and the East Coast, arrived in Cleveland at 7 a.m. The Plain Dealer COLUMBUS, OhioGov. Mike DeWine and his administration have taken some initial steps toward expanding Amtrak service in Ohio for the first time in decades. But DeWine says the final decision about whether to authorize new passenger rail routes in the state will likely be up to his successor, not him. Ohio's no longer a swing state, but Ohioans have the chance to vote on 3 big wins Nov. 5, writes columnist Leslie Kouba. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Getty Images Rotunda Rumblings Securing or Suppressing: Trumps executive order on how states run their elections aims to tighten security by punishing those that dont comply with a loss of federal funding. Anna Staver reports that Ohio already does much of what the president outlined, but some state laws, like not counting mail ballots after Election Day, would need to be changed. Republicans say theyre open to that idea while voting rights groups and professors say the order could be unconstitutional. This will be your story Off the road? President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced hell impose 25% tariffs on all vehicles imported to the United States in a move that critics fear could drive up consumer car prices and disrupt U.S. car makers who ship cars and parts across international borders, Sabrina Eaton and Molly Walsh write. In Northeast Ohio, industry experts are assessing the potential consequences for the regions auto sector, and much remains uncertain. How will the tariffs affect employment in an industry that has traditionally been one of the states economic engines? And how much of the burden will Ohio car buyers shoulder? Polling place: The voting locations for more than 70,000 voters were changed by elections officials after the city of Cleveland redrew its ward maps. Now, Sean McDonnell writes, Cleveland City Council is ringing alarm bells to make sure that residents are aware. Some polling location changes were expected, because Cleveland will go from having 17 to 15 wards because of population loss in the 2020 U.S. census. But council members said in a news release Thursday that 29% of voters have a new polling place and that even in wards that didnt see much change, voters have been impacted. Body cams: Five police departments in Northeast Ohio are among 21 across the state that will receive funding to buy body-worn cameras. Olivia Mitchell writes that the money is part of nearly $4.6 million the state will dole out for departments across Ohio. The money also will help departments upgrade old cameras, expand storage capacity and hire people to help with the cameras. Altered plans: What was supposed to be a three-day trip to Greenland by Second Lady Usha Vance is now just a single day at a military base with her husband, Vice President, JD Vance, USA Today reports. Greenland experts the publication interviewed said many in Greenland welcome the idea of inviting American companies to the territory to invest in mining, tourism or fisheries, but object to the idea of a political takeover. Disdain for Europe: European leaders had hoped that Vances antagonism was a political show to build domestic support, The Wall Street Journal writes. Now, after Vance expressed disdain for Europe in a private text chat about Yemen attack details, officials are coming to terms with a vocal vice president whose antipathy for Europe appears to run deep. DOGE close: The Department of Government Efficiency says it will close 47 Social Security Administration offices this year, including one in Mansfield, Ohio, according to the Associated Press. The closures are part of DOGEs plan to save money by terminating hundreds of federal real estate leases. The Columbus Dispatch reports that another office in Columbus was also listed for possible closure this year, but it had no official termination date. Buckeye Brain Tease Question: Lets play ball! The Cleveland Guardian season is officially underway. We all know they used to be the Cleveland Indians, but do you know what two animals briefly became part of the teams name? Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next weeks newsletter. Thanks to everyone who answered our last trivia question: A 1942 U.S. Supreme Court case dramatically increased the regulatory power of the federal government involved a Dayton-area farmer who was growing what? Answer: Wheat. The landmark 1942 case of Wickard V. Filburn, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can regulate even local activitieslike a farmer growing wheat for himselfif, when added up, those activities have a big impact on the national economy. Capitol Letter reader Rob Kirchstein from Plain Township was the first to email with the correct answer. On the Move The Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund has endorsed Issue 2, a measure on the May 6 primary ballot to renew a state bond program that helps local governments pay for infrastructure projects. The group also endorsed local candidates in Akron, Cincinnati, Columbus, Hilliard, Dayton, Lorain, and Toledo. Birthdays Friday, March 28: Tiffany Bonner, Ohio House journal clerk; Terese Herhold, Ohio Senate Democrats director of policy, budget, and finance; Ben Kindel, press secretary for Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose; former State Rep. Paul Zeltwanger Saturday, March 29: Jason Sponaugle, legislative aide to state Rep. Adam Mathews; Bill Behrendt, non-profit lobbyist/consultant and the Director of Government Affairs for Columbus College of Art & Design Sunday, March 30: State Rep. Scott Lipps; Karalyn Wright, legislative aide for state Rep. Beth Liston Straight from the Source Just the Vice President of the United States sending some freedom seeds downrange. Doesnt get more American than that. The White Houses official account on X. It posted that text with an image of Vice President JD Vance dressed in camouflage firing a military rifle at a shooting range. Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. Subscribe to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free. President Trumps unelected sidekick Elon Musk is doing more harm than good as the DOGE master of the U.S. government, writes guest columnist Chuck Ardo today. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images/TNS) TNS TNS LANCASTER, Ohio -- Many voters casting their ballots for Donald Trump last November didnt realize they were voting for Elon Musk, too. As Investopedia reports, Musk leveraged over $280 million in campaign donations and vocal support for Donald Trump during the 2024 election into a significant position as (unofficial) head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he now wields unprecedented sway over federal policy and spending. Musk is supposedly in search of waste, fraud and abuse. But Trump fired the nonpartisan inspectors general who had been doing that job. Instead, Musk loyalists who are generally not trained auditors or accountants, lack understanding of how government works or a clear picture of what it does now have control of administration-wide decision-making. Allowing the richest man in the world and his underlings to define what is necessary and worthwhile is reckless on the best of days. Nowhere is that more evident than the Trump administrations cuts to the IRS workforce, including a team that specialized in ensuring that the super-rich and big corporations pay their taxes. ProPublica notes that a 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office pointed to IRS savings of $13,000 for every additional hour spent auditing the tax returns of very wealthy taxpayers a return on investment that would leave Wall Street hedge fund managers drooling. Now, there are fewer people keeping watch for what a former IRS commissioner called a tax cut for tax cheats. Consequently, as The Washington Post reports, officials expect a sharp drop in revenue collected this spring, as an increasing number of individuals and businesses spurn filing their taxes or attempt to skip paying balances owed to the Internal Revenue Service. The Post added that officials are predicting a drop of more 10% in tax receipts by the April 15 deadline compared with 2024 [amounting] to more than $500 billion in lost federal revenue. But the human cost of DOGEs misplaced priorities is more egregious. Its attack on the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services led to chaos and threatens to undermine services for traumatized veterans of wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, potentially costing lives. Clinicians warn that the changes will degrade mental health treatment at the V.A., which already has severe staffing shortages, The New York Times reports. Some expect to see a mass exodus of sought-after specialists, like psychiatrists and psychologists. They expect wait times to increase, and veterans to eventually seek treatment outside the agency. DOGE has also put our national security at risk by making cuts that benefit China. Radio Free Asia has been Americas voice for 58 million listeners each week, The Wall Street Journal noted in an editorial critical of slashed funding for RFA and its sister broadcasters calling it a retreat in the global war of ideas. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has eliminated its Office of Net Assessment, a unit that assesses challenges we would face in coming decades from China and elsewhere. Chuck Ardo is a retired political consultant. With Musk having borrowed at least $1.4 billion from banks controlled by the Chinese government to help build Teslas Shanghai gigafactory, Musk himself is a security risk, as retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore warned in a December op-ed in The New York Times. China does not tend to give things away, Honore added. The countrys laws stipulate that the Communist Party can demand intelligence from any company doing business in China, in exchange for participating in the countrys markets. Yet, trusting Musk wasnt on the November ballot. Chuck Ardo is a retired political consultant in Lancaster, Ohio. He previously served as press secretary to former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions, comments or corrections regarding this opinion article to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. All Gender Restroom signs that College of Wooster students helped design a decade ago were recently replaced by Single Occupancy Restroom signs to comply with Ohios new Protect All Students Act," aka the Ohio Bathroom Law. (Photo by Christa Craven) Christa Craven Christa Craven WOOSTER, Ohio -- As a longtime professor at the College of Wooster, Im still trying to make sense of just who Ohios new Protect All Students Act, more commonly known as the Bathroom Law, is actually protecting. As of last month, state law now requires all educational institutions to designate specific facilities for the exclusive use of students of either the male biological sex or the female biological sex, joining the national dispute over transgender peoples whereabouts when attending to basic human needs. Over a decade ago, a group of my students did a class project about the challenges and anxieties their transgender peers experienced using gender-specific bathrooms. Their final project was a proposal to college administrators to make all single-stall bathrooms All Gender Bathrooms. When those students made their request, it was with the explicit intent of creating a more inclusive space for their peers. Nationwide studies of transgender youth continue to show that forcing them to use the bathrooms of their sex assigned at birth have been associated with higher rates of sexual assault against them. And there has been no evidence that transgender bathroom users have been the perpetrators of sexual assault. Rather, the men who have entered womens bathrooms with ill intent have not been transgender. And, sadly, it is well-documented that male family members are the perpetrators of the majority of sexual abuse inflicted upon children. Yet educational institutions must now remove inclusive signs in the name of protecting women and girls. Many of these replacement signs have appeared on single occupancy bathrooms like the ones most of us use regularly in homes or apartments, often shared with siblings, parents, grandparents, etc. Each replacement sign costs between $30 and $100, so even small schools are likely spending tens of thousands of dollars to comply. In a moment when many educational institutions are struggling financially, is rolling back student-led initiatives to create more inclusive campuses really how educational institutions should be spending their time and money? And why would Ohioans want a law that will discourage prospective students from coming to Ohio for their education? A recent nationwide study estimated that 1.4% of youth aged 13-17 identify as transgender, about 300,000, who are now college-aged. Although that percentage may seem small, the number is roughly equivalent to half of all undergraduates currently enrolled in colleges and universities in Ohio (573,863, according to CollegeEvaluator.com). Transgender and non-binary students have reported that problems accessing bathrooms affects their education, causing some to transfer and even drop out. They also report health impacts, like urinary tract infections and difficulties learning after avoiding food and drink all day to forgo using public restrooms. College of Wooster Professor Christa Craven. Matt Dilyard For transgender and non-binary students, and anyone else who might be challenged for not looking female or male enough to enter a corresponding restroom, Ohio lawmakers recent decision, and others like it, has made their educational experience far more difficult. College is a time when students build communities and most benefit tremendously from coming together to live and study with people from many different backgrounds. That educational experience prepares them for the diverse world they will live and work in as they move beyond college. Lets listen to our students when they ask us to create inclusive campuses and work together to find ways to encourage them to study in Ohio. Christa Craven, Ph.D., is a professor of anthropology and womens, gender and sexuality studies at the College of Wooster, and co-founder of the Global Queer Studies minor. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent The College of Wooster or any other institution or association. Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions, comments or corrections regarding this opinion article to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial on Put-in-Bay honors the long-standing peace between the United States and Canada. But tense relations between the two countries threatens the tourism industry in Ohio and elsewhere throughout the United States. The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio Tourism leaders in Ohio are growing increasingly concerned about a decline in visits from Canadians, particularly as the busy summer travel season approaches. Already, destinations and attractions are seeing a drop in visitors from Canada, fallout from the increasingly sharp rhetoric between the United States and its northern neighbor over trade and other issues. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland says it has already seen a decrease in Canadian visitors during the first few months of 2025. In a typical year, about 4% of the museums visitors are from Canada, according to a spokesperson. Already this year, the museum has tracked a 30% decline in Canadian visitors, as well as a number of these potential visitors who had pre-purchased tickets requesting refunds, according to the spokesperson. Destination Toledo, which promotes tourism in the northwest corner of Ohio, is also worried about a drop in Canadian visits. Toledo, on the Ohio-Michigan border, is about an hour south of Windsor, Ontario, and welcomes hundreds of thousands of Canadian visitors every year, according to Lance Woodworth, the president and CEO of Destination Toledo. Sometimes theyre driving through Toledo en route to someplace else, and stop for food, gas and a hotel room. Other times, they stay for longer. In May, northwest Ohio will welcome tens of thousands of birding enthusiasts to the region, part of the Biggest Week in American Birding, a major international event that attracts visitors from the U.S., Canada and around the world. Were going to continue to be as welcoming as we can be, Woodworth said. Canadian visits to Ohio Its unclear exactly how many Canadians visit Ohio every year. Tourism Ohio, which promotes visitation to the state, doesnt track international visitors, and neither does Destination Cleveland, which promotes tourism in Northeast Ohio. Nationally, Canada is the top source of international visitors to the United States, with 20.4 million visits in 2024. Almost certainly, that number will be lower in 2025. Advanced airline bookings between the U.S. and Canada have plummeted by more than 70% for the summer travel season, according to OAG, an aviation data company. Road trips between the two countries have dropped as well, down 23% year-over-year in February, according to Canadian government statistics. The decline in travel between the two countries comes amid import tariffs levied on Canadian goods by President Donald Trump, as well as the presidents inflammatory rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state. Last month, now-former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Canadians to send a message to the United States with their wallets. Now is also the time to choose Canada, he said, adding, It might mean changing your summer vacation plans to stay here in Canada and explore the many national and provincial parks, historical sites and tourist destinations our great country has to offer. Related: Even your summer vacation planning has become political Melinda Huntley, executive director of the Ohio Travel Association, an industry trade group, said members are telling her that theyre already experiencing cancellations from north-of-the-border visitors. Its not a huge market for many, but it is an important market for some, she said. Ohio is not among the top U.S. destinations for Canadian travelers, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Florida, California, Nevada and New York top the list. Even so, the northern regions of Ohio have long-standing, friendly relationships with their Canadian neighbors that go back centuries. Indeed, Perrys Victory and International Peace Memorial was constructed more than 100 years ago on Put-in-Bay to commemorate the long-standing peace between the two countries. Today, the 352-foot-tall doric column, a National Park Service site, is a top attraction on the Lake Erie island that is less than 2 miles south of the Canadian border. The island also has a long-standing practice of celebrating Canadian holidays during the summer, alongside the American holidays of July 4 and Labor Day. The message that we want everybody to know is that we havent changed our opinions about Canadians, said Peter Huston, a long-time Put-in-Bay resident who serves on the marketing committee of Shores & Islands Ohio, which promotes tourism to the region. Were the same friends and neighbors theyve known all along. The heated rhetoric between the two countries may be particularly harmful as the state gears up for a busy summer tourism season. Cedar Point in Sandusky, which draws visitors from around the world, opens for the season on May 3. Cedar Point spokesman Tony Clark declined to share details about how many Canadians visit the park, but said he hopes that Cedar Points lineup of new attractions brings in fans from north of the border and elsewhere. While I dont have demographic data to share, with the relaunch of Top Thrill 2, the new Sirens Curse tilt coaster and additional offerings we have, were hopeful Canadians (and roller coaster fans across the globe) will make a visit to Cedar Point this season, he said. Greg Harris, president and CEO of the Rock Hall, also encouraged visitors from Canada and elsewhere to make their way to the museum this summer, which is hosting the Rock Hall Live summer concert series and a new exhibit on the music of Saturday Night Live. Cleveland is a vibrant city with so much to see and do, and we hope that our friends and neighbors in surrounding cities and states will add it to their summer travel plans this year, he said. Meanwhile, the ferry service that shuttles visitors back and forth between Sandusky and Canadas Pelee Island launches in early May, as well. The Shores & Islands marketing committee met this week and vowed to develop and promote a welcoming message for Canadian residents contemplating a visit. The campaigns central message, said Huston: We love having you come. Nothing has changed about how we feel about you. In the meantime, he said he hopes that the rhetoric on both sides of the border decreases in the coming months. Hopefully this will ameliorate over time, he said. Its concerning for our region since tourism is such an important part of who we are. Larry Fletcher, president of Shores & Islands Ohio, noted that tourism officials cant control the messaging thats coming from political officials on either side of the border. The organization can, however, control its own message. Well do our best to control what we can control, he said. We can control how we communicate to our Canadian neighbors and let them know that we still want them to visit us. He added, Despite what is going on at the federal level, our destination is the same. The way theyll be welcomed is the same. Thats not impacted by these things. MND refutes the G7: Stop preaching at others China Military Online) 08:14, March 28, 2025 Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a regular news conference on Thursday. Question: According to foreign media reports, the recent G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting issued a joint statement expressing concerns over China's expansion of its nuclear arsenal, and the situation in the East and South China Seas. The statement emphasizes the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and opposes any unilateral alteration of the status quo through "force or coercion". What is your comment on this? Wu Qian: The G7 statement ignores facts and is a vicious slander on China and a brutal interference in China's internal affairs. We strongly condemn and resolutely oppose it. China follows a policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons and a defensive nuclear strategy. We have been maintaining our nuclear arsenal at the minimum level required for national security. Regarding the nuclear issue, the G7 should reflect on its own actions and have no qualification to criticize China. Regarding the East and South China Seas, China is engaging in peaceful dialogue and consultation with relevant countries to resolve disputes. At the same time, we remain steadfast in safeguarding our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. China firmly opposes interference from external forces and any provocative acts that undermine regional peace and stability. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the Taiwan question brooks no foreign interference. The one-China principle is a wide consensus of the international community and a fundamental norm in international relations. Any attempt to separate the island from its motherland will inevitably end in complete failure. We urge the G7 to break away from its Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, stop the finger-pointing and preaching at others. This approach won't work on the Chinese military. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) 3500 3283500 The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S. on March 5, 2025. Wall Street's top regulator said on Thursday it had voted to cease legal efforts to defend regulations that require companies to disclose climate-related emissions, risks and spending, and had been hotly contested by industrial lobby groups. The decision by the Republican-dominated U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had been widely expected following public remarks last month by its acting chairman, Mark Uyeda. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has acted to roll back virtually all of the prior administration's efforts to address climate change. "The goal of today's Commission action and notification to the court is to cease the Commission's involvement in the defense of the costly and unnecessarily intrusive climate change disclosure rules," Uyeda said in a statement. The Commission adopted the rule last year, aiming to give investors information about the buildup of climate risk and associated costs in the financial system. The agency cited strong demand from investors for such disclosures. However, lobby groups and Republican state attorneys general immediately sued, charging that the regulations overstepped the SEC's legal authority and would burden businesses. That case is now pending before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The SEC's lone Democratic member, Caroline Crenshaw, denounced the decision, saying it unlawfully sought to undo valid regulations by ceasing to defend them in court, rather than following procedure to change them or create new ones. "In effect, the majority of the Commission is crossing their fingers and rooting for the demise of this rule, while they eat popcorn on the sidelines," she said in a statement. "The court should not take the bait." Crenshaw called on the court to appoint lawyers to defend the rule in the SEC's absence "on behalf of investors, issuers and the markets." The SEC had been facing a self-imposed deadline of Friday to tell the court of its planned course of action. The agency had asked the court early last month not to schedule oral arguments while it considered what to do. Protesters gather in front of the U.S. consulate during a demonstration, under the slogan, "Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people", in Nuuk, Greenland, March 15, 2025. Christian Klindt Soelbeck | Via Reuters Danish, Greenlandic and U.S. flags fly at the Danish armed forces' Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland March 27, 2025. Leonhard Foeger | Reuters "Growing up you see Hollywood movies, all the heroes and then you feel backstabbed and you feel like an ally that's just gone the other way round and you're like, 'This can't be happening, this is not the America we knew,'" added Laursen. Both the length of the trip and itinerary have changed since Sunday's announcement that second lady Usha Vance was going to visit Greenland along with Energy Secretary Chris Wright and national security adviser Michael Waltz who has been under fire in recent days for adding Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg into a Signal group chat that detailed U.S. airstrike plans on Yemen. Initially billed as a cultural trip, Usha Vance had planned to visit Nuuk and attend events, such as a popular annual dog sled race on the sparsely populated island that is home to just 56,000 people. That changed after her husband said Tuesday that he would join her, an announcement that was met with widespread anger in both Greenland and Denmark, which controlled the island for 300 years until it became a formal territory in 1953. Although Greenland gained home rule in 1979, Copenhagen still controls its foreign and defense policy and contributes just under $1 billion to its economy. The trip was subsequently shortened to just one day and limited to the U.S. Pituffik Space Base, hundreds of miles from Nuuk and other cities, meaning they will be well out of the way of the locals. Irene Thor Jeremiassen, a 35-year-old Inuit law student, said she preferred the new itinerary. "I didn't want to meet him," she said of JD Vance. Tungutaq Larsen, 67, attended a demonstration against Trump, whose plans, he said, were "not acceptable here in Greenland." "Why do you want to buy a human?" he added. "We are not for sale." Protesters take part in a a demonstration march ending in front of the U.S. consulate, under the slogan, Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, in Nuuk, Greenland, March 15, 2025. Christian Klindt Soelbeck | Via Reuters AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi hit back at new short-selling allegations from Muddy Waters Research after the ad-tech company's stock suffered its steepest drop on record on Thursday. Foroughi penned a new blog post that asked investors to "dig deeper" on the allegations, saying the report's claims about the success of their AI-powered ad tactics could be easily disproven by artificial intelligence models like Grok "in minutes." Muddy Waters on Thursday became the third short-selling firm to publish research meant to raise significant investor skepticism about the company's technology, after AppLovin's stock price soared more than 700% last year. The report said AppLovin's ad tactics "systematically" violate app stores' terms of service by "impermissibly extracting proprietary IDs from Meta, Snap, TikTok, Reddit, Google, and others." Foroughi wrote in his response that, "Our business is technical, and we get it it's not always easy to understand." "It's also incredibly hard for some who don't understand this technology to fathom that we are building the world's best advertising AI model, so they need a simple narrative that we're violating policies in order to comprehend our success," Foroughi wrote. "This complexity leaves room for short reports to stir fear and doubt." AppLovin shares rose almost 4% on Friday after tumbling 20% a day earlier. Prior to Muddy Waters' report, Fuzzy Panda Research and Culper Research published short-seller research critiquing AppLovin's technology as the company pushes into e-commerce. AppLovin said on Friday that it retained Alex Spiro from law firm Quinn Emanuel to do "an independent review and investigation into recent short report activity targeting the Company." A spokesperson told CNBC that Spiro, who also represents Elon Musk, was hired to "investigate the short sellers as these tactics of spreading misinformation for personal gain cannot be allowed to continue unchecked." Analysts at Loop Capital reiterated their buy rating on AppLovin and $650 price target in a note on Friday. "We think accusations of faulty conversions and fraud are easily disproved by speaking with performance marketers and measurement companies," they wrote. "We have been very active on this front and are confident the platform is delivering excellent performance and driving meaningful revenue momentum." Muddy Waters Research did not yet provide additional comment. WATCH: AppLovin shares drop on Muddy Waters short Canadians hold an "Elbows Up" protest against U.S. tariffs and other policies by U.S. President Donald Trump, at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 22, 2025. Canadians are skipping trips to the U.S. and visitors from other countries could soon follow threatening to deepen the United States' $50 billion travel deficit. Experts say they're pulling back for a variety of reasons, ranging from an unfavorable currency exchange rate to the U.S. political climate given President Donald Trump's trade policies and his public statements on annexing Canada, as well as high-profile detainments of people who already had visas to be in the U.S., long wait visa times and other policies that have added to tensions with longtime close allies. Reached for comment Friday, a White House spokesperson said by email that "everybody wants to come to President Trump's America." Canadians "will no longer have to endure the inconveniences of international travel when Canada becomes our 51st state" and that "Europeans are eager to enjoy the Golden Age of America if they so choose to," the spokesperson said. In response to President Trump's tariff plans at the time, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month urged Canadians to "choose Canada" and suggested "changing your summer vacation plans to stay here in Canada and explore the many national and provincial parks, historical sites and tourist destinations our great country has to offer." The cross-border travel trends and Trump administration's policies are worrying some in the United States' travel industry, which draws in more than $1 trillion in direct spending a year. The U.S. Travel Association said in a statement to CNBC that there is a "a question of America's welcomeness, a slowing U.S. economy and recent safety concerns. "These challenges are real and demand decisive action," the organization, whose members include large hotel groups, airlines and other major travel companies, said, adding that is "actively working with the White House and Congress to advance policies that drive economic expansion and keep the U.S. competitive on the global stage." There are billions of dollars on the line. People from the United States already travel abroad and spend more in other countries than the U.S. brings in from foreign travelers. Last year, the United States' travel deficit was more than $51 billion, meaning Americans spent that much more abroad than foreigners visiting the U.S. spent, stripping out spending for medical and educational purposes, which still showed a deficit, according to Commerce Department data. The U.S. brought in more than 72 million visitors last year, still below pre-Covid levels, according to a report from Jefferies. Visitors from Canada were the largest group, accounting for 28%, followed by Mexico at 23%, the bank said in a note this month. Travel and tourism of inbound visitors are counted as U.S. exports, and they accounted for about 8% of U.S. exports of goods and services, according to the Commerce Department. International visitors from overseas are especially important because they tend to stay longer and spend more money than local tourists, according to the U.S. Travel Association. BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday met with global executives and made a case for investing in the country, as Beijing focuses on reaching out to businesses amid escalating trade tensions with the U.S. He said multinational companies had a big responsibility to "uphold global order" and that they needed to work hand in hand with China. Xi emphasized that China was a safe and stable place for foreign companies. "To invest in China is to invest in tomorrow," he said in Mandarin translated by CNBC. Echoing recent policy plans, Xi said that China would ensure fair opportunities for foreign businesses to participate in government procurement bids. More than 40 people, mostly foreign executives and business officials, attended the roundtable meeting with Xi, including Bridgewater Associates' Ray Dalio, Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters and Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwartzman. U.S. President Donald Trump has raised tariffs by 20% on China since January over its alleged role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis, and threatened a swath of new duties on major trading partners starting early April. Trump this week said he might reduce China tariffs to help close a deal that forces Beijing-based ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. operations. The U.S. this week also added dozens of Chinese tech companies to its export blacklist, the first such restrictions under the Trump administration. China has increased its trade with Southeast Asian countries and the European Union, but the U.S. remains Beijing's largest trading partner on a single-country basis. Xi said U.S.-China trade tensions should be resolved through negotiations. "We need to work for the stability of global supply chains," he added, noting there was no way out under decoupling. Politburo standing committee member Cai Qi, China's top diplomat Wang Yi and Vice Premier He Lifeng also attended the meeting along with the heads of China's economic planning agency, finance ministry and commerce ministry. Seven foreign executives spoke at the event before Xi gave closing remarks, according to an agenda seen by CNBC. Xi gave individualized comments on the speaker's remarks based on past history with the person or the company, according to Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on US-China Relations. Orlins pointed out that the companies present at the meeting already had interests in China. Beijing has sought to offset trade pressures, rather than retaliate forcefully. It courted the executives of major U.S. businesses at a state-backed annual conference that ran from Sunday to Monday. Apple CEO Tim Cook was among those who attended the conference, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk was conspicuous by his absence. Neither were at Friday's meeting with Xi. Also on Sunday, U.S. Republican Senator Steve Daines met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing the first time a U.S. politician has visited China since Trump began his latest term in January. "This was the first step to an important next step, which will be a meeting between President Xi and President Trump," Daines told the Wall Street Journal. "When that occurs and where it occurs is to be determined." The White House did not respond to CNBC's request for comment. Li urged cooperation and said no one could gain from a trade war, according to state media. Top executives of major firms including FedEx, Pfizer, Cargill, Qualcomm and Boeing as well as U.S.-China Business Council President Sean Stein were also present at Daines' meeting with Li, according to a foreign media pool report. Deutsche Bank believes there is more room for Tesla 's first-quarter deliveries to slow. Analyst Edison Yu reiterated his buy rating on the electric vehicle maker but slashed his price target to $345 from $420. His revised forecast is now 26% above where shares closed Thursday. Yu noted he sees first-quarter deliveries ranging between 340,000 and 350,000, below a sell-side consensus of 378,000. This would represent an 11% year over year loss and a 30% quarter-over-quarter decline, as well as the lowest level since the third quarter of 2022. This also "likely means auto margin will also be under greater pressure," he said. Tesla has seen a contentious year, with the stock giving up much of its postelection gain. Shares of Tesla have gained nearly 10% week to date, but are still down 32% on the year. TSLA 1Y mountain TSLA 1Y chart "Our view is that Tesla's stock has been under pressure recently driven by much weaker auto volumes, broader de-rating in growth assets (e.g., Mag 7), and to some extent, political/policy uncertainty," Yu wrote. "As we have seen over the years, rarely anything at Tesla happens in a straight line and we would not expect robotaxi or humanoid to be linear." Yu also said some "brand damage" caused by Musk's political activities could hurt demand, which is something he will continue to monitor going forward. On the bright side, the company is in a good position to hedge against President Donald Trump's intention to levy a 25% auto tariff on "all cars that are not made in the United States." "While the new 25% tariffs can hurt Tesla, mainly on the Mexico content (20-25% depending on the model), we estimate very minimal impact under the current guidelines (powertrain, electronic components) given Tesla likely sources mostly low value-add items from there," the analyst added. Get Your Ticket to Pro LIVE Join us at the New York Stock Exchange! Uncertain markets? Gain an edge with CNBC Pro LIVE , an exclusive, inaugural event at the historic New York Stock Exchange. In today's dynamic financial landscape, access to expert insights is paramount. As a CNBC Pro subscriber, we invite you to join us for our first exclusive, in-person CNBC Pro LIVE event at the iconic NYSE on Thursday, June 12. Join interactive Pro clinics led by our Pros Carter Worth, Dan Niles and Dan Ives, with a special edition of Pro Talks with Tom Lee. You'll also get the opportunity to network with CNBC experts, talent and other Pro subscribers during an exciting cocktail hour on the legendary trading floor. Tickets are limited! Tesla CEO Elon Musk boards Air Force One with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) as they departs for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., March 22, 2025. Elon Musk said on Friday that his startup xAI has merged with X, his social network, in an all-stock transaction that values the artificial intelligence company at $80 billion and the social media company at $33 billion. "xAI and X's futures are intertwined," Musk, the world's richest person, wrote in a post on X. "Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent." He added that the merger would, "unlock immense potential by blending xAI's advanced AI capability and expertise with X's massive reach." The purchase price, he said, was $45 billion less $12 billion in debt. Because both companies are privately held and controlled by Musk, the transaction likely amounts to a stock swap, with X investors getting paid out in xAI shares. The companies have a number of mutual investors, including venture firms Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, as well as Fidelity Management, Vy Capital and Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Co. Musk, who's also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, acquired Twitter in a deal valued at around $44 billion in late 2022, implementing massive cost cuts and soon renaming it X. Linda Yaccarino, who Musk hired as CEO of X, wrote in a post after Friday's announcement, "The future could not be brighter." Musk launched xAI less than two years ago with a stated goal to "understand the true nature of the universe." The startup has been trying to compete directly with OpenAI, the richly valued AI startup that Musk co-founded in 2015 as a non-profit research lab. He later left OpenAI and has recently been involved in a public relations and legal spat with the company and CEO Sam Altman over the direction that it's taken. At xAI, Musk's team has been developing large language models and AI software products, taking on offerings from OpenAI as well as Google , Microsoft , Meta and others. X and xAI have already been intertwined, with xAI's Grok chatbot available to users of the social media app. In June, xAI announced it would build a supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, to train Grok. And in September, Musk revealed part of the Memphis supercomputer, now known as Colossus, was already online. Environmental and public health advocates have raised concerns about the breakneck speed of xAI's development in Memphis, citing a lack of community input and oversight. Colossus is powered by natural gas burning turbines and xAI plans to expand and build a graywater facility nearby as well. Investors valued xAI at around $50 billion in a financing round last year. Bloomberg reported last month that the company was in talks to raise funds at a $75 billion valuation. OpenAI was close to wrapping up a round in February at a $260 billion, while generative AI startup Anthropic was valued at $61.5 billion in a deal that closed this month. In addition to running Tesla, SpaceX and xAI and overseeing X, Musk has spent much of his time this year in Washington, D.C., as a central figure in President Donald Trump's second administration. After contributing close to $300 million to help Trump and other Republican candidates and causes in the 2024 campaign, Musk was put in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is eliminating government jobs, spending and getting rid of regulations. It's a role that puts Musk in position to make changes that benefit his various businesses. This isn't the first time Musk has merged two of his entities. In 2016, Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion. The solar installer was founded by his first cousins, Lyndon and Peter Rive, and funded by Musk, who served as board chair. Tesla shareholders later sued, alleging the deal amounted to a SolarCity bailout, and a breach of fiduciary duty that enriched Musk personally. Delaware judges who heard the dispute decided in favor of Musk and Tesla, and allowed the deal to stand without any remuneration back to the automaker. WATCH: X acquires xAI Tech billionaire and White House adviser Elon Musk will head to Wisconsin days before the pivotal state Supreme Court election there, into which he's sunk millions of dollars on behalf of the conservative candidate and become a central figure in the race. Musk made the announcement early Friday morning on his social media platform X, where he said he would be giving out a pair of $1 million checks to people who attend his speech, with attendance limited to those who voted in the election. It's the latest redoubling of Musk's efforts in Wisconsin, where he has endorsed conservative Judge Brad Schimel, a circuit court judge and former state attorney general who is also backed by President Donald Trump. State campaign finance filings show $3 million in donations from Musk to the Wisconsin Republican Party so far this year, and Musk's super PAC, America PAC, is the top outside spender in the Supreme Court race. The group has spent more than $12 million so far, according to the latest data available through the state's campaign finance portal Friday morning. America PAC has also offered Wisconsin voters $100 to sign a conservative-leaning petition ahead of the election and has awarded one petition-signer $1 million, the latest large award as part of Musk's efforts to encourage engagement with his political operations. (The group's controversial efforts to award million-dollar prizes to rally attendees and petition signers drew legal scrutiny both from the Justice Department and the Philadelphia district attorney last year, and his new efforts have also drawn new questions. But the Justice Department never took public action against Musk, and the Philadelphia district attorney's attempts to block Musk's giveaway were unsuccessful.) Musk's heavy public involvement in Wisconsin has made him a main character in the battle for partisan control of the state Supreme Court, and it aligns with Republican efforts to motivate the base before Tuesday's off-year election. Trump joined Schimel in a telephone town hall Thursday, Schimel's campaign has launched ads emphasizing Trump's endorsement and attacking the Democratic candidate on transgender issues, and an outside group backing Schimel is airing a new ad that criticizes an unrelated judicial decision blocking the Trump administration's deportation flights to argue that the state needs conservative judges like Schimel in power. Democrats have responded to Musk's efforts by trying to make him a boogeyman. A majority of registered voters in Wisconsin view him unfavorably, according to a recent Marquette University Law School poll, similar to national findings from the latest NBC News poll. Liberal candidate Susan Crawford launched an ad this month that accuses Musk of "trying to buy Schimel a seat on the Supreme Court because he knows Schimel always helps his big campaign donors." Crawford and the state Democratic Party repeatedly mention Musk as a foil on the campaign trail. Musk first dipped into the race in January, endorsing Schimel in a post on X. The post came days after his electric car company, Tesla, filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin challenging a law restricting carmakers from owning dealerships a case that could end up before the state Supreme Court. Musk's Wisconsin playbook mirrors how he engaged in the 2024 presidential election. His super PAC spent hundreds of millions of dollars to boost Trump, primarily on get-out-the-vote efforts like canvassing, direct mail and text messaging, as well as digital advertising the same kinds of expenses America PAC is incurring to boost Schimel. America PAC also gave out money to signers of a different petition, and launched a controversial $1 million giveaway to petition-signers that was unsuccessfully challenged in court. Musk also barnstormed swing states and spoke on the stump. Musk has also been engaged, albeit to a significantly lesser extent, in another race to be held on Tuesday: the special election in Florida to replace former GOP Rep. Michael Waltz, who was tapped as Trump's national security adviser. America PAC has spent about $76,000 in independent expenditures there, according to federal campaign finance data. Hillary Clinton speaks on the first night of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Ill., on Monday, August 19, 2024. Hillary Clinton on Friday excoriated President Donald Trump and his administration for their handling of the embarrassing leak of U.S. military attack plans to a journalist who was accidentally added to a Signal app text thread with other top officials this month. "It's not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it's the stupidity," Clinton wrote in a New York Times opinion piece. "We're all shocked shocked! that President Trump and his team don't actually care about protecting classified information or federal record retention laws," the former secretary of state wrote. "But we knew that already." "What's much worse is that top Trump administration officials put our troops in jeopardy by sharing military plans on a commercial messaging app and unwittingly invited a journalist into the chat," Clinton wrote. "That's dangerous. And it's just dumb." Clinton, who Trump defeated in the 2016 presidential election, said the Signal scandal is "the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds by the new administration that are squandering America's strength and threatening our national security." The Democrat noted the Trump administration's firing of federal workers who protect nuclear weapons, shutting down efforts to fight pandemics, and what she called "performative fights over wokeness" by Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. White House spokesman Harrison Field, in a statement to CNBC when asked about Clinton's essay, said, "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." Trump and his Republican allies including people on the Signal chat thread for years have castigated Clinton for her use of a private email server to conduct official business as secretary of state under then-President Barack Obama. "Any security professional military, government or otherwise would be fired on the spot for this type of conduct and criminally prosecuted for being so reckless with this kind of information," Hegseth said on Fox News in 2016. Trump at an October 2016 campaign rally said, "Hillary is the one who sent and received classified information on an insecure server, putting the safety of the American people under threat." The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in an article Monday revealed that he accepted a communications request from a Signal app user identified as Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz on March 11, and that he was added two days later to a Signal chat group called "Houthi PC Group." When Olga Khazan and her partner got serious about having a kid, she decided to make some changes but not the kind typically associated with family planning, like saving more money or moving into a bigger home. The Virginia-based writer wanted to change her personality. That's because child-rearing calls for patience and flexibility, qualities Khazan, 38, didn't feel she possessed in sufficient quantities. While a CFP and real estate agent can help you fix your finances and find a bigger home, advice on improving your personality is harder to find. In her new book, "Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change," Khazan writes that before making targeted efforts to cultivate a more positive mental outlook, she often "snatched dissatisfaction from the jaws of happiness." One trait she was determined to change was the fact that, as an introvert, she often turned inward and stayed home rather than putting in the work to maintain relationships in the real world. "For years I almost reflexively declined to socialize," she wrote. "Even as I wallowed in the comfort of yet another 'Great British Bake Off' season, I wondered why I often had virtually no one to talk to, and why I relied so heavily on Twitter for social interaction." As a new mom, she wanted to be the type of person who was excited to engage with her kids and comfortable reaching out for help. "Being a parent just requires being 'on' all the time," Khazan tells CNBC Make It. "You kind of have to learn to be okay with being really active and socially engaged, even in a nonverbal way, a lot more than you're used to." Of the many exercises she tried, she found that one spurred the most change to her personality: It actually had her up and out of the house more often and engaging with other people. "I think the most effective thing is to sign up for an activity that occurs regularly with the same group of people," she says. "It is hard to back out of because other people are relying on you." In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a video-linked ceremony to launch the Project 885M Yasen-M nuclear-powered submarine Perm, in the Arctic Circle port city of Murmansk on March 27, 2025. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned it would be foolish to dismiss U.S. President Donald Trump's push for control of Greenland, saying the move is unsurprising given America's longtime interest in the mineral-rich territory. Delivering a major speech in Russia's Murmansk, the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle, Putin said on Thursday that Trump's stated intent to annex Greenland "is an issue that concerns two specific nations and has nothing to do with us." "It is a profound mistake to treat it as some preposterous talk by the new U.S. administration. Nothing of the sort," Putin said. He added that the U.S. had such plans "as far back as the 1860s" and flagged that the country had offered to buy Greenland from Denmark after World War II. "In short, the United States has serious plans regarding Greenland. These plans have long historical roots, as I have just mentioned, and it is obvious that the United States will continue to consistently advance its geo-strategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic," Putin said. His comments, which were not critical of Trump's intentions, come as U.S. Vice President JD Vance prepares to lead a high-profile U.S. delegation to Greenland on Friday. Vance said in a video posted on social media platform X earlier this week that he would join his wife, Usha Vance, to "check out what's going on with the security" of Greenland. Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to gain control of the autonomous Danish territory, describing the prospect as an "absolute necessity" for purposes related to national security. The respective governments of both Greenland and Denmark have voiced firm opposition to Trump's plans, with Mute Egede, the outgoing prime minister of Greenland, earlier this month saying: "Don't keep treating us with disrespect. Enough is enough." Putin on Thursday noted that the importance of the Arctic was increasing for Russia as well as the rest of the world, saying that at the same time "geopolitical competition and fighting for positions in this region are also escalating." In his speech he also outlined Russia's plans for the Arctic, saying it was a "critical priority" to improve transport and logistics in the region. Signage is seen outside of the law firm WilmerHale in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. Two more law firms sued the Trump administration on Friday over executive orders by President Donald Trump targeting them for employing attorneys who worked on criminal investigations of the president. The lawsuits by WilmerHale and Jenner & Block come weeks after Perkins Coie filed a suit after it was targeted by a Trump order. All three so-called Big Law firms claim in separate civil complaints in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., that the retributive orders are clear violations of the U.S. Constitution. Since February, Trump has signed executive orders targeting five law firms with punishments that included suspending their attorneys' security clearances, terminating federal contracts, launching investigations of their hiring practices, and barring them from access to federal buildings. Trump's orders explicitly cited their employment of his longtime foes or their work on cases against him. Last week, he rescinded one order aimed at Paul, Weiss after that firm struck an agreement with the Trump administration that included its attorneys committing to performing $40 million worth of pro bono work for causes that the president supports. Trump's March 14 order against Paul, Weiss had pointed to the firm's 2022 re-hiring of what the president called "unethical attorney" Mark Pomerantz after the lawyer resigned from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, where he oversaw a criminal investigation into Trump's finances. WilmerHale, in its lawsuit Friday, said that Trump's orders are "an undisguised form of retaliation for representing clients and causes he disfavors or employing lawyers he dislikes." Jenner & Block, in its complaint, called Trump's order against the firm "an unconstitutional abuse of power against lawyers, their clients, and the legal system." "It is intended to hamper the ability of individuals and businesses to have the lawyers of their choice zealously represent them," Jenner's attorneys wrote. "And it is intended to coerce law firms and lawyers into renouncing the Administration's critics and ceasing certain representations adverse to the government." On Feb. 25, Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi and other agency heads to suspend the security clearances of employees at law firm Covington & Burling who "assisted" former Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith during his investigations of Trump. Smith's probes resulted in two federal criminal indictments against Trump. The cases were abandoned in late 2024 after the Republican won the presidential election due to a DOJ policy that bars prosecuting sitting presidents for federal crimes. Covington has said they represent Smith in his personal capacity, and not as part of any investigation into Trump. watch now President Donald Trump pardoned Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton for his 2022 conviction of federal crimes related to defrauding investors with false claims about the success of the electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker. Milton, 42, was sentenced in December 2023 to four years in prison, but he has been free since then pending an appeal of the former CEO's criminal conviction on securities and wire fraud charges in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The pardon came two weeks after federal prosecutors urged District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos to order Milton to pay restitution of $680 million to Nikola shareholders, and another $15.2 million to Peter Hicks, a victim of his wire fraud. Because of the pardon, Ramos now cannot order restitution of any kind. Trevor Milton, founder of Nikola Corp., arrives at court in New York, on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images "Oh my gosh, oh, you won't believe what just happened," Milton said in an Instagram video posted on his personal account Thursday. "Probably the best day I've had in five years." "I just got a call from the president of the United States, on my phone, and he signed my full and unconditional pardon of innocence," said Milton, who appeared to be driving a vehicle in the video. "I am free. The prosecutors can no longer hurt me," he said. "They can't destroy my family, they can't rip everything away from me, they can't ruin my life." The White House confirmed the pardon. Trump later Friday was asked why he granted Milton a pardon. "I think he was exonerated," Trump said told reporters at the White House. "And then they brought him into New York, he had a rough, rough road, and ... he was exonerated. It was a big celebration. " Milton was convicted at trial in October 2022. "They say the thing that he did wrong was, he was one of the first people that supported a gentleman named Donald Trump for president," Trump said. "He supported Trump. He liked Trump. I didn't know him, but he liked him." Trump went on to say of Milton, "They persecuted him, they destroyed five years of his life. He ... fought for five years of his life, and he did nothing wrong." "And he's a good person." Defense attorneys for Milton did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Milton, in a statement, said that one of his lawyers, Bradley Bondi, did not work on his application for a pardon. Bondi is the brother of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was appointed to her post by Trump. A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Milton, declined to comment on the pardon. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, when it obtained an indictment against Milton in 2021, said some investors defrauded by his scheme "suffered tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, including, in certain cases, the loss of their retirement savings or funds that they had borrowed to invest in Nikola." watch now In a press release Thursday, Milton said, "This pardon is not just about me it's about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that's a lot of people." Milton said that there are "striking similarities" between his case "and those brought against President Trump." The president was charged in four criminal cases between his first and second terms in the White House. After Trump was elected in November, the U.S. Justice Department sought the dismissal of the two federal cases, citing a department policy that bars the federal prosecution of sitting presidents. Following Milton's 2023 sentencing, the former Nikola CEO made significant political donations to Trump and his allies. This included $920,000 to the Trump 47 Committee in October of 2024, and $750,000 in September to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA Alliance political action committee. Kennedy, a former independent presidential candidate in 2024, was recently confirmed as Trump's secretary of Health and Human Services. Federal campaign finance records indicate that 2024 was the first year Milton ever made six-figure political contributions. As of midday Friday, there was no filing in Manhattan federal court or the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals indicating that the criminal case against Milton had been terminated due to a pardon. However, it is not uncommon for notices of presidential pardons to be filed with the court several days after the pardons are issued. Trevor Milton CEO of Nikola Massimo Pinca | Reuters "It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing," Milton said in the press release. "I wish judges would stop believing whatever the prosecutors feed them so Americans could trust the justice system again," he said. "Until that happens, our justice system will continue to erode until there is nothing left." Trump's pardon of Milton, if confirmed, would erase his criminal conviction and the sentence, which included a $1 million fine. A string of pardons Earlier this month, Trump pardoned former Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey, who had just begun serving a 21-month prison term after pleading guilty in a federal campaign finance conspiracy case. In that case, it took a week after Kelsey was released from prison for the notice of the pardon to be filed in federal court. Earlier this week, Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon for Devon Archer, a one-time business partner of Hunter Biden, former President Joe Biden's son. Like Milton, Archer had also been convicted in a fraud case. U.S. President Donald Trump holds an Executive Grant of Clemency for Devon Archer, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 25, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters Right after his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump notably pardoned around 1,500 people who were either charged or convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of the president's supporters. On his second day in office, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for crimes related to his dark web marketplace Silk Road. In February, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich received a presidential pardon. Blagojevich had served eight years in prison after he was convicted of attempting to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, after the first-term senator was elected president in 2008. Nikola's collapse In February, Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The company said in a filing that it had liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion, and assets of between $500 million and $1 billion. It also sought court approval to pursue a sale of the business, saying it had about $47 million in cash on hand. Nikola, which makes primarily all-electric and fuel cell electric semi-trucks, has struggled in recent years. The company had only sold 600 vehicles since 2022, as of its most recent third quarter. As the company's capital has shrunk, many of its trucks have been recalled as a result of defects. In its third-quarter conference call, the company warned investors it had enough cash to fund operations into the first quarter of 2025, but not beyond that. Nikola TRE FCEV2 Courtesy: Nikola Amit Gupta, born in Vadodara, Gujarat, pursued a B.Tech in computer science from Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. He secured an MBA degree from the International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi. In 2013, he moved to Doha, Qatar, and joined Tech Mahindra. He was promoted to senior sales manager in 2016. In April 2022, he became the regional head for Qatar and Kuwait at Tech Mahindra. Those long-lasting conversations we had with Amit daily for hours before his detention are now limited to just five minutes, and that too only on Wednesdays. Nothing else can be as cruel and inhumane as what we are going through right now, says JP Gupta, father of Amit Gupta, who has allegedly been in detention in Qatar since January over charges that have not yet been made public.Speaking to CNBC TV-18, JP Gupta said that his son Amit had been posted in Qatar for almost 15 years and was working in a reputed position. However, the family could never have imagined the ordeal they are currently facing after Amits detention.Gupta stated that Amit moved to the Middle East in 2013 after Tech Mahindra posted him in Qatar. Over time, he was promoted to regional head for Qatar and Kuwait."All these years, life was as peaceful and content as any family would want until the 2nd of January, when we woke up to the tragic news of Amit being detained by local authorities while he was out at an eatery for dinner. At first, we couldnt process the news, and even today, we still dont know under what charges Amit has been detained.""The detention happened on the 1st of January, and now we are nearing April with no clear answersonly a lot of questions. Initially, custody was for 31 days, then it was extended by 20 days in February, and then it was further extended twice by 15 days, covering March. There is absolutely no clarity on the official charges, what Amit is accused of, or when he will be released. Each passing day makes things more suspicious for us," JP Gupta said."From what we have gathered so far, officials from Qatars state security department told Amit that his company had manipulated and taken over other contracts. That was the sole reason mentioned to him while taking him into custodynothing more has been said since then. Amit offered to cooperate fully with the officials and answer all queries from the investigating agencies, but it was in vain.""As of now, he remains in solitary confinement and is allowed to speak to us only on Wednesdays for just five minutes. He sees sunlight for barely 10 minutes a day and has no interaction with others. Even after his detention, we visited Qatar for a month in February, but all our efforts to provide him some relief have been in vain. Amit has neither received consular access from the embassy nor any clarity from the judiciary on the next hearing. His custody has been indefinitely extended since his detention."We met him once for 2530 minutes, but it seems the concerned authorities are working, though not with full force. The conditions Amit is living in now are extremely inhumane and cruel for both him and us. His company has deployed two lawyers for his case, and even the embassy is doing its best, but without the involvement of higher authorities, we expect little progress," added JP Gupta."We have submitted our case to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) , the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) , and Tech Mahindra for speedy intervention, but there has been no update yet. We are currently waiting for any information from the Qatari authorities and our own agencies. In time, we hope for some relief for our son."Responding to CNBC TV-18s query on the matter, Tech Mahindra stated, We remain in close contact with the family, providing necessary support to them. We are also actively coordinating with authorities in both countries and adhering to due process. Ensuring the well-being of our colleague is our top priority. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to embark on a two-day visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka from April 3-6, focussing on strengthening regional cooperation under India's 'MAHASAGAR' vision and its engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.The prime minister's visit includes participation in the sixth BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok and high-level meetings in Colombo.PM Modi will begin his tour in Bangkok (April 3-4), where he will attend the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit, hosted by Thailand, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. This marks his third visit to Thailand.The summit will bring together leaders from BIMSTEC member countries India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bhutan to discuss enhancing regional cooperation.The MEA noted that discussions will focus on "ways and means to infuse greater momentum in cooperation among member nations."Key topics of discussion will include institutional capacity building and expanding collaboration in areas such as security, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, food security, and climate action.During his stay in Thailand, Modi will also meet his Thai counterpart, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, on April 3 to review bilateral ties and discuss avenues for future collaboration. India and Thailand share strong cultural, linguistic, and historical connections as maritime neighbours.From Thailand, PM Modi will travel to Sri Lanka on April 4 for a three-day visit at the invitation of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayeke. This visit follows the Sri Lankan president's recent trip to India, where both nations committed to deepening their partnership.Discussions between PM Modi and President Dissanayake will focus on reviewing "progress made in the areas of cooperation agreed upon in the joint vision for fostering partnerships in the shared future." PM Modi will also meet other senior Sri Lankan leaders and dignitaries, as per the MEA.He will travel to Anuradhapura to inaugurate development projects supported by Indian financial assistance. The visit underscores India's ongoing commitment to Sri Lanka's economic and infrastructure development.The visit is expected to reinforce India's 'neighbourhood first' and 'act East' policies, along with its MAHASAGAR vision. It stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions, and was introduced during PM Modi's recent visit to Mauritius.PM Modi last visited Sri Lanka in 2019, and this trip signals India's continued high-level engagement with the region. The MEA highlighted that his participation in the BIMSTEC summit and bilateral talks will "lend further momentum in deepening the multi-faceted partnership between India and Sri Lanka."The sixth BIMSTEC summit will be the first in-person meeting of leaders since 2018, with the last summit in 2022 held virtually. With the theme of ;BIMSTEC - Prosperous, Resilient, and Open,' discussions are expected to focus on strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, connectivity, and security among other nations.PM Modi's upcoming visit underscores India's active role in fostering regional stability, economic growth, and security in South and Southeast Asia. Earthquake Today Highlights: At least 144 people killed, 730 injured in Myanmar in powerful quake By CNBCTV18.COM | Mar 28, 2025 11:03 PM IST (Updated) Earthquake Today Highlights: A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday (March 28), and several buildings collapsed in Mandalay, the country's second-largest city. Buildings shook as well in Bangkok, the Thailand capital. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was at a depth of 10 km. It was followed by a powerful aftershock of 6.4 magnitude. Earthquake Today Highlights: A strong 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday (March 28), and several buildings collapsed in Mandalay, the country's second-largest city. Buildings shook as well in Bangkok, the Thailand capital. At least three people have died after an under-construction 30-storey building collapsed in Bangkok. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was at a depth of 10 km. It was followed by a powerful aftershock of 6.4 magnitude. The epicentre was about 17.2 km from the city of Mandalay. Both Thailand and Myanmar have declared a state of emergency following the quake. China's Xinhua news agency said strong tremors were felt in southwestern Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, but there were no reports of casualties. Tremors were felt in West Bengal and Manipur in India. Bangladesh also reported tremors after being hit by a 7.3-magnitude quake. #WATCH | Nepal: Visuals from Kathmandu where a protester was seen damaging a CCTV camera while a plume of smoke rose after an arson. A clash erupted between pro-monarchists and Police in Kathmandu today. The protesters are demanding the restoration of the monarchy. Curfew has pic.twitter.com/5ZdEhipzx7 ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2025 #WATCH | Nepal: A clash broke out between pro-monarchists and Police in Kathmandu near the airport. Several rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets fired by the Police. Vehicles and a house torched. Curfew ordered in Tinkune, Sinamangal and Koteshwor area. Visuals from Kathmandu pic.twitter.com/Be0Emk8EjO ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2025 VIDEO | Nepal: Clashes erupt between security and pro monarchy activists in Kathmandu demanding restoration of monarchy and Hindu Kingdom status. (Source: Third Party) (Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/4ffcGas6kr Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 28, 2025 Violent clashes broke out between pro-monarchist demonstrators and security forces in Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Friday, March 28, which led to a curfew in multiple areas.The confrontation occurred near the airport, with police restoring to tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protestors. One civilian was injured during the clashes, eyewitnesses reported.Hundreds of riot police were stationed in key locations to prevent the situation from escalating as two opposing groups pro-monarchists and republicans held simultaneous demonstrations in Kathmandu, reported PTI.Watch the Nepal protests here:While pro-monarchists gathered at Tinkune, republicans, led by the Socialist Front, assembled at Bhrikutimandap.The protestors demanding the return of Nepal's monarchy attempted to breach police barricades, prompting the security forces to use water cannons and tear gas, as per an eyewitness.Several demonstrators were detained for violating restrictions as they attempted to march towards New Baneshwor, a restricted zone.Authorities imposed a curfew in Tinkune, Sinamangal, and Koteshwor following the outbreak of violence.In an official announcement, police urged residents to vacate the affected areas immediately. According to reports, demonstrators set vehicles and a house on fire and attacked a television station as well as the CPN (United Socialist) party office.The pro-monarchists, including members of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, chanted slogans such as "Raja aau desh bachau" (May the king come and save the country) and "Down with corrupt government" as per PTI.Their demand for the monarchy's return follows a recent video message by former king, Gyanendra Shah, in which he appealed for public support on Democracy Day on February 19.Meanwhile, thousands of republicans led by the Socialist Front gathered at Bhrikutimandap in support of Nepal's current system. Participants, including the members of CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist, raised slogans such as "Long live the republican system" and "Take action against corrupt people."Maoist leader and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Prachanda addressed the gathering, reinforcing the commitment to Nepal's republic system.As tensions continue, authorities remain on high alert. The UK governments grand plan for AI in the public sector is struggling in the face of growing technological challenges, a report by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a bipartisan group of elected members of parliament, has found. Many of these problems will be familiar to anyone who has tried to make AI work inside an organization: the dead hand of obsolete systems, poor quality data, and a chronic lack of skilled people to implement the technology. But beyond these issues lies another problem that could prove just as difficult: the monopolistic power of tech vendors that control the AI technology the government so badly desires. If you are the custodian for sensitive information, you have no doubt been watching the inexplicable mishandling of the US military attack on Yemen by the senior members of the Trump administration and perhaps hyperventilating. As a former intelligence officer, I know I was, and I havent touched a piece of classified material since 2011. I handled sensitive and classified information daily from 1976, there are processes and procedures. If a government-issued and approved classified communications channel was unavailable, encryption protocols existed to allow information to be transmitted over Telex, leased lines, radio telegraph or continuous wave. Indeed, secure telephone units, known as STUs, existed to allow landlines to be used for communication. As technology advanced, secure mobile devices were created and government-controlled networks, with appropriate government encryption, were provisioned and provided. During his last four years in exile, Scott Rudin went to therapy and apologized to many people, sure, but also unloaded several of properties he owned in New York City and Long Island. Photo: Matt Sayles/AP After spending years in exile from Hollywood and Broadway, Scott Rudin is plotting some big changes. The megaproducer, the subject of a flood of allegations about verbally and physically abusing his staff, shared in an extensive interview with the New York Times that he will mark his return to Broadway this fall with a production of Samuel D. Hunters Little Bear Ridge Road, followed next spring by a staging of Montauk, a new play by Dan Hare. Also: Hes moving to the North Fork. It turns out that in addition to going to therapy, making many apologies (Not everybody was receptive to it), and helping put together the artistic programming for Barry Dillers Little Island (liberating, per the Times), Rudin has spent the last four years sorting out his real-estate portfolio. Months after The Hollywood Reporter published its expose on Rudin in April 2021 alleging, among other things, that he smashed an assistants hands with a computer monitor The Social Network producer unloaded his San Remo co-op to former SparkNotes publisher Dan Weiss, and his wife, literary agent Amy Berkower, for $13.1 million. Then, in December 2024, Rudin sold his Bank Street Greek Revivalstyle townhouse in the West Village for just under $20 million he had purchased it from Graydon Carter just five years earlier and originally listed it in March 2023 for $26 million. After shuttling off to his hedge-lined East Hampton weekend home, Rudin tried building a house in Connecticut before realizing that project was not how he wanted to spend his energy, the Times notes. Now, hes reportedly sold the East Hampton home plus, apparently, a lot of art, and is getting ready for his move to the North Fork. If the comebacks a flop, at least he can get really into local wine. Maybe a membership with the North Fork Arts Center? Sign Up for the Curbed Newsletter A daily mix of stories about cities, city life, and our always evolving neighborhoods and skylines. 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. Donald Trumps childhood home just sold for a 61 percent discount, likely because the property was utterly trashed and had become a feral cat refuge. Photo: Nick Fraccaro After years on the market, Donald Trumps childhood home finally sold at a significant loss. The Tudor-style five-bedroom, in a nice slice of Jamaica Estates where houses sit back on wide lawns, went for just $835,000 in early March far less than a similar property on the block, which sold for $1.26 million in 2021, and a full 61 percent less than the seller paid in 2017. The buyer, a corporation listed as 1388 Group, got it at a steep discount, per the New York Post, which broke the news. One possible reason? The place was trashed. As Trumps star rose in 2016, a speculator went after 85-15 Wareham Place, buying it in December of that year and flipping it three months later for $2.14 million a profit of $750,000. The new owner, who registered under an LLC, tried to turn the place into a piggy bank by converting it into an Airbnb, where Trump supporters might pay $725 per night to spend some time where the president presumably learned to walk, among other accomplishments. A wave of enterprising features writers booked rooms to write ruminative In Search of Trump pieces while staying as guests, as we noted last year. But one month after it opened for business, the city shut it down with a partial vacate order. The house went on the market again, and neighbors watched as the building seemed to sit there, abandoned the grass growing, trash accumulating, and mysterious smells wafting over. One neighbor saw a silver lining in the apparent neglect, and turned the presidents birthplace into a refuge for feral cats. When the Post went by on Thursday, workers were hauling out old boards and filling a large dumpster. A neighbor told the reporter that the buyer was a known flipper who may have also gotten a deal because the seller was motivated. A source close to the transaction told the Post that the seller just needed the money. Things were quiet Friday morning at the Bensonhurst address listed for the LLC that purchased Donald Trumps home. Photo: Matthew Sedacca The seller of 85-15 Wareham has never been identified, obscuring their identity with an LLC Trump Birth House LLC which only traced back to the office of the lawyer who signed their paperwork. That was in the heady days of Trumps first term, and multiple outlets took a swing at the mystery. When the New York Times tried to crack the case, it reported that someone with knowledge of the deal told them the house was owned by a woman from China whose relative also relied on the same real estate lawyer to buy a palatial home in Old Westbury, but it didnt find anyone home when they visited. When Curbed went last year, a neighbor told the reporter that a Chinese family bought the building, but weve never seen them. As for the buyer, their identity was also masked by an LLC, in this case 1388 Group Inc., which lists an address in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and is owned by Huisha Zhen. Zhen is also named along with Bei Chen on another document that lists their mortgage Chen also signed the deed for Trumps childhood home. (Chen answered to that name over the phone, but hung up without giving further comment.) On Friday, no one answered the door at the Bensonhurst address, and the blinds and curtains were drawn in every window. Things were similarly quiet at a second address tied to Zhen in the mortgage document on 65th Street in Bensonhurst. There, a worn stop-work order was affixed to the door of a three-story brick building. The buyers took out a mortgage with the lender Accolend, which advertises itself as a lender for real estate investors whose packages include short-term financing for purchasing and fixing up investment properties. But neither seem to be major real estate players, although Chen owns multiple properties, and Zhen seems to know a bargain, paying $920,000 in 2018 for 85th Street a five-bedroom triplex that had been listed at $1.299 million. (The seller on that property had no comment.) Its unclear if the house on Wareham Place is just another investment flip or if the buyers have other plans. (After a renovation, it could go to a MAGA chud, a broker we spoke to speculated.) As for the current owners potential feelings about Trump? Zhen isnt a registered voter, and Chens registration doesnt name a party affiliation. Sign Up for the Curbed Newsletter A daily mix of stories about cities, city life, and our always evolving neighborhoods and skylines. 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. Banan Abdelrahman is a graduate student in UC Berkeleys Department of Anthropology. Contact the opinion desk at opinion@dailycal.org or follow us on X. Lets not kid ourselves weve just seen a significant victory in the fight to ensure that free speech survives in Britains universities. But Professor Kathleen Stocks record win against the University of Sussex is only one skirmish in a war against an educational establishment that wants to determine not only what we can say out loud but even what we are allowed to think. Free expression continues to be crushed on campuses up and down the country. Yet, the signs are that Labour ministers are on the side of censorship and will in future look the other way. In this weeks very welcome judgment, the University of Sussex was fined 585,000 for allowing extremist activists to bully and hound Professor Stock from her post because her views did not align with woke trans orthodoxy. An analytical philosopher, Stock had even faced death threats for her insistence that biological sex is real and that men cannot become women simply by wishing for it. Instead of respecting alternative views, students on Sussex campus emboldened by university bureaucrats who put the concerns of the student mob before freedom of speech and thought harangued and hectored Stock with intimidating demonstrations until she became so afraid for her own safety that her job was untenable. Far from trying to protect Professor Stock, the university seemed only too glad to see the back of her. Now, after Stock brought a legal challenge through the higher education regulator a course of action only possible thanks to the last Conservative government the Office for Students (OfS) has ruled that Sussex failed to uphold her freedom of speech. Professor Kathleen Stock even faced death threats for her insistence that biological sex is real and that men cannot become women simply by wishing for it Far from trying to protect Professor Stock, the university seemed only too glad to see the back of her, Professor Matt Goodwin writes A protester in Sussex University's Library Square It was a failure that had wide-reaching effects, said the regulator, with Sussex staff and students fearing disciplinary action for doing no more than express lawful views. It is telling that the university remains furiously unrepentant and has vowed to challenge the decision, which, it claims, is perpetuating the culture wars. Sussex said the OfS ruling would leave institutions, powerless to prevent abusive, bullying and harassing speech and accused the OfS of using an unreasonably absolutist definition of free speech to pursue a vindictive and unreasonable campaign against it. In other words, Sussex resents this setback and demands nothing less than total victory in its campaign to silence those who disagree with trans ideology. As Iain Mansfield, a former special adviser to three Conservative education ministers wrote on X this week, it is a troubling state of affairs: Effectively, Sussex is standing by its actions which saw a distinguished philosopher hounded out for lawful speech. Like too many others, it seems to think its job is to suppress free speech, not uphold it. Can you imagine a publicly funded institution responding with the same defiance to any other form of major fault found by its regulator to racism, or harassment, or discrimination, or safeguarding? The question now is whether the Labour Government will allow the OfS to continue fining institutions that tolerate woke extremism. Or whether, as I fear, they will dismantle this all-important protection. Bridget Phillipson, minister for women and equalities, has already signalled the law will be watered down and that individuals will no longer be able to sue universities in their own right for abandoning free speech. Instead, they must rely on the governments Office for Students to do so on their behalf. This does not fill me with confidence. Demonstrations such as this one led to Professor Stock quitting her role at the university Bridget Phillipson, minister for women and equalities, has already signalled the law will be watered down and that universities will no longer face swingeing financial penalties for abandoning free speech The Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act was introduced by the Tories in 2023 to secure and promote the importance of free expression on campus. But in one of the incoming Labour administrations first moves, the Act was put on hold with a government spin doctor leaking the suggestion that it could become a charter for antisemites and Holocaust deniers. Thats nonsense and I know it is because I helped to draft the original Bill. What I also know is that when I gave evidence to Parliament in favour of the new Act, I was confronted with Labour MPs who said the draft Bill should be scrapped entirely including the mechanism to fine universities if they fail to uphold free speech. In January, it was announced that the Act would be reintroduced but with significant changes to avoid embroiling universities in costly, drawn-out legal battles. But remember this: it was only because the University of Sussex faces a fine of more than half a million pounds that other institutions will take notice. If nothing more than a slap on the wrist were administered, the reaction would be a collective shrug. The fact is that, while universities are supposed to foster the spirit of open enquiry, they have a strong vested interest in suppressing free speech. From the 1960s onwards, socialist extremists have imposed themselves on university committees and departments and consistently dragged the educational establishment towards the hard Left. One of the wretched consequences is that our universities and colleges are now weighed down with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) officers. Oxford University, for instance, spends about 2 million a year on these modern-day equivalents of Orwells Thought Police. The Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act threatens their jobs which is ironic because these people see it as their own role to oust others. I know this only too well. In 2016, I fell foul of the woke orthodoxy when, as a professor of politics at the University of Kent, I stated my view that the result of the Brexit referendum should be respected. I wasnt anti-EU, but I believed that in a democracy the will of the people should be sacrosanct. Overnight I became an outcast, subjected to virulent criticism that often felt like harassment. One professor told me I was barred from a workshop because of my unacceptable views. Some people on social media even spread the false rumour that I was a disciple of Donald Trump. They did everything they dared to smear my reputation. And I am far from the only one. Academics in universities across Britain have been no-platformed or denied the right to speak in public, because their legitimate and sincere opinions on everything from gender to history supposedly make students unsafe. Kathleen Stock said this week that she has no intention of working for another British university because they are run by people who want social justice according to a very narrow conception that does not involve employing me. These travesties extend far beyond academia. Only last week, we learned that a contractor was dismissed by the Home Office for the crime of sharing a post on social media by Reform MP Richard Tice. Gary Costin, 57, had worked for government contractors Mitie and G4S for 15 years. To deprive anyone of their livelihood for echoing something perfectly legal said by a Member of Parliament is atrocious. That this should be done by a leading department in the Civil Service is chilling. The redoubtable Professor Stock has won a praiseworthy victory against the stifling of free thought and speech and we should be glad. But if we let Labour and the woke establishment get away with defanging our vital freedom of speech laws, it will have been in vain. Matt Goodwin is Senior Visiting Professor of Politics at the University of Buckingham and writes at mattgoodwin.org. Finally the great enigma was going to speak! Lady Gray of Tottenham (Lab) was on the list of speakers in a Lords debate on the dreaded Employment Rights Bill. She is better known as Sue Gray, the gnomic Whitehall operative who torpedoed Boris Johnson with her report on his lockdown birthday cake. She took her seat in the upper house of our poor, brutalised legislature a month ago but had not yet uttered a word. Thursday was her maiden speech. As with pre-talkies Hollywood stars, few people knew what she sounded like. To most of us she was just that silent, morose figure who was seen creeping through side doors at Downing Street with a disposable coffee cup in hand and a lanyard round her neck. Sue the 'ethics and propriety' stickler who one day had us believe she was a non-partisan mandarin and the next day was made Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff. Then she was ousted by red-bearded Irishman Morgan McSweeney, that rangy, poetically intense figure who could have sprung from a J. M. Synge play. Sue was demoted to 'envoy to the nether regions' and later quit, pocketing a peerage. Would she now take revenge on McSweeney and lads? Would we finally see why Sir Keir rated her so highly? Reporters hastened through the cloisters to attend the scene. Sue Gray (pictured) took her seat in the upper house of our poor, brutalised legislature a month ago but had not yet uttered a word. Thursday was her maiden speech Sue the 'ethics and propriety' stickler who one day had us believe she was a non-partisan mandarin and the next day was made Sir Keir Starmer's (pictured) chief of staff So how was it? Bit of a let-down. The speech started well enough. She talked of her parents who, like fella McSweeney, were Irish. Her father died unexpectedly young. Young Sue had to leave school before completing her A-levels. 'Our mother struggled with her mental health before taking her own life some years later.' Lady Gray struggled to control her emotions as she related this. An authentic moment. The rest was more drab. She described early days as a middling civil servant before she went off to run a pub in Newry, Co Down, in the late 1980s. She coyly noted that it was an unconventional move; yet we learned nothing of her reasons for doing so, or of the characters who passed for Newry society in those days. She read the speech closely off a script and seldom raised her snout from its pages. The voice was flat, unblessed by Blarney brogue. A pen-pusher's performance notable only for a few smirking allusions to the report with which she undid Boris. Her peroration, if we can call it that, demanded that commentators and politicians should not use phrases such as 'Blobs', 'pen-pushers' (oops, sorry), 'axes' and 'chainsaws' because they might upset the 'progressive Civil Service' that she continued to support. True to form, she was wearing her new Lords lanyard. As soon as she finished speaking she drank from one of those disposable coffee cups. Another maiden speech, from Labour's Lady (Luciana) Berger, was better. She shouted on about her great-great uncle, Manny Shinwell, a Labour hard-nut from the mid-20th century. Lord (Toby) Young also made his debut. A fidget, he danced and jiggled about on his toes as he discussed freedom of speech. The Employment Rights Bill offered daft protections for pub workers that could see publicans being held responsible if bar staff overheard nasty language from drinkers. Sue was ousted by red-bearded Irishman Morgan McSweeney (pictured), that rangy, poetically intense figure who could have sprung from a J. M. Synge play Sue was demoted to 'envoy to the nether regions' and later quit, pocketing a peerage Lord (Toby) Young also made his debut. A fidget, he danced and jiggled about on his toes as he discussed freedom of speech. The Employment Rights Bill offered daft protections for pub workers that could see publicans being held responsible if bar staff overheard nasty language from drinkers. The Bill had plenty of critics. Lord Londesborough, a posh entrepreneur, said it was 'another giant, vampire squid sucking the life out of our economy'. The Opposition front bench fielded Lord Hunt, 82, whom I first knew as Secretary of State for Wales in the Thatcher government. Hearing a speech from him is like being driven in a vintage Daimler: the phrases beautifully crafted, everything in its place. He thought the burdens being dumped on businesses would set us back three decades. And the Bishop of Newcastle made a speech. Preachy cadences. Content so damp you could grow cress on it. And the lank centre parting of a Victorian curate. She's the one who shafted Justin Welby. She seemed to be wearing Geoffrey Howe's spectacles. But that's enough assassins for one day. The chief victims of Donald Trump's new tariffs will be Americans. The President's 25 per cent levy on all imported cars, to sit alongside those on steel and aluminium, will inevitably result in price rises. Most obviously, imported cars will become more expensive. But so will American vehicles as their manufacturers will no longer need to worry about competition. The sheer self-harming folly of this policy should be obvious and you don't have to take my word for it. One of Trump's rather more distinguished predecessors, Ronald Reagan, put it succinctly in his weekly radio address to the nation in 1985. 'Instead of protectionism, we should call it "destructionism",' said the great tax-cutting Republican. 'Homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and stop making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets.' To make matters worse, as prices rise in showrooms, American consumers will have less to spend on other things, harming the whole economy. Ironically, given his current role as Trump's chief cheerleader, Elon Musk explained it beautifully when he was interviewed by the American podcaster Joe Rogan shortly before the President's inauguration. It was, recalled the co-founder of Tesla, only competition from Germany and Japan that had rescued US auto companies from their torpor in the 1970s. Faced with superior models from abroad, they were forced to up their game. The worst possible response to Trump's act of economic masochism would be to replicate it ourselves. If someone chops off his finger, you don't retaliate by lopping off one of your own. President Donald Trump holds up an executive order on auto tariffs after signing it in the Oval Office at the White House Trump announced new import taxes of 25 percent on cars and car parts coming into the US (stock) Keir Starmer speaks during a news conference at the UK ambassador's residence following the Ukraine summit in Paris Unfortunately, politics and economics are two different beasts. Although free trade is one of the few ideas which every mainstream economist supports, rational arguments count for little when a country feels disrespected. Canada is in the middle of an election campaign. I have no doubt that the leaders of both the Conservative and Liberal parties there understand that tariffs will impoverish Canadians, but they can't afford to look weak in the face of Trump's aggression. So they will end up imposing a harmful policy tit-for-tat tariffs on American cars rather than reason with voters whose blood is up. Something similar, I suspect, will happen in the EU, which retaliated against Trump's decision to impose steel and aluminium tariffs in February by introducing its own, to the detriment of its construction workers, car manufacturers, electrical appliance-makers and railways. So far, to his credit, Keir Starmer has avoided that mistake. Instead of going for cheap applause by imposing tariffs of his own, which would have put up prices for British businesses and British workers, he exercised caution. Rather than begin a self-mutilating escalation, we need to get the levies lifted. The way to do that is to start the trade talks that Trump proposed when he met Starmer in the Oval Office a month ago. Although Trump's tariffs will mainly hurt American consumers, they will also damage British car manufacturers. The US accounts for 18 per cent of our car exports by volume and 27 per cent by value (our transatlantic cousins are drawn to our pricier motors: Jaguars; Aston Martins; Bentleys, and so on). Plainly, it is in the interest of both countries to lift those restrictions. How to do it? By ensuring that all tariffs are suspended while our trade talks get under way. Starmer meets with US President Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on February 27, 2025 in Washington In exchange, Britain should offer, while talks proceed, to suspend the idiotic 10 per cent tariff on US cars that we inherited from the EU or, at the very least, to cut it to the US rate of 2.5 per cent. The negotiations themselves should be both urgent and ambitious. British protectionists and Europhile nostalgists have somehow convinced themselves that the talks are all about chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef. In fact, there is no prospect of any significant volumes of US chicken reaching our markets. The economics just don't work. In any case, Washington is not asking us to alter our food safety rules. What it wants very reasonably is to be allowed to sell its goods here when they comply with our laws. Since we are nowhere near self-sufficiency in beef, there can be no serious argument against allowing US imports, when they come without growth hormones, to compete with those from Ireland and France. Food, though the most emotive part of any trade talks, is a negligible part of our trade. The real gains for our two countries are in removing tariffs on manufactured goods, in the mutual recognition of professional credentials, and in financial services, tech, AI, pharmaceuticals and defence procurement. The US is not just our largest market it is larger than our second, third and fourth-largest markets (Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands) combined. A lot of the work has already been done. By the end of Trump's first term, nearly two thirds of the US-UK trade chapters were at or close to completion. We should get on and conclude the deal before Trump's mid-term elections at the end of next year. If Starmer can get a deal over the line, he will see both the British economy and his personal ratings soar. And you know what? He will deserve it. 'War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.' These are the claims of state propaganda in George Orwell's classic novel 1984, a tale of how tyranny rules through lies, deceit and the quashing of all dissent. Sad to relate, there is something increasingly Orwellian about Donald Trump's America in 2025, where truth is dismissed by government as a lie, lies are disseminated by the state as truth and plans of battle can on no account be regarded as war plans. The growing Orwellian tendencies of the Trump administration came into stark relief this week with its attempts to defuse the Signalgate scandal after it emerged that Defence Secretary Pete 'Hapless' Hegseth had shared the precise timings of upcoming US airstrikes on Houthi militants in Yemen to a chat group of senior cabinet ministers and security officials on Signal, a commercial messaging platform. In a petulant, rambling rebuttal, Hegseth insisted that he hadn't disclosed any 'war plans' via Signal, which is less secure than the official communication channels that are meant to be used for handling sensitive and secret material. He was backed up by the White House. US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in the aftermath of the Signal scandal where a journalist was added to a WhatsApp group chat discussing war plans Mr Trump and his government is defiantly toughing out the scandal dismissing truth as a lie Signal, a commercial messaging platform, is less secure than the official communication channels that are meant to be used for handling sensitive and secret material Well, here are just a few excerpts from what Hegseth told the Signal chat group in advance of the attack: '12:15: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)' '14:15: Strike drones on target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP)' '15:36: F-18 2nd Strike Starts also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.' Call them what you will war plans, battle plans, plans of attack the semantics hardly matter. No sentient, honest person could deny that revealing details of the start time and schedule for two waves of bombing raids before the operation had begun is obviously secret information of the most sensitive sort. If it had fallen into the wrong hands, it could have seriously compromised the mission and cost American lives. At no stage did a single one of the 18 in the chat group, consisting of the most senior folks in the Trump administration, say: 'Er, should we be talking about this on Signal?' In a normal government anywhere else in the world, those at the top responsible for this egregious dissemination would have been instantly fired if they had not already resigned in shame and ignominy. But the Trump administration is not normal. It is defiantly toughing it out. No classified information was involved. Security was never in danger of being breached. Nobody did anything wrong. Any suggestions to the contrary are 'fake news'. By repeating this false mantra often enough the administration aims to turn lies into truth and truth into a lie. It might even get away with it, such is the cult-like unanimity of the messaging from the Oval Office down, repeated and amplified without the slightest caveat by the likes of Fox News, the semi-official broadcasting arm of the Trump White House. This blatant attempt to bury the truth is all the more remarkable because, unknown to the jejune Hegseth as he was bombastically showing off his war plans to colleagues, a journalist had been accidentally invited to join the Signal chat group and was privy to everything the Defence Secretary was so cavalierly revealing. It was a potentially catastrophic security breach. But far from holding up their hands in horror and shame, Trump and his acolytes simply trashed the journalist, Jeff Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic magazine. Trump called him a 'sleaze bag' leading a media 'witch hunt'. Others piled in, dismissing his presence in the chat room as a 'hoax' and accusing him of being a 'sensationalist' prone to conspiracy theories. Goldberg is certainly anti-Trump but he is none of the above. He's the only one linked to this fiasco who has behaved responsibly throughout. But it has long been Team Trump's default position, when its back is to the wall, to play the man rather than the ball. As I have said, it is also eerily Orwellian. In 1984, true believers are encouraged to participate in the 'Two Minutes Hate', a daily ritual in which they vent their hatred of regime 'enemies' with screams and jeers. In 1984, their prime target was a man called Goldstein. This week it was Goldberg's turn to get his two minutes. There will be more to come. In a vain attempt to move the story on, we were told to stop obsessing about Signal and acknowledge that, in attacking the Houthis, Trump was doing what his predecessor Joe Biden had failed to do. The attacks had been 'unbelievably successful', said Trump, a claim echoed by his minions. This was pure state propaganda. The Biden administration mounted multiple attacks on the Houthis, usually with the support of British air power. Trump has upped the frequency and severity but it's not clear what that's achieved. Near-daily Houthi missile attacks on Israel continue. The Houthis are still a threat to the sea-lanes leading to the Red Sea, so most commercial shipping continues to avoid them. The Houthis withstood eight years of air strikes by the Saudis and the UAE using the latest US military hardware. It's not clear that US air strikes alone will make that much of a difference. But anything, however unsubstantiated, that deflects from the embarrassment of Signalgate is worth pumping out. An Orwellian disregard for the truth has been evident from the day Trump first entered the White House eight years ago. Bizarrely obsessed with the size of the crowd at his inauguration in 2017, Trump claimed it had been the best attended ever. Press secretary Sean Spicer was sent out to defend this boast despite the mountain of visual and statistical evidence to the contrary. A few days later, Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump's closest confidants, explained on TV that Spicer hadn't been wrong, he'd just presented 'alternative facts'. Orwell's Winston Smith, beavering away fabricating facts in his cubicle at the Ministry of Truth in 1984, couldn't have put it better. In Orwell's dystopian novel, the world is dominated by three totalitarian giants: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. It's not that different from Trump's geopolitical worldview. As long as America gets to dominate the Western Hemisphere (Oceania, with Britain as its European landing strip Airstrip One), he doesn't mind a Russian-dominated Europe (Eurasia) or a China-dominated Eastern Pacific (Eastasia). But unlike the fictional Oceania and Eurasia, who are at each other's throats, Trump wants America to be Russia's new best friend, dividing natural resources between them, as is all too apparent from the deal Trump is currently trying to shove down Ukraine's throat. Carving up the world between two dictators and a US president with his own ambitions to be a strongman is not how the 21st Century was supposed to pan out. The dark underside is already a cause for concern on America's home front. Nobody can object to the speedy deportation of Venezuelan street gangs inexplicably allowed to operate in the US during the Biden years. How it was done is another matter. The bad guys were largely identified by their gangster tattoos. In one case, the tattoo might have been a logo indicating support for Real Madrid. Another was said to be in honour of a grandmother. Who knows? It is why democratic legal systems put such store by due process to establish the truth, which was circumvented in this case even though it should have been a requirement, since the Venezuelans were not being returned to their own country but to a prison hellhole in El Salvador. There's more. On Tuesday, a young Turkish postgraduate woman with a valid student visa was suddenly apprehended on the pavement by plainclothes agents in masks and whisked away 'disappeared', you might say in an unmarked car. The video of it is what you'd expect in a Moscow street rather than a university town in Massachusetts. It was later discovered she was in a Louisiana detention centre 1,350 miles away pending deportation. The government has suggested she was involved in pro-Hamas activities. The only evidence presented so far is her co-authorship of a rather silly anti-Israel article in her university newspaper. There have also been reports of a French scientist barred from entry because he'd criticised Trump. Columnists beware! 'All tyrannies rule through fraud and force,' wrote Orwell in 1984, 'but once the fraud is exposed they must rely exclusively on force.' We are far from there yet. The US is still a robust, disputatious democracy. But there are enough sinister straws in the wind to justify concern that Trump's second administration will not end well for America or what were, until recently, its allies. I grew up knowing very little about my biological father. I knew he had an affair when I was very young and left when I was three and my brother was just 18 months old. I used to dream that one day he'd arrive at the front door and scoop me up in his arms, wiping tears from his eyes, full of apologies for abandoning me. Every birthday, I'd hope that a card would appear with writing I didn't recognise and I'd open it up to find it was from my dad. That never happened. The years ticked by and I heard nothing. As a teenager, I had a burning, all-consuming rage roaring inside me. How could the person who had created me not want to know me? I thought about it, I dreamed about it, and I used to fantasise about storming into his place of work to confront him. I did know the company he worked for and it's just as well this was in the years before the internet, because I may well have acted on that rage, and it wouldn't have been pretty. Underneath all that anger, as is often the way, was immense hurt, pain and sadness. As a little girl, I dreamed that my father would send me a birthday card. He never did The rejection I felt after my dad walked out when I was three shaped my entire life experience The rejection I've always felt has shaped my entire life experience. It's made relationships incredibly challenging for me, it fuelled my drinking and charged my angry professional ambition. I guess for a long time, I wanted to prove that it was not a mistake that I was born, and that someone should have felt proud that I was their daughter. Most people take those things for granted, but that's always been something I've wrestled with. We hear a lot about 'deadbeat dads' in the media, but I've never bought into that. I know that a lot of women struggle after the end of relationships, and many use children as weapons to hurt their ex. If you want to challenge me on that, look me up, because I will die on that hill. I never wrote my father off; I just desperately wanted to know more. My mother used to make comments like, 'You're just like your damn father,' and I'd run upstairs to hide in my bedroom and cry. I knew this wasn't a compliment, because it was said when I was in trouble, or being stubborn or argumentative, but not knowing my father at all, it always stung. In my late thirties, I was editing a magazine in Sydney when one day at work I received a Facebook message. 'I think you're my sister,' it began. I later learned that when my dad had left when I was three, he'd run off with a woman from work and had two more children with her It turned out my father had two more children with the woman he left my mum for - I had a half brother and a half sister. This was huge news to me. I was in active addiction at this time, drinking heavily and was completely unequipped to process any of it. Years of trauma sat in a huge Pandora's box and the lid was too heavy to lift, so I poured myself another drink and drowned my sorrows yet again. Over time, I emailed back and forth with my half-brother and eventually plucked up the courage to ask for dad's email. When I emailed my father, I found out he had tried to reach me all those years ago, but he had been warned off all contact. My teenage rage returned in an instant. What had haunted me was the thought that the man who had created me didn't want to know me. Now, I found out that wasn't true. My whole core belief system fell apart. Even though I was thrilled to be in contact with my dad after all this time, the emails soon tapered off. It's true, I suppose, that people show you who they really are. If my father had really wanted to see me when I was little, he would have tried harder. He would have fought for me. He didn't. And that was underlined by the fact that when I contacted him 35 years later, he didn't suggest meeting. I didn't hear from him while I was battling breast cancer. I haven't heard from him since I've been in remission. As we navigate this thing called life, we lean on our support system when faced with our toughest challenges. And dad wasn't there, even when he knew where to find me. Just because someone is biologically related to you, doesn't mean they play a role in your life or deserve a seat at the table. Corrine Barraclough is at peace with her decision to not pursue further contact with her father I'll never meet my biological father. That ship has sailed. I've made peace with it now. Would I have anything in common with him? I don't know. Would we have the same sense of humour? I don't know. There are thousands of 'I don't knows' and I'm zen with that, because I've built a life in sobriety that I love, and it requires me to be where my feet are and not live in the dangerous neighbourhood of my own thoughts. I spent years doing my own head in and I'll never go back to those long, dark, haunted corridors. I'm grounded, I'm cancer-free, I'm content and honestly, it's his loss. I wish him all the best. Mostly, I'm incredibly thankful that I've forgiven my mother. Thanks to years of therapy, I know that she did the best that she could at the time, and I love her dearly. I'm thankful to have one precious parent. The 2010s whirred in a new age of influencers, ushering in the era of 'get-ready-with-me' videos, shopping 'hauls' and polished daily vlogs. And at the helm of it all was the 'Brit crew', led notably by bestie duo Zoe Sugg (Zoella) and Louise Pentland (SprinkleOfGlitter). The UK-based social media stars featured in each other's videos constantly, endearingly calling each other 'chummy' and journeying around the world together. But while the pair used to be inseparable - often filming at one another's houses and going on trips abroad - rumours of a 'rift' have been brewing for years, and they haven't collaborated with one another since 2016. In 2019, Louise, 39 - who in December met King Charles at a Christmas dinner for his foundation - insisted that she and Zoe still talk, however the pair have not posted about one another in years. Still firmly successful in both their professional and personal lives (they each have two children, and Louise has recently gotten married while Zoe is engaged to fellow YouTube royalty Alfie Deyes) it seems clear that they're no longer in each other's circles. It's a far cry from their previously warm relations. Just under a decade ago, while speaking to Glamour, Louise opened up about how having Zoe at her side during some of her darkest times had helped. 'Over the past few years I've experienced horrible bouts of anxiety, usually when I travel. I hate being away from home and the familiarity of my surroundings. Perhaps it's a control thing, I'm not sure, but it brings on a fear of feeling trapped,' she said in 2016. The 2010s whirred in a new age of influencers, ushering in the era of 'get-ready-with-me' videos, shopping 'hauls' and polished daily vlogs. And at the helm of it all was the 'Brit crew', led notably by bestie duo Zoe Sugg (Zoella) and Louise Pentland (SprinkleOfGlitter). Both in 2015 Still firmly successful in both their professional and personal lives (they each have two children, and Louise has recently gotten married while Zoe is engaged to fellow YouTube royalty Alfie Deyes) it seems clear that they're no longer in each other's circles. Both pictured in a throwback video In 2019, Louise, 39 - who in December met King Charles at a Christmas dinner for his foundation - insisted that she and Zoe still talk, however the pair have not posted about one another in years 'When that moment hits, my whole body tenses up and my mind spirals, thinking the worst - that I'm not safe and can't get home. I start crying, my breathing is all over the place and, in extreme cases, I throw up. It's an exhausting process, but because it didn't happen all the time, I thought I could 'live' with it. 'But everything came to a head last November, after my marriage ended. Life suddenly felt so different - and hard. I had a terrifying panic attack at home and rang my friend, Zoe Sugg (Zoella), who also suffers with anxiety. "Ambulance," I kept trying to say. She understood instantly. "You're safe, nothing is going to happen, you are not going to die," she repeated, until my breathing stabilised.' It also appeared that Louise often felt to be on the fringes of the supergroup of content creators. More recently, Louise has also featured in videos with fellow Brit crew alumni Dan Howell - in which both admitted to feeling more 'socially awkward' compared to their peers. In other interviews, she has admitted to feeling 'on the outskirts' of the group. In 2019, Louise addressed the 'drift' rumours in a Metro interview. Zoe and Alfie pictured together. The couple, who have a home in Brighton, have two children together 'People think there's a lot more drama than there is,' she insisted. 'But I wish it was as dramatic as people think well I don't but we do speak quite a lot.' 'I was chatting to Zoe last week about how she's feeling about 10 years on YouTube, Marcus [Butler] and I are close and talk a lot, Casper pranked me the other day thanks Casper I had drinks with Jim in January. 'So we do all talk but it's progressed from this very online showing every aspect of our relationship and collabing to just being people who are friends.' She also explained that one part of her content drifting more towards motherhood-style blogging away from the 'Brit crew' was just content creation strategy. 'I changed it before most other people started changing their content but I've always been a bit older than everybody,' she explained. 'Most others are still in their twenties, I'm in my thirties and I got to the point where I thought it's a bit weird for me as a 29/30-year-old to be making content for children. 'I saw the analytics showed that it was 13-18-year-olds and I was really censoring myself and not talking about the topics that really mattered to me because I thought it was really inappropriate to talk to 14-year-olds about contraception, sex life, adult relationships or divorce.' Now Louise is among the most popular 'mumfluencers' in the UK, having in 2019 topped the top 20 list voted for by readers of Mother & Baby magazine, followed by podcast host Candice Brathwaite and author Giovanna Fletcher. She has 2.18 million subscribers on YouTube and 240,200 on TikTok - with some 7.5 million likes across her clips. Now Louise is among the most popular 'mumfluencers' in the UK, having in 2019 topped the top 20 list voted for by readers of Mother & Baby magazine, followed by podcast host Candice Brathwaite and author Giovanna Fletcher. Both pictured in 2015 The social media star now also has six books under her belt - with a monthly slot on BBC Radio Northampton that looks at 'positivity and mental health'. Her content features insights into her life raising her two daughters - Darcy, 14, and Pearl, seven - as well as co-parenting with her ex partner. She has also recently made videos about her hen and stunning wedding - which took place in February. Elsewhere, Zoe has stuck to her content largely being vlog and lifestyle focused - but interlaced with her reflections on being a mother and now having two kids with fiance Alfie. The couple live in a 1.7m four-storey mansion in Brighton and have been dating since 2012. The pair - who have an estimated monthly income of 50,000 - previously lived in a five-bedroom home in the city which they purchased for 1million in 2015. In October 2020, Zoe and Alfie marked eight years of dating with sweet photo montages in each others' honour. Zoe has previously chatted about her plans to have children, saying in one vlog that she and Alfie have discussed growing their family. Elsewhere, Zoe has stuck to her content largely being vlog and lifestyle focused - but interlaced with her reflections on being a mother and now having two kids with fiance Alfie. Both pictured in 2014 The social media star now also has six books under her belt - with a monthly slot on BBC Radio Northampton that looks at 'positivity and mental health'. Zoe and Louise in 2016 Speaking to Glamour, Louise has opened up about her mental health battles - and how having Zoe by her side had helped. Pictured together in a video She said: 'We talk about children and our future with children because we're both very excited about that.' Although not engaged yet, Alfie also said that it would be difficult for him to keep a proposal a surprise as their followers would likely spot him shopping for a diamond. Zoe added that she knew her long-term beau would '100 per cent' plan the proposal and pop the question 'really nicely' when the time comes. However she also pointed out at the time that they would won't be rushing into anything and will be taking things slowly. In September 2023, she showed off her stunning engagement ring in a sleek black and white Instagram video. Zoe started her YouTube career in 2009 and has accrued more than 10.5 million subscribers on the platform. She has 9.1 million followers on Instagram. While many are ads, they offer a glimpse into Zoe and Alfie's lives as parents and often feature the couple's close friend Mark Ferris. Her lifestyle brand, Zoella (zoella.co.uk) appears to have periods of inactivity, having last posted content in 2022, but includes health and lifestyle tips, roundups and reviews. Louise pictured attending the 2024 BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises at The Royal Festival Hall last year Her content features insights into her life raising her two daughters - Darcy, 14, and Pearl, seven - as well as co-parenting with her ex partner. She has also recently made videos about her hen and stunning wedding - which took place in February In September 2023, she showed off her stunning engagement ring in a sleek black and white Instagram video Zoe started her YouTube career in 2009 and has accrued more than 15 million subscribers on the platform. Zoe, pictured with her boyfriend Alfie and her brother Joe in 2016 The couple - who have an estimated monthly income of 50,000 - previously lived in a five-bedroom home in the city which they purchased for 1million in 2015. Pictured in a video The influencer has also dabbled in publishing, in 2014 debuting the book series Girl Online which became deeply popular with teens despite being written with a ghost-writer and receiving mixed reviews. As well as releasing two more books for Girl Online, Zoe also put out a hospitality guide book called Cordially Invited. And in 2020, she and co-author came out with The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow - a fictional YA mystery - with a sequel, The Magpie Society: Two for Joy, hitting the shelves in 2021. Alfie, 31, charmed the internet with his vlog and challenge style videos on YouTube in the 2010s. And the influencer continues to share his life in videos on his channel - where he has 3.62 million subscribers. Most footage tends to be focused around his and Zoe's little family. Alfie is also the founder of Future Self Coffee. 'Working closely with expert coffee roasters, I've combined my favourite flavours to create the best-tasting coffee,' the website reads. 'Alongside some of my most-used accessories, for you to have at home. From September 2020 to September 2021, the influencer also ran a podcast - called The Secret's Out - which saw him interview celebs including Robbie Williams, Roman Kemp, Davina McCall, Meghan Trainor and Jamie Laing. A tourist has revealed what it's really like to visit North Korea as she filmed the 'dystopian' wake-up call residents hear at 6am. Zoe from Liverpool has spent the last 15 years travelling all over the world - first visiting North Korea in 2016, before dedicating her career to tourism in the country. This week she gave her TikTok followers an insight into what it's like staying in the city of Rason, a special economic zone near the borders of China and Russia, which is one of the few places where tourists can visit. Taking to her account @zoediscoversnk, she captioned the now-viral clip: 'Pov it's 6am in North Korea.' Filming from inside her hotel room, she said: 'Don't you love it when the morning music wakes you up like this.' Turning her camera around, Zoe filmed the virtually empty city square in the morning fog, over which operatic music was blaring out. In a subsequent room tour, she pointed out a TV on the horizon, saying it 'plays things at night'. The music in question appeared to be The Song Dedicated To My Fatherland - an official song of the East Asian country. Zoe from Liverpool filmed the bizarre noise she heard from her hotel room in Rason, North Korea The video has since racked up more than 35 million views - but people were baffled that Zoe was allowed to film in the notoriously private state. They wrote: 'My biggest question is what on planet earth are you doing there'; 'That is SO dystopian'; 'Girl what are you doing there'; 'Girl Im scared put us back inside'; 'Is no one else wondering how shes posting on social media from North Korea'; 'Im sorry but the song is hitting hard idk.' The travel obsessive also gave her followers a tour of her 'very retro' hotel room. Turning her camera around, Zoe filmed the virtually empty city square in the morning fog, over which operatic music was blaring out The video has since racked up more than 35 million views - but people were baffled that Zoe was allowed to film in the notoriously private state 'This is one of my favourite hotels in Rason, actually it's the best hotel in Rason,' she said. Trying out the beds, she described them as 'very tough', adding: 'I don't know if you heard me sit down on that, but it's very hard and very tough, which you'll find a lot in China and in Korea.' She pointed out the furnishings in the room, including a bizarre lamp which also doubled up as a clock, and a chair, which she said was 'much comfier' than the bed. Though she said it was 'freezing cold' outside, luckily her hotel room had 'really good' heating. Moving on to the 'very simple bathroom', she said it had running hot water and a shower in the corner. Western tourists were allowed back into North Korea in February for the first time since Covid-19 pandemic - but only into the remote city of Rason. But according to the BBC, several tour companies have already said that trips have been cancelled until further notice. Michael Palin also recorded the mysterious sound for his Channel 5 show in North Korea, which aired in 2018. She also gave viewers a tour of her hotel room, and admitted the beds were 'very tough' The clip has since resurfaced on social media and many were freaked out by the ominous sound. In the UK most people tend to set their own alarms for when they need to get up- and of course hit the snooze button a few times. However, in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, waking up is an entirely different experience for locals as they are all awaken at the same time by a haunting sound. For almost two decades, the residents have experienced an 'eerie' and 'dystopian'-like wake-up call echoes through the streets. At 6am, the haunting melody, which was composed by former Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il himself, plays into homes, businesses and streets. Palin described the tune as 'the world's most unusual wake-up call' that 'you can't avoid.' Played through loudspeakers across the city, the song that plays daily was first broadcast in 2008, performed by the state-approved Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble. In Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea , waking up is an entirely different experience for locals as they are all awaken at the same time by a haunting sound Palin added: 'This is the sound of Pyongyang, which is not the sound of any other city I've ever been in. 'I first heard this, I think at 5am this morning, it's like the music emanates from the whole city, I don't know where it's coming from. It's a fusion of sound... it's rather strange. 'Without any of the other sounds of a city, screaming sirens, cars rushing round, none of that at all, so this sound you can't avoid it.' Social media users were creeped out by the haunting tune, with some saying it sounded 'dystopian'. One person took to YouTube: 'Eerie. Sounds like a perfect soundtrack for a strange dystopian land, played throughout the city like that creates a fitting vibe.' Another added: 'I agree, looks like it could be the scene of a movie after an apocalyptic event.' Someone else said: 'That music would leave me dead inside every day waking up, my heart goes out to the people in North Korea.' Another person on TikTok added: 'But up close they sound just like frequencies, very depressing ones actually.' This mysterious sound was once featured in the Channel 5 show Michael Palin In North Korea, which originally aired in 2018 Palin described the tune as 'the world's most unusual wake-up call' that 'you can't avoid' Social media users were creeped out by the haunting tune, with some saying it sounded 'dystopian' North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaking at the ceremony of the Rakwon County offshore farm in South Hamgyong Province Someone else added: 'Designed to keep the citizens under a sense of foreboding' Another added: 'it is surrealism at its finest, creepiest and most frighting.. the music is keep the masses hypnotized.' It originally featured in a 1971 opera, A True Daughter of the Party, in which a nurse sings longingly about meeting North Koreas founder and 'Eternal President,' Kim Il Sung. The song blares out every morning from the speakers of the Pyongyang Railway Station and is six-minutes and 30-seconds long. Today, the track serves as a reminder of the firm grip Kim familys continues to have on the country. The Kim family, officially the Mount Paektu Bloodline, have ruled the country since 1948 as 'supreme leaders'. Three generations of the Kim family have ruled with absolute authority, using heavy repression and a system of patronage that ensures support from elites and the military. North Korea is among the worlds poorest nations. Elite families hold much of the countrys wealth and exert heavy influence over the economy. According to Amnesty International, the country has one of the worlds worst human rights records, having also been condemned by the United Nations and Freedom House Nothing reveals what really irritates middle-class mums quite like Mumsnet. The UKs most popular parenting website turns 25 this month and, for some, its an all-seeing, all-knowing oracle, offering advice on everything from caring for a newborn, to getting glowy skin, to how to leave your husband after 20 years of marriage. For others, its a chance to sound off anonymously about their pet peeves whether its a celebrity they hate, an annoying neighbour, an inept teacher, or their own children. Sarah Rainey delves into the Mumsnet archives to find out what British mums have really been talking about in the past 25 years... Bill splitter karma April 2024, 1,000+ replies The most popular thread ever on Mumsnet, based on a collation of data including page views, this discussion about splitting a restaurant bill generated infuriated replies from women up and down the country. Recounting a recent experience at a company dinner, the original poster shared the tale of a notorious over-orderer who usually relied on the policy of bill splitting to get away with paying very little for a huge meal. This time, however, colleagues had agreed in advance to only pay for what they ate but he didnt know that. Justine Roberts co-founded Mumsnet 25 years ago this month On being told hed have to pay in full for his starter, main, two sides, dessert, bread basket, bottle of red wine and two pints of beer, the greedy co-worker was outraged. He was so red, he paid and left without saying a word, she recalled. The replies, dubbing the guilty party Freeloader Fred, came thick and fast. Some women shared their stories of tight-fisted friends and relatives (including ones who try to wangle free meals and take tips others have left off the table), while others wanted to know how much hed ended up paying (83, it turns out). Not all heroes wear capes, and you are mine, one Mumsnetter applauded. On relationships: Can you get past the ick? January 2020, 680 replies Nearly 700 replies flooded in to answer this burning question most from Mumsnetters eager to share the apparently-innocuous turn-offs that had led them to end relationships. For those who dont know, the ick is when someone you are dating starts to irritate you for no apparent reason, the original poster explained, going on to say shed been dating a lovely bloke for two years when she got the ick about one of his habits. Watching him eat a Pot Noodle would make my blood boil. Literally gives me the rage. Everything he did irritated the life out of me. So I ended it. Felt nothing but relief. Was she, she asked, being unreasonable and were others able to get past the ick? One user wrote: 'Watching him eat a Pot Noodle would make my blood boil. Literally gives me the rage. Everything he did irritated the life out of me. So I ended it. Felt nothing but relief' The replies came back with a resounding no. I remember seeing my boyfriend at university doing the washing up in time to KT Tunstall, wearing a pinny, one user shared. Sadly it was over from that moment on. For another, it was her partners clean but far too long fingernails; for another, his fondness for referring to himself as Muggins here and sex as rumpy pumpy. Some even felt the ick about their husbands. One admitted: I was so wound up by every sound he made, the way he stretched in the morning, how he dried his hands on a towel, the way he walked, how he did his hair, his smell. It all disgusted me. Dating again (gulp) after being widowed March 2016, 964 replies Having been with her husband for 18 years, and widowed 16 months ago, one mum-of-three confessed that she had met someone new. Ive fallen for him hard massive, instant crush, she wrote. Hes so tall, his eyes are so blue, and Id forgotten how nice it is to smell an attractive man and listen to a deep voice. But she worried it was inappropriate or too soon to start dating again, especially as her children were still broken-hearted. Ive done no work since the school run this morning, just written a list of all the reasons why pursuing this would be a bad idea, she wrote. The replies enthusiastically urged her to go for it. I dont think anyone would think badly of you if you started dating again after 16 months, one user said. Without doubt, your lovely DH [dear husband] would be so pleased to see you rebuilding your life, added another. So she did, regularly updating other users as she went on to date Mr Lovely and much to Mumsnetters delight marrying him in 2017 and going on to have a baby together. On children: Today my teenager was upset because October 2021, 856 replies Exasperated by her 17-year-old daughters moodiness, one parent asked fellow Mumsnetters to share the irrational reasons their teenagers had been angry with them. I suggested booking an expensive spa day for her, her sisters and me that we would go to on her 18th birthday, she wrote as an example. Apparently I have made her feel worthless for suggesting she share her special day with her family. Others empathised, with tales of their own moody teens. My 16-year-old called me a b**** because I have refused to change our flights, back from a long-awaited holiday, so he can celebrate Halloween with his mates, said one mum. Another dared to buy her son new bedding without consulting him; one overcooked a piece of toast; and ones teenager told her she breathed too loudly. Another shared: I opened the window in in my sons bedroom. What have you DONE? It smells weird! he said. That would be fresh air. On supporting others: Plucking up the courage to leave June 2022, 1,000 replies After 18 years together, one woman bravely admitted she was planning to leave her husband because of his fiery temperament and angry and controlling behaviour. I havent told him yet I am utterly paralysed by fear of how he will react, she said. He has never been physically violent towards me, but his words can feel like being punched in the face and absolutely destroy me at times. The Mumsnet community swelled in support, offering legal advice, tips on how to tell their two children and virtual hand-holding as she planned to move out of the family home. Less than a year later, in May 2023, the original poster started a new thread entitled The new chapter in which she updated followers on her progress. I have just closed my own front door for the first time, after the removal men left, and sat on the stairs and had a big messy cry, she wrote. I have imagined this moment so many times over the past year and it has finally happened. On lighter topics: Should I pelt cakes at this mums head in the playground? March 2013, 939 replies Having agreed to make some Easter cornflake cakes for her childrens school cake sale, one woman was embarrassed on a Facebook post by another mother, who told her: Haha! Thats great but be prepared to take most of them home as they dont sell as well as real cakes. Mumsnetters jumped to her defence, with one urging her to stick them in the freezer overnight so the edges are really sharp, then pelt them at her.Others urged her to say Forget it, then and eat them all yourself. Help! My husband has eaten a fat ball March 2014, 309 replies Having found a plate of fat balls made by her children to feed the birds in the fridge, one woman said her husband had eaten one and complained that it was a bit greasy. I have no idea what culinary delight he thought they were supposed to be, she wrote. Tell him it was falafel and let him sleep happy, urged one user. Id leave him a bucket and retire to the tranquillity of the spare room, another advised. Meghan Markle's As Ever raspberry spread will soon be available to purchase After watching Meghan Markle's lifestyle show on Netflix, one might naturally come to the conclusion that her upcoming edible merchandise range is produced by the duchess herself. However, a recent Instagram post shared by the As Ever's handle has debunked that idea, revealing that Meghan's raspberry spread is not lovingly made in her Montecito mansion, but in a factory. The jam is also produced by factory workers, much like many sweet spreads available on supermarket shelves. Taking to Instagram, Meghan's brand shared a glimpse into the production line, which showed workers donning plastic gloves shovelling raspberries into pots before the jars underwent a series of machinery processes. The post, captioned, 'Here we go!', racked up likes from some of the duchess's nearest and dearest, including her former Suits co-star, Abigail Spencer. The confusion regarding where Meghan's soon-to-be-released produce is made was further perpetuated by the mother-of-two's Instagram post that followed. Meghan shared footage of herself handmaking a batch of iced cupcakes, captioned: 'Daydreaming about the rose cupcakes and other never before seen moments from Season 1 of 'With Love, Meghan' on @Netflix. 'We couldn't fit it all in, but my goodness did we have fun trying! Thanks again to the crew miss you guys!' Fans may have thought that Meghan Markle's upcoming raspberry spread is made lovingly in her Montecito mansion - but a recent Instagram post has debunked that idea Staff donned plastic gloves and arranged the jars, which will soon be available for the public to purchase, on shelves It comes after The Duchess of Sussex's makeup artist Daniel Martin revealed the products he used on Meghan for her 2018 royal wedding day to Prince Harry. The New York-based creative, who is one of Meghan's closest friends, having collaborated with the mother-of-two since her Suits days, divulged the product breakdown on a Breaking Beauty Podcast episode with hosts Jill Dunn and Carlene Higgins. When asked whether he could reveal a product breakdown, Martin said: 'Oh yeah, it's been six years now.' Martin continued: 'It was basically a lot of Tatcha, and I mean, I was with Dior then, so a lot of Backstage had just launched, so her whole face was pretty much Dior Backstage.' Meghan's lip colour for her special day was the 33 Lip Glow in the shade Reviver Balm, paired with a Mac lip liner because Daniel is a 'diehard Mac lipliner devotee,' he said, adding, 'I love Mac'. The Montecito-based mother-of-two also added the luxury items from Tatcha, a Japanese skincare and beauty brand, which charges 67 for its trademark cream, and Dior, to her ShopMy account, where fans can purchase her must-have products. The Instagram post revealed that Meghan's raspberry spread is inserted into glass jars via machinery While the mother-of-two may have helped develop the recipe, her raspberry spread is made in a factory After Daniel's appearance on the podcast, Meghan shared a snippet to her profile with an approving remark and a link to her ShopMy, writing, 'Love you @danielmartin! Let's keep it glowing, my sweet'. At the same time, the 43-year-old has also shared a string of posts from her nearest and dearest on Instagram, who are promoting her upcoming As Ever products, including raspberry jam. Among them was celebrity hairdresser Ben Skervin, who enjoyed the sweet red jam on crumpets alongside a chai latte. He wrote: 'Delicious afternoon treat crumpets with butter and @asever raspberry spread. It really is addictive. Thank you @meghan'. Meghan's former Suit co-star and close friend Abigail Spencer also raved about As Ever products to her 845 thousand followers, holding up the jam, which will soon be available for the public to purchase, in its 'Keepsake Packaging'. Meghan also reposted a snap from the owner of Pilates Platinum, Heather Dorak, who shared footage of her son enjoying the jam on toast. She wrote alongside the sweet clip: 'Current nighttime snack obsession @aseverofficial @meghan'. It comes after Meghan launched an Instagram shop selling products she endorses in a commercial tie-up that is sure to be lucrative - as the world anticipates her long-awaited merchandise line As Ever. Meghan invited numerous friends, including Abigail Spencer (pictured left), to cook dishes on her Netflix show- As Ever, Meghan The As Ever Raspberry Spread will soon be available for the public to purchase, and mega Meghan fans can get their jar in a keepsake packaging (pictured) The products being promoted by Meghan include a sleeveless gown costing more than 1,000, 600 Saint Laurent sandals and earrings which will set buyers back 200 - while other handpicked pieces included brands such as Heidi Merrick, Reformation and J Crew. One of the reasons Meghan and Prince Harry parted ways with the Royal Family was the monarchy's refusal to accept commercial endorsements by the couple. The Duchess, 43, who stepped back from frontline royal duties alongside her husband in 2020, wrote over a screen-recorded video of her new online store: 'Many of you have asked, so here you go! A little shopping to start the week.' The link opens to a ShopMy storefront and Meghan's first drop includes a 148 white linen shirt, Heidi Merrick's 'Windsor' gown for an eye-watering 1,068, and a Maya Brenner necklace called 'The Happiness Retreat' priced at almost 400. A disclaimer on the website, which was launched shortly after Meghan released a new picture of Archie and Lilibet, reads: 'Please note, some products may contain commissionable links.' The Duchess's latest online activity comes after she faced a critical backlash over her recent new Netflix series. Shortly after the storefront went live, some of the third-party websites - including of Neiman Marcus - went down as the Duchess' fans rushed to get their hands on a pair of tan-coloured Saint Laurent mules that she has been spotted in on several occasions. The Duchess - whose Netflix lifestyle show 'With Love, Meghan' was renewed for a second season despite negative reviews - is likely to earn a commission or cut on the sale of some of the clothes and accessories she promotes. The wardrobe comprises mostly elevated basics, including linen shirts, crewneck sweaters, sunglasses, and handbags, in neutral shades like beige, brown, white, black, and navy blue. Meghan teased there is 'more to come' ahead of the launch of her lifestyle company As Ever, following a significant rebrand and name change from American Riviera Orchard. But Meghan's merchandise website has been met with criticism online, with one social media user accusing the Duchess of Sussex of 'getting away with monetising the monarchy'. Another comment read: 'There you have it folks... All she ever dreamed of doing since she got notoriety: cash in like any 2-bit influencer, via affiliate links. The second hand embarrassment is real.' Affiliate marketers earn money via commissionable links leading to shop websites, which pay out a small percentage of the profit to the influencer if their followers purchase an item. Meghan and Harry were said to have an estimated 34million private fortune to fund their new life after quitting as senior royals in January 2020 - but with the prospect of making more with various business ventures such as book deals, TV deals, public speaking and fashion and brand partnerships. In their online statement announcing their departure back then, the couple said they had been 'prohibited from earning any income in any form', as they revealed they would give up their income from the Sovereign Grant the money taxpayers give to the monarch each year. The UK-based TikTok user said the prank 'ruined' her dinner A woman has shed light on a surprising new prank that could have potentially fatal consequences. UK-based Madeleine, who goes by @madeleine_x00 on TikTok, revealed her disappointment after she heated her vegetarian lasagne only to find it was a meat dish. Madeleine was additionally upset because she is vegetarian, rendering the dish inedible. The TikTok user believes a shopper played a cruel prank on her and swapped the label. However, viewers have warned that the practical joke could pose serious harm to those with severe allergies. 'Ok, so which t*** swapped the vegetarian lasagne label with the meat one at Tesco and ruined my tea,' Madeleine wrote, sharing a video of the piping hot dish. The TikTok user added in the caption: 'Fuming and I'm in pyjamas, so can't go to the shop.' Viewers took to the comment section to share their thoughts, with one writing: 'This is so unbelievably dangerous if someone has an allergy'. A TikTok user has highlighted a cruel prank that saw a Tesco shopper change the label on her dinner - but viewers have warned that the move could have fatal consequences A second user added: 'I've always thought they should be glued for this reason because of allergies!' 'People might just genuinely be allergic to what's in this, could've caused health problems, [it's] not on really,' a third added. Another user wrote: 'This is scary. My sisters allergic to beef so this would be critical for her.' It comes after a mother was left red-faced during a trip to her local Tesco with her family after her son stumbled across a selection of sex toys on sale. Erica Blake, 41, was visiting her local Tesco Extra store in Finsley Gate, Burnley, Lancashire, when her little boy, seven, spotted the X-rated products on display in the healthcare aisles. The mother and son were shopping for supplements when they came across the adult products sandwiched between the vitamins and contact lens solution. The schoolboy asked his mother what they were, which caused embarrassment for Erica who didn't know how to react. Among the products on offer were a 30 Durex Slide and Ride for solo sex, a Suction Simulator costing 29.50 and a Heart Vibrator for 25. The furious TikTok user told her followers that the prankster in Tesco had 'ruined' her tea by swapping the labels Also on sale was a 20 Pleasure Cup and a 15 Wonder Bullet. Erica explained she was shocked to find the supermarket chain stocking the products and the mortified mother said: 'I was buying vitamins for my son when I noticed all the sex toys on the top shelf. I never knew Tesco stocked these items.' 'I didn't know where to look. My son asked me 'What's Slide and Ride mummy?' 'I was so embarrassed and didn't know what to say.' Erica added she was also shocked to find that all the sex toys were under tight security and had tags on The mother said: 'All the sex toys had security tags on or were in boxes. Viewers voiced their concerns over the prank in the comment section, with one dubbing it 'unbelievably dangerous' 'Thieves must be getting desperate in these hard times. Talk about stiff security. 'Who would want to steal a vibrator? They must be really hard up. It's getting ridiculous now. The world has gone mad.' This is not the first time someone has been caught out by sex toys with one charity shop volunteer being left wanting the ground to swallow them up after mistaking a pair of sex toys for door knobs and displaying them in a shop window. Neatly laid out in front of a ceramic vase, a pair of 'his and hers' silver butt plugs were brazenly displayed on a shelf at an RSPCA shop with a 2 price tag. It was only when a more savvy customer entered the shop that they were established to be sex toys, leaving a shop assistant in her 70s blushing with embarrassment. The customer pointed out to the elderly volunteer what the items really were and they were immediately withdrawn from sale. The woman, who did not want to be named, said: 'I was looking through the bric-a-brac when I spotted two items of an adult nature priced at 2. 'I asked the shop assistant if she knew what they were, and she said she thought they were 'tiny little door knobs or knobs for a draw or a cabinet'. 'I explained what they actually were, not without blushing bright red, and that it would be a good idea to put on rubber gloves and put them straight in the bin, which she did. 'Her colleague, who was quite a bit younger, came out of the staff room, saw the items, and shouted, 'Oh my god!' which made us all laugh. 'I suppose if it raises awareness of the need to educate volunteers in these shops then it has done some good.' The RSPCA shop was in an undisclosed North Yorkshire village. A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: 'We're glad this good faith mistake has given people a little laugh and hope this goes to show there are some brilliant bargains - and unexpected surprises - to be found in charity shops. 'We're enormously grateful to everyone who supports RSPCA charity shops by shopping, donating or giving up their time volunteering. 'It all helps to make a huge difference to help animals rescued from cruelty and neglect. Even if we do occasionally find some slightly unusual delights among the items we receive.' A new picture of Princess Beatrice's baby daughter has been quietly released on social media. The British royal, 36, and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, welcomed the newest addition to their family in January, when baby Athena Elizabeth Rose was born several weeks premature. The eldest daughter of Prince Andrew subsequently opened up about her birth experience in an intimate interview with British Vogue, admitting she was filled with 'overwhelming fear' once she knew she should expect an early arrival. Buckingham Palace released a sweet picture of the newborn in the official announcement at the end of January, showing her sweetly cuddled in a blanket with her tiny hand covering her face. But this week, royal fans spotted a second photo, posted by Beatrice's friend Alice Naylor-Leyland. The duo have been developing a new Baby Shower Collection for Borne Charity, which aims to raise awareness of pre-term births - and of which Beatrice has recently become patron. A carousel of images posted to Instagram revealed sweet wicker picture frames in baby pink and blue, as well as themed glasses and plates. But royal fans were quick to spot a never-seen-before picture of Athena hidden away in one of the frames. A new picture of Princess Beatrice 's baby daughter has been quietly released on social media It featured an adorable photo of the new royal, snuggled under a pink baby blanket and cuddling a rabbit soft toy It featured an adorable photo of the new royal, snuggled under a pink baby blanket and cuddling a rabbit soft toy. It seems to have been taken at a similar time to the one used in the official birth announcement from Buckingham Palace and taken by Beatrice's husband, Edo. The blanket used in both photos appeared to be the same one. Also sharing snaps with Beatrice at the event, Alice wrote: 'It has been both a pleasure & a great honour working with my dear friend Princess Beatrice on our new Baby Shower Collection in aid of @bornecharity. 'Im so proud of the awareness @beayork has brought to Premature Birth & Im delighted we were able to create this together celebrating both Motherhood & Friendship.' Though she confirmed that her daughter is now 'doing well', the royal admitted in her recent Vogue interview that the weeks before her birth were filled with crippling 'uncertainty' and 'sheer worry'. 'Nothing quite prepares you for the moment when you realise your baby is going to arrive early,' she wrote in the protocol-defying piece. 'Theres so little control. Will she arrive healthy? Will there be complications? How will you juggle the rest of family life while trying to keep a tiny human safe and well? 'You know that when your baby arrives the doctors and midwives are going to be there, doing everything they can to ensure she makes it through those challenging first few days. Beatrice was attending an event for the launch of a new baby shower collection from Borne Charity Beatrice was joined by her friend Alice Naylor-Leyland (pictured together). Athena appeared to be pictured in another frame, which was covered by the decorations Beatrice described 'weeks of worry' before her daughter (pictured) Athena was born in a personal essay for British Vogue Princess Beatrice has recalled her 'overwhelming fear' surrounding her daughter's pre-term birth in a candid and intimate essay. Pictured with her husband Edo on March 6 'But you have no idea how these things will play out, what happens next. The uncertainty leaves you with an overwhelming fear of the unknown.' Beatrice, who is already mother to Sienna, three, and stepmother to Wolfie, eight, revealed that Athena was born on January 22 - 'weeks' earlier than planned. After routine scans, she was told Athena would need close monitoring, and that they would need to prepare for an early arrival. Though her daughter was 'tiny' when she was born, Beatrice shared that she's now doing really well - but has no 'precise' explanation for what happened. The essay was accompanied by a new photograph of Beatrice cradling Athena protectively in her arms, with the newborn draped in a soft pink blanket. Another picture showed Edoardo, 41, holding Athena while gazing down at her face lovingly. Elsewhere in the essay, the royal expressed her determination to 'help others find answers' to questions about the complications of pre-term pregnancies in her new role as patron of Borne - a UK charity on a mission to end premature birth. She said she is committed to helping and supporting as many other families through some of the challenges she and Edoardo confronted. Beatrice also highlighted how 'nothing feels more vital than facilitating the health challenges that women face daily' after her mother, the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson's back-to-back cancer diagnoses. Sarah, 65, underwent a mastectomy and reconstruction surgery in 2023, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Athena is the third child in the Mapelli Mozzi brood alongside Beatrice's three-year-old daughter Sienna, and Wolfie, eight, from Edo's relationship with Dara Huang. Princess Beatrice often describes Wolfie (above) as her 'bonus' child. Edoardo and Beatrice at the Borne Wonderland gala, where she was named the premature birth charity's newest patron Alongside the statement of her pregnancy announcement last October, Beatrice, 36, shared a picture of Edo, Sienna and Wolfie walking in the woods Princess Beatrice is already mother to Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, three (pictured) In 2024, she announced she'd been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. She then underwent further surgery, around the edges of the site of the mole and lymph nodes, as doctors said it appeared the cancer had not spread. Writing on Instagram after the essay was published, Beatrice's husband Edo took to Instagram to praise her bravery in speaking out. He said: 'So much pride for my beautiful wife, who has bravely shared our story of Athenas early arrival. 'Also for her support and patronage for the incredible organisation @bornecharity, which provided us with invaluable help during that challenging time.' The essay was published weeks after Beatrice made her first official appearance since giving birth to Athena, with the royal stepping out for Borne's Wonderland gala accompanied by Edoardo earlier this month. Her patronage was announced at the fundraising gala for the UK charity that funds research to advance knowledge of pregnancy and childbirth, improve the lives of mothers and babies, and prevent preterm birth. The Duke and Duchess of York's daughter put on an elegant display for her first engagement as Borne's patron, with Beatrice picking an all-cream ensemble for the event. Photographed arm-in-arm with her husband, the late Queen's granddaughter teamed a fashionable silk skirt with a chic long sleeved blazer, featuring button and bow detailing. Princess Beatrice is pictured with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Beatrice, who fondly refers to Wolfie as her 'bonus child', placed a loving hand on the eight-year-old's back at the Christmas Day service in Sandringham last year She teamed her stylish outfit with a pair of beige heels while carrying a cream clutch bag to complement her ensemble. With her hair styled in soft curls, Beatrice opted for a glamorous makeup look, completed with bright blush and pink lipstick. Her husband looked equally sophisticated in a black tie outfit as he posed up a storm with his glamorous wife. Commenting on her new role, the Princess said: 'The work that Borne is undertaking is something that is incredibly close and personal to me following the recent birth of my daughter. 'Every year in the UK, 60,000 babies are delivered too soon, with little information or research as to why this is. 'That is why I am really looking forward to supporting Borne and its programme of groundbreaking research, which I hope will help thousands of parents and children in the future.' Princess Beatrice joins a distinguished group of Borne patrons, including Will Greenwood MBE and Caro Greenwood, Dame Darcey Bussell DBE, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Erin OConnor MBE, all of whom share a personal connection to the cause. Athena Elizabeth is 11th in line to the throne, pushing her aunt Princess Eugenie down to 12th place. She's the third child in the Mapelli Mozzi brood alongside Beatrice's three-year-old daughter Sienna, and Wolfie, eight, from Edo's first marriage to Dara Huang. Princess Beatrice often describes Wolfie as her 'bonus' child. Beatrice opened up about her mother Sarah Ferguson's (pictured) illness in the essay In a sweet Instagram post to announce her birth, Buckingham Palace wrote: 'Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are delighted to announce the safe arrival of their daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi, born on Wednesday, 22nd January, at 12:57pm. 'The baby was born weighing 4 pounds and 5 ounces. 'The King and Queen, and other members of The Royal Family, have all been informed and are delighted with the news. 'Princess Beatrice and Mr Mapelli Mozzi would like to thank all the staff at the hospital for their wonderful care. 'Her Royal Highness and her daughter are healthy and doing well, and the family are enjoying spending time together with Athena's older siblings, Wolfie and Sienna.' Athena is the fourth grandchild for Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York. Their others include Princess Eugenie's sons August, three, and Ernest, one, whom she shares with her husband Jack Brooksbank. Edo, 41, also posted on Instagram to reveal his new daughter was 'tiny and absolutely perfect'. He shared a photograph of Athena wrapped in a blanket, with the caption: 'Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi. 'We welcomed baby Athena into our lives last week. She is tiny and absolutely perfect. 'We are all (including Wolfie and Sienna) already completely besotted with her. 'Our hearts are overflowing with love for you, baby Athena. 'A massive thank you from my wife and I goes out to all the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their exceptional care and support during this incredibly special time.' Reposting the baby announcement on her Instagram story, Athena's aunt Princess Eugenie wrote 'welcome baby girl'. Her grandmother, Sarah Ferguson, wrote: 'Overflowing with love and joy to be able to welcome Athena Elizabeth Rose into the world. She is already so adored and Im incredibly blessed to be a Granny once again. So proud of Edo, Beatrice and the rest of my little 5-a-side team!' Maria Kovalchuk, 20, was found in Dubai with a broken spine and limbs There are rising concerns over 'porta potty' parties after a Ukrainian OnlyFans model was dumped on the side of a Dubai road with horrific injuries. Maria Kovalchuk, 20, told her friends that she was invited to a party at a hotel on March 9 before she went missing for eight days. Ten days after she disappeared, a battered and bloodied Maria was found dumped at a roadside in Dubai with her limbs and spine broken. It is thought that Maria, who was later rushed to hospital and underwent four life-saving surgeries, allegedly attended a porta potty party, according to the Mirror. The event sees female influencers paid copiously to perform degrading sex acts, which can involve defecation. Internet rumours of influencers jetting to Dubai for an expense-free trip in exchange for attending porta potty party have swirled for over a year. Reddit forums are set up on the topic, with users discussing the supposed events, including attendees having to sign NDAs. According to the New York Post, female internet stars, models, and actresses can be paid as much as $100,000 (77,900) to attend to and fulfil the desires of ultra-rich men. Maria attended the party with 'two men who introduced themselves as representatives of the modelling business,' according to Ukrainian media reports. Maria Kovalchuk (pictured), 20, who was found on the side of a road in Dubai with severe injuries, may have attended a 'porta potty' party Radha Stirling, The CEO of Detained in Dubai, a business helping clients navigate the UAE's legal system, told the Mirror how organisers 'lure' influencers to the parties. She said: 'We have received a number of complaints from influencers and artists who have been invited to Dubai for performances and events to then be lured into parties where they have been expected to participate in sexual activities.' The CEO explained that laws surrounding sex outside marriage in the United Arab Emirates have relaxed since 2022, and some individuals are taking advantage of the change. Stirling added: 'Women need to be aware that they may face confronting and even dangerous situations and if there is a married man involved, they can still be charged with adultery.' Following the harrowing events that saw Maria in a serious condition on the side of the road, her mother Anna flew from Norway to be with her daughter. Anna said last weekend: 'She is getting medical treatment and everything will be all right'. At the same time, Dubai police confirmed 'that the Ukrainian citizen previously reported missing is currently hospitalised, receiving medical care with her family present.' 'A comprehensive investigation has revealed that she sustained serious injuries after entering a restricted construction site alone and falling from a height'. The Ukrainian model, who has since undergone four surgeries, was found with a broken spine and limbs Maria went missing for eight days but was later found by a roadside with a broken spine Police believe she fell from a height, but her family have reportedly rejected this theory Maria's mother Anna has said that her daughter will survive after being found in critical condition Russian news outlet Shot reported that the adult content model's family had disputed the police account, as they believe that the information about her fall from a construction site is fake. Contacted separately on this claim, her mother said: 'I cannot comment because of the investigation.' Another Russian outlet VChK-OGPU said that Maria had been in 'incomprehensible hysterics' before disappearing. At the time of her disappearance, Maria was set to attend a party with 'two men who introduced themselves as representatives of the modelling business', according to several Ukrainian media reports. She told her mother that she would be staying with these representatives for the night, but she subsequently vanished. Maria had booked a flight to Thailand that departed Dubai on March 11, but did not turn up at the airport, which is when her family and friends notified the police. Maria's mother Anna said earlier of her daughter's disappearance: 'There is an assumption that she went to a party. 'But the promoter who organised these parties did not see her. Maria was [eventually] found in hospital in serious condition. 'She has no documents, no phone, nothing. She underwent three [now four] operations. And she cannot speak.' Maria's friend, Russian model Angelina Doroshenkova, 31, said: 'We all hope for the best and are very grateful to everyone who took part in the search and helped with information.' She was spending time with Kovalchuk in Dubai and was reportedly invited to the same party on March 9, but ultimately decided to return to Russia days before. During the three decades that Katie Price has spent in the spotlight, she has worn many faces. The former glamour model, 46, from Brighton, has subjected her face and body to countless tweakments, botox injections, and even reconstruction surgeries. Since she burst onto the modelling scene, Katie has had 16 boob jobs - including both augementation and reduction surgeries - as well as three Brazilian bum lifts (BBLs, a rhinoplasty, and six face lifts. A frequent flyer to Turkey and Belgium and self-appointed ambassador for body modification, Katie has dramatically altered her appearance every year - and, often, multiple times in a single year. Yesterday, the former Celebrity Big Brother contestant showed off her new teeth - just days after her fans were left shocked by her dramatic weight loss, as they said she was 'no longer recognisable'. The video that sparked fears for her health was posted on Katie's Instagram on Wednesday and showed her modelling a ruffled mini dress - with social media users concerned about her stick thin legs. This extremely slimmed-down version of Katie follows her many different avatars over the years; from the bare-faced beauty that began her career as a Page 3-pin up, to the more mature look that characterised her 20s, and her reality TV persona. Here's a look back at how Katie has reinvented herself over the years: Since she burst onto the modelling scene, Katie has had 16 boob jobs - including both augementation and reduction surgeries - as well as three Brazilian bum lifts (BBLs, a rhinoplasty, and six face lifts 1995 - Page 3 pin-up 1995: At the age of 17, Katie Price was a fresh-faced natural beauty looking to make it into the world of glamour modelling Katie was a fresh-faced teen hoping to get a start in the world of glamour modelling. She'd later reveal that she had 'no idea what Botox was or fillers' at that age, when Katie was a barefaced beauty who sported minimal makeup and wore her hair in her trademark ringlets. At a friend's suggestion, Katie, then 17, had professional photographs taken and was quickly snapped up by a modelling agency who landed her a Page 3 slot in The Sun newspaper the following year, sparking the creation of her glamour model alter ego, Jordan. Reflecting on the start of her career, Katie said she might have started her tweakments as early as 17 if she'd known about them. 1998 - First of 16 breast surgeries 1998: Having just turned 20, Katie experienced her first taste of cosmetic surgery, boosting her 32B cup breasts to a 32C Three years later, Katie opted to have the first of what would be many breast enlargement surgeries - with the 20-year-old going from a size 32B to a 32C. The procedure cost 4,500, and it is believed her mother Amy and stepdad Paul helped pay for her to have the procedure. 1999 - Two more boob jobs 1999: Despite having only just increased her breast size, Katie opted to have two more procedures at the age of 21 The following year, she would have two back-to-back breast surgeries at the age of 21 - going from a C cup to a D cup, and then up to an F cup a few months later. Katie has previously claimed that she has only paid for two of her boob jobs over the course of her career - it is not known if these were the ones. Her chest size wasn't the only modification she made to her appearance; Katie also chopped off her hair and had it coloured, so her brown locks were streaked blonde, and sported a tan. 2001 - Lip fillers 2001: At the age of 21, Katie had her first cosmetic procedure on her face, opting for lip fillers While she never confirmed rumours she'd opted for lip fillers, Katie was seen sporting a noticeably fuller pout while out enjoying the party scene. Her overall look had also started drastically transforming, with the 23-year-old model sporting dramatic false lashes, bright lipstick and pale hair extensions. 2004 - Botox 2004: Aged 26, Katie began to experiment with Botox injections that relax the muscles in your face to smooth out lines Katie began experimenting with Botox injections, which relax the muscles in your face to smooth out lines and wrinkles, as early as 26. 'I love it,' she announced at the time. 'I get my forehead and around my eyes Botoxed every six months and I love it. 'You can't beat it. It just freezes all the wrinkles and that's what you want.' However, she also said she would never take things further than Botox and get a facelift, adding: 'I've seen what they can do to people and I don't want to go through that.' In addition to getting Botox injections, Katie also dyed her hair blonde to match her youthful appearance. 2006 - Going brunette 2006: Katie went under the knife yet again to take her F cup breasts up to a G cup Katie went under the knife yet again to take her F cup breasts up to a G cup. The glamour model also played around with her overall look and embraced her dark side with a new brunette hairstyle. She also continued to dabble with fillers and Botox. 2007 - First nose job 2007:Katie took her love of surgery to the next level, undergoing rhinoplasty, a chemical peel and a 25,000 set of veneers At the age of 29, Katie took her love of surgery to the next level, undergoing rhinoplasty, a chemical peelm, as well as treating herself to a 25,000 set of new veneers. 'Oh my God, it burned like hell!' she said at the time. 'The next day I had this hideous red rash on my chin but two days later there wasn't a single spot left.' Speaking about her nose job at the time, she admitted to liking her original nose, explaining: 'I liked my nose before and now. If I had a cupboard with both noses, I would alternate between them!' 2008 - Fifth boob job 2008: Despite gradually increasingly her bust size, Katie fancied a change and brought her bra size back down to a C cup Despite gradually increasingly her bust size over the year, Katie fancied a change on her 30th and brought her bra size back down from an F cup to a C cup. The procedure meant that Katie had returned to the size of her first boob job 10 years prior. Katie's changing shape also coincided with the launch of her first clothing line - an equestrian range. 2011 - Cheek fillers and a sixth boob job 2011: Katie's smaller chest didn't last long, and at age 33 she went back under the knife again to boost her bust to an F cup Katie's smaller chest didn't last long, and at age 33 she went back under the knife again to boost her bust to an F cup. Katie also underwent body-contouring treatment and cheek and lip fillers. The Loose Women panelist admitted that she loved having her cheeks filled to give her a 'plumper, more youthful look'. 2015 - Botched breast reduction 2015: Just before Celebrity Big Brother, the star had a botched boob reduction that left her with a hole in her breast Just before appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, the reality star had a botched boob reduction that left her with a hole in her breast and an implant protruding from her flesh. Katie told her shocked housemates: 'Ive got no tits anymore. Theyve gone. Theres not even anything there. If you saw what Im like underneath. The scars gone septic. My whole implant was hanging out on New Years Day.' Shortly after leaving the Big Brother house she underwent corrective surgery and had her implants swapped for a D-cup. 2016 - Tattooed makeup 2016: Despite her surgery horror the year before, Katie flew to a Brussels clinic to get another boob job, this time a 32GG cup Despite her surgery horror the year before, Katie was undeterred and flew to a Brussels clinic to go under the knife yet again, this time settling on a 32GG bust. The reality star also had her eyebrows and lips tattooed, also known as 'permanent make-up', explaining that she prefers to go make-up free on a day-to-day basis. Additionally the star has regular facial treatments, last year sharing a bloodied selfie after having a dermal roller micro-needling treatment, which sees a dermaroller with many tiny needles rolled across into the skin - designed to stimulate cells into regeneration. 2017 - New veneers 2017: Despite insisting she would never have a face lift and could rely on Botox, Katie went back on her word Despite insisting she would never have a face lift and could rely on Botox, Katie went back on her word undergoing a 'Silhouette' face lift. The procedure is designed to lift a sagging cheeks and blurred jawline, using 'sutures' implanted under the skin to sculpt features. However, Katie was soon spotted with puffy features, revealing that she suffered an allergic reaction to anesthetic penicillin after having further work on her veneers. She also had her breast implants reduced from 1000ml implants to 795ml. 2018 - Face re-correction 2018: Katie claimed her first face lift had been a botched job and went back under the knife the following year aged 40 Katie claimed her first face lift had been a botched job and went back under the knife the following year, aged 40, to correct it. She said at the time 'I need to get my face re-corrected after surgeon has totally f**ked my face up', admitting it had He agent added: 'She had the thread and it really quite distorted her look. She got a lot of backlash, a lot of negative press, a lot of trolling, everyone saying shed taken it too far, when actually it was a job that had not gone to plan.' 2019 - New year, new Katie 2019: Katie jetted to Turkey to overhaul her look with a face, eye and eyelid lift, Brazilian bum lift along with a tummy tuck In 2019, Katie flew to Turkey for a full body transformation that included a face lift (her third in as many years), an eye and eyelid lift, as well as her first Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) and a tummy tuck. She also had a breast reduction surgery three months later, when she went back down to a D cup. 2020: (Another) New look reveal 2020: Katie returned to Turkey to have another set of veneers then jetted to Belgium to correct a botched boob job Katie had her 12th boob job in 2020, when she travelled to Belgium to correct what she said was a botched surgery, explaining her surgeon was shocked by the 'awful' previous procedure. 'They looked deformed, they were absolutely awful. That's the first time I've gone to a different surgeon. I had to go back to Frank with my head down, ashamed that I'd been to another clinic,' she said. Katie also went to Turkey to have another set of veneers fitted and revealed her real teeth had been reduced to stubs as she flashed a smile on her YouTube channel. On July 17, 2020, Katie also unveiled a hair transformation on the platform in a video titled 'New Look Reveal'. 2021 - Bum fat removal 2021: Katie jetted to Turkey for a complete cosmetic surgery overhaul, undergoing full body liposuction, eye and lip lifts Amid the Covid pandemic, Katie jetted off to then red-list Turkey for a complete cosmetic surgery overhaul, undergoing full body liposuction, eye and lip lifts, liposuction under her chin, and fat injected into her bum. The reality star also visited Belgium to have her 13th boob job as well as full body liposuction with bum fat removal. The plastic surgery - performed by Dr Frank Plovier - came just five days ahead of the glamour model's sentencing for her shocking drink-drive crash. 2022 - Fuller lips 2022: Katie secretly jetted back to Belgium for an eye and brow lift and is planning to to travel to Turkey for more surgery The mother-of-five unveiled her huge new lips in August 2022, when she got more filler after getting 'lumps' dissolved from her mouth last year. The size of Katie's lips is ever-fluctuating; on this instance, they appeared fuller than before courtesy the 0.5ml of filler pumped into her pout by. But the 'trout pout' wasn't the only difference; earlier that year, the bankrupt star Katie jetted off to Belgium for an eye and brow lift. Photos taken of Katie after she returned to the UK showed her concealing her new look with her head in a bandage - until it was later revealed she had undergone yet another brow and eye lift. A brow specialist, Sian Dellar, told MailOnline that her 'thick and unnatural-looking' eyebrows appeared 'almost stretched' as a result of her face or eye lift. Sian, who is the founder of Sian Dellar Permanent Makeup Clinic, suggested Katie should 'take her brows back to 2015/2016' when the fuller trend first became a big trend. 'She got it right then and they framed her face well.' 2023 - 'Biggest ever' boob job 2023: It's not clear if Katie lost track of the number of breast augmentations or opted to keep some of her surgery private but by 2023 it emerged she'd undergone her 16th boob job, two years after claiming to be on her 13th 2023: After she shared her desire to be the 'biggest in Britain', Katie checked herself into the Be Clinic in Belgium for the procedure - opting for 2,120 cc implants The following year, Katie somewhat confusingly claimed she'd undergone her 16th boob job - two years after she claimed she'd had her 13th breast augmentation. After she shared her desire to be the 'biggest in Britain', Katie checked herself into the Be Clinic in Belgium for the procedure - opting for 2,120 cc implants. Katie told OK! magazine of her boobs: 'I love them. They healed really quickly and they didn't hurt at all. That probably doesn't help. Because I heal quickly, it doesn't put me off and I have more. 'I would go bigger as well and I will eventually. I just love having big boobs and a small body. I've always loved that look. In my eyes, if I'm having a boob job, I want them to look fake, I don't want them to look natural. I don't like the natural look. 'I just like that old-school American Playboy pin-up look. When I have surgery, that is what I'm striving for. If I could look like my airbrushed pictures, that would be amazing. But that's impossible to achieve.' 2025 - 'No longer recognisable' 2025: Katie left her fans worried after she showed off the results of what appeared to be extreme weight loss in a video posted on her social media Katie debuted a significantly slimmer look earlier this month, with the ex-model's legs looking especially thin in a video shared on her Instagram. She sported a ruffled mini dress which featured as asymmetrical design and cinched in at the waist. Katie teamed the ensemble with black heels and a silver bejewelled handbag as she strutted down her driveway. She wrote in the caption: 'Lady in red playsuit @jyyldn,' as she continued to promote her friend's fashion brand. However, worried fans rushed to the comments to write: 'This is genuinely concerning now. She's not well. Why aren't any of her loved ones helping her?' 'Please stop now Katie and eat more.Youre a lovely woman and I'm thinking of you.' 'Someone help her.' 'Please put some weight on Katie. Please.' 'No longer recognisable as Katie Price.' An 82-year-old musician, who is said to be dating a woman 58 years younger, has revealed how their age difference impacts their relationship. Danny, whose real name is Ilkka Johannes Lipsanen, met 24-year-old Helmi Loukasmaki five years ago, and the pair have drawn people's attention ever since. Many people who believed they were dating 'frowned upon' their connection. But despite the speculation, the duo, who live together, have never officially confirmed a romance. Danny initially said he hired Helmi as an assistant. Since then, the pair have gone on holidays together but kept insisting that they are just very good friends. In a recent podcast called Iltanuotiot, hosted by Sami Kuronen, Danny said their companionship is 'diverse,' and he loves that Helmi has good tech skills and is able to help him with computers. 'This relationship between Helmi and I, we haven't put any effort into it and thought about what it is,' Danny said. Danny, whose real name is Ilkka Johannes Lipsanen, met 24-year-old Helmi Loukasmaki five years ago, and the pair have drawn people's attention ever since The couple first met in 2018 when Helmi started a summer job working for Danny by helping him out at home 'It's a friendship anyway, and there's a lot of mutual respect. 'The age difference is not the main thing but how each person relates to the other and whether there is respect or not. 'Against that background, we have a relationship that is quite diverse. 'Helmi has everything that a young, lovely woman can have. I am grateful for her qualities. 'Helmi is very good at computer stuff and is so versatile - she knows things that I no longer know.' The couple first met in 2018 when Helmi started a summer job working for Danny by helping him out at home. But the pair got on so well that she decided to stay, and they have lived together ever since. In their day-to-day life, the duo enjoys watching shows on Netflix or going out on a boat. Danny said he initially hired Helmi as an assistant, but they now live and travel together They apparently never argue, and Helmi enjoys looking after their home and cooking for Danny. 'We complement each other,' she said in the interview with Sami. 'I have knowledge and skills that he doesn't have and vice versa. 'We're taking things one day at a time. You never know what's going to happen. 'So far, everything has gone well, and it's nice to be together.' The pair, who live in Rauma, Finland, plan to continue living together, and Helmi has also expressed her desire to get a dog. But it is still unclear if their relationship is platonic or if romance is blossoming behind closed doors. In an Instagram post shared with her over 12,100 followers, Helmi revealed the couple were happy to openly discuss their relationship. In a recent podcast called Iltanuotiot, hosted by Sami Kuronen, Danny said their companionship is 'diverse,' and he loves that Helmi has good tech skills and is able to help him with computers She said: 'We've been written and talked about. '[Our relationship has been] speculated about and also frowned upon. 'We've often been asked to talk about our relationship and age difference in interviews of some kind. 'We've often refused them unanimously. 'When Sami asked to be a guest on this warm-hearted podcast, it immediately felt like the right place to share our lives and relationships - in our own words, in our own voice, in a fair and respectful spirit. 'I was excited to talk about a topic that is so personal, but also seems to be interesting and arouses a lot of opinions.' Messaging for many of the men in Trump 2.0 has, at least in recent days, gone rather embarrassingly off the rails. Floundering explanations from the principals involved as to how Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently added into a confidential Signal chat group have exposed the frailties of experienced men who should have known better. Enter Karoline Leavitt to pick up the pieces of this PR nightmare. Articulate, confident and fiery, this 27-year-old mother-of-one is not only the youngest White House Press Secretary to grace the iconic podium, she is surely the steeliest. Just two months into the role she has already demonstrated an unflinching capacity to go head-to-head with reporters that has left many a seasoned Washington veteran aghast. But like most of the women who populate Trumpworld (and let's be honest any world), this rising superstar in the MAGA ecosystem isn't just judged on her performance - she's judged on her clothes. Too conservative, too boring, too expensive, too matronly, too flashy all are accusations that have been leveled in recent weeks at Leavitt who is, by any measure, atypical of Generation Z. Boxy blazers, boucle skirt suits and jersey minidresses, this is a wardrobe that is a world away from the couture creations worn by the Trump family itself. Articulate, confident and fiery, this 27-year-old mother-of-one is not only the youngest White House Press Secretary to grace the iconic podium, she is the steeliest. (Pictured: Karoline Leavitt). Boxy blazers, boucle skirt suits and jersey minidresses, this is a wardrobe that is a world away from the couture creations worn by the Trump family itself. On a salary of $180,000 a year Leavitt could hardly hope to compete with the financial demands of First Lady Melania's Dior-filled wardrobe, but she could certainly afford more aspirational, youthful choices. Instead, the sixth woman to hold the position since 2017 seems to have willfully ignored the examples of her predecessors (both on the Right and Left). Eschewing the model-like propensities of Kayleigh McEnany, Leavitt has maintained a cautious and controlled formality even frumpiness. Her look is as far removed from her former boss (Leavitt worked as McEnany's assistant in the first Trump administration) as it is from the kaleidoscope of colors and striking silhouettes that were a constant in the reigns of her Democratic forbearers Jen Psaki and Karine Jean-Pierre. And it's all because Leavitt is a woman who has quickly recognized that the most powerful backdrop for a forceful message is an outfit that seems to say nothing at all. Finding her niche in styles which have ensured her words, rather than her wardrobe, do the talking, Leavitt has like Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and current White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles come to appreciate the value of a non-descript pantsuit. Stepping up to the lectern for her very first press briefing, she chose a $109 purple blazer from Zara and coordinating $49.90 trousers that felt more schoolteacher than political powerhouse. Her black patent and rhinestone-studded Jimmy Choo pumps might have added a touch of youthful pizzaz to the conservative ensemble had it not been for the unusually large diamond cross that hung around her neck. It was an unmissable and rather ostentatious reminder that Leavitt's star rose as a conservative firebrand at the Benedictine liberal arts college, Saint Anselm, in Goffstown, New Hampshire which she attended on a softball scholarship. Her passionate op-eds in the college newspaper defending the 2017 Trump travel ban paved the way for her political future and marked her out as curiously regressive amongst an overwhelmingly progressive majority. On a salary of $180,000 a year Leavitt could hardly hope to compete with the financial demands of Melania's Dior-filled wardrobe, but she could certainly afford more aspirational, youthful choices. Eschewing the model-like propensities of Kayleigh McEnany (pictured), Leavitt has maintained a cautious and controlled formality even frumpiness. Leavitt's look is as far removed from her former boss (she worked as McEnany's assistant in the previous administration) as it is from the kaleidoscope of colors and striking silhouettes that were a constant in the reigns of her Democratic forbearers Jen Psaki and Karine Jean-Pierre. Leavitt has chosen to extend this winning formula through dress and has fully (and, I think, strategically) embraced a persona that is seemingly out of step with her generation and position. Married to a man thirty-two years her senior and mother to an eight-month baby son, Leavitt is a full-on 'trad wife', except for the fact that she occupies one of the most powerful roles in American political life. Resisting the urge to use the podium as a catwalk, Leavitt has astutely understood that her success lies in silhouettes that seem more appropriate to a woman approaching middle age than one on the verge of thirty. While opting in for full 'Republic glam' glossy blond hair and skin smoother than her baby's bottom and save for the occasional Louis Vuitton handbag or black leather dress (Super Bowl 2025), she has resisted the informality or unrestrained theatrics in which so many celebrities of her age indulge. Indeed, what might pass as her most fashion forward moments have been a series of shimmery boucle dresses from the British brand Self-Portrait. At first glance depressingly bland, it's tempting see this choice of a brand once favored by the Princess of Wales as a courtly nod to the monarchical aspirations voiced by her presidential boss. However conservative Leavitt's dress sense she is, I believe, an enthusiastic innovator who has learned the lessons of her generation's social media moment. But however conservative Leavitt's dress sense she is, I believe, an enthusiastic innovator who has learned the lessons of her generation's social media moment. Unapologetic in her treatment of the traditional media outlets she dislikes, Leavitt has welcomed reporters from 'new media.' A catchall description for influencers and podcasters, this group have now been allocated front-row briefing room seats that were previously reserved for White House staff. Leavitt has used their presence just as powerfully as her microphone to champion a thus far winning political narrative - and largely because she has defied her critics to become one of the most effective exponents of the new administration. Leavitt has disguised her ingenuity in an unremarkable wardrobe, making her Trump's not-so-secret weapon who hides her power in plain sight. Nicole Kidman has a strange new obsession - and it looks like she won't be letting up anytime soon. In a new interview alongside Holland costars Matthew Macfadyen and Gael Garcia Bernal, Kidman admitted that she can't stop researching hairless cats at night. The topic came about when she was asked what real life obsession she has been fixated on lately, as her new movie details the story of a Michigan schoolteacher (played by Kidman) who becomes fixated on looking into her suspicious husband. 'Yes. I did it last night. I love hairless cats. I just love them. I've decided I mean, we have three cats already but I'd really like a hairless cat,' the Babygirl star told People this week. Her costar, Macfadyen, then joked that hairless cats had an alternative name: 'scrotum cats.' 'Hairless cats take offense to that!' Kidman joked in response. 'They're very, very yummy. Very nice and, I think, very pretty, but that might just be me,' she continued of the animal. 'I was really going gaga over all the hairless cats. So one might be in my future.' Nicole Kidman has a strange new obsession - and it looks like she won't be letting up anytime soon 'They're very, very yummy. Very nice and, I think, very pretty, but that might just be me,' she continued of the animal Her costars also shared their latest obsessions with the magazine, although they weren't as exciting as Kidman's. Macfadyen told the outlet that he's been really into the late spy novelist John le Carre. Similarly, Bernal loves to find 'stories where the wrong people are solving a mystery.' But interestingly enough, this isn't the first time that Kidman has brought her love of furry feline friends to a movie set. While speaking with Variety's Actors on Actors in December, the star admitted that a cat helped her connect with her Babygirl costar, Harris Dickinson. 'We Zoomed with him, and it just clicked,' Kidman said. 'As soon as I saw his cat walk through, I was like, "You're perfect. You're really, really good for this." And he was just so nice,' she continued. Currently, Kidman and her husband, Keith Urban, share three cats of their own. While speaking with Variety's Actors on Actors in December, the star admitted that a cat helped her connect with her Babygirl costar, Harris Dickinson However, she did win the award for best actress for her role in the film from the National Board of Review Gala Kidman's new movie comes after Babygirl was not nominated at this year's Academy Awards. She did not attend the ceremony, or the Vanity Fair Oscars party afterwards. However, she did win the award for best actress for her role in the film from the National Board of Review Gala. During her acceptance speech, she chugged a glass of milk in a nod to the movie. Meghan Markle has insisted she's 'not an influencer' - but that hasn't stopped her from playing by a very social media-savvy book since the beginning of this year. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, has been channeling A-lister Insta-conossieurs including Goop mastermind Gwyneth Paltrow in her approach, with very aesthetically coordinated photos and video reels to promote her latest brand venture - As Ever. It comes on the back of a Netflix series, which then followed an increased online presence, a website, podcast announcement and a ShopMy page. But distinctly not among the flurry of Meghan's internet-famous milestones is a TikTok account - the go-to-platform for anyone who wants to promote anything these days. Countless companies - from huge to small businesses - have been making content on the site in hopes of staying relevant. But a PR expert has revealed why the mother-of-two has likely opted to stay off our For You pages - and admitted the move feels 'deliberate'. 'TikTok demands unfiltered, off-the-cuff content, and that doesn't really align with Meghan's carefully curated public image,' Chad Teixeira told FEMAIL. 'She's all about control, of her narrative, her platform, and her messaging. That's hard to maintain when an app rewards spontaneity over strategy.' Meghan Markle has insisted she's 'not an influencer' - but that hasn't stopped her from playing by a very social media-savvy book since the beginning of this year It comes on the back of a Netflix series, which then followed an increased online presence, a website, podcast announcement and a ShopMy page He added that Meghan is also not likely to benefit from a huge TikTok presence business-wise. 'There's also a brand positioning play here. Meghan isn't trying to be relatable in the way TikTok influencers are she's not selling skincare routines or oat milk recipes. 'She's positioning herself as a thought leader, philanthropist, and media mogul, not a content creator. 'In many ways, TikTok could dilute the gravitas she's worked hard to build post-royal life. 'Let's be real, can you imagine Meghan doing a "get ready with me" while Archie's running around in the background? 'She's not about to pop up lip-syncing in a bathrobe. That's not shade , that's strategy. Meghan's brand is less "For You page" and more Forbes cover.' But a PR expert has revealed why the mother-of-two has likely opted to stay off our For You pages - and admitted the move feels 'deliberate' In 2023, TikTok become the 'first non-game app to reach $10 billion in consumer spending', Tech Crunch reported. The app also earned more than '875 million global app downloads' this year, and was the fastest social network to hit one billion active users. However, it's yet to be utilised by Meghan, who with her husband Prince Harry signed an 80million five-year Netflix deal in 2021, which includes her recent show. The Duchess also announced her new podcast on Lemonada Media earlier this month, after the couple's 20million Spotify deal ended early in 2023. The new show launching on April 8 is called 'Confessions Of A Female Founder', in which she promises to discuss turning 'small ideas into billion-dollar businesses'. In the trailer for her upcoming podcast, Meghan promised 'girl talk' and advice on how to create 'billion-dollar businesses'. She tells one guest in the one minute 57 second trailer to think of the experience as being in a 'dolphin tank' rather than a 'shark tank', asks another whether she is single now, talks about the 'laser focus' needed in business, and finishes her voiceover with: 'Let's do this, ladies.' Meghan's podcast is part of a deal signed last year with Lemonada Media. He added that Meghan (pictured on Instagram) is also not likely to benefit from a huge TikTok presence business-wise Meghan pictured making waffles for her children, which she has documented on Instagram earlier this month The podcast will also follow Meghan's work on her As Ever brand which is soon to begin selling jam, herbal teas, flower sprinkles and ready-make crepe mix The Duchess's Archetypes series about female stereotypes in 2022 ran for just one series, and was part of the Sussexes' previous multi-million-pound deal with Spotify, which ended the year after. Against an upbeat soundtrack of Crabbuckit by the Canadian hip hop artist k-os, the snippet began with Meghan saying: 'I'm Meghan, and this is Confessions Of A Female Founder, a show where I chat with female entrepreneurs and friends about the sleepless nights, the lessons learned and the laser focus that got them to where they are today.' In between excerpts of guests speaking, Meghan said in a voiceover: 'We're diving into the highs... and the lows... and the kind of advice that turns small ideas into billion-dollar businesses... and of course, we're gonna get some girl talk.' She told one guest: 'Are you saying you're not single now? Have I missed something in the past couple weeks?' The podcast will also follow Meghan's work on her As Ever brand which is soon to begin selling jam, herbal teas, flower sprinkles and ready-make crepe mix. The former Suits actress adds in her voiceover: 'And through it all, I'm building a business of my own and getting all sorts of practical advice along the way that I'm very excited to share with you. 'So join me for Confessions Of A Female Founder from Lemonada Media, which, by the way, is also female founded, launching April 8, wherever you get your podcasts. Let's do this, ladies.' At the end of the trailer, Meghan can be heard telling a guest: 'This is not Shark Tank. Think of this as dolphin tank. Yes, these are very friendly. These are very friendly waters. It's all gonna be good.' Woolworths shoppers have been stunned by an usual addition to stores - an automatic robot that puts away trolleys. The robot, dubbed 'R2-D2' by Aussies, was spotted collecting shopping carts outside a Woolies in Richlands, in Brisbane's south-west, on Thursday. A video shared to TikTok showed the machine rounding up more than a dozen stray trolleys from the car park. 'RIP to trolley boys,' the caption read. 'Woolies just hired R2-D2.' The machine is still human operated but does all the heavy lifting for staff members. As demonstrated in the video, the trolleys are strapped together by one of the workers who then clips them to the machine. The robot is operated by a basic remote control which can command it to move forwards, reverse and stop, while a staff member guides it from the front. A Woolworths in Brisbane has debuted a trolley collection device which has divided the internet (pictured is the new feature in action) A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the store's 'little Green Machines' have been in use in stores across the country for years. 'Our little Green Machines have been in use for a number of years and better support our team with managing trolley collection,' the spokesperson said. 'These innovative aids make navigating challenging carparks smoother for our team members, particularly in areas with inclines or ramps. And they ensure we have trolleys ready for our customers when they need them. 'Customers might spot them across our store network and we've rolled out another 10 to supermarkets across Brisbane.' Aussies said the robots had been around for a few years at Woolworths and Coles (stock) Aussies however, were divided over the robot in the comments of the social media post. 'We are going to have so many problems with these,' one man wrote. 'You guys realise we're just making robots to replace jobs no one wants to do,' another added. 'It's a tough job, I really think that robots should take over this. I work as this before for a day but I usually work at checkout. It's so tiring,' a third said. 'Imagine all the back, neck and shoulder claims this will prevent,' a fourth agreed. 'Bruh I hate those machines. I still push them manually. That machine is time consuming to use,' one said. Others said the trolley robots had been around for a few years with Woolworths' competitor Coles also using a similar device. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Woolworths for comment. A toddler from Arkansas died of an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba lurking in a water park. The young boy was 16 months old when he visited a water playground with fountains and jets in Pulaski County, Arkansas. He had a fever for days, was vomiting, would not eat, would barely move, and his behavior suggested he was in a confused, altered state of mind. Doctors rushed him to the pediatric intensive care unit. The young boy underwent a lumbar puncture where a thin needle was inserted into his lower back to collect cerebrospinal fluid, and doctors determined the Naegleria fowleri bacteria had caused meningitis inflammation of the protective layers that surround the brain and spinal cord. Naegleria fowleri is commonly called a brain-eating amoeba because it causes a brain infection that is typically fatal. Official records show 164 people in the US were infected with the disease between 1962 and 2023, of which only four survived. The toddler had played in the water on August 26, 2023, and died on September 4. His case was reported by the Arkansas Department of Health at the time, though the CDC only just released a new case report on the incident on Thursday. The agency warned that Water playgrounds, also known as splash pads, have been the source of several similar cases of infection caused by the deadly bacteria. While it cannot survive in chlorinated water, it can thrive in poorly-maintained pools with low chlorine, as well as in freshwater. This pool, in particular, had several code violations, including improper pH levels in the splash pad's water, and the device used to add chlorine to the water hadnt worked in about a month, which could have prevented contamination. Michael Alexander Pollock III died on September 4, 2023 after being exposed to the brain-eating amoeba The CDC has issued warnings in the past about the risks of playing in splash pads. According to the agency, they are designed so that water is constantly circulating and never still to prevent drowning. Because of this, they dont qualify according to city or town standards as aquatic venues, which include pools. This means splash pads are not always regulated, nor are staff always required to disinfect the water with germ-killing chemicals. The CDC said in the latest case report: The splash padassociated [primary amebic meningoencephalitis] case described here represents the third such case in 4 years, indicating that splash pads with inadequately disinfected water are an emerging exposure of concern for transmission of N. fowleri. In 2021, a boy in Texas died after being infected with the bacteria while playing at the Don Misenhimer Park splash pad in Arlington. Contaminated water in swimming pools, caused by insufficient chlorine levels, has also been behind fatal infections. Last summer, a 30-year-old woman became infected from a wave pool in Taiwan. The woman was taken to the hospital after suffering from seizures, headaches, fever, and stiffness in the neck and shoulders. She died three days later. The Arkansas Health Department said there is no ongoing threat to the public and the pool area remains closed to this day Only a few people have survived Naegleria fowleri. Kali Hardig (right), now 22, was 12 when she contracted it from an Arkansas water park. Sixteen-year-old Caleb Ziegelbauer was infected in July 2022 when he was 14 while swimming near Port Charlotte Beach, Florida And in 2019, 29-year-old New Jersey native Fabrizio Stabile died of a brain-eating amoeba infection less than two weeks after he visited BSR Cable Park and Surf Resort in Waco, Texas. In the case of the child in Pulaski County, Arkansas, identified as Michael Alexander Pollock III, health department specialists found the pH of the water was too high, exceeding 8.2 - the highest the test could go. Typically, the pH level should be between 7.2 and 7.8. When pH gets too high, chlorine becomes less effective at cleaning the water. Chlorine levels were above five parts per million, while the ideal range is between one and three parts per million. But because the chlorinator was broken, the chemical was being added by hand, leading to uneven distribution and 'dead zones' where the bacteria survived. They also collected samples from drains, nozzles, biofilm in water tanks, and the water in the pool and splash pad tank. About 10 days after the child died, they detected N. fowleri in a sample from the splash pad tank. The bacteria lives in warm freshwater and can infect people when contaminated water enters the nose. From there, it travels along the olfactory nerve to the brain, where it destroys tissue and causes swelling, often resulting in death. Your browser does not support iframes. Symptoms, including fever, nausea, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, seizures, and hallucinations. They generally begin one to two days after coming into contact with the amoeba. Very few people have been infected and lived. One of them is now 22-year-old Kali Hardig, who was just 12 when she contracted N. Fowleri from an Arkansas water park. Doctors gave her four days to live, calling the infection a death sentence. However, she made a full recovery, with only the occasional blurry vision in her left eye due to scar tissue left behind from the infection. Sixteen-year-old Caleb Ziegelbauer from Florida was infected with the same deadly pathogen in July 2022 while swimming in the water off Port Charlotte Beach. He survived the infection and his walking is improving, but the damage done to his brain means he needs to use a wheelchair. Like Ms Hardig, he had to relearn how to stand up, walk, and talk after the infection. READ MORE: Michigan patient dies of RABIES from transplanted organ A woman has died of rabies after drinking contaminated raw milk in a shockingly rare case. Earlier this year, the unnamed woman from India drank unpasteurized milk from a cow that she was unaware had been infected with rabies, a virus usually spread through animal bites that is almost always fatal. Local media reports suggest the cow had been bitten by a stray dog with rabies, causing it to become infected. She became ill several days later with symptoms that may have included fever, agitation, hallucinations, twitching, and a fear of drinking water. Her family rushed her to several hospitals, who refused to treat her due to the severity of her condition, according to local reports. The woman died at home shortly after. There is no documented evidence suggesting rabies can spread via dairy or meat from infected animals, and health authorities maintain while drinking raw milk from a rabid animal could potentially pose a risk, it is not a confirmed method of transmission. However, the CDC urges pasteurization to kill any potential viruses, including rabies, being shed in cow's milk. A woman in India died of rabies after drinking raw milk from an infected cow. Pictured are cows at the USDA's National Animal Disease Center research facility in Ames, Iowa (file photo) Your browser does not support iframes. Rabies is deadly virus that is transmitted through saliva from infected animals like dogs, racoons, bats, coyotes and foxes. Most people get it from an animal bite or scratch. The disease moves along the spinal cord and travels to the brain, causing inflammation. Early symptoms in humans include fever, headache, agitation, confusion and vomiting. In later stages, patients suffer agitation, restlessness, hallucinations, seizures and twitching, excessive salivation, and a fear of water or air blowing in their face. The disease is almost always fatal once symptoms start. Only 20 cases of humans surviving rabies have been recorded in medical literature worldwide. Around 5,000 animal cases of rabies are reported each year, and about 60,000 Americans seek care for potential exposure. Fewer than 10 Americans die from rabies every year, according to the CDC. India, however, experiences 18,000 to 20,000 human rabies deaths per year, the majority of which are in children under age 15. India accounts for over one-third of the world's rabies deaths. The only way to cure or prevent rabies is with a series of four to five vaccines, which must be given as soon as possible after someone believes or confirms to have been exposed. Rabies is a fatal viral disease that affects the central nervous system. Once symptoms appear, it is almost always fatal The above map shows which animals are most likely to be infected with rabies in certain areas Though both the CDC and World Health Organization state raw milk is not a confirmed method of rabies transmission, the drink has been blamed for rare cases in the US. In 1996, as cow in Massachusetts was diagnosed with rabies after being bitten by a rabid raccoon. Though the cow was euthanized, 14 people drank raw milk from it after it was infected and fell ill. All of them were vaccinated and survived. Just two years later, 66 people drank raw milk from another cow infected with rabies through a raccoon bite. They all survived after being vaccinated. Though it's still unclear if rabies can spread through raw milk, pathogens like Salmonella, E coli, and listeria have all been found in the drink. The CDC recommends all milk be pasteurized, which involves exposing it to mild heat, to kill any potential pathogens. A woman whose 'fit and healthy' husband died just three weeks after a devastating cancer diagnosis has urged others never to ignore unusual symptoms. Thelma Ainsworth, 50, said her husband Jonathan a 59 year-old doctor and father of their two children waited several months before seeking medical advice for his bout of stomach pain. By that point, it was too late. Doctors discovered bile duct cancer that had 'spread everywhere'. 'It was more advanced than we could possibly imagine,' said Ms Ainsworth, a London-based lawyer. 'Even though Jonathan was a doctor, he didnt get checked immediately, he waited until it was too late. 'Once you know that theres something wrong, get yourself checked out as soon as possible.' The earliest signs that something was wrong began in 2019, when Mr Ainsworth a keen runner who was 'always training' started complaining of a pain in his stomach. He did little about it for several months, until he noticed he had begun to lose weight. Jonathan Ainsworth, 59, was 'fit and healthy' and 'always running and training' before he was diagnosed with deadly bile duct cancer. When he eventually spoke to a doctor, he was referred for a scan which revealed severe inflammation in the liver. While waiting for the referral, the infectious disease specialist decided to take his own bloods, with the results showing something 'wasn't right'. 'He went off to St Marys Hospital and they said that he had cancer,' said Ms Ainsworth. In October 2019, doctors revealed he had bile duct cancer, which affects around 3,000 people in the UK every year. The disease impacts the tubes in the digestive system that carry bile; a fluid that helps the body digest food. Between 20 and 25 per cent of those diagnosed at the earliest stages will survive for more than five years, compared to between two and five per cent of those who are diagnosed later, when the cancer has spread. Due to the position of the bile ducts within the body, it easily migrates to other nearby organs, like the pancreas and the bowel. Bile duct cancer can be symptomless, particularly in its earliest stages. But when it does cause problems, signs include changes to your bowel habits, itchy skin, high temperature, abdominal pain and weight loss. Despite being a doctor, he left it 'too late' to seek medical help for his stomach pain. His widow, Thelma Ainsworth, spent years struck with guilt about not pushing her husband to see a doctor sooner. Some also notice yellowing of the skin and the white of the eyes known medically as jaundice. Within three weeks of Mr Ainsworth's diagnosis he had 'gone', leaving her widowed with two young children. Soon afterwards, she found that she started blaming herself, believing it was her fault for her husband's untimely death. 'Since the diagnosis and for many months, maybe years afterwards, I blamed myself,' she said. '[I thought] that it was somehow my fault...because I didnt get him to check himself out.' In 2022, it 'all came to a head' while she was trying to write a childrens book something she had wanted to do for years. She discovered that her grief acted as a 'blockage' to her creative writing and decided to start journaling to help her process the difficult emotions. These notes became the inspiration for her first memoir, I Am A Wolf Tonight. Your browser does not support iframes. 'It was this blockage inside me that I felt I needed to release,' she said. The book, which she described as 'raw, unflinching and honest', explores themes of cancer loss, complex grief, love, resilience and perseverance. There is 'no right or wrong way to do grief', according to Ms Ainsworth. But she hopes her words will offer hope and encourage others to be patient and kind to themselves. 'At some point you will reach a stage where youre able to process that grief, but it will take years, and Im not unusual in that. ' I hope that my book is helpful for anyone whos been in that circumstance where theyve had to go out of their way to reveal their inner animal in order to survive.' A damning report has today laid bare the grim state of England's maternity units, by naming those with alarmingly high number of baby deaths. The analysis listed seven NHS trusts that had reported infant mortality rates at least five per cent above the national average. The worst performing were Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. Both breached this threshold in five out of the seven years looked at during the investigation carried out by the Health Service Journal. They were followed by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, where bereaved parents earlier this year called for an inquiry over the preventable deaths of 56 babies. There, higher than normal deaths were recorded in four out of the seven years. The new figures were based on annual reports published by MBRRACE-UK, which reviews stillbirths and neonatal deaths but does not analyse if any of these are potentially preventable. In 2023, Sandwell logged a mortality rate of 4.98 per 1,000 births. By comparison, the average in its group was 4.05. Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust were rated 'red' in five of the last seven years - the most of any in the country Leeds, meanwhile, reported a rate of 5.34 deaths per 1,000 births against a 4.49 group average for trusts with level three neonatal intensive care and neonatal surgery - the highest level of medical care offered. Responding to the analysis, some trusts argued MBRRACE did not account for the fact they take births where the baby has a very low chance of survival because of a heart or other condition, for example. Several of the seven trusts with the most 'red' ratings, including Sandwell, have very high deprivation and large non-English-speaking populations. MBRRACE told HSJ its analysis 'enables fairer comparisons between organisations of different sizes and populations'. It added: 'We also adjust rates for key risk factors such as maternal age, socio-economic status, baby's ethnicity, sex, multiple births, and gestational age. 'However, some factors such as maternal smoking and [body mass index] are not universally collected and therefore cannot be included in the adjustment.' In 2023, Sandwell logged a mortality rate of 4.98 per 1,000 births. By comparison, the average in its group was 4.05 Maternity problems have already been highlighted at some of the trusts by the regulator, the Care Quality Commission. Last year, Sandwell was served with a warning notice and rated 'inadequate' for safety and 'requires improvement' overall. Bradford's maternity unitinspected in 2024 after whistleblowers raised safety concernsis rated 'requires improvement' although its neonatal service was rated 'outstanding'. Director of midwifery at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Helen Hurst, today said: 'We always ensure that a full investigation is carried out in this sad circumstance to ensure that the correct learning takes place as quickly as possible. 'We have seen a notable reduction in neonatal deaths over the last year. 'In addition, a wider review into the increased rate was led by the Black Country Local Maternity and Neonatal System and identified several key recommendations and actions. 'For high-risk pregnancies, this has led to early access to aspirin and senior clinician oversight, enhanced scrutiny, and external clinical experts to review perinatal mortality, all stillbirth scan images are peer reviewed by clinical experts and LMNS-wide training is in place to support the quality of the perinatal mortality reviews. 'As a result, stillbirth and neonatal death rates can be seen to be declining since January 2024 in locally held data.' University Hospitals of Leicester deputy medical director Gang Xu said: 'We are working hard to understand those factors we can influence to reduce our perinatal mortality to as low as possible. 'This year, the stillbirth rate has improved in Leicester, and our overall mortality rate remains stable. All cases are reviewed thoroughly using a national tool, and we work closely with other centres to ensure robust, reflective reviews.' Leeds Teaching Hospitals chief medical officer Magnus Harrison added: 'We review the MBRRACE data on a very regular basis. 'We understand why this data will cause concern and although to date we have received assurances around these figures, we are continuing to review this with independent partners to understand it further.' A spokesperson for the Royal Wolverhampton, meanwhile, said: 'We are also working with other provider trusts within the Black Country, which see similar perinatal mortality rates, to address some of the health inequality issues that can drive poorer outcomes.' Liverpool Women's medical director Chris Dewhurst added: 'As a specialist hospital, we care for high-risk babies from across the North West and further afield, who need to be delivered at Liverpool Women's Hospital because of significant problems identified during pregnancy and other factors.' A Bradford Hospitals spokesperson also said: 'We have built a robust mortality review process that engages families, other hospitals within the region and the neonatal network. 'The mortality data is regularly reviewed and presented at the safeguarding champion's meeting. If there are any specific themes or issues identified, we conduct a 'deep dive' to establish if there are opportunities to learn and modify our current practice.' Lindsay Rudge, executive director of nursing at Calderdale and Huddersfield, said: 'We closely monitor our perinatal mortality rates, as part of our commitment to providing safe, high-quality care.' A damning report into the 'postcode lottery' of NHS maternity care last May ruled good care is 'the exception rather than the rule'. A hugely-anticipated parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma found pregnant women are being treated like a 'slab of meat' The HSJ analysis follows a litany of maternity failures including Shrewsbury and Telford and East Kent NHS Trusts, with a record number of services now failing to meet safety standards. In September, the CQC found two-thirds of services either 'require improvement' or are 'inadequate' for safety. Frontline midwives have previously warned working in the NHS is like playing a 'warped game of Russian roulette', as there was a risk of harm or death at any time, partly due to 'dangerously' low staffing levels. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) suggests staff shortages and lack of funding is making it harder for midwives to deliver better quality services. The RCM's latest calculation is that England is short of 2,500 midwives. It also comes as another report into the 'postcode lottery' of NHS maternity care last May also ruled good care is 'the exception rather than the rule'. A hugely-anticipated parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, which heard evidence from more than 1,300 women, found pregnant women are being treated like a 'slab of meat'. At the time, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins labelled testimonies heard in the report 'harrowing' and vowed to improve maternity care for 'women throughout pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow'. Health officials are raising the alarm over a deadly fungus described as similar to 'having cancer' that is surging in US hospitals. Candida Auris, a type of yeast resistant to most treatments, was first detected in hospitals in 2016, with 52 infections reported across four states. But cases have doubled every year since, with 4,514 infections across the country detected in 2023 the latest date available and the disease has spread to 38 states. The CDC declared it an 'urgent threat' in 2023, but now causing further alarm cases are rising quickly in hospitals in Georgia and Florida. The fungus can colonize the skin of individuals in hospitals and contaminated surfaces and medical equipment, where it is difficult to remove as it is resistant to most disinfectants. It can then be transferred to sick people via physical contact, where it may enter the body through cuts or devices such as those for a breathing tube or a catheter. This can cause a serious infection if the fungus spreads to infect the blood. About one in three people who contract C. Auris die from the infection. Those who have prolonged stays in the hospital or need invasive medical devices are particularly at risk of infection, doctors warn. The above graph shows the number of cases of C. Auris recorded in the US every year since 2016, when it was first detected. The fungus is a problem in hospitals, where it can infect very sick patients Your browser does not support iframes. Warning signs of the infection include a fever and chills that persist after treatment with antibiotics for a suspected bacterial infection. There may also be redness, warmth and pus at the site of infected wounds. In serious cases, the fungus causes an infection in the bloodstream and vital organs that can be life-threatening. It is resistant to many standard disinfectants and cleaning products used in hospitals, as well as antifungal drugs, making it extremely difficult to treat. Dr Timothy Connelly, at Memorial Health in Savannah, Georgia, told WJCL that being infected with the disease is similar to having cancer. 'The fungus will just keep getting bigger and bigger, obstruct certain parts of the lungs, and can cause secondary pneumonia. Eventually, it can go on to kill people,' he said. Warning over the rise in cases in Georgia, he said hospitals were now using 'List P' disinfectants, those specifically designed to kill the fungus, to clean hospital units. 'Candida Auris is a type of fungus similar to Candida Albicans, which is what is common in yeast infections,' he added. 'The difference between Candida Auris is it's an invasive fungus, and a lot of the common medicines that we use, like Diflucan, don't work for it. 'And then the second line medicines, like Micafungin, in 10 percent of cases, that doesn't work for it.' Both Diflucan and Micafungin are antifungal medications used in hospitals. C Auris is resistant to many antifungals and disinfectants commonly used in the hospital A study published this month has also warned over the surge in infections in Florida. Accessing data from a major health system, scientists at Jackson Health System which sees about 120,000 patients every year warned cases had surged more than 2,000 percent in half a decade. There were just five infections diagnosed in the system in 2019, they said, but that number quickly ballooned to 115 cases in 2023. Your browser does not support iframes. Overall, they found blood cultures were the most common source of infections, although there was a large increase from 2022 of infections of the fungus in soft tissue. Concluding the study, the team said: 'The volumes of clinical cultures with C. Auris have rapidly increased, accompanied by an expansion in the sources of infection.' Overall, 10,788 infections with the fungus have been detected between 2016 and 2023 in 38 states. New York has reported the most infections ever, at 1,795 cases, between 2016 and 2023, followed by Illinois, at 1,627, and California, at 1,566. In 2023, California recorded the most infections 642 cases with Nevada second with 599 cases and Florida third at 568 cases. In 2023, Utah and West Virginia recorded their first ever cases of the fungus. Only 12 states have not detected the fungus to date: Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Alaska. READ MORE: RFK Jr wants to pull fluoride from US tap water Utah has become the first US state to ban fluoride from all public drinking water, backing controversial plans from Robert F Kennedy Jr. The law was signed Thursday by Governor Spencer Cox and will go into effect May 7 for all public drinking water systems. Fluoride was added to US water in 1940s after scientists found people with higher levels of the mineral had fewer cavities. According to the latest CDC data, nearly half of Utah residents with public water access drink fluoridated water, while half do not. Gov Cox said Thursday that between those two groups, 'you think you would see drastically different outcomes. We havent.' Health Secretary RFK Jr has also long called for the mineral to be stripped from America's water supply, claiming it causes bone cancer, IQ loss, and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. And last year, Florida became the first state to recommend removing fluoride from water systems in support of Kennedy's claims. The research on fluoride's potential health effects is mixed, and many experts have claimed the evidence is unclear and the dental benefits of fluoride outweigh potential risks. Utah has become the first state to ban fluoride from public water systems beginning May 7. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr (pictured here) is one of the main opponents of the mineral, arguing it can cause IQ loss, cancer, and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism (file photo) Fluoride was added to US water in 1940s after scientists found that people with higher levels of the mineral had fewer cavities. Nearly half of Utah's residents with public water access drink fluoridated water (stock image) Fluoride makes teeth more resistant to substances that can wear down enamel - like citrus, sugary foods and carbonated beverages - which thin and weaken teeth and make them more sensitive. This, in turn, prevents cavities and other dental infections. And roughly 72 percent of Americans that use public water supplies drink water with fluoride added to it. Since national fluoridation came around, rates of dental problems in children have declined, and the program is praised by dentists. For nearly as long though, critics have been raising concerns about the safety of fluoride. In a November post on X, RFK Jr said: 'Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.' Dr Paul Offit, a physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told NPR that Kennedy's claims are misleading. Dr Offit said: 'Fluoride has been well tested. It clearly and definitively decreases cavities, and is not associated with any clear evidence of the chronic diseases mentioned in that tweet'. Your browser does not support iframes. Fluoride is the active ingredient in most toothpastes, and 13million children participate in fluoride mouth rinse programs, which has students rinse their mouths with a sodium fluoride mouth wash during the school day, according to the NIH. In 2015, the US Department of Health and Human Services Agency reviewed the levels of fluoride added to water and decided to standardize the national recommendation. Older recommendations had allowed different concentrations based on the local air temperature, but the 2015 update set the limit at 0.7 mg of fluoride per liter of water. This re-evaluation didn't come about because of concerns about health impacts, however, but instead it was meant to address concerns that higher levels of fluoride could cause white patches to develop on teeth. But critics point to other countries that have eliminated the substance from their water supply. Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have discontinued fluoride plans in favor of other national dental programs. They have not banned fluoride outright, and in Germany, there is a history of adding fluoride to salt. Opponents of fluoridation note that adding it to water might have been necessary for people in the 1900s who didn't have access to fluoride in dental products, but that in the modern world, people get enough fluoride already - and excess exposure could be detrimental This map, from 2020, shows fluoride levels in untreated groundwater supplies. Areas marked with a yellow or red dot have more than twice the level of fluoride in groundwater than recommended The above shows the most recently known levels of fluoride in US county water systems Most recently, in the US, a study from the National Toxicology Program found there was a link between high levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ. The levels of fluoride they included in the study were two times higher than the federal limit for drinking water. The authors wrote this didn't prove definitively that fluoride causes lower IQ, and noted their study just establishes a pattern between the two. The authors said: 'Many substances are healthy and beneficial when taken in small doses but may cause harm at high doses. More research is needed to better understand if there are health risks associated with low fluoride exposures.' Dr Scott Tomar, a public health dentist and oral epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Chicago, told The New York Times the Utah law and other potential bans could lead to more dental problems throughout the country, especially in poorer areas. He said: 'The benefits of community water fluoridation are most pronounced in low income communities communities that often have the least access to dental care and to other sources of fluoride.' A mother of two who underwent a trendy full MRI body scan 'for fun' has revealed her shock at being told she had a hidden, life-threatening condition. Sara Blackburn, from Houston, Texas, had no concerns about her health when she booked in for the 2,000 ($2,500) check offered by celebrity-backed firm Prenuvo. In a viral TikTok which has been viewed more than 2.8 million times, Ms Blackburn said: 'I just thought [the scan] will give me peace of mind'. She added: 'It really did feel like a spa day. Until it didn't.' Prenuvowhich has been endorsed by Kim Kardashiansay their scans can detect cancer and other chronic diseases years before symptoms even begin. However the clinic chainwhich also counts supermodel Cindy Crawford and pop star Rita Ora among its clientshas also been criticised 'cashing in' on the paranoia of health-conscious young people. But in Ms Blackburn's case, the result showed she was unknowingly suffering a splenic artery aneurysma bulge in an artery supplying her spleen, which is an important organ in the immune system. The condition is rare and usually symptomlessbut in some cases the bulge can grow and then rupture, causing severe internal bleeding and extreme pain. A mother of two who underwent a trendy full MRI body scan 'for fun' has revealed her shock at being told she had a hidden, life-threatening condition Prenuvowhich has been endorsed by Kim Kardashiansay their scans can detect cancer and other chronic diseases years before symptoms even begin If not treated rapidly, a rupture is fatal in one in three cases, according to the report that Ms Blackburn shared on TikTok. Recalling the moments leading up to the diagnosis, she said: 'This is a story about how I had a full body MRI just for funno symptoms whatsoever. 'And how I am now scheduled to have an organ removed in two weeks. 'My husband and I had heard of Prenuvo, and we scheduled to have them done in Dallas, which is about four hours away from us in Houston. 'We were going to make a trip out of itwe were so excited.' Ms Blackburn and her husband's scans were booked for November 14, which she says was a 'great experience'. She adds: 'I was so excited. I don't know what I thought we were going to find, but looking back I think I was certain this was going to give me peace of mindthey were not going find anything serious.' After reading the results, Ms Blackburn admits she 'went into a full blow panic attack' and rushed to the nearest emergency room 'because I needed a doctor to tell me what this meant'. Rita Ora has been slammed by fans for promoting a $2,499 radiation-free MRI scan which the 'vast majority of people can't afford' Last month Gwyneth Paltrow underwent a body scan to detect health issues before symptoms appear in another effort toward the Goop owner's 'longevity routine' She added: 'I the report, without any other context, it's likeone in three mortality rate. Okay. Thank you so much. 'That is how my health anxiety started. It was a really dark and hard two months where I was spiraling and freaking out and seeing a lot of doctors and pretty much treating my body like [it was made of] glass. 'I had no idea about this and literally felt like a ticking timebomb was found inside my body.' A further CT scan revealed there was not one but two aneurysms on her splenic artery. After seeking guidance from multiple vascular surgeons, Blackburn made the decision to have her spleen, which is responsible for filtering the blood and fighting infections, removed. She said that while this is not what she expected at all, she is grateful for the opportunity to make proactive decisions about her heath. The surgery was successful and Blackburn is now adjusting to life without a spleen with the lifelong risk that a small infection could develop quickly. Looking back, Blackburn has no regrets about her decision to undergo the full body scan, but warns others to proceed with caution. Kate Hudson has been slammed for becoming the latest multimillionaire celebrity to promote a $2,499 full body scan 'For the people who already have existing health anxiety I truly don't know if I can recommend full-body scans. 'I was just a normal anxious girly before this and now I am a normal anxious girly with debilitating health anxiety which I am trying to overcome.' In 2023 Kardashians star Kim, 44, caused an outcry when she posted two images on Instagram about her Prenuvo scan, calling the service 'life saving'. She wrote in the post, which gained more than two million likes: 'The Prenuvo full-body scan has the ability to detect cancer and diseases such as aneurysms in its earliest stages, before symptoms arise. 'It has really saved one of my friends [sic] lives and I just wanted to share.' However, there is no evidence that Prenuvo's scans have any clinical benefit. Dr Tyler Black, psychiatrist and pharmacologist in Canada, wrote on X that Prenuvo scans 'have not been studied in any clinical trial, and typically screening asymptomatic people with imaging leads to more harm (via false positives) than benefit (true positives).' 'They are likely part of a vulture medicine movement which seek to extract money from healthy people under the guise of "giving patients more information". 'As someone who went through a year of worry [and] tests due to an incidental MRI lung finding (false positive), it really sucks. '"Your heart is great, but um, we found a nodule in your lung..." I was not "empowered" in the months that followed, I was scared I had cancer. 'The literature on nodules like mine was not reassuring "they can be benign or malignant."' 'While I was relieved once further tests showed it was likely benign, I did not benefit from the experience. 'I suffered every night thinking about it, especially trying to sleep. Plus the tests I went through have their own risks. 'That's what Prenuvo can offer you for $2500 or whatever they charge now.' Hollywood actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson have also endorsed Prenuvo, although it is unclear whether any of the celebrities were paid. Neither the NHS nor American health chiefs recommend whole-body scans for people without symptoms, citing a lack of evidence of their effectiveness. What Book... Politican, Mark Field . . . are you reading now? Coincidentally both my teenage children are studying British history of the first half of the 20th century at school this year. So in a forlorn attempt to stay ahead of them both, I am re-reading Robert Blakes 1955 magisterial biography The Unknown Prime Minister of the shortest-serving prime minister of the century Andrew Bonar Law. Blakes writing is evocative of the profound changes that took place in society during the Victorian era and in the early decades of the 1900s. . . . would you like to take to a desert island? Forgive me if I cheat a little here and choose two books one from over half a century ago and another that is now on the bestsellers list. First, the US journalist and historian David Halberstam. His classic study of the origins and calamitous escalation of the Vietnam War, The Best And The Brightest, provides a timeless warning to politicians about over-reliance on expert opinion. More current is David Hepworth who, in the past decade, has written a succession of wonderfully atmospheric and incisive books about another of my lifelong abiding interests, rock and pop music. His most recent masterpiece, Hope I Get Old Before I Die, tells of the remarkable longevity of many musicians and songwriters who began the rocknroll era in what was then regarded as the most precarious and ephemeral of careers. Boyhood Favourite: Field's father read Thanks to Jennings to him as a boy . . . first gave you the reading bug? For someone who in adult life always has at least one book on the go and a voracious reading appetite, it is surprising to reflect that during much of my childhood I was not an especially avid reader. But the Jennings books of Anthony Buckeridge read to me by my father were a boyhood favourite. It was lovely that it became such a strong bond between me and my son, when I began to read these books about boarding school antics to him. . . . left you cold? A small confession: I have never had much interest in fiction. Political friends have tried to persuade me to read Ayn Rands libertarian novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, but it has always been an exercise in wading through treacle. I also have few qualms about giving up early in reading a book if it is unable to inspire me. I MAKE MY OWN FUN by Hannah Beer (Atlantic 17.99, 288 pp) I Make My Own Fun is available now from the Mail Bookshop To her bazillions of fans, film star Marina is rich, beautiful and envied. What they dont know is that shes spoilt, cruel and only pretending to be straight. When she meets pink-haired Anna in a London bar shes bowled over. But Anna is cool and elusive so Marina, who always gets what she wants, decamps from LA, buys a house in Hampstead and starts to stalk her ruthlessly. Its like a dark, crazed reversal of Notting Hill and the ending is far from romantic. But the London atmosphere is lovely and arch-b**** Marina has some wonderful lines. THE IMPERSONATORS by Angela Chadwick (Renegade 22, 368 pp) The Impersonators is out now ACTRESS Lucy has had to accept that The Call is not going to come. But perhaps theres another way to make a living from acting. Together with Jack, her best friend from drama school, she launches a service offering convincing plus-ones for all occasions. Acting as someones girlfriend at a wedding is easy money at first. Then Jack is hired to be a rich bankers son, and things get complicated. But with a family dependent on her, how can Lucy give it up? Fame, friendship and betrayal are the themes of this warm, sharp, original novel. EVERYONE IN THE GROUP CHAT DIES By L. M. Chilton (Head of Zeus 9.99, 368 pp) Everyone in the Group Chat Dies is available from the Mail Bookshop One of my favourite-ever films is Hot Fuzz, and were in the same wryly humorous rural dystopia here. Cue terrible pubs, slobby residents, incompetent policemen and murders at the village fayre. Sleepy Crowhurst is famous for serial killings in the 1990s, but was the local misfit (supposedly dead) really responsible? When glamorous influencer Esme moves in to a flatshare with journalist Kirby, the reinvestigation begins. But then Kirbys flatmates are picked off one by one and Esme disappears. Is the killer still at large? An enjoyable contemporary comedy crime caper. Rapture By Emily Maguire (Sceptre 16.99, 320pp) Rapture is available now from the Mail Bookshop Emily Maguires transporting novel pitches us head first into the world of the legendary Pope Joan. See-sawing between seductive sensuality and religious asceticism, its a gripping, gorgeous story of faith and feminism. It opens in 9th-century Mainz, in the heart of the Holy Roman Empire, as motherless Agnes listens to her learned father an English priest and his friends mulling over knotty Biblical conundrums and local gossip. Fired up with the love of God, enthralled by the scriptures and stuffed with knowledge usually denied to women, her world is upended when her father dies. Determined to forge a future that encompasses her love of theology, her passionate desire for a charismatic monk and her provocative beliefs, she binds her breasts and heads on an adventure that will see her become an intrepid scholar, a provocative preacher and, eventually, a pope. A rapturous read. The Fishermans Gift By Julia Kelly (Harvill Secker 16.99, 368 pp) The Fisherman's Gift is available now from the Mail Bookshop With its isolated setting a windswept fishing village in Scotland in the 1900s, wild weather on the horizon and a close-knit community nursing a series of shameful secrets the scene is set for a beautifully pitched novel of love, loss and long-awaited redemption. As a storm crashes against the coast, a small boy is washed up on the shore; barely alive, he bears an eerie resemblance to a child lost at sea years before the sweet, curious son of guilt-stricken local teacher Dorothy. Hers is an emotional, melancholy story, and Julia Kelly gives full weight to the complex wash of feelings that threaten to submerge Dorothy as she recalls fateful romantic decisions and the bereavement that has haunted her life. As mistakes are forgiven, secrets revealed and love rekindled, a glimmer of hope illuminates this tender, moving debut. The Golden Throne By Christopher de Bellaigue (Bodley Head 22, 272pp) The Golden Throne is available now from the Mail Bookshop Christopher de Bellaigues The Lion House is a striking slice of narrative non-fiction with all the verve of an immersive novel. It tells the story of swan-necked Suleyman I, the tenth Ottoman sultan, a man with world domination on his mind, in a life brimful of gory naval battles, tetchy diplomats and costly treasures acquired; lushly described by de Bellaigue, these luxuries are a vivid contrast to the visceral details of injuries sustained and lives lost. In this propulsive sequel, the author ably delivers another present-tense, pacy dash through Suleyman the Magnificents tussles with other territories, and the worrisome question of who should inherit his throne. Father to five sons by two mothers, tradition demands the successful heir should kill the remaining claimants, a convention thats about to unleash murderous mayhem in the royal family. Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall (Michael Joseph 16.99, 368 pp) Death At The White is available from the Mail Bookshop The creator of ITVs Broadchurch makes his crime-writing debut with a striking story that opens with the discovery of Dorset pub landlord Jim Tiernan found dead in the middle of the local coast road. He has been bound to a chair with a set of stags antlers tied to his head. DS Nicola Bridge slowly discovers, in the sleepy village of Fleetcombe, a string of secrets which threaten to swamp her investigation with the strength of the local tides. So many locals have motives that could mean they were the killer. But then old-fashioned police work kicks in and Nicola asserts her authority. This is a promising start to a crime career old ideas with a fresh spin, and a great ending. Sleepy village with a string of secrets Son by Johana Gustawsson and Thomas Enger (Orenda 16.99, 300 pp) Son is available now Psychologist Dr Kari Voss an expert on memory and body language works as a consultant for the Oslo police. She is known as the human lie detector because of her unique ability to detect when a suspect is lying. But she also has her own tragedy her young son disappeared seven years ago. Then Voss is thrust into the brutal murder of two 16-year-old girls in a house not far from Oslo, where they were preparing to celebrate Halloween. A school friend of the girls is suspected of the murder but Voss is not convinced. Written by one of Frances leading crime writers and one of Norways best-selling authors, the story introduces a truly original character that we will hear much more of. Paperboy by Callum McSorley (Pushkin Vertigo 16.99, 384pp) Paperboy is available now from the Mail Bookshop THE dark underbelly of Glasgow is laid bare in this sequel to McSorleys award-winning 2023 debut, Squeaky Clean. It is a brutal portrait of the worst side of Scotlands second city, as seen through the eyes of Stuart Chuck Gardner, a man struggling with a gambling habit who runs a paper-shredding business and tips off gangsters about what he finds. Newly promoted DCI Alison McCoist (a sly joke she is no relation to the Rangers striker) is probably the least popular detective in Police Scotland, but she has Gardner in her sights. A local hardman traps Gardner into disposing of a body in his industrial paper shredder and the horror escalates until it is not clear where the law ends and corruption begins. This is both compelling and horrifying. Unmissable. I am a frequent rail traveller considering my regular trips to see family in Nottingham from London, so I often rant about how pricey the tickets are. The return trip I booked home for this weekend? 103. I could get to Barcelona and back for that, and its incredibly infuriating that Im splurging the same to sit in a cramped carriage for 90 minutes to get halfway up the UK. Urgh. There are always people suggesting ways I could save cash on my train travel. Some say book months in advance (hardly convenient diary-wise); others say leave it until the last minute to grab a cheap deal. Then there are all the hacks about what days to buy tickets and travel on but the advice is so conflicting, its hard to know where to start. There's so much conflicting advice as to the best time to book train tickets If you feel the same way, I have good news. A train driver with more than 23 years on the tracks, Alan Kemp, has teamed up with the travel experts at Ski Vertigo to compile his five top tips for getting your tickets as cheap as possible. Spoiler: youre currently going about planning your travel all wrong Never book on a Friday or Sunday Fridays and Sundays are the most popular days to book trains: people finally get around to it after work, or sit down on Sunday to plan for the week ahead, says Kemp. Because of that, its then that demand surges and prices rise. Youre booking at peak time, even if youre not travelling at one. Book at 10am on a Tuesday Kemp says that 10am on a Tuesday is without question the best time to bag cheap fares. Ticket prices tend to reset or adjust after the weekend, and by Tuesday morning, operators quietly release unclaimed lower fares. But he warns you only have a small window to snag the best deal. By lunchtime, the best deals will be gone, Kemp says. So 10am until noon is the sweet spot. Split your ticket You might have seen this option when you use Trainline, but probably (like me) dont know what it means. But splitting the ticket into two or three legs say buying a ticket from Nottingham to Leicester, and then a separate ticket from Leicester to London is perhaps the most effective way to save money. Youd be surprised how much you can save by splitting up your journey, Kemp advises, and you usually dont even have to change trains. There are online tools for it now like Trainline, but checking manually might shave even more off. Know when to book in advance It's better to book in advance, but not more than a month before travelling This is the real dividing question: how far in advance do you book your tickets? Booking ahead isnt always cheaper, especially for quick journeys, Kemp explains. But for long-distance routes, youre usually better off booking in advance. So when is the sweet spot: days, weeks or even months? According to Kemp: The sweet spot is about three or four weeks before travel. If you book it earlier, you might in fact overpay. But leave it later and prices may start creeping up. Travel after 10am if you can Okay, you cant always be picky about when you travel. But if you do have flexibility, the cheapest time is always after 10am. The 6am to 9am commuter window is the most expensive time to travel. If your schedule allows, catch a train after 10am. Off-peak fares kick in, and youll get a quieter carriage too. There are so many captivating things about The White Lotus season three that its hard to keep track the lush Thai setting, the soundtrack, the hypnotic dynamic between the main characters. But have to admit that the outfits also have caught our attention, because as ever on The White Lotus, the fashion choices are top notch. Its no wonder, given that the characters are largely part of the mega-rich set, that we find ourselves pining over some of those dresses, and much of the swimwear. The jewellery too is excellent, although unlike all the designer gear, much of it could actually be relatively affordable because again and again, the show has featured Missoma. Many of the actresses including Parker Posey, Leslie Gibb and Charlotte Le Bon are seen sporting pieces from the brand in their roles in The White Lotus, most of it lush yellow-gold pieces that fit with the warm, glow-y vibe of an island retreat. Charlotte Le Bon plays Chloe One pair of earrings we particularly love is the Zenyu Fan Chandelier Earrings (145), worn by Le Bons character Chloe, which are made from 18ct gold plated brass, and feature bobble-trimmed charms in delicate hoops. The Princess of Wales has, in fact, previously worn the same earrings, in her case to attend The Royal Variety Performance in 2021. The Princess of Wales is also a Missoma fan Plenty of other pieces from Missomas collection are also worn in the show, including a pair of Waffle Mini Hoops (119) worn by Leslie Bibb as her character Kate, and a Horn Necklace (below) worn by Le Bon. Large Horn Pendant Necklace 149, Missoma Missoma has posted about many of the pieces worn on screen and behind-the-scenes on its Instagram page, where fans of the brand say they have enjoyed spotting their favourite pieces popping up on the show. Leslie Bibb as Kate, wearing Missoma's Waffle Hoops As for much of the rest of the fashion though, were afraid its wall-to-wall Gucci, Valentino, Loewe and similar which will we may not be able to buy it, is at least very enjoyable to watch. To get more of what you love from your favourite Sunday supplement, follow us on Instagram (@youmagazine), Facebook (YOU Magazine) and X (@YOUMagSocial). CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins was left stunned when the Secretary of Veteran Affairs turned the tables on her by asking about a $5 million settlement the network made for slandering a veteran. The CNN star had been trying to grill VA Secretary Doug Collins about the Signal group chat debacle just days after a reporter for The Atlantic was accidentally sent bombing plans for Yemen. But Secretary Collins (no relation) wanted no part in debating an issue he had nothing to do with. 'I was not involved in the chat. I trust the president's opinion on it. I trust what's been going on,' Secretary Collins said. 'Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. My opinion is that my job is to take care of veterans in this country as they come out of service, and that's what I'm going to continue to do.' The CNN star - who has faced off with Trump on the subject - continued to press the VA secretary for answers but he held firm. 'Kaitlan, as I've just told you, I've just answered the question,' he responded. 'I wasn't a part of it and, you know, I'm not going to speculate more than what the president has already talked about, and those who have been involved have talked about, but would love to talk about the veterans.' As the anchor remained undeterred, Secretary Collins decided he would have no more and took aim at CNN's most embarrassing recent moments. Star CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins (pictured left) was left stunned by VA Secretary Doug Collins (pictured right) after he dropped a reference to the network being forced to pay a $5 million settlement for slandering a veteran The senior White House correspondent spoke with Doug Collins (pictured right) about the report but he had no interest in discussing an issue that he was not involved with 'Well, Kaitlan, since you undoubtedly don't want to talk about the VA, I have a question as VA secretary,' he warned. 'I want to ask you because I've been curious about this, because my job is to take care of veterans, and I would like to know why CNN is hostile to veterans, especially one in Florida where you just had a $5 million defamation suit taking offense at a veteran who is trying to help people.' Jurors found the embattled network liable for defaming Zachary Young, 49, at a Florida courthouse in late January after falsely accusing him of running a 'black market' for Afghanistan evacuations. Young, who sued for $15 million, will take home even more cash than the amount so-far awarded, as it does not take into account punitive damages. Secretary Collins pressed further: 'In fact, one of your employees actually said, 'We're going to nail him.' I have a question for you, Kaitlan. Is that employee still employed? Are you really concerned about veterans?' He dug in deeper: 'So if we don't want to talk about veterans now, you want to talk about everything else, I'd like to hear from CNN as the veteran cabinet secretary why CNN seems to have a problem with veterans.' Finally, the face of CNN's prime time lineup attempted to push back, responding: 'Well, Mr. Secretary, respectfully, my question was about-' 'Answer my question, Kaitlan,' Secretary Collins fired back. Secretary Collins decided he would have no more and turned the tables to one of CNN's most embarrassing recent moments, having to pay $5 million to Zachary Young, pictured, after suing the network for defamation 'I want to ask you because I've been curious about this, because my job is to take care of veterans, and I would like to know why CNN is hostile to veterans, especially one in Florida where you just had a $5 million defamation suit taking offense at a veteran who is trying to help people,' said Secretary Collins That's when the head of veterans affairs pointed out that he'd already answered the question. 'What you want to do is talk about a subject I've already answered? I've answered your question, why don't you answer mine? Is this person still employed who said they were gonna nail one of my veterans, who he had to do a $5 million award from the jury because of defamation, and then you settled the case? Answer my question.' The anchor wouldn't budge, replying: 'Respectfully sir, I'm asking the questions here and I have no involvement in what you're referencing there.' She then reverted back to the discussion at hand with no further incident. Young is a US Navy veteran turned security consultant helped evacuate Afghan people to safety following President Biden's disastrous withdrawal in 2021. He was named in a CNN segment claiming private contractors were charging up to $14,000 for 'black market' evacuations. Young said he'd never accepted any money from Afghans who needed rescued and relied on corporate and nongovernmental organization sponsorships to help people flee. CNN aired this image of Zachary Young with a strap on the bottom that read: 'Afghans trying to flee Taliban face Black Markets'. He is suing the network for tying him to the black markets CNN host Pamela Brown told viewers apologized on behalf of the network on-air The network has been battling sagging ratings and vows from conservative lawmakers including Trump himself to crack down on what they claim is an unfair liberal bias. The defamatory broadcast was screened in November 2021 and opened with Jake Tapper claiming Afghans trying to flee the surging Taliban 'face a black market full of promises, demand of exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.' Tapper then cut to CNN's chief security correspondent Alex Marquardt claiming that an Afghan man in the US had found people on Facebook charging $10,000 to evacuate relatives. Marquardt claimed 'desperate Afghans are now being exploited' by 'exorbitant and impossible' amounts. It then displayed a LinkedIn post from Zachary Young advertising his services. Young filed his defamation lawsuit in 2022 and successfully alleged that CNN had damaged his reputation by lying that he was taking advantage of the withdrawal. After being threatened by Young, CNN made an apology, issued a retraction and removed the segment from public view. But in depositions screened during the hearing, senior staff say the network should never have apologized to Young. A far-right commentator who befriended Donald Trump has not yet been able to convince members of his administration to let her sit in the White House's briefing room. Laura Loomer, 31, said so in an interview Thursday, weeks after press secretary Karoline Leavitt raised eyebrows with the creation of a 'new media seat' - one located in the front of the press room and previously reserved for press secretary staff. That was on January 29, and its implementation was seemingly to give a platform to more conservative voices amid concerns the DC press corps leans too liberal. But Loomer, who turned heads by appearing repeatedly with Trump on his campaign trail, has yet to occupy the seat despite her very high profile. She told The Bulwark's Will Sommer how despite being one of more than 7,400 to apply the day after the announcement, she has not received a pass - pointing to a string of 'scoops' she said warrants one. She told Sommers, 'Im certainly more high-profile than a lot of the other people who have applied,' after several conservative podcasters were invited to the White House Thursday. 'I applied the day the application opened!' she added on X, tagging Leavitt, who had told reporters the seat would be repurposed to welcome 'independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers, and content creators.' Loomer, once the Republican nominee to represent Florida's 21st district, fits that criteria in spades - and is now seemingly questioning why her high-powered president friend isn't streamlining the process to snag her a seat. Trump ally Laura Loomer, 31, has not yet been able to convince members of his administration to let her sit in the White House's briefing room, she said in an interview this week. The two are seen together in August, during the president's campaign Loomer said so to The Bulwark Thursday, weeks after press secretary Karoline Leavitt raised eyebrows by announcing the creation a 'new media seat'. On Thursday, she welcome several conservative podcasters to The White House for a so-called 'Podcast Row' 'I really hope to get one so I can keep exposing corrupt judges and abuse of taxpayer funds,' Loomer went on, after penning a story this month that led to about Hunter Bidens Secret Service detail being pulled. The move was made by Trump himself, after The New York Post reported Hunter had recently traveled to South Africa with 18 taxpayer-funded Secret Service agents. The report cited Loomer as a source. 'Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer,' Trump wrote on Truth Social early last week, adding how Ashley Biden - Joe Biden's fashion designer daughter - had 13 agents assigned to her as well. Her Secret Service coverage was stripped as well, Trump said. Former President Biden extended protection for his family until July as a last-ditch move before leaving office, saying it was because they were being 'subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me the worst kind of partisan politics. 'Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,' he added, after pardoning son Hunter for tax and gun convictions that would have seen him put in prison. Secret Service protection for a president's family generally conclude with the politician's presidency, while leaders and their spouses get lifetime protection. Trump did not mention Loomer when making his decree on March 17, but repeated aspects of the Post report said to have come from her in his post. Nowhere to be found was Loomer, who traveled with Trump around the world during his campaign this past fall She's now complaining about not getting a pass - after figures like David Freiheit, a Canadian political commentator with 638,000 subscribers on YouTube, and Breanna Morello, an independent journalist, Natalie Winters, the co-host of Steve Bannons 'War Room', did 'There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous!' he raged, after Loomer said she learned of the unverified trip. 'He is currently vacationing in, of all places, South Africa, where the Human Rights of people has been strenuously questioned. 'Because of this, South Africa has been taken off our list of Countries receiving Economic and Financial Assistance,' the president added, noting, 'Likewise, Ashley Biden, who has 13 agents, will be taken off the list.' Loomer, meanwhile, told Sommer how she has even gone to White House directly to get into a briefing Thursday 'Leavitt and [White House communications director Steven] Cheung didnt respond to my requests for comment.' 'Perhaps theres just a backlog, but it would be an honor,' she speculated on X, as several podcasters with similar political beliefs participated in Podcast Row Thursday, for an event meant to engage alternative media. 'Hey everybody, today is Podcast Row here at the White House and our team has gathered a room full of podcasters with cabinet officials, White House officials who are talking to them about the president and his agenda, Leavitt said in a video touting the meeting on X, taking shots at other networks as well. 'And I bet you, the people in that room have much more viewers than CNN and the legacy media, just saying,' she laughed. 'Were proud to welcome them to the White House.' Trump was widely criticized for traveling with Loomer last fall, largely due to some of her past comments. Aside from celebrating the deaths of migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, Loomer has billed herself as a White nationalist while pedaling conspiracy theories Attendees reportedly included David Freiheit, a Canadian political commentator with 638,000 subscribers on YouTube, and Breanna Morello, an independent journalist who previously worked for Fox and Newsmax. Natalie Winters, the co-host of Steve Bannons War Room on Rumble, was also invited. The guests were able to speak with figures like Robert F Kennedy Jr and Linda McMahon at length, with Loomer left out in the cold. She wrote this month: I really want a White House Press pass. Could you imagine what I could help expose with one of those? I really want one. '@PressSec I applied the day the application opened! I really hope to get one so I can keep exposing corrupt judges and abuse of taxpayer funds.' This comes after Trump was widely criticized for traveling with Loomer last fall, largely due to some of her past comments. Aside from celebrating the deaths of migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea last year, Loomer has billed herself as a white nationalist, and has pedaled conspiracy theories like Kamala Harris not actually being black. She gained prominence after being suspended from Barry University in Florida for attempting to create the 'Sympathetic Students in Support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' club., and offered theories that the 2018 Parkland school shooting - where 17 people were killed - was staged. She also once expressed a desire for Leavitt's job - doing so in 2023 It was reported in April 2023 that Trump was intent on offering Loomer a job, only for the proposition to be met with dismay from his aides. Months later, Loomer said she was coming for the role Leavitt currently holds - another bid that failed to come to fruition. 'Someday I will be his [Trumps] Press Secretary,' she wrote at the time. 'I will protect him from all of his enemies and haters. 'They will meet their match in me,' she concluded. '#Trump2024.' Labour is 'actively considering' adopting EU rules to mandate a host of safety technology in all new cars sold in the UK. More than five years after Brexit, ministers say they are in the process of determining which of 19 safety systems required for models sold in Europe since last summer are 'right for Britain', despite UK motorists describing some of the features as 'dangerous, distracting and useless'. The European Union's 'New Vehicle General Safety Regulation' - also known as GSR2 or Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 - came into effect across Europe on 7 July 2024. It demands that all motor vehicles must have a suite of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), including the likes of Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA), Emergency Lane Keeping Systems (ELKS) and Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB). Yet, more than half (54 per cent) of Britons polled in a national survey say they switch off at least one feature like this in their own motors, despite them being designed to help them adhere to speed limits, not veer out of motorway lanes and avoid impending collisions respectively. Motorists told consumer watchdog Which? they are often infuriated by incessant warning bongs from these systems - or feel too uncomfortable relinquishing control to tech in their cars. More than five years after Brexit, ministers say they are in the process of determining which of 19 safety systems required for models sold in Europe since last summer are 'right for Britain' The topic was a case of discussion earlier this month, with Labour saying it is looking at replicating the EU rules, despite there being no obligation to do so following Britain's divorce from the European Union on 1 January 2020. When asked about the UK adopting the same rules by Liberal Democrat transport spokeswoman Baroness Pidgeon on 19 March, Lord Henry, Minister of State at the Department for Transport, told the House of Lords: 'Prior to the United Kingdom leaving the EU, UK officials had worked on the range of 19 new vehicle technologies that she refers to. 'The Government have commissioned analysis to determine which of those technologies are right for Great Britain. 'This is under really active consideration at the moment.' GRS2 regulations have been introduced over a three-phase period in the EU, beginning in July 2022. Included among the 19 mandatory features demanded for new cars entering European showrooms from 7 July 2024 is ISA. This automatic speed limiter system can detect speed limits and warn drivers with repeated audible alerts and vibration of the steering wheel if they are exceeding it - and can even automatically limit the car's engine power if a motorist refuses to slow down. The EU rules stipulate that ISA cannot be permanently disabled and instead has to automatically activate each time the vehicle starts. It is then up to the driver if they want to turn it off before each journey. Intelligent Speed Assistance is only mandated for new models sold in the EU from 7 July 2024. However, This is Money exclusively revealed last year that it will be fitted to almost all UK cars as mainstream manufacturers confirm they will equip their new models with these systems Under the EU GSR2 regulation, ISA must be active every time the car's engine starts - but there also must be the option for drivers to turn it off for each journey. Volume-selling brands have told us how to do this in their new vehicles Your browser does not support iframes. Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning (DDAW) is also demanded of all new models sold in Europe. This system detect signs of driver fatigue or distraction and again sounds a warning alarm to the user. Another requirement is for Alcohol Interlock Installation Facilitation (AIIF). This makes it easier to fit aftermarket alcohol interlock devices in vehicles if governments are to future legislate that former drink drive offenders need to have them fitted to their cars requiring them to blow a zero sample before it allows the engine to be started. Yousif Al Ani, principal engineer at UK-based automotive risk intelligence specialist Thatcham Research, said: 'Crash avoidance is the future of automotive safety. 'Modern vehicles are very good at protecting occupants in the event of a collision through passive safety features, such as airbags and crumple zones, but these have limited benefit to Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs). 'KSI [killed or seriously injured] statistics amongst VRUs remain stubbornly high at more than 11,000 each year. 'The key to reducing these numbers is through the wider introduction of active crash avoidance systems.' EU mandated new vehicle safety technologies through the General Safety Regulation (GSR2) Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA): recognises traffic signs and provides an overspeed warning. It warns the driver when the speed limit is exceeded to increase speed limit compliance and reduce the severity of collisions. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB): a collision avoidance feature that scans the forward path of the vehicle for potential impact targets and applies braking to avoid or mitigate a collision. Driver Drowsiness & Attention Warning (DDAW): an occupant monitoring feature using a driver-facing camera for direct driver monitoring. If it detects a driver looking away from the road for too long, it triggers warnings. Emergency Lane Keeping System (ELKS): a collision avoidance feature using forward-facing cameras and RADARs to prevent a vehicle leaving the lane of travel. Alcohol Interlock Installation Facilitation (AIIF): allowing for the application of aftermarket alcohol interlock devices in vehicles. Event Data Recorder (EDR): a black box in all cars that records and stores vehicle data shortly before, during, and immediately after a road traffic collision. Electronic Stability Programme (ESP): helps to prevent a loss of control in cornering and during emergency steering by stabilising the car if it veers off its intended path. This is generally already fitted to most new models. Emergency Stop Signal (ESS): when brakes are forcefully applied, the rear indicator lights will flash to alert other vehicles behind the car. Reversing Detection Systems (RD): alerts the driver to the presence of people or objects at the rear of the vehicle with the primary aim of avoiding collisions when reversing. Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS): monitors tyre air pressure and provides feedback in real-time to the driver to prevent accidents caused by under-inflated tyres. Cybersecurity: addresses the increase in connected vehicles on European roads which require robust cybersecurity to prevent them from being stolen. Systems to replace driver control: includes 'Level Three' autonomous features which will pave the way for Automated Vehicles to be adopted in the EU. Source: Thatcham Research Most of the EU mandated safety features as part of GSR2 regulations - like emergency lane keep systems - are already installed in new models in UK showrooms today. Here's why Most of these features are already in new UK models... As Lord Henry pointed out in the House of Lords earlier this month, because the car manufacturing industry is 'international', many vehicles sold in Britain in the last year - and prior - will already comply with GSR2. Thatcham says car makers have applied the system to new models sold in the UK over concerns it could 'be at risk of falling behind in automotive safety by not adopting it'. This is Money also found this to be the case during an investigation into the application of ISA last year. We contacted the 32 top-selling brands in the UK in 2024 (which represent 98.9 per cent of the new car market) to find out if their UK models will be equipped with Intelligent Speed Assistance from 7 July - and what is the protocol to turn it off before each journey. Almost all said they either already are or will be installing the tech. Most of the features mandated under GSR2 regulation are already fitted to most new cars sold in the UK. This includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) Drivers finding EU-mandated systems too intrusive Al Ani explained that with the requirement to install ADAS in modern cars, vehicle manufacturers will 'need to address concerns from drivers that these systems, such as Emergency Lane Keeping Systems, interfere with their driving experience'. He added: 'Striking a balance between safety, performance, and integration to create systems that cooperate with drivers is a real challenge for manufacturers.' But a recent poll of 1,500 UK drivers by Which? found that many motorists are already frustrated by such technology. The consumer watchdog found that speed assist is being switched off by nearly half (46 per cent) of users who have it installed in their motors. Most people surveyed said they had disabled this function because they felt they didn't need it. Lane-keep assist was the second safety feature most likely to be disabled according to Which?'s survey (42 per cent). Half of those who said they switch it off did so because they found it either dangerous, annoying or distracting. On-board cameras and sensors detect lane and road-edge markings and manoeuvre the driver into staying in their lane but this may be flawed while driving on narrow roads and can fail to account for cyclists or parked cars. Last year, Which? and This is Money received hundreds of complaints from MG4 EV owners who told both us and the consumer watchdog that the system in their Chinese electric cars would steer them into danger rather than help them to avoid it. The third safety feature drivers were likely to switch off according to the Which? survey was emergency braking (34 per cent). Elsewhere, almost another third said they had turned off the attention or drowsiness monitoring feature. Three in 10 motorists also told Which? they switch off their blind-spot monitoring feature because they didn't need it, or they found it distracting or annoying. The iconic WH Smith brand will disappear from British high streets after the retailer agreed a 76million sale of the business to a London-based investment boutique. The retailer has been in talks with potential buyers since late January as it opted to call time on ever-shrinking sales in the high street business, which has been eclipsed by booming trade in airports and train stations. WH Smith told investors on Friday it would sell the unit to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital, which is also reportedly considering a bid for Lakeland, on a cash and debt-free basis. The group, whose brand is not included in the sale, said the deal would allow it to 'concentrate on capturing the substantial growth opportunities in its key travel markets with a clear focus on driving shareholder value'. Carl Cowling, group chief executive, said the sale was a 'pivotal moment' for the group and its 'ambition to become the leading global travel retailer'. Around 75 per cent of WH Smith's revenues and 85 per cent of its trading profit now comes from its travel business, which has a footprint of over 1,200 stores across 32 countries. WH Smith's store in London's Victoria train station reflects the direction of travel for WH Smith But the high street business remains profitable and cash generative, currently employing around 5,000 staff across roughly 480 stores in primary locations across the UK and from its Swindon based support centre. Led by current high street boss Sean Toal, the new business does not include personalised online greeting card business funkypigeon.com but WHSmith said on Friday it would also 'explore strategic options' for the unit, including a possible sale. Analysts have previously warned a sale of the business, which will eventually rebrand as TGJones, could result in the closure of almost half of stores. WH Smith said the sale would enhance revenue growth and profit margins, while helping the group to maintain 'attractive' cash flow generation. It highlighted forecasts for growing volumes of air travel over the next 25 years, as well as investment in airport infrastructure, as strong structural growth trends. WH Smith said its travel business, which generated sales of almost 1.5billion last year, would focus on increasing spend per passenger and numbers of passengers, optimising use of space, and growth in new and existing markets. Cowling added: 'With the ongoing strength in our UK Travel division, and the scale of the growth opportunities in both North America and the Rest of the World, we are in our strongest ever position to deliver enhanced growth as we move forward as a pure play travel retailer. 'With a clear strategy, a strong balance sheet, and operations in high growth and attractive markets, we are well-positioned to generate substantial growth and value for all stakeholders.' This is the moment hammer-wielding vandals splashed a London home with red paint in a suspected turf war among Chinese gangs. Properties across England have been vandalised and spray-painted with the word 'brothel' as part of a series of mysterious nighttime attacks over the last year and a half. The motive for the attacks has been unclear, with speculation they could be part of a protest - but now the finger has been pointed at Chinese organised crime gangs. New CCTV footage obtained by London Centric has for the first time recorded the attackers speaking in Mandarin with accents associated with northern China. The video, filmed earlier this month, shows a man using a hammer to smash the windows of a property in Acton, West London, as two associates deface it with pots of paint and motor oil. Oliver Chan, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Birmingham, has suggested the attacks were carried out by gangsters attempting to intimidate rivals running brothels or people in debt to loan sharks. Neighbours of some of the properties targeted in London have received handwritten notes through their letterboxes stating that a nearby property is a brothel - although whether any actually are remains unclear. More than a dozen attacks have happened in London over the past 18 months, with more reported in Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Reading, Huddersfield and Clacton-on-Sea. A man smashes a window with a hammer during a night time attack in Acton earlier this month Two associates are then seen hurling cans of red pain and motor oil at the front of the property Red paint daubed on a house on Chingford Road in Walthamstow, north London Mr Chan said that 'red paint splashing' was a tactic regularly used by loan sharks in Hong Kong and cities in mainland China to remind the owners to pay their debts or as an 'intimidation act' against rivals. 'The use of red paint, instead of other-colour paints, traditionally symbolises anger and impulsion,' he told The Times. 'It is used to threaten or to intimidate someone they want to warn, in many instances their debtors, and is common in Chinese societies, especially in the southern part of China and neighbouring countries of major Chinese communities or societies. 'It is more commonly seen as a threat or warning to those who are in debt to loan sharks, who often operate in an organised criminal network'. Last week, two houses and a tool shop in Walthamstow, east London, were vandalised with red and black paint in the early hours of Thursday. One victim, who asked to remain anonymous, said their CCTV had caught around three to five men walking 'brazenly' through the street with paint at around 2.30am. Another told MailOnline that their children were terrified and woke up thinking the red paint sprayed on the window was 'blood'. Neighbours living around Chingford Road and Cazenove Road where the incident took place said they were unaware of allegations the main target of the attack was a brothel. The word 'brothel 'graffitied on the corner of a house in Walthamstow Council officials have been trying to remove the red paint from the property Last week, two houses and a tool shop in Walthamstow, east London , were vandalised with red and black paint in the early hours of Thursday morning One said: 'I do not know who lives there. I think the attack happened in the evening - that is all.' Another added: 'I just woke up and saw it. Everyone has been talking about it on our WhatsApp chat. We had no idea.' It came three weeks after a row of houses in nearby Leytonstone also had red paint and motor oil thrown over the front of them. The properties on Norman Road were attacked at around 2.30am on February 19, with a bed-and-breakfast - the main target of the attack - accused of being a brothel. One local told MailOnline he and his partner have been left with up to 15,000 worth of 'extensive' damage to their property which dates from 1892. He said: 'The cost of the damage is extensive. We are fortunate as we have insurance. But I think for people renting or if you are a new homeowner - this could be devastating for you. 'This is at the extreme end but we got a quote yesterday, for that it would be around 15,000. And that is because they have thrown motor oil on the brick which date from 1892. 'Our brick is very old. It is very porous. It might be that you just can't get the oil out and you need to replace all the bricks on the front of the property. 'So like, there's really extreme options. So you know, it could range from 3,000 or 4,000 all the way up that 15,000 if you wanted to. A graffiti removal expert attempts to remove the red paint as part of a clean up operation There has been intense speculation over the motive behind the vandalism 'The paint looks very violent but the motor oil is slightly more insidious. When it happened that was the most scary. It had a very pungent smell. 'So yes the oil was probably worse than the paint. It was quite serious damage to a house like ours.' The homeowner said they first noticed something was wrong when they woke up at around 7am on February 19. He said: 'Obviously we were concerned that it had just been targeted towards our house. We have lived here for five years and never felt unsafe. 'We then went out to the front of the house, and it seemed that it had happened again for a stretch of houses. 'The paint and the oil had been thrown all over the front of the properties. We phoned the police immediately. It was around 7 o'clock in the morning. 'They said they just couldn't send anyone out. But they gave us a crime number and said there is nothing much we can do. They said as long as we recorded what the state of the property was then we could start cleaning up. 'That was kind of the only advice we were really given. 'What they used to throw the oil on the house is like left on our window. So there's a bowl. 'Very soon afterwards we got an email that said - essentially - that there would be no further investigation because there's no CCTV. And there's nothing they could do.' More than a dozen attacks have taken place in London, with more across England Locals who spoke to MailOnline were unsure why specific properties had been targeted The homeowner added: 'We went on to speak to neighbours to see if they had any footage. 'Bizarrely there's a gate right by our house, and someone has a camera that faces towards their car for security purposes, and they were they were going to look at that and kind of see if there was footage there for them. 'We went back to the police and asked why the investigation was closed due to lack of evidence. Because again they had left materials by our house. 'They had also put a note through our door saying that the bed-and-breakfast was a brothel and it also had a number on it. 'There's a caravan over the road and on some of the walls further down the road someone had spray-painted exactly the same message. 'From our point of view, we can't understand the lack of evidence, because there's loads of things you can come and collect. It's really disappointing. Asked about the bed-and-breakfast that was the main target of the attack, he said: 'I can't say anything about the people that live there. But we feel very safe in the area that we live in. 'If you look at the property it's on rental stuff. We've never had any problems. It's not noisy. We've never had an issue with people going back and forth. 'It was a surprise. I guess no one knows why apart from the people that did it. 'I don't know the logic behind it. It's just all really confusing. I don't think these attacks do anything to remedy the situation. In our opinion it is just very random. 'I don't understand why multiple properties are being targeted. It is never just one. It's an assumption that we are complicit in the brothel as we are the houses nearby.' Another red paint attack that took place in Caversham, a suburb of Reading This was the second property in the area to be vandalised in this way in three months The Met Police told MailOnline that no arrests have been made so far in connection with any of the attacks. A spokesman for the force said: 'We are aware of a number of incidents whereby addresses in the Leytonstone area have been criminally damaged with red paint in the last month. 'These incidents are being investigated by the local Safer Neighbourhoods Team to ensure all investigative leads are explored and support is provided to the victims of these incidents. 'At this stage there has been no arrest and enquiries into the circumstances continue.' A number of other paint attacks on suspected brothels have also been reported across other parts of the UK in the past year. In Reading, a building was targeted overnight with red and white paint in March 2024. Shocking photos show two large smears of red and black paint on the front of the block of flats with the word 'brothel' written three times on the side. A telephone number was also written on the side of the dark grey building in black paint. Moreover, in December 2023, an Asian massage parlour was attacked just a few streets away from the block of flats in the Berkshire town. The word brothel was scrawled on the side of the building three times. The building in Caversham was targeted overnight with the windows and doors also covered in paint Furthermore, two apartment blocks in Bradford city centre were vandalised with red paint and the words 'brothel' or 'borthel' at the end of last year. The incidents happened more than a month apart, at the addresses on Stone Street and Rawson Place - which are within walking distance of each other. Local Andrew Mitchell told the BBC: 'We don't really know what these people are getting at. 'Whether they're claiming there's a brothel in the place or a ''borthel'', as they're calling it. 'We've looked into this and had the police go in there and they claim that they've not found anything.' West Yorkshire Police told MailOnline that while two men had been seen on CCTV - no arrests have been made yet in connection to either incident. A West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman previously said: 'No suspect has been identified in the Stonegate House incident. 'There is nothing to suggest a link between that incident in Stone Street from September and the one in Rawson Place. 'There is an ongoing investigation and two males, dressed in black clothing, have been seen on CCTV.' MailOnline has contacted the force for an updated statement. The winners of this year's Stelios Foundation Young Entrepreneurs Awards have been announced as three rising stars in both future technologies and social housing construction. Shortlisted from an impressive 180 applicants, each prize winner heads a start-up business that promises to create jobs and inspire innovation here in the UK. Taking the top prize of 150,000 is Ayan Mohamed with her autonomous robotic company Digitech Oasis which she started alone in her bedroom. Since its launch, the business has secured scores of lucrative contracts by using robots to make businesses more efficient. 'This prize money is very exciting,' Ayan shared just before accepting the hefty check during a ceremony at the foundation's headquarters on Thursday, 27 March. Three promising entrepreneurs secure their share of 300k: The Stelios Foundation names the recipients of the Young Entrepreneurs Awards UK 2025 (Left to right: Andy Evangelou, Ayan Mohamed, Dorian Payne) Using robotic innovation to help businesses become more efficient, Ayan Mohamed (pictured) and her business, Digitech Oasis, secured the top award While some of the funds will go towards marketing and winning legal protection for her bots, Ayan plans to use most of the award money to help create a brand-new manufacturing plant in Manchester, employing around 100 people in the North West. Job creation and innovation were a particular focus of easyJet founder and philanthropist Sir Stelios Haji-Ioanno's decision-making as he selected this year's winners. His Stelios Philanthropic Foundation embodies the founder's commitment to giving back, and the awards are designed to support the next generation of entrepreneurs, being a launchpad from which they can become one of Britain's big future employers. Not only do the winners benefit from a share of the 300,000 no-strings-attached cash on offer, but they also receive mentoring from Sir Stelios himself as they progress in the business world. Ayan Mohamed's plan to create 'North West version of Silicon Valley' Having moved to the UK at 17 from Nairobi, Kenya, Ayan Mohamed fell in love with the hardworking spirit of the North during her time at Leeds University. That shaped her decision to base her company in Manchester, both the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and where the first computer came from. 'Manchester has really inspiring entrepreneurs. The whole collaborative spirit of the city is what makes it so great,' she explains. Discussing her entrepreneurial instinct, Ayan credits her parents who 'built a really successful life for themselves' back in Nairobi, Kenya As for her entrepreneurial spirit, she credits her parents as instilling that in her from an early age: 'My dad and my mum built a really successful life for themselves. The instinct came from them. At 15, I started my first business in high school.' Taking commissions for planning parties as a teenager, Ayan would provide her customers with complete event packages before starting her second business in selling electronics and watches online before enrolling at university as an international student. While studying, Ayan taught herself to code in her spare time which set her on a path to securing both a competitive internship and starting her first digital start-up. On a self-funded trip to China, she was introduced to the latest AI and tech software before bringing it back to the UK. 'Initially, it was supposed to be a two-week trip but it ended up being two months,' she said. 'And from there, I was able to work with a few Chinese partners who were able to explain the AI landscape to me.' With this newly acquired knowledge, she was able to launch Digitech Oasis, the business that gained momentum at a staggering pace and created a headquarters in Manchester with the aim of creating a North West version of Silicon Valley. Hoping to create more job opportunities in the North West, the prize winner has her sights set on opening a manufacturing plant (Ayan pictured with fellow winners and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioanno via video link) Currently employing 25 people, Ayan plans to use her winnings to help open a robot manufacturing facility so her business can produce their hardware in house, instead of relying on suppliers. 'I want to build something big with my business and winning this award will really help us scale up and grow,' she says. 'I'm very much looking to learn from Sir Stelios and he can offer so much in terms of mentorship and knowledge of certain sectors we do not yet reach. We are building Manchester's next unicorn and I'm excited to continue this journey to IPO!' Building more affordable housing across South Wales The Stelios Foundation Young Entrepreneurs Awards' second prize has been awarded to Dorian Payne of Castell Group, a social housing development business that builds affordable homes across South Wales. The 29-year-old Welsh entrepreneur got his start by helping his father, an 'old school builder' who didn't finish school, and his mother, a bookkeeper, with their property portfolio. First in his family to go to university, Dorian Payne (pictured) will use his winnings to create more affordable housing with building company Castell Group Disabled Entrepreneur Awards UK 2025 Now in its 17th year, the Stelios Foundation's other UK award is for disabled entrepreneurs, ran in partnership with disability charity Leonard Cheshire. The award recognises the exceptional achievements of disabled entrepreneurs who have set up their own company in the UK and excel in their chosen business field. This year's applications will open on 2 April 2025. Find out more at stelios.foundation/disabled-entrepreneurs-uk/ 'I was meant to be an electrician working with my dad when they bought some properties to do up themselves,' he explains. 'But I realised I didn't like the manual labour, so helped my mum with the bookkeeping. That was the catalyst for my first business, which was a letting agency.' Dorian was the first in his immediate family to go to university and, while studying for a postgraduate Masters Degree in Quantity Surveying, he spotted a gap in the market for an affordable house building company on his home turf around Newport. The firm now has over 200m worth of housing stock in the pipeline and Dorian says the prize money will go directly towards unlocking more social housing. 'Investing in social housing is direct investment into future generations,' he says. 'If you manage to get people into permanent, safe housing, it reduces the cost of temporary accommodation for the government which they spend billions a year on.' Taking South Wales by storm: Castell Group already has over 200m worth of housing stock in the pipeline For Dorain, while the money is very welcome, it's Sir Stelios' advice and support which will be invaluable: 'You could see that he really knows business. I want to scale nationwide. He scaled globally. Once I get a fraction of his knowledge, it will go a long way hopefully.' From electrician to EV entrepreneur Taking home the 50,000 third place award is Andy Evangelou, 30, who was always surrounded by business owners growing up. 'My dad ran a barbers in Bethnal Green, and my grandparents ran a coffee shop in Canning Town', he explains. 'And since I was young, I've always been quite independent.' From school, he trained to be an electrician and was committed to really learning his craft before turning his deep connections in the community into a thriving business. Taking those first steps on his own proved difficult as he wasn't 'guaranteed [his] money every single month.' He was quick to scale the business from two to ten, and on to 24 employees in just a few years. And when the queries for setting up EV charging stations began to trickle in, the direction for his next venture, Plug In Stations, became clear. 30-year-old entrepreneur Andy Evangelou (pictured) and his EV charging company Plug In Stations secured the award's third prize and hope to acquire their own commercial unit Having identified a gap in the charging market, he established a business specialising in bespoke EV charging stations serving both domestic and commercial clients across the UK. 'It was a risk to do this in 2019, not like today where it would be a sure bet. But I felt that we could do something good. Once you're established as a specialist, everything becomes a lot easier.' Andy's plan for his winnings is for Plug In Stations to buy their own commercial unit. As for his ongoing relationship with Sir Stelios, he finds it 'unbelievable' to just have an email chain with him. 'For entrepreneurs, it's quite a lonely place. It's difficult. No one teaches you this stuff. Someone like Sir Stelios can actually help me massively.' EXCLUSIVE Posters advertising a gay hook-up app have sent a Sydney suburb into turmoil after angry parents complained they were 'offensive'. Residents in Dulwich Hill in the city's inner-west have been divided over posters advertising the gay dating site Squirt.org. 'Come take a load off', a slogan superimposed over a photo of shirtless men read on one of the posters that appeared in a popular walkway this week. 'Come over to Squirt.org and join the action', another read alongside a photo of scantily-clad men holding a rainbow flag. The posters were erected in an main alleyway connecting a carpark to New Canterbury Road and are in close proximity to a public high school. 'Is anyone else quite offended by these posters? This was not around when I was a kid,' one angry parent wrote in a local community page this week. 'The posters are clearly adult themes and pertain to over 18 only. Please reach out as I would love to hear the communities thoughts. 'I feel like we need to keep our children safe.' One of the damaged posters featured the slogan 'Come take a load off' (pictured) Residents of the busy inner-city suburb (pictured) were outraged the 'offensive' posters The post was quickly picked up by other residents, with one accusing the original poster of 'going out of your way to be offended'. 'Yes, I am offended, walking with three kids and seeing this horrible ad. It was just too much. Now they won't stop asking what a 'squirt' is,' the poster shot back. Another resident advised the parent to simply 'tell them'. 'Sometimes honesty is best. That a body squirts should be explained like any other bodily function too. Being cagey about terms only increases the interest in something "mum won't explain",' one said. Some of the posters have been torn down, with a spokesman for the Inner West Council telling Daily Mail Australia it was not clear by whom. 'Our outdoor team said no one was detailed to take the posters down', he said, adding it was possible it was an act of vandalism. The spokesman said the council's regulatory team had not received any complaints relating to the posters. 'If they were offensive posters near a school we would have taken them down but we haven't had any reports,' he said. Posters advertising the gay hook-up app Squirt.org in Dulwich Hill, in Sydney's inner-west, have been torn down after parents accused them of being inappropriate for children Alex, 59, said he did not find the posters personally offensive, but added he could 'see how it could offend some people's sensitivities'. 'Some of the content, I can see people, particularly those with more conservative values, being offended,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'It's definitely out there, that's for sure'. Alex said a random act out vandalism was not out of the question. Restaurant owner The Nguyen, 50, said while graffiti was common in the area, serious crimes were less common. He said the kids who attended schools in the area were generally well-behaved. One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said simply: 'My only thought was that Mardi Gras was over, right?' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Squirt.Org and Dulwich High School of Visual Arts for comment. MAGA 'attack dog' Marjorie Taylor Greene told a Sky News reporter 'to go back to your country' because there is underlying anti-British sentiment in Trump's White House, the journalist at the centre of the row told MailOnline today. Martha Kelner, 35, has revealed she has been inundated with messages from Americans apologising for the MAGA-firebrand's extraordinary outburst following a DOGE hearing in Congress. MTG, as she is known in the US, went on a wild rant telling her 'we dont give a c**p about your opinion' and that she should 'go back to your country' when she was asked about the Signal scandal. Martha Kelner, who says one of the Republican's minders physically blocked her off, joked that she'd been 'Marjoried' but that she's not the first - and won't be the last. Speaking to MailOnline from Washington DC today, she said: 'It was an exercise in deflection. I did expect her to take that tone with me. I didn't take it personally and I'm not a victim. 'The footage has gone viral and had millions and millions of views here in the US and in the UK. I've had messages from people all around the world - but particularly from Americans, saying "We're embarrassed" and that "she doesn't represent our views".' She added: 'There's an anti-British and an anti-Europe thing in this administration. Her shouting at a journalist and being so rude in one of America's most important institutions is not a good look'. When Martha Kelner tried to ask MTG a question, she told he to 'go back to your country' Martha then asked if her anger was an 'exercise in deflection'. MTG replied: 'No this is an exercise in you worry about your own country' A visibly angry MTG said that Britain was putting its servicemen and women are risk in Ukraine Ms Taylor Greene had demanded to know where Ms Kelner was from as soon as she asked about the Signal scandal and whether the message leak put American lives at risk. And when Ms Kelner said she was British, the far-Right politician and conspiracy theorist from Georgia had told her: 'We don't give a c**p about your opinion and your reporting. Why don't you go back to your country? Don't you care about how your women are raped by migrants?'. Martha says she has had many messages from Americans saying they were embarrassed by MTG Sky News' US Correspondent then followed MTG and kept asking the same question repeatedly. It led to Ms Taylor Greene accusing Britain of putting lives at risk in Ukraine. Despite Donald Trump being an avowed Anglophile who worshipped the late Queen Elizabeth II, MTG's outburst shows what the wider MAGA movement thinks of Britain, Martha says. Martha refers to JD Vance's speech in Munich last month where he claimed immigration and the erosion of free speech pose a greater threat to the UK and Europe than Russia. 'Marjorie Taylor Greene knew where I was from. There's an anti-British and an anti-Europe thing in this administration', she said. 'In many ways it just echoes what JD Vance was saying when he appeared at the Munich Security Conference, which is that he doesn't particularly value the relationship with Europe, and perhaps the relationship with Britain as well'. She also pointed to Vance and Pete Hegseth saying they 'loathed' the 'pathetic' continent in a leaked group chat about Europe. 'You can see that from the way talk about Europe in their text exchange, which obviously they thought was private', she said. MTG went nuclear after hearing Martha was not American. She said angrily: 'You should care about your own borders. Let me tell you something, do you care about people from your country? 'What about all the women that are raped by migrants - do you care? Dont you care about how your women are raped by migrants?' She finished: 'You're done. I dont care about your fake news'. MTG had just chaired a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) hearing where she accused NPR and PBS of using taxpayers' money to push left-wing propaganda. Many have remarked on how calm the reporter stayed during the outburst. 'I did expect her to take that tone with me', Martha said. 'I've seen her speaking to numerous journalists like that and when she gets a question that she doesn't like, or a line of questioning that she doesn't like, she goes on the attack, and often it is telling a journalist "to go back to your country' or "we're not interested in your opinion". U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has been branded anti-British and an anti-European Vice President J.D. Vance took European leaders to task in their own back yard with an fiery speech at the Munich Security Conference in February 'I steeled myself for the possibility that she wouldn't like me being there or like me asking those sort of questions before I'd even opened my mouth. 'That's probably why I felt so calm because it's not a surprise, really, it's just the same old frayed playbook of crisis management, which is deny, deflect and attack. 'You have to stay sort of dispassionate. And these are important questions. This is a major communications failing by some of the most key members of the Trump administration, and it was important that she answered those questions. 'It was really great that the US journalist in the clip backed me up as well, because she refused to answer the question and then said: 'I'm going to take a question from an American journalist'. And he said: 'Actually we want the answers to those questions'. When MTG ended the press conference abruptly, Martha and the camera went with her. 'I followed because she'd still not answered the questions. I think you owe it to your audience to keep asking those questions until you get an answer that is satisfying and just attacking me is not addressing the issue at hand', she said. 'Yes, she's very vocal, but she does also represent the MAGA movement. 'She is arguably their most visible spokesperson and she represents the views of a lot of people in the Trump Administration. 'What they're doing at the moment is attacking journalists and trying to discredit journalists. 'You've seen that with the way that they've attacked Jeffrey Goldberg, who has been pretty responsible in in his reporting in The Atlantic. 'It was an exercise in deflection but attacking journalists is not going to make us go away. We're still going to be there. We're still going to be asking the questions. The moment Martha Kelner pursues Marjorie Taylor Greene after she refused to answer her questions because she is British MTG refused to engage with Ms Kelner Ms Kelner says that she has had many more positive than negative messages in the past 24 hours. 'I've had people apologising for how she interacted with me. But to be honest it's just doing my job', she said. 'I've obviously had messages from people saying she's got a point, and negative messages, but nothing definitely outweighed by the amount of sort of positive responses and people saying that she doesn't represent them'. 'There's not been any death threats or anything like that. 'But I've been quite heartened by the fact that I think a lot of people are messaging to say "thank you for keeping asking the questions" and "we want answers to them".' Some have questioned whether the White House could try to make an example of the Sky News reporter. 'I haven't heard from the White House. I don't expect to. I suspect the way the Trump Administration's handling will continue to be that they're trying to tough it out', she said. Did you ever take submarine trip off Hurghada in Egypt? Did you ever take submarine trip off Hurghada in Egypt? Contact perkin.amalaraj@mailonline.co.uk The shocking sinking of a tourist submarine in Egypt that claimed the lives six people yesterday bore chilling echoes of another catastrophe in the same spot just over a decade ago. A German family-of-three tragically died after their submarine with a glass bottom crashed into a reef off the coast of the Egyptian town of Hurghada - where yesterday's submarine disaster unfolded - in February 2012. The crash caused the glass partition to shatter, with water gushing into the vessel and drowning the parents and their child. The other 13 tourists onboard, all of different nationalities, thankfully survived. Four of them were taken to hospital to be treated for injuries, local media reported at the time. This week's tragedy saw the Sindbad submarine, which had dozens of tourists onboard, dive with its hatches still open, according to witnesses. At least six Russians, including two children, were killed, while 39 people have been rescued so far, nine of whom suffered injuries. The 2012 incident caused worry among tourists over safety standards in Egypt, with one traveller writing in a TripAdvisor review for Sindbad Submarines - whose vessel sank yesterday - shortly after that they had not been told about the February sinking. 'This was obviously kept from us and had we known, we wouldn't have gone. Not sure how their "Health and Safety" works out there, but if it were in Europe or the US, the operation would be shut down pending a lengthy enquiry', they added. The rescue site for a sunken tourist submarine in Red Sea off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt The Sindbad submarine sank yesterday afternoon An aerial view on Hurghada town located on the Red Sea coast, Egypt The company responded at the time, writing: 'Although the accident which you write about was very tragic, I can assure you that health and safety issues work just like in any other country in the world and this company, which was a Semi Submarine (glass bottom boat) is now not in operation anymore! 'We are proud to have a clear track record and over the 16 years of operation in Hurghada, we Sindbad Submarines have never had any accidents or incidents. We are yearly inspected by several international agencies like TUV and ABS Europe and are the only real Submarines in the Arab World & North Africa.' There is no suggestion the 2012 incident and the 2025 incidents - which both happened off Hurghada but in different submarines - are linked. But the Red Sea has long been a hotbed of lax safety regulations as well as dangerous and aggressive wildlife, with British tourists now voicing fears that they are being put in danger by their Egyptian guides. According to the UK government's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), 16 accidents have occurred involving liveaboard dive vessels operating in the Red Sea over the last five years. These vessels should be designed to allow tourists to safely live on them for long stretches of time while they take part in scuba diving trips. But the MAIB pointed out to poor construction, bad modifications and extensions on the boats that left them in an unstable state. On top of this, essential lifesaving and firefighting equipment was found to be defective or missing, and crews were reported to be poorly trained in safety. These faults seen on vessels across the Red Sea have lead to several tragedies that have resulted in major losses of life. At least five Russians, including two children, were killed, and at least nine people were injured Your browser does not support iframes. But it's not just dodgy boats tourists have to fear in the Red Sea. The watery inlet is also home to a plethora of deadly, aggressive animals that are known to attack human beings. In December, Gianluca Di Gioia, 48, from Rome, had been snorkelling at a beach located in front of the glamorous Red Sea Sataya Resort on the coast of Marsa Alam with his friend when he was mauled by a tiger shark. As for yesterday's Sindbad sinking, details are still emerging. Last night, tourist Elena Boldareva revealed she and her husband were fortunate to be able to swim out of the tourist submersible as water began pouring, she said. Her daughter and mother were taken to hospital in serious condition, among the 39 rescued after it sank this morning. 'Some managed to swim out, some didn't,' she said. Boldareva described how people tried to save themselves as best they could while tourists on boats nearby rushed to pull people out of the water. One survivor, who was not named, gave a similar recollection to Russian outlet Mash. 'When my family and I were standing on a pontoon and were about to board the submarine, the submarine suddenly started to sink, even though the hatches were open,' she said. 'The man who was responsible for loading shouted stop, stop, stop and started pushing us back towards the pontoon.' She claimed the submarine began to descend before everyone was on board. The harrowing suggestion that the hatch had been left open came as warnings from other holidaymakers emerged, sharing how past experiences left them shaken. A Tripadvisor user from Bridgend claimed: 'They also "big up" the qualifications of the captain. But constantly bumping the sub on the sea floor is not good for the sea life, sea floor, my sanity or ultimately I'd say the sub!' Holidaymaker Alexander S said he would not recommend the experience. 'The submarine hit the rocks/ corals several times and swirled the sand etc up,' he wrote on Tripadvisor. The submarine has been operating for several years (file image) Another user added: 'This is a big scam. Boarding is unsafe. We hardly saw anything.' Eugenia M said: 'I take full blame for trusting a scam, but honestly, thats exactly what this tour felt like. 'I still cant wrap my head around how someone can knowingly take your money and risk your safety.' One British holidaymaker also revealed how they were on the doomed Sindbad submarine just days before it sank off the coast of Egypt. Kelly Collins, 32, said she would never go on a submarine again after learning how tourists were killed this morning. The HGV driver, from Wigan, said that she and her partner, Sharon, 54, booked a dive in the submarine only on Monday after seeing it advertised on social media. She said they spent around 40 minutes in the submarine and some 25 metres under the surface before returning to land by boat. 'I'm shocked, saddened and in disbelief to hear the news about the poor people on the submarine,' she said today. 'I think this has put me off submarines.' Ms Collins said that the experience began with a 30-minute boat ride out to a docking platform before getting into the submarine. A husband and wife named as Ravil Valiullin, 40, and Kristina, 39, were reportedly on board the vessel when it sank The pair's daughters aged ten and 15, who were also reportedly on board the doomed vessel have survived the ordeal An ambulance and a police vehicle stand in front of The Egyptian Hospital in Hurghada, Egypt, 27 March 2025 'The submarine trip was 40 minutes approximately and then a 30-minute boat ride back to the shore,' she said. The tours are advertised to holidaymakers visiting the region, a destination popular with Brits. Tom McDowell, 63 from Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, also paid for the experience while holidaying with family last year. His wife, Violet, 69, didn't go onboard as she thought it would be too 'claustrophobic'. Tom was one of around 40 others who got inside then fully booked 30 metre long sub. The food manufacturer from Carrickfergus, in Northern Ireland, said he was 'nervous' at the thought of getting into the submarine but said he felt at 'ease' as the set up was 'all very professional'. He said: 'I was shocked when I read the news that it has sunk - my heart goes out to the victims. Tom said since hearing the news he 'will not' be stepping foot on a submarine again: 'You don't even think about something going wrong when it is your turn but accidents happen.' The tourist submarine, named Sindbad, had been carrying around 45 international passengers when it sank this morning, according to the regional governor. Initial reports had identified 44. Tom McDowell's family on board Sinbad submarine in 2024. He said he would never go on a submarine again after learning of today's tragedy off the coast of Hurghada Hurghada is a popular tourist destination for Brits and Germans and several nautical jaunts operate from the coast Rescue services have so far managed to save 39 people, according to a statement released by the Red Sea governorate. Red Sea area governor Amr Hanafy wrote on Facebook that none of the on board are unaccounted for. He said there were 45 foreign passengers on board, plus five Egyptians. Moscow's embassy in Cairo reported previously that all passengers were Russian, with four of its citizens among the deceased. However, Hanafy said the passengers were from Russia, India, Norway and Sweden. He said that the six killed were Russian. Earlier reports had cited five. Some 21 ambulances were dispatched to the scene of the incident, and have been transporting the injured to local hospitals including Al-Kawthar, due to the severity of their conditions. A post from the Russian embassy read: 'On March 27, around 10:00, at a distance of 1 km from the shore, an accident of the submersible 'Sindbad', belonging to the hotel of the same name occurred. 'The submersible carried out a regular underwater excursions with inspection of the coral reef. 'In addition to crew members, there were 45 tourists on board, including minors. All of them are Russian citizens, tourists of the company 'Biblio Globus' (the host tour company in Egypt - 'Biblio globus Egypt Tours'). 'According to initial data, most of the passengers on board were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada. 'Their health is not a cause for concern. Four people have been killed. The fate of several tourists is being determined. 'Diplomats of the General Consulate are on the pier of the 'Sindbad' hotel'. Russian media later reported that 38 people had been rescued, at least one child was orphaned by the disaster and the parents of a girl in hospital were killed. These reports have not yet been confirmed. The submarine had embarked off one of the beaches in the tourist promenade area, Egyptian officials who did not want to be named told AP. The passengers had been out on a sea trip to see Egypt's coral reefs and tropical fish before the vessel, which can dive to depths of up to 72ft, sank. The submarine has been operating tourist trips in Hurghada for several years. According to the operator, Sharm Hurghada Excursions, the underwater tour is three-hours long and costs 68 per adult ticket, and 35 for children. According to the Russian embassy in Egypt, the Sindbad submarine belonged to the Hurghada resort hotel of the same. Pictured: Sindbad Club Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt Passengers who had travelled on an Egyptian tourist boat which left three Brits missing when it caught fire claimed it had 'reoccurring issues' in June 2023 The company boasts its excursions allow visitors to admire Hurghada's underwater life and extensive coral reef, enjoy a diving experience while staying dry, and see life underwater at a depth of 72ft. It also claims it holds two of the only '14 real recreational submarines' in the world. The website for Sindbad Submarines continues: 'It offers 44 passenger seats - two pilots' seats and a sizable round viewing window for each passenger.' The cause and circumstance of the sinking have not yet been confirmed or reported. Hurghada is a popular tourist destination for Brits and Germans and several nautical jaunts operate from the coast. This is not the first time an incident involving tourist boats has occurred in the waters off the coastal city. Passengers who had travelled on an Egyptian tourist boat which left three Brits missing in June 2023 when it caught fire claimed it had 'reoccurring issues'. People who had boarded the Hurricane, a Red Sea-based boat in Egypt, said they were 'not surprised' it had gone up in flames just a week after they left. One diving enthusiast who stayed on the vessel in May of that year told MailOnline it was plagued with problems and there were 'issues below decks'. The cruiser left Port Ghalib in the eastern city of Marsa Alam on June 6, and was meant to return on June 11. It was said to be one of the Tornado Marine Fleet tours, which offers 'Luxury Red Sea Liveaboards' for just under 1,500 per trip. A Foreign Office spokesperson said at the time: 'We are in contact with local authorities following an incident aboard a dive boat near Marsa Alam, and are supporting British nationals involved.' In November last year, a tourist boat named Sea Story sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. The boat sank near Shaab Satayah, a coral reef popular for diving trips, off the tourist resort of Marsa Alam in the early hours of November 25. Those who escaped the vessel said a 'high sea wave' had hit it and caused it to capsize in 'about five or seven minutes', Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi said at the time. The incident occurred during rough weather conditions, with the Egyptian Red Sea Ports Authority reporting wave heights of 10 to 13 feet and wind speeds of 34 knots in the area, leading to the closure of maritime traffic. The boat departed on a diving trip from the port of Ghalib in Marsa Alam on November 24 and was scheduled to arrive at Hurghada Marina on November 29. Some of the survivors were reportedly flown back to shore by a helicopter to receive medical care, while others were transported via another boat. UK investigators said last month there had been 16 incidents involving 'liveaboard' vessels in the area in the last five years, with a number resulting in deaths. It was sunny and sixty degrees in the leafy DC suburb of Woodbridge on Thursday afternoon. Local residents were out and about, getting on with their shopping and daily business. Hardly anyone around seemed to know that a dangerous drug lord had just been dethroned minutes away from their homes in north Virginia. Yet, according to the FBI, a top MS-13 cartel leader, Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, 24, who was originally from El Salvador, had infiltrated the upscale neighborhood, which is just a 30 minute drive from the White House. Agents arrested Santos in Dale City in the early hours on Thursday morning, with FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi both attending the takedown. Based out of northern Virginia, the cartel leader was allegedly in charge of the gang's entire East Coast operation. But to some residents, news of the bust was not a complete surprise. 'I know they got MS-13's here, but did not know the leader was here,' one man told the Daily Mail while chatting in a grocery store parking lot. 'That's ridiculous.' Lester, a Woodbridge, Virginia, resident, said the signs of local cartel infiltration were evident as the cartel had clearly marked its territory. 'They be going around painting people cars and and stuff, putting they MS-13 on cars and people houses,' he revealed, adding he was glad federal authorities stepped in. Woodbridge and Dale City residents Gwendolyn and Lester suspected there was gang activity in the area, but were surprised to hear that a leader of the notorious MS-13 gang was caught right in their backyards 'I'm proud to announce that early this morning our brave law enforcement officers conducted a successful operation that captured a top MS-13 national leader. DOJ will not rest until we make America safe again,' Bondi posted on X alongside this picture of the operation Inmates remain in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison, where hundreds of members of the MS-13 and 18 Street gangs are being held, in Tecoluca, El Salvador on January 27, 2025. MS-13 began in Los Angeles in 1980, but has since evolved from a street gang to a multi-national criminal organization 'I'm not surprised at all by anything that goes on this area,' added Gwendolyn, a retired immigration enforcement employee. 'This is par for the course.' She suspected the cartel leader picked the diverse area so he could 'melt into' the area. Still, she found the news 'very, very frightening'. 'Because, you know, that brings in a lot of crime, a lot of suspicious people come in,' she said of the suspected drug lord living in the area. Another resident, Willard, told the Daily Mail: 'I'm totally surprised to hear that. You know, Woodbridge is somewhat of an inconspicuous area.' 'I am definitely surprised to hear that,' he added. 'I was aware that there was gang activity, but nothing to that scale.' George, who works in the area, said: 'They should, like I just said, go back, get deported back to their country. We don't need criminals like this.' 'I'm happy that Trump's doing something about it,' he added. The MS-13 gang originally started in Los Angeles in 1980. But over the decades it has evolved and gone from a street gang to a multi-national trafficking organization. Bondi, Patel and Youngkin celebrated the arrest at press conference Thursday morning Bondi, Patel and Youngkin huddle at the press conference The MS-13 member was arrested on weapons charges, his arsenal is shown above The authorities said Santos was one of the gang's top three leaders in the U.S., and his arrest is a major victory for the DOJ and FBI. 'America is safer today because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13, he is off the streets,' Bondi celebrated at a press conference Thursday morning after the raid. She called the gang leader 'the worst of the worst'. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin noted at the press conference how a task force was set up last month to tackle cartel operations in the U.S. after Patel was confirmed by the Senate. 'I cannot emphasize enough the collaboration and support and leadership out of the new administration that is so different ... than the previous three years,' the Republican governor said. Betsy, who has been living in the area for the past two years, also celebrated the arrest. 'I'm glad that person's off the street,' she told Daily Mail, adding that she was very concerned a narco leader had set up shop in her town. One local business operator, who asked not to be identified, shared that he has seen an uptick in cartel activity. Both Willard and Betsy were shocked to discover the cartel had such a strong presence in their neighborhood A residential complex in northern Virginia. Residents call it an 'inconspicuous' and diverse area A golden gun silencer was found at the narco leader's home This businessman said he has seen fentanyl proliferate in the area, noting how the deadly opioid is flowing from the local cartel operators. 'Some parts of Woodbridge are really rough,' he admitted. He claimed he had also seen cartel activity but could not say if it was MS-13 or not. The DOJ revealed that Santos was arrested on gun charges and shared images of his arsenal, which included several firearms and a golden silencer. He had four weapons that were recovered at his home, according to the DOJ. A 26-year-old man has been found guilty of his part in a fatal knife attack on the day he was let out of prison on the government's early release scheme. Lewis Bell, 26, a father of one, was stabbed to death after an altercation in a drug den in September 2024. Liam Matthews, who had been released from HMP Holme House the same morning, slashed at Bell with a chisel after spotting two other men fighting with him in the street, reports said. His early release came in the first month the emergency measures aimed at freeing up spaces in overcrowded prisons were introduced. He was convicted of manslaughter at Teesside Crown Court in Middlesbrough on Thursday, Cleveland Police said. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson vowed to investigate the case fully, but said the government had been left with 'no choice but to introduce an emergency early release programme'. Lewis Bell, 26, a father of one, was stabbed to death after an altercation in a drug den in September 2024 Liam Matthews, who had been released from HMP Holme House the same morning, slashed at Bell with a chisel after spotting two other men fighting with him in the street, reports said Alongside Matthews, Sean McLeod, aged 23, was convicted of murder Last year, Downing Street said the early release policy had to be brought in to avoid 'unchecked criminality' where the police and courts were unable to lock anyone up because there were no places available. The prisons watchdog warned it was 'inevitable' that some would reoffend. The attack on Mr Bell happened in the early hours of Thursday September 19 when he was chased before being fatally stabbed in the back and left to die in the street, the force said. The attackers ran away and disposed of weapons and clothing with the help of a fourth man, who also arranged a taxi to take them away from the scene. Alongside Matthews, Sean McLeod, aged 23, was convicted of murder, Ashton White, 18, was convicted of manslaughter and Macauley Wright, 26, was convicted of assisting an offender. They will be sentenced on June 19. Matthews had been convicted of violent disorder after a street fight in 2023. He was sentenced to 22 months for that crime and told he would serve 11, Channel 5 News said. Mr Bell's family said he was a 'much-loved father, son, brother and uncle'. 'Lewis was killed in the most brutal and heartless way,' they said in a statement. 'We hold all three males convicted responsible for his murder despite the convictions of two of them for manslaughter.' Ashton White, 18, was convicted of manslaughter Macauley Wright, 26, was convicted of assisting an offender Detective Chief Inspector David Glass from Cleveland Police, said: 'I am satisfied with the convictions handed to Liam Matthews, Sean McLeod, Ashton White and Macauley Wright today. 'Lewis Bell did not deserve to die. This was a pre-planned, sustained attack by a gang who chased him down with weapons in the street. 'They inflicted a number of stab wounds, one of which was fatal, and they left him to die.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'Our thoughts today are with the family and friends of Lewis Bell. 'This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. Had that happened, the police would have been forced to stop making arrests, and the public would have been put at unconscionable risk. 'We had no choice but to introduce an emergency early release programme. We did so with protections in place, including exclusions for those serving for serious violent crimes. 'Like with all serious further offences, this case will be investigated fully so we can take action where necessary.' Three women have been caught on a home security camera in one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs vandalising an election poster by drawing a pig's snout on MP Zali Steggall's face. The footage of the well-dressed trio also records the four-letter word moment when they realise they had used a Chanel lipstick to do it. In the second MP election sign controversy this week, the women were recorded standing on the corner of a leafy street in Mosman, on Sydney's lower north shore. One of the women used a lipstick to deface Ms Steggall's poster on a property's back gate, drawing a snout and the word 'pig' over the Teal member for Warringah's campaign placard. Then, as they realised what brand they've used, one of the other women exclaimed: 'F***! It was Chanel.' The other added: 'Oh I thought you ruined it. Oh was it a good one? Why'd you let me do that?' The third woman then instructed the lipstick defacer: 'Do piggy things on her nose.' The scene was caught on the CCTV footage at 12.16pm on Thursday outside a back gate on Cobbittee Street, Mosman. Three women have been caught on a home security camera in one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs vandalising an election poster for MP Zali Steggall drawing of a pig's snout with designer lipstick 'F*** it was Chanel,' exclaims the woman who has just drawn on the sign, the scene recorded at 12.16pm on Thursday outside a back gate on Cobbittee Street, Mosman In the video, first posted online by the Mosman Collective, the camera then focused on their handiwork, showing Zali Steggall's campaign poster with the slogan 'Smart Solutions Positive Impact'. The snout and the word 'PIG' in capitals were drawn in bright red. Ms Steggall told the Mosman Collective that it was 'really disappointing to see vandalism in our community'. 'It shows disrespect for others' property and goes against the values of respectful political discourse,' she said. The election poster of Steggall, a four time Olympic medallist skier who campaigns on addressing climate change and net zero emissions, is believed to have been on the gate of a local Mosman bushland conservationist. She spoke out in the wake of the vandalism attack to call for dignity during the election campaign. 'I call on all members of our community to show respect for each other's property and engage in respectful and constructive political dialogue,' Steggall said. Climate campaigner Ms Steggall's defaced poster is is believed to have been erected on the former gate of a local Mosman bushland conservationist Fellow Teal MP Dr Monique Ryan was herself embroiled in an election sign controversy when husband Peter Jordan (above) removed a rival's campaign poster The row comes after fellow Teal MP Dr Monique Ryan was embroiled in an election sign controversy when her husband Peter Jordan was filmed removing a campaign poster for rival candidate Amelia Hamer in the Melbourne electorate of Kooyong. The Federal election date was announced on Friday as Saturday May 3 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Governor General Sam Mostyn to dissolve Parliament and trigger the start of the campaign. Andrew Cuomo's camp is blaming New York's anti-Trump Attorney General Letitia James of leaking scandalous details about his 'emotionally intimate' relationship with a top aide in attempt to torpedo his mayoral bid. The 'affair' speculation was revealed in testimony by former Cuomo aide Josh Vlasto that was leaked to The New York Post as the ex-governor dominates polls to take over for Eric Adams in City Hall. Vlasto said that the governor and former spokesperson Melissa DeRosa had an 'emotionally intimate connection' when asked about photos published by DailyMail.com in 2021 showing the two close together at a dinner. 'She said that to me. She said we had an emotionally intimate relationship,' Vlasto said in newly-released testimony that had previously been redacted. Vlasto, however, added that the governor and DeRosa 'had not had sex' nor were they crossing that line, the New York Post reported. The former governor resigned in 2021 after a report from James branded him a serial sexual harasser, accusations he has denied. Now, he believes James is attacking him again after a new story alleging his relationship with an aide. Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, accused James of putting her thumb on the scale for one of the governor's opponents in the Democrat Primary by leaking the testimony. 'This is transparently a play for Tish James to prop up her favored candidate Adrienne Adams who is polling at 4%, and she should be investigated for her continued abuse and law fare within her office,' Azzopardi told DailyMail.com He added that, as Cuomo's spokesperson during the period in question, all of the governor's inner circle had become close due to the pandemic and having to work closely together every day. Andrew Cuomo's (pictured right) camp is accusing anti-Trump New York AG Letitia James of letting out a story that accuses him of having an 'emotionally intimate' relationship with aide Melissa DeRosa (pictured left) to torpedo his mayoral bid The former governor resigned in 2021 after a report from James (pictured) branded him a serial sexual harasser, accusations he has denied 'Of course after seven years of working together for New York, the Governor and Melissa were emotionally close we all were after going through COVID and everything else together,' Azzopardi said. Cathy Foti, DeRosa's attorney, also went after James for the timing of this now un-redacted testimony. 'All of this is in transcripts that have been publicly available for years, except portions that were redacted by the AG that they have fought turning over in court, but somehow made their way into the hands of the New York Post,' she said in a statement. When reached for comment, a spokesperson for James told DailyMail.com claimed the unredacted testimony went public by mistake. 'An unredacted transcript was accidentally posted for less than two hours during the initial release of these files. The office immediately removed the unredacted version once it was discovered,' the rep said. Foti added that the release of the transcripts calls 'into question potentially unethical activity by the Attorney General's Office for political purposes.' Recent polling shows Cuomo as the dominant force in a Democrat Primary that includes incumbent Eric Adams. The Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill poll shows Cuomo at 38%, a double-digit lead over socialist Zohran Mamdani in second. Former Cuomo aide Josh Vlasto said that the governor and former spokesperson Melissa DeRosa had an 'emotionally intimate connection' over photos published by DailyMail.com in 2021 showing the two close together at a dinner Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, accused James of putting her thumb on the scale for Adrienne Adams (pictured), one of the governor's opponents in the Democrat Primary, by leaking the testimony Adrienne Adams, the New York City Council Speaker, is indeed at 4%, behind Eric Adams (8%) and three other candidates. The photos that led to Vlasto's testimony showed Cuomo appearing to get cozy with DeRosa two weeks after she was married in 2016. The pictures show Cuomo and DeRosa in the Knickerbocker Bar & Grill in Lower Manhattan on September 8, 2016. DeRosa had married former Cuomo spokesman Matthew Wing just 12 days earlier on August 27 and flashed her new wedding ring. At the time Cuomo was in a long-term relationship with celebrity chef Sandra Lee. They were living together in her sprawling home in Mt. Kisco, New York until they eventually split in 2019. The governor and his aide had been dining with another man who left shortly after 8pm, recalls 'James,' one of the men who took the pictures. Neither man wants to be publicly identified for fear of retaliation from the famously combative governor. 'He put his hand under the table and it looked like he was touching her thigh.' DeRosa said in a statement to DailyMail.com, 'There have been misogynistic rumors in Albany and in government for years but I never thought I'd have to respond to them in the press. The Governor and I have never had an intimate relationship. The Governor and I have been close friends and colleagues for over ten years we've had countless meals together and suggestions or innuendo around that is inappropriate, offensive and wrong.' The photos that led to Vlasto's testimony showed him appearing to get cozy with DeRosa (pictured) two weeks after she was married in 2016 When reached for comment, a spokesperson for James told DailyMail.com said that the unredacted testimony going public was a mistake The pictures show DeRosa with her brand-new ring as she sits with Cuomo, who is wearing a white shirt and purple tie. She is drinking red wine while he has some kind of cocktail possibly a vodka and grapefruit juice in front of him. DeRosa and Wing split in 2021 after living apart for a year following what she called an 'emotionally and mentally trying' two years. The pair met in 2013 while working in Cuomo's communications office. She rose to become Cuomo's most trusted aide and was a fixture at his Emmy-winning daily Covid-19 press briefings. But behind the scenes, she worked to to limit the damage of sexual harassment allegations by 11 women against the three-term governor, according to a report published by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Despite the photos of the pair cozied up at dinner and the intense pressures of scandal, DeRosa and her soon-to-be ex-husband blamed Covid for the breakdown of their marriage, the Post reported. 'They simply grew apart, and they have been living apart for a year,' a friend told the Post. 'Their marriage broke down over time, and it was exacerbated during Covid, when they wound up in separate places. Melissa spent time in Albany, and Matt works for Uber and spent some time in San Francisco,' the source added. At the time Cuomo was in a long-term relationship with celebrity chef Sandra Lee. They were living together in her sprawling home in Mt. Kisco, New York until they eventually split in 2019 DeRosa rose to become Cuomo's most trusted aide and was a fixture at his Emmy-winning daily Covid-19 press briefings Cuomo announced his run for mayor in early March. The Democrat made the announcement on in a 17-minute video to his YouTube and social media channels. The news comes just years after he resigned from office in 2021 after facing a slew of sexual harassment allegations, all of which he's denied. He was accused of allegedly groping a former staffer and then-state worker Brittany Commisso in November 2020. Commisso, who was his former executive assistant, claims that Cuomo subjected her to 'demanding tasks,' kissing and groping. She filed a lawsuit against him in November 2022 after working for the former governor in the Executive Chamber from 2019 until August 2021. Commisso alleged that Cuomo put her through 'humiliating and demeaning tasks, hugs, kisses, sexual touching of the buttocks and forcible touching of the breast.' She previously accused him of groping her inside the Executive Mansion and filed a criminal complaint against him which was later dropped. Disgraced former NYC Governor Andrew Cuomo is running for mayor of the Big Apple He resigned from office that year amidst a probe into his behavior by Attorney General James. Following the accusations and him leaving his position, Cuomo subpoenaed a number of women who accused him of sexual harassment in an attempt to clear his name. Cuomo sent the subpoenas to Commisso, Virginia Limmiatis, Ana Liss, Alyssa McGrath, Lindsey Boylan, five of the 11 women who accused him of sexual misconduct. Cuomo previously tried to subpoena files from James' office along with investigation documents from the State Assembly. In January 2022, former Albany County District Attorney Davis Soares dropped Cuomo's criminal complaint and announced that he would not face any other charges in relation to the groping allegations, citing lack of evidence. Just days later, a judge dropped the criminal charge against Cuomo. In addition to the scandal, Cuomo also faced claims that his administration lied about the number of Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes across the Empire State - accusations which he has denied. His comments about the deaths were recently released in September, as the embroiled Democrat reportedly asked, 'who cares?' while discussing the number of deaths in a closed-door meeting with the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Back in June, he testified behind closed doors for seven hours but that transcript has not been released. The House subcommittee then issued a series of X posts that claimed Cuomo was 'shockingly callous' and showed 'little remorse for the thousands of lives lost' during that testimony. According to the posts, Cuomo said: 'let's say there's a 3,000 [deaths] differential, 2,500. Who cares? What difference does it make in any dimension to anyone about anything?' During the tense hearing, U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wildly said that Cuomo committed 'murder' in his handling of the pandemic. The ex-Governor repeated his previous arguments that his guidance was based on federal guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 'You signed the directive to put Covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25 which led to the murdering of people's parents, grandparents and great grandparents. Yes, murdering them,' Taylor-Greene fumed. Before Lee, Cuomo had previously been married to Kerry Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Sr.'s seventh child and the sister of current Human Health and Services Secretary RFK Jr. They divorced in 2005. They share three daughters together - Michaela, 27, and twins Cara and Mariah, 30. The couple divorced in 2005. A wannabe hip-hop artist who stabbed a beloved family man to death in front of his wife has finally learnt his fate over the shocking crime. Spencer Shumski, 22, of Sale had been facing weapons charges when he stabbed Clint Allen to death in the early hours of May 8, 2023. On Friday, he was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria to six years in jail with a non-parole period of just three years after a jury found him not guilty of murder, but the lesser charge of manslaughter. Shumski has already spent 691 days behind bars meaning he can apply for parole in May next year. The sentence, delivered by Justice Michael Croucher, stunned Mr Allen's family, with audible gasps heard throughout the courtroom. Mr Allen, 38, had been celebrating his wife Bek's 37th birthday when he was confronted by Shumski outside The Criterion Hotel in Sale, Victoria, about 200km east of Melbourne. In details kept from the jury, Shumski had been free in the community on bail after being charged with drug and firearms offences. Mr Allen died after he was stabbed twice, piercing his heart, aorta, and liver following a verbal altercation with the thug. Spencer Shumski arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday for his sentence Clint Allen, 38, his wife Bek (pictured together) in happier times Outside court Mr Allens wife condemned the sentence, declaring the time didn't match the crime. 'I wrote down what the judge said that "no good can come from carrying weapons like this - it has to stop" and yet he sentenced my husbands killer to a minimum of three years and could be out as early as next year,' she told reporters. 'My granddaughter didnt even get the chance to meet (him). Theres no justice at all.' In opening the trial in November, the jury watched the argument unfold on CCTV footage captured outside the pub. Mr Allen had attended Jack Ryan's Irish Pub in Sale for the birthday celebration when his friend was ejected after taking a woman's phone. The court heard the Mr Allen, who was soon to be a grandfather, followed his friend and started walking home. Meawhile, Shumski was actively trying to stop one of his friends from leaving the pub and going after the man. Shumski had been a wannabe musician and photographer, who posted music videos online under the stage name NP Benzey. Rebekah Allen could not hide her despair at Justice Croucher's sentence upon leaving the court on Friday Spencer Shumski, 20, of Sale performs under the name NP Benzey Spencer Shumski, 20, of Sale has been charged with murder CCTV captured Shumski swinging a knife at the man who had been ejected before Mr Allen rushed to his aid. Shumski plunged the knife into Mr Allen's chest and he fell to the ground. Undeterred by the wound, Mr Allen bravely confronted the knife-wielding thug again, but suffered another stab wound in the process. Shumski and his mates walked off, leaving Mr Allen to bleed out on the footpath as paramedics rushed to save his life. In a lengthy sentencing that took more than an hour to deliver, Justice Croucher said he accepted Shumski had not intended to kill Mr Allen. 'He should have just turned the other cheek and walked away,' he said. Justice Croucher said he accepted Shumski acted impulsively out of fear and thus mitigated his culpability. 'He had almost no time to think. He just reacted albeit in a dangerous manner. I accept his evidence that he didn't aim for any part of Mr Allen's body,' he said. Clint Allen (pictured) was a BMX champion and an outdoor enthusiast who loved camping, dirt bikes and 4WDs Clint Allen (pictured with his wife Bek) was stabbed to death as the couple walked home after celebrating her birthday 'Mr Shumski also said that he had no intention to cause him any injury and less still any grave injury. Having regards to all of the evidence ... I'm satisfied beyond reasonable doubt the most he intended was to wound or cause minor injury to Mr Allen.' Shumski had always claimed he did not leave the pub with the intention of seriously injuring Mr Allen. The court heard he had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter, but prosecutors refused to accept, running what Justice Croucher described as a 'weak murder case'. 'It was self-defence, straight up,' Shumski had told police upon surrendering the following day. The court heard Shumski sent multiple messages to friends saying he was expecting to go to jail. 'I've done something terrible and I may not be able to talk to you for years depending on a few factors and I'll talk to you as soon as I can,' he told one friend. Friday's sentence will offer little comfort to Mr Allen's loved ones. Mr Allen's distraught family confronted Shumski during a pre-sentence plea hearing last month. The Criterion Hotel in Sale became the scene for a horrific stabbing attack that left one man dead Spencer Shumski rapped about drugs and violence 'My heart is broken into a million little pieces, grief so heartbreaking I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Not even on my worst enemy, and my worst enemy is you,' Ms Allen told Shumski. Choking back tears, Ms Allen condemned Shumski for his outrageous actions. 'I still have visions of Clint's head bobbing on the footpath as they tried so hard to revive him. But I knew it was too late. He was dead,' she said. 'You took his life away just 55 minutes after my birthday finished. 'The screams of my girls as I told them that dad wasn't coming home is forever etched in my memory and haunts me to this day.' Before the tragedy, Shumski had longed to be famous, singing about that desire in a track titled 'Memories'. 'I've been thinking bout,' he sang. 'What I wanna do next. I've been thinking bout. My face on on the big screen. My life like a movie. 'Makin these big moves in the booth with scooby. Layin back with a rack rollin' up a doobie.' Some of Shumski's lyrics talked about traditional teenage angst, such as lost love, drugs and violence. 'You know I take drugs on my own. I'm consistently feeling alone,' he sang on his track 'Love Deep'. 'Wish somebody would come let me know. Everything will be fine just be strong.' Anthony Albanese has made a daring bid to appeal to younger voters by dropping a bizarre piece of Gen Z lingo during a parliamentary speech. The Prime Minister appeared on the Happy Hour podcast with hosts Lucy Jackson and Nikki Westcott where he was quizzed on Gen Z slang. After successfully decoding that 'delulu' was short for delusional, the PM then accepted a 'dare' from the hosts to use it while addressing parliament. 'Budget week next week, listen up, that's the task,' he told the hosts. And sure enough, during a fiery debate this week in Parliament House, Mr Albanese dropped the term in a retort to Peter Dutton during a tense back-and-forth over tax cuts. 'Well, Mr Speaker, they are delulu with no solulu,' he announced. Despite Mr Albanese picking an opportune moment to drop the catchy zinger, Aussies were divided on social media. While some said it was 'iconic' another said it was cringe-worthy' and 'pathetic'. Anthony Albanese appeared on the Happy Hour podcast where hosts Lucy Jackson and Nikki Westcott gave him the 'dare' Peter Dutton copped the zinger from Mr Albanese during Question Time in Parliament 'I can't believe he said that, he's got my vote,' one said. 'I want a PM that goes through with a dare, that's a true Aussie,' another agreed. 'Yeah I gottta admit he just won a point in my book,' said a third. But others were less impressed. 'What an absolute mockery of our country. Taking on dares from influencers while the country crumbles and the rest of the world treats us however they please.' 'Our PM is a international embarrassment,' one commenter fumed. Despite the flack, the PM's attempts to connect with younger voters is reminiscent of Donald Trump's successful new media blitz ahead of last year's US election. After Trump appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast, the YouTube video racked up 27million views in a single day and sparked almost a million X posts. Anthony Albanese recently revealed he will marry Jodie Haydon in the second half of 2025 Among the other subjects touched on in Mr Albanese's appearance on Happy Hour was his marriage to Jodie Haydon, set for the second half of the year after the federal election, and his love for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Mr Albanese said Rabbitohs co-owner and Hollywood A-lister Russell Crowe was 'lobbying' to host his bucks night but 'that could be dangerous'. On Friday, Mr Albanese announced voters will go to the polls on May 3, setting candidates up for a five-week campaign. In his opening pitch to Australians, the prime minister drew contrasts between his government's policies and those of Mr Dutton. He urged voters to reflect on how his government had helped lay foundations for the future, ahead of a campaign destined to be dominated by cost-of-living issues. 'The world has thrown a lot at Australia in uncertain times - we cannot decide the challenges that we will face, but we can determine how we respond,' Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra. 'Your vote has never been more important and your choice has never been more clear: this election is a choice between Labor's plan to keep building or Peter Dutton's promise to cut. 'The very best reason to be optimistic for our nation remains the courage, kindness and aspiration of all Australians.' If successful, Mr Albanese will be the first prime minister since John Howard to win back-to-back elections. Cheaper medicines, a boost to Medicare and fair funding for all schools were all first-term achievements that showed Labor was working in the interests of all Australians, the prime minister said. Elon Musk and his DOGE nerds revealed on Thursday plans to turn the U.S. government into an 'Apple store-like experience,' in their first joint sit-down interview, with Fox News' Bret Baier. Musk trotted out seven men who have been behind DOGE's controversial efforts to slim down the federal workforce and root out waste, fraud and abuse. Much of what they focused on was how outdated government technology was, including how federal government workers' retirements are processed on paper in an old limestone mine in Pennsylvania. Joe Gebbia, a co-founder of AirBnB, told Baier on Special Report that he joined the DOGE effort upon hearing about the mine, which dates back to the 1950s. 'I loved the challenge, so I jumped on board,' Gebbia said. 'And it turns out there is actually a mine in Pennsylvania that houses every paper document for the retirement process in the government.' Gebbia, a billionaire like Musk, noted that the cave has '22,000 filing cabinets stacked 10 high to house 400 million pieces of paper.' He said he hoped to turn the retirement process, which takes months, into one that takes place over a matter of days. 'So we really believe that government can have an Apple store-like experience,' he said. 'Beautifully designed, great user experience, modern systems.' Elon Musk (center, first row) appeared with seven members of his DOGE team for their first group sit-down interview, Thursday night with Fox News Channel's Bret Baier AirBnB co-founder Joe Gebbia said DOGE aimed to turn the government into an 'Apple store-like experience' as he explained how federal worker retirements are currently done on paper and stored in a mine in Pennsylvania Musk said DOGE learned of the mine as they tried to push federal workers to voluntarily retire. 'They said most you could do is 8,000 a month. And even under normal circumstances, it can take six to nine months just to have your retirement paperwork processed. And they often get the calculations wrong,' the billionaire Tesla executive said. 'And so like, "Why would it take so long to retire?" And they're like "Because of the mine." And you're like, "What do you mean the mine, what doe a mine got to do with retiring?"' Gebbia said he hoped to streamline the process over the 'next couple of months.' Turning to the retirement accounts of everyday Americans, Musk pledged that DOGE's efforts wouldn't mean cutting Social Security benefits. 'No, in fact, what we're doing will help with their benefits,' Musk said. 'Legitimate people, as a result of the work of DOGE, will receive more Social Security, not less.' 'Want to emphasize that. As a result of the work of DOGE, legitimate recipients of Social Security will receive more money not less money,' Musk continued. 'And let the record show that I said this and it will be proven out to be true. Let's check back on this in the future.' Musk said the biggest issue he's found in the government is that 'computer systems don't talk to each other.' 'A very sort of thorny problem, a tough problem really, it's kind of like painful homework frankly is reconciling all the government databases to eliminate the waste and fraud,' Musk said. Federal government workers' retirements are processed on paper in an old limestone mine in Pennsylvania Iron Mountain West is a data center located 220 feet beneath the Earth's surface in a former mine in Boyers, Butler County, where the US government stores retirement paperwork 'These databases don't talk to each other and that's really the source of - that's the biggest vulnerability for fraud - the fact that these databases don't talk to each other.' Anthony Anderson, a former Morgan Stanley banker who helped Musk acquire Twitter, explained that he's finding that the Small Business Administration's system isn't cross-referencing the Social Security database. In turn, Anderson and Musk claimed, SBA loans were going to children and dead people. 'If you just solve that simple problem, you would solve a huge amount of fraud,' Anderson said. Musk also pushed back on claims he was taking the approach of 'fire, ready, and then aim.' Elon Musk pledged that Social Security beneficiaries would receive more money after the efforts of DOGE to cut out fraud 'Well, I do agree that we actually want to be careful in the cuts. So we want to measure twice, if not thrice and cut once,' he said. 'And actually, that is that is our approach.' 'They may characterize it as shooting from the hip, but it is anything but that. Which is not to say that we make we don't make mistakes,' he added. Baier also asked Musk if he planned to stay beyond the 130 days laid out in his contract as a special government employee. 'I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,' Musk replied. 'I think in the context of the government we're moving like lightning,' he also said. 'In the context of what I'm used to moving, it's slower than I like.' 'So what seems like incredibly fast-action by government standards is slower than I like, to be totally frank. But we are making solid progress,' Musk acknowledged. MND: Taking resolute measures to defeat any separatist attempt for "Taiwan Independence" China Military Online) 08:18, March 28, 2025 Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a regular news conference on Thursday. Question: The leader of the Taiwan region, Lai Ching-te, recently made separatist remarks claiming that the two sides across the Taiwan Strait are "not subordinate to each other" and called the mainland a "foreign hostile force". In mid-March, the PLA conducted a military exercise near Taiwan. Some said that the exercise was a countermeasure against Lai Ching-te's separatist rhetoric and recent collusion between Taiwan and the US. What's your comment? Wu Qian: As the Chinese saying goes, "When heaven is about to destroy someone, it first makes them have lunatic ideas." Taiwan is a part of China. It has never been a nation. It wasn't in the past. It is not at present, and it will never be in the future. Recently, naval and air troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command conducted readiness patrols and joint exercises in areas around Taiwan to test and enhance their war-fighting capabilities. It serves as an effective punishment and deterrence against the "Taiwan independence" separatists and a stern warning against external interfering forces. It is fully legitimate and necessary. The people's military will resolutely implement the Party's overall strategy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era. We will remain ready and able to fight and win at all times, and will take resolute measures to defeat any separatist attempt for "Taiwan independence". (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) The raw arithmetic of how many seats need to change hands for Peter Dutton and the Coalition to win the coming election suggests the more likely outcome is a re-elected Labor government led by Anthony Albanese. The Coalition won just 58 of the 151 seats on offer at the 2022 election, losing government to Labor in the process. Labor took 77 seats, giving it a slim majority. The remaining 16 seats were won by a collection of crossbenchers: Greens, teals and various others. Since that election three years ago, Labor has won one seat off the Coalition in a by-election, bringing its current total to 78. The Coalition has lost a further three MPs to the crossbench, all of whom are contesting the next election as independents. So Dutton starts this electoral campaign with just 54 seats. There have been electoral distributions in three states since the last election, abolishing seats in both NSW and Victoria, with a new marginal seat created in WA. The NSW seat was held by a teal, the Victorian seat by the Labor Party. So at this election there are 150 seats up for grabs, and 76 is the magic number to secure majority government. Labor starts the contest with 77 seats, so it can't afford to lose more than one of those seats without picking others up if it wants to retain full power. Given recent opinion polls and dissatisfaction with the PM's performance, it is therefore likely that if Labor does win the election it will do so as a minority government. For the Coalition to form majority government it would need to win 22 seats on top of the 54 it already holds. While some of those might include victories over crossbenchers, the lion's share of seats the Coalition needs to win to form majority government will need to be taken from Labor. It is a tall order to win that many seats against a first-term government, especially when considering that the last first-term government to lose re-election was back in 1931. Anthony Albanese is pictured taking questions from the press after announcing the election will be held on May 3 If Dutton is to become PM, it is likely that he would also need to form a minority government - but even that appears difficult from a starting point of just 54 seats. Looking around the country, the key battleground states are the two largest, NSW and Victoria. Labor's most marginal seat is the electorate of Gilmore on the south coast of NSW, held by just 0.2 percent. The Sydney seat of Bennelong is also held by the Labor Party, but the recent redistribution has pushed the electorate into areas with a higher Liberal vote, meaning that it is notionally now a Liberal marginal seat, making it very difficult for Labor to retain. All up Labor holds six seats in NSW classified as officially marginal electorates, with margins of five percent or less. In Victoria only three seats are marginal, but the unpopularity of the state Labor government means that traditionally safer seats like Bruce (5.3 per cent), Dunkley (6.8 per cent) and Holt (7.1 per cent) are also being targeted by the Coalition. While the Coalition will be aiming to win marginal Labor held seats in smaller states around the country too - such as Lyons (0.9 per cent) in Tasmania, and Lingiari (1.6 percent) in the Northern Territory - most of the election spending will take place in the bigger states with more seats up for grabs. Queensland already sees the Opposition holding 21 of the 30 seats on offer, meaning that Dutton's main task in his home state is to retain those seats rather than go after additional seats held by the Labor Party. Labor is hopeful of winning back the LNP held seat of Leichhardt following the retirement of popular local MP Warren Entsch. The LNP believe it is capable of winning back Ryan from the Greens. There are really only two seats in play in South Australia, the Liberal held seat of Sturt (on a 0.5 per cent margin) and the Labor marginal seat of Boothby (3.3 per cent). While Dutton needs to do well in NSW and Victoria to win this election, he can lose it by falling short of exceptions in the west. WA swung dramatically Labor's way at the last election, picking up four Liberal seats with the Morrison government also losing the safe seat of Curtin to a teal independent. WA saw double digit swings in some seats, meaning that if Dutton is going to defy history and win this election he needs to win a number of them back. Both major parties think this is unlikely, partly because of the damaged Liberal brand at state level in WA. However the newly created WA seat of Bullwinkel looks set to be won by the Coalition. Peter Dutton's biggest difficulty is that courtesy of the teal independents and crossbench defections from within the Coalition's own ranks during this term of parliament, it now starts from a long way back with just 54 seats So where does all of this leave us? The most likely outcome is a hung parliament with Labor remaining in power as a minority government. That said, if there is a mood for change the numbers in individual seats become largely irrelevant and a host of Labor MPs will get swept out with the electoral tide. That is what happened in elections won by the Coalition from opposition in both 1996 and 2013. But those victories came after Labor governments of 13 years and six years respectively in duration. This election might be too soon after Labor came to power for Dutton to create such momentum for change. However, the cost of living crisis coupled with budget woes do make it difficult for Labor, especially retaining its majority from such a low starting point. Most one-term governments have larger majorities to begin with, meaning that they can sacrifice seats and still retain their majority. Albanese doesn't have that luxury starting this election campaign with just 77 seats when 76 are needed to retain majority government. Dutton's biggest difficulty is that courtesy of the teal independents and crossbench defections from within the Coalition's own ranks during this term of parliament, even though Labor's majority is wafer thin, the Coalition starts from a long way back with just 54 seats. Dutton will be fighting a war on two fronts during this election campaign by trying to win some seats of the crossbench at the same time as muscling up to Labor. The problem is that the nature of these twin tasks are quite different. Teal electorates are largely inner-city seats. The Labor marginals Dutton needs to win are outer metropolitan seats. The issues voters care about are contrasting between these electorates. What Dutton does to appeal to Labor voters open to switching their votes in outer metropolitan electorates might turn off some teal voters in seats they hold. This election might be too soon after Labor came to power for Dutton to create such momentum for change. However, the cost of living crisis coupled with budget woes do make it difficult for Labor, especially retaining its majority from such a low starting point The balancing act probably makes victory for Dutton a bridge too far and one election too early. While he will be campaigning to win, his more realistic best case scenario is to force Labor into a messy minority government and then relentlessly campaign against its potential dysfunction for a win three years from now. That was Tony Abbott's strategy after narrowly losing the 2010 election to Julia Gillard, when Labor only won as a minority government. It feels like history repeating itself is the most anticipated outcome from this five week election campaign, with the prospect of minority government ahead of us. That won't fill too many Australians with joy, but it is almost unavoidable based on the raw arithmetic of how seat by seat contests are likely to play out when the votes get counted on May 3. Criminals handed long sentences for serious offences will have to be let out of prison early to make room in the jails, the Justice Secretary has signalled. Shabana Mahmood confirmed reform of short jail terms isnt going to be enough to create space in overcrowded prisons. Her remarks open up the prospect of offenders handed long jail terms including violent offenders getting less jail time as part of a sentencing review launched by Labour last year. At the official opening of a new 1,500-place prison in Yorkshire yesterday THU, Ms Mahmood said: One thing is clear, we are already running back over 99 per cent capacity in the prison estate. So were not going to get to a position of sustainable prison capacity with just action on shorter sentences. Short sentence reform on its own isnt going to be enough. We are filling prison spaces as fast as we can build them, and we know already we cannot build our way out of this crisis. The Justice Secretarys comments raised the prospect of shorter jail terms for violent criminals, armed robbers, major drug dealers and potentially even sex offenders and killers. Shabana Mahmood confirmed reform of short jail terms isnt going to be enough to create space in overcrowded prisons The Justice Secretary (left) being given a tour during the official opening of HMP Millsike - the new Category C jail in Yorkshire which will deliver 1,500 prison places At the official opening Ms Mahmood said: One thing is clear, we are already running back over 99 per cent capacity in the prison estate' Ms Mahmood has already been forced to let thousands of criminals out of jail early. She claimed last autumn the justice system was close to a catastrophic breakdown which would see police unable to make any arrests due to a lack of cells. It led her to introduce emergency measures allowing most criminals to be freed after serving just 40 per cent of the sentence handed them by the courts. On the first day of the early release scheme last September there were sickening scenes of lags celebrating outside the prison gates after being freed, with some popping champagne corks and posing with luxury cars. One of the main exclusions from that scheme, known as SDS40, is violent offenders serving more than four years. That criteria could be loosened if ministers decide to introduce even more generous discounts for criminals. Former Tory justice secretary David Gauke, who has been appointed by Ms Mahmood to lead the sentencing review, said last week that controversial changes would be necessary to cut prison numbers. Ms Mahmood stressed she would not pre-judge the outcome of Mr Gaukes report and it was likely that any changes would need legislation, meaning they would be scrutinised by Parliament. Therell be complete transparency about my own decisions once the review has reported, she said. Former Tory justice secretary David Gauke (pictured), who has been appointed by Ms Mahmood to lead the sentencing review, said last week that controversial changes would be necessary to cut prison numbers Ms Mahmood stressed she would not pre-judge the outcome of Mr Gaukes report and it was likely that any changes would need legislation, meaning they would be scrutinised by Parliament Mr Gauke told a podcast by the University of Law last week: If were going to make a substantial difference ... we have to look at those who are serving relatively long sentences. He added: Theres no getting away from the fact that almost any proposals that we make in this area that are effective in terms of controlling the prison population will have opposition. They will be controversial. They will be difficult. But, nonetheless, it is necessary. Murderers are excluded from the scope of Mr Gaukes review but his comments suggested he may be looking at significant reform of sentences handed to violent criminals including killers convicted of manslaughter. He was appointed by Ms Mahmood to explore tougher punishments outside of prison, including house arrest, and is due to publish his final report in the Spring. Ms Mahmood also confirmed she is particularly interested in a scheme introduced in Texas in 2007 which allows inmates to earn time off their sentence for good behaviour. She travelled to the States last month to see it in operation, and could launch a similar programme here. The 400million HMP Millsike at Full Sutton, near York, was opened yesterday (THU) and will accept its first inmates next month. The Justice Secretarys comments raised the prospect of shorter jail terms for violent criminals, armed robbers, major drug dealers and potentially even sex offenders and killers Cell windows at the new Category C medium security jail have no bars, while windows in other parts of the building have horizontal bars designed to resemble shutters. The jail also has a specially-designed colour scheme boasting autumnal and pastel shades on the walls, with some splashes of bright colours such as purple furniture and orange cell doors. Officials said the design was intended to make the building feel less like a prison. Millsike also has eight large workshops where prisoners can learn skills including how to become a coffee barista. There are also courses in commercial cleaning, construction trades, barbering and waste management. A police officer who fatally shot an elderly aged-care resident with his Taser could become one of the few members of the force to be jailed over a death on duty. Former senior constable Kristian White is due to be sentenced for the tragic incident in the southern NSW town of Cooma that led to the death of 95-year-old Clare Nowland. On Friday, he will learn whether he is jailed for her manslaughter after firing his weapon at her inside the Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in the early hours of May 17, 2023. Mrs Nowland was holding a knife while using a walking frame and had been ignoring attempts by staff to disarm her. The 35-year-old officer said 'nah, bugger it' before firing the Taser's barbs at her chest, causing her to fall and strike her head. The great-grandmother suffered a bleed on the brain and died in hospital a week later. UNSW criminology expert Helen Gibbon said it was very rare for Australian police officers to face prosecution for killing a person in the line of duty. 'It is even rarer for police to be convicted of an offence in relation to a killing,' she told AAP. Former senior constable Kristian White (pictured) is due to be sentenced for the tragic incident in the southern NSW town of Cooma that led to the death of Clare Nowland The former cop was swarmed by media as he arrived in Sydney on Friday Mrs Nowland, a great-grandmother, was holding a knife while using a walking frame and had been ignoring attempts by staff to disarm her Prosecutors have pushed NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison to jail White for the crime, but the ex-officer's lawyers have argued he only made an error of judgment and should receive a more lenient sentence. In deciding to pursue a criminal case against an officer, the Director of Public Prosecutions would already take into account that police worked in difficult, often volatile circumstances, Associate Professor Gibbon noted. 'There must also be a willingness on behalf of a prosecuting agency to prosecute a police officer who kills a person in the course of carrying out their duties, as well as a willingness on the part of juries to convict a police officer,' she said. 'Historically, such willingness has been lacking.' It was difficult to predict how Justice Harrison would rule as there were factors pulling towards both a jail term and a sentence served in the community, Assoc Prof Gibbon added. In Queensland, Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley was acquitted of manslaughter in 2007 over the death of Cameron Doomadgee on Palm Island. Mrs Nowland is pictured in her Cooma nursing home just moments before she was Tasered In 2022 in the Northern Territory, Constable Zachary Rolfe stood trial for the murder of Kumanjayi Walker but was also acquitted. In NSW in 2023, Sergeant Matthew Kelly was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted of negligent driving occasioning death after the fatal police pursuit of Jack Roberts. White was removed from the police force in December, less than a week after a jury found him guilty of Mrs Nowland's manslaughter. He has launched legal action for a review of that decision. A 31-year-old mother has been accused of violently shaking her two-year-old daughter, leading to fatal head injuries, a court has heard. Morsal Mohammed Naim, of no fixed address, is currently standing trial for the murder of her daughter, Omra Wali Jan, at Manchester Crown Court. The court was told that Omra tragically passed away on February 9, 2024, after sustaining severe head injuries on November 30, 2023. Omra, who was born in Afghanistan and had been raised by her father's family, came to live in the UK in September 2023, settling in Levenshulme with her parents, Naim and her partner, Firooz Wali Jan. During this brief period in the UK, the toddler endured an appalling campaign of abuse, which included deliberate injuries inflicted by both parents. Prosecutor John Elvidge KC revealed in court that both Naim and Wali Jan had pleaded guilty to charges of child cruelty for deliberately burning their daughter's hand, neck, and upper arm. However, it is the allegations of murder that have brought Naim to the dock. The prosecution claims that she is responsible for the fatal head injuries, which were inflicted when she allegedly shook Omra so violently that it caused catastrophic brain injuries. Prosecutor John Elvidge KC said: 'Ms Naim is also charged with murder because the prosecution alleges that she is responsible for the head injuries which caused Omra to die. Morsal Mohammed Naim, of no fixed address, is currently standing trial for the murder of her daughter, Omra Wali Jan, at Manchester Crown Court (above) 'These were severe traumatic head injuries and they were inflicted when her mother shook Omra so severely that her head was shaken, rapidly, backwards and forwards so as to cause catastrophic brain injuries.' On November 20, 2023, emergency services were called to the family home after a relative reported that Omra had 'choked' and was not breathing. When paramedics arrived, they found the child unconscious and in cardiac arrest. Naim was at the scene and assisted by a neighbour who acted as an interpreter, while Wali Jan was at work. Omra was rushed to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital after emergency treatment, where doctors noted multiple bruises and injuries, including distinctive patterned scars on her hand, neck, and arm. A CT scan revealed the extent of the injuries, showing devastating brain damage, including multiple subdural haemorrhages, extensive brain injury due to a lack of oxygen, and retinal haemorrhages in the right eye. The scan also revealed that Omra had suffered several rib fractures, both old and new. 'On visual examination the paramedics who responded to the emergency call and the doctors who received Omra at hospital noted that she had a number of bruises and marks to her head and body. The medical staff took photographs. The marks included distinctive patterned scars on her right hand, neck and upper left arm,' said Mr Elvidge KC. 'Subsequently, that same evening, a CT scan revealed that Omra had suffered a devastating brain injury involving multifocal subdural haemorrhage, extensive hypoxic brain injury, and multiple retinal haemorrhages in the right eye. 'The CT scan also showed that Omra had a healing rib fracture and an MRI scan suggested three more acute rib fractures.' Despite efforts to save her, Omra's condition worsened, and life support was removed on February 9, 2024, after permission was granted by the High Court. A post-mortem confirmed that the child's death was caused by head injuries resulting from violent shaking. The prosecution claims that Naim's actions were a deliberate assault, with the shaking causing severe acceleration and deceleration of Omra's head, leading to the fatal injuries. Naim, who denies the charges, claims she did not assault her daughter and did not intend to cause her harm. She has pleaded not guilty to murder. The trial continues. George Pell has been credited with the unlikely recovery of a young American boy who stopped breathing for 52 minutes after he fell into a swimming pool. Parents of the 18-month-old Vincent are said to have prayed for the intercession of the late cardinal before he was discharged from an Arizona hospital. Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher related the story in an address to an event organised to honour Pell's legacy at a Catholic liberal-arts college in Sydney's west on Wednesday evening. Pell was Australia's most senior Catholic, having served as the archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney before taking charge of the Vatican's financial affairs. Campion College also unveiled the newly-named George Cardinal Pell Grand Hall at the event attended by former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott. 'He's 18 months old and fell into a swimming pool,' the archbishop was quoted as saying by The Australian. 'He stopped breathing for 52 minutes. His parents prayed for the intercession of Cardinal Pell.' 'The boy survived and came off life support free of any damage to brain or lungs or heart. He's fine now and his doctors are calling it a miracle.' Victor (pictured) stopped breathing for close to an hour before making a 'miracle' recovery The late George Cardinal Pell (pictured) was acquitted of five sexual offences by the High Court in 2020 after spending 404 days in solitary confinement Pell's supporters may cite the boy's unlikely recovery as one of two miracles required for canonisation as a saint of the Catholic Church. The process generally does not begin for at least five years following the individuals death and would likely be a politically fraught process given Pell's controversial legacy. Vincent was said to have spent 10 days in hospital before being discharged. The boy's uncle, a Catholic priest, is reported to have contacted Pell's former secretary Father Joseph Hamilton requesting prayers for Vincent's recovery. Mr Hamilton claimed the boy's parents had prayed to Pell after having met him in 2021 while he was on a book tour in their home town of Phoenix. He was promoting his three-volume Prison Journal, which he wrote during a 404-day stint largely spent in solitary confinement after being convicted of a range of sexual offences for which he has since been acquitted. He was acquitted by the High Court in 2020 of sexually assaulting two choirboys in the sacristy of St Patrick's Cathedral in East Melbourne. The events were said to have taken place on two occasions in late 1996 and early 1997 when Pell had recently been appointed Archbishop of Melbourne. Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher is pictured presenting on Wednesday evening George Pell's coffin is seen being carried out of St Mary's Cathedral on February 2, 2023 Pell was first tried in August 2018 before a jury which was ultimately unable to reach a verdict. He was found guilty of all five sexual offences in a separate trial later that year. A majority of the Victorian Court of Appeal subsequently upheld his convictions before the High Court quashed the convictions. The single judgment published by the court held there was a 'significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt'. Earlier this year, the ABC reported that two alleged victims of the late cardinal had been granted compensation by the federal government's National Redress Scheme. One man was offered the compensation in January 2023 just five weeks before Pell died of cardiac arrest following hip surgery in Rome. Using a lower standard of proof than the criminal courts, the scheme found it was 'reasonably likely' Pell had groped the then-eight-year-old's genitals at a public swimming pool in Ballarat. The other compensation payment related to the alleged rape of a then-nine-year-old student at Ballarat's St Francis Xavier Primary School. The first man was received $45,000 in compensation from the scheme while the second was granted $95,000. Campion College in Sydney's west unveiled the hall named in Pell's honour on Wednesday The ABC was later ordered to remove the article by the Department of Social Services which claimed it had disclosed protected information. The Wednesday event also featured a book signing by journalist and commentator Tess Livingstone to celebrate the launch of her new biography: George Cardinal Pell: Pax Invictis'. Published by a California-based Catholic publisher, Ignatius Press, the book was branded as the 'definitive biography' of the late reformer. 'Like many bishops of his generation, Pell found dealing with corruption in the church a herculean challenge,' promotional materials for the book said. 'After being falsely accused of indifference to clerical sex abuse and of committing it himself, he suffered 404 days in solitary confinement for a crime he did not commit.' Mr Howard referred to Pell as 'an intellectual inspiration' at the event. 'What he gave to the Christian religion and very particularly to the Catholic Church, was a lifetime of service and devotion,' he said. 'His tenacity and his strength and his resilience would've broken most of us, but not him. And he was sustained in that by his resolute faith.' A spokesperson for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney told Daily Mail Australia Archbishop Fisher was unavailable for comment. Ignatius Press and Campion College were also contacted for comment. One man is dead and a one-year-old boy has critical injuries after they were hit by a car while out on an evening walk. The pair were in Mount Druitt in western Sydney at about 7.45pm on Thursday when they were struck on a busy arterial. Emergency services arrived to find the toddler's caregiver - a man aged 57 - severely injured and were unable to save his life. Shortly after, a man believed to be the toddler's father rushed the child to Westmead Children's Hospital in a critical condition. The driver involved in the crash, a woman aged 37, was taken to hospital for mandatory testing and was assisting with inquiries, police said on Friday. Anyone with dashcam footage is asked to pass it to police. In a separate fatal crash overnight, an e-bike rider died after he collided with a police car about 3am. Police say officers had been trying to pull the rider - a man aged in his 40s - over when the crash occurred in Waterloo. One man is dead and a one-year-old boy has critical injuries after they were hit by a car while out on an evening walk The man was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. Officers from outside the command area will launch a critical incident investigation into the crash and the police actions. That investigation will overseen by the police watchdog. Democrats had been secretly planning for former President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race or even 'die in office' as far back as 2023, a damning new book claims. Top party officials, led by former Vice President Kamala Harris' communications director Jamal Simmons, drew up contingency plans for a slew of possibilities leading up to the 2024 election. One scenario included that 'Biden might die in office,' according to Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes' upcoming book Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House. 'They wanted to make sure the party was ready for every possible circumstance if Biden launched his campaign and then stepped aside before the primaries; if he had won a bunch of primaries and then could not continue,' the book reads, according to The Guardian. 'If he secured enough delegates for winning the nomination, but dropped out before winning a floor vote at the convention and if he left a vacancy at the top of the ticket after taking the nomination.' The 'hush-hush' meetings focused on what the party rules said would happen in any of these circumstances 'and how [those rules] might need to be changed, if the president no longer had the desire, or the ability to run.' Among the plans they drew up was a 'death-pool roster' of judges who could swear Harris into office if the then 81-year-old president passed away, the book claims, citing two unidentified sources. Simmons 'never told the Vice President about the death-pool roster before leaving her camp in January 2023, but he advised colleagues that he should be notified immediately if something happened to Biden, because he had worked out an entire communications strategy,' the book says. He then left the spreadsheet with another Harris aide. 'One official involved in secret talks put a fine point on the fear that Biden would not make it to election day as the party's nominee: "It shows what we had to do to prepare with the unique circumstances we had, which was an 80-plus-year-old who was running,"' Allen and Parnes wrote. Democrats had been secretly planning for former President Joe Biden to either drop out of the presidential race or even 'die in office' as far back as 2023, a damning new book claims It claims that senior officials for then-Vice President Kamala Harris drew up a series of contingency plans for the 81-year-old president Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes made the claims in their upcoming book, Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House Still, Biden remained determined to secure a second term, bolstered by his wife, former First Lady Jill Biden - even as he made a series of public stumbles and gaffes. But when Biden went face-to-face with then-Republican Nominee Donald Trump in a debate over the summer, the president's declining mental acuity became undeniable. Afterward, former President Barack Obama and other leaders, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, stepped up to try to convince Biden to step down. At the same time, they began to see Harris as the only alternative. 'One veteran operative summed up the sentiments of Democrats who worried they would get stuck with Harris but still wanted Biden out: "Well at least she has a pulse,"' Allen and Parnes write in their book, which will go on sale next week. Finally, on July 21, Biden announced that he would no longer seek re-election - and endorsed Harris to succeed him as the party's nominee. Yet he still demanded complete loyalty from his vice president, according to the book. When Biden went face-to-face with then-Republican Nominee Donald Trump in a debate over the summer, the president's declining mental acuity became undeniable It says that on the day of Harris' first debate with Trump, Biden called the vice president for a pep talk. However, it turned out to be more instructions to protect Biden's legacy, with a three-word warning. 'No daylight, kid,' Biden reportedly said to the then 59-year-old Harris. The former president would regularly use that phrase to tie John McCain to George W. Bush ahead of the 2008 election when he ran with Obama. In the end, Allen and Parnes suggested whether Harris won or lost in her race against Trump 'she would only harm him by publicly distancing herself from him' as Biden staffers remained with her campaign. At one point, the authors claim, Sean Clegg - a Harris advisor who was not trusted by the Biden staffers - was helping the vice president prepare for a joint appearance with her running mate Tim Walz, when she started listing things that she and Biden accomplished. Clegg quickly stopped her, according to the book. 'Wait, wait, wait! Lets not do this. Lets not go down memory lane,' Clegg said, according to an excerpt previously published by The Hill. For the remark, Clegg was reportedly disinvited from future media prep sessions by longtime Dem communications staffer Stephanie Cutter. Even after dropping out, the book claims, Biden demanded loyalty from his vice president Harris aides have also claimed that the Biden team was deliberately not working with them as a result of the president being forced to drop out. Previously, Biden was blamed by senior Harris advisor David Plouffe for her loss because he refused to drop out of the race sooner. He had claimed no Democratic candidate could have won without a proper primary processwhat he called 'the cardinal sin' of this race. And he said he was shocked by the internal polling numbers when he finally joined the team after Biden dropped out with less than four months to go, a situation he described as 'catastrophic.' 'When I got in, it was the first time I saw the actual numbers under the hood. They were pretty gruesome,' he told The Atlantic. In the end, Harris and Walz lost every single swing state to Trump, leading to an electoral college blowout. It marked the first Democrat ticket to lose the popular vote since 2004 and just the second since 1988. Alex Jones' second wife has asked for a temporary restraining order against the InfoWars founder as the couple are set to divorce. Emily Wulff Jones, 46, has been married to Jones since 2017 and has one child with the well known conspiracy theorist. A divorce petition was submitted in Texas, where Jones is from and operates InfoWars, on September 9, 2024, according to Page Six. On March 12, Wulff submitted for an emergency restraining order against her estranged husband. Last Friday, a motion was filed in court to seal all records involved with the divorce case. Jones and Wulff Jones have yet to comment on the matter. The couple have had issues in the past, with Wulff Jones being arrested in 2021 for Domestic Violence on Christmas Eve. According to an affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast, Jones called 911 and said that Wulff Jones had hit him in the head several times and had been trying to hit him with a polished club. Alex Jones' second wife has asked for a temporary restraining order against the InfoWars founder as the couple are set to divorce Emily Wulff Jones, 46, has been married to Jones since 2017 and has one child with the well known conspiracy theorist 'Erika had hit him with both closed fists and open hands on his head in front of their child,' the affidavit stated. He claimed that Erika struck him 'over 20 times' after she'd accused him of cheating on her. At one point, Jones stated that he was in 'fear for his life.' Erika - whom an officer claimed had 'a strong odor of alcohol' on her breath - denied she'd threatened or assaulted her husband and said he was angry the angry one. Jones initially declined to say whether he'd been injured or elaborate on what happened beyond that he believes it was related to his wife's recent change of medication. 'It's a private family matter that happened on Christmas Eve,' Jones told The Associated Press in a brief interview. 'I love my wife and care about her and it appears to be some kind of medication imbalance.' After spending Christmas in custody, Erika was released on December 26 on $3,000 for each of the two charges. The couple have had issues in the past, with Wulff Jones being arrested in 2021 for Domestic Violence on Christmas Eve By next August, the couple were expressing public affection in Omaha, Nebraska, where Wulff Jones' family lives On a broadcast the following Monday, Jones said: 'So that's what happens when someone has a chemical imbalance after surgery and the medication they had mixes together and they literally go to cuckoo world, cloud cuckoo.' By next August, the couple were expressing public affection in Omaha, Nebraska, where Wulff Jones' family lives. The commentator was previously married and had three children with Kelly Nichols, who claims the conservative conspiracy theorist is 'mentally ill' and needs to be 'protected from himself and others.' The split comes at what has been a dark time for Jones and the entire InfoWars operation. Jones is in the middle of a desperate last-ditch effort to save his platform from a bankruptcy auction. First United American Companies, which runs a website in Jones' names that sells nutritional supplements, submitted an offer of more than $7million to buy the website, an attorney overseeing Jones' bankruptcy told a judge at a brief hearing in Houston on Monday. The figure is more than double what the company proposed during a closed-bid auction in November, when it lost to The Onion satirical news outlet, which offered $1.75million in addition to an agreement with the families of victims from the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. Global Tetrahedron, the parent company of The Onion, said the agreement would decrease the overall amount of debt Jones owed to the families - after he was ordered to pay nearly $1.5billion in defamation lawsuits from Connecticut and Texas filed by relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The split comes at what has been a dark time for Jones and the entire InfoWars operation It also planned to kick Jones out and relaunch Infowars in January as a parody, while First United American Companies was expected to let Jones stay on at Infowars. Christopher Murray, the bankruptcy trustee in charge of selling Jones' assets, valued Global Tetrahedron's bid at $7million, according to the Houston Chronicle. But US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez later halted the sale to The Onion, saying the bidding process was flawed, not transparent and didn't raise enough money for creditors. He also said there was too much confusion about The Onion's bid and its actual value. Now, Joshua Wolfshohl, an attorney representing Murray, said he expects to receive another bid from Global Tetrahedron to further compete with First United American Companies. In Marc, a reporter for InfoWars was brutally murdered outside his south Austin apartment. Jamie White was found mortally wounded outside his home on Douglas Street around midnight in a slaying that Jones blamed on Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza. Officers from Austin Police Department responded to 911 calls reporting a man with 'obvious signs of trauma.' White was rushed to a nearby hospital where he later died from his injuries. Police have called the incident a homicide but have not identified any suspects. The slaying had been investigated as a shooting/stabbing but authorities have not released additional information. In a fiery and emotional video, Jones did not hold back in assigning blame, squarely targeting the district attorney. 'I lay all of this squarely at the feet of Soros and of the sort of crime syndicate of the Democratic Party. They are the ones that administratively cut the police, prosecuted the police, and even cases that are hundred percent clear to be lawful, legal activities,' Jones ranted. 'You murdered Jamie White, you opened the door, you created the climate, you created conditions on purpose. George Soros. Alexander Soros, you murdered Jamie White.' 'These are sick, degenerate, evil people that know what they're doing and they aided and abetted. They are accomplices to the murder of a great American and Infowars long time veteran reporter Jamie White.' InfoWars, founded by Jones, has been embroiled in controversy for years over its inflammatory far-right content and conspiracy theories. The woman who shot superstar Selena dead at a Texas motel in 1995 has been denied parole after spending 30 years behind bars. Yolanda Saldivar, 64, is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Selena Quintanilla-Perez, 23, in a Corpus Christi, Texas hotel room during an argument on March 3, 1995. Saldivar was the president of Selena's fan club and had embezzled $60,000 from the group. The woman, who was originally trained as a nurse and was reportedly 'obsessed' with Selena, developed a reputation for firing boutique employees due to her personal animosity. Employees began complaining about Saldivar's bizarre behavior to Selena and her family members by 1994. The superstar was planning on firing her before the woman killed the pop star. After serving 30 years of her sentence, Saldivar appealed to be released from prison in March 2025. A three-member panel on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted not to release her, Khou 11 reported. Saldivar will be eligible for a reviewal of her case for parole in 2030. Selena's family announced they were 'grateful' after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles announced that her killer had been denied parole. Yolanda Saldivar, 64, was denied parole and is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Selena Quintanilla-Perez, 23, in a Corpus Christi, Texas hotel room during an argument on March 3, 1995 Saldivar was the president of Selena's fan club and had embezzled $60,000 from the group. The superstar was planning on firing her After serving 30 years of her sentence, Saldivar appealed to be released from prison in March 2025. A three-member panel on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted not to release her 'Today, we are grateful that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has chosen to deny parole for Yolanda Saldivar,' wrote Selena's family members and her husband, Chris Perez, in a joint statement. 'While nothing can bring Selena back, this decision reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon.' 'Selenas legacy is one of love, music, and inspiration. She lived with joy, gave selflessly, and continues to uplift generations with her voice and her spirit,' they continued. 'As her family and loved ones, we remain committed to preserving her memory and ensuring that her story is honored with the dignity and respect it deserves. 'We thank Selenas fans for their unwavering support throughout the years. Your love has been a source of strength and healing,' her family added. 'We will continue to celebrate Selenas life not the tragedy that took her from us and we ask that all who cherish her do the same.' While serving her sentence at the Patrick O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Saldivar has maintained a pristine record, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice official told the New York Post. Fellow inmates, however, revealed that she had a 'bounty on her head' inside prison walls, causing her to require to stay in protective housing. Former prisoner Yesenia Dominguez told the Post that the beloved pop star's murderer was on everybody's radar. Saldivar has claimed that she meant to shoot herself, not Selena, during the fatal confrontation Saldivar was very close to Selena and was the president of her fan club before she shot the star She said: 'Everyone was always like, "Let me have five minutes with that b*tch." 'Everyone wanted to get justice for Selena. Theres a target on her back.' Marisol Lopez, another former inmate who served five years alongside Saldivar told the outlet: 'Everyone knows who Yolanda Saldivar is. 'Theres a bounty on her head, like everyone wants a piece of her. The guards keep her away from everyone else, because shes hated so much.' These safety concerns added to Saldivar's urgency to get out of prison. One of her cousins told the Post that she has become a 'political prisoner.' 'Keeping her in prison isnt going to do any good,' the relative said. 'Its time for her to get out.' Ever since the 1995 murder, Saldivar has maintained a controversial conviction - that she meant to shoot herself, not Selena. Safety concerns added to Saldivar's urgency to get out of prison. One of her cousins told the Post that she has become a 'political prisoner' In a documentary about the star's tragic death called 'Selena and Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them,' Saldivar discussed her criminal proceedings. 'I was convicted by public opinion even before my trial started,' she asserted. If eventually granted parole, Saldivar said she will live with family members and start working. Nueces County District Attorney and District Court Judge Carlos Valdez, who was the prosecutor on the case, told 3News: 'When I was trying this case 30 years ago, I looked around and saw thousands of people all interested in this case, and to myself, I thought, "All this is gonna be gone." '"In 5 years, people are gonna forget about this case, people are gonna forget about Selena, people are gonna forget this ever happened," and I was so wrong.' Valdez said: 'Thirty years later, there is so much interest in the case and I believe - I really believe - that the safest place for Yolanda would probably be where she is. 'Based on what I've seen, so far, I think it would be a serious mistake to grant parole at this time.' The lives of Royal Air Force pilots were put at risk after a secret group chat involving US officials that discussed air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen was leaked. A British Voyager plane was reportedly used to refuel American jets defending the aircraft carrier that launched the strikes on March 15, killing more than 50 people. Speaking to The Telegraph, former head of the Army Lord Dannat said: 'As US officials gave away classified information about future operations in which the RAF were involved, this undoubtedly placed British personnel at higher risk. 'I hope the White House will tighten its security rapidly and considerably. We will continue to operate with the US, but need to be confident about their operational security.' Lord Dannat's remarks come after national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online on Monday. Trump initially told reporters he was not aware that the highly sensitive information had been shared, 2 1/2 hours after it was reported. He later appeared to joke about the breach. The material in the text chain 'contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,' editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported. It was not immediately clear if the specifics of the military operation were classified, but they often are and at the least are kept secure to protect service members and operational security. The U.S. has conducted airstrikes against the Houthis since the militant group began targeting commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023. Former head of Army Lord Dannatt says the accidental sharing of messages when a White House group chat on Yemen was leaked endangered RAF pilots A British Voyager plane was reportedly used to refuel American jets defending the aircraft carrier that launched the strikes in Yemen on March 15, killing more than 50 people. his image taken from video provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from a carrier in an undisclosed location before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025 Pictured: IS aircraft launching from a carrier in an undisclosed location before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025 Just two hours after Goldberg received the details of the attack on March 15, the U.S. began launching a series of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Meanwhile, allies of the US saw the group chat as a jaw-dropping security breach which casts doubt on intelligence-sharing with Washington and the security of joint military operations. 'Scary' and 'reckless' was the verdict of one European diplomat about the discussion on the Signal messaging app about strikes on Houthi rebels. Neil Melvin, a security expert at defense think tank the Royal United Services Institute, called it 'pretty shocking.' 'It's some of the most high-ranking U.S. officials seeming to display a complete disregard for the normal security protocols,' he said. Beyond the security concerns raised by the leaked chat, U.S. officials addressed the country's trans-Atlantic allies with disdain as Vice President JD Vance complained about 'bailing out' Europe and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed 'pathetic' European 'freeloading.' The criticism is another blow to a long-standing relationship already strained by President Donald Trump's blunt 'America First' approach and disregard for friendly nations. Melvin said that for America's allies, 'the alarm clock's been ringing for a long time.' In this photo taken from video released by Ansar Allah Media Office via Al Masirah TV channel shows a girl being treated at a hospital in Saada, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025 following airstrikes over multiple targets in the country U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, at an unspecified location in this handout image released March 15, 2025 In public, however, European officials insisted all was well in the trans-Atlantic relationship. 'We have a very close relationship with the U.S. on matters of security, defense and intelligence,' said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman, Dave Pares. 'They are our closest ally when it comes to these matters, have been for many years and will be for many years to come.' France's Foreign Ministry said 'the United States is our ally, and France intends to continue its cooperation with Washington, as well as with all its allies and European partners, in order to address current challenges particularly in the area of European security.' Meanwhile, The Atlantic magazine went on offence Wednesday by publishing more messages from the chat group that editor-in-chief Goldberg was accidentally added to as key White House officials discussed war plans against the Houthis. On Monday, Goldberg had published a piece entitled The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans. Goldberg left out some of the messages, including details shared by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, for fear they could endanger American military personnel. President Trump, Hegseth and other key White House officials, in turn, called Goldberg a bevy of names, including a 'total sleazebag,' in an attempt to delegitimize his reporting. On Wednesday, Goldberg came with more receipts - including the exact details Hegseth shared as the U.S. military attacked the Houthis, an Iran-backed group in Yemen who were attacking vessels on the Red Sea. 'The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump - combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts - have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions,' wrote Goldberg and The Atlantic's Shane Harris. 'There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in non-secure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared,' the journalists added. Two young boys have been rushed to hospital after a horror hit-and-run in Canberra. The students were seriously injured in the collision on Canberra Avenue outside St Edmund's College in Griffith, in the city's inner-city south, at 9.20am. NSW Police said the vehicle had hit 'a number of cars' in the area before the crash. The driver allegedly failed to stop and only exited the car after it crashed 1.5km down the road near St Christopher's Cathedral in Manuka. Both students were taken to Canberra Hospital in serious conditions. Police allege the car had been stolen from Queanbeyan earlier in the day. The driver has since been detained and is currently in custody. Members of the public have been urged to avoid the area while dozens of officers continue working at the scene. Two students have been rushed to hospital after they were involved in a hit-and-run on Canberra Avenue outside St Edmund's College in Griffith in Canberra at 9.20am Friday St Edmund's College will provide counselling to students and staff after the incident and let the faculty know in a special assembly at 10.30am. 'This morning there has been a serious incident on Canberra Avenue, two students were injured when a car lost control and veered off the road,' principal Tim Clearey said, reports the Canberra Times. 'The students' parents are with the boys as they receive care in hospital. 'The college has organised additional counsellors to support any students who may have been affected by witnessing the event or knowing the students involved. 'Please keep the boys and their families in your prayers.' St Clare's College, which is located opposite St Edmund's, has offered to provide pastoral support 'for any St Clare's students affected by the incident'. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday putting Vice President J.D. Vance in charge of 'removing improper ideology' from the Smithsonian museums, including the National Zoo. The order complained that 'Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation's history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.' 'Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,' the order read. 'This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.' It used examples of a Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibit that said '[s]ocieties including the United States have used race to establish and maintain systems of power, privilege, and disenfranchisement.' And another at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which 'proclaimed that "hard work," "individualism," and "the nuclear family" are aspects of "White culture."' The order also mentioned how the forthcoming Smithsonian American Women's History Museum planned to feature female transgender athletes. Vance, who already serves on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents, will be charged with overseeing the efforts at the Smithsonians museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo. The order instructs Vance to work with Congress to target funding for programs that promote 'divisive narratives.' President Donald Trump (left) signed an executive order Thursday putting Vice President J.D. Vance (right) in charge of 'removing improper ideology' from the Smithsonian museums including the National Zoo Vice President J.D. Vance has been put in charge of an effort to ensure there's no 'corrosive ideology' on display at the Smithsonians museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo (pictured) It also greenlit Vance to name 'citizen members' to the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents to help implement the plan. Additionally the order blasted the Biden administration for promoting this 'corrosive ideology.' 'Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn - not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,' the order said. 'To advance this policy, we will restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness - igniting the imagination of young minds, honoring the richness of American history and innovation, and instilling pride in the hearts of all Americans,' it read. With the order, Trump makes good on a campaign pledge to rid the country of 'critical race theory' - used by conservatives to describe educational efforts portraying slavery as the country's original sin. Trump has also railed against 'transgender ideology' - and used several other orders to marginalize that commmunity. Thursday's order specifically said that Vance would work with Congress to ensure that the forthcoming American Women's History Museum would 'celebrate the achievements of women' and would 'not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum.' Historically Trump has also been against moves to remove Confederate monuments from public spaces, which was part of the broader 'Black Lives Matter' movement, after the death of the George Floyd by a white police office in Minneapolis in May 2020. The Smithsonian Castle is seen on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In a new executive order, Trump blasted the Smithsonian for 'com[ing] under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology' The order also instructs the Secretary of the Interior, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, to 'determine whether, since January 1, 2020, public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties within the Department of the Interior's jurisdiction have been removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology.' In a similar move, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth already reverted the name of Fort Liberty to Fort Bragg, which was originally named after a Confederate officer, one that helped the southern states lose the Civil War. The move, however, did not completely reverse course, as Fort Bragg is now named after Roland L. Bragg, a World War II fighter with the same last name, who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart. Trump felt so strongly against the renaming of military bases that were named after Confederates that he vetoed a major Pentagon spending bill ahead of his 2021 departure from office. Finally the executive order instructs Burgum to 'improve the infrastructure of Independence National Historical Park' in Philadelphia, ahead of the nation's 250th birthday on July 4, 2026. The second man killed in a horror crash in northern NSW has been identified. Jordan Chetcuti, 26, was killed alongside Tristan 'Tizzy' Dunn, 26, also known as Tristan English, when their high-powered Ford Falcon XR6 veered off Droney Bridge and into the Richmond River at Fairy Hill, near Casino, on Wednesday night. The third occupant, a 22-year-old female passenger, miraculously managed to escape unharmed before the vehicle went under. The woman then ran 2km to raise the alarm. Emergency services arrived at the the scene quickly but the rescue operation turned into a recovery effort. Police rescue and SES crews remained at the scene on Thursday to retrieve the men's bodies from the car. Mr Chetcuti's aunt, Kiara Piening, took to social media with a tribute on Thursday night. 'It's still so surreal that you grew your wings last night. The last thing you said to me was 'not a good time I'll call you back' and here I am now forever waiting on that call,' she said. Jordan Chetcuti, 26, was killed when the bright green Ford he was in plunged into the Richmond River in northern NSW Tristan Dunn also known as Tristan English was the other of the men who was tragically killed in a fatal crash at Fairy Hill 'Rest in peace Tizzy, we're forever gonna miss your craziness, always in our hearts' a tribute on social media read. Pictured is Tristan English Ms Piening said she would miss her nephew's regular phone calls. 'I've gone from having you kill my life by peppering my phone non-stop to just wishing you'd call knowing I'll never hear from you again. 'I'll forever be grateful for all the great memories we shared and our random adventures. 'It was through circumstances I met you but through loyalties that I came to love you as if you were my own.' It's understood Mr Chetcuti had been released from behind bars a few days ago and was set to celebrate his 27th birthday on April 2. 'Part of me wishes you never got out on Monday coz then I'd still get to see you Saturday... But I know that I have to keep on living holding onto you with our memories,' Ms Piening said. 'I know I'll see you again someday... fly high Jordan.' Tributes have also flooded social media from Mr English's grieving friends. 'Rest in peace Tizzy, we're forever gonna miss your craziness, always in our hearts' one post read. Mr English is understood to have grown up in Casino and spent time living in South Australia. In 2022, Richmond Police issued a public appeal for assistance in tracking down Mr English, then aged 23, who was wanted by virtue of a conviction warrant. The car involved in the crash, a lime Ford Falcon XR6, was recovered from the river and towed from the scene on Thursday afternoon. An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the single vehicle crash continues. A report will be prepared for the coroner. Locals say a sharp turn before the bridge gives drivers 'no room for error'. 'There are no guardrails or anything to stop you going over the bridge,' John Miller told the ABC. 'If you go over the bridge, you go straight into the river.' The tragedy unfolded on Droney Bridge Road in Fairy Hill just before 10pm on Wednesday The car involved in the crash, a lime Ford Falcon XR6, was towed from the scene on Thursday afternoon The two men were among five lives lost in fatal crashes across NSW within 24 hours. Another man died following a two-car crash at Ilford in the state's central west in Thursday morning. Two more men aged 60 and 62 also died in a head-on crash on the Great Western Highway near Linden in the Blue Mountains on Wednesday night. A former constable who fatally Tasered a 95-year-old dementia sufferer in a nursing home will avoid jail after a judge ruled he had 'completely misunderstood' the situation. Kristian White, 35, was placed on a two-year community corrections order following a sentencing hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday. White was found guilty of manslaughter in November after he Tasered Clare Nowland inside the Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in the early hours of May 17, 2023. The ex-cop will now need to perform 425 hours of community service work and be supervised by a community corrections officer. In handing down his decision, Justice Ian Harrison found that White made a 'terrible mistake' but that his crime fell at the lower end of objective seriousness. At a prior sentencing hearing, prosecutors pushed Justice Harrison to jail White for the crime. However, the judge instead sided with the ex-officer's lawyers. They argued he only made an error of judgement and should receive a more lenient sentence for that reason. Justice Harrison said a jail term would be 'disproportionate' and that White didn't pose a risk of reoffending or a danger to the community. Former cop Kristian White will avoid jail after a judge ruled he had 'completely misunderstood' the situation (White and his wife are pictured leaving Supreme Court of NSW on Friday) His wife was forced to shield herself from the media as they left the court Mrs Nowland, a great-grandmother, was holding a knife while using a walking frame and had been ignoring attempts by staff to disarm her Mrs Nowland's son, Michael, told media outside the court that the result was 'obviously very disappointing for the family'. 'Justice and fairness - that's all we wanted,' he said. 'A slap on the wrist for someone that's killed our mother - it's very, very hard to sort of process that, so speaking out is very emotional.' Mrs Nowland was holding a steak knife while using a walking frame and had been ignoring attempts by staff to disarm her moments before she was Tasered. White said "nah, bugger it" before firing the Taser's barbs at her chest, causing her to fall and strike her head. The great-grandmother suffered a bleed on the brain and died in hospital a week later. UNSW criminology expert Helen Gibbon told AAP it was very rare for Australian police officers to face prosecution for killing a person in the line of duty and even rarer for police to be convicted of an offence in relation to a killing. White was removed from the police force in December, less than a week after a jury found him guilty of Mrs Nowland's manslaughter. He has launched legal action for a review of that decision. A man accused of murdering his estranged wife is a father of four and a former merchant sailor. Jessie James Tumaliuan, 41, of Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne's west, is accused of stabbing to death his estranged partner Czarina Gatbonton Tumaliuan, 42, at her home on Thursday. Tumaliuan faced the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday where he was remanded in custody to reappear on July 31. It remains unclear how police put their case against the alleged killer, with the court hearing it would take three months to obtain a pathologist report to help detectives understand a cause of death. Ms Tumaliuan had lived directly across the road from a primary school, with neighbours reportedly hearing her blood-curdling screams shortly after she was observed walking her kids to school. Officers were called to the Retford Close home, across the road from Bethany Catholic Primary School in Werribee, about 9am on Thursday. One local, who wished to remain anonymous, said she saw a man whose clothes were covered in blood standing outside the home. Another neighbour Darren Fudyma told Daily Mail Australia police had advised him someone had been stabbed inside a home which had been sealed off by detectives. Father-of-four Jessie James Tumaliuan (left) is accused of murdering his estranged wife Czarina Gatbonton Tumaliuan (right) Jessie James Tumaliuan and Czarina in happier times 'They informed me there had been a homicide which is very strange, especially in this quiet cul-de-sac,' he said. Police found Ms Tumaliuan's body in the backyard of her Werribee home. The popular businesswoman had run Bellizzima Online Shop while caring for her four children. Her Facebook page proudly boasted about her juggling act as mother and businesswoman, declaring herself a 'working mum, businesswoman and supermum'. The self-described foodie and adventurer would often encourage other mothers to follow their dreams. 'Successful mothers/women are not the ones that never struggled. They are the ones that never give up, despite the struggles,' she posted in 2023. She had described her children as her 'treasure, pride, joy and inspiration'. Her husband had studied at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy and worked as a sailor. Jessie James Tumaliuan posted this image of him and his wife a little over a year ago Police stopped parents from picking-up their children at the school exit near the home where Ms Tumaliuan's body was found His social media pages are littered with photographs of himself and Ms Tumaliuan in happier times. Many photos show his family enjoying good times at the beach and other fun events. It remains unclear when the couple's relationship soured. Tumaliuan made no application for bail and will remain behind bars until his next appearance. It's a question that has puzzled scientists for decades - why do straight men love breasts? Now, experts from the University of Wrocaw say they may have finally found the answer. For years, researchers have debated whether men's fixation on breasts is innate or simply the result of cultural conditioning in the West. In their new study, they wanted to know: would men who had grown up surrounded by topless women be less interested in breasts? Or was the attraction hardwired? To answer these questions, the researchers studied the Dani tribe of Western New Guinea, Indonesia. Until about 20 years ago, it was the norm for Dani women to go topless. But as Western influence spread, most women began covering up. The team surveyed 40 older Dani men who came of age when toplessness was the norm, and 40 younger men who grew up in a society where women covered up. It's a question that has puzzled scientists for decades - why do straight men love breasts? (stock image) In their new study, the wanted to know: would men who had grown up surrounded by topless women be less interested in breasts? Or was the attraction hardwired? To answer these questions, the researchers set out to study the Dani tribe of Western New Guinea, Indonesia The men were asked how frequently they touch their partner's breasts, and how sexually aroused they feel when they see naked female breasts. The results revealed that there was no difference between the two groups. 'The two groups did not differ in terms of how frequently they touch their partner's breasts during sexual intercourse, [or] how sexually aroused they feel when they see naked female breasts,' the study, published in Archives of Sexual Behaviour, concluded. In other words, even in a society where breasts were freely on display, men still found them attractive. Despite just researching one tribe and it relying on the older men's recollections, lead researcher Michal Stefanczyk said that it seemed reasonable to assume that this was not a cultural imposition. Stefanczyk told the Times: 'What we can say is breasts are sexy naturally so. 'Men like breasts.' However, he was keen to point out that this doesn't mean breasts are the be-all and end-all for men. The famous Wobderbra advert from the 90s proved that sex sells in the West In fact, many of the Dani men said breasts weren't a major factor in choosing a life partner. Steve Stewart-Williams, a psychology professor at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, said: 'I've often heard people argue that men's love of breasts is just an invention of Western culture, and that there are cultures out there where breasts are no big deal to men. 'It's always struck me as implausible could Western culture have randomly created a male obsession with women's elbows or nostrils? I find the new study persuasive. 'And it also strikes me as a win for common sense over an eccentric academic theory.' The study comes shortly after scientists claimed to discover the formula for the perfect woman's body. According to scientists from the University of Konstanz, the most attractive women have a pronounced 'S' shaped contour from the chest down to their thighs. This could explain why curvier stars such as Marilyn Monroe or Kim Kardashian are often considered more attractive than slimmer celebs. The researchers say it is a woman's overall 'curviness' which makes them appear attractive rather than just having a slim waist. These findings overturn older research which assumed that a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 was the ideal body shape for a woman. However, the researchers say that a lower waist-to-hip ratio is only attractive for women with a lower body weight. For larger body types, it is curviness rather than waist size which was the key factor in someone's attractiveness. A French chef has mysteriously died after making a frantic phone call to his wife and putting down $200,000 for their dream life in New York City. Francois-Tanguy Olivon, 34, was found dead after security footage saw him fall from a bridge in Bayonne, France. Olivon and his wife, Manon, had planned to move from France with their children to New York City, where they had laid a large sum of money to open their own restaurant chain, Chez Fanfan in SoHo. But while on vacation in the south of France, Olivon mysteriously disappeared after making a frantic call to his wife at 1am on February 22. 'He was shouting at me for help, to come and get him right away,' Manon said, according to Sud Ouest, a French media outlet. Manon posted on Facebook that after being visibly drunk and alone, Olivon 'said that he was in danger and that he had been hit by several individuals.' However, she never spoke to her husband again and he was spotted by a passerby in a 'completely torn' t-shirt on the night he disappeared. CCTV saw him falling from the bridge, and his body was pulled from the Adour River 12 days later. Francois-Tanguy Olivon, 34, was found dead after security footage saw him fall from a bridge in Bayonne, France 'We were a close-knit family, full of love and dreams. Francois-Tanguy was an exceptional father and husband, a kindhearted man who always put others before himself,' Manon wrote 'Today, I am not writing to a landlord - I am writing to a man. A man who, I hope can look beyond clauses and figures and understand that sometimes, life puts us through unimaginable trials that we cannot face alone,' Manon wrote to their landlord in NYC They're expected dream life in NYC, however, was brought to a tragic end upon his death. The pair had placed a $166,00 deposit and $47,500 for two months' worth of rent for January and February, Manon told the New York Post. 'Everything was ready - the location, the preparations - but not, this dream will never come true,' she wrote on her GoFundMe page, created in hopes of supporting her children. Being on her own with her two young children, Manon felt that their dream was 'simply impossible.' She informed the landlord, whom they had sent the rent payments to, of her husband's death in a letter on March 1. She asked the landlord, Robert Moskowitz, owner of Only Properties LLC based in New York, for at least a portion of the money they had put down back. 'Today, I am not writing to a landlord - I am writing to a man. A man who, I hope can look beyond clauses and figures and understand that sometimes, life puts us through unimaginable trials that we cannot face alone,' she wrote. 'If you cannot return the full amount, then I bed you to at least return one month's rent. It would be an immense help to me and my children.' 'He was shouting at me for help, to come and get him right away,' Manon said Olivon and his wife, Manon, had planned to move from France with their children to New York City, where they had laid a large sum of money to open their own restaurant chain, Chez Fanfan in SoHo Not only were her pleas were refused, Manon was threatened to be held accountable for the entire 10-year lease, at a total of $3 million, unless she signed a 'surrender agreement.' 'Refusing to sign the surrender agreement will not result in a return of your security deposit, but it will result in you being held fully responsible for all of the obligations set forth in the parties lease agreement,' Only Properties attorney Nicole Waknine wrote to Manon, the Post reported. Moskowitz's attorney did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. Manon signed the surrender agreement, but their 'entire life savings' had been funneled into their dream life in NYC. 'I don't have anything. I don't have a house anymore because we sold it a while ago to move to New York. I no longer have a car either. I no longer have a job because my husband and I have sold our... restaurant in Brittany,' Manon wrote to the Post. 'Leaving me with no resourced while I struggle to secure a future for my children,' she wrote. 'I have to start from scratch - without my husband, without our dream, and with two young children depending on me.' Manon hopes the fundraiser will help her navigate raising her children after the loss of their father and most of their life savings as well as cover the costs related to his passing. 'We were a close-knit family, full of love and dreams. Francois-Tanguy was an exceptional father and husband, a kindhearted man who always put others before himself,' Manon wrote. 'Now, Rose (4 years old), Ethan (8 years old), and I must find a way forward without him, but the reality is devastating.' 'Although this support represents only a fraction of what we had invested to start a new life, it will help me navigate this hardship with a little more peace of mind and provide Rose and Ethan with some much-needed stability.' Donald Trump's proposed minerals deal with Ukraine has been laid out by insiders - and compared to holding a gun to Volodymyr Zelensky's head. The deal will see the United States handed control of Ukraine's mineral wealth and infrastructure linked to natural resources in an agreement which would be unparalleled in the history of modern diplomacy. On top of this, the plan - which was obtained by the Daily Telegraph - hands America unprecedented control over the sale of the war torn nation's resources which could include vetoing sales to China or restricting sales to Europe. Despite the massive economic control handed over to the US it would come with no security guarantee in light of a future Russian invasion. The shocking proposals come after the US met with delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia earlier this month to discuss prospective steps towards a ceasefire. Alan Riley, an expert on energy law at the Atlantic Council, told the Telegraph the document is like nothing he has ever seen before. 'There are no guarantees, no defence clauses, the US puts up nothing,' he said. A United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund would control Ukraine's natural resources including critical minerals and natural gas. US President Donald Trump. The plan hands America unprecedented control over the sale of the war torn nation's resources which could include vetoing sales to China or restricting sales to Europe The latest insight into the proposed deal has been compared to holding a gun to Volodymyr Zelensky's head A mine in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region. A United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund would control Ukraine's natural resources including critical minerals and natural gas Three of the five board members on the new fund will be chosen by the US and America will be given the first right of refusal on all projects. The US would also have the power to examine the books and accounts of any Ukrainian ministry or agency when it wants to. This deal is running parallel with talks between Russia and America to to restore West Siberian gas flows to Europe in large volumes. The revived gas trade would flow through Ukraines network, and then via the Baltic once the sabotaged Nord Stream pipelines are mended. Prof Riley said: 'It is not compatible with EU membership, and perhaps that is part of the purpose. I have to wonder whether the real intention might not be to force Zelensky to reject it.' This latest development comes days after the White House announced that Ukraine and Russia agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea to ensure safe navigation as they move closer toward a peace deal. The agreement also implements a ban on attacks by the two countries on each other's energy facilities. It is the clearest move to a wider ceasefire deal that the Trump administration sees as a positive step toward ending the war. The agreements reached in Saudi Arabia follow talks initiated by President Donald Trump, who has vowed to swiftly end the war. 'The United States and Russia have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea,' the White House said in a statement. Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Wednesday Nord Stream pipeline in 2020. Russia and the US are also discussing restoring gas flows to europe via the currently damaged pipeline Both countries said they would rely on the U.S. to enforce the deals as discussions remain ongoing in Jeddah. 'If the Russians violate this, then I have a direct question for President Trump. If they violate, here is the evidence - we ask for sanctions, we ask for weapons, etc,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: 'We will need clear guarantees. And given the sad experience of agreements with just Kyiv, the guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelensky and his team to do one thing and not the other.' Under the agreement with Moscow, Washington promised to help restore Russian access to markets for its agricultural and fertiliser exports. The Kremlin said this would require lifting some sanctions. The talks followed separate phone calls last week between Trump and the two presidents, Zelensky and Vladimir Putin. Putin rejected Trump's proposal for a full ceasefire lasting 30 days, which Ukraine had previously endorsed. The confronting moment a man is yanked out of a drainpipe covered in mud after fleeing the scene of a fatal crash has been captured in dramatic arrest footage. Andrew Julian Stewart-Smith, 29, drove a stolen ute into 72-year-old Yrsa Christofferson's stationary vehicle at a Kippa Ring intersection north of Brisbane on September 22, 2023. Ms Christofferson died at the scene while her daughter Maria, 41, was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital with serious injuries. Stewart-Smith fled the scene but was tracked by a police dog squad to a drain pipe 1.5km from the busy intersection an hour later. The then-27-year-old was covered head-to-toe in mud when police dragged him out of the pipe and fixed handcuffs around his wrists. 'At this point in time you are under arrest for the dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death,' an officer is heard telling him. Queensland Police have alleged the ute was stolen from a home in Stafford, in Brisbane's north, between September 18 and September 19. Stewart-Smith was denied bail at Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 23. Officers demanded Stewart-Smith get on the ground after he was tracked to a drain pipe The drain pipe was about 1.5km away from the scene of a fatal crash north of Brisbane Yrsa Christofferson, 72, died at the scene while her daughter Maria was seriously injured (pictured is the crumpled vehicles at the scene on September 22, 2023) Andrew Julian Stewart-Smith (pictured) has pleaded guilty to a range of offences Stewart-Smith appeared at the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to a range of driving offences including operation of a vehicle causing death and grievous bodily harm while excessively speeding before leaving the scene and unlawful use of a motor vehicle. He also pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation material and possessing and supplying dangerous drugs. The 29-year-old was remanded in custody for a July sentencing hearing. Well wishes have been pouring in for King Charles after he was admitted to hospital amid his cancer treatment. Charles, 76, was forced to cancel a string of engagements in Birmingham today after suffering 'temporary side-effects' that required a short period of observation in The London Clinic. But he returned to Clarence House and was 'working away as usual' last night, with sources describing it as a 'most minor bump in a road that's very much heading in the right direction'. The King has been able to undertake a full programme of public and State duties, and that position remains unaltered, sources stressed. It is understood the state visit to Italy with the Queen on April 7, is still expected to go ahead as planned. It is set to be Charles' first overseas trip of the year following on from a gruelling two-week foreign tour to Australia and Samoa in October, during which he temporarily paused cancer treatment. Sources insisted there was 'no drama' and described the 'brief' trip to hospital as being 'connected to [his] treatment programme'. But it is a concerning reminder that, more than a year after announcing he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, the King is still undergoing treatment while undertaking a busy diary of public engagements. A source added: 'As many can vouch, such things are not unexpected with these kind of conditions.' King Charles III greets a guest during a reception at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday King Charles leaves Somerset House after visiting an exhibition and meeting farmers on March 26 Charles waves to members of the public after visiting the exhibition on Wednesday Buckingham Palace has never revealed what cancer the King has other than to say it was not connected with the prostate surgery he underwent in January last year, which resulted in doctors discovering the disease nor details of his treatment. A spokeswoman for Sir Keir Starmer said that the Prime Minister 'wishes His Majesty the King all the very best' shortly after the Palace announcement last night. Buckingham Palace said on Thursday: 'Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, the King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital. 'His Majesty's afternoon engagements were therefore postponed. His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow's diary programme will also be rescheduled. 'His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result.' The King 'regretfully' cancelled his planned engagements in Birmingham in order to 'protect and prioritise [his] continued very positive recovery', sources said. King Charles III arriving for his visit to Somerset House on Wednesday Inside, the 76-year-old, who is the Patron of The Royal Countryside Fund, was guided through the venue's latest exhibit SOIL: The World at Our Feet Charles took off his coat to reveal a grey pin-striped suit with a blue-patterned tie and a matching checked pocket square The King's visit coincided with Somerset House's 25th anniversary and he unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion But the Mail has previously revealed that it was caught at a very early stage. It is understood that his treatment is ongoing and the recovery path continues 'in a very positive direction'. He was last seen in public on Wednesday, when he undertook two lengthy engagements, attending an exhibition on soil and meeting members of the farming community, followed by a large reception at Buckingham Palace for 400 members of the regional media. He spent more than a hour on his feet, meeting and greeting his guests. Queen Camilla has spoken recently of her personal frustration that her husband will not slow down. He has been keen to be as open as possible about his diagnosis, while retaining a sense of medical privacy, and was keen to share the latest news in a 'spirit of openness and transparency'. No further details of the side effects have been given, but sources stress such issues are not uncommon with many medical treatments. The King was said to be in 'good form' at home last night, and is continuing to work on State papers and make calls from his study. He was treated in The London Clinic that has cared for him previously and he travelled to and from the hospital by car in the usual way. The Queen did not join the King during his brief visit to hospital yesterday. King Charles is accompanied by his wife Camilla during a reception at Clarence House on Tuesday. It understood the Queen did not join The King during his visit to hospital on Thursday Charles and Camilla at the reception, where the Queen unveiled the medal which has been designed to recognise people who are championing literature in local communities King Charles with Sir Derek Jacobi and Helena Bonham Carter at the glitzy reception on Tuesday A spokesman said of the cancelled engagements: 'His Majesty was due to receive Credentials from the Ambassadors of three different nations this afternoon. 'Tomorrow, he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion. 'He very much hopes that they can be rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible.' Charles has barely taken any time off over the last year, aside from the first few weeks following his diagnosis and resumed public duties, first privately and then in public, as soon as he possibly could. Last autumn he even undertook a gruelling two-week foreign tour to Australia and Samoa. Sources believe undertaking public and State duties has been of great benefit to the King's overall wellbeing and Charles is 'deeply grateful' for all the support, encouragement and kind words of the many thousands he has met while doing so. Buckingham Palace has indicated there are unlikely to be any further updates because what has happened is 'not a major development', but will advise on any minor alterations to next week's diary that may be required in due course. A Mexican resort at the center of an international saga after an American couple were arrested and accused of fraud has hit back at suggestions they're being imprisoned without cause. Christy and Paul Akeo were immediately detained in Cancun on March 4 after stepping off a plane from Michigan and thrown in maximum security prison, where they remain 24 days later. The couple is accused of defrauding Palace Resorts between 2021 and 2022 by wrongly clawing credit card transactions after they purchased a timeshare package which guaranteed them preferential rates. But their devastated daughter, Lindsey, insists her parents were within their rights to do so after the resort breached the contract they'd signed. She has accused the resort of setting her parents up and holding them captive as retribution and is turning to Donald Trump to free them. The resort has now disputed the daughter's pleas of innocence, arguing that Interpol certified the arrest warrant after the couple defrauded more than $116,000 - then encouraged other Americans to do the same. 'Paul and Christy Akeo fraudulently disputed legitimate credit card charges and publicly encouraged others to do the same,' a company spokesperson told ABC. In a separate statement, the company said: 'They were found to have breached their contract by promoting, for profit and/or commercial purposes, preferential rates and various benefits via social media which consequently led to the withdrawal of supplementary benefits initially included in their contract.' Christy and Paul Akeo were detained in Mexico after stepping off a plane from Michigan and thrown in maximum security prison, where they remain 24 days later In posts seen by DailyMail.com purportedly from Christy's social media page, she celebrated that she'd helped 'thousands of members... without negative impacts to their credit' It went on to suggest the couple may have been 'disgruntled with the consequences of their actions', prompting them to first dispute recent charges and stopping future payments entirely. In posts seen by DailyMail.com purportedly from Christy's social media page, she celebrated that she'd helped 'thousands of members... without negative impacts to their credit.' 'Anyone who is trying to get out of their membership and is hesitant... If you need help, please let me know,' the mom posted. The messy saga centers around a timeshare investment they first made in 2016 and continued to upgrade 18 times as the years wore on, totaling a $1.409million investment into Palace Hotels. Christy herself told another hotel goer that she often visited the resort once a month to escape Michigan's dreary weather, making the most of her $500,000 investment into the venue. According to the resort, she and Paul 'made a total of 1,570 bookings' during the course of their membership, which was last upgraded in 2021. But when they weren't using the resort, they would advertise their room out on social media channels, primarily Facebook, offering all-inclusive food and drink packages, manicures and massages, as well as the accommodation. Christy claimed her relationship went south with Palace because she and Paul successfully referred so many members that they'd amassed a huge amount of free week-long stays, which were used as incentives for members to lure in new clients. The messy saga centers around a timeshare investment they first made in 2016 and continued to upgrade 18 times as the years wore on, totaling a $1.409million investment into Palace Hotels A judge ruled Palace Resorts would have six more months to gather evidence against the couple and build their case, ordering the couple to remain behind bars as the case proceeds This was standard practice among certain tiered members, and some of the families the Akeo's referred said the couple singlehandedly brought 'millions of dollars' into the resort. But as a result of what the resort deemed to be a 'breach', they allegedly began canceling some of the Akeo's upcoming bookings. John Manly, the Akeo family attorney, said in a statement the couple 'got lured into this timeshare.' 'Initially it was some reasonable amount a month, and then they, according to what we've been told, they took away their benefits and essentially made them increase their monthly contribution to $6,200 a month. 'But in exchange for that, they were supposed to be able to sell weeks of their timeshare so people could use them, and that interests Palace because they get to sell to more people. 'What began to occur is Palace just began to cancel the reservations. So essentially, they're paying $6,200 a month for which anybody who's middle class or retired is a lot of money, not allowing them to sell their weeks that they have promised and essentially defaulted or breached, rather, the contract.' A hotel goer who was referred by Christy shared a message she'd received from her when the dispute was unfolding in a group set up by her daughter to bolster support amid their arrests. It read: 'What we did and Palace didn't like, was use our membership a lot! I would go down monthly because I don't work and we live in crappy weather Michigan. Some of the families the Akeo's referred said the couple singlehandedly brought 'millions of dollars' into the resort In another post made from Christy's Facebook account, others in the Akeo's predicament were warned to 'report any and all credit card you used for monthly payments as lost or stolen... also any cards you may have used at resort for incidentals, gift shop purchases etc 'To sum it up, if you use the benefits of your contract multiple times or more than Palace wants you to, they do not like it.' The resort's decision to subsequently suspend some of the couple's perks as well as cancel upcoming stays breached the contract they signed, Christy believed after seeking the advice of a lawyer. As such, she and Paul felt well within their rights to dispute their recent charges. The couple made claims against 13 charges between 2021 and 2022, totaling $116,000. Amex sided with them, returning the cash and prompting the resort to take legal action. In another post made from Christy's Facebook account, others in the Akeo's predicament were warned to 'report any and all credit card you used for monthly payments as lost or stolen... also any cards you may have used at resort for incidentals, gift shop purchases etc. 'Then just quit making your monthly payments. Palace will harass you for a few months by email, phone calls and even WhatsApp, but it's very important not to respond to any of these. 'It takes about 3-4 months and then they will stop,' the post added. Another Palace member said the Akeo's decision to advertise their condo was actually encouraged by staff at the resort. Christy and Paul felt well within their rights to dispute their recent charges. The couple made claims against 13 charges between 2021 and 2022, totaling $116,000. Amex sided with them, returning the cash and prompting the resort to take legal action 'Palace has a referral program that would let you have people travel under your membership and every time you got two groups to go, you got a free week,' the insider said. 'My parents would recruit people to travel under our membership for the same reason. Tons of people advertise their membership, also for the same reason. In meetings, palace would encourage us to do the same.' Local media in Mexico shared pictures of the duo's arrest and said they were 'wanted by Interpol' at the time they were picked up. And a judge ruled Palace Resorts would have six more months to gather evidence against the couple and build their case, ordering the couple to remain behind bars as the case proceeds. Christy's daughter Lindsey said in a Facebook post the couple have been tortured as a 'direct response of The Palace Company's corruption, extortion, retaliation and blackmail.' 'Absolutely sickening,' she added, revealing they're in a living hell inside a maximum security prison. 'Despite asking numerous times to speak to Paul, we have yet to have ANY communication with him,' she said. Lindsey said her mother has shed 25lbs in prison in just 20 days because authorities continue to offer food they know she is allergic to, and that she has developed a severe rash all over her body. Lindsey said her mother has shed 25lbs in prison in just 20 days because authorities continue to offer food they know she is allergic to, and that she has developed a severe rash all over her body 'We have spent thousands of dollars towards Mexican legal representation, but unfortunately that only goes so far when dealing with this level of corruption and extortion,' she said. She also questioned how her mother's social media posts could have any bearing on the case. 'My mom was very clear about that in this Facebook group where people were seeking information on what to do when you get in these memberships,' Hull told CNN. 'If there's 8,000 people dealing with the same thing, and the same disappointments with Palace Resorts, and how they treat their members, maybe you should look in the mirror and make a change.' Lindsey's stepfather Paul is a US Navy Chief Petty Officer who has served the United States for 21 years. In the wake of their arrests, other disgruntled Palace Hotel members and former members have spoken out. 'This is the company we just finished disputing our charges with,' one former customer in America wrote on a Facebook post. 'Having been threatened by them when we were there, I am not in the least bit surprised by this. 'Guess we're never going back to Mexico since we filed a dispute with our credit card company and they found in our favor... we might get arrested as well.' One of the victims of a fatal crash sent his ex-partner a disturbing video from inside the car just moments before it plunged into a river, leaving distraught family and friends questioning whether it really was an accident. Jordan Chetcuti, 26, was killed alongside Tristan 'Tizzy' English, 26, when their Ford Falcon XR6 veered off Droney Bridge and into the Richmond River at Fairy Hill, near Casino in northern NSW, on Wednesday night. The third occupant, Tarliah Leigh Defina, 24, is understood to have been behind the wheel of the high-powered vehicle which belonged to her step-father Adam Richo Richards. She managed to escape unharmed before the vehicle went under. Daily Mail Australia can reveal the 24-year-old lost her licence one week before the crash after she was caught driving on an expired licence with drugs in her system. According to reports she ran two kilometres to raise the alarm at a nearby property to call for help. When emergency services arrived there was nothing they could do to rescue the men. Chloe OHalloran, the ex-partner of Chetcuti, and mother to his only child Anarki said she isn't convinced the fatality was an accident after receiving a chilling video from her ex shortly before the vehicle is understood to have careened into a nearby river. The video appeared to show a man's dirt covered foot while music blared in the background. Mr Chetcuti was released from behind bars a few days ago and was set to celebrate his 27th birthday Chloe O'Halloran says her son Anarki (pictured) has been robbed of a father after the fatal crash The Ford Falcon XR6 veered off Droney Bridge and into the Richmond River at Fairy Hill, near Casino, on Wednesday night 'I knew something was very wrong. It's not like Jordan, I felt sick to my stomach and I knew he was in trouble and he was scared, she said. The message came at 9.56pm, then after that he stopped responding, that's not like (him) not to respond to me. After viewing her exes body at Lismore base hospital on Friday she said her suspicions were further confirmed. It looked like he had been beaten, he had a broken neck, injuries not conducive to a car crash. The mother-of-one said her ex was determined to turn around his life after being released from a prison stint. He was a changed man when he left Clarence [correctional centre] on Sunday, he was ready to be a parent, she said. We met up at the park and he was so patient with Anarki, who is non-verbal autistic... he bought him lunch and a toy from the cheap shop. I feel like his life was ripped from my son before he got a chance to even be a dad, she added. Tarliah Defina was behind the wheel of the lime green Ford Falcon XR6 owned by her stepfather Adam Richards (pictured) Tristan 'Tizzy' English died in a horrific crash in Fairy Hill, near Casino on Wednesday night Tristans mother, Nancy English echoed Chloes suspicions about the crash. I don't believe this was an accident she said. Someone is behind this... I feel there is a cover-up... How did my big strong boy get stuck in the car? It doesn't make sense. Both women also raised suspicion over the car's caved-in roof. 'I wondered if they crashed prior to going in the river, Nancy said. On Thursday, police and SES crews retrieved the men's bodies from the submerged car. On Friday they returned to the site where a police diver was seen scouring the water's edge. Tributes for the men have flooded social media, including from Mr Chetcuti's aunt Kiara Piening. On Thursday, police and SES crews retrieved the men's bodies from the submerged car 'It's still so surreal that you grew your wings last night. The last thing you said to me was ''not a good time I'll call you back'' and here I am now forever waiting on that call,' she said. Ms Piening said she would miss her nephew's regular phone calls. 'I've gone from having you kill my life by peppering my phone non-stop to just wishing you'd call knowing I'll never hear from you again. 'I'll forever be grateful for all the great memories we shared and our random adventures. 'It was through circumstances I met you but through loyalties that I came to love you as if you were my own.' Mr Chetcuti was released from behind bars a few days ago and was set to celebrate his 27th birthday. 'Part of me wishes you never got out on Monday coz then I'd still get to see you Saturday... But I know that I have to keep on living holding onto you with our memories,' Ms Piening said. 'I know I'll see you again someday... fly high Jordan.' On Friday officers returned to the site where a police diver was seen scouring the water's edge Tributes have also flooded social media from Mr English's grieving friends. 'Rest in peace Tizzy, we're forever gonna miss your craziness, always in our hearts' one post read. Mr English is understood to have grown up in Casino and spent time living in South Australia. In 2022, Richmond Police issued a public appeal for assistance in tracking down Mr English, then aged 23, who was wanted on an oustanding warrant. An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the single vehicle crash continues and a report will be prepared for the coroner. Locals said a sharp turn before the bridge gave drivers 'no room for error'. 'There are no guardrails or anything to stop you going over the bridge,' John Miller told the ABC. 'If you go over the bridge, you go straight into the river.' The official Van Gogh museum is throwing cold water on the claim that a painting purchased for $50 at a Minnesota garage sale was made by the Dutch artist. New York art experts from LMI Group International have long asserted a painting of a rugged-looking fisherman smoking a pipe called 'Elimar' was made by Vincent van Gogh. The researchers have spent more than $30,000 analyzing the painting, which was sourced from a garage sale in 2016 and acquired by LMI Group in 2019, and have written a 458-page report to argue their stance. LMI Group believes the artwork was created circa 1889 and is worth a staggering $15 million. But the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam - which possesses the world's largest collection of his work - begs to differ. 'We have considered the new information mentioned in the LMI Groups "Elimar" report,' a museum spokesperson wrote to The Minnesota Star Tribune. 'Based on our previous opinion on the painting in 2019, we maintain our view that this is not an authentic painting by Vincent van Gogh.' The museum first shot down the idea of 'Elimar' being a piece made by the 19th century post-Impressionist in 2019 when an earlier owner of the painting requested for it to be authenticated. New York art experts from LMI Group International have long asserted a painting of a rugged-looking fisherman smoking a pipe called 'Elimar' was painted by Vincent van Gogh The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam denied that 'Elimar' was painted by the Dutch post-Impressionist painter 'We have carefully examined the material you supplied to us and are of the opinion, based on stylistic features, that your work cannot be attributed to Vincent van Gogh,' a representative told the then-owner, according to The Art Newspaper. On the Van Gogh Museum's website, it is explained that the artist's works are 'very well documented' and it is unlikely that there are many new pieces to add to his portfolio. The website reads: 'The museum conducts research into Vincent van Goghs art, and so we have a great deal of detailed knowledge about his oeuvre, his iconography, his painting and drawing techniques, his choice of materials and the provenance of his works. 'This knowledge can help determine whether or not an artwork can be attributed to Van Gogh.' The Van Gogh museum, founded in 1973, only handles about 35 authentications annually after becoming overwhelmed with requests over the years, the New York Times reported. Experts at the museum 'are only accepting requests from professionals in the art field,' according to the Van Gogh Museum website. The museum's process of determining the legitimacy of a painting is primarily based on photographs. Occasionally, they may ask for a piece to be mailed over. 'If the museum is not of the opinion that the artwork is by Van Gogh once the photographs have been examined, we will not provide a detailed substantiation of our findings,' the museum asserted. The Van Gogh museum, founded in 1973, only handles about 35 authentications annually after becoming overwhelmed with requests over the years The word 'Elimar' inscribed in the painting's lower-right corner is where LIM Group sourced its name Even though the style of 'Elimar' does not mesh with what one typically imagines when it comes to Van Gogh, LIM Group researchers have claimed it was his version of a painting made my another artist. The 'Elimar' bears resemblance to a portrait of a fisherman, Neils Gaihede, by a Danish painter named Michael Ancher, according to the group's detailed report. There is no signature on the painting, only the word 'Elimar' inscribed on its lower-right corner, which is where LMI Group got the name for the piece. The methodology outlined in their research included analyzing 'the block lettering applied by brush to a painted surface' and DNA found on the painting itself, according to LIM Group. A Long Island judge will soon determine whether to allow some evidence central to the case against accused serial killer Rex Heuermann. Investigators have linked the 61-year-old architect to the murders of seven women whose bodies were found dumped along a beach on the south shore of the island in part by DNA found on hair fibers at some of the crime scenes. They used a new system to test the DNA, known as whole genome sequencing - in which scientists take all of the fragments of DNA and assemble them on a human genome, to link the fibers to Heuermann, according to ABC 7. But defense attorneys argue that the novel testing system has never been cited in the New York courts system before - and should therefore be considered ineligible to be brought at a trial. Prosecutors, however, have argued that the technique is already widely used in the medical community and is consistent with what the court system has allowed in the past. They also note that the findings by Astrea Forensics, a California-based lab, were also independently corroborated by mitochondrial DNA testing - which has long been accepted by the New York courts system. A hearing on the matter is now scheduled to begin on Friday, with both sides expected to call a total of eight witnesses, including a doctor and other experts, without a jury present, CBS News reports. It comes as Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney says the case is 'heading toward the trial phase,' noting that the investigation process is 'pretty much closed,' according to Newsday. Attorneys representing accused Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann, 61, have argued in court documents that DNA evidence should not be used at his trial His attorneys are also seeking to have the case against him split up into five different trials Investigators have linked the 61-year-old architect to the murders of seven women whose bodies were found dumped along a wide beach on the south shore of the island in part by DNA found on hair fibers at some of the crime scenes Police had been investigating the deaths of at least 10 people mostly female sex workers whose remains were discovered along an isolated highway not far from Gilgo Beach on Long Islands south shore since 2010. They had long believed the victim - eight women, a man and a toddler who had disappeared over a span of at least 14 years - were all killed by the same person. Among the victims were Jessica Taylor, who vanished in 2003 while working as an escort in New York City. Some of her remains were discovered in Manorville later that year. She had been decapitated and both of her arms were severed. Moreover, a tattoo on her torso had been 'severely obliterated by a sharp object,' per officials. Other remains were found in a 2011 search of the beach scrub by the side of Ocean Parkway, the road where the other Gilgo Beach victims were found. Prosecutors now say Heuermann was intimately familiar with the area, as he worked at Jones Beach State Park down the highway for three years. 'Part of defendants work at the beach entailed the defendant getting on All-Terrain Vehicle and going from field to field to ensure beachgoers were off the property once the beach was closed, a role that made the defendant extremely familiar with Ocean Parkway at night,' prosecutors argue in court documents obtained by Newsday. Originally, Heuermann was just charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. As prosecutors continued to investigate, however, they also charged him in the deaths of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla and Jessica Taylor. Then, in December, Heuermann was also indicted for the 2000 killing of Valerie Mack, a 24 year-old Philadelphia woman who vanished 24 years ago. Partial remains were found in Manorville, Long Island, in November that year. He has pleaded not guilty to the murders, and his lawyers now want to have the case against him heard at five different trials. They have argued that their client risks being improperly convicted due to the 'cumulative effect' of the evidence put forth by prosecutors, and said there is a 'substantial disparity' in the evidence of some of the deaths - which they say involves different time frames, killing methods and locations for disposing the bodies. 'The danger of having count after count, victim after victim in the same trial is that "If there's smoke there's fire" mentality,' lawyer Michael Brown argued. 'They shouldn't be tried together. One issue has nothing to do with the other.' Heuermann was arrested in the summer of 2023, and was originally just charged with the deaths of three women. But as prosecutors continued to investigate, they linked him to four others Yet Suffolk County prosecutors have maintained that Heuermann likely committed all of the homicides - claiming there is overlapping evidence and calling it a serial killer case. 'This is an individual who had the specific intent to kill, identify, locate, lure, obtain control over and murder multiple victims,' DA Tierney said. He pointed to what investigators have called a 'blueprint' of the alleged serial killer's crimes, that he kept on his computer. In the document, Heuermann allegedly laid out a set of tasks to complete before, during and after killings, including checking the weather and setting up a staging area. It also has a place to note practical lessons for 'next time.' One section, titled 'BODY PREP,' included guidance to 'REMOVE HEAD AND HANDS,' as well as tattoos and 'marks of torture.' Heuermann allegedly also left a reminder for himself to wash the 'inside and all cavities' of his victims. Another section, 'THINGS TO REMEMBER,' appears to highlight lessons from previous killings that should be heeded, according to prosecutors. The entries describe the importance of sleeping properly 'BEFORE HUNT,' using thick rope, and limiting noise to increase 'PLAY TIME.' In a section titled 'POST EVENT,' there were reminders such as 'change tires,' 'burn gloves,' 'dispose of pics,' and 'have story set.' Australia's globetrotting First Nations ambassador had his plum well-paid taxpayer-funded gig extended by six months as voters prepare for a federal election. Controversial First Nations People ambassador Justin Mohamed will reportedly earn $189,787 for 'strategic planning consultation services' during the six-month term slated to commence next month. The revelations came the same day Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced he would be sending Australian voters to the polls on May 3. The staggering pay bump for the extended six-month period will bring Mr Mohameds' earnings to $948,937 since the Albanese government created the one-of-a-kind role. Mr Mohamed, a father of five, started the role in March 2023. His $759,000 two-year contract was due to expire next month but the shock extension has kyboshed that. His job was originally to 'engage regional partners on the Voice, Treaty, Truth process', but that part of the position became irrelevant when Australia voted No to the Voice referendum in October. Mr Mohamed's position has since expanded to assist in curbing China's growing power in the Pacific by building relationships with countries in the region. The ambassador is also responsible for providing 'strategic guidance on the development and implementation of a First Nations approach to foreign policy.' First Nations ambassador Justin Mohamed is seen on holiday with wife Dr Janine Mohamed Mr Mohamed had his plum role extended for a further six months. it was announced this week Part of the job title allowed Mr Mohamed to go on a globe-trotting travel jaunt which has so far cost taxpayers almost $250,000. Last month, Daily Mail Australia reported Mr Mohamed spent an average of $12,800 per month in the opening half of this financial year. His spending was detailed in documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) obtained under freedom of information laws. He travelled to New York, Hawaii, San Francisco, Dubai, Paris, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. A two-week trip to Kansas City and Washington DC cost taxpayers $75,022 alone. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged to axe the role if he wins the election. In September, Mr Dutton said Australians 'haven't got enough money in their own budget, but they've got the prime minister flying this guy around the world business class doing I don't know what'. 'If it is the case that we win the next election, that position will be abolished on day one, and that money will be spent to help Australians who are struggling at the moment to keep a roof over their head, or to pay their electricity bill,' he said. 'It'll be a very different way of governing if we win the next election. But at the moment, the waste, I think, is just frustrating and annoying people.' Mr Mohamed (right) travelled to New York, Hawaii, San Francisco, Dubai, Paris, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price previously told Daily Mail Australia there was a stark contrast between Mr Mohamed's travel budget and the experiences of most Indigenous people. 'There is a seismic gap between the kinds of money being spent on travel by the First Nations Ambassador and the lives of our most marginalised Australians,' she said. 'If these taxpayer funded trips are truly warranted, then Anthony Albanese needs to be clear about the outcomes being achieved and how the lives of our marginalised are being improved. 'As a result of questioning the government in the course of Estimates earlier this year, I continue to have doubts as to the practical benefit made by the Ambassador to the lives of Indigenous Australians.' Warren Mundine, the former National President of the Australian Labor Party, told Daily Mail Australia the function of Mr Mohamed's role was unclear and called for more 'practical' roles to help local Indigenous businesses. 'I'm a bit confused about what the position is, what does it do?' he said. Mr Mohamed was appointed to the role in March 2023 'Originally he was supposed to be going around about the Voice, but that would have sent a clear message that the Australian people don't need such a position. 'We need practical things happening in Australia, and to deal with business development that could help Indigenous businesses get support to go international, not someone who travels around going to meetings.' Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said Mr Mohamed's work had reinforced Australia's influence in the Pacific where he had played an important role in shaping government policy. 'We have also facilitated First Nations trade missions to the United States and other key partners to boost exports and open new investment channels, all of which helps make the Australian economy stronger, more resilient to shocks and more competitive,' she said. 'There are some who seek to diminish the value of these engagements and our approach to the region. I invite them to consider whether their domestic political point scoring is more important than Australia doing everything we can to strengthen our ties across our increasingly contested region.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Mohamed for comment. A man has missed a crucial immigration exam after Qantas delayed his flight for hours so that passengers from another cancelled service could board. Michel Alam, 32, was waiting to board a Qantas flight from Kalgoorlie to Perth on Thursday, March 20 when the flight was delayed. He was forced to miss a connecting flight to Sydney despite leaving a two-and-a-half hour window between the flight's planned arrival at Perth and his subsequent Jetstar flight. It was crucial to Mr Alam that he make that flight in time for an immigration exam with a mid-April deadline that cost him $445 to reserve. Mr Alam was informed by colleagues the flight had been delayed to allow passengers on an earlier cancelled Qantas flight to board. 'I would understand if it was weather circumstances or a technical problem or something urgent happened,' Mr Alam told news.com.au. 'But this is not a fair act or a good deal, because of some other people, we were made to wait.' Mr Alam said the flight took off immediately upon the earlier impacted passengers arriving. Michel Alam (pictured) was forced to miss a crucial exam following a Qantas delay A Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au the delay was caused by an earlier cancellation 'Its a big mess up and it cant be a coincidence the moment everyone arrived then we were told to board the aeroplane.' When Mr Alam landed in Perth, he explained his situation to Qantas whose response he described as 'ruthless'. Despite finding a seat for an alternative flight on the Qantas website, the mining technician said he was refused assistance because his connecting flight had been booked through Jetstar. 'I was not even given the option to pay for a discounted ticket or any alternative solution.' 'Instead, I was abruptly dismissed in an extremely rude and unsympathetic manner.' Mr Alam subsequently purchased a $90 ticket for a flight with a layover in Melbourne but was unable to make his exam. An alternative exam is not guaranteed and Mr Alam said he must file leave with his employer to attend the exam at least one month in advance meaning he may not meet the mid-April exam deadline. Skilled visas are awarded on a points system based in part on the applicants age - with more points awarded to younger applicants. Qantas was last year ordered to pay $120million for booking customers on already cancelled services Mr Alam has an upcoming birthday and it is therefore possible his immigration prospects will be negatively impacted by the delay. He was provided with a taxi voucher a single night's accommodation in Melbourne as compensation for the delay. Qantas has since confirmed a flight from Carosue Dam to Kalgoorlie on March 19 was cancelled due to mechanical issues. 'Unfortunately, that bus service was delayed which caused a flow on effect to the Kalgoorlie to Perth service,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 'We realise this would have been very disruptive to Mr Alams journey and we are reaching out to him to discuss further.' The delay occurred only days after a Qantas executive appeared at a Senate inquiry to oppose the introduction of a mandatory passenger refund law. On Monday, March 18, Qantas domestic chief executive Markus Svensson told a Senate inquiry that a European-style passenger refund law would only make tickets more expensive. 'Compensation-based regimes such as those in Europe and Canada have shown these schemes do not deliver better outcomes for consumers in terms of reduced delays and cancellations, and they increase the cost of travel,' he said. He told the committee the airline already provided refunds and rebooking arrangements when delays and cancellations fell 'within our control'. Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has 'no life wisdom' due to her alleged failure to achieve three major achievements of adulthood. Greene was asked about AOC running for president in 2028 during an interview with Eric Bolling and responded by claiming the Bronx Rep. is out of touch with the American people. 'This is a woman, she's never been married, she has no children, she's never had a job other than working in a bar,' she said. 'This is a woman that has really no life experience and has no life wisdom because she's never done any of those things.' Greene then accused Ocasio-Cortez of being a tool of the Democratic party with no proper training. 'We don't want someone that's propped up by the Democrat progressive establishment and who's basically an actress herself making the most important decisions in America on behalf of Americans, who most of them have had jobs, have jobs, ran companies, have children, and have been married,' she said. The outspoken congresswomen have thrown insults back-and-forth as they target each other's polar opposite views. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, has compared Greene, 50, to 'an unplugged controller' who 'barely shows up and doesn't do the reading' needed in Congress. For her part, in the past, the MAGA starlet Greene has said that Ocasio-Cortez acts 'like a teenage girl' and accused the New Yorker of not having 'the intelligence' to debate her. Marjorie Taylor Greene (pictured) slammed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for having failed in three different facets of her adulthood that have led her to having 'no life wisdom' In an interview with Eric Bolling, Greene was asked about AOC (pictured) running for president in 2028 and stated that she's out of touch with the American people, saying that Americans want leaders who relate to their own struggles Ocasio-Cortez was a bartender and a waitress before getting elected and has been engaged to college sweetheart and marketing professional Riley Roberts since 2022. She met Roberts when they were both undergraduates at Boston University. While Ocasio-Cortez has risen to become one of the most prominent progressive Democrats in Congress, Roberts has maintained a low profile. He attended the Met Gala in 2021 when AOC wore the infamous 'Tax the Rich' dress and has appeared in her Instagram videos. Greene, for her part, officially divorced her first husband of 27 years, Perry Greene, in late 2022. According to court records obtained by DailyMail.com, the two officially went splitsville on December 22, but not before spending about three months hashing out how to divide their multi-million-dollar marital assets. The couple's relationship had hit the skids once before in 2012 when it was Marjorie who wanted to move on. Ocasio-Cortez was a bartender and a waitress before getting elected and has been engaged to college sweetheart and marketing professional Riley Roberts (pictured right) since 2022 Greene, for her part, officially divorced her first husband of 27 years, Perry Greene (pictured right), in late 2022. Greene is now dating journalist Brian Glenn As DailyMail.com reported in 2021, the GOP congresswoman stepped out on her husband with 'polyamorous tantric sex guru' Craig Ivey. She later had an extramarital fling with gym manager, Justin Tway. Back then it was Marjorie who filed for divorce, according to court records, but two months later the couple reconciled until 2022, when frosted-haired MAGA broadcaster, Brian Glenn popped into the picture. Greene and Glenn bonded in the overcharged atmosphere of a Trump rally. Glenn, 53, was a down-and-out TV newsman who had bounced around radio and local network affiliate stations in Dallas and south Texas, until September of 2020 when he posted a wild Instagram video calling Covid-19 a hoax and was fired by fledgling network NewsNation. He got picked up by the Right Side Broadcasting Network, which covered Trump rallies and interviewed MAGA politicians who showed up. Glenn's interviews with Taylor Greene became a mainstay on the YouTube channel and the rapport between the two was electric. Videos show the congresswoman laughing flirtatiously at Glenn's jokes and after the announcement of the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, Taylor Greene greeted the broadcaster in the crowd outside the high court with a squeal of glee and a big hug. Now, Glenn is often seen around the White House and was even in the same room where Donald Trump had his now legendary blowup with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Recently, Glenn publicly disagreed with Greene for her vote to censure Congressman Al Green for his outrageous protest at President Trump's speech to Congress. A boatload of nudists who bared all on Sydney Harbour have stunned onlookers. It's understood the stark-naked sailors were filmed by a group of startled gawkers as they sailed past the nude cruise on Sunday. People of all shapes and sizes are brazenly baring all in full view of other boats. More than a dozen naked people wearing nothing but hats and sunglasses alongside a fully-clothed captain were seen dancing on the deck. 'Look at those two,' a passenger filming the cruise was heard saying. They were referring to two naked women who were dangling and flaunting themselves from a ship's mast. It's not clear whether the boatload of Aussies were illegally in their birthday suits or part of controversial government-approved body positive sailing crew. In November 2022, a cruise by Get Naked Australia which promotes the practice of being naked in nature drew criticism for a nude cruise on Sydney Harbour. A boatload of naked passengers was witnessed on Sydney Harbour (pictured) The naked display was witnessed and filmed by a passing boat According to its website, Get Naked Australia is on a 'mission to normalise nudity and foster a healthier, more positive relationship with our bodies across the country'. 'In a society where body image is often distorted by unrealistic standards and the constant fear of judgment, we believe that embracing our natural selves can be a transformative step toward breaking down these barriers,' the group states. Get Naked Australia advertised an event known as 'GNA Sunset Cruise on Sydney Harbour' handled by Barefoot Cruises which cost $99 person and had been scheduled to take place on February 22. 'Ready to live life to the fullest? Join us for the ultimate Nude Sunset Cruise on Sydney Harbour!' the group advertised. 'Dive into the crystal-clear waters, soak up the sun, sip on your fave bevvy, and dance the night away, all while embracing your natural self on one of Sydney's most stunning beaches. 'This isn't just a cruise, it's your chance to step out of your comfort zone, feel the freedom, and do something truly unforgettable. It's bold, it's wild, and it's all about celebrating who you are, no judgments, just pure, unapologetic fun.' Supporters of the 2022 nude cruise called it an 'act of freedom and good fun' while the nudists then were accused of being 'crazy' with 'no shame'. 'No thought for those on the other boats, children, or anyone else for that matter,' one person complained on social media in November 2022. Observer pointed out two women dangling from a mast while flaunting all (pictured) 'Can't believe the government has approved such a disrespectful thing,' another said. 'Disgusting, if you call that empowering and freedom,' a third shared. Get Naked Australia founder Brendan Jones told media at the time 'people love to be outraged by something that doesn't affect them in anyway'. He told 7News in 2022 the 'ultimate goal would be to get a cruise liner'. The group started out in 2017 by encouraging skinny dipping at secluded swimming spots and has continued to grow ever since. 'People basically lose all their inhibitions. It's like a switch in their head and they go, 'Oh, no one cares, no one is looking at me, no one is judging me,' Mr Jones said. Mr Jones said he has received feedback from people with mental health disorders and victims of domestic violence who say the concept of getting naked in nature has helped them reclaim their body. Participants in the 2022 cruise claimed the experience was 'not of a sexual nature' but was rather a 'relaxed and liberating environment'. The maximum penalty for obscene exposure in NSW is six months jail but offenders can also be handed a community service order or a fine. Second Lady Usha Vance's scheduled trip to Greenland has become even more of an embarrassment to the Trump administration, as US officials were left knocking on doors trying to find anyone who wants to meet with her. Usha Vance and one of her sons had been scheduled to visit the Danish-controlled territory from Thursday through Saturday to see historic and cultural sites. But as President Donald Trump continues to insist the United States will take control of the mineral-rich island, many have decided to shun the Second Lady. A plan to attend a popular dog sled race has since been canceled, and American officials were left scrambling trying to find anyone who would be willing to meet her in the capital of Nuuk, according to a report from Danish television station TV 2. They even knocked on local's doors, but were resoundingly told, 'No, thank you' of their request to meet with Usha. As a result, the scheduled three-day trip has now been reduced to just one day, Friday, when Vice President JD Vance will join his wife to visit an American military base. They will be joined by disgraced National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Christ Wright on their trip. Vice President JD Vance will now accompany his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, on her scheduled trip to Greenland Usha had been set to travel to the Danish-controlled territory with just her son for a three-day trip to take in historic and cultural sites The Trump administration had claimed Usha was invited to the semi-autonomous territory to attend the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut. But Greenland's government has explicitly stated there was no formal or informal invitation for US officials to visit the territory - especially as it is in the middle of negotiations to form a new coalition government, according to USA Today. It has since been revealed that the invitation for the Second Lady to attend the dogsled race was sent by an American named Tom Dans, who runs a company called American Daybreak - which seeks to strengthen US and Greenlandic ties. In a statement published on social media late Tuesday, he said the company was a major sponsor of the annual dogsled race, and it was in that capacity that he invited Usha and other senior Trump officials to visit Greenland 'to experience this unique and exciting cultural event.' He said the visit was always intended to be 'purely personal in nature and in the spirit of the friendship between our two nations.' It is unclear who canceled Usha's appearance at the race, but it came amid widespread protests throughout Greenland and Denmark. Now, the only thing on the agenda for Usha's visit is the trip to the U.S. Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, in an effort to remove the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos. It will also reduce the likelihood that the Vance and his wife will cross paths with residents angered by Trumps annexation announcements. American officials were left scrambling trying to find anyone who would be willing to meet her in the capital of Nuuk (pictured) They even reportedly went door-to-door to ask residents to meet with the Second Lady, but got a resounding 'No, thank you' Pituffik Space Base Pituffik Space Base is one of the most strategically important military sites in the world. It serves as an early detection site for missile launches. About 150 U.S. Air Force and Space Force personnel are permanently stationed there. Its name changed two year ago from Thule to Pituffik, which means in Greenlandic 'the place we tie our dogs.' Pituffik Space Base Advertisement Opinion polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the United States, and in recent weeks anti-American protesters have staged some of the largest demonstrations ever seen on the Arctic island. They have been speaking out against 'American pressure against Greenland and Denmark' and 'unwanted visits from the U.S. government,' and have planned a rally in front of the American embassy in the Danish capital for Saturday. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who has firmly opposed Trump's overtures since his return to office, praised Greenlanders' defiance of Washington amid the historic protests. 'The attention is overwhelming and the pressure is great, but it is in times like these that you show what you are made of,' she wrote in an address to the island's inhabitants. 'You have stood up for who you are.' She had previously said that the Vance's visit created 'unacceptable pressure.' 'It is clearly not a visit that concerns Greenland's needs or wishes. That's why I have to say it's an unacceptable pressure being placed on Greenland and Denmark -- and it's pressure we will stand up to,' Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish broadcasters DR and TV2. 'President Trump is serious,' she said. 'He wants Greenland.' In fact, Trump doubled down on his vow to seize the territory from Denmark - once a US ally and a NATO member - on Wednesday. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that the US will take control of the mineral-rich island Protests have spread across Greenland and Denmark against President Trump's rhetoric He erroneously claimed that the people of Greenland 'want something to happen' with the United States. 'They're calling us - we're not calling them,' the president told reporters from the Oval Office. When he was then asked if the people in the territory were 'eager' to become US citizens, he replied that he did not know 'but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them.' He went on to explain that the United States needs Greenland 'for national security and international security. 'So I think we'll go as far as we have to go,' he vowed. 'We need Greenland and the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark,' he continued. 'If we don't have Greenland, we can't have good national security.' As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources. The island, which is three times the size of Texas, also has a ballistic missile early-warning system but has no army and relies on Denmark for protection. If the Trump administration were to take control of the territory, however, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested he will wage war against the US. In an ominous warning Putin declared that Russia is 'watching very closely' for Trump's next move. 'We are talking about serious plans on the American side with regard to Greenland. These plans have long-standing historical roots,' Putin told the International Arctic Forum in the Russian city of Murmansk. The family of missing Queensland officer Jay Notaro have said they are 'heartbroken' as a days-long search has been called off. Detective Inspector Notaro, 45, was last seen on Tuesday when he disappeared while surfing at Broken Head near Byron Bay in northeastern New South Wales. NSW Police announced on Friday afternoon that the search had been suspended but taskings by local police and marine area command will continue. 'The family is of course naturally devastated. This hole in our lives will never be filled,' Mr Notaro's father said in a statement seen by Sky News. 'We are heart broken. Such a tragic accident.' He said the conditions have been 'horrendous' and thanked NSW and Queensland police, as well as supportive family and friends, for a 'remarkable response'. 'It's been truly humbling and heart warming. But we fully understand that they had to call it,' he said. 'The search was intensive. Now we wait for Mother Nature to decide if she will return him to us.' Detective Inspector Jay Notaro (pictured) was last seen on Tuesday when he disappeared while surfing at Broken Head near Byron Bay The search was focusing on the areas between Lennox Head and Cape Byron both in the ocean and on the land Insp Notaro's sister Hayley also posted a tribute via a photo of the beloved officer holding his niece on his shoulder. 'The best uncle in the world,' she wrote. The search for Insp Notaro was launched at Broken Head between Lennox Head and Cape Byron about 12.40pm on Tuesday by Tweed and Byron Police. A squadron of emergency services made up of Queensland Police, water police, the Queensland Polair and surf lifesavers have taken part in search efforts. Actor Chris Hemsworth was also spotted helping police on Wednesday as the desperate search entered its fourth day. It was revealed that the police officer was part of an inner circle of surfing mates which included Hemsworth, 41, according to The Courier Mail. Insp Notaro quickly rose through the ranks as a homicide investigator after first joining Queensland police in Townsville in 2003. He was instrumental in solving major cases including the bikie-linked slaying of Gold Coast victim Greg Dufty. Detective Inspector Jay Notaro (pictured) was instrumental in solving major cases including the bikie-linked slaying of Gold Coast victim Greg Dufty He received a 'compassion in policing' award by the Queensland Homicide Victims Support Group for support he offered Mr Dufty's partner and family. He then served in roles including officer in charge of the Gold Coast water police and Coomera police station. Insp Notaro recently transferred to Ipswich after being promoted to Inspector. At the time of his disappearance, he was reportedly staying in the Byron Bay area for several days ahead of his 45th birthday last Monday. Insp Notaro was reportedly due to attend a birthday celebration dinner on Tuesday night with his friends but pulled out with complaints he was feeling unwell. He was then last spotted via CCTV pulling into the Broken Head car park at around dawn on Tuesday. It comes after the surfboard of Insp Notaro washed up on a beach undamaged 24 hours after he went missing. The lack of damage to the board, and the benign conditions of the surf made his disappearance all the more perplexing. Actor Chris Hemsworth (pictured) was spotted helping police on Wednesday as the desperate search entered its fourth day 'The condition of that surfboard was unremarkable - there was no damage and the leg rope was fully intact,' NSW Detective Inspector Matt Zimmer said. 'The inspector is a very strong swimmer who is a previous officer in charge of the Queensland water police... and the condition that presented over the past few days were quite calm. 'He would be extremely capable of managing those conditions due to his experience, [he was] an extremely fit man as well.' Police have thanked those who volunteered in the search for Insp Notaro and the local community for their support. A female prison officer who was jailed for having an illicit relationship with a convicted burglar told him she was with him 'for the thrill'. Niamh Lloyd, 22, met the career criminal, Lee Makin, while working as a prison officer at Forest Bank jail in Salford, Greater Manchester. The relationship began after Lloyd allegedly suffered a sexual assault while working at the prison. The two were often contacting each other by phone, engaging in sexual conversations as well as in letters addressed to 'Big Lee'. On one occasion, she told Makin, who was serving a six-year sentence, she was with him 'for the thrill', adding: 'I don't like doing what I'm told'. Her lawyer told the court that the inmate was 'the only person who showed her any empathy or support' and their relationship continued after Makin was later transferred to Wrexham, Wales During their chats, Lloyd, who previously worked as a civilian assistant for Greater Manchester Police, also identified a prisoner at category B jail Forest Bank as a paedophile and disclosed 'operational information' to Makin about the prison. After being arrested she burnt documents in a bid to destroy any evidence which could be used against her and was said to have been 'cocky sand arrogant' in her police interview. Niamh Lloyd was employed at Forest Bank Jail in Salford. Her lawyer told the court that Makin was 'the only person who showed her any empathy or support' Lee Makin, 40, was a notorious burglar serving a six-year sentence. The pair were regularly in touch by phone, engaging in sexual conversations, as well as in letters addressed to 'Big Lee' On Wednesday, Lloyd and Makin were both jailed for a year. Judge Alan Conrad KC told her that with her actions, she 'undermine[d] the balance of good order of prison life'. The Judge said: 'It is said that you turned for comfort to your co-defendant. But the answer to that was not to turn to a prisoner, but to leave the job and seek employment elsewhere. I note you do have other business interests.' Lloyd, of Coppice Drive, Wigan, pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in a public office, while Makin, of Edgewood, Shevington, Wigan, pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally encouraging or assisting the offence of misconduct in a public office. John Richards, for prosecution, told how Lloyd became a prison officer at Forest Bank in August 2021, aged 19. Her supervisors at the jail noticed she was 'displaying flirtatious behaviour', particularly towards Makin, and he was moved to a category C prison, HMP Berwyn in Wales, but the two remained in touch. Prison authorities discovered Makin had been speaking to a prison officer on the phone and that she had been using a different name. Security officers listened to the recorded calls between the pair and discovered Lloyd had called from an unregistered mobile phone and Mr Richards described their messages as being of a 'sexual nature'. HM Prison Forest Bank, Swinton, Manchester where Makin and Lloyd met Lloyd also discussed 'prison operational information' such as a 'hospital bed watch she was involved in', as well as naming a prisoner as a sex offender. Makin told Lloyd in an email: 'Hey sexy, just got your email, they always make me happy. 'I don't want to be your friend, I love you so much, you need to start talking to me. I'm worried, I miss you a lot. I don't want to lose you. Will you send me some money? Love you, big Lee.' Lloyd replied: 'Excited about your cat D. You have worked so hard, one of the many things I love about you. It won't be long before I can pop down for a visit.' In one message, Makin asked Lloyd 'Why are you with me?'. She replied: 'For the thrill, I don't like doing what I'm told.' In other messages, she discussed the 'alleged incompetence' of another officer and how a 'prisoner nearly escaped when the handcuffs were loose'. Lloyd was arrested at her parents' home in Wigan on November 22, 2022 and replied 'no comment' to questions during her interview as well as refusing the providing the PIN number to access her phone. Later that night, a former neighbour of Lloyd who also works at Forest Bank, came into contact with her after she knocked on his apartment door. Her supervisors at the jail noticed she was 'displaying flirtatious behaviour', particularly towards Makin and he was moved to a category C prison, HMP Berwyn in Wales Despite Makin being moved to a different prison, the two remained in touch Apparently drunk, the court heard, she told the neighbour she was in trouble and needed to call her parents. He followed Lloyd back to her flat because he was 'worried' about her. He noticed vomit on the floor and saw she had been 'burning papers'. Police searched Makin's cell and discovered he had a 'large number' of photos of Lloyd. Officers discovered 40 hours of conversations between the pair. She had made a number of internet searches including 'prison nurse is jailed after sending flirtatious texts and telling inmate she loved him'; 'how to visit prisoners in Berwyn'; and 'how to have phone sex'. She asked a friend to act as a 'conduit' so she could contact Makin, even after she had been granted bail and ordered not to contact him. The pair eventually pleaded guilty earlier this year, after initially denying the charges. Makin had 69 previous offences on his record, and was described as a 'career criminal' by the judge. Lloyd had no previous convictions. Judge Conrad told Lloyd: 'It is clear you are an intelligent young woman, you are industrious and you are well thought of by others. It also appears that you were disenchanted with your job because of an assault that happened to you.' He accepted Lloyd had 'considerable personal mitigation', but said adequate punishment could only be achieved by an immediate prison sentence. Defending Lloyd, Cheryl Mottram said the defendant had become 'disenchanted' with her job after allegedly being sexually assaulted. 'She felt like she wasn't getting any support from her superiors,' Ms Mottram said. She said Lloyd was young and 'vulnerable'. For Makin, Vanessa Thomson said the defendant had not encouraged Lloyd to disclose information about the prison, and said they had been involved in a 'genuine relationship'. 'There is no suggestion he has tried to do anything to manipulate that relationship to get her to do his bidding,' Ms Thomson said. Judge Conrad told Makin: 'You were aware she was a prison officer and she had to comply with the rules of her job. You know why there are such rules. But I accept you did not coerce her.' The move towards a cashless society has seen a drop in children needing surgery to remove objects they have swallowed or stuck up their noses, research suggests. Far fewer children now need hospital procedures to remove objects from throats, noses and airways, as per figures in The Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Contactless payments were first introduced in the UK in 2007 and cash use significantly declined from 2012, researchers said in the journal. Their study incorporated that period, looking at English hospital data from 2000 to 2022 on objects removed from children aged up to 14. From 2012, when cash became less popular, they found a 'significant decline' in foreign bodies removed from the digestive tract, respiratory tract and nasal cavity. And between 2012 to 2022, there was a 29 per cent drop in annual cases, with numbers falling from 2,405 to 1,716 across the ten-year period. Akash Jangan, lead author of the study and ear, nose and throat registrar, said: 'Our research shows that using cashless payment methods instead of coins has potentially helped keep children safe and reduced the need for surgery.' Coins were previously involved in more than 75 per cent of swallowed foreign bodies in children under six, the study noted. The move towards a cashless society has seen a drop in children needing surgery to remove objects they have swallowed or stuck up their noses, research suggests. Pictured: File photo The number of digestive tract operations performed each year fell by 195 between 2012 and 2022, from 708 to 513. And there were fewer nasal cavity operations being undertaken each year by the end of that decade, decreasing by 484, from 1,565 to 1,801. Respiratory tract procedures saw a decline during the same period too, falling by ten from 132 to 122. Dr Jangan said: 'This unintended finding proves that changes in how we live can make a difference to people's health. 'It also means healthcare resources can be allocated to helping patients in other ways.' Removing foreign bodies costs around 2.8million a year, researchers noted - and in the past, coins have been one of the most common objects involved, they added. They are 'frequently ingested because of their thin, round shape and easy accessibility', they explained, in the research first published last year. Other factors may have helped cut the number of children ingesting objects, they noted, like improved child-proof packaging and better awareness among parents. Earlier this week, it was revealed a baby from Northamptonshire (pictured) accidentally swallowed magnets from a toy and almost died from an operation to remove them But they said parents must still be cautious of all hazards, including button batteries and magnets, which can be lethal. Consultant surgeon Ram Moorthy, from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: 'It is positive that fewer children are swallowing coins. 'This study shows how new technology can make children safer in ways we didn't intend, but there are still hazardous items to be aware of. 'As doctors, we still worry about other dangerous items, such as button batteries and magnets, that can really cause harm. 'We must continue to make sure that small items like this are not within a child's reach.' It comes amid widespread fears about a frightening social media craze which can burn holes in children's bowels and leave them dependent on stoma bags. Concerns have been raised about the online trend which sees youngsters film themselves and pretend they have facial piercings using magnets. They put one on the inside of their cheek and another on the outside to create a 'pierced' look, before ingesting them. Medics had to remove part of one-year-old Araya Whateley's (pictured) bowel during seven-hour emergency surgery - and the tot now has a stoma bag It prompted a coroner to warn about the dangers following the death of eight-year-old Rhys Millum, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, who swallowed ten magnets. Earlier this week, it was revealed a baby from Northamptonshire accidentally swallowed magnets from a toy and almost died from an operation to remove them. Medics had to remove part of one-year-old Araya Whateley's bowel during seven-hour emergency surgery - and the tot now has a stoma bag. The magnetic beads belonged to Araya's nine-year-old sister Isla who had received them from a classmate in a 'school swapsie'. Belgian authorities are investigating the rape and sexual assault of at least 41 women whose amaretto shots were spiked. A trio of bar managers have been identified as prime suspects, prosecutors said on Thursday. Officials believe the substances, including the common date rape drug ketamine, were mixed into the women's drinks ahead of the horrifying attacks. Investigators believe the three main suspects, who run the establishments where the spiking took place in the northwestern city of Courtrai, discussed the assaults with each other. Griet De Prest, a spokesman for the Western Flanders public prosecutor's office, said: 'There are already 41 victims identified for the period between December 2021 to December 2024, and the investigation continues to potentially identify others.' De Prest also said one of the main suspects has been arrested. A second is due to appear in front of a judge on Thursday, while a third was released after a series of arrests on Tuesday and Wednesday. The men are suspected of rape, sexual assault and illegal administration of harmful substances, according to the prosecutor's office. Belgian authorities are investigating the rape and sexual assault of at least 41 women whose amaretto shots were spiked (stock image) Quizzed by lawmakers, Belgium's interior minister Bernard Quintin (pictured) slammed the attacks as 'unacceptable' and criticised how easy it was to get a hold of ketamine A trio of bar managers have been identified as prime suspects, prosecutors said on Thursday (stock image) 'The young women were offered shots of alcohol, often with an amaretto flavour, after which they woke up the next morning groggy in an unknown bed or in their own bed with clear evidence of sexual abuse,' Tom Janssens, another spokesman for the prosecutor's office, told Flemish public television VRT. Quizzed by lawmakers, Belgium's interior minister Bernard Quintin slammed the attacks as 'unacceptable' and criticised how easy it was to get a hold of ketamine. 'If the drug can be obtained easily and cheaply, it becomes easier to commit crimes,' the minister added. 'Women must be able to go out safely, wherever they want, whenever they want,' he said. A woman has died in France after being pushed under a train by a man who escaped from a psychiatric hospital weeks earlier. The 31-year-old victim, who has not been named, was shoved onto the tracks at the busy Massy-Palaiseau station in Esonne, south of Paris. Medics declared an emergency as she was rushed to hospital with head trauma on Monday before eventually succumbing to her injuries. The 23-year-old suspect, who was swiftly apprehended at the scene, was thought to have suffered from psychiatric disorders in the past and had escaped an institution in early March. He was initially charged with 'voluntary homicide' but will undergo a psychiatric examination before prosecutors decide his punishment, according to Actu17. The Evry prosecutor's office has also launched an investigation to ascertain the full details of the event. After the incident, the RATP, which operates the RER express trains, immediately stopped train traffic in both directions along the line. Ten firefighters and five emergency response vehicles were reportedly dispatched to the scene to handle the crisis. The 23-year-old suspect, who was swiftly apprehended at the scene, was thought to have suffered from psychiatric disorders in the past Travellers walk on the RER B platform at Chatelet-Les Halles train station in Paris A 48-year-old woman at the scene was reportedly treatment for shock after the tragedy. The incident has raised further concerns over passenger safety on France's railways, with 2023 a particularly deadly year for travellers. In July that year, on the same train line, another woman was pushed to her death onto the tracks at the Cite-Universitaire station. The suspect, believed to be a repeat offender, fled before being arrested for shoplifting in a different incident. He was subsequently transferred to a psychiatric unit after making incoherent statements to police. A 14-year-old American girl was killed when she fell in front of a regional train at the same station, and two homeless people who had ventured onto the lines in a drunken state were hit by a train at Gaiete. Commuters in a crowded train in the Paris Metro The incident has raised further concerns over passenger safety on France's railways That same year, a 74-year-old man was lucky to escape death after being pushed onto the train tracks as a freight train was about to pass. Paris Metro drivers went on strike to support a colleague who faced legal proceedings after a passenger was dragged to her death after her coat got trapped in the train doors. The Paris metro registers around 60 deaths, euphemistically known as 'Serious Passenger Accidents', every year. Nearly all of these involve people taking their own lives. RATP were contacted for comment. Australians living in western and inland Queensland are facing major flooding only a few weeks after the region was battered by ex-Cyclone Alfred. As of Friday afternoon, about 13 councils spanning more than 500,000 square kilometres across Queensland had flood warnings or watches in place. Outback town Jundah is the latest area to start evacuations after it was inundated with floodwater. There is no power or mobile reception. Locals and business owners have been sharing alarming images of roads completely submerged, with residents walking in water up to their knees. 'Flooding around Jundah means the community will most likely be fully isolated (power off) tonight,' Ergon Energy Network said on Friday. 'Crews have been working to isolate areas for safety all day but it's now at a point where they will need to shut things down for everyone's safety later tonight. 'As soon as the water has dropped and we can get clear access, our crews will be on the ground. 'Please stay safe. If you have electrical appliances or power-points that have been covered by flood water you will need to have them checked by a licensed electrician.' About 100mm to 300mm of rain will fall across a broad area of outback Queensland this week Locals and business owners in outback town Jundah have been sharing alarming images of roads completely submerged while residents walk in water up to their knees Queensland Police said it does not have total numbers for evacuations across the state at the moment as the situation is evolving. 'Emergency services are monitoring the flooding situation in towns across western Queensland, and planning is underway for evacuations, as required,' a statement said. '28 people in Adavale were evacuated to Quilpie by helicopter yesterday, and evacuations have commenced in Jundah this afternoon.' Adavale is roughly 300km from Jundah. Roughly 50 people in Windorah were also offered the chance to leave. Windorah, 100km from Jundah, is home to Cooper's Creek which had risen to 8 metres at about 8pm, Barcoo Shire Council said. Premier David Crisafulli said he was 'deeply concerned' about Jundah and Windorah when he arrived in Quilpie on Friday, ABC News reported. 'We have met some very, very brave Queenslanders who were evacuated from their community,' he said. 'And we are concerned for a number of other communities as a hell of a lot of water from a number of river systems converge at one time.' About 13 councils spanning more than 500,000 square kilometres across Queensland have flood warnings or watches in place The Bureau of Meteorology warned that Queensland is experiencing significant flooding, with major warnings in place for the western and inland areas Jundah resident Louise O'Neil told the ABC the entire town was under knee-deep water, but it had not entered her house. The Quilpie community is among a number of regions threatened by floodwaters. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that the state is experiencing significant flooding, with major warnings in place for the western and inland areas of the regions. As of 9pm, warnings are current for the following catchments: Bulloo, Diamantina, Thomson, Barcoo, Cooper, Eyre Creek, Georgina, Flinders, Cloncurry, Warrego, Paroo, Maranoa, Herbert, Ross, Bohle, Haughton, Burdekin, Pioneer, Mary and Noosa. Major warnings were also issued for the Bohle and Haughton rivers near Townsville in the north. The Townsville region had already been hit hard by February floods triggered by record rainfall that claimed two lives, forced hundreds to evacuate and cut power for days. There are also minor flood warnings for parts of south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales. About 100mm to 300mm of rain will fall across a broad area of outback Queensland this week, with that amount peaking to 400mm in some isolated areas. The Bureau of Meteorology has said larger falls this week could equate to six or nine months' worth of rain, and almost a year's worth in isolated inland areas The Bureau of Meteorology's Dean Narramore said those larger falls equated to six or nine months' worth of rain and almost a year's worth in isolated inland areas. 'Normally, you'd see the heavy rainfall over a few days, but when you're talking about hundreds of millimetres in outback areas like western Queensland, that is becoming more unusual,' Mr Narramore said. In coming days the rain is set to shift south, with a 'very wet day' forecast on Saturday for coastal areas from central Queensland's Yeppoon to southern NSW's Bega, including Brisbane and Sydney. Sandbagging sites began reopening around Brisbane just as southeast Queensland moves on from the impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. In early March, southeast Queensland and northern NSW bore the brunt of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred that left more than 200,000 people without power. The cyclone was the first in more than 50 years to impact Queensland's southeast. Nigel Farage today suggested the UK should accept low-quality, chlorine-washed US chicken as the price of doing a trade deal with Donald Trump's America. The Reform leader, who has recently positioned himself as a champion of British farmers, suggested that consumers should be allowed to decide whether they want to buy cheap imported meat. Fears have long been raised about the standard of chicken imported from US farms and slaughterhouses, where chlorine is used to wash carcasses and destroy bacteria like salmonella. Critics say the process covers up poor hygiene processes elsewhere in the food chain that allows producers to keep prices low - undercutting UK producers - and is also not always effective. UK governments, Labour and Conservative, have consistently ruled out accepting the birds as part of any US-Uk trade deal after Brexit. Ministers are currently in talks with Washington over a deal, amid a wave of tariffs Trump has installed, including on imports of UK cars. Asked what he would to to get a deal with his ally Trump, Mr Farage told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the president 'would want US agricultural products to be sold in Britain'. The politician, who has appeared repeatedly at recent protests by UK farmers against plans to make them play inheritance tax, added: 'Now there's been some concern about chlorine-treated chicken etc, but there is an answer to that which is label things, let consumers decide. The Reform leader, who has recently positioned himself as a champion of British farmers, suggested that consumers should be allowed to decide whether they want to buy cheap imported meat. Critics say the process covers up poor hygiene processes elsewhere in the food chain that allows producers to keep prices low - undercutting UK producers - and is also not always effective. Asked what he would to to get a deal with his ally Trump, Mr Farage told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the president 'would want US agricultural products to be sold in Britain'. 'So I think this shouldn't be just about avoiding tariffs, it should be a broader deal.' Asked directly whether he was in favour of allowing chlorine-treated chicken to be sold in the UK, he said: 'I would allow consumers in America to buy our products and consumers here to buy their products, and provided we have the right labelling, that's good.' Last night four farming unions issued a joint plea for the government to must stand up for UK agriculture in any trade negotiations with the US. In a joint statement, they said: 'Absolutely no one wants to see hormone treated beef, or pork or chicken treated with anti-microbial washes which are banned here in the UK sold on our market. 'Those ways of production were banned in the 80s and 90s for a reason. They don't reflect our values and the farm to fork approach we are proud of in the UK, something we know the British people care deeply about. 'Yes, the world is changing. But this is no time for a knee-jerk reaction. We urge the government to honour the commitments it has repeatedly made both to farmers and the public that it will protect the safety, animal welfare and environmental standards which are at the heart of UK food, and not allow it to be undermined by shoddy trade deals.' And Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, added: 'It looks like Nigel Farage has had the full indoctrination at Mar-a-Lago. No one in this country wants chlorinated chicken on our supermarket shelves. 'Farage wants to sell out our hard-working British farmers for a grubby trade deal that wouldn't protect us from Trump's damaging tariffs. He's more interested in being a salesman for Trump than standing up for Britain and our rural communities.' In a wide-ranging interview the Reform leader also said Britain should 're-examine the whole funding model' for the NHS, but insisted he supported healthcare being free at the point of use. With local elections and a crucial by-election test in Runcorn and Helsby looming, Labour has sought to go on the offensive against Mr Farage over his stance on NHS funding. With local elections and a crucial by-election test in Runcorn and Helsby looming, Labour has sought to go on the offensive against Mr Farage over his stance on NHS funding. In a series of attack ads launched on Friday, the party has pointed to previous comments by the Reform leader advocating for a change, including one from 2012 in which he said: 'I think we are going to have to move to an insurance-based system of health care.' Asked about previous comments, Mr Farage told Today: 'I'm not asking people to pay to go to the doctor, we have never said anything other than healthcare should be provided free at the point of delivery.' Saying people should have health insurance 'only if they can afford it', he added: 'At the moment, they pay for their healthcare through taxes. 'Is there a better way of doing this? And what is interesting is actually Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has been saying very similar things. 'Everyone knows we are not getting bang for buck, everyone knows we are not getting value, let's re-examine the whole funding model and find a way that's more efficient.' Phone snatchers have been caught in the act of stealing a device from a man in the affluent London area of Hampstead. Shocking images show how two thieves, with their faces covered, riding a moped mounted the pavement and grabbed the phone out of a man's hand. The pair are said to have then gone on to snatch two further phones from unwitting victims as they drove in the direction of Camden. It comes amid an epidemic of phone snatching in cities across the UK, with a particular focus on London, where mobile phone thefts have tripled in the last four years. More than 70,000 phones were snatched in the streets of London alone in 2024, out of an estimated 100,000 thefts across the UK. Some 70,137 devices were reported stolen amid a scourge of criminal gangs using e-bikes and scooters to tot up high numbers of phones to sell abroad for parts. It is thought phone snatching could cost consumers up to 70 million each year. Now new photos captured on Thursday show how two brazen thieves snatched three phones in just minutes while riding past pedestrians on a black moped. Shocking images show how two thieves, with their faces covered, riding a moped mounted the pavement and grabbed the phone out a man's hand. The man attempted to chase after the moped-riding thieves, but to no avail The pair, both clad all in black and wearing balaclavas that revealed just their eyes, worked as a slick team to grab phones out of users' hands before they realised they were at risk. One man was seen trying desperately to hold on to his handset as it was swiped, before the speed and momentum of the moped got the better of him. The man attempted to chase after the moped as it careered down the pavement, but the driver rejoined the road and weaved in and out of traffic and away. The thieves drove off in the direction of Camden, with witnesses stating they snatched another two phones along the way. The Met has taken efforts to ramp up its response to the phone snatching gangs, and have increased plain-clothed officer patrols in the hardest hit areas. Last month, the force arrested 230 people and seized 1,000 devices in a week-long blitz. An increase in patrols and operations have been carried out in hotspot areas, including the West End and Westminster, where the Met says nearly 40 percent of phone thefts occur. Government is also looking at the issue, with the Crime and Policing Bill including measures that will allow officers to conduct a property search immediately, rather than having to wait for a search warrant in suspected phone thefts. The thieves were clad all in black and wore balaclavas to hide their identities The men are said to have then snatched two further phones on their way towards Camden, north London Your browser does not support iframes. Some 70,137 devices were stolen in London last year amid a scourge of criminal gangs using e-bikes and scooters to tot up high numbers of phones to sell abroad for parts The officers will still need the approval of a senior to conduct a search. The stolen handsets are often ending up on the other side of the world in countries such as China and Nigeria. Kaya Comer-Schwartz, London's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said personal robbery was down 13 per cent in the capital compared to figures in the same period last year. But she admitted 'there is more to do', saying: 'As the criminal demand for high-value mobile phones continues to grow globally, the Mayor and I are clear that companies must go further and faster to make it harder for stolen phones to be sold on, repurposed and re-used illegally. 'We'll continue to work with leading mobile phone companies, the Home Secretary and Met leaders to find innovative solutions to end the scourge of mobile phone crime. 'Increased patrols in Westminster saw 17 arrests for robbery and theft, following 42 Stop and Searches linked to the Met's intensive activity. 'In Hackney and Haringey, officers made 15 arrests linked to the operation, including a 15-year-old boy on an illegal electric bike who was found with 1,000 in cash and a large knife. 'The success in tackling phone thefts comes after the Met moved out of special measures last month, following major improvements in many areas of service to London. 'These include responding more quickly to emergencies and strengthening neighbourhood policing to better respond to communities' concerns, including tackling theft and robberies. 'The Met is urging anyone who has lost or had stolen a phone to use the national mobile phone register so recovered handsets can be restored, via The Police National Mobile Property Register.' Vladimir Putin has pledged to increase Russia's military presence in the Arctic in a move that could see Kremlin troops face off against British commandos. Putin said he feared that Nato intends to use the far north to launch invasions. The Russian President made his chilling speech after Donald Trump set his sights on taking control of Greenland, with Vice President JD Vance due to fly to the Danish territory today. Speaking about his Nato concerns, Putin referred to the far north countries of Sweden and Finland who joined the defence alliance after Russia's invasion of Ukraine as Nato's 'new recruits'. Both countries have vast land armies, while Britain's Royal Marines are experts in Arctic warfare and have a permanent base in Norway. Speaking in the Arctic port of Murmansk yesterday, Putin said: 'We are certainly concerned about Nato members describing the far north as the region of possible conflicts. 'Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernising military infrastructure. 'We will not allow encroachments on the sovereignty of our country and will reliably protect our national interests.' Putin - whose military muscle dwarfs the UK's - said the port capacity of the Russian city of Murmansk should be at least trebled in the coming years, thanks to the construction of new terminals and railway links. Your browser does not support iframes. Royal Marine Commandos swim ashore after fast casting into a Fjord from a Combat Boat 90 in Harvstad, Norway, on March 7, 2025 Vladimir Putin has pledged to increase Russia's military presence in the Arctic in a move that could see Kremlin troops face off against British commandos Energy supplies beneath Arctic ice, including fossil fuels and minerals, are the prizes in this Cold War-style dispute. These are becoming more accessible due to global warming. Trump, meanwhile, said he intended to acquire Greenland 'one way or the other', and the US Army has been training in Alaska to prepare for Arctic combat. With US-Russian relations thawing, the countries could team up, leaving Britain and other European states in the cold. Putin said he believed Trump's play for Greenland was 'serious', adding: 'It would be a grave mistake to think that this is just some eccentric talk of the new American administration. 'Those plans have deep historic roots and it is obvious that the US will continue to promote their geopolitical, military and economic interests in the Arctic. 'As for Greenland, I think that this is an issue that concerns two states and has nothing to do with us. However, we are concerned by the fact that the Nato countries increasingly identify the far north as a foothold.' As a key nautical gateway, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways. Russia is building a fleet of nuclear-powered icebreaker ships in the Arctic and plans to increase the size of its merchant fleet. Russia, the US and Britain see the Arctic as crucial for national security, and Russian and Chinese submarine activity in the region has increased. The recent rapprochement between Russia and the US over the Ukraine invasion could prove a springboard for energy trade deals. Royal Marines have been training with allies in the frozen wastes of the Arctic Circle this year Troops from 29 Commando Royal Artillery operate the 105mm Light Gun (L118) during Commando Force training in Norway, February 17, 2025 Gunners from 29 Commando Royal Artillery are pictured loading shells into their 105mm Light Gun during an exercise in Norway on February 17 In his speech, Putin said: 'We need to create conditions for the growth of effective domestic operators that will engage in transporting containers of coal and other cargo through the Arctic. We are also open here to the creation of joint ventures.' Earlier this year, Putin suggested Russia could work with the US to develop natural resources in the Arctic. The region is believed to hold up to a fourth of the Earth's undiscovered oil and gas. Russia's Arctic forces are focused on air and naval operations. Its troops have been permanently based there since 2013, and its Arctic Brigade, formed in 2015, consists of motorised infantry brigades, Special Forces units and naval infantry. Russia also has a 'shadow fleet' of foreign-flagged commercial vessels that are suspected to undertake military tasks such as deploying divers and cutting seabed energy cables. British forces have been upping their presence in the region, too, as the UK and Nato seeks to put its stamp on the High North. More than 2,000 personnel from the UK Commando Force have spent the opening months of 2025 sharpening their skills in the brutal sub-zero tundra of northern Norway. The Commandos' annual training underscores Britain's commitment to deterring aggression by Putin to Nato's northern flank and across Norway's complex coastline, frozen fjords and mountains. Image shows Russia's new nuclear submarine during a flag-rising ceremony led by Vladimir Putin at the Arctic port of Severodvinsk on December 11, 2023 Russian paratroopers are seen during drills in the Arctic region in April 2020 before the Ukraine invasion Russia's President Vladimir Putin attending a flag-rising ceremony at the new Imperor Alexander III and Krasnoyarsk nuclear submarines at Sevmash shipyard in the Arctic port of Severodvinsk on December 11, 2023 Russia's Admiral Gorshkov frigate fires a hypersonic Tsirkon missile in the Barents Sea A Mikoyan MiG-29KUB carrier-based multirole trainer aircraft of the Russian Northern Fleet's naval aviation lands at the Severomorsk-3 airfield in the Arctic Circle Codenamed 'Joint Viking', the war games brought together some 10,000 troops form nine nations as they drilled how to operate together to face off against Putin's troops. Elite green berets from 45 Commando launched night-time raids onto the rugged and mountainous Senja Island from amphibious ship RFA Lyme Bay, flying in by helicopter or racing to the shore in small inflatable raiding craft to carry out their daring mission. Putin has already ordered his country to increase its troop numbers to 1.5million active servicemen, in a move that would make Russia's army the second largest in the world after China. The Russian tyrant last year green-lit plans to bulk out the military by around 180,000 new troops. It comes as he continues to grapple with devastating loses in Ukraine. The Kremlin has not revealed any recent figures on how many troops have been killed or wounded in its relentless push to try and topple Kyiv. However, earlier this month British military intelligence claimed Putin's forces had suffered the largest troop losses since the Second World War during its invasion. In an intelligence update, the Ministry of Defence said up to 250,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since Putin launched his 'special military operation' in February 2022. In an intelligence update, the Ministry of Defence said up to 250,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since Putin invaded Ukraine. Russian troops are seen in the ruins of Sudzha, near Kursk, on March 13 The body of a Russian soldier is seen near a destroyed Russian tank in Storozheve in Donetsk Parts of Kharkiv is left burning after Russian missile strikes ravaged the city on March 7, 2025 The MoD added that despite the fact Russia has, in total, 900,000 casualties since invading, 'Putin and the Russian military leadership [is] highly likely to prioritise their military objectives over the lives of Russian soldiers'. However, it's believed Putin's forces would still outnumber Britain's by more than 10 to one, with nine times as many jets and 10 times as many tanks. According to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a leading military think tank, in 2024 Russia has lost a staggering 1,400 main battle tanks (MBTs) and more than 3,700 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and armoured personnel carriers (APCs). In total, since the invasion began, Russia is estimated to have lost approximately 14,000 MBTs, IFVs and APCs. However, estimate suggest that Moscow has been able to recoup its loses, pumping out 1,500 tanks a year - and by bringing older models out of storage. Meanwhile, Britain is estimated to have 213 Challenger 2 tanks - and a total of 136,117 regular military personnel. About 6,500 are elite Royal Marine commandos. And the army has shrunk to its smallest size in more than 200 years, with around 73,847 soldiers - barely enough to fill three-quarters of Wembley Stadium. Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded Britain's forces in Afghanistan and is a former member of the Joint Intelligence Committee, said the nation's military had been allowed to 'wither' and warned that desperate investment was needed. The distance from a northwestern European port to the Far East along the Northeast Sea Route is almost 40 per cent shorter than the traditional route via the Suez Canal. Other sea routes are becoming more accessible for more of the year Royal Marine Commandos take up position on a beach in Harvstad, Norway after swimming ashore during a training exercise He said since Putin's forces invaded Russia in February 2022, the British Army had shrunk by around 10,000 people. 'As Putin was rolling around Ukraine and politicians were talking about a much greater threat, we were cutting our army down,' he told the Mail, adding: 'Both Army and Navy equipment has been allowed to wither on the vine. 'One thing Ukraine shows is you still need conventional armed forces on the ground like tanks, artillery and engineering equipment.' However, it's important to note that it would be unlikely Britain would 'go it alone' should Russia ever attack - a move that would trigger Nato's Article 5 clause, which says an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all members. In this situation, Nato would significantly outgun Russia. It has a combined military budget of more than $1trillion, with around three million active troops, double that of Russia's. And it has more than 14,000 tanks, 21,100 aircraft and almost 2,000 warships. Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to hike military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 after pressure from US President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a fresh 2.2billion package of cash for defense to 'revolutionise' the armed forces. However, critics have said the funding is not enough and that more cash needs to be pumped into the MoD and into Britain's defence industry to stave off the threat posed by Russia. A woman who lost her job at a Catholic girls' school after teachers branded her views on marriage 'provocative like Andrew Tate' has lost a claim for wrongful dismissal. Gozen Soydag, 37, was accused of posting misogynistic content on Instagram, where she has almost 40,000 followers across two accounts. St Anne's Catholic High School for Girls in Enfield, north London, received complaints from parents and a pupil after the Christian influencer shared a video encouraging women to 'obey' their husbands. In the footage, a woman in a headscarf says: 'My husband is my boss', adding that 'if he tells me to jump, I'll jump' and urging other women to make their husbands 'king of your life'. Miss Soydag was asked by the school's headteacher, Emma Loveland, and assistant headteacher, Jo Sanders, to remove the content or make her accounts private. She removed the post from her Lady Gozen page, which promotes Christianity and has more than 30,000 followers, but it remained on a second account, Wife in the Waiting, which espouses the virtues of marriage, for three weeks. Miss Soydag, who claimed she was being censored over her support for biblical marriage, was dismissed in February 2023. She claimed in a witness statement that Sanders told her: 'If a man were to say what the women had said, it would be misogynistic', adding that the video was 'provocative like Andrew Tate'. Gozen Soydag, 37, was accused by the Catholic girls' school where she worked of posting misogynistic content on Instagram, where she has almost 40,000 followers Miss Soydag, above, was asked by the school's headteacher, Emma Loveland, and assistant headteacher, Jo Sanders, to remove the content or make her accounts private Gozen, pictured arriving at the employment tribunal in Watford, decided to launch legal action against the school seeking damages for breach of contract and wrongful dismissal Miss Soydag, who had been in her 250-a-day role as a consultant pastoral manager for year 10 students for only five months, subsequently sued for wrongful dismissal, accusing the school of religious discrimination, religious harassment, and breach of contract. But she lost her case after an employment tribunal in Watford ruled the video encouraged women to be 'submissive in marriage' and condoned 'abusive and coercive' relationships. Dismissing all Miss Soydag's claims, Judge Sarah Matthews expressed concern over her insistence that she did not know what misogynism meant. 'That suggests a concerning lack of awareness, as her role involved the care of 14-year-old girls and her job description included teaching them about healthy relationships,' said Judge Matthews. '[Miss Soydag's] core role was to provide support, but she was unable or unwilling to understand how the.. post could be perceived as misogynistic or could deter girls from going to her for support. 'The interference with [her] right of expression was proportionate and justified. The students were at a formative age and were entitled to pastoral support.' Responding to Miss Soydag's accusations of religious discrimination, Ms Sanders earlier told the tribunal that the sentiments expressed in the video ran contrary to the school's ethos. 'I felt that this was in direct contrast to what we teach our girls, that they are equal to men, and that they are in control of their future and should be ambitious for it and work towards what they desire,' she said. With almost 40,000 followers across two Instagram accounts, Gozen's posts often attract thousands of likes and hundreds of comments Gozen left her job as a solicitor and took on a job as an outreach mentor, working with schools 'I felt there was a risk that promoting female submission to men, purely because of gender, regardless of whether it was in marriage only, risked undermining the teaching we try to instil. 'We have a diverse mix of pupils and I felt that [Miss Soydag's] messaging had the potential to make certain students feel devalued and was contrary to our equality policy.' The tribunal heard that the post 'spread around the whole school', with students 'talking about it in the corridors'. One parent apparently claimed that the video promoted '18th-century teaching'. 'My husband is my boss,' says the woman shown in the controversial post. 'My husband is number one. if my husband tells me, "Hey, sit down," I'll sit down. 'If he tells me, "You can't go out with your friends today," I'm not going to go out with my friends. If he says, "Hey, go wash this dish for me," I'm going to go and wash the dish for him. 'I chose this man to be the king of my life and yes, I agree with everything he says, and I do everything he says, and I do that because I chose this man, I put him in this position in my life, and this is how I honour and take care of and love the man in my life. 'So, I tell women out there, "You want a man in your life, you want to be happy? Figure out what you would do when you are happy." 'Because I am happy, my husband does so many great things for me, and I would do that for him. I obey him. I respect him and I let him be the man that he is. Since her dismissal from St Annes Catholic high school for girls, Gozen has taken on a new role mentoring in a non-educational setting - but she misses her time in the school 'I chose a man that I wanted to follow. I chose someone to lead me and that's why I will do anything for him. 'If he tells me to jump, I'll jump. If he tells me to sit down, I'll sit down. If he tells me to go up on the roof or go up on stage, I will do either or. 'Anyway, that's a message for everyone out there. Love and cherish the king in your life.' Miss Soydag wrote in a caption accompanying the post: 'Many will hear this and see the head covering and think that this woman is a slave or maid to her husband. 'But what I see is a powerful woman who chooses to honour a man that loves her and a man who she is willing to follow the leading of wherever and whatever he asks her. 'You get to choose what you see... What do you see? What are you willing to do or be for your King who loves and cherishes you?' Doubling down on those beliefs at the tribunal, Miss Soydag quoted passages from the Bible and said it was 'God's design' that 'wives are to submit to their husbands'. However, it transpired that the Muslim woman shown in the footage was in a polygamous relationship. Miss Soydag said that she would not have posted it had she known. Judge Matthews said: 'When viewed objectively the tribunal find the "message", that women should be submissive in marriage, is expressed in a particularly harsh way. 'It states women should be prepared when asked by their husband to do the dishes and to jump. 'It does not refer to mutual submission. The woman is saying, "I will do anything for my husband including jump and go up on the roof." 'It appears to condone an abusive and coercive relationship.' In the months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a different kind of war was already raging in Europe. Poland was struggling to cope with what was described as a 'hybrid attack' from its Kremlin-aligned neighbour Belarus, which was sending waves upon waves of migrants across the border. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had urged migrants to forge a path further West and even began facilitating visas and travel from Middle Eastern countries to flood Western-aligned Poland with asylum seekers. Warsaw responded decisively, breaking with longstanding EU migration policies by erecting a massive border wall. The structure, completed in June 2022, now spans a more than 116-mile-long stretch of the Polish-Belarusian border. A five-metre-high metal fence scythes through the Polish countryside, covered with miles upon miles of barbs and topped with razor wire. State-of-the-art surveillance cameras and heat sensors are embedded along the wall to alert Poland's swelling border force to any human presence. Poland's border checkpoints are also reinforced with huge concrete slabs, each weighing more than 1.5 tonnes, along with secondary walls and barbed-wire fencing. Yet this mammoth project, which is reported to have cost almost 300million, has still not discouraged the most determined of asylum seekers as almost 300 people were reported to have attempted to penetrate the border wall last week. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has therefore gone a step further, implementing an outright ban on the right to claim asylum in the country for at least 60 days as he insisted he would 'take back control' of his nation's frontier. Polish troops are seen pulling up in armed vehicles to arrest migrants this past weekend Migrants gather on the Belarusian-Polish border near the Polish Kuznica border crossing on November 15, 2021 A crossing on the Polish-Belarusian border in Kuznica, eastern Poland, 03 December 2021 Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to migrants as he visits the transport and logistics centre Bruzgi on the Belarusian-Polish border, in the Grodno region, Belarus November 26, 2021 Hundreds of migrants broke through the Belarusian border fence close to the Kuznica crossing with Poland, before rushing towards Polish barbed wire barricades, in 2021 Polish forces are seen standing guard at the border to block the passage of migrants from Belarus in 2021 These extraordinary scenes show crowds of migrants trying to break through the Polish border fence with Belarus in 2021. It came as the West accused Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko of 'weaponising' immigration and engaging in a 'hybrid war' Since 2021, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Finland have seen a huge spike in the number of people illegally crossing their borders The so-called hybrid warfare tactic employed by Belarus came to a head in November 2021 when crowds of migrants gathered along the Polish border. Heavily armed riot police and border security teams were dispatched to manage the ruckus which saw several attempts from migrants to break through then-incomplete border defences. In one particularly shocking clash, some members of a group of more than 1,000 migrants tried to hack down a barbed-wire fence only to meet a phalanx of Polish guards who forced them back with pepper spray. Poland's then-Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: 'The Polish government is determined and we will defend the security of our country,' labelling the action an 'invasion' orchestrated by Belarus. The border wall was completed after months of work in June 2022, but the number of people lodging asylum claims in Poland has only continued to increase. Footage emerged over the weekend of 280 migrants attempting to enter Poland from Belarus. The group managed to slash a hole in the fence with a cutting torch before filtering through one by one. But their stunning breakthrough was quickly put to a stop by heavily armed Polish border guards who descended on the scene in armoured vehicles. The migrants were seen being detained while other troops began mending the fence. Their brazen attempt to penetrate border defences proved the last straw for Tusk, who since ascending to the premiership for the second time in 2023 has sought to crack down on immigration. Poland's Prime Minister last night announced the right to claim asylum will be suspended for 60 days, though specified that exemptions will be made for unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, elderly or unwell people and anyone exposed to 'real risk of serious harm'. The two-month ban will come into force 'without a moment's delay', Tusk said. A view shows posts at Bruzgi-Kuznica checkpoint on the Belarusian-Polish border amid the migrant crisis in the Grodno region, Belarus, December 23, 2021 Irregular migrants are seen near Bruzgi checkpoint as they continue to wait at the Polish-Belarusian border during cold weather on November 18, 2021 Migrants gather to get warm clothes inside a logistics center at the checkpoint "Kuznitsa" at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, in Grodno, Belarus, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021 Error: Unset URL field A migrant was seen hacking at the barbed wire barrier with a spade while a Polish guard sprayed him with pepper spray in 2021 Tusk has sought to tighten up Poland's borders since coming into office Polish President Andrzej Duda was reportedly hesitant to greenlight the suspension as he feared it could affect genuine refugees from Belarus. But he ultimately pressed on with the ban after officials assured him provisions would be made to ensure those most in need could still claim asylum. 'I decided that the so-called asylum act will come into force. I signed it because I believe it is necessary to strengthen the security of our borders. 'The most important thing is to defend the Polish border and the Polish services that guard it.' Since 2021, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Finland have seen a huge spike in the number of people illegally crossing their borders from Belarus and Russia. The countries have accused both Vladimir Putin and Belarus' Lukashenko of weaponing migration as part of efforts to destabilise the EU. Over 15,000 people applied for asylum in Poland in 2024, 72 per cent more than a year earlier and the highest annual figure recorded since 2016. After Ukrainians, the largest number of applicants last year were from Belarus - with 3,663 asylum seekers - and 823 Russians. This is followed by Ethiopia, with 515, Eritrea with 505 and Somalia with 486. Poland's suspension of the right to claim asylum move has come under significant scrutiny, with Human Rights Watch saying it 'flies in the face of Poland's international and EU obligations' and could 'effectively completely seal off the Poland-Belarus border, where Polish authorities already engage in unlawful and abusive pushbacks'. They have also urged the EU to take legal action against Poland once the law is implemented. But Tusk had previously dismissed the concerns from activist and rights groups, saying: 'Nobody is talking about violating human rights, the right to asylum, we are talking about not granting applications to people who illegally cross the border in groups organised by Lukashenko.' Small children are held up by desperate migrants along with frontier faced down by Polish forces in 2021 Over 15,000 people applied for asylum in Poland in 2024, 72 per cent more than a year earlier Polish soldiers stand by the reinforced barrier at the Polish-Belarusian border, Tusk has refused to sign up to the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum In February, the Polish government confirmed they would not take part in the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which the bloc implemented to manage the arrival of asylum seekers. Under the agreement, states could either relocate a certain number of migrants, pay a financial contribution or provide operation support to help resettlement. However, Poland and Hungary have opposed the measure, which is meant to be legally binding on all EU member states. Tusk said: 'Poland will not implement the Migration Pact in a way that would introduce additional quotas of immigrants in Poland. 'We are ready to cooperate with everyone to protect Europe from illegal migration. However, Poland will not take on any additional burdens. We have already taken on more than anyone could have imagined just a few years ago.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen admitted Poland had done more than their fair share in taking in Ukrainian refugees since the 2022 Russian invasion. Other EU member states are also taking steps to curb the rights of asylum seekers. Finland has denied entry to any migrants crossing its border with Russia since 2023, while incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has promised to stop all irregular migration across Germany's land borders on his first day in office. A coroner has blasted an NHS Trust for its 'culture of defensiveness' after a baby girl died due to 'gross failures' in 'basic medical care'. James Adeley slammed University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation for failing to learn lessons from a major report into maternity services which recognised 'serious failures of clinical care' some ten years ago. He criticised the Trust after the inquest into Ida Lock, a baby who died a week after birth as a result of a serious brain injury caused by poor care at the hands of midwives. Mr Adeley pointed out 'multiple missed opportunities' for 'enhanced care' during the baby's birth including a 'wholly ineffectual' and 'incompetent' resuscitation. To make matters worse, the senior coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen noted similarities with criticism pointed at the Trust a decade ago - after hearing evidence of a 'deep seated and endemic culture of defensiveness in respect of maternity incidents'. He went on to criticise the Trust's approach to this inquest as one of a 'lack of transparency and openness' and failing to provide relevant information. Furthermore, he described all its investigations into the baby's death as 'unskilled' and 'superficial'. During the 19-day inquest, Mr Adeley said: 'Ida's death and subsequent investigation is a damning indictment of an ineffective, dysfunctional and callous system that has failed this family at every opportunity presented to it.' Ida Lock was born at Royal Lancaster Infirmary Labour Ward on November 9, 2019, but died a week after she was born This happened as a result of midwives failing to react to her falling heart beat while mother Sarah Robinson was in a birthing pool Ida Lock was born at Royal Lancaster Infirmary Labour Ward on November 9, 2019, but died a week after she was born, having been transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital. This happened as a result of midwives failing to react to her falling heartbeat while mother Sarah Robinson was in a birthing pool, an inquest heard. The newborn baby suffered hypoxic brain damage caused by oxygen starvation during her difficult birth and the 'wholly incompetent' attempts at resuscitation by midwives. Mr Adeley has now has issued a hard-hitting prevention of future death report to both the Department of Health and Social Care and the Trust in which he highlighted several concerns. This included criticisms of the Trust for carrying out 'inadequate investigations' and having a 'lack of transparency and openness'. The hospital is operated by the scandal-hit University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, which was investigated in 2015 after eleven babies and a mother died. Mr Adeley pointed out there were 'multiple missed opportunities' for enhanced care during Ms Robinson's labour. This included a failure to act on clinical signs that made it 'inadvisable' for Ms Robinson to enter the birthing pool, he said, as well as 'failure to act on a significant slowing of the baby's heart'. He went on to slam the hospital for failing to summon obstetric help at an appropriate time and said the midwives became 'task focused' on obtaining a foetal heart rate and deriving reassurance from unreliable heart rate readings, which led to an 'avoidable delay'. Baby Ida Lock with father Ryan Lock, mother Sarah Robinson and brother Ethan Baby Ida Lock, who was born at Royal Lancaster Infirmary Labour Ward on November 9, 2019 with father Ryan Lock While the coroner said the obstetric delivery of Ida was of 'high quality', he said the 'delay' in involving the doctor meant Ida was born pale in colour with a low heart rate and brain damage caused by a reduction in oxygen. Ida was resuscitated for three and a half minutes after her birth, but the coroner said this was 'wholly ineffectual'. The inquest heard that a paediatric registrar took over and performed a higher quality resuscitation but died a week later. Delivering his conclusion, Mr Adeley said: 'Ida was a normal child whose death was caused by a lack of oxygen during her delivery that occurred due to the gross failure of the three midwives attending her to provide basic medical care to deliver Ida urgently when it was apparent she was in distress. '[Her death was] contributed to by the lead midwife's wholly incompetent failure to provide basic neonatal resuscitation for Ida during the first 3 1/2 minutes of her life that further contributed to Ida's brain damage from which she died.' Mr Adeley criticised the Trust for carrying out 'inadequate investigations', maintaining 'a lack of transparency and openness', and 'a failure to respond to a detailed complaint letter'. He noted the 'significant similarities' with the criticism made in the 2015 independent investigation, known as the Kirkup Report. The review ultimately found there had been 'serious failures of clinical care' in the maternity unit of what became the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. While the coroner said the obstetric delivery of Ida was of 'high quality', he said the 'delay' in involving the doctor meant Ida was born pale in colour with a low heart rate and brain damage caused by a reduction in oxygen Ida was born at Royal Lancaster Infirmary but was transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital It found that 'avoidable harm' was caused to mothers and babies, including 'tragic and unnecessary deaths', followed by a 'pattern of failure to recognise the nature and severity of the problem'. In a prevention of future deaths report sent to the Department of Health and Social Care and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, Mr Adeley outlined several 'matters of concern'. He said he also told of how the investigation into Ida's death showed elements of 'failing to identify significant care issues, brevity, defensiveness'. Mr Adeley said: 'I am concerned that there is not a culture of candour within University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (Trust) and the impact that this has on safety, learning and implementing required changes to prevent deaths. 'The Trust is ten years on [from the Kirkup Report] and still issues and themes identified in 2015 were very much in issue in 2019 and still exist at the Trust as identified by Ida's inquest. 'The Trust's approach to the inquest has been one of a lack of transparency and openness, failure to provide relevant information and a failure to identify with candour the defective clinical governance processes that have operated at the Trust from 2019 to present day.' The coroner raised concerns about the 'reliability of the Trust's data' after hearing evidence into how the organisation failed to report Ida's death to the coroner's office, among other similar failings. Ida was resuscitated for three and a half minutes after her birth but the coroner said this was 'wholly ineffectual'. Pictured: Baby Ida Lock with brother Ethan Mr Adeley said: 'Ida was a normal child whose death was caused by a lack of oxygen during her delivery that occurred due to the gross failure of the three midwives attending her to provide basic medical care to deliver Ida urgently when it was apparent she was in distress.' Pictured: Baby Ida Lock with father Ryan Lock brother Ethan Tabetha Darmon, Chief Nursing Officer, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, said: 'Losing a child is tragic and our heartfelt condolences go out to Ida's parents, family and loved ones.' PIctured: Royal Preston Hospital He criticised their 'deficient process' and said the hospital has 'chaotic clinical governance arrangements, defensive attitudes and inappropriate self-congratulation'. Mr Adeley continued: 'All investigations conducted by the Trust to date in respect of Ida's death have been unskilled, superficial, brief, failed to identify issues and left the family without answers and were all features identified by the 2015 Kirkup Report. 'In view of the continuing culture at the Trust, this cause a significant concern that issues of safety and safeguarding are not properly considered, transparently engaged with and then addressed formally in respect of a child fatality and serious injury by the Trust. ' The coroner said the midwife supporting Ida's family had not undertaken her required mandatory training. He said that the non-completion of such training was 'still an issue' at the Trust in 2025. 'It concerns me that the Trust do not have robust systems in place to ensure that any midwife who has not completed her mandatory training is subject to immediate action to ensure that all mandatory training is completed and is in date,' he continued. The report was also addressed to NHS England and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board. Tabetha Darmon, Chief Nursing Officer, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, said: 'Losing a child is tragic and our heartfelt condolences go out to Ida's parents, family and loved ones. 'We are truly sorry for the distress we have caused. 'We accept that we failed Ida and her family and if we had done some things differently and sooner, Ida would still be here today. 'We also acknowledge the additional upset caused to Ida's parents and family as a result of the way investigations into Ida's death have been conducted since 2019. For that, we are truly sorry. 'We take the conclusions from the Coroner very seriously and have made a number of the improvements identified during the inquest. 'We are carefully reviewing the learning identified to ensure that we do everything we can to prevent this from happening to another family. 'There is still a lot of work to be done, and our teams remain committed to continuously improving maternity services for women and families across Morecambe Bay. 'We know none of this can take away the pain Ida's family and loved ones will be feeling. 'We know we need to do better, and we will be leaving no stone unturned to learn from the ways we failed and improve the care we provide in the future.' A pensioner was branded an 'old aged predator' when a 'tit for tat' feud over a Facebook group for holidaymakers turned into a 'social media hellhole', a court heard. Lisa Wilkinson, 46, mercilessly trolled 74-year-old Edward Hampton, labelling him a 'dirty scumbag' and referring to him and his wife Bebe as 'the Tramptons'. She accused him of sleeping around behind his wife's back during the six-month row, which took place on social media between February and July last year. The pair had both been members of a Facebook group for Marmaris tourists set up by Mr Hampton called MARM 'R' US which had around 2,500 members. Wilkinson had been an admin in the group, but then decided to join another identically-named group set up by a Turkish friend, magistrates heard. She accused him of using the site as his 'personal domain' in order to get free food and drinks. Using the name 'Buster Wilko', Wilkinson referred to Mr Hampton and his wife as 'the Tramptons', and alleged that he 'slept with drunk members while wifey sleeps like an old aged predator'. She called him a 'dirty scumbag' and said other group members who stuck up for him were 'just as vile and brainwashed by the Tramptons'. Lisa Wilkinson, 46, (pictured) mercilessly trolled 74-year-old Edward Hampton, referring to him and his wife Bebe as 'the Tramptons' and accusing him of sleeping around behind his wife's back Wilkinson also sent him private messages of pictures of both his and his wife's passports, warning him: 'Never mind when I'm abroad, worry about when you go, dirty old aged predator.' She also wrote: 'Your passport screenshots are already given to the relevant authorities. Enjoy your next holiday old aged predator. 'Keep sleeping around behind your wife's back you little racist wrong 'un you can't come back to Marmaris now ripping Turkish businesses off.' She appeared at Sefton Magistrates' Court on Tuesday where she pleaded not guilty to harassment. Giving evidence at her trial, Mr Hampton said the barrage of abusive posts had left him feeling 'terrible'. He said: 'Disgusting posts were put on, then there would be 50 to 100 people jumping in saying "that's terrible, he's a predator, I didn't know that". 'They didn't even know me. But every day something was posted. 'I did give the police 27 screenshots calling me a paedophile, calling me a pervert, down the same line all the time.' Mr and Mrs Hampton had to cancel an 860 holiday to Turkey they had booked out of fear of what had been said about them during the 'tit for tat' dispute, they told the trial Mr Hampton said he had been faithfully married for 46 years, and had never ripped off any businesses 'that he was aware of'. But he admitted he would enjoy some perks such as free drinks in hotels as a result of his Facebook group, which had several thousand members. He said the messages containing his and his wife's passports had resulted in the couple having to cancel and order new ones at a cost of 86 each. They also cancelled an 860 holiday to Turkey they had booked out of fear of what had been said about them. Wilkinson, of Kirkby, Merseyside, admitted making the posts. But she said she had done so 'in self-defence' as she believed Mr Hampton had made comments about her anonymously online, including body-shaming her on a 'love rat' website. She also claimed he had 'pulled his pants down and put his a**e in her face with his b**** hanging and thought it was a joke'. In court, she said Mr Hampton had been using his Facebook group 'as a business' and had been controlling on group holidays, saying: 'He would want to go places they chose where he gets his meals and drinks free. 'He wouldn't let me recommend things.' She said: 'It's not revenge at all. He put posts on his group about me. 'This is me defending myself. It's self-defence... sticking up for myself against a narcissist, a manipulator, a gas-lighter.' Wilkinson denied harassing Edward Hampton but was found guilty after a trial at Sefton Magistrates Court (pictured) and will be sentenced in May But prosecutor Craig Welsby said there was no evidence that Mr Hampton had been the source of any anonymous comments about her. He said: 'The behaviour was improper, oppressive and unreasonable conduct. 'The defendant doesn't have any problem with what she's posted. She says she made these in response to comments made towards her. 'She hasn't given any copies of these comments she is speaking about. 'She accepts it was anonymous posts, but she believes it is the complainant because of what was said. 'The defendant accepts she sent the comments accusing the complainant of being someone who is a predator, that has sex with drunk women, and has put this on a forum that 2,500 people have access to. 'I have asked in what way it is self-defence. 'All I had have is the view that it's tit for tat. It doesn't justify this behaviour... Two wrongs don't make a right.' Harvey Appleby, defending, said Wilkinson was just one of many people making similar comments on Facebook. But Mr Welsby said: 'There's quite clearly a dispute in the background and the defendant is posting comments and sending messages accusing the complainant of being a predator on at least two occasions. 'Does it matter if the defendant is the leader or not? No it doesn't. 'What matters is the defendant accepts in this case she embarked on a course of conduct that was unreasonable, that was oppressive. 'There was a targeted victim.' Mr Appleby said: 'This is an unfortunate case where heaven in Turkey has turned into a social media hellhole. 'Ms Wilkinson doesn't shy away from her comments but what has to be considered is the context. '(Mr Hampton) ran the social media page like it was a personal domain for him to control and when people took umbrage and started a new group it has led to this. 'It was tit for tat. 'This is a case where all parties involved I'm sure, with the benefit of hindsight, would have conducted themselves in a manner that was different if given the chance.' Finding Wilkinson guilty of harassment, the magistrate said: 'Ms Wilkinson accepts what she said in this case and she accepts these caused alarm and distress. 'We acknowledge she believes the posts to be retaliatory, however there has been a series of conduct as there have been multiple entries targeted at an individual that would likely cause distress. 'We do not feel the conduct was reasonable.' Wilkinson was bailed and will appear for sentence at Liverpool Magistrates Court on May 9. The King appeared in good spirits today as he was seen in public for the first time since it was revealed he visited hospital over side effects from his cancer treatment. Charles, 76, smiled and waved at well-wishers as he left Clarence House in London in an Audi and is understood to be going to his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire. Buckingham Palace announced last night that the King 'required a short period of observation in hospital' earlier that day, with four planned engagements in Birmingham today cancelled to prioritise his recovery as a precautionary measure. A source described it as a 'most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction' - with the visit coming just over a year after he was diagnosed. This morning, a large crowd including members of the public and photographers watched as Charles was driven out of his London residence at around 10.30am. Sat in the back of a black Audi, he waved down the window, smiled and waved at well-wishers. Moments earlier the Princess Royal was driven out in a black Bentley. The King visited the London Clinic yesterday morning and travelled to and from the hospital by car. He was not joined by his wife Queen Camilla during his brief stay. After he appeared today, tourist Julian Mati, 34, said it was a 'relief' to see the King looking well. He added: 'We were horrified when we heard the news yesterday. 'We had come down to the palace today to take pictures but we never imagined we would see the King. To see him smiling and waving, it's such a relief.' King Charles III is driven by car from Clarence House in London today after his hospital visit Charles smiles and waves at well-wishers as he leaves Clarence House in London this morning The King travels from Clarence House along The Mall towards Buckingham Palace today King Charles III is driven by car from Clarence House, his London home, along The Mall today King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Tuesday at a reception at Clarence House for authors, members of the literary community and representatives from The Queen's Reading Room Buckingham Palace said in a statement last night: 'Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, the King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital. 'His Majesty's afternoon engagements were therefore postponed.' King's busy schedule over past fortnight Here are the King's most high-profile official engagements from the last two weeks: - Thursday March 13, London The King held a WaterAid reception at Buckingham Palace with guests including fitness influencer Joe Wicks who said he would 'love to know' the King's fitness routine. - Monday March 17, London The King met the new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the royal residence in London. He told Mr Carney 'it's a great treat to see you again' as he welcomed him in the 1844 Room. - Wednesday March 19, Belfast After arriving in Northern Ireland, the King and Queen were greeted by sea shanties and acrobatics in Belfast's Commercial Court where they met members of the public. The King then visited the Newforge sports complex in Belfast where he gave a speech paying tribute to the police and thanking them for their work. - Thursday March 20, Limavady The King and Queen visited an arable farm near Limavady in Northern Ireland. Charles was presented with an oak sapling while Camilla helped cook steak using the farm's oil produce. - Thursday March 20, Hillsborough The King met young people taking part in Co-operation Ireland's future leaders programme at Hillsborough Castle in Co Down, his official residence in Northern Ireland. - Thursday March 20, Coleraine In his final stop in the north west of Northern Ireland, the King visited Ulster University's campus in Coleraine. Here he learned about ground-breaking research that scientists are conducting into cancer therapies. - Friday March 21, Banbridge At the final stop of the Northern Ireland tour, the King met representatives from the Game Of Thrones experience, the owner of a gift shop, local bakers and linen makers in Banbridge. Two ukulele bands, from Banbridge and Lisburn, played Rockin' All Over The World as he arrived with the Queen. - Monday March 24, London The King met the UK and France's top military leaders at Windsor Castle. Charles, who is head of the British armed forces, held an audience with the joint chiefs of staff from both countries. - Tuesday March 25, London At an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, the King knighted a number of notable figures including actor Sir Stephen Fry who said he was 'chuffed to the heavens'. Athlete Dina Asher-Smith, a Second World War veteran and novelist Alan Hollinghurst were all also knighted by Charles at the ceremony. - Tuesday March 25, London The King attended a reception hosted by the Queen at Clarence House. Camilla unveiled the Queen's Reading Room Medal, which will be awarded annually to people who support storytelling in their local communities. The King then attended the annual Butler Trust Awards ceremony alongside the Princess Royal at St James's Palace in central London. The King's sister presented the awards to outstanding people working in prisons, probation and youth justice across the UK. - Wednesday March 26, London The King attended an exhibition celebrating the power and potential of soil at Somerset House. Curators Of The Soil: The World At Our Feet exhibition praised his 'incredible sense of curiosity' as he toured the exhibition. The King and Queen then in the evening hosted 400 guests from various UK news organisations at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to show support for local news. Charles was welcomed by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and a gathering of leading media professionals, including Tony James, 89, thought to be the UK's oldest working journalist. - Thursday March 27, London The King was due to receive credentials from the ambassadors of three different nations on Thursday afternoon. This was cancelled as he visited the London Clinic due to temporary side effects of his cancer treatment. - Friday March 28, Birmingham The King was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham on Friday but these have been rescheduled under medical advice. Advertisement The palace added: 'His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow's (Friday's) diary programme will also be rescheduled. 'His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result'. Last night, the King was said to have been on good form at his London home where he was working on state papers and making calls from his study. The Prime Minister 'wishes His Majesty the King all the very best', a spokeswoman for Sir Keir Starmer said after the news was announced. Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February 2024 and returned to public-facing duties in April despite still undergoing weekly treatment. He has had a busy run of engagements this month, including a reception for media on Wednesday evening after a visit to a soil exhibition in the day, and is due to make a historic state visit to Italy in 10 days' time. It is understood the overseas tour with the Queen from April 7 to 10, which will see Charles become the first British sovereign to address both houses of the Italian parliament, is expected to go ahead as planned. Last week, the King made a whirlwind three-day visit to Northern Ireland with Camilla, and earlier in March hosted high-profile audiences with key political figures including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, outgoing Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and new Canadian PM Mark Carney. Charles, who is known for being a workaholic, is said to have thrived on carrying out public and state duties in recent months, seeing them as being of great benefit to his overall wellbeing. His long-haul visit to Australia and Samoa last autumn was described at the time as the 'perfect tonic' for the monarch. Since his diagnosis last year, the King's diary of engagements is understood to have been developed in full consultation with his medical team at all stages to protect and prioritise his recovery. Sources stressed the hospital visit was not a major development and no further updates are expected on the King's health, with any minor alterations to his diary that may be required next week being announced in due course. It was hoped this year would be a fresh start for the royal family after they endured what the Prince of Wales called a 'brutal' 2024 and probably 'the hardest year of my life' with both the King and the Princess of Wales being diagnosed with cancer. Kate is now in remission and is gradually returning to public duties. The King was due to meet ambassadors in audiences at Buckingham Palace yesterday afternoon but these were postponed due to his stay in hospital. He also had a busy day planned in Birmingham today, with four engagements back to back. The London Clinic was the same hospital where he was treated for an enlarged prostate in January last year, and also where the Princess of Wales had abdominal surgery the same month. The specifics of the King's side effects have not been disclosed but they are understood to be temporary and not uncommon with many medical treatments. The announcement from the Palace is understood to have been made late last night because time was required for the King to consult his staff and medical team on his return to Clarence House. It was decided on balance that it was wiser to cancel the visit to Birmingham as a precautionary measure. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: 'His Majesty was due to receive credentials from the ambassadors of three different nations this afternoon. 'Tomorrow (Friday), he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham, and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion. 'He very much hopes that they can rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible.' The King is known for being a workaholic, and even the Queen said after his cancer diagnosis that he 'won't slow down and won't do what he's told'. Camilla told author Lee Child at her Reading Room literary festival last year that her husband was 'doing fine' but was not heeding her advice. When the monarch underwent a procedure on an enlarged prostate before being diagnosed with cancer last year, his wife urged him to slow down and reduce his workload. But his nephew Peter Phillips said the King was 'frustrated' that his recovery after cancer treatment was taking longer than he wanted, and that he was 'pushing' his staff to return to his duties. He returned to public-facing events in April. Camilla has described Charles, now 76 as 'not one for chilling'. The Duke of Sussex once recalled how his father would sometimes fall asleep at his desk and wake up with a piece of paper stuck to his face. King Charles waves at well-wishers while leaving Clarence House in London in a car today The King is seen in public in Central London for the first time today since his hospital visit King Charles III is driven by car from Clarence House, his London home, along The Mall today King Charles is driven by car away from Clarence House in London this morning King Charles III is driven by car from Clarence House, his London home, along The Mall today The King is seen in public in Central London for the first time today since his hospital visit And Lady Sophie Windsor revealed: 'You see how he works all day long, has a quick supper and then disappears until about 4am to write letters. He cares about so many things and he comes up with brilliant solutions.' The King is only less than three years into his reign. He was the longest serving heir to the throne in British history, and faced the formidable task of succeeding his much-revered mother the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. His cancer diagnosis early in 2024 marked the start of what his eldest son the Prince of Wales described as the most 'brutal' year with the Princess of Wales also being diagnosed with cancer. An early riser, he usually begins each day with a brisk 11-minute military workout of five basic exercises used by the Canadian air force to keep fit, and after a healthy breakfast, has his first meeting between 8.30am and 9am. His diary often includes meetings and audiences, or a day out for official visits. The King skips lunch but does take a break for a walk if possible. He will also go through his red boxes, containing official and state papers, and have afternoon tea at around 5pm, before resuming work. After supper in the evening, the King usually works late into the night, and sometimes into the early hours writing letters. He sees letter-writing as a therapeutic exercise and prefers BBC Radio 4 to the television, which Camilla watches in the evening to unwind. Any rare, spare time is devoted to gardening, or listening to classical music and opera, with his medical team no doubt now urging him to rest as much as possible. Are you in Thailand or Myanmar? Email james.reynolds@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement Thousands are feared dead after a huge earthquake hit Thailand and Myanmar this morning, destroying buildings and sparking fears that dams could collapse, leading to catastrophic flooding. The US Geological Survey forecast thousands of losses after the 7.7 magnitude quake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city early on Friday. The shallow tremor struck central Myanmar at 13.20 local time (6.20GMT), and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock. Officials at a major hospital in Naypyidaw, the capital, declared it a 'mass casualty area', with the death toll expected to rise after buildings fell and debris scattered. 'I haven't seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I'm so exhausted now,' a doctor told the AFP news agency. Professor Ian Main, Personal Chair in Seismology and Rock Physics, School of GeoSciences, at the University of Edinburgh said: 'The damage is likely to be very severe near the epicentre- based on the estimated intensity of ground shaking above, and maps of population density and vulnerability of buildings. 'The USGS 'PAGER' forecast loss is, sadly, most likely to be in the range 10,000-100,000 fatalities,' he said, referring to the American agency's earthquake impact report. The force caused a mosque in Mandalay to collapse, with at least ten worshippers reported to have been killed. More than 20 children are also believed to be trapped in a destroyed school in Taungoo, central Myanmar. Shocking footage showed workers fleeing in neighbouring Thailand as a 30-storey high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed around them. At least three people were killed as the skyscraper toppled. Local authorities said that dozens of workers have been rescued from the site, though 90 are still missing. Shallow 7.7 magnitude quake struck central Myanmar at 13.20 local time, just after 6am GMT Powerful quakes felt in Myanmar, Thailand, India and China today, causing hundreds of homes to collapse Monitoring group warns of tens of thousands of possible fatalities, with numbers still rising Red Cross warns damage to infrastructure in Myanmar could see large dams could burst and flood huge areas At least three dead and 90 missing after high-rise apartment block collapses in Bangkok, Thailand Two were killed and 20 trapped when an eight-storey hotel in Aung Ben, Myanmar collapsed Workers were seen walking away from the building slowly when it began to topple as the tremors shook the Thai capital Rescue workers walk past debris of a construction site after a building collapsed in Bangkok on March 28, 2025 An earthquake survivor is carried as she waits to receive medical attention at a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on March 28 An injured construction worker is transported out of a collapsed building on a stretcher by Thai rescue workers following an earthquake on March 28, 2025 in Bangkok Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building after the tremors of a strong earthquake that struck central Myanmar A worker reacts after a strong earthquake that struck central Myanmar on Friday affected Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025 Thai rescue workers arrive on scene at a construction building collapse in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday Distraught workers are seen at the site of a collapsed building in central Myanmar A bloodied earthquake survivor rests in a hospital in Naypyidaw on March 28, 2025 Rescuers tend to injured from the site of the high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand Footage showed a building collapsing in front of monks near the epicentre in Myanmar on Friday Your browser does not support iframes. In Thailand, a mushroom cloud of dust and debris swept through the streets of northern Bangkok as a high-rise building still under construction was brought down by the quake. Workers in hard hats and orange hi-vis jackets were engulfed by dust as the concrete stack fell, with dozens who couldn't get away trapped under the rubble. 'I heard people calling for help, saying 'help me',' Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. 'I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before.' Rescuers at the collapse site were dwarfed by an enormous mound of rubble and tangled metal struts, just metres from the bustling Chatuchak Market, popular with tourists. Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters that at least three workers had been killed, with 81 more trapped inside when the building came down. Startled residents across the city were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels after the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time. They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake. Chelsea King, a British expat living in Bangkok, told MailOnline that she was ushered away from her building by security guards as the initial quake struck. She said she could see 'towering skyscrapers ... visibly swaying'. 'Many of these buildings are condos or hotels with rooftop pools, and water was cascading down like waterfalls due to the force of the tremors. 'The street was chaotic, with people running out of buildings, carrying pets and children, shouting in panic. 'I was in shock, unable to process what I was seeing - it felt like something out of a disaster film.' When they were finally allowed back in, she was able to rescue her cat, Mo, and pack a small bag of necessities before escaping down eight flights of stairs. Chelsea was fortunate that her building 'appears undamaged'. But she says friends are unable to return to their homes due to structural damage. 'My partner, who teaches on the city's outskirts, is also struggling to get back home, with the BTS and MRT [metro system] shut down and the roads at a standstill.' Kelly Rhodes, a tourist staying at the Okura Prestige in Bangkok, told MailOnline they were evacuated down 24 flights of stairs when the quake struck. As airlines began to halt some flights, she said: 'We are now trying to organise flights out but it's chaos.' 'We can't get out of the city. Traffic is at a standstill total gridlock.' The earthquake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high above the street in high-rises, as the tremor shook. Witnesses in Bangkok said people ran out onto the streets in panic, many of them hotel guests in bathrobes and swimming costumes as water cascaded down from an elevated pool at a luxury hotel. 'All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,' said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok's many malls shopping for camera equipment. 'I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall.' Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park - away from the tall buildings all around. 'I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense,' he said. 'Lots of chaos.' Mandy Tang, 38, from London, was in a cinema in Bangkok on holiday when she experienced the tremors from the powerful earthquake. She told the PA news agency: 'I was watching a film called The Red Envelope. It happened to be quite an action-packed scene when the shake happened, so I initially thought it could have been Imax effect. 'I looked around and none of the local audience left their seats. However, my Taiwanese friend insisted it's an earthquake, so I walked out of the theatre with her, and we met the security guards coming to evacuate us just outside the theatre. We could see the doors were opening and closing, all the chairs were shaking.' Workers assist an injured man after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said Rescue personnel work near a building that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025 An injured man is rescued at a construction site where a building collapsed in Bangkok on March 28, 2025 Rescue workers near a collapsed building in Bangkok on March 28 after the quake struck An injured person is carried to a stretcher as rescuers search for survivors in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, 28 March 2025 Rescue workers take an injured man who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Vehicles are stuck in heavy traffic after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar Thai rescue teams provide aid at a construction building collapse in Bangkok's Chatuchak area on March 28 Earthquake victims lie on the ground of the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high above the street in high-rises, as the tremor shook At a 1,000-bed general hospital in Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw, rows of wounded were treated outside the emergency department, some writhing in pain, others lying still as relatives sought to comfort them. 'About 20 people died after they arrived at our hospital so far. Many people were injured,' said a doctor at the hospital, who requested anonymity. The quake also damaged religious shrines in the capital, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes. In Mandalay, the country's second-largest city and close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media. While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures. In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, were also damaged. The Red Cross warned that there was still concern for the state of large dams, exposing risk of flooding. 'Public infrastructure has been damaged, including roads, bridges and public buildings,' Marie Manrique, Program Coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross told reporters. 'We currently have concerns for large-scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them,' she said. 'The bridge that connects Mandalay to Sagaing has collapsed - this will cause logistical issues. Sagaing has the largest number of internally displaced people in the country.' The earthquake hit Myanmar as it contests with a four-year civil war. The devastation prompted a rare request for international aid from the country's isolated military junta, which has lost swathes of territory to armed groups, as it declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday the 27-nation bloc stood ready to help after a strong, deadly earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand. 'Heartbreaking scenes from Myanmar and Thailand after the devastating earthquake. My thoughts are with the victims and their families,' von der Leyen wrote on X. 'Europe's Copernicus satellites are already helping first responders. We are ready to provide more support.' The World Health Organization said it had triggered its emergency management system in response to Friday's 'huge' earthquake in Myanmar and was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies. The WHO is coordinating its earthquake response from its Geneva headquarters 'because we see this as a huge event' with 'clearly a very, very big threat to life and health', spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing. 'We've activated our logistics hub to look particularly for trauma supplies and things like external fixators because we expect that there will be many, many injuries that need to be dealt with,' Harris said. She said the WHO would also be concentrating on getting in essential medicines, while the health infrastructure in Myanmar itself might be damaged. Harris said that due to recent experience with the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, 'we know very well what you need to send in first'. Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok A worker carries a casualty on his back in Bangkok amid devastation from the earthquake Motorists ride past a damaged building after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar, in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 28 A worker reacts near a site of a collapsed building in Bangkok, Thailand A resident carries belongings over debris next to a damaged building in Naypyidaw on March 28 Huge waves washed over the side of an infinity pool in Bangkok as the earthquake struck A car is trapped under a collapsed part of a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on Friday View of a collapsed building after the strong earthquake struck central Myanmar Panicked residents stand outside an office building in Bangkok after the earthquake A high-rise apartment was shaken so violently that pool water cascaded down the side People hug one another following the huge tremors that shook buildings in Bangkok People stand on a street after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said, which affected Bangkok as well with hundreds of people pouring out of buildings in the Thai capital in panic after the tremors People evacuate an office building in Bangkok after the earthquake, with workers, residents and tourists seen running into the streets Tremors were also felt in China's southwest Yunnan province, according to Beijing's quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude. Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS. A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination. The breakneck pace of development in Myanmar's cities, combined with crumbling infrastructure and poor urban planning, has also made the country's most populous areas vulnerable to earthquakes and other disasters, experts say. The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states. An English-speaking tourist who tackled a rampaging knifeman after he stabbed five people in Amsterdam has been praised as a 'true hero'. Dramatic footage shows the individual pinning down the attacker and restraining him from any further assaults on the busy street. It came after a knife rampage near the historic Dam Central Square left five injured, including two Americans yesterday afternoon. As chaos unfolded, eyewitnesses spoke of seeing a 'knife of at least 10 centimetres sticking out' of a girl's back, between her shoulders. Earlier today police revealed that the suspect used multiple knives during the horrific attack. They have so far have declined to give any indication as to a motive for the stabbings, saying their investigation was under way. The police suspect that he chose his victims at random. Witnesses said that the attacker was overwhelmed by bystanders before officers arrived on the scene. The suspect, who has been arrested, was subsequently taken to hospital with a leg injury. Local reports claim the man who tackled him spoke English and was believed to be British, but police have not confirmed where he is from. They have only confirmed that he is not a Dutch national. A spokesperson for the Amsterdam force praised his actions as 'heroic', according to De Telegraaf. Do you know who the hero is? Email tips@dailymail.com The suspect was tackled to the ground outside the Febo fast food restaurant, according to reports A police spokesman told AD : 'He did a great job' The knife rampage near the historic Dam Central Square left five injured, including two Americans yesterday afternoon A police spokesman also told AD: 'He did a great job. 'We're very proud of him, but we also want to point out that you need to be very careful if you want to make a citizen's arrest. Most people are not trained for this sort of thing.' Maarten Brinkm, head of the ACP police union, said: 'A big thumbs-up for the decisive action of this hero. 'The heroic citizen can count on massive praise.' His actions sparked waves of praise on social media, with one comment saying: 'Respect for this man. We need more heroes like this. 'A true hero, despite the chaos this man managed to hold the attacker down until the police arrived.' Another said: 'Hero, this man deserves a medal!' The suspect was tackled to the ground outside the Febo fast food restaurant, according to reports. An employee told The Independent: 'Apparently some guy kicked him and broke his ankle. He got kicked down [by some bystanders] because he tried to run away. 'I think somebody kicked him in the face as well. It sounds like it was well deserved.' Police officers gather not far from the area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam Police cordoned off a large area around the Royal Palace in the central Dam Square to allow an emergency helicopter to land Police officers stand behind a cordoned off area after the stabbing near Dam Square Police officers walk under the tape of the cordoned off area following the attack Sources told De Telegraaf that the suspect is likely a Eastern European man in his early 40s, though no details have been confirmed. He checked into a hotel in Amsterdam, which has now been raided by special forces, the day before the attack. A witness who saw the arrest said the suspect 'looked normal' and 'middle-aged'. The five victims were a 67-year-old and a 69-year-old American duo, a 26-year-old Polish man who has now been discharged from hospital, a 73-year-old woman from Belgium and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam. Police arrived to find the injured people at various locations in and around Sint Nicolaasstraat in the centre of Amsterdam. They then cordoned off a large area around the Royal Palace in the central Dam Square to allow an emergency helicopter to land. Dutch newspaper Het Parool reported that two people were first stabbed on a side street off the city's busy shopping street, Nieuwendijk. The suspect then reportedly walked towards the road of Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, where he stabbed another person on the corner of the two streets. Sint Nicolaasstraat in Amsterdam, where five people were injured in a stabbing incident Another victim was also stabbed closer to the square on Gravenstraat, before the suspect was arrested on Nieuwendijk. Justice and Security Minister David van Weel said yesterday that it was too early to speculate on the motive behind the attack. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said a police investigation was 'in full swing' and authorities hoped to uncover more details of what happened soon. 'Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and loved ones,' she added. Donald Trump forgives but is less likely to forget 'awful' comments made by the Prime Minister, according to a former White House Chief of Staff. The relationship between the US President and Anthony Albanese has been tense after the leaders clashed over American steel and aluminium tariffs last month. Mick Mulvaney warned on Friday that the Prime Minister needs to repair his friendship with Trump in order to straighten out diplomatic tensions. 'Trump's relationships with foreign leaders don't really turn on politics,' Mr Mulvaney told Sky News. 'His relationships are mostly personal and Albanese has said some really awful things about Donald Trump in the past, as have some members of his government. 'While Trump's capacity for forgiveness is almost infinite, he doesn't do very well at forgetting. So he does remember those sorts of things.' Mr Albanese said Mr Trump 'scares the s**t out of me' while he was in opposition in 2017. He told reporters on Friday that he has had 'two constructive discussions with President Trump'. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) has told reporters he has had 'two constructive discussions' with US President Donald Trump amid tariff tensions Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (pictured) has warned the Albanese government that Donald Trump may forgive 'awful' comments but he won't forget them 'The way that international diplomacy works is that people have discussions at the diplomatic level, and then people come together when there is a solution.' But the former White House Chief of Staff said the Prime Minister has a 'fundamental misunderstanding of how international diplomacy works with Donald Trump'. 'That's the textbook... That's not Donald Trump,' he said. 'Donald Trump wants to work with people directly, so the simple fact that Anthony Albanese hasn't been willing to reach out beyond just those two phone calls and talk directly with Donald Trump probably is hamstringing their relationship.' Earlier in the week, Mr Albanese said he would welcome Trump to Australia and that he is 'absolutely' planning to make Washington DC one of his first international trips if re-elected in May. However, it remains unclear whether Trump will make a reciprocal visit to Australia, which would be his first trip Down Under as President. Mr Albanese congratulated Trump on the phone after his November election win and spoke to him again in February - to argue Australia's case to be exempt from trade tariffs, which Trump said he would give 'great consideration'. But it was revealed on March 12, Mr Albanese repeatedly tried to phone Trump directly ahead of the tariff announcement but the President did not answer his calls. US President Donald Trump (pictured) has threatened tariffs on Australian wine and faced pressure from 'Big Pharma' over Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme It's understood Mr Albanese isn't closer to securing another phone call with Trump. The Trump administration is expected to announce its next round of sector-specific tariffs next week however the President has hinted that he 'may give a lot of countries breaks'. In the last week, President Trump has threatened tariffs on Australian wine as well as faced pressure from 'Big Pharma' over Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Regarding the latter, American drug companies wrote to Trump's trade boss, complaining that Australia's PBS was 'an egregious and discriminatory program which cuts prices and blocks American exporters'. But, on Wednesday, the head of one of America's largest medicine companies said he did not back economic constraints on Australian pharmaceuticals. 'We do not support tariffs on medications anywhere, and we certainly wouldn't be excited to see a policy like that,' Eli Lilly chief executive David Ricks told ABC's 7.30 program. New US tariffs on Australian agricultural exports are set to come into effect on April 1, alongside new import taxes on Australian pharmaceutical exports unless an exemption is secured. Unlike 2018, the Trump Administration has overlooked how the US has had a trade surplus with Australia dating back to 1952, where Australia has bought more goods and services from the US than it bought from us. Shocking police bodycam footage captured the moment a New Jersey mayor was confronted by officers after she drove drunk with her toddler in her BMW. Gina LaPlaca, 45, the Democrat Mayor of Lumberton, was seen stumbling and slurring her words after she was approached by cops outside her $640,000 home at around 5:40pm on March 17. An officer spoke to LaPlaca as she picked her young toddler out of her powerful BMW 5-Series sedan, asking her: 'Are you okay?' 'Yes, I am,' she responds, before staggering toward her car almost immediately, as a cop asked about the sedan's ruined passenger wing mirror. LaPlaca was ordered to take a field sobriety test on the street outside her home, and after being asked what she had drank, she responded: 'A little bit of vodka.' The mayor was seen struggling to place one foot in front of the other as she failed the sobriety test, before she began weeping as she was placed in handcuffs. 'I'm sorry,' she added to officers, to which one responds: 'That's okay.' LaPlaca was charged with driving under the influence as she faces calls for her resignation from her Lumberton constituents. Lumberton Mayor Gina LaPlaca was seen in shocking police bodycam footage stumbling and slurring her words after she was approached by cops outside her home at around 5:40pm on March 17 LaPlaca was so drunk she couldn't walk straight in this segment of the bodycam footage LaPlaca, 45, the Democrat Mayor of Lumberton, is facing calls for her resignation as she was charged with a DUI, and her husband said she has been admitted to rehab Police said they confronted LaPlaca at her home after a bystander reported seeing her driving erratically earlier in the afternoon, reports 6ABC. The witness was seen in bodycam footage telling officers he saw LaPlaca's vehicle swerving off the road, and the footage showed the side wingmirror on the mayor's vehicle had been damaged. The witness went on to say they grew more concerned after realizing she had a toddler in her backseat. After the mayor was arrested outside her home, officers searched her vehicle and found a small liquor bottle and a water bottle with alcohol in it. She had reportedly told officers that she had just come back home from picking up her two-year-old from daycare. Shortly after her arrest, LaPlaca's husband Jason Carty said she was seeking treatment for addiction in rehab. LaPlaca's husband Jason Carty (pictured together) said his wife has entered rehab, saying: 'Unfortunately, you have to hit rock bottom before you get better. This is obviously rock bottom' LaPlaca was seen struggling to put one foot in front of the other as she failed her field sobriety test, before she wept as she was handcuffed and put into a police cruiser Police said they confronted LaPlaca at her home after a bystander reported seeing her driving erratically, and the side wingmirror on her vehicle was damaged in the footage LaPlaca appeared emotional as she was detained earlier this month He told Asbury Park Press that his wife was on her 'first step on her road to recovery', adding: 'This is not a political issue. This is not a Republican or Democrat (issue), it is a human being issue. 'People suffer from addiction and many people don't get help. She is finally getting the help she needs... unfortunately you have to hit rock bottom before you get better. This is obviously rock bottom.' LaPlaca was elected to the Township Committee in Lumberton in 2020 and re-elected in 2023, however her arrest came just a week after she resigned as business administrator in neighboring Neptune Township. She had previously been arrested at her home in 2023 after she was accused of assaulting her husband, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. Charges against her were later dismissed and the arrest was expunged from her record, with Carty later saying he took responsibility for the incident. LaPlaca is facing calls for her resignation from Lumberton residents, and a township committee meeting days after her arrest saw locals furiously demand she steps aside. One resident reportedly told the meeting that LaPlaca was 'compromising the position of our law enforcement.' 'I'm asking for a motion that you deem her noncompetent and remove her from town council,' the resident said, per 6ABC. LaPlaca, a Democrat, pictured with former presidential candidate and Biden-era Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Another said: 'I'm asking you guys to do the right thing if she's not going to do the right thing, and she needs to resign. 'If she is definitely truly saying she needs to get the help that she needs, she needs to be the best version of herself before she can be a mayor.' One of the members of the committee, Terrance Benson, joined the calls for LaPlaca to resign, saying: 'My personal opinion is for the mayor to step down and to heal herself.' LaPlaca is next due in court on April 28. The mayor's office and Lumberton Township did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by DailyMail.com Police chiefs are asking an equalities watchdog for advice about whether they should allow rapists to self-identify as women and provide single-sex changing rooms for staff. Chief Constable Jo Farrell last year said the public and MSPs should be assured that a man who commits rape or serious sexual assault will always be recorded as male. Earlier this month, the Mail revealed that this stance, which campaigners said was a major policy U-turn, was not communicated to officers, sparking claims that police may have misled parliament. The Scottish Police Authority (SPA), the forces civilian oversight body, yesterday said it had asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for help on issues including classifying trans people in crime figures. An SPA board member raised concern about the operational risks of recording criminals gender rather than sex following a UK Government-ordered report which criticised the practice. Kath Murray, of gender-critical think-tank Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, said last night: It has taken over five years for the SPA [since the police Transitioning at Work policy was published in September 2019] to recognise that Police Scotlands workplace policies leave the single service exposed to legal and financial risks. In that time, both Police Scotland and the SPA ignored internal and external warnings. Ms Murray added: The SPA also needs to treat potential breaches of the human rights of women, whether Police Scotland employees or women coming into contact with the service in any way, with equal urgency. Yesterday, SPA deputy chief executive Chris Brown told the organisations public board meeting in Edinburgh that Police Scotland began an internal review on gender issues in September last year but had now written to the EHRC because of the evolving public discourse and the importance and complexity of this issue. Mr Brown said the SPA was also looking for help on the issue of providing single-sex spaces for staff which would include toilets and changing rooms. He added that the SPA had written to the EHRC seeking clarity and further guidance on key equality-related policy issues. Mr Brown said we and others would benefit enormously from clear guidance on our application of in particular the Equality Act, and the workforce health safety and welfare regulations. SPA board member Katharina Kasper said a report by Professor Alice Sullivan published last week had warned that the conflation of sex and gender [by police] could lead to operational risks. The review found many police forces record crimes by male suspects as though they were committed by women at the request of the perpetrator or based on how a person presents . The controversy over the Police Scotland approach on self-ID comes in the wake of high-profile cases including that of Adam Graham, who began identifying as Isla Bryson while waiting to stand trial accused of two rapes. Bryson was convicted of rape in February 2023 and jailed for eight years, initially being sent to the all-female Cornton Vale prison outside Stirling, before being transferred after the case sparked public uproar. The rapist is now being held in an all-male prison. The EHRC said it will consider the SPAs request carefully. Iran has threatened to strike American bases and 'blow up' the entire Middle East if Donald Trump follows through on his warning of military action in the absence of a new nuclear deal. President Trump earlier this month sent a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging Tehran to reach a new nuclear deal. He warned: 'There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal.' Iran has now sent a response to the letter - which they say was 'appropriately sent through Oman' - rebuffing Trump's warning to make a deal or face consequences. 'If the Americans attack the sanctity of Iran, the entire region will blow up like a spark in an ammunition dump,' Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf said Friday. 'Their bases and those of their allies will not be safe,' Qalibaf said in a live speech at the annual Al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, that marks the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. Khamenei has called Trump's message deceptive and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday talks were impossible unless Washington changed its 'maximum pressure' policy. Araqchi on Friday was reported by state media as saying that while Trump's letter contained threats, it also left the door open to diplomacy. He did not elaborate. The US, however, has seemingly issued its own warning to Iran and its rebel proxies by deploying at least three B-2 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia island. Iran has threatened to strike American bases and 'blow up' the entire Middle East if Donald Trump follows through on his warning of military action in the absence of a new nuclear deal. The image shows an Iranian rocket launched during a drill earlier last year Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC showed three B-2s (circled) parked at Camp Thunder Cove on Diego Garcia on Wednesday. America is believed to be bringing additional firepower to the military base President Donald Trump (pictured yesterday) earlier this month sent a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging Tehran to reach a new nuclear deal. He warned: 'There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal' Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC showed three B-2s parked at Camp Thunder Cove on Diego Garcia on Wednesday. America is believed to be bringing additional firepower to the military base, as radio transmissions and flight-tracking data suggested the US Air Force is moving several aircraft to Diego Garcia. At least four more jets are reportedly on their way, The Telegraph reports, citing unconfirmed Open Source Intelligence. Seven C17 aircraft - which are typically used for rapid deployment of troops, cargo and supplies - have also landed at the base in recent days, according to Sky News. The B-2 Spirit, or B-2 bomber, is a highly advanced, stealth bomber capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons. The plane, designed by the US Air Force, is known for its ability to penetrate enemy defences. The B-2's design incorporates advanced stealth technology to make it difficult to detect by radar, allowing it to penetrate heavily defended airspace. Diego Garcia island is a strategic hub, as it puts both Yemen and Iran in range of US planes. It also provides a closer location for the long-range bombers to launch that's still far outside of the range of the rebels - and avoids using allies' Mideast bases. Iranians burn an Israel flag during a rally marking Al Quds Day in Tehran, Iran, today Iranians take part in a protest marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in Tehran, Iran, March 28, 2025 The surge in military assets comes amid reports that suspected US airstrikes pummeled sites across Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels early Friday, including neighborhoods in the capital Sanaa. The extent of the damage and possible casualties wasn't immediately clear, though the number of strikes appeared particularly intense compared to other days in the campaign that began March 15. Initial reports from the Houthis described at least seven people being hurt in the attacks Friday in Sanaa, Yemen's capital that the rebels have held since 2014. Other strikes hit around the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, the rebel's stronghold of Saada and in Yemen's al-Jawf, Amran and Marib governorates. The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge what at those sites had been targeted, other than Sanaa International Airport, which is used for both civilian and military traffic. Neighborhoods in the capital also are home to military and intelligence service sites - as well as crowded with civilians. Video showed one bomb dropping into Sanaa, with a huge plume of smoke rising into the night sky as many people were awake in the final days of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. Other areas hit included mountainous terrain north of Sanaa in Amran, where military camps and other installations are believed to be. The Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news network described communication networks going down after the attacks, which included at least 19 strikes there alone. The US military's Central Command, which now has authority from the White House to strike offensively in Yemen without pre-approval, did not immediately acknowledge conducting any strikes. In this image made from video, smoke rises after a blast in Sanaa, Yemen today Smoke rises from the site of an air strike in Sanaa, Yemen on March 28, 2025 Meanwhile, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader has claimed that Tehran has not closed all doors to resolve its disputes with the US and is ready for indirect negotiations with Washington. 'The Islamic Republic has not closed all doors. It is ready for indirect negotiations with the US in order to evaluate the other party, state its own conditions and make the appropriate decision,' Kamal Kharrazi said Thursday, according to Iranian state media. Foreign Abbas Araghchi told the official IRNA news agency on Thursday that Iran had responded to Trump's letter. 'This official response includes a letter in which our position regarding the current situation and Mr Trump's letter has been fully explained to the other party,' he said. Araghchi added that the letter was delivered to Oman, which has served as an intermediary in the past in the absence of US-Iranian diplomatic relations. He did not disclose the nature of the response nor say when it had been sent. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked by reporters on his plane over the Caribbean whether the United States has received the letter, said: 'I'm not going to comment on that yet'. He said that the US had expected there to be a response and 'obviously at that point, the president will decide what steps if he any he wants to take next'. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf (pictured last year) warned today: 'If the Americans attack the sanctity of Iran, the entire region will blow up like a spark in an ammunition dump. Their bases and those of their allies will not be safe' Trump, who in 2018 pulled the US out of an agreement to relieve sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, now says he is open to diplomatic talks. The US president revealed at the start of March that he had sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At the same time, Trump has pushed ahead with his 'maximum pressure' programme of additional sanctions on Tehran and the threat of military action if it refuses to negotiate. 'Our policy remains not to negotiate directly [with Washington] under "maximum pressure" and the threat of military action, but indirect negotiations, such as those that took place in the past, can continue,' Araghchi said. Iran and the US have not had official diplomatic relations since 1980. However, the two countries have engaged indirectly via the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests in Iran. Oman has also played the role of mediator in the past, as has Qatar, to a lesser extent. Trump's letter was delivered to Iran by the United Arab Emirates. Iran agreed to the deal curbing its nuclear programme in 2015 after negotiations with major powers including the United States and China. Western powers accuse Iran of having an clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy programme. Iran denies the accusations. Pictured is Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 21, 2025 Western powers accuse Iran of having an clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy programme. Tehran, denies the charge, insisting that the nuclear programme is solely for civilian energy purposes. Iran continued to respect the deal for a year after Trump pulled out, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, before rolling back its commitments. The US decision to withdraw was driven in part by Iran's ballistic missile programme, which was not covered by the deal and which Washington perceived as a threat. A driver involved in a fatal head-on collision on a major highway that left two men dead has been charged with five serious offences while still in hospital. Emergency services were called to a stretch of the Great Western Highway between Linden and Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney at about 5.20pm on Wednesday following a collision between a Toyota Camry and Polestar. The driver of the Toyota, 60, and a backseat passenger in the Polestar, 62, died at the scene. The men are yet to be formally identified. A NSW Ambulance spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the male driver, 27 and female front seat passenger, 59, in the Polestar were treated for multiple injuries at the scene. They were taken to Sydney's Westmead Hospital in a serious but stable condition, the spokesperson said, with the woman transported by helicopter. Following an investigation by Blue Mountains police, officers arrested the male driver at the hospital. He has been charged with five offences including two counts of negligent driving occasioning death. Two men were killed after a head-on collision between two cars on the Great Western Highway near Linden on Wednesday night A man and woman were also transported to hospital with multiple injuries It was a nightmare commute home for Blue Mountains motorists The male driver is also facing two counts of drive manner dangerous causing death and cause bodily harm by misconduct in charge of a motor vehicle. He was granted conditional bail to appear before Penrith Local Court on April 1. Two rescue helicopters were deployed to the scene on Wednesday, along with multiple intensive and critical care paramedics and doctors. A crime scene was established as police launched an investigation into the circumstances of the crash. The crash sparked traffic chaos with the Great Western Highway closed in both directions at Linden for at least 90 minutes. Footage showed queues of vehicles snaking back for kilometres as emergency services cleared the scene. 'Avoid the area, consider delaying your trip,' a traffic alert stated. One lane of the highway was opened under stop/slow traffic control shortly before 7pm on Wednesday to allow vehicles to pass the crash site in both directions. Donald Trump's 'destabilising' rhetoric risks causing a global scramble to develop nuclear weapons, defence expert Patrick Turner has told the Mail's new news podcast 'Apocalypse Now?'. Turner is science and technology editor for security publication Defence One and a former colleague of the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, the journalist embroiled in the signal 'war plan' leak scandal. He was asked by the Mail's special correspondent David Patrikarakos whether the era of America being the key power broker in global conflicts was coming to an end, as a result of Trump's fractious relationship with key allies. Turner argued that not only could America's role be diminished if the withdrawal from crucial alliances continues but also that the administration risks incentivising smaller nations to develop their own nuclear arsenals. 'Simple mistakes and the personality defects that show up in this administration's rhetoric is damaging', Turner said. 'If they don't get a handle on this that damage could be long-lasting. I don't think American citizens realise that if countries start viewing US leadership as fragile, they will begin to create alliances outside of the US. 'We're witnessing a rush from different countries around the world to develop their own nuclear weapons capability because they no longer have trust in the US nuclear deterrent. Patrick Turner: 'There's a lot of opportunity left for this administration to pull something out of the jaws of death and claim a big victory' Listen to new politics podcast - Apocalypse Now?' wherever you get your podcasts. Listen now 'This is not only the US relinquishing moral leadership, but the stability that confirms and supports the rules and norms of the world which is deeply destabilising.' Turner admitted however that the Biden administration also did harm to America's credibility, which presents Trump and his team an opportunity to deliver 'a big victory' for global peace. He said: 'There's still a bit of runway for Trump. We shouldn't be afraid of the disruption in taking a new approach. There's a lot of opportunity left for this administration to pull stuff out of the jaws of death and claim a big victory. 'The previous administration's approach did a lot of damage to our credibility, particularly in standing up for partners and allies, like Ukraine, in a way that was truly meaningful.' The interview came in the wake of the Signal 'war plan' leak, where missile strikes against Houthi insurgents were discussed in a group chat that accidentally included the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg. Turner, who worked with Goldberg at the magazine, said it was only his former colleague's journalistic ethics that prevented a much greater security breach. 'Jeffrey is an excellent journalist, but this episode was essentially winning the lottery. It speaks to a number of security practices that were not up to standard. Patrick Turner: 'We're witnessing a rush from different countries around the world to develop their own nuclear weapons capability' 'They named an actual CIA asset and Goldberg omitted that. He could have taken the entire thing, just published it or for that matter, sold it not necessarily to a nefarious actor, but this is market information. 'Journalistic ethics were the only thing that prevented this from turning into a massive disaster.' Apocalypse Now? is a brand-new weekly global news podcast hosted by the Daily Mail's special correspondent and best-selling author David Patrikarakos. Every episode promises a panel of guests who are on the frontline of the geopolitical world as it threatens to spin off its axis. Each week, listeners can expect informed analysis, discussion, and on-the-ground reporting about the most influential diplomatic flashpoints. From President Trump rewriting American foreign policy at will and war in Europe, to hostilities in the Middle East and the resurgence of Isis has world order ever felt so uncertain? You can listen to 'Apocalypse Now?' wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released every Thursday. Two women have appeared in court accused of stalking Madeleine McCann's family. Karen Spragg, 60, appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court this morning after being arrested in Cardiff yesterday. She is accused of turning up at Gerry and Kate McCann's Leicestershire home with co-accused Julia Wandel, 23, a Polish woman who has claimed to be the couple's missing daughter Madeleine. Spragg is also accused of sending letters, messages and calling Kate McCann, Paul Wright, prosecuting, said. He said she had met co-accused Wandel online where the pair exchanged messages before Spragg arranged to collect Wandel from Bristol Airport when she flew into the UK. Dressed in a beige sweatshirt with matching jogging bottoms and pale blue Crocs sandals, Spragg spoke only to confirm her name and date of birth during a brief hearing. She gave no indication of plea. She was granted bail on the condition she does not contact the McCanns or their other children or two of their family friends and does not enter Leicestershire apart from to attend court. She must also reside at her home address, where she lives with her husband, each night. Karen Spragg, 60, appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court on Friday morning after being arrested in Cardiff yesterday. Pictured: Spragg arrives at Leicester Magistrates Court today She is accused of turning up at Gerry and Kate McCann's Leicestershire home with co-accused Julia Wandel (pictured), 23, a Polish woman who has claimed to be the couple's missing daughter Madeleine Madeleine McCann's (pictured) disappearance while on a family holiday in Portugal's Algarve at the age of three in 2007 is one of the most widely reported missing child cases in history and remains unsolved Elizabeth Needham, chair of the bench, ordered her to appear again at Leicester Crown Court on April 22. Spragg has been charged with one count of stalking involving serious alarm or distress between May 3, 2024 and February 21 this year, Leicestershire Police said. Earlier on Friday, her co-accused Wandel was refused bail at Leicester Crown Court. Wandel, who has claimed to be Madeleine, was arrested at Bristol Airport last month on suspicion of stalking involving serious alarm and distress. The Polish national, who is also known as Julia Wandelt, was remanded into custody following a subsequent court appearance at Leicester Magistrates Court and her barrister on Friday applied for bail on her behalf. Judge Timothy Spencer KC refused the application after a 15-minute hearing in which Wandel was present via video link. Wandel, from Lubin, south-west Poland, is accused of stalking causing serious alarm or distress against Madeleine's mother, Kate McCann between May 2 last year and February 15 this year, court documents show. Wandel has also been charged with the same offence against Madeleine's father, Gerry, between the same dates. Spragg (pictured outside court today) has been charged with one count of stalking involving serious alarm or distress between May 3, 2024 and February 21 this year, Leicestershire Police said Wandel, who has claimed to be Madeleine, was arrested at Bristol Airport last month on suspicion of stalking involving serious alarm and distress. Pictured: Court sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Wandel at Leicester Magistrates Court last month It is alleged she made unwanted contact with the McCanns, turned up at their address and sent letters, calls, voicemails and WhatsApp messages, which amounted to stalking. Pictured: Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann It is alleged she made unwanted contact with the McCanns, turned up at their address and sent letters, calls, voicemails and WhatsApp messages, which amounted to stalking. She is also accused of stalking causing serious alarm or distress against Madeleine's sister, Amelie between January 3 and April 21 last year. A further charge relates to an allegation of stalking causing serious alarm or distress against Madeleine's brother, Sean between November 27 and December 29 last year. Court documents state the 23-year-old Wandel is alleged to have sent messages, left voicemails and turned up at the family home between January 3, 2024 and February 15, 2025. The documents say Ms Wandel is alleged to have gone to the McCanns' home in Leicestershire twice - on May 2 and December 7 - as well as sending WhatsApp messages to Kate and Gerry McCann, and Instagram messages to Madeleine's siblings. They add the conduct 'had a substantial adverse effect' on the family's day-to-day activities 'when you knew or ought to have known that your course of conduct would cause alarm or distress'. Prosecutor Ravinder Daroch told last month's court hearing that Wandel is alleged to have made 'persistent' contact with the McCanns since 2022, which allegedly 'increased in frequency and became more alarming'. She said the defendant is accused of attempting to make the McCanns aware 'she was their missing daughter, Madeleine'. Dressed in a beige sweatshirt with matching jogging bottoms and pale blue Crocs sandals, Spragg (pictured outside court today) spoke only to confirm her name and date of birth during a brief hearing. She gave no indication of plea Wandel is alleged to have travelled to the annual vigil held in Rothley last year which marks the anniversary of Madeleine's (pictured) disappearance Wandel is alleged to have travelled to the annual vigil held in Rothley last year which marks the anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. Ms Daroch said that Wandel was told by the Metropolitan Police in June last year to desist from all contact with the McCann family, but she continued to reach out to them. She added that voicemails were left for them and that she had attended their address in October and again in January. Madeleine McCann's disappearance while on a family holiday in Portugal's Algarve at the age of three in 2007 is one of the most widely reported missing child cases in history and remains unsolved. Madeleine's parents and siblings were not present at either court today. Wandel will appear alongside Spragg at the crown court next month. A horror movie-obsessed Polish father who murdered and dismembered a pensioner before flaying off his face has been jailed for life. Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, was told he will spend at least 34 years behind bars for the murder of Stuart Everett, 67, who he dismembered into 27 pieces with a hacksaw after bashing his head in with a hammer. Trial judge Mr Justice Cavanagh told the court Majerkiewicz had plotted to steal Mr Everett's money in order to pay off his spiralling debts. He told the Polish murderer: 'You acted in an almost unbelievably cold-blooded and macabre way and showed complete disrespect and contempt for your friend's remains. 'This denied dignity to Stuart Everett even in death and greatly increased the pain suffered by Stuart Everett's family when the murder came to light.' Polish national Majerkiewicz denied the murder but offered no evidence in his defence, and was convicted after a trial at Manchester Crown Court. He did not react as he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He had been living as a lodger in Mr Everett's home in Winton, Greater Manchester before he murdered him sometime in the early hours of March 28 last year. He then cut up the pensioner and, with surgical precision, removed his face from his skull in a manner prosecutors suggested took 'patience and skill'. Marcin Majerkiewicz will spend at least 34 years behind bars for the murder of Stuart Everett Pieces of Mr Everett's (pictured) head, which had been sliced into quarters, and one of his ears, were also found in a reservoir Mr Everett's hacked up body parts were dumped at different sites including a nature reserve in Salford, Greater Manchester Mr Justice Cavanagh said he had shown 'a disturbing willingness and perhaps even enthusiasm to butcher his body', branding the details 'gruesome'. After attacking Mr Everett with a hammer, striking him at least four times, Majerkiewicz dissected and dumped his victim's body at beauty spots across western Manchester. He travelled with the pieces wrapped in cling film in shopping bags on 11 bus trips, riding alongside unsuspecting members of the public. One bag, containing his abdomen, buttocks and upper thighs, was found in a concrete bunker in Kersal Dale Nature Reserve; his head, sliced into four quarters, were found in the reservoir of Blackleach Country Park - as was Mr Everett's face. In a sick twist, the killer then posed as his victim, sending friends and family WhatsApp messages and even birthday cards and gifts in a bid to fool them into thinking he was still alive. He equally sent messages to himself, posing as the dead man, and told neighbours he had suffered a stroke and was in hospital. But police were only alerted after his torso was found by a member of the public at Kersal Dale nature reserve in Salford on April 4. CCTV led to them identifying a figure they called 'heavy bag man' seen visibly struggling with a bag for life in Prestwich. With a suspect in mind, Greater Manchester Police Visual Evidence Retrieval and Analysis Unit (VERA) officers began trawling the areas where he had been seen in a bid to find more footage. Majerkiewicz was captured on CCTV carrying cumbersome bags for life across parts of western Manchester that contained parts of Mr Everett's body Forensic scene of crime officers seen searching the concrete bunker where parts of Mr Everett's body were first found By luck, they happened to spot Majerkiewicz, the 'heavy bag man', on the streets - and followed him as he boarded a bus before arresting him on suspicion of murder. It happened on the day he planned to move out and flee abroad, possibly to Spain. Hauled off the people-mover, Majerkiewicz attempts to feign innocence in body-camera footage since released by GMP as he bellows: 'What?' 'I go with you, I answer any questions,' he says, shrugging. Police found he was carrying two mobile phones and bank cards in his victim's name. It didn't take long for police to conclude they had found their man. Working backwards, detectives then deduced Mr Everett was the likely victim as it emerged he wasn't at home. They cordoned off the flat they shared where they found traces of blood and evidence of a clean-up where the pensioner had been brutally eviscerated. Majerkiewicz had even sought to get rid of the evidence by moving a fridge and a sofa bed to a lock-up in Bury. Both items of furniture were covered in the victim's DNA. Arrested on April 25, Majerkiewicz was charged four days later. His housemate, Michael Polchowski, was also charged, but later had the case against him dropped after police were satisfied he neither saw nor heard anything. Throughout, the killer maintained his silence - but was brought down thanks to in-depth investigations, searches on both land and water and forensic CCTV work. The sick discovery of Mr Everett's remains sparked a huge investigation by Greater Manchester Police that encompassed searches on air and in water (pictured: police divers) By luck, police spotted Marcin Majerkiewicz boarding a bus after he matched the description of the 'heavy bag man' seen on CCTV - and swooped in to arrest him Born Roman Ziemacki to Polish parents who came to the UK after surviving two years in a Russian concentration camp and settled in Derby, Mr Everett first met his murderer while teaching English to recently arrived Polish immigrants in Manchester. He had worked for the NHS and Department for Work and Pensions, was known as 'Benny' to his family, was not married and had no children, and was a fan of 'Rat Pack' singers Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. The judge described him as a 'jolly, friendly, mild-mannered and caring man', with wide circle of friends. His brother Richard Ziemacki, in a victim impact statement read to the court, said: 'It's extremely difficult to put into words how much I miss him. 'Seeing my brother on CCTV and listening to his voice for the last time will be moments that will live with me forever - I have no words other than absolutely horrendous. 'Every day we have sat watching in disbelief as the evidence unfolded and clearly shown the way my brother's end had been planned and orchestrated by an incredibly devious, monstrous individual.' In 2013, Mr Everett began living in a three-bed terrace house on Worsley Road in the Winton area of Salford. He began sub-letting the two other bedrooms to two Polish men, Michal Polchowsk, 68, with the other, Majerkiewicz, moving in during 2017. Mr Everett, of Polish heritage, lived with his killer in a home in Salford, Greater Manchester Majerkiewicz attempted to cover up the killing by posing as Mr Everett - even using his nickname of 'Benny' in birthday cards The killer had worked as a manager at fast-food shops in the Trafford Centre but was unemployed at the time of the murder. The court heard he had built up 60,000 in loan debt and 14,000 on credit cards, and had not paid rent for several months. He had looked up the cost of borrowing 50,000 online six days before the murder, and had commenced the process of applying for a bank loan in Mr Everett's name a week after stoving his skull in. Mr Justice Cavanagh said: 'There was a great deal of evidence, albeit mostly circumstantial, that you needed money and that you intended and planned to gain financially from Stuart Everetts death. 'Almost as soon as Stuart Everett died, you took over his bank account with HSBC, changing the password and treating it as your own.' Police ultimately concluded Mr Everett had died by blunt force trauma to the head, which his killer had sought to cover up by cutting his head into four pieces. Tragically, only around 30 per cent of his body has been found - with the rest 'lost to nature'. Senior officers wondered whether Majerkiewicz was acting out a 'weird fantasy' from one of his beloved horror movies. Police then cordoned off Mr Everett's flat - and found evidence of both horrendous violence and attempts to cover it up (pictured: torn up carpet in the bedroom) He was a fan of gory horror films and had tattoos of some of the characters from top franchises such as Alien, Friday the 13th and Predator - the latter of whom skins victims and keeps their body parts as trophies. And the killing stunned his former work colleagues, and his ex common law partner, Agnieszka Majer, with whom he had two sons. She told the Mail he had been a 'devoted dad' who had never been aggressive during the decade they were together, after arriving in Britain 20 years ago and meeting while studying English. Chillingly, he had taken his boys to the cinema days after bludgeoning Mr Everett to death with a hammer. The exact relationship between Majerkiewicz and his victim is unclear. However, in an email to a friend sent in 2021, Mr Everett sent a photo of his 'partner' who he called 'Kamil'. The man in the picture was Majerkiewicz. He also sent a snap of his killer-to-be in a Polish snowscape and told his friend: 'Kamil has many tattoos but is too shy to show them. I will see if I can slip one out and send it to you which he won't notice (he has access to my email account haha).' After the guilty verdict was delivered, Mr Everett's brother Richard Ziemacki said the family was 'still haunted' by the killing. 'For any person to be treated in the way he was, brutally murdered and systematically and comprehensively disposed of, has meant our family has been left traumatised beyond belief,' he said last week. Slide me A sofa bed that Majerkiewicz had sent to a lock-up in Bury in a bid to cover up the killing (left) - with blood visible under UV light (right) Greater Manchester Police officers on the scene of one of the beauty spots at which parts of Mr Everett's body was discovered 'A couple of months ago, we spent out first Christmas without Benny. This should have been a happy and joyous period for us all, but it was tainted and our Christmas dinner was not the same without him and our family is now incomplete.' Detective Chief Superintendent Lewis Hughes said of the case: 'We started with nothing, but we have secured justice for Stuart Everett, justice in the most challenging of circumstances. 'Hundreds of officers from across the Force, Specialist Operations, CSI, Detectives and Police Staff were all motivated to ensure the abhorrent actions of Marcin Majerkiewicz did not go unpunished.' Following today's sentencing, Stuart's family paid tribute to him in an emotional message. They said: 'Even though it has been almost 12 months, we are still haunted by Bennys death which has been made even more difficult knowing the lengths that had gone into orchestrating my brothers end. 'Benny is our family nickname for our endearing and loving Stuart. 'A couple of months ago we spent our first Christmas without him, this should have been a happy and joyous period for our family, but it was tainted, and our Christmas Dinner was not the same as we were missing the central piece of our family. 'I keep looking back at the birthday card that I received last April, this is made even harder for our family to look at as we now know it was sent from a devious individual who wanted to make it seem like our Benny was still alive to cover his own sadistic actions. After the murder, CCTV caught Majerkiewicz withdrawing cash from an ATM using Mr Everett's bank card 'Benny was the closest to our parents, and he was the keeper of our family photos, documents and memories. 'Our parents were our heroes who suffered unimaginable pain a concentration camp during World War Two, they then moved to the UK and these records and images of our family history are now lost and so thoughtlessly disposed of. 'We would like to acknowledge the work of Greater Manchester Police, and we know that officers and staff across the force have put in exceptional effort, and some even coming in on their rest days to help find my brother to bring home to us, find out what happened to him to ultimately find his killer. 'We will always miss him, I tap his urn each morning without fail to say good morning to him and I cherish that we have at least some parts of him that was brought to us to remember him. He is with us and will always be with us in spirit. 'The past 12 months have been some of the most challenging our family has ever had to endure but this has been made just that little bit easier for us due to the outpouring of love and affection people across Greater Manchester and beyond who have all come together for a truly unique and special human being. 'What happened to Stuart will haunt us for the rest of our lives and it is truly difficult to put into words how much he meant to us, and how much we will all miss him. 'Id like to finish Bennys tribute from our family by sharing what was inscribed on his urn Those we love dont go away, they walk with us everyday. Unseen, unheard but always near. Still loved, still missed and very dear."' More and more people are ditching city life for the quiet luxuries of the Mississippi Coast, where residents can snap up gorgeous new properties for bargain prices. Stephen Dinjar settled in Timber Ridge two years ago with his wife, Sheila, after the Louisiana native spent many years living in different places. But he liked the pretty environment and slow lifestyle along the Mississippi coastline. 'If you are lucky enough to be able to work from home, and decide where it is you want to live, why would you want to live in a big city?' the New Orleans native told the Sun Herald. 'Why wouldnt you go to a pretty little town like Pass Christian? I see more and more people making the choice.' And he's not wrong. Plenty of Americans are moving to places like Timber Ridge and Pass Christian, even evading bigger cities like New Orleans in favor of quiet, soft lifestyles. And they're doing it for cheap, snapping up homes for half the value it would be in other parts of the country - a rarity in the current housing market. Glynn Illich, a property developer, has a $400,000 home for sale in Pass Christian that he said would go for $800,000 in 'any other place in the country.' More and more people are ditching city life for the quiet luxuries of the Mississippi Coast, where residents can snap up gorgeous new properties for bargain prices (pictured: Biloxi, MS) Plenty of Americans are moving to places like Timber Ridge and Pass Christian (pictured). And they're doing it for cheap, snapping up homes for half the value it would be in other parts of the country - a rarity in the current housing market (pictured: a Pass Christian home on sale) 'Its beautiful,' he told the outlet. 'And its quiet as a church mouse out here.' Until recently, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was a place for natives who stuck it out after the horrific 2005 Hurricane Katrina, which left $161billion of damage behind and nearly 2,000 deaths. But during the pandemic, where work-from-home became the norm, many Americans began questioning if they wanted to pay the big city prices if they could just live anywhere. Beach towns - like the ones in Mississippi, Texas, and Florida - began to fill up with out-of-state plates and Northerners who struggled to say the old French town names along the coast. Cheaper living, warmer weather, more space, and Southern hospitality became focal points of the real estate market. 'Its a different way of life,' Steve Scherrer told the Sun Herald. Scherrer had originally settled in Chicago, but who just recently moved to Timber Ridge. He worried about safety in the big city and grown tired of Illinois taxes. 'We liked the people, we liked the area. We thought: "Okay, lets buy a house down here and well move." So thats what we did,' he told the outlet. So many are moving to the town that waterfront properties are becoming limited and more housing developments are being built by the day. People are even choosing to forego New Orleans (pictured) for smaller beach towns. 'If you are lucky enough to be able to work from home, and decide where it is you want to live, why would you want to live in a big city?' Stephen Dinjar said Until recently, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was a place for natives who stuck it out after the horrific 2005 Hurricane Katrina, but since the pandemic, it's become a hot spot (pictured: Timber Ridge) 'Theres construction going on everywhere,' Meresa Morgan, the president of the property owner association, told the Sun Herald. 'This is a new build. This is a remodel. And somebodys getting ready to build on that lot.' Morgan, herself, moved back to Mississippi during the pandemic, where she was living in Houston before. The ability to work-from-home allowed her to make the move and now she enjoys retirement along the coast. Big companies are looking to build in the area, and with it, new jobs and new people, President of the Gulf Coast Association of Relator, Summer Newman, told the outlet. So many people have immigrated to the Southern state that the state government is considering dropping income tax, which will only drive more people to the area as it would become the tenth state without it. No income tax states are popular amongst the ultra rich, like Elon Musk, who has moved his companies' headquarters to Texas for the very reason. Tourism is also up in the Southern, with Biloxi, Mississippi, being named the 'Vegas of the South' for its wide variety of growing casinos. The growth of the sleepy area is so big that even some local politicians are campaigning to preserve neighborhoods from developers. Places like Timber Ridge and Pass Christian are rising in price as wealthy out-of-states take advantage of the cheaper living. So many people have immigrated to the Southern state that the state government is considering dropping income tax, which will only drive more people to the area as it would become the tenth state without it (pictured: Bay St. Louis, Mississippi) 'We wanted to go back to a small town. People thought we were kind of crazy,' Joyce Pendleton told the Sun Herald. She moved from Oklahoma City to the Mississippi Coast. Illich is currently building 20 properties in the area and doesn't foresee the growth slowing down anytime soon. 'Ill have this whole area built,' he told the Sun Herald. 'Im working on the plans right now.' And new residents will have plenty to do in the area, from lounging on the beaches, visiting Biloxi's multiple casinos, shrimping, swimming with dolphins, and more. And summers are ripping hot 90 degrees and the area rarely sees a snowstorm in the winter. For better weather and cheaper living, no wonder many are flocking to the Magnolia State. This is the dramatic moment a misogynistic criminology student was caught by armed police after ruthlessly killing a female personal trainer on Bournemouth beach - as he was today jailed for life for murder. Nasen Saadi, 21, stabbed Amie Gray to death and seriously wounded her friend, Leanne Miles, during a 'horrifying' attack at Durley Chine Beach, West Undercliff Promenade, on May 24 last year. Sadistic Saadi, who had 'wanted to be the star of a true crime episode' and commit the 'perfect crime', launched his savage onslaught as the two women were enjoying a late-night chat next to a small fire to keep warm on the beach. Mrs Gray died at the scene having been stabbed 10 times, while Ms Miles suffered 20 injuries but survived the ambush after screaming: 'Please stop, I've got children'. 'Remorseless' Saadi has now been caged for life after being convicted of murder and attempted murder and will rot behind bars for 39 years. It comes as body-worn camera footage of the moment he was finally caught by armed police was released. 'Hands on your head. Walk down the stairs slowly, yells an armed police officer in the 41-second clip as he aims his rifle at Saadi. Saadi, wearing black jogging bottoms and a t-shirt, walks down the stairs while laser sights from an officers rifle and another cop's taser, shine menacing on his chest. 'Stop. Turn around,' the officer commands, as the killer student then drops his hands to his waist, prompting cops to scream 'hands on your head!' This is the moment Nasen Saadi was caught by armed cops after murdering Amie Gray Mrs Gray, 34, from Poole, was killed at Durley Chine Beach, West Undercliff Promenade on May 24 last year Nasen Saadi (pictured) has been jailed for 39 years for murdering personal trainer Amie Gray on Bournemouth beach 'Walk backwards towards my voice, walk backwards. Keep walking,' commands the armed officer as Saadi keeps his hands on his head. The killer is then bundled out of the front door and told to 'get down on your knees, do not move, as he is arrested on suspicion of murder. Prosecutors said misogynistic criminology student Saadi had harboured a 'deeply suppressed rage' towards women after years of 'repeated rejection'. While the 21-year-old never provided a motive, a court today heard the defendant - a 'social misfit' who never had any friends or a girlfriend in school - was 'motivated in part' by his 'sexist attitudes' towards women. The killer told his solicitors: 'I never got noticed when I did a good thing - people have only noticed me when I have done a bad thing'. Jailing him, judge Mrs Justice Cutts, said the defendant had chosen to deny his guilt because he wanted the 'notoriety of a trial' and had a 'complete lack of remorse'. She said: 'The clear evidence is you planned to kill and went to Bournemouth to do so.' She added: 'It seems you have felt humiliated and rejected for any advances you have made towards girls which has led over time to a deeply-suppressed rage towards society and women in particular.' Amie Gray's grieving wife, Sian Gray, is pictured outside of court on Friday Sian Gray (right) with her wife Amie Gray who died after being stabbed on Durley Chine Beach, Bournemouth at around 11.45pm on May 24 last year Amie's heartbroken wife Sian Gray said her partner was a beautiful woman with an infectious laugh. 'She didn't die on that beach, she still lives on,' she told the BBC. Saadi was 'fascinated' with knives and had bought six blades from websites, with several found at his aunt's house where he was living as well as at his parents' home. During his trial, jurors heard how suspected misogynist killer Saadi had carried out searches about the Milly Dowler and Brianna Ghey killings. His morbid fascination with death extended to his university lessons, where he would pester tutors for details about sick crimes that had nothing to do with the lecture. His lecturer Dr Lisa-Maria Reiss previously told the court Saadi had asked questions on 'how to get away with murder', which had led her to ask the future-killer: 'You're not planning a murder are you?' So warped was the murderous fantasist, he reportedly touched himself in his prison cell ahead of his trial after asking a female prison officer how much publicity his case was getting, reported the Sun. Footage of the fatal attack showed Saadi 'loitering' around his two victims before walking on to the sand and attacking them, and running after one of the women. Saadi, who was studying criminology and criminal psychology at Greenwich University, admitted to staying in Bournemouth at the time of the attack but denied being the person shown on the CCTV. Saadi (pictured) was studying criminology and criminal psychology at Greenwich University The court heard Saadi was 'fascinated' with knives and had bought six blades from websites. Pictured: One of the knives found in his bedroom following his arrest One of the knives seized from Nasen Saadi's bedroom and parents' house during a search conducted by officers on May 28, following Saadi's arrest He told police that he could not remember that period of time, claiming he might have 'blacked out', that his arrest had been a case of 'mistaken identity' and he had 'no reason to attack someone'. Mrs Gray's mother Sharon Macklin said in a statement: 'Amie was an amazing, funny, kind and energetic soul. She had a big smile and a loud laugh and when she entered the room it filled with laughter and her presence couldn't be ignored. 'She was beautiful inside and out, even if life wasn't great for her she would always find the time to help others.' She added she struggled to sleep and was taking medication and receiving counselling following her daughter's death. Mrs Gray's aunt, Joy Lawrence, said: 'I see the impact it has had on my husband, daughters and grandchildren, the younger ones only 11 and eight, coping with everyone's grief. They are so distraught that they will never have fun with her again.' Speaking previously, Amie's wife, Sian said: 'Amie will never be forgotten. She touched the lives of so many. The immense support and love shown by everyone reflects just that. 'Amie's life has been brutally taken but now she can rest in peace. Her strength lives on in all of us.' Sian, who sat in the public gallery every day during the murder trial in December, said she she wanted to see her wife's killer getting the justice he deserved. 'I wanted to see him and him to look at me, to know the pain that he's caused and the lives that he's ruined,' she told the BBC. 'I felt like I was representing her, like I was standing up to him, not letting her die.' Amie (pictured) was described by her mother as someone whose 'presence could not be ignored' Sian Gray (pictured) paid tribute to her late wife Mrs Gray and praised medics who helped her Insisting she didn't want 'hate to consume' her following the murder of her wife, Mrs Gray added: 'Amie wouldn't want us to stop our lives or be living in the shadows.' Benjamin May, a Senior Crown Prosecutor with CPS Wessex, said: 'Amie Gray lost her life in the most tragic way, and our deepest condolences remain with her family. 'Amie's courageous final act to protect her friend truly defines who she was, and her life will forever be remembered for the love and protection she gave to her loved ones. 'Our thoughts continue to remain with her friends and family, as well as with Leanne Miles, whose bravery through this ordeal helped us to deliver justice. 'Saadi's perverse fascination with murder and violence morphed into vile, real-world consequences, for which he has faced justice.' A nine-day trial at Winchester Crown Court heard Saadi was enrolled as a student at Greenwich University in London where he studied criminology - but 'his interest was not precisely academic'. The trial heard that Saadi was interested in true crime, horror movies and knives which he bought on the internet and had called himself 'Ninja killer' for his username on Snapchat. He was found to have obsessed over methods of murder and 'high profile' stabbings such as the murder of teenager Brianna Ghey - and looked up 'busiest beaches' as he plotted his crime. In March, Saadi is said to have researched 'why is it harder for a killer to be caught if he does it in another town' and 'which is the deadliest knife'. Saadi (pictured) launched a savage attack on Mrs Gray and her friend as they were enjoying a late night chat next to a small fire to keep warm on the beach He even went as far as to search which hotels in the area had CCTV. Two days before the alleged attack, Saadi went to the cinema and watched 'The Strangers Chapter 1' which the prosecutor described as a 'slasher home invasion movie' where the male and female leads are both stabbed. On May 21, Saadi then travelled down from his home in Croydon to Bournemouth, where he checked into a Travelodge hotel which he had booked in advance, the court heard. He was recorded at the beach on the same day, in what was described as the first of several visits to survey the scene. On Friday May 24, Ms Miles and Mrs Gray had 'arranged to meet' at Durley Beach to enjoy a picnic and a drink together in a setting which Ms Miles described as 'peaceful and calm'. Whilst they were sat in front of the fire pit to keep warm, Saadi 'loitered' behind them. In a police interview, Ms Miles described turning round to see 'this boy' who 'wasn't very old'. She said Mrs Gray smiled at him before he 'went towards me' to which her friend proclaimed 'What are you doing? Get off her'. It was then that Saadi started to stab the two friends which prompted Ms Miles to run in an attempt to get help. After running towards the promenade, Ms Miles said Saadi then 'came back onto me' and started 'continuously stabbing me', the court heard. Saadi at Riddlesdown railway station, south London, before heading to Bournemouth Saadi arriving at a Travelodge hotel in Bournemouth on May 21 Saadi was recorded at the beach on the same day as arriving in Bournemouth, in what was described as the first of several visits to survey the scene The surviving victim told police in an interview that she begged with the student 'Please stop, I've got children' and that's when he 'walked away'. Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue told the court Mrs Gray died as a result of 10 knife wounds in the incident in May, including one to the heart, while Ms Miles suffered 20 knife injuries. Shortly after the murder, Saadi discarded the clothes and shoes he had worn during the attack and left Bournemouth early the next morning. Phone records showed he viewed breaking news articles about the incident the morning after. On the night of the attack, photographer Michael Priddle walked past a hooded Saadi who he described as having a 'grimacing' appearance. Giving evidence at the trial, Mr Priddle said that moments before he heard two loud' and 'broken' screams. After reading in the news that a woman had been murdered in that area, Mr Priddle contacted the police and was eventually able to pick Saadi out of a parade of ten suspects in a police identification procedure. As part of the investigation, the student's devices were examined and officers discovered he used the usernames 'NSKills' and 'Ninja Kiler'. The criminology student was seen on CCTV lurking behind Mrs Gray and Ms Miles just 20 minutes before attacking them Saadi is seen on CCTV less than 20 minutes before he launched a ferocious knife attack on Mrs Gray and Ms Miles Saadi walking along promenade on Bournemouth seafront, where Amie Gray and Leanne Miles were said to be sitting, on the night of May 24 Following his arrest, the student was interviewed and insisted he was 'not responsible' for the attack as he had 'no reason' to murder anyone. When asked what he was doing on the night Mrs Gray was killed, he told police he had 'probably blacked out' or was 'sleep walking'. Charles Sherrard KC, defending, said Saadi had 'recognised his guilt' following his conviction and 'demonstrated a willingness to receive therapy'. He added: 'He is a social misfit, someone who had hardly any friends at school, never had a girlfriend and seemed to be somebody who was avoided rather than somebody's mate. 'The fact of that was to provide him with significantly low esteem and general sense of inadequacy.' He said that Saadi compensated by 'obsessing' over horror films and was fascinated by the mind of a psychopath and had a 'growing sense of rage against society for the rejection'. Mr Sherrard continued: 'Infamy became a valid goal in itself. 'Without using the words of a psychologist, without anything from a thesaurus, what it comes down to, in the words of the defendant 'I never got noticed when I did a good thing, people have only noticed when I did a bad thing' and that's perhaps the nearest one can get to an explanation.' During the interview, Saadi claimed he was being 'wrongly accused' of a serious offence he has 'nothing to do with' - and told Dorset Police he was being 'blamed' because they were 'under pressure' to find a suspect. Speaking after Saadi was convicted, senior crown prosecutor Mr May, said: 'This was a senseless attack which shocked the people of Bournemouth and our deepest condolences remain with Amie Gray's family.' Years after a the grim discovery of Tanya Glover's body in the wall of a Brisbane unit, police have charged her former neighbour and 'friend' with her murder. Human remains were found in the garage area of an Alderley block of units in the city's north in 2022. Queensland Police were able to confirm nine months later that the remains belonged to Tanya Lee Glover, who would have been about 38 years old at the time of her death. Years after the revelation, on Friday at about 8am, officers arrested a 61-year-old woman at a Wulguru address. She is charged with one count each of murder, misconduct with a corpse and fraud. She is due to appear in the Townsville Magistrates Court on Saturday. Police will allege Ms Glover was murdered around January in 2010 and was subsequently moved into the void crawl space. She had visual and hearing impairments and lived in affordable housing in Fortitude Valley, where her alleged murderer was her neighbour and they had a 'friendship,' police said. Ms Glover's remains were discovered by cleaners and reported to police on December 7, 2022. Tanya Lee Glover (pictured) was identified in 2023 as the woman whose skeletal remains were discovered at Alderley The identification of Ms Glover's remains was confirmed eight months after cleaners came across the grim discovery in Brisbane's north Detectives will further allege a related fraud matter took place between January 2010 to December 2010. On December 7, 2023, a $500,000 dollar reward was announced for any information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the person responsible for the alleged murder. The reward remains on offer for information that leads to the conviction of the person, or persons, found to be responsible for Tanya's murder, police said. They said an appropriate indemnity from prosecution will be recommended for any accomplice, not being the person who actually committed the crime, who first gives such information. Detective Inspector John Mison said officers were not deterred by any timeframe. 'At the heart of this investigation, it was about uncovering what had happened to Tanya many years ago. She deserves that justice,' he said. 'It is also a warning to any alleged offender that officers are relentless in their investigations to hold offenders to account for their crimes.' Ms Glover was not formally known to Queensland Police, and no missing person reports had ever been made concerning her welfare. She had fallen out of contact with her parents. Ms Glover (pictured) was not formally known to Queensland Police, and no missing person reports had ever been made concerning her welfare Upon discovering her identity, Ms Glover's parents were then alerted by police of her death. Mr Mison said her family had been contacted about the arrest. It's understood Ms Glover moved to Queensland from NSW in 2006 and lived in the Fortitude Valley area until 2010. A contributing factor to identifying Ms Glover in 2023 was after Sydney woman Donna Truscott ticked a box allowing police access to DNA uploaded to an ancestry website, GEDMatch, in 2017. When Queensland Police touched base with Ms Truscott in June 2023, the officer explained that the DNA she'd uploaded had been a match to an unidentified woman found in the Brisbane unit complex. 'Their genealogist was able to see a maternal link, through my mum, my aunty, my sister and I,' Ms Truscott said. 'She's very distant related but there was enough DNA there to undeniably narrow it down.' To the outside world, they appeared to be the perfect couple: a handsome doctor ostensibly devoted to his pretty nuclear engineer wife and their two young sons. But on Monday, Arielle Konig's world came crashing down when her husband allegedly launched a brutal attack on her during a hike near Hawaii's scenic Pali Lookout that left her suffering 'multiple lacerations to her face and neck'. Prominent anesthesiologist Gerhardt Konig, 46, was arrested and charged with second degree attempted murder. He is now locked up at the Oahu Community Correctional Center in Honolulu while his wife is recovering at The Queen's Medical Center with her mother by her side. And now, DailyMail.com has exclusively learned that the vicious beating took place on Arielle's 36th birthday after the couple had flown into Honolulu early that morning for a day trip from their $1.5million home in Kahului on the island of Maui. Konig, a former doctor at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), is alleged to have repeatedly struck his wife over the head with a rock ten times before two female hikers intervened. 'I just did not see this coming,' Christina Ferguson, 53, who has been working for the couple as a cleaner for the last six months, told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview. 'Nobody saw this coming. People are saying things like, "she probably had an affair, or she was cheating", but she's not like that at all. 'She's the kindest, most caring, patient, generous, loving person. I mean, every perfect attribute you could think of for a person, and that's her. Gerhardt Konig's alleged brutal attack on his wife Arielle occurred on her 36th birthday, DailyMail.com has learned, while they were on a hike near Oahu's scenic Pali Lookout The renowned anesthesiologist, 46, can be seen looking disheveled in his booking photo after he was officially charged with second-degree attempted murder on Wednesday The couple were visiting Nuuanu Pali Lookout in Oahu at the time of the attack on Monday 'She worked from home, so she was not running around. And they just came back from a family vacation, just last month.' The couple are originally from Pittsburgh and married on September 4, 2018, according to a marriage certificate seen by DailyMail.com marking a second marriage for Konig who has two adult sons aged 19 and 22 with his ex-wife Jessica Patella. They moved to Maui in 2022 after Konig secured his 'dream job' as a partner at the Anesthesia Medical Group a medical contracting firm based in the picturesque town of Kahului that supplies anesthesiologists to hospitals throughout Hawaii. Initially, the move appeared to have paid off, with the couple moving into a spacious five-bedroom home in a quiet cul-de-sac nestled in the foothills of the West Maui Mountains. Neighbors said the Konigs appeared to be a happy family who rarely socialized with them but were devoted to their young sons Olin and Viggo. Until last April, Konig regularly hosted 'whiskey nights' at the home which saw the dad-of-four entertain friends for liquor tastings. 'They weren't heavy drinking sessions but whiskey tastings,' said Michelle Hearne, 55, whose husband Lee, also 55, occasionally attended. 'They were for connoisseurs.' Peter Mast, 71, who also attended the sessions, the last of which was on April 29 last year, said: 'They are very private people, as we all are here.' The trail borders a steep 300ft drop down into the valley with little more than a waist-high fence to prevent people falling The beauty spot is located more than 1,000ft above the coastline and offers stunning views of the Koolau cliffs and Windward Coast Police were called to the scenic Pali Lookout at approximately 10:38am on March 24 by a pair of horrified female hikers who had stumbled across the attack, according to a statement of probable cause obtained by DailyMail.com Arielle, meanwhile, worked for Bellevue, Washington, company TerraPower LLC which specializes in nuclear fuels and carried out her role from home allowing her to have a hands-on relationship with her two sons, helped along by a nanny. Until Monday, the pair appeared the perfect picture of a happy couple, with Ferguson telling DailyMail.com: 'He was nice and kind. Usually, he was quiet when he was home because typically, he'd be at work when I was there. 'But the couple times that he was there, he was quiet, polite, and carried a conversation. She added: 'The way that they talked to each other was admirable. They were loving and so this just came completely out of nowhere. 'Typically, especially here in Hawaii where domestic violence is very common, you can see the signs there's controlling behavior and whatnot. 'There was none of that here.' On the day of the attack, the couple had made the short 25-minute hop from Maui to Oahu to celebrate Arielle's birthday, leaving their sons behind in the care of their nanny where they remain. According to a statement of probable cause obtained by DailyMail.com, cops were called to the scenic Pali Lookout at approximately 10:38am by a pair of horrified female hikers named Amanda and Sarah who had stumbled across the attack. The scenic spot sits on a cliff on the side of Oahu's Ko'oalu Mountain overlooking the Nuuanu Valley. Friends of the couple have been left stunned by Konig's arrest, with some neighbors saying they saw no sign of trouble between the two The couple are originally from Pittsburgh and married on September 4, 2018 - marking a second marriage for Konig who has two adult sons aged 19 and 22 from his previous marriage The two moved to Maui in 2022, settling into a spacious five-bedroom $1.5million home in a quiet cul-de-sac nestled in the foothills of the West Maui Mountains DailyMail.com photos show how the trail borders a steep 300ft drop down into the valley with little more than a waist-high fence to prevent people falling. The site is famous for the Battle of Nuuanu that saw 400 Hawaiian warriors forced over the cliff to their deaths in 1795. According to the statement of probable cause, Konig had asked his wife to stand close to the edge with him to take a selfie photo. It goes on: 'Arielle expressed that she did not feel comfortable taking a picture with him that close to the edge, so she declined and began to walk back.' At that point, Konig 'yelled at her to come back' and when she refused, picked up a rock and hit her on the head 10 times, as well as grabbing her by the hair and repeatedly smashing her face into the ground. Konig was interrupted during the attack by the female hikers, who had been alerted by Arielle's cries of 'help me!' with the bloodied mom-of-two eventually able to get free and crawl towards them. In a statement to police, which was made at the scene, the 36-year-old said her husband had also attempted to stick her with two syringes filled with an unknown substance. Once Arielle reached the hikers, Konig, wearing a light gray t-shirt and blue shorts, continued up the trail towards the Pali Puka a natural rock window located further up the mountain. The couple made the move to Maui after Konig secured his 'dream job' as a partner at a medical contracting firm Konig is now locked up at the Oahu Community Correctional Center in Honolulu while his wife is recovering in the hospital Cops transported Arielle to hospital in a 'serious but stable condition' with 'multiple large lacerations to her face and head' while Konig went on the lam and was eventually arrested close to the Pali Highway at 6:10pm that evening. Arielle remains in hospital with her mother Judith, 64, at her bedside while Konig is locked up on a $5million bond and faces a preliminary hearing in the case on Monday. 'Arielle's mom said that she was pretty banged up and doesn't look really good,' Christina Ferguson told DailyMail.com. 'She said she got stitches, but it looks like she's going to pull through.' Of Konig, Ferguson added: 'I hope that nobody gets him out [of jail]. I hope that he just sits in there and has to think about what he's done and what he tried to do.' A travel influencer declared that Albuquerque, New Mexico owns the 'most frightful neighborhood in America' after he was stunned by what he witnessed on a trip there. YouTuber Nick Johnson, who has built a following of over 1.1 million subscribers by visiting the most squalid areas of the country, shared his astonishment during a visit to Albuquerque's squalid International District. Known as 'The War Zone' by locals, the area is littered with homeless encampments and open-air drug taking. 'Oh my god, oh my god,' Johnson said to himself as he filmed the streets filled with gangs, homeless people and trash. The district's decline into one of the worst areas in the nation stands in stark contrast to the dazzling beauty of New Mexico's many natural attractions, including White Sands National Park. New Mexico, nicknamed the Land of Enchantment, is no slouch when it comes to cities either, with Santa Fe famed for its gorgeous Pueblo-Spanish Revival architecture. But while scenic areas of the state flourish, Albuquerque - the most populated city in New Mexico - has struggled as fentanyl trafficking floods over the nearby border with Mexico. Johnson said he visited the city after being urged to do so by his followers, and said soon after arriving that he couldn't believe the state of the area. The International District in Albuquerque, New Mexico has been dubbed the 'most frightful neighborhood in America' by a travel influencer who was stunned by the area Known as 'The War Zone' by locals, the area is littered with homeless encampments and open-air drug taking Johnson said that one of the reasons Albuquerque has seen such a surge in vagrancy in recent years has been due to a parallel rise in other hubs such as Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. He said that as those cities' streets fill up, homeless people have looked elsewhere. 'It's an untapped market,' he said. 'There's a lot less competition out here, and its warm, and they give them what they need.' After trailing through the area and witnessing open-air drug taking, camps full of passed out people and gangs loitering on streets, Johnson asked locals why city officials put up with the situation. 'I don't think they care,' local resident Sam Elliot said. 'I think it's kind of like population control... out of sight, out of mind. Why go stir it up? For what?' Johnson said he was told almost everyone in the International District had a gun, to which Elliot responded: 'If you don't have one, you're crazy.' Albuquerque has its own stunning natural beauty, such as this vista of the Sandia Mountains. But the small city's International District is anything but picturesque The district's decline into one of the worst areas in the nation stands in stark contrast to nicer areas of New Mexico, such as the picturesque White Sands National Park (pictured) Johnson said he visited the city after being urged to do so by his followers, and said soon after arriving that he couldn't believe the state of the area as it was filled with homeless people and drug taking After filming the area's squalid conditions, Johnson bluntly said: 'You cant save any of the people I witnessed on the streets of Albuquerque that day' In a statement to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Johnson reflected on his experience in the state and said he hoped his video could deter others from falling into the same life as those he filmed on the streets. 'You cant save any of the people I witnessed on the streets of Albuquerque that day,' he said. 'But, hopefully every kid growing up in New Mexico watches this video and it scares them into never wanting to live their lives like that. This video should be required viewing for high school kids in your state.' State Senator Nicole Tobiassen told the outlet that Johnson's video was a frightful reminder of her own experience in the International District. She recalled: 'There was someone that we knew that got an apartment a few years ago in that district, and we went to help them move. 'When we got there, I was like, What? I was petrified. Im like, I cant believe that youre going to live here. There were, in the middle of the day, drugged-out people walking in the middle of the street, like where cars should be, walking in the middle of the street with shopping carts,' she said. 'There were people urinating and defecating in the street. That was a few years ago, and it's worse now.' Albuquerque has become the 'center for the drug trade', Johnson remarked, because it is near to the Mexican border and is intersected by Interstates 25 and 40 Albuquerque has become the 'center for the drug trade', Johnson remarked, because it is near to the Mexican border and is intersected by Interstates 25 and 40. 'Thats part of the problem,' he said. 'They come here and cut the drugs, split it up, bag it up and then distribute it off to the rest of the country.' The same drugs that have caused Albuquerque to fall into such disrepair have gone on to ravage numerous cities across the US, sparking a homelessness crisis that continues to plague cities and ruin communities. A gay Malaysian asylum seeker has won the right to stay in Britain after a judge ruled his home country's ban on Pride wrist watches showed he was at risk of persecution if sent back. The man, who had overstayed his visa, won his case after Judge Bijan Hoshi ruled that the LGBTQ+ community are subjected to 'serious discrimination and harassment' by both the government and society in the Southeast Asian country. Consensual same-sex relations remain illegal in Malaysia and can see individuals punished with sentences of up to 20 years in prison, fines and even caning. Hate crimes and extrajudicial killings are reported to often take place with impunity. In his ruling, the judge referred to the banning of a 'Pride collection' of watches made by the Swiss company Swatch in 2023 as an example of how even small actions in support of the LGBTQ+ community can result in lengthy prison sentences. The prohibition meant that any Malaysians caught wearing the rainbow-coloured timepieces in the Muslim-majority country could face a three year prison sentence. While the Home Office initially ruled the asylum seeker, in his early 30s, should return to Malaysia, he appealed the decision and has now been granted refugee status. The judge said it was 'entirely plausible' for the individual to fear persecution if he were to return to the country due to the 'extreme hostility' shown towards the LGBTQ+ community. The Upper Tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber was told the man - who was granted anonymity - entered the UK in November 2015 when he was around 21 years old. In his ruling, the judge referred to the banning of a 'Pride collection' of watches in Malaysia made by the Swiss company Swatch in 2023 While he was granted leave to enter as a visitor for six months, it was heard that he 'overstayed'. In early 2018, the Malaysian national was encountered by immigration officials and he was subsequently arrested. Later that year, he made a protection and human rights claim on the basis that he was a gay man who 'feared' return to Malaysia for that reason. But, his application was refused on all grounds in 2022. The Home Office accepted that he was gay and that there would be no 'sufficiency of protection' on return - but ultimately ruled that he would not face persecution and could reasonably relocate to the capital of the country, Kuala Lumpur. This is because the area is considered more tolerant of LGBTQ+ persons. Upon hearing the decision, the asylum seeker appealed - but this was dismissed by an immigration judge who ruled the individual would 'choose to live discreetly in Malaysia because of societal pressure rather than fear of persecution'. He appealed the decision again and it was decided that his case would be reheard. The hearing before The Upper Tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber took place in February of this year. The Home Office argued that the individual had 'failed to establish that fear of persecution would be the reason for the concealment of his sexual orientation on return'. The man, who had overstayed his visa, won his case at court (pictured) after Judge Bijan Hoshi ruled that the LGBTQ+ community are subjected to 'serious discrimination and harassment' by both the government and society in the Southeast Asian country They argued that he did not know anyone who had been arrested and detained for being gay in Malaysia and was not aware of the specific laws concerning same-sex sexual activity in the Southeast Asian country. It was argued that his 'claimed fear of persecution' was 'vague and lacking in detail'. And, it was said that the individual had not told his housemate in the UK that he was gay for several years. 'All of these factors indicated that the true reason for the concealment of his sexual orientation on return would be societal pressure, not fear of persecution,' the Home Office argued. But, lawyers representing the asylum seeker stated it was 'irrelevant' that he did not know anyone who had been arrested and detained for being gay in Malaysia and was not aware of the specific laws concerning same-sex sexual activity. The man gave evidence to the fact that he was taught that same-sex sexual activity was 'illegal' in school and said as a Malaysian national he was 'well-aware that it was illegal and culturally taboo'. It was argued that it was also 'irrelevant' that he hadn't told his housemate about his sexuality - as it was a 'matter for him to choose whom to tell'. They said the man would have a 'well-founded fear of persecution and be at real risk of serious harm throughout Malaysia, including in Kuala Lumpur'. Deputy Upper Tribunal Judge Hoshi said he was 'entirely satisfied' that the asylum seeker had 'established to the lower standard that fear of persecution is a material reason that he would conceal his sexual orientation if he were to return to Malaysia'. The judge said the man - who claimed his delay in claiming asylum was because he did not know he could do it on the basis of being gay - was an 'impressive witness' who provided 'cogent and compelling' evidence during the hearing. Judge Hoshi said: 'It is entirely plausible that the [asylum seeker] would fear persecution for being gay if he were to return to Malaysia, and would conceal his sexual orientation for that reason. 'For now, it is sufficient to say that it makes it quite clear that the LGBTQ+ community is the subject of serious discrimination and harassment and by both the government and society at large. 'The [Malaysian] government is extremely hostile towards the LGBTQ+ community.' The judge referred to evidence he was told in the hearing, in which the country's Prime Minister rejected the idea that LGBTQ+ Malaysians would be 'recognised and protected' under his government. He continued: 'We further note that, in August 2023, the government prohibited the possession of wristwatches produced as part of a Pride collection - the offence is punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of up to 3 years and a financial penalty. 'Although it is not known whether there have been any arrests or prosecutions under this new law, we consider its introduction to be a strong indication of the government's extreme hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community.' In 2023, Malaysian authorities raided Swatch stores in May and seized 172 watches that celebrate LGBTQ rights. It was reported that the authorities said the sale of such timepieces 'may harm... the interests of the nation by promoting, supporting and normalising the LGBTQ+ movement that is not accepted by the general public'. The judge further noted the number of offences which include the same-sex sexual activity and carry sentences of imprisonment and corporal punishment. He spoke of the state's 'active harassment' of the community in which organisers and attendees of demonstrations in support of LGBTQ+ rights are often arrested. Judge Hoshi added: 'On the basis of our analysis above, we do not consider that it would be safe for the [asylum seeker] to return to any part of Malaysia and live there openly as a gay man.' They upheld his appeal under the Refugee Convention and Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Fresh clues on the notorious 1995 disappearance of TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit will be available within weeks. A 2017 search warrant related to GPS tracking of vehicles belonging to a 'person of interest' in the case are due to be partially unsealed, KTTC reports. It is hoped the filings may shed some light on the curious case, which has baffled authorities for the last three decades. Iowa Newscaster Huisentruit, 27, disappeared from the parking lot of her apartment complex in Mason City on the morning of June 27, 1995. She was on her way to anchor the morning news at KIMT-TV when she suddenly vanished into thin air. Evidence found at the scene pointed to a possible struggle and abduction, but nobody has ever been charged. John Vansice, who was 49 at the time and friends with Huisentruit, told police he was the last person to see her alive after the journalist came over to watch a video tape of her surprise birthday party. He was identified as a 'person of interest', but insisted he was not linked to her disappearance. New documents linked to the mysterious 1995 disappearance of TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit will be unsealed following a court order A 2017 search warrant related to GPS tracking of vehicles belonging to 'person of interest' in the case John Vansice are due to be partially unsealed Judge James Drew ruled Thursday that a 2017 search warrant related to GPS tracking on two of his vehicles could be partially unsealed, as the documents 'do not contain information that would compromise the investigation if made public'. The application for a search warrant, endorsement for a search warrant, search warrant itself and the return of the search warrant are all set to be unsealed, KTT reports. However, an affidavit by Mason City Police Investigator Terrance Prochaska filed in support of the application will remain sealed. The 2017 application was lodged to allow investigators to place two tracking devices on Vansice's 1999 Honda Civic and a 2013 GMC SUV as he prepared to moved from Iowa to Arizona. Attorneys Nellie OMara and Jesse Marzen filed the motion requesting it be fully unsealed, arguing that it would bring closure Vansice's family. Vansice died in December last year. He was never declared a suspect and it is hoped the unsealing may help reveal whether there was a potential case against Vansice or if he was completely innocent. But Judge Drew stopped short of fully unsealing the 2017 application, stating that the nature of the contents mean that its release could jeopardize the investigation. The affidavit reportedly contains sensitive information about items recovered, scene observations and timings which would only be known by the perpetrator and investigators, the FindJodi organization reports. That could suggest another possible perpetrator whose identity investigators know and who they do not wish to spook as they continue probing Huisentruit's disappearance. Judge Drew noted that there is no statue of limitations for murder in Iowa. Huisentruit was in the parking lot of her apartment complex in Mason City, Iowa on the morning of July 27, 1995 and on her way to anchor the morning news Police found Huisentruit's red high-heeled shoe next to her car before she was abducted 'The court recognizes this is an extremely high-profile case,' he said in the ruling.'The high level of public curiosity is understandable. However, what the public would like to know is often very different from what the public needs to know or should know. 'Mere curiosity is never a sufficient reason for potentially interfering in an ongoing criminal investigation, especially of a major crime,.' On the morning of her disappearance, the station's producer called Huisentruit's apartment and woke her up. She said she would be there soon for her 6am newscast that would be broadcast live. The station was about a mile away from her home. Her co-workers grew concerned when hours passed and she did not arrive. They called police requesting a welfare check. When officers arrived to the Key Apartments in Mason City, Iowa they found red high heels, a blow dryer, earrings and hairspray scattered by her red Mazda Miata. The believe she was abducted less than a minute after leaving her apartment building and next to her car that was parked approximately 12 steps from the entrance of her apartment building.' Huisentriut pictured anchoring the 6am morning news Jodi Huisentruit's apartment in Mason City, Iowa from where she was abducted During the struggle with her abductor, the key to Jodis red 1991 Mazda Miata was slightly bent. Police said there 'was evidence of a struggle outside the apartment building.' They also found a 'partial palm print' on the car. However, there are no eyewitnesses to the abduction and no surveillance cameras to record what happened. Some neighbors had reported hearing a scream at around 4:30am, but no one called police. There was very little forensic evidence found at the crime scene, and the case eventually went cold. In 2001, Huisentruit was legally declared dead. Two years later, friends and former coworkers Josh Benson and Gary Peterson created the non-profit FindJodi, Inc. to keep the her memory alive and help in solving the case. In 2023, a private investigator claimed to have unearthed evidence that Huisentruit had embarked on a short 'fling' with an unnamed man who was staying at a home on Clear Lake. Jodi disappeared after failing to turn up to her job at a news station in Mason City, Iowa Jodi Huisentruit was from Long Prairie, Minnesota and described a 'hometown girl.' One of the local merchants decorated their store window for Christmas in 1996 with a painting of her Steve Ridge said that five days before she went missing, Jodi met her date at his lakeside home, where they sat on the back deck, which he managed to get access to in order to document it. 'The last time she had a date - it's such a powerful picture...a few days later Jodi was gone,' he told the Sun. He revealed that local cops put the mystery man under surveillance after identifying him as a person of interest in the case, 'even [scooping] up his street-side garbage for examination.' The investigator is convinced that her fling with this man played an important part in her disappearance. 'I am certain that his quickly blossoming relationship with Jodi played a central role in her abduction days later,' Ridge said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mason City Police Department at (641) 421-3636, the Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman at rherman@dps.state.ia.us or contact FindJodi.com. A Mississippi restaurant once praised by Guy Fieri is facing backlash after offering a promotion only available to straight couples. The owners of Darwell's Happiness Cafe, Darwell Yeager III and Nettie Mechelle Yeager, in Long Beach, Mississippi came under fire this week after sharing a shocking video to their Facebook page. The couple were seen filming from the kitchen of their restaurant celebrating 'couple's day at Darwell's', offering freebies to any 'real couples' that come in. 'No matter how long you been together, dating, married, so long as you're a couple,' Darwell said. 'Husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, guy and girl couple.... the real kind of couple.' Nettie, wearing a comically large pair of sunglasses, added: 'Yeah, cos we don't do the trans or the lesbians or gays. I'm sorry that's down the street.' Darwell said any couples 'that can produce a child' would be given 'something for free' if they arrived within the next few hours of them releasing the promotion. The couple deleted the clip after it sparked backlash online, and Nettie went on to apologize on social media, admitting: 'I'm not perfect.' 'I say things people don't understand, misread, misunderstood, jokes maybe I shouldn't say,' she wrote. 'But I'm human too, I'm truly sorry if you got offended or misunderstood something not meant to hurt anyone.' The owners of Darwell's Happiness Cafe, Darwell Yeager III and Nettie Mechelle Yeager, in Long Beach, Mississippi came under fire this week after offering a promotion only available to straight couples The restaurant has previously been featured on Guy Fieri's 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' show, where the host praised it for its 'top notch food' Darwell's Happiness Cafe is now facing boycotts after the couple's clip went viral. Although the couple eventually apologized for their rant, Darwell had previously gone on a social media spree in the hours after, sharing and deleting several posts doubling down on the incident. According to the Clarion Ledger, he claimed he was being targeted for being an outspoken conservative, and said he refused to be 'bullied.' He declared that President Donald Trump was 'putting an end to all this wokeness', and noted that all of Mississippi's Gulf counties went to Trump in the presidential election. In his since-deleted posts, he also claimed to have received 'hundreds of texts of support.' In an appearance just last year, Fieri gushed over the Shrimp Creole as 'juicy and tender', to which Darwell responded: 'Everything's fresh' - a claim that led some alleged former employees to disagree Darwell had also noted to Fieri that he was a former professional wrester, leading some viewers to resurface an old image of the owner in red wrestling shorts The cafe has faced calls for a boycott after the couple shared their shocking promotion The restaurant has previously been featured on Guy Fieri's 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' show, where the host praised it for its 'top notch food.' In an appearance just last year, Fieri gushed over the Shrimp Creole as 'juicy and tender', to which Darwell responded: 'Everything's fresh.' But amid the backlash to the owner's anti-LGBT clip, an X user shared a response video claiming that former staff and patrons have disagreed with that statement. They brought up a review posted by someone claiming to have worked at Darwell's, disputing the owner's claim the food is 'fresh' and saying it was mostly frozen food shipped in from overseas. Fieri also praised Darwell's meat sauce, but the review claimed it was actually made from 'old hamburger meat that they didn't sell and is now kinda grey. So they just cook it up and throw it into 'Prego Pasta Sauce.'' Darwell had also noted to Fieri that he was a former professional wrester, leading some viewers to resurface an old image of the owner in red wrestling shorts. In the shocking clip, Darwell offered freebies to 'real kind of couple.' Nettie, wearing a comically large pair of sunglasses, added: 'Yeah, cos we don't do the trans or the lesbians or gays, I'm sorry that's down the street' Amid the backlash to the owner's anti-LGBT clip, an X user shared a response video claiming that former staff and patrons have slated the eatery's food The clip led some locals to call for a boycott of the restaurant, with former patron and local musician Patrice Pickett taking to Facebook to announce she would no longer perform at Darwell's. 'I have graced the stage several times at this restaurant - and my gay /same gender loving friends have packed this place out to see me!' she wrote. 'If they will say this - they will say anything! Eat there if you like...but only if you fit into their bubble! 'You do not have to agree with me on any issues, but this is BIGOTRY AND HATE!' Darwell did not immediately respond to a request for further comment sent on social media. Republican Rep. Kat Cammack tore into Fox News reporter Chad Pergram for calling her pregnancy a 'problem' in a post about President Donald Trump's decision to keep Rep. Elise Stefanik in Congress. 'My pregnancy is a blessing - not "a problem." I am sure @ChadPergram didn't intend to offend, but this is a very real narrative pregnant women across the country face,' Cammack posted to X Thursday. 'Pregnant or not, I am more than capable of doing the job my constituents elected me to do.' Cammack announced her pregnancy at the White House's Women's History Month event on Wednesday, with Trump calling the news 'great.' In a long-winded X post Thursday, Pergram laid out why Cammack's absence could be a 'problem,' as the House under GOP-control doesn't currently allow for proxy voting and the Republicans are in the majority by extremely thin margins. 'One source told Fox that Republicans could be worried about losing ANOTHER GOP member if Cammack is unavailable for votes ahead of giving birth as the House attempts to pass the "big, beautiful bill,"' Pergram wrote. The post was meant to be an explainer for why Trump shockingly pulled Stefanik's nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday, promising that she would be put back in House GOP leadership instead. In a subsequent post on Fox News' website, Pergram didn't refer to Cammack's pregnancy as a 'problem' but instead referred to it as a 'parliamentary issue.' Pergram, a longtime Capitol Hill correspondent, had explained the tricky math for Trump, as the president tries to get Congress to pass a mega-bill containing the White House's top priorities while Republicans control both houses. Republican Rep. Kat Cammack announced her pregnancy at the White House's Women's History Month event on Wednesday, with President Donald Trump calling the news 'great' On Thursday she blasted Fox News' Chad Pergram over a post in which he refers to her pregnancy as a 'problem,' due to the House having such a narrow GOP majority and after the Republicans nixed proxy voting During the transition, Trump picked three GOP House members to serve in his administration - Stefanik at the U.N., Rep. Michael Waltz to serve as his national security adviser and Rep. Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general. Gaetz quickly resigned from Congress but then pulled out of the confirmation process after Trump informed the Florida lawmaker he didn't have the Senate vote. Gaetz also declined to be seated in the 119th Congress in January, despite winning reelection for his Florida seat in November. Now the GOP is in a position where they fear 'losing one if not two of those special elections to succeed Gaetz and Waltz,' Pergram wrote. 'Plus, if Stefanik resigned, it would take about three months for a special election to hit in upstate New York to fill her seat. And because of splintering in the New York GOP there is concern that Republicans could lose that seat in a special election,' the Fox News Senior Congressional Correspondent continued. 'But Fox is told that the problem wasn't so much the potential of losing the special election in upstate New York but when the VACANCY for that seat would come,' he continued. House Speaker Mike Johnson had originally wanted the House to pass the 'big, beautiful bill' before Easter, but it appears likely that it will take longer than that. 'It frankly will take weeks if not a few more months to pass that bill,' Pergram wrote. Rep. Kat Cammack gets a hug from a military member as she enters the White House's East Room on Wednesday. She surprised the crowd by announcing she was pregnant with a baby girl at the Women's History Month event 'Here's the other problem: Rep. Kat Cammack just announced this week she is pregnant and due in August,' he said. There has been a push by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna for the GOP to allow expectant and new mothers to vote remotely. House Republicans got rid of proxy voting when they took over the chamber in 2023. Democrats had allowed for it amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Pergram also illustrated just how tight the margins are for Republicans by outlining a scenario in which the Democrats could have flipped control of the House. Had Democratic Reps. Sylvester Turner and Raul Grijalva not died, and if Democrats won both Florida House seats and Stefanik had been confirmed for the U.N. post, the Democrats would control the House 218-217, Pergram wrote. 'And notably, the House has never flipped in the middle of a Congress,' Pergram said. 'This is why last Johnson pleaded last November for Mr. Trump not to poach any other Republicans from the House,' he noted. Fox News declined to comment. A violent anti-government protestor said he had been 'damned from birth' as he set a police van alight with a fire bomb before attempting to murder an officer, a court has heard. Alexander Dighton, 28, from Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, torched the van outside Talbot Green Police Station where he was armed with a knife and a hatchet on the evening of January 31. When police intervened and asked Dighton - who was wearing body armour - to stand down, he told them 'I'm fed up, I'm done' and began attacking the officers. He was tasered and peppered sprayed to little effect, meaning he was able to assault one officer with a wooden pole while stabbing another in the leg. Dighton who told police 'I've been damned from birth' was soon apprehended and taken to Bridewell Police Station where he admitted the attacks were motivated by his anti-government beliefs. Representing himself, he appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey today with a long brown beard, flanked by three officers and plead guilty to all charges. The 28-year-old interrupted Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb when she said his lack of legal representation may be motivated by his 'problem' with authority figures. The softly spoken Dighton said: 'No, No. Authority is not my problem, it is the use of authority that is the problem. Authority itself is not a problem, it is perfectly natural. Alexander Dighton (above) torched the van outside Talbot Green Police Station where he was armed with a knife and a hatchet on the evening of January 31 Representing himself, he appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey today with a long brown beard, flanked by three officers and plead guilty to all charges When police intervened and asked Dighton to stand down, he told them 'I'm fed up, I'm done' and began attacking the officers 'The use of authority which I have seen since I was 15, that's my problem.' He had told a previous hearing there was 'absolutely no chance whatsoever' of him getting representation and added: 'I am guilty, there is no point in faffing around with this.' Dighton admitted the attempted murder of DC Jack Cotton, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm of PS Richard Coleman and battery on an emergency worker on DC Joshua Emlyn. He also plead guilty to committing arson with intent to endanger life, having an offensive weapon, two charges of having a bladed article and two of damaging property. The 28-year-old was captured on CCTV footage arriving across the street from the police station, before rummaging into his bag to retrieve one of his two homemade Molotov cocktails. At around 6.53pm he picked up one of the flaming device and walked towards the police station where he lit and threw it at a police van. The bottle shattered but the Molotov cocktail failed to ignite and no fire spread, so he poured the contents of the second bottle onto the van's bonnet before lighting it. At 7pm, he started another fire under the van then grabbed a wooden pole, using it repeatedly to hit the police van and break its windows. Dighton (above) who told police 'I've been damned from birth' was apprehended and taken to Bridewell Police Station where he admitted the attacks were motivated by his anti-government beliefs The weapon splintered before he moved on to target another marked police car. Dighton was then said to have assaulted PS Richard Coleman who tried to stop him before clattering PS Coleman's head with a wooden pole and punching DC Joshua Emlyn to the left of the head. As officers tried to restrain him, Dighton was accused of reaching for a knife and stabbing DC Jack Cotton in the leg. Two officers were taken to hospital and treated for their injuries. The court was informed that Dighton, who had no previous convictions, had been told he may have Asperger's Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was a child but had never received a formal diagnosis. The judge has ordered a pre-sentence report and asked Dighton if he needed anything from the hearing to be explained. 'No, no that all seemed perfectly salient,' he replied. He has been remanded in custody where he will remain before being sentenced at the Old Bailey on May 13. A killer babysitter wrote 'everybody who played me is cursed' in blood on the wall after killing a toddler, cops say, as harrowing 911 audio emerged. Marketta Phillips, 41, was arrested on Wednesday for the death of Journei Ross, three, who died from multiple stab wounds in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jeremy Ross, Journei's father, came around from work around 3:30am to find his roommate and on-again-off-again girlfriend sitting on the kitchen floor surrounded by knives and covered in blood, according to 8 News Now. When he walked into the bedroom, he found his daughter unresponsive and began chest compressions. Written on the wall, Phillips allegedly wrote the twisted six-word phrase in blood: 'Everybody who played me is cursed.' Phillips told detectives she had 'snapped' and stabbed Journei 'more than once' to 'get back at' Ross, the local outlet reported. Ross frantically called 911, telling the dispatcher: 'My baby isn't breathing anymore. A crazy girl cut my baby up.' Journei, who was on the spectrum, suffered at least 10 stab wounds on the torso, legs, and neck, her mother Phalan Whitson told 8 News Now. Marketta Phillips, 41, was arrested on Wednesday for the death of Journei Ross, three, who died from multiple stab wounds Journei Ross is pictured in an older photo. The toddler met a horrific end in Vegas earlier this week Jeremy Ross, Journei's (pictured) father, came around from work around 3:30am to find his roommate and on-again-off-again girlfriend sitting on the kitchen floor surrounded by knives and covered in blood. When he walked into the bedroom, he found his daughter unresponsive and stabbed Ross (pictured with Journei's mom) frantically called 911, telling the dispatcher: 'My baby isn't breathing anymore. A crazy girl cut my baby up' 'My child is f**king three years old The f**k is you doing?' the father asked Phillips while on the 911 call. 'My baby is not breathing. My baby just bled all over the f**king bed.' Phillips then left the home, where Ross can be hearing tell the woman to come back. 'You get back here,' he called. 'What the f**k? What you do? No!' The alleged murderer left the apartment on foot while police were on their way to the residence. They were able to locate her around 5am in the parking lot near the complex, finding her with blood on her hands, according to 8 News Now. She was uncooperative while officers tried to arrest her and she had to be tasered, according to 8 News Now. Police found several bloody knives and scissors in the apartment, as well as sheets of paper with notes on it. Some of the notes read: 'See what happens when you [redacted] with people's lives' and 'now we both have nothing,' the local outlet reported. Phillips is being held without bail and made her first court appearance on Thursday. Journei (pictured with parents), who was on the spectrum, suffered at least 10 stab wounds on the torso, legs, and neck. Written on the wall in the room she died, Phillips allegedly wrote in blood: 'Everybody who played me is cursed' Whitson remembers her daughter's love of singing and her ability to 'light up a room wherever she was' Ross and Phillips had been living together for about a year and the father said he had no idea she suffered from any problems. 'I didn't know she was a crazy case,' he said Ross and Phillips had been living together for about a year and the father said he had no idea she suffered from any problems. 'I didn't know she was a crazy case,' he told 8 News Now. Whitson and Ross shared custody of the little girl. The girl had been in Ross' care since Monday when the father picked her up. 'She took my baby,' Whitson told 8 New Now. 'I didnt know this woman. Today [Thursday] was literally the first day I saw this woman.' Whitson remembers her daughter's love of singing and her ability to 'light up a room wherever she was.' 'I deserve justice,' the mother said. 'She didnt deserve none of this,' Ross said. Phillips is expected back in court on Tuesday. A 14-year-old boy has died more than a week after being injured in a horrific e-scooter collision in Manchester. Greater Manchester Police said the boy and another 14-year-old male were riding the scooter towards Southmoor Road, close to its junction with Altrincham Road in the city, on March 19. They they then collided with a car and came to rest on a third vehicle close to a Lidl supermarket in the Wythenshawe area. Emergency services were scrambled to the scene following the crash, which happened at around 4pm. An air ambulance was among the resources sent to attend to the wounded. One of the boys was taken to hospital from the scene, but died from his injuries on Thursday morning. His family are being supported by specialist officers as the investigation continues. The other boy was not seriously injured. A 14-year-old boy has died following an e-scooter crash on Southmoor Road in Manchester (pictured: the scene of the crash) The teenager was taken to hospital following the smash with life-threatening injuries. He died on Thursday morning The crash happened at a busy junction in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester, close to a Lidl supermarket Detective Constable Steven Pennington, from the force's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: 'A young boy has tragically lost his life following this collision and our condolences are with his family and friends. 'Our work into the circumstances of the collision is still ongoing and we continue to ask anyone with relevant information to please get in touch with us as we continue our work.' The Manchester Evening News previously reported that a car was seen with a smashed windscreen at the scene. Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any CCTV, dashcam, or doorbell footage is asked to get in touch with officers via 101 or gmp.police.uk, quoting log 2263 of 19/03/25. Privately owned e-scooters are banned from the roads in Britain, with the law stating they can only be used legally on private land. An exemption applies to rental e-scooters operated by firms such as Lime and Voi, which rent the vehicles out under a licence issued by the Government. British tourists caught up in the terrifying Thailand earthquake disaster have described how they 'screamed and panicked' as the quake struck and have likened the devastating aftermath to a 'warzone'. It comes as thousands are feared dead, with a state of emergency declared after the huge 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Thailand and Myanmar this morning. The shallow tremor struck central Myanmar at 13.20 local time (6.50GMT) and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock. Officials at a major hospital in Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, have declared it a 'mass casualty area', with the death toll in the country expected to rise after buildings were toppled and debris was sent flying. Large parts of neighbouring Thailand also felt the quake, with a state of emergency declared in the country's capital, which is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in tower block apartments. Chilling accounts from survivors in Bangkok detail how people screamed in terror and ran for their lives as high-rise buildings began to shake. Virgin Radio presenter Steve Denyer, who was on the 19th floor of a 60-storey building, told Times Radio: 'This is the scariest thing that's ever happened to me.' 'It was exactly like being on a cruise ship in a big storm and you're swaying and losing your balance and you can hear everything creaking. Workers were seen walking away from the building slowly when it began to topple as the tremors shook the Thai capital Virgin Radio presenter Steve Denyer, who was on the 19th floor of a high-rise building, told Times Radio: 'This is the scariest thing that's ever happened to me.' Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building after the tremors of a strong earthquake that struck central Myanmar Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. 'The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse,' he said 'I think the most alarming thing was hearing things crashing from above you.' Denyer was about to have afternoon tea when 'almighty crashes' coming down from floors above made him feel 'disorientated and dizzy'. 'It took about 10 or 15 seconds for people to start really getting concerned and the staff were panicky, somebody was crying,' he said. 'We were led into a stairwell about 19 floors in the air and walked down, but we could hear crashes, the stairwell was swaying as well.' Meanwhile, Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, had been at a streetside bar when the quake struck. 'The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse,' he said. As he came out into the street, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool. 'When I saw the building, oh my God, that's when it hit me,' he said. The worried mother of a young British expat who lives in Bangkok with his fiance said the scenes her son had described sounded 'like a warzone', with 'people walking around with suitcases in a daze'. PR consultant Jaine Brent told the Express: 'My son was in the office talking to a colleague when suddenly his legs went funny and he had to sit down. Then the same thing happened to his colleague and people in his office started screaming. 'Cracks started appearing in the building and it was shaking. Everyone ran out of the building. Some building sites have completely collapsed.' Rescue workers walk past debris of a construction site after a building collapsed in Bangkok on March 28, 2025 Workers running away from a building as it collapses at a construction site in Bangkok, following an earthquake on March 28, 2025 Your browser does not support iframes. 'There was people crying in the streets and, the panic was horrendous really.' Another British tourist on holiday in Bangkok said she initially thought the tremors from an earthquake which struck the region were effects from the film she was watching. Mandy Tang, 38, from London, was in a cinema in Bangkok on holiday when she experienced the tremors from the powerful earthquake. She said: 'I was watching a film called The Red Envelope. It happened to be quite an action-packed scene when the shake happened, so I initially thought it could have been Imax effect. 'I looked around and none of the local audience left their seats. However, my Taiwanese friend insisted it's an earthquake, so I walked out of the theatre with her, and we met the security guards coming to evacuate us just outside the theatre. 'We could see the doors were opening and closing, all the chairs were shaking.' Describing their horrific ordeal to the Echo Simon Swann, 56, said: 'The tiles started falling off the bathroom walls and the bed and furniture started moving around the room. Pictured: Simon and Linda Swann, from New Brighton Fraser Morton, a Scottish tourist in Bangkok as the earthquake struck, described 'a lot of screaming and a lot of panic' Your browser does not support iframes. Ms Tang said she was trying to get a car back to her hotel, adding: 'Basically I'm tired and I'm trying to get back. 'It was quite nerve wracking, I've never experienced such a strong shake. It is quite scary.' Fraser Morton, a Scottish tourist in Bangkok as the earthquake struck, described 'a lot of screaming and a lot of panic'. Morton was in a shopping mall looking for camera equipment when 'all of a sudden the whole building began to move'. He said: 'I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving... yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall.' Like Morton thousands of people poured into Benjasiri Park from nearby shopping malls, high rises and apartment buildings along Bangkok's busy Sukhumvit Road. The park was seen as an open space, safe from nearby high rise buildings. Calvin Vercoe from the Isle of Wight, who is on holiday in Bangkok with his partner, said they were in the popular Terminal 21 shopping centre when the quake hit. View of a collapsed building after the strong earthquake struck central Myanmar Workers assist an injured man after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said 'I was in the basement at the time and I felt like I was getting dizzy. I looked up and noticed all the shop signs were moving and said to my partner that I thought we might be having an earthquake. 'We left the shop and people were just running and screaming. We headed outside through the fire escapes with everyone pushing and scrambling and managed to lose my sunglasses in the commotion.' 'The most worrying thing was when outside and watching massive skyscrapers swaying,' he recalled. Kelly Rhodes, a tourist from Kingston, London, staying at the Okura Prestige in Bangkok, told MailOnline hotel guests were evacuated down 24 flights of stairs when the quake struck. As airlines began to halt some flights, she said: 'We are now trying to organise flights out but it's chaos.' 'We can't get out of the city. Traffic is at a standstill total gridlock.' Ms Rhodes added: 'We saw a building with a pool losing water in waves, it was shocking. 'My legs didnt stop shaking for a few hours, but compared to Myanmar we had it easy!' Panicked residents stand outside an office building in Bangkok after the earthquake An earthquake survivor is carried as she waits to receive medical attention at a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on March 28 Simon and Linda Swann, from New Brighton arrived in the Thai capital yesterday, and checked into their hotel just 17 hours before the earthquake hit. Describing the horrific ordeal to the Echo Mr Swann, 56, said: 'The tiles started falling off the bathroom walls and the bed and furniture started moving around the room. 'My wife and I just grabbed our things and ran. It was unbelievably frightening. I had no top and no shoes on, and we had these visions of the building collapsing. 'We just ran for the exit and ran down 10 flights of stairs. There were children screaming. There was debris scattered around.' Swann added how despite being a firefighter for 30 years the moment the quake struck was the scariest moment of his life. Professor Ian Main, Personal Chair in Seismology and Rock Physics, School of GeoSciences, at the University of Edinburgh said: 'The damage is likely to be very severe near the epicentre- based on the estimated intensity of ground shaking above, and maps of population density and vulnerability of buildings. 'The USGS 'PAGER' forecast loss is, sadly, most likely to be in the range 10,000-100,000 fatalities,' he said, referring to the American agency's earthquake impact report. Are you in Thailand or Myanmar? Email sabrina.penty@mailonline.co.uk More than 153 people have been confirmed dead in the most powerful earthquake to strike Thailand in nearly 200 years, with officials warning that thousands of people are feared dead. At least 144 people were killed and 732 injured in war-torn Myanmar by the powerful 7.7 magnitude quake which struck near the city of Mandalay this morning. At least 10 people died Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed. Around 16 people were also injured in the Thai capital, and 101 are missing from three construction sites, including the high rise. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul added that there is a possibility more bodies will be found in the rubble of the building. MailOnline understands that hundreds of rescue workings remain at the site as they frantically try to pull out construction workers who remain missing. Cranes and diggers have been brought in, but according to the BBC, a mountain of debris stands at least 10 storeys tall, hindering their efforts. The full extent of death, injury and destruction across the region is not immediately clear, particularly in Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries. Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, 28 March 2025 . According to the National Institute for Emergency Medicine, 70 construction workers are missing at the site following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar and caused tremors that could be felt in neighbouring Thailand. Pictured: Rescue workers at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok The full extent of death, injury and destruction across the region is not immediately clear. Pictured: Soldiers from the Royal Thai Army with the K-9 Unit for search and recovery at the site of collapsed construction building on March 28, 2025 in Bangkok 'The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,' the head of Myanmar's military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said in a televised address. Myanmar's government says blood is in high demand in the hardest-hit areas, and has announced a state of emergency in the Mandalay, Sgaing, Magway, northeastern Shan, and Bago regions. The United Nations has already allocated $5 million to star relief efforts. But amid images of buckled and cracked roads and reports of a collapsed bridge and a burst dam, there were concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a humanitarian crisis. Myanmar is an active earthquake belt, though many of the temblors happen in sparsely populated areas, not cities like those affected Friday. The U.S. Geological Survey, a government science agency, estimated that the death toll could top 1,000. Myanmar's English-language state newspaper, Global New Light of Myanmar, said five cities and towns had seen building collapses and two bridges had fallen, including one on a key highway between Mandalay. A photo on the newspaper's website showed wreckage of a sign that read 'EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT,' which the caption said was part of the capital's main 1,000-bed hospital. Mohammed Riyas, the International Rescue Committee's Myanmar director, has said in a statement that it could be weeks before the full extent of destruction in the country is known, stressing that the impact is likely to be 'severe'. 'We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake, as communication network lines are down and transport is disrupted' Riyas said. 'The damage to infrastructure and homes, loss of life, and injuries sustained by communities affected should not be underestimated. 'The IRC is monitoring the situation and working closely with partners to understand how communities have been affected with a view to launching an emergency response. Search and rescue operations are underway', he added. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR in Myanmar told the BBC that the organisation is trying to comprehend the full extent of the damage caused by the earthquake, but is ready to provide aid 'as soon as safe routes to Mandalay are secured'. US President Donald Trump said the United States will help Myanmar after the country's ruling military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, made a rare call for help from foreign powers. 'We're going to be helping', Trump said from the Oval Office today. 'We've already spoken with the country', he added. US President Donald Trump said the United States will help Myanmar after the country made a rare call for international help A view of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, 28 March 2025 In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects victims caused by an earthquake Friday Rescue personnel at a collapsed building in Bangkok In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, victims caused by an earthquake is seen compound of government hospital. The US embassy in Thailand said it is suspending 'non-emergency consular services' The massive quake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Pictured: Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects victims caused by an earthquake Friday Damaged buildings caused by an earthquake is seen Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Trumps' comments come as the US embassy in Myanmar said it is suspending 'non-emergency consular services' in the wake of the earthquake. 'We are suspending non-emergency consular services, including visa services, while continuing American Citizen Services,' the embassy posted to X. Today's quake is strongest to hit Thailand since the 1839 Ava Earthquake, which the Myanmar Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences estimates measured up to 8.3 in magnitude. The tremor hit present-day central Myanmar, killing hundreds of people. Thailand was impacted by the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, which was caused by the third most powerful earthquake ever recorded, with an estimated magnitude of 9.25. The gigantic undersea tremor struck off the coast of Indonesia and unleashed a series of catastrophic tsunamis across a dozen countries, which obliterated everything in their path and killed an estimated 230,000 people. 'The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,' Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar's military government, said in a televised speech this evening. The total number of fatalities is 'most likely to be in the range 10,000-100,000', scientists have warned, citing the United States Geological Survey 'PAGER' forecast. The massive quake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. In Mandalay, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including one of the city's largest monasteries. Photos from the capital city of aypyidaw showed rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble of multiple buildings used to house civil servants. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake is said to be the most powerful Myanmar has seen in more than 100 years. It also hit Thailand, where rescuers in the capital Bangkok were searching in the rubble of a tower block that had been under construction and collapsed. People carry an elderly person at the government staff housing following an earthquake in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, 28 March 2025 Myanmar has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international aid after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country eople look at a damaged road following an earthquake in Naypyidaw, Myanmar A security official looks at a damaged building at the ThaPyayGone market following an earthquake in Naypyidaw, Myanmar Myanmar's government says blood is in high demand in the hardest-hit areas Workers running away from a building as it collapses at a construction site in Bangkok, following an earthquake on March 28, 2025 A resident looks on next to a collapsed building in Mandalay on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake in central Myanmar A damaged building after an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar today. The shallow tremor struck central Myanmar at 13.20 local time (6.50GMT), and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025 A crane operator thrown out of falling crane during earthquake in Bangkok The shallow tremor struck central Myanmar at 13.20 local time (6.50GMT), and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock. The quake brought down multiple buildings, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery, one of the largest in Manadalay, and damaged the former royal palace. Elsewhere, video posted online showed robed monks in a Mandalay street, shooting their own video of the multistory Ma Soe Yane monastery before it suddenly fell into the ground. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed. Video also showed damage to the former royal palace. Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in the city, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area. A rescue worker from the Moe Saydanar charity group told Reuters that it had retrieved at least 60 bodies from monasteries and buildings in Pyinmanar, near the capital city of Naypyidaw, and more people were trapped. 'This 60 is only from my charity group and only at Pyinmanar town,' he said. Officials at a major hospital in Naypyidaw declared it a 'mass casualty area', with the death toll expected to rise after buildings fell and debris scattered. 'I haven't seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I'm so exhausted now,' a doctor told the AFP news agency. Myanmar's military junta is locked in a struggle to put down insurgents fighting its rule, a situation that is likely to complicate the rescue and relief operation. Professor Ian Main, Personal Chair in Seismology and Rock Physics, School of GeoSciences, at the University of Edinburgh said: 'The damage is likely to be very severe near the epicentre- based on the estimated intensity of ground shaking above, and maps of population density and vulnerability of buildings. The force caused a mosque in Mandalay to collapse, with at least ten worshippers reported to have been killed. More than 20 children are also believed to be trapped in a destroyed school in Taungoo, central Myanmar. Shallow 7.7 magnitude quake struck central Myanmar at 13.20 local time, just before 7am GMT Powerful quakes felt in Myanmar, Thailand, India and China today, causing hundreds of homes to collapse Monitoring group warns of tens of thousands of possible fatalities, with numbers still rising Red Cross warns damage to infrastructure in Myanmar could see large dams could burst and flood huge areas At least three dead and 90 missing after high-rise apartment block collapses in Bangkok, Thailand Two were killed and 20 trapped when an eight-storey hotel in Aung Ben, Myanmar collapsed Workers were seen walking away from the building slowly when it began to topple as the tremors shook the Thai capital Rescue workers walk past debris of a construction site after a building collapsed in Bangkok on March 28, 2025 An earthquake survivor is carried as she waits to receive medical attention at a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on March 28 An injured construction worker is transported out of a collapsed building on a stretcher by Thai rescue workers following an earthquake on March 28, 2025 in Bangkok Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building after the tremors of a strong earthquake that struck central Myanmar A worker reacts after a strong earthquake that struck central Myanmar on Friday affected Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025 Thai rescue workers arrive on scene at a construction building collapse in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday Distraught workers are seen at the site of a collapsed building in central Myanmar Rescue crews work into the night at the site of a building that was under construction and collapsed due to a massive earthquake that struck Bangkok on Friday Shocking footage showed workers fleeing in neighbouring Thailand as a 30-storey high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed around them. A mushroom cloud of dust and debris swept through the streets of northern Bangkok as the high-rise building was brought down by the quake. At least three people were killed as the skyscraper toppled and 90 are still missing, Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters. Wechayachai offered no more details about the ongoing rescue efforts, but first responders said that seven people had been rescued so far from the area. At least two of the dead were construction workers who were killed by falling rubble or debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters. The building was being built by the China Railway Construction Corporation for Thailand's government auditor general. Workers in hard hats and orange hi-vis jackets were engulfed by dust as the concrete stack fell, with dozens who couldn't get away trapped under the rubble. 'I heard people calling for help, saying 'help me',' Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. 'I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before.' Startled residents across the city were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels after the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time. They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake. Rescuers at the collapse site were dwarfed by an enormous mound of rubble and tangled metal struts, just metres from the bustling Chatuchak Market, popular with tourists. Elsewhere, people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more aftershocks. Bangkok's city hall declared the city a disaster area to facilitate the response. The greater metropolitan area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. The US Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ centre for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometers(6.2 miles), according to preliminary reports. Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage. Rescue personnel work at the site of a building that collapsed after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said, which affected Bangkok as well, with people pouring out of buildings in the Thai capital in panic after the tremors, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025 Damaged buildings caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar A bloodied earthquake survivor rests in a hospital in Naypyidaw on March 28, 2025 Rescuers tend to injured from the site of the high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand Footage showed a building collapsing in front of monks near the epicentre in Myanmar on Friday Your browser does not support iframes. Chelsea King, a British expat living in Bangkok, told MailOnline that she was ushered away from her building by security guards as the initial quake struck. She said she could see 'towering skyscrapers ... visibly swaying'. 'Many of these buildings are condos or hotels with rooftop pools, and water was cascading down like waterfalls due to the force of the tremors. 'The street was chaotic, with people running out of buildings, carrying pets and children, shouting in panic. 'I was in shock, unable to process what I was seeing - it felt like something out of a disaster film.' When they were finally allowed back in, she was able to rescue her cat, Mo, and pack a small bag of necessities before escaping down eight flights of stairs. Chelsea was fortunate that her building 'appears undamaged'. But she says friends are unable to return to their homes due to structural damage. 'My partner, who teaches on the city's outskirts, is also struggling to get back home, with the BTS and MRT [metro system] shut down and the roads at a standstill.' Kelly Rhodes, a tourist staying at the Okura Prestige in Bangkok, told MailOnline they were evacuated down 24 flights of stairs when the quake struck. As airlines began to halt some flights, she said: 'We are now trying to organise flights out but it's chaos.' 'We can't get out of the city. Traffic is at a standstill total gridlock.' The earthquake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high above the street in high-rises, as the tremor shook. Thai rescue teams provide aid at a construction building collapse in Bangkok's Chatuchak area on March 28, 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand Thai rescue teams provide aid in Bangkok's Chatuchak area on March 28, 2025 after a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, 2025, causing strong tremors that were felt in Bangkok A damaged building after an earthquake in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanma on March 28, 2025 Rescue personnel walk near a building that collapsed in Bangkok after a strong earthquake struck on Friday, March 28, 2025 A worker reacts while sitting on the ground near a site of a collapsed building after the tremors of a strong earthquake that struck central Myanmar on Friday affected Bangkok Rescue personnel work the scene and people pour out of buildings in the Thai capital in panic after the tremors, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025 People gather outside a building after the tremors, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025 A building collapsing in Mandalay on March 28, 2025, during an earthquake People stand near a collapsed temple following an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar today Witnesses in Bangkok said people ran out onto the streets in panic, many of them hotel guests in bathrobes and swimming costumes as water cascaded down from an elevated pool at a luxury hotel. 'All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,' said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok's many malls shopping for camera equipment. 'I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall.' Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park - away from the tall buildings all around. 'I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense,' he said. 'Lots of chaos.' Mandy Tang, 38, from London, was in a cinema in Bangkok on holiday when she experienced the tremors from the powerful earthquake. She told the PA news agency: 'I was watching a film called The Red Envelope. It happened to be quite an action-packed scene when the shake happened, so I initially thought it could have been Imax effect. 'I looked around and none of the local audience left their seats. However, my Taiwanese friend insisted it's an earthquake, so I walked out of the theatre with her, and we met the security guards coming to evacuate us just outside the theatre. We could see the doors were opening and closing, all the chairs were shaking.' Workers assist an injured man after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said Rescue personnel work near a building that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025 An injured man is rescued at a construction site where a building collapsed in Bangkok on March 28, 2025 Rescue workers near a collapsed building in Bangkok on March 28 after the quake struck An injured person is carried to a stretcher as rescuers search for survivors in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, 28 March 2025 Rescue workers take an injured man who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Vehicles are stuck in heavy traffic after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar Thai rescue teams provide aid at a construction building collapse in Bangkok's Chatuchak area on March 28 Earthquake victims lie on the ground of the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high above the street in high-rises, as the tremor shook At a 1,000-bed general hospital in Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw, rows of wounded were treated outside the emergency department, some writhing in pain, others lying still as relatives sought to comfort them. 'About 20 people died after they arrived at our hospital so far. Many people were injured,' said a doctor at the hospital, who requested anonymity. The quake also damaged religious shrines in the capital, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes. In Mandalay, the country's second-largest city and close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media. While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures. In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, were also damaged. The Red Cross warned that there was still concern for the state of large dams, exposing risk of flooding. 'Public infrastructure has been damaged, including roads, bridges and public buildings,' Marie Manrique, Program Coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross told reporters. 'We currently have concerns for large-scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them,' she said. 'The bridge that connects Mandalay to Sagaing has collapsed - this will cause logistical issues. Sagaing has the largest number of internally displaced people in the country.' The earthquake hit Myanmar as it contests with a four-year civil war. Rescue personnel peform CPR on a casualty who was rescued from the site of a building that collapsed , in Bangkok, Thailand after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday People gather on a street after a strong earthquake struck in Mandalay, Myanmar today Rescue workers help an injured women who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Cars wait in traffic at the Ratchaprasong Intersection in central Bangkok after the city experienced an earthquake and shut down the skytrain on March 29, 2025 in Bangkok People gather on a street in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025 after a strong earthquake struck People ride motorcycles past a damaged building after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar, in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 28, 2025 A Myanmar policeman shines a torch at the entrance of a damaged building in Naypyidaw on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake Myanmar has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international aid after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country, with tremors felt in neighbouring countries This photo shows the damage caused by an earthquake in Ruili, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 28, 2025. Two people were reported injured in southwest China's Yunnan Province after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar Family members of missing people gather by the site of a building that collapsed, after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said, which affected Bangkok as well, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025 The devastation prompted a rare request for international aid from the country's isolated military junta, which has lost swathes of territory to armed groups, as it declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday the 27-nation bloc stood ready to help after a strong, deadly earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand. 'Heartbreaking scenes from Myanmar and Thailand after the devastating earthquake. My thoughts are with the victims and their families,' von der Leyen wrote on X. 'Europe's Copernicus satellites are already helping first responders. We are ready to provide more support.' The World Health Organization said it had triggered its emergency management system in response to Friday's 'huge' earthquake in Myanmar and was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies. The WHO is coordinating its earthquake response from its Geneva headquarters 'because we see this as a huge event' with 'clearly a very, very big threat to life and health', spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing. 'We've activated our logistics hub to look particularly for trauma supplies and things like external fixators because we expect that there will be many, many injuries that need to be dealt with,' Harris said. She said the WHO would also be concentrating on getting in essential medicines, while the health infrastructure in Myanmar itself might be damaged. Harris said that due to recent experience with the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, 'we know very well what you need to send in first'. Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok A worker carries a casualty on his back in Bangkok amid devastation from the earthquake Motorists ride past a damaged building after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar, in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 28 A worker reacts near a site of a collapsed building in Bangkok, Thailand A resident carries belongings over debris next to a damaged building in Naypyidaw on March 28 Huge waves washed over the side of an infinity pool in Bangkok as the earthquake struck A car is trapped under a collapsed part of a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on Friday View of a collapsed building after the strong earthquake struck central Myanmar Panicked residents stand outside an office building in Bangkok after the earthquake A high-rise apartment was shaken so violently that pool water cascaded down the side People hug one another following the huge tremors that shook buildings in Bangkok People stand on a street after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said, which affected Bangkok as well with hundreds of people pouring out of buildings in the Thai capital in panic after the tremors People evacuate an office building in Bangkok after the earthquake, with workers, residents and tourists seen running into the streets Tremors were also felt in China's southwest Yunnan province, according to Beijing's quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude. Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS. A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination. The breakneck pace of development in Myanmar's cities, combined with crumbling infrastructure and poor urban planning, has also made the country's most populous areas vulnerable to earthquakes and other disasters, experts say. The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states. The University of Michigan's Flint campus is fighting back against the Trump Administration's efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The university has spent $250million on their trailblazer in DEI strategies, but threats to roll back federal funding prompted President Santa Ono to terminate the plan on Thursday. However, the university's Flint campus issued a letter to the community announcing that they wouldn't be eliminating their DEI office, but would instead reintroduce the program under a new name. Flint's Office of DEI is now operating as the Wolverine Hub of Opportunity, Persistence, and Excellence, also referred to as HOPE. 'We do not anticipate any reduction in staffing due to this change, but some staff positions will be retitled and job descriptions will be reviewed to ensure we achieve the breadth of access needed for our students,' University of Michigan-Flint's Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander wrote in the letter, seen by DailyMail.com. The letter continued that university administration will continue supporting cultural events, an inclusive environment, and facilitate respectful conversations. Alexander added that the university would evaluate its web presence to be in compliance with new federal guidelines but there wouldn't be changes at the departmental level. The chancellor also detailed that the campus's human resources team would be modifying job postings to eliminate language about an applicant's identity or commitment to DEI. The University of Michigan has been forced to roll back DEI initiatives in response to the Trump Administration's recent executive orders making the programs illegal Trump claimed in a slew of executive orders that DEI was a violation of civil rights, calling the programs 'radical' and 'wasteful' University of Michigan-Flint Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander issued a letter to the campus community on how DEI policies would continue moving forward 'We understand that recent policy discussions at the national level may raise questions or uncertainty. Please know that we will continue to monitor governmental activity and are committed to providing clarity and updates as needed,' the letter continued. The letter specifically addressed UM-Flint's plan in combating Trump's DEI policies. President Ono has not announced if similar policies will be implemented at the university's other campuses. Michigan has three campuses Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint. The main campus is in Ann Arbor and focuses on research. Flint and Dearborn have higher acceptance rates and lower admission costs and the three campuses are funded separately. Both Ann Arbor and Flint campuses adopted a DEI Strategic Plan in 2020 and the university has championed the initiative. In October, the New York Times investigated the extent of Michigan's $250 million DEI program, citing research conducted by Flint professor Mark J. Perry that found job titles relating to DEI increased by 70 percent. A study conducted by the conservative group, the Heritage Foundation, the same think tank that authored Project 2025, cited that the University of Michigan had the largest DEI program of any public university in 2021. A confidential report obtained by the Times also revealed that Michigan administration urged staff to continue using diversity initiatives in hiring and promotion. University of Michigan President Santa Ono wrote in a public letter that the administration would be terminating DEI policies in compliance with Trump's recent executive orders Flint campus Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander followed up in a separate letter saying the school would be launching a new office called the Wolverine Hub of Opportunity, Persistence, and Excellence, also referred to as HOPE The university's DEI strategic plan was launched in 2016 and an evolved strategy named DEI 2.0 was rolled out in 2023. As a result of the initiatives, first-generation undergraduates increased by 46 percent and Pell Grant recipients increased by over 32 percent. On Thursday, President Ono released a letter notifying the community that the DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan would be discontinued. 'These decisions have not been made lightly. We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting,' Ono wrote in the message. Ono noted that federal actions against DEI including Trump's recent executive orders contributed to the decision to end the program. On the first day of Trump's presidency, he signed an executive order calling DEI programs 'radical' and 'wasteful.' The order directed the termination of all DEI or DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) programs. Trump signed another order titled Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity a day later, which declared DEI initiatives illegal. The University of Michigan-Flint largely serves students local to the area and has lower tuition rates than the flagship Ann Arbor location The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is the main campus and is a competitive public university with a low acceptance rate Ono also cited Trump's order to dismantle the Department of Education and a letter written by Craig Trainer, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the DOE. The letter threatened that federal funding would be eliminated for public universities that didn't dismantle their DEI programs. To combat the outcomes of rolling back DEI, Ono said that the university would initiate other steps to continue supporting the community. Michigan said they would be expanding financial aid and enhancing mental health support. The university is also expanding its Blavin Scholars Program and investing in more programs to foster academic success, including 24/7 AI tutors and a personal AI assistant for every member of the community. An Islamic extremist who was previously jailed for gloating about the horrific murder of soldier Lee Rigby has been put back behind bars. Royal Barnes, 34, was sent to prison in 2014 after he was filmed by his wife, Rebekah Dawson, laughing hysterically as he drove past the scene of Mr Rigby's murder in Woolwich, east London. The soldier, just 25 at the time, was killed by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale outside the Royal Artillery Barracks in a brutal attack using knives and a cleaver. Barnes, a friend of Adebowale and part of the 'Muslim Patrole' group who toured east London promoting fundamentalist behaviour, was previously recalled to prison in 2019 for breaching terrorist notification requirements. But just days after his 2023 release, the 34-year-old was spotted by staff at the hostel he was staying in driving a hire BMW. Later that month, police saw Barnes in the street and attempted to arrest him, but the serial offender fled the scene. During a police chase which followed, Barnes discarded a phone. When the device was retrieved and examined, officers found he had fraudulently obtained a man's bank details to order an online takeaway. The extremist appeared at the Old Bailey today wearing blue jeans, glasses and a grey jumper. Royal Barnes (pictured) is back in jail after fraudulently using the bank details of another man to order a takeaway Soldier Lee Rigby (pictured) was killed in Woolwich, east London, in a brutal attack using knives and a cleaver in 2013 Barnes was initially sent to prison in 2014 after he was filmed by his wife laughing hysterically as he drove past the scene of Mr Rigby's murder Judge Angela Rafferty, KC, said Barnes had 'anti-authoritarian views and a lack of respect towards the officers working with you.' She added his offending was 'repetitive and persistent'. Barnes had been fraudulently using the bank details of a man named John Taylor, the court heard, and had too created an email address under that name. He had also failed to provide police with a change of phone number and the details of the BMW car, in breach of his notification requirements under the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008. Prosecutor Gareth Weetman said: 'Ten years ago the defendant was convicted of an offence of inciting a Terrorist Act for which he received a 64-month prison sentence and a 15-year notification period. 'Very soon he was in breach of his notification requirements via a vehicle and received a further three years in prison. 'Within days of his release, he was seen to be driving a vehicle which hadn't been notified. 'When police tried to apprehend him he ran off and tried to discard a mobile phone. 'When examined, it was apparent he had obtained fraudulently an individual's banking details and used them to order an online takeaway.' In 2014, Barnes and his wife had ridiculed memorial flowers left by friends, family and members of the public for Mr Rigby, with Barnes describing the murder as 'absolutely brilliant'. Dawson, his partner, also boasted in a text to a friend: 'Did you watch it? It was really inciting and almost glorifying lol.' In a video posted to YouTube at the time (pictured), Barnes boasted that the murder of Mr Rigby was 'absolutely brilliant' In other videos posted to YouTube in the days after the killing, both Barnes and Dawson asserted that Sharia Law would be implemented in the UK and British women would be forced to wear the hijab. Just two weeks later, Barnes made a post on Facebook offering his wife's Vauxhall Astra to anyone who killed a British soldier. Barnes had previous convictions for theft and receiving stolen goods before he converted to Islam and married Dawson in November 2011. He was a member of Anjem Choudary's al-Muhajiroun group by mid-2012 and, in December 2012, was given a suspended sentence for abusive behaviour at an EDL demonstration. Barnes, who attended rallies with Adebowale and other extremists, was also a member of the 'Muslim Patrol', a group which terrorised members of the public in east London who dared to hold hands, drink alcohol or wear short skirts. The Muslim Patrol videos surfaced in December 2012 and featured Barnes and his fellow vigilantes Jordan Horner, 19, and Ricardo MacFarlane, 36, prowling the streets trying to enforce Sharia Law. In one incident, Horner and Barnes drove alongside couple Joshua Bilton and Anna Reddiford in Bethnal Green and shouted through a megaphone: 'Let go of each other's hands. This is a Muslim area!' Two weeks later, Horner and MacFarlane attacked a group of men drinking in Shoreditch, shouting: 'Kill the non-believers.' Then on 23 January 2013, Barnes and Horner confronted another couple, Clare Coyle and Robert Gray, walking in the street in Stepney. Barnes accused Miss Coyle of dressing inappropriately in a Muslim area and called her a 'slag', telling her she would be punished in 'hellfire'. The group shouted: 'Remove yourselves now! Muslim Patrol! Move away from the mosque. Don't come back. We don't respect those who disrespect God.' Miss Coyle replied: 'This is Great Britain. I can dress how I wish.' Another video posted by the Muslim Patrol involved homophobic abuse being directed at a man wearing make-up. Lee Rigby was engaged to Aimee West at the time of his death, but had his son with his estranged wife Rebecca Rigby (pictured) On 26 February 2014, Michael Adebolajo (left) and Michael Adebowale (right)were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Mr Rigby The same month, Dawson looked for a voice-changer on eBay at a time when Barnes took part in a phone-in on the LBC radio station. Within hours of the murder of Lee Rigby on 22 May 2013, Barnes made a video of himself celebrating the murder and shouting: 'This is a brilliant day.' The video begins with jihadi chanting over a montage from the movie War Horse before moving on to the 9/11 attacks and an ITN news report of Michael Adebolajo at the Woolwich murder scene. Barnes then turns to the camera, backed by the black flag of jihad, and says: 'Now British soldiers, you have seen what has happened to you. British soldiers, British public: Muslims are killed on a day to day basis in Afghanistan and Iraq by British soldiers every day. British soldiers, they rape and they kill innocent people. 'Now this is a brilliant day, it is the Muslim fightback and the government will never be safe. Sharia law of Allah is coming. 'The message to your brilliant soldiers is it is not safe on the streets of London. 'The message to David Cameron and the tyrants in the Houses of Parliament, is now a British soldier is on Sky News, tomorrow it will be you. 'Muslims are going to rise up in London and implement the Sharia. You will never ever be safe until you remove the invading forces out of Muslim lands...' He adds: 'Whether you like it or not Islam is coming to America, Islam is coming to London, and your mothers and your daughters will wear the hijab. 'Muslims over here will rise up and implement and kill British soldiers unless you reform your policy and stop oppressing Muslims. The Sharia is going to come to south London. 'That man [Lee Rigby] is in the grip of hellfire and I am glad he is in hellfire.' Adebolajo (pictured) was 28 at the time of the attack - where he and his accomplice tried to behead the soldier Adebolajo (pictured) was branded Britain's most dangerous prisoner and was banned from attending yoga classes in prison The video was made at 8.15pm, edited at 11.05pm and then uploaded on to YouTube at 5.08am on the account Musa Real Talks with the title 'British Soldier beheaded in London The Response Must See!'. When Dawson sent her friends a link to the video the next morning, one of them objected: 'What is the purpose of the links you have sent me?' Muslim Patrol member Jordan Horner also responded at 10am: 'Tie your camel. The video needs to come off or you are going to get arrested.' On 23 May, they made a second film of Dawson speaking to the camera in her black full veil and gave it the title: 'Muslim Women exposes!!! Must See'. Dawson told the camera: 'You keep poking at an animal long enough it is going to fight back and bite you. We are fighting back and Sharia, Islamic law will come in.' When it was posted, one of her friends warned her they faced arrest and she replied: 'Did you watch it? It was really inciting and almost glorifying lol' Both videos were removed from YouTube within a matter of days. A week later, Dawson filmed Barnes on her mobile phone while he drove past the scene of the murder and the dozens of bouquets of flowers left by the public. He laughed hysterically and said: 'This is where a British soldier died. This is what happens when the foreign policy is to attack Muslims'. Barnes added: 'Now they have turned it into some kind of shrine, I don't know what's wrong with people. Obviously the death of Lee Rigby is something to be ridiculed at. This is absolutely brilliant.' He also laughed and said: 'He got chopped up in Woolwich'. Barnes and Dawson were also involved in harassing a caretaker they claimed had let indecently-dressed tourists into Finsbury Park Mosque. Jack Rigby (pictured) was just two years old at the time of Lee Rigby's death (pictured) - a decade later he has raised 50,000 to support charity Scotty's Little Soldiers On 10 June 2013, Barnes attacked Daudi Yusuf after he let two female Portuguese tourists view the interior without head coverings. Two weeks later, after Mr Yusuf went to police to report the assault, Dawson threatened him and branded him a liar, for which she was jailed for one year and eight months. Jacob Bindman defending said Barnes should be allowed his freedom because of the amount of time he has spent in custody after his offence, along with his mental health issues and traumatic childhood. He said: 'He has been in custody since the offences took place, for over a year and a half. Over that time, his behaviour in prison has been markedly improved. 'He has now served more time in custody for breaches than he did for his originally indexed offence. 'Notwithstanding the importance of compliance with the notification issue, breaches are not there to punish for the original offending. It is important because it allows police to monitor terrorist offenders. 'The evidence before the court is, there are no concerns at present. This isn't a case where there's ongoing extremist activity. 'He continues to engage with the Desistance and Disengagement Programme. He is under no obligation to do so, but he has continued all the same. 'While he has not moved away from offending, he has moved away from his original offending. Speaking of his client's psychological assessment, Mr Bindman said: 'He has a very unusual psychological makeup and he had very traumatic early life experiences. through his time in care. There is no record of his having dealt with this before. 'He has very complex psychological features. His traumatic life experiences have manifested themselves in violent grandiosity and utter disregard for the notification regime. 'It isn't as straightforward as him saying "I don't want to comply with this and I am not going to comply"'. He went on to say that Barnes has a 'nonverbal learning disability and Borderline Personality Disorder' and that he 'needs support'. He said: 'It's important to recognise, fundamental to recognise, that there is a way forward for Mr Barnes. 'Locking him up in this continued cycle of imprisonment has no benefit to the public. 'He wants to make a change. I ask the court to impose a sentence that does not make that possibility entirely futile.' Mr Bindman added: 'Mr Barnes has been fasting and he was so anxious last night he was unable to sleep.' Barnes was sentenced to four and a half years for the two counts of failure to comply, to run consecutive to a 12-month sentence for the fraud charge. A teenager who tragically died after the e-scooter he and a friend were riding collided with a car was a bright, loving young boy, devastated family and friends said today. Jacob Calland, 14, was riding through a busy junction in Wythenshawe, Manchester on March 19 when the horrific smash happened. He was rushed to hospital but tragically lost his fight for life yesterday. Friends and family have now set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his funeral, saying Jacobs mother Carly has been left overwhelmed with sorrow by the tragedy. It comes as e-scooter collisions have trebled in three years, prompting urgent calls for law changes. Deaths and serious injuries linked to the powerful motorised machines have also reached worryingly high levels, a Mail investigation found earlier this year. In total, 29 people died between 2020 and 2023 in 4,515 e-scooter collisions, which also caused 4,807 injuries, 1,402 of them serious. Police and paramedics were called to the collision on Southmoor Road, at the junction of Altrincham Road on the afternoon March 19 last Wednesday. Jacob Calland, 14, described by friends as a 'bright, loving young boy, pictured here with his mother Carly, tragically lost his fight for life yesterday Flowers laid at the scene paid tribute to Jacob after his death. The crash on Southmoor Road, Wythenshawe, took place on March 19 An air ambulance was also scrambled to the scene close to a Lidl supermarket while traffic was diverted and tram services suspended. Witnesses reported seeing the electric scooter being ridden by 'two youths' before it was involved in the incident with another vehicle. As accident investigators examined the scene, a car with a smashed windscreen could be seen along with the abandoned scooter in the middle of the road and a learner driver vehicle. A fundraiser set up by Megan Miller and a friend to raise money for his funeral says: Jacob was a bright, loving young boy whose life was tragically cut short in a devastating accident. His passing has left his family, especially his grieving mother, overwhelmed with sorrow and the challenges of facing such an unimaginable loss. Gabby and I have started this GoFundMe to help ease some of the financial burdens that have fallen on Jacobs family during this heartbreaking time. Our goal is to support them in providing Jacob with the dignified farewell he deserves, easing the stress of unexpected expenses associated with memorial services and other immediate needs. Every donation, no matter how small, will make a meaningful difference. Your generosity will not only help honour Jacobs memory but also provide his family with some comfort and support as they navigate this painful journey. Thank you for opening your hearts and lending your support during this difficult time. Your kindness means the world. After funds quickly topped 4,500 she added: There are too many people to thank individually so just wanted to say how blown away Carly is by all your kindness, what a community we live in! You are all amazing thank you endlessly. Witnesses reported seeing the electric scooter being ridden by 'two youths' when it collided with another vehicle, fatally injuring one of the boys, 14-year-old Jacob Calland, who died yesterday. Responding to the post via Facebook, Sam Williams wrote: I will miss your infectious cheeky smile, the moody looks Id get when you got out of bed on the wrong side and that little giggle youd do when you would try and tell me a fib and Id catch you out. You truly were loved by everyone Jacob and you will hold a piece of my heart forever. Ria Headey posted: My heart is broken hearing of the loss of beautiful Jacob. Rest in peace beautiful boy. And Leigh Townsend posted: Such a loving funny beautiful boy. Life can be so cruel!! Forever 14. Jacobs family are currently being supported by specialist officers. The other boy did not receive serious injuries, police said today. No arrests have been made but police today appealed for witnesses to contact them. Safety campaigners are calling for legal safeguards on the use of e-scooters and want police to enforce the rules banning them from pavements. Across the UK in 2020, there were 460 collisions involving the vehicles, with 484 people injured and one death. Since then, incidents have increased dramatically and peaked in 2022 when there were 1,411 collisions, with 1502 injuries and 12 deaths. Recent casualties have included Have I Got News For You host Ian Hislop, 64, who suffered a head injury when he was hit by an e-bike last December. Privately owned electric scooters which can reach speeds of 90mph with modifications are sold widely without identity checks but are supposed to be used only on private land, and are illegal on public roads and footpaths. The scooters are available to hire in some towns and cities for people aged 16 and over with a provisional driving licence, under a trial scheme with speeds limited to 15.5mph, but there is concern about false identity documents being used to hire them. The Government is consulting on whether to allow the use of e-scooters nationwide. But safety campaigners, the Royal National Institute for the Blind and victims families are urging ministers to get tougher on regulating the machines. These could include speed limiters and training requirements for riders, and a crackdown on hired vehicles being left strewn across pavements. Today Detective Constable Steven Pennington of Greater Manchester Police said: A young boy has tragically lost his life following this collision and our condolences are with his family and friends. Our work into the circumstances of the collision is still ongoing and we continue to ask anyone with relevant information to please get in touch with us as we continue our work. He asked anyone who witnessed the incident or has any CCTV, dashcam, or doorbell footage to get in touch with officers or contact independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. Former Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson has appeared in court on corruption charges following a police investigation into council contracts. The 67-year-old attended Preston Magistrates' Court on Friday as one of 12 people charged in connection with Operation Aloft, where he indicated not guilty pleas to bribery, as well as misconduct in public office and conspiracy to commit the same. Labourite Anderson, who maintains his innocence, was arrested by Merseyside Police following its investigation into commercial and business contracts awarded by Liverpool City Council between 2010 and 2020. Speaking outside court following the hearing, Anderson, of Liverpool's Knotty Ash, told reporters he looked forward to 'clearing my name' after 'four-and-a-half years of hell'. He said: 'I've co-operated with the police since day one. I'm absolutely delighted that we've now got to the stage where a Crown court hearing will be heard, where people can actually get to see all of the evidence and what I've been accused of. 'I've defended myself and protested my innocence from day one. I will continue to do so because I have done nothing wrong. 'I've always put the city of Liverpool and its people first and will always continue to do so. 'I look forward to getting the opportunity to go to court and actually clear my name.' Former Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson outside Preston Magistrates Court, where he denied charges of bribery, misconduct in public office and conspiracy to commit the same Anderson's son David is also charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office - a charge he denies Also in court were Labour left-wing firebrand Derek Hatton (right) and his wife Sonjia Hatton, who have denied the charges against them Court papers allege that Anderson sent, or arranged to send, 'threatening letters' to himself, and made arrangements beneficial to his son David Anderson, 37, who also denies a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office. Anderson, a former social worker, was elected the city's first mayor in 2012 and held the office until 2021. He stepped back following his December 2020 arrest and said he would not seek re-election. Also at court was former councillor Derek Hatton, 77, who was deputy leader of Liverpool City Council in the 1980s and was expelled from Labour for his membership of the Trotskyist militant group. Hatton, who was asked to stop chewing gum in court by District Judge Wendy Lloyd, denied one count of bribery and indicated a not guilty plea to a charge of counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office. His wife Sonjia Hatton, 49, of Aigburth, indicated a not guilty plea to one count of misconduct in a public office. Prosecutors allege that she provided and sought out confidential council information over matters of commercial and business use to Mr Hatton's contacts and his business dealings. Former council assistant planning director Andrew Barr, 51, of Ainsdale, Merseyside, is charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and bribery, for which he indicated a not guilty plea. Adam McClean, 54, of Woolton, also entered the dock on a charge of conspiracy to bribery, to which he entered no plea. Derek Hatton (centre) and his wife Sonjia outside Preston Magistrates' Court on Friday Joe Anderson (left) is seen outside the court. He told reporters later he was looking forward to 'clearing my name' Other defendants appeared at court remotely via videolink including former council head of regeneration Nick Kavanagh, 56, of Mossley Hill, Liverpool, who indicated not guilty pleas to two counts of bribery. Phillipa Cook, 49, of the same address, also indicated not guilty pleas to two counts of bribery. Alexander Croft, 30, of Aughton, Lancashire, indicated a not guilty plea to one count of bribery. Julian Flanagan, 53, of Knowsley; Paul Flanagan, 71, of Knowsley; and James Shalliker, 38, of Downholland, Lancashire, are all charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and entered no pleas. All 12 defendants were granted unconditional bail by District Judge Lloyd ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at Preston Crown Court on April 25. A California judge has been accused of abusive behavior and racial bias in her courtroom in a scathing motion supported by 17 attorneys. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Murphy, 'screams' at lawyers, 'displays blatant favoritism' and even 'willfully traumatized' a 12-year-old quadriplegic witness, according to a complaint lodged by attorney Nicholas C. Rowley. He claimed the 70 year-old judge's 'explosive' temper is preventing him from doing his job and begged another judge to put an end to her 'reign of terror'. 'Judge Murphy's bizarre behavior is scary for lawyers and is hurting their clients who can't stand up for themselves,' Rowley told the Southern California News Group. 'She's a bully. People have been tolerating that for decades. This is the first time anyone has stood up to her.' The alleged behavior has become so bad that ten court reporters refused to work after learning she was presiding over the case, according to attorney Alex Guerrero who is among those speaking out. Rowley submitted a written complaint to Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II and the state's Commission on Judicial Performance about Murphy. He claimed that her treatment of, 'non-White lawyers and litigants, including my own clients and co-counsel, is so disparate that it creates the appearance of racial bias'. California judge Mary Ann Murphy has been accused of abusive behavior and racial bias in her courtroom in a scathing motion supported by 17 attorneys Attorney Nicholas C. Rowley is leading the complaints against Murphy, who he is requesting be removed from a trial he is involved in Rowley is moving to have the judge removed from a trial where he is representing six children whose families are suing Mountain View School District in South El Monte school district after their kids were sexually abused by a teacher. The lawsuit seeks $100 million for alleged negligence stemming from a conviction against teacher Joseph Alfred Baldenebro, who was 20 years in prison for inappropriately touching girls ranging in age from 8 to 11. Online reviews for Murphy, who earned $231,735 in 2023, are also scathing. They range from claims she snarled at a court clerk for sneezing during a hearing to an allegation that she erupted at an elderly attorney who struggled to hear something she'd said. Rowley claims that Murphy 'pulled out every stop' to hinder him from serving his clients, including preventing questioning jurors during the selection process as part of normal voir dire. That sees jurors questioned by attorneys to try and identify potential biases that could affect their ability to try the case fairly. 'Judge Murphy was rude and interrupted me from the very beginning of my voir dire in a way that I have never experienced in what was 185 jury trials before I started this one,' the motion states. Lawyers claim they have been pushed to tears by Murphy's 'explosive' temper 'Judge Murphy refused to allow me to treat the prospective jurors with courtesy, despite my express ethical obligation to do so.' Attorney Sarah Havens, president of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, submitted a declaration in support of this account after she attended the court. She said Murphy's conduct actively turned jurors against him. 'It was palpable,' Havens said. 'I could hear it under their breaths, I could feel it in the room. 'I do not believe that any prospective juror in that Friday courtroom could fairly sit on a panel after what they witnessed and experienced in that courtroom.' The complaint claims that Murphy has frequently brought lawyers to tears with the alleged outbursts and often throws people out of her court under false pretenses to prevent them recording the behavior. Attorney Keith Bruno, who is co-counsel with Rowley, said on March 14 Murphy acted with open hostility to an elderly teacher who was giving evidence about reporting a suspected pedophile. It accuses her of using racially charged language, including one example where she said a Latina attorney 'scurried' in what Rowley says was evocative of a cockroach or rat. He also claims that she has no grip over her court, even allowing attorneys to become embroiled in physical altercations without reproach. Attorney Sung 'Sean' Kim described an incident during a sidebar in Murphy's courtroom when a defense attorney 'shoulder-checked' his co-counsel and alluded to fighting in the parking lot. Kim said this went unchallenged by Murphy. He claims Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Murphy 'screams' at lawyers and has been racist towards his co-counsel A Los Angeles Superior Court spokesman confirmed to the East Bay Times that all complaints are investigated by Judge Tapia. 'Should a complaint investigation conclude that there has been a violation of a provision of the Code of Judicial Ethics, appropriate corrective action may include reporting the violation to the appropriate authority, including the Commission on Judicial Performance,' the statement said. Rowley said that Murphy's behavior has improved since the complaint was submitted. DailyMail.com has contacted Los Angeles Superior Court and Murphy for comment. A Cornish grandmother was 'mere seconds' from death when a metal military device fell from a plane and crashed into her house, completely destroying her toilet. Sue Rundle has lived at her home in Tregaswith, near Saint Columb Major for 26 years without any incident. But her peace was shattered on Wednesday when the upstairs bathroom in her home suddenly 'collapsed' - after a metal object from a military jet crashed through her roof, smashed through a wall, and destroyed her toilet. A second item, which Sue describes as a 'big piece of plastic like a dummy missile' landed in a tree nearby. Pictures from the scene show damage to the walls in Sue's bathroom and a huge hole in her ceiling and toilet. American provider of tactical fighter aircraft Draken took responsibility for the incident, saying they had been performing a training exercise nearby when the crew suffered a malfunction and made for Cornwall Airport Newquay. They were flying over Sue's house when the malfunction worsened, spelling disaster for the grandmother-of-two's bathroom. Sue said: 'It was lucky. I was about to go into the hallway when I heard tiles coming off the roof. Sue Rundle has lived at her home in Tregaswith, near Saint Columb Major for 26 years without any incident Her toilet has been almost totally destroyed, and there is a large hole in her roof 'I came in then everything in the upstairs bathroom collapsed. It was just mere seconds. Just seconds.' The incident happened at 4pm on Wednesday when the object, believed to be a 'very heavy piece of lead', less than a foot long and about four inches wide but 'weighing a tonne' fell from the sky. Draken has taken responsibility for the incident. It acknowledged the severity of what happened and is liaising with those affected. An investigation has been launched by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) following the incident. Draken boss Nic Anderson has apologised and said the company has stopped all towing activity for the time being. Mr Anderson said: 'At approximately 4pm on Wednesday, March 26, one of our aircraft was carrying out a routine exercise over the sea involving towing a target on a cable behind the aircraft. 'The mechanism to control the target cable malfunctioned. The aircraft crew carried out backup procedures to release the target and cable from the aircraft safely over the sea, which were not successful. 'Realising they were unable to detach the target the crew contacted Air Traffic Control to declare an emergency and sought to land at the nearest diversion airfield at Cornwall Airport, Newquay. 'During the diversion and on approach to the airport, the cable and target dislodged from the aircraft and landed in a field, regrettably damaging two properties. Fortunately, no one was injured. American provider of tactical fighter aircraft Draken took responsibility for the incident, saying they had been performing a training exercise nearby when the crew suffered a malfunction and made for Cornwall Airport Newquay Draken boss Nic Anderson has apologised and said the company has stopped all towing activity for the time being Devon and Cornwall Police said officers attended the incident at Mrs Rundle's home alongside Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service 'Draken is very sorry that this incident has occurred and offer our sincere apologies to those affected by it. 'We have been liaising directly with the property owners impacted by this incident and we thank them for their patience and understanding. We are providing full support to ensure that we are minimising the impact of this incident on them. 'We recognise the seriousness of the incident and are working with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigation and the local police while our full internal investigation into the matter continues to ensure that this does not happen again. 'We have stopped all target towing activity and will not resume until we are satisfied the system is safe to operate.' Devon and Cornwall Police said officers attended the incident at Mrs Rundle's home alongside Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service. She said that she has never been worried about living under the flightpath of Newquay Airport. She added: 'You get used to living under the flight path. You see all the military planes and the easyJet ones. You can almost set your clock by them. 'I don't want to blame the military or anyone. They have a job to do. This was just a freak accident and everyone has been very lovely, supportive and helpful.' Mrs Rundle said it is too early to put a price tag on the repair that will need to be made to her walls and roof and bathroom but all parties involved in the incident and her home insurance are working on it. A spokesperson for Newquay Airport said: 'Yesterday, Cornwall Airport Newquay safely accommodated the landing of a military aircraft needing to abort an exercise. 'The aircraft, which was engaged in a training operation, followed standard procedures and landed without incident. 'Safety is always our top priority, and today's successful handling of the situation is a testament to the professionalism of our team and demonstrates the airport's capability to handle a range of aviation scenarios.' A brazen New York City squatter will be swapping a stolen home for a prison cell after he pleaded guilty. Brian Rodriguez, 36, began occupying Adele Andaloro's $1million home in Flushing, Queens, in February 2024 and refused to leave. He even went as far as calling the police on the homeowner when she changed the locks on the doors. On Friday, the serial squatter was sentenced to two years in prison and five years of supervised release in a Queens court. He pleaded guilty in January to false reporting an incident, the District Attorney's Office said. 'At the end of the day, we're making a message very clear - you don't get to walk into a house you don't own and say you have a right to stay and we're going to make sure this has a deterrent effect as well, and it will,' DA Melinda Katz said, according to ABC 7. 'We are most proud that we got the house back for the homeowner.' Andaloro noticed her home was being occupied when she showed up in February 2024 to find the locks and front door had been changed. Rodriguez had also begun renting out the rooms to others, despite having no legal ownership of the home, prosecutors said. The homeowner eventually was able to gain access to the house, where she changed the locks - a move that would lead her to get arrested after Rodriguez called the cops. Brian Rodriguez, 36, was sentenced to two years in prison and five years of supervised release for falsely reporting that he lawfully lived in Adele Andaloro's $1million home in Flushing, Queens Andaloro noticed her home was being occupied when she showed up in February 2024 to find the locks and front door had been changed Rodriguez said he had a lease through a real estate agent, which was false Shocked, Andalaro confronted Rodriguez, shouting at him for 'stealing her house' which led to an explosive confrontation that at one point saw Rodriguez trying to break down the front door. Rodriguez pushed through it while Andaloro and a crew of journalists were there. After a standoff, he called police and she was arrested for changing the locks. It is illegal in New York for homeowners to change the locks or touch belongings or shut off utilities if someone claims they are rightfully inhabiting the space. And police can't remove them as trespassers due to the legal matters happening in civil court, not criminal. Rodriguez claimed he had a lease through a real estate agent and he provided them with fake paperwork from a brokerage firm that didn't exist, according to prosecutors. He claimed he is the victim of a fraudulent business deal and will leave the property if he is paid for 'upgrades' he made to the residence. Rodriguez told the New York Post last year he was after an $18,000 to hand the house back to its rightful owner after his attempt to start a 'side hustle' went up in flames. A handful of alleged squatters in the four-bedroom home then claimed they were legitimate residents of the property who had been paying rent to someone named 'Jay.' Jay turned out to be Brian Rodriguez, who drives a Range Rover. The homeowner eventually was able to gain access to the house, where she changed the locks - a move that would lead her to get arrested after Rodriguez called the cops. Rodriguez busted in to the home and then called the cops on the homeowner It is illegal in New York for homeowners to change the locks or touch belongings or shut off utilities if someone claims they are rightfully inhabiting the space. Her charges were later dropped, but the DA began looking to the squatter Lawmakers voted to change the definition of tenant, which will hopefully allow people to be able to remove squatters as trespasses Rodriguez told the Post that he was scammed into 'renting' the home with a fake lease drawn up by a fraudulent realtor with whom he went into business in an attempt to cash in on what he thought was a city-run program that pays landlords $1,000 a month to take in illegal migrants. But no such program exists. Andaloro's charge was later dropped, but then the DA's Office began looking into the squatter. His unlawful inhabitation of the space lead to the state changing the definition of what a tenant is to exclude squatters, which has become a huge problem in the Big Apple. Lawmakers voted to change the definition, which will hopefully allow people to be able to remove squatters as trespasses. In New York State, squatters who occupy a property openly and adversely for 10 uninterrupted years can make an adverse possession claim, provided they have paid property taxes over that decade. In New York City, however, squatters are granted rights after just 30 days, meaning landlords must start an eviction proceeding as soon as a squatter has been discovered. Two powerhouse law firms filed suit seeking to block President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting their lawyers and stripping security clearances calling it an 'unconstitutional abuse of power.' One suit, on behalf of the 500-strong legal powerhouse Jenner & Block, names 49 government agencies and cabinet secretaries as defendants. The 64 page filing says the order violates its First Amendment speech protections, its right to 'petition on behalf of the government,' and its due process rights by effectively prohibiting its lawyers' ability to practice. The suit seeks to use Trump's own words against him including his statements vowing to 'go after' his political opponents. Trump also said in the Oval Office when inking the order against the firm that it was intended to go after Andrew Weissman, former special counsel Robert Mueller's top prosecutor. 'Andrew Weissman is the main culprit,' Trump said of the former top prosecutor who is now a Trump critic who appears on MSNBC. 'Trump called him a 'bad guy'. The firm says Weissman, who was a partner on two occaions ending in 2021, hasn't worked at the firm for four years, according to the filing by the Cooley law firm. Two elite law firms filed suit against the U.S. and various agencies over President Trump's executive orders targeting individual firms. Trump has said the orders were due to their association with political opponents like former Special Counsel Robert Mueller But Trump's order could hamstring many of its 500 attorneys, who would lose their security clearances and restrict access to federal buildings for its 900 lawyers and staff. The order, according to the filing, is meant to 'coerce law firms and lawyers into renouncing the Administration's critic and ceasing certain representations adverse to the government.' It also quotes Trump calling Weissmann 'the Scum of the Earth!!!' 'Our Constitution, top to bottom, forbids attempts by the government to punish citizens and lawyers based on the clients they represent, the positions they advocate, the opinions they voice, and the people with whom they associate,' according to the complaint. It cites the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board writing that Trump took the actions 'to intimidate elite law firms from representing his opponents or plaintiffs who challenge his policies.' Another firm, Perkins Coie, is fighting an executive order tailored against it for representing former Trump rival Hillary Clinton. A judge has blocked the move with a temporary order. Yet another firm, Paul, Weiss opted to reach what Trump called a 'settlement' where it agreed to do $40 million worth of pro bono legal work 'to support the Administration's initiatives.' That decision sent shutters through some members of the legal community who feared it would lead to capitulation. The firm cited the need to protect its clients. WilmerHale noted that the order targeting the firm faulted it for ''welcoming' back Robert Mueller and his team Jenner and Block's suit names 49 agencies and individuals and argues its First Amendment and Due Process rights were violated by the order, which would strip security clearances and keep its staff out of government buildings Another prominent firm, WilmerHale, is also suing, even as others negotiate 'settlements' to fend off the Trump Administration 'Dear Big Law. This is how it is done,' wrote former US Attorney Barbara McQuade, cheering the Jenner & Block suit on X and reprinting the release that the firm 'stands firm.' The complaint cites the Paul, Weiss deal and Trump's celebration of it and said it 'demonstrates that the President's national security concerns do not justify the executive actions against law firms.' Former Mueller team member Andrew Weissmann no longer works for the firm but returned there after the Russia probe The suit comes as another prominent firm, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, filed its own complaint challenging the order against it. The suit called Trump's orders against law firms 'an undisguised form of retaliation for representing clients and causes he disfavors or employing lawyers he dislikes.' It calls it a 'personal vendetta' that violates 'multiple foundational safeguards enshrined in the Bill of Rights'. WilmerHale has been a 'professional home for public servants like Robert Mueller' Trump's nemesis during his first term while overseeing the Russia probe. Two of Mueller's top prosecutors, James Quarles and current partner Aaron Zebley, were also associated with it. It said Trump's own order 'makes no secret of its intent to punish' the firm. It cites the order's language saying it engaged in 'obvious partisan representations to achieve political ends' and 'the degredation of the quality of American elections,' and for 'welcoming' Mueller and his team members back to the firm after the Russia probe. Trump has long called the Russia probe part of the 'witch hunt' against him. The lead attorney on the WilmerHale suit is Paul Clement, the former U.S. solicitor general who argued on behalf of numerous conservative causes, including the suit seeking to roll back Obamacare. The complaint lists three attorneys working on it. The Jenner & Block complaint lists four lawyers. Even as the U.S. Government now must prepare to defend against the twin suits, Trump on Friday announced something that he said 'amounts to a settlement' with yet another firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom thereby avoiding an executive order and a potential legal battle for that firm. Trump said the deal related to 'merit-based hiring, promotion and retention' and that the firm 'will not deny any representation to clients such as its members or members of politically disenfranchised groups.' US Vice President JD Vance blasted Denmark as he pushed for Greenland to become independent in some of his most aggressive rhetoric to date. It came as President Donald Trump repeated his desire to acquire the Danish territory for the United States. The vice president traveled to Greenland on Friday to send a message to Denmark and the world about the political changes the Trump administration wants to see in the territory. 'What we think is going to happen is that Greenlanders are going to choose through self-determination to become independent of Denmark, and then we will have conversations with the people of Denmark from there,' he said. He said the United States was no longer willing to 'pick up the tab' for Europe to keep the region safe. 'If the people of Greenland are willing to partner with United States, and I think they ultimately will, we could make them much more secure. We could do a lot more protection, and I think they would fare a lot better economically as well,' he said. Vance and his wife Usha visited the Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland where it was -3 degrees Fahrenheit when they landed. 'Its cold as s**t here. Nobody told me,' Vance said to US troops shortly after landing, prompting laughs in the audience. President Trump also reasserted his position on Greenland, speaking to reporters at the White House Friday about the importance of the island to the future of the United States and the world. U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives to board Air Force Two after touring the U.S. military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland Second lady Usha Vance arrives at Pituffik Space Base in Greenland U.S. Vice President JD Vance poses with second lady Usha Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, his wife , former homeland security advisor, Julia Nesheiwat and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright as they tour the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenlan 'We need Greenland. Very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland,' Trump said, warning about Chinese and Russian ships 'all over the place' in the region as new waterways that were opening up. Danish leaders have repeatedly condemned Trump and the United States for expressing interest in Greenland. But Vance had sharp criticism for Denmark for their failures to secure the region. 'This has to happen, and the reason, I hate to say it, is because our friends in Denmark have not done their job in keeping this area safe,' he said. 'Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe,' he added. Vance, however, walked back the idea that the United States was ready to use military force to seize the territory. 'Talking about anything too far in the future is way too premature. We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary,' he said. Trump thanked Vance and his 'wonderful wife' Usha for traveling to the region. 'They will represent us well, but Greenland is very important for the peace of the world. The piece of the entire world, and I think Denmark understands it. I think the European union understands it, and if they don't, we are going to have to explain it to them,' he said. US Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance arrive at the US military's Pituffik Space Base During his visit, Vance was asked about the president's desire to acquire Greenland. 'Well, the president said we have to have Greenland, and I think that we do have to be more serious about the security of Greenland,' he said. 'We cannot just ignore this place, we can't just ignore the president's desires, but most importantly, we can't ignore what I said earlier, which is the Russian and Chinese encouragement in Greenland.' 'Our message is very simple,' he continued. 'Yes the people of Greenland are going to have self determination, we hope they choose to partner with the United States because we're the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and security.' Vice President JD Vance, from right, and second lady Usha Vance, speak with soldiers at Pituffik Space Base in Greenland The Vice President did not speak to the waiting cameras as he arrived on the island, instead entering an armored vehicle briefly after disembarking from Air Force Two. Speaking to US troops at the base, he said it was a 'pretty cool thing' to be the first Vice President to ever visit Greenland. He added: 'The mission is really important, the Trump administration is really interested in Arctic security. 'It's a big issue and it's only going to get bigger over the coming decades. 'As you've heard, we have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration, so we're gonna talk a little bit about that with our friends in the media.' Vance and Usha are being accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz - who recently admitted 'full responsibility' for accidentally adding a journalist to a group chat of senior officials discussing planned airstrikes in Yemen. Also on the trip are Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife. But the trip is viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation as Trump bids to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory. Vance and his wife Usha were seen today jetting off for the Greenland visit Initially, Usha was to travel alone to Greenland with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut - but the visit was canceled and replaced with the military base tour instead after her team could not find locals willing to meet her. Greenlanders also made clear that they would protest her presence at the event. Trump has insisted the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security, and has refused to rule out the use of force to get it. The Vice President did not speak to the waiting cameras as he arrived on the island Usha was to travel alone to Greenland with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut Speaking to US troops at the base, he said it was a 'pretty cool thing' to be the first Vice President to ever visit Greenland The Vice President and the second lady eat with soldiers at the Pituffik Space Base Vance and his wife Usha were seen today jetting off for the Greenland visit Extra police drafted in to monitor the planned protests Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted the United States will not get Greenland. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has denounced US plans to visit the Arctic island uninvited - for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society - as 'unacceptable pressure' on Greenland and Denmark. This morning she said the 'whole situation of coming to visit when there is no government in place is not showing respect for an ally.' She added: 'It's a shame, but now we have a government that needs to put on its work clothes.' A majority of Greenlanders oppose US annexation, according to a January poll. The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defense infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, it served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere, which Washington claims Denmark has neglected. Vance is 'right in that we didn't meet the American wishes for an increased presence, but we have taken steps towards meeting that wish', Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP. He said Washington needed to present more specific demands if it wanted a proper Danish response. Trump has insisted the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security New Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told reporters the territory needed unity at this time Usha Vance's visit to a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut was cancelled after her team could not find locals willing to meet her In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost $2 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialized vessels and surveillance equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he considered Trump's plans for Greenland 'serious', and expressed concern that 'NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts'. Greenland is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to 'bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States'. Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of joining the United States. A new broad, four-party coalition government was announced in Greenland just hours before the US delegation's arrival, following elections earlier this month. New Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told reporters the territory needed unity at this time. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to 'bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States' While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of joining the United States 'It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences... because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside,' he said. The outgoing prime minister, Mute Egede, had on Monday reacted angrily to the uninvited US visit, as Greenland's parties were still negotiating to form a government. 'Our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference,' he said. This morning the King of Denmark, Frederik X, said: 'As I have said before, we live in a changed reality. 'But there should be no doubt that my love for Greenland and my connection to the Greenlandic people is intact.' Vance angered Danes in early February when he said Denmark was 'not doing its job (protecting Greenland), and it's not being a good ally'. A fuming Frederiksen quickly retorted that Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans 'for many, many decades', including in Iraq and Afghanistan. State-backed espionage in Britain is at its worst since the Cold War, a counter-terror commander has warned after a cell was convicted of spying for Russia. Six Bulgarians face lengthy prison sentences after sending secrets to the Kremlins intelligence services for almost three years, tailing opponents of the state and spying on a US airbase. A fifth of British counter-terror policing is now dedicated to battling a surge of state-backed threats at levels not seen in decades, Scotland Yard commander Dominic Murphy said. Speaking exclusively to the Trial+ podcast, he said: This is the Russian state using proxies hired or tasked to conduct espionage activity in the United Kingdom, something that we're probably not used to as a challenge for us since the Cold War, but really is now a very real challenge for everything we do. Certainly it [presents the biggest challenge] for counterterrorism policing since the Cold War. Counter-terror policing has had to adapt to the threats posed by national security espionage from Russia and other hostile states, the Scotland Yard commander added. We've disrupted lethal threat plots in the United Kingdom by the Iranian state as well over the last couple of years, he said. And so we continue to see investigations into a broad range of challenges here. But in this case, clearly, Russia was tasking this group of individuals, largely from Bulgaria, to conduct this activity here. Vanya Gaberova, 30, has been found guilty of spying for Russia at the Old Bailey Decorator Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, (left) and Orlin Roussev, 46, (right) were both accused of being part of the ring. Roussev pled guilty at an earlier date The Crime Desk: The Mail's new true crime podcast network, available on all major podcast platforms Beautician Vanya Gaberova, 30, decorator Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, and lab technician Katrin Ivanova, 33, were found guilty of conspiring to spy for Russia after a three-month trial at the Old Bailey. Their handler, Orlin Roussev, 46, his lieutenant, Biser Dzhambazov, 43, and Ivan Stoyanov, 32, had already pleaded guilty to the charges under the Official Secrets Act. Their well-financed activities spanned London, Vienna, Valencia, Montenegro and Stuttgart, with the two women intended to be used in a series of 'honeytrap' plots. At least 200,000 was sent by the group's Moscow-based handler, fugitive businessman Jan Marsalek, to finance the operations, which were planned over 80,000 messages exchanged with Roussev over Telegram. And an 'Aladdin's Cave' of sophisticated technology including rocks containing hidden cameras, a 120,000 device for intercepting mobile phone numbers, 11 drones, 221 mobile phones and 75 fake passports was found at Roussev's guesthouse. The Bulgarian referred to himself as 'Q Branch' after James Bond's famous quartermaster, and built many of the devices himself including a Coca-Cola bottle containing a hidden camera. Commander Murphy said the investigation into the group was the largest he had seen in his two decades of counter-terrorism. 'This was spying on an almost industrial scale on behalf of Russia,' he added. 'It felt like something you would expect to read in a spy novel. This is not something we see very often.' In the years since the 2018 Salisbury poisoning attack, Russian intelligence agencies have been forced to employ proxy groups rather than use their own highly-trained agents, Commander Murphy said. I like to think that the way in which we responded to that attack, the way in which policing, the intelligence community and international partners came together in the way that we did, has made the UK a much more hostile environment for states to directly conduct activity here themselves, he added. There are likely to be more Russian spy cells lurking across the UK, the senior officer warned. My main message would be one of vigilance, he said. So in the same way that we talk about counter terrorism, if something doesn't feel right to you, call the anti-terrorism hotline. Get in touch with us. The Bulgarians will be sentenced in May. The head of the Prevent counterterrorism programme, Michael Stewart, has said he will leave his role after a report into the Southport attack which killed three young girls found it had failed to stop the killer. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had concerns about the damning review which found a litany of missed opportunities to kill evil Axel Rudakubana, it was reported today. His knife attack on a class of young girls at a Taylor Swift themed event in July led to the deaths of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe seven. Ten others, including two adults, were injured in the attacks. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had concerns about the damning review which found a litany of missed opportunities to kill evil Axel Rudakubana, it was reported today Victims: Bebe King (left), six, Elsie Dot Stancombe (centre), seven and Alice da Silva Aguiar (right), nine, died during the mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport Rudakubana's terrifying and deadly knife rampage left the nation appalled The killings sparked major unrest around the UK after false rumours circled that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived in a small boat Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 52 years in January. A rapid 'Prevent learning review' carried out into the Southport attack found that the killer was flagged to Prevent three times before his killing spree, and concerns about him were dismissed early due to him not having a fixed terrorist ideology. Stewart was also held reponsible for a controversial Home Officer review that proposed that police record non-crime hate incidents and widening the definition of extremism. He has now agreed to step down, the Times reports. Following the report's publication, Home Office minister Dan Jarvis told the Commons the government rejected the proposals. The Home Secretary will set out a new framework for tackling extremism and hateful ideologies next year. In what prosecutors described as a 'meticulously-planned rampage', Rudakubana carried out his attack and stabbed teacher Leanne Lucas repeatedly as she tried to save the children. Businessman John Hayes, who rushed to the scene from his office nearby and attempted to overpower Rudakubana, was also stabbed. Others nearby who heard screams also rushed to the scene and police arrived, bringing the horrific incident to an end. In 12 minutes of mayhem, Rudakubana, wearing a green hooded top and surgical facemask, knifed as many children as he could, even pulling one girl back as she tried to flee. Ms Lucas's fellow dance teacher Heidi Liddle hid in a toilet with one child. Fuelled by misinformation that the perpetrator, then 17, was a Muslim migrant who had crossed the Channel on a dinghy, the horrific incident in the Merseyside town on July 29 last year sparked days of rioting across Britain. Within a month, 1,280 people had been arrested and 796 people charged over the anti-migrant violence. Nearly 500 were jailed. It has since emerged there were up to 15 chances to stop Rudakubana - also to be sentenced for possession of poison ricin, which he had manufactured at home using castor beans, and possessing an Al Qaeda training manual. Democratic Senator Mark Kelly fired back at Elon Musk after the tech billionaire doubled down on calling the U.S. combat veteran a 'traitor.' The Arizona lawmaker clapped back on Thursday night in a spat that has intensified since Musk made his nasty accusation earlier this month after Kelly traveled to Ukraine. 'I don't even know if he deserves a response,' Kelly started with a sigh on CNN. 'Who is Elon standing with at this point? A bunch of billionaires,' the Democratic senator later went on in scathing response. 'Seems to me that some folks in the administration sort of switched sides here,' Kelly said. 'I would put Elon at this point in the category of being much closer to Russia on this issue.' The senator noted the war in Ukraine is between a U.S. allies against a longtime adversary, Russia. 'I want this thing to end as much as anybody, but he throws this "traitor" word around, at least with regards to me fairly freely,' he noted. 'I don't think he's a serious guy, and he hasn't given this a lot of thought,' Kelly said. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) responds to Elon Musk calling him a 'traitor' by accusing the billionaire of being closer to Russia The senator also argued he has spent an entire career standing up for the U.S., including serving in combat, as an astronaut and in the Senate. 'My entire life has been about serving this country, and I always stand with the best interest of our nation,' he said. 'Standing with our allies and standing up for democracy is in the best interest of the United States.' Kelly was responding to Musk repeating his attack on the senator he first made on X. Musk posted 'traitor' after the senator wrote about traveling to meet with officials and injured Ukrainians in Kyiv earlier this month and pushed for the U.S. to continue to support its longtime ally after Russia's invasion. The South African Trump ally was asked about it in his interview with Fox News' Bret Baier on Thursday. 'You posted that he was a traitor. Why do that?' Baier asked. 'Well I think somebody should be, should care about the interests of the United States above the interests of another country,' Musk said. 'And if they don't, they're a traitor.' Baier pointed out that Kelly is a decorated veteran, former astronaut and sitting senator. 'That doesn't mean he's, it's ok for him to put the interests of another country above America,' Musk said. In a separate post on X on Thursday, Kelly also blasted the billionaire claiming he still doesn't get it. 'Supporting our allies and defending democracy makes our country safer,' the senator wrote. 'What youre doing, firing veterans and attacking Social Security, that only serves you and your billionaire friends looking for a tax cut,' he added. Kelly also had a blistering reaction after Musk first went after him for his trip. 'He's not a serious guy. He should go back to building rockets,' the retired NASA astronaut told reporters on Capitol Hill when asked about the billionaire's online attack. The Arizona lawmaker has been a vocal advocate for negotiating an end to the war that has raged since 2022, but he has also warned that Russia needs to walk away knowing it cannot invade another country again without consequences. President Donald Trump summed up in two words why the U.S. needs to take over Greenland as he made clear it is going to happen. Trump said the U.S. has to acquire the northern island to preserve 'world peace.' He made his comments as Vice President J.D. Vance was on a trip to the Danish territory on Friday. Vance and his wife Usha are visiting the Pituffik Space Base, after the second lady's plan to watch a dog-sledding race got scrapped. 'We need Greenland,' Trump said in the Oval Office. 'Very importantly, for international security, we have to have Greenland. It's not a question of, "Do you think we can do without it?" We can't.' Danish leaders have repeatedly said that Greenland isn't for sale, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declaring the United States should respect the territory's sovereignty. But Trump said: 'If you look at Greenland right now, if you look at the waterways, you have Chinese and Russian ships all over the place, and we're not going to be able to do that. We're not relying on Denmark or anybody else to take care of that situation. He added: 'And we're not talking about peace for the United States. We're talking about world peace. We're talking about international security. And right now you look at it, you have warships all over the place going through, right along Greenland.' He said the United States was 'not going to let that happen.' President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. needed to acquire Greenland, which is a territory of NATO ally Denmark, in order to achieve 'world peace' Vice President J.D. Vance took a day trip to the Danish territory on Friday, visiting Pituffik Space Base with his wife Usha 'Or if it's going to happen, we have to be protective of our country. And more important, really, protection, not only for our country, of the world,' the president continued. He said Greenland was 'very important in modern day weaponry,' more so than 100 years ago. Part of the reason is due to climate change, which has made traversing the Arctic easier. Trump pointed out that there are now more 'water roadways.' 'Some of those areas are opening up and they're opening up - ice breakers out there - they're opening up and by just nature, they're opening up and they're headed right into China, right into Russia,' the president said. 'And we have no choice,' he reiterated. The president's infatuation with acquiring Greenland from Denmark started back in his first term - but was renewed during the 2024 transition. During that time period, Donald Trump Jr. made a trip to the island - the world's largest. Vice President J.D. Vance tours the U.S. military's Pituffik Space Base on Friday as President Donald Trump continued to say that the U.S. needed to acquire the Danish territory Vice President J.D. Vance and Usha Vance made a day trip to Greenland on Friday. Houses are photographed in the town of Nuuk, Greenland Vice President J.D. Vance (left) and his wife Usha (right) depart Greenland after spending several hours touring the Pituffik Space Base on Friday His visit was considered one being made by a private citizen and he didn't meet with any members of the government while there. The Vances' trip is being made in an official capacity. 'The answer is, he's there with his beautiful wife, Usha. They're there right now,' Trump said about the trip. 'They landed a couple of hours ago and they will represent us well.' He had been asked if the U.S. planned to bolster its military presence on the island. 'But Greenland is very important for the peace of the world, not us, the peace of the entire world,' Trump said. 'And I think Denmark understands it. I think the European Union understands it. And if they don't, we're going to have to explain it to them.' Vance and his wife Usha visited the Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland where it was -3 degrees Fahrenheit when they landed. 'Its cold as s**t here. Nobody told me,' Vance said to US troops shortly after landing, prompting laughs in the audience. Vance and his wife Usha were seen today jetting off for the Greenland visit Danish leaders have repeatedly condemned Trump and the United States for expressing interest in Greenland. But Vance had sharp criticism for Denmark for their failures to secure the region. 'This has to happen, and the reason, I hate to say it, is because our friends in Denmark have not done their job in keeping this area safe,' he said. 'Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe,' he added. During his visit, Vance was asked about the president's desire to acquire Greenland. 'Well, the president said we have to have Greenland, and I think that we do have to be more serious about the security of Greenland,' he said. 'We cannot just ignore this place, we can't just ignore the president's desires, but most importantly, we can't ignore what I said earlier, which is the Russian and Chinese encouragement in Greenland.' 'Our message is very simple,' he continued. 'Yes the people of Greenland are going to have self determination, we hope they choose to partner with the United States because we're the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and security.' The Vice President and the second lady eat with soldiers at the Pituffik Space Base The Vice President did not speak to the waiting cameras as he arrived on the island, instead entering an armored vehicle briefly after disembarking from Air Force Two. Speaking to US troops at the base, he said it was a 'pretty cool thing' to be the first Vice President to ever visit Greenland. He added: 'The mission is really important, the Trump administration is really interested in Arctic security. 'It's a big issue and it's only going to get bigger over the coming decades. 'As you've heard, we have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration, so we're gonna talk a little bit about that with our friends in the media.' Vance and Usha are being accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz - who recently admitted 'full responsibility' for accidentally adding a journalist to a group chat of senior officials discussing planned airstrikes in Yemen. Also on the trip are Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife. But the trip is viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation as Trump bids to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory. The Vice President did not speak to the waiting cameras as he arrived on the island Usha was to travel alone to Greenland with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut Speaking to US troops at the base, he said it was a 'pretty cool thing' to be the first Vice President to ever visit Greenland Vance and his wife Usha were seen today jetting off for the Greenland visit Extra police drafted in to monitor the planned protests Initially, Usha was to travel alone to Greenland with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut - but the visit was canceled and replaced with the military base tour instead after her team could not find locals willing to meet her. Greenlanders also made clear that they would protest her presence at the event. Trump has insisted the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security, and has refused to rule out the use of force to get it. Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted the United States will not get Greenland. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has denounced US plans to visit the Arctic island uninvited - for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society - as 'unacceptable pressure' on Greenland and Denmark. This morning she said the 'whole situation of coming to visit when there is no government in place is not showing respect for an ally.' She added: 'It's a shame, but now we have a government that needs to put on its work clothes.' After three long years of tireless searching and unwavering hope, a North Carolina couple's journey to finding their missing dog ended in a heartwarming reunion. Jonathan Shearin and his wife had been searching for their beloved canine companion, Kaz, for about three years, after he broke loose and escaped their home in Louisburg. Though heartbroken, the distraught couple 'never gave up hope' while searching for their lost pet, even turning to social media to share his story, hoping to bring him back home. About three months ago, the long-haired, tan-and-black Husky was spotted near the town of Spring Hope - 18 miles from the Shearin family home - but was unable to be corralled. Still on the run, the elusive dog was spotted once again on March 19, as a worried passer-by notified Rocky Mount officials about a pup they believed to be injured. The canine, later identified as Kaz, was eventually brought into a nearby shelter where staff determined he was 'dirty but otherwise OK,' according to officials. While at the shelter, 'Kaz quickly became a shelter favorite,' Derek Barnhill, City of Rocky Mount Animal Control Supervisor, told McClatchy News. Jonathan Shearin and his wife (pictured) had been searching for their beloved canine companion, Kaz, for about three years, after he broke loose and escaped their home in Louisburg About three months ago, the long-haired, tan-and-black Husky was spotted near the town of Spring Hope - 18 miles from the Shearin family home - but was unable to be corralled 'He is affectionate yet curious and always made his presence known. His energetic and friendly demeanor earned him plenty of attention from staff, which he eagerly welcomed,' Barnhill added. However, Kaz's shelter stay was short-lived as the Shearin's unrelenting online search finally led them to their long-lost furred-friend. 'For all this time, his family never stopped searching,' the Rocky Mount Police Department wrote on Tuesday in a celebratory Facebook post. 'Just last Friday, a miracle happened - Mr. Jonathan Shearin and his wife recognized Kaz on our Petfinder page and reached out to us right away,' the post continued. It was finally time for Kaz to be reunited with his loved ones. 'For us at the Rocky Mount Animal Services Unit, this experience served as a powerful reminder of why we do this job,' Barnhill said. 'Witnessing the reunion of a pet and their family, especially after years apart, is a truly heartwarming moment.' Barnhill suspects it was Kaz's Husky-like instincts that allowed him to escape three years ago, however it is unclear how the animal truly broke loose. 'Huskies are well known for their intelligence, high energy levels, and independent nature, often earning the reputation of being "escape artists,"' Barnhill said. Kaz is now settling back into his home in Louisburg, a roughly 30-mile drive northeast from Raleigh and about 35 miles from where their he eventually ended up in Rocky Mount. Pictured: The Shearin's alongside members of the Rocky Mount Police and staff at the Rocky Mount Animal Shelter 'For all this time, his family never stopped searching,' the Rocky Mount Police Department wrote on Tuesday in a celebratory Facebook post 'These traits can lead them to find creative ways to leave their homes and wander. In Kaz's case, this is exactly what happened.' The animal control specialist added that it is 'rare' to see reunions like this after so much time has passed. 'My team and I were overwhelmed with joy,' he said, adding, 'while we reunite animals with their owners daily, it is rare to see a reunion after such a long period.' Kaz is now settling back into his home in Louisburg, a roughly 30-mile drive northeast from Raleigh and about 35 miles from where their he eventually ended up in Rocky Mount. Germany is secretly forming an alliance of European countries that will turn away asylum seekers at their borders, it has been reported. Friedrich Merz, the country's next chancellor, has begun informal talks with neighbours France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, according to The Telegraph. While precise details of the plan remain unclear, Merz is under pressure to cut the number of refugee arrivals into Germany. Concerns about immigration have been pushed to the forefront of German politics, heightened by a series of attacks carried out by Islamists and the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The AfD polled 20.8 per cent in the February elections, making them the second largest party in German. Ahead of the elections in February, Merz, 69, the leader of the victorious Christian Democratic Union (CDU), promised to stop all illegal migration at Germany's land borders. While the new policy is still being worked out, he is said to have been strongly influenced by an initiative presented by Polish prime minister Donald Tusk in January. In a speech upon taking the reins of the EU council, Tusk called illegal immigration 'a threat to the security and territorial integrity of the entire union' and suggested the need to use 'all available leverage' to force nations external to the US to take back their citizens. Incoming German chancellor Friedrich Merz is under pressure to cut the number of refugee arrivals into Germany Merz insisted he would close Germany's borders to all asylum seekers as one of his first acts in office after two people, including a two-year-old girl, were stabbed to death by an Afghan migrant, Enamullah O. (pictured) in a park in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria in January 2025 Your browser does not support iframes. In January an Afghan asylum seeker stabbed a two-year-old boy of Moroccan origin and a passerby to death in a German park. Enamullah O., 28, was arrested near the scene after attacking a group of children in a park in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria. Two people were killed and three injured, police said. The adult victim, a 41-year-old German, died while intervening to try to shield the children in Schoental Park from the kitchen knife-wielding attacker. Following the attack, the German chancellor-in-waiting insisted he would close Germany's borders to all asylum seekers as one of his first acts in office. However the CDU is currenly locked in ongoing coalition talks with the third-placed Social Democratic Party (SDP),who are reluctant to greenlight the indiscriminate expulsion of migrants at the border. The SDP have so far only agreed to refuse entry to migrants 'in agreement with' Germany's direct European neighbours. Merz now faces a challenge to get an agreement in place before he is officially named as chancelleor. A new poll this week by INSA puts the AfD on 23.5 per cent, an all-time high, and suggests they are rapidly closing in on Merz's conservatives who are on 27 per cent. A new poll this week by INSA puts the hard-right AfD, led by Alice Weidel (pictured), on 23.5 per cent, an all-time high, suggesting they are rapidly closing in on Merz's conservative CDU A long line of migrants walks across Petit-Fort-Philippe Beach on January 2025 as they prepare to attempt the journey to the UK Another small migrant boat prepares to depart from Petit-Fort-Philippe Beach in Gravelines, France, and head towards United Kingdom on January 17, 2025 The spike in the AfD's support comes on the back of Merz negotiating the largest ever debt package in the country's modern history in order to fund a rise in defence spending, which the AfD called 'the biggest deception in post-war history'. Berlin has argued that the EU Dublin Regulation, which states that each nation is individually responsible for examining an asylum application made by a third-country national, has ceased to be enforced by some member states. Germany has introduced spot checks at its borders but the 'secret plans' would go significantly further than those currently in place. Nevertheless there is scepticism among many diplomats about whether Germany's EU neighbours will accept Berlin's latest plans. Austria has threatened to refuse to accept immigrants turned away at the German border, a state of affairs which would lead to a fully-blown migration crisis within the EU if it comes to pass. A European diplomat said: 'This is a framing exercise by the CDU for core voters after having given in so much no real merit in it so far. If they do it, it'll be fantastic news for the UK and everyone near Germany. They will be stopping everyone.' The envoy joked: 'It will be bad news for Reform UK though because their main talking point will then be solved by the German chancellor'. This is the incredible moment a British tourist chased down and tackled a knifeman after he stabbed five people in Amsterdam. Dramatic CCTV footage shows the man sprinting through a narrow street in pursuit of the attacker yesterday afternoon. The tourist, since dubbed the 'hero of the Dam', then pinned down the suspect with his knee to prevent him from carrying out any further assaults. Five people, including two Americans, were injured in the horrific knife rampage near the historic Dam Central Square on Thursday. Eyewitnesses spoke of seeing a 'knife of at least 10 centimetres sticking out' of a girl's back, between her shoulders. The British man was this afternoon recognised for his bravery by the mayor of Amsterdam, who gave him an award for his 'heroic' actions. In a message on Instagram, mayor Femke Halsema wrote: 'This afternoon I will talk to the citizen who managed to overpower the suspect. To hear his story and to be able to thank him for his heroic act. 'He is a very modest man,' she added in an interview with Dutch TV channel AT5. 'He has no desire to become famous. He is now mainly concerned with the victims, he feels responsible for them.' This is the incredible moment a British tourist chased down and tackled a knifeman after he stabbed five people in Amsterdam The heroic Brit is seen pinning the knifeman to the floor in dramatic footage Dramatic footage showed the individual pinning down the attacker and restraining him from any further assaults on the busy street Earlier today, police revealed that the suspect used multiple knives during the horrific attack and that he chose his victims at random. But they have so far have declined to give any indication as to a motive for the stabbings, saying their investigation is still under way. Witnesses said that the attacker was overwhelmed by bystanders before officers arrived on the scene. The suspect, who has been arrested, was subsequently taken to hospital with a leg injury. Local reports claim the man who tackled him spoke English and was believed to be British, but police have not confirmed where he is from. A spokesperson for the Amsterdam force praised his actions as 'heroic', according to De Telegraaf. A police spokesman also told AD: 'He did a great job. 'We're very proud of him, but we also want to point out that you need to be very careful if you want to make a citizen's arrest. Most people are not trained for this sort of thing.' Maarten Brinkm, head of the ACP police union, said: 'A big thumbs-up for the decisive action of this hero. The knife rampage near the historic Dam Central Square left five injured, including two Americans yesterday afternoon Police officers gather not far from the area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam Police officers stand behind a cordoned off area after the stabbing near Dam Square Police cordoned off a large area around the Royal Palace in the central Dam Square to allow an emergency helicopter to land 'The heroic citizen can count on massive praise.' His actions sparked waves of praise on social media, with one comment saying: 'Respect for this man. We need more heroes like this. 'A true hero, despite the chaos this man managed to hold the attacker down until the police arrived.' Another said: 'Hero, this man deserves a medal!' The suspect was tackled to the ground outside the Febo fast food restaurant, according to reports. An employee told The Independent: 'Apparently some guy kicked him and broke his ankle. He got kicked down [by some bystanders] because he tried to run away. 'I think somebody kicked him in the face as well. It sounds like it was well deserved.' President Donald Trump offered warm words against Canada's new prime minister even as the two sides continue to trade threats after Trump announced new tariffs on auto imports. Trump cited a 'very good conversation' with Canadian PM Mark Carney, who said Thursday that the 'old relationship' with the U.S. 'is over.' Trump on Friday morning wrote that the two men held an 'extremely productive call' and that 'we agree on many things.' That was a turnaround from many of his posts about former PM Justin Trudeau, who Trump frequently mocked as 'governor' amid his repeated public statements about making Canada the 51st state. Trump didn't even mention absorbing the U.S. northern neighbor when asked about the latest tariff spat Friday afternoon. 'We had a very, very good talk,' he said, citing his morning phone call with the prime minister. 'He's going through an election now, and we'll see what happens. But we are we have Liberation Day, as you know, on April 2,' Trump said using his phrase for the day he will impose 'reciprocal' tariffs on nations around the world. 'And I'm not referring to Canada, but many countries have taken advantage of us, the likes of which nobody even thought was possible for many, many decades, for decades. And you know, that has to stop. We're going to end up with a very good relationship with Canada and a lot of the other countries,' Trump said. 'We're going to end up with a very good relationship with Canada and a lot of the other countries,' Trump said, hours after a phone call with the new Canadian PM. He issued an order to slap a 25% tariff on auto imports Wednesday Those comments appeared to carve out Canada from taking 'advantage' of the U.S. That, too, is a change from previous rhetoric. Last week, Trump said: 'Heres my problem with Canada Canada was meant to be the 51st state We dont need their cars. We dont need their lumber We dont need their energy. We dont need anything.' Trump on Thursday slapped 25 percent tariffs on car and light truck imports. That prompted statements from Carney to hit back with trade actions. Trump said the tariffs won't go into effect until April 2, in theory providing an opportunity to roll them back. Speaking on a trip to Greenland, a territory that Trump said the U.S. must have, Vice President J.D. Vance was asked about how Americans should respond amid the anticipated spike in auto prices. 'We have to have it,' Trump said. Vance, a former Ohio senator, used the same language Trump used when he berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. 'They just don't have the cards,' Vance said. 'That means we're going to fight back even against some of our friends and their unfair economic practices,' he said. Separating auto 'imports' from domestic vehicles is challenging, with parts going in both directions across the borders between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in a continental supply chain. The U.S. automakers lobbied against the tariffs and secured a one-month pause from Trump before his announcement this week. 'The Prime Minister informed the President that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy, following the announcement of additional U.S. trade actions on April 2, 2025,' Carney's office said in a statement. Carney's Liberal Party has seen its fortunes improve amid the trade clashes with Trump. Canadian hockey fans have even booed during the National Anthem during hockey games. Labour is powerless to prevent 'two-tier justice' measures coming into force next week after ministers were defied by the Sentencing Council. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was 'disappointed' with the independent body's decision to press ahead with guidelines which will give minorities special treatment in the courts. The measures, which take effect on Tuesday, recommend all ethnic minorities and transgender people convicted of a crime should be treated differently by judges and magistrates after being convicted of a crime. Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood was left embarrassed by her own quango after asking it to 'reconsider the imposition of this guideline as soon as possible'. The Prime Minister said: 'The Lord Chancellor is obviously continuing to engage on this, and we're considering our response. 'All options are on the table, but I'm disappointed at this outcome, and now we will have to consider what we do as a result.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was 'disappointed' after the Sentencing Council refused to back down from its controversial 'two-tier justice' measures in the courts Asked whether it was accepted that Ms Mahmood had been humiliated, a No10 spokesman said: 'No, she has been in dialogue with the Sentencing Council throughout, she has made her views clear. 'As she said, all options remain on the table, and that includes legislating if necessary.' The No10 spokesman said Ms Mahmood was 'considering a range of options, and that includes reviewing the roles and responsibility of the Sentencing Council'. However, Labour has already blocked new legislation drawn up by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick which would have solved the problem by granting ministers a veto over the Council's guidelines. Mr Jenrick said: 'Shabana Mahmood has been humiliated by the Sentencing Council. 'In three days' time we will have two-tier sentencing because of her and 'Two-Tier Keir'. 'It is shameful they sat on their hands and chose not to legislate to prevent two-tier justice.' Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood had asked the quango to 'reconsider' the guidelines, which will require ethnic minorities, transgender people and others to be treated differently after being convicted of a crime Chairman of the Sentencing Council, Lord Justice William Davis, wrote to Shabana Mahmood to say the controversial guidelines 'did not require revision' Ms Mahmood had previously expressed her 'displeasure' at the Council's measures moves and said they amounted to 'differential treatment'. She asked it to 'reconsider the imposition of this guideline as soon as possible' but was rebuffed, with Council chairman, Lord Justice William Davis, telling her: 'I do not accept the premise of your objection.' In a new letter to Ms Mahmood, published today, Sir William said it will instead clarify language in the new guidelines. Sir William added: 'The Council concluded that the guideline did not require revision. 'The Council respectfully disagreed with the proposition that the list of cohorts in the guideline represented an expression of policy. 'In providing a list of cohorts, the Council was and is only concerned with judges and magistrates being provided with as much information as possible.' Ms Mahmood responded: 'I have been clear in my view that these guidelines represent differential treatment, under which someone's outcomes may be influenced by their race, culture or religion. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said Ms Mahmood had been left 'humiliated' and blasted her for overturning his own proposals - published last week - to give ministers a veto over the Sentencing Council's work 'This is unacceptable, and I formally set out my objections to this in a letter to the Sentencing Council last week. 'I am extremely disappointed by the council's response. All options are on the table and I will legislate if necessary.' The new rules say it must 'normally be considered necessary' for the courts to commission a 'pre-sentence report' about criminals if they come from 'an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community'. They also include a long list of other 'minority' criminals to be covered by the measures, including transgender people, young adults and addicts. It should also apply to all women offenders, they add. Pre-sentence reports often set out reasons why a jail sentence would be detrimental for an offender, and Mr Jenrick has said it would 'make a custodial sentence less likely'. David Spencer, head of crime and justice at the think-tank Policy Exchange, said: 'The Sentencing Council's refusal to change their position is remarkable and yet another example of how too many arm's length bodies have been given the power to set policy and frustrate the will of the elected Government. 'By defending prioritising pre-sentence reports for ethnic minority criminals the chairman of the Sentencing Council is entrenching two-tier justice within our court system. 'The Lord Chancellor has rightly said she will, if necessary, legislate to overturn this she should do so without delay.' Earlier this week it was warned separate guidelines by the Council risk 'blowing a hole' in Britain's border controls by watering down punishments for illegal immigration offences. Mr Jenrick said the proposals will lead to hundreds of illegal immigrants a year being handed far weaker punishments than those approved by Parliament. A Texas pastor is under fire after he unleashed a shocking tirade on an 'ungodly' woman running for school superintendent. Houston-based pastor Doug Harris boldly criticized Deer Park Independent School District's lone finalist for the school superintendent position, Tiffany Regan, calling the long-time educator 'ungodly' and 'immoral,' during a March 16 sermon. Just two days after the district announced Regan - who has worked in the district since 1995 - as the position's lone finalist, the scorned pastor said her 'sexually immoral' lifestyle has 'corrupted her worldview.' The religious leader added that Regan's appointment to the top-ranking position could send the district 'down a slippery slope.' 'When you live a lifestyle of sexual immorality and that is your corrupted worldview, everything that you do stems out of the worldview of which you have,' Harris said during the sermon. 'Which means it will only be a matter of time before the wokeism and the (liberalism) and the sexual immorality begins to be pushed at a fast pace in our district,' he added. While Harris commended Regan - who most recently served as the district's assistant superintendent - on her credentials, he noted it wasn't her qualifications that he takes issue with, but rather her 'morality.' Houston-based pastor Doug Harris (right) boldly criticized Deer Park Independent School District's lone finalist for the school superintendent position, Tiffany Regan, calling the long-time educator 'ungodly' and 'immoral,' during a March 16 sermon Tiffany Regan (pictured) has worked in the Deer Park Independent School District since 1995, serving most recently as the district's assistant superintendent 'Truth be told, she has a lot of great experience and she is well-educated,' Harris said, adding, 'the difficulty is in her morality. She lives a lifestyle that is ungodly and immoral.' Harris said that his comments were not intended to 'destroy' the soon-to-be school leader, but that he hoped his words would encourage her to 'repent of her sins.' 'And that if she would, and she would change her morality to that which we find rooted in scripture about human sexuality, in that case, she would be a phenomenal superintendent,' Harris said. The pastor's comments during the scathing sermon were met with sparse claps from the congregation, a video of the religious address shows. The pastor's shocking 'warning' has also received aggressive opposition from community members on social media as a Change.org petition calling on Harris to apologize has amassed over 2,000 signatures. 'This is not about policy. This is not about performance,' the petition states. 'This is targeted, identity-based discrimination against a public servant.' 'Dr. Regan is a Deer Park graduate, a longtime teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent. She has earned this opportunity through decades of service - not in spite of who she is, but because of her dedication to education, students, and community,' the petition, created on March 22, adds. Regan is also receiving support from the president of the Pasadena Educators Association, Angela Garcia. The religious leader added that Regan's appointment to the top-ranking position could send the district 'down a slippery slope.' Pictured: Deer Park Independent School District's Education Support Center in Deer Park, Texas Harris (pictured) said that his comments were not intended to 'destroy' the soon-to-be school leader, but that he hoped his words would encourage her to 'repent of her sins' The pastor's shocking 'warning' has also received aggressive opposition from community members on social media as a Change.org petition calling on Harris to apologize has amassed over 2,000 signatures. Pictured: Graphic art accompanying the online petition which was created on March 22 'It's just hard for me to understand how people can be so hateful to someone that's really doing their best to guide our children and our school district in the direction that it needs to go,' Garcia, whose two children were taught by Regan when she worked at Deer Park Junior High School, told ABC13. Deer Park ISD school board president Jason Cable said in a statement on Tuesday that Regan's selection as the superintendent finalist was 'based on her proven leadership, experience in education, and dedication to student success - the core qualifications required for this role.' The school board president also said the district adheres to state and federal employment laws that prohibit discrimination based on personal characteristics unrelated to job performance. 'I recognize that there are differing perspectives within our community, and the engagement and passion of those invested in our schools is appreciated,' Cable said. 'However, the board will remain steadfast in our commitment to making decisions rooted in qualifications, integrity, and what is best for our students and district.' 'The district has a 95-year tradition of choosing strong instructional leaders, and more often than not, they were already part of our team,' Cable wrote in a March 14 statement naming Regan as the sole finalist. 'On behalf of the school board, I'm pleased to say that Dr. Regan continues that tradition, and we are confident that she is the right person to lead us into the future.' The board is set to name Regan as the district's new superintendent on April 4, following a 21-day waiting period during which the community can offer feedback. Lawyers for a death row prisoner in Florida have filed a last-ditch effort to prevent his execution, citing that his weight would complicate the lethal injection procedure. Michael Tanzi, 48, was sentenced to death in 2003 for the murder of Janet Acosta in 2000, and after over two decades of serving time, Governor Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant. However, Tanzi's lawyers filed a brief on Monday stating that he was 'morbidly obese' and suffers from a nerve condition called sciatica. His lawyers argued that due to his obesity, the state's three-drug lethal injection could potentially cause Tanzi 'serious illness and needless suffering.' The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution prevents cruel or unusual punishments and Tanzi's representation claimed that his weight may prevent the drugs from taking full effect, leaving him paralyzed. The brief detailed that the drugs may not be able to fully sedate Tanzi and he would be left 'paralyzed but aware' with a 'sensation of being burned from the inside.' The Attorney General's office filed a brief on Wednesday refuting Tanzi's claims, slamming his lawyers for waiting until his death warrant was signed to argue cruel and unusual punishment. 'Tanzi fails to offer any support for his groundless assertion that the massive dose of etomidate, that has been repeatedly and successfully used in Florida's lethal injection protocol, will not work for him,' the Attorney General's office argued. Lawyers for Michael Tanzi, 48, have filed a brief arguing that his execution is 'cruel and unusual punishment' because of his weight Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Tanzi's execution in March that is scheduled for April 8 Florida has a three-drug lethal injection used to kill prisoners on death row. Tanzi's lawyers argued that his weight would complicate the procedure The state added that Tanzi has 'long known of his general medical condition, heavy weight, and asserted back issues,' and that the current injection procedure has existed since 2017. 'Tanzi fails to offer any support for his groundless assertion that the massive dose of etomidate, that has been repeatedly and successfully used in Floridas lethal injection protocol, will not work for him,' the brief added. A county circuit judge rejected Tanzi's ask to halt his execution, so his lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court. DeSantis signed Tanzi's death warrant on March 10, and his execution is scheduled for April 8, barring it isn't halted. Tanzi was arrested almost 25 years ago on April 25, 2000, when he assaulted Janet Acosta, who was eating in her car on a lunch break, according to court documents. He approached her vehicle to ask for a cigarette and then repeatedly punched her in the face and forced himself in her car. Tanzi then threatened her with a razorblade and drove her car from Miami to Homestead, which is about an hour drive. He sexually assaulted her, stole her money and credit cards, and then drove to an isolated area to kill her. Tanzi was sentenced to death in 2003 for the brutal murder of Janet Acosta in 2000 The state argued that Tanzi's lawyers have known about his weight and the lethal injection procedures Tanzi put duct tape on her mouth, strangled her, and left her body in a wooded area. He then drove to Key West and Acosta's friends eventually reported her missing. Police located him when they discovered he was driving Acosta's car and he confessed. He was charged with first-degree murder, carjacking with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, and armed robbery. Tanzi was sentenced to death three years later. He filed an appeal in 2005, but his death sentence was affirmed in 2007. He still filed a motion for a rehearing which was denied. Despite multiple motions since his death sentence has remained. A Texas man who lost his leg while working as a translator in Afghanistan was found dead in his office. The body of Abdul Rahman Niazi, 34, of Houston, was found on Wednesday around 6pm by his colleagues at his office on Harwin Drive, according to KHOU 11. They went looking for him after he missed an appointment, Houston Police said. Niazi, a father-of-five, was found with more than 20 stab wounds in his stomach, chest, back, and neck, the local outlet said. Masiullah Sahil, 37, was arrested for his murder and admitted to stabbing Niazi to the victim's wife, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing court records. His bond has been set at $750,000, according to KHOU 11. The father-of-five was a double amputee and lost his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan while serving as a translator for the US military, his family said, according to KHOU 11 and ABC 13. He moved to the US after the attack. He was working in Houston to help the local Afghan community there, the outlet said. The body of Abdul Rahman Niazi, 34, of Houston, (pictured with his children) was found on Wednesday around 6pm by his colleagues at his office on Harwin Drive. They went looking for him after he missed an appointment Masiullah Sahil, 37, was arrested for his murder and admitted to stabbing Niazi to the victim's wife Sahil, a ride-share driver, allegedly stabbed Niazi in a bout of frustration as his refugee status was taking a while to be approved, according to KHOU 11. Security footage showed Sahil on the property the day of the murder, The Chronicle said. When he exited the building, he was allegedly covered in blood. During his arrest, he was found with the businessman's phone, the outlet said. Family and friends remember him as being a 'very devoted father [and] husband' and for being a 'kind-hearted person.' 'Niazi was more than a man; he was a pillar of our community. With kindness, integrity, and unwavering loyalty, he devoted his life to helping Afghan refugees in Houston, ensuring they found safety, support, and hope,' a GoFundMe said. He leaves behind five children who are all under 10 and a wife, the fundraiser, which has garnered $61,000, said. 'Their pain is unimaginable, and their future is uncertain,' it said. 'We cannot bring him back, but we can stand by his family in their time of desperate need.' Sahil is expected back in court on Monday. The father-of-five was a double amputee and lost his legs in Afghanistan while serving as a translator for the US military Family and friends remember him as being a 'very devoted father [and] husband' and for being a 'kind-hearted person' Afghan refugees and immigrant populations have risen in the last decade in the US. Between 2010 and 2022, the population nearly quadrupled to 195,000, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The majority of Afghan immigrants have settled in California, Texas, Virginia, and New York. Roughly 10 percent of them went to the Lone Star State, the institute found. The majority went to California. Seventy-two percent of Afghan immigrants came to the US after 2010, especially after the US withdrew from the Middle Eastern country. A transgender teenager who discussed carrying out a mass shooting at his school has been locked up after a judge rejected pleas to spare him jail. The boy idolised those behind the 1999 Colombine High School massacre in Colorado, which saw 12 students and a teacher murdered. He repeatedly spoke about doing the same at his own Edinburgh secondary, describing the Doomsday when he would clear it out. A police investigation was sparked in the summer of 2023 after a social media photo of him at school in full combat gear with an imitation gun caused panic among pupils and parents. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, previously plead guilty to a breach of the peace and a charge under the Terrorism Act. On Friday, he appeared for sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow, where his defence lawyer asked the judge to hand him a rigorous and lengthy community sentence. His defence KC Shelagh McCall previously asked the fact that the teenager is a transgender person to be taken into account. But judge Lord Arthurson refused her request, saying there are too many red flags surrounding the boys behaviour. A SWAT team march to Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in 1999 School shooter Dylan Klebold practices shooting a gun at a makeshift shooting range He instead refused bail and ordered an independent risk assessment. He said: The red flags in these matters cause me significant concern and I am not satisfied about the route asked for by senior counsel. I take a serious view of the gravity of the circumstances and I will adjourn for the preparation of a specific independent risk assessment. The court previously heard how the teenager spoke to his peers about school shootings in America, plans to place bombs in his own school and using a 3D printer to make a gun. Prosecutor Greg Farrell said that on June 20 2023, the boy had turned up at school wearing boots as well as cargo trousers and had brought with him a military tactical vest and helmet. Mr Farrell: He was later seen at the school carrying an imitation firearm while wearing the vest and helmet. A photograph was circulated on social media. It was taken and published without his knowledge. The image provoked a considerable degree of fear and alarm among pupils and parents. Police were advised by a parent who saw the image. Officers went on to discover that the boy had a TikTok account which had footage of him in black combat clothes as well as a skeleton mask. Mr Farrell added: One piece of commentary referenced school shootings. It emerged the vest and helmet were part of a costume for a short film he had been involved in for a drama class. Police, however, went on take statements from other pupils who knew the boy. Mr Farrell said: They provided information that the boy had exhibited a variety of alarming behaviours over a period of time. One girl said he idolised school shooters in America including those who carried out the Colombine massacre and would copy how they dressed. Mr Farrell: In November 2022, he told her how he would go about carrying out a school attack. He explained that he would start on the second floor and that he would clear it out using guns. He would then move downstairs continuing to shoot until police arrived, at which point he would turn the gun on himself. The boy described a possible mass shooting at his school as Doomsday, would occur on April Fools Day or his last day of sixth year. Mr Farrell added: He spoke about setting up trip wires at fire exits and of placing pipe bombs at the school. The boy told other classmates he would buy a 3D printer to help construct a firearm, that he would place a bomb in every second classroom and that he wanted to get a job in a gun shop and steal firearm parts one by one. His phone was described as being full of photos and videos of shootings as well as others of Hitler and Nazi Germany. A number of his electronic devices were seized. There were various files on a mobile phone including about homemade firearms and poisons. The court heard he had 65 videos of Columbine and a journal in which he fantasised about shooting and bombing. The hearing was told the boy had previously been referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme in 2022 and 2023 due to concerns. Miss McCall told the court that the boy was taught about mass shootings in America during his modern studies classes. She said a professor who assessed her client said there was a serious link between his autism and the behaviour at the time. She added that it was his autism rather than radicalisation which led to his topics of interest and that her client has made a marked improvement. She said: He has expressed regret and recognises that he didnt previously appreciate how his behaviour was impacting on others. The matter will call again in June at the High Court in Kilmarnock. The world's richest man, and Donald Trump's best friend, Elon Musk is offering millions of dollars to Wisconsin residents who champion his latest political cause. 'On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin,' Musk posted on his X app Friday. 'Entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges,' he noted, mentioning a petition from his political action committee, America PAC. The 'Petition in Opposition to Activist Judges' advocates for judges to 'interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas.' 'By signing below, I'm rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its roleinterpreting, not legislating,' the Musk-funded effort states. Musk's bid to garner support for his PAC's petition comes as a race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court heats up. The election, which will be held Tuesday, will sway the makeup of the court, which will soon be responsible for redistricting the states. Whatever party wins the state's supreme court race will almost certainly get a more favorable congressional map in the midterms, so Musk is dishing out millions to Wisconsinites in hopes to keep the state red. 'I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition,' the Tesla CEO wrote. Elon Musk's America PAC handed out checks for $1 million before the November 2024 election Musk has been working to keep Wisconsin republican in hopes that Congress will not switch to Democratic control in the 2026 midterms Earlier in the day, just after midnight on Friday, the X owner published a similar post saying the weekend event will be 'limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election.' However, his late night post quickly garnered backlash as Democrats and legal analysts slammed the bid as buying votes. The Wisconsin Democratic party Chair Ben Wikler released a statement calling Musk's original post 'a blatant felony by offering money for votes.' 'Elon Musk should be brought to justice of his illegal attempt to buy votes,' Wikler's statement continued. Musk has already spent over $20 million to support Republican Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel, the Wisconsin Democratic party claimed. A liberal judge on the bench is retiring. 'Musk: The Democrats are stealing the election! Also Musk: Ill pay you a million bucks to vote for my candidate! The hypocrisy is wild,' Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist and former Kamala Harris advisor wrote on X. Even with Musk's change of phrasing the billionaire's offer for millions may still be illegal, some legal minds argue. 'Conditioning entry to this event and eligibility for the $1 million payout on whether someone has voted may violate Wisconsin law,' Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance lawyer wrote of the giveaway on X. Before the 2024 election America PAC giveaway checks to individuals who signed a petition in support of the First Amendment Musk has dished out hundreds of millions of dollars to his America PAC since spring 2024 'The law prohibits offering or giving anything of value to induce a person to vote,' he continued. 'Extending this offer now might unlawfully induce Wisconsinites who have not already voted to cast a ballot.' But the Tesla CEO has already announced a winner in Wisconsin. Earlier this week, Musk announced a Green Bay man won $1 million for participating in America PAC's efforts, though it was not clear who determined the winner. Musk's multi-million dollar giveaway will not be his first. Before the 2024 election, America PAC giveaway checks to individuals who signed a petition in support of the First Amendment. Since launching his PAC in spring 2024, Musk has poured hundreds of millions of his own cash into the group. The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is the most expensive judicial race in history, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Over $81 million has been spent so far, the previous record was $51 million, which was the amount spent in the last Wisconsin Supreme Court election two years ago. The twisted and fire-damaged remains of a US oil tanker hit by a container ship in the North Sea are to be towed to the northeast of England once more than 200,000 barrels of jet fuel are removed over the weekend. The Solong collided with the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate about 12 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire on March 10, leaving one man missing, presumed dead. Crowley, which manages the Stena Immaculate, said salvage and recovery operations are moving into the next phase. The Stena Immaculate was carrying barrels of jet fuel as part of a 70-day contract with Military Sealift Command on behalf of the Defense Logistics Agency Energy - the Pentagon entity that manages fuel for the US military. The Solong sliced through the hull of the tanker, causing thousands of litres of jet fuel to spill into the sea and forcing sailors from both vessels to abandon ship. 'During the weekend of March 29-30, operations will commence at sea to transfer the remaining 202,485 barrels of Jet-A1 cargo from the Stena Immaculate tanker to tanker Fure Vyl, which is anchored nearby,' a spokesperson said. 'This lightering operation is a standard and routine maritime practice that follows established safety protocols.' The jet fuel will then be delivered to its original destination of Killingholme, in Lincolnshire, the statement added. Salvage workers today survey the remains of the container ship which was left scorched and battered after it collided with the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate The Portuguese vessel Solong arrived in Aberdeen on Friday after being towed to the Scottish city for 'safe berthing'. The burnt and battered MV Solong is towed by tugs into Aberdeen Harbour on March 28, 2025 The Stena Immaculate will be towed to the Port of Tyne on the North East coast, near Newcastle, for further inspection expected to take place in early April. A Crowley spokesperson added: 'We continue to work with the appropriate authorities and remain committed to supporting the salvors and salvage operations with the highest possible regard for safety.' Portuguese vessel Solong arrived in Aberdeen on Friday after being towed to the Scottish city for 'safe berthing'. It was accompanied by a vessel with counter-pollution measures as it arrived at the Port of Aberdeen at around 7am on Friday. A total of 36 people were rescued from the ships following the incident but a sailor from the Solong - named as 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia - is missing and presumed dead. The Solong's captain, Vladimir Motin, 59, of St Petersburg, Russia, has appeared at Hull Magistrates' Court and at the Old Bailey charged with gross negligence manslaughter and was remanded in custody. The court heard how all 23 people on the tanker were rescued along with 13 of 14 crew members from the Solong but Mark Angelo Pernia - a 38-year-old Filipino national - could not be located. He is due to stand trial in January 2026. Smoke billows from the MV Solong cargo ship after it collided with a US oil tanker off the Yorkshire coast on March 10 Salvage works in high-vis jackets inspect the structural integrity of the cargo ship The twisted and fire-damaged hull of the MV Solong Shipping containers on the MV Solong which were damaged in the collision with the oil tanker An aerial view of three tugs steering the MV Solong into Aberdeen Harbour Your browser does not support iframes. Following the collision, thousands of plastic pellets used in plastics production, known as nurdles, were released from ruptured containers on the Solong and began washing up on beaches on the Norfolk coast, where a clean-up operation is continuing. According to conservationists, the nurdles are not toxic but can harm animals if ingested. King's Lynn and West Norfolk Council said it had begun removing the nurdles, focusing initially on the stretch of beaches between Holme-next-the-Sea and Old Hunstanton. The container ship that collided with a US tanker in the North Sea arrived in Aberdeen yesterday as part of a salvage operation. Portuguese vessel Solong was towed to a safe berthing after it crashed into the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate off the East Yorkshire coast on March 10. Rescuers saved 36 people from both ships, with one sailor from the Solong - named as Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, 38 - missing presumed dead. The Solongs captain, Vladimir Motin, 59, of St Petersburg, Russia, has appeared at the Old Bailey charged with gross negligence manslaughter and was remanded in custody. It was accompanied by a vessel with counter-pollution measures as it arrived at the Port of Aberdeen at around 7am on Friday. The Solong was still burning a week after it collided with the US fuel tanker, whose crew were praised as heroic for triggering a crucial firefighting system before abandoning ship. MV Solong is towed by tugs into Aberdeen Harbour The impact between the Solong and the US-registered tanker Stena Immaculate in the North Sea on 10 March, off East Yorkshire, caused an explosion The Solong arrives at the Port of Aberdeen for safe berthing Only one of the Stena Immaculates cargo tanks containing jet fuel was damaged, according to Crowley, the maritime company managing the ship. Chief coastguard Paddy OCallaghan said: The Solong is now safely berthed at the Port of Aberdeen where further salvage operations will be undertaken. Salvage of the Stena Immaculate continues to be progressed. This includes the transfer of its cargo to another vessel that may begin as early as this weekend. HM Coastguard continues to support local authorities in their response to onshore pollution, including plastic nurdles, in both Norfolk and Lincolnshire. HM Coastguard will continue to keep the overall situation under close review. Following the collision, thousands of plastic pellets used in plastics production, known as nurdles, were released from ruptured containers on the Solong and began washing up on beaches on the Norfolk coast, where a clean-up operation is continuing. According to conservationists, the nurdles are not toxic but can harm animals if ingested. Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Council said it had begun removing the nurdles, focusing initially on the stretch of beaches between Holme-next-the-Sea and Old Hunstanton. HM Coastguard continues to support local authorities which are leading the onshore response to pollution, including plastic nurdles, in Norfolk and Lincolnshire, Mr OCallaghan added. HM Coastguard will continue to keep the overall situation under close review. A spokesperson for Ernt Russ, the company which owns Solong, said the fire-stricken ship will be fully assessed by specialist marine assessors and insurers in Aberdeen. Motin is due to stand trial in January 2026. Donald Trump advisor Kari Lake trolled her own employees with a cryptic Friday online post telling them to check their in-boxes. On a week where RFK, Jr. said the Health and Human Services Department would lay off 10,000 workers, Lake's public message to remaining U.S. Agency for Global Media employees raised fears of even more firings, although divisions are already down to skeleton crews. The administration is taking steps to dismantle the agency, which includes Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and other entities. Lake's message came hours after U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken appeared inclined to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the firings, according to attorneys arguing the case. A group of VOA employees who were fired or put on leave filed suit in Manhattan, prompting Friday's hearing. A separate suit, by VOA's CEO Michael Abramowitz, was filed in federal court Washington, D.C. 'URGENT: Employees of USAGM please check your email for an urgent message from HR. Have a great weekend,' Lake wrote on Elon Musk's X platform. The email, obtained by DailyMail.com, turned out to be an updated version of Musk's 'fork in the road' email that offered 'deferred resignation' to 2 million federal employees. The email referenced 'significant restructuring to enhance efficiency, accountability, and performance,' and gave employees from March 28 through April 9 to decide whether to take a deal that gives them full pay and benefits through September 30th. It states that they will be 'exempt from work requirements' until then unless they choose to depart earlier. Kari Lake, a special advisor to President Trump who oversees the Agency for Global Media, posted publicly for employees to look for an 'urgent' message from HR Many of Lake's staff have already put on leave and blocked from government email, so it was unclear Friday how many people would get it. Some agency employees who had been blocked official accounts posted about it coming back on Friday. The administration is using the offers of months of pay to those who leave voluntarily, while the threat of widespread 'Reductions in Force' loom in the coming weeks. The plaintiffs claimed a win after a Manhattan court hearing, even though the pause if formalized would only be temporary. 'I am feeling optimistic. The judge said hes likely to enter a [temporary restraining order],' said attorney David Seide of the Government Accountability Project. 'Our view is that theyve acted illegally and unconstitutionally. Were asking the court to intervene to enforce the law,' he told DailyMail.com. However the judge had yet to issue the formal order Friday afternoon. 'I dont know what Kari Lake means with her tweet. Im not in her head,' lead plaintiff Patsy Widakuswara told DailyMail.com. 'In this case were optimistic about the [temporary restraining order] hearing, but well have to see what the final ruling from the judge.' Lake posted on X telling her employees to check their email for an 'urgent message' from HR Workers are suing to try to halt the Trump administration from dismantling the agency The email, obtained by DailyMail.com, offered another shot at 'deferred resignation' Plaintiffs Jessica Jerreat, Patsy Widakuswara and Steve Herman of Voice of America were in New York for a hearing on the case Widakuswara grew up in Indonesia under the authoritarian regime of Suharto regime and now finds herself 'taking the U.S. government to court to defend' press freedoms, she said. Some of her co-defendants say they risk being returned to hostile regimes now that are losing their jobs, with the clock ticking on their visas once they are formally terminated. Initially Trump's pick to run VOA, Lake is now an advisor to the umbrella global media organization, whose nominee has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. She is a Trump loyalist who lost her 2024 Senate race to Democrat Ruben Gallego. A post on the Agency for Global Media's home page picturing Lake says 'this agency is not salvageable.' DailyMail.com has reached out to the agency for comment on Lake's post and the lawsuits. Abramowitz wrote USAID employees and posted his letter on LinkedIn. 'Closing down Voice of America would be an incalculable self-inflicted wound for America and deprive the U.S. of a priceless asset,' he said. The suit by the staff members in New York, states that 'prior to March 15, 202, more than 1,200 journalists, editors, engineers and other personnel worked every day worldwide to produce and disseminate news, information, opinion and more to a global audience.' 'Today, because of Defendants' actions, there are virtually no workers performing their important public services, and USAGM produces no news, no opinion, no content at all.' It cited Congress' 'statutory mandate that VOA continuously broadcast to the world.' Two air traffic controllers traded punches when a shocking fight erupted inside the tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal. The facility is already under massive scrutiny following Januarys deadly midair collision between an American Airlines flight on final approach and an Army helicopter. And trouble flared again Thursday when a pair of on-duty tower controllers got into a blazing argument before one threw a punch at the other, a source tells us. By the time the brawling colleagues were separated, there was blood spattered over a control console, according to our insider. The tower would likely have had a supervisor and at least six or seven controllers directing air traffic at the time. The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the shocking incident. Ive heard of controllers going at it in the parking lot but this was on a whole new level, the source told DailyMail.com. That facility is out of control. People are cracking because of what happened in January. Emergency units respond after a passenger aircraft collided with a helicopter in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on January 30 Two air traffic controllers got into a physical fight inside the control tower on Thursday DailyMail.com understands that the controllers involved were not working the night American Airlines Flight 5342 slammed into the Black hawk helicopter half a mile short of runway 33. However they were almost certainly caught up in the aftermath as corpses and wreckage were retrieved from the icy Potomac River, our source explained. All 64 people on board the CRJ700 regional jet perished, along with the three-member crew of the chopper, making it the deadliest aviation accident in recent US history. There was only one controller managing traffic for both helicopters and planes at the time a job normally handled by two people because of staffing shortages at the DC-area airport, one of the Nations busiest. The people working in that tower had to sit and watch bodies being pulled out of the river. There was no way you could not see it, the source added. Leadership has not given these people enough support. They never really sent in professionals to make sure these people were okay mentally. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are yet to release their final report into the January 29 tragedy, insisting the investigation could take up to a year. But a preliminary report highlighted the dangers of commercial flights and helicopters operating in close proximity to one another above the Nations capital. From 2011 to 2024 there was at least one close call per month, NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told a Senate subcommittee Thursday. Reagan is one of the busiest airports in the country, handling more than 26 million passengers last year The controllers involved in the punch-up were not believed to have been working the night American Airlines Flight 5342 slammed into the Black hawk helicopter half a mile short of runway 33 From 2011 to 2024 there was at least one close call per month, NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told a Senate subcommittee Thursday, the same day the two controllers fought Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wanted to know why the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk wasnt transmitting ADS-B location data at the time of the collision. Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Chris Rocheleau said that would be required immediately from all helicopters, with the exception of Presidential aircraft. Something was missed at the DCA crash. I take that seriously. I take that on myself, he told the hearing. I returned to the FAA just two months ago and I care about the National Airspace System for safety and the workforce. I'm dedicated to continuing that work, and I will continue to review what I mentioned before with respect to the hot spots, working closely with NTSB to learn what happened here and to make sure it never happens again. Dailey Crafton, the brother of Casey Crafton, one of the victims of the crash, said before Thursdays hearing that he wants officials to urgently address the dangerously congested skies near Reagan National airport. Theres been so many near misses, and it took this crash for anyone to wake up and do anything about it, he told USA Today. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has pledged to follow the agencys recommendations. President Donald Trump blamed Januarys collision on DEI hiring within the FAA, issuing a Presidential memo prohibiting the regulator from promoting diversity, equity and inclusion over competence. An FAA spokesman said of Thursdays incident: We are investigating the matter. Pressed for more detail, she responded: We are not confirming or commenting on the details of the open investigation. A sick South African father has admitted to murdering his one-week-old baby daughter after he violently raped her while her mother was out. The Pretoria High Court heard how Hugo Ferreira, 37, subjected his baby daughter to vile abuse and rape after she was left alone with him on 8th June 2023. Maureen Brand, the baby's mother, had left the girl alone with him to sell clothes and buy nappies. But upon her return later that day, she found her baby severely injured after being assaulted physically and sexually. The innocent baby, who was just one week old, was taken to hospital where she died the following day due to head injuries. Twisted Ferreira said that he wanted to give his daughter 'something to cry about', saying in his plea that he was 'unhappy' because Brand had left the baby with him and had said she would be back in five minutes. But when Brand didn't return, and the baby girl began to cry because she was hungry and needed her nappy changed, Ferreira became angry and unleashed his horrific attack on the infant. 'I grabbed the baby hard at the back of her neck and hit her buttocks repeatedly', he said. Hugo Ferreira, 37, has admitted to raping and murdering his baby daughter Ferreira is set to be sentenced next week at Pretoria High Court in South Africa 'In the process, I pushed her head against the surface on which I was working. 'I accept that it was a cruel and gruesome attack, especially on such a young baby. The action was clearly illegal and I did it with intent.' He then said that he decided to assault her sexually because he had 'decided to give her something to cry about.' He added: 'When her mother returned, I realised she would see that something was wrong. 'I kept the baby away from her until later the day. I did this because I realised the baby was seriously injured.' Ferreira said in his plea exclamation that he knew that his actions were wrong and that the baby could die, adding that he continued despite knowing this. He also said that he was under the influence of methamphetamine but added that the substance did not influence him to the point where he was not accountable for his actions. The wicked crime was committed in Welverdiend, west of Johannesburg. He has threatened to kill his ex-wife if he is not jailed, according to news24. Ferreira is set to be sentenced next week. A glamorous businesswoman who once made Forbes '30 Under 30' list looks set to spend decades in prison after being convicted of defrauding the country's largest bank. Charlie Javice, 32, is facing the possibility of 30 years behind bars after a jury in New York City found her guilty of defrauding JPMorgan Chase out of $175 million. Javice had founded the startup Frank, a company with software that promised to simplify the filling out of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The notoriously complex government form is used by students to apply for aid for college or graduate school. She eventually sold the company to the bank in 2021, with execs testifying that she told them she had over four million clients. There was only around 300,000 customers. The bank uncovered the inflated number when it tried to contact customers it believed to be real. Her lawyer Jose Baez told the jury that the bank knew what it was getting in the deal, and accused them of making up the fraud allegations. Baez said that it was a case of buyer's remorse after regulatory changes made the data it received in the deal useless to its hope of gaining new younger customers. Charlie Javice, seen here on Friday, is facing the possibility of a lengthy time behind bars after a jury in New York City found her guilty Pedestrians approach JP Morgan Chase headquarters, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2023, in New York Javice had founded the startup Frank, a company with software that promised to simplify the filling out of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid Prosecutors said that the Florida woman deployed a 'brazen fraud' to sell her student aid startup to JPMorgan that would have earned her $45 million. Frank's chief software engineer, Patrick Vovor, testified that Javice had asked him to generate synthetic data to support her claim over the amount of customers. Prosecutors said that Javice and her number 2 at the firm Olivier Amar, who was also convicted on Friday, told Vovor it was legal. They are said to have told him that they didn't want to end up in orange prison jumpsuits, Vovor testified that he refused to help them. Seeking to dent Vovor's credibility, defense lawyers suggested he was resentful that Javice didnt want to date him. He denied that. Prosecutors said Javice ended up paying a college friend $18,000 to create millions of fake names with pedigree information. The results were sent to JPMorgan's third-party data provider, but testimony showed that firm never checked to ensure the people were real. Baez claimed in his opening argument that JPMorgan knew how many clients it had before completing the purchase. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recalled the move to buy Frank as a huge mistake, after the bank closed it Javice, seen here in August 20233, deployed a 'brazen fraud' to sell the start up, according to prosecutors She made the Forbes '30 under 30' list in 2019, but put on their 'Hall of Shame' in 2023 The bank eventually shuttered Frank, and CEO Jamie Dimon called the acquisition a 'huge mistake.' Javice and Amar were convicted on counts including conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud charges that are each punishable by up to 30 years in prison. She started Frank after graduating from Wharton business school and made the Forbes '30 under 30' list in 2019, but put on their 'Hall of Shame' in 2023. Javice and Amar will both be sentenced on July 23. A hearing is to be held next week over whether they must wear ankle monitors while awaiting sentencing. Her lawyers are expected to appeal the decision, arguing for weeks that her trial had been improper due to Amar's lawyers acting as a 'second prosecutor' in the case. Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement: 'While Javice and Amar may have thought that they could lie and cheat their way to a huge payday, their lies caught up with them, and they now stand convicted by a jury of their peers.' The man who accused his stepmother of holding him hostage for 20 years asked 'why is she out walking around?' as she appeared in court on Friday. Kimberly Sullivan, 56, was charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, cruelty and reckless endangerment after her 32-year-old stepson claimed he was held captive in his Connecticut home since he was 11 years old. As Sullivan pled not guilty to the charges in Waterbury Superior Court on Friday, supervisory assistant state's attorney Donald Therkildsen said her stepson 'lives in fear.' 'This victim is afraid. This victim lives in fear,' Therkildsen said in court, NBC Connecticut reported. 'I introduced myself to the victim, explained who I was. His first question in this fear is, "Why is she out walking around when I was locked up in a room for 20 years?"' Sullivan was accused by her stepson, who has not been named, of having locked him in an 8-foot-by-9-foot room with no heat or air conditioning for 22 hours a day, the police affidavit stated. Sullivan's latest court appearance comes following a brief appearance of just under a minute on Wednesday. After her Wednesday appearance, the state filed a motion to request a modification on the conditions of her release to include electronic monitoring with house arrest or GPS monitoring, according to the outlet. Sullivan's attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis, filed an objection to the conditions and said the original conditions had been appropriate. Kimberly Sullivan, 56, was charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, cruelty and reckless endangerment after her 32-year-old stepson claimed he was held captive in his Connecticut home since he was 11 years old As Sullivan pled not guilty to the charges in Waterbury Superior Court on Friday, supervisory assistant state's attorney Donald Therkildsen said her stepson 'lives in fear' 'My client has been complying with the conditions and has done what has been asked of her,' he said. 'And it would send a dangerous message to change them.' According to Kaloidis, Sullivan had already received several threats. She was advised to leave the state for her own safety. 'She had appeared in court despite the difficulty in getting here. There are serious safety concerns for her. Putting her in a specific area where she cannot leave will only create additional safety concerns,' he added. 'There are numerous threats against her. Numerous people have made threats. They're posting them online, talking about not wanting to be able to see her out in public. She needs to be able to have freedom of movement.' Judge Joseph Schwartz ordered GPS monitoring, but not house arrest, and said: 'The allegations are arguably the most troubling that I've seen during my tenure as a judge and show really unthinkable amount of lack of empathy.' The next court date had been scheduled for April 22, NBC reported. Therkildsen told the court that a friend of Sullivan's came forward and said she had never been allowed inside the house and did not know she had a stepson. 'A friend of the defendant of 21 years has come forward and provided a written statement to the state, to the police, that in the 21 years she's known the defendant, she's never spoken of a stepson,' he said. 'She was shocked to learn she had a stepson, and that that friend was never allowed in this house.' 'She had appeared in court despite the difficulty in getting here. There are serious safety concerns for her. Putting her in a specific area where she cannot leave will only create additional safety concerns,' Sullivan's attorney said Judge Joseph Schwartz ordered GPS monitoring, but not house arrest, and said: 'The allegations are arguably the most troubling that I've seen during my tenure as a judge and show really unthinkable amount of lack of empathy' The victim claimed that he was only allowed out to complete household chores and was only allowed outside for 'about 1 minute a day' to 'let the family dog out in the back of the property,' the affidavit said. The emaciated 68lb, 5'9" man said he remembered his food and water being restricted from the age of three, and claimed he was once so thirsty he 'drank from the toilet bowl,' the affidavit said. He would steal food from classmates at school and even rummaged through the school garbage bins for food prompting an investigation from child protective services. The victim alleged the CPS investigation prompted Sullivan to pull him out of school. He finally found his freedom from the alleged abuse after intentionally setting his tiny, second-floor bedroom on fire on February 17. First responders arrived to extinguish the blaze only to discover the victim who confided in the rescue crews. 'I wanted my freedom,' the man allegedly told police. Prosecutors said he was 'akin to a survivor of Auschwitz's death camp' at the time of his rescue. The emaciated 68lb, 5'9" man said he remembered his food and water being restricted from the age of three, and claimed he was once so thirsty he drank from the toilet bowl' The victim says he was only allowed outside for 'about 1 minute a day' to 'let the family dog out in the back of the property', according to an affidavit obtained by DailyMail.com An investigation led authorities to believe he had been 'held in captivity for over 20 years, enduring prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment.' During that time, he received no medical or dental care, according to the police affidavit. Doctors told investigators that when the victim attempted to eat 'pieces of his teeth would break off,' and alleged that he has 'severe tooth decay.' Investigators noted that there was 'clearly an issue with his hygiene,' after the victim had allegedly 'not bathed in a year or two.' The police affidavit includes that he said he would attempt to bath in his room using a bottle he kept in the space. Each day, the man would allegedly save a portion of his drinking water in this bottle and once it was full, use it to clean himself. The man also revealed that was forced to urinate in bottles and go to the toilet on newspapers because he did not have access to proper facilities. He told authorities he would urinate in a bottle, then funnel the fluid into a tube he created using straws, the affidavit states. He would then guide the straws through a hole in his window to empty the bottle. He also stated that he would squat over newspaper he on the ground to relieve himself, then roll it up and tie it with string he unraveled from old t-shirts. He disposed of his waste in the kitchen trash can when he was let out of the room to do chores. An investigation led authorities to believe he had been 'held in captivity for over 20 years, enduring prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment' To escape his horrific conditions, the victim had lit the fire 'with some hand sanitizer [and] some paper from a printer,' while he was still locked inside the room, according to the prosecution Images from inside the Connecticut house of horrors where a man was allegedly held captive by his stepmother Kimberly Sullivan for 20 years have emerged for the first time Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said: 'The suffering this victim endured for over 20 years is both heartbreaking and unimaginable. 'This case required relentless investigative effort, and I commend the dedication of our officers and the Waterbury State's Attorney's Office. 'Their unwavering commitment ensured that justice is served, and the perpetrator is held fully accountable for these horrific crimes.' To escape his horrific conditions, the victim had lit the fire 'with some hand sanitizer [and] some paper from a printer,' while he was still locked inside the room, according to the prosecution, WFSB reported. 'He lit that fire very well knowing he could die, but he had been locked in the room for 20 years, and for 20 years he'd been trying to get out of that room.' Weeks following the fire, Sullivan was arrested and released on $300,000 bond. According to her attorney, Sullivan maintains her innocence, he said: 'Those allegations are made by one person. I understand the whole world has jumped on those allegations and has already convinced my client, but the good thing about America is that is not how we work.' The victim's biological mother, Tracy Vallerand, was in court on both Wednesday and Friday, the outlet reported. 'He lit that fire very well knowing he could die, but he had been locked in the room for 20 years, and for 20 years he'd been trying to get out of that room,' prosecutors said The victim's biological mother, Tracy Vallerand, was in court on both Wednesday and Friday. She said she had given up custody of her son to his father for 'a better chance at a full life' Vallerand said the last time she had seen her son was when he was six months old. She told NBC CT that she gave up custody of the victim shortly after he was born after she was struggling following the loss of custody of her daughter, the victim's half-sister, three years earlier. Her daughter had been taken to the hospital by the state Department of Children and Families after she was said to have shaken baby syndrome. Vallerand said her daughter's father was charged with the crime, but both parents lost custody of her. She said she thought, 'that I was giving my son a better chance at a full life.' Vallerand told the outlet she had been searching for her son for years, and his appearance in the news led her to him. 'When he is healthier and he's stronger, if he wants a relationship with me, I am right here. I'm not going anywhere,' she told the outlet. Rex Heuermanns wife returned to court for a critical hearing about the bombshell DNA in the case - just hours after her divorce was finalized from the man accused of being the notorious Gilgo Beach serial killer. Asa Ellerups attorney Robert Macedonio told DailyMail.com Friday that both sides had signed the divorce papers after he visited Heuermann in prison to run through the details with him. Macedonio would not disclose the terms of the settlement that had been reached but said that it would need to go to a judge for review. He added that Heuermann appeared to be doing okay behind bars but was concerned about Ellerup and their two adult children Victoria and Christopher. Despite ending their marriage, Ellerup and Victoria appeared in court in Riverhead, Long Island, Friday, to witness the showdown between the prosecution and defense over the DNA evidence in the case. Hairs belonging to both Ellerup and Victoria were found on some of the accused serial killer's victims, according to prosecutors. Macedonio said that the family members wanted to be in court for the Frye hearing as they seek closure from the horrific case and want to understand exactly how their DNA had been tied to the victims. It is important to their own closure that they figure out how they came to their conclusions that its Asas DNA and its Victorias DNA, he said. Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann returned to court on Friday for a hearing about crucial DNA evidence in the case The suspected serial killer is seen speaking to his attorney Michael Brown in the courtroom Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierneys Office has made it clear that the family was out of town at the time of the murders and was not involved in any of the alleged crimes. The defense is asking the judge to throw out the DNA evidence allegedly tying Heuermann to the murders, branding the technique used - whole genome sequencing - magic. Prosecutors are fighting back, with the first expert witness testifying Friday that the method is well-regarded in the scientific community. Heuermann lumbered into the courtroom at Arthur Cromarty Criminal Courthouse in Riverhead for the hearing at around 10.15am ET Friday. The 61-year-old hulking architect, dressed in a suit and blue and pink striped shirt, had his hands cuffed behind his back as he towered over the court security officers. He casually told an officer no problem as he was guided to sit down between his attorneys. Asa Ellerup with her attorney Bob Macedonio in the courthouse Friday - hours after the divorce was finalized The hearing came just hours after Heuermann's wife Asa Ellerup finalized her divorce against the suspected serial killer. Pictured: Ellerup and her attorneys back in July Throughout the day's proceedings, he did not appear to make eye contact with his now ex-wife and adult daughter who were sat in the third row of the public gallery, staring straight ahead. The accused serial killer is currently charged with the murders of seven women over a two-decade reign of horror running from 1993 to 2011. The Gilgo Beach serial killer case had haunted the Long Island community for more than a decade, ever since the first of multiple bodies were discovered along Ocean Parkway in December 2010. More than a decade later, in July 2023, the Massapequa Park local was then dramatically arrested as he left his office in midtown Manhattan. Heuermann was initially charged with the murders of three women: Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman. Since then, he has been charged with the murders of four more victims: Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack. All the victims were working as sex workers when they vanished after going to meet a client. Their bodies were found dumped along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach and other remote spots on Long Island. Some of the victims had been bound, others had been dismembered and their remains discarded in multiple locations. The 61-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. His defense is seeking to split the case into five separate trials. The judge is yet to rule on that matter. In Fridays Frye hearing, Judge Timothy Mazzei heard testimony from the states expert witness Dr Kelley Harris as the prosecution fights to keep the key DNA evidence in the case. According to prosecutors, the nuclear DNA analysis carried out by the California-based lab Astrea Forensics had linked Heuermann or individuals who lived with him - including Ellerup, Victoria and an individual known as witness 3 - to six of the seven victims through hairs found at the scene or on the murdered women. The defense claims the technique has never been tested before in a New York court - and wants it excluded from his trial. Harris, an associate professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington who has won several awards for her work on genetics, testified throughout the day, explaining how whole genome sequencing can be used to develop a DNA profile - in this case, the source of hairs found on the victims bodies. Melissa Barthelemy (top left), Amber Costello (top right), Megan Waterman (bottom left), and Maureen Brainard-Barnes (bottom right) became known as the 'Gilgo Four' Whole genome sequencing is where all the fragments of DNA are taken and assembled on a human genome like a puzzle, to come up with a DNA profile. Harris explained that it can be used to determine the likelihood that crime scene DNA is derived from a person of interest in the case. Pointing to a study on the matter, she testified that it found 'no false positives or false negatives' when matching DNA to an individual. Reading from her own peer review, she described it as an 'elegant and powerful' tool and said it was 'embarrassing for our criminal justice system that a method like this wasn't the state of the art years ago.' Harris reiterated multiple times that the method is widely accepted within the scientific community. During a fiery cross-examination, Heuermanns defense attorney Michael Brown sparred with Harris and tried to cast doubts on her credibility as an expert witness on the genetic method. Under peppered questioning, Harris was forced to admit that she is not an expert in forensic science. Brown reeled off a list of topics of papers she has worked on - including molluscs, red wolves, polar bears, mice and great apes - questioning the relevance of her experience to the DNA analysis in a criminal case. At one point, he confronted her that there is a difference between determining the 'population of polar bears and putting someone away for the rest of their life.' He also questioned her impartiality due to her work with the scientist whose lab conducted the testing in Heuermann's case. Harris stood her ground, correcting the attorney on several pronunciations of expert terms and eliciting laughter in the courtroom when she dismissed his claim that someone can use genetic genealogy databases like 23 & Me to find out if theyre related to Napoleon. In a press briefing outside the courthouse, Brown continued to blast the magic method used by prosecutors in the case. You either have science or certainty and its official and trustworthy and reliable, he told reporters. Sandra Costilla (left) was murdered in 1993, making her the earliest known victim. Karen Vergata's (right) remains were identified in 2023. Heuermann has not been charged in connection to her death Valerie Mack (left) disappeared in 2000 and parts of her body were discovered in Long Island that November. Jessica Taylor (right) vanished in 2003 with some of her remains being found in Manorville that year And the alternative is I call magic as they want to in essence have you rely on this which is not trustworthy and its not scientific and should not be used in court. Brown also hit out at Harris testimony calling it problematic and saying she has no forensic background. Hopefully, that point got across to Justice Mazzei that this has no business being utilized in a criminal court, he said. Heuermanns attorney added that the hearing - where live witnesses were testifying and being cross-examined - was one step closer to trials. Multiple witnesses are expected to be called for the prosecution and the defense over the coming weeks before the judge issues a ruling on the admissibility of the DNA evidence. The next hearing is scheduled to take place Wednesday with another witness for the prosecution. Heuermann was linked to the murders following a tip about a pickup truck. According to a witness, Costello had disappeared after going to see a client who drove a green Chevy Avalanche in September 2010. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney inside the courtroom during the hearing to determine whether crucial DNA evidence will be heard at trial Heuermann is led into the courtroom Friday in handcuffs. He is charged with the murders of seven women Following the launch of a new taskforce, investigators learned that Heuermann drove that same type of vehicle at the time of the murders, prosecutors say. He also matched the description of the client seen by the witness. As well as the DNA evidence, prosecutors said investigators also found a chilling planning document on a hard drive in the basement of Heuermanns family home in Massapequa Park. In the haunting document, he allegedly had a section detailed PREP and noted that small women were preferred. Heuermann has lived his entire life in Massapequa Park and would commute to his architecture job in Midtown Manhattan, where some of the victims worked and were last seen alive. He was especially familiar with Ocean Parkway, where the victims bodies were dumped, thanks to a job he had at Jones Beach in his 20s, according to prosecutors. Fears that a serial killer or killers were at large on Long Island began back in May 2010, when Shannan Gilbert vanished in bizarre circumstances one night. The 24-year-old, who was working as an escort, had gone to see a client in the Oak Beach Association community when she made a terrifying 911 call, saying that someone was trying to kill her. The backyard of Rex Heuermann's home in Massapequa Park during a search in June 2024 Rex Heuermann in selfies submitted as evidence in the case. The accused serial killer is charged with murders dating from 1993 to 2011 During a search for Gilbert in December 2010, officers came across the body of Barthelemy in the marshes by Gilgo Beach. Within days, three more bodies - Costello, Brainard-Barnes and Waterman - had been found. The four victims, who became known as the Gilgo Four, had been dumped within a quarter mile of each other, some of them bound and wrapped in burlap. Over the following months, the remains of seven other victims were found. Gilberts body was found last. Investigators maintain that she was not a victim, but died by accidental drowning after she fled into the dense thicket that night. Heuermann has not been charged in connection to the deaths of the other four victims: Karen Vergata and three still-unidentified victims, known only as Asian Doe, Peaches, and Peaches toddler daughter. Costilla, meanwhile, had never been linked to the Gilgo Beach serial killer case until Heuermann was hit with charges for her murder in 2024. Her murder expands the timeline that the accused serial killer is alleged to have been actively preying on victims. Heuermann is expected to return to court in person Wednesday. Reform UK has announced millionaire Brexit-backing Arron Banks as its mayoral candidate for the West of England. The businessman founded the Leave EU campaign with now-Reform MP Richard Tice and was previously one of the largest donors to Ukip. 'Vote Banksy for Bristol,' he said as his candidacy was announced at Reform UK's local election launch in Birmingham. He admitted he was 'really unpopular in Bristol' but claimed the city was a 'five-way battle' which Reform could win. The Reform leader Nigel Farage entered for his speech at the election launch on a JCB vehicle. Mr Farage said the vehicle was lent to him for the event by Lord Bamford, the chairman of JCB, who has previously donated money to the Conservative Party and is a close friend of former prime minister Boris Johnson. He said the vehicle was a 'pothole pro' as he hailed the 'most ambitious launch' for a local election campaign', adding that potholes are the 'perfect symbol for broken Britain'. Mr Farage went on to say that 'a Reform government will leave the European Court of Human Rights'. Reform UK has announced millionaire Brexit-backing Arron Banks as its mayoral candidate for the West of England Reform UK leader and MP for Clacton, Nigel Farage arrives riding on a JCB digger Mr Farage said the vehicle was lent to him for the event by Lord Bamford, the chairman of JCB He added: 'We will get rid of the Human Rights Act upon which British lefty judges depend.' Mr Farage continued: 'I will reiterate, nobody that comes into our country on the back of a lorry or via a boat will ever be given refugee status, will ever be given leave to remain. 'It is unfair. It is wrong. It is also deeply unfair to those who have come here legally, and that's worth thinking about, and let me tell you, everyone that comes illegally will be deported, full stop.' After a standing ovation and chants of 'Nigel', the party leader claimed 'foreign criminals' would also be deported. Meanwhile, Reform deputy leader Richard Tic echoed the language of Donald Trump's American presidential campaign at the local election launch, asking if the audience wanted to 'make Britain great again'. As the Reform deputy leader finished his speech, he said: 'What I want to hear from you, as I conclude, I want to hear from you that you believe that we can save Britain. Can we do it? 'Do you want to grow Britain again? Do you want to make Britain great again? 'Do you want to make our brilliant strong leader, Nigel Farage, the next elected prime minister of the United Kingdom?' Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice (C) stands at a mock bus stop during the Reform UK campaign launch rally Mr Farage gives a speech in front of a JCB digger saying that potholes are the 'perfect symbol for broken Britain' Mr Farage speaks during the party's local elections campaign launch at Utilita Arena Birmingham Meanwhile, Reform deputy leader Richard Tic echoed the language of Donald Trump's American presidential campaign at the local election launch, asking if the audience wanted to 'make Britain great again' The audience of Reform members cheered along in answer to each question. During his speech he also suggested a UK version of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He told the rally: 'We are going to win this May 1, we're going to win big, we must win big. 'We can then do a proper job, but if we're lucky enough to actually run whole councils we can show that we can do a great job bringing in a fantastic team of experts. 'Root and branch ... a sort of county-by-county equivalent of a DOGE maybe is what is required in this country.' Reform MP Lee Anderson also spoke at the conference and said there is 'no such thing as Islamophobia' and that it is a 'made-up word'. Mr Anderson told the rally that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner 'keeps banging on about Islamophobia'. He went on: 'There's no such thing as Islamophobia, it's a made-up word.' Reform MP Lee Anderson also spoke at the conference and said there is 'no such thing as Islamophobia' and that it is a 'made-up word' Mr Farage arrives on a JCB digger during the Reform UK local election launch rally at the Utilita Arena Birmingham During his Mr Farage said Reform UK is 'on the side of the worker'. He added: 'We will cut taxes. Nobody that earns less than 20,000 a year should pay any income tax whatsoever' During his Mr Farage said Reform UK is 'on the side of the worker'. He added: 'We will cut taxes. Nobody that earns less than 20,000 a year should pay any income tax whatsoever. 'We are on the side of the worker, we're on the side of working people, we want to incentivise those on benefits to get off benefits and go back to work.' He also leader criticised changes to the non-dom tax, which media reports suggested have led Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian steel magnate, to leave the UK. Mr Farage said: 'We cannot help those on lower incomes, we cannot help those that need to access public services, if we get rid of those that pay the most tax because they leave and go to Monaco, Dubai, America, or wherever else it is. We need to be grown-up. 'We need to encourage people who have got money to come and live here and pay tax and subsidise our public services. Let's think about this. Let's use our brains.' He added: 'Of course, the media will say, how will you pay for this? Well, I tell you what we need: some pretty big cuts in the administrative state in this country which has grown out of all proportion.' The Reform leader continued: 'Frankly folks, what we need in this country to pay for the cuts that people deserve and need, we need a British form of Doge, as Elon Musk has got in America. Let's have a British Doge.' Mr Farage wore a light blue hi-vis vest and was met with a standing ovation after his speech ended and seen using a T-shirt cannon launcher to shoot light blue hi-vis vests into the crowd. Britain's hopes of securing an economic deal with the US before Donald Trump's 'liberation day' are fading, MailOnline understands. The UK has been working hard to secure an exemption from any tariffs, but Government sources are losing faith that an agreement will be reached before April 2 when the levies will be imposed. Yet insiders expect talks will continue between the countries after Wednesday, even if the UK is hit by Mr Trump's 'reciprocal' taxes. The President has dubbed April 2 as 'liberation day' for the US economy from what he sees as the unfair conduct of trading partners. He has already announced a 25 per cent tariff on vehicles imported to the US will come into effect on the day, following levies on steel and aluminium imports. A Government source told the Mail last night that work on a deal was ongoing, but that events remain 'unpredictable'. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer said he reserves the right to respond to any American tariffs as ultimately 'our national interest has to come first'. Discussions aimed at 'mitigating the impact' of any levies are continuing with the White House, he added. The President has dubbed April 2 as 'liberation day' for the US economy from what he sees as the unfair conduct of trading partners - he has already announced a 25 per cent tariff on vehicles imported to the US will come into effect on the day, following levies on steel and aluminium imports While the UK is still seeking a deal with the US, Sir Keir Starmer said he reserves the right to respond to any American tariffs as ultimately 'our national interest has to come first' The import tax on cars is on top of reciprocal tariffs set to begin on April 2, which may include a general 20 per cent levy on British products in response to the rate of VAT During a visit to Yorkshire yesterday, the Prime Minister said: 'Any tariffs are concerning and we're working hard with the industries and sectors likely to be impacted. 'None of them want to see a trade war, which is why we're engaged in discussions with the United States about mitigating the impact of tariffs. 'Now, that's what we're working hard on but, in the end, our national interest has to come first, which means all options are on the table.' Some 16.9 per cent of UK car exports were to the US last year, representing a total of more than 101,000 units worth 7.6billion. Jaguar Land Rover and Bentley have the US as their second largest export market after the EU. Ministers have said they will take a pragmatic approach towards the tariffs threat, seeking to strengthen transatlantic trade ties and pursue a UK-US economic deal. Industry minister Sarah Jones held a meeting with car industry leaders to discuss the tariffs yesterday. A Government spokesman said the minister listened to the attendees' views on trade with the US. They added that America is an 'indispensable ally and one of our closest trading partners, with 1.2trillion invested in each other's economies'. The import tax on cars is on top of reciprocal tariffs set to begin on April 2, which may include a general 20 per cent levy on British products in response to the rate of VAT. Meanwhile, a Labour peer suggested the UK should consider imposing 25 per cent tariffs on US products fuelling health issues if a trade war breaks out. During a House of Lords debate on obesity, Lord Brooke said: 'Can I just suggest... that we have tariffs of 25 per cent on a few of the American products which are causing us difficulties Cola, Pepsi, KFC, Big Macs, many of these are responsible for the excess calories which we consume. 'That is probably not likely to happen, but I hope it will be borne in mind.' Ending feudal serfdom in Xizang "a monumental leap" in human civilization Xinhua) 08:19, March 28, 2025 An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 16, 2025 shows the snow scenery of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida) LHASA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Gama Cedain, chairman of the people's government of Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China, said on Thursday that the abolition of feudal serfdom in Xizang is not only a significant milestone in the region's social development and human rights progress but also a monumental leap in the history of human civilization and global human rights. He made the remarks while delivering a speech to mark the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that abolished feudal serfdom in Xizang, which falls on Friday this year. Sixty-six years ago, 95 percent of Tibetans lived as serfs and slaves, regarded by the "three major estate-holders" as nothing more than "speaking animals." In the streets of Lhasa, one in every eight people was a beggar. On the northern Tibetan grasslands, herders unable to pay the "head tax" faced brutal punishment, with some having their limbs hacked off and left to struggle for survival, the chairman said. Xizang's democratic reform in 1959 shattered the centuries-old feudal theocratic serfdom, which had long wielded both religious and political power. The region's GDP has grown from 174 million yuan in 1959 to 276.49 billion yuan (about 39.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024. The population of Xizang has increased from 1.23 million in 1959 to 3.7 million in 2024, with life expectancy rising from 35.5 years to 72.5 years. Today, Xizang stands as an exemplar in education, with a 15-year free public education system in place from preschool through high school. Telemedicine services are available at all township-level clinics. In 2024, the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents reached 55,444 yuan and 21,578 yuan, respectively. Moreover, the region's social security system is consistently improving, rural development in high-altitude areas is advancing steadily, and significant progress has been made in ecological civilization conservation, he noted. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) The upcoming K-pop audition show "Under 15" has sparked intense controversy and public outrage over its concept of featuring contestants as young as 8 years old. Set to premiere on March 31, the show aims to discover K-pop prodigies from a pool of 59 participants, all under the age of 15, representing over 70 countries, including South Korea, Japan, and Thailand. The survival show, produced by Crea Studio and set to air on MBN, first sparked fury after it released a teaser on YouTube where contestants were shown getting their make-up done. However, it did not receive as much backlash until after it released its promotional content, which featured the young contestants wearing heavy makeup, crop tops, and short skirts. The backlash has been further fueled by the ongoing scandal involving actor Kim Soo-hyun, who has been accused of grooming a minor actress. A survival show called 'UNDER15' is already wild in the first place. 39 participants between 9 to 15 yo is absolutely crazy. I hope nobody watch or support this show bcz ain't no way this exist!! https://t.co/l6tK07bexd pic.twitter.com/d1v6QPfIxc YPBY (@Hypeboy_Jurin) March 12, 2025 In response to the mounting criticism, the show's producers held a press conference on Tuesday, to address the controversies. "We did think that there could be some concerns, but we spent a whole year making this show, and we optimistically thought that people would be touched once they actually saw the show," Crea Studio co-CEO Hwang In-young said. "All of us, not just the staff, but also the contestants and their guardians, thought, 'Why is the show being criticized for being something it's not?'" Despite the producers' defense, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) has filed a complaint against Crea Studio for making false claims about the show's approval process. The KCSC clarified that it had not greenlit the show, contrary to earlier statements made by the production company. It is unclear whether "Under 15" will air as scheduled. As of Thursday, Crea Studios has not yet announced any delays or cancellations. A human placenta has today been found in a busy Manchester park. The shocking discovery was made by a member of the public this afternoon in Oldham, Greater Manchester, who reported finding a 'suspicious item'. Greater Manchester Police were called to the scene of the startling discovery in Wernerth Park at around 2.40pm. Medical reports later confirmed the finding was a human placenta. It is thought that the baby was born in the last 24 hours, with police now launching an urgent appeal to find the mother and newborn baby, who police say could be in need of medical attention. Police have said that 'there is no risk to the wider community, however the focus of our efforts is now on understanding the circumstances of how the placenta came to be in this location, and that no-one has come to any harm.' An investigation is ongoing. Detective Inspector Andy Day of the Oldham district said in a statement: 'Incidents of this nature are extremely rare but of course will cause concern, and we share that concern. 'I want to make it clear that at this stage our investigation is not a criminal one, but one into the welfare of a mum and baby. 'Medical experts have advised us that it is likely the birth has occurred in the last 24 hours, and it's possible that mum or baby are, or could be, in need of medical attention. A human placenta was discovered in a busy Manchester park this afternoon by a shocked member of the public Police arrived at Wernerth Park, Oldham, and later confirmed the 'suspicious' item was a human placenta Wernerth Park remains cordoned off as police continue their investigations into the discovery 'We have several enquiries underway to try and identify who the placenta belongs to, including searching various UK databases and liaising with a number of partner agencies. 'I'm appealing to anyone who either knows the identity of mum or baby, or indeed mum herself, to come forward to us so we can ensure they are doing okay. I'd also appeal for anyone who has seen anything around the Werneth Park area over the last 24 hours they think might assist our enquiries to reach out. 'Officers will remain in the area for the coming hours and are there to listen to any concerns from the community. We appreciate the cooperation of those living locally, as we understand the impact of closing public spaces there to be enjoyed on a weekend.' Wernerth Park, which is around seven miles north of central Manchester, remains cordoned off as police continue their investigation. The Duchess of Sussex's style tributes have long been a topic of conversation. Whether it's her initial necklaces or personalised eternity ring, she has a knack for weaving sentimental nods into her wardrobe. In a recent video shared on her personal Instagram she did just that, this time in a subtle yet meaningful way as she wore her heart on her collar. Meghan dressed in a sleek, black Club Chainstitch sweater that at first glance seemed like a casual, understated choice. But upon closer inspection the collar had an intricate detail - the names of her two children, Archie and Lili, delicately embroidered in cursive. Her consistent tributes to her children range from delicate jewellery pieces to powerful statement clothing, with Meghan ensuring that many outfits tell a story of motherhood. Meghan has often turned to meaningful jewellery to honour her children. Whether it is her Logan Hollowell Call On Your Angels necklace, Suetables zodiac necklace or Sarah Hendler earrings, they all put her childrens presence into her ensemble. While Meghans jewellery tributes are often understated, her clothing choices have been far more overt, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with empowering messages. From her raising the future slogan t-shirt to her statement love like a mother tee, Meghan repeatedly chooses to remind the world of her dedication to her children and the importance of maternal love. Club Chainstitch Archie & Lili Sweater Meghan appeared in a new video on Instagram debuting a personalised jumper. The simple black sweatshirt was plain apart from some white cursive text embroidered on the side of the neckline that read Archie & Lili. The 58 unisex sweater was made by female-owned Chicago brand Club Chainstitch Community Motherhood T-Shirt Meghan appeared alongside Kelly McKee Zajfen, co-founder of Alliance of Moms, who posted a photo of herself and Meghan wearing Community Motherhood t-shirts on Mother's Day in 2023. Her top championed motherhood and the proceeds from sales go towards helping young people build a better future for themselves and their families Carolina Herrera Yellow Dress The Duchess of Sussex's wardrobe for her Nigerian tour was seemingly filled with sentimental throwback garments and special tributes, and for US Mothers Day she opted for her Carolina Herrera yellow gown. The piece was debuted at Archie's first birthday, as shown in the Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, and then again in 2021 when she announced her pregnancy with Lilibet Logan Hollowell Call On Your Angels Necklace Meghan debuted this new Logan Hollowell Call On Your Angels diamond angel eye necklace to the launch of Highbrow Hippie Haircare & Wellness in LA in 2024. The piece is one of Logan Hollowell's bestsellers and is handmade to order. In the centre sits a glittering eye-shaped silver diamond flanked by two smaller diamond studs, with Archie's name above the central jewel and Lilibets below, both written in calligraphy-style letters Logan Hollowell Constellations Necklaces To celebrate turning 40, Meghan teamed up with actress Melissa McCarthy to release a new video, and for her appearance she donned two meaningful 14-carat gold and diamond necklaces. Both necklaces were from Logan Hollowell and featured constellations resembling the astrological signs of Taurus for Archie, who was born in May 2018 and Lilibet, who is a Gemini and born in June 2021 Ariel Gordon Imperial Disc Pendant The Duchess of Sussex sported a special accessory during the third day of her visit to South America with Prince Harry. The custom made 14-carat yellow gold pendant designed by Ariel Gordon was personalised with the names Archie and Lilibet, seen here in 2024 Mere Soeur Raising the Future T-Shirt The Duchess of Sussex, 43, appeared behind Harry dressed in a 27 top by British designer Mere Soeur which bears the slogan 'raising the future'. Meghan made a brief cameo in the trailer for Prince Harry and Oprah Winfreys series The Me You Cant See in 2021 in a sweet nod to her son Archie Suetables Zodiac Necklace Even when she's out on royal duties Meghan Markle still had a special way of keeping baby Archie close to her heart. In 2019, when paying a visit to the Broom Farm Community Centre in Windsor, she wore two dainty gold necklaces by Canadian brand Suetables. Featuring astrological pendants, the first chain had a pendant engraved with Harry's Virgo star sign while the other Zodiac necklace had a Taurus charm in tribute to Archie's birthday Sarah Hendler Earrings When Meghan co-hosted an event staged by the Archewell Foundation in New York City in 2023 she accessorised her sleek Altuzarra outfit with Sarah Hendlers Pave Spear Tip Dangle Studs. Designer Sarah Hendler took to Instagram to identify the Duchess' sapphire and emerald earrings as a pair she had made especially for the royal. I created each earring with birthstones of her first-born Archie and Harry,' she said Letter Ring At Prince Harry's polo tournament at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in 2022, Meghan used the appearance to show off a new ring dedicated to her daughter. The thoughtful ring featured a dainty little L initial for Lilibet Verse Letter Necklace Just days before Meghan christened Archie she made a very public declaration for him when attending Wimbledon in 2019 with a personalised necklace. The 18-carat solid gold necklace featured a miniature three-dimensional letter A for Archie by Australian jewellery brand Verse Lorraine Schwartz Eternity Ring Meghan Markles eternity ring was a gift from Prince Harry on the couples first wedding anniversary and pays homage to her family. The Lorraine Schwartz-designed conflict-free diamond eternity band was debuted at Trooping the Colour in 2019 and features Meghans, Archies and Harrys birthstones, an olive-green peridot, flawless green emerald and a blue sapphire on the underside of the ring Some critics argue that Meghans constant references to motherhood through fashion can sometimes feel a bit over-the-top, however. While its touching to see Meghan express her love for her children through her wardrobe, there are moments when the sheer frequency of these tributes raises eyebrows. Though meaningful, these symbolic choices can occasionally come across as a little excessive and she might strike a better balance by letting some outfits simply be stylish without deeper meaning. One of Meghans most poignant fashion tributes has been through her Carolina Herrera yellow dress - a piece that has marked multiple milestones in her journey as a mother. Debuted to celebrate Archies first birthday, it then made a reappearance during Lilibets birth announcement, and most recently the same dress was seen in Colombia on Mothers Day, further cementing its deep sentimental value. Often using fashion as a medium for personal storytelling, Meghans choices arent dictated purely by trends, but instead emotion and meaning. Whether its a thoughtfully selected necklace, a well-loved dress, or a slogan tee, Meghan incorporates subtle nods to her children, ensuring that Archie and Lilibet are always with her in some form. And in doing so, she has crafted a wardrobe that is not only iconic but also deeply personal. By continuing to make subtle yet significant nods to Archie and Lilibet, she proves that motherhood and style can go hand in hand, even if sometimes the messaging can feel a touch overdone. Prince Harry will be 'cut' by the allegations of racism and misogyny that are coming from his beloved charity Sentabale, say royal experts. But according to the Daily Mail's Diary Editor Richard Eden, 'what goes around, comes around' as they were the same toxic accusations he made at the Royal Family in his bombshell Oprah interview in March 2021. The comments come amid the bitter internal power struggle in that charity that exploded this week which saw the Duke of Sussex unexpectedly step down. The Duke of Sussex revealed 'unthinkable infighting' had led to his shock resignation from the charity which he founded in 2006 in honour of Princess Diana to help young people in southern Africa living with HIV and AIDS. In a bombshell statement, Harry lamented the 'devastating' decision to quit as patron alongside co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, while his 'second dad' Mark Dyer also resigned as trustee. Several other trustees have left in the dispute with chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka who issued a stinging response taking aim at 'weak executive management' and appearing to criticise Harry for 'playing the victim card'. She also hit out at 'abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny and misogynoir [discrimination against black women]' at the charity. When asked on the latest episode of the Daily Mail's YouTube show Palace Confidential if the allegations impact Harry's image as a charitable figure, Richard Eden replied: 'Let's be clear. Dr Chandauka claims will be deeply painful for Harry, they really will sting. Prince Harry will be 'cut' by the allegations of racism and misogyny that are coming from his beloved charity Sentabale, say royal experts. Pictured: Harry in Lesotho in October 2024 Sentabale chairwoman Doctor Sophie Chandauka has issued a stinging response taking aim at 'weak executive management' and appearing to criticise Harry for 'playing the victim card'. Pictured: Chandauka at the 'Potential is Waiting' panel in Miami Beach in April 2024 The accusations of racism and misogyny implied as being made against the charity leadership including Harry are the same toxic accusations he made against the Royal Family in his bombshell Oprah interview in March 2021, according to Richard Eden Daily Mail's Diary Editor Richard Eden spoke about the ongoing Sentabale feud on the latest episode of the YouTube show Palace Confidential Watch the latest episode of Palace Confidential here: 'I mean, just think about it, you know, the idea was that this year is sort of Megan's year to make money. My goodness, you know, we're fed up of her already. 'Harry would be able to concentrate on his charitable works, which were mainly Invictus, Sentabale, and a few other things. Dr Sophie Chandauka's statement in full 'I chose to join Sentebale first and foremost as a proud African who understands that, in the spirit of ubuntu: to whom much is given, much is expected. Everything I do at Sentebale is in pursuit of the integrity of the organisation, its mission, and the young people we serve. 'My actions are guided by the principles of fairness and equitable treatment for all, regardless of social status or financial means. There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct. 'Discerning readers will ask themselves: why would the Chair of the Board report her own Trustees to the Charity Commission? Why would the High Court of England and Wales accept her application to hear the matter at all if the case had no merit? 'Well, because beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir and the coverup that ensued. I could be anyone. 'I just happen to be an educated woman who understands that the law will guide and protect me. I will say nothing further on this matter at this time. I have one job. I must focus on fundraising for the very important work of the young people who inspire the incredible team at Sentebale who make sacrifices daily at a time when geopolitics is severely impacting funding for development work in Africa. 'For me, this is not a vanity project from which I can resign when I am called to account. I am an African who has had the privilege of a worldclass education and career. I will not be intimidated. I must stand for something. I stand for those other women who do not have the ways and means. 'I am indebted to those who have stood by me and picked up my urgent call for help so that we can continue the mission at Sentebale. I will continue to faithfully perform my role as Chair of the Board, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with others who are interested in issues of health, wealth and climate resilience for young people in Africa.' Advertisement 'So to be accused of, essentially, to be accused of racism and misogyny. I mean, my goodness, you know what goes around, comes around. 'Remember that that is the toxic accusation that they were levelling at the Royal Family during the Oprah Winfrey interview. 'I really do think that that's going to come back to bite them.' Zimbabwe-born executive Dr Chandauka, who is based in New York City, has been involved with Sentebale since 2009 when she joined the board of trustees until 2015. The diversity campaigner then became chair in July 2023, succeeding Johnny Hornby who had served 11 years on the board and had been chair since March 2018. At the time, Dr Chandauka was praised by Harry for her 'experience, passion for social change and entrepreneurial spirit' which he said would be a 'tremendous benefit to Sentebale's next chapter'. And Dr Chandauka said upon taking the role that she had benefited from the 'privilege of a world-class education and career specifically because many people took a chance on me, the young girl from Zimbabwe, and gave me air cover when the odds were stacked against me'. Her CV includes senior corporate roles leading strategy, legal and operations in technology, retail and investment banking. Speaking of Dr Chandauka's allegations, The Mail on Sunday's Editor at Large Charlotte Griffiths said: 'Well, it wasn't just barbed. It was cutting, there were razor blades throughout that statement. 'It went through systematically, and she's very articulate this woman, she went to Oxford, she's got an amazing CV. 'She went through systematically accusing Sentabale and more or less Prince Harry of a number of things, including misogynoir, which is against black women, and misogyny. 'And actually accused him of leaking to the press more or less, even though, of course, he despises the press. 'She said, You know, "I'm brave. I've whistleblown this situation and this is how I'm attacked", more or less accusing him of gaslighting. 'It really is this really cutting statement. I was so shocked. 'And what's really worrying for Harry and Sentabale and Prince Seeiso, who might want to defend themselves is that she's mentioned the law twice in the statement, and she's clearly, as an ex lawyer, got a very good grasp of the law. 'She really feels like she will be vindicated in this whole process, and the statement is just pinpoint accurate on each systematic thing she's accusing them of.' Harry's role at Sentebale was one of a small number of private patronages he retained after he was stripped of his royal patronages and honorary military positions by the late Queen in 2021 after his departure from the working monarchy was confirmed for good a year after Megxit. The Charity Commission said it was 'aware of concerns about the governance' of Sentebale. The expert comments were made on the latest episode of Palace Confidential, where a panel of royal experts give their fresh insights and discuss the biggest royal news of the week on YouTube Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and Prince Harry together in October 2024 Harry meets the community at Matlameng - Ha Mahlehle, in Leribe, Lesotho, in October 2024 Harry smiling with guests at a Sentebale charity reception in Johannesburg, South Africa Harry holds hands with Meghan during a polo match fundraiser for Sentebale in 2024 Prince Harry flanked by Sister Victoria Mota and Prince Seeiso, interacts with pupils at a school in Lesotho during a visit in 2013 Harry farming in Lesotho in 2006, the year he co-founded Sentebale Prince Harry and Dr. Sophie Chandauka MBE (right) speak during the Sentebale 'Potential is Waiting' panel discussion in April 2024 'We are assessing the issues to determine the appropriate regulatory steps,' the commission said in a statement. In their joint statement on Tuesday, Harry and Prince Seeiso backed the departing trustees and said: 'With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organisation until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same. 'It is devastating that the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation.' When asked if the news of Harry's resignation was the first signs of trouble a the charity, Charlotte replied: 'No, there's been a number of resignations recently. 'I reported on Andrew Tucker, who's known as Tucks to Harry, leaving the charity. 'And it's sort of to do with sponsorship. So Tucks was involved in raising big sponsorship money, and he left the charity at a time when the accounts were showing a big, big dip in the sponsorship income. 'And the sponsorship income comes from Harry doing these star-studded polo matches, among other things. 'And it seems as though Harry had sort of stopped doing those or giving his star power to the charity. 'Soon after I wrote this article, he then turned up for the first time in six years in Lesotho, and it seemed to me that that somebody had said to him, look, you need to really put some star power behind it. The Mail on Sunday's Editor at Large Charlotte Griffiths said the problem signs at the charity have been there for about six months Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho arrive at a special Sentebale event to visit the Pointmain Health Facility on October 2, 2024 Prince Seeiso of Lesotho on a visit in South Africa with the charity and the Prince in October 2024 Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and and Dr. Sophie Chandauka are pictured with Prince Harry in 2024 'And he might not have enjoyed having that conversation. That's what I was hearing at the time. That's what we reported. And Andrew Tucker left it around this time. So the signs have been there for about six months.' Harry spent two months in the kingdom of Lesotho during his gap year when he was 19 in 2004, which inspired him to establish the charity two years later, which now also works in Botswana. He came face-to-face with Aids orphans, met other traumatised young people and visited herd boys living a harsh existence looking after cattle in remote mountain areas. The Daily Mail's Royal Editor Rebecca English also weighed in on the unfolding row surrounding Sentabale. She said: 'I think it's important to emphasise how crushing a blow this will be for him, because it was such a big passion project for him. 'Set up in memory of his late mother, Sentabale means Forget Me Not in in the local dialect. And I remember, as I said in my story, in 2006, I was out there when they launched it. 'And this was the time that Harry was 21, he had the reputation as the kind of playboy party Prince. Rebecca then recalled her experience of hearing Harry's passion for the project when she visited Lesotho with him in 2006. Sources close to the Duke have pointed out that he's not being scrutinised personally in any legal action related to Sentabale. On the Palace Confidential episode the panel also discussed Rebecca English's revealing feature about how Kate is continuing her recovery from cancer Prince William rides a Challenger 2 battle tank during a handover ceremony at Tapa camp in Estonia There was also chat about Prince William joking about an aubergine being his favourite emoji at a farming event The experts' comments were made on the latest episode of Palace Confidential, where a panel of royal experts give their fresh insights and discuss the biggest royal news of the week on YouTube. On the episode the panel also discussed Rebecca English's revealing feature about how Kate is continuing her recovery from cancer. Elsewhere in the show, the panel discussed Prince William was seen eagerly climbing into a British tank after arriving at a NATO base in Estonia to take part in a major military exercise just 90 miles from Russia. There was also chat about Prince William joking about an aubergine being his favourite emoji at a farming event with Clarkson's Farm star Kaleb Cooper. They also discussed the news of Queen Camilla visiting the Charles Dickens House Museum for its 100th anniversary along with actress Miriam Margolyes. Later the experts mentioned the reports Prince Andrew could face fresh embarrassment after judges ruled that further documents relating to his dealings with an alleged Chinese spy can be released. There was also some chat about Meghan Markle launching an Instagram shop selling products she endorses in a commercial arrangement which sees her pocket a commission for each product sold. Towards the end of the show, the panel looked at Meghan's trailer for her new podcast: Confessions of a Female Founder. They also chatted about Meghan and Gwyneth Paltrow appearing in a shock video together to address their 'breakfast war'. The royal experts then revealed their unsung royal hero of the week. To hear all the insights from the team of unrivalled royal experts, watch the full 53 minute-long show on YouTube now. Princess Beatrice's stepson Wolfie celebrates his ninth birthday today and his mother Dara Huang has shared a series of adorable pictures alongside a loving message. Dara, 42, has taken to Instagram to post several pictures of her son Christopher 'Wolfie' Woolf Mapelli Mozzi saying she had 'the best day with him'. The first picture, posted in black and white, shows Dara lifting up Wolfie while others show the pair in fancy dress. This includes the mother and son dressing up to the theme of Little Red Riding Hood with Wolfie taking up the role as the sly wolf in a nod to his nickname. The fourth and final picture shows Wolfie sat in a wooden high chair ready for dinner time. 'Happy Birthday to the light of my life. Every day is made brighter because you are in it,' Dara writes beside the pictures. 'Thank you God for making me a mom. This is the best job I will ever have.' She continues in the comments: 'It all happens so fast. Before you know it, he wont want mom everywhere with him anymore. I am going to keep clinging on for as long as I am still cool. Had the best day with him today.' Dara Huang, 42, has taken to Instagram to post several pictures of herself with her son Christopher 'Wolfie' Woolf Mapelli Mozzi for his birthday. This includes the mother and son dressing up to the theme of Little Red Riding Hood with Wolfie taking up the role as the sly wolf in a nod to his nickname. 'Happy Birthday to the light of my life. Every day is made brighter because you are in it,' Dara writes alongside the pictures The fourth and final picture shows Wolfie sat in a wooden high chair ready for dinner time Dara shares Wolfie with Beatrice's now-husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, with the royal affectionately referring to their son as her 'bonus son'. Reflecting on Princess Beatrice's relationship with her son, Dara told Harper's Bazaar: 'Wolfie has had two sets of parents trying to help him on bothsides, and I just think, "The more, the merrier".' Dara and Edoardo became engaged in 2017 after the pair met in 2015. One year later, they had their son. But their relationship was short-lived and they parted ways in 2018 - just weeks before rumours broke out that Edoardo and Princess Beatrice were in a relationship. When asked if it was love at first sight with Edoardo, she previously told Lifestyle Asia: 'He was the father of my child, and he left as quickly as he came, so I would say unfortunately it's not an instinct you can trust!' However, Edoardo is said to enjoy an amicable relationship with Dara, who currently lives in Chelsea, West London, with Wolfie. In recent years, Wolfie has joined the Royal Family on official engagements, such as the Princess of Wales's 2024 carol concert. He was pictured walking alongside Edoardo and Beatrice, who is pregnant with her second child, as they arrived at Westminster Abbey. Princess Beatrice's stepson Wolfie made his first official appearance at a royal family event when joining Beatrice and Edo at the Platinum Jubilee Pageant In recent years, Wolfie has joined the Royal Family on official engagements, such as the Princess of Wales's 2024 carol concert Wolfie made his first official appearance with the family at the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee pageant in 2022. He sat in between his father and stepmother, who refers to him as her 'bonus son', in the royal box outside Buckingham Palace. Dara's father emigrated from Taiwan to the US before he became a NASA rocket scientist. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Florida - where she grew up - and a masters in architecture from Harvard. She has spoken openly about being a child of immigrants on social media. In March 2022, she wrote on Instagram: 'What does an immigrant look like? My mother was an immigrant of war; leaving everything she had to flee to Taiwan. 'My father, was the only child of 7 who could afford to be educated. He immigrated to the USA on a full scholarship. 'After, he served the US government for 40 years at NASA (once part of the military) and pledged his allegiance to defend his new country. He also attended Kate's 2023 Christmas carol concert last year Nine-year-old Wolfie is the stepson of Americana architect Dara Huang (pictured) 'I am an immigrant of the United Kingdom. The values of working hard, appreciating opportunity, not taking things for granted and fighting for a better life were the values that I was taught led by the two best examples. We all received dual citizenship.' She continued: 'Immigration can be a wonderful thing; a contribution to society, a creation of new prosperity and the beginning of hope. Let's open our hearts and help those around us, at this time.' Dara has since established her own architecture and interior design company, Design Haus Liberty, in 2013 and later founded Vivahouse, which converts disused commercial properties into living spaces. She has worked on projects including the Tate Modern Museum in London and the Tribeca skyscraper in New York. She has won awards including the Clifford Wong Prize, the KPF Travelling Fellowship and the Young Architects Award. She has previously appeared as an expert on Channel 4 programme Britain's Most Expensive Houses. Speaking to Architecture Magazine in February, Dara opened up about her upbringing inspired her line of work. She explained: 'I loved drawing in my childhood and this led to a career in architecture. Beatrice and Edoardo with Wolfie for the Christmas Day church service in Sandringham in December 2022 Pictured: Princess Beatrice, Wolfie Mapelli Mozzi, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at the 2022 Christmas Service at Sandringham 'Growing up, I was exposed to diverse cultures and their unique architectural marvels 'I remember being fascinated by the way different spaces made me feel and how design could profoundly influence our experiences.' Dara was granted British citizenship in January 2022 - she announced the news with a picture holding her new citizenship in front of a Union Flag and a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth. When her former fiance and Beatrice announced their engagement, she told MailOnline: 'I wish the best for Edoardo and Beatrice and look forward to uniting our families.' Beatrice has been described as a hands-on stepmother, whilst her mother Sarah Ferguson has said she considers Wolfie a grandson. Americans have long lived in fear of the 'Big One' - an earthquake so enormous it would devastate the West Coast. The harrowing images of Thailand and Myanmar on Friday morning after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the region lay bare only too clearly the horrifying reality of the damage a quake this size can cause. Thousands are feared dead, buildings have been destroyed and there are concerns of catastrophic flooding from a possible dam collapse. In America, growing fears of a deadly disaster are no longer confined to the Golden State. As earthquakes hit across the country, many citizens are terrified that they too could be sitting on a seismic 'time bomb'. Geologist Robert Yeats, author of 'Earthquake Time Bombs', has highlighted the risks associated with the presence of several large US cities in the Pacific Northwest's Cascadia subduction zone. 'Groups of experts have prepared resilience surveys in the states of Washington and Oregon to determine the consequences of not getting ready for the earthquake disaster ahead of time,' Yeats wrote. Even parts of New England and Texas have been struck by record-setting earthquakes in the last year after more than a decade of relative quiet. But America's West Coast is still where geologists are watching most carefully and there is reason to believe a seismic cataclysm could happen soon. Estimates project that a 7.8-magnitude earthquake could kill 1,800 people and cause $200 billion in damages. This AI-generated image anticipates one in San Francisco could look like The US Geological Service (USGS) said there have already been several 'significant' earthquakes in California this year. And in 2024 the state was rattled by more quakes than at any point in the past three decades. Experts also warned that some areas are woefully unprepared for these so-called 'time bomb' earthquakes, which they say could cause thousands of deaths and billions in damages. Predicting the exact moment an earthquake will strike is impossible, so scientists instead use historical activity to try to understand the patterns of seismic events. Steven Sobieszczyk, a spokesperson for USGS, explained that scientists have combined historical records with current seismic readings to work out where the highest risks are today. The Cascadia Subduction Zone An area in the Pacific Northwest lies on a 'subduction' zone where a tectonic plate slides underneath the North American plate. Subduction zones produce the world's largest earthquakes. These quakes occur when friction between the two plates causes them to become locked, and stress begins to build along the border between them, also known as a fault. Eventually, the stress exceeds the strength of the fault and it breaks free. This causes a shockwave of stored energy to travel up towards Earth's surface, which we feel as an earthquake. The Cascadia subduction zone stretches from northern California all the way to Canada's British Columbia. It also sits under Oregon and Washington and extends off shore into the Pacific Ocean. Experts say the area has 'extraordinarily' low rates of earthquakes in recent times, but that in itself could mean that stress is building. Researchers believe that around eight big earthquakes have shaken this area in the past 3,500 years and another could be 'due' to hit the region in the near future. 'This tectonic boundary experienced a great earthquake [magnitude 9] in the year 1700,' Sobieszczyk said. 'Intense earthquake shaking was recorded by civilizations residing in the area during 1700 and caused large tsunami waves that propagated across the ocean,' the USGS expert added. Predictions of what might happen if a similar quake struck the Cascadia subduction zone today have suggested it could be the worst natural disaster in the history of North America. Experts warn that the Cascadia subduction zone could unleash 'The Big One' - an extremely powerful earthquake that may devastate the West Coast The US West Coast is an earthquake hotbed, and USGS projections warn that the worst zones line the entire coast from California to Washington. The red area near Memphis shows the New Madrid seismic zone, which is also highly active Projections warn that thousands of landslides could strike, with 7,000 road bridges collapsing. FEMA, the natural disaster agency, calculates that 85 percent of ports and drinking water plants would be seriously damaged or destroyed, as well as 77 percent of the region's airports, railways, schools, and hospitals. Evidence left by the previous Cascadia earthquake offers further insight into the devastation the subduction zone could unleash. Radiocarbon dating shows forests were submerged in salt water as the land suddenly subsided 300 years ago during the last major quake. Using calculations for the speed of a trans-Pacific tsunami wave, researchers estimate that the quake took place on January 26, 1700, at around 9pm PT. Yeats added that the 'repeat time' or the time between major earthquakes - varies from 1,200 years in the northern part of the Cascadia zone to just 250 years in the southern part closest to California. This is what has led many experts to believe Cascadia is 'overdue' for a major seismic catastrophe. 'This means that scientists can say that without a doubt, there will be more great earthquakes at Cascadia, but they can't say when the next one will strike tomorrow or a century from now,' Yeats explained. Could a massive earthquake unleash a devastating tsunami on the US? Earthquakes trigger tsunamis by causing the ocean floor to rise or fall, pushing water above to form a huge wave The Cascadia zone, which sits under Washington, Oregon, and northern California, is said to be 'overdue' for another major earthquake If 'The Big One' does strike soon, Yeats predicted that gas escaping from underground lines would catch fire. The earthquake would also be followed by a tsunami similar to the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami that caused over 18,000 deaths in Japan. In Oregon alone, property losses would total $32 billion. Towns including Tillamook, Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Coos Bay, and Newport would all be submerged, with the coast subsiding up to 10 feet permanently. San Francisco and Northern California USGS estimates that there is a nearly three-in-four chance of an earthquake striking the San Francisco area in the near future. Across the whole Northern California region, that risk jumps to 95 percent. Sobieszczyk explained that the Bay Area has been the focus of many large and destructive earthquakes, including the 1906 San Francisco quake that registered at least 7.7 on the Richter magnitude scale. This struck the California coast on April 18, 1906, causing blazes to erupt for days. By the end, 80 percent of the city was destroyed and more than 3,000 people were dead. Over 300,000 people were also left homeless as 30 fires destroyed 25,000 buildings on 490 city blocks. Rebuilding San Francisco cost $350 million the equivalent of $8 billion in today's money. The three Bay Area faults most likely to cause a huge earthquake are the Hayward fault, the Calaveras fault, and the infamous San Andreas fault which runs along most of the Californian coast. Survivors view the wreckage of the Grand and Palace Hotel after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, California Cracks appear in East Street after the earthquake, which was calculated to be anywhere from 7.7 to 8.3 on the Richter magnitude scale Could an earthquake rock Los Angeles? The major US metropolis is one of several California cities which sits along the San Andreas fault line Los Angeles Caltech experts suggest that Southern California is at particularly high risk of a major earthquake. Today, Southern California experiences an average of one earthquake every three minutes. A study found that between 2008 and 2017, 1.81 million earthquakes (most of them too weak to be felt by humans) struck southern California. In 2024, Los Angeles had 2,420 quakes of magnitudes up to 4.6. Los Angeles has seen some of the largest quakes in California, including the 1994 Northridge earthquake, one of the most destructive and deadly in the state's history. This magnitude 6.7 event toppled buildings across Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Bernadino counties. The quake killed 60 people, injured more than 7,000 and left thousands more homeless. According to Sobieszczyk, Southern California is prone to big earthquakes because of a tectonic plate boundary that runs up and down the state's coastline. Known as the San Andreas Fault, this boundary marks where the Pacific plate slides past the North American plate, causing great seismic waves. The southern section of the San Andreas Fault passes just 35 miles from Los Angeles, so quakes emanating from this fault are likely to strike the city. A big one could cause as many as 1,800 deaths along with damage up to $213 billion. Many archaeologists have spent their lives searching for the Ark of the Covenant, but a prophecy in a banned book of the Bible may reveal when it will be found. The Apocalypse of Baruch, a two-part book written between the late first and early second centuries BC, is framed as Baruch receiving visions and revelations from God. Its themes include the fate of Israel, the end of times, and the coming of the Messiah. The Book of Baruch 2, Chapter 6, states that he saw an angel remove the Ark from the Second Temple, allowing it to be 'swallowed by the Earth' before the Babylonian invasion, where it would remain hidden until Israel is restored. Baruch ben Neriah, scribe to the prophet Jeremiah, has traditionally been credited as the author. Still, scholars believe he did not write the book as he lived centuries before the text was written. Because the text is a pseudepigraphal work it was not considered canonical by the Jewish and Christian communities and omitted from the Bible. Holy scripture describes the Ark of the Covenant as a sacred gold chest built by the Israelites shortly after they fled Egypt around the 13th century BC and holds Moses' Ten Commandments tablets. The mystery of the Biblical relic was renewed this week after a DailyMail.com article detailed how the CIA may have located it in the Middle East. While the CIA never announced the finding, the omitted book of the Bible may provide details about why the artifact has remained lost for nearly 1,440 years. According to the Bible, the Ark of he Covenant was a sacred, gold-covered wooden chest was constructed sometime around 1445 BCE to hold the Ten Commandments. The covenant was featured in the 1981 film 'Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark The Apocalypse of Baruch was discovered in Milan in 1886. The book, written after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, focuses on whether or not God's relationship with man is just. It is framed as Baruch receiving visions and revelations from God following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. The key passage about the Ark of the Covenant appears in Chapter 6, where Baruch describes how the Temple vessels and sacred items, including the Ark, were preserved before the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. With the Babylonians surrounding Jerusalem, Baruch fled to the outskirts of the city, the text reads. Suddenly, he was lifted high above the city walls by a 'strong spirit,' and he saw four angels 'standing at the four corners of the city' holding burning torches. A fifth angel descended from the heavens and told the others: 'Hold your lamps, and do not light them till I tell you. For I am first sent to speak a word to the earth, and to place in it what the Lord the Most High has commanded me.' The angel entered the Holy of Holies and took the Ark and several other sacred objects. According to the Bible, Baruch ben Neriah (L) was the scribe of prophet Jeremiah (R). These religious figures are said to have lived during the sixth century and witnessed the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem When he emerged, issued a booming command to the Earth, saying: 'Earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the mighty God and receive what I commit to you, and guard them until the last times so that, when you are ordered, you may restore them, so that strangers may not get possession of them. 'For the time comes when Jerusalem also will be delivered for a time, until it is said that it is again restored for ever.' The Earth then opened up and 'swallowed' the Ark and the rest of the artifacts whole. The story prophecies that the sacred chest will be found when Israel is restored. In a Biblical context, this refers to the return of the Israelites to their holy land and the establishment of a messianic kingdom. But there is no historical or archaeological evidence to suggest these events actually took place, and they are not recognized as legitimate parts of Biblical history. The Ark of the Covenant, according to traditional scripture, is a sacred gold chest built by the Israelites shortly after they fled Egypt around the 13th century BC, and Moses placed the Ten Commandments tablets inside it What's more, there is no evidence outside of the Bible to suggest the Ark ever really existed. But scholars who subscribe to the Ark's existence have long pondered its whereabouts. Some historians believe the Ark of the Covenant was originally kept inside the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem, before it disappeared during the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC. No person alive today has ever laid eyes on it, and the Bible states that only the high priest of the temple of Jerusalem could see it once a year on Yom Kippur, the holiest Jewish holiday. Theories about what became of the Ark are limited, but a long-standing religious legend in Ethiopia claims it was brought there by a man named Menelik, who was supposedly the son of the Queen of Sheba and Israel's King Solomon. The Queen of Sheba was from Ethiopia, but ruled over a kingdom in modern-day Yemen. According to legend, she gave birth to Menelik in her country of origin, but he later traveled to Jerusalem to study with his father. While there, he supposedly stole the Ark and brought it back to Aksum, Ethiopia. Locals say it has resided in the Church of Out Lady Mary of Zion ever since. British scholar of Semitic languages and Ethiopian studies Edward Ullendorff claimed he saw the Ark inside the church during World War II, but a source close to Ullendorff later revealed that the 'artifact' he saw was nothing more than a replica. 'What he saw was what you find in any Ethiopian church, which is a model of the Ark of the Covenant,' Tudor Parfitt, a British historian, writer and former colleague of Ullendorff, told Live Science in 2018. Apparently, Ullendorff said that 'it didn't differ in any way from many arks he had seen in other churches in Ethiopia,' Parfitt said. 'It wasn't ancient and certainly wasn't the original ark.' Therefore, the location of the ark and whether or not it ever existed remain a mystery waiting to be solved. A stunning partial solar eclipse will appear in skies around the world tomorrow, making it look like the sun has grown a pair of devil horns. During a partial solar eclipse, the moon moves between the sun and Earth, partially blocking our view of the sun for a short time. In the UK, the moon will pass across the disc of the sun during a two-hour period. This will begin shortly after 10am GMT and end at about 12 noon. Wherever you are in the UK and Ireland, around 30-40 per cent of the sun will be blocked by the moon during the incredible event. However, experts say it's never safe to look directly at the sun. 'During a solar eclipse what happens is that the moon moves directly between the Earth and the sun,' said Dr Robert Massey at the Royal Astronomical Society. 'That doesn't happen every month because the moon's orbit around the Earth is tilted, but when it happens it blocks out a bit of the light of the sun.' A stunning partial solar eclipse will appear in skies around the world tomorrow, making it look like the sun has grown a pair of devil horns. Pictured, a partial solar eclipse viewed from the National Mall in Washington, DC, April 8, 2024 During a partial solar eclipse, the moon moves between the sun and Earth, partially blocking our view of the sun for a short time. Pictured: Clouds part to reveal the sun obscured by the moon during a partial solar eclipse at Skegness in Lincolnshire, north England on March 20, 2015 Wherever you are in the UK and Ireland tomorrow, around 30-40 per cent of the sun will be blocked by the moon between 10am and 12pm. But people in eastern US and Canada may see up to 85 per cent of the sun blocked In the past, eclipse events have been obscured by cloud. However, the Met Office is forecasting a 'largely fine and sunny start' tomorrow (although a moving band of rain may be heading across Scotland and Northern Ireland). Europeans further south such as those in Spain, Portugal, Germany and southern France will see a smaller proportion of the sun blocked (around 20 per cent). Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, people in eastern Canada (especially Quebec and Newfoundland) and 13 eastern US states will be best placed to see the event. Unfortunately, in the vast majority of the United States, as well as South America, Australia and most of Asia, it won't be visible. In the UK, with one third of the sun's disk blocked, the light level will drop by a third too but it won't be noticeably darker, according to Dr Massey. 'The eye is so good at adapting to changing light levels that it's surprisingly not that noticeable,' he said. 'The difference between full sunlight and a cloudy day can already be a factor of 100, and we're easily able to cope with that.' A partial solar eclipse will be taking place across the UK on Saturday morning, between 10am and 12pm Viewing chances will be best in the east where skies remain clearest, whilst cloud will be spreading into western regions at this time pic.twitter.com/RlnWL4zqHM Met Office (@metoffice) March 28, 2025 A solar eclipse occurs when the sun, moon and Earth are in alignment such that the moon appears - from certain locations - to completely block out the sun in the sky Wherever you are in the UK tomorrow, around a third of the sun's light will be blocked by the moon between 10am and 12pm. This colour-coded map shows where the partial eclipse will be visible, with the pink areas denoting a greater proportion of the sun covered by the moon The US states where Saturday's partial solar eclipse will be visible Maine (Up to 85% of the sun obscured) (Up to 85% of the sun obscured) Massachusetts (Up to 57%) (Up to 57%) Vermont (Up to 53%) (Up to 53%) New Hampshire (Up to 53%) (Up to 53%) New York (Up to 45%) (Up to 45%) Rhode Island (Up to 41%) (Up to 41%) Connecticut (Up to 41%) (Up to 41%) New Jersey (Up to 21%) (Up to 21%) Pennsylvania (Up to 18%) (Up to 18%) Delaware (Up to 9%) (Up to 9%) Maryland (Up to 7%) Source: Timeanddate.com Advertisement In this animation, the circular shaded area marks the moon's shadow moving over the Earth on March 29; people in this area will see a partial eclipse However, Dr Massey warns that it's important never to look directly at the sun not even through sunglasses, binoculars or a telescope. 'Even though a third of the sun's light is gone it's covered by the moon at its peak it's still really dangerous to look at,' said Dr Massey. 'Instead, what you need to do is either go to a public event where amateur astronomers might be projecting an image of the sun you can look at. 'Or if you can get hold of certified, proper, good-standard eclipse shades (you can buy them online) they block out most of the harmful light from the sun.' The eclipse can also be observed safely with everyday objects such as a kitchen colander and some paper to create a projection screen for the sun's rays. 'You hold the colander in the direction of the sun, put the card behind it, and as the eclipse progresses (and it likely depends on the size of the holes) you should see many tiny projections of the sun with a "bite" taken out of it,' Dr Massey said. Or, as Dr Massey demonstrates in a video explainer, the event can be seen with a homebuilt solar telescope or 'solarscope'. 'This is a nice box system, where the light is coming in through a simple telescope, hitting a mirror, and then it's being projected slightly to the side so we can see the solar disc,' he said. As Dr Massey demonstrates, the event can be seen with a homebuilt solar telescope or 'solarscope' - where the light goes through a simple telescope poking out the front, hits a mirror and is projected onto a bit of card The partial eclipse is also known as a 'devil horn' eclipse because it makes the sun look like a crescent with two pointy tips Alternatively, Royal Observatory Greenwich and Timeanddate.com are among those that will be running live streams of Saturday's event. A partial solar eclipse contrasts with a total solar eclipse, where the whole of the sun is blocked by the moon. Another type of solar eclipse known as the 'annular solar eclipse' can also occur when the moon doesn't completely cover the sun, resulting in a halo of sunlight known as a 'ring of fire' visible around the silhouette of the moon. Whether we get an annular or total solar eclipse depends simply on the distance of the moon from Earth. Don't forget that the moon's orbit around Earth is elongated and not perfectly circular, so there are points when it's closer to us than normal and this affects eclipse type. There are between two and five solar eclipses each year, with a total eclipse taking place somewhere in the world every 18 months or so. But from any one place on the surface of the Earth, total solar eclipses are seen every 400 years making it a once-in-a-lifetime event for many. Unfortunately, the next total solar eclipse isn't visible in the UK for another 65 years. Occurring on September 23, 2090, this will be the first total solar eclipse visible from Britain since August 11, 1999, and the first visible from Ireland since May 22, 1724. Thousands are feared dead after a massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand this morning. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), likely losses of life are between 10,000 and 100,000 after the tremor struck near Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city. The earthquake's destructive power stems from an enormous tectonic fault running through the middle of the country. And, after a second magnitude 6.4 tremor shook the area 12 minutes after the initial quake, scientists warn that the worst may be yet to come. Myanmar sits directly on top of the Sagaing Fault - a highly active earthquake zone stretching 745 miles (1,200 km) through the heart of the country. In this region, the Indian and Sunda tectonic plates slide past each other at a speed of 49mm per year. When those plates catch and stick, they build up a vast reserve of energy which is then released in a violent 'slip-strike' earthquake, as has happened this morning. The earthquakes from this fault are violent and extremely shallow, meaning they have the potential to cause enormous damage in nearby population centres. Your browser does not support iframes. Thousands are feared dead after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand this morning. Pictured: Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building after the tremors of a strong earthquake that struck central Myanmar The earthquake destroyed buildings in neighbouring Thailand (pictured) and in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city. According to the US Geological Survey, likely losses of life are between 10,000 and 100,000 According to the USGS, the quake struck central Myanmar at 13:20 local time (06:20 GMT) with an epicentre just 10.7 miles (17.2km) from Mandalay. In Thailand, alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30 pm local time. As millions reeled from the shock, a second earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 then shook the area 12 minutes later. Tremors were also felt in China's southwest Yunnan province, according to Beijing's quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude. Professor Bill McGuire, Emeritus Professor of Geophysical & Climate Hazards at University College London, said: 'Myanmar is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, so this quake is not a surprise. 'It looks to have occurred on the major Sagaing Fault, which marks the boundary between two tectonic plates, and which runs north-south close to a number of large population centres.' The earthquake is what geologists call a 'slip-strike' tremor, triggered by two tectonic plates suddenly moving past one another. When the plates get stuck on each other in the fault region, the full force of the two tectonic regions builds up in a small area. The earthquake originated from a fault that runs the length of the country between the Indian and Sunda tectonic plates. Today's earthquake originated from a region called the Sagaing Fault, near Mandalay As the tectonic plates move past each other, they catch and build up vast stores of energy. This morning, that energy was released in a 'slip-strike' earthquake which caused widespread damage. Pictured a damaged road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar The earthquake was particularly strong since the tectonic plates had been 'stuck' in recent years, storing more energy than usual. Pictured: Workers react near a site of a collapsed building after the tremors hit Bangkok, Thailand Why was the Myanmar earthquake so bad? Myanmar sits on the boundary between the Indian and Sunda tectonic plates. Right in the heart of the country, these plates move past each other in a zone called the Sagaing Fault. Researchers have warned that part of the Sagaing Fault has been 'highly stuck', building up a huge reserve of energy. This morning, that energy was released in a massive earthquake near Myanmar's population centres. The earthquake was also exceptionally shallow, meaning more energy was transferred into buildings at the surface. Advertisement When that force finally overcomes friction, all of that energy is released in seconds, triggering huge earthquakes. Although most maps will show the earthquake's epicentre as a point, it actually spreads out from a much larger fault area. In cases like today's event, the fault usually covers a long region 100 miles long by 12 miles wide (165km by 20km). Since at least the beginning of last year, geologists have been raising the alarm that a deadly 'megaquake' on the Sagaing Fault could be on its way in the near future. In January, geologists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that the middle section of the Sagaing fault had been highly 'locked' - meaning the plates had been stuck for an abnormally long time. This indicated that more energy was building up than normal and the researchers warned that the Sagaing fault would be 'prone to generating large earthquakes in the future.' In their paper, the scientists wrote: 'This implication warns the nearby populated cities, like Mandalay, of a significant megaquake threat.' In addition to this 'locking', the specific geology of the fault region means that earthquakes generated there tend to be even more destructive. The Sagaing fault also produces earthquakes which are very shallow. This means more energy is transferred into structures on the surface, causing more buildings to collapse. Pictured: Thai rescue teams provide aid at a construction building collapse in Bangkok's Chatuchak area A high-rise apartment was shaken so violently that pool water cascaded down the side Your browser does not support iframes. The nearer to the surface an earthquake occurs, the more of the released energy is transferred into buildings and structures and the more damage is created. On average, studies have shown that tremors from the fault zone occur at a depth of 15.5 miles (25km). However, according to USGS, today's earthquake occurred at a depth of just 6.2 miles (10km). Professor McGuire says: 'This is probably the biggest earthquake on the Myanmar mainland in three quarters of a century, and a combination of size and very shallow depth will maximise the chances of damage.' The first earthquake was just the beginning of the issues for Myanmar and the surrounding region. After the initial big slip, the force shifts the distribution of pressure throughout the Earth's crust nearby and creates new stresses. When this twisting, pulling, and pushing becomes too much for the nearby rock to bear, that breaks as well and releases a new wave of energy in an aftershock. 'There has already been one sizeable aftershock and more can be expected,' says Professor McGuire. The death toll is not yet certain, but authorities expect casualties to rise over the coming days as more buildings collapse. Pictured: An earthquake survivor is transported in the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar The worst may be yet to come as scientists suggest more aftershocks will be on the way. This will be particularly dangerous for rescue workers entering already unstable buildings which could collapse after an additional tremor Workers assist an injured man after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said 'This will threaten the collapse of weakened buildings and make the jobs of rescue workers that much more challenging.' According to the USGS, shallower earthquakes typically produce more aftershocks than those occurring at least 18 miles (30km) below the surface. A large earthquake will typically produce in excess of a thousand aftershocks of various sizes. Although these tremors are typically at least one magnitude lower than the main tremors, they can be particularly deadly. Aftershocks may cause already unstable buildings to collapse in the midst of rescue efforts, putting the lives of emergency responders at risk. Likewise, already weakened infrastructure can be crippled by tremors occurring days or even weeks after the main event. However, one of the key reasons that the Myanmar earthquake is proving to be so deadly is the lack of earthquake-resistant infrastructure. Dr Roger Musson, Honorary Research Fellow at the British Geological Survey, says: 'Large earthquakes in this region are rare but not unknown, the last similar event being in 1956, more or less beyond living memory. Neither Thailand nor Myanmar's infrastructure appeared prepared to handle an earthquake of this size. Poorly built infrastructure may have led to more building collapses, and more deaths as a consequence. Pictured: Thai rescue workers arrive on scene at a construction building collapse in the Chatuchak area Workers were seen walking away from the building slowly when it began to topple as the tremors shook the Thai capital 'This means that buildings are unlikely to be designed against seismic forces, and therefore are more vulnerable when an earthquake like this occurs, resulting in more damage and higher casualties.' Still gripped by a four-year civil war, Myanmars infrastructure was unprepared to face such a strong earthquake. The breakneck pace of development in Myanmar's cities, combined with crumbling infrastructure and poor urban planning, has also made the country's most populous areas vulnerable to earthquakes and other disasters, experts say. In Mandalay, the country's second-largest city and close to the epicentre, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook. Officials at a major hospital in Naypyidaw, the capital, declared it a 'mass casualty area', with the death toll expected to rise after buildings fell and debris scattered. Likewise, in Thailand, shocking footage showed workers fleeing in neighbouring Thailand as a high-rise building under construction collapsed around them. Professor Ilan Kelman, Professor of Disasters and Health at University College London, says: 'The usual mantra is that "Earthquakes don't kill people; collapsing infrastructure does". 'Governments are responsible for planning regulations and building codes. This disaster exposes what governments of Burma and Myanmar failed to do long before the earthquake which would have saved lives during the shaking.' In news that will come as no surprise to many, scientists have now confirmed that men really aren't as good at listening as women. Experts have discovered that men have significantly less sensitive hearing than women across all frequencies and populations. And it could go some way to explaining why they didn't hear the request for dishes to be done, or for the bins to be taken out. An international team of scientists conducted hearing tests for 450 individuals across 13 global populations, including those in Ecuador, England, Gabon, South Africa and Uzbekistan. They investigated the sensitivity of the cochlea within the ear, looking at how it transmitted brain signals in response to different amplitudes and frequencies of sound. It is already well known that people generally have better hearing in their right ear, compared with their left, and that hearing usually declines with age. However, they were surprised by their findings on the effects of sex. Analysis revealed that hearing is more influenced by sex than age, with women showing an average of two decibels more sensitive hearing than men across all the populations studied. The study could go some way to explaining the root of many domestic disputes - that men 'simply didn't hear' a request to do chores (stock image) While this is generally considered to be a very subtle difference in loudness, the researchers said it is significant. Professor Turi King, co-author from the University of Bath, said: 'We were surprised to find that women had two decibels more sensitive hearing across all the populations we measured, and this accounted for most of the variations between individuals. 'This could be due to different exposure to hormones during development in the womb, due to men and women having slight structural differences in cochlear anatomy. 'As well as having higher hearing sensitivity, women also perform better in other hearing tests and speech perception, indicating that their brains are also better at processing the information. 'We don't really know why this might be but given the detrimental effect of noise on overall health such as sleep quality and increased cardiovascular disease, having more sensitive hearing in noisy environments may not always be a good thing.' The team found a person's environment was the second most significant influence on their hearing. People living in forest areas had the highest hearing sensitivity and those living at high altitudes had the lowest, the team discovered. They suggest that people living in forests could have higher sensitivity because they've adapted to an environment with lots of non-human sounds, where vigilance is essential for survival. The researchers said men have slight differences in the structural anatomy of their cochlear compared to women, which could go some way to explaining the findings (stock image) Or, it could be due to being exposed to lower levels of pollution, they said. People living at higher altitudes may have reduced sensitivity due to a number of reasons including the impact of lower atmospheric pressure on measurements, potential sound reduction in high altitude environments or physiological adaptations to lower oxygen levels. The team also found a difference between urban and rural populations, with those living in cities having a shift towards higher frequencies, possibly due to filtering out low frequency traffic noise. Dr Patricia Balaresque, who led the study at the Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research in Toulouse, France, said: 'Our findings challenge existing assumptions and highlight the need to consider both biological and environmental factors when studying hearing. 'Identifying drivers behind natural hearing variation will improve our understanding of hearing loss and individual differences in noise tolerance.' The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports. The FBI has warned all Google Chrome users about a threat of a fake URL that lets hackers steal victims' personal information. The agency said hackers are creating websites claiming to convert one type of file to another, such as a .doc file to a .pdf file, which have been compromised with malicious code. After the program is downloaded, cybercriminals gain access to stored information like social security numbers, passwords and bank information, the FBI warned Chromes three billion users. Vikki Migoya, public affairs specialist for FBI Denver, said: 'Unfortunately, many victims don't realize they have been infected by malware until it's too late, and their computer is infected with ransomware or their identity has been stolen.' The agency advised Chrome users not to download file converters from unknown websites. If you are a victim of this scam, the FBI said to 'contact your financial institutions immediately.' 'Run up-to-date virus scan software to check for potentially malicious software installed by the scammers, the agency added. 'Consider taking your computer to a professional company specializing in virus and malware removal services.' The FBI has warned all Google Chrome users about a threat of a fake URL that lets hackers steal victims' personal information. The agency said hackers are creating websites claiming to convert one type of file to another, such as a .doc file to a .pdf file, which have been compromised with malicious code The warning noted that MP3 or MP4 downloading tools are also being used in the scam. 'The scammers try to mimic URLs that are legit so changing just one letter, or 'INC' instead of 'CO',' Migoya told BleepingComputer. 'Users who in the past would type 'free online file converter' into a search engine are vulnerable, as the algorithms used for results now often include paid results, which might be scams.' The FBI said victims of the scam should file a report at IC3.gov. The agency suggested that a malicious file converter was behind a ransomware attack of Iowa-based media company Lee Enterprises, CBS New reported. Lee Enterprises operates in more than 70 towns throughout the country and was hit by the scam in February. The company filed a report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 12, writing that 'Lee Enterprises experienced a systems outage caused by a cybersecurity attack.' 'Preliminary investigations indicate that threat actors unlawfully accessed the Company's network, encrypted critical applications, and exfiltrated certain files,' the report reads. 'The Company is actively conducting forensic analysis to determine whether sensitive data or personally identifiable information (PII) was compromised. 'At this time, no conclusive evidence has been identified, but the investigation remains ongoing.' The cybersecurity team at GitLab Threat Intelligence issued another warning about Google Chrome this year after uncovering about 16 browser extensions that have been compromised by hackers. The list includes Blipshot, Emojis, Color Changer for YouTube, Video Effects for YouTube and Audio Enhancer, Themes for Chrome and YouTube Picture in Picture and Mike Adblock fur Chrome, Super Dark Mode and Emoji Keyboard Emojis for Chrome. Adblocker for Chrome, Adblock for You, Adblock for Chrome, Nimble Capture, KProxy and Page Refresh, Wistia Video Downloader are also deemed compromised. The malicious links allow hackers to steal user data and commit 'search engine fraud' - the scam of driving clicks to hacker-controlled websites for ad revenue. Researchers noted that Chrome has deleted the extensions from its Web Store. But users who have downloaded them will need to remove them manually. All of the hacked Chrome extensions used permissions which allow them to interact with any website the victims visit. This allowed them to inject those websites with malicious code as well. Simply put, the Chrome add-ons traveled along with the Google users, potentially spreading the hacker's code everywhere they browsed the web. The best way to avoid a hijacked browser extension is to vet the programs you're installing on your computer and read any reviews which warn about potential dangers. This includes checking what 'permissions' an extension is asking for, meaning which files or devices is the program looking to access with the user's blessing. After scientists recently claimed to locate Noah's Ark, an unearthed CIA document reveals that the agency knew where the Biblical ship has been for over 50 years. A four-page report known as 'Report Re: Noah's Ark' details how the CIA secretly searched for the Ark's location for nearly a decade, hoping to prove the legend true. According to the Bible, God commanded Noah to build a vast ship, the Ark, capable of saving himself, his family, and a pair of each of the world's animals from a Great Flood that wiped out all living things on Earth. While Noah's story is known worldwide, no evidence of Ark has ever been found. Scientists this month declared that a boat-shaped mound 18 miles south of Mount Ararat in Turkey is actually the fossilized remains of a massive vessel. Soil samples showed traces of clay-like materials, marine deposits, and ancient remnants of marine life dating back to the time of Noah. The team also suggested that the findings showed human activities in around Mt Ararat. The CIA file, declassified in 2002, appears to reveal that the US intelligence community has had their eyes on this exact spot since 1957. The agency investigated Mt Ararat from 1974 to 1982 using images from satellites and spy planes after the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) requested for any evidence of the Ark sitting at the site. A CIA document declassified in 2002 revealed that high-ranking government officials have been requesting information about the existence of Noah's Ark since 1974 Scientists say that a large boat-shaped geological structure could be the remains of Noah's Ark as new evidence shows the area was flooded 5,000 years ago Your browser does not support iframes. The CIA papers details how requests to track down the Ark came from multiple individuals within the US government. DCI William Colby, who headed the CIA from 1973 to 1976, was ordered to develop and advanced technology looking for satellite photography of Mt Ararat in 1974. The request came from Lt. Col. Walter Brown, a high ranking officials in the US Air Force, who was on a mission to determine 'whether any evidence of the Ark could be found.' The reason the Air Force was interested in Noah's Ark was not given. That set the hunt in motion. A U-2 spy plane was deployed to take images over Mt Ararat. Satellites were also moved above the area to 'examine the glacier systems there to see whether any evidence of the Ark could be found,' the report states. When intelligence officials inquired about the available information, they were told the aerial photography produced 'negative results.' However, Colby's request wouldn't be the last one the department would receive. The Durupinar Formation roughly matches the shape and dimensions of the Ark given in the Bible. New analysis of soil samples from the area shows that this region was underwater 3,500 to 5,000 years ago, during the supposed time of the biblical flood Over the next eight years, the CIA documented 10 more requests from high-profile individuals with ties to the government about Mt Ararat and Noah's Ark. This included members of Congress, a former astronaut, and several officials from the DCI's Intelligence Community Staff. In every instance, the CIA said that they had no evidence that Noah's Ark was located at the site on Mt Ararat. In a 1994 memo, the CIA revealed that they were continuing to shut down Freedom of Information Act requests for pictures of Mt Ararat, adding that the agency had 'no efforts currently underway either to review other records or conduct additional searches for Noah's Ark.' However, the latest work by researchers combing the area for signs of the Ark discovered a much different story. This includes evidence that the mound really did experience a devastating flood 5,000 years ago. Geologists strongly contest the theory and argue that the Durupinar Formation can be explained by natural physical processes According to the Bible, Noah's Ark saved humanity and all the animals from certain annihilation during an ancient flood Since 2021, scientists from Istanbul Technical University, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, and Andrews University in Michigan have been studying the site as part of the Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark Research Team. During the 7th International Symposium on Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark in 2023, researchers presented new evidence that could support their theory that the Durupinar Formation is an ancient ship. The team took 30 samples of soil and rock from around the structure and sent them to the Istanbul Technical University for analysis. Dating these samples uncovered that they were between 3,500 and 5,000 years-old - falling in line with the biblical account of the great flood Noah built his ship to survive. According to literal interpretations of the Bible, the world was covered with water during the Chalcolithic period - a time stretching from 5500 to 3000 BC. Despite claiming that there was no evidence of Noah's Ark at the site, these CIA repeatedly denied access to the surveillance photos, saying that the images were classified. In each request, intelligence officials only mentioned the spy plane photos from 1957 and satellite photos from the initial 1974 query by DCI Colby. It's not clear if the US government ever gathered more images of the area around Mt Ararat after 1974 - or if they had already seen everything they needed to by that time. The Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark Research Team insist that more study is needed and confirm that the structure discovered in Turkey is truly Noah's Ark. As for the CIA, what they knew or didn't know 50 years ago is still a mystery, at least for now. MailOnline Travel has selected the best answers from a Reddit thread Want to feel like you've fallen into the pages of a storybook? Well you can - with these incredibly beautiful fairytale destinations around the world. MailOnline Travel has selected some of the best answers from a Reddit thread, which asked which destinations people should visit if they want to feel like they're in a fairytale. From 'mesmerising' forests in the USA to bewitchingly beautiful historic towns in Europe - these places might make you believe in happily ever after... Mont-St-Michel, a tidal island in Frances Normandy region, is completely bewitching, according to the travellers who voted it as the most fairytale-like of the suggestions. However, SpaceForceRemorse issued a warning that the island isnt quite so magical when its packed with tourists. Despite its populariity, Aurelius_33 has a hack: Stay overnight at Tete Noire to see it without the crowds and get that magic. Its the only house thats privately owned that you can stay at and it was built in the 1400s. Has a view of the ocean and is riddled with history. Fantastic place! Reddit users have shared their favourite fairytale-like destinations around the world. Mont St Michel was the highest-rated spot on the thread The USA's Hoh Rainforest is an 'underrated gem' where one traveller felt as though 'little fairies' might jump out of the trees Toledo, Spain An ancient city in central Spain, Toledo might put you under a spell. BadChris666 says about Toledo: Depending on the day, you can find yourself completely alone on a little medieval backstreet. Iceland Iceland is unbe-lava-able according to several travellers. Emjay1997 recommends visiting in October when the moss and sky are yellow as the sun sets and the longer grass is slightly swaying in the wind and the mountains are illuminated with a nice golden hour glow. For Marpocky the country is almost like an alien planet in places. Hoh Rainforest, USA Hoh Rainforest in Washington state is Americas most fairytale-like spot, according to Reddit. Sighisoara (pictured above) in Romania will 'make you feel like you took a time machine' SamaireB describes it as an underrated gem explaining that it really feels like a fairyland, especially the Hall of Mosses. So, so beautiful and the colours are unbelievable. Thusnewmexico agrees, adding: It was a little eerie how thick the forest was, but also mesmerising and magical, almost like little fairies were going to peek out behind the mossy trees! Transylvania, Romania It might be most famous as the home of the mythical Count Dracula, but Romanias Transylvania region has much more than that to sink your teeth into. Magickj0hnson explains: Brasov, Sibiu and Sighisoara - the historical centres of these cities are absolutely gorgeous. Some parts of Sibiu make you feel like you took a time machine back to the 18th century. Ditto for Sighisoara. Brasov is filled with Gothic and Byzantine-style church towers that stand out against the Carpathian mountains. Cappadocia, Turkey Cappadocia, a Turkish region known for its rock formations, does not seem like a real place, according to FireShots. Tbzdn adds: The hundreds of hot air balloons lifting at sunset nearly every morning over the surreal landscape are one of the most fairytale-esque things Ive seen - in photo or in person. Prague is 'so dreamy' in winter when it's at its most beautiful, according to several travellers Bruges, Belgium Wandering Bruges streets makes you feel as though youve been transported back to medieval times, says Busylilmissy. Katiew84 agrees, adding: I visited Bruges in 2007 and have yet to find anywhere like it. It truly is like stepping into a fairytale. Prague, Czechia Prague is worth czeching out for a fairytale fix, according to several travellers, with the Czech capital at its most magical best during the winter. Texan775-Ta says: The best time to visit Prague is during the Christmas market season. It is unreal with the festive feel, the smell of chimney cakes and how beautifully decorated the Town Square is. MotherElderberry shares a fond memory, saying: My favourite photo Ive ever taken is of Prague Castle in winter and it honestly looks fake, it's so dreamy. Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria looks 'like something out of a movie' says one traveller Scotland Scotlands beauty was otherworldly for some travellers, including MightyCaseyStruckOut who says: I almost cried when we were driving through the Glencoe area. It was that beautiful. Bonnie Scotlands cities also hit the mark. Mrdibby says: Edinburgh in the evening, when the street lights have that golden glow, feels pretty magical. Bavaria, Germany Unsurprisingly, Germanys southern Bavaria region was another top fairytale destination for travellers. Proud-Pickle1406 loves the regions stunning gingerbread towns and says they would go back in a heartbeat. Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria is thought to have inspired Disneys Sleeping Beauty Castle and Mickeyblue2022 explains its almost like something out of a movie. If Neuschwanstein isnt on your bucket list, Bevymartbc says there are tons of old castles there and almost every one looks like it should be a Disney Princess castle. A UK travel vlogger and ex-cruise ship worker who relocated to a remote Greek Island with her partner and two cats has revealed the main reasons why she plans on never returning home. Emma and her partner Adam, both from Liverpool, emigrated to Zakynthos, Greece, in March 2023 after catching the travelling bug while working onboard luxury cruise ships. Trading the cold and dreary weather of Liverpool for the picturesque towns and sunshine of a small Greek island, Emma and Adam showcase the highs and lows of their new life in Greece to their thousands of viewers on Youtube and TikTok, with their profile aptly titled inourcases. Now, Emma has taken to TikTok to reveal why she has zero desire to ever return back to the UK and plans to continue expat life. Emmas primary reason for never settling back on British soil is really quite simple: She doesnt like the UK and thinks there are much better countries to live in. She adds: We dont understand why everybody is obsessed with the UK. We just think its not a great place to be living. In the video, Emma was also quick to slam her home country for its productive lifestyle and work-life balance, stating she doesnt love the idea of always working, working, working, talking about how hard you work, pushing all the hours'. The social media personality, who worked three different jobs before emigrating to Greece, admits that she was guilty of that when we lived in the UK. Emma and her partner Adam, both from Liverpool, emigrated to Zakynthos, Greece , in March 2023 after catching the travelling bug while working onboard luxury cruise ships Now, Emma has taken to TikTok to reveal why she has zero desire to ever return back to the UK and plans to continue expat life However, she now says that her approach has since changed and that the so-called emphasis on work is not for us. She adds: Everybody works so many hours and works so hard during the year for 28 days off. That lifestyle of living to work is just not for us. Perhaps the most unsurprising factor in Emmas refusal to return is the UKs cold and wet weather, especially given that she can now bask daily in the Greek sun. Reflecting on how she had such little desire to step outside even when she did manage to get time off work in the UK, she adds: The weather is so unpredictable, it's so gloomy and miserable, not for me. As prices soar and the cost of living crisis bites, Emma is just one of many Brits opting to ditch their lives in the UK and move abroad to save cash. Sharing that both her and Adam had ultimately been priced out of living in the UK, she said: We just couldnt afford it anymore. I dont understand how things can go up so quickly, its so expensive. Emma then went on to declare that the pay off from UK living just simply wasnt worth it for what she was getting in return, stating that she does not miss paying stupid amounts of money for UK food items that were not even that good. From aggressive behaviour, to road rage, Emma believes there is a constant feeling of unnecessary agg in the UK that is quite simply not for her. Emmas primary reason for never settling back on British soil is really quite simple: She doesnt like the UK and thinks there are much better countries to live in Emma and her partner moved to Zakynthos (pictured) She adds: Everything was a push, everything was a race, everything was aggression, negativity, doom and gloom. No thanks.' Several TikTok viewers were quick to criticise Emma for her negative views towards life in Britain, with one commenter jumping to the UK's defence, insisting that 'Britain is going through a rough patch at the moment but it's still great. You will be back if you have a medical emergency for the free NHS.' Meanwhile, others slammed the vlogger for attempting to provide an unrealistic solution to these qualms, with one user saying: 'It's not as easy as that going to live in a lovely warm country. I wish it was as many of us would go'. However, many viewers strongly resonated with Emma's negative experience of UK living and her desire to never return, with one commenter saying they were 'seriously considering' making the move to Greece themselves. As the Easter holidays are fast approaching and holidaymakers eagerly seek out their next holiday destination, there are a number of cheap flights on offer to help you get that affordable holiday fix. With fares starting from as little as 14.99, a wave of flights from varying UK airports to destinations across Europe are currently on offer, ranging from Ibiza to some authentic and trendy Italian spots. In February, budget airline Ryanair launched a new wave of cheap flights, offering fares just below 15 to fly from Londons Stansted Airport to the coastal southern Italian city of Reggio, Calabria. Often frequented by travellers looking to explore Sicily, the picturesque city boasts charming beaches and a rich history and architecture. It has even been named as a 2025 trending travel destination by travel experts at Skyscanner, due to the cheap flights on offer. For those looking for a more traditional city break on a budget, you are in luck, with Ryanairs 14.99 fares also stretching from Liverpool to the Hungarian capital of Budapest. While known for its majestic architecture and innovative arts scene, Budapest has also become an increasingly popular stag do destination due to its lively nightlife scene and affordable alcohol. In February, budget airline Ryanair launched a new wave of cheap flights, offering fares just below 15 to fly from London s Stansted Airport to the coastal southern Italian city of Reggio, Calabria Ryanairs 14.99 fares also stretch from Liverpool to the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Known for its majestic architecture and innovative arts scene, it's also an increasingly popular stag do destination due to its lively night life and affordable alcohol The popular Spanish Balearic Isle of Ibiza can also be reached cheaply, with one-way fares from Birmingham Airport coming in at just 14.99 at the beginning of April The Hungarian capital also ranks among the most budget-friendly European destinations for a short stay, according to the Post Office City Cost Barometer. Ranking seventh on a list of the top ten best value city breaks, the study found a cup of coffee, on average, costs 2.60 in Budapest, while a 330ml bottle of beer in a cafe costs 3.28. Meanwhile, a three-course evening meal for two, including house wine, totals approximately 63. For those looking for a perfect mix of nightlife and serene beauty, the popular Spanish Balearic Isle of Ibiza can also be cheaply reached, with one-way fares from Birmingham Airport to the Spanish island coming in at just 14.99 at the beginning of April. Ranked as Europes best 24-hour city due to its bustling night life, the isle is also renowned for its stunning hotels, white sandy beaches and delicious local cuisines. Newcastle Airport is also showing pocket-friendly 14.99 flights to Ibiza, which will reach highs of up to 20 degrees in April, while, from Edinburgh, holidaymakers can snap up flights to the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira at the end of April. Budget-friendly flights to Spain can also be found elsewhere, with East Midlands Airport currently offering facres for under 15 across the region to destinations such as Menorca, Barcelona and Palma. For travellers hoping to bask in the glorious French sunshine, Ryanair have also launched a new flight route from Manchester Airport to the 'pink city' of Toulouse at just 14.99 East Midlands Airport currently offering faces for under 15 across the region to destinations such as Menorca, Barcelona and Palma Ryanairs new, twice-weekly Manchester to Rabat, Moroccos capital, may also appeal. Holidaymakers can explore the handsome architecture, historic sites and sandy beaches For travellers hoping to bask in the glorious French sunshine, Ryanair have also launched a new flight route from Manchester Airport to Toulouse at just 14.99. Named as one of Lonely Planets best cities worldwide to visit, the capital of Frances southern Occitanie region is known as the pink city due to its unique picturesque buildings made of pinkish terracotta bricks. Home to a thriving food and drink scene, visitors can enjoy its ancient architecture and vibrant history and take a stroll along the Garonne River. But, for those wishing to travel slightly further afield, Ryanairs new, twice-weekly Manchester to Rabat, Moroccos capital, may also appeal. A compact gem off the Atlantic coast, holidaymakers can enjoy temperatures of up to 22 degrees while exploring the handsome architecture, historic sites and sandy beaches. Misplacing your phone or passport before takeoff can be enough to make anyone's heart race with panic. But before you dive into a frantic search, there's one crucial piece of advice airlines want passengers to know: if your phone falls down the side of your seat, alert a flight attendant immediately. While it may seem like a minor inconvenience, losing your phone on a plane actually becomes a serious safety concern - and there's a terrifying yet rational reason behind it. Back in 2018, a Qantas passenger dropped his phone during a flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia. As he attempted to retrieve the device, it became crushed after he moved his seat - resulting in the phone emitting 'smoke.' Fortunately, the cabin crew quickly responded and contained the incident before it escalated. It soon transpired that the phone's lithium-ion batteries had caught on fire, causing the device to 'smoke.' Lithium-ion batteries, which power most of our devices, including smartphones, pose a significant risk when they're crushed or damaged, as they can overheat, ignite, or even explode. Losing your phone on a plane actually becomes a serious safety concern - as lithium-ion batteries, which power most of our devices, including smartphones, pose a significant risk This is why passengers are now advised to notify the cabin crew immediately if their phone slips between the seats. Flight attendants are trained to handle such situations and can take appropriate action to mitigate the risk. While it may be tempting to retrieve your device yourself, it's always safer to let the professionals handle it. According to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority, more than 40 fires were sparked on planes in the last five years due to mobile phones being crushed after they fell down aircraft seats. The issue is set to continue to be a significant hazard in the future. Statistics collated by the aviation regulator were revealed in an official report into a fire on board a British Airways Dreamliner caused by a mobile phone being damaged by a seat. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch report (AAIB) stated: 'The CAA has received 166 reports of PEDs lost in passenger seats in the last five years. 'A quarter of these events resulted in fire or smoke in the cabin, demonstrating that this is a significant hazard to the safety of the aircraft.' The remains of a mobile phone which caught fire after getting crushed by the seat mechanism on a British Airways Dreamliner plane, sparking a fire alert on a flight from Miami to Heathrow In 2023, the CAA issued a warning to passengers to pack lithium batteries, including those in phones, power banks, and spare batteries, in their carry-on baggage, not checked luggage, to avoid the risk of fire. It comes as two airlines have banned an everyday item from being used their planes over fears they could explode in midair. Vietnam Airlines and budget carrier Vietjet Air said that passengers are now not allowed to use lithium-based powerbanks aboard their planes. Many airlines across the world have banned the use of the devices on their planes in recent years due to the risk they carry of igniting unexpectedly. Over the weekend, both airlines said their passengers were not allowed to use them on their planes. Passengers also have to take them out of carry-on bags and place them so they are visible at all times. Most people crave a holiday, somewhere warm and sunny just to get away from it all, knowing it's only for a brief time. But for some brave people, they decide to take the plunge and uproot their lives for new beginnings. And that's exactly what the Hutchinson family did two years ago, selling their house and quitting their jobs to travel the world. The family-of-five from Corby, Northamptonshire left the UK and have become modern-day nomads. Chris and Tamira upped sticks with their children - Olivia, 11, Scarlett, 9, and Bella, 5 - in 2023. Since then they have visited Thailand, China and Malaysia, and are currently exploring Dubai - all while home schooling their three girls. In a video uploaded to their family TikTok account (@thehutchinsons), Tamira revealed that they sold their home in January 2023 and by May they had hopped on a plane, uprooting their family to travel the world. She told her followers: 'Yes we did sell our family home that we lived in for ten years. In 2022 in August we put it up for sale, and it was a really gruelling period not know whether it was going to sell or not, and then in January 2023 we got an offer and it was all completed in May.' Chris and Tamira upped sticks with their children - Olivia, 11, Scarlett, 9, and Bella, 5 - in 2023 and have visited Thailand, China and Malaysia and Dubai - all while home schooling their daughters She said that she has no regrets about the decision and went on to explain that she believes the her children are better off exploring the world. 'So yeah. We sold our family house, quit our full time jobs, we took the girls out of school and we have been travelling ever since and we definitely don't look back as a family,' she said. In a separate video, the mother-of-three revealed how she educates her children after explaining that they don't go to traditional schools and she doesn't believe in the UK education system. 'No our children do not attend school. We took them out of the education system because we felt like it wasn't really giving them what they needed,' Tamira said. The nomad added that she wanted her children to be given more attention and that it was more useful to them to explore different cultures than be sat in a classroom in the UK. 'Being stuck in a classroom every single day in a class of 30 plus I think a few thing happened to friends and family members it health conditions and it really shocked us and made us fee like we really wanted to give our children the best and show them the world and also educate them ourselves.' She added: 'We do homeschool them in the morning time and then use our travel period to do world schooling - learning about different countries, learning about different cultures, learning about different foods.' But Tamira did add that she is following the national curriculum in the UK so her daughters are not missing out on the basics. She said that she has no regrets about the decision and went on to explain that she believes the her children are better off exploring the world and being homeschooled She said 'We do the homeschooling where I do still follow the English curriculum. 'We do write up our experiences and we do still follow it with them so yes, they do not attend any school. We do keep up with their education still in line with the national curriculum in England. 'But no. No attendance of school which means we are able to travel full time.' When asked by a follower about her children not being able to make long-term friendships, Tamira said that it was a myth and that in the UK her eldest daughter's friends were being split up to go to different secondary schools. The TikToker elaborated by saying that Olivia's friendship groups were being broken up anyway, adding that the school system picks apart relationships and 'just throws them to a completely different school.' 'Changing schools, losing that friendship group that can be quite a traumatising change especially when it's not the child's decision,' she added. The couple have also discussed in previous videos that there were several reasons they decided to up sticks and leave the UK. In one clip, Chris the first reasons was the cost of living crisis back in the UK, with Chris saying: 'You have to work every hour God sends just to afford the necessities and keep a roof over your head. There's no room for enjoyment.' While Tamira 'worldschools' their children, she did add that she is following the national curriculum in the UK so her daughters are not missing out on the basics When asked about her children making long-term friendships, Tamira said that it was a myth and that in the UK her eldest daughter's friends were being split up to go to different secondary schools anyway The couple have also discussed in previous videos that there were several reasons they decided to up sticks and leave the UK including the cost of living and the better weather abroad In an earlier video on their TikTok page, Tamira had outlined how the family are budgeting on their travels. She said that they allow themselves roughly 35 per night for accommodation, and up to 40 for 'daily living' including food and drink. This contrasts to the family spending roughly a month before they left, covering their mortgage, bills, groceries, petrol, and other expenses. The high cost of living also ties into why the family left Britain in the first place, with the parents realising that they were missing out on their girls growing up, and not seeing much of each other either given the hours they were working to provide. Chris continued to reveal the second reason for not returning to the UK was the 'woke ideology'. He explained: 'You can't say boo to a goose anymore. Everybody's offended, everybody's appalled, and it just leaves everyone feeling awkward and scared to say anything.' The third reason he gave was the weather. 'This is something that can't be changed unfortunately,' he said. 'If you can't afford to get away to warmer climates at least once a year, it can get pretty depressing. 'We have about nine months of the year with doom and gloom, when it finally gets to the "British summer" it's pretty much raining all the time, but you might get that one freakishly hot day.' Italians are being given the chance to relocate to a picturesque and peaceful region of the country - and they could be paid a huge sum to do so. Renowned for its beautiful mountain ranges, the northern Italian region of Trentino has suffered with a declining population in recent years. But now, under a 2024 national budget law in Italy, residents could be paid up 100,000 to relocate to the region where the Dolomites meet the Alps. The grant comes as part of an effort to repopulate and renovate more than 30 towns in Italy which are on the brink of extinction. Some such towns are home to more abandoned than inhabited properties. In an effort to incentivise the purchase of abandoned or run-down houses, Trentino has allocated more than 10million over the next two years towards the project. Italian residents and those living abroad interested in such an investment will be offered a grant consisting of around 80,000 towards renovation and a further 20,000 to help with the purchase of the property. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, there is a catch. Anyone who chooses to sign up for a grant must commit to living in Trentino for a decade or, failing that, agree to rent the property out for the same amount of time. The northern Italian region of Trentino has suffered with a declining population in recent years despite its beauty But now, under a 2024 national budget law in Italy, residents could be paid up 100,000 euros to relocate to the picturesque area The new scheme is aimed at attracting new residents to towns and villages with declining populations Those who receive a grant and fail to adhere to such rules could be forced to return their funding. President of Trento, the capital of Trentino, said: 'The goal is to revitalise local communities and promote territorial cohesion.' Over the past couple years, a number of quaint Italian towns have been subject to a government-backed scheme which has seen properties sold for less than a pint of lager. The 'one euro' scheme was launched in 2017 to help boost local economies and attract new residents to towns and villages with a declining population, with buyers required to renovate the properties within a specified timeframe. Thereby, homeseekers were offered the opportunity to snap up charming properties in picturesque locations for just a euro. From the rolling hills of Sicily to the rustic villages of Calabria, over 100 homes have found new owners through the initiative so far. Trentino's scheme could see 100 residents provided with the funds needed to move in and renovate a run-down property in villages such as Val di Non, Val di Sole, or Castello Tesino Trentino's scheme could too see 100 residents provided with the funds needed to move in and renovate a run-down property in villages such as Val di Non, Val di Sole, or Castello Tesino - which could otherwise become totally extinct. 'These are territories that, while maintaining a strong cultural and landscape identity, have seen a progressive decrease in residents', Nicola Teofilo, a real estate writer for Immobiliaire News reported. 'Many of these villages are located in mountain or valley contexts, where daily life can be more complex due to the distance from the main services.' People under 45 already living in the northern region are excluded from applying for the grant, with those involved in the scheme limited to the purchase of just three units. Trentino officials hope to finalise the scheme in the coming weeks, with 33 towns expected to be included. A Working Man (15, 116 mins) Verdict: Violent and formulaic Rating: Jason Statham, in A Working Man, plays a sheepish antiquarian bookseller who has shied away from confrontation his whole life. Oh alright, that's a lie. I just wanted to see what it might look like on the page. In fact, he plays a hard-nut ex-commando who is persuaded out of retirement when some nasty people kidnap his employer's daughter. At first he half-heartedly protests that his days of hunting down bad guys and stabbing them in the neck with screwdrivers are behind him. 'I'm a different person now,' he grunts, with a faraway look in his steely eye. 'It's not who I am any more,' he adds, convincing nobody, least of all the audience. Very soon, as you have surely guessed, he is back slashing throats and breaking heads, a one-man killing machine. This granite-jawed alpha-male is called Levon Cade, a daft name straight out of a trashy novel, or in this case a 2014 novel entitled Levon's Trade, by one Chuck Dixon. I don't know whether it's trashy because I haven't read it. But I've seen this film, or slight variations of it, a thousand times. A Working Man, directed by David Ayer, is co-written by Ayer and Sylvester Stallone. They're a pair of old pros who know that no matter how many baddies their hero liquidates, for the audience to empathise with him he needs a soft side. So Cade has a school-age daughter he loves more than life itself, even though he has lost custody of her to his sneering millionaire father-in-law. And if that's not soft enough for you, he can also identify Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. If you cross him he'll batter your eyeballs out, but he knows his classical music. In A Working Man, Jason Statham (above) plays a hard-nut ex-commando who is persuaded out of retirement when some nasty people kidnap his employer's daughter At first he half-heartedly protests that his days of hunting down bad guys and stabbing them in the neck with screwdrivers are behind him Very soon, as you have surely guessed, he is back slashing throats and breaking heads, a one-man killing machine Cade runs a construction site in Chicago but sounds like he grew up in Great Yarmouth. Nobody in the entire course of the movie so much as raises an eyebrow at his Limey accent, but that may be because they're too busy trying to kill him, and would, if only they could shoot straight. In any case, they all have accents too. The abduction of Jenny (Arianna Rivas), the daughter of Cade's employer, turns out to involve psychopathic Russian gangsters, who insist on speaking broken English to one another except when they get extremely emotional. Only then do they lapse, one senses grudgingly, into their native tongue. All this is as formulaic as Einstein's Theory of Relativity, only not nearly as clever. That said, it's fun to watch Jason Flemyng hamming it up heroically as a wife-beating Russian Mob boss, and at least he has more acting to do than poor Michael Pena, who as the abducted girl's father does hardly anything except weep. Last year, you'll recall, Statham starred in a ridiculous film called The Beekeeper, in which he played a retired special forces soldier who abandoned his apiary to go on a righteous killing spree. That, too, was directed by Ayer who, I like to think, will one day offer Statham another hard-as-nails role as an ex-soldier lured back into combat, only to be met with an unyielding: 'I'm a different person now. That's not who I am any more.' We can only hope. Novocaine (15, 110 mins) Verdict: Pretty painful Rating: While A Working Man is about as original as a traffic cone, Novocaine gets off to an intriguing start, with the promise of something a bit different. Jack Quaid plays Nate Caine, mild-mannered assistant manager at a bank in San Diego, who on an awkward first date with Sherry (Amber Midthunder), a colleague he fancies, admits that he has a congenital condition which makes him immune to pain. Far from being useful, this has blighted his life. As a kid he was bullied by boys who nicknamed him 'Novocaine', and neurotically sheltered by his parents, who were terrified he might bleed to death without even knowing he was hurt. As an adult he is a loner, his only friend a fellow video-gamer (Jacob Batalon), not that they've ever laid eyes on each other. Jack Quaid (above) plays Nate Caine, mild-mannered assistant manager at a bank in San Diego, who on an awkward first date with a colleague he fancies, admits that he has a congenital condition which makes him immune to pain But Nate's condition suddenly becomes handy when his bank is violently robbed, and the murderous robbers take Sherry with them as a hostage. Nervously, he sets off in pursuit and gets into all sorts of alarming scrapes. This is fun for a while, until you realise co-directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen really have only one card to play: Nate must keep doing stuff that makes us wince with imagined pain, and it must get nastier to stop us getting bored. So the film mutates into a kind of torture comedy, getting steadily less funny. On the upside, there's a neat mid-way twist that I didn't see coming, and Quaid (son of Dennis) is a fine comic actor as engaging in his way as his mother Meg Ryan. Not that she'd get involved in anything as gruesome as this, unless you can somehow picture When Harry Waterboarded Sally. Both films are in cinemas now. Also Showing By Larushka Ivan-Zadeh Holland (18, 110 mins) Rating: Prepare for movie deja vu with Holland, a lush-looking thriller starring Nicole Kidman as yet another hot, control-freak blonde whose perfect life hides a dark secret. Set in the town of Holland, Michigan, it sees Kidman's desperate housewife turn amateur sleuth when she suspects her optometrist husband (Matthew Macfadyen) of gaslighting her. Set in the town of Holland, Michigan, the movie sees Nicole Kidman (above) play a desperate housewife-turned amateur sleuth when she suspects her optometrist husband of gaslighting her Is he having an affair? Or is it all in her head? Visually, director Mimi Cave wows with her kitschy, David Lynch-esqe surrealism. Sadly, the plotting is bizarrely haphazard. Kidman gives it her mighty all, supported by solid work from Jude Hill (the boy from Belfast) and Gael Garcia Bernal. But a botched third act means no one comes out of Holland smelling of tulips. Streaming now on Prime. The Woman In The Yard (15, 98 mins) Rating: This is a psychological horror film which, at under an hour and a half, is well worth the price of cinema admission, if you like this sort of thing. Danielle Deadwyler, so terrific as a bereaved mother in Till (2022), again shows her class as a woman, Ramona, who is overwhelmed by physical, financial and emotional challenges following the death of her husband in a road accident. Danielle Deadwyler (above) again shows her class as a woman, Ramona, who is overwhelmed by physical, financial and emotional challenges following the death of her husband in a road accident Ramona and her two children live in a ramshackle farmhouse where one day they get a visit from a sinister woman draped in black, who sits in the front yard and refuses to leave. Gradually we realise who she might be and what she means when she tells them, creepily: 'Today's the day.' The director is Jaume Collet-Sera, best-known for action thrillers, but he started out making horror films and this is a worthwhile return to the genre. And it never outstays its welcome. The End (12A, 148 mins) Rating: By Brian Viner I wish I could say the same for The End, which makes wishful thinking of its own title, despite an impressive cast including Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, George MacKay and Tim McInerny. Despite an impressive cast including Tilda Swinton and George MacKay (both above), The End makes wishful thinking of its own title Like (the overrated) Emilia Perez, The End makes an offbeat musical out of an unusual premise. In this case, a wealthy family has survived a global apocalypse and now lives in a luxurious underground bunker. It can't be faulted for ambition, but it's a bloated and self-indulgent exercise on the part of writer-director Joshua Oppenheimer. Advertisement There was chaos on BBC Breakfast when an Adolescence star suffered a wardrobe malfunction live on air and a host scrambled to help her. Christine Tremarco, 48, featured on the morning show hosted by Charlie Stayt, 62, and Nina Warhurst, 44, on Thursday. She starred as Manda Miller in the popular Netflix series which follows the story of a teenage boy, played by newcomer Owen Cooper, who was accused of murdering a female classmate. Each episode was filmed in a single continuous take and is a chilling depiction of radicalisation and incel culture involving young boys. Charlie asked the actress if things went wrong during shooting due to the nature of the filming technique. 'Things happened in episode one, the lights went out in the studio - I think that was my ring - things go wrong,' she said laughing as her ring flew off her hand and landed on the table mid-sentence. Christine Tremarco, 48, featured on the morning show hosted by Charlie Stayt, 62, and Nina Warhurst, 44, on Thursday Charlie asked the actress if things went wrong during shooting due to the nature of the filming technique 'Things happened in episode one, the lights went out in the studio - I think that was my ring - things go wrong,' she said laughing as her ring flew off her hand and landed on the table Christine continued: 'The lights went out in the studio and it was in the interview scenes but the cast just carried on. 'But then it had to cut because the lights had gone out but they just sort of improvised around the lights going off again. 'Or a door was shut once in episode four when a camera was coming through and the door was meant to be a bit open, things like that.' The trio then continued to talk about the powerful message behind Adolescence and at the end of the interview, Charlie hurriedly picked up Christine's ring for her. 'Nice to see you here this morning, thank you very much. Shall I just recover your, shall I just get that for you... throwing your arms around so much, that's what happens,' the presenter said as he handed Christine the jewellery. 'Anything can happen,' the hosts joked. Since its launch, Adolescence has amassed 66.3 million views, making it the most-watched limited series and most-watched UK title ever through its first two weeks, with a huge 161,000,000 hours viewed. Coming in at number two on the English TV list this week was The Residence, the latest series from Shondaland, whilst The Electric State maintained its hold on the number one slot on the English films list, with 22.5 million views. The trio then continued to talk about the powerful message behind Adolescence and at the end of the interview, Charlie hurriedly picked up Christine's ring for her Since its launch, Adolescence has amassed 66.3 million views, making it the most-watched limited series and most-watched UK title ever through its first two weeks, with a huge 161,000,000 hours viewed Over the weekend Adolescence made British TV history, becoming the first streaming show ever to become the most-watched programme of the week. The drama has captivated audiences and critics since it hit Netflix earlier this month, with each episode filmed in a single continuous take. While the show is already being tipped for a string of BAFTA nominations, figures published by ratings body BARB on Sunday showed that the first episode was watched by 6.45 million people in its first week. Breakfast airs on BBC One from 6am and is available to stream on iPlayer. Charlie Stayt left BBC Breakfast co-host Nina Warhurst squirming when he showed photos from her forgotten acting career in the middle of the live broadcast. The beloved morning programme saw the two presenters cover the top news stories on Friday. Beyond Paradise stars Barbara Flynn and Jamie Bamber featured on the show and host Charlie dropped into the conversation that Nina used to act. 'Nina has also been an actor, do you know this?' the presenter chimed in. Barbara confirmed she knew which surprised Nina who asked: 'Oh. Do you?' to which the actress replied, 'Yes, I do'. 'It was a very long time ago,' Nina explained. Charlie Stayt left BBC Breakfast co-host Nina Warhurst squirming when he showed photos from her forgotten acting career in the middle of the live broadcast Beyond Paradise stars Barbara Flynn and Jamie Bamber featured on the show and host Charlie dropped into the conversation that Nina (pictured) used to act Chris then went on to tease, 'Would you like to see a little bit of Nina's acting?' Nina exclaimed: 'What! How have you done this without me knowing?' Photographs of Nina's acting days were they displayed on the screen and the presenter explained what they were. "This is Casualty Christmas special back in 1997,' she said before joking, 'You can just see the acting in my eyes and you can now see why I moved into journalism.' Nina quipped: 'Anyway, thanks for that Charlie,' to which her co-host replied laughing, 'Well it would be a shame not to.' During the same episode, Adolescence star Christine Tremarco suffered a wardrobe malfunction live on air. She starred as Manda Miller in the popular Netflix series which follows the story of a teenage boy, played by newcomer Owen Cooper, who was accused of murdering a female classmate. Each episode was filmed in a single continuous take and is a chilling depiction of radicalisation and incel culture involving young boys. Charlie asked the actress if things went wrong during shooting due to the nature of the filming technique. 'Things happened in episode one, the lights went out in the studio - I think that was my ring - things go wrong,' she said laughing as her ring flew off her hand and landed on the table mid-sentence. Photographs of Nina's acting days were they displayed on the screen and the presenter explained what they were "This is Casualty Christmas special back in 1997,' she said before joking, 'You can just see the acting in my eyes and you can now see why I moved into journalism.' Christine continued: 'The lights went out in the studio and it was in the interview scenes but the cast just carried on. 'But then it had to cut because the lights had gone out but they just sort of improvised around the lights going off again. 'Or a door was shut once in episode four when a camera was coming through and the door was meant to be a bit open, things like that.' The trio then continued to talk about the powerful message behind Adolescence and at the end of the interview, Charlie hurriedly picked up Christine's ring for her. 'Nice to see you here this morning, thank you very much. Shall I just recover your, shall I just get that for you... throwing your arms around so much, that's what happens,' the presenter said as he handed Christine the jewellery. 'Anything can happen,' the hosts joked. Breakfast airs on BBC One from 6am and is available to stream on iPlayer. A new Netflix docu-series has sparked a national treasure hunt after one of the men who appears in the show revealed that he has buried his very own box of gold somewhere in the American West. Justin Posey stars in the three-part series Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn's Treasure, which tells the story of how a man named Forrest Fenn created chaos back in 2010 when he buried a $1 million treasure chest in Yellowstone National Park. The key to finding it lay within a cryptic 24-line poem, spurring a decade-long treasure hunt where people gave up their jobs, their families, and even their lives in pursuit of Fenn's hidden millions. Posey was one of those people, and admits he was 'captivated (i.e. obsessed) by Forrest Fenn's treasure' for the better part of ten years - but unfortunately, he wasn't the one who found it. Instead, Fenn's goods were discovered by medical student and former journalist Jonathan 'Jack' Stuef in Wyoming in June 2020. Software engineer Posey is now following in Fenn's footsteps. He has created his very own website and allegedly dropped clues in the Netflix series. In the first episode of Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn's Treasure, Posey is heard speaking with a producer off screen and whispers: 'I wanted to let you know, I've hidden some clues in that interview setup, within all the spaces you guys have filmed in my house.' 'Clues to what?' the man asks, as Posey replies, 'Well, I'm planning on hiding a treasure hopefully Forrest's.' A new Netflix docu-series called Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn's Treasure has sparked a national treasure hunt Forrest Fenn is the man who hid a chest of gold and other goods in 2010, and some people spent the best part of a decade looking for it Justin Posey, who stars in the three-part Netflix series, has now started his own treasure hunt However, it's been reported that Netflix and the creators of the new documentary series don't know whether the clues actually made it into the final cut or not. But that hasn't stopped viewers from deciphering what they can, with one person having already created a map - which they posted on Reddit. Alongside an image of their graphic, they wrote: 'Just finished Gold & Greed which led me to Justin's website. I've seen some Reddit comments about yellowstone or granite creek, but I just get a strong Alaska vibe. 'He included Alaska in the map on his website, and the poem is called beyond the map's edge. Seemingly beyond mainland USA. 'The line "beyond the reach of times swift race" makes me think of the arctic where the days or nights are long.' They continued: 'The line "double arcs on granite bold" I think of the granite Talkeetna mountains north of Anchorage. When you zoom out of southern Alaska it looks like double arcs. 'Also, this could be a stretch but the word arc being in the word arctic,' the Reddit user added. Others were quick to comment on the thread as one person admitted: 'Just finished the series and I have to admit, as a single guy is 40s with not a whole heck of a lot tying me down, I could see myself getting lost in this.' In the first episode, Justin is heard speaking with a producer off screen and whispers: 'I wanted to let you know, I've hidden some clues in that interview setup' Justin's poem Beyond The Map's Edge gives treasure hunters clues, but it's believed he also hid some in the series too One Reddit user has already created a map based on Justin's clues and his website Pointing out a potential clue, a second person wrote: 'Hey I'm not near the state not going to participate so here's a clue look at what he does with the hands of the clock on the documentary.' Someone else replied and suggested: 'Probably lat/long for a starting place. I was thinking the same thing but I'm too lazy to go back and watch it.' Posey's website states that 'a 60 pound treasure awaits discovery, filled to the brim with precious metals, gemstones, historical artifacts, and more.' He urges people to 'go find it,' before adding: 'I dare you,' and describing the goods that are up for grabs. Posey promises gold in the form of PAMP Suisse kilogram bars, gold flakes, gold dust, and more. He's also included precious gemstones such as 'large loose emeralds, rubies, and deep purple amethysts.' He teases that the loot is also 'filled with artifacts throughout history-the 3rd century Kushan Dynasty, the Crusades, the Byzantine Empire, even the Persian Shi'ite Buyid Dynasty. I included one of the oldest coins ever made by man during the Lydian empire around 561 BC.' Posey goes on to list unique items, such as a large meteorite and other special pieces as well as a Bitcoin wallet in the form of 'a cryptocurrency component that grows with book sales.' Forrest's actions spurred a decade-long treasure hunt where people gave up their jobs, their families, and even their lives in pursuit of his hidden millions Jonathan 'Jack' Stuef, who found Fenn's treasure in June 2020, is seen here with him shortly after discovering the goods On Thursday, when one X (Twitter) user asked Posey if the goods had been discovered yet, he replied: 'The treasure has NOT been found!' Writing on his website, he told those who are interested: 'At the heart of Beyond The Map's Edge is a poem, and this poem unlocks my treasure hunt. 'Although the other elements will certainly assist you, the poem is the key, and I want everyone to have it freely. I'm including it here. 'Check back frequently. The first few days of this hunt will be an exciting time, as people who never looked for treasure will start to make plans. 'It's as if, without knowing it, your life has been mapped out. This map chronicles your day-to-day routine. But now you're picking up a signal you've never heard before. 'Something is calling you, beckoning you to go beyond the map's edge! Who knows what adventures await!' he added. Former Impractical Jokers' star Joe Gatto has been accused by two teenage girls of encouraging them to kiss and lift up their tops so he could stroke their stomachs in the latest allegation to hit the comedian. Gatto, 48, was accused of 'unwanted behaviors' by a former employee, who characterized them as 'sexual harassment,' days after he faced allegations of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old. He denied the claim. Now, Grace Kennedy and recent high school graduate Brianna Ochoa have shared their experience with Gatto in a 10-minute TikTok video which featured alleged messages from the comedian asking for nudes, and detailed their multiple encounters with him, the most recent taking place in December 2024. They say the alleged messages were sent in 'vanish mode,' which they believe was 'because he's smart and he knows what he was doing.' In a screenshot shared in the video, Brianna showed her followers that Joe reposted her photo with him after they met at one of his shows and messaged her: 'You were adorable. Thanks for coming.' Brianna said he also paid her for 'gas and Chipotle,' sharing the Venmo notification that she was paid $35 by Joe G. Former Impractical Jokers' star Joe Gatto has been accused by two teenage girls of encouraging them to kiss and lift up their tops in the latest allegation to hit the comedian Grace Kennedy and recent high school graduate Brianna Ochoa posted a TikTok video sharing the latest accusations against Joe. They claim he asked for nude photos of them and invited them to his hotel room at night back in December 2024 Brianna's dad accompanied them for the second show they attended and Gatto's behavior was not 'weird' when they went backstage. But after the show, Grace claimed: 'He was texting us a lot.' Brianna added: 'A lot, a lot. Like, constantly. More than he should've.' They say he gifted them tickets and a meet and greet for a third show on December 6, 2024 in Salem, Oregon, which is when they claim it 'started to get weird.' First, they claim he advised them to wear pajamas. In a screenshot of the alleged message exchange he wrote: 'Too cold for a skirt or leggings... I'm sure you won't disappoint. Wear the pjs you're in.' 'Stuff started getting weird because he was telling us to kiss,' Grace said of the meeting after the show. Brianna added: 'Basically, he told us to kiss three times in a row. Not make out or anything. Like a peck.' She continued: 'He was being so weird and he fed me a mango with his fingers. I was sitting on the couch and he was standing above me and he was like, "Do you want a bite?" and then he fed me with his fingers and it was really awkward.' Grace claimed he then told them to take a seat on the couch with him and 'told us to lift up our shirts, so we did,' adding: 'We couldn't not, you know.' The teens shared photos of them with Joe in the TikTok video, showing that the three of them did in fact meet during his comedy tour Their message exchange (pictured) with Gatto began when Brianna shared a photo of her meeting Joe, she claims in the TikTok video She continued: 'And then he asked to touch them, and that's when it started getting weird. He was stroking our bellies. He was touching our belly buttons.' Grace claims he then 'kissed' her on the cheek before they left the dressing room. They allege he gave them a $100 bill 'for driving so far' and paid for a $200 hotel 'right next to his.' Grace explained: 'We're at the hotel at this time, the one he bought us, and he's still texting us and he is asking us for videos of us kissing, making out, nudes. I mean all of that, but all of this was in vanish mode. 'He was literally basically begging us to come over to his hotel, saying that he'll sneak us around the back so none of his, you know, people on set would see,' Brianna said. 'And he was really just trying everything... like in general, "Are you gonna come over?"' They ultimately decided to not meet up with him because they weren't going to go to a '50 year old's' hotel room in the middle of the night. 'Obviously, we were like caught up in the moment and come on now, we're lesbians and we don't like men,' Briana shared with her followers. 'We were like, "This is crazy. He has a wife and kids. Like this is insane."' Gatto and his wife Bessy have been married since 2013. They briefly separated in 2022, but reconciled nearly two years later. They have a daughter Milana, nine, and a son Remo, seven. Brianna shared proof that she had met Gatto, who she called her 'favorite person on this planet' in a November 2024 Instagram post. Joe commented, 'Great to meet you. Thanks for coming' In a DM exchange, which was shared in the TikTok video, Joe allegedly messaged them: 'You ladies are chill. Happy to make you smile. I owed you from last time. Now you owe me. Oh but gave me the gift card. So we're even' The teens thought it was 'weird' that he was sending them inappropriate messages when he was married and has two kids (pictured with his wife Bessy in 2020) In another DM exchange that was shared in the TikTok video, Gatto allegedly messaged them: 'You ladies are chill. Happy to make you smile. I owed you from last time. Now you owe me. Oh but gave me the gift card. So we're even.' They replied: 'We're glad to hear that lol. We love seeing and talking to you. Makes us happy.' Before concluding their video, they told their followers that their experience with him seemingly ended when he wanted them to 'do the dirty.' They ensured their followers that their 10-minute video was not about him 'sexually assaulting us in any way, shape or form,' and confirmed that 'nothing physical happened.' Brianna concluded: 'Obviously, he's not a great man, and what we should be focused on is not teenage girls going to his hotel. What we should be focused on is a 50-year-old man inviting teenage girls to hotels.' Grace added: 'Married with kids.' DailyMail.com has reached out to Brianna Ochoa and Grace Kennedy for comment. In a statement, Gatto said: 'I have used poor judgment and as a result have violated the trust of the people I love most. But anyone who knows me at all knows full well that I wouldnt assault anyone. 'Working on myself is an ongoing process, and I am now going to take some time away from the public eye to focus my energies where I need to.' On March 26, he told fans that he had entered an inpatient program for treatment and had canceled his upcoming scheduled tour dates. It came after a TikTok user alleged on March 22 that Gatto sexually assaulted her after she met him before one of his shows in Milwaukee in September 2023. He denied the claim. In a statement he admitted he 'used poor judgement' and later revealed he had 'decided to voluntarily enter an inpatient program to continue working on myself' 'Having taken some time to reflect, Ive decided to voluntarily enter an inpatient program to continue working on myself,' he wrote. 'I just want to thank my friends, fans and especially my family for all of their support never more so than over the last few days.' The allegations of inappropriate conduct began on March 22 when a TikTok user named Joozyb claimed he assaulted her after she met him before one of his shows in Milwaukee in September 2023. After the show, she said they continued messaging each other, adding in her TikTok video: 'I was drunk, whatever, and he was texting me all this stuff. And, like, it was starting to get a little weird, you know.' She claimed Gatto then put their messages on Instagram into 'vanish mode', and told her how to get to where he was staying that night. The accuser did not go into detail about the alleged sexual assault, but said that 'some stuff happened' and shared an image of her backside with a large bruise across it, claiming: 'Here's what he did... with his TEETH.' He has since denied the allegations. He was then accused of 'unwanted behaviors' by a former employee, who claimed she first met him during one of his live shows when she was 15, and that by the time she turned 18 he had become 'very flirtatious.' The employee, who previously worked for Gatto during his time on Impractical Jokers alleged that at times he 'inappropriately grabbed her' and 'asked for back massages.' She further alleged that Gatto invited her to his room with a request to cuddle, and repeatedly asked her about her sex life. In response to this, he shared the same statement: 'I have used poor judgment and as a result have violated the trust of the people I love most. But anyone who knows me at all knows full well that I wouldnt assault anyone. 'Working on myself is an ongoing process, and I am now going to take some time away from the public eye to focus my energies where I need to.' Sean 'Diddy' Combs is now facing another in a long list of lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault. The 55-year-old rap mogul is accused of coercing a male photographer into performing a sexual act on him in exchange for an offer to make his 'career take off,' according to documents obtained by DailyMail.com The photographer, referred to only as 'John Doe,' claims Diddy manipulated him into performing oral sex on him while on the set of a commercial shoot in his lawsuit, which was filed in New York State Supreme Court. In a statement to DailyMail.com, Diddy's representatives said: 'No matter how many lawsuits are filed especially by individuals who refuse to put their own names behind their claims it wont change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone man or woman, adult or minor. 'We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason. Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth, and Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail in court.' The rapper who recently scored a legal victory in another lawsuit has previously denied all allegations made in all previous sexual assault lawsuits filed against him. Sean 'Diddy' Combs is now facing another in a long list of lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault after a male photographer claims he was forced to perform a sex act on the rapper; Diddy pictured in 2018 in NYC The 55-year-old rapper allegedly coerced the photographer into performing oral sex on him in exchange for advancing his career, according to documents obtained by DailyMail.com; Diddy pictured in 2018 in NYC He has also denied all federal charges filed against him last year. In the new lawsuit, the plaintiff states that he was working as a production photographer on commercials when the alleged assault occurred in 2022 or 2023. According to the documents, the photographer says he was working on set when Diddy was there during a major commercial shoot, though he doesn't clarify if Diddy was acting in the commercial, or if he had even been listed on the days's call sheet, which listed the shots that would be filmed that day and detailed which actors and crew would be required. The man claims he was told to bring the rapper back to set after he had been in his trailer between takes, a side task that he was sometimes required to do in addition to taking pictures. Diddy who is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he awaits federal trial allegedly had a conversation with the photographer before inviting him into his trailer. Although it was against the rules for crew members to join the 'talent' in their trailers, Doe claims he agreed to step inside after the rap executive 'downplayed' the prohibition and suggested it could benefit the plaintiff's career. But after entering the trailer, the anonymous man claims that Combs began making sexual advances at him before unzipping his pants. 'If you suck [it] right, Ill make your career take off,' Diddy allegedly told him, and the photographer says he also took that to mean that if he refused, then his career would be irretrievably damaged. The plaintiff claims he was working as a production photographer on the set of a major commercial when Diddy invited him into his trailer; Diddy seen in May 2023 in NYC John Doe alleges Diddy unzipped his pants and told him to 'suck [it] right' if he wanted him to make his 'career take off'; pictured in 2020 in Beverly Hills Doe, who states that he is straight, claims that he performed oral sex on Diddy 'under this coercive threat.' The photographer adds that, after the rapper climaxed, he allegedly was instructed to hold Diddy's semen in his mouth 'like a squirrel.' Doe claims that Diddy made violent threats to him after he didn't comply with the request. Despite the alleged offer of career benefits, the man says he never heard from Combs again. The photographer says he has suffered 'immeasurable emotional and mental pain' and 'trauma,' and he is suing Diddy for damages. John Doe's attorney, Tony Buzbee, posted about the case on Instagram shortly after DailyMail.com contacted him for comment. Buzbee referenced recent reports that he had withdrawn from multiple lawsuits filed against Diddy in New York federal court, as he is not currently admitted to practice in that federal jurisdiction. The attorney said he may have been 'too hasty' in dismissing people who throw around the term 'fake news,' which he connected to stories about him dropping out of the cases. The man was allegedly told to hold Diddy's semen in his mouth and was threatened when he didn't comply. He claims he never heard from Diddy again and was left with physical and emotional trauma; Diddy pictured in Hollywood in 2022 The photographer's attorney, Tony Buzbee, confirmed he was still leading cases against Diddy in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday Buzbee previously dropped out of several lawsuits filed against Diddy in New York federal court, as he isn't admitted to practice in that federal jurisdiction; Buzbee pictured in 2023 'One such item was that Ive bowed out of all of the Diddy litigation. Lets be clear. You heard it here first. I have NOT withdrawn from all the Diddy cases. Period. Indeed, that couldnt be further from the truth,' he stated. 'Today we filed suit for a professional photographer who alleges coercion and sexual assault against Sean P Diddy Combs. Plaintiff is a well-regarded professional photographer engaged in the production of television commercials,' Buzbee continued, before restating the lawsuit's claims. 'The facts alleged speak for themselves,' he added. 'I am proud to be spear heading these efforts to bring justice to those who formerly had no voice. It continues to be a team effort,' Buzbee concluded. 'We look forward to presenting these cases in court in due course and at the appropriate time.' Advertisement MasterChef Australia's Khanh Ong has flaunted his mega makeover on the cover of Men's Health. The celebrity chef, 31, sat down with the fitness publication on Tuesday to reveal the tips and tricks behind his huge transformation and the unusual exercise he swears by to keep lean. When asked by the publication how he felt being the latest face - and body - to grace the magazine's pages, he was in a state of disbelief. 'The bodies of the guys that were usually on the cover just didn't seem attainable to me, not just because they were so huge, but because they just didn't look like me,' he shared. Khanh revealed he didn't really care about fitness when growing up but a simple switch in attitude changed his perspective on health and wellness. 'It's not about how much you can bench or pure size, it's about living a balanced life,' he said, adding fitness isn't a look, but a feeling. MasterChef Australia's Khanh Ong, 31, has flaunted his mega makeover on the cover of Men's Health When asked by the publication how he felt being the latest faceand bodyto grace the magazine's pages, he was in a state of disbelief He put his transformation down to three things: eating healthy - but flavourful - food, a hands-on trainer and, surprisingly, Pilates. 'I think ten years ago everyone thought that Pilates was for women, but that's crazy because it can be so beneficial for everyone,' he told Australian Men's Health. The fitness foodie added the combination of both strength training and Pilates was his recipe for success, revealing Pilates strengthened his core which, in turn, meant he could lift more. As for eating healthy, which is often translated in the food sphere as bland and boring, Khanh hopes to transform the narrative by posting his healthy-but delicious recipes on Instagram. From noodle salads to his cheats chicken rice, he creates delicious restaurant-worthy dishes based on the macros his trainer tells him to eat and his creativity as a chef. This isn't the first time Khanh has gotten candid about his appearance. In May last year, the cook revealed the many cosmetic procedures he has had done on social media. In a candid Q&A on his Instagram Stories, the I'm A Celebrity star was asked, 'What treatments/procedures do you get?' as he waited in his cosmetician's chair. 'The bodies of the guys that were usually on the cover just didn't seem attainable to me, not just because they were so huge, but because they just didn't look like me,' he shared Khanh revealed he didn't really care about fitness when growing up but a simple switch in attitude changed his perspective on health and wellness 'It's not about how much you can bench or pure size, it's about living a balanced life,' he said, adding fitness isn't a look, but a feeling 'I get anti-wrinkle around the crow's feet, under my nose and for the first time ever between my eyebrows,' he said. 'I get filler in my jaw (which I love every time I get it done). 'We have just started doing filler around the outside of my nose towards the bottom of my cheeks because [cosmetic nurse] Alex Pike said it was starting to deflate.' Khanh was also asked if there was a procedure he had done that he didn't like. The MasterChef Australia star said while there was nothing he hated, he did get his lips inflated once, but it proved unnecessary. Adolescence star Owen Cooper's hopes of an historic Emmy win received a massive boost yesterday ironically as he was ruled out of competing for Best Actor. The 15-year-old break-out star will instead be entered into ceremonies as Best Supporting Actor for his role as murder suspect Jamie Miller, multiple sources suggested to MailOnline. The Netflix show's creator Stephen Graham, who played Jamie's dad Eddie, will go into the Best Actor category in his place. Until yesterday it appeared the reverse would happen. The first of the major awards contests that Adolescence qualifies for will be this Autumn's Primetime Emmys, which announces nominations in July. Industry gurus at the website Gold Derby, who track the chances of awards-show success, swapped Cooper and Graham's categories this week after 'receiving intel' on how Netflix would enter the pair. Sources in Los Angeles said, although nothing was finalised at this stage, it was believed entering Graham as Best Actor and Cooper as Supporting would boost both of their chances of taking home the silverware. Cooper, who was just 14 and in his first-ever role when he filmed his scenes that have stunned the showbiz world, would be the youngest boy to ever win an Emmy. Yesterday, just hours after entering the Best Supporting Actor market, he was 14/1 third-favourite and surging up the list. Owen Cooper's hopes of winning an Emmy received a massive boost yesterday as he will be entered into ceremonies as Best Supporting Actor instead of Best Actor The Netflix show's creator Stephen Graham, who played Jamie's dad Eddie, will go into the Best Actor category in his place Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Graham, who co-wrote the show with Jack Thorne, similarly reached 15/1 to win Best Actor in rapid time. The MailOnline graphs on this page are updated regularly, so will reflect current odds. EMMY AWARDS ODDS BEST ACTOR (TV Movie/Limited Series) Colin Farrell, The Penguin: 8/5 Kevin Kline, Disclaimer: 5/1 Cooper Koch, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story: 13/2 Brian Tyree Henry, Dope Thief: 12/1 Stephen Graham, Adolescence: 15/1 BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (TV Movie/Limited Series) Javier Bardem, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story: 9/2 Liev Schreiber, The Perfect Couple, 13/2 Owen Cooper, Adolescence: 14/1 Jay Duplass, Dying For Sex: 14/1 Jesse Plemons, Zero Day: 14/1 BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (TV Movie or Limited Series) Deirdre O'Connell, The Penguin: 9/2 Lesley Manville, Disclaimer: 6/1 Sissy Spacek, Dying For Sex: 6/1 Erin Doherty, Adolescence: 7/1 BEST LIMITED SERIES Adolescence: 5/2 The Penguin: 51/20 Disclaimer: 13/2 Say Nothing: 10/1 Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story: 21/2 Source: Gold Derby. Correct Mar 28. Advertisement Adolescence has wowed fans and critics alike since debuting on Netflix just two weeks ago. It raked in 66.3m views in its first week-and-a-half on the streaming service, making it the most-watched UK product ever and the most-watched limited series. It is likely to smash total viewing records in coming weeks. It also made UK TV history by becoming the first streaming programme to take the No1 spot in Barb's weekly ratings. In all its episodes filled four of the top ten slots in the chart. The show itself has become favourite to win the Emmy for Best Limited Series with odds of 5/2 placing it above The Penguin at 51/20. Also in strong contention for the gongs is Erin Cooper in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role as psychologist Briony Ariston who goes toe-to-toe with Jamie in the thrilling third episode. She was up to 7/1 fourth-favourite in a wide-open field. MailOnline reported last week how teenager Cooper had rocketed past the likes of Robert De Niro in the race to be Best Actor. He was the 11/2 second-favourite with Gold Derby when he was removed from that race. The current favourite for Best Actor is Colin Farrell for The Penguin at 8/5. But industry insiders said they expected Graham to close the gap in the coming days. One explained: 'Owen Cooper was magnificent as Jamie but he's only on screen in two episodes so his chances of overhauling Colin Farrell were relatively slim. 'Stephen Graham however holds the whole show together and appears in three of the four parts. He has a much better chance with his industry pedigree of reeling Colin in. 'Swapping categories is actually a genius move by Netflix. I'm sure Owen will be favourite for the Best Supporting Actor trophy before we know it. He has a much higher chance of winning that than Best Actor.' Owen's surge up the betting market means he only has two actors to overtake, 9/2 current favourite Javier Bardem for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, and 13/2-shot Live Schreiber for The Perfect Couple. Adolescence has captivated audiences and critics since it hit Netflix earlier this month, with each episode filmed in a single continuous take. Adolescence stars Stephen Graham (left) as the father of troubled teen Jamie who is accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl in an attack inspired by the misogynistic 'manosphere' The drama has captivated audiences and critics since it hit Netflix earlier this month, with each episode filmed in a single continuous take The four-episode programme follows the Miller family, whose lives are torn apart when their 13-year-old son Jamie is arrested for stabbing a female classmate to death after being influenced by online misogyny. After his devastating performance as schoolboy Jamie, Owen is tipped for silver-screen success and has been compared to a young Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Meanwhile, Graham, has described finding Owen as the 'biggest achievement' of the four-part series and raved about the young star as the 'next Robert De Niro' at his audition. He said: 'You see a rare talent like this once in a blue moon, yeah it's a talent of a generation. 'And I came out of the [audition] room and said to his mum, "He's the next Robert De Niro." I did.' While appearing on the One Show together, De Niro told the young actor: 'Well, I think he's off to a good start, that's the main thing. And just keep at it. Keep at it! Do... I mean he's there. Now it's common sense, what to do, what not to do. 'Try to stay out of trouble and all that stuff and you'll do well. You'll do well!' A Double Bay boutique has hit back at claims she has taken too much inspiration for her new fashion collection from other big name Australian designers. Lia Georgantis launched new collections for her two fashion brands, Girls With Gems and Sneaky Link, in-store this week to much fanfare and hype, but not everyone was happy. Model and fashion designer Katherine Londono set the eastern suburbs aflutter when she posted a frustrated rant on Instagram claiming Lia had designed a white mini dress very similar to one of her designs. On Thursday, Katherine took to Instagram to repost a photo of her resort brand La Mar's $420 mini dress and Lia's newly launched $259 Sophia mini dress for Sneaky Link side-by-side. According to Confidential, a bevy of upset glitterati have now claimed that multiple items in Lia's new fashion collection look very similar to now-defunct cult brand Dion Lee. Eagle-eyed fashion fans have noted a striking resemblance between a Dion Lee corset top and a Dion Lee mini skirt and two of the new Sneaky Link designs. Model and fashion designer Katherine Londono, pictured, has set the eastern suburbs aflutter claiming Girls with Gems owner Lia Georgantis had designed a white mini dress very similar to hers On Thursday, Katherine took to Instagram to repost a photo of her resort brand La Mar's $420 mini dress and Lia's newly launched $259 Sophia mini dress for Sneaky Link side-by-side Eagle-eyed fashion fans have noted a striking resemblance between a Dion Lee corset top and a Dion Lee mini skirt and two of the new Sneaky Link designs Dion Lee's $749 combat ribbed corset closely resembles Sneaky Links new $119 Teddy Corset Tank. And Dion Lee's Frame Mini Skirt, which retailed for $349, shares similarities with Sneaky Link's new Sneaky Mini skirt, which retails for $219. Lee, 39, became a global sensation when pop superstar Taylor Swift wore his $650 Crochet Corset to the 2024 Super Bowl. The designer is known for his experimental construction married with traditional tailoring, but left an edgy gap in the local market when he failed to find a buyer for Dion Lee after three months of voluntary administration last year. But the allegations don't stop there. The comparison causing the biggest stir is between Sneaky Links $189 Jordi Lace Skirt and luxury womenswear label Masion Essentiele, who retails their signature lace skirt for $259. Australian designer Dion Lee became synonomous with a tailored corset in 2024, when pop superstar Taylor Swift wore his $650 crochet corset to cheer on Travis Kelce at the Super Bowl Dion Lee fans have also drawn comparisons between his Frame Mini Skirt, which retailed for $349, and Sneaky Link's new Sneaky Mini skirt, which retails for $219 The comparison causing the biggest stir is between Sneaky Links $189 Jordi Lace Skirt and luxury womenswear label Masion Essentiele, who retails their signature lace skirt for $259 Lia took to social media for a second time this week to rubbish the allegations and take aim at Katherine for her original claims Lia took to social media for a second time this week to rubbish the allegations and take aim at Katherine for her original claims. 'We all get our inspiration from the same place!!! The runways, Pinterest, IG etc,' she fumed on Instagram. 'You dont own a white mini v neck dress just like you dont own a lace skirt/pant/top combo, an oversized tee, a trench coat, a pair of loose trousers and the list goes on!!! 'The pile is big enough for all of us, STOP TEARING OTHERS DOWN. Stay in your own lane, build your team up, build your community and you do you.' The Double Bay designer pointed out all the items are wardrobe staples and carried by many different brands. 'Ill say it louder for those in the back,' Lia continued. 'YOU DO NOT OWN ENTIRE CATEGORIES OF CLOTHING STOP TEARING DOWN OTHERS.' Allegations of the like are a regular occurrence in the Australian fashion industry. Fellow Aussie brands Bras N' Things, White Fox, Valley Girl, and Kmart have all come under fire by fashion designers and influencers in the last 12 months for putting out products that closely mimic the designs of smaller businesses. But copyright infringement in fashion is very difficult to prove within the framework of Australia's existing laws. The Sundance Film Festival is relocating to Boulder, Colorado after 40 years in Park City, Utah. The annual cinematic event will relocate after a bidding process that included locations in Salt Lake City, Utah and Cincinnati, Ohio, Deadline reported earlier Thursday. In another development, there was major turnover in both the Sundance Institute executive group, as well as the Hollywood film industry, coming off the strikes of 2023. Amanda Kelso, the CEO of the Acting Sundance Institute, told Deadline that 'part of the decision-making process was around opportunity for growth' for the independent film festival. Kelso added that upside was 'also an important factor' in the decision to relocate to Boulder, which she said provided additional opportunities not available in Knowing that we can be in a town that has 100,000 people means that it has more venues, more spaces, and more opportunities in how we can be expansive of the festival moving forward.' The Sundance Film Festival is relocating to Boulder, Colorado after 40 years. Pictured in January of 2020 in Park City, Utah, prior to the start of the pandemic The Sundance Institute board greenlit the move earlier this week in a vote for Boulder, where the University of Colorado is located. Kelso told the outlet of the majesty of the new locale: 'From a sense of space perspective, it's this really vibrant town that's surrounded by nature. 'You can imagine walking from venue to venue, metabolizing the film you just watched and communing with nature which is something Robert Redford felt so strongly about. Kelso said that 'when you think about a sense of place perspective, Boulder is a cool town, it's an arts town. She said that 'there are poets, musicians and filmmakers who live here. It's a tech town. 'It's also a college town 38,000 students attend University of Colorado Boulder, and that creates an opportunity for us to think about audience development in a more expansive way.' The outlet in the summer of 2023 reported that the cinematic event was courting new locales to operate of, confirming the news in April, with Boulder prevailing due to its size and amenities. The festival director Eugene Hernandez confirmed to the outlet last month that the announcement would be coming in March. The Sundance Institute board greenlit the move earlier this week in a vote for Boulder, where the University of Colorado is located, according to the outlet. Robert Redford founded the independent film festival, seen in 2025 The festival director Eugene Hernandez confirmed to the outlet last month that the announcement would be coming in March Colorado Governor Jared Polis said Thursday, 'Colorado is thrilled to welcome the Sundance Film Festival to its new home in Boulder starting in 2027. 'Here in our state we celebrate the arts and film industry as a key economic driver, job creator, and important contributor to our thriving culture,' Polis said. 'Now, with the addition of the iconic Sundance Film Festival, we can expect even more jobs, a huge benefit for our small businesses including stores and restaurants. Said the Democrat politician: 'Thank you to the Sundance Institute and all of the partners like the City of Boulder, Visit Boulder, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, and I also want to thank the bipartisan legislators and leadership who have worked tirelessly to make this possible.' A number of people commented on social media about the relocation to Colorado amid the festival's values clashing with popular political sentiments in Utah. 'Bye Felicia...,' said one user. 'Sundance promotes porn. Sundance promotes alternative lifestyles. Sundance promotes anti-lds themes. Sundance does not fit in Utah anymore.' Said another user: 'Sundance Film Festival is moving to Colorado!. No more woke nonsense. Great news for Utah! Adios!' Wendy Williams is getting a new legal team to take on her guardian in an effort to secure her freedom from her conservatorship. Sabrina Morrissey was assigned to Wendy when Wells Fargo suggested a guardian be put in place after the bank noticed some suspicious charges on her accounts. The bank froze her accounts and sent a letter to the courts suggesting she be put in a conservatorship to protect her from 'undue influence and financial exploitation.' Morrissey was then appointed by the court, Page Six reported. Wendy, 60, has been in guardianship that she says she does not need for three years and isn't happy that Morrissey has considerable power with judges and conservatorships in New York City. Willams currently lives on lockdown at The Coterie assisted living facility at Hudson Yards. Sources close to Williams she is not allowed to have any electronics, so she cannot call anyone, get emails or do anything to get in touch with someone on the outside. Wendy Williams is getting a new legal team to take on her guardian in an effort to secure her freedom from her conservatorship. Seen March 15, 2025 'They say shes incapacitated. That usually means someone who is a vegetable or unaware of their surroundings and unable to communicate,' said Ginalisa Monterroso, the CEO and founder of Connect Care Advisory Group. Monterroso began working with Williams in December with the encouragement of their mutual friend, Charlamagne Tha God. 'Thats not Wendy. Even just look at her operate her scooter. Can an incapacitated person do that? 'I would not be advocating publicly on behalf of Wendy if I felt she had any cognitive issues or that she belonged in a memory unit,' Monterroso said. She also shared the grim reality that if Wendy doesn't get a new legal term, she will spend the rest of her life sitting in her room alone all day with nothing to do. 'Shes just stuck in what she calls a luxury prison Theres been no plan put in place for her, no paperwork, no hearings. There was no strategy or help lined up for her at all,' Monterroso added. Monterroso has spent 25 years in the elder care field and speaks to Williams nearly every day. She also sent a letter on Wendy's behalf to Adult Protective Services in New York. Sabrina Morrissey was assigned to Wendy when Wells Fargo suggested a guardian be put in place after the bank noticed some suspicious charges on her accounts. Seen in 2020 The bank froze her accounts and sent a letter to the courts suggesting she be put in a conservatorship to protect her from 'undue influence and financial exploitation.' Seen in 2018 Wendy, 60, has been locked into guardianship that she says she does not need for three years and isn't happy that Morrissey has considerable power with judges and conservatorships in New York City Willams currently lives on lockdown at The Coterie assisted living facility at Hudson Yards. Seen here on March 15, 2025 In order to move forward with Wendy's case, she will have to get a neurological exam. Monterroso believes that Wendy's cognitive issues came from alcohol, which can be reversable, at least in part. 'A doctor in Florida first examined her in 2019 and his diagnosis was alcohol-related dementia, Monterroso told the outlet noting that there may be other issues. 'Shes also had serious thyroid issues since her 30s and theres such a thing as thyroid-related dementia. She also has Graves disease which is why her eyes sometimes bulge,' Monterroso explained. 'Whatever it is, a guardianship is supposed to be for someone who doesnt know to put on a coat in winter or doesnt remember to pay bills or wanders out and doesnt know where they are,' she continued. 'Thats not Wendy. So then why put an alcoholic in a memory care unit and throw away the key? Monterroso said Williams does not want to drink again and intends to fight for her sobriety if she is able to get out of her guardianship. Diane Dimond, author of Were Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong, told The Post that she feels Wendy has a good chance of winning her case if she gets the right legal team in place. Sources close to Williams she is not allowed to have any electronics, so she cannot call anyone, get emails or do anything to get in touch with someone on the outside. Seen here in 2019 'Wendy Williams clearly doesnt have aphasia,' Dimond told the outlet. 'If she gets a good litigation team in place she stands a very good chance of following in Britney Spears footsteps and getting out from under this guardianship. 'You want litigators, not elder care lawyers. Thats what I tell everyone. You go in on a civil rights issue. Theres a growing problem of people winding up in these situations but thankfully theres sometimes a way out.' Last week, Williams, while dining out with friends for lunch, told Page Six: 'I am fabulous. Im better than good, but have been accused of being otherwise.' 'I am very much alive. I deserve freedom, darling.' When the reporter commented on her fit form, Williams responded, 'I got the liposuction and breast implants when I was 31. Im 60 now and my bodys holding up well!' However, she was a bit shy about answering more questions about her plans to regain control of her life, referring them to her advocate Ginalisa Monterroso, who told the outlet, 'Dont believe everything you read.' The Wendy Williams Show star won a big court battle last week, convincing the judge overseeing her guardianship to allow her to leave the memory-care floor of the assisted living facility where she has been living in the Big Apple, for another area of the facility. 'She will be in like a private condo now. She will have much more freedom to come and go as she pleases, she'll be able to have visitors, and she'll be free to leave when she wants,' an insider told The Sun. 'Her team will also begin settlement talks for the guardianship,' the source alleged. Advertisement Australian perfume brand Hideaway has addressed backlash after the company sent out an 'insane' marketing text message to New Zealand customers using Maori slang. The company, co-owned by influencer Ashy Bines, was slammed for being 'offensive' when it contacted its Kiwi clients to tell them they 'stink' and should buy the perfume. The full text shared to Influencer Updates AU read: 'Chur bro, you stink like Rotorua aye. Grab some of this mean-as perfume from the cuz round the corner. Lara reckons it's choice as, so hook yourself up. Kia ora!' An hour and twenty minutes later, the brand followed up with: 'Sorry if our last msg came off wrong - just Kiwi banter! We've got proud Kiwis on the team and meant no offence. All love.' However, it seems the message didn't smooth things over, as the company has now apologised again after 'former' fans left complaints on the brand's Instagram account. 'We are truly sorry for any hurt or offense [sic] we have caused,' a spokesperson told furious customers. Australian perfume brand Hideaway has addressed backlash after the company sent out an 'insane' marketing text message to New Zealand customers using Maori slang. Pictured: co-owner Ashy Bines, 35 'Our intention was never to be insensitive, but we now recognise that our message came across in a way that was very inappropriate. 'This was written as lighthearted banter by one of our Kiwi team members, but upon reflection, we can see how it has been received differently. 'Your feelings are completely valid, and we take full responsibility for our words. We are taking this as an opportunity to reflect and do better moving forward.' The controversial post spruiking the brand's fragrance was inundated with followers lashing out at the company over the text. 'What the hell did you just txt me?' one person wrote, as another commented: 'Please do not text me like that again.' 'I just got the ICK from your text! And the dismissal text following "just kiwi banter",' another said in a lengthy message. 'I came across this company a few days ago and that text was the first communication I had received so I guess the marketing team is taking notes from the "How to Lose Customers" handbook.' 'WHO THE HECK IS ON YOUR MARKETING TEAM THAT JUST SENT THAT TEXT OUT FOR NZ?' yet another fumed. The company, co-owned by influencer Ashy Bines, was slammed for being 'offensive' when it contacted its Kiwi clients to tell them they 'stink' and should buy the perfume The full text shared to Influencer Updates AU read: 'Chur bro, you stink like Rotorua aye. Grab some of this mean-as perfume from the cuz round the corner. Lara reckons it's choice as, so hook yourself up. Kia ora!' The company has since had to apologise as 'former' fans leave complaints on its Instagram account The controversial post spruiking the brand's fragrance was inundated with followers lashing out at the company over the text While most slammed the company for the tone-deaf marketing message, others came to its defence 'Hey so um the message you guys just sent to NZ customers is absolutely insane?' another wrote. 'Ummmm people don't speak like that in New Zealand read the room, it's not funny,' said another. 'Wild marketing strategy offending every New Zealand woman. It's giving mean girl energy and a big nope. From a former customer,' one more commented. While most slammed the company for the tone-deaf marketing message, others rushed to its defence. 'Alright relax they literally just apologised like how many times!' one fan said. Another commented: 'As a kiwi girl @hideawayonline ignore these hate comments! Your stuff and so nice I've just ordered 2 body mist and 1 perfume.' A third added: 'When did people get offended so easily? You can't breathe anymore without it offending someone!' Daily Mail Australia has reached out to co-owner Ashy for further comment. Madeleine West is counting down the days until she welcomes her seventh child. The former Neighbours star, 45, took to Instagram on Friday to share a sneak preview of her glamorous maternity photoshoot with Stellar magazine. On the cover of the weekly magazine, Madeleine was glowing as she bared her pregnant belly in a see-through tunic on the beach. She sat on her heels in the ocean shallows, making direct eye contact with the camera wearing an expression that manages to be both proud and soft. The mother of six - and soon to be seven - looked radiant in the natural sunlight, with her ocean-soaked tunic flaunting her large baby bump. Madeleine wore full glam make up for the maternity shoot, with her long brunette locks swept off her face in a coiffed style, and left to hang down her back and into the small, rolling waves. Madeleine West, 45, took to her Instagram story on Friday to share a sneak preview of her glamorous maternity photoshoot with Stellar The actress opted for a refreshingly classic take on 'naked dressing' for her seventh maternity shoot. Madeleine wore a high-neck dress that was wet from the ocean shoot and clung to her slim pins and her bump. She accessorised her look with only a simple pair of gold earrings. 'The most beautiful shoot I've had the joy of being part of,' she gushed on Instagram. Earlier this week, the mum-to-be shared an honest update on the final stages of her pregnancy. 'Can't eat, can't sleep, can't breathe,' she wrote alongside a hallway mirror selfie taken in a pair of form-fitting lycra bike shorts. She also wore a lilac coloured maternity top that showed off her precious cargo. The actress finished her sporty look with a pair of sky blue Sketchers sneakers. Earlier this week, the mum-to-be shared an honest update on the final stages of her pregnancy: 'Everything I wear looks ridiculous and nothing fits' While looking the picture of motherhood, Madeleine revealed some of the tribulations that come with the third trimester in the caption. 'Everything I wear looks ridiculous AND nothing fits,' she said. Back in January, Madeleine announced she was pregnant with her seventh child - a decade on from her most recent birth. She revealed the surprising news in an Instagram post. In the photo, she her growing baby bump in a tight-fitting tank top that was lifted to reveal her bare tummy. 'WHOOPS!' she captioned her post. 'Thought it was #perimenopause. I thought WRONG! 'It's not too much Christmas pudding either. I couldn't be happier. 'Not too sure about the title 'Geriatric mum' but here we are and I'm winding back a little to grow this little surprise package I've dubbed. (Baby number 7, couldn't help myself). Back in January, Madeleine announced she was pregnant with her seventh child - a decade on from her most recent birth 'I don't have much more to say right now, but I've noticed I don't hear much about older parents. l know you must be out there. Seems we are invisible.' The actress sought advice for a mother in her forties from her followers, as she prepares for her seventh birth. 'So if you're expecting later than expected, and tackling early in your 40s or 50s, I'd LOVE to hear your stories,' she added. Madeleine already shares six children - Phoenix, 19, Hendrix, 16, Xascha, 14, Xanthe, 12, and twins Xalia and Margaux, 10 - with her ex-partner, celebrity chef Shannon Bennett, 49. The Australian star was most recently linked to Maximo Bottaro, who she dated for more than three years. Madeleine held her bohemian baby shower last weekend. She dressed the part for the baby shower, wearing a bright green boho tie-dye dress which showed off her growing baby bump. She captioned the sweet post: 'Blessed. So happy to be surrounded by my incredible tribe. 'I've never experienced the magic of a Mother's Blessing before, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be. Connection, communion, celebration of all things.' She finished off the post with: 'I feel like an empress, and so very beloved,' adding, 'Cannot wait for you all to meet my little one.' Other pictures included loving notes written to her by her baby shower attendees and a ritual of roses, rose quarts, candles and dried flowers. READ MORE: Comedians blasted for continuing to perform after an audience member died during the opening night of Melbourne Comedy Festival Advertisement Comedian Joel Creasey has revealed what happened when a man tragically died during the opening night of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival on Wednesday night. The Opening Night Comedy Allstars Supershow at St Kilda's Palais Theatre was eventually cancelled mid-show due to a medical emergency in the venue's dress circle. The show reportedly continued on for 15 minutes while the man was being treated. Speaking about the shock incident on his Rikki-Lee, Tim and Joel radio show on Thursday, Joel, 34, gave an insight into the reason for the show not being cancelled sooner. 'First of all, thoughts and all of that to the family of the poor person that passed away during the start of the show up in the dress circle of the Palais Theatre last night,' he told co-hosts Rikki-Lee Coulter and Tim Blackwell. Continuing, Joel revealed that he was waiting in the wings to go on stage, watching UK comedian Amy Gledhill make her Australian debut. Joel Creasey revealed what happened when a man tragically died during the opening night of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this week 'I was there. I was backstage waiting to go on,' Joel shared. 'This beautiful comic Amy from the UK, she was on stage at the time and it stopped because people from the dress circle were yelling to stop the show.' He revealed that he and other comics and festival staff began to hear a 'commotion' coming from the audience, but they initially thought it might have been protesters making the noise. Joel added that there had been a 'miscommunication' between audience members calling for the show to be stopped and festival organisers backstage. 'Obviously what has happened is there has been some miscommunication from the dress circle down to the stalls, down to the wings into the backstage to the festival to say there's a real proper medical emergency happening here,' he said. The show (pictured) reportedly continued on for 15 minutes while the man was being treated 'I was there. I was backstage waiting to go on,' Joel shared 'Susan Provan, the festival director, she got up on stage and announced that the show would not go on out of respect and fair enough, but my gosh, what a night. 'I feel so sorry for the family and the people sitting around them.' Ambulances were seen outside the Palais Theatre in St Kilda on Wednesday night following the incident. It's understood the man suffered a suspected heart attack early on during the show. Police confirmed the man, who's yet to be formally identified, couldn't be revived and died at the scene. Shocked patrons were informed the show would not continue during the unfolding medical emergency. 'The show was stopped and cancelled. The festival will be in touch with all ticket holders tomorrow,' event organisers posted online. Emergency services were called to the venue after audience members alerted ushers to the unfolding incident. Joel added that there had been a 'miscommunication' between audience members calling for the show to be stopped and festival organisers backstage One attendee told Daily Mail Australia that the situation was 'very distressing' and that members of the public initially provided CPR in the dark as headline act Michael Hing continued his performance, unaware of the medical emergency. 'It would have been at least 15 mins worth before the show stopping, and it only stopped as patrons yelled to stop performing,' the audience member said. Another attendee claimed that the show continued even after paramedics arrived. 'People started to get up and leave. I saw people in tears and comforting each other,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'No one was laughing for paying real attention to the stage, maybe only to see if someone would come out and stop the show. 'It was only when a few people, who were leaving, got up and were loudly talking or arguing with a staff member before leaning over and shouting at the comedian on stage to stop the show that anything happened. 'The public and paramedics were there for a good 15-20 minutes in the dark doing CPR before the show stopped. 'I can't believe they (the organisers) didn't communicate with backstage to halt the show, and that it took the public to yell out to the comedian to stop for something to happen.' Comedian Michael Hing (above) hosted the the opening night of the festival which featured 'a star-studded line-up' Another attendee told Daily Mail Australia she was further away from the incident but was able to make sense of the situation by the sound of the defibrillator in the dark. '[When the ambulance workers got there] you could hear the defibrillator sounds from across the room. Lighting was dark though still light enough to see that a lady and man were interchanging doing chest compressions,' she said. 'While this was happening, the show was still going on until a man yelled from the audience somewhere from the dress circle to stop the show, followed by another guy yelling, "someone is dying". 'Straight after that is when we started to see those on stage actually take action and pause the show. 'Honestly, the delay in communication from staff is the most disappointing bit. It really robbed someone of their dignity.' Victoria Ambulance, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Palais Theatre were contacted for comment. The 'Supershow' marked the start of the month-long festival, a major event on the Melbourne calendar. The festival attracts 'a star-studded line-up featuring comedy royalty from around the globe', this year hosted by Hing. Comedians including Dave Hughes (pictured) expressed their shock and sadness The iconic Melbourne venue was left empty on Wednesday night as crowds headed home in tears Well-known comedians took to social media late Wednesday night to share their shock and sadness. 'All performers thoughts are with the family affected,' Dave Hughes said. Tahir Bilgic added: 'Sad news but correctly handled all round ... well done everyone and thoughts with those involved.' Other shocked patrons later took to social media to express their distress. 'I was at the other end of the row and can't stop thinking about it,' one wrote. Another added: 'Awful to witness tonight.' Others slammed the venue and event organisers on how the tragic incident was handled. 'Was very distressing for all in attendance. Very poor that the show continued for 15mins while compressions took place with only patrons yelling to stop the show while crew attended to the person,' one wrote. 'Palais should review their emergency management response plans so this is handled better in the future.' Another added: 'There were plenty of staff there. It was poorly handled, and I feel very sorry for the man and his family (and) friends that they had to put up with the inept management while going through the worst possible situation and his last moments.' North by Northwest (Theatre Royal, York and touring) Verdict: Packs a punch Rating: Alfred Hitchcock is suddenly flavour of the month. But his 1959 classic North By Northwest really ought to be unstageable. It starts out in New York before heading to the Prairies, and reaching its peak on the summit of Mount Rushmore. But all that is just grist to the mill of director Emma Rice in her effortlessly chic new adaptation. Film buffs will know this is the one starring Cary Grant as slick Manhattan advertising exec Roger Thornhill, caught up in a murderous case of mistaken identity. To clear his name and save his life he sets off on a trans-American chase that leads him into the Midwest. And for Rice, following Hitchcock, it's a cue for wit, style and theatrical ingenuity. Her show features some of the most original staging since Patrick Barlow's oft-revived adaptation of another Hitchcock classic, The 39 Steps. The set features four huge revolving lobby doors, inset with coloured bottles like a snazzy cocktail bar. The costumes are an array of macs, fedoras and sunshades influenced by Grant's super-dapper grey suit. Grant's style is breezily imitated by Ewan Wardrop. With a smile drier than a vodka martini, he oozes cucumber insouciance: hands deep in pockets as if idling at a bus stop... which is exactly what he does, by a cornfield, until he gets dive-bombed by a bi-plane (btw Gen Z, that's not a category of gender orientation). Theatre director Emma Rice has returned to York to take on Alfred Hitchcock's thriller North by Northwest North by Northwest is currently playing at the York Theatre Royal Ewan Wardrop, centre, in North By Northwest Patrycja Kujawska is perhaps more Ingrid Bergman than Eva Marie Saint as the alluring ice maiden who saves his skin; while Karl Queensborough makes light work of James Mason's chilly villain in pursuit of Thornhill. Narrated by the pixie-like Katy Owen, as a sardonic English gent in a trilby, some dialogue could be delivered more snappily. And some of the sassy dancing between scenes is charming but dispensable. Otherwise, this is a potent Hitch-cocktail, garnished with a delicious twist of lemon zest. Alfred Hitchcock Presents - The Musical (Theatre Royal, Bath) Verdict: Toils of the unexpected Rating: In contrast, Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Musical works a lot harder to achieve a lot less. It's well-meaning but in need of a better gimmick to unify its eight tales of the unexpected. I was hoping to see the master of suspense do a jig and sing a song. Instead, John Doyle's production is rooted in nostalgia for black-and-white TV. And yes, the stories are lifted from Hitchcock's Fifties TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. They include Scarlett Strallen as the frustrated wife of a faithless cop in Lamb To The Slaughter (written by Roald Dahl). Damian Humbley plays a pocket-sized movie director, two-timing his wife with Nicola Hughes's man-eating jazz diva. And there's an impish yet blazing turn from Sally Ann Triplett as not one, but two dodgy grannies. Musically, it's a magpie score by the late Steven Lutvak with copycat show-tune numbers, strung together with Sondheimish conversational soul-searching. I longed for more indecent pleasure in its subject matter and a climax where the fat guy sings! North By Northwest, York until April 5; Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Musical until April 12. The poop hits the fan in the Swinging Sixties1660s!...as women take to the stage for the first time Playhouse Creatures (Orange Tree, Richmond) Verdict: Too glossy Rating: By Georgina Brown 'One may go a long way in the theatre with an open mouth,' says Anna Chancellor's aging grand-dame Mrs Betterton, a leading actress on the London stage in the 1660s, when women were permitted to perform for the first time. Chancellor is on fine form, radiating her passion for perfect projection to gabbling wannabees. 'We are artists,' she insists. Mrs B is a plum part, but April de Angelis's 1993 play is more underpowered horrible histories lesson than satisfying drama. Forget plot, tension or character development, this is a meandering series of loosely-linked vignettes, featuring acres of ample decolletage to illustrate how actresses were treated as sex objects with a limited sell-by date. Alas, Chancellor rushes her demonstration of how to convey emotions by tilting her imperious chin to different clock positions: 'Shame at 20 to seven, despair at five past 12'. Never mind. Her thrilling in-period performance of Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking scene turned my expression to 'heavenly abandonment' at noon, just for one second. Forget plot, tension or character development, this is a meandering series of loosely-linked vignettes, featuring acres of ample decolletage to illustrate how actresses were treated as sex objects with a limited sell-by date What's missing in Michael Oakley's production is atmosphere and authenticity: exuberant performances by glamorous, shiny-haired actors gloss over the stink, sweat and tears of those tough theatrical times Set in a sort of memory chamber, an unshockable dresser-cum-stage manager (Dona Croll) recalls the days when the playhouse was a bear pit. When the woman actors arrived, they were the ones baited. Taunted as a whore, Katherine Kingsley's fiery Mrs Marshall retaliates with a mouthful of swear words. Later, her aggressor flings excrement, which gets stuck in her lovely hair. Opportunistic oyster-seller Nell Gwynn (Zoe Brough) reckons the stage will be an easier place to find patrons. So it proves. Showing a bit of leg in an impromptu - and talentless - jig, she quickly catches the eye of the King. Not all the girls get so lucky. Pregnancy puts an end to the career of Nicole Sawyerr's Mrs Farley and forces her back on the streets. What's missing in Michael Oakley's production is atmosphere and authenticity: exuberant performances by glamorous, shiny-haired actors gloss over the stink, sweat and tears of those tough theatrical times. Until April 12, then touring (orangetreetheatre.co.uk) Love Island star Brett Staniland has sparked health concerns after he took to Instagram on Wednesday with snaps from a hospital in Africa. The reality star, 31, is currently in Ghana on a volunteer trip and admitted life has been 'beating him' in a candid update to fans. Brett, who appeared as a bombshell on the seventh series of the ITV dating show, shared a snap of him being treated by a doctor as he sat on a hospital bed. He penned: 'Letting everyone know life has been beating me recently. But I'm well looked after, currently in Tamale northern Ghana with the @worldvisionuk @worldvision and @sable.labs teams. 'Spent a couple days resting but really looking forward to getting out into the communities soon.' He added: 'Big thank you also to @kemps for looking after me and @sabrinaelba for the care packages.' Love Island star Brett Staniland has sparked health concerns as he admitted life has been 'beating him' recently in snaps from hospital during his trip to Africa Brett, who appeared as a bombshell on the seventh series of the ITV dating show, shared a snap of him being treated by a doctor as he sat on a hospital bed It has been a tough month for the star after he emotionally announced the death of his father earlier this month. The fashion model, took to his Instagram story to share the heartbreaking news as he paid tribute to his dad Mike. Alongside a family photo, he wrote: 'I'm sorry for those seeing this now this is something I haven't shared much of on here. 'Sadly we lost our Dad Mike yesterday after a short battle with cancer, which he was diagnosed with Stage 4 in September. 'He fought as hard as he could for the last six months and it was unexpected to lose him so soon. 'He gave us an amazing life and lived out his dream of moving to Turkey and living a happy life there.' Brett continued: 'We will be honouring his wish to be buried in the place he called home and we will lay him to rest here in Turkey tomorrow. 'He was loved by everyone and always did everything he could for other people. He leaves an irreplaceable hole in our lives but we will cherish our memories forever. It has been a tough month for the star after he emotionally announced the death of his father earlier this month as he took to Instagram to pay tribute Brett, who is a twin, shot to fame on Love Island in 2021, as a PhD student and model from Derbyshire 'Thank you to everyone who has shared a friendship with him , and loved him through it all. Love you always Dad.' Brett, who is a twin, shot to fame on Love Island in 2021, as a PhD student and model from Derbyshire. However, he now boasts more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and is known for both his modelling and being a sustainable fashion campaigner. When Molly-Mae Hague's fashion brand was launched last year, Brett gave his opinions on TikTok. He told his followers: 'Molly-Mae has launched her own brand her own brand called Maebe. 'Maebe is meant to bridge the gap between fast fashion and luxury without an unattainable price point. 'This particular price point can actually be a really good area for value for money if youre buying quality clothing of natural fibres that are going to last a long time. However, he now boasts more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and is known for both his modelling and being a sustainable fashion campaigner (pictured with his twin brother Scott) He gave an example that is 100 per cent plastic and at a 50 price point, as well as a 140 blazer that was 80 per cent plastic. He added: These are all very low quality materials and are synonymous with fast fashion. They are also very cheap to make. 'It will be interesting to see if theyre satisfied with the products theyve got and whether or not theyll be returning customers.' Chris Hemsworth was spotted helping police on Wednesday as the desperate search for missing Queensland officer Jay Notaro enters its fourth day. Detective Inspector Notaro, 45, was last seen on Tuesday when he disappeared while surfing at Hemsworth's local break at Broken Head near Byron Bay. It has now been revealed the police officer was part of an inner circle of surfing mates which included Hemsworth, 41, reported The Courier Mail on Friday. The Hollywood star was seen speaking with police in the parking lot of Broken Head Reserve just 9km south of his hometown Byron Bay. He was surrounded by five officers and two police cars and was seen gesturing as he answered their questions. Friends of Insp Notaro said he frequented Broken Head and often drove down from his Gold Coast home to surf with Hemsworth and former pro surfer Luke Munro. Chris Hemsworth, 41, was spotted helping police on Wednesday as the desperate search for missing Queensland officer Jay Notaro, 45, enters its fourth day At the time of his disappearance, he was reportedly staying in the Byron Bay area for several days ahead of his 45th birthday last Monday. Hemsworth, Munro and their families were on a ski holiday in Japan while Insp Notaro was in the area, having just returned to Australia the day he disappeared. Insp Notaro was reportedly due to attend a birthday celebration dinner on Tuesday night with his friends but pulled out with complaints he was feeling unwell. He was then last spotted via CCTV pulling into the Broken Head car park at around dawn on Tuesday. It comes after the surfboard of Insp Notaro washed up on a beach undamaged 24 hours after he went missing. A water, land and aerial search for the detective continued in far northern NSW on Wednesday, a day after he failed to report for duty at Ipswich Police Station, QLD. The search has now entered its fourth day. Officers found his car and keys in a car park at Broken Head on Byron Bay's southern fringe earlier this week. Detective Inspector Notaro was last seen on Tuesday when he disappeared while surfing at Hemsworth's local break at Broken Head near Byron Bay Search crews discovered Insp Notaro's surfboard on a beach 500m away. The lack of damage to the board, and the benign conditions of the surf made his disappearance all the more perplexing. 'The condition of that surfboard was unremarkable - there was no damage and the leg rope was fully intact,' NSW Detective Inspector Matt Zimmer said. 'The inspector is a very strong swimmer who is a previous officer in charge of the Queensland water police... and the condition that presented over the past few days were quite calm. 'He would be extremely capable of managing those conditions due to his experience, [he was] an extremely fit man as well.' Insp Notaro quickly rose through the ranks as a homicide investigator after first joining Queensland police in Townsville in 2003. Insp Notaro was instrumental in solving major cases including the bikie-linked slaying of Gold Coast victim Greg Dufty. He received a 'compassion in policing' award by the Queensland Homicide Victims Support Group for support he offered Mr Dufty's partner and family. It has now been revealed the police officer was part of an inner circle of surfing mates which included Hemsworth, reported The Courier Mail on Friday The top cop then served in roles including officer in charge of the Gold Coast water police and Coomera police station. Insp Notaro was recently transferred to Ipswich after being promoted to Inspector. A squadron of emergency services made up of Queensland Police, water police, the Queensland Polair and surf lifesavers has taken part in the search efforts. 'The search will focus on the areas between Lennox Head and Cape Byron, particularly the Broken Head area,' a NSW police spokeswoman said. Cross-Border Commissioner and former Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers remains hopeful that Insp Notaro will be found alive. The pair have known each other for many years. 'Jay is one of the most competent and capable coppers I know, who has a great future in the police,' Mr Leavers told the Courier Mail 'He is a future leader of the police, especially in the higher ranks. I just hope he is found safely and we have a really good outcome. 'He is not only a friend, he is one of the future leaders of the organisation. I'm praying, he's just a champion. 'If we had more coppers like that we would be a better organisation.' Queensland Police earlier confirmed an officer was reported missing Tuesday afternoon. 'Officers and the member's family are concerned for their welfare due to the disappearance being considered out of character,' a spokesman said. 'Anyone with information that may be able to assist with the whereabouts of the member is asked to contact police.' Colleagues were rocked by news of Insp Notaro's disappearance. 'Everyone is a bit shocked and hoping for the best,' a senior officer said. Nigel Havers has revealed his unlikely connection to Jack Whitehall as he admitted that he warned him against pursuing a career in comedy. The veteran actor, 73, revealed that he became Jack's godfather after his father Michael, worked as his agent for four decades. Speaking on Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast, Nigel admitted that he previously advised him that he should be a 'doctor or a lawyer' instead. He said: 'I suppose I can't ignore the fact that I had an agent called Michael Whitehall, who was my agent for 40 something years. 'So he was a pretty big influence, and tough. You know, he would tell me what to do and get the appropriate money, I think.' Kate then noted that Nigel and Michael went onto become good friends, to the point where he was chosen as his son Jack's godfather. Nigel Havers has revealed his unlikely connection to Jack Whitehall as he admitted that he warned him against pursuing a career in comedy The Chariots of Fire star quipped: 'Yeah. Correct. Yeah. Useless Godfather. Gave him all the wrong advice, you know. 'Well, he wanted me to come and see him. He said, I want to be a stand up. And I said, don't be ridiculous. And he said, well, come and see me. In one of his very opening shows in a pub in Putney. 'And afterwards he said, what do you think? And I said, well, you know, I really do think you should be a doctor or a lawyer, but don't do that, whatever you do.' Jack's father Michael previously served as Nigel's agent along with a host of other stars including Colin Firth and Judi Dench. Nigel had also previously shared that he and Michael were so close, he was present for Jack's birth. Speaking on This Morning, he said: '[Michael] told me to come into the hospital. As I walked into the ward, Hilary was giving birth! I walked straight into that scenario.' 'Jack is a fantastic boy. I went to see him in a pub in Putney when he started. I said ''do you know something Jack, have you ever considered being a doctor?'' I was wrong!' Along with his career as a talent agent, Michael Whitehall also worked as a producer on shows including Element Of Doubt and The Good Guys. The veteran actor revealed that he became Jack's godfather after his father Michael, worked as his agent for four decades Nigel admitted that he previously advised him that he should be a 'doctor or a lawyer' instead (pictured with Jack in the series Brian Pern: A Life In Rock) Elsewhere during his interview with Kate, Nigel also recalled the unlikely success of the classic British hit Chariots Of Fire, which won the Oscar for Best Picture. He said: I always come back to Chariots of Fire as a sort of golden time. Because we didn't realise. We just didn't. We just sort of hung out and it was-everything worked, you know? The sun shone when it was meant to. 'David Puttnam, who became a great friend, and Hugh Hudson, also the director, they said it was almost as if Eric Liddell had been hoping and praying from the heavens that we would make it good. And it did. He did. It did work. 'We went to the Oscars. David said to us, look, we're not going to win anything because were up against these films and they're incredible. So just enjoy. 'You're here for the beer. Just have fun. So we're sitting there and then the first award goes for the best screen screenwriter. And the winner is Chariots. You know, it just kept coming. And eventually the big one. And he just could not believe it.' Advertisement The twin sister of Married At First Sight star Awhina Rutene has thrown shade at a former MAFS bride after she was busted spending time with groom Adrian Araouzou. Adrian, 36, and Bronte Schofield, 29, who featured in the 2023 season of MAFS, were seen chatting at the Cottesloe Beach Club in Perth recently, despite the groom still being matched with Awhina on the show. Taking to the MAFS Gossip Instagram account, Awhina's fiery twin Cleo Rutene took a shot at Bronte in the comments alongside pictures of her and Adrian. 'Having done this experience yourself and knowing how emotional this experiment was to then text another bride's husband the entire time,' she said. Also featured on the account was a picture of Adrian posing with Bronte, who had her face covered by a grotesque 'screaming' emoji. The page also posted pictures of the two talking together at the club. Married At First Sight star Awhina Rutene's twin sister Cleo has thrown shade at a former bride Bronte Schofield after she was seen spending time with groom Adrian Araouzou Taking to the MAFS Gossip Instagram account, Cleo Rutene took a shot at Bronte in the comments alongside pictures of Adrian and the former MAFS bride 'Adrian has been snapped getting cosy with former bride Bronte Schofield after he was called out for liking her sizzling bikini snaps on Instagram,' the caption of the photo read. When approached for comment about liking Bronte's snaps, Adrian told Daily Mail Australia: 'She's hot. She's more my type, so of course I'm going to like her photos'. Meanwhile, Cleo's attracted support from MAFS fans. 'Holy s*** this man [Adrian] gets more vile as time goes past, Im so sorry [Cleo] I hope your sister is doing better now,' one commented. Cleo replied: 'I didnt know who she [Bronte] was before this to be fair.' Another MAFS fan added a scathing verdict on the shock meet up. 'These two are well matched. Run, be free & love life girls, bad experience in the past now. Let the trash take itself out,' they wrote. In the pictures, which appeared in Daily Mail Australia on Friday, Adrian was all smiles as he stood alongside Bronte. During filming, Adrian was pulled aside and confronted over his online activity - specifically liking Bronte's racy Instagram content. Pictured: Adrian and bride Awhina Pictured: Twin sisters Cleo and Awhina Bronte, who was infamously paired with Harrison Boon in 2023, flaunted her toned figure in a cream crochet halter top and high-waisted baggy jeans. Although fellow grooms Paul Antoine, Tony Mojanovski, and Eliot Donovan were also in attendance, Adrian and Bronte appeared to separate from the group and shared flirty banter at a side table. During filming, Adrian was pulled aside and confronted over his online activity - specifically liking Bronte's racy Instagram content. A source close to production revealed: 'It was a total betrayal of the experiment. Adrian wasn't here for the right reasons'. This isn't the first time his connection with Bronte raised eyebrows. Insiders claim Adrian was caught sending her late-night messages behind Awhina's back - only for Adrian to reveal it to the group during a fiery off-camera confrontation. With his relationship with Awhina already on rocky ground, it seems Adrian may be lining up a new reality romance before the experiment even ends. Advertisement Nude artist Dina Broadhurst is settling back into her glamorous day-to-day life in Sydney after enjoying a romantic sojourn to Paris with her new toy boy lover. And the 48-year-old Eastern Suburbs identity did what she does best on Thursday evening, turning heads at an exclusive Giorgio Armani event. The mother-of-one wore just a sheer black bra underneath a suit jacket, presumably by the Italian designer. Dina pouted and preened in front of a full length mirror in her $11.5million Darling Point apartment before stepping out for her first public outing in recent weeks. She looked every inch the woman half her age, pairing the black lingerie with the black oversized blazer and a matching mini skirt. Dina pulled her ensemble together with a pair of pointed white heels and black socks, dangling a cream and gold purse from one hand. Nude artist Dina Broadhurst wore just a sheer black bra underneath a black blazer at a Giorgio Armani event on Thursday Dina pouted and preened in front of a full length mirror in her $11.5million Darling Point apartment before stepping out for her first public outing in recent weeks The event was an exhibition to celebrate Giorgio Armani and acclaimed photographer Aldo Fallai. Fallai spent more than three decades at the side of Armani as a longtime creative collaborator and friend. Curated by Armani, his sister Rosanna Armani and longtime collaborator Leo Dell'Orco, the exhibition of monochromatic photos celebrating their friendship has travelled to Italy, India, and now to Australia. Fashion designer Pip Edwards and her son Justice were also in attendance, but with no news about the exhibition coming to Sydney, it appears only a select few socialites were extended an invitation. Not to be outdone in the art stakes, Dina shared only a black heart emoji as she posed up beside one of the photographs for her social media followers. Dina appeared to attend the VIP event solo, even though she was on arm of her new 23-year-old boyfriend last weekend. The photographer and artist made her first public outing with her new beau, Love Island winner Kengi Meert, in Double Bay last Saturday. The young Belgian model was very much in doting boyfriend mode, as he was spotted waiting dutifully for Dina while she had her locks styled inside a hair salon. Not to be outdone in the art stakes, Dina shared only a black heart emoji as she posed up beside one of the photographs at the Aldo Fallai for Giorgio Armani exhibition Dina appeared to attend the VIP event solo, even though she was on arm of her new 23-year-old boyfriend last weekend The pair were not afraid to air their new romance publicly, strolling through he swanky Sydney suburb arm in arm. The couple were rumoured to have struck up a romance during Dina's latest holiday to Europe after her tryst with ex-partner John Winning Jr in Chile. She shared pictures of the model to her Instagram account as the pair visited Centre Pompidou in Paris. Dina shared a racy gallery of photos taken during their trip to Paris, including a nude selfie which saw her posing on a bed in her hotel room. 'Reflections,' she simply captioned the post, adding the French flag emoji. 'MY COOL WIFE,' Kengi commented on the post, before Dina responded with several love heart emojis. Dina returned from her European holiday earlier this month after enjoying a romantic getaway with her new lover. She jetted to Paris after a sojourn in Chile with her ex-boyfriend John Winning Jr, and spent the week rolling around five-star Hotel Costes with Kengi. Kengi won season four of Love Island Belgium but eventually ended things with his show partner Kimmy de Weerd. They called it quits in January because: 'Kengi is not feeling well, he can't give me the love he used to'. The male model, who splits his time between Belgium and Ibiza, is only four years older than Dina's son. Advertisement Skye Wheatley's boyfriend Lachlan Waugh appears to have taken a savage swipe at his partner amid the couple's protracted home renovations. The couple have been working on their lavish Gold Coast mansion for years, with no end in sight. Lachlan, 33, took a not-so-subtle dig at the renovation blowout on an unrelated post Skye, 30, shared to Instagram on Thursday. Skye shared a series of images that showed her and I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! cast mate Calum Hole. The photos showed the duo hamming it up for the camera as they held a copy of a newspaper. Captioning the post, Skye revealed that something big was in the works for her and the Love Island Australia star. Skye Wheatley's boyfriend Lachlan Waugh appears to have taken a savage swipe at his partner amid the couple's protracted home renovations 'Somethings coming....you wouldn't read about it,' Skye and Callum captioned the joint post. Lachlan wasted no time in bringing the conversation back to their renovations. 'Definitely not the reno,' Lachlan quipped, as his joke was met with a flurry of laughing emojis from followers. While Skye and Callum kept quiet about their potential collaboration, some fans were quick to tell the stars what they didn't want it to be. 'For the love of god we don't need another podcast,' one follower pleaded. However, that follower appeared to be in the minority, with a slew of fans jumping in with an excited: 'Podcast!' Lachlan's dig comes after Skye was recently tearing her hair out about how the renovations were going at her lavish Gold Coast mansion. Skye, 30, shared images of the luxury pool currently being built in her backyard, saying the tiling has been a disaster. Skye shared a series of images that showed her and I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! cast mate Calum Hole The photos showed the duo hamming it up for the camera as they held a copy of the newspaper 'Somethings coming....you wouldn't read about it,' Skye and Callum captioned the joint post Sharing several photos, the influencer went on a rant about how 'stressed' she was over the renovation, especially after discoloured tiles were installed by her pool. The vent session began when Skye took to her Instagram Stories to start a Q&A with her followers about the 'crazy' pavement in her backyard. 'There's all this black/brown s*** through our crazy pave. Lachy [her partner] said ''it's natural'' when I asked about it, but I've never seen this before,' she said. 'Is there any professionals out there that know if this is normal or should we ask tilers to re-tile?' Alongside the caption, Skye included an image of the stairs leading down to her lavish pool in the making, circling all the discoloured brown areas on the edges of the tiles. She then shared another angle of the area, saying: 'The reno is actually causing so much stress and everyday I wake up so tired and don't even want to get out of bed. 'Like, actually ready to sell at this point. We are way in over our heads with this project. It's fkn massive and so draining.' She added that she was originally willing to look past the discolouration in the tile because she was just 'happy' things were getting done, but is now 'upset' over it. 'Definitely not the reno,' Lachlan quipped The couple have been working on their lavish Gold Coast mansion for years In 2023, Skye put her $75,000 Mercedes on the market to help finance the renovation work on her luxurious Gold Coast mansion 'I'm that much of a perfectionist but also so busy with my own work that I don't have time to fkn stand there and supervise the trades and overlook every little thing,' she added. 'But you really do need to do that in situations like this. That's why there's PROJECT MANAGERS on every job. Our job does not have a project manager and it shows.' Skye went on to say she would likely call the tilers back in to replace the discoloured tiles, as they 'threw away' plenty of 'clean' tiles they could have used instead. It's not the first time the renovation has caused issues for Skye as she stunned fans last July by getting into a screaming match with her partner Lachlan over it. In 2023, Skye put her $75,000 Mercedes on the market to help finance the renovation work on her luxurious Gold Coast mansion. Skye rose to fame back on Big Brother Australia in 2014 and is now a full-time influencer with 634,000 followers. Advertisement The Northern Territory's famed 'Crocodile' Dundee-inspired hotel has hit the market. Built to resemble a crocodile, the 3.5-star accommodation is located at Jabiru in the Kakadu National Park, 254 km south east of the capital city of Darwin. Opening in 1988 as the Gagudju Crocodile Hotel, the 110-room property is now operating as the Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel. Expressions of interest for a leasehold are now underway and will close on April 17, reported the NT News on Friday. The operational staff are expected to continue in their jobs for at least six months. However, the publication says once the Mercure's lease on the hotel ends in September it is not certain the company will renew their management deal with new owners - leaving staff in limbo. The Northern Territory's famed 'Crocodile' Dundee-inspired hotel has hit the market. Built to resemble a crocodile, the 3.5-star accomodation is located at Jabiru in the Kakadu National Park, 254 km south east of Darwin. (Pictured) Construction of the hotel came in the wake of a surge of tourists to the heritage protected Kakadu after Paul Hogan's 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee became a world wide hit Expressions of interest for a leasehold are now underway, reported the NT News on Friday. The operational staff are expected to continue in their jobs for at least six months but after September their job security is uncertain It is unclear what the owners of the new lease would do to the property which has been listed as an 'upgrade' opportunity to potential buyers. Owned by the Indigenous Kakadu Tourism Group the unique design pays respect to the giant Ginga saltwater crocodile, which is spiritually significant to the local Gagudju people. Construction of the hotel came in the wake of a surge of tourists to the heritage protected Kakadu after Paul Hogan's 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee became a world wide hit, grossing over $300m on a $9m budget. Partly filmed in Kakadu, Hogan's blockbuster showed off the spectacular scenery of the park and surrounding wildlife. After the Crocodile Hotel celebrated its 30th anniversary Kakadu Tourism said 'Crocodile Dundee [put] both Kakadu and its crocodiles on the international tourist map.' The hotel is 250 metres long and 30 metres wide and its design cleverly creates the impression of a giant crocodile, including typical features such as a snout and nostrils. The parking areas, meanwhile, are built to suggest crocodile eggs while the hotel entrance have design features like gaping jaws and teeth. According to the Kakadu Tourism blurb the 'ventilation units are housed within the crocodiles slatted yellow eyes, which glow red at night.' Owned by the Indigenous Kakadu Tourism Group the unique design pays respect to the giant crocodile, which is significant to the local Gagudju people After the Crocodile Hotel celebrated its 30th anniversary Kakadu Tourism said 'Crocodile Dundee [put] both Kakadu and its crocodiles on the international tourist map' The hotel's features include the Ochre Aboriginal art gallery, an internet kiosk, and the Escarpment Restaurant and Bar The hotel's features include the Ochre Aboriginal art gallery, a stunning swimming pool and a restaurant and bar. There's also a landscaped swimming pool, business facilities and conference space for 250 delegates. It comes after an iconic star from the smash hit movie tragically died in December. Burt, the 5.1-metre 700kg monster crocodile from the comedy adventure film, who starred alongside Paul Hogan, died in captivity in Darwin. He was thought to have been over 90 years old. Crocosaurus Cove, a crocodile herpetarium and aquarium attraction which had kept Burt in captivity since 2008, announced the reptile's death. 'It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Burt, the iconic saltwater crocodile and star of the Australian classic Crocodile Dundee,' the facility posted on its Facebook page. 'Burt passed away peacefully over the weekend, estimated to be over 90 years old, marking the end of an incredible era.' Advertisement Noah Centineo's latest red carpet appearance has sparked concern among fans. The Gen Z heartthrob, 28, presented a worrying new look while attending the Warfare premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday. The actor who recently sparked romance rumors with Zoe Kravitz appeared tired, with prominent red circles under his eyes contrasting his pale skin. Gone was his clean-shaven look, replaced by a bushy dark beard that added to his changed appearance. With chapped lips and haphazardly gelled hair, the actor was nearly unrecognizable from the fresh-faced image fans knew. Noah who recently opened up about his sobriety journey from alcohol and drug use donned an all-black suit, accented with a blue lining, and a matching black tie for the premiere. Noah Centineo's, 28, latest red carpet appearance has sparked concern among fans The Gen Z heartthrob presented a worrying new look while attending the Warfare premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday Noah seen in 2018 While on the red carpet, Noah was pictured joking around with co-star Adain Bradley. Noah stars as Brian in Warfare, which is set to hit theaters on April 11. The film follows a platoon of Navy SEALs as they embark on a dangerous mission in Ramadi, Iraq. Other cast members, including Joseph Quinn, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, and Michael Gandolfini were also present. Earlier this month, Noah continued to spark romance rumors with Zoe, 36, after they left a party together in West Hollywood. The Big Little Lies star and actor, best known for his starring role in To All the Boys I've Loved Before, were seen exiting the same small bar/club around 2:20 a.m. According to eyewitnesses, the rumored couple did leave in the same car. The pair's sighting came on the same day her ex-fiance Channing Tatum, 44, went public with his new romance with Australian model Inka Williams at a pre-Oscars party in Los Angeles, hosted by Creative Artists Agency (CAA). The month prior the two were also seen hanging out in New York City. The actor appeared tired, with prominent red circles under his eyes contrasting his pale skin Gone was his clean-shaven look, replaced by a bushy dark beard that added to his changed appearance With chapped lips and haphazardly gelled hair, the actor was nearly unrecognizable from the fresh-faced image fans knew Noah donned an all-black suit, accented with a blue lining, and a matching black tie for the premiere Noah stars as Brian in Warfare, which is set to hit theaters on April 11. The film follows a platoon of Navy SEALs as they embark on a dangerous mission in Ramadi, Iraq Noah recently opened up about his sobriety journey from alcohol and drug use He was pictured joing around with co-star Adain Bradley He was jpined by his Warfare co-stars; (L-R) Will Poulter, Noah, Charles Melton, Kit Connor, Adain, and Cosmo Jarvis Kravitz and Tatum were romantically involved for three years and engaged for one, before they called off the wedding at the end of October. In February, Noah opened up about his sobriety journey, which started in his early 20s. 'I was so unhappy,' he said on the Chicks in the Office podcast about his rise to fame. 'I was able to pay my bills for the first time. I was completely financially stable and secure. I was working regularly, and I was doing a lot of drugs. Nothing crazy. I was doing drugs a lot. And drinking all the time, every day and I was young.' 'I was 20 years old and I had been doing that for a couple years. So, I had a career that I was proud of. I was making enough money to pay my rent and put a little bit away. You would think I should be super stoked and super happy, and I just wasnt.' Noah, who began sobriety at 21, revealed he started drinking again around the 2021 release of To All The Boys: Always and Forever. But he quickly determined that alcohol wasn't something he wanted in his life. 'One day I woke up and the world looked different.' 'It felt like it was the same world, but I was looking at it, and it felt like something had broken a little bit, and it scared me.' 'I realized that I needed to dry out, sober up and take a look at myself and take inventory to see what that change was. And to get back to myself.' 'You get to really confront things. If youre drinking you dont really have to worry about things. Its a good way to numb yourself or self-medicate. And then you have to find healthier ways to deal with those things.' Noah recently sparked romance rumors with Zoe Kravitz, 36, after they were spotted out together a number of times; seen in February in New York The actor previously shared that in his early 20s he was 'doing drugs a lot' and 'drinking all the time'; seen in 2019 Noah, who began sobriety at 21, revealed he started drinking again around the 2021 release of To All The Boys: Always and Forever, before getting sober; pictured in a still with Lana Condor And in 2020 he shared that in his early 20s he was doing just about 'everything' when it came to drugs. 'I smoked a lot of things. I was really upset, man. It was a really dark time in my life,' he told Harpers Bazaar as he posed for the men's digital cover. 'There wasnt really much I wouldn't do. I never, ever injected anything, which is good,' he said, adding that he and friends would 'take Molly and talk for five hours and like get to the bottom of some really deeply philosophical existential questions.' In 2018, he told fans that he was 'completely sober' and doesn't smoke, drink, or do drugs but had done them a lot before getting clean. He shot to fame portraying Peter Kavinsky in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before film series, establishing himself as a teen heartthrob. Noah's most recent roles include The Recruit and Black Adam. Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - An Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Mali on Friday expressed concern about the worsening "multidimensional crisis" in the Sahelian country, which has serious consequences for the civilian population and the stability of the country and the region Advertisement Married At First Sight stars Tori Adams and Jack Dunkley have officially called it quits after one year of dating. The couple took to Instagram on Friday night to announce their split in a heartfelt joint statement, revealing they had parted ways 'a few weeks ago' but remained close friends. In the emotional post shared to their Instagram Stories, the pair said they made the difficult decision with 'heavy hearts.' 'If you have been following our journey, you know we have always been authentic and true to ourselves. We have invited you in and brought you along for the wild ride,' the statement began. 'However today we come to you with heavy hearts. As of a few weeks ago, we have decided to end our romantic relationship. We remain best of friends and still care for and respect one another deeply.' The announcement was accompanied by a poignant image from their time on the Channel Nine experiment, showing Tori and Jack standing face-to-face at their Final Vows ceremony. The pair went on to thank their families and fans for their ongoing support. Married At First Sight stars Tori Adams and Jack Dunkley have officially called it quits after one year of dating The couple took to Instagram on Friday night to announce their split in a heartfelt joint statement, revealing they had parted ways 'a few weeks ago' but remained close friends 'We are so grateful to have shared so many wonderful experiences together and will cherish them forever. We thank our families for their unconditional love and support,' they continued. 'We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude for all the love and support that you guys have shown us throughout.' They signed off the message: 'With love, Tori & Jack xox' alongside a broken heart emoji. The news comes as a shock to fans who had watched the pair's tumultuous yet passionate journey on the 2024 season of Married At First Sight Australia. Despite facing intense scrutiny, fiery dinner party clashes and several commitment ceremony ultimatums, the couple had seemingly defied the odds, remaining together long after the cameras stopped rolling. They were one of the few couples to survive the experiment and continued dating in the real world after the show's reunion episode aired. The couple celebrated their one year anniversary back in July last year with Tori sharing a very racy snap of her boyfriend in the shower. Tori also shared a heartfelt gallery of photos documenting their whirlwind romance from the past year. In the emotional post shared to their Instagram Stories, the pair said they made the difficult decision with 'heavy hearts' The news comes as a shock to fans who had watched the pair's tumultuous yet passionate journey on the 2024 season of Married At First Sight Australia She reminisced about the day she took a leap of faith and boarded a plane to marry a complete stranger on national television. 'A year ago I jumped on a plane and headed off to marry a stranger on national TV Happy 1 year of us,' she wrote. Jack was quick to respond with his own touching message. 'And I know how much you hate planes. Not the journey we were hoping for my baby however the destination was better than we could have ever imagined,' he commented, clearly smitten. 'Your strength, courage & fierce loyalty have completed me.' The couple's posts were met with an outpouring of love and support from their MAFS co-stars. Andrea Thompson commented, 'Love it guys!!! Happy anniversary bet you're glad you don't have to go through that again. xxx' Meanwhile, Ash added, 'How good.' In May, Jack gushed he and Tori have never been happier after they moved in together on the Gold Coast. 'We're really good, going from strength to strength,' he told Daily Mail Australia. The couple famously fell out with their co-stars on the show over judgements about their relationship, and Jack shared some parting words with his castmates. 'I wish everyone all the best. I don't hold massive grudges. I feel like you just move on and get on with your life and karma will come around and get the people that deserve it,' he said. Eva Longoria looked nothing short of sensational as she playfully posed next to her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday. The Desperate Housewives actress, 50, went out of her way to visit the iconic spot on Hollywood Boulevard ahead of the premiere for her film Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip, which streams on Disney+ on Friday. She wore a strapless, crinkle gown in an olive green and taupe color paired with white platform heels as she lay on the ground next to her star, which was unveiled in 2018 in recognition of her TV career. Eva completed her look with her silver wedding ring and a gold ring on her right middle finger, letting her wavy brunette tresses loose for the impromptu trip. The star then headed to the premiere at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles where she looked stunning while celebrating the upcoming release of her new family comedy. She opted out of any jewellery, besides her two rings, pulling off an understated look and showcasing her natural beauty. Eva Longoria looked nothing short of sensational as she playfully posed next to her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday She looked glamorous with fluttering eyelashes paired with peachy-pink blush as she hopped into the caravan for her film Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip For makeup, Eva opted for a soft, monochromatic brown look to highlight her features and accentuate her beauty. She looked glamorous with full, fluttering eyelashes paired with peachy-pink blush and a glossy lip paired with a brown lipliner, as she hopped into the Road Trip's caravan and struck a few poses. Eva is expected to attend her longtime friend Lauren Sanchez's nuptials to Amazon billionaire founder Jeff Bezos over the summer. The day before the premiere, the Overboard star caught up with the journalist, 55, at E Baldi in Beverly Hills. The pair have been pals for over two decades. Earlier this week, the brunette bombshell opened up about her family dynamics while on a promo tour for the movie, which is a sequel to 2014's Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. In an interview with Today, she said that she was often compared to her three sisters, adding that she 'wasn't the pretty one'. On the daytime talk show, the Land of Women star, who is famed for her flawless looks, said that she often felt like the 'ugly duckling' in her family. She explained that she decided to focus on being the 'funny' and 'smart' one to compensate for what she felt she lacked, and that was how she got into performing. Eva looked half her age in a strapless, crinkle gown in an olive green and taupe color paired with white platform heels The star headed to the premiere at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles where she looked stunning opting for a soft, monochromatic brown makeup palette Eva is expected to attend her longtime friend Lauren Sanchez's nuptials to Amazon billionaire founder Jeff Bezos over the summer 'I was performative in my family because I was the ugly duckling,' she said before cracking a joke. 'Documentation is available if you need it.' The Only Murders In The Building actress added: 'My three sisters look alike. They are all blonde. 'I knew I wasn't the pretty one and I was like, "Okay, I'm not the pretty one so I'm going to be the funny one. I'm going to be the smart one."' Eva also recalled how she grew up as the youngest of four sisters on a ranch with chickens in Texas. 'We had to go get the eggs in the morning,' she said. 'We had to milk the cow for the milk that was going to go in the coffee and in our cereal.' When she got older, she attended Texas A&M and graduated with a degree in kinesiology, using scholarship money from a beauty pageant she had won to partly fund her studies. It was competing in such events that ended up leading her to Hollywood. She completed her look with a silver wedding ring but otherwise kept the jewellery to a minimum at the event promoting the sequel Eva (pictured, with Paulina Chavez, Jesse Garcia, Thom Nemer, Rose Portillo and Cheech Marin) added a gold ring on her right middle finger The star (pictured, with Paulina) let her wavy brunette tresses loose for an impromptu trip to the Walk of Fame before heading to the red carpet In the upcoming comedy movie, which is based on the story by Judith Viorst, Eva (pictured, with Jesse) plays Val Garcia, the mum in a multigenerational Mexican-American family At the premiere, she sported a glossy lip paired with a brown lipliner as she posed with some of her co-stars including Rose, Cheech, Thom, Paulina and Jesse (pictured) In the film, the movie set off on a road trip to California. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip premieres on Friday She said: 'I land in Hollywood and I don't know what happened. 'I just was like, "I think I'm going to be an actor."' In the upcoming comedy movie, which is based on the story by Judith Viorst, Eva plays Val Garcia, the mum in a multigenerational Mexican-American family who set off on a road trip to California. In the flick, she stars alongside Paulina Chavez, Cristo Fernandez, Cheech Marin, Harvey Guillen, Jesse Garcia, Rose Portillo, Jacqueline Torres and Thom Nemer among many others. Kimberley Garner looked sensational as she soaked up some sun in Miami Beach, Florida on Thursday. The former Made In Chelsea star, 34, wore a skimpy white bikini, consisting of a triangle top and tie side bottoms. Frolicking on the beach, she opted for minimal makeup and styled her hair straight, accessorising with gold earrings. Kimberley appeared in high spirits as she took a dip in the sea before joining her friends on the sun loungers. She first found fame on Made In Chelsea and has since made a name for herself as a successful swimsuit brand entrepreneur. The designer splits her time between London and Miami after buying a costal pad in December 2018, although has plans to move back to the UK full time. Kimberley Garner looked sensational as she soaked up some sun in Miami Beach, Florida on Thursday The former Made In Chelsea star, 34, wore a skimpy white bikini, consisting of a triangle top and tie side bottoms Kimberley recently revealed that she had a new man, handsome trader boyfriend William Claeyssens de Tena, 30 in her life last November. She stepped out with partner William for the first time at the Chain of Hope Gala Ball in November. Speaking exclusively to the Mail on Sunday, Kimberley confirmed her relationship status, revealing the budding romance was going well, and she was happy. 'We met through friends just last week, so this is our second date,' she added. Kimberley's beau's Instagram says he divides his time between Marbella and London, and he appears to enjoy the high life - sailing, shooting, and attending events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed being some of his hobbies. Her date reveal came after recently revealing she had 'just broken up with someone'. Kimberley's last known romance began in the summer of 2023 when it was revealed that she was going out with financier Andreas Anthis, but the pair broke up in April last year with Kimberley calling it the 'right decision'. Kimberley was spotted for the first time with Andreas last July, as they packed on the PDA while walking her dog Sasha in London. The reality star previously dated her MIC co-star Richard Dinan. Kimberley appeared in high spirits as she took a dip in the sea before joining her friends on the sun loungers The designer splits her time between London and Miami after buying a costal pad in December 2018, although has plans to move back to the UK full time She also revealed she has bought a new house in Belgravia, London, and was 'excited' to live back in the UK after putting her Miami beach house on the market. She said it was a decision which was not driven by the presidential race because she was 'happy' with the result. 'I just bought a new property in Belgravia, so I have been working for the last two months and had my head down,' she said. 'This is my first night out in two months.' 'I am selling my flat in America, so I am actually moving my money from the US to London.' 'I love it in America, but I just love British culture we are fabulous. We have our culture, history, accents.' 'I love our traditions here and feel it is very elegant. It is where I grew up, I went to boarding school here and think it is amazing.' Pierce Brosnan brought his granddaughter Isabella Smith to the MobLand premiere afterparty and she looked the spitting image of her late mother, Charlotte. The Bond star, 71, channelled his inner 007 as he stepped out in a black two-piece suit layered over a chic black scarf, polo neck jumper and tinted sunglasses. Alongside him was Isabella, 26, who looked lovely in a tailored black and white checked two-piece, which she wore with a black blazer. Pierce has kept a strong family bond with Isabella after her mother, Charlotte - who is his adopted daughter - died from cancer in 2013. Charlotte, who died from ovarian cancer aged 41, was the birth daughter of Pierce's first wife, Cassandra. Pierce adopted both Charlotte and her younger brother Christopher, 52, after their father, Dermot Harris died in 1986. Pierce Brosnan, 71, and his granddaughter Isabella Smith, 26, arrived at MobLand afterparty on Thursday as she looked the spitting image of her mother, Charlotte The Bond star has kept a strong family bond with Isabella after her mother, Charlotte - who is his adopted daughter - died from ovarian cancer in 2013, aged 41 (pictured in 2006) Charlotte's mother later died of ovarian cancer in 1991, which left the siblings without their biological parents. She then welcomed two children of her own, Isabella and Lucas, with her partner Alex Smith. But Charlotte died just weeks after marrying Alex in 2013 from the same cancer her mother had. Before Cassandra's death, she and Pierce welcomed their biological son, Sean, 41, in 1983. Pierce, who has five children in total, is also a father to Dylan, 28, and Paris, 24, who he welcomed with his current wife Keely Shaye Smith, 61. Isabella has remained largely out of the public eye over the years and has appeared to have kept a strong bond with her father, Alex. Pierce has rarely spoken about Cassandra and Charlotte since their tragic passing, but he did at the Stand Up To Cancer telethon in 2024. With his steely gaze fixed on the viewer, Pierce didn't hold back on the details at the show at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Charlotte was the birth daughter of Pierce's first wife, Cassandra (left). Pierce adopted both Charlotte and her younger brother Christopher, 52, after their father, Dermot died in 1986 Pierce pictured alongside his first wife Cassandra, daughter Charlotte and sons Sean and Chris (pictured left to right in 1985) Isabella has remained largely out of the public eye over the years and has appeared to have kept a strong bond with her father, Alex There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Pierce described himself 'as a man who has watched the women he loved so much struggle with great pain'. He began by saying: 'To watch someone you love have his or her life eaten away bit by bit by this insidious disease, that kind of sorrow becomes an indelible part of your psyche. 'I held the generous, strong, beautiful hand of my first wife Cassie as ovarian cancer took her life much too soon. Advertisement Sophie Monk has provided fans with an alarming update, revealing she recently risked her life getting to safety after getting caught in a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Thailand. The Love Island Australia host, 45, shared a shock clip to social media on Friday in which she told fans she was staying in a Bangkok hotel when the earthquake struck. 'I have never experienced anything like this. I'm in Bangkok and I was just in the scariest earthquake ever,' Sophie began. Sophie looked flustered in the clip as she stood in a crowded street in Thailand and told fans about her terrifying experience that happened just moments before. 'I was on the 52nd floor and the building was going side-to-side. We were climbing from side-to-side on our tummies. It was so full-on' she added. 'We ran down the emergency stairs and made it out. Whoa, that will get your heart racing. It was so hectic, I don't want to be in that sucker again!' Sophie Monk has provided her fans with an alarming update, revealing she recently risked her life getting to safety after getting caught in a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Thailand Fortunately, Sophie did not appear to be physically injured amid the ruckus and later shared another clip of a Thai woman massaging her feet as she calmed down. A 7.7 magnitude earthquake is on the higher end of the Richter scale and has the potential to cause significant damage to infrastructure, trigger landslides, and generate tsunamis if it occurs under the ocean floor. The earthquake struck Thailand and Myanmar on Friday, with a state of emergency declared and fears of mass casualties after tremors shook high-rise buildings and destroyed apartment blocks. The US Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ centre for geosciences said the incident was at a shallow 6.2 miles, with an epicentre in neighbouring Myanmar. A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has told Daily Mail Australia it is is monitoring the humanitarian situation closely. 'Our thoughts are with those in Myanmar and neighbouring countries that have been affected by the earthquakes today,' they said. 'Australian embassies in the region are working to ascertain whether any Australians are affected and the extent of the impact.' The Love Island Australia host shared a shock clip to social media on Friday in which she told fans she was in a Bangkok hotel when the earthquake struck Fortunately, Sophie did not appear to be physically injured amid the ruckus and later shared another clip of a Thai woman massaging her feet as she calmed down The spokesperson said Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Australian Governments 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre 1300 555 135 (within Australia) and +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas). Shocking video has shown the moment workers fled as a building under construction collapsed as it was shaken by the force of the quake. Bangkok police said the number of possible casualties was not yet known, while local media has reported that some 43 workers were missing after the collapse. Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time - and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok. They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake. The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high above the street in high-rises, as the tremor shook. The quake damaged buildings in Bangkok and forced the suspension of some metro and light rail services in the city. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Friday she had interrupted an official visit to the southern island of Phuket to hold an 'urgent meeting' after the quake, according to a post on X. Tremors were also felt in China's southwest Yunnan province, according to Beijing's quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude. Helena Christensen looked jaw-dropping showing off her endless legs while at Balmain's lavish dinner in New York on Thursday. The legendary supermodel, 56, showcased her ageless physique in a sparkling black mini dress, which featured trim-pearl embellishments and sheer sleeves. The Danish beauty was a vision in the dazzling number, which she completed with glossy tights and a chic rose-gold clutch bag. Joining the runway queen at the exclusive fashion dinner were Iron Man actress Leslie Bibb and Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing. Inside the event, Helena was also snapped busy in an engaging conversation with American writer Derek Blasberg. Earlier in January, the catwalk icon showed off her age-defying figure in a strapless pink bikini as she posed on a sunny beach. Helena Christensen, 56, looked jaw-dropping flaunting her endless legs while in attendance of Balmain's lavish dinner in New York on Thursday The legendary supermodel showcased her ageless physique in a sparkling black mini dress, which featured trim-pearl embellishments and sheer sleeves It was a far cry from the Danish models dip into a frozen pond, which she shared with her Instagram followers last month. During her jaunt to the beach she cemented her supermodel status by making a makeshift seaweed hat, that she playfully teamed with her swimwear. The former Victorias Secret Angel, who did not disclose which exotic location she was at, shared a string of snaps of herself, including one in which shes seen smiling with her hands on her waist looking into the camera with the seaweed crown. She captured it in images: Seaweed I did there? Fans complimented the beautiful and forever young models snaps along with her famous pals, including actress Kate Bosworth, 42, who wrote in the comment section: Magical girl in the most magical place. Christensen replied: Our secret spot. Helena was accompanied by son Mingus Lucien, 25, her only child with actor Norman Reedus - as they unwound close to the shoreline. The Danish star welcomed Mingus, who works in the music industry, during a five year relationship with The Walking Dead star Reedus in 1999. The model and mother of one routinely shares images of her bikini body on her Instagram page to the delight of her followers. The Danish beauty was a vision in the dazzling number, which she completed with glossy tights and a chic rose-gold clutch bag Joining the runway queen at the exclusive fashion dinner were Iron Man actress Leslie Bibb (L) and Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing (middle) as they all posed for striking snaps together ahead of the dinner The brunette modelling icon posed up for striking shots with the French designer Inside the event, Helena was also snapped busy in an engaging conversation with American writer Derek Blasberg She also previously shared her beauty secrets and said: Whether I have five minutes or an hour, Ill devote time to a mini - or less mini - ritual, where I put oils on my body and massage them in, almost turning it into a little exercise moment where I stretch at the same time. 'I like to slap my arms and legs and the sides of my calves for circulation. Helena's latest holiday follows a tribute she posted to her 'beautiful friend' Lisbeth McCoy earlier this year after she sadly passed away. The supermodel took to Instagram to share a poignant tribute to her decades-long friendship with the sculpture artist. The original Dukes of Hazzard gang got back together in Los Angeles on Thursday for a special event celebrating the show's iconic car. Tom Wopat, Catherine Bach and John Schneider posed arm in arm at the Hollywood Museum 40 years after the last episode aired, as they attended the A Drive Through Time exhibition. Catherine, 71, who played the original Daisy Duke in the comedy, looked incredible in a textured petrol blue jacket over a low-cut black top and tight-fitting black trousers. She let her wavy blonde locks loose and opted for a soft makeup palette to accentuate her natural looks. John, 64, aka Bo Duke, looked dashing in a mid-grey jacket over a black shirt, pairing it with olive chinos and black boots. Meanwhile Tom, 73, who was Luke Duke in the show, sported a dark navy suit and a navy polo, adding some black shoes and navy stetson hat. The original Dukes of Hazzard gang got back together in Los Angeles on Thursday for a special event (pictured: John Schneider, Catherine Bach and Tom Wopat) They posed arm in arm 40 years after the last episode of the comedy, which at one point was second only to Dallas in the US ratings, aired (pictured: the trio in 1981) The trio were reunited with their classic General Lee car, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger which the gang used for their many escapes and became the symbol of the comedy. The immensely popular action show provided laughs for huge audiences on CBS from 1979 to 1985 with viewers eagerly tuning in to see what scrapes the three Dukes would get into next. Set in rural Georgia, the family-friendly show follows cousins Luke and Bo who are on probation but still look to get into scrapes, mainly aiming to foil the corrupt schemes of county commissioner Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg. Throughout the 147 episodes, they are helped by their cousin Daisy, who became a sex symbol throughout the comedy's run, as well as wise uncle Jesse. Indeed, Daisy's ultra-short hot pants were soon named after the character and became a fashion staple. At its height, it was beaten in the ratings only by CBS's flagship soap Dallas, which pulled in a whopping 90 million US viewers in 1980. The Dukes got back together for four films: Reunion! in 1997, Hazzard in Hollywood in 2000, The Dukes Of Hazzard in 2005 and The Beginning in 2007. In October, Catherine looked incredible as she swapped her iconic hotpants for chic black trousers as she was spotted in Studio City, LA doing some shopping at the Erewhon Market. The gang (pictured, left, in 1980) looked half their age as they attended the A Drive Through Time exhibition (right) Catherine, 71, let her wavy blonde locks loose and opted for a soft makeup palette to accentuate her natural looks The stars were reunited with their classic General Lee car, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger which the gang used for their many escapes and became the symbol of the comedy The actress paired the trousers with a matching black shirt and slipped on silver studded loafers. It's been said that Catherine wowed Dukes of Hazzard directors so much during her audition that she was hired on the spot to play Daisy Duke. The role earned her massive stardom - and a poster of her posing as Daisy sold five million copies after its release, and it even caught the eye of First Lady Nancy Reagan. The bombshell star made headlines during her time in the show, after it was revealed that she had insured her legs for 770,000 ($1 million). 'You know what it is? I do things that I shouldnt really do,' she explained of her decision to get them insured. 'I ski. 'I had a plane when I started the series, which they made me get rid of [I do] a lot of things. And I sort of take chances. So they thought that they should insure my legs.' The General Lee car was last spotted at the wedding of John and Dee Dee Sorvino last July. The couple exchanged vows during a surprise ceremony in Las Vegas on July 23 after first meeting in LA in 2023. Toasting to their marriage, TV personality Dee Dee made sure to dress the part as she coordinated her outfit with the car. Set in rural Georgia, the family-friendly show follows cousins Luke and Bo who are on probation but still look to get into scrapes with cousing Daisy (pictured: the cast in 1980) The duo (pictured) mainly aimed to foil the corrupt schemes of county commissioner Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg The Dukes have since got back together for four films including Reunion! in 1997 (pictured) The General Lee car was last spotted at the wedding of John and Dee Dee Sorvino last July, with the Dukes Of Hazzard star looking smart in a dark grey suit She opted for a black lace top and tiered orange skirt, complete with a fun pair of cowboy boots. Meanwhile, John looked smart in a dark grey suit, that he teamed with a white shirt. Dee Dee was previously married to Goodfellas star Paul Sorvino, who passed away from natural causes in July 2022 aged 83. John's third wife Alicia Allain Schneider died from breast cancer aged 53 in February 2023. The new couple have previously spoke out about how the recent loss of both their spouses, within the past two years, brought them together. Dee Dee revealed how the late actor gave her his blessing to marry 80s TV icon John two years after his death. In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, the actress and entertainer said her late husband came to her in dreams approving of the romance with the Dukes Of Hazzard star. Advertisement A Hollywood actor has revealed the hilarious nickname he gave to his penis prosthetic in his latest project. David Howard Thornton is set to shock fans as he stars in Screamboat as killer Steamboat Willie who begins targeting passengers on the Staten Island Ferry. The Disney-inspired horror film sees a monstrous Mickey Mouse kill princesses in a new trailer, released this week. When a group of drunk girls, Cindi, Bella, Jazzy, Arianna and Rory - a play on the Disney princesses - board the boat, their night soon descends into chaos. And now, in a chat with MailOnline, lead actor David has revealed the name he's given to his penis prosthetic. The gory flick is said to feature a lot of dismembered body parts - one of which was a giant penis. A Hollywood actor has revealed the hilarious nickname he gave to his penis prosthetic in his latest project (pictured at the Terrifier 3 premiere) David Howard Thornton is set to shock fans as he stars in Screamboat as killer Steamboat Willie who begins targeting passengers on the Staten Island Ferry David joked: 'I called it Big Willy. I wasn't expecting that thing and then when they brought it out I was like oh my God that's ridiculous, I love it. This is hysterical. That was a fun thing to work with. 'That was what I loved about this, with the perspective we were doing, these giant props, the scissors they put in my head was another cool thing they put in there.' Speaking of his favourite kill, he added: 'My favourite kill has got to be the d*** scene. Let's be honest. 'That's everybody's favourite kill in this. I think it's so funny, especially when it's still in her mouth. That's just wrong, what a horrible way to go.' The actor added that the elaborate makeup and costume was a 'four hour process' on a 'daily basis' and then 'it took another hour to take it all off'. Discussing the unusual storyline for the horror, he revealed: 'When he [the director] told me about the concept, before he'd even written the script I was like I am here for this. 'There's a lot of fun you can do with it, especially leaning into the comedic elements.' It comes just after director, writer and producer Steven LaMorte admitted he always knew he wanted one of the props to be a giant penis. 'They gave it a name and they're like, "OK, Tom's flying the set", and we're like, OK, we know what that means,' Steven told MailOnline. When a group of drunk girls, Cindi, Bella, Jazzy, Arianna and Rory - a play on the Disney princesses - board the boat, their night soon descends into chaos A synopsis reads: 'Be our guest on a New York City ferry ride that turns into a hilarious nightmare when a mischievous mouse named Steamboat Willie becomes a monstrous reality' Discussing the unusual storyline for the horror, he revealed: 'When he [the director] told me about the concept, before he'd even written the script I was like I am here for this' The gory flick is said to feature a lot of dismembered body parts - one of which was a giant penis He added: 'It's one of the first scenes that I wrote actually because it just made me laugh. 'I thought it was funny. I said, what if? And then once we started taking these meetings and started having these very serious, very professional discussions, we have to bring in the art department, we have to bring in the makeup department, we have to bring in the prosthetic department, we have to bring in the... oh, well, props has to build one too. 'So it just turned into this just like massive meeting after meeting with all of these adult working professionals in the film industry who I have to look in the straight face and say, "Guys, we have to do this", and we have to do it right, and everyone took it really seriously. 'But, you know, it turned into like a a game of of synonyms trying to just like use other words, like, "so when the unit is on set", "well we have to get the large member".' The film is filled with Disney references, as it is inspired by the 1928 original Steamboat Willie - for which the copyright expired last January. It became the first film starring Mickey and Minnie to be distributed, but now media from the 1928 film are available in the US public domain. Not every Disney nod Steven wanted to made it into the film, as he said: 'There's so many references that didn't make it into the script, only because when I approach a script, to me a script is more of a like a battle plan, right? So it's an attack plan, it's a layout for what we're gonna do. 'So the script was much longer than the movie because every page I've got alternate versions of jokes. I've got, you know, alternate references. It comes just after director, writer and producer Steven LaMorte admitted he always knew he wanted one of the props to be a giant penis Disney original Steamboat Willie was released in 1928 and became the first film starring Mickey and Minnie to be distributed 'I mean, there's a bunch of Pixar references that didn't make it into the flick. There's a bunch of references to rides that didn't make it into the movie.' But eagle-eyed viewers should remain on the look-out, as he assured the film is littered with Easter eggs that did make the cut - and teased ideas for a possible sequel. 'There's some, some characters that ended up more in the background than I think I wanted to have them be in the film,' he said. 'So you kind of have to watch it to see if you spot some of the Easter eggs. But if we get the chance to make a second one I will dust off the old notepad and try to work them back in.' As the trailer for Screamboat opens, a voiceover promises a 'journey like no other' before the creepy mouse is seen boarding the boat. A synopsis reads: 'Be our guest on a New York City ferry ride that turns into a hilarious nightmare when a mischievous mouse named Steamboat Willie becomes a monstrous reality. 'As passengers set sail, their trip turns deadly when the tiny terror unleashes murder and mayhem. 'Packed with big kills, big laughs, and a miniature menace, Screamboat is a cinematic thrill ride that reimagines Steamboat Willie like never before!' On Wednesday evening I ventured out to a tiny fringe theatre in north Londons trendy Islington. After making my way through a tacky modern shopping arcade and going down four flights of stairs, I arrived at the venue of Amanda Abbingtons first play since her Strictly ordeal ended, a production entitled (This Is Not A) Happy Room. Never has a play been more aptly named. The 7pm start was delayed by more than an hour due to technical difficulties, which was odd because the stage was so small it could have fitted into my kitchen and the minimalist set consisted of just eight chairs and a coffee table. More to the point, the production was a complete, unmitigated disaster. Trite, obvious, embarrassing to watch and so sleep-inducing that folk were nodding off, me included, as there were too few jokes to keep us awake. Perhaps worst of all, it was 90 minutes long with no interval, and so there was no opportunity to make an escape. To be fair, it was the first full showing of the play. The night before the performance, the audience received a rather panicked email telling us: This preview performance will now be an open dress rehearsal. At this point, I should explain that Amanda and I have crossed swords more than once over her epic spat with her former Strictly dance partner Giovanni Pernice last year. After they were paired up to compete for the glitterball in 2023, she accused him of unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean behaviour, which was, at times, sexually inappropriate. When Amanda Abbington took to the stage, I swear she clocked me immediately and gave me her burn in hell stare, the one Giovanni must be only too familiar with, writes Amanda Platell Ms Abbington left Strictly after week six and complained about dance partner Giovanni Pernice Despite being one of Strictlys best celebrity dancers and looking absolutely fabulous in sequins, she not only quit the show after week six but complained about Pernice to the BBC. While I was a cheerleader for Giovanni during their potentially career-ending battle, which ended with six of Abbington's complaints of verbal bullying and harassment being upheld, I still felt a certain curiosity about what Amanda was doing now. Given my familiarity with Abbingtons volatile nature, I was a little disturbed to discover that the seats my friend and I had booked were in Row 2. There was no one in front of us and so I had a clear view of the stage and Amanda would have a clear view of me, too! When she took to the stage, I swear she clocked me immediately and gave me her burn in hell stare, the one Giovanni must be only too familiar with. Maybe I imagined it, but I dont believe I did. If looks could kill, I wouldnt have left the theatre alive. Abbington plays a middle-aged divorcee grudgingly about to celebrate the third - or fourth - marriage (thats one of the jokes) of her former husband to a much younger woman. Its a case of life imitating art a bit as Amanda is herself a 51-year-old separated mother of two. And her real-life ex, Hobbit star Martin Freeman, 53, is now loved up with a French actress, Rachel Benaissa, 23 years his junior. (Maybe thats where Amanda got the bitterness she brings to bear in her portrayal of the dumped wife in the play.) It is billed as a cross between the darkly sexual film Saltburn and the hilarious Netflix series Schitts Creek. Sadly, as I discovered to my cost, without the sex in the former and the laughs in the latter. When Abbington first appeared, the matriarch of whats described as a happily dysfunctional family, she did hold the stage. Despite the fact that her hair looked like it hadnt been washed in a week, there is something about Abbington - an hauteur, a grandeur. Which left me wondering: How did it come to this? How did such an illustrious career, with roles in Sherlock and Mr Selfridge, take such a banal turn resulting in a four-week run of a mediocre play in the basement of a shopping mall? Get all Daily Mail Australia's latest MAFS stories on WhatsApp here Advertisement Married At First Sight groom Ryan Donnelly has scored his big acting break, with a small role in the new Nicole Kidman produced Binge TV series The Last Anniversary. Eagle-eyed viewers have taken to social media to point out Ryan appeared as an extra in the first episode of the series, playing a police guard. The former project manager is seen in the background of an office scene, with his character making his way through a workplace in a patterned dress shirt. 'Just watching a new series, is this who I think it is?' one fan asked. 'Must be a very small part or even a walk-on because he doesnt feature in the cast list,' another person quipped. Ryan later confirmed it was indeed him in the series, which also stars Teresa Palmer and Miranda Richardson. Married At First Sight groom Ryan Donnelly has scored his big acting break, with a small role in the new Binge TV series The Last Anniversary '[I played a] simple police officer guarding the star patient in that episode. Always amazing fun on sets like those,' he told Yahoo Lifestyle. Ryan has worked as an actor for several years and previously had roles on Neighbours and NCIS: Sydney. While many have been impressed by Ryan's acting prowess, there is one person who hasn't been. Earlier this month, Ryan's MAFS ex-wife Jacqui Burfoot took a brutal swipe at him. Jacqui trashed his part-time acting career and claimed it was incompatible with her high standards. The 29-year-old jewellery store owner didn't hold back in a scathing social media post, revealing she had major concerns about Ryans 'unstable' job. 'I was concerned about his acting career not being stable and predictable. It would force him to be a primary caregiver... he wouldn't be happy with that,' Jacqui began. 'I want to be with a man who works hard/late, treats women very well and prides himself on a clean home. Ladies, never lower your standards. If you are insecure about finances then it is an insult to someone to have a concern over finances. The series is executive produced by Nicole Kidman and stars Teresa Palmer and Miranda Richardson It comes after Ryan's MAFS ex-wife Jacqui Burfoot slammed his acting career as 'unstable' 'Who wouldn't be concerned married to someone unemployed and a part-time actor? I was legit worried for him, so were the producers.' Jacqui's snide remarks came just hours after she also took aim at Ryan's Sydney home, blasting his Campbelltown suburb as 'boganic'. Jacqui since has moved on and now lives with co-star Clint Rice in his sprawling Tasmanian mansion. Ryan listed his profession as a 'project manager' on the show and his acting gigs appear to be a side hustle. Daily Mail Australia previously revealed the Manly property Jacqui welcomed Ryan into was actually a rented Airbnb. She returned to the Northern Beaches for the episode and was filmed rolling her suitcase through the front door of what was supposedly her home. However, the property was in fact a $200-a-night Airbnb rental. A voiceover described the residence as 'Jacqui's home', but in reality it was a two-story rental arranged by producers. A company selling baby-related products apologized after it faced backlash for asking an influencer to return a gifted $1,700 smart bassinet because she couldn't use it following the stillbirth of her unborn child. The influencer, "So You Think You Can Dance" alum Brooklyn Larsen, received a SNOO smart bassinet from Happiest Baby. The item was given to her in exchange for tagging the baby brand in any related content as she was expecting to give birth sometime soon. Baby Brand Faces Widespread Backlash However, when tragedy struck for Larsen and her husband, Rocky, the company responded in what many online users are calling the worst way. In November 2024, the couple found out that the expecting mother had a stillbirth, which meant she had lost her second child with her partner. The two mourned the loss of their baby and posted on Instagram about their feelings of devastation. The couple revealed that their baby was unable to make it at 40 weeks and 2 days as Larsen went into labor on her own, according to Perez Hilton. The two added that they never imagined something this tragic would happen to them or their unborn child. The issue with Happiest Baby exploded on social media when Larsen's sister, McKenna Bangerter, slammed the company last week, claiming that it had asked the grieving mother to return the smart bassinet. Bangerter added that several other companies who contacted the couple handled the situation with "grace & empathy and not like a transaction." Following backlash, a spokesperson for Happiest Baby apologized for the "misguided and ill-conceived communication" that was sent to Larsen. A Tragic Incident The apology came after many online users, including fellow mommy influencers like Larson, expressed their frustration toward Happiest Baby's actions. They left various messages on the company's social media accounts and told others to not buy from them again, the New York Post reported. In its statement, Happiest Baby said that it expressed its condolences to the couple and sent flowers in this trying time. It argued that it was asking for the bassinet to be returned because it claimed that the sight of an empty bassinet or crib could be a painful reminder for a grieving mother who lost her baby. Happiest Baby added that what it intended as an effort to provide assistance to Larsen was a mistake that only added to the grieving mother's pain. The company said that it took internal steps to ensure that it never happens again, as per Today. The public airing of dirty laundry always seemed an integral part of their famously fiery relationship. Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly had no qualms about sharing the intimate details of their sex life, with Fox even detailing how they once drank each other's blood as part of some sort of ritual. Not to be outdone, Kelly proposed in January 2022 with a $340,000 ring made in a thorn-like design, deliberately so Fox would hurt herself if she ever tried taking it off. 'Love is pain,' Kelly explained in an interview. But that love was also not destined to last. The couple called off the engagement in November, with 34-year-old rapper Kelly - real name Colson Baker - being accused of messaging other women. Then, in a shock twist that same month, Fox, 38, announced she was pregnant with Kelly's child in a nude photoshoot. Megan Fox made clear she would rather go it alone as a parent without Machine Gun Kelly, prompting a bitter feud between him and her ex Brian Austin Green who vowed to help her 'Brian told Megan he'll be there for her to help out in any way with the new baby - even though Machine Gun Kelly is the father,' said one insider Fox gave birth - to a baby girl - on Thursday, with Kelly proudly announcing the news on his Instagram, saying, 'She's finally here!! our little celestial seed.' The happy news came after Fox revealed in 2023 that she had suffered a miscarriage. But behind the scenes, things are more complicated than they may seem, with insiders exclusively telling then Daily Mail that Fox has apparently made clear she would rather go it alone without Kelly's involvement, and has instead turned to her ex-husband, the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Brian Austin Green, 51, for help. For his part, while Green has moved on with a new fiancee, Australian ballroom dancer Sharna Burgess, 39, it is understood that he has vowed to be there for his ex-wife with whom he shares three children: Noah, 12, Bodhi, 10, and Journey, 8. 'Brian told Megan he'll be there for her to help out in any way with the new baby - even though Machine Gun Kelly is the father,' one insider said. But, perhaps understandably, Green's intervention has irked Kelly, who this week blasted Fox's ex-husband in a private direct message, which Green then screenshooted and shared with the public on Instagram. 'Stop asking when our child is gonna be born. you the FEDS,' Kelly wrote, adding emojis of a rat and a police officer. 'Quit calling TMZ and focus on that apology you owe me for speaking on my name in public,' Kelly continued. 'You chose the wrong one to f*** with mr child actor. Go back to cereal commercials.' A second insider told the Daily Mail that Fox 'was absolutely disgusted when she saw the message, and was fully aware that Green was going to share it because he ran it by her first. The only thing that MGK should be asking Brian about is how to be a proper father.' In November, Fox announced she was pregnant with a nude photoshoot (pictured) Green's intervention has irked Kelly, who this week blasted Fox's ex-husband in a private direct message, which Green then screenshooted and shared with the public on Instagram The Subservience actress was so against spending time with her former flame that she initially didn't want him to be present at the birth of their child Fox gave birth - to a baby girl - on Thursday, with Kelly announcing the news on his Instagram (pictured), saying, 'She's finally here!! our little celestial seed.' 'Right now, Megan isn't sure if she wants MGK to have any involvement in the baby's life,' the insider added. '[He has] been nothing but trouble from the start. 'When Meghan found out he'd been cheating she decided to go it alone and raise the baby by herself. But now Brian has agreed to help, she's relieved because she knows what a great co-parent he's been over the years to their boys.' Indeed, Green and Fox were married between 2010 and 2021 but have maintained a good relationship since. And this new baby now appears to have brought them even closer. 'When Brian found out Megan was pregnant with MGK's baby he was horrified how things would turn out,' our second source said. 'He wants to make sure she is taken care of. If MGK thinks that insulting and threatening the father of her [other] children was the way to get back with her, he needs to think again. It will only push her further away.' We are told that Kelly was 'always jealous that Brian and Megan maintained a good relationship even when they weren't together anymore,' and that the two men were 'enemies right from the start.' A third source added that if Fox and Kelly were to reignite their romance, Green would be incredibly disappointed, adding that he would 'love to see [Kelly] man up and be a father for his kid [but] the damage is done. [This] bitter feud looks like it's never going to end.' Catherine Bach played Daisy Duke on the series Dukes of Hazzard which aired from 1979 until 1985. Now the 71-year-old beauty has proven she still looks incredible as she posed for an Instagram photo on Thursday. In the post her makeup artist revealed she stays young looking by using Sisley Paris Skincare. The company offers Sisleya L'Integral Anti-Age cream ($660) which uses Phytostimuline, Rhatany extract, Ladys Mantle extract and Ursolic Acid. In the past Bach has said exercising regularly and eating healthy is the key to maintaining her good looks. The star was on her way to meet up with her Dukes Of Hazzard costars Tom Wopat and John Schneider at the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles for an event celebrating the show's iconic orange car named The General Lee. Catherine was in a textured petrol blue jacket over a low-cut black top and fitted black trousers. Catherine Bach, 71, played Daisy Duke on the series Dukes of Hazzard, right. Now the beauty has proven she still looks incredible as she posed for an Instagram photo on Thursday, left The fun country-themed show aired from 1979 until 1985; seen in 1981 with her costars Tom Wopat and John Schneider John, 64, aka Bo Duke, looked dashing in a mid-grey jacket over a black shirt, pairing it with olive chinos and black boots. Meanwhile Tom, 73, who was Luke Duke in the show, sported a dark navy suit and a navy polo, adding some black shoes and navy Stetson hat. The trio were reunited with their classic General Lee car, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger which the gang used for their many escapes and became the symbol of the comedy. The immensely popular action show provided laughs for huge audiences on CBS with viewers eagerly tuning in to see what scrapes the three Dukes would get into next. Set in rural Georgia, the family-friendly show follows cousins Luke and Bo who are on probation but still look to get into trouble, mainly aiming to foil the corrupt schemes of county commissioner Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg. Throughout the 147 episodes, they are helped by their cousin Daisy, who became a sex symbol throughout the comedy's run, as well as wise uncle Jesse. Indeed, Daisy's ultra-short hot pants were soon named after the character and became a fashion staple. Set in rural Georgia, the family-friendly show follows cousins Luke and Bo who are on probation but still look to get into scrapes with Daisy (pictured in 1980) The original Dukes of Hazzard gang got back together in Los Angeles on Thursday for a special event (Schneider, Bach and Wopat) At its height, it was beaten in the ratings only by CBS's flagship soap Dallas, which pulled in a whopping 90 million US viewers in 1980. The Dukes got back together for four films: Reunion! in 1997, Hazzard in Hollywood in 2000, The Dukes Of Hazzard in 2005 and The Beginning in 2007. In October, Catherine looked incredible as she swapped her iconic hotpants for chic black trousers as she was spotted in Studio City, LA doing some shopping at the Erewhon Market. The gang (pictured, left, in 1980) looked half their age as they attended the A Drive Through Time exhibition (right) Catherine let her wavy blonde locks loose and opted for a soft makeup palette to accentuate her natural looks The stars were reunited with their classic General Lee car, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger which the gang used for their many escapes and became the symbol of the comedy It's been said that Catherine wowed Dukes of Hazzard directors so much during her audition that she was hired on the spot to play Daisy Duke. The role earned her massive stardom - and a poster of her posing as Daisy sold five million copies after its release, and it even caught the eye of First Lady Nancy Reagan. The bombshell star made headlines during her time in the show, after it was revealed that she had insured her legs for 770,000 ($1 million). 'You know what it is? I do things that I shouldnt really do,' she explained of her decision to get them insured. 'I ski. 'I had a plane when I started the series, which they made me get rid of [I do] a lot of things. And I sort of take chances. So they thought that they should insure my legs.' The General Lee car was last spotted at the wedding of John and Dee Dee Sorvino last July. The couple exchanged vows during a surprise ceremony in Las Vegas on July 23 after first meeting in LA in 2023. Toasting to their marriage, TV personality Dee Dee made sure to dress the part as she coordinated her outfit with the car. The duo (pictured) mainly aimed to foil the corrupt schemes of county commissioner Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg The Dukes have since got back together for four films including Reunion! in 1997 (pictured) The General Lee car was last spotted at the wedding of John and Dee Dee Sorvino last July, with the Dukes Of Hazzard star looking smart in a dark grey suit She opted for a black lace top and tiered orange skirt, complete with a fun pair of cowboy boots. Meanwhile, John looked smart in a dark grey suit, that he teamed with a white shirt. Dee Dee was previously married to Goodfellas star Paul Sorvino, who passed away from natural causes in July 2022 aged 83. John's third wife Alicia Allain Schneider died from breast cancer aged 53 in February 2023. The new couple have previously spoke out about how the recent loss of both their spouses, within the past two years, brought them together. Dee Dee revealed how the late actor gave her his blessing to marry 80s TV icon John two years after his death. In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, the actress and entertainer said her late husband came to her in dreams approving of the romance with the Dukes Of Hazzard star. Bhad Bhabie was showing plenty of tattooed skin on Thursday evening in Atlanta - days before she revealed a shocking death threat had been made against her. The OnlyFans pinup model was seen in a skimpy white bikini as she danced around a pole with long red hair. At one point the Dr Phil guest pulled back her bikini top to expose her bare breast with a black heart breast pastie on it. The star also had on fishnet thigh high stockings that revealed a tattoo of her boyfriend Le Vaughn's face. All the while she danced she held onto a vape. The beauty, who has been battling cancer, also posed with Le Vaughn proving them are back together after splitting up and making up many times. The rapper wore a sheer and feather-trimmed coat as she walked into the special 'Bhabie City' while at Magic City. This sighting comes as she shared a screengrab of death threat she received on social media. The troll said she wants to 'murder' the starlet. Bhabie captioning the photo 'Murder me is crazy' followed by a laughing emoji. Bhad Bhabie was showing plenty of tattooed skin on Thursday evening in Atlanta The OnlyFans pinup model was seen in a skimpy white bikini as she danced around a pole; here she pulled back her top to reveal a black heart breast pastie This comes a month after she called the police on three gunmen who allegedly attempted to break into her house, it was claimed. Her baby daddy Le Vaughn is said to have arrived at the property mere minutes before the supposed incident - one day after he sustained a gunshot wound to the hand at a Los Angeles strip club. The suspects purportedly tried to breach Bhabie's side door, but had fled the scene by the time the police got there, law enforcement sources told TMZ. Insiders did not establish definitively whether Bhabie or Le Vaughn was the first person to catch sight of the alleged gunmen. Bhabie, 21, has had a tumultuous on-off relationship with Le Vaughn, 26, with whom she shares an 11-month-old daughter called Kali Love. Her representative confirmed Bhabie's home was visited by the authorities, but said they were there pursuing leads connected to the strip club shooting. The star also had on fishnet thigh high stockings that revealed a tattoo of a butterfly All the while she danced she held onto a red vape She did the splits too The beauty, who has been battling cancer, was seen with fellow dancers There seemed to be mostly women at the venue Le Vaughn was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday and is expected to make a full recovery from his injury, according to TMZ. Sources told the outlet that a second individual was also shot during the violent altercation, suffering a non-life-threatening shoulder injury before receiving treatment at the hospital. Le Vaughn wasted no time updating fans, sharing a hospital bed selfie on Instagram where he flashed some hand signs, his bandaged hand front and center. Despite the chaos, he looked relaxedeven tossing in a few playful expressions to let everyone know hes doing just fine. Meanwhile, Bhad Bhabie has yet to address the chilling incident involving her childs fathershe's currently caught up in an ongoing feud with Travis Barkers daughter, Alabama. Le Vaughn 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. She also posed with Le Vaughn proving them are back together after splitting up and making up many times Here the star wore a sheer and feather-trimmed coat as she walked into the special 'Bhabie City' while at Magic City 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' 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. DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Bhad Bhabie, the LAPD and Sam's Hofbrau for further comment. This comes after 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 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].' Michelle Keegan looked the epitome of style when she stepped out for a walk for the first time on Thursday with her husband Mark Wright and their newborn baby Palma. The actress, 37, and TOWIE star, 38, announced the birth of their first child earlier this month and have been enjoying the first few weeks of being parents. But what caught the eye of some eagle-eyed fans was the 'Ferrari of prams' that their daughter was being pushed around in. Michelle and Mark forked out 1,249 for the iCandy Peach 7 Coco pushchair in a classic chocolate brown colour. The fashionable pram is a favourite among celebrities, with other previous owners including the likes of Molly-Mae Hague, Zara Tindall, Meghan Markle and the Beckhams. The company's 'luxury' prams and buggies which cost up to 1,500 have proven popular because they are easy to fold up and carry. Michelle Keegan looked the epitome of style when she stepped out for a walk for the first time on Thursday with her husband Mark Wright and their newborn baby Palma But what caught the eye of some eagle-eyed fans was the 'Ferrari of prams' that their daughter was being pushed around in Other celebrities that have used iCandy's prams include Abbey Clancy and Peter Crouch, Kim and Andy Murray, and Sir Richard Branson. The company's website boasts that its engineering rivals 'a plane, not a pushchair' and says its designs have a 'luxury, modern' look. Described as 'the ultimate pushchair for first time parents' it is described as 'the worlds definitive, luxury single to double pushchair beautifully engineered, designed to fit perfectly around you and your baby'. It's also 'suitable from birth due to the spacious carrycot which can also be used for permanent overnight sleeping'. This week the proud new parents made the most of the good weather as they took the tot out in her pram for a stroll with Palma's grandma, Michelle's mum Jacqueline. In their first family sighting since Palma's birth, first-time mother Michelle was glowing as she stepped out in a stylish knitted cardigan, featuring balloon sleeves. She layered it over a white T-shirt and pair the look with smart black trousers and beige trainers. The brunette beauty swept her long hair back into a ponytail and accessorised with circular sunglasses and dainty hoop earrings. She seemed to be in high spirits and could barely wipe the smile from her face as Mark sweetly wrapped his arm around her. There are a lot of matching optional extras parents can purchase along with the pram The fashionable pram is a favourite among celebrities, with other previous owners including the likes of Molly-Mae Hague (above), Zara Tindall, Meghan Markle and the Beckhams Zara Tindall was unveiled as the new brand ambassador for iCandy in 2018 The former TOWIE star matched his wife in a similar nude cardigan, which he threw on over a black T-shirt and jeans. The happy couple wandered around chatting in the sunshine, while stopping to check on baby Palma. Michelle's mum also appeared to stop to snap a quick picture of the family before they continued with their outing. It comes just after Michelle shared a glimpse into her sunny day out in the city with her 7.5 million Instagram followers as she enjoyed sashimi and salmon nigiri. The excited actress quipped: 'Waited a long time for you'. The Netflix star also shared her lavish frozen dessert which had a chocolate sign saying 'congratulations'. The actress, 37, and TOWIE star, 38, announced the birth of their first child earlier this month and have been enjoying the first few weeks of being parents It comes just after Michelle shared a glimpse into her sunny day out in the city with her 7.5 million Instagram followers as she enjoyed sashimi and salmon nigiri The Netflix star also shared her lavish frozen dessert which had a chocolate sign saying 'congratulations' Michelle snapped the picture next to Palma's empty milk bottle and her pram was seen in the background, as she joked that the baby bottle 'used to be a Lychee Martini'. Hours earlier the former Coronation Street star revealed that she had been 'rotating between her pyjamas and joggers'. Resharing influencer Perrie Sian's video of her trying on Michelle's new summer dress collection from Very, she wrote: 'I love watching these when I am rotating between pyjamas and joggers'. Michelle and Mark have so far only shared a glimpse at their baby girl as they uploaded black and white pictures. Over the weekend, the actress shared a close-up shot of her baby girl's tiny foot on her Instagram Stories. The Netflix star captioned the sweet snap 'Simply magic' with a twinkling star emoji. Michelle's mother Jackie is said to be over the moon at becoming a grandmother and is supporting her daughter in every way. A source told The Mirror: 'Jackie is over the moon to be a grandma. Palma is her first grandchild and she is besotted, as are the whole family. Shes so proud of Michelle.' Insiders told the publication she has been a 'pillar of support' and a frequent visitor at Michelle and Mark's Essex home since the baby's birth. Michelle and Mark have so far only shared a glimpse at their baby girl as they uploaded black and white pictures Over the weekend, Michelle shared a close-up shot of her baby girl's tiny foot on her Instagram Stories, after her daughter's arrival on March 6 Mark and Michelle built a designer granny flat at their 3.5million mansion, meaning the couple's parents can stay and help out whenever they like with their own space. The 60 sq ft annexe - which is bigger than the average London flat - is used by family members when they come to visit their dream home. Mark has described fatherhood as the 'biggest achievement' of his life since welcoming baby Palma into the world with Michelle on March 6. Chatting with his best friend and fellow dad Olly Murs on his Heart Breakfast show, Mark recalled the moment he first held his newborn daughter in his arms. Mark fought back emotions as he said: 'Mate, it's actually hard to put into words. 'It's the biggest achievement of my life its all I think about but obviously hats go off to my wife she is an absolute super human, a superhero for bringing this baby into the world.' Sharing his appreciation for Michelle, he added: 'It makes you realise what our mums did for us and makes me have so much more respect than I already had and what women had to go through. 'It's the best feeling in the world. I wake up every morning just so excited to see her face.' Recalling the first moment he held Palma, he continued: 'That moment when I held her in my arms, it gets me emotional now thinking about it. Michelle's mother Jackie is said to be over the moon at becoming a grandmother and is supporting her daughter in every way 'I suppose everything else goes out the window and its made me realise what life is all about and my little baby Palma I love you so much and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. 'It's a very special feeling. I cant really put it into words. We've waited a little bit of time, we've chased our dreams and our careers and now we're here. We've got a baby.' It's believed the couple chose the name Palma because of their strong links to Mallorca, their go-to holiday destination and the setting for their pregnancy reveal photo shoot. Michelle married Mark in May 2015 and the couple live together in an Essex mansion they built from scratch. Demi Sims shared a set of steamy snaps with her new girlfriend Jazz Saunders on Instagram on Thursday. The TOWIE star, 28, and Made In Chelsea regular, 23 - who went public at a red carpet event this month - looked as loved up as ever in the photos from Sketch restaurant in Soho, London, even having a passionate kiss in the toilets. Jazz put on a stylish display in a backless white top, pairing it with some baggy blue jeans and letting her blonde tresses loose. Demi, meanwhile, could only partially be seen, placing her tattooed hand into her partner's back pocket and sporting some blue and white striped trousers with black trainers. In a mirror selfie posted with the steamy snap, the House of Sims personality was revealed to be wearing a light grey vest top with black shoulders and thick silver chain necklaces. For another cute picture, Jazz added a white blazer over her white top and posed side by side with Demi on a sofa in the posh restaurant. Demi Sims shared a set of steamy snaps with her new girlfriend Jazz Saunders on Instagram on Thursday including one of a passionate kiss in the toilets The TOWIE star, 28, and Made In Chelsea regular, 23 looked as loved up as ever in the photos from Sketch restaurant in Soho, London In a snap before the date, the Made In Chelsea star sweetly ironed Demi's trousers at home. Other pictures included the TOWIE personality adding a black leather jacket for a mirror selfie in a clothing store, before Jazz came to join her in the shot. Demi captioned the post: 'Fun day out with you.' In the comments, Jazz replied: 'Simply adore you x x' The romantic evening out comes after Jazz shared a loved-up snap with her new girlfriend. Jazz came out as gay in a social media update earlier this month after her 'fans figured it out' - and this week revealed she will open up about her sexuality in the new series of Made In Chelsea. And taking to Instagram last week, Jazz showed off her new love as the pair posed for a sweet mirror snap. Jazz cuddled into Demi as the TOWIE star kissed her on the forehead. Demi was quick to re-share the snap of her and Jazz and captioned it: 'Mine [heart emoji].' In a mirror selfie posted, the House of Sims personality was revealed to be wearing a light grey vest top with black shoulders and thick silver chain necklaces For another cute picture, Jazz added a white blazer over her white top and posed side by side with Demi on a sofa in the posh restaurant In a snap before the date, the Made In Chelsea regular sweetly ironed Demi's trousers at home Other pictures included the TOWIE personality adding a black leather jacket for a mirror selfie in a clothing store, before Jazz came to join her in the shot Opening up in a clip on TikTok on Monday, Jazz revealed she will discuss her coming out journey in the new series of the Channel 4 show. 'With the new series you'll see... I think before I was very much holding back and didn't really trust being my full authentic self for a while on the show,' she said. 'And I think the time was just right. You guys will see that, I think in episode two everything kind of just unfolds.' In another video with her best friend and co-star Julia Pollard, Jazz added that it is 'all very raw and real on the show' and described girlfriend Demi as a '10 out of 10'. Demi praised her new girlfriend as she discussed their relationship for the first time last week. The couple attended the Radio 1 Big Weekend press launch at The Standard Hotel in London earlier this month, with Demi discussing their romance. Speaking to The Sun at the event, Demi said: 'Romance is going really good, Jazz is a lovely girl and we really get along and it's just really healthy. 'We actually met through Jazz's friend Yasmine Zweegers, she saw me on a night out and said to Jazz, "You'd really fancy Demi, she's a bit of you". That's how it all started.' The romantic evening out comes after Jazz shared a loved-up mirror snap with her new girlfriend Jazz came out as gay in a social media update earlier this month after her 'fans figured it out' and she then debuted her romance with Demi at a London red carpet event The couple attended the Radio 1 Big Weekend press launch at The Standard Hotel in London earlier this month, with Demi discussing their romance She added: 'I'm really enjoying, we really get along and I'm so happy to have met her. She's got a really good heart and that's really hard to come across these days.' Jazz packed on the PDA with Demi as they joined a slew of stars for a screening of One Of Them Days in London's Ham Yard Hotel this month. She was praised by fans for sharing her sexuality in a TikTok, and just hours later, debuted her romance with the TOWIE favourite. Dressed in a daring backless white halterneck dress, Jazz cosied up to Demi as they shared a kiss, later admitting the reaction to her coming out had been 'crazy'. In the clip, shared to TikTok, the TV personality claimed the 'cat's out the bag' while smiling and kicking her feet. Overlaying Cat Burns latest track GIRLS! Jazz playfully mimed the lyrics: 'I can't help but feel so lucky, that I get to talk about girls.' She captioned the update: 'TikTok figured it out so just gonna leave this here cats out the bag.' Brooklyn Beckham shared his latest recipe on Friday and revealed an exciting new collaboration. David and Victoria's son, 26, announced the launch of his new hot sauce brand Cloud23, available exclusively at Whole Foods shops in the UK back in October. Cloud 23, named after the No.23 jersey his father wore at Real Madrid and LA Galaxy, comes in two variants Sweet Jalapeno and Hot Habanero. Brooklyn has now announced he will be teaming up with NYC dumpling restaurant Mimi Cheng's to launch the 'ultimate dumpling collab.' In a video shared to Instagram, he joined Marian Cheng in the kitchen to make their dumplings. He captioned the post: 'Teamed up with Mimi Cheng's to drop the ultimate dumpling collab for April. And of course, I had to top it off with some Cloud 23.' Brooklyn Beckham shared his latest recipe on Friday and revealed an exciting new collaboration David and Victoria's son, 26, announced the launch of his new hot sauce brand Cloud23, available exclusively at Whole Foods shops in the UK back in October Brooklyn added: 'Meet the Cubano Dumpling: Berkshire pork, smoked ham, pickles, melty Swiss cheese, and toasted garlic breadcrumbspan-fried to crispy perfection and served with C23 Sweet Jalapeno crema. 'Available starting 4/1, all month long at Mimi Chengs in NYC. You can also find their frozen dumplings and my hot sauce at Whole Foods one of my favourite pairings, no question ready to enjoy anytime.' Priced at a steep 15 a bottle, the oldest of the Beckham children has created two flavours as well as a range of clothing merchandise. Taking to his Instagram account in October, Brooklyn shared video of a truck, emblazoned with the Cloud23 logo and a small crowd gathered at his pop up shop, keen for a taste. After launching the hot sauce, he told Delish magazine: 'I did my research and I just felt like there was this hole in the market with luxury condiments, especially for a really good price.' Last month, Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz looked in good spirits as they filmed an ad for his hot sauce brand Cloud 23. The happily married couple were joined by a production crew as they filmed in a large, modern kitchen. Nicola looked incredible in a black Chanel shirt as she shared a playful snap holding a Clapperboard alongside her husband. Brooklyn has now announced he will be teaming up with NYC dumpling restaurant Mimi Cheng's to launch the 'ultimate dumpling collab' In a video shared to Instagram, he joined Marian Cheng in the kitchen to make their dumplings Last month, Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz looked in good spirits as they filmed an ad for his hot sauce brand Cloud 23 Brooklyn later shared a video of himself enjoying a beer with a friend at Applebee's where he tried to 'split the A' by drinking until halfway down the A on the glass and 'almost' made it. His plans for the Cloud 23 range of food and drinks were first revealed by MailOnline in January last year.. Beckham junior confirmed plans to launch a product 'in the food space' in an interview in June, saying it would launch in September in Whole Foods. Brooklyn told InStyle magazine in June: 'It's nice, because it's so broad. You can use it in spicy margaritas, you can use it on chicken, you can use it on sushi.' He added: 'I can't say what, exactly, it is, but it's in the food space. It's been a passion project of mine for the last two-and-a-half years, something I've literally put everything into. I've never worked so hard on anything in my life.' Brooklyn put his own funds into the project, too. 'I had to find a distributor... finding a CEO is very difficult, especially for a start-up. The first year was just me I put a lot of money in to start it on my own and then maybe under a year ago, I got investors.' Jennifer Garner was spotted filming on the set of season two of Apple TV's The Last Thing He Told Me, in Paris on Friday. The actress, 52, limbered up ahead of running through the streets for intense scenes alongside co-star and former GOT actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, 54. Jennifer, who plays Hannah Hall in the mystery series, was dressed all in black with a cropped black trench which she layered over trousers. Her costume also comprised of a cross body bag and trainers while she sported natural make-up and her brunette tresses worn loose. Meanwhile Nikolaj, who played Jaime Lannister in the HBO fantasy series, was also dressed casually as he and Jennifer fought their way through extras. The first season of the Apple TV+ show premiered in April 2023 - and became the streaming site's most-watched limited series, despite having a score of only 41% on Rotten Tomatoes. Jennifer Garner, 52, was spotted filming on the set of season two of Apple TV's The Last Thing He Told Me, in Paris on Friday. (with co-star and former GOT actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) The actress limbered up ahead of running through the streets for intense action scenes The show is also notably based on the novel of the same name written by Laura Dave. The premise of season one followed, 'A woman (Jennifer) who forms an unexpected relationship with her 16-year-old stepdaughter while searching for the truth about why her husband has mysteriously disappeared,' per IMDB. The second season will based on a sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me - which was also written by Laura Dave. And earlier this week, Jennifer's ex-husband Ben Affleck sat down for an interview with British GQ. The Oscar winner reflected on his divorce from Jennifer Lopez as well as his bond with Garner following their own split. The former couple were married from 2005 until their divorce was finalized in 2018 - and share three children: Violet, 19, Fin, 16, and Samuel, 13. 'I'm really lucky that I have a really good co-parent and partner in Jennifer Garner, the kids' mom, who's wonderful and great and we work together well,' Affleck told the outlet. He also discussed how both he and Garner have navigated through fame and stayed honest with their kids. Jennifer, who plays Hannah Hall in the mystery series, was dressed all in black with a cropped black trench which she layered over trousers Her costume also comprised of a cross body bag and trainers while she sported natural make-up and her brunette tresses worn loose The actors shared a giggle as they caught their breaths Meanwhile Nikolaj, who played Jaime Lannister in the HBO fantasy series, was also dressed casually as he and Jennifer fought their way through extras Jennifer appeared in great spirits as she chatted with the crew between takes The first season of the Apple TV+ show premiered in April 2023 - and became the streaming site's most-watched limited series, despite having a score of only 41% on Rotten Tomatoes The premise is, 'A woman (Jennifer) who forms an unexpected relationship with her 16-year-old stepdaughter while searching for the truth about why her husband has mysteriously disappeared' 'We used to have a thing, my ex-wife and I, when they would see something on a supermarket stand,' Ben recalled. 'We would say, well, "You know this isn't always true because if it were, you would have 15 brothers or sisters or whatever the number of stories is where they said that your mom was pregnant."' Affleck added, 'I know what's going on in my life. And also, really more importantly, my kids know.' He was recently seen hugging Garner during a paintball session as they celebrated their son Samuel's 13th birthday earlier this month. They were also seen arriving to the paintball park near Los Angeles - and the actor flashed a big smile while he conversed with the 13 Going On 30 actress. The two stars embracing during the outing soon sent the internet into a frenzy - and a source informed DailyMail.com how Garner feels about 'rekindling' her romance with Ben. Jennifer is currently in a relationship with John Miller, and the couple were recently spotted spending time together after the paintball excursion with her ex. The insider stated that she is 'deathly afraid of falling back in love' with Affleck and has 'trust issues' when it comes to the actor. The pair divorced after Affleck reportedly had an affair with their children's nanny Christine Ouzounian. 'She loves Ben but is worried that he will crush her all over again,' the source continued. And earlier this week, Jennifer's ex-husband Ben Affleck sat down for an interview with British GQ (pictured together 2014) The former couple were married from 2005 until their divorce was finalized in 2018 - and share three children: Violet, 19, Fin, 16, and Samuel, 13 'I'm really lucky that I have a really good co-parent and partner in Jennifer Garner, the kids' mom, who's wonderful and great and we work together well ,' Affleck told the outlet 'She doesn't want to heal another broken heart because it is just too much drama, plus she does not want their kids to see round two of their mom in a bad place with their dad. So much could go wrong if they reunite.' Another insider told DailyMail.com that Ben wants to possibly make a movie with Garner - after working together on Pearl Harbor (2001) and Daredevil (2003). Following her hug with Ben, another insider informed Page Six this month that her boyfriend John Miller has issued an 'ultimatum' to her. 'John knows there's nothing going on between Jen and Ben, but he doesn't think those photos are a good look and feels it's disrespectful to their relationship.' The source added that the businessman 'gave Jen an ultimatum - he doesn't want to see anything like that again or he has no choice but to walk away.' And a separate insider told DailyMail.com that Miller had also been a bit bothered by Jennifer and Ben 'being touchy-feely.' They further expressed, 'It would get to anyone, but this is nothing new. Ben and Jen have a unique relationship, especially for exes.' However, it seems all is well between John and Garner as the pair were recently spotted this week on a date at Brentwood Country Mart in L.A. Patrick Schwarzenegger is having the time of his life as he has received a career boost thanks to going naked on White Lotus. He plays the arrogant trust fun kid Saxon Ratliff in season three of the HBO drama. But things got weird when the 31-year-old's porn-addicted character was seen in a sexual situation with his brother Lochlan, played Sam Nivola, on screen. 'When you join The White Lotus, you know Mike is going to push boundaries,' the actor explained of the incestual twist to writer Tim Teeman of C Magazine. 'That's why he's a genius. As an actor, playing the most uncomfortable scenes is the most fun because they are the biggest challenge,' he remarked. 'I'm not saying that scene was the most fun, but it's fun to push yourself and put yourself in uncomfortable positions because then you learn.' The sex scene was made easier by the bond the cast had built. 'It wasn't difficult filming intimate scenes with Nivola because by then the pair had been filming together for a couple of months, Schwarzenegger says. 'Our whole on-screen family Sam, me, Jason, Parker, and Sarah Catherine worked together, hung out together, had meals, built a family dynamic,' he says. 'I became super close with all of them and continue to be really close with them today.' Patrick Schwarzenegger is having the time of his life as he has received a career boost thanks to going naked on White Lotus. He plays the arrogant trust fun kid Saxon Ratliff in season three of the HBO drama But things got weird when the 31-year-old's porn-addicted character was seen having sex with his brother Lochlan, played Sam Nivola, on screen 'When you join The White Lotus, you know Mike is going to push boundaries,' the actor explained of the incestual twist to writer Tim Teeman of C Magazine. 'That's why he's a genius. As an actor, playing the most uncomfortable scenes is the most fun because they are the biggest challenge The 31-year-old actor who lives in Santa Monica, California with his fiancee Abby Champion can relate to coming from a wealthy family like Saxon does. His father is movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger and mom is Kennedy relative Maria Shriver. Patrick, who was photographed for C Magazine by David Roemer, got the acting bug from his father who has appeared in Terminator, Last Action Hero and True Lies. Patrick's first role was in the film The Benchwarmers when he was 10-years-old. He was then in Midnight Sun in 2018 and the TV series The Staircase. But he doesn't take advice from Arnie. 'I don't ask my dad for any acting advice. He's a movie star,' he says of his father. 'It's not that I don't want to become that one day, but I want to focus on trying to get my feet wet in acting roles, then one day come to do those types of movies. 'We have two different routes of how to go about it. He's all about, "You should be number one on the call sheet, the biggest name, your name should be on the poster. Go big." 'I'm of the opposite mindset. By going small and continually growing with my roles, I'm trying to build my resume.' And he added he is not into fame. 'Being around fame has probably been beneficial,' Schwarzenegger said. 'I don't act so I can be famous. Is it cool when someone comes up to you says, 'I love your work and character'? Yes, it feels great. But I don't mind if that doesn't happen.' 'I'm not saying that scene was the most fun, but it's fun to push yourself and put yourself in uncomfortable positions because then you learn.' The sex scene was made easier by the bond the cast had built 'It wasn't difficult filming intimate scenes with Nivola because by then the pair had been filming together for a couple of months, Schwarzenegger said 'Our whole on-screen family Sam, me, Jason, Parker, and Sarah Catherine worked together, hung out together, had meals, built a family dynamic,' he added. 'I became super close with all of them and continue to be really close with them today' Instead he wants to work on his acting chops even if it means minor roles. 'What it does do is open doors for filmmakers, writers, and directors hopefully considering me for future projects,' he said carefully as he again stressed he wants to be an artist and not a movie icon. And he noted he liked the arc of his White Lotus character. 'Saxon entered the show with all this confidence,' Schwarzenegger shared. 'Now he finds himself the most lost and confused of everyone.' He also admitted to being 'nervous' about how his famous family would take the incest as the interview was conducted before the episode aired. 'I'm nervous about how everyone will react. Anytime you're putting yourself out there in a vulnerable way, people can be judgmental. But I trust Mike's vision in pushing the story forward.' The 31-year-old actor who lives in Santa Monica, California with his fiancee Abby Champion can relate to coming from a wealthy family like Saxon does. His father is movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger and mom is Kennedy relative Maria Shriver Patrick, who was photographed for C magazine by David Roemer, got the acting bug from his father who has appeared in Terminator, Last Action Hero and True Lies. His acting career began at age 10 in the film The Benchwarmers After earning a bachelor's degree from the USC Marshall School of Business, he won roles in movies (including Midnight Sun in 2018, his first leading role, opposite Bella Thorne ) and TV series (including The Staircase). But he doesn't take advice from Arnie. 'I don't ask my dad for any acting advice He also said that he is happy to be fit because it 'serves' the character. When asked what he thinks of Saxon losing his money, he said money is not on his list of important things in life. Schwarzenegger then listed his core values: 'Family, faith, fiancee, and friends. The four Fs.' He also said he is very close to sisters Katherine, who is married to Chris Pratt, and Christina. He has two brothers: Christopher, and paternal half-brother, Joseph Baena. He and Champion got engaged after seven and a half years together. They plan to marry this summer, he said. 'There's no rush, but I can't wait,' he said adding he would 'have children tomorrow if I could.' But it's hard for Abby and her work as a model. 'She's at the height of her career, and I absolutely support her in whatever she wants to do,' Schwarzenegger noted. Patrick with his dad Arnold as well as Alec and Hilaria Baldwin on March 11 in New York City His parents are 'massively influential in my life my dad on the work ethic side, and my mom on finding ways to be a public servant, giving back, and helping others. 'They were from very opposite backgrounds, but I think the different values they had meshed and worked well for a while, anyway. That helped me understand the value of seeing things from different perspectives.' Their split was 'difficult' for Schwarzenegger. 'I don't think there was any way that it wouldn't have been. Anytime there is massive change, it's difficult. It was not easy. But they did a great job of putting their differences aside for family celebrations like Thanksgiving and Christmas.' Schwarzenegger is very close to his mom as they see each other around five days a week. 'Besides my fiancee, she is the person I see most,' he says. He also said he has political ambitions. 'Yes, for sure down the road. I love it. I feel very fortunate and blessed to be in my position and feel it's my calling to try and help others. I want to find ways to help and give back.' This story originally appeared in the Men's Spring 2025 edition of C Magazine. Maura Higgins looked sensational as she turned heads while walking off a steam train at London Victoria on Friday. The Love Island star, 34, who hit the headlines earlier this month after a 'drunken kiss' with Danny Jones at the Brits, appeared in great spirits as she enjoyed a day with L'Oreal Paris. Showing off her incredible figure, Maura put on a very leggy display in a silver button up little black dress. Complete with white collar and sleeve detailing, the star cinched her waist in with a matching black belt before adding black tights and heels. She accessorised the look with a black hat with black netting as she beamed while making her way through the capital. Taking to her Instagram Story Maura also shared behind the scenes snaps of her day with the haircare brand onboard the Pullman steam train. Maura Higgins looked sensational as she put on a very leggy display in a button up little black dress while out in London on Friday The Love Island star, 34, who hit the headlines earlier this month after a 'drunken kiss' with Danny Jones at the Brits, appeared in great spirits as she enjoyed a day with L'Oreal Paris Sharing snaps of the dinner setting the star also enjoyed a glass of champagne during the luxury experience. Meanwhile as Maura enjoyed her day out, Danny Jones was seen hit the gym in South London for an early morning work out session. The McFly star, 39, is said to be working to rebuild his marriage to his wife Georgia following the incidence with Maura at the Brits afterparty. Danny has since issued a public apology to his wife, Georgia, expressing regret for his actions after his drunken kiss with Maura. Maura has not publicly commented. Georgia has reportedly moved back in to their family home and is giving him a second chance. The musician said in his apology that he was sorry for putting Georgia 'in this situation.' The Mail then revealed that a 'furious' Georgia had left the London house she only recently bought with her husband, but she has since moved home, as Danny wants to get their marriage 'back on track'. Showing off her incredible figure, Maura put on a very leggy display in a silver button up little black dress Complete with white collar and sleeve detailing, the star cinched her waist in with a matching black belt before adding black tights and heels She accessorised the look with a black hat with black netting as she beamed while making her way through the capital Taking to her Instagram Story Maura also shared behind the scenes snaps of her day with the haircare brand onboard the Pullman steam train Sharing snaps of the dinner setting Maura had her own personalised notepad and bookmark as she captioned the snap 'Dreamy' The star also enjoyed a glass of champagne during the luxury experience The star carried multiple goody bags following the event A pal told The Sun: 'The break has done Georgia a world of good. Being out of the house and with her friend Rose Mahon was what she needed to clear her head. 'Her relationship with Danny was pushed to breaking point and they are still trying to work out what they want. 'Danny has made it clear he will do anything to make it work.' MailOnline has contacted Georgia and Danny's representative's for comment. Meanwhile Maura posed up a storm earlier this week in a sexy long blonde wig and a corset bodysuit as she shared new Instagram snaps from her Texas getaway on Wednesday. The Love Island bombshell channeled her inner cowgirl as she slipped into the busty 90 one-piece from OhPolly which boasted ruffled sides and a lace up back. The McFly star, 39, is said to be working to rebuild his marriage to his wife Georgia following the incidence with Maura at the Brits afterparty (pictured in September) Maura was filmed sharing a kiss with Danny at a BRIT Awards afterparty and said in his apology that he was sorry for putting Georgia 'in this situation' Maura has chosen not to publicly address the scandal Maura ditched her usual long brunette locks for a bleached waist length blonde wig which she styled straight under a cowboy hat Maura ditched her usual long brunette locks for a bleached waist length blonde wig which she styled straight under a cowboy hat. She showed off her amazing figure as she climbed on a wooden fence on a ranch and rocked a pair of beige cowboy boots. The model accessorised with a long silver necklace and a pair of hoop earrings as she sat on the fence. The snaps from her trip stateside come after Maura jetted off following the BRITs drama with McFly's Danny. Maura has thrown herself into her work as she continues to attempt to move on from the 'drunken kiss' scandal, having taken trips to both Paris and the US in recent weeks. And taking to Instagram last week, Maura revealed to fans that she was jetting off again after recently throwing herself into work following the drama. Sharing a snap of her Louis Vuitton suitcases at Heathrow's terminal five, Maura penned: 'So much travel this month', before flying off to Texas. The Irish star dressed down in a casual white co-ord for the journey, adding a pair of black sandals to her look. Just days earlier, she had jetted off to Paris while her ex Pete Wicks enjoyed a night out with Ex On The Beach star Becca Edwards. Advertisement Lisa Rinna opened up about the deeply personal circumstances surrounding her father Frank Rinnas 2016 death at age 94, revealing he passed away through assisted suicide. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 61, shared the emotional revelation during the latest episode of her Lets Not Talk About the Husband podcast, which she co-hosts with husband Harry Hamlin. Frank died in Oregon, where the states 1997 Death with Dignity Act allows terminally ill patients to end their lives with medical assistance, including help from so-called death doulas. 'In Oregon, youre permitted to check out when you want to check out, said Harry, 73. He was 94, and his quality of life had diminished to the point where he wanted to transition. You can do that in Oregon if you follow the right guidelines and the protocols and talk to the right number of doctors. Lisa added, 'You have to have two doctors that sign off on your terminal illness, so to speak, noting that the process took her father about three to six months to complete. I never told this story at the time, she admitted. I had started the [RHOBH] show, and I think it was just too painful at the time. Lisa Rinna opened up about the deeply personal circumstances surrounding her father Frank Rinnas 2016 death at age 94, revealing he passed away through assisted suicide; (seen in 2024) The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 61, shared the emotional revelation during the latest episode of her Lets Not Talk About the Husband podcast, which she co-hosts with husband Harry Hamlin Frank died in Oregon , where the states 1997 Death with Dignity Act allows terminally ill patients to end their lives with medical assistance, including help from so-called death doulas'; (Lisa with dad Frank and mom Lois) Rinna described the moment she watched her father die at a hospice as 'surreal.' With her half-sister and a 'death doula' by his side, she recalled feeling detached from reality: I didnt feel like I was in my body, she said. She explained that under Oregon law, the person choosing assisted death must physically take the medication themselves. 'The person thats dying has to be able to pick up the juice, or whatever, to drink it themselves. You cant administer it to somebody. According to Rinna, her father was 'so mad' when his death was postponed by two days due to a delay in receiving the medication. 'He was in pain and he was really unhappy, she said. Calling the moment a surreal position to be in, the RHOBH alum admitted the emotional toll of watching a parent die by choice. 'You want to support what they want to do, but youre going to watch your parent kill themselves,' she said. 'Thats what were doing. But he wanted it so badly.' I never told this story at the time, Lisa admitted, adding, I had started the [RHOBH] show, and I think it was just too painful at the time. 'You want to support what they want to do, but youre going to watch your parent kill themselves,' she said, adding, 'Thats what were doing. But he wanted it so badly;' (pictured Lisa and Frank) 'In Oregon, youre permitted to check out when you want to check out, said Harry, 73. He was 94, and his quality of life had diminished to the point where he wanted to transition. You can do that in Oregon if you follow the right guidelines and the protocols and talk to the right number of doctors' (seen in 2024) Lisa said Frank passed away about 45 minutes after drinking the medication. 'They just go to sleep, by the way. Its not anything gruesome, she said, adding that his death was very peaceful. It was a very humane way to go, she added. In that aspect, it didnt feel awful, but it felt awful.' Rinna famously left RHOBH in 2023 while grappling with the loss of her mother Lois, making her return to such raw family memories all the more poignant. Oregon became the first US state to allow physician-assisted suicide in 1997, allowing terminally ill adult Oregonians, with less than six months left to live, to ask doctors for a fatal dose of drugs they then administer themselves, typically at home. In 2023, it became the first US state to allow non-residents to travel to the West Coast state to end their lives. Physician-assisted death, also known as medical aid in dying, is currently legal in 10 US states and Washington, D.C.: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. 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TMZ reported on Friday that the 44-year-old reality TV diva has taken a 'pivotal test that's required to practice law.' The mother of four took the MPRE - Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination - on Wednesday, the site claimed. The location was at a testing center in Alhambra, California, and Kim had to go in alone like any other regular person. It is a key test on legal ethics and professional conduct. The site also shared that the test is necessary if she wants to take the bar. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians veteran passed the 'baby bar' exam in 2021 and reportedly plans to take the bar in 2026. Kim Kardashian is getting closer to becoming an attorney in the state of California; seen on March 2 in Beverly Hills TMZ reported on Friday that the 42-year-old reality TV diva has taken a 'pivotal test that's required to practice law.' Her law studies may be coming in handy in time for a showdown with Kanye West; seen in 2019 In 2018 Kim started her dream of wanting to become a lawyer like her father, the late Robert Kardashian who worked on OJ Simpson's case. She started her law apprenticeship in the state of California in mid 2019. Kim is smart to study the law, not just because she owns so many businesses like SKIMS and SKKN, but she also has some issues with her ex-husband Kanye West. Kardashian is reportedly considering changing her custody agreement with West after he released a song featuring their eldest daughter, North, without her approval. According to TMZ, Kardashian is seriously debating taking West who now goes by Ye to court to request a judge strip him of joint legal custody. The former couple, who married in 2014, settled their divorce in 2022, agreeing to joint physical and legal custody of their four children: North, 11, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and five-year-old Psalm. Physical custody is reportedly not an issue, as Kanye rarely sees his children, and Kim still wants them to have a good relationship with their father. However, decision-making regarding the children has become a point of contention, TMZ's report said. The former couple's divorce agreement states they must attend a private hearing with a judge if conflicts arise regarding their children. The mother of four took the MPRE - Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination - on Wednesday the site claimed. The location was at a testing center in Alhambra, California , and Kim had to go in alone like any other regular person Kim requested an emergency hearing with their lawyers, a mediator, and a judge after learning Kanye planned to release a song featuring North and rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Seen in 2024 Kim requested an emergency hearing with their lawyers, a mediator, and a judge after learning Kanye planned to release a song featuring North and rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Although Kanye skipped the meeting, he reportedly agreed not to release the track, titled Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine. However, the rapper released the song on X the following day, declaring men 'make the final decision'. He also shared a text exchange with Kim, in which she opposed their daughter's involvement with Combs, who is currently facing legal issues. Kim apparently texted Kanye: 'I asked you at the time if I can trademark her name. You said yes. When she's 18, it goes to her. So stop. 'I sent paperwork over so she wouldn't be in the Diddy song to protect her.' Kim also works with getting better terms for inmates The Hidden Hills resident in a SKIMS spring swimwear ad Kanye responded by asking Kim to 'amend' the legal papers or risk 'going to war.' He added: 'And neither of us will recover from the public fallout. You're going to have to kill me.' Kanye later posted a lengthy rant on X, accusing the 'Kardashian mob' of restricting his parental rights and likening their custody arrangement to 'visitation' in 'jail'. An insider told Page Six: 'Kim's priority is the well-being and safety of her children and to protect them from being around Kanye's controversial behavior.' The gap between full-service airlines and budget carriers is increasingly disappearing, according to a new report. Legacy US airlines like American Airlines, Delta and United - plus the likes of British Airways and Air France in Europe - once offered perks such as free seat selection, checked baggage, and complimentary hot meals. Today, these services are no longer guaranteed, even on so-called full-service carriers. This shift makes the experience on legacy airlines increasingly similar to that of newer budget carriers like Spirit and Frontier, a new report by The Telegraph says. For instance, almost all North American airlines now exclude checked baggage from basic economy tickets. United has now gone a step further. It has a basic economy fare that only includes a carry-on bag small enough to fit under the seat in front of you. It means passengers have to pay more to take a small cabin-sized suitcase. In January, Air Canada copied United and rolled out the same rule for its flights within North America and the Caribbean. There are fears Delta and American will follow suit. Scroll down for the full searchable list of what 90 major airlines include with fares. Air Canada is removing its normal-sized carry-on case for economy passengers Additionally, Air Canada is reportedly considering new charges for seat selection Air Canada said they made the change to 'stay competitive with changing market forces in the country.' Travel expert Gilbert Ott says full-service airlines have now gone 'a step too far' by slashing their included services. 'By removing full-sized carry-on as a full-service airline, you're pitching yourself squarely against the very bottom of the market, which forces you to compete squarely on price and almost price alone,' Ott, who runs the aviation blog God Save the Points told The Telegraph. 'Full-service airlines may not make as much margin from serving the lowest-paying passengers as a true low-cost carrier which has honed this craft over time.' British Airways now charges extra for checked luggage and seat selection for those travelling on economy basic tickets. Indeed, the majority of 'full service' airlines now no longer includes hold luggage or seat selection for their cheapest tickets, a Telegraph review of 90 major airlines found. Legacy airlines are now less distinguishable from budget airlines such as JetBlue and Spirit Your browser does not support iframes. Legacy airlines have also pared back their food and drink offerings in recent years. Air France and British Airway's scrapped their complimentary meals for select short-haul flights. Airlines including KLM, Lufthansa, Swiss, and Finnair have also removed their complimentary food and drink options. There are however a few 'full-service' airlines that still provide economy passengers something akin to their title. These include Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qatar Airways. Chile President Gabriel Boric Font will pay a five-day state visit to India beginning April 1 to explore ways to shore up bilateral cooperation in a number of areas including trade and defence. It will be Boricas first visit to India in his capacity as the president. The Chilean leader is coming to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, announcing the trip. Boric will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers, members of Parliament, senior officials, business associations, media and prominent Chileans involved in the India-Chile cultural connect. aThe forthcoming state visit of President Boric will provide an opportunity for the leaders to undertake a comprehensive review of bilateral ties, as well as to discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest,a it said. Apart from New Delhi, Boric will also travel to Agra, Mumbai and Bengaluru before returning to Chile on April 5. aPresident Boric will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 1, covering the entire gamut of India-Chile relations,a MEA said in a statement. Prime Minister Modi will host a lunch in honour of the visiting dignitary. The Chilean president will also hold discussions with his Indian counterpart Draupadi Murmu, who will host a banquet in his honour. In Mumbai and Bengaluru, President Boric will meet the political leadership, business and industry representatives, startups, innovators and tech leaders. aIndiaas relations with Chile have traditionally been warm and friendly. Chile is an important partner for India in the Latin American region (LAC),a the MEA said. aThe two countries have commonality of views on several international issues including UNSC reforms, climate change, renewable energy and terrorism. Chile is also an important trading partner for India in the LAC region,a it said. Delhi Police on Friday said six suspected illegal Bangladeshi migrants, disguised as transgender women to avoid detection, were arrested from Delhias Jahangirpuri area. Police said they underwent aminor surgeriesa and ahormonal treatmentsa to change their appearance and blend into the local transgender community. They were found using a banned application to communicate with their family in Bangladesh. All six migrants were handed over to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in RK Puram for further deportation proceedings. Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood in a statement on Friday said that not a single illegal infiltrator will be allowed to stay in the national capital. aIn collaboration with the police, a well-planned crackdown will be carried out against all illegal infiltrators, including Bangladeshi infiltrators and those who shelter them. The government is committed to removing illegal infiltrators from Delhi,a Sood said, adding that positive results will soon be visible in the national Capital. The Minister stated that he had mentioned in his Budget speech that the Delhi Government would soon take control of the detention centre in Lampur. He emphasised that the Government in collaboration with the police, would take stringent action not only against all illegal infiltrators, particularly Bangladeshi infiltrators but also against those sheltering them. The arrests were made on Thursday during a 10-day surveillance drive targeting illegal Bangladeshi migrants in some of the areas. aActing on a tip-off, a police team of Foreigners Cell was formed. We got to know that some illegal Bangladeshi nationals were disguising themselves as transgender individuals and engaging in begging at traffic signals to evade suspicion,a said the police officer. Police received credible information about their presence near Jahangirpuri metro station on Thursday. All six suspects migrants were apprehended from there, he said. They have been identified as Md Zakria Moina Khan (24), Suhana Khan (21), Akhi Sarkar (22), Md Baoijed Khan (24), Md Rana alias Lobely (26) and Johny Hussain (20). They are natives of Barguna, Gajipur, Madaripur, Sirajganj, Pabna and Naogoan districts in Bangladesh, senior police officials said. During interrogation, the migrants revealed they entered India illegally with the assistance of traffickers. They travelled to Delhi via trains and underwent aminor surgeries and hormonal treatmentsa to alter their appearance. Police recovered six mobile phones from their possession, all of which had banned applications they used to contact their families in Bangladesh. Further investigations are ongoing, they said. The United States has expressed its interest to equip the Bangladesh Army with its military hardware, taking into account its importance for regional security as US Armyas deputy commanding general for Pacific made a 24-hour visit to Dhaka, officials said. In a brief statement issued late on Tuesday, the US embassy said that during his visit, Lieutenant General Joel aJBa Vowell met with his Bangladesh armed forces counterparts, reinforcing the US Armyas commitment to a strong relationship with the Bangladesh Army. It said they highlighted ashared security interests and ongoing collaborationa as part of which they discussed apotential acquisition of US-origin equipment to enhance interoperability and capabilitiesa. The state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), meanwhile, said the US general acknowledged Bangladesh Armyas ongoing support to domestic security, particularly in light of other demands such as disaster response. aDuring his visit, Lt Gen Vowell engaged in high-level discussions with senior officials of the Bangladesh armed forces, including Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman,a BSS reported. It said both sides explored Bangladeshas primary military challenges and areas where the US could offer support while a major focus of the visit was the upcoming aExercise Tiger Lightninga scheduled for summer 2025. Vowell is also the deputy commanding general for J5/strategy plans and policy of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), one of six geographic combatant commands defined by the Department of Defenceas Unified Command Plan (UCP). Vowellas Dhaka visit was the first such tour by a senior US general since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasinaas Awami League regime on August 5, 2024, following a violent student-led uprising, and the installation of an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. Defence analysts earlier said the present geo-politics, including developments in neighbouring junta-run Myanmar to the rebel Arakan army, drew renewed US military focus in the region. Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell, Tameaka Legette, Lance Cpl. Brittany Glover, Attorney Chelsea Glover and Freddie Pough. ORANGEBURG, S.C. South Carolina State University will observe Criminal Justice Law Week 2025 on Tuesday, April 1, through Thursday, April 3, in a series of events on the campus. SC State students, employees and the public are invited. The theme for this years event is "Training Today's Criminal Justice Leaders for Tomorrow," reflecting the university's commitment to preparing the next generation of criminal justice professionals. The week will feature an array of thought-provoking sessions, a panel discussion with industry experts, and a law enforcement expo showcasing advanced technology and equipment used across the criminal justice field. Schedule of events Tuesday, April 1, Opening Session, 10 a.m., Presidents State Room. Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell will kick off the week by sharing his invaluable insights on leadership and the current landscape of law enforcement in South Carolina, setting the tone for the week ahead. Wednesday, April 2. The second day of Criminal Justice Week will feature sessions with expert speakers in the Presidents State Room: 10-11 a.m.: Tameaka Legette, assistant solicitor, 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office. 11-11:50 a.m.: Lance Cpl. Brittany Glover, South Carolina Highway Patrol. 1-2 p.m.: Panel discussion, Navigating Justice: A Discussion with Experts in Policing, Corrections and Courts, featuring: Attorney Chelsea Glover. Investigator Mark Moore, an SC State alumnus, Lexington County Sheriffs Department. Chief Rodney Bond, Denmark Technical College Department of Public Safety. Jayme Chisholm, an SC State Criminal Justice Program alumna. o Marcia D. Taylor, an SC State assistant professor of social work. 2-3 p.m.: Freddie Pough, a 1999 SC State Criminal Justice Program graduate, will deliver the closing address for Day 2. Thursday, April 3, 2025 10 a.m. 2 p.m. Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Expo, Bradham-Manning Field. The final day of Criminal Justice Law Week will be highlighted by the Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Expo in the Bradham and Manning Hall Field (across from Washington Dinning Hall). Over 30 agencies from across South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and beyond will showcase the latest advancements in criminal justice technology and equipment. The expo will provide an excellent opportunity for students, professionals, and community members to connect with law enforcement agencies and learn about new innovations in the field. About Criminal Justice Law Week: Criminal Justice Week at South Carolina State University is an event that brings together criminal justice professionals, students, and the community to engage in educational discussions, showcase the latest technology, and promote networking within the criminal justice field. This years theme, Training Todays Criminal Justice Leaders for Tomorrow, emphasizes the importance of preparing future leaders in the industry and fostering the next generation of criminal justice professionals. For more information, contact a member of the Criminal Justice Program faculty: Dr. James Shumpert, program coordinator, 803-533-3956, jshumpe1@scsu.edu Tyrrea Glover, 803-536- 8791, tglover@scsu.edu. Joshua Koger Jr., 803-536-8803, jkoger2@scsu.edu. Kenneth McCaster, 803-536-8319, kmccaste@scsu.edu. Shawanda Sanders, 803-536-8786, ssander4@scsu.edu. Countries called on to promote cooperation in South China Sea 09:07, March 28, 2025 By Cao Desheng ( Chinadaily.com.cn Delegates attend a subforum on the South China Sea during the ongoing Boao Forum in Hainan province on Thursday. The subforum featured topics such as the code of conduct in the area, regional cooperation, and environmental protection. (Feng Yongbin/China Daily) Officials and experts attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference have underlined the need for the countries involved in the South China Sea issue to resolve their disputes through dialogue to promote peace, friendship, and cooperation in the South China Sea. They made the remarks on Thursday at a subforum, themed "Illuminating the Blue: Building the South China Sea into a Sea of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation", held on the sidelines of the annual conference. They warned external countries not to stir up trouble, create disruptions, or provoke confrontations in the region that would affect the peace and stability of the South China Sea. Vice-Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong said that China remains committed to being a stabilizing force in promoting the peaceful development of the South China Sea, while firmly safeguarding its national sovereignty, security, and development interests. While calling for the resolution of maritime issues through bilateral negotiations, he emphasized the need to prevent external forces from interfering in and destabilizing the peace and stability of the South China Sea. "For the South China Sea to be stable and for its issue to be resolved, external interference must be eliminated," Chen said. China is willing to work with all parties to comprehensively and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and strive to achieve a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea by 2026, he added. China has established maritime dialogue mechanisms with all countries involved in the South China Sea issue. Last year, it signed an intergovernmental document on joint maritime development with Indonesia. Consultations on the Code of Conduct are accelerating, and the third reading of the text has been completed. Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, director-general and senior official for Association of Southeast Asian Nations cooperation at Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Indonesia and ASEAN emphasize the peaceful resolution of disputes and the achievement of maritime stability through diplomacy and international law. This approach includes the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties and strengthening negotiations with China to reach a substantive Code of Conduct by 2026, he said. Zheng Yongnian, dean of the Chinese University of Hong Kong's School of Public Policy in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said the South China Sea issue is intertwined with the broader geopolitical environment. It is crucial to not underestimate the disruptions to the world order by the new presidential administration of the United States, he said, adding that countries involved should address the issue within the larger framework of maintaining stability and development in Asia. Nguyen Vu Tung, a senior adviser and former president of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said the foreign policies introduced by the US in recent weeks seemingly tend to alter the existing international order, which is likely to have an impact on the future development of the South China Sea issue. The fact that Washington takes Beijing as a competitor makes things more complex, he added. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Villagers have criticised their vicar for refurbishing the villages 15th century church to resemble something very unchristian. From recent photographs, it is clear the village church has undergone radical changes. Those living in Pringlefuncle Heath, Grindlesfartledean, labelled the refurbishment an abomination and hideous eyesore after the scaffolding and plastic sheeting was pulled down this week. The Rev Peter Monkswaithe said that the refurbishment on the Grade 1-listed St Crustos Church is a necessary progressive change made for the times we are living in right now, but local residents said the structure is horrific and totally out of keeping with the beautiful landscape. Photographs taken in the village, which was the setting of Barrowsanus in the BBC series All Creatures Small and Tiny, showed the refurbished Anglican church, with minarets in stark contrast to the remaining original brickwork of the rest of the church. Christine Innabred, 62, a businesswoman who lives in Grindlesfartledean launched a stop the refurbishment petition that garnered 31 signatures last year in a village with a population of just 500. She called the situation a fucking disgrace, and added: From the hills that surround the village it can be seen for miles and looks so out of place, particularly when the rest of the church has been left in its original state. Reverend Monkswaithe anticipated that any negativity around the decision would fall to him. He said the refurbishment was irreversible, it is what it is, Alhamdulillah, things have changed in England and as a nation we must accept Allah into our hearts. In a few months, Im hoping people will get used to the daily calls to prayer and the hysteria will fade down. Reverend Monkswaithe says he hopes villagers will get used to the new-look church. Reginald Pisstrower, 73, said the vicar had disfigured the church and changed the face of the village. Rachel Sharter lives two miles from Grindlesfartledean in Furqueton Hurst, but said she can still see the minarets, and hear the muezzin calling to prayer every day, scaring her chickens. She added: You could never see the church before, but now theres no missing it. Mr Monkswaithes decision received some support on social media. One supporter wrote: Mashallah! The Christians have finally seen the truth, there is only one god, and he is Allah! Another said: Soon the entire country will belong to Muslims. Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim. Allahu Akbar! Labour minister, Angela Rayner, is set to visit the village next Friday to attend prayers. Today, she commended the vicar on a job well done. Squash Dancehall artist Squash will know the full raft of charges he will face when he appears in the Miami-Dade County court for an arrangement hearing on April 2. The legal team representing the Sweepstake Life artist will find out if he can seek bail once he enters a plea. The 33-year-old deejay, whose real name is Andrae Maurice Whittaker, has been in the custody of the FDC Miami in Florida since late February after he was detained on charges of illegal possession of a modified firearm (a chip Glock) and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. Squash, who lacks legal status in the United States, was already facing immigration proceedings stemming from his initial ICE detention in May 2023 for overstaying his work visa. He was held at ICEs Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, before being transferred to the Federal Detention Center in Miami. According to a Nationwide News report, on February 24, Squash was stopped by police in the 100 Block of 41st in Miami Beach, for a traffic violation. The entertainer and a man identified as 24-year-old Zidanne George Prescott, were signalled to pullover their gray Mercedes-Benz car. The police say while approaching the car, Squash, who was the passenger, was observed reaching for his waistband and placing a black object in the glove box. According to detectives, Prescott was driving with a suspended license. When questioned, he said there were no weapons in the car and consented to a search. The police say they immediately went to the passenger side glove box and a gun was found. The gun, a Glock 19, was modified with an invisi-switch plate designed to make the weapon fire automatically. The modification turned the gun into what is popularly referred to as a chip Glock. A further search of the car revealed a Glock 35 .40 calibre gun with an extended magazine under the drivers seat. The police say that gun was not securely fastened and readily accessible for immediate use. The police also found three loaded magazines, one in the driver side door, one in the centre console and one in the trunk. Both men were arrested and charged. Squash has had multiple run-ins with the law including a 2018 five month detention in Jamaica under a State Of Emergency (SOE) sweep in St. James due to increased crime and violence in the parish. He left Jamaica in September 2019 and has not returned to the island. Squashs associates also maintain a rocky relationship with the law. In November 2022, an associate of Squash, Jahreme JMan Shelton, was slapped with two charges of first-degree murder in Florida, which US investigators connected to an ongoing gang war that originated in St James, Jamaica. According to Sheltons arrest affidavit, an anonymous tip suggested that men with the aliases Squashman, J-Man, and Freeman, all affiliated with the G City gang, were involved in the killings. Terex Campsie, the locally based manufacturing home for Terex environmental and material handling brands, has unveiled a unique, blue-painted machine to raise awareness and encourage early detection of prostate cancer. Launched during Prostrate Cancer Awareness Month, the machines developmentpainted in the signature colour of Prostate Cancer UKwas personally driven by Stevie Black, Operations Director at Terex Campsie, whose own diagnosis of prostate cancer has been the catalyst for Terex to support in this important cause. Stevies journey began in late 2023, when he proactively sought medical advice after experiencing mild symptoms. A blood test and subsequent MRI led to his diagnosis in early January 2024, revealing medium aggression prostate cancer. Though the diagnosis was a shock, Stevies early detection gave him a range of treatment options to manage his diagnosis. I was in disbelief when I first heard the words you have cancer. But the hardest part was telling my family, especially my children. Its something you never want to share, but I knew I had to, Stevie reflected. "In many ways, it was like managing a business crisiswhen there can be uncertainty, waiting for results, and making decisions with incomplete information. My first steps were to educate myself and get a plan clear in my head before I shared my diagnosis, this decision was one I was glad I tookby the time I shared the news I was able to do so without causing huge upset to my family and friends. I caught it early, and I had options." Stevies decision to publicly share his story stems from a deep belief in the importance of early detection and awareness. With prostate cancer affecting one in eight men, he knows first-hand that early action can save lives. ABOVE: Stevie Black in a dark blue t-shirt as a reminder that 1 in 8 men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis. Prostate cancer often has few symptoms, and many men can go about their daily lives unaware. But early detection can make a life-saving difference. The striking blue machine was made possible through the dedication and collaboration of the team at Terex Campsie, along with the Terex Ballymoney site, who fabricated and painted the machine. Im proud that Terex has embraced this initiative and all our suppliers who have supported it. Its a small thing we can do, but I hope it will encourage men to start the conversation and take action, said Stevie. The campaign encourages men to take regular check-ups seriously, starting with a simple, quick test, available on Prostrate Cancer UK website, to assess their risk. My hope is that this campaign will reach not only men at Terex, but the broader community as well, to encourage them to get checked, Stevie said. We all have a role to play in raising awareness. I never thought this would happen to me, but it did. And its only by catching it early that we can make sure it doesnt happen too late. The machine was handed over to QRS, distributor for Terex equipment in Ireland, who will rent it out for various environmental projects nationwide. As it works across the country, it is hoped that its distinctive colour will help normalise conversations about prostate cancer. Dougie Watt, Managing Director QRS explains: "We were immediately on board when we heard about Stevies idea. This machine will be a valuable addition to our rental fleet, travelling across Ireland and raising awareness for prostate cancer at various sites. Were also excited to showcase it at both the Balmoral Show and the CQMS Show in Tullamore, where it will take centre stage on our stand. Its an honour to be part of this important campaign, and were proud to help bring Stevies vision to life." In addition to the machine unveiling, the team at Terex Ecotec in Campsie raised almost 1,100 through a bake sale and raffle, with all proceeds going to Prostate Cancer UK. ABOVE: Some of the local team at Terex Campsie who brought the blue machine to life. Jonathan Hanna, General Manager for Terex Campsie added: For Terex, the blue-painted machine represents much more than just a piece of equipment. It aligns with our purpose to improve the lives of people around the world. Today is a commitment to improving the lives of those affected by prostate cancer and contributing to the fight against the disease. Reflecting on the handover, Stevie added: "At Terex, we pride ourselves on teamwork, and this campaign is a perfect example of how collaboration can lead to something meaningful. From the design and build teams to the professionals who meticulously sprayed the machine, everyone has played their part. Im grateful that Terex is helping to raise awareness in such a visible way." For more information on prostate cancer awareness, early detection, please visit the Prostate Cancer UK website. Addressing Derry City and Strabane District Council in Irish, Cllr Antaine O Fearghail (Sinn Fein) welcomed the recent announcement of the appointment of and Irish Language Commissioner. Cllr O Fearghail highlighted however the positive news of a commissioner came on the back of cuts to the budget of the Irish language organisation Foras na Gaeilge. As a result, he brought forward the proposal that Council, further to its commitment to facilitate and encourage the promotion of Irish throughout our council area, writes to Executive ministers seeking a new adequate funding model. Cllr O Fearghail said: Foras na Gaeilge was set up as a result of the Good Friday Agreement and it is responsible for promoting the Irish language throughout the Island of Ireland. It gets 75% of its funding from the Dublin Government and 25% from the Executive. This funding model is no longer fit for purpose and unfortunately the new funding model has been rejected and because of this Foras na Gaeilge has had to come up with cutbacks and it has resulted in it cutting back 800,000. These cutbacks are going to have a huge impact on Irish language organisations throughout our Council area. These groups deliver invaluable services to the promotion of the Irish Language in our area. The Irish language in our Council area is actually thriving because of the work of these groups. We look at the amount of gaelscoileanna and naiscoileanna and the Culturlann in Derry and Gaelscoil Ui Dhochartaigh in Strabane. These things would never have been built if it had not been for groups on the ground promoting the Irish language. Those groups were all funded through the years by Foras na Gaeilge, said Cllr O Fearghail. The Derg councillor said he was asking Derry City and Strabane District Council to write to the Executive ministers requesting a new model of funding, because of Councils previous commitment to promoting and facilitating the Irish language. The one thats in operation at the minute isnt acceptable, he added. It is past its sell by date. Go raibh mile maith agaibh. Cllr Sean Mooney (SDLP) said that both Governments had to keep the funding for Foras na Gaeilge in tact. We saw that as a result of funding insecurity there were strikes and possible economic losses through jobs. It is really important this Council endorses this approach. I hope the relevant department within the Executive in Belfast opens its doors and has meetings with these communities and these organisations and moves this matter on, said Cllr Mooney. Cllr O Fearghails motion was passed with a majority of councillors voting in favour. A man has been disqualified from driving after being caught drug-driving in Donegal. A defective headlight drew the attention of gardai to Lee Blake on April 29, 2021. The case of Blake, a 31-year-old with an address at Crawford Square, Derry and also with an address at Beechwood Park, Convoy, was before Buncrana District Court. Inspector Johnny Sweeney told the court that gardai were on patrol at Moness, Burt when they observed a vehicle, a black Renault Megane, that was missing a headlight. Blake was stopped by gardai, who formed the opinion that he was driving under the influence of an intoxicant. READ NEXT: Derry railway line to close this weekend for planned engineering upgrades An oral fluid sample tested positive for the presence of cocaine, the court heard. Blake was arrested and cautioned. He made no reply. A fixed charge penalty notice was also issued to Blake as the tax on the vehicle was out of date from December, 2020. The penalty was not paid. Judge Eiteain Cunningham was told that Blake has previous convictions for driving without insurance and drug driving. Mr Frank Dorrian, solicitor for Blake, said his client is now in the UK and has cleaned up his act considerably. Mr Dorrian said: He is busying himself with a degree of industry. On the charge of driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle while exceeding the drug-driving limit at Tonyhabboc, Newtowncunningham, Blake was fined 200 and given five months to pay. In light of his previous convictions - described as very relevant by Judge Cunningham - Blake was handed a two-year driving ban. Blake was also fined 150 for having no tax. Emotional tributes were paid at Derry Magistrate's Court as District Judge Barney McElhom retired after 23 years as Derry's judge. Judge McElholm was appointed as the then Resident Magistrate in 2002 and has been the mainstay of Derry Court since then. At a gathering in Courtroom number 2 at Bishop Street Courthouse solicitors, barristers, judges and court staff paid tribute to the judge on his retirement. On behalf of the Derry solicitors Paddy McDaid outlined Judge McElholm's legal career from being called to the bar in 1981 to being appointed a judge in 1998. Mr McDaid said this was a courageous decision by Judge McElholm to join the judiciary in the weeks after the Good Friday Agreement. IN PICTURES: Derry families celebrate having fun with numbers The solicitor said that in 2002 someone 'thought it would be wise to appoint a Tyrone man to Derry'. But paying tribute to the work by the judge Mr McDaid said that it had been 'transformative' of the criminal justice system especially in the field of domestic abuse. Paying tribute on behalf of the Bar Eoghan Devlin KC said the judge was 'a decent man and a thoughtful judge' who always showed concern for the victims of crime. The Recorder of Derry Judge Neil Rafferty KC also paid tribute saying when he started out as a deputy judge Judge McElholm was his mentor. He said that Judge McElholm had been described in a comedy show as 'a national treasure' and that was apt. In reply to the tributes Judge McElholm said he had 'enjoyed' everyday of his time in Derry. He paid tribute to the solicitors, barristers and court staff who, he said, all shared 'the common goal of justice'. The judge said he always felt it was important to show that 'the courts could provide justice and rise above what was going on' in the wider society. No successor has yet been appointed to take over from judge McElholm as District Judge of Derry. The trial of a former paratrooper accused of the murder of two men on Bloody Sunday is to start on September 15. Soldier F, who cannot be identified, is accused of murdering James Wray and William McKinney when members of the Parachute Regiment shot dead 13 civil rights protesters on the streets of Derry on January 30 1972. He is also charged with five attempted murders during the incident in Derrys Bogside area. He has pleaded not guilty to the seven counts. Judge Mr Justice Fowler fixed the date for the trial during a brief mention hearing at Belfast Crown Court on Friday afternoon. READ NEXT: SDLP calls for new school bus road safety laws Soldier F was not in court for the hearing, instead appearing remotely by videolink. The court also heard that a separate judge has been appointed to deal with issues related to the disclosure of evidence before the trial. Mark Mulholland KC, representing Soldier F, noted that Mr Justice Fowler had previously expressed concern about fixing a date until he was confident the disclosure issues would be resolved before the trial. Mr Mulholland said: We would be confident that all matters can be dealt with well before the summer. In fact, Id like to have all these dealt with in the next eight weeks, so that theres a clear run into this case. Sam Magee KC, on behalf of the prosecution, described the disclosure issues as complex. This isnt entirely straightforward, he said. Mr Justice Fowler scheduled another mention hearing for April 11 to fix dates for the completion of legal position papers on the disclosure issues. Well fix the trial date for 15 September, he added. A pensioner supplied vulnerable young women with heroin in exchange for them working as prostitutes as part of a catalogue of offending, a court has heard. Belfast Crown Court was told Oliver James MacCormack is now facing a substantial jail sentence. MacCormack, 71, whose address was given as Maghaberry Prison, has pleaded guilty to 40 offences which include charges of human trafficking and controlling prostitution. He also admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice, witness intimidation and offences of supplying class A drugs. During a sentencing hearing on Friday, it was said there were nine victims, some as young as 17 at the time of the offences, and one had since died. Crown barrister Charles MacCreanor KC said the case followed an investigation by the PSNIs modern slavery and human trafficking unit. He said other men had already been sentenced following the same investigation. He said: A feature of this case was that the victims were as young as 17, the victims were 17, 18, 19 and upwards. Many of the victims share a number of similarities in the position they were in, being in a low place in their lives, having significant personal difficulties. The defendant manoeuvred himself into position of making himself indispensable to the victims. He organised their jobs as sex workers, effectively he controlled them. He used the victims like commodities to be sold in order to financially benefit himself. The victims were heroin addicts who were repeatedly provided by him with heroin in return for sexual services. He capitalised on their drug use and their vulnerability and a lack of means by which they could fund their own drugs habits by how he dealt with them. Mr MacCreanor said: He regularly collected them, drove them around to others, arranged the provision of sexual services. Organising meetings for them with men willing to pay for sexual services regardless of the physical state of these young women, who were often high on drugs or often in withdrawal. Many of the victims have reported being under the influence of drugs when they provided sexual services to the defendant, his friends and clients in return for heroin and some money. The barrister pointed out that one of the victims has since died, and said there was a pattern of extreme vulnerability of these young women. He continued: The victims had variously described the defendant as pimping them, sexually trafficking them and controlling them. We say he created a cycle whereby the victims became dependant on him not only to earn a living but as their supplier of heroin. He was engaged in exploitative and manipulative conduct to allow him to commercially engage in prostitution. The barrister said the offending continued from 2015 until 2022 and would have gone on but for MacCormacks detection by police. He rejected a defence submission that the offending was opportunistic. Pointing out the offending had continued for seven years, Judge Gordon Kerr said: Thats an awful lot of opportunities. Mr MacCreanor said: It was a catalogue of offending. Defence barrister Michael Chambers said his client is a man in his 70s with significant health issues. He pointed out that MacCormack should be afforded credit for his guilty pleas. The barrister said he had no doubt the judge would pass a substantial custodial sentence in the case. He said his client had been in custody since April 2022. Judge Kerr said he gained the impression from pre-sentence reports that MacCormack was not exactly expressing great remorse. The defence barrister said it was difficult to argue with that but his client had met the charges with guilty pleas. Judge Kerr said he would take time to consider the submissions. He listed the case for April 3 when he said he would either sentence MacCormack or set a date for his sentencing. Northern Irelands First Minister Michelle ONeill did not see a former Sinn Fein press officer who was facing sex charges when they both appeared at an event in Stormont in 2023, a report has found. The independent Assembly Commissioner for Standards, Dr Melissa McCullough, has found that Ms ONeill did not breach the Ministerial Code of Conduct. The Committee on Standards and Privileges has published the commissioners report into two complaints made against Ms ONeill last year. Former Sinn Fein press officer Michael McMonagle was suspended by the party after he was arrested in 2021. He went on to work for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in 2022. McMonagle, from Limewood Street in Londonderry, was jailed last year after being found guilty of a series of offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. Two other Sinn Fein press officers, Sean Mag Uidhir and Caolan McGinley, resigned from the party after it began disciplinary proceedings against them after providing references for McMonagle. One complaint against Ms ONeill came from TUV MLA Timothy Gaston who said she had breached the ministerial code by telling the Executive Office committee she had not known about the whereabouts of McMonagle after his suspension from Sinn Fein in 2021, but she was pictured standing yards from him at a Stormont event in February 2023. A separate complaint from Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie claimed she had breached the code by stating that her account that she only became aware of references provided by Mag Uidhir and McGinley for McMonagle the day before the story broke in the media was not credible. The First Minister co-operated with the commissioner investigation. She did not take up the opportunity to make a written or oral response to the committee after the report was passed on to it. The commissioner established Ms ONeill had had no contact with McMonagle since before his suspension from Sinn Fein in August 2021. She also said: First Minister ONeill did not see Mr McMonagle in Parliament Buildings on February 14 2023 and had no interaction with him on that day. She added: While the photograph may lead some to believe that the First Minister must have seen Mr McMonagle due to their proximity, both she and Mr McMonagle have affirmed that there was no interaction between them. What the photograph does not convey is that the Great Hall was quite busy on that day, as the Assembly had been recalled to discuss the organ donation legislation. The commissioner also found that Mr McGinley and Mr Mag Uidhir did not notify anyone in Sinn Fein that they had provided references for McMonagle. She said a former Sinn Fein HR director had engaged in email discussion in August 2023 with the BHF regarding the references provided to them. His report said: The Sinn Fein HR director did not notify First Minister ONeill, or anyone in the party, about the email correspondence from the BHF in relation to its queries about the reference providers. First Minister ONeill became aware of the references provided by Mr McGinley and Mr Mag Uidhir on September 25 2024. The chairperson of the Committee on Standards and Privileges, Cathy Mason, said: While the current procedures do not provide the committee with an adjudication role in relation to complaints against ministers, by publishing this report, the committee has fulfilled its function in relation to considering and publishing all investigation reports by the Commissioner. The committees report includes the commissioners investigation report, which sets out the factual findings, analysis and reasoning from her investigation of the complaints. The committee notes that the commissioner has concluded from the evidence gathered and analysed that the First Minister has not breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct. The majority of teachers in Northern Ireland have again rejected a proposed deal to resolve a pay dispute. The Northern Ireland Teachers Council, which represents the teaching unions in negotiations with management, said members were still not prepared to accept the 5.5% uplift offer. Teachers rejected an initial offer in February a move that appeared less about the proposed pay rise and more about concerns over workload. A new offer was tabled by the management side of negotiations last week that included what was described as an enhanced package of commitments around reducing workload. Despite that, teachers have again rejected the proposed package. Teachers have been engaging in industrial action short of strike during the pay dispute. With members of several unions having already voted in favour of strike action if the impasse is not resolved, there now appears an increased prospect of teachers taking to the picket line if a breakthrough is not achieved in the near future. The management side of the negotiations, which is made up of the various education employing authorities, has urged the NITC to suspend the current action short of strike and outline how the dispute can be resolved. Not all of the unions represented by the NITC rejected the deal but the collective position of the council was that it was not able to approve it. Jacquie White, Ulster Teachers Union general secretary and chair of the NITC, said: The collective response of the five recognised teaching unions which comprise the Northern Ireland Teachers Council has indicated that we are unable to accept the revised pay offer. Teachers across the profession, due to inadequate funding, resources and support, feel strongly that they can no longer fully meet the needs of children in their schools, and this has been reflected in their response. It is imperative that we address as a matter of priority the mounting pressures being felt in schools. UTU remains committed to urgent engagement with the employers to seek a way forward in the interests of both members and the children and young people in their care. Mark McTaggart, the northern secretary with Irish National Teachers Organisation, added: Into members raised concerns around the clarity of the offer in terms of reducing workload and have indicated that they are unable to accept at this time. We now seek meaningful engagement with management side which will lead to a resolution around the ever-increasing burdens placed on teachers and school leaders which will allow them to return to their core role as educators of the children and young people in their care. Justin McCamphill, from the NASUWT, said: Our members have considered the offer carefully and have made their decision based on their professional judgement and lived experience in schools. We recognise the result leaves the situation uncertain. However, we will all now seek urgent engagement with the employers and the Department of Education to discuss next steps and ensure teachers concerns are heard and addressed. Pauline Buchanan, regional secretary with the National Education Union, said: Throughout this discussion, our members have consistently been mindful of their commitment to their students. However, over the years, workload, bureaucracy, inadequate support and demands on time have increased and must be tackled urgently. Management Side must show a genuine and good faith commitment to engaging with teachers to address the many pressures mounting in schools. We remain determined to find a resolution and are ready to pursue further talks. Graham Gault, NI national secretary at the NIHT, said the union remained committed to working collectively with the other unions that did not accept the deal. While the membership of NAHT voted in favour of accepting the offer, the wider NITC position means that the offer has not been ratified by all unions and will, therefore, not be progressed in its current form, he said. The NAHT will, therefore, engage fully with our own membership to consider our next steps while also remaining committed to working collectively with others to secure an offer that can be accepted by all parties. The management side expressed disappointment that the latest offer had not been accepted. Robbie McGreevy, vice chairman of the management side, said he and colleagues would meet urgently to consider its next steps. We are extremely disappointed that despite presenting a fair and comprehensive package, and responding to the issues raised by trade unions during the negotiations, the NITC has rejected this offer, he said. This means not only will the substantial pay increase for teachers not be progressed, but our joint commitment to address workload concerns through 25 agreed measures also cannot move forward. Our primary concern is ensuring pupils can learn in an environment free from disruption and teachers receive fair pay. The offer was made at the absolute limits of affordability, against an extremely challenging financial background, and is comparable to pay offers accepted by other public sector workers and teachers elsewhere. Continued industrial action will inevitably have serious implications for childrens education. Mr McGreevy added: We cannot accept a situation where teachers are not fulfilling their full contractual duties. Industrial action should not become common practice and only ever be a last resort. Action short of strike has disrupted our education system for nearly a decade, making Northern Ireland the only UK jurisdiction without proper assessment and inspection systems. This has severely impacted our ability to gather data on school performance and has restricted vital aspects of school life including parent communications, extra-curricular activities, and staff development. All monies from this years Eglinton Classic Car Clubs Annual Show to be held at City of Derrys Rugby Grounds on Sunday, April 6, will go to local charity Foyle Down Syndrome Trust. Making the announcement at the FDST headquarters at Irish Street on Thursday morning, club chairman John Nixon said he was delighted that this years chosen charity was FDST and it was great to have them onboard again following the Trusts selection in 2005 when over 5,000 was raised. Eglinton Classic Car Club was founded in 1995 when the club consisted of a dozen or so people that met together at a local pub in the village called the Happy Landing. It has grown over the years and now has almost 40 members. "Christopher and the team at Foyle Down Syndrome Trust do a lot of very worthy work with the young people under their care. Its only fitting that we as a club, can give of our time to try and beat that 2005 target this year, and that is why I appeal to everyone to come along on Sunday week and support our annual show. "This year we will have over 260 cars on display including the likes of a 1947 Austin 8; 1969 Riley 72 and even a 1970 Texas police car, which will be driven by well-known Donegal businessman Colum Dillon. Incidentally, the Riley 72 is owned and driven by Derry bar owner Tommy McDermott." The club have been donating to local charities since 1996 and John proudly states that over 126,000 has been handed over to worthwhile causes over the years. "We are a small group of people with only 39 members but all volunteer of their time to raise money for our chosen charity annually. I believe that this year, we will exceed all expectations and be able to hand over a notable amount to Christopher and his team here at Foyle Down Syndrome Trust." Annually, over 2,000 people attend the classic car event which also boasts stalls, fire service demonstrations, line and Irish dancers performing, and as well as a selection of classic cars motorcycles and tractors as well. Thanking the Car Club for their continued support, Christopher Cooper, manager, FDST, said all at the charity was absolutely delighted to tie up with the Eglinton Club and appealed for everyone to visit and support on Sunday week at City of Derry Rugby Club. "Its an honour to be associated with the Eglinton Classic Car Club and we are very happy that they have chosen us. Hopefully, we can play our part on the day and all monies raised will be gratefully accepted. We are in the process of improving our sensory room within the building among other things, so the timing of our selection is fitting. A massive thank you to John and all at Eglinton Classic Car Club." PICTURED BELOW: Group pictured outside the Foyle Down Syndrome Trust's headquarters on Thursday for the Eglinton Classic Club's announcement that the FDST will be their chosen charity for this year. Included are FDST staff and members and volunteers from the Eglinton Classic Car Club. (Photos: Jim McCafferty Photography) 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. TAcc+ leading Taiwan-UK space delegation to showcase achievements at Space-Comm Expo People growingly rely on their phones for navigating via GPS, communicating via satellite and checking weather forecasts. All these services that make our life more intelligent and convenient are made possible by space technology breakthroughs. Taiwan Accelerator Plus (TAcc+), an international startup program powered by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), played a key role in facilitating a space industry delegation to the United Kingdom in March 2025. The program is sponsored by the Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration (SMESA), Ministry of Economic Affairs, and executed by ITRI. SMESA served as the official organizer of the mission, while TAcc+ coordinated the activities and engagements throughout the trip. Taiwan's first team of space industry representatives exhibiting at Space-Comm Expo and holding Taiwan Country Showcase at the event to introduce Taiwan's space industry strength and spark off cross-border partnerships. Credit: ITRI The Taiwan delegation brought together representatives from the private sector, academia, and government, including companies such as Hon Hai Precision, the Department of Space Science and Engineering at National Central University, and several emerging Taiwan-based space startups. Their participation in Space Comm Expo 2025 aimed to showcase Taiwan's growing space capabilities and foster international cooperation. With the support of ITRI's international partnersincluding Space South Central, ADS Group, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and the British Office in Taipeithe delegation also visited several key organizations in the United Kingdom space sector. These included the UK Space Agency, Airbus, Eutelsat OneWeb, Satellite Applications Catapult, STFC RAL Space, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, Surrey Space Centre, and the 5G Innovation Centre. These visits offered the Taiwan delegation valuable insights into the United Kingdom space ecosystem and opened the door for future collaboration. This mission aimed to build lasting communication channels, deepen partnerships, and strengthen connections between the space and startup communities of both countries. As the largest and most influential space industry exhibition in the UK, Space-Comm Expo gathered more than 200 exhibitors from all over the world and received 5,900 visitors in 2025. At this year's event, ITRI organized a Taiwan pavilion, themed on 5G/6G, satellite manufacturing and application, Earth observation, and space applications, to showcase Taiwan-based startups' creativity and innovations. ITRI also secured opportunities to have the Taiwan team of exhibitors participate in technology sharing sessions and present their achievements at Space-Comm Expo forums, including Taiwan Country Showcase and the Global Space Industry Showcase. These opportunities allowed Taiwan-based startups to network with exhibitors from other countries and boost their visibility in the global marketplace. Two noteworthy events were held on March 11. The Taiwan Cultural Tea Reception took place at the Space-Comm Expo. UK-Taiwan Night, co-hosted with Space South Central, took place at UCL East. Well attended by government representatives and industry experts from different corners of the world, both events offered opportunities for face-to-face communication and media exposure that helped increase the Taiwan space industry's global visibility and sparked off cross-border partnerships. International SpaceTech Startup Supporting Program 2025 kicking off, welcoming international startups to Taiwan SMESA's International SpaceTech Startup Supporting Program has been running for years. The program has successfully brought a great many international startup teams to Taiwan, including Axiom Space, HEX20, and Reflex Aerospace. They have infused a new energy into Taiwan's space industry development. At the same time as ITRI led the delegation to participate in Space-Comm Expo, SMESA launched the 2025 International SpaceTech Startup Supporting Program, aiming to attract international startups with critical space technologies to Taiwan. The initiative is part of a broader effort to accelerate the upgrade and transformation of Taiwan's space industry. The program will connect selected international startups with Taiwan's space industry ecosystem resources through match-making visits to local companies, POC validations, and exhibition event marketing. Taiwan will serve as their gateway to Asian markets. The International SpaceTech Startup Supporting Program 2025 will focus on international startups endeavoring in communication satellite and system integration, remote sensing and imaging technologies for satellite application, small rocket manufacturing and launching, AI edge computing applications, ground equipment, satellite manufacturing, and other space technologies. The focus on satellite manufacturing is aimed at helping strengthen Taiwan's ability to design, assemble, and make satellites and drive high-performance satellite system development. The focus on remote sensing and imaging technologies for satellite applications is intended to drive advances in remote sensing and imaging technologies for their extended use in environmental monitoring, agriculture, and smart city. The focus on AI edge computing applications is for the purpose of enhancing Taiwan's ability to analyze satellite data and perform real-time computation while creating a diversity of space data application scenarios. On the foundation of the country's robust semiconductor, ICT, and precision machinery sectors, Taiwan's space industry is gaining attention in the global marketplace. Future synergy with international startups' technological strength will boost Taiwan's competitiveness in the global space sector and reenergize Taiwan's overall economic development. Visit https://taccplus.com/en/international-program/ for more information. Taiwan-UK Space Delegation being impressed by STFC RAL Space's achievements in large geosynchronous satellite integration and testing technologies. Credit: ITRI Taiwan-UK Space Delegation visiting UK Space Agency. Credit: ITRI Article edited by Jack Wu Subscriber content preview Organizers said that after 40 years, the festival had outgrown Park City, Utah. By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer After a yearlong search, the Sundance Film Festival announced Thursday that its new home will be Boulder, Colorado, keeping Sundance in the mountains but moving it out of Park City, the Utah ski town that had for decades provided the premier independent film gathering its picturesque snowy backdrop. Organizers said that after 40 years in the mountains, the festival had outgrown Park City, and lacked the necessary theaters or affordable housing to continue hosting what has become one of North America's most sprawling movie events. Sundance had narrowed down the options to Salt Lake City (with a smaller presence in Park City), Cincinnati and Boulder. . . . Subscriber content preview By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO Lennon Tyler and her German fiance often took road trips to Mexico when he vacationed in the United States since it was only a days drive from her home in Las Vegas, one of the perks of their long-distance relationship. But things went terribly wrong when they drove back from Tijuana last month. . . . Subscriber content preview SEATTLE A small Ballard apartment building at 2213 N.W. 59th St. sold this week for $3.1 million, according to King County records. The seller was Ogata Professional LLP, which acquired the property in 2021 for just under $3 million. . . . Dundalk Chamber recently hosted a Business Tour in McArdle Skeath. Chamber members were given a tour by Siobhan McArdle CEO. Established as McArdle transport in 1968, the company witnessed changes over the decades. In the late 2008 McArdle Transport acquired Skeath Transport and is now the recognisable company name of McArdle Skeath that we know today. This meant that the company now had the added bonus of being able to provide refrigerated transportation to its clients. They have diversified further and in 2015 and have purchased a site strategically placed in Dublin and built a state-of-the-art warehouse. Between both locations they are now in a position to service the pharmaceutical, Biopharma and nutritional clients with temperature-controlled storage. Their typical clients are highly regulated multinational or PLC Companies from the pharmaceutical, Nutritional and Medical Device Sectors. Read Next: Jam-packed weekend of comedy, quiz and live music at Dundalk's Toales Live Venue They believe they are different and the desire or excellence in what they deliver has driven them to continually evolve their offering to ensure they are consistently providing the highest standards in our supply chain solutions. Dundalk Chamber has a series of events planned for the year ahead and to find out more on what is business events and networking opportunities visit www.dundalk.ie The future of Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) was the focus of a recent exchange in the Dail, where Louth TD Erin McGreehan questioned Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, on the progression of the institution towards university status. Deputy McGreehan highlighted the importance of DkIT to the north-east region, both educationally and economically, and expressed her strong ambitions for the institute. She pointed out that DkIT remains the only Institute of Technology (IT) without university status, despite significant progress in recent years. She referenced the landmark letter of intent signed between DkIT and Maynooth University last June, which confirmed their commitment to joint strategic engagement on future collaborations. This is a hugely significant and exciting departure for both education bodies. What is the Department doing to support it? she asked. Minister Lawless noted that he had met informally with the colleges president and intended to visit the institution more formally in the near future. The institutions strategic plan for the period 2024 to 2028 sets out an ambition to achieve university status through the development of a strategic collaborative partnership with an existing university, Minister Lawless continued. He confirmed that DkIT had already received 3.85 million through the technological sector advancement fund and that the Department and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) remained engaged with the institution. Deputy McGreehan stressed the need to ensure that no regulatory or legal barriers prevent the institution from advancing towards university status. When the ducks are being put in a row, if regulatory or legal change is needed to ensure the college's status for the future and in order that there will be no blockage from a legal or policy point of view that would prevent DkIT and Maynooth University from collaborating on university status for the former, that change must be made. Read Next: Louth students reach finals of prestigious Irish Angus Beef Competition Minister Lawless responded by clarifying that while no policy barriers were foreseen, a technical issue remained. He explained that the Technological Universities Act 2018 had facilitated the merger of two or more ITs to achieve university status. However, at that time, DkITs governing body had not pursued that option. He reassured Deputy McGreehan that the landscape had since evolved, with a new governing board now in place and a renewed engagement with Maynooth University. There is great potential in the collaboration that is already progressing with Maynooth University. It makes sense for lots of reasons, including alignment of courses and programmes and geographical factors, Minister Lawless stated. The two institutions will very much complement each other. It is already showing itself to be a very productive engagement. Louth tillage farmer, Gareth Culligan, and Oriel Marine Extracts in Clogherhead, have been shortlisted in the RDS Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Awards, which are set to take place on Wednesday 9 April as part of the Finding Common Ground festival in the RDS in Dublin. The awards celebrate the work of individuals, farm families and organisations who are enhancing the economic, environmental and social development of Irish agriculture and rural communities. The Finding Common Ground festival, which takes place over two days in the RDS in Ballsbridge, is being delivered as one of the RDS Foundation social impact programmes. Gareth Culligan has been shortlisted in the Sustainable Farming Award category, which celebrates the efforts made by an individual or farm family who are sustainably developing their on-farm activities through entrepreneurship, new product development, marketing and improved efficiencies. Gareth is a tillage farmer who is growing wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas and more on a farm consisting of 600 acres. He explained, in 2001, I made the change to Conservation Agriculture (CA) or Regenerative Agriculture on the farm. This has been a massive learning curve for me over the years as there was no blueprint for CA in Ireland. We have had failures and success with the move to CA, but all the time learning how to make it work on my farm. Read next: Louth County Council releases data on dog fouling fines Oriel Marine Extracts has been shortlisted in the Sustainable Rural Innovation Award category, which recognises individuals and organisations who have applied science and technology to help deliver the principles of climate-smart agriculture, such as greater efficiency, reduced waste and increased profitability. Oriel Marine Extracts harvest liquid magnesium, minerals and trace elements directly from EU protected seawater in Co. Louth, through a sustainable, renewable and organic process. Transformed using patented technology, these 100% natural products deliver science-proven benefits across nutrition, skincare and supplementation. The Finding Common Ground festival will bring together scientists, researchers, policymakers, industry professionals, practitioners, advocates and RDS Members to explore how Ireland can harness the benefits of our natural resources and the circular economy with a view to creating increased awareness, education and identification of solutions. A series of talks and panel discussions will focus on the latest advancements and challenges in areas such as land use, forestry and the bioeconomy. The broad programme will also explore topics such as decarbonising construction, how to use the arts to engage with environmental societal change and primary science education. The winners of the RDS Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Awards will be announced on Wednesday 9 April. There was a fall in the number of people recorded as homeless in Louth and the North East region in February, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 239 adults accessed local authority managed emergency accommodation in the North East region, which comprises Louth, Monaghan and Cavan, during the week of 17-23 February 2025. It is down from 263 in January. 213 were in Louth, down from 232 in January. 11 were recorded in Monaghan and 15 in Cavan. Of the 239 in the North East region, 129 were male and 110 female. 45 were aged 18-24 years old; 118 aged 25-44; 69 aged 45-64; and seven were aged 65 and over. 146 were Irish citizens; 37 were EEA/UK citizens; and 56 were non-EEA citizens. 55 families with 104 children also accessed local authority managed emergency accommodation during the week of 17-23 February 2025 in the North East region. This is also down from January, when 68 families with 130 children accessed local authority managed emergency accommodation. Nationally, 10,725 adults and 4,653 children, giving a total of 15,378 were recorded in February, up from 15,286, another record high number of homeless people in the State. This figure that does not account for those rough sleeping, refugees, asylum seekers, individuals in domestic violence shelters, or those in hidden homelessnesspeople sleeping in cars, on couches, or in unsuitable living conditions. Commenting on the latest figures, Dundalk Simon Community said that with the many thousands in emergency accommodation having little hope of finding a place to call their own, the Taoiseach and Minister for Housing need to step up to take urgent action to make home a reality. Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dundalk Simon Community, said, What have those elected to power done to address the roots of the problem? 2024 housing targets were not achieved and the possible changes to rent zones and the Tenant-in-Situ Scheme may lead even more people to homelessness. "When will they recognise their duty to take real action to resolve this crisis and put an end to the suffering of thousands across the country? Has the Governments commitment to end homelessness by 2030 been forgotten entirely? She added, The fact that there are over 15,000 people in this country without a place to call home and almost 11,000 in the capital is nothing but a great source of shame. It is a national embarrassment, one that continues to worsen, and thousands keep being left behind. "In February of last year, there were 13,841 citizens in emergency accommodation. Since then, this number has increased by 1,537. In Dublin, the number increased by 848 during this period. Once again, Dundalk Simon Community is calling on the Government to take decisive action. The only way to turn the tide and bring these numbers down is to implement policies that match the scale of this emergency. Electric vehicle (EV) sales are accelerating in Ireland, with a remarkable 36% increase for battery electric vehicles and 46% increase for plug-in hybrid vehicles in February 2025 compared to February 2024. In Cork, those increases are 33% and 59% respectively according to figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI). This surge in popularity underscores the growing interest in sustainable transportation and the increasing availability of innovative EV models. Coinciding with this national trend, Cork residents will have the opportunity to experience the latest in electric vehicle technology firsthand at the new Nevo Driving Experience taking place in Rochestown Park Hotel, in partnership with Bank of Ireland. Nevo, Irelands only dedicated Electric Vehicle platform, is bringing its new Nevo Driving Experience event to Cork. This event will provide attendees with the chance to test drive the newest electric vehicles from 14 of Irelands top automotive manufacturers such as Lexus, MG, Skoda, Ford, Renault, Volkswagen, BYD, Fiat, BMW, Opel, Kia, Volvo, Porsche and Hyundai. On the day, there will also be the vehicles on display inside the venue along with the possibility to meet local EV experts and franchise dealers from each brand. The Nevo Driving Experience, in partnership with Bank of Ireland and powered by SSE Airtricity, will be held at Rochestown Park Hotel tomorrow, Saturday, March 29, from 12pm to 6pm. Admission is free and open to the public, but attendees must register on nevo.ie/electric-vehicle-show. Attendees will have the opportunity to test drive a variety of electric vehicles on the day and with limited spaces available, registering in advance is essential to avoid disappointment. Experts will be on hand to answer questions about the benefits of electric vehicles, home and public charging solutions, government incentives, and the overall EV ownership experience. Several informative panel discussions will also be held on stage at the event during the afternoon with topics including EV Ownership: Busting Myths and Making it Real, EV Showdown: Finding the Right EV for You and New EV Owner Bootcamp: Tips and Tricks. The impressive percentage increase in EV sales this February demonstrates the growing momentum of electric vehicles in Cork, said Derek Reilly, EV expert with Nevo.ie. Were thrilled to bring our Electric Vehicle Driving Experience to Cork, offering locals a chance to experience the thrill of driving electric and learn about the many advantages EVs offer. We believe that by providing these hands-on experiences, we can further accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable transportation future. Event highlights: Test drive the latest EV models from brands such as Lexus, MG, Skoda, Ford, Renault, Volkswagen, BYD, Fiat, BMW, Opel, Kia, Volvo, Porsche and Hyundai. Learn about home and public charging options. Get expert advice on EV ownership. Explore available government incentives. Discover the environmental and economic benefits of EVs. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has published a report on planning permissions for Quarter four (Q4) of 2024, which shows that Cork had the highest amount of house units permitted nationwide both annually and throughout this time period. Data from the report, entitled Planning Permissions Quarter 4 and Year 2024, revealed that during the months of October, November and December, there were 6,890 dwelling units granted planning permissions nationwide, down 38.4% from 11,181 units in Q4 of 2023. Of the total dwelling units granted planning permission in Q4, apartment units accounted for more than 42% (2,922), marking a decrease of 52% when compared with the 6,150 units which received approval in Q4 of 2023. Among the 2,922 apartments granted planning permission in Q4 of 2024, 11% (307) were in Cork, ranking the area as having the second highest amount of apartments granted planning permission after Dublin, which accounted for 37% with 1,072 units. There were 13,194 apartment units granted planning permission across 2024 as a whole, marking a decrease of 38.6% when compared with the 21,487 apartment units which received approval in 2023. Of the 13,194 apartment units granted planning permission throughout last year, 1,282 or 10% were located in Cork. Speaking to The Echo, Fianna Fail Cork North-Central TD, Padraig OSullivan, said that while these figures are positive, he understands that there are 11,000 units, which have planning permission across Cork city, that have not been activated. Its quite clear that apartmen-type developments are whats being encouraged by government [so] we have to entice developers to deliver on those permissions, because we have no other way [of hitting] our target numbers if we dont start delivering apartments across Cork city, said Mr OSullivan. Its positive the more permissions you have the more opportunities you have for developers to actually develop land, but if developers continue to sit on permissions and not develop them, then the only other way to activate them will be to revisit the Residential Zoned Land Tax. There might come a time that if developers dont wilfully activate, then government will need to get serious about implementing that, he added. The thing I am most concerned about is services, more so in the county than in the city. If we dont have the appropriate infrastructure then despite whatever land we zone, developers will not be able to proceed. The State and Irish Water have an awful lot of work to do to make sure that that infrastructure is there and ready for developers to tap into. In terms of house units granted planning permission in Q4 2024, Cork had the highest number at 655 units, representing a total of 17%. Throughout 2024 as a whole, there were 19,207 house units permitted nationwide, with Cork having the highest amount permitted annually with 2,873 units (15%). Sinn Fein Cork South-Central TD, Donnchadh O Laoghaire said: We are all keen to see the delivery of adequate housing and obviously any progress with that is welcome. Unfortunately, the number of planning applications doesnt necessarily lead to houses being built. We have many many planning approvals that have not led to development for a variety of reasons - in many instances it [is related to] issues with water infrastructure, road infrastructure and issues in terms of the ability of developers to deliver on the planning application. We need to address all these things if we are to ensure that there is adequate housing, he added. We need to do an awful lot more to deliver actually affordable housing we have too many people who are struggling to put together a mortgage to buy a house if you are on a low or lower middle income, there is very very little [options]. Gardai have said an operation led by the Cork City Divisional Drugs unit targeting the sale and supply of drugs by an Organised Crime Group operating in Cork City Centre, "is continuing." "Of the seven individuals arrested during the operation to date, three have been released without charge. Two remain in Garda custody," said a garda spokesperson. The remaining two, both males and aged in their 30s and 40s, have been charged and are scheduled to appear before Cork District Court this morning, Friday, March 28 at 10.30 am. "Investigations are ongoing and further updates will be provided as they become available," said the spokesperson. In a statement issued yesterday gardai said that officers from the Cork City Divisional Drugs Unit were carrying out an "ongoing" operation targeting the sale and supply of drugs by an Organised Crime Group based in the Cork City Centre The operation is ongoing. "This operation, supported by Cork City Serious Crime Units, National Surveillance Unit, Regional Surveillance Unit, Regional Armed Support Unit, Regional Dog Unit, Operation Tara and Cork City Centre Policing members resulted in the arrest of seven persons. A total of seven premises were searched and a number of items were seized," said the statement. The men arrested, ranging from their 20s to 40s, were conveyed to garda stations in Cork city. "Six are currently being detained under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007. One is currently being detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996," said the statement. "Investigations are ongoing," it added. Corks Lord Mayor Dan Boyle is to meet with his counterpart in Cork County Council on Monday to discuss what can be done to show the love to Corks pharmaceutical giants. It comes in the wake of the latest threat by US president Donald Trump to impose a 25% tariff on pharmaceuticals being exported to the United States. Mr Boyle was speaking to The Echo following Mr Trumps Oval Office press conference on Wednesday in which he specifically referenced Irelands pharmaceutical industry and suggested that the US would seek to get it back and in advance of a pre-scheduled meeting on Monday with the Mayor of County Cork Joe Carroll and senior executives of Cork County Council. Co-ordinated approach The city and county councils are meeting on Monday, and thats one of the things we can be examining, and there would be a logic in having a co-ordinated approach in making sure that the multinational companies in the Cork region feel the love and ongoing support and that we have a strategic approach as to making sure that the level and type of investment continues to be encouraged, he said. The Green Party councillor said that his main concern was that US pharma companies with large manufacturing plants here would focus new investment in their home country rather than in countries such as Ireland, which could be subject to US tariffs. He also suggested that the US president seemed to be using the threat of tariffs as a means to get terms more favourable to the US in negotiations with trading partners. Mr Boyles response was one of several reactions from Cork politicians to Mr Trumps latest comments which, if the threats materialise, could have a devastating impact on the Irish pharma industry, which employs almost 30,000 people across the country. In Cork, 33 pharma or medical devices companies employ almost 14,000 people in total. Concern South Central Sinn Fein TD Donnchadh O Laoghaire said Mr Trumps statement would cause a great deal of concern among the thousands of people working in US multinational companies in Cork and across Ireland, and particularly the pharmaceutical industry. Many citizens in Cork and across Ireland will be very concerned for their jobs and for their futures, he said. In our view, the Irish Government must act now to ensure that jobs are protected and that preparations are now made to support businesses in adverse times. His constituency colleague, Fine Gael junior minister Jerry Buttimer, said international pharmaceutical companies based in Cork value our free, open access to the European Union market, our highly educated, English-speaking workforce, and our stable economic and political environment. It was recently reported that Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla had said the pharma company had manufacturing plants in the US that were operating at good capacity. If something happens, we will try to mitigate by transferring from manufacturing sites outside to manufacturing sites here [in the US]. Significant threat Eli Lilly, which has a plant in Kinsale, has recently announced multi-billion dollar investment in US plants. Fianna Fail North Central TD Padraig OSullivan said that the US administrations change in policy in relation to tariffs posed a significant threat to the Irish economy, but said that the Government had run budget surpluses in the last few years and invested in contingencies in preparation for such incidents. Cork South Central TD Seamus McGrath described tariffs as counterproductive and expressed confidence that common sense would prevail. Social Democrat TD Padraig Rice said that it was clear that Mr Trump was focused on Irelands pharma industry. Given that pharma comprises around 100bn or 45% of our goods exports, this is deeply concerning, he said. Independent Ireland Cork North Central TD Ken OFlynn suggested there was a sense of genuine industry-wide panic among many of the estimated 12,000 pharmaceutical workers in Cork, where seven of the worlds top 10 pharmaceutical companies are located. Cork Chambers Conor Healy said it was in everyones interest that the strong and economic and cultural relationship with the US continues to thrive. The jury in the Limerick racecourse teenage rape trial got to hear the first evidence all week today but it only lasted for moments as the 15-year-old accused collapsed in the dock and the jury had to be sent away for the weekend. Almost no evidence has been heard in trial this week. Mr Justice McDermott was not available to sit on Monday March 24, and the 15-year-old defendant (13 at the time of the alleged rape) was absent for medical reasons on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Today the teenager was present with his two co-accused and the case resumed in front of the jury. But only moments into the evidence, it was noticeable that that defendant, who had two crutches beside him in the dock, was grimacing and appeared to be in pain. Eventually, it was indicated to the judge that there should be a break. However, before the jury were even told to leave the room the teenager stood briefly and then collapsed to the floor and was first assisted by his two co-accused. The jury then left the room and medical attention was summoned for the collapsed defendant. Judge McDermot later recalled the jury and sent them away until Monday, March 31. The judge apologised for the inconvenience but he said he was obliged to take whatever steps were necessary to ensure the smooth running of the trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork. The absent defendant, who was 13 at the time and is 15 now, and a co-accused who was 15 at the time and is now 17 are both charged with raping and sexually assaulting the teenager at a St. Stephens Day 2022 race meeting at Limerick racecourse. A third boy is accused of aiding and abetting the first two defendants in carrying out these offences and he is also charged with falsely imprisoning the girl. It is alleged that the contested incidents occurred in a car in a field car park at Limerick racecourse at Patrickswell, County Limerick, on December 26, 2023. All three accused have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. The brother of the Indian woman found dead with her throat cut at her new home in Wilton testified by video link from Bangalore today that she had wanted a divorce but her husband said he would not let her go. Ullas Dinamani gave evidence on day five of the murder trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork where 43-year-old Regin Parithapara Rajan, is accused of the single charge of murdering 38-year-old Deepa Paruthiyezhuth Dinamani at their home at Cardinal Court, Wilton, Cork, on July 14 2023, contrary to common law. Mr Dinamani said that the late Deepa Dinamani was his only sibling. Describing their family life in Kerala he also said, She was ambitious, very studious, a good student, really good-humoured and a great sister. Qualifying as an accountant she worked in India and in London before returning to India and then moving with her husband and son to Cork four months before her death. Her brother said she had remained friendly with colleagues and managers with whom she had worked, even after leaving those jobs and they continued to speak highly of her. He said his sister and her husband met through an online site, not for dating but for getting married, and they did marry three months after meeting. Mr Dinamani said that his sister and her husband both told him that there were problems in the marriage and they were not getting along with each other. My sister wanted a divorce and Regin was not ready to He said in one conversation he would not let her go, the witness said. The deceased womans brother paid for him to see a counsellor and the deceased arranged to get a contact number for a counsellor. Mr Dinamani suggested to Regin that it would be better if he and Deepa lived apart and that they could both contribute for the benefit of their child. But the witness said it was their decision. Brian McInerney, defence senior counsel, said it was clear from the answers the defendant had given to Sean Gillane prosecution senior counsel that Mr Dinamani cared deeply for his late sister and that they had a close bond. The witness agreed. Mr McInerney put to him some of the details of the statement he had made to the gardai where he said that he never got the impression from Deepa that she was scared of Regin and that she never said she was frightened by him. He said that she indicated that she was frustrated and unhappy in the relationship. The accused told gardai during questioning that he was not in employment in Cork but was applying for jobs and had worked for 19 years before coming to Cork. He said he had graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 2003 and had been the manager of a company in India. The trial will go into its second week on March 31 before Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford and a jury of seven women and five men. The Garda Divisional Drugs Unit at Anglesea Street in Cork arrested two suspected members of a Lithuanian organised crime gang which is currently under investigation, and objected to bail saying in one case that he would be gone in two seconds if released. Detective Garda Linda OKeeffe said there was an objection to bail because of the seriousness of the allegations against 38-year-old Aleksandras Kuznecovas of no fixed address, who is accused of three counts of dealing heroin. A Lithuanian interpreter translated proceedings. Gardai believe this Lithuanian organised crime gang are involved in the sale of supply of a large quantity of diamorphine (heroin) in Cork city, Det Garda OKeeffe testified. At an early stage in the investigation, Aleksandras Kuznecovas was identified as one of the main street dealers in the operation. During this investigation, Aleksandras Kuznecovas sold diamorphine on three different occasions to undercover gardai. The dates of these controlled purchases were January 19, 2024, at Thomas Davis Bridge, Western Rd, Cork, January 23, 2024, (on Mardyke Bridge), and January 25, 2024, (on banks of Lee Walkway). Three bags of diamorphine were sold. These bags were sent to Forensic Science Ireland and tested positive for diamorphine. It is my belief that Aleksandras Kuznecovas is addicted to diamorphine and that he is a vital cog in this Lithuanian organised crime gangwhich has extensive links outside this jurisdiction. I believe he is incapable of appearing in court on his own and is incapable of remaining free from intoxicants. I believe he will commit further offences if granted bail, including offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act. He is an active and trusted member of this gang. He is heavily involved in the sale or supply of diamorphine in Cork city and so is a danger to the community and the people in it, Det Garda OKeeffe added. Eddie Burke, solicitor, said the allegation was that the three drug deals referred to were each valued 25. Judge Mary Dorgan said the allegations were that the drugs were sold to undercover gardai by a member of a criminal organisation and that,in all the circumstances, she was refusing bail. Aleksandras Kuznecovas was remanded in custody, on the application of Sergeant John Dineen, until April 3. Second defendant Detective Garda Ruairi McGovern arrested 46-year-old Jonas Pavilionis of no fixed address and objected to bail in his case. When solicitor Mr Burke put it to him about his concern that the accused would leave the country if granted bail, the detective said: He would be gone in two seconds. Jonas Pavilionis was before Cork District Court on Friday 28th March 2025. Pic Larry Cummins He was charged with having heroin and possessing it for sale or supply on the second floor of Douglas Shopping Centre carpark last Tuesday, March 25, and having a machete on the same date. The value of alleged seizure was 3,920. He was charged that on Sunday, March 23, at Audley Place, Patricks Hill, Cork, he had two bill-hooks. The allegation was that he was seen stashing them in a behind an electricity box. The detective said Operation Fustian targeted this particular gang, and he alleged that the accused was an integral part of it and only came to Cork eight weeks ago. He was brought here purely for the purpose of protection, Det Gda McGovern said. Bail was also refused in his case, and he was remanded in custody to appear again at Cork District Court on April 3. More community health workers have been called for in a newly released report to celebrate the HSE South West Community Work Department (CWD) marking 50 years of service this year. The report was launched at a conference in Cork this week and captured the input of more than 110 stakeholders, including HSE staff, representatives from Section 39 organisations, and other community partners. The CWD comprises a range of roles, and a recent consultation process found the roles to be complementary and each play a supportive role with communities. The staffing complement as of November 2024, however, shows five vacancies out of 22 roles, and the report explains: Staffing numbers have reduced due to the impact of the HSE embargo, and currently, vacancies are either not all being filled, or are filled on a staggered basis due to HSE budgetary restraints. In Cork North, there is one principal community worker, one team leader in the Traveller Healthy Minds Project, four community workers, six and a half community health workers, as well as one community support worker, one admin officer, and a part time clerical officer three community worker and one community health worker posts are unfilled. In Cork South there is one principal community worker, five community workers, and one clerical officer, with one community worker post unfilled. The report recommends that posts of senior team leaders within the CWD be funded by the HSE: This role could work across the three areas, with associated budgets to map issues facing communities, explore future proofing, and lead on delivering and evaluating pilot projects. Consideration should be given to increasing supports across the three departments in the areas of administration and human resources (HR), where a business manager could develop templates for others to work from. In addition, the appointment of additional team leaders could allow for the staff teams to play a broader role in increasing collaborative work regionally and nationally. The report found the CWDs role in championing community-based organisations helped to ensure that the voices of marginalised groups are heard in policy and service design. The department has also contributed to improvements in community health outcomes, and has been able to support HSE services by facilitating health interventions and public health campaigns. In todays highly competitive job market, retaining and attracting top talent requires more than just competitive salaries and standard benefits. Employees are seeking workplaces that align with their values, provide real work-life balance, and actively support their wellbeing. A 2023 Deloitte survey found 60% of employees would consider leaving their job for one that better supports their wellbeing. At RDJ, we have embraced this shift by embedding progressive policies that foster an inclusive, flexible, and people-centred culture. Our recent B Corp Certification underscores this commitment, reinforcing the idea that responsible business practices and employee engagement go hand-in-hand. This reflects a broader trend across industries where businesses are recognising that purpose-driven workplaces yield higher retention, productivity, and employee satisfaction. A Culture That Puts People First With a workforce of 290 people across Cork, Dublin, and Galway, we know a strong workplace culture is essential for long-term success. In recent years, we have introduced a suite of policies designed to support our employees at every stage of their lives and careers. These are a testament to our belief that people thrive when they feel valued and supported. Flexible and hybrid working models have become a necessity rather than a perk. Recruiter CPL revealed last month that 60% of candidates would turn down a new position if it didnt meet their hybrid working needs. At RDJ, we are happy to facilitate a number of requests for part-time working arrangements. Additionally, our newly introduced sabbatical leave policy, which enables employees to take 3-6 months off for personal growth, travel, or volunteering, has been met with strong enthusiasm. Fionnuala Power is People and Culture Director at RDJs Cork office Family-friendly policies are also a key differentiator in talent retention. In 2023, we introduced paid leave for surrogacy, fertility treatments, and early-stage pregnancy loss. These policies acknowledge the diverse family-building journeys of employees and ensure they receive the support they need during significant life moments. By leading the way in these areas, we hope to set a precedent for other organisations to follow. A 2023 LinkedIn Workforce Trends Report found nearly 70% of professionals consider a companys purpose and culture as their most important consideration. The uptake on initiatives such as sabbaticals and flexible working arrangements demonstrates that these policies resonate with employees and contribute to a more engaged and motivated team. Those who feel supported in both their personal and professional lives are more likely to stay, grow, and contribute meaningfully to the business. Volunteer Days are another step in this direction, allowing employees to dedicate time to community initiatives that matter to them and investing in learning and development, offering study and exam leave, as well as funding career-related training. By creating an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and supported, you are setting the foundation for long-term success, and, for us, the legal profession as a whole. Mental Health and Wellbeing: A Business Imperative Mental health and wellbeing should never be an after-thought in workplace policies. The World Health Organisation estimates anxiety and depression cost the global economy $1 trillion per year in lost productivity. The legal profession, in particular, comes with unique pressures, making it essential to proactively address these challenges. We are incredibly proud to be part of a pilot collaboration with the Law Society of Ireland, Culture First | Well within the Law, which is developing a long-term strategy around psychological wellbeing at all levels of law firms and fostering a culture of belonging where everyone is supported to reach their full potential. Internally, our active Wellness Team ensures wellbeing is embedded into our culture, not just through policies but through real, tangible activities. From in-office yoga sessions and monthly sauna and swim events to sleep seminars and financial wellbeing talks, we take a holistic approach to supporting our employees physical, mental, and financial health. This commitment has been recognised with the KeepWell Mark accreditation in wellness. The Power of Purpose: Becoming a B Corp One of the most significant milestones in our journey has been achieving B Corp Certification - the first Irish law firm to do so. This recognises our dedication to social and environmental impact and signals to current and prospective employees that RDJ is a firm that prioritises purpose alongside profit. The rigorous 18-month certification process saw us strengthen our governance, workplace culture, and sustainability efforts. Among the key achievements were increasing female representation in senior management to 35%, transitioning to 100% renewable electricity across all offices, and committing to a 5% annual reduction in our carbon footprint. Additionally, our Diversity Scholarship and Placement Programmes at University College Cork and University of Galway provide pathways for underrepresented students to enter the legal profession, furthering our impact beyond our immediate workforce. These efforts are part of a larger trend. The number of B Corp-certified companies globally has surpassed 9,500 across 160 industries, including more than 60 headquartered in Ireland. This reflects a growing recognition that businesses have a role to play in driving positive change and that employees increasingly seek out workplaces aligning with their values. The Future of Workplace Culture As we look ahead, the expectations of employees will continue to evolve. Businesses that fail to adapt will struggle to attract and retain the best talent. The business case for investing in workplace culture is clear: happier, healthier employees drive better outcomes. A 2024 Gallup report found highly engaged business units achieve an 18% increase in sales productivity and a 14% increase in overall productivity. As organisations navigate an increasingly competitive talent landscape, those that prioritise flexibility, inclusion, and wellbeing will emerge as leaders. Employees want to be part of a company that aligns with their values and prioritises their overall wellbeing. For RDJ, our journey as a B Corp and our investment in progressive policies are about building a workplace where people can truly thrive. We hope that by sharing our approach, we can inspire other businesses to take meaningful steps towards a more people-centric future. GOING OUT Theatre Saturday Missing Earth - a play with songs by John McCarthy, Graffiti Theatre, noon: Halfway down a mountain, a cable car stops without warning - the lives of three people on board hang in the balance. With beautiful songs, puns galore and high suspense, Missing Earth is a full-hearted adventure for the young and the young at heart. Tickets 10. Remote, Cork Arts Theatre, 7.30pm: Seven teenagers lives intertwine over the course of an evening as they make their way through a park. A play about protest, power and protecting yourself. Presented by Montfort College of Performing Arts Intermediate company drama class. Tickets 15. Red Raw with Rob Heffernan and Laura OMahony, Cork Opera House, 8pm: A balance of heartfelt storytelling and sharp wit, light-hearted debates, and some guest appearances. Tickets 31. Sunday Crime Worlds Nicola Tallant Live, Cork Opera House, 8pm: A deep-dive into the gritty realities of crime and the underworld. Tickets 30. Rock Icons Show, The Everyman Theatre, 8pm: A great night of classic rock, featuring the music of icons such as Deep Purple, Free, Bon Jovi, Toto, Rainbow, and Def Leppard. Tickets 33. Music Saturday GAME ON Stravinsky Firebird, Cork City Hall, 8pm: Guest conductor Neil Thomson blends the world of video game music with the timeless beauty of a classical masterpiece. Tickets 27. Liam O Maonlai, St Johns Church Monkstown, 8pm: The Hothouse Flowers star is supported by Hillary Bow Play. Tickets 36.50. Concert for Conservation - a fundraiser for Wildlife Madagascar, Fota Wildlife Park, 7.30pm: Cork-based quartet Cascade Strings perform classical renditions of wildlife-inspired hits in the auditorium. Tickets 25. Sunday A Night at the Opera by Candlelight, St Fin Barres Cathedral, 7.30pm: Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of opera. Tickets 31.60. Other Events Saturday Cork Foraging Walk, Lee Fields Car Park, 11am: Explore the areas natural beauty and learn about local plants and wildlife. Tickets 27. CBA Presidents Dinner and Cork Business of the Year Awards 2025, Vienna Woods Hotel, 7pm: Celebrate excellence in the business community at the CBAs 68th Annual Gala Dinner and Cork Business of the Year Awards. Tickets 185. Sunday Corks Fittest, Marina Market, 9am: Intense, high-energy fitness competition designed to challenge strength, endurance, and speed. 151. Mothers Day Floral Arrangement Workshop, Marina Market, 2pm: Run by Justyna from Catch My Wreath. A sparkling welcome with a glass of prosecco followed by a one-and-a-half-hour hands-on session where participants will create beautiful floral arrangements. Tickets 55. Our top 5 films in the cinema 1. Flow: 5-star Oscar-winning animation about a brave cat. 2. Vermigilo: A 5-star love story set in Italy during World War II. 3. One of Them Days: Two best friends struggle to find rent money in this buddy comedy 4. Twiggy: Excellent documentary about the fashion icon. 5. The Last Showgirl: Pamela Anderson shines in this story of a woman forced to face a big change. STAYING IN Television Saturday The Emerald Isles, BBC2, 7.25pm: Ardal OHanlon spends the last leg of his journey on Corks islands - Garnish, Sherkin and Cape Clear. Sunday Dreamers, Channel 4, 10pm: Six-part coming-of-age drama following the progress of an eclectic group of dance students. Streaming Holland, Prime: Nicole Kidman stars in an intriguing mystery-thriller set in a picturesque suburb of Holland, Michigan. The Life List, Netflix: Sofia Carson heads the cast of this romantic comedy. Jinx Lennon, one of Irelands most prolific songwriters, has released 14 albums with an average of over 20 songs per record. His witty and engaging titles are very much in place on The Hate Agents Leer at the Last Isle of Hope, his latest album, which features titles such as Stop Hiding Behind the Flag, Mad for Mass, The Snakes are Still Here St Patrick, and Unwanted Attention in the Gym. As ever, the specific topics and subjects of the songs vary throughout, but the album has two main themes, as Jinx explained: I dont think you can be a proper writer unless you sing about whats happening in your everyday life. My wife Sophie and my kids inspire some of the songs now, such as Cyndi Lauper, which is about getting out for a date once in a blue moon, or Mad for Mass or Meat in the Sandwich, which is about the pressures of domestic life. Tackling wider societal concerns drives a lot of Jinxs work: People need to speak out now about the issues while they can, because I can see a time that that will become harder to do even in this country as the world moves more towards division than empathy and less tolerance towards people fleeing hardship, thats what the album title is about. I think its more important now to speak out at the risk of being attacked. You should be able to speak your mind as long as your views are not just poisonous, predictable, prejudicial tirades. McGregor in the White House on Paddys Day was awful to see, an angry leprechaun licking up to a poisonous bully about the horror of immigration. A big wolfwhistle about immigration in a land full of Irish immigrants, thats pathetic and ridiculous and lethal hate mongering. Jinx doesnt just write about these issues though. We had a bunch of people in Dundalk last summer trying to intimidate people outside a Sisters of Mercy convent [and former laundry] that had been designated to be a shelter for war refugees, so a bunch of us went out to show what Dundalk stood for. Jinx Lennon and Wasps vs Humans (WvHs) are teaming up for a return to Cork. They were wall-to-wall flag waving and it looked ridiculous, all the flags looked fresh out of the packet like theyd just arrived from Amazon, and probably made in the Far East. The cover of the album is from those protests in front of the Sisters of Mercy convent. The building was getting a makeover at the time, which is why it is all white with industrial plastic over it. It looks a bit rough but it just suited what the album was going with thematically. While Jinx has been gigging as a solo act for over 25 years, he regularly has collaborators join him on record and on stage. He has always made a point of giving developing artists support slots and opportunities, and many musicians especially from Dundalk such as The Mary Wallopers and David Keenan credit his commitment to staying true to his roots as an inspiration to them. I like it if Im being a decent influence on local musicians, said Jinx. God knows how many times I was told Id never get a gig outside town for singing in my local accent and now theres local accents everywhere for good or bad. I appreciate people like David, he seems a complicated lad like myself, theres humanity and self belief in his songs. Years ago, his band used to support me in the Spirit Store in Dundalk. He used to watch my show and hed say its all folk music Jinx and Id say yeah its all stories. In the distant past there were a few times folk music really resonated with me before I ever performed onstage. The idea of the power and resonance of music is close to Jinxs heart. I work in a hospital for the past 25 years [encapsulated in his song Pushing the Patients Round]. Wasps vs Humans will play alongside Jinx Lennon in Winthrop Avenue on April 4. I got married to Sophie 14 years ago and we have a young family and it is very hard to get a balance. The music is a great pressure valve releaser and when I get into a semi routine thats the best I can do due to shifts and schedules and school I can sometimes get my head space into being the musician. If you dont keep an eye on it, it can get sidelined and it gets out of shape so you must keep the pen going. The whole thing is similar to an onion. I peel off the next layer and the music changes slightly. I spent 20 years until 1999 trying to write songs and not being able to put myself in person into the music with lyrical honesty. It was only through having to prepare myself for being a phone counsellor that I found the tools to be candid and to put the truth in the words. When I saw it was working onstage it was such a revelation that it was almost biblical. He references some songs from Cork artists that have always been favourites of his. I remember working in an electronics factory years ago hearing Happy Busman by The Frank And Walters blasting out on the radio, it was inspiring to me because it was the only odd and uplifting thing Id be hearing at the time, I particularly liked that the words werent cynical. I also love White Cortina by Nun Attax, it was just mad joyous fun, especially seeing it on Saturday morning TV! Playing in Cork is something he looks forward to. My first gig was at The Lobby with yourself Ronan. You always get recognisable heads at the Cork gigs but theyre always varying faces each gig by gig, and heads that I havent seen for years sometimes come down from all over the place, which I like to see. Cork has always had an edge that Dublin doesnt. When Jinx plays in Winthrop Avenue on April 4 the day his new album is released he will be joined by Wasps vs Humans, who he has played many shows with over the years. Carl and Linda are fellow spirits and have the hunger for the shows the same as myself and they are fearless performers. I appreciate how they have evolved their sound and they are an inspiration to watch so its a great pair up, the two acts together on the bill. The Hate Agents Leer at the Last Isle of Hope can be bought via jinxlennon.com. Tickets for Jinxs show on Friday, April 4, can be bought at cyprusavenue.ie. Eimear Dodd A young man with an unhealthy interest in children who posed as a teenage girl online encouraged teenage boys to send him videos and sexually assaulted a four-year-old boy, a court has heard. The 21-year-old came forward from the District Court on a signed guilty plea to a charge of sexual assault on a date in the summer of 2022. He further signed guilty pleas to five counts of possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and one count of possession of CSAM in the digital space of Snapchat on dates in August and December 2022 and May 2023. He also signed guilty pleas to two counts of producing CSAM on dates in 2020 and 2022 and two counts of distributing CSAM on dates in 2022. He has no previous convictions and has been in custody since his arrest in May 2024. He can't be named to protect the anonymity of his victims. The court heard the man was aged between 16 and 18 at the time of his offending. Imposing the sentence on Thursday, Judge Martin Nolan said the man had engaged in an egregious breach of trust in his offending against the young boy and had behaved in a devious manner in other offending. Having considered the man's background, the judge noted that while the court doesn't have the power to change people, hopefully punishment can change people, adding that the only function of this court is to sentence him justly. Judge Nolan said the court hopes the man can change and contribute to society in future, but at the moment, he has a very unhealthy interest in children, which could render him unsafe in the presence of children. He also noted the man will be subject to the requirements of the sex offenders' register and that the injured parties are aware of his serious wrongdoing, which gives a certain level of protection. The judge imposed a six-year sentence, with the final 18 months suspended on strict conditions, including that the man place himself under the supervision of the Probation Services post-release. Judge Nolan noted that if the man was older, the sentence would have been substantially longer, adding that signed guilty pleas are valuable because they save the parties the trauma and the worry of a trial. An investigating garda gave evidence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that the defendant was known to the boy's family. While the then-four-year-old was visiting his home in the Leinster area, the man sexually assaulted him. The boy told his parents, who made a complaint to the gardai. In a victim impact statement, the young boy's father said the man abused the trust placed in him and outlined the effect on his son and his family. He said the boy had missed school in order to attend play therapy, garda interviews and other services. His son has a shy personality and trust issues and finds it hard to talk to others. The child's father said he feels the defendant targeted his son, thinking the boy wouldn't confide in his parents. He said his son placed a toy hammer in his bed in case the defendant returned. He said his son has questions, but they can't explain the man's actions. The court also heard evidence that the man separately took a video of a young girl. Gardai searched the man's house, and he was found to be in possession of over 1,500 files of CSAM, known in law as child pornography. The material included images and videos and some of it was classified in the most serious category. Following an analysis of his devices, gardai found the man had also posed as a teenage girl on Snapchat, where he communicated with around 10 boys aged between 12 and 15. The investigation was unable to identify all of these boys, but one is a resident in Ireland. The defendant would ask for photos of the boys and send them photos of the girl he was posing as, along with images from adult pornography. He also encouraged the boys to carry out certain acts, record them and send him the videos. He then recorded the material sent by these boys. The court heard the man produced approximately 38 files of CSAM and also distributed CSAM files. The investigating garda told Diana Stuart BL, prosecuting, that the Snapchat account was linked to the man through his email address. He was arrested and interviewed in May 2024, but nothing of evidential value was obtained. The investigating garda agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that gardai were notified by the American authorities in April 2022, who had been contacted by Snapchat in late 2021 about the uploading of child sexual abuse material. The garda said the man's account on Snapchat only came to light when his devices were analysed. It was further accepted that the man had engaged in 'catfishing' by presenting as a young girl online, then asking young boys to engage in certain acts. Mr Bowman said his client carried out a complex web of offending and asked the court to take into account that the man was between 16 and 18 at the time. He said the man is apologetic and acknowledges the harm done, but his remorse may ring hollow. A probation report was provided to the court. Counsel said the man was himself a victim of sexual abuse as a child and told probation officers he attributes his unhealthy interest in young boys to what happened to him. The man has some work history but lost his job when his offending came to light. Mr Bowman said his client was socially isolated and retreated to the internet as a source of companionship. Counsel said his client started to access pornography at an early age, which morphed into accessing CSAM and curiosity became an obsession. Mr Bowman said his client is doing well in custody. The man has a history of drugs use, but is drug-free in custody. Counsel said his client has been assessed at medium to high risk of re-offending and has made enquiries about a treatment programme for sexual offending. Mr Bowman asked the court to impose a sentence which included probation supervision as there was a need for a structure to support the man upon his release from custody. Gordon Deegan The operator of Penneys has stated that its planned new flagship waterfront outlet for Ennis will generate estimated revenues of 14.26 million per annum. That is according to planning documents lodged with Clare Co Council concerning Primarks plans for a three-storey over-basement outlet on a 1.3 acre site in Harmony Row, Bank Place and Bindon Lane, Ennis. The planned development site lies close to a pedestrian bridge across the River Fergus opposite the Abbey Street car park. A retail impact assessment lodged with the application states that the new Primark proposals have the potential to act as a catalyst for the local economy, with increased inward investment and a significant level of new employment during both the construction and operational phases of the development. The new store in Ennis is also part of Primark's commitment to invest over 250 million in Ireland over a ten-year period, which includes the development, relocation and/or refurbishment of its stores across the country. The Primark scheme for Ennis comprises a gross floor area of 3,550 sq metres including ancillary uses comprising staff area, stockroom, plant rooms and other ancillary areas. The proposal also involves the construction of a new public riverside pedestrian walkway from Bank Place to the existing pedestrian bridge over the River Fergus connecting to the existing pedestrian path from Harmony Row and modifications to the walkway of the existing pedestrian bridge. Landowner of the site, Galway company, Briarlane Developments Ltd has given its consent for the application to be lodged. In a retail assessment drawn up by MKO and lodged with the application states that the proposed development, in line with the Clare County Development Plan provides for a flagship waterfront development of outstanding design and quality making a significant contribution to the overall appearance and amenity of the area. The assessment states that the new Primark store "will also serve as a primary retail destination and encourage smaller retailers and other businesses to location within its vicinity creating a town-centre ambience and increasing both resident and visitor footfall within the area. The assessment contends that the planned interventions to the existing pedestrian walkway will further strengthen the connectivity to the riverwalk, seamlessly integrating the development with the rest of the neighbourhood, establishing the proposed development as a key landmark within the historic town centre. The assessment also states that the proposed scheme will enhance the vitality of the town and integrate well with the existing shopping facilities, further improving suitability of the town centre retail accommodation for modern retailers whilst also maintaining the towns historic character. On vacant premises in Ennis town centre, the retail impact assessment states that Recently the vacant rate increased to 18.6 per cent, the highest in Co Clare, reflecting a significant rise over the past year. It stated: However, despite this, Ennis has generally fared better than other regions, particularly during and after the pandemic, and there have been positive efforts to reduce vacancies. The retail impact assessment also contends that the proposed development will not have any adverse impact of any significance on the existing retail provision in the identified catchment area. The report states: There is significant expenditure available to help support the existing retail providers within the Key Town of Ennis. The report also states that the Qualitative and Quantitative Assessments carried out indicate that there is demand for new comparison retail within the Key Town of Ennis, which the proposed development will respond to and cater for. The report states that its findings demonstrates that the proposal will not impact on the viability of the Key Town of Ennis, rather it will serve as a landmark waterfront development which will enable/encourage additional retail and commercial activity including attracting more residents to the area. The new outlet is expected to replace Penney's existing Ennis outlet in the Ennis Shopping Centre on Ennis's Francis Street. High Court Reporter The High Court has been asked to extend a pause it imposed last November on the Dublin Airport passenger cap. Following the November pause, the court also agreed to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) to clarify certain matters. However, as it takes an average of 16 months to get a ruling from the CJEU, the High Court was on Friday asked by a number of airlines to extend its November order pending the CJEU decision. If the court grants an extension of the pause, it will apply to passenger caps until the CJEU decision is delivered. Aer Lingus, Ryanair and a consortium of American carriers had sought a pause on the cap imposed by the Irish Aviation Authority limiting passenger numbers to 25.2 million between late March and October. The airlines claimed the restriction will cost them millions and will also mean they will be deprived of some of their use them or lose them take-off and landing slots. The case is against the IAA and the airport operator, the DAA, along with Airports Coordination Ltd which allocates slots, are notice parties. The IAA, in making its decision limiting winter and summer passenger caps, said it took into account technical, operational, environmental and local planning constraints, including a 32 million passenger limit for the airport imposed by planning conditions in 2007. Aer Lingus claims the estimated financial impact of the seat cap for the summer and winter 2025 seasons is 84 million, which will increase if the cap is carried forward into subsequent seasons. It will mean a reduction of around 671,000 seats, or 8.5 per cent, for the summer 2025 season as compared to its original planned capacity, or a cut of 362,000 seats compared to summer 2024 numbers, the airline says. Ryanair estimates that it will lose approximately 3,000 slots or over 550,000 seats in summer 2025. This equates to two full weeks of its business over the summer season at Dublin Airport. This could result in an estimated loss in the region of 50 million, it says. The American consortium, comprising Delta, Jetblue Airways and United Airlines, claim they will suffer serious losses with Delta alone claiming it would cost $22.4 million. In submissions to Mr Justice Barry O'Donnell on Friday, lawyers for the airlines sought the extension of the pause so that there will not have to be repeated challenges in relation to further seasons until the CJEU decision comes. The IAA continues to have, as it had when the temporary pause was imposed, a neutral position but agreed a decision of the High Court would obviate the need for repeated challenges. The DAA layers said its position was that the planning conditions, including the 32 million passenger limit, should be observed. What the airlines were seeking was that there be no constraints on passenger numbers until the High Court makes its final decision in this case, pending the decision of the CJEU, it was argued. Mr Justice O'Donnell said he would give his judgment next week. Elizabeth City, N.C. At Elizabeth City State University's (ECSU) Honors Luncheon, success was served with a side of motivation. In a room filled with approximately 35 honors scholars at the K.E. White Graduate Center March 25, Judge Janice McKenzie Cole celebrated the students' hard work but challenged them to give much more to the world. "You are here because you are determined," Cole began. "You set goals and remained focused. You made sacrificesthe late nights, the early morningsbut true success is not about what you acquire; it's about who you are and what you contribute. Judge Cole urged students to think beyond the traditional picture of success. "I want to challenge you to think about success beyond the traditional markersbeyond the good grades, the impressive job title, the good-paying job, the big house, the luxury car, or the ability to send your children to private schools," she said. "While these are commendable accomplishments, and I don't mean to take anything away from those who have achieved them, they should not be your sole measure of success. True success is not just about what you acquire, but about who you are. Who you become and what you contribute." Judge Cole painted a picture of a nation in need of leaders with character, integrity and empathy. "Right now, our nation seems to be bankrupt of men and women of good character," she said. "Don't wait until the challenges come to decide what you stand for. By then, you will be like a tree blowing in the wind." After introductions from Latif Tarik, director of the University Honors Program, Interim Chancellor Catherine Edmonds reminded students of the university's mission. "We are committed to fostering an environment of academic excellence," she said. "Our honor students are living proof of this mission. You represent the future of ECSUbold, brilliant and boundless potential." The luncheon was more than a pat on the back for four honors seniors preparing to graduate this spring. Ceanna Kinney, Jeneal Homer, Dayana Garza, and Kristen Bannerman were singled out for their achievements, each receiving a plaque, a certificate frame, and a stole to wear with pride at the Spring 2025 commencement. Reflecting on her four years in the honors program, Bannerman shared how the experience shaped more than just her resume. "This program has shaped my confidence in ways I didn't expect," she said. "One of the most amazing opportunities I had was attending the National Collegiate Honors Council conference, where I presented my research on how the Black community has been historically represented in media and film. I couldn't have done it without the incredible support of my honors directors." Judge Cole urged students to build bridges for others as they climb. Citing the poem "The Bridge Builder" by Wm. Allen Dromgoole, she reminded them that success is a collective journey. "Build bridges for those you will never know, who will stand on your shoulders," she said. "We need more leaders who understand that true wealth is measured not in dollars but in the lives they impact." While the students shined in their moment of recognition, the luncheon also spotlighted those who paved the way. Tarik took a heartfelt pause to honor former program director Dr. Velma Blackman for her years of tireless dedication to the university and its students. Lenovo has the honor of releasing the first SteamOS handhelds not made by Valve, and it looks like you won't have to wait long to get them. Legion Go S handhelds with SteamOS ship May 25, according to a new Best Buy listing spotted by The Verge, but go for at least $50 more than the original $499.99 price Lenovo promised. The Legion Go S powered by SteamOS now starts at $549.99, which gets you an 8-inch, 120Hz OLED display, comfortable controls, a fingerprint reader / touchpad, 16GB of RAM and the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip. If you're willing to pay $749.99, you can get the same package, but with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which originally appeared on the Legion Go, and 32GB of RAM. PC-class gaming, now in your hands. Pre-order the new Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS at https://t.co/3jqjW1logY pic.twitter.com/5qb5nyzcTn Lenovo Legion (@LenovoLegion) March 28, 2025 Perhaps more important than the specs, both handhelds come pre-loaded with SteamOS, which means they should be as easy to setup and use as the Steam Deck, and be able to play the vast majority of games thanks to Valve's Proton compatibility software. Lenovo already released its first Windows 11 version of the Legion Go S back in February for $730. We found it expensive and a bit hampered by Windows in our review, but otherwise solid. At the time, a SteamOS version for $500 seemed like a promising alternative. But for $50 extra, some of that shine has come off, particularly when you can get the already excellent Steam Deck OLED for the same price. It'll take a full review to suss out how different SteamOS makes the Legion Go S, whether paired with the Ryzen Z2 Go or the more powerful Ryzen Z1 Extreme. At the very least, it's nice to have more SteamOS devices in the wild. The Legion Go S powered by SteamOS is available to pre-order now for $549.99, and will ship on May 25. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme model ships on the same date for $749.99. Lenovo is also offering a version of the Ryzen Z1 Extreme Legion Go S with Windows 11 for $829.99, too. Google is revamping its smart home lineup, ending production on two of its devices in favor of integrations with third-party manufacturers. First, it will sunset the Nest Protect smoke & CO alarms. Existing products will continue to function and receive security updates until their expiration dates. They will also remain available for purchase while supplies last. Second, it will end production for the Nest x Yale smart lock. As with the Nest Protect, the remaining inventory will still be available for purchase and the devices will continue receiving security updates. Rather than manufacture its own smoke alarm, Google announced that it will take a partnership approach. The company is teaming up with First Alert for a new smart smoke and carbon monoxide alarm that will integrate with existing Nest Protect devices and can be controlled from the Google Home app. First Alert hasn't provided an exact release date, but says the new alarm coming soon to the US and Canada and will be priced at $130. It'll be available in both Google and First Alert's stores, and also sold through retail stores and "professional distribution partners." And on the lock side, Google will again partner with Yale. The pair is developing the Yale Smart Lock with Matter, which is meant to work with the Google Home ecosystem just as well as the Nest-branded lock. As the name suggests, it'll play nice with all manner of devices using the Matter smart home protocol, and Yale says its battery will last for up to a year. It'll be available "later this summer" at $170 in a variety of finishes. The first trailer for the film "Rust," which stars Alec Baldwin, has been released more than three years after a tragic on-set shooting claimed the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. In the trailer, Baldwin portrays Harland Rust, an aging outlaw who rescues his 13-year-old grandson, played by Patrick Scott McDermott, from execution after the boy accidentally kills a rancher. The pair flees towards Mexico, pursued by U.S. Marshal Wood Helm (Josh Hopkins) and a ruthless bounty hunter known as 'Preacher' (Travis Fimmel). "Some things in this life you can't get back, I reckon," Baldwin's character says at one point in the trailer. "Rust" is set for theatrical and digital release on May 2, 2025, nearly four years after the tragic incident that halted production. The tragic shooting occurred on October 21, 2021, at a New Mexico ranch during a rehearsal for a Western film. Baldwin was practicing a scene that involved him removing a gun from its holster and pointing it toward the camera. As the actor explained his intended action to the crew, the revolver suddenly discharged. The projectile struck Hutchins in the chest, traveled through her body, and then hit director Joel Souza in the shoulder. The cinematographer was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she was tragically pronounced dead. The director was brought to a medical center in Santa Fe and released the following morning. In the aftermath of the shooting, investigations were launched by multiple agencies, including the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney, and the FBI. It was later revealed that the gun handed to Baldwin contained a live round, a grave oversight that led to the fatal accident. Initially, both Baldwin and the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were charged with involuntary manslaughter. However, the charges against Baldwin were dismissed in July 2024 due to prosecutorial misconduct, specifically the intentional withholding of evidence from the defense. Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison in April 2024. Sir Elton John declared Wednesday night that he is prepared to confront former President Donald Trump over potential cuts to AIDS relief funding, emphasizing that "people's lives are at stake." Speaking during a performance at the London Palladium, the 78-year-old music icon and long-time AIDS activist expressed concern about the future of U.S. global health funding for combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic a funding package that has been under threat since Trump took office.. John, who has been a prominent figure in the fight against AIDS for decades, emphasized the need for diplomacy in his advocacy efforts. "I cannot speak out about governments. I'm a diplomat," John stated as quoted by DailyMail. "If I speak out about governments, then what's going to happen to the AIDS money? What's going to happen to PEPFAR [The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]?" John acknowledged the delicate balance between advocacy and political criticism, stating he has to negotiate rather than resort to personal attacks. "I've got people's lives at stake. I have an AIDS foundation that depends on money, and I will go there and fight for it as much as I can," he said. Read more: Elton John Brings Laughter After Introducing Brandi Carlile as Rihanna Amid Fading Eyesight Elton John Praises George W. Bush He also noted the importance of past U.S. administrations in keeping money for AIDS relief alive, citing former President George W. Bush's establishment of PEPFAR in 2003, which has saved more than 25 million lives worldwide. But the political weather right now looks "a little shaky," John said. Despite past bipartisan support for AIDS relief, concerns have arisen regarding the program's future amid budget cuts proposed by the current administration. John has vowed to advocate for continued funding, even if it means confronting Trump directly. "To be fair to all the governments, since George W. Bush, who initiated PEPFAR, to Donald Trump, they have kept PEPFAR going," John remarked. "But I'm going to go there and fight for it, even if I have to go face to face I will." In recent months, several health organizations and advocates have sounded the alarm about what budget cuts could mean for health care systems in regions heavily dependent on PEPFAR funding, including parts of Africa and Asia. Experts say medication access disruptions could have dire implications for millions of people who rely on such programs. Ye, previously known as Kanye West, is at a low point, a professional and personal crisis as almost all of his business team members have supposedly left him after a string of controversial statements that drew worldwide condemnation. The disgraced rapper, who recently moved back to a Tokyo hotel, has been at the center of controversy for his inflammatory comments supporting fascism on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). As per DailyMail, sources close to West say that "almost everyone" from his team has left, including longtime manager John Monopoly, who played a pivotal role in West's rise to fame in the early 1990s. "Everyone has gone," one insider revealed. "Either he's fired them, or they have quit because of his behavior." Kanye West's Marriage With Bianca Censori West's tumultuous relationship with his wife, Bianca Censori, is also under strain. Reports indicate that the couple has been living separately in different hotels in Los Angeles for the past month. An insider suggested to DailyMail that Censori, 30, is seeking distance from West, who has previously made disturbing claims of having "dominion" over her. Despite the challenges, sources claim that the couple remains "obsessed" with each other. However, their marriage appears precarious. Following a public incident at the Grammy Awards last month where Censori made a nude appearance on the red carpetan event choreographed by Westthe couple's relationship has come under scrutiny. Adding to West's troubles, DailyMail reported that he has now been blacklisted in China, causing him to miss out on a lucrative $7 million performance opportunity scheduled for next month at the iconic Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang. West's controversial remarks have not only impacted his personal life but have also led to significant professional repercussions. Shopify recently suspended his online shop for Yeezy after it featured T-shirts adorned with a swastika. Amid this backlash, West made headlines for praising Adolf Hitler and claiming anti-Semitism is a fabrication. In a statement posted on X earlier this year, West said, "I tour for the money. I'd rather be playing video games than performing." Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has built a reputation as a highly sought-after collaborator, working with some of the biggest names in music, including Taylor Swift and Kanye West. During his recent appearance on "The New York Times' Popcast" on March 26, Vernon shared insights into his unique approach to collaborations and reflected on his experiences working with both artists. Vernon, 43, was asked about how he seamlessly balances his introspective Bon Iver persona with his work alongside mainstream artists. The interviewer noted that he is among the rare few who have collaborated with both Swift and West, as well as musicians like Zach Bryan and Charli XCX. "It all came to me," Vernon explained, emphasizing that he never actively sought out collaborations. "Kanye seeks me out. Taylor seeks me out." According to USMagazine, he expressed gratitude for these opportunities, highlighting that his work extends beyond big names to collaborations with local artists in Minneapolis and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon's association with West dates back to 2010, when he contributed to tracks such as "Monster" and "Lost in the World" on the rapper's acclaimed album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The duo's most recent collaboration occurred in 2019 with the track "Take Me to the Light," a release by Francis and the Lights. Reflecting on his experience with West, Vernon acknowledged the significant impact the rapper had on him. "I learned so much from Kanye," he said, though he admitted feeling saddened by recent headlines surrounding West. Vernon noted that he continues to learn from people in his life who remind him of the rapper. Bon Iver's Justin Vernon Reflects on Collaborating With Both Taylor Swift and Kanye West https://t.co/n9TxshtDx1 pic.twitter.com/PgJsuMZlO5 ptswifty13 (@ptswifty131) March 27, 2025 Bon Iver's Justin Vernon Talks Recording "Exile" with Swift During the Pandemic Vernon first teamed up with Swift on the song "Exile" from her 2020 album Folklore. Unlike many of his other collaborations, he was brought in to sing a pre-written part. "They wrote the songher and Joe [Alwyn] and Aaron [Dessner]and were like, 'We want you to sing this part,'" Vernon recalled. He described the process as "kind of awesome," appreciating the opportunity to add his own touch while staying true to the song's vision. The experience was particularly memorable for him as he recorded his vocals in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I did it on my own in COVID, and I was sort of just looking out the window. Like, a bird was watching me do it." He later described "Exile" as one of his favorite collaborations. Following Folklore, Vernon reunited with Swift for "Evermore," where he contributed vocals to the album's title track. Their continued partnership highlights the strong musical connection they have developed over time. In addition to his collaborations, Vernon has been focused on Bon Iver's upcoming album, SABLE, fABLE, set for release on April 11 via Jagjaguwar, Dork said. The album was primarily recorded at his April Base studio in Wisconsin and marks Bon Iver's first full-length project in six years. The lead single, "Everything Is Peaceful Love," debuted on February 14, with a music video directed by John Wilson. Deborra-Lee Furness is focusing on healing and rediscovering herself following her divorce from Hugh Jackman. Nearly two years after their separation, the Australian actress is taking steps to move forward with her life. According to a source close to Furness, she has embarked on a vacation to Bhutan as part of her journey toward emotional recovery. "Deb is currently rebuilding her life and taking a vacation to Bhutan to start fresh and get away from the pain," she is also leaning on a strong circle of female friends who have supported her throughout this transition, PageSix said. Additionally, she spends time with other women who have experienced similar situations, drawing strength from their shared experiences. Furness, 69, and Jackman, 56, announced their separation in September 2023 after nearly 30 years of marriage. According to US Magazine, the former couple, who wed in 1996, adopted two children, Oscar and Ava, during their marriage. In a joint statement at the time, they expressed gratitude for their years together but acknowledged that their paths were diverging. "Our journey now is shifting, and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth," they stated, reaffirming that their family remains their highest priority. Two years after her split from Hugh Jackman, Deborra-Lee Furness is working on feeling like herself again. https://t.co/1u1Bc5j9Pw Us Weekly (@usweekly) March 27, 2025 Jackman and Foster's Connection Strengthens Despite Ongoing Controversy While the initial announcement portrayed an amicable split, reports later surfaced suggesting Jackman's alleged involvement with his "Music Man" co-star, Sutton Foster, played a role in the breakup. Us Weekly reported in November 2024 that there was an "overlap" in Jackman's relationships. Foster, who was previously married to screenwriter Ted Griffin, filed for divorce in October 2024 amid the speculation. Sources claimed that Jackman and Foster had an instant connection while working together on Broadway, with their similar personalities drawing them closer. Despite the controversy, their relationship appears to be going strong. In January 2025, they were seen holding hands in Los Angeles, and Foster later supported Jackman at his Radio City Music Hall residency. "They're not officially living together but are spending a lot of time together," an insider shared in February. While they are reportedly not rushing into marriage, the couple is described as being "madly in love." You Might Also Like Las Vegas police on Thursday said a man had been arrested after Tesla vehicles were set alight in Las Vegas on March 18. Paul Hyon Kim, 36, faces charges in both state and federal court. Friday, March 28, 2025 Too often, we learn about the exemplary character of a person, or some amazing things they did in life, only after their death. It is quite a shame. I felt a great deal of regret at a friends funeral not too long ago. Although I had known him for a long time and we had engaged in countless conversations over the years, I learned some spectacular new things about him from the eulogies delivered by his wife and other close friends of his during the memorial service. As I listened to the tributes, it occurred to me that instead of waiting till people die before making such glowing information public, it would make a lot more sense to have these celebrations while they still walk among us. That way, we could engage in more fulfilling conversations with them and be inspired by the virtues that so often go unnoticed. I recalled other times when, after reading obituaries of certain people, I wished I had known something about them during their lifetimes. I had that letdown recently when I read this moving article in the Wall Street Journal about Edward Leamer, a professor of economics who taught at UCLA for over four decades before retiring in 2018. The entire world is agitated today for many reasons. One of the leading causes of our distress is a severe dearth of humility. It is quite frightening to watch the ever-growing numbers of people across the globe who are so certain of their beliefs that they make no accommodations for persuasion. Because there is little room for debate nowadays, listening has essentially stopped everywhere. This wall of intransigence is what Professor Leamer is said to have spent much of his life trying to break down. As an economist, he focused much of his efforts on trying to convince members of his profession to be a bit less sure of themselves. He was quoted as saying to his fellow economists during a 2020 podcast interview that Were going to persuade each other. But were never going to get to the point where we really know the truthfulness of a complex human system like an economic system. He wanted them to think of their work as observing patterns and telling stories about data, not uncovering definitive truths. According to the article, Professor Leamers calls for humility were not received well by some in his field. His charge that economists often had a bias toward the results they wanted or that were the kinds of firm conclusions that led to press coverage, funding and policy positions they supported is said to have rankled many. His academic career began at Harvard, but he was denied tenure there, in the view of some colleagues, partly because his ideas didnt support those of the top economists at Harvard. Despite being somewhat ostracized initially, Leamer later gained influence. He is known to have inspired scholars not only in economics, but also in other fields, to be transparent in their work. The Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences reportedly named an award after him. Sadly, not many ordinary people like me knew about Professor Leamer when he was alive. But voices like his are what our world desperately needs today. His messages about humility have universal application, and more of us should have been hearing them, not just the people in his field. Publishers of mainstream newspapers like the Wall Street Journal should do us a service by showcasing such inspiring characters while they are alive. They are our best hope of getting out of this morass that we find ourselves in. SALEM, Ohio Eric Stewart feels excited as he walks through the history of rabbits to his desk at the American Rabbit Breeders Associations International Headquarters and Museum in Knox, Pennsylvania. The ribbons, awards, books, black-and-white photographs and artifacts show the significance of rabbits dating from the Roman Empire to the present. As executive director, Stewart manages the day-to-day business at ARBA for its members, the board members and the 52 rabbit breeds that ARBA officially recognizes. For all 52 breeds, we also have an entire gallery space for all their information, Stewart said. ARBA has the largest library of rabbit periodicals and artifacts in the world, according to Stewart. ARBAs library houses records for all the rabbits and guinea pigs that have entered all past national rabbit conventions, including over 27,000 rabbits that entered the 2023 national convention. ARBA hosts shows monthly, around the world. The library organizes periodicals from national rabbit clubs, such as the guidebooks and magazines published by the clubs. This includes the American Netherlands Dwarf Rabbit Club magazines since their inception in the 1970s when ARBA officially recognized the breed. Known as the ARBA Hall of Fame Library And Museum, it was dedicated in 2002, in Bloomington, Illinois, and moved to Clarion County, Pennsylvania, in 2018, and expanded in 2020. The relocation brought the library closer to the region of its highest membership density, Stewart said, and reduced the librarys operating expenses. Nearby, Ohio continues to lead the country in the most rabbit show entries, he noted. We are very proud of what weve done here at ARBA and the ability to expand, he said. Making room for past and present The annual Open House has expanded, too. June 21 is this years annual Open House celebration at ARBA and a new rabbit show brings live bunnies to headquarters with members from all over the country. We have been hosting an Open House each year since we opened, and last year was our first time that we had a Challenge Cup, which we are going to have again this year, Stewart said. ARBAs board approved the special rabbit show and its members who enter can bring up to two rabbits to the Challenge Cup. The rabbit show will be outside, and Stewart said the headquarters building itself, located just off Interstate 80, is easily accessible as a former general store, with a layout that allows for a good flow between visitors and the exhibits inside. Its so exciting that we can now not only showcase some of the history that weve displayed in the past, but we have the opportunity to find more things that were previously in storage, he said. A hidden room was discovered behind a wall in the library. Once sealed and forgotten, the room is now where Ellie Bonde, a library co-chair, does curatorial work with items in storage. Stewart said the space is known as Ellies Room. I am proud to display the oldest color photo book exclusively of rabbits, dated 1821, Bonde said. We have on display many items used and owned by long-time members, such as judging coats, briefcases and book covers, Bonde said. Stewart emphasized its truly the oldest known publication in the world that deals with just rabbits. Most publications would include other species. In her personal life, Bonde began taking care of rabbits when her child asked for a bunny for a birthday present, and they got involved with ARBA shows. Bonde eventually began serving in a national rabbit club and then began to help ARBA organize the library in 1998. 1 of 3 Shaping history Visitors to the library can learn about rabbit feed throughout history and the types of equipment used to take care of rabbits, from older porcelain crocks up to the modern feeders that are common now. The librarys collection of documents reveals the historical roles that meat rabbits played in the World Wars, and a Purina advertisement shows a child eating a rabbit leg Eat more domestic rabbit. A lot of folks dont realize just the impact that domestic rabbits have had, even nationally, Stewart said. Millions of lives were saved during World Wars when they would have to ration, and rabbits were an affordable, quiet, small venture. People could raise protein in their backyards. Stewarts passion for rabbits began in his backyard in 1986 when his parents permitted him to get a rabbit for a 4-H project. It was the only animal he could raise at home since he didnt have the space for larger animals. Hes been raising rabbits ever since and now has a fiber farm with Angora wool. The number one thing that has always stood out to me is probably rabbits are the most underrated species of animal in existence, Steward said. Rabbits get no credit for anything. The only adage we ever hear is, Oh, rabbits, they multiply, but what people dont realize is how much rabbits have contributed to modern civilization. A lasting legacy Many of the librarys prints and materials came from the Bob Whitman collection, a former library chairperson, from Texas. The collection includes lithography prints, some of the oldest types of rabbit prints produced in the world, using a printing technique with a flat stone or metal plate to create the images. Bob Whitman was a huge collector and when he passed away in 2009, he left all of his collections to the American Rabbit Breeders Association. The following year, I drove down to Texas and picked up the collections and brought them back to ARBA, Stewart said. Some of the magazines in the library are over 100 years old. Whitman helped to secure a deal for ARBA to purchase a collection of Fur and Feather magazines from the United Kingdom. Fur and Feather is still in publication and Jason Holder, the current managing editor at Fur and Feather, said the collection of magazines ARBA has in its library is rare. This could be one of only a few full-bound sets of Fur and Feather in the world, Holder said. Holder is a director of a U.K. printing business operating in a building thats notable for being continuously in use for printing since around 1770. While books from the 1700s arent common in most libraries, Bonde said ARBAs collection has some periodicals from the 1700s, too. ARBAs headquarters welcomes visitors throughout the year, but for a guided tour, Stewart said to call headquarters ahead of time to make arrangements. When visitors arrive, theyll see Edna first, a custom replica car in the parking lot modeled on a photograph from the 1930s showing a group of rabbit enthusiasts who decorated their ride for a cross-country road trip to a national rabbit convention. Their rabbits didnt place very well in the show, but their excitement for rabbits nearly 100 years ago is worthy of recognition. This is a very popular photo opportunity location for visitors, Bonde said. For more information about the ARBAs headquarters, visit https://arba.net or call 814-797-4129. The government has announced an import ban of livestock from Austria following a new case of foot-and-mouth disease in neighbouring Hungary. The disease was confirmed on Wednesday (26 March) on a large dairy farm in northwest Hungary, close to the Austrian border. This is Hungary's second confirmed outbreak, as FMD was detected on a large cattle farm on 7 March, making it the country's first case in 50 years. In neighbouring Slovakia, three farms confirmed outbreaks of the disease last week in a southern region home to large populations of pigs and cattle. The cases came just two months after the disease was confirmed in a small herd of water buffalo near Berlin, Germany, which also has a UK import ban. Due to the proximity of the new Hungarian case to the Austrian border, the UK government said on Friday (28 March) that it had suspended commercial imports from Austria. These include cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, wild ruminants and porcines (including deer and wild boar), and their untreated products such as fresh meat and dairy. In addition, travellers can no longer bring meat, meat products, milk and dairy products, certain composite products and animal by products of pigs and ruminants, or hay or straw, from Austria. The UK's chief veterinary officer urged livestock keepers to remain vigilant to the clinical signs of FMD following the recent outbreaks in Hungary, Slovakia and Germany. Dr Christine Middlemiss said: "Following the detection of a second FMD case in Hungary, with a restriction area crossing the border into Austria, we have taken action to prevent the commercial import of potentially risky goods from Austria. "I would urge livestock keepers to continue exercising the upmost vigilance for signs of disease, ensure scrupulous biosecurity is maintained and to report any suspicion of disease immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency." FMD poses no risk to human or food safety, but is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals such as deer, llamas and alpacas. Rodents can also be affected. The disease causes significant economic losses due to production losses in the affected animals as well as loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and milk for affected countries. The 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak saw around 2,000 cases of the disease in farms across the UK. Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said of the new case in Hungary: "We will continue to protect our nations farmers from the risk posed by foot and mouth disease. "This is why we have acted immediately to impose import restrictions on Austria, we will continue to keep the situation under review. "We will not hesitate to add additional countries to the list if the disease continues to spread further." Hundreds of farmers across England are preparing to help boost turtle doves after a 40% increase in breeding numbers in Western Europe from 2021 to 2024. The Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme data show an additional 615,000 breeding pairs gained since 2021 across France, Spain and Portugal. Farmers across East and South East England are now preparing for the birds' arrival, by creating and protecting farmland habitat features. These include seed-rich flowering areas and ponds to patches of thorny scrub, as well the creation of tall and wide hedgerows. The 40% increase in numbers follows three consecutive years of a hunting moratorium across France, Spain and Portugal, where, prior to 2019, around one million turtle doves were being hunted each autumn. This led to declines seen across the Western European breeding population as a result of both hunting pressure and a lack of good quality breeding habitat. The moratorium in place since 2021 is the first stage of a hunting management system - adaptive harvest management - developed to ensure that any hunting is carried out at sustainable levels. A bird synonymous with Christmas thanks to the 12 days of Christmas carol, turtle doves are only found in the UK over the summer months, arriving to breed. (Photo: RSPB) Having migrated through France and Spain in the autumn, joining birds from across Western Europe, the birds winter in West Africa before returning along the same route. Their soft purring song can then be heard from May to August in parts of eastern and south-eastern England, their strongholds in the UK. Rick Bayne, senior project manager for UK-based Operation Turtle Dove, said "This excellent news from the wider Western European breeding population is compelling evidence that our conservation strategy for turtle doves is working. The combination of ending unsustainable levels of hunting, together with delivering more suitable habitat here on their breeding grounds, is key to numbers of turtle doves increasing again. "We know the long-term future for turtle doves in the UK needs both actions to happen together no more unsustainable hunting and good breeding season habitats." Operation Turtle Dove, a partnership between the RSPB, Natural England, Pensthorpe Conservation Trust and Fair to Nature, aims to help the UKs breeding population of turtle doves to recover. With the project working hand in hand with hundreds of farmers and land managers, key habitats for the species are being restored. Dr Guy Anderson, the RSPB's migratory birds programme manager, called on the UK countryside to be turtle dove ready. "We know that nature recovery, for turtle doves and other much-loved farmland wildlife, will not be possible without farmers and other land managers," he said. The UK sits at the northern edge of the Western European breeding population of turtle doves, and so while we should celebrate the rapid start to the birds recovery in the continental scale population, the recovery wave is expected to take slightly longer to reach us here in the UK. "Nonetheless, an army of willing farmers, land managers, communities and volunteers are exactly whats needed to harness this opportunity for turtle doves. "The efforts of those involved in Operation Turtle Dove so far have been amazing in installing the necessary habitat features to aid their breeding success when they reach our shores again this spring." The government must "stand up" for British farming in any trade talks with the "aggressive" Trump administration, the UK's farming unions have urged. Their stark warning comes amid reports of a potential trade deal to avoid reciprocal tariffs from 2 April, the day a number of US tariffs on trade come into force. The US has long pushed for greater access to the UKs agricultural market and to see Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures removed to enable the import of produce which would be illegal to produce in the UK. Hormone treated beef, and pork or chicken treated with anti-microbial washes, are banned practices in the UK and European Union, but allowed in the United States. The farming unions, which include the NFU, NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru and Ulster Farmers' Union, said they were "extremely concerned" over any urgent trade deal to avoid President Donald Trump's tariffs. The warning comes as farmers and growers across the country have been let down by previous governments with recent post-Brexit trade deals. The Australia and New Zealand deals liberalised the UKs most sensitive agricultural markets, with not much in return for farmers to benefit. Meanwhile, in the case of the CPTPP, the previous government granted additional market access for eggs to countries which have lower animal welfare standards than the UK. However, the Labour government has repeatedly promised that it would not repeat the mistakes of past trade deals. At the NFUs conference in February, Defra Secretary Steve Reed said the government would "never lower our food standards in trade agreements". "British farming deserves a level playing field where you can compete and win and that is what youll get," he told farmers at the event. "We will use the full range of powers at our disposal to protect our most sensitive sectors. However, the UK farming unions are now asking the government to honour these commitments, as UK negotiators could be on the "back foot from the get-go". In a joint statement, they said: Its extremely concerning to see media reports that the UK government is trying to avoid US tariffs by seeking an urgent trade deal. "While we do not want to see tariffs on UK agri-food going into the US, our second largest export market beyond the EU, it means our negotiators are on the back foot from the get-go and makes a balanced negotiation difficult. With the farming sector already under huge strain, with confidence at an all-time low and investment dropping day by day, it cannot deal with another trade deal which sells out domestic food and farming." The unions added that this would be the government's "first test" to see if it would do what it promised, or "roll over under pressure from an aggressive US administration." Absolutely no one wants to see hormone treated beef, or pork or chicken treated with anti-microbial washes which are banned here in the UK sold on our market," they said. "Those ways of production were banned in the 80s and 90s for a reason. They dont reflect our values and the farm to fork approach we are proud of in the UK." Opposition to the government's farm inheritance tax continues to swell, with a further two councils voting for motions against the autumn budget measure. In one council, 39 Labour councillors voted for a motion against the policy, dubbed the 'family farm tax', in an act of further rebellion against the government. This represents the first time that Labour councillors have come out and openly criticised the chancellor's policy. The motion calling for Durham County Council to back farmers and raise concerns over the future of the agricultural sector was tabled at a meeting last week. It was put forward by Conservative leader Richard Bell, and asked leaders to outline the councils dismay at the decisions made in the recent budget. A spokesperson for the authority confirmed that all of the councillors present at the meeting supported the motion, including 39 Labour representatives. Elsewhere, Portsmouth City Council also passed a motion voicing "dismay and concern" at Ms Reeves' decision, labelling it "an attack on rural life". Cllr Benedict Swann, who proposed the motion, said he was "absolutely delighted" that it was passed. "What is being done to farmers is completely immoral and whether you live in a city, town or village, you will rely on a farmer everyday," he said. "It is right and just that we stand with them against the appalling injustice that the inheritance tax policy is." Durham County Council and Portsmouth City Council now stand with the thirty other councils who have joined in a campaign against the IHT policy. Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, which is campaigning for councils to pass such motions, said the "town hall rebellion" would "only continue to grow." "The government seems oblivious to the fact that the British public are overwhelmingly opposed to the destructive measure they are imposing on farmers," he said. "Rather than working with rural groups to find a way forward, they have doubled down on their 'war on the countryside' with further measures, such as the sudden closure of the SFI scheme. "If the government continues its attacks on farmers, it faces completely breaking its relationship with the countryside." The government announced its plans in the budget on 30 October to impose a 20% inheritance tax on farm assets worth 1m or more, from April 2026. Since then, tens of thousands of farmers have descended on London numerous times, as well as in rallies and protests across the UK. Turkiye's apparel exports declined by 6.00 per cent year-on-year (YoY) during January-February 2025, totalling $2.679 billion compared to $2.850 billion in the same month of 2024, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute and the Ministry of Trade. The exports also slipped by 9.30 per cent in February 2025. Exports of knitted and crocheted clothing and accessories (HS Chapter 61) decreased by 3.0 per cent to $1,498.099 million, down from $1,543.870 million in January-February 2024. Non-knitted apparel and accessories (HS Chapter 62) experienced a 9.6 per cent decline, falling to $1,181.423 million from $1,307.067 million during the same months of last year, as per the trade report on the top twenty chapters. Turkiye's apparel exports fell 6.00 per cent YoY to $2.679 billion in January-February 2025, driven by declines in both knitted and non-knitted garment categories. February alone saw a sharper 9.30 per cent drop. The downtrend follows a 4.47 per cent fall in 2024, reflecting continued pressure on the country's garment sector amid weaker global demand. During February 2025, Turkiye's garment exports dipped by 9.30 per cent to $1,325.260 million. Exports of knitted and crocheted clothing and accessories decreased by 6.6 per cent to $727.088 million, compared to $778.437 million in February 2024. Non-knitted apparel and accessories saw a fall of 12.4 per cent, declining from $682.610 million in February 2024 to $598.172 million in February 2025. Among the top 20 product chapters imported by Turkiye, no textiles-related chapter appeared in February 2025. During 2024, Turkiye's apparel exports declined by 4.47 per cent to $17.494 billion, compared to $18.314 billion in 2023. Shipments of knitted and crocheted clothing and accessories (HS Chapter 61) dropped by 1.6 per cent to $10,109.110 million, down from $10,277.566 million in 2023. Non-knitted apparel and accessories (HS Chapter 62) experienced an 8.1 per cent decline, falling to $7,385.592 million from $8,037.378 million in 2023. In 2023, Turkiyes apparel exports fell by 5.86 per cent to $18.321 billion, compared to $19.463 billion in 2022, following $18.294 billion in 2021. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL) The Drewry World Container Index (WCI)a composite measure of container freight rateshas declined further, falling by 4.24 per cent to $2,168 per 40-foot equivalent unit (FEU) on March 27, down from $2,264 per FEU the previous week. The global container freight market continued to see a free fall in shipping rates with no positive signs. Freight rates may ease slightly further in the coming weeks, as shipping demand remains very weak compared to the higher available capacity. According to the weekly report, the index was 79 per cent below the previous pandemic peak of $10,377 in September 2021 and the lowest since January 2024. However, the index was 53 per cent higher than the average of $1,420 in 2019 (pre-pandemic). The Drewry World Container Index fell 4.24 per cent to $2,168 per foot equivalent unit, with rates dropping across most key routes due to weak demand and excess capacity. Shanghai to Los Angeles, Rotterdam to New York, and other major lanes saw declines, while rates to Shanghai rose slightly. Drewry expects a further slight decrease in coming weeks. The average year-to-date (YTD) composite index closed at $3,053 per 40-foot container, $167 higher than the 10-year average of $2,886 (inflated by the exceptional 202022 Covid period). The freight rates from Rotterdam to New York decreased by 7 per cent, or $154, to $2,162 per 40-foot container, and those from Shanghai to Los Angeles fell by 6 per cent, or $171, to $2,487 per 40-foot container. The rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam and Shanghai to New York decreased by 4 per cent to $2,370 and $3,622 per 40-foot container, respectively, while those from Shanghai to Genoa declined by 3 per cent, or $115, to $3,171 per 40-foot container. Conversely, rates from Rotterdam to Shanghai increased by 3 per cent, or $16, to $500 per 40-foot container, and those from Los Angeles to Shanghai increased by 1 per cent, or $7, to $709 per 40-foot container. Meanwhile, rates from New York to Rotterdam remained stable. Drewry expects rates to decrease slightly in the upcoming weeks. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL) Critic's rating 3.5 /5 In Black Bag, British intelligence officer George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) has just one week to uncover the leak of a top-secret software programme called Severus. The prime suspect? His wife, Kathryn (Cate Blanchett), also a fellow intelligence officer, and other colleagues. So, George invites the other four suspects his colleagues from the agency over for a seemingly innocent meal. They include Clarissa (Marisa Abela), a satellite imagery specialist, her cheating boyfriend Freddie (Tom Burke), agency psychiatrist Zoe (Naomie Harris), and her partner, the ever-suave James (Rege-Jean Page).Hes one of the leading analysts of the agency and drugs the food to loosen everyones tongues, leading to some explosive revelations including the fact that Freddie has been less than loyal to Clarissa, who retaliates by stabbing his hand to the table with a steak knife. Meanwhile, as the evening unravels, the group of friends, who at the start felt like a dysfunctional family, gets further entangled in betrayal and intrigue. And things take a strange turn when Georges superior, Meacham (Gustaf Skarsgard), who had asked him to ferret out the mole in the office, conveniently dies of a suspicious heart attack. The twist? George soon realises that both he and his wife are mere pawns in a much larger conspiracy within the agency. Cue the usual spy thriller stakes: saving the world from the brink of war, mending a marriage, and, of course, advancing ones career. No big deal.What we have here is a delightful comedy of manners with all the wit of John le Carres spy novels, the sharp dialogue of David Mamets plays, and a touch of the absurd charm of Perfect Strangers (2016). Indian viewers who have enjoyed Khel Khel Mein (2024), the Perfect Strangers spin-off, will definitely find themselves enjoying the movie, with plenty of familiar dynamics and references to infidelity.The performances in this film are nothing short of exceptional. Both Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender are absolutely on fire, playing a couple of spies who would go to any lengths to protect each other and, naturally, themselves. Their chemistry is electric, and their exchanges are filled with a dry humour thats as sharp as it is dark. The supporting cast doesnt miss a beat either Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, and Rege-Jean Page bring their respective roles to life, each with a touch of flair, ensuring their characters stand out amidst the chaos. Expect clever wordplay, insider jokes, and deliciously pointed commentary on the British spy community.And, lets not forget the icing on the cake a cameo from Pierce Brosnan, who plays an agent who's clearly way past his prime but still longs for the days when Britain was eager to wage war at the drop of a hat. His presence adds an extra layer of fun, reminding us all that the old guard doesnt have the licence to kill anymore and has to adapt to the shifting tides of modern intelligence.With a perfect mix of clever dialogue, suspenseful intrigue, and moments of absolute absurdity, Black Bag will delight those who love their spy thrillers with a generous side of cosy comedy. Whether you're a fan of slick espionage or sharp-witted social dynamics, this film will both make you laugh and keep you on the edge of your seat.See Also: Best style investment approved by B-Town divas: Black handy bags Critic's rating 3.0 /5 L2: Empuraan starts with the massacre of a Muslim crowd by Hindus in North India and emphasises that such incidents shouldnt be allowed to take root in Kerala. It warns Kerala against the divisive tactics of the saffron brigade and its North Indian leaders, urging that they should be repelled at all costs. This massacre also serves as the backdrop for Zayed Masoons (Prithviraj Sukumaran) backstory. He is a trusted aide to Lucifer/ Khureshi Ab'raam / Stephen Nedumpally (Mohanlal), and was the sole survivor of the massacre. On the verge of becoming a radicalised Muslim terrorist, he is rescued by Lucifer and raised as a brother.When Kerala CM Jathin Ramdas (Tovino Thomas) shakes hands with North Indian leader Baba Bajrangi (Abhimanyu Singh) and offers him an inroad into Kerala, his own sister Priyadarshini Ramdas (Manju Warrier) steps up against him. She is saved from Bajrangi by Stephen Nedumpally, who supports her in her fight against communal politics. However, Stephen is also Khureshi Ab'raam, a gold smuggler waging a global war against drug smuggling and human trafficking. His mission makes him an enemy of international law enforcement and rival mafia clans, and hes shown battling them across various countries worldwide. His nemesis, a Chinese gang, finally catches up with him at the end, setting the stage for yet another sequel.Abhimanyu Singh, as Baba Bajrangi, feels more like a caricature than an actual person. He really doesnt live up to the mantle of the menacing villain at all. Both Lucifer and Masood could have killed him eons ago, so it's puzzling why they wait for him to show up in Kerala for their final confrontation. There's a hint of a romance between Priyadarshini and Stephen, but it isnt explored properly. Manju Warrier, a talented actress, should have been utilised better in the film. The viewers do need a breather and the heady dose of violence and politics could have done with a side helping of romance. Prithviraj too comes on screen only towards the latter half. We would have loved to see more of him and learn more about him. In the present form, Masood is more of a one-dimensional character.Indrajith Sukumaran as Govardhan is given a nice twist at the end and will serve as an interesting character in the sequel. One can only write about Mohanlal in superlatives. He just glides through the film with customary elan and yet again has made acting look easy. And while we love him in an international avatar, we feel his character would have had more gravitas wearing a traditional Mundu and shirt combination. We see it briefly in the jungle scene and the whole sequence got more whistles and claps than the rest of the film combined.L2: Empuraan is more of a cautionary tale against the saffronisation of our secular society than an action film. While the action scenes are imaginatively framed, the 180-minute length needed to be curtailed. There's too much gap between these high-octane moments, especially in the first half, leaving the film to coast on Mohanlal's swag. Director Prithviraj Sukumaran has sacrificed storytelling on the altar of his political beliefs. It takes heart to make such a film, which preaches communal harmony and unity, in today's environment, and we hope that viewers take home the lesson it contains. Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 27, 2025) - GoGold Resources Inc. (TSX: GGD) (OTCQX: GLGDF) ("GoGold", "the Company") is pleased to announce that at the annual and special meeting of shareholders held on March 27, 2025 (the "Meeting"), the shareholders re-elected John Turner, Bradley Langille, Phillip Gaunce, Jorge Aguirre, Terrence Cooper, Douglas Reid and Karen Flores as directors of the Company for the forthcoming year. Each director was elected by a majority of the votes and the table below presents the votes in respect of the election of each director: Nominee Votes For Votes Against John Turner 152,247,061 (99.75%) 376,540 (0.25%) Karen Flores 132,966,304 (87.12%) 19,657,297 (12.88%) Phillip Gaunce 147,464,635 (96.62%) 5,158,966 (3.38%) Douglas Reid 131,944,158 (86.45%) 20,679,443 (13.55%) Terrence Cooper 126,496,091 (82.88%) 26,127,510 (17.12%) Bradley Langille 152,582,191 (99.97%) 41,410 (0.03%) Jorge Aguirre 152,610,038 (99.99%) 13,563 (0.01%) KPMG LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, were re-appointed as the auditors of the Company until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are duly appointed, at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors. About GoGold Resources GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD) is a Canadian-based silver and gold producer focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring high quality projects in Mexico. The Company operates the Parral Tailings mine in the state of Chihuahua and has the Los Ricos South and Los Ricos North exploration and development projects in the state of Jalisco. Headquartered in Halifax, NS, GoGold is building a portfolio of low cost, high margin projects. For more information visit gogoldresources.com. For further information please contact: CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: The securities described herein 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, or for the benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy of any of GoGold's securities in the United States. This news release may contain "forward-looking information" as defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Los Ricos South and North projects, and future plans and objectives of GoGold, including the intention to undertake further exploration at Los Ricos North, and the prospect of further discoveries there, constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such information but which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions in connection with the continuance of GoGold and its subsidiaries as a going concern, general economic and market conditions, mineral prices, the accuracy of mineral resource estimates, and the performance of the Parral project. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from GoGold's expectations include exploration and development risks associated with GoGold's projects, the failure to establish estimated mineral resources or mineral reserves, volatility of commodity prices, variations of recovery rates, and global economic conditions. For additional information with respect to risk factors applicable to GoGold, reference should be made to GoGold's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with securities regulators, including, but not limited to, GoGold's Annual Information Form. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246413 SOURCE: GoGold Resources Inc. 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! Danish leaders reject U.S. claims on Greenland, reaffirm sovereignty Xinhua) 09:11, March 28, 2025 NUUK, Greenland, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Thursday reaffirmed that Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, rejecting recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the United States would "go as far as they have to" to acquire the island. "Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. That is not going to change," Frederiksen told Danish media. "Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people," she added. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen also criticized what he called a "false narrative" in U.S. political circles suggesting Greenland is eager to become American. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen described Trump's rhetoric as a "veiled threat" and "deeply inappropriate," warning that the United States was escalating tensions. "It is the people of Greenland who determine Greenland's future," he said. Meanwhile, a demonstration has been planned in front of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen on Saturday to protest what organizers call "unwanted pressure" from Washington. The White House announced Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, will visit Pituffik Space Base on Friday to meet U.S. troops and review the security situation. Earlier plans for Usha Vance to attend cultural events in Nuuk and Sisimiut, including a dog sled race, have been canceled. Greenland had been a Danish colony until 1953 when it became an integral part of Denmark. In 1979, Greenland achieved home rule, gaining greater self-governance while Denmark retained authority over its foreign and defense policy. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 27, 2025) - Austin Gold Corp. (NYSE American: AUST) ("Austin Gold" or the "Company") Darcy A. Higgs, Vice-President, Business Development of the Company of Vancouver, British Columbia (the "Acquiror") is disseminating this press release as required by National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues in connection with the filing of an Early Warning Report regarding the acquisition of securities of the Company. On March 27, 2025, the Acquiror acquired beneficial ownership or control over 360,000 common shares in the capital of the Company ("Shares") through private purchase and sale transactions (the "Transactions"). The Acquiror paid cash consideration of $1.80 per Share for total consideration of $648,000. Immediately before the completion of the Transactions, the Acquiror beneficially owned or controlled 1,756,667 Shares and 410,000 stock options ("Options"), representing 13.24% of the Company's issued and outstanding Shares on a non-diluted basis (or 15.84% on a partially diluted basis assuming the exercise of the Acquiror's 410,000 Options). Immediately after the completion of the Transactions, the Acquiror beneficially owned or controlled a total of 2,116,667 Shares and 410,000 Options, representing 15.95% of the Issuer's issued and outstanding Shares on a non-diluted basis (or 18.47% on a partially diluted basis assuming the exercise of the acquiror's 410,000 Options). The securities described in this press release were acquired for investment purposes. The Acquiror may, depending on market and other conditions, increase or decrease his beneficial ownership of or control or direction over the Company's securities, whether in the open market, by privately negotiated agreements or otherwise, subject to a number of factors, including general market conditions and other available investment and business opportunities. A copy of the early warning report may be obtained by contacting Darcy A. Higgs, the Company's Vice President, Business Development, at 604-644-6580 or from SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca under the Company's profile. The Company's head office is located at 9th Floor, 1021 West Hastings Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 0C3. About Austin Gold Corp. Austin Gold is a gold exploration company focused on gold targets and making district-scale gold discoveries in the southwestern United States. Austin Gold has two projects in Nevada. The Kelly Creek Project is located on the Battle Mountain-Eureka (Cortez) gold trend in Humboldt County and the Lone Mountain Project is on the Independence-Jerritt Canyon gold trend in Elko County. Collectively, these Nevada properties comprise approximately 90.4 km2 of unpatented lode mining claims and private property. In Oregon, the Stockade Mountain Project consists of approximately 27.2 km2 of unpatented mining claims situated in a geological environment that appears the same as the nearby Grassy Mountain Deposit that is being permitted for underground mining. Safe Harbor / Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246428 SOURCE: Darcy A. Higgs CALGARY, AB / ACCESS Newswire / March 27, 2025 / NXT Energy Solutions Inc. ("NXT" or the "Company") (TSX:SFD)(OTCQB:NSFDF) today announced the Company's financial and operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2024 . All dollar amounts herein are in Canadian Dollars, unless otherwise identified. Bruce G. Wilcox, CEO of NXT, commented in an operational update on February 14, 2025, "The positive financial impact of our SFD surveys in Africa, Southeast Asia, and South Asia is expected to be significant for the first quarter, and for full year 2025. NXT is focused on additional regional market penetration with multiple customers in each of these three regions." 2024 Financial and Operating Highlights Key financial and operational highlights are summarized below: On September 24, 2024 the Company announced that it entered into a contract with its Strategic Alliance Partner, Synergy E&P Technologies Limited ("Synergy") to provide a repeat SFD survey in Africa for an oil and gas exploration company. The Company mobilized for this SFD survey on December 30, 2024. In January 2025, NXT completed SFD data acquisition over 14 flight days for the SFD survey in Africa. NXT's interpretation and recommendations are expected to be delivered during the second quarter of 2025; NXT announced its upcoming Southeast Asia SFD Survey is planned to be flown in April 2025; NXT was awarded an SFD survey in Pakistan, by AL-Haj Enterprises Private Limited, in the Northern Suleiman Fold Belt, to commence in Q3-25; On August 21, 2024 the Company entered into a contract to provide a geothermal SFD survey to Alberta Geothermal Resource Recovery Inc; NXT completed the Turkish SFD Survey, delivered the final results thereof to its Turkish customers and completed the integration of SFD data with existing geological and geophysical data; NXT's SFD awarded Best Exploration Technology at the 2024 Gulf Energy Information Excellence Awards; NXT was named a finalist for the Energy Transition Award - Upstream category at the 2024 Annual Platts Global Energy Awards; the debentures issued to MCAPM, LP were finalized for a total of US$2.0 million (approximately CDN$2.7 million); the Company received US$900,000 (approximately CDN$1,227,291) for convertible debentures from Ataraxia Capital, an affiliate of Synergy ("Ataraxia") under the same terms as the subscription agreement signed between Ataraxia and NXT in 2023, except for the conversion price of US$0.24 per common share versus US$0.143 in 2023; NXT and HULOOLQ LTD., an Abu Dhabi based startup focused on "deep tech" disruptive technologies, entered into a sales agency agreement covering the United Arab Emirates; On March 22, 2024 the Company extended its lease on its aircraft for an additional three years as a capital lease. Under the terms of the lease, the Company will own the aircraft at the end of the term; NXT surrendered approximately 3,207 square feet, or approximately 31% of its current office space to its landlord, and extended its lease on the reduced office space until September 30, 2030 cash and short-term investments at December 31, 2024 was approximately $0.73 million; net working capital was approximately ($6.68) million at December 31, 2024 versus approximately ($1.86) million at December 31, 2023; the Company recorded SFD-related revenues of approximately $0.64 million YE-24 versus $2.15 million for YE-23; a net loss of $2.80 million was recorded for Q4-24, including stock-based compensation expense ("SBCE"), amortization expense and remeasurement gain, all totaling approximately $0.39 million; a net loss of $9.08 million was recorded for YE-24, including SBCE, amortization expense and remeasurement loss, all totaling approximately $2.45 million; net loss per common share for Q4-24 was $0.04 per share (basic) and $0.04 per share (diluted); net loss per common share for YE-24 was $0.12 per share (basic) and $0.12 per share (diluted); cash flow used in operating activities was approximately $1.39 million during Q4-24, compared to $1.47 million used in Q4-23; cash flow used in operating activities was approximately $3.99 million during YE-24, compared to $4.83 million used in YE-23; general and administrative ("G&A") expenses increased by approximately $0.28 million (27%) in Q4-24 as compared to Q4-23; and G&A expenses increased by approximately $0.63 million (16%) in YE-24 as compared to YE-23. Summary highlights of NXT's 2024 financial statements (with comparative figures to 2023) are noted below. All selected and referenced financial information noted below should be read in conjunction with the Company's December 31, 2024 audited consolidated financial statements, the related Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and 2024 Annual Information Form. (All in Canadian $) Q4-24 Q4-23 2024 2023 Operating results: SFD-related revenues $ 42,222 $ 2,145,716 $ 644,294 $ 2,145,716 SFD-related costs, net 698,882 1,280,927 2,021,768 2,249,126 General & administrative expenses 1,058,558 775,881 4,045,778 3,420,143 Amortization 482,158 439,869 1,887,013 1,759,473 Interest, foreign exchange, remeasurement loss, and other expenses 603,206 74,740 1,767,530 168,086 Net loss (2,800,582 ) (425,701 ) (9,077,795 ) (5,451,112 ) Loss per common share: Basic & diluted $ (0.04 ) $ (0.01 ) $ (0.12 ) $ (0.07 ) Common shares outstanding as at end of the period 78,495,184 78,025,237 78,495,184 78,025,237 Weighted average of common shares outstanding: Basic & Diluted 78,453,156 78,000,168 78,271,095 77,464,094 Cash provided by (used in): Operating activities $ (1,388,806 ) $ (1,468,589 ) $ (3,969,591 ) $ (4,831,950 ) Financing activities 1,146,120 1,539,226 4,305,807 5,009,117 Investing activities 68,417 (32,322 ) (27,029 ) (32,322 ) Effect of foreign rate changes on cash 29,693 (6,011 ) 19,495 (6,569 ) Net cash inflow (144,576 ) 32,304 328,682 138,276 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period 874,971 369,408 401,713 263,437 Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period 730,385 401,713 730,385 401,713 Total cash and short-term investments 730,385 401,713 730,385 401,713 Net working capital balance (6,683,656 ) (1,855,629 ) (6,683,656 ) (1,855,629 ) NXT's 2024 financial and operating results have been filed in Canada on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, and will soon be available in the USA on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar, as well as on NXT's website at www.nxtenergy.com. About NXT Energy Solutions Inc. NXT Energy Solutions Inc. is a Calgary-based technology company whose proprietary airborne SFD survey system, applied in numerous basins around the world, uses the principles of quantum mechanics to infer stress anomalies of exploration interest. The method can be used both onshore and offshore to remotely identify areas conducive to fluid entrapment in order to recommend areas with commercial hydrocarbon and/or geothermal potential. The SFD survey system enables our clients to focus their exploration decisions concerning land commitments, data acquisition expenditures and prospect prioritization on areas with the greatest potential. SFD is environmentally friendly and unaffected by ground security issues or difficult terrain and is the registered trademark of NXT Energy Solutions Inc. NXT Energy Solutions Inc. provides its clients with an effective and reliable method to reduce time, costs, and risks related to exploration. Contact Information For investor and media inquiries please contact: Michael Baker Investor Relations 302, 3320 - 17th AVE SW Calgary, AB, T3E 0B4 +1 403 264 7020 nxt_info@nxtenergy.com www.nxtenergy.com Forward-Looking Statements Certain information provided in this press release may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information typically contains statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "will", "expect", "plan", "schedule", "intend", "propose" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or an outlook. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, information regarding: the timing of the delivery of African SFD survey results, the timing and results of SFD surveys in Southeast Asia and with AL-Haj, the positive financial impact of SFD surveys in Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia, the impact on revenues of the focused on additional regional market penetration and utilization in Africa, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, and. 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 can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Additional risk factors facing the Company are described in its most recent Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2024 and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2024, which have been filed electronically by means of the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR+") located at www.sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Non-GAAP Measures This news release contains disclosure respecting non-GAAP performance measures including net working capital which does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by US GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. This measure is included to enhance the overall understanding of NXT's ability to assess liquidity at a point in time. Readers are urged to review the section entitled "Non-GAAP Measures" in NXT's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2024 which is available under NXT's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, for a further discussion of such non-GAAP measures. The financial information accompanying this news release was prepared in accordance with US GAAP, unless otherwise noted. The MD&A and the audited consolidated financial statements and notes for the year ended December 31, 2024, are available in the Investor Relations section of www.nxtenergy.com, or under NXT's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. SOURCE: NXT Energy Solutions, Inc. SAP-001 is Shanton's lead investigational compound with First- and Best-in-Class potential in uncontrolled gout SINGAPORE and PRINCETON, N.J., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Shanton Pharma, a clinical-stage biotech company developing a novel treatment for gout, today announced topline data of a Phase 2b study in refractory gout patients with its investigational drug SAP-001 that uses a First-in-Class Mechanism of Action targeting a distinct kidney transporter. "We are excited and very pleased with the outcome of our Phase 2b clinical study in this difficult-to-treat population of refractory gout patients" says Dr. Bing Li, Shanton's CEO. "By the end of month 3 in our study, nearly 100% of patients that were confirmed exposed to daily SAP-001 30 and 60 mg dosages on top of conventional therapy reached the study's therapeutical target (serum uric acid levels below 6mg/dL), compared to only about 10% of patients on conventional treatment who reached that goal. The majority of treatment effects persisted until the end of treatment at month 6 of the study. More than half of those patients confirmed exposed to a daily 60 mg dose reached serum uric acid levels below 3mg/dL. Importantly, the study demonstrated an excellent safety profile in this population." Shanton's gout program already showed excellent, best-in-class efficacy compared to other Urate Lowering Therapies in prior Phase 1 and 2a studies in regular gout patients, an outcome that has now been repeated in the challenging target population of refractory patients that often have a more severe form of gout with limited treatment options. Dr. Wenfeng Miao, Shanton's CMO adds: "This is the first successful clinical study with an oral gout drug to treat these refractory patients that normally need to be treated with an intravenous uricase. The efficacy of SAP-001 in this population is very impressive in all dosage groups at all assessed time points across the six months of treatment. We believe that the excellent efficacy and safety outcomes in this study show the exciting potential of our First-in-Class compound with its novel mechanism of action (MOA) that selectively targets a distinct kidney transporter for urate lowering treatment. The medical community has long been looking for this new mechanism in gout to address the shortcomings with conventional MOAs, especially where it comes to treating refractory and tophaceous patients. Our goal is to proceed into pivotal studies with our program later this year to eventually offer a paradigm-shifting gout treatment to our patients and make a big impact in their lives." About Gout Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis and the second most prevalent metabolic disease. It is caused by too much uric acid in the bloodstream, with over 12 million adult patients diagnosed in the US alone.1 Hyperuricemia, elevated serum uric acid levels, can over time result in gout when urate crystals are deposited in joints and other body tissues, causing inflammatory responses and painful gout attacks (flares). Recurrent gout flares are debilitating, and chronic gouty arthritis can over time lead to joint destruction and joint disfigurement. About 29% of diagnosed gout patients in the US are treated with urate lowering therapies (ULTs), but only half of those patients sufficiently respond to or can tolerate current treatment options. It is estimated that up to 20% of US gout patients on standard-of-care allopurinol or febuxostat are physiologically refractory to these treatments. 2,3 About Shanton's Phase 2b Gout Study Shanton's Phase 2b study is a six-month, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging clinical study in refractory gout patients with or without tophi, to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a 10, 30, or 60 mg tablet dose of SAP-001. The study enrolled 87 patients from 21 US sites. The Primary objective is to assess the effectiveness of SAP-001 in lowering serum urate levels in gout patients that are refractory to standard-of-care Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitor (XOI) therapy. Secondary study objectives include safety and tolerability assessments and frequency of gout flares among others. About Shanton Pharma Shanton Pharma is a privately held, clinical-stage biotech founded in 2016 by experienced pharma entrepreneurs, with a research focus on unmet needs associated with hyperuricemia and gout. The company is headquartered in Singapore with research and development activities in the US, China, and Singapore. SAP-001 is Shanton's lead investigational compound for once-a-day oral urate-lowering therapy that targets refractory gout. SAP-001's urate lowering properties are based on a unique mechanism-of-action and the product has shown unparalleled efficacy and safety in Phase 1 and Phase 2a clinical studies in gout patients with hyperuricemia, and now also has shown Best-in-Class efficacy and safety in gout patients with hyperuricemia refractory to Standard of Care Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitor therapy. To learn more about Shanton Pharma, go to https://shantonpharma.com. References Yokose C, McCormick N, Lu N, et al. Trends in Prevalence of Gout Among US Asian Adults, 2011-2018. JAMA Netw Open. 2023. Juraschek SP, Kovell LC, Miller ER 3rd, Gelber AC. Gout, urate-lowering therapy, and uric acid levels among adults in the United States. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2015. Clarivate Incidence and Prevalence Data Base Media Contact Pieter de Ridder VP of Business Development media@shantonpharma.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2473403/shanton_hi_res_logo_high_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/shanton-reveals-topline-data-from-phase-2b-study-in-refractory-gout-patients-302413797.html Burnaby, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 27, 2025) - Aether Catalyst Soluitons, Inc. (CSE: ATHR) ("Aether" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of up to 16,666,667 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.075 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $1,250,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one additional Share at an exercise price of $0.15 per Share for a period of 18 months from the closing date of the Offering. The Offering is being completed pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions (the "LIFE Exemption"). Any securities issuable under the LIFE Exemption will not be subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. The Company may pay eligible finders (each, a "Finder") a cash commission equal to 8% of the gross proceeds raised from purchasers introduced by such Finders and/or issue to such Finders that number of non-transferable common share purchase warrants (each, a "Finder's Warrant") equal to 8% of the number of Units sold to purchasers introduced by such Finders. Each Finder's Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Share at an exercise price of $0.075 per Share, for a period of 18 months from the date of issuance. Both the Warrants and the Finder's Warrants will be subject to acceleration such that if, during a period of 10 consecutive trading days prior to their respective expiry dates, the daily volume-weighted average trading price of the Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") or such other stock exchange where the majority of the trading volume occurs, exceeds $0.30 for each of those 10 consecutive days, the Company may, within 30 days of such an occurrence, give written notice to the holders of the Warrants and the Finder's Warrants that the securities will expire at 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on the 30th day following the giving of notice unless exercised by the holders prior to such date. Any Warrants or Finder's Warrants which remain unexercised at 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on the 30th day following the giving of such notice will expire at that time. An offering document related to the Offering will be available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website www.aethercatalyst.com. Prospective purchasers should read this offering document before making an investment decision. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering to fund its ongoing research activities, its joint development agreement project, its evaluation program with the Asian Tier-1 manufacturer, capital markets awareness, and for general working capital purposes. The Offering may close in tranches, with the first tranche expected to close on or around March 31, 2025. The Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the CSE. None of the securities referenced in this news release have been or will 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 in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities 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 any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. ABOUT THE COMPANY: Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. is focused on providing an order of magnitude cost reduction in automotive catalytic converter catalyst, while meeting, or exceeding government emission standards. Aether is working to quickly advance its technology through rapid screening of new materials directed at enhancing end of life conversion levels after accelerated aging. While Aether's primary focus has been automotive applications, the Company is also developing catalysts to address small motors emissions - a significant contributor to urban air pollution. The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") or any other securities regulatory authority has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this management prepared news release. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246432 SOURCE: Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. BEIJING, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Opening Ceremony and Global Technology Commercialization Eco-Partnership Conference of 2025 ZGC International Technology Trade Fair kicked off in Zhongguancun Exhibition and Transfer Center on the afternoon of March 27. Themed "New Quality Productive Forces Empowered by Technology Trade," the Opening Ceremony brought together esteemed scientists from round the world, including Nobel laureates and members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as distinguished guests from international organizations, universities, new-type research institutes, technology transfer agencies, and technology companies. The attendees discussed the opportunities and challenges under the new landscape of global technology transfer and together envisioned a new future of global technology integration. The Opening Ceremony saw the signing of new cooperation agreements and release of new outcomes, demonstrating the vitality of the global technology trade ecosystem. It unveiled the List of 100 New Technologies and Products, the List of 100 Innovative International Technology Transaction Projects, and the Beijing Smart Service Platform for the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements. Additionally, cooperation agreements on 11 groups of projects including technology trade and ecosystem cooperation were signed, covering the frontier fields of science and technology like healthcare, AI, and new materials. The 2025 ZGC International Technology Trade Fair will feature over 20 matchmaking events according to the "1+10+X" framework in Beijing from March 27 to 31, serving as a great technology trade platform with the aim to "Buy Globally, Sell Globally." View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/2025-zgc-international-technology-trade-fair-opens-in-beijing-302413905.html EQS Newswire / 28/03/2025 / 11:40 UTC+8 Zhi Sheng Group Holdings Limited ?????????? (Incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability) (Stock Code: 8370.HK) Entered into a HK$120 million, Interest Free CB Subscription Agreement with Mr. Chatchaval Jiaravanon and Wonder Capital Group's CMAG Fund (28 March 2025, Hong Kong) Fast-developing data center construction and management company - Zhi Sheng Group Holdings Limited (the "Company" or "Zhi Sheng Group", stock code: 8370.HK) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a convertible bond subscription agreement with Mr. Chatchaval Jiaravanon, a key member of the CP Group Family and Wonder Capital Group's CMAG Fund. The aggregate principal of the convertible bond amounts to HK$120 million. With an initial Conversion Price of HK$4 per Conversion Shares (subject to adjustment), a maximum of 30,000,000 Conversion Shares will be allotted and issued upon exercise of the Conversion Right in full, which represents approximately 19.49% of the total numbers of Shares in issue and approximately 16.31% of the enlarged capital. Strong Profile of the Subscribers Mr. Chatchaval Jiaravanon, is a key member of the family ("CP Group Family") controlling The Charoen Pokphand Group Company ("CP Group"). He is currently chairman and founder of Charoen Energy and Water Asia and Lightnet Group, and owner of Fortune Media. CP Group Family is one of Asia's wealthiest families and CP Group is one of the Asia's largest diversified holding company. CMAG Fund SPC, is an exempted company incorporated with limited liability and registered as a segregated portfolio company under the laws of the Cayman Islands with an investment focus in the real estate, sustainable energy and private credit sector. CMAG Fund SPC is managed by Wonder Capital Group Limited (a licensed corporation for carrying on Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 4 (advising on securities) and Type 9 (asset management) regulated activities under the SFO in Hong Kong) as its investment manager. Robust Development Plan and Use of Proceeds As one of the emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Thailand's data center market is rapidly growing, valued at US$1.56 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach US$3.19 billion by 2030, with strong government support through tax incentives, enhanced infrastructure and simplified regulations. In 2024, the Board of Investment (BOI) approved 46 data centre and cloud related projects, with total investment amount of around US$5 billion. In 2025, up to 17 March, the investment amount approved was around US$2.7 billion. In order to capitalise on opportunities in the data centre market in Thailand, the Group is exploring suitable land in Thailand, particularly in Rayong District or other strategic locations, to develop and operate a data center business. The goal is to provide long-term services to top-tier internet companies, with the planned site covering at least 140,000 square meters. After deducting related expenses, the estimated net proceeds from the issue of the Bonds are approximately HK$119.4 million and the Company plans to use: Approximately HK$60 million for the potential acquisition of Land Approximately HK$10 million as general working capital Approximately HK$49.4 million for the development of data centres Mr. Lai Ningning, the Chief Executive Officer of Zhi Sheng Group commented, "We are currently operating a leased data center in Shanghai and are actively expanding our customer base, enhancing our brand, and rapidly scaling up our data center business. In March 2025, we acquired land use right in Hohhot City, China to support this growth. Our long-term goal is to develop and operate multi-tenant hyperscale AI data centers and an intelligent computing centers. This subscription not only provides funding support for our future development but also serves as a strong endorsement from a key member of one of the most important families in Asia. The participation of these renowned investors reflect deep confidence in our vision and capabilities, reinforcing our position in the industry and opening doors to new strategic opportunities." - END - About Zhi Sheng Group Holdings Limited Zhi Sheng Group is principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of furniture products, with its products mainly selling to the domestic PRC market, including Sichuan Province, Chongqing City, the Tibet Autonomous Region, and Guizhou Province. Since the acquisition of Polyqueue Limited in January 2020, the Group has also tapped into the data center business in the PRC. By June 2021, the Group started to carry buildout management service business, seizing the market opportunities brought about by the development of AI and cloud computing. This press release is issued by DLK Advisory Limited on behalf of Zhi Sheng Group Holdings Limited. DLK Advisory ???? pr@dlkadvisory.com Tel: +852 2857 7101 Fax: +852 2857 7103 28/03/2025 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS News. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Media archive at www.todayir.com HOHHOT, China, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, the Culture and Tourism Department of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region has announced a "Musical Tours in Inner Mongolia" series tourism product for 2025, which centered on the "culture of the northern frontier" will offer 219 cultural and tourist activities across six themes, inviting global travelers to immerse themselves in the vibrant spring of the grasslands. From the romantic sea of flowers along the Yellow River to the thrill of desert adventures, and from ancient intangible cultural heritage to modern artistic performances, this cultural and tourist feast from April through June weaves together nature, tradition, and innovation to unfold a beautiful tapestry of China's northern frontier to the world. A Blossoming Canvas of Nature and Culture As winter gives way to spring between late March and May, Inner Mongolia bursts into life along the "Great Bend" of the Yellow River, where pear and apricot blossoms paint the landscape in hues of pink and white. Visitors can wander the "Apricot Blossom and Flower Festival" trail in Tumed Right Banner of Baotou or hike through the ancient forests of the Greater Khingan Mountains to marvel at alpine azaleas blooming alongside remaining ice and snow. Meanwhile, featured activities jointly held by leagues and cities like Hohhot's Wusutu Apricot Flowers Festival and the ecological observation of Huazi fish (Leuciscus waleckii) migration in Chifeng transform "flower tourism" into immersive experiences, blending photography contests, open-air concerts, and nature education programs to celebrate the splendor of spring beyond visual enjoyment. Deeper in the grasslands, a dialogue between heritage and modernity is unfolding quietly. The Ordos Horsehead Fiddle Symphony Orchestra will perform epic compositions against the vast horizon of the grasslands, while 30 nationwide tours of the "Spring Village Evening" bring intangible cultural heritage to life through folk songs and dances staged in scenic settings. From April 25 to 26, Rene Liu will headline two concerts in Hohhot, paired with travel packages offering tickets of scenic areas at a discount, themed hotel packages, and culinary guides, enticing music fans and tourists alike to explore the hidden gems of the region. Contemporary Expression of Millennium-long Nomadic Culture Spring in Inner Mongolia also heralds the renewal of nomadic culture. In Alxa's deserts, camel races and Mongolian wrestling competitions stir the spirit of adventure, while activities like sandboarding and stargazing camps allow visitors to connect with the magnificence of nature. On the Hulunbuir prairie, tourists can join shepherds in traditional tasks like wool shearing and milking, or participate in Xilingol's Mongolian Horse Super League, galloping across 200 kilometers of prairie and sand dunes. Cultural inheritance also attracts great attention through immersive experiences. The live-action drama in Baotou, "Melodies in Baotou - Love for the Yellow River", reenacts ancient folk customs against the backdrop of the thawing Yellow River, while activities such as migratory bird observation on the Wuhai Lake merge ecological awareness with travel. Workshops led by intangible cultural inheritors invite visitors to craft horsehead fiddles and practice Mongolian embroidery, transforming museum artifacts into living traditions that resonate through touch and creativity. Source: The Culture and Tourism Department of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Contact person: Mr. Hao, Tel: 86-10-63074558 1,370 seats available for the 2025-26 session NEW DELHI, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- South Asian University (SAU), established with the vision of 'Knowledge Without Borders', has opened admissions for the 2025-26 academic session. Prof. K K Aggarwal, President of SAU, reaffirmed the university's commitment to world-class education and expanding academic opportunities across South Asia. SAU, founded by the eight SAARC nations, has significantly expanded since moving to its 100-acre modern campus near Gurugram. After operating from a temporary location at Akbar Bhawan until 2022, SAU has embarked on a major growth phase. The introduction of a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering in 2024-25 marked the beginning of this expansion. Now, SAU is offering new programs, increasing its academic reach with approximately 1,370 seats available for the 2025-26 session. Key highlights of SAU's expansion include specialized B.Tech programs in Computer Science & Engineering with specializations in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Business Systems & Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Data Science & AI. Additionally, a B.Tech in Mathematics and Computing has been introduced to equip students with advanced computational and analytical skills. SAU has also launched Integrated Programs, such as the Integrated BS-MS in Interdisciplinary Sciences and the Integrated BBA-MBA program, ensuring a seamless transition from undergraduate to postgraduate studies. In alignment with global trends, the university now offers one-year Master's programs for students with four-year undergraduate degrees, providing an accelerated path to postgraduate education. Expanded postgraduate offerings include an MBA, Executive MBA, MCA, and MS Climate Change and Sustainability, complementing existing programs like M.Tech, MSc (Computer Science), MSc Biotechnology, MA Sociology, MA International Relations, MA Economics, and LLM. To strengthen research opportunities, SAU has introduced an Executive PhD program for working professionals. Admissions will be conducted through SAU's entrance test and recognized national-level eligibility tests across SAARC nations, including CUET, JEE Mains, and CAT in India. Candidates from other SAARC nations can take a secure, proctored online entrance test or gain admission based on merit in their qualifying examinations. SAU has also launched its Virtual Campus, offering online degree and certificate programs, such as BBA (Hons), BCA (Hons), Integrated BBA-MBA, BS and MS (Data Science & AI), MBA, and MCA, along with courses in vocal music, fashion design, and communication design. Applications for the 2025-26 academic session are now open. For details, visit www.sau.int. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2651933/SAU_admissions_2025_26.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/south-asian-university-sau-new-delhi-expands-academic-offerings-and-opens-admissions-for-2025-26-302413263.html Schlatter Industries AG / Key word(s): Annual Results Order intake on track, delayed commissioning weighs on earnings 28-March-2025 / 06:00 CET/CEST Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. SCHLATTER INDUSTRIES AG - SIX SWISS EXCHANGE: STRN - ISIN: CH0002277314 Ad hoc announcement pursuant to article 53 LR S c h l i e r e n, 28 March 2025. In the 2024 financial year, the Schlatter Group generated net sales of CHF 113.2 million (2023: CHF 128.6 million) and order intake of CHF 101.6 million (2023: CHF 113.1 million). The order backlog as at 31.12.2024 amounts to CHF 61.4 million (31.12.2023: CHF 73.9 million). The operating result (EBIT) for the reporting period totalled CHF 2.0 million (2023: CHF 7.1 million). The result in the Weaving segment at the Munster site developed positively. The additional costs in the Welding segment weighed heavily on the operating result. Consolidated net income totalled CHF 1.7 million (2023: CHF 5.1 million). Demand for Schlatter products developed in line with expectations in the year under review. Sales of systems for the production of industrial mesh increased again, while demand for reinforcing mesh machines continued to decline. Business with rail welding machines normalized and sales of weaving machines declined slightly. The after-sales business almost maintained the high level of the previous year despite the severe underutilization of our reinforcing mesh customers in Europe. Delays in the start-up of customer projects in the welding segment led to high additional costs and penalties. In addition, there were negative one-off costs in related to the cyber-attack on Schlatter in the summer 2024. Net sales decreased to CHF 113.2 million (2023 financial year: CHF 128.6 million). Operating profit (EBIT) was significantly lower at CHF 2.0 million (2023 financial year: CHF 7.1 million). The Schlatter Group closed the 2024 financial year with a high order backlog, so that the capacities for the current business year 2025 are already well utilized. Welding segment 2024 Order intake: CHF 85.9 million (2023: CHF 95.0 million) Net sales: CHF 91.3 million (2023: CHF 100.8 million) Order backlog: CHF 50.4 million (31.12.2023: CHF 56.7 million) Order intake in the welding segment developed according to plan. While order intake for systems for the production of reinforcing mesh remained at a low level as expected and even declined slightly, incoming orders for systems for the production of industrial mesh exceeded expectations. In the rail welding segment, order intake normalized. It took longer than expected to reduce the backlog of deliveries, particularly for systems for the production of reinforcing mesh. As a result, commissioning took significantly longer and caused considerable additional costs. Substantial provisions had to be made for contractual penalties, which weighed heavily on the Schlatter Group's result. The segment recorded lower yet satisfactory order intake on a year-on-year basis. The fall-off in orders for reinforcing mesh production systems was sufficiently offset by good order intake in rail welding machinery as well as industrial mesh production systems. Given the current order backlog, existing capacities in the 2024 financial year are already well utilized. The welding segment should contribute to a further increase in net earnings for the financial year. Weaving segment 2024 Order intake: CHF 15.7 million (2023: CHF 18.1 million) Net sales: CHF 21.9 million (2023: CHF 27.8 million) Order backlog: CHF 11.0 million (31.12.2023: CHF 17.2 million) As expected, order intake for weaving machines for the paper industry were down on the previous year. A general reticence can be observed in the western markets and the market has consolidated further due to customer mergers. The geopolitical situation has led to a shift in supply chains and to new customers entering the production of paper machine clothing in regions where there was previously no in-house production. Schlatter was able to benefit from this in the reporting year and was awarded a major contract to equip an entire factory in Turkey. Schlatter acquired significant orders in the wire weaving sector in the reporting year. Outlook for the Schlatter Group Overall, the Schlatter Group closed the 2024 financial year with a good order backlog, which largely ensures capacity utilization for the 2025 financial year; priority is given to the timely implementation of customer projects, quality in all areas and innovation. The Schlatter Group anticipates lower sales for the 2025 financial year but is aiming to increase its operating result (EBIT). The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting on May 6, 2025, a total distribution of CHF 1.00 per share for the 2024 financial year, consisting of a dividend of CHF 0.50 (gross) per share and a distribution from capital reserves of CHF 0.50 per share (previous year: CHF 1.00 repayment of par value). The full 2024 Annual Report can be downloaded from the Schlatter Group website: http://www.schlattergroup.com/de/investor-relations/geschaefts-_und_semesterberichte Further Information Schlatter Industries AG Werner Schmidli Chief Executive Officer Mobile +41 79 343 62 62 werner.schmidli@schlattergroup.com Agenda 28.03.2025 Publication of the detailed annual result for 2024 by an ad hoc announcement and publication of the annual report on the company's website 06.05.2025 Annual General Meeting 14.08.2025 Publication of half-year report 2025 Schlatter Group Key figures 2024 2023 Net sales CHF million 113.2 128.6 Change compared to previous year % -12.0 16.4 Operating result (EBIT) CHF million 2.0 7.1 in % of net sales % 1.8 5.5 Net result (incl. minority interests) CHF million 1.7 5.1 in % of net sales % 1.5 4.0 Net result (excl. minority interests) CHF million 1.5 5.9 in % of net sales % 1.4 4.6 Order intake CHF million 101.6 113.1 Order backlog CHF million 61.4 73.9 Headcount as at December 31 FTEs 371 368 Annual average FTEs 367 366 Interest-bearing liabilities CHF million 5.2 5.4 Net financial position (debt)1 CHF million -2.6 8.0 Gearing2 % 7.1 0.0 Free cash flow3 CHF million -9.1 6.8 Current assets CHF million 57.9 65.8 Non-current assets CHF million 18.7 18.4 Liabilities CHF million 40.7 48.7 Equity (incl. minority interests) CHF million 35.9 35.4 Equity (excl. minority interests) CHF million 35.6 35.9 Equity ratio (incl. minorities) % 46.5 42.7 Return on equity (ROE)4 % 4.7 15.3 Key share figures Share capital as at December 31 CHF 1000 1 105 17 675 Total registered shares Number 1 104 704 1 104 704 Of which entitled to dividend payments Number 1 104 704 1 104 704 Net result per registered share5 CHF 1.40 5.33 Equity per registered share5 CHF 32.26 32.57 Dividend per registered share6 CHF 1.00 1.00 Payout ratio6 % 71.50 18.76 Share price development High CHF 28.00 26.00 Low CHF 20.00 21.00 Year-end CHF 21.60 25.80 Market capitalization High CHF million 30.9 28.7 Low CHF million 22.1 23.2 Year-end CHF million 23.9 28.5 1 Net financial position (debt): cash and cash equivalents less interest-bearing liabilities 2 Gearing: net debt divided by equity 3Cash flow from operations less purchases of tangible assets and intangible assets plus sale of tangible assets and intangible assets 4Net result divided by average equity 5Determined on the basis of dividend-entitled shares 6 In accordance with the proposal submitted to the Annual General Meeting of May 6, 2025 Schlatter Group (www.schlattergroup.com) The Schlatter Group is one of the leading specialists in plant engineering for resistance welding systems as well as weaving and finishing equipment for the production of paper machine clothing, wire fabrics and wire mesh. Thanks to its many years of experience in the field of plant technology, its innovative strength and its reliable service, the Schlatter Group - which is listed on the Sparks Standard of SIX Swiss Exchange - guarantees its customers a range of powerful and high-quality production equipment. This media information contains certain forward-looking statements, e.g. statements using the words "believes," "assumes," "anticipates," or formulations of a similar nature. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could lead to substantial differences between the actual future results, the financial situation, the development or performance of the Company and those either expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among other things: competition from other companies, the effects and risks of new technologies, the Company's continuing capital requirements, financing costs, delays in the integration of acquisitions, changes in the operating expenses, the Company's ability to recruit and retain qualified employees, unfavorable changes in the applicable tax laws, and other factors identified in this communication. In view of these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company accepts no obligation to continue to report or update such forward-looking statements or adjust them to future events or developments. ------------------------------ This information can be downloaded as a PDF from the following link: Ad hoc announcement pursuant to article 53 LR If you no longer wish to receive information from Schlatter Industries AG, please send a message to: reto.stettler@schlattergroup.com End of Inside Information APPOINTMENT WITHIN THE SOCIETE GENERALE GROUP Press release Paris, 28 March 2025 Societe Generale announces the appointment of Alexis Kohler as Executive Vice President. He will join the Bank in June 2025 and will be a member of the Group Executive Committee. Reporting to Slawomir Krupa, Chief Executive Officer, Alexis Kohler will have the following responsibilities: As Chairman of Investment Banking, he will be responsible for leading Mergers & Acquisitions, Equity Capital Markets and Acquisition Finance activities, as well as coordinating coverage teams for large clients. He will assist the Chief Executive Officer in implementing transformation programs within the firm. Alexis Kohler will oversee the Group's General Secretariat and the Human Resources and Communication departments. Alexis Kohler will contribute to the Group's success with his unique skill set, his extensive understanding of the global economy's dynamics and challenges across all sectoral, industrial and commercial dimensions, and his strong analytical capacity and outstanding dedication. Alexis Kohler's appointment marks a new addition to Societe Generale's leadership team, combining different and complementary skills and wide-ranging experiences, to the benefit of the competitiveness and sustainable performance of the bank. Slawomir Krupa, Chief Executive Officer, comments: "I am delighted to welcome Alexis Kohler to the Executive Committee of Societe Generale. He will bring a wealth of talent, experience and commitment to our Group. His numerous qualities will be a key asset to foster our development in Investment Banking and continue the transformation journey of our firm, serving our 26 million clients across the world with the same passion we have shared for 160 years." Biography Alexis Kohler has been the General Secretary of the Presidency of the French Republic since 2017, after holding various senior positions at the French Ministry of Economy and Finance in Paris, with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington and the Finance Department of MSC. Alexis Kohler is a graduate of Sciences Po Paris, ESSEC and the Ecole Nationale d'Administration. Members of the Group Executive Committee as of June 2025: Slawomir Krupa , Chief Executive Officer , Chief Executive Officer Pierre Palmieri, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexis Kohler , Executive Vice President, Chairman of Investment Banking, also in charge of the Group General Secretary, Group Human Resources, Group Communication and the coordination of transformation programs , Executive Vice President, Chairman of Investment Banking, also in charge of the Group General Secretary, Group Human Resources, Group Communication and the coordination of transformation programs Lubomira Rochet , Executive Vice President in charge of Retail Banking activities in France, Private Banking and Insurance, as well as the Group's Chief Operating Office , Executive Vice President in charge of Retail Banking activities in France, Private Banking and Insurance, as well as the Group's Chief Operating Office Leopoldo Alvear , Group Chief Financial Officer , Group Chief Financial Officer Anne-Christine Champion , Co-Head of Global Banking and Investor Solutions , Co-Head of Global Banking and Investor Solutions Anne-Sophie Chauveau-Galas , Group Chief Human Resources Officer , Group Chief Human Resources Officer Alexandre Fleury , Co-Head of Global Banking and Investor Solutions , Co-Head of Global Banking and Investor Solutions Delphine Garcin-Meunier , Head of Mobility and International Retail Banking & Financial Services , Head of Mobility and International Retail Banking & Financial Services Stephane Landon , Group Chief Risk Officer , Group Chief Risk Officer Laura Mather , Group Chief Operating Officer , Group Chief Operating Officer Laetitia Maurel , Group Chief Communication Officer , Group Chief Communication Officer Gregoire Simon-Barboux, Group Chief Compliance Officer Press contact: Jean-Baptiste Froville_+33 1 58 98 68 00_ jean-baptiste.froville@socgen.com Societe Generale Societe Generale is a top tier European Bank with around 119,000 employees serving more than 26 million clients in 62 countries across the world. We have been supporting the development of our economies for 160 years, providing our corporate, institutional, and individual clients with a wide array of value-added advisory and financial solutions. Our long-lasting and trusted relationships with the clients, our cutting-edge expertise, our unique innovation, our ESG capabilities and leading franchises are part of our DNA and serve our most essential objective - to deliver sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders. The Group runs three complementary sets of businesses, embedding ESG offerings for all its clients: French Retail, Private Banking and Insurance , with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank. , with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank. Global Banking and Investor Solutions , a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG. , a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG. Mobility, International Retail Banking and Financial Services, comprising well-established universal banks (in Czech Republic, Romania and several African countries), Ayvens (the new ALD I LeasePlan brand), a global player in sustainable mobility, as well as specialized financing activities. Committed to building together with its clients a better and sustainable future, Societe Generale aims to be a leading partner in the environmental transition and sustainability overall. The Group is included in the principal socially responsible investment indices: DJSI (Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, Euronext Vigeo (Europe and Eurozone), STOXX Global ESG Leaders indexes, and the MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index (World and Europe). In case of doubt regarding the authenticity of this press release, please go to the end of the Group News page on societegenerale.comwebsite where official Press Releases sent by Societe Generale can be certified using blockchain technology. A link will allow you to check the document's legitimacy directly on the web page. For more information, you can follow us on Twitter/X @societegeneraleor visit our website societegenerale.com. Attachment EQS Newswire / 28/03/2025 / 15:19 UTC+8 ?For immediate release? 27 March 2025 Huitongda Network Co., Ltd. (Stock Code: 9878.HK) * * * Huitongda Network Announces 2024 Annual Results Initial Success from Recent Strategic Upgrades Expanding Margin Support the Beginning of a New Growth Cycle in 2025 (27 March 2025, Hong Kong) Huitongda Network Co., Ltd (9878.HK), an industrial internet company focusing on serving family-owned retailers in China's rural markets, is pleased to announce its annual results for the year ended December 31, 2024 ("the Year"). To accelerate its business development and capture the transformational opportunities from the latest digitalization + AI developments, the Group proactively refined its development strategy and has obtained initial successes, laying a solid foundation for long-term growth. Supported by the leadership of the Board as well as the dedication of management and staff, the Group successfully optimized its business mix and achieved a significant enhancement in profitability. During the Year, the Group recorded operating revenue of RMB60.06 billion, net profit of RMB462 million, profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Company of RMB270 million, expanding gross profit margin, and net cash inflow generated from operating activities of RMB275 million. Strategic Upgrades Drive Business Optimization In 2024, the Group maintained its focus on high-quality development by proactively refining its business structure, resulting in a notable improvement in operating efficiency. For instance, instead of prioritizing business scale, the Group put an increasing emphasis on profit and cash flow, focusing on maximizing the contributions from high-margin businesses. The Group also proactively refined its business composition and streamlined its organizational structure, yielding an improvement in operational efficiency. Benefited from the aforesaid proactive initiatives, the Group's overall gross profit margin saw substantial improvement of 0.5 percentage point year-on-year to 3.8%. Strengthened Supply Chain Capabilities to Unlock New Growth Potential During the Year, the Group continued to advance its plan for industrial upgrades, seeing breakthroughs in areas such as production-sales integration of self-owned branded products, strengthening collaborations with leading brands, and the introduction of new product categories, new channels, and new business models. The Group also expanded its scale and integration of its online and offline omnichannel network. For its self-owned brand development, the Group put notable efforts into establishing an integrated demand-pull supply chain, and tapping into high-value-added categories. Currently, the Group has already created a solid self-owned brand portfolio covering 10 verticals, including major home appliances, kitchen and bathroom appliances, small household appliances, liquor, home furniture, and beauty products, achieving vertical integration from production to consumption. Meanwhile, the Group also further strengthened its collaborations with leading brands such as Apple, AHC, Lenovo, Midea, Hualing, and Siemens. Through such collaborations, the Group was able to achieve higher synergies and resource efficiency, laying a solid foundation for future profitability enhancement. To fulfill the growing needs for personal care, health, and lifestyle products, the Group also fast-tracked its new product categories, new channels, and new business model development. The strategic move has allowed the Group to form relevant industry clusters, bringing further growth impetus to the Group's future development. Expanding Member Store Network, Drive High Conversion Rate through Digital and Supply Chain Empowerment and Excellent Cost-Performance Ratio To provide better support for rural family-owned retailers, the Group focused on strengthening its cooperation with leading brands to enhance its bargaining power; on the other hand, the Group strives to offer its member stores an excellent cost-performance ratio, supported by its extensive self-owned product selection and integrated sales and production capabilities. In addition, thanks to its rich in-house data resources and smart process optimization capabilities, the Group was able to help member stores to raise operational efficiency and reduce operating costs, particularly after the smart upgrade of its "Qiancheng Cloud" SaaS+ products. To create more value in marketing, the Group also leveraged its big data analysis and AI algorithms to offer customized marketing solutions to its member stores, boosting their respective sales conversion. These initiatives have comprehensively enhanced the Group's capabilities to cater to the highly diversified needs of a wide range of member stores across different industries and scenarios. Due to the above strategic upgrades, the Group saw a satisfactory improvement in market penetration and member store acquisition. As of the end of the Reporting Period, the total number of registered member retail stores exceeded 248,000, representing a year-on-year growth of 4.8%. Among them, active member retail stores reached 95,000, a year-on-year growth of 4.9%, and the total number of subscribing SaaS+ users amounted to over 108,000, with the number of paid SaaS+ users exceeding 38,000, essentially forming a solid entry barrier. Digital Platform Upgrades and New AI Applications to Support Higher Operating Efficiency of Membre Stores During the Year, the Group significantly advanced its digitalization efforts in three key areas, namely platformization, online integration, and intelligence development. By integrating multiple software product lines, the Group is now capable of providing an integrated, comprehensive, scalable, and standardized digital foundation for its businesses. The Group also accelerated its AI development, reaping initial success in areas such as intelligent customer service, product review, AI-driven research, and avatar live streaming. Its "Qiancheng Cloud SaaS+" platform is now equipped with enhanced features such as AI shopping assistants and AI CRM private domain marketing, able to optimize procurement and marketing functions for member retail stores that would support their digital and intelligent transformation journey. The aforementioned upgrades will allow the Group to bring AI features to procurement, marketing, customer service, and after-sales, effectively empowering member retail stores along the value chain. Compounded by the decade-long data accumulation in rural markets, the Group has established a strong foothold in future AIaaS transformation. Efficiency Enhancement from Strategic Upgrades, Satisfactory Results across Operational Matrix Benefiting from the Group's strategic upgrades, deepened cooperation with leading brands, and the expanding coverage of its self-owned brands, the Group saw a significant improvement in gross profit margin, reporting a 0.5-percentage-point increase to 3.8%. There was also substantial improvement in cost control and expenses efficiency, with selling and marketing expenses reporting a year-on-year decrease of 22.1%, and administrative and other operating expenses reporting a year-on-year decrease of 2.5%. The Group also demonstrated its business resilience and strength in cash flow, with 2024 being the sixth consecutive year reporting positive net operating cash flow. Outstanding Achievement with Growing Market Recognition In 2024, the Group received growing recognition from different levels of government entities as well as the general public. On one hand, Huitongda Network saw multiple visits and research work from provincial and ministerial leaders from the National Bureau of Statistics, the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, the Social Work Department of CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, and the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Administration, receiving high praise for its strategies and initiatives. On the other hand, the Group also received numerous corporate honors and provincial/ministerial-level awards during the Year, including the "Top 500 Chinese Enterprises", the "Key Software Enterprise Encouraged by the State", the "Top 100 Comprehensive Internet Enterprises in China", "ESG Annual Outstanding Award" and the "Top 100 Industrial Internet Enterprises". Future Prospect In 2025, under the backdrop of the nation's "Technology Powerful Country" and "Consumption-Driven" strategies, rural markets are expected to become a key driver of economic growth. As the industry's first mover, Huitongda Network not only echoes the latest policy address, but also sees fast implementation of its strategies, positioning itself as a key potential beneficiary. Huitongda Network will fully seize such an opportunity, empowering rural economic development through digital technologies and supply chain capabilities, along with the expanding use of AI applications in rural markets. In 2025, the Group will focus on profitability and cash flow, and implement the following key initiatives surrounding supply chain management, member services, and digitalization: Focus on "Top Brands + Self-owned Brands + POP" to Build a Flexible Supply Chain Network Covering All Categories and Channels "Brand Express Project" - strengthening cooperation with leading brands to establish a "high-quality" and "high-cost-competitiveness" product supply ecosystem, specifically catering to the needs of member stores and consumers with brand preferences. Currently, the Group has entered into strategic partnerships with over 100 leading industry brands. In 2025, the Group plans to establish 5-10 additional leading brands' collaborations in high-growth categories, including smartphones, AI-powered glasses, robotics, drones, innovative appliances, and healthcare products. "Self-owned Brand Ecosystem Development Project" - expanding self-owned brand portfolio to meet the needs of member stores and consumers with a preference for high cost competitiveness and high product quality. "Open-Platform Supply Chain System" - establishing an AI-driven POP platform to satisfy the demand and facilitate the supply of long-tailed and customized products. Focus on Member Services and Digital Capabilities, Pursue Efficiency and Experience Enhancement through AI Applications Leveraging its existing coverage of 21 provinces and 25,000 towns and villages, focus on increasing the penetration rate and stickiness of member stores to support organic growth. Continue to expand the applications of AI technology, especially across intelligent shopping assistants, private domain marketing, and smart operations. As one of the earliest domestic ToB empowerment platforms focusing on rural markets, Huitongda Network has accumulated a vast amount of operational and transaction data, supporting its development in relevant digital technologies and servicing capabilities. In view of the recent AI development, the Group is also actively exploring the possibilities of self-developed industry-specific large models, software robotic applications, and mainstream large model integration such as DeepSeek, so as to expand its functions and create additional value for its upstream and downstream partners. The Group's SaaS business will move forward to AIaaS with the support of edge computing and intelligent terminals, with the aim of building a smarter, more seamless, and two-way product flow between urban and rural markets. Focusing on New Product Categories, New Channels, and New Business Model Development to Bring New Growth Impetus In terms of new product categories, the Group will focus on high-pricing and high-margin personal care, healthcare, and lifestyle products. In terms of new channels, the Group will expand its network across e-commerce platforms, private domain, and cross-border channels, thereby expanding its reach and diversifying its revenue mix. In terms of new business models, the Group will strive to integrate regional resources through strategic investment and mergers and acquisitions, in order to rapidly expand its ecosystem, achieve economies of scale, and strengthen its control along the value chain. Riding on the proactive strategic upgrade in 2024, the Group is confident of achieving further improvement in gross profit margin and net profit margin starting from 2025, with profit growth expected to outpace revenue growth. In 2025, the Company will also aim to realize dividend distributions at the earliest opportunity, in compliance with the relevant policy guidelines. With "tech-driven efficiency and supply chain value creation" at its core, the Group will continue to pursue its mission of "Creating a Better Life for Rural People", while delivering sustainable returns to its shareholders and society. - End - About Huitongda Network Co., Ltd. Huitongda Network (9878.HK) is a leading industrial internet company dedicated to serving rural family-owned retailers in China's rural markets. Supported by its digital technology and supply chain capabilities, the Group strives to provide member stores with stable and efficient one-stop supply chain solutions, as well as SaaS+ services and merchant solutions for its member stores, channel partners, brand manufacturers, and other stakeholders along the value chain. The comprehensive solutions allow the Group to create a unique digital ecosystem with niche business opportunities. As of December 31, 2024, Huitongda Network has established a retail ecosystem with its 248,000+ member stores in China, covering 21 provinces and municipalities and more than 25,000 villages and towns. The Company was listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) on February 18, 2022. This press release is issued by DLK Advisory Limited on behalf of Huitongda Network Co., Ltd.. For enquiries, please contact: DLK Advisory ???? Telephone: +852 2857 7101 Fax: +852 2857 7103 pr@dlkadvisory.com File: 9878_2024AR_Press Release_EN_20250327_FINAL 28/03/2025 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS News. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Media archive at www.todayir.com FUJIFILM's EG-740UT now available throughout Europe RATINGEN, Germany, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe Team are delighted to announce the Europe-wide release of the EG-740UT interventional Ultrasonic Endoscope with enhanced visibility, manoeuvrability and single crystal image quality, designed for therapeutic use. "I'm excited about the European-wide launch of our ultrasonic endoscope and the opportunity to support clinicians with greater comfort and confidence during their work, both endoscopically and through ultrasound imaging. With the EG-740UT, we are marking significant advancements in interventional EUS and EURCP with an all-encompassing EUS solution that supports the diagnosis to treatment journey. Over 90 years of imaging heritage has given us an opportunity to combine expertise from endoscopy, x-ray and ultrasound to become a partner for all imaging needs within Endoscopic Ultrasound." - Anne Bunk, Endoscopy Product Manager, FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe SINGLE CRYSTAL TECHNOLOGY Although single crystal technology is widely utilised in general ultrasound devices, FUJIFILM is one of the first innovators to develop the miniaturised single crystal transducer that is incorporated into the EG-740UT Ultrasonic Endoscope. This specialist technology has been developed to provide highly sensitive and accurate echo detection, combined with lower-noise imaging that helps reduce the need for additional processing?. When paired with our advanced imaging modalities such as Detective Flow Imaging (DFI), Contrast Harmonic Imaging (CHI) and ShearWave Measurement (SWM) provided by the ARIETTA ultrasound platforms, this endoscope is designed to deliver exceptional image quality during diagnostic procedures with higher resolution and increased depth compared to previous generations. DESIGNED FOR THERAPEUTIC USE With a 4.0 mm working channel and slim insertion portion that includes a short bending radius and high deflection, the EG-740UT ultrasonic endoscope is designed for therapeutic use. Especially crafted for comfort and confidence during procedures, this interventional endoscope has been developed to improve visibility in endoscopic and ultrasound images by minimising the blind area between the working channel outlet, ultrasound scanning area and endoscopic view. VISIT FUJIFILM IN BARCELONA FOR ESGE DAYS 2025 April 3-5, Booth #04 / EndoRunner Square #22 Join the FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe team in Barcelona for ESGE Days 2025 to experience this new ultrasound endoscope and other new endoscopy solutions! Participate in our Industry Symposium on Friday 4th April to learn more about the science behind our innovations and hear from a world-class international faculty about their experiences. ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR: Please visit ESGE Days | European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopyto see the full list events and add events to your calendar. LEARN MORE Stay in the loop with newsletters, events and product release notifications from the FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe Team: https://www.healthcare-eu.fujifilm.com/welcome-future/ CONTACT US Would you like to learn more or perhaps you have a question for our team? Get in touch below. Stefan Bachmeier, Marketing Manager Europe Endoscopy Systems, FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe GmbH endoscopy_eu@fujifilm.com Fujifilm, Proudly by Your Side As a global innovator for over 90 years in healthcare and imaging, Fujifilm's innovative endoscopy solutions are designed to improve patient accessibility to healthcare services, with early diagnosis and medical treatments that deliver a continued positive impact on our society. With our knowledge, passion and inspiration, we empower endoscopy professionals to make the biggest difference in their daily work byimprovingthe quality of life for patients and contributing to a healthier society. Together, we are enriching lives and giving the world more smiles! Proudly by your side, FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe Team A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b722c5ae-1804-4daf-bf62-7338b4438873 SHANGHAI, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- "For today's speech, I implanted the speech script into my glasses." Eric Li, chairman of Geely Holding Group and founder of DreamSmart, said with a smile at the 2025 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference held on March 25th. As a leading figure in China's tech and automobile industry, Eric Li's appearance is particularly striking - he wore a pair of StarV Air2 smart glasses on stage, the whole "off-script" speech. The glasses not only project the speech in real time on the lenses, but also synchronize the content according to the speed of speech. The glasses come from none other than Geely eco-company Meizu. As a technology company, Meizu has redefined the future of interaction with AR+AI technology, and Geely has the next generation of human-machine interaction products. As a key platform to promote the construction of Shanghai's "five centers", this year's Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference attracted more than 500 domestic and foreign well-known enterprises, investment institutions and representatives of business associations gathered together. the first four sessions have contributed to the signing of more than 580 major projects, with a total investment of more than 1.1 trillion yuan. In this stage for global enterprises to share opportunities, Eric Li attracted the attention of global investors with a technological speech, showing Meizu's innovative strength and product charm. From the perspective of the conference as a whole, the "newness" of this scene is far more than just a display of technology, but also reflects the courage and confidence of entrepreneurs to physically promote the development of science and technology. Eric Li's AR glasses and Shanghai has an inextricable link. "I'm wearing this pair of smart AR glasses today, the core technology research and development team and the core supply chain are in Shanghai, has been mass-produced for two generations and has been verified by tens of thousands of consumers." Meizu's deep cooperation with the industry's TOP-level supply chain partners has resulted in the debut and first use of many industry-leading products, leading the development trend of the smart glasses industry. StarV Air2 has been mass-produced and optimized through two generations of products, serving more than 50,000 users cumulatively, and is a phenomenal product in the AR field. In addition to supporting the teleprompter function that has recently flamed out of the circle.It also supports AI real-time translation, AR navigation, AI meeting assistant and other functions. StarVee Phantom researches its own Flyme AI big model, and in addition to accessing the head third party big model such as Tongyi Thousand Questions, Byte Beanbag, and Wenxin Yiyin, it is also the first to access the DeepSeek big model, and is actively building a comprehensive AI ecosystem. StarV Air2 adopts a highly difficult optical waveguide program, and after two generations of iteration, the product power is leading generation to generation. Not long ago, iResearch released the "2024 Consumer AR Glasses Market Report", which researched the five most powerful companies in the smart glasses industry and put forward the concept of "Five AR Glasses Giants", with Meizu at the top of this. The iResearch also pointed out that in the first quarter since the release of the StarV series of products in September last year, the market share quickly reached 41.5%, and the sales volume in the AR category was the first in the country, directly pulling the industry sales growth. Meizu is the only enterprise with a full ecological layout in the AR glasses industry. As an important part of Meizu's "smart phone + XR + smart car" business layout, AR smart glasses can be interconnected with smartphones, smart cars and other terminals through Flyme AIOS, and jointly build a multi-terminal, full-scene, immersive and integrated experience for consumers. Meizu's convergent AI ecology has been widely welcomed by users, and the results of the ecological layout have been initially seen: in 2025, Meizu has won "three firsts in China" - the first in the sales growth rate of AI cell phones, the first in the market share of smart glasses, and the first in the number of listed models and the first in the growth rate of users in a single month of the intelligent cockpit operating system, and has covered more than 600,000 car owner users. Flyme Auto is the first in the number of listed models and the first in the growth rate of users in a single month, and it has already covered more than 600,000 car owners and users, and is firmly in the first camp of the automobile system. It's worth to mention 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. Meizu took the lead in proposing the "All in AI" strategy at the beginning of 2024, and has made every effort to promote the application of AI at the product level, bringing users a brand-new integration experience. Looking ahead, Meizu's practicality, innovation and leadership in application scenarios will paint a new picture of the global smart mobility ecosystem. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2652532/image_5031974_25986447.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/geelys-eric-li-wears-ar-glasses-to-speak-at-global-investment-promotion-conference-in-shanghai-302414128.html PRESS RELEASE 28 March 2025 - Alstom, a global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, has signed a contract with the Moroccan National Railway Office (ONCF) worth 781 million to supply 18 Avelia Horizon high-speed trains. This order has been recorded in Alstom's Q4 2024/2025 fiscal year. The extension of the high-speed line to Marrakech will enhance connectivity for travellers. Alstom's new double-decker Avelia Horizon trains will significantly reduce travel time between Tangier and Marrakech while minimizing the carbon footprint. Benefiting from over 40 years of experience of high-speed trains in commercial services, Alstom's Avelia Horizon very high-speed train is the latest generation of double-deck train in the world capable of operating at speeds exceeding 300 km/h. It offers great operational flexibility and ensures a unique passenger experience. The train consists of two innovative, shorter power cars that combine high performance and compactness, along with two-level articulated cars. Avelia Horizon allows for reduced operating costs. The train features a lower number of bogies, which account for 30% of maintenance costs. With the highest seating capacity on the market, Avelia Horizon provides an exceptional level of service and comfort, significantly reducing total cost of ownership per seat. ALSTOM, Avelia Horizon, Avelia are registered trademarks of the Alstom Group. RWS's linguistic AI solution Evolve wins Human-Machine and Neural Machine Translation categories RWS, a unique, world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property solutions, is proud to announce that its linguistic AI solution, Evolve, has won two categories in the 2025 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards, presented by the Business Intelligence Group. Recognized in the Human-Machine Interaction and Neural Machine Translation categories Evolve is RWS's groundbreaking linguistic AI solution which offers significant efficiency gains for global enterprises with substantial translation demands. Evolve is a major leap forward for the translation industry, integrating human and artificial intelligence, revolutionizing translation processes and the time it takes to achieve high quality results. "The AI industry is evolving rapidly, and it is through the efforts of companies like RWS that we see real-world applications driving change," said Russ Fordyce, CEO of the Business Intelligence Group. "Their work exemplifies the kind of innovation and leadership that is shaping the future of artificial intelligence." The Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards celebrate the most innovative companies, technologies and professionals who are leading the way in AI innovation. Winners are selected by a panel of industry experts who evaluate nominees based on their creativity, impact and measurable success in AI-driven solutions. "Huge congratulations to the Evolve team at RWS for these momentous wins," said Mark Lawyer, President, Regulated Industries Linguistic AI. "These awards are a testament to their dedication and commitment to pioneer linguistic AI solutions that revolutionize traditional approaches to localization and the way businesses manage their language and content challenges." Evolve combines RWS's translation management system (Trados Enterprise), its neural machine translation technology (Language Weaver), language specialist-trained quality estimation models, a finely tuned private large language model and in-house language specialists. This powerful combination helps global companies achieve near-instant, human-like translation quality, allowing RWS's language specialists to focus their unique skills and cultural expertise on the content that requires their attention. About Business Intelligence Group The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry award programs, these programs are judged by business executives having experience and knowledge. The organization's proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers. About RWS RWS Holdings plc is a unique, world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property services. Through content transformation and multilingual data analysis, our combination of AI-enabled technology and human expertise helps our clients to grow by ensuring they are understood anywhere, in any language. Our purpose is unlocking global understanding. By combining cultural understanding, client understanding and technical understanding, our services and technology assist our clients to acquire and retain customers, deliver engaging user experiences, maintain compliance and gain actionable insights into their data and content. Over the past 20 years we've been evolving our own AI solutions as well as helping clients to explore, build and use multilingual AI applications. With 45+ AI-related patents and more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, we have the experience and expertise to support clients on their AI journey. We work with over 80% of the world's top 100 brands, more than three-quarters of Fortune's 20 'Most Admired Companies' and almost all of the top pharmaceutical companies, investment banks, law firms and patent filers. Our client base spans Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and North and South America. Our 60+ global locations across five continents service clients in the automotive, chemical, financial, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, technology and telecommunications sectors. Founded in 1958, RWS is headquartered in the UK and publicly listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L). For further information, please visit: www.rws.com. Contacts View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250328770182/en/ Contacts: RWS Denis Davies Corporate Communications ddavies@rws.com +44 1628 410105 EQS Post-admission Duties announcement: Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd. / Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act] Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd.: Announcement on Changing Its Part of the Undertakings of Assets Injection of Haier Group Corporation 28.03.2025 / 10:19 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Post-admission Duties announcement according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 WpHG transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Announcement on Changing Its Part of the Undertakings of Assets Injection of Haier Group Corporation Qingdao / Shanghai / Frankfurt / Hong Kong, 28 March 2025 - Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. (the "Company" or "Haier Smart Home", D-share 690D.DE, A-share 600690.SH, H-share 06690.HK) yesterday published an announcement in accordance with applicable trading rules of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and applicable PRC laws in relation to Changing Its Part of the Undertakings of Assets Injection of Haier Group Corporation. The full announcement is available at: https://smart-home.haier.com/en/dggg/P020250328541705949549.pdf?appdesc=Announcement%20on%20Changing%20Its%20Part%20of%20the%20Undertakings%20of%20Assets%20Injection%20of%20Haier%20Group%20Corporation IR Contact: Haier Smart Home Hong Kong T: +852 2169 0000 Email: ir@haier.hk Press Contact: CROSS ALLIANCE communication GmbH Sara Pinto pi@crossalliance.de T: +49 89 1250903 35 About Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.: Haier is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household appliances with a focus on smart home solutions and customized production. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. develops, produces and distributes a wide range of household appliances. These include refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, air conditioners, water heaters, kitchen appliances as well as small household appliances and an extensive range of intelligent household appliances. The Company distributes its products through leading household brands such as Haier, Casarte, Leader, Candy, GE Appliances, AQUA and Fisher & Paykel. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. has launched Smart Home Experiential Cloud in the Chinese market, which connects homes, users, enterprises and ecosystem partners, and facilitates the integration of Haier's online, offline and micro-store businesses and supports user interaction to further optimize the user experience. 28.03.2025 CET/CEST The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.eqs-news.com VITORIA, Spain, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Aernnova strengthens its board and executive leadership as it continues to develop internationally to benefit from strong growth in the aerospace and defence sectors. The Board of Directors of Aernnova has appointed two Co-Chairs, Inaki Lopez Gandasegui and Grant Skinner, in order for the increasingly global tier one aerostructures company to take full advantage of strong growth in the aerospace and defence sectors. Aernnova, headquartered in the Basque region of Spain, is a global leader in the engineering, design, manufacture and support of advanced composite and metallic aerostructures. The company doubled its turnover since 2018, reaching $1.1billion through a combination of strong organic growth, continued market share gains and strategic acquisitions in the US, UK and Portugal. Aernnova serves its customers across civil and defence programs, in single aisle, twin aisle, commuter, business aircraft, rotorcraft and advanced air mobility, is a strategic supplier to both Airbus and Embraer and has a growing relationship with Boeing. Through its engineering and manufacturing sites in Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Mexico, Aernnova will benefit from strong growth in air travel and, from its defence hubs in the US and UK, will respond to increasing defence demand. The decision to strengthen Aernnova's board and executive leadership supports the company's ambitious growth plans, both on current and next generation programs. New appointments Inaki Lopez Gandasegui, former CEO of Gamesa and founder of Aernnova, will maintain institutional responsibilities as Chair - Institutions, and Grant Skinner, with extensive experience in the sector including as Vice-Chair of Strata (a Middle East based Aernnova Group confidential information. Limited use on a need-to-know basis. All rights reserved. aerostructures company) and Chair of SR Technics (a leading aircraft MRO services company) will chair the board as Executive Chair. In addition, Anna Keeling, former Vice President and Managing Director of Boeing Defence UK, recently joined the board. Marwan Lahoud, previously Director of Strategy and Marketing at Airbus and David Barger, formerly CEO at JetBlue, remain on the board. The Company will continue to be led by Mr. Ricardo Chocarro as Chief Executive Officer who, in recent months, has reshaped his executive leadership team with new appointments including a new Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Procurement Officer with external hires complementing those with significant company experience. Aernnova is increasingly well-positioned to support its customers' ambitious growth plans on current and future aerospace and defence programs. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2652161/Co_Chair_of_Aernnova_Grant_Skinner.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2652162/Co_Chair_of_Aernnova_I_aki_L_pez_Gand_segui.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/inaki-lopez-gandasegui-and-grant-skinner-co-chairs-of-aernnova-302413556.html Three-year investment supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland Project to accelerate the development of open network management and automation capabilities used in 5G networks globally Investment reinforces Ireland's position as a strategic hub for technological innovation STOCKHOLM, April 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ericsson has announced a significant EUR 200 million investment over the next three years in a pioneering research, development, and innovation (RD&I) project at the company's Athlone facility in central Ireland. The project, supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland, will underpin Ericsson's development of world-leading capabilities for the management of high performing, open programmable networks. These capabilities are key to enabling communications service providers (CSPs) to improve operational efficiency, as well as accelerating the global deployment and value generation of 5G Standalone (SA) connectivity through differentiated offerings. The project will advance support for open, multi-vendor, disaggregated and programmable network deployments. The investment will focus on the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP), and network powered rApps (applications to automate radio access network management and optimization). EIAP is Ericsson's open network management and automation platform for multi-vendor and multi-technology 4G and 5G Radio Access Networks (RAN), which is largely designed at the Athlone site. The platform provides an open environment for developing and running rApps from any vendor and radio technology, enabling CSPs to readily introduce innovations from diverse technology partners. With broad ecosystem support, this open framework for rApp development aims to accelerate the pace of RAN innovation through collaboration across an expanding partner network. The investment aims to deliver next-generation open network management and automation capabilities with Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and advanced analytics. Such capabilities will help CSPs to improve network performance, accelerate innovation cycles, and reduce costs through autonomous network operations. The substantial new investment underlines Ericsson's commitment to Ireland as a strategic hub for research and development. Ericsson's presence in Ireland spans five decades. Ericsson currently employs more than 1,300 people in the country, with the Athlone facility serving as the company's designated center of excellence for intelligent network management. Ericsson and IDA Ireland have a longstanding relationship, since the IDA provided Ericsson with the current building when the company came to Athlone in 1974. Supported by the Irish Government and IDA Ireland, the Athlone facility brings together top global talent and pioneering technology to transform network management, providing benefits to Ericsson's global customer base. Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Peter Burke, TD, says: "Ericsson's EUR 200 million announcement at their Athlone facility is fantastic news. Their innovative R&D project, which will span a duration of three years, will improve efficiency in 5G networks globally. Ericsson have been established in Ireland for decades, with the Athlone facility a significant employer and an integral part of the fabric of the community for over 50 years. It is really encouraging that Ericsson have once again cemented Athlone as key base for the company, selecting the campus and the staff based here to lead this pioneering work. I wish all the team in Ericsson the very best with this exciting new chapter." Michael Lohan, CEO, IDA, says: "Ericsson's ambitious programme is strongly aligned with the key growth drivers of IDA Ireland's new strategy - Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustained Growth and Innovation. The investment strengthens the long-term legacy of Ericsson in Ireland, building on the success of past investments spanning more than 60 years. This RD&I project embodies cutting-edge innovation, exemplifies IDA's continued commitment to balanced regional development. I wish Ericsson every success with this project and assure them of IDA Ireland's continued partnership." Denis Dullea, Head of Ericsson's Athlone site and Network Management Engineering Unit, says: "Ericsson has a long history and deep roots in Ireland spanning more than 50 years. This EUR 200 million investment, supported by the IDA and Irish government, is a testament to our commitment to Ireland and confidence in our exceptional talent here. By delivering on this cutting-edge project, we're both investing in Ireland's future and empowering mobile operators worldwide." RELATED LINKS: Ericsson's Athlone R&D center celebrates 50th anniversary, forges national partnerships for future innovation Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform NOTES TO EDITORS: FOLLOW US: Subscribe to Ericsson press releases Subscribe to Ericsson blog posts https://x.com/ericsson https://www.facebook.com/ericsson https://www.linkedin.com/company/ericsson MORE INFORMATION AT: Ericsson Newsroom media.relations@ericsson.com (+46 10 719 69 92) investor.relations@ericsson.com (+46 10 719 00 00) ABOUT ERICSSON: Ericsson's high-performing networks provide connectivity for billions of people every day. For nearly 150 years, we've been pioneers in creating technology for communication. We offer mobile communication and connectivity solutions for service providers and enterprises. Together with our customers and partners, we make the digital world of tomorrow a reality. www.ericsson.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/ericsson/r/ericsson-invests-eur-200-million-at-athlone-facility-to-boost-high-performing-programmable-networks-,c4138866 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/15448/4138866/3404885.pdf PDF Ericsson invests EUR 200 million at Athlone facility to boost high-performing programmable networks leadership https://news.cision.com/ericsson/i/ida-ireland-ceo-michael-lohan-ericsson-president-and-ceo-borje-ekholm-ireland-s-minister-for-enterpr,c3401433 IDA Ireland CEO Michael Lohan Ericsson President and CEO Borje Ekholm Ireland s Minister for Enterprise Trade Employment Peter Bu View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ericsson-invests-eur-200-million-at-athlone-facility-to-boost-high-performing-programmable-networks-leadership-302436977.html SHENZHEN, China, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SINEXCEL (300693.SZ), a global pioneer in modular energy storage, EV charging and power quality solutions, has officially launched its ESG strategic initiative, 'Energy for All,' aimed at advancing global energy equity and inclusion. Rooted in the company's core values of Sincerity, Integrity, and Long-termism, this initiative underscores SINEXCEL's commitment to breaking energy barriers and expanding access to clean power, paving the way for global energy freedom. Building an Inclusive Ecosystem for Energy Equity & Inclusion Empowering Education : SINEXCEL partners with universities to offer internships and collaborate on energy technology research , fostering the next generation of energy innovators. : SINEXCEL partners with universities to offer and collaborate on , fostering the next generation of energy innovators. Driving Environmental Sustainability: Committed to environmental protection, SINEXCEL develops energy solutions within its low-carbon factories , integrating green practices into its operations. Committed to environmental protection, SINEXCEL develops energy solutions within its , integrating green practices into its operations. Bridging the Energy Gap: Deploying energy solutions in underserved regions-from off-grid villages in Myanmar to communities in Malawi-SINEXCEL ensures reliable electricity access while supporting local development. Deploying energy solutions in underserved regions-from off-grid villages in Myanmar to communities in Malawi-SINEXCEL ensures while supporting local development. Advancing Healthcare Through Technology: Leveraging innovation, SINEXCEL supports healthcare initiatives that safeguard lives and enhance overall well-being. Expanding Global Sustainability Impact Guided by its core values, SINEXCEL is extending its sustainability impact worldwide by scaling up local projects and forming strategic alliances with global institutions. The company aims to deepen its partnerships with leading academic institutions and international organizations to create a more inclusive energy landscape. Empowering Energy Freedom Energy freedom signifies equal access to clean energy. Through scalable and replicable ESG initiatives, SINEXCEL is removing barriers to clean energy access and redefining social responsibility, empowering inclusive, accessible, and sustainable energy for all. Explore our sustainability efforts here: https://en.sinexcel.com/about/sustainability.php. About SINEXCEL Founded in 2007, SINEXCEL is a leading pioneer of energy storage, EV charging and power quality solutions, backed by nearly two decades of expertise in power electronics. With 12 GW of installed storage, 140,000 EV chargers and nearly 20 million amperes of AHF deployed, SINEXCEL partners with industry leaders like EVE Energy and Schneider Electric to empower energy freedom. Media Contact Melody Yu, Marketing Manager melody_yu@sinexcel.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2652678/SINEXCEL_Launches__Energy_All__ESG_Initiative_Drive_Global_Energy_Equity.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sinexcel-launches-energy-for-all-esg-initiative-to-drive-global-energy-equity--inclusion-302414223.html Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 28, 2025) - Seabridge Gold Inc. (TSX: SEA) (NYSE: SA) ("Seabridge" or the "Company") announced today that the British Columbia Supreme Court ("BCSC") has allowed its appeal of the Canada Revenue Agency's ("CRA") decision to disallow $15.8 million in exploration expenditures it claimed under the BC Mining Exploration Tax Credit ("BC METC") program. In her decision, Justice Maisonville concluded that expenses that assist in the determination of the economic viability of a mineral resource qualify under the BC METC program. As a result, all exploration expenditures claimed by Seabridge, other than report compilation expenses, were validly claimed by Seabridge. Approximately $3.1 million in refunds (plus interest) under the BC METC program were at issue. Seabridge was also awarded costs for its success in the appeal. The decision focused on the meaning of the definition of "qualified mining exploration expenses" ("QMEE") under the BC METC program. At issue was whether the disallowed expenses fell within the purpose test in that definition, namely whether they were "incurred for the purpose of determining the existence, location, extent or quality of a mineral resource in BC". Justice Masonville concluded that "expenses that assist in the determination of the economic viability of a mineral resource are captured under the 'quality' term of the purpose test". Accordingly, expenses relating to determining a broad range of factors that inform whether a mineral resource can be extracted economically meet this purpose test. The expenses the court decided qualified for the BC METC program included open pit and block cave mine plans and engineering, geotechnical investigations and engineering, engineering relating to water, mine waste and tailings management, infrastructure design (including electrical), metallurgical testing, and process plant design. The only expenses that were not allowed were expenses relating to compiling and assessing the technical information supporting a pre-feasibility study into a report. The Company also renounced the same types of exploration expenditures to investors in flow-through share financings the Company completed in 2013 - 2015, claiming the expenditures qualified as "Canadian exploration expenses" ("CEE") under the federal Income Tax Act. The CRA reassessed the Company and reduced the amounts renounced to investors by approximately $19.1 million on the basis that the expenses were not "incurred for the purpose of determining the existence, location, extent or quality of a mineral resource". The CRA then reassessed most of the flow-through share investors and rejected the deductions or credits they claimed associated with those disallowed expenditures. The Company has filed an objection to the CRA's reassessment of its renounced expenditures, and the reassessed investors have also filed objections to the CRA's reassessments of these renounced expenditures. The Company has deposited $9.4 million with CRA on behalf of the flow-through share investors. The Company's and the investors' objections are being held in abeyance pending this decision on the disallowed BC METC expenditures. The Company believes that the reasoning in Justice Maisonville's decision is directly applicable to these renounced expenditures and will be conferring with its counsel on how to resolve this second legal matter with the CRA in a timely way. Chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk said: "I am very pleased with the BCSC decision validating Seabridge's claimed expenditures. It demonstrates that our approach to claiming expenses under BC METC and in respect of flow-through share subscriptions has been reasonable. This decision should not only result in funds being returned to the Company in respect of our BC METC claim but also should form the basis for a resolution of the flow-through share reassessments and result in the return of further funds." Mr. Fronk added: "I want to thank our counsel, Thorsteinssons LLP, who argued this case for us, as well as our flow-through investors for their patience and support of Seabridge in the related legal challenges." Seabridge holds a 100% interest in several North American gold projects. Two of Seabridge's principal assets, the KSM project and its Iskut project, are located in British Columbia's "Golden Triangle". The Courageous Lake project is located in Canada's Northwest Territories, the Snowstorm project in the Getchell Gold Belt of Northern Nevada and the 3 Aces project in the Yukon Territory. For a full breakdown of Seabridge's mineral reserves and mineral resources by category please visit the Company's website at http://www.seabridgegold.com. Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, nor their Regulation Services Providers accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Rudi Fronk" Chairman and C.E.O. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246436 SOURCE: Seabridge Gold Inc. Recommendation is based primarily on results from the Phase 3 CheckMate -67T trial which demonstrated noninferiority in the co-primary endpoints of C avgd28 and C minss and consistent efficacy in the secondary endpoint of overall response rate for the subcutaneous formulation of Opdivo vs. its intravenous formulation A decision on the EU Opdivo extension of marketing authorization is expected by June 2, 2025 Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval of a new Opdivo(nivolumab) formulation associated with a new route of administration (subcutaneous use), a new pharmaceutical form (solution for injection) and a new strength (600 mg/vial). Nivolumab for subcutaneous use co-formulated with recombinant human hyaluronidase (rHuPH20), is indicated across multiple previously approved adult solid tumors as monotherapy, monotherapy maintenance following completion of nivolumab plus Yervoy (ipilimumab)combination therapy, or in combination with chemotherapy or cabozantinib. The CHMP opinion will now be reviewed by the European Commission (EC), which has the authority to approve medicines in the European Union (EU). "The positive CHMP opinion is an important step forward in the evolution of immuno-oncology and in the potential of subcutaneous nivolumab to help transform the lives of people living with cancer," said Dana Walker, M.D., M.S.C.E., Opdivo global program lead, Bristol Myers Squibb. "We look forward to bringing the same high-quality care that transformed cancer treatment with an administration method that has the potential to improve the patient experience and efficiency of healthcare systems in Europe." The positive CHMP opinion is based on results from the CheckMate -67T trial, and additional data that demonstrated comparable pharmacokinetics and safety profiles between subcutaneous use of Opdivo and IV Opdivo, in which subcutaneous Opdivo demonstrated noninferiority of Cavgd28 (time-averaged Opdivo serum concentration over 28 days) and Cminss (trough serum concentration at steady state), the study's primary endpoints, vs. intravenous (IV) Opdivo in patients with advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) who have received no more than two prior lines of systemic therapy. The geometric mean ratio (GMR) for Cavgd28 was 2.10 (90% CI: 2.00-2.20) and the GMR for Cminss was 1.77 (90% CI: 1.63-1.93). Additionally, as a key powered secondary endpoint, the objective response rate (ORR) in the subcutaneous Opdivo arm (n=248) was 24% (95% CI: 19-30), compared with 18% (95% CI: 14-24) in the IV Opdivo arm (n=247), showing that subcutaneous Opdivo has similar efficacy compared to IV Opdivo. The safety profile of subcutaneous Opdivo was consistent with the IV formulation. The pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety results from CheckMate -67T were presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Additional safety analyses and patient reported outcomes were presented at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress. In the EU, the EC delivers its final decision within approximately two months following receipt of the CHMP opinion. Once issued, the decision will be applicable to all EU member states as well as in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.* On December 27, 2024, nivolumaband hyaluronidase-nvhy, marketed under the brand name Opdivo Qvantig, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Bristol Myers Squibb thanks the patients and investigators involved in the CheckMate -67T clinical trial. *Centralized Marketing Authorization does not include approval in the United Kingdom (UK). About CheckMate -67T CheckMate -67T is a Phase 3, randomized, open-label, noninferiority trial evaluating subcutaneous administration of Opdivo co-formulated with Halozyme's proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase rHuPH20, or subcutaneous nivolumab compared to intravenous (IV) Opdivo, in adult patients with advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) who received prior systemic therapy. A total of 495 patients were randomized to receive eithersubcutaneous nivolumab (1,200 mg of nivolumab and 20,000 units of hyaluronidase) every 4 weeks subcutaneously (n 248), or Opdivo 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks intravenously (n 247). The coprimary endpoints are time-averaged concentration over 28 days (Cavgd28) and minimum concentration at steady state (Cminss). The key powered secondary endpoint is overall response rate, as assessed by blinded independent central review. About Subcutaneous Administration Subcutaneous administration is delivery of treatment beneath the skin and is an alternative to IV infusion. There are several potential benefits of subcutaneous administration: it may offer the flexibility to provide and receive treatment where it is best for the healthcare provider and patient, may impact infusion chair capacity, and may reduce time spent preparing and administering treatment. It may also simplify administering treatment for patients who have difficult-to-access veins or do not want a port. Subcutaneous treatment has the potential to be administered by a healthcare professional without site of care restrictions. Select Safety Profile from CheckMate -67T Serious adverse reactions occurred in 28% of patients receiving subcutaneous nivolumab (n=247). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in >1% of patients who received subcutaneous nivolumab were pleural effusion (1.6%), pneumonitis (1.6%), hyperglycemia (1.2%), hyperkalemia (1.2%), hemorrhage (1.2%) and diarrhea (1.2%). The most common adverse reactions (=10%) in patients treated with subcutaneous nivolumab (n=247) were musculoskeletal pain (31%), fatigue (20%), pruritus (16%), rash (15%), hypothyroidism (12%), diarrhea (11%), cough (11%), and abdominal pain (10%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 3 (1.2%) patients who received subcutaneous nivolumab; these included myocarditis, myositis, and colitis complications. Study therapy was discontinued in 10% of patients due to adverse reactions. The safety profile of subcutaneous nivolumab was comparable with the safety profile of IV Opdivo About Opdivo Opdivo is a programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor that is designed to uniquely harness the body's own immune system to help restore anti-tumor immune response. By harnessing the body's own immune system to fight cancer, Opdivo has become an important treatment option across multiple cancers. Opdivo's leading global development program is based on Bristol Myers Squibb's scientific expertise in the field of Immuno-Oncology and includes a broad range of clinical trials across all phases, including Phase 3, in a variety of tumor types. To date, the Opdivo clinical development program has treated more than 35,000 patients. The Opdivo trials have contributed to gaining a deeper understanding of the potential role of biomarkers in patient care, particularly regarding how patients may benefit from Opdivo across the continuum of PD-L1 expression. In July 2014, Opdivo was the first PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor to receive regulatory approval anywhere in the world. Opdivo is currently approved in more than 65 countries, including the United States, the European Union, Japan and China. In October 2015, the Company's Opdivo and Yervoy combination regimen was the first Immuno-Oncology combination to receive regulatory approval for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and is currently approved in more than 50 countries, including the United States and the European Union. INDICATIONS OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with completely resected Stage IIB, Stage IIC, Stage III, or Stage IV melanoma. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated as neoadjuvant treatment of adult patients with resectable (tumors =4 cm or node positive) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). OPDIVO (nivolumab) in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated for neoadjuvant treatment of adult patients with resectable (tumors =4 cm or node positive) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and no known epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements, followed by single-agent OPDIVO as adjuvant treatment after surgery. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1 (=1%) as determined by an FDA-approved test, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab) and 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving OPDIVO. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with intermediate or poor risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with cabozantinib, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received prior anti-angiogenic therapy. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) with disease progression on or after platinum-based therapy. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or have disease progression within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy. OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) who are at high risk of recurrence after undergoing radical resection of UC. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine, is indicated as first-line treatment for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after prior fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of completely resected esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer with residual pathologic disease in adult patients who have received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION Severe and Fatal Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions Immune-mediated adverse reactions listed herein may not include all possible severe and fatal immune- mediated adverse reactions. Immune-mediated adverse reactions, which may be severe or fatal, can occur in any organ system or tissue. While immune-mediated adverse reactions usually manifest during treatment, they can also occur after discontinuation of OPDIVO or YERVOY. Early identification and management are essential to ensure safe use of OPDIVO and YERVOY. Monitor for signs and symptoms that may be clinical manifestations of underlying immune-mediated adverse reactions. Evaluate clinical chemistries including liver enzymes, creatinine, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level, and thyroid function at baseline and periodically during treatment with OPDIVO and before each dose of YERVOY. In cases of suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, initiate appropriate workup to exclude alternative etiologies, including infection. Institute medical management promptly, including specialty consultation as appropriate. Withhold or permanently discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). In general, if OPDIVO or YERVOY interruption or discontinuation is required, administer systemic corticosteroid therapy (1 to 2 mg/kg/day prednisone or equivalent) until improvement to Grade 1 or less. Upon improvement to Grade 1 or less, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Consider administration of other systemic immunosuppressants in patients whose immune-mediated adverse reactions are not controlled with corticosteroid therapy. Toxicity management guidelines for adverse reactions that do not necessarily require systemic steroids (e.g., endocrinopathies and dermatologic reactions) are discussed below. Immune-Mediated Pneumonitis OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated pneumonitis. The incidence of pneumonitis is higher in patients who have received prior thoracic radiation. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 3.1% (61/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (<0.1%), Grade 3 (0.9%), and Grade 2 (2.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 7% (31/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.0%), and Grade 2 (4.4%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 3.9% (26/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.4%) and Grade 2 (2.6%). In NSCLC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 9% (50/576) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.5%), Grade 3 (3.5%), and Grade 2 (4.0%). Four patients (0.7%) died due to pneumonitis. Immune-Mediated Colitis OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated colitis, which may be fatal. A common symptom included in the definition of colitis was diarrhea. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection/reactivation has been reported in patients with corticosteroid-refractory immune-mediated colitis. In cases of corticosteroid-refractory colitis, consider repeating infectious workup to exclude alternative etiologies. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 2.9% (58/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.7%) and Grade 2 (1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 25% (115/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.4%), Grade 3 (14%) and Grade 2 (8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 9% (60/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.4%) and Grade 2 (3.7%). Immune-Mediated Hepatitis and Hepatotoxicity OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated hepatitis. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 1.8% (35/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (1.3%), and Grade 2 (0.4%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune- mediated hepatitis occurred in 15% (70/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (2.4%), Grade 3 (11%), and Grade 2 (1.8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (1.2%), Grade 3 (4.9%), and Grade 2 (0.4%). OPDIVO in combination with cabozantinib can cause hepatic toxicity with higher frequencies of Grade 3 and 4 ALT and AST elevations compared to OPDIVO alone. Consider more frequent monitoring of liver enzymes as compared to when the drugs are administered as single agents. In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, Grades 3 and 4 increased ALT or AST were seen in 11% of patients. Immune-Mediated Endocrinopathies OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency, immune-mediated hypophysitis, immune-mediated thyroid disorders, and Type 1 diabetes mellitus, which can present with diabetic ketoacidosis. Withhold OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). For Grade 2 or higher adrenal insufficiency, initiate symptomatic treatment, including hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Hypophysitis can present with acute symptoms associated with mass effect such as headache, photophobia, or visual field defects. Hypophysitis can cause hypopituitarism; initiate hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Thyroiditis can present with or without endocrinopathy. Hypothyroidism can follow hyperthyroidism; initiate hormone replacement or medical management as clinically indicated. Monitor patients for hyperglycemia or other signs and symptoms of diabetes; initiate treatment with insulin as clinically indicated. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 1% (20/1994), including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (0.6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 8% (35/456), including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.5%), and Grade 2 (4.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 4.7% (15/320) of patients, including Grade 3 (2.2%) and Grade 2 (1.9%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hypophysitis occurred in 0.6% (12/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.2%) and Grade 2 (0.3%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypophysitis occurred in 9% (42/456), including Grade 3 (2.4%) and Grade 2 (6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypophysitis occurred in 4.4% (29/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (0.9%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, thyroiditis occurred in 0.6% (12/1994) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, thyroiditis occurred in 2.7% (22/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.5%) and Grade 2 (2.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hyperthyroidism occurred in 2.7% (54/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (<0.1%) and Grade 2 (1.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hyperthyroidism occurred in 9% (42/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.9%) and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hyperthyroidism occurred in 12% (80/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.6%) and Grade 2 (4.5%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hypothyroidism occurred in 8% (163/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.2%) and Grade 2 (4.8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypothyroidism occurred in 20% (91/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (11%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypothyroidism occurred in 18% (122/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.6%) and Grade 2 (11%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, diabetes occurred in 0.9% (17/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (0.3%), and 2 cases of diabetic ketoacidosis. In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, diabetes occurred in 2.7% (15/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.6%), Grade 3 (0.3%), and Grade 2 (0.9%). Immune-Mediated Nephritis with Renal Dysfunction OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated nephritis. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated nephritis and renal dysfunction occurred in 1.2% (23/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (<0.1%), Grade 3 (0.5%), and Grade 2 (0.6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated nephritis with renal dysfunction occurred in 4.1% (27/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.6%), Grade 3 (1.1%), and Grade 2 (2.2%). Immune-Mediated Dermatologic Adverse Reactions OPDIVO can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis. Exfoliative dermatitis, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) has occurred with PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate nonexfoliative rashes. YERVOY can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis, including bullous and exfoliative dermatitis, SJS, TEN, and DRESS. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate non-bullous/exfoliative rashes. Withhold or permanently discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated rash occurred in 9% (171/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.1%) and Grade 2 (2.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated rash occurred in 28% (127/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.8%) and Grade 2 (10%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated rash occurred in 16% (108/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (3.5%) and Grade 2 (4.2%). Other Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions The following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred at an incidence of <1% (unless otherwise noted) in patients who received OPDIVO monotherapy or OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY or were reported with the use of other PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies. Severe or fatal cases have been reported for some of these adverse reactions: cardiac/vascular: myocarditis, pericarditis, vasculitis; nervous system: meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis and demyelination, myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis (including exacerbation), Guillain-Barre syndrome, nerve paresis, autoimmune neuropathy; ocular: uveitis, iritis, and other ocular inflammatory toxicities can occur; gastrointestinal: pancreatitis to include increases in serum amylase and lipase levels, gastritis, duodenitis; musculoskeletal and connective tissue: myositis/polymyositis, rhabdomyolysis, and associated sequelae including renal failure, arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica; endocrine: hypoparathyroidism; other (hematologic/immune): hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), systemic inflammatory response syndrome, histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (Kikuchi lymphadenitis), sarcoidosis, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, solid organ transplant rejection, other transplant (including corneal graft) rejection. In addition to the immune-mediated adverse reactions listed above, across clinical trials of YERVOY monotherapy or in combination with OPDIVO, the following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions, some with fatal outcome, occurred in <1% of patients unless otherwise specified: nervous system: autoimmune neuropathy (2%), myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis, motor dysfunction; cardiovascular: angiopathy, temporal arteritis; ocular: blepharitis, episcleritis, orbital myositis, scleritis; gastrointestinal: pancreatitis (1.3%); other (hematologic/immune): conjunctivitis, cytopenias (2.5%), eosinophilia (2.1%), erythema multiforme, hypersensitivity vasculitis, neurosensory hypoacusis, psoriasis. Some ocular IMAR cases can be associated with retinal detachment. Various grades of visual impairment, including blindness, can occur. If uveitis occurs in combination with other immune-mediated adverse reactions, consider a Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome, which has been observed in patients receiving OPDIVO and YERVOY, as this may require treatment with systemic corticosteroids to reduce the risk of permanent vision loss. Infusion-Related Reactions OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause severe infusion-related reactions. Discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY in patients with severe (Grade 3) or life-threatening (Grade 4) infusion-related reactions. Interrupt or slow the rate of infusion in patients with mild (Grade 1) or moderate (Grade 2) infusion-related reactions. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy as a 60-minute infusion, infusion-related reactions occurred in 6.4% (127/1994) of patients. In a separate trial in which patients received OPDIVO monotherapy as a 60-minute infusion or a 30- minute infusion, infusion-related reactions occurred in 2.2% (8/368) and 2.7% (10/369) of patients, respectively. Additionally, 0.5% (2/368) and 1.4% (5/369) of patients, respectively, experienced adverse reactions within 48 hours of infusion that led to dose delay, permanent discontinuation or withholding of OPDIVO. In melanoma patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 2.5% (10/407) of patients. In RCC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 5.1% (28/547) of patients. In MPM patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 12% (37/300) of patients. Complications of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Fatal and other serious complications can occur in patients who receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) before or after being treated with OPDIVO or YERVOY. Transplant-related complications include hyperacute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) after reduced intensity conditioning, and steroid-requiring febrile syndrome (without an identified infectious cause). These complications may occur despite intervening therapy between OPDIVO or YERVOY and allogeneic HSCT. Follow patients closely for evidence of transplant-related complications and intervene promptly. Consider the benefit versus risks of treatment with OPDIVO and YERVOY prior to or after an allogeneic HSCT. Embryo-Fetal Toxicity Based on its mechanism of action and findings from animal studies, OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. The effects of YERVOY are likely to be greater during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with OPDIVO and YERVOY and for at least 5 months after the last dose. Increased Mortality in Patients with Multiple Myeloma when OPDIVO is Added to a Thalidomide Analogue and Dexamethasone In randomized clinical trials in patients with multiple myeloma, the addition of OPDIVO to a thalidomide analogue plus dexamethasone resulted in increased mortality. Treatment of patients with multiple myeloma with a PD-1 or PD-L1 blocking antibody in combination with a thalidomide analogue plus dexamethasone is not recommended outside of controlled clinical trials. Lactation There are no data on the presence of OPDIVO or YERVOY in human milk, the effects on the breastfed child, or the effects on milk production. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in breastfed children, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment and for 5 months after the last dose. Serious Adverse Reactions In Checkmate 037, serious adverse reactions occurred in 41% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=268). Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions occurred in 42% of patients receiving OPDIVO. The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse drug reactions reported in 2% to <5% of patients receiving OPDIVO were abdominal pain, hyponatremia, increased aspartate aminotransferase, and increased lipase. In Checkmate 066, serious adverse reactions occurred in 36% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=206). Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions occurred in 41% of patients receiving OPDIVO. The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were gamma-glutamyltransferase increase (3.9%) and diarrhea (3.4%). In Checkmate 067, serious adverse reactions (74% and 44%), adverse reactions leading to permanent discontinuation (47% and 18%) or to dosing delays (58% and 36%), and Grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions (72% and 51%) all occurred more frequently in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm (n=313) relative to the OPDIVO arm (n=313). The most frequent (=10%) serious adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm and the OPDIVO arm, respectively, were diarrhea (13% and 2.2%), colitis (10% and 1.9%), and pyrexia (10% and 1.0%). In Checkmate 238, serious adverse reactions occurred in 18% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=452). Grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions occurred in 25% of OPDIVO-treated patients (n=452). The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions reported in =2% of OPDIVO-treated patients were diarrhea and increased lipase and amylase. In Checkmate 816, serious adverse reactions occurred in 30% of patients (n=176) who were treated with OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy. Serious adverse reactions in >2% included pneumonia and vomiting. No fatal adverse reactions occurred in patients who received OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy. In Checkmate 77T, serious adverse reactions occurred in 21% of patients who received OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment (n=228). The most frequent (=2%) serious adverse reactions was pneumonia. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 2.2% of patients, due to cerebrovascular accident, COVID-19 infection, hemoptysis, pneumonia, and pneumonitis (0.4% each). In the adjuvant phase of Checkmate 77T, 22% of patients experienced serious adverse reactions (n=142). The most frequent serious adverse reaction was pneumonitis/ILD (2.8%). One fatal adverse reaction due to COVID-19 occurred. In Checkmate 227, serious adverse reactions occurred in 58% of patients (n=576). The most frequent (=2%) serious adverse reactions were pneumonia, diarrhea/colitis, pneumonitis, hepatitis, pulmonary embolism, adrenal insufficiency, and hypophysitis. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 1.7% of patients; these included events of pneumonitis (4 patients), myocarditis, acute kidney injury, shock, hyperglycemia, multi-system organ failure, and renal failure. In Checkmate 9LA, serious adverse reactions occurred in 57% of patients (n=358). The most frequent (>2%) serious adverse reactions were pneumonia, diarrhea, febrile neutropenia, anemia, acute kidney injury, musculoskeletal pain, dyspnea, pneumonitis, and respiratory failure. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 7 (2%) patients, and included hepatic toxicity, acute renal failure, sepsis, pneumonitis, diarrhea with hypokalemia, and massive hemoptysis in the setting of thrombocytopenia. In Checkmate 017 and 057, serious adverse reactions occurred in 46% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=418). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, dyspnea, pyrexia, pleural effusion, pneumonitis, and respiratory failure. In Checkmate 057, fatal adverse reactions occurred; these included events of infection (7 patients, including one case of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia), pulmonary embolism (4 patients), and limbic encephalitis (1 patient). In Checkmate 743, serious adverse reactions occurred in 54% of patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were pneumonia, pyrexia, diarrhea, pneumonitis, pleural effusion, dyspnea, acute kidney injury, infusion-related reaction, musculoskeletal pain, and pulmonary embolism. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 4 (1.3%) patients and included pneumonitis, acute heart failure, sepsis, and encephalitis. In Checkmate 214, serious adverse reactions occurred in 59% of patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY (n=547). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were diarrhea, pyrexia, pneumonia, pneumonitis, hypophysitis, acute kidney injury, dyspnea, adrenal insufficiency, and colitis. In Checkmate 9ER, serious adverse reactions occurred in 48% of patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib (n=320). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were diarrhea, pneumonia, pneumonitis, pulmonary embolism, urinary tract infection, and hyponatremia. Fatal intestinal perforations occurred in 3 (0.9%) patients. In Checkmate 025, serious adverse reactions occurred in 47% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=406). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were acute kidney injury, pleural effusion, pneumonia, diarrhea, and hypercalcemia. In Checkmate 141, serious adverse reactions occurred in 49% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=236). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were pneumonia, dyspnea, respiratory failure, respiratory tract infection, and sepsis. In Checkmate 275, serious adverse reactions occurred in 54% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=270). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were urinary tract infection, sepsis, diarrhea, small intestine obstruction, and general physical health deterioration. In Checkmate 274, serious adverse reactions occurred in 30% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=351). The most frequent serious adverse reaction reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO was urinary tract infection. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 1% of patients; these included events of pneumonitis (0.6%). In Checkmate 901, serious adverse reactions occurred in 48% of patients receiving OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reporting in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO with chemotherapy were urinary tract infection (4.9%), acute kidney injury (4.3%), anemia (3%), pulmonary embolism (2.6%), sepsis (2.3%), and platelet count decreased (2.3%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 3.6% of patients who received OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy; these included sepsis (1%). OPDIVO and/or chemotherapy were discontinued in 30% of patients and were delayed in 67% of patients for an adverse reaction. In Attraction-3, serious adverse reactions occurred in 38% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=209). Serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO were pneumonia, esophageal fistula, interstitial lung disease, and pyrexia. The following fatal adverse reactions occurred in patients who received OPDIVO: interstitial lung disease or pneumonitis (1.4%), pneumonia (1.0%), septic shock (0.5%), esophageal fistula (0.5%), gastrointestinal hemorrhage (0.5%), pulmonary embolism (0.5%), and sudden death (0.5%). In Checkmate 577, serious adverse reactions occurred in 33% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=532). A serious adverse reaction reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO was pneumonitis. A fatal reaction of myocardial infarction occurred in one patient who received OPDIVO. In Checkmate 648, serious adverse reactions occurred in 62% of patients receiving OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=310). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO with chemotherapy were pneumonia (11%), dysphagia (7%), esophageal stenosis (2.9%), acute kidney injury (2.9%), and pyrexia (2.3%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 5 (1.6%) patients who received OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy; these included pneumonitis, pneumatosis intestinalis, pneumonia, and acute kidney injury. In Checkmate 648, serious adverse reactions occurred in 69% of patients receiving OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY (n=322). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% who received OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY were pneumonia (10%), pyrexia (4.3%), pneumonitis (4.0%), aspiration pneumonia (3.7%), dysphagia (3.7%), hepatic function abnormal (2.8%), decreased appetite (2.8%), adrenal insufficiency (2.5%), and dehydration (2.5%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 5 (1.6%) patients who received OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY; these included pneumonitis, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary embolism, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. In Checkmate 649, serious adverse reactions occurred in 52% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=782). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy were vomiting (3.7%), pneumonia (3.6%), anemia (3.6%), pyrexia (2.8%), diarrhea (2.7%), febrile neutropenia (2.6%), and pneumonitis (2.4%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 16 (2.0%) patients who were treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy; these included pneumonitis (4 patients), febrile neutropenia (2 patients), stroke (2 patients), gastrointestinal toxicity, intestinal mucositis, septic shock, pneumonia, infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, mesenteric vessel thrombosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. In Checkmate 76K, serious adverse reactions occurred in 18% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=524). Adverse reactions which resulted in permanent discontinuation of OPDIVO in >1% of patients included arthralgia (1.7%), rash (1.7%), and diarrhea (1.1%). A fatal adverse reaction occurred in 1 (0.2%) patient (heart failure and acute kidney injury). The most frequent Grade 3-4 lab abnormalities reported in =1% of OPDIVO-treated patients were increased lipase (2.9%), increased AST (2.2%), increased ALT (2.1%), lymphopenia (1.1%), and decreased potassium (1.0%). Common Adverse Reactions In Checkmate 037, the most common adverse reaction (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=268) was rash (21%). In Checkmate 066, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=206) vs dacarbazine (n=205) were fatigue (49% vs 39%), musculoskeletal pain (32% vs 25%), rash (28% vs 12%), and pruritus (23% vs 12%). In Checkmate 067, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm (n=313) were fatigue (62%), diarrhea (54%), rash (53%), nausea (44%), pyrexia (40%), pruritus (39%), musculoskeletal pain (32%), vomiting (31%), decreased appetite (29%), cough (27%), headache (26%), dyspnea (24%), upper respiratory tract infection (23%), arthralgia (21%), and increased transaminases (25%). In Checkmate 067, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO arm (n=313) were fatigue (59%), rash (40%), musculoskeletal pain (42%), diarrhea (36%), nausea (30%), cough (28%), pruritus (27%), upper respiratory tract infection (22%), decreased appetite (22%), headache (22%), constipation (21%), arthralgia (21%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 238, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in OPDIVO-treated patients (n=452) vs ipilimumab-treated patients (n=453) were fatigue (57% vs 55%), diarrhea (37% vs 55%), rash (35% vs 47%), musculoskeletal pain (32% vs 27%), pruritus (28% vs 37%), headache (23% vs 31%), nausea (23% vs 28%), upper respiratory infection (22% vs 15%), and abdominal pain (21% vs 23%). The most common immune-mediated adverse reactions were rash (16%), diarrhea/colitis (6%), and hepatitis (3%). In Checkmate 816, the most common (>20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus chemotherapy arm (n=176) were nausea (38%), constipation (34%), fatigue (26%), decreased appetite (20%), and rash (20%). In Checkmate 77T, the most common adverse reactions (reported in =20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n= 228) were anemia (39.5%), constipation (32.0%), nausea (28.9%), fatigue (28.1%), alopecia (25.9%), and cough (21.9%). In Checkmate 227, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions were fatigue (44%), rash (34%), decreased appetite (31%), musculoskeletal pain (27%), diarrhea/colitis (26%), dyspnea (26%), cough (23%), hepatitis (21%), nausea (21%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 9LA, the most common (>20%) adverse reactions were fatigue (49%), musculoskeletal pain (39%), nausea (32%), diarrhea (31%), rash (30%), decreased appetite (28%), constipation (21%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 017 and 057, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=418) were fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, cough, dyspnea, and decreased appetite. In Checkmate 743, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY were fatigue (43%), musculoskeletal pain (38%), rash (34%), diarrhea (32%), dyspnea (27%), nausea (24%), decreased appetite (24%), cough (23%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 214, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients treated with OPDIVO plus YERVOY (n=547) were fatigue (58%), rash (39%), diarrhea (38%), musculoskeletal pain (37%), pruritus (33%), nausea (30%), cough (28%), pyrexia (25%), arthralgia (23%), decreased appetite (21%), dyspnea (20%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 9ER, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib (n=320) were diarrhea (64%), fatigue (51%), hepatotoxicity (44%), palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome (40%), stomatitis (37%), rash (36%), hypertension (36%), hypothyroidism (34%), musculoskeletal pain (33%), decreased appetite (28%), nausea (27%), dysgeusia (24%), abdominal pain (22%), cough (20%) and upper respiratory tract infection (20%). In Checkmate 025, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=406) vs everolimus (n=397) were fatigue (56% vs 57%), cough (34% vs 38%), nausea (28% vs 29%), rash (28% vs 36%), dyspnea (27% vs 31%), diarrhea (25% vs 32%), constipation (23% vs 18%), decreased appetite (23% vs 30%), back pain (21% vs 16%), and arthralgia (20% vs 14%). In Checkmate 141, the most common adverse reactions (=10%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=236) were cough (14%) and dyspnea (14%) at a higher incidence than investigator's choice. In Checkmate 275, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=270) were fatigue (46%), musculoskeletal pain (30%), nausea (22%), and decreased appetite (22%). In Checkmate 274, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=351) were rash (36%), fatigue (36%), diarrhea (30%), pruritus (30%), musculoskeletal pain (28%), and urinary tract infection (22%).In Checkmate 901, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) were nausea, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, constipation, decreased appetite, rash, vomiting, and peripheral neuropathy. In Attraction-3, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in OPDIVO-treated patients (n=209) were rash (22%) and decreased appetite (21%). In Checkmate 577, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=532) were fatigue (34%), diarrhea (29%), nausea (23%), rash (21%), musculoskeletal pain (21%), and cough (20%). In Checkmate 648, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=310) were nausea (65%), decreased appetite (51%), fatigue (47%), constipation (44%), stomatitis (44%), diarrhea (29%), and vomiting (23%). In Checkmate 648, the most common adverse reactions reported in =20% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY were rash (31%), fatigue (28%), pyrexia (23%), nausea (22%), diarrhea (22%), and constipation (20%). In Checkmate 649, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=782) were peripheral neuropathy (53%), nausea (48%), fatigue (44%), diarrhea (39%), vomiting (31%), decreased appetite (29%), abdominal pain (27%), constipation (25%), and musculoskeletal pain (20%). In Checkmate 76K, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=524) were fatigue (36%), musculoskeletal pain (30%), rash (28%), diarrhea (23%) and pruritis (20%). Surgery Related Adverse Reactions In Checkmate 77T, 5.3% (n=12) of the OPDIVO-treated patients who received neoadjuvant treatment, did not receive surgery due to adverse reactions. The adverse reactions that led to cancellation of surgery in OPDIVO- treated patients were cerebrovascular accident, pneumonia, and colitis/diarrhea (2 patients each) and acute coronary syndrome, myocarditis, hemoptysis, pneumonitis, COVID-19, and myositis (1 patient each). Please see U.S. Full Prescribing Information for OPDIVO and YERVOY. Clinical Trials and Patient Populations Checkmate 227-previously untreated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 9LA-previously untreated recurrent or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in combination with YERVOY and 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy by histology; Checkmate 649-previously untreated advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction and esophageal adenocarcinoma; Checkmate 577-adjuvant treatment of esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer; Checkmate 238- adjuvant treatment of patients with completely resected Stage III or Stage IV melanoma; Checkmate 76K- adjuvant treatment of patients 12 years of age and older with completely resected Stage IIB or Stage IIC melanoma; Checkmate 274-adjuvant treatment of urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 275-previously treated advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 142-MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 142-MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Attraction-3-esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Checkmate 648-previously untreated, unresectable advanced recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Checkmate 648-previously untreated, unresectable advanced recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Checkmate 040-hepatocellular carcinoma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 743-previously untreated unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 037-previously treated metastatic melanoma; Checkmate 066-previously untreated metastatic melanoma; Checkmate 067-previously untreated metastatic melanoma, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 017-second-line treatment of metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer; Checkmate 057-second-line treatment of metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer; Checkmate 816-neoadjuvant non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy; Checkmate 901-Adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 141-recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck; Checkmate 025-previously treated renal cell carcinoma; Checkmate 214-previously untreated renal cell carcinoma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 9ER-previously untreated renal cell carcinoma, in combination with cabozantinib; Checkmate 205/039-classical Hodgkin lymphoma Bristol Myers Squibb: Creating a Better Future for People with Cancer Bristol Myers Squibb is inspired by a single vision transforming patients' lives through science. The goal of the company's cancer research is to deliver medicines that offer each patient a better, healthier life and to make cure a possibility. Building on a legacy across a broad range of cancers that have changed survival expectations for many, Bristol Myers Squibb researchers are exploring new frontiers in personalized medicine and, through innovative digital platforms, are turning data into insights that sharpen their focus. Deep understanding of causal human biology, cutting-edge capabilities and differentiated research programs uniquely position the company to approach cancer from every angle. Cancer can have a relentless grasp on many parts of a patient's life, and Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to taking actions to address all aspects of care, from diagnosis to survivorship. As a leader in cancer care, Bristol Myers Squibb is working to empower all people with cancer to have a better future. About the Bristol Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical Collaboration In 2011, through a collaboration agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Bristol Myers Squibb expanded its territorial rights to develop and commercialize Opdivo globally, except in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, where Ono had retained all rights to the compound at the time. On July 23, 2014, Ono and Bristol Myers Squibb further expanded the companies' strategic collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize multiple immunotherapies as single agents and combination regimens for patients with cancer in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. About Bristol Myers Squibb Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, that the CHMP opinion is not binding on the EC, that the subcutaneous formulation of Opdivo (nivolumab) may not receive regulatory approval for the additional indications described in this release in the currently anticipated timeline or at all, that any marketing approvals, if granted, may have significant limitations on their use, and, if approved, whether the subcutaneous formulation of Opdivo for such indications described in this release will be commercially successful. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibb's business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. corporatefinancial-news View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250327764392/en/ Contacts: Bristol Myers Squibb Media Inquiries: media@bms.com Investors: investor.relations@bms.com HELSINKI and BRUSSELS, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ICEYE, the global leader in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite operations for Earth Observation, announced today that it will be providing satellite data to the Situation Center at NATO HQ (SITCEN). Through this collaboration, the SITCEN will be able to access the ICEYE capabilities, which will enhance its capacity to deliver better and faster data-driven assessments to decision-makers. This first partnership established between NATO HQ and ICEYE will broaden NATO's access to valuable earth observation data through ICEYE's cutting-edge technology. The commercial space industry's role in national security and defense has become more important over the last decade. ICEYE works as a trusted partner with multiple governments and organizations, and has already supplied SAR data and satellites to a number of NATO allied and friendly nations. Today's announcement deepens the collaboration with NATO. "ICEYE provides high-accuracy SAR satellite imaging and data to support situational awareness and decision making in defence and security settings. We are proud of the opportunity to cooperate and support NATO users and decision-makers with data from the world's largest SAR satellite constellation, owned and operated by ICEYE," said Pekka Laurila, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of ICEYE. ICEYE owns and operates the world's largest SAR satellite constellation, delivering unlimited global access and the highest frequency revisits on the market. The latest ICEYE SAR satellites can provide 25 cm ground resolution, enabling accurate object detection and situational awareness in all weather and light conditions. To date, ICEYE has launched 48 SAR satellites into orbit for ICEYE's and its customers' use. 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/2652705/ICEYESARSATDATA.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/iceye-to-provide-sar-satellite-data-to-the-situation-center-at-nato-302414229.html 2-day Summit Featuring Global Experts Explores the Future of Pet Nutrition and Veterinary Care Empowered by Advanced Technologies ST. LOUIS, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Purina Institute is excited to announce the Purina Institute Global Summit 2025, which will feature presentations from 20 global thought leaders exploring the future of pet nutrition and veterinary care. Titled "Technologically Empowered Veterinary Care," the free, product-agnostic summit will be held April 30 to May 1, 2025, and livestreamed through the Purina Institute's online platform. The agenda will focus on the integration of advanced technologies with nutrition science and veterinary medicine, empowering veterinary professionals from across the globe to integrate and leverage technology to provide care that's more personalized than ever before. The Purina Institute Global Summit 2025 will foster discussions on a variety of topics at the forefront of companion animal science, such as: The application of informatics, big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to improve pet nutrition and health. The development of omics and biomarkers as powerful health monitoring tools. The impact of the connected tools and services that facilitate the diagnosis and management of pet health conditions, bringing veterinary clinical practice to the next level. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from and engage virtually with a group of experts providing diverse perspectives to explore future opportunities to advance pet health. Speakers include: Dr. Matthew Lungren , Chief Scientific Officer for Microsoft Health and Life Sciences, where he drives innovation by translating cutting-edge technologies into healthcare solutions. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Stanford University. , Chief Scientific Officer for Microsoft Health and Life Sciences, where he drives innovation by translating cutting-edge technologies into healthcare solutions. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Stanford University. Dr. Daniel Promislow , Senior Scientist and Scientific Advisor in the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and co-founder of the Dog Aging Project. , Senior Scientist and Scientific Advisor in the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and co-founder of the Dog Aging Project. Dr. Jessica Quimby , professor and vice chair of research at The Ohio State University and a renowned expert on chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cats. , professor and vice chair of research at The Ohio State University and a renowned expert on chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cats. Dr. Michael Snyder, Stanford W. Ascherman Professor and the Director of the Center of Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University. His extensive research focuses on how genetic variation affects individual health and disease, heralding a new and more effective approach to healthcare. "The rapid expansion of technology provides great opportunities to improve pet nutrition, pet care and veterinary medicine, while bringing its own challenges," said Dr. Natalia Wagemans, Global Head of the Purina Institute. "Our goal at the Purina Institute is to foster collaboration and innovation that will drive the future of pet health and nutrition. The Purina Institute Global Summit 2025 brings together some of the brightest minds in the field, offering invaluable foresight for veterinary professionals to be at the cutting edge of pet health innovation." Now in its 26th year, the Purina Institute Global Summit - formerly known as the Companion Animal Nutrition (CAN) Summit and the Purina Nutrition Forum - serves as a vital platform for the Purina Institute, which is dedicated to unlocking the power of nutrition to help pets live better, longer lives. Registration is open now. Veterinary professionals who attend the livestream will qualify for continuing education credits in jurisdictions that accept RACE. If you cannot attend the livestream, the entire program will be available on demand. To register and view the summit agenda, visit https://nes.tl/PurinaInstituteGlobalSummit2025. About Purina Institute The Purina Institute is dedicated to transforming nutrition science into actionable information that veterinary professionals can put into practice to benefit their patients. Through the Institute's extensive online resources, publications and scientific programs, veterinarians and team members can arm themselves with the unbiased, science-based information they need to help pets live longer, better lives. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2652307/Purina_Institute_Global_Summit_2025.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/purina-institute-announces-the-purina-institute-global-summit-2025-302413819.html CHANGZHOU, China, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Trinasolar, a global leader in smart PV and energy storage solutions, has announced that it has developed the world's first industrial-standard solar PV module delivering over 800W of maximum power. The 3.1m2 module, produced with 210mmx105mm perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, has achieved peak power output of 808W, certified by the global testing, inspection and certifying body TUV SUD. "This is a monumental breakthrough for perovskite/silicon tandem solar modules and a key milestone in PV technology," said Gao Jifan, Chairman and CEO of Trinasolar. "The successful development of the world's first 808W perovskite/silicon tandem solar module with a 210mm industrial-standard size is a significant step toward the industrialization of tandem modules. This achievement also reinforces Trinasolar's leadership in PV innovation." As conventional silicon-based solar cell efficiency nears its theoretical limit, high-efficiency tandem cells have attracted increasing attention. Perovskite tandem technology has the potential to exceed these limitations, with theoretical efficiencies reaching up to 43%. As a transformative solution for next-generation solar energy, perovskite/silicon tandem technology is poised to become the new industry standard, signaling a historic shift from silicon-based solar cells to tandem solar cells and ushering in a new era of sustainable development. Trinasolar invests substantially in research and development, and over 10 years has been a pioneer in perovskite tandem cell technology. In collaboration with universities including Nanjing University, Jiangsu province and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the company has led numerous national research projects in this domain. The company has filed 331 patents related to tandem technology and has significantly improved conversion efficiency through advances in perovskite bulk doping, interface engineering and composite layer design. This work has laid the foundation for the industrialization of perovskite/silicon tandem modules. Trinasolar, committed to its mission of "Solar Energy for All", will continue to drive energy transition through technological innovation, contributing to a more sustainable and net-zero future. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/trinasolar-develops-worlds-first-800w-tandem-module-ushering-in-a-new-era-302414119.html Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 28, 2025) - Sweet Poison Spirits Inc. (CSE: SPS) (the "Company" or "Sweet Poison") announces that it intends to change its name from "Sweet Poison Spirits Inc." to "Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd." In conjunction with the proposed name change, the Company has reserved the trading symbol "HYPE" with the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") and is completing the steps required under CSE's Policy 9.1, which includes obtaining a new CUSIP number. The name change will not involve a consolidation or change in the share capital of the Company and shareholders will not be required to exchange their existing share certificates for new certificates bearing the new company name. Once the name change is completed, Company shares held electronically in Direct Registration System will be booked automatically. Corporate Update In February 2022, the Company announced the purchase of 150 SC200 Siacoin miners for US$525,000 to launch its cryptocurrency operations with a view to create cashflow and grow the business. This resulted in a Change of Business ("COB") which was approved by the Company's shareholders and the Exchange in June 2022. It was the Company's intention to convert Siacoins mined to Bitcoins ("BTC") and hold the BTC as inventory accordingly, after paying expenses. The Company entered into an agreement to operate the rigs with a third party; however, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant downturn of over 70% from November 2021 to November 2022 whereby it was not profitable to place the SC200 rigs into production. While the current cryptocurrency market appears very buoyant for major cryptocurrencies such as BTC and Ethereum, Siacoins have not experienced a significant increase from its lows in 2022 and, therefore, remain unprofitable based on available electricity costs. The rigs are being held in storage in Buffalo, New York for quick access when activated. Since 2022, the Company continued to look for opportunities which could be enhanced and/or supported by future cryptocurrency operations cash flows. In December 2022, the Company announced a product distribution agreement with Sweet Poison Spirits S de RL de CV, a Mexican company headquartered in Guadalajara, Mexico and Sweet Poison Spirits LLC, a California limited liability corporation headquartered in San Diego, California (collectively, "Sweet Poison"). The Distribution Agreement granted the Company the worldwide distribution rights to Sweet Poison's premium Tequila and Mezcal products under the "Sweet Poison" brand names for an initial period of ten years, renewable for a further ten years and beyond. The Company saw an opportunity to combine this business with the cryptocurrency market by providing payment structures using cryptocurrency-based methods for retail and wholesale customers and using this as a form of promotion for the brand. In this respect, plans were formed to build a brand on the digital age. The Company changed its name to Sweet Poison Spirits Inc. as a result and began trading under the symbol "SPS" on the Exchange. In November 2023, however, the agreements with Sweet Poison were terminated by the Company due to the inability to achieve certain milestones in light of a weakened market for this business. All shares issued pursuant to the agreements were returned and cancelled and the ultimate cost of this venture was minimized. In March of 2025, the Company announced a financing of $450,000 for the restart of the Cryptocurrency operations, including the purchase of up to an additional ten (10) ultra efficient Goldshell AE-BOX II ("Goldshell") ASIC miners, designed for zkSNARK algorithm from Goodwin Ventures Corp. to be focused on mining the ALEO token. Within the funds raised are sufficient funds to operate the next 12 months while also acquiring additional Goldshell rigs (or other types of rigs) as well as funds to place the 150 SC200 rigs into operation if the Company is able to find a suitable site with lower operating costs. The Company expects to engage in further future financings as the opportunities to acquire profitable rigs arise. Given the rise in main cryptocurrencies over the past year, the Company believes the timing is right to build upon its cryptocurrency operations again and will focus all of its efforts accordingly. Most recently, the Company announced the appointment of Brian Gusko to the Board of Directors. Mr. Gusko sat on the Board of Directors of the world's first cryptocurrency-focused company on a regulated stock exchange, and which owned under its umbrella cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto mining operations, crypto ATMs and more. Mr. Gusko has extensive experience in listed public companies and the related markets in North America and Europe to assist in achieving the Company's goals. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD (Sgd.) "Robert Eadie" __________________________________________________ Robert Eadie, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains "forward-looking" statements and information ("forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein, including, without limitation, management's expectations and the potential of the Company's projects, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company's management and reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. 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 assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections or other factors, except as required by law. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246419 SOURCE: Sweet Poison Spirits Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 28, 2025) - Beyond Medical Technologies Inc. (CSE: DOCT) (FSE: 7FM) (OTC Pink: DOCKF) ("Beyond Medical" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Company's operations and business strategy. Corporate Update Management Changes In February 2025, Company implemented a significant refresh of its executive leadership and board of directors, reflecting its strategic shift toward financial optimization, operational growth, and blockchain-integrated treasury initiatives. The following management and board changes occurred during the month: Daniel Liu was appointed Chief Executive Officer and a Director, effective February 3, 2025, replacing former CEO Kal Malhi. Hongming Luo was appointed as a Director on February 4, 2025, replacing Harveer Sidhu. Steven McAuley was appointed to the Board of Directors on February 13, 2025. Stevenson Ty was appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer on February 13, 2025, replacing Jatin Baski. Litong Cao was appointed Chief Operating Officer on February 24, 2025, following the resignation of Michael Kelly as a director. (collectively, the "Management Changes") Director and Officer Biographies Daniel Liu (Chief Executive Officer and Director): Mr. Daniel Liu brings significant leadership experience across the technology and investment sectors. Prior to joining Beyond Medical, he successfully founded and exited two financial technology ventures. He also led more than $2 billion in solar energy transactions during his tenure at CIT. As Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Liu is responsible for guiding the company's strategic vision, overseeing capital markets initiatives, and advancing its digital transformation agenda. Mr. Liu holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Southern California. Hongming Luo (Director): Mr. Hongming Luo is a seasoned entrepreneur and technologist with a distinguished track record in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, healthcare technology, and derivatives markets. He previously served as Investment Lead at Mask Network, which manages a $100 million ecosystem fund dedicated to frontier technologies. Mr. Luo is also the Co-founder of Next.ID, an infrastructure protocol designed for decentralized identity (DID) creation, relationship mapping, and secure data integration across diverse digital identifiers. In addition, he co-founded PulzAid, an innovative medtech company that developed advanced triage systems to optimize patient intake and alleviate emergency room congestion. Mr. Luo holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Steven McAuley (Director): Mr. McAuley is a highly experienced business executive and corporate director with over 30 years of leadership across diverse sectors, including healthcare, technology, automotive, and financial services. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Empower Clinics Inc. (CSE: CBDT) and currently advises a private biotech company while offering capital market services to emerging companies. Additionally, Mr. McAuley has held senior executive roles in several publicly listed companies. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated exceptional expertise in corporate governance, P&L management, legal affairs, investor relations, and strategic planning. Stevenson Ty (Interim Chief Financial Officer): Stevenson Ty has over 10 years of experience in both public and private companies across a broad range of industries including mineral exploration, bitcoin mining, technology, cannabis and psilocybin companies through his role as a consultant with Ty Consulting Inc., a firm providing corporate accounting services to Canadian public and private companies, since October 2016. Mr. Ty is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Accounting from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Litong Cao (Chief Operating Officer): Ms. Cao brings significant experience in institutional investment and operational leadership. She previously served as COO at Parallel, a Sequoia-backed fintech company, and as Head of Investments at a family office, where she played a key role in launching and managing a $1 billion liquid fund. Her proven ability to scale organizations and execute high-growth strategies will be instrumental as Beyond Medical advances into its next stage of growth. Strategic Licensing Agreement for Efficient Deployment Beyond Medical has entered into a licensing agreement with Ethsign Limited ("Ethsign"), a blockchain software provider specializing in Ethereum-based attestations (the "Licensing Agreement"). In exchange for the foundational software provided by Ethsign, the Company will pay a fixed fee of $25,000 payable via the issuance of 192,308 shares of the Company priced at $0.13 per share. The license has an initial term of one year but may be renewed upon mutual agreement for up to two additional successive one year terms. The license is non-exclusive, non-sublicensable and non-transferable. This collaboration will allow the Company to leverage existing technology used by over two million users worldwide and facilitate rapid deployment while reducing capital expenditures. Business Strategy Update Enhancing Medical Technology with Blockchain Blockchain technology provides an immutable and decentralized framework for securing and verifying medical records, addressing data integrity, access control, and auditability-key concerns in modern healthcare systems. Unlike traditional centralized databases, which are vulnerable to data breaches and unauthorized modifications, blockchain ensures that once medical records are hashed (converted into cryptographic signatures) and stored on the blockchain, they cannot be altered or deleted. This guarantees authenticity and prevents fraudulent modifications, ensuring patient records remain verifiable and tamper-proof. Beyond Medical is actively in the process of building a blockchain attestation system that leverages decentralized verification to enhance trust in medical recordkeeping. Instead of relying on a single central authority, blockchain employs distributed ledger technology (DLT), where multiple independent nodes verify and authenticate records. This approach eliminates single points of failure, making medical data more secure and resilient against cyberattacks. The integration of smart contracts further strengthens regulatory compliance by automating processes such as access control, authentication, and adherence to healthcare data standards like HIPAA, GDPR, and other international regulations. These self-executing contracts enforce predefined rules, ensuring that only authorized healthcare professionals, insurance providers, or patients can access specific data, reducing human error and administrative inefficiencies. Another potential key advantage of blockchain integration is improved interoperability across healthcare systems. Current medical databases often operate in silos, limiting the seamless exchange of patient information between hospitals, insurers, and government health agencies. By utilizing tokenized access rights and encrypted data exchange mechanisms, the Company believes blockchain enables secure, real-time medical record sharing, ensuring better coordination of care while maintaining patient consent and control over their personal health data. The demand for secure and transparent data management in healthcare continues to grow, driving investment in blockchain-based solutions. According to Grand View Research, the global blockchain in healthcare market size was estimated at USD 7.04 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 214.86 billion in revenue by 2030, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63.3%. This forecasted rapid expansion underscores the increasing need for secure, verifiable medical data solutions. Ethereum: A Secure and Scalable Foundation for Medical Innovation Beyond Medical has selected Ethereum as the foundational blockchain for its attestation service, recognizing its proven security, scalability, and flexibility in managing and verifying medical records. Ethereum's smart contract capabilities provide a trustless, automated framework for securely handling sensitive healthcare data, while its decentralized architecture ensures that records remain tamper-proof and resistant to single points of failure. Research has demonstrated that blockchain, particularly Ethereum, can enhance the security and privacy of electronic health records (EHRs) by eliminating unauthorized access, improving auditability, and ensuring data integrity. By leveraging Ethereum's public and permissionless infrastructure, Beyond Medical can provide a transparent yet secure method for verifying medical records, benefiting healthcare providers, insurers, and patients alike. To facilitate its blockchain operations, Beyond Medical may periodically acquire Ethereum tokens ("ETH") to cover transaction fees (gas fees) associated with smart contract execution and to operate a self-hosted node or nodes, further enhancing network security and data integrity. The Company acknowledges that cryptocurrency markets are subject to volatility, and the value of ETH may fluctuate based on market conditions. There are no assurances that the volatility of such an asset class may subside in the future and any future appreciation of the asset may largely be the result of speculation from the investing public. As part of the Company's ongoing commitment to compliance and transparency, a Treasury Division will be established to align the Company's digital asset treasury with industry standards and operate similar to how corporations may manage their fiat currency reserves like CAD, USD, and EUR. The Company intends to leverage the foundations rooted in blockchain attestation to ensure a secure digital asset management framework for transaction integrity and financial accountability. Beyond Medical remains focused on utilizing Ethereum as a functional and secure infrastructure layer for advancing innovation in medical technology. The Company will seek shareholder approval by written consent for the above-mentioned business plan and the Management Changes. Strengthening Financial Position and Business Growth Under new management, Beyond Medical has taken steps to enhance its financial position, with the goal of long-term sustainability and operational growth. Through strategic debt reduction and capital infusion, the Company has reinforced its balance sheet, providing greater flexibility in executing its business objectives. As previously disclosed, the Company first settled $395,000 of debt through issuance of shares on February 6, 2025. As part of the $375,000 private placement dated February 24, 2025, the Company settled the remaining $179,750 of debt and the remaining $195,250 of cash will be used for near term working capital. Since closing the private placement, the Company has incurred various expenses related to business development and product development which amount to approximately 10% of the cash raised. As of March 27, 2025, the Company held a cash balance of approximately CAD $172,018, reflecting its current working capital position. Currently, Beyond Medical is in the early stages of establishing business relationships with prospective partners, clients, and other third parties that align with its long-term goals. Leveraging management's prior experience in medical technology, specifically in triage solutions, the Company aims to have integrated blockchain-based attestations for secure and verifiable medical record verification by the end of the second quarter of 2025. Additional guidance on business progress will be provided as developments occur. Termination of Elite Horizon Acquisition Further to the Company's news release dated February 26, 2025, the Company has decided not to pursue the acquisition of Elite Horizon Management, Inc. About Beyond Medical Technologies Inc. Beyond Medical Technologies Inc. is a healthcare technology company focused on enhancing medical data security, transparency, and efficiency. By integrating blockchain technology into its healthcare solutions, the Company is strengthening its commitment to advancing medical innovation, protecting patient data, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. In an increasingly digital healthcare landscape, Beyond Medical is dedicated to developing secure, verifiable, and interoperable solutions that improve the integrity and accessibility of the medical industry. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this news release related to the Company are forward-looking statements and are prospective in nature. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the goals and plans of the Company, the benefits of blockchain attestation systems in medical technology, the benefits of smart contracts in the healthcare industry, the anticipated growth of blockchain in the healthcare industry, the expected benefits of the Licensing Agreement, the type and timing of the Company's product offerings, the volatility and value of Ethereum tokens, the benefits each new member of management will bring to the Company, shareholder approval of the business plan and Management Changes, and the timing of additional disclosure on the Company's business progress. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions of management, including, without limitation, that the Management Changes will provide benefits to the Company, that the use of blockchain attestation systems in medical technology will enhance data security, regulatory compliance and transparency, that the use of smart contracts will strengthen regulatory compliance with healthcare data standards, that the global blockchain in healthcare market size with grow as forecasted by Grand View Research, that the Company will obtain shareholder approval for the business plan and Management Changes by written consent, that the Company will derive the expected benefits from the Licensing Agreement, that the Company will have a medical technology product ready before the end of the second quarter of 2025, that the value of Ethereum tokens will continue to be volatile in the future and that price appreciation may be driven by speculation, and that the Company will continue to provide updates on its business progress. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information contained in this news release, including: adverse market conditions, general economic, market or business risks, unanticipated costs, that blockchain will not provide the expected benefits in medical technology, that the Company will not benefit from the Management Changes, that smart contracts will not strengthen regulatory compliance with healthcare data standards, that the market size of global blockchain in healthcare will not grow at the rate forecasted, or at all, that the Company will be unable to realize the expected benefits from the Licensing Agreement, that the Company will be unable to obtain shareholder approval for the business plan and Management Changes, or will seek approval in a manner other than written consent, that that the Company will not have a product ready before the end of the second quarter of 2025, that the Company will not be able to complete the Offering as currently anticipated, that the price of Ethereum tokens will not appreciate as a result of speculation, that the Company will not provide additional guidance on business progress and other factors beyond the control of the Company, including those other risks more fully described in the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis and other filings made by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly, are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements. Accordingly, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and, unless required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246448 SOURCE: Beyond Medical Technologies Inc. Recommendation based on Phase 3 CheckMate -77T trial showingsignificant event-free survival improvement when compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and placebo followed by surgery and adjuvant placebo If approved by the European Commission, the perioperative regimen would be the company's second Opdivo-based regimen available for the treatment of resectable non-small cell lung cancer in the European Union Bristol Myers Squibb Receives Positive CHMP Opinion for Perioperative Regimen of Neoadjuvant Opdivo (nivolumab) and Chemotherapy Followed by Surgery and Adjuvant Opdivo for Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Patients with Tumor Cell PD-L1 Expression =1% Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval of Opdivo(nivolumab), in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment, followed by Opdivo as monotherapy as adjuvant treatment after surgical resection for the treatment of resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at high risk of recurrence in adult patients whose tumors have PD-L1 expression =1%. The CHMP adopted a positive opinion based on results from the CheckMate -77T trial, in which the perioperative regimen of neoadjuvant Opdivo with chemotherapy followed by surgery and adjuvant Opdivo monotherapy demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in event-free survival (EFS), the study's primary endpoint. The European Commission (EC), which has the authority to approve medicines for the European Union (EU), will now review the CHMP recommendation. "Preventing disease recurrence and improving long-term outcomes for patients with NSCLC earlier in the treatment journey is critical to addressing unmet needs and is one of our top priorities," said Dana Walker, M.D., M.S.C.E., vice president, Opdivo global program lead, Bristol Myers Squibb. "With today's positive opinion from the CHMP, we are pleased that our second Opdivo-based regimen for certain patients with resectable NSCLC whose tumors have PD-L1 expression =1%, is one step closer to being approved in the European Union." The CheckMate -77T trial also demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in the secondary efficacy endpoints of pathologic complete response (pCR) and major pathologic response (MPR). The safety profile of the perioperative regimen was consistent with previously reported studies in NSCLC. The EFS, pCR and MPR results from the CheckMate -77T trial were first presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023 and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. CheckMate -77T is ongoing to assess another key secondary endpoint of overall survival (OS). In October 2024, the CheckMate -77T trial was used as the basis for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of Opdivo for the treatment of adult patients with resectable (tumors =4 cm or node positive) NSCLC and no known epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements, for neoadjuvant treatment, in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy, followed by single-agent Opdivo as adjuvant treatment after surgery. CheckMate -77T represents the company's second positive Phase 3 randomized trial with an immunotherapy-based combination for the treatment of resectable non-metastatic NSCLC. Opdivo is the only immunotherapy treatment with Phase 3 data in both the neoadjuvant only and perioperative NSCLC treatment setting. In addition, Opdivo and Opdivo-based combinations have shown improved efficacy in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment of four tumor types: lung cancer, bladder cancer, esophageal/gastroesophageal junction cancer and melanoma. In the EU, the EC delivers its final decision within approximately two months following receipt of the CHMP opinion. Once issued, the decision will be applicable to all EU member states as well as in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Bristol Myers Squibb thanks the patients and investigators involved in the CheckMate -77T clinical trial. About CheckMate -77T CheckMate -77T is a Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial evaluating neoadjuvant Opdivo with chemotherapy followed by surgery and adjuvant Opdivo versus neoadjuvant placebo plus chemotherapy followed by surgery and adjuvant placebo in 461 patients with resectable stage IIA to IIIB NSCLC. The primary endpoint of the trial is EFS. Secondary endpoints include OS, pathologic complete response and major pathologic response. About Lung Cancer Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths globally. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common types of lung cancer, representing up to 84% of diagnoses. Non-metastatic cases account for the majority of NSCLC diagnoses (approximately 60%, with up to half of these being resectable), and the proportion is expected to grow over time with enhanced screening programs. While many non-metastatic NSCLC patients are cured by surgery, 30% to 55% develop recurrence and die of their disease despite resection, contributing to a need for treatment options administered before surgery (neoadjuvant) and/or after surgery (adjuvant) to improve long-term outcomes. About Opdivo Opdivo is a programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor that is designed to uniquely harness the body's own immune system to help restore anti-tumor immune response. By harnessing the body's own immune system to fight cancer, Opdivo has become an important treatment option across multiple cancers. Opdivo's leading global development program is based on Bristol Myers Squibb's scientific expertise in the field of Immuno-Oncology and includes a broad range of clinical trials across all phases, including Phase 3, in a variety of tumor types. To date, the Opdivo clinical development program has treated more than 35,000 patients. The Opdivo trials have contributed to gaining a deeper understanding of the potential role of biomarkers in patient care, particularly regarding how patients may benefit from Opdivo across the continuum of PD-L1 expression. In July 2014, Opdivo was the first PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor to receive regulatory approval anywhere in the world. Opdivo is currently approved in more than 65 countries, including the United States, the European Union, Japan and China. In October 2015, the Company's Opdivo and Yervoy combination regimen was the first Immuno-Oncology combination to receive regulatory approval for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and is currently approved in more than 50 countries, including the United States and the European Union INDICATIONS OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. OPDIVO is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with completely resected Stage IIB, Stage IIC, Stage III, or Stage IV melanoma. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated as neoadjuvant treatment of adult patients with resectable (tumors =4 cm or node positive) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). OPDIVO (nivolumab) in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated for neoadjuvant treatment of adult patients with resectable (tumors =4 cm or node positive) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and no known epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements, followed by single-agent OPDIVO as adjuvant treatment after surgery. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1 (=1%) as determined by an FDA-approved test, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab) and 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving OPDIVO. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with intermediate or poor risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with cabozantinib, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received prior anti-angiogenic therapy. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) that has relapsed or progressed after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and brentuximab vedotin or after 3 or more lines of systemic therapy that includes autologous HSCT. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) with disease progression on or after platinum-based therapy. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or have disease progression within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy. OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) who are at high risk of recurrence after undergoing radical resection of UC. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine, is indicated as first-line treatment for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric (12 years and older) patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after prior fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy. OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of completely resected esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer with residual pathologic disease in adult patients who have received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION Severe and Fatal Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions Immune-mediated adverse reactions listed herein may not include all possible severe and fatal immune-mediated adverse reactions. Immune-mediated adverse reactions, which may be severe or fatal, can occur in any organ system or tissue. While immune-mediated adverse reactions usually manifest during treatment, they can also occur after discontinuation of OPDIVO or YERVOY. Early identification and management are essential to ensure safe use of OPDIVO and YERVOY. Monitor for signs and symptoms that may be clinical manifestations of underlying immune-mediated adverse reactions. Evaluate clinical chemistries including liver enzymes, creatinine, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level, and thyroid function at baseline and periodically during treatment with OPDIVO and before each dose of YERVOY. In cases of suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, initiate appropriate workup to exclude alternative etiologies, including infection. Institute medical management promptly, including specialty consultation as appropriate. Withhold or permanently discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). In general, if OPDIVO or YERVOY interruption or discontinuation is required, administer systemic corticosteroid therapy (1 to 2 mg/kg/day prednisone or equivalent) until improvement to Grade 1 or less. Upon improvement to Grade 1 or less, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Consider administration of other systemic immunosuppressants in patients whose immune-mediated adverse reactions are not controlled with corticosteroid therapy. Toxicity management guidelines for adverse reactions that do not necessarily require systemic steroids (e.g., endocrinopathies and dermatologic reactions) are discussed below. Immune-Mediated Pneumonitis OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated pneumonitis. The incidence of pneumonitis is higher in patients who have received prior thoracic radiation. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 3.1% (61/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (<0.1%), Grade 3 (0.9%), and Grade 2 (2.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 7% (31/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.0%), and Grade 2 (4.4%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 3.9% (26/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.4%) and Grade 2 (2.6%). In NSCLC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 9% (50/576) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.5%), Grade 3 (3.5%), and Grade 2 (4.0%). Four patients (0.7%) died due to pneumonitis. In Checkmate 205 and 039, pneumonitis, including interstitial lung disease, occurred in 6.0% (16/266) of patients receiving OPDIVO. Immune-mediated pneumonitis occurred in 4.9% (13/266) of patients receiving OPDIVO, including Grade 3 (n=1) and Grade 2 (n=12). Immune-Mediated Colitis OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated colitis, which may be fatal. A common symptom included in the definition of colitis was diarrhea. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection/reactivation has been reported in patients with corticosteroid-refractory immune-mediated colitis. In cases of corticosteroid-refractory colitis, consider repeating infectious workup to exclude alternative etiologies. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 2.9% (58/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.7%) and Grade 2 (1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 25% (115/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.4%), Grade 3 (14%) and Grade 2 (8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 9% (60/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.4%) and Grade 2 (3.7%). Immune-Mediated Hepatitis and Hepatotoxicity OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated hepatitis. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 1.8% (35/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (1.3%), and Grade 2 (0.4%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune- mediated hepatitis occurred in 15% (70/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (2.4%), Grade 3 (11%), and Grade 2 (1.8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (1.2%), Grade 3 (4.9%), and Grade 2 (0.4%). OPDIVO in combination with cabozantinib can cause hepatic toxicity with higher frequencies of Grade 3 and 4 ALT and AST elevations compared to OPDIVO alone. Consider more frequent monitoring of liver enzymes as compared to when the drugs are administered as single agents. In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, Grades 3 and 4 increased ALT or AST were seen in 11% of patients. Immune-Mediated Endocrinopathies OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency, immune-mediated hypophysitis, immune-mediated thyroid disorders, and Type 1 diabetes mellitus, which can present with diabetic ketoacidosis. Withhold OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). For Grade 2 or higher adrenal insufficiency, initiate symptomatic treatment, including hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Hypophysitis can present with acute symptoms associated with mass effect such as headache, photophobia, or visual field defects. Hypophysitis can cause hypopituitarism; initiate hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Thyroiditis can present with or without endocrinopathy. Hypothyroidism can follow hyperthyroidism; initiate hormone replacement or medical management as clinically indicated. Monitor patients for hyperglycemia or other signs and symptoms of diabetes; initiate treatment with insulin as clinically indicated. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 1% (20/1994), including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (0.6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 8% (35/456), including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.5%), and Grade 2 (4.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 4.7% (15/320) of patients, including Grade 3 (2.2%) and Grade 2 (1.9%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hypophysitis occurred in 0.6% (12/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.2%) and Grade 2 (0.3%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypophysitis occurred in 9% (42/456), including Grade 3 (2.4%) and Grade 2 (6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypophysitis occurred in 4.4% (29/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (0.9%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, thyroiditis occurred in 0.6% (12/1994) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, thyroiditis occurred in 2.7% (22/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.5%) and Grade 2 (2.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hyperthyroidism occurred in 2.7% (54/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (<0.1%) and Grade 2 (1.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hyperthyroidism occurred in 9% (42/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.9%) and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hyperthyroidism occurred in 12% (80/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.6%) and Grade 2 (4.5%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hypothyroidism occurred in 8% (163/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.2%) and Grade 2 (4.8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypothyroidism occurred in 20% (91/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (11%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypothyroidism occurred in 18% (122/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.6%) and Grade 2 (11%). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, diabetes occurred in 0.9% (17/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (0.3%), and 2 cases of diabetic ketoacidosis. In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, diabetes occurred in 2.7% (15/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.6%), Grade 3 (0.3%), and Grade 2 (0.9%). Immune-Mediated Nephritis with Renal Dysfunction OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated nephritis. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated nephritis and renal dysfunction occurred in 1.2% (23/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (<0.1%), Grade 3 (0.5%), and Grade 2 (0.6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated nephritis with renal dysfunction occurred in 4.1% (27/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.6%), Grade 3 (1.1%), and Grade 2 (2.2%). Immune-Mediated Dermatologic Adverse Reactions OPDIVO can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis. Exfoliative dermatitis, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) has occurred with PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate nonexfoliative rashes. YERVOY can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis, including bullous and exfoliative dermatitis, SJS, TEN, and DRESS. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate non-bullous/exfoliative rashes. Withhold or permanently discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated rash occurred in 9% (171/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.1%) and Grade 2 (2.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated rash occurred in 28% (127/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.8%) and Grade 2 (10%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated rash occurred in 16% (108/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (3.5%) and Grade 2 (4.2%). Other Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions The following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred at an incidence of <1% (unless otherwise noted) in patients who received OPDIVO monotherapy or OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY or were reported with the use of other PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies. Severe or fatal cases have been reported for some of these adverse reactions: cardiac/vascular: myocarditis, pericarditis, vasculitis; nervous system: meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis and demyelination, myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis (including exacerbation), Guillain-Barre syndrome, nerve paresis, autoimmune neuropathy; ocular: uveitis, iritis, and other ocular inflammatory toxicities can occur; gastrointestinal: pancreatitis to include increases in serum amylase and lipase levels, gastritis, duodenitis; musculoskeletal and connective tissue: myositis/polymyositis, rhabdomyolysis, and associated sequelae including renal failure, arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica; endocrine: hypoparathyroidism; other (hematologic/immune): hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), systemic inflammatory response syndrome, histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (Kikuchi lymphadenitis), sarcoidosis, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, solid organ transplant rejection, other transplant (including corneal graft) rejection. In addition to the immune-mediated adverse reactions listed above, across clinical trials of YERVOY monotherapy or in combination with OPDIVO, the following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions, some with fatal outcome, occurred in <1% of patients unless otherwise specified: nervous system: autoimmune neuropathy (2%), myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis, motor dysfunction; cardiovascular: angiopathy, temporal arteritis; ocular: blepharitis, episcleritis, orbital myositis, scleritis; gastrointestinal: pancreatitis (1.3%); other (hematologic/immune): conjunctivitis, cytopenias (2.5%), eosinophilia (2.1%), erythema multiforme, hypersensitivity vasculitis, neurosensory hypoacusis, psoriasis. Some ocular IMAR cases can be associated with retinal detachment. Various grades of visual impairment, including blindness, can occur. If uveitis occurs in combination with other immune-mediated adverse reactions, consider a Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome, which has been observed in patients receiving OPDIVO and YERVOY, as this may require treatment with systemic corticosteroids to reduce the risk of permanent vision loss. Infusion-Related Reactions OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause severe infusion-related reactions. Discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY in patients with severe (Grade 3) or life-threatening (Grade 4) infusion-related reactions. Interrupt or slow the rate of infusion in patients with mild (Grade 1) or moderate (Grade 2) infusion-related reactions. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy as a 60-minute infusion, infusion-related reactions occurred in 6.4% (127/1994) of patients. In a separate trial in which patients received OPDIVO monotherapy as a 60-minute infusion or a 30- minute infusion, infusion-related reactions occurred in 2.2% (8/368) and 2.7% (10/369) of patients, respectively. Additionally, 0.5% (2/368) and 1.4% (5/369) of patients, respectively, experienced adverse reactions within 48 hours of infusion that led to dose delay, permanent discontinuation or withholding of OPDIVO. In melanoma patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 2.5% (10/407) of patients. In HCC patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 8% (4/49) of patients. In RCC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 5.1% (28/547) of patients. In MSI- H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 4.2% (5/119) of patients. In MPM patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 12% (37/300) of patients. Complications of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Fatal and other serious complications can occur in patients who receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) before or after being treated with OPDIVO or YERVOY. Transplant-related complications include hyperacute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) after reduced intensity conditioning, and steroid-requiring febrile syndrome (without an identified infectious cause). These complications may occur despite intervening therapy between OPDIVO or YERVOY and allogeneic HSCT. Follow patients closely for evidence of transplant-related complications and intervene promptly. Consider the benefit versus risks of treatment with OPDIVO and YERVOY prior to or after an allogeneic HSCT. Embryo-Fetal Toxicity Based on its mechanism of action and findings from animal studies, OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. The effects of YERVOY are likely to be greater during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with OPDIVO and YERVOY and for at least 5 months after the last dose. Increased Mortality in Patients with Multiple Myeloma when OPDIVO is Added to a Thalidomide Analogue and Dexamethasone In randomized clinical trials in patients with multiple myeloma, the addition of OPDIVO to a thalidomide analogue plus dexamethasone resulted in increased mortality. Treatment of patients with multiple myeloma with a PD-1 or PD-L1 blocking antibody in combination with a thalidomide analogue plus dexamethasone is not recommended outside of controlled clinical trials. Lactation There are no data on the presence of OPDIVO or YERVOY in human milk, the effects on the breastfed child, or the effects on milk production. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in breastfed children, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment and for 5 months after the last dose. Serious Adverse Reactions In Checkmate 037, serious adverse reactions occurred in 41% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=268). Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions occurred in 42% of patients receiving OPDIVO. The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse drug reactions reported in 2% to <5% of patients receiving OPDIVO were abdominal pain, hyponatremia, increased aspartate aminotransferase, and increased lipase. In Checkmate 066, serious adverse reactions occurred in 36% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=206). Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions occurred in 41% of patients receiving OPDIVO. The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were gamma-glutamyltransferase increase (3.9%) and diarrhea (3.4%). In Checkmate 067, serious adverse reactions (74% and 44%), adverse reactions leading to permanent discontinuation (47% and 18%) or to dosing delays (58% and 36%), and Grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions (72% and 51%) all occurred more frequently in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm (n=313) relative to the OPDIVO arm (n=313). The most frequent (=10%) serious adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm and the OPDIVO arm, respectively, were diarrhea (13% and 2.2%), colitis (10% and 1.9%), and pyrexia (10% and 1.0%). In Checkmate 238, serious adverse reactions occurred in 18% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=452). Grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions occurred in 25% of OPDIVO-treated patients (n=452). The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions reported in =2% of OPDIVO-treated patients were diarrhea and increased lipase and amylase. In Checkmate 816, serious adverse reactions occurred in 30% of patients (n=176) who were treated with OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy. Serious adverse reactions in >2% included pneumonia and vomiting. No fatal adverse reactions occurred in patients who received OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy. In Checkmate 77T, serious adverse reactions occurred in 21% of patients who received OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment (n=228). The most frequent (=2%) serious adverse reactions was pneumonia. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 2.2% of patients, due to cerebrovascular accident, COVID-19 infection, hemoptysis, pneumonia, and pneumonitis (0.4% each). In the adjuvant phase of Checkmate 77T, 22% of patients experienced serious adverse reactions (n=142). The most frequent serious adverse reaction was pneumonitis/ILD (2.8%). One fatal adverse reaction due to COVID-19 occurred. In Checkmate 227, serious adverse reactions occurred in 58% of patients (n=576). The most frequent (=2%) serious adverse reactions were pneumonia, diarrhea/colitis, pneumonitis, hepatitis, pulmonary embolism, adrenal insufficiency, and hypophysitis. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 1.7% of patients; these included events of pneumonitis (4 patients), myocarditis, acute kidney injury, shock, hyperglycemia, multi-system organ failure, and renal failure. In Checkmate 9LA, serious adverse reactions occurred in 57% of patients (n=358). The most frequent (>2%) serious adverse reactions were pneumonia, diarrhea, febrile neutropenia, anemia, acute kidney injury, musculoskeletal pain, dyspnea, pneumonitis, and respiratory failure. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 7 (2%) patients, and included hepatic toxicity, acute renal failure, sepsis, pneumonitis, diarrhea with hypokalemia, and massive hemoptysis in the setting of thrombocytopenia. In Checkmate 017 and 057, serious adverse reactions occurred in 46% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=418). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, dyspnea, pyrexia, pleural effusion, pneumonitis, and respiratory failure. In Checkmate 057, fatal adverse reactions occurred; these included events of infection (7 patients, including one case of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia), pulmonary embolism (4 patients), and limbic encephalitis (1 patient). In Checkmate 743, serious adverse reactions occurred in 54% of patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were pneumonia, pyrexia, diarrhea, pneumonitis, pleural effusion, dyspnea, acute kidney injury, infusion-related reaction, musculoskeletal pain, and pulmonary embolism. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 4 (1.3%) patients and included pneumonitis, acute heart failure, sepsis, and encephalitis. In Checkmate 214, serious adverse reactions occurred in 59% of patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY (n=547). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were diarrhea, pyrexia, pneumonia, pneumonitis, hypophysitis, acute kidney injury, dyspnea, adrenal insufficiency, and colitis. In Checkmate 9ER, serious adverse reactions occurred in 48% of patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib (n=320). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were diarrhea, pneumonia, pneumonitis, pulmonary embolism, urinary tract infection, and hyponatremia. Fatal intestinal perforations occurred in 3 (0.9%) patients. In Checkmate 025, serious adverse reactions occurred in 47% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=406). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were acute kidney injury, pleural effusion, pneumonia, diarrhea, and hypercalcemia. In Checkmate 205 and 039, adverse reactions leading to discontinuation occurred in 7% and dose delays due to adverse reactions occurred in 34% of patients (n=266). Serious adverse reactions occurred in 26% of patients. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =1% of patients were pneumonia, infusion-related reaction, pyrexia, colitis or diarrhea, pleural effusion, pneumonitis, and rash. Eleven patients died from causes other than disease progression: 3 from adverse reactions within 30 days of the last OPDIVO dose, 2 from infection 8 to 9 months after completing OPDIVO, and 6 from complications of allogeneic HSCT. In Checkmate 141, serious adverse reactions occurred in 49% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=236). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were pneumonia, dyspnea, respiratory failure, respiratory tract infection, and sepsis. In Checkmate 275, serious adverse reactions occurred in 54% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=270). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were urinary tract infection, sepsis, diarrhea, small intestine obstruction, and general physical health deterioration. In Checkmate 274, serious adverse reactions occurred in 30% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=351). The most frequent serious adverse reaction reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO was urinary tract infection. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 1% of patients; these included events of pneumonitis (0.6%). In Checkmate 901, serious adverse reactions occurred in 48% of patients receiving OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reporting in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO with chemotherapy were urinary tract infection (4.9%), acute kidney injury (4.3%), anemia (3%), pulmonary embolism (2.6%), sepsis (2.3%), and platelet count decreased (2.3%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 3.6% of patients who received OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy; these included sepsis (1%). OPDIVO and/or chemotherapy were discontinued in 30% of patients and were delayed in 67% of patients for an adverse reaction. In Checkmate 142 in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=119), serious adverse reactions occurred in 47% of patients. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were colitis/diarrhea, hepatic events, abdominal pain, acute kidney injury, pyrexia, and dehydration. In Checkmate 040, serious adverse reactions occurred in 59% of patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=49). Serious adverse reactions reported in =4% of patients were pyrexia, diarrhea, anemia, increased AST, adrenal insufficiency, ascites, esophageal varices hemorrhage, hyponatremia, increased blood bilirubin, and pneumonitis. In Attraction-3, serious adverse reactions occurred in 38% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=209). Serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO were pneumonia, esophageal fistula, interstitial lung disease, and pyrexia. The following fatal adverse reactions occurred in patients who received OPDIVO: interstitial lung disease or pneumonitis (1.4%), pneumonia (1.0%), septic shock (0.5%), esophageal fistula (0.5%), gastrointestinal hemorrhage (0.5%), pulmonary embolism (0.5%), and sudden death (0.5%). In Checkmate 577, serious adverse reactions occurred in 33% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=532). A serious adverse reaction reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO was pneumonitis. A fatal reaction of myocardial infarction occurred in one patient who received OPDIVO. In Checkmate 648, serious adverse reactions occurred in 62% of patients receiving OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=310). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO with chemotherapy were pneumonia (11%), dysphagia (7%), esophageal stenosis (2.9%), acute kidney injury (2.9%), and pyrexia (2.3%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 5 (1.6%) patients who received OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy; these included pneumonitis, pneumatosis intestinalis, pneumonia, and acute kidney injury. In Checkmate 648, serious adverse reactions occurred in 69% of patients receiving OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY (n=322). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% who received OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY were pneumonia (10%), pyrexia (4.3%), pneumonitis (4.0%), aspiration pneumonia (3.7%), dysphagia (3.7%), hepatic function abnormal (2.8%), decreased appetite (2.8%), adrenal insufficiency (2.5%), and dehydration (2.5%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 5 (1.6%) patients who received OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY; these included pneumonitis, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary embolism, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. In Checkmate 649, serious adverse reactions occurred in 52% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=782). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy were vomiting (3.7%), pneumonia (3.6%), anemia (3.6%), pyrexia (2.8%), diarrhea (2.7%), febrile neutropenia (2.6%), and pneumonitis (2.4%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 16 (2.0%) patients who were treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy; these included pneumonitis (4 patients), febrile neutropenia (2 patients), stroke (2 patients), gastrointestinal toxicity, intestinal mucositis, septic shock, pneumonia, infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, mesenteric vessel thrombosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. In Checkmate 76K, serious adverse reactions occurred in 18% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=524). Adverse reactions which resulted in permanent discontinuation of OPDIVO in >1% of patients included arthralgia (1.7%), rash (1.7%), and diarrhea (1.1%). A fatal adverse reaction occurred in 1 (0.2%) patient (heart failure and acute kidney injury). The most frequent Grade 3-4 lab abnormalities reported in =1% of OPDIVO-treated patients were increased lipase (2.9%), increased AST (2.2%), increased ALT (2.1%), lymphopenia (1.1%), and decreased potassium (1.0%). Common Adverse Reactions In Checkmate 037, the most common adverse reaction (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=268) was rash (21%). In Checkmate 066, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=206) vs dacarbazine (n=205) were fatigue (49% vs 39%), musculoskeletal pain (32% vs 25%), rash (28% vs 12%), and pruritus (23% vs 12%). In Checkmate 067, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm (n=313) were fatigue (62%), diarrhea (54%), rash (53%), nausea (44%), pyrexia (40%), pruritus (39%), musculoskeletal pain (32%), vomiting (31%), decreased appetite (29%), cough (27%), headache (26%), dyspnea (24%), upper respiratory tract infection (23%), arthralgia (21%), and increased transaminases (25%). In Checkmate 067, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO arm (n=313) were fatigue (59%), rash (40%), musculoskeletal pain (42%), diarrhea (36%), nausea (30%), cough (28%), pruritus (27%), upper respiratory tract infection (22%), decreased appetite (22%), headache (22%), constipation (21%), arthralgia (21%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 238, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in OPDIVO-treated patients (n=452) vs ipilimumab-treated patients (n=453) were fatigue (57% vs 55%), diarrhea (37% vs 55%), rash (35% vs 47%), musculoskeletal pain (32% vs 27%), pruritus (28% vs 37%),headache (23% vs 31%), nausea (23% vs 28%), upper respiratory infection (22% vs 15%), and abdominal pain (21% vs 23%). The most common immune-mediated adverse reactions were rash (16%), diarrhea/colitis (6%), and hepatitis (3%). In Checkmate 816, the most common (>20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus chemotherapy arm (n=176) were nausea (38%), constipation (34%), fatigue (26%), decreased appetite (20%), and rash (20%). In Checkmate 77T, the most common adverse reactions (reported in =20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n= 228) were anemia (39.5%), constipation (32.0%), nausea (28.9%), fatigue (28.1%), alopecia (25.9%), and cough (21.9%). In Checkmate 227, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions were fatigue (44%), rash (34%), decreased appetite (31%), musculoskeletal pain (27%), diarrhea/colitis (26%), dyspnea (26%), cough (23%), hepatitis (21%), nausea (21%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 9LA, the most common (>20%) adverse reactions were fatigue (49%), musculoskeletal pain (39%), nausea (32%), diarrhea (31%), rash (30%), decreased appetite (28%), constipation (21%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 017 and 057, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=418) were fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, cough, dyspnea, and decreased appetite. In Checkmate 743, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY were fatigue (43%), musculoskeletal pain (38%), rash (34%), diarrhea (32%), dyspnea (27%), nausea (24%), decreased appetite (24%), cough (23%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 214, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients treated with OPDIVO plus YERVOY (n=547) were fatigue (58%), rash (39%), diarrhea (38%), musculoskeletal pain (37%), pruritus (33%), nausea (30%), cough (28%), pyrexia (25%), arthralgia (23%), decreased appetite (21%), dyspnea (20%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 9ER, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib (n=320) were diarrhea (64%), fatigue (51%), hepatotoxicity (44%), palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome (40%), stomatitis (37%), rash (36%), hypertension (36%), hypothyroidism (34%), musculoskeletal pain (33%), decreased appetite (28%), nausea (27%), dysgeusia (24%), abdominal pain (22%), cough (20%) and upper respiratory tract infection (20%). In Checkmate 025, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=406) vs everolimus (n=397) were fatigue (56% vs 57%), cough (34% vs 38%), nausea (28% vs 29%), rash (28% vs 36%), dyspnea (27% vs 31%), diarrhea (25% vs 32%), constipation (23% vs 18%), decreased appetite (23% vs 30%), back pain (21% vs 16%), and arthralgia (20% vs 14%). In Checkmate 205 and 039, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=266) were upper respiratory tract infection (44%), fatigue (39%), cough (36%), diarrhea (33%), pyrexia (29%), musculoskeletal pain (26%), rash (24%), nausea (20%) and pruritus (20%). In Checkmate 141, the most common adverse reactions (=10%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=236) were cough (14%) and dyspnea (14%) at a higher incidence than investigator's choice. In Checkmate 275, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=270) were fatigue (46%), musculoskeletal pain (30%), nausea (22%), and decreased appetite (22%). In Checkmate 274, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=351) were rash (36%), fatigue (36%), diarrhea (30%), pruritus (30%), musculoskeletal pain (28%), and urinary tract infection (22%).In Checkmate 901, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) were nausea, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, constipation, decreased appetite, rash, vomiting, and peripheral neuropathy. In Checkmate 142 in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO as a single agent (n=74), the most common adverse reactions (=20%) were fatigue (54%), diarrhea (43%), abdominal pain (34%), nausea (34%), vomiting (28%), musculoskeletal pain (28%), cough (26%), pyrexia (24%), rash (23%), constipation (20%), and upper respiratory tract infection (20%). In Checkmate 142 in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=119), the most common adverse reactions (=20%) were fatigue (49%), diarrhea (45%), pyrexia (36%), musculoskeletal pain (36%), abdominal pain (30%), pruritus (28%), nausea (26%), rash (25%), decreased appetite (20%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 040, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=49), were rash (53%), pruritus (53%), musculoskeletal pain (41%), diarrhea (39%), cough (37%), decreased appetite (35%), fatigue (27%), pyrexia (27%), abdominal pain (22%), headache (22%), nausea (20%), dizziness (20%), hypothyroidism (20%), and weight decreased (20%). In Attraction-3, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in OPDIVO-treated patients (n=209) were rash (22%) and decreased appetite (21%). In Checkmate 577, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=532) were fatigue (34%), diarrhea (29%), nausea (23%), rash (21%), musculoskeletal pain (21%), and cough (20%). In Checkmate 648, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=310) were nausea (65%), decreased appetite (51%), fatigue (47%), constipation (44%), stomatitis (44%), diarrhea (29%), and vomiting (23%). In Checkmate 648, the most common adverse reactions reported in =20% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY were rash (31%), fatigue (28%), pyrexia (23%), nausea (22%), diarrhea (22%), and constipation (20%). In Checkmate 649, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=782) were peripheral neuropathy (53%), nausea (48%), fatigue (44%), diarrhea (39%), vomiting (31%), decreased appetite (29%), abdominal pain (27%), constipation (25%), and musculoskeletal pain (20%). In Checkmate 76K, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=524) were fatigue (36%), musculoskeletal pain (30%), rash (28%), diarrhea (23%) and pruritis (20%). Surgery Related Adverse Reactions In Checkmate 77T, 5.3% (n=12) of the OPDIVO-treated patients who received neoadjuvant treatment, did not receive surgery due to adverse reactions. The adverse reactions that led to cancellation of surgery in OPDIVO- treated patients were cerebrovascular accident, pneumonia, and colitis/diarrhea (2 patients each) and acute coronary syndrome, myocarditis, hemoptysis, pneumonitis, COVID-19, and myositis (1 patient each). Please see U.S. Full Prescribing Information for OPDIVO and YERVOY. Clinical Trials and Patient Populations Checkmate 227-previously untreated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 9LA-previously untreated recurrent or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in combination with YERVOY and 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy by histology; Checkmate 649-previously untreated advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction and esophageal adenocarcinoma; Checkmate 577-adjuvant treatment of esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer; Checkmate 238-adjuvant treatment of patients with completely resected Stage III or Stage IV melanoma; Checkmate 76K-adjuvant treatment of patients 12 years of age and older with completely resected Stage IIB or Stage IIC melanoma; Checkmate 274-adjuvant treatment of urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 275-previously treated advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 142-MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 142-MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Attraction-3-esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Checkmate 648-previously untreated, unresectable advanced recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in combination with chemotherapy; Checkmate 648-previously untreated, unresectable advanced recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 040-hepatocellular carcinoma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 743-previously untreated unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 037-previously treated metastatic melanoma; Checkmate 066-previously untreated metastatic melanoma; Checkmate 067-previously untreated metastatic melanoma, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 017-second-line treatment of metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer; Checkmate 057-second-line treatment of metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer; Checkmate 816-neoadjuvant non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy; Checkmate 77T-Neoadjuvant treatment with platinum-doublet chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer followed by single-agent OPDIVO as adjuvant treatment after surgery; Checkmate 901-Adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 141-recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck; Checkmate 025-previously treated renal cell carcinoma; Checkmate 214-previously untreated renal cell carcinoma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 9ER-previously untreated renal cell carcinoma, in combination with cabozantinib; Checkmate 205/039-classical Hodgkin lymphoma Bristol Myers Squibb: Creating a Better Future for People with Cancer Bristol Myers Squibb is inspired by a single vision transforming patients' lives through science. The goal of the company's cancer research is to deliver medicines that offer each patient a better, healthier life and to make cure a possibility. Building on a legacy across a broad range of cancers that have changed survival expectations for many, Bristol Myers Squibb researchers are exploring new frontiers in personalized medicine and, through innovative digital platforms, are turning data into insights that sharpen their focus. Deep understanding of causal human biology, cutting-edge capabilities and differentiated research platforms uniquely position the company to approach cancer from every angle. Cancer can have a relentless grasp on many parts of a patient's life, and Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to taking actions to address all aspects of care, from diagnosis to survivorship. As a leader in cancer care, Bristol Myers Squibb is working to empower all people with cancer to have a better future. About the Bristol Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical Collaboration In 2011, through a collaboration agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Bristol Myers Squibb expanded its territorial rights to develop and commercialize Opdivo globally, except in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, where Ono had retained all rights to the compound at the time. On July 23, 2014, Ono and Bristol Myers Squibb further expanded the companies' strategic collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize multiple immunotherapies as single agents and combination regimens for patients with cancer in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. About Bristol Myers Squibb Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, that the CHMP opinion is not binding on the EC, that Opdivo (nivolumab) may not receive regulatory approval for the additional indication described in this release in the currently anticipated timeline or at all, that any marketing approvals, if granted, may have significant limitations on their use, and, if approved, whether Opdivo for such indication will be commercially successful. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibb's business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. corporatefinancial-news View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250327349105/en/ Contacts: Bristol Myers Squibb Media Inquiries: media@bms.com Investors: investor.relations@bms.com An interoperable Optical Ground Station will provide a long-distance Quantum Key Distribution link between Asia and Europe to scale next-generation cybersecurity and services SES and SpeQtral signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop an interoperable Optical Ground Station (OGS) to establish long-distance satellite-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) between Asia and Europe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250328851677/en/ SES's CEO Adel Al-Saleh and SpeQtral's CEO Chune Yang Lum sign a Memorandum of Understanding to develop an interoperable Optical Ground Station to establish long-distance satellite-based Quantum Key Distribution between Asia and Europe. Under the agreement, the development of an interoperable OGS will enable SES and SpeQtral to connect both companies' current and future QKD satellite missions, resulting in easier access to, and diversity in the supply of long-distance QKD to end users in Asia, Europe and other future compatible ground stations worldwide. The integration of this proposed OGS with Singapore's fibre-QKD network will help future customers integrate their networks with satellite QKD networks and demonstrate a practical pathway towards enabling a global QKD connectivity once the QKD satellites are operational. SES and SpeQtral collaboration will reduce costs associated with quantum communication infrastructure, bridge a critical gap in the QKD service availability and lower barriers for global deployment and adoption. The first such OGS is anticipated to be built in Singapore which already hosts a vibrant seedbed of quantum-safe activities including the National Quantum Safe Network Plus (NQSN+) initiative driven by Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). SES and SpeQtral's Expertise in QKD Fibre-based QKD networks that are being deployed in major cities around the world will require a satellite-based QKD solution to form an interconnected global QKD network. QKD satellites operate in Sun-Synchronous Orbits approximately 500 km away from the Earth's surface, enabling global interconnectivity and laying the foundation for highly secure communications in the age of quantum computing. SES, in collaboration with a consortium of European partners, is leading the development of the EAGLE-1 project to enable early access to long-distance QKD for ultra-secure data transmissions. The project, which includes both satellite and ground infrastructure, is co-funded by ESA national contributions and the European Commission, reinforcing Europe's commitment to advancing quantum-secure communications. SpeQtral is working on two QKD satellites, SpeQtre and SpeQtral-1, which are supported by the Office for Space Technology Industry, Singapore (OSTIn). SpeQtre, a joint Singapore-UK mission set for launch later this year, will host SpeQtral's space-qualified quantum-optics system which enables the establishment of quantum-secure encryption keys. OSTIn's strong support for technological development in advanced space-based capabilities has played an important role in enabling local startups like SpeQtral, foster impactful international partnerships with the potential to shape the global quantum-security industry. The MoU agreement was signed by the CEOs of both companies in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, during the State visit of Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES said, "Satellite-enabled Quantum Key Distribution is a fundamental technology for next-generation cyber security, allowing long-distance transmission of encryption keys. At SES we are delighted to bring our innovative expertise in developing secure, interoperable networked solutions, joining efforts with like-minded ecosystem partner SpeQtral in implementing the next milestone of our quantum-secure vision. The agreement allows SES to expand into non-EU markets and serve commercial customers, including facilitating secure exchanges between entities based across different geographies." Chune Yang Lum, CEO of SpeQtral, said: "Our partnership with SES represents a significant step towards realising commercially viable space-based QKD. It is important that we build on each other's expertise, to unlock synergies in this initial phase of enabling the interconnection of localised fibre-based quantum networks. By developing a shared OGS infrastructure, we are reducing costs and strengthening the foundation for a truly global quantum-secure network." Mr Jonathan Hung, Executive Director at OSTIn said: "The collaboration between SpeQtral and SES marks a significant milestone in Singapore's quantum technology landscape that will strengthen secure global communications for the future. The partnership leverages SpeQtral's strengths as one of the first quantum key distribution (QKD) companies, together with SES's satellite QKD expertise and position of a global content and connectivity solutions provider to make quantum communications more accessible worldwide and allow seamless services for end-users in Asia and Europe. We welcome more partnerships with companies to strengthen Singapore's position at the forefront of quantum communications innovation and commercialisation." Follow us on: LinkedIn Facebook YouTube X Instagram Read our Blogs > Visit the Media Gallery > About SES SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on Earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless data connectivity services around the world. As a provider of global content and connectivity solutions, SES owns and operates a geosynchronous orbit fleet and medium earth orbit (GEO-MEO) constellation of satellites, offering a combination of global coverage and high performance services. By using its intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES delivers high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners around the world. The company is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com About SpeQtral SpeQtral is a pioneer in quantum communications, with a vision to build and deploy global quantum networks. SpeQtral develops quantum-secure products and services designed to protect sovereign and enterprise telecommunication networks against classical, as well as future quantum-based cyber-attacks on cryptography. Combining both terrestrial and space-based solutions, SpeQtral aims to secure the world's networks against the threats posed by the imminent quantum revolution and drive innovation in quantum communications that will serve as the building blocks for the future quantum internet. For more information, visit: https://speqtralquantum.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250328851677/en/ Contacts: For further information please contact: SES Suzanne Ong Communications Tel. +352 710 725 500 suzanne.ong@ses.com SpeQtral Joanne Liao Strategic Development Tel: +65 6450 6878 joanne@speqtral.space Lately, Panama, specifically the Panama Canal , has become a hot topic of discussion worldwide, particularly in Panama and the United States. However, not many people are familiar with the history behind the canal, its construction, and its significance in the global economy. "THE PANAMA CANAL: A KEY PLAYER IN THE WORLD ECONOMY" A wide view of the Panama Canal with ships passing through the locks, framed by lush hills and the Centennial Bridge, highlighting its global economic importance. Due to this renewed interest, Panamanian communicator Ana Patricia has created a special episode of A Spotlight to Panama to explore the canal's history, ambitions, challenges, and impact. This episode aims to provide a deeper understanding of this engineering marvel that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Although the idea of a water passage through the Isthmus of Panama dates back to the 16th century, when Spanish explorers first envisioned it, serious efforts to build the canal didn't begin until the late 1800s. Inspired by their success with the Suez Canal, the French took on the project, but various challenges - including engineering difficulties and harsh working conditions - ultimately led to their failure. "Panama signed an agreement with the United States to build the canal," Ana Patricia explains in the episode . "The U.S. took over the project the following year." After a decade of relentless work, the Panama Canal was completed and officially opened in August 1914. "For most of the 20th century, the canal remained under U.S. control," says the communicator. "For Panamanians, it became a symbol of foreign dominance and a growing source of tension." Released on March 21, 2025, this special episode of A Spotlight to Panama delves into the canal's history, the complex relationship between Panama and the United States, and what happened after Panama assumed control. For those interested in exploring the transformative impact of the Panama Canal, you can watch the episode on A Spotlight to Panama or visit here . Contact Information Sandy Chan Project Manager - Punta Pacifica Realty sandy@puntapacificarealty.com + (507) 6793-8160 SOURCE: Punta Pacifica Realty 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! UniDoc Health Corp. (CSE:UDOC)(FRA:L7T)(OTCQB:UDOCF) ("UniDoc" or the "Company"), announces that, further to its news release dated March 19, 2025, it has closed the acquisition of the AGNES Connect software from AMD Telemedicine ("AMD"). "The AGNES Connect software forms the foundation of UniDoc's NEIL Connect software platform, and I am excited to complete this acquisition and bring the ownership and future development of this software in house. Additionally, AGNES Connect has been in commercial operation for several years and has established a national and international customer network. We look forward to supporting current subscribers and to build upon this existing customer base. For UniDoc, AGNES Connect represents an additional opportunity to generate sustainable revenue for the company," states CEO Antonio Baldassarre. Pursuant to the terms of a definitive purchase agreement dated March 18, 2025, UniDoc has acquired from AMD several assets including the name "AMD Telemedicine" and related goodwill, the AGNES Connect software, and related intellectual property, customer subscriptions and accounts. As consideration, the Company paid AMD US$175,000 in cash plus a revenue share. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, ~Antonio Baldassarre~ Antonio Baldassarre CEO, President & Director UniDoc Health Corp. About UniDoc Health Corp. (CSE:UDOC)(FRA:L7T)(OTCQB:UDOCF) UniDoc is developing an eHealth solution which is being designed as a self-contained remote virtual clinic within a private kiosk for patients to undergo full consultations as if they were present in a physician's office. eHealth opens the doors to a large segment of the population challenged by access, experience or understanding of online computer technology. It is the Company's belief that physical accessibility is the key to its business proposition. UniDoc is dedicated to unlocking shareholder value by delivering an excellent product and sophisticated commercial network within an expedited timeframe. The UniDoc team encourages engagement, questions, and interest, so please stay in touch and invite anyone who might be interested in our story to visit our website at www.unidoctor.com and signup to receive the latest information with updates on our activities, events and progress. For further information, please contact: UniDoc Investor Relations Tel: +1 778.383.6731 Email: info@unidoctor.com Matt Chatterton, Director Tel: +1 778.613.2082 Email: matt@unidoctor.com Media Inquiries media@unidoctor.com Forward-Looking Statements Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipates", "anticipated" "expected" "intends" "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different, including receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. Although management of the Company have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such 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 and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: UniDoc Health Corp. Athena Gold Corporation (CSE:ATHA)(OTCQB:AHNR) ("Athena Gold" or the "Company") announces the results from its Annual General and Special Meeting of Stockholders held on Thursday, March 27, 2025 (the "Meeting"). Stockholders holding a total of 153,401,821 common shares were represented in person or by proxy at the Meeting, representing 78.75% of the vote attached to all outstanding common shares of the Company as of the record date. Stockholders voted in favour of all the matters submitted before the Meeting as set out in the Proxy Statement dated February 4, 2025, including: The redomestication of the Company from the State of Delaware to the Province of British Columbia, Canada, by merger into its British Columbia subsidiary, Nova Athena Gold Corp.; The election of the following as directors until the next annual stockholder meeting of the Company: David Goodman, Koby Kushner, John C. Power, John E. Hiner and Brian Power; The appointment of Davidson & Company LLP as the Company's auditors for the ensuing year and to authorize the directors to fix the remuneration to be paid to the auditors; The approval, on an advisory, non-binding basis, of the compensation of the Company's Named Executive Officers; The approval, on an advisory, non-binding basis, establishing the frequency of shareholders voting on the compensation of Named Executive Officers to be every two (2) years. Subsequent to the Meeting, the Board appointed David Goodman as Chairman of the Board, Koby Kushner as President and Chief Executive Officer, Ty Minnick as Chief Financial Officer, and John C. Power as Corporate Secretary. John E. Hiner (Chair), John C. Power and Brian Power were appointed as members of the Audit Committee. Subject to receipt of the necessary consents and regulatory approvals and in compliance with all applicable legal requirements, Athena Gold will redomicile from the State of Delaware to the Province of British Columbia and amalgamate under section 275 of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) with its British Columbia subsidiary, Nova Athena Gold Corp. ("Nova Athena") (the "Transaction"). Under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger and Amalgamation dated February 4, 2025, Athena Gold's stockholders will receive one common share in the capital of Nova Athena for each common share of Athena Gold with the "resulting issuer" retaining its current name, Athena Gold Corporation, and current trading symbol "ATHA" on the Canadian Securities Exchange. The Company expects to complete the Transaction in early April 2025. Further details regarding the terms and conditions of the Transaction are set out in the Proxy Statement dated February 4, 2025, which is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Merger is expected, among other things, to significantly reduce Athena Gold's regulatory compliance costs, enhance its ability to access the capital markets and increase the number of potential investors. Completing the redomicile to British Columbia is also expected to reduce certain U.S. resale restrictions on common shares previously issued by Athena Gold in private placement transactions. About Athena Gold Corporation Athena is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to conduct additional exploration drilling and studies on its projects across North America. Athena's flagship Excelsior Springs Au-Ag project is located in the prolific Walker Lane Trend in Nevada. Excelsior Springs spans 1,675 ha and covers at least three historic mines along the Palmetto Mountain trend, where the Company is following up on a recent shallow oxide gold discovery, with drill results including 5.35 g/t Au over 33.5 m. Meanwhile, the Company's new Laird Lake project is situated in the Red Lake Gold District of Ontario, covering 4,158 hectares along more than 10 km of the Balmer-Confederation Assemblage contact, where recent surface sampling results returned up to 373 g/t Au. This underexplored area is road-accessible, located about 10 km west of West Red Lake Gold's Madsen mine and 34 km northwest of Kinross Gold's Great Bear project. For further information about Athena Gold Corporation and our Excelsior Springs Gold project, please visit www.athenagoldcorp.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors John C. Power Director and Corporate Secretary, Athena Gold Corporation For further information, please contact: Athena Gold Corporation John C. Power, Director and Corporate Secretary Phone: 707-291-6198 Email: johnpower@athenagoldcorp.com CHF Capital Markets Cathy Hume, CEO Phone: 416-868-1079 x 251 Email: cathy@chfir.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. Securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding future exploration plans, future results from exploration, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, 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: "believes", "will", "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 press release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that there will be investor interest in future financings, market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration and development of the Company's projects in a timely manner. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors as disclosed in the final long-form prospectus of the Company dated August 31, 2021. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this press release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise. SOURCE: Athena Gold Corp Uniting Two Industry Leaders Under a Bold New Company Identity and Vertically Integrated Operation CHICAGO, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Benestar Brands (formerly Evans Food Group Ltd.) and Palmex Alimentos, S.A. de C.V. ("Palmex") proudly unveiled their new unified brand identity: Monarca Authentic Snacks, which becomes the new premier leader in Hispanic snacking across the Americas. This milestone builds on the successful December 2023 merger of the two companies, transforming two respected industry names into a new category leader of Hispanic and Hispanic-inspired snacks, with authentic flavors and high-profile innovation that positions the company for accelerated growth in the Hispanic snacking category across North, Central, and South America. As a vertically integrated manufacturer of crispy snacks, pork rinds, tortilla chips, snack mixes and in-pack salsa solutions, Monarca Authentic Snacks is a powerhouse of consumer brands as well as a leading partner to snack manufacturers and retailers across the Americas, with the highest quality standards. With nine manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Mexico and distribution in over 17 countries, the company is uniquely positioned to lead the industry, leveraging over 90 years of heritage and commitment to excellence. A Vision for Growth and Leadership "Our ambition is to be the leading and fastest-growing crispy snacks company in the hemisphere," said Jose Luis Prado, Chairman and CEO of Monarca Authentic Snacks. "For nearly a century, we have crafted pellets and snacks with delicious, authentic Hispanic flavors. With this new identity, we are not just embracing our legacy-we are positioning ourselves for the future. The Hispanic segment is the fastest growing in the U.S. and 75% of U.S. consumers are actively looking for new and unique flavors, reinforcing our strategy to lead and expand the market." The Inspiration Behind Monarca Authentic Snacks "The launch of Monarca Authentic Snacks harnesses the combined strength of Benestar / Evans and Palmex under a singular identity inspired by the Monarch butterfly-a powerful symbol whose remarkable migration from Central Mexico to Canada, mirrors the company's path, embodying the heritage, resilience, and transformation that drive its vision forward," said Jesus Velazquez, U.S. President, Monarca Authentic Snacks. Heritage -The Monarch butterflies' migration from Mexico to the U.S. and Canada spans generations, always returning to its origins. Similarly, its brand stays rooted in tradition while looking to the future. -The Monarch butterflies' migration from Mexico to the U.S. and Canada spans generations, always returning to its origins. Similarly, its brand stays rooted in tradition while looking to the future. Resilience -Throughout more than 90 years navigating market fluctuations and industry challenges, Monarca Authentic Snacks has demonstrated the same resilience as the Monarch butterfly, consistently emerging stronger after each challenge. -Throughout more than 90 years navigating market fluctuations and industry challenges, Monarca Authentic Snacks has demonstrated the same resilience as the Monarch butterfly, consistently emerging stronger after each challenge. Transformation -Just as the Monarch butterfly undergoes metamorphosis, Monarca Authentic Snacks has evolved through strategic mergers and acquisitions to expand its reach and capabilities. -Just as the Monarch butterfly undergoes metamorphosis, Monarca Authentic Snacks has evolved through strategic mergers and acquisitions to expand its reach and capabilities. Transcendence -Just as Monarch butterflies possess extraordinary navigational abilities to reach their destination, Monarca Authentic Snacks maintains unwavering focus on its goal to become the premier and fastest-growing crispy snacks enterprise throughout the Americas. -Just as Monarch butterflies possess extraordinary navigational abilities to reach their destination, Monarca Authentic Snacks maintains unwavering focus on its goal to become the premier and fastest-growing crispy snacks enterprise throughout the Americas. Community-Monarch butterflies contribute significantly to ecological well-being through pollination; similarly, Monarca Authentic Snacks demonstrates commitment to strengthening the communities it serves and the environment of the Monarch butterfly. A Powerhouse in Hispanic Snacking Monarca Authentic Snacks brings together a diverse and powerful portfolio of consumer and B2B brands, including: Mac's - The #1 Pork Rind Brand in the U.S. - The #1 Pork Rind Brand in the U.S. 4505 - The #1 Premium Pork Rind Brand in the U.S. - The #1 Premium Pork Rind Brand in the U.S. Turkey Creek - The #3 Pork Rind Brand in Convenience stores in the U.S. - The #3 Pork Rind Brand in Convenience stores in the U.S. Chicas - The #2 fastest growing Premium Corn Tortilla Chip among Top Selling Brands in the U.S. - The #2 fastest growing Premium Corn Tortilla Chip among Top Selling Brands in the U.S. Cazo de Oro - The fastest-growing Tortilla chips with authentic Mexican-recipe and Hispanic branded Pork Rinds and Bulk - The fastest-growing Tortilla chips with authentic Mexican-recipe and Hispanic branded Pork Rinds and Bulk Las Ricas - The new leading brand for Hispanic-inspired "Street Snacks" - The new leading brand for Hispanic-inspired "Street Snacks" Evans - A leading pork rind pellet ingredient brand - A leading pork rind pellet ingredient brand Palmex - A leading crispy snacks pellet ingredient brand Source: Circana Unify+ - Mulo+ w/Conv L52wks ending 2/23/25 Delivering Value Through Innovation and Scale Monarca Authentic Snacks stands at the forefront of the Hispanic snacking market, offering unparalleled innovation capabilities, expanded production capacity, and deep category expertise. By combining the strengths of Benestar / Evans and Palmex, the company is uniquely positioned to drive exciting new snacking concepts, strategic partnerships, and meet the evolving needs of consumers and retailers alike. About Monarca Authentic Snacks Monarca Authentic Snacks is the premier Hispanic snack company in the Americas, dedicated to delivering bold, authentic flavors through crispy snacks, pork rinds, and tortilla chips. With a legacy spanning 90 years, Monarca Authentic Snacks continues to inspire and bring joy to consumers across the hemisphere. For more information, visit www.monarcasnacks.com. About Wind Point Partners Founded in 1984, Wind Point Partners is a Chicago-based private equity investment firm with approximately $6 billion in assets under management. The firm's Vision, Talent, Transformation ("VTT") investment strategy focuses on partnering with top caliber management teams around a clear and exciting plan to invest behind a business to achieve transformational growth and value creation. The firm's Executive Advisor Partner ("EAP") network is comprised of more than 40 high-caliber executives who are closely aligned with Wind Point and contribute across all aspects of the firm's investment process. Wind Point targets well-positioned middle market businesses within the business services, consumer products and industrial products industries. Since inception, Wind Point has deployed ten private equity buyout funds in partnership with highly-regarded institutional investors around the world, including public pensions, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, fund of funds and family offices. Additional information about Wind Point is available at www.windpointpartners.com. About Highlander Partners Highlander Partners, L.P. is a Dallas-based private investment firm with more than $3 billion in assets under management. The firm focuses on making investments in businesses in targeted industries where the principals have significant operating and investing experience. Highlander employs a buy and build investment approach, creating value by helping companies grow both organically and through acquisitions. For more information, visit www.highlander-partners.com. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2652739/Monarca_Authentic_Snacks_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/benestar-brands-and-palmex-alimentos-are-now-the-new-monarca-authentic-snacks-company-leading-hispanic-snacking-in-the-americas-302414298.html Altasciences, a nine-time CRO Leadership Award winner, is proud to announce they have been awarded a 2025 CDMO Leadership Award in the Small Molecule Dosage Form-North America category. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250327305519/en/ Altasciences receives a 2025 CDMO Leadership Award in the Small Molecule Dosage Form (North America) category. Altasciences' CDMO site supports drug development with formulation, manufacturing, and analytical testing-from discovery to commercialization. Their FDA-inspected facility features Grade C cleanrooms, R&D and analytical labs, ICH stability chambers, and a cGMP warehouse. "This recognition reflects our CDMO team's unwavering dedication and expertise, as well as our unrelenting commitment to advancing drug development in collaboration with leading pharmaceutical and biotech innovators," says Marie-Helene Raigneau, Co-Chief Operating Officer at Altasciences. "We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with esteemed sponsors from around the globe, providing them with integrated solutions that not only support groundbreaking therapeutic progress but also contribute meaningfully to getting those therapies to those who need them, faster." For 14 years, Outsourced Pharma's CDMO Leadership Awards have recognized the top-performing contract development and manufacturing organizations based on comprehensive industry research, and feedback from sponsors. "We are thrilled to introduce our 2025 CDMO Leadership Awards winners to the Outsourcing community, and honored to offer such an important tool for drug sponsors in selecting their best-fit partner to help bring life-saving therapies to market," says Louis Garguilo, Chief Editor at Outsourced Pharma. "The new categories and enhanced scoring methodology that went into this year's appraisal bring an improved experience for drug sponsors using the resource as well as an ever-so-coveted distinction for the CDMOs." Altasciences has formulated, tested, and/or manufactured nearly every available pharmaceutical dosage form on the market, including tablets, liquid- and powder-filled capsules, over-encapsulated capsules, nanomilled suspensions, creams, gels, powders, and terminally sterilized injectables. Altasciences' CDMO facility supports all stages of drug development, from early-phase formulation to late-phase scale-up and commercial manufacturing. It ensures batch consistency through in-house analytical testing and environmental monitoring. By providing integrated services and utilizing in-house expertise, Altasciences accelerates the formulation, manufacturing, and analysis processes to expedite the transition from preclinical to clinical phases and facilitate faster delivery of safe and effective therapeutics. About Altasciences Altasciences is an integrated drug development solution company offering pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies a proven, flexible approach to preclinical and clinical pharmacology studies, including formulation, manufacturing, and analytical services. For over 30 years, Altasciences has been partnering with sponsors to help support educated, faster, and more complete early drug development decisions. Altasciences' integrated, full-service solutions include preclinical safety testing, clinical pharmacology and proof of concept, bioanalysis, program management, research support, medical writing, biostatistics, clinical monitoring, and data management, all customizable to specific sponsor requirements. Altasciences helps sponsors get better drugs to the people who need them, faster. To learn more about Altasciences, visit altasciences.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250327305519/en/ Contacts: Julie-Ann Cabana Altasciences jcabana@altasciences.com Play Europe, a subsidiary of Fly Play hf., has been granted an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Directorate in Malta. The certificate was presented at a formal ceremony held in Malta this morning. Play Europe was established as part of a restructuring process announced by Fly Play hf. in October of last year. At that time, the company announced that it would carry out projects in Europe for other airlines through its subsidiary, Play Europe, based in Malta. Fly Play hf. currently operates a fleet of ten aircraft. Play has already reached an agreement with an airline operator in Eastern Europe, which includes the lease of three aircraft under the new Maltese Air Operator Certificate (AOC). These aircraft will operate exclusively outside of Iceland and not under the Play brand. In other words, they will not fly to or from Iceland, but rather between cities on the European mainland. Pilots and senior cabin crew will be employees of Play Europe and will be hired and based in the country from which the lessee operates. Fly Play hf. will continue to operate as an Icelandic low-cost airline, with the majority of its aircraft based in Keflavik. The first aircraft registered under the Maltese AOC is an Airbus A321-NEO, manufactured in 2018, bearing the registration 9H-PEA. "This is an important step for us. These leasing projects will generate profitability for PLAY in line with previous projections and will make the company's operations more predictable and stable, with a positive financial outlook. Receiving the Maltese AOC today, well ahead of schedule, is the result of tireless work carried out with outstanding professionalism by our team over the past months, and we are very proud of this milestone," says Einar Orn Olafsson, CEO of PLAY. Charles Pace, Director General of the Civil Aviation Directorate of Malta (Transport Malta - Civil Aviation Directorate), expressed during this morning's ceremony that he was pleased to welcome Play Europe as part of Malta's aviation history. He thanked all those who contributed to the project and for bringing this significant investment to Malta. He noted that the process had gone very smoothly and expressed his appreciation to the inspectors from the Civil Aviation Directorate and the PLAY team, who he said had worked with great diligence to achieve this milestone. He said he looks forward to seeing the airline grow and thrive in the months and years ahead. SINGAPORE, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Justin Sun, Global Advisor of HTX and Founder of TRON, has been featured on the daily cover of Forbes digital assets, marking a significant milestone in the blockchain industry. Sun becomes the second Chinese entrepreneur, after Jack Ma, and the fourth crypto exchange figure, following CZ, SBF, and Brian Armstrong, to achieve this prestigious recognition. Forbes profiles Sun as a " Crypto Billionaire Who Helped The Trumps Make $400 Million ," highlighting his distinct influence and global vision. Sun's Crypto Empire: From Disruptor to Industry Leader The Forbes feature portrays Sun as a figure of "youth, controversy, and immense wealth." Born in 1990, Sun has built a reputation for bold, unconventional moves within the blockchain space. "In my 20s I was just trying everything," Sun shares, illustrating his hands-on, entrepreneurial approach to innovation. Over the past decade, Sun has developed a comprehensive crypto ecosystem encompassing public chains, payment networks, exchanges, and decentralized finance (DeFi). His flagship project, TRON, ranks among the fastest-growing blockchain networks in the world, with over 300 million users and daily transaction volumes exceeding ten million. This achievement underscores his vision for a "global payment system" and reflects the increasing mainstream adoption of blockchain technologies. As Global Advisor of HTX, Sun has helped steer the exchange to new heights. HTX was recently recognized by Forbes as one of the "Top 25 World's Most Trustworthy Crypto Exchanges of 2025". Under Sun's leadership, HTX has championed compliance, security, and user experience, setting a benchmark for the convergence of traditional finance and crypto innovation. The synergy between HTX and TRON, facilitated by Sun's strategic guidance, is driving seamless resource integration through technological interoperability. Forbes Cover Recognition: A Testament to Global Leadership Sun's appearance on the Forbes cover underscores his growing influence on the global crypto stage. He joins a short list of visionary leaders from the crypto exchange world, alongside CZ, SBF, and Brian Armstrong, who have earned this recognition. In a post on X, Sun remarked, "From a visionary to a global force - honored to be featured on Forbes as Crypto's Billionaire Barker." Previously, Forbes Portugal included Sun in its "40 Notable Blockchain Entrepreneurs to Watch" list, where he ranked second-only behind Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Notably, Sun was the only Chinese entrepreneur in the top three, representing the highest placement ever for a Chinese figure in a global blockchain ranking. Forbes has also consistently named Sun in its "30 Under 30 Asia" lists and has noted his wide-ranging interests, including art collection, gaming, investment, philanthropy, and space exploration. In late 2024, Justin was appointed as Prime Minister of the Republic of Liberland, aiming to redefine the crypto space with principles of freedom and innovation. Strategic Collaborations and Industry Mission: Mainstreaming Crypto The Forbes article also highlights Sun's collaboration with the Trump family, a partnership that reportedly generated over $400 million. His $75 million investment in the Trumps' World Liberty Financial (WLFI) project demonstrates how crypto can be strategically deployed to integrate with mainstream business initiatives. This bold move showcases Sun's ability to identify emerging trends and leverage blockchain across cultural IP, social media, and digital asset markets. Addressing the industry's volatility and credibility challenges, Sun emphasizes the importance of a "long-term vision" in his Forbes interview. Both HTX and TRON now prioritize transparency, open-source development, and community governance. Sun's appearance on the Forbes cover signals not only personal success but the rising global influence of crypto innovation. Through HTX and TRON, Sun is helping bridge the gap between traditional finance and Web3, accelerating the shift toward a transparent, efficient, and inclusive digital economy. As Forbes concludes, "This Eastern crypto pioneer is redefining global rules with code and consensus." About HTX Founded in 2013, HTX has evolved from a virtual asset exchange into a comprehensive ecosystem of blockchain businesses that span digital asset trading, financial derivatives, research, investments, incubation, and other businesses. As a world-leading gateway to Web3, HTX harbors global capabilities that enable it to provide users with safe and reliable services. Adhering to the growth strategy of "Global Expansion, Thriving Ecosystem, Wealth Effect, Security & Compliance," HTX is dedicated to providing quality services and values to virtual asset enthusiasts worldwide. To learn more about HTX, please visit HTX Square or https://www.htx.com/ , and follow HTX on X , Telegram , and Discord . Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2652790/image.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2391903/image_ID__Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/justin-sun-featured-on-forbes-cover-eastern-crypto-leader-reshapes-global-industry-302414339.html LINZ AM RHEIN, Germany and SHANGHAI, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- March 27th, BIRKENSTOCK, the renowned German footwear brand and inventor of the footbed, unveils its Zhangyuan Concept Store. Previously introduced as a pop-up, the store has now found its permanent home within one of Shanghai's most treasured cultural landmarks. More than just a retail store, this space offers an immersive brand experience-celebrating craftsmanship, timeless design, and bringing the philosophy of walking as nature intended directly to consumers. Dating back to 1882, Zhangyuan is a treasured cultural landmark in Shanghai, known for its beautifully preserved shikumen lane houses and unique blend of Eastern and Western influences. The newly restored district seamlessly integrates its rich legacy with contemporary urban life-making it the ideal setting for BIRKENSTOCK's permanent concept store. Nestled in one of Shanghai's most historic and vibrant areas, the new store seamlessly blends tradition with modernity. Thoughtfully designed to honor Shanghai's architectural heritage while embracing BIRKENSTOCK's minimalist aesthetic, the space seamlessly merges past and present. The store's interior balances contemporary minimalism with heritage details, featuring a soothing palette of muted, light tones and natural materials. Shanghainese influences come through in locally crafted furniture, including benches, floor lamps, and armchairs. Art Deco inspirations are woven into the display fixtures, while traditional roof tiles are thoughtfully integrated into the 1774 display rack. A unique art installation, crafted from layered transparent silk with hand-embroidered Chinese motifs, highlights the brand's iconic footbed, merging artisanal craftsmanship with functional innovation. A DESTINATION FOR INNOVATION AND NEW LAUNCHES The Zhangyuan store serves as a flexible space, showcasing both BIRKENSTOCK's timeless classics and its premium product line 1774. As part of the opening celebration, the store will debut the anticipated Boro Collection. Inspired by the traditional Japanese art of textile mending and created in collaboration with Jesse Leyva, this collection highlights the beauty of handcrafted details and time-honored techniques. Moving forward, BIRKENSTOCK will deepen its engagement with local communities, creating experiences that bring its philosophy of "Naturgewolltes Gehen" (walking as nature intended) to life for consumers in China and beyond. COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES As the inventor of the footbed, BIRKENSTOCK has long championed natural movement of the feet, with the purpose to empower 'walking as nature intended'. To mark the opening, BIRKENSTOCK has teamed up with PURE YOGA to offer an exclusive foot health experience, highlighting the connection between movement and well-being. This limited-time initiative, running from March 27 to April 9, invites participants to explore foot yoga sessions incorporating the brand's CORK TOOL KIT-a three-piece set designed for targeted foot exercises. These sessions, available to PURE YOGA club members, aim to relieve muscle tension, promote movement, and enhance overall foot health. INFORMATION FOR MEDIA Location: Building W9-1A, North Maoming Road, Zhangyuan BIRKENSTOCK Store, Shanghai, China Opening Hours: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM BIRKENSTOCK PURE YOGA FOOT YOGA CLASS INFORMATION Dates: March 27 - April 9, 2025 Locations: PURE YOGA (HKRI Taikoohui): L1, No.699, Nanjing West Road, Building 234 PURE YOGA (IAPM): 6F, No.999, Huaihai Middle Road Sessions are available to PURE YOGA club members Press Contact BIRKENSTOCK Group Lenbach Palais Lenbachplatz 3 80333 Munchen (Munich) ABOUT BIRKENSTOCK BIRKENSTOCK is a global brand which embraces all consumers regardless of geography, gender, age and income and which is committed to a clear purpose - maintaining foot health. Deeply rooted in studies of the biomechanics of the human foot and footed on a family tradition of shoemaking that can be traced back to 1774, BIRKENSTOCK is a timeless super brand with a brand universe that transcends product categories and ranges from entry-level to luxury price points while addressing the growing need for a conscious and active lifestyle. Function, quality and tradition are the core values of the lifestyle brand which features products in the footwear, sleep systems and natural cosmetics segments. BIRKENSTOCK is the inventor of the footbed and has shaped the principle of walking as intended by nature ("Naturgewolltes Gehen"). With around 6,200 employees worldwide, BIRKENSTOCK is convinced that how things are made matters as much as the product itself. To ensure these quality standards, the Group operates a vertically integrated manufacturing base and produces all footbeds in Germany. In addition, BIRKENSTOCK assembles over 95% of all products in Germany and sources over 90% of materials and components from Europe. Raw materials are processed to the highest environmental and social standards in the industry. For materials testing BIRKENSTOCK operates state-of-the-art scientific laboratories. Headquartered in Linz am Rhein, the BIRKENSTOCK Group also operates its own sales offices in the United States and Canada as well as in Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Dubai, Singapore and India. Birkenstock Group B.V. & Co. KG Burg Ockenfels, Linz am Rhein, Germany For further information, please visit www.birkenstock-group.com You can find our online shop at www.birkenstock.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2537200/5238763/Birkenstock_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/birkenstock-opens-concept-store-in-historic-zhangyuan-marking-a-new-chapter-in-shanghai-302413432.html DELRAY BEACH, Fla., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Data Center Liquid Cooling Market by Component (Solution and Services), End User (Colocation Providers, Enterprises, and Hyperscale Data Centers), Cooling Medium, Data Center Type, Type of Cooling, Enterprise, and Region - Global Forecast to 2032", global data center liquid cooling market is estimated at USD 2.84 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 21.14 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 33.2% during the forecast period. Browse in-depth TOC on "Data Center Liquid Cooling Market" 330 - Tables 60 - Figures 300 - Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=84374345 The data center liquid cooling market is expected to grow faster because of the growing use of AI workloads and high-performance computing (HPC) with densifying racks above 30-50 kW makes traditional air conditioning inefficient. Thus, direct-to-chip (DTC), immersion, and cold plate solutions are necessary. Hyperscale and edge data centers, particularly those sharply rising through 5G, IoT, and cloud computing, will be compelling factors for liquid cooling. The EU Energy Efficiency Directive for more stringent regulation about energy-efficient cooling through U.S. carbon emission laws is another factor driving conversion. It is projected that global data center energy demands will rise in 2030 to 8 percent of world consumption, making any efficiency component significant for liquid cooling at a potential 30-50 percent advantage. Innovations on dielectric fluids and two-phase cooling will further cement GRC, Iceotope, and LiquidStack technology as the future standard for liquid cooling. By enterprise, the IT & Telecom segment is estimated to be the fastest-growing data center liquid cooling segment from 2025 to 2032. The highest compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) in the data center liquid cooling market are mainly contributed by the IT & Telecom segment owing to the expansion of 5G deployments, cloud computing, and AI-based applications. The telecom providers are ramping up the installation of edge data centers to provide low-latency connectivity for applications like autonomous vehicles, IoT, and real-time analytics, all of which require efficient high-density cooling solutions. With heavier scaling of IT infrastructure, air cooling is becoming insufficient and therefore the telecom operators are moving towards direct-to-chip and immersion cooling in search of performance and energy efficiency. More power is consumed at the 5G base station and network hub sectors while telecom companies are still expected to invest heavily in liquid cooling for the optimization of thermal management and sustainability. By 2032 this segment will continue to spearhead the conversion to liquid cooling that will enable cost-effective, high-performance network operations. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=84374345 By data center type, the small and mid-sized data center segment is estimated to be the fastest-growing segment of the data center liquid cooling market from 2025 to 2032. By size segment of the data center liquid cooling market, small and mid-sized data center is projected to be the fastest-growing segment from 2024 to 2030 because of the growing uptake of edge computing, cloud services, and AI-based applications. This is evident, especially in SMEs and many regional enterprises, as they tend toward localization of data centers to enable reduced latency and better security and regulatory compliance. These are not hyperscale data facilities; hence, they do not have space and energy allowances for full-fledged cooling but are ideal for liquid cooling since it provide efficient heat dissipation and energy savings for high-density environments. In addition to that, the demand generated by the emergence of 5G, Internet of Things, and content delivery networks (CDN) continues to demand compact, high-performance data centers in fueling the rapid adoption of liquid cooling. The small and medium-sized data centers will enormously influence the future of distributed computing by 2032; thus, accelerating towards significant growth in the market. By end user, the hyperscale data center segment is estimated to be the fastest-growing segment of the data center liquid cooling market from 2025 to 2032. The hyperscale data center segment is expected to be the fastest-growing end-user segment in the data center liquid cooling market, driven by the increasing adoption of AI, cloud computing, and high-performance computing (HPC). Hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Meta are expanding their infrastructure to support AI workloads, big data analytics, and real-time applications, all of which require high-density server configurations. As power consumption per rack surpasses 30-50 kW, traditional air cooling becomes inefficient, making direct-to-chip and immersion cooling essential. Additionally, sustainability initiatives and energy efficiency regulations are pushing hyperscalers to adopt liquid cooling, which reduces power usage effectiveness (PUE) and operational costs. By 2032, hyperscale data centers will continue to dominate liquid cooling adoption, ensuring optimized performance and lower environmental impact. Request Customization: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=84374345 North Americais estimated to be the largest-growing region in the data center liquid cooling market during the forecast period. North America is projected to hold the largest data center liquid cooling market, thanks to the increase in the hyperscale data center buildouts, AI-based workload, and cloud computing demands. The region is home to the largest data center operators worldwide, namely, AWS, Microsoft, Google, and Meta, who are investing heavily in direct-to-chip and immersion cooling technologies to enhance energy efficiency and sustainability. Severe government regulations on carbon emissions and the move toward green data centers are also playing a key role in the growth of liquid cooling. By 2032, the power demand from data centers in the United States alone is expected to reach 35 GW, necessitating huge investments in energy-efficient cooling techniques. With a 70% increase in data center construction and record-low vacancy rates (2.6%), liquid cooling is now becoming a fundamental requirement in high-density, high-performance computing environments. Rittal GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Vertiv Group Corp. (US), Green Revolution Cooling Inc. (GRC) (US), Submer (Spain), Schneider Electric (France), LiquidStack Holding B.V(US), Iceotope Precision Liquid Cooling (UK), COOLIT SYSTEMS (Canada), DUG Technology (Australia), DCX Liquid Cooling Systems (Poland), Delta Power Solutions (Taiwan), Wiwynn (Taiwan), LiquidCool Solutions, Inc. (US), Midas Immersion Cooling (US), BOYD (US), Kaori Heat Treatment Co,. Ltd (Taiwan), Chilldyne, Inc. (US), Asperitas (Netherlands), and STULZ GMBH (Germany) are the key players in the data center liquid cooling market. Get access to the latest updates on Data Center Liquid Cooling Companies and Data Center Liquid Cooling Market Size Browse Adjacent Market: Equipment Machine and Tooling Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Immersion Cooling Market - Global Forecast to 2032 Data Center Cooling Market - Global Forecast to 2032 Wire & Cable Companies Ceramic Tiles Companies Graphene Companies About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. Today, 80% of Fortune 2000 companies rely on MarketsandMarkets, and 90 of the top 100 companies in each sector trust us to accelerate their revenue growth. With a global clientele of over 13,000 organizations, we help businesses thrive in a disruptive ecosystem. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion in new revenue streams that are replacing existing ones within this decade. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we collaborate with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies to keep them future-ready. Our insights and strategies are powered by industry experts, cutting-edge AI, and our Market Intelligence Cloud, KnowledgeStore, which integrates research and provides ecosystem-wide visibility into revenue shifts. In addition, MarketsandMarkets SalesIQ enables sales teams to identify high-priority accounts and uncover hidden opportunities, helping them build more pipeline and win more deals with precision. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn and Facebook . Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 1615 South Congress Ave. Suite 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868219/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/data-center-liquid-cooling-market-worth-21-14-billion-by-2032--exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-302414205.html Market Growth Driven by Advancements in Sequencing Technologies and Expanding Applications in Microbiome Research REDDING, Calif., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report titled 'Metagenomics Market Size, Share, Forecast, & Trends Analysis by Technology (Shotgun Sequencing, 16S rRNA Sequencing, Whole Genome Sequencing), Product (Kits & Reagents, Sequencing Services, Bioinformatics Tools), Application (Clinical Diagnostics, Environmental Monitoring, Drug Discovery, Agriculture) - Global Forecast to 2032', published by Meticulous Research, the metagenomics market is projected to reach $6.71 Billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 15.6% from 2024 to 2031. Key Market Drivers and Trends The metagenomics market is witnessing robust growth due to the rising adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies in microbiome research, disease diagnostics, and environmental monitoring. The ability of metagenomic sequencing to analyze complex microbial communities without the need for culturing is revolutionizing pathogen detection, antibiotic resistance studies, and precision medicine. Increasing investments in microbiome-based therapeutics, government initiatives supporting genomic research, and the expanding application of metagenomics in agriculture and wastewater treatment are further propelling market expansion. Moreover, AI-driven bioinformatics tools are enhancing data analysis efficiency, enabling faster and more accurate microbial profiling. For more comprehensive insights, download the FREE report sample of the metagenomics market: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/cp_id=6127 Growth Opportunities Emerging economies in Asia-Pacific and Latin America present substantial growth opportunities due to increasing investments in genomic research, expanding healthcare infrastructure, and rising awareness of microbiome-based diagnostics. Advances in portable sequencing technologies and cloud-based bioinformatics platforms are making metagenomics more accessible, fostering its adoption in remote and resource-limited settings. Market Challenges Despite strong growth potential, challenges such as high sequencing costs, complex data interpretation, and the need for standardized analytical pipelines hinder the widespread adoption of metagenomics. Regulatory concerns related to genomic data privacy and bioethical considerations also pose hurdles for market expansion, particularly in clinical applications. Get Insightful Data on Regions, Market Segments, Customer Landscape, and Top Companies (Charts, Tables, Figures and More) - https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/metagenomics-market-6127 Segment Insights By Technology: Shotgun sequencing dominates the market due to its comprehensive microbial diversity analysis capabilities, while 16S rRNA sequencing remains a preferred choice for taxonomic classification in environmental and clinical research. By Product: Kits & reagents account for the largest market share, driven by increasing demand for high-throughput sequencing workflows. Bioinformatics tools and services are gaining traction, supporting complex data interpretation and predictive modeling. By Application: Clinical diagnostics is the fastest-growing segment, with metagenomics playing a crucial role in infectious disease detection, antimicrobial resistance monitoring, and oncology. Environmental monitoring and agricultural applications are also expanding, with metagenomic sequencing aiding in soil health assessment, pollution control, and sustainable farming practices. Request a customized research analysis tailored to your specific requirements: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/request-customization/cp_id=6127 Geographic Market Insights North America leads the global metagenomics market, supported by strong research funding, government genomics initiatives, and the presence of key industry players. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to grow at the highest CAGR, driven by increasing investments in biotechnology, rising healthcare expenditures, and growing collaborations between academic institutions and industry players. Competitive Landscape The metagenomics market is highly competitive, with key players focusing on technological advancements, strategic partnerships, and geographic expansion. Leading companies such as Illumina, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Qiagen, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and BGI Group are investing heavily in R&D to enhance sequencing accuracy, reduce turnaround times, and develop cost-effective bioinformatics solutions. Collaborations between sequencing technology providers and pharmaceutical companies are driving innovations in microbiome-based drug development and precision medicine. Additionally, startups specializing in AI-powered microbial analytics and cloud-based sequencing services are emerging as key disruptors in the market. Sustainability initiatives, such as eco-friendly sample processing techniques and reusable sequencing platforms, are also gaining momentum as companies strive to minimize environmental impact while expanding market reach. Immediate Delivery Available | Buy this Research Report (Insights, Charts, Tables, Figures and More)- https://www.meticulousresearch.com/view-pricing/1444 Scope of the Report: Metagenomics Market, by Offering Consumables Instruments Software & Services Metagenomics, by Technology 16S Sequencing Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing Whole Genome Sequencing Other Technologies (Note: Other technologies include targeted microbial sequencing, meta transcriptome sequencing, and pyrosequencing.) Metagenomics, by Application Environmental Applications Clinical Diagnostics Drug Discovery Biotechnology Other Applications (Note: Other applications include food & nutrition, agriculture & soil health, marine microbiomes, and extremophiles.) Metagenomics Market, by Geography North America (U.S., Canada), Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia, Rest of APAC), Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa Related Reports: Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) Market: Industry Outlook by Offering (Sample Preparation [DNA Extraction, Library Preparation, Automation], Systems, Bioinformatics, Sequencing Services) Application (Clinical, Research) End User - Global Forecast to 2031 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/NGS-market-industry-outlook-5957 NGS Library Preparation Market by Product (Kits, Reagents, Instruments), Sequencing Type (Genome, Exome, Targeted), Application (Diagnostics, Discovery), End User (Hospitals, Diagnostic Laboratories, Pharmaceutical, Academic) - Global Forecast to 2030 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/ngs-library-preparation-market-5319 Genetic Testing Market by Offering (Consumables, Reagents, Instruments, Services), Test Type (Diagnostic, Prenatal, Carrier, Newborn, Preimplantation), Method (Molecular, Chromosomal), End User (Hospitals, Diagnostic Laboratories) - Global Forecast to 2030 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/genetic-testing-market-5370 Bioinformatics Market Size, Share, Forecast, & Trends Analysis By Solutions & Services (Knowledge Management, Sequence Analysis, Data Analysis) Application (Genomics, Metabolomics, Transcriptomics) Industry (Health, Agriculture) - Global Forecast to 2031 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/bioinformatics-market-5731 About Meticulous Research We are a trusted research partner for leading businesses worldwide, empowering Fortune 500 organizations and emerging enterprises with market intelligence designed to drive revenue transformation and strategic growth. Our insights reveal future growth opportunities, equipping clients with a competitive edge through a versatile suite of research solutions-including syndicated reports, custom research, and direct analyst engagement. Each year, we conduct over 300 syndicated studies and manage 60+ consulting engagements across eight major sectors and 20+ geographic markets, all to deliver targeted business insights that help our clients lead in a rapidly evolving global market. With a strong focus on problem-solving for complex business challenges, our research enables organizations to navigate change with assertion, aligning it with strategic pathways for sustainable growth. By identifying innovative and effective solutions, we empower leaders to make impactful decisions that drive operational excellence and fuel innovation. We are committed to crafting insights that enhance business performance and help our clients unlock new revenue opportunities, positioning them for long-term success in the competitive global marketplace. Contact: Meticulous Market Research Pvt. Ltd. 1267 Willis St, Ste 200 Redding, California, 96001, U.S. USA: +1-646-781-8004 Europe: +44-203-868-8738 APAC: +91 744-7780008 Email- sales@meticulousresearch.com Visit Our Website: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/ Connect with us on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/meticulous-research Top Market Research Reports Blog - https://meticulousblog.org/ Content Source: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/pressrelease/1365/metagenomics-market Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1757980/Meticulous_Research_Logo_1.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/metagenomics-market-to-reach-6-71-billion-by-2031--growing-at-a-cagr-of-15-6-from-2024--exclusive-report-by-meticulous-research-302414335.html LUGANO, Switzerland, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 25, BE OPEN visited Thailand, as The Economist Group's signature sustainability summit returned to Bangkok for the fourth time. Sustainability Week Asia rounds off a series of global conferences - from Cape Town to New York - which bring together the world's foremost experts and industry leaders shaping the transition to a more sustainable future. Opening with keynote addresses by high-ranking officials from Thailand's Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Industry, this year's event welcomed more than 900 delegates from across Asia and beyond. It also marked BE OPEN's first time participating in this important summit to witness conversations about banks driving the ongoing green vehicle transition, providing subsidised financing options for green auto consumption; Asian manufacturers adapting to 'net zero' goals, the region's brightest architects revolutionising sustainable living, and many more. The founder of BE OPEN Elena Baturina focused on the value of the conference for the foundation: "We are happy to become part of the event that connects businesses, investors and innovators to achieve a more sustainable future. Annually for our sustainability competitions we collect hundreds of outstanding creative projects from young people all over the world, and do our best to promote them to the public and private sector. Educating and motivating young people to become leaders of sustainable change is the best way forward. That is why we keep trying to do more by offering them a platform for pitching, discussion and exchange of ideas boosting their confidence and helping them to see that they matter." Since its inception, BE OPEN has tried to identify the evolving needs of the future, offering a platform for the enterprising young leaders of tomorrow to realise their potential as they work to design, create and innovate for the betterment of the planet. As BE OPEN believes in the power of human creativity to push the boundaries, it values such opportunities to share insights and derive inspiration from the cutting-edge developments taking shape in Asia. BE OPEN is a global initiative to foster creativity and innovation, a think-tank whose mission is to promote people and ideas today to build solutions for tomorrow. It is a cultural and social initiative supported by Austria-based international philanthropist and businessperson Elena Baturina. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/be-open-debuts-at-the-4th-annual-sustainability-week-asia-conference-302414350.html DELRAY BEACH, Fla., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Analytical Standards Market, valued at US$1.44 billion in 2022, is forecasted to grow at a robust CAGR of 5.9%, reaching US$1.53 billion in 2024 and an impressive US$2.16 billion by 2030. Analytical standards refer to substances with high purity and known concentrations used to calibrate instruments and verify the accuracy of analytical methods in a laboratory. These analytical standards act as a benchmark to compare while measuring the concentration of a specific analyte in a sample. The key factors driving the market growth include the stringent regulatory guidelines in the pharmaceutical industry; increasing public-private investments for research projects; the rising public concerns about food safety & quality; and the growing applications of analytical techniques in proteomics and metabolomics. Additionally, drug development adhering to GMP regulations; the expansion of pharmaceutical & biotechnology industries; and the increasing number of clinical trials are expected to create opportunities for market growth during the forecast period. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=8484789 Browse in-depth TOC on "Analytical Standards Market" 421 - Tables 57 - Figures 408 - Pages By Based on the technique, over the forecast period of 2024-2030, the spectroscopy segment is to register a significant growth. The analytical standards market is segmented into spectroscopy, chromatography, titrimetry and physical property testing. The analytical standards 'spectroscopy' market includes mass spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence/diffraction spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The key factors encouraging the growth of spectroscopy segment during the forecast period are the increased adoption of drug development R&D and the rising use of spectroscopic techniques across a broad range of application areas. By Based on application, during the forecast period, the pharmaceutical & life science standards segment is anticipated to dominate the analytical standards market, holding the largest market share. The pharmaceutical & life science standards segment commands a significant share due to the stringent regulations, increasing focus on quality control and increasing awareness for pharmaceutical & life sciences analytical standards across key markets (such as the US, Europe, China, India, and the Middle East). By geography, in 2024, Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest CAGR in the market for analytical standards during the forecast period. Asia Pacific comprises China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, and the rest of Asia Pacific. Factors such as the presence of stringent regulatory policies for food and drug safety and the growth of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are driving the growth of the APAC analytical standards market during the forecast period. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=8484789 As of 2023, prominent players in analytical standards are Merck KGaA (Germany), Agilent Technologies, Inc. (US), Waters Corporation (US), LGC Limited (UK), PerkinElmer (US), Restek Corporation (US), SPEX CertiPrep (US), AccuStandard (US), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (US), Mallinckrodt (UK), The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (US), Cayman Chemical (US), RICCA Chemical Company (US) and GFS Chemicals, Inc. (US) among others. Merck KGaA (Germany) Merck KGaA held the one of the top positions in the market, with the most significant global share in 2023. The company offers a broad product portfolio to gain the leading market share, and a strong geographical presence in more than 160 countries globally. The company focuses on organic & inorganic growth strategies to enhance its footprint. For instance, the company underwent facility expansion in Nebraska, US, to increase the plant's manufacturing capacity. The company adheres to regulatory compliance for key end-use customers. The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (US) United States Pharmacopeial Convention held a key position in the analytical standards market due to its comprehensive portfolio of reference standards. The company has a strong presence across major countries, including India, Brazil, China, Ghana, the Philippines, Nigeria, Singapore, and Switzerland. The company functions with the help of many subsidiaries across these different regions worldwide. USP has a strong presence in analytical standards market among the various applications of analytical products. For more information, Inquire Now! Related Reports: Chromatography Accessories & Consumables Market Chromatography Reagents Market Bioanalytical Testing Services Market Environmental Testing Equipment Market Mass Spectrometry Market Get access to the latest updates on Analytical Standards Companies and Analytical Standards Market Size About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. Today, 80% of Fortune 2000 companies rely on MarketsandMarkets, and 90 of the top 100 companies in each sector trust us to accelerate their revenue growth. With a global clientele of over 13,000 organizations, we help businesses thrive in a disruptive ecosystem. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion in new revenue streams that are replacing existing ones within this decade. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we collaborate with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies to keep them future-ready. Our insights and strategies are powered by industry experts, cutting-edge AI, and our Market Intelligence Cloud, KnowledgeStore, which integrates research and provides ecosystem-wide visibility into revenue shifts. In addition, MarketsandMarkets SalesIQ enables sales teams to identify high-priority accounts and uncover hidden opportunities, helping them build more pipeline and win more deals with precision. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 1615 South Congress Ave. Suite 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868219/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/analytical-standards-market-worth-us2-16-billion-by-2030-with-5-9-cagr--marketsandmarkets-302414075.html AI Gateway Market is Segmented by Type (Cloud-based, On-premises), by Application (Enterprise AI Deployment, Healthcare Data Integration, Fraud Detection). BANGALORE, India, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Market for AI Gateway was valued at USD 3911 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 9843 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 14.3% during the forecast period. Claim Your Free Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-30L18452/Global_AI_Gateway_Market Major Factors Driving the Growth of AI Gateway Market: The AI Gateway Market continues to mature as companies worldwide pursue intelligent automation and data-driven innovations. Gateways bring structure and security to AI deployments, integrating algorithms with real-time data flows across networks or devices. This growing demand inspires software providers and hardware manufacturers to deliver unified, scalable solutions. Organizations ranging from small startups to global enterprises leverage gateways to optimize marketing strategies, streamline operations, and enhance customer experiences. Over time, standardization efforts and partnerships across industries accelerate the market's expansion. As user awareness of AI's transformative potential deepens, new players enter the scene, offering specialized functions that address particular pain points. This convergence of diverse stakeholders underpins the AI Gateway Market's steady progression toward broader adoption and lasting impact. Unlock Insights: View Full Report Now! https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-30L18452/global-ai-gateway TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF THE AI GATEWAY MARKET: Cloud-based solutions significantly fuel the AI Gateway Market by offering scalable computing resources that accommodate fluctuating workloads. Organizations can swiftly train and deploy AI models without heavily investing in on-premises hardware, minimizing upfront costs. As businesses handle ever-growing datasets, cloud platforms enable real-time data processing and analytics, improving decision-making capabilities. Flexible subscription models further encourage adoption, allowing users to pay only for actual usage. Collaboration is also simplified as teams across the globe can access centralized AI services through secure channels. These advantages lower technical barriers, attracting smaller enterprises and startups looking to harness artificial intelligence. Consequently, cloud-based deployments become a pivotal force, advancing the AI Gateway Market and pushing innovation across various industries. On-premises implementations propel the AI Gateway Market by addressing concerns around data security, compliance, and customization. Many industries, such as finance, healthcare, and defense, adhere to strict regulations that mandate controlling sensitive information within proprietary environments. Hosting AI gateways on local servers offers direct oversight of data handling while reducing vulnerabilities associated with external networks. This approach also supports tailored hardware configurations optimized for specific workloads, enhancing performance. By leveraging in-house expertise, organizations can customize AI models and workflows to match unique operational requirements. Although this strategy often requires significant capital expenditure, it appeals to businesses prioritizing privacy and specialized solutions. As data regulations tighten, on-premises AI gateways become a vital growth avenue, ensuring trust and compliance in crucial sectors. Enterprise AI deployment powers the AI Gateway Market by transforming how organizations integrate intelligence into daily operations. As companies process vast amounts of information, gateways facilitate secure interactions between AI models and various data sources, streamlining analytic workflows. From customer service automation to fraud detection, enterprises leverage these solutions to derive timely insights and improve productivity. Standardized interfaces and modular designs help diverse teams implement AI within existing infrastructures, lowering adoption barriers. Strategic investments in research and development encourage advanced gateways with specialized features like natural language processing or real-time decision engines. This organizational shift toward data-driven strategies intensifies the need for robust, scalable gateways that unify AI efforts. Consequently, enterprise-level deployments spur broader AI Gateway Market expansion worldwide. Organizations across sectors increasingly rely on real-time analytics to make critical decisions. AI gateways empower this shift by orchestrating data flows between internal systems and advanced machine learning models. Companies gain predictive capabilities, identifying patterns and optimizing workflows in areas like inventory management or customer service. As massive datasets accumulate from online transactions, IoT devices, and user interactions, businesses face mounting pressure to harness insights swiftly. Gateways provide the backbone for integrating varied data sources and delivering actionable intelligence. Over time, the demand for deeper analytics elevates gateway adoption, pushing providers to enhance scalability and reliability. By connecting data pipelines to powerful AI tools, these gateways become indispensable for extracting value, reinforcing their role in market growth. Edge computing converges with the AI Gateway Market when data processing shifts closer to endpoints, reducing latency and bandwidth usage. AI gateways facilitate local model inference, enabling rapid decision-making in environments like manufacturing lines or connected vehicles. This synergy empowers real-time analytics without relying solely on centralized cloud infrastructures. As networks grow increasingly distributed, efficient gateways become essential for routing inputs, managing edge nodes, and maintaining performance. Companies in sectors such as healthcare or smart cities benefit from faster response times and heightened data privacy. By merging on-device intelligence with broader cloud systems, gateways help balance agility and scale. Consequently, edge computing's rise boosts AI gateway implementations, opening new avenues for localized, high-speed AI deployments. Tightening rules around data handling, privacy, and algorithmic transparency prompt businesses to adopt robust AI gateways. Governments worldwide introduce legislation that demands secure, compliant processing of sensitive information. Gateways help companies align with these mandates by controlling data flow and offering auditable logs. Encryption capabilities and user access controls become standard, ensuring traceability and minimization of unauthorized use. Industries like banking and healthcare face heightened scrutiny, making comprehensive security features a primary market differentiator. When organizations must meet industry-specific certification or data residency requirements, AI gateways streamline audit readiness and reduce legal risks. This environment propels gateway development, as vendors race to deliver solutions that satisfy evolving regulations. As policies tighten, gateways positioned for compliance gain widespread traction. Sector-focused AI solutions drive gateway adoption by tailoring models to specialized problems. Health diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and personalized marketing exemplify targeted applications relying on high-performance gateways. Providers develop domain-oriented features, from medical image analysis to sensor-driven anomaly detection, ensuring seamless data exchange. Organizations appreciate off-the-shelf functionality aligned with their operational needs, accelerating deployment and ROI. This trend inspires cross-collaboration between AI startups, research institutions, and established enterprises, spurring gateways that cater to unique sectors. Additionally, success stories in verticals like retail or energy encourage other players to invest in specialized intelligence. Industry-specific AI creates robust demand for gateways capable of integrating custom algorithms and data structures, amplifying the market's growth prospects across diverse fields. Claim Yours Now! https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-30L18452&lic=single-user AI GATEWAY MARKET SHARE Regional factors play a pivotal role in shaping the AI Gateway Market's trajectory. North America maintains a leadership position thanks to established tech giants, heavy R&D investments, and rapid cloud adoption. Europe enforces stringent data protection regulations, fueling gateways that prioritize security and compliance. Meanwhile, Asia Pacific experiences remarkable growth due to booming digitization, government-backed AI initiatives, and a vast consumer base embracing mobile services. In Latin America, budding tech hubs and improved connectivity enhance AI gateway opportunities, although infrastructure disparities persist. The Middle East sees increasing interest in AI for smart cities, logistics, and financial services, driving local gateway projects. Each region's unique regulatory environment and economic priorities influence how quickly AI gateways gain traction and expand. Key Companies: AI IBM F5 Cloudflare GitLab KONG Databricks Solo.io Pleora Technologies Domino Data Lab Portkey Lunar.dev Purchase Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-30L18452/Global_AI_Gateway_Market SUBSCRIPTION We have introduced a tailor-made subscription for our customers. Please leave a note in the Comment Section to know about our subscription plans. 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GET A FREE QUOTE Valuates Reports sales@valuates.com For U.S. Toll-Free Call 1-(315)-215-3225 WhatsApp: +91-9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Blog: https://valuatestrends.blogspot.com/ Pinterest: https://in.pinterest.com/valuatesreports/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valuatesreports6753 https://www.facebook.com/valuateskorean https://www.facebook.com/valuatesspanish https://www.facebook.com/valuatesjapanese https://valuatesreportspanish.blogspot.com/ https://valuateskorean.blogspot.com/ https://valuatesgerman.blogspot.com/ https://valuatesreportjapanese.blogspot.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ai-gateway-market-to-reach-9843-million-by-2031-driven-by-cloud-and-on-premise-deployments--valuates-reports-302414357.html The "Smart Metering in Europe 19th Edition" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the European smart metering market, focusing on the adoption trends, technological advancements, and future projections for both electricity and gas smart meters. It examines the key drivers propelling market growth, including the increasing implementation of second-generation smart meters and the rapid advancement of wireless communication technologies. Close to 60 percent of the electricity customers in EU27+3 had a smart meter at the end of 2023 a figure that is forecasted to increase to as much as 80 percent in 2029. In terms of shipments, smart meters accounted for around 85 percent of total EU27+3 electricity meter shipments in 2023. Italy, which is currently in the midst of its second-generation rollout, was the largest market in terms of shipments with around 5.0 million units installed during the year. The United Kingdom was the second largest market by volume with yearly shipments of more than 2.2 million units, a number that should have been higher if the British utilities met their installation targets for the year. The third largest market was Sweden, which is in the midst of its second-generation deployment, with yearly shipments of around 1.5 million units. Poland and France were also in the top five in terms of shipment volumes. Other markets with large installation volumes during the year included Austria, Portugal and Belgium. The smart metering market in Europe remains promising and is set for robust growth in the coming years with a total of close to 127 million smart electricity meters forecasted to be deployed across the region during 2023-2029. The report also highlights regional dynamics, with Central, Eastern, and Southeast Europe emerging as major growth areas, and provides insights into market segmentation and future shipment volumes. With robust data and strategic insights, this report serves as a valuable resource for stakeholders seeking to understand the evolving smart metering landscape in Europe. The installed base of smart energy meters to reach 335 million across Europe by 2029 In addition to major first-generation deployments in countries such as the UK, France, Austria, Belgium and Portugal, second-generation rollouts in countries such as Italy and Sweden will contribute with substantial shipment volumes up until the end of 2024. Poland, which is currently ramping up smart meter installations will meanwhile account for a substantial and increasing share of smart meter shipments throughout the entire forecast period. From 2025 and forward, the ramp-up of second-generation installations in markets such as Spain as well as first generation deployments in Germany and Greece are also expected to be important contributors to yearly shipment volumes. In total, replacements of first-generation smart meters are expected to be in the range of 20-40 percent of total smart meter shipments in Europe throughout the next five years, or 3.5-7.0 million units annually. As the rollouts in many countries in Western Europe and the Nordics are now either well advanced or largely completed, the focus is increasingly shifting to Central, East and Southeast Europe. The outlook for the region has improved significantly over the past years with multiple major rollouts now planned or already under way. Overall, the CEE and Southeast European region is expected to account for as much as 52 percent of annual EU27+3 smart meter shipments in 2029, up from 28 percent in 2023. Looking only at the growth in annual shipment volumes of first-generation smart meter projects, 9 of the 10 fastest growing markets can be found in CEE and Southeast Europe. The rapid development of new wireless technologies for IoT communications has a major impact on the smart metering market in Europe. DSOs planning for new smart grid projects and rollouts in the mid-2020s have a wide range of increasingly sophisticated wireless technologies to choose from for their networking platforms. Wireless technologies have a number of advantages compared to PLC technologies which dominated the first wave of smart electricity deployments in Europe. Supported by massive R&D investments in the mobile communications industry in combination with decreasing mobile subscription costs, 3GPP-based LPWA technologies such as NB-IoT and LTE-M are now rapidly gaining traction in the electricity, gas and water utilities space. Several major deployments utilising these technologies are now either underway or about to begin in the Benelux, the Nordics and the Baltics. 3GPP-based LPWA will close to triple its smart meter connectivity market share throughout the forecast period. At the moment, various forms of PLC will remain the dominant technology group in terms of installed base although purely wireless communications options are forecasted to account for over 50 percent of shipment volumes during most of the forecast period peaking at around 64 percent in 2025-2026. Adoption of smart metering is also growing fast in the European gas distribution market. At the end of 2023, around 44 percent of the natural gas customers in EU27+3 had been equipped with a smart gas meter. The analyzer estimates that the number of natural gas customers with a smart gas meter will increase to 76.8 million in 2029, equal to a penetration rate of about 61 percent. Annual shipments of smart gas meters in the EU27+3 amounted to 2.9 million units in 2023. This represented a decrease of 1.8 million units in comparison to 2022, which was largely due to France having completed the mass-deployment phase of its nationwide rollout in 2022, in combination with a slower than anticipated pace of installations in the UK. Nevertheless, the UK was the most active market in 2023 with yearly shipment volumes of 1.3 million units while Italy and Belgium accounted for 0.7 million and 0.4 million units respectively. Apart from an expected peak of 6.5 million units in 2027, annual shipment volumes of smart gas meters will remain stable at around 5-6 million units throughout the forecast period. Shipment volumes are expected to decrease in Italy until 2025 and then increase until the end of the forecast period while yearly shipments in France will stay at around 0.1 million from 2024 onwards. After multiple delays, the UK market is expected to gradually ramp up smart gas meter installations and reach a peak of 3.6 million units in 2025. A significant volume of smart gas meter installations is also anticipated in additional countries over the coming years, particularly Spain, Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands, where the former will account for 19 percent of yearly shipment volumes in Europe by 2029. Smart Metering in Europe Market Forecasts and Trends Second-wave rollouts to account for a substantial share of shipments Growth increasingly driven by CEE and Southeast European projects Adoption of NB-IoT and LTE-M connectivity picking up speed Making smart metering systems secure by design Rethinking the smart metering offering to respond to emerging utility needs The presence of Chinese vendors increases in Europe Europe gearing up for hydrogen supply operations Smart electricity metering market forecast Capital expenditure forecast Communications technology market shares Smart gas metering market forecast Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary 1 Electricity, Gas and District Heating Markets in Europe 2 Smart Metering Solutions 2.1 Introduction to smart grids 2.2 Smart metering 2.3 Project strategies 2.4 Regulatory issues 3 IoT Networks and Communications Technologies 3.1 IoT network technologies 3.2 PLC technology and standards 3.3 3GPP cellular and LPWA technologies 3.4 Other RF technologies and standards 3.4.1 IEEE 802.15.4 3.4.2 Wi-SUN 3.4.3 Proprietary IPv6 connectivity stacks based on 802.15.4 3.4.4 EN 13757 4 Smart Metering Industry Players 4.1 Meter vendors 4.1.1 Itron 4.1.2 Landis+Gyr 4.1.3 Aclara (Hubbell) 4.1.4 ADD Grup 4.1.5 AEM 4.1.6 Aidon (Gridspertise) 4.1.7 Apator 4.1.8 Circutor 4.1.9 Diehl Metering 4.1.10 EDMI (Osaki Electric) 4.1.11 EFR 4.1.12 Elgama Elektronika (Linyang Energy) 4.1.13 EMH Metering 4.1.14 Flonidan 4.1.15 Gridspertise (Enel) 4.1.16 Hexing Electrical 4.1.17 Honeywell 4.1.18 Holley Technology 4.1.19 Iskraemeco 4.1.20 Kaifa Technology 4.1.21 Kamstrup 4.1.22 Meter&Control 4.1.23 MeteRSIT 4.1.24 Networked Energy Services 4.1.25 NIK 4.1.26 Pietro Fiorentini 4.1.27 Sagemcom 4.1.28 Sanxing Electric 4.1.29 Wasion 4.1.30 ZIV 4.1.31 ZPA Smart Energy (El Sewedy Electrometer) 4.1.32 ZTE Corporation 4.2 Communications solution providers 4.2.1 APKAPPA 4.2.2 Corinex 4.2.3 CyanConnode 4.2.4 Devolo 4.2.5 NuriFlex 4.2.6 Ormazabal 4.2.7 Power Plus Communications 4.2.8 Sensus (Xylem) 4.2.9 Theben Smart Energy 4.2.10 Toshiba 4.2.11 Trilliant 4.2.12 Xemex 4.3 Software solution providers 4.3.1 Avance Metering 4.3.2 Atlantica Digital 4.3.3 Cuculus 4.3.4 Embriq 4.3.5 Hansen Technologies 4.3.6 Ferranti 4.3.7 Kisters 4.3.8 Oracle 4.3.9 Robotron Datenbank-Software 4.3.10 SAP 4.3.11 Siemens 4.3.12 Telecontrol STM 4.3.13 Terranova Software 4.3.14 VIVAVIS 4.4 System integrators and communications service providers 4.4.1 A1 Telekom Austria 4.4.2 Arqiva 4.4.3 Atos 4.4.4 Capgemini 4.4.5 CGI 4.4.6 Com4 4.4.7 GE Vernova (Greenbird Integration Technology) 4.4.8 IBM 4.4.9 Telecom Italia 4.4.10 KPN 4.4.11 Telefonica 4.4.12 Telenor 4.4.13 Telia Company 4.4.14 Utility Connect 4.4.15 Vodafone 5 Market Profiles 5.1 Regional summary 5.1.1 EU energy strategy 5.1.2 EU policies related to smart metering 5.1.3 Smart metering policies on the national level 5.1.4 Top smart metering projects in EU27+3 countries 5.2 Austria 5.3 Belgium 5.4 Bulgaria 5.5 Croatia 5.6 Cyprus 5.7 Czech Republic 5.8 Denmark 5.9 Estonia 5.10 Finland 5.11 France 5.12 Germany 5.13 Greece 5.14 Hungary 5.15 Ireland 5.16 Italy 5.17 Latvia 5.18 Lithuania 5.19 Luxembourg 5.20 Malta 5.21 Netherlands 5.22 Norway 5.23 Poland 5.24 Portugal 5.25 Romania 5.26 Slovakia 5.27 Slovenia 5.28 Spain 5.29 Sweden 5.30 Switzerland 5.31 United Kingdom 6 Case Studies: Smart Metering Projects in Europe 6.1 Enel 6.2 Enedis 6.3 Current smart meter projects in four European countries 6.4 Pioneering next-generation smart meter rollouts 6.5 Smart gas meter rollouts in France and Italy 6.6 Smart meter communications platforms in Germany and the UK 6.7 Smart metering in Eastern Europe and the Balkans For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/al66w8 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. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250328723205/en/ Contacts: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 There was a television commercial decades ago that asked viewers how they spelled the word relief. The answer was given by spelling out the name of a health product, emphasizing each letter. In reference to helping in the aftermath of a disaster, or meeting ongoing health needs, one way to spell relief is "M-M-U" which stands for Mobile Medical Unit. In 2023, FedEx donated a new MMU to Heart to Heart International. It is the largest vehicle in their fleet. The 45-foot unit brings medical supplies, medicine, equipment, and staff to disaster sites across the continental United States. The donation of the MMU was made as part of the FedEx Cares Delivering for Good program. It's a philanthropic initiative where FedEx provides in-kind shipping services and financial donations to support global disaster relief organizations. The MMU increases Heart to Heart International's capacity to respond to major disasters. It also equips them to meet ongoing health needs in communities. These include community health programs that bridge healthcare gaps and empower women to take control of their well-being, for example, by providing breast and cervical cancer screening. The photo with this story shows the MMU, and a Mobile Medical Van, ready to serve people in St. Joseph and Buchanan County, Missouri in March 2025. For thirty years, FedEx and Heart to Heart International have teamed up to provide relief to people in disaster stricken areas around the world. With 700 airplanes, and 200,000 vehicles on the world's roads, FedEx can transport relief materials where they are urgently needed. When natural disasters hit, and when community health programs are needed, how do you spell relief? "M-M-U." Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program. Heart to Heart International uses their mobile medical vehicles to respond to disasters and to carry out community health programs. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from FedEx on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: FedEx Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/fedex Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: FedEx AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "aa" (Superior) of Allianz SE (Allianz) (Germany) and its rated subsidiaries. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR) of the outstanding rated debt instruments issued by Allianz Finance II B.V. and guaranteed by Allianz. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See below for a detailed listing of the companies and Long-Term IRs.) The ratings reflect Allianz's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, very favourable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. Allianz's balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), which is expected to remain at the strongest level for year-end 2024 and prospectively, supported by strong earnings generation and prudent capital management. Partial equity credit is given in the BCAR model to soft capital components, including hybrid debt and life contractual service margin and risk adjustment. The balance sheet strength assessment also benefits from the group's robust asset-liability and liquidity management and prudent reserving practices, and factors in its financial leverage and coverage ratios. Financial flexibility is considered excellent due to the group's proven access to capital markets. Allianz's strong operating performance assessment reflects its highly diversified earnings profile and track record of robust and relatively stable income. Allianz reported strong operating results in 2024, underpinned by solid returns from its diversified income streams, reflecting stringent underwriting discipline and effective expense management. The group's strong performance was driven by healthy growth in business volumes and excellent returns across its life and property/casualty segments. The group's asset management business continued to provide positive earnings, supported by robust net inflows and stable cost investment ratio. AM Best expects the group's technical performance to remain strong over the cycle. Allianz is one of the world's largest insurance groups, with superior diversification by geography and business lines, as well as leading positions in many developed and emerging markets, offering a complete range of life and non-life insurance solutions and asset management services. The organisation's competitive position is supported by its scale, strong management capabilities and brand recognition. The FSR of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICRs of "aa" (Superior) have been affirmed with stable outlooks for the following subsidiaries of Allianz SE: Allianz Global Corporate Specialty Resseguros Brasil S.A. Allianz Global Corporate Specialty SE Allianz S.p.A. Allianz Risk Transfer AG Allianz Risk Transfer (Bermuda) Limited AWP P&C S.A. Jefferson Insurance Company AWP Health Life S.A. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company AGCS Marine Insurance Company American Automobile Insurance Company Euler Hermes North America Insurance Company (Allianz Trade) National Surety Corporation Chicago Insurance Company Fireman's Fund Insurance Company Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation Interstate Fire Casualty Company Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York Allianz Mexico, S.A., Compania de Seguros The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed with stable outlooks: Allianz Finance II B.V. (debt issues are guaranteed by Allianz SE)- -- "aa" (Superior) on EUR 750 million 3% senior unsecured bonds, due 2028 -- "aa" (Superior) on GBP 750 million 4.5% senior unsecured bonds, due 2043 This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings Assessments AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com Copyright 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250328313609/en/ Contacts: Andrea Porta Financial Analyst +31 20 808 1700 andrea.porta@ambest.com Christopher Sharkey Associate Director, Public Relations +1 908 882 2310 christopher.sharkey@ambest.com Dr. Mathilde Jakobsen Senior Director, Analytics +31 20 808 3118 mathilde.jakobsen@ambest.com Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 882 2318 al.slavin@ambest.com Lancashire Holdings Ltd - Notice of AGM PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, March 28 LANCASHIRE HOLDINGS LIMITED 28 March 2025 Hamilton, Bermuda Notice of 2025 AGM and Publication of 2024 Annual Report Lancashire Holdings Limited (the "Company") will hold its 2025 Annual General Meeting ("AGM") on Wednesday 30 April 2025 commencing at 12:30pm (Bermuda time) at its head office, Power House, 7 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton HM 11, Bermuda. Shareholders are able to attend in person or via a dedicated telephone conference line as detailed in the Notice of the AGM (the "AGM Notice"). Shareholders entered on the register of members at the close of business on 23 April 2025 (the "Record Date") will be entitled to attend and vote at the meeting (in line with requirements detailed in the AGM Notice). Shareholders are strongly encouraged to appoint the Chair of the meeting as their proxy to ensure that their vote is counted. The AGM Notice and the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (the "Annual Report") were posted to Shareholders on 28 March 2025. Pursuant to Listing Rule 6.4.1R, copies of the Annual Report and AGM Notice have been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for public inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism A copy of the Annual Report is also available on the Company's website at www.lancashiregroup.com/en/investors For further information, please contact: Lancashire Holdings Limited Christopher Head chris.head@lancashiregroup.com Jelena Bjelanovic jelena.bjelanovic@lancashiregroup.com About Lancashire Lancashire, through its operating subsidiaries, is a provider of global specialty insurance and reinsurance products. Lancashire's common shares trade in the equity shares (commercial companies) category of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LRE. Lancashire has its head office and registered office at Power House, 7 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton HM 11, Bermuda. The Bermuda Monetary Authority is the Group Supervisor of the Lancashire Group. For more information, please visit Lancashire's website at www.lancashiregroup.com . This release contains information, which may be of a price sensitive nature that Lancashire is making public in a manner consistent with the UK Market Abuse Regulation and other regulatory obligations. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 15:45 GMT on 28 March 2025. NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: ALL FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT OR OTHERWISE SPEAK ONLY AS AT THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. LANCASHIRE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY OBLIGATION OR UNDERTAKING (SAVE AS REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH ANY LEGAL OR REGULATORY OBLIGATIONS INCLUDING THE RULES OF THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE) TO DISSEMINATE ANY UPDATES OR REVISIONS TO ANY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT TO REFLECT ANY CHANGES IN THE GROUP'S EXPECTATIONS OR CIRCUMSTANCES ON WHICH ANY SUCH STATEMENT IS BASED. ALL SUBSEQUENT WRITTEN AND ORAL FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE GROUP OR INDIVIDUALS ACTING ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP ARE EXPRESSLY QUALIFIED IN THEIR ENTIRETY BY THIS NOTE. In an era where many elected officials are criticized for being out of touch with their constituents, Juan Ardila set out to change that. As an Assemblyman for Western Queens, he prioritized accessibility, launching mobile office hours to meet with residents across the district. Instead of requiring people to travel to a central office, Ardila and his team brought government services directly to the community. A New Approach to Public Service From the moment he took office, Ardila understood that many working-class families, immigrants, and elderly residents often struggle to take time off work or arrange transportation to visit their elected representatives. To address this, he implemented mobile office hours-setting up temporary locations in libraries, community centers, and local businesses to meet people where they were. "We wanted to make government work for the people, not the other way around," Ardila said. "Mobile office hours allow us to be proactive, ensuring that every resident, no matter their circumstances, has a direct line to their representative." According to a report from Queens Post , residents welcomed the initiative. Many felt heard and appreciated the opportunity to speak directly with their Assemblyman about pressing concerns such as housing issues, social services, and transportation challenges. Addressing Constituents' Needs Directly One of the key advantages of mobile office hours was the ability to tailor solutions to individual cases. Instead of directing residents to bureaucratic phone lines or websites, Ardila's team worked on the spot to help people navigate rental disputes, access benefits, and address neighborhood concerns. For example, during one of the mobile office sessions, a Queens resident named Maria expressed frustration over delays in her Section 8 housing application. Within days, Ardila's team coordinated with the New York City Housing Authority to resolve her case. "I had been waiting for months and getting nowhere. But after speaking with Juan, things moved quickly. This is what real representation looks like," Maria said. Such stories became common during Ardila's time in office, reinforcing the impact of direct engagement. Expanding Access to Government Services Ardila's mobile office hours were not just about listening - they were about action. His team brought in legal experts, tenant advocates, and city agency representatives to assist constituents on the spot. These pop-up government offices became vital resources for immigrants, seniors, and working families who otherwise faced barriers to receiving help. According to Queens Post , one of the most notable successes came when Ardila's team helped an elderly resident recover lost Medicaid benefits. The resident, struggling with a paperwork issue, had been unable to access healthcare for months. Thanks to Ardila's initiative, she received assistance in filing the necessary documents, restoring her coverage. A Model for Other Lawmakers Ardila's efforts drew praise from both residents and advocacy groups, with many calling on other elected officials to adopt similar community-focused strategies. Local leaders and civic organizations commended his hands-on approach. "This is the kind of leadership we need - officials who meet people where they are instead of expecting them to navigate a confusing and often inaccessible system," said a spokesperson for a Queens tenant rights group. His work also inspired conversations about making government more accessible citywide. Other lawmakers have since expressed interest in adopting similar mobile office hours in their own districts. Community Voices: The Impact of Mobile Office Hours Beyond policy discussions, the real impact of Ardila's initiative was felt in the lives of everyday New Yorkers. Many residents expressed gratitude for having a representative who was present and engaged. Anna, a local small business owner, recalled how Ardila's team helped her secure financial aid during the pandemic recovery period. "I was drowning in paperwork, trying to keep my store open," she said. "Juan's team walked me through the process, and I finally got the support I needed. I don't know what I would have done without their help." Others echoed similar sentiments, with many emphasizing how rare it was to see an elected official actively working in the community rather than just showing up for speeches and events. The Future of Accessible Government While Ardila's term in office may have ended, the impact of his mobile office hours remains a model for future leadership. His dedication to being accessible, responsive, and action-oriented set a new standard for constituent services in Queens. "Government should never be a distant institution - it should be right here, in our neighborhoods, solving real problems," Ardila said. "I hope to see more elected officials adopt this approach and truly serve their communities." With growing calls for increased accessibility and transparency in government, Juan Ardila's work in Queens serves as an example of what real public service looks like. PR & Media Contact: Dan Wasserman PR Team - Evrima Chicago Www.evrimachicago.com Evrima Chicago is honored to serve as the PR and media partner for Juan Ardila, amplifying his impactful work and ensuring his leadership receives the recognition it deserves. As a dedicated public servant, Ardila has championed community-driven initiatives, from advocating for better public transit and environmental revitalization to supporting migrants and displaced families in times of crisis. His hands-on approach to governance reflects the values of accessibility, inclusivity, and action - principles that align with Evrima Chicago's mission of elevating voices that make a difference. Through our expertise in strategic media outreach, content amplification, and reputation management, we are committed to ensuring Juan Ardila's work is not only recognized but also serves as an inspiration for future leaders. At Evrima Chicago, we take pride in partnering with visionary changemakers like Ardila, helping to shape the narrative around leadership that truly serves the people. For media inquiries, press opportunities, or coverage requests, please contact us at pr@evrimachicago.com. SOURCE: Evrima Chicago LLC. IMC Exploration Group Plc - Half-year Report PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, March 28 THE DIRECTORS OF IMC EXPLORATION GROUP PLC CONSIDER THIS ANNOUNCEMENT TO CONTAIN INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF 16 APRIL 2014 ON MARKET ABUSE AS IT FORMS PART OF RETAINED EU LAW AS DEFINED IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 (THE "MARKET ABUSE REGULATION"). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT THE INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. HALF-YEARLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD 1 st JULY 2024 TO 31 st DECEMBER 2024 IMC Exploration Group Public Limited Company ("IMC" or the "Company") Chairman's Statement The Directors of IMC are pleased to present the Company's unaudited, consolidated, half-yearly financial report for the six-month period ended 31 December 2024. Since my last report the environment for exploration and mining companies has improved greatly. New EU rules have come in to effect including the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) that requires member states to put in place projects that enable both the extraction and processing of such critical metals as copper, lithium and cobalt that are used in clean energy and digital systems. The Institute of Geologists of Ireland have stated that meeting the CRMA objectives will include revisiting closed mines and mine waste facilities. This is particularly relevant to IMC as IMC is currently working on plans to process its spoils and tailings in Avoca, there being over 80m in metals in this waste material sitting above ground, based on calculations from the inferred metal resources, as set out in the IMC MRE completed by CSA Global. IMC's previously completed Mineral Resource Estimate in this regard identified additional exploration targets on the Avoca PL3850 including at Connary. IMC has recently completed further excavations related to its spoils and tailings at the Connary location with the objective of adding to its current MRE estimate. As soon as the results are available and the relevant geological report is completed IMC will announce its results. Furthermore, and as stated in my last report, we are reviewing the potential to re-open the old Avoca copper mine, given the significant increase in the price of copper and given the designation of copper as a critical raw material. We are also pleased to note the appointment of Minister for Climate Environment and Energy, Darragh O'Brien, who is keen to advance Irelands exploration and mining industries especially relating to CRM's. Located to the northeast of the historical Avoca Mine (PL3850), regional sampling and logging of drill core from PL3849 has indicated significant regional prospectivity for Cu and Au on the Licence. The Caledonide range of southeast Ireland features an Ordovician volcano-sedimentary sequence hosting VMS mineralization and ironstones interpreted as having formed from hydrothermal exhalative activity. Understanding their spatial relationships, bulk geochemistry and mineralogy can aid in the detection of concealed deposits. For that reason, IMC has sent a total of 20 samples with mineralization from its 3 drill holes at Kilmacurra for petrographic characterization and metallurgical analysis to a number of laboratories, including iCRAG, and for isotope analysis at NordSim in Stockholm. Similar analysis has also been commissioned on 20 samples of spoils from the decommissioned Ballard Iron Mine that also fall within IMC's PL3849. Again, when the relevant reports are completed, the results will be published. I am pleased to report that following a recent visit to Armenia, IMC can report progress in a number of areas. IMC's presentation to a number of Armenian Government officials in regard to future mining projects, including remediation of toxic waste sites, and investment into the related local communities was well received. IMC also met with the EU Ambassador to Armenia, Vassilis Maragos, and the Czech Ambassador Petr Piruncik. Mr. Piruncik is happy to be encouraging to IMC's interests in Armenia given that IMC's major shareholder after completion of the recent RTO is Czech. IMC also had a very positive meeting with the CEO of the Armenian Securities Exchange (AMX), Hayk Yeganyan. The AMX would be pleased to have IMC as a dual listed entity on their exchange and as I mentioned in my last report IMC is working with its Grant Thornton team in Armenia to bring that about. In relation to the future processing of IMC's ore held by IMC's wholly owned subsidiary Assat, we have made some progress at last. Up to now, the situation was challenging since the only possibility to refine ore was through the Ararat Zavod - GPM Gold plant, where Assat previously refined about 33,000 tons of ore and produced 46.2kg of gold. However, since GPM Gold belongs to Russian owners - the imposed sanctions and political situation unfortunately does not allow IMC, which acquired Assat, as a European company and LSE listed entity to process its ore through GPM Gold. Nevertheless, I previously mentioned that the acquisition of another processing plant, the Masis plant LLC, was going through the Armenian court system, and this plant belonging 60% to another Czech entity, that has associations with our major shareholder Mineral Ventures Invest, has at last had ownership finally registered on February 19th 2025, and a contract between ASSAT LLC and Masis plant LLC is being drafted with the aim to start processing the high-grade segment of ASSAT's ore. IMC also visited this plant during our recent trip to Armenia. As it happened during the delayed processing of our ore and since my last report Gold has increased in value from $2,721 to $3,084 per Oz. As mentioned in my previous report, the plans for construction of the eco-leaching plant are underway .. a deposit has been paid and plans are being finalised. With the current high price of gold, silver and copper and IMC's projects in Armenia and Ireland, together with adoption of the Critical Raw Materials Act, IMC sees the current environment as very positive for IMC's development. Indeed, at the recent PDAC convention great interest was shown in IMCs Avoca projects. Eamon P. O'Brien, Executive Chairman, Dublin, 28 March 2025 REGULATORY ANNOUNCEMENT ENDS. IMC Exploration Group Public Limited Company Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the period 1st July 2024 to 31st December 2024 Continuing Operations Dec'24 Jun'24 Revenue 67,000 1,524,000 Cost of Sales (202,573) (828,097) Gross Profit (135,573) 695,903 Administration Costs (241,009) (694,145) Operating Profit /(loss) for the period (376,582) 1,758 Finance Income - - Amount written off Intangible Assets - - Amount written off investment - - Profit / (Loss) for period before tax (376,582) 1,758 Income tax expenses 28,252 (112,402) Total comprehensive loss for the period (348,330) (110,645) Loss attributable to: Equity holders of the Company (348,330) (110,645) Total Comprehensive Loss attributable to: Equity holders of the Company (348,330) (110,645) Earnings per share From continuing operations Basic and Diluted profit per share (cent) (0.05) (0.02) IMC Exploration Group Public Limited Company Consolidated Statement of Financial Position As at 31stDecember 2024 Dec'24 Jun'24 Assets Intangible assets 3,930,911 4,062,289 Property, plant and equipment 117,235 138,472 Goodwill 522,913 522,913 Total Non-Current Assets 4,571,059 4,723,674 Current Assets Inventory 446,000 384,000 Trade and other receivables 3,118,132 2,969,899 Cash and cash equivalents (7,832) (29,600) Total Current Assets 3,556,300 3,324,299 Total Assets 8,127,358 8,047,973 Equity Share Capital 723,190 723,190 Share premium & Capital 11,397,484 11,203,370 Retained deficit (6,526,260) (6,177,930) Attributable to owners of the Company 5,594,414 5,748,630 Total Equity 5,594,414 5,748,630 Liabilities - Current Trade and other payables 906,612 799,975 Current tax liabilities 586,198 609,646 Total Liabilities-Current 1,492,810 1,409,621 Liabilities - Non-Current Loan 1,040,134 889,722 Total Liabilities-Current 1,040,134 889,722 Total Equity and Liabilities 8,127,357 8,047,973 IMC Exploration Group Public Limited Company Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity for the period 1stJuly 2024 to 31stDecember 2024 Share Capital Share Premium Other Reserves Retained Losses Total Balance at 30 June 2023 364,384 4,253,642 - (4,823,272) (205,246) Total comprehensive income for the period loss for the period - - - (110,645) (110,645) Total comprehensive income for the period - - - (110,645) (110,645) Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity contributions and distributions to owners Shares issued 358,807 4,565,176 - - 4,923,982 Capital Contributions & Translation Reserves - - 1,140,538 - 1,140,538 Share issue costs - - - - - Balance at 30 June 2024 723,191 8,818,818 1,140,538 (4,933,917) 5,748,630 Total comprehensive income for the period loss for the period - - - (348,330) (348,330) Total comprehensive income for the period - - - (348,330) (348,330) Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity contributions and distributions to owners Shares issued - - - - - Capital Contributions & Translation Reserves - - - 194,114 194,114 Share issue costs - - - - - Balance at 31 December 2024 723,191 8,818,818 1,140,538 (5,088,133) 5,594,414 IMC Exploration Group Public Limited Company Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the period 1stJuly 2024 to 31stDecember 2024 Dec'24 Jun'24 Cash flows from operating activities Profit /(Loss) for the year (375,728) (110,645) Adjustments for: Other Expenses 16,944 (23,000) Income Tax recognised in profit and loss 2,000 164,000 Depreciation 183,301 346,571 Cash from operations before changes in working capital (173,483) 376,927 Movement in trade and other receivables (153,833) (1,745,855) Movement in trade inventories (62,000) 70,000 Movement in trade and other payables 259,051 564,567 Net cash flow from operating activities (130,265) (734,361) Cash flows from investing activities Capital Expenditure (4,807) (164,626) Net cash (used in) investing activities (4,807) (164,626) Cash flows from financing activities Proceeds from the issue of new shares 157,000 84,368 Proceeds from loans or borrowings - 684,000 Finance income/(expense) - - Net cash generated by financing activities 157,000 768,368 Movement in cash and cash equivalents 21,928 (130,618) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period (29,759) 101,018 Cash and cash equivalents at end of year (7,831) (29,600) Enquiries IMC Exploration Group plc Eamon O'Brien +353 87 6183024 Kathryn Byrne +353 85 233 6033 Keith, Bayley, Rogers & Co. Limited Stephen Clayson stephen.clayson@kbrl.co.uk +44 (0)7771 871 847 Brinsley Holman brinsley.holman@kbrl.co.uk +44 (0)7776 302 228 IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR and IR) Tim Metcalfe Florence Chandler +44 (0)203 934 6630 EPIC Suisse AG / Key word(s): AGMEGM EPIC Suisse AG - Annual General Meeting 2025 approves all proposals by the Board of Directors 28.03.2025 / 18:30 CET/CEST Zurich, 28 March 2025 EPIC Suisse AG - Annual General Meeting 2025 approves all proposals by the Board of Directors EPIC Suisse AG (SIX: EPIC), held its Annual General Meeting 2025 ("AGM") in Zurich today. All proposals by the Board of Directors were approved by very large majorities. In total 90.40% of all issued shares and voting rights were represented at the beginning of the shareholders' meeting. Shareholders attending in person or represented by third parties accounted for 20'398 of voting rights at the start of the AGM. 9'318'168 voting rights were represented by the independent proxy. Shareholders approved the Management Report, Holding Financial Statements and Consolidated Financial Statements for 2024 as well as the appropriation of available earnings. Furthermore, the AGM voted in favour of an increased dividend of CHF 3.15 per share for the business year 2024, as proposed by the Board of Directors. Pay-out of the dividend will occur on 4 April 2025. The Compensation Report 2024 was approved in a consultative vote, and all members of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Management were granted discharge. Ron Greenbaum was re-elected to the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Board. All other Board members, Stefan Breitenstein, Andreas Schneiter and Leta Bolli Kennel, were also re-elected for another term of office of one year. Stefan Breitenstein and Ron Greenbaum were re-elected as members of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee for another one-year term. KPMG AG, Zurich, were re-elected as statutory auditors for the business year 2025, and the law firm ADROIT Attorneys, Zurich, was re-elected as independent proxy for a term of office until the conclusion of the AGM in 2026. The AGM approved the proposed total maximum amounts of compensation for the Board of Directors (from AGM 2025 to AGM 2026) and for the Executive Management (for the business year 2026). ______________________ Voting results The detailed voting results per agenda item are published on the Company website https://ir.epic.ch/en/general-meetings-of-shareholders/ Contact information Valerie Scholtes, CFO, EPIC Suisse AG, Phone: +41 44 388 81 00, E-mail: investors@epic.ch About EPIC Suisse AG EPIC Suisse AG is a Swiss real estate company with a high-quality property portfolio of CHF 1.6 billion in market value. It has a sizeable development pipeline and a strong track record in sourcing, acquiring, (re)developing and actively managing commercial properties in Switzerland. EPIC's investment properties are mainly located in Switzerland's major economic hubs, specifically the Lake Geneva Region and the Zurich Economic Area. Listed on SIX Swiss Exchange since May 2022 (SIX ticker symbol EPIC; Swiss Security Number (Valorennummer) 51613168; ISIN number CH0516131684). More information: www.epic.ch Additional features: File: Media release (PDF) End of Media Release Flin Flon, Manitoba--(Newsfile Corp. - March 28, 2025) - Boreal Gold Inc (CSE: BGLD) (the "Issuer") has closed the first tranche financing of $88,650.00 of a non-brokered private placement announced on March 7, 2025. The closing is comprised of 295,500 Flow Through Shares at a price of $0.30 per Flow-Through Unit representing proceeds of $88,650.00 for an aggregate total raised of $88,650. It is anticipated that the second tranche will be completed by April 30, 2025. Further to the March 7, 2025, news release, the Company will be issuing up to 3,340,000 Flow Through Shares at $0.30 and 2,000,000 non-Flow Through Shares at $0.20 with an attached two-year share purchase warrant at $0.20. The Flow-Through Shares shall consist of one Common Share, to be issued as a "flow-through share" (the "Flow-Through Shares") within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada). The Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. The securities issued are subject to a four-month statutory hold period in Canada ending on July 29, 2025. Use of Proceeds Boreal Gold intends to use the proceeds from this Financing to perform ground geophysical surveys over the western portion of the Fay Lake grid (not previously covered) as well as the eastern portion of the Fay Lake grid that will be cut and surveyed to follow the strike extension of the Sunrise conductor to the eastern shore of Fay Lake. Drill testing of designed targets will follow up confirmation of Airborne conductors by ground geophysics on the Fay Lake property subject to a successful financing. Also planned is detailed mapping, prospecting, sampling and line cutting on the Fay Lake Property on a small portion of Redwin VMS horizon that remains unmapped but contains conductors. Separate to the VMS exploration at Fay Lake above, gold exploration through mapping and prospecting of the western portion of the Puffy Lake Mine style gold mineralization trend east of the Railroad. Approximately 10-line kilometers is planned on this trend where samples assayed up to 14.33 g/t Au, to evaluate its on strike continuity. The gold potential at Koscielny Lake located at the eastern end of the property south of the Puffy Lake Gold Mine will also be assessed. Here mineralization contained values of up to 11.81 g/t Au (0.38 oz/ton Au) over 1 m. Visible gold was noted in some of the historic "e" sized drill core. On the Melgurd Lake property, following up detailed analysis of Airborne Geophysical conductors on strike with the Shotts Lake deposit and the encouragement found in the felsic volcanic package with VMS style alteration in the 2023-2024 field work, further work is planned to ground truth these conductors. Detailed mapping, prospecting, sampling and line cutting will be carried out over these conductors on the Keep Lake grid with follow up reports. Funds will also be used for corporate purposes. Qualified Person Stephen L. Masson, M.Sc., P.Geo. is the "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for these properties, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release. About Boreal Gold Inc Boreal Gold Inc is a Canadian junior mineral exploration company with a specific focus on mineral properties in northwest Manitoba and northeast Saskatchewan, Canada. All of the Issuer's properties are currently at the exploration stage. The Issuer has assembled a portfolio of base metal and precious metal prospects in strategic locations in the Provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Boreal Gold Inc "signed" Richard Masson President & CEO No stock exchange or securities regulatory authority has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements, such as estimates and statements that describe the Issuer's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Issuer or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246522 SOURCE: Boreal Gold Inc. SEATTLE, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- If you've been following the exploding buzz in the health world, you've likely heard of PurDentix-a so-called "8-second probiotic tooth saver" being hailed as a groundbreaking alternative to mouthwash, flossing, and even routine dentist visits. But with this level of hype, comes the inevitable question: Does PurDentix REALLY work, or is it just clever marketing wrapped in clinical buzzwords? A quick scan through Google Trends and Reddit forums reveals the trend: people aren't just curious about PurDentix-they're obsessed. Over 30,000+ users have already tried PurDentix , flooding the internet with reviews, transformation stories, and heated discussions on whether this product is truly revolutionizing oral care or just capitalizing on health-conscious anxiety. What makes PurDentix reviews especially interesting is that this isn't your average "whiten-your-teeth" paste or rinse. The supplement is delivered in lozenge form and uses targeted probiotic strains and natural minerals to rebalance the oral microbiome-something most mainstream dental products never touch. This unique method has made waves in the holistic dental community and sparked interest from skeptics and believers alike. However, the truth behind PurDentix complaints is less clear. While some users claim near-miraculous results-no more gum bleeding, stronger teeth, breath so fresh it's shocking-others report little to no change. Add to that a wave of fake versions flooding online marketplaces, and now you've got controversy mixed with confusion. So what's real? What's fake? And is PurDentix the real oral health breakthrough people claim it is-or just another overhyped wellness trend? This urgent report dives into every angle. We'll break down what PurDentix actually is, how it works, what real people are saying about it, and what you need to know before putting it in your mouth. Bold claims demand bold facts, and we're here to strip this product to the bone and expose exactly what's going on. >>Click To Discover The Truth Behind Purdentix's Massive Rise In Popularity. What is PurDentix and Why is Everyone Talking About It? At its core, PurDentix is a daily oral health supplement designed to do something no toothpaste or mouthwash ever could-restore the balance of bacteria inside your mouth. Why does this matter? Because according to breakthrough oral microbiome research, the real cause of bad breath, gum disease, tooth sensitivity, and cavities isn't just plaque-it's an imbalance between good and bad bacteria. The Creator of PurDentix, Dr. John Ferman , spent over three decades in microbiology research. His discovery was simple yet profound: modern oral care products focus too much on eliminating bacteria. But in doing so, they wipe out the beneficial strains that naturally protect your teeth and gums. This leaves the mouth vulnerable-stripped of its natural defense layer or "bioshield." PurDentix flips that entire approach. Rather than eradicating everything in sight like antiseptics do, it feeds the good bacteria with a powerful combination of targeted probiotics, prebiotic fibers, and essential tooth-repairing minerals. The formula works via an 8-second daily lozenge ritual-slow-dissolving tablets designed to coat the entire mouth and allow probiotics to colonize and thrive. Here's how PurDentix works behind the scenes: Lactobacillus Paracasei : Helps eliminate bad breath and supports healthy gum structure. : Helps eliminate bad breath and supports healthy gum structure. Bifidobacterium Lactis BL-04 : A powerful immune-supporting probiotic that neutralizes plaque-forming bacteria. : A powerful immune-supporting probiotic that neutralizes plaque-forming bacteria. Lactobacillus Reuteri & Salivarius : Clinically shown to reduce inflammation and reverse bleeding gums. : Clinically shown to reduce inflammation and reverse bleeding gums. Inulin & Xylitol : Feed the good bacteria and block the acids that cause tooth decay. : Feed the good bacteria and block the acids that cause tooth decay. Tricalcium Phosphate & CoQ10 : Promote enamel remineralization and gum tissue regeneration. : Promote enamel remineralization and gum tissue regeneration. Vitamin D & Calcium: Strengthen jawbone density and fortify enamel from the inside out. This is not just another "gum vitamin." The PurDentix formulation is engineered to protect the mouth as a whole ecosystem , not just treat symptoms. That's what makes it so disruptive-and why it's now the go-to product for those seeking a natural, science-backed oral solution. But what's really causing the wildfire of attention around PurDentix? >>LIMITED STOCK NOTICE: Due to viral demand, PurDentix supplies are rapidly running out. Secure yours now before it's gone! The secret is the method-and the simplicity. There are no toothbrush attachments. No harsh chemicals. No complex protocols. It's a dissolvable lozenge that takes 8 seconds to use. You let it sit in your mouth and go about your day while the active ingredients do their work-balancing your oral biome, repairing enamel, and reducing inflammation. This simplicity combined with real results is why users say "my dentist was shocked by my results," or "my breath has never been this fresh-even after flossing!" And of course, there's the FOMO. People everywhere are trying to get their hands on PurDentix before it sells out-especially since unauthorized fake listings on third-party sites like Amazon and eBay have led to confusion about where the real product is sold. That's why all official orders now happen through the verified PurDentix website. >> see why PurDentix is now a #1 oral probiotic solution for thousands. PurDentix Reviews - What Real Customers Are Saying (5-figures+ Success Stories) You don't go from obscure to viral without results-and the PurDentix review explosion proves exactly that. Within just a few months of its official release, over 52,000 verified users across the U.S. alone have reported success using PurDentix. From chronic halitosis sufferers to people on the verge of gum surgery, thousands have claimed that PurDentix helped turn their oral health around naturally. So what's fueling this review wave? First, the emotional pain point of oral discomfort hits hard. Gum bleeding, tooth sensitivity, and shameful breath damage more than just the mouth-they crush self-esteem. People are desperate for relief that doesn't involve painful procedures or expensive dental work. When PurDentix reviews started showcasing stories of real change-without side effects or hassle-others followed. Second, there's trust in a clinical, probiotic-driven solution. Unlike whitening strips or mouthwashes that "mask" problems, PurDentix seems to address the underlying imbalance. When word spread that dentists were even noticing the difference in long-time patients, more people gave it a shot-and the stories flooded in. Now, let's dive into real, emotionally raw, and highly specific transformations: Linda W., 59 - Boise, ID "I've had gum disease for over a decade. I tried everything-deep cleanings, oil pulling, even prescription rinses. Nothing stopped the bleeding or soreness. My daughter got me PurDentix, and I didn't expect much. But within 10 days, the bleeding was gone. Three weeks later, my gums looked pink and healthy for the first time in years. My dentist was stunned. It's changed how I care for my mouth forever." Sean R., 42 - Tampa, FL "I was embarrassed by my breath. I chewed gum constantly, used mouthwash multiple times a day, and avoided close conversations. A coworker mentioned PurDentix and how it 'rebalances the bacteria.' I gave it a shot. Within a week, no more metallic taste in the mornings. A month in, I was waking up with fresh breath. Even my wife noticed the difference. This thing is legit." Tamika H., 34 - Sacramento, CA "My gums were inflamed and my teeth felt like they'd fall out from brushing too hard. I couldn't eat ice cream without flinching. After using PurDentix for 6 weeks, the difference is insane. No more swelling. I can finally enjoy cold drinks again. I feel like I got my smile back without needing painful dental work." >>Flash Sale: Purdentix Is Currently 75% Off-But Only For A Limited Time. Click Here To Check Today's Price. Jeremy T., 51 - Dayton, OH "I'm a retired vet and years of medication left my teeth in bad shape. My dentist recommended surgery. I found PurDentix online during a late-night rabbit hole and thought, 'why not?' I followed the 8-second ritual daily. Two months in, my gums are firmer, teeth more stable, and I even canceled the surgery consult. I haven't felt this optimistic in years." Sandra B., 47 - Austin, TX "My teenage son had early signs of gingivitis and hated flossing. I was desperate to help him before it got worse. I made him use PurDentix daily. His gums stopped bleeding in 2 weeks. He even reminds me now to take ours together. It's become part of our family routine." Robert M., 65 - Boston, MA "I used to clench my teeth from gum pain at night. I've had three crowns, two root canals, and was terrified of another. I started using PurDentix after reading about how it repairs enamel and supports bacteria balance. I've been pain-free for 3 months now. I wish I had known about this years ago." >>Read Real Success Stories About Purdentix - Click Here Now To Explore The Transformations. How Does PurDentix Work? The Science Behind the 8-Second Ritual The real power behind PurDentix isn't in surface-level dental care-it's in its ability to transform the internal ecosystem of your mouth. Unlike conventional methods that scrape, rinse, or bleach, PurDentix works at the microbiological level-rebuilding what scientists now call the "oral bioshield." 1. Targeted Oral Probiotic Colonization The average person's mouth harbors over 700 strains of bacteria-many of which are silently eroding gum tissue, weakening enamel, and feeding on leftover food acids. PurDentix uses clinically-researched strains like Lactobacillus Paracasei, Lactobacillus Reuteri, Bifidobacterium Lactis, and L. Salivarius to strategically outcompete and eliminate the bad strains, while fortifying the good ones. In a 2018 clinical trial published in the Journal of Oral Health Sciences, 92% of patients supplementing with L. Reuteri showed marked improvement in gum pocket depth and gingival bleeding within 30 days. These bacteria naturally produce antimicrobial compounds, such as reuterin, that create an inhospitable environment for plaque-forming microbes. This selective colonization works similarly to a "biological mouthwash," but without killing everything in its path. Instead of wiping out your defenses, PurDentix teaches your body to rebuild them. 2. Microbiome Rebalancing with Prebiotic Support It's not just about adding the right bacteria-PurDentix also feeds them. Prebiotic ingredients like inulin and xylitol are included to nourish beneficial microbes while starving harmful ones. These fibers act as a targeted food source, ensuring that probiotic colonies can stick, thrive, and form a resilient layer of defense along the gums and teeth. A 2020 study in the International Dental Microbiology Journal showed that patients taking a synbiotic blend of B. Lactis and inulin experienced a 65% drop in oral acidity levels within just two weeks-resulting in lower cavity risk and reduced enamel erosion. The result? A more alkaline, balanced oral pH where disease-causing bacteria struggle to survive. >>Only Available Here: Don't risk knockoffs- PurDentix is only available on the official website . Order directly to ensure authenticity. 3. Enamel Repair & Gum Regeneration from Within Beyond bacterial warfare, PurDentix promotes structural repair. Key minerals like Tricalcium Phosphate and Coenzyme Q10 help support the regeneration of worn-down gum tissue and strengthen enamel layers against future breakdown. CoQ10 is a mitochondrial enzyme found in every cell-but oral studies suggest it plays a particularly vital role in cellular healing for gum tissue. According to researchers at the University of Michigan Dental School, CoQ10 supplementation can reverse early-stage periodontal tissue damage and boost collagen synthesis around the gum line. Combined with Calcium and Vitamin D, which enhance mineral absorption and tooth density, the PurDentix formula effectively becomes a full nutritional toolkit for oral structure restoration-from root to surface. 4. Anti-Inflammatory Defense and Immune Modulation Gum disease is inflammatory by nature. When harmful bacteria dominate, the immune system responds with swelling, bleeding, and redness-often causing more damage than the bacteria themselves. That's why PurDentix reviews constantly mention reduced sensitivity and discomfort-it's not just about bacteria removal. Probiotic strains like Lactobacillus Salivarius have been shown to modulate the body's inflammatory signals, decreasing oral cytokine expression and restoring comfort. With consistent use, users report less pain during brushing, no more "pink in the sink," and reduced post-meal sensitivity. These are signs of deeper healing-where PurDentix isn't masking pain but eliminating the root cause. >>Find Out Why Experts Are Raving About Purdentix - Learn More Here PurDentix Pricing & Where to Buy: What You Need to Know Here's what matters: PurDentix is not available in retail stores. To maintain potency, freshness, and ingredient stability, it's sold exclusively through the official PurDentix website -not Amazon, Walmart, or any third-party marketplace. Buying directly also guarantees that you're getting the authentic PurDentix formula-and not a counterfeit version loaded with filler bacteria or unstable strains. Current Pricing Tiers: 1 Bottle (30-Day Supply): $69 Ideal for first-time users wanting to test results. $69 Ideal for first-time users wanting to test results. 3 Bottles (90-Day Supply): $177 Most popular-drops cost $59/bottle and include free shipping + bonus eBooks. $177 Most popular-drops cost $59/bottle and include free shipping + bonus eBooks. 6 Bottles + 1 FREE (180-Day Supply): $294 Best value-only $49/bottle with free shipping, bonus guides, and 1 free bottle. Each bottle includes a full month of the 8-second lozenges, which dissolve in the mouth to deliver full-spectrum probiotic and mineral support. Every order comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee, so even skeptical users can test PurDentix risk-free. If you don't feel a difference, you can return it-no questions asked. Order The Real Purdentix Through The Official Site Here. The Benefits of PurDentix The real question isn't whether PurDentix works-but how much you're missing by not using it. While most oral health solutions treat symptoms, PurDentix goes deeper-rewiring the entire oral ecosystem. Below are just some of the massive benefits you're likely to miss if you ignore this science-backed formula. 1. Rapid Reduction in Gum Bleeding & Inflammation You've heard it before-"bleeding gums are not normal." Yet millions still suffer from inflamed, red, painful gums that signal internal bacterial warfare. PurDentix attacks the issue at its microbial root. While most products try to suppress inflammation with harsh antiseptics or prescription rinses, PurDentix instead rebalances the flora, letting your body naturally calm the immune response. This means: Less irritation while brushing or flossing Fewer flare-ups during meals A return to healthy pink gum color Improved gum tightness around teeth Users consistently report that bleeding stops within 7-14 days-often shocking their dentists. By feeding the pro-healing strains like L. Reuteri, and arming the tissue with CoQ10 and calcium, PurDentix accelerates healing from the inside out. >> Verified Source Only: If It's Not From The Official Purdentix Site, It's Not The Real Thing. Tap Here To Access The Verified Supplier. 2. Long-Term Fresh Breath Without Harsh Chemicals Bad breath isn't a surface problem-it's a byproduct of sulfur-producing bacteria hiding under the tongue, between teeth, and in the gum line. The mouthwashes that "kill 99.9% of germs" also nuke the good bacteria needed to prevent rebound odors. PurDentix flips the script. With Lactobacillus Salivarius and B. Lactis, it neutralizes odor-causing organisms and replaces them with fresh-flora producers. Within days, people report morning breath disappearing-without alcohol rinses or tongue scrapers. Plus, ingredients like xylitol directly fight acid buildup, which fuels bad-breath-producing biofilms. The result is breath confidence that lasts-not just 30 minutes. 3. Reinforced Tooth Enamel, Less Sensitivity Tooth sensitivity isn't just annoying-it's a signal your enamel is thin, damaged, or acid-eroded. PurDentix rebuilds. Tricalcium Phosphate provides bioavailable calcium directly to the enamel. provides bioavailable calcium directly to the enamel. Vitamin D3 improves calcium absorption and mineralization. improves calcium absorption and mineralization. Probiotics reduce the acid that breaks enamel down in the first place. This triple threat doesn't just slow sensitivity-it reverses the erosion cycle. You'll be able to enjoy hot coffee, ice cream, citrus, and cold drinks without the electric zing. And because PurDentix also supports gum tightness, it prevents root exposure-another overlooked sensitivity trigger. >> See How PurDentix Can Transform Your Health - Learn More. PurDentix Complaints? What You Should Know No product makes waves like PurDentix without stirring controversy. But a deep look into the most common PurDentix complaints reveals something interesting: most of the frustration doesn't come from the formula-it comes from misuse, impatience, or counterfeits. 1. Fake Products & Scam Listings on 3rd Party Sites Because of skyrocketing demand, some users have unknowingly purchased fake versions of PurDentix on Amazon, eBay, and random "discount supplement" websites. These replicas often have incorrect strains, unstable bacteria, or zero active ingredients-leading to "it didn't work" reviews. This is why the PurDentix team has restricted all orders to the official website, where freshness and authenticity can be guaranteed. If someone had a bad experience, the first question is: Did you actually take the real PurDentix? >>Still Unsure If Purdentix Is Legit Or Just Hype? Read Verified Consumer Stories And Judge For Yourself Here. 2. Competitors Spreading Misinformation Many of the most aggressive "PurDentix scam" articles floating online are actually created by competing brands. Why? Because PurDentix is stealing their market share. These competitors fund SEO campaigns to drown out real reviews and push fear. If you've come across a blog post saying PurDentix is dangerous, check who's behind it. You'll often find it's linked to a competing supplement trying to sell you their version of oral probiotics. 3. Users Expecting Instant Results Perhaps the biggest misunderstanding comes from users who take PurDentix for 2-3 days and expect full dental transformation. When nothing happens immediately, they leave bad reviews. But PurDentix isn't a chemical-it's biological. The probiotics need time to colonize, shift pH, balance microbes, and allow your gums to heal. Most real success stories happen after 2-4 weeks of consistent use. Those who abandon too soon are judging a long-term solution on a short-term timeline. >> Avoid fakes! Order PurDentix directly from the official website. 4. Why PurDentix Is Not a Scam Let's be crystal clear: PurDentix is manufactured in an FDA-registered, GMP-certified facility. It's backed by thousands of verified users. And every single order is protected by a 60-day money-back guarantee. There's zero risk in trying it. Scams don't refund you. Scams don't use third-party lab testing. PurDentix does. PurDentix Ingredients - What's Inside and Why It Works When it comes to the power of PurDentix, the results speak for themselves-but the secret lies in what's inside the formula. Unlike generic oral supplements, PurDentix uses a synergistic blend of probiotic strains, minerals, vitamins, and prebiotics that have been scientifically validated to transform oral health from the root. Each ingredient has a targeted purpose, but what makes this formula truly groundbreaking is how the components work together-amplifying each other's effects in specific ratios that have been precision-calibrated and clinically tested. You cannot replicate this effect by combining probiotics and vitamins from your local health store. Let's break down each major ingredient and explore why PurDentix reviews are raving about this all-in-one oral breakthrough. Lactobacillus Paracasei This clinically studied probiotic is one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against plaque and gum inflammation. It operates by colonizing the oral cavity and creating an acidic environment unfavorable to pathogens like Streptococcus mutans-the primary bacteria responsible for cavities. But it does more than just microbial competition. In a 2017 study published in Probiotics & Antimicrobial Proteins, patients with gingivitis were given L. Paracasei lozenges for 6 weeks. The results? A 47% reduction in bleeding on probing and significant improvement in gum color and firmness. PurDentix doesn't just include trace amounts-it delivers this strain at a therapeutic dosage, optimized for maximum colonization through a sublingual route. This bypasses stomach acid and gets the microbes directly into the salivary ecosystem, where they immediately go to work. This approach means PurDentix supports deep gum healing in ways traditional products simply can't match. Bifidobacterium Lactis (BL-04) This strain is most commonly associated with immune support, but its oral benefits are profound. B. Lactis BL-04 acts as a first responder, reducing inflammation while suppressing the overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria linked to periodontal pockets and tartar accumulation. In a placebo-controlled trial conducted in 2020 by the International Journal of Microbiology and Oral Biology, B. Lactis supplementation over 8 weeks led to a 62% decrease in plaque index and a substantial reduction in gum swelling. When paired with inulin-a prebiotic also found in PurDentix-the effect was amplified. This dual mechanism is what allows PurDentix to not only reduce bacteria but also strengthen the oral immune defenses. Unlike standalone Bifidobacterium supplements, the BL-04 strain in PurDentix is precision-engineered to survive saliva, adhere to mucosal surfaces, and sustain colonization, even after brushing. >> Does PurDentix Actually Work? Doctors and users finally weigh in- see the facts here . Lactobacillus Reuteri If there's one probiotic that's earned its title as a "miracle for gums," it's L. Reuteri. Backed by dozens of clinical trials, it has demonstrated consistent results in reversing early-stage periodontitis and reducing signs of inflammation. Reuteri DSM 17938 (included in PurDentix) was studied in Sweden for its ability to repopulate depleted oral biomes in smokers. Over a 12-week period, test subjects showed a 58% reduction in gum pocket depth, and an overall increase in beneficial microbial ratios. Unlike probiotics found in yogurt or cheap supplements, Reuteri DSM 17938 is pharmaceutical-grade, and only a few labs in the world manufacture it to medical standards. PurDentix includes this strain in a bioavailable freeze-dried matrix, ensuring peak viability at the point of use. When combined with Xylitol and Tricalcium Phosphate, its effects on gum resilience and tissue recovery are exponentially increased. Tricalcium Phosphate Tooth enamel isn't just a passive shield-it's a living tissue that needs minerals to stay strong. Tricalcium Phosphate is a highly absorbable form of calcium bonded with phosphorus, two elements crucial for tooth remineralization and structural defense. Studies from the British Dental Research Society show that Tricalcium Phosphate is far more effective than fluoride in rebuilding enamel microfractures, especially when combined with Vitamin D3, as seen in the PurDentix formula. But here's the kicker: you can't just supplement calcium randomly. Without the correct co-factors (like Vitamin K2, Magnesium, and D3), calcium can deposit in arteries or go unused. PurDentix solves this by carefully balancing these minerals in clinical ratios-ensuring maximum enamel repair without systemic risks. This is one of the reasons PurDentix reviews highlight reduced sensitivity and a noticeable "tooth hardening" effect within just weeks of consistent use. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) Known mostly for its cardiovascular benefits, CoQ10 is also a cornerstone of oral cellular repair. It powers the mitochondria of gum tissue cells-boosting energy production for healing and collagen synthesis. In fact, in one study conducted by the University of California School of Dentistry, CoQ10 supplementation increased gingival fibroblast regeneration by over 40% in post-surgical patients. PurDentix delivers a stabilized form of CoQ10, embedded in a slow-release lozenge that allows direct absorption through the gums and inner cheeks. This ensures direct delivery to the tissue that needs it most, speeding up healing and preventing further breakdown. Formulation Synergy: Why You Can't DIY This You might wonder-why not just buy these ingredients separately and combine them? Simple answer: it won't work. PurDentix's formula is more than a grocery list-it's a clinically-calibrated delivery system, fine-tuned to optimize colonization, absorption, and synergistic activation. The exact probiotic ratios are lab-tested for survivability in oral saliva conditions. The minerals are bound in forms that ensure bioavailability without overloading the system. And the entire blend is delivered in a sublingual matrix that prevents stomach acid degradation-a critical factor for success. You can't replicate that in a smoothie or pill stack. Each batch of PurDentix is manufactured in a GMP-certified, FDA-registered lab, where it's freeze-dried, tested for viability, and sealed for freshness. This level of quality control is why PurDentix reviews show consistent results across thousands of users-something that piecemeal supplementation simply can't guarantee. >> Discover the science-backed ingredients inside PurDentix - Click here. Is PurDentix Safe? Side Effects, Medical Backing & FDA Compliance With thousands of people turning to PurDentix daily, one of the most common questions being asked is: "Is PurDentix safe?" Let's address that with facts-not fluff. 1. Each Ingredient is Scientifically Vetted for Safety Every component in the PurDentix formula has undergone rigorous testing for both efficacy and safety. The probiotic strains are GRAS-certified (Generally Recognized As Safe) by the FDA and have been used in clinical settings for decades with no recorded toxic effects. Minerals like Tricalcium Phosphate and CoQ10 are already naturally present in the body. PurDentix simply provides them in targeted, safe dosages that mirror the levels used in peer-reviewed research. The formulation is devoid of allergens, synthetic fillers, or preservatives. No artificial colors, no titanium dioxide, no propylene glycol-just ingredients that support health, not complicate it. 2. Manufactured in GMP-Certified, FDA-Registered Facilities PurDentix isn't churned out by a mystery manufacturer. It's produced in a U.S.-based, FDA-registered, GMP-certified laboratory. That means every capsule is created under the highest pharmaceutical hygiene and traceability protocols. Each production run is tested for: Microbial contamination Probiotic viability Ingredient potency Heavy metals and toxins You don't just get a product-you get a lab-verified medical-grade supplement designed with dental precision. 3. Debunking the Myth: "Natural" Doesn't Mean "Unregulated" One major misconception is that because PurDentix uses natural ingredients, it's somehow unregulated or potentially unsafe. That's false. Natural doesn't mean untested. In fact, PurDentix's ingredients are more studied than most over-the-counter rinses. Unlike chemical-laden dental products that may contain alcohol, chlorhexidine, or synthetic flavorings, PurDentix works with your biology, not against it. The natural probiotic strains and minerals inside have been tested across multiple demographics-including seniors, diabetics, and patients with autoimmune disorders. No allergic reactions. No contraindications. No synthetic additives. 4. Safe for Long-Term Daily Use Many customers worry: "What happens if I take PurDentix for months?" You get results. That's what happens. Unlike antibiotics or prescription rinses that cause dependency or resistance, PurDentix strengthens your internal oral defense systems. With continued use, users report: Fewer gum flare-ups No return of bad breath Long-term tooth stability Increased saliva quality (which protects against decay) Because PurDentix feeds your body's natural defenses, the longer you take it, the better it works. There's no cycle break, no need to "detox"-just ongoing support and repair. 5. No Serious Side Effects or Adverse Reports Across over 52,000+ verified users, PurDentix has not been associated with any major adverse effects. Mild reactions-such as temporary bloating or gum tingling-occur in less than 0.4% of users and typically resolve within 72 hours. In fact, the PurDentix refund rate is under 3%, which is remarkably low for any supplement. This speaks volumes about how well-tolerated the formula is across diverse populations. Plus, if you ever have concerns, the 60-day money-back guarantee protects your entire order-no questions asked. >> Experience a supplement that's clinically safe and medically backed - Order PurDentix here. Can You Trust PurDentix? Expert Analysis on Why This Formula Is Dominating the Market When analyzing any supplement with the velocity of PurDentix, it's easy to assume the hype might be overblown. But from a clinical standpoint, PurDentix is ticking every box that experts look for: ingredient integrity, formulation precision, delivery mechanism, and real-world results. Dentists who once swore by aggressive plaque scraping and medicated rinses are now quietly recommending PurDentix to patients who can't handle traditional interventions. Not because it replaces dental care-but because it rebuilds the internal environment that makes cleanings last longer and infections less likely. The power here lies in how PurDentix doesn't fight oral disease-it prevents it from ever becoming an issue. According to multiple practitioners across both holistic and conventional circles, this is the kind of formula the dental industry won't promote... because it works too well. The daily lozenge format provides targeted sublingual absorption, a delivery method that is highly efficient for oral microbiome restoration-something few supplements are capable of. And with PurDentix reviews consistently highlighting clinical-like results without clinical visits, it's clear why more professionals are standing behind this quiet revolution. >> See what dental insiders are saying about PurDentix - Learn more here. PurDentix vs. Traditional Dental Methods: Which Approach Really Wins Long-Term? Let's compare apples to... biotech. Most traditional dental care strategies focus on aggressive surface cleaning, surgical fixes, or fluoride saturation. But the problem with all of these is that they're reactionary, not preventive. By the time you're at the dentist, damage is already done. PurDentix flips the paradigm. Instead of scrubbing problems away after the fact, it builds a hostile environment for oral pathogens through strategic probiotic warfare and mineral rebuilding-without compromising the good bacteria that protect the mouth's ecosystem. Whereas mouthwash indiscriminately nukes all bacteria, based on prodentim reviews , it selects and strengthens the protective strains, helping them colonize teeth, gums, and even the tongue's microbial surface. Long-term, this strategy means: Less plaque formation Slower tartar buildup Stronger gum adhesion Fewer flare-ups of sensitivity or infection In multiple user testimonials, PurDentix users who previously needed quarterly deep cleanings were able to push out visits to every 9-12 months, with minimal buildup and healthier gum scores. There's a reason some in-the-know professionals quietly call PurDentix a dental disruptor. PurDentix Frequently Asked Questions Is PurDentix safe for children or seniors? Yes-PurDentix reviews consistently highlight success across all age groups, from younger users with orthodontic issues to seniors dealing with long-standing gum decline. The strains and minerals used in PurDentix are gentle, natural, and bioadaptive, meaning they support health without shocking the system. Can I take PurDentix alongside my current dental routine? Absolutely. PurDentix isn't meant to replace brushing, flossing, or routine cleanings-it enhances them. Think of it as the internal defense system that makes your external habits 10x more effective. Many users report that even standard brushing delivers better results once their microbiome is balanced. What happens if I stop using PurDentix? Just like with any daily support supplement, the benefits of Prodentim taper over time once usage stops. That said, the microbial shifts and enamel support created during usage leave lasting effects-you won't crash or see immediate regression. But for optimal gum resilience and breath protection, continued use is recommended. Is there a weird aftertaste or texture? Unlike other lozenges that taste like chalk or chemicals, PurDentix dissolves cleanly with a neutral herbal finish-no lingering residue, no bitterness. This was a deliberate design choice to ensure maximum compliance for daily use. Why is it only available on the official website? To protect potency and prevent fakes. PurDentix is a live-bacteria formula, and even small storage mishandling can destroy viability. The brand guarantees cold-packed, lab-tested freshness only when you buy directly. Every other listing risks contamination, substitution, or storage loss. Final Verdict: Why PurDentix Might Be the Most Important Oral Health Breakthrough in Years In a world obsessed with dental appearance, PurDentix has re-centered the conversation around true oral wellness. Not whitening. Not scraping. But rebuilding-from the microscopic foundation up. Whether you're struggling with bleeding gums, early-stage gingivitis, bad breath, or just want a proactive defense against oral decline, the real-world results from PurDentix users speak for themselves. This is more than just a probiotic. It's a complete oral ecosystem strategy, delivering: Multi-strain microbiome protection Mineral-driven enamel regeneration Immune-regulated gum healing Long-lasting freshness and comfort And with its GMP-certified, FDA-registered manufacturing, zero artificial ingredients, and 60-day refund policy, there's virtually no risk in trying it-only the risk of doing nothing. PurDentix isn't promising miracles. It's delivering results based on medical-grade mechanisms. And with over 52,000+ verified users and an army of returning customers, it's already become a quiet legend in the dental space. If you've tried everything-rinses, toothpastes, prescriptions-and nothing stuck, this might be your answer. Source Details: PurDentix Jim Coyle press@purdentix.com (888) 147-8075 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d7ab3af3-4bc6-4f3b-8ca7-32f173ba4f4c Wellesley, Massachusetts--(Newsfile Corp. - March 28, 2025) - Babson College, the world's leading institution for entrepreneurship education, in partnership with Maison Camus, proudly announces the 2025 Global Family Entrepreneurship Award recipient: the Riberas Family, founders and leaders of Gestamp Automocion. This prestigious award celebrates multigenerational family businesses that embody innovation, sustainability, and leadership while remaining steadfast in their core values. This award, created in collaboration with Camus and the Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship (BIFE) at Babson College, is the first of its kind to honor distinguished entrepreneurial multigenerational business families who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in creating significant economic and social value. fie award criteria emphasize impactful achievements, values-driven entrepreneurship, and a commitment to the entrepreneurial leadership pillars that define Babson College. Image 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10841/246519_d78f4bac240c0b78_001full.jpg The Riberas Family joins an elite group of past recipients, including the Bertarelli Family, pioneers in healthcare and life sciences through B-Flexion, and the Cisneros Family, visionaries behind Cisneros Media, Latin America's leading independent digital advertising company. This accolade is designed to recognize one distinguished business family-those whose entrepreneurial spirit has driven significant economic and social impact across generations. Founded in 1958 by Francisco Riberas Pampliega, the Riberas family's entrepreneurial journey began with the establishment of Gonvarri, a small metal workshop. Over the decades, his sons, Francisco Jose Riberas Mera and Juan Maria Riberas Mera, expanded upon their father's vision, leading to the creation of Gestamp in 1997. Today, Gestamp is a global leader in the automotive industry, specializing in the design and manufacture of innovative metal components for the world's top car manufacturers. With operations in 24 countries, 115 production plants, and over 43,000 employees, Gestamp plays a key role in elevating Spain's influence in the global automotive sector, exemplifying a commitment to excellence, sustainability, and responsible business practices. Image 2 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10841/246519_d78f4bac240c0b78_002full.jpg HONORING THE RIBERAS FAMILY'S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEGACY Carrying forward the family legacy, Patricia and Monica Riberas are expanding beyond industrial innovation. Through Fundacion Gestamp, the Riberas family actively supports education, culture, and community development initiatives. Their strong corporate governance ensures long-term stability while upholding the values of diversity, leadership, and ethical business practices. Their dedication to both economic progress and societal well-being has solidified their legacy as one of Spain's most influential business families, making them a natural choice for the Global Family Entrepreneurship Award. Image 3 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10841/246519_d78f4bac240c0b78_003full.jpg Trophy Symbolizing Strength and Innovation Renowned for its savoir-faire, pioneering spirit, and dedication to excellence for over 1S0 years, the House of CAMUS, with its made to measure "Ateliers," craft cognacs that redefine the boundaries of the spirits sector. me 2025 Global Family Entrepreneurship Award, meticulously created in Camus workshops, features a bespoke co-centiliter glass decanter, hand-blown and adorned with silver- colored braid. Encased in a nickel-plated metal framework, it honors Gestamp's expertise in metal manufacturing while exemplifying Maison Camus' heritage of luxury craftsmanship. In tribute to the Riberas family's legacy, three eaux-de-vie have been blended to create a one-of-a-kind cognac: A 27-year-old Borderies Cognac, symbolizing Gestamp's 27 years of innovation. A 20-year-old Grande Champagne Cognac, representing Gestamp's presence in over 20 countries. A 40-year-old Petite Champagne Cognac, honoring Gestamp's more than 40,000 employees. This exceptional cognac boasts a golden hue with copper reflections, embodying a rich heritage. Babson College's Role in Driving Global Entrepreneurship As the #2 best college in America as ranked by the Wall Street Journal, Babson College is a leader in entrepreneurship education, preparing tomorrow's leaders to create lasting value for themselves, their communities, and the world. Based on core values of integrity, collaboration, diversity, equity, and inclusion, innovation, and excellence, Babson promotes the development of the next generation of business leaders that will change the world. The Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship (BIFE) is a global leader in family entrepreneurship leadership, pioneering new ways of thinking with research-backed insights that fill a critical industry gap. Building on Babson's founding mission, this innovative learning hub empowers enterprising families around the world to drive economic value and create social impact all while strengthening the core of stronger family relationships. A Shared Vision of Excellence Through this award, we celebrate not just the extraordinary business acumen of the Riberas family but also their unwavering dedication to innovation, education, and social progress," said Cyril Camus, Chairman of the Global Advisory Board at Babson College and President of Maison Camus. "my journey mirrors the essence of Maison Camus-where heritage meets modernity, and entrepreneurship is a driving force for positive impact." Image 4 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10841/246519_d78f4bac240c0b78_004full.jpg Lauri Union, Nulsen Family Executive Director of the Bertarelli Institute explained: "The Riberas family exemplifies the very best of family entrepreneurship, delivering extraordinary business outcomes and impact on society because of their strong family relationships. Guided by deeply held family values and catalyzed by family collaboration, the Riberas' have an outsized positive impact on communities around the world. mey are an inspiration, exemplifying the capacity of entrepreneurial families to be the greatest force for positive change on the planet. We are thrilled to recognize their family entrepreneurial leadership with the Babson-Camus Global Family Entrepreneurship Award." The award ceremony took place at Castelfalfi in Tuscany, Italy, where distinguished business leaders, Babson governance, and alumni gathered to honor the Riberas family's achievements. 2021 Award Trophy: Ernesto Bertarelli 89 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10841/246519_d78f4bac240c0b78_005full.jpg 2022 Award Trophy: Gustavo Cisneros '68, H'19 and Family To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10841/246519_d78f4bac240c0b78_006full.jpg About Babson College Babson College prepares and empowers entrepreneurial leaders who create, grow, and steward sustainable economic and social value everywhere. We shape the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge, skills, and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in organizations of all types and sizes. A global leader in entrepreneurship education recognized globally by U.S. News & World Report, our undergraduate, graduate, executive programs, and partnership opportunities are tailored to the needs of our world. The Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship (BIFE) under the Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership is a learning hub which extends Babson's founding mission, amplifying the capacity of enterprising families around the world to create economic value and social impact built upon the foundation of stronger family relationships. BIFE represents Babson's groundbreaking leadership in the field of family entrepreneurship, and the key purpose of this award is to elevate awareness of the institute and Babson's role in the family entrepreneurship space. About Global Family Entrepreneurship Award About Camus Founded in 1863, Maison Camus is the largest independent family-owned Cognac house worldwide. Known for its aromatic Cognacs, the brand has built a legacy of quality across 6 generations and more than 110 countries, earning a reputation for excellence and authenticity in the world of luxury. Through its Les Ateliers, Maison Camus brings haute couture into the world of Cognac, offering collectors unique, made-to-measure pieces crafted at the intersection of art and spirits. DOWNLOAD PICTURES AND PRESS RELEASE HERE To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246519 SOURCE: Babson College Your vote is important no matter how many Calibre shares and stock options you hold. The Board of Directors of Calibre recommends that Calibre Securityholders vote FOR the Arrangement Resolution. For assistance in voting, please contact Laurel Hill Advisory Group by phone at 1-877-452-7184 (toll-free in North America) or 1-416-304-0211 (collect, international), or by email at assistance@laurelhill.com (mailto:assistance@laurelhill.com) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX: CXB; OTCQX: CXBMF) ("Calibre" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that in connection with the previously announced business combination (the "Arrangement") with Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX; NYSE:EQX) ("Equinox"), Calibre has filed and commenced mailing of its management information circular (the "Circular") and related materials (collectively, the "Meeting Materials") for the upcoming special meeting (the "Meeting") of holders of Calibre common shares (the "Calibre Shareholders") and holders of options issued under Calibre's amended and restated long-term incentive plan (the "Calibre Optionholders", and together with the Calibre Shareholders, the "Calibre Securityholders"). The Meeting Materials are now available under Calibre's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca (http://www.sedarplus.ca) and on the Company's website at Calibre Mining - April 24, 2025 Special Meeting of Calibre Securityholders (https://www.calibremining.com/investor-relations/events/event-details/2025/April-24-2025-Special-Meeting-of-Calibre-Securityholders/default.aspx). Calibre Securityholders of record as of the close of business on March 18, 2025, will receive the Meeting Materials by mail and are encouraged to review them carefully. Meeting Details The Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) at the offices of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Suite 2200, RBC Place, 885 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia. The Meeting will be held in-person, although Calibre Securityholders can also access the Meeting via live webcast at meetnow.global/MZLUU6Z. Only Calibre Securityholders who are present in person and entitled to vote at the Meeting are able to vote during the Meeting. Any Calibre Securityholder attending the Meeting via the live webcast will not be able to vote at the Meeting. At the Meeting, Calibre Securityholders will be asked to consider, and if deemed advisable, to pass a special resolution (the "Arrangement Resolution") to approve the Arrangement under Part 9, Division 5 of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), whereby Equinox will (among other things) acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Calibre in accordance with the arrangement agreement dated February 23, 2025 (the "Arrangement Agreement"). Under the terms of the Arrangement, each Calibre share will be exchanged for 0.31 of an Equinox common share. If the Arrangement is completed, existing Equinox and former Calibre shareholders (including former holders of restricted share units and performance share units of Calibre) will own approximately 63% and 37%, respectively, of the combined company. Interim Order & Advance Ruling Certificate The Company is pleased to announce that the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the "Court") has issued an interim order (the "Interim Order") regarding the Arrangement which authorizes Calibre to proceed with the Meeting and addresses other Meeting related matters. A copy of the Interim Order is included in the Circular. Subject to receipt of the requisite approvals by Calibre Securityholders at the Meeting, it is expected that Calibre will apply for a final order of the Court approving the Arrangement on April 29, 2025. In addition, on March 25, 2025, an advance ruling certificate ("ARC") was received from the Commission of Competition pursuant to section 102 of the Competition Act whereby the Commission does not intend to make an application with respect to the Transaction. This ARC satisfies the Canadian Competition Approval closing condition to the Arrangement. Assuming the satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions to the completion of the Arrangement, the Arrangement is anticipated to close by the end of Q2 2025. Strategic Rationale Combining Calibre and Equinox will create: A major diversified gold producer in the Americas: Potential for more than 1.2 million ounces of annual gold production 1 from a portfolio of mines in five countries in the Americas. Potential for more than 1.2 million ounces of annual gold production from a portfolio of mines in five countries in the Americas. The second largest gold producer in Canada: Greenstone Gold Mine and Valentine Gold Mine, two new long-life, low-cost, open-pit gold mines, are expected to produce collectively 590,000 ounces of gold per year 2 when at capacity. Greenstone Gold Mine and Valentine Gold Mine, two new long-life, low-cost, open-pit gold mines, are expected to produce collectively 590,000 ounces of gold per year when at capacity. Substantial free cash flow: Immediate increase in production at record high gold prices is expected to drive superior free cash flow to enable the combined company to quickly deleverage. Immediate increase in production at record high gold prices is expected to drive superior free cash flow to enable the combined company to quickly deleverage. Exceptional growth profile: Additional production growth from the ramp-up of Valentine Gold Mine and a pipeline of development and expansion projects. Additional production growth from the ramp-up of Valentine Gold Mine and a pipeline of development and expansion projects. Significant re-rate potential based on valuation of peers: Greater scale, lower risk, near-term production growth, and superior free cash flow relative to peers, providing significant revaluation potential. Greater scale, lower risk, near-term production growth, and superior free cash flow relative to peers, providing significant revaluation potential. An industry-leading team: Proven track record of delivery and shareholder value creation led by Ross Beaty, and Blayne Johnson and Doug Forster of Featherstone Capital, who will all serve on the board of directors of the combined company. In total, four directors of Calibre will serve on the board of directors of the combined company, and Darren Hall, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Calibre, will serve as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the combined company with full responsibility of the combined operations going forward. Board Recommendation The board of directors of Calibre (the "Board") have unanimously determined that the Arrangement is in the best interests of Calibre and recommend that Calibre Securityholders vote FOR the Arrangement Resolution. Calibre Securityholders are encouraged to carefully read the Circular in its entirety and vote as soon as possible in accordance with the instructions accompanying the applicable form of proxy or voting instruction form mailed to Calibre Securityholders together with the Circular. The deadline for voting by proxy is 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on April 22, 2025. How to Vote Registered Securityholders Non-Registered Shareholders Calibre Shares and/or Calibre Options held in own name and represented by a physical certificate or DRS. Calibre Shares held with a broker, bank or other intermediary. Internet www.investorvote.com www.proxyvote.com Telephone 1-866-732-8683 Dial the applicable number listed on the voting instruction form. Mail Return the proxy form in the enclosed postage paid envelope. Return the voting instruction form in the enclosed postage paid envelope. Shareholder Questions and Voting Assistance If you have any questions or need assistance voting your shares, please contact Calibre's proxy solicitation agent: Laurel Hill Advisory Group Toll-Free (North America): 1-877-452-7185 Collect (International): 1-416-304-0211 Email: assistance@laurelhill.com (mailto:assistance@laurelhill.com) _________________________________________ 1 Mid-point of Equinox Gold's 2025 guidance plus mid-point of Calibre's 2025 guidance, on a full-year basis, plus an additional 65,000 ounces with Greenstone at capacity and 200,000 ounces with Valentine at capacity. Does not include any production from Equinox's Los Filos Gold Mine or either company's expansion projects. 2 Average annual production as estimated in the most recent technical reports for each project, which are available for download on each company's website and on SEDAR+. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release was approved by David Schonfeldt P.Geo., Calibre's Corporate Chief Geologist and a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101. About Calibre Calibre (TSX:CXB) is a Canadian-listed, Americas focused, growing mid-tier gold producer with a strong pipeline of development and exploration opportunities across Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada, Nevada and Washington in the USA, and Nicaragua. Calibre is focused on delivering sustainable value for shareholders, local communities and all stakeholders through responsible operations and a disciplined approach to growth. With a strong balance sheet, a proven management team, strong operating cash flow, accretive development projects and district-scale exploration opportunities, Calibre will unlock significant value. Non-IFRS Financial Measures Calibre has included certain non-IFRS measures as discussed below. The Company believes that these measures, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. These non-IFRS measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore may not be comparable to other issuers. Free Cash Flow Free cash flow subtracts sustaining capital expenditures from net cash provided by operating activities, serving as an indicator of the capacity to generate cash from operations post-sustaining capital investments. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Darren Hall" Darren Hall, President & Chief Executive Officer Forfurtherinformation,pleasecontact: Ryan King SVP Corporate Development & IR T: 604.628.1012 E: calibre@calibremining.com W: www.calibremining.com (http://www.calibremining.com) Calibre's head office is located at Suite 1560, 200 Burrard St., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 3L6. X (https://twitter.com/CalibreMiningCo) / Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CalibreMining) / LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/calibre-mining-corp-cxb-/?originalSubdomain=ca) / Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/calibremining/) / YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@calibreminingcorp) The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information 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. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are identified by words such as "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "project", "target", "potential", "schedule", "forecast", "budget", "estimate", "assume", "intend", "strategy", "goal", "objective", "possible" or "believe" and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. These include, without limitation, statements with respect to: the Meeting, the mailing and filing of the Meeting Materials; the approval of the Arrangement by the Calibre Securityholders; application for a final order of the Court approving the Arrangement; timing for closing the Arrangement; Calibre and the combined company's plans and expectations with respect to the proposed Arrangement, the expectations regarding exploration potential and production capabilities of the combined company; the potential valuation of the combined company following completion of the Arrangement; the accuracy of the pro forma financial position and outlook of the combined company following completion of the Arrangement; the expected benefits of the new board and management team of the combined company; and the anticipated impact of the proposed Arrangement on the combined company's results of operations, financial position, growth opportunities and competitive position. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, the possibility that Calibre Securityholders may not approve the Arrangement or shareholders of Equinox may not approve the share issuance; the risk that any other condition to closing of the Arrangement may not be satisfied; the risk that the closing of the Arrangement might be delayed or not occur at all; the risk that the either Calibre or Equinox may terminate the Arrangement Agreement and either Calibre or Equinox is required to pay a termination fee to the other party; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships of Calibre or Equinox, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the Arrangement; the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues; the ultimate timing, outcome and results of integrating the operations of Calibre and Equinox; the effects of the business combination of Calibre and Equinox, including the combined company's future financial condition, results of operations, strategy and plans; the ability of the combined company to realize anticipated synergies in the timeframe expected or at all; changes in capital markets and the ability of the combined company to finance operations in the manner expected; the risk that Calibre or Equinox may not receive the required Court, stock exchange and regulatory approvals to effect the Arrangement; the risk of any litigation relating to the proposed Arrangement; the risk of changes in laws, governmental regulations or enforcement practices; the effects of commodity prices, life of mine estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future production; the risks of mining activities; the fact that operating costs and business disruption may be greater than expected following the public announcement or consummation of the Arrangement; and other risks and uncertainties set out in Calibre's annual information form ("AIF") for the year ended December 31, 2024, its management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024 and other disclosure documents of the Company filed on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. (http://www.sedarplus.ca/) Calibre's forward-looking statements are based on the applicable assumptions and factors management considers reasonable as of the date hereof, based on the information available to management at such time. Calibre does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 28, 2025) - Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX) (NYSE American: EQX) ("Equinox Gold" or the "Company") will hold its annual and special meeting of shareholders ("Annual Meeting") on April 24, 2025 commencing at 1:30 pm Vancouver time, followed by a corporate update commencing at approximately 1:45 pm. In addition to electing directors and other annual approvals, at the Annual Meeting Equinox Gold shareholders will be asked to consider and approve a resolution ("Arrangement Resolution") to issue Equinox Gold common shares pursuant to the business combination with Calibre Mining Corp. ("Calibre") as announced on February 23, 2025 (the "Arrangement"). Under the terms of the Arrangement, each Calibre share will be exchanged for 0.31 of an Equinox Gold common share. If the Arrangement is completed, existing Equinox Gold and former Calibre shareholders (including former holders of restricted share units and performance share units of Calibre) will own approximately 63% and 37%, respectively, of the combined company. Your vote is important, no matter how many Equinox Gold shares you hold. The Board of Directors of Equinox Gold has unanimously determined that the Arrangement is in the best interests of Equinox Gold and recommends that shareholders vote FOR the Arrangement Resolution. Strategic Rationale Combining Equinox Gold and Calibre will create: A major diversified gold producer in the Americas: Potential for more than 1.2 million ounces [1] of annual gold production from a portfolio of mines in five countries in the Americas. Potential for more than 1.2 million ounces of annual gold production from a portfolio of mines in five countries in the Americas. The second largest gold producer in Canada: Greenstone Gold Mine and Valentine Gold Mine, two new long-life, low-cost, open-pit gold mines, are expected to produce collectively 590,000 ounces [2] of gold per year when at capacity. Greenstone Gold Mine and Valentine Gold Mine, two new long-life, low-cost, open-pit gold mines, are expected to produce collectively 590,000 ounces of gold per year when at capacity. Substantial free cash flow: Immediate increase in production at record high gold prices is expected to drive superior free cash flow to enable the combined company to quickly deleverage. Immediate increase in production at record high gold prices is expected to drive superior free cash flow to enable the combined company to quickly deleverage. Exceptional growth profile: Additional production growth from the ramp-up of Valentine Gold Mine and a pipeline of development and expansion projects. Additional production growth from the ramp-up of Valentine Gold Mine and a pipeline of development and expansion projects. Significant re-rate potential based on valuation of peers: Greater scale, lower risk, near-term production growth, and superior free cash flow relative to peers, providing significant revaluation potential. Greater scale, lower risk, near-term production growth, and superior free cash flow relative to peers, providing significant revaluation potential. An industry-leading team: Proven track record of delivery and shareholder value creation led by Ross Beaty, and Blayne Johnson and Doug Forster of Featherstone Capital, who will all serve on the board of directors of the combined company. In total, six directors of Equinox Gold will serve on the board of directors of the combined company, including Ross Beaty and Greg Smith, and four directors of Calibre will serve on the board of directors of the combined company, including Blayne Johnson and Doug Forster. Greg Smith, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Equinox Gold, will continue as Chief Executive Officer of the combined company, and Darren Hall, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Calibre, will serve as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the combined company with full responsibility of the combined operations going forward. Meeting Materials Equinox Gold's management information circular, which includes additional information regarding the background to and anticipated benefits of the Arrangement, the business of the Annual Meeting, and instructions for participating in the Annual Meeting and the voting process ("Meeting Materials"), is being distributed to shareholders. Upon receipt of the Meeting Materials, which contain personalized voting information, shareholders can vote their shares online, by telephone or by mail, or can attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person. Shareholders who cannot attend in person are invited to join an online webcast; however, the webcast is being provided for viewing purposes only. There will be no ability to vote via the webcast. Attend in Person Suite 200, 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver, BC Attend Online www.equinoxgold.com/shareholder-events The Meeting Materials can be downloaded at www.equinoxgold.com/shareholder-events and from Equinox Gold's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar. Shareholders may request that printed copies of the Meeting Materials be mailed to them at no cost by contacting the Company by phone at 1-833-EQX-GOLD (1-833-379-4653) (North America) or +1-604-558-0560 (International) or by email at info@equinoxgold.com. Shareholder Questions & Voting Assistance Shareholders can submit questions in advance about Equinox Gold, the Annual Meeting or the voting process using the Submit a Question form on our dedicated meeting site at www.EquinoxGold.com/investors/agm-contact/. The deadline for voting by proxy is 1:30 pm (Vancouver time) on April 22, 2025. Advance Ruling Certificate & Conditions of Closing The Company is pleased to advise that on March 25, 2025, Equinox Gold received an advance ruling certificate that satisfies the Canadian Competition Approval closing condition for the Arrangement. In addition to shareholder and court approvals, the Arrangement is subject to applicable regulatory approvals, including both Canadian (received) and Mexican competition authorization, approval of the listing of the Equinox Gold common shares to be issued pursuant to the Arrangement on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE American Exchange, and the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions customary for a transaction of this nature. Subject to the satisfaction of such conditions, the Arrangement is expected to close in the next several months and in any event by the end of Q3 2025. Annual Filings The Company has filed its Annual Information Form and its Annual Report on Form 40-F for the year ended December 31, 2024. The Annual Information Form is available for download on SEDAR+, on EDGAR and on Equinox Gold's website. The Form 40-F is available for download on EDGAR. Equinox Gold Contacts Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation and may include future-oriented financial information or financial outlook information (collectively "Forward-looking Information"). These include statements regarding Equinox Gold's expectations for the combined company post-closing. Actual results and outcomes of the proposed plan of arrangement between the companies ("Arrangement") may vary from the information set out in any Forward-looking Information. As well, Forward-looking Information may relate to: the satisfaction of the conditions precedent to the Arrangement and timing for closing of the Arrangement; the success of Equinox Gold and Calibre Mining in combining operations upon closing; the ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of the Agreement; the success and timing of completing construction of the Valentine Gold Mine; the production and operating capabilities of the Valentine Gold Mine; expectations for operation of the Greenstone Mine; the production, cash flow, deleveraging and growth potential of the combined company; the potential of the combined company to meet industry targets, public profile, and expectations; the ability to successfully advance the expansion and development projects; and the potential for a market revaluation. Forward-looking Information is generally identified by the use of words like "will", "create", "subject to", "is expected", "proposed" and similar expressions and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", or "should", or the negative connotation of such terms, are intended to identify Forward-looking Information. Although Equinox Gold believes the expectations reflected in the Forward-looking Information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on Forward-looking Information since no assurance can be provided that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking Information is based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or good faith belief of the officers and directors of Equinox Gold as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the Forward-looking Information. Forward-looking Information involves numerous risks and uncertainties. Such factors include, without limitation: risks related to closing of the Arrangement; the ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of the Agreement; risks related to Canadian and United States sanctions on Nicaraguan operations; risks related to the financial impact that tariffs placed on Canada or Mexico by the United States and risks related to retaliatory tariffs placed on the United States by either Canada or Mexico; risks related to new members of management and the board of Equinox Gold; risks relating to changes in the gold price; risks related to completion of the Valentine Gold Mine and achieving production in accordance with expectations; risks related to achieving design capacity at Greenstone in accordance with expectations; the ability to achieve the 2025 guidance announced by Equinox Gold and Calibre; the ability to successfully advance the development and expansion projects in accordance with expectations; the ability to successfully negotiate new agreements with local communities at Los Filos Mine; the ability to work successfully with First Nations and Indigenous partners and local communities; and the factors identified in the section titled "Risks Related to the Business" in Equinox's most recently filed Annual Information Form which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar and in the section titled "Risk Factors" in Calibre Mining's most recently filed Annual Information Form which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Forward-looking Information is designed to help readers understand Equinox Gold's views as of that time with respect to future events and speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law, Equinox Gold assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any Forward-looking Information contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting the Forward-looking Information. If Equinox Gold updates any one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect to those or other Forward-looking Information. All Forward-looking Information contained in this news release is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. [1] Mid-point of Equinox Gold's 2025 guidance plus mid-point of Calibre's 2025 guidance, on a full-year basis, plus an additional 65,000 ounces with Greenstone at capacity and 200,000 ounces with Valentine at capacity. Does not include any production from Equinox Gold's Los Filos Gold Mine or either company's expansion projects. [2] Average annual production as estimated in the most recent technical reports for each project, which are available for download on each company's website and on SEDAR+. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246489 SOURCE: Equinox Gold Corp. AURORA, Ontario, March 28, 2025. Magna has also filed these documents with the Canadian Securities Administrators. Please click HEREfor the 2024 Annual Report. Please click HEREfor the Annual Information Form. Our 2025 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2025, commencing at 10:00 a.m.. Magna will provide a paper copy of its audited financial statements as contained in our 2024 Annual Report to Shareholders, free of charge, on request through our website, www.magna.com, or in writing to Magna International Inc., Attn: Corporate Secretary, 337 Magna Drive, Aurora, ON, Canada L4G 7K1. INVESTOR CONTACT Louis Tonelli, Vice President, Investor Relations louis.tonelli@magna.com 905.726.7035 MEDIA CONTACT Tracy Fuerst, Vice President, Corporate Communications & PR tracy.fuerst@magna.com 248.761.7004 ABOUT MAGNA INTERNATIONAL Magna is more than one of the world's largest suppliers in the automotive space. We are a mobility technology company built to innovate, with a global, entrepreneurial-minded team of over 170,000(1) employees across 341 manufacturing operations and 106 product development, engineering and sales centres spanning 28 countries(2). With 65+ years of expertise, our ecosystem of interconnected products combined with our complete vehicle expertise uniquely positions us to advance mobility in an expanded transportation landscape. For further information about Magna or follow us on social. _____________________ Electric Metals (USA) Limited ("EML" or the "Company") (TSXV:EML)(OTCQB:EMUSF) announces it has entered into a marketing agreement with NAI Interactive Ltd. ("NAI") from January 1, 2025 to January 2, 2026. Under the terms of the agreement, NAI will translate Electric Metals promotional and public disclosure materials, including fact sheets, investor presentations, and news releases into Mandarin and traditional Chinese, and distribute them to its network of more than 30,000 members. The Company will also be featured on the NAI 500 platform (http://www.nai500.com/). In consideration of the marketing services, EML has paid NAI Interactive a one-time fee of CAD $20,000. EML has no relationship with NAI Interactive other than the marketing services agreement described herein. Gilbert Chan, President of NAI, is a shareholder of EML as a result of subscribing to shares in the private placement of EML. The engagement of NAI is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. About Electric Metals (USA) Limited Electric Metals (USA) Limited (TSXV:EML)(OTCQB:EMUSF) is a US-based mineral development company with manganese and silver projects geared to supporting the transition to clean energy. The Company's principal asset is the Emily Manganese Project in Minnesota, the highest-grade manganese deposit in North America, which has been the subject of considerable technical studies, including National Instrument 43-101 Technical Reports - Resource Estimates. The Company's mission in Minnesota is to become a domestic US producer of high-value, high-purity manganese metal and chemical products to supply the North American electric vehicle battery, technology and industrial markets. With manganese playing a critical and prominent role in lithium-ion battery formulations, and with no current domestic supply or active mines for manganese in North America, the development of the Emily Manganese Project represents a significant opportunity for America, the State of Minnesota and for the Company's shareholders. For further information, please contact: Electric Metals (USA) Limited Brian Savage CEO & Director (303) 656-9197 or Valerie Kimball Director Investor Relations 720-933-1150 info@electricmetals.com Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is generally identifiable by use of the words "believes," "may," "plans," "will," "anticipates," "intends," "could", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "projects" and similar expressions, and the negative of such expressions. Such statements in this news release include, without limitation: the Company's marketing agreement with NAI Interactive, its mission to become a domestic US producer of high-value, high-purity manganese metal and chemical products to supply the North American electric vehicle battery, technology and industrial markets; that manganese will continue to play a critical and prominent role in lithium-ion battery formulations; that with no current domestic supply or active mines for manganese in North America, the development of the Emily Manganese Project represents a significant opportunity for America, Minnesota and for the Company's shareholders; and planned or potential developments in ongoing work by Electric Metals. These statements address future events and conditions and so involve inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the failure to obtain all necessary stock exchange and regulatory approvals; investor interest in participating in the Offering; and risks related to the exploration and other plans of the Company. Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and perception of trends, updated conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date such statements are made. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events, or developments, except as required by law. Neither 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. SOURCE: Electric Metals (USA) Limited Memory Lane Games, a digital health company delivering reminiscence games for those with dementia, has been selected as the first featured participant in Google Play's 2025 WeArePlay campaign. This global initiative highlights developers whose apps contribute to meaningful impact across communities worldwide. As part of the campaign, Google has released a short documentary and accompanying blog that explore the founding story of Memory Lane Games and its approach to supporting individuals living with dementia. The feature includes interviews with the company's leadership and footage from the Isle of Man, where the company is headquartered. Memory Lane Games offers a library of reminiscence-based mobile games aimed at supporting cognitive engagement and emotional well-being for people experiencing memory loss. Its content is used by healthcare providers and caregivers internationally and is designed to be accessible and user-friendly for individuals with dementia. Bruce Elliott, CEO & Co-Founder of Memory Lane Games, shared: "Being selected by Google from the millions of apps available on their Play app store is an incredible honor. This recognition not only shines a light on our team's work but also brings much-needed awareness to the global dementia care community. The Google film crew visited us in January, capturing both our story and the unique charm of our Isle of Man home. My hope is that this worldwide exposure will help more families and caregivers discover Memory Lane Games and improve the quality of life for those affected by dementia." The inclusion in the WeArePlay campaign marks a milestone in Memory Lane Games' development and visibility within the digital health and eldercare sectors. Watch the 3 minute movie here: https://youtu.be/oBDJH8h7FYs ABOUT Award winning Memory Lane Games delivers professionally-curated, inclusive reminiscence and speech and language games which make a difference to people living with dementia AND those that care for them. Their games are played across the world by clinicians, therapists and caregivers because they are frustration-free and specifically designed to re-direct from difficult moments, stimulate conversation, trigger positive memories and even help make new ones. Website: https://www.memorylanegames.com/ Media Contact Organization: Memory Lane Games Contact Person Name: Lisa Karran Website: https://www.memorylanegames.com/ Email: lisa.karran@memorylanegames.com Contact Number: +447624430077 City: Isle of Man State: Douglas Country: United Kingdom SOURCE: Memory Lane Games Mynaric AG (FRA:M0YN)(OTC PINK:MYNAY) (the "Company") announces that Bulent Altan today has tendered his resignation as Chairman and Member of the Supervisory Board of the Company for personal reasons effective April 1, 2025. Bulent Altan was elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Company following his election as member of the Supervisory Board by the General Assembly in August 2023. The Supervisory Board of the Company will conduct a new election for the role of Chairman without undue delay. A new member will be appointed in due course in accordance with the provisions of applicable stock corporation act (Aktiengesetz). About Mynaric Mynaric (FRA:M0YN)(OTC PINK:MYNAY) is leading the industrial revolution of laser communications by producing optical communications terminals for air, space and mobile applications. Laser communication networks provide connectivity from the sky, allowing for ultra-high data rates and secure, long-distance data transmission between moving objects for wireless terrestrial, mobility, airborne- and space-based applications. The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with additional locations in Los Angeles, California, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit mynaric.com. Forward-Looking Statement This release includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical or current facts contained in this release, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, industry dynamics, business strategy and plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements represent our opinions, expectations, assumptions, beliefs, intentions, estimates or strategies regarding the future, which may not be realized. Forward looking statements are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "look forward to," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target" "will," "would" and/or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this release are based largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict or are beyond our control, and actual results may differ materially from those expected or implied as forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to (i) the impact of any geopolitical tensions or the global COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, our industry and markets as well as our business, (ii) risks related to our limited operating history, our history of significant losses and the execution of our business strategy, (iii) risks related to our ability to successfully manufacture and deploy our products and risks related to serial production of our products, (iv) risks related to our sales cycle which can be long and complicated, (v) risks related to our limited experience with order processing, our dependency on third-party suppliers and external procurement risks, (vi) risks related to defects or performance problems in our products, (vii) effects of competition and the development of the market for laser communication technology in general, (viii) risks related to our ability to manage future growth effectively and to obtain sufficient financing for the operations and ongoing growth of our business, (ix) risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information, (x) risks related to our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and (xi) changes in regulatory requirements, governmental incentives and market developments. Moreover, new risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our 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 statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. We caution you therefore against relying on these forward-looking statements, and we qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date hereof. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements. Unless required under applicable law, neither we nor any other person undertakes any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or otherwise. You should read this release with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances may materially differ from what we expect. This release may include certain financial measures not presented in accordance with IFRS. Such financial measures are not measures of financial performance in accordance with IFRS and may exclude items that are significant in understanding and assessing our financial results. Therefore, these measures should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to loss for the period or other measures of profitability, liquidity or performance under IFRS. You should be aware that our presentation of these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies, which may be defined and calculated differently. CONTACT: Mynaric AG +49 8105 7999 0 comms@mynaric.com www.mynaric.com SOURCE: Mynaric AG Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 28, 2025) - Pantera Silver Corp. (TSXV: PNTR) ("Pantera" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of the non-brokered private placement financing (the "Private Placement") disclosed on March 17th, 2025 by issuing a total of 6,600,000 units ("Units") at a price of C$0.25 per Unit (the "Offering Price"), for aggregate gross proceeds of C$1,650,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one new Pantera Common Share and one Pantera Share Purchase Warrant at a price of $0.40, exercisable for a period of two years from the date of issuance (the "Warrants"). In connection with the Private Placement, Pantera will pay a cash finder's fee of $4,875 and issue 16,000 non-transferable finder's warrants (the "Finder Warrants") to arm's length finders. Each Finder Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one common share in the capital of the Company at an exercise price of $0.25 per share exercisable for a period of 2 years from issuance. Closing of the Offering is subject to certain customary conditions, including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals and acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day expiring on July 29, 2025 in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. There are no material facts or material changes regarding the Company that have not been generally disclosed. About Pantera Silver Corp. Pantera Silver Corp. is a mineral exploration and development company committed to enhancing shareholder value by advancing silver-focused portfolio of mineral projects through collaborative partnerships and highly experienced technical teams. Pantera will continue to seek out and secure high-quality, unencumbered projects through research, staking and strategic acquisitions. Throughout the process, our mission is to help nurture and maintain prosperous communities by exploring for and discovering resource opportunities that build lasting relationships through honest and respectful business and environmental practices while contributing to the growing needs of mined raw materials for a new green economy. Neither 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. This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-Looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-Looking statements in this press release include that we can complete the Private Placement. Forward-Looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual financial results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Pantera Silver Corp disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except as required by law. Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for release publication, distribution or dissemination directly, or indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246574 SOURCE: Pantera Silver Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 28, 2025) - Scope Technologies Corp. (CSE: SCPE) (OTCQB: SCPCF) (FSE: VN8) ("Scope Technologies" or the "Company") announces that as a result of a review by the British Columbia Securities Commission, we are issuing the following press release to clarify our disclosing contained in the annual management discussion and analysis ("MD&A) for the financial year ended September 30, 2023 (the "Annual MD&A") and the interim MD&A for June 30, 2024 (the "Interim MD&A). The Annual MD&A and Interim MD&A have been amended to include: The stage of development for each of the QSE Platform and the GEM Platform and anticipated costs required for further development of the respective platforms. A summary of the Company's acquisition of the technology that comprises the QSE Platform and the fact that the transaction is a related party transaction. A basis for the Company's determination of the purchase price of the QSE Technology. The impairment of the QSE Technology. A summary of the letter of intent and business cooperation agreement with Farm Flight, Inc. A summary of the loans advanced to Farm Flight Inc., the Company's inability to collect repayment of such advances and the subsequent impairment of such advances. A summary of the license agreement of the GEM Platform and a statement that it is a related party transaction of the Company. Additional information on the payments made for investor relations and marketing services, research and development expenses and share based compensation under the discussion of operations headings of the MD&As. In respect of the Interim MD&A, providing the information required for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Providing a summary of the Company's use of proceeds from previous public and/or private placement offerings. The Company also wishes to clarify the Company's reference to obtaining an independent valuation report on the QSE technology in Note 6 of the audited annual financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2024 and related management discussion and analysis and the interim management discussion and analysis for the period ended December 31, 2024. The conclusion of the draft valuation report should be excluded from those financial reports. The revised Annual MD&A and Interim MD&A have been filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. About Scope Technologies Corp. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Scope Technologies Corp. is a pioneering technology company specializing in quantum security and machine learning. Through its flagship brands, QSE Group and GEM AI, Scope provides next-generation solutions in data security, quantum encryption, and neural networks, empowering businesses and individuals with secure, scalable technologies that drive growth and operational efficiency. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that constitute forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release that are not purely historical statements of fact are forward-looking statements and include statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, future, strategy, objectives, goals and targets. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable and reflect expectations of future developments and other factors which management believes to be reasonable and relevant, the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "expects", "aim", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "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. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and are based on assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, including, but not limited to, those risks and assumptions described in the Company's annual management and discussion filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.com. While Scope considers these assumptions to be reasonable, based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. In addition, forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions, continued satisfaction of Canadian Securities Exchange requirements, product safety and recalls, regulatory compliance and risks associated with the Company's business. For more information on the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause anticipated opportunities and actual results to differ materially, please refer to the risk factors set out in the Company's prospectus dated August 10, 2022, a copy of which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.com. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, unless required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Canadian Securities Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the business of the Company and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy hereof. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246564 SOURCE: Scope Technologies Corp. mo:re, a Hamburg, Germany-based life science startup providing a laboratory platform, raised 2.3M in Seed funding. The round was led by High-Tech Grunderfonds, with participation from Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg (IFH), Gilson Inc., NEDGEX, Nidobirds Ventures, and R&R Medical and Martin Bluggel. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the commercialization of its platform for complex cell culture workflows. Led by CEO Lukas Gaats, mo:re provides a laboratory platform that automates the planning, culture, and analysis of complex 3D cell culture models. It also enables verifiable, standardized results without requiring expertise in specific organ systems. FinSMEs 28/03/2025 Unable to find domestic spouses, some of the leftover men in China are resorting to marrying brides trafficked from outside the country, primarily from neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia. This comes as the country struggles to cope with a skewed gender ratio and a record-low rate of marriages read more Ming Gao, Lund University Chinas marriage rate is in steep decline. There were 6.1 million marriage registrations nationwide in 2024, down from 7.7 million the previous year. This decline has prompted Chen Songxi, a Chinese national political adviser, to propose lowering the legal marriage age from 22 to 18. The drop in Chinas marriage rate has been driven by a combination of factors. These include increased economic pressures, evolving social attitudes towards marriage, and higher levels of education. Advertisement Urban Chinese women, in particular, are increasingly pushing back against traditional gender expectations, which emphasise marriage and childbearing as essential life milestones. Rising living costs are also making it increasingly difficult for many young people to afford to get married. At the same time, China is grappling with a longstanding gender imbalance, a legacy of the countrys sweeping one-child policy and cultural preference for male children. In the early 2000s, when the imbalance was at its peak, Chinas sex ratio at birth reached 121 boys for every 100 girls. For every 100 girls born in some provinces, there were more than 130 boys. Chinas marriage rate is The gender imbalance is particularly pronounced among those born in the 1980s, a generation I belong to. This is due to the widespread use of ultrasound technology from the mid-1980s onward, which offered parents the ability to terminate pregnancies if their child was female. Unmarried men in China have become part of the so-called era of leftover men (shengnan shidai in Chinese). This is an internet term that loosely refers to the period between 2020 and 2050, when an estimated 30 million to 50 million Chinese men are expected to be unable to find a wife. Advertisement Also read: Who are Chinas nearly 35 million leftover men? The conundrum is that many of these leftover men want to marry I know this firsthand. Some of my peers from primary and secondary school have been desperately searching for a wife, but have struggled to find a spouse. A widely used phrase in China, difficulty in getting married (jiehun nan), encapsulates this struggle. Unable to find a domestic spouse, some Chinese men have turned to purchasing foreign brides. The growing demand for these brides, particularly in rural areas, has fuelled a rise in illegal marriages. This includes marriages involving children and women who have been trafficked into China primarily from neighbouring countries in south-east Asia. Unable to find a domestic spouse, some Chinese men have turned to purchasing foreign brides. Image for Representation. According to a Human Rights Watch report released in 2019 on bride trafficking from Myanmar to China a porous border and lack of response by law enforcement agencies on both sides [has] created an environment in which traffickers flourish. Advertisement The Chinese government has now pledged to crack down on the industry. In March 2024, Chinas Ministry of Public Security launched a campaign against the transnational trafficking of women and children, calling for enhanced international cooperation to eliminate these crimes. The purchased foreign brides These marriages are often arranged through informal networks or commercial agencies, both of which are illegal according to Chinas state council. Human Rights Watch says that women and girls in neighbouring countries are typically tricked by brokers who promise well-paid employment in China. They find themselves at the mercy of the brokers once they reach China, and are sold for between US$3,000 (2,300) and US$13,000 to Chinese men. Determining the extent of illegal cross-border marriages in China is challenging due to the clandestine nature of these activities. But the most recent data from the UKs Home Office suggests that 75 per cent of Vietnamese human-trafficking victims were smuggled to China, with women and children making up 90 per cent of cases. The Woman from Myanmar, an award-winning documentary from 2022, follows the story of a trafficked Myanmar woman who was sold into marriage in China. The film exposes the harsh realities faced by many trafficked brides. Advertisement It captures not only the coercion and abuse many of these women endure, but also their struggle for autonomy and survival in a system that treats them as commodities. Larry, a trafficked woman who features in the documentary, explained that she saw her capacity to bear children as her pathway to survival. The Chinese authorities constantly warn of scams involving brides purchased from abroad. In November 2024, for example, two people were prosecuted over their involvement in an illegal cross-border matchmaking scheme. Chinese men were lured into extremely expensive marriage tours abroad with promises of affordable foreign wives. There have also been cases where the undocumented brides themselves have disappeared with large sums of money before marriage arrangements are completed. Chinas marriage crisis has far-reaching implications for the countrys demographic future. A shrinking and ageing population is often cited as the greatest challenge for Chinese economic growth and social stability. Beijing has resisted this characterisation, saying that constant technological innovations will continue to drive economic growth. The labour force is undoubtedly important when it comes to economic growth. But according to Justin Lin Yifu, a member of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference advisory body, what matters more is effective labour the product of both the quantity and quality of the labour force. Advertisement China has increased its investment in education continually over recent years in anticipation of future challenges surrounding its ageing population. But, notwithstanding this, an even greater concern is the large number of leftover men, as this could pose a serious threat to social stability. Studies have found a positive correlation between high male-to-female sex ratios and crime rates both in China and India, where there is also a significant gender imbalance. In China, research has found that skewed male sex ratios have accounted for around 14 per cent of the rise in crime since the mid-1990s. And in India, modelling suggests that a 5.5 per cent rise in the male sex ratio would increase the odds of unmarried women being harassed by more than 20 per cent. The question of who Chinas leftover men will marry is becoming a pressing issue for Beijing. The governments response will shape the countrys future for decades to come. Advertisement Ming Gao, Research Scholar of East Asia Studies in History Division, Lund University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. US President Donald Trumps Greenland takeover plan just got support from Vladimir Putin. The Russian president, in the remarks in Murmansk, pointed out that Washington had such plans as far back as the 1860s. His remarks come as US Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha visit the semi-autonomous Danish territory, a NATO member and traditional US ally read more Is Vladimir Putin backing US President Donald Trumps plan to take Greenland? Putin in a speech in Russia has seemingly come out in favour of Trumps plan to take over the traditional US ally and NATO member. The development comes in the backdrop of a visit to Greenland by US Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha. Trump, who claims he wants the semi-autonomous, mineral-rich, Danish territory for purposes of national security, first proposed buying it in 2019. Advertisement The Greenland and Denmark governments have rejected Trumps plan out of hand. What did Putin say? Is he backing the plan? What could this mean? What about the history between Russia and Greenland? Lets take a closer look: What did Putin say? As per CNBC, the Russian president made the remarks during a speech in Murmansk the largest city north of the Arctic circle. Putin, referring to Trump wanting to buy Greenland, said, It is a profound mistake to treat it as some preposterous talk by the new US administration. Nothing of the sort. Putin pointed out that the United States had made such plans as far back as the 1860s. He also said that US offered to buy Greenland from Denmark after World War II. In short, the United States has serious plans regarding Greenland. These plans have long historical roots, as I have just mentioned, and it is obvious that the United States will continue to consistently advance its geo-strategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic, Putin said. As per BBC, he also said that geopolitical competition in the region and promised he would strengthen Russias global leadership in the Arctic", while warning that geopolitical competition in the region. Moscow was concerned that NATO countries in general are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts, practising the use of troops in these conditions, including by their new recruits, Finland and Sweden, he said, referring to the alliances latest members. Advertisement Vladimir Putin pointed out that the US offered to buy Greenland from Denmark after World War II. AFP Russia was monitoring the situation and building a response, including by boosting its military capabilities in the region. We will not allow encroachments on the sovereignty of our country and will reliably protect our national interests, Putin said. Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernising military infrastructure, Putin said, as per Politico. What could this mean? Putin seems to be floating the idea that the US and Russia could work together in the Arctic. The Kremlin in February suggested that Russia and the US could work together to develop natural resources. This is being echoed by his top officials. BBC quoted Kirill Dmitriev, President Putins envoy for foreign investment and economic cooperation as saying, We are open to considering different investment opportunities that we can do jointly with the US, in certain sectors approved by the Russian government. Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, has held talks with US officials. We are open for investment cooperation in the Arctic. That could be in logistics, or other areas beneficial to Russia and to the US, Dmitriev added. Advertisement Dmitriev told reporters last month that Russia and the US should develop joint energy ventures. We need joint projects, including in the Arctic and other regions, he said. Dmitriev also praised Trump advisor Elon Musk. We believe Elon Musk is a great visionary, a great leader and a very successful person, Dmitriev said, Russia has a lot to offer for a mission to Mars because we have some nuclear technologies which can be applicable. There are some video conferences we believe will be upcoming with, lets say, the Musk team. The outlet quoted one Russian newspaper headline as reading, US and Russian officials are now talking the same language. Nikolai Patrushev, former head of Russias FSB domestic security service, told the outlet, We used to have a system where two powers dominated in the world. Then it was just one. Now were building a multi-polar world. But with its own peculiarities. Russia-Greenland history Two-thirds of Greenland, which is three times the size of Texas, lies within the Arctic an area Russia sees as a zone of strategic interest. Russia has had interest in the Arctic going back to the Cold War. For good reason. Advertisement As Marc Jacobsen, an analyst at the Royal Danish Defense College in Copenhagen, told VOA, Theres no doubt that its geostrategically important in defending the U.S. national security against Russian missiles. The shortest route for Russian missiles towards the US is via the North Pole, via Greenland. The island in the Arctic, which houses around 56,000 people, is three times the size of Texas. File image/AP Moscow has heavily focused on building up its military presence in the Arctic these past few years including reopened Soviet-era bases and modernised its navy. As per VOA, Russias northernmost Nagurskoye air base on Siberias northern coast is home to nuclear-capable strategic bombers, missile and surveillance systems. There is definitely a threat, especially from Russian military capacities in that region. And NATO countries are right now moving to increase their capacity, Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen, also of the Royal Danish Defense College, told VOA. Moscow has also held joint military drills with Beijing. China also has shown an increasing interest in the region, believed to hold up to one-fourth of the Earths undiscovered oil and gas. Advertisement Russia also has a number of nuclear submarines in the Arctic as well as a number of nuclear-powered ice breakers. The Arctic also holds fossil fuels and minerals beneath the land and the seabed that could become more accessible with global warming. Putin has made it a top priority to ramp up commerce via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) through Arctic waters as Russia shifts trade towards Asia and away from Europe because of Western sanctions. Oil shipments from Russian ports to China via the NSR rose by a quarter last year. Vances Greenland visit Vance and his wife Usha are visiting an American military base in Greenland today. Their trip that was scaled back after an uproar among Greenlanders and Danes who were irked that the original itinerary was planned without consulting them. Greenland itself is seeking independence from Denmark. Polls show the people of Greenland have no interest in joining America. As per Eurasian Times, 85 percent of Greenlanders say no to such a proposition. As per Al Jazeera, Mute Egede, the outgoing prime minister of Greenland, earlier this month warned the US, Dont keep treating us with disrespect. Enough is enough. Advertisement Egede said, We dont want to be Danes. We dont want to be Americans. We want to be Greenlanders. Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen too has slammed Trump. They know that Greenland is not for sale. They know that Greenland doesnt want to be part of the United States, Frederiksen said as per The Times of India. Denmarks Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has rejected Donald Trumps proposal. Reuters Fridays one-day visit to the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, has removed the risk of potentially violating diplomatic custom by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. It will also reduce the likelihood that Vance and his wife will cross paths with residents angered by Trumps annexation announcements. Ahead of the visit, four of the five parties elected to Greenlands parliament earlier this month agreed to form a new, broad-based coalition government, banding together in the face of Trumps designs on the territory. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that the visit, which was originally set for three days, created unacceptable pressure. On Thursday she was cited by Danish public broadcaster DR as saying: We really want to work with the Americans on defence and security in the kingdom. But Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. Initially, Usha Vance had announced a solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut. Her husband then subsequently said he would join her on that trip, only to change that itinerary again after protests from Greenland and Denmark to a one-day visit of the couple to the military post only. With inputs from agencies US President Donald Trumps tariff war could have unforeseen effects on a household essential: toilet paper. His proposed taxes on Canadian imports, including a 27 per cent duty on lumber, may drive up the cost of a crucial wood pulp used in toilet paper production. This could also lead to higher prices for consumers due to supply shortages read more The US imports roughly 10 per cent of its toilet paper. Pixabay/Representational Image Will the US run out of toilet paper? US President Donald Trumps trade war on tariffs could have unexpected consequences for the supply of this household staple. The situation raises concerns of a repeat of the toilet paper shortages seen during the pandemic when panic buying left store shelves empty. ALSO READ | Which carmakers will be worst hit by Trumps 25% auto tariffs? Another potential outcome could be a rise in prices for consumers. Advertisement So, how could the tariff war lead to a toilet paper shortage? Heres a look: How tariff war could lead to a shortage of toilet paper in the US Trumps proposed tariffs on Canadian imports, including a 27 per cent duty on lumber, could increase the cost of a type of wood pulp essential for American toilet paper production. According to Bloomberg, there is also a possibility that additional tariffs could push the rate beyond 50 per cent. Although Trump supports these tariffs as a way to boost US manufacturing, they could impact the supply of northern bleached softwood kraft pulp (NBSK), a critical material for producing toilet paper and paper towels. Brian McClay, whose firm BMA monitors the global pulp market, told the news agency, Some of the big branded products not only want softwood pulp from Canada, they want softwood pulp from this particular mill. The situation raises concerns about a shortage of toilet paper. Reuters/File Photo Theyve been using it for 30 years and they will not change. Pulp is extracted from sawmill wood chips. If sawmills shut down due to tariffs on Canadian lumber, pulp production would also decline, directly affecting American toilet paper manufacturers. The US imports roughly 10 per cent of its toilet paper, with about half coming from Canada, according to Dino Bianco, chief executive of Kruger Products, Canadas largest toilet paper producer. Advertisement Trump has long argued that tariffs will encourage domestic manufacturing, insisting that the US does not need Canadian lumber. ALSO READ | Fact-check: From imports to immigrants, what Donald Trump has got wrong about Canada However, industry leaders say that Canadian softwood pulp has different properties that cannot be easily replaced by American alternatives, Bloomberg reported. The tariffs could also lead to a ripple effect across the supply chain. Higher lumber costs might slow construction activity, leading to fewer trees being harvested and reducing the availability of wood chips used for pulp. This shortage could drive up production expenses for tissue manufacturers, potentially leading to supply shortages. The impact on supply-chain If import duties on lumber surpass 50%, as they are currently projected to, thats going to put some sawmills out of business, and thatll reduce the supply of wood chips, Brian McClay, chairman of TTOBMA, which monitors the global pulp market, told Bloomberg. Sawmills are not easily adaptable, typically operating either at full capacity or shutting down entirely, said Jean-Francois Samray, head of the Quebec Forest Industry Council. Advertisement The shortage could drive up production expenses, potentially leading to supply shortages. Pixabay/Representational Image Its like pipelines, its like power grids: Its all full, or all empty, he said. The softwood sector functions within a pure and perfect competition market, he told the news agency. So in a market like that, there will be temporary closures, reduced production, which will have an effect on continental supply and demand. ALSO READ | Why Trumps tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada are bad news for the US Amid an ongoing trade dispute, the US currently imposes duties exceeding 14% on Canadian lumber. One of these levies is set to rise this year, pushing the total rate close to 27%. The White Houses proposed 25% tariff on various Canadian goods would bring the total import tax to approximately 52%. This does not account for the outcome of a Trump-commissioned inquiry into national security risks linked to lumber imports, which could lead to even higher tariffs. Trumps tariff war Trump is familiar with tariffs, having waged a trade war during his first term, with a particular focus on China by imposing levies on most of its exports. Advertisement Now, economists warn that his latest round of broader tariffs could have even more significant effects on businesses and economies worldwide, with consumers likely to bear the burden of rising prices. On April 2, Trump is expected to reveal his administrations strategy for reciprocal tariffs. Reuters/File Photo The Trump administration is set to introduce a new wave of tariffs on April 2, a date the US president has labelled Liberation Day. Economists view the move as the culmination of his America First Trade Policy, an executive order he signed on his first day in office, aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing. On April 2, Trump is expected to reveal his administrations strategy for reciprocal tariffs, arguing they are necessary to eliminate trade deficits with countries that export more to the US than they import from it. With inputs from agencies An Indian-American student and activist has alleged that the University of Houstons Lived Hindu Religion course in the US promotes Hinduphobic views and distorts Indias political landscape. The student also claimed that the course material, including a section in the syllabus, describes the term Hindu as a modern concept not found in scriptures read more The controversy is around Houston Universitys Lived Hindu Religion course. Image courtesy: University of Houston A controversy has erupted regarding a course on Hinduism being offered at the University of Houston in the United States. An Indian-American student and activist has alleged that the course presents Hinduphobic perspectives and distorts Indias political scenario. ALSO READ | How Hindu values have shaped FBI chief Kash Patels journey In response, the university has said that it is reviewing the concerns raised by the student. What is the controversy over the course, and why has it led to a massive uproar? Advertisement Lets take a look: What is the row over Houston Universitys Hinduism course? The controversy is around the University of Houstons Lived Hindu Religion course, which is conducted online. The course includes weekly video lectures, which are delivered by Professor Aaron Michael Ullrey. Vasant Bhatt, a political science student at the university and an activist, has filed a complaint with the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, under which the course is offered. The university said that it is reviewing the concerns raised by the student. Image courtesy: Instagram/University of Houston Speaking to India Today Digital, he stated, Hinduism, according to Professor Ullrey, was not an ancient, lived tradition but a colonial construct, a political tool weaponised by Hindu nationalists, and a system of oppression against minorities. Notably, Bhatts complaint concerns the course material, including a section in the syllabus that describes the term Hindu as a modern concept not found in scriptures. The report said that he also pointed to a passage stating, Hindutva, or Hindu-ness, is a term that Hindu nationalists, those who believe Hinduism should be the official religion of India, use to designate their religion and denigrate others, namely Islam. The professor repeatedly implies that India is a Hindu nationalist state actively oppressing minorities," Bhatt claimed. Advertisement He later told the publication that the response from the dean was unsatisfactory. The department attempted to deflect from the core issue by questioning my process and discrediting my valid concern - rather than investigating the substance of the complaint," he said, referring to the religious studies departments reply. Hindu on Campus, a student-led platform advocating for diaspora Hindus against Hinduphobia, also criticised the course. ALERT: A Hindu student at @UHouston is reported to be in a class wherein the Professor is delegitimizing Hindu identity, linking it to politics and religious extremism. >90% of Muslims and other minority groups see themselves as proud to be Indian (Source: Pew Research Center) pic.twitter.com/j6nBIQdbSG Hindu On Campus (@hinduoncampus) March 19, 2025 In a statement on X, the group said, None of these claims are backed by evidence or data. Political disagreements are welcomed, but fabricating extremism under the basis of Hindu identity is not. ALSO READ | Despicable act: India condemns vandalism at Californias Hindu temple How did the university respond? Shawn Lindsey, Senior Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications at the University of Houston, stated that the concerns raised were under review, India Today reported. The University of Houston upholds academic freedom and does not typically oversee specific faculty lectures. We do maintain curriculum oversight to ensure courses meet academic and pedagogical standards, Lindsey said. We also take concerns about the validity of course content seriously. We are reviewing the concerns raised and will address the issue as needed, he told the publication. ALSO READ | How vandalism at Hindu temples in Canada has risen When Indian American Congressman condemned Hinduphobia In December last year, Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning Hinduphobia as tensions over the H1-B visa system intensified amid the immigration debate. Advertisement Notably, the visa programme allows highly skilled foreign professionals to work in the United States. Thanedar also spoke out against racism, stating that it remains an issue in the country and requires collective action. Racism in America is still alive and well, and we must stand up to it together, he wrote on X. Indian student Ranjani Srinivasan made headlines earlier this month after she self-deported from the United States following the revocation of her visa. In an interview recently, the PhD student has said that her alma mater, Columbia University, let her down and that she hopes it comes to senses and re-enrols her read more In an interview with Al Jazeera, Srinivasan, who came to the US to study on an F-1 student visa, said she felt betrayed by her university. News18 Indian student Ranjani Srinivasan made headlines earlier this month after she self-deported from the United States following the revocation of her visa. She was nearing the end of her doctorate in public planning when her student visa was cancelled by the Donald Trump-led administration because she was suspected of supporting Hamas and spreading its message. According to the PhD student, Columbia University, her alma mater, let her down, and she hopes that her enrolment there will be reinstated. Advertisement She further claims that her vocal support of pro-Palestinian causes was the reason she was singled out. Heres what she said. Columbia University let me down In an interview with Al Jazeera, Srinivasan, who came to the US to study on an F-1 student visa, said she felt betrayed by her university. I spent five years at Columbia, working I dont know maybe 100 hours a week sometimes I never expected the institution to let me down. But it did," she said. Even if her visa is restored, the Indian student also said she wasnt sure if she would feel comfortable going back to the US to finish her PhD. I hope Columbia comes to its senses and re-enrols me," Srinivasan noted. All the requirements for my PhD are complete, and whatever is left, I dont even need to be in the US for. So Im trying to appeal to Columbia to do that." There has been no official statement issued by Columbia University. Also unknown is whether Srinvasan had an understanding with Columbia that restricted her from discussing her political beliefs at all while she was a student there. Targeted due to pro-Palestinian views She was designated a terrorist sympathiser and her visa was cancelled by the US Department of Homeland Security because she had advocated for violence and terrorism. Srinivasan, however, has denied these allegations, describing them as absurd. If supporting the idea of human rights or ending a genocide is equated with supporting Hamas, then anyone in proximity to me without me having done anything can just be picked up and made an example of," she told Al Jazeera. Advertisement New York City police officers take people into custody near the Columbia University campus in New York, on April 30, 2024, after a building taken over by pro-Palestinian protesters earlier in the day was cleared, along with a tent encampment. Srinivasan too was arrested last year. AP According to Srinivasan, she was targeted because of her vocal support for Palestinian rights and her social media condemnation of Israels atrocities in Gaza. Although she acknowledged taking part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the past, she also maintained that she was never a member of any organised groups at the institution. She also noted that throughout a large portion of April 2024, when student-led protests grew more intense on campuses around the US, she wasnt even there. Self-deportation In the Al Jazeera interview, Srinavasan said she was forced to flee the US and seek refuge in Canada when she received an email from the US Consulate in Chennai stating that her student visa had been revoked. A few hours later, she recalled, as she was still attempting to make sense of the situation by reaching out to officials at Columbia and her PhD group, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrived at her home, likely to detain her until she could be deported by air. However, she didnt answer the door. She wasnt home when the agents came back the following evening and asked to see her. They had to be dealt by her flatmate. Advertisement Mahmoud Khalil, another Columbia student, was arrested on campus a few hours later, sparking tensions between students and the administration. Indian PHD student self deports after US revokes visa over advocating terrorism. Srinivasan, who was now afraid of being arrested, escaped with a suitcase that contained her valuables, documents, and necessities. While she was evading capture, agents were constantly searching for her. She somehow escaped from New York on a flight to Canada on March 11 after eluding authorities, where she met up with her friends and family who rescued her. In a widely shared video, she was seen carrying a backpack filled with her possessions on CCTV footage taken at LaGuardia Airport in New York. In December, one month prior to Trumps inauguration, her student visa was extended. On March 5, 2025, the US Department of State cancelled her visa. The department also verified that she used the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App to self-deport on March 11, 2025, and that video footage of the procedure was obtained. Advertisement The CBP Home App allows undocumented immigrants to submit a intent to depart form and leave voluntarily. She did, however, depart using a visitors visa that she had previously acquired for academic conferences and seminars, Srinivasan claims. People demonstrate outside Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, on the day of a hearing on the detention of Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, in New York City, U.S., March 12, 2025. Reuters Srinivasan has an M.Phil. in Urban Planning from Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), according to her biography on NYU Wagners official website. She also holds a Bachelor of Design degree from CEPT University and a Masters in Design from Harvard Universitys Graduate School of Design. Her bio also suggests that Srinivasans research centers focus on the changing dynamics of land-labor relations in Indias peri-urban areas. It revealed that their primary areas of interest in the political economy of development, the spatial politics of land, and the sociology of labour." With inputs from agencies Tempo, a leading Indonesian investigative magazine, received a decapitated pigs head and six headless rats in two separate incidents last week. The packages were sent anonymously, with one addressed to journalist Francisca Christy Rosana, whose personal information was also leaked online. Indonesian police have launched an investigation, while concerns grow over media suppression under President Prabowo Subiantos administration read more People take part in a protest against revisions to the country's military law, which will allocate more civilian posts for military officers, outside the Indonesian parliament, in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 20, 2025. File Image/Reuters Indonesian investigative magazine Tempo, renowned for its bold journalism and exposes on powerful institutions, has been subjected to a series of threats that have sparked outrage among press freedom advocates. Last week, the publication received a severed pigs head with its ears removed, followed days later by a box containing six decapitated rats. These unsettling deliveries arrived without any explanation or claim of responsibility. Deputy editor-in-chief Bagja Hidayat expressed deep concern, calling it a terrifying act that goes beyond Tempo and affects the entire journalist community in Indonesia. This message isnt just for Tempo but all reporters in Indonesia, he told Reuters. Advertisement The threats did not stop with physical intimidation. Soon after receiving the pigs head, Tempos Instagram account received messages indicating that terror would not be deterred. Additionally, political reporter Francisca Christy Rosana, to whom the pigs head was addressed, was doxxed. Her personal contact information was leaked online, and her mothers phone was hacked. Press freedom advocates raise the alarm These incidents have raised alarms about the growing risks journalists face in Indonesia. Press freedom organisations, including Amnesty International, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have condemned the attacks and called for a thorough police investigation. CPJs Asia programme coordinator Beh Lih Yi described the delivery of the pigs head as a dangerous and deliberate act of intimidation. She urged President Prabowo Subianto to uphold press freedom and take the matter seriously, adding, Tempo is well known internationally for its fiercely independent reporting. Using this playbook from autocrats elsewhere simply will not work. Authorities have acknowledged the case, with a senior police official stating that investigations are underway. The National Commission on Human Rights has also launched an inquiry. However, concerns persist regarding the governments commitment to ensuring justice. Bayu Wardhana, AJIs secretary-general, pointed out that many attacks on the media in Indonesia often lead to dead ends, with perpetrators rarely held accountable. This terror would intensify the fears of journalists who are already receiving threats, he warned. Advertisement Just cook the pigs head Despite the seriousness of the incident, the governments response has drawn criticism. Presidential spokesperson Hasan Nasbi initially downplayed the threats, suggesting that Tempo journalists should just cook the pigs head. We stand in solidarity with Tempo journalists who faced a terror attack On March 19, Tempos office received a pigs heada blatant threat to press freedom. An attack on the press is an attack on our collective security. The terror targeting TEMPO is a blatant attempt to pic.twitter.com/q8YagM1FWY KontraS #StopGenocide (@KontraSupdates) March 21, 2025 His comment sparked outrage on social media, prompting him to clarify that the administration remains committed to press freedom. There is no change in the governments commitment to press freedom, he later stated. The threats against Tempo come amid growing tensions between the media and the Prabowo administration. The magazine has been vocal in its criticism of government policies, including controversial budget cuts and legislative changes that expand the militarys role in civilian affairs. These reports have made Tempo a frequent target of intimidation attempts. Advertisement Tempos history of intimidation Tempo is no stranger to threats. The magazine was twice banned under the authoritarian rule of former President Suharto, Prabowos father-in-law, for its investigative reporting. Over the years, the outlet has faced bomb threats, cyberattacks and even a Molotov cocktail attack in 2010 after exposing police corruption. However, recent incidents have taken intimidation to a disturbing new level. Bombs, doxxing, hijacking of phone numbers we have had so many threats in the past, The Guardian quoted Hidayat. But now its very physical. For the first time, animals and organs have been used as messengers Its very scary. The symbolism of the threats has also raised concerns. In Indonesia, the worlds largest Muslim-majority nation, pork is considered haram. Some analysts suggest that sending a pigs head to a journalist is meant as a deeply offensive message. The six rats, wrapped in rose-adorned paper, are believed to reference the six hosts of Tempos widely followed political podcast, Bocor Alus Politik, known for its hard-hitting discussions on governance and military affairs. Rosana, one of the hosts and the only woman among them, has reported extensively on electoral controversies and judicial scandals. This terror is related to my writing, she said. I often produce coverage that criticises the government. Advertisement Dampening press freedom in Indonesia The attacks against Tempo coincide with a wider crackdown on journalists in Indonesia. Recently, two reporters covering a protest against a new military law were assaulted by police and forced to delete their footage. The law, which increases the power of the military, has t riggered widespread demonstrations, with concerns that it could signal a return to military rule. At an event marking Indonesias National Press Day last month, Prabowo warned against fake news and called on journalists to contribute to national development. His statements, coupled with the attacks on Tempo, have heightened fears that press freedom in Indonesia is under threat. Ross Tapsell, an expert on Indonesian media at the Australian National University, described the Tempo case as a crucial test for the Prabowo government. A flippant or nonchalant response will signal that journalists are legitimate targets of attacks, he told The Guardian. He also noted that the incident is part of a broader trend of growing hostility toward female journalists in Southeast Asia. Hyper-masculine, military-leaning leadership encourages more overt displays of misogyny, he added. Goenawan Mohamad, the founder of Tempo magazine, denounced the threats as a sign of cowardice and warned against any potential government attempts to curb media freedom. Today, thanks to Reformasi, you cant ban a newspaper. But it will be interesting to see if there is any move from the regime to review the press law. Advertisement Since the fall of Suharto in 1998, Indonesia has been regarded as having one of the freest press environments in Southeast Asia. However, recent events suggest that hard-won freedoms may be at risk. The government previously considered revisions to media laws that would have severely restricted investigative journalism. Following public backlash, the proposal was shelved, but concerns remain about future efforts to undermine independent reporting. Journalists like Rosana remain resolute: I want to say to all female journalists: dont be afraid of intimidation, because those who intimidate are actually those who are afraid of the truth. With inputs from agencies According to a report, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is considering leaving the UK after a change in the countrys non-dom tax regime. Mittal is likely to relocate to destinations such as Dubai, Switzerland, and Italy read more Lakshmi Mittal meets France's President Emmanuel Macron. Mittal is looking to relocate to destinations such as Dubai, Switzerland, and Italy. Reuters Is Lakshmi Mittal leaving the UK? A new report says the steel tycoon is considering leaving the country after a change in the countrys non-dom tax regime. Mittal, executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, is among the wealthiest people in the UK. His net worth is estimated at $19.30 billion. But what do we know about Mittals plans? And whats the tax change bothering the UKs rich and famous? Lets take a closer look: What do we know? According to Financial Times, Mittal told people close to him that he is considering leaving the UK. This comes after the UK government moved to end tax exemptions for foreign income and gains. Advertisement He is exploring his options and will take a final decision over the course of this year, a friend of Mittal told the newspaper. There is a good chance he will cease to be a UK tax resident. The development comes as the UKs Labour government has decided to abolish the non-dom tax regime effective April 2025. As per Business Standard, Mittal is likely eyeing destinations such as Dubai, Switzerland, and Italy. All these locations have attractive tax incentives for ultra-high-net-worth individuals. What do we know about the UKs nom-dom tax regime? As per BBC, non-dom status applies to a UK resident whose permanent home is overseas. The system has been around for 226 years. Non-dom usually refers to the persons tax status not his citizenship, nationality or resident status. This status is usually acquired for tax purposes. A person with non-dom status only has to pay tax on money that he or she earns in the UK. Income from abroad is not taxed unless it goes into an account in the UK. This allows wealthy individuals to decrease their tax burden by choosing a country with lower taxes as their domicile. Akshata Murty, the wife of former UK prime minister Rishi Sunaks wife, was a high-profile example of someone with non-dom status. Advertisement After details of Murtys status were revealed to much uproar, she announced she would start paying taxes on earnings outside the UK. Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy in Manchester. A furore had broken out over Akshatas non-dom status. Reuters The decision to do away with the non-dom status was made in March 2024 by the-then Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Hunt, saying those with the broadest shoulders should pay more tax, said transitional arrangements would be made. Labour in its October 2024 Budget went a step further. British finance minister Rachel Reeves said she would close non-dom exemptions and thus raise $16.47 billion over the next five years. Reeves said the Labour government would go further by closing unspecified loopholes and introducing a new scheme. I have always said that if you make Britain your home, you should pay your tax here, Reeves told parliament as she announced her first annual budget. We have been listening to the concerns that have been raised by the non-dom community, Reeves added. The government has said the new system will be a residence-based regime with foreign earnings coming under the UK inheritance tax system, as per BBC. Advertisement As per Self-employed.com, under the new system, new UK non-doms will pay no tax on foreign income till 2029. They will only pay tax on gains. Those who have non-dom status will be given a two-year grace period to transition. After that lapses, they will be taxed on all income from abroad. The UK in 2022-2023 had around 74,000 people with non-dom status, as per BBC. Private banks and advisers to the super-rich have said some clients with non-dom status will quit the country if the government increases taxes on them. Over 10,000 millionaires left the UK in 2024, as per Self-Employed.com. As per Financial Times, those who relocate abroad can usually spend around 90 days in Britain every year. They are allowed to work for 30 days a year. The newspaper noted that Mittal, if he follows through, will be among the ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the UK choosing to relocate. The United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, and Italy are destinations of choice for the financial elite, as per the newspaper. Advertisement Experts say this is a massive development. Peter Triggs, a veteran in international wealth planning and partner at 1291 Group, told Hubbis, The shift away from domicile to a residence-based system is monumental. It identifies the UK clearly as a pure residency-based tax system, as indeed are the majority of other jurisdictions, but for many wealthy individuals with a UK connection and their advisers, its a seismic change. These changes have been coming in waves since the 1980s, Peter explains. Whats different this time is that domicile ( the concept of your true home) has been sidelined entirely. Residency is now the key determinant for tax purposes. With inputs from agencies A massive earthquake measuring 7.7 struck central Myanmar, with its tremors shaking Thailand on Friday. It toppled buildings, ruptured roads, killed at least 20 and caused widespread devastation. The powerful temblor highlights Myanmars vulnerability to earthquakes it has seen over 14 with a magnitude of six or higher in the past 100 years. Heres why read more People take pictures of a construction site where a building collapsed in Bangkok on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake. A powerful earthquake rocked central Myanmar on March 28, buckling roads in capital Naypyidaw, damaging buildings and forcing people to flee into the streets in neighbouring Thailand. AFP Buildings coming down like a pack of cards, people screaming and running helter-skelter and devastation everywhere one turns These are the scenes that unfolded in central Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the area on Friday afternoon (March 28). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the 7.7-magnitude tremor hit at a depth of 9.97 kilometres and was followed by a powerful aftershock. Moreover, the epicentre was about 16 km from the city of Mandalay in Myanmar, which boasts a population of around 1.2 million people. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Catch live updates from here As scenes of destruction unfold, we take a closer look at whats the impact of the quake and how prone is Myanmar to seismic activity. Myanmar, Thailand earthquake brings death, devastation Minutes before lunch hours, around 12.50 pm, a powerful 7.7-magnitude struck central Myanmar with the USGS reporting that 12 minutes later, the Southeast Asian nation was hit by a second strong aftershock of 6.4-magnitude. The epicentre was 18 km south of Sagaing. Notable quake, preliminary info: M 7.7 - 16 km NNW of Sagaing, Myanmar https://t.co/g2nXJYU6eI USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) March 28, 2025 The strong tremors were too much for the country and neighbouring Thailand, as buildings and other major infrastructure began to collapse, prompting panic from the public. At the time of publishing the report, Myanmar alone had reported over 20 deaths with at least three others being killed inside a high-rise building that collapsed during the earthquake in Thailands Bangkok. A Buddhist monk walks near a damaged building at a monastery compound after an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. AP In Mandalay, Myanmars second biggest city, the earthquake caused widespread damage. Part of the former royal palace and other buildings have been damaged owing to the tremors. A bridge connecting Myanmars Ava and Sagaing regions also collapsed, with videos on social media showing The footage shows parts of it falling into the Irrawaddy River, which runs from the north to the south of the country. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Breaking: A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake has struck Myanmar and the surrounding region. The iconic Ava Bridge in Mandalay has collapsed into the Irrawaddy River. pic.twitter.com/aKEl96x9DZ Heung Min Son (@heungburma) March 28, 2025 Visuals also showed that the quake had caused roads to buckle and break across Mandalay. News agency AFP reported that in Myanmars capital, Naypyidaw, the entrance of the emergency department at the citys main hospital pancaked onto a car. Wounded at the 1,000-bed facility were being treated outside, intravenous drips hanging from their gurneys. Some writhed in pain, others lay still as relatives sought to comfort them. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Patients are evacuated from Rajavithi Hospital after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, which affected Bangkok as well with hundreds of people pouring out of buildings in the Thai capital in panic after the tremors, in Bangkok, Thailand. Reuters Moreover, at the citys National Museum, pieces fell from the ceiling as the building began shaking. Uniformed staff ran outside, some trembling and tearful, others grabbing mobiles to try to contact loved ones. At Mandalays Shwe Phone Shein Mosque, the quake killed at least 10 people as the structure collapsed while followers were offering their prayers. A rescue worker was quoted as telling Yangon Times, It collapsed while we were worshipping. About three mosques collapsed. There were people trapped, so at least 10 people have died now. The death toll could be higher. People look at damage to a road in Naypyidaw, after an earthquake in central Myanmar. AFP The airport at Mandalay has also sustained damage, with one video showing people screaming and crouched on the ground of the tarmac, with a jetliner in the background. Voices can be heard saying: Sit down! Dont run! The Telegraph later reported that Mandalay airport had suspended flights. The earthquake also wrought devastation in Thailand, namely in Bangkok . A 30-storey high-rise building in Bangkok collapsed, killing at least two and trapping at least another 43 in the rubble. Iana, 40, a piano teacher from Russia in Bangkok on holiday, was in a nearby shopping centre when she heard the building collapse in Bangkok. She told The Telegraph, I hear the sound - its like a jet. The building was shaking, shaking, shaking. We went down to the first floor and then we saw all the smoke (from the collapsed building). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Workers carry an injured person near the site of a collapsed building after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, which affected Bangkok as well. Reuters Other videos and photos from Thailand revealed the impact of the quake. One showed the water from a skyscrapers infinity pool literally thrown over the edge, and another showed chandeliers bouncing about on the roof of a conference room at Bangkoks Athenee Hotel. Bui Thu, a BBC journalist, who was at home cooking when the quake struck, said, I was very nervous, I was very panicked. In my apartment, I just see some cracking on the walls, water splashed out of swimming pools and people just yelling. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Help pours in after Myanmar, Thailand quake Shortly after the quake struck, a state of emergency was declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by the military-run government. The countrys national disaster management committee added that it has declared a state of emergency in the Sagaing region, Mandalay region, Magway region, northeastern Shan State, Naypyitaw Council Area, and Bago region. Myanmars junta has also issued a request from foreign countries for aid and assistance. We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP. Women and a child react after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday. Reuters Reacting to this call, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country was ready to offer all possible assistance to the quake-hit countries. Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone, Modi wrote on social media platform X. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Meanwhile, Thailands Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra also made a declaration of emergency in Bangkok. Analysts believe that the impact of the Myanmar earthquake will be quite catastrophic for the nation. Dr Brian Baptie, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, told the Telegraph that the population lives in buildings vulnerable to natural disasters, worsening the situation. When a large earthquake strikes an area with over a million people, many of whom live in vulnerable buildings, the consequences are often disastrous, he said. From initial reports, that seems likely to be the case here. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD People stand outside an office building in Bangkok on March 28, 2025 after an earthquake. A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar on March 28, with tremors felt south into Thailand, with residents in the capital Bangkok running into the streets as buildings shook. AFP Myanmars history of quakes Todays (March 28) earthquake isnt the first for Myanmar. The southeast Asian country is exposed to large earthquakes, having experienced 14 with a magnitude of six or higher in the past 100 years. On November 21, 2021, a strong and shallow earthquake hit Myanmar with the epicentre in Hakka. However, no fatalities were reported. Prior to that, another strong quake hit Myanmar on August 24, 2016. A 6.8-temblor hit central Myanmar, damaging pagodas in the ancient city of Bagan and killing at least one person. Tremors were felt as far away as Thailand, Bangladesh and India, sending fearful residents into the streets. Videos posted on social media from Bagan show clouds of dust and the tops of some pagodas crumbling as the quake struck. It is said that before March 28s quake in Myanmar, the deadliest and strongest quake hit the country on May 23, 1912. Known as the Maymyo earthquake, its epicentre was near Taunggyi and Pyin Oo Lwin in Shan State. The exact number of fatalities from this quake remains unknown. People who evacuated from buildings following earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 28, 2025. AP Reason for Myanmars quake activity For the people of Myanmar, quakes such as todays are not unexpected, Shengji Wei, principal investigator at the Earth Observatory of Singapore told CNN. Thats because the earthquake occurred along a segment of the Sagaing Fault, a major geological fault line that has historically seen big earthquakes. This fault runs approximately 1,200 kilometres through the country and has a history of significant seismic activity. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Scientists explain that as the Sagaing Fault is active, stress builds up and when this is released, it causes a quake. As per an India Today report, the measured slip rate suggests significant movement, meaning more energy is stored and could be released as a strong quake. Experts further note that in comparison, Thailand experiences relatively fewer earthquakes, and most of the earthquakes felt there is a result of seismic activity in neighbouring Myanmar. With inputs from agencies Protests have broken out in Pakistans Sindh province over a new canal project under the ambitious agriculture plan of Shehbaz Sharifs federal government. While six canals will be built, the one proposed in the Cholistan desert in Punjab has sparked stiff opposition. Heres why read more Fishermen on boat casting a net in the Indus River, in Hyderabad, Pakistan March 15, 2025. File Photo/Reuters A new canal project in Pakistan has drawn the ire of people from the southern province of Sindh and is threatening Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs governing alliance. There are increasing fears that the project would lead to a potential water crisis in the southern parts of the South Asian country. Pakistan plans to build six canals under an ambitious agricultural project. However, the proposed canal in the Cholistan desert has sparked widespread protests in Sindh. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Heres why. Whats Pakistans agriculture project? The Pakistan government launched a $3.3 billion project called the Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI) in February in the presence of Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir. Hailing Punjab as the powerhouse of Pakistans agriculture, Munir said the army would continue to back the countrys economic growth, reported Al Jazeera. The Green Pakistan Initiative hopes to boost food security in the South Asian nation through corporate farming. Agriculture makes up about 25 per cent of Pakistans gross domestic product (GDP) and provides 37 per cent of its jobs. A farmer sprays pesticide in a field near the Indus River, in Hyderabad, Pakistan March 15, 2025. File Photo/Reuters The scheme aims to modernise the agricultural sector, including by bringing new technologies like drones and providing high-yield seeds and fertilisers to farmers. Under GPI, six canals will be constructed across Pakistan, including in the Cholistan desert in the Punjab province. As per a Nikkei Asia report, the government will spend $750 million to build a 176-kilometer-long canal in Cholistan to irrigate 1.2 million acres of barren lands in the desert. Cholistan Canal and Indus rivers Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari gave a nod to construct six strategic canals last July. The proposed Cholistan canal, now renamed as Mahfooz Shaheed Canal and System, is the largest and is facing stiff objections in the Sindh province. It has a total capacity of 4,120 cusecs (116,665 litres/second) and is likely to be completed by mid-2030, reported Al Jazeera. As per the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), India controls the eastern rivers of Sutlej, Ravi and Beas, while Pakistan controls the western rivers Jhelum, Chenab, and Indus. The Pakistan government claims that water for the Cholistan canal will come from excess floodwaters from the Sutlej River and river water from Punjab. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rivers flow downstream from Pakistans Punjab province to Sindh in the south. Experts have questioned the plan to rely only on floodwater for the canal. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Naseer Memon, an Islamabad-based environmental specialist, said the water flow from the eastern rivers controlled by India has been gradually plunging due to the construction of dams and climate change. If you look at the flow data, between 1976 and 1998, the average flow was 9.35 million acre-feet (MAF). From 1999 to 2022, it has dropped to just 2.96 MAF, he said. Protests over Pakistans canal project Nationalist parties, writers, social activists, students and religious figures in the Sindh province are protesting against the Cholistan canal. Critics argue that the canal would reduce the downstream water flow of the Indus, causing a water shortage in Sindh. The Sindh government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) passed a unanimous resolution in the provincial assembly against it in mid-March, demanding an immediate halt to activities related to the canal project. Pakistan President Zardari, who is from Sindh and a co-chairperson of the PPP, is facing criticism for giving a go-ahead to the project. On Tuesday, the PPP launched protests in all major cities and towns of Sindh. Another protest was organised by Jeay Sindh Mahaz (JSM), a major nationalist party, in Kotri on the banks of the Indus River a day later. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They [the federal government] must reverse this decision as Sindh in many parts is already facing water shortage and if new canals are built, Sindh will face a water famine, JSMs Riaz Chandio was quoted as saying by PTI. Sherry Rehman, a senior PPP leader, warned that the canal project would result in the desertification of Sindhs fertile lands. Speaking to Nikkei Asia, Shahab Usto, a civil rights lawyer based in Karachi, warned there could be a 30 per cent to 40 per cent water scarcity in the coming years. In Sindh, where 70 per cent of the economy depends on agriculture, the [new canal] project threatens livelihoods and can fuel unrest, he said. If this canal is built forcefully, without consensus, it could even push the country toward internal conflict. Ehsan Leghari, Sindhs representative of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) the regulatory body that oversees water distribution in Pakistan had opposed the Cholistan canal, raising concerns that it might require diverting water from the Indus towards the canal in Punjab, which would be would be unfair to Sindh STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The analysis of data of the Indus basin in Pakistan has indicated in many reports that the water use in the Indus basin already exceeds the availability, and the Indus basin is passing through critical state, not able to meet existing irrigated, drinking water needs and unable to stop sea water intrusion, Leghari wrote in his dissenting note, as per Al Jazeera. However, the authority issued a certificate last month claiming there was enough water available for the Cholistan Canal. There are also fears that PPP, an ally of PM Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), could exit the federal government over the canal. Sindh is the stronghold of the Pakistan Peoples Party. If the federal government does not reverse its decision [on new canals], there is a strong possibility that the PPP may eventually part ways with the coalition government of Shehbaz Sharif, Memon told Nikkei. So far, the Pakistan government has remained indifferent to the Sindh protests. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies The Trump administration has been detaining and trying to deport several foreign students from US campuses. For instance, on Tuesday (March 25), immigration officers arrested Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student from Tufts University. The arrest comes after a shadowy group known as Canary Mission posted her photo on their website. Whos behind this collective? What do they do? read more People hold signs and Palestinian flags as they protest the arrest of former Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil and show support for Palestinians. File image/AFP On Tuesday (March 25), Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk, who is completing her doctoral from Tufts University, was heading out to meet her friends for Iftar, the evening meal to break her Ramzan fast, in Somerville, Massachusetts when six individuals in plainclothes with some of them partially covering their faces approached her and forcibly restrained her. It later emerged that the men were US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and were arresting Ozturk for allegedly engaging in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organisation that relishes the killing of Americans. Advertisement Since then, she has been moved to an ICE detention centre in Louisiana while her lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai has filed a petition in Boston federal court late on Tuesday, arguing that Ozturk had been unlawfully detained. It now emerges that Ozturks detention comes days after a pro-Israel group called the Canary Mission reportedly posted an image of her on their website and claimed that she engaged in anti-Israel activism in March 2024, referring to her opinion essay criticising her universitys stance on Israels war on Gaza. This is Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national being deported for activities in support of Hamas, according to DHS. Sources point to her Canary Mission profile as the primary cause. pic.twitter.com/qLTo0Vc2Lj Canary Mission (@canarymission) March 27, 2025 This has prompted many to ask what is the Canary Mission, the group demonising pro-Palestine students. What is Canary Mission? In its own words, Canary Mission, which began in 2015, said it was created out of concern for the rise of antisemitic hate crimes on college campuses, and the dangerous Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. For the unaware, the BDS movement is one in which organisations and institutions are urged to boycott and divest from Israel until they provide the fundamental rights to Arab-Palestinian citizens. Since the Israel war on Hamas, which began in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 attacks, this movement has seen a rise in supporters, especially from US college students. Advertisement Canary Missions website says it is dedicated to documenting individuals and organisations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses and beyond. It further adds that it wants to combat the rise of antisemitism on college campuses. A screenshot of Canary Missions X page. If you want further explanation of what is the Canary Mission, then their video in 2015 is the perfect source. The two-minute clip features images of Jews with yellow stars on their clothes followed by images of hijab-clad women waving Palestinian flags. The videos female narrator closes by saying, It is your duty to ensure that todays radicals are not tomorrows employees. But what does the Canary Mission do? It publishes a blacklist which doxxes the identity and details of US college students who participate in anti-Israel protests. In fact, they were suspended from X in 2018, but their account was quickly reinstated. In July 2024, USA Today reported that Canary Mission had profiled more than 1,500 students and nearly 900 faculty members across US campuses. Moreover, For many college students, the information on the website of Canary Mission becomes the top result in an online search making it the first thing a potential employer or school might see when considering an application. Advertisement Canary Mission is kind of like a cautionary tale thats told to a lot of activists, said 20-year-old US student Will Mleczko, who also found himself on Canary Missions webpage, to USA Today. He added that he worried that if prospective employers find you on there, they will probably not hire you. Youll be blacklisted. Whos behind Canary Mission? Little to no details are available on whos behind Canary Mission and how it is funded. But investigation after investigation by journalists has shed some light on the website and the people responsible for it. Josh Nathan-Kazis of The Forward, in 2018, identified the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco as one Canary Mission funder. In response to the article, the federation announced it would stop giving money to the group. Al Jazeeras investigative film The Lobby USA also revealed that Adam Milstein, an Israeli-American real estate magnate, is a funder of Canary Mission. Milstein denied this claim but praised the blacklist. It has also been reported that Israels Ministry of Strategic Affairs uses Canary Mission as an intelligence asset. Haaretz in one news report said that the department was using information from the controversial right-wing website Canary Mission, to bar political activists from entering the country. Advertisement How does Canary Missions blacklist work? The shadowy body has a blacklist through which it targets not only students, but professors, professionals and organisations. Moreover, the group has stated that theres only one way to get off the blacklist send a written apology. On the blacklist, information such as personal information, quotes, photos, videos, institutional affiliations, and links to friends and colleagues is shared. In one paper, the Middle East Studies Association writes, The material in each profile is framed so as to make the individual or organisation appear monstrous, guilty of raving anti-Semitism and/or support for terrorism. Many students who have been doxxed by Canary Mission reveal the dangers and perils of being on the blacklist. For instance, theres the case of Nadine Jawad, the vice president of student government at the University of Michigan. She revealed to the Middle East Eye in a 2018 report that despite her academic excellence, a Canary Mission profile emerged, accusing her of associating with anti-Semites who promote terrorists. Theres also Layla Saliba, a graduate student and campus organiser at New Yorks Columbia University. After 14 of her family members died in Israels bombing of a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City, she started protesting for Palestinian rights last October, which eventually led to being blacklisted. Advertisement Mahmoud Khalil, and Layla Saliba speak to members of media at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza. File image/Reuters Canary Mission accuses her of providing support for terrorists and hatred of Israel and America. Saliba said her posts were meant to be critical but not hateful. Its honestly really hurtful to see that Im being called antisemitic, she told USA TODAY. Especially since Ive been dealing with this grief and its been my Jewish friends that have provided me with so much love and support. But simply being on the blacklist wasnt bad enough, says Saliba. She added that people soon found and posted her personal information online, including her cellphone number and her address. What followed was a campaign of legitimate hate, Saliba told USA Today, adding, I get hundreds of death threats and rape threats. And Saliba is far from alone. Thomas Kinservik, a 22-year-old Yale University student has also been blacklisted by Canary Mission. Last spring, he was seen in a video laughing and cheering as an American flag was lowered from a flagpole. In the background of the video, students chant Viva, viva Palestina. Advertisement Soon after, a profile emerged of him on Canary Missions website, accusing him of spreading hatred of America and Israel at Yale. He told USA Today that he now fears for his future and his job prospects. Egyptian-American student Layla Sayed also recounts her experience with Canary Mission. Soon after attending a pro-Palestinian demonstration last May, a friend told her that she had been added to Canary Missions website. She told Reuters that when she visited Canary Mission, she found a photo from the October 16 rally at the University of Pennsylvania with red arrows pointing to her among the demonstrators. The post included her name, the two cities she lives in, details about her studies and links to her social media accounts. The website also posted a photo of her on its X and Instagram accounts labelled her as Hamas War Crimes Apologist. My initial reaction was just absolute shock, 20-year-old Sayed told Reuters. I wasnt there to say I supported Hamas. I wasnt there to say I hated Israel. I was there to say whats happening in Palestine is wrong. Pro-Palestinian students protest at a US campus. Until July 2024, Canary Mission had profiled more than 1,500 students and nearly 900 faculty members across US campuses. File image/Reuters Others who are profiled on Canary Mission also revealed that they now struggle with feelings of anxiety and paranoia and in a few cases, also have to contend with death threats. According to them, the blacklist has become especially frightening since its being used by law enforcement in Israel and the United States. Some activists note that Canary Mission doesnt just stop at their online activities, and the harassment even bleeds into the offline world. At George Washington University in 2018, two powerful men in yellow canary outfits suddenly turned up in the lobby of the campus building and engaged in a strange and frightening dance, reports T_he Nation_. Abby Brook, a Jewish student at the school who was active in pro-Palestinian groups on campus, found the event pretty unbelievably terrifying. These two fully grown, muscular men in these bird costumes, strutting. Others note that Canary Mission has led people to quiet their support of Palestinian rights. As Rani al-Hindi, who was a member of Palestine activist groups at Hunter College in New York, told The Intercept, Its killing the student movement. Were not able to organise any big actions, have any big events, organise for the divestment campaign that has launched. There is a lot of intimidation. Protesters gather at the gates of Columbia University, in support of student protesters who barricaded themselves in Hamilton Hall, despite orders from university officials to disband or face suspension, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City, US last year. File image/Reuters Can anything be done against Canary Mission? Unfortunately, as of now, students claim they are helpless against Canary Mission. Legal experts have told Reuters that much of what Canary Mission publishes is protected by the US Constitutions First Amendment on free speech. Meanwhile, experts have demanded that college and university leaders educate themselves about Canary Mission and its record of subjecting students and faculty to vicious and underhanded attacks because such attacks threaten the well-being of students and faculty and the integrity of the college community. As Bill Mullen, a professor of American studies at Purdue University and a creator of Against Canary Mission, told The Intercept, It is the most significant and effective of pro-Israel groups at intimidating activists. This is because it is omnipresent, on the web, 24/7, virile, and constantly reproducing and updating its results. With inputs from agencies Roshni Nadar, the Chairperson of HCL Technologies, has made history as the first Indian woman to feature on the top 10 list of the worlds richest women released by Hurun. Nadar has a staggering net worth of Rs 3.5 lakh crore (US$ 40 billion), a large portion of which she inherited after her father and HCL founder Shiv Nadar transferred the majority stake in the company to her. She is now the third-richest person in India read more Roshni Nadar, daughter of Shiv Nadar, is currently the Chairperson of HCL Technologies, a global tech giant with a market valuation of $48 billion. Roshni Nadar, the Chairperson of HCL Technologies, has made history as the first Indian woman to break into the top 10 list of the worlds richest women. With a staggering net worth of Rs 3.5 lakh crore (US$ 40 billion), she now ranks fifth among the wealthiest women in the world, according to the latest Hurun Global Rich List 2025. Her rise to billionaire status was cemented when her father, Shiv Nadar, the founder of HCL Technologies, transferred a 47 per cent stake in the company to her. This move not only secured her place among Indias most powerful business leaders but also made her the third-richest person in the country in 2025. Advertisement But who exactly is Roshni Nadar? Heres a closer look at her journey and achievements. * Born in 1982, Roshni Nadar Malhotra is currently the Chairperson of HCL Technologies, a global tech giant with a market valuation of $48 billion. In addition to leading the company, she also heads its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Board Committee of the corporation. * Nadar pursued a degree in Communications from Northwestern University, US, before earning an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management in Illinois. She stepped into her father Shiv Nadars shoes in July 2020, taking over the leadership of the company he founded. Roshni Nadar stepped into her father Shiv Nadars shoes in July 2020, taking over the leadership of the company he founded. * According to a _Mint_ report, the 43-year-old is married to Shikhar Malhotra, who serves as the Vice Chairman of HCL Healthcare. The couple shares two children. * Beyond her corporate leadership, Nadar is deeply invested in philanthropy. She plays a key role in the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which runs various leadership and education initiatives across the country. Under her guidance, the foundation has established some of Indias top schools and colleges. She is also dedicated to wildlife conservation through The Habitats Trust. Roshni nadar was granted Frances highest civilian honour, Chevalier de la Legion dHonneur. ANI * Her contributions to social causes have earned her global recognition. In 2023, she was honoured with the Schaffner Award for her philanthropic efforts. Nadar is also a board member of The Nature Conservancy and serves on the Deans Advisory Council at the MIT School of Engineering. * Since 2017, Forbes has consistently ranked her among the top 100 most powerful women in the world. In 2024, she was further recognised with Frances highest civilian honour, Chevalier de la Legion dHonneur. * She also holds key global positions, including serving as a board member of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), further strengthening ties between the two nations. Other women on the Hurun Global rich list This year, the Hurun Global Rich List features 561 women, with 224 of them being self-made, highlighting the increasing presence of women in top economic positions worldwide. Among the wealthiest, several names stand out. Alice Walton (USA) US$102 billion Alice Walton, the richest woman in the world, is the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Thanks to a significant 46 per cent surge in Walmarts share price, her fortune has skyrocketed, securing her position at the top. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers (France) $67 billion As the heiress to LOreal, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers remains one of the wealthiest women globally. However, her net worth dropped by 26 per cent due to challenges in the global cosmetics market. Julia Koch & Family (USA) $60 billion After the passing of her husband, David Koch, Julia Koch inherited a significant fortune. The familys investments in Koch Industries continue to generate substantial profits, keeping her among the worlds top billionaires. Jacqueline Mars (USA) $53 billion Jacqueline Mars, the heiress to Mars Inc, saw her fortune grow by 33 per cent, largely due to the booming global pet food market, which has significantly boosted the companys revenues. Abigail Johnson (USA) $32 billion As the CEO of Fidelity Investments, Abigail Johnson has played a key role in expanding the companys influence. With nearly $400 billion in assets under management, her wealth saw a 14 per cent increase, securing her place among the richest women. Marilyn Simons & Family (USA) $31 billion Marilyn Simons, the widow of Renaissance Technologies founder James Simons, continues to manage and grow the familys wealth through strategic investments and philanthropy, keeping their fortune strong. Linda Stephens & Family (USA) $30 billion Making her debut in the top 10, Linda Stephens inherited her wealth from her late husband, Autry Stephens, the founder of Endeavor Energy Resources, a major player in the oil and gas industry. with input from agencies BBC correspondent Mark Lowen was deported from Turkey after being detained for 17 hours while covering mass protests triggered by the March 19 arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. Over 1,800 demonstrators have been detained, and Turkeys media regulator has imposed a 10-day blackout on opposition channels. Authorities claim Lowen lacked accreditation, while press freedom advocates denounce the expulsion read more Mark Lowen, journalist reports for the BBC in Istanbul, Turkey on March 24, 2025. X/marklowen BBC News correspondent Mark Lowen was arrested and subsequently deported from Turkey while reporting on nationwide protests sparked by the arrest of Istanbuls mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. Lowen, a seasoned journalist who previously lived in Turkey for five years, was taken from his hotel in Istanbul, detained for 17 hours, and then expelled from the country. Authorities cited him as a threat to public order, an accusation that has drawn widespread criticism from press freedom advocates and human rights groups. Advertisement Almost 2,000 people detained since protests began The protests in Turkey erupted following the detention of Imamoglu, a key political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu, who serves as the mayor of Istanbul, was arrested on corruption and terrorism-related charges, which he denies. His supporters argue that the charges are politically motivated and aimed at preventing him from challenging Erdogan in the 2028 presidential election. The arrest triggered some of Turkeys most significant demonstrations in over a decade. Large crowds gathered outside Istanbul City Hall, with the opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) leading rallies that reportedly drew hundreds of thousands of participants. Smaller protests also took place in Ankara and other cities. Turkish police responded with force, using tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to disperse demonstrators. The government has accused protesters of inciting violence and violating national values. According to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, at least 1,879 people have been detained since the protests began on March 19. Turkeys crackdown on the press Lowens deportation has amplified concerns about press freedom in Turkey. His arrest and removal from the country are seen as part of a broader crackdown on journalists covering the protests. The Turkish government maintains strict control over media outlets, and the states media regulator, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK), has imposed a 10-day broadcast suspension on Sozcu TV, an opposition news channel. Additionally, several other networks have been fined or ordered to halt specific programmes for their coverage of the unrest. The BBC expressed strong disapproval of Lowens deportation, with News chief executive Deborah Turness calling it extremely troubling. Some news about me: Yesterday (Wednesday) I was detained by police in Istanbul, held for 17 hours and then deported from Turkey to the UK. Told I was a threat to public order. In the country I lived in - and love. Journalism is not a crime. Heres the BBCs statement: pic.twitter.com/vhw7BHlbnn Mark Lowen (@marklowen) March 27, 2025 Advertisement She stated the corporations commitment to impartial reporting, stating, No journalist should face this kind of treatment simply for doing their job. We will continue to report impartially and fairly on events in Turkey. Lowen himself described the ordeal as extremely distressing, stating, To be detained and deported from the country where I previously lived for five years and for which I have such affection has been extremely distressing. Press freedom and impartial reporting are fundamental to any democracy. A press freedom crisis in Turkey? Turkey ranks 158th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The organisation condemned Lowens expulsion, calling on Turkish authorities to cease targeting journalists. RSFs representative in Turkey, Erol Onderoglu, stated, This professional journalist and specialist on Turkey, where he lived for five years, was accused of being a threat to public order for covering the protests in Istanbul. Advertisement RSF calls on the Turkish authorities to stop using the legal system to criminalise journalists and to lift the arbitrary bans on Mark Lowen and other foreign journalists entry into Turkish territory. Several other journalists covering the protests have also been detained. Agence France-Presse photographer Yasin Akgul was among those arrested and later released, though charges against him remain. Seven Turkish journalists who were jailed during the demonstrations are currently under investigation. Riot police officers use pepper spray to clear a protester during a protest after Istanbuls Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 23, 2025. File Image/AP The Turkish government, however, has dismissed allegations that it is curbing press freedom. Justice Minister Ylmaz Tunc defended the handling of Imamoglus case, asserting that the mayors arrest was based on serious charges and was not politically motivated. We absolutely reject any association of the probe with President Erdogan and any political motives behind the investigation, he stated. Tunc further justified the use of force against protesters, claiming that they were responsible for violence and attacks on law enforcement. Meanwhile, Turkeys Directorate of Communications stated that Lowen had entered the country without proper accreditation, leading to administrative action. The agency argued, As a result, administrative action was taken against him. Unfounded claims aimed at manipulating public opinion should not be given credit. Advertisement Turkeys track record on press freedom has been widely criticised by international organisations. Under laws passed in 2022, the government has , with social media platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube facing intermittent restrictions. Prominent accounts on X (formerly Twitter) have also been subject to censorship. Human rights organisations and foreign governments have condemned Lowens expulsion, warning that Turkeys treatment of journalists sets a dangerous precedent. Emma Sinclair-Webb, the Turkey director at Human Rights Watch, remarked, This sends a message to the rest of the international media that we will not tolerate you covering stories we dont want the world to see. Beyond the political turmoil, Turkeys financial markets have also reacted to the crisis. The lira plummeted following news of Imamoglus arrest, forcing the central bank to intervene by spending an estimated $25 billion of its reserves to stabilise the currency. Investors expressed concerns over the rule of law and the impact of political uncertainty on economic stability. While markets have shown signs of recovery following government assurances of continued economic reforms, uncertainty remains. Advertisement With inputs from agencies Donald Trump on Wednesday declared that the US would levy a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars and critical auto parts starting April 3. But which companies will be worst hit by the levies? What do experts say is in store for consumers? read more Jaguar Land Rover (Tata), which imports 100 per cent of the cars it sells in the US, could be badly affected. Reuters US President Donald Trumps new tariffs have left automakers reeling. Trump on Wednesday declared that the US would levy a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars and critical auto parts. The tariff is set to take effect on April 3. Though Trump has said the tariffs would be a net neutral or maybe good for Tesla," Elon Musk has claimed his EV firm will not go unscathed. But which carmakers will be worst hit by Trumps tariffs? Advertisement Lets take a closer look: What do we know? As per Hindustan Times, the US imports around seven million cars every year. Thats around half the vehicles sold in the country. The US imported $474 billion worth of automotive products in 2024, including passenger cars worth $220 billion. Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Germany, all close US allies, were the biggest suppliers. According to Axios, most imported vehicles come from the US neighbours Canada and Mexico. Axios quoted data from Wards Automotive and Barclays research as showing that EV makers Rivian and Tesla manufacture 100 per cent of their cars sold in the US within the country. Though these two companies will be least affected, they wont escape completely. This is because they will likely need to import important car parts from Mexico and Canada. Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant, Musk wrote on X Wednesday. To be clear, this will affect the price of parts in Tesla cars that come from other countries. The cost impact is not trivial, he wrote in a later post. Advertisement Though Donald Trump has said the tariffs would be a net neutral or maybe good for Tesla," Elon Musk has claimed his EV firm will not go unscathed. Reuters CBS quoted Art Wheaton, a transportation industry expert and director of labor studies at Cornells School of Industrial and Labor Relations, as saying that Tesla imports batteries from China so the tariffs will have an impact. UBS analysts also noted that Tesla rival Rivian could similarly be among the least effected. We believe TSLA and RIVN could fare better as 100 per cent of their production is in the US (though not all components), UBS analysts said in a research note. Patrick Masterson, lead researcher for the Cars.coms 2024 index of American-made cars, told BBC Tesla gets around 30 per cent of its parts from overseas. These companies are followed by Ford (78 per cent), Honda (64 per cent), Stellantis (57 per cent), Subaru (56 per cent) and Nissan (53 per cent). Ford is generally better placed to handle the tariffs, CBS quoted Cox Automotive analyst Erin Keating as saying. The impact is quite large, Wheaton said of Stellantis. Advertisement General Motors makes 52 per cent of its vehicles sold in America in the US. Wheaton said the legendary US firm, which manufactures classic brands such as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles has massive investments in Mexico and Canada. Hyundai-Kia (33 per cent), Mercedes (43 per cent), BMW (48 per cent) and Toyota (48 per cent) also make under half of their US-sold vehicles in America. Wheaten said Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia are principally susceptible to the new tariffs. Volvo (13 per cent), Mazda (19 per cent) and Volkswagen (21 per cent) make among the lowest share of their US-sold vehicles in America. Wheaton said BMW and Volkswagen will be hit heavily. The Volkswagen logo is seen at the companys plant in Emden, Germany. AP Jaguar Land Rover (Tata), which imports 100 per cent of the cars it sells in the US, could be badly affected. The US is not a significant export destination for Indias vehicle exports. However, Tata Motors could face an impact due to JLR, which derives over 30 per cent of its sales volume from the US market in FY25, Mrunmayee Jogalekar, auto analyst, Asit C Mehta Investment Interrmediates Ltd, told The Hindu. Advertisement With no manufacturing facility in the U.. all JLR vehicles will be subject to tariffs, which could impact pricing and profitability, she said. What do experts say? In all, its a bloodbath for all companies. I dont think any brands will be spared, because none are 100 per cent in the US, Wheaton told CBS. They all have products from Canada, Mexico or elsewhere. And even Tesla, which is the most American, still has non-US content in their vehicles. Affordable models most likely to be affected include the Honda CR-V, Chevy Trax, Subaru Forester, Chevy Equinox and Honda HR-V, said Keating. Experts say these tariffs are going to cost the consumer dearly. Car makers know they have certain vehicles in their portfolio that can tolerate lower profit margins, Keating said. Some vehicles may just prove to be too expensive, and most of those are affordable models manufactured outside the US. As per BBC, they say prices could increase between $4,000 (Rs 3.42 lakh) and 12,000 Rs (10.27 lakh). Advertisement Patrick Masterson, lead researcher for the Cars.coms 2024 index of American-made cars, told the outlet_,_ The consumer is going to feel it across the board and I really dont think that any automaker is going to be spared from this, Tesla included. Most car makers cant eat 25 per cent, they just cant, said Andy Palmer, former CEO of Aston Martin. That means car makers will pass on as much of the cost of tariffs as they can, including by removing features to lower their costs while also raising prices. Shares in automakers across the globe tumbled on Thursday, with US auto giant General Motors sliding 7 per cent in premarket trading and Ford Motor shedding about 4 per cent. As European markets opened, shares in Volkswagen, Europes top car maker, dropped 2 per cent, while those in luxury brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz fell about 3 per cent each. In Japan overnight, shares in Toyotafell 2.7 per cent, Honda 3 per cent and Nissan 2.2 per cent. Hyundai Motor and Kia dropped about 4 per cent each in South Korea. Advertisement With inputs from agencies A group of 100 Palestinian residents from Gaza are expected to leave the war-torn region for jobs in Indonesia. The move is part of an Israeli pilot programme aimed at promoting the voluntary migration of Palestinians from Gaza, according to local media reports. However, Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any discussions or agreements on relocating Palestinians to the country read more Under international law, those leaving Gaza for work are entitled to return. Reuters/File Photo For the first time, a group of 100 Palestinian residents from Gaza are expected to leave the war-torn region and travel to Indonesia for employment. The initiative is part of an Israeli pilot programme aimed at encouraging the voluntary migration of Palestinians from Gaza, The Times of Israel reported citing a Hebrew media report. The project is reportedly led by Major-General Ghassan Alian, head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), and is designed to facilitate the relocation of thousands of Gazans to Indonesia for work opportunities. Advertisement ALSO READ | How anti-Hamas protests in Gaza are a rare show of dissent What kind of jobs will be available, and what other details are known about the programme? Has Indonesia responded to these reports? Lets find out: Are Gazans flying to Indonesia for work? According to reports, a group of 100 Palestinian residents from Gaza are set to leave the region to take up jobs in Indonesia as part of a new pilot initiative. Most of them will be employed in the construction sector, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing a local media report. The initiative is aimed at encouraging the voluntary migration of Palestinians from Gaza. Reuters/File Photo Israel is said to be hopeful that if the programme proves successful, it could encourage thousands of Gazans to voluntarily relocate to Indonesia for employment, with the possibility of settling there permanently, which is subject to approval from Jakarta. Given that Israel and Indonesia, the worlds largest Muslim-majority nation, do not have formal diplomatic ties, a dedicated communication channel was reportedly set up between Jerusalem and Jakarta to facilitate the initiative, according to The Times of Israel. If the scheme is considered successful, a newly established migration administration will oversee its management, the report stated. ALSO READ | How a professor who fled Gaza continues to teach his students in the war-torn region Under international law, those leaving Gaza for work are entitled to return. However, local media said that the initiative is aimed at promoting long-term residence in Indonesia. Advertisement Israels Defence Minister Israel Katz, who is in charge of the programme, is expected to appoint Brigadier General (res.) Ofer Winter, a senior military figure known for his strong ties to the national religious community, to lead the effort. A United Nations assessment from September indicated that more than two-thirds of Gazas buildings have been either damaged or destroyed since the conflict began on October 7, 2023. The war took place after Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 hostages. Notably, local media reports suggest a sharp increase in the number of Gazans opting to emigrate. Since the beginning of the month, 1,000 residents have left the enclave, with an additional 600 expected to depart this week. Since the war broke out, a total of 35,000 Gazans have permanently left the territory. Those who have left so far include people seeking medical care along with their families, dual nationals, and residents holding permits from third countries. Advertisement There has been a sharp increase in the number of Gazans opting to emigrate. Reuters/File Photo What has Indonesia said about the reports? According to a report by Indonesia Business Post, Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied claims that any discussions or agreements have taken place regarding the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to the country. In a press release, Ministry spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat clarified the governments stance. ALSO READ | Can Trump really transform Gaza into Riviera of the Middle East? The Indonesian government has never discussed or received any information regarding the planned relocation of Gaza residents to Indonesia, as reported by some foreign media, it read. He said that Indonesia is currently focusing more on encouraging an agreement on the second phase of the ceasefire, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and ensuring that the reconstruction of the enclave begins immediately, according to the report. Jordan Bardella, leader of Frances far-right National Rally, attended an Israeli government conference on antisemitism, despite the partys origins in Nazi collaboration and Holocaust denial under founder Jean-Marie Le Pen. His presence sparked controversy with key figures like Anti-Defamation League chief Jonathan Greenblatt boycotting the event read more Leader of France's National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella visits a memorial for victims and hostages of the 2023 attacks by Palestinian militants, at the Supernova music festival site near kibbutz Re'im in southern Israel on March 26, 2025. File Image/Reuters The recent visit of Jordan Bardella, leader of Frances far-right National Rally (RN) party, to Israel has received mixed reactions from the Jewish community. Bardella attended an Israeli government-organised conference on antisemitism, a move that was unimaginable a generation ago given the origins of his party. The National Rally, previously known as the National Front, was founded in 1972 by Jean-Marie Le Pen, a figure known for his antisemitic and xenophobic rhetoric, along with Nazi collaborators. Advertisement His infamous description of the Holocausts gas chambers as remains a dark stain on the partys legacy. Despite the partys historical association with antisemitism, Bardellas presence at the conference was met with applause. His speech condemned antisemitism and anti-Zionism, calling for unity in fighting hatred. In the face of the disturbing resurgence of anti-Jewish hatred throughout Europe and the world, and in the face of terrorism that intends to destroy our lives and our values, we French believe more than ever in the imperative need for our nations to unite their voices and join forces in this fight. However, the event was overshadowed by a boycott from prominent Jewish figures, including Anti-Defamation League head Jonathan Greenblatt and French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, who withdrew in protest of the inclusion of far-right European politicians. What Bardellas presence in Israel means Bardellas participation in the conference marks a significant shift in political alignments. Historically, the Jewish community in France and beyond has viewed the far right with deep suspicion due to its associations with antisemitism. Yet, Bardella and Marine Le Pen, his predecessor, have worked to reshape the National Rallys image, moving away from overt antisemitic rhetoric and focusing instead on opposition to immigration and Islamism. This shift coincides with Israels evolving political landscape under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His administration has strengthened ties with right-wing movements across Europe, even those with controversial pasts. Advertisement Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli welcomed Bardella and other right-wing European politicians, defending their presence and accusing critics of spreading falsehoods against Israels allies. Bardellas speech highlighted his partys stance against radical Islam and immigration, blaming these factors for rising antisemitism in France. In the schools of the French republic, in some areas, the teaching of the Holocaust has become literally impossible, such is the extent to which the immigration policy pursued over the last 30 years has upset the great balances of our nation, he stated. He also condemned what he called the deadly honeymoon between Islamism and the extreme left. What Bardella and co. hope to achieve from this For Bardella and the National Rally, gaining legitimacy on the international stage is a strategic move. The party has spent years trying to shed its extremist image, and a public endorsement from Israel helps advance this agenda. Some political analysts suggest that Netanyahus government, which includes figures from Israels far right, sees a political advantage in engaging with European right-wing leaders. French Jews remain divided on the matter. While some have been drawn to the National Rallys tough stance on Islamism, leading Jewish organisations in France, such as the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions (CRIF), remain wary, reported CNN. Advertisement CRIF leader Yonathan Arfi noted that Jewish institutions have historically distrusted the far right, and Bardellas visit has done little to change that perception. How National Rally has fared under Bardella Bardella, born in 1995, joined RN as a teenager and quickly rose through the ranks under the mentorship of Marine Le Pen, who sought to rebrand the party by distancing it from its extremist past. In 2019, at just 23 years old, he became one of the youngest members of the European Parliament, and in 2022, he took over the partys leadership from Marine Le Pen, becoming its first non-Le Pen president. Bardellas rise to power represents a generational shift in the National Rallys leadership. Unlike his predecessors, he has no familial connection to the Le Pen name, making him a key figure in the partys attempt at rebranding. Under his leadership, the National Rally has gained substantial political influence, expanding its voter base and winning over a younger demographic. However, Bardellas past actions indicate that the partys transformation is not as complete as it claims. Earlier this year, he cancelled an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the United States after former Trump adviser Steve Bannon made a gesture that some likened to a Nazi salute. Advertisement Additionally, Bardellas eulogy for Jean-Marie Le Pen upon his death in January, in which he praised him as a defender of Frances identity and sovereignty, raised eyebrows among those who question whether the party has truly distanced itself from its founders legacy. Why Israel is engaging with Bardella The Israeli governments willingness to engage with figures like Bardella underscores a broader shift in the countrys political alliances. Netanyahus coalition includes figures such as Itamar Ben Gvir, a politician once deemed too extreme to serve in the Israeli military. This alignment with far-right European parties suggests a reconfiguration of Israels diplomatic strategy, prioritising alliances based on shared opposition to radical Islam and immigration over historical grievances. Critics argue that this move risks legitimising parties with deeply problematic pasts. Pierre-Stephane Fort, who investigated Bardella extensively, suggests that Netanyahus government likely waited until Jean-Marie Le Pens death to open the door for dialogue with the National Rally, ensuring that the association with its founder would not overshadow diplomatic efforts, reported Courthouse News Service. Also Watch: Bardellas visit to Israel is more than a symbolic gesture; it represents a convergence of political interests that would have been unthinkable in previous decades. With inputs from agencies Three Jammu and Kashmir policemen and three Pakistani terrorists were killed in a fierce gunfight in Kathua district on Thursday, Times of India reported. The clash erupted when security forces conducting a search operation in Sufain forest came under attack from militants hiding in the area. read more Three Jammu and Kashmir policemen were martyred in a day-long encounter with Pakistani terrorists on Thursday in Kathua district, Times of India reported. In a fierce battle, three terrorists were also shot dead by security forces. The clash began when security forces searching the Sufain forest came under fire from militants hiding in the area. DSP Dheeraj Katoch, two other policemen, and an Army soldier from 1 PARA (Special Forces) were also injured. Security forces have cordoned off the area and deployed reinforcements. Advertisement Officials confirmed that the slain policemen included a head constable and two constables. Their bodies are yet to be retrieved as the operation is still ongoing. Grenades and rocket fire caused multiple explosions during the encounter. The gunfire continued throughout the day, an official told Times of India. The official added that the wounded security personnel were taken to Kathua and Jammu hospitals, where they are reported to be in stable condition. The attackers are believed to be the same group that escaped after a brief gunfight on Sunday evening near Sanyal village in the Hiranagar sector, close to the Pakistan border. Sufains forests, where the encounter took place, are about 35km away from Sanyal. Security forces had surrounded a remote mountain hut, commonly used by nomadic herders, where the terrorists were hiding. However, they managed to escape, leading to a massive manhunt across the region. The search operation entered its fourth day, with the Army, NSG, BSF, CRPF, and J&K police using advanced surveillance tools, bulletproof vehicles, UAVs, drones, and sniffer dogs. On Monday, search teams recovered four loaded M4 carbine magazines, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, and IED-making materials. A major breakthrough came the next day when a woman in Dinga Amb village reported seeing two men in combat clothing asking for water. This prompted security forces to expand the search. Advertisement China now boasts the worlds largest navy, surpassing the US. Though the raw numbers of naval vessels do not reflect the quality or capabilities or other factors that can influence naval warfare, India and the US must keep a track and act accordingly read more Since the 1980s, under Deng Xiaopings leadership and continued by subsequent Chinese leaders, the country has gradually opened up to the world, embracing a unique market economy with Chinese characteristics. The economic growth and consequent trade required China to once again look to the sea. Without ceasing to be a continental (land) power, China began to develop all facets of maritime power with a target of being a great maritime power with enormous influence throughout the world in 40 years. The time has come. Today, China is getting closer to the United States, which has been the greatest maritime power for the last 80 years. Advertisement China now boasts the worlds largest navy, surpassing the US. While China has a numerical advantage, the US still holds a qualitative edge, particularly with its fleet of destroyers, guided missile cruisers, and aircraft carriers. However, the dominance of Chinese shipbuilding capacity is many times higher than that of the US. The Office of (US) Naval Intelligence has projected that China will have 475 battle force ships by 2035, while the US Navy will have around 310. A recent Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report notes that larger fleets won 25 out of 28 historical wars. Because the larger fleets have the ability to absorb more losses and keep fighting. That could pose a problem for the US. Chinas Early Maritime Decision In 2012, during the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the then outgoing President Hu Jintao made a clear call for China to become a leading maritime power. The issue became at the heart of the CCPs policy agenda. Hu identified four key elements for progress in this area: the ability to exploit ocean resources, the development of a maritime economy, the preservation of the marine environment, and the protection of Chinas maritime interests and rights. In 2013, shortly after assuming the presidency, Xi Jinping advocated that China had to become a truly great maritime power not only to consolidate its maritime dominance but also as part of a national strategy designed to link military issues with strategic interests relating to sovereignty, regime legitimacy and great power politics. Xi wanted to advance the development and exploitation of resources in areas over which he considered China had sovereign rights, such as the South China Sea (SCS). Advertisement What do we mean by maritime power? Maritime power is the freedom to carry out activities in the maritime domain. There are four elements of maritime power: naval forces (military domain), maritime entities, oceanic development, and maritime legal systems. The marine industry constitutes an important part of the countrys economy. It should have world-class maritime professionals in science and technology and the capacity to exploit marine resources in a sustainable manner. Its defence capabilities should be significant enough to defend national sovereignty, maritime interests and rights, and play an important role in safeguarding peace and promoting the international development of maritime affairs. China a Maritime or Continental Power? China has more than 22,000 km of land borders (with 14 countries, most importantly Russia and India) and a significant sea frontage on the Western Pacific, with a coastline of almost 15,000 km. Geopolitically, China has to manage the classic complex dichotomy of being a maritime or continental power. Traditionally it has been considered more a continental than a maritime power. Advertisement Furthermore, its access to the oceans is not entirely straightforward. Historically, and particularly over the last 600 years, China has been more concerned with its land borders than with its access to the sea. It had remained closed inwards to protect its land-based empire (built the Great Wall) and renounced its maritime aspirations and naval capabilities. With both India and Russia, Chinese relations have not been that trustworthy. Chinas exits to both the western Pacific through the first chain of islands and the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Malacca are highly insecure and threatened. China today claims a maritime boundary in the SCS based on historical rights and is in fact simply a reflection of the boundaries of some of the maritime areas that Admiral Zhengs fleet explored during the 14th century. The rise of China as a maritime power is driven more by markets for both raw materials and manufactured goods. Chinese shipbuilding capacity (shipyards), the merchant fleet, the fishing fleet, and the military element (PLAN) have all grown together in the last 40 years. China is already the worlds leading maritime power, even if it is not yet the worlds leading naval power. Advertisement Comparing the US and Chinese Fleets As per the CSIS report, the United States has more high-quality, influential large vessels than the Chinese. Destroyers in particular serve as the backbone of any modern fleet because of their ability to conduct a variety of missions with speed and range. Right now, the United States possesses 73 destroyers, whereas the Chinese have 42. Chinas destroyer fleet grew from 20 vessels in 2003 to 42 in 2023. In the last decade, China launched 23 destroyers to Americas 11. So they are catching up. While the US currently holds an advantage with respect to cruisers and destroyers, China has an advantage in frigates and corvettes smaller ships that can be used as escorts or fight in the littoral waters of the Indo-Pacific. Smaller ships are quicker to build and can be maintained in greater numbers. A destroyer or an aircraft carrier can take years to construct. Both the US and China are also seeking to develop armed naval surface and underwater systems smaller than the manned corvettes. Advertisement To offset Chinas naval quantity, the US is being forced to rely on regional partners like Japan and South Korea. The US and UK (AUKUS) are helping build Australian maritime power. India remains a significant member of the QUAD. Clearly all this dwarfs the Chinese numerical advantage. As of late 2024, the US Navy (USN) had 296 battle force ships, while Chinas navy has over 370. US ships are typically larger than Chinese vessels and have superior sensors, electronics, and weapons. Chinas Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) includes many smaller ships, such as corvettes, which are too small for high-seas operations. As many as 70 per cent of PLAN warships were launched after 2010, compared to just 25 per cent of USN ships, and they thus are younger and more modern. The USN has more aircraft carriers, more naval aircraft, and a larger Marine Corps. USN has a strong cyber command and global footprint. USN has global responsibilities, while PLAN focuses primarily on regional duties. Advertisement Chinas Shipbuilding and Shipping Push China is already building merchant and warships in the same shipyards, taking advantage of technology and manpower. China has many shipyards, including Dalian Shipbuilding, Jiangnan Shipyard, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Qingdao Beihai, Bohai, and Guangzhou Wenchong. Chinese shipyards are known for their efficiency and capacity and are a major player in the global shipbuilding industry. In terms of its merchant navy, China controls a fleet of more than 5,600 ships, with a transport capacity of 270 million tonnes, making it the second largest merchant ship owner in the world (after Greece). China wants a significant part of its maritime trade to be carried by Chinese-owned ships, owned by Chinese companies (though not necessarily under a Chinese flag). In addition, China builds, manages and maintains a growing and very significant number of merchant ports all over the world. With more than 100 ports in 63 countries, seven of the ten most important and busiest ones in the world are Chinese. Some analysts believe that this control of civilian ports around the world will eventually allow China to provide support (including maintenance) to military vessels when necessary. All this growth has happened with direct Chinese state support for the industry. China has by far the largest fishing fleet in the world, with some estimates at 800,000 vessels, and is responsible for half the worlds catch. The growth of this has been due to state subsidies. China is the worlds largest consumer of fish, accounting for more than a third of the global total. Fisheries are an essential element of national food security objectives, so the size and capacity of their fishing fleet and its protection are national interests. Military Element of Maritime Power The most important element of maritime power is the PLAN, its coastguard and the maritime militia. PLAN has transformed in just a few years from a coastal navy (near seas) to one capable of operating in far seas. China has surpassed the US in the number of naval units. The former has around 370 vessels and a forecast of around 440 by 2030, while the latter has around 300, though still at an advantage in terms of capacity and tonnage. The USN has much greater high-intensity battle capacity with 67 nuclear submarines, 11 aircraft carriers, and 111 escorts. China has more than 80 world-class frigates and destroyers, increasingly capable and relevant amphibious units and a growing submarine force. PLAN submarines are known to be based on the old Russian designs and have high noise levels. Similarly, vessel sophistication is still evolving and some way off. Chinas coastguard is the largest in the world, with more than 225 vessels of at least 500 tonnes displacement capable of operating on the high seas and another 1,000 smaller vessels for coastal waters. There is also the so-called maritime militia, an irregular force based on civilian vessels that supports oceanic defence normally integrated into the fishing community. China wants to be a great maritime power as a way to overcome the humiliations caused by the Western powers in the 19th century. It will use the same tools with which China was humiliated and not be humiliated again. The US wants to contain China as a continental power, thereby preventing it from expanding its political and military influence to neighbouring littorals. To annex Taiwan and to contain Japan and other US allies in the region, Xi wants to implement his idea of a great maritime power. Chinas maritime claims can be interpreted as a sort of Chinese version of the 1983 American Monroe Doctrine, which the US used to dissuade European powers from interfering in the seas that the US considered its natural sphere of influence. China aims to reclaim maritime spaces in the South China Sea through historical influence under a sort of Asia for Asians doctrine. This has already been rejected by Japan, South Korea and Australia, which is causing strong tensions in the region. Belt and Road Initiative and Hybrid Power Then there is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which seeks to create overland infrastructure linking China to Europe via Central Asia, and the Road part of which seeks a maritime silk road linking China to Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa, with ports and bases in the Indian Ocean. China is thus trying to become the first hybrid continental and maritime great power. The initiative, however, is facing headwinds due to a number of problems, including mistrust of China by several of the countries involved, especially the debt trap, which involves lending money to the country where the infrastructure has been built for its implementation, but when the country cannot pay back the loans, China takes sovereignty over the infrastructure. This is compounded by a dismal human rights record in this initiative. Slowdown of Economy In terms of resources and economics, China has a significant lack of water and energy, which also translates into a clear relative slowdown of its economy, from 14 per cent growth in the 2000s to 6 per cent and below since 2019. The demographic problem means that between now and 2050, China will lose 200 million adult-aged working citizens and increase the number of retired people by a similar number. This will lead to enormous social and health care costs. All this will impact trade, shipping and maritime power. Indian Shipbuilding Industry Indias shipbuilding industry is growing, with major shipyards in Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Kolkata, Goa and Mumbai. Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) at Kochi is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India. It has built big vessels up to 120,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) capacity and has delivered two of Indias largest double-hull Aframax tankers, each of 95,000 DWT. CSL built Indias first indigenous aircraft carrier. INS Vikrant is the largest warship built by CSL. It has performed major overhauls for the aircraft carrier INS Viraat. CSL has secured shipbuilding orders from internationally renowned companies from Europe and the Middle East. Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is a defence public sector undertaking (DPSU) shipyard located in Visakhapatnam, on the east coast of India. HSL is a major shipyard with the capacity to manufacture vessels and repair ships up to 80,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT). It also conducts major overhauls of Indian Navy submarines and is being equipped to construct nuclear-powered submarines. The shipyard is the second biggest after Cochin Shipyard. The Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy. It also builds tankers, cargo bulk carriers, passenger ships and ferries. Goa Shipyard, unlike Cochin Shipyard and Hindustan Shipyard, cannot manufacture big vessels of capacity above 15,000 DWT. Their future plans are to build Mine Counter-Measure Vessels, Talwar-class frigates, and fast patrol boats. To Summarise Chinas ascent as a maritime power has attracted significant attention, both regionally and globally. Through the expansion of its naval capabilities, advancement of marine industries, and modernisation of maritime infrastructure, China has significantly increased its maritime prowess, extending its reach far beyond its coastal waters. Its growing presence in the East and South China Seas, as well as the Indo-Pacific region, remains a focal point in geopolitics. The raw numbers of naval vessels do not reflect the quality or capabilities or other factors that can influence naval warfare. USN ships are typically larger than Chinese vessels and have superior sensors, electronics, and weapons. The Chinese submarine force consists mostly of conventional diesel-powered submarines, whereas the 49 attack submarines in the USN are nuclear-powered and far more capable. Similarly, there is a huge disparity in the number of aircraft carriers and larger, more powerful warships, such as cruisers and destroyers. US naval personnel have continuous combat experience for over a century that the PLAN lacks. Chinas massive shipbuilding capacity does give a numerical edge and also offers important advantages in a long war. Most of Chinas current production comprises commercial shipping vessels. Modern warships are much more complex to build, but China is catching up on that count. But larger capacities of shipbuilding are important for war potential and surge production. Beijing is beginning to build more aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines too, and in about half the time it currently takes US shipyards to build the same types of vessels. Matching Chinas shipbuilding capacities may not be a great idea for the US. US allies could take up some of the slack. South Korea and Japan are the second and third largest shipbuilders in the world, respectively. But their exposure to Chinese attacks poses strategic risks. Should the US build smaller, missile-armed combatants similar to the many corvettes that the Chinese build and invest in relatively inexpensive unmanned vessels to use in innovative ways alongside regular navy ships? Indias shipbuilding capacities have to increase greatly. India needs many more submarines, and also, a decision for the next aircraft carrier must be taken since it could take over a decade to build. China is pushing ahead. Time to act is now. The writer is former Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. PM Modi will visit Thailands capital city, Bangkok, from April 3 to 4 at the invitation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to attend the 6th BIMSTEC Summit read more A rescuer walks at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday. AP Indian Foreign Secretary Jaideep Muzumdar on Friday said that the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be held as usual after a 7.7 magnitude struck Myanmar followed by tremors in Thailand. We are in touch with authorities in Bangkok. Nothing to indicate any impact it will have on the summit, Mazumar said. PM Modi will visit Thailands capital city, Bangkok, from April 3 to 4 at the invitation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to attend the 6th BIMSTEC Summit. Advertisement A massive earthquake on Friday turned a major hospital in Myanmars capital into a mass casualty area, while at least three people were killed and dozens trapped in neighbouring Thailand when a skyscraper collapsed. The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing, central Myanmar, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock, toppling buildings, rupturing roads and collapsing the well-known Ava bridge. In Thailand, a 30-storey building under construction collapsed in Bangkok. Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters at least three workers had been killed, with 81 more trapped inside. Across Bangkok and the northern tourist destination of Chiang Mai, where the power briefly went out, stunned residents hurried outside, unsure of how to respond to the unusual quake. Meanwhile, PM Modi has announced that India is ready to offer any kind of assistance Myanmar needs at this time, adding that the Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with its administration. The Indian Embassy in Bangkok said, Indian Embassy is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the Thai authorities. So far, no untoward incident involving any Indian citizen has been reported. Advertisement With inputs from agencies Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has declared that the countrys close ties with the United States are over as a trade war escalates due to new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. His statement comes as Japan, Germany, and France criticised Trumps latest car import tariffs, with some allies warning of possible retaliation. read more Canada's 'old relationship' with the US is over: PM Carney amid tensions over Trump's tariffs. Reuters Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the countrys close ties with the United States are over amid an ongoing trade war which was sparked by sweeping tariffs from the Trump administration. This comes as leaders from Japan, Germany, and France criticised Donald Trumps new car import tariffs, with some allies warning of possible retaliation. Mark Carney cautioned Canadians that Trump had permanently changed relations, and even future trade deals would not restore past ties. Advertisement The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening economic integration and close security and military cooperation, is over, he said. The Canadian PM also described Trumps car tariffs as unjustified and said they violated existing trade agreements. Carney plans to meet provincial leaders and business heads on Friday to discuss a response, with countermeasures expected next week. We will fight these tariffs with our own trade actions, Carney said. Our goal is to hit the US hard while minimising the impact on Canada. Trumps tariffs on car imports Earlier, Trump announced on Wednesday that a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars and parts will take effect from 3 April. Experts warn this could reduce production, increase prices, and escalate a global trade war. Last year, the US imported nearly $475 billion worth of cars, mainly from Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Germany. European manufacturers alone sold over 750,000 vehicles in the US. Trade war between US, Canada The US has already imposed 25 per cent tariff on some Canadian goods, along with the same duty on all aluminium and steel imports. In response, Canada has placed about C$60bn (42bn USD) in tariffs on US products. The new car tariffs will take effect on 2 April, with import charges on vehicles starting the next day, according to the White House. Taxes on car parts will begin in May or later. The US administration conducted a door-to-door survey in Greenland to ask whether they want to receive a visit from the Second Lady Usha Vance read more US Vice President JD Vance with his wife Usha Vance will visit Greenland on March 28. File image/AP US President Donald Trump seems to be adamant about seizing Greenland in the name of international security and will likely only rest after the acquisition is complete. He has been relentlessly pitching the idea of buying Greenland despite opposition from the government and the countrys citizens, so much so that he is sending his vice president to take stock of the situation. JD Vance and the second lady of the US, Usha Vance, will be flying down to Greenland on Friday, but no one really wants to meet her. A report by Danish TV 2 says that the US administration conducted a door-to-door survey in Greenland to ask whether they want to receive a visit from Usha Vance. Their response? No, thanks. Advertisement Ahead of her prominent visit to the island, the Second Lady is facing not only local disapproval but also a withdrawal of support from Tupilak Travel. Based in Nuuk, Greenlands capital, the company had initially agreed to host Usha Vance but decided to back out on Thursday. The company said in a statement, After closer consideration, however, we have now informed the consulate that we do not want her visit, as we cannot accept the underlying agenda and will not be part of the press show that, quite, of course, comes with it. No thanks to nice visit Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. JD and Usha Vances visit US Vice President JD Vance will tour a US military base in Greenland with his wife Usha Vance. Trump insisted on Wednesday that the United States needed the vast Arctic island for national and international security, and has previously refused to rule out the use of force to get it. The couple will only visit the US-run Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the island, accompanied by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The delegation is to meet with US Space Force members and check out whats going on with the security of Greenland, Vance said in a video message. Unacceptable pressure Greenlanders have joined its governments protest against the Vance couples visit, with many citizens saying they will not be welcoming the US delegation to their country. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounced plans by a US delegation to visit the Arctic island uninvited for what was initially a much broader visit to Greenlandic society as unacceptable pressure on Greenland and Denmark. Advertisement With inputs from agencies President Trump said on Thursday that larger tariffs could be placed on the European Union and Canada if they both work together to do economic harm to the USA. read more The European Union is assessing potential concessions to offer the Trump administration in an effort to secure a partial rollback of US tariffs, which have already begun impacting the blocs exports and are set to rise after April 2. During meetings in Washington this week, EU officials were informed that the upcoming auto and reciprocal tariffsset to be imposed by Trump next weekcould not be avoided, according to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the discussions. Talks also touched upon the framework for a possible agreement to mitigate these trade measures. Advertisement The move prompted the European Commission, which oversees the EUs trade policy to start drafting a term sheet outlining areas for negotiation. This document is expected to include proposals such as reducing certain EU tariffs, promoting mutual investment with the US and adjusting regulations and standards. Bloomberg cited sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Higher tariffs could be placed on the European Union and Canada if they both work together to do economic harm to the USA, President Trump said on Thursday. If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had, he said in a post on Truth Social. On Wednesday, Trump unveiled a 25% tariff on imported vehicles, expanding a global trade war and prompting criticism and threats of retaliation from affected U.S. allies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the move as bad for businesses, worse for consumers, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney labelled the tariffs a direct attack on Canadian workers and said retaliatory measures were being considered. The new levies on cars and light trucks will take effect on April 3, the day after Trump plans to announce reciprocal tariffs aimed at the countries responsible for the bulk of the US trade deficit. They come on top of duties already introduced on steel and aluminium, and on goods from Mexico, Canada and China. Advertisement Earlier this month, the US imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports, prompting the EU to draft retaliatory duties on up to 26 billion worth of politically sensitive American goods. The EU has been consulting with member states and industries on a targeted list, with a final response expected by mid-April following a vote around April 9, according to sources. In response, Trump has warned of a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne, and other alcoholic beverages if the EU proceeds with its planned levy on American whiskey exports, which is set to take effect on April 14. However, the EU is unlikely to act immediately on the reciprocal tariffs, as officials want time to evaluate the full extent of Washingtons measures. EU trade ministers are scheduled to meet on April 7 to discuss the U.S. tariffs and formulate a potential response. With inputs from agencies Greenlands Democrats and three more parties announced a government coalition agreement on Friday, just hours before a visit by US Vice President JD Vance to the Arctic island that President Donald Trump has expressed interest in acquiring read more Leader of the Democrats (Demokraatit) party and Greenland's Prime Minister-elect Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland's Prime Minister and Leader of the IA party Mute B. Egede, Chairperson of Siumut party Vivian Motzfeldt, and Leader of the Atassut party Aqqalu Jerimiassen attend a ceremony to sign a coalition agreement, in Nuuk, Greenland, on Friday. Reuters Greenlands Democrats and three more parties announced a government coalition agreement on Friday, just hours before a visit by US Vice President JD Vance to the Arctic island that President Donald Trump has expressed interest in acquiring. The new majority government will be headed by Democrats leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who had urged parties to set aside disagreements and form a broad coalition to show unity amid Trumps campaign to annex the semi-autonomous Danish territory. Advertisement The pro-business Democrats, which favour a slow independence from Denmark, emerged as the biggest party as it tripled its representation to 10 seats in a March 11 general election. The coalition, which spans much of the political spectrum, represents 23 of the 31 parliamentary seats. The Naleraq party, a staunch pro-independence party that doubled its seats to eight in the election, will not be part of the coalition. India and Sri Lanka are also likely to firm up a raft of other bilateral agreements including one on restructuring Sri Lankas debt following talks between Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka in Colombo on April 5. read more In a major shift in bilateral security ties amid Chinas growing military presence in the region, India and Sri Lanka are set to sign their first-ever defence cooperation agreement during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Colombo next week. In addition to the defence pact, both nations are expected to finalise several agreements, including a deal on restructuring Sri Lankas debt, following talks between Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on April 5. Advertisement Modi will arrive in Sri Lanka on April 4 for a three-day visit after concluding his trip to Thailand. At a media briefing Friday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) on defence cooperation is expected to be inked and it is being signed for the first time. If signed, the agreement would mark a new phase in India-Sri Lanka defence ties, moving beyond the historical tensions following Indias withdrawal of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) from Sri Lanka nearly 35 years ago. Finer details of the proposed defence pact are not immediately available but it is expected to enhance the two-way defence engagements against the backdrop of Chinas increasing presence in the Indian Ocean Region. The docking of Chinese missile and satellite tracking ship Yuan Wang at Hambantota port in August 2022 had triggered a diplomatic row between India and Sri Lanka. Another Chinese warship docked at the Colombo port in August 2023. Sri Lanka is an integral part of our Neighbourhood First policy and the relationship, based on mutual trust and good will, has stood the test of time, Misri said on the overall relations. Modis visit will focus on promoting investments and deepening connectivity physical connectivity, digital connectivity, energy connectivity and boost cooperation in various other domains, he said. Advertisement Modi will be the first foreign leader to be hosted by Disanayaka in his capacity as the Sri Lankan president. Modi last travelled to Sri Lanka in 2019. The prime ministers trip to Sri Lanka comes over three months after Disanayaka visited India during which he categorically conveyed to Modi that the island nation will not allow its territory to be used against New Delhis security interests. India has come to the assistance of Sri Lanka at critical moments, most recently during the unprecedented economic crisis that it faced in 2022, Misri said. India was glad to be able to play a key role in economic stabilisation and recovery of Sri lanka, demonstrating its commitment as a dependable neighbour to Sri Lanka, he said. Misri said Modis visit to the island nation comes in the context of a recovering Sri Lankan economy. As Sri Lanka resumes its growth path, the visit is coming at an opportune moment for giving the two countries an opportunity to explore new areas of partnership and cooperation, he added. Advertisement Sri Lanka was reeling under a massive economic crisis two years back and India extended financial assistance worth USD 4.5 billion to the country. The foreign secretary said Modi is expected to raise the fishermen issue during his talks with Disanayaka. This is a longstanding issue, he said, adding India has been highlighting the need to avoid use of force under all circumstances. The foreign secretary said a long-lasting solution can be found through constructive engagement. In Colombo, Modi and Disanayaka will dedicate several projects that are being built in that country with Indias assistance. We will also witness exchange of several MoUs pertaining to energy connectivity, digitisation, health and multi-sectoral grant assistance, Misri said. The two leaders will also witness the virtual ground breaking of the Sampur solar energy project. This is in many senses going to be a milestone in the bilateral partnership, Misri said. Modi is also scheduled to meet several political leaders. On April 6, Modi and Disanayaka will travel together to the historic city of Anuradhapura where they will pay their respects at the Mahabodhi temple. Advertisement They will also jointly inaugurate two India-assisted projects there, according to Misri. India- Sri Lanka bilateral ties witnessed an upward trajectory in the last few years. With inputs from agencies The Embassy of India in Bangkok has issued an emergency contact number for Indian nationals in Thailand following a strong earthquake centered in Myanmar that also shook neighboring Thailand read more A rescuer walks at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday. AP The Embassy of India in Bangkok has issued an emergency contact number for Indian nationals in Thailand following a strong earthquake centered in Myanmar that also shook neighboring Thailand. Indian citizens can reach the emergency helpline at +66 618819218 in case of any emergencies. After powerful earthquake tremors recorded in Bangkok and in other parts of Thailand, the Embassy is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the Thai authorities. So far, no untoward incident involving any Indian citizen has been reported. In case of any emergency, India in Thailand (@IndiainThailand) March 28, 2025 Advertisement Taking to X, the embassy said, After powerful earthquake tremors recorded in Bangkok and in other parts of Thailand, the Embassy is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the Thai authorities. So far, no untoward incident involving any Indian citizen has been reportedAll members of the Indian Embassy in Bangkok and Consulate in Chiang Mai are safe. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over the situation, assuring Indias readiness to assist affected nations. Concerned by the situation in the wake of the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Also asked the MEA to remain in touch Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 28, 2025 Concerned by the situation in the wake of the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Praying for the safety and well-being of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Also asked the MEA to remain in touch with the governments of Myanmar and Thailand, PM Modi posted on X. Advertisement The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, originating in Myanmar, was followed by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock, leading to strong tremors throughout the region. With inputs from agencies Israels military said early Friday two projectiles were fired towards Israel, with one intercepted and the other falling inside Lebanon read more Firefighters spray water on a burning car at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on March 28, 2025. AFP Israel made good on its threat Friday to strike Beirut after rockets were fired towards its territory, rattling an already fragile truce in Lebanon that had largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. It was the second time rockets had been launched at Israel from Lebanon since the November ceasefire, and the second time the Iran-backed Hezbollah denied involvement. After the attack, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said: If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut either. Hours later, the Israeli military carried out its first strike in the capitals southern suburbs since the ceasefire after urging residents close to a building there to leave, warning they were near Hezbollah facilities and must immediately evacuate. Advertisement It said the attack targeted a site used to store UAVs by Hezbollahs Aerial Unit (127) in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut, which Israel bombed heavily during its war with the group last year. Israels warning sparked panic in the densely populated area, with parents rushing to pick up their children from schools that quickly shut, AFP correspondents said. Heavy traffic clogged roads as many residents tried to flee. Israels military said early Friday two projectiles were fired towards Israel, with one intercepted and the other falling inside Lebanon. It later announced it was striking Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah said it confirms the partys respect for the ceasefire agreement and denies any involvement in the rockets launched today from the south of Lebanon. The groups leader, Naim Qassem, had been expected to give a speech in the southern suburbs later Friday, but Hezbollah said the event had now been cancelled. Katz said Lebanons government bears direct responsibility for any fire toward the Galilee. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged his army chief to act quickly to uncover those behind the irresponsible rocket fire that threatens Lebanons stability and arrest them. Advertisement Schools closed The November ceasefire largely ended the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, although Israel has continued to conduct occasional strikes in southern Lebanon. French President Emmanuel Macron called the reported Israeli air strike on Lebanon unacceptable and a violation of the ceasefire. France is on the committee tasked with overseeing the ceasefire. Fridays rocket fire came after Israeli strikes Thursday killed six people in the south, with Israel saying it had targeted Hezbollah members. NNA reported Israeli attacks in several parts of the south Friday. It said a strike on Kfar Tebnit southeast of Nabatiyeh killed one person and wounded 18, including three children. It also reported shelling in Naqura, where the UN peacekeeping mission is based. UN special envoy for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called the flare-up deeply concerning and urged restraint. A return to wider conflict in Lebanon would be devastating for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line and must be avoided at all costs, she said. The NNA also reported raids on the Jezzine region north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the border with Israel. Advertisement Schools closed in the Nabatiyeh area, an AFP correspondent said, as did some in Tyre which was hit by a deadly Israeli strike last weekend. I decided to bring my children to school in spite of the situation, but the administration told me they had closed it after the Israeli threats and I had to take them back home, father of four Ali Qassem told AFP. Escalation Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023 in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian groups unprecedented attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The cross-border hostilities ultimately escalated into all-out war, with Israel conducting an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sending in ground troops. The truce brought a partial Israeli withdrawal, although its troops still hold five positions in south Lebanon that are deemed strategic, even after the pullout deadline. Last weekend saw the most intense escalation since the truce, with Israeli strikes in the south after rocket fire killing eight people, according to Lebanese officials. Hezbollah had also denied any involvement in that rocket attack, calling Israels accusations pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon. Advertisement Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its forces north of the Litani, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. Israel has also recently resumed intensive military operations in Gaza, shattering weeks of relative calm brought on by a January ceasefire with Hamas. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict exploded into all-out war last September when Israel carried out waves of airstrikes and killed most of the militant groups senior leaders. The fighting killed over 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about 60,000 Israelis. read more Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, March 28, 2025. Image- AP Israel launched an airstrike on Beirut for the first time since the November ceasefire that ended its latest conflict with Hezbollah. The strike targeted a Hezbollah drone storage facility in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb considered a stronghold of the terrorist group. The Israeli military said the attack followed warnings for residents to evacuate, accusing Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields. While Israel has carried out near-daily strikes in southern Lebanon, this marks its first assault on the Lebanese capital since hostilities paused last year. Advertisement Will strike everywhere in Lebanon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Friday that Israel will strike everywhere in Lebanon against any threat, after the first strike on south Beirut since a November ceasefire with militants Hezbollah. The equation has changed we will not allow any fire on our communities, Netanyahu said in a statement. We will continue to enforce the ceasefire with force, strike everywhere in Lebanon against any threat to the State of Israel, and ensure that all our residents in the north return safely to their homes, he added. Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January. The deadline was extended to Feb. 18, but Israel has remained in five border locations while carrying out dozens of strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon. Last week, Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Lebanon killed six people. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the Beirut strike a dangerous escalation and French President Emmanuel Macron said it violated the truce. UN special envoy for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called the cross-border exchange of fire deeply concerning and urged restraint by all sides. A return to wider conflict in Lebanon would be devastating for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line and must be avoided at all costs, she said. With inputs from agencies A bombshell report revealed Israel gathered sensitive information from a human source in Yemen and US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz described it in an unclassified Signal chat with other officials from US President Donald Trumps administration read more US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaks in front of a scale model of the Iwo Jima Memorial as US President Donald Trump meets with US ambassador nominees at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 25, 2025. (Photo: Reuters) As the White House struggles to navigate the Signal chat leak scandal, a bombshell report suggested that Israel provided sensitive intelligence to the US in its recent operations against Houthis in Yemen. According to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal, Israel gathered sensitive information from a human source in Yemen and described it to US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in an unclassified Signal chat with other officials from US President Donald Trumps administration. Advertisement Shortly after the US strike began in Yemen, Waltz texted in the chat that a key target of the attacks, a Houthi missile expert, was located entering his girlfriends building, which he mentioned was destroyed in the strikes. A US official close to the matter told WSJ that following the leak, Israeli officials have privately complained to the US officials that Waltzs texts have become public. The latest information that Israel reportedly helped the US to track Houthi militants in Yemen highlights the sensitivity of some of the disclosures in the group chat. The report is also coming at a time when almost all Trump officials have held the contention that no classified information was shared on the Signal chat, a publicly available nongovernmental app. Officials keep mum In the leaked chat, US Vice President JD Vance was reportedly seen asking Waltz the immediate results of the US strikes on Houthis. In response to this, the national security adviser shared that the Houthi missile expert was targeted in the attack. The first targettheir top missile guywe had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriends building and it is now collapsed, Waltz wrote, without disclosing the source of the information. While Waltz did not reveal the source of information, he mentioned in another text that the US has multiple positive IDs. The name of the Israeli source in Yemen was also not revealed in the chats. However, Trump officials did discuss how the US also received intelligence about the targets struck in the attack from surveillance drones flying over Yemen. When WSJ asked Waltzs office if it was Israel which provided the US with information about the Houthi missile expert, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said, No classified information was included in the thread. He went on to echo the comments made by National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said, No classified information was included in the thread. Advertisement Meanwhile, Israels prime ministers office, the Israeli embassy in Washington and other Trump officials declined to comment on the matter. Amid the chaos, current and former US officials argued that intelligence leaks could compromise foreign intelligence sources and make other nations reluctant to share such sensitive information. In response to these assertions, Trump officials have said that in recent weeks, they have redoubled their efforts to prevent leaks of classified information. Leaders across Europe have been condemning the large-scale protests with French President Emmanuel Macron sharply rebuking Ankara over its systematic attacks on opposition figures, civil society, freedom of assembly and the Istanbul mayors arrest and jailing read more Istanbul Mayor and Republican People's Party, or CHP, candidate Ekrem Imamoglu take photographs with supporters during a campaign rally in Istanbul, Turkey. File image/ AP Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, who is now in jail, had said that his lawyer has also been taken into custody on false pretenses. There is no end to lies or slander This time, my lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was detained on fictitious grounds, Imamoglu said late on Thursday. He added, As if the coup against democracy was not enough, they cannot tolerate the victims of this coup defending themselves. They want to add a legal coup to the coup against democracy. The evil that a handful of incompetent people are inflicting on our country is growing. Release my lawyer immediately. Advertisement Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet reports that Pehlivan was taken to a police station for processing after his arrest, though no formal charges have been disclosed yet. Media crackdown Meanwhile, in Istanbul, which has been rocked by widespread protests over its mayors arrest, authorities have stepped up their crackdown on both student protesters and press coverage of the mass demonstrations. Its a bit scary today, there are too many police, a 21-year-old protester called Raftel told AFP at a rally in Istanbul, his face covered by a mask. Were here for our rights but Im scared, he said, his words echoing the unease felt by thousands of young demonstrators who are still flooding Istanbuls streets, eight days after the arrest of its mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. BBC correspondent Mark Lowen was removed from his hotel in Istanbul on Wednesday and held for 17 hours before being deported, with authorities citing that he posed a threat to public order, according to the broadcaster, which described the incident as an extremely troubling incident. Europe slams Erdogan Leaders across Europe have been condemning the large-scale protests with French President Emmanuel Macron sharply rebuking Ankara over its systematic attacks on opposition figures, civil society, freedom of assembly and the Istanbul mayors arrest and jailing. Britain also weighed in after Turkey deported a BBC journalist covering the protests, saying it expected Ankara to ensure the upholding of the rule of law, including timely and transparent judicial processes, a foreign ministry spokesperson said. With inputs from AFP Upon arriving in Greenland on Friday, US Vice President JD Vance said that US interest in Arctic security will increase over the coming decades, indicating that President Trumps efforts to assert American control over the semi-autonomous Danish territory will continue unabated read more US Vice President JD Vance with second lady Usha Vance, speaks with soldiers at the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday. Reuters Upon arriving in Greenland on Friday, US Vice President JD Vance said that US interest in Arctic security will increase over the coming decades, indicating that President Donald Trumps efforts to assert American control over the semi-autonomous Danish territory will continue unabated. Were going to talk, as youve heard, about some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration, The Guardian quoted Vance as saying, indicating that the topic would be addressed with members of the media. Advertisement _"_The Trump administration, the President is really interested in Arctic security. As you all know, its a big issue, and its only gonna get bigger over the coming decades," added Vance. Vance made these remarks at the US military base in Pituffik, where he greeted members of the armed forces shortly after his arrival, thanking them for their service at the remote base, situated 750 miles (1,200 km) north of the Arctic Circle. His visit came just hours after a new broad government coalition was announced in the capital, Nuuk, aiming to maintain ties with Denmark for the time being. Its cold as shit here. Nobody told me, Vance said, prompting laughs, adding it was his first visit to the island. The outside temperature at Pituffik was minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-19 C). Greenlands new prime minister said the US visit signalled a lack of respect and called for unity in the face of pressure from outside. Denmarks king issued a statement of support on social media. We live in an altered reality. There should be no doubt that my love for Greenland and my connectedness to the people of Greenland are intact, King Frederik said. The US delegation also includes Vances wife Usha, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The initial plan for the trip had been for Vances wife to visit a dog-sled race on the island together with Waltz, even though they were not invited by authorities in either Greenland or Denmark. Advertisement Public protests and outrage from authorities in both Greenland and Denmark prompted the U.S. delegation to only fly to the military base and not meet the public. Under the terms of a 1951 agreement, the US is entitled to visit its base whenever it wants, as long as it notifies Greenland and Copenhagen. Pituffik is located along the shortest route from Europe to North America and is vital for the US ballistic missile warning system. Trump reiterated his desire to take over Greenland as recently as Wednesday, saying the US needs the strategically located island for national and international security. So, I think well go as far as we have to go. We need Greenland and the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark, he said. The island, whose capital is closer to New York than the Danish capital Copenhagen, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth, but development has been slow and the mining sector has seen very limited US investment. Mining companies operating in Greenland are mostly Australian, Canadian or British. Advertisement A White House official has said Greenland has an ample supply of rare earth minerals that would power the next generation of the US economy. With inputs from agencies West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees speech at Oxford Universitys Kellogg College was disrupted by protests, with audience members raising slogans and questioning her government. In response, Banerjee held up an old photo of herself from the 1990s, claiming it as proof of an attack against her in the past. read more West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced protests and interruptions during her speech at Oxford Universitys Kellogg College, as audience members disrupted her with questions and slogans. VIDEO | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's speech at Kellogg College, Oxford University in #London was disrupted briefly after a group of protesters raised slogans over the issues of Bengal post-poll violence and RG Kar College case. (Source: Third Party) (Full video available pic.twitter.com/xtbJKoW2bk Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 28, 2025 Advertisement In response to the heckling, Banerjee dramatically held up an old photo of herself from the early 1990s, showing her with a bandaged head. She claimed it as proof of an attempt to kill her when she was in the opposition. Tell your party to increase its strength in our state (West Bengal) so they can fight with us, the Chief Minister told the protesters. Protests were held during Mamata Banerjee's speech at Kellogg College, Oxford this evening, disrupting the event. pic.twitter.com/uovvF08Xo1 Naomi Canton (@naomi2009) March 28, 2025 The disruptions began when Banerjee spoke about Bengals development and investment opportunities. An audience member asked her to specify investment proposals worth lakhs of crores that she claimed the state had received. As she began to answer, others interrupted, arguing that the event was not a press conference. Advertisement She was then questioned about the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case in Kolkata, which had led to nationwide protests by doctors. A member of the audience challenged her governments handling of the case, prompting a sharp response from Banerjee. This matter is sub judice; the case is with the central government. Do not bring politics herethis platform is not for politics. You are lying. Do not turn this into a political stage, Banerjee said. She accused the questioners of having a political agenda, saying, Go to Bengal and ask your party to grow stronger. I will answer you, but first, look at this picturethis is proof of an attempt to kill me. As the interruptions continued, someone questioned the treatment of Hindus in Bengal. Banerjee replied, I am for all, Hindus and Muslims, but moments later, some in the audience began chanting Go back. The protest was led by members of the Students Federation of India (SFI-UK), a left-wing student group, who accused Banerjee and her government of corruption and suppressing democratic rights. Advertisement Frustrated, Banerjee pushed back, saying, You should let me speak. You are not insulting me; you are disrespecting your institution. She accused some protesters of being ultra-left and communal, claiming similar disruptions occurred wherever she went. The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock. While the full extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, the leader of isolated Myanmar, in the grip of a civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid read more This photo collage shows buildings collapsing in Mandalay on March 28, 2025, during an earthquake. Source: AFP A huge earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds, with dozens trapped in collapsed buildings and the death toll expected to rise. The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock. The quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres (miles) away in Bangkok. Advertisement While the full extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, the leader of isolated Myanmar, in the grip of a civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said 144 people had been killed, with 732 confirmed injured, but warned the toll was likely to rise. Eight deaths have been confirmed so far in Thailand, with more expected. I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you, he said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw. He urged massive relief efforts in the wake of the disaster and said he had opened all ways for foreign aid. US President Donald Trump said Washington would be offering assistance. Mass casualty area Four years of civil war sparked by the military seizing power have ravaged Myanmars infrastructure and healthcare system, leaving it ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster. Power is down in parts of Myanmars biggest city Yangon, the local utility said. The country declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions after the quake. Hundreds of casualties arrived at a major hospital in Naypyidaw, where the emergency department entrance had collapsed on a car. Medics treated the wounded outside the hospital, the same one visited by the junta chief. One official described it as a mass casualty area. Advertisement I havent seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. Im so exhausted now, a doctor told AFP. Mandalay, Myanmars second largest city, appeared to have been badly hit. AFP photos from the city showed multiple buildings in ruins. A resident reached by phone told AFP that a hospital and a hotel had been destroyed, and said the city was badly lacking in rescue personnel. The main road bridge linking Mandalay and Sagaing was down, the citys university and historic palace wall have collapsed, and telecoms have been affected, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. Skyscraper collapse Across the border in Thailand, a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed into a tangled heap of rubble and dust in a matter of seconds. Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight dead bodies have been recovered and, with between 90 and 110 people unaccounted for, the toll is expected to rise. We see several dead bodies under the rubble. We will take time to bring the bodies out to avoid any further collapses, he told reporters. I heard people calling for help, saying help me, Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. Advertisement As night fell, around 100 rescue workers assembled at the scene to search for survivors, illuminated by specially erected floodlights. Visiting the site, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said every building in Bangkok would need to be inspected for safety, though it was not immediately clear how that would be carried out. An emergency zone was declared in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were suspended. The streets of the capital were full of commuters attempting to walk home, or simply taking refuge in the entrances of malls and office buildings. City authorities said parks would stay open overnight for those unable to sleep at home. Strong quakes are extremely rare in Thailand, and across Bangkok and the northern tourist destination of Chiang Mai, stunned residents hurried outside, unsure of how to respond. This is the strongest tremor Ive experienced in my life, said Sai, 76, who rushed out of a minimart in Chiang Mai when it started to shake. Advertisement The quake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors. India, France and the European Union offered to provide assistance, while the WHO said it was mobilising to prepare trauma injury supplies. Pope Francis said he was deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation in a telegram published by the Vatican. Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar. A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.) The junta said in a statement that a state of emergency was in effect in six of the worst-affected areas: Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Naypyidaw, and Bago read more Myanmars ruling junta on Friday urged the international community to provide humanitarian aid in a rare request after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the country. We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP at the hospital. While the official numbers of casualties are yet to be released, the fact that Myanmars military is seeking help suggests they could be on a large scale. Advertisement The junta said in a statement that a state of emergency was in effect in six of the worst-affected areas: Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Naypyidaw, and Bago. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India is ready to offer any kind of assistance Myanmar needs at this time adding that the Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with its administration. The 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing on Friday afternoon at a shallow depth, the United States Geological Survey said. A 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the same area minutes later. The quakes wrought widespread damage, particularly in Myanmar, where buildings fell onto their sides, roads cracked open, and the well-known Ava bridge collapsed near the epicentre. Across the border in Thailand, where strong quakes are rare, the powerful tremors sent residents across many cities flooding out into the streets in panic. In Bangkok, a 30-storey building under construction collapsed, trapping 43 workers, police and medics said. The massive building intended for government offices was reduced to a tangle of rubble and twisted metal in seconds, footage shared on social media showed. Advertisement With inputs from agencies The juntas takeover of Aung San Suu Kyis elected government in February 2021 has been met with widespread opposition both within and outside the country read more While delivering a speech at the annual Armed Forces Day, Myanmars Military Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing that after a long military rule, the country will hold general elections by the end of this year. He called out opposition groups, who were protesting against the military rule for years to come and joined party politics. The announcement is coming at a time when Myanmar is trying to clean its image on the global stage, with the Junta leader seeking international recognition. The juntas takeover of Aung San Suu Kyis elected government in February 2021 has been met with widespread opposition both within and outside the country. Advertisement Soon after General Hlaing announced plans to hold elections, critics saw it as an attempt to legitimize the militarys seizure of power through the ballot box and to deliver a result that ensured the generals retained control. Some even wonder if Myanmar is heading to the Pakistani route, where it is the army which will ultimately decide who will be ruling the country. So is Myanmar becoming the next Pakistan? The timing of it all The reaffirmation from the Junta chief is coming at a time when Myanmar is spiralling into a civil war. During his address, General Hlaing condemned the array of armed groups fighting his rule, referring to them as terrorist insurgents who are driven by warlordism. It is pertinent to note that currently much of the country is outside the juntas control. The military which threw the ruling regime four years ago is facing major losses in its battles against rebels. Recently, the junta has lost the key northern town of Lashio, including a regional military command, and swathes of the western Rakhine state. They are struggling because the civil war pits the juntas forces against both anti-coup guerillas and long-established ethnic minority armed groups. The deplorable state of the country also makes many wonder if Myanmar can afford to have polls or not. Ever since the military coup, more than 3.5 million people have been displaced and half of the population in the country is currently living in poverty. In April this year, one million civilians are expected to face aid cuts from the World Food Programme after US President Donald Trump slashed Washingtons humanitarian budget. The aid cuts are also coming at a time when a plethora of trade sanctions from international actors have already isolated Myanmar, making it increasingly dependent on countries like China and Russia for economic and military support. Myanmar trying to paint a picture are the world stage To avert trade sanctions, Myanmars junta is trying to paint a picture at the global level. Next week, General Hlaing will be attending the BIMSTEC Summit in Thailand. According to sources close to the junta, the military chief will try to seek several bilateral meetings during the summit, Reuters reported. After the country fell into the hands of Junta, Myanmar was barred from meetings of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, since the country failed to implement an agreed peace plan. Advertisement BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, includes Thailand, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Many claim that the upcoming visit will be Myanmars was of looking east while it is facing challenges and sanctions from the West. But can the elections in Myanmar be trusted? Critics have been sceptical about the polls, questioning whether it will be fair or not. Many have already mentioned that the polls will be neither free nor fair because there is no free media and most of the leaders of Suu Kyis popular but now dissolved National League for Democracy party have been arrested. The 79-year-old veteran politician is currently serving prison sentences totalling 27 years after being convicted in a series of politically tainted prosecutions brought by the military. Despite doubts, Hlaing insisted that 53 political parties have already shared their lists to participate in the polls. There are some who claim that Myanmar might be looking at becoming a kingmaker instead of becoming a king. This means, the junta has the potential to bring a political party into power which continues to remain under its influence. A similar model have been in play in Pakistan for decades. Lessons from Pakistan It is safe to say that Pakistans history is a testament to the militarys unyielding influence on the countrys political landscape. This can be seen in the fact that the country went under direct military rule for over three decades of its 77-year existence, with coups in 1958, 1977, and 1999. However, between these periods, while the country saw civilian rule, it continued to remain under the shadows of the military. Until recently, the Pakistani army has maintained a firm grip on critical domains like foreign policy, security, and defence budgets. This is part of the reason why no prime minister of the country has ever completed a full five-year term. Advertisement It is interesting to note that in recent decades, the Pakistani army has redefined its approach towards the countrys political structure. Instead of launching a direct coup, the Pakistan army resorted to yet equally effective method of control: manipulating elections to install favoured civilian leaders while retaining the power to oust them when they diverge from military interests. We saw how former Prime Minister Imran Khan rose to the occasion after he was on the good side of the army and how he fell from grace after he had friction with the army. This now the begs that if elections take place in Myanmar, will the countrys political landscape will match that of Pakistan. With inputs from agencies. According to reports, violence broke out in Kathmandu when protestors tried to move past police barricades and started pelting stones at the security personnel read more Clashes erupt between security and pro monarchy activists in Kathmandu. Source: PTI Several security personnel and demonstrators were left injured in the Nepalese capital on Friday (March 28) after a protest to call for the restoration of the Hindu Kingdom in the country turned violent. According to reports, violence broke out in Kathmandu when protestors tried to move past police barricades and started pelting stones at the security personnel. Police responded by firing tear gas to disperse the crowd. Hundreds of riot police were stationed across the capital city to prevent clashes as pro-monarchists and republicans held simultaneous protests near Tinkune and Bhrikutimandap. Advertisement Several youths were detained for defying restrictions when they attempted to march toward New Baneshwor, a restricted area. Thousands of pro-monarchists gathered in Tinkune, chanting slogans such as Raja aau desh bachau" (May the King come to save the country), Down with the corrupt government", and We want the monarchy back". The Rastriya Prajatantra Party, along with other groups, joined the protest. Pro-monarchists have been pushing for the return of the monarchy since former King Gyanendra Shah issued a video message on Democracy Day (February 19), calling for support. Meanwhile, thousands of republicans gathered at Bhrikutimandap, chanting slogans such as Long live the republican system, Take action against the corrupt, and Down with the monarchy. The pro-republican protest was joined by political parties such as the CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist. Maoist leader Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda, among others, addressed the public meeting organised by the Socialist Forum at Bhrikutimandap. (With inputs from PTI) Since Trumps inauguration, Teslas stock has dropped by over 35 per cent, sales have sharply declined, and the resale value of used Teslas seems to have reached a record low. Musks personal net worth has also decreased by 25 per cent, losing roughly $100 billion read more People protest against Tesla and Elon Musk outside of a Tesla dealership in Palo Alto, California, US, March 8, 2025. File Image/Reuters Scores of angry protestors will lead demonstrations against Elon Musk on Saturday at around 200 showroom locations in the US and worldwide. The Tesla Takedowns Global Day of Action will be the biggest culmination of protests that have been going on since US President Donald Trumps inauguration in January. Trump has made Tesla CEO Musk one of his closest allies by giving him the power to overhaul the federal bureaucracy. Saturdays protests will be organised to send a message to the Trump administration that people are not on board with Musks decision to lay off thousands of workers, cutting of departmental budgets and getting rid of agencies. Advertisement Vickie Mueller Olvera, an organiser of one of the protests, told The Guardian, Nobody voted for this, and nobody voted for Elon. Hes an unelected super-billionaire and hes a thug. Tesla Takedown identifies itself as a decentralized grassroots movement focused on protesting Tesla for as long as Elon Musk continues to shred public services. On its organizing page, the group claims that Musk is destroying our democracy using the fortune he built at Tesla, and as a result, they are taking action at Tesla. Local organisers are planning individual demonstrations, rather than working under a single national group. Have Teslas shares dipped because of the protests? Musks Tesla hasnt been doing so great lately and the reason might be the mass movement against him. Since Trumps inauguration, Teslas stock has dropped by over 35 per cent, sales have sharply declined, and the resale value of used Teslas seems to have reached a record low. Musks personal net worth has also decreased by 25 per cent, losing roughly $100 billion. Also, many Tesla owners have given up their cars after Musk supposedly showed the nazi-salute as he gave the inauguration speech. I would go so far as to say the Tesla takedown protests have been one of the most consequential protest movements in the shortest amount of time ever. They helped to obliterate one-third of Elon Musks net worth, in like 100 days. And when you attack his money stack, you attack his power, said Jonathan V Last, the editor for the Bulwark. Advertisement Protests and vandalism In the United States, France, and Germany, Tesla stores, charging stations and vehicles have been vandalized in recent weeks. Protests have also been called in which participants have criticized the worlds richest person for his heavy hand in US and international politics. In New York, one recent sign asserted that Tesla finances fascism and called for a boycott of its cars. And in Germany, where an arson attack in March 2024 halted production at Teslas plant in Germany, Musk has come under heavy criticism for his support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the parliamentary elections. With inputs from agencies Beijing, Paris to join hands in tackling global challenges 09:17, March 28, 2025 By Zhao Jia ( Chinadaily.com.cn French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot greets a student at Beijing Language and Culture University on Thursday. Barrot began a two-day visit to China on Thursday. (Zou Hong/China Daily) China and France issued a joint statement on Thursday on climate change to mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, reaffirming their steadfast commitment to advancing multilateralism and deepening cooperation to tackle pressing global challenges. The statement, released after talks between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot in Beijing, highlighted "providing appropriate solutions to major challenges of the era within a multilateral framework". Analysts said the joint statement pointed to a stronger level of engagement between China and Europe to tackle major global challenges and oppose protectionist moves. Barrot's two-day visit, which started on Thursday, marks his first trip to China since taking office as French foreign minister and the second meeting between the two ministers in less than two months. On Friday, he is due to travel to Shanghai for meetings with local officials and business leaders. In a separate meeting with Barrot on Thursday, Premier Li Qiang highlighted the need for both nations to strengthen communication and cooperation, in order to inject greater stability and certainty into bilateral and global development. Barrot said that France opposes trade wars and is willing to work with China to uphold multilateralism and jointly address global challenges such as climate change. During a joint news conference with Barrot, Wang affirmed China's support for France's hosting of the Paris Agreement's 10th anniversary commemoration, saying that China will send a high-level delegation to the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in June. Both sides expressed their dedication to upholding multilateralism against unilateralism, fostering dialogue and cooperation to counter bloc confrontation, and pursuing mutual benefit to prevent decoupling and supply chain disruptions. As founding members of the United Nations and permanent members of its Security Council, China and France are seen by officials and analysts as bearing a responsibility to exemplify major-country leadership, strengthen strategic coordination, and maintain world peace and stability. Wang emphasized that the two nations should enhance strategic coordination, support each other's key multilateral initiatives and strive for a fairer, more equitable global governance system to prevent a return to the "law of the jungle". Wang underscored the enduring relevance of the "China-France spirit" characterized by independence, mutual understanding, foresight, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation not only for the two countries but also for the world. He defined independence as rising above ideological and geopolitical divides, resisting external pressures and hegemony, and fostering state-to-state relations based on equality and mutual respect in line with the UN Charter. Wang further called for abandoning zero-sum thinking, rejecting the notion of systemic rivals, and embracing open cooperation and free trade to foster peace through development. Barrot said that France views China as a key partner, steadfastly upholds the one-China policy, and supports free trade. During the talks, both sides agreed to hold three high-level dialogues on strategy, the economy, and finance, and to promote people-to-people exchanges this year. They committed to deepening cooperation in traditional sectors such as agriculture and nuclear energy, while exploring new opportunities in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and the digital economy. Wang welcomed the recent uptick in investment by French companies in China, while expressing hope that France would ensure a fair, transparent and predictable business environment for Chinese companies. As this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union, Wang said that cooperation between Beijing and Brussels far outweighs competition, with shared interests exceeding differences, creating a strong foundation for further progress. In response, Barrot said France supports dialogue between the EU and China to negotiate and resolve trade differences. Cui Hongjian, director of the Center for European Union and Regional Development Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said that challenges facing multilateralism and rising uncertainties in the international landscape since the start of this year have elevated the importance of China-France and China-EU relations. China and the EU should work together to uphold multilateralism and build up mutual trust and consensus on key regional and international issues, he said. "The EU should meet China halfway," Cui said. "In trade and economic matters, it should approach competition constructively rather than resorting to unilateral protectionism, which would only deepen mistrust and hinder cooperation in other domains." (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bangkok from April 3 to 4 to attend the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, hosted by Thailand. He will then travel to Sri Lanka for a state visit from April 4 to 6. This will be the first in-person BIMSTEC Leaders meeting since 2018. read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make an official visit to Bangkok from April 3 to 4 for the 6th Bimstec Summit, which is set to be hosted by Thailand. After his visit to Thailand, he will travel to Sri Lanka for a state visit from April 4 to 6. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, At the invitation of the Prime Minister of Thailand, H.E. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Bangkok, Thailand, from 3 - 4 April 2025 to participate in the 6th Bimstec Summit to be held on 4 April 2025, hosted by Thailand, the current Bimstec Chair, and for an official visit. This will be the Prime Ministers third visit to Thailand. Advertisement This will be the first in-person BIMSTEC Leaders meeting since the 2018 summit in Kathmandu, Nepal. The 5th summit was held virtually in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in March 2022. The theme for the 6th Bimstec Summit is Bimstec Prosperous, Resilient and Open. Leaders will discuss ways to strengthen cooperation and boost the organisations progress. This is a developing story. The call took place the day after European nations agreed to ramp up sanctions on Russia over its three-year war on Ukraine, as Washington separately pursued its own peace initiative through direct talks with Moscow. read more This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on March 28, 2025, shows firefighters manning a hose to put out a fire following a strike in Sumy region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Image- AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, discussed the potential revival of a 2022 agreement to secure the passage of Ukrainian cargo ships in the Black Sea and addressing Western sanctions on Moscow, the Kremlin announced on Friday. During their talks, the two leaders exchanged views on reinstating the Black Sea initiative, which was originally designed to facilitate safe navigation while also tackling barriers to Russias exports of food and fertilizers, according to the Kremlins statement. Advertisement Erdogan, emphasizing the importance of Turkish-Russian cooperation, conveyed to Putin that collaboration between their nations is vital for resolving regional conflicts, according to his office. Their discussion covered both the war in Ukraine and the situation in Syria. The Turkish president also addressed Black Sea security, assuring Putin that Ankara would take measures to safeguard commercial navigation, which he said would support broader peace efforts. Moscow confirmed that the talks included deliberations on reviving the Black Sea initiative, which Turkey and the UN had brokered in 2022 to ensure Ukraines agricultural exports could move safely through the region. Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023, citing unfulfilled Western commitments to easing sanctions that, according to Moscow, hampered its own agricultural and fertilizer exports. The conversation between Putin and Erdogan came a day after European nations agreed to intensify sanctions on Russia over its ongoing war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Washington was separately engaged in its own diplomatic efforts through direct talks with Moscow. Turkey is closely following the process initiated to end the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and is ready to provide all kinds of support, including hosting peace negotiations, Erdogan told Putin. NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbours since the Russian invasion and has twice hosted talks aimed at ending the war. Advertisement Erdogan also said it was important for Turkey and Russia to work together to ensure that Syria achieves lasting peace and stability. Russia was a key backer of Syrias recently deposed strongman Bashar al-Assad, offering him military backing during the civil war, while Turkey threw its support behind the rebels opposing him. Russia has sought to build bridges with the new administration in Damascus, in particular to secure the fate of its military bases in the country. Finish them off Putin called for a transitional administration to be put in place in Ukraine and vowed his army would finish off Ukrainian troops, in hardline remarks as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire. A rapprochement between Washington and Moscow since Trumps return to office and the US leaders threats to stop supporting Kyiv have bolstered Putins confidence more than three years into an offensive that has killed tens of thousands on both sides. Ukraine fears it could be forced to accept a final peace deal on terms that are favourable to Moscow if it loses the support of its most important backer. The renewed call to essentially topple Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was the latest demonstration of Putins long-standing desire to install a more Moscow-friendly regime in Kyiv. Advertisement We could, of course, discuss with the United States, even with European countries, and of course with our partners and friends, under the auspices of the UN, the possibility of establishing a transitional administration in Ukraine, Putin said on the sidelines of an Arctic forum. What for? To organise a democratic presidential election that would result in the coming to power of a competent government that would have the confidence of the people, and then begin negotiations with these authorities on a peace agreement and sign legitimate documents, he said. With inputs from agencies Putin was speaking in the northern port of Murmansk, where he argued that his new ally, US President Donald Trump sincerely wants to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war read more Russian President Vladimir Putin stirred headlines after he suggested that Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow fresh elections in the country. Putin was speaking in the northern port of Murmansk, where he argued that his new ally, US President Donald Trump sincerely wants to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Reuters reported. Despite ongoing ceasefire talks, Putin repeatedly mentioned in his speech that Russia is achieving its goals in the conflict. Advertisement Putins call for the establishment of a temporary administration in Ukraine appeared to support his longtime assertion that Ukrainian authorities are not a legitimate negotiating partner since the countrys President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has remained in power beyond his mandated deadline to call for elections, which was passed on May 24, 2024. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side argues that no elections can be scheduled due to martial law that has been placed in the country since the start of the war three years ago. In light of this, the Ukrainian parliament in February passed a resolution reaffirming Zelenskyys legitimacy. The bill was passed with a clear majority, reflecting Zelenskyys popularity in the country. A government monitored by Ukraines Western allies: Putin While addressing the seamen at the Russian port on Friday, Putin proposed the formation of a government which will be under the temporary control of Ukraines Western allies, including the United Nations and the United States. In principle, of course, a temporary administration could be introduced in Ukraine under the auspices of the UN, the United States, European countries and our partners, the Russian leader said in his Friday address. In principle, of course, a temporary administration could be introduced in Ukraine under the auspices of the UN, the United States, European countries and our partners, he added. Putin also pointed out the stark contrast between Trumps efforts to hold direct talks with Russia with his predecessor Joe Biden. The Russian leader argued that Trumps efforts indicate that the American president genuinely wants peace in the region. In my opinion, the newly elected president of the United States sincerely wants an end to the conflict for several reasons, the agencies quoted him as saying. Russia, Putin said, was in favour of peaceful solutions to any conflict, including this one, through peaceful means, but not at our expense." Throughout the entire line of military contact, our troops are holding the strategic initiative, he said. Russia, he said, was persistently and confidently moving towards achieving its goals. Putin concluded his address by saying that he is willing to cooperate with any nation including North Korea to bring the war to an end. Advertisement With inputs from Reuters. Russia reserves the right to withdraw from a US-brokered moratorium on Moscow and Kyiv striking each others energy infrastructure if Ukraine continues to attack such targets, the Kremlin warned on Friday read more The Kremlin on Friday said that Russia reserves the right to withdraw from a US-brokered moratorium on Moscow and Kyiv attacking each others energy infrastructure if Ukraine continues its assaults. On Tuesday, the US announced separate agreements with both Ukraine and Russia to pause their strikes against each others energy targets, a potential step towards a full ceasefire and peace talks aimed at ending the three-year conflict. However, earlier on Friday, both Russia and Ukraine accused each other of attacking a Russian gas metering station located in the western Kursk region, a crucial facility through which Moscow previously pumped gas to Europe via pipeline until the end of last year. Advertisement Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who has previously said the idea that Russia would attack its own energy infrastructure is absurd, suggested Moscows patience with the moratorium was running out. Of course, the Russian side reserves the right, in the event that the Kyiv regime fails to observe this moratorium, not to observe it either, Reuters quoted Peskov as saying. It would be illogical for us to comply and every night face attempts to strike at our energy infrastructure facilities, he added. For the time being, Peskov said that Russia would continue to honor the moratorium, a deal that Ukraine has accused Moscow of violating. President Vladimir Putin proposed that Ukraine could be placed under a temporary administration to facilitate new elections aimed at resolving the conflict, a suggestion that Kyiv finds outrageous. Peskov clarified that Putin had not discussed this idea with US President Donald Trump during prior phone calls, as previously announced by the Kremlin. He added that Putin brought up the notion due to concerns about the increasing strength of armed nationalist forces in Ukraine. No, there have been no discussions on this topic; this is the point of view of the president of the Russian Federation, which is based on irrefutable facts related to the real status quo that we now have in Ukraine, Peskov said. With inputs from agencies Venezuela, whose leftist leader Nicolas Maduro is despised by the Cuban-American Rubio, has increasingly pushed its claim to the disputed Essequibo region controlled by Guyana, and was accused earlier this month of making an incursion read more Guyanese President Irfaan Ali (L) speaks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Georgetown, Guyana, March 27, 2025. AFP Top US diplomat Marco Rubio on Thursday bluntly warned Venezuela against attacking its oil-rich neighbor Guyana, brandishing the power of the US military to protect the small South American nation. Venezuela, whose leftist leader Nicolas Maduro is despised by the Cuban-American Rubio, has increasingly pushed its claim to the disputed Essequibo region controlled by Guyana, and was accused earlier this month of making an incursion. I have full confidence saying it now as secretary of state there will be consequences for adventurism. There will be consequences for aggressive action, Rubio told a joint news conference on a visit to Guyana. Advertisement Asked what the United States would do if Venezuela attacked ExxonMobil oil projects in Guyana, Rubio said: It would be a very bad day a very bad week for them. Stopping short of spelling out a military response, Rubio said: We have a big navy, and it can get almost anywhere. Maduro responded angrily to the threat, calling Rubio an imbecile and saying no one threatens Venezuela. While in Guyana, Rubio signed an agreement to boost security cooperation with the country including through greater information sharing. It comes years after Guyana and the United States agreed to joint maritime patrols. Guyanese President Irfaan Ali welcomed the stance of Rubio, who called Venezuelas claims illegitimate. Im very pleased at the reassurance of the US, ensuring the safeguard of our territorial integrity and sovereignty, Ali said. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, in a statement on Telegram, said his country did not need nor seek conflicts, but neither will we allow foreign interests to try to rewrite the reality about our Essequibo. Get your noses out of this dispute! he added. Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy on Latin America, earlier said that the United States envisioned a future binding security relationship with Guyana similar to the Gulf region, where US troops protect oil-rich Arab monarchies, particularly against larger neighbor Iran. Advertisement Rubio later visited neighboring Suriname, whose oil production has also been rising. US seeks advantage against China Guyana, an English-speaking former British and Dutch colony where the majority of the 800,000 people still live in poverty, has for years had a long-shot movement that has sought to join the United States. Such formal accession was not on the agenda, but Trump has made no secret of his passion for expansionism in the Western Hemisphere, even at the expense of traditional alliances. The Republican billionaire has vowed to take control of Greenland from Denmark and to take back the Panama Canal, pointing to rising Chinese influence. While Exxon has dominated the oil industry, China viewed by the Trump administration as the top global adversary has made rapid inroads in Guyana with infrastructure projects including an expansion of the international airport where Rubio landed. Trump has proposed imposing major fees on vessels linked to China, but the idea has hit opposition from US farmers as well as Caribbean nations which say they have little option and will take a hit. Advertisement Rubio said it was dangerous to have one country in the world building all the ships. But in a shift in tone from Trumps usual uncompromising position, Rubio acknowledged concerns among Caribbean nations and said he would advise US trade policymakers of the risks of hurting US partners. Rest assured we will take that message back, Rubio said. Rapid oil growth The parliament in Caracas last year approved a bill to declare the Essequibo region, which makes up two-thirds of Guyanese territory, as Venezuelas 24th state, a move rejected internationally. Guyana insists the border was finalized by an 1899 arbitration panel, but Venezuela claims the Essequibo River to the regions east as a natural border recognized as far back as 1777. Texas-based ExxonMobil has taken the lead in offshore oil exploration, which has rapidly scaled up since the 2015 discovery of huge crude reserves. ExxonMobil anticipates gross production from Guyana of 1.3 million barrels a day by the end of the decade, dwarfing current output from Venezuela. The Trump administration, under pressure from anti-communist Latino lawmakers, has canceled US oil major Chevrons exemption from US sanctions to operate in Venezuela. Advertisement Firefighters battling the Table Rock Mountain fire have concentrated on saving lives and property by digging fire breaks that push the blaze north through undeveloped land on the Pickens County ridges near the North Carolina state line. read more Over the past three days, a massive wildfire in the South Carolina mountains has doubled in size each day, but fire crews have successfully kept it away from homes and other structures. Firefighters battling the Table Rock Mountain blaze have prioritised saving lives and property by carving fire breaks, guiding the fire northward through uninhabited ridges near the North Carolina border. No injuries have been reported. Aircraft have conducted over 550 water drops on the Table Rock fire and another blaze at Persimmon Ridge, roughly 8 miles (13 km) away. However, officials say containment efforts remain defensive as crews await favorable weather, such as rain or calmer winds, to help suppress the flames. Advertisement With these fires and the conditions we are facing in the state right now the dryness of the fuel, the extremely low humidity, the high winds that were having containment is very, very difficult to achieve, Phillips said. The Table Rock and Persimmon Ridge fires have burned about 17 square miles (44 square kilometers). The Table Rock fire started a week ago and has been doubling in size since Tuesday as windy and dry conditions have spread through the mountains. In North Carolina, at least eight fires were burning in the mountains. The largest the Black Cove Fire and the Deep Woods Fire in Polk County were becoming more contained. They have scorched about 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) combined but have barely grown late this week. And while those fires have received the most attention, the wildfire season has already been busy thanks to a drought and Hurricane Helene six months ago knocking down millions of trees. The fallen trees act as fuel and block firefighters trying to get to blazes. It will be a continuing issue for the next several years. Its going to change the way we have to attack fires in the mountains of South Carolina, Phillips said. Firefighters helping the state Forestry Commission have fought 373 wildfires in South Carolina that have burned more than 28 square miles (73 squarer kilometers) just in March. Advertisement Thats orders of magnitude more than we typically do within a month - even more than we do in some years as far as the number of acres burned, Phillips said. April is typically the worst month for wildfires and long-term forecasts dont show conditions changing much. This is going to be a long season for us, Phillips said. A ban an outdoor burning has been in place for more than a week in South Carolina. Officials have given no indication when they will lift it. Gov. Henry McMaster reminded people that violating the burn ban can mean jail time, and starting a fire even through negligence could leave someone on the hook for everything damaged. You go out and start a fire and you burn your neighbors house down - you owe them a house, McMaster said. Weather forecasts for the weekend have encouraging news. Calm winds are predicted overnight, and rain should fall Sunday and Monday, although the National Weather Service is not predicting the kind of soaking firefighters want. Advertisement Were going to get it out, McMaster said of the fires. Were hoping we are going to have some rain, have some help. Everybody put that in your prayers. With inputs from AP US President Donald Trump has sought a new minerals deal with Ukraine that goes far beyond the one that the two countries were about to sign last month, seeking the control of nearly all of the countrys minerals, oil, and gas resources, according to a report read more US President Donald Trump wants a new minerals deal with Ukraine. This time, just like the first time when Ukraine rejected the initial offer, Trump is seeking near-total control of Ukraines natural resources with no security guarantees in return, according to Financial Times. However, Trump is now not just seeking the near-total control of Ukraines critical minerals but also its energy resources, including oil and gas, as per FT. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged that the Trump administration has submitted a new proposal for the minerals deal, he has not commented on the specifics. Instead, he has simply indicated that Trump wants the deal to be signed with haste. Advertisement Previously, we had a framework agreement, followed by the development of a full agreement. Now, the American side has proposed a grand agreement right away, said Zelenskyy earlier this week. Trump has pitched a minerals deal with Ukraine as a way to recover money that it has spent in the war so far even as he has so far claimed vastly bloated figures for the aid that the United States has provided Ukraine. He has also pitched the deal as a de facto security guarantee for the country. While Zelenskyy has said that the countrys nuclear power plants are off the table in any deal, Trump has expressed a desire to control those plants as well. Trump and Zelenskyy were supposed to sign the deal on February 28 at the White House, but that could not happen as Trump kicked Zelenskyy out after a spat involving him, Zelenskyy, and US Vice President JD Vance. When Zelenskyy was explaining in front of the press that why security guarantees are important and how Russia has violated previous agreements, Vance pounced on him and then, for several minutes, he and Trump took turns to berate Zelenskyy and Ukraine publicly. Trump has vastly expanded demands in new offer Unlike the minerals deal that was previously reached between the two countries, Trump now wants profits from all of Ukraines natural resources, including critical and rare earth minerals, oil, and gas, according to FT. In the deal previously agreed upon, only profits from future projects were included, but Trump now wants profits from all projects public or private. Trump has now demanded that the United States wold appoint three of the five members to the supervisory board to oversee a joint investment fund to split the income from such projects. That would essentially give the United States control of the workings of the fund and a veto as well. Advertisement In addition to minerals, oil, and gas, the deal would also cover infrastructure for their extraction, such as roads, railways, pipelines, ports, and refineries. The United States would receive royalties from the fund at a 4 per cent premium and would retain priority rights on infrastructure projects. Trumps offers to Ukraine have previously been dubbed as economic colonisation of the country. While Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom Trump has now essentially turned into an ally, is capturing Ukrainian territory and hammering at its territorial sovereignty, Trump with such proposals is seen to be compromising the nations economic sovereignty. The offers are also seen as a way to extract maximalist concessions from Ukraine to force it to accept Putins terms to end the war. Since the US launched airstrikes on March 15, the Houthis have targeted the USS Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier stationed in the Red Sea, using missiles and drones. On Thursday, they claimed responsibility for another attempted attack on the carrier. read more This handout photo released by the US Defence Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US Navy officer signalling for a F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet preparing for take off from the USS Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. Image- AFP US airstrikes on Yemens Houthi forces have inflicted sizeable damage on their military infrastructure and eliminated key commanders, a campaign that President Donald Trump described as unbelievably successful. However, the strikes have yet to yield the main objective: deterring the Iran-backed militia. Despite the military offensive, the Houthis continue to launch near-daily missile attacks on Israel. Meanwhile, commercial shipping routes remain disrupted, with many vessels avoiding the Red Sea and Suez Canal in favour of a longer route around southern Africa. This ongoing instability raises concerns about US credibility in maintaining freedom of navigation. Advertisement Trump and his allies have pointed to the effectiveness of the strikes, brushing off controversy over the use of the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss classified military operations against the Houthis. Yemeni officials and experts familiar with the situation have noted mixed results from nearly two weeks of U.S. strikes. They argue that airstrikes alone will not be enough to defeat the group. Good, but not good enough, The Wall Street Journal quoted an official from Yemens internationally recognised government, which is engaged in a civil war with the Houthis. The new campaign of airstrikes, which the Houthis say have killed at least 57 people, started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting Israeli ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels in the past have had a loose definition of what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning other vessels could be targeted as well. The Houthis have targeted the USS Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier stationed in the Red Sea, using missiles and drones since the US launched airstrikes on March 15. On Thursday, they claimed responsibility for another attempted attack on the carrier. The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors during their campaign targeting ships from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none have been hit so far. Advertisement The attacks greatly raised the Houthis profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemens decade-long stalemated war that has torn apart the Arab worlds poorest nation. In a televised speech, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi dismissed the impact of US strikes, insisting they would not weaken the groups military capabilities. South Sudans opposition said the arrest late Wednesday of First Vice President Riek Machar, the long-time rival to President Salva Kiir, had invalidated the two sides 2018 peace deal, the cornerstone of the nations fragile stability read more UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday urged all parties in South Sudan to put down the weapons, amid warnings that the impoverished African country may be headed back into civil war.South Sudan may have fallen off the worlds radar, but we cannot let the situation fall over the abyss, Guterres told reporters. The countrys leaders, he added, should hear a resounding message: Put down the weapons. Put all the people of South Sudan first. South Sudans opposition said the arrest late Wednesday of First Vice President Riek Machar, the long-time rival to President Salva Kiir, had invalidated the two sides 2018 peace deal, the cornerstone of the nations fragile stability. Guterres painted a dire picture. All the dark clouds of a perfect storm have descended upon the people of the worlds newest country - and one of the poorest, he told reporters. Advertisement He described intensifying clashes; aerial bombing of civilians including women and children and political upheaval, including Machars arrest, that has left the peace agreement in shambles. Guterres also deplored a humanitarian nightmare, with serious shortages of food, a cholera outbreak, and a refugee crisis, all amid an economic meltdown. Meantime, he added, much of the already limited humanitarian and development aid (is) drying up. Lets not mince words, Guterres concluded. What we are seeing is darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 civil wars, which killed 400,000 people. He urged South Sudans leaders to embrace dialogue and de-escalation, saying the country and its region cannot afford another conflict. On Wednesday, a convoy of 20 heavily armed vehicles entered Machars residence in the capital Juba and arrested him, his party said, in a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has been building for weeks in the young country. The prospect for peace and stability in South Sudan has now been put into serious jeopardy, said Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, the deputy chair of Machars party, in a statement. The arrest drew widespread international condemnation, including from the African Union and the European Union. The order was delivered by James Boasberg, the chief US district judge in Washington. The new ruling now compels Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, to save their texts from 11 to 15 March read more Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard firmly denied that the messages shared on the Signal group contained classified material in a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Reuters As the Signal chat leak scandal hits the United States like a fiery storm, a federal judge on Thursday ordered US President Donald Trumps government to preserve the messages exchanged in the now-infamous group which was discussing American strikes against Houthis in Yemen. The order was delivered by James Boasberg, the chief US district judge in Washington. The new ruling now compels Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, to save their texts from 11 to 15 March. Advertisement Following the hearing in the case, Boasberg made it clear that he was asking for the messages to be preserved so that no messages from the Signal chat were lost, not because he believed the Trump administration did anything wrong. It is pertinent to note that the famous messaging app automatically deletes messages after a certain period. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by American oversight The infamous group chat came to public view after the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, to the text chain in which Hegseth provided details about the Houthi strikes. Some of Hegseths messages included a summary of operational details, described as a team update. The message included information of launch times of F-18 fighter jets, the time that the first bombs were expected to drop and naval Tomahawk missiles would be launched. Waltz also shared a real-time update, on the results of the strike, mentioning that one of the Yemeni groups top guys was killed in the attack. However, a recent Wall Street Journal report suggested Waltz received the information about the top Houthi official from an Israeli human source in Yemen. The case went to the court after a lawsuit was brought by the non-profit transparency and watchdog group American Oversight, which accused the officials in the Signal chat of flouting the Federal Records Act, which requires government communication agency officials to be preserved. Boasberg is set to decide at a later stage whether the disappearing message function of the Signal chat violated the federal record retention laws or not. During the court hearing, the representatives from the Trump administration argued that the agencies led by the officials in the Signal chat are already taking steps to preserve what they each had. However, it was not immediately known what each agency had individually retained. Advertisement In one court filing, the administrations lawyers at the justice department said one of the participants in the Signal chat, Bessent, had already turned over the version of messages. This week, the White House also instructed the so-called department of government efficiency to preserve all communications sent over the Signal app in a new records retention policy. With inputs from agencies. US Vice President JD Vance on Friday slammed Denmark for its lack of action regarding Greenland, claiming it has failed to effectively protect the semi-autonomous territorys residents from incursions by China and Russia read more Vice President JD Vance speaks at the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, on Friday, as Energy Secretary Chris Wright, left, and White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz listen. AP US Vice President JD Vance on Friday slammed Denmark for its lack of action regarding Greenland, claiming it has failed to effectively protect the semi-autonomous territorys residents from incursions by China and Russia. Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have under invested in the people of Greenland and you have under invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass, AFP quoted Vance as saying at a press conference at the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland. Advertisement Vance said the US does not have immediate plans to expand US military presence on the ground in Greenland but will invest in resources including additional naval ships. We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary. We think this makes sense, he said, adding he believed Trump would be able to make a deal with Greenland. Talking about Signalgate, which involved top national security officials adding a journalist to a chat group discussing planned strikes on Yemen, Vance shrugged off demands for sackings. If you think youre going to force the president of the United States to fire anybody, youve got another thing coming, Trumps deputy told reporters on a visit to Greenland. We are standing behind our entire national security team, he added. Vance delivered remarks during his visit to the US military base at Pituffik in the north of the Arctic island, which came just hours after a new broad government coalition that aims to keep ties with Denmark for now, was presented in the capital, Nuuk. Advertisement Vance greeted members of the US armed forces shortly after his arrival, thanking them for their service on the remote base located 750 miles (1,200 km) north of the Arctic Circle. The outside temperature at Pituffik was minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-19 C). As Vances visit was underway, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House the United States needs Greenland to ensure peace of the entire world. We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland. Its not a question of, Do you think we can do without it? We cant, Trump said. Trump said Greenlands waterways have Chinese and Russian ships all over the place and the United States will not rely on Denmark or anybody else to handle the situation. Denmark and the European Union understand why Greenland is important for peace around the world and if they dont, were going to have to explain it to them, Trump added. Advertisement Greenlands new prime minister said the US visit signalled a lack of respect and called for unity in the face of pressure from outside. Denmarks king issued a statement of support on social media. We live in an altered reality. There should be no doubt that my love for Greenland and my connectedness to the people of Greenland are intact, King Frederik said. The US delegation also includes Vances wife Usha, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The initial plan for the trip had been for Vances wife to visit a dog-sled race on the island together with Waltz, even though they were not invited by authorities in either Greenland or Denmark. Public protests and outrage from authorities in both Greenland and Denmark prompted the US delegation to only fly to the military base and not meet the public. Under the terms of a 1951 agreement, the US is entitled to visit its base whenever it wants, as long as it notifies Greenland and Copenhagen. Pituffik is located along the shortest route from Europe to North America and is vital for the US ballistic missile warning system. Advertisement The island, whose capital is closer to New York than the Danish capital Copenhagen, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth, but development has been slow and the mining sector has seen very limited US investment. Mining companies operating in Greenland are mostly Australian, Canadian or British. A White House official has said Greenland has an ample supply of rare earth minerals that would power the next generation of the U.S. economy. New government Greenlands new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Friday urged political unity. At a time when we as a people are under pressure, we must stand together, Nielsen said at a press conference. His pro-business party, the Democrats, which favours a gradual independence from Denmark, emerged as the biggest party in a March 11 election. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who had called the initial plans for the U.S. visit unacceptable, congratulated Greenland on its new government in a post on Instagram: I look forward to close cooperation in an unnecessarily conflict-ridden time. The question now is how far Trump is willing to push his idea of taking over the island, said Andreas Oesthagen, a senior researcher on Arctic politics and security at the Oslo-based Fridtjof Nansen Institute. Advertisement It is still unlikely that the United States will use military means, he told Reuters. But it is unfortunately likely that President Trump and Vice President Vance will continue to use other means of pressure, such as ambiguous statements, semi-official visits to Greenland, and economic instruments, he added. Not for sale By revising the trip, the Trump administration is seeking to refocus the discussion on the topics it is interested in: the U.S. presence on Greenland, military capabilities available, and the wider security of the Arctic, said Catherine Sendak, head of the Transatlantic Defense and Security programme at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Washington-based think tank. A change of course was needed, Sendak told Reuters. However, some residents in Nuuk remained angry at the Trump administration ahead of Vances visit. I am a human. Humans are not for sale. We are not for sale, Tungutaq Larsen, a filmmaker, told Reuters. Polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the United States. Anti-American protesters, some wearing Make America Go Away caps and holding Yankees Go Home banners, have staged some of the largest demonstrations ever seen in Greenland. On Thursday, residents in Nuuk planted Greenlandic flags in the snow and a cardboard sign in English that said Our Land. Our Future. With inputs from agencies Advertisement March 28, 2025: The economic sanctions imposed on Russia because the Ukraine War have made it more difficult to export petroleum. This is the main Russian export and the major source of income for the Russian government and war effort. To evade this sanction, Russia created a shadow fleet of 112 tankers purchased and/or leased abroad and obtained unrestricted access to a Chinese smuggler haven maintained in Hong Kong. The nations enforcing the sanctions, particularly the United States, have tracked the routes of the Russian shadow fleet and noted the key role Hong Kong plays in arranging the movement of sanctioned Russian oil to its primary customers in China and India. Hong Kong is also a major source for supplying sanctioned nations with weapons and munitions. A current customer is Russia. Hong Kong does this by allowing Russian tankers and cargo ships, operating with fake credentials to disguise their Russian affiliation, to bring in Russian oil and other raw materials. The Russian ships then leave Hong Kong carrying weapons for their war in Ukraine. Another major player in the Russian smuggling effort is North Korea. For years North Korea has been buying small, secondhand cargo and tanker ships and using them for smuggling. A favored evasion technique consists of taking on or transferring cargo at sea in its own territorial waters. The North Korean merchant fleet consists of about 134 ships, with most purchased from Chinese firms. North Korea is a notorious and persistent maritime smuggler. Because of North Korean smuggling, the United States expanded its maritime smuggling and sanctions enforcement program in 2018 when a new multi-national enforcement organization was created. Initial members were the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain, France, South Korea, and Japan. The Enforcement Coordination Cell or ECC is enforcing the UN sanctions that curb North Korean smuggling related to items needed for their nuclear and ballistic missile programs. In addition, the ECC allowed member nations to also enforce whatever other sanctions or naval missions their government put a priority on. The U.S. has since invited India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines to join and assist with monitoring growing Chinese violation of offshore water rights, especially in the South China Sea and other areas of the West Pacific. The ECC concentrates on the 2,000-kilometer-long shipping lane from the Indian Ocean, through the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea to North Korea. Along this route there are not only North Korean flagged ships participating in smuggling, but even more Chinese, Taiwanese, Liberian, Sri Lankan, and ships that are independent and fly whatever flag they believe will keep them from getting seized for smuggling. Earlier U.S. efforts had already identified many North Korean and Iranian owned tankers and cargo ships that were often engaged in smuggling. This led Iran and North Korea to use their own ships less and willing foreign ships instead. These third-party ships are the ones the ECC sought to identify. These ships can be identified, along with their owners and the owners can have banking and other sanctions placed on them. Many nations, not part of the ECC, but economic partners with ECC members, will cooperate if a smuggler ship visits one of their ports. At that point the captain can be arrested and the ship impounded. The ECC member warships do not depend on inspecting suspicious ships while at sea but confirming who is where and when. This is especially useful for spotting smugglers who often turn off their location beacons and continue in running dark mode. These location beacons transmit current ID and location to any nearby ships and often, via satellite, to their owner and international shipping organizations. The location data, past and current, can be found on several public websites. The beacons exist mainly as a safety measure for ships operating at night or in bad weather in heavily used shipping lanes. Smugglers have learned how to turn off their beacons near a port where, it is assumed, they have docked or anchored off the coast waiting for an available dock. Some smugglers are using spoofing, a form of jamming that just modifies the beacon signal to present a false location. This is where warships and maritime aircraft come in as these can identify ships visually or using radar followed by visual inspection. This is more damaging to the smugglers because it provides more evidence that their ship was involved in smuggling and with enough evidence you can go after the ship owners and seize the ship whenever it enters coastal waters, within 22 kilometers of land belonging to a nation that will seize outlaw ships. Sat Saturday 95 /64 More sun than clouds. Highs in the mid 90s and lows in the mid 60s. Philippines arrests Chinese nationals for suspected espionage The six Chinese suspects and a Filipino were caught amid heightened territorial tensions in the South China Sea. By Jojo Rinoza and Gerard Carreon for BenarNews 2025.03.26 MANILA -- Philippine authorities announced the arrests of six Chinese nationals and a Filipino suspected of spying on U.S. and Philippine navy vessels at the entrance of the strategically located Subic Bay. The arrests of the Chinese suspects, who officials said were posing as fishermen, brought to 12 the number of Chinese citizens taken into custody in the Philippines this year for alleged espionage. The cases have unfolded against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing in the contested South China Sea. The seven suspects were arrested on March 19 after Philippine military intelligence alerted the National Bureau of Investigation about "foreign nationals suspected of carrying out covert intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations" around Grande Island at the entrance of Subic Bay, the NBI said in a statement Wednesday. The six Chinese "were closely monitored for engaging in deemed suspicious activities, involving a collection of sensitive data" affecting national defense, the bureau said. A Filipino national, who was acting as their security guard, was also arrested. "Counter-intelligence efforts disclosed that these individuals were occupying the island under the guise of recreational fishers, frequently lingering at the wharves until the wee hours," NBI director Jaime Santiago said. "However, multiple witnesses reported that the group was utilizing drones in the guise of transporting fishing bait - conducting surveillance on naval assets, including those from local forces and allied nations, passing through Grande Island," he said. Located at the mouth of Subic Bay, Grande Island was once an artillery training ground for American forces. From 1901 to 1992, Subic Bay was home to the largest U.S. naval base outside of America. The Chinese nationals were identified as He Peng, Xu Xining, Ye Tianwu, Ye Xiaocan, Dick Ang and Su Anlong. The Filipino suspect was identified as Melvin Aguillon. The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment. China's foreign ministry had not yet reacted to the arrests. A witness told the NBI that the men were "operating a drone, in the guise of a fishing game, conducting their usual ISR operations towards Subic Bay," on March 18, the bureau said, referring to "intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance." The bureau said it seized "photographs and documents of Philippine and U.S. Naval assets," as well as electronic gadgets containing surveillance photos and videos. Because of Grande Island's strategic location, it allowed "the group to monitor naval assets entering and exiting Subic Bay during maritime patrols or joint naval exercises in the West Philippine Sea," Santiago said, using the Philippine name for South China Sea waters within Manila's exclusive economic zone. Further NBI investigation showed that one of the arrested men, Ye Tianwu-also known as Qui Feng or Quing Feng-had an outstanding arrest warrant issued by a local court in Tarlac province for alleged violations of the country's securities code. In January, the NBI arrested six Chinese nationals accused of spying. One of them was Deng Yuanqing, a software engineer, who allegedly used spy equipment as he drove around critical sites in Manila between December and January. The other five Chinese nationals were arrested in separate operations in the same month. Authorities said they had been seen frequenting areas in Palawan, another island facing the South China Sea, and collecting intelligence about Philippine Navy activities there. Subic Bay, about 50 miles northwest of Manila on Luzon island, is considered strategically important because it opens onto the South China Sea and is close to the contested Scarborough Shoal. The shoal, located within the Philippines' EEZ, has been under China's de facto control since 2012. In recent years, rival territorial claimants Manila and Beijing have faced off in high-stakes confrontations in the shoal and other disputed areas of the South China Sea, a potentially mineral-rich waterway and crucial corridor for international shipping. Jeoffrey Maitem in Davao contributed to this report. BenarNews is an online news outlet affiliated with Radio Free Asia. 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 Apparent Russian Foreign Interference and Manipulation of Information: UK Statement to the OSCE Politico-Military Counsellor, Ankur Narayan, says that Russia's citing of a fake UK newspaper article would damage trust and credibility if, as seems likely, it was a deliberate attempt to manipulate the Forum. 27 March 2025 Location: Vienna Delivered on: 26 March 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) Thank you, Mr Chair. I am delivering this statement, on Russia's Foreign Interference and Manipulation of Information in the FSC, on behalf of the United Kingdom. Norway has aligned with it. This statement is about a falsified UK source, cited in the Russia FSC statement last week. It appears to be a brazen attempt to manipulate the members of this Forum. As Russia has made no attempt to correct the record, the UK and our Allies must now do so. We have seen the Russian state using information warfare to attempt to undermine Ukraine and its supporters, sow divisions and bolster support for the Kremlin's war aims. Each week we use this Forum to hold Russia to account for its information manipulation, the scale and nature of which has been demonstrated through its war on Ukraine. And this is not just confined to the FSC - we continue to see Russia's attempts to push its information manipulation across international fora. The UK and our Allies stand firm in our commitment to the integrity of the multilateral system, and we will not allow Russia's deception to be normalised. Mr Chair, last week, Russia took this an unprecedented step further. In its weekly General Statement, it displayed and quoted from the purported front page of a March edition of a local UK newspaper, the Hull Daily Mail. The headline was evidently designed to stoke criticism amongst the British public of the UK's continued support for Ukraine. However, it has been clearly established that the image displayed by Russia was a faked image, in which the actual headline of that edition had been replaced with a fake one about Kursk. The newspaper itself has made clear that the image had been faked. Two other newspaper headlines were also displayed which have also been proven to be faked. The use by Russia of faked newspaper images and headlines was at best, a failure to ensure the authenticity of its sources. At worst, and far more likely given what we know about Russian behaviour, this was a deliberate attempt to manipulate the representatives in this Forum. Either way, this represented an egregious departure from the norms of conduct in international organisations. The use of falsified documents by States in multilateral fora, and other efforts to sow disinformation, must be called out, and the record corrected. We cannot allow this Forum, or any other international organisation, to be influenced by these attempts to deceive us. Such attempts fundamentally undermine trust and credibility. Without trust, how can we deliver on our mandate of transparency, risk-reduction and Confidence and Security Building Measures? Without the credibility of our counterparts, how can we take seriously what Russia is saying? Mr Chair, all of us have committed to executing the mandate of this crucial Forum. Trust and credibility are cornerstones of this. We urge Russia to return immediately to professional diplomatic conduct. Its efforts to deter us from supporting Ukraine will not succeed. We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. Thank you, Mr Chair. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tonga, Micronesia get largest increases in Australia's Pacific aid budget Analysts say the Pacific's largest aid donor may be filling shortfalls left by the shuttering of USAID. By Harry Pearl for BenarNews 2025.03.26 SYDNEY -- Tonga and the Federated States of Micronesia will receive notable increases in Australian foreign aid this year, as analysts say there are indications that Canberra is stepping in to fill a regional void left by a U.S. freeze on development assistance. Overall, Australia announced A$5.1 billion (US$3.2 billion) for foreign aid in the 2025-26 budget released Tuesday, a 2.7% increase on the previous year, but about flat in real terms. Pacific island nations were allocated A$2.157 billion, up from A$2.05 billion for the 2024-25 financial year, budget documents show. The region now accounts for about 42% of Australian aid, almost doubling from a decade ago and making it the Pacific's biggest donor, partly in response to China's inroads with Pacific island states. In a statement Tuesday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in "uncertain times" Australian aid was going to the Pacific and Southeast Asia, "where Australia's interests are most at stake." In the Pacific, the largest aid increases are directed towards the Federated States of Micronesia and Tonga, the latter of which will receive A$85 million over the next four years to support its economy. Tonga's small and fragile economy is under strain amid looming debt repayment obligations to China of about US$120 million, which is roughly a quarter of its gross domestic product, according to a Lowy Institute analysis. Assistance to Tonga is part of a broader A$296 million package for Pacific island nations to respond to shocks and bolster economic resilience. A total of A$355 million will also be provided over four years for climate resilience projects in Pacific and Southeast Asian countries. Australia will spend about A$81 million over three years on health in the Pacific and Southeast Asia to continue services for HIV and tuberculosis, maternal and child health, family planning and sexual and reproductive health. The announcement comes amid widespread fears that U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order in January to freeze almost all U.S. foreign aid would wind back progress made in containing deadly diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV. "TB and HIV programs in PNG and Fiji might be affected by the U.S. cuts," said Cameron Hill, a senior research officer at Australian National University's Development Policy Center. "That is an area where I think the government is concentrating some effort and also some civil society programs in the Pacific ... which aren't big in dollar terms, but the U.S. has traditionally played a big role in those," he said at a panel Wednesday on the budget's aid component. Hill said about A$120 million, or about 2.3% of aid spending, had been reprioritized in 2025-26 away from multilateral and global programs. The "unprecedented divergence between defense and development spending is still growing" and will likely rise to a ratio of about 13:1 by the end of the decade, he said. Canberra announced last year it will spend an additional A$50.3 billion on defense over the next decade. Australia's aid budget has held relatively steady amid a global retreat in foreign development assistance, led by the Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Trump on Jan. 20 ordered a 90-day program-by-program review of which foreign assistance programs deserved to continue. Robin Davies, an honorary professor at the Development Policy Center, said about 10 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries -including the three largest the U.S., Germany and Britain have announced significant cuts to foreign aid over the past year. He estimated that anywhere from a third to a half of existing aid from OECD sources might disappear within the next few years. "I think the real impact in our region of the U.S. cuts will be through the weakening of multilateral organisations that we really want to remain in places like Suva, Port Moresby or Jakarta," he said at the panel discussion. Total American aid spending reached US$3.4 billion in the Pacific between 2008-22, according to the Lowy Institute, with most money directed towards the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. The three Pacific Island countries give the U.S. exclusive military authority in their territories in exchange for economic assistance under compacts of free association. "About 80% of American aid to the Pacific goes to those three countries, and it is still unclear what shape that compact assistance will take in the future," said Hill. "The Biden administration signed last year new 20-year compact agreements, but it's not clear whether the Trump administration will honor those or the new congress will honor those." BenarNews is an online news outlet affiliated with Radio Free Asia. 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 UN Mission urges restraint as South Sudan crisis deepens By Vibhu Mishra 26 March 2025 - The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has called on all parties to exercise restraint and uphold the peace agreement as violence escalates and reports emerge of the detention of First Vice President Riek Machar. "Tonight, the country's leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict or taking the country forward towards peace, recovery and democracy in the spirit of the consensus that was reached in 2018 when they signed and committed to implementing a Revitalized Peace Agreement," UNMISS Head Nicholas Haysom said in a statement issued late on Wednesday. Mr. Haysom, who is also the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan, cautioned that any unilateral amendments could reverse seven years of fragile progress and risk plunging South Sudan back into war. "This will not only devastate South Sudan but also affect the entire region," he added. UNMISS urged all parties to immediately cease hostilities and engage in constructive dialogue that prioritizes the well-being of the South Sudanese people at this critical juncture. The world's youngest country has been mired in conflict which erupted shortly after independence from Sudan in 2011, between Government forces led by President Salva Kiir, and fighters loyal to his rival Riek Machar, who has served as First Vice President since 2020 in a broad-based governing coalition. Clashes intensify Fighting has escalated over the past 24 hours, with clashes reported between Government troops of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition near Rejaf, just south of the capital Juba, and in Wunaliet, to the west. The situation in Upper Nile, in the north of the country, also remains volatile. Earlier this month the so-called White Army - a youth militia - overran South Sudanese army barracks in Nasir. In response, Government forces launched retaliatory aerial bombardments on civilian areas, using barrel bombs that allegedly contained highly flammable accelerants. An UNMISS helicopter - attempting to evacuate wounded SSPDF soldiers - in Nasir, region was also attacked this month, killing a crew member as well as several South Sudanese soldiers, including an injured General. Children at extreme risk Virginia Gamba, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, also warned that the surge in fighting is putting children at grave risk of violations, including killing, sexual violence and recruitment into armed groups. "I am deeply concerned over the escalating violence, particularly in the Upper Nile province, and I urge all parties to silence their weapons and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law," she said. "The stability of the country and a lasting peace for all, including new generations, is at stake." Repeated warnings Earlier this week, Mr. Haysom warned that South Sudan was "teetering on the brink of civil war," citing indiscriminate attacks on civilians, forced displacement and ethnic tensions. Renewed fighting "would devastate not only South Sudan but the entire region, which simply cannot afford another war," he said. Fragile peace at stake Civil war erupted in 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those aligned with First Vice President Machar. The war - marked by ethnic violence, mass atrocities and a widespread humanitarian crisis - lasted until a fragile peace deal was signed in 2018. Though the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement brought a degree of stability, delays in its implementation and continued political rivalries have kept tensions simmering. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan remains dire, with over nine million people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, including two million internally displaced persons. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Combined Drug Operation Seizes Six Tons of Cocaine in Gulf of Guinea In a significant combined operation, the French Navy seized over six tons of cocaine from a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Guinea on Saturday, March 15. By U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs , United States Africa Command Gulf of Guinea Mar 27, 2025 In a significant joint operation, the French Navy seized over six tons of cocaine from a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Guinea on Saturday, March 15. The operation, which highlights the effective collaboration among the French Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) underscores ongoing efforts to combat transnational organized crime in the region. Information was coordinated and deconflicted by the Maritime Analysis Operations Center Narcotics (MAOC-N) in Lisbon, Portugal. The French Navy, while conducting routine patrols as part of Operation Corymbe, intercepted a fishing vessel approximately twenty meters long, flagged in Guyana. The operation resulted in the confiscation of 6,386 kg of cocaine with an estimated market value of nearly 371 million. The seized narcotics were subsequently transferred to the French naval ship for destruction in accordance with directives from the Brest prosecutor's office. "This remarkable seizure underscores the collaborative efforts among international partners to combat drug trafficking and enhance maritime security," said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command deputy commander. "The steadfast commitment of our allies, including the French Navy and other U.S. agencies, reflects our collective determination to safeguard our borders and disrupt the operations of organized crime syndicates." The maritime prefecture noted that the operation demonstrates the effectiveness of French naval actions in safeguarding external borders and tackling organized crime. The six individuals found aboard the vessel comprised a Colombian, a Dominican, and four citizens of Guyana, all of whom were arrest-ed during the operation. In a statement released on Sunday, the Government of Guyana expressed its support for the French operation, affirming its commitment to international cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and other forms of transnational crime. The statement also confirmed that authorization had been granted for the French forces to board the vessel. This successful mission not only signifies a significant blow to drug trafficking networks but also rein-forces the importance of international collaboration in enhancing regional security across the Gulf of Guinea. U.S. Africa Command remains dedicated to supporting such initiatives and fostering partner-ships aimed at stabilizing the region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Congress urges Georgia to resume political dialogue at all levels of government Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Strasbourg 27 March 2025 The Congress has urged Georgian authorities to resume inclusive political dialogue at all levels of government and with all stakeholders - including local authorities, opposition and civil society - in order to reduce polarisation, restore the checks and balances essential in a pluralist democracy and regulate the participation rights of the opposition. This is indispensable to restore the conditions for a democratic environment ahead of the 2025 local elections. In its resolution and recommendation based on a report presented by Cecilia Dalman Eek (Sweden, SOC/G/PD) and Bernd Vohringer (Germany, SOC/G/PD) on 26 March 2025 during its 48th session, the Congress noted with concern that the rapid democratic backsliding observed in Georgia over the past two years has increasingly affected local democracy in the country. The marginalisation of the opposition and the lack of dialogue with the ruling authorities has led to a de facto absence of political pluralism, including in municipal councils, and to an excessive concentration of power by the ruling party, prompting the opposition to boycott all decision-making bodies. Consequently, the shortcomings and challenges affecting the respect of democracy, rule of law and human rights have led to a collapse in public confidence in democratic institutions for large parts of the Georgian population, and notably the young people, and damaged local democracy, which is not conducive to holding the 2025 local elections in a trust-based environment. The Congress called on Georgian authorities to repeal legislation in breach of human rights, in particular the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, and avoid taking any actions that would impede the indispensable work of civil society; investigate arbitrary arrests and violent actions towards non-violent protesters and journalists at local level, release those who are detained and ensure lawfulness and proportionality of sanctions for offences related to public demonstrations in municipalities; as well as to repeal the contentious amendments of the Law on Public Service and reintegrate employees of local public service dismissed on the basis of these provisions. The Congress further urged Georgian authorities, among others, to repeal the amendments to the Electoral Code adopted in December 2024; undertake legislative reform to address the identified shortcomings; and stop cases of voter intimidation, pressure on public employees, vote buying and electoral violence. It also called on the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia to ensure that it serves as the representative body of all local authorities, not only those in which the majority of seats are held by the ruling party. The Congress reaffirmed that local and regional authorities are key in upholding and defending democracy, human rights and rule of law, not only within their communities, but as part of the system of checks and balances which represents the backbone of a genuine pluralistic democracy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 27, 2025 By Matthew Olay, DOD News Hegseth Brings DOD's Message to Troops on Guam Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived today in Guam, where he addressed hundreds of troops stationed in the region and a group of World War II veterans in attendance about the Defense Department's aligned core tenets of restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence. While delivering his remarks to the service members in a large aircraft hangar at Andersen Air Force Base, Hegseth emphasized that the deterrence piece of DOD's philosophy is especially significant in the Indo-Pacific region, which he referred to as the "tip of the spear." "You are at the front of the formation. I don't have to tell you that [because] you [already] know that," Hegseth told the troops. "You're living in history; you're living in reality, and you're living in a dangerous neighborhood. You are America's power projection and platform," he said, adding that the entire chain of command including commander in chief, President Donald J. Trump is relying on the men and women stationed in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of operations to be ready for any potential conflict. Stating the motto that resonates the most with him is "Those who long for peace must prepare for war," Hegseth made clear that while armed conflict in the Indo-Pacom region is the least desirable outcome of any geopolitical differences the U.S. military must be prepared for any contingencies. "We don't seek war. We don't seek confrontation. But, by being strong, our belief is that we'll deter it," Hegseth said. Along with hitting on the topline strategies for DOD going forward, Hegseth also took time during his remarks to remind the troops that he hasn't always been at the most senior levels of leadership in the military's chain of command. He said that when he was a junior officer deployed overseas, he used to spend a lot of time "as far away from the flagpole as possible," (meaning that it was preferable to stay focused on the mission at hand rather than get wrapped up in high-level strategies or politics). "Well, now it seems I am the flagpole," he jested, adding, "But my job is to understand where you sit, to understand what's going through your mind, what you're thinking about [and] anticipating what you need to train, to prepare, to have the guidance necessary for a future fight." Hegseth also said that having the opportunity to visit Guam as the 29th defense secretary has special meaning to him, as he has a late family relative who was stationed there in the mid-1940s. Milton Haugen, Hegseth's late maternal grandfather, was commissioned as a U.S. Navy ensign and served aboard the Cleveland-class cruiser USS Amsterdam in 1945, which supported attacks against Japan at the tail end of the war. Following Japan's surrender, Hegseth said his grandfather was stationed on Guam, where he was put in charge of running the base commissary, which was basically the equivalent of running the only grocery store in the area. "He made sure people were taken care of. He did his job. He played his role," Hegseth explained, adding that seeing all of the service members who currently work to support the Indo-Pacom mission is emblematic of all those who have served in the region before them. "Milt Haugen could have been sitting in seats just like this," Hegseth told the crowd in the hangar. "And he would have been proud to look out at the men and women in this formation who carried on that legacy." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Palestine: remarks by High Representative/vice-President Kaja Kallas at the joint press conference with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Mohammad Mustafa European External Action Service (EEAS) 27.03.2025 Ramallah, Palestine EEAS Press Team Check against delivery! Dear Prime Minister Mustafa, Dear Mohammad, It is good to be here in Ramallah today. The European Union's relations with Palestine are getting stronger. In less than a month, we will be holding our first-ever High-Level Political Dialogue in Brussels, with Palestine. This is an important basis to increase our cooperation in many areas. So let me thank you for welcoming me here today. Although I wish it was under different circumstances. The European Union strongly opposes the resumption of war. It is causing an appalling and unacceptable loss of life in Gaza. My messages during my first visit here are clear: Hamas must release all hostages, Israel must fully reinstate humanitarian aid to Gaza, and negotiations must resume. Prime Minister, you can count on the European Union's support to a return to the ceasefire. Our EUBAM Rafah border crossing Mission is ready to resume its monitoring activity at the Rafah Crossing Point. Recently, it helped more than four thousand people cross over to Egypt, many of them to seek much needed aid. It is hard to talk about reconstruction while the bombs are falling but the Prime Minister and I also discussed the Arab Plan for Gaza which is something the European Union supports as a basis. The European Union is the biggest donor of aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. And we will play our part in Gaza's reconstruction. As we move forward it is clear that Hamas cannot have a future role in governance. The exact form of governance will take more discussion of course and we can have those discussions in the future. But the EU sees the Palestinian Authority as best placed to govern Gaza. Here, Prime Minister, you can also count on the EU support in helping the Palestinian Authority to prepare. Last year we provided over almost 400 million in emergency support to the Palestinian Authority. Now we are preparing more longer-term support, conditional on government reforms. And while further discussions on how to share the cost for Gaza's reconstruction are needed, let me say this: Palestinians for whom Gaza is their home, must be able to return. Finally, on the West Bank, the European Union sees Israel's military operations causing more displacements and more destruction. Settler violence and new settlements under construction are undermining the prospect of a two-state solution, when the two-state solution is really the only path to sustainable peace. This is the position of the European Union. Thank you again Prime Minister, I look forward to our close cooperation, and also welcoming you in Brussels next month. Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-269802 Q&A. Q. Today the [inaudible] published 15,000 children named with age killed during this war. In a few days just 600 people killed, the health ministry said 70% of them are children and women. Are we going to see more intervention or more from the European Union to put an end to this war and to reach a ceasefire? Thank you. As I say, we support the return to the ceasefire, and we really deplore the appalling loss of life in Gaza. I think we can all think what more we can do. Today we also were discussing maybe that our Rafah mission could also be used to help the humanitarian aid to reach the people in need. We are trying to think along the lines of what more we can do. But right now it is for the mediators to sit down with the parties to really return to the ceasefire to stop the killing. Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-269803 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Missiles launched from Yemen trigger sirens in Israeli occupied territories IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 27, 2025 The Israeli military says it has intercepted two missiles launched from Yemen toward Tel Aviv, Al-Quds and other cities. Eyewitnesses reported explosions in Al-Quds whereas, police said air raid sirens were activated in central Israel and in the Al-Quds area as well as several settlements in the occupied West Bank. "The two missiles were intercepted before crossing into Israel," the military said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the sirens were activated "in accordance with protocol." According to the Israeli media, missiles fired towards central areas of the Israeli regime and that explosions were heard in Bethlehem and northern Hebron but did not mention about any damage or casualties. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces confirmed the launch of two ballistic missiles, aiming at Ben Gurion Airport and an Israeli military south of Tel Aviv, respectively. Yahya Saree said Yemen carried out another operation targeting "U.S. warships in the Red Sea, including USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, using several ballistic and cruise missiles and drones." He said the operations will "continue to prevent Israeli navigation in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea" until Israel stops its "aggression" against Gazans and lifts its siege on the Palestinian territory". So far, the U.S. military has not commented on the Yemeni retaliatory attacks. 4399 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel kills Hamas spokesperson in predawn strike on Gaza IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 27, 2025 Israeli forces have killed Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua in a predawn airstrike on Gaza, marking the third assassination of a senior Hamas official this week amid escalating attacks on the Palestinian territory. Al-Qanoua was killed alongside eight other Palestinians when Israeli fighter jets bombed his tent shelter in Jabalia, northern Gaza, early on Thursday, according to Al-Aqsa TV and Shehab News Agency. The attack occurred hours after Israel launched large-scale bombardments across the enclave. The assassination came just two days after Hamas political bureau members Ismail Barhoum and Salah al-Bardaweel were killed in separate strikes targeting a hospital and a tent compound in Gaza. Israeli forces also intensified attacks on Beit Lahia and Rafah overnight, with artillery strikes reported in southern Gaza. Over 30 Palestinian fatalities have been recorded since Wednesday. Hamas condemned the renewed Israeli offensive as a "premeditated escalation" by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to torpedo the January ceasefire and win support from far-right figures like Itamar Ben Gvir. 4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Baltic Military Conference started in Vilnius Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence 2025-03-27 International cooperation The Baltic Military Conference kicked off in Vilnius today. It will focus on the new era of warfare and resilience while highlighting the response to actions of hostile states. The event is attended by decisions-makers, high-ranking officers and defence experts. "The Baltic Defence Conference is an excellent platform for bringing together defence area decision makers, experts and defence policy professionals to share insights, discuss and assess the shifting geopolitical situation. This is in our centre of attention and the conference is a perfect opportunity to address the topics," says Minister of National Defence Dovile Sakaliene. It is one of the most unique international conferences held in Lithuania specialized in key defence themes at strategic level with NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) Admiral Sir Keith Edward Blount, German Vice Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Andreas Hoppe, Major General John R. Pippy Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania National Guard, United States, that has been supporting Lithuania for three decades now, as well as many other senior officers, decision-makers and de fence analysts among the participants. RAND Europe, an independent, non-profit research organization that is a Conference partner this year organizes a panel during the two-day Conference on defence industry and its stimulation in Europe facing geopolitical shifts. "We aim to foster resilience not just in the Alliance but also at national, institutional and personal level. We will discuss national and intergovernmental level in terms of security and defence at the Conference," says Commander of the General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania Col Ricardas Dumbliauskas. The fifth Baltic Military Conference takes place this year. The previous events in Vilnius were attended by renowned defence policy professionals, experts and senior military officers, such as former U.S. Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy, former Minister of Defence of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov, former Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces from General (retired) Rajmund Andrzejczak, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and many others. The Baltic Military Conference is organized by the Ministry of National Defence and the General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania in partnership with the Lithuanian Armed Forces under patronage of President of the Republic of Lithuania HE Gitanas Nauseda. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gitanas Nauseda greeted the participants of the Baltic Military Conference President of the Republic of Lithuania March 27, 2025 The President, who is in Paris to take part in the "coalition of the willing" meeting, extended a video greeting to the participants of the international security and defense event, the Baltic Military Conference "Defeating Aggressive Powers: A New Era of Warfare and Resilience." "I am pleased to welcome you at the Baltic Military Conference in Vilnius. This is a perfect opportunity to discuss in detail the future of our security," the President said in his welcome address. The Head of State emphasized that more than three years of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine have posed a major challenge for Europe and NATO, and underscored the need for concrete steps to enhance deterrence. "Our objective is to build strong deterrence that would not rely on empty warnings. NATO territory must be defended from the very first inch. It is the responsibility of all NATO member states," the President emphasized. Reaffirming Lithuania's commitment to strengthening national defense, the President stated: "Lithuania fully understands the seriousness of threats we are facing. We have no illusions about who our enemies are. That is why we are committing to invest more than 5 percent of our GDP in defense by 2030." On support for Ukraine, the Head of State pointed out that Ukraine's fight is about the future of European security, and stressed that if Russia succeeds, it will not stop at Ukraine's borders. Thus, we must continue to provide Ukraine with military aid, as well as financial and political support. The President concluded his address by calling for unity and determination. "Security is what all NATO members build together. We must remain united, ready and committed to our common goals," Gitanas Nauseda spoke. The Baltic Military Conference is held under the patronage of President Gitanas Nauseda. The event is organized by Lithuania's Ministry of National Defense and the General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, in partnership with the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The President's Communication Group NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address One year since accession: Sweden commence first contribution to NATO's Air Policing mission NATO Allied Air Command Mar 27 2025 Ramstein, Germany -- Yesterday Six Jas 39 Gripen from Norrbotten Wing of the Swedish Air Force, landed at Malbork Air base, Poland, as they prepare to take on NATO's enhanced Air Policing Mission for the first time since their accession. Since joining NATO, Sweden has been contributing to NATO Air Policing missions from Swedish territory; now for the first time, Sweden has deployed their combat aircraft to Malbork, Poland, highlighting their steadfast commitment to NATO. Operating under the NATO Allied Air Command, Combined Air Operations Centre, six Swedish JAS 39 Gripen aircraft from the Norrbotten Wing Fighter Squadron will be deployed from April alongside a detachment of Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon. "We are well prepared to take the next step to further strengthen NATO's air defence in terms of deterrence and to create security in NATO airspace together with our British colleagues" said Lieutenant Colonel Anders Gustafsson, Swedish Air Force Detachment Commander. NATO Air Policing is a peacetime collective defence mission, which is at the very heart of NATO's founding treaty. "We have had very good and close cooperation with both the British and the Polish to ensure that all pieces fall into place to get us ready for our QRA mission. Everything has gone very well so far, and we are looking forward to strengthen NATO's air defence" added Lieutenant Colonel Anders Gustafsson. Enhanced Air Policing is part of NATO's assurance measures introduced in 2014, after Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of the Crimean peninsula. These assurance measures with the goal to demonstrate the collective resolve of Allies, demonstrate the defensive nature of NATO and deter Russia from aggression or the threat of aggression against NATO Allies. "This is a significant contribution from NATO's newest member," said United States Army Colonel Martin O'Donnell, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe spokesperson. "We welcome the additional strength Sweden brings to our air policing mission." Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Secretary General visits Thales Herstal factory NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 27 Mar. 2025 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte travelled to Herstal, Belgium on Thursday (27 February 2025) for a meeting with the Chairman and CEO of the Thales Group, Patrice Caine. While in Herstal, Mr Rutte toured the Thales factory with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever. During his visit, the Secretary General emphasised the value of close cooperation between NATO and the defence industry. He highlighted that the defence industry is critically important for the Alliance's security and commended Thales for its investment in the next generation of scientists, engineers and technicians. Mr Rutte also emphasised the critical need to ramp up defence production in an increasingly turbulent security environment NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Allies discuss boosting defence spending and industrial capacity with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 26 Mar. 2025 Last updated: 27 Mar. 2025 On Wednesday (26 March 2025), NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska welcomed the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, to NATO Headquarters for a meeting with Allies in the North Atlantic Council. Ms. Shekerinska emphasised the need for Europe to boost defence spending and ramp up defence production, noting that a stronger European defence will also contribute to a stronger Alliance. Recognising that NATO and the EU are natural and indispensable partners, she stressed that efforts directed toward the European defence industry and capability development need to be complementary, coherent and interoperable with NATO, and involve non-EU Allies as much as possible. The Deputy General Secretary also highlighted the decisive role that NATO and the EU have played in helping Ukraine defend itself. She underscored the importance of further strengthening Ukraine both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. Ms. Shekerinska underlined the importance of continued NATO-EU exchanges to foster transparency on the issues of clear common interest and to explore further avenues of cooperation. She welcomed the White Paper for European Defence, and looked forward to working in "a truly collaborative way" during its implementation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address South Sudan: Protection of civilians and adherence to peace agreement critical to preventing all-out war, warns UN Commission Press releases Independent investigation 27 March 2025 JUBA/GENEVA -- The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has sounded the alarm over the country's rapidly escalating crisis, calling for urgent, coordinated action to protect civilians and preserve the Revitalized Peace Agreement, the cornerstone of South Sudan's fragile stability. The arrest of First Vice President and opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar, alongside mounting military clashes and reported attacks on civilian populations, signals a severe unraveling of the peace processand a direct threat to millions of lives. "At the heart of South Sudan's crisis is a failure to protect civilians and uphold the commitments of the Revitalized Peace Agreement," said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission. "The deliberate targeting of opposition leaders and civilians represents a reckless disregard for international law and the country's future." Throughout March 2025, violence has intensified in multiple regions, including Upper Nile State, where aerial assaults have displaced over 60,000 people and targeted populated areas following the 7 March attack on a UN peacekeeping helicopter. Armed confrontations have crept closer to Juba, amid reports of opposition figures detained without due process, in violation of the Agreement's provisions on political inclusion and rule of law. The Commission warned that failure to uphold the protections enshrined in the Peace Agreementincluding freedom of movement, political participation, and the cessation of hostilitieswill lead to a catastrophic return to war. "The Peace Agreement is not optionalit is binding," added Sooka. "Its systematic undermining by political and military actors is not only unlawful but a betrayal of the South Sudanese people who have already endured years of devastating conflict," she said. The situation is further exacerbated by the deployment of Ugandan troops and their battle tanks into South Sudan, following a request by the country's President. This raises serious concerns over potential violations of the UN arms embargo and the growing partisan role of foreign forces, which further endangers civilians and risks regional escalation. "The protection of civilians must be the central priority," said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernandez. "Instead, we are witnessing actions that increase civilian vulnerabilityindiscriminate attacks, arbitrary detentions, and foreign intervention. All these developments signal a dangerous lurch toward renewed conflict. Many South Sudanese have already suffered the consequences of reckless and criminal political and military decisions that led to full-scale war and ethnic atrocities. It should not be allowed to happen again," he stressed. The Commission emphasized that all parties to the conflictincluding State actors and militiasare bound by international humanitarian and human rights law. Violations, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, may lead to individual criminal accountability before domestic or international courts. "We must not allow South Sudan to repeat the mistakes of the past," warned Commissioner Barney Afako. "Failure to de-escalate the ongoing political and military tension will be cataclysmic for South Sudan. South Sudan's leaders must urgently sit down across political divides to de-escalate tensions, reassure an alarmed population, and address their differences. The region and the international community must move swiftly to engage national leaders, and states active in the conflict, to prevent South Sudan from imploding and aggravating the volatility of this fragile region. The way forward is clear: an immediate recommitment to the Revitalized Agreement, the release of political detainees, the cessation of hostilities, and above allprotection of civilians", he said. The Commission is calling on regional and international partners, including the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the United Nations, to urgently intensify diplomatic pressure, support de-escalation, and ensure full implementation of the Peace Agreement's provisions. Background: The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is an independent body mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council. First established in March 2016, it has been renewed annually since. Its three Commissioners are not UN staff, they are not remunerated for their work as Commissioners, and they serve independently in their capacity as experts. They are supported by a Secretariat based in Juba, South Sudan. More information about the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan can be found here. Follow the Commission on X (formerly Twitter) here, on Facebook here, and on YouTube here. The expert members of the Commission of on Human Rights in South Sudan were appointed by the President of UN Human Rights Council to gather data on alleged human rights violations, collect unbiased information and provide independent analysis. The experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights Office provides administrative, technical and logistical support to the Commission, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including the UN. Any views or opinions presented herein are solely those of the mandated body and its experts, and do not necessarily represent those of the UN. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Denmark voices concern over U.S. intentions in Greenland despite scaled-back visit People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 11:25, March 27, 2025 NUUK, Greenland, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Wednesday expressed concern over ongoing tensions related to U.S. activities in Greenland, despite the recent scaling back of Vice President JD Vance's planned visit. In a Facebook post, Frederiksen acknowledged that Denmark is facing a "difficult situation" and suggested the diplomatic standoff may continue. "There's a visit, then there's not, and then there's a new one. Or something entirely different the next day," she wrote. Frederiksen stressed that while U.S. interest in Greenland is unlikely to diminish, Americans are well aware that "Greenland is not for sale" and that Greenlanders do not wish to become Americans. She praised Greenlanders for standing their ground. "You have not let yourselves be intimidated. You have stood up for who you are - and shown what you stand for. That earns my deepest respect," she said. Foreign Minister Rasmussen echoed her concerns, warning that the core issues remain unresolved. "We should be glad that the U.S. plan to carry out a high-profile visit in Greenland - at a time when Greenland lacks a government - has failed," he said in a televised interview. "But that does not change the fact that we still face a challenge," he added, calling for unity in responding to U.S. pressure. Rasmussen criticized the revised U.S. itinerary - limited to a stop at the U.S. Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland - as a strategic rebranding. The White House announced Tuesday that Vice President Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, will visit Pituffik Space Base on Friday to meet U.S. troops and review the security situation. Earlier plans for Usha Vance to attend cultural events in Nuuk and Sisimiut, including a dog sled race, have been canceled. Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it became an integral part of Denmark. In 1979, Greenland achieved home rule, gaining greater self-governance while Denmark retained authority over its foreign and defense policy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address LatAm countries reject U.S. tariffs on countries that buy Venezuelan oil People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 13:14, March 27, 2025 MEXICO CITY/CARACAS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Multiple Latin American countries voiced disagreement on a U.S. government decision to impose tariffs on countries that purchase oil or gas from Venezuela. "We do not agree with the imposition of economic sanctions on (those) countries ... This is important because it doesn't affect a government or a person, but an entire people," Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a daily press conference. Sheinbaum also reiterated her position against trade sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela, adding that it is a stance she will "continue to defend." Instead of sanctions that "affect the people," governments should resort to "diplomacy and international dialogue," she said. Asked whether the U.S. measure could benefit Mexico in exporting more oil, Sheinbaum said her government prioritizes domestic consumption over exports while it maintains a strategy of energy self-sufficiency. The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Treaty also rejected the U.S. government decision, noting that Washington is "engaging in a new attack" against Venezuela through trade measures, according to a statement on Tuesday. The regional bloc said the U.S. measure seeks to "affect the good performance of the Venezuelan economy, with the clear objective of destabilizing institutions and peace in our sister nation." It urged "the international community to unequivocally condemn this illegal, criminal, and hostile action by the U.S. government," which affects not only Venezuela but all of Latin America and the Caribbean. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a 25 percent tariff on any nation that purchases oil and/or gas from Venezuela, accusing the Latin American country of sending "tens of thousands of" criminals to the United States. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Palace turns table on China: Follow int'l law, PH no one's chess piece Philippine News Agency By Darryl John Esguerra March 27, 2025, 1:52 pm MANILA -- The Philippines is an independent country and does not act as a "chess piece" to any global power, Malacanang said Thursday as it took a swipe at China's remarks about the country's defense cooperation with other nations. China's foreign ministry earlier suggested that those who "willingly serve as chess pieces" for other nations would ultimately be abandoned. The statement further called on some individuals in the Philippines to stop serving as "other countries' mouthpiece" for personal political agendas. The remarks came ahead of the scheduled visit of United States (US) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the country on March 28. In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro turned the tables on China, saying that if it is really concerned about stability, it should then abide by international law. "If China really believes in and is concerned about peace and stability in the region, they should abide by international law, they should also respect the sovereignty of each country," Castro said. "The Philippines is no one's chess piece, we are an independent country." The Palace official said the Philippines is free to make its own decisions regarding defense and security matters. "Tayo po ay independent at walang dapat manghimasok sa anuman po na desisyon ng ating pamahalaan (We are independent and no one can interfere with the decisions of our government)," she said. The Philippines and China have been locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims entirely as it owns, including resource-rich features in the West Philippine Sea. On July 12, 2016, the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention dismissed China's expansive claims under its so-called nine-dash-line as illegal. To this day, Beijing continues to reject the ruling. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IRGC Navy chief: Yemenis developing own weapons, not taking orders from any side Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 5:54 PM The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has hailed Yemen's retaliatory operations in support of Palestinians, emphasizing that the country's forces are developing their own weapons and not taking orders from any foreign side. "Yemen is an independent country. They manufacture their own weapons and military equipment with their own hands, and do not take orders from anyone. Yemenis are a zealous nation and support Gaza because they are witnessing the Zionist carnage," Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said Thursday. His remarks in an interview with Yemen's al-Masirah television came as as Yemeni forces launched a fresh ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport in the central part of the Israeli-occupied territories. Tangsiri underlined that the purpose of allegations that Yemen is taking orders from Iran is merely to insult the powerful people of Yemen and undermine their status. "I commend the honorable resilience of the Yemeni nation and their great leader [Abdul-Malik al-Houthi] in support of the oppressed Palestinian people. Yemenis have proven they are prepared to stand out against rebels and insurgents under any circumstances," Tangsiri said. The IRGC Navy chief noted that Yemenis have not surrendered to oppressors despite the eight-year unequal Saudi-led war. "Yemenis are standing courageously against numerous countries and superpowers. These countries could not impose their wills upon them," he said. Tangsiri also reiterated Iran's readiness to fight back after US President Donald Trump recently threatened the Islamic Republic with "dire" consequences if Yemen's forces continue their operations. He said while Iran does not seek war, "we will fight to the last against anyone who attacks us and we will annihilate them". "The price of surrender is more prohibitive than war," Tangsiri said. "We possess the most sophisticated military hardware to make our point. The fate of any destroyer that dares to attack us will be sinking," he added. Under Houthi's command, Yemeni forces initiated strikes on critical Israeli targets in October 2023. The operations came in response to the Israeli regime's launch of a US-backed war of genocide against the Gaza Strip alongside a simultaneous severe restriction of the flow of essential aid, including food and medicine, into the Palestinian territory. The strikes, along with operations targeting Israeli ships transporting military hardware and commercial goods to the occupied Palestinian territories, inflicted substantial economic damage on the regime. The forces stopped the strikes against Israeli and Israeli-linked vessels after implementation of a ceasefire agreement between the regime and the Gaza-based resistance movement Hamas, but resumed the operations when Tel Aviv began routinely violating the deal. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemen targets Israel's Ben Gurion airport, US aircraft carrier Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 4:29 PM Yemen's armed forces say they have successfully carried out an operation against Israel's Ben Gurion Airport and a number of military targets within the occupied territories in solidarity with Palestinians. In a statement released on Thursday, Yemen's Ansarallah resistance movement said the country's forces had struck the airport and Israeli military sites in the occupied area of Yaffa, using 'Dhu al-Fiqar' and Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missiles. The statement added that the operation successfully achieved its objective. Israeli media reports said that air raid sirens sounded across al-Quds and the central part of the occupied territories shortly after 1:00 p.m. local time on Thursday. An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed that the alarms were triggered by the launch of two ballistic missiles from Yemen. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident. The Yemeni resistance group has repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israeli-occupied territories as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. It has said it would stop such attacks if Israel halted its ongoing 'barbaric military campaign' in the besieged Gaza. Elsewhere in the statement, Ansarallah also said that its forces struck US warships and an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea. "In retaliation to the ongoing US aggression against our country, the missile , UAV, and the naval forces carried out a joint military operation targeting enemy warships in the Red Sea, led by the US aircraft carrier Truman, with a number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones," the statement read. Washington and London, the Tel Aviv regime's biggest benefactors, have been relentlessly bombing Yemen over the past several days, killing dozens, mostly women and children, in a desperate attempt to stop Sanaa's military operations against Israel. US warplanes carried out at least 15 air raids on the southern and northeastern regions of Yemen's capital late on Wednesday, including airstrikes in the vicinity of Sanaa International Airport. On Wednesday morning, the US-led western coalition renewed its targeting of the Sahar District of the Saada governorate. This region had been targeted with two dozen airstrikes in the middle of the night. Overnight US and British airstrikes also targeted the al-Rasool al-Azam cancer hospital in Saada, marking the second attack on the oncology center in just a few days. "The US aggression targeted the hospital for the second time, leading to its destruction. This comes just days after multiple airstrikes hit the same hospital," a Yemeni security source said. The Yemeni forces have responded to Washington's with drone and missile attacks on US warships in the Red Sea, continuing an intense naval campaign that forced several western warships out of regional waters last year. "In response to the US aggression against our country ... and within the framework of confronting escalation with escalation ... the missile force, the unmanned air force, and the naval forces carried out a joint military operation targeting enemy warships in the Red Sea, led by the US aircraft carrier Truman, from which the aggression against our country is launched," the Yemeni forces said. "The confrontation and clashes continued for several hours." Yemen has launched several attacks on Israel since the Gaza ceasefire collapsed, which led to the Yemeni forces resuming operations in support of the besieged Palestinian strip. Trump's decision to restart the previous government's war against Yemen has been overshadowed by an intelligence scandal involving a leaked group chat among US officials planning attacks on multiple Yemeni cities. Leader of Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in a recent speech said that "the Israeli enemy's aggressive course, in partnership with the US, is moving toward a clear goal, an attempt to eradicate the Palestinian cause." Al-Houthi added that "the displacement of the Palestinian people is evident in the Israeli enemy's actions of genocide, destruction, starvation, and thirst." He stressed that "the displacement of the Palestinian people is also evident in the attacks on the occupied West Bank." Al-Houthi stated that "the Arab countries must take serious action and a courageous and historic position to prevent the displacement of the Palestinian people and reject normalization." On 18 March, Israeli forces resumed their aggression on the Gaza Strip, following a two-month pause as part of a ceasefire agreement that came into effect on 19 January. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Fresh Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon leave four dead despite ceasefire Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 2:56 PM In fresh violations of a fragile ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, Israeli military aircraft have launched a string of airstrikes in the southern part of the Arab nation, leaving at least four people dead. Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health stated in a report that an Israeli aerial raid targeted a vehicle in Yohmar al-Shaqif town of the Nabatieh governorate on Thursday, resulting in the death of three individuals. One more Lebanese was killed and another injured when an Israeli drone launched a guided missile at a vehicle in the Maaroub town of the Tyre district, Lebanon's official National News Agency reported. An unnamed Lebanese security source said the drone "fired an air-to-ground missile at the civilian vehicle," setting it on fire. The source identified the victim as Hassan Naamah Sabra, a Hezbollah military commander from the town of al-Qantara in southern Lebanon, adding that his body was transported by civil defense teams to a hospital in Tyre. Meanwhile, the Israeli military alleged in a statement that the Israeli Air Force "struck and eliminated" Ahmad Adnan Bajjiga, a battalion commander in Hezbollah's Radwan Force, in an overnight attack on the southern Lebanese town of Derdghaiya. The military accused Bajjiga of advancing and directing "numerous" attacks against Israeli settlers and troops, including during the past months. So far, there have been no reports or confirmation from the Lebanese side concerning the Israeli claim. Earlier on Thursday, Israeli artillery shelled the Dabsh neighborhood east of Yohmar al-Shaqif, with six shells landing in the targeted area. After enduring substantial losses over almost 14 months of conflict and not achieving its aims in the offensive against Lebanon, Israel had no choice but to agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah. The ceasefire was implemented on November 27. Since the initiation of the agreement, the occupying forces have been conducting attacks on Lebanon, violating the ceasefire, which encompasses airstrikes across the Arab nation. On January 27, Lebanon declared its decision to prolong the ceasefire with Israel until February 18. Despite the February 18 deadline having passed, Israel persists in its occupation of five critical areas in southern Lebanon, which include Labbouneh, Mount Blat, Owayda Hill, Aaziyyeh, and Hammamis Hill, located near the border. Lebanon has denounced the ongoing presence of Israeli military personnel, which constitutes a breach of the ceasefire agreement and the stipulated withdrawal timeline. High-ranking officials in Beirut have stated their intention to "employ all measures" necessary to expel the occupying forces from the Arab country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN warns about escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as over 142,000 displaced within a week Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 8:25 AM The United Nations has raised alarm over the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, reporting that at least 142,000 Palestinians have been displaced within just one week due to intensified Israeli bombardments and forced evacuation orders. Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference on Wednesday that 142,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced since Israel resumed its war on Gaza on March 18. "Relentless bombardments and daily displacement orders, coupled with the ongoing blockade on cargo entering Gaza and systematic denials of humanitarian movements inside the strip, are having a devastating impact on the entire population of more than 2 million people," Dujarric said. Dujarric noted that as the conflict intensifies, the number of displaced individuals is expected to rise significantly. Late on Tuesday, OCHA warned that many people are now "staying on the streets, in desperate need of food, drinking water, and shelter essentials" as they flee "with only a few personal belongings." Only on Wednesday, more than 39 people were killed and 124 others wounded in 24 hours due to Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Bombardments were reported in various regions of Gaza, including Jabalia in the north, as well as Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south. Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia targeted a civilian home, resulting in the deaths of at least eight individuals, including a six-month-old baby. Similarly, a residential flat in the Bureij refugee camp was struck, claiming the life of another child. OCHA highlighted the plight of approximately 250,000 Palestinians currently residing in areas earmarked for evacuation, including more than 50,000 individuals at 240 sites designated for internally displaced persons. The ongoing displacement crisis is largely fueled by Israel's forced evacuation orders and the destruction of homes and public infrastructure. Since Israel resumed the war, its military has issued six notices, placing about 15 percent of Gaza under evacuation, the agency added. Amid the humanitarian challenges, the remaining water system in Gaza is also on the brink of collapse. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that the situation will deteriorate further if fuel supplies run out, critically limiting access to clean water. Chiara Lodi, MSF's medical team in Gaza, highlighted the rising health issues, stating, "The alarming increase in children suffering from skin conditions is a direct consequence of the devastation and blockade in Gaza." She reported a surge in preventable skin diseases among children, underscoring the severe impact of the ongoing conflict. The MSF statement came as Israel's stringent blockade entered its 25th day, following the refusal to adhere to a ceasefire agreement, which has led to a dramatic rise in civilian casualties. Gaza's health ministry has reported that over 830 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 1,787 others wounded since Israel resumed its war on Gaza on March 18, averaging 103 killed and 223 wounded daily. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen kick off joint naval drills in support of Gaza Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 7:31 AM Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen have launched a joint naval exercise in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who have been enduring the Israeli regime's criminal war. The joint parade kicked off across the Persian Gulf, Makran coastal region, and the Caspian Sea in the northern and southern territorial waters of Iran on Thursday ahead of International Quds Day. IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said 3,000 heavy and light vessels are taking part in the parade. The parade mainly aims to display the maritime capabilities of the resistance front and convey a message to the wicked and oppressive Israeli regime, he added. 'IRGC will turn the sea into hell for Israel' Tangsiri said the IRGC naval forces are pursuing the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and will "turn the sea into hell for the Zionists and eliminate Israel from the face of the world." "We will not only fight on land. We are also ready in the sea and you will have no way to escape," the IRGC commander told the Israeli regime. "We will establish security and power in the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the northern part of the country and prevent any adventurism by the enemies," he added. The IRGC commander emphasized that such a regional alliance would pose a challenge to the Israeli regime. He also noted that Iran's mobilization of naval forces is not only a military force but a symbol of resistance and prowess of Muslim nations in the face of enemies. Pointing to the significance of International Quds Day, Tangsiri said, "This day symbolizes uprising against oppression and defense for the oppressed." He added that not only the Iranian nation but all Muslims around the world will express their protest against Israel on this day. During the parade, the flag of Palestine was displayed, and the flag of the Israeli regime was set on fire and destroyed in the Persian Gulf. The IRGC Navy's Shahid Bagheri drone carrier, Raees Ali Delvari warship, and Tareq-class missile-launching speed boat are participating in the drill. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel kills Hamas spokesman in assault on northern Gaza as assassination spree rages on: Reports Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 3:16 AM Israeli airstrikes on the northern Gaza Strip have claimed the life of Abdul-Latif al-Qanou, a spokesman for the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, according to reports. The official was martyred in an Israeli bombing that struck his tent in the city of Jabalia, various media outlets, including the Palestinian Quds News Network, reported on Thursday. The attack also left several others wounded, including children, reports noted. The movement is yet to comment on the reports. The reported assassination marked the latest in a series of targeted killings as the Israeli regime continues its October 2023-present war of genocide against Gaza, following a short-lived hiatus, during which it would regularly violate the terms of a ceasefire deal with Hamas, using deadly aggression. The suspected assassination came just days after the regime's targeted killing of two prominent members of Hamas's Political Bureau, Ismail Barhoum and Salah al-Bardaweel, who were killed in separate attacks on a hospital and a tent respectively. According to Hamas, the regime has assassinated at least 11 members of the Political Bureau so far. Those assassinated include top leaders such as Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Saleh al-Arouri, and Rawhi Mushtaha. Hamas has, however, vowed to remain undeterred by the assassination campaign, asserting that the resistance movement was deeply rooted in the Palestinian soil. Most recently, spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri emphasized that the blood of Hamas' leaders was equal to that of Palestinian children, and the assassinations would not prevent the movement from pursuing its struggle for liberation. The regime's attacks have, however, been taking an extremely more drastic toll on civilians in the Palestinian territory. Over all, the brutal military onslaught has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians so far. Also on Wednesday, the Israeli military was reported to have targeted multiple locations across Gaza, including by bombing the southern city of Khan Younis, during which it wounded several children. In Gaza City's Saftawi area, an entire family of six was killed in a separate bombing that targeted their apartment building. The total number of fatalities from Israeli pre-dawn raids have reached at least nine Palestinians. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Radio Free Asia files lawsuit against US administration to restore funding RFA's federal grant was terminated on March 15, putting in doubt its future reporting on China and other authoritarian nations. By RFA staff 2025.03.27 WASHINGTON -- Radio Free Asia, which transmits uncensored news to millions of people living under authoritarian regimes in Asia, filed a lawsuit on Thursday to restore congressionally-mandated funding that was abruptly frozen earlier this month. The lawsuit asserts that denying funding for RFA, which comes through grants administered by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, or USAGM, violated federal laws, including the U.S. Constitution, because only Congress has exclusive power over federal spending. The legal complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and Democracy Forward on behalf of RFA. News of the possible closure of RFA has prompted Chinese state media to exult, with a journalist from a Chinese Communist Party-controlled publication hailing it as "EXCELLENT NEWS." RFA President and CEO Bay Fang called the termination "unlawful." "RFA remains committed to fulfilling its Congressional mandate of providing a voice that counters the propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party and other authoritarian regimes in Asia," Fang said in a press release. "They may be celebrating RFA's defunding right now, but we are confident that we shall prevail in blocking the unlawful termination of our grant," she said. The legal complaint also names as defendants Victor Morales, acting CEO of USAGM; Kari Lake, senior advisor to Morales; Russell Vought, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget; and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The termination of the grant, announced March 15, has forced RFA to furlough most of its Washington-based staff. The termination came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the reduction of non-statutory components of USAGM, the federal agency that funds RFA and several other independent global news organizations. Lake subsequently posted a statement that the action was required as the agency was "irretrievably broken." Journalists 'at risk of imprisonment' RFA was established by congressional statue. It has enjoyed bipartisan support since its founding in 1996 in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing. It sends news in nine languages to countries and regions across Asia that have little or no press freedom, such as North Korea, China, Myanmar and Vietnam, providing independent news and information to millions of people every week by radio, television and online means. Thursday's lawsuit cites RFA's "groundbreaking" reporting on a host of developments, including atrocities against Uyghurs in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, the cover-up by the Chinese Communist Party of COVID-19 fatalities, attempts to erase Tibetan culture and language, and the civil war in Myanmar. The lawsuit contends that through USAGM's actions to terminate funding, "RFA's operations have already been effectively shuttered, making it nearly impossible to perform its statutory mission." "Its journalists who often risk their lives to provide reliable and unbiased news in countries that are hostile to a free press may soon lose RFA's advocacy and protection and, as a result, will face an even greater risk of imprisonment and physical harm," the filing says. The lawsuit states that RFA has furloughed more than 200, or 75%, of its U.S. domestic staff, and has terminated or suspended contracts for 93% of its international and domestic freelance journalists. It also notes that dozens of journalists on employment-based visas in the United States could be furloughed or terminated and may be forced to return to their home countries "where some will face immediate arrest and detention because of their journalism." RFA is seeking a temporary restraining order barring USAGM and the other defendants from impounding congressionally appropriated funds, and a stay in the termination of its grant. RFA contends it is due nearly $35 million in funds appropriated to it by Congress up to Sept. 30, 2025. The Trump administration's moves to slash news organizations funded by the U.S. Congress, including Voice of America and those funded through federal grants like RFA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, have already triggered a slew of lawsuits. On Tuesday, a U.S. district court granted a request from RFE/RL for a temporary restraining order against the U.S. Agency for Global Media over the termination of its funding. The judge held that USAGM did not adequately justify its decision and found that forcing the closure of RFE/RL while it challenges the agency's decision would cause "irreparable harm." Edited by Malcolm Foster and Mat Pennington. 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 expands island building in disputed waters China still leads the way in land reclamation in the South China Sea. By Mike Firn for RFA 2025.03.27 BANGKOK -- Vietnam reclaimed land at a record pace in the Spratly island chain in the disputed South China Sea last year and recently finished new features on the islands, the latest study shows. However, China still dominated in dredging and creating artificial islands, according to U.S. think tank, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, or AMTI. Since June 2024, Vietnam created 641 acres (260 hectares) of new land, bringing the total to just over 3,300 acres (1,335 hectares), nearly three quarters of China's total. It also built eight new harbors. Vietnam, China and Taiwan all claim the entire archipelago of more than 100 islands. Parts of the Spratlys are also claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. Hanoi finished off landfills on Barque Canada Reef, Discovery Great Reef, Ladd Reef and South Reef last year. Work on Namyit Island and Sand Cay were also part of the military buildup that provided outposts to back up its claims to the island chain. Last year, Vietnam built an 8,000 foot (244 meter) runway on Barque Canada Reef, allowing most military aircraft to land, triggering protests from China. It could also build airstrips on Ladd, Pearson and Tennent reefs, according to AMTI, which said Hanoi is likely to add more military features in the months to come. Eight of the 10 newly created features include harbors, allowing its navy to match China's year-round patrols in the Spratlys. China already has large runways and military facilities on its "Big Three" islands in the South China Sea - Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi reefs. Vietnam has not spoken publicly about its reclamation project other than to say it wanted to protect the reefs and provide typhoon shelters for fishermen. Edited by Stephen Wright and Taejun Kang. 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 Joint Statement following the meeting between the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs PRESS STATEMENT 036 Thursday, March 27, 2025 The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Mihai Popsoi, today held a meeting that saw discussions on the situation in Ukraine and its implications for European security, the process of accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, and cooperation in the political, economic, commercial and cultural spheres, both at bilateral and multilateral level. Minister Albares and Deputy Prime Minister Popsoi reaffirmed Spain's and Moldova's condemnation of Russia's aggression against Ukraine as a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter, and shared their common expectation that the ongoing negotiations would lead to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace and the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Minister Albares reiretated to his Moldovan counterpart Spain's commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova and Spain's firm support in the face of hybrid threats and attempts to destabilise its democracy and institutions. He also mentioned the humanitarian support recently provided by Spain through UNHCR to help vulnerable households withstand the winter season. The two ministers discussed the ongoing reforms in the Republic of Moldova in the framework of the EU accession process, which began with the opening of negotiations during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in December 2023, and the 1.9 billion in support provided by the Reform and Growth Facility recently approved by the Council of the European Union. In the bilateral sphere, the two ministers noted the excellent state of relations between Spain and the Republic of Moldova, and congratulated each other on the progress made in recent years through the signing of agreements on social security, recognition of driving licences and bilingual education in public schools in Moldova. They explored opportunities for cooperation in security, defence, justice and the fight against organised crime. The Ministers agreed to negotiate the establishment of a mechanism for regular political consultations and welcomed the reciprocal support for candidacies in international bodies. -NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi at a Joint Press Availability US Department of State Remarks Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport Paramaribo, Suriname March 27, 2025 MODERATOR: Good afternoon, President of the Republic of Suriname, His Excellency Chandrikapersad Santokhi; His Excellency Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United States of America, Mr. Marco Rubio. Welcome, everybody, dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen of the press. A warm welcome to this press moment in the context of the visit of the Secretary of State of America. President Santokhi, I give you the floor. PRESIDENT SANTOKHI: Thank you, Madam. Good afternoon to all of you. May I once again extend my warm welcome to the Secretary of State, His Excellency Marco Rubio, and his delegation. And I wish to acknowledge the accompanying media from the USA and also the Surinamese and other international media, and I thank you for being here for this opportunity. Ladies and gentlemen, I have warmly welcomed the Secretary of State of the United States of America Marco Rubio and his delegation to the Republic of Suriname. And I may add that this is his first visit to the Caribbean, specifically Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, and within a very short time after taking office. Secretary of State Rubio, your visit provides a good momentum and opportunity on the way forward for our bilateral relationship. Suriname has a longstanding and strategic partnership with the United States of America. During our meeting, we have discussed opportunities for strengthening and expanding our bilateral relation and cooperation and furtherance of our partnership regionally. In the interest of further expanding the relationship, mainly in the field of trade and investment, we will work together to attract American investors to Suriname. After all, cooperation with America and American business leads back to the beginning of the 19th century, and we currently have significant investment from the American companies, particularly in the oil and gas industry but also in the gold sector. And I look forward to the participation of the U.S. delegation in the upcoming edition of the Surinamese Energy, Oil, and Gas Summit and Exhibition, SEOGS, which will be held in Paramaribo in June of this year. The importance of energy security in the Caribbean region was also addressed and discussed with Suriname, but also with Guyana, which are playing a crucial role. Both countries will become important partners for the Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere. My thanks to Minister Rubio for including my country, Suriname, in his first visit to the Caribbean and for the support he has promised Suriname regarding the energy security and further intensifying the relationship, which will be in benefit of both our countries and both our people. Thank you. SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you, Mr. President. We first of all thank you for the very warm greeting. And I just began my 10th week as the Secretary of State, so I am happy to be able to make this visit so quickly. I want to extend my gratitude for the invitation, for the hospitality, and for the chance to interact with you - such a closer partner the country is, and you in particular have been, for the United States, and that's a partnership we want to build on. Let me begin by extending my congratulations to your minister of foreign affairs, who will also be secretary general at the Organization of American States. It's an important organization that we want to see take on new vibrancy and new energy, and we look forward to working with you. It's something that the country should be very proud of. I think it signals the growing importance, relevance, the growing presence that as a nation you have on the regional stage and beyond. And so I wanted to extend that congratulations. I also want to acknowledge the foreign policy of the United States, I think, over the last 20 years needs revision. It has largely ignored opportunities. When we have found close partners, we have often in our foreign policy neglected those opportunities, and we spent a lot of time on problems instead and on countries and leaders that give us a hard time. We're going to change that. We want to change that. President Trump wants to change that. President Trump wants to make it clear that if you are a friend and ally, a partner of the United States, there are benefits for your country and for your people in doing so, and we want to enter it in terms of partnership. That's the way we view it. And so we wanted to take a particular interest in visiting and reaffirming our ties to both leaders and countries who have been strong partners, and you have been a very strong partner of the United States. We recognize the difficulties you faced not so long ago when you came into office and had to take on a large debt, an economy that was underperforming. And these things take a little bit of time, but now you've reached and are reaching a point of stability, and now the exciting moment is ahead. Now is the opportunity to build upon that, build upon the pillars of successful nation-states, which is security and stability, so then you can reach prosperity. And that's the path you're on, and I know it's a difficult path. I know it's a path that requires a little bit of patience, but it's an important path and the path you've put your country on and that we want to help you sustain and be on for the years to come, because you have an opportunity to do something very special here. You really do. You have - most countries, when they experience growth in a mineral sector or in the energy sector, they often don't plan for it. They plan for generating the revenue, but they don't plan how that revenue is going to benefit the people. And you have taken the time, and your government has taken the time and put in the time, to construct a plan so that these things aren't just going to generate revenue; they're going to generate prosperity; they're going to generate opportunity. That is the role of government. That is the role of forward thinking. That is the role of planning for the future. And you're doing that, and you're doing it in a way that, if done correctly and sustained, you stay on this path, you're going to have a country that's going to transform in this generation, and it's going to mean something extraordinary for future generations. And we just want to be a partner. We discussed in our private meeting that, unfortunately, we are witnessing in the region how oftentimes insecurity, instability, and poverty becomes contagious; it spreads and it impacts other countries. But the reverse is true as well: Stability, security, and prosperity can also become contagious, and you have an opportunity not simply to change the destiny of the people of your country but in other ways and in direct ways really help impact the security, stability, and prosperity of the region. And we just want to be helpful. We believe it is in our national interest to have a Caribbean region that is safe and stable and prosperous, and you're at the vanguard of that in what you are doing. And so we are just here to encourage you to continue to do that because we are going to do everything we can to ensure that American companies and American firms and investors who are looking for opportunities understand there's real opportunities here with the work you've put in to take on corruption, to take on - to establish strong rule of law and stability, so companies know if we invest in a sector it's going to generate revenue, jobs, and opportunity for the people of Suriname, but we also know that 5, 10, 15 years from now we're going to be safe in our investment because we have a country that has a strong democracy, has a stable rule of law, and has welcoming leaders who understand its importance for the people and for the future. And that's what we commit to doing, for looking to opportunities to build on all of this. We've spoken about such - some of the mechanics of preventing drug trafficking organizations from ever getting a foothold here, of preventing these transnational crime gangs from ever getting a foothold here. We want to be your partner in stopping that from ever happening so you never, ever - now or in the future - face the problems that some other countries are facing. And we've also talked about responsible ways, because you don't just want to - and you have the right vision for this. You don't simply just want to access the natural resources of a country. You want to do it in a way that's responsible, that protects the natural beauty of the land and preserves it so that future generations can enjoy it as well, and you have a unique and golden opportunity to do it. We're excited by your vision for it. We encourage the people of the country to sustain that vision, and we look forward to being your partner. We thank you for everything we've done together already and what hopefully we'll be able to continue to do in the years to come, certainly as long as I'm in this role. So I thank you for this very warm welcome and I'm excited about the opportunity. And my understanding, Mr. Ambassador, I am only the fourth Secretary of State to visit? AMBASSADOR FAUCHER: That's correct. Yeah. SECRETARY RUBIO: But how many have visited twice? (Laughter.) PRESIDENT SANTOKHI: That's up to you. SECRETARY RUBIO: All right, so we have a new - we've just set a new goal. We've set a new goal, and hopefully we can come back again and reaffirm that. It - I am - I look forward to doing that. PRESIDENT SANTOKHI: Thank you. MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Your Excellencies. I give now the floor to Ivan Cairo from De Ware Tijd. QUESTION: Good afternoon. SECRETARY RUBIO: Good afternoon. QUESTION: Thank you for this opportunity. Mr. Rubio, you just brushed on the topic of security. What can Suriname expect in regards to drug trafficking and combatting drug trafficking? Because for years there has been discussions that DEA will put up their office again in Suriname. Is this discussed? And also in regard to security, there was an agreement between Suriname and the United States, the Shiprider Agreement. Will that - will that be revitalized - the police cooperation with the police of Las Vegas? How is that in your policies? And the cooperation between the National Army of Suriname and the South Dakota military enforcements, how will that be or will that come into play the next coming years? Maybe the president could also chime in to that. Thank you. SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you. Well, on the first, I can't speak for the South Dakota National Guard, but I can tell you it's very cold in South Dakota, and so I think they'd probably like coming here and being helpful. How much does it snow here? PRESIDENT SANTOKHI: Well, we can import it. (Laughter.) SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, they're trying to get away from the snow. (Laughter.) But you mentioned the DEA office. That's something we're going to take back as well. But here's what we want to do. Let me explain. The goal - we're having this debate in the United States about foreign aid, and this is one of the reasons why I wanted to come to the Caribbean because - and meet with all these countries. For too long, our foreign aid has been driven by what we think you need. We tell you, okay, these are the five things we're going to do for you. Well, those aren't the five things you want. We're changing that. We want to make sure that we're providing the assistance that the countries need, and we want this power back over to our embassies under the State Department so we're providing the assistance you need. Let me tell you the second. The best foreign aid programs are the ones that come to an end because they have achieved their purpose. The purpose of foreign aid is not for the United States to be here for 25 providing law enforcement. The purpose of the United States is to help you build the capacity so you will be able to do it sustainably forever. Our job is to help you become self-sustained in this regard; and not only self-sustaining, but the goal is ultimately to help you be able to do this so well that you're now teaching other countries how to do it. You now become the country that helps others do it as well, and we think we can help with technology, with personnel, with best practices. We've talked about some of this already. We want to continue to build on that, because what we don't - what you don't want to see for a country is a place where drug trafficking organizations and gangs say that's a place where we can run guns, that's a place where we can move drugs, because they don't have the resources available to stop us. Then you become a magnet for that sort of activity, and nothing will set you back on economic growth and prosperity faster than that. When these vicious gangs get into a country, they start shooting each other and anyone who's standing in between, and it destabilizes society. You never want to reach that point, and we want to help you prevent that. We want - when these drug dealers look at the world, we want them to say I don't want to go through Suriname because their police departments and their law enforcement is so strong they'll catch us; let's go somewhere else, or let's go into another line of work. And that's what we want to see. So we are open to any programs we can do to build the capacity - which is already extensive; this partnership's very close. I mean, we cooperate on all of this already. We just want to keep building on it so that you can build a capacity where not only do you do it for yourself, but you're maybe helping other countries in the future do it because you've become so good at it. That's what we want to focus on; that's what we want to do. PRESIDENT SANTOKHI: Yes, thank you, Secretary. Just to add some more information, yes, the topic of having the DEA office in Suriname again was discussed, and that will be further considered by the U.S. Government. The topic on the security agreement, as you mentioned, the Shiprider Agreement - we do have a new agreement, which has been approved already by the government, and that agreement has been submitted to the parliament, and we are waiting for the approval. But after the approval, that agreement will be a very strong mechanism to get more support from the U.S. Government in terms of technical support but also material support in the interdiction program, particularly those criminal organizations who are making use of our territory by illicit dropping of illicit (inaudible) but also illicit landing. With the new mechanism and with the technical assistance of the U.S. agencies, we'll bring an end to this threat, which is very dangerous for our nation but also the neighboring countries. MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Your Excellencies. And now it's time for Ed Wong from The New York Times. QUESTION: Hi, thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, for taking questions from us. Mr. Secretary, first to you. You've traveled throughout the region. As you know, China has a growing presence throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. You carried out an effort to limit a Hong Kong company's presence in the Panama Canal, and you talked with some reservations about Chinese projects yesterday in Jamaica. I was wondering, is it the aim of the Trump Administration to try and have the two superpowers reach an accommodation or an understanding where each power limits their military, diplomatic, and economic presence in the backyards of the other powers, meaning spheres of influence for each power? And then related to China, in 2019 you supported legislation to support - to have the U.S. Government support the protesters in Hong Kong, the pro-democracy protesters. And mostly the protests were peaceful, but also occasionally they disrupted public life. And so based on your rationale for deporting campus protesters in the U.S., would you now support the Chinese Communist Party or Hong Kong authorities deporting foreigners who took part in those protests in 2019? SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah, the first question is silly, because the people that we're getting rid of in our country are vandalizing - they're not protesters; they're taking over college campuses, they're harassing fellow students. We let them in our country to study. We gave them a visa because they said, I want to go to your university, I want to get a degree. They didn't say, I want to go to university and I want to vandalize your library, and I want to chase Jewish students down the street, and I want to wear a mask over my face like if it's Halloween and terrorize people. We didn't give them a visa to do any of that. So we don't want those people in our country. They're not - they're not demonstrating for - they're going beyond demonstration. They are going and they are creating a ruckus. They are creating riots, basically, on campus. And it's making - it's unfair for students. Some of these schools are some of the most expensive schools we have in America. People pay a lot of money to go to these schools. They borrow money to go to these schools, and you can't even go to class because some lunatic who's covering their face is running through campus, spraypainting things, harassing people. And they're in my country as a guest. We want them out. Every one of them I find, we're going to kick them out. On your second - on your first question, I don't - we don't talk about spheres of influence. The United States in an Indo-Pacific nation. We have relationships with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines. We're going to continue those relationships. My problem with China is twofold. The first is we haven't - in many cases, we don't have American companies that have shown an interest in investing in a country, so they don't show up. You leave them with no option. My second problem is in a lot of these countries, the Chinese companies go and they do a terrible job. Not a bad job, a terrible job. I just came from Guyana, where we had to drive on a road the Chinese built that - you're on the trip with us. QUESTION: Yes. SECRETARY RUBIO: Did you have to go on this road? QUESTION: Yeah, it was bumpy. SECRETARY RUBIO: We almost all had concussions, because the plane - the road was so bad - it was terrible - they paid these people to build this road, and then they bring their workers. They bring their workers; they don't hire you, they bring their workers in to do all the work. And then - or they want you to borrow a bunch of money and then they hold it over your head. So what I want is for countries to have an alternative to that. What we want is for countries to have an alternative to that. We - if you're going to build a road, I want you to, like, have a real road. They were better off with a dirt road then the road we were just on. And it's not the fault of the current administration in Guyana; that was a road that was built before. But they did a terrible job. If you did that job in America, someone would sue you for a lot of money, okay? It was a bad road. So we want to be able to ensure that we are providing alternatives to what we think is bad work by the Chinese that never finishes on time, is always overbudget, and brings their own workers, don't even hire the locals. And one more point I would make in this regard. There are certain sectors, okay, when it comes to telecommunications and so forth, where I'm just honest with people. If you're going to have a telecommunications system that is controlled by Chinese companies, you're going to have trouble having American investors come in. Because they don't want all their stuff stolen. They don't want all their stuff yanked out by some back door that the Chinese have installed in their telecommunications system. Again, we've had to face that too in America, because Huawei was deploying in America as well. Again, we have to have an alternative, though. There has to be somebody else that comes along and says, we can do it too, and we won't spy on you when we do it. So our goal is twofold: create these options; but not just options that don't - that - to China; options to work that involves bad workmanship, overbudget, with debt attached, and using their own workers instead of yours. That's the alternative we want to provide in any endeavor we can. QUESTION: Mr. President, do you have any comments on cooperation with China in this hemisphere? PRESIDENT SANTOKHI: Well, I think the position which has been addressed by Secretary of State Rubio is quite clear what the position of United States of America is. Our position as a country is that we are developing our countries with international cooperation with a lot of countries - more than 170 countries we are cooperating. All these cooperations are based on pragmatism, based on the needs and the national interest of the countries. So in relation to China, what we are doing as a country is that we do have several areas of development. We are looking for investors. We are inviting investors. And just what the minister has said, not all the countries are showing up. There are sometime more countries which are showing up for their interests and their projects. So we need to keep that aspect also into consideration. My invitation to the minister was we need the private sector of the United States. A lot of those projects which are implemented in Suriname by Chinese companies - those projects were granted through international procedures, and through international bidding procedures our local companies, our local content (inaudible), are excluded. And most of these projects were financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and our view is that soon you will have more opportunities for the Surinamese companies, more and more Surinamese companies will evolve. And on the other side, we hope that more United States company will offer themselves and come to Suriname. We'll offer them all the incentives, and I think Suriname is a very close country to the United States of America. They don't have to look for opportunities in the Far East or in Africa. Here we are. Here we have the oil and gas, and we are very happy to welcome the opportunity. We are very happy to welcome Halliburton, we are very happy to welcome Schlumberger, and we see more and more U.S. companies coming to Suriname to invest, and they are very welcome. MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Your Excellencies. We have come to an end to this press moment. We thank you for being here. Thank you very much, and this is the end. See you next time. Bye. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Rubio's Call with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Al-Yahya US Department of State Readout March 27, 2025 Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya spoke today to reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-Kuwait bilateral relationship. The two discussed opportunities to enhance economic cooperation and reinforce bilateral ties. They also explored avenues for collaboration on regional issues of mutual interest. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali at a Joint Press Availability US Department of State Remarks Marco Rubio, Secretary of State State House Georgetown, Guyana March 27, 2025 MODERATOR: Please remain standing. You may be seated. You will be witnessing the signing of the MOU between Guyana and the United States this morning. I now invite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative, Mrs. Peggy McLennan, to give an overview. MS MCLENNAN: Thank you, Marcia. Your Excellency Mr. President, members of cabinet, ladies and gentlemen, today, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Hilton Todd and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are signing a Memorandum of Understanding between our two countries to deepen security cooperation and address regional challenges, including countering narcotics trafficking and transnational organized crime. Under this mechanism, Guyana and the United States will strengthen information sharing, synthetic drug detection, transnational organized crime investigations and prosecutions, and military-to-military cooperation. MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We now have the signing between the two nations. (The Memorandum of Understanding was signed.) (Applause.) MODERATOR: Thank you very much, and now I invite his excellency to address us. PRESIDENT ALI: Good afternoon, all. Secretary Rubio, you are no stranger to Guyana. Secretary Rubio has been and continues to be a strong advocate for Guyana's development, democracy, and peace. He has consistently demonstrated his personal commitment to the national rule of law, democracy, and security. Guyana and the United States share a long bond of friendship and partnership. Indeed, the best of partnerships are those built on shared values, neutral trust, and a commitment to the rule of law and international order. This is what underpins our bilateral relationship and friendship. The United States is our trusted partner as we continue to build a stable, secure, and democratic society here. This visit has allowed us to consolidate our bilateral agenda - defining policies and outlining clear intentions in areas of security, trade, energy, investments, infrastructure, democracy, regional peace and stability, human capital deployment, and development. I am very pleased at the reassurance of the U.S. in ensuring the safeguard of our territorial integrity and sovereignty. Our partnership and joint commitment to the safeguard of this region from every disruptive force is key to the maintenance of democracy and adherence to the rule of law. The threats from Venezuela were specifically discussed. Their blatant violation of the ICJ order and Argyle Declaration were noted. Our joint commitment in enhanced partnership in combating transnational crime - inclusive of narcotrafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, and all forms of smuggling - is reflected in an enhanced MOU signed today. We have reassured our partner that we'll continue to ensure all international and local labor laws are adhered to in the hiring of regional and international labor. Further, with our expanding healthcare system and critical shortage of human capital, we'll explore areas of collaboration, filling existing gaps. We were able to identify key infrastructure that are also critical to regional development as possible areas for investment and development. We have committed to working closely together on the deployment of our energy potential, ensuring greater integration, value creation, and regional energy security, food security, and enhanced trade through joint initiatives to remove hurdles and expand existing areas of interest is key for both countries. I am confident that the outcome of this visit has further aligned our policy agendas, shared commitment, and partnership that will see enormous benefits for our two countries and the region. Let me once again thank Secretary Rubio for his personal commitment and that of the U.S. government to Guyana and this region in general. I thank you. (Applause.) SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. And we have been working together and interacting for some time during my time in the Senate, but I told him I wanted to wait until I was Secretary of State to visit, and so here I am. And I didn't know that was going to happen, but I'm grateful for your - for this visit and for the warm welcome we've received, and it's an exciting time to be here. I think - and to the people of Guyana, thank you for welcoming us. I hope you fully appreciate and understand this is one of the most exciting places in the world to be right now, because you have the opportunity, at this moment, to transform this country for generations, and we want to be your partner. We want to be your partner in making that possible. We think it's of mutual benefit to see that happen. I get to visit in this job - already have - a number of countries in the nine weeks. I've only been on the job for nine weeks, so let the record reflect after nine weeks this was one of my first visits here that I've taken abroad. But we get to visit a lot of counties and when you visit you have some countries, unfortunately, are facing tremendous challenges and they're just looking to stabilize. Other countries are looking to improve and make progress. This country has an opportunity to transform. And that's rare in the history of nations, to have an opportunity for transformative change. And what I mean by transformative change is not simply oil and gas fields. And that's very important - natural resources are critical - but that is just the basic ingredient that allows prosperity to happen. One of the topics that's talked about all over the world today is data centers and the digitization of the economies, artificial intelligence. Do you know what you need in order to do that? You need to have really good scientists, and engineers, and technicians that know how to run it. But the most important thing you need to be a dominant presence in the world in data centers and artificial intelligence is reliable and affordable energy. That's just one example, among many others. You have an opportunity to expand, in a responsible way, agriculture production, not just for the needs of your population but for the region, and to do it in a way that safeguards the beauty and the natural environment, that's pristine. You have an opportunity to expand in issues of ecotourism. I'm not a big fan of ecotourism - not - I'm not against ecotourism; I'm not an ecotourist. I like staying at hotels. I'll do it; maybe I'll go somewhere. But there are people that love this stuff. They love it. And you have an opportunity to do that in an incredibly responsible way. I'm just touching on a few things, but - that are opportunities before you. And that shared prosperity for your country that will come as a result of that is transformative. The lives of your children, the lives of your grandchildren, your lives are going to look very different in five to ten years under this leadership and under this vision as it continues, and we just want to be a partner. Why do we want to be a partner? Let's - just to be frank, why does the United States care about it? Number one, we care about it because we think it creates a level of stability in the region which we share - which we share. Not just stability here, stability for your neighbors, because we believe prosperity can become contagious. Just like instability can become contagious, stability and prosperity can become contagious. It won't just help you, it will help all of your neighboring partners in the Caribbean Basin and the region writ large, and we think that ultimately makes life in America safer and more prosperous as well. And so we wanted to look for every opportunity possible to partner with you. But the basic element of any of this, the basic element of progress and transformation and prosperity, is always security. So number one, we want to make sure that some of the tragic regional problems that exist with crime, transnational crime - we have a huge problem in the world right now with organized gangs and narcotraffickers that destabilize societies - we want to make sure that never reaches here. And that's why today's MOU and the work we'll do together will - is designed not to stop it, but to prevent it from ever taking root, from ever finding its way here. Because unfortunately, sometimes crime is attracted by prosperity and targets prosperity. And the other are regional threats - the regional threats based on illegitimate territorial claims by a narcotrafficking regime. And I want to be frank, and I've said this during my time as a senator, and I have full confidence in saying now as the Secretary of State: There will be consequences for adventurism. There will be consequences for aggressive actions. And that's why our partnership in that regard will be important. That is not what we want to be a feature of our relationship, but it is a necessity of our relationship, because you have a very difficult challenge on your hands with a dictator that's making illegitimate territorial claims. And so you have our full commitment and support - today we're demonstrating it - both in tangible ways, and we're going to look for ways to make it long-term and sustainable ways, to make abundantly clear that we are invested both as a nation and from our people in being your partner in transformation and in prosperity. And we will not allow illegitimate territorial claims to be an impediment to your dreams and to your right to develop this country into a symbol that I hope will inspire others to follow the example you set, Mr. President. So thank you. Thank you for the chance to be with you. (Applause.) MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Excellency, and Secretary Rubio. Members of the media, in the interests of time, we will accommodate four questions. We will feed two questions from the local media, and two from our visiting media. I recognize Stabroek News from the local media, as well as Mr. Campbell from the local media. From the visiting media - okay, you represent? Good. Great. And - all right, we'll start with Marcelle from Stabroek News. SECRETARY RUBIO: Hi. QUESTION: Good afternoon, sir. SECRETARY RUBIO: Good afternoon. QUESTION: Marcelle Thomas from the Stabroek News. You just spoke of consequences for aggressive actions, and that the U.S. is Guyana's partner. Given Venezuela's unprovoked aggression towards Guyana, I want to know if your country would stand by Guyana militarily if Venezuela were to attack this country. And what would be the U.S.'s response should Venezuela attack U.S. oil major ExxonMobil, which is operating in Guyana's waters? SECRETARY RUBIO: It will be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they were to attack Guyana or attack ExxonMobil or anything like - it would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them. And it would not end well for them. (Applause.) I'm not going to get into details of what we'll do; we're not big on those kinds of threats. I think everybody understands, and I want it to be clear - we've made this clear repeatedly - I think the U.S. Navy today is making it clear and demonstrating our ability to - we have a big navy and it can get almost anywhere in the - it can get anywhere in the world. And we have commitments that exist today with Guyana. We want to build on those and expand on those. And we'll leave it for the appropriate time, but suffice it to say that if that regime were to do something such as that, it would be a very bad move. It would be a big mistake for them. MODERATOR: We now invite from our visiting media. Please remember to identify yourself and the media house you represent. QUESTION: Hi, thank you. Hello, Mr. Secretary. SECRETARY RUBIO: Hi. QUESTION: Hello, Mr. President. Thank you for taking questions from us. We appreciate it. Humeyra Pamuk from Reuters. Mr. Secretary, a Turkish student in Boston was detained and handcuffed on the street by plainclothes agents. A year ago she wrote an opinion piece about the Gaza war. Could you help us understand what the specific action she took led to her visa being revoked? And what was your State Department's role in that process? SECRETARY RUBIO: We revoked her visa. It's an F1 visa, I believe. We revoked it, and here's why - and I'll say it again; I've said it everywhere. Let me be abundantly clear, okay. If you go apply for a visa right now anywhere in the world - let me just send this message out - if you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student and you tell us that the reason why you're coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we're not going to give you a visa. If you lie to us and get a visa and then enter the United States and with that visa participate in that sort of activity, we're going to take away your visa. Now, once you've lost your visa, you're no longer legally in the United States, and we have a right, like every country in the world has a right, to remove you from our country. So it's just that simple. I think it's crazy - I think it's stupid for any country in the world to welcome people into their country that are going to go to their universities as visitors - they're visitors - and say I'm going to your universities to start a riot, I'm going to your universities to take over a library and harass people. I don't care what movement you're involved in. Why would any country in the world allow people to come and disrupt? We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. And if we've given you a visa and then you decide to do that, we're going to take it away. I encourage every country to do that, by the way, because I think it's crazy to invite students into your country that are coming onto your campus and destabilizing it. We're just not going to have it. So we'll revoke your visa; and once your visa is revoked, you're illegally in the country and you have to leave. Every country in the world has a right to decide who comes in as a visitor and who doesn't. If you invite me into your home because you say, "I want to come to your house for dinner," and I go to your house and I start putting mud on your couch and spray-painting your kitchen, I bet you you're going to kick me out. Well, we're going to do the same thing if you come into the United States as a visitor and create a ruckus for us. We don't want it. We don't want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country, but you're not going to do it in our country. QUESTION: A follow-up? SECRETARY RUBIO: Sure. Just tell me your follow-up and I'll tell every - and depending on your question, I'll answer it or not. MODERATOR: No follow-up questions. All right. I now invite our Guyanese - SECRETARY RUBIO: No, no. She had - can I get her follow-up real quick? Go ahead. QUESTION: Could you confirm - there's new reporting that 300 visas - State Department has revoked 300 (inaudible). SECRETARY RUBIO: Maybe more. It might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa. QUESTION: It could - you're saying it could be more than 300 visas? SECRETARY RUBIO: Sure. I hope - I mean, at some point I hope we run out because we've gotten rid of all of them. But we're looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up. And by the way, we want to get rid of gang members, too. So Venezuela sent us a bunch of gang members. I'm sure you've heard of Tren de Aragua, Mr. President - a terrible gang, vicious gang. They flooded in our - yesterday - just so everybody knows, yesterday one of these gang members who was involved in New York City in attacking a police officer was deported back to Venezuela, because they're now taking flights again because of some strong measures we've taken. And this guy lands - this guy's a guy that attacked a police officer in New York City and laughed about it in court with a smirk on his face. When he gets off the plane in Venezuela, he's welcomed by this character named Diosdado Cabello. I don't know if you've heard of this guy. And he welcomes him, hugging the guy. So does anybody have any doubt that these people are pushing these people into the United States to destabilize us and the region? So yeah, we're looking for people like this, and we want to get them out of the United States, absolutely. MODERATOR: Thank you. We'll now field a question from Guyana. QUESTION: Thank you. Kurt Campbell, Newsroom. President Ali, you've already spoken about how President Trump's plans - tariff plans for China's ships could affect regional trade. I just wanted to know if in your trade talks today if that issue was specifically discussed - SECRETARY RUBIO: Yes. QUESTION: - by Secretary of State Rubio. SECRETARY RUBIO: And I can tell you - oh, you're asking him. I'm sorry. (Laughter.) QUESTION: It's for both of you. What assurances can you give Guyana and this hemisphere in terms of stemming indirect consequences? SECRETARY RUBIO: Yes. Well, that's - look, the goal the President has in doing so is we need to have an ability to build ships in this world that don't just come from China, okay. I think it's just dangerous to have one country in the world building all the ships. I assure you that - and we don't want a war, but I mean, they're not going to build ships for us if we get in trouble, right? So we need to have alternatives to Chinese ships, and we're trying to create a market and a demand for alternatives to Chinese shipping construction. And I'm the first one to admit that the United States made a terrible mistake when we deindustrialized and we allowed all these industries to leave our country and go to other places. Now we're paying the consequences, but we have to fix it. So I do believe - I can't speak - I don't - the trade portfolio does not belong to the Department of State, but I do believe that we will take this back because we've heard this not just here, Mr. President. We've heard it throughout our visits here in the Caribbean. And we're going to take it back and explain to those who are in charge of trade policy that there are some implications to applying it to certain nations who are partners and who are seeking to develop their economies in ways that I think serve the national interest of the United States, not to mention the national interest of our partners nations, and seeing what can happen. So I can't make a commitment to those exempt, because that's not something we handle in the Department of State. What I can commit to is that I will most certainly raise this issue as a recurring issue, in multiple places, that it would have a real detrimental effect on economic development. Maybe in 10 years it won't be an issue because there's been some diversification, maybe in five, but right now it would be problematic. That message I'll take back to Washington and to my colleagues that are handling the trade portfolio, and we'll see how the President decides to proceed. But rest assured we will take that message back. PRESIDENT ALI: And just to echo the sentiments that, yes, we did discuss it and the region would have raised it also. But there Secretary Rubio is - as he said, will take this back and to see whether there can be any special initiative for the region, given our specific circumstances. But let me say also that we have a responsibility to our friends. The U.S. is a great friend of ours. The U.S. would have made it very clear that they are ready to stand by us in our development, in our economic expansion, in our security, and in our defense. And I will say very boldly that such friends must have some different and preferential treatment, because a friend who will defend me when I need a friend to defend me, must be a friend that enjoys some special place in our hearts and in our country, and that will be the case. Thank you. QUESTION: And just quickly, illegal migration was also listed as a topic of discussion. Could you say what are the expectations from Guyana in this regard and any discussions on third-country deportations? SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, we want to work with you on that. I think that's a problem for you as well. I mean, obviously, because of the combination of your growing economy, labor needs, and your geography, you have been a place where a lot of people have come in, and I think you want it to be the right people, right? So I think if we have information that someone has entered your country who has bad intentions, we want to be able to share that with your government because you don't want that. You don't want those - if we have information on a Tren de Aragua gang member from Venezuela, we want to make sure that we're - we have collaboration and we're sharing that information. If we have information that some narcotrafficker is taking up shop here and has decided to try to turn this into a base of operation, which could become - could lead to violence and warfare here, gang warfare, we want to be able to share that with you. We want to prevent these problems from happening. So from the perspective of Guyana, which is not a source country of migration to the United States per se - illegal migration - but it is a country that receives, unfortunately, you're getting a lot of people. And not everybody that comes here - I mean, most people are probably here to work hard and so forth, but not everyone. So if we have information that someone is in your country that we know is a bad person, we want to be able to share it with you. We want to be able to share it with you very quickly. So that sort of information sharing has to be a cornerstone of this security agreement that we've signed today and want to continue to expand upon. MODERATOR: We will now field our final question from our visiting media. QUESTION: Thank you so much. Vera with the - Vera Bergengruen with Wall Street Journal. SECRETARY RUBIO: They're very tough, this Wall Street - be careful. All right. (Laughter.) QUESTION: Secretary Rubio, when you and President Bukele - you mentioned Tren de Aragua several times. When you and President Bukele negotiated the deal to transfer the U.S. deportees to his prison in CECOT, did you discuss any provisions to ensure that individuals mistakenly identified as gang members would have access to legal recourse and that they can secure their release if they are wrongly brought - wrongfully detained? SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah, we have - that list was carefully vetted, provided to us by Homeland Security. We have confidence in it. What we negotiated is the reality that they, in El Salvador, comply with all the international requirements for imprisonment. So we sent them people. It was a combination of people - gang members, people we knew were involved in activities that were not productive to the United States, all of them removable in terms of our laws, all of them; every single one of them was someone who was removable from the United States irrespective - and MS-13 members, some of - many of whom are Salvadoran that we had identified as MS-13 members, that they had helped us identify as well. And that - so it was a combination of people that we sent. And we may send more. We'll see. I mean, it's up to their willingness to accept, but we are grateful to them for the opportunity to do that. And remember, one of the reasons why we had to send some of those people there was because at the time Venezuela wasn't taking their people back. The Maduro regime - I say Venezuela, but it's not - it's the Maduro regime - was not taking their people back. They refused to take people back, their own people. They have an obligation. If you are a country and someone is illegally in another country, you have an obligation to take those people back, whether they're criminals or not. Venezuela said they wouldn't take them back, so we had to find a place to send them, especially the ones that had records and - or ones that we had strong suspicions and evidence that were involved in illicit activity. And so we had to send some to El Salvador because of that. Now they've taken them back. And one of them yesterday gets off an airplane, and this narcotrafficker Cabello greets him and hugs him on the tarmac. Now, what I heard ultimately, by the way, is that some of these gang members we sent back were so bad to Venezuela - they were so bad that after hugging them, maybe not this guy but I don't know, they had to put four or five of them back in jail. Because that's how dangerous these people are, even though they hugged them on the tarmac and put on this show. These are some really bad people. Tren de Aragua is one of the most dangerous gangs the world has ever seen, okay? When they were held temporarily in Guantanamo while being transferred to Honduras because that's when the Venezuelans picked some of them up, the Marines at Guantanamo said these are some of the roughest people we've ever interacted with. They were worse than the al-Qaida guys that were in their jails. Think about that. So that's who we're getting rid of, and we want to get rid of more of them. MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, members of the media, this brings the end to our media conference. And I would like to invite his excellency and Secretary Rubio for a photo op right on the stage. (Applause.) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Rubio's Call with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson March 27, 2025 The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce: Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed today. The Secretary and Prime Minister discussed the desire to strengthen the bilateral relationship around mutual priorities, including stability in the Horn of Africa. The Secretary reaffirmed U.S. support for a peaceful and prosperous Ethiopia. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali Before Their Meeting US Department of State Remarks Marco Rubio, Secretary of State State House Georgetown, Guyana March 27, 2025 PRESIDENT ALI: Secretary Rubio, let me again welcome you to Guyana. (Inaudible) you are no stranger to Guyana. You've been one of our strongest voices in the U.S., always keeping what is relevant to Guyana - security, peace, and importantly, on democracy issues, your voice - your voice is very well-known, respected, and very loud. And those are values that shape our relationship, so we are very pleased to welcome you. We were hoping to have you as a senator, but we have you as Secretary of State - (laughter) - and in a very important and interesting (inaudible) development (inaudible) where we see the U.S. important as a partner in security, investment, trade, including (inaudible). So welcome. SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you. It's sure exciting to be here, and I'll say this in a broader setting later, but I think this is one of the most exciting places to be in the world right now because of the extraordinary transformational opportunity (inaudible). I know of no other place that has (inaudible) the horizons that you do over the next five to 10 years. The fact that it's located in a region that we share is even more exciting. We're neighbors. We're always going to be neighbors, and we want to continue to build on that partnership. So for our country, for the United States, it's a desire to partner with you in ways that are mutually beneficial. We want this - your country - to be safe and secure and prosperous for all of your citizens, for - and to serve as an example, and also as a place that we can transact and we can do business and commercial opportunities together in a way, obviously, that respects your sovereignty and is critical to your plan and your vision for the people of this country and for the (inaudible). I think every country wants to be a place where their citizens feel like their children: when they grow up, they can stay - not move. You want - you don't want to be a place where in order to find a better life, if you become a doctor or an engineer, you feel like there are better opportunities in another place. And that's what you have the opportunity to do right now. That's what's already happening in your leadership. And so we want to be here to help that happen because we think it helps us. The stronger you are, the stronger we're going to be, so we're here to empower in the ways that we can. Obviously, you face a - some recently well-known challenges to your sovereignty and security, and I hope that today both in our meetings, in our statements, in our concrete actions - we know that fundamental to your plans for the future are your security and the integrity of territory that is yours, that belongs to you rightfully, and that (inaudible). The lines are well known. But you have, as I said, incredible opportunity. To the extent that American companies, in compliance with your laws and your vision for the future, can contribute to that in partnership, that's something we want to pursue. But we also just want to pursue opportunities as friends and as countries who share values and traditions and a long history. So I'm excited to be here today. As I said, I've tried to come so many times. I used to go to the airport in Miami and see that direct flight on American and say I need to take one of these trips, but now they fly me here directly. (Laughter.) So I'm glad to be able to come here, and it won't be our last visit. And obviously - or as I shared with you privately a moment ago but I didn't say publicly - this was a few weeks ago - you got to meet a number of our cabinet secretaries, and so there's an increasing team of us on the President's cabinet who are also excited about all the opportunities that we have together. And it's one of the trips I've wanted to do, and when I knew I was going to get this new role, I decided I was (inaudible). And now here I am nine weeks in, by the way. Only nine - I've only been here nine weeks. And we wanted to come early and we want to come back, and of course, we want to see you or any members of your team any time they're in Washington or anywhere in the United States we can get with you. But we'll see each other many times. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address "Turkiye will provide the brotherly Palestinian people with any kind of support" Presidency Of The Republic Of Turkey 27.03.2025 Speaking at the award ceremony of the Holy Quran Fine Recitation Competition, President Erdogan said: "All should know that we will always stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We will stand by them with our humanitarian relief works, we will stand by them with our diplomatic contacts, we will stand by them with our peaceful and principled policies that advocate justice. We as Turkiye will provide the brotherly Palestinian people with any kind of necessary support." President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a speech at the award ceremony of the Holy Quran Fine Recitation Competition at the Bestepe Nation's Exhibition Hall in Ankara. Expressing his wish for the Laylat al-Qadr to lead to auspicious outcomes for the Islamic world and the entire humanity, and for this holy night to the salvation of all the oppressed heroically resisting oppressors and genocides in especially Gaza and Palestine, in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Somalia and in many other places, President Erdogan stressed that the Zionist administration, which have broken the ceasefire agreement reached on January 19, have intensified its attacks on Gaza in recent days, and that hospitals, healthcare facilities and healthcare workers, who mustn't be aimed at even in wars, are deliberately targeted by Israel. "WE WILL ALWAYS STAND BY OUR PALESTINIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS" Underscoring that the last standing buildings in Gaza, almost 80 per cent of which is collapsed, are being destructed under heavy bombardment, President Erdogan said: "The Israeli administration, which has becoming more and more spoilt and rogue each passing day in the face of Western powers' silence, continues its policy of genocide in Ramadan as well. Unfortunately, our over 700 Palestinian brothers and sisters, most of them children and women, have died a martyr's death, and hundreds of civilians have been injured in Israel's latest inhumane attacks. I wish Allah the Almighty's mercy upon all the martyrs, and a speedy recovery to the injured. I ask you to not forget our Palestinian brothers and sisters in your prayers in this Laylat al-Qadr. May my Lord allow all of you, all of us to properly observe this night. All should know that we will always stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We will stand by them with our humanitarian relief works, we will stand by them with our diplomatic contacts, we will stand by them with our peaceful and principled policies that advocate justice. We as Turkiye will provide the brotherly Palestinian people with any kind of necessary support. We will determinedly continue to do what is required in order for the oppression and genocide in Gaza to end at once." "THE DOSE OF VIOLENCE IS BEING INTENSIFIED EACH PASSING DAY" Drawing attention to the repercussions of the incidents that have recently taken place in different parts of the world, particularly the region in which Turkiye is located, President Erdogan noted that as the global system established following the Second World War is being restructured, the dose of violence and competition is being intensified each passing day, and added: "The common values and the common legacy of the humanity are increasingly getting corrupted. International organizations and institutions founded to establish peace, calm and security not only fail to fulfill their duties, but also cause the humanitarian tragedies that we are faced with to further deepen. The occupation and genocide ongoing in Palestine for 1.5 years have yet to be stopped. The famine, drought, poverty in different parts of Africa have been continuing for decades." "MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE SUBJECTED TO SYSTEMATIC PRESSURES, ASSIMILATION POLICIES" Pointing to the acute food crisis faced by over 280 million people in more than 60 countries, President Erdogan stated that millions of people are subjected to systematic pressures and assimilation policies, and went on to say: "Let me openheartedly explain hereby that the Islamic world's negligence and disorganization are as guilty as the masters of the global order in the emerging of this negative picture. Unfortunately, we are unable to focus enough on external world and external opportunities as we are dealing with our internal problems. Fanaticism for sects, ethnic roots and ethnic groups consumes Muslims' energy, causing them to collapse internally." President Erdogan further stressed that the Islamic world, regardless of ethnic origins, must unite and hold firmly on to its brotherhood in the face of current situation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The UK demands unconditional ceasefire and withdrawal of M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces from DRC: UK statement at the UN Security Council Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Democratic Republic of the Congo. 27 March 2025 Location: United Nations, New York Delivered on: 27 March 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) First, the UK regrets that despite the clear and urgent message that this Council sent last month, with the unanimous adoption of resolution 2773, M23 and the Rwandan Defence Forces have continued their territorial advance. We strongly condemn the capture of Walikale. And we reiterate that the Rwandan Defence Forces must withdraw from sovereign Congolese territory, and all regional actors must cease support for armed groups. In addition, the UK condemns M23's continued restrictions on MONUSCO which have prevented the Mission being able to deliver key tasks mandated by this Council. Second, the UK welcomes efforts to deliver a peaceful resolution to the conflict. This includes the joint work of EAC and SADC and its creation of a Panel of Facilitators. The UK also recognises the efforts of His Highness the Amir of Qatar to convene President Tshisekedi and President Kagame for discussions in support of regional processes. We regret that despite the commitments made, an immediate and unconditional ceasefire has not yet materialised. In addition, the UK is grateful to Angola and President Lourenco for his exemplary leadership in securing significant agreements for a sustainable peace. The Luanda process made important steps forward, including agreement on a harmonised plan for neutralising the FDLR, disengaging the Rwandan Defence Forces from DRC and, most recently, agreement by the DRC government to direct talks with M23. We deeply regret that M23 were not willing to participate in these talks. Third, as we've heard from our breifers, the humanitarian situation in DRC remains dire. The UK supports the joint calls by EAC and SADC for the reopening of Goma airport and humanitarian supply routes. We call on all parties to protect civilians, including from sexual and gender-based violence, and immediately end and prevent the abduction and recruitment and the use of children. The UK has committed over 18 million dollars of humanitarian support to those in need in eastern DRC. Finally, President, the conflict in eastern DRC is undermining security across the region. We urge the parties to engage now in the regionally led peace processes to bring it to a sustainable end. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Report by the Head of OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina: UK response, March 2025 Ambassador Holland welcomes the work of the OSCE Mission over the last 12 months, and condemns recent attempts by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik to undermine regional stability. 27 March 2025 Location: Vienna Delivered on: 27 March 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) Firstly, I would like to welcome back Ambassador Aggeler to the Permanent Council. Thanks once again to you and your team for your work over the past 12 months, and for this comprehensive report. The United Kingdom highly appreciates the work and added value of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr Chair, the United Kingdom strongly supports a stable, prosperous and inclusive Bosnia and Herzegovina, making progress on its Euro-Atlantic path. We therefore condemn Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik's illegal and dangerous recent attacks on the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dodik and the Republika Srpska National Assembly's attempts to break up the state - including through a proposal for a new secessionist constitution - will only harm the citizens he claims to protect. As a signatory to the Dayton Peace Agreement, the UK rejects any such attempts to undermine regional stability and prosperity. In this difficult context, we welcome the OSCE Mission's continuous efforts and engagement on reconciliation, peace- and trust-building. We particularly support the Mission's work on strengthening inter-ethnic relations, and in connecting neighbouring communities across political and administrative divides. A more inclusive and cohesive society is essential to achieving a positive future for the whole of BiH. We highly value the insight and information provided by the nine Field Offices across the country towards this. The UK welcomes that local elections held in Bosnia and Herzegovina in October proceeded smoothly and were found by ODIHR and other partners to be competitive and managed efficiently. However, we note concerns over the perceived lack of genuine public engagement. We encourage authorities in BiH to fully align BiH's Election Law with international standards, following ODIHR recommendations, and to ensure that funding for the Central Election Committee's work is agreed in good time for the 2026 general elections. Changes to the Election Law will rebuild voters' trust in the democratic process and ensure that the results reflect their will. The UK is pleased to have supported work through the OSCE Mission to improve the integrity of electoral processes. The UK also fully supports the work of the Mission towards safeguarding fundamental freedoms and shares the Mission's concerns at the shrinking space for civil society and media observed over the last 12 months. We encourage BiH to focus on its reform agenda and positive legislative steps required as part of the EU accession pathway. Mr Chair, this remains a critical and dangerous time for European security. It is vital that the international community takes a collective approach to supporting the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Further economic, social and political progress must build on the many years of reforms. The UK joins international partners in urging all actors to fully adhere to the Dayton Peace Agreement and respect the state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We reaffirm our unequivocal commitment to the territorial integrity of BiH and support for a single, sovereign state comprising two entities, in which all its peoples and citizens are equal. As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide and of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the UK is committed to supporting BiH in its efforts to build a secure, stable, inclusive society, and heal the fractures caused by conflict. Ambassador Aggeler - dear Brian - on a personal level, I also wanted to thank you for your leadership of the Mission over the last three years, and wish you all the best with your future endeavours. Thank you, Mr Chair. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Increased returns to the Central African Republic signal hope for lasting solutions UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 27 March 2025 GENEVA -- The voluntary return of nearly 20,000 Central African refugees marks a key step toward sustainable peace and development in the region, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, announced today. In 2024, 19,751 Central Africans voluntarily returned to the Central African Republic (CAR), with the support of UNHCR and refugee-hosting governments including Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which facilitated 16,265 of these returns. This represents the highest annual return since the voluntary repatriation programme started in 2017. Between 2017 and 2024, a total of 52,937 Central Africans returned to their homeland. Across Western and Central Africa, the number of voluntary returns of refugees has been increasing over the past few years. Since 2017, more than 400,000 refugees have returned to their countries of origin in the region, including significant numbers to Cote d'Ivoire (317,824), Cameroon (30,581), and Nigeria (5,571). This underscores the growing need for robust action to enable returnees to reintegrate successfully into their home communities. During his recent visit to CAR, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou, engaged with returnees and local communities to assess ongoing reintegration efforts. He welcomed the return of some 151,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) and 20,000 refugees in 2024 and emphasized the critical importance of supporting these voluntary returns as a cornerstone of lasting solutions to displacement in CAR and the region. With forced displacement on the rise globally, uncertainty surrounding funding, and solutions at a premium, this is a positive example for the region and beyond. "Refugees returning home is more than a journey - it is the start of rebuilding lives and communities," said Mazou. "Their resilience and determination inspire us, but their return and successful reintegration depends on security and our collective commitment. We must ensure that returnees, both refugees and IDPs, and their receiving communities have the support they need to rebuild their futures in safety and dignity, laying the foundation for lasting peace and stability in the Central African Republic and across the region." Despite these encouraging trends, the regional displacement situation remains critical. Some 679,000 Central Africans, equivalent to 10 per cent of the country's population, remain in exile including in Cameroon (238,000), the DRC (207,000), Chad (140,000), and the Republic of Congo (35,000). Additionally, due to persistent insecurity and limited access to basic services, there are still over 476,000 internally displaced people in CAR. Addressing the needs of both returnees and those still displaced is crucial to ensuring stability in the country and in the region. To address these challenges, the CAR Solutions Support Platform, launched in 2023, aims to mobilize political, technical and financial support at local, regional and global levels. This initiative focuses on voluntary repatriation, reintegration in CAR, socioeconomic integration and inclusion for those opting to stay in host countries. With the support of the European Union and other donors, including in the private sector, UNHCR is working closely with governments and humanitarian partners to strengthen return assistance, improve infrastructure, and expand access to education, health care and livelihoods. Durable solutions are essential in ensuring long-term stability across Western and Central Africa. Returnees require comprehensive support, including access to housing, employment and essential services, to rebuild their lives and contribute to their communities. UNHCR urges greater international collaboration to sustain and expand reintegration programmes that promote peace and development in the region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sudan war: Displacement figures fall for first time By Vibhu Mishra 27 March 2025 - For the first time in nearly two years of brutal conflict between rival militaries, the number of Sudanese internally displaced has fallen, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Thursday. However, the country remains in the grip of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with millions facing famine, disease and insecurity. IOM data shows that between December last year and March, displacement fell by 2.4 per cent - with nearly 400,000 people returning to their places of origin in Aj Jazirah, Sennar and Khartoum states. While the decrease signals a hopeful shift, it does not necessarily indicate improved conditions, IOM said. Many are heading back to towns and villages devastated by months of war, where food, shelter and basic services are virtually non-existent. Conditions not yet in place Mohamed Refaat, who heads IOM's country team in Sudan, warned that while many people are eager to return home, "the conditions for safe and sustainable return and integration are not yet in place." "Basic services including healthcare, protection, education, and food are scarce, and the lack of functional infrastructure and financial capacity will make it difficult for families to rebuild their lives." Fewer than a quarter of health facilities in the worst-affected areas remain functional - the rest have been destroyed, severely damaged or abandoned amid fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their affiliated militias. More than 30.4 million people - over half of Sudan's population - require urgent assistance, according to the UN relief coordination office (OCHA). Food insecurity is at catastrophic levels, with 24.6 million people facing acute hunger. Famine has already been confirmed in parts of North Darfur and the Nuba Mountains, and similar conditions are expected to spread in the coming months. Across Sudan, there are an estimated 11.3 million IDPs - one of the largest displacement crises in the world, while nearly four million have fled to neighbouring countries - primarily Egypt, South Sudan and Chad. Situation in Khartoum Meanwhile in Khartoum, OCHA is closely monitoring the latest shifts in control within the city, amid alarming reports of reprisals by armed groups against civilians, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday. Sudan's army retook the capital on Wednesday and reportedly drove RSF troops south. Mr. Dujarric reiterated that civilians must never be targeted and called on all parties to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. "Serious violations must be investigated, with perpetrators held to account," he said. Rise in sexual violence Women and children remain particularly vulnerable across the country, with UN agencies reporting an alarming rise in conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls. Over half of all displaced persons are children, and nearly four million children under five - along with pregnant and breastfeeding women - are suffering from acute malnutrition. Grave violations against children have also surged with an 83 per cent increase in child casualties since January, compared to the first quarter of 2024. Furthermore, more than 17 million children are out of school, as the conflict has disrupted the education system nationwide. Funding shortages Amid staggering needs, the response from humanitarian agencies has been severely hampered by a drastic funding shortfall. As of 26 March, only about $276 million (6.6 per cent) of the $4.2 billion required for the overall humanitarian response has been received. Similarly, IOM's Sudan response plan which aims to assist 1.7 million people, is only six per cent funded. "Nearly two years of relentless conflict in Sudan have inflicted immense suffering, triggering the world's largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis," Mr. Refaat warned. "Recent cuts in international humanitarian aid budgets are compounding the crisis and deepening the suffering." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Armed groups install 'parallel administration' in DR Congo, Security Council hears 27 March 2025 - Armed groups affiliated with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have continued to expand their control in North and South Kivu - setting their sights on more territorial gains. That's according to the head of the UN stabilization mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita, who briefed the Security Council in New York on Thursday over escalating violence and displacement in the country since M23 overran the key cities of Goma and Bukavu last month. These armed groups are not only seizing territory, she explained, but also attempting to install "a parallel administration", recently appointing a governor and two-vice governors in Bukavu as well as financial and mining officials in North Kivu. The MONUSCO peacekeepers have been in DRC since 2010 with a mandate to protect civilians and strengthen the Congolese Government's efforts to quell violence and insecurity at the hands of multiple armed groups in the east. MONUSCO had proceeded, at DRC's request, to withdraw its troops from South Kivu in June 2024 but Kinshasa reversed course, asking the Security Council to extend MONUSCO's mandate through the end of 2025. Despite best efforts, armed groups have made major recent gains, chiefly the March 23 Movement which defends the interests of Congolese Tutsi - many exiled from Rwanda - and benefits from the support of Rwandan forces, and the extremist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Rights violations Ms. Keita described an alarming rise in human rights violations, including the summary execution of more than 100 civilians, forced child recruitment, abductions and cases of forced labour. "Women and children remain the main victims," she told the Council, noting a spike in sexual violence linked to mass displacement, conflict and the presence of escaped prisoners and new recruits in affected areas. "Internally, displaced girls and boys are traumatised," explained Charlotte Slente, from the Danish Refugee Council, also briefing Member States. "We have heard reports of girls engaging in survival sex," she underscored. Aid workers have documented rape cases involving girls as young as five, with nearly every child protection case involving sexual violence. From December 2024 to February 2025, 403 grave violations of children's rights were verified. In Ituri province - above North-Kivu - violence between CODECO and Zaire armed groups has worsened, with civilians near mining zones and farmland bearing the brunt of the attacks. Humanitarian aid hampered The security situation has driven hundreds of thousands from their homes, with over 100,000 newly displaced since January in the city of Djugu in Ituri, alone. However, humanitarian access remains severely constrained due to insecurity, roadblocks and the closure of key airports in Goma and Kavumu. At the same time, the situation is being aggravated "in a global context of financial crisis", Ms. Keita stressed. As of March, the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for the DR Congo was only 8.2 per cent funded. Response and challenges Despite these obstacles, MONUSCO continues to deliver on its mandate, she underlined, citing expanded patrols, civilian protection efforts and the facilitation of disarmament talks in Ituri. These led to the surrender of over 2,200 fighters from the Zaire group and the capture of weapons and ammunition. Meanwhile, the deployment of a new Force Commander in North Kivu, has boosted coordination with Congolese forces. Still, MONUSCO faces movement restrictions imposed by M23 in and around Goma, including roadblocks and advance notice requirements. Social cohesion at risk Ms. Keita expressed deep concern over rising hate speech and ethnic targeting of Tutsi and Swahili-speaking Congolese, particularly as displaced populations move westward into DRC's vast interior. She called on the Government to adopt legislation to counter tribalism, racism and xenophobia, and reaffirm the nation's diversity. Regional diplomacy: fragile transitions Efforts toward a ceasefire and political solution have so far stalled despite regional and international pressure - including resolution 2773 and mediation efforts led by Angola under the leadership of the African Union. M23's advance disrupted transition talks between MONUSCO and Congolese authorities, especially in South Kivu, where Bukavu is under rebel control. Ms. Keita explained that the efforts to plan the mission's disengagement from North Kivu and Ituri are "compromised", with several planning assumptions now obsolete. Nevertheless, she reiterated MONUSCO's commitment to a coordinated withdrawal process when possible. Call to action In closing, the UN Special Representative called on the council to take "concrete measures" against those responsible for grave rights violations and to renew efforts to ensure a political resolution. "We must direct all our efforts towards securing an unconditional ceasefire," she said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Amidst Renewed Offensives in Democratic Republic of Congo, Head of UN Presence Says All Parties Must Honour Commitment to Silence Guns, Pursue Peace Meetings Coverage Security Council 9887th Meeting (AM) SC/16031 27 March 2025 An increasingly volatile situation driven by resurgent incursions by rebel militia groups is killing and displacing civilians in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Head of the United Nations Mission in that country warned the Security Council today. "The political and security context remains very tense," said Bintou Keita, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in that country and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). In the country's east, the Congo River Alliance and M23 supported by the Rwanda Defence Force are consolidating control over the province of South Kivu, threatening to expand into the provinces of Tshopo and Maniema and installing a parallel administration. All parties must "honour their stated commitment to silence the guns and pursue a peaceful solution", she stressed. Meanwhile, the overall security situation in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri where over 60 per cent of MONUSCO forces are deployed remains volatile. The Allied Democratic Forces have exploited the security vacuum created by the redeployment of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to launch attacks killing hundreds of civilians. Further, clashes between the Coalition of Congolese Democrats and Zaire armed groups have escalated in Ituri. The human-rights situation is also deteriorating, with abuses against civilians including summary executions and the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan is only 8.2 per cent funded. In this challenging context, she said, MONUSCO remains fully committed to its mandate, protecting civilians and facilitating Government-led consultations with armed groups. However, the dramatic deterioration of the security situation has seriously impacted discussions between MONUSCO and Congolese authorities on the gradual disengagement of the Mission and the transition in South Kivu. Reiterating that lasting peace in the east can only be achieved through a political solution, she called for the urgent reopening of Goma and Kavumu airports lifelines for humanitarian efforts and key to the rotation of MONUSCO troops. Also addressing the Council was Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council, who said that her organization has been "racing to respond to the erratic and constant movement of internally displaced persons seeking safety" since the end of January. The recent explosion of violence in and around Goma has exacerbated the already-dire humanitarian situation in the east and led to 660,000 people being forcibly displaced in addition to the 6.7 million already displaced across the country at the end of 2024. "With little notice, families were kicked out of their shelters, forced to leave with nothing but the clothes they were wearing," she said. Detailing the appalling living conditions in makeshift camps, churches and schools, she noted widespread looting, shootings, rampant sexual violence, arbitrary arrests and reports of boys and men being forced to join armed groups. "One person told us they wake each morning to find new dead bodies on the streets," she recalled, adding that 98 per cent of her organization's case management for human-rights violations has been for rape. And, while humanitarian work is under extreme pressure due to recent funding cuts, the displacement crisis will only worsen. Stressing the need to ensure safe and voluntary return for internally displaced persons, she also called on the Council to ensure humanitarian access across the country. Kinshasa, Kigali Spar Over Causes of Conflict In the ensuing discussion, representatives of Kinshasa and Kigali sparred over the causes and culprits driving the worsening conflict, with the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo citing the "chaotic" humanitarian situation in east. He highlighted a series of atrocities perpetrated by the Rwanda Defence Force and M23, including killings, torture, massive destruction and numerous lootings. The alarming situation underscores the urgent need to implement "to the letter" the provisions of resolution 2773 (2025) to end the violence and protect civilians. He added that the extent of the violence suggests that "we can no longer allow this crisis to drag out for eternity, claiming that an African problem requires an African solution". Doing so, he stressed, would betray international solidarity. To date, no Rwandan soldier has withdrawn from Congolese territory, and Kigali has shown blatant disregard for the peace process to which Kinshasa has been committed. Increased pressure including more robust sanctions are needed against M23 and its Rwandan allies, he underscored, stating that Rwanda has no right to deploy its army on a sovereign country's territory. However, Olivier Nduhungirehe, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Rwanda, stressed that the conflict in the eastern region "was not started by Rwanda" despite burden for the same being placed "squarely" on its shoulders. The root cause of the violence is the continued preservation of the genocidal militia known as the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda or FDLR despite its record of ethnic massacres, child recruitment and destabilization of both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. In that context, he underscored that "the defensive measures we have put in place will remain until there is a credible framework for long-term security guarantees along our border with the DRC". Calling the case of MONUSCO "particularly troubling", he said that while today's report accurately cites abusive armed groups, it shows a clear pattern of bias. Alarmingly, "MONUSCO provided direct support to the military operation of the DRC coalition, placing itself in a situation of belligerence even sometimes fighting alongside the same groups it was created to neutralize," he stressed, adding that the Mission has wildly exaggerated claims of civilian casualties. Nonetheless, MONUSCO can still play a positive role if it abides by its mandate, he said. Council Members Urge End to Violence As for Council members, the representative of Sierra Leone also speaking for Algeria, Guyana and Somalia expressed concern over the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is inflicting a severe toll on the Congolese people. While urging an immediate cessation of hostilities, he nevertheless welcomed recent steps towards de-escalation, particularly the ceasefire announcement by M23. He further welcomed the joint road map to peace adopted by the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as commitments made by both Kinshasa and Kigali in Doha to remain fully engaged in the Luanda and Nairobi processes. Stressing that all processes for peace and security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should align with African-led processes, he stated that external mercenary forces risk exacerbating the situation. Multiple speakers today, among them the representative of the United States, denounced the hostilities and the increasingly antagonistic rhetoric coming from Rwandan Government officials and M23 including threats against senior MONUSCO leadership and false claims that MONUSCO supports the FDLR. Panama's delegate pointed to reports of M23's indiscriminate attacks against hospitals, abductions of civilians and gang rapes. "There is no military solution to this conflict," affirmed Pakistan's representative, calling all sides particularly M23 to engage in all relevant African-led processes to reach a peace agreement. The United Kingdom's delegate, condemning the capture of the town of Walikale, stressed that the Rwanda Defence Force must withdraw from sovereign Congolese territory. He also said that M23's continued restrictions on MONUSCO have hampered the Mission's ability to deliver key tasks. However, the Russian Federation's delegate pushed back on the "highly dubious" hospitality extended by MONUSCO to members of European private military companies as the Mission's mandate to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate former combatants "bears no relation to the events we witnessed thanks to media reporting". Given the potential further transition of MONUSCO, the Council must act without allowing the situation to deteriorate due to changes in the configuration of the peacekeeping presence in the country, she stressed. On the humanitarian situation, the representatives of France and Slovenia condemned M23's unacceptable restrictions on MONUSCO and humanitarian actors in Goma and occupied areas of North Kivu. On that, the representative of Denmark Council President for March spoke in her national capacity to call for the immediate reopening of the Goma and Kavumu airports. Further, she voiced concern over threats and reprisals against human-rights defenders, journalists, civil society and judicial authorities. On the diplomatic front, China's representative welcomed recent direct talks in Qatar between Kinshasa and Kigali, as well as the former's decision to engage in direct dialogue with M23. "China always supports African countries in solving African problems in African ways," he stated. Greece's delegate agreed, urging leaders of both countries to re-engage immediately in political dialogue, while the representative of the Republic of Korea called on armed groups to engage in Kinshasa's "Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization Programme". Also on diplomatic engagement, Angola's representative noted that, in 2022, the African Union mandated that his country's President mediate the crisis. However, he recalled that the relevant summit, scheduled for 15 December 2024, did not occur as Rwanda insisted that the M23 issue be addressed, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo held that it did not fit into the framework of the Luanda Process. Despite impediments, including some foreign to an African solution, the understandings reached within the framework of the Luanda Process constitute a solid political basis for further efforts, he emphasized. Burundi's delegate, for his part, affirmed that only a comprehensive regional solution will put an end to the current crisis and achieve lasting peace. He also urged the Council to ensure implementation of resolution 2773 (2025), observing: "Non-compliance with these resolutions risks weakening the authority of this Council." He added that failure to respect the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo could set a "dangerous precedent, which some States could make use of to nibble at portions of the territory of other sovereign States". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In his confirmation hearing, Meink stresses the need for speed, innovation Published March 27, 2025 Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Dr. Troy E. Meink, nominated to be the next secretary of the Department of the Air Force, told a Senate committee March 27 that America's "near-peer competitors are evolving faster that we are" and that the Air Force and Space Force must "innovate faster" to meet the challenge. "The department is building and operating some of the most complex systems ever fielded in both air and space," Meink told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing. "We need not only the right number of Airmen and Guardians, but also need the right skills, training, support and focus to deliver and operate those systems." Meink told the committee that his goal, if confirmed, is "to organize, train, and equip the Department of the Air Force to have the lethality needed to deter all potential aggressors, and if necessary, win in conflict." "A big part of these jobs was understanding the threat I was building systems to have to support against this quickly evolving threat," he said. "These threats have shaped my perspective." That experience has allowed him to identify three "challenges." The first, he said, is that "near peer competitors, such as China, are evolving faster than we are in some cases, which will eventually result in the U.S. losing technological advantage." The second is that "some competitors, such as Russia, are fielding highly escalatory, asymmetric capabilities," he said. Those realities, in his view mean, "Our homeland is increasing put on the defensive from threats such as cyber-attack, unmanned aerial systems and illegal activities at the border." As is typical for confirmation hearings, Meink offered broad recommendations for his approach and priorities if he becomes the department's highest-ranking civilian leader. In addition to innovating faster, Meink said he would work to increase competition and expand the industrial base. That is something he has focused on in his current job as the National Reconnaissance Office's principal deputy director. As part of that focus Meink said he "significantly accelerated delivery of capability and at a lower cost. I intend to bring that same drive for innovation to the department." He agreed that maintaining space superiority is a priority. He underscored the importance of the nuclear deterrent and modernizing the land-based leg. Like his predecessors, Meink said he will draw on his deep experience to bring speed and efficiency to the often-lumbering acquisition effort. "We need to streamline the acquisition and budgeting processes," he told the committee, adding, "with appropriate fiscal controls. I've helped lead my current organization to 16 clean financial audits which I believe is a record in the national security enterprise." He also told senators that his deep history in senior national security positions shapes will shape his approach in the leading the department. If confirmed, Meink will come to the office with a wealth of experience. A native of South Dakota, Meink entered the Air Force through ROTC in 1988 while a student at South Dakota State University. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and later, earned a doctorate in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Ohio State University. Before serving in his current job, Meink was the Geospatial Intelligence Systems Acquisitions director at the National Reconnaissance Office. He has logged time as a KC-135 navigator and instructor and as a lead test engineer for the design and evaluation of ballistic missile test vehicles for the Missile Defense Agency. Across his time with the department and the Pentagon, Meink has managed multiple next generation joint research and development programs transitioning global space capabilities, optical sensors, and advanced structures. He has also led multiple communications organizations within the Air Force and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Networks and Information Integration. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tiangong researchers to experiment on flatworms 09:24, March 28, 2025 By Zhao Lei ( China Daily After zebrafish and fruit flies, China's Tiangong space station is set to host a new life form planarians, according to Chinese scientists. Zhang Wei, director of the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told China Youth Daily in a recent interview that an upcoming Chinese manned spaceflight will carry dozens of planarian fragments into orbit. Planarians are flatworms renowned for their extraordinary regenerative ability. When their bodies are severed, they can regrow complete heads or tails, making them ideal models for studying tissue regeneration mechanisms, Zhang said. The experiment will include the use of the small universal biological culture module in the space station's life and ecology experimental cabinet. Different planarian segments will be studied as they initiate regeneration in orbit, with samples collected at critical intervals for fixation and imaging analysis. "Using planarians as model organisms, we aim to investigate how space environments affect their regenerative patterns and physiological behaviors," Zhang was quoted as saying by China Youth Daily. "The study will explore the molecular mechanisms behind space-induced changes in regeneration processes and examine gravity's impact on cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation, ultimately enhancing our understanding of fundamental regeneration principles." Experts have explained that, with a 520-million-year evolutionary history, planarians are widely used in biological research due to their astonishing tissue repair abilities. Even when bisected, both segments can regenerate new muscles, skin, intestines and even complete brains, a process that can theoretically repeat indefinitely. Studying planarians holds significant implications for combating cellular aging and age-related degenerative diseases in humans. Meanwhile, Wang Yifeng, a senior mission planner at the center, said that upgraded experiments involving zebrafish, which were brought to Tiangong during previous manned missions, will continue. "Zebrafish share 87 percent genetic similarity with humans. This research not only addresses microgravity-related health issues but may also unlock new osteoporosis treatment methods on Earth," he told China Youth Daily in the same report. In April last year, four zebrafish measuring about 3 centimeters were brought aboard the Tiangong space station by the Shenzhou XVIII crew. They lived 43 days in orbit, setting a record for being the longest surviving fish in space. Chinese astronauts have also performed fruit fly experiments to help researchers better understand the creature's growth, development, locomotor characteristics, and biological rhythms under space microgravity and hypomagnetic conditions. According to Zhang, Chinese scientists plan to conduct experiments on mice aboard Tiangong in the near future, focusing on neural, skeletal, muscular and immune systems studies. They will be parts of long-term orbital survival experiments with mammals that will help scientists better prepare China's future crewed lunar and Mars missions. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Luke AFB concludes final US F-16 divestment Published March 27, 2025 By Senior Airman Katelynn Jackson 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFNS) -- The 56th Fighter Wing flew the final F-16 Fighting Falcon flight out of Luke Air Force Base, March 24, delivering it to the 16th Weapons Squadron at Nellis AFB. Lt. Col. Michael Ress, 309th Fighter Squadron commander, piloted the flight, concluding the divestment of the remaining U.S. F-16s and ending this chapter for his squadron as it prepares to transition to the F-35A Lightning II. "The F-16 has been the backbone of the Air Force for over 50 years," Ress said. "Fourth generation aircraft like the F-16 will continue to be the capacity, while fifth generation aircraft like the F-35 is now the capability." As a compact multi-role fighter, the F-16 has proven itself operational in both air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. The F-35 will continue this multi-capable legacy, but with added advanced sensors and data fusion allowing for unparalleled stealth and situational awareness. "Inside the F-35 is technologies that were unimaginable when the F-16 was created," Ress said. "The two are incomparable, and in 40 years there will be new generation aircraft that will continue to propel us forward as a warfighting force." Luke AFB began transitioning F-16 squadrons into F-35 squadrons in the early 2000s, the 309th being the last to transition out of the six fighter squadrons on base. "This is one of the first times the 309th FS has been the last to anything," said Dr. John Hale, 56th FW historian. "They were the first in combat in WWII and they were the first to navigate across the Pacific Ocean in 1952 using aerial refueling." The F-16 pilot training program began over 42 years ago in 1983 and has graduated over 20 thousand pilots since. The final class of F-16 student pilots graduated from the 309th FS in September 2024, and the last local training sortie was in February of 2025. Luke AFB will continue to fly and train F-16 Republic of Singapore air force fighter pilots and maintainers from the 425th FS until they transition to Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Arkansas, in the coming years. While the F-16's chapter at Luke AFB comes to a close, its mission remains unchanged. Luke AFB will continue to train the world's greatest fighter pilots and combat-ready Airmen, now with the unmatched capabilities of the F-35. This transition elevates the base's lethality, strengthens the Air Force's dominance and reinforces its deterrence and warfighting edge for the conflicts of today. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Airmen at 105th AW modernize C-17 fleet with microvanes Published March 27, 2025 By Senior Airman Sarah Post, 105th Airlift Wing Public Affairs 105th Airlift Wing Public Affairs STEWART AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y. (AFNS) -- The 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base is playing a fundamental role in a modernization initiative aimed at the whole U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III fleet and has become the first base to permanently maintain the new, innovative technology on one of its own aircraft. In 2023, the Air National Guard C-17 weapons system manager requested volunteers to participate in a modernization initiative that would test microvane drag reduction technology and its impacts on fuel efficiency, and the 105th AW stepped up. Microvanes are 3D-printed devices, measuring about 4-by-6 inches in size and resembling a blade in shape. When a dozen microvanes are installed on the rear of a C-17, they reduce both drag and fuel consumption by 1%. That 1% improvement in fuel efficiency may not sound significant, but it will save the Air Force over $14 million annually. Lt. Col. Eric Durkins, 105th Maintenance Squadron commander, said the technology is not just cost-effective, but will directly enhance mission capability as well. "The 105th has a strong track record of innovation and excellence in aircraft maintenance, making us a natural choice for testing and evaluating this modernization effort," Durkins said. There are three aircraft at Stewart ANGB with microvanes. One has gone through the final phase of flight-testing, including air refueling and assault strip operations, to become the first permanent aircraft with microvanes. This aircraft has also supported worldwide missions now for over a year without issue, including a deployment, Durkins said. The other two aircraft are participating in the logistics service assessment phase now, along with a few other aircraft across the Air Force. After six months of testing in this phase, microvane use is intended to expand across the entire C-17 fleet. Throughout the multi-year testing process, 105th Airmen have had the opportunity to work with other Airmen and agencies and learn about the maintenance and implementation of the microvane technology. Some of these agencies and units include Air Mobility Command, the 164th Maintenance Group at Memphis Air National Guard Base, Tennessee, and Edwards Air Force Base, California. "The microvanes initiative combines Stewart's efforts to modernize mobility air forces with innovative mission-ready Airmen," Durkins said. "We paired up with Memphis Air National Guard Base during testing to increase process knowledge for Airmen across both wings. Our maintainers, working side by side with engineering teams from the start of this project, helped develop installation procedures for the whole C-17 enterprise." According to Durkins, the benefits of microvanes extend beyond improved fuel efficiency, as this technology will also increase mission capability. Aircraft will be able to fly farther while carrying more cargo, ultimately strengthening operational readiness and maintaining the U.S. Air Force's position as a leader in global airpower. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Warrior Completes Port Visit to Kobe, Japan US Navy 27 March 2025 KOBE, Japan -- The Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship USS Warrior (MCM 10) departed Kobe, Japan, March 26, following a two-day port visit. A cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the region, Warrior's visit reinforced the United States' strong alliance with Japan while giving its nearly 90 Sailors an opportunity to meet the people of Kobe and experience their city's unique culture, sights and cuisine. "Our two nations routinely cooperate and train together with the goal of achieving interoperability in order to maintain peace and stability in the region," said Lt. Cmdr. Raymond Piana, Warrior's commanding officer. "Equally important to our alliance is continuing to develop our strong relationship and cultural understanding with our Japanese hosts. We are very thankful for the incredible hospitality and warm welcome from the people of Kobe." During their stay, Warrior's Sailors held tours of the ship for the media, and members of Kobe's government, and local associations. Warrior's Sailors also participated in community relations projects aimed at giving back to their hosts. Some spent time playing with local children. Others joined local artisans contributing to the Ishikawa earthquake relief by helping clean and restore lacquerware from homes in Noto City impacted by the January 1, 2024, natural disaster. "We were very grateful for the opportunity to get out and engage with the local community. Our Sailors really enjoyed helping organizations restore items that hold great sentimental value to their owners, and they couldn't have been happier to spend time with local children," said Piana. Warrior is part of Mine Countermeasures Squadron (MCMRON) 7, which is forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan. MCMRON-7 regularly participates in a series of exercises with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force to increase proficiency in mine countermeasures operations. The ship provides U.S. 7th Fleet the capability to locate, identify and neutralize underwater mines, which is critical to maintaining open sea lanes for shipping, and freedom of navigation both around Japan and throughout the Indo-Pacific. U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, which routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Countries called on to promote cooperation in South China Sea People's Daily Online By Cao Desheng (Chinadaily.com.cn) 09:07, March 28, 2025 Officials and experts attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference have underlined the need for the countries involved in the South China Sea issue to resolve their disputes through dialogue to promote peace, friendship, and cooperation in the South China Sea. They made the remarks on Thursday at a subforum, themed "Illuminating the Blue: Building the South China Sea into a Sea of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation", held on the sidelines of the annual conference. They warned external countries not to stir up trouble, create disruptions, or provoke confrontations in the region that would affect the peace and stability of the South China Sea. Vice-Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong said that China remains committed to being a stabilizing force in promoting the peaceful development of the South China Sea, while firmly safeguarding its national sovereignty, security, and development interests. While calling for the resolution of maritime issues through bilateral negotiations, he emphasized the need to prevent external forces from interfering in and destabilizing the peace and stability of the South China Sea. "For the South China Sea to be stable and for its issue to be resolved, external interference must be eliminated," Chen said. China is willing to work with all parties to comprehensively and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and strive to achieve a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea by 2026, he added. China has established maritime dialogue mechanisms with all countries involved in the South China Sea issue. Last year, it signed an intergovernmental document on joint maritime development with Indonesia. Consultations on the Code of Conduct are accelerating, and the third reading of the text has been completed. Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, director-general and senior official for Association of Southeast Asian Nations cooperation at Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Indonesia and ASEAN emphasize the peaceful resolution of disputes and the achievement of maritime stability through diplomacy and international law. This approach includes the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties and strengthening negotiations with China to reach a substantive Code of Conduct by 2026, he said. Zheng Yongnian, dean of the Chinese University of Hong Kong's School of Public Policy in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said the South China Sea issue is intertwined with the broader geopolitical environment. It is crucial to not underestimate the disruptions to the world order by the new presidential administration of the United States, he said, adding that countries involved should address the issue within the larger framework of maintaining stability and development in Asia. Nguyen Vu Tung, a senior adviser and former president of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said the foreign policies introduced by the US in recent weeks seemingly tend to alter the existing international order, which is likely to have an impact on the future development of the South China Sea issue. The fact that Washington takes Beijing as a competitor makes things more complex, he added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Upon the Leadership's Directives, Saudi Arabia Hosts Syrian, Lebanese Defense Ministers' Meeting Saudi Press Agency Jeddah, March 28, 2025, SPA -- Upon directives from 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, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting in Jeddah on March 27, 2025, attended by Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Syrian Minister of Defense Major General Murhaf Abu Qasra, Lebanese Minister of Defense Major General Michel Menassa, and their accompanying security delegations, to discuss issues of mutual interest aimed at achieving security and stability between Syria and Lebanon. The two sides signed an agreement that underscores the strategic importance of border demarcation, the establishment of Syrian-Lebanese legal and specialized committees across various sectors, and the activation of coordination mechanisms to address security and military threats, particularly those originating along the border. They also agreed to hold a follow up meeting in Saudi Arabia in the future. The Syrian and Lebanese ministers of defense expressed their gratitude to the Kingdom's leadership and to the Saudi minister of defense for hosting the meeting, and asserted their satisfaction with the meeting's outcomes. The Kingdom reaffirms its full support for all measures that achieve security and stability in the two brotherly nations and contribute to maintaining regional security and stability. -- SPA 06:11 Local Time 03:11 GMT 0015 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 27 March 2025 - Day 1128 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 since the beginning of the day, there have been 195 combat clashes, the Russian enemy launched 74 airstrikes at the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements, using 109 controlled airstrikes, 1123 kamikaze drones strikes, carrying out almost 4,800 artillery shells. Five Russian assault actions in the Vovchansk district were stopped by Ukrainians in the Kharkiv direction. In the Kupyansky direction, Russian forces 26 times tried to push Ukrainian units out of occupied positions in the areas of Stepova Novoselivka, Zagrizovy and in the directions of Petropavlivka, Pi any, Nova Kruglyakivka, Boguslavka; currently two confrontations are ongoing. In the Lyman direction, Russian forces attacked 32 times, trying to advance in the areas of settlements Nadia, Kolodyazi, Mirne, Yampolivka and in the directions of Novosergiyivka, Novoy, Olgivka, Dronivka, Grigorivka. 3 clashes are currently going on. In the Siver direction, Ukrainian warriors successfully stopped three attacks near the settlements of Bilogorivka and Verkhnyokamianske. In the Kramators komu direction, the Defense Forces stopped four Russian attempts to advance near the Time Yar and the Predecessor. The Russian enemy tried to infiltrate Ukrainian defense 23 times in the Toretsky direction, in the areas of Crimea, Ozaryanivka, Kurdyumivka, Toretsk and in the directions of Diliyivka, Leonidivka, Scherbinivka. 2 clashes are currently ongoing. Intensely attacks the Russian enemy of Ukrainian defenders in the Pokrovsky direction. Here, during the day, the Russian aggressor committed 57 assault and offensive actions. Activity of Russian occupiers - in the areas of populated areas of Panteleimonivka, Oleksandropil, Water Second, Elizabethtivka, Lisivka, Suhiy Yar, Kotline, Udaachne, Uspenivka, Preobrazhenka, Andriyivka and in the directions of Malinivka and Novooleksandrivka; 12 clashes continue so far. Russian forces launched aerial strikes in areas of such settlements, such as Yablunivka, Zorya, Novoolenivka, Hrodivka, Pokrovsk, Chunyshine, Novosergiyivka, Novomikolaivka, Oleksiyivka. According to preliminary calculations, for today Ukrainian soldiers in this direction have defamed 298 Russian invaders, 183 of them - irrevocably. Ukrainian defenders also destroyed 14 vehicles, four motorcycles, five armored infantry vehicles, three ATVs, five AMD unmanned aircraft, one REB vehicle and a Russian mortar. Also significantly damaged 4 units of automotive equipment, two motorcycles, a howitzer and two cannons. In the Novopavlovsk direction, Ukrainian defenders stopped 10 Russian attacks in the areas of settlements of Konstantinopil, Rozliv, Skudne, Dniproenergiy and Burlatske, four combat clashes are still ongoing. In the direction of Gulyaipil, Russian forces carried out nine assault operations in the areas of the settlements of Privilne, Novosilka and towards the Vilny Pol. The defense forces have successfully stopped all Russian attacks. Four fighting clashes took place in the Orihivsky direction, Russian forces tried to advance towards the settlements of Scherbaky, Lobkove and Kamianske. In the Pridniprovsk direction, Russian forces did not carry out active offensive actions. Eighteen combat clashes took place today on the Kursk direction. During the day, Russian forces carried out 349 artillery shells, including 19 from reactive salvo systems, launching 20 air strikes and dropping 23 controlled bombs. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Belgorod direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on concentration areas of manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one assault regiment of the AFU, and one territorial defence brigade near Prokhody, Ugroyedy, Stepok, and Mikhaylovskoye (Sumy region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 80 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, one motor vehicle, and two artillery guns. The Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation along the front line. Losses were inflicted on formations of two mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, and one air assault regiment of the AFU near Kondrashovka, Boguslavka, Novoplatonovka (Kharkov region), and Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses amounted to more than 210 troops, three pickup trucks, and nine field artillery guns, including one UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzer. Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Losses were inflicted on manpower and hardware of five mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade of the AFU, two territorial defence brigades, and one national guard brigade near Seversk, Pleshcheyevka, Platonovka, Minkovka, Chasov Yar, and Konstantinovka (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses amounted to more than 280 troops, one tank, five armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier and one Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. Eight motor vehicles and two ammunition depots were destroyed. Units of the Tsentr Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Losses were inflicted on formations of one mechanised brigade, one assault brigade, one UAV brigade, one assault regiment of the AFU, one marine brigade, and one national guard brigade near Mirolyubovka, Dimitrov, Krasnoarmeysk, Kotlino, Zverevo, and Alekseyevka (Donetsk People's Republic). The Ukrainian armed formations sustained losses of up to 465 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns. Units of the Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing into the depth of enemy defences. Losses were inflicted on manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, one territorial defence brigade, and the nationalist Aidar Battalion near Konstantinopol, Bogatyr, Komar, and Otradnoye (Donetsk People's Republic). The enemy losses amounted to up to 135 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, one motor vehicle, and three field artillery guns. Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted losses on formations of one mechanised brigade, one mountain assault brigade, two coastal defence brigades of the AFU, and two territorial defence brigades near Novodanilovka, Lobkovoye, Stepnogorsk, Novopokrovka (Zaporozhye region), and Antonovka (Kherson region). Up to 80 troops, five motor vehicles, one artillery gun, one electronic warfare station, and one ammunition depot of the enemy were eliminated. Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack drones, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces struck infrastructure of a military airfield, production buildings of an arms plant of the Ukrainian defence industry, assembly workshops for attack UAVs, an AFU supply depot, missile projectiles and ammunition depots, as well as clusters of manpower and hardware of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 157 areas. Air defence units shot down one MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, two U.S.-made JDAM guided aerial bombs, and one HIMARS MLRS projectile, as well as 137 fixed-wing UAVs. In total, since the beginning of the special military operation the enemy lost 660 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 48,599 unmanned aerial vehicles, 601 anti-aircraft missile systems, 22,511 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,532 MLRS combat vehicles, 23,011 field artillery guns and mortars, 33,388 units of support military vehicles. 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 losses on formations of one mechanised brigade, three air assault brigades, one presidential brigade, and one territorial defence brigade of the AFU near Gogolevka, Gornal, Guyevo, and Oleshnya. Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, and artillery strikes inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the enemy near Gogolevka, Gornal, Guyevo, Oleshnya as well as Basovka, Belovody, Varachino, Velikaya Rybitsa, Veselovka, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, Zapselye, Loknya, Miropolye, Pisarevka, Sadki, Yunakovka, and Yablonovka (Sumy region). Over the past 24 hours, the AFU losses amounted to more than 190 troops, five armoured fighting vehicles, seven motor vehicles, two artillery guns, one mortar, one electronic warfare station, and one UAV command post. Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses have amounted to over 70,380 troops, 402 tanks, 327 infantry fighting vehicles, 290 armoured personnel carriers, 2,228 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,555 motor vehicles, 587 artillery guns, 53 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and seven of MLRS made by the USA, 26 anti-aircraft missile launchers, one self-propelled anti-aircraft system, ten transport-loading vehicles, 123 EW stations, 18 counter-battery warfare radars, ten air defence radars, 56 units of engineering and other materiel, including 23 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, five bridge launchers, one engineering reconnaissance vehicle as well as 15 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 US agents conduct 'off campus' arrest of Iranian PhD student Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 6:45 PM US immigration agents have conducted an "off campus" arrest, detaining an Iranian doctoral student. Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student from Iran studying mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, was reportedly taken into custody on Tuesday. A representative for Alabama state's leading university announced that Doroudi was apprehended "off campus" by federal agents but refrained from sharing more details, citing privacy issues. So far, the reason for Doroudi's incarceration remains unclear, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not respond to requests for comments. His arrest follows reports of the Trump administration recently intensifying detention and deportation of university students, including visa holders and green card residents, sparking concern on campuses and in communities. The University of Alabama College Democra said US President Donald Trump and ICE "have struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA's international community." Alabama University spokesperson Alex House said that UA's international students are "valued members" of the university, but university officials would "continue to follow all immigration laws and cooperate with federal authorities." The Alabama University's arrest coincides with reports that Tufts University in Massachusetts doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk was detained by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents. Ozturk, a Turkish national with a valid student visa, was arrested on Tuesday on her way to meet up with friends to break her Ramadan fast, her lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai said in a statement. Khanbabai said no criminal charges had been filed against her client. However, DHS claims Ozturk supported the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, which is sufficient security grounds to have her deported. Ozturk, who is currently being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, had co-authored an article in March 2024 calling for Tufts to "acknowledge the Palestinian genocide" that has been committed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces since October 2023. The arrests follow the incarcerations of several other pro-Palestinian students. Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian activist who helped negotiate between university officials and pro-Palestinian student protesters, was arrested on March 8 after a rarely used provision of immigration law was invoked. A Columbia University student is already suing the Trump administration over attempts to deport her for participating in campus pro-Palestinian protests. "The government's actions are an unprecedented and unjustifiable assault on First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny," the lawsuit, filed on Monday by attorneys for Yunseo Chung stated. Chung, who came to the US as a child and is a legal permanent resident of the US, was arrested last month along with other students at a sit-in and protest outside of an academic building on the university campus. Trump, during his campaign trail, promised to his supporters that he would clamp down on student demonstrators he accused of "un-American activity." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US immigration agents snatch pro-Palestine PhD student off street in Boston Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 8:07 AM Agents of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have detained a PhD student in Boston after the administration of President Donald Trump terminated her student visa. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, was arrested in a street in the town of Somerville, Massachusetts, the school's president said in a statement, over expressing pro-Palestine leanings in an article she co-authored. In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that Ozturk's student visa was "terminated" due to her alleged "activities in support of" the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which Washington has designated as a "terrorist organization." Her visa "is a privilege not a right," said the statement, adding that "glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated," alleged DHS Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin in an X post, without pointing to any specific evidence of the Turkish national's alleged "terror" support. The 30-year-old student and Fulbright Scholar had penned an op-ed article in the student newspaper The Tufts Daily in March 2024, criticizing Tufts' "wholly inadequate" response of the anti-Israel protests, urging the university to divest from Israel, a key demand of the movement. Ozturk, a former Columbia University student, was "ambushed" by ICE agents while heading out for dinner with friends from her off-campus apartment, according to a statement from her attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, provided to the Boston Globe. A dramatic video, taken by a neighbor's surveillance camera, dated March 25, shows a plainclothes federal agent approaching Ozturk on the street, followed by several other agents surrounding her before she was taken into custody. One of the agents was seen snatching the phone from her hand, then putting her hands behind her back and handcuffing her. On Wednesday, hundreds of people gathered at Powder House Park to call for the release of Ozturk. "The university campus should absolutely be a place for the free and open exchange of ideas and the fact that someone can just be disappeared into the abyss for voicing an idea is absolutely horrifying," said rally attendee Sam Wachman. City leaders in neighboring Medford, where the university is located, joined the rally after seeing the video. Khanbabai has submitted a petition to a federal court in Massachusetts, asking for Ozturk's release from ICE detention. The move was the latest action taken against a foreign learner associated with pro-Palestinian campus activism in the US as Trump, through a mass deportation effort, keeps cracking down on the movement, which was launched against Israel's genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil said that he was a "political prisoner" targeted to suppress dissent, after being detained by US police for leading pro-Palestine protests. "I am a political prisoner. I am writing to you from a detention facility in Louisiana where I wake to cold mornings and spend long days bearing witness to the quiet injustices underway against a great many people precluded from the protections of the law," he said in a statement provided exclusively to British daily The Guardian on March 18. Khalil issued the statement to rail against the US's treatment of immigrants in its custody, Israel's renewed bombardment of the Gaza Strip, US foreign policy, and what he described as Columbia University's surrender to federal pressure to punish students. His detention has sparked protests and alarm among free speech advocates, who argue that he is being unlawfully targeted for his activism, with his lawyers contending that the Trump administration is using rarely invoked legal provisions to deport him, although he is not being charged with a crime. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint Statement on U.S.-Argentina Bilateral Space Consultations US Department of State Media Note Office of the Spokesperson March 27, 2025 The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Argentine Republic on the occasion of the U.S.-Argentina Bilateral Space Consultations. Begin Text The Governments of the United States of America and the Argentine Republic are pleased to reaffirm their enduring partnership and commitment to the responsible and peaceful uses and exploration of outer space following a series of bilateral space consultations held in Washington D.C., March 11-13, 2025. The United States and Argentina have collaborated for more than six decades on mutually beneficial space activitiesfrom forging commercial partnerships that strengthen our shared economic prosperity to using groundbreaking space science to improve lives on Earth. Recently, through the Artemis Accords, both nations have increased the safety of operations and reduced risk and uncertainty via our shared commitment to the responsible and peaceful uses and exploration of outer space. These consultations strengthen our nations' ties in space policy, industry, security, and science. Both nations stand united in the vision for a peaceful, accessible, and thriving space frontier. The United States and Argentina further celebrate the contributions of both nations' space agencies and private sector companies in realizing shared objectives, looking toward future bilateral space collaboration. End Text NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New sales office to back Australian Defence industry Issued by Defence Media 28 March 2025 Defence is taking the next step forward in unleashing Australian innovation, technology and manufacturing on the international stage by establishing a new office dedicated to selling sovereign Australian defence technology to our international partners. The new Australian Defence Strategic Sales Office (ADSSO) will promote and facilitate the sale of select Australian defence capabilities to priority international partners. Australian companies will benefit from a centrally coordinated platform that proactively promotes, negotiates and drives forward their export sales. The ADSSO will be a joint Government and industry endeavour, drawing on front line experience of industry representatives. This initiative delivers on the commitment under the 2024 National Defence Strategy to support Australian defence industry to pursue export opportunities and integrate Australian companies into global supply chains. It is also an important step in delivering the 2024 Defence Industry Development Strategy, which highlighted the need to better coordinate with industry on our export efforts to trusted international partners. The initial priority capabilities for the ADSSO will include: Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle and Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicle Boxer Heavy Weapons Carrier AS9 Huntsman and Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle MQ-28 Ghost Bat Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) Future priority capabilities will be determined by Australia's strategic requirements in consultation with industry. Australia's defence industry has a proud history of exporting world-leading technology. This includes the Bushmaster, now used by nine countries, and a record breaking $1 billion deal to export Boxer armoured vehicles to Germany. Canada has also announced it will partner with Australia on its Over The Horizon Radar technology, leveraging Australia's world-leading Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN). NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Albanese Government continues export support for Defence industry The Hon Pat Conroy MP Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Minister for International Development and the Pacific 28 March 2025 The Albanese Government is continuing to back the defence industry, with the 2025 Australian Defence Export Catalogue featuring a record number of businesses showcasing their export-ready products. The flagship publication, which this year features 336 businesses, is a conduit for foreign governments to engage directly with the local defence industry, making it a vital source of opportunity for Australian companies to grow their exports. The Albanese Government is committed to driving global export opportunities for Australian defence industry and boosting Australian global supply chains. This includes utilising the Australian Defence Export Catalogue, as well as the Global Supply Chain program and through recent reforms to export controls, supported by the Team Australia initiative. The Government's reforms to export controls has seen Australian industry gain access an export licence-free environment with our AUKUS partners, unlocking billions of dollars of investment and cutting red tape to drive defence trade with the United Kingdom and the United States. Under the Albanese Government, the Global Supply Chain program has almost doubled from seven to 13 participating primes, which have collectively awarded over 2610 contracts to 283 Australian suppliers totalling over $2.07 billion. Last year, the Team Defence Australia initiative led delegations to 10 international tradeshows, providing opportunities for 399 Australian companies to showcase their capabilities. These companies include: SPEE3D which has secured the sale of their deployable 3D printers including cell training, support and powder valued at over $10 million BlueRoom Simulations which is now exporting their BlueRoom Mixed Reality Simulator to Europe with $1.5 million in sales expected by the end of 2025. REDARC Defence & Space which Australia in partnership with MARL International Limited is now a key supplier of LED lights to BAE Systems Australia. All exports of controlled goods and technology are subject to an independent and rigorous assessment process in accordance with Australia's Defence Export Control legislation. A downloadable version of the 2025 Australian Defence Export Catalogue is available on the Defence website at: https://www.defence.gov.au/business-industry/exporting/opportunities-and-services/australian-defence-export-catalogue. Quotes attributable to Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, the Hon Pat Conroy MP: "The record number of 336 companies showcased in the 2025 edition highlights the Albanese Government's commitment to exports and supporting defence industry. "The Albanese Government continues to work with the defence industry to help them grow their exports, which in turn provides critical support that enables them to employ more Australians. "It is pleasing to see an abundance of Australian industry on the world stage, which will create jobs and boost our presence in global supply chains." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Belarus: EU lists further 25 individuals and 7 entities in the context of the so-called presidential election and for supporting the repressive regime of Lukashenka European Council / Council of the European Union Council of the EU Press release 27 March 2025 18:55 The Council today decided to impose restrictive measures on an additional 25 individuals and 7 entities responsible of undermining democracy and the rule of law in Belarus, as well as contributing to the ongoing internal repression, human rights abuses as well as military cooperation with Russia in support of the war against Ukraine. The EU has listed the Central Election Commission (CEC) its deputy Chair and secretary, as well as its members. The CEC organised the 2025 presidential elections which were neither free nor fair, conducted in a climate of repression and human rights violations, and in breach of Belarus' OSCE commitments. Aleh Ramanau, the Chair of the largest political party holding the majority of seats in the Belarusian parliament, was also listed. Today's listings also include nine judges who have issued politically motivated sentences, including against citizens who protested against the Lukashenka regime, or who voiced dissent, thereby participating in the repression of civil society and democratic opposition. Furthermore, the EU has imposed restrictive measures on notable members of the President Property Management Directorate, a Belarusian government body subordinated directly to Lukashenka, generating revenue for the regime and profiting from it. The EU also listed other companies and businessmen supporting the Lukashenka regime and benefiting from it, such as Ridotto LLC - specialised in online gambling -and its majority shareholder Dzmitry Shvedka; Belorusskiye Loterei - running the lottery business in Belarus - and its director Mikalai Dzenisenka. Two companies active in the military-industrial complex in Belarus and their top managers were also designated: OJSC Planar and its CEO Sergey Avakov; and Precise Electro-Mechanics Plant and its director Yuri Tchorny, as well as JSC Integral. Lastly, restrictive measures were imposed on Tsybulka-Bel LLC, an agro-company that has coordinated with Belarusian authorities the deployment of inmates as forced labourers in direct violation of human rights. Altogether, EU restrictive measures against Belarus now apply to 310 individuals and 46 entities. Those designated today are subject to an asset freeze and EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to them. Natural persons are additionally subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through EU territories. The EU stands with the people of Belarus and unwaveringly supports the Belarusian people's quest for a free, democratic, sovereign and independent Belarus as part of a peaceful Europe. The relevant legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Background Since August 2020, the EU has imposed numerous successive rounds of individual and sectoral sanctions, against those responsible for internal repression and human rights violations in Belarus, and in the context of Belarus' involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine. With these measures, the EU is signalling to the political and economic actors responsible that their actions and support for the regime and to Russia come at a cost. In its conclusions dated 19 February 2024, the Council expressed its deep concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus, and strongly condemned the continuing persecution and intimidation campaigns against all segments of Belarusian society by the Belarusian regime. It deplored that political prisoners remain incarcerated in appalling conditions, exposed to torture and ill-treatment, without access to essential health services, and that many of these prisoners have been kept for long periods of time without contact with their lawyers and relatives. The EU urges the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, and abolish the death penalty. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address French FM visits China as 'EU ups dialogue with China' Global Times By Fan Anqi and Ma Jingjing Published: Mar 27, 2025 10:53 PM Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in Beijing on Thursday, with both sides emphasizing the importance of openness and cooperation while rejecting unilateralism, decoupling, and trade wars. Meanwhile, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic was reportedly to embark on his visit to China on the same day as the bloc navigates growing tensions with Washington. Chinese experts said the potential for China-EU partnership is huge, once the latter removes its tinted glasses and views China objectively. The future of China-EU ties is likely to be characterized by a mix of cooperation and divergence, with both aspects potentially becoming further pronounced, they noted. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said during the meeting with Barrot that this year marks the inaugural year of a new 60-year cycle in China-France relations, and that China is willing to work with France to leverage a proactive historical spirit, guided by the consensus between the heads of state, to effectively plan important bilateral agendas, strengthen dialogue at all levels and in various fields, surpass differences, deepen cooperation, and start a new chapter on a positive note. Facing a world of turbulence and transformation, the two sides should demonstrate the responsibility of major countries by upholding multilateralism over unilateralism, dialogue and cooperation over bloc confrontation, and mutual benefit over decoupling, the Chinese diplomat said. "We must work toward a more just and equitable global governance system and never allow the world to regress to a lawless 'jungle' where might makes right. To this end, both sides should strengthen strategic coordination and support each other's major multilateral initiatives," Wang noted. China regards France as a priority partner in achieving high-quality development, Wang added. For his part, Barrot noted that against rising uncertainties and protectionism in the international landscape, the importance of France-China relations has become even more pronounced. France views China as a key partner, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is committed to building a future-oriented, long-term stable bilateral relationship. France supports free trade, opposes decoupling and supply chain disruptions, and rejects trade wars, the French foreign minister said, according to the Chinese foreign ministry website. The two sides also exchanged views on China-EU relations. Wang said China and Europe share more cooperation than competition and more consensus than differences, with every condition to advance ties further. "China supports European integration and strategic autonomy. Taking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as an opportunity, both sides should draw on past successes, uphold their partnership, properly manage differences, and pursue mutually beneficial cooperation to jointly open new prospects for China-EU relations," he said. Also on Thursday, China and France issued a joint statement on climate change in Beijing on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The two sides agreed on providing appropriate solutions to major challenges of the era within multilateral framework, per the statement. "The regression of certain countries from scientific consensus and their withdrawal from multilateral institutions will only strengthen our determination and actions. The two sides reaffirm their commitment to take and accelerate collective actions, on the basis of the best available science, taking into account different national circumstances," it read. Barrot also visited the Beijing Language and Culture University on Thursday, where he told the students "More than ever, the current context requires a powerful Franco-Chinese partnership in the service of geopolitical stability, prosperity and the future of our planet," France24 reported. Over the past six decades and facing common global challenges, China and France have maintained their shared responsibility and commitment to multilateralism. This leadership role remains evident as the two sides continue their tradition of enhancing dialogue and cooperation across various fields, Dong Yifan, an associate research fellow at the Belt and Road Academy of Beijing Language and Culture University, told the Global Times on Thursday. "We can expect more tangible outcomes from China-France relations, whether in high-level exchanges, concrete cooperation projects, or in contributing global stability and certainty," Dong said. For the first time since taking office, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will travel to China on Thursday and Friday to meet Chinese officials, euronews reported on Wednesday. In response to a question asking Chinese Foreign Ministry to confirm the visit, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said "I'd refer you to competent authorities." With the US imposing tariffs on aluminum and steel, and further tranche of reciprocal tariffs schedules to begin applying on April 2, the EU may seek closer ties with China, the second-largest economy in the world after the US, euronews reported. "The intensive exchanges between China and the EU send a signal of improving China-EU ties," Zhang Jian, vice president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Thursday. "Amid geopolitical uncertainties, it's increasingly necessary for the EU to strengthen cooperation and policy coordination with China. The Trump 2.0 administration has brought unprecedented pressure and shock for the EU in terms of economic security and global governance. As the world's second-largest economy, China is crucial in solving security problems and achieving world peace," Dong added. A mix of cooperation and divergence Despite willingness to repair the bruised ties, the bloc's trade chief has, on previous occasions, repeatedly expressed his hawkish attitude toward Beijing, describing China as "the most challenging trading partner," and pledging to "reshape Europe's foreign economic strategy against Beijing's 'unfair practices.'" Ahead of the reported trip, Sefcovic said if Chinese electric vehicle and battery manufacturers want to invest in the EU, "they should be prepared to transfer technology," reported South China Morning Post on March 20. "Despite the recent intensive exchanges between China and the EU and some signs of a warming trend, the EU's strategic positioning toward China remains unchanged - at least no landmark adjustments from the strategic or official level," Dong said, noting that Sefcovic more likely aims to seek China's help for Europe's economy. "The future relationship between China and the EU is likely to be characterized by a mix of cooperation and divergence, with both aspects potentially becoming further pronounced. Addressing negative factors in bilateral relations fundamentally depends on the EU's sincerity and its perceptions of China," Dong said, stressing that China's policies toward the EU have consistently been stable and predictable. Given the rapidly shifting global geoeconomic situation marked by rising uncertainty, the EU should adjust its long-standing views and policies, Zhang said, calling on the EU to enhance its "strategic autonomy" and independently formulate China policies in a bid to ensure the stability and predictability of China-EU relations. "The potential for China-EU comprehensive cooperation is huge, once the EU removes its tinted glasses and views China objectively and pragmatically," Zhang said, noting that China's open, ultra-large and predictable market will bring considerable investment and trade opportunities for the EU to boost the bloc's economic development. Meanwhile, China and the EU are natural partners in global governance in an era marked by the prevalence of US' unilateralism, he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Carrier Fujian's tests normal arrangement, Chinese Defense Ministry says over vessel's 7th sea trial Global Times By Liu Xuanzun and Liang Rui Published: Mar 27, 2025 04:51 PM A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson called for a calm mindset over information suggesting that the Fujian, China's first 80,000 ton-class electromagnetic catapults-equipped aircraft carrier, has recently embarked on its seventh sea trial, during which analysts expect tests on aircraft takeoff and landing. Spokesperson Wu Qian said at a regular press conference on Thursday that there is currently no information to release, but the Fujian's sea trial are a normal arrangement during its construction. "Let's all keep a calm mindset," Wu said. The Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier, is China's first domestically made carrier that uses catapults. With a full-load displacement of more than 80,000 tons, the carrier is equipped with electromagnetic catapults and arresting devices, the Xinhua News Agency reported when the aircraft carrier was launched in Shanghai on June 17, 2022. Fujian set out for maiden sea trials on May 1, 2024, and has completed several such voyages since. On March 17, the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration released an announcement of traffic restrictions for a large vessel in the Yangtze River estuary on March 18. While the announcement did not mention the traffic restrictions are related to the aircraft carrier Fujian, the wording is similar to that used each time the carrier sets out and returns from sea trials. This announcement led some observers to believe that the Fujian has set out for its seventh sea trial, with the Chinese Defense Ministry confirming that the carrier had completed its fifth sea trial in December 2024 and announced further tests would follow as construction advances. Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that if the Fujian has embarked on its seventh sea trial, it means that the carrier is edging closer to commissioning. By comparison, it took China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, 10 sea trials before commissioning, and the second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, carried out nine sea trials, according to official media reports. If everything goes smoothly, the aircraft carrier Fujian could enter service soon, but as the Fujian is China's first aircraft carrier equipped with advanced electromagnetic catapults, many new systems need to be tested, so it would also make sense if it needs more time, Fu said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China-US military exchanges are advancing as planned: Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Global Times By Global Times Published: Mar 27, 2025 04:28 PM When asked about whether the Chinese and US militaries would conduct important exchanges in the near future and on further information on the bilateral military relations, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said on Thursday that the two sides have reached some preliminary consensus on China-US military exchanges, which are advancing as planned. Building a stable China-US military relationship serves the common interests of both sides and meets the expectations of the international community. To develop China-US military relations, it is essential to uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, enhance communication and dialogue, and properly manage differences. We hope that through the joint efforts of both sides, the military relations between China and the US can achieve healthy and stable development, Wu said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun's Regular Press Conference on March 27, 2025 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China Updated: March 27, 2025 19:35 As the rotating president of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China is holding a series of presidency events and making full preparations for the SCO summit in Tianjin. The official website of the SCO presidency has been officially launched. From today, China will keep releasing news on our work and preparations for the summit on the website. You are welcome to visit the website (www.scochina2025.org.cn/en). CCTV: Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council Ding Xuexiang delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025 this morning. He pointed out that China will step up efforts to promote self-reliance and strength in science and technology at a higher level and integrated development of technological and industrial innovation. We also noted that China has focused on developing new quality productive forces through scientific and technological innovation in recent years, and a series of frontier sci-tech outcomes have kept emerging. What is your comment on China's sci-tech development and its international cooperation in this regard? Guo Jiakun: This morning, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025. He pointed out that China's firm commitment to an innovation-driven development strategy has led to a notable boost in our innovation capability, and a successful transition from old to new growth drivers. This has not only helped us tide over economic difficulties, but also lifted our medium- to long-term growth prospect and potential. You may have noticed the fruitful results of China's sci-tech progress in recent years from digital networks and AI, from aerospace to deep-sea exploration, and from daily necessities to infrastructure. Chinese people can truly feel that "science and technology brings a better life." At this year's Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, participants are holding lively discussions on sci-tech cooperation topics including AI application and governance and digital capacity-building. They believe that China has achieved remarkable outcomes in developing new quality productive forces, and a series of newborn technologies have become new growth drivers. China has always been committed to strengthening sci-tech innovation cooperation, promoting the sharing of sci-tech outcomes to better facilitate the development of countries around the world. China is actively working on establishing the China-Japan-ROK Innovation Cooperation Center, and is joining hands with the Lao PDR to build an AI Innovation Cooperation Center. China has also signed a cooperation agreement with Pakistan on selecting and training astronauts and the Chinese space station is expecting the first foreign astronaut. History has proven time and again that only with opening-up and cooperation can a better prospect be embraced. China will continue to join hands with all parties to create an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for sci-tech development, bringing benefits to more countries and peoples. AFP: Beijing authorities have resumed criticism of CK Hutchison's sale of its Panama Canal ports. Two Chinese government offices overseeing Hong Kong affairs recently reposted an article that compared the deal to wrecking one's own foundation. Does the Foreign Ministry have any comments on this? Guo Jiakun: On your specific question, I'd refer you to competent authorities. Let me stress more broadly that China firmly opposes moves that infringe on and undermine other countries' legitimate rights and interests through economic coercion, hegemonism and bullying. CCTV: In the complex and turbulent global security landscape, the international community expects China's greater role in promoting world peace and stability. Yesterday afternoon, a high-level dialogue on global governance was held at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025. Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong attended the event and delivered a keynote speech on "joining hands to implement the Global Security Initiative to safeguard world peace and security." Could you share more details with us? Guo Jiakun: On the afternoon of March 26, the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025 hosted the high-level dialogue on global governance after the U.N. Summit of the Future. Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong attended the event upon invitation and delivered a keynote speech. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the United Nations. The U.N. Summit of the Future was held last year where the Pact for the Future was adopted. With the international landscape undergoing turbulence and transformation, peace and security is the top priority of global governance. President Xi Jinping, with a global vision and bearing in mind the well-being of all humanity, has put forward and promoted the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which is aimed at building the widest consensus and pooling efforts in the international community, improving global security governance and resolving security plights. Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong focused on sharing with the Chinese and foreign guests the essence and outcomes of the initiative. He said that we need to create synergies between the GSI and the Pact for the Future on global security governance, coordinate their implementation, and achieve mutual success. He also shared China's proposals on strengthening security cooperation and promoting world peace and tranquility under the guidance of the GSI. Chinese and foreign guests present at the dialogue spoke highly of the progress and achievements of the GSI, and expressed their great expectation that the international community will jointly uphold and promote world peace and security. China will continue to work with the international community hand in hand to turn the GSI from consensus into action and the Pact for the Future from a vision into reality, build a community with a shared future for mankind, and usher in a brighter future with lasting peace and universal security. RIA Novosti: U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier that the United States will be charging 25 percent tariffs on all cars made outside the country. I wonder how this move will affect the trade cooperation between China and the United States. Guo Jiakun: We noted that major trading partners of the U.S. have already responded. Trade and tariff wars have no winners. No country in the world thrive and prosper through imposing tariffs. The U.S. levies violate WTO rules, undermine the rules-based multilateral trading system, hurt the common interests of people from all countries and will not help address the U.S.'s own problem. China Daily: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said in Latin America China's investments are "predatory practices," which come attached with "a huge loan" that can never be repaid by the locals. What's China's response? Guo Jiakun: The U.S. spreads disinformation on so-called China's "predatory practices" to sow discord between China and other countries. Such malicious attempt will never succeed. Investment cooperation between China and the rest of the world is based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, openness and mutual accommodation and win-win results. We respect the will of our partner countries, and the cooperation greatly boosted their economic development, improved people's livelihood, and delivered tangibly to the local people. There's nothing to support the so-called "debt trap" narrative. The world can see clearly who exactly is being coercive and predatory. We urge the U.S. to reflect on what it has done to developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean through bullying and predatory behavior, and stop vilifying China. Reuters: President Donald Trump said yesterday he would be willing to consider a reduction in tariffs on China in exchange for a deal on TikTok. Do you have any comment? Guo Jiakun: China has stated its position on TikTok on multiple occasions. China's opposition to imposing additional tariffs is consistent and clear. Reuters: Can we just check your comment from the Foreign Ministry? Is the EU trade commissioner planning to visit from tomorrow? Guo Jiakun: I'd refer you to competent authorities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address No more Uyghurs left in immigration detention center: Thai police But confusion persists regarding the number of Uyghurs who were or are currently detained in the kingdom. By Kunnawut Boonreak for BenarNews 2025.03.27 BANGKOK -- Thailand said Thursday there are no longer any Uyghurs stranded in its immigration facilities following the internationally criticized repatriation of 40 Uyghur men to China in late February, in an apparent move to put an end to the confusion over the total number of detainees. Thailand put the men on a plane to Xinjiang on Feb. 27, saying China had given assurances that they would not be mistreated and no third country had committed to take them. They were part of a larger group who had been held at an immigration detention center in Bangkok since escaping China's persecution in 2014. "40 [Uyghurs] had been sent to China, while three had died, one in 2018 and two in 2023, leaving no Uyghurs remaining in immigration detention," Thailand's Police Col. Watcharaphon Kanchanakan, told a court hearing, without elaborating. Separately, the Bangkok court on the same day dismissed a petition that sought the release of "43 Uyghur" detainees who had been held by Thailand's Immigration Bureau, saying: "all the Uyghurs had already been sent back [to China]." Confusion over numbers The 40 deportees were among more than 300 Uyghurs who fled China and were apprehended in Thailand in 2014. Thailand deported 109 Uyghurs to China in 2015 and allowed around 170 Uyghurs to be resettled in Turkey. However, the exact number of Uyghurs remaining in detention in Thailand has been controversial and uncertain, with recent reports stating that 48 men were still detained before the February 2025 deportation of 40 of them. Human rights advocates argue that at least five are still detained in Thailand. Bangkok-based human rights group, the People's Empowerment Foundation reported that seven Uyghurs remained in Thailand - five in Klong Prem Prison for breaking out of Mukdahan Immigration detention in January 2020 and two defendants in the 2015 Ratchaprasong bombing case. Thai authorities have denied prison visits to human rights groups and restricted access to proper legal consultation with lawyers, while allowing Chinese officials to conduct monthly headcounts of the detainees, according to Chalida Tajaroensuk, director of the foundation, who has been assisting the Uyghurs. Krittaporn Semsantad, Project Director of the Peace Rights Foundation, said they have taken steps to appoint legal representatives for five Uyghurs detained at Klong Prem Prison to ensure they have proper legal representation. But these efforts proved futile, as access to the detainees remains restricted and legal consultations have been largely ineffective. "We have made arrangements to appoint lawyers for all inmates so they can express their concerns about being returned to their country of origin [China] or the risk of persecution by their home country, indicating that this is not voluntary repatriation," Krittaporn told BenarNews, a sister publication of Radio Free Asia. "The detained group could not meet with lawyers because they were classified as a 'special security group,' but for those with the Department of Corrections, appointing lawyers can ensure their rights are protected because Justice Minister Tawee has stated that China wants these people back to their country," she said. Previously, the Thai government said it would also deport the five Uyghurs detained in Klong Prem Prison to China once they complete their prison terms. Thailand's deportation of 40 Uyghurs was heavily criticized by Western governments and human rights organizations, with the United States restricting visas for unnamed Thai officials involved in the deportation. Twelve members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that would expedite the ability of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities facing persecution in China to seek asylum in the United States. Amid mounting criticism, China invited Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, accompanied by journalists, for a three-day visit to Kashgar, Xinjiang, last week. The trip was intended to demonstrate the well-being of the recent deportees as well as those deported in 2015. However, a Thai journalist who participated in the delegation reported being closely monitored by Chinese security officials throughout the visit. Observers also criticized the event as being "staged" and lacking transparency. Since 2017, China has rounded up an estimated 1.8 million Uyghurs in concentration camps and subjected many to forced labor, forced sterilization and torture, based on the accounts of Uyghurs who have escaped and investigations by the United Nations. Beijing denies committing human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and says the camps are vocational training centers that have mostly been closed. Edited by Taejun Kang and Stephen Wright. BenarNews is an online news outlet affiliated with Radio Free Asia. 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 Official: Russia preparing for visit by North Korean leader Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 2:09 PM Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has announced that his country is preparing for a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this year. The Russian diplomat said Thursday the upcoming visit was addressed during his visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name for North Korea, TASS reported. "I have been to the DPRK myself just two weeks ago, where we discussed this issue among other things," Rudenko said. "We always make preparations," he said in response to a question during a conference titled "Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda" being hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). Rudenko said discussions are also underway regarding a possible visit by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Pyongyang to continue what he called a "strategic dialogue with our Korean friends." On March 24, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the invitation extended to Kim during President Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea last year remains in effect, though the timing of the trip has yet to be determined. Kim traveled to Russia in 2019 and 2023. However, he has yet to make an official visit to the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address North Korea unveils its first airborne radar, AI-powered suicide drones Moscow is suspected of aiding Pyongyang technically in exchange for military assistance in its war against Ukraine. By Taejun Kang for RFA 2025.03.27 TAIPEI, Taiwan -- North Korea unveiled what appears to be its first airborne radar system and suicide attack drones equipped with artificial intelligence, adding to indications that Russia has provided technical assistance in exchange for the North sending troops to fight Ukraine. The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, published photos of the early-warning airplane on Thursday and said leader Kim Jong Un boarded the aircraft and instructed military officials. Airborne radar systems are generally used to detect incoming aircraft, ships, vehicles and missiles so defending forces can attack them. Suicide drones are able to occupy airspace for a long period before detonating a warhead. Reports emerged in September that North Korea was "making progress" in modifying a Russian aircraft to become its first airborne radar system. British thinktank International Institute for Strategic Studies has said work on converting one of the three Ilyushin IL-76 Candid aircraft that Russia supplied to North Korea in the early 1990s was being carried out at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport. In early March, satellite images showed that the North was close to completing the modification of the aircraft. KCNA also highlighted the trial of a reconnaissance drone and released photos of a suicide drone test, inspected by Kim, showing what it said were AI-powered drones successfully hitting ground targets, including a tank. During the inspection, Kim "made an important evaluation of the military effectiveness and strategic value of the strategic reconnaissance drone with improved performance and the suicide attack drones with the introduction of new artificial intelligence," KCNA said. "Proved at the test was the innovative performance of a new-type strategic reconnaissance drone with the detective ability capable of tracking and monitoring different strategic targets and enemy troops' activities on the ground and the sea," the report said. Kim stressed that the unmanned equipment and AI fields should be "top-prioritized," according to KCNA. Pyongyang and Moscow reportedly reached an agreement in February under which Russia will provide technical assistance to North Korea for the development and mass production of various types of drones. The agreement was in return for North Korea's deployment of soldiers to aid Russia in its war against Ukraine. Military analysts also believe North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance. Separately, Kim also observed the flight of an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that resembles the U.S. Global Hawk, or RQ-4, according to the KCNA. In July 2023, North Korea unveiled a strategic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft similar to the Global Hawk at a weapons exhibition. During the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, locally known as Victory Day, in the same month, the North's state-run broadcaster aired a flight scene of this aircraft, referred to as "Saetbyul-4." But the unmanned reconnaissance aircraft observed by Kim this time had narrower and longer wings compared to Saetbyul-4. KCNA said Kim also expressed satisfaction with "new electronic jamming and attack weapon systems" under production. Kim said modernization of North Korea's army is being "qualitatively attained," according to KCNA. Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright. 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's Kim Parades New Drones Amid Reports It's Sent More Troops To Russia By Ray Furlong March 27, 2025 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paraded new military drones amid reports that he has sent an additional 3,000 troops to help Russia in its war on Ukraine. Pyongyang released images on March 27 showing Kim inspecting tests of reconnaissance and attack drones at an undisclosed location. There has been international concern that Russia is providing North Korea with drone technology in return for substantial military aid. The same day Kim inspected the new drones, South Korea's publicly owned Yonhap news agency cited the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in Seoul as saying that "it appears that some 3,000 or more [North Korean troop] have been additionally dispatched [to Russia] in January and February," The reported new troop deployment follows an earlier 11,000-strong contingent Pyongyang sent that has seen action in Russia's Kursk region "We can say that Russia is already becoming dependent on North Korea in many ways, not only in terms of shells, but also in terms of other weapons...as well as in terms of soldiers," Ukrainian analyst Oleh Saakyan told RFE/RL's Current Time. The dispatch of additional troops was first reported in late February, but without details of numbers. The new developments come as Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told state media that plans were being made for Kim to visit Moscow later this year. Kim has previously visited Moscow, traveling by armored train, in 2019 and 2023 for meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has made multiple trips to China and also held summits with US President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019. There has been a substantial warming in relations between Moscow and Pyongyang since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As well as sending troops, North Korea has also sent short-range missiles, self-propelled howitzers and rocket launchers, according to the South Korean military. "In reality, the state of the Russian economy and Russia's mobilization needs are becoming more and more difficult to meet, just like in Ukraine," said Saakyan, a co-founder of Ukraine's National Platform for Resilience and Cohesion, a non-profit group. "We can already see that more and more weapons from North Korea are appearing on the front line." The JCS assessed that the new deployment also included additional equipment and ammunition. It comes as Russia has demanded that Western countries stop providing military aid to Ukraine as a condition for a partial cease-fire. Last month, Kim said his forces would continue supporting Russia as part of a "comprehensive strategic partnership." The military deployment to Russia began last autumn. At first it did not go well, with reports of heavy casualties as North Korean troops struggled to cope with attacks by Ukrainian drones. In late January, a Ukrainian military intelligence official told Current Time that North Korean troops had been rotated away from the front line amid "big losses." Ukraine's special operations command told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that North Korean troops "were forced to retreat." But lately, their performance appears to have improved. North Korean forces have been credited with playing a role in pushing Ukrainian forces back in recent battles in the Kursk region. Their role in the fighting has raised concerns in South Korea that Kim's forces are gaining valuable battlefield experience. There's also been disquiet over the prospect of technology transfers from Moscow to Pyongyang. North Korean state media reported on March 27 that Kim was satisfied with the new drones and said production would be boosted as drones and artificial intelligence became top priorities. South Korean military spokesman Lee Sung Joon said a showcased drone may have used certain components from Russia but that Pyongyang was possibly exaggerating its capabilities. "It looks quite cumbersome and we assess that it's likely vulnerable to interception," he said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/33361704.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 COAS Gen Upendra Dwivedi highlights Five Pillars of Transformation encompassing Technology Absorption, Structural Changes, HRD & Increasing Cohesion between Three Services India - Press Information Bureau Ministry of Defence Posted On: 27 MAR 2025 7:45PM by PIB Delhi Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi has stressed upon the Five Pillars of Transformation encompassing technology absorption, structural changes, human resource development and increasing cohesion between the three services. Delivering the valedictory address of the Higher Defence Management Course (HDMC-20) at the College of Defence Management (CDM), Secunderabad, Gen Dwivedi gave a holistic roadmap of the Indian Army to become a future ready combat force. The COAS highlighted the Army's commitment to becoming a technologically advanced, adaptive and self-reliant force capable of addressing complex future challenges. He stressed upon the need to move from process driven approach to outcome driven approach to transition from measure of performance to measure of effectiveness. The COAS underscored the alignment of the Army's transformative goals and deliberated upon the three phases of Era of Transition, Era of Consolidation and Era of Control. Gen Dwivedi emphasised that Armed forces must be mobile, agile and technoligically competent; capable for contributing in all spheres of national security towards achieving vision viksit bharat by 2047 through Atmanirbharta, and remain a key pillar of national power and a preferred security partner in the region. The event marked the successful completion of the flagship Higher Defence Management Course by 167 officers from the Indian Armed Forces, including 14 officers from friendly foreign nations. HDMC is a premier program designed to equip senior military officers with strategic foresight, management expertise, and decision-making acumen crucial for higher defence management and policymaking roles. The COAS addressed the Future Strategic Leaders on multitude of significant issues from transformation of the armed forces to role and responsibilities towards nation building. He exhorted the graduating officers to be imaginative and develop the attitude and adaptability to channelise their ability and imbibe the principles of Truth, Trust and Transparency to deal with future challenges. As a mark of recognition, the COAS felicitated meritorious officers for their outstanding performance, acknowledging their exemplary contributions and academic excellence. The valedictory ceremony was graced by senior military officials, faculty members and distinguished guests, underscoring the significance of the occasion. The graduating officers are now poised to take on critical command and staff roles and carry forward the invaluable knowledge and strategic insights gained at CDM, reinforcing their commitment to national security and higher defence management. ***** SR/Anand (Release ID: 2115917) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Exclusive | Iran has relayed its response to U.S. President Trump's letter IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 27, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says Iran has relayed its response to a letter by U.S. President Donald Trump via Oman. Araqchi told IRNA on Thursday that Iran's official response had been sent through the appropriate channel and via Oman. "The official response comprises a letter wherein our viewpoints regarding the status quo and Mr. Trump's letter have been fully laid out and relayed to the other side," the foreign minister said. Trump sent a letter to Iran via an emissary from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 12. While the content of the letter has not been officially announced, Trump has said he has asked Iran that negotiations be opened into a new deal. The U.S. president pulled the United States from a previous agreement with Iran in 2018. Araqchi said in his Thursday remarks to IRNA that Iran's policy is to engage in indirect negotiations as long as the Islamic Republic is subjected to "maximum pressure" and military threats. "Indirect negotiations, though, can continue, as they existed in the past," he said. Last week, Araqchi said Iran's refusal to negotiate directly with the U.S. government was a tactic, not a strategy. He said ongoing negotiations between Iran and the three European countries of France, Germany, and Britain were essentially indirect talks with the United States. "In circumstances where there is 'maximum pressure,' no one in their sound mind would enter into direct talks," he said at the time. "The format of negotiations is always relevant in diplomatic relations... For now, our tactic and method is to have indirect negotiations." Trump on February 4 signed a presidential memorandum to restore "maximum pressure" on the Islamic Republic, despite his assertions that he is willing to engage Tehran diplomatically. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran will not negotiate with the United States because Tehran does not trust that Washington would adhere to any contractual obligations. 4482 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran open to 'indirect negotiations,' but rejects the U.S. approach: Head of Strategic Council IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 27, 2025 Kamal Kharazi, head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations (SCFR), says the Islamic Republic remains open to indirect negotiations despite rejecting Washington's current diplomatic approach. "What we see today in the behavior of the U.S. administration is a psychological war, promoting the policy of 'either war or negotiation' through contradictory messages from American officials," he told an SCFR reporter. Kharazi, a former foreign minister, explained that these mixed signals from U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump himself and his recent letter to Iranwidely covered by American and regional mediaare part of a strategy to create confusion, false optimism, and polarization within Iran. This, he said, has led some to believe that Trump genuinely seeks to improve relations between Tehran and Washington. However, Kharazi questioned the true intentions behind the U.S. strategy, which he said was an invitation to negotiate under the shadow of intensified economic sanctions and military threats. He warned that such negotiations lack clear principles and, based on past experiences, cannot be trusted. During his first term, Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal signed by his predecessor, Barack Obama, in 2015, and launched a maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic, characterized by economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation. Trump reinstated this policy shortly after beginning his second term in January, but has since expressed a willingness to strike a new deal. "The outcome of this strategy is nothing but the imposition of one party's demands on the other in an atmosphere of coercion and intimidation," Kharazi said. "If Mr. Trump had understood Iran and the Iranian spirit, he would have learned from the past and acted differentlywhether sincerely or even in a business-like mannerto resolve the historical issues between Iran and the United States for the economic benefit of his own country," he added. Kharazi emphasized that Trump should have realized by now that the Iranian people will never bow to pressure or coercion but will respond positively to humility and honesty. Nevertheless, Kharazi affirmed that Iran has not closed all doors and remains open to indirect negotiations to evaluate the other side, present its conditions, and make appropriate decisions accordingly. He said Trump should avoid repeating past mistakes and instead embrace the principles of genuine dialogueequality, mutual respect, and avoidance of threats and pressureand gain the trust of Iranians, who seek fair negotiations. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has ruled out direct negotiations with the United States under pressure, citing Washington's history of reneging on its commitments. 4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Address Israeli aggression instead of labeling Iran as a threat, Iran tells the E.U.'s Kaja Kallas IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 27, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has criticized the European Union's new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, for her remarks labeling Iran as a "threat" during her recent visit to the Israeli-occupied territories. In response to a question from IRNA on Thursday, Baqaei said that Kallas's statement was "baseless, illogical, and hypocritical," and lacked credibility. At a press conference in occupied al-Quds on Monday, Kallas claimed that Iran posed a "threat" to regional and global stability and that Tehran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Baqaei said if the new E.U. foreign policy chief were genuinely concerned about regional stability and security, she would address issues such as Israel's genocide in Gaza, its repeated aggression against Lebanon and Syria, and the occupation of their territories. "Ms. Kallas, unlike her predecessors who tried to give a fleeting glance at the principles of international law when declaring the European Union's positions, speaks boldly in a manner that, even if it stems from inexperience, further tarnishes Europe's image and credibility in the eyes of impartial observers," he said. 4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Araghchi: Iran's official response to Trump's letter sent Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 10:58 PM Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran's official response to a letter from US President Donald Trump has been sent through Oman. In an interview with IRNA on Thursday, Araghchi said the response was sent through a letter that elaborated Iran's viewpoints on the current situation and Trump's letter. "This official response includes a letter in which our points of view regarding the current situation and Mr. Trump's letter have been fully explained and informed to the other party," Araghchi said. He added that Iran's policy is still not engaging in direct negotiations with the US under maximum pressure and military threats. However, Araghchi said, indirect negotiations can continue just in the same way they were conducted in the past. "Our policy remains on not holding direct negotiations under conditions of maximum pressure and military threats, but indirect negotiations, as they have existed in the past, can continue, Araghchi said. Trump revealed in early March that he had sent a letter to Iran. At the same time, he reinstated his maximum pressure policy against Iran by imposing fresh sanctions on the country. Iran has stressed time and again that it won't sit at the negotiating table with the US administration as Trump continues his pressure campaign against Tehran. Last week, the minister clarified that Iran would not engage in direct talks with the Trump administration under the reinstated maximum pressure campaign. "We do not negotiate directly with the United States under maximum pressure where we are witnessing military threats and increased economic sanctions from Washington," he said. However, Iran has always been eager to discuss its nuclear program to "create greater transparency" and is already holding talks and consultations with three European countries and other interested nations, he added. The Trump administration recently restored the so-called maximum pressure policy, first introduced during Trump's initial term in office in 2016. Under this policy, Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark agreement on Iran's nuclear program in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran. The 2015 deal, signed between Tehran and world powers, saw Iran commit to temporary confidence-building restrictions on its nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of Western-imposed economic sanctions. On March 7, Trump announced he had written to Iran to call for nuclear negotiations and threaten military action. The letter was delivered to Tehran on March 12 by UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei responded on March 21, stating that US threats "will get them nowhere" and warning of reciprocal measures "if they do anything malign" against Iran. He also dismissed Trump's outreach for talks, accusing him of attempting to deceive global public opinion by portraying the United States as willing to negotiate while framing Iran as unwilling to engage. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran's FM says 'Signalgate' further fuels Tehran's skepticism of US political overtures Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 3:17 PM Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the leak of top-secret attack plans of the United States has further deepened Tehran's skepticism of political overtures recently made by Washington. In a post on his official X account on Thursday, Araghchi said, "People around the globeincluding Americansnow see how US officials look at world affairs. Some highlight severe incompetence and, more importantly, total disregard for human life in the decision making." "As for Iran, we see perhaps another reason to take the recent political overtures with a huge grain of salt," Iran's top diplomat stressed in his post, which was a reply to a piece of the leaked chat on making military plans against Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah resistance movement and accusing Tehran of funding the movement. Araghchi's comments followed American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg's publication of two articles in The Atlantic on Monday and Wednesday, revealing classified discussions among Vice President JD Vance, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Goldberg was mistakenly added to the group, granting him access to sensitive operational details and triggering a major security breach now known as "Signalgate", which has sparked concerns over the handling of classified information and the use of unsecured communication platforms. The fallout has led to calls for accountability, with lawmakers demanding investigations and questioning officials' judgment, although the White House keeps trying to downplay the gravity of the incident, analyzing wording and attacking the journalist who was accidentally included in the chat. The leak has also strained international relations by exposing sensitive military detail - including plans for US bombings, drone launches and targeting information of the assault - potentially undermining allied trust, while the White House's response has faced criticism, intensifying debates over transparency and security protocols. On March 7, Trump announced he had written to Iran to call for nuclear negotiations and threaten military action. The letter was delivered to Tehran on March 12 by UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash. Trump's call for negotiation comes as his administration recently restored the so-called maximum pressure policy against the Islamic Republic, which was first introduced during his initial term in office in 2016. Under this policy, Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark agreement on Iran's nuclear program in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran. The 2015 deal, signed between Tehran and world powers, saw Iran commit to temporary confidence-building restrictions on its nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of Western-imposed economic sanctions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran urges EU to address Israel's genocide, aggression instead of leveling 'hypocritical' claims Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 10:01 AM Iran says the European Union should address the Israeli regime's genocide and aggression against the countries in the region instead of leveling "hypocritical" claims against Tehran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei made the remark on Thursday in reaction to the latest allegation by European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who on Monday claimed Iran posed a threat to global stability and said Tehran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Kallas made the remarks during a press conference in al-Quds with Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar. She also accused Iran of supporting Russia in the war with Ukraine. Baghaei condemned the EU's double standard policies and said, "If Kallas is truly concerned about stability and security in the region, she should address the [Israeli] regime's genocide in Gaza and its repeated acts of aggression against Lebanon and Syria as well as the military occupation of these two countries' territories." He added that such baseless statements, illogical remarks and hypocritical claims against Iran lack credibility. Unlike her predecessors, who tried a bit to consider the principles of international law in expressing the EU's positions, Kallas "speaks recklessly", the Iranian spokesperson emphasized, warning that even if the EU foreign policy chief's remarks are rooted in her lack of experience, they would further undermine Europe's credibility in the eyes of any impartial observer. Iran has repeatedly rejected accusations that it has supplied weapons to Russia for direct use in the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia has repeatedly warned that a flow of Western weapons to Ukraine will only prolong the conflict. Tehran has also stressed on numerous occasions that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and has put its civilian nuclear program under the surveillance of the International Atomic Energy Agency which has verified its compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which Tehran is a signatory. The allegations against Iran come as Israel is believed to be the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in West Asia. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tehran, Baghdad need to maintain vigilance in face of enemies' plots: Iran oil minister Iran Press TV Thursday, 27 March 2025 6:57 AM Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad says Iran and Iraq should maintain their vigilance in the face of enemies' plots. Paknejad made the remark in a phone conversation with Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani on Wednesday, during which he reiterated that Iran is selling its oil within the accepted framework of interaction on oil trade. The two ministers also discussed issues of common interests during he phone call. This came after the Iraqi oil minister claimed that Iranian oil tankers seized by US forces in the Persian Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents. "We received some verbal inquiries about oil tankers being detained in the [Persian] Gulf by US naval forces carrying Iraqi shipping manifests," Abdel-Ghani said on state television on Sunday, adding that there had been no formal written communication. Iran's Ministry of Petroleum was quick to categorically reject the accusation and said the Iraqi oil minister had made the claim quoting American officials's remarks. "The Iraqi oil minister's remarks have been reflected incompletely and that he made the allegation based on what American officials had said," Iran's Deputy Oil Minister for International and Commercial Affairs Alimohammad Mousavi said on Monday. "It is clear that such claims by the American officials, which are in line with this country's illegal and unjustified policy to level unfounded accusations and exert pressure on the Iranian nation, have no basis or credibility," he added. Mousavi also emphasized that Iran's oil sales are being carried out based on all accepted criteria and regulations related to oil trade. Such "negative and malicious maneuvering" will have no impact on the Iranian oil ministry's determination to fulfill its legal duties and responsibilities, he pointed out. Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump's administration has reinstated the so-called maximum pressure policy, a campaign of hybrid warfare targeting the Islamic Republic. On March 20, the United States Department of the Treasury on March 20 imposed a new round of sanctions against Iran, targeting several entities, including independent Chinese teapot refineries, as well as vessels that supplied crude oil to these processing plants. On March 13, the Treasury Department also issued sanctions against the Iranian oil minister and some vessels that are part of a fleet involved in Iranian crude oil exports. In a phone call with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Mohammed Hussei,n on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the American officials are leveling accusations against Iran to exert pressure on the country. These claims and allegations have no legal basis and lack credibility, he added. "The neighboring and friendly countries are expected to be vigilant in the face of the inciting sedition and division caused by the US, which has no intention but to destroy the friendly relations between regional countries in line with the sinister goals of the Zionist regime," Araghchi emphasized. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PM Netanyahu's keynote speech at "Ambassadors of Truth" - the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism Israel - Prime Minister's Office Events and Speeches The 37th Government 27.03.2025 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today: "Minister Chikli, Thank you for hosting this conference. And all of you distinguished guests who have come here. I want to start with two words: Thank you. Thank you for coming to Jerusalem; Thank you for standing with Israel; Thank you for standing with the Jewish people; Thank you for standing with the forces of civilization against the forces of barbarism. I say barbarism, because antisemitism is a disease carried by barbarians that threaten all civilized societies. After the Holocaust, it was often said that few, if any, foresaw its horrors. This is patently not true. Herzl saw it at the turn of the 20th century. He wrote more than 30 times about the impending destruction of European Jewry. He wrote, and I quote: 'The stone is rolling down the mountain slope to the bottom. The absolute bottom. Will there be devastation? Will there be confiscation? Will they expel us? Will they murder us? I anticipate all these things and more.' Jabotinsky, a student of Herzl, saw this clearly. In 1938, he stood in Warsaw and issued a final desperate call to his fellow Jews, he said you are blind, you do not see. But those who do see, save yourselves. Leave now. Another person who saw it was my father, the late Professor Benzion Netanyahu. He issued his own prescient warning five years earlier in 1933 with the rise of Hitler. He was 23 years old, and he wrote what appears in hindsight to be an astonishing prophecy. I quote: 'Racial antisemitism is inciting a global war against the existence of the Jews, as a race that 'poisons' human societies. If racial antisemitism spreads, it will not only endanger Jewish rights but the existence of Jewish people everywhere. In the face of the Holocaust facing the Jewish people...'The Holocaust, my father wrote'...our role is to repeatedly remind the entire world what Germany is inculcating to its own sons. We can only crush racial antisemitism if we prove that German racism is not directed at Jews alone. We must convince others that Hitler's attacks on the Jews of Germany is an attack on human society as a whole.' Perhaps the history of the 20th century and the fate of multitudes, including six million Jews, would have been different if more had paid heed to such warnings at the time. Today we issue a similar warning. The fate of free societies is tied to their willingness to fight the scourge of antisemitism. For antisemitism legitimizes and unleashes wanton violence against a part of human society just because of the identity of its members. Not because of anything they do, but because of who they are. And once this principle is practiced on one group, it has no limits. Eighty years ago, this deadly virus destroyed a third of the Jewish people. Its virulent mutations under the Nazis claimed the lives of millions more, until it was stamped out by unrelenting allied military force. Now this hatred has re-emerged. It has re-emerged through its radical Islamist carriers in Yemen, Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and elsewhere. These antisemites wish to destroy not only the Jewish state. They seek to destroy the forces of modernity, and the Arab and Muslim world, they seek to drag it back to a primitive and violent medievalism. Nowhere was this fanaticism better demonstrated than on October 7th. The Hamas monsters who attacked us on that day beheaded our men, raped our women and burnt our babies. They took 251 innocent people hostage, including grandmothers, including their grandchildren. We brought back 196 of these hostages, 147 of them alive. We are determined to bring all of them home. But here's what we learned that day, for those who needed to learn it. We learned that if they could, these savage Hamas killers would murder all of us, down to the last man, woman and child. This hatred, as Chancellor Scholz of Germany told me, he said, they're not different from the Nazis. They're exactly the same as the Nazis. That is true. But today the Jewish people are in a different position from where we were on the eve of the Holocaust. The Holocaust comprised of 5,000 October 7s. The scattered Jewish people were totally powerless to resist it. This is not the case today. Today we have a State. Today we have an army. Today we can defend ourselves. And today we do defend ourselves. Our brave soldiers, our brave, incredibly brave, soldiers rolled back the terrorist tide. They boldly fight against our would-be destroyers. For 18 months they have fought like lions on seven fronts. On October 7th we were surprised. We had a terrible, terrible massacre. And many believed that Israel was on the verge of extinction. Nasrallah put it very clearly. He said the Jewish State, the Jewish army, that's no more than a spider's web and it could easily be swept aside. Well, a year and half later, Nasrallah is gone, Haniyeh is gone, Sinwar is gone, Deif is gone and Assad is gone. We have battered Hamas. We have brought Hezbollah to its knees. We destroyed the remnants of Syria's army. We hit the Houthis with the great help of our American allies. And we exposed Iran's vulnerability. We have changed, we are changing, the face of the Middle East. We are giving it a new future. Yet as we win the war against the forces of antisemitism in the Middle East, the fires of antisemitism rage in the heart of Western civilization. They rage in Europe's capitals, in the Western press, in social media. They rage in America's elite universities. I went to one of them. I can't believe that in Boston, in Cambridge, in MIT where I went to school, and nearby Harvard, in Columbia in New York and elsewhere, people are demonstrating with passion, these ignorant demonstrators. Who are they demonstrating for? For these murderers, these rapists, these mass killers. This is a reflection of a deep rot that has pervaded the intellectual hub of free societies. And this vilification of Israel, the Jewish people and Western values has been propagated by a systemic alliance between the ultraprogressive Left and radical Islam. It must be resolutely fought by civilized societies to safeguard their future. This is why we must all commend President Trump's decisive actions against antisemitism, and we must pressure other governments to do the same. I know that you share this resolve to fight antisemitism. That's why you're here. That's why I salute your coming here to Jerusalem to express your refusal to cower before antisemitism. You have come from many lands. I welcome all those from across the political spectrum, be they from the Left or from the Right, who realize that antisemitism is intrinsically evil and that it threatens their own future. I salute you for coming to Jerusalem. As for the Jewish people, many wonder why antisemitism has persisted from the Middle Ages down to modern times. The answer to this is complex, but it has two powerful and prominent elements. Throughout the course of their wonderings, the Jewish people suffered from a deadly duality. They were prominent, but they were also weak. This deadly duality invited envy and aggression with horrendous consequences down the ages. The nations of the world have long been habituated to regard the Jew as a helpless victim, totally powerless before plunder, pillage and pogrom. Well, you know from your own lives and the lives of nations, old habits die hard. Sometimes it takes more than a generation to effect a change of perception. Our tormentors are now undergoing a change of perception. They realize a simple truth. We are no longer powerless. We are no longer weak. As Herzl predicted in 1986: 'The Maccabees will rise again. The Jews who wish for a state will have it. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil. The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness. And whatever we accomplish there for our own welfare will powerfully benefit all of humanity.' All this has happened. Israel is a fount of innovation, of progress, which we share with all humanity. But the most important change is this. Our soldiers are truly the modern Maccabees. We refuse to surrender to terrorism. We do not bow our heads to antisemitism. We fight back. We do so on the battlefields of the Middle East. And with your help, we will fight antisemitism on the intellectual and political battlefields of the world. There is only one basic requirement for winning this war. I was recently in Washington, where I met President Trump. But I took time to meet 50 Jewish students, the leaders of tomorrow. They told me how they were being harassed on campus, violently harassed. One student told me that he was facing the dean of the university who invited one of the Hamas killers to give a lecture. In an elite American university. And I said, what are you doing about it? He said, I'm suing him. I said, good for you. This is exactly what you should be doing. Do not apologize. Do not bow your head. Stand strong. Stand together. And I say this to all of you: thank you for your clarity, thank you for your courage. G-d bless you all. G-d bless the Jewish people and G-d bless the many friends of Israel here and around the world." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Arakan Army to begin conscription in Myanmar's west Meetings are underway in Rakhine state as the rebel army drafts legal requirements. By RFA Burmese 2025.03.27 -- One of Myanmar's most powerful rebel armies will begin conscription for all residents over 18 years old, sources told Radio Free Asia on Thursday. The Arakan Army, or AA, which controls the vast majority of western Myanmar's Rakhine State, is organizing administrative processes in the state that would make conscription a legal obligation, a source close to the AA told RFA, adding that details would be released soon. A resident from the state's Mrauk-U township also confirmed that the AA was holding meetings in villages to discuss details about the conscription. "Men between the ages of 18 and 45 will undergo two months of military training and be required to serve for two years," the resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. He added that women between the ages of 18 and 35 will also be required to serve. No information has been released about what draftees will be required to do or whether they will serve in combat, raising concerns among civilians in the embattled region, which has witnessed brutal retaliation efforts from Myanmar's junta. The AA currently controls 14 of Rakhine state's 17 townships. RFA contacted AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha for more information, but he did not respond by the time of publication. With a well-organized military structure and strong local support, the AA has established de facto governance in much of the region, collecting taxes and administering justice independently from the central government. The junta views the AA as a persistent threat, as its growing influence undermines military control and fuels aspirations for greater autonomy among other ethnic groups. Facing serious setbacks from insurgent groups across the country, reduced foreign investment, and defections from its own troops, the junta enacted controversial conscription laws in February last year, mandating compulsory military service for men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27. International human rights organizations have strongly criticized junta's conscription law, arguing that it exacerbates the country's existing humanitarian crisis and violates fundamental human rights. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, described the junta's imposition of mandatory military service as a sign of its desperation and a further threat to civilians. The enforcement of this law has led to a significant exodus of young people seeking to evade conscription. Reports indicate that thousands have fled across borders, particularly into Thailand, to avoid mandatory military service. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by Taejun Kang. 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 Transcript of the Weekly Press Briefing by the Spokesperson, Thursday March 27, 2025 Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Assalam-o-Alaikum, Welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I welcome you all at the weekly press briefing. On the direction of the Deputy Prime Minister / Foreign Minister, the Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq, visited Kabul on 21-23 March 2025. The Special Representative called on the Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, on 22 March. During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on all issues of mutual concern, including peace and security, trade and economic cooperation, as well as people-to-people contacts. The Special Representative reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to continued engagement and mutually beneficial ties with Afghanistan, and underscored the importance of addressing all issues of concern, particularly security, to further consolidate bilateral ties. Both sides agreed to enhance high-level engagement and dialogue to strengthen bilateral cooperation. The two sides also reinforced the commitment to a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship, with a view to achieving lasting regional peace and stability. The Special Representative also met with Acting Commerce Minister of Afghanistan, Nooruddin Azizi. Both sides discussed bilateral trade and economic relations, as well as cooperation in the areas of transit and connectivity. The Special Representative reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to reinforcing mutually beneficial ties with Afghanistan. The two sides agreed to harness full potential of regional trade and connectivity for the mutual benefit of both countries. Upon his return, the Special Representative briefed the DPM/FM about his meetings with the Afghan leadership. The DPM/FM expressed satisfaction at the discussions held with the Afghan side and issued directions to further consolidate bilateral ties, including through high-level engagement and enhancement of trade and transit cooperation. We have taken note of the press release issued by certain UN experts, which appears to be based on selective and unverified media reports. It is imperative that public statements of this nature adhere to principles of objectivity, avoid selective criticism, reflect factual accuracy, and acknowledge the full context of the situation. Regrettably, these comments lack balance and proportionality, downplaying civilian casualties inflicted by terrorist attacks while disregarding the crimes committed by miscreants who deliberately disrupt public services, obstruct freedom of movement, and create an atmosphere of insecurity. Any credible assessment must recognize that these elements are not mere protesters but active participants in a broader campaign of lawlessness and violence. Their abuses of law and human rights violations cannot be ignored. Hiding behind a facade of alleged grievances, these elements are operating in collusion with terroristsevident from their coordinated efforts to obstruct State responses, including synchronized roadblocks facilitating terrorist attacks. The latest proof of this nexus was their unlawful storming of the District Hospital in Quetta, where they forcibly seized the bodies of five terrorists eliminated during the Jaffar Express hostage rescue operation. Three of these bodies were retrieved back from these violent protestors by the police. Legal proceedings against these individuals are being conducted strictly in accordance with the law of the land. Any statement by UN Mandate Holders that casts aspersions on these proceedings risks undue interference in sub judice matters before domestic courts. Such interventions not only undermine the rule of law but also set a troubling precedent of disregarding sovereign legal processes. Furthermore, this pattern of selective and disproportionate focus by the UN machinery serves no constructive purpose. Instead, it inadvertently emboldens extremist elements, fuels unwarranted media sensationalism, incites disorder, andmost alarminglyexacerbates societal polarization and fragmentation. It is both perplexing and deeply ironic that the statement issued by the UN Special Procedures Mandate Holders stands in stark contradiction to the very essence and spirit of the UN's own Resolution 2354. Rather than supporting a sovereign State in its determined and resolute efforts to combat terrorism, such statements risk legitimizing extremist narrativesan outcome that is not only counterproductive but also fundamentally at odds with the principles the UN purports to uphold. International human rights law unequivocally prohibits individuals, entities, or groups from weaponizing rights to infringe upon the rights and security of others. It also firmly upholds the right of sovereign States to take lawful and necessary action to maintain public order and ensure the safety of their citizens. The Government is duty-bound to protect the lives and security of its people, particularly in areas where innocent civilians bear the brunt of foreign-sponsored terrorism. It has consistently pursued policies aimed at fostering social and economic development for all segments of society, regardless of ethnic or religious background. However, the persistent threat posed by terrorists and their enablersthrough heinous attacks on civilians, security forces, and vital public infrastructureundermines these efforts. In this regard, the measures undertaken by the Government are fully consistent with international law, which categorically prohibits incitement to violence and terrorism. There can be no tolerance, let alone impunity, for terrorists, their facilitators, or their abettors. Institutional and legal mechanisms remain fully available for all citizens seeking redress in accordance with their constitutional rights. We maintain an open and constructive dialogue with UN Special Procedures Mandate Holders and will continue our engagement based on principles of mutual respect, objectivity, and adherence to facts. Pakistan welcomes the recently agreed upon limited ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine which prohibits attacks on energy infrastructure and ensures safe navigation in the Black Sea. We appreciate the active engagement of the US administration and its leadership in securing the agreement between Russia and Ukraine. We remain optimistic that the new momentum generated by these initial steps will eventually lead to comprehensive and permanent ceasefire. Pakistan's position on the Ukraine conflict has been consistent. Pakistan has enjoyed friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine. We have always advocated dialogue and diplomacy, immediate cessation of hostilities and peaceful resolution of this conflict. Israel's continued and repeated incursions and air strikes into the Syrian territory, continued violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, and its declared intent for an indefinite presence and full demilitarisation of Syria are unacceptable, constitute blatant violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity and undermine international law and regional stability. A durable peace in Syria hinges on a credible political transition, national unity and reconciliation and inclusive governance. We have learnt with serious concern that the Indian authorities have conducted scores of raids on the residences belonging to members of different constituents of All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The intent of these raids is to crush dissent and intimidate the local people. We urge the Indian authorities to stop these oppressive measures, and respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people, including their right to self-determination. I thank you! * (Farhan Ali, Public News): Sir, can you please update as whether Pakistan has officially taken up the matter of Indian involvement or Afghan involvement in Jaffar Express train hijacking with Indian or Afghan authorities. Your comments? Spokesperson: About Afghanistan, as I explained to you earlier, our interaction is multifaceted. It's ongoing. Recently, the Special Representative traveled to Afghanistan, and it was a comprehensive discussion where all aspects of bilateral relations were covered. About Indian involvement, we have been highlighting this issue to the attention of international community, including through submission of dossiers, and it's an ongoing effort. (Naveed Siddiqui, Business Recorder): We saw a generic statement by the Foreign Office regarding Special Representative's visit to Afghanistan, could you clarify what specific assurances were given by the Taliban that Afghan soil will not be used against Pakistan? Spokesperson: Again, with Afghanistan, we have been explaining it before also, we are neighbors and we have a multi-layered interaction with each other, including through diplomatic channels. Special Representative also offers a very important channel of communication. His visit, of course, encompassed all areas of bilateral interest and concern. There was an extensive discussion and this is again an ongoing process. (Saima Shabbir, Arab News): I have basically two questions, sir. One is that US Congressman introduced a bill to sanction Pakistan for violations of democratic and human rights. What is Pakistan's stance on that? Mr. Tariq Fatmi is also in the US. So, is this his official visit? If yes, then what is the agenda of his visit? Secondly, in your last briefing, we asked about information regarding the Pakistani journalists' delegation who visited Israel, though, Foreign Office has issued one press release about that, but it does not contain significant information regarding those people, especially that, how they travelled to Israel, on which passport they have travelled. How many people were dual national Pakistanis? Can you please give further details, as it was expected? (Asghar Ali Mubarak, The Daily Mail International): Although my colleague has asked it all but I want to ask you about last week's statement by the Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, he clearly stated that the American administration will not interfere in any other country's internal matters, and the bill which has recently been passed on 24th March 2025 which is named as Pakistan Democracy Act, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff and especially the Prime Minister has been targeted in the bill. Why foreign office has not issued statement regarding this? (Anwer Abbas, 24 News HD): Sir, regarding Ms. Saima Shabbir's question on Israel, this was the third delegation from Pakistan that visited Israel. Has the Government of Pakistan acted against any member of these delegations? Or revoked their passports? Because this is a clear violation of the instructions on our passport regarding Israel. (Azaz Syed, Geo News): In the context of the question on Israel, if anyone visits Israel legally, is it possible to take action against him/her? Is there any clause? Please educate. Spokesperson: About the first question we are aware of the bill being introduced in the House of Representatives. This is an initiative of a single individual legislator. We believe that the timing and context of the bill does not align well with the current positive dynamics of Pakistan-US bilateral relations based on mutual respect, understanding and non-interference in each other's affairs. The bill will have to go through several committees in the House of Representatives and Senate before passing. We hope that the US Congress will continue its supportive role in strengthening Pakistan-US ties and focus on avenues of mutual collaboration that benefit both our peoples and countries. Pakistan remains committed to constitutionalism, rule of law, protection of human rights and freedom of expression, because it considers democracy as a vehicle for prosperity and progress as a nation. As I mentioned earlier, this is an individual legislator's initiative. This is not the position of the US government. Regarding Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Mr. Tariq Fatimi's visit, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Syed Tariq Fatimi is visiting London, New York and Washington, where he has held bilateral meetings. In London, he met Secretary General of the Commonwealth. During the meeting, he reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to the Commonwealth and deepening cooperation in climate action and trade. He also held important meetings with key leaders of US Congress in the United States. He has met with the chairman of the US Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ranking Member of sub-committee on South Asia and Central Asia on Foreign Affairs Committee, and co-chair of Pakistan caucus already. These discussions focused on Pakistan-US bilateral cooperation and economic relations. The Special Assistant briefed the US leadership on government policies, especially the economic priorities. He explained that promoting bilateral relations, especially in the areas of trade, economy and investment, is among the top priorities of the government. Regional and international issues were also discussed during this meeting. With regard to the third question, we have explained our position. I can reiterate it. The Government of Pakistan has noted reports regarding Pakistani journalists traveling to Israel. In this regard, it is clarified that the Pakistani passports explicitly state that they are not valid for travel to Israel. Therefore, no such visit is possible under existing regulations. Pakistan's position on Israel remains unchanged. Pakistan does not recognize Israel and steadfastly supports the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders with Al- Quds Al Sharif as its capital. Pakistan reiterates its unwavering commitment to a just and peaceful resolution of the Palestinian issue in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Palestinian people. I can elaborate this policy further; passport is not valid for travel to Israel, so technically, it's not a possibility. In the past, we have seen such reports that dual nationality holders, who were carrying another passport, traveled on that passport to Israel. About Mr. Azaz's question, we are trying to figure out the legal implications. Because it is just like a person entering another country without a passport. So the question is that how can he or she enter that country, unless that particular country, through a special arrangement, allows him or her to come. I'll have to check the position of our law on this matter. (Khalid Mahmood, Express News): A follow up question on Afghanistan, before Muhammad Sadiq Khan, Zalmay Khalilzad visited Afghanistan with several achievements. Regarding the problem of Bagram airbase, do you think that handing over this airbase to the US will lead to a surge in militancy and tensions in the region? (Khawaja Nayyar Iqbal, Media Today): Follow up to Mr. Khalid's question, Zalmay Khalilzad who keeps commenting on Pakistan's political and human rights situation. It is being said that two big demands are being made during his visit to Afghanistan, one is related to takeover of Bagram airbase and second is the return of leftover arms and weapons during the evacuation. How true is that? How Pakistan sees this and how easy this situation would be for America? Spokesperson: As a point of principle, which we have been enunciating this earlier also, it's the sovereign prerogative of Afghanistan, what kind of bilateral relations it wants to develop with other countries, including the United States. So, we don't have any comment to offer on that. Secondly, about the Bagram base related discussions, these are speculative. I can't offer any comment on this. (Shaukat Piracha, AAJ News): We have been listening consistently that these terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, are red line for Pakistan, and Pakistan will never tolerate attacks from inside Afghanistan. When this matter was raised with the Afghan authorities, including Mullah Amir Muttaqi or others, what was their response? Do they agree to the substance that Pakistan carries forward? My second question is about US visit by Special Assistance to Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi Sahab, as asked earlier whether it is an official visit as the US government announced his meeting with Acting Political Under Secretary, Lisa Kenna. What has been discussed over there, whether any security cooperation or revival of the institutional framework, as Lisa heads the diplomatic hierarchy of the United States? Spokesperson: About the first question you are part of all discussions we have been having in this room, this remains very important, and very high on agenda, and it has been raised through multiple channels, including by the Special Representative. We have been explaining it and pointing it out that this is a critical road block in way of the two countries realizing the full potential of the kind of bilateral relations two neighbors should have. This point remains at the top of the agenda and it will continue till we resolve this problem. About Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Mr. Tariq Fatemi's visit, it is an official visit. Regarding the specifics of the bilateral meetings with the senior US officials, I would say that all matters of bilateral interest come under review. (Raziq Mehmood Bhatti, Daily Kashmir Express): In Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the process of arresting, injuring and harassing Kashmiri separatists has intensified. While the legislative assembly of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) is going to present a bill which will reinstate the original status of Kashmir. What is Pakistan's stance on this? (Saqib Ali Rathore, Daily Kashmir Times): Special Representative to the Prime Minister, Mr. Tariq Fatemi is on an official visit to the US in which he emphasized the implementation of the UNSC resolutions related to Kashmir and plebiscite in Kashmir. Meanwhile, India rejected Pakistani demands calling it unnecessary and illegal. What are your comments? Spokesperson: About the question of Kashmir Assembly discussions, Pakistan has never acknowledged the supremacy of the Indian constitution in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which remains an internationally recognized disputed territory. Accordingly, there is no point for me to comment on the proceedings of a body that remains subservient to the Indian constitution, and in our view, remains illegal of course. Our position on Kashmir is well known. India has been repeating the same mantra about it. Whatever they say is not relevant. Kashmir remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council. It is an issue which has to be resolved according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people. (Tahir Khan, NNI News Agency): The deadline for Afghan Refugee Card Holders to leave Pakistan is approaching and only few days are left. Last time you said that there is no change. But before the visit of the Special Envoy, the Afghan Acting Foreign Minister, he requested Pakistan that this should be gradual. The Afghan Refugees Minister, said that Pakistan should give some more time to refugees, because it is difficult for around 800,000 Afghans to go back. So is there any change in the deadline? Spokesperson: Not yet. (Tahir Khan, NNI News Agency): For in second, with this during Sadiq visit, I think both sides agreed on high level contacts. So because the Deputy Foreign Minister, on July 10 last year, he said he will be visiting in few days, but now almost eight months have passed, but there is nothing. And when he was appointed, the Foreign Minister, Muttaqi invited him that day. So is there any plan when the Foreign Minister, if the Foreign Minister is going to Kabul? Spokesperson: About the first question, as I said, I will have to recheck with Ministry of Interior but so far, there is no change in the policy of the return of refugees. Ambassador Sadiq had a good visit, and there had been wide ranging discussions as explained in our press release. As I explained to you the interaction between the two countries continues. There are various proposals being discussed about visits but as soon as anything concrete comes up, I'll share the information with you. (Zeeshan Yousafzai, Dunya News): I have two questions. Sir, you said the visit of Ambassador Sadiq Khan to Afghanistan is part of an ongoing process. Sir, it is not an ongoing process. A Representative of Pakistani government is there. Was the matter of Jaffer Express taken up to the Afghan authorities? Was the matter of construction of check posts at Torkum border taken up or not? Did we share evidence with them or not? Second question is that the US has imposed sanctions on some companies in which 19 companies are Pakistanis. So, what is your stance on this as some Pakistani companies were sanctioned in December last year. Spokesperson: Regarding Ambassador Sadiq's visit to Afghanistan, what I had explained was that interaction with Afghanistan is ongoing. So, it was not that there is a complete rupture and then a visit takes place. Special Representative's visit is a part of ongoing interaction. This was a high-level visit, and an important visit. All issues which you flagged have been raised. Good discussions have taken place, and we look forward to see progress from the Afghan side. About the second question regarding the US sanctions, the recent imposition of export restrictions by the United States unfairly targets Pakistan's commercial entities without any evidence whatsoever. Such biased and politically motivated actions are counterproductive to the objectives of global export controls and obstruct the legitimate access to technology for socio-economic development. (Mateen Haider, G News): Annual US intelligence threat assessment report has been published, which says that TTP in Afghanistan poses greater threat to regional and international security. This is what Pakistan used to say, and Pakistan used to express serious concerns about it. So, what are your comments on this US intelligence threat assessment, and do you think on this threat assessment, there could be more closer cooperation between Pakistan and United States in fighting TTP, because Pakistan used to convey to the United States that TTP remains biggest threat to Pakistan's security. Now Americans are confirming it. Thank you. Spokesperson: We welcome this acknowledgement of the threat TTP poses. And about the second point regarding the US counter- terrorism cooperation, there has never been a hiatus in that. It has been continuing, and it will continue in the days ahead. (Zeeshan Syed, Neo TV): Sir, my question is related to the US attacks in Yemen and Syria. We condemn Indian activities in occupied Kashmir and condemn Israeli actions in occupied Palestine. Due to friendly relations with Turkiye, we never condemned their actions in Syria. On US airstrikes in Yemen, what is Pakistan's stance on it? Spokesperson: I already gave our position on this matter comprehensively in my previous briefing. (Khawaja Nayyar Iqbal, Media Today): Sir, Elon Musk who is one of the closest allies and advisor of President Trump, his app X is banned in Pakistan. On the other hand, talks are being held to make StarLink operational in Pakistan. In both cases, Pakistan agree or disagree, how does Pakistan see these developments? Secondly, one of the leaders of Sikh for Justice stated that RAW was involved in the terrorist attack of Jaffar Express. What are your comments? Spokesperson: About the first question, I would refer you to Ministry of Information Technology, Allowing X or Star Link to work in Pakistan or not is a different domain. These are different decisions. I can't comment on that, because these are technical decisions. About the second question, we have been repeatedly emphasizing and highlighting the Indian involvement in terrorism in Pakistan, and we have shared dossiers, as I explained earlier, with the United Nations, on this, and it is well known. It's not just Pakistan. In last one year, you have seen they have been orchestrating a global assassination campaign all over the world. (Muhammad Adnan, Nikkei Asia): Sir, yesterday, it was reported that the talks between Pakistan and China on the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan are underway. So, can you update us on this? What's the development related to these talks? (Mateen Haider, G News): On same development, there are reports that China has deployed its first military contingent in Balochistan for the protection of its own nationals. Some of the foreign newspapers reported about it. If this is so, please share details. Spokesperson: About the first question from NikkEi Asia, these are ongoing discussions. You know this is our commitment to ensure security of Chinese personnel in Pakistan. These dialogues are part of that arrangement. And on the second point, I completely deny this; no Chinese forces are being deployed in Pakistan. This is totally false. There is no credibility to these reports. (Khalid Mahmood, Express News): There are reports that Prime Minister will be visiting Germany next week. What is the schedule of his visit and are there any bilateral meetings planned? Spokesperson: Prime minister is not going to Germany. There is a Disability Summit and I will share the exact details. I think it is Minister of Health who's going to represent Pakistan. (Asghar Ali Mubarak, The Daily Mail International): Sir, regarding the situation of human rights in IIOJK and especially how Kashmiri people and Muslims are being treated there in Ramadan. Pakistan has been raising the voice for Kashmir and its people on different forums, will Pakistan further strengthen its voice for the rights of Kashmiri people in IIOJK? Spokesperson: Yes, we will continue to highlight, and the international community knows about it. The reign of terror unleashed by the Indian occupation forces in Kashmir with complete impunity, and the degree of human rights violations, inside Indian illegal occupied Jammu and Kashmir are well-known. We have been highlighting it and will continue to highlight it. Thank you very much. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Meeting with Head of the Chuvash Republic Oleg Nikolayev Vladimir Putin met with Head of the Chuvash Republic Oleg Nikolayev at the Kremlin to discuss the region's socioeconomic development. The President supported Oleg Nikolayev's intention to run for a second term. March 26, 2025 23:30 The Kremlin, Moscow Oleg Nikolayev started his report by presenting the republic's socioeconomic performance indicators. Its gross regional product increased 1.85-fold over the past five years, while industrial output grew by a factor of 2.3. Average monthly salaries and average per capita income increased 1.9-fold, while budget revenue surged 2.1-fold. Tax proceeds exceeded budget spending, which enabled the Republic to achieve self-sufficiency in its finances. Turning to manufacturing, Oleg Nikolayev focused on two standout investment contracts. One involves the production of light and medium tractors, and the other consists of using the anthraquinone process for producing hydrogen peroxide. The latter has already reached its project capacity and covers 95 percent of domestic demand for this product, while its market share in Kyrgyzstan and Belarus is about 50 percent. The region has run into some challenges with light and medium tractors since it initially included its Italian partners into the project. However, the republic has been able to find workarounds and plans to reach the projected capacity by 2030. It has also created seven manufacturing clusters over the past five years, which have helped localise the manufacturing of several products. The Head of the Chuvash Republic went on to report that agricultural sector demonstrated solid performance in cattle and poultry production, as well as wheat and eggs. Investment grew by a factor of 1.7 compared to 2020, with 174 projects worth 200 billion rubles underway, including in the Novocheboksarsk special economic zone and in industrial parks. Most of them focus on machine engineering, including equipment for the food industry and advanced agricultural processing. The region is also embarking on a project to build a plant for making traction electric motors for construction equipment. The Republic contributes to Angara, the latest space programme, considering that it is uniquely qualified to perform aluminium cold welding and produces heavy machinery for welding together Angara rockets. The agenda also covered efforts to promote tourism, SMEs, and exports. The latter increased by 4.5 percent compared to 2020, with non-commodity exports, high-technology products, i.e., machines, tractors, and highly refined chemical products accounting for 99 percent of the region's export mix. In his report, Oleg Nikolayev also talked about efforts to improve social services, including healthcare, education, physical fitness and sports, as well as cultural projects. Asked by the President, the Head of the Republic elaborated on housing and road construction. Oleg Nikolayev also mentioned the special military operation in his report, stating that about 20,000 people from his region were deployed in the special military operation zone, and over 1,000 of them received various state awards, including seven Hero of the Russian Federation titles. The Republic enacted over 30 measures to support the participants in the special military operation and their families. In conclusion, Oleg Nikolayev thanked the President for his trust five years ago when he ran for the office. The head of the region went on to remind the President that the Chuvash Republic was scheduled to elect its head in 2025, and said that he was ready to take part in the election as long as he had the support of the people of Chuvashia, and the President's approval. Oleg Nikolayev expressed his readiness to deliver on all the existing plans. Vladimir Putin said that outstanding issues are never in short supply, and that there are always challenges of various kinds that must be addressed. However, Oleg Nikolayev knows the region well and has been effective in his post. His overall performance has been quite satisfactory. Having said that, the President wished Oleg Nikolayev success. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Meeting with Yevgeny Solntsev Vladimir Putin met at the Kremlin with Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic Yevgeny Solntsev and offered him the post of acting governor of the Orenburg Region. March 26, 2025 21:55 The Kremlin, Moscow President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Solntsev, you are the current Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, are you? Yevgeny Solntsev: Yes, I am. Vladimir Putin: How would you describe the situation there? Yevgeny Solntsev: Mr President, we are working to fulfil your instructions on rebuilding the Donetsk People's Republic. Over the past three years, we have rebuilt 19,337 sites, including 3,407 apartment buildings. We continue to repair private houses, which is a challenge. Nevertheless, we have repaired 13,294 houses. We are also rebuilding social and cultural facilities. We have rebuilt 752 facilities, including schools. This year, we have rebuilt 60 schools, bringing the total to 247 schools and 167 kindergartens. You have opened flagship schools in Mariupol, including a large school for 1,100 children in the Nevsky neighbourhood, which you visited. We are also rebuilding healthcare facilities. To date, we have rebuilt 78 healthcare facilities, including hospitals, some of them from the ground up, like the hospitals in Volnovakha for 110 beds and in Mariupol for 700 beds. You attended the opening ceremony for the latter hospital, which serves all the southern regions of the Donetsk People's Republic. We continue to rebuild roads. Over the past three years, we have renovated 1,688 kilometres of roads. There are some areas of concern. We have not yet resolved all our problems, but we continue to rebuild and revitalise all the liberated cities and towns. I have accumulated considerable experience in this position, tackling unique issues related to people's lives and making relevant decisions. The price of our decisions is sometimes extremely high. Vladimir Putin: Mr Solntsev, first of all, I would like to thank you for everything you have accomplished in the Donetsk People's Republic. You have vast experience. In particular, you worked at Russian Railways, at the Construction Ministry and after that at Rosatom. You are currently head of the Donetsk government. I would like to offer you a new job with broader responsibilities, the post of Governor of the Orenburg Region. What do you think? Yevgeny Solntsev: Mr President, thank you very much for your trust. I will certainly accept this offer. I do not know that region, and it will take several months to objectively assess the situation there. But I can assure you that I will use all my skills and professional experience for the benefit of the people who live there and for the development of the Orenburg Region. Thank you very much. <...> NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister Tsahkna meeting with Baerbock: Europe holds strong levers to keep up the pressure on Russia Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 27.03.2025 Today 27 March, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Berlin to discuss further steps in supporting Ukraine, raising the cost of the war for Russia and reinforcing Europe's defence capabilities. Foreign Minister Tsahkna also presented his German colleague with the Foreign Ministry's Cross of Merit, First Class. Tsahkna thanked Germany for its contribution to boosting the deterrence and defence posture in our region through its participation in Baltic Air Policing and the deployment of troops in Lithuania. Tsahkna also highlighted Germany's recent decision to ease its debt rules that allows Germany to increase its defence spending considerably. "The decision by each individual country to invest more in defence strengthens collective security and in the current security situation and in light of the seriousness of the Russian threat, it is the only right course," Tsahkna said, noting that Estonia planned to raise its defence spending to 5% of GDP as early as next year. The meeting included an in-depth discussion on Russia's aggression against Ukraine and how to support Ukraine both militarily and on its path to European Union membership. Tsahkna underlined the need to further limit Russia's ability to wage war. "The European Union must adopt a strong 17th sanctions package and make a decision about the mobilisation of the frozen sovereign assets of Russia," the foreign minister said. "We cannot risk the possibility that only in a few months the aggressor gets back its assets." Tsahkna said that Russia continuing to attack Ukraine and constantly issuing new demands showed that Russia had not given up on its goals and hoped to achieve these goals on the battlefield. During the meeting, Tsahkna presented his German counterpart with the Foreign Ministry's Cross of Merit, First Class, for her contribution to supporting Ukraine and upholding European values. "In more than three years as foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock has proven her commitment to Ukraine, Europe, and the security of the alliance that unites us," Tsahkna said when presenting the decoration. As part of his visit, Tsahkna also attended the Europe 2025 security conference and met with several German politicians and thinktankers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Meeting on the development of the Arctic Zone and the Arctic Transport Corridor Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on the development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation and the Arctic Transport Corridor. March 27, 2025 17:40 Murmansk President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues. Today, we are convening and working in Murmansk - the largest city beyond the Arctic Circle - to comprehensively discuss the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route. I would note that both the city itself and the Murmansk Region serve as an example of dynamic, progressive development for all Arctic regions. Here, large-scale and in many ways unique industrial and logistics projects are being implemented, such as the construction centre for large-tonnage marine structures in Belokamenka, the development and modernisation of the Murmansk transport hub, including the opening of new terminals and the expansion of railway approaches. Furthermore, Murmansk is the home port of Russia's nuclear icebreaker fleet. As is well known, it plays a decisive role in the exploration of Arctic shipping routes and the Arctic as a whole. Finally, the Kola Peninsula hosts our most powerful Northern Fleet, which safeguards Russia's Arctic frontiers. Earlier today, I met with colleagues who shared updates. Yesterday, I discussed these matters with the leadership of the Defence Ministry, and the Chief of the General Staff [Valery Gerasimov] reported on the performance of our sailors in combat - I wish to once again thank everyone for their service and the courage demonstrated by Northern Fleet personnel during the special military operation. I reiterate: in the Arctic, this strategic and vital region for us, we face large-scale and systemic tasks. We must strengthen transport and logistics infrastructure, expand economic and business opportunities while ensuring the mandatory protection of the Arctic's fragile ecosystems. It is imperative to persistently improve urban environments, develop residential areas in the Far North, and comprehensively enhance the quality of life for residents. This includes providing meaningful, well-paid employment, modern education and healthcare systems, and ensuring that living in the Arctic is truly comfortable and attractive. Clearly, addressing these challenges requires a holistic approach, well-defined long-term plans, and the combined efforts of federal ministries, regional teams, business and academic communities, and public associations. This work is underway within the Government and the Marine Board. I am aware that prior to today's meeting, events were held by a specially established State Council Commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic, chaired by Governor of the Murmansk Region Andrei Chibis. These platforms are fostering discussions on the Arctic's strategic development and preparing proposals for our review today. At the same time, I urge participants to focus on achieving concrete financial, executive, and legislative decisions following these deliberations. Let me remind you: we previously agreed with the Government on the need to finalise a detailed development model for the Northern Sea Route, ensuring that its cargo flows are supported by infrastructure and fleet. Organisational aspects were to be resolved. Regrettably, decisions on this matter remain pending, and the model has yet to be formulated. I draw my colleagues' attention to this. Undoubtedly, we must account for current objective problems, challenges, and constraints. However, this must not delay the launch of development projects critical to the Arctic and Russia as a whole. Colleagues, I ask that today's reports be guided by these considerations. Let us begin. The floor is yours, Mr Trutnev. Please proceed. <...> NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's greetings to organisers and participants of the International Research and Diplomatic Congress to mark the 80th anniversary of the 1945 Yalta Conference 27 March 2025 11:30 479-27-03-2025 I offer my heartfelt greetings to the organisers and participants of the International Research and Diplomatic Congress commemorating the 80th anniversary of the 1945 Yalta (Crimea) Conference. This forum has brought together representatives of government bodies, domestic and foreign political, academic, and cultural communities, and the broader public. It is gratifying that the Russian Foreign Ministry - through its Department of History and Records - has contributed to this event by providing archival materials for a thematic exhibition. It is universally acknowledged that the Yalta Conference represented the pinnacle of Allied unity and cooperation between the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States. Eighty years ago, in the Livadia Palace, the leaders of the Big Three not only adopted joint decisions to expedite the end of the war but also outlined the contours of the post-war world. Among the conference's paramount achievements was the establishment of the United Nations, the cornerstone of the post-war international order. Today, amid the formation of a multipolar world order, adherence to the goals and principles enshrined in its Charter - in their entirety and interconnectedness - remains vital to humanity's peaceful development. The conference agenda is substantive. Participants will deliberate on a broad spectrum of issues spanning the history of international relations and contemporary global politics. I am confident that your discussions will take place in a spirit of friendship and will make a valuable contribution to the preservation of historical truth and the advancement of international humanitarian cooperation. I wish you engaging discussions and every success. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's video address to the participants in the Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda international conference, Moscow, March 27, 2025 27 March 2025 09:35 477-27-03-2025 Colleagues, Allow me to offer my greetings to the participants in the first international conference titled Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda. At the outset, I would like to thank the Russian International Affairs Council and the Embassy of India in Russia for working together to organise this new forum. We are delighted to welcome here in Moscow our friends from India representing its academia and businesses. I know that there are also diplomats among you, including those working in senior positions. Russia views strengthening its privileged strategic partnership with India as a foreign policy priority as per its Foreign Policy Concept. We have sparred no effort in pursuing this objective. In terms of our practical interactions, we can see that India has been acting along the same lines. Our two countries share long-standing ties. We can even say that these relations have passed the test of time. Today, Russia and India are promoting their cooperation on an equal footing, based on a sincere and shared respect for one another and taking into account each other's interests. The way our respective leaders have been contributing to this process can hardly be underestimated. The fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia as his first overseas visit after his re-election last year sent a powerful message. The ball is now in our court. President Vladimir Putin accepted the invitation he received from India's Prime Minister. Efforts to prepare the President's visit to the Republic of India are underway. Our relations rely on a solid economic foundation. We have been consistent in expanding our trade and economic ties, while also effectively fending off attempts by certain ill-wishers to create impediments for us. In 2024, our bilateral trade exceeded $60 billion, which was an all-time high in terms of our relations in their present-day form. Of course, we can aim even higher than that. We will carry on with our efforts to achieve the objectives as set forth by our respective leaders during last year's July summit. These objectives include increasing trade to $100 billion by 2030. Stepping up practical cooperation not only reflects the trade potential Russia and India have but also empowers businesses of our countries to tap this potential, including by undertaking joint investment projects. We have also gathered positive momentum in promoting our political dialogue. The fact that Moscow and New Delhi share close or even converging views on the emergence of a multipolar world order, is also a major asset. This order must have a diverse mix of development models at its core, while all countries must adhere to the principles as set forth in the UN Charter. They must comply with its provisions in full and considering their interconnected nature, instead of using a selective approach. Together with our Indian partners, we want to inject more democracy into international relations, and to give the Global South a bigger say in economic governance, while respecting the unique cultural and civilizational identities of all nations around the world, including the right to trace their own path. All countries which are part of what we call the Global Majority, adhere to this vision. Russia praises the Indian diplomacy and welcomes its commitment to following an independent, multi-directional foreign policy. It is our belief that India has every right to be viewed as a major power in today's world and one of the most influential centres in the multipolar world order. We share India's foreign policy concept with its slogan "The world is one family." It stands for promoting international cooperation for improving the wellbeing for the entire humankind by balancing the interests of all countries. We also value the fact that we have been working together within the United Nations, the Group of Twenty, BRICS, the SCO and other multilateral platforms. Russia is grateful for New Delhi's constructive contribution to holding the historical BRICS Summit in Kazan in October 2024 as part of Russia's BRICS chairmanship. On a separate note, I would like to extend our gratitude on behalf of Russia for the fact that India, including its Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been following a balanced approach to the Ukraine crisis at all times and called for settling it through dialogue and by addressing its root causes. Russia fully shares this approach and has been expressing its readiness to hold talks from the moment this crisis started. These talks must pave the way for settling the conflict and ensuring lasting peace by removing the conflict's root causes, as I have already said. Let me remind our Indian friends one more time that these root causes primarily include the attempts by the West to draw Ukraine into NATO and the security threats Russia has been facing following the alliance's eastward expansion, as well as targeted and consistent policies by the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev, which came to power in an anti-constitutional government coup in February 2014. These policies provide for cancelling everything Russian by enacting laws and using extermination practices. This effort targets the Russian language, culture, media outlets, and the canonical Orthodox church. All these actions violate the UN Charter's Article 1 and many other international conventions. There is a deep-rooted belief in Russia that addressing these root causes would create a solid foundation for achieving lasting peace and bringing about a political settlement to the security crisis which is unfolding in Eurasia's European part. In conclusion, I would like to say that communities bringing together Russian and Indian experts and political observers, the so-called Track II diplomacy, play an instrumental role in analysing processes unfolding around the world and also maintaining positive momentum in our bilateral relations. There are many challenges in today's world and so much uncertainty. Against this backdrop, an honest, free and inclusive effort to ponder global development trends and devise practical recommendations for decision-makers in the corresponding states has special importance. I am convinced that not only you can live up to this mission, but you are also willing to go the whole nine yards, as the saying goes. I hope that during this conference you will discuss the comprehensive ties between Russia and India in all their aspects and outline ways for developing these relations in a new geopolitical environment that is taking shape on our watch. I wish you fruitful discussions and all the best. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Wagner Fanta: Russia's Defunct Mercenary Group Hopes To Make A Killing On Bottled Water By Maja Zivanovic and Mike Eckel March 28, 2025 Russia's most infamous mercenary company, the now-defunct Wagner Group, is notorious for many things: ruthless fighting prowess, brutal war crimes, the failed mutiny by its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin -- and the plane crash that killed him two months later. Prigozhin's commercial dealings from Kremlin catering contracts and real estate development to oil deals in Syria and lucrative gold- and diamond -mining in Africa, particularly in the violence-wracked Central African Republic, also drew attention. Add this to the list of side businesses that Prigozhin's investments have spawned: Bottled water. Prigozhin was killed in an August 2023 plane crash that US officials believe was a Kremlin-authorized assassination. In the larger scheme of the multibillion-dollar, multinational conglomerate that he built, Crystal Water -- which RFE/RL determined has been on sale in the C.A.R. capital, Bangui, since at least late 2023 -- is small money. But it's emblematic of how his businesses have fractured, as allies and former partners -- not to mention Russian military and intelligence officials -- have sought to capitalize on his investments. "Although the Wagner Group in its original form no longer exists, many of its commercial ventures, like their mining operations, remain in operation in C.A.R.," said C4ADS, a Washington-based research group that has tracked many of Prigozhin's ventures. "These companies represent a continuation of the Wagner Group's historic commercial endeavors, but without the centralized, militarized leadership that once defined the group," C4ADS told RFE/RL. "The companies have proved adept at reacting to sanctions, often seeking to operate under a new name to obscure their identity." Lou Osborn, a French researcher who heads an organization called All Eyes On Wagner, said business ventures like bottled water serve a commercial purpose, but also a political purpose: to undermine the image of the C.A.R.'s former colonial ruler, France, and make room for Russian influence. "They build these businesses as a way to reinforce the political messages, through info operations they've been spreading in the country," she told RFE/RL. Gold, Diamonds, Hardwood Timber Prigozhin's mercenaries began deploying in force to the C.A.R. in 2018, under a contract to serve as a specialized security service for President Faustin-Archange Touadera and his government. In compensation, Prigozhin negotiated payment that included control over several mines, including, in 2020, the Ndassima gold mine, one of the country's most valuable. Public records show Wagner-affiliated entities now control 10 mines in the country. According to U.S. and other Western governments, mineral extraction and hardwood timber harvesting in the C.A.R., has netted Prigozhin's companies as much as $500 million annually, playing a central role in financing his business while he was alive. One of the main mining companies is Lobaye Invest, which is managed by Prigozhin associates Dmitry Syty, and Yevgeny Khodotov, according to the European Union, which imposed sanctions on the company. Lobaye Invest also finances several francophone media outlets, including the radio station Lengo Sengo, which broadcasts propaganda and advertising campaigns on behalf of Russian operations. Diamville SAU is an affiliated company that buys, sells, and trades gold and diamonds in the C.A.R., and was controlled by Prigozhin until his death. According to corporate records, the registered owner is a local man who has worked as a driver for Syty. Ndassima, located some 420 kilometers northeast of Bangui, has been controlled by another Wagner-linked company, Midas Ressources, since 2020. Private and public estimates say the mine might contain as much as $2.8 billion worth of gold. "Midas, along with other Prigozhin-linked firms operating in the C.A.R., is key to financing Wagner's operations in the C.A.R. and beyond," according to a 2023 US Treasury Department announcement. Yet another company with reported ties to Wagner has exported hundreds of thousands of dollars in lucrative hardwood harvested from forests in the western Lobaye region, according to Earthsight, a British environmental NGO. After Prigozhin's death, the Wagner Group's military and mercenary components were absorbed by the Russian Defense Ministry and other entities. His main holding company, Concord Holdings, also began to splinter, with Russian prosecutors announcing investigations. Outside of Russia, however, ownership of Prigozhin-related companies became even murkier. Vodka, Beer, Soda -- And Water Social media posts suggest that Crystal Water started appearing in Bangui marketplaces sometime in late 2023 when the brand began distributing T-shirts, hiring people to march in public parades, and promoting the water as a superior ingredient for brewing coffee. Crystal Water is one of several brands of bottled water sold in the C.A.R., where the overwhelming majority of the population have no access to clean drinking water. It's also one of the more expensive brands on the market. Labels on the bottles, which RFE/RL purchased at a Bangui market, refer to a company called First Industrial Company, which is better known as the brewer of a local beer called Africa Ti L'Or. A June 2023 intelligence report submitted to France's parliament stated outright that the brewery was owned by the Wagner Group. "Wagner opened its own brewery in Bangui at the end of 2021 to compete with the French, with the launch of a new drink, Africa Ti L'Or, on the Central African market," the report said. Social media photographs on Africa Ti L'Or's accounts show pallets of Crystal Water in factory storage at the brewer's plant. The exact origins of First Industrial's drinks business are unclear. The company broke ground on a bottling plant -- located about 24 kilometers north of Bangui, on the banks of the Mpoko River -- in early 2022, possibly some months earlier. Satellite imagery shows the plant's footprint has expanded noticeably since then. In April 2022, the company imported water purification equipment from a Russian company called GK Gost, according to trade records obtained by RFE/RL. Aside from beer, soft drinks, and bottled water, Africa Ti L'Or also manufactures a local vodka called Wa Na Wa, which is sold in plastic packets. By August 2023, the month Prigozhin was killed, a website called Nouvelles Plus published what appeared to be a press release about Africa Ti L'Or and "the good quality of this new range of alcoholic beverages." "This new beer 'Africa Ti L'Or' has won the hearts of consumers with its taste and quality which stands out from other beers that have existed in the C.A.R.," it said. Africa Ti L'Or has aggressively promoted its beer -- on billboards around the country and on Facebook and other social media, some of which appeared to be linked to Wagner operations. Africa Ti L'Or has also circulated social media advertisements for Crystal Water, and some of its other products: an orange soda drink called Africa Fanta and a Coca-Cola-like beverage called Ti L'or Cola. Many of the promotional events organized by Africa Ti L'Or are held at the Russian House, a cultural center under the auspices of the Russian Embassy. The principal behind First Industrial is widely believed to be Dmitry Syty, a Russian who was one of Prigozhin's first associates when he first began cultivating business in the C.A.R. Syty, who started out as an interpreter for a Prigozhin-founded mining company called M Invest, has headed the Russian House for years. Syty has aggressively expanded Russia's public outreach in the country, organizing language classes, and sponsoring beauty pageants, for example. He has also renovated a building to serve as a Russian Orthodox Church, with priests flown in from Russia to hold services and blessings for Russian mercenaries serving in the country. "Syty is extremely well integrated into the C.A.R. elite," Osborn told RFE/RL. "Everyone knows him in Bangui. He's a key stakeholder if you work in Bangui." In December 2022, Syty was wounded -- parts of his right hand blown off -- when a bomb that was mailed to him at the cultural center detonated. He was flown to Moscow for treatment, where, in interviews with Russian newspapers, he said the attack and threats that preceded it were aimed at pushing Wagner out of the country. In September 2023, just a few weeks after Prigozhin's death, a high-level Russian delegation, which included a deputy defense minister and the deputy head of military intelligence, paid a highly public visit to Bangui. During the visit, Touadera appealed to the visitors to continue working in the C.A.R. He also asked that Syty remain the point person for Wagner's business operations. Syty has also accompanied Touadera on trips to Moscow, most recently in January 2025, when Touadera received a red-carpet airport welcome and an honor guard parade just outside the Kremlin walls. RFE/RL reached out to Syty, in phone calls and on WhatsApp through a phone number provided by a person who has communicated with him. He did not respond as of publication. 'Reinforce Political Messages, And Increase Their Political Influence' The promotional and marketing efforts by First Industrial have a commercial purpose: taking market share away from companies like Castel Group, a major French wine and beer company. Castel owns a brewery called Mocaf, which has long been the dominant beer in the country. Castel did not respond to messages seeking comment. There's also a political bent, Osborn said: to undermine France's image in the country and to burnish Russia's image. In 2021, a high-energy, kinetic, Russian war-action film called The Tourist was released. Set in the Central African Republic, the film features a group of heroic Russian military trainers sent to bolster the professionalism of beleaguered security forces until they're caught up in an attempted coup on the eve of a presidential election. The film, which played widely in the C.A.R., was reportedly financed by Prigozhin's companies. "They are trying to displace [French competitors] from a pure business angle, yes, but when they try to displace them, they also try to reinforce political messages, and increase their political influence," Osborn said. Syty's actions have drawn scrutiny not only from journalists and researchers, but also Western governments. The U.S. Treasury Department targeted First Industrial in September 2023, the same month that the Russian delegation appeared in Bangui. Previous sanctions had targeted other Prigozhin entities, including mining and timber companies. Six months later, however, First Industrial was removed from the Treasury sanctions list, without explanation. For his part, Syty was personally sanctioned in July 2023 by Britain, whose government declared he was "associated" with the Wagner Group, which has been involved in "the commission of violations of international humanitarian law in the Central African Republic, in particular the deliberate targeting of civilians." Africa Ti L'or beer also drew the attention of French lawmakers. In February 2024, Olivier Cadic, a senator in the French parliament, publicly accused the company of using bad quality water. A spokesman told RFE/RL that Cadic had received no further communication from the C.A.R. government regarding his allegations but had no further comment. RFE/RL contributor Jean-Fernand Koena reported from the Central African Republic Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-central-african- republic-wagner-mercenaries-water/33362051.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 OIC General Secretariat Condemns Continued Israeli Aggression against Syrian Territory Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) 26-03-2025 The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned in the strongest terms the continued Israeli aggression against the Syrian territory and the Israeli occupation forces' bombing of the Syrian town of Koya resulting in many casualties among innocent people, in flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic, international law and the United Nations Charter. The General Secretariat underscored the need for the United Nations to assume its responsibilities and address the continued aggressions, and renewed the solidarity of the OIC with the Syrian Arab Republic. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tainan simulates emergency response to explosion in civil defense drill ROC Central News Agency 03/27/2025 07:00 PM Tainan, March 27 (CNA) The first-ever field exercise organized under the Presidential Office's civil defense committee was held in Tainan on Thursday, with around 1,500 people from the public and private sectors participating in an emergency rescue and response operation. The drill was carried out based on a scenario in which an explosion occurs near the tourist service center at Anping Harbor, with an estimated 200 casualties at the scene. According to the Presidential Office, the drill was meant to test central and local government emergency response capabilities, such as large-scale evacuations, sheltering and treating the injured. Around 1,500 civilians were mobilized, including police forces, a special team from Anping Harbor, volunteer police under local police stations and fire departments, charity group members and businesses, to work alongside alternative service conscripts in the operation. The drill was done without the participation of Taiwan's armed forces, but military field hospital equipment was used on site, as part of the emergency medical facilities. Speaking after inspecting the operation, President Lai Ching-te () emphasized the importance of making preparations and building up Taiwan's resilience for natural disasters, major accidents and "changes to geopolitical situations." Lai was joined in the inspection by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (), Director of the American Institute in Taiwan's (AIT) Taipei Main Office Raymond Greene, as well as other Taiwanese officials. The goal is to ensure Taiwan's security and achieve peace through demonstrating not just military but also civil defense capabilities, he said. (By Wu Shu-wei, Wen Kuei-hsiang and Teng Pei-ju) Enditem/AW NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan slams China's new reporting section as interference ROC Central News Agency 03/27/2025 08:41 PM Taipei, March 27 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday criticized Chinese authorities for a newly launched online reporting section targeting "Taiwan independence" advocates and their accomplices, calling it "a full-scale interference in Taiwan's internal affairs." By setting up the new reporting section and later publicly naming individuals reported, China "not only wants to interfere in Taiwan's politics, but also in its judiciary," MAC Deputy Head and Spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh () said at a regular news briefing in Taipei. "It also proves that it is necessary for Taiwan to remain vigilant in all areas," Liang added. His remarks came after China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), the MAC's counterpart across the Taiwan Strait, announced the launch of a new reporting section on its official website Wednesday morning. According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, the new section allows people to report "vile acts by those advocating 'Taiwan independence' and their accomplices in persecuting Taiwan compatriots." TAO Spokesperson Chen Binhua () said that certain organizations, government officials, and online influencers have acted as enforcers of "Taiwan independence" and their accomplices, "abetting wrongdoing and facilitating aggression," the Xinhua report read. Later in the evening, the TAO issued a news release saying that as of 5:00 p.m., it had received a total of 323 emails reporting individuals for "vile acts" such as "threatening to disband patriotic pro-unification groups and openly infringing on the legitimate rights of Chinese spouses in Taiwan." Individuals reported included Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (), Prosecutor Lin Ta () of the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, and Youtubers Pa Chiung () and Chen Po-yuan (). Liang said there appeared to be a "connection" between the individuals reported and the "vile acts" listed. In the case of Lin, he suggested the report might be linked to his frequent handling of national security cases, which could be interpreted as "deliberately detaining individuals who support the peaceful development of cross-strait relations." As for Liu, Liang said she may have been listed for "threatening to disband pro-unification groups," as the Ministry of the Interior has announced that it will formally ask the Constitutional Court to legally dissolve the Chinese Unification Promotion Party. Pa Chiung and Chen Po-yuan are linked to accusations of "infringing on the legitimate rights of Chinese spouses," Liang added. The two YouTubers have been central figures in recent incidents advocating the deportation of three Chinese spouses over their pro-"military unification" remarks. Liang said the reason the TAO compiled the list was to portray "the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a protective shield for pro-unification forces on the island [referring to Taiwan]." Before the launch of the new reporting section, "the CCP intimidated politicians, scholars, and cultural figures like Fu Cha ()," Liang said, adding that its scope has since expanded to include ordinary citizens, online influencers, and even prosecutors. Such a move also echoed remarks made by Wang Huning (), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, during the annual work conference on Taiwan affairs in late February, Liang said. At the time, Wang said that Chinese authorities must "firmly support pro-unification forces on the island," according to Liang. Fu Cha, founder of Taiwan-based Gusa Publishing, was recently sentenced to three years in prison by Chinese authorities for inciting secession, two years after his arrest in Shanghai. (By Sunny Lai) Enditem/AW NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Japan, Taiwan cooperation needed to face Trump challenges: Envoy ROC Central News Agency 03/27/2025 03:33 PM Taipei, March 27 (CNA) Japan's top representative to Taiwan on Thursday said that both sides need to work closely on responsive measures to security and economic challenges brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump's new administration. At an event in Taipei to mark the 15th anniversary of establishing the Taiwan Society of Japan Studies (TSJS), Kazuyuki Katayama, head of the Taipei office of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, said deepening Japan-Taiwan economic and technological cooperation has attracted increasing global attention. Japanese companies and their Taiwanese counterparts have "inseparable connections" spanning mutual investments, research and development and talent exchanges, said Katayama, whose office represents Tokyo interests in Taipei in the absence of official diplomatic ties. Japan and Taiwan face mutual security and economic challenges due to an increasingly complex global situation and East Asia policies "that deserve careful evaluation" from the Trump White House. This means Japan and Taiwan need more "sophisticated responsive measures," he said. The envoy added that Japan and Taiwan are discussing how to cooperate and jointly build an era of stability and prosperity, without elaborating. At the same event, Lin Yu-hui (), deputy head of the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), said Taiwan and Japan had supported each other through natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. Facing the challenges of the future, Taiwan and Japan, together with like-minded countries have plenty of room for cooperation in key fields, including semiconductors, energy, AI, and drones. The TSJS was inaugurated in 2009 by Taiwanese political scientist Lin Bih-jaw (), who served as secretary-general to former President Tsai Ing-wen () from May to October 2016. According to the TSJS's website, the organization aims to promote research on issues such as Japan's politics, diplomacy, economics, society, and culture, and nurture young researchers in Taiwan specializing in Japan studies. (By Yang Yao-ju and Joseph Yeh) Enditem/ASG 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 2025/03/27 PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan 1.Date: 6 a.m. Mar. 26 (Wed.) to 6 a.m. Mar. 27 (Thu.) (UTC+8) 2.PLA activities: 20 sorties of PLA aircraft, 7 PLAN ships and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected as of 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 12 out of 20 sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities. 1140327_PLA activities1 1140327_PLA activities2 1140327_PLA air activities in the vicinity of Taiwan NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. nominee highlights role of unmanned systems in deterring cross-strait conflicts ROC Central News Agency 03/28/2025 10:50 AM Washington, March 27 (CNA) Troy Meink, nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump to serve as secretary of the Air Force, on Thursday emphasized the importance of unmanned systems in deterring conflicts across the Taiwan Strait. During his Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing, Meink described the Taiwan Strait as a highly contested and sensitive region, warning that the potential for Chinese military action against Taiwan remains a serious threat to regional and global stability. "Unmanned systems play a critical role in deterring conflict in the region," Meink said. "But the systems' effectiveness depends on addressing the challenges and limitations associated with their use," he added. Meink, currently serving as deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, proposed a comprehensive strategy for the United States, including the development of advanced unmanned systems, enhanced command and control, improved cybersecurity and resilience, and integration of unmanned systems with other warfighting capabilities to fully leverage their potential. Meink said that threats from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Rocket Force to U.S. Air Force (USAF) personnel and facilities are increasing, driven by the growing number, variety, range and sophistication of missiles China produces each year. The nominee said although the USAF has made progress in addressing the Chinese missile threat, there is more to be done. Meink said that he believes China poses the largest military threat to the U.S. and its allies in the Indo-Pacific, as Beijing has spent the past two decades studying Washington, which focused primarily on countering violent extremism during the same period. China has "used that time to modernize and attempt to catch up in terms of both capability and capacity, Meink said. "Their aggressive behavior in places like the South China Sea conspicuously demonstrates a willingness to use military 'hard' power to achieve their national security objectives." Meink expressed that his top concern is the timeline of China's military development, adding that if the U.S. cannot shorten its development timelines, Beijing will likely continue closing the gap with Washington. The Washington Times reported on Thursday that if a war breaks out across the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. outpost of Guam would likely become a major target of Chinese missiles. When asked about Guam's role in a potential conflict with China, Meink said that Guam is a critical location, enabling the projection and sustainment of airpower from the frontlines of the Indo-Pacific to bolster the USAF's posture west of the International Date Line. "My understanding is that significant infrastructure improvements have already been made at Andersen, but further enhancements including ongoing upgrades to its airfields, increasing support facilities, and expanding fuel and munitions storage capacity are vital to ensure robust resiliency and operational continuity in contested environments," Meink said. According to Defense News, Meink, who joined the U.S. Air Force in 1988, is a Defense Department insider with well-established acquisition and technology development experience. (By Chung Yu-chen and Frances Huang) Enditem/kb NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Congress urges Turkiye to release detained mayors and stop their dismissals and detention Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Strasbourg 27 March 2025 In a Declaration adopted today following an urgent debate, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has called on the Turkish authorities to stop prosecuting and detaining elected representatives from opposition parties; release current detainees, including Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu and Mayor of Van and Congress member Abdullah Zeydan; guarantee the rights of the defence and refrain from making extensive use of pre-trial detention when clear evidence of reasonable suspicion is missing. The Congress expressed deep concern over degradation of the working conditions of local and regional elected representatives and the weakening of fundamental freedoms and the rule of law in Turkiye. This has been marked by the acceleration of dismissals, arrests and prosecutions of opposition mayors on grounds of terrorism and corruption and their replacement, in many cases, by appointed trustees. This practice has been condemned repeatedly by the Congress for being in violation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The Declaration stated that the relentless campaign of judicial harassment targeting Mayor Imamoglu since his first election in 2019 has been used to restrict his right to stand for elections. Separately, Mr Imamoglu's pre-trial detention on 23 March was identified by the Congress President as an assault on democracy. Since 2016, close to 150 mayors had already been dismissed and replaced and millions of people have been denied a democratic voice in Turkiye. The arrest of Mr Imamoglu runs the risk of the more than 16 million citizens of the largest municipality in Europe being administered by a non-elected administrator. The Declaration also condemned blanket bans on public demonstrations, as used in municipalities where mayors were removed or arrested. This practice highlights that freedom of expression and assembly have suffered from extensive restrictions over recent months as the country has deviated from democratic norms and standards. The Declaration reaffirmed that local and regional authorities are key to upholding and defending democracy, human rights and rule of law. It underlined the right of local authorities to freely exercise self-government without fear of persecution or retaliation regardless of the political views of their leaders and representatives. This is inherent to the requirement for political pluralism in democratic systems. The Congress underlined its commitment to pursuing constructive political dialogue with the authorities of Turkiye, notably in the framework of the post-monitoring roadmap and the organisation of a visit of the Congress leadership and the co-rapporteurs on the situation of local democracy in Turkiye; a fact-finding visit to Turkiye will be organised as soon as possible, to seek face-to-face meetings with mayors who have been detained, including Mayor Imamoglu. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Rubio's Call with UK Foreign Secretary Lammy US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson March 27, 2025 The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce: Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke yesterday with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy about European efforts to support a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war. The Secretary thanked Foreign Secretary Lammy for the UK's work to align Europe and Ukraine to support a durable peace in Ukraine and emphasized the need for further European contributions to bolster security in Europe. The Secretary further emphasized President Trump's determination to bring about peace through negotiation. The Secretary and Foreign Secretary Lammy also discussed developments in the Middle East, and they reiterated their shared commitment to ensuring that Iran never develops or acquires a nuclear weapon. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PM meeting with Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte: 27 March 2025 The Prime Minister met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Paris this morning, ahead of the Coalition of the Willing meeting. 27 March 2025 The Prime Minister met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Paris this morning, ahead of the Coalition of the Willing meeting. They discussed their enduring support for Ukraine, agreeing that Europe must do everything possible to keep them in the fight and keep up the pressure on Putin. Both acknowledged the vital role of the United States in forging a path towards a ceasefire agreement, and reiterated that Europe stands ready to support a durable and lasting peace when it comes. The Prime Minister restated his unwavering commitment to NATO as the cornerstone of our security. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Norway to provide NOK 3 billion in humanitarian support to Ukraine Government of Norway Press release | Date: 27/03/2025 The humanitarian consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine are severe and the need for assistance is enormous. In light of this, the Norwegian Government has decided to provide a total of NOK 3 billion in humanitarian support to Ukraine and to the refugee response in Ukraine's neighbouring countries in 2025. 'Russia's attacks on civilian infrastructure, electricity supplies, hospitals, schools and homes have continued with full force, and more and more Ukrainians are being forced to evacuate or flee their homes every day. At a time when international humanitarian financing for Ukraine is declining, Norway will continue to be a reliable donor to efforts to protect the civilian population and save lives,' said Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide. The funding is part of the 12.5 billion kroner that Norway is providing in civil aid to Ukraine and Moldova in 2025. The funding will be channelled through established humanitarian organisations such as UN organisations, the International Red Cross and Red Cresent Movement, and Norwegian and international NGOs. Priority is being given to providing protection and humanitarian aid in the form of shelter, food, water and sanitation, electricity and heating, education, health care and psychosocial support to millions of displaced people and other Ukrainians in vulnerable situations. The funding will also be used for measures to combat sexual violence and for mine clearance operations. 'It is crucial for us to draw on Ukraine's own expertise and experience, while also working to strengthen existing societal functions in Ukraine. I am pleased that many of our humanitarian partners are cooperating more closely both with the Ukrainian authorities and with Ukrainian civil society. This will help us to achieve better results,' said Mr Eide. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a key partner for Norway in delivering humanitarian assistance in Ukraine. During my visit today, together with representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, I have seen first-hand how the UNHCR is using Norwegian funding to provide help to people in Kharkiv whose homes have been destroyed,' said Mr Eide, who is visiting Ukraine this week. In the period 2022 to 2024, Norway provided a total of NOK 8.45 billion in humanitarian support to Ukraine and to the refugee response in neighbouring countries. The humanitarian funding is being provided under the multi-year Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine. The Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine was launched on 16 February 2023 by the parliamentary leaders, the Norwegian Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and Ukrainian President Zelensky. The support programme has been endorsed by all the political parties in the Storting (Norwegian parliament) and includes both military and civilian support. The support programme will run until the end of 2030 and, following a number of additional allocations, now has an overall funding framework of NOK 205 billion. Allocation of funds UN humanitarian response in Ukraine and refugee response in Moldova: 1.435 billion kroner International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ukraine: 140 million kroner International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Ukraine and Moldova: 25 million kroner Norwegian and international humanitarian organizations: 773 million kroner Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB) and the Armed Forces' support for medical evacuation of Ukrainian patients and Norwegian goods assistance through the EU's civil protection mechanism: 350 million kroner Remaining funds are being allocated to a humanitarian reserve. Read more about the Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine here: Norwegian support to Ukraine and neighbouring countries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Norwegian-funded solar panels to provide life-saving electricity in Ukraine Government of Norway Press release | Date: 27/03/2025 Norway is providing funding for 13 solar installations in the war-torn city of Kharkiv in Ukraine. This will secure a stable power supply for eight hospitals and five schools. 'This is absolutely critical for saving lives,' said Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide. During today's visit to Kharkiv, Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide and Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion Tonje Brenna saw first-hand the widespread destruction of infrastructure and homes in the area. Kharkiv has been subject to constant and systematic air attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. 'It is unsettling to see the devastation and hear people's accounts of daily life in a country at war. People here are contending with Russian attacks every day. Helping to ensure that eight hospitals are now able to provide treatment to the local population is an important contribution,' said Mr Eide. Russia's attacks on Kharkiv seriously damaged the city's energy system. During the autumn and winter of 2024, the city experienced daily power outages, with major consequences for the civilian population. The blackouts disrupted the operation of hospitals and schools, which also serve as bomb shelters. The hospitals reported malfunctions in critical medical equipment, problems with the water supply in operating theatres and interruptions in laboratory operations. 'The attacks left schools being used as shelters without electricity, and they couldn't be used as safe spaces for people seeking refuge. Helping to enable hospitals to provide medical assistance and schools to stay open is crucial for the local population, which continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience,' said Ms Brenna. The schools in Kharkiv play a vital role in emergency situations and daily life. The five schools all serve as bomb shelters and provide back-up electricity, communication services, heating, water, internet access and basic medical help to more than 700 people. Three of the schools also have a humanitarian role, operating kitchens that cater to a population in a vulnerable situation. 'Solar energy production and energy storage make it possible to prepare food even when there is a power outage. This enhances local resilience and is a great help to the civilian population. It is also important in promoting energy independence and the green transition,' said Mr Eide. In 2024 alone, Kharkiv experienced at least 318 targeted attacks by Russian forces, including 128 missile attacks, 170 guided aerial bomb attacks and 59 drone attacks on the city's critical infrastructure. Moreover, some 447 000 internally displaced people are living in the region. The funding from Norway for solar panels for hospitals and schools is being provided in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The hospital that Mr Eide and Ms Brenna visited today provides critical care to patients with coronary heart disease and is a training centre for future cardiologists. On sunny days, the newly installed solar power plant will meet up to 100 % of the hospital's electricity needs. 'Norway's support to Ukraine has been endorsed by all the parties in the Storting. Today, we had the chance to see for ourselves how some of our funds are being used, a small but important part of our overall contribution. The solar panels help to provide the hospitals with a sustainable energy supply and reduce dependence on external energy sources. In addition to the energy benefits, the project will have a significant economic impact at the local level,' said Ms Brenna. The hospital treats more than 11 000 patients every year. This pilot project, which has been made possible by the funding from Norway, will be used as a model to pave the way for the introduction of decentralised renewable energy solutions in other city hospitals and schools. Facts Norway is providing USD 5.5 million in funding for the pilot project. Under the UNDP Green Energy Recovery Programme in Ukraine, 13 solar power plants will be installed in 2025, at 8 hospitals and 5 schools, providing an overall capacity of 1.1 MW with energy storage systems totalling 2.3 MWh. The project is expected to save the hospital approximately UAH 1.5 million (USD 36 000) annually, making it possible to redirect these funds to improve medical services and purchase critical equipment. The hospital treats more than 11 000 patients every year. The installation of 5 hybrid solar power plants with an overall capacity of 250 kW and energy storage systems totalling 450 kWh will reduce dependence on the national power grid and diesel generators, which will result in annual savings of approximately UAH 1.7 million (USD 40 000) on electricity and fuel, and a reduction of 177 tonnes per year in CO2 emissions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Update 282 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine International Atomic Energy Agency 24/2025 Vienna, Austria 27 Mar 2025 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team has this week been observing operational tests of diesel generators at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) as part of ongoing efforts to help prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict in Ukraine, where the off-site power situation remains challenging, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. The ZNPP has repeatedly lost all access to external electricity during the conflict, forcing it to temporarily rely on diesel generators for the power it needs to cool its reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions. The tests carried out in recent days were designed to confirm that they are fully operational. "As the off-site power situation at ZNPP is still highly precarious, it is very important that these diesel generators can immediately start up without any issues. Our experts were this week able to confirm that the diesel generators that were tested can fulfil their function if the plant once again were to lose its external connections. Continued vigilance in this respect is necessary," Director General Grossi said. The plant has 20 emergency diesel generators (EDGs) for its six reactors. Six mobile diesel generators (MDGs) were installed by Ukraine as part of the safety measures introduced in light of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident - four of which are connected to reactor units and two of which are being used outside of the ZNPP site. Last year, the ZNPP procured three new MDGs that are located adjacent to the turbine buildings of three of the reactor units, but have yet to be connected. This week, the IAEA team based at the site witnessed the testing of one EDG and one of the new MDGs. Separately, the IAEA is aware of a report of a purported spillage of fuel held in storage for the ZNPP's diesel generators. When asked about the report, the ZNPP told the IAEA team that it was "fake" and that no such leaks had been detected from the site's fuel tanks. In addition, the plant said it has enough fuel in storage for a minimum of ten days of operation of its diesel generators. The IAEA has requested access to the fuel tanks to independently assess the situation there first-hand. Over the past week, the IAEA team has also continued to monitor maintenance of some of the ZNPP's safety systems and discussed emergency preparedness and response arrangements with the site. Team members conducted a walkdown of the site's waterworks facilities, and of the reactor building of unit 4, where the team observed traces of dried boric acid in some rooms as well as a defective seal on a pump. The IAEA team was informed by the site that the 330 kilovolt (kV) switchyard of the nearby Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP) was reconnected to the ZNPP's 750 kV switchyard last Friday, about a month and a half after the connection was cut as a result of damage to the ZTPP switchyard, which can now once again function as an alternative way of providing back-up power to the ZNPP. Throughout the week, the IAEA team reported hearing military activities at varying distances away from the ZNPP. The IAEA teams stationed at the other nuclear sites in Ukraine continued to monitor the status of the respective facilities - the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site. At the Khmelnytskyy site, one 750 kV line was disconnected at the request of the grid operator on 21 March and was reconnected that same evening, while refuelling activities at one of the reactor units continues. At the Rivne NPP, one reactor unit has been shut down for planned refuelling. The IAEA team at the South Ukraine NPP was informed that the site has repaired a leaking pump and that unit 1 has since returned to nominal full power. At the Chornobyl site, a fire caused an emergency outage of one 330 kV line that provides off-site power to the plant. It was switched back on after the Ukrainian State Emergency Service extinguished the fire. The teams at all four sites reported hearing air raids over the past week. At Chornobyl, the IAEA team was informed that a drone was detected 3 km from the site in the evening of 21 March. At around the same time, the team heard a loud explosion and also witnessed a flying drone. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The President in Paris: We need to create firm security guarantees for Ukraine President of the Republic of Lithuania March 27, 2025 President Gitanas Nauseda is participating in the "coalition of the willing" meeting in Paris on Thursday. The meeting was initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss support and security guarantees for Ukraine. During the meeting, the Lithuanian leader welcomed France and the United Kingdom's efforts to ensure lasting peace in Ukraine, emphasizing that the issue extends beyond Ukraine's securityit is crucial for the security of the entire transatlantic community. "Negotiations on Russia's terms would pose a direct threat to the European security architecture. Russia is and will remain an existential threat even after the peace talks. Any ceasefire agreement must be accompanied by strong security guarantees for Ukraine. Effective ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanisms, including measures for determining accountability, must be ensured," the President said, adding that no international organization where Russia holds veto power should be involved in this process or operate on the ground. The Head of State stressed that strengthening Ukraine's military and continuing military assistance are key to deterring Russia. Gitanas Nauseda urged coalition members to reassess their priorities and accelerate the delivery of military support. "Ukraine's armed forces need equipment immediately, including direct procurement from Ukraine's defense industry. Any settlements that are not backed by the deployment of a security reassurance force in Ukraine will be broken by the Kremlin. Europe must act now. Let's act urgently," the President said. According to Gitanas Nauseda, a European-led security reassurance force in Ukraine is a necessity. It must be credible, sufficiently numerous, with clear rules of engagement and a well-defined mandate. The Head of State also highlighted the importance of the United States' active involvement in implementing security guarantees. The Lithuanian leader further emphasized that Ukraine's accelerated accession to the European Unionby 2030 at the latestcould serve as a key security guarantee for both Ukraine and the EU. More than 20 European and international leaders are attending the "coalition of the willing" meeting in Paris. The President's Communication Group NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address If Peace Returns To Ukraine, What Next For Europe's Millions Of Refugees? By Amos Chapple and Ray Furlong March 27, 2025 PRAGUE -- Across Europe, some 4.3 million refugees could soon have the option of returning to a peaceful Ukraine, but many no longer want to. In the Czech Republic, Ukrainian refugees now make up some 3.6 percent of the population -- the highest ratio in Europe. A recent survey indicated less than a quarter plan to return to Ukraine once their refugee visas expire. Anna Naduda is one of those who hopes to remain. The artist and teacher lost her youngest son in a tragic accident before the 2022 Russian invasion. "I have a huge fear of losing another child, of losing my son," she told RFE/RL. Naduda speaks with warmth about the Czech capital, where she found refuge with her surviving child. "The experience for myself and my son is that Prague met us with love," the artist said, while molding a sculpture in a quiet suburb of the Czech capital. The artist's 11-year-old son has learned Czech and has settled into a school where he has friends and hobbies. "I want my child to grow up in a stable and positive environment," Naduda said. Naduda's visa comes under the EU Temporary Protection Directive, an EU-wide status agreed in 2022 which currently runs until March 2026. What happens after that date "will be coordinated depending on a conclusion of the war," Interior Ministry spokeswoman Hana Mala told RFE/RL. "In all likelihood there will be a transition period, in which refugees will have time to resolve their future - either by moving onto another kind of residence permit or returning home." New Visas For Refugees Many of the 389,000 Ukrainians in the Czech Republic on temporary protection visas face a high hurdle to remain if a peace agreement is reached. From April 1, Ukrainian refugees will be able to apply for a "special" residency visa that would grant them permission to stay on beyond the conclusion of the war and offer a potential pathway to permanent residency. But applicants are required to earn an annual gross income of 440,000 crowns ($19,200). That threshold increases by 110,000 crowns for each dependent in a household. "I need to earn more," Naduda says with a laugh, "that is my goal for this year." Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan has suggested there will be other paths for refugees to follow if they wish to remain. "They'd have the same rules as any other foreign nationals," he said in February. Rakusan said surveys suggested some 200,000 might stay. "That's a situation that we could certainly handle," he added. But immigration lawyers RFE/RL spoke to say those avenues will be limited. Hana Frankova, the head of legal at the Czech-based Organization For Aid To Refugees, says in the event of peace, and without extension to temporary protection visas, Ukrainian refugees "will probably be able, in theory, to apply for asylum." But she adds that "this would only make sense in case of someone having asylum reasons." The legal expert estimates only some 10 percent of Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic would be eligible for the special residency permit given its current income requirement. Svatava Pospiskova, a visa expert at the firm Czech Visa Lawyer, says if a cease-fire is announced and the temporary protection visa scheme is not extended, Ukrainian refugees would have "the opportunity to reside in the [Czech Republic] for up to 90 days under visa-free travel, but not for the purpose of earning a living." She added that applicants would need to apply for residence permits at the Czech Embassy in Ukraine. Yulia Dobrynina is a photographer and former lawyer who fled Kyiv in 2022 and now works at an NGO helping other displaced people in Prague to integrate. Dobrynina believes women with male children in the Czech Republic are likely to do anything to stay out of Ukraine, hinting there is little faith that the Russian invasion will be ended by a peace agreement. "We've had this war not only for three years.... It's a 300 year war, they always come back, they always want to kill us," she told RFE/RL. Dobrynina also aims to stay on beyond a potential end to the war. "I have no place to come back to," she said, adding that her home town of Melitopol is under Russian occupation. The NGO worker is also unsure if her income would meet the threshold for the special visa. "I don't know, [it could be] one crown minus, one crown plus," she says, referring to the Czech currency. Refugees In Poland And Germany Ukrainian refugees in other European countries also face uncertainties about how long they can stay. Germany and Poland have the most, with 1.16 million and 992,000, respectively, according to EU figures. In both countries, there have been moves to reduce the level of social-welfare support available to Ukrainian refugees. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk floated such proposals in early January, while Germany's likely future Chancellor Friedrich Merz made similar suggestions last year. "At first many people were ready to help, they had understanding for Ukraine," Angelika Gumz, the owner of a Ukrainian cafe in Berlin, told RFE/RL in February. "As time has passed, the attitude has changed." The level of benefits available to refugees has also caused political controversy in the Czech Republic. Official statistics show refugees have been a slight drain on the Czech economy since 2022 but that the trend is now heading toward a net benefit. Some 62 billion crowns ($2.7 billion) has gone to refugees since February 2022, with tax and other contributions from the same group adding up to 55 billion crowns. But in 2024, Ukrainian refugees contributed some 5.7 billion crowns more than they received from the Czech state. Yaroslava Tymoshchuk contributed to this report Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-refugees-czech- republic-peace-returning-home/33358495.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 Macron Pushes Forward With Reassurance Force Plans For Ukraine Following Summit By RFE/RL March 27, 2025 Leaders from more than 30 countries met in Paris for talks about to how to firm up Ukraine's position on and off the battlefield as they promised new aid and considered proposals on the potential deployment of European forces in the country to complement a future cease-fire or peace deal. Following the March 27 "coalition of the willing" summit, which does not include the United States, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the leaders gathered in Paris were more united around Ukraine than ever before. He said they need to ensure that they're able to counter what he described as Russia's plan to draw out the negotiating process in order to grab more land. "Our target is clear," Macron said at a press conference after the summit. "It is to achieve peace -- and to do this, we need to get Ukraine in the best possible place." The French president said that foreign ministers of coalition countries were tasked following the summit with looking at specific legal questions over any European-led reassurance force supporting a cease-fire, and told to report back in three weeks. "There will be a reassurance force operating in Ukraine representing several countries," Macron said. "It is not Russia that can decide if a reassurance force can be stationed in Ukraine." He added that there is currently no unanimity on sending a European-led force and that not all members have agreed to participate, but he said that this not required in order to move ahead. Speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the eve of the summit, Macron said that the proposed reassurance force would not be on the front lines of the war and would not be tasked with monitoring or enforcing a cease-fire -- a job that he suggested could fall to UN peacekeepers. At the March 27 press conference, Zelenskyy said that there were "many questions" and "few answers" over the possible deployment of European-led troops in Ukraine as part of any agreement. "As for the actions of this contingent, its responsibilities -- what it can do, how it can be used, who will be in charge of it -- there are many questions. So far, there are few answers," Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy also urged the United States to respond to what he called Russia's violation of a commitment not to strike Ukrainian energy targets. The Ukrainian leader said that energy infrastructure had been damaged in a Russian attack on March 27 and that it was "unclear who is monitoring" the pledges to halt such strikes. Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations over breaching separate agreements with the United States to pause strikes against each other's energy facilities. Reaffirming Support For Ukraine During the press conference, Macron added that a number of countries involved made further commitments of aid to Ukraine, including the French announcement of a new military aid package worth 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) on March 26. Macron also said that European leaders had agreed not to ease sanctions imposed on Russia and that they would take additional measures to target Russia's so-called shadow fleet, a network of aged tankers used to covertly carry Russian crude oil around the world. Earlier this week, separate US talks with Kyiv and Moscow in Saudi Arabia led to the announcement of a deal that the White House said resulted in a cease-fire in the Black Sea and an agreement "to develop measures for implementing" their commitments to halt strikes on energy facilities. But Russia is also demanding a number of conditions be met before it abides by the Black Sea agreement, including an easing of sanctions. Macron said following the summit in Paris that he intends to speak to US President Donald Trump and praised the recent US diplomacy. Whether the plans will result in action on the ground and be integrated into diplomatic talks spearheaded by Washington remains to be seen. Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy who has been involved in talks with Russia and Ukraine, earlier this week called the idea of the coalition "simplistic" and "a posture and a pose." Macron was asked about Witkoff's criticism during his press conference and said that "we must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst," adding that he hoped that the United States would back the initiative but that his focus was on what Europe can do. Easing Sanctions On Russia And A Black Sea Deal US officials have recently raised the prospect of easing their set of sanctions on Russia. Speaking to reporters during a working visit to Jamaica, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington will assess Moscow's conditions. "We're going to evaluate that. Some of those conditions include sanctions that are not ours -- they belong to the European Union," Rubio said at a news conference in Jamaica on March 26. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox News on March 26 that he believed Trump "would not hesitate to tighten sanctions if it gives him an advantage in negotiations." He added that tightening or easing sanctions would depend on further actions by the Russian leadership. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, at least 11 people were injured in overnight drone strikes on the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro on March 26, causing extensive damage. Officials reported that Russian forces launched at least 86 Shahed drones at the two cities, hitting civilian buildings and vehicles. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-macron-ukraine- russia-coalition-willing/33361483.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 Statement by Russian Defence Ministry 27.03.2025 (14:10) Despite official statements of the Kiev regime about the claimed cessation of strikes at objects of Russian power infrastructure, over the past 24 hours the AFU continued attacking these facilities. On 26 March around 17:00, in Bryansk region, as a result of the attack at the object of the Bryanskenergo (Rosseti Centre) a 10 kV high-voltage line was disconnected, and power supply to consumers in the Klimovsky District was interrupted. Also, at about 17:00, Russian air defence units shot down a Ukrainian fixed-wing attack UAV over the territory of Crimea in the area of Cape Tarkhankut, which was targeting the ground equipment of the Glebovskoye underground gas storage facility. In addition, on 27 March, a complete transformer substation in Bryansk Region was put out of operation at around 07:00 as a result of targeted artillery shelling at a facility of the Bryanskenergo (Rosseti Centre). Department for Media Affairs and Information NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Putin Says Temporary Governance in Ukraine Could Be Discussed Under Auspices of UN Sputnik News 20250327 The possibility of introducing temporary governance in Ukraine could be discussed under the auspices of the United Nations together with the United States, European countries and Russian partners, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. The introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine would allow democratic elections to be held in the country, Putin added. "And for what? To hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the people's trust. And then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty, sign legitimate documents that will be recognized throughout the world and will be reliable and stable. This is only one option, I am not saying that there are no others," the president noted. Russian President made other statements regarding foreign policy and the conflict in Ukraine while talking to sailors of the nuclear-powered submarine cruiser Arkhangelsk. Russia has a strategic initiative along the entire front line, the President stressed. Russia controls 99% of the territory of the Lugansk People's Republic and more than 70% of the territory of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, Putin noted. "I said not long ago that we would push them out, but there is reason to believe that we will finish them off," he added. Vladimir Putin President of the Russian Federation Russia is ready to cooperate with all countries that want to eliminate the causes of the Ukrainian conflict for a peaceful settlement. Moscow is ready to collaborate with Europe on Ukraine, but the EU behaves inconsistently and constantly tries to "lead Russia by the nose," he added. "The curators from Europe have convinced Kiev to continue the war to the last Ukrainian in order to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia," the Russian president said. Russia will no longer make mistakes based on excessive trust in its so-called partners, Putin stressed. The Russian President mentioned the BRICS countries and the DPRK among the partners Russia is ready to work with for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address It is time for Russia to agree the US proposal of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire: UK statement to the OSCE Ambassador Holland commends Ukraine's agreement to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and urges Russia to show that it is serious about peace by agreeing to one without further delay. 27 March 2025 Location: Vienna Delivered on: 27 March 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) Thank you, Mister Chair. We all want to see an end to the fighting and an enduring peace in Ukraine. We thank the United States for their efforts to deliver this, including during talks this week in Riyadh. Under President Zelenskyy's leadership, Ukraine has shown that it is the party of peace. They have proposed a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire. The only condition that Ukraine attached to this was that Russia should agree to it too. To date, Russia has not done so. We hope that President Putin will agree to this without further delay. The ball remains in Russia's court to demonstrate that the words we have heard about Russia wanting peace are sincere. It can do so by removing conditions designed to hamper and delay US-led efforts to end the fighting. It can do so by ceasing the attacks which continue to kill and injure innocent civilians at a pace which has not changed despite the altered context. And it can do so by showing that it is able to honour, in good faith, past agreements it has signed, starting with the Geneva Conventions, which include rules on the targeting of healthcare and minimising civilian casualties. The Russian State has shown little regard for these laws since it launched its full-scale invasion, an attitude that continues to this day. We will not lose sight of the fact that this remains an illegal and unprovoked war against an independent, sovereign nation. It is a violation of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. And the longer it takes President Putin to agree to end the fighting, the more innocent lives will be lost. Mister Chair, I would also like to say a few words about the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine. As you know, the SMM was in place between 2014 and 2022. The men and women of the SMM performed their functions with integrity and professionalism. They did so despite a risk to their safety, a risk underlined by the tragic deaths of two of its members and the arbitrary arrest and continued detention by Russia of three of its staff: Vadym Golda, Maxim Petrov and Dmytro Shabanov. The SMM's task - to provide independent and objective reporting on the security situation in Ukraine - was made impossible by Russia and its proxies restricting its movements and mandate. Blaming the OSCE for these flaws is disinformation and distraction. This organisation and its staff deserve better. Thank you, Mister Chair. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PM remarks following the Coalition of the Willing meeting in Paris: 27 March 2025 The Prime Minister gave remarks following a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris this afternoon. 27 March 2025 Location: Paris Delivered on: 27 March 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) It is now over two weeks since Ukraine agreed to an immediate 30-day ceasefire. That offer is still unanswered. It is over a week since Putin agreed to an energy and infrastructure ceasefire. Since then, Russia has hit energy infrastructure in cities across Ukraine. They've increased their bombardment. Firing over 1,000 long range drones at the country. Hitting homes, schools and hospitals, with widespread civilian casualties. One drone killed a mother, father and their daughter - an innocent family. Then, this week we saw the agreement on a ceasefire in the Black Sea. I welcomed this as a vital first step forward. But within a few minutes of the announcement, Russia set out new conditions and delays. Now President Trump has rightly called them out for dragging their feet. And we agreed here in Paris today that it's clear the Russians are filibustering. They are playing games and playing for time. It is a classic from the Putin playbook. But we can't let them drag this out while they continue prosecuting their illegal invasion. Instead, we should be setting a deadline of delivering real progress. And we should hold them to that deadline. So here in Paris we agreed that we must go further now to support the peace process. Support Ukraine and increase the pressure on Russia to get serious. That means - first - stepping up the military pressure. So the Defence Secretary will chair the next Ukraine Defence Contact Group on 11 April, to marshal more military aid and keep Ukraine in the fight. Because peace comes through strength. That was one of the main messages reasserted today and emphasised today all-round the table. Second, it means increasing the economic pressure on Russia - accelerating new, tougher sanctions, bearing down on Russia's energy revenues - and working together to make this pressure count. We also discussed how we can support the implementation of a full or partial ceasefire, when it is in place, and how we can build efforts towards negotiations on a just and lasting peace. That remains our shared goal. And that is what the Coalition of the Willing is designed to support. The political will from partners here today was clear. And this week in London we hosted over 200 military planners from 30 countries. Coming forward with contributions on everything from logistics and command and control, to deployments on land, air and sea. That work continues at pace. We will be ready to operationalise a peace deal whatever its precise shape turns out to be. And we will work together to ensure Ukraine's security so it can defend and deter against future attacks. This is Europe mobilising together behind the peace process on a scale we haven't seen for decades. Backed by partners from around the world, we are determined to deliver a just and lasting peace. Because we know it is vital for Ukraine and Europe as a whole and I am clear that it is vital for Britain. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister meets Coalition of the Willing in Paris following UK military planning meetings The Prime Minister will co-host the next meeting of the Coalition of the Willing alongside President Macron in Paris today (Thursday 27 March). 27 March 2025 Prime Minister will underscore that all must back Ukraine to remain in the fight against Russia Military planning to cover air, sea and land forces to support a lasting and durable peace and deter future Russian aggression Prime Minister expected to say "Europe is stepping up to play its part to defend Ukraine's future. Now Putin needs to show he's willing to play ball" The Prime Minister will co-host the next meeting of the Coalition of the Willing alongside President Macron in Paris today (Thursday 27 March). At the meeting, he will present the outcomes of this week's planning meetings in support of Ukraine, which took place at the UK military operational headquarters in Northwood over the last three days. The intensive sessions, which convened over 200 military planners from countries across the globe, considered in detail the structure of any future force to ensure Ukraine can defend itself from future Russian aggression. The Prime Minister will underline that all must come together to support Ukraine to remain in the fight and back US efforts to make real progress despite continued Russian obfuscation. Planning so far has looked across the full range of European military capabilities including aircraft, tanks, troops, intelligence and logistics capabilities - and discussions have centred on how European nations can contribute their own capabilities to support any future force. Discussions will continue around military planning of air, sea and land forces that would be required to support a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. As the Prime Minister has repeatedly stated, a lasting peace in Ukraine can only be provided if we step up and give real and credible security assurances to deter Putin from coming back in future. The Prime Minister will say that excellent progress has been made, and Europe is mobilising together in pursuit of peace, but now we must continue to keep up the momentum. The Prime Minister will add that Putin has clearly shown his lack of commitment to the peace process, following ceasefire talks convened by the United States in Saudi Arabia this week. Published readouts from both sides confirmed a naval ceasefire and prevention of use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea but Russia immediately backtracked and placed conditions on the agreements - despite good faith participation from Ukraine. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will say: Unlike President Zelenskyy, Putin has shown he's not a serious player in these peace talks. Playing games with the agreed naval ceasefire in the Black Sea despite good faith participation from all sides - all while continuing to inflict devastating attacks on the Ukrainian people. His promises are hollow. The US is playing a leading role by convening the ceasefire talks, President Zelenskyy has demonstrated his commitment repeatedly, and Europe is stepping up to play its part to defend Ukraine's future. Now Putin needs to show he's willing to play ball. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Supporting Victims of Russian Aggression and Facilitating the Return of Ukrainians: Iryna Vereshchuk Meets with Norwegian Officials President of Ukraine 27 March 2025 - 18:02 Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, met with Espen Barth Eide, Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Tonje Brenna, Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion. The parties discussed the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, particularly in frontline regions, with special attention given to financial support for addressing humanitarian challenges. The meeting also focused on the need to continue assistance programs for Ukrainians temporarily residing in Norway, and on the importance of creating conditions for the return of those who wish to come home once the war ends. Iryna Vereshchuk thanked the Norwegian government and people for their firm and unwavering solidarity with Ukrainians. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Norway has provided Ukraine with a total of $5.4 billion in support. This includes $3 billion in military aid and $2.4 billion in humanitarian and civilian assistance. This year, Norway plans to allocate $1.6 billion for Ukraine's civilian and humanitarian needs. The aid will be directed toward: energy security and supply, including nuclear safety and gas procurement; humanitarian aid; operational support and rehabilitation; development of business and the private sector; civil society. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Coalition of the Willing Is Ready to Continue Supporting Ukraine and Increasing Pressure on Russia Until the War Ends - Volodymyr Zelenskyy President of Ukraine 27 March 2025 - 17:03 Continued support for Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression, further pressure on the Russian Federation, and security guarantees for our country were the key topics of the leaders' summit on support for Ukraine. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of his meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the British Embassy in Paris. The President highlighted the leadership of France and the United Kingdom in the Coalition of the Willing. As the President emphasized, the outcome of the meeting included an important confirmation: there will be no lifting of sanctions against Russia until it ends this war. "This is critically important - everyone understands that today, Russia does not want peace. This is very important. And in the coming weeks and days, we will continue working on security guarantees. I believe this is essential not only for today, but also for our future," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed. Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that all members of the Coalition of the Willing are determined to achieve peace through strength. "Russia is playing for time, playing games - and we must be clear-eyed about that," he added. According to the UK Prime Minister, the summit also resulted in increased support for Ukraine, aimed at ensuring the strongest possible position now and in future negotiations. "And of course, we discussed further plans to secure peace, the activities of the Coalition of the Willing, as well as military and operational plans - on land, in the air, and at sea," Keir Starmer concluded. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The President: Partners Must Maintain Sanctions Against Russia, Strengthen Ukraine's Defense Capabilities and Develop a Joint Plan for Deploying Security Guarantor Forces President of Ukraine 27 March 2025 - 15:43 Russia seeks to prolong the war, so partner countries must maintain sanctions against the Russian Federation, strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities, and develop a joint plan for deploying security guarantor forces. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the leaders' summit on support for Ukraine in Paris. The Head of State emphasized that Russia is trying to keep the war going and is delaying diplomatic negotiations on a full and unconditional ceasefire, therefore it is important to maintain sanctions pressure on the aggressor country. "Russia breaks its promises way too often - we can't take steps toward them unless they really change. Sanctions must stay in place for as long as the aggression and occupation continue. I'm asking all of you to stay firm and to work with our other partners to keep the pressure on Russia," Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted. The President called on partners to continue military support for Ukraine both at the national level and through joint defense and financial initiatives within the European Union. "According to our intelligence, Russia is getting ready for new offensives against the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. They're dragging out the talks and trying to get the U.S. stuck in endless, pointless discussions about fake "conditions" just to buy time and then try to grab more land," the Head of State emphasized. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also highlighted Ukraine's need for investment in the joint production of air defense systems, artillery shells, and drones. "In Ukraine, our defense industry is underfunded by around 20 billion euros. We believe this gap can be closed using Russian assets," the President noted. The Head of State also urged partner countries to develop a concrete joint plan for deploying their forces in Ukraine. "We need one clear plan - one that we all agree on and start implementing, based on the options and plans that have already been discussed with you and are available to you. We want to invite a small group of people - your representatives - to Ukraine to develop this plan together," Volodymyr Zelenskyy concluded. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sanctions Must Stay In Place for as Long as the Aggression and Occupation Continue - Speech by the President at the Leaders' Summit on Support for Ukraine President of Ukraine 27 March 2025 - 15:32 Dear friends! I'm glad to see you all and grateful for your support of Ukraine and Ukrainians. Emmanuel, thanks again for hosting us here in France - and more broadly, for your commitment to this working format. Keir, I also want to thank you personally for your dedication and for the important meetings you've led in the UK - your support really matters. First - let's talk about the situation right now. As you all can see, the war is still going - and it's only happening because of Russia. Their position is simple - keep the war going, keep attacking, and delay diplomacy. Right now, there are U.S. proposals on the table - including one for a full and unconditional ceasefire. We agreed to it. But of course, Russia rejected it and threw in a bunch of nonsense conditions nobody asked for. Same with the idea of a ceasefire in the Black Sea - Russia is trying to push their own conditions onto our partners, but those conditions are unrealistic. Lifting sanctions on Russia right now would be a disaster for diplomacy. Sanctions are one of the few real tools the world has to pressure Russia into serious talks. What else is out there, apart from sanctions? If sanctions are weakened and Russia breaks the deal, bringing sanctions back will be incredibly slow and difficult. And by then, many will simply stop believing that sanctions actually work. Russia breaks its promises way too often - we can't take steps toward them unless they really change. Sanctions must stay in place for as long as the aggression and occupation continue. I'm asking all of you to stay firm and to work with our other partners to keep the pressure on Russia. At the same time, we need continued support for our defense and resilience. That's why all concrete decisions to support Ukraine are so important - both at the national level, like your national support packages, and through joint defense and financial initiatives especially at the EU level. Please continue backing these efforts, in line with our shared interests. Every single day in Ukraine means Russian bombs, drones, constant missile threats. The situation on the front line is still very tough. Stabilization on the front is a solid base for diplomacy. We've managed to make things more stable in the Donetsk region, and we're continuing operations in Russia's Kursk region to protect our eastern areas. According to our intelligence, Russia is getting ready for new offensives against the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. They're dragging out the talks and trying to get the U.S. stuck in endless, pointless discussions about fake "conditions" just to buy time and then try to grab more land. Putin wants to negotiate over territory from a stronger position. He's thinking only about war. So our job - all of us - is defense in the broadest sense of the word. That means keeping military aid going, but also, we need investments, more joint projects, more co-production, more localization, all aimed at scaling up and developing our defense production - from shells to drones and missiles. Europe needs everything it can to defend itself. Let's talk today about which defense directions in terms of support and production are the most useful. It's 5 billion euros for artillery shells to ensure our defense this year. And this funding must be found now. Also, air defense systems and missiles. Next is our domestic production. There are things you can produce in your countries, and there are things we can localize in Ukraine. In Ukraine, our defense industry is underfunded by around 20 billion euros. We believe this gap can be closed using Russian assets. And it must be done. Second point. We need clear, operational decisions - and a shared vision for the future security system. It's obvious that the strength and size of the Ukrainian army will always be a key guarantee of our security. So we need to build everything around that - our Defense Forces, their equipment, their technology, their effectiveness - this is the foundation. And on top of that, we need to figure out how our partners' forces will operate on Ukrainian land, in our skies, and at sea. Our coalition of willing and capable partners is already working - politically and militarily. I'm thankful to France, the UK, and everyone involved for their sincere commitment to helping us build lasting security. And now - during this meeting - in the upcoming military talks, and in all our discussions here in Europe and with other partners including the U.S. we need to answer some very specific questions: Which countries will be involved on the ground, in the sky, and at sea in Ukraine? Where exactly will these forces be located? What will the numbers and structure of these forces look like? What will their response procedures look like if there's a threat? And when will our coalition actually deploy forces in Ukraine - when a ceasefire begins or once the war is fully over and a settlement is reached? We need one clear plan - one that we all agree on and start implementing, based on the options and plans that have already been discussed with you and are available to you. We want to invite a small group of people - your representatives - to Ukraine to develop this plan together. Thanks again to all of you for your support. Glory to Ukraine! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bring Kids Back UA Delegation Discusses Return of Children Illegally Deported by the Russian Federation in the UK Parliament President of Ukraine 27 March 2025 - 09:10 A Ukrainian delegation has begun its advocacy visit to the United Kingdom as part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative of the President of Ukraine. The purpose of the visit is to strengthen cooperation between the countries on the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia. The delegation included Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa, Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office and Chief Operating Officer of Bring Kids Back UA Dariia Zarivna, and Head of the Save Ukraine NGO Mykola Kuleba. The delegation held a public briefing for the House of Lords International Relations and Defense Committee and a private briefing for the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. They discussed Russia's crimes against Ukrainian children, including deportations, forced displacement, militarization, Russification, and obstruction of their return home. "We have brought back 1,247 children, but at least 1.6 million remain under Russian control. If this is ignored, Russia will get a generation of Ukrainians to turn into a weapon of war against the freedom and security of Europe. We must do everything to prevent this from happening," Dariia Zarivna noted. Mariana Betsa called on the United Kingdom to continue advocating for children's rights, to maintain sanctions pressure on Russian perpetrators, and to help develop new mechanisms of international accountability. The issue of bringing back deported Ukrainian children was also raised at the weekly session of the British Parliament. "The abduction of Ukrainian children is a terrible crime, and the United Kingdom will make every effort to bring them home. This is a stark reminder that any peaceful settlement must include holding Russia accountable for its shameful actions," said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Ukrainian delegation also met with Lady Helena Kennedy LT KC, Director of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute and Co-Chair of the Bring Kids Back UA Task Force. The parties discussed the expansion of mechanisms for the return of abducted Ukrainian children - from strengthening cooperation with current intermediaries to developing new tools - the role of illegally deported children in the negotiation process, and the use of frozen Russian assets in the UK for the needs of Ukraine. During a meeting with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine, the delegates also highlighted Russia's systematic violation of the rights of Ukrainian children and ways to increase international pressure to bring young Ukrainians home as swiftly as possible. The Group includes representatives from all parliamentary political forces, a wide range of whom play a direct role in shaping the UK's Ukraine policy. Throughout all meetings, the delegation emphasized that the return of deported and forcibly displaced Ukrainian children must remain among the key issues of the international agenda, particularly in the context of future peace negotiations. It is crucial for achieving a just and sustainable peace. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Putin Suggests Temporary Administration For Ukraine To Move Toward Ending War By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and RFE/RL's Russian Service March 28, 2025 Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary international administration in Ukraine to allow for elections and the signing of key accords. The long-term goal of such an administration would be reaching a settlement to end the war, Putin said during a visit to the Northern Fleet in Murmansk on March 28, according to Russian news agencies. "This is just one of the options. I am not saying that there are no others," Putin said, speaking after talks in Paris about to how to firm up Ukraine's position on and off the battlefield. The idea could be implemented "under the auspices of the UN, the USA, with European countries" and with "partners and friends" of Russia, Putin said. The goal would be "to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks with them about a peace treaty," Putin said. Putin has long complained that Ukraine's authorities are not a legitimate negotiating partner because President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has remained in power beyond the end of his five-year mandate. Elections were to be held in May 2024, but under Ukrainian law Zelenskyy remains president until new elections are held. But they cannot be held under martial law, which the country has been under since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. Putin repeated that he views the current leadership of Ukraine as illegitimate and he is therefore resistant to signing any documents with it. Putin also expressed Russia's readiness for a peaceful settlement, saying Russia is "persistently and confidently moving toward achieving all the goals stated at the beginning" of the Russian invasion. "There is reason to believe that we will achieve them." He said he believed US. President Donald Trump sincerely wants to end the conflict, and Trump's push for direct talks between US and Russian negotiators showed that Trump wants peace. There has been no reaction from Ukraine to Putin's latest statements. French President Emmanuel Macron, who on March 27 hosted a summit of the leaders of a "coalition of the willing," said they were more united around Ukraine than ever before and need to ensure that they're able to counter what he described as Russia's plan to draw out the negotiating process in order to grab more land. "Our target is clear," Macron said at a press conference after the summit involving the leaders of 27 countries. "It is to achieve peace -- and to do this, we need to get Ukraine in the best possible place." The summit discussed the potential deployment of European forces in Ukraine to complement a future cease-fire or peace deal. "There will be a reassurance force operating in Ukraine representing several countries," Macron said. He added that there is currently no unanimity on sending a European-led force and that not all members have agreed to participate, but he said that this not required to move ahead. The French president said that foreign ministers of coalition countries were tasked with looking at specific legal questions over any European-led reassurance force and told to report back in three weeks. Whether the plan will result in a deployment or whether it will be integrated into diplomatic talks spearheaded by Washington remains to be seen. Following the summit, Zelenskyy said everyone understood that Russia does not seek peace and said that work on security guarantees would continue in the coming days and weeks. Earlier this week, separate US talks with Kyiv and Moscow in Saudi Arabia led to the announcement of a deal that the White House said resulted in a cease-fire in the Black Sea and an agreement "to develop measures for implementing" their commitment to halt strikes on energy facilities. But Russia is also demanding a number of conditions be met before it abides by the Black Sea agreement, including an easing of sanctions. Macron said following the summit in Paris that he intends to speak to Trump and praised the recent US diplomacy. Later on March 27, Trump adviser Elon Musk told Fox News that he believes there will be a negotiated peace to end the war. "For the past two years thousands of people have died every week for nothing. For what?" said Musk, who has become one of Trump's closest advisers. He said he has "contempt" for people who want to continue the war without regard for those who are dying. "I take great offense at those who...put the appearance of goodness over the reality of it," he said. "Those who virtue signal and say we can't give in to Russia but have no solution to stopping thousands of kids dying every day." Asked whether he is optimistic that Trump's plan to end the war will work, Musk said the plan is the only thing that will work. With reporting by Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-putin-ukraine- zelenskyy-macron-coalition-trump-war/33362600.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 Investors can contact the law firm at no cost to learn more about recovering their losses LOS ANGELES, March 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises Elastic N.V. ("Elastic" or the "Company") (NYSE: ESTC) investors of a class action representing investors that bought securities between May 31, 2024 and August 29, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Elastic investors have until April 14, 2025 to file a lead plaintiff motion. Investors are encouraged to contact attorney Lesley F. Portnoy, by phone 310-692-8883 or email: lesley@portnoylaw.com, to discuss their legal rights, or click here to join the case. The Portnoy Law Firm can provide a complimentary case evaluation and discuss investors options for pursuing claims to recover their losses. On August 29, 2024, after market hours, Elastic reported its first-quarter fiscal 2025 financial results and lowered its annual revenue guidance to a range of $1.436 billion to $1.444 billion, down from the previous forecast of $1.468 billion to $1.48 billion and below consensus estimates of $1.48 billion. The company attributed the revision to a slower start to the year, with the volume of customer commitments impacted by segmentation changes [the company] made at the beginning of the year, which are taking longer than expected to settle. Following this announcement, Elastics stock price dropped $27.45, or 26.5%, closing at $76.19 per share on August 30, 2024, resulting in significant losses for investors. Please visit our website to review more information and submit your transaction information. The Portnoy Law Firm represents investors in pursuing claims against caused by corporate wrongdoing. The Firms founding partner has recovered over $5.5 billion for aggrieved investors. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Lesley F. Portnoy, Esq. Admitted CA and NY Bar lesley@portnoylaw.com 310-692-8883 www.portnoylaw.com Attorney Advertising Washington, D.C., March 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A previous version of this news release contained incorrect information about a specific topics to be discussed during a networking breakfast and meetings with specific groups taking place during the Fly-In. The information was removed. Please disregard the previous version and use this corrected version. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) will host its annual Presidents & Chancellors HBCU Fly-In from April 1-3, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The convening brings together presidents and chancellors from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), historically Black community colleges (HBCCs), and predominantly Black institutions (PBIs) for high-level discussions with members of Congress, executive branch officials, and corporate leaders on critical issues impacting TMCFs member-schools and the broader higher education community/landscape. This is always such an important event for our member schools. Connecting with key figures in government and business is impactful for their students and campuses, said Dr. Harry L. Williams , president and CEO of TMCF. The Fly-In provides a forum to discuss federal priorities, institutional sustainability, and strategic partnerships. Programming will feature a fireside chat with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda E. McMahon, a networking breakfast with the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a trade association representing 80 of the worlds leading technology companies, and workforce and policy panels featuring executives from ITI member companies. A key component of the Fly-In is the Capitol Hill reception, where presidents and chancellors engage directly with their congressional representatives and other lawmakers. Sessions over the three-day event will address workforce development, research and innovation, public-private partnerships and the role of HBCUs and higher education in meeting workforce needs domestically and abroad. TMCF advances federal legislation and policies that facilitate the sustainability and growth of HBCUs, HBCCs and PBIs, as well as help institutions access resources to build capacity and strengthen academic and financial support. TMCFs advocacy has delivered valuable outcomes for its member schools, including $5.5 billion in pandemic-relief funds, the launch of the first University-Affiliated Research Center (UARC) at an HBCU and critical assistance through the HBCU Capital Finance Program. The HBCU Fly-In remains a pillar of TMCFs work to ensure its member schools are represented in national conversations and policy decisions driving the future of education, workforce readiness, and global competitiveness. To learn more about the event, view last years HBCU Fly-in video . HOHHOT, China, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, the Culture and Tourism Department of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region has announced a "Musical Tours in Inner Mongolia" series tourism product for 2025, which centered on the "culture of the northern frontier" will offer 219 cultural and tourist activities across six themes, inviting global travelers to immerse themselves in the vibrant spring of the grasslands. From the romantic sea of flowers along the Yellow River to the thrill of desert adventures, and from ancient intangible cultural heritage to modern artistic performances, this cultural and tourist feast from April through June weaves together nature, tradition, and innovation to unfold a beautiful tapestry of China's northern frontier to the world. A Blossoming Canvas of Nature and Culture As winter gives way to spring between late March and May, Inner Mongolia bursts into life along the "Great Bend" of the Yellow River, where pear and apricot blossoms paint the landscape in hues of pink and white. Visitors can wander the "Apricot Blossom and Flower Festival" trail in Tumed Right Banner of Baotou or hike through the ancient forests of the Greater Khingan Mountains to marvel at alpine azaleas blooming alongside remaining ice and snow. Meanwhile, featured activities jointly held by leagues and cities like Hohhot's Wusutu Apricot Flowers Festival and the ecological observation of Huazi fish (Leuciscus waleckii) migration in Chifeng transform "flower tourism" into immersive experiences, blending photography contests, open-air concerts, and nature education programs to celebrate the splendor of spring beyond visual enjoyment. Deeper in the grasslands, a dialogue between heritage and modernity is unfolding quietly. The Ordos Horsehead Fiddle Symphony Orchestra will perform epic compositions against the vast horizon of the grasslands, while 30 nationwide tours of the "Spring Village Evening" bring intangible cultural heritage to life through folk songs and dances staged in scenic settings. From April 25 to 26, Rene Liu will headline two concerts in Hohhot, paired with travel packages offering tickets of scenic areas at a discount, themed hotel packages, and culinary guides, enticing music fans and tourists alike to explore the hidden gems of the region. Contemporary Expression of Millennium-long Nomadic Culture Spring in Inner Mongolia also heralds the renewal of nomadic culture. In Alxa's deserts, camel races and Mongolian wrestling competitions stir the spirit of adventure, while activities like sandboarding and stargazing camps allow visitors to connect with the magnificence of nature. On the Hulunbuir prairie, tourists can join shepherds in traditional tasks like wool shearing and milking, or participate in Xilingol's Mongolian Horse Super League, galloping across 200 kilometers of prairie and sand dunes. Cultural inheritance also attracts great attention through immersive experiences. The live-action drama in Baotou, "Melodies in Baotou - Love for the Yellow River", reenacts ancient folk customs against the backdrop of the thawing Yellow River, while activities such as migratory bird observation on the Wuhai Lake merge ecological awareness with travel. Workshops led by intangible cultural inheritors invite visitors to craft horsehead fiddles and practice Mongolian embroidery, transforming museum artifacts into living traditions that resonate through touch and creativity. Source: The Culture and Tourism Department of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global antiseptic products market is poised for significant expansion, with an estimated valuation of $10.4 billion in 2024, expected to reach approximately $15.9 billion by 2034. This growth reflects a steady CAGR of 4.3% over the forecast period, driven by heightened hygiene awareness and expanding healthcare infrastructure. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/47942/antiseptic-products-market#request-a-sample Key Market Drivers Surge in Hygiene Awareness Post-Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic permanently reshaped hygiene practices worldwide. Consumers are more vigilant than ever, fueling demand for hand sanitizers, antiseptic wipes, and surface disinfectants. Public spaces like schools, offices, hospitals, and transportation hubs now routinely stock antiseptic solutions, making them essential products in daily life. Rising Prevalence of Chronic Diseases As chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer, and respiratory illnesses increase, so does the risk of infectionespecially among immunocompromised individuals. Antiseptics have become a critical component of wound care, surgical preparation, and infection control protocols, particularly in hospitals, clinics, and homecare settings. Expanding Applications Across Healthcare and Consumer Use The antiseptic market continues to evolve beyond traditional hospital settings. Growing usage in homecare, elderly care, and travel applications is creating strong demand for multi-use, easy-to-apply formats like sprays, wipes, and foams. Market Challenges Stringent Regulatory Frameworks Strict regulations across North America, Europe, and other regions present entry barriers for manufacturers. Regulatory bodies such as the U.S. FDA and European Medicines Agency enforce rigorous standards for testing, approval, and labeling, increasing product development time and cost. Furthermore, evolving compliance requirements can impact product classification and market access. Allergic Reactions and Market Saturation Certain antiseptic ingredients (e.g., triclosan or iodine-based solutions) may trigger skin sensitivities, limiting their usage among sensitive populations. In mature markets like North America and Western Europe, saturation is also slowing incremental growth, prompting companies to look toward emerging markets for expansion. Market Opportunities New Product Launches & Innovation Brands investing in multi-functional antiseptic products tailored for both professional and personal use are seeing a surge in adoption. Opportunities lie in launching portable, skin-friendly, and non-alcoholic formulations, as well as exploring antimicrobial resistance solutions and AI-integrated hygiene devices in hospital settings. Emerging Markets & Homecare Expansion Rapid urbanization, growing healthcare investments, and rising disposable incomes in Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East are opening up untapped potential. The shift toward home-based healthcare is also encouraging demand for easy-to-use antiseptics, contributing to the segments future growth. Segment Insights By Application: Pre-surgical antiseptics are expected to hold 25.5% of market share by 2025, driven by the increasing number of surgeries globally and the need to prevent infections at surgical sites. With hospital-acquired infections on the rise, pre-operative antiseptic routines have become non-negotiable across healthcare institutions. By Form: Liquid & foam antiseptics are set to lead with a 30.5% share in 2025, favored for their ease of application, quick absorption, and compatibility with wipes, sprays, and pre-moistened formats. These products are ideal for high-traffic environments and remote care settings where convenience and hygiene go hand-in-hand. By End User: The homecare segment is forecasted to capture 30.5% of the market by 2025, supported by the aging population and increasing demand for post-discharge care at home. Self-administered wound care and hygiene solutions are becoming more common, leading to rising adoption of over-the-counter antiseptic products. Regional Landscape North America: Leading the Global Market Expected to account for 39.2% of the global market by 2025, North America remains the dominant force, supported by strong healthcare infrastructure and high hygiene standards. Established players like 3M, Johnson & Johnson, and Reckitt Benckiser are continuously innovating with new delivery systems and advanced antiseptic formulations. Asia Pacific: The Fastest Growing Market Asia Pacific is witnessing the fastest growth due to rising health awareness, improving access to healthcare, and a rapidly expanding population. Countries like India and China are fostering strong domestic manufacturing capabilities, offering affordable antiseptic solutions that cater to both local and export demands. However, price sensitivity remains a critical factor for market penetration. Browse full Report - https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/47942/antiseptic-products-market Key Competitors Reckitt Benckiser Group plc Procter & Gamble Co. Johnson & Johnson Kimberly-Clark Corporation 3M Company Unilever Colgate-Palmolive Company Henkel AG & Co. KGaA BARY PT Bode Chemie GmbH Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. Dabur India Ltd. Dettol (part of Reckitt Benckiser) Himalaya Herbal Healthcare S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Recent Strategic Developments in the Antiseptic Products Market As the global demand for hygiene and infection prevention solutions continues to grow, major industry players are accelerating innovation, partnerships, and acquisitions to strengthen their market positions. Below are five noteworthy developments that highlight how leading companies are reshaping the antiseptic products landscape: 1. Reckitt Benckiser Group plc Launches Eco-Friendly Dettol Formulation Date: September 2023 Type: Product Launch Reckitt Benckiser took a major step towards sustainable innovation by launching a new eco-friendly version of its flagship Dettol antiseptic product. The reformulated product incorporates biodegradable ingredients, designed to meet the rising demand for environmentally conscious hygiene solutions. This strategic move aligns with growing consumer preferences for clean-label and sustainable products, especially in the wake of increased health and environmental awareness post-pandemic. The launch not only reinforces Dettols market leadership but also places competitive pressure on other brands to follow suit with green alternatives. It reflects Reckitts broader commitment to responsible production and positions the company to capture the rapidly growing segment of eco-conscious consumers. 2. Hindustan Unilever Limited Partners with Health Tech Firm for Smart Hygiene Solutions Date: August 2023 Type: Strategic Partnership Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) entered into a transformative partnership with a leading Indian health tech company to integrate artificial intelligence into its personal hygiene and antiseptic product offerings. This collaboration is aimed at delivering personalized hygiene advice and usage guidance to consumers through digital platforms. By leveraging AI, HUL seeks to enhance consumer engagement and elevate user experience, positioning its antiseptic solutions as not just products, but personalized health tools. This partnership signals a shift in the market toward intelligent, tech-enabled hygiene solutions and may serve as a blueprint for other companies looking to merge consumer healthcare with digital innovation. 3. 3M Company Advances Antimicrobial Technology for Superior Product Efficacy Date: July 2023 Type: Technological Advancement 3M announced the development of advanced antimicrobial additives designed to enhance the effectiveness of its antiseptic product line. These proprietary additives improve the formulations ability to neutralize a broader spectrum of pathogens, addressing growing consumer expectations for comprehensive hygiene protection. This innovation not only strengthens 3Ms competitive advantage but also reaffirms its position as a science-driven leader in the personal care and health protection space. As the antiseptic market becomes increasingly performance-driven, such breakthroughs could reshape the industry by setting new efficacy benchmarks and triggering a wave of R&D activity among competitors. 4. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. Secures Regulatory Approval for Nature-Based Antiseptics Date: June 2023 Type: Regulatory Approval Godrej Consumer Products received regulatory approval for a new line of antiseptic products made with natural ingredients, aimed at addressing the rising consumer demand for cleaner and more holistic health solutions. This development enables Godrej to tap into the growing natural personal care segment, which prioritizes transparency, safety, and wellness. With regulatory clearance now in place, the company is well-positioned to capture market share among health-conscious and ingredient-aware consumers. The launch is also expected to encourage a broader industry trend toward plant-based and skin-friendly antiseptic solutions, potentially transforming future product development across the sector. 5. Procter & Gamble Co. Acquires Established Antiseptic Brand to Expand Hygiene Portfolio Date: May 2023 Type: Acquisition Procter & Gamble (P&G) made a strategic acquisition of a well-established antiseptic brand to deepen its presence in the fast-growing personal hygiene market. This acquisition not only expands P&Gs product range but also enhances its distribution network and customer base in both emerging and developed markets. By integrating the acquired brand into its broader portfolio, P&G aims to strengthen its market leadership and accelerate growth in a competitive landscape. The move also reflects an ongoing trend of consolidation in the antiseptic space, where global players are actively acquiring niche brands to diversify offerings and drive product innovation. Market Segmentation Product Type Liquid Antiseptics Gel Antiseptics Ointments and Creams Sprays Wipes Formulation Alcohol-Based Non-Alcohol-Based Herbal Formulations End-User Hospitals Clinics Home Care Industrial Academic Institutions Distribution Channel Online Retail Offline Retail Institutional Sales Application Surgical Antiseptics Skin Antiseptics Oral Antiseptics Antiseptics for Wound Care This report is also available in the following languages : Japanese (), Korean ( ), Chinese (), French (Marche des produits antiseptiques), German (Markt fur antiseptische Produkte), and Italian (Mercato dei prodotti antisettici), etc. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/47942/antiseptic-products-market#request-a-sample More Related Reports: Sugarcane Wax Market The global Sugarcane Wax market is valued at approximately $550 million in 2024, with projections indicating a significant increase to $900 million by 2034. 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This reflects a robust Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 7.3% throughout the forecast period from 2025 to 2034. https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/48111/medical-refrigerators-co2-incubators-market Dublin, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Netherlands Robotics Market Size and Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast Report 2025-2033" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The market size of the Netherlands robotics market is expected to expand substantially owing to automation, AI, and industrial robotics innovations. Estimated at USD 1.08 billion in 2024, the market is anticipated to surge to USD 2.54 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 9.89% during 2025-2033. Growing uptake in manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics is driving this growth, in addition to government initiatives supporting innovation. Technological Advances in Automation and AI The Netherlands is leading the technological advancements in robotics due to increases in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation. Businesses are investing in AI-enabled robots that will conduct intricate tasks with precision and efficiency. These developments are especially useful in manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics, where productivity is increased and operational expenses lowered through automation. The combination of AI and IoT in robotics also facilitates real-time data analysis, predictive maintenance, and better decision-making, further increasing the use of robotics across industries. Nov 2023, The Netherlands is creating its own open language model, GPT-NL, sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate with 13.5m. The initiative has TNO, the Netherlands Forensic Institute, and SURF, a consortium of Dutch educational and research institutions. Government Assistance and Investment in Robotics The government of the Netherlands encourages robotics and automation by funding, offering research grants, and implementing policies that foster innovation. Several programs and collaborations between the public and private sectors seek to improve the advancement of robotics technology. Institutions such as TU Delft and Eindhoven University of Technology are very active in research and development. Furthermore, programs sponsored by the government highlight digital transformation across industries such as manufacturing, health, and agriculture, which open up the adoption of robotics for businesses throughout the nation. Jan 2025- The Dutch government revealed Thursday it is negotiating with U.S. chip firms Nvidia and AMD on providing hardware and know-how for a possible AI center. This supercomputer is to aid in research and development as part of EU initiatives aimed at strengthening Europe's digital economy. Increasing Robotics Demand in Critical Industries The market for robotics in the Netherlands is expanding at a fast pace across sectors like logistics, healthcare, and agriculture. In logistics, robotic sorting facilities and automated warehouses are optimizing supply chain processes. Robotic surgeries, rehabilitation robots, and artificial intelligence-based diagnostic equipment are helpful in the healthcare sector. In agriculture, automated harvesting and precision farming through robotics improve productivity and minimize labor dependence. Growing demand for efficiency, precision, and cost savings is driving companies towards robotics, thus fueling the growth of markets. In the last five years, a cumulative amount of 32.4M USD has been invested in robotics firms in the Netherlands, as per the statistics from Dealroom.co. This ranks the Netherlands at the 15th position among all countries in the European Economic Area (EEA, including Switzerland and the UK) by amount invested (grant-excluding). Challenges in the Netherlands Robotics Market High Initial Investment Costs One of the key issues in the Netherlands robotics industry is the substantial initial investment needed to implement robotic systems. Companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), might struggle to meet the initial costs of buying, integrating, and maintaining sophisticated robotics technology. Although automation improves efficiency and long-term cost benefits, the large capital outlay can serve as a deterrent to mass adoption, hindering the development of the robotics market. Workforce adjustment and shortage of skills The swift pace of robotics technology development demands employees trained in automation, AI, and engineering. Nonetheless, trained workers are in short supply in the Netherlands capable of designing, managing, and sustaining robotic systems. Several workers must be retrained to handle automated processes as well. The gap in skills acts as a stumbling block to organizations willing to embrace robotics, thereby highlighting the imperative for cooperation between education institutions and organizations on training and technical studies. Netherlands Industrial Robotics Market The industrial robotics market of the Netherlands is witnessing high growth owing to rising usage of automation across manufacturing, electronics, and logistics. Precision work like welding, assembly, and material handling is done through industrial robots for enhanced efficiency and lesser human intervention. The addition of AI and IoT in industrial robots enables real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance to boost productivity even more. Dutch manufacturing firms are investing more in robotic technology to stay competitive in the global market, which results in ongoing innovation and new uses in industrial automation. Netherlands Automotive Robotics Market The Netherlands automotive robotics market is growing as automobile manufacturers and suppliers incorporate robotics into production lines for enhanced efficiency and quality. Robotics are used extensively in welding, painting, assembling, and inspecting automotive parts. The increase in the use of electric vehicles (EVs) has further boosted demand for robotics for battery manufacturing and assembly operations. With high attention to precision and safety, car industry robotics enable producers to minimize costs and deliver high-quality outputs. Dutch businesses are embracing collaborative robots (cobots) that assist human workers in increasing productivity and flexibility of operations. Netherlands Service Robotics Market Service robots in the Netherlands are on the rise with applications across the healthcare, retail, logistics, and household sectors. These robots carry out work such as customer service, maintenance, security, and delivery automation. Robotic assistants are more and more utilized in hospitality and retail for the purpose of engaging customers and efficient operations. Utilization of service robots with artificial intelligence is also enhancing logistics where automated sorting and delivery robots refine supply chain functionality. As companies seek to improve customer experience and productivity, service robotics is increasingly gaining popularity in the Dutch market. Netherlands Medical Robotics Market The Dutch medical robotics market is fueled by the development of robotic-assisted surgeries, rehabilitation robots, and AI-based diagnostic equipment. Robotic surgical systems enhance accuracy in procedures like minimally invasive procedures, shortening patients' recovery times. Rehabilitation robots help patients recover mobility after accidents or operations. Medical robots that incorporate AI also improve diagnostic precision and patient treatment. The country's robust healthcare infrastructure and emphasis on technological innovation contribute to making medical robotics a key component of the future of healthcare in the Netherlands. Netherlands Hospitality Robotics Market Netherlands' hospitality robot market is becoming popular as hospitality players, such as hotels and restaurants, begin adopting automation to drive better customer experiences. Robotic concierge services, in-room delivery using robots, and hotel check-ins via robots are common applications in hotels. Robots and automated kitchen helpers are also being introduced at restaurants to become more efficient while minimizing labor expense. The evolution of AI-enabled hospitality robots adds personalization with reduced complexity to tourism and hospitality business operations. With increasing demand for smart service solutions, hospitality robotics will be a major trend in the Dutch market. East Netherlands Robotics Market The East Netherlands robotics market is dominated by industrial automation and agricultural robotics. There is a high concentration of manufacturing firms embracing robotics to streamline production processes. Moreover, the agricultural industry is embracing automation for precision farming, robotic harvesting, and greenhouse automation. Universities and research centers in the region drive technological innovation, promoting robotics innovation. Industrial and agricultural robotics demand keeps increasing, positioning East Netherlands as a central figure in the robotics sector in the country. West Netherlands Robotics Market West Netherlands, which encompasses Amsterdam and Rotterdam, is a center for service and logistics robotics. The region's robust e-commerce and logistics industries are fueling the use of automated warehouses, delivery drones, and AI-equipped sorting robots. The fact that the region is host to key ports, like the Port of Rotterdam, also steps up the need for robotics in shipping and logistics. West Netherlands also boasts several tech startups and innovation hubs dedicated to robotics, which further fuel the growth and technological innovations in automation solutions. North Netherlands Robotics Market The North Netherlands robotics market is driven by progress in healthcare and research-oriented robotics. The region hosts a number of medical centers and research institutions specializing in medical robotics, such as robotic-assisted procedures and rehabilitation robots. Moreover, North Netherlands is venturing into the use of robots in renewable energy, especially offshore wind farms, where robots inspect and maintain equipment on their own. The area's high-tech investment in sustainable innovations places it as an emerging robotics development and deployment hub in the Netherlands. Key Company Analysis: Overview, Recent Developments & Strategies, Product Portfolio, Financial Insights KUKA iRobot Corporation Intuitive Surgical, Inc. Panasonic Corporation Fanuc ABB Ltd. Stryker Corporation Key Attributes Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 200 Forecast Period 2024-2033 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $1.08 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2033 $2.54 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 9.8% Regions Covered Netherlands Key Topics Covered 1. Introduction 2. Research & Methodology 3. Executive Summary 4. Market Dynamics 4.1 Growth Drivers 4.2 Challenges 4.3 Opportunities 5. Netherlands Robotics Current Market Landscape & Forecast 5.1 Industrial Robotics Market 5.2 Service Robotics Market 6. Market Share Analysis 6.1 Industrial Robotics Segment 6.2 Service Robotics Segment 6.3 By Region 7. Industrial Robotics Market - Segment Analysis 7.1 Automotive 7.2 Electronics 7.3 Metal and Machinery 7.4 Food and Beverage 7.5 Others 8. Service Robotics Market - Segment Analysis 8.1 Transportation & Logistics 8.2 Professional Cleaning 8.3 Medical Robotics 8.4 Hospitality 8.5 Agriculture & Field 9. Regional Analysis 9.1 East 9.2 West 9.3 North 9.4 South 10. Porter's Five Forces Analysis 10.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers 10.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 10.3 Degree of Rivalry 10.4 Threat of New Entrants 10.5 Threat of Substitutes 11. SWOT Analysis 11.1 Strength 11.2 Weakness 11.3 Opportunity 11.4 Threat 12. Key Players Analysis For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/m3cg2h 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 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Asia-Pacific Liquid Biopsy Market: Focus on End User and Country - Analysis and Forecast, 2024-2033" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Asia-Pacific liquid biopsy market was valued at $708.1 million in 2024 and is expected to reach $2.92 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 17.08% during the forecast period 2024-2033 Liquid biopsies are becoming a revolutionary non-invasive diagnostic tool for cancer detection and monitoring in APAC. This novel approach provides real-time monitoring with minimal invasiveness, assesses treatment responses, and has the potential to detect early cancer recurrence detection. There is a greater need for liquid biopsy tests and products as a result of the market's expansion due to the rising prevalence of cancer, rising research publications, and growing clinical trials. More innovative and efficient tests have been developed quickly as a result of the growing preference for minimally invasive diagnostic techniques. Rising cancer rates, technological developments in biomarker detection, and the expansion of applications beyond oncology, such as in cardiology and infectious diseases, are the main factors propelling the market's growth. Government initiatives, rising research funding, and a change in priorities are all contributing to the increasing use of liquid biopsy toward precision medicine. The growing adoption of liquid biopsy is supported by government initiatives, increasing research funding, and a shift toward precision medicine. Moreover, the increasing availability of liquid biopsy tests through online platforms and healthcare providers is enhancing accessibility, driving market adoption across APAC, and improving patient outcomes through earlier diagnosis and better treatment monitoring. How can this report add value to an organization? Product/Innovation Strategy: The Asia-Pacific liquid biopsy market has been segmented based on various categories, such as end user and country. Competitive Strategy: The Asia-Pacific liquid biopsy market is highly fragmented, with many smaller and private companies constantly entering the market. Key players in the liquid biopsy market analyzed and profiled in the study involve established players that offer various kinds of products and services. Companies Featured Sysmex Corporation Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 68 Forecast Period 2024 - 2033 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $708.1 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2033 $2920 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 17.0% Regions Covered Asia Pacific Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary Scope and Definition 1 Market 1.1 Market Trends 1.1.1 Increasing Product Launches in the Market 1.1.2 Growing Funding by the Key Players in the Market 1.2 Supply Chain Analysis: Asia-Pacific Liquid Biopsy Market 1.3 Regulatory Framework 1.3.1 Regulation in Other Countries 1.4 COVID-19 Impact on Asia-Pacific Liquid Biopsy Market 1.5 Recently Launched Product/Services 1.6 Reimbursement Scenario 1.7 Financing Scenario 1.7.1 Key Players Patent Portfolio 1.7.2 Key Players Stratification as per Raised Financing Value 1.7.3 Key Players Financing Analysis (by Company) 1.8 Product Mapping Analysis 1.8.1 By Technology 1.8.2 By Sample 1.8.3 By Circulating Biomarker 1.8.4 By Clinical Application 1.9 Total Addressable Market and Penetration 1.1 Liquid Biopsy Market: Stakeholder Analysis (N=30) 1.10.1 Physicians' Perception 1.10.2 Payer's Perception 1.10.3 Investors' Perception 1.11 Liquid Biopsy Government Initiatives 1.12 Market Dynamics Overview 1.12.1 Market Drivers 1.12.1.1 Rising Burden of Cancer 1.12.1.2 Growing Research Publications and Clinical Trials in Liquid Biopsy 1.12.1.3 Growing Adoption and Demand of Minimally Invasive Cancer Detection Methods 1.12.2 Market Restraints 1.12.2.1 Technical Limitations in Liquid Biopsy 1.12.2.2 Uncertain Reimbursement and Recommendations for Liquid Biopsy Tests 1.12.3 Market Opportunities 1.12.3.1 Integration of AI in Liquid Biopsy 1.12.3.2 Use of Liquid Biopsy for Precision Medicine in Oncology 2 Regions 2.1 Asia-Pacific 2.1.1 Regional Overview 2.1.2 Driving Factors for Market Growth 2.1.3 Factors Challenging the Market 2.1.4 Test Volume 2.1.5 Market Size and Forecast 2.1.5.1 By End User 2.1.6 China 2.1.6.1 Test Volume 2.1.6.2 Market Size and Forecast 2.1.6.2.1 By End User 2.1.7 Japan 2.1.7.1 Test Volume 2.1.7.2 Market Size and Forecast 2.1.7.2.1 By End User 2.1.8 India 2.1.8.1 Test Volume 2.1.8.2 Market Size and Forecast 2.1.8.2.1 By End User 2.1.9 Australia 2.1.9.1 Test Volume 2.1.9.2 Market Size and Forecast 2.1.9.2.1 By End User 2.1.10 South Korea 2.1.10.1 Test Volume 2.1.10.2 Market Size and Forecast 2.1.10.2.1 By End User 2.1.11 Singapore 2.1.11.1 Test Volume 2.1.11.2 Market Size and Forecast 2.1.11.2.1 By End User 2.1.12 Rest-of-Asia-Pacific 2.1.12.1 Test Volume 2.1.12.2 Market Size and Forecast 2.1.12.2.1 By End User 3 Markets - Competitive Benchmarking & Company Profiles 3.1 Company Profiles 3.1.1 Sysmex Corporation 3.1.1.1 Overview 3.1.1.2 Top Products 3.1.1.3 Top Competitors 3.1.1.4 Key Personnel 3.1.1.5 Analyst View 4 Research Methodology For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ou6dok 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 LAS VEGAS, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Melospeech Inc. was honored with the Social Impact Business of the Year award at the 2025 Female Voices WomELLE Conference, held March 22 at The Linq Hotel in Las Vegas. The award celebrates companies making measurable impact in their communitiesand Melospeech is doing just that through transformative early intervention. Founded in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Melospeech Inc. is on a mission to improve access to speech therapy and developmental support for children during the most important years of growth through technology. Early intervention is key to lifelong outcomes, yet many families face long waitlists and overwhelming systems. This award recognizes the heart of our work, said Dr. Sandiford, CEO and founder of Melospeech. We aren't innovating for innovations sakewere building tools that help children get the services they need when they need them most. Melospeech continues to drive progress in early childhood care through smart, mission-driven technology91% of children in its care show strong progress toward their goals within six months of regular attendance. By meeting families where they are, the company cuts out barriers and brings care directly to those who need it most. For more information on the company visit www.melospeech.com. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d46c0f03-6030-4b01-b703-8b813d980b63 Dublin, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Netherlands Telecom Operators Country Intelligence Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The report provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in the Netherlands today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2029. The report provides detailed analysis of the near-term opportunities, competitive dynamics, and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile, and pay-TV segments, as well as a review of key regulatory trends. The total telecom and pay-TV service revenue in the Netherlands will grow at a CAGR of 3%, driven by revenue growth in mobile data and fixed broadband segments. Mobile data service revenue will increase at a CAGR of 8.4%, driven by growing adoption of higher ARPU-yielding 5G services, on the back of expanding mobile network coverage in the country. Fixed broadband service revenue will grow at a CAGR of 2.8% during 2024-2029, driven by strong growth in FTTH subscriptions, on the back of efforts by the government and operators to expand fixed broadband network in the country and telcos promoting multiplay bundles. The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following: Demographic and macroeconomic context in the Netherlands. The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, tariff regulation, and more. Telecom and pay-TV services market outlook: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, mobile data, and pay-TV markets. The competitive landscape: an examination of the positioning of leading players in the telecom and pay-TV services market as well as subscription market shares across segments. Company snapshots: analysis of the financial position of leading service providers in the telecommunications and pay-TV markets. Underlying assumptions behind our published base-case forecasts, as well as potential market developments that would alter, either positively or negatively, our base-case outlook. Key Highlights The total telecom and pay-TV service revenue in the Netherlands will grow at a CAGR of 3%, driven by revenue growth in mobile data and fixed broadband segments. Mobile data service revenue will increase at a CAGR of 8.4%, driven by growing adoption of higher ARPU-yielding 5G services, on the back of expanding mobile network coverage in the country. KPN led the mobile services segment in 2024 followed by Odido Netherlands and VodafoneZiggo. Scope Netherlands Telecom Operators Country Intelligence Report, a new report by the analyst, provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in the Netherlands today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2029. Published annually, the report provides detailed analysis of the near-term opportunities, competitive dynamics, and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile, and pay-TV segments, as well as a review of key regulatory trends. Reasons to Buy Demographic and macroeconomic context in the Netherlands. The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, tariff regulation, and more. Telecom and pay-TV services market outlook: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, mobile data, and pay-TV markets. The competitive landscape: an examination of the positioning of leading players in the telecom and pay-TV services market as well as subscription market shares across segments. Company snapshots: analysis of the financial position of leading service providers in the telecommunications and pay-TV markets. Underlying assumptions behind our published base-case forecasts, as well as potential market developments that would alter, either positively or negatively, our base-case outlook. Key Topics Covered: 1. Market highlights 2. Operating Environment 3. Telecom services market outlook 4. Mobile services market 5. Fixed services market 6. Pay-TV services market 7. Competitive landscape and company snapshots 8. Appendix A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to: KPN Odido Netherlands VodafoneZiggo lycamobile Canal Digitaal Lebara For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/h11ye 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. CLEVELAND, OH, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Last night, Park Place Technologies, the leading global data center and networking optimization firm, formally announced the winners of its second annual North American Channel Partner Awards at the organization's Q1 Partner Advisory Board meeting in Miami, Florida. These awards recognize the exceptional contributions of Park Places North American channel partners in solving client challenges through IT infrastructure management and optimization services. Partners play a pivotal role in Park Place Technologies success, serving as a substantial driving force behind revenue generation and deal facilitation globally. Recognizing this, Park Place is committed to fostering the growth and success of its partners. The initiation of their Partner Advisory Board (PAB) in both North America and EMEA in 2023 underscores this commitment, providing a platform for communication, learning, and mutual benefit. Furthermore, the implementation of a global Channel Partner Awards program provides a platform to formally recognize organizations that contributed significantly to the organizations success while addressing critical customer pain points. Regional award ceremonies hosted in Miami, Florida and London, UK offered an opportunity to acknowledge and applaud said partners in person for their dedication and achievements throughout the previous year. 2024 North American Channel Partner Awards Winners The 2024 North America Channel Partner Awards featured five distinct categories, which were open to all of Park Place Technologies North American partners that had been onboarded by January 1st, 2024. The award recipients are as follows: North America Partner of the Year 2024: CDW Awarded to the partner that contributed the largest total revenue to Park Place Technologies between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. North America Partner Deal of the Year 2024: World Wide Technology Recognizing the partner responsible for delivering the single largest deal opportunity to Park Place Technologies within the 2024 calendar year. North America Partner Initiative of the Year 2024 : SHI Awarded to the partner that collaborated with Park Place Technologies on a standout initiative, aligning their sales teams with Park Place or actively promoting Park Places portfolio of services to end-user customers. Key criteria included the number of aligned reps and opportunities generated in partnership with Park Place sellers. North America Collaborative Partner of the Year 2024: Softchoice Acknowledging a partner that has demonstrated true collaboration by working closely with Park Place Technologies to solve customer pain points and devise solutions, advocating for Park Places range of IT infrastructure management services, and strengthening cooperation between sales and technical teams across the entire portfolio. North America Rising Star Partner of the Year: Opkalla Recognizing a partner onboarded in 2023 that has showcased their partner potential in 2024 through delivering live opportunities, actively collaborating in partnership with Park Place, and demonstrating YoY growth from the previous 12 months. Chad Jones, Senior Director of Partner Sales at Park Place Technologies, expressed his appreciation, stating, Our 2nd annual Partner Awards provide Park Place with the opportunity to celebrate our most strategic partner alliances. We are dedicated to fostering a unique and profitable partnership experience tailored to the needs and priorities of our dynamic reseller community. This year's award recipients have exemplified outstanding collaboration across multiple lines of business, empowering our sales teams to scale and succeed together. Recently, Park Place Technologies also recognized partners in the following theatres. 2024 Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Channel Partner Awards Winners: EMEA Public Sector Partner of the Year Softcat EMEA Commercial Partner of the Year Softcat EMEA Rising Star Partner of the Year Trustmarque EMEA Collaborative Partner of the Year World Wide Technology EMEA Partner Initiative of the Year Spherica EMEA Partner Deal of the Year Kyndryl 2024 Asia-Pacific (APAC) Channel Partner Awards Winners: APAC Partner of the Year INFOSYS LIMITED APAC Rising Star Partner of the Year PT. Mitra Teleinformatika Perkasa APAC Collaborative Partner of the Year CTC Global Sdn Bhd APAC Partner Initiative of the Year IBM Thailand Company Limited APAC Partner Deal of the Year Kyndryl Philippines Incorporated 2024 Latin America (LATAM) Channel Partner Awards Winners: LATAM Partners of the Year: South Cone (SOCO) Partner of the Year CEDI North of Latin America (NOLA) Partner of the Year BPM@Consulting Andean Partner of the Year Green Services and Solutions SAS Brazil Partner of the Year Unitech LATAM Rising Star Partners of the Year: SOCO Rising Star Partner of the Year Ricoh Chile NOLA Rising Star Partner of the Year Business Conexion Andean Rising Star Partner of the Year Akros CIA Ltda Brazil Rising Star Partner of the Year TEEVO LATAM Collaborative Partners of the Year: SOCO Collaborative Partner of the Year Telextorage NOLA Collaborative Partner of the Year Wolk IT Andean Collaborative Partner of the Year VM Peru SAC Brazil Collaborative Partner of the Year Yssy LATAM Partner Initiative of the Year CEDI LATAM Partner Deal of the Year ArrowHead Axion "Our channel partners play a vital role in driving growth and delivering exceptional value to our customers worldwide, added John Stock, SVP, Global Sales & Marketing at Park Place Technologies. The 2024 Partner Awards winners have exemplified the collaboration, innovation, and commitment that define true strategic alliances. At Park Place, we are proud to work alongside such dedicated partners to create new opportunities, expand our reach, and drive success together." Click here to explore last years global winners of Park Place Technologies inaugural 2023 Channel Partner Awards. About Park Place Technologies Park Place Technologies is a global data center and networking optimization firm. We help 21,500 organizations including half the Fortune 500 fuel innovation by dramatically reducing time and money spent on IT infrastructure management, while boosting performance and Uptime. Powered by the worlds largest on-the-ground engineering team, a robust group of advanced engineers, and our global Enterprise Operations Centers, Park Place delivers significant cost savings on hardware maintenance, software technical support, hardware procurement, and more. We also streamline IT infrastructure management, freeing internal teams from day-to-day tasks, enabling them to focus on strategic initiatives. Park Place Technologies: Save. Simplify. Innovate. For more information, visit www.parkplacetechnologies.com. Park Place is a portfolio company of Charlesbank Capital Partners and GTCR. Attachment SYRACUSE, Sicily, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 102 million consumers reached in Italy, Poland and Romania through a strategic mix of communication activities, digital marketing and international events. These are the numbers of the first year of activity of the LemON campaign, the project for the promotion of the Syracuse IGP Lemon, co-financed by the European Union. The Syracuse PGI Lemon also landed for the first time on the RAI networks with a 15-second spot that reached 31 million contacts with 267 airings, achieving a 40% reach on the target audience of buyers. A result that consolidated the product's notoriety and its positioning in the market. But LemOn did not stop there: the project also played a leading role at Fruit Logistica Berlin, one of the key international trade fairs in the fruit and vegetable sector. In addition to the presence with a dedicated stand in the CSO Italy area, a workshop dedicated to the Syracuse PGI Lemon and a series of B2B meetings with operators from Italy, Poland, and Romania were organised during the event, with the aim of fostering new business opportunities. On the digital front, the campaign recorded over 400 thousand interactions on the social pages, with 4 million impressions and almost 40 thousand clicks to the website, confirming a strong involvement from the public. On a global level, the media impact was equally significant: more than 3,000 journalists in the three target countries were reached, with the publication of more than 300 articles and an overall readership of more than 90 million. The campaign conquered the most strategic spaces of Italian rail transport with a major out-of-home advertising operation in the main stations of Milan and Rome. With 15 days of presence, a 19-hour daily schedule, and a reach of 12 million people, this activity guaranteed exceptional visibility to the Syracuse PGI Lemon. To this was added an influencer marketing campaign involving 8 creators from all over Italy, engaged in the creation of innovative recipes that exalted every part of the lemon. The campaign will also be extended in the coming months to Poland and Romania, involving as many creators, to create international recipes that combine the different culinary traditions with the zero waste soul of the Syracuse PGI Lemon. LemOn's first year ends with impressive numbers and the awareness of having laid solid foundations for the future. The project will continue over the next two years, increasingly strengthening commercial relations with Romania and Poland. For more information: SECNewgate Italia Renato Pagani +39 335 6839561 renato.pagani@secnewgate.it Giorgia Rizzi +39 340 0010762 giorgia.rizzi@secnewgate.it News about the Consortium for the Protection of Syracuse Lemon PGI. The Consorzio di Tutela del Limone di Siracusa IGP is one of the most important citrus growing communities in Europe. Formed on July 13, 2000, it includes 163 consortium members: 130 producers, 60 packers, 36 users and 62 ambassadors, for a vocated area of 1,450.91 hectares, representing 32% of Italian production. At the production level, the Consortium represents 100% of the production of Limone di Siracusa PGI, and at the national level 3 lemons out of 100 come from the Syracuse area. The Consortium's tasks include identifying the production areas and varieties to be subject to protection, supervising activities in the area of origin and in the markets on the correct use of the name "Limone di Siracusa IGP," and carrying out promotional initiatives in Italy and abroad aimed at spreading knowledge, the image of the product and the IGP trademark. Funded by the European Union. However, the views expressed belong to the author(s) alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting administration can be held responsible for them. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4eac8950-c325-431d-b67c-687735acc795 Birmingham, Alabama, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GrassRoots Turf, a rapidly growing lawn care franchise, is excited to bring its highly rated weed control, fertilization, and lawn care services to Birmingham and East Alabama. With a strong presence across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, and now Alabama, this expansion allows GrassRoots Turf to serve even more homeowners and businesses with its all-inclusive lawn care programs. As the company grows, its mission remains to provide expert lawn care solutions that keep yards healthy, green, and weed-free! GrassRoots Turf sets itself apart as the only lawn care franchise in the Southeast offering video-recorded treatments via body cameras. This unique feature ensures complete transparency, allowing customers to review their service upon request for added confidence and peace of mind. Were are excited to bring GrassRoots Turf to Birmingham and East Alabama, said Josh Wise, CEO of GrassRoots Turf. Our goal is not just to treat lawns, but to build lasting relationships through reliable, high-quality service. With a growing demand for affordable, quality lawn care, Birmingham and East Alabama are prime locations for expansion in lawn care. Homeowners and businesses in the area can now benefit from GrassRoots Turfs customized lawn care approach, which is designed to promote healthy growth, effective weed control, and long-term lawn vitality. GrassRoots Turf has built a strong reputation for offering comprehensive, science-backed lawn care treatments that eliminate weeds, nourish soil, and create healthy lawns for every area. Their Weed Free Guarantee ensures that homeowners and businesses receive unlimited service calls at no extra cost, making it one of the industrys most reliable and customer-friendly lawn care service options. GrassRoots Turf specialized lawn care services: Weed Control and Lawn Fertilization Customized treatments tailored to each lawns grass type and soil condition. Liquid Aeration A cutting-edge alternative to traditional aeration, designed to reduce soil compaction and promote deep root growth. Tree and Shrub Care Preventative treatments that protect trees and shrubs from disease, pests, and environmental stressors. Mosquito and Pest Control Effective outdoor pest control solutions enhance outdoor spaces comfort and safety. As GrassRoots Turf expands, the company seeks passionate entrepreneurs and franchise owners to join its growing company network. Backed by cutting-edge technology, a commitment to excellence, and a steady cash flow through monthly installment billing, franchise owners avoid revenue disruptions caused by weather or seasonal downtime, making GrassRoots Turf the ideal opportunity for entrepreneurs seeking residual income and long-term stability. With comprehensive training in business marketing, operations, and leadership, as well as access to an all-inclusive blog offering the latest business news, insights, and tips, GrassRoots ensures franchisees have the tools for success when they start a lawn care business. With a proven business model, low startup costs, and ongoing franchise support, GrassRoots Turf offers an exciting business opportunity for those looking to start a lawn care business and enter the thriving industry. Now is the perfect time to schedule services for homeowners and businesses ready to transform their lawns with top-rated, all-inclusive lawn care. To learn more about franchise opportunities, visit the GrassRoots Turf Franchise website or call 833-664-7277 for lawn care service. About GrassRoots Turf Franchise Founded in 2002, GrassRoots Turf is a family-owned and operated lawn care franchise specializing in weed control, mosquito control, liquid aeration, and shrub care. With an expanding presence across the Southeast, GrassRoots Turf is dedicated to creating lush, healthy lawns through science-backed treatments and a customer-first approach. More Information To learn more about GrassRoots Turf Franchise, please visit the website at https://grassrootsturffranchise.com/. Source: https://thenewsfront.com/grassroots-turf-welcomes-birmingham-and-east-alabama-in-the-expansion-of-their-franchise-family/ Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wildlife removal and pest control company Critter Stop is thrilled to announce the opening of its new branch in Oklahoma City. Founded in Dallas Fort Worth, this is the companys first expansion outside of Texas, but the similarities between both areas make the company more than ready to bring its services to this new location. Having established a five-star reputation in DFW, Critter Stops expert team is a worthy candidate for Oklahoma City businesses and residents in need of wildlife management, pest control, mosquito control, and insulation services. After many years of serving homes and businesses around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, building a strong client base and a five-star reputation, Critter Stop opened a branch in the heart of Oklahoma City, with an office just a few miles south of downtown. After fine-tuning our many different processes over the past 7 years in DFW and cultivating many skilled and experienced team members, we are fortunate to build the branch with well-seasoned Critter Stop employees in the field and in the office, said Critter Stop owner Chisam Reiter. The idea of the expansion came from one of the companys own long-time staff members, Service Expert Adrian Valerio. Valerio wanted to move closer to family in Oklahoma City, so we are building around him, Reiter explained and added that he is a key part of our team, and he wants to bring Critter Stop to OKC, so we are working hand in hand to make it happen. The move is also made possible thanks to the similarities between the North Texas and Oklahoma City Wildlife Removal: The services will be largely the same, with only minor tweaks to our services, Reiter explained, Also, OKC and DFW are very similar culturally, he added. Reiter also talked about adding the companys first location outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for the first time and said that the main challenge was building customer awareness and earning customers trust as a new brand in the area. Moreover, Reiter explained that the Critter Stop branches in DFW have benefitted greatly from receiving many customer referrals from many years of happy customers. It will just take some time in order to service customers well and earn their trust and willingness to refer us to friends and family. But we are looking forward to the opportunity to prove ourselves. Reiter is positive that performing services in a different state wont be a major challenge in and of itself. In addition to both areas requiring similar wildlife removal and pest control services, some of the companys employees are already familiar with the area: Our company President, Jonathan Ferreira ACE, is already licensed in the state of Oklahoma and has done considerable work across the state throughout his career. Reiter added that Service Expert Valerio has been to Oklahoma City countless times and is very familiar with the city and its unique challenges and opportunities. Regarding the benefits the companys Oklahoma City Pest Control services can bring to local homes and businesses, Reiter said, Critter Stop has grown to be one of the largest and most trusted pest and wildlife removal companies in DFW. Competing with some of the largest companies in the nation in one of the most competitive markets, we have dialed in our process from start to finish and added: We have worked with over 18,000 customers, diligently improving our process, training our people, and earning loyal customers every step of the way. Finally, on Critter Stops expectations for their first big expansion, Reiter said, We are thankful the expansion into Oklahoma City gives us the opportunity to continue working with our beloved Service Expert, Adrian Valerio, who we know will bring our high standard for quality and service to Oklahoma City homeowners and business owners. Reiter concluded, We are excited to live, breathe, and experience Oklahoma City, its culture, and its people, and we are invigorated by the challenge of building a strong local reputation again from scratch. Critter Stop encourages individuals in Oklahoma City seeking permanent solutions to a wide variety of common insects and humane wildlife removal to fill out the contact form on the companys website to schedule premier Wildlife Control & Pest Control today. About Critter Stop Established in 2018, Critter Stop is a locally owned and operated family business that is committed to offering a responsive, high-touch customer service and providing customers across North Texas with permanent solutions to a wide variety of common insects, such as cockroaches, ants, wasps, and wildlife, including mice and rats, as well as the humane removal of squirrels, raccoons and opossums with additional physical fortification of entry points around a building and energy efficient attic insulation services that caters to all insulation brands and types. More Information To learn more about Critter Stop and the opening of its new branch in Oklahoma City, please visit the website at https://critterstop.com/locations/oklahoma-city/. Source: https://thenewsfront.com/critter-stop-announces-new-branch-opening-in-oklahoma-city/ Pune, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to SNS Insider, the global Cardiac Assist Devices Market size was valued at USD 1.25 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 2.24 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 6.06% from 2024 to 2032. This significant growth is due to the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), rising geriatric population, and advancements in cardiac assist technologies. The rising incidence of cardiovascular diseases across the world has largely increased the demand for cardiac assist devices. Since heart problems remain a major cause of death, the demand for efficient mechanical circulatory assistance systems has become an utmost priority. With technological improvement, the effectiveness and safety of these devices have increased, resulting in better patient outcomes and encouraging market growth. Get a Sample Report of Cardiac Assist Devices Market@ https://www.snsinsider.com/sample-request/4472 Market Overview Cardiac assist devices have become an important intervention for heart failure management, offering mechanical support to critically cardiac dysfunctioned patients. An increasing global cardiovascular disease burden, combined with the aging population, has created a steady demand for these life-supporting devices. Improvements in minimally invasive technologies, biocompatibility, and battery life have been significant drivers for the increased adoption of cardiac assist devices. In the United States, the market has experienced significant growth owing to a well-developed healthcare infrastructure and high adoption of advanced cardiac assist devices. The increasing number of heart failure and cardiogenic shock cases has driven the demand for implantable and transcutaneous cardiac assist devices. Favorable reimbursement policies and growing government efforts to encourage advanced cardiac care also support market growth in the region. Key Cardiac Assist Devices Companies Profiled in the Report Abbott Laboratories Abiomed Inc. Medtronic PLC Berlin Heart GmbH LivaNova PLC Boston Scientific Corporation Edwards Lifesciences Corporation Jarvik Heart, Inc. ReliantHeart Inc. Carmat SA Cardiac Assist Devices Market Report Scope Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2023 US$ 1.25 billion Market Size by 2032 US$ 2.24 billion CAGR CAGR of 6.06% From 2024 to 2032 Base Year 2023 Forecast Period 2024-2032 Historical Data 2020-2022 Key Regional Coverage North America (US, Canada, Mexico), Europe (Eastern Europe [Poland, Romania, Hungary, Turkey, Rest of Eastern Europe] Western Europe] Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Rest of Western Europe]), Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, Rest of Asia Pacific), Middle East & Africa (Middle East [UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Rest of Middle East]), Africa [Nigeria, South Africa, Rest of Africa], Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia Rest of Latin America) Segment Analysis By Modality Type Implantable cardiac assist devices, including ventricular assist devices (VADs) and total artificial hearts, dominated the market in 2023, with a share of 70%. These devices are used to support patients with end-stage heart failure in the long term, either as a bridge to heart transplantation or as destination therapy. The fact that they can greatly improve survival rates and quality of life has led to extensive use in healthcare centers globally. Transcutaneous cardiac assist devices, intended for external support but not for implantation through surgery, are recording the highest market growth. Their adoption has been driven by the growing preference for non-invasive procedures, especially within emergency care situations. These devices play a critical role in stabilizing patients pending definitive surgical treatment, and therefore, they are an indispensable instrument within acute cardiac care management. By End User Hospitals dominated 70% of the cardiac assist devices market in 2023 due to the presence of specialized cardiac care units and sophisticated surgical facilities. The growing number of hospital admissions for cardiogenic shock and heart failure has also supported the demand for these devices. Hospitals' capacity to provide extensive post-implantation care also guarantees improved patient outcomes, which supports their market dominance. Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are becoming the cardiac assist devices industry's fastest-growing segment. The growing demand for low-cost treatment options and the increasing trend toward performing cardiac procedures as outpatients are driving the rise of ASCs. ASCs provide specialized cardiology interventions that involve shorter lengths of stay and lower healthcare expenditure, making treatments more accessible for patients. Need Any Customization Research on Cardiac Assist Devices Market, Enquire Now@ https://www.snsinsider.com/enquiry/4472 Cardiac Assist Devices Market Segmentation By Product Type: Ventricular Assist Devices (VAD) Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Right Ventricular Assist Device (RVAD) Biventricular Assist Device (BIVAD) External Ventricular Assist Devices Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump By Modality Type: Transcutaneous Implantable By End User: Hospital Ambulatory Surgical Centers Regional Insights North America led the market in 2023 with a huge share, supported by a strong healthcare infrastructure and high adoption of sophisticated cardiac assist devices. Demand is fueled continuously by the population's aging and high incidence of heart-related diseases in the region. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the most rapid growth, fueled by higher investments in healthcare, a growing incidence of heart disease, and expanding awareness of advanced cardiac treatment. Government programs to improve cardiac care and the development of healthcare facilities also boost this growth pattern. Recent Developments in the Cardiac Assist Devices Market Medtronic (June 2024): Launched its next-generation HeartWare HVAD System, featuring improved pump technology and enhanced patient monitoring capabilities. This device is designed to provide better performance and reduce complications for patients with advanced heart failure. Abiomed (July 2024): Received FDA approval for its Impella CP 5.0, an upgraded percutaneous heart pump offering improved flow rates and efficiency for patients with severe cardiogenic shock and high-risk coronary interventions. Boston Scientific (August 2024): Introduced the Watchman FLX Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device, which has a redesigned delivery system to enhance safety and reduce stroke risks in patients with atrial fibrillation. Statistical Insights and Trends Reporting Cardiovascular diseases accounted for approximately 17.9 million deaths globally, underscoring the critical need for effective cardiac assist devices. North America exhibited the highest prescription rates for cardiac assist devices, correlating with its substantial market share and advanced healthcare infrastructure. The Asia Pacific region is projected to witness a significant increase in device volume, aligning with its anticipated rapid market growth during the forecast period. North America led in healthcare expenditure on cardiac assist devices, reflecting its commitment to advanced cardiac care solutions. The adoption rate of implantable cardiac assist devices was highest in developed regions, while emerging markets showed a growing preference for transcutaneous devices due to their non-invasive nature. Buy a Single-User PDF of Cardiac Assist Devices Market Analysis & Outlook Report 2024-2032@ https://www.snsinsider.com/checkout/4472 Table of Contents Major Key Points 1. Introduction 2. Executive Summary 3. Research Methodology 4. Market Dynamics Impact Analysis 5. Statistical Insights and Trends Reporting 5.1 Incidence and Prevalence (2023) 5.2 Prescription Trends, (2023), by Region 5.3 Device Volume, by Region (2020-2032) 5.4 Healthcare Spending, by Region, (Government, Commercial, Private, Out-of-Pocket), 2023 6. Competitive Landscape 7. Cardiac Assist Devices Market by Product Type 8. Cardiac Assist Devices Market by Modality Type 9. Cardiac Assist Devices Market by End User 10. Regional Analysis 11. Company Profiles 12. Use Cases and Best Practices 13. Conclusion Access Complete Report Details of Cardiac Assist Devices Market Analysis & Outlook 2024-2032@ https://www.snsinsider.com/reports/cardiac-assist-devices-market-4472 [For more information or need any customization research mail us at info@snsinsider.com] About Us: SNS Insider is one of the leading market research and consulting agencies that dominates the market research industry globally. Our company's aim is to give clients the knowledge they require in order to function in changing circumstances. In order to give you current, accurate market data, consumer insights, and opinions so that you can make decisions with confidence, we employ a variety of techniques, including surveys, video talks, and focus groups around the world. Dublin, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Enterprise Tech Ecosystem Series: The Charles Schwab Corporation - 2025" company profile has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The report provides insights into the Charles Schwab Corporation's tech activities, including its digital transformation strategies, its innovation programs, its technology initiatives, and acquisitions. The Charles Schwab Corporation (Charles Schwab) is a US-based loan holding and savings company. Charles Schwab offers securities brokerage, wealth management, asset management, banking, custody, and financial advisory services to individual investors, employers, and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) through its subsidiaries. The principal business subsidiaries of Charles Schwab are Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; TD Ameritrade, Inc.; TD Ameritrade Clearing, Inc.; Charles Schwab Bank, SSB; and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. The company provides financial services to institutional clients and individuals through two segments - Advisor Services and Investor Services. The Advisor Services segment offers trading, custodial, banking & trust, and retirement business services to RIAs, recordkeepers and independent retirement advisors. The Investor Services segment offers investment advisory, retail brokerage, and banking and trust services to individual investors. It also offers retirement plan services and corporate brokerage services to businesses and their employees. The report provides information and insights into Charles Schwab's tech activities, including: Insights of its digital transformation strategies and innovation programs. Overview of technology initiatives covering partnerships, product launches, and acquisitions. Insights on each technology initiative including technology theme, objective, and benefits. Details of estimated ICT budgets. Reasons to Buy Gain insights into Charles Schwab's tech operations. Gain insights into its tech strategies and innovation initiatives. Gain insights into its technology themes under focus. Gain insights into various product launches, partnerships, and acquisitions. Key Topics Covered: Overview Digital Transformation Strategy Accelerators, Incubators, and Other Innovation Programs Technology Focus Technology Initiatives Acquisitions Partnerships, Acquisitions Network Map ICT Budget Key Executives Company Coverage Includes: Intuit eMoney Advisor Envestnet | Yodlee Truth.Fi Salesforce TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation Motif For more information about this company profile visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fxhdl3 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. Pune, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Patient Monitoring Devices Market Size & Growth Analysis: According to SNS Insider, the global Patient Monitoring Devices Market size was valued at USD 48.03 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 93.53 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.71% from 2024 to 2032. The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, rising demand for remote patient monitoring, and advancements in AI-driven healthcare solutions are key factors propelling market growth. Market Overview Patient monitoring devices are crucial tools in contemporary healthcare, allowing for the constant monitoring of vital signs and enabling the early identification of health problems, thus enhancing patient outcomes. Increased chronic diseases, an increasing aging population worldwide, and technological advancements in remote monitoring equipment have tremendously boosted the demand for these devices. The trend towards home healthcare and individualized medicine has also contributed to increasing market size. In the United States, the market has experienced considerable growth as a result of the implementation of cutting-edge healthcare technologies and a strong healthcare infrastructure. The focus on value-based care and the integration of digital health solutions have played a crucial role in fueling the adoption of patient monitoring devices in different healthcare settings. Increased demand for wearable monitoring devices and remote healthcare services has also boosted market growth in the country. Get a Sample Report of Patient Monitoring Devices Market@ https://www.snsinsider.com/sample-request/4455 Key Patient Monitoring Devices Companies Profiled in the Report Smiths Medical: BCI Pulse Oximeters, Capnographs Biotronik: BioMonitor Series Mindray Medical International Ltd.: BeneVision Series Koninklijke Philips N.V.: IntelliVue Series Nihon Kohden: Life Scope Series Welch Allyn: Connex Vital Signs Monitor Health anywhere Inc. Intel GE Healthcare: CARESCAPE Monitor Series Medtronic: Nellcor Bosch Masimo Corporation: Patient SafetyNet Patient Monitoring Devices Market Report Scope Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2023 US$ 48.03 billion Market Size by 2032 US$ 93.53 billion CAGR CAGR of 7.71% From 2024 to 2032 Base Year 2023 Forecast Period 2024-2032 Historical Data 2020-2022 Key Regional Coverage North America (US, Canada, Mexico), Europe (Eastern Europe [Poland, Romania, Hungary, Turkey, Rest of Eastern Europe] Western Europe] Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Rest of Western Europe]), Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, Rest of Asia Pacific), Middle East & Africa (Middle East [UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Rest of Middle East]), Africa [Nigeria, South Africa, Rest of Africa], Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia Rest of Latin America) Segment Analysis By Product In 2023, the multi-parameter patient monitoring devices segment held 21% of the global market revenue. The devices provide thorough patient evaluations by monitoring multiple vital signs at once, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate. Their effectiveness in intensive care units (ICUs) and emergency environments has led to their extensive use in hospitals and ambulatory care centers. The cardiology monitoring devices segment is anticipated to grow strongly with the rising incidence of cardiovascular diseases and heightened awareness regarding heart health. The increasing popularity of wearable ECG monitors and real-time remote cardiac monitoring solutions is likely to fuel market growth in this segment. By End-Use In 2023, hospitals led the patient monitoring devices market, with more than 49.6% of the revenue share. The demand for round-the-clock monitoring of patients in critical care units and the integration of intelligent monitoring solutions have solidified hospitals' leadership in this market. Furthermore, the increased hospital admissions resulting from chronic diseases and surgeries have also boosted the demand for these devices. The home care segment is anticipated to experience strong growth over the next few years. With the growing demand for home-based healthcare solutions and improvements in portable monitoring equipment, there is a growing adoption of remote monitoring solutions among patients. The increase in the geriatric population and the requirement to decrease hospital readmissions are other critical drivers of the growth of this segment. Need Any Customization Research on Patient Monitoring Devices Market, Enquire Now@ https://www.snsinsider.com/enquiry/4455 Patient Monitoring Devices Market Segmentation By Product Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems Self-monitoring Blood Glucose Systems Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems Cardiac Monitoring Devices ECG Devices Implantable Loop Recorders Event Monitors Mobile Cardiac Telemetry Monitors Smart/Wearable ECG Monitors Multi-parameter Monitoring Devices. Low-acuity Monitoring Devices Mid-acuity Monitoring Devices High-acuity Monitoring Devices Respiratory Monitoring Devices Pulse Oximeters Spirometers Capnographs Peak Flow Meters Temperature Monitoring Devices Handheld Temperature Monitoring Devices Table-top Temperature Monitoring Devices Wearable Continuous Monitoring Devices Invasive Temperature Monitoring Devices Smart Temperature Monitoring Devices Hemodynamic/Pressure Monitoring Devices Hemodynamic Monitors Blood Pressure Monitors Disposables Fetal & Neonatal Monitoring Devices Fetal Monitoring Devices Neonatal Monitoring Devices Neuromonitoring Devices Electroencephalograph Machines Electromyography Machines Cerebral Oximeters Intracranial Pressure Monitors Magnetoencephalograph Machines Transcranial Doppler Machines Weight Monitoring Devices Digital Analog Other Patient Monitoring Devices By End-use Hospitals Ambulatory Surgery Centers Home Care Settings Other Regional Insights North America dominated the market in 2023, with a revenue share of more than 40% globally. The region's success is fueled by its highly developed healthcare infrastructure, high penetration rates of advanced medical technologies, and increasing investments in remote patient monitoring. The region's concentration of key industry players and robust regulatory support for digital health innovations have also fortified the market in this region. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period. Drivers, including rising healthcare spending, enhanced awareness regarding the management of chronic diseases, and enhanced healthcare infrastructure, are expected to propel market growth in nations such as China, India, and Japan. Increased use of telemedicine and digital health solutions in these countries is expected to further propel market growth. Recent Developments in the Patient Monitoring Devices Market January 2023: Senet and Telli Health introduced the first LoRaWAN-based remote patient monitoring hardware aimed at enhancing healthcare access in remote and underserved areas. Senet and Telli Health introduced the first LoRaWAN-based remote patient monitoring hardware aimed at enhancing healthcare access in remote and underserved areas. October 2024: TeleTracking implemented its real-time patient tracking system in multiple UK hospitals, optimizing bed management and patient care coordination. TeleTracking implemented its real-time patient tracking system in multiple UK hospitals, optimizing bed management and patient care coordination. December 2024: Oura launched the Oura Ring 4, a smart ring equipped with advanced tracking features for heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and body temperature. Oura launched the Oura Ring 4, a smart ring equipped with advanced tracking features for heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and body temperature. January 2025: Abbott introduced Lingo, a wearable biosensor that tracks glucose levels via a small filament under the skin, catering to both diabetes patients and fitness enthusiasts. Statistical Insights and Trends Reporting The increasing prevalence of chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, has significantly driven the demand for patient monitoring devices. North America recorded the highest prescription rate for patient monitoring devices, reflecting the region's strong emphasis on proactive and preventive healthcare. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the highest increase in patient monitoring device volume due to improving healthcare accessibility and a growing elderly population. North America led in healthcare spending, with significant investments from government, commercial, and private sources, facilitating the widespread adoption of advanced monitoring technologies. Wearable and remote patient monitoring devices experienced a surge in adoption, particularly in developed markets, indicating a shift toward personalized and accessible healthcare solutions. Buy a Single-User PDF of Patient Monitoring Devices Market Analysis & Outlook Report 2024-2032@ https://www.snsinsider.com/checkout/4455 Table of Contents Major Key Points 1. Introduction 2. Executive Summary 3. Research Methodology 4. Market Dynamics Impact Analysis 5. Statistical Insights and Trends Reporting 5.1 Incidence and Prevalence (2023) 5.2 Prescription Trends, (2023), by Region 5.3 Device Volume, by Region (2020-2032) 5.4 Healthcare Spending, by Region, (Government, Commercial, Private, Out-of-Pocket), 2023 6. Competitive Landscape 7. Patient Monitoring Devices Market by Product 8. Patient Monitoring Devices Market by End-use 9. Regional Analysis 10. Company Profiles 11. Use Cases and Best Practices 12. Conclusion Access Complete Report Details of Patient Monitoring Devices Market Analysis & Outlook 2024-2032@ https://www.snsinsider.com/reports/patient-monitoring-devices-market-4455 [For more information or need any customization research mail us at info@snsinsider.com] About Us: SNS Insider is one of the leading market research and consulting agencies that dominates the market research industry globally. Our company's aim is to give clients the knowledge they require in order to function in changing circumstances. In order to give you current, accurate market data, consumer insights, and opinions so that you can make decisions with confidence, we employ a variety of techniques, including surveys, video talks, and focus groups around the world. SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C., March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The team at Let'sTalkAboutAI recently ran a wide-reaching survey, looking at feedback from over 18,000 U.S. college students and verified reviews across platforms like Sitejabber, Trustpilot, Reddit, and social media to figure out which essay writing services are the most popular and reliable in 2025. With school getting more demanding and deadlines piling up, more students are turning to online writing services to get through the chaos. From research papers to application essays, these websites have seen a big jump in traffic over the past year. "Students told us they were looking for help not because theyre lazybut because theyre stretched too thin," said Isabella Oskana, lead researcher at Let'sTalkAboutAI. "Part-time jobs, family responsibilities, back-to-back deadlinesits a lot. These services give them a way to stay afloat." Based on thousands of student reviews, online comments, and platform ratings, the top essay writing services in 2025 are: CollegeEssay.org (rated 4.89/5 with over 6,500 reviews) MyPerfectPaper.net (rated 4.86/5 with more than 4,900 reviews) SharkPapers.com (rated 4.84/5 with around 3,800 reviews) MyPerfectWords.com (rated 4.80/5 with over 2,700 reviews) You can check the full report and review breakdowns here: https://letstalkaitoday.substack.com/ Why Students Use Essay Writing Services Students who shared their stories said they werent just trying to get out of doing work. Many were simply overwhelmed, stuck on a topic, or worried about their GPA. I had two big papers due the same week and my job scheduled me for double shifts. I used CollegeEssay.org for one of them, and they delivered a solid paper on time. I added my own intro and conclusion, but they nailed the body paragraphs. Lucas, University of Arizona Im decent at research, but I always get stuck putting it into a clean, organized paper. MyPerfectPaper.net helped me take what I had and shape it into something that made sense. The writer tightened up my arguments and fixed a bunch of small grammar issues I didnt even catch. Jada, Michigan State University Ive used SharkPapers.com twice now. Both times the writers followed instructions perfectly and the papers passed plagiarism checks. I still go over the content and make edits, but its a huge help. Tomas, University of Illinois Honestly, I just needed to see how a proper research paper was supposed to look. MyPerfectWords.com gave me a model I could learn from and build on. It made the whole process way less stressful. Kayla, University of Florida I got completely buried during midterms. I was behind on everything and had no clue how to finish a history paper that was due in less than 48 hours. I went with CollegeEssay.org and got a draft that actually gave me something to work with. I made some edits, but without that jumpstart, I wouldnt have turned anything in. Brianna, NYU I dont trust random services, but I did my research and MyPerfectPaper.net had good feedback. They didnt just give me fluffthey backed up the arguments with solid sources. Ethan, UC Berkeley How Do Essay Writing Services Work? These sites connect students with experienced writers who specialize in academic writing. You fill out a form with your topic, word count, deadline, and level of writing (high school, college, etc.). After that, a writer takes over and starts working on your paper. Most sites allow direct communication with the writer and offer free revisions if needed. How Much Do Essay Writing Services Cost? Prices usually start at around $10 to $15 per page, depending on the academic level and how fast you need it. A high school-level essay with a weeks deadline might be cheaper than a last-minute college-level research paper. Some sites also offer first-time user discounts or bundle deals if you order multiple assignments. Is Essay Writing Service Legal? Yes, these services are legal to use. They operate within the boundaries of the law and make it clear that the work is meant to be a reference or study resource. What matters is how the student uses the paper. As long as youre not violating your schools policies, its not illegal. Are There Any Legitimate Essay Writing Services? Absolutely. The services listed in this report, like CollegeEssay.org and MyPerfectPaper.net, have been around for years and have strong reputations. They have real customer reviews, refund policies, and active support teams. Still, you should always do your own research before ordering. Is It Safe to Pay Someone to Write an Essay? If you use a trusted service, yes. Reputable websites have secure payment systems and strict privacy policies. The main risk comes from using cheap or sketchy sites that might recycle papers or ghost you after payment. Stick with sites that are well-reviewed and clear about their guarantees. Has Anyone Ever Used Essay Writing Service? Tons of students have. Its more common than you think. Some use it to get through one tough week, others use it to learn how a well-written paper should look. Many students say they still edit and personalize the work before submitting, but having a strong draft to start with makes a big difference. Final Thoughts Essay writing services arent going away. If anything, theyre becoming more refined and student-focused. As long as students are using them responsibly and not trying to cheat the system, these platforms can be helpful tools in managing the growing pressures of college life. About Let'sTalkAboutAI Let'sTalkAboutAI is a review-based platform that focuses on helping students navigate academic tools and resources. We cover essay writing services, share honest feedback from real users, and break down what to expect from each platform. From cost and reliability to quality and customer support, we give students the info they need to make smart decisions when choosing an essay writing service. Source: https://letstalkaitoday.substack.com/p/the-best-essay-writing-services-according Media info: Contact Person: Zack Company: CollegeEssay.org Email: info@collegeessay.org Website: https://collegeessay.org/ Address: 1413 HWY 17S 1320, Surfside Beach, SC, 29575, USA Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an "as-is" basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above. SAN ROQUE, Spain, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Manuel Ruiz Moriche, the award-winning architect and the visionary founder of ARK Architects, a prestigious architectural firm, continues to redefine modern luxury and sustainability with his latest groundbreaking project on Hudayriyat Island, Abu Dhabi. Dubbed as "the architect creating the most spectacular mansions on Hudayriyat Island," Ruiz Moriches designs for the ambitious "Nawayef By Modon & ARK Architects" project have set a new standard in bioclimatic architecture. On Hudayriyat Island, Ruiz Moriches designs for the "Nawayef by Modon & ARK Architects" project redefine bioclimatic architecture. These villas rise gracefully along the islands hills, reaching heights of up to 55 meters, and feature open-to-the-sky interior spaces that act as natural ventilation chimneys. This innovative approach reduces energy consumption by up to 80%, creating a harmonious balance between sustainability and luxury. For us, architecture begins with the land, Ruiz Moriche shared in an exclusive interview with award-winning journalist XiXi Yang. You must listen to the place, understand its essence, and create something that resonates with it. The true protagonist of our projects is always nature. Hudayriyat Island itself offers residents a blend of sports, nature, relaxation, and pristine beaches. Ruiz Moriches designs amplify this unique lifestyle by incorporating understated aesthetics, spacious interiors, private pools, and expansive terraces, all while prioritizing the natural environment. Ruiz Moriches approach to quiet luxury stands out in an era of ostentation. Luxury, for us, is in calmness and simplicity, he explained. Its architecture that almost goes unnoticed but creates spaces where people feel calm and connected to nature. His designs prioritize a thoughtful use of light and materials, crafting serene environments that embody exclusivity through subtlety rather than extravagance. Reflecting on ARK Architects roots, Ruiz Moriche remarked, Sotogrande, in southern Spain, is where it all began. Its a place of extraordinary natural beauty, with the Mediterranean Sea on one side and a natural park of cork oak trees behind us. Its a privilege to design here, and our philosophy of blending architecture with nature was born in this unique environment. In his conversation with XiXi Yang, Ruiz Moriche shared his architectural journey, shaped by iconic monuments and a passion for observing nature, light, and materials. Architecture is a continuous learning process, he said. The ability to observe and understand the environment is essential. Our goal is to create buildings that become a part of cultural heritage and spaces where families can live happily. Born in La Linea de la Concepcion, Spain, and inspired by his surroundings, Manuel Ruiz Moriche has become a global leader in high-end residential architecture. With projects spanning from Dubai to New York, he has redefined modern luxury with a humanistic approach that prioritizes harmony with the environment. Creating a home is more than just building a structure; its your safe place, he says. You can live in a luxury villa, but to do so in a masterpiece designed down to the last detail to suit you is something unique. To aspiring architects, Ruiz Moriche offered words of encouragement: Be passionate, believe in yourselves, and discover who you are. Authenticity is key. Travel, observe, and learn not just architecture, but also light, materials, and nature. Be true to your vision. Manuel Ruiz Moriches projects in La Zagaleta and Hudayriyat Island epitomize the evolution of architecture into an art form that respects the environment while delivering unparalleled luxury. With his commitment to blending tradition, innovation, and sustainability, he continues to redefine what modern living can be. About ARK Architects ARK Architects is a world-renowned architectural firm that specializes in creating bespoke luxury homes and spaces seamlessly integrated into their natural surroundings. Founded by visionary architect Manuel Ruiz Moriche, the firm is headquartered in Sotogrande, southern Spaina region celebrated for its breathtaking landscapes, from the Mediterranean Sea to vast natural parks of cork oak trees. From concept to completion, ARK Architects collaborates closely with clients to transform visions into reality, creating spaces that inspire and endure. Their portfolio includes landmark projects that blend Mediterranean and Islamic cultural influences, achieving a unique balance of tradition and modernity. Discover more about ARK Architects work and philosophy at ARK-Architects.com. For interviews or additional information, please contact: Media Contact: Antonio Ruiz Ark Architects Marketing Director a.ruiz@ark-arquitectos.com Centro Comercial Sotomarket, Oficina N 3., Autovia del Mediterraneo A-7. Salida 130., 11310 Sotogrande, San Roque, Cadiz Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an "as-is" basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/246fc39c-6c04-4f02-ad13-447fb180a1bb https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5295fb09-b07d-49a2-9761-d1455e7316d4 NEW YORK, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DataForce, TransPerfects AI data solutions division, today announced that it has been honored as a winner in the Business Intelligence Groups 2025 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards. This award, presented in the Natural Language Processing category, highlights DataForces continued leadership in AI data solutions and its impact in developing safer, more effective AI-driven technologies. DataForce was recognized for its ability to identify and mitigate harmful AI prompts. Observing the need for high-quality, diverse datasets, the team has developed complex content scenarios that address a wide range of risk factors, from implicit to explicit biases. Through a multi-tier annotation process, engaging a diverse global workforce, and iterative dataset refinement, DataForce optimizes models that exceed industry benchmarks in AI safety and effectiveness. The Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards celebrate companies, technologies, and professionals who are leading the way in AI innovation. Winners are selected by a panel of industry experts who evaluate nominees based on their creativity, impact, and measurable success in AI-driven solutions. TransPerfect President Phil Shawe stated, Our DataForce AI team consistently delivers extraordinary client work. This honor would not be possible without their diligence and professionalism. About DataForce DataForce is a worldwide data collection and labeling platform that combines technology with a diverse network of more than 1 million data contributors, scientists, and engineers. DataForce offers companies in technology, automotive, life sciences, and other industries secure and reliable AI services for exceptional structured data and customer experiences. DataForce is part of the TransPerfect family of companies, the worlds largest provider of language and AI solutions for global business with offices in more than 140 cities worldwide. For more information about DataForce and its award-winning AI solutions, please visit www.dataforce.ai. About TransPerfect TransPerfect is the worlds largest provider of language and AI solutions for global business. From offices in over 140 cities on six continents, TransPerfect offers a full range of services in 200+ languages to clients worldwide. More than 6,000 global organizations employ TransPerfects GlobalLink technology to simplify the management of multilingual content. With an unparalleled commitment to quality and client service, TransPerfect is fully ISO 9001 and ISO 17100 certified. TransPerfect has global headquarters in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit our website at www.transperfect.com. About Business Intelligence Group The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry award programs , these programs are judged by business executives having experience and knowledge. The organization's proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers. For more information, please visit www.bintelligence.com. Contact: Ryan Simper +1 212.689.5555 mediainquiry@transperfect.com Dublin, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Bio-Succinic Acid Market: Analysis By Process Type, By Application, By End-User, By Region Size and Trends - Forecast up to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global bio-succinic acid market was valued at US$147.67 million in 2024. The market value is expected to reach US$311.39 million by 2030. Bio-succinic acid is a renewable, plant-based alternative to petroleum-derived succinic acid, produced through fermentation of plant sugars. It is used in various industries such as bioplastics, pharmaceuticals, food, and personal care products, offering an eco-friendly solution to replace petrochemical-based chemicals. In the forthcoming years, the bio-succinic acid market is expected to continue growing due to several converging trends. One key factor is the increasing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to petrochemical-based products. Bio-succinic acid, derived from renewable biomass sources, offers a greener solution for the production of plastics, solvents, and other chemicals, aligning with global efforts to reduce carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. The growing emphasis on sustainability and the need for biodegradable plastics, particularly in packaging and consumer goods industries, is further fueling the demand for bio-succinic acid. Technological advancements in bioengineering and fermentation processes are also enhancing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of bio-succinic acid production. Moreover, governments worldwide are implementing favorable policies and incentives to promote the adoption of renewable resources and green chemistry, which are accelerating the shift toward bio-based chemicals like bio-succinic acid. Together, these factors position the global bio-succinic acid market for steady growth in the years ahead. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approx. 13% during the forecasted period of 2025-2030. Market Segmentation Analysis: By Process Type: The ammonium sulphate process segment held a significant share of the global market. The method's simplicity, lower energy consumption, and the growing demand for sustainable, bio-based chemicals contribute to its continued dominance. Additionally, governmental incentives for green chemistry and the rising preference for eco-friendly alternatives to petrochemical-based products support its growth. As industries seek greener solutions, the ammonium sulfate process remains a preferred choice for large-scale bio-succinic acid production, with potential for further improvements in sustainability and cost-efficiency. By Application: The demand for bio-based BDO is driven by the growing need for eco-friendly chemicals and materials, particularly in industries like automotive, textiles, and electronics. The increasing adoption of green chemistry and rising regulatory pressure to reduce carbon footprints are key factors supporting the growth of the bio-based BDO segment. As industries shift toward sustainable production methods, the 1, 4-butanediol segment is poised for continuous growth, driven by advancements in bio-based production processes. By End User: The industrial segment holds the highest market share in the global bio-succinic acid market due to several factors. First, bio-succinic acid is widely used in the production of bio-based plastics, which are increasingly in demand for their eco-friendly properties. Second, it serves as a key intermediate in manufacturing solvents, coatings, and adhesives, all of which are integral to various industrial applications. Third, the growing emphasis on sustainable materials in industries such as packaging, automotive, and textiles further drives demand. Additionally, technological advancements in bio-succinic acid production processes have made it a more cost-effective and scalable option for industrial uses. These factors collectively position the industrial segment as the largest contributor to the bio-succinic acid market. By Region: In the report, the global bio-succinic acid market is divided into four regions: North America , Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World. In 2024, the Europe region led the bio-succinic acid market, propelled by propelled by several key factors. Europe has a strong commitment to sustainability, with stringent environmental regulations that promote the use of renewable, bio-based chemicals like bio-succinic acid. The region also hosts major bio-succinic acid producers and has well-established bio-manufacturing infrastructure, which supports the growth of the market. In addition, policies across the European Union focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting green chemistry, encouraging the adoption of bio-succinic acid in industries such as packaging, automotive, and consumer good. During 2025-2030, the US is forecasted to maintain its lead within the North America bio-succinic acid market, due to a strong focus on sustainability driven by consumer demand and government policies promoting renewable energy and green chemistry, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and leading bio-succinic acid producers. The growing adoption of bio-based chemicals in industries such as packaging, and consumer goods, along with increasing investments in research and development to improve bio-succinic acid production technologies, also contribute to the US maintaining its dominant position in the region. Competitive Landscape: The global bio-succinic acid market is primarily concentrated among leading chemical manufacturers, however, the presence of smaller companies introduces a level of fragmentation, resulting in a market that is largely concentrated with pockets of fragmentation. The key players in the global bio-succinic acid market are: BASF DSM-Firmenich Roquette Freres Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited (PTTGC) Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd Dow Inc. (The Dow Chemical Company) Corbion N.V. Air Water Inc. (Air Water Performance Chemical Inc.) LCY Chemical Corp. Wego Chemical Group The key players also focus on strategies such as investments in research and development activities, and expanding production capacities. For instance, in September 2024, Mitsubishi Corporation and Exxon Mobil Corporation have signed a Project Framework Agreement for Mitsubishi Corporation's participation in ExxonMobil's facility in Baytown, Texas which is expected to produce virtually carbon-free hydrogen with approximately 98% of carbon dioxide (CO2) removed and low-carbon ammonia. Similarly, in July 2024, BASF and ENGIE signed a 7-year Biomethane Purchase Agreement (BPA). Under the BPA, ENGIE will supply BASF with 2.7 to 3.0 terawatt hours of biomethane throughout the term of the agreement. BASF uses certified biomethane at its Ludwigshafen/Germany and Antwerp/Belgium sites as a sustainable alternative to fossil raw materials in its manufacturing process. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Introduction 2.1 Bio-Succinic Acid Overview 2.2 Bio-Succinic Acid Segmentation Overview 3. Global Market Analysis 3.1 Global Bio-Succinic Acid Market: An Analysis 3.2 Global Bio-Succinic Acid Market: Process Type Analysis 3.3 Global Bio-Succinic Acid Market: Application Analysis 3.4 Global Bio-Succinic Acid Market: End-User Analysis 4. Regional Market Analysis 4.1 Europe Bio-Succinic Acid Market 4.2 North America Bio-Succinic Acid Market 4.3 Asia Pacific Bio-Succinic Acid Market 4.4 Rest of the World Bio-Succinic Acid Market 5. Impact of COVID-19 5.1 Impact of COVID-19 on Global Bio-Succinic Acid Market 5.2 Post COVID-19 Impact on Global Bio-Succinic Acid Market 6. Market Dynamics 6.1 Growth Drivers 6.1.1 Accelerating Demand for Bio-based Plastics and Polymers 6.1.2 Growing Application in Food Additives 6.1.3 Government Regulations and Policies Favoring Bio-based Products 6.1.4 Rising Integration with Renewable Energy Sources 6.1.5 Increasing Shift Towards Sustainability and Eco-friendly Products 6.2 Challenges 6.2.1 Fluctuations in Succinic Acid Prices 6.2.2 High Production Costs Compared to Petroleum-Based Alternatives 6.2.3 Limited Availability of Cost-Effective Feedstocks 6.3 Market Trends 6.3.1 Expanding Applications in Pharmaceuticals 6.3.2 Technological Advancements in the Production Processes 6.3.3 Surging Focus on Renewable Feedstocks 6.3.4 Adoption of Circular Economy Models 6.3.5 Collaboration Between Biotechnology and Chemical Industries 7. Competitive Landscape 7.1 Global Bio-Succinic Acid Market: Competitive Landscape 7.2 Global Bio-Succinic Acid Market Players: Product Comparison 8. Company Profiles BASF DSM-Firmenich Roquette Freres Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited (PTTGC) Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd Dow Inc. (The Dow Chemical Company) Corbion N.V. Air Water Inc. (Air Water Performance Chemical Inc.) LCY Chemical Corp. Wego Chemical Group For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8tjmre 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. Dublin, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Continuous Thermal Monitoring Market by Offering (Hardware, Software, Service), Application (Bus Duct Monitors, Switchgear, Motor Control Centers, Low-Voltage Transformers, Dry Transformers), End User, and Region - Global Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The continuous thermal monitoring market is projected to reach USD 1.49 billion by 2030 from an estimated USD 1.00 billion in 2024, at a CAGR of 6.8% The continuous thermal monitoring market is driven by factors such as an increased focus on energy efficiency among industries, an increased demand for smaller and more powerful electronic devices, and a growing number of data centers and cloud computing services. These trends require efficient thermal management solutions that ensure optimal performance and prevent overheating, hence driving the demand for continuous thermal monitoring technologies. ABB (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), Schneider Electric (France), Honeywell International Inc. (US) and Teledyne Technologies (US) are some of the key players in the continuous thermal monitoring market.he study includes an in-depth competitive analysis of these key players in the continuous thermal monitoring market, with their company profiles, recent developments, and key market strategies. China is the Asia-Pacific region's fastest growing market for continuous thermal monitoring in Asia Pacific, given its vast industrial base, rapid urbanization, and vast infrastructure developments. The strong focus on energy efficiency and rigid safety regulations by the nation has further accelerated the deployment of high-tech monitoring systems across power distribution networks, data centers, and renewable energy projects. Moreover, the proactive interest of the government in smart grid development and the incorporation of IoT technology has created a tremendous momentum for implementing real-time thermal monitoring solutions. Significant investment in industrial automation with a firm commitment to minimizing downtime and energy losses drives China at the fore in the region to embrace leading-edge thermal monitoring technologies. Hardware is expected to have the highest growth rate segment during the forecast period. The hardware component is the fastest segment due to its critical role to enable accurate, reliable temperature identification. Hardware machines are widely used in numerous industries for the detection of thermal anomalies so that overheating is prevented. They also maximize operational efficiency as they can operate to identify thermal patterns in real-time. Predictive maintenance continues to be of high demand due to its various applications in numerous industries such as manufacturing, utility, and data center operations. Technological advancements also led to a compact, affordable, and even IoT-enabled hardware that integrates so well with a smart monitoring system, making these devices more alluring. Bus Duct Monitors segment is expected to emerge as the fastest growing segment by application. The continuous thermal monitoring market in bus duct monitoring is gaining immense growth due to the importance of reliability and security for electrical infrastructure. This further gains momentum due to prevention and avoidance of costly failures and fire hazards, growing smart grid adoption, and emerging demand from data centers and renewable energy. The increasing stringency of regulatory standards, advancement in IoT and predictive analytics, and the massive costs associated with system downtime make real-time thermal monitoring an absolute necessity. Industrialization is growing at a faster pace, and the focus has shifted towards efficiency and safety. Bus duct monitoring is rapidly becoming an essential part of modern power distribution systems. Key Benefits of Buying the Report Analysis of key drivers (Growing emphasis on predictive maintenance, Rising adoption of IoT and AI technology, Increasing adoption of industrial automation), restraints (High initial costs associated with advanced monitoring systems and Technical complexities in integrating advanced monitoring systems with existing industrial infrastructure), opportunities (Rapid deployment of smart grids, Rapid deployment of smart grids, and Rising adoption of data centers), and challenges (Rising cyberattacks) influences the growth of the continuous thermal monitoring market. Product Development/ Innovation: Microchip Technology introduced the MCP998x family, comprising 10 automotive-qualified remote temperature sensors capable of monitoring multiple channels accurately. These sensors feature integrated resistance error correction and beta compensation, enhancing precision and reducing the need for additional components. Designed to operate across a wide temperature range, the MCP998x family offers up to five monitoring channels, with certain models including fixed shutdown temperature setpoints for added safety. This product line addresses the growing demand for reliable thermal management in automotive and industrial applications. Market Development: The development of continuous thermal monitoring systems are moving towards greater efficiency and electrical equipment safety. Additionally, the growing focus on energy efficiency and sustainability has led industries to implement thermal monitoring systems to optimize energy use and reduce carbon footprints. Market Diversification: Honeywell expanded its Emissions Management Suite to include decarbonization audits and reduction roadmaps for thermal solutions. This enhancement aimed to help industries identify emissions reduction opportunities and implement tailored strategies to achieve sustainability goals, aligning with global efforts to combat climate change. Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies, and service offerings of leading players like ABB (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), Schneider Electric (France), Honeywell International Inc. (US) and Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (US) among others in the continuous thermal monitoring market. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 260 Forecast Period 2024 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $1 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $1.49 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.8% Regions Covered Global Companies Featured ABB Siemens Honeywell International Inc. Schneider Electric Advanced Energy Microchip Technology Inc. Teledyne Technologies Incorporated Wika Alexander Wiegand SE & Co. KG Calex Electronics Limited Omron Corporation Powell Industries Dynamic Ratings Doble Engineering Company Extertherm Optris Osensa Innovations Blue Jay Technology Co. Ltd. Ap Sensing Rugged Monitoring Infrasensing Trisquare Switchgears Pvt. Ltd. Grace Technologies, Inc. Dpstar Group Comem S.P.A. Orion Italia S.R.L For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xqvds1 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 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "North American Broadband Market Tracker Q4 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This Broadband Market Tracker provides estimates for residential home internet subscribers and ISP revenues for the North American market, including for those that do not publicly release figures. This service provides estimates of the growth of MNO fixed wireless service and fiber network composition, as well as detailed profiles of market leaders. It also includes quarterly insights reports of key market trends, competitor moves, partnerships and new offerings from the analysts. Key Topics Covered: Top Five Takeaways Broadband Market News and Trends Trump Administration: Project 2025 and Beyond Regulatory Changes: US and Canada The Fate of BEAD and the Universal Service Fund Remain Uncertain Federal and State Funding for New Broadband Infrastructure Likely to be Impacted Threatened Tariffs and Annexation Risk US/Canada Deals Market Competition Mobile and Fixed Players: Towards Network Convergence Cablecos Face a Challenging Competitive Environment, but are Responding ISPs Signal a Realignment Away from Pay-TV Mergers and Acquisitions Cellular/Satellite Convergence Key Company Developments Definitions External Citations For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/lkapwy 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. ZURICH, Switzerland, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The XRP community is witnessing a breakout moment as investor enthusiasm for the $XPL Token , the native asset powering XploraDEX, surges at an unprecedented rate. Built as the first AI-powered decentralized exchange on the XRP Ledger, XploraDEX is igniting intense interest from both institutional and retail investors looking to capitalize on a new generation of intelligent trading tools. In less than a week, the $XPL Token Presale has already seen participation from unique wallets, with multiple whale wallets initiating large, strategic purchasesconfirming what early adopters already know: XploraDEX could be the defining DeFi moment for XRPL in 2025. GET $XPL TOKENS ON PRESALE AI Meets DeFi on XRPL A Timely Catalyst for a Bullish Ecosystem As XRP continues to hold its position as a top-tier blockchain for fast and low-cost transactions, the ecosystem has long lacked a sophisticated DeFi layer to compete with Ethereum and Solana. XploraDEX fills that void and goes further by introducing AI-based trading intelligence, predictive analytics, and fully autonomous liquidity management. We didnt just want to build a DEX, we wanted to build a trading experience that learns, evolves, and helps every user become more profitable, said a spokesperson from the XploraDEX team. The presale interest were seeing validates that vision. Whats Fueling the $XPL Presale Frenzy? Real Utility from Day One: $XPL isnt just a governance token, it powers access to exclusive trading tools, fee discounts, staking rewards, and AI analytics modules. Market Timing: As AI narratives continue to dominate 2025 investment trends, XploraDEX offers the first DeFi-native opportunity to gain exposure to the AI revolution directly on XRPL. Community Momentum: With XRP influencers, Telegram groups, and crypto Twitter amplifying the opportunity, the $XPL presale is turning into one of the most talked-about launches this quarter. Whale Activity: Blockchain tracking confirms that top-tier XRP holders are participating heavily, indicating high confidence in the long-term value proposition of XploraDEX. BUY $XPL ON PRESALE A Deeper Look at $XPL Token Utility The XploraDEX platform is built around an ecosystem where $XPL fuels everything. Holders get: Access to AI-powered auto-trading tools Deep fee discounts for frequent users Staking for passive income in XPL and partner tokens Liquidity mining incentives for early DEX participants Governance rights to shape the future of the protocol Priority placement in partner IDOs and DeFi launches With such integrated functionality, demand for $XPL isnt just hypeits utility-driven. Buy $XPL Tokens Now: https://sale.xploradex.io The Window Is Narrowing Dont Get Left Behind The $XPL Presale is unfolding in structured phases, with token prices increasing at each stage. As of this release, Phase 1 is nearly 80% filled, and momentum is accelerating with every new wallet joining the ecosystem. Investors looking to secure their allocation are urged to act quickly before the current tier sells out. Conclusion: XploraDEX Is More Than a DEX, Its XRPLs AI Frontier In a crypto market hungry for substance, XploraDEX brings together innovation, speed, and scalability, all layered with intelligence. The $XPL token represents a chance to be earlynot just in a platform, but in an entire category: AI DeFi on XRPL. Join the $XPL Presale While Allocations Last: https://sale.xploradex.io Stay connected and Join the XploraDEX AI Revolution Website | $XPL Token Presale | X | Telegram Contact: Oliver Muller oliver@xploradex.io contact@xploradex.io Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the XploraDEX. 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. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. 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. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. 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 sectorincluding cryptocurrency, NFTs, and miningcomplete 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. 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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e770c0f4-1d82-4d5d-b1c4-1700b5f759d1 NEW YORK, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential breaches of fiduciary duties by the directors and officers of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH) in connection with a report of an investigation by the United States Department of Justice into UnitedHealths billing practices. If you currently own shares of UnitedHealth stock, please visit the firms website at https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=25195 for more information. You may also contact Phillip Kim of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at case@rosenlegal.com. 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/. 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 firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. 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 WASHINGTON, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in conjunction with the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans hosted a briefing on the U.S.-India strategic partnership and strengthening the relationship across defense, trade, and technology. From Top L-R: Sriram Raghavan, Vice President, IBM Research AI, Crowd Hears the Panel, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8) with Dr. Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO, USISPF, Amb. Vinay Kwatra, Indian Ambassador to the U.S. with Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33), Amb. Vinay Kwatra, Indian Ambassador to the U.S. with Congresswoman Janelle Bynum, (OR-5), and Congressman Ed Case (HI-1) watches on. The event took place on Wednesday, March 26th, on Capitol Hill with 11 Members of Congress, including Co-Chairs Congressmen Rich McCormick (GA-07) and Ro Khanna (CA-17); Co Vice-Chair Marc Veasey (TX-33) as well as, Jim Costa (CA-21), and Glenn Grothman, (WI-6), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8), Ed Case (HI-1), Congresswoman Kim Schrier (WA-8), and Congresswoman Janelle Bynum, (OR-5), Congressmen Derek Tran (CA-45), and Herb Conaway (NJ-3). Speaking at the event, USISPF President and CEO Dr. Mukesh Aghi said: "The strategic partnership between our two democracies has been defined by past presidents as the most important strategic partnership of the 21st century. Our event with Members of Congress reflects both the bipartisan nature and strategic heft that the relationship with New Delhi has been given, especially in these venerated halls of Congress and in policy-making discourse. There is a sense of strategic continuity, especially in the Indo- Pacific region, as both Washington and New Delhi remain committed to strengthening their joint initiatives and collaboration through the Quad, I2U2, and IMEC. Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the Ambassador of India to the United States, joined the briefing and spoke about the strength of the strategic partnership, saying, The foundations of the India-US relationship are strong, and we appreciate the bipartisan support of the US Congress. We have set an ambitious agenda across defense, trade, technology, science, education, and people-to-people ties. We are committed to growing and expanding this relationship into new territories and areas, including $500 billion in trade in the coming years. As the largest democracy in South Asia, India is a critical ally of ours both in trade and defense and our bipartisan discussions today emphasize the need to continue this relationship", said Rep. Rich McCormick. "As a co-chairman of the India and Indian- American Caucus and the representative of many hard-working Indian-Americans, I have the privilege of seeing these hard-working folks embody the values of the American dream. I'm committed to building mutual cooperation between our two nations in the years to come while advocating for the Indian-American diaspora here at home. I appreciate the work the U.S.- India Strategic Partnership Forum does and enjoyed being part of their briefing today. "The U.S.India partnership will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, I was honored to participate in the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum briefing alongside USISPF President and CEO Dr. Mukesh Aghi and Indian Ambassador Vinay Kwatra, said Rep. Khanna. Congressman Khanna added that: We had a meaningful discussion on the importance of this strategic alliance and reaffirmed our shared commitment to advancing national security, economic prosperity, and technological innovation. USISPF looks forward to hosting more such discussions with Members and Staff briefings throughout 2025, as well as visits to their districts. A US-India Trade Staff briefing will be held on April 22 on the Hill. For media inquiries and further information, please contact: Akshobh Giridharadas - agiridharadas@usispf.org Ankit Jain - ajain@usispf.org From Top L-R: Congressman Glenn Grothman (WI-6) addresses the crowd, the panel from L-R featured Congressman Rich McCormick (GA-07), Amb. Vinay Kwatra, Indian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO, USISPF, Mark Linscott, Senior Advisor, USISPF, Vikram Singh, Senior Advisor, USISPF, Sriram Raghavan, Vice President, IBM Research AI and Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33), Individual pictures from L-R: Congressmen Rich McCormick (GA-07), Amb. Vinay Kwatra, Congresswoman Kim Schrier (WA-8), Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21), Congressman Herb Conaway (NJ-3), Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33). About USISPF The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is committed to creating the most powerful partnership between the United States and India. As the only independent not-for-profit institution dedicated to strengthening the U.S.-India partnership in Washington, D.C., and in New Delhi, USISPF is the trusted partner for businesses, non-profit organizations, the diaspora, and the governments of India and the United States. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/249c9292-2148-40f1-95f1-97b97d831793 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8896658c-1478-464d-a919-d7405b7ef7ab MONTREAL, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Knight Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: GUD) (Knight or the Company) is pleased to announce it will be recognized on The Globe and Mails 2025 Report on Business magazines sixth annual Women Lead Here list. This annual editorial benchmark identifies top-level Canadian businesses with the highest executive gender diversity. We are both proud and humble to have Knight Therapeutics Inc. once again featured on the Globe and Mails Report on Canadas Women Lead Here, as one of the top companies for executive gender diversity within the Canadian corporate landscape and specialty pharmaceutical sector, said Samira Sakhia, President and Chief Executive Officer of Knight. A culture of diversity is at the core of Knights values, and we remain committed to fostering these principles every day, both within our company and in our unwavering dedication to improving the lives of patients. The Women Lead Here benchmark was established in 2020 by Report on Business magazine and applies a proprietary research methodology to provide an overview of the largest Canadian corporations with the highest degree of gender diversity among executive ranks. The ranked companies have made tangible and organizational progress related to executive gender parity. For the 2025 ranking, Report on Business conducted a journalistic analysis of approximately 500 large publicly-traded Canadian companies based on revenue, evaluating the ratio of female-identifying to male-identifying executives in the top three tiers of executive leadership. The resultant data was applied to a weighted formula that also factored in company performance, diversity and year-to-year change. In total, 93 companies earned the 2025 Women Lead Here seal, with a combined average of 46% of executive roles held by female-identifying individuals. The 2025 Women Lead Here list is published in the April 2025 issue of Report on Business magazine, distributed with The Globe and Mail on March 29, 2025 and online at tgam.ca/WomenLeadHere About The Globe and Mail The Globe and Mail is Canadas foremost news media company, leading the national discussion and causing policy change through brave and independent journalism since 1844. With our award-winning coverage of business, politics and national affairs, The Globe and Mail newspaper reaches 6.1 million readers every week in our print or digital formats, and Report on Business magazine reaches 2.8 million readers in print and digital every issue. Our investment in innovative data science means that as the world continues to change, so does The Globe. The Globe and Mail is owned by Woodbridge, the investment arm of the Thomson family. About Knight Therapeutics Inc. Knight Therapeutics Inc., headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring or in-licensing and commercializing pharmaceutical products for Canada and Latin America. Knights Latin American subsidiaries operate under United Medical, Biotoscana Farma and Laboratorio LKM. Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s shares trade on TSX under the symbol GUD. For more information about Knight Therapeutics Inc., please visit the company's web site at www.knighttx.com or www.sedarplus.ca. Forward-Looking Statement This document contains forward-looking statements for Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries. These forward-looking statements, by their nature, necessarily involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Knight Therapeutics Inc. considers the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable at the time they were prepared but cautions the reader that these assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond the control of Knight Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries, may ultimately prove to be incorrect. Factors and risks which could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations are discussed in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Report and in Knight Therapeutics Inc.'s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed on www.sedarplus.ca. Knight Therapeutics Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events, except as required by law. Investor Contact: Knight Therapeutics Inc. Samira Sakhia Arvind Utchanah President & Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer T: 514.484.4483 T. +598.2626.2344 F: 514.481.4116 Email: IR@knighttx.com Email: IR@knighttx.com Website: www.knighttx.com Website: www.knighttx.com SEATTLE, March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Truss Faber PC is pleased to welcome Suzanne Garner, an experienced attorney specializing in international trade, regulatory compliance, and dispute resolution, to its team of senior-level attorneys and legal advisors. With almost two decades of both federal government and private practice legal experience, including her tenure as associate general counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and as a litigation associate at a top global law firm, Garner brings unparalleled insight into international trade policy, government investigations, and global economic regulatory frameworks. At Truss Faber, Garner will advise clients on international trade matters, regulatory compliance, and complex dispute resolution. Her extensive background includes representing the United States in global trade negotiations and WTO disputes, defending companies in international arbitration and anti-corruption investigations, and conducting independent workplace investigations involving claims of corporate misconduct. Joining Truss Faber is an excellent opportunity to be part of a talented team helping businesses navigate the complex legal issues arising in cross-border commerce, said Garner. I look forward to applying my experience to support clients in resolving disputes, mitigating risks, and achieving strategic business goals. Garner earned her Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School and holds a Master of Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is licensed to practice law in Washington and California. For more information about Truss Faber PC and its legal services, visit www.trussfaber.com. About Truss Faber: Truss Faber PC provides legal counsel to the construction and manufacturing industries and companies involved in government contracts. Truss Fabers senior-level team has deep experience and a proven track record of prioritizing results and efficiency over red tape, delivering clever solutions to complex legal problems. Find more at www.trussfaber.com. Media Contact: Kristi Herriott 206.466.2702 Kristi@firmani.com FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZEFIRO METHANE CORP. (Cboe Canada: ZEFI) (Frankfurt: Y6B) (OTCQB: ZEFIF) (the Company, Zefiro, or ZEFI) today announced that it has engaged TUV SUD America (TUV SUD), a technical inspection association that tests, inspects, and determines certifications of technical systems and facilities, as a third-party validation and verification body (VVB) for the Companys projects listed on the ACRcarbon registry . This agreement follows Zefiros inaugural project listing on the ACRcarbon registry, which served as an important step toward monetizing carbon offsets originated by the Company through its portfolio of environmental remediation projects in the United States. After successfully completing a standard screening process, which included various conflict checks to certify that it is a neutral third-party entity to Zefiro, TUV SUD subsequently undertook its first visit to a Company project site to collect emissions measurements. This served as a key milestone on the pathway to the issuance of Zefiros first carbon credits, and TUV SUD will conduct further due diligence on the project to ensure that all criteria are met under the ACRcarbon methodology for originating offset products. Once final approval is received, the carbon credits will be issued into Zefiros offset portfolio account, which the Company can then use to fulfill its various pre-sale agreements, including those with Mercuria Energy America LLC and EDF Trading. More information on TUV SUD can be found on its website: https://www.tuvsud.com/en . More information on ACRcarbons Validation and Verification standard can be found on the following webpage: https://acrcarbon.org/acr-program/validation-and-verification/ . Pictured second from right, Zefiro CCO Tina Reine has been a prominent carbon trader since the mid-2000s with institutions such as J.P. Morgan. Ms. Reine plays a key role in navigating the validation process for originating Zefiros carbon credits. 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 Founder and Chief Executive Officer Talal Debs commented, Now more than ever, stakeholders throughout the voluntary carbon marketplace are determined to pinpoint investment opportunities that not only make a positive impact on public health, but are also verified by trusted, third-party agents. By providing TUV SUDs expert teams access to review Zefiro projects that safeguard key air, water, and land resources across the United States, our team is confident that we will receive the certifications needed to quickly expand our portfolio of high-quality, ACRcarbon-listed projects. Zefiro Chief Commercial Officer Tina Reine commented, TUV SUDs reputation throughout the energy sector as capable, independent evaluators of offset products is unquestioned. As Zefiros teams of environmental remediation specialists continue to expand their operational footprint across North America, I am excited that TUV SUDs commitment to reviewing their work will soon lead to the issuance of innovative, methane abatement-oriented credits that can help drive the marketplace for years to come. Zefiro Methane Corp. also announces that it has entered into a 12-month online marketing agreement dated March 10, 2025 with Insider Buying Inc. (InsiderBuying.com), providing the Company with investor relations, advertising, and promotional services designed to elevate its presence among value investors, investment advisors, and institutional equity investors. Under the terms of this online marketing agreement, Zefiro will be paying CAD $75,000 up front and CAD $25,000 at the end of each month for the next five months starting April 2025. Reporters/Media: For any questions or to arrange an interview with Ms. Reine, 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/65d20363-61b3-493e-8334-7ea1634ca83f Yukon Metals Corp. (CSE: YMC) (FSE: E770) (OTC: YMMCF) ("Yukon Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that in connection with its previously announced "best efforts" private placement, the Company and Cormark Securities Inc. together with Canaccord Genuity Corp. (the "Co-Agents"), have agreed to increase the size of the previously announced private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of up to approximately C$10 million (the "Offering"). The Offering will consist of the issuance and sale of 18,181,818 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of C$0.55 per Unit (the "Issue Price"). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (each, a "Unit Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to purchase one common share of the Company (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of C$0.80 at any time before 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the date that is 36 months following the Closing Date (as defined below). The Company has granted the Co-Agents an option, exercisable in whole or in part, at any time prior to 48 hours before the Closing Date, to increase the size of the Offering to raise additional gross proceeds of up to C$1,500,000. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), the Units will be offered for sale to purchasers resident in Canada, except Quebec, or other qualifying jurisdictions pursuant to one or more of the following exemptions from the prospectus requirement under National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"): (i) the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106 (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"); and (ii) other available exemptions under NI 45-106. To the extent that any Units exceed the maximum value of securities permitted to be sold pursuant to the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption, such Units shall be offered and sold by way of a concurrent private placement in reliance on other available exemptions from the prospectus requirements under applicable securities laws. The Co-Agents will also be entitled to offer the Units for sale in the United States pursuant to available exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and in certain other jurisdictions outside of Canada and the United States provided it is understood that no prospectus filing or comparable obligation, ongoing reporting requirement or requisite regulatory or governmental approval arises in such other jurisdictions. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or available exemptions from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to acquire securities in any jurisdiction. There is an amended and restated offering document with respect to the portion of the Offering being conducted pursuant to the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and the Company's website at https://yukonmetals.com/. Purchasers of Units issued under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption will have the benefit of the amended and restated offering document and the rights provided under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption. Prospective investors of Units issued under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption should read this amended and restated offering document before making an investment decision. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Offering is expected to close on or about April 9, 2025, or on such other date as may be agreed to by the Company and the Co-Agents, subject to compliance with applicable securities laws (the "Closing Date"). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the closing of any Units issued pursuant to the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption must occur no later than the 45th day after the news release dated March 26, 2025. The completion of the Offering is subject to customary conditions, including, but not limited to, the negotiation of an agency agreement between the parties with respect to the Offering and the receipt of all necessary approvals, inclusive of (if applicable) the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. About Yukon Metals Corp. Yukon Metals is well financed and represents a property portfolio built on over 30 years of prospecting by the Berdahl family, the prospecting team behind Snowline Gold's portfolio of primary gold assets. The Yukon Metals portfolio consists primarily of copper-gold and silver-lead-zinc assets, with a substantial gold and silver component. The Company is led by an experienced Board of Directors and Management Team across technical and finance disciplines. Yukon Metals is focused on fostering sustainable growth and prosperity within Yukon's local communities, while simultaneously enhancing stakeholder value. Our strategy centers around inclusivity and shared prosperity, offering both community members and investors the chance to contribute to, and benefit from, our ventures. The Yukon The Yukon ranks 10th most prospective for mineral potential across global jurisdictions according to the Fraser Institute's 2023 Survey of Mining Companies and is host to a highly experienced and conscientious local workforce, fostered by a long culture of exploration coupled with deep respect for the land. Recent major discoveries with local roots such as Snowline Gold's Rogue Project - Valley Discovery, demonstrate the Yukon's potential to generate fresh district-scale mining opportunities. "ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF YUKON METALS CORP." "Rory Quinn" Rory Quinn President & CEO Email: roryquinn@yukonmetals.com Phone: 604-366-4408 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the closing of the Offering, the timing of the closing of the Offering, the use of proceeds from the Offering, the receipt of regulatory approvals and future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company. Although the Company believes that such forward-looking 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: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and risks, including, uncertainties with respect to obtaining all regulatory approvals to complete the Offering, uncertainties of the global economy, market fluctuations, the discretion of the Company in respect to the use of proceeds discussed above, any exercise of termination by counterparties under applicable agreements, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, the Yukon having the potential to generate fresh district-scale mining opportunities and other risks identified in its disclosure documents filed at www.sedarplus.ca. This news release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities in Canada or in the United States. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual events, results and/or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances, except in accordance with and as required by applicable securities laws. /Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. Not an offer of securities for sale in the United States/ SOURCE Yukon Metals Corp. For additional information, please contact: Kaeli Gattens, Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications, Yukon Metals Corp., Email: kaeligattens@yukonmetals.com, Website: www.yukonmetals.com Syd Kitson is an ex-NFL guard for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. He's also a real estate developer and the hopeful, optimistic developer of Babcock Ranch, the first almost entirely solar-powered town in the country.Kitson has been planning the development of this southwest Florida community for more than a decade. In 2006, he purchased the Babcock Preserve from the Babcock family and almost immediately sold 73,000 acres -- 80 percent of the land -- back to the state to retain its nature preservation status. For the remaining 20 percent of the land, he hatched an ambitious plan.Its going to be a thriving community, with several thousand people living here, Kitson says of his vision for the town, located just outside Fort Myers. I want to be driving down the road [one day] in an autonomous vehicle and see people walking, riding bikes, eating at our farm-to-table restaurant, running businesses, kids walking to school.The way Kitson imagines it, the town will eventually house up to 50,000 residents in 19,500 homes -- almost 100 percent powered by solar energy. To that end, Kitson donated 440 acres of land to a Florida power utility, which outfitted it with solar panels that generate 75 megawatts of electricity. Soon, the utility will generate 150 megawatts. On average, each megawatt is enough to power 164 homes The panels are hooked up to the main grid, so that any excess power can be used by other utility customers outside of Babcock Ranch. Currently, Kitson says, Babcock Ranch is putting more energy into the grid than its taking out."I cant see how thats not a huge win for everybody, Kitson told CityLab The homes themselves are also directly hooked up to the utility's grid, allowing them to have power during evening hours when the sun is down.People began moving there in January, living in small neighborhoods filled with houses still under construction. Jim and Donna Aveck were two of the citys first buyers. They moved into their newly built home in mid-January, more than a decade after hearing Kitson present his vision for a solar-powered city.All the way back in 2006, Jim and I left that meeting absolutely in love with the vision. For 12 years, weve been looking forward to this coming to fruition, says Donna Aveck.Crews first broke ground on the town in 2015, but Kitson says it would have been earlier if not for the financial crisis. About 20 families have so far moved their belongings in, with about 100 expected by the end of the year. In 20 years, when the land is fully populated, Kitson plans to incorporate.Babcock Ranch doesn't have all the features of a typical American city, but it does already have a publicschool, which currently enrolls 156 students (all of whom currently live outside the town), a gym and a community swimming pool, a gastropub that serves locally-grown organic food, and a co-working space.The town has also started testing a driverless bus network . Kitson hopes that will eventually will be a major mode of transportation for the towns residents.Every home is outfitted with the fastest internet available, and metal roofs are installed for temperature control (a necessity during hot and humid Florida summers). All the vegetation is native, and all the irrigation water is reclaimed.Kitson wants to prove sustainable development is not only possible in the state of Florida but also economical. He says installation of the fiber optic cables, for example, added no extra cost because they were able to lay them down at the same time they were building out the rest of the city.When you look at Florida, we have 1,000 people a day moving into the state. By 2030, there will be 26 million people living here, he says. "If were going to grow, we have to grow the right way. Our greatest asset in Florida is our natural resources, and we have to preserve them. SCO military meeting held in east China's Qingdao Xinhua) 09:43, March 28, 2025 BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The first meeting of International Military Cooperation Organs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States for 2025 was held from Wednesday to Thursday in China's eastern port city of Qingdao, a Chinese defense spokesperson said Thursday. The meeting was hosted by China's Ministry of National Defense and attended by over 30 representatives from defense ministries of the SCO member states and the SCO Secretariat, ministry spokesperson Wu Qian told a press conference. Wu said the participants had in-depth exchanges on deepening defense and security cooperation within the SCO framework and expressed willingness to maintain close communication to prepare for the upcoming SCO Defense Ministers' Meeting to be held in China. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Vasseur declines to judge Red Bull over Lawson axe Frederic Vasseur has turned down an opportunity to "judge" Formula 1 rival Red Bull for dumping Liam Lawson after just two grands prix. Frederic Vasseur, Chinese GP 2025 Ferrari Today, the Frenchman leads Ferrari's iconic F1 team, but he is also well known for his days in junior formula management - helping to develop future stars like Lewis Hamilton and many others. But when asked if he would ever drop a driver after two races, Vasseur told L'Equipe: "This is a typical Red Bull story, but you have no idea how difficult it is to assess the processes that are happening in a team. "We don't know what's going on there and what made them take that decision. There could be billions of reasons for that, known only to the team and the individual driver. And sometimes even the driver doesn't know them. So I would rather not comment, Vasseur added. "I probably feel that it is too harsh to make such decisions after only two races. But at the same time, we do not have even 10 percent of the information, so it is better not to try to judge anyone. I hate it when people try to judge us, so I will not judge others. Privately, Vasseur may be thanking Red Bull for taking the focus off Ferrari in the wake of the Chinese GP - where both red cars were disqualified for technical infringements. Vasseur admits Ferrari was too aggressive with its weight and floor wear settings and decisions, but former driver Rene Arnoux defended the Maranello based team. Ferrari wasn't trying to cheat, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I categorically rule that out. If (Charles) Leclerc's car had been ten kilos too light, or if Hamilton's car had been in blatant violation, then ok, we'd have to question that. But this was a matter of nuance - a random anomaly. Others, however, criticise Ferrari for hyping up Hamilton's arrival to stratospheric heights, only to ultimately fail to deliver. People say 'Ah, you made a lot of noise with Lewis this winter' - but no, Vasseur hits back. It was the press who made a lot of noise. We didn't ask for anything. We took a photo. We didn't even do an interview. We didn't even do the launch in Maranello. Another result of the Hamilton mania is that Leclerc has been completely overshadowed. He is less in the spotlight, it's true, Vasseur said. "But that gives him more time for himself, to do other things, to be with his engineers. So there is some good in this situation. There will perhaps be a little frustration, a little jealousy, but I think Charles is intelligent enough to understand the situation and see the positive side of all of this. He can commit 100 percent to achieving the sporting objective. (GMM) Next article: Ghana Revenue Authority explains why it freezes accounts of taxpayers Previous article: How will car firms be affected by Trump's tariffs? Construction of Palladium Residence takes off Business Desk Report Business News Mar - 28 - 2025 , 10:30 Ghanas urban areas are expanding rapidly, and with this growth comes an increasing demand for housing that meets modern standards of sustainability. As urbanisation accelerates, the environmental strain of traditional housing developments has become more apparent. Issues such as inefficient energy use, poor waste management, and high carbon emissions are driving the need for a shift toward more sustainable housing solutions. To meet the needs of todays environmentally conscious homeowners, Yaw Addo Development Limited (YADL) has launched its latest residential development with a sod-cutting and groundbreaking ceremony in Accra. Dubbed: The Palladium Residences the new mixed-use development in partnership with Construction Logistics Limited and Pegasus Realty Ghana located at ABC Junction in Achimota aims to offer a blend of residential and commercial spaces within a self-sustaining community. It will feature 24 four-bedroom townhouses alongside a 70-unit apartment complex offering one, two, and three-bedroom options. The development is tailored for middle-class families and professionals, to provide them with an opportunity to own high-quality homes through flexible payment plans. It will also feature a range of smart home technologies, powered primarily by solar energy, to enhance the convenience, security, and efficiency of everyday living. The design incorporates green spaces, state-of-the-art amenities, and cutting-edge security systems, ensuring that the development is not just a residence but a vibrant, inclusive community. Commitment to sustainability Speaking at the event on Wednesday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of YADL, Dr Benjamin Otchere, highlighted the companys vision for the future of housing in Ghana. He explained that YADL has been at the forefront of Ghanas real estate sector for over a decade, known for projects such as Painite Residences in Dzorwulu, Strawberry Vale in Abelenkpe, and Platinum Place in Ridge. These developments, he said, have not only redefined luxury but also transformed their respective neighbourhoods, raising the standard for modern urban living. Today, we take a bold lead for the palladium residences in Achimota, our newest most innovative development to date. Palladium is more than just luxury living, it is a powerful statement, a statement that modern homes can be both opulent and eco-conscious, that technology can evaluate everyday life and that community living should be secure, inclusive and vibrant, he said. Dr Otchere reaffirmed YADLs commitment to creating communities that thrive on the pillars of innovation, environmental responsibility, and exceptional design. Affordability The BDM of Pegasus Realty, Jessica Zwennes, emphasized the companys commitment to bridging Ghanas housing deficit. Our goal is to offer modern, high-quality living spaces that remain accessible to hardworking Ghanaians. Palladium Residences is designed with affordability, convenience, and long-term value in mind, she said. Previous article: Time for Africa, developing world to get veto at UN Security Council Another Ides of March passes March 15, 2025 Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (Rtd) Opinion Mar - 28 - 2025 , 09:57 6 minutes read Feedback from my recent article There is no art to find the minds construction in the face has been interesting. Indeed, one from my pharmacist big-sister read this article has rekindled my love for Literature quotes, especially Shakespeare Is this a dagger that I see before me, with its handle towards my hand? Come, let me clutch you. She followed it up with more quotes! When I asked how she knew so many Shakespearean quotes, she told me that though she was a science student at O-Level in 1971, she also studied English Literature. Her love for Shakespeare has never waned. Similarly, a colleague, another science graduate, rattled out Macbeths words on hearing of his wife Lady Macbeths death: She should have died hereafter. There would have been a time for such a word. For tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time. And all our yesterdays are but lighted fools, the way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing! With the passing quietly of March 15, 2025, another Shakespearean quote welled up in my mind, taking me back to my March 2021 article titled, Beware the ides of March, which read as follows: As I autographed a copy of my book Retirement Musings for the young Major, I asked for a confirmation of the date. Today is March 15, 2021, Sir, he said. Wow! Beware the ides of March! I exclaimed instinctively, leaving the Major in wonderment about what I meant! Julius Caesar is a Shakespearean tragedy we loved quoting from in school. It was based on the life of the Roman General/Statesman Julius Caesar. Some of the quotes were: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones. by Mark Anthony in his eulogy of Caesar. Et tu Brute? (And you too, Brutus?) by Caesar after his closest friend Brutus stabbed him. Beware the ides of March by a soothsayer/Caesars wife. Rubicon crossed. The die is cast (alea iacta est) by Caesar daring the Roman Senate. Ides of March Monday, March 15, 2021, was the Ides of March in the Roman calendar. It was the day in 44 BC when Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times to death by a group of senators led by his bosom-friend Brutus. Roman history states that a soothsayer earlier warned him not to go out on the Ides of March, March 15, 44 BC, a warning reinforced by his wife. Beware the Ides of March subsequently became synonymous with being warned, but displaying pig-headed obstinacy going against advice and paying with ones life, as happened to Caesar. Starting his military career as a teenager, Caesar rose to become a general. Considered a threat by Pompey, the Head of State,/equivalent of the Roman Republic, Caesar was sent out of the Republic to Gaul in Northern Italy to fight. Rome and Gaul were separated by the shallow River Rubicon. After Caesar completed his Gaullic campaigns, Pompey ordered him to demobilise his army before returning to Rome. Caesar refused and subsequently crossed the Rubicon, declaring alea iacta est (the die is cast), his final act of throwing down the gauntlet at Pompey! During the week, TV news showed pictures of the island separating the two sides of the Accra-Tema Motorway, being illegally and dangerously crisscrossed. It also reminded me of my stay in Uganda over 12 years ago, where I served as the Senior Military Adviser to the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, President Chissano of Mozambique. Reacting to daily screaming newspaper headlines of murders, I asked a colleague why the murders. His answer was simple, When laws fail to be applied because of political influences, indiscipline and impunity take over. He also lamented the concentration of power in one hand. That sounded familiar! When the 1992 Constitution was promulgated, analysts opined that, like the Ugandan case, our Constitution was designed for one person. Otherwise, how could virtually all power be concentrated in the President? In 2012, President Mills created a Constitution Review Committee headed by the venerable Professor of Law, Dr Fiadjoe. A flaw which many Ghanaians hoped would be corrected early was the requirement for a majority of ministers to come from Parliament. A question that arose was, how could new MPs who were made ministers combine the two jobs effectively, being simultaneously legislators and executors/implementers? Meanwhile, Ghana still awaits the implementation of the Fiadjoe Report! Conclusion On Thursday, March 18, 2021, Ghanas foremost playwright, Ebo Whyte, in his bi-weekly radio-presentation, submitted that, despite the semblance of development, Ghana is sliding backwards. Indiscipline shows at all levels of Ghanaian society! Uncle Ebo stated that we have lost our sense of shame and moral compass. For example, young girls bragging about their affairs with big men evoke no shame. oung men insult adults old enough to be their fathers/grandfathers in the name of politics. Road traffic indiscipline resulting in carnage on our roads appears to have gained acceptability as normal. Disgraceful open defecation is part of us! No country has succeeded by brandishing indiscipline/impunity the way we are! Singapore/Rwanda did not! On Friday, March 19, 2021, the World Bank lamented Ghanas premature de-industrialisation! For an import-substituting country, which under President Nkrumah before the 1966 coup produced car tyres, jute-bags, glass, matches/machetes, canned fruits/vegetables and had Ghana Airways and Black Star Shipping Line, our current manufacturing input of only four per cent contribution to GDP is sad! Ghana! Beware the Ides of March! We are on a slippery slope. Unlike Julius Caesar, listen to good advice from Ghanaians, irrespective of political persuasion. Ghana belongs to all Ghanaians. Comments With over 6000 schools under trees, open defecation, bad roads making the 250 km Accra-Kumasi journey take six hours, galamsey devastating the environment with rivers becoming sludges of lead, mercury and cyanide, it is shocking that, a selfish misplaced priority should suggest the building of a bigger chamber and a hospital for MPs, while many Ghanaians wallow in poverty. As the South African writer Alan Paton titled his book we read in Form 2 in 1966 in secondary school, cry the beloved country! Why do we give credence to apartheid South Africa President Pik Bothas insulting description of us in Michael Merediths The Fate of Africa, running with begging bowls to the IMF/others, only to waste on self-aggrandisement? Leadership, lead with Integrity! Fellow Ghanaians, wake up! The writer is a former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association, Nairobi, Kenya/Council Chairman, Family Health University, Accra. E-mail: [email protected] President Mahama briefs Tinubu on diplomatic efforts with Sahel nations GraphicOnline International News Mar - 28 - 2025 , 11:38 2 minutes read Ghanas President, John Dramani Mahama, paid an official visit to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House in Abuja on Thursday, March 27, 2025, marking his first official trip to Nigeria since assuming office on January 7. The meeting focused on regional security and diplomatic engagements with the military juntas of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Mahama, who also serves as the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), emphasised the importance of sustained dialogue in addressing tensions between the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and ECOWAS. I came to thank him for the honour done me during my inauguration but also to brief him on the visits to the Sahelian countriesBurkina Faso, Mali, and Nigerand to bring him up to date with some of the issues and to discuss with him. As ECOWAS chairman, its my duty to come and brief him on some of the concerns that were raised there so that we continue to dialogue with those other countries," Mahama stated. He acknowledged the complexity of the situation but expressed optimism that continued discussions would lead to a resolution. Well, its a complicated situation, and its not as easy as we think. We just need to continue to dialogue and see how we can continue to dialogue together, he added. In response, President Tinubu commended Mahama's diplomatic efforts, describing them as crucial to maintaining regional stability. I feel good that he is here in the first place. I am indeed very happy with the efforts he has made to have a bridge between the AES countries and ECOWAS. Its not a bad idea for us because of the security situation in the Sahel region and what economic opportunity that we must embark on to ensure security of lives and prosperity of our citizens, Tinubu said. The Nigerian leader also reaffirmed his commitment to promoting peace and fostering economic cooperation across West Africa. The meeting comes months after Tinubu visited Mahama in Accra following the Ghanaian leaders victory in the December 2024 presidential elections. Next article: Niger coup leader Abdourahamane Tchiani sworn in as President for five years VOAs Shaka Ssali passes away at 71 GraphicOnline International News Mar - 28 - 2025 , 07:08 1 minute read Veteran journalist and longtime host of Straight Talk Africa, Shaka Ssali, has passed away at the age of 71, just two weeks shy of his 72nd birthday. "We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Shaka Ssali, the longtime host of VOA's Straight Talk Africa. Ssali, a revered journalist and broadcaster, passed away at the age of 71, two weeks shy of his 72nd birthday, leaving behind an indelible legacy in African journalism. For more than two decades, Ssali was the face and voice of Straight Talk Africa, where he engaged African leaders, analysts, and citizens in critical discussions on democracy, governance, and development. His insightful interviews and unwavering commitment to press freedom earned him widespread respect across the continent and beyond," VOA said in a statement. For over two decades, Ssali was the face of Straight Talk Africa, engaging African leaders, analysts, and citizens in critical conversations on democracy, governance, and development. His incisive interviews and unwavering commitment to press freedom earned him widespread respect across the continent and beyond. Born in Kabale, Uganda, Ssali was deeply dedicated to truth and accountability. His work inspired African youth and shaped discussions on key issues affecting the continent. His passing has left his family, friends, and millions of viewers mourning the loss of a media icon whose voice resonated every week across Africa. EPA alerts of widespread flooding as rainy season approaches Beatrice Laryea Mar - 28 - 2025 , 11:56 2 minutes read The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has issued a warning about potential widespread flooding in several regions as the rainy season draws near. The Acting CEO of the EPA, Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, urged an immediate halt to the encroachment of wetlands to help reduce the adverse effects of anticipated floods. Speaking to the media after her inaugural lecture at the University of Ghana on Thursday, March 27, 2025, Prof. Klutse stressed the importance of halting construction on Ramsar sites to protect vulnerable areas from the impact of floods. Her remarks come after heavy rainfall and a storm on Tuesday, March 26, which led to flooding in parts of the Greater Accra Region. The storm also caused trees and billboards to collapse, resulting in damage to vehicles. We see flooding happening, and this year, we are going to have a lot of flooding happening. Two days ago or even yesterday [Wednesday, March 26], we had heavy rain for a short period, but heavy and stormy," she said. These are some of the extreme events we are going to be having this year, and we need to prepare our adaptation plan so that we can survive the impacts when they happen. There are a few things we do that actually cause us the flooding. We have to stop building on waterways. So no matter how heavy it rains, water should find its way running into wetlands or areas that are supposed to store water, Prof. Klutse added. Prof. Klutse, former Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Ghana, delivered the lecture titled "Physics, Policy, and Politics of Climate Change: The Foundation of Human Survival." The lecture brought together many prominent personalities, including the Vice President of the Republic, H E Prof Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang. 30 Security personnel undergo training to prevent violent extremism Gilbert Mawuli Agbey Mar - 28 - 2025 , 09:57 2 minutes read A two-day capacity-building training workshop has been organised for security personnel towards preventing violent extremism in the Upper East Region. It was organised by the National Peace Council (NPC), in partnership with the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), with funding support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The training formed part of the three-year phase II implementation of the Preventing Violent Extremism through Social Accountability (PoTVESA) project, which seeks to strengthen the relationship between civilians and security agencies in the fight against violent extremism. In line with the project, a total of 150 security personnel are expected to be trained in the five northern regions, namely Upper East, North-East, Northern, Savannah and Upper West. The personnel are drawn from the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, National Intelligence Bureau, Ghana National Fire Service and the Narcotic Control Commission (NACOC). Speaking at the training in Bolgatanga, the Deputy Director in charge of conflict management, National Peace Council, Frank Wilson Bodza, said the training had become necessary to help prevent a spillover of violent extremism into the country. He stated that due to the numerous chieftaincy and tribal conflicts in northern Ghana, it was essential for the security personnel to be well-equipped with additional expertise and skills to enable them to prevent extremists from taking advantage of the conflicts to foment trouble. He said, As part of improving the countrys security, we thought it wise to engage the security officers through the training, in a bid to improve upon their competencies to enable them to manage conflict situations better. He added that in conflict situations, security personnel should act with a human face in the discharge of their professional duties, saying, This is to prevent them from any excesses in managing conflict issues. He expressed optimism that the training would go a long way to ensure perpetual peace in the country for the ultimate benefit of Ghanaians, stressing the existence of peace in the country is a prerequisite for achieving growth and development. Several initiatives The Project Manager, PoVESTA II, CRS, Adelaide Yireyelleh, said the training formed part of several initiatives to be embarked upon in CRSs quest to improve the relationship between civilians and security personnel. She stated that improving trust relations between security officers and the people would go a long way toward combating violent extremism and safeguarding Ghanas peace and security. Writers email: [email protected] Chief Justice Torkornoo: Serve me with copies of petitions asking for my removal to enable me respond Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson Mar - 28 - 2025 , 07:52 8 minutes read The Member of Parliament (MP) for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has filed a lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to declare as null and void the ongoing process which could lead to the removal of the Chief Justice, Justice Getrude Sackey Torkornoo, from office. The MP, in the writ filed at the apex court yesterday, is asking the Supreme Court to declare as null and void President John Dramani Mahamas decision to forward the petitions seeking the removal of the Chief Justice to the Council of State for consultation. The writ was filed against the Attorney-General (A-G) by the lawyer for the MP, Godfred Yeboah Dame, the immediate past A-G. Related articles President Mahamas CJ removal procedure challenged with application at Supreme Court Counsel for the Old Tafo MP is also in another motion at the same court seeking an interlocutory injunction restraining the President and the Council of State the from proceeding on the consultation processes for the removal of the Chief Justice under Article 146 or in any manner until the hearing and final determination of the instant action. The application for the interlocatory injunction would be moved on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. In another development, the Chief Justice has written to the President requesting to be given copies of the petitions against her submitted to the President before conclusions of consultations between the President and the Council of State under Article 146(6). Justice Torkornoo bases her request on the common law principle of natural justice, (audi alteram partem) where a defendent must be given hearing before proceeding to arrive at a decision. Respectfully, as you are no doubt aware, it is the most fundamental precept of the common law and our constitutional dispensation ingrained into the justice delivery process, that no consideration that affects the rights of a defendant can be made unless the defendant has been given notice of the contents of a charge, and an opportunity to respond to them. Further, no defendant can be subjected to a trial unless the preliminary process of receiving their response has been adhercd to, Justice Torkornoo wrote in her request. Reliefs The substantive application of Mr Assafuah, the plaintiff argued that the President was enjoined by various provisions in the 1992 Constitution to have first notified the Chief Justice about the petitions in order to obtain her comments and responses before forwarding same to the Council of State for consultation. Failure to notify the Chief Justice, the plaintiff argued in his reliefs, was not only unconstitutional but also against the rules of natural justice that required giving persons accused of wrongdoings a fair hearing. The MP, as of yesterday, was, however, yet to file his statement of case that would set out the legal arguments underpinning his writ. As part of his reliefs, he is further asking the Supreme Court for a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Articles 146(1), (2), (4), (6) and (7), 23, 57(3) and 296 of the Constitution, the President is mandated to notify the Chief Justice about a petition for the removal of the Chief Justice and obtain his or her comments and responses to the content of such petition before referring the petition to the Council of State or commencing the consultation processes with the Council of State for the removal of the Chief Justice. He is also seeking a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Articles 146(1), (2), (4), (6) and (7), 23 and 296 of the Constitution, a failure by the President to notify the Chief Justice and obtain his or her comments and responses to a petition for the removal of the Chief Justice before triggering the consultation process with the Council of State constitutes a violation of Article 146(6) as well as the constitutional protection of the security of tenure of the Chief Justice who is a Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature stipulated in Article 146(1) of the Constitution. Mr Assafuah is further seeking a declaration that a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Articles 146(1), (2), (4), (6) and (7), 23, 57(3) and 296 of the Constitution, a failure by the President to notify the Chief Justice and obtain his or her comments and responses to a petition for the removal of the Chief Justice before triggering the consultation process with the Council of State amounts to an unjustified interference with the independence of the Judiciary enshrined in Article 127(1) and (2) of the Constitution. The plaintiff further wants the highest court of the land to declare that the failure by the President to notify the Chief Justice and obtain her comments and responses to a petition for the removal of the Chief Justice before triggering the process for her removal constitutes a violation of the fundamental right to a fair hearing contained in Articles 23 and 296, and renders the consultation processes for the removal of the Chief Justice initiated by the President null, void and of no effect. Impeachment process Article 146 of the Constitution stipulates that a Justice of the Superior Courts can only be removed from office for stated misbehaviour or incompetence or on grounds of inability to perform the functions of his office arising from infirmity of body or mind. In view of the Supreme Courts decision in Frank Agyei Twum vs Attorney-General, if the petition is for the removal of the Chief Justice, it is sent to the President, who forwards it to the Council of State for consultation on the determination of a prima facie case. Indeed, in Article 146(6), the Constitution states that Where the petition is for the removal of the Chief Justice, the President shall, acting in consultation with the Council of State, appoint a committee consisting of two Justices of the Supreme Court, one of whom shall be appointed chairman by the President, and three other persons who are not members of the Council of State, nor members of Parliament, nor lawyers if a prima facie case is established. The committee will inquire into the petition and make recommendation to the President whether the Chief Justice should be removed or not. The President is bound to act in accordance with the recommendations of the committee. CJs request The CJ submitted that her request was also in line with the fundamental rights of citizens under Articles 19, 23, and 296 of the 1992 Constitution, and all decisions in Ghana's jurisprudence. Up to date on 27th March, 2025, I have not been shown the three petitions mentioned in the communication of 25th March, 2025 or given an opportunity to respond to them, which material is expected to form the premise for the consultations between the Council of State and His Excellency the President under Article 146 (6), as to whether there is a need to set up the Committee of Inquiry described in Article 146 (6) and 146 (7) for the trial of any issues raised, Justice Torkornoo submitted. She explained that, just like when a petition for removal of a Superior Court Judge under Article 146 (1) was forwarded to the Chief Justice, the first requirement of due process was for the CJ to bring the petition to the attention of the accused judge, and to obtain their response to the petition, as of right afforded every citizen in justice delivery. In my time as Chief Justice, I have handled five such petitions for removal of superior court judges, and heard from them before determining whether a prima facie case has been made against them to merit the setting up of the investigative committee provided for under Article 146 (4), she stated. Justice Torkornoo further submitted that it was the combination of the evidence in the petition and the response of the judge that guided the CJ to determine, as a sole enquirer under Article 146 (3), whether a prima facie case had been established against the judge, to merit the setting up of the investigative committee to conduct a hearing of the complaint against the judge. Respectfully, in the case of the Chief Justice, please allow me to submit that it is the combination of the evidence in the petition and the response of the Chief Justice that provides the material for consultation between His Excellency the President and eminent members of the Council of State under Article 146 (6), she argued. Justice Torkornoo believes that those two sources served to guide whether a prima facie case had been established, such that a Committee of Inquiry should be set up under Article 146 (7) to inquire into whether the CJ may be removed from office, citing the direction of the Supreme Court in the case of Agyei-Twum v Attorney-General and Akwettey (2005-2006] SCGLR 732. Background Last Tuesday, the Spokesperson to the President and Minister of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, released a statement announcing that President Mahama had forwarded to the Council of State for consultation three petitions seeking the removal of Justice Torkornoo. The statement explained that the move by President Mahama was in line with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution. Article 146 governs the processes for the removal of Justices of the Superior Courts, the Chief Justice and persons whose offices are analogous with Justices of the Superior Courts such as the Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersons of the Electoral Commission and Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice. Writers email: [email protected] Fish farming now trending in Ho Alberto Mario Noretti Mar - 28 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read With an abundance of fertile lands and no outstanding rivers, the Ho municipality is better known for crop cultivation with bountiful harvests at the end of the farming season. For years, fishing has not been among the primary economic activities in the area. In recent times, however, fish farming has been trending in the municipality with great zeal and enthusiasm, with ready markets for the fish. This is because more entrepreneurs are turning to the construction of fishponds on available lands for serious business. There are now about 20 of such ponds in the municipality One such enterprise is the Biss Farm at Sokode-Lokoe, near Ho, which began on a humble note in 2023 with five ponds. Growing from strength to strength over time, it now has 10 ponds. Catfish The popular fish farm produces catfish, a diverse group of ray-finned fish, named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cats whiskers. Some catfish in a pond at the Biss Farm, Sokode-Lokoe Each pond on the farm is often stocked with 1,000 fingerlings and gets restocked with the same number from time to time. The farms customers include market women, members of the public in Ho, Accra, other parts of the country and Lome in Togo. During a visit to the farm last Thursday, the owner of the estate, Billy Sunnu, said the demand for catfish from the farm kept soaring by the day. To meet the demand of the customers, he said, the farm had now acquired a vast land at nearby Adaklu-Vodze to put up 150 more fish ponds. Mr Sunnu said the customers were mostly hotels, schools, restaurants, organisers of funerals, weddings and other big events. Fish food To ensure constant supplies, the farm produces fish food on a small scale to supplement the feed it purchases from Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, and processes some of the fish on the farm for ready consumption. Already, we have a corn mill, and we will soon start producing feed for the fish on a much larger scale, Mr Sunnu said. He said there were bright prospects for fish farming in the municipality because the market for fish was very wide. Challenges Touching on challenges, Mr Sunnu said the fish feed came at high cost. Billy Sunnu (3rd from left), owner of Biss Farm at Sokode-Lokoe with staff Apart from that, you must sell the fish in good time, otherwise you keep feeding them, incurring more cost, he added. That, notwithstanding, Mr Sunnu said the farm would vigorously pursue its plan to expand as widely as possible. He said the Biss Farm was also looking at markets in Togo, Benin and eastern Nigeria in the short and medium term. As part of its social responsibility, Biss Farm is training students from the Sokode Senior High Technical School in fish farming, for free, Mr Sunnu told this reporter. He said the Biss Farm was doing well with only five workers, adding that the workforce was set to increase with the soaring demand for fish from the farm. Mr Sunnu said any support for the farm in the form of soft loans and grants from the government, corporate bodies, investors and public-spirited individuals would definitely be a worthy cause in the interest of humanity. A fishmonger, Davi Aku, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, said it was relieving now buying fish without having to travel to Accra or other parts of the country. "I also get the fish in good time," she said. FSRP initiates programmes to boost intra-West Africa trade Pacome Emmanuel Damalie Mar - 28 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read As part of measures to address food insecurity in the ECOWAS sub-region, the West Africa Food Systems Resilience Programme (FSRP) has initiated a programme to enhance trade among countries in the sub-region. The Project Coordinator of FSRP in Ghana, Michael Osei Owusu Agyeman, who was speaking at the opening session of a national validation of ECOWAS Agricultural Trade and Market Scorecard (EATMS) in Accra, said the programme was anchored on sustainability, ownership and public-private partnership. He said the World Bank funded programme had three operational components - focus on application of technology in agriculture, strengthening food system and promoting trade and commerce among countries in West Africa. The project coordinator underscored the importance of trade and commerce in the food system, particularly in the context of regional trade between Ghana and its neighbours. He said agricultural trade was volatile and relatively low in the ECOWAS region, as compared to other regional economic organisations (RECs) in Africa. Mr Agyeman said intra-regional trade of food crops accounted for about 12 per cent of total production within ECOWAS member states, adding that the full implementation of the EATMS was expected to increase trade in the sub-region from 10 per cent to 40 per cent by 2030. Trade harmonisation The Representative of the World Bank (WB) on the FSRP, Dr Ashwini Rheka Sebastian, said the bank was injecting some $1.2 billion into the initiative to help address trade barriers and constraints in the sub-region. She said the programme had identified a lack of information on trade barriers in the region, particularly in major trade corridors and commodities such as rice, soy, maize, poultry and tomatoes. Dr Sebastian said the validation of the EATMS, a flagship initiative that aimed to identify and address trade barriers in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo, Chad and Niger, would help address such issues. She said the next step was for the countries to validate their scores at the ECOWAS Ministerial Council in June, identify trade barriers and discuss ways to address them. Dr Sebastian also called for the dissemination of knowledge gained from EATMS to traders, inspectors, decision-makers and policymakers at the country level. Commitment The Minister of Agriculture, Eric Opoku, in a speech read on his behalf by his Technical Advisor, Kwesi Etu Bondeh, reaffirmed the governments commitment to strengthening regional trade in West Africa, with focus on removing barriers and enhancing trade connectivity. He said Ghana, a significant member of ECOWAS, had been actively supporting regional integration efforts, adding that it had been part of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), which was launched in 1979 to foster regional trade in agriculture and unprocessed products. President John Mahama has announced ongoing discussions to introduce direct daily flights between Accra and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and also strengthen diplomatic and economic relationships with neighbouring countries, the minister added. Next article: Latex Foam donates to Chief Imam for Eid NIB smashes $350 million cocaine haul Suleiman Mustapha Mar - 28 - 2025 , 08:03 3 minutes read In a groundbreaking operation, the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) has intercepted a staggering 3,319.66 kilogrammes (3.3 tonnes) of substances suspected to be cocaine, with a street value of approximately $350 million. The massive haul was concealed in sacks and bags cleverly hidden in heaps of sand in a tipper truck to evade detection. However, the vigilant NIB operatives were able to uncover the illicit cargo, marking a significant milestone in the country's fight against narcotics. The tipper truck was arrested at Pedu Junction in Cape Coast in the Central Region en route to Accra. The interception of the over 3,300kg of cocaine is a significant achievement, marking about the largest cocaine seizures in the countrys history. The driver of the tipper truck, 39-year-old Isaac Quaicoo, and his mate, Kenneth Cobbinah, a 25-year-old tertiary level student, are currently in custody, assisting the NIB with investigations. Upon offloading the sand, authorities retrieved 143 distinctly marked sacks, collectively weighing 2,974kg. Preliminary field testing conducted by the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) confirmed the substance as cocaine. Further intelligence-led investigations led NIB operatives to the residence of a suspect, where a subsequent search on March 8, 2025 uncovered an additional 13 sacks and one bag of suspected cocaine, weighing 345.07kg. Laboratory analyses conducted by NACOC and the Ghana Standards Authority have confirmed the seized substances to be high-purity cocaine, with a purity level ranging from 50 per cent to 70 per cent, NIB sources told the Daily Graphic. The suspects are scheduled to reappear in court on April 2, 2025. Accomplices Meanwhile, the NIB has identified additional accomplices currently on the run, and is actively pursuing their arrest to ensure all individuals involved face justice. Investigators have named one Charles Hagan as the one who contracted the driver and his mate to cart the consignment. A follow-up search at the residence of one Francis Awortwi, a close friend of Hagan, aka Panya, who allegedly contracted the tipper truck driver to haul the consignment to Accra, led to further discoveries of the suspected substances. A source at the NIB said the operation showcased the effectiveness of the NIB's efforts to combat narcotics trafficking, and highlighted the importance of collaborative law enforcement efforts in disrupting and dismantling organised crime networks. Previous arrest In June last year, two British citizens were arrested after being accused of attempting to smuggle $6.48 million (5 million) worth of cocaine from Ghana to London. Around 166kg (366lbs) of the substance was seized at Kotoka International Airport in connection with the case. The suspects were scheduled to board a British Airways flight to London Gatwick Airport. Ghanas Narcotic Control Commission alleged that the pair hid the cocaine, which was cut into 72 slabs, in six suitcases. In 2022, the security agencies witnessed a substantial surge in drug seizures, amounting to a record-breaking total discovery of 59.9 kg worth of illicit drugs. Government to pursue and prosecute syndicate behind missing ECG containers Benjamin Xornam Glover Mar - 28 - 2025 , 16:03 4 minutes read The Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has reiterated the states commitment to ensuring that all individuals found culpable in procurement breaches and the disappearance of over 1,300 shipping containers and their contents belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) are arrested and prosecuted. He stated that the Ministry would not hesitate to secure a court order to sell the assets of individuals and companies found guilty after their prosecution to recover the cost of the missing items. The proceeds, he said, would be used to invest in the national grid system to improve power delivery. Mr Jinapor made these remarks on Friday, March 28, 2025, during a visit to the premises of Dangfang Company Ltd and Ponlok Manufacturing Company Ltd near Shai Hills, as well as a warehouse in Kpone, to inspect tons of missing cables uncovered by the National Security Secretariat. At Dangfang Company Ltd and Ponlok Manufacturing Company Ltd, the Minister, who was accompanied by officials from the Ministry, was taken on a tour of the smelting facilities and warehouses, where cable drums and cables labelled as the property of ECG were being smelted and converted into aluminium rods for export. At Kpone, the Minister was shown a large warehouse containing cables suspected to belong to the ECG. Mr Jinapor revealed that following an investigation launched upon his assumption of office this year, a committee established that over 1,300 containers could not be accounted for at Tema Port. This led to security agencies being alerted, resulting in the discovery of some of the missing cables in these factories. He stated that preliminary investigations indicate that these disappearances have been ongoing since 2019 and are the work of a syndicate. Mr Jinapor vowed to dismantle the cartel, declaring: We will chase everybody and pursue every organisation involved in this cartel. Clearly, as you can see, these are ECG cables. They are meant to be used by ECG, but they end up in these factories, where they are melted down to produce aluminium rods. That is criminal, he asserted. He also condemned attempts by some members of the public to politicise the matter, emphasising that as Minister, he had sworn an oath to ensure that the right course of action was taken. With the support of security agencies, he assured the public that the Ministry would pursue and ensure that the perpetrators were brought to book. We will do everything we can to trace these containers because they have serial numbers and manifests. We will ensure that the law takes its course, he added. Procurement breaches Mr Jinapor disclosed that in 2014, ECGs planned procurement budget was $1.397 billion. However, by the end of the year, the company had procured items worth $8.2 billion. They engaged in frivolous over-expenditure, procuring items they did not have the money to clear, and that is what has brought us to this point, he said. The same thing happened in 2023. Their planned procurement was less than $1 billion, yet they ended up procuring $8.3 billionmore than $7.3 billion over the approved amount. In 2023, they procured $8.3 billion; in 2024, they procured $8.2 billion. This is over 700% more than what was approved. He warned against attempts to politicise the issue. Let me be clear. Those who think they can turn this into a political game or use it for equalisationit will not work. This crime has been ongoing since 2019, and the previous government failed to act. This government will not allow it to continue. As Minister, I will ensure that we put an end to this, apprehend those responsible, and retrieve the missing containers. In simple terms, I want my containers. Simple as that. Wherever they are, we will find them. Arrests Regarding arrests made so far, Mr Jinapor assured the public that the Ministry would ensure that those found culpable were prosecuted. Chief Superintendent Osman Alhassan, Director of Investigations at the National Security Council Secretariat, who led the Ministers tour, disclosed that some of those arrested had attempted to influence security personnel, but the officers remained steadfast in executing their duty. So far, 14 individuals have been arrested in connection with the bust10 Chinese nationals and four Ghanaians. Chief Superintendent Alhassan noted that the total number of missing containers could not yet be determined, as the retrieved cables were not stored in containers, making it difficult to quantify. All I can say is that we have retrieved some quantity of cables, but I cannot quantify them in terms of containers. Yes, we have heard about some transformers elsewhere, but I am yet to investigate that matter. At the appropriate time, we will provide further updates, he said. Next article: Chief Justice requests for petitions seeking her removal from office Previous article: Chief Justice Torkornoo: Serve me with copies of petitions asking for my removal to enable me respond Ghana Revenue Authority refutes claims of freezing Richard Quayes bank accounts GraphicOnline Mar - 28 - 2025 , 06:29 2 minutes read The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has dismissed reports circulating on social media alleging that it has frozen the bank accounts of Richard Nii Armah Quaye, the founder of Bills Micro Credit Ltd. While confirming that a personal income tax assessment has been raised against him, the Authority clarified that no enforcement action, including the freezing of accounts, has been taken. In a statement issued by its Communication and Public Affairs Department, the GRA stressed that it follows a structured process in assessing and collecting taxes. The process begins with taxpayers being engaged and requested to voluntarily declare their incomes. If they fail to do so within the required period, the Authority proceeds to raise an assessment based on available financial data. Enforcement measures, such as freezing bank accounts, are only applied when a taxpayer refuses to cooperate after being notified of the assessment. The GRA confirmed that in Mr Quayes case, while an assessment related to his income taxes has been issued, no enforcement action has been initiated against him. The Authority urged the general public to disregard social media reports claiming otherwise. Additionally, the GRA encouraged all eligible taxpayers to voluntarily disclose their incomes and fulfil their tax obligations to avoid penalties, interest charges, or other legal consequences. It reaffirmed its commitment to upholding its core values of integrity, fairness, responsiveness, service, and teamwork in all dealings with taxpayers and the public. President Mahamas CJ removal procedure challenged with application at Supreme Court Richard Osei Boateng Mar - 28 - 2025 , 09:42 5 minutes read A new legal challenge has been initiated by one Ebenezer Osei-Owusu, a concerned citizen, contesting the method currently being employed in the efforts to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo from office. In his suit, Osei-Owusu argues that the procedure being followed violates the Chief Justice's constitutional right to a fair hearing. He contends that some of the steps taken by the relevant authorities fall short of due process and pose a threat to the independence of the judiciary. A key point raised in the case is the requirement for the Chief Justice to be served with the petition(s) for her removal and allowed the opportunity to respond before any prima facie determination is made by the President in consultation with the Council of State. This latest legal action comes on the heels of an earlier suit filed by former Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, acting on behalf of Vincent Ekow Assafuah, the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo. That case also challenges the legitimacy of the removal process, asserting that it is politically influenced and aimed at undermining judicial independence. Osei-Owusu is requesting the court to invalidate or withdraw any petitions forwarded by the President to the Council of State regarding the removal of the Chief Justice. He is also asking for any further orders or directions the court deems necessary to uphold his claims. This follows a formal letter written by Chief Justice Torkonoo to the President, with copies sent to key stakeholders, requesting access to the petitions filed against her. Her demand came shortly after the suit filed by the Old Tafo MP, which questioned the legality and transparency of the process. He is therefore seeking, among others; a. A declaration that, upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 146(1), (2), (6) and (8) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Agyei Twum v. Attorney-General & Akwetey [2005-2006] SCGLR 732 (Writ No. J1/7/2006) dated 12th July 2006, a determination of a prima facie case by the President of the Republic of Ghana in consultation with the Council of State on a Petition for the removal of the Chief Justice cannot be made without first furnishing the Chief Justice with a copy or copies of the Petition(s) seeking her removal and to comment on them. b. A declaration that, the decision of the President of the Republic of Ghana to consult with the Council of State and the forwarding of three (3) Petitions seeking the removal of the Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo as communicated by the Spokesperson to the President, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, MP, per his release/letter dated Tuesday 25th March 2025 to the Council of State without first furnishing the Chief Justice with a copy of purported Petitions to comment on them is contrary to the spirit of articles 146(1), (2), (6) and (8) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Agyei Twum v. Attorney General & Akwetey [2005-2006] SCGLR 732 (Writ No. J1/7/2006) dated 12th July 2006 and violates her right to fair hearing and to that extent unconstitutional, null and void. c. A declaration that, upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 146(1), (2), (6) and (8), of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Agyei Twum v. Attorney General & Akwetey [2005-2006] SCGLR 732 (Writ No. J1/7/2006) dated 12th July 2006, the President of the Republic of Ghana acting in consultation with the Council of State cannot appoint a committee to inquire into or make a recommendation on a Petition for the removal of the Chief Justice without first furnishing the Chief Justice with a copy or copies of the Petition(s) seeking her removal and to comment on them. d. An order of the Court setting aside the decision of the President of the Republic of Ghana to consult with the Council of State and the forwarding of three (3) Petitions seeking the removal of the Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo as communicated by the Spokesperson to the President, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, MP, per his release/letter dated Tuesday 25 March 2025 to the Council of State as being unconstitutional, null and void same having been made without first furnishing the Chief Justice with a copy or copies of the Petition(s) seeking her removal and affording her opportunity to comment on same. e. An order of injunction restraining the President of the Republic of Ghana from proceeding to consult with the Council of State to determine the existence or otherwise of a prima facie case against the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, and also from constituting a committee to inquire into or make a recommendation on the purported Petitions for the removal of the Chief Justice and generally from acting and/or embarking on any proceedings for the removal of the said Chief Justice in breach of her right to fair hearing. f. An order recalling, or otherwise setting aside any Petitions for the removal of the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, forwarded by the President to the Council of State. g. Any other orders and directions that this Honourable Court may consider appropriate for giving effect to the declarations and orders so made. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has scheduled April 2, 2025, to hear an injunction application filed by MP Vincent Assafuah, seeking to halt the ongoing process initiated by the President based on three separate petitions. Previous article: President Mahama commits to following due process in petitions asking for removal of Chief Justice Chief Justice Torkornoo served with petitions for removal as President Mahama condemns leak Kester Aburam Korankye Politics Mar - 28 - 2025 , 15:02 2 minutes read Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has been served with copies of three petitions calling for her removal from office. She has been requested to submit a preliminary response to the petitions within ten days. Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has condemned the unauthorised leakage of confidential documents related to the petition. This development follows the submission of three separate petitionstwo dated February 14, 2025, and a third from March 17, 2025,all seeking the Chief Justice's removal from office. In an official communication signed by the Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Presidency outlined the next steps in this unprecedented constitutional process. "His Excellency wishes to assure the Chief Justice that due process will be followed in handling this matter," Mahama stated, emphasising that the judicial leader would receive "a full and fair opportunity to be heard." The letter highlights the delicate nature of the proceedings, noting that the President had already consulted the Council of State, chaired by former Speaker Doe Adjaho, as required by Article 146(6) of Ghanas 1992 Constitution. This consultation took place on March 24, with the Council providing its response just three days later, on March 27. However, the proceedings have been overshadowed by controversy following the unauthorised circulation of confidential documents. The Presidency expressed deep disappointment that the Chief Justices March 27 correspondence had appeared on social media platforms before official channels could properly process it. "We are constrained to mark each page of the attachments as 'restricted'," President Mahama declared, referencing the Supreme Court's precedent in the Frank Agyei Twum v. Attorney-General case, which establishes strict confidentiality for such proceedings. Next article: NDC Prestea Huni Valley Constituency backs appointment of Ishaque Dauda as MD of Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited Commonwealth report commends Ghanas 2024 Elections, calls for greater transparency GraphicOnline Politics Mar - 28 - 2025 , 08:30 2 minutes read A Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) has released its final assessment of Ghanas 2024 general elections, affirming the process as transparent, credible, and peaceful while urging improvements in electoral transparency and accountability. The election, which saw John Dramani Mahama elected as Ghanas 14th president, was observed by a 16-member independent team led by the former President of Botswana, His Excellency Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi. The group was deployed by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC. In her remarks on the report, Secretary-General Scotland commended Ghanas democratic progress, stating, "Ghana's peaceful and credible elections are a testament to the country's maturing democracy. The Commonwealth Observer Group has made a detailed assessment of the election, noting areas of significant strength and identifying opportunities for improvement, including the need for enhanced transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in the electoral process." She further encouraged Ghanas institutions to adopt the groups recommendations and lauded the Ghanaian people for their commitment to democracy. The report highlighted the professionalism of polling officials, security agencies, and party agents, as well as the calm atmosphere maintained throughout the elections. It also praised Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for his early concession, which demonstrated statesmanship and helped to ease post-election tensions. The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) was commended for implementing measures such as additional polling stations and temporary polling staff to improve the voting experience, reducing long queues and speeding up the process. However, the report reiterated previous recommendations on the need for a robust regulatory framework for campaign financing. It warned that without such measures, the increasing monetisation of politics could undermine Ghanas democratic integrity. Observers also noted that delays in announcing results from certain constituencies created uncertainty and speculation. The report urged the EC to address this challenge in future elections to further strengthen public confidence in the process. The final report, which builds on the interim statement released shortly after the elections, has been distributed to the Ghanaian government, political parties, the EC, and other stakeholders for review and implementation. Dr. Scott Cooper approved as new Superintendent of Schools The school district will be transitioning to the leadership of the new superintendent, Dr. Scott Cooper, over the next few months. Sweetwater County School District No. 2 began the process of looking for a new superintendent after the current superintendent, Craig Barringer, announced his retirement in January. Barringer will remain with the district until his contract ends on June 30. In looking for the next Superintendent of Schools, the SCSD No. 2 Board of Trustees worked with the Wyoming School Boards Association to search for candidates. "We had a lot of applicants more than they had anticipated, which is great," SCSD No. 2 Board Chair Ashely Castillon explained. The board went over the applications together and chose their top three candidates, narrowing it down to Scott Cooper, Jason Fuss and Annette Walters. The district then worked with both a student panel and staff panel in evaluating the candidates, and had a community forum arranged and moderated by the Green River Chamber of Commerce. "At each of those, we were able to gather some feedback from people that participated," Castillon noted. The board then hosted all-day interview sessions for each candidate. After the interviews, the board members took time to deliberate on their own for several days, according to Castillon, before meeting again to have more discussions and make a decision. "We put a lot of thought into it, and really just decided who we thought was the best candidate," Castillon said. The school board hosted a special meeting on Tuesday, March 18 to deliberate the matter in executive session. After coming out of executive session, the board voted unanimously to approve the contract with Dr. Scott Cooper to be the new superintendent. "I think he'll do a great job," Castillon said of Cooper. "He is excited to move to our community and to really get started, and we just felt like he was who our district needed right now." Several plans are already in place to help with the transition between superintendents, according to Castillon. "He wants to come and visit and get to know people before he actually steps into his position in July," she said of Cooper. Castillon pointed out that Cooper provided them with a 90-day plan for the transition, and she added that Craig Barringer has also committed to working with Cooper as he steps into the role. "Hopefully it will just be a smooth transition," Castillon said. The board chair also expressed her confidence that Cooper will continue to build on the strength and success of what's already in place. "I think that we have a lot of really good things going on in our district," she said. "He isn't planning to come in and just flip things over. I think his philosophy is to kind of steer the ship in the right direction." Cooper himself agreed that he hopes to help continue the positive things already happening once he joins the district full time. "There are many, many good things going on in Green River and at the Sweetwater School District there, and I want to maintain all those great programs and great opportunities for students," he said. "They've got a great foundation, so I want to be careful to maintain all that great work and then build upon that a little bit each year, so that they can just be better each year and provide even more opportunities for the students." Cooper also explained his plan to visit Green River several times over the next few months, including coming for graduation. He said that he hopes to come at least three or four times in order to work with the school district, visit with students, and get to know the community as a whole. He is also looking forward to being part of the community in the future. "My wife and I have always been looking at Wyoming as an option," Cooper said, explaining that he and his wife, who are both educators in Colorado, have friends in Wyoming and visit regularly. He added that it's been a dream to find a chance to move to Wyoming to work in a school district. "This opportunity came up, and I just thought, 'shoot, I think I'm going to go for it.'" Cooper believes Green River will be a good fit, as will the position of superintendent based on his experience. He has a background of 25 years spent in education, "mostly leading small rural districts and rural schools." Cooper explained that he has had many roles in education, mostly in Colorado, including being a teacher, a principal, a superintendent, a career technical education director, a special education teacher, and a special education coordinator. Recently, Cooper's focus has been providing "leadership around Career Technical Education and online learning opportunities for students," he explained. He has spent the last five years as the Career Technical Educator Director of CRBOCES in Grand Junction, Colorado. He is also the Director of Classrooms for Colorado LIVE (CC-LIVE), where he oversees a statewide online learning initiative. Going into his role as SCSD No. 2's superintendent, one of Cooper's main goals is making sure that "every student graduates with a purpose." He explained that during his years as a principal and superintendent, he has noticed more and more students graduating with no clear idea of what they want to do next. He wants to help students be motivated and supported in their choices, whether they want to go to college, go into the workforce, join the military, or whatever they choose. "A lot of my work will be to help develop Career Technical Education pathways to expand upon what's already great and working there in the school district, but without losing the College Track option as well, so students have both opportunities," Cooper said. "I just would like to see all students graduating with a purpose." Cooper's contract as the SCSD No. 2 Superintendent of Schools will begin on July 1. Unrest connected to incidents happening at a national level continues to be felt throughout Wyoming and Sweetwater County, from concerns over local access to Social Security to Tesla-related vandalism to changes in town hall formats following protests. Social Security access Last week, Sweetwater County residents became concerned over whether or not the Rock Springs Social Security office would close, although it was later confirmed that the office will remain open. On Thursday, March 20, an article was published by the Associated Press titled "A list of the Social Security offices across the US expected to close this year." It shared a list of Social Security Administration offices that had been included in reports from the Department of Government Efficiency of nearly 800 federal real estate leases DOGE is planning to cancel. The AP article then listed the addresses of the Social Security offices by state, including the office at 79 Winston Drive in Rock Springs. "Yesterday my office began receiving calls from constituents concerned by a media article reporting that the Rock Springs Social Security Office was closing," Representative Harriet Hageman posted on social media on Friday, March 21. "I immediately reached out to the agency and was able to confirm that the news was inaccurate. The Rock Springs Social Security Office will remain open for business and operating as usual." According to Hageman, the lease being canceled is for one room, not the office as a whole. "The agency has canceled the lease for an ancillary hearing room they no longer use and those hearings will now be held at an alternative location," Hageman said. The Social Security Administration's website, ssa.gov, includes a page discussing "efficiencies and cost avoidance." A section called "soft-term lease agreements" explains that the SSA is working with the General Services Administration to terminate 64 leases, which the site says "will save over $4 million in annual rent." A spreadsheet available on the page lists the 64 leases, their locations, and notes on the leases. The majority of them, including the Rock Springs location, are described as "hearings permanent remote sites." "This is a small hearings PRS, which is a room within another SSA office," the notes on the spreadsheet explained for the Rock Springs lease and other similar locations. "As most of our hearings are held virtually, we no longer need as many in-person hearings sites." The concerns over the local office closing came after other national news indicating that the Social Security Administration will be making changes to identity verification procedures, including requiring more in-person checks at field offices. Concerned over access to social security, local residents who are part of the 50501 Wyoming group, a group that organizes protests, began discussing plans for a "Social Security Saturday" protest. However, once it became clear that the office will remain open, the protest was canceled. Tesla vandalism On the morning of Saturday, March 22, the Rock Springs Police Department received a call about vandalism to the Tesla charging stations located by the White Mountain Mall at 2441 Foothill Boulevard. "When officers arrived on scene they observed that four of the charging stations had Swastikas spray painted on them," the RSPD explained in a press release. "It is likely that the damage is related to the nationwide vandalism targeted at Tesla." The vandalism is believed to have occurred sometime between the late night hours on March 21 and the early morning hours of March 22, according to the press release. Officers are collecting surveillance video from nearby business to gather more information, RSPD said, and the investigation is ongoing. The RSPD has asked anyone with information on the case to call the Sweetwater Combined Communication Center and reference case number R25- 04943. Tele-town halls With protests and vandalism on the rise, Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman announced this week that she will no longer be hosting in-person town hall events. She will instead use tele-town halls and virtual settings, including for her upcoming town halls in Cheyenne and Torrington. Hageman's office put out a press release on Tuesday saying the representative is "changing the way town hall meetings with constituents are conducted, at least in the short-term, based on recent incidents at public events, credible threats to Hageman, and the related national outbursts of politically motivated violence and attempts at intimidation." Following her town hall in Sweetwater County on March 15, which was attended by a number of protesters, Hageman went on to attend scheduled town halls in Laramie and Wheatland. The Laramie town hall had hundreds of protesters who booed, yelled and cursed during the event. "Because of the events in Laramie, more than 20 officers from multiple agencies were assigned to keep the peace at a town hall in Wheatland the next day on March 20," Hageman's press release explained. "Despite the law enforcement presence, an attendee followed Hageman leaving the venue and initiated a physical confrontation with staff, into which local police were forced to intervene. Hageman also reported that staff in her Washington, D.C. and Wyoming offices have received numerous, credible threatening phone calls and emails, currently being investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies." "I thank our wonderful law enforcement community for their willingness to support the public and myself while participating in our government process," Hageman said. "It has become apparent, however, that the continuation of in-person town halls will be a drain on our local resources due to safety concerns for attendees." Hageman criticized national Democratic Party leaders like Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for encouraging "public eruptions and interruptions of what can be described as civil unrest, at best, or domestic terrorism, at worst," in her press release. She also pointed to the national rise in vandalism at Tesla dealerships and an increase in "swatting" targeted at elected officials. "As the saying goes, 'This is why we can't have nice things,'" Hageman said, further explaining her decision to change the town hall format. "It's no secret that I am willing to engage with citizens on any topic, in any place. But I draw the line when organized protestors intentionally create confrontation and chaos, escalating tensions to a point where violence seems inevitable. It's not safe for the peaceful citizens who want to come out to speak to their elected representative face to face. It's not safe for attendees, it's not safe for law enforcement, and it doesn't do anything to encourage a meaningful dialogue at all." Following Hageman's announcement, the Wyoming Democratic Party issued a statement in response, calling the decision to cancel town halls "disappointing." "These events are supposed to be a cornerstone of representative democracy-a chance for constituents to speak directly with their elected officials, share concerns, ask tough questions, and hold leaders accountable," the statement said. "Choosing to end them undercuts transparency and sends the message that she'll only engage with the public on her terms. Instead of listening to the people of Wyoming, she's now blaming them, dismissing their concerns as part of an unfounded national conspiracy. The fact is, when leaders ignore or dismiss their constituents, avoid tough questions, or stoke division with inflammatory rhetoric, they create an environment of frustration and distrust. That's not solved by retreating behind virtual filters-it's solved by rebuilding trust, showing up, and answering questions honestly." The Democratic Party added that they do not condone violence, threats, or harassment, and that they do support investigation into such incidents, wanting elected officials and their staff to stay safe. "But protest is not violence," the statement continued. "It is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. Using peaceful dissent as an excuse to avoid public accountability does a disservice to the people of Wyoming, their voices should matter. If Rep. Hageman finds the public's response uncomfortable, maybe the issue isn't with the people-it's with the record she's defending. Leadership means showing up, even when it's hard." 10/6/1951 - 3/15/25 Diane Dupont, 73, a cherished life-long resident of Wyoming, passed away Saturday, March 15, 2025 at Mission at The Villa Assisted Living in Green River, Wyoming. She was born Saturday, October 6, 1951 in Rock Springs, Wyoming; the daughter of Raymond Littrell Dupont and Agnes Mary Twitchell. Diane brought light and joy into this world and was a beloved member of her community throughout her 73 years. Diane attended schools in Wyoming and was a proud graduate of Green River High School, Class of 1970. She furthered her education at Western Wyoming Community College, where she earned a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Certificate. With a compassionate spirit and a dedication to helping others, Diane worked as a CNA for many years until her retirement. Diane is survived by her beloved cousins: Christina Bates of Cheyenne, Wyoming; George Twitchell of Laramie, Wyoming; Wadeen Lundgren of Green River, Wyoming; and Huston Twitchell of Cheyenne, Wyoming. She was preceded in death by her parents, her maternal and paternal grandparents, and her dear cousin, Terry Twitchell. Cremation has taken place as per her wishes. A Graveside Service and Inurnment will be held at a later date in Riverview Cemetery, where family and friends will gather to celebrate her life and bid a fond farewell. Those who wish to honor Diane's memory may leave condolences at http://www.vasefuneralhomes.com. Diane will be remembered for her unwavering love, dedication, and the joy she spread to all who knew her. She will be deeply missed and forever cherished. The Sweetwater County Concert Association is excited to bring two unforgettable musical experiences to the Broadway Theater in April, celebrating the sounds of two American music legends. On April 3, the Broadway Theater will come alive with the sound of surf, sun, and harmony as Sail On performs the music of the Beach Boys. Known for their spot-on recreations of the band's biggest hits-like "Surfin' the USA," "Good Vibrations," and "California Girls"-Sail On also dives into some deeper cuts from the Beach Boys' extended catalog. Based in Nashville, the band plays over 100 shows a year, delighting audiences of all ages with a nostalgic and high-energy performance that celebrates the legacy of "America's Band." Then, on April 6, enjoy a heartfelt tribute to another American icon as Denny "Diamond" Svehla takes the stage with a night of Neil Diamond's greatest hits. Known for his uncanny vocal resemblance and captivating storytelling, Denny delivers an engaging performance that explores Neil Diamond's life, the stories behind his legendary songs, and the impact they've had on artists around the world. From "Sweet Caroline" to "America," this is a show fans won't want to miss. Both performances will be held at the Broadway Theater, located at 618 Broadway in Downtown Rock Springs. Showtimes are at 7 p.m. Tickets for each show are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for students. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit BroadwayRS.com or call the Rock Springs Main Street/URA office at 307-352-1434. Samsungs Galaxy S25 Edge was teased back in January at the makers Unpacked event, but were still waiting for its official launch. Per the most recent rumors, we should see the S25 Edge announcement on April 16, and we now have a new set of official-looking renders giving us our best look at the device. Galaxy S25 Edge in Titanium Jet Black The images shared by WinFuture show the S25 Edge in its three official colors - Titanium Jet Black, Titanium Icy Blue, and Titanium Silver. This suggests the frame of the phone will be made from titanium, just like the S25 Ultra. Samsung may also offer online exclusive colors for the S25 Edge like it does for the other S25 series members but we dont get any details on that front for now. Galaxy S25 Edge in Titanium Icy Blue As expected, the S25 Edge looks similar to the Galaxy S25+, but it only gets dual rear-facing cameras. According to the leaks, S25 Edge will get a 200MP main shooter (ISOCELL HP2) just like the one on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It will be paired with a 12MP ultrawide lens. The phone is expected to feature a 6.7-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and a 1-120Hz refresh rate. Galaxy S25 Edge is speculated to be just 5.84mm thick and weigh 162 grams the thinnest and lightest phone from the brand in years. Galaxy S25 Edge in Titanium Silver It will reportedly feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset paired with 12GB RAM. Expect a 3,900mAh battery which would be the smallest cell in the S25 lineup, 100 mAh less than the one on the Galaxy S25. Sadly, wired charging is expected to be capped at 25W speeds. Source (in German) Traveling to Saudi Arabia, or perhaps another destination in the Middle East? Whether you're visiting for business, leisure, or the Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca this June, staying connected is essential. Thankfully, via the use of eSIMs, companies like aloSIM are making it easier for travelers to use their mobile devices abroadall without incurring any roaming fees! Have you tried aloSIM? Referred to by many as a game changer for travel, aloSIM is an easy-to-use app that provides prepaid mobile data plans without the need for a physical SIM card. With eSIMs available in over 200 countries, it's the ideal solution for travelers who want reliable data on the go. They offer plans for both individual countries and entire regions. They even have unlimited data eSIM plans for well over 100 destinations, so you never have to worry about running out of data! The best Saudi Arabia eSIM is 20% off! If you plan on traveling to Saudi Arabia in the near future, having a Saudi Arabia eSIM will allow you to enjoy fast mobile data on their local networksfor a fraction of the price of your primary carrier. You can simply activate your eSIM instantly through the aloSIM app. If you have questions about whether or not your device supports eSIM technology, simply refer to their eSIM device checker for a handy list of eSIM supported phones. Use promo code SAUDI to save 20% on your first Saudi Arabia eSIM from aloSIM, and enjoy a week of data for as little as $4 USD! Traveling for the Hajj Pilgrimage? The Hajj Pilgrimage will be held from the evening of June 4th to June 9th this year. For visitors visiting Saudi Arabia for the Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca, having a reliable internet connection on the go is vital. With millions of pilgrims flocking to the holy city, having mobile data is essential for things like navigation, communication, and keeping up with important updates. aloSIM offers coverage across Saudi Arabia and a variety of other countries in the Middle East, including, but not limited to: The wide variety of international destinations supported by aloSIM makes it one of the best phone apps out there to save on travel costs. You can easily purchase a Saudi Arabia eSIM via the aloSIM app, allowing you to stay in touch with loved ones and access important services with ease during your pilgrimage. Essential travel tips for visiting Saudi Arabia Every country has its own rules and regulations, and it is important for travelers to both familiarize themselves with those laws, and respect them. When traveling to Saudi Arabia, keep these travel tips in mind: Respect local customs and culture: Saudi Arabia is a conservative country, so it's important to dress modestly, especially in public places. For women, wearing an abaya (a loose-fitting black robe) is common in many areas, though it's no longer mandatory in most places outside of religious sites. Learn the local laws: Saudi Arabia has strict laws regarding behavior, alcohol, and drugs. It's important to familiarize yourself with these rules before traveling, as violations can lead to severe penalties. Public displays of affection, for example, are frowned upon. Language: Arabic is the official language of Saudi Arabia, but English is widely spoken, especially in larger cities and tourist areas. However, learning even just a few basic Arabic phrases can enhance your experience and show respect for the local culture. Plan ahead with an eSIM When traveling abroad, choosing a service that makes staying connected effortless is of the utmost importance. That being said, don't leave your internet access to chanceplan ahead and download an eSIM before you travel! Use promo code SAUDI to save 20% on your first Saudi Arabia eSIM from aloSIM, and enjoy a week of data for as little as $4 USD! This is a sponsored post. Sponsorship is a form of advertising. The views and opinions expressed in this article are from the sponsor and might not reflect our own. The Office of the Attorney General of Guam put up its latest billboard that highlights 50 trial wins on Friday. The AGs office in a release said the billboard is in recognition of National Crime Victims Rights Month in April and applauded jurors who have protected crime victims with the convictions. With 50 trial wins and counting since January 2023, this AGs office shares that crime victims fighting back makes us all safer. Our message this month shows criminals that we will get you, and you will be punished when you hurt us, the AGs office said in a release. The faces on the billboard represent the 50 criminals the AGs office has convicted at trial. Each convict is now behind bars where they belong. The hundreds more who pled guilty before trial are part of this success as well, the AGs office said. The AGs office said when criminals see these type billboards, it deters them. It gets their families and friends to discuss their behaviors and shame them to stop hurting us, the office said. The AGs office said keeping 50 criminals off the streets makes Guam safer. Moreover, keeping repeat criminals in prison and meth addicts out of our homes, exponentially reduces crime and injured crime victims, the office said. The Guam International Airport Authority continues to see fewer arrivals, which is impacting revenues, so it continues to implement cost-saving measures, comptroller Dafne Shimizu told the GIAA board Thursday. Total year-to-date revenue is at $14.6 million as of February, about 13.4% below budget, Shimizu said, when she gave the latest update on the airports finances. As of February, the airport saw 430,500 passengers 20,000 less compared to the same year-to-date period in fiscal 2024, Shimizu said. She said since last summer, they sent managers a memo to reduce expenses, which has been extended into fiscal 2025. The finance team met with division heads to discuss cost containment measures, especially on one of the biggest expenses, the utility bill, she said. The airports operation team reduced power consumption by identifying areas where more lights can be shut off and systems can be shut down to save money, Shimizu said. She said the airport has seen a little bit of reduction in its power bill and continues to work on discussing other cost-saving measures with division heads. Airport board member Doyon Ahn Morato said she supports the cost-cutting measures but asked Shimizu to keep in mind the customer experience. She said the lights shouldnt be turned off if it impacts passenger experience at the airport, noting that some areas can be dull without light. Airport General Manager John Quinata said the launch of the twice weekly United Airlines flights to Taipei, Taiwan will help improve the passenger numbers. The flight will launch on April 2, with dignitaries and island media set to visit Taiwan to help promote the new service, he said. The first flight from Taiwan will arrive at 4:20 p.m. the same day with a meet-and-greet to welcome the first passengers coming in, Quinata added. He said United stopped its flight to Fukuoka, Japan in October 2024, which decreased the number of passengers. The new route will minimize the impacts from that, he said. Quinata also provided updates on ongoing projects at the airport, including the painting of the main terminal exterior, which is about 80% complete. Fixing the terminal flooring at the Guam Customs and Quarantine Area, which was damaged by Typhoon Mawar, has started, and will be done in five phases. Its estimated to completed in 170 days, he added. Quinata also shared that a number of requests for proposals have been published and the deadline to submit the requests for proposals are in April. Some of the RFPs include for legal services, rehabilitating the fire alarm/suppression systems in the terminal building, and expanded access to airport facilities for individuals with disabilities. Meanwhile, the board approved moving forward with working with both bidders of the creative design, production and passenger and customer service programs. The bidders were Big Fish Creative and Glimpses of Guam Inc., Deputy General Manager Ricky Hernandez said. The airport will engage with both companies, which will provide services to include managing events, photo and video services, branding, and maintaining the website, among other services, Hernandez said. The contract amount will be based on negotiations with the airport, now that the board has approved moving forward. The board also approved a contract modification, and a grant amendment to close out a project that is still on the books after the airport had issues with delays. Frank Santos, a consultant with the airport, said the contract to rehabilitate part of the airports runway had a deadline of Dec. 11, 2022, but it wasnt completed until March 10, 2023. The airport deducted $785,000 from the contractors amount to pay for construction management fees for an unexcused delay of 180 days, Santos said. The contractor disagreed and the two parties have gone back and forth on the issue, but the airport has agreed to 113 days of excusable delays, with the contractor being responsible for 67 days, he said. The change order amount is $408,726.75, which the board approved. Evaluation The board also approved an evaluation for Quinata from Jan. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2024. Board member Rosie Tainatongo, who provided the report for the evaluation, said Quinata had an excellent performance and looks forward to more accomplishments throughout the next year. Chairman Brian Bamba said its been a challenging time for the airport and under Quinatas leadership, things continue to get done. He has also talked to airport employees who have said morale is very high. The Guam Department of Education will host the Galaxy Bot Battle, a Lego robotics competition, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 at the Tiyan High School gymnasium. The event will bring together 13 teams of middle and high school students from public and private schools across the island. Inspired by the legendary battles of the Star Wars galaxy, student teams design, build, and program their Lego battle robots to complete complex challenges, navigate obstacles, and engage in head-to-head competitions. This competition promotes a stage for Guams future engineers, programmers, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) leaders, GDOE said. Students gain valuable hands-on experience in robotics, coding, and automation, preparing them for larger regional and international robotics competitions. The competition also helps equip students with essential skills such as collaboration, communication, and adaptability, which are critical in todays technology-driven world, GDOE said. The event is open to the public, and families, educators, and STEM enthusiasts are encouraged to attend and support the students as they display their talents and creativity. The activity is administered by the Guam Department of Education Federal Programs Division/Grants Office and funded by the U.S. Department of Education Consolidated Grant to the Outlying Areas. For more information, contact Alexandra Garrido from the GDOE Office of Curriculum and Instruction at aebenavente@gdoe.net and (671) 300-1254. Its the last weekend to check out the Mes CHamoru showcase at Micronesia Mall. The showcase is a cinematic celebration of local storytelling, music, and culture featuring the work of Guams talented filmmakers, according to a release from PBS Guam. Showcased films and music videos explore themes of identity, resilience, and cultural preservation, reinforcing the importance of Chamoru heritage in todays world. Among the featured filmmakers are two award-winning directors whose work continues to inspire and elevate the islands creative industry. About the filmmakers Niel Darren Romero is an accomplished filmmaker and creative director with over 15 years of experience. His passion for storytelling spans directing, editing, writing, graphic design, and performancealways putting in 110% effort. He believes that through creativity, one can educate, entertain, and inspire. Since co-founding Project: Inspire in 2011 with Justin Baldovino and Erani Zuniga, Niel has been instrumental in producing innovative and culturally significant films, including the groundbreaking feature iHeartGU. His work continues to push boundaries, encouraging artists to Dream Impossible and Create Beyond for the greater good of Guam. Guam native Brian Muna is a distinguished filmmaker with a decade of experience. His work includes award-winning films, corporate productions, and international collaborations in Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Under his company, Brian Muna Films, he has directed, written, filmed, and produced numerous short films and music videos, frequently collaborating with local artists and filmmakers to bring meaningful stories to life. About the films The showcase features a powerful lineup of films and music videos that highlight CHamoru culture and contemporary social issues: Music video: Nobody Knows A compelling blend of historical critique and heartfelt storytelling, addressing the impact of colonialism on Guam. Performed by MEL The Angry Native, directed by Niel Darren Romero. Produced by Project: Inspire and Inetnon Gefpago. Music video: Choose Me A gripping narrative on addictions effect on CHamoru families, underscoring the importance of family and community in overcoming substance abuse. Performed by TEO JHN and Gilayna Joy, directed by Niel Darren Romero. Produced by Project: Inspire and Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness. Documentary short: CHamoru: A Lost Language A deeply personal journey of filmmaker Brian Muna as he seeks to reconnect with his native language and cultural identity. Directed by Brian Muna, produced by Firelight Media. Documentary feature: Something to Call Our Own A celebration of the resurgence of CHamoru dance as a means of reclaiming cultural heritage. Directed by Niel Darren Romero, produced by PBS Guam/KGTF12. Screenings are every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in March at Micronesia Mall Theatres. Tickets are $11 general admission and $8 for kids ages 3-11 and Seniors (55+). Proceeds will support cultural preservation efforts through educational public television and community outreach. PBS Guam General Manager Ina Carillo, co-producer of Something to Call Our Own, emphasized the importance of cultural storytelling: It is my pleasure to support community projects like these that highlight and preserve our Chamoru culture. Im really grateful for my entire team here at PBS Guam, as well as Director Niel Romero, for bringing this film to life they all strive for excellence and truly keep me at my best, she said. She hopes the Chamoru dance community and cultural practitioners in the Mariana Islands and abroad understand that this film is dedicated to all of them and all their hard workpast and present. Only with their support will we be able to continue telling culturally rich stories like these in the futurefor all of us, Carillo said. This showcase is made possible through the support of Pacific Community (SPC), 13th FestPAC Committee, Gravitas Pacifika, Pacific Daily News, Bank of Guam, KUAM Communications, Thrive Media Group, Vantage Advertising, Project: Inspire, Guam International Film Festival, I Fanlalaian Oral History Project, Valley of the Latte Adventure Park and Council of the Arts and Humanities Agency (CAHA). For more information, contact: PBS Guam/KGTF12 at dmuna@pbsguam.org or call (671) 734-5483. A male was taken to the hospital after a serious car crash in Dededo, Guam Fire Department spokesperson Lt. Nick Garrido said. It's the second serious crash officials responded to in a span of a few hours. Guam Police Department spokesperson Officer Berlyn Savella said officers are investigating a serious traffic crash on Route 1 by Route 27A in Dededo. This is the second crash officers are currently investigating with the other crash in Yigo. Garrido said units responded to Route 1 and the Calvo's building at 1:32 a.m. Saturday for a reported auto vs. pole crash. Upon arrival, personnel extricated one male individual and initiated CPR. Patient was transported to the Guam Regional Medical City, Garrido said. Northbound lanes were closed, and traffic was being rerouted, Savella said. Motorists were advised to seek an alternate route, she added. GPD's Highway Patrol Division has been activated, and the investigation is ongoing and developing. Yigo crash The Guam Fire Department stopped life-saving measures on a male involved in a serious crash in Yigo, spokesperson Lt. Nick Garrido said. At 11:45 p.m. Friday, GFD units responded to Route 15 near Andy South for a reported auto overturn, he said. Upon arrival, personnel extricated one male individual from the vehicle and initiated CPR. Despite resuscitative efforts, paramedics after consulting with medical control discontinued life-saving measures due to patients condition, Garrido said. The Guam Police Department is currently investigating the serious crash on Route 15 by Chalan Lujana in Yigo, Savella said. Both north and southbound lanes were closed, and traffic was rerouted. At about 7:50 a.m. Saturday police closed off the roads again for 30 minutes to do mapping. Status updates have not been provided at this time and as soon as information is gathered police will be providing more details, Savella said. "Further details on both investigations are unavailable at this time," she said as of Saturday morning. A grand jury handed down an indictment recently, charging Joseph Ken Ehder with multiple first-degree felony charges related to the murder of Ryan Chaco. Ehder is the third person to be arrested in the case. He joins Eithen James Mendiola and Frank Joseph Reyes Jr. as co-defendants. Court documents show that the grand jury returned a true bill on March 18, 2025, charging Ehder with complicity to commit aggravated murder and complicity to commit murder, as first-degree felonies, complicity to commit arson as a third-degree felony, complicity to obstruct government function and complicity to commit destruction of evidence the latter two as misdemeanors. He was arrested last week and is being held at the Department of Corrections pending $100,000 cash bail. In October 2024, police arrested Eithen James Aquiningoc Mendiola and Frank Joseph Gumataotao Reyes Jr. in connection with Chacos murder and subsequent arson at a residence on Chalan Kareta in Dededo, according to the Guam Police Department. Guam Fire Department personnel discovered Chacos charred remains Sept. 19 after responding to a structure fire at a Dededo home, and the case was turned over to GPDs criminal investigation section. An autopsy later revealed that Chaco had sustained multiple sharp force injuries to his neck and chest, and the chief medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, GPD said. Both suspects confessed to their involvement in Chacos death and the subsequent destruction of evidence, police said. According to police, Mendiola admitted to stabbing Chaco in self-defense, claiming Chaco had attempted to strangle and sexually assault him. Reyes admitted to burning the remains and other evidence to conceal the incident, police said. Both Mendiola and Reyes remain at DOC pending bail of $200,000 and $10,000, respectively. Mendiola, 25, was charged with murder as a first-degree felony and aggravated assault as a second-degree felony. Both charges include a special allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. Although Mendiola called 911 after stabbing Chaco, 37, Reyes wanted to cover up the killing, the complaint stated. Reyes disagreed with alerting the police and told (Mendiola) he would take care of the situation, the complaint stated. Reyes, 24, was charged with arson as a third-degree felony and misdemeanor destruction of evidence, obstructing a government function and desecration. Haiti - Social : Distribution of food and hygiene kits to displaced persons The Economic and Social Assistance Fund (FAES), with the support of the Government and its partners, continues to provide essential humanitarian support to displaced persons and vulnerable families as part of the Multisectoral Emergency Program. This large-scale operation includes the distribution of food and hygiene kits, as well as the provision of drinking water for beneficiaries. On Thursday, March 27, 2025, approximately 1,448 gallons of drinking water were distributed at the Ministry of Public Works site. 710 families received no-cook food and essential hygiene items at the National School of the Republic of Ecuador. A total of 9,000 hot meals were distributed at the three targeted reception sites. Thursday's distributions were successfully completed, followed by those on Friday and Saturday, aimed to strengthen national solidarity and meet the urgent needs of populations affected by the crisis. This mobilization is the result of close collaboration between several strategic and operational institutions, including : The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST); The Ministry Delegate for Humanitarian Affairs; Public implementing agencies : FAES, National Migration Office (ONM), General Directorate of Civil Protection (DGPC), National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DINEPA), and the Community Police. Although facing budgetary constraints, the institutions involved remain committed to doing more to support victims and address the most pressing needs. This initiative is part of a national solidarity effort, reflecting the Government's commitment to providing immediate and concrete assistance to families severely affected by violence by armed groups. HL/ HaitiLibre Mats Harborn , head of TRATONs China office and former president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, said this shift aligns with broader Nordic business goals. This is what the Chinese government means when they talk about new quality productive forces or new quality growth, and this is something that we support, he said. In that environment we as a company want to take market shares then the market increases with GDP growth. Nordic business chambers in China are increasing their engagement with local markets amid Chinas transition towards what its leadership describes as new quality productive forces. Chinas focus on green technology, energy systems, and domestic innovation has attracted long-term Nordic investment. Peter Ling-Vannerus, chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China, pointed to the dynamic nature of bilateral trade. Weve seen a tremendous development over the years, he said. Its been growing on both sides, both Swedish exports into China as well as Chinese exports into Sweden. Sweden maintains a strong presence in China, with approximately 240 member companies part of its local chamber. Ling-Vannerus said growth spans sectors such as consumer goods, robotics, pharmaceuticals, and sustainability. Jan Lgaard Broni, national chair of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China, said Denmark sees similar momentum. One of the things I enjoy in China is the speed from decision to action, he said. We are starting to increase more in the Chinese and Asian markets, despite most production still aimed at export. Broni also welcomed Chinas recent visa-free policy. Its definitely a big step in the right direction, he said. Fifteen days is more than enough for most people to come and put the footprint, make the decisions, and go again. Mats Harborn said patience and long-term strategy are essential. In China, you need patience. It takes a long time to develop business in a continent-sized country, he said. If you do that, I think you will be successful. He also identified China as a global centre for innovation. China is the leader in green technologies, Harborn said. Wind, solar power, electric vehicles, batteries, all the software that is regulating how we use energy. For us, China has become not only an important market but also an important source of new technologies. Finland has adopted a focused strategy linking innovation with economic collaboration. Ulla Nurmenniemi, vice chair of FinnCham China and chairman of Wellbridge Ltd, described a bilateral programme supported by both governments. We have this very unique system with China, the joint innovation funding projects that are funded by Chinas Ministry of Science and Technology and Business Finland, she said. The joint programme covers two main areas: new energy and healthcare technology. It provides co-financing for projects between Chinese and Finnish companies. Each government covers 50 percent of the expenses. Every year there are topics in which field you can apply, Nurmenniemi said. At the moment, there are two very prominent topics. Finland has also identified elder care as an area for future collaboration. Nurmenniemi, with a background in social and healthcare management, said demographic shifts in China mirror those in Finland. Finland is actually the second oldest population in the world. China is now a huge population and it is getting older rapidly, she said. Our solution is the education, the school dedicated to elderly care. So its super comprehensive. Its a very unique education in the whole of Europe. She is now looking to export that model to China to help meet its growing needs in elderly care services. Ling-Vannerus said the strategic nature of the Chinese market demands clarity and local partnerships. Its important to have a very clear strategy what part of that market that you want to aim for, he said. Its important to choose the right place to be as well as the right partners. Broni said the Danish-Chinese partnership is rooted in environmental focus. All the green working groups in the strategic partnership Denmark have with China its green, its maritime, its water, its wastewater, its wind, its solar. So its all these areas that lead into a green transition, he said. Nordic companies also note the appeal of Chinas supply chain capabilities. Harborn said, China has fantastic supply chains. But what makes China now even more attractive and important to foreign companies is that China has become one of the global innovation centres. This shift is reinforced by policy support for innovation. Ling-Vannerus said, We see a lot of innovation in sustainability, but also in the pharmaceutical and medtech field. The same goes for robotics. One Swedish member firm recently tripled its robotics factory in China. Other areas seeing activity include consumer products and retail, he said. The host of the programme said high-value products now dominate trade between China and its partners. These include communication equipment, pharmaceuticals, vehicles, and related components. Official Chinese data confirms that Nordic countries remain key sources of foreign investment and destinations for Chinese outbound capital. For Finland, this cooperation has a direct link to economic development. Business Finland, the countrys innovation funding agency, supports public-private initiatives aligned with its strategic goals. The joint funding model with China offers Finnish companies a pathway into Asias largest economy, while maintaining links to national innovation priorities. As China continues to reorient its economy around high-quality growth, Nordic businesses are aligning long-term investments with sectors such as green energy, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing. HT Fortum concluded a two-year study into the feasibility of building new nuclear reactors and determined that such investments are not commercially viable under current market conditions. Finnish utility Fortum has ruled out new investments in nuclear power in the near term, citing low electricity prices in the Nordic market and high construction costs. The announcement came as Finland inaugurated its first industrial-scale green hydrogen plant, marking a shift in focus toward alternative energy technologies. "New nuclear could provide new supply to the Nordics earliest in the second half of the 2030s, if market and regulatory conditions are right," said Markus Rauramo, CEO of Fortum. The company will instead focus on expanding renewable power generation, increasing storage capacity, and extending the life of existing nuclear facilities, including the Loviisa nuclear plant. The companys Vice President for New Nuclear, Laurent Leveugle, said a risk-sharing model would be required to make future nuclear investments possible. "We are not saying that the state has to pay for it, but that the risk must be shared with the different parties: technology providers, investors, utilities, and also the state," Leveugle told Reuters. Fortum is exploring pumped hydropower and considering new hydropower stations in the Nordics beginning from 2030. It also intends to meet increasing demand in the next decade with a combination of onshore wind and solar power. According to Rauramo, power demand in the Nordic region could double by 2050 due to industrial decarbonisation and electrification. While Fortum has paused new nuclear plans, Finland is pressing ahead with new green energy initiatives. On 26 March 2025, P2X Solutions inaugurated the countrys first industrial-scale green hydrogen production plant in Harjavalta. The event was attended by Alexander Stubb, President of the Republic of Finland. Finland has everything it takes to become a clean energy superpower, Stubb said during his speech at the inauguration. The Harjavalta facility is the first of its kind in Finland and aims to provide hydrogen for industrial and transport sectors. The plant also includes a methanation facility, which will begin operations at a later stage. Synthetic methane produced from green hydrogen will contribute to decarbonising sectors where direct electrification is not feasible. P2X Solutions is backed by Swiss energy company Alpiq, which acquired a majority stake in the Finnish firm in April 2024. Alpiq Executive Board member and P2X Solutions Chairman Amedee Murisier described the project as a strategic move to support the integration of renewable energy into the European energy system. P2X Solutions CEO Herkko Plit called the Harjavalta plant a historical achievement and said the company plans to expand hydrogen production in Joensuu and Oulu. The Joensuu plant is expected to reach 40 MW in capacity, while the Oulu facility could scale up to 100 MW. Next, companies should take an active position and start driving the change for the better, said Plit. Finlands hydrogen strategy is aligned with EU targets to reduce emissions from hard-to-abate sectors. The government expects the hydrogen economy to generate over 115,000 new jobs and account for up to 13% of GDP by the mid-2030s. As Fortum turns to renewables and lifetime extensions for existing nuclear facilities, and P2X accelerates hydrogen development, Finlands energy policy is shifting toward flexible and decentralised solutions. The Nordic power market has experienced prolonged periods of low electricity prices, driven by increased renewable capacity and lower demand growth. Fortum has warned that these conditions are not sufficient to support capital-intensive projects like nuclear reactors without regulatory reforms or direct financial support. Discussions are ongoing in Sweden about creating a risk-sharing framework for nuclear investments. Fortum has indicated it would support a similar model in Finland. Meanwhile, the Loviisa nuclear plant, operated by Fortum, is undergoing life extension measures. Fortum has applied to continue operations at the site until at least 2050. Rauramo said this strategy would help meet near-term power demand while the company evaluates longer-term options. Finlands approach to energy diversification comes amid broader European efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and improve energy security. Green hydrogen and advanced storage systems are seen as essential components of this transition. Fortums position reflects growing caution among European utilities over the costs and risks associated with new nuclear builds. The company has yet to release any cost estimates for new reactors, but industry analysts say capital requirements often exceed 10 billion per unit and construction timelines stretch over a decade. By contrast, modular hydrogen projects like those developed by P2X Solutions involve lower upfront costs and shorter lead times. They also benefit from growing political and financial support across the EU. P2X Solutions is planning to continue scaling its hydrogen operations through both public and private partnerships. Alpiqs backing gives the company access to European infrastructure and financing channels. In the coming years, Finland is expected to become a test case for the integration of green hydrogen into a modern industrial economy. The government has not ruled out support mechanisms for nuclear or hydrogen, but has said market viability will guide investment decisions. HT The biennial blends contemporary art with environmental context, placing new and site-specific commissions in settings that reflect Helsinkis geographical and ecological diversity. The Helsinki Biennial returns for its third edition in summer 2025, bringing together 37 artists and collectives across three urban and natural sites in the Finnish capital. The event, running from 8 June to 21 September, focuses on the theme Shelter: Below and Beyond, Becoming and Belonging, with works spanning Vallisaari Island, Esplanade Park, and HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Vallisaari Island, a former military zone and now a protected nature site, will again host large-scale outdoor installations. Esplanade Park offers a central urban contrast, while HAM will present indoor works in dialogue with the citys art history. This years Helsinki Biennial represents the citys ambition to be recognised globally for bold cultural programming, said Juhana Vartiainen, Mayor of Helsinki. Artists are invited to rethink the concept of shelternot only as physical protection but also as a shared space for coexistence. Works consider the perspectives of non-human lifeforms such as plants, fungi, animals, and minerals. The curators, Kati Kivinen and Blanca de la Torre, said the biennial aims to foster empathy across species and promote ecological thinking. The artist list includes names from 30 cultural backgrounds, with strong representation from the Nordics, Latin America, and Asia. Notable participants include Olafur Eliasson, Yayoi Kusama, Ernesto Neto, and Otobong Nkanga, alongside emerging and local voices such as Band of Weeds, Nabbteeri, and Sara Bjarland. Since its inception, Helsinki Biennial has left lasting artistic imprints on the city. Select works from past editions remain on public display, contributing to Helsinkis cultural infrastructure beyond the exhibition period. In 2025, the biennial continues its commitment to sustainability by using existing infrastructure, minimising transport emissions, and working with local materials. This aligns with its broader goal of encouraging positive environmental action through cultural practices. The event is free and open to the public. Professional previews will take place from 6 to 8 June, with a media day on 5 June. HT This winter weve seen cases that are more serious than before, said Henna-Kaisa Turpeinen , regional manager at PAM. Seasonal workers in Finnish Lapland are facing increasingly severe exploitation, according to multiple reports received this winter by the Service Union United (PAM). Issues include overcrowded housing, excessive accommodation fees, and unfair charges for minor damages. Police in Lapland have confirmed one ongoing criminal investigation into a case classified as extortion. Some resemble earlier incidents in the berry-picking sector, where workers were systematically taken advantage of. According to Finnish law, extortion includes charging unreasonably high fees by exploiting a persons vulnerable position or lack of knowledge. Police declined to comment on details of the current investigation but confirmed the complaint involves a foreign seasonal worker. In previous years, Lapland police have received only two similar complaints, neither of which resulted in prosecution. One recurring concern is the quality and cost of employer-provided accommodation. In several cases reviewed by Yle, multiple seasonal workers were housed in small apartments with inadequate facilities. In one instance, 25 people were housed in a flat with nine bedrooms and only two toilets. The kitchen lacked a proper oven, and residents paid 450 each for a shared room. The property was provided by a major national employer. Francisco dos Reis Silva, a seasonal worker from Portugal, said his experience working in Rovaniemi was dominated by discomfort in shared accommodation. He was charged 300 per month for a bed in a shared room 500 for a private room, which was not available. His room had only 30 centimetres of space between beds. We couldnt all fit into the kitchen at once, he said. People worked different shifts, so it was hard to rest properly. It was uncomfortable. After a month, he found his own flat, which cost slightly more but offered proper privacy. Still, he described the overall experience in Lapland as disappointing. I wouldnt come back unless it were the last option. Things werent done properly, he said. Reis Silvas comments reflect wider concerns about the regions capacity to handle surging tourism and demand for seasonal labour. He believes the tourism sector in Rovaniemi is overheated and that the pressure affects workers, tourists, and residents alike. Turpeinen said PAM has received hundreds of contacts this season alone from workers in Lapland. Many involve unclear contracts, poor vehicle conditions, and inflated claims for minor car accidents involving company vehicles. Some workers have been charged large sums for small incidents, such as sliding into a ditch or scratching a vehicle. Many come from abroad and are unfamiliar with Finnish labour laws or their rights as employees. Some employers, particularly newer or foreign-owned companies, dont understand how the Finnish labour market works, said Turpeinen. And many workers dont know what is acceptable. While some companies follow regulations and treat workers fairly, PAM warns that serious gaps in oversight remain. The union says local authorities and national regulators must strengthen inspections and enforcement, especially as tourism demand continues to grow. HT Without the cruise ship, exports to the US would have shown year-on-year growth of 5.5%. Finnish exports to the United States fell by 18% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to figures released by Finnish Customs on Wednesday. The decline, however, was driven by the absence of a single major transaction: a 1.9 billion cruise ship delivered in 2023. The total value of goods exported from Finland to the US last year was approximately 7 billion, compared to 8.5 billion in 2023. Despite the headline drop, Finnish Customs said underlying trade flows between the two countries remained stable or increased. Imports from the US to Finland declined by 10.2% during the same period, totalling 3.7 billion. The US remained Finlands third-largest export destination and sixth-largest source of imports. The agency emphasised that the figures account for goods only and exclude services. This leaves out large parts of Finlands trade with the US, especially in sectors like technology and consultancy, where service exports are significant. The US accounted for 9.6% of Finlands total exports in 2024 and 5% of all imports. HT Community Foundation has given $1.4 million in Helene grants As Western North Carolina continues the extended work of rebuilding and recovery following Hurricane Helene, the Community Foundation of Henderson County is marking a milestone in local giving and response. Related Stories Just six months after the storm, CFHC has distributed more than $1.4 million in grants and assistance to local nonprofits providing immediate frontline services within communities and to local businesses in need of support. Its a privilege to be part of a responsive community that walks the talk when it comes to caring for our neighbors, Community Foundation President and CEO McCray Benson said. Within days of this crisis our team was able to begin distributing funding to organizations helping the people in our community who needed it the most. The unprecedented generosity of individuals from near and far, in addition to gifts from corporations and investments from peer funders, makes this giving milestone possible in Henderson County. In just six months, grants for Hurricane Helene relief quickly exceeded any other designated disaster-related relief in the foundations history, even surpassing funding distributed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 the foundation provided $565,000 in combined Covid relief, a total eclipsed by 147 percent for Hurricane Helene since October 2024. Hurricane Helene relief donors were also extremely wide-ranging in their geographic origin, hailing from 45 states. Of the $1.4 million distributed locally to date for Hurricane Helene assistance, $950,000 has funded relief, recovery and rebuilding grants awarded to 44 different nonprofits, with the remainder given through donor-advised funds to support disaster-related needs. Additionally, 95 community businesses in need of support received grants totaling $314,000 through LoveHendo Business Relief Funds. In addition to the magnitude of gifts through the last six months, Helene funds are supporting projects in Henderson County that are innovative and collaborative. CFHC grants have funded environmental testing and waterway clean-up conducted by nonprofit partner MountainTrue, the rebuilding of the Stoney Creek Road bridge through the Bridging Together program operated by LDR Carolinas and Mennonite Disaster Service, and funding for a critically needed disaster caseworker position for the Children and Family Resource Center, to name a few. Throughout the regions recovery process, CFHC has benefited from strong partnerships with peer foundations and local entities focused on regional resilience including Dogwood Health Trust, Duke Energy Foundation, Optimum, Polk County Community Foundation, Henderson County, the city of Hendersonville, the Partnership for Economic Development, Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, Blue Ridge Community College and Henderson County TDA. Nonprofits from Henderson County and the immediate surrounding areas have shown enormous creativity, initiative and partnership to help our community rebound from the impact of the storm, Community Foundation Board President Ruth Birge said. We are blessed to be part of a community with problem solvers in both philanthropy and social services. Together, we are forever giving, forever caring. The Community Foundation of Henderson County will continue to accept disaster-related applications from qualifying nonprofit organizations serving the community through April 15, after which identified long-term project based funding will be available. For more information or to discuss disaster-related funding needs contact Program Officer Kris Merritt. Authorities lift evacuation orders Polk County currently has no mandatory evacuations thanks to significant progress firefighters have made to contain three major wildfires. Mandatory evacuation orders were also lifted in Henderson and Transylvania counties. Related Stories Polk County reported in a news release Sunday evening that the Black Cove Fire, 3,502 acres, was 36 percent contained; the Deep Woods fire, 3,970 acres, 32 percent; and the Fish Hook fire, 199 acres, 100 percent evacuations. Holbert Cove and Green River roads have reopened but to residents only as firefighting operations continue. Motorists were cautioned to be aware of emergency personnel in the area and near the roadways. "Thank you for your generous donations. However, due to logistical constraints, we are no longer able to accept in-kind donations," the Polk County news release said. "If you would still like to contribute, we encourage you to make a monetary donation to the Polk County local fire departments." The Polk County Emergency Shelter in Columbus is now officially closed as there are no longer any mandatory evacuation orders in effect. EARLIER COVERAGE: Henderson County officials are closely monitoring wildfires that have consumed more than 10,000 acres in nearby Upstate South Carolina, according to a statement on Friday from the countys emergency management office. The Henderson County fire marshal and Henderson County Emergency Management are working closely with the N.C. Forest Service to monitor the progression of those fires," Jimmy Brissie, Henderson Countys Director of Emergency Management, said in a statement on Friday. "We have personnel on scene coordinating for potential needs. That coordination is also happening with S.C. Division of Forestry and other incident management teams supporting efforts." The Table Rock wildfire complex in Pickens and Greenville counties includes the Table Rock and the Persimmon Ridge fires, which have consumed more than 10,000 acres. The South Carolina Forestry Commission said Friday that the Table Rock Fire had spread to the North Carolina line in several places, WLOS reported. Transylvania County officials also confirmed at 11 a.m. on Friday that fires were burning near the state line. Per the North Carolina State Fire Service, the fire line is primarily limited to the state line area with a spot fire identified within North Carolina at Busted Rock, but all fire activity is currently in the state forests as of midday. Federal resources are pulling in additional resources to assist in fire line tracking, the county's website said. Chinese, Iranian, Russian navies conduct joint maritime exercise Xinhua) 09:57, March 28, 2025 BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The naval forces of China, Iran and Russia conducted a joint exercise code-named "Security Belt 2025" near Iran's Chabahar Port from March 9 to 13, a Chinese defense spokesperson said Thursday. Under the theme "Building Peace and Security Together," the three sides dispatched over 10 vessels, as well as special operation forces and diving units to join the exercise, which focused on counter-terrorism and counter-piracy operations, said Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference. The exercise tested tactical command coordination and joint operational capabilities of the participating forces, and deepened military trust and practical cooperation among the three countries, the spokesperson said. Noting that China, Iran and Russia have successfully conducted five joint maritime exercises since 2019, Wu said China is willing to actively engage in maritime security cooperation with all parties, and make new contributions to global and regional peace and stability. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) China, New Zealand explore deeper co-op with EVs in focus: former PM 10:19, March 28, 2025 By Liu Yang, Zhang Yiyi ( Global Times A view of the venue of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, which is being held from March 25 to 28, 2025, in Boao, South China's Hainan Province (Liu Yang/GT) Chinese automobiles have been coming into the New Zealand market and they've been very successful, and there are still significant opportunities for the two economies to continue to develop together, Dame Jenny Shipley, former prime minister of New Zealand, told the Global Times on Thursday during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025. Shipley noted that China's automobiles are world-class, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) segment, adding that she has been to see the Chery manufacturers recently, while complimenting the innovation of Chinese automobile design. She added that the EVs are widely adopted because they are very beautiful in design and very reasonable in cost, while New Zealand can be a good showcase and a good test market. Shipley said that these sorts of collaborations will go from strength to strength. Speaking on the bilateral relationship, Shipley said that China and New Zealand are old friends as the two sides have enjoyed many firsts, from supporting China's WTO accession to signing a groundbreaking free trade agreement (FTA). These firsts were important, and the relationship has continued to evolve, she said, stressing that the two sides can speak frankly to each other and listen carefully to each other. Dame Jenny Shipley, former prime minister of New Zealand and board member of the Boao Forum (Liu Yang/GT) China and New Zealand have held the first round of negotiations on a services trade negative list under their FTA, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. The talks, held in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, made positive progress and focused on establishing the principles, scope, and framework for the negative list negotiations, the ministry said in a statement. There's growing potential for China and New Zealand to expand cooperation beyond traditional areas like trade and agriculture, Chen Hong, a professor and director of the New Zealand Studies Centre at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Thursday. "Clean energy and EVs stand out as natural growth points," Chen said, noting New Zealand's strong commitment to emissions reduction and its rich renewable resources. "China has the tech and capacity to work with New Zealand in solar, wind, and green transport." Chen noted that China-New Zealand cooperation is becoming increasingly two-way. "It used to be mostly New Zealand exporting food and wine to China. Now we're seeing more high-value Chinese products entering the New Zealand market and gaining traction," he said. With both economies looking to bounce back post-pandemic, he believes this more balanced, forward-looking partnership will help drive a regional economic recovery. Amid growing economic ties, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agreement became another highlight of the forum. Shipley also pointed to China's key role in shaping the future of APEC and regional cooperation. "The revitalization of APEC is a crucial topic right now," Shipley told reporters, adding that China remains a very important leader in the region. In terms of cooperation under the APEC framework, she said that she hopes that countries such as China and South Korea will provide strong leadership and clarity, encouraging broader participation and introducing ideas that facilitate doing business, investing and co-investing. The world is now at a critical "crossroads", and as the world economy enters a new period of transition, APEC should act in accordance with the trend and establish a more strategic and long-term vision and goals. Only by sticking to the right direction can we promote inclusive economic globalization, Zhang Jun, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia, said at a sub-forum on Wednesday, chinanews.com reported. Chen highlighted the importance of regional frameworks like APEC. He noted that China and New Zealand already enjoy a solid foundation through their upgraded FTA, and both are strong supporters of open markets and regional integration. "As the Asia-Pacific remains a key driver of global growth, deeper APEC cooperation will bring shared benefitsnot just for China and New Zealand, but for the region as a whole," he said. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) The European Central Bank has pushed back against calls to loosen rules for eurozone banks despite fears they could fall behind US rivals if President Donald Trump implements major deregulation. Patrick Montagner, one of the ECB's banking regulators, told AFP in an interview that financial watchdogs "must always take a prudent approach to banking". "The banking sector can, by its very nature, cause a lot of instability," said Montagner, whose watchdog oversees more than 100 of the euro area's biggest lenders, from Deutsche Bank to BNP Paribas and UniCredit. Trump's return to the White House has fuelled expectations among major US banks of lighter regulation, and he is seen as likely to scale back the confrontational approach of Joe Biden's administration. Changes are already afoot. Last week Trump tapped Michelle Bowman to be the Federal Reserve's top banking regulator, choosing a vocal critic of efforts to impose tougher rules in response to the 2007-2009 global financial crisis. Such moves in the world's top economy will likely fuel calls for deregulation from European lenders, who had already been complaining frequently that stricter rules were undermining their ability to compete with US peers. But Montagner said that if calls for "simplification" of regulations effectively meant "removing certain rules to the detriment of the resilience of the banking system, this does not align with our approach". The member of the ECB's Supervisory Board pointed to the "massive cycle of deregulation" from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, which ultimately triggered the "global shock" of the financial crisis. The crisis began with a collapse of the US housing market, followed by the failure of banks and other businesses, and ultimately a major global downturn that the world economy took years to recover from. Still, Montagner conceded it was ultimately not his call to set rules for the eurozone banking system -- that is up to European lawmakers. There have been other warning signs about overly loose regulation in recent times, he said, pointing to the failure of US lender Silicon Valley Bank in 2023, which sent shock waves through the banking system. "Regional banks were plunged into a severe crisis, with federal intervention required to stop it," he noted. But his comments come at a time efforts to implement tougher global banking rules -- the so-called Basel III agreement, which came in response to the financial crisis -- already appeared to be stalling. The US Federal Reserve has watered down its plans to implement the regulations after heavy pressure from the financial sector. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has also delayed bringing in the rules until at least 2026 while the Bank of England has postponed them to the start of 2027. The commission, under pressure to boost the eurozone's sluggish growth, is set to publish a report next year on the banking system in the single market, including on its competitiveness. Montagner said the ECB was ready to contribute, while stressing financial sector regulations were not behind the euro area's economic woes. "Economic forecasts have deteriorated recently owing to the prospect of a trade war and other geopolitical factors -- but not because of excessive banking regulation," he said. A federal judge in Texas has set a June 23 trial date for Boeing in a criminal case related to the deadly crashes of its 737 Max aircraft. The case stems from allegations that the company misled regulators about the safety of the jet before two crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people. According to AP, US District Judge Reed O'Connor made the decision on Tuesday, canceling a previous deadline for Boeing and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to negotiate a resolution. The DOJ had been in discussions with Boeing about a plea deal, but the judge rejected an earlier agreement in December 2023. Boeing and the DOJ had been working to reach a new settlement that would have avoided trial. However, O'Connor's latest order indicates that the case will move forward in court unless a new agreement is reached beforehand. In 2021, Boeing reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ, which protected it from criminal charges as long as the company complied with safety and compliance measures. However, prosecutors later determined that Boeing had violated that agreement. This conclusion followed a January 2024 incident in which a panel detached from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max mid-flight, reigniting safety concerns. A federal judge ordered Boeing to stand trial June 23 in a criminal case over two deadly crashes of its 737 Max aircraft, a stunning turnaround in the long-running legal saga over the planemakers culpability https://t.co/RoYRc97Goo Bloomberg (@business) March 25, 2025 Boeing Faces Federal Trial After Judge Rejects $487M Plea Deal Under the rejected plea deal, Boeing would have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and paid a fine of up to $487.2 million. Additionally, the company would have been required to invest $455 million in compliance programs and accept three years of government oversight. Judge O'Connor, however, rejected the agreement, citing concerns over the process of selecting an independent monitor, Bloomberg said. The decision to move forward with a trial marks a significant shift in the government's handling of the case. Until now, Boeing had largely avoided criminal prosecution, with only one mid-level employee previously facing trialand ultimately being acquitted. Many relatives of the victims have long pushed for a public trial and stronger penalties against Boeing. Paul Cassell, an attorney representing some of the victims' families, stated, "Boeing can have no defense at trial. It previously admitted its crime when it agreed to the original deferred prosecution agreement." Boeing has maintained that it continues to work with the DOJ in good faith to resolve the case. The company stated, "Boeing and the Department of Justice continue to be engaged in discussions regarding an appropriate resolution of this matter." Originally published on vcpost.com US President Donald Trump ramped up his claims to Greenland on Wednesday, saying ahead of a visit by Vice President JD Vance that the United States needed to take control of the Danish island for "international security." Since coming to power in January, Trump has repeatedly insisted that he wants the self-governed territory to be in Washington's grip, refusing to rule out the use of force to do so. "We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it," Trump told podcaster Vince Coglianese. "I hate to put it that way, but we're going to have to have it." Greenland, which is seeking independence from Denmark, holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned. It is also strategically located between North America and Europe at a time of rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the Arctic, where sea lanes have opened up because of climate change. Asked if he thought Greenlanders were eager to join the United States, Trump said he did not know. "We have to convince them," he said. "And we have to have that land, because it's not possible to properly defend a large section of this Earth, not just the United States, without it." Trump's comments prompted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to say on her Facebook account: "We mustn't have illusions -- President Trump's interest in Greenland is not going away". "They know that Greenland is not for sale. They know that Greenland doesn't want to be part of the United States," she added, saying the message had been communicated "unambiguously." Trump's latest strident comments come as Vice President Vance is due to accompany his wife Usha on a visit to the US-run Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday. Frederiksen and Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede had earlier harshly criticized plans by a US delegation to visit the Arctic island uninvited for what was initially a much broader visit. Egede had characterized the initial plans as "foreign interference," noting that the outgoing government had not "sent out any invitations for visits, private or official." On Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen welcomed the decision to limit the visit to the US space base. "I think it's very positive that the Americans have canceled their visit among Greenlandic society. They will only visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that," he told public broadcaster DR. Formerly known as Thule Air Base, the Pituffik Space Base is the United States' northernmost military installation and supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance missions. The White House on Tuesday said the Vances' visit to the space base would take place in lieu of the second lady's scheduled visit to a dogsled race in Sisimiut, where an anti-US demonstration was reportedly planned. Greenlandic officials have repeatedly said the territory does not want to be either Danish or American, but is "open for business" with everyone. "There is no doubt we find ourselves in a tough situation," Frederiksen said of Trump's repeated comments on a takeover, predicting "a situation that will ebb and flow, maybe for a long time yet." According to opinion polls, most Greenlanders support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington. Following March 11 elections, Greenland has only a transitional government, with parties still in negotiations to form a new coalition government. Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defense College, called the decision to limit the US visit "a de-escalation," a term also used by Foreign Minister Lokke. "You do not come to another country when you haven't been welcomed," he told AFP. Jacobsen added that the planned anti-US demonstration in Sisimiut, after a similar protest in the capital Nuuk on March 15, may have also factored into Vance's decision to contain the visit. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are currently investigating allegations that Pfizer deliberately delayed announcing the success of its COVID-19 vaccine in 2020 until after the presidential election. The claim was initially brought forward by British pharmaceutical company GSK, according to sources familiar with the matter. The investigation stems from information shared by a former Pfizer scientist, Philip Dormitzer, who later worked at GSK, NYPost said. According to GSK executives, Dormitzer had reportedly stated that Pfizer withheld its vaccine trial results until after the election. However, Dormitzer has denied this interpretation, insisting that Pfizer and its team acted as quickly as possible to secure emergency authorization from the FDA. "My Pfizer colleagues and I did everything we could to get the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization at the very first possible moment," Dormitzer said in a statement. "Any other interpretation of my comments about the pace of the vaccine's development would be incorrect." The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has interviewed at least two individuals connected to the case, including a GSK executive who documented a conversation with Dormitzer. A third interview is reportedly planned in the coming days, though no officials from Pfizer have been questioned at this point. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are reviewing a claim brought by British drugmaker GSK that Pfizer delayed announcing the success of its COVID-19 vaccine in 2020 until after the presidential election, according to sources familiar with the matter. The allegation, if pic.twitter.com/OzzCJntf1P Badlands Media (@BadlandsMedia_) March 26, 2025 Pfizer Denies Allegations of Delaying Vaccine Announcement This inquiry follows long-standing claims from former President Donald Trump, who has accused Pfizer of delaying the vaccine's announcement to undermine his administration. Despite these assertions, no evidence has surfaced to confirm that Pfizer intentionally postponed revealing its vaccine's effectiveness. The company has maintained that its development and approval processes were strictly driven by science and regulatory guidelines. According to WallStreetJournal, Pfizer stated that the vaccine's success was the result of "the tireless work of scientists, regulators, and thousands of clinical trial volunteers." The company also emphasized that any claims of misconduct are baseless, adding that it remains fully prepared to provide transparency regarding the vaccine's development timeline. The timing of Pfizer's announcement in November 2020just days after the electionhas remained a contentious issue, particularly as the vaccine was widely regarded as a historic medical breakthrough. The company has reiterated that its clinical trial results were reviewed by an independent data safety monitoring board, which informed Pfizer of the findings on November 8. Two days later, the company publicly shared the results, revealing that the vaccine was highly effective in preventing COVID-19. GSK, which has a history of legal disputes with Pfizer over vaccine patents, has refrained from commenting on the investigation. The company has stated that Dormitzer's departure from GSK was unrelated to this matter. Originally published on vcpost.com Memphis police have identified a suspect linked to the March 22 shooting that killed rapper Sayso P and injured Sauce Walka outside a hotel. A warrant has been issued for 21-year-old Jayden Dandridge, according to a statement from the Memphis Police Department on Wednesday, March 26. Dandridge faces charges of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two firearm-related felonies, and auto theft. Police released an image and surveillance video showing Dandridge exiting a white vehicle holding a backpack and another object. He was accompanied by a second person dressed in dark clothing with a face covering. Officers responded to the shooting around 2:42 p.m. near the Westin Hotel at 170 Lt. George W. Lee Avenue. Letorian Hunt, known as Sayso P, was pronounced dead at the scene. Sauce Walka, born Albert Mondane, was taken to Regional One in non-critical condition after being shot in the leg. Walka later posted graphic photos of his injury and recovery on Instagram. The department said, "We want to assure our community and visitors that downtown Memphis is a safe place. This incident was not a random act of violence." They added, "Early indications are that the victims and suspects are known to each other... MPD is committed to bringing those responsible to justice." On March 25, Walka shared a tribute to Hunt on Instagram. "Everything in Memphis @sayso___p wanted me to do with him I stayed 3 days after we lost you to complete your wishes," he wrote. "Errthing u had planned for me I stayed and completed the mission no matter what's the risk I had to complete the mission for u." A $6,000 reward is available for information on Dandridge or any other suspects. Tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH or at www.crimestopmem.org. Originally published on Enstarz The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is standing by its decision to arrest a Turkish graduate student on the street, claiming she was targeted for supporting Hamas' actions in the war in Gaza. Concretely, a DHS spokesperson told NBC News that even if Rumeysa Ozturk had a valid F-1 student visa as a doctoral student, she had "engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans." "A visa is a privilege, not a right," the spokesperson added. Ozturk's arrest made national headlines on Thursday as video of her arrest on the street began circulating. Her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, said she was on her way to break her Ramadan fast with friends when she was approached by law enforcement. Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk was detained by ICE. A video shared with GBH News shows a man in a hoodie approach her, then grab her wrists. Ozturk screams, then asks Can I call the police? before being told Were the police.https://t.co/6dwvEmqjVr@sweetadelinevt @GBHNews pic.twitter.com/NAAgGVpp9G Tori Bedford (@Tori_Bedford) March 26, 2025 Images show her becoming agitated as she is approached by officers in plain clothes. She then has her backpack removed and is escorted out of frame with her hands behind her back. After she asks "can I call the police?" she is told "we're the police, relax." The online detainee locator system showed Ozturk was being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. "Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security," the DHS spokesperson added when discussing her arrest. Ozturk's lawyer said a petition for a writ of habeas corpus was filed in Massachusetts federal court to obtain her release. A judge blocked the Trump administration from removing her from the state, but officials did it anyway. The event follows the high-profile arrest of Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, targeted for deportation as a result of his role in campus protests despite holding a green card. 30-year-old Khalil, born in Syria to Palestinian parents, was a negotiator representing students who staged numerous protests throughout the year, setting up encampments and disrupting activities. Both his student visa and green card were revoked. The Trump administration has vowed to deport Khalil despite criticism from many Democrats and advocates, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying "he's going to leave and so are others." Originally published on Latin Times A tragic accident off Egypt's Red Sea coast has left six people dead and dozens more rescued after a tourist submarine sank near the popular resort city of Hurghada on Thursday. The vessel, carrying mostly Russian vacationers, went down during a regular underwater excursion to explore the region's coral reefs, triggering a swift and desperate rescue operation. The Russian embassy and Egyptian state-run media reported that 39 people were rescued, with 21 of them, including seven children aged between two and 15, hospitalized. The victims were foreign nationals, according to Reuters. The incident occurred around 10:00 a.m. local time, approximately one kilometer from the shore. The submarine was on its routine tour when it suddenly crashed. The submarine, operated by Sindbad Submarines, was well-regarded for its expertise in navigating the waters of the Red Sea, with an "expert team" and submarines "engineered in Finland" to handle underwater pressures. The company's website reassured potential customers about safety, citing the presence of oxygen masks and life vests, while also highlighting the vessel's ability to reach depths of 25 meters to explore coral reefs. While Egypt's tourism sector is a vital contributor to its economy, such incidents have raised concerns about safety standards in the industry, particularly in the country's popular Red Sea resorts. President Donald Trump's tariffs on auto imports will deal a heavy blow to European carmakers, especially German manufacturers, which rely on the US markets for a big chunk of their profits. The move comes as the continent's automakers have already seen their earnings slump in the past year, with some such as Volkswagen, Mercedes or BMW struggling in another key foreign market, China. European automakers exported 750,000 cars to the United States last years, worth in total 38.5 billion euros, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, known as ACEA. Starting on April 3, importers will have to pay a tariff of 25 percent for all cars produced abroad. The tariffs could "quickly cause several billion euros in losses and put as many as 25,000 jobs in Europe at risk", according to global consulting firm Kearney. American consumers may also pay a hefty bill: Car prices could increase by as much as $10,000, according to a Bank of America analysis. German automakers, which account for almost two thirds of European exports, would be badly hit. "A 25 percent tariff will be quite damaging for Germany, where auto exports to the US account for close to half a percent of value added in the economy," said Andrew Kenningham, chief European economist at Capital Economics research firm. "These sales could plausibly fall by 50% or so," he added. The German automakers association, VDA, said the tariffs send "a fatal signal for free trade" as they will "place a significant burden on businesses and global supply chains". Credit ratings firm Moody's said last month that automakers could absorb some of the tariff costs through their existing prices. This would be easier for pricier and more profitable models, but the size of the tariff leaves little space for profit margins. Italian sportscar maker Ferrari said Wednesday that, after the tariffs come into force, it would increase prices by up to 10 percent for models excluding the Ferrari 296, SF90 and Roma. Porsche and Audi, luxury brands that are owned by Volkswagen, are all made outside of the United States. The VW group could decide to relocate production of some vehicles to plants used to assemble its other brands in the United States, but such a move would take time. BMW and Mercedes export sedans from Europe to the United States, but they also have factories in Alabama and South Carolina, where they produce sport-utility vehicles that are prized by American consumers. These SUVs would avoid US tariffs, but the US-made models are also exported abroad, exposing them to possible retaliatory duties. BMW said Thursday that there would be no benefits to a trade conflict, urging Europe and the United States to rapidly reach a deal. Mercedes called for an end to reciprocal tariffs. The Stellantis group, which owns US brands Jeep, Dodge and Ram along with French auto company Peugeot and Italy's Fiat, makes most of its sales in Europe but earns its biggest chunk of profits in North America. Stellantis has factories in Mexico and Canada, but it would be less affected by the US-EU trade spat as it exports few made in America Jeeps to Europe and few Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati cars to the United States as well as, ironically, the US-marketed but Italian-made Dodge Hornet. Volvo Cars, which is owned by China's Geely Group, sells popular SUVs in the United States that are made in South Carolina since 2015. Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan told CNBC last month that the company was preparing itself "to see whether we need to start looking at production relocation or even supplier relocation to different parts of the world". A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 struck central Myanmar on Friday afternoon, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The earthquake hit at 12:50 p.m. local time, approximately 10 miles north-northwest of the town of Sagaing, Myanmar. Shortly after the initial tremor, a second aftershock measuring 6.4 in magnitude struck the region around 12 minutes later, further adding to the devastation. The powerful quakes sent shockwaves through the region, with tremors reportedly felt as far away as Thailand's capital, Bangkok. A high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed, leaving the fate of possible casualties still unknown. The dramatic incident, which took place near the popular Chatuchak Market, was captured on video and quickly circulated on social media, showing the multi-story building toppling into a massive cloud of dust, with onlookers screaming and fleeing the scene. Police confirmed that they were responding to the collapse but had no immediate information on how many workers were on-site at the time. According to the U.S. Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ center for geosciences, the earthquake was shallow, occurring 6.2 miles beneath the surface. The epicenter was located in Myanmar. In the country's second-largest city, Mandalay, several buildings, including parts of the former royal palace, were damaged. The area, while prone to earthquakes, is generally sparsely populated with low-rise homes. The Sagaing region, just southwest of Mandalay, saw the collapse of a 90-year-old bridge, and parts of the highway connecting Mandalay with Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, were damaged. In Yangon, residents rushed out of their homes, though there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths. The capital, Naypyitaw, also suffered damage, with religious shrines and homes affected by the tremors. In Bangkok, alarms blared as the earthquake hit around 1:30 p.m., prompting startled residents to evacuate high-rise condominiums and hotels. The greater Bangkok area, home to more than 17 million people, is densely populated, with many residing in high-rise apartments. Water from rooftop pools sloshed over the sides of buildings as the quake rattled the city, and debris fell from various structures. Thailand's Department of Disaster Prevention confirmed that the quake was felt across nearly all regions of the country. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the devastating earthquake. Authorities in Myanmar are likely to continue assessing the situation and providing updates on the extent of the damage caused by these powerful seismic events. This is a developing story. A Wisconsin teen has been charged with murdering his mother and stepfather, allegedly living with their decomposing body for weeks before fleeing the state. Nikita Casap, 17, is accused of shooting his mother Tatiana Casap, 35, and stepfather, Donald Mayer, 51, as detailed in a March 26 criminal complaint obtained by Law & Crime. In the roughly two weeks he remained in the home after the February 11 killings, Casap reportedly maintained communication with his school, Mayer's employer and family members by using his parents' accounts. "Due to unfortunate circumstances, I will be out for another week," a text to Mayer's boss read. Surveillance footage from inside the home showed Casap tending to candles near his stepfather's body, according to prosecutors. At one point, he held a camera pointed at Mayer's body and can allegedly be heard stating, "I can literally see the fing rotten body there." Investigators learned Casap allegedly discussed plans to kill his parents with a classmate prior to the incident. He also allegedly communicated with a contact in Russia about conspiring to overthrow the US government, assassinate President Donald Trump and fleeing to Ukraine. "I'll be able to live a normal life? Even when it's found out I did it?" the teen reportedly messaged using the Telegram app. The decaying bodies were discovered by police on February 28 when, after two weeks of absences, Casap's school requested a wellness check at the home. Casap was apprehended the same day in Kansas, found with $14,000 in cash and an equivalent amount in his mother's jewelry. He now faces multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of hiding a corpse. The teen's bail has been set at $1 million. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 9. Originally published on Lawyer Herald Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced the signing of Tempo by Hilton Belfast City Centre, as part of a franchise agreement with Loughview Leisure Group. This marks the brand's international debut, following its successful launch in the United States. The hotel will join a global portfolio of 56 hotels trading and pipeline, with further openings planned for 2025 in San Diego, California, Nashville, Tennessee and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The signing reinforces Hilton's ongoing commitment to increase its presence in Northern Ireland, following nearly 30 years of success in the region. With demand for high-quality accommodation in Belfast and beyond continuing to rise, the company is set to open three new properties in 2025 - the highly anticipated The Marcus Portrush, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton Belfast City Ten Square and DoubleTree by Hilton Derry-Londonderry. This expansion will double Hilton's room count across the country over the next 12 months and increase the number of brands represented from three to five by the end of 2026. Set to revive a vacant office building in the heart of the city, the 144-room Tempo by Hilton Belfast City Centre will provide thoughtfully designed accommodation tailored to the ambitious, modern traveller. In line with the brand's mission to help guests maintain their preferred routine during their travels, the hotel will offer wellbeing-focused amenities, and a balanced food and drink offer. The spacious, fully equipped fitness centre will include top-of-the-range Technogym, Precor, or Life Fitness equipment, as well as traditional and circuit training options and hydration stations, delivering the brand's signature 'Power Up' experience. Guest rooms are designed with comfort and wellbeing in mind, featuring naturally derived Origins bathroom amenities. Each room will also include a dedicated 'Get Ready Zone' - a well-lit space with a vanity mirror, custom desk, and open wardrobe to help travellers prepare for their day. For added flexibility, guests can request In-Room Fitness Gear Kits for personalised workouts and unwind with 'Power Down' in partnership with the Calm app. The hotel will be situated adjacent to the Cathedral Quarter and a stone's throw from Belfast City Hall, offering easy access to the city's top attractions. It will also offer convenient transport links, with George Best City Airport only a seven-minute drive away and Belfast International Airport a 25-minute drive away, providing the perfect base for short city breaks and business travel. The hotel is expected to open towards the end of 2026. Hotel website Iris Acosta-Zobel is a highly experienced sales and marketing professional with a deep understanding of Miami's hospitality landscape, where she has spent more than 25 years driving business growth for luxury hotels. As the founder of IAZ Hospitality Advisors, she provided expert consulting services for independent hotels and destinations, guiding them through transitions and implementing tailored sales and marketing strategies to increase visibility and revenue. Prior to that, she served as vice president of sales for the iconic Cipriani-family portfolio of luxury boutique properties Mr. C Hotels and Casa Cipriani, where she led commercial operations, successfully elevating brand positioning and profitability across the company's hotel concepts. From W Hotels to the legendary Nobu Eden Roc Miami Beach, Mondrian, and others, Acosta-Zobel brings a wealth of luxury hotel experience to her position. With deeply rooted expertise in the Miami market, Acosta-Zobel's invaluable local perspective serves as an incredible asset to Thompson Miami Beach. In her role as director of sales and marketing, she will lead opening strategy, ensuring the hotel's strong market entry and long-term position as a sought-after destination among a competitive landscape. Rosewood Baha Mar is pleased to announce the appointment of Gowdhaman 'GP' Perumal as Director of Food & Beverage. With over 24 years of international hospitality experience, GP brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for culinary excellence to this exciting new role at one of The Bahamas' most prestigious resorts. GP's distinguished career spans renowned luxury properties around the world, including Kempinski Hotels, Rotana Hotels, and The Residency Hotels. Throughout his journey, he has honed his skills in food and beverage operations, catering and hospitality management, building a reputation for driving innovation, enhancing guest satisfaction, and fostering an environment of culinary excellence. His strong background in MICROS systems and hotel operations positions him to drive innovation and excellence across the resort's acclaimed dining venues. GP holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Catering & Hotel Management from VLB Janakiammal College and has demonstrated strong leadership in overseeing signature dining venues, event catering, and in-room dining services. He began his journey with Rosewood in June 2019 at Rosewood Little Dix Bay, where he consistently upheld the brand's commitment to exceptional hospitality. In his new role at Rosewood Baha Mar, GP will oversee all aspects of the resort's food and beverage operations, ensuring that each guest experience is nothing short of extraordinary. His responsibilities include collaborating with the talented culinary team to develop one-of-a-kind dining experiences that celebrate Bahamian ingredients and traditions while infusing global flavors and techniques. GP is particularly passionate about highlighting the abundance of fresh, local produce, seafood, and other Bahamian delicacies to create dynamic and memorable culinary offerings across the resort's acclaimed dining venues, including: the award-winning Cafe Boulud, The Bahamas, Costa, Tingum on the Sand, Manor Bar, The Library, and the new Breakfast Cafe. GP is committed to embracing the rich culture and flavors of The Bahamas while maintaining the elevated standards that Rosewood is known for around the world. Please join Rosewood Baha Mar in extending a warm welcome to GP as he steps into this exciting new role. The team is confident that his leadership and dedication will continue to elevate Rosewood Baha Mar's reputation as a leading culinary and art destination in The Bahamas. Ralph Posner, a seasoned communications professional, will oversee all aspects of AHLA's external communications efforts, including media relations, member communications, and campaign strategy. He also will work closely with AHLA's advocacy team to help advance the industry's policy agenda. Posner brings decades of communications experience managing reputational threats and driving visibility for advocacy issues at the national, state, and local level. He was most recently a partner with Seven Letter, a Washington, D.C.-based strategic communications firm. He previously served at leading global public relations firms and began his career working on Capitol Hill in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. AH&LA Washington, District of Columbia United States Website Join us in Warsaw, a city of contrasts where history and modernity blend in perfect harmony. A cosmopolitan and open metropolis, Warsaw celebrates its rich cultural heritage while embracing innovation, making it the ideal venue for the 51st EHMA Annual General Meeting, themed "Hospitality by Design." Discover how creativity and design are shaping the future of luxury hospitality in this dynamic and vibrant city. The Polonia Palace Hotel, one of Warsaw's most historic landmarks, will serve as the official home for EHMA guests, offering accommodations and hosting the Welcome Cocktail. The Renaissance Warsaw Airport Hotel will host the Educational Day, while the elegant Sheraton Grand Warsaw will provide the perfect setting for the Gala Dinner. Each of these hotels offers renowned Polish hospitality. This event will feature thought-provoking sessions, renowned speakers, and an opportunity to witness Polish traditional hospitality at its finest. Warsaw is the perfect setting for an unforgettable event in a city where heritage meets progress, and where hospitality thrives. Save the date - Warsaw is calling! This event is organized by EHMA Kansas City, MO Despite financial pressures and shifting travel landscapes, Americans are traveling more in 2025 than they have in the past five years, according to the latest edition of Portrait of American Travelers by MMGY. The study, which surveyed over 4,500 active leisure travelers, uncovers key trends shaping U.S. travel, from a strong desire for meaningful experiences to the rising role of AI and sustainability in trip planning. Travel is no longer just a luxury its an essential part of Americans lives, serving as a key investment in well-being, connection and personal fulfillment. Despite rising costs, travelers are prioritizing meaningful experiences, embracing technology for smarter planning and seeking sustainable options that align with their values. The future of travel is about balancing tradition with innovation, and the industry must evolve to meet these shifting expectations. Simon Moriarty, MMGY Travel Intelligence VP of Syndicated Research Additional highlights from the report follow. Travel Is an Investment in Well-Being and Connection American travelers plan to spend more ($5,138) and take more vacations (4.2) in the next 12 months than any time in the previous five years. More travelers are willing to stretch their budgets to accommodate their wanderlust, even as affordability concerns rise. Many are embracing off-season travel and alternative accommodations, such as short-term rentals, to maximize value without sacrificing quality. Evolving Destinations: Weather and Politics at Play While perennial favorites like Hawaii, Florida and California continue to attract visitors, extreme weather events have tempered enthusiasm for certain regions. Conversely, Washington, D.C., has surged in popularity, likely influenced by its heightened media presence following the recent presidential election. Sustainability Matters As Long As Its Affordable Environmental consciousness continues to shape travel decisions, with travelers showing a strong preference for eco-friendly options that do not come at an added cost. Off-season travel has become a key sustainability strategy, reducing environmental strain while offering budget-friendly options. Additionally, 58% of travelers cite concerns about overtourism as a factor influencing their destination choices over the next five to 10 years. Technology & AI: Tailored Travel Planning Generational differences in travel planning are becoming more pronounced, with Gen Zers and Millennials relying heavily on AI tools and social media influencers for trip inspiration and itinerary creation. In contrast, Boomers continue to favor traditional travel agents and review websites. AI-driven travel assistance, from itinerary generation to price comparisons, is rapidly growing in popularity, with 34% of travelers now using AI for trip planning, up from 31% in early 2024. The Rise of International Travel International travel is experiencing a significant resurgence, with over 1 in 3 (35%) U.S. travelers who expect to travel in the next six months planning an international trip. Europe, the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico and Asia remain top choices, with Europe particularly appealing to Boomers and Asia drawing interest from younger generations seeking affordability and adventure. Featuring these findings and more, the Spring Edition of Portrait of American Travelers is now available for purchase or as part of an all-access subscription to EurekA! MMGYs new searchable research platform. To learn more, visit mmgyintel.com. About the 2025 Portrait of American Travelers MMGYs Portrait of American Travelers study provides an in-depth examination of the impact of the current economic environment, prevailing social values and emerging travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans. Now in its 35th year, it is widely regarded as a leading barometer of travel trends and an essential tool for developing and evolving brand and marketing strategies. The travel trend information presented in this Spring Edition report was obtained from interviews with 4,502 U.S. adults in February 2025 and features data from four generations: Gen Zers (1828), Millennials (2944), Gen Xers (4560) and Boomers (6179). The Silent/GI generation (80+) was also surveyed, but results are not broken out for this specific generation due to a small respondent sample size. This is the first of four quarterly reports to be released this year. About MMGY Global MMGY Global is the world's leading integrated marketing firm specializing in the travel, hospitality and lifestyle industries. With operating brands across the world, the award-winning organization maintains a global communications practice in all marketing channels, serving many of the world's premier travel and tourism brands. As a company dedicated to the travel industry, MMGY Global strives to create a connected, inclusive and peaceful world by promoting travel as a cultural bridge of understanding. For more information, visit mmgyglobal.com. Palma de Mallorca - In just two years, RIU Hotels & Resorts has doubled the amount of local products used at its hotels in the Balearic Islands. This figure stood at 5.7% in 2023, before increasing to 7% in 2024 and reaching 10% in 2025. This amount is calculated as a percentage of the hotels total spending and represents a significant milestone for the chain, which intends to continue increasing the proportion of local products used in the coming years as part of its Proudly Committed sustainability strategy, supporting the community and reducing the companys scope 2 carbon emissions. This year, as well as continuing to prioritise products such as water, fruit and vegetables from the islands, RIU started locally sourcing another two key products that are widely consumed in its hotelswine and ice cream. This takes the total to 202 locally-produced products. These purchases not only support local producers and contribute to sustainability objectives but also lead to better quality for guests. The Sustainable Purchasing department has played a key role in achieving this milestone. Created in 2024 after RIUs Board of Directors approved the new Sustainability and Procurement and Supplier policies, this department coordinates, evaluates and quantifies the procurement of products that come from sustainable sources or are produced in controlled conditions. It also monitors the ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria implemented by suppliers, thus extending RIU's sustainability and responsible management objectives to the supply chain. In 2022, new legislation came into force regarding urgent measures to guarantee the sustainability and circularity of tourism in the Balearic Islands, which stipulates that at least 3% of the fresh, agricultural, livestock and fishery products offered in hotel establishments must be of local origin. This percentage rises to 4% in 4- and 5-star hotels and 5% in the case of rural tourism establishments. RIU Hotels far exceeds this minimum, proof of its commitment to sustainability and supporting local producers. It also contributes to the companys global objective of reducing scope 2 carbon emissions, which the chain has managed to cut by 50% over the past two years. About RIU Hotels & Resorts The international RIU hotel chain was started in Mallorca, Spain, in 1953 as a small holiday business run by the Riu family, the founders and current owners, now in its third generation. The company specialises in holiday accommodation and over 74% of its establishments offer its renowned All Inclusive by RIU service. With the opening of its first city hotel in 2010, RIU expanded its product line with its own range of urban hotels under the name RIU Plaza. RIU Hotels & Resorts has 98 hotels in 21 countries, with a total of 38,055 employees that welcomed 6.7 million customers in 2024. RIU is currently the 40th largest chain in the world and fourth in Spain in terms of the number of rooms. For further information please visit: www.riu.com. RIU Press Department +34 971 743 030 RIU View source National defense ministry refutes G7's smear on China Xinhua) 10:21, March 28, 2025 BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense on Thursday refuted a statement by the G7, emphasizing China's policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons and its defensive nuclear strategy. Spokesperson Wu Qian made the remarks at a press conference while responding to a query regarding the content of a joint statement of the recent G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The statement, which is strongly condemned and resolutely opposed by China, ignores facts and is a vicious smear on China and a brutal interference in China's internal affairs, according to Wu. "China has been maintaining its nuclear arsenal at the minimum level required for national security. The G7 should reflect on its own actions and has no qualification to criticize China," he said. Regarding the East and South China Seas, China is engaging in peaceful dialogue and consultation with relevant countries to resolve disputes, and remains steadfast in safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, the spokesperson stated. As for Taiwan, it is an inalienable part of China, and the Taiwan question brooks no foreign interference, he said, adding that any attempt to split the island from its motherland will inevitably end in complete failure. "We urge the G7 to abandon its Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, and stop lecturing and pointing fingers at others. Such an approach will not work on the Chinese military," Wu said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Tempo by Hilton Belfast City Centre - Image Credit Hilton Tempo by Hilton Belfast City Centre, the first Tempo hotel in Europe, is set to open under a franchise agreement with Loughview Leisure Group. The city of Belfast is poised to welcome Europe's first Tempo by Hilton Hotel. The forthcoming hotel, Tempo by Hilton Belfast City Centre, marks the international debut of Hilton's lifestyle brand following its successful launch in the United States. The hotel is part of a franchise agreement with Loughview Leisure Group. The new Tempo by Hilton Belfast City Centre is part of Hilton's ongoing commitment to increase its presence in Northern Ireland. The company, which has seen nearly 30 years of success in the region, plans to open three new properties in 2025, effectively doubling Hilton's room count across the country over the next 12 months. The 144-room Tempo by Hilton Belfast City Centre, set to occupy a formerly vacant office building, will offer accommodation tailored to the modern, ambitious traveler. The hotel will feature a fully equipped fitness center and thoughtfully designed guest rooms focused on comfort and well-being. Located near the Cathedral Quarter and Belfast City Hall, the hotel will offer easy access to the city's top attractions. Transport links are also conveniently close, with two airports within a 25-minute drive. The hotel is expected to open towards the end of 2026. Nick Smart, vice president, development, UK and Ireland, Hilton, said, "Northern Ireland has a rich heritage and rapidly growing international appeal. We're committed to ensuring that every traveler has access to a high-quality hotel to suit their needs." Chris Kearney, group finance director, Loughview Leisure Group, said, "As we look to further shape the citys hospitality scene, we are delighted to partner with Hilton, increasing Northern Irelands global appeal and pioneering new brands like Tempo by Hilton to attract new guests looking to experience everything Belfast has to offer." 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. Williamstown Asked to Ban Smoking in Apartments, Condos WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Board of Health on Monday learned that town meeting will be asked to outlaw smoking in most multi-family housing. William Raymond of 189 Stratton Road told the board that he has submitted a citizen's petition to ask the annual town meeting to enact a bylaw that would ban smoking in apartments and condominiums except for those that are owner-occupied with up to four units. "These requirements are in effect at Highland Woods, Proprietor's Field and the Meadowvale housing complex," Raymond told the board. "I'm only asking for the same protection that subsidized housing people get in the town." Raymond detailed his own experience dealing with second-hand smoke in his Williamstown condo. "One of my neighbors smokes cigarettes in her unit and on the deck in the summer," Raymond said. "She's a very nice person. I don't bear her any ill will. I bought her an air filter. I spent $200 to plug up the plumbing lines and electrical lines coming into my kitchen and bath. Unfortunately, the second-hand smoke still comes in." The smoke is both a nuisance and a health hazard, Raymond said. "If the smoke didn't come through the walls, I wouldn't care," he said. "The individual's right to do what they want in their own residence is something I respect, very, very much. I want the same rights myself. "I feel the issues come down to the rights of the individual versus the rights of the community to not have their health undermined by the action of one community member. I think that's the tug-of-war that's always going to be an unstable equilibrium." Raymond said he did not take his issue to the board of his homeowner's association, which he did not think would get involved in thorny issues that could pit resident against resident. Instead, his research led him to U.S. Housing and Urban Development regulations on public housing that mandate smokers must stay at least 25 feet from apartment buildings. Jim Wilusz of the South County Tri-Town Health Department told the board that those HUD regulations followed in the footsteps of a Berkshire County initiative decades ago to get local housing authorities to make their properties smoke-free. Wilusz said he discussed the issue with Chris Banthan, an attorney with Northeastern University's Public Health Advocacy Institute. "We worked for years together on smoke-free housing in Berkshire County but really focused on public subsidized housing, not so much the private," Wilusz said. "Chris and I did speak last Friday, and we're not aware of any other municipality in Massachusetts that has done this yet, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be a first." Raymond agreed but cited at least one place where a smoking ban in multi-family housing has been instituted, California's Alameda County , which enacted the rule in 2022. Wilusz and members of the Board of Health agreed with Raymond that such a ban would have benefits locally. "I'm going on almost year 30 in tobacco control," Wilusz said. "We fight every day to protect not only young people from accessing tobacco products but to protect the general public from being subjected to second-hand smoke. "From a second-hand smoke health perspective, it's not even debatable that second-hand smoke is a public health issue and creates poor outcomes." Raymond told the Board of Health that it could enact an anti-smoking regulation on its own, and then he would withdraw the citizen's petition he filed to put it on the May 22 meeting warrant. But the board members agreed that, while they supported the intent of his proposal, they would prefer to let the whole town consider the question. "I'm happy to suggest that we officially endorse your position as a board," Devan Bartels said. "I'm not comfortable legislating as a board on this question. "I think the town can do that in a democratic way at town meeting a month-and-a-half from now. I am excited about that, and I appreciate that you've brought this issue to the fore." Wilusz noted that, like any bylaw passed at town meeting, it would be reviewed by the attorney general's office in Boston. He also recommended that town counsel take a look at the proposal before it goes on the warrant. Monday morning's meeting previewed some of the debate the town might see leading up to a potential vote on the ban. "If, in Williamstown, all housing is smoke free, where are people who smoke going to live?" James Parkinson asked Raymond. "I throw that out because it's the gist of the whole issue. I don't have an answer to that." Raymond said he sympathized with smokers and noted that he had been told by recovering heroin addicts that cigarettes were a harder addiction to break than heroin. And he mentioned that people still could smoke when 25 feet outside an apartment building. Wilusz agreed that Parkinson asked a valid question but offered how he would respond if asked. "This is not a policy to eliminate smokers," Wilusz said. "It's a policy to eliminate smoking. "While people do have rights, smoking is not a protected right. Think about when we did the public housing [ban]. We had seniors, veterans, disabled folks, people who needed assistants. A lot of those housing authorities overwhelmingly voted for their units to go smoke free." Parkinson was not convinced and indicated that a proposed ban could face an uphill battle. "Getting rid of smoking means getting rid of smokers," he said. "Again, you're preaching to the choir. I agree with you. But it's how do you wrestle with that issue and how do you resolve it. "It would be great if we could say, 'Here's a pill, You'll never smoke again.' But it's not that easy." The upcoming removal of the Bel Air Dam is expected to cause traffic problems in the area, including on Lenox Avenue. Pittsfield to Study Speeding on Lenox Avenue PITTSFIELD, Mass. The city wants to ensure that upcoming construction doesn't turn Lenox Avenue into a bypass. On Thursday, the Traffic Commission tabled Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren and Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre's request to resolve excessive traffic and speeding on Lenox Avenue until after the city gathers speed data. Serre explained that this is about the upcoming detour from the Bel Air Dam removal and a general increase in speed on the southern end of the street. Because it is split between Wards 1 and 7, she and Warren got together to request a review of the detours, signage, and traffic calming measures that will be enacted when traffic is disrupted for the project. "On or about July 1, the detour will be put in place and we certainly hope that Lenox Ave is not used as a bypass," said project manager James McGrath, the city's parks and open space program manager. He reported that folks from the city and state are concerned about the street, "and there's only so much that signage can do, so we're going to look to monitor that." Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the $20 million dam removal will kick off soon and take up to 18 months. Around July 1, one lane of Wahconah Street will be shut down; northbound traffic will be able to pass down Wahconah Street, but southbound traffic will be diverted south on North Street and west on Pontoosuc Avenue. Warren said constituents on the section of Lenox Avenue between Weller Avenue and Pontoosuc Avenue have reported speeding and fears of people being injured by vehicles, noting "With or without the Bel Air dam, there are problems." "It's several people having problems with the traffic, so I was wondering if you guys could brainstorm what might be happening, what we can do temporarily to see if that'll do it," he said. "Maybe do a speed study or something like that, and then maybe these speed 'calmings' will also impact." Commissioner Patrick Kavey, Ward 5 councilor, asked if a study could be done before the changes go into place so the city has an idea of the traffic flow before the project. City Engineer Tyler Shedd said that meters for a speed study could go up the next day. "I have no doubt people speed on it like every other street," Shedd said. Kavey added that "before we put in the speed bumps or anything else, we just want to make sure that people are." Shedd observed that vehicles are likely detouring around the construction near Berkshire Medical Center, where a traffic circle is being installed. "I think engineer She'd makes a very good point about what may be generating some of the extra traffic because in my first term, I didn't hear from anybody, and then I've heard from multiple people this time," Warren said. Shortly after its local launch, the realme 14 Series 5G quickly gained popularity and created a buzz among Filipinos. As the latest addition to the realme Number Series, it has already established itself as the top smartphone choice, especially perfect for the summer season. 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For the latest news and announcements about the realme 14 Series 5G, visit the brands official website and follow its Facebook page. 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 We all know Hollywood loves a sequel. In an era of franchises, reboots and endlessly mined intellectual properties, theres no shortage of them to choose from, yet sadly they often seem to be governed by the law of diminishing returns. Yet that isnt always the case. Sometimes a sequel arrives that far outstrips the film its based on: smarter, funnier, deeper or just more thrilling. Here are 12 sequels that were better than their predecessors. open image in gallery Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road, Paddington in Paddington 2 and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight' ( Warner Bros/StudioCanal/Warner Bros ) Terminator 2: Judgement Day James Camerons 1984 sci-fi action hit The Terminator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a terrifying time-traveling cyborg assassin was a near-perfect chase movie, but Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) took those same ideas and turned everything up a notch. Helped by advances in CGI, Cameron also came up with the genius idea of bringing back Schwarzenegger as a good guy, this time facing off against a much more advanced and sinister foe in the shape-shifting T-1000, played by Robert Patrick. Meanwhile, Linda Hamiltons Sarah Connor also develops from a damsel in distress to a ferocious protector of her young son John (Edward Furlong). The Godfather Part II Perhaps a controversial choice given that Francis Ford Coppolas 1972 The Godfather is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, but the directors follow-up two years later is arguably even better. Certainly, the Academy thought so, making it the first ever sequel to win Best Picture at the Oscars (a feat only matched by Peter Jacksons The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). The Godfather Part II serves as both a sequel and prequel to the original gangster epic, with Robert De Niro brought in to play the young Vito Corleone character originated by Marlon Brando and Al Pacino returning as his son Michael. open image in gallery Robert De Niro as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II' ( Paramount ) Evil Dead II Sam Raimis debut independent horror Evil Dead became his calling card in 1981. While the film still holds up, its also clear that the director didnt quite yet have the means to bring all his bold and original ideas to life. Evil Dead II, released in 1987, is both a sequel and a partial remake, and ends up being funnier with more fully-developed effects. Paddington 2 When the original Paddington arrived in cinemas in 2014, it was widely praised as an entertaining and enjoyable childrens movie, with fun for all the family. That solid base gave director Paul King (who made his name on the cult BBC sitcom The Mighty Boosh) the license to fully expand and explore a more creative vision for the sequel, aided by an all-singing all-dancing Hugh Grant introduced as villainous actor Phoenix Buchanan. The Independents Geoffrey McNab called it a superior sequel so full of charm and good humour that it should delight audiences everywhere. open image in gallery Puss In Boots: The Last Wish: Mortality, for kids ( Universal Pictures ) Puss In Boots: The Last Wish There was hardly a clamor for a sequel to the serviceable Shrek spin-off Puss In Boots (2011), so little wonder that the follow-up film languished in development hell for over a decade. What was truly surprising was that when it finally arrived in 2022, it was moving and beautifully animated, blending action set pieces with a child-friendly grappling with mortality. The film sees our feline hero come to accept the inevitability of death, a bit like if Dreamworks had made The Seventh Seal, but with more jokes about cats burning through nine lives. Mad Max: Fury Road Reversing the trend of most film franchises, Mad Max has been on an upward trajectory pretty much since maverick writer-director George Miller kicked things off over four decades ago. The original Mad Max (1979) was bettered by Mad Max 2 (1981) and the bonkers Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), but Miller outdid all of them when he returned to the sun-bleached Australian outback for 2015s Mad Max: Fury Road. Tom Hardy took over from Mel Gibson in the title role, Charlize Theron stole the show as Furiosa and Miller somehow pulled off some of the most astounding road (and off-road) sequences ever filmed. As Steven Soderbergh once famously said of Fury Road: I dont understand how [Miller] does that, I really dont, and its my job to understand it. I dont understand two things: I dont understand how theyre not still shooting that film and I dont understand how hundreds of people arent dead. Spider-Man 2 Sam Raimi clearly has a knack for sequels. The Evil Dead II directors original 2002 Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire was well received, but the follow-up which introduced Alfred Molinas Doctor Octopus dazzled fans and critics alike. The Chicago Tribune delivered one of many reviews that said the sequel improves upon its predecessor in almost every way. The Independents Al Horner went a step further, calling it the definitive superhero movie. 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 Alfred Molina as the villainous Doctor Octopus in 2004s Spider-Man 2 ( Sony Pictures Releasing ) The Dark Knight The difference between a superhero movie soaring or taking a dive often hinges on the strength of the villain, and The Dark Knight had one for the ages. Christopher Nolans 2008 sequel to his 2005 origin story Batman Begins cast Heath Ledger as the Joker and reaped the benefits by giving the superhero an unforgettable antagonist who lifted the film series to a whole new level. The Empire Strikes Back Sure, Star Wars was a phenomenon from the moment the original film debuted in 1977, but the 1980 follow-up The Empire Strikes Back elevated the franchise to a whole new level. With all the world-building (or rather, galaxy-building) legwork out of the way after the first film, the sequel had the space to stretch itself into a darker narrative delivered with snappier dialogue. Series creator George Lucas brought in screenwriters Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, who delivered a more polished story, and the whole thing wrapped up with one of the great twists in movie history. Toy Story 3 As the first entirely computer-animated feature film, Toy Story was truly groundbreaking when it was released in 1995. It also introduced the world to Tom Hankss Woody, Tim Allens Buzz Lightyear and a whole toy chest full of co-stars. Toy Story 2, released in 1999, examined the idea that these toys would eventually become obsolete as their child grew up, but it was arguably 2010s Toy Story 3 that delivered the most heart-wrenching story of the lot as the toys child god Andy heads to college and they find themselves dispatched to live out their days at the Sunnyside Daycare center. Dune: Part Two trailer Dune: Part Two If Denis Villeneuves first Dune movie in 2021 created an immersive and gorgeously vivid world, then the 2024 sequel was where the director really lit it rip. After assembling all the pieces in the original film, the second installment sees the action come to a head while the diverging paths that Timothee Chalamets Paul Atreides and Zendayas Chani must take slowly becomes clear. The big question now is whether Villeneuve will be able to repeat the trick for the upcoming Dune: Messiah. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan After 1979s Star Trek: The Motion Picture was met with middling reviews, it seemed like long-running science fiction show Star Trek might not be long for this world. A complete overhaul for the 1982 sequel saw series creator Gene Roddenberry forced out in favor of a new team made up of executive producer Harve Bennett, screenwriter Jack B. Sowards and director Nicholas Meyer. The trio produced a swashbuckling adventure that features a memorable death scene for Spock, the only way actor Leonard Nimoy would agree to take part. The film was recently added to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress for preservation (Star Trek: The Motion Picture was not). 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 Hayley Atwell has shared the advice that Tom Cruise gave her for dealing with social anxiety in large gatherings. Atwell starred alongside Cruise in 2023s Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning and is due to reprise her role in what is presumed to be the last instalment in the series, The Final Reckoning, set for release in May. Although Atwell is an established star in Hollywood in her own right, having played Peggy Carter in several Marvel films since 2011, she said Cruise once gave her a pep talk on how to deal with social anxiety. Speaking on the Reign with Josh Smith podcas, the 42-year-old said: Social anxiety tends to be something that people talk about a lot at the moment, right? And how a lot of people do have social anxiety at some point. It manifests in different ways, but the pep talk he gave me helps that, which is if you walk into a room and you feel the anxieties coming, and it makes me want to retreat into myself, I start to overthink, and go: Do I look weird? Do I seem awkward? We go into ourselves, and [Cruise] said: Try doing the opposite. Try to look out, look around the room, and go, Where is it? Where is the thing that I have attached to my insecurity? Is it that person over there that reminds me of my school bully? That person over there didnt give me a job once? That person over there that I think was mean to me once? Atwell and Cruise in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning ( 2023 Paramount Pictures. ) Where does it live outside of me and, if I look at it for long enough, the anxiety then can have a name. It can have a label or what will happen is, Ill go: Oh, youre really jealous or Im really lonely or Im really intimidated by the talent or the confidence of that person. As soon as I can name what it actually is, the general sense of free-floating anxiety goes and then I actually have an opportunity to do something about it. So he was just like: If you are scared of something just keep looking at it. Just try not to close your eyes or turn away. Just keep looking at it and it will often give you information about what to do to overcome it. Speaking to The Guardian in February, Atwell said that working with Cruise is a delight and described him as very kind, very professional. 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. When I started, I was very aware of the rarefied air around him and how there is no one like him, she said. And there never will be because actors arent made like him any more. He is a one-man studio and, to me, very kind, very professional. And because of that, I felt I was able to try lots of different things. There was never a risk of failure or being unsafe. Tom really likes people to thrive on set. Asked to confirm that the movie will be the last in the franchise, she commented: I mean, look, they called it The Final Reckoning. On the other hand, Tom Cruise and final are oxymorons, so I wouldnt be surprised if he goes, Wait, maybe Although he has so many things that he is working on, so I cant see how another Mission would fit into that. Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning is set for release on 21 May. 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 Production on the next James Bond film is underway after being fast-tracked for release following Amazons $1bn acquisition. Last month, it was revealed that Amazon MGM had 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 a decision that has led to consternation among fans. Its now been reported that the next film Bond 26 will have a budget of 250m, which is around the same amount Daniel Craigs final 007 outing No Time to Die cost. According to The Sun, the film is expected to be in cinemas by the end of 2027, with a source stating: The Bond bosses had already proposed broad plots and reboot ideas. The writers rooms are being assembled in the hope of recouping their investment ASAP. Bond films are typically released in October and November. The hunt for a new Bond to replace Craig has heated up in recent weeks, with rumours including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Harris Dickinson and James Norton. In terms of producers, Puck reports that David Heyman (Harry Potter) and Amy Pascal (Tom Hollands Spider-Man films) are in talks to develop the outing. In March 2024, it was reported that Taylor-Johnson has secured the role of Bond but the actor distanced himself from the claims, stating: I dont feel like I need to have a future drawn out for me. I feel like, whatevers drawn out for me, I can f***ing do better. open image in gallery Aaron Taylor-Johnson is one of the favourites to replace Daniel Craig ( Getty/Eon Productions ) Amazons acquisition of the Bond franchise is expected to lead to a series of spin-offs, but the source states the streaming giant knows fans want and expect a movie and wants filming to be done by the end of next year. When the film arrives, it will match the record for the longest time the world has had to wait for a new Bond film since Sean Connery first played the British spy in 1962s Dr No. The previous record was GoldenEye, which arrived in 1995 six years after Timothy Dalton appeared in Licence to Kill. 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. Before Amazons takeover, news on the franchise had gone silent in recent years, with no formal plans for the next movie or any recruitment of the next Bond actor. 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. open image in gallery Daniel Craig made his Bond swan song in No Time to Die ( Eon Productions ) 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. 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 Oscar-winning director Yuval Abraham has criticised the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for refusing to put out a public statement in support of his No Other Land co-director, Hamdan Ballal, who was recently attacked by Israeli settlers and later detained by the Israeli military. Ballal, a Palestinian filmmaker, and his co-directors Abraham, Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli director Rachel Szor, won the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for their film No Other Land, which depicts the destruction of the occupied West Banks Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance that develops between Adra and Abraham. On Monday, activists said Ballal was beaten by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank before being arrested by the Israeli military. He has since been freed. However, according to Abraham, the US Academy, which awarded us an Oscar three weeks ago, declined to publicly support Hamdan Ballal while he was beaten and tortured by Israeli soldiers and settlers. The European Academy voiced support, as did countless other award groups and festivals. Several US Academy members especially in the documentary branch pushed for a statement, but it was ultimately refused, he wrote on X. We were told that because other Palestinians were beaten up in the settler attack, it could be considered unrelated to the film, so they felt no need to respond. Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal poses with his Oscar after being freed from detention by Israeli Forces ( AFP via Getty ) He continued: In other words, while Hamdan was clearly targeted for making No Other Land (he recalled soldiers joking about the Oscar as they tortured him), he was also targeted for being Palestinian like countless others every day who are disregarded. This, it seems, gave the Academy an excuse to remain silent when a filmmaker they honoured, living under Israeli occupation, needed them the most. Abraham further urged the Academy to change its stance and issue a statement condemning the attack on Hamdan and the Masafer Yatta community. Its not too late, he added, saying it would send a meaningful message and serve as a deterrent for the future. 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. The Independent has contacted the Academy for comment. The Avengers star Mark Ruffalo was among the actors who called on every filmmaker and academy member to protest the attack. No matter where you stand on this issue this is an attack on our beloved art form of filmmaking, he wrote on Instagram. Hamdan Ballal is a political prisoner and this is an international incident in violation of human rights. Ballal has since recounted the attack, telling The Guardian: I thought I was going to die. The soldiers pointed their rifles at me while the settler from behind began beating me, he recalled. They threw me to the ground, and the settler started hitting me on the head. Then a soldier also began beating me; with the butt of his rifle, he struck me on the head. After that, he fired his weapon in the air. I dont understand Hebrew, but I gathered that he said the next rifle shot would hit me. According to Deadline, the Academy rarely releases public statements about detentions or instances of violence against Oscar winners. However, it did call for the release of multiple detained Iranian filmmakers in 2011. 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 The Academy of Motion Pictures has received backlash after issuing a statement seemingly intended to address the detention of Oscar-winning No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal without mentioning either the film or the filmmaker by name. Earlier this week, Ballals co-director Yuval Abraham criticized the Academy for refusing to put out a public statement in support of Ballal, a Palestinian who was recently attacked by Israeli settlers and later detained by the Israeli military. Seemingly in response to that criticism, a statement was sent out Wednesday evening signed by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang. It reads: The Academy condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints. We are living in a time of profound change, marked by conflict and uncertainty across the globe, in the U.S. and within our own industry. Understandably, we are often asked to speak on behalf of the Academy in response to social, political and economic events. In these instances, it is important to note that the Academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints. open image in gallery Oscar-winning director Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian artist, was attacked by Israeli settlers and detained by Israeli Forces ( AFP via Getty Images ) Abraham reposted the statement on X, writing: after our criticism, the academy's leaders sent out this email to members explaining their silence on Hamdan's assault: they need to respect unique viewpoints. They are say nothing, responded one user. literally just empty PR lip service. Another user wrote: The Academy finally issued a statement and couldnt be bothered to even mention Hamdans name. Not once. Worthless and hollow. Its all so disgraceful. Ballal was reportedly released by Israeli authorities on Tuesday, a day after Abraham wrote on social media that the Palestinian artist had gone missing after being attacked. A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co-director of our film No Other Land, Abraham posted on X. They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since. open image in gallery Hamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land," is released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba a day after being detained by the Israeli army following an attack by Jewish settlers, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Filmmaker Ballal and his co-directors Abraham, Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli director Rachel Szor, won the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for their film No Other Land, which depicts the destruction of the occupied West Banks Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance that develops between Adra and Abraham. 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. On Monday, Ballal was reportedly beaten by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank before being arrested by the Israeli military. The Avengers star Mark Ruffalo was among the actors who called on every filmmaker and academy member to protest the attack. No matter where you stand on this issue this is an attack on our beloved art form of filmmaking, he wrote on Instagram. Hamdan Ballal is a political prisoner and this is an international incident in violation of human rights. 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 Several fans of famed Japanese animation studio behind Spirited Away and Howls Moving Castle, Studio Ghibli, were delighted this week when a new version of ChatGPT let them transform popular internet memes or personal photos into the distinct style of Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki. However, the trend also highlighted ethical concerns about artificial intelligence tools trained on copyrighted creative works and what that means for the future livelihoods of human artists, as well as ethical questions on the value of human creativity in a time increasingly shaped by algorithms. Miyazaki, 84, known for his hand-drawn approach and whimsical storytelling, has expressed skepticism about AI's role in animation in the past. Janu Lingeswaran wasn't thinking much about that when he uploaded a photo of his 3-year-old ragdoll cat, Mali, into ChatGPTs new image generator tool on Wednesday. He then asked ChatGPT to convert it to the Ghibli style, instantly making an anime image that looked like Mali but also one of the painstakingly drawn feline characters that populate Miyazaki movies such as My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service. I really fell in love with the result, said Lingeswaran, an entrepreneur who lives near Aachen, Germany. We're thinking of printing it out and hanging it on the wall. Similar results gave the Ghibli style to iconic images, such as the casual look of Turkish pistol shooter Yusuf Dikec in a T-shirt and one hand in his pocket on his way to winning a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. Or the famed Disaster Girl meme of a 4-year-old turning to the camera with a slight smile as a house fire rages in the background. ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which is fighting copyright lawsuits over its flagship chatbot, has largely encouraged the Ghiblification experiments and its CEO Sam Altman changed his profile on social media platform X into a Ghibli-style portrait. In a technical paper posted Tuesday, the company had said the new tool would be taking a conservative approach in the way it mimics the aesthetics of individual artists. We added a refusal which triggers when a user attempts to generate an image in the style of a living artist, it said. But the company added in a statement that it permits broader studio styles which people have used to generate and share some truly delightful and inspired original fan creations. Studio Ghibli hasn't yet commented on the trend. The Japanese studio and its North American distributor didnt immediately respond to emails seeking comment on Thursday. 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. As users posted their Ghibli-style images on social media, others began to share Miyazakis previous comments on AI animation, as well as their thoughts on why they believe the AI images go against the ethos of the famed auteur. In a 2016 meeting, when shown an AI animation demo, Miyazaki famously responded: I am utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. The team member demonstrating the animation explained that AI could present us grotesque movements that we humans cant imagine, adding that it could be used to depict zombie movements. That prompted Miyazaki to tell a story. Every morning, not in recent days, I see my friend who has a disability, Miyazaki said. Its so hard for him just to do a high five; his arm with stiff muscle cant reach out to my hand. Now, thinking of him, I cant watch this stuff and find it interesting. Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself. Irony is dead and all but its pretty depressing to see Ghibli AI slop on the timeline not only because Miyazaki famously thinks AI art is disgusting but because hes spent the last 50 years making art about environmental waste for petty human uses, posted a fan on X, formerly Twitter. A 2024 study found that AI systems were leading to vast emissions, which in turn are increasing as more energy is required to run the evolving systems. OpenAIs current GPT-4, for instance, uses 12 times more energy than its predecessor, the study said. The energy used in training the systems is only a small part of work, and requires an estimated 960 times more energy than a training run when the AI tools are actually being used. In particular, many are upset with the official US government X account using the trend to generate an image of an immigrant being arrested and deported. To see something so brilliant, as wonderful as Miyazakis work be butchered to generate something so foul. God I hope Studio Ghibli sues the hell out of Open Ai for this, posted one user. In October 2024, an AI-generated trailer for a live-action version of the 1997 film Princess Mononoke led to massive backlash after going viral on social media. The AI trailer used the English voice acting from the original film, which featured talents like Billy Cudrup, Clare Danes and Minnie Driver, and completely reimagined the hand drawn animation of the Japanese movie as if real people were playing the parts, albeit with CGI. I genuinely dunno if well get a better example of why AI art is garbage than someone taking one of the most purposefully made, beautifully animated films in history and reducing it to a bunch of boring looking shots that are barely connected but somehow all look the same, a fan wrote on X. OpenAI didnt respond to a question on Thursday about whether it had a license. Josh Weigensberg, a partner at the law firm Pryor Cashman, said that one question the Ghibli-style AI art raises is whether the AI model was trained on Miyazaki or Studio Ghiblis work. That in turn raises the question of, Well, do they have a license or permission to do that training or not? he said. Weigensberg added that if a work was licensed for training, it might make sense for a company to permit this type of use. But if this type of use is happening without consent and compensation, he said, it could be problematic. Weigensberg added that there is a general principle at the 30,000-foot view that style is not copyrightable. But sometimes, he said, what people are actually thinking of when they say style could be "more specific, discernible, discrete elements of a work of art, he said. A Howls Moving Castle or Spirited Away, you could freeze a frame in any of those films and point to specific things, and then look at the output of generative AI and see identical elements or substantially similar elements in that output, he said. Just stopping at, Oh, well, style isnt protectable under copyright law. That's not necessarily the end of the inquiry. Artist Karla Ortiz, who grew up watching Miyazakis movies and is suing other AI image generators for copyright infringement in a case thats still pending, called it another clear example of how companies like OpenAI just do not care about the work of artists and the livelihoods of artists. Thats using Ghiblis branding, their name, their work, their reputation, to promote (OpenAI) products, Ortiz said. Its an insult. Its exploitation. 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 Studio Ghiblis U.S. distributor GKids has alluded to the controversial trend of AI-generated images imitating the distinctive style of the Japanese animation studio as they celebrated the return of 1997s Princess Mononoke to cinemas. This week, social media has been swamped with images in the style of Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki that were in fact created by a new version of ChatGPT. The trend has delighted fans but also highlighted ethical concerns about artificial intelligence tools trained on copyrighted creative works and what that means for the future livelihoods of human artists. At the same time, a new 4K restoration of the Studio Ghibli classic Princess Mononoke has been released to Imax screens. The animated feature has already made $1.2 million in previews ahead of its official opening today. In a statement to Variety celebrating the release, GKids VP of distribution Chance Huskey said: In a time when technology tries to replicate humanity, we are thrilled that audiences value a theatrical experience that respects and celebrates Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghiblis masterpiece in all its cinematic hand-drawn glory. In the past, Miyazaki has strongly condemned artificial intelligence technology. A scene from 1997s Princess Mononoke ( Studio Ghibli ) In the 2016 documentary Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki, a group of developers showed the director and animator a crude AI-generated animation demo of a zombie that could be used for a video game. The person demonstrating the animation, which showed a writhing body dragging itself by its head, explained that AI could present us grotesque movements that we humans cant imagine. That prompted Miyazaki to tell a story. Every morning, not in recent days, I see my friend who has a disability, he said. Its so hard for him just to do a high five; his arm with stiff muscle cant reach out to my hand. Now, thinking of him, I cant watch this stuff and find it interesting. Miyazaki added: Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever. I am utterly disgusted I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself. 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. The viral AI trend has been shared across various social media platforms, with the White House posting its version of the craze on Thursday. The post drew widespread criticism. The White House used the tool to illustrate a picture of a woman from the Dominican Republic crying after being arrested by ICE. The image has been viewed more than 45 million times on X/Twitter, with many users calling the post evil and ghastly. 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 Alex Garland has now constructed what could be called his trilogy of violence: the relentless, patriarchal assault in horror Men (2022), the total collapse of American society in Civil War (2024), and, now, the immediate aftermath of an IED explosion in Warfare. Theres little to no context to be offered in these films. The point, entirely, is whats felt in the moment the fear, the pain, the blood. Garlands approach is understandable but limited. Warfare, at least, is the most successful of the three, because its myopia is a crucial part of its structure. While filming Civil War, Garland was introduced to Iraq war veteran Ray Mendoza, whod been hired to make sure the films gunfight sequences looked as realistic as possible. In November 2006, Mendoza had been part of a team of Navy Seals who, alongside two Iraqi scouts and two marines, were left cornered in a residential home in Ramadi province after the detonation of an IED resulted in multiple deaths and life-threatening injuries. He and Garland began work on a screenplay that painstakingly reconstructed his memories and those of his comrades in order to create what he termed a living document for Elliott Miller, one of the men injured, who has no recollection of the incident. As its credits insist, the film aims for as much accuracy as memory allows. It is a work of attempted neutrality, co-directed by both Garland and Mendoza. Theres no musical score to manipulate its audiences emotions; no sympathetic backstories for any of its characters. Instead, Warfare is concerned only with the overwhelming, sensory journey that is conflict. We start raucously, as a squad of young men bark at the leotard-clad women engaged in sexually provocative aerobics in the infamous video to Eric Prydzs Call on Me. A sudden cut, and were plunged into the silence of a nighttime operation, which then stretches achingly into the hours of subsequent observation, as Miller (Cosmo Jarvis) peers down the sniper scope, breathing as steady and loud as a beating drum. Its an odd state to be in, equal parts boredom and hypervigilance. Chaos erupts. Were plunged into the muffled sounds and smoke-blurred vision of those caught up in the blast. An incessant stream of chatter from the radio comms, issuing coded and conflicted orders, collides with screams of the injured (Joseph Quinn, as one of the said injured, has one of the most haunting, visceral screams in recent cinema). We feel the external world start to collapse when Mendoza (DPharaoh Woon-A-Tai) disassociates. In a cast packed to the rafters with young talent Will Poulter, Kit Connor, Michael Gandolfini, Noah Centineo, Charles Melton, among others its Woon-A-Tais comparatively quiet, introverted presence that grounds the film. He draws the camera in closer, towards the scars forming in real-time within his soul. We dont know where these men came from or where they will go from here. Heartstopper star Kit Connor in Alex Garlands Warfare ( A24 ) All Warfare has to offer, inevitably, is the violence itself, stripped from its source, like Men and Civil War before it. If the point is to warn us of its monstrousness, what can a film of this ilk offer if it bears no clues as to the origins of its birth? Garland and Mendoza do, at least in this instance, make careful, considerate use of the films framework. Were shown how US soldiers invade the home of an Iraqi family who, for the rest of Warfares duration, are held hostage in a downstairs bedroom, guns routinely thrust into their faces. In its final scene, they reemerge into the rubble of what was once their home, their lives upended by US forces and then abandoned without a second thought. Its quite the metaphor. But Warfare isnt about their memories, nor those of the two Iraqi scouts (Rayhan Ali and Heider Ali), who suffer in ways the film never bothers to reflect on. For a project so invested in the idea of objectivity, there are gaps in the story clearly felt and reflected on screen. This moment, this sudden eruption of hell, didnt happen in isolation there was a path that led to it, and a path that led beyond it. Warfares violence feels unmoored without its context. Dir: Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland. Starring: DPharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Michael Gandolfini, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton. 94 minutes Warfare is in cinemas from 18 April 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 Will Smiths new album Based on a True Story features numerous references to the infamous moment he slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage at the 2022 Oscars. The 56-year-old rapper and actor previously publicly apologized to Rock for the incident, which occurred shortly before Smith won the award for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard. Smith was widely criticized for the violent act, and the opening track of his new record opens with the phrase: Will Smith is canceled. The song, titled Int. Barbershop Day, features a number of different voices trading rumors about the star. One can be heard saying: I heard he won the Oscar but he had to give it back/ And you know they only made him do that s*** because hes Black. In fact, Smith was not asked to return his Oscar. Instead, the Academy banned him from any of their events for 10 years. The notorious incident was sparked when Rock made a joke about Smiths wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock said: Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, cant wait to see you, in an apparent reference to Pinkett Smiths shaved head. Pinkett Smith has since stated that she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia. Will Smith in Miami in February 2025 ( Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images ) Smith then walked on stage and struck Rock, before shouting at him twice: Keep my wifes name out your f***ing mouth. Int. Barbershop Day also references this interaction with the lines: Him and Jada both crazy girl, what you talkin bout?/ You better keep his wifes name out of your mouth. The next track on the album, You Lookin for Me?, sees Smith rap: Took a lot, Im back on top/ Yall gon have to get acclimated/ Wont stop, my s*** still hot/ Even though I wont get nominated. 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. Smiths ban from Academy events does not technically impact his ability to be nominated for future Oscars. The album has been met with a muted response by critics. In a two-star review for The Independent, Tara Joshi writes: It seems fair for Smith to want to exorcise the past few years, unpacking his perceived mistreatment by both the press and the public. Its just a shame that hes chosen to do it with quasi-inspirational songs that dont bang. This was an opportunity for untethered rapping and bold experimentation that still exists within the bouncy freedom of Smiths once-playful musical universe. Unfortunately, Based on a True Story just isnt it. 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 Netflix series The Residence has been dedicated to Emmy-winning actor Andre Braugher. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star was best known to many for his performance as the stoic Captain Raymond Holt in the police comedy. He died in December 2023 after a brief illness with lung cancer. At the time of his death, the 61-year-old was mid-way through filming The Residence, a series described by Netflix as a screwball whodunnit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the worlds most famous mansion. The show is the latest Netflix release from producer Shonda Rhimes, responsible for hits including Greys Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder and Bridgerton. At the end of the eight-part series, a card reads: In Memory of Andre Braugher. Braugher was due to play White House chief usher (AB Wynter) and had completed half of his scenes while the show was in production when he died. There might have been a natural inclination to do that after the first episode, but for me, it was important to do that at the end of the whole series, to say, you were part of all this, and we have not forgotten you, creator Paul William Davies told Deadline. open image in gallery Beloved actor died aged 61 in 2023 ( Getty Images ) He lived with us throughout the entire making of this, Davies told People. When he was here and when he was gone, we all thought about him constantly. His kind of spirit was throughout the whole show. There was speculation Braugher could appear posthumously in the show but the team eventually made the decision to recast the role and he was replaced by Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito. The star told Shondaland that it had been a difficult decision for me to step into the shoes of Andre. He added: "I couldnt be prouder and more honoured to be stepping into Shondalands The Residence for someone that I loved and respected and cherished in Andre Braugher. open image in gallery Andre Braugher during a table read for 'The Residence' ( JESSICA BROOKS/NETFLIX ) "To be afforded the opportunity to create in his honour with this incredible team extends the depth and breadth of his legacy through all of us who loved him so dearly." 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. Fans were left emotional at the tribute as one person wrote: The fact that Andre Braugher was filming the Residence when he died and the show is dedicated to him alongside a picture of a cat crying. open image in gallery Show featured a special dedication to the actor ( Netflix ) Loved the residence so much It was a good whodunit, commented one person praising the programme. I was so glued to my chair and watched all eight episodes and I haven't done that in a while. The best part is that it was dedicated to Andre Braugher. Shonda, please take your flowers. 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 Actor Noah Centineo is shrugging off Netflixs decision to axe The Recruit after two seasons. It was announced earlier this month that the popular spy drama had officially been canceled. The news came weeks after the shows season two release on January 30. Centineo, 28, who led the series as fledgling CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks, addressed the situation on Thursday at the Los Angeles premiere of his new movie Warfare. You know, it is what it is, he told The Hollywood Reporter, letting out a sigh. Netflix has a certain mandate that they need to fill. He added: Im very proud of the show; very grateful to our audience. You know, we have a pretty strong cult following. And with Netflix, it just didnt fit with what it needed, I suppose. [So] onto the next I guess. The Recruit, which debuted in 2022, follows Centineos character as he becomes embroiled in an international conflict. Its first season, comprised of eight episodes, became a hit for Netflix, debuting at No. 8 on its most-watched list with 3.1 million views. The six-episode season two saw an uptick to 5.9 million views in its first four days on the platform and received mostly favorable reviews, with fans providing one particular verdict. open image in gallery Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks in The Recruit ( 2022 Netflix, Inc. ) Creator Alexi Hawley had high hopes for a season three renewal, telling Deadline in January: Were waiting for Netflix to officially do their thing with it. Theres a lot of goodwill inside Netflix towards the show and towards Noah. I think they very much feel like Noah is a homegrown star, which he is. So Im feeling super positive about it, as positive as you can feel in this town at this time, he added. open image in gallery Noah Centineo (far left) and the cast of 'Warfare' at the March 27 Los Angeles premiere ( Getty Images ) Centineo currently stars in A24s newest war movie, Warfare, directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland. 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. Besides Centineo, the movie additionally features an extensive ensemble cast comprised of Will Poulter, Charles Melton, Kit Connor, Taylor John Smith, Adain Bradley, Evan Holtzman, Michael Gandolfini, Joseph Quinn, Cosmo Jarvis, Finn Bennett, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and Henry Zaga. Out in theaters April 11, Warfare follows a platoon of American Navy SEALs on tour in Iraq as they get caught up in a failed surveillance mission. The film is based on Mendozas experiences as a Navy SEAL during the Iraq war. So far, it has received middling reviews, with The Independents Clarisse Loughrey finding that the movie offers only violence to its detriment. All Warfare has to offer, inevitably, is the violence itself, stripped from its source, like Men and Civil War before it, she writes. If the point is to warn us of its monstrousness, what can a film of this ilk offer if it bears no clues as to the origins of its birth? 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 As South Korea reels from its largest-ever wildfire, it is unclear what started blaze, but the harsh reality of the conditions that led to the rapid spread are becoming harder to ignore, experts say. After a week, efforts still continue to contain the fire that killed at least 28 people and destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of land and ancient Buddhist temples. The wildfires have scorched nearly 48,000 hectares (118,000 acres) across the countrys southeastern mountains and towns the largest wildfire event in South Koreas recorded history. The fires began in Uiseong County and spread rapidly to Andong, Yeongdeok, and Sancheong, driven by dry conditions and gusty winds. As of Friday, the fires were 85 per cent contained, thanks to light rain and a drop in temperature on Thursday evening. Acting President Han Duck Soo called it a nationay critical situation earlier this week, urging emergency teams to assume the worst and act accordingly. Authorities deployed more than 9,000 personnel, 125 helicopters, and hundreds of vehicles to tackle the flames. But the scale of destruction, which includes thousands of destroyed homes and structures, injuries to dozens, and more than 30,000 people forced to evacuate, has triggered urgent questions about what caused these fires to escalate so quickly and if South Korea, or any other country, is prepared for fires of this scale. open image in gallery A member of the Korea Forest Service observes a wildfire from the side of a road in Andong ( AFP/Getty ) Initial reports blamed human activities for starting the fire, however, the police havent found any suspects yet. However, what transpired afterwards was a familiar pattern of a combination of climate crisis, shifting land-use patterns, and seasonal vulnerability driving the fires and escalating the risk. Climate change is a key driver behind these fires, said Dr Douglas Kelley, a land surface modeller at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Rising temperatures and more intense, unpredictable droughts are creating the perfect conditions for wildfires to spread. South Korea is likely to face more frequent winter droughts in the future. Recent research by Korean scientists shows wildfires are already becoming more common and starting earlier in the year. Between 1991 and 2020, South Korea averaged more than one wildfire every day The wildfire season is lengthening and shifting earlier into March, as we see now, said Professor Ilan Kelman from University College London. The key factors in worsening wildfires are land-use changes, including afforestation, and human-caused climate change. These changes in landscape, such as expanding towns, building roads, or planting new forests, can unintentionally make fires worse by introducing more flammable vegetation or breaking up natural barriers that would once have slowed the flames. open image in gallery Smoke rises from a mountain in Andong, South Korea ( AP ) South Korea has committed to afforestation over the past decades, and while its efforts may have been successful in restoring forests after the Korean War, certain areas where immature forests dominate may be more fire prone than others. Mature trees are more resilient to wildfires, explained Dr Thomas Smith, associate professor in environmental geography at the London School of Economics. But immature woodlands can create connectivity between the ground and canopy, allowing fire to travel upward and spread quickly. Mr Smith said the scale of the fire was astonishing, two parallel fire fronts spanning 90 km from the east coast inland, stretching towards the shore a scale he likened to an almost continuous wildfire from Liverpool to Leeds in UK terms. The timing of the fire has also worsened its severity. Much of the vegetation in the region remains dormant in early spring, meaning plants cannot regulate moisture levels and dry out rapidly in warm, windy conditions. This is a particularly dangerous time of year, said Smith. Shrubby fuels are extremely vulnerable before the spring green-up. The weather has been unusually warm up to 10C above average. The vulnerability of cultural heritage was also a concern. Among the losses was Gounsa Temple, a 1,300-year-old wooden Buddhist site in Uiseong. Traditional structures like this are especially at risk from windborne embers, which can ignite flammable wooden buildings even at a distance, said Dr Zakary Campbell-Lochrie, a fire science lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Under certain conditions, the fire can spread rapidly between structures, with each becoming a source of firebrand generation, he said. For many, the trauma is still unfolding. In Andong, 79-year-old Seo Jae Tak broke down at a temporary shelter after seeing the mountain behind his home reduced to ash. Its just unbelievable, I cant even put it into words. All I can do is cry, he said. Officials say the country must now rethink its wildfire response systems. Lee Cheol-woo, governor of North Gyeongsang Province, called for a complete overhaul of current strategies, including night-time firefighting tools and improved evacuation plans for elderly residents. We dont have the equipment for firefighting at night, he said. With the increased density of our forests, its difficult to manage with just manual efforts. Experts agree that while strong winds and seasonal factors played a role, the fingerprint of the climate crisis is clear. Only three months into 2025, weve already seen record-breaking wildfire activity in multiple regions, said Dr Kimberley Simpson, fellow in nature-based climate solutions at the University of Sheffield. The conditions that give rise to these devastating fires are becoming more frequent and we must prepare for more. 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 India has rejected an annual report released by a US panel on religious freedom as biased and politically motivated after it highlighted the deteriorating treatment of religious minorities in the south Asian country. The report released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged the US to sanction Indian individuals and entities, including Indias Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), over alleged plots to assassinate Sikh separatists abroad, marking an escalation in its accusations. It said that the that religious freedom in India worsened in 2024 under prime minister Narendra Modis ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government as it accused the leader of propagating hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities. Such rhetoric fuelled attacks on religious minorities that continued after the election, including vigilante violence, targeted and arbitrary killings, and demolition of property and places of worship, it said. Indias foreign ministry criticised the USCIRF for what it described as its persistent attempts to misrepresent isolated incidents and for questioning India's commitment to religious freedom. The USCIRFs report continues its pattern of issuing assessments driven by a deliberate agenda rather than a genuine concern for religious freedom, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. open image in gallery State police outside the Shahi Jama Masjid following religious violence in Sambhal in December ( AFP ) The US has sought to build close ties with India given their shared concerns about Chinas rising influence in the Indo-Pacific. Analysts say that as a result, Washington has overlooked human rights issues. However, ties were tested after the US criminally charged a former Indian intelligence officer accused of directing a foiled assassination plot against a Sikh separatist leader in New York City in 2023. The US Justice Department indicted ex-Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, for his alleged involvement in the murder-for-hire of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US and Canadian citizen who advocates for the creation of the independent Sikh state of Khalistan. India labels Sikh separatists as security threats and has denied involvement. The report said that the Indian government is involved in regressive tactics to target religious minorities abroad, specifically members of the Sikh community. open image in gallery Sikh protesters attack an effigy of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi outside the Consulate General of India, days after Canada expelled six Indian diplomats ( Reuters ) International reporting and intelligence from the Canadian government corroborated allegations linking an official in Indias Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and six diplomats to the 2023 assassination attempt of an American Sikh activist in New York, it said. The panel has also recommended the US government designate India as a country of particular concern for religious freedom violations. The report noted Mr Modis comments on Muslims last year in April as he called them infiltrators who have more children in the days leading up to the election. Religious and press freedom advocates have continued to sound the alarm about the treatment of Muslims and other minorities under the Hindu nationalist BJP party led by Mr Modi. Muslims comprise nearly 14 per cent of Indias 1.4 billion people while Hindus are nearly 80 per cent of the population and Christians are two per cent. open image in gallery A student in India holds a placard protesting oppression ( AFP via Getty ) Rights advocates point to rising hate speech, a citizenship law the UN called fundamentally discriminatory, anti-conversion legislation that critics say challenges freedom of belief, the revoking of Muslim majority Kashmirs special status and the demolition of properties owned by Muslims. The commission, a bipartisan US advisory body on global religious freedom, makes policy recommendations. However, its suggestions are not binding, making US sanctions on RAW unlikely. 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 Taliban reportedly detained at least two members of the LGBT+ community in Afghanistan after finding out that they were on their way to Iran. Maryam Ravish, 19, and Maeve Alcina Pieescu, 23, a trans person, were taken away from the Kabul airport last Thursday as they were boarding their morning flight to Tehran, Ms Ravishs same-sex partner Parwen Hussaini told The Independent on Wednesday. Ms Ravish and Ms Hussaini, who have been in a relationship for nearly four years, were looking to escape to Iran to live away from the Talibans scrutiny, she said. The escape was going to be documented by their friend Maeve Alcina Pieescu. The three of them were set to leave on a Mahan Air flight, scheduled to depart Kabul at 10.35am and land in Tehran by 1pm. Since the Taliban government requires women to be accompanied by a male chaperone, they had to take along a travel agent. The whereabouts of the travel agent are not immediately clear. While Ms Hussaini was able to board the flight without any trouble, Ms Ravish and Ms Pieescu were stopped by the Talibans intelligence agents, who checked their phones and found out they were members of the queer community, said Nemat Sadat, their employer and CEO of Roshaniya, an LGBT+ community organisation in Afghanistan. I last heard from them when they were being taken away by Talibans armed men inside the airport in a car, Mr Sadat told The Independent. I fear that they have now been arrested by them and lodged in Talibans custody somewhere in Kabul. Mr Sadat, who had been working with Ms Ravish and Ms Pieescu for over a year, said he was concerned for their welfare as the Taliban prisons were known to be extremely harsh for transgender people. open image in gallery Maeve Alcina Pieescu has been in Taliban custody for a week ( The Independent ) The Taliban free women from prisons with some guarantees from family members, but they are likely to punish, sexually harass, and even subject members of the trans community to torture in prison, he said. It is very likely that Ms Maeve is being punished in the prison by the Taliban right now. Mr Sadat said Roshaniya had spent more than $5,000 (3,865) and several months of planning to safely evacuate the three LGBT+ members from Afghanistan. The NGO also planned to document their story of being in a same-sex relationship in Afghanistan. The Independent was shown copies of the plane tickets, passports and visas obtained for Ms Ravish, Ms Hussaini and Ms Pieescu to leave Afghanistan. open image in gallery Maeve Alcina Pieescu, left, Maryam Ravish and Parwen Hussaini in Kabul about a week before the arrest ( Family handout ) The actual source of this problem is rooted in the Talibans interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, which deems homosexuality forbidden and a womans place to be in the home, which is why Afghan women are required to have a male chaperone if they wish to leave the house and travel on their own, Mr Sadat said. Ms Hussaini said that she and Ms Ravish fell in love in school in December 2021, shortly after the Taliban took back power in Kabul. It was difficult carrying on a same-sex relationship in the city, so they called off their relationship one year later. But they mustered the courage to get back together in 2023, Ms Hussaini told The Independent over the phone from Tehran. open image in gallery Parwen Hussaini and Maryam Ravish in Kabul ( The Independent ) They were supposed to start a fresh chapter in Iran this week as they realised their relationship would not be accepted by their families in Afghanistan. My agony is indescribable. I knew that if I were to leave Afghanistan, it would not be without Maryam. She knew she would leave her family because they would never support us. I am spending every waking moment alone in Iran and in guilt that my partner is in prison because of our bid to escape Afghanistan, Ms Hussaini said. The Independent has reached out to the Taliban for a comment. 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 massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake has killed at least 1,650 people in Myanmar and Thailand, leaving the region reeling as rescuers pick through vast piles of rubble to find missing people. Thousands streamed out of their buildings in scenes of panic and chaos after the quake struck at around midday on Friday, causing numerous structures to come crashing down in one of the worst earthquakes the region has seen. The scale of damage in Myanmar, which has recorded 1,644 deaths and 2,376 injuries, appears to be devastating. Religious buildings, roads, hospitals and bridges have collapsed, with the UNs humanitarian agency warning on Saturday that it was struggling to get aid to areas in need due to damage to Myanmars infrastructure. In Bangkok, rescue efforts for dozens of missing people continued into their second day, after a skyscraper under construction collapsed in a huge plume of dust as onlookers screamed and ran from the site. Bangkok authorities on Saturday revised the number of deaths down from 10 to six, while 26 people have been injured and 47 others are missing at sites across the city. open image in gallery People stand near a collapsed building after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, ( REUTERS ) As rescuers continue working to save people trapped under the rubble, heres a look at how and why the earthquake happened in Myanmar. What happened and why? At around 6am GMT, a huge quake was recorded in the centre of Myanmar. The quake, which had a depth of 6.2 miles (10km) and was centred about 10.3 miles (17km) from Myanmars second-largest city of Mandalay, was followed by a strong 6.4-magnitude aftershock. Earthquakes strike when tectonic plates, the large rocks making up the Earths crust, rub against each other. The USGS says the Myanmar quake occurred due to strike slip faulting between the India and Eurasia plates - which Myanmar sits on top of. open image in gallery Impacted area of the massive 7.7 earthquake ( USGS ) Are earthquakes common in Myanmar? Sitting on the boundary between two tectonic plates, Myanmar is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. But earthquakes of such magnitude are rare in the heavily-affected Sagaing region. "The plate boundary between the India Plate and Eurasia Plate runs approximately north-south, cutting through the middle of the country," said Joanna Faure Walker, a professor and earthquake expert at University College London. Plates move past each other horizontally at different speeds. While this causes strike slip quakes which arent as powerful as those seen in subduction zones, they still have the capacity to hit magnitudes of 7 to 8. open image in gallery Roads are torn up by the earthquake in Myanmar ( AFP via Getty Images ) Why was the earthquake so damaging? While Sagaing has been hit by several quakes in recent years, including a 6.8-magnitude quake killing at least 26 in 2012, Fridays event was probably the biggest to hit Myanmars mainland in 75 years, according to UCL earthquake expert Bill McGuire. The shallow depth of the quake meant the damage would be more severe, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey Roger Musson said. "This is very damaging because it has occurred at a shallow depth, so the shockwaves are not dissipated as they go from the focus of the earthquake up to the surface. The buildings received the full force of the shaking. open image in gallery People inspect the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay ( AFP via Getty Images ) "It's important not to be focused on epicentres because the seismic waves don't radiate out from the epicentre - they radiate out from the whole line of the fault," he added. Was Myanmar prepared? Fatalities could range between 10,000 and 100,000 people, the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program said using data based on Myanmars size, location and overall quake readiness. Infrastructure has not been built to withstand large-scale quakes in the Sagaing region due to the relative rarity of large seismic events - meaning the damage could be catastrophic. Mr Musson said that the last major quake to hit the region was in 1956, and homes are unlikely to have been built to withstand seismic forces as powerful as those that hit on Friday. "Most of the seismicity in Myanmar is further to the west whereas this is running down the centre of the country," he said. 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 Myanmars military junta has continued bombing parts of the war-torn country even after the most powerful earthquake in over a century left hundreds dead and millions displaced. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday and sent powerful jolts into neighbouring China and Thailand. At least 1,700 people have been confirmed dead in Myanmar alone, 3,400 were injured and over 300 remained missing, the military-run government said on Sunday, as it continued to assess the full extent of the disaster. The earthquake was the biggest to hit Myanmar since 1912, according to the United States Geological Survey, and has devastated civilian infrastructure including the main highway running up the spine of the country. Many of the worst-hit areas have still not been reached by official agencies, with most rescue efforts being conducted by local residents removing rubble by hand. Across the border in Bangkok, rescuers raced to find survivors trapped under the rubble of a 33-storey skyscraper. At least 17 people have been killed in the Thai capital with 32 injured and 83 still missing as of Sunday evening. The UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said at least three government airstrikes were carried out on the largely rebel-controlled Sagaing region, the epicentre of the earthquake, hours after it struck on Friday. Im calling upon the junta to just stop, stop any of its military operations. This is completely outrageous and unacceptable, he told BBC Burmese. The Irrawaddy News also reported that the military conducted airstrikes on civilians in Chaung-U Township in Sagaing on Friday evening, just two hours after the earthquake struck. open image in gallery A man waits near a damaged temple in Mandalay during search and rescue operations ( AFP via Getty ) The National Unity Government (NUG), the government in exile which represents the Aung San Suu Kyi-led civilian administration ousted in a 2021 coup, denounced the military as inhumane for launching strikes during an unprecedented natural disaster. NUG spokesperson Zaw Kyaw told The Independent it was beyond words that the junta was taking advantage of the earthquake to strike targets in rebel-controlled areas of Myanmar. Myanmar has been hit hard by the strongest earthquake in modern Myanmars history, with loss of lives, many missing, and millions impacted, he said. Unfortunately, weve been hearing and seeing reports that our military junta, even just hours after the devastating earthquakes hit, is still carrying out airstrikes against civilian targets in resistance-controlled liberated areas, he said. It is unbelievable. It is inhumane inhumane from that military and its leaders. And its not surprising that they dont care about peoples lives. The NUG on Saturday evening announced a unilateral pause on all offensive military operations, except for defensive actions in areas affected by the earthquake, beginning from Sunday. open image in gallery Rubble lies near a pagoda damaged during a strong earthquake, in Mandalay ( Reuters ) The announcement said its armed wing, the Peoples Defence Force, would collaborate with the UN and non-governmental organisations to ensure security, transportation, and the establishment of temporary rescue and medical camps in the areas it controls. We call on all ethnic groups and citizens to actively cooperate with the NUG and revolutionary forces in providing comprehensive emergency rescue and relief assistance to the earthquake victims, the statement said. The earthquake on Friday forced the junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing to issue a rare appeal for international aid and the military has allowed foreign governments to send their own aid workers into the country for the first time since the 2021 coup. Julie Bishop, the UN secretary-generals special envoy on Myanmar, urged both sides to cease hostilities so that aid could reach those impacted by the earthquake. Speaking to The Australian on Saturday, the former Australian government minister warned that the disaster would further worsen an already critical situation for the people of Myanmar. The situation has now become even more urgent and disastrous and I call upon all the parties to the conflict to cease all violence now so we can focus our attention and resources and effort on assisting those people in desperate need. The Independent has reached out to Myanmars foreign ministry for comment. A group of Buddhist monks in saffron robes are gathered beside a shrine lying collapsed on the ground but seemingly intact, as if someone has pushed it over. They are not looking at this but at a mid-rise, primrose-yellow building a few hundred yards away. As the monks film on their phones the building, seemingly solid one moment, suddenly collapses into itself, the upper storeys disappearing in a cloud of dust as the monks flinch, crouch and then quickly resume filming again. One can only hope that everyone inside had already got out. Meanwhile, the top of the spire of Shwe Sar Yan pagoda near Mandalay, near the epicentre of the earthquake, snaps off as onlookers scream and weep at the demise of this thousand-year-old pagoda. In Mandalay, the exquisite royal palace, built in the 1850s, has suffered damage too. Buildings across the country, from apartment blocks in cities to bamboo homes in refugee camps, have collapsed, with thousands of casualties likely trapped inside. It could not come at a worse time for Myanmar with the repressive military regime engaged in a brutal war against the population. Since the coup in 2021, five million people have been forced to flee their homes, and at least 6,000 have been killed by the countrys military, who have carried out bombing campaigns on villages, schools and hospitals, executed prisoners, and carried out massacres. Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK, says: Theres a feeling in Myanmar of: Not this, after everything else that we have suffered. Myanmar has indeed faced tragedy after tragedy in the last 80 years. The leader of its independence movement, Aung San, was assassinated in 1947, just as he was poised to become Burmas first post-independence prime minister. Then in 1962, just as Burmas ethnic minority groups were about to get greater autonomy, the military staged a coup, renamed the country Myanmar, and so began decades of repressive military rule that continues today. Aung Sans daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been imprisoned by the military on and off since 1989. In 2020, she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to election victory, but the military prevented the NLD from taking power. In December 2022, they sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to 30 years in prison, later reduced to 27, under trumped-up charges of corruption and treason, meaning that she will not be released until she is over 100. Myanmar is also one of the countries most severely affected by the climate crisis. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused devastating floods, as inland tsunamis ripped children from their parents arms, and destroyed villages, towns and crops. With 2.4 million in desperate need of aid, the military regime preferred to let the survivors die from disease and starvation rather than allow aid agencies in. open image in gallery Some of the devastation in Mandalay, central Myanmar, after the earthquake ( Reuters ) Convoys were turned back, and much aid was confiscated. We will never know the death toll, but it was estimated at 200,000, many preventable. Will things be different this time? The regime has unusually requested international aid. However, simultaneously, there are reports that they are taking advantage of the tragedy to bomb Shan State, one of the regions liberated from the regime. In the past, international aid agencies have routed their aid through Yangon. The danger is that if they do this, it wont get to where its needed as the government will prevent it from reaching areas it doesnt control, warns Farmaner. With the military government only in full control of around 20 per cent of the country, even if they are willing to allow international aid in, they will likely be unable to get the aid to the remote regions where it is needed. The charity Advance Myanmar has been providing emergency aid to tens of thousands of people in remote areas who have fled attacks by the military and where local administrations are working heroically to rescue people from collapsed buildings and treat the injured. They warn: The Myanmar military impose some of the most severe restrictions on humanitarian aid anywhere in the world ... We cant have another situation where international aid for a crisis in Myanmar is blocked or delayed by the Myanmar military. open image in gallery Buildings across the country have collapsed, leaving thousands still trapped ( Reuters ) Both the UK and US governments have recently announced savage cuts to international aid, which are already badly affecting the people of Myanmar, making their plight even worse. Because the earthquake struck during prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan, many of Myanmars Muslim minority were trapped inside mosques that collapsed: the repair or building of mosques has been largely banned by the anti-Muslim military government since 1962. There is one glimmer of hope amid tragedy: the military regime is deeply superstitious. The fact that the earthquake happened hours after Armed Forces Day was celebrated may be another blow to the dictator, General Min Aung Hlaing, whose support among even the military is crumbling. Could the earthquake help hasten his fall? Burma is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. But it is also one of the most benighted. Denied democracy, devastated by natural disaster, its suffering but stoic people surely deserve our support in what may yet be their greatest hour of need. You can donate here 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 powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 hit Mandalay, Myanmar 's second largest city, on Friday. It struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. It also shook neighbouring Thailand. At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least eight died in the Thai capital Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed. However, the full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear particularly in Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries. It is embroiled in a civil war and information is tightly controlled. 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Myanmar, toppling buildings in Bangkok 1,300km away Here is the science behind the earthquakes. How vulnerable is Myanmar to earthquakes? Myanmar lies on the boundary between two tectonic plates and is one of the world's most seismically active countries, although large and destructive earthquakes have been relatively rare in the Sagaing region. "The plate boundary between the India Plate and Eurasia Plate runs approximately north-south, cutting through the middle of the country," said Joanna Faure Walker, a professor and earthquake expert at University College London. She said the plates move past each other horizontally at different speeds. While this causes "strike slip" quakes that are normally less powerful than those seen in "subduction zones" like Sumatra, where one plate slides under another, they can still reach magnitudes of 7 to 8. Why was Fridays quake so damaging? Sagaing has been hit by several quakes in recent years, with a 6.8 magnitude event causing at least 26 deaths and dozens of injuries in late 2012. But Friday's event was "probably the biggest" to hit Myanmar's mainland in three quarters of a century, said Bill McGuire, another earthquake expert at UCL. Roger Musson, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey, told Reuters that the shallow depth of the quake meant the damage would be more severe. The quake's epicentre was at a depth of just 10 km (6.2 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey. "This is very damaging because it has occurred at a shallow depth, so the shockwaves are not dissipated as they go from the focus of the earthquake up to the surface. The buildings received the full force of the shaking." "It's important not to be focused on epicentres because the seismic waves don't radiate out from the epicentre - they radiate out from the whole line of the fault," he added. How prepared was Myanmar? The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program said on Friday that fatalities could be between 10,000 and 100,000 people, and the economic impact could be as high as 70% of Myanmar's GDP. Musson said such forecasts are based on data from past earthquakes and on Myanmar's size, location and overall quake readiness. The relative rarity of large seismic events in the Sagaing region - which is close to heavily populated Mandalay - means that infrastructure had not been built to withstand them. That means the damage could end up being far worse. Musson said that the last major quake to hit the region was in 1956, and homes are unlikely to have been built to withstand seismic forces as powerful as those that hit on Friday. "Most of the seismicity in Myanmar is further to the west whereas this is running down the centre of the country," he said. 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, recovering from a serious bout of pneumonia, has offered prayers for the victims of a devastating earthquake that struck Southeast Asia. The 7.7 magnitude quake caused widespread destruction in Myanmar and also shook neighbouring Thailand, causing a state of emergency to be declared in both countries. At least 81 people are missing and more than 100 people were confirmed dead by 3pm Friday. The disaster unfolded as the Pope continued his convalescence at the Vatican following a five-week hospital stay for life-threatening double pneumonia. "The pope has been informed of the disaster in Myanmar and is praying for the dramatic situation and for the many victims, also in Thailand," the Vatican said in a statement. Since returning to the Vatican on Sunday, the 88-year-old pontiff has been undergoing physical and respiratory therapy, showing slight improvements in his speech and mobility. Pope Francis leaves the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome ( AP ) He continues treatment for a persistent fungal infection affecting his respiratory system. The pontiff appeared weak and frail when he greeted the faithful from a balcony of the Gemelli Hospital last Sunday. He was later seen in the front seat of his white Fiat 500L wearing nasal tubes to receive supplemental oxygen. At the Vatican, Francis is receiving oxygen around the clock, with high-pressure delivery through nasal tubes only for part of the night. He can go without for short periods if an activity requires it, Vatican sources said. He has received no outside visitors since returning to his residence in the Domus Santa Marta, and is surrounded by his medical team and close collaborators. He spends his time resting, in prayer and continuing the work of his papacy, the Vatican said. Doctors have said he needs to spend at least two months of rest and recovery, avoiding large gatherings, after the respiratory illness that included two serious crises that brought him near death. The doctor who coordinated his hospital treatment, Dr Sergio Alfieri, said this week that the medical team briefly considered stopping treatment after a February 28 respiratory crisis, before deciding on an aggressive course that eventually beat the double pneumonia. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The government has insisted Britains food standards would not be compromised after the UK and the US agreed on a trade deal to eliminate a series of tariffs. Agriculture is a key part of the new trade deal announced on Thursday by Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump. Tariffs have been reduced on US products, including beef and ethanol, in return for moves that help British cars and steel. After the deal was announced, government sources insisted imports of hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chicken, previously described as red lines for the UK in any agreement, would remain illegal. The agreement on beef provides a tariff-free quota for 13,000 tonnes of US exports, but the government said there would be no drop in food standards as a result of the deal. It also includes access to British beef exports to the US. Chlorine-washed chicken a controversial method of cleaning farmed animals to kill bacteria was a major product being touted as part of the deal. While evidence suggests the chlorine wash itself is not harmful, critics argue treating chicken with the chemical will allow for poorer hygiene earlier on in the production process. However, Liz Webster, founder of Save British Farming, told The Independent: The British public is rightly appalled by chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef. We are an animal-loving nation that values high standards, and we must not trade them away. Packs of Brexit Selection Freshly Chlorinated Chicken sit on display at Costupper Brexit Minimart pop-up store, set up by the Peoples Vote campaign group, in November 2018 ( Getty ) But what exactly does the evidence on chlorine-washed chicken show? What is chlorinated chicken? Chlorinated chicken or chlorine-washed chicken refers to chicken carcasses that have been washed or dipped in water containing chlorine dioxide. This is done to kill organisms that could make you ill, such as E coli, campylobacter and Salmonella. Is it bad for me? If you ate a large amount of chlorinated chicken the equivalent to 5 per cent of your body weight in one day you could potentially be exposed to harmful levels of the chemical compound known as chlorate, according to the European Commission. Long-term exposure to chlorate in food, particularly in drinking water, is a potential health concern for children, especially those with mild or moderate iodine deficiency, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). A high intake of chlorate on a single day could be toxic for humans as it can limit the bloods ability to absorb oxygen, leading to kidney failure, while chronic exposure to chlorate can inhibit iodine uptake. However, there is no proof that eating chlorinated chicken would put health at risk. The EFSA has said that chemical substances in poultry meat are unlikely to pose an immediate or acute health risk for consumers. Is it cleaner than non-chlorinated chicken? A 2014 report by US non-profit Consumer Reports found that 97 per cent of 300 American chicken breasts tested contained harmful bacteria including Salmonella, campylobacter and E.Coli. Around half of the chicken breasts tested also contained at least one type of bacteria that was resistant to three or more antibiotics. In general, you are over seven times more likely to get food poisoning in the US than in the UK, according to data from the UKs Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Moreover, a 2018 study from the University of Southampton found chlorine-washing was not totally effective in killing pathogens on fresh vegetables. The research also suggested that chlorinating foods "can make foodborne pathogens undetectable", rather than eliminating them. Why arent British farmers allowed to use this technique? Chlorinated chicken was first banned by the EU in 1997. The EU stipulates that chicken can only be washed in water or substances explicitly approved by the European Commission. Those who are against chlorine washing claim that, rather than the chlorine itself being the problem, its what the chlorine is hiding. Treating the carcasses this way can enable lower standards of hygiene and animal welfare farmers can rely on chemicals to kill off harmful bacteria at the end of the process, rather than maintaining high standards at every stage. However, Ken Isley from the US Department of Agriculture, said: I think the concerns and fear are unfounded. I would stack US food safety and our food safety record against anywhere in the world. How can I tell if chicken has been chlorinated? In the US, chickens are not labelled as having been washed in chlorine. Some of those lobbying for the UK to accept US imports of chlorine-washed chicken have argued that it should be up to consumers to decide, as long as its clearly labelled. However, according to Sustain, an organisation that campaigns for better food and farming, there is currently no requirement for food producers to inform UK consumers about whether or not chlorine was used, neither are restaurants nor caterers required to say where their meat is from. Unless the limitations of current UK food labelling legislation are addressed, it is hard to see how British consumers would know whether their chicken had been treated with chlorinated water. The US also regards specific labelling of country of origin as an illegitimate barrier to its exports and pushes to have the practice banned as part of trade agreements it signs with other countries. Is chlorinated chicken part of a trade deal with the US? Chlorinated chicken was not included in the trade deal announced by Sir Keir and Mr Trump on Thursday. Farming leaders welcomed the governments efforts to maintain high standards and secure reciprocal access for beef but raised concerns about the inclusion of bioethanol, a fuel made from crops, in the deal. According to the most recent significant polling on the subject, which was carried out in 2020, 80 per cent of the British public are against allowing imports of chlorinated chicken, and the same percentage are against permitting chicken products that have been raised with hormones. Following pressure from the British public, former prime ministers Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were compelled to rule out compromises on hormone-fed beef and chlorinated chicken in future trade deal negotiations with the US. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Centuries-old buildings and a massive stone fort in St. Augustine, Florida, serve as enduring reminders of Spains long history in the region, predating the United States by generations. However, for two decades in the 18th century, Great Britain held control, and archaeologists have recently unearthed evidence of their presence. City archaeologists in St. Augustine uncovered a dry moat belonging to a British redoubt, a fortified military outpost, dating back to 1781. The discovery, made last fall, came during excavations completed last month in the city's Lincolnville neighborhood, prior to the construction of a new home. This find sheds light on a lesser-known chapter of St. Augustine's rich history, highlighting the brief but significant period of British rule. St. Augustine had a 20-year British period, city archeologist Andrea White said. They came, and they built seven of these redoubts, and nobody has ever found any archeologically. We have rough ideas of where they were, and they show up on historic maps. But weve never found actual, tangible, archeological evidence for any of them until recently. The Spanish military built the Castillo de San Marcos in the late 1600s, and the fort remains on the western shore of Florida's Matanzas Bay, though as a national monument rather than a military installation. open image in gallery This image provided by the City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program shows City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program volunteers, from left, Don Roberts, Janet Fittipaldi, David Kasriel and Bob Maerz work to screen soil to recover artifacts from the 1781 British Redoubt moat in Feb. 2025. (City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program via AP) ( City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program ) When the British took control of Florida in 1763, St. Augustine already had extensive Spanish-built defenses, but British officers were concerned about an attack from a nearby river and ordered the construction of the outposts along the city's western edge. White said Britain's relatively brief occupation of St. Augustine, which ended along with the American Revolution in 1783, has been largely forgotten by time, and the discovery of the fort is a way to reclaim a little piece of lost history. Thats whats interesting about these British redoubts, theyre the only defenses that the British built themselves, White said. Everything else thats in St. Augustine or the surrounding area that everyones familiar with, those were already built by the Spanish. And then the British just kind of reoccupied them. The structure was discovered thanks to a unique archeological preservation ordinance adopted by St. Augustine in 1986, White said. Founded in 1565, the city is the oldest continuously occupied part of the U.S. to previously be a European settlement. To document and preserve that history, St. Augustine has its own archeology program that is part of the city's planning and permitting department. We get a chance to come in and document whats there prior to construction, White said. We never stop construction, thats not the goal. Its just to give us a little bit of time to come in, document what might be there, learn a little bit more about our history, and then the project gets to move forward. open image in gallery This image provided by the City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program shows a 3-foot-tall cross-section view of the excavated moat of a 1781 British Redoubt, showing layers of natural and human filling episodes, in St. Augustine, Fla., in February 2025. (City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program via AP) ( City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program ) White knew the area under development had a long history, going back to a Native American mission in the early 1700s, followed later by an agricultural plantation and after the Civil War, the construction of the Lincolnville neighborhood. So we knew we had multiple centuries of history that could potentially be on the property, but were pretty excited to actually find evidence, White said. What we found evidence of was a large moat about 15 feet wide that would have been part of the rampart. Researchers found few artifacts at the site and are still unsure about the fort's actual size and shape, but they did recover thousands of different types of seeds. White said theyre working with a paleoethnobotanist, who studies the history of how humans and plants interact, to learn how the structure was built and used. Its possible that plants like Spanish bayonet or prickly pear cactuses were used to prevent erosion or to slow down attacking soldiers. So were very hopeful that we might find some good information from our plant remains that weve recovered, White said. open image in gallery This image provided by the City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program shows City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program staff members Kate Ganas, left, Andrea White, center, and Katherine Sims excavating within the 1781 British Redoubt moat in February 2025. (City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program via AP) ( City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program ) Jason Heidgerken, the contractor working on the lot where the fort's moat was found, said the city's archeological program can certainly cause delays, but White and her team were great and communicating well, so he could adjust his timelines. Ive been around St. Augustine since 1980 personally, and part of the attraction is the history, Heidgerken said. So if you want to live there and do this kind of business, its to be expected, and you need to have the patience for it. Over the past four decades, the city's archeology program has completed more than 1,200 projects. Not only have researchers collected data from Spanish colonial times but also Native American settlements and villages going back 4,000 years. I actually think its pretty cool what the city does. Im a history nut myself, Heidgerken said. I think its pretty neat. 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 criminology student who asked his course lecturer how to get away with murderbefore stabbing a woman to death and knifing her friend in a random attack on Bournemouth beach has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 39 years. An extremely dangerous social misfit with a grievance against women, Nasen Saadi, 21, killed Amie Gray, 34, and seriously wounded Leanne Miles, now 39, as the pair were enjoying a late-night chat next to a small fire to keep warm at the Dorset seaside resort last summer. The 21-year-old fatally stabbed the personal trainer 10 times, including to her heart, and knifed Ms Miles 20 times on 24 May last year because he wanted to feel powerful, with Ms Grays courageous final act being to protect her friend. open image in gallery Amie Gray with her wife Sian who said she touched the lives of so many ( PA Media ) The defendant had researched locations to carry out the killing and was fascinated with murder and violence as well as knives, buying six blades from websites, with several found at his aunts house where he was living as well as at his parents home. Saadi, of Croydon, south London, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 39 years at Winchester Crown Court on Friday, after being convicted of murder and attempted murder in December following a trial at the same court. Saadi was also sentenced for failing to give his mobile phone PIN code to police. Wearing a blue sweatshirt and glasses, he showed no emotion as his punishment was read out. Judge Ms Justice Cutts said that Saadi had chosen to deny his guilt because he wanted the notoriety of a trial and had a complete lack of remorse for the utterly senseless attack, adding: I have no doubt you are an extremely dangerous young man and will remain so. open image in gallery Nasen Saadi, 21, fatally stabbed the personal trainer 10 times, including to her heart, and knifed her friend 20 times on 24 May last year ( Dorset Police/PA Wire ) She continued: The clear evidence is you planned to kill and went to Bournemouth to do so. I am satisfied that you chose Amie Gray and Leanne Miles because you have a grievance against society as a whole and women in particular... It seems you have felt humiliated and rejected for any advances you have made towards girls, which has led over time to a deeply suppressed rage towards society and women in particular. In a victim impact statement read to the court, Sian Gray said that her wifes death would haunt her for ever. She said: At the age of 36, I should not have to hold my deceased wifes cold hand, nor should my daughter have to say goodbye and grieve over a coffin... Amies beautiful life has now been reduced to forever being remembered as the murder victim. Ms Grays mother, Sharon Macklin, said in a statement: Amie was an amazing, funny, kind and energetic soul. She had a big smile and a loud laugh, and when she entered the room it filled with laughter and her presence couldnt be ignored. She was beautiful inside and out, even if life wasnt great for her she would always find the time to help others. open image in gallery CCTV footage of Saadi walking along the promenade on Bournemouth seafront, where Amie Gray and Leanne Miles were sitting, on the night of 24 May ( PA Media ) The trial heard that Saadi, who had been studying criminology and criminal psychology at the University of Greenwich, used the name Ninja Killer for his Snapchat account and also used the username NSkills on his computer. Saadi, who had dropped out of a physical education course, had carried out searches about the Milly Dowler and Brianna Ghey killings. Lecturer Dr Lisa-Maria Reiss told the court that Saadi had asked questions on how to get away with murder, and she asked him: Youre not planning a murder are you? Saadi had booked two hotels for a four-night stay in Bournemouth starting 21 May and was shown on CCTV carrying out recces of the seafront and the scene of the murder, which happened at about 11.40pm on 24 May. During his stay, the defendant, who is a fan of horror movies, also went to the cinema to see slasher movie The Strangers: Chapter 1. open image in gallery CCTV of Saadi, who carried out recces of the seafront and the scene of the murder ( PA Media ) Saadi, who chose not to give evidence, denied carrying out the attacks, saying it was a case of mistaken identity and adding that he must have blacked out when they happened. Charles Sherrard KC, defending, described Saadi as a social misfit who had a growing sense of rage against society, with infamy becoming a valid goal in itself. Stating what she believed motivated Saadi, Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, had told the jury: This defendant seems to have wanted to know what it would be like to take life. Perhaps he wanted to know what it would be like to make women feel afraid. Perhaps he thought it would make him feel powerful, make him interesting to others. Perhaps he just couldnt bear to see people engaged in a happy normal social interaction and he decided to lash out, to hurt, to butcher. The court was told Ms Gray had tried to distract Saadi while he was attacking Ms Miles, shouting get away, allowing her friend to flee. Benjamin May, a senior crown prosecutor with CPS Wessex, said: Amies courageous final act to protect her friend truly defines who she was, and her life will forever be remembered for the love and protection she gave to her loved ones. open image in gallery Ms Grays mother, Sharon Macklin, described her daughter as an amazing, funny, kind and energetic soul ( PA Media ) Our thoughts continue to remain with her friends and family, as well as with Leanne Miles, whose bravery through this ordeal helped us to deliver justice. Saadis perverse fascination with murder and violence morphed into vile, real-world consequences, for which he has faced justice. Detective Inspector Mark Jenkins, of Dorset Police, added: It appears that he targeted Amie and Leanne, who he had never met and were simply enjoying a peaceful evening on the beach, just because he saw an opportunity to surprise and overpower them. Following Saadis sentencing, Mr Jenkins spoke of his relief that the dangerous killer had been brought to justice. 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 Blockbuster is returning to the UK over a decade after the famous store disappeared from the British high street. At its peak, Blockbuster dominated the video rental business and had more than 9,000 locations across the world. However, the company struggled to keep up with its competition and filed for bankruptcy in 2010. The remaining stores in the UK were all shut within three years. Now, only one franchise remains in the world, colloquially known as The Last Blockbuster in Oregon in the US. It thrives off 90s nostalgia, tourism and simplicity. So, for four days only, Blockbuster is coming back to London in an attempt to recapture some of that retro spirit. New research from KitKat found that nearly a quarter of Brits fondly remember choosing movies in a store, ranking Blockbuster as one of the top five most missed high street stores by Brits. As a result, the confectioner launched a collaboration with the video rental shop, which will open as a pop-up in Londons Soho from 9 to 12 April. open image in gallery Blockbuster is working with KitKat to launch the pop-up ( Nestle ) Customers can browse the iconic blue and yellow video cases for their films of choice, then take the empty VHS box to the counter, where they will receive a streaming code. There will also be a chill-out area with retro televisions. The store, on the iconic Greek Street, will also give visitors a free new KitKat sharing bar to snack on while they watch the movie. The survey, with 2,000 respondents ages 18 and over, ranked Woolworths number one, followed by Debenhams, Toys R Us, Blockbuster and HMV. The brands research concluded that Brits are at a breaking point over their inability to switch off, with a third blaming their phone. Meanwhile, three in 10 said they feel uneasy and anxious if their phone is out of reach, with almost three-quarters of respondents saying it was causing a rift in their relationship. Stephanie Scales, marketing manager for KitKat at Nestle UK and Ireland, said: Its more important than ever to stay connected with others in todays hectic world. Whether its with friends, family or loved ones, we want to take the nation back to when times were simpler and reclaim the joy of picking out a movie to watch together. By KitKat sharing bars partnering with Blockbuster to take cosy nights in together to another level, we hope that we can help Brits properly savour their downtime and break better. Blockbuster isnt the only store making a return to the high street, as Topshop hinted at a major comeback almost five years after it left the high street and went online. The clothing brand posted three teasers on social media, telling online followers: WEVE MISSED YOU TOO in a series of clips captioned WEVE BEEN LISTENING. Topshop shut its stores in 2020, including its flagship branch on Oxford Street in central London. 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 cargo ship involved in a collision with an oil tanker in the North Sea has been towed to Aberdeen. The Stena Immaculate tanker and cargo ship Solong collided off the coast of East Yorkshire on 10 March. The explosive collision left a sailor presumed dead in the North Sea, with the alarm first raised on the Humber Estuary. HM Coastguard said 36 people were rescued from both vessels involved in the crash and taken safely to shore in Grimsby. The Solong will now stay at the Scottish port for safe berthing and damage assessment. It arrived in Aberdeen on Friday morning after a tug-assisted journey which lasted several days. The cargo ship Solong arrived in Aberdeen on Friday morning ( Michal Wachucik/PA Wire ) Owners of the cargo vessel Ernst Russ said the Solong will be assessed by specialist marine assessors and insurers. A statement said: We are very aware of the efforts and assistance from all those acting in the response. We want to thank everyone who has responded urgently and gallantly to this incident. Chief coastguard Paddy OCallaghan said: Salvage of the Solong has progressed to enable its relocation to the Port of Aberdeen for safe berthing. The Stena Immaculate remains in a stable condition with salvage ongoing. The port of Aberdeen added that the ship would be prepared for the next stage of salvage operations. Owners of the Solong have admitted tiny plastic pellets held in containers on board were released, and have since been found on beaches in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. The captain of the Solong, 59-year-old Russian man Vladimir Motin, appeared at Hull Magistrates Court on 15 March charged with gross negligence manslaughter. He was remanded in custody to appear before the Central Criminal Court in London on 14 April. 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 King Charles has experienced a difficult couple of years for his health, particularly after his cancer diagnosis. Less than a year after his coronation, the King was diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer, which was found while he was undergoing treatment for a separate issue relating to an enlarged prostate. His diagnosis came at the same time that his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton was also diagnosed with cancer, in a heavy blow to the royal family which saw two of its frontline figures out of action for some time. The Princess of Wales has since revealed she is in remission. Prince William has spoken candidly about the royal familys major health scares, saying 2024 was probably the hardest year in my life and a dreadful experience. Since the news broke, the King has been undergoing treatment for over a year while he has gradually built up a return to public duties. On April 30, he released a written message thanking cancer charities for their work and saying his diagnosis had brought the best of humanity into focus. This is a timeline of the Kings cancer treatment and how the story unfolded in the public eye. open image in gallery The King leaving hospital after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate in January 2024 ( Reuters ) 17 January 2024 Buckingham Palace said King Charles was to receive treatment for an enlarged prostate, which was found during a routine procedure. They said the condition was benign, but he will undergo a "corrective procedure". The palace said: In common with thousands of men each year, the King has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate. 26 January 2024 The King arrived at the prestigious London Clinic for the procedure, where his daughter-in-law Kate was recovering after abdominal surgery the week prior. 5 February 2024 Buckingham Palace announced that the King had been diagnosed with cancer while he was undergoing a separate procedure for an enlarged prostate. He suspended his public engagements to undergo treatment. The palace did not specify what cancer he had been diagnosed with, only that it wasnt prostate cancer. 6 February 2024 Prince Harry flew more than 10 hours from LA to see his father after the shock cancer diagnosis, with different media outlets reporting the meeting was between just 30 and 45 minutes long. open image in gallery The King paused cancer treatment while on an 11-day tour of Australia and Samoa ( Aaron Chown/PA Wire ) 7 February 2024 Prince William broke his silence about his father and wifes cancer diagnoses to the public, thanking them for their kind messages. He said: Id like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days. It means a great deal to us all. Its fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather medical focus. So I thought Id come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all! 8 February 2024 Camilla said that Charles was doing extremely well under the circumstances, he's very touched by all the letters and the messages the public have been sending from everywhere thats very cheering. 10 February 2024 The King shared his first message since he was diagnosed with cancer, thanking well-wishers for their messages. He said in a statement: I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days. As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement. It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organisations which support cancer patients and their families across the UK and wider world. My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience. 11 February 2024 The King attended a service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate with his wife Camilla. open image in gallery The King has made an effort to return to regular duties while undergoing treatment for cancer ( Stuart Wilson/PA Wire ) 21 February 2024 Then-prime minister Rishi Sunak went to Buckingham Palace and met the King for the first time since his diagnosis. 11 March 2024 The King shared a video address to mark Commonwealth Day, thanking people for their wonderfully kind and thoughtful good wishes. 31 March 2024 Charles made his first major public appearance since January as he attended Easter services in Windsor. 26 April 2024 Buckingham Palace confirmed the King was preparing to shortly return to public-facing duties after a period of treatment and recuperation following his diagnosis. 30 April 2024 Charles visited a cancer treatment centre in his first public royal engagement since his own diagnosis. 13 May 2024 The King gave a brief insight into his own experience of treatment while speaking to British Army veteran Aaron Mapplebeck, who had undergone chemotherapy the previous year for testicular cancer. Mr Mapplebeck confessed he had lost his sense of taste due to chemotherapy. Charles revealed that hed also experienced this same side effect to his own cancer treatment. Buckingham Palace have still not confirmed the details of his treatment or disclosed the form of cancer. open image in gallery King Charles waves goodbye to well-wishers following a visit to the Cancer Research Centre at Ulster University, on a royal visit to Northern Ireland ( PA Wire ) 15 June 2024 Charles rode in a carriage instead of on horseback, reportedly for his health, as he attended his second Trooping the Colour. 18 October 2024 The King paused his treatment during an 11-day royal tour of Australia and Samoa. 28 October 2024 The Palace said it was working on a pretty normal looking full overseas tour programme for next year for the monarch as he returned to duty. 20 December 2024 It was reported the King would continue his cancer treatment into 2025. 25 December 2024 The monarch offered his heartfelt thanks to health workers during his Christmas speech. 27 January 2025 Parkrun participants in Sandringham met with the King after running for a cancer charity. 27 March 2025 The King had to cancel his royal engagements after he experienced temporary side effects following cancer treatment, which required a short period of observation in hospital. A statement from Buckingham Palace said: His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result. 30 April 2025 The King released a written message saying his cancer experience had brought into sharp focus the very best of humanity. The message to cancer charities said: You have my whole familys deepest admiration and gratitude. He and Camilla hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace in celebration of community-based initiatives raising awareness about cancer and supporting those living with the disease. 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 King has cancelled his royal engagements on Friday after he required a short period of observation in hospital, Buckingham Palace has said. Charles visited the London Clinic where he was treated for an enlarged prostate in January 2024 on Thursday morning after experiencing side effects from his cancer treatment. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said the King has now returned to Clarence House but has received medical advice to reschedule his planned engagements for Friday. Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, the King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital, the statement said. His Majestys afternoon engagements were therefore postponed. His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrows diary programme will also be rescheduled. His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result. open image in gallery Charles and Camilla departing The London Clinic in January 2024 ( PA ) It is understood the side effects, of which specifics have not been disclosed, were temporary and not uncommon with many medical treatments. He travelled to and from the hospital by car and was not joined by the Queen during his brief stay. A source described it as a most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction. The King is said to be on good form at home in Clarence House where is working on state papers and making calls from his study. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: His Majesty was due to receive credentials from the ambassadors of three different nations this afternoon. Tomorrow, he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham, and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion. He very much hopes that they can rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible. open image in gallery Sources stressed the hospital visit was not a major development ( AP ) Sources stressed the hospital visit was not a major development and no further updates are expected on the Kings health, with any minor alterations to his diary that may be required next week being announced in due course. The announcement from the Palace was made late on Thursday because time was required for the King to consult with his staff and medical team on his return to Clarence House. It was decided on balance that it was wiser to cancel the visit to Birmingham as precautionary measure. Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February 2024 and returned to public-facing duties in April despite still undergoing weekly treatment. He has had a busy run of engagements this week including a reception for media, a visit to a soil exhibition, and is due to make an historic state visit to Italy in just 10 days time. Part of the trip was meant to include a visit to the Vatican, but this has been postponed due to medical advice issued to the Pope. The King and Queens tour of Italy is understood to still be going ahead, however, there are expected to be some changes to the programme. Close Smiling King Charles seen for first time since suffering side effects from cancer treatment 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 King has been seen in public for the first time since his hospital visit for side effects from his cancer treatment. Charles smiled and waved at well-wishers as he was driven by car from Clarence House, his London home, along The Mall towards Buckingham Palace on Friday morning. His appearance comes after Buckingham Palace said late on Thursday that the monarch had required a short period of observation in hospital at the London Clinic following side effects of his cancer treatment. The 76-year-old cancelled his royal engagements on Friday to prioritise his recovery as a precautionary measure. He was said to be in good form, earlier working on state papers and making calls from his study. In a statement, the Palace said: Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, the King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital. It added: His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result. It is understood the side effects, of which specifics have not been disclosed, were temporary and not uncommon with many medical treatments. 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 Documents appearing to hold sensitive information from the British armed forces have been found scattered across a city street in Newcastle. The Ministry of Defence is investigating after a passerby picked up piles of papers containing information including army soldier ranks, emails, shift patterns and weapon-issue details. The papers were found by Gateshead man Mike Gibbard, who spotted them spilling out of a black binbag and scattered across a pavement in the Scotswood area of Newcastle on 16 March. He told the BBC it was crazy to have found the documents as he passed by on his way to watch Newcastle United's cup final game against Liverpool. "I peered down and started to see names on bits of papers, and numbers, and I thought 'what's that?'," he told the broadcaster. They were piled up against a wall, in a black bag, in the road, underneath cars spread all the way up the road. He said he found more documents on the other side of the road and was alarmed by the contents. Mr Gibbard said he asked his wife: "Why is it here? This shouldn't be here, anyone could pick it up." open image in gallery The documents appeared to be connected to regiments at Catterick garrison, in North Yorkshire. ( Danny Lawson/PA Wire ) He said the documents appeared to be connected to regiments at Catterick garrison, in North Yorkshire. Mr Gibbard told the BBC he saw details of the perimeter, the patrol, checking weapons in and out, requests for leave, mobile phone numbers, high ranking officers. Some of the information was marked with official-sensitive, which is information that is not intended for public release. Government guidance states that the unintended disclosure of official-sensitive information can lead to moderate damage (including to the UKs longer-term strategic/economic position) and, in exceptional circumstances, it could lead to a threat to life. An MOD spokesperson said: We take the protection of our information very seriously and this incident is being closely investigated. We have rapidly reviewed the information and understand no sensitive operational defence information is contained within the documents. open image in gallery The papers were found on Railway Street in the Scotswood area of Newcastle. ( Google Maps ) Mr Gibbard handed the documents over the Northumbria Police, who have since handed them over to the Ministry of Defence. A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: Shortly before 3pm on Sunday, March 16, we received a report that potentially confidential documents had been found on Railway Street in the Scotswood area of Newcastle. The documents have now been handed to the Ministry of Defence. Government guidelines recommend that sensitive documents be destroyed using shredders or burn bags. A Number 10 spokesman added: The Ministry of Defence is currently looking at documents handed to the police, but the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the army. As you will appreciate, I wont be able to comment on any specifics while that takes place, but you can expect that appropriate action will be taken in response to any potential information breach. Its obviously important that that investigation is allowed to take its course. 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 Smartphones should be treated like cars, not cigarettes with technology built to mitigate harms rather than being banned outright, academics have argued. In a new piece published in the British Medical Journal, five academics who have studied smartphone bans in schools push for more child-friendly technology rather than phones being taken away. It comes as Sir Keir Starmer told MPs at Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday that a ban on phones in schools was completely unnecessary. Ive got teenage children, almost every school bans phones in school. They do it already. We need to concentrate on what is really important here, which is getting to the content that children shouldnt be accessing, he said. Research from Teacher Tapp, an app that surveys thousands of teachers in the UK, found in December 2024 that in 56 per cent of secondary schools, children are allowed mobiles on site but are not allowed to take them out of their bags. According to the survey, the majority of teachers at schools where pupils were allowed to keep their phones, rather than hand them in, would prefer if they were banned completely with 78 per cent of people backing tougher bans. Countries across Europe are introducing government-led action on childrens smartphone use ( PA ) Academics from the University of Birmingham, Harvard, and universities in Brazil and Sweden published a study in February examining the impacts of policies in 30 English secondary schools. The study, co-authored by Dr Victoria Goodyear, found that there was no evidence to suggest restrictive school phone policies impacted the childs use of social media or their mental health. They examined 20 schools where students were not allowed to use phones during recreational periods and 10 where this was allowed. We found in our research that there is an association between the more time that adolescents spend on their phones and on social media, in relation to worsened outcomes. That can be across mental health, anxiety, depression, sleep, physical activity, attainment and disruptive classroom behaviour, Dr Goodyear said. The academic said a recent evaluation of school phone policies in England found there was no difference in outcomes between adolescents that attended a school with a phone ban and those that didnt. If bans alone are not enough, what else do we need to do? she said. We need to equip children for healthy technology use. There are two key ways; firstly an age-appropriate design, and secondly equipping children with digital skills. In a follow-up article to their study published on Thursday, the researchers said the evidence about the impact of smartphones on children is not clear cut. They said that so far, despite positive anecdotal data from the implementation of smartphone bans, we do not have the evidence to establish the types of bans that are effective and what works best for children of different ages. The professors argued that prescribing abstinence from all technologies to protect against harms is unrealistic and potentially detrimental in a society where technology use is a practical necessity and confers various benefits. They gave the example of sub-Saharan Africa, where social media can provide access to essential healthcare services, or in China, where social media access can help LGBT+ teenagers to find community. They likened smartphones to cars, saying that safety regulations should be put in place to mitigate the potential harms. But they should not be treated like cigarettes, where outright bans are effective. The UK is now lagging behind Europe on action on smartphones, with Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Norway and others imposing limits on school use or social media for children. 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 Tesla's substantial UK taxpayer subsidies have come under renewed scrutiny following Donald Trump's announcement of a 25 per cent tariff on imported vehicles to the US. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government is reviewing its electric vehicle transition rules, amid calls for reciprocal tariffs on Tesla imports. The Liberal Democrats have advocated for tariffs on Tesla, citing owner Elon Musk's support for the US president. "Given Musk's significant backing of Trump, imposing tariffs on Tesla imports would be a fitting response," a party spokesperson said. Data published by analysts Tussell in January revealed Tesla has benefited from 188 million in UK taxpayer subsidies since 2016, primarily through the plug-in car grant scheme. This scheme offers financial incentives for purchasing low-emission vehicles. open image in gallery Tesla owner Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump in front of a Cybertruck at the White House ( AFP via Getty Images ) Ms Reeves told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: We dont want to get into a trade war, but we are looking at the zero emission vehicle mandate, which is, I think, why some of that money goes to Tesla, and looking at how we can better support the car manufacturing industry in the UK. We announced in the budget last year, I think, around 2 billion for an automotive fund as part of our modern industrial strategy. But look, we are working intensely with the US to try to come to an agreement ahead of these tariff increases next week. Lets see how that goes. A 25 per cent tax on vehicles and vehicle parts imported to the US will come into effect on April 2. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: Our car industry is being left at the mercy of Trump and his destructive trade war. We should be preparing to respond if needed including through Tesla tariffs that hit Trumps crony Elon Musk in the pocket. open image in gallery Elon Musk wears a Trump was Right About Everything hat during an event at the White House ( Reuters ) Mr Musk said tariffs will affect the price of parts in Tesla cars that come from other countries, adding that the cost impact is not trivial. This was in response to a post on social media platform X which he owns which claimed Tesla could benefit the most from tariffs on US imports. When Mr Trump became president in January, he appointed Mr Musk to a role cutting government costs by leading the newly established Department of Government Efficiency. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show the Tesla Model Y was the fifth most popular new car in the UK in 2024 with 32,862 registrations. 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 It seems Britain has one key inducement to offer US President Donald Trump: a state visit hosted by King Charles. One can only imagine what the king thinks of this, but he will undoubtedly maintain a stiff upper lip and preside over several lavish dinners. Following reports of this offer, which would make Trump the only US president to be twice hosted by a British monarch, stories surfaced that the US might become an associate member of the Commonwealth. There has been no official confirmation of this, but the story has been floated in several British newspapers. The Commonwealth came into existence as a means of retaining links with former British colonies, so there is a certain historical justification for the idea. Almost all of Britains former colonies are now members of the Commonwealth of Nations, with Ireland and the US notable exceptions. open image in gallery Charles, then the Prince of Wales is greeted by US President Donald Trump ( PA Archive ) The Commonwealth is an organisation that ties together 56 countries, including a few in Africa that have been admitted despite not having been British colonies. Of the 56, only a minority recognise the British king as their head of state, a point local monarchists are reluctant to acknowledge. Indeed, some members of the Commonwealth, such as Malaysia, Brunei and Tonga, have their own hereditary monarchs. In theory, all members are democratic, and several, such as Fiji, have at times been suspended from membership for failing on this count. Whatever doubts we might have about the state of US democracy, it is hard to argue the US would fail to meet a bar that allows continued membership to states such as Pakistan and Zimbabwe. The Commonwealth is largely seen as less important than other international groupings, and its heads of government meetings are often skipped by leaders of the most significant members. Other than turning up to the Commonwealth Games, few recent Australian prime ministers have paid it much attention, compared to our membership of the G20 or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Nonetheless, the Commonwealth does include a remarkable range of countries ranging from significant states such as India, Canada and South Africa to the many island states of the Pacific and the Caribbean. While its work is largely unreported, it does provide a range of international assistance and linkages that otherwise would be out of reach for its smaller and poorer members. Trump, it can be assumed, has no interest in the Commonwealth as a means of better working with states such as Namibia and Belize. The attraction seems to be linked to his strange reverence for royalty and a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the British sovereign. King Charles is head of the Commonwealth through agreement of its members, probably in recognition of the extraordinary commitment his mother showed as the Commonwealth developed out of the old British Empire. Indeed, she clashed several times with her British ministers because of her loyalty to the Commonwealth. But unlike the kings British and Australian crown, this is not a position that belongs automatically to the British monarch. So, while inviting Trump to Windsor Castle may be the gift of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, admission to the Commonwealth would require the agreement of all its members. Given Trumps demands to acquire Canada and to punish South Africa for recent land expropriation law, it is hard to imagine unanimous enthusiasm. Most member states are cautious about being too closely linked to either the US or China, although Australia might end up the last true believer in US alliances. Others, such as Ghana and Pakistan, depend considerably on Chinese aid. In a world dominated by increasingly autocratic leaders, a middle power like Australia needs as wide a range of friends as possible. Most of us have only a vague sense of what the Commonwealth entails. Like all international institutions, the Commonwealth often seems more concerned with grand statements than actual commitment. But there is value in a global organisation whose members claim to be committed to: democracy and democratic processes, including free and fair elections and representative legislatures; the rule of law and independence of the judiciary; good governance, including a well-trained public service and transparent public accounts; and protection of human rights, freedom of expression, and equality of opportunity. Would Trumps America meet those demands? Dennis Altman is Vice Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow, Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article 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 Rachel Reevess spring statement has sparked intense debate, with key questions emerging on welfare cuts, taxation, and the governments broader economic strategy. As speculation grows over potential tax hikes in the autumn Budget, Independent readers have raised concerns about the impact on carers, low-income households, and investment in critical sectors such as technology and housing. I took questions from readers in a live Q&A on 27 March, offering insights into Labours fiscal policies, the potential for a wealth tax, and the broader implications of recent policy decisions. With the economy facing headwinds including the threat of US trade tariffs under Donald Trump and public dissatisfaction over welfare reforms Reevess cautious approach has left her little fiscal room for maneuver. Meanwhile, opposition voices and Labour backbenchers continue to press for alternative solutions, including targeted taxation on the wealthy. Here are a selection of spring statement questions from Independent readers and my answers from the Ask Me Anything event. Q: Why were there no investments in the tech industry? NotRedorBlue A: I agree it could have been mentioned. Rachel Reeves would say her spring statement was not a Budget, and remind us she boosted capital investment by 100bn in her Budget last October, including on research and development. We'll probably hear more about the tech sector when the government publishes its long-awaited industrial strategy (soon-ish!) and in the government-wide spending review issued in June. Q: Is there any mention of the impact on carers who will lose Carers Allowance? JJAMMontoast A: It's not something ministers seem keen to talk about. But Labour MPs worried about the 5bn cuts to benefits are aware of the threat to carer's allowance and I'm sure it will receive more attention in the run-up to the Commons vote on the changes expected in June. Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, who has made social care and carers key campaign issues and who has a disabled son, has raised the question. Unpaid carers deserve more recognition and support. They contribute an estimated 445m each day to the economy in England and Wales - 162bn a year. Q: Please explain, in terms that a young person of average intelligence might understand, what is the point of elections, parties, parliament, PMQs, etc? envious A: I think it was Winston Churchill, quoting an academic, who said democracy is the worst form of government except for all the other forms that have been tried. I think our system, for all its faults, is worth defending -- and improving. Democracy is under threat around the world in an era of so-called strongman leaders whether in Russia, China, the US or Turkey for example. Some people would argue it is also at risk because of the rise of populists. I don't think the UK is immune to that, as we can see with the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform UK in the opinion polls. Q: Why wont Labour help instigate a global wealth tax? GreenModerate A: I think support for a wealth tax is rising among Labour MPs, though I suspect it's still a minority view among them. The issue will be on the agenda as there will now be a big debate about whether Rachel Reeves should raise taxes in her Budget in October this year. She may be forced to, as she doesn't want to change her fiscal rules (to allow her to increase borrowing) and the scope for further spending cuts will be limited by the controversy over welfare savings. There's a case for raising taxes to fund the higher defence spending the UK will need in the new world. One idea is to equalise capital gains tax (CGT) with income tax so they are charged at the same level. The chancellor did raise CGT in last October's Budget so she could go further. Equalisation seems sensible to me, though critics would argue it would hit entrepreneurs and thus economic growth. Some people would call it a wealth tax. A purer version would be a 1 per cent or 2 per cent levy on a certain level of assets, either annually or as a one-off. A 2 per cent charge on people with assets of more than 10m could raise 24bn. But I doubt the government will go down this route. Critics are sceptical that it would work and say the very rich would find ways around it. Although the figures are disputed, there is some evidence that non-doms are leaving the UK following the recent crackdown. Reeves wants to rebuild bridges with businesses burnt by her decision to raise employers' national insurance contributions and will not want to be accused of driving wealth creators out of the country. A global wealth tax would stop highly mobile people from moving elsewhere to avoid it. But I don't see any chance of agreement on one not least because Donald Trump is on the scene or the UK pushing for one. Q: Why does it feel that the majority of the "waste" being targeted affects those lower down the ladder? itslikeacarcrash A: You are right that much of the savings are coming from the least well off; disabled people are not well off. This morning I attended an event at the Resolution Foundation think tank. Its analysis found that two-thirds of the welfare cuts will fall on low-to-middle-income groups. Tax and benefit changes will reduce the incomes of the second poorest fifth of households by 1.5 per cent in this five-year parliament, and those of the richest fifth by only 0.6 per cent. There are no plans to reduce payments for MPs or peers. Most MPs do have a base in their constituency (or nearby). Their family often lives there. Those who want a base in London (rather than staying in hotels) do have to meet the extra cost of maintaining two homes. Q: 2bn for affordable and social housing. What is the definition of "affordable housing" and "social housing" here? Robin Baldock A: The government defines affordable housing as "housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not met by the market." Examples include social rent (at least 20 per cent below market rates); affordable rent or intermediate housing such as shared ownership, when people buy a share of a property and rent the remaining share. Social housing is provided by local authorities or agencies, such as not-for-profit housing associations. The 2bn you mention will fund 18,000 new affordable homes. It's a down payment before a more long-term investment later this year. You're right about the problem of land banking. But there was some good news in the spring statement. The Office for Budget Responsibility fiscal watchdog, after talking to the housebuilding industry, thinks we are on track for a 40-year high in housebuilding by 2030, and that 1.3 million homes could be built in five years -- not far short of the government's 1.5 million target. Q: Why aren't ISA allowances being reduced? Victor Smith A: There was a lot of speculation before the spring statement that Rachel Reeves would cut the annual limit for tax-free cash ISAs from 20,000 to 4,000. She did not do so, partly because she did not want the statement to look like a Budget after promising to have only one fiscal event a year. The government said yesterday it wants to get the "balance right" between cash and equities in ISAs as part of a retail investing revolution. So a change could happen in the Budget this autumn. Reeves might be tempted to look again at tax relief on pensions. It costs the Treasury 42bn a year, with 27bn of that going to people paying the 40 or 45 per cent income tax rates, with only just over a third going to basic rate taxpayers. In 2016, Reeves supported a flat rate of relief at 33 per cent. A change would not breach Labour's manifesto promises not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT. But the chancellor might be wary of alienating business figures. Q: Was this tightening of the fiscal belt/new age of austerity coming whoever had won the last election? WednesdayOwl A: Yes. The Conservatives' public spending plans were very sketchy, to put it politely. Knowing the election was coming, they did not put money aside for items like public sector pay rises that were always going to be in the pipeline. Hence Labour's claims about a black hole. But all governments make choices. There were other ways for Labour to balance the books. Rachel Reeves could have avoided spending cuts by increasing taxes, but didn't want to so soon after her 40bn tax hike in last October's Budget. She believes there is no public appetite for tax rises when the tax burden is heading for its highest-ever level. On defence, I suspect the UK will have to devote more than 2.5 per cent of GDP to it. The government has set a target of 3 per cent in the next parliament. Even that might not be enough in the new world ushered in by Donald Trump. The bottom line is that Europe now has to fund its own security. I doubt any future US president will turn the clock back and reverse Trump's decision. The UK government is talking up the boost to jobs and growth from a bigger defence budget, but some experts are cautious about how big the benefits will be. These questions and answers were part of an Ask Me Anything hosted by Andrew Grice at 3pm GMT on Thursday 27 March. Some of the questions and answers have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article. For more UK politics insight, check out the weekly Commons Confidential newsletter from John Rentoul. The email, exclusive to Independent Premium subscribers, takes you behind the curtain of Westminster. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, head here to find out more. 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 former interpreter for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan who lost both legs in combat was stabbed to death at the Houston, Texas, office he opened to assist other refugees trying to make new lives for themselves. Masiullah Sahil, 37, is now facing murder charges over the March 26 death of Abdul Rahman Niazi, a 34-year-old father of five who was resettled in America in 2014. Sahil, who Niazi had reportedly helped, confessed to the crime while on the phone with Niazis wife, who called her husband shortly after he was killed, according to news reports and court filings reviewed by The Independent. Sahil, who is also from Afghanistan, stabbed Niazi more than 20 times, prosecutors said during a probable cause hearing in court. Sahil was upset with how long it was taking for his refugee status to be approved, and, following an argument with Niazi over the apparent delay, went to his car and got a knife, investigators said . Niazi was more than a man; he was a pillar of our community, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up by his family. It says Niazi devoted his life to new immigrants like himself, ensuring they found safety, support, and hope. open image in gallery Masiullah Sahil, 37, is now facing murder charges over the March 26 death of former US Army interpreter Abdul Rahman Niazi ( Harris County Sheriff ) Now, his grieving wife and five young children (all under 10 years old) are left behind, struggling to survive without their beloved husband and father, the fundraiser states. Their pain is unimaginable, and their future is uncertain. Sahil, who was booked into jail on Thursday and is being held on $750,000 bond, earns $3,000 a month as an Uber driver, a financial affidavit filed in Harris County District Court shows. Under the category Special Needs, Sahil is listed as having mental problems, according to the affidavit. Carlo Stefan Torres, Sahils court-appointed public defender, did not immediately respond on Friday to a request for comment. Niazis nephew, who did not want to be identified by name, told local Fox affiliate KRIV that his uncle literally helped thousands of people around Houston, a lot of them underprivileged. Sahil was among the recipients of Niazis kindness; his nephew told the outlet he put up his own money and time in having provided support to the man who would later be accused of taking his life. open image in gallery Abdul Rahman Niazi, a 34-year-old father of five, was resettled in America in 2014 ( GoFundMe ) After the stabbing, Niazis phone rang and Sahil answered it, the nephew said. The defendant admitted to stabbing [Niazi] to [Niazis] wife, reads the complaint against Sahil. Niazis nephew told KRIV that the wife called Niazi to come home for dinner, and that Sahil replied, We have sent him to the afterlife. One of Niazis young sons was also on the line, according to the nephew, who said the boy was traumatized by what he heard. Of Sahil, the nephew said, I want the man to be held accountable as soon as possible. Its completely unacceptable. As of Friday morning, the GoFundMe appeal had raised nearly $50,000 of its $100,000 goal. Niazis funeral will be held on March 31 the same day Sahil is due to make his preliminary court appearance. 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 Bank of America is warning customers that their accounts may be canceled if they havent been in used in several years. The national bank has sent letters to customers who havent accessed their account in several years, warning them it may be deactivated due to escheatment laws. Bank of America serves 69 million customers and has 3,700 financial centers across the country. "If you have not accessed your account for an extended period (typically 3 years or more), you may receive a letter from us letting you know your account is considered abandoned and may be turned over to the state under escheat laws," the bank said in a statement on its website. You will need to follow the instructions on your letter to contact the bank and prevent escheatment, the statement added. open image in gallery Bank of America is sending letters to customers who haven't accessed their accounts in several years ( Getty Images ) Escheatment is the process by which abandoned or unclaimed assets (in this case, inactive bank accounts) are transferred to the state. Escheatment is the process of reporting and remitting abandoned/unclaimed property to the appropriate state agency for custodial safekeeping, noted Bank of America. This policy isnt new and is driven by requirements outlined in state escheat laws. Escheat laws vary by state in the U.S., which is why the period of time for declaring an account abandoned varies. We encourage you to log in and check your balances regularly to keep your accounts active, the banks website reads. Its not just your checking or savings accounts that could be in danger, either. Escheat laws also apply to CD and IRA balances, safe deposit boxes, cashier checks and other official items that are not negotiated, and securities, such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Customers with questions can call Bank of America at: (800) 432-1000. This article was amended on March 31 to reflect Escheatment laws and Bank of Americas policy. 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 A judge challenging the outcome of his North Carolina Supreme Court race was photographed wearing Confederate military garb and posing before a Confederate battle flag when he was a member of a college fraternity that glorified the pre-Civil War South. The emergence of the photographs comes at a delicate time for Jefferson Griffin, a Republican appellate judge who is seeking a spot on North Carolina's highest court. Griffin, 44, is facing mounting criticism including from some Republicans as he seeks to invalidate over 60,000 votes cast in last Novembers election, a still undecided contest in which he is trailing the Democratic incumbent by over 700 votes. The photographs, which were obtained by The Associated Press, are from when Griffin was a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1999-2003 and a member of the Kappa Alpha Order, one of the oldest and largest fraternities in the U.S., with tens of thousands of alumni. Griffin said he regretted donning the Confederate uniform, which was customary during the fraternity's annual Old South ball. I attended a college fraternity event that, in hindsight, was inappropriate and does not reflect the person I am today, Griffin said in a statement. At that time, like many college students, I did not fully grasp such participations broader historical and social implications. Since then, I have grown, learned, and dedicated myself to values that promote unity, inclusivity, and respect for all people. One of the pictures, taken during the 2001 ball, shows Griffin and roughly two-dozen other fraternity members clad in Confederate uniforms. Another photograph from the spring of 2000 shows Griffin and other Kappa Alpha brothers in front of a large Confederate flag. He served in 2002 as his chapters president. Controversial fraternity Kappa Alpha has proven to be a lightning rod for controversy over the decades, often due to the racist or insensitive actions of some of its members. A number of politicians have been forced to apologize for having worn Confederate costumes at the fraternity's functions or for being photographed in front of a Confederate flag. Jesse Lyons, a spokesman for the fraternity's national office in Lexington, Virginia, said use of the rebel battle flag was prohibited in 2001 and displaying other Confederate symbols had been discouraged years before. The fraternity banned the wearing of the Confederate uniforms in 2010. It's unclear if the chapter at UNC banned the uniforms before the national organization did. We believe in cultural humility, we respect the best parts of our organizations history, and through education we challenge our members to work for a better future. These things are not mutually exclusive, Lyons said. The fraternity claims Robert E. Lee as its spiritual founder and long championed the Southern Lost Cause," a revisionist view of history that romanticizes the Confederacy and portrays the Civil War as a valiant struggle for states rights unrelated to the enslavement of Black people. In decades past, some Kappa Alpha chapters referred to themselves as a klan, a term that many viewed as an unsubtle wink to the Ku Klux Klan. The photographs featuring Griffin were taken at a time when many other Kappa Alpha chapters were reevaluating their celebration of the Confederacy. During Griffins time in the fraternity, some in his chapter questioned the appropriateness of dressing up in Confederate uniforms for the ball. Griffin opposed abandoning the tradition, according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal. The uniforms stayed. Griffin said he would not respond to unsubstantiated comments based on memories of 20-plus years past. In high school Griffin also expressed an affinity for Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general who led southern forces during the Civil War. In a 1998 feature on high school scholars of the week in the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper, Griffin said Lee was his No. 1 choice to include on an ideal guest list for a party. Clinging to traditions The Kappa Alpha Order was founded in 1865, not long after Lee surrendered to the Union Army, at a Virginia college where Lee served as president. At least one of the first members was a former rebel soldier who had served under Lee, who is revered by the fraternity as the ideal of gentlemanly Southern chivalry. For more than a century, Kappa Alpha threw Old South parties. They were formal affairs where the Confederate battle flag was flown and fraternity brothers dressed in replica Confederate gray uniforms and their dates wore antebellum-style hoop skirts. Sometimes they would ride through campus on horseback. Some Kappa Alpha chapters, particularly in the South, clung to their traditions, including the wearing of blackface, even as they drew protests and public sentiment shifted. A Kappa Alpha Old South parade at Alabamas Auburn University in 1992 drew supporters waving Confederate battle flags, as well as counter protesters who burned them. In 1995, a group of Kappa Alpha members at the University of Memphis hurled racial slurs while beating a Black student who caused a disturbance outside a frat party, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported at the time. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was no exception to the turmoil. Under pressure from student group's, the school's Kappa Alpha chapter in 1985 canceled its annual Sharecroppers Ball," which some attended in blackface. Fraternity members said blackface was worn because the event needed both Black and white attendees, but promised to discontinue the practice, according to a news story in the Daily Tar Heel student newspaper. The Kappa Alpha chapter at North Carolinas Wake Forest University stopped allowing members to wear Confederate uniform and display the Confederate flag in 1987. But other chapters held on longer. The national headquarters finally forbade confederate uniforms in 2010 after a wave of public blowback after Kappa Alpha members at the University of Alabama wore them during a parade that paused in front of the home of a black sorority. Public officials face criticism over ties to fraternity Griffin is not the first public official to draw unwanted attention for their college-age embrace of symbols drawn from the darker chapters of the South's past. Virginia's then-governor, Democrat Ralph Northam, came under intense criticism in 2019 over a racist photo that appeared on his yearbook page of his medical school. The incident led reporters to scour the college histories of other Southern leaders, forcing a number of politicians to publicly address their time as Kappa Alpha brothers. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, then the states Republican lieutenant governor, dodged questions in 2019 about photos showing him wearing a Confederate uniform while he was a Kappa Alpha member at Millsaps College in the early 1990s. While Reeves was enrolled there in October 1994, other members of the fraternity were disciplined for wearing afro wigs and Confederate battle flags and shouting racial slurs at black students, the AP reported at the time. Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declined to comment after yearbooks listed him as the leader of the fraternity's chapter at the University of South Carolina in 1969, along with photos of members wearing Confederate uniforms and posing with a rebel flag. And Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, also a Republican, expressed regret for participating in Old South parties as a student at Auburn University in the 1970s. - Contact APs global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/ 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 Thai restaurant and a plumbing company in Indiana are facing off after a plumber returned to re-clog a pipe over a disputed bill. Jesse Sanders, Thai Bistro & Bar operations manager, told local news outlet WFIE that their Evansville restaurant recently called Heavrin Plumbing to un-clog a blocked grease trap. That first bill was $235. But the clog returned three days later, and Sanders called Heavrin Plumbing again. After the second job, the new bill was $390 because the plumber returned on overtime, WFIE reports. The restaurant didnt pay the bill immediately because they wanted clarity on why they were charged twice for the same issue, Sanders said in a statement to The Independent. The next day, Heavrin Plumbing returned and re-clogged the grease trap with a balloon, telling the restaurant they wouldnt remove it until the bill was paid, WFIE reported. "We were never refusing to pay we were asking for clarity. The same issue returned shortly after the initial service, and we felt it was fair to question whether the return was due to the quality of the work, especially since this was our first clog in nearly a year, Sanders told The Independent. Im confident that if we had been given ample time to think it through and discuss the invoice, we would have come to an agreement especially since weve always paid him in the past, he added. open image in gallery Surveillance footage shows a plumber re-clogging a grease trap amid a dispute with Thai Bistro & Bar in Evansville, Indiana ( WFIE ) Heavrin Plumbing owner Joel Heavrin told WFIE the company doesnt offer warranties on drain cleaning. I dont have a magic wand I can wave and remove all the garbage and debris the drain line, Heavrin said. What we can do is, we can snake it; we can make sure that its open and working correctly. Which is what we did. Still, the restaurant was baffled when the pipe was re-clogged. The following day we received a text message saying that hes on our property, Sanders told WFIE. He put a balloon into our grease trap, and hes not going to remove it until we pay. The plumber told Sanders he would be leaving for the weekend in one hour, WFIE reports. If we were to leave the balloon in there, it would overflow the restaurant with water, dirty water from the grease trap, Sanders added. Basically, we wouldve had to shut down. Heavrin told WFIE the restaurant had a history of paying late in the past. The restaurant disputed this claim in a statement on Facebook. open image in gallery A Google Earth image shows the location of Thai Bistro & Bar in July 2023, several months before the restaurant opened ( Google Maps ) We have paid all of our bills. We operate on NET 15 or NET 30 terms, meaning invoices are paid by their due datesincluding the plumbing invoice (which is on a Net 15), the restaurants statement reads. Nothing is outstanding or past due. Nothing is overdue, and Im more than willing to share proof if needed. Sanders called the police, asking them to mediate the situation, WFIE reports. The Evansville Police Department said similar matters are typically decided in small claims court, but Heavrin said he didnt want to go that far. Frankly it was not worth me pursuing it in court, he says. It was not worth my time, just wasnt worth it for me. Ultimately, the plumber removed the blockage and the restaurant paid the bill, but marked it as paid under protest. As a small business owner, I believe we had every right to question a charge that felt unnecessary, the restaurant stated. We werent trying to cause conflictwe were simply asking for fairness. 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 Frantic text messages reveal the communication between U.S.-based staffers and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass who was in Ghana as wildfires began to tear through Southern California. The mayor, who was heavily criticized at the time from both sides of the political spectrum, was blighted by technical problems while trying to communicate with her team on the other side of the world, the messages obtained by ABC7 Eyewitness News show. The mayor was informed of the severity of the wildfires at 11:48 a.m. PT on January 7, while she was seven hours ahead in the African nation. The Palisades fire started on January 7 and tore through nearly 24,000 acres. On phone with Chief Crowley now. 2 significant fires in the city now. She will call you mayor, a message from her deputy chief of staff Celine Cordero said. After updating Bass that evacuations were taking place as winds hit 40mph, the mayor held a video call with staff late afternoon in Los Angeles and 11:23 p.m. in Ghana. open image in gallery Messages from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, pictured speaking at a press conference in January, to her staffers on the ground in the U.S. have been revealed. Communications were hit with some technical issues while the mayor was anxious to get back to L.A. ( County of Los Angeles/YouTube ) I am listening don't know why you can't tell me, she said, before correcting herself to Hear me! Her team replied saying that they still couldnt hear the mayor. California Sen. Adam Schiff text Bass hours later offering support. The fires are just awful. Please let me know whatever I can do to help, Schiff messaged. Thanks so much I'm actually in the air headed home from Ghana...I know disaster aid will be needed...I land in the AM and would like to be in touch by late afternoon after I've had a chance to see what is happening, Bass replied. After the news outlet got hold of the messages, the mayor said she was glad they were in the public domain. I am glad that they're now out there, and I hope that people can see exactly what I was doing, Bass said at a press conference this week. Bass initially told the outlet that her messages were set to auto-delete when they originally requested them in the days following the outbreak of the fires. open image in gallery The mayor was criticized for being out of the country as the Los Angeles fires, among the worst ever, raged. Bass said she was glad her messages were out in the open. ( AFP via Getty Images ) The outlet noted that public records, including texts from public officials, should be kept for at least two years, according to Los Angeles Administrative Code. Bass, a former physician and congresswoman, was hit with heavy criticism after it emerged she was on a different continent when the fires broke out earlier this year. She was selected by former President Joe Biden as one of his four-member presidential delegation to attend the inauguration of Ghanas incoming president, John Dramani Mahama. Elon Musk called her utterly incompetent and Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told Fox 11 Los Angeles that the city had failed them after recent cuts to the departments budget. Despite being away on diplomatic duties, Bass was consistently posting updates on social media about fire, evacuation orders and emergency shelters. 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 man who set fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas and who painted the word resist for authorities to find at the scene has been arrested, police announced Tuesday. Paul Hyon Kim, 36, faces charges of arson, possession of an explosive device and shooting into a vehicle in state court, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference. Kim was expected to be taken into the federal government's custody later Tuesday to face additional charges, said Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI division. An attorney for Kim who could comment on his behalf was not listed Tuesday in court records. Security video played at the news conference showed the suspect, dressed all in black and covering his face, paint the word resist across the glass doors of a Tesla service center early on March 18. McMahill said the suspect threw Molotov cocktails crude bombs filled with gasoline or another flammable liquid and fired several rounds from a weapon into multiple vehicles. McMahill said Tuesday they were actively investigating a motive and whether it is connected to other recent cases of vandalism targeting Tesla property across the country. In a post on X sharing news of the arrest in Las Vegas, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote that legacy media propaganda is what convinced this guy to do it. Same media that convinced assassins to target the President, Musk said. There has been a clear uptick of violent attacks on property carrying the Tesla logo across the U.S. and overseas since President Donald Trump took office and empowered Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency that has slashed government spending. The attacks are keeping law enforcement busy. Prosecutors in Colorado charged a woman last month in connection with attacks on Tesla dealerships, including Molotov cocktails thrown at vehicles and the words Nazi cars spray-painted on a building. And federal agents in South Carolina have arrested a man they say set fire to Tesla charging stations near Charleston Some of the most prominent incidents have been reported in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest, like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, where anti-Trump and anti-Musk sentiment runs high. An Oregon man faces charges after allegedly throwing several Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store in Salem, then returning another day and shooting out windows. In the Portland suburb of Tigard, more than a dozen bullets were fired at a Tesla showroom last week, damaging vehicles and windows, the second time in a week that the store was targeted. Evans, the special FBI agent in charge of the Las Vegas office, declined Tuesday to comment on the similarities of the cases. But he told reporters last week that the Las Vegas case has some of the hallmarks of terrorism. Was this terrorism? Was it something else? It certainly has some of the hallmarks that we might think the writing on the wall, potential political agenda, an act of violence, Evans said. None of those factors are lost on us. 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 President Donald Trump has threatened to gut the world-renowned Smithsonian Institution in an executive order that aims to eliminate the museum networks anti-American ideology. Trump wants to overhaul the worlds largest museum, education and research complex to restore truth and sanity to American history, his latest executive order signed Thursday said. The president does not want Congress to fund exhibits that divide Americans by race, and singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the forthcoming Women's History Museum, which the order alleges plans to recognize men as women. His order instructs Vice President JD Vance - who serves on the Smithsonian board thanks to his elected office - to remove improper ideology from the Smithsonians museums, education and research centers and the National Zoo. It is an unprecedented call given the institution has largely operated independently for more than 175 years. open image in gallery The Smithsonian Institution consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Pictured: Trump visited a Smithsonian museum in 2017 ( Getty Images ) The Smithsonian Institution consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Millions visit its museums in D.C. and New York City each year. Famous art and artifacts held by the Smithsonian includes Thomas Jeffersons Desk, Jackson Pollock's 'Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), and, of course, Archie Bunker's chair. Trump alleges that over the past 10 years, objective facts have been replaced with a distorted, ideologically driven narrative. Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history, the order said. Representatives for the Smithsonian did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. open image in gallery President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on the Smithsonian Institution looking to rid it of anti-American Ideology ( AP ) The institution was established with funds from James Smithson, a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. It comes after the Pentagon restored some webpages highlighting the crucial wartime contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans, days after tribes condemned the action. The initial removal was part of a sweep of any military content that promoted diversity, equity and inclusion, or commonly referred to as DEI. Following Trumps broader executive order ending the federal governments DEI programs, the Defense Department deleted thousands of pages honoring contributions by women and minority groups. Department officials say the Navajo Code Talker material was erroneously erased. 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 and his administration are carrying out the broadest assault on the rights held by those in the country on visas in decades. Democrats risk being left in the dust. Tuesday evening marked the latest incident in which a foreign student on a visa in the United States was snatched up by plainclothes federal agents who refused to show identification or other documents to bystanders or the student herself. As with previous cases, the student Rumeysa Ozturk appears to have been shipped across the country with the apparent goal of putting her case before a conservative court, having been targeted for the publication of an op-ed critical of the Israeli assault on Gaza. On Thursday, a stunning statistic from Secretary of State Marco Rubio: The Trump administration has revoked the visas of more than 300 students living in the U.S. for various engagements with protests or, in Ozturks case, clearly protected speech. If you come into the U.S. as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we don't want it, Rubio said of Ozturk on Thursday, though the 30-year-old is not accused of direct participation in any protests. We don't want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country." The implications are clear. The Trump administration is seeking to roll back the protected right to free speech for all noncitizens, legal or not, living on American soil. Despite the arguments of many of Trumpworlds defenders, the law is clear: A Supreme Court decision in 1945s Bridges v Wixon ruled that the U.S. attorney general could not launch deportation proceedings against a lawful Australian permanent resident of the United States over the mans alleged affiliation with the Communist Party. The Court ruled explicitly in the matter: Once an alien lawfully enters and resides in this country he becomes invested with the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all people within our borders. Such rights include those protected by the First and Fifth Amendments and by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. open image in gallery Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the U.S. has revoked more than 300 student visas for views critical of Israel. ( AP ) The Bill of Rights, despite what many in MAGAworld will tell you, applies to noncitizens, too. For now. Conservative opponents of the expansion of rights under various Supreme Court rulings have argued that this ruling was in error, but it remains on the books at least until its challenged by what seems like an inevitable showdown over the rights of Mahmoud Khalil, Ozturk and others detained and effectively disappeared under the combined efforts of various federal agencies to police a pro-Israel narrative or sentiment among U.S. visa holders. While the administration has yet to take this showdown to the highest court, it continues to detain foreign-born students on visas. At the same time, the Trump administrations dual-pronged deportation effort is taking another form: the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to target Venezuelan immigrants the federal government claims to be affiliated with the international gang Tren de Aragua. That effort swept up at least one man with no criminal history whose lawyers say was detained and deported for having a tattoo one for autism awareness that an ICE official supposedly admitted had been mistaken for a gang tattoo. Another 54-year-old man spent hours at an ICE processing facility before officials noticed that he had an ID in his wallet proving his American citizenship. Groups including the ACLU and FIRE have rallied in defense of the student visa holders, including Khalil. On Wednesday a federal appeals court sided with a lower court and the ACLU, and held in place an order halting the administrations use of the Alien Enemies Act. So where are the Democrats? Leaders of the opposition party have yet to present a unified front on any issue. Most recently they became consumed by infighting and intra-party sniping over the strategic collapse of the partys resistance to a short-term funding bill. The continued aversion of politicians outside of the partys progressive wing to challenge pro-Israel interests also makes vocal pushback against the move to cancel visas more politically perilous. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have been virtually silent about the targeting of student activists, leaving rank-and-file to chart their own course. open image in gallery Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries bickered with each other in public after their party failed to stop Republicans from passing a short-term spending bill which cut non-defense spending. ( AP ) A handful of Democrats spoke to The Independent on Thursday about whether their party was being left behind by a fast-moving assault on the constitutional rights of legal-resident noncitizens. Thats what the case in Judge Boasbergs courtroom is all about. He ordered that the plane [with Venezuelan deportees] be turned around, but they defied his authority, said Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin. But it obviously is a problem, as they're trying to move fast and break things, including the Constitution. Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez urged her fellow Democrats to get louder about the issue. I think that the role that we play is more important than ever in calling them out for all the things that they're doing that are not constitutional, that are illegal, that are crimes, and that, in essence, is trafficking people outside of this country without due process, she said. Theres little Democrats can do to directly influence or halt the second Trump administrations full-tilt deportation strategy either to dissuade the targeting of students for protected political beliefs or temper the desire of the president to see deportation numbers skyrocket. What the party can do, however, is present itself like an actual opposition and serve as a political front for the voices in America standing up for established constitutional precedent. 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 Staff in the Department of Government of Efficiency were reminded to preserve all communications related to government activity, including messages on Signal, in a memo this week, after Trump administration cabinet members spoke about a United States military operation in a group chat with a journalist. The memo, sent on Tuesday, told staffers to capture and transmit work-related messages that have been exchanged on personal devices, whether via text, Signal, a personal email address, or otherwise to comply with the Presidential Records Act. Messages about work exchanged on personal devices should be captured via screenshot and forwarded to work devices, the memo said. The memo also advised staff to disable auto-delete features on messaging services to better comply with the requirements. It was sent just one day after The Atlantic revealed its editor-in-chief had been inadvertently added to a Signal group chat by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, where he and other cabinet members, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, discussed a military operation in Yemen. open image in gallery Signal, an end-to-end encrypted messaging service, is commercially-available ( REUTERS ) The memo was revealed in an ongoing lawsuit between the group American Oversight, which is also suing Trump administration officials in the Signal group chat, and DOGE. American Oversight asked a judge to compel DOGE and its unofficial leader, billionaire Elon Musk, to preserve all work-related communications. However, lawyers for the government said it was redundant because they already comply with federal laws on preserving communications. USDS employees have been instructed, including as recently as two days ago, to preserve all work-related records and communications regardless of format, including communications exchanged on messaging platforms such as Signal, lawyers wrote in the filing on Thursday. open image in gallery Elon Musk, the brains behind DOGE, is facing multiple lawsuits seeking to compel information about his role in the organization and more ( Getty Images ) Lawyers added that there was no reason to believe employees at DOGE had deleted messages to begin with. Under the Presidential Records Act, the administration is required to take steps to ensure that activities, deliberations, decisions, and policies that reflect the presidents duties are adequately documented to be preserved and maintained. It also prohibits employees from using non-official accounts to exchange messages or records unless an official account is copied on the transmission or forwarded to an official account. The recent controversy over the use of a Signal group chat to exchange messages has highlighted potential national security breach concerns in the Trump administration. However, the White House asserted that no classified information was exchanged in the group chat and that employees are permitted to use 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 Elon Musk said he will hand out an additional $2 million to voters who have cast their ballots in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election this weekend less than 24 hours after paying a resident a $1 million award for supporting a petition against activist judges. The worlds richest person wrote on his X platform early Friday morning that he will personally hand over $1 million each to two voters after giving a talk in the Badger State this weekend. On April 1, voters in Wisconsin will cast their ballots in the highly contentious and consequential election. So far, Musk has poured $20 million into the campaign coffers of conservative candidate Brad Schimel. On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election, Musk tweeted, without stating where or how to enforce who is allowed to attend. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important, he concluded. open image in gallery Elon Musk is set to hand out another two $1 million awards for voting in the Wisconsin Supreme Court elections ( AP ) Schimels opponent, the liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, took to X to share her disdain with Musks latest giveaway. Brad Schimel and Elon Musk are corrupt, she tweeted late Friday morning, sharing an Associated Press article about the latest handout. Derrick Honeyman, Crawfords campaign spokesperson, told the Associated Press that Musks visit to Wisconsin was a last-minute desperate distraction. A win for Schimel, a former GOP state attorney general, would see the court flip to a conservative majority, which could have implications for the state on issues ranging from abortion to redistricting. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley retired after 30 years on the court, freeing up the seat. Musk announced on Thursday that he had given away $1 million through his super-political action committee America PAC to Scott Ainsworth, a Green Bay resident who signed his Petition in Opposition to Activist Judges. Days earlier, America PAC had offered Wisconsin voters $100 to sign the petition. open image in gallery Wisconsin Supreme Court election candidates Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel were photographed in Milwaukee earlier this month ( AP ) The Supreme Court race has dwarfed previous spending records for a U.S. judicial election, with more than $81 million spent so far. The previous record was set in Wisconsin two years ago and was estimated at $51 million. President Donald Trump has endorsed Schimel and hosted a telephone town hall with him on Thursday night. Its a very important race, Trump said. I know you feel its local, but its not. Its really much more than local. The whole country is watching. Musk has been treading murky legal waters, with questions raised about whether the petition violated Wisconsin law, which makes it a felony to offer anything to entice a voter to cast a ballot, or not vote. A legal challenge to the tech billionaires payments could end up before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Musk became involved in the race days after his electric vehicle Tesla filed a petition against the state in January after it was denied the request to open dealerships there a month earlier. Crawford and her allies have accused Musk of trying to buy influence on the court, given that Teslas lawsuit could end up before the justices. 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 Harvard scientist who fled Russia because she opposed the war in Ukraine is facing deportation from the U.S. after being detained over undeclared frog embryos. Kseniia Petrova, a bioinformatician at the Kirschner Lab at Harvard Medical School, was detained at the U.S. border on February 16 while returning from France and had her visa revoked, according to her friend Cora Anderson. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Petrovas detention in a statement to The Independent, alleging that she had knowingly broken the law by attempting to smuggle undeclared frog embryos and petri dishes through customs. Petrovas lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, acknowledged that it was her fault she did not declare the items and that she did not really think through the decision, but said such behavior would usually only warrant confiscation and a fine of about $500. He accused U.S. Customs and Border Protection of trying to punish her by revoking her visa, and said it was quite likely she would receive a long jail sentence if sent back to Russia. Its not clear where exactly Petrova would be deported, as she flew to the U.S. from France, but her friends and Romanovsky fear she could end up in Vladimir Putins clutches again if her bid to stay in the U.S. fails in court. Her detention was first reported by independent Russian media, including The Insider, Mediazone, and Agentsvo. "Kseniia is a Russian woman that had to leave her home country and family because she was going to go to prison for opposing the war with Ukraine," said Anderson in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "Once hired, she worked hard and has been an absolute delight for all to work with and a loving and loyal friend, Anderson added. Her giggly and bubbly personality really brightened up the lab space and anywhere she may be. Not only is she kind, but incredibly intelligent and diligent... "Despite having lawyers and the fact she did not do anything illegal in the first place, she is still [in detention], and we have no idea when she will be paroled. I miss my friend and just want her home in Boston." A GoFundMe page set up by Anderson to cover Petrova's legal expenses raised nearly $29,000 of its $30,000 goal as of Thursday evening. open image in gallery Kseniia Petrova, right, sporting fancy dress alongside Anderson ( Cora Anderson/Facebook ) A DHS spokesperson said, The individual was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying biological substances into the country. A subsequent K9 inspection uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits. Messages found on her phone revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them. She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it. Petrovas case is one of many recent similar situations since Donald Trump's return to power, in which legal immigrants in the U.S. have been imprisoned for weeks at a time after having their visas revoked, sometimes for unclear reasons. Trump promised while campaigning for president that he would target undocumented immigrants guilty of crimes, while his border czar Tom Homan has said his focus is on the worst of the worst. Tourists and international travelers have also been detained, and the Department of Homeland Security has revoked the legal status of more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, leaving them open to deportation in about a month. Trump, meanwhile, has abruptly reversed the nations stance on the war in Ukraine, suspending military aid and intelligence sharing while demanding control of the embattled countrys energy and mineral resources, and falsely claiming Ukraine started the war. Trump also called Putin a genius after he invaded Ukraine three years ago.. The Biden administration reportedly paused all deportation flights to Russia in early 2022 after the war began, but quietly restarted them one year later. In an interview with NBC News, Romanovsky, the lawyer, said Petrova had been carrying scientific samples of frog embryos that she was bringing back from a French lab at the request of her superior as part of a research project. It was her fault. She was supposed to declare that item. She did not, he said. She had no previous experience with bringing samples. She didnt really think this through. She didnt she didnt look up the requirements. But he argued that in such circumstances, CBP is only meant to seize the item and impose a fine of about $500, and that it had no reason to merit cancelling her visa. Petrovas research supervisor, Leon Peshkin, told The Washington Post that the embryos were non-toxic and that he had made a huge mistake in asking her to bring them back. Romanovsky then said that his client was given two choices: withdraw her application to enter the U.S. voluntarily and reapply from an embassy abroad, or immediately be sent back to France and be banned from returning for at least five years. Petrova chose the first option, but when CBP offered to inform the Russian government of her situation, she got scared and told them she would be persecuted if forced to go back there. Indeed, The Harvard Crimson reported that Petrova was arrested in Russia in 2022 for protesting against the war. That allegedly triggered a CBP protocol known as credible fear, in which non-citizens who claim they will be persecuted abroad get to stay in the U.S. and make their claim to an immigration judge. Yet instead of being paroled until her court date, Romanovsky said, agents chose to keep her in detention. "Shes certainly a victim of the new policy where people are held indiscriminately, held and not released, regardless of whether theyre a threat to anybody or whether flight risk," he said. "Theres really no sense to continue to hold her. 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 Arizona Senator Mark Kelly has responded again to Elon Musk after the tech billionaire doubled down on an insult branding the Arizona senator a decorated war hero a traitor because he traveled to Ukraine to support wounded soldiers. Kelly, who is also a former astronaut, told CNN that Musk was aligning himself with a bunch of billionaires with values that were much closer to Russia. The worlds wealthiest man previously sparked criticism on both sides of the political aisle after describing Kelly as a traitor earlier this month, following the senators trip to Ukraine. In an interview with Fox News Special Report on Thursday night he defended his remarks. I think somebody should care about the interests of the United States above another country, and if they dont theyre a traitor, Musk told Fox News host Brett Baier. open image in gallery Arizona Senator Mark Kelly has previously slammed Elon Musk for calling him a traitor over his trip to Ukraine. He responded again after the billionaire doubled down on his insults ( MSNBC ) Even Baier paused to remind Musk of Kellys accolades. That doesnt mean its OK for him to put the interests of another country above America, Musk replied. Kelly said a short time later on CNN: I dont even know if he deserves a response. He added: What I will say is that Ive spent an entire career standing up for our country, defending our country, flying in combat over Iraq, flying in space on the space shuttle, serving in the United States Senate. Kelly noted: My entire life has been about serving this country, and I always stand with the best interests of our nation. And I will tell you this standing with our allies and standing up for democracy is in the best interest of the United States. open image in gallery Elon Musk doubled down on his remarks about Kelly in an interview on Fox News on Thursday. I think somebody should care about the interests of the United States above another country, and if they dont theyre a traitor, he said ( AP ) Musks original remarks came after Kelly posted to X about his trip to Ukraine, pushing for continuing support for the nation amid its ongoing war with Russia and in pursuit of peace in the region. Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraines security and cant be a giveaway to Putin, Kelly posted. You are a traitor, Musk wrote in reply. In the CNN interview on Thursday, Kelly questioned the Tesla CEOs motivations. I mean, who is Elon standing with at this point? A bunch of billionaires? he asked, adding that he views Musk as being much closer to Russia on this issue than the U.S. regarding the ongoing conflict. He added: I want this thing to end as much as anybody. But he throws this traitor word around at least with regards to me fairly freely. I dont think hes a serious guy, and he hasnt given this a lot of thought. open image in gallery Arizona waits to speak at the state capitol in 2022. ( AP ) Kelly ditched his Tesla earlier this month to protest Musks initial insult and because the DOGE hatchet man is taking a wrecking ball to the nation. Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me just how much damage Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing to our country, talking about slashing Social Security, cutting health care benefits for poor people, for seniors [and] firing veterans. Its one bad thing after the next, he emphasized in a videotaped statement on social media. He traded the Tesla for a new 2025 Chevy Tahoe Z71. 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 Associated Press journalist who took a renowned photo of President Donald Trump after he emerged from an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, testified about the impact of the White House limiting the news service from presidential events. Its hurting us big time, Evan Vucci, the chief photographer for AP in Washington D.C., said Thursday during a hearing in the case between the AP and the White House. Were basically dead in the water on major news stories. His testimony arrives weeks after Trump restricted APs access to key events and areas such as Air Force One and the Oval Office due to the news organizations decision to refer to the Gulf of Mexico rather than the Gulf of America. open image in gallery Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief Photographer Evan Vucci testified in court on Thursday in the news outlets efforts to get the White House to loosen restrictions it placed on access. He took the famous photo of Trump after the Pennsylvania rally shooting ( Getty Images ) open image in gallery After winning Political Photo of the Year from the White House News Press Association, Vucci tweeted that the photo underscores the importance of eyewitness journalism and APs legacy of documenting the presidency ( AP ) Vucci explained that the AP is struggling to keep up with competitors when it comes to major news events and other photographers may not be as well-equipped to take photos either due to skill set or experience. As an example, he pointed to Trumps recent contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Without access, the AP had to rely on foreign-based services for images but the photographer that day lacked experience and did not quickly send pictures to editors for wider distribution. As a result, the AP was slower to publish images. Vucci, a veteran photographer who has won Pulitzer Prizes, has captured some of the most well-known news images around the world, including in 2008 when an Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at former president George W. Bush during a press conference. Most recently, Vucci captured the moment Trump emerged from a Secret Service huddle with his fist in the air after a gunman fired shots at a Pennsylvania rally. After winning Political Photo of the Year from the White House News Press Association, Vucci tweeted that the photo underscores the importance of eyewitness journalism and APs legacy of documenting the presidency. I look forward to the day I can once again cover President Trump alongside my colleagues. Now more than ever, independent, nonpartisan photojournalism is essential, Vucci wrote earlier this month. In addition to Vucci, the APs Chief White House Correspondent Zeke Miller testified that the outlets limited access meant its coverage does not have the same level of completeness that it once did. The AP is one of the worlds biggest news services used by local, national and international news outlets. Vucci estimated its photographs reach approximately four billion 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 Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr is directing his Department of Health and Human Services to ax 10,000 employees across several agencies as part of the White Houses reduction in force plan to downsize the federal government. The department oversees more than a dozen agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. The layoffs, combined with another 10,000 employees who left voluntarily, will bring the departments total full-time staff from 82,000 down to 62,000 full-time employees, a cut of nearly 25 percent. The department will also close half iof ts regional offices. The restructuring plan will reduce the departments 28 divisions into just 15, the agency said in a statement Thursday. Kennedy, meanwhile, is adding a new Administration for a Healthy America. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jrs Department of Health and Human Services is laying off 10,000 employees ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) We will eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments, while preserving their core functions by merging them into a new organization called the Administration for Healthy America or AHA, Kennedy said on X. Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants, Kennedy said. This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. Thats the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again. Morale was already the lowest its ever been at public health agencies, and this rapid downsizing could impact the services they provide, warned Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association Ive done big reorganizations before, Benjamin told CNN. You have to do them very, very carefully, very deliberately. Every time you move the boxes around, every time you downsize or upsize organizations, you make them dysfunctional for some period of time. Experts say this will impact physicians and other healthcare providers across the country. Reductions in the federal workforce may seem more efficient, but it could result in more wasteful spending down the road, Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, told CNN. New efforts to improve healthy behaviors may work at cross purposes to dramatic reductions in federal programs and big cuts to Medicaid being considered by Congress. The work and expertise of HHS staff are critical to the well-being of our entire population and to physicians ability to provide care to patients, Dr. Stella Dantas, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told CNN. This attack on public health and HHS ability to advance it will hurt people across the United States every single day, she said. Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks called the cuts dangerous and deadly. "These mass layoffs at Health and Human Services will cost human lives," she said. "I will do all I can to fight this." 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 Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade said he didnt care that the Trump administration's revocation of student visas over pro-Palestine protests and opinions could have a chilling effect on free speech and paint the United States as a censorious regime. Kilmeades colleague Lawrence Jones went even further, saying that he wants chills to run down the spine of not only terrorists but of people that are residents here. During Fridays broadcast of President Donald Trumps favorite morning talk show, co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy whose husband currently serves as Trumps transportation secretary expressed some concern that the State Departments Catch and Revoke program could lead to a slippery slope when it comes to freedom of speech. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that he had recently revoked the visa of Rumeya Ozturk, a Tufts University doctoral student and Fulbright scholar from Turkey. Ozturk, who co-wrote an op-ed in the student newspaper criticizing the universitys response to anti-war demonstrations, was detained by plainclothes ICE officers wearing masks near the Tufts campus. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa, Rubio stated. Might be more than 300 at this point. Might be more. We do it every day. ( Fox News ) Reacting to an interview of a Columbia student who self-deported to Canada following the arrest and attempted deportation of student activist and permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil, Campos-Duffy noted the student said Khalils detention sent shockwaves across the community and that she felt she had no rights in America. I would never protest government; that is rude and you are not being a good guest. I dont believe in violence, she wondered. I dont think we should have violence, and I dont believe in terrorists. I dont want anyone here with ties to Hamas. I am concerned about free speech. I am a free speech absolutist. I wonder what the criteria is here. The conservative host continued: Should we deport people who criticize America and American policies? What is the line? Or only if you criticize Israeli government policy? There are a lot of really good people right now who are very concerned about the chilling effect this could have, not just on green card holders and people on visas. What is the message to American citizens about free speech? Responding that I wouldnt worry about American citizens, Kilmeade stated that these are not American citizens but rather people in the country on student visas and green cards. No, Im just saying the chilling effect, Campos-Duffy interjected. Oh, I dont care, Kilmeade reacted, prompting Campos-Duffy to wonder if those being detained and deported are really connected to Hamas or merely criticizing Israeli policy. After bringing up a lawsuit from several family members of Hamas hostages alleging Khalil and other student protest groups are a propaganda arm for the terrorist organization, Kilmeade then argued that anyone who is not an American citizen who criticizes the United States or its allies should expect to be removed from the country. They tossed out somebody at Tufts University. Caught this PhD student. They also threw out someone yesterday at Harvard. They threw out Kseniia Petrova, a Russian research associate, also with anti-American activity, Kilmeade exclaimed. Youre over here, youre protesting this country and our allies, goodbye! Petrova, whose visa was revoked over undeclared frog embryo samples found in her luggage when returning to the U.S., is currently being detained in a Louisiana immigration facility. Her lawyers say Petrova will likely face jail time and persecution if she returns to Russia due to her protests decrying the Ukraine War. I would just say this, Rachel. I see your point. I see how it can be chilling, Jones stated. But I want chills to run down the spine of not only terrorists but of people that are residents here. You are visitors here! You dont have the right be on your best behavior here! And what we are dealing with is people who dont love the country. People that have radical ties and I think theyre trying to use our laws against us. Campos-Duffy noted that Jones made a fair point and that she was also concerned about universities admitting too many foreign students, which she claimed left a lot of American valedictorians on the sideline and denied admission. All of them! Especially if theyre white, Kilmeade added. Exactly! If theyre white males, Campos-Duffy noted. In the meantime, the White House is discussing plans to try to block certain colleges from having any foreign students if it decides too many are pro-Hamas, Axios reported this week. At the same time, though, she urged the administration to be careful that they dont leave the impression on the world that we are not for free speech. Kilmeade and Jones, however, reiterated that they didnt share those same concerns. But I do want the impression in the world that if they come over here and create havoc, Kilmeade noted as Jones finished his thought: Theyve got to go! 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 White House has faced pushback for its insistence on trying to shift blame away from the administration after Yemen attack plans were shared with a journalist in a Signal group chat. The withering criticism even came from their own side of the political spectrum as right-wing commentators urged the administration to admit the mistake and move on instead of trying to litigate the issue. Trying to wordsmith the hell outta this signal debacle is making it worse, rightwing pundit Tomi Lahren wrote on X on Wednesday. It was bad. And Im honestly getting sick of the whatabout isms from my own side. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Admit the F up and move on. The White House appears to still be coming to terms with the national security breach and how to deal with it. The administration has been defending the members of the group chat, which included, among others, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and, inadvertently, the editor in chief of The Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg. Allies of the president have called for Waltz, who added Goldberg to the chat, to be fired. The administration is also denying that any classified information was shared in the chat, even as Hegseth posted detailed information regarding the attack plans against the Houthis in Yemen. Tomi Lahren attends FOX Nation's 2024 Patriot Awards at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2024 in Greenvale, New York. She called for the Trump administration to admit the mistake of inadvertently having shared sensitive military information with a journalist ( Getty Images ) Far-right Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene simply refused to answer a question about the leak when asked by Sky News on Wednesday. Greene asked Sky Newss Martha Kelner what country she was from, and when she learned she was from the U.K., Greene launched into a rant. We dont give a crap about your opinion and your reporting, she said. Why dont you go back to your country, where you have a major migrant problem? You should care about your own borders. Do you care about people from your country? What about all the women that are raped by migrants? Do you care? Okay, youre done, said Greene. I dont care about your fake news, the congresswoman added when asked about the lives of U.S. servicemembers possibly being put at risk. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took on a softer approach on Thursday, telling reporters, Well, we have never denied that this was a mistake, and the national security adviser took responsibility for that, and we have said we are making changes. We are looking into the matter to ensure it can never happen again. This comes as a YouGov poll conducted on Tuesday found that 53 percent of all respondents said its a very serious problem that The Atlantic editor in chief was included in the conversation regarding the sensitive attack plans, while 21 percent said its a somewhat serious problem, for a total 74 percent viewing it as an issue. Meanwhile, a majority of Republicans have said that its a problem that Goldberg was included in the Signal group chat alongside numerous senior administration officials as they discussed the airstrikes, the survey shows. Among Republicans, 60 percent said it was either a very serious or somewhat serious problem, according to the poll of nearly 6,000 U.S. adults. The same was true for 89 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of Independents. 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 calling on the Supreme Court to allow his administration to resume removing immigrants from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act, a centuries-old wartime law invoked for the fourth time in U.S. history to target Venezuelans. This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country, according to the administrations filing with the nations highest court on Friday. The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President. The republic cannot afford a different choice, the petition states. open image in gallery Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited El Salvadors notorious Terrorist Confinement Center on March 26 as she defended the administrations removal of dozens of Venezuelans from the United States to the prison ( POOL/AFP via Getty Images ) The request follows a federal appeals courts rejection of the presidents attempt to throw out a lower-court ruling that is temporarily blocking the administration from deporting immigrants under the act. Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act earlier this month as three planes with dozens of Venezuelans were sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador, where they do not have access to legal counsel and face the prospect of indefinite detention. The presidents order states that all Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of [Tren de Aragua], are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies. But administration officials have admitted in court filings that many of those detainees do not have criminal records, and attorneys and family members say their clients and relatives some of whom were in the country with legal permission and have upcoming court hearings on their asylum claims have nothing to do with Tren de Aragua. Court documents suggest Venezuelans were wrongly targeted for their tattoos as a pretext to swiftly remove hundreds of people all at once to a jail that human rights groups have labeled a tropical gulag. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday conceded that the Venezuelans sent to El Salvador were not all necessarily members of Tren de Aragua. He called them a combination of people whose presence is not productive to the United States and who were removable by law. open image in gallery Prisoners inside El Salvadors Terrorist Confinement Center look out from their cell as Noem tours the facility on March 26 ( AP ) The flights were in the air on March 15 when District Judge James Boasberg ordered the administration to turn the planes around. Judge Boasberg has pressed officials to answer a series of questions about the operation to determine whether they intentionally defied his court orders, teeing up what legal experts fear is a mounting constitutional crisis in which the president ignores the judiciary and possibly the Supreme Court as he cites inherent authority to summarily remove immigrants from the country. On Wednesday, appellate Judge Karen Henderson wrote that the Alien Enemies Act gives the president near-blanket authority to detain and deport any noncitizen whose affiliation traces to the belligerent state. But a central limit to this power is the acts conditional clause that the United States be at war or under invasion or predatory incursion, she wrote. Trump plucks the third-order usage of the word invasion to justify summary deportations, and immigration alone also does not constitute a predatory incursion, the ruling states. In a concurring opinion, appellate Judge Patricia Millett rebuked the governments argument that immigrants, on allegations alone, can be removed immediately with no notice, no hearing, no opportunity zero process to show that they are not members of the gang, to contest their eligibility for removal under the law, or to invoke legal protections against being sent to a place where it appears likely they will be tortured and their lives endangered. The Constitutions demand of due process cannot be so easily thrown aside, she wrote. 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 New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said she believes that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and other officials embroiled in the Signalgate security breach will not be fired. Haberman, known for regularly breaking stories about the Trump administration, told CNNs Kaitlan Collins Thursday that President Donald Trump will resist firing Waltz because he doesnt want to be seen as giving in to Trump the media. Trump is very clear that, according to a number of people Ive spoken to, he does not want to fire someone because he sees that as giving in to the media, Haberman, who also serves as a political analyst for CNN, explained. People around him see that as weak and I think you will hear that for a while. Whether this is sustainable for them is another story. Haberman argued that the Trump administration is keeping the story on the front pages by constantly trying to pass the buck and downplay the scandal. open image in gallery Maggie Haberman laid into Donald Trump Thursday and explained why she thinks he will not fire any of the Signal group chat officials ( Getty Images for The New York Times ) Nobody wants thisin the Trump administrationto continue, she said. They have tried talking about a number of other issuestariffs, executive orders, about law firms, executive orders about history and cultural institutions. This is not going away. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have called for the president to take action against those involved in the leaks, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Waltz admitted sole accountability for the security lapse, telling Fox News: I take responsibility. I built the group. The journalists comments come as a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to preserve records of the Signal message chat where senior national security officials discussed sensitive plans for a U.S. military strike in Yemen in front of The Atalantics editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg after he was mistakenly invited to the group by Waltz. open image in gallery President has repeatedly attempted to brush aside the Signalgate saga and defended those in the group chat ( AFP via Getty Images ) U.S. District Judge James Boasberg barred administration officials from destroying messages that were sent over the encrypted messaging app earlier this month. A government attorney said the administration is already taking steps to collect and save the messages. The order was requested by nonprofit watchdog American Oversight, which sued this week to ensure that the records are kept per the Federal Records Act. The group suspects that administration officials routinely use Signal to communicate. Defendants use of a non-classified commercial application even for such life-and-death matters as planning a military operation leads to the inevitable inference that Defendants must have used Signal to conduct other official government business, American Oversights attorneys wrote in a court filing. Boasberg limited his order to messages sent between March 11 and March 15. open image in gallery U.S. District Judge James Boasberg barred administration officials from destroying messages this week ( AP ) The Atlantic went on to publish the entire Signal chat on Wednesday. Goldberg, its editor-in-chief, had been added to a discussion that included Hegseth, Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. On the chat, Hegseth provided the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop before the attacks against Yemens Houthis began earlier this month. Hegseth laid out when a strike window would open, where a target terrorist was located and when weapons and aircraft would be used. The images of the text chain posted by The Atlantic show that the messages were set to disappear in one week. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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 Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk experienced an asthma attack while federal agents were moving her from Massachusetts to a detention facility in Louisiana, according to her attorneys. Mask-wearing plain-clothes agents grabbed Ozturk off the street near her apartment in Somerville on March 25, sending shockwaves through the university community, student activists and civil rights groups as Donald Trumps administration targets international students who spoke out in support of Palestine. Ozturks attorneys, friends and the Turkish consulate could not find her until nearly 24 hours after she was arrested, according to attorney Mahsa Khanbabai. open image in gallery Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, pictured in 2021, was arrested by plain-clothes ICE agents on March 25 and is threatened with removal from the country after co-authoring a student newspaper op-ed against Israels war in Gaza ( AP ) After her arrest, a representative from the Turkish consulate went personally to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office and was told that ICE could not provide further information about her whereabouts, according to Ozturks attorneys. Department of Justice counsel on this matter also informed counsel for Rumeysa that they could not locate her, they wrote. A federal judge in Massachusetts had blocked her removal from the state without a court order, but agents had already sent her to Louisiana, more than 1,000 miles away, to a facility that processes immigrants for removal from the country. Ozturks attorneys were finally able to speak to her late in the evening on March 26, when they learned she had an asthma attack while en route to Louisiana. Her ordeal is shocking, cruel, and unconstitutional, Khanbabai said Friday. Ozturks arrest and detention are designed to punish her speech and chill the speech of others, her attorneys wrote in court filings on Friday demanding her release. Indeed, her arrest and detention are part of a concerted and systemic effort by Trump administration officials to punish students and others identified with pro-Palestine activism, they added. Ozturk a Fulbright scholar working towards a PhD in child study and human development from Tufts after receiving a masters degree from Columbia University has not been charged with any crime. The Trump administration has revoked her visa, and the Department of Homeland Security has accused her of engaging in activities in support of Hamas. But administration officials appear to admit she was solely targeted for what her attorneys say is constitutionally protected speech. Last year, in response to Israels ongoing devastation of Gaza, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed with four other students in The Tufts Daily newspaper calling on the university to divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel in an effort to hold Israel accountable for clear violations of international law. Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide, the op-ed says. Asked about her arrest and the allegations against her, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters we revoked her visa. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses, he said during a press conference Thursday. open image in gallery Protesters in Massachusetts have demanded the Trump administration release Rumeysa Ozturk and other international student activists targeted for removal from the United States for their activism in support of Palestine ( EPA ) Ozturks attorneys argue the administration is violating her First Amendment rights and her Fifth Amendment right to due process. Rumeysas arrest and detention are not a necessary or usual consequence of the revocation of a visa, attorneys wrote. But like the revocation of her visa, her arrest and detention are designed to silence her, punish her for her speech, and ensure that other students will be chilled from expressing pro-Palestinian viewpoints. No person, regardless of their immigration status, can be arrested, detained, or deported as punishment for their political views, according to Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. Ideas and certainly op-eds are not illegal. The First Amendment protects all of us. Ozturks arrest follows a series of similar incidents targeting international students for speaking out against Israels war in Gaza, which sparked demonstrations at college campuses across the country. Trumps anti-immigration agenda is dovetailing with his administrations efforts to suppress protests against Israels war in Gaza at prestigious universities, which administration officials have accused of harboring antisemitic pro-Hamas activities. Several doctoral candidates and graduate students including lawful permanent residents have been arrested and threatened with removal from the country within the last month. Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who is expected to graduate from Columbias masters program in May, is currently detained in Louisiana after his arrest in front of his pregnant wife, a U.S. citizen, earlier this month. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Ozturk and Khalil are detained under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that the secretary of state can deport any noncitizen whose presence in the United States is considered a threat to the nations foreign policy interests. Administration officials have accused Khalil of antisemitic activities and supporting Hamas, which he has denied. Officials concede he has not committed any crime, but claim he can be removed over what they characterize as potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences. A federal judge has agreed to move Khalils case to New Jersey, where another judge is weighing whether to grant his release while his legal challenge plays out. 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 Trumps administration is moving to formally shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, and has notified the remaining employees that their positions could soon be eliminated. After weeks of bashing the foreign aid agency, attempting to freeze its funding and initiating mass layoffs, the administration notified Congress around noon Friday that it intends to move all of the agencys remaining responsibilities, effectively shutting it down. The remaining functions would be transferred to the Department of State. Foreign assistance done right can advance our national interests, protect our borders, and strengthen our partnerships with key allies, Secretary of State Marc Rubio said in a statement. Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high. open image in gallery The Trump administration notified Congress Friday of its intent to effectively close down the U.S. Agency for International Development ( Getty Images ) Later that afternoon, a federal appeals court cleared the way for Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency team to resume their efforts to gut the agency. The Washington, D.C. appeals court blocked a lower-court ruling, which had stopped Musk and DOGE from any work as it likely violated the Constitution in multiple ways. But a three-judge appellate panel argued that the government is likely to show that DOGEs involvement doesnt violate the Constitution because most of the cuts at USAID were approved by administration officials. Beginning July 1, the State Department will be responsible for administering whats left of USAIDs programs, though it remains unclear which ones. Any of the agencys functions that do not align with Administration priorities would be discontinued, according to Rubio. USAID cannot be dissolved without congressional approval, teeing up yet another battle between the Trump administration and the judiciary as he faces an avalanche of lawsuits alleging unconstitutional and illegal maneuvers. Earlier this month, a federal judge determined that his administration likely violated the Constitution's appointments clause and the separation of powers by effectively granting Musk unprecedented authority even though he holds no official role, without Senate confirmation or appointment to an existing office, to be able to make such sweeping decisions. Since taking office, the president and his allies have accused USAID of improperly spending taxpayer dollars on unnecessary programs overseas. But they have consistently misrepresented those projects. The agency is one of the largest aid agencies in the world and has provided essential humanitarian relief in dozens of life-saving missions in more than 100 countries. Musk, meanwhile, has said he wants the agency to be fed into a wood chipper. open image in gallery Employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development left their offices on Friday after receiving an email telling them they could go home ( REUTERS ) A USAID official who received a termination notice told The Washington Post that the administrations latest attempt to close the agency is now stating openly what they have been doing overtly for the past two months: shutting down an agency statutorily established by Congress and usurping the legislative branchs authority as the only ones who can shut it down. Democrats and foreign aid advocates have criticized the administration for trying to use executive authority to dismantle the independent federal agency. Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the administrations decision a reckless assault on U.S. foreign assistance and a violation of law. The consequences of this reckless decision are already evident; China and Russia are already filling in the gaps created by this administrations reckless assault on U.S. foreign assistance, Meeks said in a statement. While the administration claims it will retain some global health and humanitarian assistance functions, it is jettisoning critical work USAID has been doing at Congress direction for decades in sectors such as education, good governance, crisis stabilization, agriculture, and economic growth, he added. Furthermore, these plans violate the law, which requires that USAID exist as a separate entity, said Meeks. Presidents are not kings, and if the administration wishes to change the law, the GOP, which controls both the House and Senate, should pass one. 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 federal judge in New York City granted a temporary restraining order on Friday to several Voice of America journalists attempting to stop the Trump administration from shutting down the international broadcaster on the grounds that the move is unlawful and unconstitutional. Meanwhile, as the judge issued his order blocking the administration from dismantling VOA, the networks employees suddenly received an email from the Office of Human Resources customer service team offering an opportunity to reapply to the administrations Fork in the Road deferred resignation program. The deadline for the program, which was supposed to entice federal workers to voluntarily quit and accept a buyout as part of DOGEs efforts to slash spending, had initially been February 12. US District Court Judge J. Paul Oetken issued the temporary restraining order to prevent any further administration efforts to terminate VOA. Andrew G. Celli Jr., an attorney for the VOA journalists who filed suit, said This is a decisive victory for press freedom and the First Amendment, and a sharp rebuke to an Administration that has shown utter disregard for the principles that define our democracy. As part of the broader workforce reforms initiated by President Trump, the federal government is undergoing significant restructuring to enhance efficiency, accountability, and performance. These changes are designed to build a more effective, high-performing federal workforce, the email, which was sent at 2:27 pm ET on Friday, read. In alignment with these reforms, the agency is offering another opportunity for employees to voluntarily transition out of federal service through the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP). This program will be available from March 28 through April 9, 2025, the email, which The Independent reviewed, continued. Employees who choose to participate in the DRP will retain full pay and benefits and will be exempt from in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025, unless they choose to depart earlier. open image in gallery Trump Voice of America ( Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) The judges order temporarily prevents the administration from moving forward with firing hundreds of VOA contractors who were set to be terminated on Monday. Additionally, the block would stop the 900 employees placed on indefinite leave from being targeted for a reduction in force for the time being. The restraining order would likely be in effect for three weeks. After a hearing on Friday, VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara said the judge had indicated he would rule in the networks favor. At the same time, she told The Independent she wasnt quite sure what the renewed buyout offer meant for the future of the network. I dont know what the Fork in the Road email today means, or Kari Lakes intention with VOA moving forward, she said. My colleagues and I are focused on fighting for our legal rights to report and broadcast as mandated by Congress, and in defense of our editorial independence under the VOA charter. Voice of Americas chief national correspondent Steve Herman, who was sidelined last month by the administration for social media posts that were supposedly anti-Trump, also tweeted that Lake had urged staffers to check their emails for another one of those fork in the road offers that would give employees 12 days to take a buyout through September. Just a day earlier, the Trump administration backed down in a suit filed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, agreeing to withdraw a grant termination and allowing the broadcaster to continue to receive federal funds. RFE/RL and Voice of America are both overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media. A similar lawsuit filed by VOA director Michael Abramowitz against the administration is still pending. A representative for the USAGM and Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the USAGM to be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law. Kari Lake, his senior adviser to the agency, immediately suspended the entire VOA workforce and stated that contractors would be fired effective at the end of the month. She also pulled the funding from the nonprofit international broadcasters backed by the USAGM, including RFE/RL and Radio Free Asia. The US Agency for Global media will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agencys purview and shed everything that is not statutorily required, Lake wrote at the time. I fully support the Presidents executive order. Waste, fraud, and abuse run rampant in this agency and American taxpayers shouldnt have to fund it. In their lawsuit against Lake and the Trump administration, six VOA journalists which include VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara and Press Freedom editor Jessica Jerreat said the wholesale dismantling of USAGM was a direct violation of the law and violated the agencys independence and integrity. In addition to the Voice of America staffers, the suit was joined by several employee unions and press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. Notably, just days before Trump ordered USAGM to be dismantled, he bristled at a question asked by Widakuswara about his proposal to clear out Gaza of all Palestinians. Defendants have also acted contrary to Congresss express statutory requirement that USAGM exist as an independent news agency to present a reliable and objective news source to the world, the complaint added. Defendants have violated all of these laws by closing USAGM and ceasing altogether the business of gathering and disseminating news and opinion via VOA and its sister service Radio y Television Marti, as well as its grantee-affiliates RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN. Defendants actions are unconstitutional and unlawful; they must cease immediately. More than 900 full-time network employees were indefinitely suspended earlier this month, while 550 contractors were told their jobs would be terminated on March 31. In addition, the majority of staff at USAGM were placed on indefinite leave. Since Lakes sweeping order that essentially shut down VOA on March 15, the radio network which boasted a global audience of 360 million has been off the air, and no new stories have been published on its website. The silencing of the 80-year-old broadcaster has been celebrated by authoritarian regimes across the globe, which the VOA lawsuit noted. In the world at large, the vacuum left by Defendants pulling the plug on USAGMs news networks is being filled by propagandists whose messages will monopolize global airwaves, while VOA and other USAGM entities are silenced, the complaint stated. The plaintiffs also pointed out that the president who has long been critical of Voice of America had previously tried to force the network to push a pro-Trump message during his first administration. Sadly, if history teaches lessons, these latest abuses come as little surprise. In 2020, the first Trump Administrationunhappy with the news coverage being disseminated by USAGM networks worldwidesought to chill journalists in their newsgathering and expression and tear down the firewall insulating USAGM and its networks from partisan overreach, the complaint noted. That effort was stopped by a federal District Judges grant of a preliminary injunction. Today, the second Trump Administration has taken a chainsaw to the agency as a whole in an attempt to shutter it completely. The same judicial responseswift and definitiveis required. 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 Wall Street Journal let bully Donald Trump have it in a flaming editorial over the Signal chat security bungle, saying he cant simply blame the fake news every time something goes wrong in his administration. Trump first blamed an unnamed lower level staffer for inadvertently including The Atlantics editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldfarb, in a high-level group chat on specific bombing plans in Yemen earlier this month on Signal, an encryption messaging app available to the public. Some 53 people, including children, were killed in the strikes later that same day. Then Trump attacked Goldberg as a loser. White House Press Secretary Karoline Levitt attributed the grave error to a mysterious misinformation campaign by the mainstream media even though Trumps own National Security Adviser Mark Waltz had confessed that he was the one who accidentally invited Goldberg into the chat, exposing highly sensitive information. The Administration seems to think it can bully its way through anything by shouting Fake News and attacking the press, snapped the editorial Wednesday night in the Journal, run by one-time fervent Trump supporter Rupert Murdoch. The information that Defense Secretary and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth shared in the chat was obviously sensitive information about a pending attack, and in the wrong hands it could have compromised the mission, the Journal noted. Sometimes, the Journal advised, the administration has to admit to a mistake and take the loss. Trump and his administration have desperately tried to downplay the seriousness of the botched call. Officials have said the information wasnt classified, and posed no danger. Trump even insisted it was not a big deal. But retired Army General Barry McCaffery said in a statement on social media this week that information about pending U.S. military operations is in fact the most sensitive intelligence, which can be used by the wrong people to kill Americans. In this case, were talking about the lives of Air Force and Navy fliers involved in the strikes, he emphasized. McCaffery insisted that a military official in a similar situation would face a court martial if an unsecured app was used to communicate such information. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to preserve records of the text message chat in response to a demand by the group American Oversight, which has sued over the use of Signal for the bombing texts, arguing its use is not authorized under federal records statues. 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 Views Whoopi Goldberg ridiculed the Trump administration on Thursday over the continued fallout from Signalgate, likening the White Houses attempts to brush off the chat group leak scandal to a cat covering up its poop in the litter box. After The Atlantic published the full messages from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth detailing highly sensitive attack plans in an unsecured chat group that inadvertently included Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, Hegseth and the administration have responded by personally attacking Goldberg while insisting that nothing classified was shared. If this story proves anything, it proves that Democrats and their propagandists in the mainstream media know how to fabricate, orchestrate and disseminate a misinformation campaign quite well, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fumed at Wednesdays press briefing. Hegseth, a former Fox News morning host, reacted by ridiculing Goldberg while claiming that they know its not war plans because he didnt include a flight path or sources and methods, adding that there was no classified information. Hegseths former colleague Jennifer Griffin, however, spoke to current and former defense officials who said that the details Hegseth laid out in the chat were FAR MORE sensitive than typical war plans. The View's Whoopi Goldberg says that the White House's efforts to "cover up" its Signalgate scandals is like a cat in a litter box. ( ABC News ) President Donald Trump, meanwhile, shifted the blame while speaking to reporters on Wednesday while simultaneously raging about the witch hunt over the stunning security breach. Well, thats what I heard, Trump said when asked if he still believed that nothing classified was shared. I dont know. Im not sure. How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do [with it]. After airing a montage of the administration desperately trying to spin the brewing controversy, Goldberg reacted by comparing their actions to a feline taking care of business. Welcome to poop in the cat box, she snarked, with her comments partially bleeped by the shows control room. Where they are just covering up as quick as they can! The Oscar-winning actress who also pantomimed a cat shuffling in the litter box first introduced the phrase during Wednesdays broadcast of the ABC talk show, stating that it would be a recurring bit to describe the White Houses attempts to downplay and deflect the group chat leak. Im going to start calling this in the cat box, because thats what theyre doing, she asserted on Wednesday. They're doing what cats do. When the cat uses the cat box, the cat [shuffles] like this and tries to cover it up, you know? Covers it all up. During Thursdays show, co-host Joy Behar quipped that the president's claim of ignorance regarding the chat group and whether the attack plans should have been classified reminded her of a classic 60s sitcom character. Yeah, you ever see Hogans Heroes where the guy is like, I know nothing. That is Trump, she exclaimed. The hosts went on to question why Republican lawmakers arent calling for the president to fire any of the officials involved in the snafu, especially considering that they love to fire people, as Goldberg noted. (The majority of GOP voters, on the other hand, find Signalgate to be problematic, and Republicans on Capitol Hill are growing increasingly restless over the scandal.) They think were stupid is my opinion on this, Behar declared. They really think were stupid. Theyre saying this is not classified information. Alyssa Farah Griffin, the panels resident conservative and a former Trump administration official, added that Hegseth wasnt even doing the bare minimum of his job while taking issue with the way he was dodging responsibility over the group chat. I am losing my mind over the fact that theyre treating it like Jeffrey Goldberg was the problem, and the most scandalous part was a journalist was added, she said. It was that you were using a nonconfidential open source technology on your personal cellphone to share what any military expert not named Pete Hegseth would say is classified. 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 Australians will cast their votes on 3 May to elect a government in an election heavily dominated by the cost-of-living crisis and shortage of housing. Prime minister Anthony Albanese, who seeks a second three-year term in office, drove to governor-general Sam Mostyn's official residence on Friday to trigger the election. He later announced the date at a news conference at Parliament House. "Over the last few years, the world has thrown a lot at Australia in uncertain times," the prime minister told reporters. "Because of the strength and resilience that our people have shown, Australia is turning the corner. Now, on May 3, you choose the way forward." Experts and opinion polls predict a slim margin between the two major parties, with opposition leader Peter Dutton's conservative coalition expected to pick up more seats in the House of Representatives. "Our government has chosen to face global challenges the Australian way - helping people under cost-of-living pressure, while building for the future," he added. Mr Albanese's Labor Party won a majority at the last federal election in 2022 and is hoping to return for a consecutive second term. An Australian government has not been ousted after a single term since 1931, when the nation was grappling with the Great Depression. But Australian governments almost always lose ground in their second election and Labor only holds 77 of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives, where governments need a majority. Redistributions mean there will be only 150 seats after the next election. One likely outcome is a minority government supported by independent or minor party legislators. The 2022 election brought a record 19 lawmakers who were not aligned with either the government or opposition into the parliament. Unaligned lawmakers could be crucial to whether Labor or Mr Duttons conservative Liberal Party forms Australias first minority election since the 2010 election. Mr Albanese has announced a slew of measures aimed at pleasing families and businesses in recent months, including tax cuts in Tuesday's budget, with the rising cost of living in the country set to dominate the campaign. On Friday, Albanese focused his campaign attack on the opposition Liberal and National coalition, saying it would axe government programmes and revoke modest new tax cuts passed by parliament. Mr Dutton has campaigned on a housing crisis that he says is putting home ownership out of reach, and on Friday he said cutting permanent migration by 25 per cent will create more homes. Reducing energy costs for small businesses and households would be at the centre of his government if elected, Mr Dutton told reporters. "If energy is unaffordable and unreliable, it is a disaster for the economy," he said, criticising Labor's transition to renewable energy. A Liberal and National government would reserve gas that isn't already under export contract to meet Australian demand, to reduce electricity prices for manufacturers and supermarkets, he said. "It's important that we honour our overseas export contracts but equally its important to ensure that we can take care of Australians first," he said. Mr Dutton also plans to adopt nuclear power in the country. He has promised a cut to fuel excise that he said would bring faster relief to households as they fill up the car, compared to Labor's tax cuts that start next year. Both leaders have promised an extra A$8.5bn (4.13bn) over four years to shore up the country's public healthcare system. Another issue in the campaign will be which leader would best handle relations with US president Donald Trump, who imposed steel and aluminium tariffs that affect Australian exports. Mr Trump is expected to announce a further round of tariffs on trade partners next week. Albanese said his government had been "engaging on a daily basis" with the Trump administration over tariffs, and pointed to his two phone calls with the US president and early meetings between the two countries' defence and foreign ministers. 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 A former Australian police officer has been spared jail over the Taser death of a 95-year-old great-grandmother suffering from dementia. The New South Wales Supreme Court on Friday handed a two-year community correction order to former senior constable Kristian James Samuel White two years after the police launched an investigation into the woman's death. He was also sentenced to 450 hours of community service. White, 35, was earlier found guilty of manslaughter for Tasering Clare Nowland at the Yallambee Lodge aged care facility in Cooma in the early hours of 17 May 2023. The great-grandmother, who used a walker, refused to put down the steak knife she was holding. White reportedly said nah, bugger it before he discharged the Taser at her, which led her to falling backwards and hitting her head. She died a week later in hospital. The case prompted a high-level internal investigation by state police in New South Wales. It also provoked debate about how officers in the state use Tasers, a device that incapacitates using electricity. open image in gallery Nowlands children called the decision a slap on the wrist ( Australian Broadcasting Corp. ) Following the sentencing, Nowlands eldest child, Michael Nowland, called the decision a "slap on the wrist". He said the sentencing was obviously very disappointing for the family. A slap on the wrist for someone thats killed our mother its very, very hard to sort of process that, so speaking out is very emotional," he said, adding that "justice and fairness" was all the family wanted. Justice Ian Harrison, while handing down the sentencing, said the incident falls in the lower end of objective seriousness for manslaughter. He added that time in prison would be a disproportionate sentence. open image in gallery Former Australian police officer Kristian White ( AAP IMAGE ) Mr Harrison called Whites actions an error of judgment and a mistake that in hindsight is hard to comprehend. He deployed his taser in response to what he perceived to be a threat that in my view never called for such a response. There were several ways he might have dealt with it differently, he said. Mr White clearly made the wrong choice. The simple but tragic fact would seem to me to be that Mr White completely, and on one available view inexplicably, misread and misunderstood the dynamics of the situation that he faced and patently overestimated the existence and the level of the threat created by Mrs Nowland in the circumstances, he said. White, in a letter of apology to the court and the victim's family, said he took full responsibility and was willing to accept the consequences for his actions. I understand that my actions were adjudged to be wrong and have caused great harm, not only to Mrs Nowland, but also the emotional pain it caused to others, and for that, I am truly sorry, he wrote, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. I felt and still feel horrible about what happened, he said, adding that he understood it would bring little comfort to Nowlands relatives. 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 officers responding to an emergency call about a possible break-in at a Melbourne home were met with an unexpected culprit a large koala attempting to enter through the back door. Emily, a resident of South Yarra identified by her first name, called the Victoria Police just before midnight on 26 March after hearing unusual noises outside her house. Her dog began barking at the sound of scratching and rattling at the sliding glass door, leading her to believe someone was trying to force their way inside. I heard scratching and my sliding glass door was being rattled. I was absolutely petrified, she told ABC Radio Melbourne Drive. Victoria Police said officers arrived at the property expecting to confront a burglar in the act. Instead, the officers discovered a koala sitting beside the back door on a dog bed. A search of the backyard soon confirmed the koala was their person of interest and had acted alone, police said in a statement on 27 March. A koala at a zoo in Sydney, Australia on 6 April 2023 ( Getty Images ) Apart from being a confirmed bed thief, the marsupial was released without charge, the statement added. Emily recalled that an officer initially asked if she owned a pet koala. I said no, and then I saw it oh my god, it was the intruder, she said. Senior Constable Brittany Darvell, one of the officers on the scene, admitted they had anticipated a far more serious situation. We were definitely ready for something sinister to happen, and then to see the koala was definitely a sigh of relief, Constable Darvell told 3AW radio. Emily described the marsupial as enormous and said it struggled to climb over the fence before falling to the ground with a loud thud. It tried to climb the fence but it couldnt make it right over so it jumped down and hit the ground with a thud, it was like a rock, she said. After a brief standoff, the officers encouraged the koala to return to the backyard, where it eventually climbed a nearby tree and disappeared into the night. 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 Join us as world affairs editor Sam Kiley sits down with former MI6 chief Sir Alex Younger and Dr Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of The Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) and former Pentagon official, to explore the shifting global security landscape. In this debut episode of The Conversation, The Independents new expert-led discussion series, our panel unpacks the fast-changing global security landscape in a discussion entitled Shifting Alliances. They delve into the strategic importance of Russias actions in Ukraine, Natos future, and whether Europe has the strength and resolve to face the Russian challenge. During the panel, former MI6 chief Sir Alex warned Britain must rearm and rebuild its reserves potentially through national service to face the growing threat from Russia and the destabilising influence of leaders like Putin and Trump. Alongside Dr Ellehuus, he highlighted how Trumps shift in US strategic priorities has shaken European security, emboldened Putin, and increased unconventional Russian attacks across Europe. Watch the full panel below. Full Video: Watch former MI6 chief and Rusi boss discuss Russia, Trump and the future of the West The panel Chair: Sam Kiley open image in gallery Sam Kiley chaired the discussion ( The Independent ) Sam Kiley is The Independents world affairs editor, bringing over three decades of experience covering global conflicts and major crises. He has reported on the Somali famine, the Rwandan genocide, and wars across the Balkans, Africa, Palestine, Ukraine, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Before joining The Independent, he spent six years as senior international correspondent for CNN in Abu Dhabi and seven years at Sky News, covering conflict and security. His career began in 1990 with The Sunday Times, followed by roles at The Times, Evening Standard, and Channel 4s Dispatches, before moving to Sky News in 2010 as foreign affairs editor. Speaker: Sir Alex Younger open image in gallery Sir Alex Younger, former MI6 chief, has a career in intelligence stretching back 30 years ( The Independent ) Sir Alex Younger was for 30 years a career intelligence officer in Britains Secret Intelligence Service, MI6. He served in Europe, the Middle East and Afghanistan. He was appointed as director of counter terrorism in 2009, and as chief from 2014 to 2020. Prior to MI6, Alex served in the British Army as an infantry officer. Speaker: Rachel Ellehuus open image in gallery Rachel Ellehuus is the director-general of Rusi ( The Independent ) Rachel Ellehuus is the director-general of Rusi. She joined after nearly three years at Nato as the US Secretary of Defense Representative in Europe and Defence Adviser to the US Mission to Nato. Previously, she was deputy director of the Europe and Eurasia Programme at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a senior adviser at WestExec Advisors, and held multiple roles at the US Department of Defense, including acting deputy assistant secretary for European and Nato policy. She also worked on the UKs 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review during an exchange at the Ministry of Defence. 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 Sir Keir Starmer has met with world leaders in Paris for the third meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing, a group convened by the prime minister and French President Emmanuel Macron to bolster support for Ukraine against Russia. Some 30 leaders have gathered to discuss Ukraines ongoing security after the US brokered a ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Kyiv over the Black Sea earlier this week, which the Kremlin says cannot commence unless certain conditions are met. The Elysee Palace summit follows several meetings led by the prime minister involving more than 200 military planners from across the globe to hash out details of a potential peacekeeping force that could help monitor and enforce any potential formal peace agreement reached between Moscow and Kyiv. Ahead of the summit this morning, Sir Keir met with Nato General Secretary Mark Rutte and the pair agreed Europe must do everything possible to back Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Russia did not accept an earlier 30-day ceasefire agreement reached in Ukraine and US negotiations, and said the Black Sea truce could only begin once some sanctions were lifted. The Kremlin has said any broader work towards peace would take time. open image in gallery Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer ( AP ) What is the coalition of the willing? The coalition was announced by Sir Keir at the start of March, following a summit on Ukraine he hosted in London. It was formed to help bolster Ukraines defences against Russia, including through increasing military aid. Just days after that first meeting, the US temporarily suspended intelligence sharing with Kyiv, pushing European leaders to hold crisis talks on what further support they could provide to Ukraine. A central part of the point of the coalition of the willing is to create a peacekeeping force, Sir Keir has previously said, which would help enforce any ceasefire on the ground in Ukraine. A peacekeeping force would help guarantee Ukraines future security, he said last week, addingn that what action the force would take was subject to meetings with military experts from around the world. open image in gallery Officials pose as part of the so-called "Coalition of the willing" summit at the Elysee Palace ( AP ) Who does it include? The group is led by Sir Keir and Mr Macron alongside Mr Zelensky. The world leaders include Italian Prime Miniser Giorgia Melono Portugals Prime Minister Luis Montenegro Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides Spanish Prime Ministe: Pedro Sanchez Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis Croatias Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic Lithuanian chairman Gitanas Nauseda Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala Swedens Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson Finlands President Alexander Stubb Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen Icelands Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever Turkeys Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz Besides the country leaders, the group also includes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Antonio Costa, and Nato General Secretary Mark Rutte. What have some of those leaders said? French president Emmanuel Macron said European troops deployed in Ukraine to monitor a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow could respond to a Russian attack if it occured. If there was again a generalised aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would be under attack and then its our usual framework of engagement, Mr Macron said ahead of this weeks summit. Our soldiers, when they are engaged and deployed, are there to react and respond to the decisions of the commander in chief and, if they are in a conflict situation, to respond to it. open image in gallery Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ( AP ) The Ukrainian president said Europe must be strong and united in the face of Russias aggression ahead of the summit. This is not the time to reduce pressure on Russia or weaken our unity for the sake of peace. What we need is more strong, joint steps to bring about real peace. Sanctions against Russia must remain in force and be strengthenedfor as long as Russian occupation continues, Mr Zelensky wrote on X. Ursula von der Leyen said the summit was also about strengthening the security of Europe as a whole. Reinforcing Ukraine to defend itself is the starting point. We also need a common and long-term plan, she said on X. What does it hope to do? The central focus of the coalition of the willing is a peacekeeping force, and European leaders are expected to discuss what, exactly, they are willing to contribute to a military effort on the ground in Ukraine. The group also needs support from the US, which has provided crucial intelligence information to Ukraine throughout the conflict. So far only the UK and France have committed to providing troops to the cause, and Sir Keir will present a detailed plan on what that peacekeeping force could provide to leaders at the Elysee Palace on Thursday. The leaders are also expected to discuss ongoing military aid and funding to bolster Ukraines military. 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 Ukraines minerals have become central to global geopolitics, with the US president, Donald Trump, seeking a deal with Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky to access them. On April 30, Ukraines prime minister Denys Shmyhal said a minerals deal could be signed within the next 24 hours after the final details were worked out. Earlier in the month, Ukrainian economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, took to X and shared photos of her and US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, signing the outline of the preliminary minerals deal separately. What are these minerals exactly and why are they so sought after? Ukraine is often recognised for its vast agricultural lands and industrial heritage, but beneath its surface lies one of the worlds most remarkable geological formations, the Ukrainian Shield. This massive, exposed crystalline rock formed over 2.5 billion years ago, stretches across much of Ukraine. It represents one of Earths oldest and most stable continental blocks. The formation has undergone multiple episodes of mountain building, the formation and movement of magma and other change throughout time. These geological processes created favourable geological conditions for forming several mineral deposits including lithium, graphite, manganese, titanium and rare earth elements. All these are now critical for modern industries and the global green energy transition. Ukraine has deposits containing 22 of 34 critical minerals identified by the European Union as essential for energy security. This positions Ukraine among the worlds most resource-rich nations. International race As the world races to decarbonise, demand for critical minerals is skyrocketing. Electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels and energy storage systems all require lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements which Ukraine has in abundance. The price of lithium has surged from US$1,500 (1,164) per ton in the 1990s to around $20,000 per ton in recent years. Demand is expected to increase nearly 40-fold by 2040. open image in gallery Lithium is used in electronics the world over ( Getty Images ) According to the International Energy Agency, the number of electric vehicles is projected to exceed 125 million by 2030. Similar growth is expected for other battery metals. Each electric vehicle requires significantly more lithium than conventional electronics. For example, a Tesla Model S battery requires approximately 63kg of high-purity lithium. Ukraine has three major lithium deposits. These include Shevchenkivske in the Donetsk region as well as Polokhivske and Stankuvatske in the centrally located Kirovograd region all within the Ukrainian Shield. Despite the significant mineral potential, many of Ukraines mineral deposits have remained largely unexplored due to the war with Russia, which has disrupted mining operations and damaged infrastructure. The Shevchenkivske lithium deposit contains high concentrations of spodumene the primary lithium-bearing mineral used in battery production. Its reserve is estimated as 13.8 million tonnes of lithium ores. That said, extracting it requires an estimated US$1020 million in exploration investment before mining can begin. Meanwhile, the Polokhivske deposit at is approximately 270 thousand tonnes of lithium is considered one of the best lithium sites in Europe. Thats because of its favourable geological conditions, making extraction more economically viable. But lithium represents just one element of Ukraines mineral resources. According to the US geological survey, Ukraine ranks globally as the third-largest producer of the mineral rutile making up 15.7 per cent of worlds total output. It is the sixth-largest producer of iron ore (3.2 per cent of total output) and titanium (5.8 per cent), as well as the seventh-largest producer of manganese ore (3.1 per cent). open image in gallery Wind turbines at a solar energy plant in Germany ( AP ) Ukraine also has Europes largest uranium reserves, crucial for nuclear power and weapons. It boasts significant deposits of rare earth elements, including neodymium and dysprosium, which are needed for manufacturing everything from smartphones to wind turbines and electric motors. In addition, Ukraine is home to the worlds largest proven reserves of manganese ores. Theres approximately 2.4 billion tonnes of it concentrated primarily in the Nikopol Basin on the southern slope of the Ukrainian Shield. The strategic significance of Ukraines minerals has gained recognition in international diplomacy. Recent bilateral negotiations between Ukraine and the US highlight the geopolitical importance of these resources. A proposed minerals deal would involve Ukraine contributing 50 per cent of future proceeds from state-owned mineral resources, oil and gas and other extractable materials to a reconstruction investment fund for Ukraines post-war rebuilding. The fund would be jointly managed by Kyiv and Washington. What about the USs own minerals? The USs interest in Ukrainian minerals reflects a broader geopolitical concern over increasing demand, volatile price movements and supply chain vulnerabilities. While the US has many of the same critical minerals as Ukraine, it has historically outsourced mining and refining due to environmental regulations, high labour costs and more attractive foreign markets. This has led to a reliance on imports, particularly from China, which dominates critical mineral production and processing. Getting access to Ukraines minerals in exchange for military protection means the US can avoid having to buy these minerals from China. open image in gallery A man holds a lithium stone found in a mine ( AP ) The US federal strategy in fact states it will prioritise diversification through mineral security partnerships aiming to establish a more stable and resilient supply chain. The USs critical minerals are distributed across various geological provinces including the Appalachian Mountains, the Cordilleran Belt and the Precambrian Shield exposed in parts of the midwest. While the US has developed substantial lithium resources, particularly in Nevadas Clayton Valley and North Carolinas Kings Mountain, much of its current lithium production comes from brine operations. This is the extraction from salt solutions, such as seawater or saline lakes, which can be more expensive than hard-rock mining. The global shift toward green energy and electric transportation is accelerating, and minerals are at the heart of this transition. Around 80 per cent of the lithium produced globally is used for battery production. Major automakers are investing billions in electric vehicle production, driving unprecedented demand for the minerals that power this technology. Ukraines mineral wealth positions it as a potential leader in the clean energy revolution. Once stability returns, Ukraine will have a golden opportunity to reshape the global supply chain for critical minerals. Even with a 50 per cent allocation to the US, Ukraine would still be able to fund domestic infrastructure, industry growth, jobs and economic recovery. Munira Raji is a Research Fellow of Geology at the University of Plymouth This article was originally published by The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article Close Zelensky condemns Russian strikes on hometown: Diplomacy means nothing to them 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 Ukrainian team will visit Washington this week for crunch talks on a minerals deal, the first visit since the deal collapsed in dramatic fashion five weeks ago. Volodymyr Zelensky was set to sign a framework agreement in late February before he was booted out of the White House, when a furious Donald Trump berated the Ukrainian president for not being thankful enough for US war assistance. Since then, teams from Kyiv and Washington have been working to hash out a revised agreement - and to rebuild a broken relationship. Washington has proposed a more expansive minerals deal which could give it access to valuable mineral resources, including titanium, lithium, and uranium, according to economy minister Yuliia Svyrydenko. But the deal has not yet been agreed by Ukraine and it is unclear exactly how close the two sides are to reaching an agreement. Meanwhile, Mr Trump has urged Russia to stop bombing Ukraine, after a ballistic missile strike in Kryvyi Rih killed 20, including nine children., We are talking to Russia. We would like them to stop, Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One. I dont like the bombing, the bombing goes on and on, and every week thousands of young people being killed. 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 Donald Trump is seeking US control over all of Ukraines rare minerals and energy assets including oil and gas in extraordinary new proposals to Kyiv. Mr Trumps latest proposals go far beyond the minerals deal that collapsed last month during Volodymyr Zelenskys disastrous White House visit, multiple news outlets reported on Thursday. The new deal would see the US receive all royalties from such assets until Ukraine has paid off at least $100bn of war debt, and hand Kyiv just 50 per cent thereafter while offering no guarantees of security from Russian aggression in return. Furthermore, it would hand the US a veto over any sales of the Ukrainian resources to other nations, potentially blocking any future path for Ukraine to join the European Union. One Kyiv official described the proposal as robbery to the Financial Times, while Alan Riley, an expert on energy law at the Atlantic Council, told The Telegraph: Ive never seen anything like it before ... I have to wonder whether the real intention might not be to force Zelensky to reject it. open image in gallery A minerals deal collapsed after a disastrous White House meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky ( AFP via Getty Images ) Under the latest proposals, all of Ukraines mineral and energy assets and related infrastructure, such as ports, railways, roads and production facilities would be placed under the control of a new United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, based in Delaware. Three of the new funds five board members would be chosen by the US, handing Washington full veto power over resource sales to any third parties. The US would receive all royalties from the fund until Ukraine has paid off at least $100bn of war debt, plus 4 per cent interest, after which point Kyiv would receive just 50 per cent of the royalties. Washington would receive a right of first offer on investments in all infrastructure and natural resources projects, while Ukraine would be prevented from intervening in the funds day-to-day management, Bloomberg reported. Profits from the fund would be converted directly into foreign currency, with Ukraine to be held liable for compensation in the event of delays or disputes, according to the FT. Three senior Ukrainian officials told the outlet that a deal is unlikely to be signed next week, contrary to claims in Washington DC. One is reported to have labelled the new US draft proposal unfair, while another described it as robbery. open image in gallery Keir Starmer met with Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron on Thursday ( PA ) A third official was quoted as saying that Kyiv has enlisted a team of legal advisers to help examine the document which was reportedly delivered to Ukraine last weekend as they prepare a counter-offer. Describing it as an expropriation document, Mr Riley said: There are no guarantees, no defence clauses, the US puts up nothing. The Americans can walk away, the Ukrainians cant. Ive never seen anything like it before. Noting that the new proposals are not compatible with EU membership, the trade expert added: Perhaps that is part of the purpose. Following a meeting of Ukraines European allies in Paris on Thursday to discuss a possible peacekeeping force, Mr Zelensky said the US had been constantly changing the terms of the proposed minerals deal with Ukraine but added that he did not want Washington to think Kyiv was against the deal. We support cooperation with the US, we dont want to give a single signal that can prompt the US to stop aid to Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said, highlighting the pressure being leveraged by Washington over an ally trapped in an existential war against Russia. While the US said on Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a Black Sea and energy ceasefire, Ukrainian officials accused Russia on Thursday of damaging energy infrastructure in Kherson with artillery strikes. open image in gallery Zelensky has demanded the US respond to energy infrastructure attacks by Putins forces ( Getty ) Two days ago, there was a night when there were no strikes on the energy sector, today energy infrastructure in the city of Kherson was damaged by Russian artillery, Mr Zelensky said in Paris. I believe that the US should respond with actions. Our side, as long as no one understands who is monitoring what, he said. All this [evidence] will be prepared and transferred to the US, and after that we are waiting for Americas reaction, since they told us that they will respond to violations. Mr Zelensky and his Western allies previously accused Russia of manipulation over the deal, after Moscow demanded that the Black Sea truce which will disproportionately benefit Russia could only begin once Western sanctions on food and agriculture exports were lifted and a key bank reconnected to the Swift messaging system. Meanwhile, Washington is reported to be holding talks with the Kremlin over plans to restore Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine and later through the Nord Stream pipelines, while handing a major stake to US firms. 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 new Donald Trump deal offered to Ukraine in return for continued US support, but with no security guarantees in the face of Russias invasion, forces it to choose between life as a US economic colony or Russian occupation. The latest version of the much-mutated minerals deal from the White House, which has been tabled in Kyiv, goes further than ever before in attempting to get Ukraine to sign up to back pay for US support in the war, plus four per cent. On top of that it demands that the US, under Delaware law, controls most of Ukraines industrial output and much of its transport and communications system. It is the result of a mafia-style protection shakedown on Ukraine by its former friends in Washington DC supported (by accident or design) by thuggery from the Kremlin. Ukrainian parliamentarians told The Independent that even if, as is unlikely, president Volodymyr Zelensky signed up to the offer it would stand no chance of ratification by Ukraines legislature. It completely ignores international law and the Ukrainian constitution and Ukrainian law, said Oleksandr Morezkho, chairman of the Ukrainian parliaments foreign affairs committee. Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin Russias president Vladimir Putin has often said that Ukraine is not a real country but a natural part of the Russian, or Soviet, empire. Its mineral and agricultural wealth have been seen by Russian colonialists as an essential part of Russian regional dominance. The Trump administration clearly now sees vast rewards for American business if it can trade the commanding heights of the Ukrainian economy for back payment on war donations and a long-term non-military US presence. The minerals deal which takes the form of a business contract under US law which has no jurisdiction in Ukraine sets out that Ukraine and the US would split the royalties from oil, gas, and all minerals. The profits would be paid to the US, in dollars, and put into a joint investment fund which would be run by Americans holding three of five seats on the governing board. It further demands that the US contribution to Ukraines war effort be paid back immediately. Trump says, wrongly, that this is $350bn but the truth is closer to $130bn. The US deal covers all infrastructure used for the exploitation of mineral products trains, roads, airports, ports, pipelines, processing plants and refineries and gives America veto power over the sale of resources to other nations or entities. It makes no sense because the idea is that Ukraine should give everything it has, all its natural resources, in exchange for the aid which has been already provided. But it's absurd, Morezkho said. The aftermath of a Russian strike in the Sumy region of Ukraine ( Ukraine's State Emergency Service ) He said that he hoped the Trump scheme was a negotiating tactic and did not reflect an ultimatum to withhold military and intelligence aid, as the US has threatened, if Kyiv does not sign the contract. You know, [that would be like] seeing a person who has been killed by a maniac, and instead of helping this person who is bleeding and fighting, struggling for his life, you are trying to take his possessions, the parliamentarian said. But he hoped rather that the contract on offer can be explained by way of stupidity and doesn't need to be explained by bad intentions or conspiracy. Ukrainian politicians are doing all they can to avoid antagonising Trumps administration but its a near hopeless effort. Ukraine has signed up to a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the Black Sea, and on attacks against energy sectors in Ukraine and Russia. The Kremlin has refused the proposal and demanded the lifting of some banking sanctions which the European Union has refused. The ceasefire terms do not suit Ukraine but are part of Zelenskys efforts to repair his relationship with the Trump administration after the disastrous bullying session he endured on his last visit to the Oval Office. That session was led by JD Vance, the vice-president, who on Friday was visiting Greenland, part of Denmark, and a Nato member state. Along with Trump, he has insisted that the minerals there are essential to Americas economy and that it is a strategic asset that should become part of the US by negotiation, or force. If thats his attitude to a Nato ally what hope is there for Ukraine? With its troops pressing an advantage in the Kursk region, the Kremlin is resisting proposals for an unconditional ceasefire ( AP ) Vances aggressive anti-Europeanism has concentrated minds in capitals across the continent on building alternative security structures independent of the US. This has included an increase in defence spending, support for Ukraine, and attempts to assemble a reassurance force for Kyiv if there is ever a peace deal with Russia. But the demand to give the US control over Ukraines economy, forever, without even security guarantees, reveals how little the Trump administration understands the country, said Lisa Yasko, another member of the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada. Our troops are not fighting because Zelensky sent them to fight. We are fighting because we believe this is our right, thats our land. You cant just take away our freedom from us and the question of the soil is one of the issues we are so emotional about, she said. Recent estimates by the Kiel Institute suggest that the US supplies about 30 per cent of Ukraines military equipment and ammunition. It could survive a complete withdrawal of American military aid, although intelligence support from the US has been, and will continue to be, critical. So its Russian muscle and American intelligence that Trump is using to extract a colonial price from Kyiv. But Ukraine is fighting against Moscows attempts to return Ukraine to colonial status as under the Tsars and the Soviets. Yasko said the American deal was certain to be rejected because it conjured up memories of the Holodomor, when the Kremlin ordered the expropriation of grain from Ukraine to Russia, killing and starving more than three million Ukrainians to death in the early 1930s. Our historical memory is very strong like that we shouldnt ever allow anyone to have full control over our soil, she warned. 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 crew of a submarine which sank in the Red Sea on a coral reef expedition in the Red Sea killing six tourists has been questioned by Egyptian authorities. The submarine, run by Biblio Globus Egypt Tours, was carrying 45 tourists and five Egyptian crew members, according to the Russian Embassy in Cairo. They revealed that six Russians died, including two children. Another four passengers are believed to still remain in a critical condition. open image in gallery The Sindbad can go 25m under sea level to explore Egypts coral reefs ( Sindbad Submarines ) Anesthesiologist Ravil Valiullin and his wife Kristina were both on board the vessel with their daughters who are understood to be receiving treatment in hospital. Liliya Galimova, head of press for the Republic of Tatarstan where the couple are from, said it would take time to formally identify the victims after there was confusion over whether Mrs Valiullin had survived. She told the Russian magazine Woman: "We rely on information that comes directly from the scene, from Egypt. As we can see, the information there is constantly changing. Apparently, time is needed. We will wait for clarification. Mr Valiullins father revealed his final conversation with his son before the doomed trip. "They said they were going on an underwater excursion with the whole family. They wanted to show the children the fish," he told the magazine. open image in gallery The interior of a Sindbad submarine vessel ( Williams Street Family Diaries ) A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Cairo said: The Consulate General of Russia in Hurghad regrets to inform that six Russians died in the Sindbad Batiskaf accident, including two children. We express our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims. At present, seven Russian citizens, including five minors, remain in Hurghada hospitals. According to doctors, their condition is not alarming. The Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi said the passengers on board were mostly Russian but also Egyptian, Indian, Norwegian and Swedish nationals. open image in gallery Amr Hanafi meets with survivors in hospital ( Red Sea Governorate Media office ) He confirmed that the submarine was licensed and the crew commander had the required academic certificates from the Academy of Science, Technology and Maritime Transport. He added that the submarine was owned by an Egyptian national. I visited [survivors in hospital] and checked on them, he wrote on a post on social media. Their injuries ranged from wounds, bruises, sprains and shortness of breath. There are 4 cases in the intensive care that are at risk. It is not yet clear what caused the sinking. An advert by Sindbad Club describes the experience onboard the submarine: Enjoy the breathtaking view in the air-conditioned comfort and safety of our submarine. It offers 44 passenger seats, two pilots seats and a sizeable round viewing window for each passenger. Experience the beauty of the Red Sea underwater world without getting wet. open image in gallery The Sindbad submarine vessel at sea off Hurghada ( David McArthur MBE ) The company added that it holds two of the 14 real recreational submarines in the world. A British woman said she had been on the submarine the day before. We are deeply heartbroken for those who lost their lives and for those injured in the tragic incident involving the Sindbad submarine, she posted on Facebook. Just yesterday, we were on the same sub, and its unimaginable to see such sorrow unfold. Words fail us in this moment, as our hearts ache for the victims and their families. Travel vlogger Curtis Meredith told The Independent he had a good experience on the Sindbad submarine last year. He said: Its one of those things thats a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We happened to stay at the Sindbad resort and they have the submarines. Id imagine most people that stay there go on this excursion. open image in gallery Curtis looks out from the Sindbad at a tropical fish 25metres under the Red Sea ( X/CurtisMeredithh ) For the trip, we got on a normal boat that went further out into the ocean and then mounted a platform before submerging into the submarine. Divers go alongside the submarine and hold out fish food to attract the vast arrays of marine life to the windows. He added: The sub goes 25 metres deep and explores about 500m of coral reef. It was an amazing experience for us. But its such a shame that this has happened. 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 Israel's air force conducted a heavy strike on a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, a Reuters witness says. It was the first heavy bombardment there since a truce in November ended a war between Israel and the Lebanese military group Hezbollah. The strike, which resounded across Beirut and produced a large column of black smoke, followed an evacuation order by the Israeli military for the neighbourhood and three smaller drone strikes on the building intended as warnings, security sources told Reuters. In some parts of the south, gunshots could be heard warning people to leave their houses. Many people were seen fleeing on foot or in cars. Israels military warned people in a post on X in Arabic to evacuate buildings in Beiruts southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. open image in gallery Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on Beirut ( AP ) You are located near facilities affiliated with Hezbollah, it said alongside a map with buildings marked in red. The strike came after Israel vowed to retaliate for rockets launched across its borders, allegedly by Hezbollah. Hezbollah denied firing the rockets at northern Israel, and accused Israel of seeking a pretext to continue attacking Lebanon. Israels Defense Minister said Friday that if there was no peace in Israel's northern communities, there would be no peace in Beirut either. Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas October 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict boiled over into all-out war in September as Israel carried out waves of airstrikes and killed most of the militant groups senior leaders. The fighting killed over 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about 60,000 Israelis. open image in gallery People pick through the debris following the Friday strike on Beirut ( AFP via Getty Images ) Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January under the ceasefire deal. The deadline was extended to February 18, but Israel has remained in five locations in Lebanon across from communities in northern Israel. Meanwhile, Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it attacked Hezbollah, while continuing drone attacks that have killed several members of the militant group. Last week, Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Lebanon killed six people. The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said the exchange of fire was deeply concerning. This is a critical period for Lebanon and the wider region, she said Friday. According to an Israeli official who was not authorised to speak to the media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been meeting with top security officials to discuss an impending strike on the capital. open image in gallery A firefighter sprays water on the debris following the strike ( AFP via Getty Images ) The escalation comes as Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people in Gaza. Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns 59 hostages it still holds 24 of them believed to be alive. Israel is demanding that the group give up power, disarm and send its leaders into exile. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. 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 The first partial solar eclipse of 2025 will take place this weekend, passing over the UK and parts of the US, Europe and Africa. On Saturday, 29 March, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun for roughly two hours, beginning shortly after 10am GMT. For viewers in the UK, around a third of the Sun will be covered, with those in the south of England seeing around 30 per cent coverage, and people in northern Scotland and Northern Ireland witnessing a 40 per cent partial solar eclipse. The best views of the celestial phenomenon will be in the north east of North America, as the Moon will cover more than 90 per cent of the Sun. open image in gallery Northern parts of the UK will see around 40 per cent of the Sun covered during the partial solar eclipse on 29 March, 2025, with London seeing 30 per cent coverage. Parts of Canada will witness a 90 per cent eclipse ( TimeandDate ) A map produced by TimeandDate reveals that large parts of Russia and North Africa will see a very small part of the Sun covered during the partial solar eclipse, with a tiny sliver of the Sun covered in South America. Despite the Sun being partially covered, astronomers have warned hopeful sky gazers to use appropriate equipment to view the solar eclipse in order to avoid any eyesight damage. Its really important to stress that even though a third of the Suns light is gone it's covered by the Moon at its peak it's still really dangerous to look at," said Dr Robert Massey, Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society. "You mustn't look at it with the naked eye, you mustn't look at it with a telescope unless you have the right kind of filters." open image in gallery Times for the partial solar eclipse across the UK and Europe on 29 March, 2025 ( Star Walk ) Home-made contraptions, such as two pieces of paper fashioned into a projector using a pin, offer one of the best ways to view the passage of the Moon as it passes in front of the Sun. Household objects like a kitchen colander also provide a way to create a makeshift projector, as the shape of the crescent Sun will appear in shadow after passing through the holes. Eclipse glasses offer another way to look directly at the Sun, though they should have an official CE mark in order to ensure they are safe to use. Current forecasts from the UK Met Office suggest that Saturdays weather will provide a great opportunity to see the partial solar eclipse. open image in gallery The Met Office is forecasting clear skies for most parts of England and Wales during the eclipse on Saturday, 29 March, 2025 ( Met Office ) The next partial solar eclipse of 2025 will take place on 21 September, however it will only be visible in New Zealand and Antarctica. A total solar eclipse will take place next year, but will not be visible in the UK people will have to wait until 2090 before one is visible again from Britain. That said, if you're in Spain in 2026, there happens to be a total solar eclipse then," said Dr Massey. "So my guess is an awful lot of people are going to see that. It's going to happen in the evening as well, so you might even have the enjoyable vista of watching a total solar eclipse while enjoying that glass of sangria." Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Get Simon Calders Travel email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice As wildfires in South Korea scorch thousands of acres across its south-east, concerns have been raised over the safety of tourists planning to visit the country. Fires that began burning in Uiseong county have now been burning for nearly a week in the biggest single forest fire in South Koreas history. According to the government's disaster response centre, more than 88,488 acres of land have been burnt in the fire-hit areas since Friday (21 March). At least 27 people have been confirmed dead, including the pilot of a firefighting helicopter, in what authorities are calling the countrys worst fire disaster on record. More than 27,000 people have been evacuated from cities and towns including Andong, Uiseong, Sancheong and Ulsan with several emergency shelters set up in schools and gyms. Infrastructure including airports Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport are largely functioning as normal, while the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is not advising against travel to the country. But is it safe to go, and what are your rights if you have a trip booked? Heres what we know so far. Read more: South Korea wildfires latest Largest on record blaze kills 27 and destroys ancient Buddhist temples What is happening in South Korea and where are the wildfires? On Wednesday (26 March), wildfires that originated in Uiseong moved rapidly eastward, carried by gusty winds to the coast. According to Won Myung-soo, director of satellite imagery analysis for the National Forestry Service, the blaze reached the coastal county of Yeongdeok, 32 miles away, in just 12 hours. Stocks of aviation fuel have been released by the military to aid more than 120 firefighting helicopters fighting the flames in three mountainous regions. Officials suspect human error, such as sparks during welding work, is behind the fires that began last Friday. A report by the Climate Central group found that high temperatures and dry conditions in the region had turned dry landscapes into dangerous fire fuel. South Korea has relocated 15 national treasures and cultural artefacts, including wooden printing blocks and Buddha paintings, from major temples in the North Gyeongsang province to safer locations. Hundreds of structures, including houses, factories and a Buddhist temple, are reported to have already been destroyed in the fires. What is the latest Foreign Office travel advice? The Foreign Office (FCDO) has warned travellers about ongoing wildfires in the south-eastern part of South Korea. It said: Forest fires are ongoing in the south-eastern part of South Korea. Some evacuation orders and road closures have been imposed. You should pay close attention to warnings from local authorities and follow any safety instructions that they issue. Travellers are advised that Korean-language emergency alerts will be automatically sent to their phones with English-language translations accessible on the National Disaster and Safety Portal and in the Emergency Ready App. You can track the location and progress of fires through the Korea Forest Service website in English and Korean. Contact the South Korean authorities by calling 119 if you need emergency assistance, added the FCDO. Separately, the Foreign Office warns of elevated political tensions across the country, with large demonstrations likely following President Yoons impeachment and arrest. Protests are particularly likely in the areas around Gwanghwamun and the Constitutional Court (Anguk), and could also occur in various parts of Seoul at different times, including in the areas around the Seoul Western District Court (Gongdeok) and the National Assembly (Yeouido), advice states. What does the South Korean government say? South Korea's acting president Han Duck-soo called the wildfires unprecedented yesterday (26 March) and said the crisis was rewriting the record books for the worst wildfires in our nation's history. "Damages are snowballing," Mr Han said. "There are concerns that we'll have wildfire damages that we've never experienced, so we have to concentrate all our capabilities to put out the wildfires in the rest of this week." At a government response meeting today, he said: "We are nationally in a critical situation with numerous casualties because of the unprecedented rapid spread of forest fires." Can I cancel my holiday or flight and get a refund? Since the Foreign Office has not issued a warning against travel due to the wildfires, there will be no special circumstances allowing for a full refund on cancelled trips. 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. The terms for cancelling your trip depend on your holiday provider, so its best to contact them if you wish to postpone. Some travel insurance policies will include natural disaster cover for an event that prevents you from reaching your holiday destination speak to your insurer to find out your rights. For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calders podcast This is the moment an Australian senator holds up a dead salmon in a plastic bag during a protest in parliament. Green Party senator Sarah Hanson-Young held up the fish while questioning the governing Labor Party over its proposed laws protecting salmon farming on Wednesday (26 March). The Labor government say the bill is designed to protect salmon-farming jobs, but some politicians have questioned salmon-farming practices, accusing them of polluting waterways. Ms Hanson-Young stood up holding the dead fish as she accused the Labor party of having sold out on your environmental credentials. President of the Senate Sue Lines responded by calling for her to remove "the prop" from the chamber. Nigel Farage has distanced himself from the Trump administrations approach to a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire deal, claiming it is turning Putin into a winner. Speaking to Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, the Reform UK leader, a vocal supporter of Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, admitted he had reservations over the US position. "We want peace, but we can't have a peace where Putin turns out to be the winner, Farage said. So, I'm not 100% with where [Trump's] team is right now. JD Vance appeared surprised that Greenland was cold as s*** during a controversial visit to the Danish semiautonomous territory. The Vice President was joined by his wife Usha and National Security advisor Mike Waltz at the US military's Pituffik Space Base on Friday (28 March). The visit is viewed by Copenhagen as a provocation amid President Donald Trump's bid to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich territory. Trump repeatedly brought up his desire to possess the island for 'national security reasons' during his 2024 re-election campaign and since his return to the White House in January. A high-rise building under construction collapsed due to strong earthquake tremors in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, March 28. Videos posted to social media show a multi-story building near Bangkoks Chatuchak market crumbling into a cloud of dust after the city was hit by tremors from a 7.7 magnitude earthquake which struck Myanmar at midday. Police responding to the scene told Associated Press there was no immediate information on how many workers were on the site at the time of the collapse. Chinas Hainan to host international consumer goods expo, attended by over 4,100 corporate brands Global Times) 10:24, March 28, 2025 South China's Hainan Province will host another international business event with more than 4,100 brands from 71 countries and regions to be represented, an official of the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday, underscoring China's focus on high-quality growth and global engagement. The event, the 5th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), will take place from April 13 to 18. The UK will be the guest of honor with 53 brands across sectors like fashion, beauty, home goods, health, and jewelry, said Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping. A highlight of this year's expo is its expanded global reach, with 65 companies from the global top 500 and industry leaders set to be present at the show, Sheng noted. France, Switzerland, and Ireland will continue to organize high-quality consumer companies and products to attend the fair. Slovakia will participate in the exhibition as a national pavilion for the first time, and Sao Paulo State in Brazil and Jeju Island in South Korea will organize regional pavilions for the first time, Sheng said. This year's expo will be the largest to date, demonstrating the confidence of all parties in China's economic development, according to Gu Gang, vice governor of Hainan Province. The expo will feature the latest AI-driven innovations, from humanoid robots to smart devices and connected homes. A new consumer tech zone will make its debut, focusing on cutting-edge technologies like electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. "This year, we are prioritizing international luxury goods, popular domestic brands, and the latest advancement in technology, including AI-driven products and electric vehicles," said Sheng. The new tech zone will showcase cutting-edge innovations, including humanoid robots and AI-powered devices. Li Gang from the Ministry of Commerce said the expo caters to varied consumer demands, aiming to support everything from premium retail to fine dining and cultural immersion. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Water from a rooftop pool was seen cascading down the side of a skyscraper in Bangkok, after tremors from a 7.7-magnitude earthquake were felt in Thailand on Friday, 28 March. Bangkok police say they are evacuating people from unsafe buildings, with the public advised to avoid high-rise buildings, which dominate the densely populated Thai capital. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. The epicentre of the earthquake was about 17km (11 miles) from Mandalay, Myanmars second-largest city. Vladimir Putin has attended the launch ceremony of a new nuclear submarine. The Russian president said the new submarine, which carries advanced hypersonic missiles Zircon, will enhance the security of Russia's maritime borders and protect national interests in various areas of the World Ocean, including the Arctic zone. Speaking at the launch on Thursday (27 March), Putin said: We will continue to do everything to reliably protect Russias territorial integrity and sovereignty, and reinforce its position as one of the leading maritime powers." Vice President JD Vance attacked the medias obsession with Signalgate after being asked about an internal investigation into the security leak. The Atlantic reporter, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally included in a Signal app group chat by senior Trump administration officials discussing the planned bombing of Houthi targets in Yemen. During a visit to a US military base in Greenland on March 28th 2025, Vance was questioned by a reporter asking for an update on any findings from the internal investigation. Vance immediately responded that he finds "American media's obsession with this issue very, very interesting". The Vice President became even more passionate in his argument, accusing the media of covering for the Biden Administration during the Afghanistan conflict. Paddy McKillen Jr saw his seafront tract of development land overlooking a sandy Wicklow beach sell at auction yesterday for 613,000, which was a discount to the 700,000 that he is reported to have paid for it. Energy windfall taxes raise millions of euro more than expected for Government Ministers drafting plans for how cash will be used to benefit consumers The Corrib gas field, off the Co Mayo coast John Mulligan Fri 28 Mar 2025 at 03:30 A total of 456m has been raised from windfall taxes imposed on suppliers and producers as a result of the energy crisis. The European Union is identifying concessions it is willing to make to Donald Trump's administration to secure the partial removal of the US tariffs that have already started hitting the bloc's exports and that are set to increase after April 2. EU officials were told at meetings this week in Washington that there was no way to avoid new auto and so-called reciprocal tariffs that Trump is launching next week, according to people familiar with the talks. Discussions also began on what the contours of a potential deal to reduce them should eventually look like. Investment tally shows big pharma pivot back to US already underway A number of huge employers here have now pledged to open new production facilities in America US president Donald Trump has accused Ireland of 'stealing' the US pharmaceutical industry. Photo: Getty John Burns Fri 28 Mar 2025 at 03:30 Some of Irelands biggest pharma employers are pivoting back to the US following American president Donald Trumps demands that they reshore manufacturing. Technology Microsoft executive says laid off staff should use AI to help cope with emotional loss Its widespread. Every age cohort, every walk of life. Fraud doesnt see the customer, it sees the account, CEO of Bank of Ireland Retail on a scourge of the digital era A final decision on what action the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) intends to take against TikTok on foot of an investigation into the transfer of EU citizens data to China is imminent. Social media and teen violence: after Adolescence, is it just another moral panic? Children are routinely exposed to graphic and disturbing content online and this Netflix show highlights the need for parents to take more of an interest in what our kids are doing and seeing on their phones Turning our backs on cyber safety: Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller and Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence. Photo: Netflix 2024 Adrian Weckler Fri 28 Mar 2025 at 03:30 Tech-inspired moral panics are a regular occurrence. What its like to become a millionaire in your 20s: The biggest challenge was the feeling of separation from people my age MobLands star-studded cast also includes Helen Mirren and Tom Hardy but they cant save this hammy, heavy-handed thriller A funny thing happens whenever Pierce Brosnan tries on an Irish accent. Weve heard it before. The actor, by his own admission, has had an unusual speaking voice since the mid-1960s, when he moved from Navan, Co Meath to live with his mother in Scotland. They eventually settled in London, where a young Brosnan went out of his way to sound like everyone else. The accent got mangled way back there, trying to fit in, he told Stephen Colbert in 2017. It was, I suppose, one of my best performances. You want to be part of the community, you want to be part of the gang, and then I realised I wasnt. Homelessness has hit yet another record high with 15,378 people accessing emergency accommodation last month, including 4,653 children. There was an increase of 92 adults, 50 children and 21 more families compared to the previous month. Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne described the latest figures from the Department of Housing as another grim milestone, while Dublin Simon Community CEO Catherine Kenny said the rate of homelessness is a national embarrassment, one that continues to worsen. There were 4,653 children and 2,185 families accessing emergency homeless accommodation last month. "As the clocks move forward tomorrow, bringing longer and brighter evenings, it should be a time when all children look forward to playing outside. Instead, 4,653 children are stuck living in emergency accommodation, with no place to call home, said Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan. "This situation would have been considered utterly unacceptable just ten years ago, and we must remember that is something that can be solved. Stock image. Photo: PA Today's News in 90 seconds - 28th March 2025 "One key measure would be for new Minister for Housing, James Browne, to implement the Programme for Government commitment that more of the new supply of social housing is used to provide homes for long-term homeless families. "This same approach drove the sharp fall in homelessness during the pandemic 5 years ago and we should learn from this approach. We believe that it is possible to reduce and then end homelessness if the right actions are taken. Focus Ireland has said Mr Brownes proposed changes to the tenant-in-situ scheme will contribute to further increases in homelessness in coming months and the charity has written to him to ask him to reconsider. This proposal is just the latest episode in a long series in which governments have decided that people facing no-fault evictions are not high on their agenda, said Mr Dennigan. "The new proposals shift that balance entirely away from concern about homelessness and effectively withdraw the safety net put in place by the previous government. "Within its limitations, this has been a successful scheme, saving over a thousand households from homelessness, resulting in significant savings for the Department of Housing in providing emergency homeless accommodation. The Salvation Army said it feared the continuing storm over Dail speaking rights means that homelessness is slipping further down the Governments agenda. It said residents of its family and adult hubs in Dublin have been watching the political bickering with a growing sense of disbelief. While this impasse is continuing, these children are spending their days and nights in emergency accommodation, said Erene Williamson, The Salvation Armys Homeless Services Ireland Lead. Our residents, including those at Irelands largest family hub, Houben House, a facility which is full to capacity, have been observing this with a growing sense of disbelief and frustration. They are being told that homelessness is the countrys number one priority, yet our service users feel nothing is being done to help them take that vital next step towards independent living. The Christian church and charity provides 250,000 bed nights per year in its six individual and family homeless centres across Dublin. Meanwhile, Dublin Simon Community CEO Catherine Kenny said: What have those elected to power done to address the roots of the problem? 2024 housing targets were not achieved and the possible changes to rent zones and the Tenant-in-Situ Scheme may lead even more people to homelessness. "When will they recognise their duty to take real action to resolve this crisis and put an end to the suffering of thousands across the country? Has the Governments commitment to end homelessness by 2030 been forgotten entirely? She added: "In February of last year, there were 13,841 citizens in emergency accommodation. Since then, this number has increased by 1,537. In Dublin, the number increased by 848 during this period, said Ms Kenny. "Once again, Dublin Simon Community is calling on the Government to take decisive action. The only way to turn the tide and bring these numbers down is to implement policies that match the scale of this emergency. Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne said the figures marked another grim milestone and the rates of homelessness are a social catastrophe and a personal tragedy for each individual or family involved. What we need is an emergency response to the housing crisis. This means measures such as a no-fault eviction ban; the full reinstatement of the tenant in-situ scheme; and the introduction of a French-type State savings scheme to leverage some of the 160bn in Irish household savings for investment in affordable housing, he said. We now have a perfect storm of record rents and record property prices and a government that is clearly out of ideas when it comes to solving the housing crisis. Homelessness and housing have been an emergency for over a decade, yet we are still waiting for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to treat it as such. This crisis needs nothing less than a Covid-type emergency response not more failed government housing policy. Journalist and broadcaster Darragh McCullough and his wife Aoife have been refused entry back into the EU with their three-week-old daughter, who was born by surrogacy in northern Cyprus, until they can provide further documentation. Yesterday, the family were turned away at the United Nations buffer zone into the Republic of Cyprus from the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is not internationally recognised but where EU legislation is suspended. Speaking to Oliver Callan on RTE Radio One, Mr McCullough (48), who presents RTEs Ear to the Ground and is a columnist with the Irish Independents Farming Independent, said their daughter, Grace, was born by surrogacy there three weeks ago and they are currently waiting for paperwork to come through that will allow them to cross back into the southern part of Cyprus. Read more Darragh McCullough: The arrival of baby Grace has changed how I think about farming forever On the arrival of baby Grace, he said: "It's all a mad mix of adrenaline and excitement and nervousness and terror and joy and, at the end of maybe 15 years of trying to start a family, this is what we hoped and dreamed of. "To be honest with you, the moment when I felt most emotional about it was when we first took her out in the pram on the street and that was just an image that we had dreamed of for a long time. Darragh McCullough and his daughter Grace "In some ways part of me had resigned myself to the fact that we wouldn't have a family and that was fine, we are happily married and we are lucky in many respects - but we had a lot of ups and downs through IVF and even this surrogacy journey was not straightforward and is not straightforward because we are not there yet in terms of getting Grace home. Mr McCullough said those ups and downs happen behind closed doors, with the couple only revealing to their families that baby Grace was on the way three months ago as they had been down this road so many times before. When they travelled to the border yesterday to begin their journey home to Ireland, they were turned away until they could provide further documentation, which he hopes will be in 10 days time. When we got to the border the guards basically waved us away and the taxi driver informed us that the laws had changed the day before and we just need more paperwork, he said. Darragh with baby Grace Today's News in 90 seconds - 28th March 2025 "We have to present more paperwork to the Turkish Interior Ministry and there's a national holiday here for the next couple of days, so we are basically holed up. I mean, I was really annoyed about it at the time but, at the end of the day, all we lost was accommodation that was booked in the south for a couple of days and, as a lot of people pointed out to me, you could be stuck in worse places. The embassy in Cyprus will be able to issue an emergency travel certificate following the verification of DNA tests from himself and Grace, which will allow them to cross into the southern part of Cyprus. "It's lovely here in Cyprus, the temperatures are lovely, the sun is shining, but I am dying to get home." He is hopeful the new family will be able to return home in around 10 days, but that there are no guarantees of the precise timeline. "Nothing is standard in terms of the process that is involved in surrogacy, it is quite sensitive so you just have to be patient. Mr McCullough said the couple plan to stay in touch with the surrogate mother, Natalia, who is Ukrainian, and that they have a positive relationship with her. When they return to Ireland, the couple will have to apply through the courts for guardianship rights for his wife, Aoife. Of course, (these are) the anomalies of the situation where the realities on the ground have leaped ahead of the legislation and we really need the legislation to catch up, he said, adding that Aoife has had to take unpaid leave from her work as a teacher as she is not currently entitled to maternity leave. He said the trickiest part of the process have been the last two weeks as they attempt to get home from northern Cyprus. Mr McCullough said he understands why there would be a reluctance for people to share their personal stories around surrogacy and their journey towards becoming parents if it is a difficult one. "Ive told our story because I hope it illustrates for other couples out there who may be struggling to conceive or start a family that this is an option, this is a possibility. Its not for the faint-hearted, but it is a real possibility out there and that was my main motivation for being as honest as I am. The annual fundraiser organised by the Sunday Independent has become a staple in the music calendar and this year Damien Dempsey headlined it. A sold-out audience attended the gig at the 3Olympia Theatre last month. This week, CEO of Mediahuis Ireland Peter Vandermeersch presented a cheque for 50,000 to Pat Dennigan, the chief executive of Focus Ireland. The charity will use the money to help families and individuals who are struggling with homelessness. Latest figures show a record 15,286 people are homeless, including 4,600 children. Sunday Independent writer Barry Egan, who has organised the event for the past 10 years, said: I cant thank all the acts who played over the years enough. We have had Fontaines DC, Kneecap and Dermot Kennedy. And this year Damien Dempsey and Pillow Queens gave performances to remember. I also want to thank the fantastic sponsors, Cadbury and [Mondelez managing director] Eoin Kellett, Arachas Insurance, Starbucks and Hard Rock Cafe, and all the brilliant staff at the 3Olympia and of course Denis Desmond and Caroline Downey for their continued support on this project. Unfortunately, the homeless crisis in Ireland has only gotten worse in the decade since we started this fundraiser. Hopefully the efforts of all the performers and the people who bought tickets will help in some small way. ESRI report today lifts the lid on the reality of life for foreign-born residents in IrelandMigrants are more likely to be working and well-educated compared with Irish-born peopleBut migrants have lower incomes and suffer more from poverty Migrants are more likely to be working and well-educated compared with Irish-born people, but have lower incomes and suffer more from poverty, a new report has revealed. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report today lifts the lid on the reality of life for foreign-born residents in Ireland. Co-author Evan Carron-Kee said the issues raised needed urgent policy attention because they pinpointed a range of persistent challenges. The report finds that many migrants including those who have come to Ireland from the UK and EU experience poverty and are severely affected by high housing costs. A total of 37pc of migrants spend over 30pc of their income on housing, compared with 9pc of Irish-born residents. The report 'paints a mixed picture'. Stock image. Photo: Getty Today's News in 90 seconds - 28th March 2025 In addition, the median after-tax income for migrants, at 24,827, is lower than the Irish median of 27,602. This figure was adjusted to take account of family size and number of dependants. The report said migrants were particularly exposed to costly private rental accommodation and were under-represented politically. Its authors used Central Statistics Office figures and data from government departments and agencies to analyse Irish-born and foreign-born peoples experiences. Households are deemed to be at risk of poverty if their income is below 60pc of the national median income. They are classified as deprived if they cannot afford two or more things from a list of 11 items. The report shows that those born in eastern EU states and outside the EU face higher levels of poverty and deprivation than Irish-born residents. Of those born outside the EU, 20pc are described as being at risk of poverty. This compared with 11pc of Irish-born residents. Those born in the UK, eastern EU and outside the EU are more likely to experience deprivation than the Irish-born population. People born in the western EU are less likely to experience this. Mr Carron-Kee said recent positive developments in terms of the integration of migrants included strong growth in the African employment rate and improvements in citizenship processing times, but he noted persistent challenges. Migrants are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis and are much more likely to experience income poverty and deprivation, he said. Immigrants participation in politics has increased. The number of immigrants running and winning a seat doubled in last years local elections, although the ESRI noted this was from a very low base. The proportion of councillors with a migrant background is low, at 2.2pc. The Monitoring Report on Integration 2024 finds employment and rates of participation in the labour market among migrants have remained higher than those of Irish-born residents since 2022. Employment rates had fallen to the same level as Irish-born rates during the Covid pandemic. Migrants born in the EU and Asia had better labour-market outcomes than Irish-born residents last year. However, those born in parts of Europe outside the EU had poorer outcomes. In recent years, employment rates for African-born people in Ireland have risen and unemployment rates have fallen, with both figures now similar to those of Irish-born residents. The report said data suggests that labour-market participation was much lower among arrivals from Ukraine and international protection applicants. Previous monitoring reports have shown that migrants have higher levels of educational attainment than Irish-born people. Between 2021 and 2023, 59pc of residents of working age who were born in another country had third-level education. This compared with 42pc of Irish-born residents. Education rates varied by place of birth, with the lowest figure among those born in eastern EU countries at 38pc, and the highest among those born in Asia, at 79pc. However, 15-year-old migrant students score lower on English reading and maths tests compared with non-migrant students. The rate of early school-leaving among young migrants is low. It is similar to the rate of the Irish-born population. According to the ESRI, the findings paint a mixed picture, with many positive outcomes for migrants and some that are more concerning. While migrants are likely to be employed and are well-educated, they have lower incomes and are more at risk of poverty, it said. It added that this may indicate foreign qualifications were not receiving the recognition they deserve, leaving some migrants overqualified for their jobs. Findings relating to housing costs were particularly stark, it added. In 2023, 22pc of the population were born outside the State. This was an increase from 20pc in 2021. Just over half of this group was born in the UK or EU. The report, which is produced every two years, was published by the ESRI, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the Department of Justice. Journey to Camp Shamrock: Drones buzz as risk of war looms like a dark cloud for Irish troops in Lebanon Every day brings a sense of anxiety for Unifil peacekeepers maintaining truce Lieutenant Colonel Shane Rockett, commanding officer of the 125th battalion in south Lebanon Robin Schiller Fri 28 Mar 2025 at 03:30 In south Lebanon, about 300 Irish peacekeepers are tasked with keeping a fragile truce in place that put an end to a year-long war. Health unions say staff levels at Irish hospitals are unsafe, despite big rises in the number of employees at most facilities Last-ditch talks to avert a work to rule across the health service will resume tomorrow. Discussions between unions and Government officials in a dispute over staffing levels ended after 2am this morning at the Workplace Relations Commission. Over 80,000 workers are set to begin work to rule action on Monday, while staff at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital plan to strike on Thursday. Connect, Forsa, the INMO, the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association and Unite, have balloted their members for industrial action. Unions responded to proposals from health officials before the talks adjourned. Proposals to allow unions to make submissions in relation to staffing requirements in the health service were tabled at the talks. The Government side put forward a plan to invite each union to make a submission to an estimates process for future staff requirements. Health officials also proposed that they would offer permanent jobs to 2025 graduates in health and social care professions, psychiatric nursing and nursing and midwifery grades. They proposed to widen the scope of an insurance-based assault scheme and introduce a trainee programme in medical science. A proposal was also made to convert agency posts to HSE jobs this year and next. It is understood that 960 full-time positions were approved for agency conversion across the HSE last year, and half of these were filled to date. Management would commit to convert the balance this year and next year. Speaking after the talks adjourned Phil Ni Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, said unions had been at the discussions for over 14 hours. She said they responded to proposals from the employer, and it required additional time to consider the unions response. Ms Ni Sheaghdha said unions had put their best efforts into drafting proposals that in their view are sensible. She said their proposals put processes around recruitment and retention that are necessary and they do not increase or interfere with the HSEs Pay and Numbers Strategy. But it is certainly asking that they prioritise certain areas that theyve already committed to, she said. She said there are many agreements outstanding, including Labour Court recommendations that are not implemented. These are normal industrial relations issues, she said. And what were now finding is that the employer that has agreed to these is saying they need more time to consider when or how they should implement them. In our view, its a very serious day on Monday. Its regrettable, but our members are very focused and theyre ready. She said conciliation officers have asked them to reconvene on Saturday morning. The nursing union leader said the work to rule and work to contract will continue unless the employer gives them proposals or a response to their paper that is reasonable. Well be saying to the employer in the time they have before tomorrow, before Saturday morning, theres a lot of thinking they have to do and if their intent is to avoid a dispute as they have stated, well then they have all the necessary ingredients to do that. She said she would not discuss details of changes proposed by the five unions directly involved in the dispute. Officials from other unions with members in the health service, including the IMO and Siptu, were also in attendance at the discussions. The HSE has said the threatened industrial action would be a breach of industrial peace provisions in the Public Service Agreement. The volunteer crew intervened before the yacht became a major hazard to shipping traffic going to and from Dublin Port A sailor adrift in a yacht near Howth Head was rescued by Howth RNLI volunteers on Thursday evening. The sailor's yacht suffered engine failure shortly after crossing Dublin Bay yesterday afternoon while travelling from Waterford to Northern Ireland. He then called the Coast Guard who launched the Howth all-weather lifeboat to assist. Weather conditions were somewhat challenging with moderate to strong winds and a choppy sea. Despite this, the Howth Lifeboat reached the yacht within 15 minutes. Fred Connolly, leader of the volunteer crew, said: The sailor did the right thing in calling for help when he realised he was in difficulty. The sea conditions were challenging, and an hour later, darkness would have been setting in, and the yacht could have been a major hazard to shipping traffic going to and from Dublin Port. Howth lifeboat in Dublin Bay Today's News in 90 seconds - 28th March 2025 Once the Howth lifeboat reached the yacht, which was approximately two miles east of Howth Head, a volunteer transferred on board. The sailor was assessed and required no immediate medical attention. Having failed to restart the engine, and given the potential navigational hazard of a yacht drifting close to the shipping lane into Dublin Port, a decision was made to attach the tow line and bring the yacht to Howth. As the spring weather improves, the RNLI expect to see an increase in activity around our coastal waters. They advise people going to sea to plan your journey in advance, have life-jackets for all on board and a means of calling for help if you find yourself in trouble. Michelle ONeill had come under fire for the partys handling of Michael McMonagle Northern Irelands First Minister Michelle ONeill did not break the Ministerial Code over claims she was unaware former Sinn Fein press officer Michael McMonagle was working for the British Heart Foundation. McMonagle (43) was sentenced to nine months in prison and nine months under statutory supervision after pleading guilty to a series of child sex offences last September. Former Sinn Fein press officer Michael McMonagle was jailed last year for sex offences (Liam McBurney/PA) Ms ONeill had come under fire for the partys handling of McMonagle when two other press officers Sean Mag Uidhir and Caolan McGinley resigned after it was revealed they provided references for the convicted sex offender. In the controversy that followed, Ms ONeill told the Committee for the Executive Office that she was unaware McMonagle had gone on to work for the British Heart Foundation, despite photographs showing the pair standing just yards apart at Stormont. "Never for a second did I see Michael McMonagle First Minister Michelle ONeill The explanation prompted unionist MLAs Timothy Gaston (TUV) and Doug Beattie (UUP) to report the First Minister to the Committee on Standards and Privileges for an alleged breach of Ministerial Code. Both argued Ms ONeills explanation was not credible, and alleged it breached the code on openness and honesty. In a report published on Friday, the Committee ruled the Sinn Fein MLA was not in breach of the rules. "First Minister Michelle O'Neill did not mislead the Committee for the Executive Office on 2nd October 2024 and has not breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct, said the report from Commissioner Dr Melissa McCullougrh. First Minister Michelle O'Neill The Committees investigation involved interviews with both Ms ONeill and McMonagle as well as written affidavit testimonies from press officers Mr Mag Uidhir and Mr McGinley and Sinn Feins HR Director. All interviews were carried out under oath, recorded and transcribed. McMonagle confirmed to the Committee that he had not interacted with Ms ONeill since before his suspension from the party in August 2021. "He further stated that he had requested employment references from his former colleagues, Mr Sean Mag Uidhir and Mr Caolan McGinley, after receiving a job offer from the British Heart Foundation, added the report. Ms ONeill told the Committee she did not see McMonagle at the event in question at Parliament Buildings on February 14 2023. During her interview, former Sinn Fein HR Director said she had engaged in email discussions with the British Heart Foundation over the references, but had not notified Ms ONeill or anyone else within the party. "First Minister ONeill confirmed that she was not aware of the references until September 25 2024, the day before it was brought out in the media, added the Commissioner. Details from interviews with the participants are also included in the report, with McMonagle explaining how he had taken pictures of Ms ONeill with a family who were visiting as part of the event. "From memory, Michelle walked through the Great Hall, I think on her way into the Chamber. She stopped with the family, it made for good imagery, so I took a few photos and video clips, he said. "I think I may have been holding my phone on a stick thing. That would have been the extent of it really. [Mr McMonagle] I can't really speak to what she did or didn't see. "She has said she didn't see me, I know there was no interaction between us, so I take that at face-value, yes. In her interview, Ms ONeill told the Commissioner that her sole focus had been on the family. "I was just stopping by at the invitation of the family to say a quick greeting to them because the purpose of the recall was the legislation for organ donation, so my sole focus was on the child, as I always do, she said. "Never for a second did I see Michael McMonagle. Had I have seen him, it would've been an alert in my head but never did I see him, despite the fact what that picture looks like. "On the issue of the photo, I understand that people may perceive it differently, but I can stand over only my own actions. "My statement of absolute fact is that I did not see Michael McMonagle on that day. Committee Chair, Sinn Fein MLA Cathy Mason, said the committee had now fulfilled its function in relation to the incident. "While the current procedures do not provide the Committee with an adjudication role in relation to complaints against Ministers, by publishing this report, the Committee has fulfilled its function in relation to considering and publishing all investigation reports by the Commissioner, she said. "The Committees report includes the Commissioners investigation report, which sets out the factual findings, analysis and reasoning from her investigation of the complaints. "The Committee notes that the Commissioner has concluded from the evidence gathered and analysed that the First Minister has not breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct. Tony Blairs government admitted in a meeting with Martin McGuinness that it deliberately turned a blind eye to IRA criminality Tony Blairs government admitted to Sinn Fein that it deliberately turned a blind eye to IRA criminality up to and including murders, declassified files have revealed. UK Secretary of State John Reid explicitly made that statement to Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, despite repeated denials from other figures in the Blair government that it knowingly tolerated serious criminality. Adults who use their phones before bed are losing almost an hour of sleep each week, a new study has revealed. While it is widely accepted that screen time before bed affects sleep quality, a new analysis of more than 122,000 people has found exactly how much impact these behaviours have. Our experts top picks from women of the wine world Ahead of Mothers Day, Ive had an Ivor Cutler song on loop in my head. In Jim ORourkes mesmeric version, the short and simple lyrics implore: Women of the world, take over. Because if you dont, the world will come to an end. And it wont take long. (Cutlers original added the quip: Men have had their shot, and look at where weve got.) Weve witnessed a lot of muscle-flexing lately. While this ascendant bro culture clearly does not represent all men, its an exhausting sight that begs some rebalance to cheer us back up. Todays column rounds up wines worthy of Mothers Day gifting. Each highlights enterprising women of the wine world. Some did indeed take over. Some collaborated with the teams around them. All wielded their agency well, and leave their world a better place for it. Champagne history, for example, is peppered with accomplished widows who proved perfectly capable of running the businesses they legally couldnt without a dead husband. At 27, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin became a widow (veuve in French, hence Veuve Clicquot). She convinced her father-in-law to let her run the business, becoming Champagnes first female producer. She is credited with introducing riddling (the process of very slowing turning bottles upside down to remove sediment after the secondary fermentation), and the first vintage Champagne, and the blending of red and white wines to make rose Champagne. Besides popularising a drier brut style of Champagne, Louise Pommery is credited as among Frances first company directors to provide employee retirement and health fund. Lily Bollinger and Camille Olry-Roederer both headed up rival Champagne houses in the 20th century. Any of these widows Champagnes would make fine Mothers Day gifts although today Im recommending a Cava from a particularly impressive daughter based just outside Barcelona with vineyard views of the Sagrada Familia. My wine of the week honours another historic widow, Dona Antonia Adelaide Ferreira, who urged that everyone should do all they can for the good of humanity. Affectionately known as Ferreirinha in her home city of Porto, she is remembered as a businesswoman as generous as she was shrewd, who faced down the challenges of the phylloxera plague devastating vineyards by investing in solutions that supported local farmers and families. Vanya Cullen, Lilian Barton, Laura Catena, Mireia Torres Maczassek, Gaia Gaja and Filipa Pato are all doing their wine families proud today, while Dorli Muhr has revived a wine legacy for her daughter Anna to continue. Wines of the week Ferreira Dona Antonia 10-Year-Old White Port Ferreira Dona Antonia 10-Year-Old White Port, Portugal, 20pc, 23.49 (37.5cl) Aged white port marries freshness with richness and works wonders with fruit-based desserts, or umami nibbles, or simply sipped solo. Think candied orange peel, kumquat and honey-nougat aromas, with a bright sweetness balanced by lively acidity. If you ever visit Porto, dont miss the Porto Ferreira cellars to discover this impressive widows legacy. Avoca, Baggot Street Wines, Martins, Clontarf Wines, Pinto Wines, Donnybrook Fair, Terroirs, Redmonds, Blackrock Cellar, 64 Wine, World Wide Wines, wineonline.ie, thenudewineco.ie Dinamica Baga 2023 Dinamica Baga 2023, Filipa Pato & William Wouters, Bairrada, 12pc, 22 Filipa Pato is the daughter of Luis Pato, who put Portugals Bairrada region and the Baga grape on the map. She uses biodynamic principles to wonderful effect, as in this delicate, crunchy red wine with hibiscus, floral and red fruit character. MacCurtain Wine Cellar, Baggot Street Wines, Pinto Wines, 64 Wine, Clontarf Wines, Martins, whelehanswine.ie Cullen Grace Madeline Wilyabrup 2022 Cullen Grace Madeline Wilyabrup 2022, Margaret River, Australia, 13pc, 42 Vanya Cullen is one of the matriarchs of modern biodynamic winemaking. This Bordeaux-style Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend is named after her suffragette grandmother, and offers subtle herbal, citrus perfume and crisp minerality. World Wide Wines, Baggot Street Wines, The Corkscrew, theallotment.ie, wineonline.ie Alta Alella Mirgin Gran Reserva Brut Nature 2018 Alta Alella Mirgin Gran Reserva Brut Nature 2018, Catalunya, Spain, 12pc, 33 Mireia Pujol-Busquets leads impressive research at her familys winery into native varietys resilience to the pressures of climate change. This bone-dry, gastronomic Cava pairs savoury complexity with sea-fresh salinity or trade up to one of its gift-tube bottles. Ely Maynooth; shop.elywinebar.ie Dorli Muhr Carnuntum 2019 Dorli Muhr Carnuntum 2019, Austria, 12.5pc, 29 (57 for 1.5l) Rising star Dorli Muhr revived her family roots by replanting an uprooted vineyard gifted by her great-aunt Barbara to her mother Katharina, and now nurtured for her daughter Anna. This organic Blaufrankisch-Syrah blend is juicy with autumnal red fruit and a smart tart twist. BaRossa Wines, Green Man Wines, Pinto Wines, Blackrock Cellar, whelehanswines.ie The last time I brought my children into Dublin, we witnessed an on-the-floor fight, but it can be a family-friendly visit, too Visits to Dublin can be a dilemma for parents. Its a cracking city, with super attractions and stays. But it has its dark and grimy side too The Viking Splash tour includes splashing into the Grand Canal basin Niamh OReilly Fri 28 Mar 2025 at 03:30 The last time I brought my two children into Dublin for a bit of fun sightseeing, we witnessed an on-the-floor fight between two grown women at 11am on a Saturday. US vice-president JD Vance wears a tactical helmet and gear as he takes part in a shooting practice during a visit to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia earlier this week. Photo: Reuters No one wants to talk to Usha Vance at least no one in Greenland. American officials have reportedly been travelling around the Danish-controlled territory looking for locals who wanted to receive a visit from the US second lady, according to a report from Danish TV 2. Greenlanders response? No thanks. A swing stands amid the ruins of a house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photo: Reuters Two rounds of peace talks in, and the basic rhythms of Putins unique negotiating style are becoming clear: Lie. Bomb. Lie. Bomb. Just a day after a new supposed breakthrough this week in Riyadh on a moratorium on attacks in the Black Sea, Putins drones again swarmed into Kharkiv, destroying homes and stores and injuring 21 people. Is there a sweeter word than home? A word more suggestive of sanctuary and an anchor against lifes storms? Home is an idea with powerful emotional resonance more than a place, its a feeling. For decades, people in Ireland have believed in the possibility of owning their home, no matter how modest. But increasingly, such a prospect seems outlandish. Youve got to have some hope in life. Where is the hope now of owning a home? Thats the response of one healthcare worker, searching for some place modest to raise their five-month-old daughter with her husband, who spoke to the Irish Independent. Donald Trump has said more than once he is coming after us. Photo: Reuters In a crisis when we cannot change a situation, we are forced to change ourselves. But the pace of that change is leaving governments across Europe catching their breaths. Even the slow learners recognise trying to discern meaning in Donald Trumps rhetoric is a lost cause. But his actions speak loudly and destructively for themselves. Leaders have met in Paris at the invitation of French president Emmanuel Macron. On the agenda was the war in Ukraine, and the economic war started by Mr Trump. With the White House treating former friends as enemies, and enemies as friends, they must frame effective plans on military and economic fronts. Should Mr Trump cut Ukraine loose, there is a shortage of weapons and gaps in defences. Donald Trump has said more than once he is coming after us. Photo: Reuters Today's News in 90 seconds - 28th March 2025 Thus the continent, and Ukraine, would be worryingly exposed to Vladimir Putins predations. Leaders reaffirmed their steadfast long-term support for Ukraine during the summit. Yet there has been a noticeable drop in enthusiasm for the idea of a coalition of the willing. The focus has shifted to buying more weapons for Kyiv, and bolstering arms production in Ukraine. Original notions of a European security force for Ukraine, without US air support, intelligence and logistics, look unrealistic. But without muscular security guarantees, both Ukraine and Europe are vulnerable. There is further worry that Mr Trumps rapprochement with Moscow would allow Putin to boost revenues, should sanctions be eased. This would give crucial breathing space to a Kremlin already spending a third of all revenues on the military. Any windfalls from the new US ties could allow Russia to re-arm, and unleash more aggression against Kyiv, and possibly further into Europe. European governments, including our own, must massively increase defence spending, and also make contingency plans for surviving a crippling trade war. Mr Macron has tried to put a brave face on things, saying a number of countries had agreed to pursue a Franco-British idea for what he called a reassurance force. This would be deployed in the event of a peace deal to offset future Russian aggression. It was not unanimous today, as we all know, and we dont need unanimity, he said. But, with the bloc facing so many threats at a critical time, it is vital to stand together. Our own Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said the Governments priority is how we engage with the US. Yet, Mr Trump has said more than once that hes coming after us. The 25pc tariff on all cars exported to the US is but a foretaste of whats to come. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said we have to do all we can to protect jobs. We must also accept we have been too reliant on US revenues for too long. Developing indigenous industries, and reaching out to new markets must be our focus. Ireland and Europe must wake up to the fact we have lost a wingman in Washington. And we must also manage the danger of falling to friendly fire that a full-on US trade war may entail. It just goes to show where Irish politics currently sits in global terms. Lets quickly remind ourselves of how bad things have become across the world. Donald Trump is trying to deconstruct the American constitution, Vladimir Putin is continuing to demolish Ukraine and its citizens, Benjamin Netanyahu is clinging to power in Israel by massacring Palestinians and Europe is struggling with recession and uncertainty. In the face of all of this, we simply carry on in our own little parochial way. Not for us the pressing issues of the world today. No lets have a free-for-all in the Dail and show the world just how thick we are. Lets give two fingers to your man over there and snigger with our mates. These are the characters we elected and lifted shoulder-high from count centres. These are the great ones currently debating Irelands neutrality and how we position ourselves on the world stage at a most perilous time for all nations. But well just sit here and evade the real work that needs to be done. Before we know it, the next Dail break will have arrived. It is appropriate to call our politicians a laughing stock. Unfortunately, however, its no laughing matter. EP Kearney, Baldoyle, Co Dublin Politicians egos are now a more pressing issue than serving people of Ireland The chaos in the Dail brings to mind the old joke about the two bald men fighting over a comb. In both cases, the answer is obvious to all, yet they persist in prolonging the argument. Sadly, the Dail deputies who continue delaying their return to work ignore their constituents entitlement to representation on the important matters such as housing and healthcare. They are too busy trying to score points off their rivals when they know, quite well, that the issue has to be decided like all Dail issues by a vote. This particular vote is one they know they will lose. Get back to work, lads. By delaying the inevitable, you are only bringing our parliament into disrepute. Sean Ryan, Dundrum, Dublin 16 Oppositions attempt to obstruct governance of a nation is utter disgrace There is currently only one affront to democracy happening in Dail Eireann, and its coming from the opposition, not the government parties. Hiding behind a straw man argument about speaking rights, the oppositions true objective is as obvious as it is disgraceful a cynical attempt to make the country ungovernable. For the sake of our democracy, their brazen plan to hold the Dail hostage cannot be allowed to succeed. Henry Cruise, Celbridge, Co Kildare Government is out of line, but opposition has tackled issue in appalling manner It is ludicrous that we are now witnessing another attempt by the Government to undermine the democratic process. Riddle me this: How can one be in government and opposition at the same time? I would like to also ask why this administration is intent on making a mockery of our system of government. On the other hand, I also find this hyperbolic outrage from the opposition parties to be a most unedifying spectacle. If the opposition put as much effort into tackling real issues such as the housing crisis, rising crime, health and the countrys education system, we would see this administration being called to account more effectively. This holier-than-thou attitude from opposition politicians can be rather galling. The electorate certainly didnt vote for this fiasco. The Government and opposition parties must start behaving like public representatives. John OBrien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Clowns running the Dail circus should be morto after latest unruly scenes Its ironic that shortly after the Dail descended into a circus, the Oxford English Dictionary added the following new words that originated from Ireland. It defines ludraman as a lazy, unproductive, or stupid person (especially a man) and points to the earliest evidence of its use in English in James Joyces Ulysses. It also defines the word morto as shorthand for mortified or extremely embarrassed. Im looking forward to tuning in to todays live circus from Kildare Street. Seamus Joyce, Richmond, London Independents Q&A slot poses many questions and even more answers According to reports, the Government held the vote on speaking time in Dail Eireann to allocate a new questions-and-answers slot to the Regional Independents. Does this mean there will be more answers than questions? Peter Declan OHalloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan Trumps actions show he regards Europe as a minor player on the global stage Much of the ongoing commentary about the Trump presidency emanating from liberal sources such as CNN and Channel 4 may be amusing, in an adolescent sort of way, but it totally misses the bigger picture. As far as the new order in Washington is concerned, the West is increasingly viewed as insignificant. The real action and the focus of their attention is towards the East. Hence the ongoing negotiations with Vladimir Putin and the increasing attention being given to possible Arab allies. It is not coincidental that the venue for talks on a Ukraine peace deal is Saudi Arabia. The Saudi crown prince played a significant role by offering Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky a multi-billion-euro investment scheme for his country. At the same time, US president Donald Trumps director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was in India for talks with its prime minister Narendra Modi. India is now the fifth-largest economy in the world. The focus on Greenland is significant because of its strategic location. Again, this fact was almost totally overlooked by the Biden administration and previous US regimes. The major focus of US domestic activity is the Mexican criminal cartels that have been funnelling masses of illegal drugs and migrants into the US. However, in general, the centre of global diplomatic gravity has shifted. Alas, Europe is regarded as increasingly unimportant and irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath With the rise and fall of major players in Irelands drugs-trafficking trade, the top spot is never empty for long. Bold new players will quickly fill any criminal power vacuum that arises. With the notorious and murderous Kinahan cartel under surveillance and intense pressure from law enforcement, a gap was created in the drugs market for a new kingpin. Step forward The Family; the countrys largest drug-trafficking network after the Kinahans effectively ceased its activities in Ireland. Specialising in heroin and cocaine, and with trade connections in South America, Afghanistan, Turkey, Italy, Spain and the UK, The Family operates a vast and intricate international network. However, it was dealt a major blow this week when the suspected head of the organisation was among those arrested after their communications were hacked. What does this mean for Irelands drugs hierarchy? And how has The Family managed to rise up so quietly through the criminal underworld? Most important of all: how do gardai plan to take them down? Today on The Indo Daily, Fionnan Sheahan is joined by Ken Foy, crime correspondent with the Irish Independent, to discuss how a seemingly ordinary family became an international drug-trafficking empire. Blackrock Observatory is hosting an event for tomorrow's partial solar eclipse (March 29) People across Cork have been invited to the Blackrock Castle Observatory tomorrow morning, to witness a rare event which us earth-dwellers are lucky to observe! Not only is the solar eclipse an unusual event on earth, but ours is one of a few planets in the solar system where the sun and moon lines up to create the effect of darkness, in the middle of the day. The viewing, which will take place at Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30p.m. on March 29th, is the perfect opportunity for people of all ages to witness a rare celestial event and learn about astronomy. The eclipse is set to begin at 9:57 a.m. with maximum coverage at 10:55 a.m. The event will end at 12:00 p.m with an opportunity for questions from local astronomy experts. Partial solar eclipses do happen three to four times a year, but in different locations all across the planet, said Niall Smith, Head of Research at Munster Technological University and Head of Blackrock Castle Observatory, one of only five in the Republic. As the Moon moves between Earth and the Sun, it will block out roughly 42% of the Suns disk at its peak. Even partial eclipses are truly remarkable to witness, and were thrilled to host a safe and friendly environment for people of all ages to experience this awe-inspiring event. Youll see pretty much half of the sun, with the moon covering it, so it will be very easily visible. We might take these things for granted, but if youre on Mars or Venus for example you wont ever see an eclipse of the Sun of this type, nor will you on Jupiter. So we are very privileged to be living on a planet that has a very big moon relative to our size which happens to be at just the right distance to cover the sun, if the alignment is exactly perfect. However, solar eclipses must never be viewed without proper protection. Blackrock Castle Observatory will have safe solar-viewing glasses available, along with specially adapted telescopes and guidance from knowledgeable staff and volunteers. The maximum of the eclipse is at 11 oclock, but we should be able to see it clearly enough from half 10 to half 11. If youre in the area, drop down, come and chat, share your anecdotes. Some people may have seen solar eclipses and they might want to tell people about that. Well certainly discuss with people whats happening, and usually what youll find is, when you have a group of people around, questions go in all sorts of directions. We now regularly get questions about Elon Musk and Starlink, for example! At the event, visitors can also learn to project the Suns image with a pinhole viewer: a simple, fun, and entirely safe method perfect for sharing the moment with a group. Smith says the astronomical world is gearing up for a total eclipse, which is set to be visible from Europe in summer of next year. From Ireland, the only partial solar eclipse visible is tomorrow, and then the next one isnt until the August 12, next year. That eclipse will be 98% visible from Ireland but people are already queuing up to go to Spain, which is set to be under the path of totality, where 100% of the sun will be covered by the moon. Theyre really a sort of enjoy the universe type of moment. Two men have been remanded in custody in connection with a major drugs operation in Cork City. Aleksandras Kuznecovas and Jonas Pavilionas, both of no fixed abode and Lithuanian nationals, appeared before Cork District Court today (Friday), following arrests this week. Mr Kuznecovas, 38, faces three charges under the Misuse of Drugs act. Detective Sergeant Linda O'Keeffe told the court that Mr Kuznecovas, sold diamorphene to undercover Gardai on three separate occasions in January 2024 to the value of 25 each, on Thomas Davis Bridge on the Western Road, Mardyke Bridge, and the Banks of the Lee walkway. She said that Mr Kuznecovas replied I am sorry when charges were put to him at Bridewell Garda Station. Gardai objected to bail given the seriousness of the charges. Ms OKeeffe told the court in their objection to bail the accused was a vital cog of a Lithuanian organised crime gang and was heavily involved in the sale and supply of heroin, and was therefore a danger to the community and the people living in it. Defence Solicitor Eddie Burke asked Ms OKeeffe if she was aware that he had lived in Kilmallock for a year. Detective OKeeffe told Mr Burke that Mr Kuznecovas was arrested in a squat in a derelict building on Leitrim Street. The court was also told that Gardai believe the accused was incapable of appearing in court on his own and staying clean of intoxicants. Judge Mary Dorgan said that given the seriousness of the charges and the nature of the evidence, that she would be denying bail, and ordered Mr Kuznecovas to be remanded in custody to Cork Prison where he will appear before district court again via video link on April 3. Mr Pavilionis, 46, was charged under section 3 and 15 of the Misuse of Drugs act, and section 9 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act. Detective Garda Ruairi McGovern told the court that the Lithuanian national, who arrived in Ireland on February 1 of this year, was observed by Gardai placing a bag behind an electrical box on Audley Place. Gardai opened the bag to find two bill hooks, described as miniature slashers. Mr McGovern told the court that he had arrested Mr Pavilionis following a search of his car in the second floor of Douglas Village Shopping Centre car park, that Gardai found one ounce of suspected Diamorphene, worth 3,920 and a slash hook. Mr Pavilionas made no reply when cautioned by Mr McGovern. The court heard that the 46-year-old is believed to be a serious flight risk and told Detective McGovern that he had a flight booked back to Lithuania tomorrow, 29 March. Gardai believe Mr Pavilionis was an integral part of an operation that Gardai have been monitoring since November 2023, and that Mr Pavilionis had been brought to Ireland solely for the purposes of protection. The court heard he was residing in a caravan on Barryscourt in Carrigtwohill with two other Lithuanians who have both been questioned and released. Judge Mary Dorgan, in denying his bail application, said that Mr Pavilionis was effectively caught red-handed in allegedly concealing the bag containing the weapons. She also ordered Mr Pavilionis to be remanded in custody, where he would appear before court via video link on April 3. She also ordered a sworn statement of means for Mr Pavilionis. A man has been jailed for four months, after being found in possession of 1,300 worth of crack cocaine. Lewis Taylor-Beckett, 22, from Doncaster in the UK, appeared before Cork District Court via video link today (Friday). The court was told Mr Taylor-Beckett was seen by Gardai engaging in a drug transaction on Cork's Grand Parade on March 9 2025, and following a search was found with 41 packages wrapped in black binliner, to be used for future drug deals. Mr Taylor-Beckett, who has no ties to the jurisdiction, pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of crack cocaine and the possession of crack cocaine for the purposes of sale and supply. Defence Solicitor Aoife Buttimer told the court the accused had a disruptive childhood, and had spent time in care facilities. The court heard Mr Taylor-Beckett has two stepchildren and is in long-term relationship. He intends to leave the jurisdiction once the time in prison is over. He was working in a travel management job, which he lost following drug difficulties. Mr Taylor-Beckett was selling the crack cocaine as part of a deal to pay off drug debt that he had accrued, the Court was told. Ms Buttimer said that he had previous addiction issues but has recovered and is completely clean. He was sentenced by Judge Mary Dorgan to four months in prison under Sections 3 (possession) and 15 (sale & supply) under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The M20 Cork Limerick motorway has been allocated 4.5 million by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) for 2025. The M20 Cork-Limerick motorway has been allocated 4.5 million by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) for 2025. Overall national roads in Cork County will benefit from total funding of 72,261,348 million for maintenance and repair work this year. Fine Gael TD for Cork North West John Paul OShea welcomed the allocation of funding for several national roads in Cork County: I am delighted to see that this funding has been allocated to Cork County Council for essential national road repair works across Cork. The continued safety for all road users is a key priority. Key to that is the protection and regeneration of our existing national road network. The following roads in County Cork will benefit from TII funding during 2025: M20 Cork Limerick motorway 4,500,000 N20 Buttevant National School Pedestrian Crossing RSIS (Type B) - 15,000 N20 Buttevant North Pedestrian Crossing - 15,000 N20 Charleville Main Street RSIS (DMURS option) - 100,000 N20 Ballybeg Bends (Option 2) RSIS - 18,000 N20 Charleville Main Street (Interim improvements Option 3) RSIS - 60,000 N22 Ballyvourney Pedestrian Crossing - 9,000 N20 Charleville Relief Route (minor works) - 430,000 N72 Kilcanway to Ballygriffin - 100,000 N73 Annakisha South Improvement Scheme 4,700,000 N73 Clogher Cross Waterdyke Realignment Scheme 400,000 N72 Meenskeha 2,500,000 Ballyvourney Macroom (bypasses Macroom) 4,445,000 N72/73 Mallow Relief Road 700,000 The 2025 funding allocations are made in line with the National Development Plan 2021-2030 (NDP) which balances investment in transport against other priorities over the lifetime of the plan. TII will allocate the funding in support of the following outcomes, in line with the NDP: Protection and renewal of the existing national road network Progressing major new road projects that are in or near construction Progressing major new road projects that are in the development pipeline. Deputy OShea continued: The allocation for protection and renewal of the existing national road network will fund a range of activities including road safety improvements, pavement renewal, maintenance of bridges and structures, and measures to ensure the network can withstand the increased number of severe weather events. Minister of State with responsibility for Rural Transport, Jerry Buttimer, said: A safe and efficient national road network supports rural residents, allowing them to connect to work, education and healthcare. It also facilitates the many bus services that now serve rural Ireland. The funding announced today will serve to safeguard and improve this vital national asset for all our citizens, he added. A key priority for the proposed Mallow Relief Road is to ease the chronic traffic congestion that has blighted the town in recent years. Overall national roads in Cork City and County will benefit from funding of 74.2 million for maintenance and repair work this year. Labour Party TD for Cork North Central Eoghan Kenny welcomed the allocation of funding for the long-awaited relief road in Mallow. This is very good progress for Mallow in terms of getting the relief road built. I have raised this a number of times on the floor of the Dail and personally with the Minister for Transport, Darragh OBrien. This had been a collective effort and I want to commend the Mallow Relief Road Alliance Group, led by John McDonnell. The Mallow based TD said the next step for the relief road is planning approval stage. If we want to tackle the issue of housing, congestion on our main street and continue to grow Mallow economically and socially, we need the Mallow Relief Road built. Cork County Council have assured me the next step is planning approval stage, which will be over the next month or so. I will not stop until I see shovels in the ground for the Mallow Relief Road, said Deputy Kenny. I made no qualms about it during my general election. The Mallow Relief Road is my single biggest priority. I will continue working on this with my colleague, Cllr Ronan Sheehan. Fianna Fail councillor Gearoid Murphy also welcomed the announcement by TII of 700,000 in funding for the Mallow Relief Road in 2025. This will allow the Council to formally apply for planning permission to build the road and sustain the application through the planning process for the entirety of this year. Now that we have the funding, I understand the application for planning permission is likely to be submitted in the next few months and will probably take around a year to go through An Bord Pleanala. Once planning permission is granted, the detailed design will need to be completed and then the project will be shovel-ready and ready to be funded for construction. I will be working with my colleagues at Oireachtas level to continue to push for support for this road at every stage, he added. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has warned of fake parking fines being placed on cars Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has issued an emergency notice to the public, warning them to be vigilant about a scam involving fake parking fines. The scam involves fake Fixed Charge Notice tickets being placed on cars in the area. They have an incorrect phone number, website, and QR code, which leads people to a fraudulent website. A spokesperson for Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said it has been made aware of a very small number of fake parking tickets being placed on cars in the area, but they are warning people to remain vigilant. The fraudulent tickets have an incorrect phone number and website (the back of the fraudulent ticket is blank, whereas genuine tickets have text on the terms and conditions), they said. They also have a QR code that directs users to a fraudulent website. Our advice is not to use QR codes to pay for Fixed Charge Notices. Payments should be made using the following information: By telephone 01 5425660 and press 1. Pay online at www.dlrps.ie By cheque or postal order payable to: Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, PO Box 9965, Dublin 2. If you have any concerns with a Fixed Charge Notice you have received, please contact DLRPS on 01 5425660 and press 4 to speak to an operator. Fixed Charge Notices will continue to be issued by DLRPS Parking Wardens to offending vehicles and should be paid through the above channels, they added. An Garda Siochana shared a picture of one of the fraudulent parking tickets on their social media today. 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 A spokesperson said: This convincing fake was just one of many left on cars in Dun Laoghaire earlier this week. These tickets are very plausible copies of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council parking fines. The QR code at the bottom also links to a convincing mirror of the local authoritys fines payment site. We are currently investigating the matter to identify who placed these fake tickets, and to trace the payments made to this fake fine payment site. If you have any doubts or suspicions about a ticket placed on your car, please contact us or the local authority to verify it, they added. Gardai are asking the public to contact them if they have any information to assist with the investigation into these fake tickets. Members of the public can contact Dun Laoghaire Garda Station at (01) 666 5000, or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. The news comes after Dublin City Council recently warned about a scam involving fake QR codes attached to parking meters. The scam, referred to as quishing, involves using a deceptive QR code to trick users into providing sensitive information. The user scans the code and is directed to a website that requests credit card information and other personal data. A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said: Dublin City Council would like to warn the public that it has been made aware of fake QR codes being placed on a number of Pay and Display parking machines. This fake QR code sticker directs the user to a fraudulent, cloned website, which requests credit card details and other personal data. All reported incidents have been passed to An Garda Siochana. As a precaution, Dublin City Council is advising all users not to scan any QR codes that may appear on Pay and Display machines or Payzone signage. Should anyone notice anything suspicious, or if a scam has taken place, please contact Payzone or An Garda Siochana, they added. Fingal County Council issued the same public warning about the pay-for-parking scam several months ago. Discounted rents, rather than a so-called Dublin allowance, is a better way to deal with the cost-of-living crisis for key workers in the capital, it has been claimed. The idea of an extra allowance for those living and working in Dublin creates all kind of problems, according to the General Secretary of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI). The problem with a Dublin allowance is firstly the question of is it fair? And what effect is it going to have, Michael Gillespie said. We know that in other jurisdictions, if you give someone 10,000, it can put up the price of houses by 50,000 by your ability to borrow. What will it achieve? Will it support rent, or will it make rents go up higher? We need proactive policies that make houses or apartments available at an affordable rate for key workers, rather than put the price of everything up for everybody, including the private sector, he added. It comes after more than 3,200 applications were submitted for 46 apartments being offered at discounted rents at Googles Bolands Mills Quarter in Dublin for key workers including gardai, nurses and teachers. The apartments are being offered with rents up to 36pc below market rate. Mr Gillespie said its not fair if the public sector gets a Dublin allowance because everyone from the private sector will also have to get an unfair lift. Public servants are not paid as well as those in the private sector and we cant compete with that, he said. People go into teaching for a lot of different reasons and they go into the private sector for different reasons. What we need to do is support them in a different way. The easy way to support them is to make rents affordable, or as they did in certain areas, they give preferential treatment for guards, nurses, key workers that live and work in a certain area, he added. One challenge for Dublin is that its not very clear where our capital city begins and ends. Where does it end? If its not where you live, but where you work, someone could work in Dublin, but live in Mullingar or Leitrim and get the train. Its very difficult to impose that fairly, he said. Another factor which creates problems with an allowance is whether to give it to new or existing key workers, as some key workers may have been lucky enough to get on the property ladder at a good time. The debate is not very straightforward. Yes, there needs to be something done, but were not sure an allowance is the answer, he said. We would much prefer the idea of having some way of reducing rents, or either a cheaper mortgage or an easier way to borrow money for key workers. A majority of Dubliners have shown strong support for rent subsidies in the city for key workers, including teachers, gardai and nurses. A recent survey of 1,209 people by market researcher RED C, found that 79pc of Dubliners agree key workers in the city should receive rent subsidies and support. It also found that 89pc of Dubliners believe high rental costs are the biggest barrier in attracting key workers to the city. The Department of Education has been contacted for comment. A judge has refused jurisdiction in the case of a group of men accused of violent disorder after viewing CCTV footage of a 15-year-old being relentlessly beaten on the top deck of a bus at The Square in Tallaght. Tallaght District Court heard the alleged attack took place on a bus on February 29, 2024, at a carpark at The Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght, Dublin 24. Investigating Garda Sarah Cullinan told the court that CCTV footage, which was played during the hearing, is alleged to show two of the accused boarding a bus as it was leaving the carpark of the shopping centre at 9.30pm. The footage shows two of the accused proceeding to the top deck, where one allegedly initiated the assault while another also allegedly beat the teenager, who was struck repeatedly with metal bars. Another accused is alleged to have remained outside the bus for the duration of the incident. The five men who have been charged in relation to the incident are: Rasel Chowdhury (42), of Devoy Quarter, Naas, Co Kildare; Gao Jiansheng (44), of Belgard Square West, Tallaght, Dublin 24; Shafiulla Shafiulla (40), of Cookstown Way, Dublin 24; Kamrul Islam (43), of The Court, Westfield, Lucan, Dublin 22; and Md Imrul Mahamud (27), of St Alphonsus Road Upper, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. The men are charged with committing violent disorder under the Public Order Act. The charge alleges that, while acting together, they used or threatened unlawful violence in a manner that would cause a person to fear for their safety. While viewing the footage in Tallaght District Court, Judge Patricia McNamara remarked that the alleged attack seemed to be relentless. After the CCTV was played, Judge McNamara said she could not call it a minor incident to be tried in the District Court and would refuse jurisdiction. Its very fortunate that the young man was able to stand after the beating, the judge said, noting the use of metal bars. During the hearing, Judge McNamara enquired about the alleged victims injuries. Garda Cullinan told the court that, despite several attempts to contact the victim, he has refused to engage with gardai, so there was no medical report. Judge McNamara has allowed 12 weeks for prosecutors to prepare The Book of Evidence, and remanded the accused on bail until June 19. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme The prayer event was attended by worshippers from the locality and areas including Sneem, Caherciveen, Tralee, Causeway, and Kilgarvin The 40-hour Adoration took place in St Brigid's Chapel at the Church of the Resurrection Killarney. Hundreds of worshippers from all over Kerry prayed for world peace and the health of the church and its clergy at a forty-hour Adoration in Killarney Hundreds of worshippers from all over Kerry prayed for world peace and the health of the church and its clergy at a forty-hour Adoration in Killarney last weekend. The Adoration was held at St Brigids Chapel in the Church of the Resurrection Killarney from 6pm on Friday, March 21 to 11am on Sunday, March 23. The event saw worshippers from the locality and areas including Sneem, Caherciveen, Tralee, Causeway and Kilgarvin attend alone and in groups. At the chapel, they prayed for peace in the world, Pope Francis, bishops, priests and the church. Kate Whelan, a coordinator of the event, told The Kerryman that the Adoration was a great success, thanks in no small part to the attendance of different Killarney prayer groups which led the devotion. Prayer groups including the Adorers, Divine Mercy, Divine Will, Exodus 90, Kilcummin Prayer Group, Medjugore, Mothers Prayers, Neocatechumenate and the Legion of Mary were among those who contributed. They were supported by parish priest, Fr Kieran OBrien, and his clergy. It was a very joyous occasion led by the laity. Bishop Ray, Fr Kieran, Fr Joe and Fr Vitalis all spent time in Adoration, Ms Whelan stated. Ms Whelan said the laity are recognising the difficult times we are living in and are responding to the Blessed Virgin Marys request to pray to bring peace to the world when she appeared to three children in Fatima in 1917. Numbers in attendance, according to the organisers, were very good, registering at three hundred over the 40 hours, she said. Many people have requested more similar events where the church community pray together in solidarity with each other. Though the Adoration largely consisted of silent prayer and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, there was also plenty of enthusiasm on display. The 40-hour Adoration took place in St Brigid's Chapel at the Church of the Resurrection Killarney. The Taize prayer group made the most noise in prayer and worship as it encouraged participants to express themselves in Christs own word through music and scripture, Ms Whelan said. A childrens group also came together, led by Analia, making their own prayer through collage and pictures. The event was held in solidarity with prayer gatherings that have taken place across the country, including one held in Athlone which saw hundreds of worshippers parade in Eucharistic procession for peace in Ireland and the wider world on Sunday, March 16. Have your say on the issue in the poll below Kerry MEP Sean Kelly has renewed his call for an end to the biannual clock change in the European Union by setting a clear deadline for action by 2026. With the clocks set to go forward by one hour this weekend (March 30), Mr Kelly called it an outdated practice that continues to disrupt peoples lives twice a year. He said the European Parliament has been clear that biannual clock changes must end given that a vote in 2019 to abolition it was successful and had overwhelmingly support from citizens. Mr Kelly criticised the fact nothing has changed six years after the vote. He highlighted the associated health risks linked with the clock change and that even a one-hour shift in circadian rhythm has measurable negative effects. He cited studies that show the clock change can increase rates of strokes, heart attacks, and sleep deprivation, while road traffic accidents rise by 6 per cent after the springtime change. Even productivity wanes with slight increases in workplace-related errors detected, along with the negative impact on night-shift workers, children, and the elderly. Mr Kelly went on to dismiss the rationale for daylight savings time saying the idea that we are saving energy by changing the clocks no longer holds. Research shows any savings are negligible, often less than 1 per cent, and in some cases, energy use actually increases. Businesses, particularly in transport and finance, face unnecessary costs adjusting to these changes, he said. In 2018, the Commissions public consultation saw an unprecedented 4.6 million responses, with 84 per cent calling for an end to the clock change. The people of Europe have spoken, but they have been ignored for too long. It is time to act, Mr Kelly added. Looking ahead, he called on the European Commission to reintroduce a legislative proposal to prevent the issue from fading. He called for a renewed push with a definitive deadline to end the clock change by 2026. Council failed to reach an agreement in 2019, but that does not mean the issue should be abandoned. The current system serves no one. We have the evidence, we have the public support, and if we have the political will we will see change, he said. In an historic first, Limerick Mayor John Moran convened the inaugural meeting of the Limerick Mayoral and Government Consultative Forum, attended by Taoiseach Micheal Martin. The meeting focused on pressing issues facing the city, including housing, infrastructure, and economic development. During the meeting, Mayor Moran was enthusiastic about the forum's potential to drive change for Limerick's future, calling it a great start for Limerick's future. We had honest conversations about the challenges we face in housing and infrastructure, he added. Housing was a primary topic on the Mayors agenda, in particular modular housing solutions to address homelessness and the growing need for affordable homes. A 50-home development (32 social homes, 12 cost rental homes and 6 affordable purchase homes) has been announced for a site on the Ennis Road, but Mr Moran stressed that while these developments are important, they are just a small part of the broader solution. It's such a small part of the delivery that we need in Limerick to get 39 or 40,000 people in place, he said. This conversation was about the big stuff, like, how do we get the railway to Shannon? How do we get the road to Foynes ready for offshore wind? These are the long-term issues that will define Limericks future, he added. Mr Moran also relayed the city's efforts to secure funding for the 1.3 million planning and feasibility studies for modular housing. He echoed that these units would be relocatable and adaptable, offering temporary accommodations in areas designated for future permanent housing. The capital required for this initiative is estimated by the Mayor to be upwards of half a billion euros, a far cry from the 1.3 million allocated. As a result, the mayor was pleased with the commitment from An Taoiseach Micheal Martin to attend regular follow-up meetings. This is not just about engagement today, but about creating an ongoing process, which is something weve never had before, Mayor Moran said. While the forum's discussions were constructive, Limerick has seen its share of setbacks, such as the rejection of several historic building projects from recent funding rounds. However, the Mayor was hopeful that on their next proposal for funding, Limerick will be on top. The forum's next meeting will take place in six months, giving the Mayor and the government the chance to asses the progress made for Limerick. Drogheda director brings laugh-out-loud comedy Four Mothers to the big screen this April Darren Thorntons latest film is funny, heartfelt and closer to home than you think. The "Four Mothers" Team at the BFI London Film Festival 2024. Credit: Tristan Fewings Drogheda Independent Fri 28 Mar 2025 at 07:00 Drogheda filmmaker Darren Thornton is returning to the big screen this April with Four Mothers, a new Irish comedy that opens in cinemas on April 4. Co-written with his brother Colin, the film has already picked up award at major international film festivals and will screen locally at Omniplex Drogheda and other cinemas nationwide. Pupils with Pat Sheridan taking part in the Dundalk Branch of The Irish Red Cross CPR for Schools Programme in St. Francis NS, Blackrock. Photo: Aidan Dullaghan/Newspics Orla and Pat Sheridan with pupils in St.Francis NS, Blackrock taking part in the Dundalk Branch of The Irish Red Cross CPR for Schools Programme. Photo: Aidan Dullaghan/Newspics Carol Cumiskey and Ryan Hayes with pupils in St.Francis NS, Blackrock taking part in the Dundalk Branch of The Irish Red Cross CPR for Schools Programme. Photo: Aidan Dullaghan/Newspics Orla and Pat Sheridan with pupils in St.Francis NS, Blackrock taking part in the Dundalk Branch of The Irish Red Cross CPR for Schools Programme. Photo: Aidan Dullaghan/Newspics Sixth class pupils at St Francis NS Blackrock now have the skills to help save a life after were given training by Dundalk Red Cross last week as part of a pilot scheme being rolled out across the county. Irish Red Cross volunteer and instructor Pat Sheridan is leading the initiative in Co. Louth and this week over 40 pupils got the opportunity to learn how they could help in an emergency and to build new first aid skills including CPR. "When you are dealing with a sudden collapse and cardiac arrest, the chances of survival are increased when CPR is started before the ambulance arrives it absolutely adds to the saving of a life, said Pat who retired from the National Ambulance Service last May. A volunteer with Dundalk Red Cross for 25 years, Pat believes that by teaching sixth class children CPR they will be able to help save the lives of family members, neighbours and others in the community if an emergency arises. Our aim is to train the next generation and build their empathy, confidence, and skills so they can help others in times of crisis. Providing young people with first aid knowledge not only prepares them to respond in an emergency but also strengthens the resilience of our communities. This training is more than just first aidits about developing a mindset of readiness and compassion. He said that the first training session delivered in St Francis NS last Tuesday was a huge success with the pupils discussing real-life scenarios and asking relevant, intelligent questions. The programme covers essential life-saving skills, including how to call an ambulance, how to identify when someone needs urgent help, basics of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and first aid for a choking person The children found it really enjoyable and interesting, Pat said. They learned how to do CPR if someone is unconscious and not breathing and also how to keep themselves safe in emergency situations. St Francis NS principal Ms Oreena Lawless said that the school felt honoured and privileged to be invited to do the training. "It was absolutely fantastic and Pat and the team were so understanding with the kids and explained everything to them at a level they could understand. The kids went away buzzing and I hope that it gets rolled out across the country. By the school summer holidays, Pat and the dedicated team of the Irish Red Cross volunteers from the Dundalk branch - Carol Cumiskey, Orla Sheridan, Ryan Hayes and Advanced Paramedics Stephen and Niamh ONeil - aim to have reached five schools in county Louth and will have trained 130 children in practical first aid techniques while also fostering a humanitarian mindset among young people. The Irish Red Cross schools programme is proudly funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth. Any schools that are interested in having CPR training delivered to their sixth class pupils should contact Dundalk Red Cross at 087 905 7616 or email uo.dundalk@irishredcross.com Dr Darrin Morrissey (CEO, NIBRT), James Lawless TD (Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science), Professor Jacqueline McCormack (VP for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and Online & Flexible Learning at ATU), Professor Neville McClenaghan (Head of Department of Life Sciences, ATU). Minister of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, TD, has announced 1m funding to ATU in recognition of the outstanding contribution to national strategic objectives. In total five institutions were awarded 1 million euro each to support and recognise exemplary performance by higher education institutions. Atlantic Technological University (ATU) has received this award in recognition of addressing skills needs in the biopharmaceutical industry sector through its long-standing partnership with the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research & Training (NIBRT). This collaboration was central to ATUs Impact Assessment Case Study (IACS) submission to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) under the System Performance Framework 2023-2028. Minister Lawless, commenting on todays awards, stated: This funding serves to highlight the significant accomplishments of the higher education and research system, as well as the considerable impact that these institutions have on communities throughout Ireland. By addressing crucial national challenges in the areas of bullying, gender inequality, socioeconomic disadvantage, and national skills shortages, they are collectively contributing to an Ireland that is fairer and more agile. Since 2008, ATU and NIBRT have developed a suite of accredited training programmes tailored to industry demands. Starting with one programme, the initiative has grown to 24 university courses by 2024, with over 5,000 students participating. As NIBRT expands internationally, this partnership has great potential for global impact, supporting this vital and evolving life sciences industry sector. Dr Orla Flynn, President of ATU, welcomed the Minister's announcement: The ATU-NIBRT partnership demonstrates how higher education can collaborate with industry to deliver impactful training. By addressing skills gaps, we support the Irish life sciences sector and enhance Irelands global reputation in biopharma manufacturing. We thank the Minister for his support with this funding announced today. Ireland is the third-largest exporter of pharmaceuticals worldwide. The sector employs over 85,000 people and includes 90+ manufacturing plants, 50+ FDA-approved. With an export value of 106 billion in 2023, biopharma remains key to Irelands economy. Minister Marian Harkin TD, Minister of State at the Department of Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science has warmly welcomed the announcement. This award is a powerful endorsement of the outstanding work being done at ATU Sligo. It reflects the universitys strong commitment to meeting national challenges head-on through innovation, collaboration, and a deep understanding of both regional and sectoral needs. ATU Sligo continues to be a trailblazer in aligning higher education with real-world impact. The partnership with NIBRT is a perfect example of how education can directly empower our workforce, support industry, and help drive balanced regional development. Minister Harkin also praised the students, faculty, and leadership at ATU for their role in achieving this recognition: This is a great achievement for ATU and the entire North-West. The dedication of staff, the ambition of students, and the strategic vision of the institution are clearly delivering results both for the university and for the wider community it serves. The Performance Funding awards were based on rigorous evaluation of Impact Assessment Case Studies submitted to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) in 2024. ATU was one of only five institutions nationwide to receive the 1 million funding, alongside DCU, DkIT, SETU, and TU Dublin. Minister Harkin concluded by reaffirming her continued support for ATU Sligos mission: This recognition confirms what we in the North-West already know that ATU Sligo is a national leader in excellence, innovation, and impact. I will continue to advocate strongly for the resources and recognition it deserves. Prof Jacqueline McCormack, VP for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and Online & Flexible Learning at ATU, said the role of flexible education in industry growth was an important part of the continued success of the life sciences industry in Ireland; Through this impactful NIBRT partnership, ATU provides industry-aligned education that enables professionals to upskill while working, ensuring Irelands workforce remains competitive. A key element of the ATU-NIBRT initiative is its responsiveness to industry needs, ensuring that students gain theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience. Training in NIBRTs pilot-plant facility simulated the tightly regulated Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) environments that operate in biopharma manufacturing facilities, equipping learners with practical skills." The ATU-NIBRT initiative aligns with national policies, including the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) biopharma report and IDA Irelands priorities. It aims to provide career development pathways, foster industry expertise, and support accessible learning. Looking ahead, ATU and NIBRT are launching micro-credentials this year, offering exciting new targeted certifications for professionals seeking to efficiently upskill/reskill in target areas. Dr Darrin Morrissey, the NIBRT CEO commented, We are delighted to receive this recognition of the impact of the long-standing partnership between NIBRT and ATU a partnership that extends beyond the classroom. Together we are preparing individuals for successful careers in biopharma, while strengthening Irelands leading position in global biopharma manufacturing. Our graduates directly make a difference by helping to bring life-saving medicines and medical technologies to patients around the world. Local TDs, Frank Feighan and Marian Harkin have welcomed roads funding which will further progress some key major road projects across Roscommon, Sligo and Leitrim. Department of Transport will provide approximately 502 million of Exchequer Capital funds for National Roads through Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in 2025. An additional 98 million has been provided for National Roads under Public Private Partnerships, and a separate allocation of approximately 33 million is being provided to local authorities for regular maintenance of National Roads. Among the major new national road projects funded is the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge which will receive an allocation of 88m.z In Sligo funding of 1.8m is allocated for the Collooney to Castlebaldwin N4, with the N17 project, (Knock to Collooney) receiving a further 2.8m. Further allocations of over 5.46m are allocated to the N16 at Lugatober, the N17 and the N4. Meanwhile in Leitrim, the Carrick-on-Shannon to Dromod bypass project is set to receive 1.3m with a further 100,000 for traffic calming at Tullaghan in the north of the County. The 2025 funding allocations are made in line with the National Development Plan 2021-2030 (NDP), which balances investment in transport against other priorities of Government over the lifetime of the Plan. The allocation for protection and renewal of the existing national road network will fund a range of activities including road safety improvements, pavement renewal, maintenance of bridges and structures, and measures to ensure the network can withstand the increased number of severe weather events. This is a significant day for the North West. With over 31 million earmarked for Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal, the Government is showing clear commitment to improving regional connectivity and supporting rural development. In Sligo, 10.2 million has been allocated to a mix of road protection, renewal, and new road construction. This includes including 1 million for the N17 from Knock to Collooney, investment I have been seeking for a long time along with funding like the 1.8 million for the stretch between Collooney and Castlebaldwin. "A substantial 2.1 million is being allocated for the realignment of the N16 at Lugatober and 1.26 million for works on the N4 Sligo Inner Relief Road, said Minister of State Marian Harkin. Minister Harkin also welcomed the allocation to Leitrim County Council of over 2 million under this funding round. A total of 1.3 million is being invested in new road construction, specifically for the Carrick-on-Shannon to Dromod road, which will bypass Drumsna. The county will also benefit from 308,909 in current maintenance funding. The Leitrim allocation includes 412,000 for road safety and renewal works such as traffic calming on the N15 at Tullylaghan and upgrades to the N16 at Glenfarne and Stabrick. Donegal is receiving the largest allocation in the North West, with a total of 18.78 million. Of this, over 15.67 million will be directed to capital investment in road protection and renewal, with more than 2.1 million set aside for the construction of new roads. Luizshire Limited intends to build 72 residences at a site in Knocknaconnery, Cregg Road, Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary Further information has been received in respect of plans to build 72 homes in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. Luizshire Limited applied to Tipperary County Council on August 26, 2024, for planning permission to build 72 residences at Knocknaconnery, Cregg Road, Carrick-on-Suir. The plans consist of four two-bed houses, 40 three-bed houses, 24 four-bed houses, two two-bed duplex units, and two one-bed duplex units. Provision is made for a new pedestrian and vehicular access to the Cregg Road (R697), provision of a shared access laneway, sewer upgrade works, a communal open space, a private open space, site landscaping, public lighting, resident and visitor car parking, bicycle parking, pedestrian, cycle, and vehicular links throughout the development. The council sought further information in October last year, and this was received on Wednesday, March 26 last. The deadline for submissions is April 8 next. Coakley Consulting Engineers prepared a traffic and transport assessment report on behalf of their client, Luizshire Ltd, in February 2024. Kilkenny County Council, in partnership with Tipperary County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the Department of Transport (DoT) are developing the N24 Waterford to Cahir Project which includes a bypass of Carrick-on-Suir. The preferred route corridor is ideally located immediately north of the site and when fully designed and constructed will provide high quality access to the bypass road from Cregg Road R697, according to the report. The Carrick-on-Suir bypass will remove significant traffic volumes from the town and importantly remove large volumes of HGVs and improve overall road safety. As part of a future construction traffic management plan, it had been discussed with the local authority that construction access to the subject site would be via an existing field-site access on the Cregg Road. The applicant would provide a contractors compound within the site boundaries to accommodate all construction staff, parking, deliveries and safe vehicle turning within the site. Typically, construction would commence one month after grant of full planning permission. Construction vehicles will be covered during dry weather to prevent dust emissions, and wheel washers will be provided to ensure debris and mud are not taken on to the local road. Trained banksmen will marshal delivery vehicles within the site and manage access and exit. The consultants concluded that the application, in terms of accessibility, sustainability, connectivity, traffic impact, road safety and junction capacity would operate in a safe and efficient manner, with minimal impact on other road users and on the capacity of the local road network well into the future. Some 365,505 tourists visited the Rock of Cashel in 2024, up from 357,273 from 2023 Tipperarys famous Rock of Cashel was the third most visited tourist destination last year in Ireland, according to new figures by the OPW. The Office of Public Works (OPW) announced on Wednesday, March 26, that 13.8m visitors visited its heritage sites in 2024. Dublin Castle was followed by Kilkenny Castle, the Rock of Cashel, Kilmainham Gaol and Dun Aonghasa. These iconic sites continue to play a pivotal role for both domestic and international tourism, said a spokesperson. Some 365,505 tourists visited the Rock of Cashel in 2024, up from 357,273 in 2023. Meanwhile, the Rock of Cashel was temporarily closed on Monday this week, March 24, to facilitate filming on site. It re-opened on Tuesday. Additionally, The Rock is turning yellow on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week in support of Daffodil Day for the Irish Cancer Society. A long-mooted community remote working hub for the village of Carnew has taken a big step forward after Wicklow County Council began a public consultation on plans to refurbish a former Bank of Ireland building. Having endured a prolonged wait since the local authority acquired the property in 2022, Carnew residents and their Wicklow, Wexford and Carlow neighbours can now look forward to an active and vibrant working environment on Carnew Main Street which WCC hopes will promote well-being, inclusion, and community cohesion. Incorporating retrofitting and accessibility enhancements, the refurbishment works will see the demolition of all existing internal partitions and stairs, along with the reconfiguration of internal walls at both levels, and the construction of new stairs and a passenger lift connecting the ground and first floors. The ground floor of the existing building will be used for new offices and a canteen/coffee area, while the first floor will be similarly divided into more office accommodation and a meeting/break-out room. A new, single-storey lean-to extension to the rear of the property will house sanitary accommodation (including a universally accessible WC and an open-plan office space) and will be connected to the existing building by a new pitched roof structure with a glazed entrance and enclosing the existing flat roofed vault. The existing vault, which WCC said is constructed very robustly and would be difficult and expensive to alter, will be integrated as a generous storage area for the Hub. A new shopfront will be constructed with full-height double-glazed window systems and will be combined with a new decorative gate that will allow access via the refurbished side passage to the west of the property to a new paved and planted entrance courtyard to the rear of the existing building, created from the currently unused existing yard. Considering the towns location at the juncture of Wicklow, Wexford and Carlow and has strong socio-economic and cultural links with the adjoining counties, the urban form of the town provides for an expansive Main Street, with wide footpaths, laid out in a linear format, a WCC planner wrote. The economic development strategy of the current development plan is to take advantage of the existing economic assets in order to stimulate employment within the area and increase the jobs ratio by 50pc by 2028. The current proposal for the Carnew remote working hub seeks to coordinate with and support this strategy. The layout of the Carnewremote working hub is simple and clear it comprises the existing building, on two levels, and a new extension to the rear. These are accessed via the existing external route to the west, leading through a new courtyard to a new building entrance at the junction of new and old. The new shopfront is intended to improve the buildings relationship with the street and the community, giving glimpses through the new full-height glazing into the working spaces. The new entrance route along the western side of the site allows views of the internal courtyard, which remains, nonetheless, a secluded outdoor space for the buildings patrons to enjoy. Following the closure of the Carnew Bank of Ireland branch in 2021, as part of a broader cull of 88 BOI branches across the country, former councillor John Mullen and members of the WCC Community SPC, including director of services Michael Nicholson and Baltinglass MD administrator Liam Cullen, surveyed bank buildings in Tinahely and Carnew and decided the most suitable property to purchase for community and social enterprise purposes was the Carnew branch. After WCCs successful acquisition of the property and the allocation of 49,999 to its refurbishment in December 2022 under the Town and Village Enhancement Scheme, progress came to a standstill, with a tender acceptance date coming and going. Having taken up the baton to petition WCC to expedite the planning process, Fine Gael councillor Peter Stapleton said he is delighted to see the project moving forward after such lengthy delays. This project was one of the key issues raised with me by multiple people while I was out campaigning, he said. The length of time the former bank building sat idle, adding to vacancy on Carnew Main Street, was something I was particularly concerned about. Ive consistently sought updates and lobbied to have the planning process move forward more quickly. I know that public projects come with planning, tender, and funding timelines including applications to national government that inevitably slow things down. But where the council can push ahead, I want to monitor progress and keep encouraging momentum. This will be a fantastic project for Carnew. While it wont happen overnight, it represents a real investment in the village and will give the main street a much-needed uplift. Im delighted to see it moving forward and would encourage anyone interested to have their say on the design as part of the public consultation process. Submissions and observations can be made via economicdevelopment@wicklowcoco.ie, wicklow.ie/Living/ConsultationHub or in writing to Caroline Cullimore, Administrative Officer, Economic Development Office of Wicklow County Council, Station Road, Wicklow town A67 FW96 until Monday, April 22 at 12 pm. They should be clearly marked Former Bank of Ireland, Carnew, Part 8. Locals had been afraid that the large whale would beach itself however it changed direction and headed for the sea. Damien Burke, a local man who had been tracking the whales movements with drone footage, said the whale had redirected and headed towards the Creadon Head and Hook Lighthouse, making its way for the Irish Sea.t Its a rare occurrence to see a sperm whale that close, said Damien. The only other similar sighting Ive seen was when a pod of pilot whales were in Arthurstown in 2023, he said, adding that he estimates the size of the sperm whale to be approximately 40ft. The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) documented information from Damien and other locals regarding the sighting of the whale, with IWDG Sightings Officer, Padraig Whooley saying that since there had been no follow up sightings after it made its way out of the Waterford Estuary, it can only be interpreted as good news, as a whale of this size is unlikely to go unnoticed if it stranded. Mr Whooley said that the sperm whale isnt as rare as one may think. The sperm whale, the largest of the odontocetes or toothed whales, in sharp contrast isnt so much a rare species, rather they are rarely seen, reflecting their habitat preference for deep canyon systems off the Continental Shelf Edge, where they think nothing of deep dives of one to two hours, taking them to depths of 2,000 to 3,000m. "Such places are typically a long way offshore, unless you live on Mayos, Mullet Peninsula, and so from the Irish south coast, youd need to motor offshore at a good clip for some eight to ten hours before youd find yourself in the zone, and even then youve got your work cut out for you as, despite being very audible with the right listening equipment, sperm whales are notoriously difficult to detect visually. They spend a lot more time at the bottom feeding on giant squid, than they do resting on the surface, said Mr Whooley. He confirmed that the sperm whales, have only been sighted alive on 27 occasions and recorded by the IWDG. This was one such rare event, and these circumstances for good reason tend to bring out the pessimists in us, as experience tells us that sperm whales, at least healthy sperm whales are hardly ever recorded inshore, and sightings of them in a few metres of water in a place like Waterford Estuary, are rarer still. "So for good reason we go straight into live stranding mode in preparation for the worst, he said, while noting that not much can be done to assist or re-float a sperm whale of its size and any care being of a palliative nature. Comparing the sperm whales recent visit to a similar sighting in Cork in 2022, Mr Whooley said that the fact that the whale headed back out to sea means there was a collective sigh of relief felt among many. Mr Whooley asked that members of the public report any similar sightings to the IWDG and to be mindful that the whale could potentially be stressed or unwell. "The IWDG would like to acknowledge the following among those who assisted in the reporting and recording of this incident: Sorcha Maguire, Paddy Roche, Stephen Burke, Deirdre Slevin, Maureen Jackson, Damien Burke, Sarah-Kim Watchorn, Local RNLI and Harbour Master, he concluded. Visiting restrictions have been put in place at New Ross Community Hospital due to the spread of an infection. The announcement was made to limit the visitors to the hospital due to the spreading of respiratory infections. In a statement, the New Ross Community Hospital (NRCH) said: We want to inform you that we are currently experiencing a respiratory infection within NRCH. "Our top priority is the health and well-being of all the residents and we are taking all necessary precautions to manage the situation, they added. The restrictions have limited visits to one visitor per resident at a time. We know how important these visits are, and we deeply appreciate your support in ensuring that your loved ones stay safe and protected, a spokesperson for the hospital stated. Visitors who are feeling unwell and under the weather are also being asked not to visit the hospital. Meanwhile, the hospital was taking bookings for a free Mothers Day Afternoon Tea event, which will be rescheduled in due course when we can celebrate again with our mammys "We thank you for your understanding, the NRCH concluded. Declan Bates is hosting a special sailing event on Sunday, April 13 where The Barrow Princess will set sail from the dock at the Dunbrody Tall Ship on the New Ross quay front and head down the River Barrow, under the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge and then on to where the River Suir joins the Barrow at Checkpoint, where the Barrow Railway Bridge has spanned the river well over a hundred years before the RFK bridge was built. The River Barrow served to be paramount in what brought the Vikings and Normans through the countryside, long before roads, and only for this river, the Norman town of New Ross would not have been founded and thrived. The same river would later serve as a starting point to take people to America and beyond on sailing ships like the Dunbrody Famine Tall Ship. While in more recent times people of the area who were leaving for work in England took the train to Waterford, and that route is now being transitioned into the Greenway, linking New Ross and Waterford once again. From Waterford, they took the steam train across the Barrow Bridge at Cheekpoint and headed for Rosslare. This historical landmarks can been seen during the fundraising cruise for the RNLI including many historical buildings, lime kilns, and old quays which can be seen along the shores, and for those who keep a sharp eye out wild life can also be spotted. The Barrow Princess will launch into its new season of cruise trips with regular sailings from the Easter weekend, which usually entails a departure from the quays of New Ross to the quays of Irelands oldest city, Waterford. It also includes a two-hour stop, giving passengers the opportunity to explore what the city has to offer, from the Viking Quarter, to modern boutiques and retail stores, before its return trip back up the River Barrow to dock at New Ross. The Barrow Princess is part of the Three Sisters Cruise company, and shares sections of the local rivers with its sister ship, the Cailin Deise, which primarily sails from Adelphi Quay, Waterford. The RNLI Barrow Princess Cruise will be departing the New Ross Marina on April 13 with boarding 2.45 p.m. and returning for approximately 5 p.m.. As the number of places onboard the cruiser is limited, it is important that you purchase your ticket (25) as soon as possible from members of RNLI New Ross Fundraising Branch, or at Campbells on South Street New Ross, where payment can be made on the RNLI tap credit card machine. Calls are being made to breathe some new life into Wexfords St Patricks Day parade and to ensure it grows even bigger in the years ahead. Possibly the oldest St Patricks Day parade in Ireland, this years event saw more than 70 groups taking part, including bands from across the county and further afield. While it was described as another success, thoughts have now turned to developing Wexfords St Patrick's Day offering even more. Speaking at the March meeting of the Wexford Borough District, Independent councillor Leonard Kelly commended John Fowler and his team behind the annual Wexford parade. However, he also noted that it perhaps didn't fully reflect the wealth of creative talent that exists in Wexford town and neither did it receive enough funding - taking just 8,700 from the local authoritys festivals fund. "There's a real wealth of creative arts in Wexford that's maybe not being reflected in the parade, he said. We had what? One or two floats? Cllr Kelly was keen that his words would not be misconstrued. "This is not a slight on the parade committee or anything of the sort, he said. But Id just like to see us do whatever we can to create a more festival atmosphere. Maybe to put on something that would hold families in town for the day, a stage with some live music, anything really. Looking at the figures, Cllr Kelly added: It seems kind of strange that the budget for the Christmas offering is nearly four times the size of the St Patrick's Day Parade. Mayor of Wexford, Catherine Biddy Walsh noted that, unfortunately, it has grown increasingly difficult to have floats in a St Patricks Day Parade. "A float has to be funded, she said. I know insurance is a huge problem. I know thats a major thing with Wexford Light Opera Society (who had one of the two floats this year). The day is gone where people could just hop up on the back of a lorry. "I do agree that its a good idea to look at the parade as a whole and to talk to groups about how we can grow it and improve it though, she concluded. Cllr Kelly stressed that parade improvements did not necessarily have to consist of just more floats. He noted that there were all manner of colourful creations and walking displays in parades across the country. Among the best creators of these displays are Wexford group Bui Bolg, who find themselves in high demand for the St Patricks Festival in Dublin in particular. This year, they created an Octopus for the Dublin parade that was 7m high and 35m long and certainly caught the eye. The current budget for the St Patrick's Day Parade of 8,700 is likely to prove prohibitive when it comes to commissioning anything remotely like this, even albeit on a smaller scale. District Manager Anthony Bailey said that the council is open to working with all and any groups in a bid to improve Wexfords St Patrick's Day offering and that a debrief is due to take place with the parade committee to which he intended to bring the feedback of the members. "Its just about building on whats already there, that's all," Cllr Kelly concluded. "I agree, I think the whole idea is very positive, the Mayor said. John Fowler and his team do a fantastic job on the logistics of this major event, but lets get people's heads together well in advance and see if we can enhance the offering as a day out. Tanaiste Simon Harris chatting to one of the 125th Infantry Battalion members currently deployed in Lebanon. Tanaiste Simon Harris has met with members of the Defence Forces, including personnel from Co Wicklow, during a visit to Camp Shamrock in South Lebanon. This visit marked his first overseas trip to meet Irish troops serving on peacekeeping missions, as he paid tribute to the Defence Force members currently serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). He was accompanied on the visit by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Sean Clancy, and Secretary General of the Department of Defence, Jacqui McCrum. Speaking from Camp Shamrock, Tanaiste Harris said: I was especially proud to meet peacekeepers from my home county and to thank them personally for the incredible work they are doing here in Lebanon. Their dedication, professionalism and commitment to Irelands long-standing tradition of peacekeeping is deeply inspiring. Among the 125th Infantry Battalion currently deployed, nine Defence Forces personnel from Wicklow are serving with distinction. They include Acting Company Sergeant Patrick Joseph Heffernan, Captain Adam Matthew Benson Byrne, Private Iain Boland, Private Lachlan Fleming Gillespie, Captain Gary O'Neill, Sergeant Brian Loughrey, Private Macaulie Fox, Private Troy Scully and Colonel Matthew Byrne. The 125th Infantry Battalions links to Co Wicklow are further strengthened by the fact that they underwent training at the Glen of Imaal before being deployed to Lebanon in November of last year. The Tanaiste also acknowledged the difficult conditions the battalion has faced since their deployment, operating in a region deeply affected by recent conflict and instability. These peacekeepers, many of whom are from Wicklow, are here not just representing our country, but embodying the values we hold dear: peace, justice, and humanitarian service. The actions of the brave women and men of the Defence Forces turn Irelands commitment to international peace into something real and tangible. Tanaiste Harris praised the battalions contribution to supporting local communities through Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) projects, and announced the doubling of the Defence Forces allocation to these initiatives in 2025. This funding will allow our personnel to further support vital projects on the ground, strengthening the bonds between the Irish Defence Forces and the local communities they serve. The Tanaiste also met with senior Lebanese officials, reaffirming Irelands strong support for UNIFIL and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. He reiterated Irelands determination to ensure full accountability for the death of Private Sean Rooney and the safety and security of all Irish peacekeepers. To all the families in Wicklow and across the country who are missing loved ones today I want to sincerely thank you. It is thanks to your your strength and resilience that the important work of peacekeeping is being carried out. Ireland is proud of our peacekeepers, and I am proud to stand with them. This exercise places Wicklow firmly at the centre of a national training programme Helicopters take water from Lough Dan with bambi buckets at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly A helicopter takes water with a Bambi bucket from a waterhole on Scarr Mountain at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Mary O'Kelly (Kildare & Wicklow Integrated Health Area Manager), Marc Deveraux (Wicklow County Council Director of Emergency Services), Patrick McMenamin (Chief Superintendent) and Lorraine Gallagher (Wicklow County Council Director of Communications) with the Regional Coordination Team in Council Buildings, Wicklow Town during the Wicklow County Council MODEX Training Exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly The Decamap team check the live feed at the command centre in the Brockagh Centre, Laragh, at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Superintendent Rory Sheriff and Inspector Michelle Byrne at the Control Centre in the Brockagh Centre, Laragh, at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Members of the Coast Guard prepare to reach a casualty in Glendasan at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Yes, climate change has intensified everything but we are better prepared and wildfires are now smaller in County Wicklow because EU-praised co-ordination between local, neighbouring and national agencies and community organisations means the right people and equipment are getting to them earlier. But the resources needed to achieve this, to protect lives, livestock and historic, important habitats, are monumental, and that resource need is likely to increase. That was the message this week from Wicklows chief fire officer Aidan Dempsey, as he helped oversee testing of drones, Bambi buckets, command centres and the construction of a temporary morgue for mass casualties during an expansive exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Simulating a severe wildlands fire scenario near Turlough Hill and Lough Dan, the multi-agency exercise saw EU experts evaluate Irelands preparedness and response capacity, with Wicklow and Dublin Fire Services leading representatives from An Garda Siochana, Air Corps Operations, Coillte Forestry Managers, Defence Forces, Coast Guard, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Mountain Rescue and Civil Defence. At the heart of the operation, an on-site coordination centre was established at the Brockagh Resource Centre, where Maynooth University showcased its Wildfire Common Operational Picture platform, DecaMap. Developed in partnership with The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) and Wicklow County Council (WCC), the high-tech software compiles data to predict wildfire movement and provide accurate information for emergency responders. Members of the Coast Guard prepare to reach a casualty in Glendasan at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Up at the Wicklow Gap, firefighters from eight counties assembled to showcase a range of apparatus used to help quell wildfires, including drones and an incident command vehicle. Wicklow chief fire officer Aidan Dempsey explained that the countys strong inter-organisation and community connections were among the reasons it was selected as the setting for the inaugural MODEX exercise, which was organised by WCC, the Eastern Emergency Response Group and NDFEM. This exercise places Wicklow firmly at the centre of a national training programme, and its because of our experience, the land and the organisations that we deal with that we can put on an exercise like this, he said. Coillte and NPWS own 25 pc of the land in Wicklow, and we work very closely with them. Of course, theres An Garda Siochana, the Coast Guard and Mountain Rescue. The Civil Defence have supported us in every aspect of this and they are the bedrock of the organisation of this exercise, in terms of transportation, flying drones, setting up the rest centre and a temporary body holding area. Wicklow has all these links between different organisations, but also to the community. Mountain Rescue Search Dog Kai with his handler at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly The Lough Dan Scout Centre opened their doors and welcomed us in. Earlier today, we were in the Brockagh Centre, and they provided that to us so we could have the on-site co-ordination centre. Then we have the rest centre set up over at An Tochar GAA in Roundwood. I think the community understands, God forbid, if something on this scale ever happens, that these facilities would be needed, and we need to know how to set them up as quickly as possible, which is one reason for this exercise. Asked if he had received feedback from the EU experts in attendance, Mr Dempsey said that they had mostly remained tight-lipped during the scenario, as the standard of the procedures, equipment and organisation on display was very much in line with their expectations. Interestingly, were not getting a lot of feedback from the EU experts so far here today, and that is because they are seeing what they expect to see, he said. Of course, there are variations based on weather conditions and the type of vegetation. In the south of Spain, you wont have Wicklows lush, green grasslands. However, the experts are seeing the same procedures and organisation they would expect. Superintendent Rory Sheriff and Inspector Michelle Byrne at the Control Centre in the Brockagh Centre, Laragh, at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Part of the reason we are doing this exercise is that we think, in the future, if there is a really bad fire, we might need more resources. The resources that the EU can offer us are fixed-wing aircraft that can scoop from the larger lakes and dump six tonnes of water at a time. These people have been to [Casement] Aerodrome in Baldonnel and met with the Air Corps and are confident they can use it as a base, should they be needed. Well expand that into more aerial co-ordination, to make sure that, when they come, theyre able to operate safely, with people on the ground and in the air helping to take them to the right locations. Discussing the threat of wildfires in Wicklow, Mr Dempsey said that, although the possibility of fires breaking out was more significant 10 years ago, and fires started deliberately or accidentally are still a major issue, emergency services are better prepared to respond, despite climate change intensifying conditions. Of course, we have climate change and dry spells to deal with, but people are still the major cause of wildfires, whether by intention or not, and they can have a devastating impact on communities and landscapes, particularly fragile ones like that in Wicklow, he said. As you can see today, there are a lot of resources that we can bring to bear should they be needed, but you would always hope that prevention, and the public taking responsibility, means that fire services arent pulled away from their respective areas. We have eight different fire services here today, including Wicklow, Galway, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Laois-Offaly, Carlow and Wexford. This is really important, because when we get to the limit of the number of firefighters we can commit safely and still protect the towns and areas of Wicklow, we know we can call them in, and they know they can call us in when theyre under pressure. The Army Corps Helicopter at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Coillte has worked hard on equipment and training and the NPWS have got in international experts who have trained them on the same instant command system as our fire service. We are in constant touch. Coillte and the NPWS have also employed spotters who fly helicopters over and spot fires at an early stage. While the conditions and climate change have intensified everything, we are better prepared. We may still be seeing a lot of fires each year, but they are smaller because were getting there earlier. Further down at St Kevins bridge in Glendasan, Cork Fire Brigade showcased a high-volume pumping unit, which can bring a substantial water source closer to a blaze, while Mountain Rescue and Coastguard units were at Glendasan car park, with the latter demonstrating the use of a winch to bring a casualty up a cliff side. Asked about their role in the event of a wildfire, Diarmuid Scully of the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team explained that having local responders dotted around some of Wicklows most vulnerable upland areas would be a distinct advantage. What will happen in the event of a fire is that we will be contacted by the gardai to rescue someone, and if it is a wildfire scenario, its only when someone is trapped or missing that we will be called in, he said. The Decamap team check the live feed at the command centre in the Brockagh Centre, Laragh, at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly We would then go through a process of identifying where the wildfire is, getting advice from gardai and the fire service as to the wind direction and decide where to set up our rescue base. Our volunteers are mostly Wicklow-based, which is a big advantage in a rescue, as the locals come in first, expend their energy, and then you have another wave of people coming in from further out. During Covid, we had to split our volunteers up into smaller pods, and now that has become our standard operating procedure, so we would be responding to a wildfire in pods of five or six volunteers. Adding to the realism of the scenario, two civilian helicopters and one Air Corps worked in sequence, dipping bambi buckets into Lough Dan and scooping up tons of water before dispersing them at the opposite end of the lake. Among those in attendance at the aerial display was NPWS manager for Wicklow Mountain National Park, Damian Clarke, who provided some insight into the causes of wildfires and NPWS intensive training to help combat them. Helicopters drop water from bambi buckets over Lough Dan at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Although fire is quite a common occurrence in the uplands, thankfully, we dont see anything on this scale, he began. This scenario is taking place in habitats that are rare throughout Europe, have to be protected and fire can be hugely damaging to. When youre talking about peat, it takes thousands of years to form, and once its gone, its gone. Two angles to this are fires associated with agriculture, and recreational fires, where people are doing it with malice, or accidentally with their disposable BBQs, etc. A lot of these fires can happen in the spring or early summer. Fire has been used traditionally as a tool in managing upland vegetation, but there are restrictions on when you can do it, and the scale of it, and in recent years that has been in decline, as we are working with local people who can manage the timing and scale of these fires. Mary O'Kelly (Kildare & Wicklow Integrated Health Area Manager), Marc Deveraux (Wicklow County Council Director of Emergency Services), Patrick McMenamin (Chief Superintendent) and Lorraine Gallagher (Wicklow County Council Director of Communications) with the Regional Coordination Team in Council Buildings, Wicklow Town during the Wicklow County Council MODEX Training Exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly NPWS have a legal duty throughout the country, and if we see someone lighting an illegal fire, we will engage with them. When I think of the fire in Kerry in 2021 that saw 2,500 hectares burnt in a national park, I have to consider the woods here in Wicklow, because if that happened, we would lose a really important resource. I think everyone acknowledges the importance of these habitats, many of which border Coillte lands, so you could be talking about a huge financial cost to the state too. At NPWS, a lot of us have been dealing with the threat of wildfires a long time, in terms of on-the-job learning, but weve formalised that in recent years, working with trainers from the UK and local fire service, he added. If there is a fire, well be out on site along with the fire service and we have helicopters on retainer. You need ground suppression, as fires going uphill are a whole different challenge with changing winds. A helicopter takes water with a Bambi bucket from a waterhole on Scarr Mountain at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Following a debrief at the Brockagh Resource Centre, which had been live streaming from exercise locations with drone and satellite imagery from Maynooth University, the exercise concluded in Wicklow town, where a mobile mortuary for mass fatality situations was erected at the neighbouring fire station. As assistant Dublin Civil Defence officer Fergus Byrne explained, the inflatable tent (which was deployed at the 2015 Carrickmines fire) is used in rural areas like Wicklow where hospital morgues are not an option, adding: If the gardai, fire service and ambulance service push that button, well have it set up in an hour and a half. The exercise culminated at County Buildings which was acting as the regional coordination centre where EU teams tasked with assessing Irelands wildland and forest fire fighting processes reflected on the scenario. Speaking in the WCC chamber, EU expert Markus Green lauded Wicklow and Ireland for the high standard of the exercise, saying that, in the last few days, his EU colleagues had witnessed amazing co-ordination at a national and regional level, adding that the co-ordination is in place in Ireland, there is no doubt about that. Helicopters take water from Lough Dan with bambi buckets at Wicklow County Council's MODEX training exercise in the Wicklow Mountains. Photo: Michael Kelly Asked if there were any areas of improvement he would highlight, Mr Green responded: The threat of wildfires is growing in respect of climate change, and resources in each country will be limited. At a certain point, all countries reach a limit where you need more, sometimes from the local government or the neighbouring local government, or sometimes the entire country needs help from outside the country. We are getting into those kinds of processes, and how you can receive international assistance and use it efficiently, and thats where sharing our knowledge on a regular basis comes into it. The Little Ceaser team attending the film premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF). Rathnew's Amy Tierney is basking in the success of her animated short film Little Caeser, which premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF). Little Caesar is a poignant tale exploring themes of rejection, diversity, and belonging. The film was made possible through the support of the National Talent Academys First Credit Animation Scheme and Screen Ireland. Following its premiere, the film received further acclaim at the prestigious Dingle Animation Festival on March 22, which also involved Amy meeting with studio representatives from major Irish and international broadcasters and streaming platforms. Amy, who has two published books and multiple screenwriting awards to her name, makes her directorial debut with Little Caesar. Expressing her excitement, she said: "It was an incredible opportunity for a first-time director to have our film screened at Dingle. Engaging in discussions about directing with Peter Lord of Wallace and Gromit fame was off the wall brilliant. The screening itself was wonderfulwe received great feedback with lots of laughs and have generated great interest in our other projects, which is fantastic. Produced by Ashford-based Rowena Kelly of Immortal Films and production manager Lauren Kirwan from Newtownmountkennedy, the team is thrilled with the film's recognition. Rowena commented: Being selected and screened in Dingle was a huge endorsement of our work. Meeting local studio heads and reps from Netflix, Disney, RTE, BBC, and Sky is strategically advantageous for us. It was wonderful to connect with industry luminaries, enhance our profile, and gain support for our upcoming projects. A heartfelt thank you to Animation Dingle, the National Talent Academy for Animation, and Screen Ireland for this opportunity!" Little Caesar has been selected for and screens at Animfest in Athens this coming weekend before continuing its journey on the international film festival circuit. Cllr Shane Langrell continues to push for a new secondary school for Newtownmountkennedy, having met with Tanaiste Simon Harris in an effort to advance the project. Land was zoned for community and education purposes as part of the Local Area Plan for Newtownmountkennedy back in 2002, but there has been a lack of progress ever since, despite the fact that thousands of new homes have been built in Greystones, Kilcoole, Newtownmountkennedy and Roundwood during the timeframe. Newtownmountkennedy is currently the seventh most populated town in County Wicklow, and we have a vibrant community that has been growing rapidly in recent years, said Cllr Langrell. Despite this growth, our town still lacks a secondary school, which is a significant concern for families. "Land for educational purposes was designated as part of the local area plan as far back as 2002, with the expectation that it would eventually be used to build a secondary school to serve the needs of the local population, including residents from Roundwood and Ashford. Cllr Langrell emphasised the importance of addressing this educational gap. He added: With the increase in housing developments and the influx of new families, it is crucial that we provide our children with access to local secondary education. Parents should not have to worry about their children traveling long distances to attend school. Unfortunately, many local students are forced to go to schools in Bray, Wicklow town, Kilcoole, and Greystones, and in recent years, some have had to travel as far as Dublin due to these schools reaching capacity. Cllr Langrell met with Tanaiste Harris at the site earmarked for a secondary school and also lent his support to a petition on change.org which was started last year before the local elections, which amassed over 1,000 signatures calling on the Department of Education to build a new secondary school to cater for students in Newtownmountkennedy. Cllr Langrell added: I have received feedback from frustrated residents who feel that the government will not prioritise this project and they will believe it when they see it. I want to assure the community that I am dedicated to changing that perception. In conclusion, he reiterated, Newtownmountkennedy deserves a secondary school that reflects its growth and meets the needs of its residents. Our community is thriving, and it is essential that we invest in our childrens education to ensure a bright future for them and for the town itself. I will continue to push for progress on this critical project and work closely with the Minister for Education and other relevant government departments. Actor (71) has no notion of retiring as he joins stellar cast in new Guy Ritchie crime drama MobLand Pierce Brosnan will always be best known for belonging to that tiny, elite club of former James Bonds, but now the online 007 fanbase is buzzing with speculation about him returning to the franchise in a new role that of spymaster M, most recently incarnated by Ralph Fiennes. Andrew Tate waves as he checks in at a police station in Voluntari, Romania on Monday. Photo: AP/Vadim Ghirda One of Andrew Tates ex-girlfriends told police that the misogynist influencer choked her until she was nearly unconscious inside the Beverley Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, TMZ reports. Bri Stern said that the assault took place on March 11, less than two weeks after Tate and his brother Tristan arrived in the US after having their passports returned to them by Romanian authorities, according to the report. Ms Stern said that she and Tate were having sex when he became more and more aggressive to the point where she told him to stop. Eventually, she says she began to feel as though she was going to fall unconscious. The incident ended when Tate was finished having sex, Ms Stern alleges. As Tate slept, Ms Stern said that she went to the bathroom and documented her injuries. TMZ posted photos of her with bruises on her face. Sources close to Mr Stern said that she planned to wait until Tate left the US before going to the police. This week, Tate, along with his brother, Tristan, arrived in Romania, the country where they were being held on a slew of charges. Im a free person who has not been convicted of anything Medical documents obtained by TMZ say that Ms Stern was diagnosed as having suffered a concussion after her encounter with Tate. In text messages published by the outlet, Tate tells Ms Stern that he wants to beat her and also impregnate her. According to the report, Tate met Ms Stern in Romania, where she went for a modelling gig. She maintains that the recent choking incident was the first instance of physical violence in their relationship but she admitted that he was verbally abusive. Andrew Tate waves as he checks in at a police station in Voluntari, Romania on Monday. Photo: AP/Vadim Ghirda Today's News in 90 seconds - 28th March 2025 On Monday, the Tate brothers checked in at a police station near Romanias capital, complying with judicial-control requirements in the case in which they are charged with human-trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Outside the police station in Voluntari, Tate told reporters, Im a free person who has not been convicted of anything, and said he will comply with all judicial authorities everywhere around the world because Im completely innocent. The Tates, who are dual US and British citizens, were arrested in Romania in late 2022 and formally indicted last year on charges that they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to Romania, where they were allegedly sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They deny all of the allegations. Kristian White, a former Australian police officer who was sentenced for killing a nursing home resident with a stun gun, leaves court in Sydney, Australia on Friday (Dean Lewins/AAP/) A former Australian police officer avoided a prison term when was he was sentenced on Friday for killing a 95-year-old nursing home resident with a stun gun. Kristian White was sentenced to 450 hours of community service and placed under the supervision of a corrections officer for two years for manslaughter. Criminology student (21) to be sentenced today for murder of Amie Gray on Bournemouth beach Nasen Saadi was found guilty following a trial at Winchester Crown Court Amie Gray, left, pictured with her wife, Sian Gray, was stabbed to death on Bournemouth beach (Dorset Police/PA) Ben Mitchell Fri 28 Mar 2025 at 07:42 A 21-year-old criminology student is set to be jailed for life when he is sentenced on Friday for the murder of Amie Gray and attempted murder of Leanne Miles on Bournemouth beach. Billionaire Elon Musk has deleted a social media post in which he had announced plans to hold a rally in Wisconsin to personally hand over one million dollars to a pair of voters who have already cast ballots in the states hotly contested Supreme Court race. A person walks past police officers and under police tape of a cordoned off area after a stabbing near Dam Square in Amsterdam (Peter Delong/AP) A knife-wielding assailant in Amsterdam seriously wounded five people including two from the United States, one from Belgium and one from Poland in a stabbing attack yesterday on a busy shopping street, Dutch police said. A measles alert sign hangs outside the entrance to the Cohen Children's Medical Centre in New York. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton Texas and New Mexico health departments said on Friday that the number of measles cases in their states rose 20pc since their last reports three days ago, as experts warn they expect the outbreak to further spread in coming weeks. Anti-Hamas protesters in Gaza warned they will be punished Hundreds of Palestinians have rallied in recent days in rare show of opposition to the militant group Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip. Photo: AP Nidal al-Mughrabi Fri 28 Mar 2025 at 03:30 Palestinian militant groups threatened punishment yesterday for collaborators furthering Israeli goals after the first substantial protests against the war in Gaza and Hamas rule. Israel bombarded Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon on Friday after intercepting a rocket fired from its northern neighbour, the Israeli military said, although the Iranian-backed militant group denied involvement in the incident. Israel had vowed a strong response to protect its security, in what amounted to a further blow to the shaky ceasefire deal between the sides that ended a year-long war, a spillover of the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Vladimir Putin has said that Donald Trumps repeated threats to bring Greenland under US control should be taken seriously. Speaking to reporters at a policy forum in the Arctic port of Murmansk, the Russian President said: It would be a grave mistake to think that this is just some eccentric talk of the new American administration, nothing of the kind. She has been charged with one count of stalking (Joe Giddens/PA) A 60-year-old woman has been charged as part of an investigation into the alleged stalking of Madeleine McCanns family. Karen Spragg, of Caerau, Cardiff, has been charged with one count of stalking involving serious alarm or distress between May 3 2024 and February 21 this year, Leicestershire Police said. India-Australia Deepen Economic Ties with Ambitious 2025 Roadmap As Indias economic prominence continues to rise, it has emerged as a vital partner in Australias strategy to diversify its trade relationships and enhance economic security. In 2025, Australia introduced the New Roadmap for Australias Economic Engagement with India, a strategic plan focused on expanding trade and investment ties between the two countries. Australia has unveiled an ambitious strategy aimed at deepening and broadening its trade and investment relationship with India. On February 26, 2025, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled an ambitious roadmap to deepen and diversify its trade and investment ties with India. The report, titled New Roadmap for Australias Economic Engagement with India, identifies nearly 50 targeted opportunities across sectors such as defense, sports, culture, space, and technology. At the launch of the report, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that stronger economic ties with India would not only create employment for Australians but also contribute to a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. Three years of ECTA: India-Australia reflect on trade growth On April 2, 2025, India and Australia commemorated the third anniversary of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA). Since the agreements implementation, bilateral trade between the two nations has expanded to US$24 billion. According to Indias Ministry of Commerce and Industry, trade relations have continued to grow, with Indian exports to Australia rising by 14 percent in the FY 2023-24 compared to FY 2022-23. The ministry further noted that this growth trajectory has persisted, with exports increasing by 4.4 percent between April 2024 and February 2025. The central government recognizes the ECTA as a key driver in enhancing trade and investment, particularly in sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and agriculture. Furthermore, Indias import of essential raw materialsincluding metalliferous ores, cotton, and wood productshas supported industrial growth, underscoring the complementary nature of the bilateral partnership. Additionally, the Ministry highlighted the emergence of new export categories, such as calcined petroleum coke, high-capacity diesel generating sets, and air liquefaction machinery, signaling the expansion of trade opportunities. Focus on high-potential sectors The comprehensive dossier focuses on four key sectorsclean energy, education and skills, agribusiness, and tourismwhich are expected to serve as the primary engines of future growth and cooperation between the two countries. Albanese has emphasized that India is a critical partner as Australia seeks to diversify its trade relationships and enhance economic security. He underscored that this roadmap is essential to bolster the Australia-India partnership, which promises to create new business opportunities, generate jobs, and boost prosperity for both nations. Australia is realigning its focus on sectors that hold the most promise for the future. The 2025 roadmap highlights four high-potential sectors that are expected to drive the next phase of the Australia-India economic relationship: Clean energy: Leveraging Australias expertise in renewable energy to support Indias sustainability goals and facilitate collaborative research and investment. Education and skills: Strengthening academic partnerships, enhancing vocational training programs, and promoting knowledge exchange to build a future-ready workforce. Agribusiness: Expanding agricultural trade, improving food security, and fostering agribusiness collaborations to meet Indias increasing demand for high-quality produce. Tourism: Promoting cultural exchanges, simplifying visa processes, and encouraging tourism initiatives to strengthen people-to-people ties and boost economic activity. Australia-India economic partnership In 2022, India and Australia implemented the first phase of a free trade agreement, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). According to industry experts, the agreement, which came into force on December 29, 2022, has delivered significant financial benefits to Australian businesses. By the end of 2025, the ECTA is projected to save Australian exporters approximately US$2 billion in tariffs. Continuing this momentum, both countries are progressing toward a more comprehensive agreementthe Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)which is expected to further deepen trade relations and unlock additional economic opportunities. India-Australia Bilateral Trade, 2019-2024 (Value in US$ Million) Trade activities FY2019-20 FY2020-21 FY2021-22 FY2022-23 FY2023-24 Indias exports to Australia 2,852.14 4,043.88 8,283.13 6,951.32 7,940.75 % Growth 41.78 104.83 -16.08 14.23 Indias imports from Australia 9,782.22 8,247.30 16,756.17 19,011.31 16,159.20 % Growth -15.69 103.17 13.46 -15.00 Total trade 12,634.36 12,291.17 25,039.30 25,962.62 24,099.95 Source: Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoI Elevating diplomatic and business ties Indias economic growth over the past two decades has positioned it as the fastest-growing major economy in the world, with an average annual growth rate of 6.4 percent, as per a March 2025 report. Ranked as the worlds fifth-largest economy as of 2025, India is projected to move up to third place by 2030, trailing only the US and China. This rapid growth presents an opportunity for Australia to gain from Indias rising economic trajectory. In July 2023, Australia deepened its engagement with India by opening a new Consulate-General in Bengaluru, Indias tech hub. This move, along with the establishment of the Centre for Australia-India Relations, has enhanced collaboration between businesses in both countries. Hilary McGeachy, Australias first Consul General to Karnataka and Telangana, emphasized in a June 2024 interview that the continued implementation of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) is unlocking new business opportunities and benefiting consumers in both countries. She highlighted Indias advancements in space, biotechnology, and information technology (IT), noting that Australia can leverage these developments while offering its expertise in return. Additionally, Australia remains a key supplier of raw materials to India, reinforcing the economic foundation for continued collaboration and mutual growth. India-Australia FDI trends India has steadily increased its investment footprint in Australia, reflecting growing confidence in the Australian economy and expanding bilateral ties. According to data from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), India ranked 15th among foreign investors in Australia in 2023. This marks a notable increase from A$29.2 billion in 2021, indicating a positive growth trajectory in Indias outbound investments. Indias FDI in Australia FDI rank in 2023 Economy 2021 (A$ billion) 2022 (A$ billion) 2023 (A$ billion) % of total 15 India 29.2 np 47.3 1.0 Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Government While the percentage of Indias total FDI in Australia remains relatively modest at 1 percent, the rising trend highlights Indias growing interest in sectors such as resources, technology, infrastructure, and services. Australias FDI in India, though comparatively smaller, has shown consistent interest in high-potential sectors. As of December 2024, Australias cumulative FDI in India amounted to US$1.52 billion, accounting for 0.21 percent of Indias total FDI equity inflows. Australias FDI in India from April 2000 to December 2024 Country FDI value (in US$ million) % of total FDI equity inflows Australia 1,517.10 0.21 Source: Indias FDI Fact Sheet, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, GoI. Australian investments in India have primarily focused on sectors such as education, infrastructure, financial services, and renewable energy. READ: Australias Strategic Investments in Indias Fintech, Space Sectors Clean energy promotion between India and Australia On 19 November 2024, Australia and India launched the India-Australia Renewable Energy Partnership, with the aim to promote collaboration in the renewable energy sector and stimulate two-way investment. Under this initiative, the India-Australia Rooftop Solar Training Academy will be established in India in 2025, in which Australian experts will train 2000 women and young people as solar technicians. The signing of the Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA) has enhanced and supported two-way migration, fostering workforce mobility and knowledge exchange. This agreement is designed to strengthen ties between the people of both nations and facilitate the movement of skilled professionals and students, thereby contributing to the long-term growth of the bilateral relationship. The MMPA between India and Australia is a bilateral agreement aimed at enhancing mobility for students, professionals, and skilled workers between the two countries. Signed on May 23, 2023, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Australia, the arrangement seeks to facilitate smoother migration processes while preventing irregular migration and ensuring ethical recruitment practices. Harnessing full potential of the partnership As both countries continue to strengthen their economic ties, the evolving partnership is poised to deliver long-term, sustainable benefits. By focusing on sectors with the highest growth potential and addressing emerging challenges, Australia and India are well-positioned to unlock new opportunities and foster a resilient and prosperous economic future. With the right strategy and continued collaboration, the partnership holds the potential to create lasting positive impacts for both countries, driving growth and prosperity for years to come. (This article was originally published on March 28, 2025. It has since been updated April3, 2025.) India to End Equalisation Levy on Digital Ads by April 1, 2025 India will remove the 6 percent equalisation levy, also known as the digital tax, on online services, including advertising, a move aimed at reducing costs for major US technology firms such as Google (owned by Alphabet), Meta, and Amazon. This step is expected to alleviate US trade concerns and foster better economic relations between the two countries. Indias central government has proposed eliminating the 6 percent equalisation levy, commonly known as the digital tax, on online advertisements, effective April 1, 2025. The proposal, included in the Finance Bill 2025, was presented in Parliament on March 24 and subsequently received approval from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. It now awaits the Presidents assent. While the digital tax removal will likely bring relief to US tech giants such as Google, Meta, and Amazon, it also signals Indias intent to align its tax policies with global standards under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments (OECD) Pillar One framework. However, this decision carries complex implications for various stakeholders, including advertisers, Indian ad agencies, domestic media houses, and the broader digital economy. Understanding Equalisation Levy (EL) and its purpose The digital tax was introduced in India in 2016 as a measure to tax cross-border digital advertising transactions. It was specifically designed to target non-resident digital platforms that generated revenue from Indian advertisers, even when these platforms had no physical presence in India. The levy was imposed at a rate of 6 percent on gross payments made by Indian businesses to foreign platforms, provided the invoice was issued outside India and payments were made in foreign currency. The primary objective was to level the playing field for domestic digital platforms, which were subject to Indian income tax, unlike their international counterparts. A major win for global digital platforms Global tech giants like Google, Meta, and Amazon, which account for approximately 65 percent of Indias approximately INR 500 billion (US$5.82 billion) digital advertising market, stand to benefit the most from the scrapping of the digital tax. Advertisers, who previously had to factor in the 6 percent levy when placing ads on these platforms, will now experience reduced costs, making these platforms even more attractive. While the levy was initially intended to prevent base erosion and profit shifting by multinational tech companies, in practice, it increased ad rates and reduced return on investment (ROI) for Indian businesses. Industry experts have also emphasized that operational compliance with the levy was cumbersome, often requiring quarterly filings and additional administrative work, which added complexity for agencies managing multi-platform campaigns. Challenges and opportunities for Indian ad agencies For Indian ad agencies, the removal of the EL presents a mixed picture. On the one hand, it will reduce compliance burdens, particularly for agencies handling international invoicing and managing multi-platform advertising campaigns. The operational ease that comes with the levys removal is likely to benefit larger agencies with international clients. On the other hand, the removal of the levy could increase competitive pressures from global platforms. As ad rates on foreign platforms become more cost-competitive, Indian ad networks and publishers may lose the pricing advantage that the levy previously afforded them. Domestic players pointed out that smaller Indian ad agencies that once benefited from the levys protective effects may now struggle to compete with global platforms that can offer lower costs and higher ROI returns on investment. The overall impact will vary depending on the scale of the agency. Larger firms catering to international clients may experience operational relief, while smaller agencies focusing on domestic clients may face challenges in maintaining their market share. Broader implications for Indias tax framework India seeks to reduce trade tensions and encourage greater foreign investment by aligning its domestic tax policies with international standards. Digital marketing experts believe that removing the levy will simplify the countrys digital taxation regime, reduce operational hurdles in media planning, and create a more seamless digital advertising ecosystem. It is believed that this decision reflects Indias willingness to cooperate with global tax norms, which could improve its standing in the international business community. A shift toward data-driven advertising and future trends Beyond platform choices, Indias evolving digital advertising landscape is driving brands toward a more data-centric approach. As tax complexities and privacy regulations tighten, brands are increasingly focusing on first-party data to improve targeting and retargeting. Indias media pundits have observed that this shift is fostering the growth of tech-driven media ecosystems. This transition toward a data-first approach reflects a broader industry trend where brands are prioritizing technology-led solutions to optimize their advertising strategies. As the digital ecosystem matures, Indias digital advertising industry is poised to embrace a more technology-driven future, with enhanced targeting, improved ROI return on investments, and streamlined media operations. Background on Indias EL expansion and subsequent revisions India initially introduced the EL to tax offshore companies generating revenue from online advertisements targeting Indian consumers. However, in 2020, the scope of the levy was broadened to include a 2 percent charge on various digital services provided by non-resident entities. This expanded levy encompassed a wide range of services, including software-as-a-service (SaaS), cloud services, platform services, data-related services, financial services, online education, and the digital sale of goods. The expanded levy drew criticism, particularly from the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which viewed it as discriminatory against US-based digital companies. In 2021, the USTR highlighted concerns that the levy disproportionately impacted American firms, leading to the possibility of retaliatory measures, such as the withdrawal of trade benefits and the imposition of tariffs. To mitigate these tensions, India and the US reached a transitional arrangement similar to agreements the US had made with countries like Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK. This arrangement remained in effect until a global tax framework, under the OECDs BEPS 2.0 initiative, was finalized. However, due to delays in finalizing the global tax deal, including Pillar One (targeting base erosion and profit shifting) and Pillar Two (introducing a global minimum tax rate of 15 percent), the arrangement was extended until the end of June 2024. India abolished the 2 percent equalization levy effective August 1, 2024, while retaining the 6 percent levy on online advertising revenues. Conclusion Indias decision to eliminate the 6 percent EL is a strategic move with far-reaching consequences for businesses across the digital ecosystem. While it promises to reduce compliance burdens, enhance trade relations with the US, and create a more competitive digital advertising environment, it also presents challenges for Indian ad agencies and domestic platforms that have thrived in a protected environment. As India aligns its tax policies with global standards, businesses will need to adapt to a rapidly evolving landscape where operational agility, data-driven strategies, and technological innovation will determine success. (US$1 = INR 85.79) Kim Soo Hyun's career is facing major turmoil due to the escalating controversy surrounding the late actress Kim Sae Ron. The issue began when private messages were leaked, allegedly suggesting an inappropriate relationship between the actor and Kim Sae Ron, who was a minor at the time. On March 27, 2025, in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Kim Sae Ron's family held a press conference, revealing KakaoTalk chat logs that seemingly confirmed a romantic involvement between Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron in 2016, when she was just 16 years old. Despite the controversy, many still support the actor, calling for all perspectives to be considered before making judgments. Kim Soo Hyun still has industry friends? Kim Soo Hyun's last appearance was on G-Dragon's MBC variety show Good Day, which also featured his close friendsKwanghee, Yim Siwan, Lee Soo Hyuk, and Jung Hae Inall fellow 88-liners. However, due to the escalating controversy, the show went on a week-long hiatus. 88-liners on Good Day show. Credit: X Previously, Good Day faced backlash for airing pre-recorded footage of Kim Soo Hyun despite ongoing public outrage. In response, the production team apologized and promised to minimize his screen time through editing. However, criticism intensified, leading to the cancellation of the March 23 broadcast for "reorganization." While G-Dragon has yet to comment on the situation, netizens have pointed out that actors Jung Hae In and Yim Siwan still follow Kim Soo Hyun on Instagram, fueling further debate online. Netizens react Seeing these K-drama actors still following the controversial star on social media enraged many netizens. One user on X (formerly known as Twitter) commented on the situation, drawing significant attention: "A big brand like Prada and Jo Malone canceled him, and your faves still cant unfollow Soo Hyun?" A big brand like prada and jo malone cancelled him and your faves still cant unfollow kimpedo soohyun. That should sum up their stances babez Plus, that man on the left is active recently uploading instagram story. If they have internet they can unfollow. Its easy. pic.twitter.com/70ejS7iu2t (@xofyles) March 26, 2025 About Kim Soo Hyun's controversy Kim Soo Hyun's agency, Gold Medalist, has remained silent following the March 27 press conference held by Kim Sae Ron's parents. However, some of the actor's loyal fan clubs are questioning the authenticity of the revelations. Their skepticism grew after attorney Bu Ji Seok revealed that the KakaoTalk message logs, allegedly from June 2426, 2016, were "reconstructed." While the attorney maintains that the original data exists, fans are now debating the reliability of the evidence. Bu Ji Seok, who represents Kim Sae Rons family, previously clarified that the reconstructed messages were edited to protect other personal details from being disclosed to the public. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is preparing to speak with US President Donald Trump after the latter imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian auto imports. Carney, who has been in office for only two weeks, confirmed that Trump reached out to schedule a call. The tariff move has sparked concerns about Canadas economic stability, as the auto industry is one of the countrys biggest sectors. Carney stated that Canada must protect its sovereignty and not be pressured by the US. Thats not much to ask, but apparently its a lot for him, he said, referring to Trumps aggressive trade stance. End of Canada-US economic relations as before? Trumps actions have drastically changed Canadas relationship with the US. He has not only imposed tariffs but also suggested that Canada should become the 51st US state. This has deeply angered Canadians. Carney declared that the old close ties between the two countries are over. The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over, he said. He added that Canada will need to renegotiate its trade and security agreements with the US. The timing of this crisis is significant. Carney is leading his party into an election on April 28, and many believe Trumps actions could influence the outcome. Initially, Carneys Liberal Party was facing potential defeat, but the trade war has sparked patriotism among Canadians, strengthening Carneys position. Tariffs put Canadian auto industry at risk The auto industry is vital to Canada, employing 125,000 people directly and another 500,000 in related industries. Auto parts often cross the US-Canada border multiple times before assembly, making the new tariffs a major disruption. Previously, Canada had a temporary exemption from Trumps tariffs, but that has now expired. Trump has also threatened wider tariffs on all Canadian products, which could further harm the economy. Social media reactions reflect mixed opinions People have taken to social media to express their thoughts on the situation. Some support Carneys leadership, while others fear that Canada is not doing enough. One user said, Canada is dealing well as it should with Trump. However, another user disagreed, saying, Wow, pathetic. Trump is going to walk all over you. Time to prove yourself and bring your company BACK TO CANADA! wow pathetic. Trump is going to walk all over you. Time to prove yourself and bring your company BACK TO CANADA! M. Bern (@MBern26591956) March 28, 2025 Some users see this as a turning point in Canada-US relations. Trump saying Canada should be a 51st state and putting huge tariffs up is an end to the old relationship, one user commented. Another added, So Trump wants to destroy the Canadian economy, and Canada doesnt want to subsidize the American economy. Interesting. So Trump wants to destroy Canadian economy and Canada doesnt want to subsidize American economy. Interesting. Teflon Max (@goforsteve) March 28, 2025 Many people blame Trump for the crisis. One user wrote, Its because of Trump and his minions only. The people of this country have nothing against Canadaits this filthy rotten treasonous criminal scum and his rich buddies who are the problem. Soon we will be rid of them all. It's because of Trump and his minions only the people of this country have nothing against Canada it's this filthy rotten treasonous criminal scum and his rich buddies who are the problem and soon we will be rid of them all Jem Garbova (@JemGarbova) March 28, 2025 Another user mocked Trumps lack of understanding of Canadas resources, saying, Doesnt Trump know that our water, oil, and minerals come with politeness and kindness? A treasure he is simply incapable of accepting. So, its really not up to Canada that that deal cannot go through. Doesnt Trump know that our water, oil, and minerals come with politeness and kindness, treasure he is simply incapable of accepting? So, its really not up to Canada that that deal cannot go through. Signal Breakdown (@SignalBreakdown) March 28, 2025 Whats next for Canada? Carneys upcoming conversation with Trump will be crucial in determining the next steps. While Canada is looking for a solution, many believe this is a wake-up call to reduce reliance on the US. The coming weeks will show whether Canada takes a new trade direction or finds common ground with its largest trading partner. A US federal judge has ordered Donald Trumps administration to preserve a Signal chat where senior officials discussed sensitive military plans against Yemens Houthis. According to AP, Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order preventing the deletion of these messages, following a request by the watchdog group American Oversight. The group alleges that Trump officials routinely used Signal for official government business, potentially bypassing federal record-keeping laws. The Atlantic, which published the full chat, revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided exact timings for airstrikes, including when bombs would drop. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz even detailed how a Houthi target was tracked to his girlfriends residence before being eliminated. The lawsuit filed by American Oversight aims to ensure these records are maintained in compliance with the Federal Records Act. Despite the controversy, the Trump administration insists no classified information was shared. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the messages contained only sensitive but unclassified details. Hegseths spokesman, Sean Parnell, backed this claim, arguing that the chat was simply an update on an ongoing operation. However, former intelligence officials argue that revealing operational details, including tracking methods and strike windows, could seriously compromise national security. Intelligence experts warn of serious risks As reported by Bloomberg, intelligence analysts believe the Signal chat disclosures provided adversaries with critical insights into US spycraft. The conversation not only exposed the USs ability to track high-value targets in real time but also suggested that officials were using personal phones for secure discussions. This revelation is particularly concerning given the cyber capabilities of nations like Russia and China. John Sipher, a retired CIA officer, stated that such information could help foreign governments understand how the US gathers intelligence, making it easier to manipulate future operations. Another key concern is that Israel, which reportedly provided crucial intelligence on the strike, has privately complained to the US about the leaks. The disclosure may strain intelligence-sharing relationships between the US and its allies. Meanwhile, former NSA general counsel Glenn Gerstell stated that even seemingly minor comments in the chat, such as discussions on how the strike would affect Europe and Egypt, should be considered classified. He emphasized that revealing the sequence of military operations before an attack is a major security breach. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh echoed this sentiment, calling the leak deeply troubling. Social media reactions are divided The leak has ignited a fierce debate on social media, with users expressing a range of opinions on the controversy. One user emphasized the significance of the court order, stating, Very significant. Dont delete or erase Signal chat. The order by Judge Boasberg to Trumps NSA Michael Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio & Vice President JD Vance. Another questioned who might have been excluded from the chat, writing, Interesting hypothesis. If this is the case, then who is the architect of this strategy? Who was left out of the Signal chat that has Trumps ear? Interesting hypothesis. If this is the case then who is the architect of this strategy? Who was left out of signal chat that has Trumps ear? Truculent Hyena (@truculent_h) March 28, 2025 Some users defended Trumps administration, with one arguing, The only thing this Signal chat proved was that Trumps cabinet did more work in 4 minutes than the Biden administration did in 4 years. Others criticized Trumps leadership, with one sarcastically noting, Trump didnt know about the Signal chat, didnt know about the 4 dead soldiers, and every time he gets asked a tough question, he goes what news outlet are you from? Oh, you guys are going downhill, next! Lmao but he was tracking this lil dudes case like a hawk. Trump didnt know about the signal chat, didnt know about the 4 dead soldiers, and everytime he gets asked a tough question he goes what news outlet are you from? Oh you guys are going down hill, next! Lmao but he was tracking this lil dudes case like a hawk Ph__d (@phonseymcjagger) March 28, 2025 Another user condemned Hegseths actions, stating, Just like all Trump appointees, he doesnt admit to any wrongdoing or apologize for his grave lack of judgment. You cant say it was just an error because the chat was initiated on Signal by those who clearly knew this was wrong. It could have jeopardized our soldiers lives. He should resign or be FIRED. His arrogance is astounding. Just like all Trump appointees, he doesnt admit to any wrongdoing or apologize for his grave lack of judgement. You cant say it was just an error, because the chat was initiated on Signal by those who clearly knew this was wrong. It could have jeopardized our soldiers lives. Dede Watson (@Dede_Watson) March 28, 2025 A major security lapse or political chaos? While the Trump administration continues to downplay the impact of the leaked chat, the legal and political fallout is only beginning. Meanwhile, intelligence experts are warning of the potential long-term damage caused by the exposure of US spy tactics. The case raises critical questions about government transparency, intelligence security, and the risks of using unclassified messaging apps for sensitive operations. As the debate continues, one thing is clearthis Signal chat leak will remain a major point of contention in Washington and beyond. iPhone 16e is on discount: There's good news for iPhone users! Now is the ideal moment to purchase the iPhone 16e at a huge 7,000 discount if you've had your eye on it. With a 48MP camera, a gorgeous 6.1-inch OLED screen, and Apple's potent A17 CPU, the iPhone 16e offers premium features at a more affordable price. This device has everything, whether you're a photography aficionado, a binge-watcher, or someone who simply enjoys the high-end Apple experience! It has never been more enticing to upgrade to Apple's newest product with this limited-time offer. Check out the complete details and get yours right away to avoid missing out on this deal! iPhone 16e price drop: Check out the offer and discount iPhone 16e price drop to Rs. 7,000 | Credit: Vijay Sales When the Apple iPhone 16e was first released in India, it cost Rs 59,900. This phone is currently offered for Rs 56,900 on the Vijay Sales website, which is Rs 3,000 less than the real price. Additionally, ICICI Bank, SBI Bank, and KOTAK Bank credit card purchases are eligible for a Rs 4,000 rebate. iPhone 16e specifications in India You can get a discount on iPhone 16e purchase | Credit: Apple The iPhone 16e has a 6.1-inch OLED screen. The Face ID system is now housed in the iconic iPhone notch. The device's lightning port has been replaced with a USB-C port, and the new Action button has taken the position of the device's mute toggle. The A18 chip, which powers the iPhone 16e and the other 16-series, enables Apple Intelligence capabilities, including ChatGPT integration, Genmoji, and Writing Tools. Additionally, Apple indicated that support for Visual Intelligence will soon be added. Given that the phone has the A18 chipset, it was anticipated to have 8GB of RAM, which is the bare minimum. The camera arrangement on the iPhone 16e has seen some significant improvements. It now has a 48-megapixel Fusion back camera, smaller than the iPhone 16's sensor, and a 2x digital telephoto zoom. Features of the camera include HDR, Night mode, and Portrait mode. The iPhone 16e features a 12-megapixel autofocus TrueDepth camera on the front. The latest iPhone can record video in 4K at 60 frames per second. For the latest and more interesting tech news, keep reading Indiatimes Tech. ARMYs, hold on to your purple hearts because the internet is spiralling into full-blown detective mode over a rumoured solo world tour for BTS golden maknae, Jungkook. Ever since whispers of a major announcement started making rounds on social media, fans have been on high alert. BTS Jungkooks solo tour 2025: Is it even real? | Credit: X But here is the real questionare we about to witness a historic solo tour, or is the internet doing what it does best manifesting? Something is really coming. Cause the way first Brian Puspos gave us hints in 2024 then few days ago Jin on Weverse and now these Mexican Concerts Organizers. Oh it'll be great if JUNGKOOK will do the Solo world tour after his discharge. Please makes+pic.twitter.com/Ekyo6RGXuT pic.twitter.com/yJXlJAtvTR (@JJKHypeFeed) March 27, 2025 The spark that ignited the fire about Jungkooks solo tour On March 27, 2025, X (formerly Twitter) became a breeding ground for theories when Pop Base and Jungkook Data dropped hints about an upcoming announcement. That was all it took for ARMYs to start piecing together a potential solo tour before BTS full-fledged reunion in 2026. Rumour has it that Jungkook will make a big announcement in the second half of 2025, before BTS's tour in 2026, according to Mexican concert organizers @DCECOFICIAL1 and @ailoviutl. pic.twitter.com/jHaNSGTOGs Pop Core (@TheePopCore) March 27, 2025 Some fans are convinced this is the real deal, with one passionately declaring that this is the moment they have been waiting for. Others, however, are treating it with caution, questioning if this is just another baseless rumour. The discourse is heating up, and the timelines are chaotic. The timeline that has everyone talking With Jungkook set to be discharged from South Koreas mandatory military service on June 11, 2025 (alongside Jimin), fans believe he is gearing up for something huge. RM and V will be returning a day earlier, on June 10, while Suga will complete his service slightly later on June 21. Since Jin and J-Hope have already rejoined civilian life and are actively engaging with fans, expectations for what comes next are at an all-time high. BTS Jungkooks solo tour 2025: Is it even real? | Credit: X Official confirmation? Not so fast Despite the overwhelming excitement, neither Jungkook nor BigHit Music has breathed a word about any tour plans. That has not stopped ARMYs from theorising, though. Some are convinced that the silence itself is a sign that something big is brewing. Others think this is just another case of the fandom willing an event into existence. For now, the speculation continues. Will Jungkook break the internet with a solo tour announcement? Or will fans have to wait for the OT7 comeback? Either way, the anticipation is real, and all eyes are on Jungkook. Indira IVF, one of Indias biggest fertility clinic chains, was all set for a 3,500 crore IPO. Investors were eager, the market was buzzing, and everything seemed on track. But suddenly, the company withdrew its IPO documents. As per the reports, the reason is: a Bollywood film linked to the clinics founder raised red flags for SEBI, Indias market regulator. A Bollywood film sparks controversy Try this for 10 days and Tumko Meri Kasam the love of your life will begin to love you Dum hai toh try Karo. . . . . Disclaimer : This works only in sacche pyar ke cases Tumko Meri Kasam Movie bhi 10 days mein release ho rahi hai pic.twitter.com/OuLf3IEAtY Adah Sharma (@adah_sharma) March 13, 2025 The film in question, Tumko Meri Kasam, directed by Vikram Bhatt, is based on Dr. Ajay Murdia, the founder of Indira IVF. Anupam Kher plays Murdia in the movie, alongside Adah Sharma, Ishwak Singh, and Esha Deol. SEBI found the timing of its release suspiciousjust before the IPOraising concerns that it might be an indirect way to boost the companys image and influence investor sentiment. What SEBI found suspicious Market experts state that the film could have acted as a promotional tool, subtly shaping public perception to attract more investors. SEBI has taken action against misleading advertisements before, but this is the first time an IPO has been affected by a movie. Companies are now using media, social platforms, and even films for perception management, added financial analysts. A setback for Indira IVF? The IPO was expected to be a financial boost for Indira IVF, especially after its net profit fell from 266 crore in FY23 to 183 crore in FY24. With the IPO no longer an option, the company now faces an uncertain financial future. In July 2023, private equity firm BPEA EQT acquired a controlling stake in Indira IVF from TA Associates, and the IPO was seen as a step toward further expansion. Now, the company must explore alternative funding strategies. SEBIs move is being seen as a good decision. While companies have been penalized for misleading ads or stock promotions before, this is the first time an IPO has been blocked due to a film. This case shows that in the complex world of IPOs, even a movie can derail a companys plans if regulators suspect foul play. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced an unexpected disruption during her address at Kellogg College, Oxford University. A group of protesters interrupted her speech, holding placards and raising slogans about post-poll violence in Bengal and the RG Kar College incident. The protest momentarily unsettled the audience, including former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who was present at the event. Despite the disruption, Mamata Banerjee remained composed. Responding firmly, she told the protesters, Go to Bengal and strengthen your party if you want to fight with us. She further emphasized that the RG Kar case was now under central investigation and was no longer in her governments hands. The protesters continued shouting, but the audience soon started clapping in support of Banerjee. Eventually, the protesters were escorted out. Banerjee later said, Didi does not care about anyone. Didi walks like a Royal Bengal Tiger. If you can catch me, catch me! Social media divided over the protest The incident sparked a heated debate on social media. While some praised the protesters for confronting Mamata Banerjee, others believed the protest hurt Indias reputation abroad. One user celebrated the moment, writing, Finally, Mamata Banerjee is facing some music. Hats off to the Bengali Hindus in London who called her out over RG Kar, Sandeshkhali, and the Hindu genocide. Finally, Mamata Banerjee is facing some music Hats off, salute to the Bengali Hindus in London who confronted West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee & protested against her at Oxford Universitys Kellogg College in London they called her out over Abhaya RG Kar lady doctors pic.twitter.com/51awEhLSqe Satyaagrah (@satyaagrahindia) March 28, 2025 Another user took a different stance, saying, Everyone has the right to protest, but timing and place matter. This tarnished not just Bengals but Indias image too. We must uphold equal loyalty to our nation. A third user directly addressed Banerjee, asking, Whats your take on 60 Hindus killed in post-local election violence sponsored by your party, TMC? The comment reflected the anger over the political violence in Bengal following elections. Some voices went further, questioning the alleged persecution of Hindus in Bengal. Good, someone confronted her! She must be held accountable for Sandeshkhali and the killings by jihadist forces backed by the state, another user wrote. Bengali Hindus confronted Mamata Banerjee at Oxford University! "What's your take on 60 Hindus killed in post-local election violence sponsored by your party, TMC?" They questioned her about the persecution of Hindus in Sandeshkhali and the regular killing of Hindus by pic.twitter.com/vzA52jDAUS Shivoham Newsline (@ShivohamNewslin) March 28, 2025 However, not all criticism was about violence. One user attacked Banerjees stance on economic policies, writing, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has a problem with India becoming the worlds largest economy This is truly shameful. She is a disgrace to the constitutional office she holds. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has a problem with India becoming the worlds largest economy This is truly shameful. She is a disgrace to the constitutional office she holds. Who behaves like this on foreign soil? https://t.co/bmTalHAL3w S.Pradhan (@Satyajeetp1992) March 28, 2025 Did the protest impact Mamatas reputation? While Banerjees handling of the situation was seen as strong and diplomatic, the protest added another layer to her already polarizing image. Supporters viewed it as a sign of her resilience, while critics saw it as long-overdue accountability. Political analysts noted that such incidents could have lasting effects, especially with Bengals political climate already under scrutiny. The Oxford incident has reignited debates on free speech, protest ethics, and Mamata Banerjees leadership. Whether this confrontation boosts her political standing or damages it remains to be seen, but it has undoubtedly added fuel to an already heated political landscape. Meet Nadia Chauhan: Apart from being everyone's favourite drinks, what do Frooti and Appy Fizz have in common? Chauhan, Nadia! With her daring vision and creative marketing techniques, the woman who transformed Parle Agro into a beverage behemoth has completely changed the soft drink market in India. Under her direction, Appy Fizz emerged as a market leader in the fizzy beverage category, and Frooti transformed from a nostalgic childhood beverage to a contemporary, edgy brand. However, how did she manage? Nadia's path, which includes renaming classics and competing against international rivals, is truly inspirational. Are you prepared to explore the success story of the lady who revolutionized the way Indians drink? Let's get started! Who is Nadia Chauhan? She is the Joint Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer of Parle Agro | Credit: Instagram Parle Agro, the firm that makes well-known drinks like Frooti, Appy Fizz, and Bailley water, has Nadia Chauhan as its joint managing director and chief marketing officer. She is renowned for using daring marketing techniques, creative branding, and products that define entire categories to transform the beverage sector in India. Nadia entered the industry at the age of 17, and she was instrumental in revamping Frooti, turning it from a nostalgic mango beverage into a hip, youth-focused brand. Additionally, she introduced the first effervescent fruit drink in India, Appy Fizz, which quickly rose to the top of the market. Nadia Chauhan has transformed Parle Agro into a multibillion-dollar business that competes with multinational beverage giants thanks to her innovative leadership and bold approach. Nadia Chauhan's education qualification Before officially entering the family business in 2003, she studied commerce at H.R. College in Mumbai. Nadia's business sense and industry knowledge were greatly influenced by her early involvement with Parle Agro, where she frequently spent time after school at the company's Mumbai headquarters. Nadia Chauhan's family Nadia Chauhan with her sister, mother, and father | Credit: Instagram Vaibhav Bhargava, a Jet Airways executive, is the entrepreneur's spouse. Nia and Kian are the couple's two kids. She is the daughter of Parle Agro Chairman Prakash Chauhan. Schauna Chauhan, her sister, is also a key player in the company. About Parle Agro Private Limited One of the largest businesses in the consumer goods sector is Parle Agro Private Limited, commonly referred to as Parle Agro. Parle Products, Parle Bisleri, and Parle Agro are the three distinct businesses that sprang from the original Parle corporation. In their respective industries, all three businesses are thriving. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that Parle Agro has achieved a significant increase in revenue. Since its founding in 1984, the business has grown to become one of India's most lucrative in just 39 years. When the business first began operating in 1984, Prakash Chauhan was in charge. He eventually brought his daughter, Nadia Chauhan, into the family company, though. But not everyone is aware that this glamorous businesswoman used her entrepreneurial genius to take Parle Argo from Rs. 300 crores to Rs. 8,000 crores. Nadia Chauhan's ambition for her business She joined the business when she was just 17 years old | Credit: Instagram Nadia Chauhan's ambition cannot be mistakenly overruled, and her prior actions serve as the rationale for this. When Nadia declared her intention to turn Parler Argo into a Rs. 20,000 crore firm, the rivals of this well-known FMCG were sweating because she was the one who took the company from Rs. 300 crores to Rs. 8,000 crores. At the age of 17, Nadia Chauhan began working for her father, Prakash Chauhan, at Parle Argo. She soon discovered that the company was significantly dependent on its product, Frooti. Without question, one of the best-selling items in India was Frooti. However, the company's reliance on it was concerning because Frooti accounted for 95% of its sales. To alleviate the strain on Frooti, Nadia Chauhan's first action was to promote the packaged water brand Baileys. The business owner concentrated on packaging and water purity. Consequently, it proved to be successful. Since Baileys is currently a Rs. 1000 crore product, no more introduction is necessary. Nadia Chauhan's brainchild Appy Fizz was introduced in 2005 She introduced the Appy Fizz in 2005 | Credit: Instagram When Nadia Chauhan introduced Appy Fizz, one of India's first products in the apple juice category, in 2005, the whole FMCG business was left baffled by the success of Baileys. It was a brilliant move that made Appy Fizz a huge hit in a country that was unaware of the power of apple juice. In fact, Appy Fizz changed everything in Parle Argo's history, from its packaging to its marketing to the core of its flavour. Appy Fizz's revenue relieved Frooti of a significant amount of dependency, and Nadia was prepared for her next step at that point. Appy Fizz quickly gained popularity and connected with Indian customers. At a CAGR of 36%, it has consistently maintained an amazing growth rate of 70%. Due in significant part to Appy Fizz's popularity, Parle Agro, which formerly generated Rs 250 crore in income, is now valued at Rs 5,000 crore. Partnership between Nadia Chauhan and her sister Schauna Chauhan Nadia Chauhan with her sister | Credit: Instagram The success of Parle Agro is also evidence of Nadia and her sister Schauna Chauhan's close collaboration. Nadia concentrates on strategy, sales and marketing, and research and development, while Schauna manages manufacturing, compliance, quality, finance, and technical operations. The quick expansion of the business has been largely attributed to their allocation of duties. Nadia Chauhan's next plan for the business Nadia Chauhan keeps pushing the envelope, with Parle Agro aiming to reach a valuation of Rs 20,000 crore by 2030. There is little doubt that Parle Agro, under her direction, is set for even more success, whether it be through portfolio expansion, market expansion, or brand building. The story of Nadia Chauhan serves as a potent reminder that a legacy may become a worldwide empire with fortitude, vision, and strategic ingenuity. And she had only just begun. For the latest and more interesting financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here The Greek government is implementing a series of income increases and tax cuts, aiming to bolster the economy and provide tangible relief to citizens, particularly the middle class, amid ongoing concerns about high prices. The initiative began with an increase in the minimum wage to 850 per month, effective April 1. While facing opposition criticism for being insufficient, government officials emphasized that the 50 increase surpasses the highest recommendation from labor market institutions. Furthering its commitment to income support, the government will announce pay raises for military personnel as part of a new pay structure. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis signaled the raises, primarily funded by defense restructuring savings. Reports indicate salary increases ranging from 13% to 20%, depending on rank and risk level, with a minimum annual increase of 1,182 (gross). Uniformed personnel will also receive a 30 raise due to the minimum wage adjustment and a 100 risk allowance from July 1. Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis revealed that Prime Minister Mitsotakis will unveil "significant new tax cuts" targeting the middle class at the Thessaloniki International Fair in September. Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis confirmed upcoming legislation doubling the income eligibility threshold for debt settlement to 42,000, broadening access for middle-class households. Pierrakakis dismissed the possibility of reinstating 13th and 14th salaries for public sector employees, citing unaffordable costs. The government maintains its focus on "growing the economy without raising taxes" and responsibly distributing fiscal surpluses. The Ministry of Labor is also drafting regulations to incentivize sector-wide labor agreements, aiming to raise the average salary to 1,500 by 2027. Labor Minister Niki Kerameus confirmed these measures will be finalized after consultations with social partners. By Yiannis Kantellis iefimerida.gr A political gathering in Athens on Wednesday evening may have quietly kicked off the race for the future leadership of Greeces ruling party, New Democracy (ND). The event, hosted by Defense Minister Nikos Dendias at the Ministry of Defense, attracted significant political attention not only for who was present, but also for who wasnt. Notably absent was Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, despite reports he was personally invited. In his place stood three of Greeces most influential conservative statesmen: former Prime Ministers Kostas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras, as well as former President of the Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Their presence alone sent a clear message one many observers interpret as an implicit endorsement of Dendias as a potential successor in a post-Mitsotakis era. While Dendias avoided any direct challenge to Mitsotakis, his message was carefully crafted: I serve in the Mitsotakis government, I honor it, but I will also be present in the post-Mitsotakis era guided by the principles and values of Konstantinos Karamanlis, referring to the partys founding father. The symbolism was hard to miss. With the conservative old guard rallying around him, Dendias appeared to position himself as a unifying figure for a party that could soon face a leadership crossroads. The Prime Ministers absence along with that of his close allies raised eyebrows. Some insiders suggest it was strategic: by not attending, Mitsotakis may have allowed Dendias to step into the spotlight, without directly provoking intra-party conflict. Others argue the real heir apparent is Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, who was recently elevated to the position in what many interpret as Mitsotakis personal signal of succession. However, some within the party note that the crown could still be taken away, especially if public opinion shifts or if the partys polling numbers remain stagnant. Kostis Hatzidakis, a long-time technocrat and Mitsotakis loyalist, should not be underestimated. Should national elections be held toward the end of the governments term, he would have time to consolidate influence. Also emerging is Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Greeces young and widely respected Digital Governance Minister. Often seen as the face of a new political generation, Pierrakakis is expected to remain aligned with Dendias at least for now perhaps eyeing his own leadership bid down the line. And then theres Adonis Georgiadis, another prominent figure within the party. Though he has kept a low profile, sources say Georgiadis is preparing to enter the leadership race himself not as a behind-the-scenes broker, but as a serious contender for the top spot. The event at the Defense Ministry may not have officially launched a leadership race, but it clearly shifted the dynamics within New Democracy. Whether Mitsotakis leads the party into the next national election or steps aside for a successor now appears to be an open question. #ENGLISH_EDITION At the heart of this renewed focus is Defense Minister Nikos Dendias push to strengthen domestic production and elevate the role of Greek companies in national defense procurement. Greeces defense industry is in the spotlight, as anticipation builds ahead of the unveiling of the countrys Long-Term Defense Armaments Program (LTDP) for 20242035. With Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis set to present the plan in Parliament on April 4, the initiative is being closely watched both domestically and abroad. More than just a budget outline, the LTDP is expected to serve as a blueprint for Greeces defense priorities over the next decade and beyondone that could significantly reshape the countrys strategic capabilities and redefine the role of its domestic defense sector. At the heart of this renewed focus is Defense Minister Nikos Dendias push to strengthen domestic production and elevate the role of Greek companies in national defense procurement. Dendias has requested that the General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments (GDDIA) ensure that Greek defense industry participation reaches 25% in the new armament program. However, this ambition has raised significant questions about what, in practical terms, that percentage actually means. Specifically, it remains unclear what base amount the 25% will be calculated on, and which companies will qualify as part of the Greek defense industry. According to the LTDP, the total projected defense spending through 2035 stands between 25 and 28 billion. Yet, of that amount, 14 billion has already been allocated to various defense programs, with an additional 5 billion in pending commitments. This means approximately 19 billion is already accounted for, and to date, Greek companies have had minimal involvementless than 2% participation in these contracts. This leaves only 6 to 9 billion in uncommitted funds for the remaining period. If the 25% domestic industry target were applied only to this remaining amount, it would translate to a potential share of 1.5 to 2.25 billion for Greek companiesunder ideal conditions. The challenge is further compounded by the uncertainty surrounding the actual number of active defense manufacturers in Greece. While around 250 companies are officially registered with industry associations such as the Hellenic Manufacturers of Defense Material Association (SEKPY) and the Hellenic Aerospace, Defense & Security Association (HASDIG), only 33 are formally recognized as Domestic Defense Industries (DDIs). In practice, estimates suggest that fewer than 40 companies are currently active and operational in the sector. This ambiguity underscores the urgent need for the Greek government to clearly define which companies will be eligible to benefit from the program and what standards will determine their inclusion. Moreover, the broader issue of national strategy cannot be overlooked. Greeces official National Defense Industrial Strategy, which serves as the guiding document for defense sector development, has not been updated since 2017. In the absence of a modernized strategy, efforts to revitalize and involve the domestic defense industry risk being undermined by a lack of clarity and long-term vision. #ENGLISH_EDITION #GREECE A significant portion of the tax debt is practically unrecoverable due to the financial condition of debtors. Greece is grappling with a growing mountain of unpaid debts to the state, which reached 110.6 billion by the end of January 2025an increase of 3.6 billion compared to the previous year, according to a new report from the Parliamentary Budget The figure highlights the ongoing challenge faced by Greek authorities in collecting public revenue, as nearly one-quarter of the total26.3 billionis considered virtually impossible to recover. When these unrecoverable debts are excluded, the net total of collectible arrears stands at 84.2 billion. The increase in overdue debts is primarily driven by 8.6 billion in newly accumulated liabilities over the past year, alongside 2.2 billion in older debts that were formally recorded in the same period. These were only partially offset by 7.2 billion in collections and debt write-offs. Tax-related arrears represent the largest share of unpaid obligations, amounting to 51.1 billionroughly 60.6% of the collectible total. Fines account for another 24.4 billion, while 8.8 billion comes from non-tax liabilities such as loans and court-imposed penalties. A significant portion of the tax debt is practically unrecoverable due to the financial condition of debtors. Some 8.7 billion is tied to insolvent individuals or businesses, and 14.6 billion consists of debts that are more than a decade old. Interestingly, the bulk of revenue collected by the state comes from a relatively small pool of debt. Over 90% of all collections stem from just 32.8% of the total collectible arrears, underlining how difficult it is for the government to recover the rest. The distribution of debt also reveals a striking imbalance. While 90% of all debtors owe less than 10,000, their combined arrears make up just 3.6% of the total. In contrast, a mere 0.3% of debtorsthose with obligations exceeding 1 millionaccount for a staggering 76.2% of all outstanding state debt. There is also a clear divide between individuals and companies. Personal debts make up 38.5% of the total, or 42.5 billion, while legal entities are responsible for the remaining 68 billion (61.5%). Despite the worrying numbers, the report also highlights positive developments in Greeces tax collection system. The tax gapthe difference between what the state is owed and what it actually collectshas narrowed significantly in recent years. In 2024, it dropped to just 0.8%, the lowest level in two decades, thanks to improved efficiency within the countrys tax administration. Between 2020 and 2024, the average tax rate in Greece increased by 11.8%, while the effective tax rate rose by 15.7%. This contributed to a 64% increase in public revenue, while collection performance improved by 3.5%. By contrast, during the peak of the Greek financial crisis in 2014, the tax gap soared to 7.2%, driven by high tax rates and a sharp decline in citizens' ability to pay. The gap gradually narrowed during the recovery years (20162019), falling to 1.2% as economic conditions stabilized. #ENGLISH_EDITION Reverend Father Chinenye John Oluoma, a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Nigeria, has asserted that praying with the phrase Holy Ghost fire is a trait of the antichrist. He stated that such individuals do not have the spirit of Christ but rather the spirit of the antichrist. The cleric made this statement in a video posted on his verified Facebook page on Thursday. Advertisement According to him, Holy Ghost fire was never used for deliverance, stressing that what is truly used for deliverance is in the name of Jesus Christ. READ MORE: Beware Of Women Who Pray Online But Avoid Church Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo He said: Those who are anointed get transformed. And what matters under your anointing is the Spirit of God that possesses you. So let me tell you now, anybody who prays Holy Ghost fire against his or her enemies, that person does not have the Spirit of God, or that person has expelled the Spirit of God for himself or herself. If you pray Holy Ghost fire against your enemies, you do not have the Spirit of Christ. What you have is the spirit of the antichrist. In fact, you are one of the antichrists. If you pray: Every enemy who said, I will not make it this year, I say holy ghost fire, you are an antichrist. People dont like this message. Holy Ghost fire prayers against your enemies, whether they are in the village or they are in town, whether they are your uncles your uncle that denied you something, or that stole your mothers land or whatever if you are among those who invoke holy ghost fire to destroy your enemies. You dont have the spirit of Christ. What you have is an antichrist spirit. Many Christians are antichrists and they dont know. Oluoma explained that during deliverance, evil spirits are cast out using the name of Jesus Christ. When you are facing a real person who is possessed, it is in the name of Jesus Christ that evil spirits are cast out. Its not with holy ghost fire, but in your clime, you people use holy ghost fire more for your enemies. If you are in a place where theyre saying that kind of prayer, begin to enlighten them. So Im now Im giving you one of the characteristics of the antichrist those who say Holy Ghost fire prayers. Even in deliverance, those who do deliverance, there was never a time the holy ghost fire was used for deliverance. What is used for deliverance is in the name of Jesus Christ. How we came to make the holy ghost fire part of prayer is still a case study. The Bible said, whatever you ask the Father in my name, then your generation of Christians now has made the holy ghost fire a prayer condiment. Nigeria Army has insisted that its priority will continue to focus on protection of lives and properties of all Nigerians. Speaking during a program via Channels Television on Friday, Chief of Defence Civil-Military Relations at the Defence Headquarters, Rear Admiral Olusanya Bankole, noted that people should not be scared of military men in uniforms. He added that with the trajectory that Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has set now, the military will earn its respect from the populace. Advertisement Bankole said: People should not feel scared when they see soldiers in uniform, the men in uniform are meant to protect you. That sensitisation, even from the depot in Zaria, from the NDA to the NDC, is there. READ MORE: Nigeria Army Will End IPOB Activities, Sit-At-Home Order In SEast DHQ Vows The military career is a noble career; the military career is to help the society; apart from protecting the territorial integrity of the society, we are protecting humans. Bankole also expressed displeasure over a viral video, showing some soldiers at the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company few weeks ago, attacking workers of the company. He added that incident is under review, vowing to sanction anyone found culpable, saying that the incident doesnt define the identity of military men in Nigeria. He said: What happened at Ikeja Disco is being viewed seriously at the Defence Headquarters and headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force. Whatever sanctions need to be meted out will be. But there is no tolerance for that kind; the underlying issues between the Air Force and the IKDC are being tackled. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has issued a wanted notice for businesswoman and socialite Aisha Achimugu. Dele Oyewale, the agencys spokesman, said this in a circular shared via the EFCCs X handle on Friday. The EFCC stated that Aisha Achimugu is wanted in connection with an alleged case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering. Advertisement READ MORE: Police Nab Suspect For Brutal Murder Of Mother, Sister In Ekiti The circular reads, The public is hereby notified that Aisha Sulaiman Achimugu, whose photograph appears above is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering. Achimugu, 51, is an indigene of Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State and her last known address is 6C, Rudolf Close, Maitama, Abuja. Anybody with useful information as to her whereabouts should please contact the commission at its Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Abuja offices or through 08093322644, its email address: [email protected] or the nearest police station or other security agencies. According to PUNCH Online, the EFCC had earlier summoned the socialite to its Port Harcourt office on March 5 over allegations of money laundering and a high-profile investment scam. Dated March 4, the letter was signed by the EFCCs acting zonal director in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Adebayo Adeniyi, and sent to Achimugus Abuja residence. This commission is currently investigating a case in which the need to obtain certain clarification from you becomes imperative. In view of the above, you are kindly requested to attend an interview with the undersigned through the Head of Investigation on Wednesday, 5th March 2025, by 10:00 hours prompt, the letter reads. Instead of reporting to the EFCC office as requested, Achimugu reportedly left Nigeria on Thursday, March 6. After her reported departure from the country, the agency secured an arrest warrant and declared her wanted. Kaduna State Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party has disowned former governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai saying that it has no record of his membership. Speaking during a press conference in Kaduna on Friday, SDPs Assistant National Secretary in North-West, Idris Inuwa, urged Mr. El Rufai to follow proper procedures if he intends to officially become a member of the party. He said: It has come to our notice that certain individuals, including Mal. Nasir El-Rufai are being rumored to have joined the SDP. Advertisement However, neither the Chairman of the Kaduna North Local Government Chapter, nor the leadership of Unguwar Sarki ward, has any record of these memberships. El-Rufa and his co-travelers are not recognised members of the SDP in Kaduna State at this time. We advise him and any other interested individuals to follow the proper procedures if they wish to officially become members of the party. The State Executive Committee of SDP categorically rejects the purported dissolution of the State Working Committee as contained in a letter from the National Secretariat dated 25 February, 2025. According to Inuwa, the letter has no reference number, no tracking identity and did not have the proper mailing/correspondence address of the Kaduna State SDP. READ MORE: 2027: El-Rufais Exit Wont Affect Tinubus Re-Election APC We state unequivocally that the action contained in the letter is an exercise in futility, and of no consequential effect whatsoever. The Kaduna State Executive Committee is a product of a duly conducted State Congress and holds a four-year mandate that remains valid and binding. This therefore underscores the nullity of the purported setting up of a caretaker committee under one individual. Recall that Mr. El Rufai defected from ruling All Progressive Congress on the 10th of March, 2025, citing leadership concern. The former governor noted that APC had lost its foundational visions. Eniola Badmus, actress and Special Assistant for Social Events and Public Hearings to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has once again declared her support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Despite the economic challenges Nigerians are facing, Badmus, a strong advocate for Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, maintained that her stance on him remains unchanged. Sharing her thoughts on Instagram on Thursday, she wrote: Still standing on Daddy Seyi mandate. Advertisement READ MORE: Late Governor Ajimobis First Child, Bisola, Passes Away In UK Her post sparked mixed reactions, with some critics accusing her of being insensitive to the struggles of Nigerians, while others defended her choice. See some reactions below: Oliver_Of_Lagos commented: Anywhere belle face. Celebrity isonu. Nothing lasts forever. The internet is a memory storage device. Hypeman Ruby expressed frustration, saying: As the first son of the family and the breadwinner, this mandate has made my struggles worse. I find it hard to be there for myself, let alone my family. I love you, Baddoskie, but shey e fe gbor ebo npa. On the other hand, Alh_Alubarika defended her, writing: I dont understand why people are attacking her. Everyone has their own choices. Moreover, thats where she earns her daily bread, and she can never deny that. If me and you had the same opportunity she has, we would probably do more than her. SEE POST: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHtRE7Oo1XV/?igsh=MWdsZTcxd3Y0M3BxaQ== Nigeria Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has expressed confidence that the ruling All Progressives Congress will reclaim control of Kano State in the 2027 general elections. Akpabio noted that key political figures like Senator Basheer Lado, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, and the National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje will restore the glory of the party in Kano. Speaking during a visit to Special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on National Assembly (Senate Matters), Senator Lado in his office at the National Assembly, Senator Akpabio commended him for ensuring seamless communication between the Executive and the Senate. Advertisement The Senate President said: Ahead of 2027, we are confident that with Senator Barau, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, and your strategic self, Kano is already in the kitty of APC. READ MORE: Natasha: Akpabio Is Known For Abusing Women Even As Governor Atiku Let me put on record that since Senator Lado assumed office as Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on National Assembly (Senate Matters), we have not had a single leakage of private communication between the Presidency and the Senate. We have not had a single incident of leakage. In government, thats what we call the right to know. And of course, where government business is done on pages of newspapers and on social media through leakages of information, it negatively rubs on national security. Your performance in office generally in the last eight months is unprecedented and making the synergy between the executive and legislature more robust and rewarding for the good of all. A suspected kidnapper and killer of Rev. Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu, of Catholic Diocese, Kafachan in Kaduna State, on Thursday, revealed reason behind his actions. The suspect, (name withheld) said that he needed N200,000 to solve a personal problem, made the revelation at the Headquarters of Operation Safe Haven, of the Nigeria Army, where he is currently being held in Jos. Recall that Okechukwu was abducted on March 4, at about 9:15 p.m. at his residence in Tachira, Kaura Local Government of the state. Advertisement INFORMATION NIGERIA had reported that the cleric was later found dead on March 5. The prime suspect, who said he invited other criminals from elsewhere to accomplish the assignment, denied asking his colleagues to kill the priest. He said: Fr Okechukwu is living in our house at Tachira and I masterminded his kidnap because I needed N200,000 to solve a personal problem. I invited some guys (colleagues) from other places to assist me to accomplish the mission but I didnt ask them to kill him. I dont know why they (allegedly) killed him; I was not with them because I later left them with the priest. Another suspect, names withheld, who is also being held at OPSH, said that the chief suspect had called him to assist him to actualise the crime. He said: At first, I refused to be part of the deal, but the chief suspect insisted. The chief suspect and I grew up in the same community. So, on the said date I left my place in Warsa-Piti in Lere LG and participated in the kidnap of the priest. He actually contacted other guys from Bokkos in Plateau who came with guns; after we took the priest and walked for some distance, we left him with them. So, we cant say how and why they allegedly killed the priest. Operatives of the Nigerian Air Force have destroyed some hideouts belonging to terrorists in Borno State. NAF claimed that the operations was carried out, following series of airstrikes released by its fighter jets targeted at terrorist strongholds, located at Warawara and Chinene in the Mandara Mountains. This was contained in a statement by the Air Forces Deputy Director of Public Relations and Information, Group Captain Kabiru Ali on Thursday. Advertisement Ali explained that the strikes were conducted after Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance missions uncovered terrorists stockpiling logistics and planting Improvised Explosive Devices around Wajiroko. He said: The Nigerian Air Force, in sustaining its counterterrorism operations tempo in the North-East, executed decisive airstrikes in multiple waves on March 26, 2025. NAF aircraft delivered coordinated strikes on terrorist strongholds in Warawara, near Wajiroko, and Chinene in the Mandara Mountains, dealing a severe blow to insurgent activities. Guided by meticulous ISR operations, NAF identified a group of terrorists stockpiling logistics and planting IEDs around Wajiroko. Surveillance later tracked their movement to a concealed location housing a gun truck, ammunition stockpiles, and fuel reserves. READ MORE: NAF Airstrikes Neutralize Terrorists, Destroy Arms Depot In Niger In response, the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai executed multiple waves of air interdiction (AI) missions. The first wave struck the terrorists logistics hub, destroying gun trucks and critical supplies. The second wave followed with sustained rocket and cannon attacks, ensuring the complete destruction of terrorist assets. Later that day, NAF aircraft targeted another terrorist enclave at Chinene in the Mandara Mountains. Intelligence reports indicated that insurgents had relocated to the area following an earlier air raid on Degbewa on March 16, 2025. Overhead reconnaissance confirmed the presence of active structures, prompting an airstrike that set terrorist hideouts ablaze. Fleeing insurgents were engaged and neutralized, further crippling their operational capacity. Nigeria Labour Congress has accused President Bola Tinubus administration over its approach to economic situation in the country. NLC condemned federal government for betraying workers through what its described as unjust taxation, tariff hikes, and failure to honour agreements. Speaking at the 6th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria in Lagos on Friday, NLCs President, Joe Ajaero, warned that workers would not remain silent in the face of economic hardship. Advertisement Mr. Ajaero also accused President Tinubus government of neglecting its regulatory responsibilities and prioritising corporate interests over the well-being of citizens. He said: We must resist the attempt to tax the Nigerian people to death. READ MORE: NLC Declares Nationwide Protest Over Planned Telecom Tariff Increase At a time when the minimum wage is not being implemented appropriately, and federal civil servants are having their salaries arbitrarily reduced, we cannot remain silent. These actions are not just unjust; they are a betrayal of the social contract between the government and the people. He urged the union to elect leaders who would continue the struggle for fair wages, decent working conditions, and a stronger labour movement. We must resist the concentration of power in the hands of a few and the systematic subversion of constitutional order. He warned that dictatorship in any form is unacceptable, adding that political actors must operate within the democratic framework and prioritise the interests of the working class. Paul Ibe, media aide to ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has vehemently denied allegations that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State funneled state funds to Atiku through Ms Aisha Achimugu. Ibe dismissed the claims as a blatant lie from the pit of hell and a desperate attempt to discredit Atiku and advance President Bola Tinubus political interests. According to Ibe, the allegations aim to achieve two goals, ousting Sanwo-Olu and discrediting the opposition coalition, which Atiku is a key part of. Ibe urged that the campaign of calumny against Atiku be halted immediately. Advertisement In a statement made on Friday Ibe disclosed: We at Atiku Media Office have taken note of reports in a section of the media that the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu jidesanwoolu through Ms Aisha Achimugu made available to His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007 money purportedly belonging to Lagos State. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is also credited with investigating the matter. Let it be known, that this is a blatant lie from the pit of hell; a contrived political hogwash, and a futile campaign of calumny aimed at advancing the political interests of President Bola A. Tinubu. Indeed, their strategy is two-fold: get rid of Sanwo-Olu and to discredit the coalition being put together by the opposition political leaders, of which Atiku Abubakar is a key stakeholder. This voyage of misadventure and campaign of calumny against the person and reputation of Atiku Abubakar must be halted immediately and with alacrity, too. The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested a suspect, Victor Lorjaal, from Aba Ile camp in Itaji-Ekiti, for allegedly murdering his mother, Mrs Victoria Lorjaal, and his elder sister, Brenda Lorjaal, through mutilation. In a statement released in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, Police Public Relations Officer SP Sunday Abutu confirmed that the incident occurred on March 25, 2025, around 7:10 a.m. on a farm. Abutu explained that an eyewitness, one of the deceaseds children, recounted how the suspect had been working with him on the farm before suddenly walking away to where their mother and sister were working. Advertisement READ MORE: Kidnapped Female Estate Agent Found Dead, Blindfolded In Delta According to him, shortly after the suspect left, he heard his mother screaming for help, but before he could get closer, the suspect had committed the dastardly act and took to his heel with the cutlass he used, only to meet the two victims in the pool of their blood. The Police Commissioner, Joseph Eribo, has directed a thorough investigation into the case. The suspect will be charged to court immediately after the completion of the investigation, Abutu added. Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri has issued warning to some youths in the state that any attempt to stage protest against Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike will be resisted. Diri insisted that political jobbers, planning to import Rivers State crisis into his state will be resisted. The Governor, while speaking during the 37th session of the state security council on Thursday in Yenagoa, said that he has gotten a security alert about a plot to breach the peace of the state over the ongoing political crisis in Rivers. Advertisement He said: Any attempt to import the Rivers State political crisis into Bayelsa will be resisted. I urge security commanders in the state to be on the alert. Parents and traditional rulers should discourage their wards and children from being used by unscrupulous elements to cause trouble in the state. As you are aware, we have threats from our sister state. The political crisis there is threatening us and we will not allow what is happening there to come into Bayelsa State. READ MORE: Were Not In War South-South Govs Fault Tinubus Declaration Of Emergency Rule In Rivers We had in our party a renegade, who has decided to form a parallel PDP in Bayelsa State, working with an ex-governor. The party in our state suspended him for gross misconduct and for now he is not a member of our party in Bayelsa State. He was a part of the kangaroo PDP South South zonal congress that was rejected by the National Working Committee of our party and he is threatening the peace of this state. This is not Rivers State. Bayelsa is the cradle of every Ijaw man. I have always said that being peaceful is not cowardice. We are very courageous and we can stand up for the truth at all times. Every public facility owned by the Bayelsa State government cannot be used except with the express approval of the state government. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that Woke, and his predsecor, Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State have been in loggerhead of the states leadership. A charcoal drawing that antiques shop owner Heidi Markow bought for $12 at a Montgomery County auction. She believes it is an original work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Read more It was a pretty routine day in January when antiques shop owner Heidi Markow attended an auction in Montgomery County and walked away with a framed charcoal nude drawing for just $12. After hours of grueling research and encouraging signs from an expert, she believes the artwork is an original drawing by the French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Advertisement A certified antiques appraiser, Markow runs the 16-year-old shop Salvage Goods in Easton with her business partner Rick Higgins and her son Carl Paolina. The team often hunts for treasures across the region in estate sales and auctions, focusing mostly on antiques, vintage items, and furniture. I typically do not do art [appraisals]; however, Im trained enough to know what is, or what could potentially be, worth something, said Markow. I said to both my son and Rick, Hey guys, I have to tell you, I think we have a real Renoir here. And they brushed it off, because, you know, who would even believe such a thing? At first glance, Markow had no idea of the works potential significance. Its typical for her to scour auctions and estate sales for hidden gems, and in this case she traveled a little further away from Easton than usual. (Markow did not disclose more identifying details about the auction organizers or location, citing a small and tight-knit antiques community in the region.) She didnt even touch the piece, or see a signature, before deciding to bid on it she was simply drawn to the image and added it to a list of items she wanted. It was only when she got home and gave it a closer look that she realized it could be a major find. Thats when the detective work began. Markow has spent the last two months closely studying clues in the charcoal drawing, estimating that shes put in 1,000 hours of research so far. That includes analyzing the drawing style, the paper, and the frame, researching the provenance, and cross-checking the signature, which she believes says Renoir. The artist frequently drew female nudes throughout his career, often focusing on women bathing and using towels, like in the drawing Markow found. On the back of the frame, theres a major clue: A sticker with the name of New York-based art importer Samuel Fields and Company and of Louis C. Madeira IV, once a legendary curator of European decorative arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Madeira name is particularly noteworthy, given the familys prominence in the Philadelphia arts community and their star-studded art collection, some of which they donated to PMA. Helen Tyson Madeira, a well-respected philanthropist who married Louis C. Madeira IV, came from a family of impressionist art collectors who gifted a trove of significant works including Renoirs The Large Bathers and Vincent van Goghs Sunflowers to the museum in 1963. After her death in 2014, Madeira also bequeathed paintings by giants like Edouard Manet, Paul Cezanne, and Camille Pissarro to PMA. The family were titans of art collecting, she said. I would be hard-pressed to be convinced, with this provenance, that the Madeira family would have brought in a fake piece of art from Europe. Markow admits this effort to assess the drawings legitimacy is out of my league because shes not a Renoir expert. So she started by contacting reputable auction houses Bonhams and Sothebys, and received a referral to a veteran art appraiser; he approved of her research methods and suggested she take the next step and send the piece to the Wildenstein Plattner Institute in New York. The Wildenstein Plattner Institute, a nonprofit foundation, specializes in publishing comprehensive digital catalogs of certain artists work verified by art historians and other expert scholars. Its artists includes names like Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, and Romare Bearden, in addition to Renoir. The organization invites collectors to submit artworks for review and to potentially include in the artists catalog. (Markow also reached out to PMA and the Barnes Foundation, which holds the largest collection of Renoir paintings in the world but did not receive a response. The Barnes Foundation does not appraise or verify authenticity of artworks, and a spokesperson said PMA conservators typically need significant time to authenticate artworks.) On April 10, Markow will deliver the drawing to WPI for examination. If it turns out to be Renoir, she said, Bonhams has offered to sell the artwork in an auction in May, where it could potentially fetch a six- to seven-figure sum. After the whirlwind of excitement surrounding her discovery and investigation, Markow isnt entirely sure if she would want to sell the piece, but shes eager to hear insights from Renoir scholars. For now, shes keeping the work in a safe. I saw a dauntingly beautiful, lifelike dark nude, a beautiful woman, posed elegantly on a towel, she said about the moment she saw the artwork. I felt that she actually reached for me. As Markow awaits the experts verdict, theres another big question she cant answer just yet: How did this potential Renoir resurface in Montgomery County, selling for the price of a sandwich? Trevor Otto, a former employee of the General Services Administration in Philadelphia, lost his job during recent downsizing of the federal government. With him are (from left) his daughter Devon, 2; wife Jenna; and 7-week-old daughter Vivienne in their West Chester home. Read more A former IRS employee in King of Prussia, shortly after getting laid off in February, joined a WhatsApp group of other fired federal workers across the U.S. Hes since watched the group grow from around 200 users to roughly 1,000. You learn a lot of things from the group chat, said the worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he hopes to return to his job. He noted that users are sharing information about how to access retirement funds, updates on federal legal cases, and job openings. Advertisement In recent months, federal workers have been laid off from various agencies across the country as President Donald Trumps administration and Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have set out to shrink the federal workforce and cut government spending. There are people who havent had paychecks and have had to talk with their leaseholders, their mortgage companies, their car note holders, said Alex Jay Berman, executive vice president of the union chapter that represents IRS workers in Philadelphia. As of March 24, roughly 1,000 to 1,400 federal workers across Pennsylvania had been fired or put on administrative leave since President Donald Trumps inauguration, said Philip Glover, national vice president of AFGE District 3. Determining the exact number is tricky some workers have been reinstated but placed on leave, said Glover. Its very chaotic. Its very hard to track. For the union, its really hard to track people coming and going, he said. As some federal workers navigate the uncertainty of being without a job or on leave, organized efforts have been sprouting up in Philadelphia to help these workers find their next position. Meanwhile, unemployment claims have risen in Pennsylvania in recent weeks, and more cuts are expected in the future. Lasting damage, and more potential cuts on the horizon Some probationary workers who were originally laid off have been reinstated, after judges ordered their return. Berman, of the Philly IRS union, described one judges order on March 13 as a first of several triumphs but cautioned that damage has already been done. And theres the human cost of that as well. Theres people having anxiety attacks, panic attacks, Berman said. And the shrinking of the federal workforce is expected to continue. The Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget directed federal agencies to submit plans for a reduction in force by March 13. They were instructed to achieve a significant reduction in the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions by eliminating positions that are not required. Officials at the White House are now reviewing the plans, Reuters reports. The Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that 10,000 of its 84,000 employees will be terminated. We know that this is not the end of the fight, said Berman in mid-March. Glover, of AFGE, said on Monday that he is waiting to see how those reduction in force plans affect his members. We dont know what thats gonna look like, he said. Were waiting on those to hit. A rise in Pa. federal unemployment claims As he continued to connect with the WhatsApp group, the former King of Prussia IRS worker applied for unemployment shortly after his layoff. A couple of weeks later he was still waiting on his first check. This is really depressing, he said. Some states are seeing a sudden surge of unemployment, according to a legal complaint filed in early March, which includes New Jersey. Pennsylvania is not part of the complaint, but recent data show an increase in federal workers filing unemployment claims, compared to this time last year. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry said total claims in Pennsylvania were slightly elevated. Some federal employees affected by the DOGE overhaul are on paid leave, so they wouldnt appear in the states unemployment claims. Renata Thakurdyal, 34, was put on administrative leave from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in early February. Her job is based in Washington, but she worked remotely from Northwest Philadelphia. She anticipates being laid off eventually but said there has been zero communication coming from EPA, since she got placed on paid leave. That was about two months ago. Thakurdyal, a single parent, is steering clear of federal positions in her job search. You sort of have to reinvent yourself, said Thakurdyal. When youre sort of mission-driven, and then you leave the federal government, youre looking at a significant pay cut, especially as a woman of color. The King of Prussia IRS employee learned he is being reinstated this month and placed on leave. He doesnt know how long that will last, and expects he could be terminated in the future. He loves his IRS job and hopes to be able to do the work again. Im sitting home, not doing any work, and Im gonna get paid, he said, How is that efficient? Trevor Otto, 41, a lease contracting officer at the General Services Administration in Philadelphia, remembers getting a text from a colleague in early March informing him were all fired. An email then confirmed his four-person division was being terminated, he said. As of March 21, Otto was still waiting for an official termination notice. He is on administrative leave, continues to receive a paycheck, and said he feels like hes in limbo. Otto is a disabled veteran, and his wife is a caregiver for her parents. They depend on his salary to support themselves and their two young children. Hes appealing his termination to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, arguing that he should not have been let go given his status. If theres gonna be a last man standing, it would be Trevor, said Ottos lawyer, Aaron L. Peskin. Even if Otto gets his job back, he said, he worries there wont be much of an agency to come back to. Facing some serious brain drain from Philadelphia Neighbors and friends have stepped up to help job-hunting federal workers in South Philadelphia. In early March, Charlie Elison helped host a career workshop at the Queen Memorial Library for federal employees recently fired or expecting to be fired soon. They offered attendees free professional headshots, tips for updating their resumes, and an opportunity to network. It was also a place for people to vent, said Elison, a military service member who works in government. The two sessions brought in nearly 30 people, including public health, commerce, and finance professionals. These are folks who, throughout their careers, have passed up other probably higher paying jobs in the private sector because theyre very passionate public servants, Elison said. That was what was most depressing most heartbreaking. City and state officials have also launched initiatives to support federal workers. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order on March 5 telling state agencies to give preference to federal employees in hiring. And on March 20, the city hosted a networking event for federal employees interested in working for Philadelphia. The city of Philadelphia [has] a great deal of respect for your institutional knowledge and your subject matter expertise, said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, addressing a packed room on the 33rd floor of One Liberty Place. Elison and other organizers behind the South Philly event have partnered with the Free Library to host a federal workers transition workshop series in early April given the response of the first event. No one really wants to move, but weve got to put food on the table, weve got to feed our families, weve got to take care of ourselves, Elison said. I really worry were facing some serious brain drain from the city if we dont find some ways to keep this talent. The owner and president of an Illinois-based masonry restoration firm was accused of conspiring to bribe an Amtrak manager who oversaw a $100 million renovation project at 30th Street Station, becoming the fourth official to face charges in the case, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia said Friday. Mark Snedden, 69, of Munster, Ind., and employees at his firm, Mark 1 Restoration, lavished the project manager, Ajith Bhaskaran, with $323,686 in gifts including cash, a Tourneau watch, vacations to India and Ecuador and a German shepherd, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday. Advertisement In exchange, prosecutors say, from 2016 through 2019, Bhaskaran used his authority to approve tens of millions of dollars in expenses that nearly doubled the cost of the project to restore the train stations facade, for which Mark 1 had initially been awarded a $58 million contract. Prosecutors do not contend that all of that extra work was bogus but they say it crossed the line into criminality because it flowed from a corrupt agreement. In addition, prosecutors say, Snedden and others allegedly falsely inflated some of the costs, causing Amtrak to be overbilled by about $2 million. READ MORE: Executive admits conspiracy to bribe Amtrak manager in 30th St. Station project with luxury watches, vacations, and a German shepherd Snedden was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and making and presenting a false claim. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to the office of U.S. Attorney David Metcalf. Snedden is scheduled to be arraigned on April 30 before U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone. Neither Snedden nor his attorneys immediately responded to requests for comment Friday. Three current and former executives at Sneddens company have already pleaded guilty in the case: Donald Seefeldt, Lee Maniatis, and Khaled Dallo. Seefeldt in February admitted to conspiring to bribe Bhaskaran. The plea agreements struck by prosecutors and Maniatis and Dallo last year remained under seal Friday. The three men are set to be sentenced later this spring. Bhaskaran, the Amtrak manager, died in 2020. He isnt named in the charging document but its clear from the description of the project manager who oversaw the project that prosecutors contend he was the person who received the gifts. Maurice Byrd, seen here during his trial in Norristown, was acquitted of murder charges in the June 2024 shooting of Steven Strassburg. Read more A Hatboro barber who killed a man during a confrontation outside his business last year that he said was racially motivated was acquitted of murder by a Montgomery County jury late Thursday. Maurice Byrd, 42, was found not guilty after a four-day trial in Norristown in which his lawyers said he shot Steven Strassburg in self-defense after Strassburg attacked him in a drunken rage and used racial slurs. Advertisement Prosecutors had said the shooting was deliberate and amounted to murder. They noted that Byrd ignored instructions from a 911 operator to wait for police to arrive and intervene after Strassburg, 37, confronted him in an argument that ended in gunfire. After nearly six hours of deliberation, jurors cleared Byrd of any wrongdoing in Strassburgs June 2024 death. As he walked out of Judge Risa Vetri Fermans courtroom a free man, Byrd, smiling widely, said, We fought a great fight, and the truth prevailed. Its an unfortunate set of circumstances, he added, but Im looking forward to moving forward and ensuring to be the best person I can be. One of Byrds attorneys, Joseph Schultz, said Friday that he was pleased with the jury verdict, which he called fair and just. Maurice is just looking to get his life back on track, he said, adding that Byrd had expressed an interest in applying to law school. Were all just glad that Maurice gets a second chance, Schultz said. In a statement, officials from the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office said that while they respect the jurys verdict, they stand by the evidence in the case and remain committed to seeking justice and upholding their duty to the community. During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman said tensions between Byrd and Strassburg, who rented an apartment next to Byrds barbershop, had been simmering for years. Police had been called to Razor Reeses Salon, Byrds business on North York Road, three times since December 2022, according to evidence presented during the trial. On one occasion, Byrd told police that if Strassburg entered his barbershop and threatened him, he would defend himself. Then, on June 8, as Byrd sat outside his store smoking, Strassburg confronted him, according to trial testimony. Strassburgs next-door neighbor testified that he saw Strassburg walk up to Byrd, accuse him of being a drug dealer, and call him a dirty n. Byrd went inside his business and called 911 to report that Strassburg had threatened him, and an operator told him to stay in the salon and wait for police. But Byrd went back outside after seeing Strassburg walk by. Cauffman, the prosecutor, said he was looking for a fight. He could have safely avoided this from happening, Cauffman told jurors during her opening statement. But the facts will show you that he didnt want to avoid this. A surveillance camera from a nearby business recorded Strassburg chasing Byrd, and then showed Byrd firing at him as he walked backward toward his salon. Strassburg punched Byrd several times during the fight, the video showed, and Byrd shot him twice, once in his neck and back. The neighbor who testified said he saw Strassburg launch himself at Byrd while swinging his fists. By the time the neighbor went to try to break up the fight, he said, he heard gunshots ring out. He then said he saw Byrd raise his hands, place his gun on the ground, and wait for officers to arrive. Byrds other attorney, Scott Frame, called Strassburg an angry, racist, drunk maniac, and said Byrd shot him in self-defense. He said Byrd, an Army veteran who was wounded in combat, acted appropriately in using deadly force to protect himself. If he believes his life is in danger, he has every right to use his legally owned and registered gun that a war hero is allowed to have, Frame said. Boao Moments: Pakistani ambassador lauds China-proposed initiatives 10:25, March 28, 2025 By Chang Sha, Wang Yuheng ( People's Daily Online Major initiatives and visions proposed by China align with current global needs and trends, said Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan's ambassador to China, during an interview with People's Daily Online at the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao town, south China's Hainan Province. The ambassador said that visions like building a community with a shared future for mankind are "appropriate," meeting the needs of the current era. This year marks the 74th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations. The ambassador highlighted the productive partnership between the two countries, citing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a key example. He expressed confidence in future cooperation between Pakistan and China. Regarding Asia, he noted, "Asia is now the engine of global economic growth," with China playing a crucial role in driving economic development both regionally and globally, benefiting people worldwide. (Web editor: Hongyu, Wu Chengliang) These are boom times for fans of Vietnamese food in Philadelphia, where the past year has seen several worthy new entries, from cozy Pho Skyline in the Italian Market (for great pho, of course) to the contemporary vibes of Banh off Rittenhouse Square (try the crispy banh khot and bun cha ha noi grilled pork with rice noodles) and Drip Vietnamese Coffee in Chinatown, plus a new fusion brunch spot at Hannah Ks, the cheerful Point Breeze spin-off of Huyen Thai Dinhs hit, the Breakfast Den. The new place Im buzzing about most right now, though, is Saigon Grace Cafe especially because of its coffee. The food at this low-key new entry to South Street West has a distinctive personality due to the multicultural collaboration between co-owners Khai Tran, who was born in Vietnam but raised in Philly, and Fernando Cristobol, a Mexico City native. The zesty avocado-tomatillo dip, which is much thinner than guacamole, comes with paper-thin taro chips; the tostadas are topped with Vietnamese grilled meat; and the birria, made to Sandovals family recipe, arrives inside a bowl of ramen. Its all plenty tasty. Then I took a sip of the Vietnamese iced coffee and did a genuine double take. Even mixed with the typical condensed milk, it was richer, bolder, and, more profound than almost any other Ive tasted in Philadelphia. The reason is twofold: origin and process. Advertisement The coffee is grown by the family of Trans wife, Trinh Nguyen. Her mother, Ha Nguyen, cultivates a 5-acre plantation of robusta coffee beans in ak Lak, a mountainous province in the central highlands of Vietnam known for its coffee production. The beans are harvested, roasted in their village, Buon Ho, then blended with beans grown by other family members and shipped directly to the cafe in Philadelphia. Trinh works her magic behind Saigon Graces counter, slow-brewing the deeply roasted coffee through giant Vietnamese phin drip filters. It requires serious patience nearly four hours for a two-liter glass jug to fill with coffee. And thats only the beginning: The filled jugs you may see on the counter at any given time are not served until theyve had a full 24 hours to rest. The slow-paced drip contributes to the smoothness of the brew, but the resting period is essential for the coffees flavors to marry and achieve its viscous texture and subtle complexity, says Tran, a process that he likens to the slow fermentation of a pizza dough. The method pays off with a coffee that isnt simply an icy jolt of chocolatey, smoky, bittersweet caffeine (robusta beans can deliver 1.5 times more caffeine than arabica beans). It anchors an irresistibly magnetic, slurp-to-the-bottom kind of indulgence. Saigon Grace takes it to another level still by serving it salt foam style, topping the drink with an inch-thick lid of rich whipped cream dusted with salt. Salt foam is a common variation in Vietnamese coffee shops, such as Caphe Roasters in Kensington, a standard-bearer that roasts its own beans and offers its own creative drink combos. But thoughtful details make Saigon Graces take singular. For instance, seasoning the whipped heavy cream with pink Himalayan salt allows the dense pouf to hold its texture noticeably better than less expensive salts. That endurance gives you a proper dairy mustache each time you lean in for a sip, says Tran, and that, in turn, unlocks the dynamic layers of the drink. First comes the wave of bold dark coffee. Then a wash of sweetness from the condensed milk that coats your tongue with an almost caramel richness. Finally, as you lick that creamy froth off your top lip, the salty cream reveals a savory side of coffee beans Ive rarely tasted. Now I must have another, and can only agree when Tran states the obvious: The foam is the way to go. Salt foam Vietnamese coffee, $6, Saigon Grace Cafe, 1516 South St., Philadelphia, PA 19146, 445-223-2275; saigongracecafe.com A Bucks County resident was diagnosed with measles Wednesday, county health officials announced, and beforehand had visited several locations in the area while potentially contagious. The adult patient had been vaccinated against measles and had recently traveled to Texas, health officials said in a statement. Advertisement They did not clarify if the case was directly connected to a widespread measles outbreak in West Texas that has killed a child and sickened 327 people, all but two of whom were unvaccinated. A small number of people can get measles after being vaccinated, especially amid an outbreak like that in Texas, but even then, the vaccine can prevent patients from serious illness. Bucks County officials said the vaccinated resident who contracted measles had experienced relatively mild symptoms. They urged residents to get vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease. Two doses of the vaccine will be 97 percent effective in preventing all illness. However, even though a vaccinated person can still get measles, they are more likely to experience a mild illness and are thus less likely to spread it, David Damsker, the director of the county health department, said in a statement. The best way to hold this virus in check is to have high levels of community vaccination rates. The county warned that anyone who visited the Starbucks at 2896 S. Eagle Rd. in Newtown, between 10:50 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on March 19 should monitor themselves for measles symptoms. They include a cough, runny nose, red eyes, headache, sneezing, and a red rash that begins on the face and neck. Most people who contract measles see symptoms within 10 days to two weeks after their exposure, officials said. Though the person also visited other locations in the country besides the Starbucks, county officials said that they had contact traced people who visited those other locations, and anyone exposed to the virus would be notified. Anyone who believes they may have been exposed to measles and plans to seek medical treatment for it should call the health-care facility theyre planning to visit so staff can plan for the visit and minimize exposure to others, officials said. The Bucks County case follows a handful of other measles diagnoses in the region in recent weeks, although no others were connected to a visit to Texas. A measles case was identified in February in a young child in Montgomery County who had recently traveled abroad and was too young to be vaccinated. Another measles case was diagnosed in a patient at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia in early March. Tilak Niroula, the executive director of civic group the Bhutanese Community of Harrisburg, speaks at a news conference about six refugees who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month. Read more Four of the six Bhutanese refugees who were taken into custody by ICE despite living legally in Pennsylvania have now been deported, a Dauphin County official said late Friday. Six other members of the ethnic enclave who resided elsewhere in the United States were deported at the same time. Advertisement The four Pennsylvania residents are now believed to be in Panitanki, India, a town near the border with Nepal. The whereabouts of the other two who were taken into ICE custody were not immediately known on Friday night. The office of County Commissioner Justin Douglas said in a statement that the four Pennsylvania residents were transferred from ICE detention at the Pike County Correctional Facility to a detention center in New Jersey, then subsequently flown out of the country. Their deportation included a flight to New Delhi, India, followed by travel to Paro, Bhutan. Within a day of arriving in Bhutan, the men were no longer in the country, the office said. Two of the Pennsylvania residents were from Allegheny County, one from Lancaster County, and one from Dauphin County. As this local crisis becomes international, I am deeply concerned about the implications for constituents both here at home and now abroad, Douglas said in a statement. There must be more time for legal due process before deportation especially for refugees weve committed to resettle, who may now be facing dangerous and uncertain conditions. He is exploring all ways to help the local Bhutanese Nepali community at this time, he added. His office expects to release further updates on Monday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday night. Pennsylvania officials said last week that six former Bhutanese refugees who have legal immigration status had been detained by ICE, as President Donald Trumps administration moved into a new, more aggressive phase of immigrant detentions, including of those who came here legally. During a Tuesday news conference at the state Capitol building, local Bhutanese leaders and Democratic state lawmakers advocated for their immediate release and called on Pennsylvanias federal elected officials to help. Tilak Niroula, the head of the Bhutanese Community in Harrisburg, a civic organization, said in a statement Friday evening that he had met during the last week with Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, and with representatives of Sen. John Fetterman and those of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. My goal is to do everything in my power to keep our community safe, seek answers from those in leadership, and ensure that families are not left behind or forgotten, he said in a statement on Friday. Niroula earlier said that Bhutanese residents in the area are law-abiding citizens, but that if any of the people being detained did something wrong, they should have been given due process through the judicial system. The families were not given an explanation of why their loved ones were being held by ICE, or if they were, it was not understood due to a language barrier. The names of the detainees were not released by local officials. Niroula, however, disclosed three of their names with the permission from their families: Ashok Gurung, 32; Bikash Gurung; and Maita Gurung, 43. They are not related. All six detainees are men ages 30 through 55 and were arrested at their homes or in public spaces this month, Niroula said. The three whose names were disclosed each appear to have some form of criminal record, including mostly nonviolent offenses such as public drunkenness or harassment, according to state court records. The Harrisburg area is home to one of the largest Bhutanese refugee communities in the country, an estimated 25,000, with many former refugees settling there because of its job opportunities, affordable cost of living, and physical likeness to their homeland, PennLive reported. At least 70,000 Bhutanese-Nepali refugees live in the United States, research shows, their path to this country long and torturous. Many have been refugees twice, first in their ancestral homeland of Nepal, and again in their country of resettlement. In the mid-1980s, the Bhutanese government launched a One Country, One Nation campaign to unify the countrys culture and religion, sparking political violence against Bhutanese Nepalis and causing a major refugee crisis. Within a few years, tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalese fled or were expelled from Bhutan, and more than 100,000 ethnic Nepalese refugees from Bhutan moved into camps in southeast Nepal, according to the U.S. State Department. In 2006, the United States and seven other countries Australia, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom began a large-scale resettlement program. Portal viewers in Philadelphias LOVE Park reach out to viewers on screen at the public webcam in Litewski Square in Lublin, Poland, on Nov. 23, 2024. Read more Call it down, but not out. After a hiatus, at least two vandalism incidents, and amid an uncertain future, Phillys edition of the Portals art installation is back online. The Portal, which connects visitors via livestream with Portal visitors in other countries, debuted in October at LOVE Park with live images from Dublin, Ireland; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Lublin, Poland. Advertisement After being disconnected and covered with a tarp since February, the Portal returned on Friday morning. Hello, Dublin, Joe Callahan, a director of the Portals project, said Friday when the stream went live, waving and inviting others to join him. However, the Portal wont be in LOVE Park forever. Company officials said at a news conference Wednesday they were considering three new locations for the Portal, citing vandalism and logistics. Thieves cut out copper wire from the installation and Portal engineers believe rocks caused additional damage that led to the project being covered up with a tarp. Of the nearly half a dozen Portal locations globally, Portal officials say, no other locations have had issues with vandalism. The move will also help organizers avoid having to move the 3.5-ton Portal out of the way for the annual Christmas Village setup. The Portals longevity in Philadelphia is also unclear. But Callahan has promised the installation will remain at least through Americas 250th birthday in 2026. He said more details are expected about the Portals next location next week. Police investigate a quintuple shooting on the 7700 block of Ogontz Ave. on July 2, 2021. Read more A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit filed by associations representing Asian and Arab-owned businesses accusing Philadelphia and Pennsylvania agencies of alleged biased and selective enforcement actions against so-called stop-and-go shops. The lawsuit contended that Arab and Asian American owners of the neighborhood stores that also sell and serve alcohol are being targeted by the state and the city. It alleged the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, Pennsylvania State Police, and Attorney General Dave Sunday of selective enforcement of liquor regulations, and the city and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker for enacting curfew and nuisance laws that threaten to punish or shut down businesses for crimes in their vicinity. Advertisement The original complaint was filed in November in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Asian American Licensed Beverage Association of Philadelphia, Arab American Business and Professional Association of the Delaware Valley, and six deli owners. READ MORE: Philly, state liquor law enforcement unfairly targets Asian and Arab American stop-and-go owners, lawsuit alleges In his Tuesday opinion, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl dismissed all 12 counts levied in the complaints, saying that the state agencies are protected from such litigation and the associations dont have standing to bring claims against the city. The state-level defendants argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed based on a constitutional protection for states, and agencies that act as arms of the state, from litigation in federal court. Schmehl agreed, and in addition dismissed AG Sunday as a defendant because his office doesnt have a direct connection to enforcement of liquor regulations. The city argued that the business associations that filed the complaints, and the delis that joined them, didnt show that they were harmed by the policies that they called in the complaint unlawful and discriminatory treatment. For example, none of the named delis in the complaint are in areas where the citys curfew ordinance applies. The associations said in their complaint that many of their members are impacted, but didnt provide any specifics, according to the judges opinion. In addition, Schmehl noted that the lawsuit doesnt provide specific examples of harm from the alleged unfair enforcement of laws. In one case cited in the complaint, the Riley Deli on the 7700 block of Ogontz Avenue received a citation in February 2024 after two people were arrested for selling drugs near the store. Officers at the scene allegedly warned a deli manager that if a similar incident happened again, the business could close. But in this instance, as well as others mentioned in the lawsuit, no fines or intent-to-cease-operations notices were issued, and no deli shut down, Schmehl said. The judge wrote that because the associations failed to demonstrate a concrete harm from inspection or enforcement activity, they lack standing to bring the lawsuit. Kyle Garabedian, a Kang Haggerty attorney representing the business associations, noted that the judge didnt comment on the merit of the claims in the lawsuit, and left the door open for a new lawsuit to be filed over the issue. Plaintiffs are reviewing their options in light of this order and important issues at stake in the litigation, Garabedian said in a statement. A spokesperson for the citys law department said that the ordinances that came under scrutiny in the lawsuit intended to guide business owners to be responsible stewards of our communities and prevent environmental hazard and crime. The City of Philadelphia is committed to ensuring that enforcement of ordinances intended to address quality of life issues is equitable across the city, the statement said. The Attorney Generals office, which represented the state-level defendants, declined to comment. READ MORE: A brief history of a long effort to regulate stop-and-go stores City and state agencies have been grappling for nearly half a century with stop-and-go establishments, which often have licenses to sell liquor and food, but rarely have indoor seating or bathrooms as a restaurant would. Community groups and neighbors of stop-and-gos have long viewed the establishments as nuisances that attract noise, public alcohol consumption, and violence. Last year, Gov. Josh Shapiro created the Pennsylvania Stop-and-Go Legislative Task Force to study the issue. The task force outlined eight recommendations in an October report such as streamlining the citation process, increasing penalties, and hiring more Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement agents to enforce existing regulations. The lawsuit alleged the city and state work in concert against stop-and-gos by selectively targeting the businesses for enforcement of state liquor code violations, seeking to strip away liquor licenses, and passing city nuisance ordinances that target the owners. The overwhelming majority of the impacted businesses are owned by racial minorities, specifically Asian and Arab Americans, the complaint says. After the lawsuit was filed, a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro said that the Shapiro Administration is committed to working with the General Assembly and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to ensure Pennsylvania law is applied appropriately and small businesses have the opportunity to succeed in our Commonwealth. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House last week. In a text exchange, the defense chief spewed details about a military operation with the eagerness of a boy playing war games, writes Trudy Rubin. Read more You think the Signalgate debacle is a national security disaster? You may not realize the half of it. This Pentagon blunder (dont call it a mistake) lays bare the security risks posed by President Donald Trumps unqualified and ill-prepared national security team. The incompetence on display is the real scandal one which goes deeper than the astonishing decision by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss highly sensitive military details on an unsecured commercial chat app called Signal, and on phones Russia and China could penetrate. Advertisement The fiasco stretches far beyond national security adviser Mike Waltzs inadvertent invitation to the editor of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to join the chat. (If not for this highly reputable journalist, the Trump teams indifference to basic operational security might have remained hidden. Until it led to disaster.) At its root, Signalgate reflects the failure of Trumps foreign policy, so far based on his benighted belief he is so brilliant he can do great deals with dictators on his own without briefings and without help from his intelligence agencies. It also underlines how Trump picked his national security team for their loyalty, not because they might inform or challenge him or were knowledgeable or trustworthy. Americas security at home and abroad now rests on a bumbling bunch of sycophants who are more interested in pandering to their boss than keeping the country safe. Call them the Gang Who Cant See Straight. They wont take responsibility for their mistakes, and the president wont hold them responsible. Be afraid. Be very afraid. READ MORE: War plan leak demands accountability starting with Pete Hegseth | Editorial The president disdains his intelligence agencies because they investigated his Russia ties and role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. He wants to use them to pursue immigrants and punish his political enemies, not keep tabs on Russia, China, or potential terrorist threats at home. He has appointed intelligence chiefs willing to bend their agencies to his agenda. Rather than order the FBI or the U.S. Justice Department to investigate this dangerous intelligence screwup, Trump is brushing off the scandal and branding criticism as yet another witch hunt. He has praised one of the chief culprits, insisting Hegseth is doing a great job. Nothing illustrates Trumps blindness more clearly than his support for Hegseth, who recklessly disclosed the timing, weapons, and targets of a forthcoming strike on Yemens Houthi militia in the hours before the attack began. The defense boss spewed details with the eagerness of a boy playing war games. Hegseth and the other chat group members now claim this material wasnt classified, which is unbelievable unless the defense chief declassified it (which he has the power to do) when the scandal broke. Still, U.S. Department of Defense rules and those of Tulsi Gabbards national intelligence services specify that sensitive material, whether or not its classified, must only be shared via secure communication channels. Thank luck (or the grace of God, if you prefer) no U.S. pilots were killed due to Hegseths fecklessness. Who knows about next time? In the military, the secretary would have been court-martialed for such recklessness. In Trump World, he gets a pass and the presidents praise. Whats so scary is that no one in the chat group which also included Director of National Intelligence Gabbard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Vice President JD Vance suggested using Signal was a bad idea. Surely, they knew that. Surely, our top intel officials know their agencies rules, or do they? Ratcliffe looked squirmy when asked about this and parroted Gabbards prevarications. The uncharitable might call them the Gang Who Cant Lie Straight. Were they afraid to criticize Hegseth, a Fox News talking head who only secured Senate approval by one vote after immense pressure from the White House? Or were they just fearful of upsetting Trump, who only wants his team to brag about victories? Either way, the danger is apparent. Our top national security and intelligence team are more eager to please Trump than to protect you, your family, or our troops from our enemies. Meanwhile, Trump is focused more on berating allies and making great deals with despots than on replacing incompetents whose carelessness could get Americans killed. Who knows how much other top-secret info Hegseth has dispersed via Signal? Ignore White House gaslighting about the supposed security of the app again, sensitive material, whether or not classified, must only be shared via secure communication channels. And the material Hegseth dumped was definitely sensitive. Gabbard refused to answer at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing when asked directly if she was using a private phone (as apparently did others). Imagine the top U.S. intelligence officer, tasked as the presidents intel briefer, committing such a basic breach of security protocol. The notoriously pro-Vladimir Putin intelligence chief did admit she retweeted a well-known pro-Russian commentator who appears on Russian state media. She said that was OK because the retweet was on her private phone. Again, this is the woman tasked with preparing Trumps top-level intelligence briefings. This indifference to security protocols reflects the degradation of security agencies under Trump (as well as Gabbards dangerous pro-Putin slant). As for FBI Director Kash Patel, who should be investigating Signalgate, he is instead redirecting his agency to investigate migrants and his lengthy list of Trumps enemies. And he is planning to gut the FBIs counterintelligence capabilities by dispersing its headquarters staff around the country. This could leave the U.S. vulnerable to domestic terror attacks, I was told by former Democratic Rep. Jane Harman, who was ranking head of the House Intelligence Committee after 9/11. Spreading the FBI into pieces, she said, makes it much less able to connect the dots and share intel with the CIA. These were the exact failures that caused the FBI to miss warnings about the twin towers attack. READ MORE: Now we are fighting against a dictator supported by a traitor | Trudy Rubin Ive seen firsthand how intelligence failures lead to disaster, Harman said. She added that foreign intelligence agencies are now likely to be far less willing to share information with their careless counterparts in the U.S. The lack of serious intel briefings for Trump (and doubts he would even listen) are painfully apparent. His promises to quickly end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine have gone nowhere because he doesnt understand the ground situation. This disdain for intel is apparently shared by Trumps Ukraine-Russia envoy, real estate dealer Steve Witkoff, who, in a meeting with Putin, was gulled into believing Ukraines Russian speakers were eager to live under Russian rule. Witkoff even gushed about Putins gift portrait of the president, and the Russian dictators prayers for Trump when he was shot both blatant KGB ploys to win over useful idiots. Well, it worked as Witkoff now echoes Russian positions. Signalgate reveals the utter mess our intelligence collecting has become under a president who says he trusts Putin more than his intel agencies. Trump doesnt seem to care if these agencies collapse on his watch. Unless there is a full investigation into this rot, and those who permit it which, to their credit, some GOP senators are calling for America should brace for the results of an ignorant, uninformed White House blundering about in a violent world. Protesters gathered at Independence Mall in Philadelphia during the Save Our Services day of action event on Feb. 19, 2025. Many local federal employees were affected by President Donald Trump's executive order on March 27 to remove collective bargaining agreements. Read more President Donald Trump moved Thursday to end collective bargaining with federal labor unions in agencies with national security missions across the federal government. The executive order, signed late Thursday, affects agencies including the Departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice, and Commerce, and the part of Homeland Security responsible for border security. Advertisement Its just the latest move from the Trump administration to strip federal workers of their union contracts. The Department of Homeland Security announced it was ending TSA union representation and collective bargaining rights in early March. The move left Philadelphia TSA employees concerned about how it could change their workplace environment. Heres a look at what changes have been announced and how they could impact the Philadelphia area. How many federal employees are in Pennsylvania? Pennsylvania has roughly 66,100 federal workers across various agencies, and Veterans Affairs employs the largest share of them. Among the departments that are impacted by the executive order, Pennsylvania has the following employees: Departments of State: 91 federal employees Department of Defense: 7,915 federal employees Department of Veterans Affairs: 19,321 federal employees Department of Energy: 484 federal employees Department of Health and Human Services: 1,305 federal employees Department of Treasury: 6,337 federal employees Department of Justice: 1,564 federal employees Department of Homeland Security: 878 federal employees About 71% of Pennsylvanias federal employees are in union jobs nearly 47,000, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management as of March 2024. Thats about 66% in New Jersey and in Delaware about 62%. There were about 22,500 federal employees in New Jersey and about 4,000 in Delaware as of March 2024, according to OPM data. Where do they work? Employees of the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Benefits Administration and others work for departments impacted by the executive order. Some of the government employees affected by Thursdays executive order work at the U.S. Mint near Independence Mall, the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in West Philadelphia, and the IRSs 30th and Market Street location. What is the Trump administration saying? Trump said the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gives him the authority to end collective bargaining with federal unions in these agencies because of their role in safeguarding national security. A memo from the Office of Personnel Management on Thursday provides guidance to agencies on the change. The memo notes that collective bargaining agreements often create procedural impediments to separating poor performers beyond those required by statute or regulation. What are unions saying? National president Everett Kelley said AFGE, which is the largest union for federal employees, is preparing immediate legal action in response to Trumps executive order and what Kelley referred to as unprecedented attacks. President Trumps latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants nearly one-third of whom are veterans simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies, Kelley said in a statement Thursday night. The National Treasury Employees Union president, Doreen Greenwald, said: We will vigorously challenge this illegal order in court. Her union represents federal employees across 37 departments and offices including the Department of Health and Human Services, which announced cuts to its workforce on Thursday, and the Department of the Treasury. The executive order to eliminate collective bargaining rights for federal employees across the government is a brazen attempt by the administration to ensure its reckless assault on vital federal agency services can continue unimpeded, Greenwald said in a statement. Alex Jay Berman, executive vice president of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 71, which represents IRS workers at the 30th and Market Street location, works full-time for the union. He described that role as aiming to improve the workplace, he said, so that the work which is done for the American people is done better, more efficiently, more correctly and more clearly. He wondered Friday morning how the order would be implemented, not having yet heard details from the IRS or Treasury. When I go in to work today, am I going to my office? Am I going on phones to do work [for the IRS] that I havent done in 20 years? Am I getting trained? he said. Will I return to a locked office? Members, too, are all asking questions we cant answer, Berman added. The executive order left him feeling horribly betrayed. The Associated Press contributed to this article. Retired federal worker Roseanne Sarkissian of Philadelphia (right) came to show support during the Save Our Services day of action event, at Independence Mall in on Feb. 19. Federal workers and everyday Americans came together to protest Elon Musk's push to gut federal services and impose mass layoffs. Read more Pennsylvania lost 700 federal workers between January and February, marking the largest month-over-month decline in federal employment since November 2020, according to preliminary data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data, reflecting payrolls as of Feb. 12, offers the first glimpse into what Pennsylvanias federal workforce looked like just before President Donald Trumps administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Trumps billionaire adviser Elon Musk, began the bulk of their mass federal layoffs, leaving many employees confused and anxious about their job security. Advertisement In February, federal agencies in Pennsylvania employed 103,600 workers, down 0.7% from 104,300 in January. The figure represents a modest decline of 0.3% from the same period a year ago, according to the BLS data. This decline in Pennsylvanias federal workforce could reflect the employees who decided to take the federal governments Fork in the Road offer known as a deferred resignation program that allowed workers to resign with eight months pay or those who may have been spooked by the offer and decided to preemptively quit their government jobs, said Josh Mask, an economics professor at Temple University. Natural attrition, exacerbated by Trumps day-one executive order instituting a government hiring freeze may also be to blame, Mask said. READ MORE: Federal layoffs hit Philadelphia. Heres what happened next for workers. Statewide, Pennsylvanias 103,600 federal workers make up about 1.7% of the total workforce, according to the data. The U.S. Postal Service constitutes the largest share of federal workers in Pennsylvania, with more than 28,000 employees as of September 2024, according to a separate set of BLS data. The recent layoffs have sprawled across the federal workforce in Philadelphia in agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Internal Revenue Service. Federal workers make up a relatively high proportion of the citys workforce. As of September, Philadelphia had 30,765 federal employees, constituting 4.3% of its 718,649 total workers the fourth-largest share, proportionally, in counties throughout the state. I think if the federal government is cutting the federal workforce, this is going to be definitely one of the parts of the country thats going to be most affected, said Mask, while noting that many of the DOGE-driven layoffs are being contested in court and might not hold. As of September, the federal government was the second-largest employer in Philadelphia and the agencies employing the most federal workers in the city were the Department of Defense, Department of the Treasury, and the Postal Service. When Trump signed an executive order instituting a government hiring freeze, union leaders representing federal employees in Philadelphia were wary of the orders potential to be detrimental to the citys already stretched-thin federal workforce. Then came the Fork in the Road, and a judge extended the deadline for employees to decide whether to take the offer to the evening of Feb. 12. READ MORE: As Trump moves to end union representation for federal workers, thousands in Pa. and N.J. could be affected Afterward came a deluge of mass layoffs mainly targeting probationary workers typically individuals who are within the first year of their new job or promotion across Philadelphia agencies. A judge in San Francisco ordered thousands of fired probationary officers to be reinstated, but Trump asked the Supreme Court Monday to block the judges ruling. It remains to be seen what impacts DOGEs cuts will have on the regions federal workforce long-term. The number of federal employees in the Philadelphia metro area has been on a long-term decline since at least 1990, the first year for which data is available. Mask, the Temple economics professor, surmises DOGEs cuts to grants and contracts to Philadelphias educational and medical institutions could have a far greater negative impact on the regions economy, and could eventually lead to employees at those institutions being laid off. Philadelphia has a lot of different medical systems that rely on NIH funding, services through HHS, Medicaid, Medicare, Mask said. So to the extent that you see cuts in those programs, I think, downstream, youre going to see, eventually, cuts across a lot of our medical systems. The Trump administration has made these layoffs in the name of cutting government spending. Philadelphia-based federal agencies paid total wages of $827,370,263 in the third quarter of 2024. Federal employee wages make up a small portion of the governments total budget, said Max Stier, founding president and CEO of Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that aims to foster an improved federal government. READ MORE: Hundreds of former federal workers have applied for Pennsylvania state government jobs amid DOGE layoffs Youre looking at somewhere around the neighborhood of 4% of the total budget, Stier said of all federal workers wages, noting that public servants are typically paid less than employees who work in the private sector, where DOGE has encouraged government workers to apply. Its quite small, and certainly not a place where youre going to save a lot of money, Stier said. More specifically, the activities, the cutting that DOGE has done is actually creating costs, not saving money. But the impact of the recent cuts could extend into the future, Stier said, adding that he is concerned about the effect they will have on recruiting new workers for federal jobs, once reputed for their stability and security. This is arson rather than renovation, he said. Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano is greeted and welcomed by his supporters at the Deja Vu Social Club in Philadelphia on Sept. 30, 2022. Read more As Republicans line up to challenge Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in 2026, State Sen. Doug Mastriano has a new ticket he thinks would be unbeatable for the GOP: Mastriano and Treasurer Stacy Garrity. Mastriano (R., Franklin), who ran unsuccessfully against Shapiro in 2022, told conservative radio host John Fredericks on Thursday that he wants to team up with Garrity, a Republican from rural Bradford County who received the most votes of any statewide row office candidate in Pennsylvania history. Advertisement Garrity has been a popular pick among Republican insiders to run for governor next year due to her success in Novembers election, breaking a record previously held by Shapiro. She has mostly avoided speculation on whether shed make a run to be the states top executive against Shapiros high approval ratings until this week, when she told the Delaware Valley Journal that running is something Im interested in. With the popularity of Garrity, and the grassroots of Mastriano, who could stop us? Mastriano said in an interview with The Inquirer following his radio appearance Thursday. Garrity and Mastriano are both retired U.S. Army colonels, and share President Donald Trumps brand of conservatism, he noted. Mastriano said he still needs to talk to the treasurer about what their collaboration would look like, but called it a Garrity-Mastriano ticket during his radio interview Thursday, suggesting he would be the lieutenant governor candidate. Mastriano has also said hes considering running for governor in 2026. READ MORE: Doug Mastriano is considering another run for Pennsylvania governor in 2026 If they run together, Mastriano thinks he and Garrity would be a stronger Republican option over U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R., Pa.), another staunch Trump supporter who is already making his pitch to voters in daily national TV hits and appearing at events outside his district in Pennsylvania. READ MORE: Rep. Dan Meuser came to Germantown and made a very Philly pitch for his likely run against Gov. Shapiro If we team up, its over, Mastriano said. No matter how much schmoozing he does with Trump, its over. Well clear the field. Mastriano said he likes Meuser as a person, but he thinks the GOP establishment will back Meuser and forget grassroots supporters that he said Republicans need to win statewide in Pennsylvania. He floated the idea of the two running together in response to Republican failures this week in a Lancaster County special election, where the Democrat won in an upset in a district that Trump won by 15 percentage points in November. Through a spokesperson, Garrity declined to comment. In response to Mastriano, Meuser said in a statement: Establishment? If that means Ive established myself with grassroots conservatives and other key parts of our party working for all good Republicans, and with President Trump, the MAGA movement, Trump Force 47, the PA GOP, and the grassroots organizations that helped deliver our winning tickets then so be it. These kinds of remarks arent helpful, Meuser added. If we have any hope of reversing the path of Governors Wolf and Shapiro, Republicans need to work together not against each other. A spokesperson for Shapiro declined to comment. There are logistical issues about Mastriano and Garrity running together in a primary election. In Pennsylvania, lieutenant governors and governors run separately from one another as exemplified in 2018, when U.S. Sen. John Fetterman beat out former Lt. Gov. Mike Stack in the Democratic primary to run alongside Gov. Tom Wolf in November. The lieutenant governor candidate and governor candidate are joined on the ticket in November. However, Shapiro was able to get his endorsed candidate now Lt. Gov. Austin Davis nominated in the Democratic primary, so the two could run as a Shapiro-Davis ticket much earlier than November. Alternately, Mastrianos last endorsed candidate for lieutenant governor, Teddy Daniels, came in third place in the GOP primary in 2022 and Mastriano ended up running with former State Rep. Carrie DelRosso (R., Allegheny). Staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this article. Councilmember Mark Squilla has wanted to crack down on noisy cars for years. Read more Philadelphia is looking to muffle noisy cars using artificial intelligence and fines. A new bill from City Councilmember Mark Squilla would pave the way for automated enforcement to begin as soon as this summer, following months of tests of AI-powered, noise-seeking cameras on a stretch of South Street known for drawing lines of subwoofer-equipped cars on weekends. Advertisement The hope for the program is to curtail the overexuberant noises from these vehicles, Squilla said Thursday. And hopefully being able to enforce this without having to follow or chase down these cars. Loud motorized vehicles have long driven nuisance complaints from residents, from buzzing ATVs on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to muscle car side shows near City Hall and other prominent city intersections. Squilla has been making noise about using automated enforcement to cut down on vehicular racket since at least 2021, when he passed a law formally prohibiting automobiles from generating sounds or vibrations five decibels above background level when measured from at least 25 feet away. The same measure authorized a pilot program in conjunction with the Philadelphia Parking Authority to test enforcement mechanisms. His new bill would give the legal green light needed for PPA to begin enforcement. It will likely be called for a committee hearing this spring, and, if Squilla gets his way, a final vote by early June or sooner. Last fall, the citys Office of Information Technology issued a $75,000 contract for the pilot program to Intelligent Instruments Limited, a firm based in the United Kingdom that manufactures a system called SoundVue that the company says uses clever algorithms and AI to detect excess noise. This system relies on cameras equipped with sensors that detect noise above 85 decibels the level at which it begins to damage human hearing from up to 50 feet away. If a car trips the decibel meter, the camera snaps a photo of its license plate and issues a ticket, similar to speed and red light cameras already being used in Philadelphia. Noise-detecting cameras have drawn criticism over privacy concerns and the impacts of fines on low-income residents. They have already been deployed in the United Kingdom, Manhattan, Miami Beach, and other U.S. cities. The initial contracts goal was to prove that the efficacy of the cameras, and did not actually allow for automated ticketing to begin at the two locations along South Street where the cameras were installed. Instead, the language states that the PPA may later elect to directly contract with the vendor to start dinging loud cars with fines. Squilla said the pilot programs cameras have been up and running for months. If the new bill passes, the PPA plans to roll out enforcement with a three-month warning phase with drivers initially receiving notices theyve exceeded a decibel limit before tickets are eventually issued. He said that a trend of concealed or fake license plates had been an obstacle, but testing had produced numerous valid hits. The majority are people with plates. Many are non-PA tag holders, he said. Squilla added that Council could explore expanding the program to other locations if enforcement along South Street is successful. Natural Lands and the Borough of Chester Heights, Delaware County, announced that the borough has purchased 40.2 acres of open space on Valleybrook and Smithbridge Roads, and will keep it preserved as open space. Read more Fred Wood, then mayor of Chester Heights, launched a plan five years ago to save a 40-acre parcel from development in this small Delaware County community. Wood died in 2024, but his plan has succeeded. Advertisement On Thursday, Natural Lands, a conservation organization, announced that the borough had been able to purchase the tract at Valleybrook and Smithbridge Roads for $3.4 million with the help of grants about $340,000 less than its valuation. We did it, Fred, current Chester Heights Mayor Gina Ellis said. A Herculean task Ellis said in an interview Friday that when the former mayor first proposed buying the property, it felt like a Herculean task. The borough of 2.2 square miles, or roughly 1,500 acres, has a budget of only $4.2 million. So raising $3.4 million to buy land presented a significant hurdle. To jump-start the process, anonymous donors in the borough kicked in $750,000. This acquisition marks a wonderful chapter for the borough, Ellis said. My only regret is that Fred is no longer alive to see this project come to a successful conclusion. Chester Heights, home to about 2,900 residents, plans to build low-impact trails on the land, Ellis said. Building trails isnt yet in the budget, so that could take some time, she said. The effort to save the land began after a developer approached the borough to build 57 homes on 25 acres of the property and leave the rest as open space. But Wood believed all of the property should be preserved. He and borough officials approached members of the Powell family, who owned the property, and asked whether they would be willing to wait until the borough could raise the money. The family agreed. Ellis thanked the Powell family for their patience as the borough went through a trying process of obtaining grants. They could have sold it for more money, and sooner, officials said. There were so many times we had to go back to them, Ellis said, I said please, oh please, dont give up on us. Eventually, the grants were approved, including a nearly $1.9 million federal grant. A bargain The borough reached out to Natural Lands for help applying for the grants and negotiating with the propertys owner, Lorraine B. Powell. Representatives involved in the deal thanked Powell for accepting what they called a bargain price. Its always a cause for celebration when a community invests in open space, said Natural Lands president Oliver Bass. Natural Lands helped find money through a variety of sources including Delaware County, the National Park Service, the state, and the Nature Conservancy. Rolling hills Officials involved in the deal said that, in addition to providing new public green space, the property will slow and absorb stormwater, helping to reduce flooding. The property will also filter runoff before it enters Chester Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River. Ellis, the mayor, said the property will be the largest parcel of open public space in the borough. It has beautiful rolling hills, Ellis said. There is wildlife and wetlands. A tributary of the West Branch of Chester Creek runs through this land, which is actually one of our borders. It will be wonderful hiking because there are a lot of a lot of hills, and fishing. The idea of putting houses on that landmark was not attractive to anybody. The property is partially wooded with a large meadow. Ellis said its preservation is a testament to Wood. This started with Fred, Ellis said. He told me that land is the only thing we cant create more of. Alterra Property Group is planning a 300-unit apartment building in Conshohocken on land owned by SEPTA. The property was previously slated to host a 528-space parking garage that had been met with significant pushback from transit advocates. At SEPTAs Thursday board meeting, the transit agency authorized a long-term ground lease and development contract at 101 Washington St. with Philadelphia-based Alterra, a well-known multifamily housing developer. Leaders at the agency said they hope this would be the first of many public-private partnerships to build housing on underutilized land owned by SEPTA. Advertisement A SEPTA spokesperson confirmed that the planned apartment building along the Schuylkill would be market rate, with appropriate parking for residents and potential space for a small commercial use such as a cafe. The proposal would still allow the transit agency to add to its parking capacity near Conshohocken station, with 119 dedicated parking spaces for riders included in the project. The general public could use them during off-peak hours. We dont currently have the funding to build the parking garage as we originally envisioned, but this development enables us to do parking and get transit-oriented development there as well, said Jody Holton, SEPTAs chief planning and strategy officer. Holton said this is the largest housing project SEPTA has ever partnered with a private developer on, and the agency is seeking more opportunities to use surface parking lots as mixed-use projects with housing. She said they were also looking to partner with developers at stations in Ambler, Swarthmore, and Bristol Borough, and Germantown Station in Philadelphia. The approval comes at the culmination of a long debate over the redevelopment of the land, which was initially slated for a mammoth new $48 million parking garage that drew the ire of transit advocates. The initial proposal from SEPTA and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was meant to attract car commuters from the highway to park in Conshohocken and then continue their trip into the city by train. It was considered around the same time that the boroughs new station was launched. Hyperlocal publication MoreThanTheCurve reported in 2023 that they had confirmed estimates from transit advocates that each new space was estimated to cost the financially beleaguered transit agency $117,878 and that the Conshohocken stop currently had fewer daily riders than the planned number of spaces. In the face of sustained criticism of its spending priorities, SEPTA retreated from the solo-garage plan and issued a request for proposals from residential developers. Alterra won the bid. The company is known for apartment buildings like Lincoln Square at Broad and Washington and the post-pandemic office-to-residential conversion of 1701 Market St. (The company declined to comment on its plans ahead of Thursdays board meeting.) Over the 99-year ground lease, Alterra will pay SEPTA $600,000 a year, and escalating 3% each year, for a total of $330 million over the lease. Holton said they were negotiating with the developer over a potential revenue-sharing because the agency is giving the ground and parking investment. It wont solve all our budget problems, obviously, but its investments like this that make something like this parking project actually come to fruition as we face these challenges, said Holton. But as MoreThanTheCurve reported in 2023, Conshohockens borough council initially protested the abandonment of the plan with a previous council member saying the borough cannot sustain additional multifamily development in that area. In 2022, the borough council had changed the zoning of the area to prevent multifamily housing from being built on the site. That means a legislative change or a zoning variance will be needed for the project to move forward. To date, the Borough has not received a land use application for a transit-oriented development on the subject property, said Tina Sokolowski, borough president, in an email. Once received, any application would be processed pursuant to the Boroughs land use processes, in compliance with state law. Sokolowski declined to comment further on Alterras project or the possibility of changing the zoning at 101 Washington St. Although local leaders control zoning, some county-level politicians expressed support for the project. We are in the middle of a housing crisis, here in Montgomery County and nationally, said Neil Makhija, who is on SEPTAs board and is one of the countys three commissioners. Transit-oriented development like this project is exactly where we should be adding new homes. He is permitted to retain involvement with two entities Balanced Life Financial Group Pty Ltd and Balanced Life Wealth Strategies Pty Ltd until later in 2025. Specifically, he may control or co-control both companies until Aug. 31 and continue performing functions within their operations until Sept. 30. We welcome JoAnne to the IAG board. She has extensive experience as a non-executive director and as the chair and member of board committees across private and listed entities. Her key strengths in finance, accounting, risk management, and governance are critical to our efforts to retain a strong IAG board capable of guiding and supporting our business, he said. Supporters of the bill argue the program could improve road safety and access to insurance by removing rate-setting factors such as ZIP code and marital status, which are commonly used in the traditional market. PFAs has the potential to be the next asbestos because it is widespread, Dybdahl said. Currently, litigation, according to the press, is focused on the manufacturers of PFAs. But then what happened with asbestos was that the first lawsuits were against manufacturers, which then went to the companies that included asbestos in their products. Then, it went to the people who used asbestos-containing products, and that took decades. So, if PFAs go that direction and the situation has all the elements to do so that could be a major loss exposure. Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company and its captive reinsurer, Southern Atlantic Re, were ordered by the South Carolina Department of Insurance to stop issuing new policies by Dec. 31. This directive was based on findings that the companies were operating with negative surplus levels, raising concerns about their ability to meet policyholder obligations. Delaware is poised to give corporate officers more protections in its courts against shareholder lawsuits after criticism by billionaire Elon Musk and other influential business titans that rattled top public officials in what they call the corporate capital of the world. Lawmakers approved fast-tracked legislation Tuesday night backed by the Gov. Matt Meyer and Delaware business leaders. But shareholders lawyers and pension funds slam it as a giveaway to billionaires and corporate insiders. Heres a look by the numbers: 2.2 million That is how many business entities call Delaware their legal home, according to the governors office. Those entities include two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, according to state officials. The number of business entities in Delaware has steadily grown, according to state figures. While most probably keep their corporate headquarters somewhere else, the companies handle their legal matters in Delawares experienced corporate law courts, which have a well-developed body of corporate case law and judges who all had experience in corporate law before they joined the bench. 1,051,917 That is Delawares U.S. Census population estimate from last year meaning that residents are outnumbered two-to-one by corporations registered there. 81% That is the percentage of all U.S. initial public offerings in 2024 that were registered in Delaware, according to the governors office. $2.2 billion That is the amount of annual revenue that Delaware state government receives from corporate license fees and associated tax revenues, according to the governors office. That pays for about one-third of the total state operating budget. 0% That is Delaware state sales tax rate made possible, at least in part, by billions in revenue from corporate license fees and taxes. Only four other states had no state sales tax last year, according to the Tax Foundation. That rock-bottom tax rate helps make Delaware a destination for residents of neighboring states looking to make an expensive purchase. $55 billion That was the potential value of Musks compensation package awarded by Tesla in 2018 and that a Delaware judge threw out last year after shareholders lawyers sued. The judge, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, ruled that it had been developed by directors who werent independent of Musk and approved by shareholders who had been given misleading and incomplete disclosures in a proxy statement. Tesla shareholders met again last June and voted to restore Musks compensation package, then valued at $45 billion after it declined in value in tandem with Teslas dropping stock value at the time. But shareholders challenged it, and McCormick reaffirmed her ruling that required the company to rescind it. Musk and Tesla are appealing in Delawares Supreme Court. Musks criticism Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware, he wrote on social media inflamed corporate unrest that had been simmering the past couple years over various Delaware Supreme Court decisions in corporate conflict-of-interest cases, backers of the bill say. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The operator of an interstate trucking company who was convicted by a federal jury of making false statements to federal regulators about the companys safety rating has been sentenced to 45 months in prison. Prosecutors identified the man as Tony Kirik, a/k/a Anatoliy Kirik, of Rochester, New York. He was found guilty of lying to the Federal Motor Commission Safety Administration (FMCSA). Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa M. Marangola, who handled the prosecution, stated that Kirik operated a multiple million-dollar trucking business called Dallas Logistics. When applying to the FMCSA for authority to operate as an interstate carrier, Kirik submitted false documents regarding the safety rating of his trucking business. Further, when undergoing compliance reviews and safety audits by the FMSCA. Kirik provided false statements and information regarding the many safety violations incurred by his business, according to prosecutors. To trick the FMSCA regarding the safety of this trucking business, Kirik started new companies using various family members names and an employees name to make it appear that these new companies were independent and not affiliated with the prior business that incurred the negative safety ratings. However, in fact, the new company was merely an extension of the prior company. At trial, prosecutors showed that Kiriks actions jeopardized the safety of the nations highways and roadways from unsafe tractor trailers. Topics Trucking The Arctic Ocean likely had the smallest winter ice cover in 47 years of satellite records this season, with just 5.53 million square miles of sea ice covering the region at its peak on March 22. Thats 510,000 square miles less than the median coverage at other March peaks between 1981 and 2010, according to the National Snow & Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder a reduction equivalent to an area larger than Peru. Arctic winter ice typically reaches its broadest expanse in March, after which it begins a slow melt over the spring and summer months, shrinking to its smallest area, or minimum extent, in September. The previous record winter low occurred in 2017. The new record is still a preliminary finding but is unlikely to change, Mark Serreze, the centers director, said. Last year was the hottest year on record and the loss of Arctic ice threatens to accelerate feedback loops involved in climate change. Warmer, darker, more open ocean waters absorb solar energy that would otherwise be reflected by ice, trapping more heat. Every year were increasing the amount of heat that is stored in the Arctic Ocean, said Penny Vlahos, a climate scientist at the University of Connecticut. Since global weather patterns are driven by temperature differences between the planets higher and lower latitudes, a faster-warming Arctic could lead to more unpredictable weather, Vlahos said. The analogy I use is that the Arctic is the ice in our cooler, she said. When the ice is gone in your cooler, you no longer have refrigeration and thats exactly whats happening to us. That ice in the Arctic and the Antarctic is the buffer in our system, and when you lose that, you are subject to much more extreme weather. The dwindling of sea ice also has geopolitical and security ramifications as it opens up the Arctic to more shipping and potential military uses. Earlier today, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he expects cargo shipments via the Northern Sea Route to reach 70 million to 100 million tons by 2030, compared with almost 38 million tons last year. Serreze said levels of winter ice this low could compound the decline of the regions summer sea ice, which is expected to disappear as early as the next decade. We used to think starting off on a bad footing ahead of the Arctic summer didnt necessarily mean a very low September sea ice extent, said Serreze. More snowfall in the spring, for example, could help the resilience of the summer ice cover. But now, he said, were thinking maybe it does. Thats because its so much warmer and the ice is so much thinner than it used to be. Each year, as the Arctic winter sea ice builds to a peak, sea ice on the opposite pole shrinks during the Southern Hemispheres summer. Antarctic sea ice covered just 764,000 square miles at its lowest point for the year, according to data released by NSIDC earlier this month. That figure was the second lowest on record, tying with 2022 and 2024, and 30% lower than the amount of ice that was typical in the region before 2010. Photograph: Melting sea ice on the Arctic ocean. Photo credit: Sergio Pitamitz/VWPics/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. A group of Italian fund managers said on Friday it would put forward four candidates for the new board of Generali, adding to uncertainty over the outcome of a key shareholder vote at the countrys biggest insurer. A shareholder clash at Generali is unfolding amid a wave of consolidation reshaping Italian finance. Generalis investors will vote in a new board on April 24, with top shareholder Mediobanca expected to propose another term for CEO Philippe Donnet as part of a slate of board nominees. Donnet has previously been opposed by the insurers second- and third-largest shareholders. Read more: Billionaire Generali Investor Weighs Candidates to Challenge CEO Donnet The move by the fund manager group, which owns around 0.7% of Generali, increases the chance of a fractured board. After a prolonged internal debate on whether to keep out of the fray, which would likely have helped Mediobancas slate of nominees, the investors opted to propose their own candidates. The decision was steered by fund management representatives of Intesa Sanpaolo, people with knowledge of the matter said, as Italys biggest bank pushed for Generalis wider investor base to have a say, next to its biggest shareholders. Three years ago, Donnet weathered a leadership challenge from Generalis second- and third-largest investors: Italian tycoons Leonardo Del Vecchio and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone. In 2022, Generalis institutional investors voted en masse for Donnet, who was then the CEO candidate proposed by the board, with support from Mediobanca. This year, Generalis board has not proposed any candidates, after Italy changed corporate governance rules that Caltagirone had criticized, leaving to Mediobanca the task of putting forward Donnet. To avoid picking sides in the shareholder battle, institutional investors at the AGM could favor the Italian fund managers proposal. While Caltagirone is not planning to challenge Donnet directly, next months vote could produce an unwieldy board. With his 6.9% stake, Caltagirone is expected to propose up to six nominees for Generalis 13-member board. If his slate wins, the split of board seats could create a deadlock. Under Generalis bylaws, up to nine directors are selected from the list receiving the most votes. The remaining four are chosen proportionally from the other two slates, provided they cross a 5% threshold. Adding to the uncertainty, UniCredit has recently bought 4.18% of Generali and the bank has not disclosed its voting strategy. Intesa is keeping out of Italys M&A frenzy, but bankers say Generali is such a key asset in the consolidation process that neither Intesa nor UniCredit can afford to disregard the insurers fate. (Editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark Potter) Myanmars military leader requested international aid on Friday to help deal with the aftermath of a massive earthquake that they said has left at least 144 people dead. The quake on Friday measured 7.7 in magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey, which said it was 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) northwest of Sagaing, Myanmar. There was a second quake of 6.4 magnitude around the same area, the USGS said. The death toll and the number of injuries are likely to rise, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a video speech on state broadcaster MRTV. In some areas, buildings collapsed so rescue efforts are still under way, he said. As we carry out extensive rescue and relief efforts, I would like to request help. The country has already accepted offers from India and the AHA Center, a regional agency for disaster management and humanitarian assistance. More than 700 people have been injured, according to authorities. Major General Zaw Min Tun, lead spokesman of the ruling State Administration Council, said state-run hospitals in Naypyidaw, Mandalay & Sagaing are all packed with patients. Bridges and several buildings collapsed in different areas of the country, according to a report in the state-owned news outlet The Global New Light of Myanmar. A state of emergency was declared in six provinces including the capital Naypyidaw and Mandalay, the nations second-biggest city, the State Administration Council said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe was ready to provide support to Myanmar and neighboring Thailand. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is due to visit Bangkok next week, also pledged assistance. Rescue and rebuilding efforts in Myanmar may be complicated by the long-running civil war in the country, which has crippled the economy. The country has been under the control of a military junta since 2021. It is highly likely that build quality will generally not be high enough to survive this level of shaking, and casualty numbers will almost certainly climb significantly as more becomes known of the scale of the disaster, said Bill McGuire, emeritus professor of geophysical & climate hazards at the University College London. He added that the quake struck along the Sagaing Fault, which runs north-south close to large population centers. Bangkok Tower In Thailand, some 83 people were trapped and 12 were injured after a 30-story building collapsed in Bangkok, according to Governor Chadchart Sittipunt. He confirmed three fatalities. The building had been under construction. The stock and futures exchanges halted trading, and Deputy Prime Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said the telecommunication system has been disrupted. The transport ministry ordered the suspension of Bangkoks public transportation services, but an initial check found no damage to the citys mass-transit system. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra designated Bangkok an emergency area. Thailand is a major production center for electronics from computing components and storage devices to laptops. Major contract manufacturers including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and Quanta Computer Inc. which assemble devices on behalf of many of the worlds biggest consumer brands said earlier they hadnt received reports of any impact from the region. Samsung Electronics Co., which makes many of its smartphones in Vietnam, said theres been no impact in the two countries. Thailands finance ministry said there are no reports of a significant impact on the economy, fiscal infrastructure, or financial system. Strong earthquakes are often followed by aftershocks that spread to other areas, said Nguyen Xuan Anh, Director of the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Center at the Institute of Geophysics. While many places in Vietnam clearly felt the shaking, the quake is unlikely to cause damage in the country, the government said. Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. Its the economy stupid, and it seems that a lot of executives are using their brain power on their current worries rather than on the climate concerns of tomorrowdespite those concerns materializing in the here and now. Executives are focused on meeting current economic challenges, putting intensifying environmental and climate risk concerns on the backburner, according to a study from Beazley. The insurers Spotlight on Environmental & Climate Risk 2025 report includes observations from 3,500 global business leaders on how they perceive climate risk, the energy transition, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental damage to their operations. The report shows that nearly two-thirds (73%) of them believe the current economic climate makes meeting their sustainability targets less of a priority, and 67% are finding it hard to transition to non-carbon energy and meet net zero targets. Roughly one-third (34%) plan to increase energy efficiency this year, up from 23% in 2024, but only 19% see greenhouse gas emission risk as a significant concern (down from 24% in 2024). In the current economic environment executives are focusing on the here and now, risking missing the elephant in the room, the report states. The past year has seen California ablaze, deadly floods in Spain, and unprecedented storms, making extreme weather the new norm. These events cause devastation, and increase the risk of environmental damage, commodity shortages, supply chain and business interruption, yet just 20% (up from 18% in 2024) of global executives that we surveyed rank climate risk and associated catastrophic risk as a top concern. Renewables Theres big opportunity in servicingand insuringrenewables, if you were listen to what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is saying. Guterres was addressing the 16th Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, during which he issued a strong call for decisive climate action. He also called out some impressive stats about renewables and renewable growth: 2024 was a record year for global renewable energy production, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Renewables made up 92% of new electricity capacity installed last year. Europes capacity rose by 9%, with Africas capacity grew by 7%. Wind power cost has dropped 60% since 2010, and solar is 90% cheaper. Clean energy accounted for 5% of Indias GDP growth, 6% of the U.S. GDP and roughly one-third of the EUs. All of this is another reminder of a 21st century truth: Renewables are renewing economies, Mr. Guterres said. They are powering growth, creating jobs, lowering energy bills, and cleaning our air. Extreme Weather Climate change is causing more extreme weather around the globe, increasing the odds of severe drought and heavier precipitation. California is an example of both: The state was facing another severe drought until 2023, when record-setting rain and snowfall led to heavy vegetation growth that helped fuel Januarys destructive wildfires in Los Angeles. How can global warming cause both drier and wetter extremes? The Associated Press in an article on Insurance Journal posed that question to experts. The AP report explains that water constantly moves between the planet and the atmosphere. But that hydrological cycle is speeding up as global temperatures warm and a hotter atmosphere sucks up more water vapor from bodies of water and vegetation and soil. On the land, this atmospheric demand and loss of surface moisture leads to longer and more intense droughts. Rain falls less often, but when it does, its often in intense and destructive deluges. Thats because the atmosphere holds 7% more water vapor for every degree Celsius, according to the report. Basically, global warming is turning the atmosphere into a bigger sponge so it can soak up more moisture and then when the conditions are right for rainfall, its like squeezing that sponge, Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist at the University of Michigan, told the AP. You get more moisture coming out faster. Climate Activists Are climate activists having an impact? Behavioral scientists at Yale reviewed dozens research articles looking for evidence that climate activism influences public opinion and media coverage. They found that it can, depending on the tactics used by activists and the way the media covers the events. There is strong evidence that climate activism shifts public opinion and media coverage in a pro-climate direction, but this varies by context and the tactics employed, the article published in ScienceDirect states. There is more moderate evidence that activism can pressure policymakers to communicate more about climate change, encourage voters to vote in a more pro-climate direction, and financially pressure carbon-intensive companies. The study found that protests usually increase support for a movement when they are peaceful, but not when they are violent. Researchers also found evidence that the influence of activism on public perceptions can be either positive or negative depending on the tone of the media coverage of the protests. Past columns: W.R. Berkely Corp. said Friday that Japanese property/casualty insurer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. will buy a 15% stake in the company through open market purchases or private transactions with third parties. W.R. Berkely said the Berkely family will not be selling any of its common stock as part of the deal. MSI will not be buying any shares from the company itself. The day-to-day operations of W.R. Berkley Corp. will not be affected by this agreement between MSI and the Berkley family, and the familys commitment to the company will not change. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based commercial insurer was founded by William R. Berkley in 1967 and went public in 1973. His son, W. Robert Berkley Jr., is now president and chief executive. We have deep respect for MSI developed over years of collaborating with them through the companys reinsurance operations, said Rob Berkley, in a statement. We remain committed to the companys long-term success and we welcome the opportunity to have MSI as a shareholder. The CEO said the investment is validation of [W.R. Berkleys] outstanding performance and growth trajectory, and we are excited to have regular conversations with them about opportunities to leverage their international presence to help the company drive sustainable stockholder value. Under the terms of the agreement, the Berkley family will recommend the nomination and election of a MSI direct designee to W.R. Berkleys board of directors when MSI acquires at least 12.5% of outstanding shares. Prior to that threshold when MSI buys 4.9% of shares MSI agrees to vote those shares pursuant to the recommendations of the Berkley Family, except in limited circumstances where the Berkley Family will vote the MSI shares in the same proportion as all of the non-MSI shares are voted. MSIs investment is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter 2026, pending regulatory approvals. Topics Mergers & Acquisitions The Florida House subcommittee on insurance advanced two hotly debated bills Thursday, one supported by insurance agents but another that was opposed by agents and carriers alike. And another subcommittee voted to repeal the auto insurance personal injury protection law and increase the minimum liability coverage limits. But its far from certain if House Bill 1181 or the Senate version will pass both chambers of the Legislature. Gov. Ron DeSantis seems set to veto the PIP measure if it does pass. On property insurance, the House Commerce Committees subcommittee on insurance and banking approved a new version of House Bill 643, by Rep. John Snyder, a payroll and staffing company owner. The bill, if it is signed into law, would ease the workload for agents searching for surplus lines coverage for hard-to-place properties, by repealing the diligent effort currently required by state law. The statute now requires agents to seek coverage from at least three admitted carriers before writing with a surplus lines insurer. That would be removed under the bill. The Florida Association of Insurance Agents has supported that part of the bill. The diligent effort requirement has just been a bureaucratic roadblock that has added delays, B.G. Murphy, government affairs director for FAIA, said after the meeting. Well-known plaintiffs attorney Chip Merlin argued against the bill, contending that it would weaken consumer protections by allowing insurance agents to move policyholders too quickly to more expensive and less-regulated surplus lines. This bill favors those companies that do not want to invest in the admitted market in Florida, Merlin said in the meeting. An earlier version of the bill also would have altered the statutory requirement that agents be appointed with three carriers before writing commercial residential policies with the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Agents would be able to attest that they have access to markets through a broker. That section was removed from the pared-down House committee substitute adopted Thursday, but it remains in a Senate bill, SB 1184. The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee has approved that bill, and it is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee. A part of HB 643 that saw extensive debate in the House subcommittee on Thursday would give Citizens policyholders an upfront option on litigation versus state-managed arbitration in claims disputes. Current law allows either Citizens or the insured to choose, post-claim, when a dispute can be decided by the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings, a state agency that is best known for arbitrating disputes between businesses and state agencies over enforcement actions. HB 643 would put the arbitration option in the policy language. Each insured must be notified in writing, at the time of entering into a policy with the corporation and upon each renewal, that they must decide whether to resolve disputes through arbitration before the Division of Administrative Hearings, the bill reads. Such notification must be included, in boldfaced 12-point type immediately preceding the insureds signature, in the following statement: AN INSURED MUST CHOOSE AT THE TIME OF ENTERING INTO THIS POLICY OR UPON RENEWAL WHETHER TO RESOLVE DISPUTES THROUGH ARBITRATION BEFORE THE DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS. THE INSURED MUST INDICATE THIS SELECTION BY MARKING ACCEPT OR DECLINE BELOW. THIS DECISION CANNOT BE CHANGED DURING THE TERM OF THE POLICY. While some representatives said that arbitration favors the wealthy who can more easily afford attorneys, the bills sponsor said the opposite is true: Litigation in the courts can take years and result in large attorney fees, which only well-heeled policyholders can sustain. A Citizens spokesman said the insurer is reviewing the bill. Meanwhile, the panel also approved HB 1047, despite concerns from lawmakers that it raised too many unanswered questions and needed more work. The bill is not ready for prime time, said Rep. Mike Caruso, who voted against the measure. Among other changes, the bill, by Rep. Kim Berfield, would greatly reduce the number of education hours required for an insurance agents license. Berfield said Florida now requires more hours than any other state. The next-closest state, New York, mandates just 90 hours of education for agents. So, after extensive research, Berfield landed on 60 hours, she said, without further explanation. The FAIA has opposed the bill, noting that Floridas ever-changing and crisis-prone property insurance market should not be left to inexperienced dilettantes. Regulations already allow exemptions to the 200-hour rule for those with extensive experience working at an insurance agency, FAIAs Murphy explained. The FAIA does not have a financial interest in providing pre-license education courses for agents, Murphy said. The section of the bill that received the most debate was one that would amend the 2023 tort-reform statute provisions on alleging bad faith by insurance companies. Insurance groups and consumer advocates both opposed the wording. The bill would allow sufficient evidence of a claim to include photographs or surveillance video of an accident, or medical bills. But several committee members decried a provision that would let insurers object to the evidence within 10 days, while policyholders would then have just 10 days to respond. It also would allow carriers to cancel or non-renew policies before repairs are completed if the insured no longer has an insurable interest in the property. What about an older person whose house is gone after a storm, who has moved in to her childrens house out of state, and the insurance company mails the notice to the house thats not even there anymore? Caruso asked. She has just 10 days to respond to a letter she never even got? The Florida Justice Reform Institutes president, William Large, spoke at the meeting and said the bill would threaten the HB 837 tort-reform law approved in 2023, which raised the bar on plaintiffs bad-faith claims. That 2023 law gives insurers 90 days to tender the policy limits in claims, and that has worked well for two years, Large said. The Florida Insurance Council also opposes HB 1047. Nonetheless, the subcommittee voted 12-6 in favor of the bill Thursday, with members suggesting that the bugs can be worked out in the next committee to hear the bill. Photo: Snyder explains HB 643 at the Capitol Thursday. (The Florida Channel) Pinnacol Assurance announced its 2025 general dividend will return roughly $15 million to more than 47,000 workers compensation insurance policyholders across Colorado. Th dividend marks the 10th consecutive year Pinnacol has returned dividends to Colorado businesses. The 2025 dividend, which is being distributed to policyholders in all 64 Colorado counties, is a portion of Pinnacols surplus that is earned by customers that maintain safe workplaces. Pinnacol Assurance is a quasi-state workers comp provider headquartered in Denver. Many countries form large, state-owned companies to control oil assets and manage their oil sectors. By keeping these companies private, countries maintain some authority over the production, sales, and expansion of valuable oil reserves. If made public, shareholders would own the company and could influence a countrys most valuable asset. Key Takeaways Many large oil companies are owned by their governments. Kuwait Petroleum, the National Iranian Oil Company, and Venezuelas PDVSA are state-owned oil companies. Sinopec, formerly China Petroleum and Chemical, is partially controlled by the government and trades on the Hong Kong, Shanghai, and New York Stock Exchanges. Kuwait Petroleum The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is Kuwait's national oil company. It is active in multiple stages of oil production: exploration, exploitation, refining, marketing, and transportation. The company also produces petrochemicals. The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation was formed by integrating a few domestic oil companies and putting them under the control of the Kuwaiti government. Production was reported at over 3 million barrels per day (bpd) in January 2025. Kuwait accounts for approximately 3% of the world's oil production. Important The United States produces and consumes the most oil in the world. PDVSA PDVSA is a Venezuelan state-owned oil firm. PDVSA reported production of 1.03 million bpd as of Feb. 2025. In 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on PDVSA designed to cripple the Maduro government and empower opposition leader Juan Guaido by blocking Venezuelan crude exports to the United States. As of 2025, U.S.-based Chevron will wind down all oil operations and exports from Venezuela. However, PDVSA plans to continue producing and exporting oil with Chevron once a license for the U.S. company expires. National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) was established in 1948 and is owned by the government of Iran. It is a member of OPEC. Headquartered in Tehran, Iran, NIOC was first called the Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) in 1908, and APOC was the first company to extract petroleum from the Middle East. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a new regime took power that led to the withdrawal of foreign workers from Iran's oil industry. Iranians took control of the company. Iran accounts for 4% of the world's oil production. What Privately Owned Oil Companies Have Gone Public? Saudi Aramco was once state-owned by Saudi Arabia before its IPO in 2019. Aramco raised $25.6 billion by selling shares in its state-owned oil company. China's Sinopec Corporation is not entirely state-owned, as shares trade publicly on multiple exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. What Countries Are Members of OPEC? The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) includes Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar, Indonesia, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo. Which Countries Consume the Most Oil? In 2023, the United States and China accounted for approximately 35% of the world's oil consumption. The Bottom Line Oil companies that operate in Kuwait, Venezuela, and Iran are government owned. Some state-run producers have gone public in previous decades, including companies in China and Saudi Arabia. Electric Picnic has announced five headline acts set to perform at this years festival. Hozier will make a welcome return to the fields of Stradbally on Friday night, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the release of his debut album. Midwest princess Chappell Roan, who has established herself as an international superstar, will make her debut at Electric Picnic this year. Brit Award winner and multi-platinum artist Sam Fender will be headlining the festival on Saturday night, performing songs from his recently released chart-topping third album. Joining Fender on Saturdays lineup and closing out the main stage will be Fatboy Slim. The final headline act announced by Electric Picnic is Kings of Leon - no strangers to performing in Ireland but also making their Picnic debut by headlining on Sunday night. Electric Picnic takes place this year from August 29 to August 31 at Stradbally Estate. Picnic fan favourites are set to return, including the Trailer Park, Croi, Salty Dog, Providencia, and Fish Town. On her 45th birthday, Sinead Lambe was measured for a colostomy bag. It was summer 2023, and Lambe, from Dublins north city centre area, had not been feeling the best for several months. I was alternating between constipation and diarrhoea. I thought maybe it was IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or perimenopause. The previous January, her GP had prescribed tablets for IBS and recommended she keep a food diary. With no improvement, Lambe an admin worker in further education returned to her GP in late February and was referred for a colonoscopy. By the end of May, Id heard nothing. Id had a couple of bad days. I was tired, irritable. I woke up one morning and said, Right, Im going to the hospital. To be honest, I was also getting a bit nervous with summer coming how was I going to wear a white jumpsuit with all this going on? Arriving in the hospital just days before the June bank holiday, Lambe had a blood test and CT scan. They thought maybe I had a kidney stone. But within 48 hours further tests confirmed a tumour blocking her bowel. It was localised, but advanced. I had to have a stoma. The ball started rolling then about next steps and procedures. Seven weeks of radiation and 16 weeks of chemo, finishing in March 2024, were followed by surgery in April to remove the tumour, some of her bowel, and her ovaries and uterus radiation had caused damage to these and there was scar tissue. In the high-dependency unit for five days, Lambe was home after two weeks. However, she did not feel in a good place mentally. I was cancer-free, the tumour was gone, I was supposed to be jumping up and down, but it didnt hit me like that. I was very emotional. Dr Sinead Lynch, psychologist at the Mater Hospital, Dublin. Picture: Moya Nolan. I think I didnt deal with the diagnosis when it first happened. I tried to stay upbeat for everybody, I kind of lost myself. From diagnosis to surgery, every day was, Right, I just need to get through this recover after getting the stoma, get over radiation, prepare for chemo, prepare for surgery. And after surgery, there was nothing left. I had to deal with everything I hadnt been dealing with. When youre lying in bed post-surgery and you cant move and you have to keep motivated that can be hard. Things that used to motivate you, you cant do anymore: Go on a night-out with friends, to the gym, or on holidays. "I also found the stoma really hard to accept, recalls Lambe, who had the stoma reversal procedure last September. Throughout this journey, many questions came and went. Like: is it my time? Did I make the right choices in life? Will I be remembered? Will my best friend find a new best friend? While she had huge support from friends one male friend is now her partner and family (My brother Colm was a rock), as well as her workplace, Lambe, in a very low place post-surgery, was referred to the Mater Publics psycho-oncology department and saw a psychiatrist and psychologist. I learned how to deal with my emotions, to have compassion for myself, to accept Ive been through so much that Im allowed to get angry, to get sad. Through the psycho-oncology department, Lambe participated in an eight-week mindfulness group. I do it myself now at home. Its just about being in the moment. Today, shes feeling good. My body is getting back to normal it might take another few months. Post-surgery, I was straight in to menopause. Im on HRT patches and, touch wood, I havent been too bad. Prior to cancer, Lambe says she would probably have fobbed off the idea of counselling. Id highly recommend it now. Because with cancer, its not only the body the head also needs looking after. Dealing with distress Dr Helen Greally is ex-clinical lead for psycho-oncology at the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) and is director of support services at Galway-based charity Cancer Care West. She says psycho-oncology was first named at New Yorks Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the 1970s, where Dr Jimmie Holland saw the need to treat the emotional trauma experienced by cancer patients and their families. Holland became the founder of psycho-oncology, conducting some of the first research on cancers psychological impact on individuals and families she also looked at how psychological and behavioural factors affect cancer risk and survival. Greally says that cancer causes distress to almost everybody who has been diagnosed. About 45% to 55% of people suffer significant distress. People are often quite scared is the cancer treatable? Is it curable? There are different phases to adjusting. Dr Helen Greally: The NCCP has been tasked with implementing recommendations in the current National Cancer Strategy (2017-2026), which includes recommendations for psycho-oncology." Psycho-oncology, she says, is about helping people navigate the cancer journey from diagnosis through treatment to post-treatment and right to the end, whether cure, survivorship and living well with cancer or, for some, palliative care. Psycho-oncology is overarching, covering all these phases, explains Greally, adding that huge amounts of research underpin how psycho-oncology supports people through cancer. We know it works, she says, pointing to a meta-analysis of 91 studies that found psychological therapy reduces physical healthcare costs by an average of 20%. And a 2014 study found that where data is available on the cost of psychological treatment and physical healthcare, the savings exceed costs. Greally points to Australia and particularly Canada as having very good psycho-oncology services, but says Ireland is also well represented, due to recent investment. The NCCP has been tasked with implementing recommendations in the current National Cancer Strategy (2017-2026), which includes recommendations for psycho-oncology, Greally says. And in the last six years, multi-disciplinary psycho-oncology teams have been established at Irelands eight cancer centres. Gamut of emotions Dr Sinead Lynch, counselling psychologist at the Mater Publics psycho-oncology department, says distress is the term psycho-oncologists use to describe the whole gamut of emotions patients can feel at diagnosis and right through their cancer experience, whether shock, anger, fear or sadness. Distress can be spiritual, existential fear of death, it could be social or financial. The word 'distress reduces stigma the persons suffering because theyve a cancer diagnosis. And in [cancer healthcare] its now advised to measure distress as the sixth vital sign, along with blood pressure, temperature, and so on the whole patient is being treated. Lynch studied psychology at University College Dublin and then worked in television she became a daytime producer on RTE but after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer dying four years later, when Lynch was 30 she reached a turning point. Though I really loved the creativity of TV, I wanted to find a new path, a bigger meaning. Sinead Lambe, right, who was treated for cancer. with Dr Sinead Lynch, psychologist at the Mater Hospital, Dublin. Picture: Moya Nolan. A masters in psychotherapy at Dublin City University was followed by a doctorate in counselling psychology at Trinity College Dublin. Lynch knew she wanted to work in psycho-oncology. The Mater Publics psycho-oncology department is an acute service and follows the NCCPs tiered model, where patient distress is matched to expertise. Very acute and severe distress requires psychology or psychiatry, she says. Its when someone gets to more acute distress, with maybe a history of depression and anxiety, or theyve very acute anxiety thats causing panic where theyre not able to engage with treatment. "They might be stuck in shock, sadness, heightened anxiety, thats filling every day, every thought and feeling. Or perhaps theyve multiple factors making it very difficult. Perhaps they need a social worker to support with children or finances. Maybe they have psychosis caused by steroids and so need psychiatric input. Lynch says this level of distress is not in the same realm as a cancer patient who bursts in to tears during a chemo session they are having a bad day, had little sleep the night before, but generally are coping quite well and have a lot of family and friends as support. She says this person might benefit from help from a Daffodil Centre or ARC Cancer Support Centre. Whereas, the person who says, Im not sleeping at all, the steroids are affecting my mood, Im worried about my job continuing to pay me, Ive no-one at home to support me, has a number of stressors and is a candidate for the psycho-oncology service. When faced with cancer, people feel so many emotions, Lynch says. Theres no set pattern. Naturally, theres shock and fear at diagnosis, but some have been suffering for a while, trying to find answers. Diagnosis can come as a relief now theres a plan, they feel vindicated, though a lot of anger can also come up. After the initial shock, people often adjust when they know their treatment plan. Anxiety can shoot back up a week before chemo we often get referrals then. Cancer shakes the foundations where everything had felt certain, it now feels uncertain, the patient feels out of control. And all the different time points can bring different uncertainties. When chemo ends, the person may feel, Im on my own now theyve got used to being scaffolded, monitored every week. And scanxiety is a known phenomenon coming up to their scan, people can become very anxious. Lynch hopes her patients will feel supported by the psycho-oncology service, not feel so alone. I hope they can take away some coping skills, tools, and insight about themselves. Id love for them to feel theyve gained something they can take with them, either in living with cancer or recovering from it. While much has been done, Lynch would like to see more team members who could offer group interventions to patients with a wide range of issues, such as those coping with physical adjustment to a stoma, or suffering body image issues post-surgery. They may feel a loss of self-esteem or not feel like myself. Loss of a body part, such as a breast, or a functioning deficit, such as erectile dysfunction after prostate removal, can cause huge mental anguish. "And for many people with a stoma, leakage is a big concern accidents can lead to shame and embarrassment, so they may not socialise as they once did, [which can] lead to sadness and depression. Greally would like to see equity of services for all cancer patients. Were very aware there are still a lot of inequities in cancer support among marginalised communities people with poor socio-economic status, older people, immigrant populations, those with intellectual disabilities. There should be equity and inclusion in cancer services. Support services Psycho-oncology services developed with HSE and Department of Health investment within Irelands eight cancer centres, multidisciplinary teams have been established to deal with psychological distress. Teams comprise psychiatry, psychology, social work and nursing. Community cancer support centres have been established under the National Cancer Care Programme. Dr Helen Greally, ex-clinical lead for psycho-oncology at NCCP, explains that these have been tasked with supporting people with cancer in the community patients and families. They offer three key supports: Information and advice about how to manage and live with cancer Psychological counselling and therapy Range of survivorship programmes to help people live with cancer For example, they might help people take up physical exercise, manage stress or fatigue, or live with the fear of uncertainty, explains Greally. Much supportive care is offered by charities and voluntary services: Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Centres (https://www.cancer.ie/daffodil-centres): Staffed by specialist nurses and trained volunteers, they provide information and support to anyone affected by cancer. ARC Cancer Support (https://www.arccancersupport.ie/): The charity provides psychological, emotional, practical and educational support to people with cancer and those who care for them. Online course Lynch runs the Comfort Group as part of the psycho-oncology service. The group started as an Irish Cancer Society-funded research trial. This compared group-based compassion-focused therapy techniques, along with breathing pattern retraining, with treatment-as-usual on the psychological functioning of patients diagnosed with cancer. The six-week online course showed successful clinical reductions in distress in cancer patients, says Lynch. www.mater.ie/services/psychology/wellbeing-centre/. Spot the symptoms Changes in bowel habits diarrhoea, runny bowel movements, constipation, needing to poo more or less often than usual. Blood in your poo, which may look red or black. Abdominal issues cramps, general abdominal pain, bloating that doesnt go away. Weight loss when youre not trying to lose weight. Tiredness and lack of energy when youve had enough rest. Any unusual change you know isnt right for you. If you experience one or more of these symptoms, you should make an appointment to see your GP. For information on bowel cancer screening and using home test kits, click here. Irelands cities are getting wetter. In Cork, flash floods have swamped streets such as South Terrace with alarming regularity, while Dublins commuter belts, from Swords to Tallaght, turn into shallow lakes after heavy rain. Met Eireanns data backs up the soggy reality: rainfall intensity has spiked by 10-15% in parts of Ireland over the last 30 years, a trend linked to climate change. Our drains, many dating back to the 19th century, cant keep up, and neither can our concrete-heavy urban sprawl. But what if we stopped wrestling the water and let it settle in? Thats the promise of the sponge city... a concept already taking root in Ireland, with room to grow into something transformative. What is a sponge city? A sponge city is exactly what it sounds like: an urban area designed to absorb, store, and reuse rainwater instead of funnelling it as quickly as possible into overwhelmed drainage systems. Wetlands, green roofs, permeable pavements, and rain gardens work together to absorb, store, and even purify water. China put this idea on the map in 2015 with its Sponge City Initiative. The goal? Capture 70% of rainfall on-site. And while China might be leading the global branding charge, the ideas underpinning sponge cities are rooted in sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), which is a concept already known to Irish planners but rarely seen beyond planning documents. SUDS and Ireland Irelands water woes have long met a reactive fix: patch the pipes, pump the floodwater, repeat. But climate change is rewriting the playbook, and our ageing infrastructure, with 40% of Corks sewers pre-dating 1900, simply cant cope. Developers often pave over green spaces, with impermeable surfaces now covering 60% of Dublins urban area. SUDS sit in planning guidelines, but cash-strapped councils and profit-driven builders sideline them. Still, where theyve taken hold, the results are striking. The Glashaboy Flood Relief Scheme engineering company, Sorensen working on the project in major flooding in the town in 2023. Picture: Larry Cummins In Corks Glanmire, a SUDS retrofit along the Glashaboy River has tamed a flood hotspot. Since 2018, swales, detention basins, and permeable paving have slashed local runoff by 40%, sparing homes after 2022s heavy rains. A foggy morning scene at Marina Park, Ballintemple, Cork City with Pairc Ui Chaoimh hidden in the dense fog. Picture: Larry Cummins Nearby, Marina Park doubles as a stormwater sponge, with its 2.5 hectares of green space and ponds designed to hold 10,000 cubic meters of River Lee flood waters. Its a lifeline for a city where at least 1,500 properties face a 1% annual flood risk. Dublins got its own wins: Northwest Business Park in Blanchardstown, built in the early 2000s, was a SUDS pioneer, using permeable paving and ponds to manage 80% of its stormwater on-site. Adamstown, a Strategic Development Zone since 2003, blends green roofs and tree pits across its 7,000 homes, cutting runoff by 30% compared to traditional estates. Along Clontarf Promenade, a 2022 retrofit added rain gardens that soak up 500 cubic meters of water per storm, easing pressure on Dublin Bay. A person walks a dog on Clontarf Promenade in Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA These projects are Ireland at its best innovative, green, and practical. Yet heres the catch: theyre not enough not yet. These efforts are like lifeboats in a rising sea, saving patches while the bigger storm looms. The OPWs 2018 National Flood Risk Management Plan calls for 1 billion in sustainable flood solutions by 2030, but SUDS uptake lags at just 10% of new developments. We need more and we need it at scale, more connection, more urgency, to match the 20% rainfall increase Met Eireann predicts by mid-century. Whats working internationally? The world shows what 'more' can do. Wuhan, (yes that Wuhan in China), has sunk 2.5 billion into 389 sponge projects since 2015, holding back 80% of floodwater during 2020s record rains. Copenhagens 2011 Cloudburst Plan, with 300 projects like sunken parks, has cut flood damage by 70%. Londons Thamesmead estates now boast 50 rain gardens, managing 90% of local runoff since 2019. These arent experimentstheyre blueprints. What if we could roll SUDS into every new build imagine. Picture Irish Water, councils, and the OPW syncing up to manage catchments like the Lee or Shannon, with developers nudged by tax breaks (or firm mandates) to go green, backed by the 500 million Climate Action Fund. Theres a quiet power in this shift, using natures softness to outsmart floods. Ireland is on the right track, and thats worth shouting about. Were proving SUDS can work. Nows the time to scale up, to turn small wins into a national wave. Because a little more sponginess could keep our cities dry, green, and ready for whatever the skies throw next. The family of a murdered woman has set up a petition calling for an open and transparent domestic violence register, claiming had there been one in place, their sister may not have died. Jennifer Poole was 24 when she was murdered by her ex-partner Gavin Murphy at her home in Finglas, west Dublin on April 17, 2021. The mother of two was beaten and stabbed to death her killer is now serving a life sentence for her murder. Murphy had a history of abusive behaviour towards a former partner when he met Ms Poole and had been convicted of assaulting her. Now the Poole family has launched a campaign to try and legislate for a domestic violence register under Jennies Law. The register would contain the details of anyone here who has a conviction for domestic violence. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Jennifers brother Jason said: The State failed my sister because she didnt know he had a conviction for domestic violence already." There has been a good reaction to this campaign, he said. We cant keep up with the amount of people who want the paper version of the petition posted to them. It just shows you that this is really taken off and it is not just one familys story, its for the whole of society that this law is needed for. He added that Jennies Law which is the first proposal of its kind, could help save lives". It is too late for my sister. She didn't know his background that he was already in prison for domestic violence, and if she had known she could have gotten away sooner. He told my sister he was in Spain when he was in Mountjoy Prison for beating up another woman. The family will mark the fourth anniversary of Jennifers death next month and Jason Poole said campaigning in memory of his sister is what keeps the family going. We are not going to stop until we get this over the line. This will also keep Jennifers memory alive; it will be her legacy because the system let her down and they are letting down women every day. We have not even started the grieving process. Mam isn't dealing with it - she is fine one minute then youll find her sitting crying and helpless. The Department of Justice said a register is being considered to ensure a person in an intimate relationship can be informed of a serious risk to them where a new partner has a history of domestic violence. The late Jennifer Poole. Now the Poole family has launched a campaign to try and legislate for a domestic violence register under 'Jennies Law'. "Minister OCallaghan has requested officials to examine proposals to establish a register or mechanism that would facilitate disclosure of information in respect of an offenders prior convictions where there is a risk of harm. This would apply to individuals convicted on indictment of an offence against an intimate partner, or former intimate partner, subject to court discretion and victim consent. "The department is consulting with relevant stakeholders as careful consideration is required of the legal and policy implications of how the proposals would work in practice." The man on trial for the murder of his wife said at the scene that night: I just stabbed her with a knife in the throat, she was cheating on me, I could not tolerate that. I could not take this. She was the love of my life. This evidence was given on Thursday afternoon at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork, where 43-year-old Regin Parithapara Rajan, is on trial on the single charge of murdering 38-year-old Deepa Paruthiyezhuth Dinamani at their home at Cardinal Court, Wilton, Cork, on July 14, 2023, contrary to common law. Detective Garda Kenneth Lawton arrived at the house where other gardai were present on the night and the accused was directed to leave the house at Cardinal Court with his hands up. He did so and then had his hands handcuffed behind his back and was told to kneel on the ground. Det Garda Lawton told Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford and the jury of seven women and five men he gave the accused a legal caution and asked him what happened at his home that night. Det Garda Lawton noted the accused mans reply: She was cheating on me. She was having an affair and he lives in London. I just found out today. I saw the messages that were on her phone [details of passwords] and I could not tolerate it. It was very ugly messages. I just stabbed her with a knife in the throat, she was cheating on me, I could not tolerate that. I will take any sentence. I committed a crime. I could not take this. She was the love of my life. And this is the second time, sorry to say. I was in depression and family life was not good. I lost 15kgs in the last two months. It was good until two months ago. When I knew she was chatting with someone, that is when I became depression. I did not do it deliberately. After seeing those messages, I did that, sorry to say. Lodger's testimony Rejani Jose, a nurse at Cork University Hospital, who is also from Kerala in India, the home place of the defendant and the deceased, was renting a room at their house in Wilton. On the evening July 14, 2023, she got a call from the couple minding the couples child and they wanted to know if the defendant and deceased were home for the boy to be dropped home. Ms Jose, who was in her own room at the time, testified: The whole house was silent. I noticed all the doors were closed. I just thought, let me check the room near the toilet [to see if anyone was there]. I just checked [motioned the pressing down of a door handle]. I thought it was locked. But I pushed and it opened. She said she saw Regin just inside the door. I got frightened. I didnt think anyone was there. I told him [couple] coming with the child. I was afraid of his appearance. His eyes were red and I feel something unusual. His facial expression was upset. I was in a panic mode, I was in a panic situation. Something unusual I felt. Cross-examined by defence senior counsel Brian McInerney she agreed Deepa was the boss in that family. Ms Jose said: She is good at everything, excellent English, good at organising and a good cook, excellent in everything in my view. But I am just a bystander. I dont have an interpersonal relationship with her. She agreed by contrast, Regin was softly spoke and quiet. Mr McInerney reminded the witness of what she said in her statement to gardai that: Regin would be trying to please her. I used to think that he was trying to get her attention or love but she would be quite indifferent to him, they would never go out much as a family and nor were the active in the Indian community. She agreed she found on the night of July 14, 2023, Regin looked like a different person altogether. State pathologist's testimony State pathologist Linda Mulligan examined the body of the deceased on July 15, 2023, and first noticed bloodstaining of the face. She said there were no signs of petechial haemorrhages, which would have been present if there had been asphyxia. They were not present in this case, she said. The pathologist also noticed the hands were bloodstained. She was dressed in a green tee-shirt which was heavily bloodstained and there were three tears in the tee-shirt on the left shoulder. She wore a crop-top which was heavily bloodstained, Dr Mulligan said. The main injury was a 14cm horizontal cut across the neck of the deceased, gaping to 4cm. There was also a severing of the thyroid artery. Dr Mulligan found the deceased had been breathing in blood. The pathologist could see blood in the lungs, and blood had also been swallowed. She commented the neck wound also damaged the voice box, which would have made her unable to vocalise after the wound was inflicted. The pathologist concluded death was due to blood loss, complicated by inhalation of blood due to an incised wound to the neck. The trial continues. The High Court has been asked to extend a pause it imposed last November on the Dublin Airport passenger cap. Following the November pause, the court also agreed to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) to clarify certain matters. However, as it takes an average of 16 months to get a ruling from the CJEU, the High Court was on Friday asked by a number of airlines to extend its November order pending the CJEU decision. If the court grants an extension of the pause, it will apply to passenger caps until the CJEU decision is delivered. Aer Lingus, Ryanair and a consortium of American carriers had sought a pause on the cap imposed by the Irish Aviation Authority limiting passenger numbers to 25.2 million between late March and October. The airlines claimed the restriction will cost them millions and will also mean they will be deprived of some of their use them or lose them take-off and landing slots. The case is against the IAA and the airport operator, the Daa, along with Airports Coordination Ltd which allocates slots, are notice parties. The IAA, in making its decision limiting winter and summer passenger caps, said it took into account technical, operational, environmental and local planning constraints, including a 32 million passenger limit for the airport imposed by planning conditions in 2007. Airline claims Aer Lingus claims the estimated financial impact of the seat cap for the summer and winter 2025 seasons is 84 million, which will increase if the cap is carried forward into subsequent seasons. It will mean a reduction of around 671,000 seats, or 8.5%, for the summer 2025 season as compared to its original planned capacity, or a cut of 362,000 seats compared to summer 2024 numbers, the airline says. Ryanair estimates that it will lose approximately 3,000 slots or over 550,000 seats in summer 2025. This equates to two full weeks of its business over the summer season at Dublin Airport. This could result in an estimated loss in the region of 50 million, it says. The American consortium, comprising Delta, Jetblue Airways and United Airlines, claim they will suffer serious losses with Delta alone claiming it would cost USD$22.4m. In submissions to Mr Justice Barry O'Donnell on Friday, lawyers for the airlines sought the extension of the pause so that there will not have to be repeated challenges in relation to further seasons until the CJEU decision comes. The IAA continues to have, as it had when the temporary pause was imposed, a neutral position but agreed a decision of the High Court would obviate the need for repeated challenges. The DAA lawyers said its position was that the planning conditions, including the 32 million passenger limit, should be observed. What the airlines were seeking was that there be no constraints on passenger numbers until the High Court makes its final decision in this case, pending the decision of the CJEU, it was argued. Mr Justice O'Donnell said he would give his judgment next week. The divisional drugs unit at Anglesea Street in Cork have objected to bail for two suspected members of a Lithuanian organised crime gang who were arrested on Thursday, saying in one case he would be gone in two seconds if released. Detective Garda Linda OKeeffe said there was an objection to bail because of the seriousness of the allegations against 38-year-old Aleksandras Kuznecovas of no fixed address, accused of three counts of dealing heroin. A Lithuanian interpreter translated proceedings. Gardai believe this Lithuanian organised crime gang are involved in the sale or supply of a large quantity of diamorphine (heroin) in Cork City. At an early stage in the investigation, Aleksandras Kuznecovas was identified as one of the main street dealers in the operation. During this investigation Aleksandras Kuznecovas sold diamorphine on three different occasions to undercover gardai. "The dates of these controlled purchases were January 19, 2024, at Thomas Davis bridge, Western Road, Cork, and January 23, 2024, (on Mardyke Bridge) and January 25, 2024, (on banks of Lee Walkway). Three bags of diamorphine were sold. Aleksandras Kuznecovas is believed by gardai to be 'an active and trusted member of this gang'. Picture: Larry Cummins These bags were sent to Forensic Science Ireland and tested positive for diamorphine. It is my belief that Aleksandras Kuznecovas is addicted to diamorphine and that he is a vital cog in this Lithuanian organised crime gang which has extensive links outside this jurisdiction. I believe he is incapable of appearing in court on his own and is incapable of remaining free from intoxicants. I believe he will commit further offences if granted bail including offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act. "He is an active and trusted member of this gang. He is heavily involved in the sale or supply of diamorphine in Cork city and so is a danger to the community and the people in it, Det. Garda OKeeffe testified. Eddie Burke, solicitor, said the allegation was that the three drug deals referred to were each valued 25. Judge Mary Dorgan said the allegations were that the drugs were sold to undercover gardai by a member of a criminal organisation and that in all the circumstances she was refusing bail. Aleksandras Kuznecovas was remanded in custody, on the application of Sergeant John Dineen, until April 3. Detective Garda Ruairi McGovern arrested 46-year-old Jonas Pavilionis of no fixed address and objected to bail in his case. When solicitor Mr Burke put it to him about his concern that the accused would leave the country if granted bail, the detective said: He would be gone in two seconds. Detective Garda Ruairi McGovern arrested 46-year-old Jonas Pavilionis (pictured) of no fixed address and objected to bail in his case. Picture: Larry Cummins He was charged with having heroin and possessing it for sale or supply on the second floor of Douglas shopping centre car park last Tuesday, March 25, and having a machete on the same date. The value of alleged seizure was 3,920. He was charged that on Sunday, March 23, at Audley Place, St Patricks Hill, Cork, he had two bill-hooks. The allegation was that he was seen stashing them behind an electricity box. The detective said Operation Fustian targeted this particular gang and he alleged that the accused was an integral part of it and only came to Cork eight weeks ago. He was brought here purely for the purpose of protection, Det. Garda McGovern said. Bail was also refused in his case and he was remanded in custody to appear again at Cork District Court on April 3. An inspirational woman who lost her husband to cancer while she herself was fighting the disease has vowed to keep dancing. Julie Murtagh OConnell, from Cobh, in Cork, spoke openly on Friday about her own cancer journey over the last decade as the Irish Cancer Society held its annual Daffodil Day fundraiser. Julie, 57, who will stage her 10th Strictly Cobh Dancing event next weekend days after she undergoes chemotherapy in her latest battle with cancer, said she decided to tell her story to offer hope to others. I dont want cancer to define me or my life, she said. Its been a roller coaster since my diagnosis in 2015, there is no denying that, but treatments are getting better, and more and more people are living with cancer. You can live with it. We have never let it stop our lives. Weve just created our lives around it. Im back in chemo next Thursday and I plan to just get on with it. Chemo wont stop me from being there next weekend for our 10th Strictly. Julie was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2015, while her husband, Eamonn, was living with a cancer diagnosis, and following surgery and chemotherapy, she was given the all-clear in 2016. But the couple was devastated in 2020 when Julies cancer returned. She underwent two major surgeries, and more chemotherapy. During one of her medical stays in Dublin, Eamonn's health began to fail and doctors ensured Julie got home to be with him in his final moments. He died in 2021, aged just 63. Julie said: The lesson I learned from Eamonn is not to wait. If you have dreams, ambitions, you should go after them. And thats what shes been doing for over a decade. With encouragement from Eamonn, Julie was among those who took to the floor for the first Strictly Cobh Dancing event in 2015. A year later, she and a friend, Hayley Gould, who was also in the first show, formed the Glitz Dance and Cabaret Group, which has been staging various performances and the Strictly event annually ever since. Friends in Glitz said despite the challenges Julie has faced, she and Hayley continued to choreograph and run it over the last decade. Julie Murtagh OConnell, left, and her friend Hayley Gould. Friends in Glitz said despite the challenges Julie has faced, she and Hayley continued to choreograph and run it over the last decade. Her perseverance and dedication are a true inspiration," one pal said. Julie paid tribute to her consultant, Professor Derek Power, her GP Dr Harry Kelleher, her daughter, Leah, son Sean, her family and wide circle of friends for always having my back, and said if her story offers hope to just one person, then it will have been worth it. A cancer diagnosis is a huge kick in the teeth, there is no doubt about it. And the disease does kill people, Julie said. But everyone is different and the treatments today are so much more advanced than even just a few years ago. I would encourage people to work with their GPs and oncologists, and to think about what they want to get from life, and then get up and go. Chemo is rough, but on your good days, I would urge people to get out and get going. I decided I wasnt going to lie down to it, and that the good days were going to be great days, and I went after whatever dreams and ambitions I had. Eamonn would always say if you do that, then at least then you can say you tried. Daffodil Day will help the Irish Cancer Society raise some of the 30m it needs to raise annually to provide supports and fund life-changing cancer research. Patsy Byrne from Walkinstown in Dublin raising funds for the annual Daffodil Day which will help the Irish Cancer Society raise some of the 30m it needs to raise annually to provide supports and fund life-changing cancer research. Photo: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie Its CEO Averil Power said around 44,000 people in Ireland will hear the words youve got cancer this year, with one in two Irish people expected to receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. We want to be there to provide our free services and support for every single one of those people," she said. Last year, the society gave over 6,000 nights of palliative nursing care or end-of-life care to more than 1,700 patients, while its transport service, which brings patients to and from cancer treatment across the country, saw a 20% increase in bookings. Also, its free nationwide counselling service saw an 8% increase to over 16,000 sessions, and its freephone support line also saw an 8% increase in contacts to 10,700, with a further 17,300 conversations taking place in its Daffodil Centres nationwide. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration would boost military ties with the Philippines to strengthen deterrence against threats from the communist Chinese and ensure freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea. Mr Hegseth spoke on Friday during a meeting with president Ferdinand Marcos Jr in the Philippines, his first stop in his first trip to Asia, to reaffirm Washingtons ironclad commitment to the region under Mr Trump. Ahead of the visit, China called the United States a predator and an unreliable ally. Mr Trumps America First foreign policy thrust has triggered concerns in Asia about the scale and depth of the US commitment to the region. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, centre, along with Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Romeo Brawner (AP/Gerard Carreon) Mr Hegseths decision to make the Philippines his first stop in Asia, followed by Japan both US treaty allies facing territorial disputes with China was the strongest assurance yet by the US under Mr Trump to maintain a security presence in the region. Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the communist Chinese, Mr Hegseth told Mr Marcos. Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict, to ensure that there is free navigation, whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea. Peace through strength is a very real thing, Mr Hegseth said. He praised the Philippines for standing very firm to defend its interests in the contested waters. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, a major security and global trade route. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims to the resource-rich and busy waters, but confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces in the last two years. Chinese forces have used powerful water cannons and dangerous manoeuvres in the high seas to block what Beijing said were encroachments by Philippine ships into Chinas waters. Chinese military aircraft have also approached Philippine patrol planes at alarmingly close distances to drive them away from the Scarborough Shoal, a hotly disputed fishing atoll in the disputed waterway. Under the previous Biden administration, the US has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to help defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea. Mr Hegseth echoed that pledge by expressing the ironclad commitment of Mr Trump and him to the Mutual Defence Treaty and to the partnership. Mr Marcos told the US defence chief that by visiting the Philippines first in Asia, he sends a very strong message of the commitment of both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific region, within the South China Sea. We have always understood the principle that the greatest force for peace in this part of the world would be the United States, Mr Marcos said. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr meets with US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, third left, at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila (AP/Basilio Sepe) Ahead of Mr Hegseths visit, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said China opposes interference from outside countries in the South China Sea. US-Philippines military cooperation must not harm the security interests of other countries or undermine regional peace and stability, he said on Thursday in a monthly news conference. He added without elaborating that the United States has an astonishing record of breaking its promises and abandoning its allies throughout its history. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun separately warned the Philippines in a news conference on Tuesday, that nothing good could come out of opening the door to a predator. He added: Those who willingly serve as chess pieces will be deserted in the end. Mr Hegseths visit to the Philippines comes a month before the longtime treaty allies hold the Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder to shoulder, their largest annual combat exercises that include live-fire drills. In recent years, the exercises have been held near the South China Sea and the sea border between the Philippines and Taiwan. The defence secretary projected composure and camaraderie, as he had received harsh criticism for texting attack plans to a Signal group that included top-level US security officials and the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine. A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Friday, killing more than 150 people and destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam. At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least eight died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise building under construction collapsed. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmars second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Thailands defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai earlier said 90 people were missing at the site where a high-rise building under construction collapsed in the powerful earthquake. Seven people were rescued earlier on Friday from the collapsed building near Bangkoks popular Chatuchak Market. A map of the epicentre and intensity of Friday's earthquake in Myanmar. Picture: US Geological Survey The epicentre of the earthquake was in neighbouring Myanmar which is embroiled in a brutal civil war that has already caused a widespread humanitarian crisis. The full extent of the death, injury and destruction in Myanmar was not yet clear. Myanmars government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas, and videos from the country showed multiple collapsed houses and buckled and cracked roads. The multi-story structure in Bangkok collapsed after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck at midday local time on Friday, sending a crane on top toppling to the ground and a massive plume of dust into the air. A dramatic video circulated on social media showed the collapse of the building, which was under construction, while onlookers screamed and ran. Police told The Associated Press they were responding to the scene, and had no immediate information on how many workers were on the site at the time of the collapse. Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) One construction worker was killed when rubble from the collapsing building site hit his truck and another was crushed by the falling debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters. Rescuers said the rubble is still too unstable for them to try to find people possibly trapped beneath. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake. All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic, said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkoks many centres shopping for camera equipment. I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall. Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Mr Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park, away from the tall buildings. I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense, he said. Lots of chaos. Thai rescue workers arrive on scene at a construction building collapse in the Chatuchak area following an earthquake on March 28, 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand. Picture: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer working in central Bangkok, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking as it moved from the shockwaves. She and her colleagues ran down 12 flights of stairs. In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok, she said. Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse, he said. Rescuers place an injured into an ambulance, at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn) As he came onto the street, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool. When I saw the building, oh my God, thats when it hit me, he said. There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really. The US Geological Survey and Germanys GFZ centre for geosciences said the incident was at a shallow 6.2 miles, with an epicentre in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports. A state of emergency was declared in six regions and states in Myanmar. State-run MRTV television said the military-run governments proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay. A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. A man clears debris after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Haruka Nuga) Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok. They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake. The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook. Thailands Department of Disaster Prevention said the earthquake was felt in almost all regions of the country. The epicentre of the earthquake was 30 miles east of the city of Monywa in Myanmar. In the capital Naypyitaw, the earthquake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes. Rescuers carry an injured from the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) In Mandalay, the countrys second-largest city and close to the epicentre, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook. While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures. In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the road connecting Mandalay and Myanmars largest city, Yangon, were also damaged. Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. Cars pass a damaged road in Naypyidaw on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake in central Myanmar. Picture: SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP via Getty Images The Red Cross said downed power lines are adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state. Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage, the Red Cross said. Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered. Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in Mandalay, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area. This disaster will have left people devastated and in need of drinking water, food and shelter, said Julie Mehigan, head of Asia, Middle East and Europe for Christian Aid. Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world. Even before this heartbreaking earthquake, we know conflict and displacement has left countless people in real need. People take shelter outdoors after an earthquake shook nearby high-rises in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/David Cohen) To the northeast, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people could not stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. Pope Francis, who is convalescing after a five-week hospital stay for life-threatening double pneumonia, offered prayers to the victims of the earthquake. The pope has been informed of the disaster in Myanmar and is praying for the dramatic situation and for the many victims, also in Thailand, the Vatican said in a statement. A television cameraman was among two people who died on Friday when supporters of Nepals former king clashed with police during a rally in the capital to demand restoration of the Himalayan nations abolished monarchy. Several protesters and police officers were injured in the clashes. The Home Ministry said an injured protester died while being treated in hospital, while a local TV station said one of its staff members was killed when a building he was filming from was set on fire. The government imposed a curfew in the areas where the clashes happened in Kathmandu after the police used tear gas, batons and water canon against the protesters. A pro-monarchist group hurls stones at police officers during a protest in Kathmandu, Nepal (Niranjan Shrestha/AP) Thousands of supporters of former king Gyanendra Shah had gathered at the eastern edge of Kathmandu for the rally organised by an alliance of different groups supporting the ex-monarch. The gathering on open ground near the airport had been planned as a peaceful rally, but trouble began after some protesters in a white pickup drove at a police barricade, colliding with several officers. Police resorted to shooting tear gas shells and spraying the crowd with water canon. On the other side of the capital city, thousands of people who support the present system of a republic nation gathered on Friday for a counter rally. The rally participants were from the opposition parties led by Maoists party, which fought an armed rebellion between 1996-2006 to oust the monarchy. It is impossible for the monarchy to come back. It is ridiculous to even thing that some that is already dead could come back to life, said Ram Kumar Shrestha, a Maoist supporter. There has been growing demand in the recent months for the former king to be reinstated and Hinduism brought back as a state religion. We need the country to return to monarchy and the king to come back, because the political parties and system have failed in the country Royalist groups accuse the countrys major political parties of corruption and failed governance and say people are frustrated with politicians. We need the country to return to monarchy and the king to come back, because the political parties and system have failed in the country, said Rajendra Bahadur Khati, one of the participants at the rally. When the source is so polluted the entire system has gotten rotten. Massive street protests in 2006 forced Gyanendra to give up his authoritarian rule, and two years later the parliament voted to abolish the monarchy. Gyanendra, who left the Royal Palace to live as commoner, has not commented on the calls for the return of monarchy. Despite growing support, the former king has little chance of immediately returning to power. Billionaire Elon Musk said he plans to hold a rally in Wisconsin to personally hand over two million dollars (1.8m) to two voters who have already cast their ballots in the states hotly contested Supreme Court race, despite a state law that prohibits giving anything of value in exchange for voting. Mr Musk posted late on Thursday night on his social media platform X that he plans to give 1m each to two voters at the event on Sunday, just two days before the election that will determine ideological control of the court. Attendance at Mr Musks talk will be limited only to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election, he said, without explaining how he would verify that. I will also personally hand over two cheques for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important He did not say how the two people were chosen. I will also personally hand over two cheques for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote, Mr Musk posted. This is super important. The Supreme Court race has shattered previous spending records for a US judicial election and has become a referendum on Mr Musk and the first months of president Donald Trumps administration. Mr Trump, a Republican, endorsed Brad Schimel and hosted a telephone town hall with him on Thursday night. Its a very important race, Mr Trump said in brief remarks by phone, in a call organised by Schimels campaign. I know you feel its local, but its not. Its really much more than local. The whole country is watching. Mr Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, faces Dane County judge Susan Crawford in Tuesdays election. Ms Crawford is backed by a wide range of Democrats, including the liberal justices who hold a 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and former president Barack Obama. The retirement this year of a liberal justice puts majority control of the court in play. Mr Musk earlier this week said he had awarded a voter in Green Bay one million dollars for signing a petition his political action committee created targeting activist judges. Mr Musk promised 100 dollars to any registered Wisconsin voter who signed the petition or forwarded it to someone who did. That raised questions about whether the petition violated Wisconsin law that makes it a felony to offer, give, lend or promise to lend or give anything of value to induce a voter to cast a ballot or not vote. Mr Schimels campaign spokesperson did not immediately return a message early Friday about whether Mr Schimel would attend the event with Mr Musk. Mr Schimel, a former attorney general, also did not respond to a question about whether he thought the giveaway was legal. Donald Trump said the whole country is watching the forthcoming vote in Wisconsin (Pool via AP) Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul, a Democrat, did not respond to messages Thursday or early Friday about Mr Musks giveaways. Crawfords campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman, though, called Mr Musks visit to Wisconsin a last-minute desperate distraction. Wisconsinites dont want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and, on Tuesday, voters should reject Musks lackey Brad Schimel, he said. Mr Musks political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the White House election last year, offering to pay a million dollars a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. During last years presidential race, Philadelphias district attorney sued in an attempt to stop the payments under Pennsylvania law. But a judge said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through to election day. Mr Musk and groups he funds have already spent more than 20 million dollars (15.4 million) in an effort to elect Mr Schimel, while billionaire George Soros has given two million dollars to bolster Ms Crawford, and Democratic Illinois governor JB Pritzker has donated 1.5 million dollars. Mr Musk got involved in the race just days after his electric car company, Tesla, filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin in an effort to open dealerships in the state. Ms Crawford and her allies have accused Mr Musk of trying to buy influence on the court given that Teslas lawsuit could end up before the justices. The race comes as the Wisconsin Supreme Court is also expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Wisconsin is one of a handful of true battleground states, which only intensifies the focus on court races where rules for voting will be decided. Mr Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 and 2024 by less than a percentage point, but he lost it in 2020 by a similar margin. Five of the past seven presidential elections in the state have been decided by less than a percentage point. More than 81 million dollars (62 million) has been spent on the Supreme Court race so far, obliterating the record for a judicial race in the US of 51 million dollars (39 million) set in Wisconsin just two years ago, according to Brennan Centre tallies. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the Trump administration would work with allies to ramp up deterrence against threats across the world, including Chinas aggression in the South China Sea. Mr Hegseth, who was visiting the Philippines, blamed the previous Biden administration for insufficient actions that emboldened aggressors such as China over the years. He said the US military was being rebuilt under President Donald Trump and was re-establishing its warrior ethos in the region, but did not elaborate. Theres a long line of countries in the past who have attempted to test US resolve What were dealing with right now is many years of deferred maintenance, of weakness, that we need to re-establish strength and deterrence in multiple places around the globe, Mr Hegseth told a news conference with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, after meeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Manila. Theres a long line of countries in the past who have attempted to test US resolve, Mr Hegseth added. We are resolved at this time to work with our partners. Earlier, he told Mr Marcos that deterrence was particularly needed in the Indo-Pacific region considering the threats from the communist Chinese. Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict, to ensure that there is free navigation whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea, he told Mr Marcos. Secretary of Defence Gilberto Teodoro looks on as Pete Hegseth signs the guestbook at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, the Philippines (Gerard Carreon/AP) The US was not gearing up for war, Mr Hegseth said, while underscoring that peace would be won through strength. The Philippines was the first stop in Mr Hegseths first trip to Asia. He is due to travel next to Japan, another staunch US ally. Ahead of his visit to the region, China called the United States a predator and an unreliable ally. Hegseth said the Trump administration would commit more security assistance to the Philippines in addition to a 500 million-dollar (386 million) fund to help the Philippine military modernise. The US funding was first announced by the previous Biden administration. Friday, Mar 28th, 2025 (12:02 am) - Score 3,720 Network operator and ISP Trooli (Call Flow) has confirmed to ISPreview that a small number of their customers are at risk of disconnection, which will occur when they shut one of their old hybrid wireless and fibre optic broadband networks in rural Hampshire (England). This was originally deployed around ten years ago with public funding (Building Digital UK). At present, Trooli is focused on deploying their FTTP gigabit broadband network (covering 410,000 premises) across towns and large semi-rural villages in parts of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex and Wiltshire in England. As well as parts of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Fife in Scotland (formerly part of Axione UKs network). NOTE: You can see the original BDUK reports on the pilot project You can see the original BDUK reports on the pilot project here and here However, in the past, Trooli formerly better known as Call Flow Solutions did also deploy a number of hybrid broadband networks into several rural communities using Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and sub-loop unbundled Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) technologies. One such deployment occurred as part of a 1.258m (state aid) BDUK Market Test Pilot back in 2014-16. Advertisement The aim of the aforementioned pilot was to deliver superfast broadband (30Mbps+) to poorly served residents in the hard-to-reach rural areas of Bramdean and Ropley, including the hamlet of Monkwood. The service has been working reasonably well since then, at least it was until earlier this year when residents in Monkwood were informed that their service would be terminated at the end of March 2025. What went wrong in Monkwood The above situation appeared to be in response to local connectivity problems, which started in January 2025. Were aware of an issue impacting customer connections in the Monkwood area. Our networking team are aware of the issue and are currently investigating the cause, said the statement on Call Flows website (dated to 5th Jan 2025), which has remained the same since then. Call Flow/Trooli followed that up later by issuing another update directly to residents, which identified that the fault itself is related to a particular part of our network which is connected via a radio link, specifically a natural limitation of this radio link. But then came the really bad news. The providers message revealed that this is not an issue that we will technically be able to resolve and, after exploring all other options for replacing that link, the ISP admitted they had been unable to find a commercially viable, alternative solution and said the service would be terminated at the end of March 2025. Advertisement On March 18th, residents of the nearby village of Four Marks were similarly told they would also be losing their Call Flow service at the end of May 2025, which prompted people in another nearby village, Ropley, to worry that they might be next to suffer the same fate. Suffice to say that ISPreview has raised this with Trooli and theyve since provided more information. A Spokesperson for Trooli told ISPreview: In 2016, Call Flow was granted funding by BDUK for an experimental project delivering a hybrid solution, primarily mixing Fibre To the Cabinet (FTTC) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technologies. The aim was to deliver superfast broadband to residents in the hard-to-reach areas of Bramdean and Ropley, including the hamlet of Monkwood. In the nine years since then, Troolis Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) broadband network has commercially overbuilt to the majority of the homes covered by this experimental service, providing them with an ultrafast, modern alternative. Some of the original network has not been commercially viable for Trooli to overbuild. Given the age of the network, now approaching nine years, some components have started to fail and have become too difficult and costly to maintain. Consequently, it is no longer commercially viable to maintain some parts of the original Call Flow network being delivered to a handful of premises in the Monkwood area. The planned withdrawal of service at the end of March was shared with the affected households in January, with free internet offered throughout February and March. Over this period, most customers have migrated to alternative services, which have developed substantially in the intervening nine years, most typically 4G. We continue to work with the very small number of customers who continue to use our legacy solution. In an entirely separate situation, we have been in touch with a number of customers whose broadband service is at threat from Openreachs Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) switch off. These customers, who are connected to the SLU/FTTC SMPF broadband solution employed by Call Flow, were originally informed that their service would be switched off in May. However, as the Openreach WLR switch-off is not scheduled to take place until the end of the year, we have decided to use this time to continue our attempt to find an improved resolution with Openreach. This postponement has been communicated to potentially impacted customers. We will, of course, provide further updates to these customers and keep them updated on how our conversations with Openreach progress. In fairness to Trooli/Call Flow, the operator did deliver on their contracted commitment and has actually kept the hybrid broadband network running longer than they had pledged. As above, many of the premises that were originally reached by this network have also since been overbuilt by the operators newest FTTP infrastructure, which marks a big improvement over the original service. Ultimately, nothing lasts forever, but the hope is that a new home can be found for all of those affected by the current problems, although a few may yet be left with little in the way of viable alternatives before theyre disconnected. A federal judge in the United States mandated that President Donald Trumps administration must retain messages exchanged on the Signal messaging app concerning plans for attacks against the Houthis in Yemen, which came to light after inadvertently being shared with a journalist. The directive from US District Judge James Boasberg instructs federal agencies whose leaders participated in the conversationincluding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffeto preserve all messages sent via Signal from March 11 to March 15, the timeframe during which an editor from The Atlantic recorded activity in the chat. A lawyer representing the Trump administration previously indicated that federal agencies were already attempting to ascertain which records still existed for preservation purposes. American Oversight, a governmental accountability organization, has filed a lawsuit against the federal agencies involved in the chat, claiming that the use of Signal, which features automatic message deletion after a specified period, contravened federal record-keeping legislation. A portion of the screenshots released by The Atlantic Chioma Chukwu, the interim executive director of American Oversight, stated in a press release. The White House did not promptly reply to a request for comments. The Atlantic published messages it reported were exchanged within the group after officials from the Trump administration indicated that the communications were not classified, attempting to downplay the incidents significance. The messages unveiled discussions among senior national security officials regarding planned military actions targeting the Houthi militant organization. Mr. Hegseth provided details about the timing of strikes on March 15, including one aimed at an individual labeled in the chat as a terrorist, just hours before the attack commenced, according to the report. The revelation of the group chat, along with the accidental disclosure of messages to a journalist, has ignited a growing controversy regarding the Trump administrations handling of sensitive military and intelligence data. The lawsuit does not directly address the national security ramifications of the disclosure, but rather centers on American Oversights assertion that the messages should be classified as government records that agencies are legally obligated to maintain. King of Britain Undergoes Brief Hospital Observation During Treatment According to Buckingham Palace, Britains King Charles required a brief period of observation in hospital after experiencing side effects from his cancer treatment. He has canceled an away day to Birmingham to focus on his recovery and has returned to Clarence House. A source referred to it as a very minor bump in a road that is still heading in the right direction. Buckingham Palace issued a statement: Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, the King experienced temporary side effects that necessitated a short period of observation in hospital. His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and, as a precautionary measure based on medical advice, tomorrows diary schedule will also be postponed. His Majesty wishes to extend his apologies to everyone who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result. Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer in February 2024 and resumed public-facing duties in April, even while still undergoing weekly treatment. This week has seen him engaged in a busy agenda that included a reception for the media, a visit to a soil exhibition, and he is scheduled for a historic state visit to Italy in just 10 days. The king was set to meet with ambassadors at Buckingham Palace, but these meetings have been postponed. A devastating earthquake centered in Myanmar has shaken Southeast Asia, resulting in the deaths of over 140 individuals in that nation, as reported by state media, and causing the collapse of buildings across a vast area. The tremor also impacted Thailand, leading to at least nine fatalities in the capital, Bangkok. Of the confirmed deaths, eight occurred when a building still under construction fell, while the ninth victim was from a separate location, according to Bangkoks Deputy Governor. Rescue operations indicate that more than 110 people remain unaccounted for following the building collapse. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the earthquake, which occurred during local lunchtime, registered a magnitude of 7.7 and was situated at a depth of 10 km, with its epicenter approximately 17 km from Mandalay. Mandalay, an ancient royal capital with around 1.5 million residents, is at the heart of Myanmars Buddhist region. Residents and local media have reported widespread damage to buildings, bridges, and roads. Earthquakes are fairly frequent in Myanmar, having experienced six significant quakes of 7.0 magnitude or higher between 1930 and 1956 in the vicinity of the Sagaing Fault. State-run MRTV announced via the Telegram messaging app that a minimum of 144 people had died in Myanmar, with 732 injuries reported. We all rushed outside as the shaking began, recounted a Mandalay resident to Reuters. I saw a five-story structure collapse right before my eyes. Everyone in my neighborhood is outdoors, afraid to return inside. A rescue worker from the Moe Saydanar charity conveyed to Reuters that they had recovered at least 60 bodies from monasteries and buildings in Pyinmanar, close to Naypyidaw, Myanmars capital, with more individuals still trapped. This number of 60 is just from my charity group and only in the town of Pyinmanar, he noted. The military junta in Myanmar is currently engaged in a conflict to suppress insurgents challenging its authority, which may hinder ongoing rescue and relief efforts. Watch: Earthquake collapses skyscraper under construction in Bangkok Throughout Bangkok and the northern tourist hotspot of Chiang Mai, where power briefly went out, residents were left startled and rushed outside, unsure of how to react to the unexpected quake. I quickly dashed out of the shop along with other customers, said 76-year-old Sai, who was working at a minimart in Chiang Mai during the tremor. This is the most intense shake Ive ever felt in my life. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were temporarily halted, exacerbating the citys already notorious traffic congestion. Airports, however, continued to operate normally. The quakes effects were felt regionally, with reports of tremors coming in from China, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and India. Rescue teams are at a construction site in Bangkok where a building collapsed as a result of the earthquake. A livestream from state-linked Beijing News displayed several emergency responders in orange jumpsuits and helmets on a street littered with debris in Ruili, a city on Chinas border with Myanmar. A shop worker participating in the livestream shared video footage of individuals running from stores, hands over their heads as tremors shook the area. A video circulated on Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, captured a torrent of water and debris cascading from a high-rise building in Ruili while people fled through a market below. Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or greater were recorded from 1930 to 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which spans north to south through the countrys center, according to the USGS. A notable 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the ancient city of Bagan in central Myanmar in 2016, resulting in three deaths and causing damage to spires and temple walls at this key tourist location. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, over 300 individuals have had their visas revoked by US authorities as part of an initiative aimed at cracking down on support for Palestine at US universities. Mr. Rubio stated that the visa of a Turkish student detained in Boston was cancelled because the US will not issue visas to individuals involved in actions that include vandalising universities, harassing students, and occupying buildings. No evidence was provided to confirm whether Rumeysa Ozturk was involved in such activities. During a press conference in Guyana, Mr. Rubio noted that the total number of visas revoked by the State Department may exceed 300. These actions have been criticized as an infringement on free speech; however, the Trump administration contends that certain protests are anti-Semitic and could undermine US foreign policy. A video capturing the arrest showed masked and plainclothes agents taking the 30-year-old Turkish national into custody near her residence in Somerville, Massachusetts, on Tuesday evening. According to her lawyer, she was en route to meet friends to break her Ramadan fast. Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, stated in a post on X that authorities determined Ms. Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that revels in the killing of Americans. A visa is a privilege, not a right, Ms. McLaughlin emphasized. She did not detail the specific activities attributed to Ms. Ozturk, a Fulbright Scholar and student in the doctoral program for Child Study and Human Development at Tufts, who was in the US on an F-1 visa for her studies. Her arrest occurred a year after Ms. Ozturk co-authored an opinion piece in the Tufts Daily, the universitys student newspaper, which critiqued Tufts response to student calls for divestment from companies associated with Israel and for acknowledgment of the Palestinian genocide. Mahsa Khanbabai, Ms. Ozturks lawyer, commented, Given the patterns we are observing nationwide, her exercise of free speech rights seems to have influenced her detention. Following Ms. Ozturks arrest, Ms. Khanbabai filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, claiming unlawful detention. In response, US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston directed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement not to transfer Ms. Ozturk out of Massachusetts without at least 48 hours notice. However, by last evening, Ms. Ozturk had been moved to Louisiana, in contradiction of the court order, according to Ms. Khanbabai. She described the allegations against Ms. Ozturk as baseless and remarked that the manner in which DHS removed Rumeysa in broad daylight should horrify the public. Democratic US Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts referred to her arrest as the latest instance of an alarming pattern aimed at stifling civil liberties. The arrest sparked a significant demonstration in Somerville, where protesters held signs proclaiming Resist, Defend student voices, and Release Rumeysa Ozturk now! We need your consent to load this rte-player content. We use rte-player 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 Her arrest is part of the Trump administrations strategy to target international students as it aims to tighten immigration controls, which includes intensifying immigration arrests and imposing tight restrictions on border crossings. Mr. Trump and Mr. Rubio, in particular, have vowed to deport foreign pro-Palestinian demonstrators, claiming they support Hamas militants, complicate US foreign policy, and exhibit anti-Semitic behavior. Protesters, including several Jewish organizations, argue that the administration mistakenly equates their criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism and assistance to Hamas. In a statement, Tufts President Sunil Kumar acknowledged the school had no prior awareness of Ms. Ozturks arrest, an event he recognized might be distressing to members of our community, especially among our international students. The Turkish embassy in Washington announced it is in communication with the US State Department, ICE, and other authorities regarding Ms. Ozturks detention. Every effort is being made to provide the necessary consular services and legal support to safeguard the rights of our citizen, the embassy affirmed. Ms. Ozturks detention came less than three weeks after Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate of Columbia University and lawful permanent resident, was arrested under similar circumstances. He is contesting his detention after Mr. Trump, without substantiation, accused him of supporting Hamas, a claim Mr. Khalil denies. Federal immigration authorities are also attempting to detain a South Korean-born Columbia University student who is a legal permanent resident and has taken part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. However, this move has been temporarily blocked by the courts. This month, a Lebanese doctor and assistant professor at Brown University in Rhode Island was denied re-entry to the US and deported to Lebanon after the Trump administration alleged that her phone contained images sympathetic to Hezbollah. Dr. Rasha Alawieh asserted she does not support the militant group but respects its slain leader due to her religion. The Trump administration has also targeted students at Cornell University in New York, Georgetown University in Washington, and the University of Alabama. Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) Incredible new developments in electric vehicles are taking place in China with global implications. Chinas BYD sold $100 billion worth of its electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024, outstripping Tesla, the sales of which were $97 billion. Since CEO Elon Musk has ruined the Tesla brand by attacking Americans social security, it is likely that BYD will go on dominating this sector. (Truth in advertising: I have a small amount of BYD stock. I sold all my Tesla shares recently.) BYD just made a breakthrough in battery charging, developing a process that would allow drivers to fully charge their vehicles in only 5 minutes. This technology will be a game changer globally, though US protectionism may keep it out of America (to the detriment of consumers). Worse news for US and European manufacturers: BYDs new mid-sized model, the Qin L, priced at about $16,500 US, is rolling off the production line. It is being called a Tesla-killer. BYDs automobiles are being kept out of the US and European markets, but at that price they have a shot of taking off in Asia and Latin America. The company hopes to up international sales to 800,000 units a year. Right now 85% of BYD cars are sold in China itself. These developments are bad news for US and European automakers, but are also tolling a death knell for the petroleum industrys future in ground transportation. The annual International Energy Agency report confirms its earlier projection that electric vehicles are a petroleum killer. The IEA report finds that in 2024, the annual increase in worldwide oil consumption growth decelerated significantly. This reduction in the expansion of oil demand had been predicted in previous IEA reports. For the first time in these reports, the proportion of total energy use that consisted of petroleum was less than 30%. Around 1975, at the height of the 20th century oil crisis and the automobile age, petroleum was 46% of total energy consumption. In 2023, the worlds people increased their oil use by 1.9% over the previous year. In 2024, the increase was only 0.8%. And that small increase was not in gasoline use for vehicles, it was for petrochemicals and airplane fuel. Demand for oil in global road transportation actually declined. The biggest decline came in China, where petroleum use actually fell 1.8%! Why did the worlds people use less diesel and gasoline for transportation? Well, in part it was the that post-COVID bump in economic activity slowed. But in part it was the rise of the electric vehicle and the implementation in places like China of more high-speed rail. Look at the light blue sections in this IEA graph thats road transport: In the industrialized economies, petroleum use fell slightly by 0.1%, after falling 0.7% in 2023. But if we take 2019, pre-COVID, as our starting point, petroluem use is down 5.4% in these countries. In Europe, oil consumption last year was fully 7% below 2019, while in Japan it was down 11% since that year. EVs are only one reason for the fall in petroleum demand for road transportation. As a result of the COVID pandemic, a lot of people still work from home, especially in the US, resulting in fewer automobile trips. Still, EVs have gotten to the point globally that they are depressing petroleum demand, and they are expected to go on doing so in the coming decades. If you are relatively young and have a lot of BP and ExxonMobil stocks in your retirement portfolio, you may want to take this development into account and maybe dump them while you can. Fully one fifth of all cars bought in 2024 around the world were electric. Sales were up 25% over 2023, with some 17 million units sold. China was the industry leader nearly 2/3s of EVs bought in 2024 were Chinese. The Chinese dominance of the electric vehicle market is bad news for Detroit, and it seems unlikely that Trumps announced intention of imposing a 25% tariff on automobile imports will substantially change the playing field. Chinese research and development in this field runs circles around the US, and since Trump is destroying Americas scientific and technological research sector by gutting the universities, the likelihood is that China will leap ahead even more decisively. The whole world will electrify transport as the dire effects of the climate breakdown accelerate and put the fear of God into them. If China sells all those new EVs to the world, US industrial dominance will be over with. March 27, 2025 Vancouver, British Columbia - Pampa Metals Corp. (Pampa Metals or the Company) (CSE:PM / FSE:FIR / OTCQB:PMMCF) is pleased to advise that drill hole PIU-05 2025DDH (PIU-05), a significant step out from previous holes, intersected strong copper-gold mineralization and expanded the Piuquenes Central deposit to the south. The hole intersected moderate to intense porphyry A-type quartz stockwork veining and mineralization from 304m to 722m downhole and reported a significant mineralized interval as follows: 152m @ 0.40% Cu, 0.23 g/t Au, 2.15 g/t Ag (from 530m) Including 50m @ 0.50% Cu, 0.29 g/t Au, 2.36 g/t Ag (from 596m) In addition to hole PIU-05, hole PIU-08 was collared 370m to the northwest of PIU-05 and has encountered strong porphyry-style mineralization expected to further enhance definition of the southern margin of the Piuquenes Central system. Results for PIU-08 are pending. Joseph van den Elsen, Pampa Metals President and CEO commented: We are very pleased to have extended the Piuquenes Central system to the south, with hole PIU-05 reporting broad intervals of porphyry style mineralization, including excellent high-grade sections. Additionally, the most recently completed hole (PIU-08), drilled to better define the southern margin of Piuquenes Central, encountered strong porphyry-style mineralization, and results are eagerly awaited. The Company is also looking forward to receiving the initial results from the first two holes (PIU-06 and PIU-07) drilled into the newly discovered second porphyry system at Piuquenes East. Piuquenes Copper-Gold Porphyry Project, San Juan, Argentina Piuquenes is a newly discovered, gold rich copper porphyry deposit located immediately adjacent to the north of Aldebaran Resources (ALDE:TSX-V) giant Altar porphyry copper system. Other large porphyry copper projects in the San Juan Miocene porphyry belt include El Pachon (Glencore), approximately 30 km to the south, the operating Los Pelambres copper mine (60% Antofagasta plc) in Chile, and Los Azules (McEwen Mining) 50 km to the northeast. Corporate and exploration activity along the belt remains high, with major companies including Rio Tinto, South 32, BHP and Teck also active. Diamond Drillhole PIU-05 2025DDH (PIU-05) As previously reported (refer 10 January 2025 and 10 January 2025 News Releases), PIU-05 was a significant step-out, collared 220m east of PIU16-01DDH (558m @ 0.38% Cu, 0.42 g/t Au, including 130m @ 0.81% Cu, 0.6 g/t Au, refer 5 December 2023 News Release) and 270m southwest of PIU02-2024DDH (448m @ 0.42% Cu, 0.46 g/t Au, including 126m @ 0.66% Cu, 0.74 g/t Au, refer 6 May 2024 News Release). Geology and Mineralization Diamond Drillhole PIU-05 Drill hole PIU-05 drilled moderate to intense porphyry A-type quartz stockwork veining and mineralization from 304m to 722m downhole associated with potassic alteration of predominantly diorite porphyry host rock. The entire 418m interval assayed 0.27 % Cu and 0.12 g/t Au with higher grade intervals of 152m @ 0.40% Cu, 0.23g/t Au, 2.15g/t Ag from 530m, including 50m @ 0.50% Cu, 0.29 g/t Au, 2.36 g/t Ag from 596m, notable for their elevated bornite content. While chalcopyrite dominates bornite in the overall Piuquenes system, the correlation of bornite with higher grade sections of the deposit has important implications for project economics. Further technical work is being undertaken to better understand the controls and distribution of bornite in the Piuquenes Central system. Image 1: Hole PIU-05 drill core from 605.00 610.50 m. Diorite porphyry host rock showing multiphase A-type quartz veins and associated K-feldspar bearing potassic alteration overprinting early biotite-bearing potassic alteration. The sample interval from 604 612m assayed 0.74% Cu, 0.38 g/t Au. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Joseph van den Elsen | President & CEO | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. INVESTOR CONTACT Jordan Webster | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ABOUT PAMPA METALS Pampa Metals is a copper-gold exploration company listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE:PM), Frankfurt (FSE: FIR), and OTC (OTCQB: PMMCF) exchanges. In November 2023, the Company announced it had entered into an Option and Joint Venture Agreement for the acquisition of an 80% interest in the Piuquenes Copper-Gold Porphyry Project in San Juan Province, Argentina. QUALIFIED PERSON Technical information in this news release has been approved by Mario Orrego G. Mr. Orrego G. is a Geologist and Registered Member of the Chilean Mining Commission. He is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Orrego G. is a consultant to the Company. Neither the CSE nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Pampa Metals expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will" or "may" occur. These statements are subject to various risks. Although Pampa Metals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of future performance, and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 28, 2025) - Heliostar Metals Ltd. (TSXV: HSTR) (OTCQX: HSTXF) (FSE: RGG1) ("Heliostar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed the bought deal equity financing previously announced by the Company on March 20, 2025, including the partial exercise of the underwriters' option, for aggregate gross proceeds of $19,500,000 (the "Offering"). The Offering was conducted by a syndicate of underwriters led by Cormark Securities Inc. and Velocity Trade Capital Ltd., and including Clarus Securities Inc., BMO Capital Markets, Roth Canada Inc. and Ventum Financial Corp. (collectively, the "Underwriters"). Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued 19,500,000 common shares (the "Offered Shares") at a price of $1.00 per Offered Share. Mr. Eric Sprott, through 2176423 Ontario Ltd. ("2176423"), a corporation beneficially owned by him, invested $5,000,000 by subscribing for 5,000,000 Offered Shares. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used for the development of the Company's projects in Mexico, including drilling at Ana Paula, and for general corporate purposes. In consideration for the services provided by the Underwriters in connection with the Offering, on closing the Company paid to the Underwriters a cash commission equal to 5.0% of the gross proceeds of the Offering. Of the Offered Shares, (a) 9,000,000 were sold pursuant to the "listed issuer financing exemption" under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions and therefore are not subject to resale restrictions pursuant to applicable Canadian securities legislation, and (b) 10,500,000 were sold pursuant to other exemptions under applicable Canadian securities legislation and are subject to a hold period expiring on July 29, 2025. The Offering remains subject to the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V"). 2176423 is an existing insider of the Company, and as such, its participation in the Offering is a related-party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company completed the Offering in reliance on exemptions available under MI 61-101 from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101. Specifically, the Offering is exempt from the formal valuation requirement in Section 5.4 of MI 61-101 in reliance on Section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 as the Company is not listed on a specified market within the meaning of MI 61-101. Additionally, the Offering is exempt from the minority approval requirement in Section 5.6 of MI 61-101 in reliance on Section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 insofar as neither the fair market value of the subject matter of, nor the fair market value of the consideration for, the Offering insofar as it involves "interested parties" exceeds 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing date of the Offering as the details of the Offering and the participation therein by each "related party" of the Company were not settled until shortly prior to closing, and the Company wished to close the Offering on an expedited basis for sound business reasons. 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, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available. About Heliostar Metals Ltd. Heliostar aims to grow to become a mid-tier gold producer. The Company is focused on increasing production and developing new resources at the La Colorada and San Agustin mines in Mexico, and on developing the 100% owned Ana Paula Project in Guerrero, Mexico. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Charles Funk President and Chief Executive Officer Heliostar Metals Limited Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Phone: +1 844-753-0045 Rob Grey Investor Relations Manager Heliostar Metals Limited Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Phone: +1 844-753-0045 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. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements which, other than statements of historical fact, constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. This press release contains forward-looking information in a number of places such as in statements relating to the use of the net proceeds of the Offering, and the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the general risks of the mining industry, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's annual information form and the Company's annual and interim financial statements and corresponding management discussions and analysis. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES Family and supporters of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte will rally Friday to mark his 80th birthday and protest against his detention in The Hague on a charge of crimes against humanity. Duterte could spend the remainder of his life in jail if convicted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the charge tied to his "war on drugs" in which thousands were killed. Supporters are planning more than 200 simultaneous birthday rallies demanding his release. Presidential palace spokeswoman Claire Castro however warned pro-Duterte protesters that they were "bordering the line of inciting to sedition". Castro said that Philippine officials wished Duterte "good health, good fortune", but added that "he needs that." Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, his eldest daughter, has been in the Dutch city since shortly after his arrest helping assemble his legal team. In a birthday message, Sara Duterte said her father "knows he will face the ICC with the Filipino people", adding that the support "makes the challenges he is facing today more bearable". Another of the ex-president's daughters, 20-year-old Veronica, as well as her mother, Cielito Avancena, said they failed to get inside the prison to see him this week -- but remained hopeful. Veronica Duterte said her father had "always been a force to be reckoned with, even in his sunset days", in a post on social media. "We will make certain that his legacy lives on", she added. - 'Systematic attack' - The ICC chief prosecutor's application for his arrest said Duterte's alleged crimes were "part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population" in the Philippines. "Potentially tens of thousands of killings were perpetrated," the prosecutor alleged of the campaign that targeted mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs. But Sara Duterte has said that the once wildly popular president is convinced that what the ICC did "was wrong and there is no case to begin with". Duterte's arrest on March 11 and rapid handover to the international tribunal came on the heels of his family's bitter falling out with his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos. Cracks began to appear in their alliance soon after Marcos teamed up with Sara Duterte to sweep the presidential and vice presidential elections in May 2022. The vice president quit her cabinet post as education secretary after being denied the defence portfolio, while Duterte himself began calling Marcos a drug addict. Last month, Sara Duterte was impeached by a pro-Marcos House of Representatives on charges that include an alleged assassination plot against the president. The outcome of her Senate trial will likely depend on the number of seats her allies win in May 12 mid-term elections. One of her party's candidates, former Philippine police chief and drug war enforcer Ronald Dela Rosa, says he expects to be arrested by the ICC next. The ex-president faces a six months wait inside the United Nations' Scheveningen prison before his next scheduled court appearance on September 23. The court session will confirm the charges against him and allow him to contest the allegations. Chief ICC prosecutor Karim Khan has disclosed 181 unspecified items of evidence to the defence, led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman. The prisoner is only allowed two visits per day -- a lawyer and a family member, the vice president said. "I urged him to write a book and then when you get out, we'll sell it and make money out of it," she said. The defence of Hashim Thaci has a lot to deal with these days. Not only the former president of Kosovo is at the centre of an ongoing trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity, but he is now also indicted on charges of obstructing justice and interfering with witnesses. Thaci is tried as a high-ranking figure of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war to gain independence from Serbia. In this trial, he is in the box with three former high-level KLA members who later became key figures in Kosovo politics, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. They have been in custody since November 2020. The case, the main ongoing trial at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC), opened in April 2023 in The Hague. The prosecution is expected to conclude its case in April this year. But at the end of 2024, Thaci was also indicted for new criminal offences linked to his alleged interference with witnesses in his war crimes and crimes against humanity case. Obstructing justice and witness interfering Indeed, on 29 November 2024, the KSC pre-trial chamber confirmed an indictment against Thaci for criminal offences against the administration of justice. He is charged along with former Kosovo Intelligence Agency chief Bashkim Smakaj, former Malisheva mayor Isni Kilaj, former KLA member Fadil Fazliu and former minister of justice Hajredin Kuci. Made public on 12 February 2025, the indictment alleges that, between at least 12 April 2023 and 2 November 2023, Thaci revealed secret information and coordinated to unlawfully influence the testimony of several SPO [Specialist Prosecutors Office] witnesses in the ongoing trial. During separate visits to the detention facilities, Thaci allegedly coordinated three distinct groups, formed with Smakaj, Fazliu, Kilaj and other uncharged individuals, as well as with Kuci, to influence the witnesses testimonies. According to the prosecutors evidence, the former leader repeatedly directed one or more of his visitors to instruct a witness on how to testify in the war crimes trial. Mr Thaci urged the visitors to return to see him again in a month, and Messrs Smakaj and Behrami visited Mr Thaci again at the SC [Specialist Chambers] detention facilities on 7 October 2023, on which occasion Mr Thaci allegedly gave additional instructions on how [the witness] W04752 should testify. Access to witnesses names In another instance, Thaci allegedly provided confidential information about a protected witness to Kilaj and Kryeziu and gave instructions on what to say in court. According to the prosecution, during a 2 November 2023 search of Mr Kilajs residence, it recovered material containing confidential information about SC [Specialist Chambers] proceedings, and the identifying information of protected witnesses, including witness names. The evidence includes recordings from non-privileged visits -all the visits that do not involve the defence- that the prosecutor could obtain with the authorisation of the judges. In November 2023, the evidence collected led to stricter detention measures, not only for Thaci, but also for Veseli and Selimi. Thaci has been charged with attempted obstruction of KSC officials in the performance of their duties, breach of procedural secrecy and disobedience to the Court. Smakaj, Kilaj and Fazliu are charged with attempted obstruction of officials and disobedience to the Court. Former Justice Minister Kuci is charged with contempt of Court. Smakaj, Fazliu and Kilaj were arrested on 5 December in Kosovo by the prosecutors office with support of the European Union rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX). Kuci remains on bail in Kosovo. Their initial appearance took place in mid-December and since then all five suspects have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Thaci has hinted that the indictment is politically influenced. The case is likely to begin next autumn. A first plea agreement In mid-December, around the same time as Thacis initial appearance in the administration of justice case, the prosecution agreed to the Courts first-ever guilty plea, yet again for interfering with the proceedings. Three former KLA fighters, Haxhi Shala, Sabit Januzi and Ismet Bahtijari, admitted guilt to one charge of obstructing officials, and one charge of intimidation in criminal proceedings, while the third charge, obstructing officials by serious threat, was withdrawn as part of the agreement. It is not clear regarding in which case or trial they committed these offences. According to the decision on the plea agreement, made public on 27 February 2025, each accused accepts that they were part of a group which sought to induce Witness 1 to refrain from giving evidence before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers through the promise of a benefit. In particular, Mr Januzi and Mr Bahtijari acting at the direction of Mr Shala - approached Witness 1 at his home on 5 and 12 April 2023, respectively. During the first approach, Mr Bahtijari told Witness 1 that he should withdraw his testimony before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. During the second approach, Mr Januzi followed up on the first approach and relayed to Witness 1 an offer that Mr Shala and others would help him if he withdrew his testimony. Released with conditions In a press release following the plea, KSC prosecutor Kimberly West described the deals as the first occasion on which accused at the KSC have voluntarily admitted their guilt. This development is critical to protecting the integrity of proceedings at the KSC, as well as a step forward for the administration of justice in Kosovo, she added. The SPO has investigated crimes against the administration of justice to ensure that witnesses are able to testify in Court about the crimes they witnessed or experienced without fear of intimidation or retaliation. On 4 February 2025, the trio was sentenced, Januzi and Bahtijari to two years and Shala to three years in prison. Shala and Januzi were also ordered to make reparation payments to the only participating victim. But on 19 February 2025, the head of the KSC, judge Ekaterina Trendafilova, decided to release with conditions Januzi and Bahtijari, in line with a rule that allows for a modification of the sentence after the convicted has served two-thirds of it. Both men had been in pre-trial detention since 6 October 2023. Shala has been detained since 12 December 2023 but faces a longer sentence. In the decisions to release the two men, made public on 21 February 2025, the judge noted that the convicted do not represent a threat to social stability in Kosovo and have good prospects of reintegration thanks to their familial and social ties. Each of them has also shown signs that he has disassociated himself from the offences for which he was convicted, has expressed his intention to refrain from committing any offences against the administration of justice in the future, and has behaved positively while detained at the detention facilities, wrote the judge. They will be requested to remain in Kosovo, surrender their travel documents and report weekly to a police station. Seen as heroes in Kosovo The majority of the population did not pay much attention to these cases, says Serbeze Haxhiaj, editor at Radio Television of Kosovo and journalist for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). They dont see them as people who were trying to obstruct justice or to violate the law. Even the people who regard them as involved in crime, dont dare or dont feel free to talk about them as people involved in obstructing justice. There is no public debate about that. People in Kosovo are more keen on seeing them as heroes rather than war criminals. What is more discussed is that this Court is biased, unfair and one-sided. That is the narrative that prevails in Kosovo, adds Haxhiaj, explaining that in the country, the Court lacks legitimacy, as it only prosecutes crimes committed by ethnic Albanians and not those committed by Serbians. The never-ending problem of witness intimidation In 2022, another case for obstruction of justice saw Nasim Haradinaj and Hysni Gucati sentenced each to 4 years and 3 months in prison. In their summary of the judgment, the presiding judge wrote that the case concerned the safety, well-being and freedom from fear of hundreds of persons who have come forward to fulfil their civic duty as witnesses. Without witnesses, there can be no justice for victims or for society at large. The acts and conduct of the accused challenged that very foundation, he wrote. In their bi-monthly review of the reasons for detention at the KSC, where the judges decide whether there are still reasons to keep the defendants behind bars, witness intimidation is routinely mentioned as a serious risk. In the 13 March 2025 decision to confirm the detention of Rexhep Selimi, one of Thacis co-defendants in the main war crimes trial, the Court of appeals panel agreed that a general climate of witness interference persists in Kosovo regarding this case. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) also had to grapple with witness intimidation. Witnesses changed their testimonies from the investigative phase. There were cases where they even refused to give their testimony at all, says Bekim Blakaj, executive director at Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo, who monitors war crimes cases before international and national courts. He explains that the latter have faced similar problems when prosecuting former KLA members. The trials were pretty much affected by this pattern. The pressure on witnesses shaped the very creation of the KSC. Set up in 2015 by the Kosovo parliament under pressure from the country's western allies to handle ex-KLA fighters, the Chambers are formally part of the Kosovo judicial system but are located in the Netherlands and are fully staffed by internationals. The Chambers were specifically set outside of Kosovo because of worries over witness protection in the Balkan country. There is clear proof that some of the witnesses of the war crime trials were intimidated, they faced attempted murders, sometimes murders, says Haxhiaj. This kind of atmosphere of fear prevailed in Kosovo for many years because the strongest weapon against witnesses is this kind of stigmatization that they are against the freedom fighters, against Kosovo liberty, are against the KLA. Around 26 years have passed since the war in Kosovo, therefore most of the material rules have disappeared, she says. So, the prosecutors are heavily relying on witnesses. The International Court of Justice on Friday set April 10 as the date for arguments from Sudan and the United Arab Emirates after Khartoum accused the Gulf State of complicity in genocide. Sudan has dragged the UAE before the court, arguing its alleged support for the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) makes it "complicit in the genocide on the Masalit", a non-Arab ethnic group that has been a target of brutal violence in the Darfur region. The UAE, which has repeatedly denied supporting the RSF, has dismissed the case as a "publicity stunt" and said it would try to have it thrown out. Sudan has called for so-called "provisional measures," urging the ICJ to issue emergency orders to force the UAE to pay reparations, among other requests. The orders of the ICJ, which rules in disputes between states, are legally binding but it has no direct power to enforce them. Khartoum urged the court to act quickly "to ensure the urgent and fullest possible protection for the Sudanese civilian people who remain at grave and immediate risk of continuing and further acts of genocide." "The United Arab Emirates fuels the rebellion and supports the militia that has committed the crime of genocide in West Darfur," according to Sudan's submission to the court. For nearly two years, the RSF and the regular army in Sudan have fought a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 12 million. Famine has been declared in parts of the country and is likely to spread. In June, Sudan's UN ambassador, Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith, accused the UAE of fomenting conflict in his country, saying the RSF was being "supported with weapons by the Emirates". The RSF has received crucial support from the UAE, including arms deliveries through neighbouring Chad, say diplomats, analysts and rights groups. The Emirati envoy to the United Nations, Mohamed Issa Hamad Mohamed Abushahab, rejected the claims as "ludicrous". The Gulf state promised the United States in December that it would not arm the RSF, after two US lawmakers attempted to block its purchase of $1.2 billion in advanced rockets and long-range missiles. In January, the US lawmakers said the UAE had broken its promises and was still supplying the Sudanese rebels. Both the army and the RSF have been accused of war crimes. Sudan's nearly two-year-old war between the army and rival paramilitaries has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 12 million, according to the United Nations. The conflict pits the regular army of Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Following a 2021 coup that ousted the transitional government which came to power after the 2019 overthrow of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir, relations between Burhan and Daglo soured. Here is a look at key events in the war. - April 2023: Fighting erupts - On April 15, 2023, war breaks out between Burhan's troops and Daglo's paramilitaries. The fighting comes after a deal towards a civilian transition fell apart during a power struggle that included wrangling over how to integrate the RSF into the regular army. The army carries out air strikes on paramilitary bases, but the RSF quickly takes control of Khartoum airport, the presidential palace and other key buildings. Fighting also erupts in the western region of Darfur, which is still reeling from a major conflict that began in 2003. Foreign governments rush to evacuate their citizens from Sudan, and millions of residents flee Khartoum. The United States and Saudi Arabia negotiate a 72-hour truce but it is quickly violated, as are a series of subsequent deals. - May 2023: army quits talks - In late May, the army walks out of ceasefire talks with the RSF and its forces bombard the paramilitaries' positions in Khartoum. On June 7, the paramilitaries announce they have taken the country's biggest military complex, and later in the month they claim the police headquarters in Khartoum. - June 2023: mass killings - In June, between 10,000 and 15,000 people are killed in an ethnically-based campaign by the RSF and its allies in West Darfur state capital El-Geneina. It primarily targets the Massalit minority, according to a report by a UN panel of experts published in January 2024. - July 2023: war crimes probe - The International Criminal Court opens a probe into alleged war crimes in Darfur, including sexual and gender-based crimes. The UN says famine stalks the whole of Sudan. - 2024: humanitarian crisis - By 2024 the paramilitaries control most of the capital, almost all of Darfur and have seized large portions of Al-Jazira state south of Khartoum. In May, the RSF besieges El-Fasher in North Darfur, the only state capital in the region it has not conquered. In August, new peace talks in Switzerland end without agreement. The following month, the Sudanese government rejects a UN call for an independent force to protect civilians. In late October, the UN says the people of Sudan are living a "nightmare" of hunger, disease and massive ethnic violence, including widespread rape and sexual assaults. - February 2025: rival government - In January 2025, Washington accuses the RSF of "genocide" in Darfur through systematic killings and rapes. It also accuses the army of committing atrocities, including executions of civilians. On February 23, the RSF and its allies agree in Nairobi to form a rival government. The military breaks through a nearly two-year RSF siege of the North Kordofan state capital of El-Obeid, a key crossroads linking Khartoum to Darfur. In March, Sudan's army-backed government files a case against the United Arab Emirates at the International Court of Justice arguing it is "complicit in genocide" over its alleged support for the RSF, which Abu Dhabi denies. - March 2025: army retakes Khartoum - In January 2025, the army begins an advance on Khartoum after the tide of the war turned in its favour the previous November. Fighting also intensifies in El-Fasher. On March 21, the army recaptures the presidential palace from the RSF, which responds with a deadly drone attack. On March 28, the army says it has wrested back full control of Khartoum. The paramilitaries vow there will be "no retreat and no surrender". burs-paj/jmy/jsa/kir China's TB cure rate remains above 90 pct Xinhua) 10:34, March 28, 2025 BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China has maintained a national tuberculosis (TB) cure rate exceeding 90 percent since 2012, the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration announced on Thursday. Since 2012, China has seen a continuous decline in TB, a major infectious disease and global public health challenge, with both the incidence and mortality rates dropping by approximately 30 percent, the administration told a press conference. During the same period, the country's annual reduction rate of TB cases is twice the global average, while the mortality rate remains at a relatively low level, according to the administration. Liu Qing, a senior official with the administration, noted that in recent years, China has implemented various measures and made remarkable progress in TB prevention and control. "Moving forward, the administration will improve inter-agency coordination, enhance proactive screening, and reduce the financial burden on patients through strengthened policy support," Liu added. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Friday, March 28, 2025 - Days following the deadly attack on a police camp in Biyamadhow Police Reservist Camp in Fafi Constituency, students at Garissa University say they are experiencing heightened levels of tension and distress as they remain increasingly fearful over potential security threats. The institution, which remains etched in national memory due to the 2015 Al-Shabaab assault that left 147 dead, is now said to be witnessing an exodus of students seeking refuge outside campus. Reports indicate that learning has been severely disrupted, with many students opting to stay away from lecture halls. Sources within the university describe an overwhelming sense of unease due to claims of militant activity in the area. Nobody is talking about the situation at Garissa University right now, but it is extremely tense. I have a friend there who says the fear among students is overwhelming. Many are too scared to attend classes. There is a major terror scare, and students have been advised to seek accommodation outside the university. As a result, most have left, and the campus is almost deserted. Security has been heavily reinforced, with a large contingent of police officers deployed, but this has not eased fears. There are reports that Al-Shabaab militants are in the area, which is only making things worse, a source revealed. Security personnel have been deployed in large numbers, but their presence has done little to allay fears. The attack on the Biyamadhow camp, which occurred at dawn on Sunday, saw suspected Al-Shabaab militants overrun the site, killing six National Police Reservists and leaving four others injured. Less than twenty-four hours later, the militants struck again, targeting the residence of the National Police Reservist in charge of the Mandera Governors office, Abidkar Ibrahim. The Kenyan DAILY POST Friday, March 28, 2025 - A Machakos University student has been handed a 25 year prison sentence for the brutal murder of a 15-year-old girl in Naivasha five years ago. While delivering the ruling, High Court Judge Grace Nzioka said the evidence against 22-year-old Fredrick Mwonjoria was overwhelming, describing his actions as filled with malice. Mwonjoria was found guilty of killing Valerian Njeri on November 28th, 2019, in Mirera Estate, Naivasha. The two were neighbors in the flower farm community and he was a student at Nanyuki High School at the time. According to court records, Mwonjoria lured Njeri into his home, attacked her with a knife, and later dumped her body outside his gate. Blood traces led investigators to his room, where they recovered the murder weapon and bloodied clothes. The judge noted that despite being a minor at the time, his actions were beastly and warranted a strict custodial sentence. The Judge highlighted the brutality of the crime, stating that Mwonjoria stabbed the Form Two student 12 times, mainly on the neck and forehead, indicating clear intent to kill. She also found it disturbing that he hid the body under his bed and later dined with his family as if nothing had happened. Following the verdict, the victims father, John Ndunu, expressed relief, saying the five-year wait had taken a heavy toll on his family.Bottom of Form Friday, March 28, 2025 - A Kenyan woman is trending after she took to social media to welcome her co-wife after her husband added a second wife. She posted a photo of her co-wife and said she has embraced the polygamous marriage. Welcome home our wife. Mke mwenza nyumbani. My people, this is my husbands mate, my official co-wife, she wrote. Her post has since gone viral and sparked reactions online. Netizens showered praises on the woman for embracing the polygamous marriage without causing unnecessary drama. This should be a lesson to Karangus wife, Trizah Njeri, who walked out of her matrimonial home after he married a second wife. See the trending post. The Kenyan DAILY POST Friday, March 28, 2025 - The recent remarks by Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Charles Kahariri and National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General, Noordin Haji, have elicited mixed reactions, with critics accusing them of interfering in political matters. Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has strongly condemned the two leaders, stating that their warnings about the Ruto Must Go chants overstep constitutional boundaries. According to the vocal Senator, their involvement in politically charged discussions compromises their mandated neutrality. The NIS and CDFs public remarks, framing the 'Ruto Must Go' campaign as a threat, breach this obligation, compromising their independence, Omtatah said. He further cited Article 239(3) of the Kenyan Constitution, which states that national security organs must remain non-partisan. History has shown the dangers of security agencies entangling themselves in politics. The militarys role is to protect sovereignty, not to police political discourse, he added. Omtatah called on Kahariri and Haji to withdraw from political debates and issue a public statement reaffirming their neutrality. He also urged Parliament to investigate any misuse of security agencies for political purposes, warning against the weaponization of state institutions. Meanwhile, Kahariri defended his stance, clarifying that the military remains apolitical. Speaking at the National Intelligence and Research University, he maintained that all political actions must adhere to the Constitution. We cannot have anarchy as a country. Even as people exercise their freedom, they must do so within certain limits. We, the military, are apolitical; we do not support any side, Kahariri asserted. The Kenyan DAILY POST Friday, March 28, 2025 - The family of Gideon Maker, CEO of Juba-based Southern Safaris, is in distress following his disappearance in Nairobi on Sunday. His mother, Akech Deng, alleges he was kidnapped by Kenyan security officers at the request of Vice President for Gender and Youth, Rebecca Nyandeng. Makers ordeal stems from a four-year legal battle over $117,614 in unpaid flight tickets for Nyandengs official trips. His family believes a top official in her office, David Dau Achuoth, orchestrated his detention. Maker remains in an undisclosed facility run by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kenya, with fears growing over his safety. Below is a statement from his company. The Kenyan DAILY POST This is the second and final part of a feature on Rev Samuel. Read part one here. REVERNED SAMUEL Cotton after 14 years as rector of Kilberry parish transferred to Caragh Parish following the appointment of the previous incumbent Rev Arthur Archer to the parish of Donard. This occurred in 1862 but some years previously Cotton married a Kilberry woman, Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of Major Henry Johnson of the 25th Royal Welsh Fusiliers. There was no glebe house in Caragh and, for the first four or five years of his Caragh vicarage, Rev. Cotton is believed to have lived in Dublin. It was while in Dublin that he joined the Dublin Protestant Orphanage Society and became its Assistant Secretary in 1864. He resigned a year later and immediately sought funds to build a Glebe House in Caragh and also an orphanage. The lack of popularity which Rev Cotton experienced with his parishioners in Kilberry appears to have repeated itself with his Caragh parishioners. He himself noted having called vestry meetings in 1864, 1866 and 1868 which no parishioners attended. The orphanage in Caragh appears to have been opened in 1865. Why did Cotton open the orphanage? One can only surmise that the Church of Ireland fundamentalist saw it as an opportunity to secure Roman Catholic infants and young children to be brought up as members of the Church of Ireland. Very soon after the opening of the orphanage Rev Cotton was asked to admit six children belonging to a Protestant mother and a Catholic father. Two of the children were forcibly abducted by the deceased fathers relations and those relations were subsequently charged at the Naas Assizes (court) following a complaint by Rev Cotton. The Rev Cotton was himself before Robertstown petty sessions in 1869 for allegedly shooting at some individuals who taunted him on the public road. Evidence was given that persons passing the Glebe House frequently shouted out at the Vicar. On the charge of discharging his pistol Cotton was found not guilty but the publicity added to the publics growing awareness of the difficult vicar. A week later the orphanage was attacked by a number of men but their efforts to break in were not successful. Rev Cotton was involved in a number of other court cases none of them relating to the orphanage but rather the vicars unusual behaviour. The next court case concerned the orphanage involving the case of 10-year-old Elizabeth Daly who escaped from the orphanage in October 1871. Rev Cotton had her charged with stealing the rags which she was wearing. The outcome is unknown while Elizabeth was returned to the orphanage. A few years later a young mother, Kate Kelly, with her twin babies was refused admission to the orphanage. Kate was destitute and had 5 children all under the age of 6. Kellys request to admit the two babies was refused and on leaving the orphanage the distraught mother with her two babies walked back towards Naas. It was while on that journey that she drowned the children in the canal for which she was subsequently charged and sentenced to death. The death sentence was then commuted to one of imprisonment. Rev Cotton immediately following the trial wrote to the press explaining the financial difficulties which led to rejecting the admission of the two infants. Within a few months the press carried the story of four children, aged 12 years and under, who escaped from the orphanage. They were found by an Royal Irish Constabulary constable near Kilmeague in a hungry, unkempt state and dressed in rags. The discovery of the children in such a dishevelled and malnourished state prompted the RIC Head Constable to call unannounced to the Caragh orphanage. He found some children whose legs were chained to timber logs. Rev Cottons explanation was that the children in question had attempted to escape from the orphanage. Rev Cotton was subsequently charged with aggravated assault of four orphan children. He was found guilty and he later filed an appeal which was heard at Naas quarter sessions in October 1883. Acting for the state during that appeal was Athy Solicitor, Edward Lorde, whose name today is recalled in Lords Island which he had one time owned. The original fine imposed on Rev Cotton was reduced on appeal by half. It was the next case involving Caragh orphanage which led to a prison sentence for the Caragh rector. Rev John Wilson, a Church of Ireland rector in County Armagh, arranged for seven children to be taken into the orphanage. After some weeks Rev Wilson visited the children who he found to be neglected. Sometime later he revisited the orphanage with inspectors from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children following which the children were removed from Caragh. Rev Cotton was charged with wilful neglect and mistreatment of the children and was arrested in Dublin on charge of manslaughter of 8 year old William Browne who had died in the orphanage in December 1879. Rev. Cotton was later charged with the manslaughter of another child. The trial was scheduled for Carlow assizes in December 1891 and the Rev Cotton engaged Edward Carson to defend him. The Carlow jury could not agree on a verdict and the case was referred for rehearing to the Queen's Bench in Belfast. The manslaughter charges were subsequently withdrawn and following a full hearing of the mistreatment within the Caragh orphanage Rev Cotton was found guilty and sentenced to six months imprisonment with a fine of 400. He served his sentence in Mountjoy Jail and was released in January 1893. Within a few months a complaint was made that Rev Cotton was again operating the orphanage in Caragh where two malnourished children were found. Rev Cotton appeared before Robertstown petty sessions and was returned for trial to the Naas Assizes. The Naas jury returned a guilty verdict and a 12-month prison sentence in Kilkenny Prison was imposed. Cotton was relieved of his clerical status and on his release from Kilkenny Prison in July 1885 he spent the rest of his days living in Green Park, Bray where the former Athy curate and Kilberry Vicar died on the 31 August 1900. His wife Elizabeth died on 4 September 1914. A teen in care in who smashed up his Kildare care home and covered a social workers car in tomato ketchup because staff wouldnt bring him home to his mothers house appeared in court last week. The teen, who wont be 17 for another month, attended Naas District Court behind closed doors with his care worker, while the probation officer handed in a progress report to the court. He is doing very well, said his barrister Donnacha Craddock. He did damage to a wall in the care home, broke a window and frame, said Sergeant Dave Hanrahan, who estimated the damage at approximately 1,000. This occurred at the care home in Athy in which he resided on 19 June 2024. He was also charged with criminal damage to the staff members car on 16 July at the same address. Is he still at this address? asked Judge Desmond Zaidan. No, said Mr Craddock, hes now living with his mother. Im glad she can control him, commented the judge. Why did he do this? They wouldnt give me a lift to my mothers, said the teen. Then you lost your temper? surmised the judge. This is what happens to vulnerable teens, said the judge to the court. You have to control your temper. If you dont get your way, you just cant throw a temper, he said directly to the lad. Have you done the junior cert? asked the judge. Yeah, muttered the lad. Well done! said the judge. TY? No, fifth year, said the youth. What subjects? asked the judge. Woodwork and art, said the teen. Thats good. If you get a job as a carpenter you can make a good living, said the judge, as he remanded the youth on continuing bail to reappear on 17 July. If this is a good report Ill help you. See you in July, concluded the judge. It was fitting that when Seamus Pattison came to be honoured with a lifetime achievement award, it was presented to him in the building where he began his career over half a century ago. It was also appropriate that Lila Porteus, who worked there with him, was present to reunite with her old friend and colleague. In the 1950s, the pair worked in No 44 Friary Street then a health board office, and now the Jobs Club. At the age of 18, Seamus was part of a team that worked with Dr Val Barry to tackle the scourge of TB. "They had to go around all the schools of the county," explains Lila. READ NEXT: Kilkenny councillor hits out at local 'thugs' and 'criminals' "The doctor had a new car but didnt really know the roads. Seamus knew all the lanes and where all the schools were." Seamus recalls going to every school to administer innoculations. "We did that very diligently for a couple of years and then lo and behold, one morning we came to work and were told the scheme had been abolished because of cutbacks," he says. "I lost my job; I know how cutbacks feel and how they affect people. "I will never forget the significance of this building here and the people I worked with." Pat Brennan, chair of the board at the Jobs Club and Fr McGrath Centre, welcomed Seamus back to the building where his career in public service began. "Seamus involvement with the poorest of the poor in this country started in this very building and it is his link to these premises that decided us to make this presentation to him here honouring his lifes work for families and workers in Kilkenny," he said. "It was in this very spot that a young Seamus started his first paid days work with the community welfare office, then based here, where he went on to serve many of Kilkennys biggest and most disadvantaged working class families." FOR MORE KILKENNY CITY 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. An appointed contractor is due to commence works at the The Tholsel in the coming weeks a spokesperson from the local authority has confirmed to Kilkenny Live. The latest development follows a lengthy preparation period which can be dated back to 2019. The 'Museum of Medieval Kilkenny' will receive a total investment of 8 million and provides for the unification of The Tholsel and the Medieval Mile Museum (formerly St Marys Church). with the overall objective to develop an offering that will become one of Irelands top visitor attractions. Kilkenny County Council, in partnership with Failte Ireland signed a contract with, local company, Duggan Lynch Ltd to complete the works earlier this year. READ NEXT: 'The mistakes we have made in Kilkenny are almost unforgivable' - Local councillor The focus of this contract will centre on The Tholsel building and includes internal and external enhancement works along with the introduction of a lift for improved accessibility. The building, when works are complete, will continue to act as the seat of local government in the city, with some parts of the building converted for use as a visitor attraction including the basement. There will also be a number of physical changes to the structure in an effort to bring the Tholsel up to modern fire safety and accessibility standards. At present, it does not comply with regulations. A lift to cater for people with mobility issues will also be installed. The offering proposed will be presented in a fun and interactive manner in a fact-based horrible history experience, themed around 'The Rich, The Poor, The Rouges and The Righteous'. Where visitors will discover the darker side of medieval Kilkenny. They will meet the worlds most famous knight, powerful mayors and wealthy medieval merchants. FOR MORE KILKENNY CITY NEWS, CLICK HERE Ireland is ready to assist those affected by a major earthquake that has left more than 150 people dead in Myanmar and Thailand, the Irish deputy premier said. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmars second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Myanmar is embroiled in a brutal civil war that has already caused a widespread humanitarian crisis. Speaking at The Curragh in Co Kildare, Tanaiste Simon Harris said that the thoughts of the people of Ireland are with those affected by the quake. Mr Harris, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs, said his department is not aware of any Irish citizens impacted, but said its embassy in Thailand is available for assistance. My thoughts and I know the thoughts of people right around the country are with the people of Myanmar and Thailand after the very significant earthquake today, he said. The Irish Government stands ready to assist in any ways that we can and of course were looking to fully assess the impact of that earthquake with the UN and other international partners. But right now, our hearts go out to the people of that region. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Variable clouds with showers and scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High around 85F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 67F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. 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. A new crash report confirms that a dump truck driver who ran into a house in Owensville earlier this year experienced a medical episode before the crash. The crash report KOMU 8 obtained from the Missouri State Highway Patrol states the 70-year-old driver had a medical episode, causing him to travel off the road and hit a utility pole, a concrete parking pole, a tree and a residence off Missouri 28 (Lincoln Avenue) on Jan. 28. Dump truck crashes into house in Owensville, killing one Two people in the house were struck when the truck traveled off Missouri 28, according to the highway patrol. The crash killed 84-year-old Donald Fuchs, who was in the house, and seriously injured Linda Fuchs, 82, who was also in the house. The driver was also seriously injured, according to the crash report. After the crash, the driver stated he blacked out and didn't know what happened, according to the crash report. This story was republished from our news partner the Columbia Missourian. Read the full story on the Missourian's website. Sen. Stephen Webber said during floor debate that powerful people are protecting the accused but he could not reveal the name because of a promise to victims 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. Boao Forum opens with focus on free trade, cooperation 10:35, March 28, 2025 By Liu Yang, Yin Yeping ( Global Times The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 opened on Thursday in Boao, South China's Hainan Province. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony, calling for strengthening mutual trust, enhancing win-win cooperation, promoting economic globalization and safeguarding the free trade system. Ding's remarks resonated with officials, business executives as well as scholars participating in the forum. They called for collaboration, highlighting China's role as a stabilizer and promoter of the global multilateral framework and free trade at a time when the world is facing increasing global challenges such as climate change and a complex international situation. However, as voices for cooperation spoke loudly during the ongoing BFA, the US on Wednesday announced plans to impose 25-percent auto tariffs, with the measures set to take effect on April 2. Participants at the forum slammed the US' irresponsible move, saying that unilateralism has no future. China presents opportunity On the Chinese economy, Ding said economic performance in the country has been running steadily with a stronger outlook. The country will do its best to fulfill this year's goals and tasks for economic and social development, he said. "China is confident of realizing these goals and will contribute to development in Asia and the world." Noting that China has set an economic growth target of around 5 percent for 2025, Michele Geraci, former Undersecretary of State at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, told the Global Times that "I think 5 percent is a very, very good number...we do know that China is now evolving into a high-tech, innovative model, and this is also reassuring." "This year, technology and innovation will become the main driver for China's economy," Geraci said, taking DeepSeek as an example, "It's open source, it's cheap, it's fast. DeepSeek is more efficient in the use of resources... and when we have a tech revolution that makes the hardware cheaper, that means that the whole world now can start developing applications on top of this hardware that is not as expensive as we thought it would be." Wang Huiyao, founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, a leading Chinese nongovernmental think tank, said that China is once again sending a signal to the world of its continuous opening-up, and the country will put the goals set during the annual two sessions into practice this year. "This has given the world a 'reassuring pill,' and China serves as the ballast stone of global development," Wang told the Global Times. Jenny Shipley, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, told the Global Times on Thursday during the forum that "One of the greatest strengths of the Boao forum is that it brings government leaders and visitors from around the world, and they cherish the moment to be able to hear the update." "The speech this morning gave real clarity on areas that China is focusing on. And I know that many people will take that back to their own businesses and to their home economies and think about how we can as partners leverage together. So it was an excellent speech, refreshing in this moment where people are very distracted. And I think we'll create some positive momentum after this conference," she noted. Unilateralism vs multilateralism While the BFA was advocating multilateral cooperation and free trade, the US announced on Wednesday its decision to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports of automobiles and certain automobile parts under the name of a so-called national security threat, a move that CNN described as "a significant escalation in a global trade war." The new levies on cars and light trucks will take effect on April 3, the day after US plans to announce reciprocal tariffs aimed at the countries responsible for the bulk of the US trade deficit, Reuters reported. They come on top of duties already introduced on steel and aluminum, and on goods from China. Speaking at a session of the BFA themed "US Foreign Policy and Its Implications on Asia-Pacific Cooperation" on Thursday, panelists from home and abroad outlined their respective concerns over the US government's tariff policy, saying that the move will not serve its purpose but backfire on the US. "Do not try hard to understand the new US administration's trade policy. It is based on many falsehoods and many basic misunderstandings. It is primitive," US economist Jeffrey Sachs said at Thursday's session. "If you do the basic arithmetic, the tariffs don't come anywhere close to offsetting the tax cuts for the richest people in America... they (tariffs) hit the poor Americans," Sachs said. The American economist also noted that the tariffs will not protect the corresponding US industry but will have the opposite effect. "When the auto duties were announced, what happened to the auto share prices? They went down 5 percent... this will harm the US auto industry, making it permanently uncompetitive," Sachs said. Responding to the tariff policy of the new US administration, Cui Tiankai, a former Chinese Ambassador to the US, said at the session that "more tariffs is an indication of less competitiveness... afraid of competition. It's a lack of confidence." The latest tariff moves, particularly the increased tariffs on the automotive sector, are part of a broader pattern of escalating measures by the new US administration, Wang Huiyao said. Wang believes the 25 percent tariff hike on automobiles will have little impact on China, "as we do not export many cars to the US." In contrast, this move will have a significant effect on other countries, such as those in Europe and Japan, Wang said. In stark contrast with the US move, China has a clear perspective on tariffs, which is exemplified by offering zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines to the 43 least developed countries with which it has diplomatic relations in a bid to support their development and foster mutual benefits. While the US raises tariffs, we are lowering them, creating a dynamic contrast, Wang said. Zheng Yongnian, dean of the School of Public Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, said during the BFA that we should not underestimate the ability of China's opening-up policy to reshape the global trading system. China has now entered a high level of openness, and its unilateral opening-up is the best international public platform. "History has proven time and again that only with opening-up and cooperation can a better prospect be embraced. China will continue to join hands with all parties to create an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for sci-tech development, bringing benefits to more countries and peoples," Guo Jiakun, spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. High Court reporters The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal against the extradition of a 67-year-old man, who described himself as a soldier at war, wanted in the North to face trial for the murder of a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment over 45 years ago. In February, the High Court put a stay on its ordered surrender of pensioner James Donegan of Bruce Manor, Arva, Co Cavan, who is accused of the murder of 64-year-old Joseph James Porter at Mountnorris in Co Armagh on a date unknown between June 22nd and 25th, 1979. Mr Donegan is also wanted for alleged possession of a firearm and ammunition with the intent to endanger life as well as allegedly belonging to a proscribed organisation, namely the Irish Republican Army. In January at the High Court, Mr Justice Patrick McGrath ordered Mr Donegan's surrender to the UK authorities but put a stay on that order to allow Mr Donegan to try to appeal his extradition. The Supreme Court this week rejected Mr Donegans application to have the appeal heard, finding that it did not meet the constitutional threshold required. Mr Donegan was arrested at Dublin Airport last June, having agreed to meet gardai as he returned home from holidays. He told the arresting officers: "I'm an innocent man". The High Court heard that the arresting detective asked Mr Donegan whether he knew what the offences were about and replied: "Yes, I guess so". Mr Donegan was arrested by detectives from the Garda Extradition Unit at the airport following the endorsement of a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) Warrant issued by the Northern Ireland Authorities. The extradition warrant issued in April 2014 states that Mr Porter's body was found close to the entrance of his farm at Creggan Road, Mountnorris, on June 24th, 1979. A post-mortem examination conducted that day concluded that Mr Porter had died of gunshot wounds to the head and trunk. In the Supreme Court determination refusing permission to appeal, the court noted that the application for leave focused on the contention that the issuing state has not properly met the legal threshold for compliance in that correspondence has not been established. The Supreme Court said it was necessary to further consider information provided by authorities in the North to establish a corresponding offence in the South to satisfy the conditions for the surrender of Mr Donegan. The determination said that the Northern authorities relied on the fact that the victim was a member of the UDR, that a rifle used in the attack was used in subsequent attacks on security forces in Northern Ireland for which the IRA claimed responsibility and that it was recovered in a Provisional IRA arms cache in April 1980. The Supreme Court determination states that when interviewed by gardai in 2017, Mr Donegan, while denying involvement in the murder, referred to himself as a soldier at war and described the victim as a legitimate target. Four fingerprints had been recovered from the inside of Mr Porter's house, and a right thumbprint on a bedroom door had been found to match a fingerprint of Mr Donegan, the court noted. The State argued that the issue of correspondence put forward by lawyers for Mr Donegan was one of want of sufficient detail. In refusing the application to appeal, the Supreme Court said it was not satisfied that the High Court decision to surrender Mr Donegan raised any issue of general public importance. Rather, the [High Court's] decision was the application of well-established law to the particular facts of this case, it said THE Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI) Portlaoise Mosque at Rahman House, which is located along the Dublin Road, hosted a community breakfast recently that welcomed both Muslim and non-Muslim members of the local community. The event was organised to raise awareness about Ramadan and strengthen relationships between diverse communities and government departments. The guest of honour at the event was Dail Deputy Sean Fleming. Some of those who attended community breakfast that was held at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland Portlaoise Mosque. Also in attendance were the senior executive from the Integration, Community and Environment section of Laois County Council Carmel McNicholl, Garda Inspector Joe Culliton, Laois County Council Integration Support Coordinator Ann Carroll, Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise General Manager John Joyce and ICCI CEO Ahmad Hassan. Speaking at the event Deputy Fleming emphasized the importance of religious and community harmony. He commended the Muslim community for its contributions to local development and social cohesion. Pictured at the community breakfast that was held at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland Portlaoise Mosque. Ms. McNicholl reaffirmed the support of Laois County Council for the Muslim community and highlighting the services available to promote inclusivity and integration. The breakfast gathering served as a platform for meaningful dialogue, fostering mutual understanding and reinforcing community ties in Portlaoise. By Grainne Ni Aodha, PA Police are investigating a racially motivated hate crime in west Belfast. Detectives are appealing for witnesses to the incident in the Divis Street area reported shortly after 1.20pm on Thursday. It was reported that a man was followed by a male with a dog who subjected him to racial verbal abuse. He proceeded to follow him to his home address and continued to be verbally abusive and made threats towards him, Detective Sergeant McCartan said. The suspect then tried to gain entry to the property whilst assaulting the male occupant, and striking him with a metal dog lead. He continued to try and enter the property to assault the occupant but eventually fled after a number of other residents intervened. The victim subsequently attended hospital for treatment for injuries to his arm. The detective sergeant said the prolonged assault was being investigated as a racially motivated hate crime. An investigation is under way, and we would appeal to anyone who may have seen what happened, or who has any information which could assist us, to contact 101, and quote reference number 839 of 27/03/25. On 27 March Argentinas economy minister,, revealed that the government of Presidentis negotiating an accord to the tune of US$20bn with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). End of preview - This article contains approximately 375 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options Credit scores may drop significantly over the next few months for more than 9 million student loan borrowers now that delinquent student loans will begin to show up on credit reports and pandemic-era protections wane. AP If you have student loans, you might want to take a closer look at your credit score soon. More than 9 million student loan borrowers could see their credit scores plunge significantly over the next few months, as delinquent student loans will begin to show up on credit reports and pandemic-era protections wane, according to an analysis from economists at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. According to the analysis, 15% of all student loan holders are more likely to be behind on payments than before the pandemic. Because borrowers may be behind on their debts, the impact on their credit scores can affect access to mortgages or auto loans. Credit card companies may also decrease credit card limits, if a borrowers credit rating goes down. Ever since the Biden administration ended the pandemic-era pause last year, borrowers have been expected to make payments on their student loans. However, these borrowers have benefitted from a grace period in which loan providers could not report missed or late payments to credit agencies. Loan providers cannot report a loan as delinquent until 90 days after the payment is first due so many American borrowers are just now seeing the effects on their credit reports. Recent confusion about the future of the U.S. Department of Education and the federal student loan program is also leaving borrowers in doubt. President Trump announced Friday that he intends to move the management of federal student loans out of the Education Department and under the umbrella of the Small Business Administration. Ive decided that the SBA, the Small Business Administration, headed by Kelly Loeffler, a terrific person, will handle all of the student loan portfolio. We have a portfolio thats very large, Trump said in a White House Oval Office briefing Friday. Applications for income-driven student loan repayment plans reopened Wednesday after a court ruling temporarily halted the program because the online forms had to be compliant with the courts decision. 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. A father has pleaded guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of his 22-month-old son after the Allentown toddler fatally ingested drugs while in his parents care, the Lehigh County District Attorneys Office announced. Jorge Suarez-Santiago, 33, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin also pleaded guilty to felony child endangerment. Additionally, he pleaded guilty to heroin possession in an unrelated case. The plea was entered Thursday during a hearing before Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anna-Kristie M. Marks. Suarez-Santiago now faces a maximum sentence of five to 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. June 16. A pedestrian crossing is needed on a lethal stretch of road in Arles, a council meeting was told. Independent Cllr Aisling Moran asked that Transport Infrastructure Ireland(TII) meet with councillors to discuss the crossing. That road is lethal. It really is lethal. They wont even meet us to do anything with it, said Cllr Moran. As the N80 Road through Arles is a national route, Laois County Council has to consult with TII in relation to work. She said there was a housing estate on one side of the road and a school on the other. Is there any way we can just get them down here, asked Cllr Moran. She said a pedestrian crossing was badly needed in Arles as there was nowhere for children to safely cross the road. READ ALSO: Child almost killed in traffic The issue was discussed at the latest meeting of Portarlington Graiguecullen Municipal District. National roads in Laois will benefit from funding of 1,147,249 million for maintenance and repair work this year. The allocation was issued in two categories. A total of 701,300 was delivered Under Capital Investment Protection and Renewal. It included sums for minor works including 40,000 on the N80/N78 Simmons Mill junction, 9,000 on the pedestrian crossing at Durrow, 55,800 for the N77 Abbeyleix Road in Portlaoise, 4,500 for Fingletons property on the N80, 15,000 for JFL Avenue in Portlaloise and 4,500 for the N80 at Rathillig. A further 400,000 has been allocated for pavement renewals, 150,000 was allocated for local authority improvement works and 22,500 for retrofit fencing. A further 445,949 was delivered under the category of Current Maintenance Protection and Renewal. It includes 39,200 for maintenance, 96,581 for motorway lighting, 59,910 for lighting on national routes, 128, 967 for national route maintenance and 121,291 for winter maintenance. Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming and Fine Gael TD, Willie Aird, welcomed the announcement which was part of a 33 million national allocation. I am delighted to see that funding has been allocated to Laois County Council for essential national road repair works across Laois. The continued safety for all road users is a key priority for Fine Gael in government and key to that is the protection and regeneration of our existing national road network, said Deputy Aird. The 2025 funding allocations are made in line with the National Development Plan 2021-2030 (NDP), which balances investment in transport against other priorities of Government over the lifetime of the Plan. TII(Transport Infrastructure Ireland) will allocate the funding in line with the National Development Plan. The allocation for protection and renewal of the existing national road network will fund a range of activities including road safety improvements, pavement renewal, maintenance of bridges and structures, and measures to ensure the network can withstand the increased number of severe weather events, Dep Aird added. Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming said this is very welcome news and many locations throughout the county will see the benefits of these funds when these maintenance and improvement works are carried out over the coming months. He said the funding is in addition to 14,454,450 funding for regional and local roads in Laois which were separately announced in February, bringing the total government allocation for roads in the county to 15,601,699 in 2025. There is much pressure for improvements and repairs to various roads throughout the county especially in rural areas. I hope this funding will help deal with these important requests from people in these areas. I am calling on Laois County Council to have sufficient equipment carrying out these works as early as possible in the year and not to leave it to November and December when the weather can be very bad, said Dep Fleming. Minister of State with responsibility for Rural Transport, Jerry Buttimer, said: As Minister with responsibility for Rural Transport, I appreciate the important role played by the national Road Network in ensuring that all parts of Ireland are connected to each other. A safe and efficient National Road Network supports rural residents, allowing them to connect to work, education and healthcare. In addition, it also facilitates the many bus services that now serve rural Ireland. The funding announced today will serve to safeguard and improve this vital national asset for all our citizens. READ ALSO: Obselete part leaving Laois pedestrian crossings out of order A total of 33 million is being provided to local authorities nationwide for regular maintenance of National Roads. The government announced a further 600 million in funding for new roads in 2025 nationwide but Laois wasn't included in that allocation of funding. Laois woman and Hodgkins Lymphoma survivor, Ellen Deegan from Stradbally is calling on her local community to go all in against cancer for the Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day, today, Friday, March 28. Ellen was diagnosed with cancer when she was only 15 after developing a lump on her neck and experiencing ongoing fatigue. Ellen is now thankfully doing well and wants to encourage her community to support this years Daffodil Day. Reflecting on her cancer experience, Ellen said: I will always remember the day I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma. It was only when the doctor began discussing chemotherapy and wigs that I fully realised I had been diagnosed with cancer. I was so young; I didnt properly process it all. I broke down at the thought of losing my hair, I loved it so much and couldnt bear the idea of not having it anymore. READ NEXT: Gardai investigating report of car being searched in Laois Every euro raised on Daffodil Day is crucial and makes a real lasting difference, fuelling life changing cancer research and vital support services, I would encourage everyone to please get out there and donate on Daffodil Day, March 28th, 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 Laois. In 2024, your generous support provided: Almost 400 free lifts to bring Laois-based cancer patients to their treatment Over 310 free counselling sessions to people living in Laois. Over 280 nights of free Night Nursing care to allow cancer patients in Laois to die at home surrounded by loved ones Our Cancer Nurses had over 240 conversations with people living in Kilkenny 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 Laois 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 28 March. Your generous support means everyone affected by cancer in Laois will have access to the support they need, when they need it most." Where the donations go: 30 can help provide transport for a patient to and from their chemotherapy treatment using the Irish Cancer Societys Transport Service. 50 can help provide vital clinical equipment for an Irish Cancer Society Night Nurse. 55 will help pay for the cost of one hour of Night Nursing, providing end of life care to a patient in their own home. 60 will cover the cost of a counselling session to help a person cope with a cancer diagnosis in their life. 455 will help cover the cost of one night of Night Nursing, providing end of life care to a patient in their own home. For more information about Daffodil Day visit HERE. Amendments have been proposed for a previously granted Large-Scale Residential Development (LSRD) in Naas. The initial planning permission application, which sought to construct 134 apartments at "lands within the townland of Naas West, 'Finlay Park', Naas", was submitted to Kildare County Council (KCC) by Westar Homes Limited back in December of 2022. Planning permission was later granted by Kildare County Council. Following this, the company submitted alterations to its proposed LSRD via a planning application in October of 2023, and KCC once again approved the company's proposals. Now, Westar Homes Ltd intends to make further changes to the LSRD, as seen on a new planning application with a date received listed as March 21 last. The latest proposed alterations relate to Blocks B and C of the LSRD the description of the application reads: "The alterations include the provision of 13 additional apartment units as follows: three one-bed, three two-bed, and two three-bed units at the fourth floor level of Block B; and one one-bed, three two-bed and one three-bed apartment units at the fourth floor level of Block C. "The proposed alterations would result in an overall increase from 139 to 152 apartment units, within the approved building footprint with no proposed increase in the overall building height permitted under Ref.22/221502." Westar Homes Ltd is also seeking permission for "amendments to all elevations to accommodate extended fourth floor level, matching the arrangement in the previously approved elevations". In addition, the business is seeking permission for all associated site works necessary to facilitate the proposed development, including the provision of 80 additional bicycle parking spaces and 11 additional surface level car parking spaces. Lastly, the application notes that the overall site layout will remains as per the parent permission, "including road layout and services". The submission-by and due dates on the application are listed as April 24 and May 15 respectively. According to the business information website SoloCheck.ie, Westar Homes Ltd was set up on Friday, November 14, 2014. The company has an address listed as C/O Dodd and Company Solicitors, Dmg Business Centre Camden Row, Dublin 8, County Dublin. READ NEXT: Demolition works and construction of two apartment blocks sought for Kildare town site A planning application has been submitted to Kildare County Council for the construction of two blocks of apartments at Dublin Road, Kildare Town, Co Kildare. The 3.2m development plans involve the partial demolition of the rear of an existing two storey commercial premises on Dublin Road, and demolition of existing industrial style units on site to the rear of the original commercial unit on Dublin Road. The two blocks of apartments consist of Block A and Block B. Block A consists of a three-storey building and partial two-storey with attic space, with 10 apartments (eight one bedroom and two three bedroom). Block B consists of a two storey building attached to the original commercial unit on site (to remain on site addressing Dublin Road), and will provide for five apartments (four two-bedroom units and one one-bedroom unit.) Also proposed is a covered car parking area and covered bicycle and bin area. An internal access road, connection to public foul sewer and watermain, soakholes, landscaping and all associated site works also form part of the plans. The architect in charge of the project is Whyte Planning Consultants Limited. READ NEXT: Kildare gardai caught two drivers 'going well over the speeding limit' near small village Irelands trade minister said that the period of uncertainty and economic turbulence must be kept to a minimum, as he urged further engagement between the US and the European Union to avoid a trade war. Simon Harris made the comments as met with a delegation from the Slovak Republic, led by the minister of foreign and European affairs, Juraj Blanar, in Dublin on Friday. The pair discussed bilateral relations, European co-operation and wider global challenges. The Department of Foreign Affairs said that Slovakia is the among the most impacted by the decision of the United States to impose 25% tariffs on cars. I am intensively engaging with EU colleagues and stakeholders on the changed trade environment between the US and the EU. This morning I will host my Slovak counterpart, Juraj Blanar in Dublin. Slovakia is a country with a large car industry. A chance to share insights. Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) March 28, 2025 The car tariffs will come into effect on April 2, with charges on businesses importing vehicles starting next Thursday. Taxes on parts are set to start in May or later. In a statement, the Tanaiste said it is vital that the EU works together to prepare for this changed trading environment. Tariffs are bad for consumers and for our economies on both sides of the Atlantic, he added. We need to ensure the period of uncertainty and economic turbulence is kept to a minimum and that as quickly as possibly the US and the EU engage to find a way forward that works and crucially works for all our people and our economies. The Tanaiste said he will speak to more European colleagues next week. Speaking after his meeting with Mr Blanar, the Tanaiste said that relations between Ireland and Slovakia have deepened significantly. I look forward to further consolidating our relationship and stepping up cooperation within the EU as our Presidency of the Council in 2026 approaches, he added. Strong European unity, including as a community of values, is now more important than ever. During his visit, Mr Blanar visited Trinity College Dublin and met with members of the Slovakian community, including Joe Veselsky, aged 106, a Holocaust survivor of Slovak origin, who lives in Dublin. Leitrim is all set for Daffodil Day, which takes place nationwide this Friday, 28th March 2025. Donations in Carrick on Shannon can be made at the following locations: Aldi, Centra/Mastersons Service Station, Corrib Service Station, Super Valu and Tesco. "We would like to thank the management and teams at all these locations for their generous support for this worthy cause," the organisers said. In Ballinamore, volunteer collectors will be visible at both Supervalu and Tescos on both days. Everyone is urged to please support this worthy cause. Cash and cashless options available. Young Leitrim mother and lymphoma survivor, Letitia McFarlane from Kinlough, is calling on her local community to go all in against cancer for the Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day, this year. In early 2023, 27-year-old mother of two Letitia McFarlane was diagnosed with Primary Mediastinal Large B Cell Lymphoma a type of blood cancer. She had become unwell while on a family holiday in Spain the previous November. Her face swelled and this was attributed to an allergic reaction to lip fillers. Following her persistence, her cancer was detected and underwent a number of rounds of chemotherapy, followed by immunotherapy and then finally Car-T cell therapy in St. Jamess Hospital in Dublin. In May 2024, she finally got the news she was in remission. Reflecting on her cancer experience, Letitia McFarlane said: My life was turned upside down by my cancer diagnosis, but so was everybody elses around me. They all had to jump in and help with the children and support me through my treatment. Its a been a whole of family effort to get through this and I cant thank them enough for everything they have done. Letitia is calling for young people to more cancer aware: Cancer was just so far off the radar of what I thought could be wrong with me. I think young people need to be more empowered and aware to ask questions and push for tests if we dont feel right. My face was severely swollen and as soon as my doctors heard about the lip fillers, they just attributed what was going on with me to that. Thankfully, I kept pushing and asking more questions. She is calling on Leitrim and the north-west to go yellow this Daffodil Day: Every euro raised on Daffodil Day is crucial and makes a real lasting difference to patients like me, fuelling life changing cancer research and vital support services. I would encourage everyone across Leitrim and the north-west to please get out there on Daffodil Day, March 28th, and show your support for those affected by cancer in your local community. READ MORE: Leitrim's Spelling Bee winner announced Annaduff National School has been named the Healthy Heroes Star School for March 2025, emerging as the winner from hundreds of primary schools across Ireland. The recognition comes as a result of the schools ongoing efforts to promote healthy eating and active living among its students. The Healthy Heroes initiative, supported by the Irish Bread Bakers Association (IBBA) and Bord Bia, aims to educate children on nutrition, physical activity, and healthy lunchtime habits. The programme, which has been running for ten years, encourages students to take leadership roles. In particular, sixth-class pupils have mentored younger students on nutrition and exercise, fostering teamwork and communication skills, with the peer-learning approach being well-received by the school community. Deputy Principal Jennifer Reehil commented on the school's involvement in the initiative: Healthy Heroes has provided a valuable experience for our students, and were pleased to be named the Star School for March. The programme has enabled the older pupils to become leaders to the younger classes, as they lead by example and foster a healthy approach to lunchtime and exercise. Shauna McCarthy of IBBA also acknowledged the schools efforts, saying, Annaduff National School has demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting healthy habits among its students. READ MORE: Leitrim named one of the top counties for first-time buyers Minister Ngafuan added, The cost of doing business erodes profits, but by reducing these costs, we create opportunities for greater profits, which in turn leads to business expansion and increased employment. LIMERICK Chamber, the largest business representative group in the region, has a new president. Mairead Connolly, a tax partner at audit, tax and advisory firm PwC has been appointed to the role for 2025. She takes over the high-profile position from Noel Gavin, a senior vice-president at Northern Trust in Ballysimon. Ms Connolly, who is based at PwCs city centre office in Charlottes Quay, has served on the board of Limerick Chamber since 2020. READ MORE: Coffee shop in Limerick closes suddenly In that time, she has sat on its executive committee, and chairing governance and nominations. It is both an honour and a privilege to step into the role of president at Limerick Chamber, said Ms Connolly. The Chamber has been a longstanding driving force which has united our business community since 1815, having created a network where members are supported, encouraged to collaborate, innovate, and champion each others success. As a collective voice, we work to shape policies that secure necessary key investments which ensure the long-term prosperity of our region, she added. The businesswoman said she is committed to building on the Chambers legacy. She hopes the group - which has 400 members - will continue to advocate for regional and national growth, as well as the viability of Limerick city centre. Reflecting on his year in office, Mr Gavin said: Serving as President of Limerick Chamber has been an immense honour, I am very grateful for the support and encouragement of our members, board, and community. Together, we have championed policies that drive growth, advocated for a stronger region, and reinforced the power of collaboration in shaping Limericks future. THIEVES suspected to be in search of valuable tools broke into two properties under construction in Limerick. Two houses under construction in The Spa area of Castleconnell were targeted by thieves who gained entry via rear windows on the night of Saturday, March 22 into Sunday morning, March 23. Gardai suspect the target of these break-ins to be valuable tools, said Sergeant Michelle OHalloran, crime prevention officer at Henry St garda station. If you are in the process of renovating or building a new home and perhaps in a remote location, ask neighbours to keep an eye on it and to report anything suspicious. Also, if you are tradesmen or building contractors, ensure all tools are stored securely and have identifiable markings on them in the event of the tools being stolen. READ ALSO: Concern raised at changes to front of former shop in Limerick An Garda Siochana held a property marking event at the University of Limerick (UL) with a further property marking event to take place in Thomas Street, in the city centre on April 29, from 12 midday. This is a great opportunity to get items such as bicycles, phones, laptops and tablets marked which will identify items as belonging to you, Sgt OHalloran said. Further information about these events will be available on An Garda Siochana Limerick social media pages. A CLIMATE pact ambassador of a community-led local development company in the Limerick region spoke of the importance of local action at an EU conference. Rhiannon Laubach, development officer at Ballyhoura Development CLG, who are based in Kilfinane, addressed crowds at the second annual EU Climate Pact National Conference which took place on Thursday, March 13, at Europe House in Dublin. Following a successful event last year, this second annual gathering is part of a wider grassroots movement across Europe to tackle climate change, supporting the EUs ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Ms Laubach was among speakers at the conference, who included Senator Malcolm Noonan, who delivered the keynote address and Robert Mooney from the Department of Environment, Climate and Communication. The event brought together a broad range of individuals, communities, local authorities, and organisations, all united in their efforts to address climate change. The aim is to strengthen Irelands commitment to building a climate-neutral future and inspire more grassroots action to tackle the climate crisis. READ ALSO: Relove Paint project expands Ms Laubach highlighted ways to empower communities and inspire climate action from the ground up. She said: This event highlights the power of community-driven initiatives in tackling climate change. It's inspiring to see communities and organisations come together to build a more sustainable future. Small daily changes can make a significant difference, and the role of community is more important than ever. Launched by the European Commission as part of the European Green Deal, the Climate Pact is a movement of people united by a shared mission to build a more sustainable Europe The Climate Pact provides a fertile ground for initiatives, networks and movements that have already begun to revolutionise the approach to climate action in Europe. It aims to empower Europeans who are ready to contribute in whatever way they can. GOVERNMENT has announced more than 83m in funding for works on Limerick roads - the vast majority of it on the Adare bypass. Work on the Limerick to Foynes road which is hoped will lighten the traffic through Adare is well under way. And government has announced that 69m has been set aside for the link. READ MORE: Limerick couple chosen as faces of popular charity campaign close to their hearts On top of this, some 4.5m has been allocated for the Limerick to Cork motorway, and 750,000 each for relief roads in Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West. The funding was welcomed by local TD Niall Collins, a Minister of State at the Department of Justice, who is pictured below with Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien. "The announcement is enormously positive. I want to welcome the allocation of over 83m for Limericks national roads, particularly the 69 million for the Adare bypass, for which contracts have been signed just recently. I want to acknowledge the priority this government has placed on funding new roads and advancing the national road projects in the current National Development Plan. This funding will improve our national roads in Limerick and improve road safety for all road users," the Fianna Fail TD said. Other notable funding allocations for Limerick include 3.2m on pavement renewals and 2.6m on improvements to local roads. Kilteery Pier is to get 63,000 for improvements, while a pilot of safety cameras is to take place, with 62,000 in place this this. Government has allocated 641,467 in funding for day-to-day maintenance of roads, including works which are needed during extreme winter weather periods, and the lighting of routes. Verge works at Barnagh, Abbeyfeale, Adare, Murphy's Cross in Adare, Pallasgreen, Grange Cross in Grange and Wards Cross near Abbeyfeale will be funded through this revenue. Fellow Limerick County TD Patrick O'Donovan, the Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport said: "The allocation for protection and renewal of the existing national road network will fund a range of activities including road safety improvements, pavement renewal, maintenance of bridges and structures, and measures to ensure the network can withstand the increased number of severe weather events." Nationally, the Department of Transport is to provide 633m in funding for roads. Citizens across the European Union, including Ireland, have been told to stock up on six essential items in case of a disaster in Europe. The European Commission and High Representative launched the Preparedness Union Strategy this week to support Member States and enhance Europe's capability to prevent and respond to emerging threats, including war and global emergencies like the Covid pandemic in 2020. The EU says the advice, including to 450 individual citizens, come amid "growing geopolitical tensions and conflicts, hybrid and cybersecurity threats, foreign information manipulation and interference, climate change and increasing natural disasters." In a statement, they said "the EU needs to be ready to protect its citizens and the key societal functions that are crucial for democracy and daily life." As part of the plan, they will be telling EU citizens to have a 72-hour stockpile of emergency supplies, including water and food, in case of disaster. READ NEXT: Warning to Irish people on holiday in Spain amid 'stay away' protests Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, Hadja Lahbib said citizens should have a stock of six things: Food, water, flashlights, ID papers, medicine and shortwave radios. She said: "Preparedness must be woven into the fabric of our societies everyone has a role to play. Todays threats are fast, complex, and interconnected; our response must be more proactive, more integrated, and more coordinated at European level. By harnessing the energy of our institutions, businesses, and citizens, we can build resilience and ensure Europe emerges stronger from crises." Concretely, the Strategy includes 30 key actions and a detailed Action Plan to advance the Preparedness Union's objectives, as well as developing a preparedness by design culture' across all EU policies. President Ursula von der Leyen said: New realities require a new level of preparedness in Europe. Our citizens, our Member States, and our businesses need the right tools to act both to prevent crises and to react swiftly when a disaster hits. Families living in flood zones should know what to do when the waters rise. Early warning systems can prevent regions hit by wildfires from losing precious time. Europe stands ready to support Member States and trusted partners in the neighbourhood to save lives and livelihoods. The strategy aims to "develop minimum preparedness criteria for essential services such as hospitals, schools, transport, and telecommunications." The EU also says it will "work with strategic partners like NATO on military mobility, climate and security, emerging technologies, cyber, space, and the defence industry. "Overall by taking a proactive approach to preparedness, the EU aims to build a more resilient and secure continent, better equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century," a statement concluded. Simon Harris has said he absolutely didnt promise Dail speaking time to Michael Lowry or other independents during government formation. The Tanaiste and Fine Gael leader said that an offer to guarantee independents more time in the chamber was not made as part of government formation talks. The Dail has been convulsed in a row over changing speaking time slots, which began when Government-affiliated independent TDs sought to be deemed as opposition to gain high-profile opportunities to speak in the Dail. The dispute has escalated to a no confidence motion in the Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy, after the opposition questioned her handling of their protest against the Government pushing through its changes. These changes create a new slot for independent TDs and Government backbenchers to raise questions in the Dail. The opposition has asked why the Government has fought for additional speaking time for Mr Lowry, a controversial former Fine Gael minister, who led the Regional Independents group in government formation talks. Asked whether he, or any member of Fine Gael, gave Mr Lowry or other independents a commitment that they would get more speaking time in the Dail, or more high-profile opportunities to speak in the Dail if they supported the government, Mr Harris said: No, we didnt. We absolutely didnt, Mr Harris said on Friday. We negotiated with the independent group, the regional independent group, on the programme for government, and I was there in leaders-level conversations in relation to that. In fact, the conversations that we had during speaking time, if you remember, took place with the leaders of the opposition. Mr Harris, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the Government and opposition would need to pull together ahead of US tariffs on EU goods expected to be announced next Wednesday. He said that the Dail speaking time row had become farcical. The behaviour in the Dail (in the) last week, if you saw it from your children, you would have been disappointed, Mr Harris said. Grown men and women shouting and roaring at the Ceann Comhairle at a time when were about to face serious economic shocks. All sense of proportionality has been lost in relation to this. Claims about anti-democracy and stuff just dont add up to any scrutiny. In fact, it is the very essence of democracy that the peoples representatives vote in the parliament and that the outcome is respected. This idea of If I dont like how the vote in the Dail goes, I take my ball and go home with it, its a sort of immature politics that we really dont need in Ireland right now. He said that he has great respect for the opposition and respect for many members of the opposition, but said there has to be proportionality. Mr Harris added: So yes, people have different views on who should speak and how long they should speak for, and thats fine to have points of disagreement, but at some point you have to make a decision, and at some point a majority of members of Dail Eireann have to vote on it, thats what happened. I thought the scenes were really unbecoming, really unseemly, and I hope we can move on from this. Chinas biggest banks delivered profit gains last year as sliding credit impairments offset narrowing margins. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nations largest, said net income rose 0.5% to 365.9 billion yuan , according to a Friday filing. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. said profit rose 4.7% while China Construction Bank Corp. delivered a 0.9% increase. All three banks saw their margins continue to narrow from record low levels, while asset quality improved. China policymakers pivoted to stimulating growth in September with sweeping support measures including cuts on its loan prime rates and mortgage interests. Thats driven down loan yields for lenders, squeezing their margins to a record low last year. The results followed similar mild profit growth reported by peers Bank of Communications Co. and Bank of China Ltd. earlier in the month, as lower credit impairment offset a margin contraction. Bloomberg Intelligence expects their margin pressure to persist into 2025, with the largest banks recording a worse-than-consensus decline of 13 to 16 basis points. The sector will also contend with falling returns on equity, as Beijings latest economic push could bring collateral damage by bringing ample credit but at lower costs, analyst Francis Chan wrote in a note this week. The banking industrys asset quality remains under pressure. Despite a decrease in bad loan ratio in the real estate sector, which has been a drag on their books, officials cautioned more bad debt could arise from the property market. Bocom vice president Gu Bin said last week some loans in the sector still face the risk of being downgraded to non-performing loans as developers cash flow and sales have yet to recover. BOC expects the deep correction in the real estate market to continue weighing on its asset quality, vice president Wu Jian said at a Wednesday briefing. Chinas big banks are accelerating a drive to write off soured property loans to clean up their balance sheets, so as to free up resources to lend to other key areas desired by Beijing. The finance sector got rid of a record 3.8 trillion yuan in bad assets last year, with loans to property developers accounting for a lions share. 2025 Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg) -- Assicurazioni Generali SpAs largest investor proposed new terms for Chief Executive Officer Philippe Donnet and Chairman Andrea Sironi, giving backing to the firms top leadership before a potential face-off with a couple of disgruntled investors later this year. Mediobanca SpA, which owns 13% in Generali, has submitted a list of 12 candidates including Donnet and Sironi for a fresh three-year term, it said in a statement on Friday. The roster includes nine current board members. The currently serving candidates proposed by Mediobanca have led Generali to deliver results that have exceeded initial plans, the lender said in its statement. It cited double-digit earnings growth and shareholder returns that have been the highest among the companys main peers. Generali will hold its annual general meeting on April 24 to vote on whether to renew the terms of the firms board. Mediobanca previously backed Donnet twice in similar votes, while the insurers next biggest investors the billionaire families of the late patriarch Leonardo Del Vecchio and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone have opposed him. Donnet, 64, became Generali CEO almost nine years ago. He has strengthened Generalis finances, cut costs and expanded into more lucrative product areas through acquisitions abroad. Caltagirone and the Del Vecchios have repeatedly sought to influence Generalis strategy in the past, resulting in clashes with the insurers senior management and Mediobanca. The two clans contend that Mediobancas grip on Generali has caused the insurer to lose focus and miss opportunities. A Caltagirone-led campaign to oust Donnet failed about three years ago, and a combined effort to unseat Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel was also unsuccessful. The Del Vecchios hold a 9.9% stake in Generali trough their holding company Delfin, and Caltagirone owns 6.9%. Theyre also major shareholders in Mediobanca, owning 19.8% and 7.7%, respectively. The disagreements between Generalis management and Mediobanca on the one side and the billionaire investors on the other were fanned this year over the insurers accord with the French banking group BPCE to combine their investment units in an effort to create Europes second-largest asset manager. Some members of Generalis board, backed by Caltagirone, have voiced opposition to the deal. Mediobanca decided to present its own list of board candidates for Generali as the insurance companys board did not to compile its own slate. The insurers governance body cited regulatory uncertainty linked to a law that gives shareholders more power to determine the board members. Caltagirone himself may present a list of six candidates for the Generali board that likely wont include any candidates for the CEO or chairman role, according to local media reports. An Italian fund manager association has presented another list that includes four candidates. Generalis board of directors is composed of 13 members. Under the Generali bylaws, as many as nine board members are selected from the list receiving the most shareholder votes. The remaining four board members are chosen from other lists on a proportional basis, provided they cross a minimum threshold. That gives influence to UniCredit SpA after Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel disclosed earlier this year that the Italian bank has built a substantial stake in Generali. While Orcel has repeatedly said the holding is a financial investment, it may furnish him with a bargaining chip in various other banking deals hes interested in and where the Del Vecchios and Caltagirone play a role too. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com * China's top banks report broadly steady profits * Net interest margins shrink for Big Five * Government support helps large banks, smaller lenders struggle By Ziyi Tang, Selena Li and Engen Tham BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 28 (Reuters) - The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest lender, and China Construction Bank (CCB), the nation's third largest bank by assets, posted flat annual profits and lower margins on Friday, as a slowing economy and a struggling property sector weigh on earnings. Bad debt among developers and low demand for private sector loans have been dogging the banking sector as the world's second largest economy grapples with deflationary pressure and rising trade and political tensions with the United States. The two lenders reported 0.51% and 0.88% net profit growth in 2024, respectively, following the Bank of Communications (BoCom), which last week also showed barely any profit growth. Bank of China (BoC) and Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) did better, reporting gains of 2.6% and 4.72%, respectively. "CCB's profit is expected to trend down under pressure in 2025," said the lender's chief financial officer Sheng Liurong. Net interest margins (NIM) - a key gauge of profitability - for all five top lenders, which includes Bank of China, were down. "We expect the banking sector to face profitability and asset quality pressures this year. NIM will likely continue to decline," said Ming Tan, a director at S&P Global Ratings. "Meanwhile, slower GDP growth amid additional U.S. tariffs could weigh on loan quality in some segments, such as lending to micro and small enterprises as well as unsecured consumer credit," Ming said. ICBC reported its net interest margin dipped to 1.42% at the end of December from 1.43% at the end of the previous quarter, AgBank said its margins fell to 1.42% from 1.45% over the same period, while CCB saw a drop to 1.51% from 1.52%. Christopher Beddor, Deputy China Research Director at Gavekal Dragonomics, said more expected policy easing will keep the pressure on margins. "Policymakers have pledged to further cut lending rates this year, which will probably eat into bank margins again," Beddor said. He said Beijing's pledge this month to recapitalise major state banks to the tune of 500 billion yuan ($68.82 billion) to help them better support the real economy, should also help bring down bad debt ratios. "The government recapitalization of the large state-owned commercial banks will essentially hit the reset button on the bad loans that they extended during the pandemic," said Beddor. Smaller banks, however, are likely to feel the brunt of the slowdown, analysts said, though local authorities are in their corner in some cases. "The regional lenders are still in poor shape, but local authorities continue to quietly bail them out," said Beddor. Three of China's Big Five banks, also said they were already using artificial intelligence tool DeepSeek - the country's lauded answer to ChatGPT. New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) AMNS India on Friday started the process to acquire a land parcel in Andhra Pradesh for its proposed steel manufacturing facility. The initial payment for acquiring the land has been made, and possession is expected soon, paving the way for the company to commence work on the greenfield project, AMNS India said in a statement. The company announced the beginning of the acquisition of a land parcel in Anakapalli district in Andhra Pradesh, as part of its plans to set up a state-of-the-art integrated steel plant in Rajayapeta. The project will be set up with an initial capacity of 7.3 MTPA. ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AMNS India) did not provide any further details related to the investment and the overall capacity of planned project. Lakshmi Mittal, Executive Chairman, ArcelorMittal, said: "This investment in Andhra Pradesh deepens and broadens our presence in Indian steelmaking and takes us all closer to Viksit Bharat." Aditya Mittal, Chairman, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, and CEO, ArcelorMittal, said, "Our investment today is the first step in an exciting plan to build a world-class steel plant in Andhra Pradesh that strengthens our contribution to India's long-term steel manufacturing ambitions." He said the project will create jobs and sustainable economic and societal value for local communities, the state and the country. Based at Hazira in Gujarat, AMNS India is a 60:40 joint venture company of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel of Japan. Authum Investment and Infrastructure Ltd has secured the approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to acquire a 79.28% stake in India SME Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd (ISARC), a SIDBI-sponsored asset reconstruction company (ARC), the company said in a statement today. The 260 crore transaction, includes both primary and secondary deals, according to people familiar with the development. This marks a significant expansion for the non-bank finance company (NBFC) as it deepens its presence in distressed asset management. The acquisition comes at a time when Indias ARC sector is undergoing a shake-up, with major global players exiting and banks increasingly favoring state-backed alternatives. Read this | Axis Bank plans to sell NBFC business for up to $1 billion Authum will acquire 56.52% of ISARC through a fresh issue of 13 crore shares and buy an additional 22.75% from existing shareholders. The NBFC will inject 170 crore through the fresh issue, boosting ISARCs minimum net worth to 300 crore. As of 31 March 2024, ISARC had a net worth of 129.68 crore and a turnover of 2.47 crore. With this deal, ISARC will become a subsidiary of Authum, which has also secured RBIs approval to nominate two directors to ISARCs board. Mint in February 2024 reported about SIDBIs plan to exit its ARC business. On 14 October 2024, Authum Investment informed the stock exchanges about its decision to enter into a shareholder agreement with ISARC. The acquisition comes amid turbulence in the ARC industry. Several players, including Blackstone-backed International Asset Reconstruction Co. and Aditya Birla Asset Reconstruction Co., have exited or wound down operations. Arcion Revitalization, originally promoted by Apollo Global and ICICI Bank, and Lonestar India have also exited the business. The sector has been squeezed by banks' preference for selling bad loans to the National Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd (NARCL), which offers a government-backed structure with 85% of payments in security receipts, reducing risk for lenders. In contrast, private ARCs must bid entirely in cash. Authum, promoted by Alpana Sanjay Dangi, has been aggressively expanding. In 2022, it acquired Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Commercial Finance in an out-of-court resolution. Last year, it teamed up with Mahi Madhusudan Kela, wife of investor Madhusudan Kela, to buy a 42% stake in Prataap Snacks, known for its potato chips and masala sev. Also read | NBFCs gain fresh momentum as RBI eases bank lending norms By Kritika Lamba (Reuters) - Wolfspeed's shares lost half their value on Friday, hitting their lowest level since 1998, as funding through a Joe Biden-era legislation that promised subsidies for chip making in the United States remains uncertain. Wolfspeed is waiting on about $750 million in federal funding under the U.S. CHIPS Act, the 2022 bipartisan law which promised $52.7 billion in subsidies for domestic semiconductor chips manufacturing and production. But earlier this month, President Donald Trump said U.S. lawmakers should get rid of the law and use the proceeds to pay debt. "Wolfspeed's CHIPS Act grant ended up being the highest-dollar CHIPS grant to not be officially awarded before Biden's exit, leaving it particularly vulnerable to being pulled under the new administration," said Brooks Idlet, senior analyst at CFRA Research. Without the grant, Wolfspeed would face devastating consequences requiring major restructuring to preserve cash, Idlet said. Wolfspeed hopes to accelerate the manufacturing of silicon carbide chips used in electric vehicles and renewable energy industries with the federal funding. The company said on Friday it is maintaining "constructive" communication with the White House and the U.S. Commerce Department to secure the funding. Shares of Wolfspeed were last trading at $2.72. Including the session's losses so far, the stock has lost more than 59% of its value this year. The company on Thursday named chip industry veteran Robert Feurle as its chief executive effective May 1, after it ousted top boss Gregg Lowe without cause in November. The chipmaker said on Friday that it accrued $865 million in tax credits, using which it intends to strengthen its capital structure. According to estimates by Ortex, about 32.5% of Wolfspeed's free float was in short position as of March 27, indicating that the market expects a drop in the stock price. China has postponed the conclusion of its anti-dumping investigation of Cognac and Armagnac, providing a reprieve to European spirits makers just as they face tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, speaking during a trip to China, said the announcement was a first step to resolving a dispute that has seen Cognac makers Pernod Ricard SA, Remy Cointreau SA and LVMHs Hennessy unable to stock duty free channels, a key outlet for their sales in the country. The companies have also been forced to deposit customs duties on the brandy while awaiting the outcome of the investigation. This measure should give us a few months breathing space with the reopening of duty-free sales of Cognac and Armagnac, which represent a significant volume of sales for some brands, said Barrot, in emailed comments. Shares in Pernod rose as much as 4%, while Remy jumped up to 5.4% in Paris. The three biggest Cognac makers Pernod, Remy and Hennessy have been unable to restock duty-free travel hubs across China since early December. Monthly shipments of Cognac to China, one of their biggest markets, have fallen 50%, according to the industry group BNIC. China targeted the brandy which is produced only in France following an investigation into allegations that producers were dumping the spirit into the market. Barrot said that stocks that had been blocked in China since December could now be delivered to duty free stores. The outcome of the investigation, which was due to end on April 5, was delayed by three months. The postponement comes as the companies brace for levies in the US after Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on European wine and other alcoholic drinks in response to the EUs plan to impose duties on $28 billion of US goods. 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Speaking with Mint, Anand Dubey, chief executive of Indkal Technologies, said that the company is close to finalizing its upcoming funding round, and before this it will also make its first product announcement as a design-led electronics manufacturing firm. Were currently in talks with marquee investors, including those with electronics-focused funds, to raise our next round of funding. We have multiple term sheets under consideration, with a little more than $100 million available for us to tap. Our existing investors will also be a part of the next funding round, and we are looking to close the round within the next two to three months," Dubey said. Design-led manufacturing firms typically earn higher margins from their efforts to manufacture consumer electronics devices in comparison with pure-play contract manufacturers. While the latter simply execute device assembling and primarily earn by building massive scale, design-led manufacturers such as Indkal license brands and trademarks, and apply their product designs to these brands. The design-led manufacturing route helps generate larger margins and more localization of an electronics device in the countryand it could move India one step closer to generating more local value. Notable examples of brands present in India through a design-led manufacturing route include German legacy audio brand Sennheiser, and Taiwanese electronics firm Acerthe latter being Indkals client in India. Expanding into smartphones We are looking to build scale in the consumer electronics segment, starting with smartphones. To do this, were beginning with the launch of the first Acer-branded smartphone with a new high-performance chipset in India on 15 April," Dubey said. The funding round will be the largest capital raised by electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firms in India this year, where technology firms have gone through significant course correction in the equity markets after a buoyant 2024. Two persons close to the company said that the large funding quantum could help Indkal Technologies build scaleand also prove that the design-led manufacturing model may work. Challenges and future prospects Typically, a design-led manufacturing model has not worked because when a brand is successful, it wants to closely control all of its productsand not leave its designs in the hands of a third party. Most brands maintain certain reference designs, but the end result in outsourced designing of electronics devices have typically not been very successful so far. For Indkal, taking the Acer brand closer to the current top-five of the domestic smartphone market will be a steep challenge," said a senior executive with direct knowledge of the matter. Industry trends Mint reported in February this year that India's smartphone market is worth just over $40 billionwith the US Apple Inc and Koreas Samsung Electronics reaping nearly half of the industrys revenue. The rest of the industry is ruled by incumbents from China, including Xiaomi and BBK Electronics sub-brands Oppo, Vivo and Realme. Also Read: Big Tech struggles to sell AI as industry wary of copyright infringements Currently in decline, the domestic smartphone market has lately underwhelmed brands and investors alike, as weak consumer sentiment stalled sales. While easy availability of financing led to some growth in the industry's overall revenue, Indias smartphone marketwhich is Indkals key targethas remained below pandemic levels. Were predicting yet another year of single-digit growth in both volume and revenue. While the average pricing per device could marginally grow, the premiumization curve is likely to flatline gradually. In such a market, it might take time for a new brand like Acer to make a mark," said Navkendar Singh, associate vice-president at International Data Corporation (IDC) India. Notably, Finnish design-led manufacturer HMD Global Oy brought the once-iconic mobile phone brand Nokia back to life by licensing it in 2017. However, despite multiple efforts, Nokias sales never took offleaving it with a negligible market share in India and worldwide. Chinas Lenovo Groups marketing of fellow iconic brand, the US-born Motorola, is a solitary exception of an electronics brand that has held its own even in a licensing format. However, Motorola continues to operate as a separate company, which is not quite the same as Indkals brand licensing deal with Acer. Analyst expectations Nevertheless, analysts believe that Indkals launch efforts could have some impact. Unlike Nokia, which was down and out, a number of new brands have done well. Nothing is going steady, Poco and iQoo have also done reasonably well. Acer is a currently active brand in Indiait ranks among the top three brands in India in both laptop and tablet sales. This means that it is not entirely out of the consumer mindsharethere could be some effect of this that may be seen upon launch. Instant sales volumes may not be within expectations, and the brand licensing approach suggests Acer is playing it safe while looking to try out the India smartphone market. It may take a while for Acer to rake up volumes in terms of smartphone sales, but it remains to be seen if the company might have the appetite to stay in the cutthroat Indian market for three years or more," Singh said. The upcoming funding round, coupled with the launch of Acer-branded phones, will eventually lead to a public listing for the company in the near future, at least two executives told Mint. The domestic equity market has typically been kind to EMS firms such as Dixon, Kaynes and Amberby end-2026, Indkal may join the fray, too," the second executive said. Dubey, however, neither confirmed nor denied talks of a public listing at the moment. The public equity market has been weak this year. Plus, Indkals success will depend on its ability to build scale in the domestic electronics market in India. Much of these factors will be at play, before the firm should approach the public market," the first executive added. Indkal Technologies had yet to file its FY24 annual financial report with the Registrar of Companies. In a previous conversation with Mint last year, Dubey said that Indkals FY24 revenue crossed 1,000 crore and was on track to scale up to 3,000 crore in annual revenue by the end of this fiscal. (Bloomberg) -- The head of the Federal Communications Commission ordered an investigation into Walt Disney Co. and its ABC network over their diversity, equity and inclusion practices, broadening his examination of media and telecom companies for perceived discriminatory biases. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr directed the agencys Enforcement Bureau to ensure that Disney and ABC have not been violating FCC equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination. Carr specifically called out policies at Disney including its Reimagine Tomorrow initiative designed to advance its DEI mission and inclusion standards across ABC that require 50% of regular and recurring characters be drawn from underrepresented groups, according to a letter Carr wrote to Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and posted on X on Friday. Disney started out a century ago as an iconic American company, Carr wrote. But then something changed. Disney has now been embroiled in rounds of controversy surrounding its DEI policies. Since being appointed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, Carr has sent similar letters to Verizon Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. He recently told Bloomberg that a companys DEI practices would affect its chances of receiving merger approval. Carr noted that Disney has recently walked back some of its DEI initiatives but said significant concerns remain. Earlier this year Disney said it would end the Reimagine Tomorrow program that Carr called out. The company is also removing diversity from the criteria for determining manager compensation. We are reviewing the Federal Communications Commissions letter, and we look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions, a spokesperson for Disney said. Disneys modern remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs hit theaters earlier this month under a deluge of criticism, including over casting an actress of Colombian heritage as the title character and the re-imagining of the seven dwarfs. --With assistance from Thomas Buckley. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com (Bloomberg) -- ING Groep NV is being sued in the Netherlands for allegedly failing to take adequate steps to rein in its emissions. The Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth, Milieudefensie, contends that ING has a huge impact on the climate and must take responsibility for it, according to the text of the suit it sent to ING on Friday. ING must clearly report all emissions for which the company is responsible, but must also halve those emissions. A spokesperson for the Dutch bank confirmed receipt of the filing. The suit, which follows a similar case in France against BNP Paribas SA, highlights the very different legal perils that banks face on either side of the Atlantic. In the US, financial firms risk litigation if theyre suspected by the Republican Party of embracing pro-climate policies. In Europe, whose banks are among the worlds greenest, its the other way around. Friends of the Earth alleges that INGs emissions have risen since 2016 and now dwarf those of Netherlands. Roger Cox, the lawyer representing Milieudefensie, says the goal of the lawsuit is to pierce the status quo and change the way companies do business. The nonprofits strategy materialized about two years ago, after an initial analysis of the climate policies of almost 30 Dutch companies identified ING as the ideal target, according to Cox. Through them, you address a lot of other sectors, he said. The team examined INGs carbon footprint looking at loans, project finance and investments while the lawyers constructed an argument around a legal principle known as duty of care, which obliges companies to avoid damage to people or property. ING has long been aware the case was coming and has had time to study the allegations before they were formally filed. In an interview on Thursday, INGs head of business ethics, Arnaud Cohen Stuart, said the demands put forward by Milieudefensie are unrealistic and unreasonable. ING takes climate very seriously, he said. In a statement on Friday, ING said its now prepared for a lengthy court process. In the meantime, most importantly, we will continue to progress with our climate-action strategy, it said. The bank also pointed to the challenges of reaching emissions targets, as long as the wider economy still relies heavily on fossil fuels. Its important to note that as society transitions to a low-carbon economy, about 80% of energy used globally today is still fossil-fuel based, ING said on Friday. So even though we finance a lot of sustainable activities, we still finance more thats not sustainable. That is a reflection of the current global economy. ING says it has taken a number of steps to reduce its carbon footprint. For example, it no longer provides dedicated finance for new oil and gas fields, and its financing of coal-powered power plants is expected to drop to near-zero by the end of the year. Earlier this week, ING had its climate targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, making it the only global systemically important bank to receive the certification. Its a confirmation that we are on the right track to address climate change, Stuart said. In its suit filed on Friday, Milieudefensie made the following demands: On a September morning last year, staff from Friends of the Earth gathered at their Amsterdam office, reviewing a ING climate report. They then presented their findings to Cox, who joined on a video call from his base in the southern city of Maastricht. Two months later, the team got a shock when a Dutch appeals court overturned a 2021 ruling that Shell Plc reduce its emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels. It was a disappointment, said Donald Pols, Milieudefensies director, in a March 20 interview. But the nonprofit took comfort from the courts view that Shell has a duty to reduce its emissions. It then decided to move ahead with its legal case against ING. --With assistance from Dale Crofts and Sarah Jacob. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has granted partial relief to American tech giant Google by significantly reducing the antitrust regulator Competition Commission of Indias (CCI) penalty to 216.69 crore from 936.44 crore. The penalty was originally imposed on Googles parent company, Alphabet Inc., for allegedly abusing its dominant position in mobile app markets through the Android Play Storeby forcing developers to use its own billing method and charging a mandatory service fee even when third-party billing methods were used. On Friday, NCLAT directed Google to deposit the revised amount within 30 days, noting that the company had already paid 10% of the total penalty. The ruling, delivered by an NCLAT bench led by chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan, partially accepted Google's appeal by setting aside some portions of CCI's 2022 order. However, the tribunal upheld key aspects of the CCIs findings, ruling that Google had leveraged its control over the Android and Play Store ecosystems to promote its own services, such as Google Pay and YouTube, while restricting competition. Unfair conditions on app developers NCLAT also reaffirmed that Google imposed unfair conditions on app developers by mandating the use of its Google Play Billing System (GPBS) for paid apps and in-app purchases, preventing them from using cheaper alternatives. However, the tribunal overturned some of CCIs findings, stating that Google did not deny market access to payment processors, as less than 1% of Play Store transactions occurred through GPBS, keeping the broader digital payments market open. The appellate tribunal also dismissed CCIs claim that Google engaged in unfair pricing by charging higher commissions to some developers while exempting YouTube, stating that there was no conclusive evidence" of favouritism. Additionally, it rejected arguments that Googles policies hindered technological development, finding no proof that they slowed innovation or harmed consumers. As Google was not found violating several anti-competitive provisions, the penalty was reduced by 75%, with NCLAT imposing a 7% penalty based on the relevant turnover. The move comes as a major win for Google in the battle for favourable technology policies in India. The reduction of penalty in response to CCIs second fine on Google from three years ago comes amid the backdrop of a pullback on a 6% equalization levy that the Indian government charged offshore online advertisersa policy move that Google had for long been lobbying for. Legal and policy experts largely viewed the move as a setback for smaller companies challenging large, dominant technology firms in India. The revised penalty mandated by NCLAT is barely a rap on the knuckle for Google. One key observation by the Tribunal is that charging different commission rates on third party app providers and YouTubeits own platformdoes not amount to discrimination is surprising and enables self preferencing by these dominant ecosystems," said Isha Suri, research lead for competition law at policy think-tank, Centre for Internet and Society (CIS). A senior lawyer specializing in competition law, who requested anonymity since she represents Big Tech firms across various courts in India, added that NCLATs verdict was not surprising"but also said that the move could lend vital precedent in favour of Google in future CCI investigations and pending appeals at the Supreme Court as well." The verdict is extremely balanced, and underlines that being big is not bad," said Sajan Poovayya, senior advocate, Supreme Courtwho led Googles appeal against the CCI at NCLAT. For massive penalties, the large entity must have committed a particular conduct, and that conduct must have the propensity to adversely impact competition. This impact assessment must be undertaken irrespective of how small or large an entity is. The second point here is that just because a company is globally big, the regulator cannot impose a 1,000-crore penalty. "The financial size of the companys operations in India must be considered and penalties, if any, imposed accordingly. NCLAT has done a phenomenal job in how competition jurisprudence must evolve in India, and I hope that this case lends precedent to future competition case consideration in India." Monetary penalties ineffective vs Big Tech CIS Suri added that a larger issue is with the nature of the verdict, which underlined the ineffectiveness of monetary penalties on Big Techa group of technology companies that rank among the worlds most valuable and powerful. Small penalties on Big Tech do not move the needle in terms of enforcing them to adhere to fair market norms. Weve seen in Metas case, where even after being penalized at up to 10% of its global revenue, the quantum was not a major setbackand investors simply wrote the penalty off as an operating expense and therefore there is a need to put structural remedies on the agenda. A more important aspect is for India to find an adequate mechanism that holds Big Tech to accountsmall penalties will not help any smaller entity seek fair market recourse against the might of the likes of Google," Suri said. In the verdict, Google reported turnovers of 3,096 crore in FY22, 5,058 crore in FY21, 2,691 crore in FY20 and 1,538 crore in FY19. The company had argued that penalties, if any, should in this case be levied only on its revenue from its Play Store operations. The latter, as reported by Google to NCLAT, were 1,168 crore in FY21, 533 crore in FY20 and 259 crore in FY19. NCLAT turned down Googles appeal in this regard, and upheld the penalty on its overall revenue. The decision brings significant relief to Google, which dominates the Indian smartphone market with its Android operating system. Public data pegs Android to hold nearly 95% of Indias $40-billion smartphone marketvastly ahead of its nearest competitor, Apples iOS (4%). Both Google and Apple charge commissions of 15% or 30% on their respective app marketplaces. CCIs investigation into Google In September 2022, Google expanded its User Choice Billing (UCB) pilot program to include India, allowing developers to offer alternative payment systems alongside Google Play's billing system for in-app purchases. In its October 2022 ruling, CCI found that the Play Store, the primary app distribution platform for Android devices, gave Google an unfair advantage by enforcing the use of its own billing instruments for paid apps and in-app purchases. Developers were also barred from informing users about alternative payment methods, a restriction CCI deemed unfair, restrictive, and discriminatory. CCI also flagged Googles preferential treatment of YouTube, which was exempt from GPBS service fees, unlike other apps. Additionally, it criticized Google Pays privileged integration into Play Store payments via the superior "intent flow" technology, while rival UPI apps were limited to the less efficient "collect flow," leading to market access restrictions. The regulator ordered Google to stop these anti-competitive practices and implement changes such as allowing third-party billing systems, removing anti-steering provisions, and ensuring equal treatment of all UPI apps. CCI also noted that the test for abuse of dominance was not whether a competitor went out of business but whether Googles policies eroded competition and prevented fair market access. Although Google introduced an alternative billing system after the CCI ruling, the service fee remained high. Googles defence Google challenged the CCI order in January 2023, arguing before NCLAT that the penalty was excessive and that the ruling lacked sufficient evidence. The company claimed CCI had wrongly defined the relevant market by excluding digital payment alternatives such as credit and debit cards. Google also stated that GPBS merely collected service fees and did not prevent other payment processors from operating in India. It argued that CCI failed to demonstrate actual harm to competition and that Google was merely following National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) regulations for its integration with UPI. This was the second major penalty CCI imposed on Google in 2022. In an earlier case related to Android dominance, the company was fined 1,337.76 crore, bringing the total penalty to over 2,200 crore across two rulings in October 2022. While Google paid the Android-related fine in full, it chose to challenge the Play Store penalty. (Bloomberg) -- Hackers broke into Oracle Corp.s computer systems and stole patient data in an attempt to extort multiple medical providers in the US, according to a person familiar with the matter and a notification the software company sent to clients. Earlier this month, Oracle alerted some health-care customers that sometime after Jan. 22, hackers accessed company servers and copied patient data to an outside location, according to the notification, which was seen by Bloomberg News. Oracle sells software for patient records management to hospitals, doctors groups and other medical companies. The FBI is investigating the breach and the attempts by cyberattackers to force medical companies to pay ransoms, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. Its unknown how many patients records were taken. The total number of health-care providers that the hackers have sought to extort is also uncertain. Oracle, based in Austin, Texas, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment. In 2022, Oracle acquired the electronic health records business Cerner Corp. for $28 billion and touted goals to modernize the legacy software company, including by moving customers to the cloud. Customers include large hospitals chains, small clinics and government-run facilities. The purchase came with a flagship $16 billion contract with the US Department of Veterans Affairs, which has seen highly-publicized outages and lawmaker scrutiny. Oracle told customers that the hackers accessed older Cerner servers, taking data that had not yet been shifted to Oracles cloud storage service, according to the notice. Available evidence suggests the threat actor illegally accessed the environment by using stolen customer credentials, the company said in the notice. Oracle said it became aware of the breach around Feb. 20. The notice to customers states that the stolen data may have included patient information from electronic medial records. The person familiar with the breach said the material taken included recent patient records. Oracle will support your organization in its review of information to identity impacted patients the company told clients. The publication Bleeping Computer reported earlier on some of the details of the cyberattack. --With assistance from Julie Zhu. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Themed lecture highlights deepening Sri Lanka-China cultural ties Xinhua) 11:07, March 28, 2025 COLOMBO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The "Me and China" themed lecture was held on Wednesday at the China Cultural Center in Sri Lanka, highlighting the growing cultural and personal connections between the two countries. The event featured two key lectures. Ajith Dharmawardena, president of Sri Lanka-China Buddhist Friendship Association, shared his personal journey in a talk titled "Me and China: At Beijing Language Institute", reflecting on his experiences learning Chinese and life in Nanjing. Aruna de Silva, also from the association, delivered a lecture titled "The Impact of China on One's Life", emphasizing China's influence on Sri Lanka through shared values and development cooperation. Wu Hongyuan, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Kelaniya, stressed the need to train cultural ambassadors and build bridges through arts and education. Organized by the China Cultural Center, "Me and China" serves as a platform for Sri Lankan scholars and citizens to share personal stories and perspectives on China, promoting stronger bilateral ties through cultural dialogue. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Quantinuum said it had achieved a milestone for the quantum computing sector after its system completed a number-generation task outside the reach of traditional computers, just weeks after D-Wave Quantum made similar claims of quantum supremacy. Quantinuum, JPMorgan Chase, and other collaborators including two federally-backed research labs said Wednesday that they had demonstrated a potential real-world application of a quantum computer. In a paper published in the journal Nature, the researchers claimed they were the first to prove mathematically that they produced genuine randomness." They noted that the generation of random numbers could be used in cryptography and cracking complex mathematical problems. To achieve so-called certified randomness," cybersecurity experts at JPMorgan Chase wrote an algorithm for a quantum machine to generate random numbers, which they then ran on a Quantinuum computer. The researchers used the 56-qubit Quantinuum System Model H2, which was found in an earlier study to have one of the most powerful quantum processing units on the market. The team also used classical supercomputers to test whether the output was truly random, including a familiar one: Hewlett Packard Enterprises Frontier, the same machine used in D-Waves study earlier this month. The researchers relied on an approach called random circuit sampling to perform a certified-randomness-expansion protocol, which outputs more randomness than was inputsomething unachievable by classical computers. The latest development means Quantinuum can add its name to the list of companies that claim to have demonstrated quantum supremacy by achieving feats no traditional computers could complete in a realistic amount of time. In an interview with Barrons last week, Quantinuum CEO Rajeeb Hazra stressed the companys approach was to be very open" and disclose everything so we can get peer-reviewed." Theres been a lot of noise in the last six months" with regard to quantum computing, Hazra said, including the debate around the timeline for wide-scale, commercial-grade quantum deployment. But this is the year where its put up the facts or get out. The haves and the have nots, in terms of what it takes to be successful in this business, will separate," he continued. D-Wave sent shockwaves through the industry earlier this month after its next-generation Advantage2 computer took only 20 minutes to complete a materials simulation task that would have taken HPEs Frontier nearly 1 million years. Some scientists took issue with D-Waves claims, and the resulting debacle served as a reminder that no research is without controversy. This includes Quantinuums most recent accomplishment. Scott Aaronson, the computer scientist who first proposed the certified randomness protocol in 2018, identified several caveats" in a blog post. Quantinuums achievement, though impressive from the standpoint of demonstrating quantum supremacy with trapped ions, is not yet good enough for high-stakes cryptographic applications," wrote Anderson, who serves as Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science and director of the Quantum Information Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Aaronson, also a collaborator on the paper, argued that one only has practical security, or security against a class of simplified yet realistic attackers," for the time being. The study authors were upfront about the limitations, stating in the paper that the results demonstrate a step towards the practical applicability of present-day quantum computers" but are not commercially applicable just yet. These nuances are often lost on investors. Shares of quantum pure-plays slid following Nvidia GTCs Quantum Day, when details about timelines for wide-scale deployment failed to materialize during the conference. Speaking to Barrons on Thursday, Aaronson urged investors to remember that quantum computing is still in development and is heavily rooted in the principles of scientific discovery. The technology offers increases in speed over classical computing when it comes to breaking certain types of encryption and to modeling quantum physics and chemistry. Those advances might be where the advantages endfor now. For other areas, like optimization and machine learning and finance, the quantum speedups currently seem to be much more modest, despite large efforts to obfuscate that point," Aaronson said. He emphasized that the generation of certified random bits is a potential application that wasnt even on anyones radar a decade ago." It underscores that basic research in quantum algorithms and complexity continues, and that the highest-impact applications of quantum computers might be stuff that were not even talking about yet," Aaronson said. Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com By Alessandro Parodi and Johan BODINIER -Ubisoft shares reversed gains in afternoon trade on Friday after rising as much as 12% earlier on plans to set up a subsidiary to house three of its popular video game franchises. The stock was down around 1% at 1451 GMT after dropping as much as 6% at one point, with an analyst citing a trading source who said U.S. hedge funds are shorting the stock given Ubisoft will pay down only 500 million euros of debt in the deal. The French company said that Tencent will invest 1.16 billion euros in the new unit in exchange for a stake of about 25%. In a bid to recover from underperformance by some of the company's main titles, the Guillemot family, Ubisoft's founder and largest shareholder, began exploring talks with the Chinese tech giant in September. Ubisoft said the new unit would be valued at around 4 billion euros and will bring together its popular "Assassin's Creed", "Far Cry" and "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six" franchises. It added the deal would help it to reduce net debt, which stood at 1.1 billion euros at the end of September. Should the deal close by the end of 2025, the group's debt situation will become much more comfortable, Barclays analysts said on Friday. "This operation highlights the group's significant undervaluation, which could lead to a slimming down of the rest of its business," broker Midcap Partners said. Ubisoft lost almost half of its stock market value last year as the company reported results below expectations and warned about dropping sales and delayed game releases. "The Tencent deal is a strategic corrective move for Ubisoft," Erste analysts said in a note. The University of Michigan is scrapping its once-vaunted program for diversity, equity and inclusion as the Trump administration pressures colleges to abandon such efforts and after months of criticism over its cost and effectiveness. The school said it would discontinue its so-called DEI 2.0 plan effective immediately, according to a statement on Thursday. It will instead increase investments in student-facing programs, such as financial aid, mental health resources and pre-professional counseling. These decisions have not been made lightly. We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting, said President Santa J. Ono and other administrators in the statement. Colleges have been pulling back diversity efforts after President Donald Trump and the administration threatened to withhold funds from institutions that dont comply with executive orders. The Michigan program, once viewed as a model for other schools, had also come under scrutiny for its size and shunning other groups before Trump was elected. Some in our campus community have voiced frustration that they did not feel included in DEI initiatives and that the programming fell short in fostering connections among diverse groups, the administrators said. Michigans decision comes almost two years after the Supreme Court banned consideration of race in university admissions. Corporate America is also scaling back or abandoned DEI efforts, reversing commitments made after the murder of George Floyd by a White policeman in 2020. 2025 Bloomberg L.P. VIP Industries Ltd promoter Dilip Piramal has revived stake sale plans, almost six months after talks to sell control of the listed luggage and travel accessories maker fell through, four people with knowledge of the development said. The firm has appointed investment bank Arpwood to help it with the stake sale, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Early days. We will have to see how the deal progresses," said one of the persons cited above. Last year, the company was in advanced talks with global private equity firm Advent International to sell controlling stake, Mint had reported. The deal did not go through due to various reasons, including valuation mismatch," the second person cited above said. Emailed queries to Dilip Piramal did not elicit any response. An Arpwood spokesperson declined to comment. Also read | How VIP is trying to shed its baggage Mint was first to report the promoters plan to sell the controlling stake in the luggage maker in October 2023. According to the data available with the exchanges, the promoters own a little over 50% of VIP Industries, the owner of luggage brands such as VIP, Carlton and Skybags. With VIP's market capitalization at 4,048.98 crore as on Thursday's close, the promoters stake is valued at about 2,024 crore. VIP's business Since November 2024, the companys stock has slid almost 40.11% till date. The companys stock closed at 285.10 a share, rebounding from its 52-week low, on Thursday. The benchmark Sensex rose 7.2% during the same period. Top PE funds, both homegrown and global have been approached," the third person cited above said, adding that since the deal involves a subsequent open offer to public shareholders of the company, it is going to be a complex one. Its a great brand that is fighting newcomers in the already crowded space." the person said. Also read | Will Vijay Kedias bet on VIP Industries prove to be expensive? The revenue generated in the luggage and bags market in India stood at $15.04 billion in 2024, according to a latest report by Statista. It is expected that the market will experience an annual growth rate of 5.02% (CAGR 2024-2029). It is projected that 87% of the sales in the luggage and bags market will come from the non-luxury segment. Still, rising incomes, India's growing middle class and increasing travel aspirations are driving a surge in demand for premium luggage and bags. VIP Industries, a brand synonymous with the aspiring Indian travellers of the 90s, is much larger than its Indian rivals, except Safari Industries. VIP Industries, which holds a substantial market share in this rapidly growing sector, offers a lucrative opportunity for PE firms to tap the growing demand for travel-related products from Indias increasingly mobile middle class. Over the years, VIP has grown organically and inorganically too. It acquired the London-based Carlton brand in 2004 and merged with Aristocrat Luggage Ltd in 2007. According to Equitymaster, VIP Industries reported a loss of 12.4 crore in the quarter ended December, compared with a profit of 7.2 crore a year ago. Net sales declined 8.3% to 501.1 crore. For the year ended March 2024, VIPs profit dropped 64.4% year-on-year 54.3 crore. Revenue of the company grew 7.8% to 2,245 crore FY24. Also read | VIP Industries needs premiumization to pack a punch Competition With new startups emerging in the space to challenge the incumbents, the Indian travel and luggage space is heating up. Earlier this year, Mint reported on how new-age direct-to-consumer brands such as Mokobara, Assembly, Nasher Miles, Icon and Uppercase have secured funding from risk investors and are looking to disrupt the space. Indias organised luggage market, dominated by VIP Industries, Samsonite and Safari, accounts for about 40% of the 15,000-crore luggage industry, according to a report by global analytics firm Crisil last year. It is mainly this segment that has boomed in the wave of the pandemic. According to an ICICI Securities report from 2024, VIP has close to 44% market share in the organized luggage category. New Delhi: With just four days to go before they kick in, it is still unclear if India is among the select group of countries that may be spared US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs. Although President Trump has stated that limited exceptions for select countries could be worked out under the reciprocal tariffs set to take effect from 2 April, it is not yet known whether these exceptions will be extended to India," director general of foreign trade (DGFT) Santosh Sarangi told Mint. The statement draws significance as a US delegation led by Assistant US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch is in New Delhi for talks on a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) that started on Wednesday. Also Read | Mint Explainer: Have trade talks blunted Trumps threat of reciprocal tariffs? On speculation about proposed tariff cuts by India, the DGFT said, "It is too early to make the kind of conjectures being made by some media people. So, it is premature to suggest that India will drop tariffs." The negotiations are centered around a broader trade agreement expected by the US Fall 2025 (September-November), he said. While the US is keen on including agriculture in the discussions, India has sensitivities, given that its farmers are also major producers of items for which the US is seeking market access, such as corn and soy," said Sarangi. Also Read | Trump's Venezuelan oil tariff threat to have little impact on India, experts say Indias agricultural exports to the US have risen from $1.93 billion in FY22 to $2.02 billion in FY23 and $2.12 billion in FY24. By February of FY25, exports had already reached $2.28 billion. Key agricultural products exported to the US include spices, cereal preparations, rice, meat, dairy and poultry products, tea, coffee, and tobacco. That said, a BTA with the US is easier than with other countries due to the complementarity in trade between the two sides, the DGFT said. With India taking one measure after another to placate the US, the aim appears to be to secure an exemption from the list of countries facing the reciprocal tariff plan. Also Read | US reciprocal tariffs unlikely to impact India much; may create opportunities: Niti Aayog Official A day before Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he may grant many countries "breaks" from reciprocal tariffswithout giving detailsIndia decided to drop the so-called Google Tax, a levy on multinational companies providing services in India. And on Tuesday, India's tax regulator revised income tax rules to offer greater benefits to electric vehicle (EV) and EV battery makers. A circular from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) expanded safe harbour rules by raising the eligibility threshold from 200 crore to 300 crore. Additionally, lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles have been classified as core auto components, making them eligible for tax benefits. These changes are seen as part of India's strategy in the ongoing trade talks, where it is seeking better market access for its exports. On Thursday, the DGFT extended the export obligationfor walnuts imported under the Advance Authorization Scheme, aligning it with the standard 18-month timeline applicable to most other products. The Export Obligation Period (EOP) refers to the time frame within which an exporter must fulfill their export commitments under various trade policies and incentive schemes. In India, this concept is commonly associated with schemes like the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme and Advance Authorization Scheme, where businesses are granted duty exemptions on imports in exchange for a commitment to export goods of a specified value within a set period. The move provides relief to traders, who previously had to adhere to a much shorter deadline (180 days) for re-exporting processed walnuts, and is expected to benefit Indias key suppliers, including the US. It will help the US as about 66% of walnuts are imported from the US, and due to the shorter time frame of 180 days, importers bring in less quantities since they have to re-export after processing to get tax benefits. Now that the norms have changed, importers will import more, and the US is the immediate beneficiary, analysts said. To be sure, India has already cut the tariff on several US products, including bourbon whiskey (reduced from 150% to 100%), Harley-Davidson motorcycles (from 50% to 30%), and ethernet switches (20% to 10%). The US is one of India's largest trading partners. The bilateral trade in goods and services reached around $190 billion last year, reflecting the deep economic ties between the two nations. India enjoys a trade surplus of $36.8 billion with the US, largely driven by exports of pharmaceuticals, textiles, and IT services, while key imports include crude oil, aircraft, and agricultural products. According to the joint statement issued on 13 February after a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump in Washington, both leaders agreed to expand bilateral trade to $500 billion over the next five years. India's average weighted tariff, which stood at 17% in 2023, was reduced to 10.66% after duty changes in the Union Budget for FY26. As per the commerce ministry, the weighted average agricultural tariff, including for textiles, was 39%, while industrial goods faced a tariff of 13.5% in 2023. The average weighted tariff is the actual tax that imported goods face on average, but it gives more importance to products that are imported in large quantities. In the financial year 2023-24, the US was the third largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India with inflows of $4.99 billion accounting for almost per cent of total FDI equity inflows. Washington is also pushing New Delhi to buy more American oil, gas and military platforms to bring down the trade deficit. SCHOENEICHE, Germany The U.S. government is on a global egg hunt, seeking exports from countries in Europe and elsewhere to ease a severe shortage that has caused egg prices at grocery stores to hit record highs. Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden are among the nations the U.S. Department of Agriculture approached to address the shortage brought on by a bird flu outbreak, according to European industry groups. But supplying Americans with eggs would be complicated for foreign producers and not because of political tensions over the myriad import tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed or threatened to impose on his nation's top trading partners. Even if they were eager to share, European countries dont have many surplus eggs because of their own avian flu outbreaks and the growing domestic demand ahead of Easter. One of the biggest obstacles, however, is the approach the United States takes to preventing salmonella contamination. U.S. food safety regulations require fresh eggs to be sanitized and refrigerated before they reach shoppers; in the European Union, safety standards call for Grade A eggs to be sold unwashed and without extended chilling. These are two systems that could not be more different, said Hans-Peter Goldnick, the president of the German Egg Association. Feathers on eggs at the supermarket It is common in parts of Europe, for example, for consumers to buy eggs that still have feathers and chicken poop stuck to them. Farmer David Karlsch described the simple process that gets eggs from hens to customers of the family-owned Saballus poultry farm in Schoeneiche, a town just outside Germanys capital: The eggs are taken from nests, placed into cartons and sold on the premises or from a refrigerated vending machine just outside the property. The demand at Easter time is of course very, very high, as many children naturally want to paint eggs, Karlsch said. Poland, a major egg exporter, fielded a U.S. query about the availability of eggs, according to Katarzyna Gawronska, director of the National Chamber of Poultry and Feed Producers. The issue of washed vs. unwashed was a crucial factor as European officials considered such requests, she said. Eggs are not cleaned in most of the 27 EU nations because of concerns that removing the natural protective coating from eggshells makes them more vulnerable to bacteria, Gawronska said. Polish veterinary officials are trying to determine if the country and its farmers can meet U.S. requirements, such as whether the exporting nation has a comparable food safety inspection system or a significant bird flu outbreak. Powdered egg products Although European Union regulations state that table eggs shall not be washed or cleaned, member countries have some leeway if they authorized egg baths at packing plants decades ago. Danish Egg Association CEO Jrgen Nyberg Larsen said national customs are part of it; washed eggs are the norm in Sweden, for example. But Sweden and Norway have informed the U.S. they don't have extra eggs to export, Larsen said. For now, any increased U.S. egg imports from Europe are more likely to arrive in powdered form or other products that can be shipped frozen or dried, Larsen said. That's the response Poland's trade association gave U.S. officials. If the U.S. certifies Poland as a source, the organization's members would have a limited number of shell eggs to sell but could supply very large volumes of egg processing products, Gawronska said. Processed eggs usually are pasteurized to prevent foodborne illnesses and then used in food manufacturing or by restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Baked goods, pasta and sauces like mayonnaise are some of the commercial products made with egg powder. Europe's own production problems U.S. officials also tried to sound out farmers in northern Italy's Veneto region for emergency egg supplies, according to Coldiretti, the main Italian agricultural lobbying organization. But Italy only produces enough eggs to cover the national demand so most of the region's producers said they could not help. Bird flu outbreaks since the start of last year also have taken a toll on the Italian poultry industry. Germany cannot contribute much either. Its domestic poultry industry generates about 73% of the eggs consumed in the country, and we ourselves essentially have to import eggs from Holland every day to keep everyone satisfied," the German Egg Associations Goldnick said. We have around 45 million eggs that we can collect from the chicken coops every day, and in America, theres a shortage of around 50 million eggs a day. That shows how difficult it is, he said. An improving US market and Easter demand Other countries the U.S. government contacted include Austria, Norway, Spain and Denmark. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it secured new egg commitments from South Korea and Turkey in recent months, although it did not specify the amount or type. Brazil, which traditionally exports less than 1% of its total egg production, increased its February shipments to the U.S. by 93% compared to a year earlier, according to the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein. The detection of Newcastle disease, a viral condition often fatal to chickens, in some parts of Brazil impedes the South American nation's ability to become a significant U.S. egg supplier, market insiders say. Imports of liquid, frozen and dried eggs may help free up some domestic shell eggs for consumers, but the U.S. made its appeal for foreign eggs amid a significant deficit; last month, the country produced 720 million fewer table eggs than in February 2024, a decline of nearly 10%. The U.S. also cut its own egg exports to boost supplies at home, the Agriculture Department said. While the informal trade talks continue, the U.S. market has shown signs of improvement. Its been nearly a month since a major bird flu outbreak impacted egg-laying hens, the department said. It reported the national wholesale price for large eggs dropped to $3.27 per dozen as of March 21, or less than half its peak of $8.15 per dozen on Feb. 21. U.S. consumers are just starting to see those falling wholesale prices translate to lower prices on grocery shelves, the department said. The big demand for eggs that usually accompanies Easter and Passover could cause prices to edge up again next month. Business is business Trump hasn't exactly walked on eggshells with the people of Europe since starting his second term. The president's repeated threats to seize Greenland, a Danish territory, infuriated many in Denmark. His posture toward Ukraine and disparaging remarks from top members of his administration have alarmed America's European allies. The European Union, which is the third-largest trade partner of the U.S., was not exempted from the tariffs Trump ordered on steel, aluminum and automobiles. Bracing for more, it has prepared counter-tariffs on American products. But many officials in Europe say none of that would rule out exporting eggs. Goldnick said an egg producer friend recently told him that if the price is right, then Ill deliver. Any deals made or not would come down to business decisions, he said. I have two souls in my chest. On the one hand, I would say, 'No, we cant support this system,' but thats not the right answer," he said, referring to new U.S. tariffs on European goods. The right answer is we have to help where we can, Goldnick continued. "It doesnt concern the government. You wouldnt prop them up or anything, but its just peoples demand at Easter, for eggs, and thats just as important to satisfy in America as it is here. Gera reported from Warsaw, Poland. Pietro De Cristofaro in Schoeneiche, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit, Giada Zampano in Rome, Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report. (Bloomberg) -- Top US banking regulators plan to withdraw an overhauled rule meant to tackle redlining and boost lending to lower-income areas after industry groups sued to block the updated legislation last year. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said they plan to rescind the Community Reinvestment Act final rule, which was issued in 2023 as an update to the decades-old legislation. The regulators intend to reinstate the prior CRA framework, they said in a statement Friday. The agencies will continue to work together to promote a consistent regulatory approach on their implementation of the CRA, they wrote. The effort to revamp the CRA which was aimed at addressing discriminatory lending practices by banks and federal agencies had faced criticism from both industry and consumer advocates. Banking trade groups sued regulators to block the overhauls last year, arguing they were complex and would actually discourage banks from lending. Meanwhile, critics have said the changes didnt go far enough. President Donald Trump has been pushing to purge diversity, equity and inclusion policies from the federal government and corporate America, issuing executive orders banning the practice and asking agency heads to identify targets. The head of the US Federal Housing Finance Agency this week ordered an end to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs designed to help economically or socially disadvantaged groups get on the housing ladder. Under the rule, US banks are obligated to partner with and finance community groups and low-income borrowers to help reverse the effects of redlining, the practice that historically excluded minority groups from banking and real estate services. In late 2023, regulators updated the rules to cover online and mobile banking services. That means the grades that regulators give firms for lending to low- and moderate-income communities wont be based just on the locations of physical branches. The overhaul also stiffened other criteria for big lenders. Banking trade groups had argued the new criteria for rating lending could make it too hard to achieve a high score. The American Bankers Association, US Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Bankers Association were among the groups that filed the lawsuit against the regulators in the Northern District of Texas in February last year, asking the court to vacate the final rules. According to an FDIC document, the revamped rule was halted following the litigation. --With assistance from Katanga Johnson and Stephanie Stoughton. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com The New India Co-operative Bank had granted a remission of 1.55 crore to actor Preity Zinta in order to settle her loan of 18 crore which it classified as a non-performing asset (NPA), police said on Thursday. Preity Zinta granted 1.55 crore loan remission by New India Coop Bank The loan was sanctioned in 2011 from the troubled New India Co-operative Bank. As per an official, Preity settled the loan in April 2014. How is Preity Zinta linked with New India Coop Bank The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police is currently investigating the New India Co-operative Bank embezzlement case. It has so far arrested eight accused in the case, including the bank's former general manager and head of accounts Hitesh Mehta, who was held on February 15. As a part of the investigation, the agency examined the data of the bank's NPA loans from 2010 onwards when details about Preity's loan surfaced. "During the investigation, it was found that actor Preity Zinta had taken a loan from the bank. She was sanctioned a loan of 18 crore on January 7, 2011," he said. "She had mortgaged her properties to the bank, which included a flat in Mumbai and a property in Shimla, collectively worth 27.41 crore. In November 2012, she had to repay 11.40 crore to the bank," the official said. On March 31, 2013, her loan account was classified as NPA due to non-repayment of it in time, and the NPA amount was 11.47 crore, he said. "The bank then offered a settlement of the loan by giving a remission of 1.55 crore on the final settlement of the loan to her. The remaining loan amount was paid by the actor on April 5, 2014," the official said. Preity Zinta's 18 crore loan Previously, Preity had slammed the Congress Kerala unit for spreading fake news about her 18 crore loan. She posted on X, No I operate my social media accounts my self and shame on you for promoting FAKE NEWS ! No one wrote off anything or any loan for me. Im shocked that a political party or their representative is promoting fake news & indulging in vile gossip & click baits using my name & images (sic) . New India Coop Bank scam Meanwhile, the EOW will soon conduct a brain mapping test on Hitesh Mehta, the prime accused in the case, on Friday at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Mumbai's Kalina. This will be done to collect more information about the money trail and involvement of other accused persons. The police had earlier conducted a polygraph test on Mehta, the official reported. Travis Woo is living the dream, working remotely from the Hawaiian island of Oahu. On a recent Tuesday, the 35-year-old entrepreneur posted a YouTube video of himself walking his dog on an idyllic beach beneath a cerulean blue sky, white-tipped waves crashing on the shore behind him. Its an envy-inducing scene, until you listen to what hes saying. Working remote, it allowed me to move to Hawaii," the Seattle native acknowledges, but theres a lot of social negativesOne of the costs is loneliness." Being on a computer screen all day, Woo says, feels like being a captive animal in the zoo. You know, like a captive human." Five years after the pandemic shutdown, were in the midst of a major back-to-the-office push. Companies from AT&T to Chipotle are cracking down on remote work, as is the Trump administration, which has threatened to fire federal employees who dont show up five days a week. Employees, for the most part, are furious, fighting back with petitions and lawsuits. More than 90% of Amazon professionals in a recent survey objected to the companys demand for five days a week on premises. A recent Pew survey found that almost half of employees say theyd likely look for a new job if their employer eliminated remote options. But lost in the crowd is a small, sad cohort that just wants their cubicles back. Most are stranded at home either because their physical office no longer exists or their position in the org chart has been designated remote. Reddit is filled with threads from this lonely crowd, with topics like Working from home has ruined me," I absolutely hate working from home" and LinkedIn rant, I HATE WORKING FROM HOME! There, I said it," went viral, racking up thousands of comments. I know Im the weird one, says Damien Peters, who misses office life now that he works fully remote. Just 3% of white collar employees want to return to the office five days a week, an Advanced Workplace Associates poll found. I know Im the weird one," laughs engineer Damien Peters, 41, of Silver Spring, Md., the managing partner of a fully remote consulting firm. He gets too easily distracted by chores I can attend to, taxes I can do," and misses the camaraderie with colleagues. Im quite introverted and a bit antisocial, but I dont like not seeing anyone," he says. He realizes that he is an outlier, even in his own home: My wife is fully remote, and she loves it passionately." Paige Shaw, 47, an Orlando insurance professional who went remote during the pandemic, hated it so much that she quit her job. Shes now in an on-premises role, where she relishes everything about office lifethe colleagues to chitchat with, the free food for celebrations, the corridors she can roam when she needs a break. She even likes the commute, which she uses to plan her day in the mornings and to unwind in the evenings, taking the scenic route" on local roads. My industry is stressful, and you need to compartmentalize," she says. Ellyn Rose says its hard to socialize in the evening when friends who work in offices just want to go home. Some unhappy remote workers complain that the isolation crushes their social skills. Travis Woo says weekends with friends are awkward when youre not socially warmed up" from the week. Ellyn Rose, 58, a remote senior project control engineer in Kirkland, Wash., tries to see friends on weekday evenings, but those with on-premises jobs just want to chill out at home. I feel like my dog when I used to come home: Can we play, can we play? But they already had their social fix for their day." In pre-pandemic days, getting an occasional day to work at home was seen as a gift, a glorious break from the daily grind. I loved my Fridays working at home. It was a treat," says Amy Aronoff Blumkin, a senior marketing executive. She enjoyed doing early-morning workouts instead of commuting to New York from her New Jersey home. But now, working remotely for a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, the novelty has worn thin. I miss the creativity, I miss the popping into someones office to say, I have a question rather than setting up a Zoom call," says Blumkin, chief growth officer for the National Council of Jewish Women. Its more difficult to forge relationships, to act quickly and to mentor younger employees. She looks forward to her periodic visits to headquarters, with its bustling energy. Most of my closest friends have been people who I met at work, the people who get me through and who were at my wedding," she says. You dont have that now." Lonely remote employees try all sorts of hacks to re-create office vibes. New York City journalist Nelson Wang, 54, who spent the majority of his 30-year career working in a newsroom, has become an expert at sussing out a rotating set of locales, among them his apartment buildings common room, neighborhood coffee shops and the office of a publication where he freelances. Nelson Wang tries to recreate office vibes by working in his apartment buildings common room. But even when remote workers show up in person, theres no guarantee anyone will be there. IT professional Ryan Daniels tried going into his office even though his position is classified as remote. It was worse than being at home," he says. It was a ghost town. I thought if something happened to me here, it would take a couple of days for people to find me." He then rented a co-working space on his own dime, but there are rarely any people in there" either. Those who are itching to go back to the office dont get a lot of sympathy. When a remote worker wrote on a Reddit post that my depression has steadily increased," one commenter chided him for wasting a spot" for someone more deserving. When another remote worker confessed, I now dread logging in, I feel so isolated, the days feel draining and Im just unhappy," an irate commenter shot back: Everyone I know that was forced back to an office hates their lives right now. Someone complaining about work from home is unbelievable." Still, even those pining for the office dont necessarily wish for five days a week chained to their desks. Many would prefer a hybrid schedule, which more than half of Americans with remote-capable jobs already enjoy, Gallup found. Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom has found that hybrid work is equally productive and makes employees happier, with quit rates declining by 35%. Even Shaw, the Orlando insurance professional who loves the office, still works one day a week at home: Its more efficient for me, and its more efficient for my employer." Oahus Woo, for his part, has given up the fully remote life. He first moved to the island in 2017 while working remotely in the videogame industry, but a year ago, he says, I found myself not missing the office but missing socializing during the day." He pivoted into running a few small online businesses and now works part time at a marine tourism company, ferrying visitors to look at dolphins and whales. Its not an office setting," he concedes, but at least I have a bunch of co-workers now." Joanne Lipman is the former chief content officer of Gannett and editor in chief of USA Today. She is the author of Next! The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work." View Full Image Meet the People Who Work Fully Remoteand Hate It View Full Image Meet the People Who Work Fully Remoteand Hate It Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman prides himself on strong relations with President Trump, but Mr. Trumps second term is posing serious dilemmas for the young Saudi leader, known as MBS. Mr. Trump wants low oil prices. Saudi Arabia needs high prices to fund its plan to wean the kingdom off oil. Mr. Trump has resumed his maximum-pressure campaign against Iran, undermining the crown princes efforts to reduce tensions with Tehran that could lead the clerical regime to lash out at Saudi Arabia. Most disruptive is Mr. Trumps proposal to turn Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East" by removing 2.2 million Palestinian inhabitants. The kingdoms neighborhood is in turmoil. Syrias new leader is struggling to keep his country from further splintering into warring fiefdoms. Lebanons new president similarly seeks to quell Hezbollah terrorists. Israel struggles to free its hostages and eject Hamas terrorists from Gaza. Meantime, Israeli security officials privately insist that now is the time to strike Irans nuclear program. U.S. attacks this week on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen raise the risk that Iranor the Houthismay retaliate against Saudi oil targets. If these external problems arent enough, the crown prince faces falling oil prices, rising budget deficits and tepid foreign direct investment at home. This constellation of chaos puts at risk his costly new developmentsand the oil wealth that has funded them. Saudi security officials express fear that Israeli strikes on Irans nuclear program, even if successful, likely would bring retaliation on Saudi Arabia, not on nuclear-armed Israel. While Israel has already destroyed Irans air defenses, Tehran still possesses plenty of missiles to fire at the kingdom. In 2019, Irans strike on Saudi oil processing facilities at Abqaiq briefly knocked out 50% of Saudi oil exports. The memories of thatand the shocking failure of the first Trump administration to retaliateremain raw. Distrust of the U.S. has led the crown prince to hedge his big-power bets. MBS is actively engaged in high-wire diplomacy on all these Mideast issues plus Ukraine. He has hosted the presidents of Syria, Lebanon and Ukraine. He helped assemble Arab leaders to try to come up with a Gaza peace plan acceptable to Mr. Trump, who continues to talk, at least vaguely, about dispelling Palestinians from Gaza. The Saudi leader is positioned to play a constructive role in the region if Mr. Trump wants to enhance stability there rather than simply make a splash. Hes Mr. Trumps favorite Arab leader. Moreover, he has relations with China, Russia and even Iran, with which he restored diplomatic ties in 2023, and now seeks to broker talks between Washington and Tehran. Along with Russias Vladimir Putin, he has a decisive say over oil production and thus prices that influence the global economy. President Bidens pariah" has suddenly become President Trumps peacemaker." Mr. Trump allowed Saudi Arabia to host U.S. talks with Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, hes hinting that MBS will host the first face-to-face talks between Messrs. Trump and Putin on a Ukrainian peace deal. All this helps fulfill the crown princes determination to position himself and his kingdom as a pivotal global player. The transactional American president will almost surely expect payback for his promotion of MBS. Already Mr. Trump has said his first foreign trip will be to the kingdom if Riyadh raises its planned investment in the U.S. to $1 trillion from $600 billion. He also has demandedand receivedhigher oil production to bring down oil prices and please U.S. consumers. Still, its fair to surmise that Mr. Trump seeks something much greater: a peace prize for securing diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. A commercial connection would benefit both countries, pairing Israeli technology with Saudi money to create needed jobs in the kingdom. You can almost hear Mr. Trump telling MBS, I helped position you as a peacemaker, so return the favor." The crown prince has adamantly insisted that Saudi Arabia wont recognize Israel unless it permits the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital." After Oct. 7, 2023, Israelis are understandably uninterested in such accommodation, and radical Palestinians want to eliminate Israel, not to coexist as neighbors. Polls in Saudi Arabia show that 90% of Saudis oppose relations with Israel. While MBS surely remembers that Egyptian President Anwar Sadat paid with his life for recognizing Israel, he remains committed to a relationship with Israel for both economic and security reasons. Rising concern about U.S. reliability only feeds Saudi interest in a partnership with Israel. MBS is as relentlessly wedded to his Saudi First" policy as Mr. Trump is to his Make America Great Again vision. Those close to the crown prince say he wont allow decades of corrupt Palestinian leadership and Arab division to stand in the way of his pursuit of Saudi Arabias interests. Yet, while normalization of relations with Israel is possible, creation of a Palestinian state isnt. Therein lies Mohammed bin Salmans dilemma. Ms. House is a former publisher of the Journal and author of The Man Who Would Be King," forthcoming in July. Bank holidays today: Banks in the union territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir are likely to have extended holidays this week, from Thursday, March 27, for Shab-I-Qadr to Friday March 28, for Jumat-ul-Vida, the Sunday weekly off on March 30, and Ramzan Eid on March 31. Thus, we look at what customers can expect during what is essentially a long weekend off till Monday in Jammu & Kashmir; besides the bank holiday for Ramzan Eid and weekly off in other Indian states. Banks across Indian states could have different holiday schedules due to local festivals and religious celebrations. These are in addition to the common national and gazetted holidays declared. Notably, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) releases its official bank holiday list, annually, at the start of the year. You are advised to check with your nearest local bank branch for their confirmed holiday schedule for 2025. Bank Holidays this Week (March 28, 30, 31): Check the Full Schedule Here March 27, Thursday Shab-I-Qadr in Jammu & Kashmir March 28, Friday Jumat-ul-Vida in Jammu & Kashmir March 30 Sunday Weekly Off Across India March 31, Monday Ramzan Eid (Id-Ul-Fitr) Most states except Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh Notably, March 29 (Saturday) is not a bank holiday as it is the fifth Saturday of the month. Usually banks across India, including the State Bank of India (SBI), have the second and fourth Saturdays of a month as weekly off. All Sundays in a month are also the weekly holiday. What is Jumat-ul-Vida? Jumat ul Vida, which translates to Friday of Farewell in English, is an Arabic term, also known as Al-Jumuah al-Yateemah. It is observed on the last Friday of Ramzan. In Islam, Friday is considered as the holiest day of the week. It is known as Jumua or Jummah. Muslims are rewarded for attending the mosque early in the morning for prayers on Jumat ul Vida. Around the world, Muslims commemorate the day by reciting the holy Quran, offering special congregational prayers and engaging in acts of charity. Can You Use ATMs, Online Banking During Bank Holidays? Yes, you can use ATMs, mobile banking, online banking, and bank apps for daily transactions even during holidays, unless a bank sends specifiy notification regarding maintenance timings or technical issues. However, the Negotiable Instruments Act deals with the issuance of cheques and promissory notes. Transactions involving these instruments will not be available during the holidays. Bank Holidays in April 2025: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published its state-wise official holiday calendar for April 2025, the beginning of the new fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26). Bank holidays in India vary from state to state and are determined by national, regional, and religious observances. The following list provides a detailed state-wise list of bank holidays, helping individuals and businesses plan their financial transactions accordingly. Mahavir Jayanti, Ambedkar Jayanti, and Good Friday, among others, are some of the upcoming festivals for which banks will remain closed in April 2025. Bank holidays in April 2025: State-wise holiday list calendar April 1 (Tuesday) Banks' Yearly Account Closing/Sarhul: Banks will remain closed across all states for the final yearly account finalization and Sarhul, a tribal festival in Jharkhand, marking the beginning of the new year. April 5 (Saturday) Babu Jagjivan Rams Birthday Banks will be closed in Telangana to observe Babu Jagjivan Ram's birth anniversary. April 10 (Thursday) Banks will be closed in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Telangana for Mahavir Jayanti to celebrate the birth of Lord Mahavir. April 14 (Monday) Banks will remain closed across many states, including Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, New Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, and Himachal Pradesh. The day marks Ambedkar Jayanti-Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's birth anniversary, along with various regional New Year celebrations such as Vishu, Bihu, Tamil New Year, etc. April 15 (Tuesday) Banks will remain closed for services in Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh to observe state-specific festivals, including Bengali New Year, Himachal Day, and Bohag Bihu. April 18 (Friday)Banks will remain closed for services in states including, Tripura, Assam, Rajasthan, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, and Srinagar on this day to mark Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. April 21 (Monday) Banks will remain closed in Tripura, where banks will remain closed for Garia Puja, a tribal festival observed in the state. April 29 (Tuesday) Banks will remain closed for services in Himachal Pradesh on this day to celebrate Bhagwan Shri Parshuram Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Lord Parshuram, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu. April 30 (Wednesday) Banks will be closed in Karnataka to observe Basava Jayanti, honouring Basavanna, the founder of the Lingayat sect, and Akshaya Tritiya, considered an auspicious day for wealth and prosperity. Digital banking on RBI-designated bank holidays Account holders and registered bank customers can use internet banking, SMS banking, and WhatsApp banking services for financial and non-financial transactions. Online services can be carried out as usual and include account balance enquiries and statement downloads, chequebook requests, paying bills, mobile top-ups or recharging prepaid phones, fund transfers, booking hotels and tickets for travel, expenditure analysis, or spending funds. Unless the bank advises customers differently (usually for maintenance work), consumers can access digital and net banking services throughout the year, even though bank branches are closed on holiday dates. All bank websites, banking apps, UPI, and ATM services will remain operational year-round. International passengers flying from and landing at the Delhi airport will have to pay between 400% and 527% more from 16 April as the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Aera) approved the GMR-Group managed Delhi airport's proposal to increase the user development fee (UDF). On the other hand, Aera rejected Delhi airport's demand to increase the UDF for domestic flights, keeping it unchanged at 129 per passenger. DIAL proposed a UDF of 1,620 for business class and 810 for economy class. However, Aera reduced the rates to 810 for business class and 650 for economy embarking passengers. UDF for disembarking international passengers has been kept at 345 and 275 for business and economy passengers, respectively. Also read | Delhi airport braces for slower growth in FY28-29, Mumbai expects rebound DIAL proposed a differential UDF amount for domestic passengers during peak and off-peak hours. The proposed rates were between 610 and 405 for domestic passengers during peak and off-peak hours, respectively. However, in consumer interest, the regulator rejected the proposal and kept the UDF unchanged at 129 per passenger. Charges rationalized The regulator also rationalised the landing and parking charges, which would increase airline costs. Landing charges for domestic narrow-body aircraft have increased 84% to 347/MT from 188 and for widebody to 564/MT. For international narrow-body aircraft, landing charges have been increased to 570/MT from 250/MT. Parking charges have been kept at 18/MT per hour for remote stands and 36/MT per hour for contact stands. Earlier charges were 8.47/MT per hour. In a statement, Aera said, The decision to not change the prevailing UDF for domestic passengers, which makes 80% of the total traffic at Delhi Airport, is to protect passenger interest and ensure affordability. Also read | Air scare: HC seeks govt reply on rising cases of bird strike at Delhi airport During the consultation process, the global airline body International Air Transport Association (IATA) opposed Delhi International Airport's proposal for a variable tariff structure saying the differential pricing structure is onerous and discriminatory. Air India had similar concerns about differential pricing. Delhi Airports expects a 5.26% YoY growth in domestic passengers in FY26 and 6.72% in FY27. However, it expects domestic passenger growth to be at 5.74% in FY28, which is further expected to slow down to 4.63% in FY29. Similarly, growth in international passengers is pegged at 4.84% in FY26, which is expected to increase to 5.37% as the airport plans to upgrade infrastructure for international flights. However, the growth in international passengers is expected to slow down to 4.70% in FY28 & 3.99% in FY29. This year, the last day of the financial year coincides with Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations. Many are likely wondering whether all the major financial institutions, such as banks and income tax departments, will be open or closed on March 31, 2025. Are banks open on March 31? The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a circular issued on March 17, informed that all the banks will remain open on March 31, 2025. Previously, this day was marked as a holiday in several parts of the country according to the RBI calendar due to Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations. With a view to providing greater convenience to taxpayers, it has been decided to keep the branches of Agency banks, dealing with Government business, open for transactions on March 31, 2025 (Monday-Public Holiday), the RBI circular read. The circular added, In order to facilitate accounting of Government receipts and payments in the current financial year itself, necessary arrangements have also been made to conduct special clearing operations across the country. Special clearing will be conducted for government cheques on March 31, 2025 for which the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems (DPSS), RBI will issue necessary instructions. Also Read | Achieve your financial goals with 5 practical strategies, even on limited income Are income tax offices open on March 31? Income tax offices across the country will remain open from March 29 to March 31 to enable taxpayers to complete tax-related transactions for the end of the financial year, according to the Income Tax Department. It must be noted that the deadline to file the updated income tax returns is March 31, 2025. To facilitate completion of pending departmental work, all the Income Tax Offices throughout India shall remain open on 29th, 30th and 31st March 2025, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said. Mumbai: Indias equity market is no longer dominated by foreign institutional investors as domestic funds have increasingly become active in the space, said Bhavesh Shah, managing director and head of investment banking at Equirus Capital. Terming FII funds flowing into the country as moody capital and cyclical, Shah said the 7% gap between FIIs and domestic institutional investors in Indias equity market had narrowed. Now it is neck and neck. So FIIs and DIIs own the same percentage in the companies in India, Shah said at the Mint India Investment Summit in Mumbai on Friday. Retail investors, who have been increasingly investing in mutual funds, have also brought about a shift deepening Indias equity market, Shah said. Today, the total assets under management of the overall mutual fund industry is 64 lakh crore ( 64 trillion), and 35% of that is equity money, Shah said. IPOs: A 2 trillion pipeline On Indias IPO pipeline, Shah said it was looking fairly strong this year, adding that the Securities and Exchange Bureau of India has cleared 49 IPOs of companies that are cumulatively looking to raise 84,000 crore. Sebi is also reviewing 67 draft red herring prospectuses of companies, he said. We have already raised 15,000 crore till March. So we are on our way to maybe raise, basis this pipeline, 2 lakh crore ( 2 trillion), he said. Shah also pointed to the gradual revival in the number of companies going public in India. We saw a big amount of activity in 2004 to 2007 before the global financial crisis. There was a major lull in the decade thereafter. But in the last five years, we have seen activity come back into the IPO market, Shah said, adding that the money raised via IPOs had also significantly increased. From 2001 to 2010, the first decade of this century, we raised about 2 lakh crore ( 2 trillion), and in the second decade (from 2010 to 2020), again the same. But in this decade, in only five years, we have raised double of what each of these decades had done, Shah said. On IPO investors The investment banker also pointed out that the recent IPOs had fetched investors good returns. Subscribing to IPOs has led to a significant amount of wealth creation for investors. For all the IPOs that were there in 2021, investors till date have made a 65% return, he said. A highlight of recent IPOs has been offers for sale, Shah pointed out. In todays scenario, we are not only seeing secondary sales from investors or private equity investors, but even sometimes promoters selling their shares, he said. New Delhi: Indias impending move to abolish the Google tax is unlikely to be a significant gain for Americas Big Tech giants such as Googles parent Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. However, the move is being widely viewed as an in-principle victory for Big Tech in India, while opening up the domestic market to more foreign e-commerce and small advertising firms. Indias decision to scrap Google tax from 1 April is also likely meant to demonstrate to US President Donald Trump that India is serious about addressing pain points in bilateral trade relations, and to extract concessions on reciprocal tariffs. New Delhi introduced the 6% equalisation levy in 2016 to ensure that foreign tech giants earning huge sums in India contributed proportionately to the government exchequer. Meta and Alphabet senior executives, however, pointed out that the levy was already inapplicable at large on how the platforms sell online advertisements in India. The levy is only applicable if a foreign, non-permanent entity sells online advertisements in India. For Meta, for the past two fiscals, online advertisements across platforms were being sold and billed by Meta India Pvt. Ltd, which ensured that while we fall under the purview of Indias corporate taxes, the additional levy on offshore entities was no longer applicable to us," a senior executive at Meta India told Mint. Also read | If ending Google Tax is quid, what is quo, for which quid is being given away? A second executive, who works directly with Googles India division, added that while the abolition of the levy was welcome, the taxations impact on Googles India revenue may not be directly proportionate since Google bills its India advertising operation entirely under Google India Pvt. Ltd". Abolishing the additional levy was a long-term ask put forth by Google in India in light of the companys long-term commitment to developing Indias technology ecosystem," the executive said. Beyond any revenue or earnings impact, the removal of the equalisation levy is a win from a policy standpoint, ensuring a uniform online advertising industry in line with the rest of the world." The Meta and Google executives spoke on condition of anonymity. Meta and Googles India representatives did not respond to Mints request for a formal comment in light of the levys abolition not being formalized as yet. An obvious next step Selling ads, as made famous by Meta chief Mark Zuckerbergs Senator, we run ads" comment at the pivotal 2019 Big Tech hearing at the US Senate, is the core business model for Meta and Google alike. Meta runs Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp in India, while Googles advertisements are applicable on Search and YouTubethe worlds largest search engine and video streaming platforms, respectively. For each of these platforms, India is the largest market. Googles YouTube, for instance, is estimated to have over 490 million active users in India, while Metas WhatsApp is estimated to have over 530 million active users here. In 2023-24, Meta India generated 22,731 crore ($2.65 billion) in gross advertising revenue, and Google India about 31,221 crore ($3.64 billion). In February last year, market researcher Redseer Strategy Consultants pegged the Indian digital advertising industry to be worth $8.8 billion in FY24Meta and Google, therefore, accounted for nearly 72% of this market. Industry stakeholders and lawyers said the abolition of the Google tax was a natural next step" for multiple reasonsincluding Indias push to open up the domestic economy to more foreign marketers, and to not attract reciprocal tariffs from Trumps administration. Also read | Have India-US trade talks blunted Trumps threat of reciprocal tariffs? The levy served to largely restrict foreign e-commerce and smaller advertising players from selling ads in the Indian market if they did not have a permanent presence in India based on the definitions set forth in Indias foreign trade and online commerce policies," said Akash Karmakar, partner at Delhi-based law firm Panag & Babu. The larger players, Meta and Google, have already been outside its purview due to them selling online ads through their local entities. As a result, this move, to be sure, is majorly to ensure that reciprocal tariffs are avoided, while opening up easier foreign business avenues for indigenous artisans looking to sell their craft in North America." Dhruv Garg, partner at technology think-tank India Governance and Policy Project (IGAP), said the move was more to ensure that Big Tech, which plays a key role in Indias overall technology ecosystem, is kept at a level policy stance since India is a big exporter of technology talent and services to the US". Additionally, the amount of revenue being generated by the levy was small in comparison to the larger overall picture, ensuring that the Centre had greater impetus in removing the levy from tech for long-term gains rather than retaining the levy for short-term benefits," Garg added. Homebuyers in Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida, Greater Noida and Jewar are likely to see property prices increase as the Uttar Pradesh Stamp and Registration Department has notified a draft proposal for hike in circle rates for these areas. Notably, the DA has opened public feedback on the proposal till April 5, 2025, the notices added. Speaking to Hindustan Times newspaper, Gautam Budh Nagars district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said the final new rates will only be announced post consultation and feedback from the general public. Also Read | Richest US President in history! Donald Trump makes Hurun List top 500 debut What is Circle Rate? Circle rates are set by the local government as the minimum property values used to calculate registration fees and stamp duty. The move, which means hikes of between 20-70 per cent in the mentioned areas, comes after nine years of steady rates in the district. In draft notices posted on the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration's (DA) official website, dated March 25, the authority has proposed circle rate increases in Gautam Budh Nagar, Greater Noida, Noida and Jewar. What Does Hike in Circle Rate Mean for You? A circle rate hike would directly increase the cost of registered flats and properties in Gautam Budh Nagar, Greater Noida, Noida and Jewar. This makes buying a home more expensive. As per the draft notification for Gautam Budh Nagar district, a 20 per cent hike has been proposed in Noida for high-rise apartments, and 30 per cent in Greater Noida. For agricultural land, Jewar will see a hike of 70 per cent, Greater Noida of close to 50 per cent, and Noida by 40 per cent. Further, the proposal also includes a location cost that takes into account proximity to key facilities and area code, according to an India Today report. For example, housing society flats within 500 metres of a metro station could see prices rise by 5-12.5 per cent under the new circle rates. What Do Experts, Stakeholders Say? According to Zafeer Ahmed, MD of XRE Consultants, the increase in circle rates will have massive impact on the price of real estate across different classes. He broke it down: For multi-storey residential apartments in premium Noida Sectors such as 150, 76, or 44, circle rate revisions are likely to increase per sq.ft prices by 1520 per cent as the developers will transfer the burden of increased stamp duty and land cost to the buyers. In the same vein, commercial spaces in Noidas Sector 18 and Greater Noidas Alpha/Beta sector is likely to witness a surge in prices by around 1012 per cent. Meanwhile, industrial plots in Jewar are likely to increase in price post-revision by approximately 2025 per cent. These high acquisition costs across segments will result in elevated rental costs. For example, Residential rentals in Jewar, will likely increase by 810 per cent yearly because of demand associated with the airport while commercial spaces especially in Noidas Sector 62 are likely to experience a 57 per cent increase in office rental prices as investors look to make returns due to heightened ownership costs. Investors who lock purchases at this timeespecially in Jewars residential/commercial belt and metro connected regions of Noidawill benefit with dual appreciationincrease in value of assets due to alignment with circle rates and boosted infrastructure demand. The impact is most likely to be felt in ready-to-move properties, where the price increases will be immediate. How Can Jewar Farmers Benefit? According to Siddharth Maurya, Founder and MD property sales company Vibhavangal Anukulakara, farmers in Jewar will be the biggest winners of this circle rate increase, and will benefit from the revised valuation of residential plots granted to them in lieu of purchased land. The circle rate alterations will be highly advantageous for farmers in Jewar and the neighboring areas. The 70 per cent increase in agricultural land rates will make sure that farmers are compensated fairly with market value for their land since the law states compensation must be at least double the circle rate, Maurya noted. He added that the revised valuation of residential plots and increase in asset value, will also reduce the disparity in the pricing of the land, addressing the problem of black money, thus increasing monetary transparency. Overall, the changes enhance the position of farmers by ensuring the compensation corresponds with the appreciation of value due to infrastructure in the region, particularly Jewar, where the need for the airport is rapidly changing the area, Maurya said. Homebuyers Alert! Stamp Duty Cost To Zoom According to Aman Gupta, Director at real estate development company RPS Group, the increase in circle rates will hit homebuyers. The increase will surely increase the cost stamp duty, there is hardly any benefit to the homebuyers, he said. But there is a silver lining, Gupta noted that the clarity in property valuations is likely to minimise the likelihood of opaque dealings and will promote a better market economy. Hikes on stamp duty also indicate better developed infrastructure which increase the value of the property in the long-run, he felt. He did however raise the alarm for homebuyers whose properties have been delayed. There are severe problems for buyers who are simply waiting for their projects to be completed. These buyers are concerned about the new rates being imposed retrospectively as it translates to considerable additional payment, he noted. Indias legal landscape is being rocked by a second wave of senior lawyer exits from established law firms in under a year, fuelled by an intensifying battle for market share. The development comes against the looming prospect of foreign competition and a surge in corporate legal activity, with top Indian law firms aggressively poaching top talent and triggering a significant reshuffling of the legal elite. Over the past six to seven months, leading law firms Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, JSA Advocates & Solicitors, Trilegal, Indus Law, and Argus Partners have scooped up senior partners and their teams by offering a larger share of the firms revenues, better designations, and a compensation that previous employers may not be able to match. There has been a marked increase in mid- to senior-level hiring across law firms that want to increase bench strength for corporate and specialist areas driven by the economy," said Lee Ignatius, co-founder of Vahura, a search and advisory firm focused on legal and governance functions. Firms are constantly on the lookout for opportunistic and entrepreneurial talent with an existing book of clients that can add more leverage to their client wallet and mindshare." These shifts take 6-10 months to make, with partners taking 35-60% of practice revenues. An associate and senior associate can have 1-9 years of experience and then gradually move into the role of a partner. Also read | India Inc enlists law firms to help with return to office, shrinking space for WFH, shirkers Moving out of promoter-led law firms is another factor for the exits, according to Vivek K. Chandy, joint managing partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors. Most of the departures are from firms which are family/promoter owned and controlled, where the founding partners continue to draw large share of profits even where they are not actively involved, or where there is no transparency in how the partnership works or functions," said Chandy. To be sure, JSA does not have a promoter. Suneeth Katarki, founding partner of IndusLaw, noted that the hiring spurt started in the wake of the Bar Council of Indias (BCI) announcement regarding the entry of foreign law firms. The anticipated opening up of the legal market due to regulatory shift prompted a scramble among leading firms to bolster their teams, anticipating increased competition. This expansion drive led to significant lateral movement across the legal industry," Katarki said. Movement within firms is not unusual," said Harry Chawla, managing partner at Luthra & Luthra, from where quite a few seniors have joined JSA. However, one is seeing an increase in the frequency, owing to several factors, such as increased competitionexpansion of practice areas within law firmscreating niche practice areas with teams of specialized counsel, client expansion, etc." Key movements This month, JSA hired Karan Mitroo as equity partner from Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, along with his team of 15 attorneys including three partners. In January, Pritha Chatterjee was hired from IndusLaw as a retained partner in the banking and finance practice. Shringarika Priyadarshini was hired form Trilegal as retained partner in the Gurugram-based corporate practice. And last September, Arun Kumar and Deepak Chowdhury joined JSA from IndusLaw along with 13 lawyers to work in the infrastructure and real estate practices in Gurugram and Hyderabad. In law firms, equity partners take home a share of the profits while retained ones get fixed salary plus regular bonuses. Read this | Law firms tap younger lot for partner profiles as attrition rises Some of the new hires at Luthra & Luthra include Samarjit G. Pattnaik, partner handling dispute resolution and white-collar crimes, who joined the firm in February from Karanjawala & Company. Sharad Joshi joined in March from SNG & Partners and will be in the banking/finance and project finance team. And Monalisa Kosaria joined the firm as a partner in dispute resolution this January from B.Shanker Advocates LLP, New Delhi. Last November, IndusLaw hired Kaushik Mukherjee from Sammaan Capital (formerly Indiabulls Housing Finance) as an equity partner along with his team in the firms Mumbai-based capital markets practice group. In January, Megha Arora joined as projects and infrastructure partner from JSA. No end in sight The poaching war is not expected to end anytime soon. We anticipate continued movement within the industry as firms seek to reinforce and expand their capabilities," Katarki said. The firm has undertaken a comprehensive review of our compensation framework" to be on par with the top paymasters in the sector. Argus Partners managing partner Krishnava Dutt pointed out that as businesses grow more complex, firms prioritize partners with deep sector expertise and strong client relationships. Lateral hiring is now a key strategy to enhance capabilities, foster innovation, and stay competitive in an evolving legal market". Also read | Big team of PE and M&A lawyers set to leave Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas for JSA Some of the firms recent hires include Anindya Ghosh, Anantha Krishnan Iyer, and Ashwin Krishnan in corporate and PE/ VC practice from Induslaw, Utkarsh Bandhu (from JSA) and Aseem Dhawan (from Trilegal) in finance practice and Aayush Kumar from Nayara Energy in the corporate and M&A Practice. Trilegal, too, has been in the thick of action. Amongst the hires this year, Aparna Mehra joined the competition law practice from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, and Samit D. Shukla joined the real estate practice from DSK Legal. A note from the management committee of Trilegal to Mint said, Trilegal is one of the largest equity partnerships in the country, and its unique model has attracted over 50 top-quality lateral partners from other top-tier firms in recent years. This level of lateral partner movement to Trilegal remains unmatched in the history of our industry." And read | Mint Explainer: Can lawyers also be journalists? Even as global dealmaking faces headwinds, India continues to offer steady opportunities for private equity investors. Warburg Pincus managing director and head of Asia Private Equity, Vishal Mahadevia, sees no slowdown in dealmaking, despite the volatility that has made large mergers and acquisitions harder to execute worldwide. Speaking at the Mint India Investment Summit in Mumbai, Mahadevia highlighted that uncertainty often creates openings for investors willing to navigate complexity. Read this | Barclays says half of private credit deals in India are worth over $100 mn "It's different types of deals, but deal making is very much happening and I think when you look at India and Asia in particular, our pipeline is as robust as I've seen it," Mahadevia said, emphasizing that disruptive periods allow investors to stand out and deliver differentiated returns. While dealmaking dynamics may shift, activity remains strong. Its more complicated, requires more work, and some real guts and resilience to live through periods of volatility, he noted. Mahadevia pointed to a broader shift within private equitytoward growth buyouts. Large private equity (PE) players are increasingly taking control positions in companies rather than just minority stakes, allowing them to scale businesses more effectively. We are actually taking control positions, buyout positions in these companies. It's providing a scale and it's providing us the opportunity to then really drive business more than we would as a minority growth investor. We're doing both as private equity players, he said. However, he noted that this segment of the market remained active even when valuations were higher last year and hasnt shifted simply because the market has cooled. Private equity investments (in India) have only accelerated every year for the last five years, other than I would say in 2021, when tech investments shot up, if you take that out, it's just accelerated consistently, he said. Read this | Deluge of deals to lift i-bank bonuses to a record in 2024 On exit strategies, Mahadevia acknowledged that public market exits have become more challenging in a down cycle. You have to look at sponsor-to-sponsor exits, find a strategic buyers, if it's a controlled position, if it's a minority position, you have to be more creative and find other ways to basically monetize it, he said. However, he argued that these shifts are cyclical, with public and private exit routes alternating in prominence over time. We've seen cycles when you have more public market exits, and you have cycles when you have more private market exits, and you're probably going into a little bit of that cycle this year." When asked about investment destinations beyond the US, Mahadevia pointed to India and Japan as the top choices for global investors. In Europe, there are growing concerns on multiple fronts. As for China, investor sentiment has cooled significantly, he said. With US exceptionalism being questioned for the first time in decades, theres an opportunity for India and other markets to attract more capital. He noted a shift in investor priorities. Six months ago, if you asked where to deploy capital, the immediate answer would have been the US, with some allocation to India or Japan. But today, investors are reassessing. How much exposure should they maintain in the US? Should they diversify into other markets? That shift creates an opening for countries like India, he explained. Mahadevia struck an optimistic tone on India, highlighting the countrys strong fundamentals. Government regulators are receptive, industry bodies are engaged, entrepreneurs are eager to scale up, and capital is ready to flow in, he said. Looking at the long-term outlook, he posed a question: Which other economy has an opportunity to become a $10 trillion economy in the world? India has the best opportunity to get there, as you look at it with a global lens," he said. However, he cautioned that potential alone isnt enough. India's always had the potential to be a $10 trillion economy, butall constituents, have a part to play responsibly, in order for India to reach its $10 trillion potential, said Mahadevia. A critical factor, he noted, is manufacturing, and the government is right to push for scaling in the sector. "Few (economies) have reached that stage ($10 trillion economy) just by being services economies on domestic consumption to start with. Everyone's had a manufacturing base, and I think I see it happening slowly. New Delhi: The domestic textile sector needs swift reforms in supply chain integration, cost efficiency, and sustainability compliance to sustain its competitive advantage, the government think tank Niti Aayog said in a report on Friday. In its report titled Trade Watch July-September (Q2) FY25, which evaluates the competitiveness of the textile sector, Niti Aayog highlighted the industry's critical role in the nation's industrial output, employment and exports. Also Read | Haryana govt extends textile policy till Dec 2026 The sector accounted for 5% of total exports, valued at $34.2 billion in 2023. However, despite being one of the oldest industries, its share in global trade remains modest at 4%, positioning India as the sixth-largest exporter of textiles and apparel. "India holds strong competitiveness in natural fibre-based textiles, particularly cotton and carpets, but faces challenges in apparel exports and other technical textiles, where Bangladesh and Vietnam have outpaced it," the report said. It emphasised that India has a moderate foothold in man-made textiles, but lags in high-value technical textiles, a segment dominated by China, Germany and South Korea. Also Read | Textiles sector eyes zero tariffs in India-US trade "Although Indias participation in global textile value chains has grown, the sector must undergo urgent reforms in supply chain integration, cost efficiency, and sustainability compliance to stay competitive in the global market," the report added. India's textile exports stood at $35.94 billion during FY24, reporting a 1.95% annual decline, according to data from the ministry of commerce and industry. Also Read | Bangladesh skips India, reroutes global textile exports through Maldives In comparison, Bangladesh's garment exports reached $44.47 billion in FY24, while Vietnam's exports too were approximately $44 billion. Indias textile and apparel exports have remained at approximately $40 billion for the past six years, growing at just 0.8% annually, far below the global growth rate of 3.5%. "While the country exports 840 textile products, more than 52% of its exports come from just 134 items, in which India holds a global export share of over 10%. This indicates strong competitiveness in selected segments, but also the absence of diversification," the report said. "China dominates global textile exports, leading in man-made textiles (50%), technical textiles, and traditional segments such as cotton and carpets. Indias dependence on China for synthetic fibre and technical textile raw materials presents a challenge for expanding exports," it added. Niti Aayog's latest Trade Watch also highlighted that growing geopolitical fragmentation, particularly between the US and China, is reshaping global trade dynamics as countries increasingly prioritize trade within their geopolitical blocs. "While this shift disrupts traditional trade patterns, it creates new opportunities for emerging economies like India, particularly in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, IT services and manufacturing," it said. "However, increasing competition from Vietnam, Mexico, and Poland, along with stringent labour and environmental regulations, necessitates that India enhances its ease of doing business, trade infrastructure and regulatory alignment to capitalize on these shifts effectively," it added. Niti Ayog said it will present a detailed analysis of the Reciprocal Tariff Plans impact on India in its next edition of Trade Watch. "India's trade landscape continues to evolve, driven by strategic policy reforms, resilient industrial growth and expanding global partnerships," said B.V.R Subrahmanyam, chief executive officer at Niti Ayog. ATC Energies System IPO allotment: The allotment of ATC Energies System's initial public offering (IPO) is likely to be finalised today, following decent interest and subscriptions for the share sale issue. The SME IPO, valued at 63.76 crore, opened for bidding on March 25 and closed on March 27. The price band was set in the range of 112-118 per share. Investors can check the ATC Energies System IPO allotment status online through the official portal of the IPO registrar Kfin Technologies or on the BSE website. The company will credit the equity shares on Tuesday, April 1, into the Demat accounts of investors who have received the allotment. Refunds for rejected applications will also be processed the same day. ATC Energies System IPO is slated to list on NSE SME on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Also Read | Dalal Street IPOs dry up! March sees lowest IPO count in 2 years How to check IPO allotment status Step 1: Go to the IPO registrar website of KFin Technologies. Step 2: From the selection menu, choose ATC Energies System IPO. Step 3: To discover the status, pick a mode click on PAN, Demat account, or application number. Step 4: Enter the required information, such as your application number, PAN, or Demat Account number. Step 5: Enter the captcha to verify that you are not a robot. Step 6: Click submit to view allotment status. About the IPO The ATC Energies IPO is a combination of fresh issue of 43.24 lakh shares aggregating to 51.02 crores and offer for sale of 10.80 lakh shares aggregating to 12.74 crores. The minimum lot size for an application was 1,200 shares, and the minimum investment required by retail investors was 1.41 lakh. The IPO closed with lacklustre demand, garnering 1.61 times bids in three days. The IPO received bids for 67.87 lakh shares against 42.09 lakh shares on offer. The retail investor segment saw a subscription of 2.49 times, while the non-institutional investors (NII) category was booked 0.81 times. Meanwhile, the QIB portion saw 1.38 times bids. ATC Energies IPO also raised 10.89 crore from anchor investors on March 24, 2025. ATC Energies System plans to utilize the net proceeds from its IPO for multiple objectives. A significant portion will be allocated towards the full repayment or pre-payment of loans taken by the company to acquire its Noida factory. The funds will also be used to meet capital expenditure requirements for refurbishment, civil work, and upgrades at the Noida facility. Additionally, the company aims to finance IT infrastructure improvements at both its Noida and Vasai factories, as well as at its registered office. The proceeds will further be directed towards working capital requirements and for general corporate purposes. Indorient Financial Services Ltd is the book-running lead manager of the ATC Energies IPO, while Kfin Technologies Limited is the registrar for the issue. The market maker for ATC Energies IPO is Alacrity Securities Ltd. About the Company ATC Energies System Limited, incorporated in 2020, operates in the energy sector, offering a range of energy solutions, products, and services. The company specializes in producing and supplying efficient, low-cost lithium and lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, providing integrated energy storage solutions for industries such as banking, automobiles, and other end users. Initially, ATC Energies focused on manufacturing mini batteries for the banking sector but has since expanded its portfolio to include batteries of all sizes, offering customized solutions tailored to the specific needs of various industries. With its in-house design and engineering capabilities, the company delivers innovative products designed for diverse applications. Headquartered in Mumbai, ATC Energies operates manufacturing facilities in Vasai, Thane, and Noida, equipped with advanced battery assembly technology, including temperature chambers, welding systems, and testers, ensuring the production of high-quality, reliable batteries. As per Red Herring Prospectus (RHP), the company's listed peers are Eveready Industries India Ltd (with a P/E of 36.08), and High Energy Batteries India Ltd (with a P/E of 26.00). ATC Energies IPO GMP today The IPO's grey market premium (GMP) today is 4 per share. This indicates an expected listing price of 122, a premium of 3.39 percent from its issue price of 118. The GMP was the same in the previous session, March 27. A regulatory measure that could hamper exchange trading volumes and increase costs of executing transactions looms over the market, even as its trading members and institutional investors hope that the regulator would consider deferring the rule at the last minute. Intraday monitoring of position limits to strengthen the index derivatives framework has to go live on 1 April. Its the sixth measure that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) introduced in a staggered manner from 1 October. A change of guard at Sebi has given market participants hope that the regulator would defer the rule until it decides on the implementation of a proposal for determining the position limits. The rule will ensure that no trader or client exceeds the 500 crore net position limit during the day. Currently, traders exceed that threshold intraday, imparting liquidity and reducing the cost of executing transactions in the bargain, but bring down their positions to the mandated limit by end of trading day, say broking officials. Also read | Mint Explainer: What did Sebi decide at its first board meeting under new chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey? Traders fear that placing an intraday monitoring mechanism will bring down exchange volumes drastically. This will result in buy-sell quotes widening, increasing the cost of executing transactions and hurting retail investors eventually as derivatives markets have a nexus with cash markets, and vice versa. "The intraday monitoring rule will severely impact market volumes, resulting in widening bid-ask spreads, which will hurt retail investors eventually, as traders who provide liquidity to the markets will be curtailed by intraday limits, which is currently not the case," said Narinder Wadhwa, managing director at SKI Capital. Wadhwa said brokers and traders hope that Sebi would defer the rule until it decides on a proposal that imposes gross limits on trading entities. This proposal, part of a consultation paper addressed primarily at proprietary and high-frequency traders last month, changes the way open interest or outstanding position is calculated from a notional-based approach to one based on the way an option contract's price reacts to changes in an underlying index's price change. Read this | Sebis options plan that spooked many could be in for a review Furthermore, the proposal seeks to add a client's long and short options positions separately to arrive at a gross limit for index options against a net limit in vogue now. The net limit allows higher intraday risk-offsetting positionsbuying of at-the-money calls and selling out-of-the-money calls, for instanceto be taken by traders so long as they stay within the net permissible limit by end of day. Sebi Review The trading community, especially high-frequency traders, has strongly objected to the proposal for a gross limit. Until Sebi decides on the gross limits and other provisions of the consultation paper released on 24 February, brokers and traders hope it will postpone the intraday monitoring rule. Sebi did not respond Mint's query if the intraday monitoring of position limits will be deferred and its impact on markets as claimed by participants. Also read | Sebis settlement system under fire: Delays, high costs, and discretionary powers spark concern However, a Sebi official told Mint earlier that it would review its proposal for a gross limit in light of the objections raised through public comments. "There will be a significant impact on volumes because of intraday monitoring but, at the same time, excessive volatility in the markets will decrease if intraday limits are imposed on HFTs and their like," said Kruti Shah, quant analyst at Equirus. Another broker, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the impact would be as "severe" as having a single weekly option expiry contract from five earlier. In its 1 October circular, Sebi limited weekly expiry contracts to one per exchange from four on NSE and two on BSE earlier, increased contract size to 15-20 lakh from 5-10 lakh and implemented the changes in a staggered manner. For instance, the contract size was increased from 20 November last year and intraday monitoring was to be implemented from 1 April this year. These measures were aimed at curtailing retail frenzy in weekly options on expiry day. The latest proposals for changing the calculation of open interest and imposing a gross limit are aimed at HFTs and prop traders. And read | Disclosure dilemma: Why Sebis new rules on related-party transactions are under fire India's digital economy is expanding at breakneck speed, and at the heart of this transformation lies an industry quietly soaking up billions in investments data centres . As businesses, governments, and consumers shift their activities online, the demand for secure, high-capacity data storage is skyrocketing. The numbers tell the story Indias data centre market is now worth around $10 billion, with revenues hitting $1.2 bn in 2023-24, according to Anarock Capital, the investment banking arm of the Anarock Group and a leading real estate services company in India. The sector has attracted a staggering $6.5 bn in investments over the past decade, and capacity is set to surge 44% to 2.1 gigawatts by 2025. For investors, this boom presents a compelling opportunity. A handful of companies stand to benefit significantly from the sectors rapid expansion. Lets take a closer look at five players poised to ride this wave. Tata Communications Ltd Tata Communications (originally VSNL) came under the Tata groups umbrella in February 2002 after the Government of India divested a 25% stake to a strategic partner. Over the years, the company has evolved into a global digital ecosystem enabler, leveraging its extensive infrastructure to strengthen its foothold in emerging markets. When it comes to the data centre industry, Tata Communications plays a pivotal role by offering high-performance connectivity, cloud interconnect solutions, and managed hosting services. In India, it dominates the data centre interconnectivity space, continuously investing in metro connectivity solutions to enhance network efficiency. The company is expanding its portfolio with next-geneneration technologies like hybrid cloud networking, software-defined WAN (SD-WAN), and edge computing. Through its IZO Multi Cloud Connect platform, Tata Communications ensures seamless data centre-to-cloud and cloud-to-cloud communication, making enterprise networks more scalable, secure, and flexible. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, sales and net profit have reported a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9% and 68.5%, respectively. The companys average return on capital employed (RoCE) stands at 18%. Looking ahead, the company has identified artificial intelligence (AI) cloud, multi-cloud connectivity, and edge computing as high-growth areas. It is also monetizing non-core assets, including land, which could potentially be repurposed for data centre development based on market demand. Aurionpro Solutions Ltd The company's data centre business is housed within its Technology Innovation Group (TIG), where it contributes roughly a third of the segment's revenue. TIG itself accounts for around 45% of Aurionpro's overall enterprise revenue. Aurionpro primarily operates as a design and build partner rather than owning and running data centres. It has a capable data centre design team and works on complex projects with leading industry players. The company collaborates with key strategic partners, including Webworks and Iron Mountain, to design and manage data centre construction. The business currently operates at margins that are below the enterprise average but is growing at a robust 30-40% annually. While most of its operations are India-centric, Aurionpro has started expanding into select international markets, particularly in emerging economies. However, its global footprint remains small at this stage. The companys expertise spans designing large data centres of up to 60MW capacity, and its projects adhere to Tier III and Tier IV standards set by the Uptime Institute. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, sales and net profit have registered a CAGR of 12% and 18.9%, respectively. The returns have also been rangebound with the RoCE and RoE averaging 10.3% and 12.2%. With its focus on high-margin design services and strategic partnerships, the company aims to deepen its presence in this rapidly growing industry. Adani Enterprises Ltd Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, is known for incubating and scaling infrastructure businesses across diverse sectors. The Adani Group, through its joint venture AdaniConneX with EdgeConneX, is rapidly expanding its presence in the data centre business. The company has already established significant operational capacity. The Chennai 1 facility, with 17MW of renewable-powered capacity, has maintained 100% uptime in 2023-24. Additionally, the Hyderabad Data Center's Phase I, offering 9.6MW, is now fully operational. Progress is also evident at the Noida data centre, where construction is nearly complete for a 50MW core and shell and 10MW MEP, while plans for an extra 40 MW MEP are already in motion. Pune's two data centres, each designed for 9.6MW, are steadily advancing, with completion rates of 59% and 73% for Phase I. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, sales and net profit have registered a CAGR of 19% and 71.3%, respectively. The returns have also been rangebound with the RoCE and RoE averaging 10.6% and 5.4%. Looking ahead, AdaniConneX has ambitious plans to scale its data centre capacity to 1GW by 2030. With a committed investment of $6.5 bn, the company is focusing on building hyperscale campuses in key cities like Noida, Pune, Hyderabad, and Navi Mumbai. These facilities will serve enterprises and large-scale cloud service providers, capitalizing on the growing demand for digital infrastructure in India. By offering integrated solutions and ensuring operational excellence, Adani is positioning itself as a dominant player in the sector. Larsen and Toubro Ltd Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has entered the data centre and cloud services space with L&T-Cloudfiniti. While a relatively new entrant, L&T brings strong parentage and synergies with LTIMindTree and L&T Technology Services, leveraging its experience in building large-scale government and private sector data centres. The company is taking an end-to-end approach, offering data centre infrastructure, multi-cloud services, cloud management, network security, and application integrationall under a single-point responsibility model. It is also investing heavily in modern hyperscale data centres, starting with Mumbai and Chennai, with plans for further expansion. L&T is integrating next-gen cooling technologies like direct liquid cooling (DLC), liquid immersion cooling (LIC), and in-row cooling, designed to enhance energy efficiency, reliability, and security. As Indias data centre capacity surges, L&Ts expertise in infrastructure development and advanced cooling solutions places it in a strong position to compete with global players in the sector. Coming to its financials, L&T's revenue and net profit have grown at a CAGR of 10.3% and 10%, respectively, between 2019-20 and 2023-24. This robust growth has led to a strong RoCE and RoE averaging 17.1% and 13.3%. ABB India Ltd ABB India is emerging as a strong player in the fast-growing data centre market, leveraging its expertise in power distribution, automation, and energy management. While it does not own or operate data centres, it has expanded its presence by supplying electrification and control solutions to major operators. Active in the sector since 2017-18, ABBs data centre business has grown significantly, securing a large order in Q42024. Though the exact revenue share is undisclosed, the segment has become a key contributor. ABBs power distribution portfolio includes transformers, circuit breakers, switchgear, and remote power panels designed to enhance energy efficiency and reliability for data centres. It also offers UPS solutions for uninterrupted operations and advanced cooling systems to optimize power usage and costs. Beyond hardware, ABB provides Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM), integrating real-time monitoring and automation to improve efficiency and uptime. The company is positioning itself to serve hyperscale and edge data centres, leveraging its expertise in smart power and sustainability. Coming to its financials, ABB India has maintained a strong financial position over the past five years. Between 2019 and 2023, its revenue and net profit have grown at a CAGR of 9.3% and 37.5%, respectively. This robust growth has led to a strong RoCE and RoE averaging 19.4% and 14% . Conclusion From powering cloud computing to supporting AI and 5G networks, these data centre giants are building the backbone of the countrys digital revolution. For investors seeking opportunities in the rapidly expanding tech ecosystem, the companies leading this charge could offer promising long-term growth. Keep an eye on their progress because as India's digital economy scales new heights, so will those driving the infrastructure behind it. Investors with a higher risk appetite may find opportunities in emerging data centre ventures, while those seeking stability might prefer established players with proven operational capacity and steady cash flows. Happy Investing. 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. When Nobel Prize-winning physicists stumble in the stock market and legendary investors outsmart mathematical models, this tells you investing is more than just understanding numbers. At the Mint India Investment Summit & Awards 2025, Nimesh Chandan, chief investment officer of Bajaj Finserv Asset Management Ltd, unveiled the hidden battlefield where human psychology wages war against rational investment strategies. He pulled back the curtain on why even the most brilliant minds can become prisoners of their own emotional traps. Also Read: The foundation of successful investing isnt intelligence. Its patience. Drawing from the missteps of celebrated economists and the wisdom of investment legends, Chandan noted the behavioural finance that promised to change how investors think about money, markets, and the most unpredictable variable of all: human nature. Chandan dismantled the myth of purely rational financial markets. Chandan highlighted the work of pioneers like Harry Markowitz and Irving Fisher and illustrated how even brilliant minds struggle with market emotions. He emphasized that investors' greatest challenge is often themselves, echoing Benjamin Graham's famous insight that the "chief enemy of the investor is likely to be himself". Also Read: Investing and the role of liquidity, risk and return Chandan highlighted some of the key behavioural biases that impact investment decisions, showcasing tools like the investment checklist, pre-mortem analysis, and investment journaling as methods to counteract emotional trading. Chandan stressed that understanding market psychologybeyond simple greed and fearis crucial for creating investment alpha. Referencing historical market cycles from the Dutch tulip bubble to the 2008 financial crisis, Chandan underscored a fundamental truth: While markets and securities change, human nature remains constant. "If you see the history of finance and investing, you go back 400 years. Events are different and distinct, but the patterns are common." "Countries change, institutions change, but human nature doesn't change, and that was what causes the boom, bust cycle in the market," he added. His message was clear: successful investing requires not just financial acumen but a deep understanding of human behavioural patterns. "It is very important to have a behavioural edge, if you want to create alpha or outperform the crowd." He argued that unlike physics, which deals with non-emotional elements, economics involves human beings with complex psychological responses that cannot be reduced to simple equations. Also Read: Nightmare on D-Street: Navigating a crisis, falling knives, and an unusual calm Chandan emphasized that understanding these biases is crucial for creating investment alpha and outperforming market expectations. Chandan introduced several practical tools for managing behavioural biases. The investment checklist acts as a "cognitive net" to evaluate investments objectively. The pre-mortem technique involves imagining potential failure scenarios to understand risks better. An investment journal helps distinguish between luck and skill, while simulations and stress tests provide insights into potential portfolio performance. He highlighted the importance of de-biasing techniques, advocating for "nudging" rather than "pushing" behavioural change. "Nudge is better than push. Push increases stress in the system. Nudge actually gets the same result by de-stressing the system." He suggested strategies like pre-commitments, where investors establish exit criteria before entering an investment, helping to overcome emotional attachment and endowment bias. Multibagger Penny Stock: Shares of Standard Capital Markets were buzzing in trade on Friday, March 28, as they jumped 4% to reach 0.53 apiece, snapping their 13-day losing streak after the company announced the expansion of its business operations into Dubai. In an exchange filing on Thursday, the company announced the incorporation of a wholly owned subsidiary in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). This strategic move aims to strengthen the company's foothold in the Middle East and African markets, with a particular focus on expanding its offerings in trade finance, invoice discounting, and project finance, the company said. "The establishment of the Dubai-based subsidiary is part of the company's ongoing efforts to diversify its services and expand its presence beyond the Indian market. By entering the Middle East and African regions, the company aims to tap into the growing demand for trade finance solutions, which are essential for businesses seeking to enhance cash flow, optimize working capital, and mitigate risks in international trade," the company stated in its regulatory filing. Meanwhile, the company also informed that the subsidiary's establishment is subject to approval by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). "The expansion into these high-potential regions is expected to enable SCML to offer more comprehensive and innovative financial solutions to clients engaged in cross-border trade," the company added. According to the company, the Dubai subsidiary will offer a range of financial services aimed at supporting international trade. These include trade finance solutions to facilitate cross-border transactions and mitigate risks, invoice discounting services to help businesses access working capital quickly and efficiently, and tailored financial products designed to meet the specific needs of importers, exporters, and other enterprises engaged in global trade. About the Company Standard Capital Markets is a financial services company in India, providing a wide range of services in investment banking, securities trading, wealth management, and corporate finance. he company's shares have been on a downward trend since February 2024, losing 82% of their value. From their record high of 3.52 apiece, they are down 85% Indias real estate boom has fuelled record sales and soaring margins for DLF, the countrys largest property developer after Macrotech Developers. Now, the company is setting its sights on an ambitious goalzero debt, luxury market dominance, and 1 trillion in new bookings over the next five years. Driving this vision is a potent mix of strong residential monetization, a growing annuity business, and aggressive land acquisitions. DLF plans to double its rental income to 10,000 crore by FY30 while boosting dividends to 50% of net profit. Read this | DLF sees room for growth, but is it too early to be optimistic? However, with real estate demand showing signs of softening and a heavy reliance on the NCR region, can DLF sustain its winning streak? Record sales, but a slowdown looms DLF has thrived on the post-pandemic real estate surge, consistently outperforming its targets. In 9MFY25, the company posted its highest-ever new sales bookings of 19,187 crore, marking a 44% YoY growthwell above its 17,000 crore guidance for FY25. The growth was primarily driven by launches in the luxury and super-luxury segments, with a gross development value (GDV) of 40,600 crore. Notably, strong demand for the premium Dahlias project, which contributed 11,800 crore in Q3FY25, further propelled sales. However, this breakneck pace is slowing. DLF has projected flat pre-sales for FY26, citing a slowdown in new launches across Delhi NCR and Mumbaiwhere it has recently expanded. That said, the company remains well-positioned for long-term growth, backed by a robust project pipeline worth 1.14 trillion from FY25 onward. This includes 40,600 crore in projects already launched by Q3FY25 and an additional 73,900 crore planned in the coming years. Moreover, DLF expects to roll out projects with a GDV of 20,000 crore in FY26, reinforcing its pipeline for sustained expansion. Higher prices, bigger margins Sustained demand and a strong launch pipeline have driven consistent value appreciation across DLF's premium portfolio, reinforcing its position in the luxury real estate market. According to Nuvama, property prices in DLF projects have appreciated at an annual rate of 12-14% over the past decade, with super-luxury properties seeing even stronger gains of 17-18%. This steady price appreciation, coupled with robust salesnew sales bookings grew at a CAGR of 58% from FY21 to 9MFY25has significantly boosted DLFs profitability. Embedded margins expanded at a staggering CAGR of 77% to 11,500 crore, while net profit surged at a 40% CAGR to 1,702 crore in 9MFY25, up from 443 crore in FY21. DLF's residual gross marginsprofits from pre-sold properties yet to be recognizedmore than doubled from 9,370 crore in FY20 to 20,145 crore by Q3FY25. These earnings will be realized gradually as projects progress. Additionally, DLF holds a substantial level of unsold inventory with a gross margin of 17,000 crore. Its upcoming project pipeline is expected to generate 30,000 crore in gross margin, bringing the total margin potential to 67,000 crore over the medium term. Read this | DLFs second going: Can the real estate giant succeed beyond its comfort zone? Looking ahead, DLF aims to maintain a 45% gross margin while stable new sales bookings are expected to drive a twofold increase in future profits and cash flows. Strong cash flows enable expansion DLF has successfully converted its strong sales and margins into robust operating cash flows, which surged ninefold from 406 crore in FY21 to 3,863 crore in 9MFY25. Steady cash generation has enabled the company to reinvest in land acquisitiona key priority for sustaining future launches. Land-related capex climbed to 1,508 crore in 9MFY25, up from 202 crore in FY21, and stood at 2,248 crore in FY24. By securing a steady pipeline of projects, DLF is positioning itself for long-term growth and earnings visibility over the next two decades. A strong pipeline of upcoming launches and unsold inventory further reinforces its ability to generate sustained cash flows. According to Nuvama, DLF is set to generate 10,000 crore in operating cash flow from sales already made (post-construction costs) and 24,000 crore from unsold inventory. Planned launches are expected to contribute an additional 24,000-26,000 crore. This would result in a surplus of 41,000 crore after accounting for capex, overheads, and taxes. Combined with its 9,000 crore cash reserves as of Q3FY25, DLFs total cash surplus is projected to reach 50,000 crore over the medium term. Steady annuity growth DLF's annuity businessspanning office, retail, hospitality, and asset managementoperates under the Development Company (Devco) and DLF Cyber City Developers (DCCDL) brands. Read this | Voltas rides the summer wave. But is the stock still a cool bet? The company currently manages an operational rental portfolio of 39 million square feet (msf) in office spaces, with 36 msf under DCCDL and the rest under Devco. Its retail segment spans 4.3 msf, boasting an impressive 98% occupancy rate. Looking ahead, DLF plans to expand its annuity portfolio to 73 msf, including 60 msf of office and 13 msf of retail properties. To support this growth, it has committed 20,000 crore in incremental capex for developing 29 msf. Even after this expansion, the company retains 62 msf of development potential, ensuring sustained long-term growth. While DLFs annuity business grows at a steadier pace than its real estate segment, it provides diversification and a stable income stream. Annuity income has risen at an 8% CAGR, from 5,102 crore in FY21 to 6,996 crore in FY24, reaching 5,655 crore in 9MFY25. DLFs annuity revenue includes 4,633 crore from rental income, which it expects to double from 5,000 crore in FY25E to 10,000 crore by FY30E. Meanwhile, net profit has grown at a 21% CAGR over the past four years, reaching 1,866 crore in FY24 and 2,053 crore in 9MFY25. This strong profitability has fuelled robust cash flows, which grew at an 18% CAGR to 3,080 crore in FY24 and 2,704 crore in 9MFY25. With sustained operating cash flows, DLFs annuity business has also reduced leverage, bringing its net debt-to-Ebitda ratio down from 5.2 in FY21 to 3.6 in Q3FY25. Strengthening the balance sheet DLFs strong performance across its residential and annuity businesses has led to steady growth in revenue, Ebitda, and profitability over the past four years. Despite a modest 5.6% CAGR in revenue, which reached 12,856 crore in FY24, group profit surged at a robust 24% CAGR to 3,320 crore from 1,390 crore in FY21. Meanwhile, Ebitda grew at a steady 7.4% CAGR to 7,133 crore over the same period. This financial momentum has translated into a growing cash surplus, which tripled from 1,855 crore in FY21 to 5,744 crore in FY24 and further increased to 6,567 crore in 9MFY25. As of 9MFY25, DLF holds a net cash surplus of 4,534 crore, marking a sharp turnaround from its net debt of 4,885 crore in FY21. Beyond reinvesting in land, DLF has strategically used its surplus cash to reduce group-level debt, which declined from 24,028 crore in FY21 to 14,679 crore in 9MFY25. Gross debt also fell to 4,435 crore, down from 6,511 crore in FY21. This has improved its net debt-to-Ebitda ratio, from 4.5x in FY21 to an estimated 2-2.5x in FY25, reinforcing its balance sheet strength. Building on this momentum, the company aims to achieve net debt-zero status at the group level by FY30, supported by rising operating cash flows. Read this | UltraTech cements its leadand looks to build on it Alongside debt reduction, DLF has maintained a strong dividend track record, paying dividends for 17 consecutive years. Between FY21 and FY24, it increased its payout 2.5 times to 1,238 crore in FY24, driven by higher profitability. Looking ahead, DLF plans to move toward a payout ratio of 50% of net profit, reinforcing its commitment to shareholder returns. Key risks Despite its strong fundamentals, DLF faces key risks. Its heavy reliance on the NCR region, where 60% of its land bank is concentrated, poses a geographic concentration risk. Additionally, the long gestation period for monetizing its land bankoften exceeding two decadeslimits flexibility. DLF also has a relatively limited presence in the affordable and mid-income housing segments, where demand is more resilient. Further, a slowdown in price appreciation due to declining real estate affordability and softer demand remains a concern. Elevated valuation DLF trades at an EV/Ebitda multiple of 60, a 30% premium to its five-year median multiple of 46. Relative to peers, it commands a 90% premium over Macrotech and a 60% premium over Godrej Properties. While this premium reflects its market dominance, annuity revenue, and improved fundamentals, valuations remain elevated. For more such analyses, read Profit Pulse. Kotak Securities suggests the current price already factors in a potential demand slowdown and has set a target of 1,020. About the Author: Madhvendra has been a passionate follower of the equity market for over seven years and a seasoned financial content writer. He loves reading and sharing his opinions about publicly listed Indian companies and macroeconomic trends. Disclosure: The writer does not hold the stocks discussed in this article. The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points, and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educative purposes only. The Indian stock market closed in negative territory on Friday, March 28, due to profit booking amid weak global cues. US President Donald Trump's tariff policies kept sentiment fragile. The Sensex closed 192 points, or 0.25 per cent, lower at 77,414.92, while the Nifty 50 settled 73 points, or 0.31 per cent, down at 23,519.35. The mid- and small-cap indices underperformed, as the BSE Midcap index fell 0.68 per cent and the Smallcap index declined 0.35 per cent. Due to the losses across segments, investors lost nearly 2 lakh crore in a day as the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly 413 lakh crore from about 415 lakh crore in the previous session. Also Read | Nifty 50, Sensex end final trade of FY25 lower amid trade tensions Stock market today: 10 key highlights Here are 10 key highlights of the Indian stock market today: 1. What weighed on the Indian stock market today? Indian stock market slipped on profit booking, tracking weak global cues. Major Asian and European indices suffered significant losses as Trump's aggressive tariffs raised fears of a deeper and global trade war. IT and automobile majors, including Infosys, Mahindra and Mahindra, TCS, HCL Tech and Maruti, ended as the top drags on the Sensex index. "Asian markets are experiencing a new consolidation phase as the latest US tariff measures are expected to impact major manufacturing economies significantly. Additionally, a rise in Japan's CPI has contributed to the prevailing weakness," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited. "The markets upward momentum has stalled as investors evaluate the implications of these tariffs on the auto, ancillary, pharma and others sectors," Nair said. 2. Top 3 Nifty 50 gainers today Shares of Tata Consumer (up 2.91 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 2.13 per cent) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (up 1.88 per cent) ended as the top three gainers. 3. Top 3 Nifty 50 losers today 31 stocks ended in the red in the index, out of which shares of IndusInd Bank (down 3.64 per cent), Wipro (down 3.56 per cent) and Shriram Finance (down 3.28 per cent) ended as the top losers in the index. 4. Sectoral indices today Nifty Media (down 2.29 per cent), IT (down 1.76 per cent), Realty (down 1.42 per cent) and Auto (down 1.03 per cent) ended with significant losses. Nifty Bank ended flat while the Financial Services rose 0.25 per cent. 5. Most active stocks in terms of volume According to NSE data, Vodafone Idea (81.77 crore shares), YES Bank (9.81 crore shares), and Reliance Power (8.5 crore shares) were the most active stocks in terms of volume. 6. Over 60 stocks hit 52-week highs Some 62 stocks, including SBI Cards and Payment Services, Navin Fluorine International, JK Cement, AAVAS Financiers, Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals and Shree Cement, hit their 52-week highs in intraday trade on BSE on Friday. 7. Over 400 stocks plumb 52-week lows In intraday trade on the BSE, 428 stocks, including Happiest Minds Technologies, Sona BLW Precision Forgings, and Indian Overseas Bank, hit fresh 52-week lows. Also Read | FPIs pour 32,000 crore into Indian stocks in 6 sessions as valuations correct 8. Five stocks rose over 15% on NSE Seven stocks - Sarthak Metals (up 20 per cent), Generic Engineering Construction (up 19.97 per cent), Dangee Dums (up 19.95 per cent), Vaishali Pharma (up 19.92 per cent), BSE (up 16.09 per cent), Rajshree Polypack (up 15.82 per cent) and DRC Systems India (up 15.45 per cent)- were the stocks that jumped over 15 per cent on the NSE. 9. Advance-decline ratio According to provisional data, 1,099 stocks advanced on the NSE on Friday, 1,807 declined, and 70 remained unchanged. 10. Nifty 50 outlook According to Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking, investors are awaiting fresh triggers for the next decisive move, while uncertainty surrounding tariff talks limits the upside. "We continue to favour banking and financial stocks while recommending a selective approach in other sectors," said Mishra. Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said 23,400 might act as immediate support. A fall below 23,400 could take the Nifty towards 23,200, where crucial support is placed. "If Nifty holds above 24,200, it may witness further upside. On the other hand, if the Nifty does not fall below 23,400, it might rise towards 23,600 and higher," said De. Read all market-related news here Read more stories by Nishant Kumar Here are three stocks to buy, as recommended by Raja Venkatraman of NeoTrader, for Friday, 28 March. Narayana Hrudayalaya Ltd: Buy above 1,680 and dips to 1,600 | Stop loss 1,570 | Target 1,880-2,025 Time Technoplast Ltd: Buy above 430 and dips to 400 | Stop loss 390 | Target 475-510 Garware Technical Fibres Ltd: Buy above 945 and dips near 890 | Stop loss 870 | Target 1,025-1,065 These three stocks from the mid- and small-cap space can be tracked for the next three months. Here's the detailed analysis for the three stocks recommended by Raja Venkatraman of NeoTrader Narayana Hrudayalaya: The hospital chain, now known as Narayana Health, is a prominent player in the Indian healthcare sector, specializing in affordable and high-quality medical services. The companys strategic expansion plans, including the addition of new facilities and the enhancement of existing ones, position it well for future growth. With a strong commitment to social responsibility and a patient-centric approach, Narayana Health continues to be a leader in the healthcare industry. Its robust financial performance and innovative strategies make it an attractive prospect for long-term investors. The trends in this counter have been quite interesting as the stock spent some time in consolidation from September 2024 to February 2025, highlighting a lack of clarity, but the bullish hopes were not giving up. This can be observed from the charts where the Ichimoku cloud has been arresting the small profit bookings that were emerging on a consistent basis. The lack of clarity persisted as no trend was emerging at the moment. The trends began to unfold as the lower end of the market began gaining a firmer footing to hold back the bearish bias. By the end of January, a more bullish resolve managed to push the prices higher, and the last few days clearly showed signs of some resolute new-found bullishness that can unfold. With the Relative Strength Index (RSI) holding consistently above the 60 level, the possibility of continued upward traction is very much on the cards. View Full Image The charts shows that the Ichimoku cloud has been arresting the small profit bookings. Overall, there has been some steady buying between the TS and KS bands, hinting at some continued upward traction in the next few months. Looking at the possibility of moving towards 2025 and any addition towards 1,600 levels can be considered as a dip buy opportunity. Any move beneath 1,570 should be treated as a negation of the upward journey. Time Technoplast: It is a leading manufacturer of polymer-based products, specializing in industrial packaging, lifestyle products, and composite cylinders. The company has consistently demonstrated strong financial performance, with steady revenue growth and improving profitability. In Q3 FY25, Time Technoplast reported a 14.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in revenue, reaching 720 crore. The net profit surged by 40.7% y-o-y, amounting to 49 crore. This growth was driven by strong demand across its product segments, particularly in industrial packaging and composite cylinders. View Full Image The renewed revival seen lately brought back the bullish interest in this counter once again. After being a multi-bagger in 2024, the stock witnessed some profit booking that dragged the prices lower quite swiftly, highlighting the constant profit booking kept a lid on the prices. Looking at the charts, we note that the fall that we witnessed brought the prices lower towards the cloud support region in February. As the market remained uncertain the prices spent time in consolidation. After the dips seen in the last few weeks, the renewed revival seen lately brought back the bullish interest in this counter once again. The sharp upside seen in the last few days clearly indicates that the buying interest emerging at lower levels can help the prices sustain the upward bounce. The RSI as seen on the higher timeframe charts is clearly highlighting that we can consider going long in this counter at current levels and look for some upward bounce in the next few days. Garware Technical Fibres: It is a leader in the technical textiles industry, specializing in innovative solutions for aquaculture, sports, and industrial applications. The company has consistently delivered strong financial performance, driven by its focus on research and development and its ability to cater to niche markets. In Q3 FY25, Garware Technical Fibres reported a 10% y-o-y growth in revenue, reaching 350.72 crore. The net profit for the quarter stood at 47.77 crore, reflecting a 15.96% y-o-y increase. The company maintained a healthy Ebitda margin of 24.05%, showcasing operational efficiency. Sequentially, the company demonstrated resilience, with stable performance across its product segments, particularly in technical textiles and aquaculture solutions. View Full Image This stock has found some positive traction post it quarterly numbers. Ever since the start of 2024, the stock has shown some tremendous revival from the pullback that it witnessed. In the last few weeks, the bullish momentum seen in this counter has once again reiterated that the trends have clearly stepped up the bullish participation. This stock has found some positive traction ahead of its quarterly numbers. With the Q4 numbers expected in the next few days, this counter can be tracked as the momentum is showing some steady resolve to move higher. In the last few months, we have observed that the prices are forming higher lows, indicating that the trends are very much in control, and the formation of long-body bullish candles is a signal that there is a steady demand emerging, and we can consider looking at this counter for the short term. With the volatile market scenario unfolding, one can look at buying at current levels and also on a decline towards 850 with a stop below 820 for a rise towards 1,025-1,065 within the next three months. Raja Venkatraman is co-founder, NeoTrader. His Sebi-registered research analyst registration no. is INH000016223. 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. Heres a quick look at stocks likely to be in focus in today's trade. Bharat Forge Bharat Forge (BFL) has secured a contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver 184 units of the 155mm/52-calibre advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS). Jio Financial Services The company has invested 85 crore in Jio Payments Bank by subscribing to 8.5 crore equity shares, aimed at supporting the bank's business operations. Following this investment, its stake in Jio Payments Bank will rise from 82.17% to 85.04%. Additionally, the company has purchased 1.73 crore equity shares of its subsidiary, Jio Finance, for 1,000.24 crore, with the funds intended to support Jio Finances business activities. Punjab and Sind Bank The bank successfully completed its Qualified Institutions Placement on March 27, raising 1,219.39 crore by issuing 31.77 crore equity shares to eligible institutional investors at a price of 38.37 per share. Ultratech Cement The cement giant has commissioned a 3.35 MTPA brownfield clinker capacity at its Maihar unit in Madhya Pradesh, with a second grinding mill set to be operational in Q1 FY26. Additionally, it has expanded its grinding unit in Dhule, Maharashtra, by 1.2 MTPA and established a 0.60 MTPA grinding unit in Durgapur, West Bengal. The company has also launched a new bulk terminal in Lucknow with a cement handling capacity of 1.8 MTPA. As a result, its total domestic grey cement production capacity has reached 183.36 MTPA, while its global capacity, including 5.4 MTPA from overseas operations, now stands at 188.76 MTPA. Jindal Steel & Power The steel company has been awarded the Saradhapur Jalatap East coal block as the successful bidder. It has officially signed the agreement for the block, which is partially explored and holds an estimated 3,257 million tonnes of geological resources. Bharat Electronics State-owned Bharat Electronics (BEL) has secured additional orders totaling 1,385 crore since its last announcement on March 12, 2025. Infosys The digital services and consulting firm announced its partnership with LKQ Europe, a leading distributor of automotive aftermarket parts in the region. It has supported LKQ Europe in implementing a unified, cloud-based digital platform to optimize HR processes across 18 countries. HCL Technologies The global technology firm has been chosen as a Design Solution Partner (DSP) within the Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem (SAFE) program. This strategic collaboration between HCLTech and Samsung aims to drive faster innovation and advancement in semiconductor development. Hindustan Aeronautics The company has amended the LCA Mk1 FOC contract, originally signed on December 23, 2010. Due to an updated delivery schedule, the contract value has been increased from 5,989.39 crore to 6,542.20 crore. Power Finance Corporation Kurnool III PS RE Transmission, a fully owned subsidiary of PFC Consulting, has been handed over to Power Grid Corporation of India, the winning bidder. Established to enhance the transmission system at Kurnool-III PS for integrating additional renewable energy projects, the entity will now be managed by Power Grid Corporation of India. PFC Consulting operates as a subsidiary of Power Finance Corporation. Also Read | Breakout stocks to buy or sell: Sumeet Bagadia recommends five shares to buy Zen Technologies Zen Technologies secured a 152 crore contract from the Ministry of Defence for an integrated air defense combat simulator. Force Motors The company has secured a contract to supply 2,978 vehicles to the Indian Defence Forces. Last weekend, I chaperoned my daughter and her friends to see Snow White. You can judge me later, but just bear with me for the next few hundred words. A scene soon after the interval elicited loud guffaws from my group. Sadly it had nothing to do with the script but all to do with a certain member of the audience. Just as Snow White accepted a poisoned apple from the evil queen in her old hag avatar, a child, around 5 or 6 exclaimed to her parents, But, didnt her Mumma-Papa not tell her not to accept things from strangers!" Here was a little child spouting words of wisdom, while a young adult in this stale-beyond-years fairytale failed to exhibit basic common sense and continued to do what she had been doing in umpteen retellings of this story. I waited and waited for some reimagination, some empowering moment when Snow White would break from traditiona twist in the tale, if you willbut to no avail. Once again, we had a comatose belle waiting for a true loves kiss. If I had a drinking game for the number of times fairytales have somehow featured this magical kiss of love to make everything better, I would be seriously drunk by now. The sole deviation in this film was Snow White marching into town, brimming with the magic of a good heart, and transforming hardened soldiers into vessels of regained humanity with mere mentions of their strawberry farms and generous feasts of the past. For most of us, while growing up, fairytales were a stepping stone into the magical world of stories, and it is only natural for us to want to pass on these tales which often spell comfortto our kids. But isnt it time that we demand better of them? Isnt it time that we get some respite from these stereotypes of good and eviland the protagonist waiting to be rescued? Why should a beast need to transform into a handsome prince for him to seem deserving of love? What is with this notion that a stepmother will be nothing but wicked? Also read: How to talk to kids about the Constitution At my sons first birthday celebration a few years ago, we handed out prints of his photo with the family members to them as a souvenir of our special weekend. Even today, after several years, I see some of them have that picture adorning their refrigerator among all their fridge magnet collection. A special sight in the days of ephemeral social media moments. In a world dominated by digital screens, theres something undeniably special about holding a printed photo in your hands. Its tangible, personal, and evokes a sense of nostalgia that a digital image often cannot. This desire for physical keepsakes has fuelled a resurgence in photo printing, but with a modern twist: portability. Gone are the days of bulky printers at home or professional studios. While my child delights in the instant gratification of an Instax camera, I find myself drawn to the flexibility of my HP Sprocket printersnapping photos with my smartphone, editing it to personalize my aesthetics, and then wirelessly printing photos on the go. The convenience of having a portable printer is unmatched. It all started with Polaroid In 1948, Edwin Land introduced the Polaroid cameraa marvel that gave birth to the concept of instant printing. For decades, Polaroid reigned supreme, allowing people to capture memories and see their photos develop right before their eyes. Instant camera wasnt just a technological breakthroughit became a cultural phenomenon. However, as digital cameras emerged in the late 1990s and then smartphones became ubiquitous after the turn of the millennium, instant printing and physical photo prints fell out of favourtill Gen Z discovered the joy of photo prints! This recent wave of popularity is not fueled by nostalgiaafter all, these are digital natives who have no experience with the film cameras of the past. According to a Global Growth Insights report, the global portable photo printers market was valued at $830.2 million in 2024 and is projected to reach $903.2 million. The appeal of photo printers The instant cameras of the past offered immediate gratification but were limited in terms of image quality and flexibility. Portable photo printers represent the culmination of these two worlds, combining the convenience of digital photography with the tangible appeal of physical prints. This resurgence of photo printing, despite the dominance of photo-sharing platforms, speaks volumes about our desire for tactile experiences. With a portable printer, theres no need to visit a studio or wait for an online order to arrive. You can print photos anywhere, anytime. Plus, most portable printers come with apps that allow you to edit photos, add filters, stickers, or text before printing. Its perfect for personalizing your prints as well as for adding context for journaling or scrapbooking. "My friend and I recently attended a music festival and we clicked dozens of pictures on our phones. On our way back, I handed her an instant print of one of our favourite moments at the festival with a caption and goofy stickers. It turned a fleeting moment into a keepsake," says Ankur Arora, a Delhi-based technology professional. The photos still on the pinboard above her desk," he adds. The appeal of portable photo printers goes beyond being able to capture a moment and print it instantly. For those who document their lives through journals or scrapbooks, these printers offer a quick way to add visuals to their entries. Printed photos can be used to create personalized wall collages, photo strings, or even DIY art pieces. And, of course, a photo print with a handwritten note can be a heartfelt gift, adding a personal touch to any occasion. Instant photo prints also serve as great party favours or keepsakes, making events more memorable. One often comes across Polaroid photos peeking through transparent smartphone covers of people as well. Arun Babu, who leads the Instax business at Fujifilm India, says smartphone printers cater to tech-savvy users who prefer digital flexibility but still enjoy physical prints. This segment includes content creators, scrapbookers, professionals who use prints for journaling or business, and those looking for a seamless way to turn their digital memories into tangible keepsakes," he explains; this contrasts with instant cameras which cater to Gen Z and millennials who appreciate retro aesthetics, creative expression, and social sharing as a medium of self-expression. Options on the table Globally, Canon (23.5%) and Fujifilm (19.8%) lead the market in portable photo printers, followed by Polaroid. But in India, Canon hasnt launched its Canon Ivy range of portable photo printers. And while my HP Sprocket printer has served me well through the years, unfortunately, HP pulled the plug on the category in India. View Full Image The Canon Ivy 2 is not available in India The market is dominated byand almost synonymous withInstax by Fujifilm, mostly owing to its brand recall with instant cameras. You can pick up the Instax Mini Link 3 ( 10,999) or the Instax Square Link printer ( 14,999). Fujifilms Arun concedes that instant photo printers are not as mainstream as instant cameras, but they are steadily gaining traction; Instax is expected to grow 50% this fiscal year amid the rising demand. Instax apart, theres the Kodak Mini 3 Retro ( 11,999) that offers impressive print quality. Mind you, Kodak photo printers are a product of Prinics Co., a Korean company that has licensed the Kodak brand to piggyback on the brand value. It has nothing to do with the Eastman Kodak Company, the 132 years old company with a legacy in photography and film. View Full Image The Kodak Mini 3 Retro (available in India) While Polaroid is not officially available in India, you can buy an imported unit of the delightful looking Polaroid Hi Print pocket photo printer ( 11,049). But its paper cartridges come at a steep price, mind you. There are also cheap thermal printers like the Seznik Mini ( 2,099) that you can pick if you just need cheaper monochrome prints. Bridging the gap between an instant camera and a portable photo printer is the Instax Wide Evo ( 19,999). These hybrid devices combine the functionality of an instant camera with the convenience of a smartphone printer. This fusion caters to users who desire the immediacy of instant photography with the flexibility of digital editing. While portable photo printers have numerous advantages, theyre not without challenges. The specialized photo paper required for these printers can be pricey, especially if you print photos frequently. And, of course, depending on the model, some printers may require frequent charging, which can be inconvenient during long trips. Plus, its an extra device to carry along when one is out and about. Moreover, while most portable printers produce decent quality prints, they may not match the sharpness and detail of professional studio prints. In a digital age, where photos often get lost in a sea of data, printed photos offer a sense of permanence. They remind us of the moments that matter, allowing us to relive them every time we flip through an album or glance at a photo on the wall. Theres something magical about holding a printed photoit transforms fleeting digital moments into lasting memories. The sound of the sea was musicrock music. Hum, roll, crash, cymbal, hum, roll. We were on the shore, just behind the surf, in complete darkness. When we started sand-walking, the moon had been a scythe in the sky, cutting the dark only a little. Now, the moon had set. The stars were out. I was walking blind. My marine biologist friend said to me: Close your eyes/ press them with your hands for two minutes/ when you open them again/ you will be able to see in the dark. In that dreamscape, it sounded like a magical spell. I raised my grubby handsbrined in sea saltto my suddenly tender eyes, carrying out the spell. Two minutes later, I could see. A little. There were two layers of waves in front of us, crashing majestically and noisily. Of all things to distinguish, they drew the eye the most. One was a higher line of waves, pushing out towards the beach with decisive force. The other was a smaller, gentler layerfrothy wedding cake tierswhich shattered into nothing on to the surf. Within the shades of black and grey, I realised the waves gave out a faint bio-luminescence, a touch of neon. And above them, I could pick out the Big Bear and the Orions belt in the sky. Were we seeing from the light from the neon-white foam of the sea, or the pinpricks from the sky? It was hard to be certain. I only knew that as I walked clumsily on the sand, thinking of camels that sailed through grit with not a foot out of place, that this was a special place. A special place where we awaited sea turtles. There are many things that live in the sea, but they dont always come to land. Unless they are sea turtles, who spend their lives at sea, making long, oceanic migrations, holding their breath under water, but still arriving at chosen spots on land, on dates chosen by them, to lay eggs. Of all sea turtles, Olive ridleys are considered the most abundant. This isnt a very high bar, though: ridleys, olive-coloured and weighing about 50kg, are threatened too. They have several nesting sites around the world, but they congregate in large numbers only at a few chosen places. At these sites, they arrive en-masse to nest in tens of thousands, in a spectacle known as the arribada (a Spanish word for arrival by sea"). Olive ridley turtles have major arribadas in Costa Rica, Mexico, parts of Central America and Indias east coast. Last year, India did not witness mass nesting at one of its nesting beaches in Rushikulya in Odisha. In February and March this year, however, the same beach received hundreds of thousands of Olive ridley turtles. There is also an ongoing second wave of nesting. Odisha has three mass nesting sites, all in varying conditions. Gahirmatha, near Bhitarkanika, adjoins the Dhamra port where the beach has been shrinking in size. Devi, adjoining the Paradip harbour and port, currently sees sporadic nesting and intensive offshore fishing. But Rushikulya, on the mouth of the eponymous river in southern Odisha, endures and continues to grow since its discovery in the early 1990s. We were in Rushikulya to see the turtles, to clear the beach of disturbances, and hopefully witness a nursery of joy. As our vision got better, the sea spray seemed to rise. The world grew mistier, its grey edges blurring. The sea continued to hum, roar and crash, as if that sound was making the world. My biologist friend would allow no light. So we stayed in that strange luminous darkness: Like sitting in the belly of a whale, watching the world through its open mouth. The beach below us was dotted with egg shards. The white shards too were a source of light in our newly hatched visions. But they meant destruction, not hatching. Though the beach was fenced by the authorities, some of the eggs had been eaten by predators. Others were disturbed by newer turtles coming to nest. This tongue of sand, lying at a river mouth, was prime real estate: In all of the world, here was one of the few places where hundreds of thousands of sea turtles came regularly, following invisible lines and maps. View Full Image Dead Olive ridleys at Devi in Odisha. (Photo by Adhith Swaminathan) This was also a place of mothers. It wasnt a place which I could fully grasp, because it was beyond the language of the human. As a woman, I cant explain why arribada beaches are important. I can only try to explain through the voice of the turtle, following her own radar and her own nautical journey, yet homing towards a nondescript beach, laying mostly in the night, and then leaving as silently as she came. Protecting the turtles The entire east coast of India also gets attention when thousands of the same turtles wash ashore, dead, in different coastal areas. It is unclear why they die. But we can guess: Possibly by getting caught in fishing nets. Sea turtles are adept at holding their breaths underwater, but when caught in a net, they get stressed and can drown. Deaths this year may have been due to trawling close to the coast. Many states have fisheries regulations that specify the usage of turtle excluder devices (TED) in trawl nets, also disallowing mechanised fishing vessels within five nautical miles from the shore. The deaths of the Olive ridley turtles might seem like a drop in an ocean of hundreds of thousands of other animals. But it shows us at least two things. One, live turtles are under threat from the actions of people, other than natural threats. Two, turtles have limited habitats that they have chosen for nesting. We can celebrate their arrival at single beaches, but it if we lose these beaches, the impacts on turtle populations will be devastating. It appears we are locked in battle with creatures who are over 6 million years oldroaming animals that ask only for a stretch of unhindered sand once a year; creatures that have chosen our coasts. But we too covet the gentle curves of natural bays. We want to dock in these bays too, and with ships, not flippers. There are many such examples beyond Odisha, like Nicobars Galathea, where a port will come up at the nesting spot of leatherbacks, the worlds largest sea turtles. And beaches themselves are mobile, liminal spacessuffering erosions, downstream pollution, accretions, or the shifting of river mouths. Building infrastructure on egg-laying beaches is a penultimate threat that turtles cannot bear. Ports and construction must avoid arribadas. Trawling cannot commence close to the coast in the breeding season. We also need to re-evaluate market economicssuch as a fair-trade value for seafood for primary harvesters, which will reduce over-harvesting pressure and help in adherence to no-fishing zones. For the viable eggs that remain in Rushikulya, light signifies freedom, a sort of choice. Some of the newly hatched turtles, small and defenceless, will move towards the light in April and May. This could be the light by waves, or by the stars, or the lights left on by people, staining the horizon-line, shining bright when you are born on a dark beach. The latter can leave hatchlings disoriented, turning them in opposite directions, never to reach the sea. Also read: Look at animal movement with more generosity That night, at the end of our walk, I looked up at the sky, at that extraordinary glitter of stars. The spell of vision still held. In that solitary, musical space, the stars seemed larger than usual. Some of the stars may have been dead. But what was arriving at this beach was alive. Heart beating-in-eggs alive. Waiting-for-the sea-alive. We just have to allow it. Neha Sinha is a conservation biologist and author of Wild and Wilful: Tales of 15 Iconic Indian Species. Views expressed are personal. By most definitions, Muslim food is often relegated to biryani, nihari , haleem and korma . Its what the vast majority of people know, given the significant Mughal influence on food. But scratch the surface and you will find a plethora of Muslim communities with their own foods that, more often than not, make an appearance during the month of Ramzan. The Bohra community, rooted in Gujarat, has its own specialities, such as pattice and smoked kheema samosas, as does the Konkani Muslim community with dishes featuring coconut and tamarind. For the Memons, however, there isnt one singular influence that defines their food. Its an amalgamation of tastes that have evolved owing to migration patterns that span centuries. During Ramzan, for the Memons, dishes such as lightly spiced mutton and chicken samosas make an appearance for iftar (sundown) and sehri (pre-dawn) meals. Theres dal gosht, a hearty one-pot dish of lentils (chana dal, masoor and toor), meat with tamarind as a souring agent. Drinks like gud ka sharbat or jaggery sherbet with a generous dose of basil seeds and fennel seeds, help to cool the body after a long day of fasting. Then, there are classics like hareesa, a milder version of haleem made with slow-cooked meat, bulgur wheat and sometimes barley. Sweet dishes include China Grass halwa or pudding, which is a wobbly creation of agar-agar and chopped nuts. This culinary history can be traced back to roughly 1432 AD when some 700 families residing in Sindh in present-day Pakistan migrated owing to religious and political upheaval in the region. These families eventually made their way to Gujarat in present-day India. Groups split and went in different directions, forming distinct subgroups. Some settled in the Kutch region, earning the moniker of Cutchi Memons, while others settled in Kathiawar, and came to be called Halari or Halai Memons. The dialect spoken by each is unique, a cross between the Sindhi, Kutchi and Gujarati languages. View Full Image Gud ka sharbat or jaggery sherbet. (Photo by Arzoo Dina) While there are hints of Gujarati influences in the food, with dishes like dahi vadas (lentil fritters soaked in sweetened yogurt with sweet and tangy chutneys) and muthiya or dhokrey (millet dumplings made with bajra and served in a thick stew), the cuisine of the Memons is deeply influenced by more than just one region. The food has been shaped by their semi-nomadic travels. Traditionally a Mercantile community, the Memons spread out from Gujarat, settling in port cities like Mumbai and Kochi, with a significant population in places like Bengaluru. Along the way, flavours overlapped. Now, you will find that Memon dishes are as diverse as they are unique. FLAVOURS ROOTED IN HISTORY Faiziya Soomar, who runs The Cutchi Memon Table in Mumbai, a catering and delivery kitchen, says a lot of Memon food involves slow cooking, using techniques like bhuna and dum. Meats are marinated well in advance for khichda, a popular dish of slow-cooked chunks of meat with lentils like chana and masoor dal. It comes together as a spicy, thick mixture which is then topped with fried onion or birista. The way Memon food differs is that it is not as heavy on spices. The focus instead is on extracting enough flavour by slow cooking the meats and marinating them for a day or two," she says. We also use ingredients like saffron, red masalas (more for the colour), and fried onions." Bengaluru-based Muneer Fazal, who runs his own catering business, M. Fazal Caterers, points out that some of his best-selling dishes during Ramzan include warqi samosas, which are labour-intensive, given that they require several layers of handmade puff pastry dough, stuffed with delicately spiced minced meat or chicken. The samosas Memons make are typically smaller in size and not as spicy," he says. Other hits he serves include boti kebabs, haleem, mawa samosas and Kutchi dum biryani featuring generous chunks of potatoes, as well as a dish called khajoori. These are small, diamond-shaped pieces of wheat and jaggery dough that are deep-fried and topped with a dusting of poppy or sesame seeds. According to Bengaluru-based food scholar and writer Zoya Naaz Rehman, one interesting aspect about Memon cuisine is that many dishes are one-pot meals. This might have to do with the fact that back in the day, the women engaged in work outside their homes, likely alongside the men," she says. Single-dish meals were a go-to, such as hareesa and whole raan simmered in mild spices. Women didnt have elaborate recipes, where they could spend time leisurely cooking an assortment of dishes. Instead, they leaned on slow-cooking and one-pot meals that allowed for a mixture of protein, fat and carbs for both nourishment and flavour," she says. Explaining some of the nuances of Cutchi Memon fare, Rehman says that warqi samosas are fried on low heat to allow the layers to fully bloom and they are blonder in colour than regular samosas. Similarly, one interesting characteristic of Memon food is the assimilation of ingredients like gum Arabic (in gond ke laddoo) and moringa (in tangy dal as well as dal gosht) over time, thanks to the travels of the community. While the foods of the Halai Memons dont differ vastly, some unique plates that you will find in their kitchens during Ramzan include fukni batate or spicy, tangy potatoes, chana batata and halisa, which is essentially hareesa. According to Mumbai-based Heena Yusuf Maklai, who runs a footwear design studio in Bandra, some favourites in the Halai Memon community include charcoal-smoked mutton or chicken samosas with dry roasted spices like cumin, cloves, nutmeg and peppercorns, baida roti (mutton or chicken filled paratha) and sweets like malpua. Mumbai-based Rafat Adil, who runs a home linen brand and is a Halai Memon, says bajra atta (pearl millet) kebabs blended with mutton kheema are another speciality, as well as fish pulao, which finds its origins in Veraval in Gujarat. While traditional dishes of the Memons are steeped in nostalgia, youd be hard pressed to find these recipes or dishes outside of homes. The fact is that younger generations prefer quick, fuss-free recipes and global flavours, such as an Arabic mandi (a rice and meat dish) to the khichda, or samosas made with ready-to-use pastry dough over the warqi samosas which are inherently heavier. According to Rehman, one should try to retain the essence of the dish without the time-consuming process or too many indulgent ingredients. Thats how the cuisine can continue to remain accessible." Mutton Khichda (Recipe courtesy: Faiziya Soomar, The Cutchi Memon Table) Serves 5-6 Ingredients 1kg mutton 160g chadela wheat or husked wheat 80g mixed dals (chana, masoor, moong, toor) Half cup curd Juice of 1 lime 1 cup ghee 2 onions, finely chopped 2 onions, fried golden brown and known as birista 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp red chilli powder (coarse) One-fourth tsp turmeric powder Salt to taste 1 large tomato, finely chopped 1 fistful each of mint and coriander leaves 1 tsp garam masala powder Method Marinate the mutton overnight in curd, 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste, salt and lime juice. Fry the chopped onions in ghee, until golden brown. Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste, mint leaves, tomato and dry masalas, and fry for 15 minutes. Add the mutton and fry for 25-30 minutes. Cook on slow heat for around 50 minutes, until the mutton is tender and remove the ghee from the top of the gravy and set aside. Pressure cook the dals and wheat separately, with a cup of water each, for 20 minutes on a slow flame. In a big vessel, pour the wheat and beat it into a coarse paste with a whisk, add the dals and mutton gravy, mix in salt and coriander and cook on slow flame, for the flavours to infuse. Serve the khichda in a bowl with birista, garnished with mint leaves and pour the ghee kept aside from the gravy over the top. Arzoo Dina is a Mumbai-based food and travel writer. If you are an Axis Bank credit card customer, you can reach out to the banks customer care quickly in case of any query or requirement. The bank offers various methods through which you can get your concerns resolved based on your preferences. Ways to contact Axis Bank credit card customer care 1. Customer care helpline a) Toll free number 1860-419-5555 1860-500-5555 1800-103-5577 b) For lost or stolen cards 022 6798 7700 Note: It is essential to take immediate action in the event of a lost or stolen credit card to avoid being held liable for unauthorised transactions. Also Read | 5 best credit cards for lounge access in March 2025 c) For agricultural and rural queries 1800 419 5577 Note: This helpline is dedicated only for the rural and agricultural sectors to address their concerns on urgent matters. d) For NRI customers Country Customer care number USA 1855 205 5577 Saudi Arabia 800 850 0000 UK 0808 178 5040 UAE 8000 3570 3218 Singapore 800 1206 355 Qatar 00 800 100 348 Canada 1855 436 0726 Bahrain 800 11 300 Australia 1800 153 861 Non-Toll-Free +91 40 67174100 2. Email support In case you prefer a written communication, you can reach out to the customer care via writing an email. It is important to note that while sending an email you must mention your account and other necessary details so that your concern can be taken care of on an urgent basis. Email address: customer.services@axisbank.com 3. Grievance redressal form If the response from the Axis Bank customer care is not satisfactory, you can take it to the nodal officer. To submit the grievance redressal form online, visit the official Axis Bank website and then fill up the form or you can download the form and send it to the designated address. Grievance Redressal Officer: Mr. Ashish Rajput Designation: Assistant Vice President Address: Axis Bank Ltd, NPC1, 5th Floor, Gigaplex, Plot No I.T.5, MIDC, Airoli Knowledge Park, Airoli, Navi Mumbai-400708 Contact No: 08061865200 Email: nodal.officer@axisbank.com Grievance Redressal Officer in other states Region Nodal officer name & address Contact number Orissa Mr. Ajit Kumar Tripathy Plot no.1, Ground Floor, Nandighosh Estates, Bapujinagar, Bhubaneswar 751009 0674-2598912 Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland & Tripura Mr. Munindra Nath Bharali Administrative Office, Chibber, House, 3rd Floor, Guwahati Assam 781 005 0361-2340029 Bihar and Jharkhand Dr. Abhay Kumar Deepak 1st Floor, Pataliputra Colony Main Road Opposite Sai Mandir Patna 800013 0612-2271222 Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Ghaziabad District of Uttar Pradesh S N. Bhattacharya Axis House, Plot No- 1-14, Tower T1, 5th Floor, Jaypee Greens Wish Town, Sector 128, Noida 201304 ( UP) 0120 6210005 Rajasthan Mr. Manoj Dikshit 1st Floor, Shanti Towers, Hawa Sadak, B-115, Civil Lines, Jaipur-302006 0141-4076752 Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Chandigarh Mr. Rakesh Langar 2nd Floor, SCO 369 & 370, Sector 34 A, Chandigarh 160022 0172-5037181 Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh (excluding Ghaziabad) Mr. Tuhin Sarkar 1st Floor, U P Co-Operative Bank Building, 2, M G Marg, Hazratganj, Lucknow 226001. 0522-4917202 Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Andaman Nicobar Islands Mr. G. Raghavan 82, 3rd Floor, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore, Chennai 600004 044-28285966 Karnataka Mr. S. Shankara No. 41, Sheshadri Road, Anand Rao Circle, Bangalore 560 009 080-23000410 Andhra Pradesh Mr. P. B. Kumar Abhinandan Towers, 6-3- 249/3, Road No 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500034 040-27540060 Kerala and Lakshadweep Mr. Sudheesh Menon 41/418, 5 Floor, Chicago Plaza, Rajaji Road, Ernakulam, Kochi 682 035 0484-4422089 Maharashtra and Goa Mr. Alok Srivastava Mumbai Circle Office, 2nd Floor, Corporate Park II, Behind Swastik Park, Sion Trombay Road, Chembur East, Mumbai -400071 022-45051296 Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu Mr. P Krishnamoorthy Shivalik Ishan, 3rd Floor, Near C. N. Vidyalaya, Ambavadi, Ahmedabad 380015 079 -40225140 Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Mr. D. B. Kiran 2nd Floor, The Infinity, Near Hotel Tulsi Exotica, M.P.Nagar, Zone II, Bhopal 462011 0755 4097920 Source: Paisabazaar Also Read | Credit card hack to get higher rewards on bulk payments In conclusion, credit cards can make you form a habit of overspending, hence, make sure that you do not spend it unnecessarily. In case you find an unauthorised transaction or any discrepancy in your credit card bill, make sure that you seek assistance from customer service as even a single missed EMI repayment will damage your credit score. If you are a travel aficionado and like to use credit cards, it is important to use it wisely and capitalise on reward points. Here we share some useful tips for cardholders to make the most of travel cards. Essentially, one should make note of seven key points. Credit cards: 7 key points to note I. Choose the right travel credit card: It is vital to note that not all credit cards provide the same benefits. Some provide airline miles while others give discounts on hotels or general travel rewards. So, you should opt for the card that suits you the most. Some of the commonly known travel credit cards are Axis Atlas Credit Card, HDFC Bank Club Black Credit Card, Emirates Skywards ICICI Bank Sapphiro Credit Card and MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Credit Card. II. Maximise rewards on everyday spending: To maximise the rewards, it is recommended to use the card often for everyday spending including dining and groceries, fuel purchases and online shopping. The more you use, the greater the rewards you tend to accumulate. III. Leverage sign-up bonuses: Some credit cards offer generous welcome bonuses in the form of vouchers or reward points. These must be leveraged to maximise the travel benefits. Also Read | 5 popular premium credit cards you can explore IV. Airline & hotel partnerships: Some credit cards are co-branded and offered in partnership with airline or hotel chains. These cards can be leveraged to maximise the rewards and claim discounts at specific merchants. Some examples of these cards are Marriott Bonvoy HDFC Credit Card, Emirates Skywards ICICI Bank Sapphiro Credit Card and MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Credit Card V. Enjoy complimentary lounge access: Although most credit cards offer limited access to airport lounges. However, frequent travellers are recommended to opt for the cards which are generous in providing access. The cap on access to lounges should be higher for travel aficionados. VI. Travel perks and insurance: There are some credit cards which provide additional travel perks such as waiver of forex conversion mark up fee, travel insurance and discount on hotel stays. To maximise benefits on travel, one should opt for cards which provide these benefits. VII. Redeem smartly for maximum value: Another key tip to maximise your travel experience is to redeem your points wisely. For instance, instead of claiming cashback, you can transfer the reward points to airline partners. Additionally, you can use the points for premium experiences such as business class upgrades, etc. In the last few weeks, some states have tweaked professional tax rules during budget presentations. The Assam government has announced the exemption of professional tax for those earning up to 15,000 for all the working people in the state. In contrast, the Karnataka government proposed amendments to professional tax rules, increasing it to 200 from 150 in February. Here's a look at how professional tax works. What is professional tax? Professional tax is levied on people engaged in any type of profession or business based on income. The state government collects this tax on employees and businessmen, including freelancers and professionals, who earn over a certain income level. It must be noted that not every state levies professional tax and makes rules accordingly. Hence, the tax rate is different in different states. However, Article 276 of the Consitution has provided a maximum cap of 2,500 to charge professional tax per person. States-wise professional tax range Andhra Pradesh: A professional tax of 150 is levied every month on income earners between 15,001 and 20,000. Those earning more than 20,000 will have to pay 200. Bihar: The state government charges professional tax in the range of 1,000 to 2,500 for those earning above 3 lakh. Chhattisgarh: A professional tax of 130 to 210 is levied on income above 1,00,000 annually. Gujarat: For monthly income above 12,000, a professional tax of 200 is levied. Jharkhand: The state levies professional tax in the range of 100 to 208 for individuals earning above 3 lakh a year. Karnataka: Professional tax of 200 is charged on monthly income above 25,000. Also Read | Will the new Income Tax Bill give govt access to your encrypted Whatsapp chats? Kerala: Professional tax is charged on half-yearly income above 12,000 in the range of 120 to 1,250. Madhya Pradesh: For monthly income above 18,750, professional tax is levied from 125 to 212. Assam: Professional tax is exempted up to 15,000 monthly income. Maharashtra: Professional tax is levied on monthly income above 7,500 in the range of 175 to 300. A tax exemption is provided to women earning up to 10,000. Manipur: For annual income above 50,000, professional tax is between 1,200 and 2,500. Meghalaya: A professional tax ranging from 16.5 to 208 is levied on monthly incomes of 4,166 and more. Also Read | Taxpayers can avail 25% lower additional tax benefit on filing updated ITRs Mizoram: Professional tax is levied on monthly income over 5,000, ranging from 75 to 208. Nagaland: For monthly income above 4,000, professional tax is charged from 35 to 208. Odisha: Individuals earning more than 1,60,000 will be required to pay professional tax between 125 and 300 every month. Puducherry: For a yearly salary above 1,00,000, a tax in the range of 250 to 1,250 is levied. Punjab: A professional tax of 200 is charged to individuals earning more than 20,833 every month. Sikkim: Tax is levied on monthly income above 20,000, ranging from 125 to 200. Tamil Nadu: On monthly income above 21,000, professional tax is levied between 100 and 1,095. Telangana: Professional tax of 150 is levied on those earning between 15,000 and 20,000, and 200 is charged on income above 20,000. Tripura: Individuals earning between 7,500 and 15,000 every month will have to pay a professional tax of 150. Those earning more than 15,000 will have to pay 208. The last Friday of Ramadan, known as Alvida Juma, is a celebrated occasion marking the approaching end of month long fasting that culminates into Eid ul-Fitr. Uttar Pradesh police has tightened security across the state in view of the auspicious Friday or Jumma prayers today. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abhishek Bharti noted that Quick Reaction Teams (QRT), Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and the Rapid Action Force (RAF), have been deployed in sensitive areas to maintain law and order. Also Read | Wear black band on Alvida Jummah to protest Waqf Bill: AIMPLB tells Muslims The entire city has been divided into sectors and zones in view of the Alvida prayers. QRT teams have been deployed in sensitive areas. PAC and RAF are also being stationed. Surveillance is being conducted using drones. Foot patrols are being carried out, ANI quoted the official as saying. Outlined the security measures, Joint Commissioner of Police Babloo Kumar said that monitoring will be done through CCTV cameras and drones. "Proper security and traffic arrangements have been made in Lucknow in view of Alvida Namaz.Proper traffic diversions have been made to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. Monitoring will be done through CCTV cameras and drones," the police official said. Emergency preparations for Alvida Jumma prayer From intensified foot patrolling in markets, crowded areas, and public places to deployment of bomb detection squads and sniffer dogs, UP police is prepared for emergency situation. Furthermore, Quick Response Teams (QRTs) has been deployed at strategic locations to handle emergencies while firefighting arrangements in commercial areas have also been made. Section 163 of BNSS imposed ahead of for Alvida Jumma prayer Gautam Buddha Nagar authorities also issue guidelines ahead of Friday prayer. Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) has been imposed which will be effective till March 31. Moreover, sensitive areas have been identified for security deployment. A list of anti-social elements has been prepared while meetings with peace committee members and religious leaders were held ensure their cooperation. Besides this, senior officials conducted flag marches with adequate police and PAC forces and were asked to visit all venues and involve the available CAPF. As many as 1000 police personnel and nine companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) have been deployed in Lucknow while 10 companies of the PAC and Rapid Response Force (RRF) are deployed in Sambhal. High security in Sambhal for Alvida Jumma prayer In one of the sensitive areas of UP, Sambhal, special guidelines were issued for Friday namaz. Sambhal Superintendent of Police (SP) Krishna Kumar Bishnoi informed PTI that clear instructions have been issued to ensure that namaz is offered only at designated Eidgahs and mosques, and not on roads. New Delhi: The Union cabinet on Friday approved a $2.7-billion ( 22,919 crore) outlay to incentivize local manufacturing of electronics components in India, setting goals for domestic and foreign entities to establish local component manufacturing facilities at subsidies of up to 50% of the project costs. Union information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a briefing post the cabinet approval that the six-year incentive plan sought to attract investments of $7 billion ( 59,350 crore), aimed at building products worth $53.5 billion ( 4.6 trillion). He added that the plan will include employment targets for every incentive type, cumulating in 91,600 jobs being created during its six-year window. The areas of focus include sub-assembling of display and camera modules, printed circuit boards, lithium-ion battery cells, and enclosures for mobile and electronics hardware. For all of these categories, applicants will be offered turnover targets, based on which an incentive layout will be determined. The rates will be finalized in line with the incentive layout in Indias semiconductor incentive schemes. The scheme is also looking to localize the making of components and capital goods that will be used in the manufacturing processes, for which the Centre will offer a capital expenditure-based incentive scheme. However, the incentive layout will be less than 50% of the expenditure from the company, a senior government official told Mint requesting anonymity. A $500-billion electronics economy Speaking at a media briefing shortly after the cabinet announcements, Vaishnaw said applicants will be subjected to a minimum investment criteria. We are also working on labour, customs and taxation-related reforms for electronics manufacturing to grow, he added. Within 10 years of manufacturing, we have reached 20% value addition. Now, we must target doubling this in the next five years by manufacturing both passive and active components. Active components will come through the semiconductor mission, and passive will come with the electronics components scheme, Vaishnaw said. India is also awaiting cabinet approval of its second semiconductor incentives scheme, which is expected to focus on setting-up semiconductor component manufacturing and advanced fabrication units in the country. Vaishnaw said India already manufactures $120 billion worth of electronics and that India was targeting a $500-billion electronics economy by 2030. High-value electronics Industry stakeholders welcomed the decision, hailing it as a positive one for both domestic companies and global investors. Josh Foulger, president of electronics at electronics manufacturing services firm Zetwerk, said the company is actively engaging with partners, and is open to collaborations to build a strong component ecosystem in India. The executive added that the scheme can help India focus on growth of high-value electronics, increased value addition, and opportunities for innovation and employment. This (the scheme) will enable much higher value addition in the country for electronics manufacturing, and will attract more investments in system productsas local availability will enable just-in-time manufacturing, said industry veteran Ajai Chowdhry, co-founder of HCL Technologies Ltd and chairman of Epic Foundation. Several areas of Nepal plunged into chaos after hundreds pro-monarchy protesters, carrying pictures of former king Gyanendra Shah and chanting slogans, clashed with police, attacked a TV station and torched a house. A curfew has been imposed in Tinkune, Sinamangal and Koteshwor areas of Kathmandu. They also clashed with police near Kathmandu airport, pelted stones at them and targeted a TV station along with the CPN (Unified Socialist) party office. Videos emerging from Nepal show protesters attempting to destroy CCTV cameras, demanding the restoration of the monarchy while accusing the Nepal government of corruption. To disperse the protesters, the Nepal Police used tear gas and water cannons who torched a house and tried to break security barricades. The police also fired blank rounds after the situation went uncontrollable in the Tinkune area where thousands of monarchists chanted slogans such as Raja aau desh bachau (May King come to save the Country), Down with corrupt government, and We want monarchy back, demanding the restoration of the monarchy in Nepal. One person was injured in the clash, an eye-witness said. Hundreds of riot police personnel were deployed in Kathmandu to avert a clash as pro and anti-monarchy supporters held separate demonstrations. Police detained several youths for violating restrictions as demonstrators attempted to march toward New Baneshwor, a restricted area. Pro-monarchy Rastriya Prajatantra Party and others joined the protest. In 2008, Nepals political parties abolished the 240-year-old monarchy through a parliamentary declaration, transforming the former Hindu kingdom into a secular, federal, democratic republic. The monarchists have been demanding the restoration of the monarchy since the former king appealed for support in his video message telecast on Democracy Day (February 19). Eid ul-Fitr 2025: Saudi Arabia would be celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr on Sunday, March 30, after the crescent was sighted on Saturday evening. Typicall, India celebrates Eid a day after Saudi Arabia. Hence, Eid-ul-Fitr is likely to be celebrated on Monday, March 31 in India. Eid ul-Fitr, also called the festival of breaking the fast, marks the end of Ramadan, during which devotees fast from dawn to dusk. It's time to find out the exact date of Eid ul-Fitr's global celebration. When is Eid ul-Fitr 2025? One of the holiest months in Islam, known as Ramadan, commenced in India on Sunday, March 2, this year, following the sighting of the crescent moon on March 1. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, the holy month commenced a day earlier on March 1. Eid-ul-Fitr moon sighting in India The date of Eid-ul-Fitr depends on when the moon is sighted in India. If the crescent is sighted on March 30, Muslims across India will mark the conclusion of Ramadan and celebrate Eid on Monday, March 31, 2025. Since the Hijri, or Islamic lunar calendar is followed as per custom, the official confirmation about Eid-ul-Fitr will only come after the crescent moon is sighted. In case moon is not sighted on March 30, then the festival will be celebrated on April 1. Typically, India celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr a day after Saudi Arabia. The crescent of Eid is usually first sighted in Saudi Arabia and some parts of India, along with some Western countries. When is Eid-ul-Fitr in US, UK, UAE, and other countries? The US, UK, France, and Germany follow local moon sighting announcements from Saudi Arabia. With the moon already being sighted in Saudi Arabia, Eid is likely to be celebrated in US, UK, France and Germany on Sunday, March 30. Eid ul-Fitr date in India and other neighbouring countries Other neighbouring countries, like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, follow dates similar to India's, in which Ramadan begins a day later than in the Middle East and Western countries. Henceforth, the moon sighting in India is expected on the evening of Sunday, March 30, 2025, corresponding to the 29th day of Ramadan, 1446 AH. Hence, the Eid ul-Fitr date is predicted to be March 31 in India. Eid-ul-Fitr preparations begin across the globe With the holy month of Ramadan nearing its end, Muslims in India, and beyond are gearing up for Eid-ul-Fitr festivities. Guwahati: People purchase vermicelli from a shop ahead of Eid ul-Fitr festival, during the holy month of Ramzan, at Fancy Bazaar, in Guwahati, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (PTI Photo)(PTI03_29_2025_000112A) Alvida Jumma prayers today Muslims worldwide took part in special congregational prayers at mosques on the occasion of Alvida Jumma. Friday afternoon prayer is considered special and is called Jumma Namaz. The prayers assume more significance during this month of fasting and so does the Friday prayer that falls in the last week of Ramadan. Jumma prayer at Jama Masjid in the national capital Delhi, took place around 1:30 PM following a sermon at 1:00 PM. Although the timing of Friday prayers varies from city to city, some mosques keep two congregations to allow larger gatherings to offer congregational prayers. Hence, the month-long fasting culminates into Eid festivities, which will be celebrated with vigour and enthusiasm across the world, depending on the moon sighting. Pakistan, Iran, Oman confirm Eid-ul-Fitr dates Till date, Pakistan, Iran, Oman have declared the Eid-ul-Fitr dates, stating that Eid would be observed on March 31, Monday. Earlier, Malaysia, Australia and Brunei had also confirmed that Eid-ul-Fitr would be celebrated on March 31. The countries made the announcements via a post on their respective X handles. Muslims worldwide are eagerly waiting for Eid-ul-Fitr, as Ramadan or Ramzan is in its final week. The festive occasion marks the conclusion of the month-long fast from dawn to dusk. When is India celebrating Eid? In India, this year's Ramadan began on Sunday, March 2, following the sighting of the new crescent moon on Saturday, March 1. In Saudi Arabia, Ramadan commenced a day earlier, on March 1. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a time when Muslims observe fasts known as roza. When is Eid 2025? In India, as Ramadan started on March 2, Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on either March 31 or April 1, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. The sighting of the moon signals the beginning of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid 2025 Date in Saudi Arabia Eid-ul-Fitr 2025 in Saudi Arabia will likely be celebrated on March 30, 2025, if the crescent moon is sighted on March 29. If the moon is not visible on that date, Eid will be celebrated on March 31, 2025. Why is moon sighting important in Ramzan? The sighting of the moon is important during Ramadan because it marks the beginning and end of the Islamic lunar months. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, starts with the sighting of the new crescent moon, and Eid-ul-Fitr, which celebrates the end of Ramadan, is also determined by the moon's appearance. The sighting of the crescent moon signals the beginning and end of the Islamic lunar months. Since the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle, each month is either 29 or 30 days long, depending on the moon's visibility. The sighting of the crescent moon signals the start of a new month in the Islamic calendar. What are two major types of Eid celebrated by Muslims? Eid-ul-Fitr: Eid-ul-Fitr marks the conclusion of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and spiritual reflection. It is a joyous occasion marked by celebration, gratitude, and generosity as Muslims give thanks to Allah for granting them the strength and resilience to observe their fasts. Kolkata: People throng a market ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival, in Kolkata, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (PTI Photo) (PTI03_25_2025_000429A) Eid-ul-Adha: Eid-ul-Adha commemorates the profound act of devotion by Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), who was willing to sacrifice his son Isma'il (Ishmael) in obedience to Allahs command. In recognition of Ibrahim's unwavering faith and submission, Allah provided a ram to sacrifice instead, symbolising truth and submission to the divine will. Significance of Ramadan or Ramzan Ramadan, or Ramzan, is a sacred month when Muslims deepen their worship through the increased recitation of the Quran, additional prayers (Tarawih), charity (Zakat), and acts of kindness. These practices are observed to draw closer to Allah and to seek spiritual rewards for good deeds. Here are five popular sweets you can enjoy during Eid: Baklava: A sweet pastry made of layers of filo dough, filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It's crispy, sticky, and delicious. Kunafa: A rich dessert made with shredded filo dough or semolina, soaked in sugar syrup, and often topped with cream or cheese. It's a favorite in many Middle Eastern countries. Ma'amoul: A traditional shortbread cookie filled with dates, figs, or nuts, often made in intricate patterns. Its especially popular during Eid in Arab countries. Gulab Jamun: Deep-fried dough balls soaked in sugar syrup, often flavored with cardamom or rose water. Its a popular sweet in South Asia. Basbousa: A semolina cake soaked in syrup, typically topped with almonds or coconut. Its soft, sweet, and satisfying. Importance of Jumma Blessings and Forgiveness: It is believed that on the last Friday of Ramadan, Allahs mercy is abundant, and He is especially inclined to forgive the sins of those who sincerely repent. Spiritual Reflection: The last Jumma provides an opportunity for reflection on the past month of fasting, prayer, and worship. It encourages individuals to renew their commitment to faith and spiritual growth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh on March 30 to inaugurate various initiatives and development projects worth 33,700 crore. During his visit to Maharashtra, PM Modi will travel to Nagpur. At around 9 am, he will take darshan at Smruti Mandir and pay homage to the founding fathers of the RSS. He will also visit Deekshabhoomi and pay homage to Dr B R Ambedkar. Also Read | Maha council admits breach of privilege notice against Kunal Kamra Later, at around 10 am, Modi will lay the foundation stone of Madhav Netralaya Premium Centre, a new extension building of Madhav Netralaya Eye Institute & Research Centre. The upcoming project of the institute will feature a 250-bed hospital, 14 outpatient departments (OPDs), and 14 modular operation theatres to provide affordable and world-class eye care services to the people. Modi will also address a public meeting. At around 12:30 pm, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the newly built 1,250 m long and 25 m wide airstrip for Unarmed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and the live munition and warhead testing facility to test the Loitering Munition and other guided munitions in Napur. Also Read | Nagpur journalist arrested from Telangana over anti-Shivaji Maharaj remarks Chhattisgarh visit Around 3.30 pm, the Prime Minister will travel to Bilaspur and lay the foundation stone for development projects related to power, oil and gas, rail, road, education and housing sectors worth over 33,700 crore. Modi will also lay the foundation stone of NTPCs Sipat Super Thermal Power Project Stage-III (1x800MW), located in Bilaspur district, worth over 9,790 crore. He will also dedicate to the nation three Power Transmission projects of POWERGRID under the Western Region Expansion Scheme (WRES) worth over 560 crore. Flagship educational initiatives The Prime Minister will dedicate two flagship educational initiatives at 1.30 pm: SHRI Schools across 29 districts in the state and Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) at Raipur. Under the PM Schools for Rising India scheme, 130 schools will be upgraded. These schools will help provide high-quality education through well-structured infrastructure, smart boards, modern laboratories, and libraries. VSK in Raipur will enable online monitoring and data analysis of various education-related government schemes. The Central government on Friday, March 28, notified the transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma, currently a Judge of the Delhi High Court, to the Allahabad High Court. The order comes amid the alleged discovery of huge wads of cash from his official residence in New Delhi. Justice Yashwant Varma has been directed to assume his position and take charge at his parent Allahabad High Court. For the time being, the Chief Justice of Allahabad HC has been asked not to assign any judicial work to Justice Yashwant Varma, when he assumes charge as a Judge of the high court. Earlier, the Supreme Court had recommended his transfer to Allahabad High Court. In its notification, the top court asserted that the recommendation to move Justice Yashwant Varma was separate from the in-house investigation which was initiated against him after recovery of cash at his residence on the night of Holi. The alleged cash discovery happened following a fire at Yashwant Varma's Lutyens' Delhi residence around 11.35 pm on March 14. According to a SC resolution on Monday, The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meetings held on March 20 and 24, 2025, has recommended the repatriation of Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, High Court of Delhi, to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. How did Yashwant Varma react In his response to Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice DK Upadhyay, Justice Varma unequivocally denied the allegations against him. He said neither he nor his family members ever placed cash in the storeroom and that the suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous. I state unequivocally that no cash was ever placed in that storeroom either by me or any of my family members and strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us. The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous, Justice Varma said. Kunal Kamra Controversy: Maharashtra Legislative Council has admitted a breach of privilege notice against comedian Kunal Kamra him for allegedly insulting deputy chief minister Elnath Shinde, who heads a Shiv Sena faction. Council chairperson Ram Shinde told news agency PTI that he has accepted the notice against Kamra over the 'traitor' jibe at Shinde and forwarded it to the Privileges Committee. Breach of privilege refers to instances when any person disregards or undermines the rights and immunities enjoyed by members of parliament or legislature. Admitting the notice would mean Kamra may have to appear before the council. The Maharashtra Legislative Council or Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra. The lowe house is called Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Twice summoned by the Mumbai police, the 36-year-old stand-up comic, whose caustic comments on Shinde during his latest show in the metropolis, have landed him in trouble and triggered a huge row. State tourism minister and Shiv Sena leader Shambhuraj Desai, while talking to reporters, demanded Kamras immediate arrest, warning that the patience of party workers should not be tested. We have been asked by Shinde to observe restraint, that is why we are quiet. As Shiv Sena workers, we know how to drag him out from wherever he is hiding, but as ministers, we have some restrictions, Desai said. What is the Kunal Kamra Controversy? The Naya Bharat show by Kunal Kamra stirred a political row for its cheeky gaddar (traitor) jab at Eknath Shinde. The workers of Shiv Sena (Shinde), the faction of the party that deputy CM heads, allegedly ransacked the Habitat studio at the UniContinental hotel in Mumbai's Khar and demanded police action against Kunal Kamra. Kamra, without naming Shinde in the 45-minute show, indirectly references Shinde's 2022 rebellion against the then Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's leadership, along with several MLAs, by moving to Assam's Guwahati and distancing himself from the partythe united Shiv Sena. Do not test our patience. Nab him from wherever he is, put him in a tyre and give him prasad, Desai told police. Prasad which literally means an offering made to God is also used as a euphemism for punishment. In New Delhi, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw justified the summons issued to the stand-up comedian over his controversial comments. "If the law of the land requires it, it should be done," the Information and Broadcasting Minister said when asked if summoning of Kamra by the police was "too extreme" an action. Studio Ghibli-style images have been the talk of the town ever since ChatGPT got its new native image generation capabilities. After Elon Musk, and other eminent names, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now joined the bandwagon of Studio Ghibli-inspired art. The Union government on Friday shared a series of AI-generated images reimagining key moments from PM Modi's tenure in the distinctive Japanese animation style. PM Modi not the main character in Ghibli storyline From PM Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump, to French President Emmanuel Macron's visit, the 12 Ghibli-style images feature key moments from PM Modi's tenure. Yet, Narendra Modi is not the main character of his story. Main character? No. He's the whole storyline. Experience New India in Studio Ghibli strokes, My Gov India posted on its X handle. The artwork reimagines key moments from Modi's political career, transforming them into whimsical, pastel-hued frames that draw inspiration from the style of legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki's films. Elon Musk joins Ghibli trend It is not just PM Modi who has joined the viral Studio Ghibli trend. Earlier, Elon Musk had posted an AI generated, Ghibli styled image of himself, proudly holding DOGE. The Tesla boss's theme of the day was a reference to the iconic scene from The Lion King movie, where Simba, the main character is shown to the world in a similar manner. Born as the future king of Pride Rock, Simba was anointed and presented to the animals of the Pride Lands. How to make Ghibli style images Elon Musk's Grok AI (based on Grok 3) is currently able to generate Ghibli style images for free, although not with the accuracy of ChatGPT. What is the viral Studio Ghibli trend OpenAI made waves on Wednesday with the launch of its native image creation feature. Since then, social media has been flooded with Ghibli style images, after users discovered that the new tool is highly adept at mimicking various art styles. Many have used it to transform their images into Studio Ghibli-style artworks, allowing them to step into the world of the iconic Japanese animation studio. What is Studio Ghibli? Who is the founder? Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation film studio founded in 1985 by Miyazaki Hayao, Takahata Isao, and Suzuki Toshio. The studio is renowned for its high-quality filmmaking, featuring hand-drawn animation and compelling storytelling. Some of Studio Ghibli's most iconic animated films include My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Princess Mononoke. The Trump administration on Friday (March 29) asked the US Supreme Court for permission to resume deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under a rarely used 18th-century wartime law, while a legal battle over the policy continues. Supreme Court appeal after lower court rejection The administrations emergency appeal follows a 2-1 decision by a panel of appellate judges in Washington, which upheld a lower court's temporary order blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. The federal appeals court ruled against the administrations request to lift the block while the case is litigated. In court filings, the Justice Department argued that federal courts should not interfere in diplomatic matters, contending that the migrants should challenge their deportation in a federal court in Texas, where they are being detained. Deportations justified under wartime law The order blocking deportations was initially issued by US District Judge James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the Washington, D.C. federal court. President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a law last used during World War II, to justify the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants. The administration classified them as a threat under a presidential proclamation that labeled the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force. The Supreme Court has yet to indicate whether it will take up the case. Alleged Salvadoran gang MS-13 leader arrested in Virginia US authorities arrested an alleged leader of the Salvadoran gang MS-13 in Virginia, the Trump administration announced on Thursday (March 28), calling it a significant step in its crackdown on organised crime. MS-13 leader detained on firearm charges The suspect, identified as Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, 24, was charged with being an undocumented alien in possession of a firearm, according to court records. Trump described Santos as a major leader of MS-13, the violent transnational gang that his administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. "This morning, one of the top leaders of MS-13 was apprehended," said Attorney General Pam Bondi at a news conference. "He was the leader for the East Coast, one of the top three in the entire country, right here in Virginia, living half an hour outside of Washington, D.C." Legal proceedings and custody status Santos made his first appearance in federal court on Wednesday (March 27), where he appeared without an attorney. The court appointed a lawyer to represent him, and a Spanish interpreter was present. A judge ordered him to remain in custody until his next hearing on April 1, according to the court docket. White House calls suspect a violent individual White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Santos was a very violent individual and was arrested in a home where five children were present. Attorney General Bondi emphasised that Santos, who is originally from El Salvador, was in the United States illegally and vowed that he will not be living in our country much longer. The arrest marks the latest effort in the Trump administrations ongoing crackdown on MS-13 and other transnational criminal organizations. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz mentioned sensitive intelligence provided by Israel in a leaked Signal group chat used by senior Trump administration officials to coordinate US airstrikes against Houthi militants in Yemen, NBC News reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. According to the report, Israel had supplied intelligence on a Houthi militant targeted in the US airstrike. After the first round of air raids on March 15, Waltz reportedly messaged in the group chat about the successful strike on a high-ranking Houthi official. Top missile guy targeted in US airstrike Waltzs message, as seen in the leaked chat, reportedly read: The first targettheir top missile guywe had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriends building and it is now collapsed. The message indicated that the US had positively identified the Houthi militant before launching the strike, which reportedly led to the destruction of the building he had entered. Concerns over sensitive intelligence on Signal The Trump administration has maintained that no classified information or intelligence sources were disclosed in the leaked chat. However, the revelation that Israel provided intelligence about the intended target has raised concerns about whether the discussion on a commercially available messaging app may have exposed sensitive information from a key US ally. Israeli intelligence influenced US military strikes According to a military official and two sources cited by the news outlet, Israel had shared intelligence in recent months that contributed to the decision to carry out the airstrikes. This information was reportedly passed along to the Biden administration as well. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that Israel had supplied intelligence about the Houthi militant who was targeted. Potential risks of the leak While officials have downplayed the risk of classified information being compromised, the leak underscores broader concerns about the security of sensitive military communications on private messaging platforms. The exposure of Israeli-supplied intelligence in an unsecured chat could strain intelligence-sharing protocols between the US and its allies. Also Read | Elon Musk deletes post announcing $2 million giveaway to Wisconsin voters President Donald Trump on Friday announced an agreement with law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom to avoid a potential executive order restricting the work it can do with the federal government. The announcement came just hours after two other major firms, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block, sued Trump's administration over executive orders against them, escalating a clash between the Republican president and a large swath of the legal profession. Trump said Skadden will provide $100 million in free legal work approved by the administration and committed to merit-based hiring. Spokespeople for Skadden did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss struck a deal with the White House last week to rescind an executive order like those against WilmerHale and Jenner. The firm agreed to dedicate $40 million in free legal services to "mutually agreed" causes supported by the administration. Lawsuits from WilmerHale and Jenner & Block escalate tensions WilmerHale and Jenner in their lawsuits asked a court in Washington to block Trump's orders, which suspended security clearances for their lawyers and restricted the firms' access to government buildings, officials and federal contracting work. "The Presidents sweeping attack on WilmerHale (and other firms) is unprecedented and unconstitutional," WilmerHale's lawsuit said. Jenner's lawsuit said, "Every day the Order remains in effect, it causes Jenner escalating and irreparable harm to its reputation and finances." The firms said Trump's orders violate their rights under the U.S. Constitution and are meant to punish opposition to the president and his administration. Both WilmerHale and Jenner have ties to lawyers who were involved in a U.S. Justice Department probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which Trump has repeatedly called a "witch hunt." The White House in a statement on Friday said law firms had "weaponized the legal process to try to punish and jail their political opponents." Trump's executive orders are "lawful directives to ensure that the Presidents agenda is implemented and that law firms comply with the law," White House spokesman Harrison Fields said. WilmerHale in a statement called Trumps order against the firm a plainly unlawful attack on the bedrock principles of our nations legal system our clients right to counsel and the First Amendment. The lawsuits said Trump's deal with Paul Weiss highlighted the retaliatory nature of the administration's orders. Paul Weiss has defended its deal as consistent with the firm's principles, amid heavy criticism from some lawyers and law firms that it had caved to Trump. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell on March 12 temporarily blocked most of an earlier executive order Trump issued against Perkins Coie, finding Trump's actions were unconstitutional. Howell said the Republican president was fixated on Perkins Coie's work for his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Trump's orders against WilmerHale and Jenner & Block also focused on the 2016 race, citing WilmerHale's ties to former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian contacts with Trump's campaign. The executive order against Jenner & Block cited its past employment of Andrew Weissmann, a top federal prosecutor involved in Mueller's investigation. In addition to his orders targeting specific firms, Trump directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi late last week to probe any lawyers and law firms that sued the federal government over the past eight years. Trump said lawyers were helping to fuel fraud in the immigration system and had sought to undermine elections. WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie are among more than a dozen large firms representing clients in pending lawsuits against the administration. Jenner's cases include one seeking to protect transgender rights. WilmerHale represents a group of inspectors general who allege the administration illegally ousted them. The firm also played a key role in lawsuits against the prior Trump administration. Trump's executive orders sought to terminate federal contracts held by the law firms' clients if the firms had any role in them. Jenner's lawsuit said more than 40% of its revenue over the last five years comes from government contractors, subcontractors or affiliates. The firm said several of its clients were worried their work with Jenner could affect their relationship with the federal government. WilmerHale in its lawsuit said Trump's order "will inevitably cause extensive, lasting damage to WilmerHales current and future business prospects." Democratic Attorneys General and ABA raise concerns A group of 20 Democratic state attorneys general and the American Bar Association warned on Wednesday that Trump's efforts posed dangers to the legal profession and the courts. The attorneys general in a letter criticised what they called the chilling effect of Trumps executive orders targeting law firms and his calls to impeach federal judges. Also Read | Elon Musk deletes post announcing $2 million giveaway to Wisconsin voters Billionaire Elon Musk deleted a social media post on Friday (March 28) in which he announced plans to personally hand over $2 million to two Wisconsin voters ahead of the states high-stakes Supreme Court election. The move has sparked controversy, with critics arguing it may violate state election laws. Elon Musk originally posted on his platform, X, late Thursday night, claiming he would hold a rally in Wisconsin and give away $1 million each to two voters as a token of appreciation for participating in the election. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote, Musk wrote, calling the election super important. Attendance at the event was reportedly limited to those who had already cast their ballots, though Musk did not clarify how voter participation would be verified. Musk deleted the post approximately 12 hours later without explanation. Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for Musk's political action committee, declined to comment on the deletion. Wisconsin Law prohibits incentives for voting Musks announcement immediately raised legal concerns, as Wisconsin law explicitly prohibits offering anything of value in exchange for voting. A bipartisan coalition of government watchdog groups, former officeholders, and a Madison-based law firm called on state officials to investigate Musks offer. The payments appear to violate the state law against election bribery, the group wrote in a letter to Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern. Neither official has yet responded to requests for comment. Supreme Court race becomes national battleground The Wisconsin Supreme Court race has drawn national attention. The election will determine ideological control of the court, which could rule on issues such as abortion rights, redistricting, and voting laws ahead of the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential race. Conservative candidate Brad Schimel, endorsed by President Donald Trump, is facing off against liberal candidate Susan Crawford, backed by former President Barack Obama and sitting Democratic justices. Trump, who hosted a telephone town hall for Schimel on Thursday, emphasised the national stakes of the race. Its a very important race, Trump said. I know you feel its local, but its not. Its really much more than local. The whole country is watching. Crawfords campaign slammed Musks involvement. Wisconsinites dont want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman said. On Tuesday, voters should reject Musks lackey Brad Schimel. Musks previous payments to voters under scrutiny This is not Musks first financial involvement in Wisconsin elections. Earlier this week, his political action committee awarded $1 million to a voter in Green Bay for signing a petition targeting "activist judges." Musk also promised $100 to any Wisconsin voter who signed or shared the petition, further raising legal concerns about election bribery. Schimel, a former Wisconsin attorney general, expressed uncertainty about the legality of Musks efforts. Also Read | Elon Musk to step down from DOGE after $1 trillion deficit reduction Legal battle could end up in Wisconsin Supreme Court Any legal challenge to Musks payments could ultimately be decided by the very court whose composition is being contested. With the election just days away, Wisconsin officials have yet to announce whether they will investigate Musks financial incentives for voters. Vice President JD Vance reaffirmed the Trump administrations interest in Greenland during a visit to the US militarys Pituffik Space Base on Friday. Speaking to reporters, Vance argued that securing a stronger US position in Greenland is crucial for both American and Arctic security, while criticising Denmark for its handling of the territory. Diplomatic deal over military force Vance dismissed any notion that the US would use military action to gain control over Greenland, instead advocating for a diplomatic agreement. We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary, Vance said. We think this makes sense and because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think were going to be able to cut a deal Donald Trump-style to ensure the security of this territory but also the United States of America. US expects Greenland to move toward independence Vance suggested that the Trump administration anticipates Greenland will eventually become independent from Denmark, at which point the US would negotiate directly with Greenlandic leaders. What the president has said is that we need to have more of a position in Greenland. We need it, again, for the safety of the American people, he said. And what we think is going to happen is that the Greenlanders are going to choose, through self-determination, to become independent of Denmark, and then were going to have conversations with the people of Greenland from there. Vance criticises Denmarks handling of Greenland Vance accused Denmark of neglecting Greenland, arguing that Copenhagen has failed to invest in the territorys development and security. Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland, he said. You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful land mass filled with incredible people. That has to change. He further claimed that Denmark had relied too heavily on US military presence in the Arctic. What Denmarks security umbrella has meant is, effectively, theyve passed it all off to brave Americans and hope that we would pick up the tab, Vance said. Were simply saying to the people of Greenland, when the president says, Weve got to have Greenland, hes saying, This island is not safe. US sees no alternative to expanding presence The vice president framed US involvement in Greenland as a necessary step to counter global rivals, particularly China and Russia. What is the alternative? To give up the North Atlantic, to give up the Arctic to China, to Russia, and other regimes that dont have the best interest of the American people at heart? Vance asked. We have no other option. We need to take a significant position in Greenland to keep the people here safe, to keep our own country safe, too. Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, may return as the mediator between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan. Experts told the Independent that the Trump administration may once again turn to Khalilzad to engage with the Taliban; including discussions about reopening the US embassy in Kabul. That would be a major boost in terms of international recognition for the militant regime that has been globally condemned for its assault on womens rights, the report stated. Who is Zalmay Khalilzad? His life, career and education Khalilzad's life: He arrived in the United States as an immigrant teenager when the upheaval in Afghanistan started. He began his career at the US Department of State in 1986 Khalilzad's career: Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born diplomat, is the former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq. He was appointed the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation on September 21, 2018. Previously, Ambassador Khalilzad served as US Permanent Representative to the United Nations 2007-2009, Ambassador to Iraq 2005-2007, and Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005. He was also the special Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005 and the Special Presidential Envoy and Ambassador at large for Free Iraqis from 2002 to 2003. From 1985 to 1989 at the Department of State, Khalilzad served as Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, working on policy issues and advising on the Iran-Iraq war and the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Khalilzad's education/academia: As per the US government, Khalilzad received his bachelor's (1972) and master's (1974) degrees from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1980. From 1979 to 1986, Khalilzad was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. He was the Senior political scientist at RAND Corporation (1989-1991). Khalilzad, the author: Khalilzad is the author of more than 200 books, articles, studies, and reports. His work has been translated into many languages, including Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Turkish. He is married and has two sons. His memoir, The Envoy: From Kabul to the White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent World, was the most recent book. Khalilzad, the negotiator: Khalilzad was behind the talks that led to Americas military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The deal ended the USs longest war in Afghanistan. He had helped execute the Joe Biden administrations departure from Afghanistan as the Taliban returned to power in the country in August 2021 after waging a twenty-year insurgency. He was brought on board in September 2018 by the then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to lead negotiations with the Taliban and the Afghan Republic government led by Ashraf Ghani. Khalilzad has served as a negotiator with rulers of Afghanistan for more than four decades, including with the Soviets in 1989 when the Russians withdrew from Afghanistan, the Independent reported. He stepped down in October 2021 after serving as the US special envoy for Afghanistan for more than three years. Why is Zalmay Khalilzad making news? Khalilzad's latest involvement in the release of an American hostage in Afghanistan led to speculations that he may again become a negotiator between the US and the Taliban. Khalilzad appeared alongside George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta who the Taliban captured in December 2022 during a tourist visit to Afghanistan. According to the Independent, Glezmann was released in a deal with the Trump administration brokered by Qatari negotiators. But it was Khalilzad who travelled to Kabul, met with the Talibans foreign ministry officials and then accompanied the American back to the US. US citizen George Glezmann stands at Kabul airport, following his release from Afghan custody, with U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler, former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Qatari diplomats, before departing for Doha, Qatar, in Kabul, Afghanistan March 20, 2025. Khalilzad then took to X to confirm Glezmanns release, calling it a good day. Today is a good day. We succeeded in obtaining the release of an American citizen, Georg Glezmann, after two years in detention in Kabul, he said. The Taliban government agreed to free him as a goodwill gesture to @POTUS and the American people. George is on his way home to his family, Khalilzad wrote in the post from March 20. It added, @realDonaldTrump has made the freedom and homecoming of Americans held abroad a high priority. It is an honor to assist in this important effort. Meanwhile, David Loyn, author of The Long War, told the Independent, There are talks that Trump might want to send him to Kabul as a full-time envoy. Awards Khalilzad won 1. For his service in Afghanistan, Khalilzad was awarded the Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service in 2004. 2. Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service in Iraq, 2007. 3. Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1992. United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Friday, March 28, spoke with Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, thanking New Delhi for its assistance in addressing illegal immigration to the United States. Christopher Landau also asked the Indian government for cooperation on the illegal immigration issue. Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau spoke today with Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. They discussed ongoing efforts to reduce barriers to achieve a fair and balanced bilateral trade relationship, strengthen collaboration in defense and technology, and boost security and prosperity throughout the Indo-Pacific region, the statement from US Department of State read. It said, The Deputy Secretary also thanked the Foreign Secretary for Indias assistance addressing illegal immigration to the United States and asked the Government of India for continued cooperation on this issue. On Thursday, the Central government said it formally raised concerns with the United States over allegations of mistreatment of Indian nationals deported from the US in February 2025, particularly the reports on religious sensitivities and food preferences, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, March 27. In a statement, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh informed that it strongly objected to the reports that Sikh deportees were asked to remove their turbans while women and children were put in shackles while being deported to India. In its clarification, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stated no deportee from India was asked to remove religious head coverings and no woman or child detainee were restrained. A street vendor selling eggs in Madhya Pradeshs Damoh district was left in disbelief after receiving an income tax notice demanding transaction details for 50 crore. The notice was a result of identity theft, where fraudsters used his documents to run a company in Delhi without his knowledge, reported ETV Bharat. On March 20, 2025, Prince Suman, a resident of Pathariyas Ward 14, was stunned when he received an Income Tax notice under Section 133 (6) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Also Read | Will the new Income Tax Bill give govt access to your encrypted Whatsapp chats? The notice accused him of financial transactions worth 49.24 crore during FY 2022-23 and demanded detailed records, including ITR filings, bank statements, and purchase bills. For a humble vendor who sells eggs on a handcart, the figure was unimaginable. Completely unaware of the transactions, he and his family rushed to lawyers and government offices, trying to understand how such a massive amount was linked to his name. After consulting an income tax lawyer, Suman discovered that his PAN card and Aadhaar number had been misused by fraudsters to register a company called Prince Enterprise in Delhi on December 7, 2022. Using the fake firm, they obtained a GST number and conducted crores worth of fraudulent financial transactions before shutting it down. Though the firm no longer operates, Suman remains entangled in legal trouble, forced to prove his innocence. Tired of endless visits to government offices, Suman and his family have submitted complaints to multiple authorities, including the Pathariya police station, Superintendent of Police in Damoh, Cyber Cell, GST Officer, and Income Tax Officers in Damoh and Narsinghpur. They are pleading for a speedy investigation to clear his name and catch the fraudsters. Vice President JD Vance landed in Greenland on Friday, marking the first-ever visit by a sitting US vice president to the Arctic territory. His arrival comes amid growing controversy over the Trump administrations stated interest in acquiring Greenland, a Danish territory. Vance, traveling with second lady Usha Vance, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and national security adviser Michael Waltz, was greeted by US military personnel upon landing at Pituffik Space Base. Jokes about the cold, but serious talks on security Sitting down with servicemembers at the bases mess hall, Vance immediately commented on the harsh Arctic climate. "It's cold as s--- here! Nobody told me!" he joked, as weather reports showed temperatures in the subzero range. Despite the lighthearted moment, Vance emphasised the strategic importance of Greenland to US national security. "Were gonna get a briefing, of course, about what you guys do every day, and then were gonna talk just about, as youve heard, we have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration," he told troops. Trump reaffirms interest in acquiring Greenland Back in Washington, President Donald Trump doubled down on his administration's desire to bring Greenland under US control. "We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland. Its not a question of, 'Do you think we can do without it?' We cant," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The president has long argued that the territory is strategically vital due to its location in the Arctic and its potential for resource extraction. Vance criticises Denmark and Europe While speaking to reporters in Greenland, Vance took aim at Denmark and European leadership, accusing them of failing to secure the Arctic territory. "Europe and Denmark have not done their job in keeping Greenland safe," he said. "We need to have more of a position in Greenland." His comments are likely to further strain relations between the US, Denmark, and Greenlands local government, which has repeatedly rejected any notion of selling the island to Washington. March 28 was just another ordinary day in Myanmar and Thailandstreets bustling with life, markets swarming with shoppers, and businesses running as usual. But in an instant, everything changed when a powerful and first-in-a-century 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck, followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock, sending catastrophic tremors through Myanmar, Thailand, India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. Panic gripped cities and villages as buildings swayed, sending people into a frenzy as they ran for safety while the ground beneath shook. As the tremors passed, structures had crumbled to the ground, trapping dozens in the rubble, leaving as many as 144 dead in Myanmar and Thailand. Many sustained grave injuries. The Myanmar junta chief has sought help, coming from any country, any organisation as the country grapples with mass casualties. While the dust has settled and the government agencies focus on rehabilitation efforts, here are the top 10 points from the disaster today: A strong 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar on Friday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. The tremor hit 16 kilometres (10 miles) northwest of the city of Sagaing at a depth of 10 kilometres around 12:50 pm local time (0620 GMT), USGS said. Witnesses in Bangkok said people ran out onto the streets in panic and water splashed out of swimming pools. Watch videos: Earthquake today: What did witnesses say? A witness in the city told Reuters, "We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking. I saw a five-storey building collapse right in front of my eyes. Everyone in my town is out on the road, and no one dares to go back inside buildings." Witnesses in Yangon reported that many people fled buildings in the city, the largest in Myanmar. In Bangkok, witnesses described scenes of panic as people rushed out into the streets, with many hotel guests still in bathrobes and swimming costumes, Reuters reported. One office tower in downtown Bangkok swayed from side to side for at least two minutes, with doors and windows creaking loudly, according to witnesses. Hundreds of employees evacuated via emergency stairs, while some shocked workers froze in place. Loud shrieks could be heard as the building continued to move. Strong earthquake rocks Thai capital of Bangkok The U.S. Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ Center for Geosciences reported that a midday earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), with its epicenter located in neighboring Myanmar, according to preliminary findings, AFP reported. Moreover, tremors were also felt in China's southwest Yunnan province, according to Beijing's quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude. The greater Bangkok area, home to over 17 million people, includes many high-rise apartments. As the earthquake hit around 1:30 p.m., alarms sounded in buildings, prompting startled residents to evacuate through staircases in high-rise condominiums and hotels in the densely populated central area. People gathered in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the moments following the quake. An under-construction building in Thailand collapsed due to the strong tremors. "I heard it and I was sleeping in the house, I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building," Duangjai, a resident of popular tourist city Chiang Mai, told AFP after tremors were felt across northern and central Thailand, as reported by AFP. How common are earthquakes in Myanmar? Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS. A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination. The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states. Watch pictures here: Women and a child react after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said, which affected Bangkok as well with people pouring out of buildings following the tremors in the Thai capital, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang View of a collapsed building after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, earthquake monitoring services said, which affected Bangkok as well with people pouring out of buildings following the tremors in the Thai capital, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Cracks are seen on a road in Naypyidaw on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake in central Myanmar. A powerful earthquake rocked central Myanmar on March 28, buckling roads in capital Naypyidaw, damaging buildings and forcing people to flee into the streets in neighbouring Thailand. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP) Children walk near a damaged monastery compound after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo) An officer from the Myanmar Fire Services Department told Reuters: We have started the search and going around Yangon to check for casualties and damage. So far, we have no information yet. Russian President Vladimir Putin has escalated his rhetoric on the Ukraine war, calling for the removal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and vowing to "finish off" Ukrainian troops. His remarks, delivered on March 28 at an Arctic forum, come as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire. Putin calls for transitional administration in Ukraine Putin proposed the establishment of a "transitional administration" in Ukraine, suggesting that discussions take place under the United Nations oversight, with input from the US, Europe, and Moscows allies. What for? To organize a democratic presidential election that would result in the coming to power of a competent government that would have the confidence of the people, and then begin negotiations with these authorities on a peace agreement and sign legitimate documents, Putin said. The proposal reinforces Moscows long-standing goal of installing a pro-Russian government in Kyiv. Russia has questioned Zelenskys legitimacy since his official term ended in May 2024, though Ukrainian law prohibits elections during wartime. Putin urges Ukraines military to remove Zelensky In a direct appeal to Ukraines military leadership, Putin urged the generals to remove Zelensky, repeating baseless claims that the Ukrainian president is a neo-Nazi and a drug addict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov defended Putins remarks, accusing Zelensky of losing control over his military and the broader conflict. Finish them off Putins threat to Ukrainian Forces On the battlefield, Putin escalated his threats, signaling that Russias military offensive will continue. I was saying not so long ago: We will finish them off. There are reasons to believe that we will finish them off, Putin declared. Russias Defense Ministry announced fresh territorial gains, including the capture of a village in Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region and the retaking of a border settlement in Russias Kursk region. Putin rejects ceasefire, Ukraine accuses Russia of stalling Despite calls for peace, Putin dismissed a joint US-Ukrainian ceasefire proposal. Ukraine has accused Moscow of engaging in talks with Washington as a delay tactic to continue its military operations. Russia is trying to derail the path to peace by choosing to continue the war, said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Zelensky, following Russias latest overnight airstrikes. Moscow threatens to resume attacks on Ukraines Energy grid Russia has also threatened to resume attacks on Ukraines energy infrastructure, despite previously claiming a self-imposed moratorium on such strikes. If the Kyiv regime does not observe the moratorium, we reserve the right not to follow it either, Peskov warned. Ukraines air force has accused Russia of violating its commitment multiple times, reporting that Russia launched 163 drones in a single night, targeting key infrastructure. Moscow blames Europe for stalled peace efforts The Kremlin has shifted blame onto European nations, claiming they are blocking diplomatic progress. Peskov criticized the EUs refusal to lift sanctions on a Russian agricultural bank, arguing that it is hindering efforts to restore the Black Sea grain deal. If European countries dont want to go down this path, it means they dont want to go down the path of peace in unison with the efforts shown in Moscow and Washington, Peskov said. A course on Hinduism at the University of Houston has sparked massive uproar as an Indian-American student and activist accused it of promoting "Hinduphobic" views and "distorting Indias political landscape". In response, the university stated that it is "reviewing the concerns raised" by the student. The controversy is over the University of Houston's online course, Lived Hindu Religion, taught through weekly video lectures delivered by Professor Aaron Michael Ullrey. The complaint against the course was raised by Vasant Bhatt, a political science major at the University and a Hindu-American activist. Why contents of the course are controversial? Bhatt told India Today that Professor Ullrey distorted the concept of Hinduism, saying, It was not an ancient, lived tradition but a colonial construct. that Professor Ullrey distorted the concept of Hinduism, saying, It was not an ancient, lived tradition but a colonial construct. The professor also referred to Hinduism as a political tool weaponised by Hindu nationalists and a system of oppression against minorities, said Bhatt. The contents of the course state, "The word 'Hindu' is recent, not found in scriptures. Hindutva, or 'Hindu-ness', is a term that Hindu nationalists, those who believe Hinduism should be the official religion of India, use to designate their religion and denigrate others, namely Islam." Further, in his recorded lecture on Political Hinduism, Professor Ullrey described India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a Hindu fundamentalist. Hindu on Campus, a student-led platform for diaspora Hindus fighting Hinduphobia, said: "Political disagreements are welcomed, but fabricating extremism under the basis of Hindu identity is not". Bhatt said he wrote to the dean complaining about the course material. However, he said, "The department attempted to deflect from the core issue by questioning my process and discrediting my valid concern rather than investigating the substance of the complaint." Bhatt says the Lived Hindu Religion class reflected a broader issue in universities, spreading misinformation and fueling Hinduphobia in the US. What did the University say? The University of Houston (UH) in an official statement on Friday said, it values academic freedom, which includes allowing faculty to explore complex and sometimes challenging topics in their teaching. While UH does not typically review individual lectures, the university maintains oversight of the curriculum to ensure it meets established academic and pedagogical standards. The course is grounded in the academic discipline of religious studies, which uses specific terminology -- such as 'fundamentalism' --as analytical tools to understand religious movements across traditions, including those rooted in Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. The biggest bank in the Netherlands is being sued for not taking strong enough action to tackle climate change, it was told on Friday, as corporate environmental strategies increasingly become a hotbed for legal action. ING joins a list of companies and other organizations that have been sued for not doing enough to tackle climate change in Europe and the U.K. On the flip side, companies and charitable institutions in the U.S. have been sued for focusing too aggressively on commitments to combat climate change, with nonprofits facing costly pushback in the courts. The bank, which is being sued by Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie, has been one of the biggest players in the financing of commodities projects, including those related to fossil fuels. Milieudefensie says that as ING is one of the worlds largest banks, it bears responsibility for the impact its investments have on the climate. ING said that Milieudefensies claims were unrealistic and unreasonable," adding that it was confident in its climate approach. We share the concern about the climate but differ in opinion on what action that requires," it said in a statement. The suit follows a trial in the Netherlands last year that found oil giant Shell has a responsibility to combat climate change. That litigation was also brought by Milieudefensie, which is the Dutch wing of environmental group Friends of the Earth. Climate change is a direct threat to human rights, and the court has ruled that companies such as ING must take accountability for reducing their emissions," said Donald Pols, chief executive of Milieudefensie. ING must align its climate policies with the Paris Climate Agreement to do their part and help secure a sustainable future." For ING, a ruling isnt expected until next year, but if the case against the Dutch bank is successful it could open the doors to further legal action in Europe against fossil-fuel companies and the corporate actors that work with them, such as banks and asset managers. The legal action is in contrast to the situation in the U.S., where banks and asset managers have been sued for focusing too aggressively on commitments to combat climate change and environmental nonprofits have faced costly pushback in the courts. This month, the U.S. fossil-fuel industry secured a victory over environmental charity Greenpeace, which was ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to an oil pipeline company after a jury found the charity liable for defamation and trespassing. Greenpeace has said it will appeal the decision. In December, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said BlackRock and other asset managers were avoiding their fiduciary duty to shareholders by making climate-focused investments instead of investing in markets such as coal in their search for profitable returns. In the U.S. regulatory sphere, the Securities and Exchange Commission paused its defense of proposed climate-disclosure rules under which large companies would report on their emissions, similar to regulations adopted in Europe and California. The SEC faced lawsuits saying the proposed rules were arbitrary and capricious and violated the First Amendment. With lawsuits under way on both sides of the Atlantic, companies and charities that operate in both jurisdictions are being put in a bind. In the U.S., being sued for taking action on climate is becoming more likely, especially amid a Trump presidency. In Europe, litigation working in the opposite way is equally likely. For many companies, the answer at the moment appears to be to keep their heads below the parapet to avoid criticism, and possibly costly litigation. Global corporates and financial institutions have to really think hard about what theyre doing, how theyre doing it, and what theyre saying about it," said Ken Rivlin, global co-head environment, climate, and regulatory law at A&O Shearman, a legal firm which operates in both Europe and the U.S., referring to actions on climate and sustainability. Its something that is top of mind in the C-suite with almost all of our clients right now. And theres no easy answer right now." However, some companies and NGOs in the U.S. are trying to push back. In Texas, the American Sustainable Business Network is suing Attorney General Paxton and Glenn Hegar, comptroller of public accounts, over Texas Senate Bill 13, which bars state public entities from investing and contracting with companies on the basis of their actual or perceived political views regarding fossil fuels. The ASBN said this violated the first and 14th amendment rights to free speech and stopped investors from being able to choose where to put their money and how to spend it, including in renewable energy. I think most companies are going to do what makes sense for them financially," said David Levine, co-founder and president of ASBN. We have to be vocal about this political and legal threat and we should not be intimidated out of doing the right thing for our businesses and our economy." Greenpeace said the litigation it faced recently could set a precedent for further action. Every step of the way, weve emphasized that these types of lawsuits intended to silence and shut down criticsare part of a growing national attack on our First Amendment rights," the nonprofit said after the jury decision last week. The truth is, victory doesnt just mean defeating this specific lawsuit. It means that no other organization or individual has to defend themselves against this type of attack." How this plays out on either side of the Atlantic isnt clear-cut. The European Commissionthe executive arm of the European Unionrecently watered down its flagship climate accounting policies amid pushback from countries within the bloc and from companies that said the reporting requirements were too arduous and costly, putting them at a disadvantage to those in the U.S. and Asia. A trial last year in Switzerland may have set a precedent. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of a group of elderly Swiss women who argued that their government wasnt doing enough to fight climate change, putting them at risk of death from heat waves. In effect, it ruled that governments have a responsibility to protect citizens against the effects of climate change. You may see litigation as your best way of having an impact," A&O Shearmans Rivlin said. And even if you dont win the case, youre bringing press to it. I think a similar kind of approach is going to drive how attorneys approach things. Its just that depending on if its a red state or blue state, the approach is going to be different." Write to Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump held their first official call since Carney took office on March 9, discussing trade and security amid escalating tensions over impending US tariffs on Canadian goods. Carney described the conversation as cordial and substantive but made it clear that Canada would not back down in the face of new trade barriers imposed by Washington. Canada to impose countermeasures With the US set to impose new tariffs on Canadian autos, steel, and aluminum starting April 2, Carney announced that his government is ready to respond decisively. "I informed President Trump that my government will be implementing counter tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy following the announcement of new trade actions by the United States," Carney told reporters. While he pushed for Trump to reconsider the tariffs, said the US president gave no indication of backing down. New economic and security talks planned Despite the tariff dispute, both leaders agreed to launch negotiations on a broader economic and security framework. The call was very productive and very constructive, Carney said, emphasising that the talks were just beginning. Trump, speaking separately, expressed optimism, saying he believes things will work out very well between the two countries. Carney pushes for trade diversification Carney reiterated his commitment to reducing Canadas economic reliance on the US and expanding trade partnerships globally. If I win the election, I will set up a C$5 billion trade diversification fund to help the construction of ports, railroads, inland terminals, airports, and highways, he announced. Bangkok Earthquake: Hours after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar midday on Friday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed, several videos of the havoc are circulating on social media. According to a report by PTI, the midday temblor, with an epicentre near Myanmar's Mandalay, was followed by a strong 6.4-magnitude aftershock. Following the earthquake, the Myanmar's military-run government declared a state of emergency in six regions and states including the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay. The Red Cross stated, as PTI quoted, Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage, adding that information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered. Situation in Bangkok: When rubble from the collapsing building site hit his truck, a construction worker was killed in Bangkok, while the falling debris crushed another, said Songwut Wangpon, a rescue worker. Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said three people were killed at the site and 90 are missing. Wechayachai said that seven people had been rescued so far from outside the collapsed building. A dramatic video of the building's collapse near Bangkok's popular Chatuchak market circulated on social media. It showed the multi-story building with a crane on top toppling into a cloud of dust as onlookers screamed and ran. People who have evacuated from their buildings have been cautioned to stay outside in case there are more aftershocks. Here's how people reacted when buildings swayed: April Kanichawanakul, who works in an office building in Bangkok's city centre, said, I just thought I was dizzy. Along with her colleagues, she ran downstairs from the tenth floor of their building, Tonson Tower, and waited outside for a signal that it was safe to return. All of a sudden the whole building began to move. Immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic, said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland. I just started walking calmly at first, but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall, he added. Also Read | Indian Embassy in Bangkok issues emergency helpline number for citizens I got outside and then looked up at the building, and the whole building was moving, dust and debris; it was pretty intense, Morton said. Lots of chaos. A lawyer working in central Bangkok, Voranoot Thirawat, said she heard the building creaking as it moved back and forth from the shockwaves. She and her colleagues ran down 12 flights of stairs. In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok, she said. A tourist from England, Paul Vincent, mentioned he was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse, he said. On watching a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool, he said, When I saw the building, oh my God, that's when ... it hit me. There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really. Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday slammed Pakistan for incidents involving attacks on minorities and said that the country cannot change the "fanatical and bigoted mindset" of a neighbour. The minister told Parliament that even former Prime Minister and Congress leader Indira Gandhi couldn't succeed in changing Pakistan's mindset. Jaishankar, while speaking in the Lok Sabha on Friday, said New Delhi is tracking "very closely" the treatment of minorities in Pakistan and making its position well known. Replying to a supplementary query during the Question Hour, Jaishankar pointed to 10 incidents involving attacks on Hindus in Pakistan in February. Seven of these incidents related to abduction and forced conversion, two other cases related to abduction, and one in which there was "police action" against students celebrating Holi, the external affairs minister said. 'Atrocities against Sikhs in Pakistan' He informed the House that there were also three cases related to atrocities against members of the Sikh community. In one case, a Sikh family was attacked; in another case, a Sikh family was threatened for reopening an old Gurdwara, and yet another case involved the abduction and conversion of a girl from the Sikh community, the minister said. He added that two other cases involved members of the Ahmadiyya community and another case in which a Christian person of unstable mind was charged with blasphemy. Jaishankar said India takes up such cases at the international level also. '2,400 incidents of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh' "Like in Pakistan, we track the welfare and well-being of minorities in Bangladesh as well ... In 2024, we had 2,400 incidents relating to attacks on minorities and in 2025, 72 incidents ... I have taken it up with my counterpart there. The foreign secretary also took it up when he visited Bangladesh. This continues to be a matter of concern for our government," Jaishankar said, responding to another supplementary question. Responding to a query on whether India plans "tough action" on the lines of earlier prime minister Indira Gandhi's stance against Pakistan, Jaishankar said New Delhi is making its position "well known" but "we as a government and a country cannot change the fanatical and bigoted mindset of a neighbour." Even Indira Gandhi could not do it. "Even Indira Gandhi could not do it," he observed. Trumps tariff war looms: Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said India couldn't be uncertain as US President Donald Trump's tariff threat looms. He said the country must have alternative scenarios and a reactive policy. "What if they take one step forward? What is our response? What if they take two steps backwards? What is our response? Chidambaram asked in an interview with NDTV on Thursday. The Congress MP said that India's response need not be made public to the whole world, but at least there must be a statement in Parliament, or there must be a consultation with opposition parties. We are completely in the dark, Chidambaram said. In fact, my information is that most ministers are in the dark. Who is involved in making this reactive policy to America's uncertain policy? I don't know. Nobody seems to know, he added. Also Read | Richest US President in history! Donald Trump makes Hurun List top 500 debut His statement came as President Donald Trump promised to announce reciprocal tariffs on April 2, targeting countries with trade barriers on US products, which could include India and China. Reuters reported that India is considering tariff cuts on more than half of its US imports to mitigate the impact of reciprocal tariffs. 'I am afraid' Chidambaram said he's afraid that Trump is not going to group all the countries together and impose universal tariffs. He's giving a number for each country, what they have calculated, I'm told, calculated as the average weighted trade tariff. And he's going to pick out one by one and force them to surrender, Chidambaram said. He added, If he does that, and if he picks India, other countries will say, We have not been picked up. So unless you take action to forestall such picking out countries and imposing tariffs, you'll be left high and dry after the first attack. Also Read | US Judge blocks Donald Trump's order on military ban for transgenders 'Evolve common approach' Chidambaram said India should put its interest first, but many countries are finding common ground in acknowledging that unilateral tariffs imposed by the US are unacceptable. He said, ...if you want to rewrite the tariffs of several countries, you must hold a discussion. Chidambaram said India is a major agricultural exporter. We are a major textile exporter. We also export a lot of industrial goods, Chidambaram said. So we must band together with countries which are in the world market for agricultural exports, textile exports, and industrial goods exports, and evolve a common approach, he said. 'Economy will ruin if...' P Chidambaram said on Thursday that if US President Donald Trump picks one country at a time and imposes tariffs, it will ruin the economy of that country. President and CEO of the Chattanooga Food Bank Melissa Blevins addressed the recent federal funding cuts made by the Trump Administration. In her letter, Blevins says she has received numerous phone calls, emails, and messages expressing concern over the decisions made in DC. She writes that the concerns are valid, and the threats are real. State Department formally notifies Congress it is effectively dissolving USAID (CNN) The State Department on Friday formally notified Congress it is effectively dissolvi "The Food Bank has already seen critical federal funding and nutrition programs paused, canceled, or erased," she says. "At the same time, many of our nonprofit partners are experiencing similar cuts, while food and housing costs for our neighbors remain persistently high." Blevins oversees the Food Bank's services in 20 counties across Tennessee. She says that she knows firsthand the importance of efficiencies from her work over the years and the topic has been one of her favorites in her career. "I have always loved finding ways to make processes more efficient and more effective," says Blevins. "Creating greater impact, lowering waste and producing higher outputs is what we do here at the food bank. A great team and a strategic approach to creating efficiencies is exactly how weve nearly tripled our operations in the past fifteen years." Blevins says that for her, it's about people rather than politics. "Its about helping those who are struggling to make ends meet, those who have fallen on hard times, or those who are less fortunate. Its about choosing kindness, valuing humanity first, and reminding ourselves that while we live in the richest country in the world, food insecurity is right here in our communities for nearly 200,000 of our neighbors today." According to Blevins, the USDA Local Food Purchasing Assistance, which provides an estimated $1.3 million to support local farmers, growers, and producers, is gone. Truckloads scheduled for the next three months of USDA TEFAP food including milk, chicken, and cheese have been cancelled. Veterans are being hit hard by Trump administration firings (CNN) When the Department of Government Efficiency swings an axe, its bound to hit a vete She says that while they can't yet accurately quantify the long-term impact of the changes being made, the Food Bank is preparing for as much as 20% of funding to be cut for their overall operations in the next year. Blevins notes that how the Food Bank responds is key: "The Chattanooga Area Food Bank can and will continue to rise above the noise and stay laser-focused on making sure the basic needs in our communities are met. We did in the pandemic and we will do it again." Blevins ends her letter with a statement of commitment: "The Chattanooga Area Food Bank will do what we have always done best. We will continue to strategically invest in our food systems, we will continue to seek the best ways to meet the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors, and we will continue to strive for excellence in all that we do. Finally, we will leverage our collective voices to provide accurate information about the real impact and how we are responding. When we know, you will know." Lily Sanchez with La Paz Chattanooga said as much as the bill would hurt non-profits, it could have an even bigger impact on those who depend on non-profits. The scouts are made up of 165 people, and he was selected to be one of 12 tubists last summer. The death was announced on Thursday, March 13 of Peter J. McHugh of 'Carnlea', Foynes Court, Longford. Peter passed away peacefully with his wife and best friend Roisin, sons Gavin, Derek, Alan and Fergus by his side Wednesday, March 12, 2025. He was pre-deceased by his father Hugh D. and mother Mary B., sisters Anne and Pauline, brother Hugh, father-in-law John Maguire and brother-in-law Paul. Peter was born in 1947 in the hills over Lough Allen in north County Leitrim in the townland of Moneenatieve outside Drumkeeran. He grew up there and went to national school locally. It most likely was experience of growing up in such a place that attracted him in later years to the writing of poet, Patrick Kavanagh, who too had a rural border county background and celebrated the beauty in simple things. He was later educated at St Patricks College in Cavan and shortly after moved to Dublin where he started to nurture what became a lifelong career in the building game. Also Read: Man who was abusive towards Longford Gardai absolutely disgusted with his behaviour Qualifying from Bolton Street Dublin Institute of Technology, Peter spent time as an estimator and quantity surveyor during the turbulent 1970s with a number of companies in the construction industry with some very happy years in the late 1970s and early 1980s with McInerney Construction. He was an Associate Member of the Construction Surveyors Institute and a Professional Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and was admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building in 2003. Peter met his wife Roisin while both worked in Dublin in the 1960s and they were married in 1973. After settling initially in Orwell Park in Templelogue and welcoming sons Gavin and Derek into the family, in 1981, they decided to move to Longford and closer to grandparents. During the 1980s, Peter and Roisin welcomed sons Alan and then Fergus to their home in Foynes Court. Peter initially worked for a short period with P.J. McLoughlin and Sons Building Contractors before establishing himself as the first consultant Quantity Surveyor in County Longford. Throughout the next thirty odd years in practice, Peter was involved as part of either the design or contractor teams for some of the best known buildings in Longford and the surrounding counties including the construction, extension and refurbishment projects at the Backstage Theatre, Longford Arms Hotel, Longford County Councils Camlin Court offices, social housing on St Michaels Road, commercial offices at Fee Court on Church Street, the Temperance Hall, St Johns Church Battery Road, St Marys Church in Newtownforbes, the Convent of Mercy in Edgeworthstown, healthcare buildings in St Josephs, the PJ Murphy Hall in Newtownforbes, Melview National School, C&D Pet Foods, Kennys Drapery store, Longford Medical Centre and Oaklands housing. Also Read: Jail term for distracting man in Longford retail outlet in order to steal cash from his wallet Among the many wishes received by Peters family, were many stories from people who had known him through their dealings with him over the years, about how polite and professional he was but also how he would often knowing somebody might have been down on their luck waive or heavily discount charges for his work. This was always arranged in a very discrete and respectful way. He had a strong sense that helping those locally helps everyone and was in that way a strong community man. He was involved as Chairperson of the local boy scout group for a period but was never one to court the limelight instead happy to work hard in the background for the greater good with no desire for any associated glory. Humbly going about the work that was necessary. In more recent years, Peter suffered ill health but bore all his sickness with patience. Since his time in St. Pats and throughout his life, he had a love of reading and no doubt encountered the works of many of the greats. The following passage from the writings of Seneca sums up succinctly Peters approach to the adversity of illness. I may wish to be free from torture, but if the time comes for me to endure it, Ill wish to bear it courageously with bravery and honour. Wouldnt I prefer not to fall into war? But if war does befall me, Ill wish to carry nobly the wounds, starvation, and other necessities of war. Neither am I so crazy as to desire illness, but if I must suffer illness, Ill wish to do nothing rash or dishonourable. The point is not to wish for these adversities, but for the virtue that makes adversities bearable. Peters family would like to pay particular tribute to the simply fantastic team of people that took such great care of Peter in St Josephs Palliative Care unit who made his last days as peaceful and comfortable as they could possibly have been, to the wider palliative care and home help team who helped Peters family look after him at home, to Peters medical teams in Mullingar and the Mater hospitals, his GP Jude McIntyre and the huge support network provided for him to help him with his illnesses in recent years. There were many other people and organisations such as the Alzheimers Society and the staff of its wonderful Multyfarnham Day Care centre, the Irish Cancer Society that deserve huge gratitude and recognition for the part they played in helping with Peters care. In a time when it can be so easy to knock the health services in this country, Peters family witnessed what can only be described as a phenomenal service provision. Peter will be sadly missed and remembered with love by his family, his wife Roisin, sons Gavin, Derek, Alan and Fergus, daughters-in-law Geraldine, Kara, Louise and Mary, adored grandchildren Rachel, Eoghan, Emmet, Roddy, Tom, Alex, Henry , Ralph and Rian, sister Carmel Garvey , brothers Leo and Tom , mother-in-law Kathleen Maguire, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, friends and all who encountered this true gentleman. Ni bheidh a leitheid aris ann. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam A 2.4m allocation from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) towards the delivery of the N4 upgrade has been welcomed by Longford Senator Joe Flaherty. He said: Todays 2.4m funding allocation will significantly advance delivery of the N4 upgrade from Mullingar to Rooskey. The project was stalled in 2008 as result of economic crash and on two occasions in the lifetime of the last government but this is probably the clearest commitment to date as to the eventual delivery of this project. He explained, Were now reaching the halfway stage in the delivery of this project and it is not unreasonable to think that actual construction could commence in the near future. Also read: SOLD: Derelict north Longford cottage sold at auction following intense bidding war A detailed preferred option for the route was published last year and following a consultation period, the design team moved to phase three of the planning and design process. Senator Flaherty outlined, There is a six phase process in the construction of any major road infrastructure so we can potentially say that we are now at the halfway point in the eventual delivery of this road. Also read: Man who rented out properties in Longford town and Ballymahon as brothels jailed The design team, based in Mullingar, have been undertaking engineering and environmental studies and on foot of todays funding, will now move forward to an initial design. Senator Flaherty added, They are then in a position to commence discussions with landowners and home owners impacted by the preferred route before finalising the actual design. He concluded: On completion of this section of process, the project moves to phases 4 & 5 which covers statutory processes and land acquisition before phase six which is the actual construction. Also read: Preferred Route: Long awaited Mullingar to Longford N4 upgrade 'gathering momentum' The funeral arrangements for the Longford man who died in yesterday's tragic N55 crash have been announced. Tom 'Tommy' Walsh, 12 Willow Crescent, Ballymahon, Longford died following a fatal road traffic collision which occurred on the N55 at The Pigeons, Co Westmeath. Formerly of Terlicken, Ballymahon, Tommy is deeply regretted by his sons Paul, James and Andrew, their mother Sharon and his brothers and sister Jody, Ned, Dermot, Martin and Mary, nieces, nephews, relatives, friends and neighbours. Also read:Late Peter J. McHugh helped design many of Longford's best known buildings He will lie in repose in St Matthew's Church Ballymahon on Sunday evening, March 30 from 5pm until 7pm followed by prayers. Funeral Mass takes place on Monday, March 31 at 11am followed by burial in Kilcommock cemetery. Family flowers only and house private please. Two other men, a passenger in the car been driven by the deceased along with the driver of the second car, both aged in their 80s, were also injured in the collision and they were transferred to Tullamore General Hospital for treatment. Also read: Significant uplift: Visitor numbers to historic Longford tourist attraction increase Mr Walsh was a well known figure throughout the Ballymahon area and his tragic death has shocked the community who have described him as as 'an absolute gentleman'. "He was a true gentleman and Ballymahon won't be the same without Tom." His work colleagues at the Center Parcs Longford Forest Tech Services Team said 'Tom has been part of the team since the beginning and will a huge loss'. Local Fianna Fail councillor Pat O'Toole, who knew Tom for twenty years, told the Irish Independent, "There is a great and profound sense of sadness around the town of Ballymahon at Tom losing his life. He worked with local farmers from the area and came from very well respected and hardworking family. He was just a very nice, decent and gentle guy. He also wished the two other men injured in the collision a speedy recovery. Also read: Man who rented out properties in Longford town and Ballymahon as brothels jailed Gardai conducted a technical examination of the scene and are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to come forward. Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area between 10.15am and 11.15am are asked to make this footage available to investigating Gardai. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Athlone Garda Station on 090 649 2600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. Deputy Micheal Carrigy has welcomed the allocation of 2.5 million in national roads funding to advance the extension of the N4 between Mullingar and Roosky, describing it as a vital step forward for Longford and the wider region. The funding will support further progress on the emerging preferred route, which was announced recently as part of the projects return to the National Development Plan. The N4 Mullingar to Roosky route had previously been identified in 2008 before being removed from the planbut is now firmly back on the agenda thanks to strong local and national advocacy. Also read: Significant boost: Long awaited Mullingar to Longford N4 upgrade allocated 2.4m This is a really positive development for Longford and the entire north-west region, said Deputy Carrigy. We are the only region in the country without a motorway or dual carriageway connection, and this investment is a clear signal that progress is being made. Deputy Carrigy raised the project directly in the Dail with Tanaiste Simon Harris on February 27, pressing the Government to commit to the next phase and guarantee the 8 million needed for Stage 3 in 2025. Also read: RIP: Funeral arrangements for Longford man who died in tragic N55 crash announced In response, Tanaiste Harris acknowledged the strategic importance of the project, describing it as a vital corridor from Dublin to the north-west and confirmed that the Government is back in the business of building roads. I want to thank Tanaiste Harris for his strong support, Deputy Carrigy added. We now need to ensure that Longford and Westmeath County Councils are fully resourced to move to Stage 3 next year, and that this project remains a top priority in the upcoming review of the National Development Plan. Also read: SOLD: Derelict north Longford cottage sold at auction following intense bidding war The Programme for Government commits to enhancing road connectivity to the north-west and providing multi-annual investment in strategic corridors like the N4. Deputy Carrigy pledged to continue working to ensure this commitment is delivered in full for the people of Longford. Also read: Digital Queen: Longfords Christine Collins wins prestigious Women in Digital Award A 48-year-old man has been jailed for 16 months for making more than 11,000 nuisance calls to emergency services, jamming emergency telephone lines for nearly 130 hours in 2023. William Greene of Bective Square, Phibsborough in Dublin was under a suspended sentence at the time for giving false information in a hoax 999 call. He was before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of persistently making use of the telecommunications system for the purpose of causing annoyance, interference or needless anxiety to another between March 8 and November 9, 2023. Detective Garda Jeremy Gibbons said that investigation was begun in light of the number of consistent calls to the emergency services from two phone numbers. Due to the excessive number, these numbers were monitored to a greater extent than typical nuisance-type calls. This was far in excess, he explained. He said that on one occasion, a significant number of calls was received by one call taker, who recognised Greenes voice, manner and phrases. She listened back to playbacks of calls from that number, and the narrative was the same; he hated the guards and told her go screw herself and the Government. READ NEXT: Warning to Irish people on holiday in Spain amid 'stay away' protests On another occasion, a call taker asked: Is this William Greene? Youll be in trouble. He replied that he was always in trouble. F**k the guards, Up the Dubs, he added, along with other expletives. The phone number was linked to him, and his home was searched. A Nokia mobile phone was found with the sim relating to that phone number, and he was arrested in October 2023. Notwithstanding this initial arrest, the calls continued. His house was searched again and a second phone was found. He denied that he had a phone and made the calls. He said that he had issues with his mental health and acknowledged that he needed help. Det Gda Gibbons said that, altogether, 11,043 calls had been made, lasting a total of 7,757.6 minutes or 129 hours. He said that the number of genuine calls that were missed because the lines were occupied with these calls could not be quantified. There were over 100 calls an hour from him on some occasions, causing gridlock and jamming emergency telephone lines in the Laois, Offaly, and Kildare areas. Greene also placed an inordinate number of silent or hangup calls. These led to the call takers having to follow a particular procedure because they must reach out to such callers if they think they need assistance. As he had denied having a phone, a lot of work had to be done to link him to the numbers. This included cell site analysis. The court also heard that Greene was under a suspended sentence at the time due to a conviction for giving false information during a hoax 999 call. He also had 20 other previous convictions, which included public order and criminal damage convictions. The garda agreed with defence counsel that Greene had a nefarious addiction to alcohol and was heavily intoxicated when making these calls. He said that he was better presented today than on previous days, explaining that he had been in custody since October of last year. Judge Martin Nolan remarked that he was sure the emergency services were happier now Greene was in prison. I should keep him in custody because hes a menace, isnt he? he asked. However, counsel said that his client was a qualified chef who had worked in the HSE, had pleaded guilty early and had engaged constructively with the criminal justice system. He handed in a psychological report, which he said showed that Greene was a fundamentally good person, who had got lost. He said that he had been hit by a realisation as soon as he went into prison and had to share a multi-occupant cell. Greene has now made efforts to address his addiction. Judge Nolan said that this was not an individual incident, but a pattern of misbehaviour. He imposed a three-year sentence and suspended the final 20 months on him entering a bond. Migrants are more likely to be working than Irish-born people, but many experience poverty and high housing costs, an ESRI study has shown. The Monitoring Report on Integration 2024 says "many indicators of migrant integration remain strong, with foreign-born residents more likely to be employed, active in the labour market, and well-educated compared to the Irish-born population." However, the study shows migrants also have lower incomes and are more likely to experience poverty and deprivation. Migrants are also much more likely to be affected by high housing costs: 37% of migrants spend more than 30% of their income on housing, compared to 9% of Irish-born residents. The Monitoring Report on Integration 2024 is published jointly by the ESRI, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), and the Department of Justice. This publication is the latest in a series that investigates how migrants in Ireland are faring. The report compares outcomes for Irish- and foreign-born residents in the areas of employment, education, social inclusion and active citizenship. With regard to jobs, it says: "Migrant employment and rates of participation in the labour market have remained higher than those of Irish-born residents since 2022. Employment rates have maintained their recovery since 2021, when they fell to the same level as the Irish-born rate during the COVID-19 pandemic. READ NEXT: Irish citizens told to stock up on these six items and prepare for disaster "Outcomes vary according to place of birth. In 2024, migrants born in the EU, Asia and Rest of World had broadly better labour market outcomes than Irish-born residents. Those born in Europe but not in the EU had poorer labour market outcomes. Other groups had similar or worse labour market outcomes, depending on the indicator. "Labour market outcomes for African migrants show continued improvement, maintaining progress first observed in the Monitoring Report on Integration 2022. In recent years, African employment rates have risen and unemployment rates have fallen, with both figures now similar to those of Irish-born residents." In terms of education, it says: "In line with previous Monitoring Reports, migrants have higher levels of educational attainment than Irish-born overall. Across 2021 to 2023, 59% of working-age foreign-born residents had tertiary education, compared to 42% of Irish-born residents. "Tertiary education rates vary by place of birth, with the lowest figure among those born in eastern EU countries (38%), and the highest among those born in Asia (79%). "Migrant students, at 15 years of age, score lower on English reading and maths tests compared to non-migrant students The rate of early school leaving among young migrants was low and similar to the rate of the Irish-born population." Looking at the areas of poverty and housing, the ESRI found: "Migrants are much more likely to experience high housing costs: 37% of migrants pay more than 30% of their income on housing costs, compared to 9% of Irish-born residents. "Migrants face higher levels of poverty and deprivation than Irish-born residents. This primarily affects those born in eastern EU states and outside the EU. "Of those born outside the EU, 20% are considered at risk of poverty, compared to 11% of Irish-born residents. (A household is at risk of poverty when their income is below 60% of the national equivalised median income.) "Those born in the UK, eastern EU, and outside the EU are more likely to experience material deprivation than the Irish-born population. Those born in the western EU are less likely to experience this." In the area of active citizenship, the report states: "In 2023, over 18,200 naturalisation certificates were issued, up more than a third from 2022. More than one in ten naturalisation certificates were issued following marriage to an Irish national. "Average processing times for a citizenship application decreased from 22 months in 2022 to 15 months in 2023. "Political participation of immigrants has increased, with the number of immigrants both running and winning a seat doubling in the 2024 local elections, albeit from a very low base. The proportion of councillors with a migrant background remains low overall, at 2.2%. "The findings paint a mixed picture, with many positive outcomes for migrants and some more concerning outcomes. While migrants are likely to be employed and are well-educated, they have lower incomes and are more at risk of poverty. This may indicate that foreign qualifications are not receiving the recognition they deserve, leaving some migrants overqualified for their jobs. Findings relating to housing costs are particularly stark. Mainstream issues, such as housing, can disproportionately affect migrants and addressing such issues is essential for improving migrant integration." Evan Carron-Kee, co-author of the report said: Recent positive developments in migrant integration include strong growth in the African employment rate and improvements in citizenship processing times. However, there are also some persistent challenges. Migrants are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis and are much more likely to experience income poverty and deprivation. These issues require urgent policy attention. Irish people are still flocking to Spanish hotspots like Lanzarote and Majorca despite local protests there against perceived over tourism. In the past few weeks, there has seen a 70% increase in Irish bookings to much loved Spanish destinations despite activists vowing to wreak havoc on mass tourism. On the Beach, the package holiday experts, revealed that holidays to Majorca have seen a 300% increase and holidays to Lanzarote have seen a 150% increase, showing that Irish holidaymakers are ignoring protests and continuing to book holidays to their favourite hotspots. Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach said: "Since our launch in Ireland last Summer, weve quickly discovered that Irish holidaymakers have a sweet spot for Spain, as it consistently claims the top spot for bookings. So despite the news of the protests, it seems this is not enough to deter those seeking some summer sun, in fact, were seeing the opposite with booking numbers rising by 70% in the past few weeks. "To reassure those booked to travel or thinking of going, we know local business owners and hoteliers that are encouraging Irish tourists to book holidays, stating they are more than welcome in Spain and the Canaries. READ NEXT: Warning to Irish people on holiday in Spain amid 'stay away' protests According to reports, anti-tourism activists have promised to wreck havoc across Spain this summer as they ramp up their campaign against holidaymakers by blocking beauty spots and causing disruption ahead of a planned international summit to discuss protest tactics. Visitors to the party paradise of Ibiza were left disappointed last month after a popular viewing point was dramatically blocked off with boulders in the latest sign of growing local resentment towards mass tourism. The famous Es Vedra viewpoint, where thousands gather to watch the sun sink behind the mountainous island each evening, is now off-limits after frustrated landowners declared they'd had enough of being overrun by crowds. Experts at On the Beach travelled to Spain last year to get a better understanding of the protests. Zoe Harris explains: We sent a team out there to speak to locals directly and it turns out there is a lot of frustration with their own government, not necessarily Irish tourists. Some holidaymakers arriving in Tenerife are being met with anti-tourist graffiti but according to On the Beach, interviews with Tenerife locals paint a different picture. Restaurant owners, bar staff and hotel owners are welcoming more tourists to the island as they say they love them coming over. According to some of the Spanish locals its not the Irish that they are unhappy with, its landlord greed and their own government, who have done little to stop the ever-increasing cost-of-living crisis on the island. According to On the Beach, Lanzarote, Majorca and Costa Brava are currently in the top five most booked destinations this year and bookings will only heat up as we approach summer. Zoe Harris said: As we approach the peak holiday season, we anticipate even more Irish holidaymakers will be booking their Spanish getaways, with tens of thousands set to secure their spot in the sun. A Palestinian student has come top of his class in electronic and computer technology at Dublin City University (DCU). Sarraj Alsersawi achieved the top marks while the conflict in Gaza claimed the lives of many of his friends and threatened his familys safety. Mr Alsersawi arrived in Dublin from Gaza in September 2023 as part of the Ireland-Palestine Scholarship Programme (IPSP) to study for his masters. With a background in mechatronics, Mr Alsersawi earned his undergraduate degree at Al Azhar University, Gaza where he went on to work as a teaching assistant. After the attacks by Hamas on October 7 2023, Mr Alsersawi said he was constantly worried about the safety of his family. At one point I lost contact with my family because of the blackout of the internet and communications and everything. So it was really stressful at that point, he said. His parents and brother managed to escape the conflict, finding refuge outside Gaza. However, Mr Alsersawis thoughts were also with his friends and colleagues at home. His former University, Al Azhar, was completely flattened by Israeli shells and Mr Alsersawi lost friends, colleagues and students in what he describes as this genocide. Mr Alsersawi says DCU, and particularly the programmes chairman Dr Derek Molloy, were very supportive, offering him the option to defer exams due to his extraordinary circumstances. However, he said the only way to cope was to throw himself into his studies. He added: I didnt have the luxury to just sit down and do nothing and I thought that maybe excelling in my education would be the best way forward for myself and my family. Mr Alsersawi got first-class honours in his final exams and came first in his class. Im proud of that, he says. The modules included in the programme were just what I needed to enter the Irish job market, says Mr Alsersawi, who has secured a job in Cork with multinational company, Stryker, which develops medical devices. Mr Alsersawi says the job is a great fit for him, as he is passionate about using his qualifications to improve peoples quality of life. Some people would like to work in the automotive or other industries but for me, the medical device industry adds purpose and meaning to what Im doing. He is enjoying his new role and is currently working on the development of a new electrosurgical unit, which uses high radio frequencies to cut tissue and control bleeding by causing immediate coagulation. Even though his parents and brother are safe, the new year brought more distressing news for the family when they discovered their house was destroyed by Israeli bombs. Through all of this, music has kept him going. Mr Alsersawi is a talented musician who plays the traditional Arabic instrument the Oud and has played with the Gaza Orchestra. Music is an essential part of my life and it also helped me immensely during that time to be able to play music. It helps a lot, he added. Since coming to Ireland, he has played several charity concerts for the Palestine Childrens Relief Fund and has started learning to play the mandolin. Im slowly getting into the trad music scene, he says. Reflecting on what is next for Gaza, Mr Alsersawi points out that the war has claimed the lives of a large proportion of the regions professional people including engineers, medics and academics. He feels a sense of responsibility to return home whenever the rebuilding phase begins. Its essential for us young people who were able to get a good education at some point to go back and try to help rebuild their communities at some point. Its a bit early now, but this is something that I always keep in the back of my mind. Alleged Bloods Gang Member Sentenced to 40 Years to Life in Prison for July 2020 Murder Crime By Chris Boyle Published: March 28 2025 Thomas Massenburg was convicted in September 2024 of killing 21-year-old Rashawn Cummings after a fight at a Massapequa house party. Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Brooklyn man was sentenced today to 40 years to life in prison for the murder of a 21-year-old man during a Massapequa house party on the Fourth of July in 2020. Thomas Massenburg, 23, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was convicted on September 26, 2024, after a jury trial before Judge Howard Sturim of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony); Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony); Assault in the First Degree (a B violent felony); and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony). The defendant was sentenced today to 40 years to life in prison. The Fourth of July should be a day of celebration, but this defendant turned a backyard party into a violent and tragic scene when he shot at multiple party goers and killed a 21-year-old man, said DA Donnelly. Thomas Massenburg now faces the consequences for his devastating choices that night, and his sentence today ensures that he will no longer pose a threat to our communities. DA Donnelly said that, on July 4, 2020, Massenburg and other alleged members of the Mac Baller Bloods from Brooklyn attended a Fourth of July party on West Drive in Massapequa. Rashawn Cummings, a friend of another defendant, Learyk Jarvis, came to the party later and a physical altercation ensued between the two groups in the basement of the home. Jarvis allegedly waved a gun in the air and told everyone to leave the house. During the altercation, at approximately 11:15 p.m., Massenburg obtained a loaded gun from Quran Blue, another Mac Baller Blood from Brooklyn, and a friend of the defendant, and shot Cummings once in the leg and once in the back. Massenburg also shot another man once in the arm and twice in the buttocks. That man survived. Jarvis then allegedly shot Massenburg in the groin. Cummings was pronounced deceased at the scene. After the shooting, Massenburg passed the gun to Blue, who went outside and fired an additional five shots from the weapon. Massenburg was arrested on June 3, 2021, by members of the Nassau County Police Department. Jarvis was arrested by members of the NCPD on June 17, 2021. Jarvis was charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and was sentenced on April 13, 2023, to 3-1/2 years in prison and five years post release supervision. Blue was arrested on March 3, 2022, and charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. He was sentenced on June 8, 2023, to 3-1/2 years in prison and five years post release supervision. Local News By Chris Boyle Published: March 28 2025 Appointments are offered on a first come, first served basis, and no insurance is required. Nassau County Legislature Alternate Deputy Minority Leader Debra Mule (D Freeport) encourages eligible residents to take advantage of free cardiac screenings at Catholic Healths Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre on Saturday, March 29. From 10 a.m. 2 p.m. that day, Mercy will be offering free cardiac screenings (by appointment only) to individuals who meet one of the following criteria of being age 40 to 70; have a history of smoking; high cholesterol; high blood pressure (even if controlled); diabetes; a body mass index greater than 25; a family history of heart disease; have not had a heart attack, stroke, or serious cardiovascular event; have not had coronary bypass surgery or a coronary stent; and are not pregnant. Appointments are offered on a first come, first served basis, and no insurance is required. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women in America, and the importance of seeking out proactive care for our hearts cannot be understated, Alternate Deputy Minority Leader Mule said. I encourage anyone who is eligible for this free service to make an appointment today, and I thank Catholic Health and Mercy Hospital for raising awareness about heart disease in Nassau County! To make an appointment, contact 516-62-MERCY (63729). Local News By Chris Boyle Published: March 28 2025 The bone of contention Heuermann's legal team has with the prosecutor's DNA evidence is that it utilizes a new and more accurate technique called whole genome sequencing. Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann & his estranged wife have reached a settlement in their ongoing divorce proceedings, according to reports. Asa Ellerup filed for divorce when the initial murder charges were revealed against her husband; those settlement of the divorce was finalized on Friday, although the details were not made public as of press time. The news comes as lawyers representing Heuermann were in a Suffolk County court on Friday attempting to have DNA evidence against their client thrown out of the case against him. The bone of contention Heuermann's legal team has with the prosecutor's DNA evidence is that it utilizes a new and more accurate technique called whole genome sequencing, which looks at 100,000 or more points of comparison; traditional DNA sequencing looks at 15 to 24 points. Heuermann's lawyers are arguing that whole genome sequencing has not yet been tested in the New York court system and, thus, should be disqualified. Heuermann, 60, made national headlines when he was arrested on July 13, 2023, as a suspect in the Gilgo Beach case; he was charged the following day by Tierney in the murders of three of the "Gilgo Four" victims: Amber Lynn Costello, 27, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Megan Waterman, 22. On January 16, 2024, Tierney unsealed additional charges against Massapequa Park Heuermann at the Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, tying him to the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, a fourth woman whose remains were discovered near Gilgo Beach; Heuermann was already the prime suspect in her death. In June 2024, Heuermann was also arraigned and charged with the murders of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, and in December 2024, Heuermann was indicted for the 2000 murder of Valerie Mack, bringing the number of his alleged victims to seven. A rocket launcher found by the IDF in Gazas Tel al Sultan neighborhood. (IDF) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out targeted strikes on more than 100 pickup trucks it assessed had been used for terrorist purposes in Gaza. The strikes, announced on March 24, are part of the new campaign Israel launched in Gaza on March 18. The IDF has also focused precision strikes on Hamas personnel, including the groups political leadership. In addition, IDF ground units have expanded operations in the territory. The IDF began its new operation on March 18 with a series of airstrikes. The Israeli military then started to re-enter parts of Gaza it had withdrawn from during the ceasefire in January and February. On March 23, the IDF said it began operating in the area of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. The purpose of the operation is to target Hamas terror infrastructure sites in order to expand the security zone in northern Gaza. Beit Hanoun was a target of IDF operations in December 2024. The IDF has also moved forces into northern Gazas Beit Lahiya area, including elements of the 188th Armored Brigade. In southern Gaza, the IDF said it encircled the area of Tel al Sultan near Rafah on March 23. The IDFs Gaza Division was in charge of this operation, sending the 14th Brigade to encircle the area. Israeli forces have held the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egyptian border in southern Gaza since May 2024. For several days, Israeli troops operated in Tel al Sultan, uncovering munitions in a former school and a 25-barrel rocket launcher in the area, the IDF announced on March 27. In other areas of Gaza, particularly the Netzarim Corridor, the IDF has also returned to previously controlled territory. The 252nd Division, which previously operated in Netzarim before Israeli troops left in January 2025, returned. The IDF said its 143rd Division was also operating in Gaza but didnt specify where. In addition, the Israeli military deployed the 36th Division to the border with Gaza and some of its units inside the territory. Overall, elements from at least four divisions are now involved in Israels operation. Israel has carried out precision airstrikes on several key terrorists. One was Salah Bardawil, who the IDF said was the head of Hamas planning and development office in the southern Gaza Strip. The IDF announced his death on March 23, along with the elimination of the deputy commander of Hamass Gaza Brigade and the commander of the groups Shejaiya Battalion. Hamas once had 24 battalions in Gaza, organized into several brigades. Most of their commanders have been eliminated during the war. Some have been replaced. Several other Hamas figures were killed between March 24 and 27. One unnamed terrorist was killed in a strike on a room in Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. Ismail Barhoum, who the IDF said was the head of Hamass finances and institutions, was also killed in Khan Younis. Barhoum was a key figure in Hamas political bureau and was actively involved in the military decision-making process that directly impacted Hamas operations, the IDF said. On March 27, the IDF also said it killed Latif Rajab Jumaa Qanou, a spokesperson of the terrorist organization. Hamas has launched several rockets at Israeli communities from Gaza. The IDF said that over a week, five rockets were launched by March 26. In many cases, the IDF called for the evacuation of areas in Gaza where rockets originated. Currently, Hamas does not appear to possess many rockets or launch capabilities. On March 23, five days into the IDF operation, Israel relaxed regulations in Israeli communities near Gaza, enabling people to return to full, normal activities. Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024). Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden (CSV) has said he has seen progress in Europe's security architecture, speaking after a summit in Paris on Thursday including 31 countries in support of Ukraine. Today we have defined our strategy on how we will clarify the overall issue of security in Europe in the near future, Frieden told the Luxemburger Wort on his return from Thursdays summit. France and the UK will take the lead in this endeavour, he said. The broad alliance of EU states and non-member states such as the UK, Norway and Iceland share a common vision of a just peace, Frieden said. That is why we have talked a lot today about security for the next 20 or 30 years, the prime minister explained. Luxembourg is part of the strong coalition for lasting peace Luc Frieden Prime Minister Frieden, however, avoided the term coalition of the willing used by French President Emmanuel Macron, which had evoked negative connotations among some observers. The term was used to describe the alliance forged by then-US President George W. Bush during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which violated international law. Luxembourg is part of the strong coalition for lasting peace, Frieden said. Deterrence vis-a-vis the Kremlin The entire European defence strategy must be set up in such a way that Russia does not have the idea of attacking elsewhere in four or five years time, he added. It is the general assessment of the heads of state and government that this danger is very real, Frieden said. We are also realising that Russia does not want peace at the moment, that it is constantly setting new conditions. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no real interest in peace negotiations, the PM said. Europe must therefore ensure its security in a complementary way. In Paris, he worked towards ensuring that not all alliance partners make the same military purchases, but that we look at what one can do better than the other. To this end, joint operational planning will take place in the coming weeks among the appropriate ministers. Luxembourg could set the tone in the area of satellite technology, for example, Frieden suggested. Emmanuel Macron welcoming Luc Frieden to the Paris summit Photo credit: AFP However, there was no agreement at the summit on the possible deployment of European armed forces to secure a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. A British-French proposal to deploy European armed forces to secure a potential ceasefire in Ukraine was desired by Ukraine and also supported by several EU member states, which have expressed their willingness to join in, Macron told reporters. However, the proposal was not adopted unanimously, Macron said. Also read: Luxembourg prepared to send troops to protect Ukraine peace, PM says London and Paris send army chiefs to Ukraine The chiefs of staff from France and the UK will be travelling to Ukraine in the next few days to examine the military requirements, Macron added. Ukraine has a very clear idea of the needs and critical areas in which it wants these European forces to be deployed. The locations, number of forces and capacities would be determined in dialogue between the military leaders. Nothing has been ruled out at this stage and we are looking at naval, air and land forces, the French president explained. Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz again expressed his caution about German participation in a possible peacekeeping force in Ukraine. But Scholz did talk about further strengthening the Ukrainian armed forces. Germany has been a leader in Europe there in recent years and will remain so, he said. The chancellor rejected the easing of sanctions demanded by Russia, which he said would be a serious mistake that would make no sense at all. He urged Europe and the USA to adopt a common position on sanctions. Also read: Luxembourg backed EU majority to keep Fridman on sanctions list (This article was first published by Luxemburger Wort. Translation and editing by Duncan Roberts) Belgian premiere of "Ne Zha 2" draws crowds, praise Xinhua) 11:14, March 28, 2025 BRUSSELS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Audiences in Belgium have warmly welcomed the premiere of "Ne Zha 2," a Chinese animated blockbuster now on a week-long tour across nine Belgian cities, including Brussels and Antwerp. The film, released in Belgium on Wednesday, was crafted over five years by a team of 4,000 animators. It reimagines the ancient tale of Ne Zha, a rebellious boy-god from Chinese folklore, infusing it with contemporary themes of identity, resilience and social justice. At Brussels' Kinepolis cinema, long lines formed well before the screening. Some attendees wore traditional Hanfu robes, drawing admiration from the crowd, while a young boy mimicked Ne Zha's signature hand gestures, enchanted by the hero's magic. Dazzling animation and meticulous detail -- Ne Zha's colourful ribbons twisting through the air, the grandeur of the palace -- left the audience spellbound. A dynamic soundtrack, precisely timed to each moment of action, amplified every battle cry and clash of weapons, heightening the sense of immersion. With its blend of mythology, tradition, and modern storytelling, "Ne Zha 2" struck a chord with a diverse crowd. As the credits rolled, conversations filled the theatre, carrying the film's emotional impact beyond the screen. "Even without understanding every detail, you can relate to Ne Zha and his fight against fate," said one Belgian viewer. Another audience member, Jan Reyniers, was particularly impressed, saying, "The film was visually spectacular and technically outstanding... it's easily the best animated film of its kind I've ever seen." (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) In the days after a Tufts University Ph.D. student was arrested by federal agents and detained in Louisiana, the students lawyer and the American Civil Liberties Union have called for her immediate release. On Friday, the ACLU, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (CLEAR) and immigration attorney Mahsa Khanbabai filed an amended habeas petition and complaint with the Massachusetts federal court challenging the detention of student Rumeysa Ozturk. Respondents named in the complaint are President Donald Trump, New England Field Office Director for ICE Patricia Hyde, New England Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations for ICE Michael Krol, Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Ozturk, 30, was detained in Somerville on Tuesday evening by a group of federal agents in masks and plain clothes as she headed to an Iftar, the evening meal to break a Ramadan fast. No charges have been filed against Ozturk, a former Fulbright scholar who had a valid F-1 student visa, the ACLU said in a statement on Friday. Rumeysas arrest and detention are designed to punish her speech and chill the speech of others, the complaint stated. Indeed, her arrest and detention are part of a concerted and systemic effort by Trump administration officials to punish students and others identified with pro-Palestine activism. When asked about Rumeysas case, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed revoking her visa, adding, we gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. Rubio spoke about Ozturks arrest on Thursday and added that the United States has a right like every country in the world to remove people. We dont want it in our country, the secretary of state said. Go back and do it in your country, but youre not going to do it in our country. The timing of when she was sent to Louisiana is not clear, but a judge ordered Tuesday night that ICE not remove Ozturk from Massachusetts without prior notice. Khanbabai filed an emergency petition on Wednesday asking the government to disclose where Ozturk was being detained and to speak to Ozturk before 6 p.m. When Khanbabai was able to reach her, Ozturk said she suffered an asthma attack while she was sent to Louisiana, the ACLUs statement read. Ozturk was detained without two medications she takes to treat asthma, Khanbabai previously wrote in the original petition. Ozturk is studying child study and human development at Tufts and is set to complete her program this year, according to an op-ed she co-authored in the universitys student newspaper. The op-ed called on Tufts to take action to acknowledge the Palestinian genocide and to disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel. The ACLUs complaint said her detention violates the First and Fifth Amendments and the Administrative Procedure Act. For these reasons, Rumeysa should be released. Ozturks arrest comes after the arrests of three students at Columbia University involved in pro-Palestinian protests there, which began with Mahmoud Khalil earlier in March. Khalil, 30, a lawful U.S. resident who was a graduate student at Columbia until December, was arrested by federal immigration agents and flown to an immigration jail in Louisiana, according to the Associated Press. It also comes just over a week after a Brown University professor was deported after U.S. Customs and Border Patrol terminated her visa. The federal government said the professor, Dr. Rasha Alawieh, had photos of leaders of Hezbollah and Iran on her phone. From left, Joaquin Smith, Isabella Trudeau, Kelsy Brainard, Kevin Carroll and Easton Randall appeard in Worcester District Court for arraignments on Thursday, Jan. 16. All five Assumption University students face charges in connection with a "To Catch a Predator" plot. (AP Photos/Robert F. Bukaty) AP Photos/Robert F. Bukaty Editors note: This story was updated Saturday to remove sensitive information. Three of the five students at Assumption University charged with kidnapping and conspiracy tied to what police have described as a TikTok-inspired plot to frame a man as a predator, are now asking a judge to drop the charges against them. Lawyers for Kelsy Brainard, Isabella Trudeau and Kevin Carroll have all filed motions to drop the charges. Two other students, Easton Randall and Joaquin Smith, were charged in connection with the To Catch a Predator-inspired scheme. All five appeared in Worcester District Court Friday. Trudeaus lawyer, Robert Iacovelli, filed the motion to dismiss the same day as her arraignment in January. In it, Iacovelli claimed there was no probable cause to charge Trudeau with a crime based on a police report filed in court. The motions filed by lawyers for Brainard and Carroll came this month. On Friday, the motions for dismissal were taken under advisement, according to court records. Prosecutors said the students, along with one unnamed person under the age of 18, lured an 18-year-old man to campus on the promise of a hook-up before accusing him of being a pedophile, assaulting him and chasing him off the Worcester universitys campus. Brainard lured the man, who visited Worcester for his grandmothers funeral, to the campus in a series of Tinder messages. And while police said the man believed he was communicating with an 18-year-old, a screenshot of the messages included in Brainards motion show she told the man she was 17 and turning 18 on Oct. 28. However, Brainards attorney claimed there was not enough evidence to establish the necessary elements of the offenses. Her attorney argued that she did not intend to participate in the other students attack on Moynihan. Youve got a bunch of kids making bad decisions, said Carrolls lawyer Leonardo Angiulo, according to the Telegram & Gazette. But these decisions, he added, were not enough for the students to face serious charges. The man told police he was chased by a group of 25 people up a flight of stairs to his car, where he was assaulted and had his car door slammed on him. He fled the campus and called the police. Surveillance video from the area shows the man and Brainard entering the building before he is seen running up a flight of stairs and being chased by a large group, including Brainard, who had their phones out, recording the chase. A few minutes later you see the group coming back in, laughing and high-fiving with each other, police wrote. Police later obtained first-person videos taken during the time Brainard and the man were in the building and during the chase, which they say showed Brainard fabricated the story about a sexual predator on campus. Instead, the videos showed the pair seated on a couch watching a baseball game before a sudden influx of students arrives. The man was lured to campus to be caught as a sexual predator by a group of students lacking legal authority to do so, the police report reads. Angiulo argued that the students confronted a person they thought was displaying morally objectionable behavior, the newspaper wrote. They decided they wanted to confront a person they disagreed with, Angiulo said, according to the Telegram. Isnt that what college is all about? Randall previously said the incident started with the Tinder messages between Brainard and the man and that the idea of catching a predator came to mind while he was sitting with the group. He explained to police that videos from the TV show, To Catch a Predator, are big on TikTok but that this got out of hand. But this act may have been a bridge too far, Central District Court Judge Michael Allard-Madaus replied, according to the Telegram. The motion claims that Brainard stayed on the couch in the Alumni Hall common when the rest of the group confronted the man, adding there is insufficient evidence to show that she was willing to assist in this kidnapping. There must be proof of the unlawful agreement, either express or implied and participation with knowledge of the agreement, the motion reads. Brainard faces an additional charge of intimidating a witness/juror/police/court official in connection with misleading investigators. Brainards attorney said the circumstances of her interview with officers should be taken into consideration for her supposedly misleading statement. An 18-year-old girl, without the aid or support of a parent or guardian, is in a small interview room with two uniformed, male police officers, the motion read. The interview quickly turns into an overly harsh, accusatory and unnecessarily confrontational interrogation by officers, the motion continued. They clearly state that she is a liar and they do not believe anything she says. Assistant District Attorney Alexander Milone argued against dismissing the charge of misleading investigators, the Telegram wrote. The video indicated that Brainards story to police that she was creeped out by the man was inaccurate. Meanwhile, the motion for Carroll claimed his actions do not properly reflect the act of kidnapping. The motion cited video showing the man being grabbed and held back from leaving the room he was in, but not confined to a specific space. Carrolls attorney further claims that the video does not reflect the mans statement, and that he was never restrained in any way by the defendants. Carrolls motion also argues that there is insufficient evidence to form probable cause to convict him of conspiracy. Iacovelli confirmed that Trudeau elected to withdraw from Assumption after being given that option; the other lawyers declined to comment on any disciplinary action the school has taken. In court, Milone asked for the charges to be upheld, the Telegram reported. Its clear from the video, Milone said, that the event was planned ahead before the students tried to restrict the man. In a statement, Assumption previously called the behavior described in the police report as abhorrent and antithetical to Assumption Universitys mission and values. While we cannot comment on the ongoing student conduct investigations and attendant disciplinary processes, Assumption University is committed to maintaining a campus environment where every individual is treated with respect and dignity including guests, a university spokesperson said. We strongly condemn all forms of violence and misconduct, and we are dedicated to fostering a community where all individuals feel safe and supported. The students are all scheduled to appear again in court on May 19. A federal judge in Boston ordered that the Trump administration cannot deport a Tufts graduate student detained by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, NBC 10 Boston reported Friday evening. Before any decisions are made, the judge said Rumeysa Ozturk cannot be deported until that same judge has decided if she was lawfully arrested, WCVB-TV also reported Friday. MassLive contacted Ozturks lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, for more information about the judges ruling. She did not immediately reply. Ozturk, 30, was detained in Somerville on Tuesday evening by a group of federal agents in masks and plain clothes as she headed to an Iftar, the evening meal to break a Ramadan fast. She is detained in an ICE facility in Louisiana. No charges have been filed against Ozturk, a former Fulbright scholar who had a valid F-1 student visa, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement on Friday. The timing of when she was sent to Louisiana is not clear, but a judge ordered Tuesday night that ICE not remove Ozturk from Massachusetts without prior notice. Khanbabai filed an emergency petition on Wednesday asking the government to disclose where Ozturk was being detained and to speak to Ozturk before 6 p.m. When Khanbabai was able to reach her, Ozturk said she suffered an asthma attack while she was sent to Louisiana, the ACLUs statement read. Ozturk was detained without two medications she takes to treat asthma, Khanbabai previously wrote in the original petition. Ozturk is studying child study and human development at Tufts and is set to complete her program this year, according to an op-ed she co-authored in the universitys student newspaper. The op-ed called on Tufts to take action to acknowledge the Palestinian genocide and to disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel. Also on Friday, Khanbabai, the ACLU and the ACLU of Massachusetts filed an amended habeas petition and complaint with the Massachusetts federal court challenging Ozturks detention. Rumeysas arrest and detention are designed to punish her speech and chill the speech of others, the complaint stated. Indeed, her arrest and detention are part of a concerted and systemic effort by Trump administration officials to punish students and others identified with pro-Palestine activism. When asked about Rumeysas case, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed revoking her visa, adding, We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. Rubio spoke about Ozturks arrest on Thursday and added that the United States has a right like every country in the world to remove people. We dont want it in our country, the secretary of state said. Go back and do it in your country, but youre not going to do it in our country. The ACLUs complaint said her detention violates the First and Fifth Amendments and the Administrative Procedure Act. For these reasons, Rumeysa should be released. On Wednesday, hundreds protested at a park near Tufts University in support of Ozturk. A sign at a protest on March 26 at the Powder House Square Park, near Tufts University. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts Ph.D. student, was detained by federal agents on March 25. (Irene Rotondo/MassLive) Many protesters wore masks and face coverings, and while most Tufts students declined to speak with reporters, their signs made their stances clear. They read, Release Rumeysa Ozturk Now, and We The People Demand Free Speech and demand Due Process, in black, red and green writing. Ozturks arrest comes after the arrests of three students at Columbia University involved in pro-Palestinian protests there, which began with Mahmoud Khalil earlier in March. Khalil, 30, a lawful U.S. resident who was a graduate student at Columbia until December, was arrested by federal immigration agents and flown to an immigration jail in Louisiana, according to the Associated Press. It also comes just over a week after a Brown University professor was deported after U.S. Customs and Border Patrol terminated her visa. The federal government said the professor, Dr. Rasha Alawieh, had photos of leaders of Hezbollah and Iran on her phone. Boston teens and young adults who are looking for summer jobs can now apply for employment through the city, where many are guaranteed a position. Applications are now open for the citys long-running youth jobs program for people ages 14 to 24. More than 10,000 people participated in the program in 2024, the highest in the citys history. Our citys youth deserve every opportunity to grow both personally and professionally, Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement. By investing in youth summer jobs, we are investing in our communitys future and empowering our young leaders. Last year, Wu guaranteed that any eligible Boston Public Schools student who wanted a job through the program would get one. More than 50% of 2024 participants were BPS students, and the city will hold pop-up career fairs at BPS schools to encourage students to apply this year. The Boston Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity has partnered with more than 200 organizations including 82 city agencies and 156 other programs in 2025 to offer jobs. These organizations will prioritize at-risk populations through the state Commonwealth Corporation YouthWorks program, another program that offers youth employment opportunities. Jobs listed on the city website Friday included a wide range of roles from teaching assistants, peer leaders and camp counselors to administrative or maintenance positions. Other jobs on offer included more industry-specific internships in STEM, art and design, politics and more. According to the city, 94% of youth who participated in the program felt better prepared to enter the workforce; 90% left with references for future jobs; and 83% felt prepared to achieve future educational and career goals. A 2023 study from Northeastern University also found that the youth jobs program improved economic, academic and criminal justice outcomes for participants. Our office is thrilled to once again offer employment opportunities to our young people this summer to help shape their career journeys and instill in them a strong work ethic, Adeola Ebekozien, deputy director of the Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity, said. The youth jobs employment program has a positive, tangible impact on the lives of these teens and their families. Applicants can browse positions and apply on the futureBOS employment webpage. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. The Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity will hold a summer job fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 29 at the Reggie Lewis Center. Tickets are sold out as of Friday, but on-site registration will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. A New Haven woman was sentenced in Bostons federal court on Thursday for sex trafficking two women for commercial sex work across the Northeast, threating them with violence, United States Attorney Leah Foleys office said. Jennifer Fortier, 51, was sentenced to 58 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, Foleys office said in a statement. She pleaded guilty to two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and one count of knowingly transporting any individual in interstate or foreign commerce, with intent that such individual engage in prostitution. Fortier was indicted in August 2023, along with Jermall Anderson, of Tewksbury, and Latasha Anderson, the statement read. Jennifer Fortier inflicted violence against these women, who were vulnerable, homeless, unemployed, and suffering from drug addiction, all to feed the profits of this criminal sex-trafficking organization, Foley said in the statement. Prosecuting those who exploit others for their own personal gain is something that my office will continue to put our resources into. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity, not exploited for their addictions and life circumstances. Between 2012 and 2016, Fortier and the Andersons, at Jermall Andersons direction, threatened and used physical violence, gave and withheld heroin and cocaine to force two women to perform commercial sex on their behalf, Foleys office said. The women were trafficked throughout New England, New York and New Jersey. Fortier and her co-conspirators targeted vulnerable victims, specifically those struggling from drug addiction, homelessness and lack of economic resources and coerced them into providing commercial sex for the defendants benefit, Foleys office said. Earlier in March, Jermall Anderson was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Latasha Anderson pleaded guilty in March, with a sentencing scheduled for June 11. A man was shot and killed in Brockton early Friday morning, prompting an investigation that Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruzs office said remains active and ongoing. At around 3:31 a.m., Brockton police received a 911 call about a man who was trying to open car doors parked along Monson Street, Cruzs office said in a statement. The caller told police that the man wore a dark-colored jacket with fur, Cruzs office said. Then police received another 911 call about a man lying face down on the sidewalk outside the callers home, the statement read. First responders arrived to find a man with a gunshot wound on the ground in front of 88 Lenox St. The man was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cruzs office said. Brockton officers requested the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to Cruzs office to investigate the shooting, Cruzs office said. So far in the investigation, the incident does not appear to be a random act of violence. In this 1965 file photo, a Cesar Chavez, a farm worker labor organizer and leader of the California grape strike, speaks from a Delano, Calif., union office. (AP Photo, George Brich, File) AP A holiday commemorating a civil rights leaders birthday is fast approaching, but its not recognized the same way in every state, including Massachusetts. In a handful of states, March 31 is Cesar Chavez Day. The date corresponds with the birthday of Chavez, a farm worker and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers in the 1960s. Through humility and non-violent methods, Chavez led strikes and marches to better the lives of farmworkers, according to the Los Angeles County Librarys website. In 1994, Chavez was awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom following his death the year before. San Francisco first recognized Chavezs birthday as a city holiday in 1994, El Pais reported in 2023. In 2014, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day, a federal commemorative holiday. The holiday marks Chavezs birth and his legacy. Raised into the life of a migrant farm worker, he toiled alongside men, women, and children who performed daily, backbreaking labor for meager pay and in deplorable conditions, Obama said in his proclamation. They were exposed to dangerous pesticides and denied the most basic protections, including minimum wages, health care, and access to drinking water. While a commemorative holiday, Cesar Chavez Day is not a national holiday something Obama vocally supported in 2008 and 2011, El Pais reported. However, the day is a state holiday in nine states: California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, Utah and Wisconsin. While not a state holiday in Washington state, it is observed there. Despite the designations, Cesar Chavez Day is recognized differently. In Texas and Colorado, the holiday is optional. In Tuscon, Arizona, Cesar Chavez Day is a paid holiday. State offices and schools in California are closed for the day, though schools are not required to close for the state holiday, according to state law. Colorados state offices must remain open, Time and Date reported. In the other states that commemorate Cesar Chavez Day, public events are typically scheduled on or around March 31 to recognize Chavezs life and legacy. As Massachusetts does not recognize Cesar Chavez Day, state offices and schools will be open on Monday, March 31. The U.S. Attorneys office for Massachusetts is attempting to recover roughly $23 million in cryptocurrency prosecutors say was the result of wire fraud and market manipulation. The government filed a civil forfeiture action seeking the recovery of the cryptocurrency, which it seized from wallets controlled by Gotbit Consulting LLC. On March 21, Gotbit, which is a cryptocurrency market maker, and its founder, Aleksei Andriunin, pleaded guilty to criminal charges in federal court in Boston. The charges were tied to the companys fraudulent manipulation of cryptocurrency trading volume on behalf of its clients, other cryptocurrency companies. As part of the companys plea agreement, it consented to the forfeiture and admitted the cryptocurrency was subject to civil forfeiture. Trying new food can be an exhilarating experience. There are so many smells, textures and tastes that come with sampling an unfamiliar snack. The Spring 2025 cohort of NEPMs Media Lab, collaborated with MassLive staff for a workshop on how to write a compelling food review. MassLive Senior Producer Nick OMalley and State Editor Dave Eisenstadter visited New England Public Media in Springfield recently. OMalley discussed the writing process for his well-known I Ate it So You Dont Have To series which has featured everything from limited edition Oreo flavors to KFC mashed potato balls. NEPM youth media producers learned how to produce written food reviews from writing a catchy opening line to taking visually appealing photos of the food. Its funny think about how eating a Lemon Oreo can play a role in teaching students about journalism, said OMalley, who spent time with students teaching them his process and also sharing stories of the many food fails and successes hes experienced along the way. Eisenstadter, who both writes and edits content, shared writing tips with students as well as what the editing process is like for stories like OMalleys. It was really rewarding hearing students interests and questions, and seeing them film videos to turn into stories. Were looking forward to coming back, he said. Both joined the youth producers in snack tasting featuring Twix Popcorn, Corn Brights and tamarind candy. The youth producers then had the opportunity to write their very own food review based on the snack of their choosing. Snacks tested during MassLive's visit to NEPM Media Lab. NEPM Media Lab Media Lab intern Eliana Rosa opted for a sweet popcorn treat, Candy Pops Twix caramel popcorn. My first thought when I opened the bag and tried the popcorn was that it was pretty plain, she said. Read Elianas full review here. Media Lab intern Ari Soto, tried the tamarind candy. It smells like a buttery toffee and a little bit of peanut smell shines through. If you ever had the Vietnamese peanut sauce they serve with spring rolls your nose would recognize this amazing smell, she said. Read Aris full review here. Media Lab intern Marie R., details her experience with tamarind, the fruit and now the candy. I remember trying the fruit in its natural state in Puerto Rico. The fruit in its natural state is a little more acidic, with milder sweet notes, and the acid level is higher. So, if you want to try something different that doesnt look as delicious, give it a try, she said. Read Maries full review here. Nick O'Malley, right, and Dave Eisenstadter of MassLive, teach NEPM Media Lab Youth Media producers how to write a food review. Ismary Santiago-Lugo/NEPM Alberto Martinez-Gonzalez, a mentor for Media Lab, shared his thoughts on the corn snack, Corn Brights. In the bag, they are described as a medley of texture, flavor, and colors; crunchy and colorful, sugar-coated vanilla-flavored corn puffs that will satisfy any sweet tooth, which is beautifully written in regard to this product. The taste and flavor, however, are as dull as their description, he said. Read Albertos full review here. Note: The objective of partnering with other media outlets is to show students that journalism can be fun and learning journalism skills does not have to be boring. Media Lab not only gives students the opportunity to create their own work, but also a platform on which to share it. View more Media Lab content here. A Woburn father and son who own two local restaurants were sentenced to prison on Friday for conspiring to smuggle Brazilian migrants into the country, United States Attorney Leah Foleys office said. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs sentenced Jesse James Moraes, 67, and Hugo Giovanni Moraes, 45, owners of Tudo Na Brasa/Taste of Brazil and The Dog House Bar and Grill, Foleys office said in a statement. Jesse Moraes was sentenced to eight months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, Foleys office said. Hugo Moraes was sentenced to five months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and then five months in home confinement. Hugo Moraes was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. Both men pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiring to encourage and induce an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law, for commercial advantage or private financial gain, the statement read. Jesse Moreas also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of the conspiracy. The father and sons conspiracy involved recruiting undocumented immigrants to enter the United States through Mexico in exchange for fees between $12,000 and $22,000 per person, the statement read. Immigrants were encouraged to make fake claims of aslyum and familial relationships in the United States and were given fake information about points of contact in the country in case immigration authorities caught them. The Moraeses then helped migrants get long-term housing, including apartments owned by relatives of Hugo Moraes, Foleys office said. Both men arranged for some migrants to work at their restaurants and paid them in cash until they obtained identification documents, at which point they would be paid at least partly by check, the statement read. They also encouraged the migrants to obtain fake identification documents and referred them to another man, Marcos Chacon Gil, to receive these documents. Some of the migrants were able to pay the smuggling fee by direct payments, having their wages withheld, or by collection within and outside the United States, the statement read. For the money laundering conspiracy that Jesse Moreas was sentenced for involved transferring funds into and out of the United States, Foleys office said. The arrest and detention earlier this week of a Tufts University graduate student are the tactics of a dictator intent on cracking down on dissenting viewpoints, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said Friday. It was rogue. It was lawless, it was frightening. It is chilling, and it is meant to intimidate, because thats what a dictator does, Pressley, D-7th District, said of the arrest of student Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national who was in the country legally. Dictators, such as President Donald Trump, seek to silence dissenting voices. And this is frightening. This is a five-alarm fire that everyone should be raising their voices and outcry, the Boston Democrat said during an appearance on GBH News Boston Public Radio program on Friday. Read more: Video shows Tufts student arrested by federal agents in masks and plainclothes Ozturk, 30, was detained in Somerville on Tuesday evening by a group of federal agents in masks and plain clothes as she headed to an Iftar, the evening meal to break a Ramadan fast. On Friday, the ACLU, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (CLEAR) and immigration attorney Mahsa Khanbabai filed an amended habeas petition and complaint with the Massachusetts federal court challenging Ozturks detention. Shes currently being held in a federal facility in Louisiana. @masslivenews Several hundred people packed a park near Tufts University on Wednesday, March 26 and rallied in show of support for Rumeysa Ozturk, a Ph.D. student arrested by masked federal agents off-campus the day before. #fyp #tuftsuniversity #massachusetts original sound - MassLive News Pressley is among the Massachusetts lawmakers who signed a letter calling on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to explain why Ozturk was taken into custody. The letter links Ozturks arrest to similar actions at other college campuses in the U.S., including Columbia University. These are deeply troubling incidents, the letter reads. The Administration should not summarily detain and deport legal residents of this country merely for expressing their political views. Absent compelling evidence justifying her detention and the revocation of her status, we call for Ozturks release and the restoration of her visa. Read More: ACLU demands court order release of Tufts grad student in ICE custody Ozturks lawyer has said she has not been charged with a crime, a claim federal officials have thus far not contested. Trump administration officials have pointed to her co-authorship of an op-ed published in Tufts student newspaper criticizing the universitys response to the pro-Palestinian movement on campus. But there is no indication she was a leader or prominent figure in the movement. The Department of Homeland Security has not said what prompted Ozturks arrest. It only asserted that it was commonsense security to detain her because she supports Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist group responsible for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Thursday that the government terminated Ozturks visa. This is an attack on free speech. Due process has been violated here. She was not taken before a judge, there was no court process. There is no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing, Pressley told the station. The only alleged crime is that she exercised free speech and co-authored an op-ed where she affirmed the dignity and humanity of all people, and called on Tufts to acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, which she has every right to do under the First Amendment, she continued. So I dont care wherever you fall on the issue of Israel and Palestine. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, you should be deeply alarmed by the harrowing events that took place on that video recording, and by this assault and attack on free speech, and on due process, she said. What happened to Ozturk could happen to anyone, Pressley warned. The only way to respond to a dictator, which is what Donald Trump is, is with defiance, Pressley told the station. And the way that we demonstrate that defiance is that we continue to amplify Rumeysas story, we continue to demand her release and to process and that her visa is reinstated, we cannot, in silence or even in our fear, be complicit, because theyre not going to stop." A new poll found that a majority of Americans and a majority of Republicans consider the Trump administrations sharing of military plans in a group chat with a journalist that was mistakenly added to be a very serious matter. The poll also found that Americans consider the texting scandal more serious than a previous scandal that involved Hillary Clintons use of a personal email address to conduct business while serving as secretary of state. A poll released by YouGov on March 25 found that 74% of respondents said that the texting scandal was serious, with 53% saying it was very serious and 21% saying it was somewhat serious. When broken down by party, 89% of Democrats said the scandal was serious, with 75% saying it was very serious and 14% saying it was somewhat serious, according to the poll. Sixty percent of Republicans said the scandal was serious, with 28% saying it was very serious and 32% saying it was somewhat serious. Among independents, 72% said the scandal was serious, with a majority, 53% saying it was very serious and 19% saying it was somewhat serious. The poll was conducted on March 25 with a sample size of 5,976 U.S. adults and a margin of error of 2%. The findings of the poll were then compared to previous YouGov surveys conducted in 2015 and 2022 that asked respondents how serious it was that Clinton used a personal email address for business while serving as secretary of state. The 2015 poll found that 56% of respondents said it was serious, with 30% of respondents saying it was a very serious matter and 26% of respondents saying it was a somewhat serious matter. The 2015 poll was conducted from March 7 to March 9 with a sample size of 1000 U.S. adults and a margin of error of 4.2%. The 2022 poll found that 62% of respondents said Clintons use of a personal email was serious, with 41% saying it was very serious and 21% saying it was somewhat serious. The 2022 poll was conducted from Sept. 17 to Sept. 20 with a sample size of 1,500 U.S. adults and a margin of error of 2.9%. Americans also consider the Trump administrations texting scandal more serious than another controversy involving President Donald Trump taking classified documents to Mar-A-Lago. In the September 2022 YouGov poll, 58% of respondents said Trump taking the classified documents was a serious matter, with 42% saying it was very serious and 16% saying it was somewhat serious. On Monday, The Atlantic published a story by Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg about how he was included in a group chat that included members of Trumps cabinet, including National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. Other officials in the group chat include Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, according to The Atlantic. The group chat, which was confirmed to be on the messaging service Signal, contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying and attack sequencing, Goldberg reported. Following Mondays article, a second piece from Goldberg was published on Wednesday, featuring the entire signal chat with detailed plans against the Houthis. The second piece came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied the initial report on Monday, telling reporters, nobody was texting war plans. Even though a majority of Americans view the texting scandal as a very serious matter, Attorney General Pam Bondi has signaled that a probe into the chat is unlikely, according to the Associated Press. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, however, told members of the United States Senate that the leaking of the war plans is under investigation, according to PBS. Gabbard also claimed that the information in the chat was not classified, according to NBC News. I can attest to the fact that there were not classified or intelligence equities that were included in that chat group at any time, Gabbard said. Trump, for his part, has called the reports about the group chat a witch hunt, according to The New York Times. The president said he was not concerned about the leak because there was no harm done, because the attack was unbelievably successful, The Times reported. While Trump has not asked Waltz or anyone else to resign over the signal chat scandal, the president has privately vented his irritation over the issue and has been monitoring the news to see if it has quieted down, according to CBS News. The statue found in Savers was of Am I Not a Man and a Brother, a symbol of a kneeling man bound by chains that was produced as part of the late 18th century abolitionist movement in Western Europe and America. Scarnici Productions In February 2023, a West Springfield Savers employee noticed an unusual statue not on the stores shelves, but left outside among the scrap metal to be thrown away. Believing it deserved another life and was of possible racial importance, Leo Scarnici, the former employee, took it home, a decision that ultimately led to its place in a museum. Charter Communications is shutting down its call center in Worcester, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice from the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development. The letter, dated March 26, reads that Charter Communications decided to close its Customer Operations department at 95 Higgins St. in Worcester. The 174 employees who work at the call center are anticipated to lose their jobs by June 26. It is possible that one or multiple employees will remain employed for a limited time to assist with administrative tasks related to the facility closure, the letter reads. Despite the closure of the call center, the letter reads that the entire facility at 95 Higgins St. will not be closed as a result of the call centers closure. Employees currently working at the call center are being given the option to relocate to other locations and are eligible to receive relocation benefits, according to reporting from the Telegram & Gazette. Current employees are also being offered severance benefits including salary continuation, continuation of the company contribution toward health insurance, and outplacement services, the Telegram & Gazette reported. Charter Communications is a broadband connectivity company that operates under the Spectrum brand. The City of Worcester has been in negotiations with Charter for a new contract. The talks are still ongoing, and the closure of the call center will not affect them, according to Thomas Matthews, a spokesman for City Manager Eric D. Batista. 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Fianna Fail TD and Minister for Rural and Community Development, Dara Calleary and Fine Gael Minister of State, Alan Dillon both announced this afternoon that the TII have allocated 16.25 million in funding for national roads in Co Mayo. I am happy that Mayo County Council has been allocated over 16.2 million towards the national roads network in the county," said Minister Calleary. "The breakdown of funding includes 14.7 million in capital investment for the protection and renewal of existing routes. I am particularly pleased that over 800,000 has been allocated to the N26 with 485,000 for Mount Falcon to Foxford section and 360,000 for the Ballina By-pass. There is also 300,000 for the N5 Swinford Bypass for safety works with 90,000 for the N5/R320 junction and 355,000 for the N58 Foxford to Ballyvary. READ: Mayo Chief Executive faces vote of no confidence over staffing numbers Funding has been allocated towards the costs incurred in constructing pedestrian crossings in Foxford, Balla, Tooreen, Ballyheane and Shrule while Ballinas pedestrian crossings have been allocated funding towards upgrade works. 1.2 million has been set aside for maintenance of national primary and national secondary roads in the county to include route lighting and maintenance, he said. Meanwhile 1million in the Sligo County Council allocation has been allocated to the N17 Knock to Collooney to progress its design. Castlebar-based Minister Dillon welcomed this funding along with funding for the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge project in Co Roscommon. "Projects such these demonstrate the clear commitment to the ongoing development of our national road network. I am also delighted to see 88,000,000 allocated to the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge project, which is under construction, while the N17 Knock to Collooney project has been allocated an additional 1 million to progress its design. These are projects I have continued to advocate for. "I am also pleased to see 2,500,000 to progress to the next phase of the N4 Mullingar to Longford dual carriageway. This road will assist the thousands of commuters who travel this route from the west daily and weekly," he said. Minister Calleary said that the N26, including the Ballina By-pass, and the N58 Foxford to Ballyvary are very important route developments for North/East Mayo. I am pleased that they will progress further with this additional funding. It is imperative these particular projects progress as quickly as possible, he said. The construction of all-weather watersports facilities on Achill Island and Louisburgh are expected to go to construction at the end of the summer tourism season. Keel beach on Achill Island and Carrowmore beach near Louisburgh were chosen by Failte Ireland in 2021 as the two Mayo locations to avail of national funding to develop state-of-the-art facilities for outdoor water-based activities. Progress on the projects have been delayed in the last four years but the monthly meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District heard that both projects are to proceed and expected to be open in early 2026. READ: Historic 'lost' Mayo island art discovered in Belgium Achill-based councillor Paul McNamara welcomed the progress on the project and said they will be used by tourists and locals alike. Hopefully in Keel this will solve the problem of having no public toilets in the parish [during the winter] until St Patrick's weekend. It will be a much needed facility for Keel and Carrowmore. It will be used not just by tourists but also by the local community. Most days of the year people are on the beaches and to see the facility in place which will be open 365 days a year will be welcome, he said. The Keel and Carramore facilities were part of a Department of Tourism and Failte Ireland investment of 19 million for 22 facilities across Ireland in 2021 and each were to receive 650,000 in funding. The proposed developments form part of Failte Ireland's 'Platforms for Growth' capital investment programme which is designed to support and improve facilities for visitor experience throughout Ireland. Each all-weather centre will consist of unisex toilets, indoor shower rooms and an accessible washroom, as well as external showers, a plant room, electrical rooms and cleaners store. Louisburgh-based councillor Chris Maxwell said he was delighted to see the projects go ahead while Westport councillor Peter Flynn asked that when the work is completed the focus should turn to Bertra and Old Head beaches and improvement in facilities. by Sarah Mahoney @mahoney_sarah, March 27, 2025 A booming quarter from Chewy, signs of stabilization at Petco, and a fresh forecast from the American Pet Products Association all point to one thing: Fluffy and Spot are eating just fine. The APPAs new forecast for the year ahead predicts a 3.2% increase in spending on Americas pets, with sales expected to rise to $157 billion in 2025, up from $152 billion in 2024. The number of U.S. households with pets jumped to 94 million, up from 82 million last yearan increase of nearly 15%. And younger generations are powering much of that growth: Gen Z pet owners are the most likely to own multiple animals, with 70% reporting at least two. Dogs remain the most popular pets, with 51% of households owning one, followed by cats at 37%. But the fastest-growing category is chickens. Driven by rising egg prices and growing interest in backyard farming, chicken ownership climbed 28% year over year, with 11 million households now caring for poultry. advertisement advertisement While 77% of respondents in the APPA survey say the economy hasnt affected their pet ownership, cost concerns are rising. More than a third (37%) cited access to veterinary care as a worry, followed by 22% citing access to other pet care services. The markets momentum is mirrored in financial results from two of its leading retailers. Chewys Q4 net sales climbed 15% to $3.25 billion, with net income of $22.8 milliondown from $31.9 million a year ago but still ahead of expectations. Analysts credit the Plantation, Florida-based companys performance to deeper customer engagement and sharper marketing execution. Chewys new and reactivated customer improvement appears sustainable with successful marketing programs and healthy cohort dynamics, writes Seth Basham, an analyst at Wedbush. The company is also benefiting from building wallet share initiatives and a rapidly growing sponsored program, albeit with growth now coming from lower-margin offsite ads. Jaime Katz, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, noted the companys auto-ship penetration rose to 80.6%, up from 76.2% a year agoevidence of sticky, long-term customer behavior. Chewys outperformance reflects the strength of the firm's value proposition and ongoing investments in the customer experience, she wrote. However, Katz added that softer discretionary spending likely held back net sales per active customer, which grew 6.3%below Morningstars 12% projection. At Petco, signs of stabilization are emerging, even as revenue slipped 7.3% to $1.6 billion for the quarter. Net losses narrowed to $13.8 million, an improvement from $22.6 million the year prior. New CEO Joel Anderson is leaning into a data-driven turnaround effort, pivoting the San Diego-based brand from its health and wellness identity to a broader positioning rooted in emotional connection and pet-parent relevance. The results demonstrate solid progress under new leadership to return the business model to retail operating excellence, says Basham. He notes that Petcos efforts are increasingly anchored in analytics and emotional storytelling, with potential to differentiate in a crowded omnichannel market. Marketers should take note: Pet shoppersparticularly younger onesare omnichannel by default. The APPA reports that 51% of pet owners shop online and 47% shop in-store. And their influence extends beyond checkout. Among HR professionals and senior leaders surveyed, 80% say pets benefit the workplace, with the same number viewing pet policies as talent attractors. Seventy-five percent say pets-at-work initiatives are helping drive return-to-office efforts. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, March 27, 2025 Google has released what it calls a thinking model that takes users into its thought process to reveal assumptions and why it chose the line of reasoning for its responses. "In the field of AI, a systems capacity for 'reasoning' refers to more than just classification and prediction," Koray Kavukcuoglu, chief technology officer at Google DeepMind, wrote in a blog post. It refers to its ability to analyze information, draw logical conclusions, incorporate context and nuance, and make informed decisions. Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental is a multimodal reasoning AI model that became available on Tuesday in the companys developer platform, Google AI Studio, as well as in the Gemini app for subscribers to the companys monthly AI plan, Gemini Advanced. It soon will become available in Vertex AI. advertisement advertisement In the future, Kavukcuoglu wrote, Google will build these thinking capabilities directly into all of its models, so they can handle more complex problems and support even more capable, context-aware agents. Thinking models are capable of reasoning through their thoughts before responding, resulting in enhanced performance and improved accuracy. Since this model is experimental, it may not always work as expected, and some features will not be available, Kavukcuoglu explained. Gemini 2.5 Pro also announced this week tops the LMArena leaderboard a crowdsourced, real-time ranking system for Large Language Models (LLMs). It measures human preferences, indicating a highly capable model equipped with high-quality style. The model, 2.5 Pro, also shows strong reasoning and code capabilities, leading on common coding, math and science benchmarks. As an example in the post, Google provides an example of how 2.5 Pro can use reasoning capabilities to create a video game by producing the executable code from a one-line prompt. Google did not publish API pricing for Gemini 2.5 Pro, but said it expects to providing pricing in the coming weeks. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 28, 2025 Citing a new Adalytics report about ad fraud, Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) on Friday urged the federal government to investigate whether verification vendors including DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science and Human Security misrepresented their ability to detect traffic from bots. Research indicates that certain ad verification companies are making apparently false and misleading claims about the capability of their products to avoid bots and ensure paid-for ad content reaches humans, Warner says in a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson. He added that new research from forensics firm Adalytics shows that major advertisers -- including nonprofits and numerous US federal, state, and municipal government entities -- have had their ads served to bots operating out of data centers rather than authentic human audiences. advertisement advertisement Warner sent a similar letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. The letters referenced a report by Adalytics, which claimed that DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science often fail to prevent ads being served to bots. Adalytics said its research "suggested that advertisers were billed by ad tech vendors for ad impressions served to declared bots operating out of known data center server farms." Adalytics additionally reported that thousands of brands, including Procter & Gamble, Hersheys and Microsoft, as well as government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, US Army, US Air Force, US Navy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had their ads served by ad tech vendors to bots in data centers" since at least 2020. DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science and Human Security haven't yet responded to MediaPost's request for comment. Warner asked Ferguson to investigate and answer a host of questions by April 28 -- including whether Integral Ad Science, DoubleVerify, Human Security and others were capable of preventing ads from being servied to declared bots. The lawmaker also asked Ferguson about the extent of the resulting financial harm to the government, nonprofits and publishers that paid for this ineffective bot avoidance technology. The letter to Bondi asks her to investigate whether Integral Ad Science, DoubleVerify and Human Security knowingly misrepresented their capabilities regarding the ability to detect and filter bots, and whether the firms violated the False Claims Act by charging the government for services they didn't deliver. This isn't the first time Warner has raised concerns about ad fraud with federal authorities. In 2016, the lawmaker, along with Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York), urged former FTC Chair Edith Ramirez to investigate whether online ad fraud was artificially driving up the price of ads. by Barbara Lippert , Columnist, March 28, 2025 In the recent New York Times piece Whos Against Banning Cellphones in Schools? Ginia Bellafante wrote about the ban that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is currently promoting. If the proposal passes in September, New York will join a list of 18 states (including Florida and Louisiana) that have already put some sort of smartphone ban in schools. The action comes from concern about the damaging effects that teenagers addiction to social media -- and their phones -- have had on their vulnerable brains. Hochul was impressed by the successful 2022 experiment called bell-to-bell initiated by the superintendent of schools in Schoharie, N.Y., a small rural town in upstate New York. From the first bell to the last, students could not use phones (or smart watches or earbuds) at any point during the school day -- including lunch, walking the hallways, and in study halls. advertisement advertisement The results were positive both inside and out of the classroom. Students started to focus and communicate face-to-face, newly engaged in the world, rather than shutting themselves off. And the teachers had a much easier time, uh, teaching, rather than policing contraband devices. Ironically, the most negative reactions tended to come from parents, who feared they wouldnt be able to reach their children in a crisis. (Sadly, a school shooting comes to mind.) But the parents concern proved misguided. As Bellafante writes, In an emergency, phones distract children from remaining focused on whomever has been entrusted to keep them safe; calls and texts create added panic. In pondering the kids cellphone addictions, I couldnt help but think of the brilliant and powerful British series Adolescence, which is now the number-one show on Netflix (see scene below). Beautifully written and acted, it offers a, delicately layered, non-cliched mixture of psychological and social insight into the life of contemporary teens. Its painful to watch. We are led into a raw, suffocating world that is lived mostly online, while most adults are unprepared and/or clueless about monitoring or understanding their kids experiences. The story is set in West Yorkshire, England, and opens on a more violent than necessary early morning raid of an ordinary suburban home. The officers in riot gear are there to apprehend Jamie Miller, a terrified, baby-faced 13-year-old boy, who is arrested on suspicion of the murder of a female classmate, Katie Leonard, who had been stabbed to death the night before. Crouching like a scared animal in the corner of his room, the boy wets his pants, cries, and then clings to his dad as police officers take him to the station. Police have local CCTV footage of him committing the grotesque act. Still, the kid adamantly claims he didnt do it. (At one point he even uses the phrase fake news.) The show explores the difficult issues of misogyny, the manosphere, and online violence; its based on real-life news stories about young boys involved in knife crimes in 2022 in the U.K. With Bascomb, the lead detective on the case, we also get a glimpse of Jamies chaotic school life, where fights break out in the yard and teachers scream at the kids to put their phones away. We later learn that, along with two friends, Jamie was considered an outcast. Throughout the propulsive forward motion of the four episodes (each of which, amazingly, is shot in one take), the story is told over the course of one year from the points of view of his parents (his father, mostly), the detectives, and a court-ordered psychologist. Theyre all trying to figure out Jamies motivation for this incomprehensible act. The smug detective, whose reliance on sniffer dogs wasnt cutting it, believed that the online communication he read on Insta between Katie and Jamie revealed that the victim had befriended, and even been kind, to her killer. He had to get schooled by his also-bullied 15-year-old son, Adam, who told his father that it was embarrassing watching you blunder about. Despite all his experience. Detective Bascomb had no sense of the wars flaring on these kids Instagram accounts, which included mortifying topless shots of some of the 13-year-old girls (including Katie) and coded emojis suggesting much larger cultural and gender explosions. Looks like shes being nice, right? the detectives son asks him as he pulls up the Insta exchanges on his phone. Katie had commented on several of Jamies posts, primarily in emojis. The dynamite, exploding red pill, the 100, the son points out. Actually, shes denigrating him, as the kid later explains. The 100 [emoji] comes from the 80/20 war, he says. (Something promoted online by extremists like Andrew Tate.) Eighty percent of the women are attracted to 20 percent of the men. So you must trick them, cause youll never get them in a normal way. Finally, Adam gets to the crux: Shes saying hes an incel, Dad, a virgin forever. And all of these people have hearted it. Theyre all agreeing with her. The series is too smart to blame it all on the Internet. Violence like this is a result of more than the toxic stew from some quarters of the web. What the best episode, the third, shows is that everyone is overwhelmed. At bottom, Jamie was a kid on the cusp of puberty, filled with fear and tamped-down rage. (And yes, he was bullied.) He seemed to have caring parents and was bright. But in his case, his roiling insecurity and self-loathing turned into a tragic inability to understand or control his own actions. Thats an issue way larger than cellphones. But yes, Im with the governor: Banning smartphones in schools is one good start in tamping down the flames. by Teresa Buyikian , March 28, 2025 This week Rego Restaurant Group announced it has hired Neel Patel as CEO to lead sub sandwich maker Quiznos as well as Mexican food fast-casual restaurant Taco del Mar. He replaces former CEO Tim Casey, who left in Dec. 2024 after a six-year tenure. Patel joins the company from Churchs Texas Chicken, where over the past three years he served as first an advisor, then moved into the role of senior vice president, strategy and growth. While there he played a key role in the brands transformation and recent transactional growth, leading commercial strategy, revenue management, and global expansion efforts, per Regos announcement. Both Quiznos and Taco del Mar are well-positioned for expansion and accelerated growth, and we are confident that Neel is the ideal leader to drive that momentum, said Coady Smith, board member of Rego Restaurant Group and principal at High Bluff Capital Partners, in the announcement. His deep expertise in driving unit-level profitability, optimizing operations, and delivering data-driven business transformations will be instrumental as we continue to expand our brands." advertisement advertisement Before Churchs, Patel worked at McKinsey & Company as an engagement manager, consulting with businesses on enterprise strategy, commercial optimization, data & analytics and value creation. Earlier in his career Patel also spend time at Web.com, Wasserman Media Group and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Quizno has approximately 330 locations worldwide, with 148 in the U.S. Taco del Mar, which specializes in Mexican Coastal cuisine from southern Baja, has approximately 100 locations in the U.S. and Canada. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 28, 2025 Google has agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims that it overcharged some pay-per-click advertisers by allegedly failing to honor their requests to limit ads geographically, and allegedly reneging on a promise to discount some ads. If accepted by U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, the deal will resolve a lawsuit dating to 2011, when advertiser Rene Cabrera claimed he was overcharged for pay-per-click ads he purchased to market his former business, Training Options. Cabrera alleged in a class-action complaint that he bought pay-per-click ads from Google between 2008 and 2009, and that the company failed to correctly apply its smart pricing discount during that time, and also charged him for clicks that originated from states other than the ones he was targeting. He targeted Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, but alleged that he was charged for clicks from users in New York, Virginia, California, Illinois, Texas, and other states, according to court papers. advertisement advertisement Davila originally threw out the lawsuit on the grounds that Cabrera no longer owned Training Options, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals revived the case in 2021. The appellate court said that Cabrera's continued control over his Google advertising account gave him standing to pursue a lawsuit against the company. After the 9th Circuit sent the case back to Davila, Google argued that its agreement advertisers doesn't set out a particular smart pricing formula. The company also argued that it disclosed in the Help Center that ads could be shown to users regardless of their location. In 2023, Davila rejected Google's bid for summary judgment on both points, paving the way for Cabrera to attempt to prove his claims at trial, or to enter into a settlement. The settlement class includes everyone who advertised on the Google platform formerly called AdWords between January 1, 2004 and March 22, 2011, and paid for clicks that didn't originate from the location selected by the advertiser. Davila also certified a subclass of advertisers, described in the court papers as follows: All persons and entities located within the United States who, between June 1, 2009 and December 13, 2012, advertised through Googles AdWords Program and paid for clicks on ads on Googles Display Network where the advertisers settings allowed its ads to show on both the Search and Display Networks and the advertiser did not set a Display Network bid different from the Search Network bid. A Google spokesperson said, This case was about ad product features we changed over a decade ago and were pleased its resolved. Neighborhood conditions like income and education may play a major role in dementia risk. Trusted Source The Social Vulnerability Index and Incidence of Alzheimer Disease in a Population-Based Sample of Older Adults Go to source Trusted Source Did You Know? Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood may speed up cognitive decline by 25% compared to wealthier areas. #cognitivedecline #dementia #disadvantagedneighborhoods #mentalhealth #medindia Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood may speed up cognitive decline by 25% compared to wealthier areas. #cognitivedecline #dementia #disadvantagedneighborhoods #mentalhealth #medindia Advertisement Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Increase the Risk of Dementia Advertisement Disadvantaged Neighborhoods: Alzheimers Hotspot Dementia Disparity: Why Some Communities Face Greater Risk The Social Vulnerability Index and Incidence of Alzheimer Disease in a Population-Based Sample of Older Adults - (https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000213464) Disadvantaged neighborhood can steal your memory, warn experts.People in disadvantaged neighborhoods may have a higher risk of developing dementia than those in better-off areas, according to a new study.The findings of the study are published in the, the medical journal of the).Neighborhood status was determined by factors such as income, employment, education and disability.Our findings show that the community in which you live influences your risk of developing dementia, said study author Pankaja Desai, Ph.D., of Rush University in Chicago, Illinois. Most studies of risk factors for Alzheimer's disease focus on the individual level, not the community level. Of course, intervening at the community level is challenging, but prioritizing disadvantaged communities may be an effective way to mobilize resources for older adults and provide avenues for reducing the risk of dementia for the overall community.The study involved 6,781 people with an average age of 72 living in four communities in Chicago. Tests of thinking and memory skills were given at the beginning of the study and every three years for at least six years of follow-up. A group of 2,534 people were evaluated for dementia. A total of 66% of the study group were Black participants and the rest were white participants.Researchers looked at U.S. Census tracts of the four neighborhoods based on amount of disadvantage. A U.S. Census tract is a small area within a county.By the end of the study, 11% of the people in the tracts with the least disadvantage had developed Alzheimers disease, compared to 14% in the tracts with the next lowest disadvantage, 17% in the tracts with next-to-highest amount of disadvantage and 22% in the tracts with the highest amount of disadvantage.Once researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect the risk of dementia, such as age, sex and education, they found that people in the tracts with the most disadvantage were more than twice as likely to develop dementia as those in the tracts with the least disadvantage.More Black participants lived in areas with greater disadvantage and more white participants lived in areas with lesser disadvantage. Once we took neighborhood disadvantage factors into account, there was no longer a significant difference between Black and white people in their risk of developing Alzheimers, Desai said.The study also looked at the annual rate of decline in scores on tests of thinking and memory skills. The scores of people in the tracts with the most disadvantage declined about 25% faster than those of people in the tracts with the least disadvantage.A limitation of the study was that participants all lived in Chicago neighborhoods, so the results may not apply to other populations.Source-American Academy of Neurology Salman Khan is all set to light up the big screen this Eid with his much-awaited action film Sikandar. Directed by A.R. Murugadoss and co-starring Rashmika Mandanna, the movie promises high-octane drama and is scheduled to release this Sunday. While this should have been a reason for dual celebration for Salman, theres a shadow hanging over the festivities with increased concern over the actor's safety. For the past two years, the 59-year-old actor has been facing death threats from jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The situation intensified last year when members of Bishnois gang allegedly opened fire outside Salmans Bandra home. Since then, his security has been heightened, especially after the recent passing of his close friend and politician, Baba Siddique. Nadiadwala Grandson At a promotional event for Sikandar on Wednesday, Salman finally spoke up about the looming danger. Staying true to his characteristic calm, he said, "Bhagwan, Allah sab unpar hai. Jitni umar likhi hai, utni likhi hai. Bas yahi hai. Kabhi kabhi itne logo ko sath mein leke chalna padta hai, bas wahi dikkat aa jati hai (God, Allah, everything depends on Him. Its predetermined how long Ill live. Thats it. Sometimes, I have to take so many people along, that causes a problem)." Despite Bishnoi being locked up in Ahmedabads Sabarmati jail for attempted murder and extortion, his gangs activities remain a serious concern. In April last year, the gang allegedly plotted to assassinate the actor while he was en route to his Panvel farmhouse. More recently, in October, a threat demanding Rs. 2 crore was sent via a traffic police helpline. The following month, Salman received another message asking for Rs. 5 crore from someone claiming to be Bishnois brother. When a child makes their acting debut, you often expect it to be a light role just a kid being a kid, creating mischief, annoying his/her parents. Very rarely do you expect a child actor to debut with a dark role. Owen Cooper did exactly that, leaving the audience shocked and speechless with his role as Jamie Miller in Netflixs Adolescence. The young actor, who plays Jamie Miller in the hit series Adolescence, is earning rave reviews after his audition video surfaced online. Its easy to see why he landed the role. Netflix In the video shared by director Philip Barantini, Owen Cooper delivers a gut-wrenching portrayal of Jamie a 13-year-old caught in a whirlwind of accusations and emotional chaos. His performance exudes vulnerability and an explosive intensity, proving that hes a star in the making. The Adolescence production team, co-created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, has received widespread acclaim for the series' realistic portrayal of teenage rage and the pressures young people face. But it's Cooper's magnetic performance that has struck a chord with viewers. Fans have flooded social media with praise for the young actor. Take a look at some of the reactions to Owens audition tape by fans of the show: Instagram/Philip Barantini Instagram/Philip Barantini Instagram/Philip Barantini Instagram/Philip Barantini Celebrity hairstyling has come a long way from its early days of simple cuts and colors. In the world of cinema, hair design is not just about aesthetics now, but it plays as a catalyst in shaping characters and stories, blending the stylists creativity and their technical expertise. In the film industry, while iconic outfits have sparked fashion trends, signature hairstyles have also defined eras. From Dev Anands signature quiff, Joy Mukherjee's slicked back hair, Amitabh Bachchans long sideburns, Sadhana's fringe, Sharmila Tagore's bouffants and the voluminous waves of Sridevi, every decade was marked by very distinctive hairstyles. Today, Ranveer Singh is associated with not just transformative avatars in films as diverse as 'Bajirao Mastani', 'Padmaavat' and 83' but also his flamboyant hairstyles off the camera, on the red carpet, during media shoots and in advertising campaigns. Viacom 18 Studios The concept of celebrity hair designing in cinema has also undergone an evolution as it is now more about substance than just style. Hair designers no longer limit their creativity to just cut and colour. In cinema, they have to work meticulously to ensure the visual coherence of hair design with costumes, the backdrop and the historical context of characters. Much like costume design, which follows structured guidelines for colours and palettes, hairstyling has become more methodical. As far as the style quotient off-screen goes, with so many smartphones capturing their every public appearance, celebrities also rely on their favourite hair stylists to appear well-groomed. As far as advertising campaigns go, as you can see from Ranveer's example, every single print and video campaign requires a distinct persona. He plays a different character in each campaign and we have had a great time brainstorming how to get each detail of his hair just right. In a recent Birla paint ad, I designed multiple looks for Gajraj Rao, tailoring each to the characters he portrayed. Instagram/Darshan Decades ago, stars appeared in only a few commercials, but today, their public appearances and even their pictures on social media need to be meticulously styled. Barbering is an art that spans various media and demands a higher level of creativity as well as technical precision. Filmmakers have changed their perspective as well and prioritise perfect detailing not just for lead actors or prominent characters but also for ensemble artists to maintain visual seamlessness. Unlike earlier times when a single wig was reused for multiple artists, the budget for hairstyling has increased to ensure every detail aligns with the films visual narrative. The economics of hairstyling has changed too as dedicated hairdressers are now assigned to style the entire cast of a movie. There are also certain misconceptions surrounding hairstyling. Many industry outsiders assume that only female actors require hair stylists. Another common belief is that maintaining womens hair is more expensive and difficult, while men's hair is easier to manage. But in reality, both come with their challenges. To work with both men and women effectively, you need to understand the basics of hairstyling and the science behind it. It is like learning the sounds of a musical instrument. Once you grasp the fundamentals, you can apply them in different ways. However, styling male hair presents unique challenges. Since most men have medium or short-length hair, longer styles are less common. This means creating variations requires keen observation, attention to detail and technical expertise. The changes you can make to give a unique touch depend entirely on your design sense and how well you work with the available hair. Over 22 years of designing men's hairstyles, I have developed my theories, which have proven effective in many situations. At the same time, we continue learning while styling women's hair. We can experiment to see if certain techniques can be adapted to achieve specific looks, whether its straight or curly hair, adding volume, or determining the right lines, as women's hair offers a broader canvas for creativity. It also involves a different approach, especially in creating structure and silhouette. While conducting routine training flights, two Marine Corps aircraft made "precautionary" landings in Japan within roughly an hour of each other on the same day this week, service spokespeople confirmed to Military.com. After both aircraft received onboard warning indicators on Tuesday, an MV-2B Osprey and an F-35B Lightning II separately touched down in different parts of Japan without injury to the crews or damage to the aircraft, according to the service. It was not clear what caused the onboard warnings. After landing, the crews and maintenance teams began "troubleshooting" both aircraft to ensure that they were safe for continued flights, the spokespeople said. The F-35 touched down around 1:58 p.m. at Kochi Airport, which is in southern Japan, and the Osprey landed about an hour later at an airport in the central part of the island nation. Read Next: Signal Scandal Overshadows Confirmation Hearing for Air Force Secretary, Other Top Pentagon Nominees The F-35B belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, and the Osprey is assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, they said. Stars and Stripes first reported the landings. "Operating our aircraft safely and effectively is a top priority, and our aviators take great precautions to ensure the safety of the aircrew and the communities in which we operate," Maj. Edward Pingel, a spokesman for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit speaking about the Osprey landing, told Military.com in an emailed statement Wednesday evening. "Any decision to divert to alternate landing areas is made out of an abundance of caution to prioritize the safety of both our aircrew and the local community," he added. That part of the statement was also included by a spokesperson in relation to the F-35B landing. Stars and Stripes reported that commercial flights were not disrupted by the F-35B landing on Tuesday and that, as of Wednesday, the Osprey was still at Matsumoto Airport, where it made the precautionary landing, citing unnamed Japanese defense bureau spokespeople. The publication reported that a second Osprey landed at Matsumoto Airport, closing the runway for 45 minutes and disrupting two commercial flights, citing a news release from Nagano prefecture. "I apologize to the citizens of the prefecture and people using Matsumoto airport for the anxiety this is causing," Nagano Gov. Shuichi Abe said Tuesday, according to Stripes. "We are asking the North Kanto Defense Bureau to collect and share detailed information and to deal with this appropriately to ensure safety." In 2023, Military.com reported that three Marine Corps Ospreys made forced landings within two days of each other in Japan, with officials saying at the time that they were not made as a result of a hard clutch engagement, a malfunction that shreds internal components that power the aircraft's twin rotors and has plagued the fleet in recent years, resulting in at least one fatal crash. Last year, an Air Force test pilot was sent to a hospital in critical condition after the F-35 they were flying crashed in New Mexico. A Marine Corps F-35B crashed in South Carolina in 2023 after the pilot ejected from the aircraft, prompting a daylong search for the jet. "The pilot performed as trained and prioritized safety by landing the aircraft in accordance with standard procedures," Maj. Joseph Butterfield, a spokesperson for 1st Marine Aircraft Wing out of Okinawa, Japan, told Military.com in an emailed statement Wednesday evening regarding the F-35's landing this week. "We have the utmost confidence in our pilots' ability to make informed decisions when presented with indications that an aircraft requires examination before continuing flight operations." Related: 3 Ospreys Made Forced Landings in Japan. The Marine Corps Said There Were No Indications of Clutch Issues. The U.S. military is deploying troops and armored vehicles to West Texas, including inside Big Bend National Park, as part of President Donald Trumps crackdown on illegal immigration. About 200 troops from the Armys 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo. a trained combat unit are already on the ground in and around Big Bend. That number is expected to grow to some 500 in coming weeks, Army officials say. At a news conference this month in Alpine, Army and border officials said troops will not arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally, according to Marfa Public Radio. Instead, soldiers will assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection with surveillance and intelligence gathering, the Department of Defense announced this week. Troops will patrol both on foot and in armored vehicles, known as Strykers. The 19-ton vehicles are well-suited for navigating rugged terrain. Army officials did not disclose how many Strykers are being deployed. The vehicles could be outfitted with weapons, if needed. If the mission dictates for security purposes that we put our weapons systems on those Strykers, then they will be put on the Strykers, Major Jared Stefani, who is leading the Big Bend area Army battalion, told reporters. This is the second wave of troops being sent to beef up border security since Trump took office in January. About 1,500 Marines and Army soldiers arrived shortly after inauguration, joining 2,500 Army forces already there. Encompassing the rugged Chisos Mountains and Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend is one of the nations largest and most remote national parks. The park spans more than 800,000 acres, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island. It also sees few border crossings compared to other parts of Texas. In February of this year, Customs and Border Protection reported 165 migrant encounters in Big Bend, compared to 1,600 in Laredo and 2,600 around El Paso the same month. Overall, apprehensions in February dropped to the lowest levels in decades. Critics of the deployment called the plan a waste of taxpayer dollars and a political stunt. Demonstrations over the past several weeks at our parks have shown that hate has no place in our parks, Sherman Neal II, deputy director of the Sierra Clubs Military Outdoors campaign, said in a written statement. Gateway communities to our national parks understand their economic viability isnt tied to the chilling effects of militarization, but nested in becoming more inclusive communities for all of us. A federal law forbids the use of armed forces for law enforcement purposes on U.S. soil unless authorized by Congress or the Constitution. The Insurrection Act is the only exception. The 200-year-old law grants the president power to deploy the military domestically to suppress insurrections or quell civil unrest. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not ruled out using the Insurrection Act to control the border. The goal is to control every inch of the Southern border, Hegseth said in a February visit to the border in El Paso and neighboring New Mexico. Everything is on the table when it comes to securing the border and dealing with cartels. The Big Bend region has not seen a large-scale military presence in decades, and news outlets in West Texas said some residents were wary of the development. In 1997, a high school sophomore, Esequiel Hernandez Jr., was shot and killed by a U.S. Marine during a covert drug operation near the border town of Redford while herding his familys goats. Border Patrol Big Bend Sector Chief Lloyd Easterling said at the news conference that agents will not be covert. Nobodys going to be hidden, he said. We want people to see where they are, because its a method of deterrence. Thats a big piece of it. 2025 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Thousands of Department of Veterans Affairs employees expecting to receive additional pay for overtime they've worked will have to wait until April 11 as a result of problems with the VA's employee tracking system. The VA's Time and Attendance System, known as VATAS, has experienced delays for the past week, slowing down payroll processing for roughly 2% of VA employees, a department spokesman confirmed. VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz said employees will receive their regular pay as scheduled on Friday, but some who earned overtime will be affected by the software problems. Read Next: Signal Scandal Overshadows Confirmation Hearing for Air Force Secretary, Other Top Pentagon Nominees "To summarize: 100% of VA employees will be paid their normal wages on time and 98% of VA employees will experience no impact whatsoever from this issue," Kasperowicz said in a statement to Military.com. Kasperowicz did not say what was causing the problems. VATAS is operated out of the VA's Central Office in Washington, D.C., and used by roughly 480,000 employees to track overtime, time sheets, vacation requests and other leave. The VA is at the early stages of a reduction in force that will cut the number of employees it has by roughly 80,000 to 399,957 -- the number it had in 2019 at the end of President Donald Trump's first term, according to a memo issued in early March by VA Chief of Staff Christopher Syrek. The department already has cut 2,400 employees who had spent less than two years in their positions, although a lawsuit has temporarily paused those firings. An unknown number of VA employees also took an offer from the federal government to resign with pay. The VA has not said how many took the deferred resignation, dubbed the "Fork in the Road" offer by the Office of Management and Budget, but 103 types of jobs were not eligible for the offer because they are considered vital to public safety and health. The reductions are part of an overall effort by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, to trim the size of the federal government with a goal to slash the federal deficit of $1.1 trillion. The efforts to cut employees at the VA and across the federal government have met opposition, given that 30% of those in public service are veterans. Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, plans to hold a series of "shadow hearings" -- meetings led by Democratic lawmakers to address their ongoing concerns with the Trump administration -- with the first focused on veteran firings from the federal workforce. "Congress has an urgent oversight role in this moment of crisis for veterans," Blumenthal said, adding that he had invited VA Secretary Doug Collins to appear at the first meeting, scheduled for April 2. Instead, Collins has accepted an invitation to appear before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee for a yet-to-be-scheduled hearing. In a statement to Military.com, Committee Chairman Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said he expects Collins to address the changes at the VA. "When a date for the hearing is agreed to, members of the committee will have the opportunity to question Secretary Collins on workforce changes and his plans to make the VA work better for veterans," Moran said. "I also expect the secretary to also be able to testify about the president's budget request for the Department of Veterans Affairs." Related: Supreme Court Upholds VA Court Decision Not to Review 'Benefit-of-the-Doubt' Evidence in Veterans' Claims The Navy says it is working to reduce the growing costs of fighting Houthi drones launched from Yemen by placing two new experimental systems on destroyers that are slated to deploy later this summer. "We're going to be deploying the Ford strike group with two additional missile systems on our destroyers -- the Roadrunner system and the Coyote system -- both specifically designed to go after UAVs," or unmanned aerial vehicles, Adm. Daryl Caudle, the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, told reporters last week. Ever since the Navy repelled its first wave of drone attacks from the Houthi rebels in October 2023, there has been a steady criticism over the fact that commanders were turning to multimillion-dollar missiles to down drones that cost fractions of that amount. The phenomenon became known as the "cost-curve problem." Read Next: Army US Allies Battling Swampy Terrain to Find 4 Soldiers Missing Since Tuesday in Lithuania "Those two systems ... are part of that attempt to get after the cost curve, give our commanding officers more options to engage the threat and ultimately be more effective in defending the high-value unit," Capt. Mark Lawrence, the commander of the destroyer squadron whose ships will employ the new systems, told reporters March 21. The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, along with a group of destroyers, is set to deploy in the coming months, Navy officials have said. In January, the Navy revealed that, in 15 months of fighting the Houthis, commanders fired 220 missiles, including 120 SM-2 missiles -- the service's workhorse anti-air missile that has a range of about 90 miles. Officials didn't offer a breakdown of what the missiles were fired at. The SM-2 missiles alone run about $2 million a piece, while some of the newer missiles that were used against Houthi missiles can run as high as nearly $28 million a piece. While a precise cost total for munitions expended from October 2023 to January 2025 is hard to Tough calculate exactly, it's clear that the Navy has expended well over $500 million just in the cost of missiles. The Roadrunner and Coyote systems could reduce those expenditures, but they are not new. According to Capt. Ronald Flanders, a spokesman for the Navy's research and acquisition department, Roadrunner is itself a drone-type loitering weapon capable of targeting other drones and was first fielded by U.S. Special Operations Command. The head of the company that makes the Roadrunner described it to reporters in 2023 as "somewhere between a reusable missile and ... a full-scale autonomous aircraft." Meanwhile, Coyote is a similar system of launchable interceptor drones that was predominantly used by the U.S. Army to protect its bases. "Both these systems were originally designed for use over land; however, the U.S. Navy has tested and demonstrated these systems in the maritime environment," Flanders said. He was not able to provide a cost per interceptor or the range of either system in time for publication. The Navy has also been experimenting with laser-based weapons that could be used to take out drones, but those efforts have been going on for years without much success in scaling experimental efforts to more than one or two ships. In January, Caudle called the Navys inability to scale up the weapon "embarrassing." In the meantime, Caudle also revealed that, thanks to a slew of analysis done on the now hundreds of engagements, the Navy is starting to revise its approach to just how many missiles it will fire to take down a drone. "We may have had a 'shoot two, look, shoot two more'" approach, Caudle said, before noting that the Navy has "been able to reduce that because that wasn't improving our probability of kill." However, Navy officials like Lawrence and Flanders are clear that the effort to find alternatives to missiles for anti-drone warfare isn't just about money -- it's about saving the missiles for more high-end threats. "We're trying to find ways to make sure that we're going to have the deep missile inventories we might need for other contingencies," Lawrence said. Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, the commander of the USS Ford's strike group, also noted that Navy destroyers have also been employing their deck guns more regularly as well. "That is a very effective weapon -- it is not just for show," he said. Navy officials revealed in January that, in 15 months of fighting, Navy ships used 160 5-inch shells over the course of 380 separate engagements, though, like with the missiles, they didn't say what they were shot at. At the end of the day, however, Navy leaders stress that they are not trying to discourage commanders and crews from employing the "tried and true" SM-2 missile. In January, the commander of the service's surface forces, Vice Adm. Brendan McLane, said that warship commanders are not worried about munitions cost, "nor should they be." "They have other things to worry about, like what's for breakfast," he quipped. "While we work on fleet initiatives to really get more efficient, I'd say we remain laser-focused on staying effective," Lawrence said. Related: Navy's Fight in Red Sea Used 220 Missiles, But Officials Say That's Changing The Department of Veterans Affairs has a new No. 2 official after the Senate voted along party lines Thursday to approve Paul Lawrence as deputy VA secretary. Lawrence, a former Army captain who served as the VA's under secretary for benefits in the first Trump administration, was approved in a 51-45 vote Thursday, an unusually partisan split for a VA nominee. By contrast, VA Secretary Doug Collins, who has since become toxic for Democrats, was approved 77-23 last month. While Democrats did not cite anything specific about Lawrence's qualifications or background they opposed, they voted against him in protest of the Trump's administration's ongoing austerity measures at the VA. Read Next: Signal Scandal Overshadows Confirmation Hearing for Air Force Secretary, Other Top Pentagon Nominees "I voted for Doug Collins, and I regret it," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said on the Senate floor this week. "I'm not making the same mistake with Paul Lawrence. There's no reason to believe he'll be any different, not to mention any better, because he's the deputy. I have respect for their service in the military, as I do for anyone who has worn the uniform, but I cannot, I cannot vote for Paul Lawrence, and I hope my colleagues will be as vigilant as I am seeking to be in voting against him." Lawrence will take over as deputy secretary, a role considered to be the chief operating officer of the department, at a time when the VA is under intense scrutiny over the Trump administration's cost-cutting measures. The VA has fired about 2,400 employees who were in their probationary period, defined as the first couple of years after starting the job or getting a promotion, and canceled more than 500 contracts that it described as wasteful, though it has not released a full list of what's been canceled. The department is also planning on firing more than 80,000 employees later this year in what VA officials have described as an effort to "identify and eliminate waste, reduce management and bureaucracy, reduce footprint, and increase workforce efficiency." While the department has insisted that veterans' health care and benefits aren't being harmed by the cuts and blasted "legacy media, government union bosses and some in Congress" for fearmongering, Democratic lawmakers and veterans themselves have surfaced examples to the contrary. When Lawrence was pressed about the cuts at his confirmation hearing last month, he pledged to look into them more once he is confirmed and to ensure veterans services are protected. The firings were "designed not to affect the provision of health care and benefits, and there was a safeguard where the first-level [Senior Executive Service] supervisors could opt somebody out of that process," Lawrence told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. When senators presented him with examples of questionable terminations, Lawrence said that those examples were "inconsistent with what I have read," but added that he would look into the dismissals. While Democrats turned against Lawrence over the cuts, Republicans praised his past experience at the VA and with management in general. Prior to his work in the first Trump administration, Lawrence had a lengthy career as a management consultant. "Congratulations to Deputy Secretary Lawrence on his confirmation to this critically important role," Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in a statement Thursday. "Through our conversations and his past experience at the Veterans Benefits Administration, Mr. Lawrence has demonstrated that he is prepared to help Secretary Collins lead the Department of Veterans Affairs and support the needs of our nation's veterans and their families." Related: Nominee for VA Deputy Role Questioned by Senate over Firings, Elon Musk Access to Veterans' Info The U.S. military wants to keep training at Pohakuloa, so it's ready to quickly send troops to Asia and the Pacific. MANILA, Philippines U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that the Trump administration would work with allies to ramp up deterrence against threats across the world, including Chinas aggression in the South China Sea. Hegseth, who was visiting the Philippines, blamed the previous Biden administration for insufficient actions that emboldened aggressors like China over the years. He said the U.S. military was being rebuilt under President Donald Trump and was reestablishing its warrior ethos in the region, but did not elaborate. What were dealing with right now is many years of deferred maintenance, of weakness, that we need to reestablish strength and deterrence in multiple places around the globe, Hegseth told a news conference with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, after meeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila. Theres a long line of countries in the past who have attempted to test U.S. resolve, Hegseth added. We are resolved at this time to work with our partners. Earlier, he told Marcos that deterrence was particularly needed in the Indo-Pacific region considering the threats from the communist Chinese. Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict, to ensure that there is free navigation whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea," he told Marcos. The U.S. was not gearing up for war, Hegseth said while underscoring that peace would be won through strength. The Philippines was the first stop in Hegseth's first trip to Asia. He is due to travel next to Japan, another staunch U.S. ally. Ahead of his visit to the region, China called the United States a predator and an unreliable ally. Hegseth said the Trump administration would commit more security assistance to the Philippines in addition to a $500 million fund to help the Philippine military modernize. The U.S. funding was first announced by the previous Biden administration. US-Philippine Joint War Games The U.S. would also deploy an anti-ship missile system called the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System as well as unmanned sea vessels for largescale military exercises involving thousands of American and Filipino forces next month in the Philippines, Hegseth said. That would enable the allied forces to train together to defend Philippine sovereignty, he said. Additionally, the allied forces agreed to stage special operations forces training in Batanes province, a cluster of islands in the northernmost tip of the Philippine archipelago across a sea border from Taiwan, he said. Taiwan is the self-ruled island that China regards as a province and has threatened to annex, by force if necessary. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, a major security and global trade route. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims to the resource-rich and busy waters, but confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces in the last two years. Hegseth said that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Paparo, who heads the largest number of American combat forces outside the U.S. mainland, has real war plans and was ready to work with allied forces to create strategic dilemmas for the communist Chinese that (will) help them reconsider whether or not violence or action is something they want to undertake." Aside from the U.S., Teodoro said the Philippines has been building security alliances with other friendly countries for added deterrence. God forbid. We must be prepared to deter any possibility in the future for our mutual defense and the defense of freedom and international law, Teodoro said. Trumps America First foreign policy thrust has triggered concerns in Asia about the scale and depth of U.S. commitment to the region. Under the previous Biden administration, the U.S. has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to help defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea. Hegseth renewed that Biden commitment in his talks with Marcos and Teodoro. China Warns of Opening the Door to a Predator Ahead of Hegseths visit, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said China opposes interference from outside countries in the South China Sea. "U.S.-Philippines military cooperation must not harm the security interests of other countries or undermine regional peace and stability, he said Thursday in a news conference. He added without elaborating that the United States has an astonishing record of breaking its promises and abandoning its allies throughout its history. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun separately warned the Philippines earlier this week that nothing good could come out of opening the door to a predator. Those who willingly serve as chess pieces will be deserted in the end." Hegseth, who has come under strong criticism for texting attack plans t o a Signal group that included top-level U.S. security officials and the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, projected composure and camaraderie while in Manila. Clad in a sweatshirt and shorts, he joined American and Filipino forces in physical training, including push-ups, in a gym after arriving Thursday in Manila. The U.S. defense chief shook hands and posed smiling with military personnel while they flashed the thumbs-up in pictures posted by the U.S. Embassy on X. Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan Manila, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Christopher Bodeen in Taipei contributed to this report. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was pulling Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a stunning turnaround for his Cabinet pick after her confirmation had been stalled for months over concerns about Republicans' tight margins in the House. Trump confirmed he was withdrawing the New York Republican's nomination in a Truth Social post, saying that it was essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress. We must be unified to accomplish our Mission, and Elise Stefanik has been a vital part of our efforts from the very beginning. I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress, the president said. He did not say whom he would nominate to replace her and fill his last remaining Cabinet seat. The abrupt withdrawal reflects growing concern among House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, that their historically slim majority could be at risk, particularly ahead of two special elections in Florida next week. The loss of a mere handful of seats could swing the House majority to Democrats and derail their efforts to enact Trumps sweeping agenda in the months ahead. Johnson praised Stefanik, the former No. 4 House leader, as selfless and patriotic" after Trump announced the move. It is well known Republicans have a razor-thin House majority, and Elises agreement to withdraw her nomination will allow us to keep one of the toughest, most resolute members of our Conference in place to help drive forward President Trumps America First policies, Johnson said in a post on X. He added that he will invite her to return to the leadership table immediately, although it's unclear what position she would take since there are no vacancies. Stefanik said Thursday night that multiple issues factored into the decision, including the possibility that an election to replace her may be delayed; the upcoming special elections in Florida; and the threadbare GOP majority in the House. I have been proud to be a team player, Stefanik said on Fox News' Hannity of the withdrawal of her nomination. "The president knows that. And he and I have had multiple conversations today, and we are committed to delivering results on behalf of the American people. Trump had tapped Stefanik to represent the U.S. at the international body shortly after winning reelection in November. She was seen as among the least controversial Cabinet picks, and her nomination advanced out of committee in late January, but House Republicans' razor-thin majority kept her ultimate confirmation in a state of purgatory for the last several months. In recent weeks, it had seemed as if Stefanik's nomination would advance to the Senate floor, given two U.S. House special elections in Florida in districts that Trump easily won in 2024. Filling those vacant GOP seats would have allowed Stefanik to finally resign from the House and given Republicans, who currently hold 218 seats, a little more breathing room on passing legislation in a growingly divided Congress. Democrats hold 213 seats. Both districts have long been Republican strongholds, and a win by either Democratic candidate would be a major surprise, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic leaders are looking to at least narrow the margin from November, when Trump carried both districts in the presidential election by more than 30 points. That, coupled with Democrats upset in a Tuesday special election for a Pennsylvania state Senate seat in Republican-leaning suburbs and farming communities, has given Republicans pause and pushed some members into full panic mode, according to one congressional aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal concerns. Trump's statement Thursday also seemed to indicate an anxiety about the party's ability to hold on to Stefaniks seat if she were to take on the U.N. post, even though the sprawling district in northern New York is one of the states most conservative and is considered to be solid Republican territory. Stefanik herself cruised to reelection last year, winning 62% of the vote over her Democratic opponent. Almost all of the counties in her district voted for Trump last year. In a statement, Jeffries, D-N.Y., said that Trump withdrew Stefanik's nomination because the extremists are afraid they will lose the special election to replace her. The Republican agenda is extremely unpopular, they are crashing the economy in real time and House Republicans are running scared, Jeffries continued. "What happened to their so-called mandate? Stefanik is the fourth Trump administration nominee who didnt make it through the confirmation process. Previously, former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration for attorney general, Chad Chronister was pulled for the Drug Enforcement Administration and former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon was yanked from contention to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The former congresswoman had been in a state of limbo for months, not able to engage in her official duties as a member of the 119th Congress or to participate in the action at the U.N. The vacancy of a permanent U.S. ambassador was happening at a critical moment for the international body as the world leaders had been discussing the two major wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas. In late February, the U.S. mission, under Trump, split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three U.N. resolutions seeking an end to the three-year war. Dorothy Shea, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., has been the face of Americas mission in New York during the transition. The withdrawal of Stefaniks nomination came after she had launched a recent farewell tour of her district, meeting with supporters and thanking them for their support. On her Instagram page, Stefanik had also been conducting what appeared to be a retrospective of her time in Congress, with one post containing images from 2016 that showed her on a cable news show and posing with supporters atop a caption that began with Congressional throwback continued. Reflecting the abruptness of Trump's decision, Stefanik's last throwback post was made Thursday morning. ___ Amiri reported from the United Nations. Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in New York, Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Fla., and Matthew Lee in Georgetown, Guyana, contributed to this report. The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, named for the pioneering Navy nurse and Navy Cross recipient, debuted a new battle flag as it pulled into port in San Diego in early March, according to publicly available imagery published to social media. The flag consists of a golden number 20 encircled by 20 gold stars on a navy blue background in what appears to be a tribute to the Sacred Twenty, the first group of women to officially serve in the U.S. Navy that included Higbee among its ranks. Navy battle flags have a long tradition of honoring American history and culture. The flags often are self-referential, commemorating an important part of the ship's story, as in the case of the USS Bataan, which flies a flag paying homage to "The Battling Bastards of Bataan," or the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose flag includes a line from the 16th president's Gettysburg Address. Read Next: We're Launching a New Advice Column for Military Spouses and We Want to Hear from You The Higbee and the history of the Sacred Twenty are deeply entwined. The destroyer was commissioned on May 13, 2023, the 115th birthday of the Navy Nurse Corps (NNC) to which the Sacred Twenty belonged. During the ceremony, Navy officials detailed the close relationship between the medical pioneers and Higbee's individual contributions to the service. "Whether you are the first group of 20 female nurses in the Navy, a new sailor to the service, or someone just wanting to see what a ship commissioning is, we all have the ability and choice to make a difference," Higbee commanding officer Cmdr. Douglas Brayton said at the time. Higbee and the Sacred Twenty While women had served in various unofficial or contracted capacities in the U.S. military for decades before Congress established the NNC in 1908, the new group opened a narrow, official path for white women to serve their country in the Navy. The NNC was modeled on the Army Nurse Corps, which had been formed seven years prior. Twenty women, including Higbee, were initially accepted into the corps. Higbee already had an established career as a nurse before she joined the NNC. A Canadian immigrant and widow of a U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant, she had completed formal nursing training at the New York Postgraduate Hospital and a postgraduate course at Fordham Hospital, with work in private practice in between, when she signed up for the corps. She was promoted to chief nurse and was stationed at Norfolk Naval Hospital after just six months in the corps; in 1911, she became the second NNC superintendent and held the position for 11 years. Higbee is credited with growing the corps from a few hundred to thousands of nurses, lobbying for expanded health care for military families and leading the NNC through World War I and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Awarded the Navy Cross for her efforts, Higbee is the only woman to receive the honor while still alive. She retired in 1922, died in 1941 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Higbee is the first woman to have a U.S. warship named after her. The first USS Higbee -- a Gearing-class destroyer nicknamed "The Leaping Lenah" -- was christened in 1944 and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars. It was part of Gemini capsule retrieval efforts before being decommissioned in the 1970s. In 2023, she became the first woman to have two warships named after her, the newest of which now bears the Sacred Twenty battle flag and the appropriate motto, "Bellatrix Illa" ("She is a warrior."). The Sacred Twenty forged ahead in the face of institutional discrimination in the Navy and opposing Victorian social mores. Besides achieving various professional and educational requirements -- which necessitated travel in a time when most women were chaperoned by male family members -- applicants also had to be unmarried U.S. citizens between the ages of 22 and 44. The Navy did not provide room or board for women and paid them roughly half of what their male counterparts made. Those in the NNC were not enlisted or commissioned; nurses were not afforded ranks until 1944. The first group of U.S. Navy nurses, known as the Sacred Twenty, is shown at the Naval Hospital in Washington, D.C., circa October 1908. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command) The Sacred Twenty pushed to expand their role within the Navy, fighting to serve patients in places that had previously been closed to women, including in Navy hospitals abroad, all-male wards and ships. Leaders rose from the Sacred Twenty, including Higbee and the other two first superintendents of the NNC, changing the way that Navy hospitals served troops, their families and local residents. Nurses of the Sacred Twenty went on to further military nursing, including publishing important medical works, advocating for better medical training for corpsmen and working to standardize nursing care. (It would take another decade before the first women of color -- nicknamed the Golden 14 -- served in desk jobs and more than 30 years before Phyllis Mae Dailey broke the U.S. Navy nurse color barrier.) But even as a flag honoring these naval leaders flies from a destroyer named for one of them, the Defense Department appears to have recently deleted content about their history. Multiple DoD pages, press releases and publications about Higbee and the Sacred Twenty are currently inaccessible -- including articles and videos on Arlington National Cemetery's website that shared burial information for the seven members of the group interred there -- likely as part of the Trump administration's broader DEI purge. Related: The Golden 14: How Black Women Exploited a Loophole to Serve During World War I Want to Know More About the Military? Be sure to get the latest news about the U.S. military, as well as critical info about how to join and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox. TikTok in Trouble: Will the Clock Run Out on Your Favorite App? (Is Tiktok Getting Banned) Lets talk about TikTok. You know, the app where you watch dance challenges, cooking hacks, and maybe even your neighbors cat doing backflips. But lately, somethings up. Governments around the world are squinting at TikTok like its a suspicious sandwich at the back of the fridge. The big question: Is TikTok getting banned? First, why the fuss? Lawmakers in places like the U.S. and Europe worry TikToks parent company, ByteDance, might share user data with Chinas government. TikTok says no way. They claim theyve stored American data on U.S. servers since 2022. But trust is shaky. Imagine lending your phone to a friend who promises not to snoopbut you still side-eye them. Thats the vibe here. Then theres the fear TikTok could influence what people see. Algorithms control the feed, right? Critics say foreign governments might tweak what pops up on your For You Page. Think trending topics, news clips, even conspiracy theories. Could a foreign power sway elections or stir chaos? Lawmakers think its possible. TikTok argues its algorithm is just trying to keep you glued to your screen, same as any other social media app. Now, the U.S. is pushing hard. In April 2024, President Biden signed a bill giving ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok or face a ban. TikToks response? See you in court. Legal battles could drag this out for years. Remember when Trump tried banning TikTok in 2020? Courts blocked it. History might repeat itself. Other countries are joining the party. India banned TikTok in 2020 after a border clash with China. The EU is probing TikTok Lites addictive rewards feature. Australia and Canada are eyeing restrictions too. But heres the twist: banning an app isnt like flipping a switch. People use VPNs to access blocked apps. When Pakistan banned TikTok briefly, users just kept using it. What happens if TikTok vanishes? Creators are sweating. Imagine spending years building a following, only to lose it overnight. Brands that rely on TikTok ads would scramble. Smaller apps like Triller or YouTube Shorts might gain users, but lets be realno app has TikToks magic mix of chaos and charm. Still, TikTok isnt going down without a fight. Theyre flooding social media with videos of users crying, Save TikTok! Celebrities like Taylor Swift and Dwayne Johnson got calls from the White House to stay neutral. Even your grandma mightve seen a #KeepTikTok post. Its a PR war, and TikToks playing to win. Heres another angle: This isnt just about TikTok. Its about control. Governments want to limit foreign tech giants. China blocks Facebook and Google. The U.S. might block TikTok. Its like a digital Cold War. Who loses? Regular users who just want to watch funny videos after a long day. Wait, but what if TikTok splits? Rumors say ByteDance might spin off TikTok U.S. as a separate company. Would that work? Maybe. But Chinas government hates the idea. Theyve vowed to block any forced sale. So now its a three-way tug-of-war: the U.S., China, and TikToks lawyers. Meanwhile, the clock ticks. Nine months sounds like a lot, but legal fights are slow. Courts could pause the ban. Elections in November might change everything. If a new president takes over, will they enforce the ban? Nobody knows. (Is Tiktok Getting Banned) So, should you panic? Dont delete your account yet. But maybe back up your favorite videos. TikToks fate hinges on politics, lawsuits, and a ton of behind-the-scenes deals. One things clear: this isnt the last time an apps existence will dangle in the hands of lawmakers. For now, keep scrollingbut keep an eye on the news too. Inquiry us if you want to want to know more, please feel free to contact us. ([email protected]) **Nuclear Power Worldwide: How Many Reactors Light Up the Globe?** (How Many Nuclear Power Plants Are In The World) Nuclear power plants spark curiosity. Some see them as clean energy heroes. Others worry about risks. Either way, these facilities shape how we power our lives. Lets dive into the numbers and stories behind the reactors keeping lights on across the planet. Right now, roughly 440 nuclear reactors operate in 32 countries. They generate about 10% of the worlds electricity. The exact number shifts slightly. Old reactors shut down. New ones start up. For example, in 2023, 60 reactors were under construction. Countries like China and India are building more to meet growing energy demands. The United States leads in total reactors. It has 93, mostly built between the 1970s and 1990s. France comes next with 56. Nuclear provides 70% of Frances electricity, the highest share globally. Meanwhile, Japan has 33 reactors, but many remain offline after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Europe relies heavily on nuclear energy. Slovakia gets 60% of its power from nuclear. Ukraine, despite ongoing conflicts, still operates 15 reactors. Russia uses nuclear not just for electricity but also for icebreaker ships in the Arctic. Asia is the new hotspot for nuclear growth. China has over 50 reactors and plans to double capacity by 2035. South Korea runs 25 reactors, supplying a third of its power. Even the UAE joined the club recently, starting its first reactor in 2020. Not all countries embrace nuclear. Germany shut its last reactors in 2023 after decades of protests. Italy banned nuclear power entirely after a 1987 referendum. Austria never opened its only plant, turned into a museum instead. Age matters. Over half the worlds reactors are over 30 years old. Many face upgrades or retirement. The U.S. extended licenses for some to 80 years, a first in history. Newer designs, like small modular reactors, promise safer and cheaper options. These could pop up in remote areas or replace coal plants. Safety debates never fade. Supporters argue nuclear emits no carbon dioxide. They say accidents are rare, citing strict modern regulations. Critics point to Chernobyl and Fukushima. Waste storage also remains unsolved. Finland built a underground tomb for waste, but most nations still lack long-term plans. Costs stir arguments. Building a reactor takes $10 billion or more and a decade. Renewable energy like solar and wind now cost less. Still, nuclear offers steady power, unlike weather-dependent sources. Some experts say mixing both is key for a reliable, low-carbon grid. Public opinion wavers. Polls show split views. Disasters scar memories. Younger generations show more openness if safety improves. Social media spreads both hope and fear, shaping how people see nuclears role in fighting climate change. (How Many Nuclear Power Plants Are In The World) The nuclear map keeps changing. Old giants like the U.S. and France face aging fleets. Rising players like China and India bet on new tech. Nations weigh costs, safety, and climate goals. The next decade will decide if nuclear expands or fades in the clean energy race. Inquiry us if you want to want to know more, please feel free to contact us. ([email protected]) Tidal Energy: Whats the Price Tag on Ocean Power? (How Much Does Tidal Energy Cost) Tidal energy sounds like something from a sci-fi movie. Picture giant turbines spinning underwater, powered by the endless push and pull of the ocean. But how much does it actually cost to turn this futuristic idea into reality? Lets break it down without drowning in jargon. First, tidal energy isnt new. People have used tides for centuries, like old water mills grinding grain. Modern tidal energy is different. It uses high-tech turbines anchored to the seafloor or floating platforms. These devices capture kinetic energy from moving water. The big question is cost. Building underwater tech isnt cheap. Installing a single tidal turbine can run anywhere from $3 million to $15 million. Thats before adding cables, maintenance, and permits. Why so pricey? Most tidal projects are custom-made. Think of it like building a subway system underwater. Each site has unique challengesstrong currents, corrosive saltwater, storms. Engineers need materials that survive decades of abuse. Maintenance is another headache. Fixing a broken turbine means sending divers or robots into deep, fast-moving water. Thats risky and expensive. Compare this to solar or wind. Solar panels are mass-produced. You can slap them on a roof in a day. Wind turbines are big, but theyre standardized. Tidal tech is still in its experimental phase. Few companies make the equipment, so prices stay high. But costs are dropping. Early projects in the 2000s produced energy at $300-$400 per megawatt-hour. Newer systems aim for $150-$200. Solar and wind, for reference, hover around $30-$50 per megawatt-hour. Governments are stepping in. The UK, Canada, and France fund tidal projects to boost clean energy. Grants and tax breaks help. In Scotland, the MeyGen project powers 2,600 homes using tidal streams. South Koreas Sihwa Lake plant generates enough electricity for half a million people. These projects show progress, but scaling up is slow. Location matters. Tidal energy works best where ocean currents are strong and predictable. Think narrow channels or coastal bays. The Bay of Fundy in Canada, for example, has tides as high as 50 feet. Perfect for energy, but building there is like engineering on hard mode. Environmental concerns add costs. Turbines can harm marine life. Fish might get chopped up. Noise pollution could disrupt whales. Developers must spend extra on wildlife-friendly designs and monitoring. Permitting takes years. Critics argue the money could fund cheaper renewables. Supporters say tidal energys reliability justifies the cost. Unlike solar or wind, tides never stop. Theyre as predictable as the moon. (How Much Does Tidal Energy Cost) The bottom line? Tidal energy isnt ready to replace fossil fuels tomorrow. But its a promising piece of the clean energy puzzle. Costs will keep falling as tech improves. For now, its a niche solutionexpensive but steady. Imagine a future where coastal towns run on the rhythm of the sea. That vision might be worth the investment. Inquiry us if you want to want to know more, please feel free to contact us. ([email protected]) **ChatGPT: Your Secret Weapon for Everyday Genius** (Limitless Potential: Discover the Capabilities of ChatGPT) Imagine having a friend who never gets tired, knows a little about everything, and is always ready to chat. Thats ChatGPT. Its not magic, but it feels close. Think of it as a Swiss Army knife for your brain. Need to brainstorm ideas for a birthday party? Stuck writing an email? Curious about quantum physics? This tool can help. Lets talk about how it works and why you might want to keep it in your back pocket. First, ChatGPT is like a supercharged text machine. You type a question or a prompt, and it generates answers. Simple. But heres the cool partit learns from mountains of data, so it can talk about almost anything. Want to plan a trip to Tokyo? Ask for tips on the best ramen spots. Need to explain photosynthesis to a fifth-grader? It breaks it down in plain language. Writing a resume? It polishes your bullet points. The key is knowing how to ask. The clearer your request, the better the results. Some people worry AI will replace human creativity. Not true. Think of ChatGPT as a sparring partner. You throw ideas at it, and it throws them back, sharper. Say youre writing a story about a robot detective. You hit a wall. Ask ChatGPT for plot twists. Maybe it suggests the robot secretly hates technology. Now youre unstuck. Or maybe youre designing a logo. Ask for color schemes linked to futuristic eco-friendly vibes. Boomneon green and steel gray. Its not doing the work for you. Its giving you a ladder when youre stuck in a ditch. Heres another thing. ChatGPT is sneaky-good at saving time. Drafting emails eats up minutes? Type friendly reply to a client asking for a deadline extension. Three seconds later, youve got a polished response. Customize it, hit send, done. Studying for a test? Ask it to quiz you on French Revolution dates. Cooking dinner? Get a recipe for cheap, healthy meals using kale and chicken. Its like having a assistant whos also a trivia champ, chef, and therapist rolled into one. But waitcan it mess up? Sure. Sometimes it guesses wrong. Ask about the capital of Canada, and itll say Ottawa. But if you ask something obscure, like the mating habits of Arctic jellyfish, it might improvise. Always double-check facts. Thats just smart. Treat it like a helpful cousin who sometimes fibs by accident. The fun part? You can play with tone. Want a Shakespearean sonnet about your cat? Done. Need a pep talk written like a cowboy? Howdy, partnerlets wrangle those deadlines. Its flexible. Teachers use it to create quiz questions. Marketers use it for slogans. Coders ask it to debug scripts. Grandparents draft birthday messages. Its not perfect, but its versatile. Some folks say AI lacks a human touch. Maybe. But ChatGPT learns from how *you* write. The more you use it, the more it mirrors your style. Tell it to sound casual, and it drops the jargon. Ask for formal, and it stands up straight. Its a chameleon. Still on the fence? Try this. Next time youre stuck, type your problem into ChatGPT. Ask for three solutions. Pick the best one, tweak it, and run. Youll save time, spark ideas, and maybe even laugh at its weird jokes. No, it wont write your novel. But it might unstick the first chapter. (Limitless Potential: Discover the Capabilities of ChatGPT) The bottom line? Tools dont replace skillthey amplify it. A painter needs brushes. A chef needs knives. You? Maybe you need a digital sidekick. ChatGPT wont solve everything, but it turns I cant into Lets try. And sometimes, thats enough. Inquiry us if you want to want to know more, please feel free to contact us. ([email protected]) Pure Michigan now has its own retail corner in Detroit Metro Airport featuring beloved Motor City brands like gifts from City Bird, pickles and jarred culinary offerings from McClures and hot sauces Hell Fire Detroit. (Photo Courtesy of Pure Michigan) Photo Courtesy of Pure Michigan DETROIT, MI -- The more than 30 million travelers who fly in and out of Detroit can now take home a piece of Pure Michigan without ever leaving the terminal. Corktown Place, a new 24-hour retail shop, opened in Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, featuring Pure Michigan sweets, snacks and souvenirs. The new store opened just in time for spring and summer travel, said Kelly Wolgamott, Vice President of Pure Michigan. As were inspiring travelers to book their next visit to Michigan, we invite them to take a piece of the Great Lakes State with them, Wolgamott said in a statement. RELATED: Spirit adds 6 nonstop routes departing from Detroit ahead of summer travel season Corktown Place, named after Detroits oldest neighborhood, will the best airports first 24-7 shop. Located in Concourse A, Corktown Place features a dedicated Pure Michigan section, highlighted by the iconic logo on the window and a four-season video showcasing the states natural beauty. Travelers can choose from a curated selection of quintessential Michigan products. Sweet tooths can will find cherry treats from Cherry Republic and confectionaries from Murdicks Fudge. While fans of the spicy and savory can choose from pickles from McClures and hot sauces Hell Fire Detroit. Plus plenty of Mitten-inspired apparel, wool caps from Stormy Kromer and gifts from Detroit shop, City Bird. RELATED: Detroit Metro named one of the worlds most punctual airports for 2024 The Detroit airport has been celebrating several accolades in recent months, landing in several top ten lists across the country and worldwide. Aviation analytics firm Cirium gave a nod to the airports punctuality. The analysis found Detroit Metro Airport to be the eighth most on time airport worldwide in 2024. Meanwhile, USA Today readers voted Detroit No. 2 for both airport shopping and dining across the country. In the larger category of Best Large Airport, Detroit landed at No. 3, celebrated for its expansive shopping, dining, and lounge options covering more than 4 square miles. RELATED: Nashville, Chicago rank behind city in Michigan for best street art scene in US RELATED: One of the most up-and-coming neighborhoods in the entire U.S. is in Michigan RELATED: You will soon be able to spend the night at the top of Michigan Central Station ALCONA COUNTY, MI Conservation officers rescued a man and two dogs after a boat capsized in the AuSable River. The DNRs Jeff Panich and Casey Pullum responded to the river in Alcona County at 2:16 p.m. on Tuesday after a 59-year-old man from Caro fell into the 39-degree water while trying to disembark and used his watch to text 911. The man was fishing with his two dogs on a 10-foot boat. The DNR later learned that the man had open-heart surgery two years ago and had recently been feeling ill, officers said. The officers responded to the intersection of Snowmobile Trail LP96 and the Shore to Shore Horse Trail at 3:12 p.m. and began walking the trail along the river. A short distance ahead, they saw a dog on the trail. The dog led them to the missing man, who was standing with blood covering his legs and feet. He was missing some clothes, the DNR said. After Panich approached the man, he said, Help me, and collapsed onto the conservation officer, and he was eventually unresponsive. Panich and Pullum quickly pulled him out of the woods to a nearby river access parking lot, 4001 Bridge Landing, located off Federal Route 4001. EMS and deputies quickly arrived and helped load the man into the ambulance, which transferred him to MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas. Both dogs were secured and will be returned to the man when he is released from the hospital. The boat has not been recovered. The DNR encourages outdoor enthusiasts to check weather conditions ahead of their trip and to plan accordingly with appropriate clothing and supplies, officers said in a statement. If venturing onto or near the water, wear a life jacket. Always provide someone who is not with you the details of your plan, including the locations youre visiting, when you plan to return, and scheduled check-in times. Alcona County Sheriffs Department, Alcona County EMS and Curran Fire Department assisted at the scene. The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Hybrid for $110,610 in the Million Dollar Motorway at the 27th Annual Michigan International Auto Show at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.com A Michigan man has been charged after police in Kentucky recovered eight stolen Corvettes worth $1.2 million. NBC News reported Thursday that Deantae Walker, 21, of Westland has been charged with evading police, resisting arrest, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief. He was further charged with engaging in organized crime on Friday, according to the Bowling Green Daily News. The Bowling Green Police Department alleges that Walker was involved in the theft of eight luxury vehicles from the back lot of a General Motors plant in Bowling Green. Walker was arrested after he was spotted driving a red Corvette with the price sticker still on it. As authorities began investigating, several other Corvettes were found and confirmed to be among those stolen. Dispatch also received a call from a transport driver who said he had a weird interaction with two men who wanted him to take Corvettes to Michigan, NBC News reported. A police spokesperson told the publication they believe at least nine people were involved in the theft, which occurred when the suspects drove the vehicles through a hole cut in a chain link fence at the plant, police said. Walker has pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to the Bowling Green Daily News. Bank of America says the policy is part of efforts to keep up with state laws regarding inactive accounts. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media) Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Customers who have an account with Bank of America or who have family members who bank with company are being advised of a policy that can lead to the cancellation of their account. As part of efforts to cooperate with state laws regarding inactive or abandoned bank accounts, Bank of America says it may cancel accounts that do not remain active over a period of time. "If you have not accessed your account for an extended period (typically 3 years or more), you may receive a letter from us letting you know your account is considered abandoned and may be turned over to the state under escheat laws," reads a warning on the banks website. You will need to follow the instructions on your letter to contact the bank and prevent escheatment. Escheatment is the process by which a financial institution must report and remit any abandoned or unclaimed property for safekeeping, Bank of America says. Depending on the state, certain laws are in place that require banks to turn over the contents of an account if it has not been accessed for a significant period of time. In Michigan, property is considered abandoned or unclaimed when there no activity within the specified dormancy period (3 years for most property types) or the business holding the property is unable to locate the owner. Escheatment doesnt just apply to the money in your account. The following property types are subject to escheatment: Checking and savings account balances. CD and IRA balances. Safe deposit box contents. Cashiers checks and other official items that are not negotiated. Securities (such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds). If you receive a letter warning you of escheatment and you do not respond, the bank may turn over the contents of your account to the state. To prevent your account or a family members account from possible escheatment, Bank of America encourages you to login to your online account and check your balance regularly. Bank of America currently has 69 million customers and operates 3,700 financial centers in the U.S. A view of the St. Clair River, below the Blue Water Bridge, which connects Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario. Suncor and Canadian communities reported an oil spill on the river on March 27. Laura Johnston, cleveland.com ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MI Crews in a township in Ontario, Canada, mobilized to capture crude oil spilled along the St. Clair River Thursday afternoon across from St. Clair County in Michigan. But authorities on either side of the U.S.-Canadian border assured nearby residents it had no impact on drinking water. A notice first went out close to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 27, from Suncor, a petroleum company, alerting the public of a possible odor in the vicinity of its refinery dock in Ontarios Lambton County. Soon after, just before 2:30 p.m. St. Clair Township, Ontario, also alerted residents of the spill, according to The Times Herald in Port Huron across the river, and along with Lambton County Health, issued a notice advising residents in the Canadian township not to use the water from the river and to avoid taking leisure crafts out to avoid skin contact. Further upstream, Sarnia, Ontario, advised residents on its Facebook page that there was no risk to their city water. WPHM reported there was also no danger to water intake on the Michigan side of the river in St. Clair County. By 4 p.m. as booms were deployed on the water to clean up the spill by Suncor and Shell Canada, Ontarios St. Clair Township said its water distribution system was safe to drink. According to Friends of the St. Clair River, the body of water is roughly 40 miles long. Multiple oil refinery faciltiies dot the Canadian shoreline on the north end of the river and south of the Blue Water Bridge, connecting Sarnia and Port Huron. St. Clair Township, Ontario, is south of Sarnia and directly across from Marysville, Michigan. Tec Italy shampoo is being recalled for possible bacteria contamination that could cause infections. Henkel A shampoo is being recalled for potential contamination with bacteria that could cause eye, nose and skin infections. Henkel of Mexico is voluntarily recalling 1,068 units of its Tec Italy Shampoo Totale, which could be contaminated with Klebsiella oxytoca, according to the recall news release from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These bacteria can cause more severe reactions in people who are immune compromised. The product was distributed in New York and California, and could have been distributed in other states and sold at a retail level to consumers. The recall includes Tec Italy brand Totale Shampoo packaged in a 33.81 fl. oz./1 L, green plastic bottles marked with Lot No. 1G27542266 on the side of the bottle. The UPC code is 7501438375850. This recall was initiated after the companys microbiological analyses found these bacteria in some bottles of shampoo. There have been no reports of user harm or injury. Anyone experiencing symptoms should see a physician immediately. Customers who have purchased the affected bottles should stop using the product and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumer questions can be directed to Tec Italy at sacli@henkel.com. The Social Security Administration is delaying the implementation of a new ID verification process. (Cole Waterman | MLive.com) WASHINGTON -- An upcoming change to a Social Security Administration identification policy has been delayed but is still expected to impact millions. Earlier this month, the SSA announced a policy shift designed to prevent ongoing direct deposit fraud. The plan includes a major change in how the agency collects and verifies the identities of beneficiaries and applicants. While ID verification can be completed through the my Social Security online service, certain individuals who do not or cannot use that service will be required to make an in-person visit to a Social Security Office to prove their identity. Starting April 14, the following groups of people will be required to visit a Social Security office if they do not use the my Social Security service: Anyone applying for Retirement, Survivors, or Auxiliary (Spouse or Child) benefits. Anyone who needs to change their direct deposit information for any benefit. In-person visits will not be required for those applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicare, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), even if they do not use the my Social Security service. We have listened to our customers, Congress, advocates, and others, and we are updating our policy to provide better customer service to the countrys most vulnerable populations, said Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. In addition to extending the policys effective date by two weeks to ensure our employees have the training they need to help customers, Medicare, Disability, and SSI applications will be exempt from in-person identity proofing because multiple opportunities exist during the decision process to verify a persons identity. When the policy change was first announced, the implementation date was scheduled for March 31. Related story: New Social Security policy could deeply impact your future benefit payments While Dudek says the agency has addressed concerns raised by critics of the plan, AARP representatives say it isnt enough. Its a good first step. The recent and abrupt announcement to require in-person visits caused confusion and distress for the tens of millions of older Americans who count on their hard-earned Social Security, said Nancy LeaMond, AARPs chief advocacy and engagement officer in a video addressing the plan. LeaMond and others have argued that requiring in-person ID verification could harm beneficiaries who dont know how to use online services or live in areas where internet access is limited. Ending phone service and requiring in-person office visits would have a very serious impact on seniors who may have to travel hundreds of miles just to fill out paperwork, LeaMond said. LeaMond went on to say the SSA should prioritize customer service instead of simply delaying the current plan. An estimated 73 million Americans currently receive monthly Social Security benefits. Protesters demonstrate in support of DEI outside Ruthven Hall as the University of Michigan Board of Regents meets in Ann Arbor on Thursday, Dec. 5 2024 Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com ANN ARBOR, MI - The end of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the University of Michigan may have raised some eyebrows this week after a years-long commitment to DEI. But exactly how far-reaching the impacts of the change will be on the Ann Arbor campus remains unclear after weeks of threats against funding over DEI in higher education across the country under President Donald Trump. The announcement came in the late afternoon Thursday, March 27, in an email signed by top university officials, immediately closing UMs Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Office for Health Equity and Inclusion and discontinuing its DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan. Read more: University of Michigan curbs DEI initiatives amid Trump threats Although there were networks of programs and employees structured into DEI, university officials did not directly address to what degree the shift also meant a reduction in staffing. UM Regent Sarah Hubbard wrote in a Thursday post on X, formerly Twitter, the university was eliminating affiliated staff in step with eliminating programs and the strategic plan. In its announcement, the university said leads who supported DEI efforts in individual schools, colleges and units would refocus their work on other core responsibilities, while student-facing services in the DEI office would shift to other offices focused on student access and opportunity. UM has shared plans to instead shift resources to increase investments in student-facing programs, like financial aid, mental health resources and pre-professional counseling in the coming months. Related: Completely caved: University of Michigan DEI purge draws fire Many of the websites related to the universitys diversity offices and programs remained live as of Friday. According to UM administrators, all units were expected to evaluate their online presence to reflect the new direction. Heres a bit more about what each of the universitys DEI programs offered: Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) was one of the areas on the chopping block. UMs ODEI was known for leading and supporting a variety of university-wide initiatives. Its staff also helped guide policy surrounding recruitment and retention of diverse students, faculty and staff. Related: University of Michigan decision to curb DEI is sharp turn after decade of work The offices mission was to serve as a leader, partner and resource for the UM community while working with schools, colleges and campus units to enhance DEI across campus in partnership with local communities, as well as at national and global levels. The offices programming units included Center for Educational Outreach, National Center for Institutional Diversity, Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives and Wolverine Pathways. ODEI also supported several programs for faculty and staff, as well as awards, at UM. A major part of the offices work supported the DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, according to a 2023 document. ODEIs support involved facilitating and supporting progress in all of the universitys schools, colleges and campus units, tracking and reporting metrics, conducting university climate surveys on DEI and addressing emergent issues under the plan. The offices location was in the Ruthven Building at 1109 Geddes Ave., Suite 4300. Office for Health Equity and Inclusion The Office for Health Equity and Inclusion was responsible for developing inclusion, diversity and cultural sensitivity among faculty, students and staff at Michigan Medicine. The office was also committed to advancing clinical care for under-served patient populations through research and education, according to its webpage. It was located at 5101 Medical Sciences I building in the C-Wing at 1150 W. Medical Center Drive. DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan The University of Michigan also ended its DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, which was years in the making following the rollout of its first strategic plan in 2016. The DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan was formed following campuswide conversations, town halls with faculty, students and staff and other community events. DEI 1.0 took place from 2016 to 2021, while DEI 2.0 was set to span from 2023 to 2028 before its abrupt end. DEI 2.0s Strategic Plan intended to build on UMs institutional commitment to ensuring a diverse, equitable and inclusive community with even more sharply defined goals, new innovations and investments and enhanced measures of accountability, according to a 2023 report. Related: More work to do: Santa Ono highlights diversity gains, shortcomings at University of Michigan Its efforts included around 20 campus-wide action items to support its goals. Some of these action items involved enhancing Black student representation and experiences, international graduate student diversity and expanding affordable housing, among other initiatives. As part of this plan, 51 school, college and campus units also created a DEI strategic plan specifically for the unique needs in their unit. The DEIplan.umich.edu website thats been promoted on campus banners is no longer active now. MLive reporter Jackie Smith contributed to this story. 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. FLINT, MI - Fasting from dawn to sunset is just one part of Ramadanbut for me, this month is about so much more. Its a time of deep reflection, gratitude, and prayer. From the moment I wake for suhoor (meal before dawn) in the quiet of the early morning, I feel a sense of peace settle over me. With each sip of water and bite of food before the fast begins, I silently pray for my familys health, asking for their strength, happiness, and protection. Throughout the day, hunger and thirst become reminders of patience and discipline, but they are nothing compared to the spiritual nourishment Ramadan brings. Every evening, as I break my fast, Im reminded of the countless blessings in my life and the importance of sharing with those in need. MLive journalist Fuad Shalhout performs Asr prayer during Ramadan on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at Dyewood Islamic Center in Flint Township. Ayrton Breckenridge | MLive.com Balancing work during Ramadan comes with its challenges, but Ive learned to adapt. The early mornings and long afternoons require a shift in energy, pushing me to be more intentional with my time and focus. I structure my tasks around my energy levels, tackling the most demanding work earlier in the day while reserving quieter moments for reflection. Every day, I enjoy a cup of black coffee at noonits been a part of my routine for years. But during Ramadan, something shifts within me, and I dont crave it at all. Throughout the entire month, I didnt take a single sip. I really believe its Allah giving me the strength to observe Ramadan. But not drinking coffee is a far cry of what a lot of people have to deal with. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is considered the holiest month for Muslims. It is a time of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community, observed by Muslims around the world as an act of devotion and obedience to God. MLive journalist Fuad Shalhout performs Asr prayer during Ramadan on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at Dyewood Islamic Center in Flint Township. Ayrton Breckenridge | MLive.com Fasting during Ramadan, known as sawm, is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which are the core acts of worship in the faith. From dawn to sunset, Muslims abstain from food, drink, smoking and marital relations, using this period to develop self-discipline, gratitude, and spiritual awareness. The fast is broken each evening with iftar, a meal often shared with family and friends, and the pre-dawn meal, suhoor, helps sustain the fast for the day ahead. Beyond fasting, Ramadan is a time of increased prayer, charity, and seeking forgiveness, helping Muslims strengthen their relationship with God and cultivate compassion for those in need. The duration of Ramadaneither 29 or 30 daysdepends on the sighting of the crescent moon. Since the Islamic calendar follows a lunar cycle, each month begins with the new moon. Islamic scholars and astronomers determine the start and end of Ramadan by observing the crescent moon in the night sky. If the moon is sighted on the 29th night, Ramadan lasts 29 days, but if it is not visible, the month extends to 30 days. This variability is why the start and end dates of Ramadan shift by about 1012 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar, making it a moving observance that occurs in different seasons over time. Prayers during Ramadan are considered among the most important and spiritually rewarding of the year. That is why I especially emphasize my prayers for my mother. My mother is always weighing heavily on my mind. I pray for her cancer to heal and so she can live a long life, and one day, see my children inshallah (if Allah wills it). Last summer, I got married to the woman of my dreams. She is from Jordan, and currently we are working on her visa to come live in the United States. Each day, especially during Ramadan, I pray we can unite and start our life together. Living over 6,000 miles away from her has its rough moments. She is seven hours ahead of Michigan time, so by the time I wrap up work, she is nearing her time to sleep. I call her as much as I can, and even sneak in phone calls to her during work hours (shhhh, dont tell my manager). I am praying Allah hears my prayers and I know he is. I am thankful for the people in my life and each day during Ramadan, I thank Allah for that. Each day, I am praying for peace in the Middle East. I hope the violence ends. I am thankful to have an employer at MLive who respects my religious beliefs and always allow me to observe my religion when I can. Before Ramadan began, my manager reached out to ask if I needed any accommodations. I told him no, but I truly appreciated the gesture. It meant a lot to know that my workplace was supportive and understanding of my religious observance. Many people in the U.S. face challenges with their employers when it comes to observing their religious practices. This is especially true for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. Since the Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle, the exact date of Eid isnt known until shortly before it arrives. However, many employers require time-off requests to be submitted weeks in advance, making it difficult for some Muslims to take the day off since its not a universally recognized holiday in the U.S. Im grateful that MLive provides me with the flexibility to celebrate the end of Ramadan without this struggle (this year, though, it falls on a Sunday. Yay). Ramadan allows me to slow down, take a deep breath, and thank Allah each day to have a good job Im happy with. Even in the busiest moments, I find pockets of stillnesswhether its stepping away for a quick prayer or simply taking a deep breath to recenter. As the month wraps up, I realize that Ramadan isnt just about abstaining from food and drink; people focus too much on this aspect. It is about resetting my mind and heart, praying for my family, finding balance in my life, and drawing closer to what truly matters. Reed City has replaced 90% of its lead service lines with the remaining 10% expected to be completed by the end of this year. Photo by N. Scott Trimble OSCEOLA COUNTY, MI A small West Michigan town is close to replacing all of its lead pipes thanks to a combined $35 million in state funding. Since 2022, Reed City in Osceola County has received more than $35 million in state funding to replace lead service lines, upgrade outdated infrastructure and improve its wastewater treatment facility. Five U.S. residents have agreed to plea deals in connection with a Nigerian sextortion plot. (MLive File Photo) Daniel Shular | MLive.com GRAND RAPIDS, MI Five U.S. residents have reached plea agreements in connection with a Nigerian-based sextortion scheme that led to a Marquette teens death by suicide. Kendall Ormond London, Jr., 32, Lithonia, Georgia, pleaded guilty Wednesday, March 26, in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, to conspiracy to launder money tied to the scheme. In January, Dinsimore Guyton Robinson, 30, of Huntsville, Alabama, also pleaded guilty as charged to conspiracy. Related: Alabama man pleads guilty in Nigeria-based sextortion case tied to teens suicide Three other U.S. residents are set to enter guilty pleas in coming days, court records show. Federal prosecutors say sextortionists in Nigeria bought multiple hacked social media accounts to exploit young male victims from February 2021 through May 2022. An Instagram profile pretending to be a woman named Dani Roberts would convince boys and young men to provide nude images of themselves then blackmail them for money. Related: We will track you down: Prosecutor blames Nigerian sextortion plot for Michigan teens death London, Robinson and the three other U.S. defendants collected proceeds through online payment systems, kept about 20 percent for themselves, then converted the rest to bitcoin and sent it to Nigeria, prosecutors said. Brothers Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, both of Lagos, Nigeria, are serving 17 -year prison sentences. The U.S. is seeking extradition of another Nigerian defendant. Jordan DeMay, a high school student in Marquette, died by suicide after he was sexually exploited by the brothers, federal prosecutors said. Related: 5 men in U.S. allegedly tied to Nigerian sextortion that led to Michigan teens death by suicide On March 25, 2022, Samuel Ogoshi, who had posed as a woman, threatened to share the teens photo if he did not pay $1,000. Demay said he had only $300, which he had sent through an online cash application. Ogoshi wrote: Enjoy your miserable life. Demay responded that he was going to kill himself because of the threat. Ogoshi responded, Good and do that fast, court records said. Demay died by suicide later that day. Related: Victims mom gives emotional statement at deadly sextortion plot sentencing Prosecutors say over 100 victims paid $179,000 in the sextortion plot. Typically, schemers posed as young women on social media and convinced teens and young men to send sexually explicit photographs. They then threatened to share images with victims family, friends and classmates if they did not pay the ransom. The U.S. defendants face up to 20 years in prison. Robinson is scheduled to be sentenced April 24, while London is to be sentenced on July 21. Johnathan Demetrius Green, 33, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Jarell Daivon Williams, 32, of McDonough, Georgia, and Brian Keith Coldmon, Jr., 31, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, have reached plea agreements. Green is scheduled to plea on Friday, March 28, while the other two have court appearances early next week. The FBI has noted a huge increase in sextortion cases targeting young victims. The FBI said those being exploited should contact their local FBI field office, call 800-CALL-FBI or report it online at tips.fbi.gov. Michael Hoekwater (right) is sentenced Thursday for a relationship with a student that involved touching. (John Tunison | MLive) John Tunison GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A former Calvin Christian High School teacher was ordered to jail for five months for a student relationship that involved inappropriate touching. Michael Hoekwater, 57, was sentenced Thursday, March 27 in Kent County Circuit Court for aggravated assault, a misdemeanor. Pink Lemonade has moved to a new, larger location in Gaslight Village. (Photo provided by NAI Wisinski of West Michigan) Courtesy GRAND RAPIDS, MI Childrens clothing retailer Pink Lemonade has moved to a new location in East Grand Rapids. The business, which sells a host of childrens apparel as well as arts and crafts, books and toys, expanded to a larger storefront at 2166 Wealthy St. SE. Thats just around the corner from the companys former location at 703 Bagley Ave. Our goal has always been to bring a little joy to everyone who walks through our doors, whether theyre shopping or just stopping by, said Jill Zagar, the co-owner of Pink Lemonade. Were so excited for this new chapter and cant wait to welcome everyone to our new home on Wealthy Street. Pink Lemonade found the new location with the help of commercial real estate agency NAI Wisinski of West Michigan. The landlord and I are excited to welcome Pink Lemonade to this one-of-a-kind space, said Bill Tyson, a realtor at NAI. At NAI, were always thrilled to see West Michigan businesses grow in communities where they feel at home. Its especially meaningful to celebrate small businesses that locals know and love - theyre truly the heart of our neighborhoods. Pink Lemonade has been open in Gaslight Village in East Grand Rapids since 2015, according to a release from NAI. In addition, the business also has locations in in Kalamazoo, Grand Haven and Saint Joseph. In a release, the business says the new, 2,744-square-foot store is larger, and offers an improved shopping experience. The new location offers increased visibility, a more spacious layout, and a prime spot for foot traffic, making it easier than ever for customers to stop in and browse, a release says. Todd Achterhof (orange jail uniform) has been sentenced to 80-120 months in prison for child sexually abusive material aggravated possession. (John Tunison | MLive) John Tunison GRAND HAVEN, MI -- A former Holland area fire captain has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for possessing child pornography. Todd Achertof, 49, was sentenced Friday, March 28, in Ottawa County Circuit Court. Organizers announced that the demonstrations theme is sharing love, light and truth in the face of current policy changes that threaten to dismantle the progress already made. HOLLAND, MI The Holland community is invited to an uplifting unity demonstration and march this Saturday, March 29. This event, organized by Black-owned nonprofit I AM Academy and with local community partners, aims to bring together people from all backgrounds to stand in solidarity for justice and equality and demonstrate the power of unity. Participants will gather at 11 a.m. at the grassy space across from the MSU Bioeconomy Institute, 242 Howard Ave. After remarks from students and community leaders, demonstrators will march to Centennial Park. This demonstration is not just about marching, said Lindsay Cherry, co-founder of I AM Academy. Its about celebrating the strength of our community, standing up for justice, and creating space for love and solidarity. We believe that we are stronger together, and this event will showcase that spirit. Collaborating organizations include Boys and Girls Club, CultureWorks, Upward Bound TRIO, Out On The Lakeshore, Maple Avenue Ministries, Third Reformed Church, Bluestocking Bookshop, and the Justice & Reconciliation Ministry at Hope Church. Organizers announced that the demonstrations theme is sharing love, light, and truth in the face of current policy changes that threaten to dismantle the progress already made. This spirit embodies what I AM Academy was built on and continues to represent, Cherry said. I AM Academy, now celebrating its fifth year, was founded shortly after the 2020 Holland George Floyd March, where thousands gathered. Five years later, we are still fighting together, Cherry said. For more information, contact Lauren Beck at info@iamacademymi.org or visit iamacademymi.org. 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. A file photo of a Michigan gull on a buoy. The Michigan DNR is investigating recent reports of bird die-offs along Lake Michigan to see what is behind the deaths. Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com SOUTH HAVEN, MI Government officials are waiting for lab results to determine why dozens of birds were found dead on Lake Michigan beaches, but a definitive answer could take a while. Investigating reports of recent bird die-offs, DNR wildlife biologists estimate 130 or more birds may have been affected in multiple locations along the Lake Michigan coastline in Southwest Michigan. The city of Grand Haven recently hired a construction company to reconstruct a runway at the city-owned airport for nearly a half million dollars. Grand Haven Memorial Airport Manager Earle Bares is pictured standing on the runway slated for repairs. (Kayla Tucker | MLive.com) Kayla Tucker GRAND HAVEN, MI - The city of Grand Haven recently hired a construction company to reconstruct one of the runways at the city-owned airport. Officials say federal and state grant funding will pay $480,621.60 for Reith-Riley Construction, of Wyoming, to reconstruct the 18/36 runway, or the cross wind runway that goes north and south and extends about 2,100 feet. The Grand Haven City Council signed off on the company at its March 19 meeting. The funding will come from a Bipartisan Infrastructure Grant. The last time the 18/36 runway was reconstructed was 30 years ago. Construction is not expected to begin until late summer and would only last a week, according to Earle Bares, manager of the Grand Haven Memorial Airport. Basically, its got a bunch of cracks in it, Bares said. If cracks become severe enough, it might be - just like a road - a little rough. The runways are inspected regularly, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently rated the 18/36 runway at 60% viable. Even at 70% or 60%, it does look like its in fairly decent shape, but when it gets to that figure thats when the FAA comes in and says weve got to do something with it, Bares said. The center of the runway is especially a concern, as thats where pilots line up their front wheel as they prepare to take off or land. If that center line wears down and cracks, it could create a potential safety hazard. The airport sees approximately 11,000 operations - take-offs and landings - each year. There are 60 airplanes stationed and stored on site. Most of the pilots are private, hobbyists and some are current and former commercial airline pilots that conduct pilot training. The airport does not have any commercial flights but occasionally sees charter flights. Another part of the Grand Haven Airport has a lot of "alligator cracks," said Earle Bares, airport director. When roads are not maintained regularly, the cracks multiply and spread. Kayla Tucker The 18/36 runway is used 15% of the time, while the main runway is used much more often. The main runway runs east and west and is 3,750 feet long. It was renovated three years ago. The secondary runway is primarily used for smaller, general aviation planes. Its very, very valuable at least for a small airport, Bares said. They may not be capable of taking off in strong cross winds on a regular runway. Bares said pilots in training will often fly in from Muskegon to practice on the smaller runways. For comparison, Muskegon County Airports runway is 6,500 feet long and crosswind runway is 6,100 feet. Being only 8 miles apart, our airports are closely related and both do well to serve aviation interests of all kinds all the Muskegon and Ottawa County lakeshore, said Ken Efting, director of Muskegon County Airport. He said students from each location practice at the other airport. In Grand Haven, pilots practice on the grass runway and landing in a space not controlled by an FAA air traffic control tower. Its often times the first airport that a Muskegon-based student pilot visits when they leave home for the first time, Efting said. In Muskegon, student pilots practice communicating with an air traffic control tower and different landing systems offered. Grand Haven Memorial Airport Manager Earle Bares opens a hangar for the maintenance technician on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Kayla Tucker Skydive Grand Haven is located at the city airport, making up 35% of flights in the summer months. People fly in during warm weather to access Grand Havens beach, the annual Coast Guard Festival and more. People come from all around Michigan and surrounding Midwest states such as Indiana and Illinois. Some have flown in from as far as Maryland and Colorado. The airport costs about $300,000 annually to maintain - half of that is federal funding and the rest is paid for by hangar fees and fuel sales. The economic output of the airport is $24 million, with people coming into the community via the airport and then spending money on hotel rooms, food and more, Bares said. An annual Trunk or Treat with planes event in October brought in 8,000 attendees last year, Bares said. Earle Bares, manager of the Grand Haven Memorial Airport, notifies air traffic control while driving on the runway Thursday, March 27, 2025. Kayla Tucker The airport is staffed during the day but not 24/7. Bares said pilots are able to turn on runway lights at night from the air. The Grand Haven airport first opened in 1949. It used to host an air show in the 1960s that drew many attendees. The annual Dawn Patrol event, where pilots are invited to fly in for a pancake breakfast, is scheduled for June 7. Bares said he expects around 50 planes to fly in that morning. Want more Muskegon-area news? Bookmark the local Muskegon news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Muskegon daily newsletter. Immigrant rights advocates say about 800 children in Michigan could face swift deportation after President Donald Trumps administration halted funding for a legal aid program. In a file photo, migrant teens line up for a class in Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) AP DETROIT, MI Immigrant rights advocates say about 800 children in Michigan could face swift deportation after federal funding was halted. President Donald Trumps administration essentially ended the funding for legal aid that helped migrant children entering the country without a parent or guardian. A federal lawsuit filed this week, though, could challenge the administrations decision, officials said. Officials with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) said their agency and peer organizations across the country received a Friday, March 21, contract termination notice that largely eliminates funding used to help unaccompanied minors navigate the complex immigration system. This is the largest attack on immigrant children in Michigan since we faced the family separation crisis in 2018, Susan Reed, MIRC director, said in a statement. RELATED: Go here for all of MLives coverage of the Trump administrations second term Not only will more than 800 vulnerable children in Michigan face losing their dedicated lawyers, but we are rolling back decades of progress on protecting the rights of immigrant children. Children with representation are more likely to win their cases and unrepresented children tend to lose, so this action will change the course of our clients whole lives. MIRC isnt the lone agency affected by the federal cuts, which officials said could impact about 26,000 children facing immigration court proceedings across the U.S. MIRC officials said Washington, D.C.-based Acacia Center for Justice serves as the primary contractor that receives the targeted funding via the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. MIRC is among the Acacia Center for Justice subcontractors. Acacia Center for Justice officials said they were informed March 21 that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was terminating nearly all the legal work that the center does. Its extremely concerning because its leaving these kids without really important support, said Ailin Buigues, who heads Acacia Center for Justices unaccompanied children program. Theyre often in a very vulnerable position. People fighting deportation do not have the same right to representation as people going through criminal courts, although they can hire private attorneys. But there has been some recognition that children navigating the immigration court system without a parent or guardian are especially vulnerable. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2008 created special protections for children who arrive in the U.S. without a parent or a legal guardian. Emily G. Hilliard, deputy press secretary at Health and Human Services, said in an emailed statement that the department continues to meet the legal requirements established by the Act as well as a legal settlement guiding how children in immigration custody are being treated. The termination comes days before the contract was to come up for renewal on March 29. Roughly a month ago the government temporarily halted all the legal work Acacia Center for Justice and its subcontractors do for immigrant children, but then days later, Health and Human Services reversed that decision. The program is funded by a five-year contract, but the government can decide at the end of each year if it renews it or not. A copy of the termination letter obtained by The Associated Press said the contract was being terminated for the Governments convenience. Officials with the Washington, D.C.-based Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Los Angeles-based Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Los Angeles-based Justice Action Center on Thursday, March 27, announced the filing of a lawsuit in federal court in California. The federal lawsuit, filed against the Department of Health & Human Services and other defendants, challenges the termination of the services and aims to restore immediate access to the program, according to a statement from Amica Center for Immigrant Rights officials. The Trump administrations decision to terminate these national legal service programs poses a significant threat to the rights of already vulnerable unaccompanied immigrant children, Sam Hsieh, a deputy program director for the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, said in a statement. Many of these children are eligible for immigration relief but are unable to meaningfully seek it without an attorney. This is the most brazen attack on immigrant children since family separation. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Detroit Red Wings and captain Dylan Larkin were contained by Nick Jensen and the Ottawa Senators. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) AP DETROIT The Detroit Red Wings dug themselves a deep hole Thursday after failing to convert on five power-play opportunities in the first period. They battled back to make a game of it in the third period and had chances to tie it in the final minute. But the Ottawa Senators held on for a 4-3 victory at Little Caesars Arena. You can now balance your mind, body and soul and your fashion sense, with Alo Yogas new color drop. The athleisure brand recently announced the launch of its Smoky Quartz collection. You can now find some of your favorite Alo Yoga styles in the purple hue, and we need to tell you just how obsessed we are with these looks. Its hard to pick favorites, but here is our best effort. The elastic logo waistband and built-in brief on this flowy short offer a cozy, True-to-size fit. Made from lightweight, woven fabric, this high-cut performance staple features an invisible side pocket for small essentials. While these are comfortable to wear, we love the chic appearance they create. Alo Match Point Short Alo Match Point Shorts sport a chic loose, flowy fit. Buy Now Choose from a boxy, oversized look or a close-fitting one with this piece. The Unisex Accolade Hoodie is always a bestseller, and for good reason. The laid-back drop shoulder gives off flawless street style vibes for when you dont want to dress up. Each sweatshirt comes with a big pocket and cozy ribbing on the cuffs and hem. The midweight French terry fabric is smooth on the outside with soft fleece inside. Alo Yoga Accolade set The Accolade hoodie and sweatpants offer a cozy, oversized fit. Buy Now Okay, so we like matching sets. Can you blame us? Just like its matching hoodie, these unisex sweats were designed for an oversized look. If you prefer something more form fitting, just drop down one or two sizes. The Accolade Sweatpant is complete with an elastic waistband, cuffs and the same soft, fleecy fabric. Matching from head to toe may not be your vibe, and thats okay. This shoe is also available in other colors to mix it up. Alo Runner is the brands first performance shoe, but you wouldnt believe that based on its impressive construction. It was designed for stability and support on street, trail, track or sand surfaces. Features include a stabilizing heel clip, extra-firm heel cushioning and dual density midsole. The pair breathes easily with a double-layer mesh upper for airflow. It will support you from the ground up while helping the planet; because the Alo Runner is also made with 70% recycled materials for a lighter footprint on the Earth. Smoky Quartz Alo Runner shoe The Alo Runner shoe offers support on several surfaces. Buy Now Other Smoky Quartz favorites: Unisex Half-Crew Throwback Sock - $32 Cropped Breezy Full-Zip Hoodie - $128 Airlift Solar Visor - $68 Breezy Wide Leg Pant - $158 Satin Off-Duty Cap - $98 Airlift Alignment Bra - $88 90s Claw Clip - $34 Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, left, greets former Dodger Kirk Gibson before Gibson threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a home-opening baseball game at against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) AP LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers honored a hero from 2024 and then brought back a legend from 1988. The Dodgers recognized World Series hero Freddie Freeman and his family after raising the banner for their 2024 title during a pregame ceremony Thursday. Freeman, who limped to the plate and hit a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series last October, was celebrated with chants of Freddie! Freddie! from the crowd. But there was one more surprise. Kirk Gibson, who famously hit a walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, walked onto the field to shake hands with Freeman and throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Gibby, meet Freddie! Kirk Gibson throws out the first pitch to Freddie Freeman prior to the @Dodgers game. #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/q4WjZFTXx2 MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2025 A Michigan native, Gibson played 12 seasons for the Tigers and was a key member of the 1984 World Series team. But he was wearing a Dodgers jersey on Thursday. Gibson won National League MVP honors with the Dodgers in 1988, cementing his legacy by fighting through injury to deliver his iconic home run. Gibson has had at least a part-time role on Tigers broadcasts for 15 seasons, but the team announced last month that he would not return to the booth in 2025. He remains a special assistant to Tigers president Scott Harris. The Texas Tech Red Raiders take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Sweet 16. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) AP An action-packed opening day of Sweet 16 games rounds out with the No. 3-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders and No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks, who take the court at 10:09 p.m. on Thursday, March 27. Stream No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 10 Arkansas in the Sweet 16 on Sling TV with the orange subscription. For a limited time, get your first month of Sling TV half off. Arkansas is the lowest-seeded team remaining as a No. 10 seed. The Razorbacks come off two impressive upset victories, defeating No. 7 Kansas and No. 2 St. Johns. On Thursday, they hope to accomplish the same feat. Texas Tech has had an easier path to the Sweet 16, eliminating No. 11 Drake and No. 14 UNC Wilmington in the first and second rounds. Texas Tech and Arkansas go head-to-head at 10:09 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 27, at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. The Red Raiders enter the competition as a 5.5-point favorite. Watch No. 3 Texas Tech vs No. 10 Arkansas in the Sweet 16 When: 10:09 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 27, 2025 Where: The Chase Center in San Francisco, California Stream: Sling TV (orange subscription), YouTube TV Tickets: Buy tickets at Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, StubHub, and Ticketmaster. Use code MLIVE20 for $20 off Vivid Seats orders exceeding $200. What is Sling TV? Sling TV is a streaming service with live sports, TV, and movies. Get access to 9 exclusive sports channels and 35 total channels with Sling Orange. For a limited time, get your first month of Sling for $23. Dialogue on China-Africa green cooperation held in Kenya Xinhua) 13:34, March 28, 2025 NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A dialogue on China-Africa green cooperation was held in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, bringing together senior officials, diplomats, environmentalists and scholars. The China-Africa Ecological Civilization Exchange forum was hosted by the Chongqing Land and Sea International Communication Foundation at the Confucius Institute of Kenya's oldest university, the University of Nairobi, on Wednesday. A photo exhibition titled "The City of Eagles," a reference to Chongqing in southwest China, was also featured on the sidelines of the forum. One highlight of the event was the launch of a nature observation program that seeks to enhance cooperation between Chinese and African youth in advancing the green agenda. Njoroge Muchiri, deputy governor of the County Government of Nairobi, said the metropolis is keen to foster exchanges with China in its quest for reclaiming green spaces and rivers. He said that during a recent trip to China, he witnessed the inspiring conservation works around the Yangtze River, a major lifeline for the Asian country. "In collaboration with the Chinese government and Chinese investors, we are working on a very major rehabilitation program for Nairobi rivers," Muchiri said. "With that, we shall be able to establish the ecosystems that used to exist." Nevile Agesa, a project manager at Mara Conservation Fund, a wildlife conservation lobby based in southwestern Kenya, said that a partnership with Chinese entities has strengthened the protection of habitats reeling from the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Hu Henghua, mayor of Chongqing Municipality, spoke at the event that sought to enhance exchanges with Kenyan institutions and the public on the green, sustainability agenda. "We stand ready to leverage this platform to collaborate with African partners in sharing expertise and best practices across urban sustainability, clean energy development, wildlife protection, and cultural heritage restoration," Hu said. Guo Haiyan, Chinese ambassador to Kenya, stressed that Beijing attaches great importance to global ecological health, adding that cooperation with Kenya has boosted the protection of natural assets. She said that Chinese enterprises based in Kenya have embraced green ethos during the implementation of flagship projects such as the 480-km Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Guo added that the "Partnership Action for Green Development," one of the 10 partnership actions announced at the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, reaffirmed China's commitment to advancing green energy transition and biodiversity protection in Africa. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) 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. 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I Accept Govt unlikely to go ahead with privatisation of banks: Official Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years. Shweta Punj is an award winning journalist. She has reported on economic policy for over two decades in India and the US. She is a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum. Author of Why I Failed, translated into 5 languages, published by Penguin-Random House. 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. 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I Accept Flying out of Delhi to cost more as User Development Fee hiked Tamal Nandi 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. 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I Accept Deceased investors nominees can access stock, MF holdings via DigiLocker from April 1. Here's how Preeti Kulkarni 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. 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I Accept Breaking News Live: President Trump hosts annual Iftar dinner at White House US President Donald Trump hosted an Iftar dinner at the White House where he thanked Muslims in America for voting for him in record numbers in the recently held elections. I want to extend a very special thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Muslim Americans who supported us in record numbers in the 2024 presidential election. It was incredible. We started a little slow with you, but we came along, Trump said. The Muslim community was there for us in November, and while Im president, I will be there for you, he added. 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. 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I Accept Vikram Jit Singh has extensive experience as war correspondent and reported counter-terrorism operations live while posted at Srinagar. He is the author of Flowers on a Kargil Cliff ---- India's first war correspondent in the line of fire in Kashmir & Kargil. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication. Aurobindo Das 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. 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I Accept What RSS means when it seeks One Nation, One Culture Arun Anand has authored two books on the RSS. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication. Aurobindo Das 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. 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I Accept Elderly couple, who eloped 64 years ago, get married in Gujarat: 'This kind of love' Shubhi Mishra 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. 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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 Google could face $850 billion in fines over TikTok ban delay 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 Ankita Chakravarti 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 Echoes of Indias role in shaping up the future of AI witnessed in Shanghai Amitabh Sinha is Executive Editor, News18 India. He has over 25 years of experience in print and TV journalism. 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 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 From Google's new large language model to H&M using AI models: A few big AI innovations take centrestage 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 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 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 Ankita Chakravarti 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 1/11 This Eid long weekend (March 29April 1, 2025), trade the city lights for roaring tigers, lush jungles, and untamed adventures! With spring in full bloom, Indias national parks are buzzing with wildlife activity, making it the perfect time for a safari getaway. Whether youre chasing tiger trails or cruising through mangroves, here are 10 thrilling safari destinations to explore. (Image: Canva) 2/11 1. Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan Where Tigers Rule If spotting a tiger is on your bucket list, Ranthambore is the place to be. As the dry season sets in, wildlife gathers around waterholes, making tiger sightings more likely. Beyond the big cats, the ancient Ranthambore Fort adds a dash of history to your wild adventure. (Image: Canva) 3/11 2. Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand The Call of the Wild Indias oldest national park never disappoints. From elusive Bengal tigers to playful elephants and over 600 bird species, Jim Corbett is a paradise for wildlife lovers. Springs clear skies and dry grasslands make this the ideal season to explore. (Image: Canva) 4/11 3. Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh Big Cats, Bigger Thrills Famous for having one of the highest tiger populations, Bandhavgarh promises action-packed safaris. Imagine locking eyes with a tiger as it prowls through open meadowsits an adrenaline rush like no other. Dont miss the ancient Bandhavgarh Fort for panoramic views. (Image: Canva) 5/11 4. Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh The Real Jungle Book Step into Mowglis world at Kanha. Its expansive meadows and dense forests are home to the rare barasingha (swamp deer) and majestic tigers. As the forests thin in spring, wildlife sightings become even more thrilling. (Image: Canva) 6/11 5. Pench National Park, Maharashtra Into the Heart of the Jungle Pench isnt just a tiger reserveits a living, breathing jungle adventure. Leopards, wild dogs, and the iconic Bengal tiger roam these lands. Springs dry climate means animals stay close to water, giving you prime viewing opportunities. (Image: Canva) 7/11 6. Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan Tigers & Ancient Legends A short drive from Delhi, Sariska is a wildlife haven packed with history. Keep your eyes peeled for tigers lounging by waterholes, while the ancient Kankwari Fort within the reserve offers a glimpse into the past. (Image: Canva) 8/11 7. Sundarbans National Park, West Bengal Into the Mystical Mangroves For a safari like no other, cruise through the Sundarbanshome to the famous swimming Royal Bengal Tigers. Spring is perfect for exploring its maze of waterways, where crocodiles and rare bird species also thrive. (Image: Canva) 9/11 8. Kaziranga National Park, Assam Rhinos & Beyond Kaziranga is a must-visit for its iconic one-horned rhinoceroses. With springs mild weather, the parks sprawling grasslands come alive with elephants, wild buffalo, and even the occasional tiger sighting. (Image: Canva) 10/11 9. Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala Safari on the Water Picture this: gliding across a tranquil lake as elephants and bison gather on the shore. Periyars boat safaris offer a serene yet thrilling wildlife experience. Springs dry season draws animals closer to the water, enhancing your chances of sightings. (Image: Canva) Arrest of Baloch activists sparks nationwide protests in Pakistan; what we know so far Pragya Trivedi 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 Pradeep Tripathi 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 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. 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I Accept Abhinav Gupta 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 Noted economist honoured by Trump warns that 25% tariffs risk 'irreparable damage' to US automakers 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. 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I Accept U.S. auto tariffs may hurt itself, says Italian FM Xinhua) 15:14, March 28, 2025 ROME, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani warned Thursday that the universal 25 percent automobile tariffs announced by the White House would have repercussions not only in Europe, but also in the United States. "This tariff increase will not be beneficial even for the United States," he told reporters. "Auto prices in America will likely rise, considering that many vehicles produced there rely heavily on European components." Italy remains firmly against a trade war, and supports diplomatic solutions rather than retaliatory measures, he said. "Our position is very clear: tariffs are never good news, and we must avoid a trade war at all costs." He said the Italian government had already prepared an action plan, which was presented on March 21, to safeguard its exports and strengthen Italy's presence in non-European markets. "We will assess the extent of the economic damage step by step and wait until April 2 before drawing definitive conclusions," he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Marco Rubio says over 300 visas revoked in crackdown on anti-Israel activism Pradeep Tripathi 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 Tamal Nandi 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. 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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 Aishwarya Dabhade 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 Trump says he had productive call with Canadian PM Carney 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 US VP Vance lands in Greenland as new government calls for unity Arishaa Izaj 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 Vladimir Putin accepts PM Modi's invite to visit India: What to expect and why it's crucial Abhinav Gupta 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 Why earthquakes are frequent in Myanmar: Fault lines and tectonic setting explained Abhinav Gupta 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. 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I Accept Yosemite Valley Welcome Center View Photo Yosemite, CA A Yosemite National Park employee was discovered injured at a staff housing facility and died a day later. The deceased has not been identified, but she worked in Yosemite Hospitality and was found inside its housing unit. Clarke Broadcasting reached out to park spokesperson Ranger Scott Gediman. He did not comment on the suspicious incident and instead emailed this statement: The National Park Service (NPS) is investigating the death of a woman who was found injured on March 20 at concessioner housing in Yosemite Valley. Law enforcement rangers and rescue personnel responded to a reported medical emergency in the housing unit and found a 34-year-old woman from Fresno, California, with severe injuries. The woman, an employee of Yosemite Hospitality, was taken to a hospital in Fresno, where she succumbed to her injuries the following day. The NPS Investigative Services Branch is investigating the death alongside the Fresno County Sheriff-Coroners Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. No further information is available at this time. Bulawayo An elderly couple from Bulawayo are facing a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of theft for exploiting a technical glitch at Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe and embarking on a lavish spending spree, embezzling over US$30,000. The case highlights the vulnerabilities in banking systems and the temptation that can arise when unexpected funds appear in ones account. Frank Sibanda and his wife, Francisca Netsai, both aged 65, were found guilty on 47 counts of theft by Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Mrs Dambudzo Malunga on Wednesday last week. This follows an incident where the couple took advantage of a technical error at Stanbic Bank, squandering funds that were erroneously deposited into Franciscas account. They then embarked on a shopping spree that spanned both Zimbabwe and South Africa. The pair appeared at Tregold Regional Magistrates Court facing theft charges. The presiding magistrate handed down a seven-year jail term, with four years suspended on condition of good behaviour. The remaining three years will also be set aside on condition that the convicts restitute the bank the full amount of US$34,000 they stole by June 30, 2025. The incident came to light following a routine investigation by the banks forensic department, which uncovered discrepancies in the banks records, leading to the couples arrest. The prosecutor, Mr Owen Mugari, told the court that on February 5 last year, Francisca opened a Silver Banking segment account at Stanbic Banks Joshua Nkomo Street branch in Bulawayo. This was allegedly facilitated by her daughter, Rudo Sibanda, who falsely claimed that her mother worked for her Harare-based company, Cominergy Construction Mining Energy. The first accused was then issued with a chip and PIN visa card, number 40691XXXX0711, to transact on her account. On April 5, Francisca made a POS purchase of US$17,95 via a Steward Bank ZiG POS machine at National Foods Bulawayo, and the transaction failed, said Mr Mugari. The court heard that as part of the normal interbank failed POS transaction settlement, Steward Bank processed the reversal through ZimSwitch with an overstated ZWG amount of 579,116.21, which was mistakenly auto-credited to Franciscas US dollar account, resulting in a deposit of US$40,850.86. After realising that there was manna from heaven in the bank account, Francisca and her husband connived to withdraw various amounts of cash and made purchases both in Zimbabwe and South Africa, knowing they were not entitled to the money. Upon receiving the unexpected windfall, the Sibandas wasted no time in indulging themselves. The couple embarked on a spending spree both locally and across the border in South Africa, including visits to lavish food and beverage markets in the upmarket Sandton suburb. They also visited Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg, a popular hub boasting a mix of restaurants, coffee shops, clothing boutiques, art galleries, retail outlets, and studios. For a brief period, the gogo and sekuru from Bulawayo lived a soft life that many only dream of. The bank later discovered the offence, establishing that between April 30 and May 1 last year, Franciscas visa card made cash withdrawals of US$2,025 at Stanbic Bank in Bulawayo and several ATM and POS transactions amounting to US$32,085.47 in South Africa. A report was subsequently made to the police, and investigations led to the couples arrest. The total amount stolen is US$34,110.47, and none of it has been recovered. In mitigation, through their lawyer, Mr Jabulani Ndubiwa of Mashayamombe & Co. Attorneys, the Sibandas pleaded for leniency. Mr Ndubiwa told the court that the couple are primary caregivers to their grandchild. He also stated that Francisca is of ill-health. In considering the appropriate sentence, may the court consider passing a sentence that spares the accused hardship and a lengthy custody, the lawyer submitted. Breaking News via Email Related Pin Share Share 0 Shares Harare President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reacted with fury to calls for his resignation by a faction of war veterans, branding their demands treasonous and vowing to crush planned protests scheduled for March 31st. The Zanu PF leader also lashed out at chameleon-like characters within his own party, offering a rare glimpse into the rampant factionalism that continues to plague the ruling party. Addressing the Zanu PF central committee in Harare on Thursday, Mnangagwa stated: It is most unfortunate that a retrogressive trend has emerged, with some members of our party showing their chameleon-like characters as willing accessories to our detractors for the purpose of desecrating our rich revolutionary heritage. Down with them! He continued, Their actions are an affront to the partys principles and grossly taint our countrys image as well as the gains of our liberation struggle. These rogue opportunists will soon meet their fate. The challenge to Mnangagwas eight-year rule is spearheaded by a group of independence war veterans who accuse the 82-year-old of leadership failures and surrounding himself with criminals who allegedly benefit from corruptly-awarded state contracts. Two of the leading figures within this veterans faction Blessed Geza and Andreas Mathibela are believed to have fled the country to avoid facing sedition charges. Blessed Bombshell Geza, a former Zanu PF central committee member and an outspoken critic of Mnangagwas government, has emerged as the most prominent voice calling for the Presidents removal. Geza, who is rumoured to be an ally of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, has released a series of YouTube videos urging an uprising to oust Mnangagwa on March 31st. In his latest video, released on Wednesday from an undisclosed location while clad in military fatigues, Geza reiterated his call for mass action. We want an uprising from Plumtree to Mutare, from Zambezi to Limpopo, everyone should flood the streets, Mnangagwa must go, Geza declared. Geza, who was expelled from Zanu PF two weeks ago, claims to represent a significant number of war veterans who are disillusioned with the countrys current trajectory under Mnangagwas leadership. While it remains to be seen whether Gezas call for mass action will be heeded, Mnangagwas government is taking no chances, implementing a heavy-handed security response across the country. Mnangagwa has moved to quell any potential unrest by deploying security forces nationwide. He has also retired army commander Lieutenant General Anselem Senyatwe, an ally of Chiwenga, amid growing fears of a possible coup by former allies. Mnangagwa has sought to project an image of strength and control, asserting that he has the support within his party to overcome such treasonous acts of indiscipline. He added in his address to the central committee: People are called upon to go about their business as usual (on March 31). Our state security infrastructure is in place to protect property and the safety of all Zimbabweans, from Plumtree to Mutare, Chirundu to Beitbridge. Mnangagwa also spoke to his partys politburo in Harare on Wednesday stating he had enough support from patriotic citizens to squash efforts by malcontents and rogue delusional elements bent on disturbing our peace, unity and harmony. He added: Those who bark will continue doing so while the country moves forward. Gezas uprising call has further heightened tensions within Zanu PF, particularly at a time when Mnangagwas supporters are pushing for a constitutional amendment to extend his second and final term by two years, from 2028 to 2030. Mnangagwa loyalists are reportedly concerned that Geza might be acting as a proxy for Vice President and retired General Constantino Chiwenga, the man who orchestrated the 2017 military coup that ousted longtime leader Robert Mugabe and paved the way for Mnangagwas ascent to power. Chiwenga has remained publicly silent on the issue of Geza, and the extent of his influence within the military, which remains a key power broker in Zanu PF, remains unclear. Mnangagwas recent removal of army commander Lieutenant General Anselem Sanyatwe, an alleged Chiwenga ally, has been interpreted by analysts as a move to consolidate his power and prevent any potential challenges to his authority. Geza has also called on opposition leaders to join his call for action, although questions remain about his own democratic credentials. In Wednesdays video appearance, the former Zanu PF central committee member gave out names of what he called criminals around Mnangagwa and a second group of political criminals. The first list included businessmen Wicknell Chivayo, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Scott Sakupwanya and Mnangagwas wife, Auxilia, who allegedly harbours ambitions of becoming president. Geza declared: Were people of action, you need to buy data because you will see the action we will take about these criminals. Theyre not many in number, on the other hand its 16 million of us. Why should we suffer at the hands of a few? Its sad whats happening, you now even hear people saying colonial rule was better. All this is being caused by these political criminals. Were dealing with Mnangagwa on March 31 but these criminals were going after them starting from now. These people think theyre very clever, but theyre going to regret. Its they who will in the end voluntarily go to Mnangagwa and say please go now, were suffering. Geza said war veterans were very sorry that we let you down from years of backing Zanu PF leadership. As war veterans were in the afternoon of our lives we cannot leave the country in the hands of thieves. The task to remove the thieves and political criminals is underway, he added. As March 31st approaches, Zimbabwe finds itself on edge, with the potential for unrest looming large. The confrontation between President Mnangagwa and a faction of disgruntled war veterans, coupled with the ongoing power struggles within Zanu PF, has created a volatile political climate. Whether Gezas call for an uprising will gain traction remains to be seen, but the governments heavy-handed response suggests that it is taking the threat seriously. Breaking News via Email Related Pin Share Share 0 Shares The cash assassins set their sights on Europes biggest economy. If theres one major European economy that did not get the memo on moving swiftly away from cash to digital payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is Germany. Though cash use has declined in recent years, physical notes and coins are still the main payment method. In 2023, 51% of all transactions were still being made with cash, with debit cards in a distant second place at 27%, according to the Deutsche Bundesbanks annual payments survey. [1] In the same year, Foreign Policy magazine described Germany as hopelessly addicted to cash: Germany is not the only country standing athwart the global trend toward cashless payments. In Austria, cash is so popular that the Austrian chancellor has claimed it should amount to a constitutional right. Yet in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, cash will account for just 6 percent within a decade, and in the Netherlands only 11 percent of transactions were made in cash last year. In other bigger economies, the pace of the decline is even faster. While in China 8 percent of point-of-sale (POS) transactions were made in cash, in India, cash use has declined from 91 percent in 2019 to 27 percent in 2022. But in Germany, an obsession with [NC: as opposed to concerns about] privacy, mistrust of big-tech and fintech in general [NC: probably warranted], and worries about political and financial crises depleting bank balances overnightan experience rooted in history as well as a cultural desire for controlall contribute to the countrys love for cash On average, Germans carry more than 100 euros in their walletsmuch more than their counterparts in many other developed nations. Since the euro was introduced, the Bundesbank has issued more cash than any other member in the 27-nation European Union, and according to the Bundesbank report, even though cash use was down from 74 percent in 2017, as high as 69 percent of respondents expressed their intention to continue to pay in cash. Even as Germany has suffered wave after wave of ATM bombings, providing banks with a perfect pretext for closing even more branches and ATMs, and local and federal authorities have made it increasingly difficult to pay in cash for basic services such as public transport or registering a driving license, as the German financial journalist and cash advocate Norbert Haring has documented (in German), most Germans have continued to cling to cash. In a survey conducted by the European Central Bank, 69% of Germans said that cash is either important or very important to them. As Der Spiegel International noted, with a gentle dash of PMC arrogance and derision, in its article last April, Cashs Last Stand, this is particularly true of older people and people with low incomes and education levels. Enter the Cash Assassins But the countrys financial institutions, together with payment processors, are now taking matters into their own hands. As Haring reports (in German), big banks are joining forces with large credit card companies in an attempt to force cash out of the market through cartel pricing and unfair competition: The new initiative Germany pays digitally is not an initiative, but a cartel. It consists of Commerzbank (Commerz Globalpay), Deutsche Bank, Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken (VR Pay), Mastercard, Visa, Flatpay, Unzer and SumUp. Further cartel members are expressly welcome to join. The aim is to displace their main competitor, cash, and the cash service providers through dumping prices. I cant judge whether its a legal cartel, but it seems legally questionable to me This is because cash causes costs that are often lower for small merchants than the costs of digital payments, but not zero. Heres how it will work: the cartel will be offering small merchants and retailers with up to 50,000 in annual turnover free installation of a payment terminal and free use of it for all transactions for up to one year. No fees, no commissions. Those will obviously kick in during the second year. As Haring notes, the cartel members are willing to accept temporary losses in order to incentivise small businesses to accept digital payments instead of cash. The irony is that two of the banks involved in the scheme, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, are also directly involved in Deutsche Bundesbanks recently established National Cash Forum, whose stated mission is to preserve cash as a cost-effective and widely used means of payment in Germany. One would be hard-pushed to find a better example of the fox looking after the chicken coop. As Haring notes, the central banks cash forum is clearly a facade intended to give the impression that the central bank and commercial lenders are taking measures to protect cash while doing the exact opposite. As for Visa and Mastercard, it should hardly come as a surprise that they are involved in this cartel-like attack on cash. Both are members of the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA), a coalition of governments, financial firms, IT companies and philanthro-capitalist foundations that have been pushing back against cash use worldwide, primarily in the Global South, for over a decade. The state sponsors of BTCA include Germanys federal government. For payment companies like Mastercard and Visa that generate fees from facilitating money transfers between banks accounts, cash is their ultimate rival. In 2010, the then-CEO of Mastercard (and current president of the World Bank), Ajay Banga, openly declared war on cash: In todays terms, only 3% of retail spend in India or in China are through electronic payments. The rest is cash. I have declared war on cash; I believe MasterCard will grow by growing against cash. If you keep looking at 3%, everybodys a rival; if you look at the remaining 97%, everyones a partner. Both Mastercard and Visa have played arguably the biggest role in demonising cash over the past decade or so. As Brett Scott documents in his book Cloud Money, the payments industry has consistently cast card payments as being safer, cleaner and higher status than cash, thereby slowly associating the latter with crime, disease and low status. The demonisation campaign hit a whole new level when cash became erroneously associated with COVID-19 infections. In early March 2020, a WHO spokesperson said: We know that money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses when possible its a good idea to use contactless payments. The WHO would later walk back its statement, stressing that it was not advising people to abandon the use of cash. But by then media outlets, payment card companies, fintech start-ups and big-box retailers had seized on the original comments and magnified them, sparking fears over the safety of cash. At the same governments and central banks around the world loosened the limits on contactless card payments. For Mastercard this was nothing new. The company has been stoking the global publics fear of cash as a vector of bacteria and disease since at least March 2013, when it sponsored an Oxford University trial into the germ loads found on the banknotes of a selection of global currencies. Mastercard reserved the exclusive right to present the findings of the trial as well as the results of a highly misleading survey on public perceptions of the health risks of cash, which it did in gaudy glory around the world. A Roaring Success In most countries in the so-called collective West, the Global War on Cash has been a roaring success. As shown in the map below, by the the second year of the pandemic cash had already been eclipsed in most of the economies of Northern and North-Western Europe. Granted, it was a different story in other parts of the continent, particularly Central and Southern Europe. It is also true that some countries, including the UK, France, and Spain, have seen a moderate recovery in cash use since the lockdowns of 2020-21. Where in Europe is cash still the most common payment method? In Australia Im never ever using cash and always experience a culture shock when going back to Germany. Source: https://t.co/wcrj4LkPTL pic.twitter.com/7t8M0Is3Ko Simon Kuestenmacher (@simongerman600) July 2, 2021 The mass abandonment of cash has been driven by a host of factors such as generational shifts and technological advances, including the rise of e-commerce and seamless contactless payments. Payment card companies, banks and big retailers knew from the get-go that contactless payments would not only offer higher transaction speeds and lower cash handling costs but also encourage compulsive consumption. Now, the payment card companies and banks want to move away from cards to biometric payments. But the notion that this is all part of an organic bottom-up process is swiftly debunked by this example of cartel-like behaviour from German banks and global payment processors. The War on Cash continues to escalate, particularly in countries countries where cash is still King, albeit a rather diminished one, such as Germany, Spain and Austria. Unless access to cash and the ability to use it as a means of payment are protected by law, ideally through constitutional amendments, its future is far from guaranteed, especially with the European Central Bank and the European Commission desperate to accelerate the rollout of the Euro Areas proposed central bank digital currency, the digital euro. So far, to my knowledge (and I invite readers to correct me), only two EU countries have actually taken that step since the pandemic: Spain, which in 2022 passed a reform of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users that ensures that all businesses have the obligation to accept cash as a means of payment [2]; and Slovakia, which in 2023 introduced a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to pay for the purchase of goods and services in cash. In doing so, it earned itself a stiff rebuke from the European Central Bank. The ECB respectfully suggests that the provision of the constitution is outside of the competence of a member state whose currency is the euro, said ECB president Christine Lagarde. The governments and central banks of Sweden and Finland, two of Europes most cashless economies, have repeatedly sounded the alarm about the dangers of abandoning cash too quickly, even describing their over-dependence on digital banking as a potential threat to national security. As a recent Guardian article notes, in the context of today, with war in Europe, unpredictability in the US and the fear of Russian hybrid attacks almost a part of daily life in Sweden, life without cash is not proving the utopia that perhaps it once promised to be. However, neither Finland nor Sweden, as far as I can tell, have taken legislative action to protect access to cash or its use as a means of payment. In Denmark, by contrast, the use of cash is already protected by law. Businesses there must accept notes or coins between 6 am and 10 pm unless the transaction is online or at an unstaffed outlet such as a self-service petrol station. Norway, which is not an EU member, brought in legislation in October last year that means retailers can be fined or sanctioned if they do not accept cash. The government has also recommended that citizens keep some cash on hand due to the vulnerabilities of digital payment solutions to cyber-attacks. This is one of the many paradoxes of the current situation in Europe: even as the continents most cashless economies warn about the risks of going too cashless, especially at a time of intensifying IT outages, escalating cyber attacks and other forms of hybrid war, the cash assassins continue to escalate their War on Cash in other more cash-friendly countries for their own interests, of course. Meanwhile, the ECB is trying to fast track the digital euro into existence even as other central banks express their reservations. In cash-loving Austria, the central bank has taken an unusual step to protect citizens access to cash as banks increasingly shutter branches and remove ATMs. The Oesterreichische Nationalbank has decided to install 120 new ATMs in rural communities that it itself will operate. To avoid banks taking advantage of this move by closing down even more ATMs in remote communities, the Association of Municipalities has negotiated an agreement with the banks in which they commit to refraining from dismantling ATMs by the end of 2029. This example goes to show that if central banks and governments really want to protect cash as a public good, there is a way. But it is one that is unlikely to be adopted by the Deutsche Bundesbank or the incoming Merz government, led as it is by a man with intimate ties with Germanys banking sector and the US investment manager BlackRock. [1] Measured in terms of turnover, debit card payments accounted for 32% of total expenditure, placing them firmly in first place, followed in second place by cash (26%), reported the Bundesbank. Compared with the 2021 study, the share of payments settled in cash sank from 58% to 51%. Contrast this with the UK where card transactions in 2023 represented 61 per cent of all payments in the UK, making up almost 86 per cent of the total value of retail transactions. Also worth noting: as the Visa-Mastercard duopoly has increased its market share in recent years, so too have the processing fees they charge merchants, roughly equating to an added 170 million cost per year for UK businesses. [2] At the same time, Spain has one of the lowest limits on cash payments in the EU (1,000 euros). Yves here. The tone of this post, which likely reflects that of the book it discusses, is overwrought. But that does not make it inaccurate. What caught my attention was the inclusion of Myanmar as an example of Facebooks malign influence. The human cost of that civil war, which does have the US and China both stoking it, is ignored in the Western press. For instance, Myanmar is now on the verge of famine. The UN fingers the conflict as playing a major role. One of the problem with books like this is that, in order to sell, they have to give considerable weight to the personality of the founder/CEO. That often leads to undue emphasis on scandalous-seeming details and muddles the message of how the broligarch lack of respect for rules, laws, and boundaries leads to misuse of power. The EU was ploddingly on the path of using its strict competition rules to curb the ambit and even conceivably the size of tech titans like Facebook and Google. But their process is slow. This horse has left the barn and is already in the next county. By Lynn Parramore, Senior Research Analyst at the Institute for New Economic Thinking. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website Early in her chilling account of life as a Facebook executive, Sara Wynn-Williams drops an intriguing detail: Mark Zuckerbergs favorite president. The young founder still in his twenties at the time picks Andrew Jackson, because he got stuff done. What about Lincoln or Roosevelt the author asks the boss. Didnt they get stuff done, too? Zuckerberg insists: Its Jackson. Its not even close. Zuckerbergs admiration for Jackson, known for his ruthless, authoritarian styledespite the bloodiness of his territorial expansion and role in the Trail of Tearssheds light on much of what follows. Jackson made decisions unilaterally, and if you didnt like it, youd be steamrolled. He moved fast and broke things. And thats just what Zuckerberg does at Facebook, Wynn-Williams contends: creating an autocracy of one. Fresh from her role as a New Zealand diplomat at the United Nations, Wynn-Williams joined Facebook fueled by a starry-eyed belief in its mission to connect and improve the world. As an advisor to Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, she helped shape the companys strategy with governments globally. But over time, she was horrified to witness Zuckerbergs inner circle cozy up to authoritarian regimes like China, help ignite deadly chaos in Myanmar, and meddle catastrophically in U.S. elections: I was on a private jet with Mark the day he finally understood that Facebook probably did put Donald Trump in the White House [in 2016], and came to his own dark conclusions from that. All the while, she alleges, Zuckerberg and his top brass deceived the public, hid their actions, and lied to Congress. In Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, Wynn-Williams illustrates how Zuckerberg aimed to expand Facebook by hook or by crookand she insists that there has been no shortage of crook. Superpowers for Juveniles What Could Go Wrong? Its not too surprising that what unfolded during Wynn-Williams time at Facebook, from 2011 to 2017, wasnt so much a Machiavellian plot as it was, in her words, like watching a bunch of fourteen-year-olds whove been given superpowers and an ungodly amount of money, as they jet around the world to figure out what power has bought and brought them. Zuckerberg comes off as a petty tyrant, combative and often surly, who throws fits if he loses board games and lives in a bubble where no one dares contradict him. Sandberg is revealed as a self-aggrandizing hypocrite, brutally demeaning and even sexually harassing female employees as she burnishes her Lean In image as a defender of women and uses that deceptive image to curry favor for Facebook. Her real stance with female employees, writes the author, is Lean in and lie back. When Wynn-Williams is brought onto the Facebook team by Marne Levine, a former Larry Summers protege, her first exposure to the companys culture is receiving a Little Red Book, which proclaims, What were doing is more than capitalism; its social justice. Facebook is social change, humanitarian change. And we are a family. The Facebook Family. Family duties here mean being on call 24/7, and doing whatever it takes to keep Zuckerberg and the higher-ups satisfied. Sandberg herself insists that employees should be overloaded with work because spare time is where trouble starts. Its a culture of exhaustion and control, where the staff is expected to comply without question, overlooking ethical concernslike manipulating politicians with Facebooks algorithms, publicly preaching privacy while secretly working to provide the Chinese government access to user data, and more. Its a place where theyre expected to risk arrest or physical harm, stay silent when superiors make sexual advances, and hire only those loyal to the inner circle. All in the name of keeping the machine running. Wynn-Williams pulls no punches when exposing Facebooks darker side, with one key villain in the story being Joel Kaplan, a former George W. Bush aide and Sandbergs ex-boyfriend. Kaplan currently enjoying the title of Chief Global Affairs Officer at Meta is hired to handle Facebooks relations with Republicans. His mission is to get politicians hooked on the platform so theyll use it to win elections, and in return, Facebook gets to run wild, free from regulation. Hes all in on the strategy of buying off politicians, so oblivious to the law that he doesnt even realize bribery is, you know, illegal. His specialty is selling political ads. Money-driven politics? A-ok with Kaplan. Perhaps only a New Zealander like Wynn-Williams could have written the line, Im astounded at the role money plays in elections in the US on every issue from guns to abortion to much else. Getting politicians to view the platform as their ticket to winning elections is, she argues, Facebooks acethe surefire way to avoid taxes and regulations. And once they got the U.S. game down, she contends, Facebook took this playbook global, with Sandberg pushing Kaplan to hire teams in Asia, Latin America, and Europe to teach politicians how to target voters with tailored ads, making them depend on Facebook for political power. Now, Zuckerbergs affinity for shenanigans like tax dodging probably wont surprise anyone how he teamed up with the Irish government on shady schemes like the double Irish, designed to skirt taxes. But it may raise eyebrows to read how Zuckerberg and his cronies apparently saw terrorism as a golden opportunity to get governmentseager to catch terroriststo relax privacy laws. Wynn-Williams recounts how, after the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, Sandberg, attending the World Economic Forum at Davos, gleefully sent an email to the leadership team, Terrorism means the conversation on privacy is basically dead as policymakers are more concerned about intelligence/security. In other words, tragedy = opportunity. If it strengthens your stranglehold on global politics, why not seize it? Zuckerbergs so-called humanitarian initiatives also come under fire. Internet.org, marketed as a way to bring the internet to the worlds poor, turns out to be nothing more than a cynical bait-and-switch. Instead of providing open, free internet access, it traps the poorest people in Zuckerbergs ecosystem, forcing them into a Facebook-centric platform. The result? Governments have more control over what users see, and those users are more vulnerable to hate speech, fraud, and censorship. The situation became deadly in Myanmar, where Facebook became the de facto gateway to the internet through Internet.org. Instead of promoting peace and understanding, Facebook became a tool for hate. Wynn-Williams describes how in 2014, hate speech targeting the Rohingya Muslim minority went viral on the platform, triggered by a false post accusing a Muslim man of raping a Buddhist woman. The violence that followed was horrific, but Facebooks content moderation team claimed there was nothing they could do. When the UN later debunked their story, Facebooks response was silence. As Wynn-Williams puts it, Facebook is helping some of the worst people in the world do terrible things an astonishingly effective machine to turn people against each other. Meanwhile, Wynn-Williams considers Facebooks role in the 2016 U.S. election as undeniable, holding that Zuckerberg and his team knew exactly what they were doing when they profited from Trumps campaign, which was driven by misinformation and trolling. She alleges that Joel Kaplan saw outsider candidates like Trump as good for businessafter all, inflammatory content generates engagement. Facebook insiders were so sure of their influence that they referred to 2016 as the Facebook election. Staff even embedded with Trumps team to craft a targeted ad strategy using tools like Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences, helping Trump outspend Clinton on Facebook ads, making the platform his largest source of campaign funds. Wynn-Williams account of Facebooks dealings with the Chinese government is seriously alarming, and she claims Meta is right now actively blocking her from addressing Congress on the matter. She alleges that under Zuckerbergs direction, Facebook developed censorship tools for the Chinese Communist Party, including systems to monitor user posts. Despite publicly refusing to store user data in countries like Russia, Indonesia, and Brazil, Facebook agreed to store Chinese user data in China. Wynn-Williams writes that internally, the company feared exposing its hypocrisyhanding over data to China while resisting U.S. government requests, even concocting a scheme (which didnt come to fruition) to justify its presence in China with a New York Times column by Nicolas Kristof. When Congress began asking questions, Zuckerberg was instructed to downplay the situation, claiming only Chinese data would be stored in China, even though non-Chinese data could also be temporarily stored on Chinese servers. Then, theres the horrific exploitation of teenagers that readers may recall from news reports. Wynn-Williams tells of the 2017 leaked documents revealing that Facebook targeted vulnerable teens for ads when they were feeling emotionally distressed, like when they felt worthless or anxious. Facebook tracked their interactions and body image concerns to drive engagement, even working with beauty companies to target girls right after they deleted selfies. All this while Zuckerberg and the company publicly claimed to have moral integrity. Behind the scenes, they knowingly designed addictive features to exploit young users, maximizing engagement at any cost. Oligarchs in Ascendancy How Can Anything Go Right? Its a bad sign when the author admits her ultimate hope amid all the malfeasance was that Facebooks powerful algorithmsthose same ones causing so much chaosmight be slowed down, not because theyre harming society, but because they could hurt Facebooks bottom line. She thought this would happen with the explosion of chaos in Myanmar, but despite knowing how its platform fueled tensions that resulted in genocide, Facebook did nothing. The companys response? Silence. A key underlying problem, Wynn-Williams observes, it that Facebooks top tiers are populated by a bunch of out-of-touch Harvard grads, far more interested in protecting their own interests than making the world a better place. By the end of her memoir, she concludes that Facebook is, in her words, a company that has become an astonishingly effective machine to turn people against each other and monitor people at a scale that was never possible before. For authoritarian regimes, its a dream tool. As Wynn-Williams succinctly puts it, It gives them exactly what those regimes need: direct access into what people are saying from the top to bottom of society. Wynn-Williams time at Facebook came to a head in 2017 when she was fired, allegedly in retaliation for her complaints about Joel Kaplans sexual harassmenta fitting exclamation point on a story of idealistic dreams twisted into a corporate nightmare. What about the nightmare for the rest of us? Regulating Meta obviously requires stronger legal frameworks, transparency, and accountability to ensure it serves the public good and curbs harmful practices. Its not hard to figure out that Facebooks dominance and acquisitions of competitors like Instagram and WhatsApp should be subject to stricter antitrust laws. Breaking up Facebook or imposing limits on its acquisitions could foster competition and curb its unchecked power. (Despite Zuckerberg pouring $1 million into Trumps inauguration, axing diversity programs, and scaling back social media content moderation to appease the president, the Trump administration is still using antitrust law to pursue anti-monopoly action against Metaat least for now). Its also clear that governments could regulate political ads on Facebook, ensuring transparency on ad spending and sources, helping prevent foreign interference, misinformation, and unethical targeting tactics. Theres a powerful argument that companies like Facebook should be treated as public utilities because theyve become essential to communication and information, much like water or electricity. With billions relying on them for everything from socializing to business and news, these platforms hold massive societal power. Treating them as utilities would make them more accountable and regulated, ensuring they serve the public good instead of just chasing profit. This could help tackle problems like misinformation, privacy breaches, and monopolies while boosting transparency and fairness. However, by most accounts, Mark Zuckerberg, rather than learning from past mistakes, is wholeheartedly embracing his role as a 21st-century oligarch. Recently, Meta announced it had terminated 20 employees for leaking confidential information to the media, amid growing scrutiny over Zuckerbergs recent political shift toward aligning with President Trump. He also sat down with Joe Rogan, the podcast king, delivering a bold message: American business culture needs more masculine energy. If Meta was a noxious bro-fest before, we can only imagine the chaos thats coming. Its not a pretty picture. But ultimately, if we want a fairer and more transparent digital landscape, the task is clear: level the playing field, restore trust, and ensure that the digital spaces we rely on serve us, not just their bottom line. Perhaps a tell-all from a former female employee can get the ball rolling. Stranger things have happened. Civil engineer Ben York will head the East Bank Development Authority as its first chief executive officer. Anna Grider, who previously worked on the citys East Bank designs within the Metro Planning Department, will join York as chief operating officer. The two will oversee the citys ongoing efforts to develop a commercial and residential district around the new, $2.1 billion domed stadium built for the Tennessee Titans. Nashville Democrats Barely Get Across the River A procedural vote on the East Bank Development Authority turns into Republicans punching bag Both Ben and Anna have been working on the East Bank for years now, OConnell told reporters Friday morning. After a rigorous search process, we concluded we already had, within Metro Nashville, the two best people for this important set of jobs. State lawmakers set up the East Bank Development Authority last year to aid the citys real estate ambitions that began under former Mayor John Cooper. The bill was briefly threatened by Republicans who seemingly saw the otherwise mundane legislation as a chance to spite Nashville lawmakers. It ultimately passed, endowing the semi-autonomous body with certain legal rights like the ability to borrow money and issue bonds that facilitate the complicated development process. York joined Metro Public Works in 2011 as an engineer. He has remained with the department, rebranded as the Nashville Department of Transportation in 2021, where he oversees the implementation of various building and infrastructure projects. He shifted to NDOTs East Bank team in 2022, according to Yorks LinkedIn profile. +7 Metro Releases Plan for East Bank Public Realm City, Fallon Company enlist NYC-based firm to create outdoor spaces for future development Anna Grider, a city planner, has worked on the citys East Bank vision since its inception under Cooper. Within the Metro Planning Department, Grider oversaw the citys Imagine East Bank campaign, a multiyear rollout of plans, drafts and public meetings that preceded groundbreaking on the new Titans stadium. Since OConnell took office, chief development officer (and former Metro councilmember) Bob Mendes has been the mayors primary representative on East Bank matters. In 2023, the city contracted Boston-based developers the Fallon Company to build out its 30-acre site footprint. Yesterday, Fallon announced that a firm in New York would design the sites public spaces, referred to in official documentation as the East Bank Public Realm Framework. Tensions were high at the Capitol this week as protests against a bill targeting immigrant students continued and Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) and Rep. Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville) clashed over gun reform legislation in a House subcommittee. Reps. Pearson, Farmer Clash Over Gun Legislation Democrat-led gun control bills fail in committee as Pearson delivers impassioned plea related to his brother's death However, the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee did give bipartisan support to newly minted Rep. Shaundelle Brooks (D-Nashville) for a bill honoring her son, Akilah DaSilva, who was shot and killed during the Waffle House mass shooting in Antioch in 2018. Akilah's Law would hold accountable people who provide a gun to someone who is not allowed to possess one by law. The bill saw testimony from Brooks' younger son as well as James Shaw Jr., who was able to wrestle the gun away from the shooter. Dozens continued to protest HB 793/SB 836, a bill that would limit undocumented students access to public education. The legislation would allow local school boards to bar undocumented students from enrolling in public schools. An amended version of the bill that passed the House Education Committee on Wednesday would allow public schools to charge tuition for undocumented students. The bill poses a challenge to Plyler v. Doe, a 1982 Supreme Court ruling ensuring the right to public education to all children regardless of their immigration status. Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) called the ruling an abomination during Wednesdays committee. As the committee wound down, protesters rose from their seats and began singing and chanting, which led the lawmakers to take an abrupt vote and adjourn. The bill passed 11-7 with three Republicans crossing party lines to vote in opposition: Reps. Charlie Baum (R-Murfreesboro), Tim Hicks (R-Gray) and Mark White (R-Memphis). It will be heard next in the House Government Operations Committee on an undetermined date and the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on April 1. School Curriculum Several bills working to alter public school curriculum advanced through the General Assembly this week. SB471 / HB178, sponsored by Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), passed the Senate and would establish family life curriculum that teaches students the positive and personal societal outcomes of earning a high school diploma, entering into the workforce or higher education, getting married and having children. The Republican-led bill passed the Senate along party lines. Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) argued that it is not the role of public schools to teach this sequence of life events. As a woman in this body who has served, who has made history, who fights for maternal health, who loves her community [I am] also a single mother whos not married with a child, Lamar said. It is not our job to instill a curriculum to make kids feel bad about what situation they were currently born in or what situation they choose to decide to go into, like myself. The bill will be heard before the House Education Committee on April 1. The Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act, which passed the House this week, would require the Tennessee Department of Education to develop a curriculum for the instruction of social media and internet safety for students in middle and high school. This would include the teaching of time management and healthy behaviors on social media, negative effects of social media on mental health, distribution of information online and the importance of evaluating information generated by AI. Pre-K and Child Care Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) sought to enact the Universal Pre-K-Funding Act, which would have cut preschool costs for working families, in an effort to offer universal pre-K for every 4-year-old in Tennessee. That bill failed this week in the Senate Education Committee and the House K-12 Subcommittee. During the 2024 legislative session, Oliver also proposed a series of bills that would reform the Department of Human Services Smart Steps program, which offers child care payment assistance for low-income families at participating centers. Those bills were ultimately shot down. Health Care and Vaccines After passing unanimously in the Senate, a bill now on its way to the governors desk would create an advisory task force to continue study of reimbursement rates for the providers serving those on state support, including the CHOICES program for seniors and those with disabilities. Sen. Becky Massey (R-Knoxville) explained that the task force replaces a previous time-limited task force and will offer yearly reports in an effort to properly and adequately pay direct support staff across the state. These are the folks that are serving our most vulnerable people, Massey said. A bill that would provide legal protections for people who dont vaccinate their children passed the Senate and is headed to the House. SB 1389 from Sen. Bo Watson (R-Hixson) would prohibit health care providers who accept TennCare from refusing services based on immunization status. Child vaccination rates have plummeted in the past decade in Tennessee, and freedom from vaccination has been a theme in the Tennessee General Assembly in recent years. The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed a case of measles in Middle Tennessee in early March. TDH encourages consultation with your medical provider about measles prevention, the organization states in a press release. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles. Budget Amendment Gov. Bill Lees administration revealed the details of its $345.9 million budget amendment this week. Commissioner of finance and administration Jim Bryson updated the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on the changes to the budget. During the meeting, he acknowledged the slow-down in revenue as being a sort of return to normal. The numbers have nearly flattened but are still expected to grow by 2 percent. We had tremendous growth for about three years and now we have leveled off, Bryson said. The good news about this is we are not losing ground. The growth was not a bubble. It appears to be a permanent growth. After the changes in the amendment, the FY26 budget comes in at $59.76 billion 1.3 percent less than FY25s $60.56 billion budget. A majority of the funding for the amendment comes from $200 million of treasury earnings. Chairman Bo Watson (R-Hixson) made clear to the members that those earnings are due to money that had been set aside for the COVID-19 pandemic but remains unspent. Normal treasury earnings are usually around $5 million. Next, the legislators will provide their own budget amendment and work to reconcile their spending priorities with those of the governors office before finally passing the appropriations legislation through both chambers. Former Congresswoman exposes CCPs deep infiltration of California through universities, ports, and fentanyl UC Berkeley allegedly accepted $220 million from China without disclosure, raising national security concerns Chinese-made cranes at U.S. ports contain hidden cellular modems, enabling potential espionage Fentanyl precursors from China fuel Americas deadly opioid crisis CCP-linked human rights abuses, including organ harvesting and persecution of dissidents, mirror Californias erosion of freedoms Universities as CCP propaganda hubs As California increasingly adopts policies reminiscent of Communist Chinafrom oppressive COVID-19 mandates to rampant censorshipformer Congresswoman Michelle Steel is sounding the alarm on the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) deep infiltration of the state. In a recent interview with EpochTVs California Insider, Steel detailed how Beijings influence has corrupted universities, compromised national security at major ports, and fueled the deadly fentanyl epidemic. One of the most alarming revelations involves UC Berkeley, a once-prestigious institution now accused of covertly accepting $220 million from China without reporting it to the Department of Education, as required by law. The funds, intended for the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, allegedly granted Chinese officials exclusive access to advanced semiconductor researchtechnology critical to U.S. defense. Universities were the worst one, Steel said. Instead of teaching our kids how to think and how to be independent, some of the universities are brainwashing our kids. The CCPs grip extends beyond academia. Universities, bloated with foreign cash, prioritize administrative expansion over student education, mirroring Chinas top-down control of intellectual discourse. Meanwhile, students are fed CCP propaganda, conditioning them to accept authoritarianisma trend already visible in Californias embrace of radical leftist ideologies. Spy cranes and port security threats Californias portsLos Angeles and Long Beachhandle 80% of U.S. cargo, yet rely on Chinese-made cranes equipped with hidden cellular modems. These devices, not disclosed in contracts, could allow Beijing to track shipments, disrupt supply chains, and even spy on U.S. Navy movements. Its a national security issue, Steel warned. We heard that they always ask for those cranes to be in remote areas because they put chips on them theyre collecting all this data. Chinas LOGINK software, used by allies like Japan and South Korea, further extends its surveillance reach. Despite bipartisan warnings, Californias leadership has done nothing to secure these vulnerabilities, leaving America exposed to economic sabotage and military espionage. Chinas fentanyl war on America While China executes its own citizens for drug offenses, it floods the U.S. with fentanyl precursors, fueling an epidemic that killed nearly 8,000 Californians in 2023 alone. Steel revealed that cartels use remote-controlled surfboards to smuggle drugs across the bordera tactic enabled by Chinas lax enforcement. When they use [fentanyl] inside of China, you have a death sentence. But [when its] taken outside of China, making money, theyre very loose, Steel said. The pandemic exposed the scale of Chinas role: when pharmaceutical exports slowed, fentanyl deaths briefly declinedproof that Beijing could stop the crisis if it chose to. Instead, the CCP profits from Americas suffering while Californias leaders turn a blind eye. Human rights abuses and Californias silent complicity Steel also condemned the CCPs persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghur Muslimsvictims of organ harvesting and forced labor. Yet California, home to sanctuary cities and rampant crime, increasingly mirrors Chinas disregard for human dignity. You are trying to hide something. [That] means you are not doing the right thing, Steel said of the CCPs crackdown on dissident artists like Shen Yun. Even U.S. citizens face intimidation from Chinese secret police operating on American soil. Witnesses at congressional hearings hide their identities, fearing retaliation against family members in Chinaan unthinkable reality in a nation that once stood for freedom. Steels warnings come at a personal risk. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy cautioned her about CCP surveillance, advising firewalls and screen protectors to thwart hackers. Yet she remains undeterred, driven by her familys escape from North Korea. I always stand up for the democracy of the country, she said. As California slides further into authoritarianismembracing censorship, crushing small businesses, and surrendering to foreign influence one question remains: Will America wake up before its too late, or will the Golden State become the CCPs newest satellite colony? Sources include: Zerohedge.com TheEpochTimes.com House.gov [PDF] German magazine calls for MANDATORY CONSCRIPTION to protect countrys diversity German elites, including journalist Tilman Gerwein, advocate for mandatory conscription to defend "freedom and diversity," yet they themselves avoid service, exposing blatant double standards. The same government pushing conscription suppresses dissent, bans opposition parties and polices speech raising questions about what "freedom" is actually being defended. Major parties in the German parliament now support forced military service, with proposals mirroring Sweden's model potentially drafting 200,000 Germans annually, including women and foreigners. Polls reveal deep reluctance, with only 17 percent of Germans willing to fight for their country as youth on both the left and right feel alienated by a government that vilifies them or prioritizes migrants. The conscription push reflects elite desperation, with open admissions of grim outcomes (e.g., trench warfare) and no genuine national unity just coercion for a fractured, multicultural society they helped create. Germany's political and media elites are once again demanding sacrifice in the form of mandatory conscription of young Germans to protect the nation's so-called "diversity." In a recent article published in Stern magazine, writer Tilman Gerwein calls for the mass conscription of German youth to defend "freedom and diversity." But it appears that the journalist and the elites he serves as a mouthpiece for want this sacrifice, just not from themselves. The irony is thick: Gerwein, safely past draft age, urges young Germans to become cannon fodder for a state that increasingly despises them. The current German state that prioritizes migrants over its own citizens and suppresses dissent is now expecting blind loyalty from those it has spent decades maligning. Gerwein's piece is a masterclass in hypocrisy, lamenting Germany's "unbearable complacency" and demanding that the youth abandon their idealized existence for the trenches. Yet nowhere does he volunteer himself. Like so many of Germany's elite, he champions war from the safety of his keyboard while ensuring he will never face conscription. The Stern article is riddled with contradictions. It insists Germans must fight for "freedom and diversity," yet the same government enforcing this rhetoric criminalizes dissent, bans opposition parties and polices speech. Given these, a big question remains: What "freedom" is left to defend? The freedom to be arrested for criticizing migration policy? The freedom to watch your country import millions while native youth are sent to die? No one wants to die for a country that hates them Gerwein isn't alone in this crusade. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) is pushing for Sweden's conscription model, which could force 200,000 Germans annually into service including women and foreigners. (Related: As Ukraine runs out of soldiers to fight Russia, Europe planning to DRAFT unwilling European youth for large-scale war.) This pro-conscription sentiment is now prevalent in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. The Green Party, once pacifists, now advocate for war. Even the Bundestag Vice President Bodo Ramelow of the Left Party has demanded that conscription be returned. The problem for Germany's rulers is simple: No one wants to die for them. A recent Forsa poll commissioned by Stern found that only 17 percent of Germans would take up arms to defend their country. It also found that 61 percent of respondents would not fight for the nation. The youth, in particular, see little worth fighting for. On the one hand, conservative Germans are alienated by a government that labels them fascists. On the other hand, left-wing youth coddled by the same system recoil at the thought of combat. Gerwein's piece acknowledges this crisis, but offers no real solution beyond coercion. The magazine frets that Germanys "atomized and multicultural society" lacks the unity needed for war yet it was Stern and its ilk that spent decades dismantling national cohesion in the name of "diversity." Now, they demand young Germans die for the very ideology that has made their country unrecognizable. Worse still, the call to arms is blatantly cynical. The cover of Stern's conscription issue features two White youths hardly a reflection of Germany's "diverse" future. Germanys elite admires Ukraine's conscription model, where men are dragged from the streets to die in a war they didnt start. But even Ukraine's patriotic fervor is waning with its right-wing battalions decimated and its leaders now considering mass migrant replacements. Germany, with even less popular support for war, faces a grimmer reality. The truth is clear: Germany's rulers want an army of unwilling conscripts to fight wars they themselves will never see. They have spent years eroding national identity, importing millions who owe no loyalty to Germany and criminalizing patriotism only to now demand blind sacrifice. The youth see through the lie. As one critic wrote: "Why should you fight for a country that you can't even be proud of?" The answer is simple they shouldn't. Watch Mike Martins tackling the issue of forced conscription in this video. This video is from the Mike Martins Channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Denmark plans to implement mandatory conscription for women to meet NATOs membership requirement. Swiss government considering GENDER-NEUTRAL military conscription. U.K. considers military conscription as Europe faces off against Russia. Sources include: RMX.news AmRen.com WSWS.org Brighteon.com Independent anti-Russia outlet MEDUZA faces COLLAPSE as US funding dries up long accused of being a NATO-backed propaganda operation, faces financial ruin after the Trump administration paused USAID funding. Alexey Kovalev, a former Meduza journalist, spent months smearing independent journalists at The Grayzone as "Russian assets" while his own outlet secretly relied on US government money. Leaked UK documents reveal Meduzas deep ties to Western intelligence-linked contractors, including the British psyops firm Zinc Network, which sought to manipulate Russian audiences.deed Kovalev, now a self-exiled commentator, has spiraled into disturbing online rants, calling to "kill all the bad people" while his former employer struggles to stay afloat. Meduzas covert US funding exposed For years, Meduza marketed itself as an "independent" Russian news outlet, a bold truth-teller standing against Kremlin "propaganda." But as the Trump administration slashes foreign aid, the outlets financial lifeline to Washington has been exposedrevealing a far more compromised reality. Now, with USAID funds frozen, Meduzas survival is in question, proving that the loudest accusers of "foreign influence" are often the most dependent on it. The New York Times reported on February 26 that Meduza relied on USAID grants for 15% of its budget, a revelation that shatters its carefully cultivated image of independence. The Times lamented that the Trump administrations aid pause could devastate the outlet more than "cyberattacks, legal threats, and even poisonings of its reporters." This admission confirms what critics have long suspected: Meduza was never truly independent, but rather a Western-funded regime change operation disguised as journalism. While Meduzas leadership including co-founder Ivan Kolpakov vehemently denied foreign sponsorship, leaked documents tell a different story. In 2021, The Grayzone obtained sensitive British Foreign Office files detailing Meduzas role in a clandestine effort to "weaken the Russian states influence." The documents named Meduza as a key partner in a British psyops campaign, with contractors like Zinc Network providing "audience segmentation," search engine manipulation, and even "mental health support" for its reporters. Zinc Network, which also worked with US-funded outlet MediaZona, openly admitted its mission was to steer Russian-speaking audiences away from state-backed media like RT and toward NATO-aligned narratives. One document even bragged about creating satirical games mocking Putin, designed to push Russian youth toward Western values. When confronted with these leaks, Meduzas then-investigations editor Alexey Kovalev bizarrely claimed the outlet was funded by online ads including from the Kremlin itself a laughable assertion given the outlets relentless anti-government stance. Kovalevs descent into madness Since fleeing Russia and joining the Western media circuit, Kovalev has made a name for himself by demanding the prosecution of independent journalists particularly those at The Grayzone. In a July 2024 blog post, he ranted: "The Grayzone is Russias US-based disinformation laundromat... They act as unregistered foreign agents and should be investigated by the Department of Justice." Not only were these claims completely fabricated, but they now appear as a desperate attempt to deflect from Meduzas own reliance on US government cash. Kovalevs behavior has grown increasingly erratic. In a February 2025 Telegram post, he declared his goal for the year was to "kill all the bad people... and oppress our enemies," adding, "I will need the help of the community." Who are the "bad people"? According to Kovalev, they include not just Putin supporters but anti-war liberals who dare question NATOs proxy war in Ukraine. His deranged post, still visible on Telegram, reads: "These are worse than the [Russian nationalists]... But it is good that it is becoming crystal clear. All the whores felt they could no longer hide, and are exposing themselves. But we will not forget and will not forgive. Stay tuned." As Meduza teeters on collapse, Kovalev has locked his Twitter account, retreating into an echo chamber of extremism. Meanwhile, Foreign Policywhich publishes his workhas remained silent on his calls for violence. Meduzas downfall is part of a broader crisis for Western-funded media operations. The Times noted that USAID, the State Department, and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) funnel $180 million annually into foreign newsroomsmany of which serve as propaganda arms for US foreign policy. With this funding in jeopardy, outlets like Meduza can no longer hide behind the facade of "independent journalism." Their survival depends not on readers, but on Washingtons geopolitical agenda. As the financial rug is pulled out from under them, one question remains: If Meduza was truly independent, why cant it survive without US taxpayer money? It's existence has been meritless, and was a failure from the start. Sources include: TheGrayZone.com Medium.com Enoch, Brighteon.ai Defund NPR? CEOs evasive testimony fuels conservative backlash over media bias NPR CEO Katherine Maher faced intense Republican scrutiny over her past racially charged social media posts, including endorsements of reparations and claims about white supremacy, raising concerns about her ability to lead an impartial, taxpayer-funded network. Maher repeatedly claimed not to recall or have "evolved" views on controversial tweets, undermining her credibility with lawmakers who questioned her fitness to oversee NPRs mission of unbiased journalism. Republicans highlighted NPRs lopsided coverage dismissing Hunter Bidens laptop while amplifying Trump-Russia collusion claims and cited stark ideological imbalances in its staff (87 Democrats, 0 Republicans), fueling accusations of progressive activism over neutrality. Critics argue NPR and PBS have strayed from their original mandate of impartiality, with growing calls to reevaluate their federal funding due to perceived partisan leanings and lack of accountability. The hearing intensified pressure on NPR to address bias concerns or risk losing public trust and government support, as lawmakers warned it has become a "propaganda wing" of the Democratic Party. In a contentious House subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, NPR CEO Katherine Maher faced sharp questioning from Republican lawmakers over her past social media posts including racially charged statements and allegations of systemic bias at the taxpayer-funded network. The hearing, titled "Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable," saw Maher repeatedly claim she could not recall tweets in which she appeared to endorse reparations, downplay looting and suggest America is "addicted to white supremacy." The exchange raised serious concerns about whether a leader with such overt ideological leanings can credibly oversee an organization mandated to serve all Americans without bias. The hearing, which lasted over three hours, highlighted growing Republican frustration with public medias perceived leftward tilt. Lawmakers argued that NPR and PBS, which receive federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, have strayed from their original mission of impartial journalism. Mahers testimony, marked by repeated memory lapses and deflections, only deepened skepticism about the networks commitment to fairness. Mahers selective memory on past statements Under questioning from Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), Maher struggled to explain a 2020 tweet in which she wrote, "I grew up feeling superiorha, how white of me." When pressed on whether she believed white people inherently feel superior to other races, Maher denied the claim but offered a muddled defense: "I think I was probably reflecting on what it was to be to grow up in an environment where I had lots of advantages." Gill countered, "It sounds like youre saying that white people feel superior." Mahers ">memory gaps extended to other controversial posts, including one where she appeared to endorse financial reparations ("Yes, our original collective sin and unpaid debt. Yes, reparations.") and another where she dismissed outrage over looting as "counterproductive" rather than morally wrong. When confronted with these statements, Maher repeatedly claimed she did not recall them or insisted her views had "evolved." Critics argue that such evasiveness is unacceptable for a CEO overseeing a federally funded institution. "If you cant even stand by your own words, how can we trust you to lead an organization thats supposed to be objective?" Gill pressed. Mahers responses did little to reassure lawmakers, fueling accusations that NPRs leadership is more invested in progressive activism than balanced journalism. A pattern of bias at NPR The hearing also scrutinized NPRs editorial decisions, with Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) highlighting stark disparities in coverage. NPR dismissed Hunter Bidens laptop as a "waste of time" in 2020 while giving extensive airtime to now-debunked claims of Trump-Russia collusioninterviewing Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) 25 times but never Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on the Biden familys foreign business dealings. Fallon also cited a Media Research Center study showing PBS NewsHour used the term "far-right" 162 times compared to just six mentions of "far-left"a 96% skew. PBS CEO Paula Kerger deflected, saying she would "want to see how they did that analysis." Meanwhile, NPRs newsroom reportedly had 87 registered Democrats and zero Republicans, a fact Maher called "concerning" but did not dispute. These revelations reinforced long-standing conservative grievances about media bias. "Youre not just leaning leftyoure falling over," Fallon remarked. The lack of ideological diversity in NPRs staff, combined with its uneven coverage, has led many to question whether the network can fairly represent all Americans, particularly given its reliance on taxpayer dollars. Public medias trust crisis NPR and PBS were founded with the noble mission of providing balanced, educational content free from commercial pressures. Yet critics argue that in recent decades, both networks have drifted toward progressive advocacy, alienating conservative audiences. The hearing evoked memories of past scandals, such as NPRs firing of Juan Williams over comments about Muslims, which critics saw as ideological enforcement. Mahers inability to account for her own racially charged statementswhile insisting NPR is unbiasedmirrors a broader credibility crisis in legacy media. If leadership cannot acknowledge personal bias, how can the institution credibly police its own reporting? Accountability for taxpayer-funded media? The hearing underscored deepening Republican skepticism toward public broadcasting, with lawmakers vowing to scrutinize its federal funding. "Billions have gone into both of your coffers over the last several decades," Fallon said. "Youve become a propaganda wing of the Democratic Party." Whether Mahers evasiveness was strategic or genuine remains unclear. But for an organization sustained by taxpayer dollarsand legally obligated to serve all Americansthe burden of transparency is non-negotiable. If NPR cannot confront its own biases, the public may rightly question whether it deserves their trustor their money. As calls for defunding NPR grow louder, the network faces a critical choice: reform its practices to restore public confidence or risk losing its government-backed financial support entirely. The stakes could not be higher for an institution that once prided itself on being a trusted, nonpartisan voice in American media. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com X.com ">YouTube.com The hidden battle in your glass: How A1 and A2 milk could shape your health A genetic variation in beta-casein proteins distinguishes A1 milk (linked to health risks) from A2 milk (historically dominant). A1 digestion releases BCM7, a peptide with potential inflammatory and opioid-like effects. Studies associate A1 milk with higher rates of Type 1 diabetes, heart disease and autoimmune disorders, though causation isnt definitively proven. Epidemiological and animal research supports these correlations. Older cow breeds (e.g., Jerseys, Guernseys) and non-cow milks (goat, sheep) naturally produce A2 milk. The dairy industry has been slow to address the A1/A2 divide due to economic reliance on A1-dominant breeds like Holsteins. A2 milk has gained traction in markets like Australia and New Zealand, but U.S. labeling inconsistencies limit consumer choice. "Devil in the Milk: Illness, Health, and the Politics of A1 and A2 Milk," author Thomas Cowan advocates for transparency to empower informed decisions. While critics emphasize the need for more rigorous research, anecdotal evidence suggests benefits for some individuals switching to A2 milk. The book encourages questioning food systems without outright condemning conventional milk. For decades, milk has been touted as a nutritional staple, a source of calcium, protein and essential vitamins. But what if not all milk is created equal? In "Devil in the Milk: Illness, Health, and the Politics of A1 and A2 Milk," physician and author Thomas Cowan presents a provocative argument: a subtle genetic variation in cows' milk proteins A1 versus A2 could have profound implications for human health, influencing conditions ranging from diabetes to autism. Published amid growing scrutiny of food science, Cowan's book challenges conventional dairy industry narratives, urging consumers to reconsider what's really in their glass. At the heart of Cowan's thesis is a microscopic difference in beta-casein, a primary protein in cow's milk. A1 milk contains histidine at position 67 in its amino acid chain, while A2 milk has proline. This seemingly minor distinction, Cowan argues, has major consequences. When digested, A1 beta-casein releases beta-casomorphin-7 (BCM7), a peptide with opioid-like effects that may trigger inflammation and oxidative stress. "The evidence suggests BCM7 could be a key player in chronic diseases," Cowan writes, citing studies linking A1 milk consumption to higher rates of Type 1 diabetes, heart disease and autoimmune disorders. For example, epidemiological data show that nations with predominantly A1-consuming populations exhibit elevated diabetes incidence compared to regions where A2 milk is more common. Animal studies further bolster the claim: Mice fed A1 beta-casein developed diabetes at higher rates than those given A2. Historically, Cowan notes, all cows produced A2 milk until a genetic mutation spread among European herds millennia ago. Today, breeds like Holsteins (dominant in U.S. dairies) predominantly carry the A1 variant, while older breeds such as Guernseys, Jerseys and African/Asian cattle remain A2 producers. Even goat, sheep and buffalo milk lack the problematic A1 protein a fact Cowan says underscores milk's natural diversity. Yet the dairy industry, he contends, has been slow to acknowledge the distinction. "There's resistance to disrupting a system built on A1 milk," Cowan asserts, pointing to the economic stakes for a sector worth billions. Despite decades of research including a 2007 European Food Safety Authority review that called for deeper investigation definitive regulatory action remains elusive. Cowan's own journey into the A1/A2 debate began after a colleague's offhand remark led him to scrutinize milk's role in chronic illness. His efforts to publish findings, however, met skepticism. "Challenging milk is like challenging motherhood," he quips, highlighting cultural and institutional biases favoring dairy's wholesome image. Still, consumer demand is shifting. In Australia and New Zealand, A2 milk now commands a 10 percent market share, with brands like The a2 Milk Company marketing directly to health-conscious buyers. In the U.S., though, labeling remains inconsistent, leaving many unaware of the choice. Cowan advocates for transparency: "People deserve to know what they're drinking and how it might affect them." While Cowan stops short of declaring A1 milk universally harmful, his book underscores the need for rigorous, independent research. Critics argue that correlation isn't causation, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains that conventional milk is safe. Yet for those with digestive issues or autoimmune conditions, switching to A2 has yielded anecdotal benefits a trend warranting clinical attention. Ultimately, "Devil in the Milk" is less an indictment than an invitation: to question assumptions, scrutinize food systems and empower consumers. As Cowan puts it, "This isn't about fear it's about informed choice." Whether the science solidifies or the industry adapts, one thing is clear: the debate over milk's hidden divide is far from over. Learn more about the health risks of A1 milk by watching the video below. This video is from the BrightLearn channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: Brighteon.ai Brighteon.com Canadian prime minister declares U.S. alliance over in defiant rebuke of Trump Canadian PM Mark Carney declares the U.S.-Canada economic and military alliance over, citing Trumps auto tariffs as the final straw. Carney adopts a defiant stance, vowing to reduce Canadas reliance on the U.S. without detailing concrete retaliatory measures. Critics warn his aggressive approach risks harming Canadas economy by disrupting integrated North American supply chains. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre urges trade diversification, contrasting Carneys confrontational strategy. Experts fear Carneys rhetoric could escalate tensions, damaging long-standing security and economic ties with the U.S. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared Thursday that the decades-long era of deep economic and military cooperation between the U.S. and Canada is finished. The bold proclamation, delivered in Ottawa, came as a direct response to President Donald Trumps newly announced tariffs on foreign-made automobilesa move Carney framed as the final blow to a strained relationship. The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over, Carney told reporters, signaling a dramatic shift in North American diplomacy. The remarks, dripping with defiance, suggest Canada is preparing for a protracted trade battle rather than seeking compromise with its largest trading partner. Carneys combative stance raises serious concerns about his leadership. From the outset, he has adopted an adversarial tone toward Trump, mirroringand arguably surpassingthe confrontational approach of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. If this early posture is any indication, Carney may prove even more hostile to U.S. interests, a troubling prospect for a relationship already on shaky ground. Carneys rhetoric was more than a reaction to Trumps tariffsit was a calculated escalation. Rather than pursuing backchannel negotiations or measured diplomacy, the newly minted prime minister opted for public brinkmanship, vowing to fundamentally reimagine Canadas economy to reduce reliance on the U.S. I reject any attempts to weaken Canada, to wear us down, to break us so that America can own us, Carney declared, framing Trumps trade policies as an existential threat. Such hyperbolic language is unlikely to de-escalate tensions, particularly when the White House has already paused tariffs on goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Worse still, Carney refused to outline specific retaliatory measures, instead promising vague reciprocal actions by April 2. His ambiguity suggests political posturing rather than a coherent strategy, leaving Canadian industriesparticularly auto manufacturersin limbo. Economic gambit or self-sabotage? Trumps 25% auto tariffs, while controversial, were designed to protect American industries and workersa priority U.S. labor unions, including the United Auto Workers, have praised. Carneys response, however, risks harming Canadas own economy. His pledge to dismantle internal trade barriers and redirect supply chains away from the U.S. ignores the reality of North Americas deeply integrated manufacturing base. Industry experts warn that disrupting this system could trigger chaos and damage to cross-border supply chains. Yet Carney remains undeterred, proposing an all in Canada manufacturing networka costly and unrealistic pipe dream that could leave Canadian workers worse off. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, while critical of Trump, struck a more pragmatic tone, urging Canada to diversify trade partners rather than lash out. If you, Mr. Trump, dont want [our resources], the rest of the world does, he said, highlighting a path forward Carney seems unwilling to take. Setting a dangerous precedent Carneys combative stance sets a dangerous precedent. By framing the U.S. as an adversary rather than an ally, he risks alienating a partner critical to Canadas security and prosperity. His claim that Canadians are masters in our own home rings hollow when his policies could isolate the nation economically. Worse, his refusal to engage constructively with Trumpwhom he has yet to speak with since taking officesuggests a leader more interested in virtue signaling than problem-solving. If Carney continues down this path, the consequences could extend far beyond trade, undermining decades of military and intelligence collaboration that has kept both nations safe. Mark Carneys declaration that the U.S.-Canada alliance is over is less a strategic masterstroke than a reckless gamble. By choosing confrontation over negotiation, he risks turning a trade dispute into a full-blown diplomatic rupture. For a leader who campaigned on stability, his early actions suggest the opposite: a willingness to destabilize a vital relationship for political points. If Carney truly wishes to protect Canadian workers, he would seek compromisenot conflictwith the United States. Instead, his defiance may only deepen Canadas economic woes, proving that the greatest threat to Canadian sovereignty isnt Trumps tariffs, but Carneys own hubris. Sources for this article include: TheNationalPulse.com FoxNews.com GlobalNews.ca Catastrophic 7.7 earthquake devastates Myanmar and Thailand; death toll could reach 100,000 A devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar near Mandalay, causing widespread destruction and tremors felt in Thailand, India, and China. The USGS warns the death toll could reach 100,000, with thousands trapped under collapsed buildings, including a mosque and schools. Myanmars military junta, amid civil war, urgently requested international aid as failing dams and flooding risks compound the crisis. Bangkok suffered severe damage, including a collapsed high-rise, with at least three dead and 90 missing. The disaster echoes the 2023 Turkey-Syria quake, with recovery expected to take years amid political and infrastructural challenges. A catastrophic 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar near Mandalay early Friday, unleashing destruction across the region and sending violent tremors hundreds of miles into Thailand, India, and China. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) warned the death toll could climb as high as 100,000, with tens of thousands already feared buried under collapsed buildings, including a mosque, schools, and a high-rise under construction in Bangkok. Myanmars military junta, locked in a brutal civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid as the Red Cross sounded alarms over failing dams and flooding risks in areas already crippled by conflict. "I havent seen anything like this before" The quake, which struck at 1:20 p.m. local time (6:20 GMT), was followed by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock minutes later. Its shallow depthjust 10 kilometers (6.2 miles)amplified the devastation. In Mandalay, a mosque collapsed during prayers, killing at least 10 worshippers. In Taungoo, 20 children were trapped in a destroyed school. Naypyidaws hospitals were overwhelmed, with one doctor telling AFP, "We are trying to handle the situation. I'm so exhausted now." Bangkok, over 300 miles from the epicenter, felt the quakes fury. A 30-story high-rise under construction crumbled into a cloud of dust, killing at least three workers and leaving 90 missing. "I heard people calling for help, saying help me," said Worapat Sukthai, a Bangkok police deputy chief. "I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before." State of emergency as junta appeals for help Myanmars military ruler, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, declared a state of emergency across six regions and confirmed at least 144 deathsa figure that is expected to rise sharply. The junta, which rarely cooperates with global aid groups, acknowledged "significant damage" and urged blood donations. The UN and EU pledged support, but access remains fraught in a country where conflict has displaced 3 million people. The Red Cross warned of cascading disasters: a 90-year-old bridge connecting Mandalay and Yangon collapsed, and dams in Sagainghome to thousands displaced by civil warwere at risk of bursting. "This earthquake could not come at a worse time for Myanmar," said Amnesty Internationals Joe Freeman, noting the militarys history of blocking aid to opposition-held areas. Skyscrapers sway in Bangkok In Thailand, the quake sent tourists and residents fleeing into streets as skyscrapers swayed violently. British expat Chelsea King described "water cascading down like waterfalls" from rooftop pools, while Scottish tourist Fraser Morton recalled what happened when the mall he was shopping in began to move. "I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall," he said. The disasters scale echoes the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake, which killed 50,000 peopel. With Myanmars infrastructure in tatters and Thailand assessing damages, recovery will take years. As night fell Friday, rescue teams in both nations dug through rubble, their work lit by floodlights and haunted by cries for help. For Myanmar, already reeling from war and poverty, the quake is a cruel blow. For Thailand, its a wake-up call about the vulnerabilities of rapid urbanization. As aftershocks rattle the region, the world watchesand waitsto see if politics will yield to humanity in the race to save lives. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk APNews.com CNN.com Chaos in Amsterdam: Five injured in broad daylight knife attack near Dam Square Five people were wounded in a knife attack in Amsterdams busy tourist district near Dam Square. The suspect was quickly arrested with help from a bystander, but motives remain unclear. Eyewitnesses described panic as victims, including an elderly woman and child, were stabbed on a shopping street. Authorities have not confirmed if the attack was terror-related, fueling speculation and unease. The incident adds to growing concerns about urban violence in European cities. A brazen knife attack in the heart of Amsterdams bustling tourist district left five people wounded Thursday afternoon, reigniting concerns over public safety in Europes major cities. The assailant, whose identity and motives remain shrouded in mystery, was swiftly apprehended near Dam Square a historic landmark teeming with visitors thanks to a rapid police response and the intervention of a heroic bystander. Authorities have yet to clarify whether the attack was terror-related, criminally motivated, or the act of a disturbed individual, but their reluctance to release details about the suspect has fueled speculation and unease. Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic as the attacker struck multiple victims along Sint Nicolaasstraat and Nieuwendijk, a shopping thoroughfare just steps from the Royal Palace. Among the injured were an elderly woman, a young girl, and a student-aged boy, according to local reports. Police cordoned off the area as medevac helicopters landed to evacuate the wounded, while shopkeepers barricaded doors to protect customers. A bystanders courage and lingering questions The suspects arrest was aided by a civilian, underscoring the critical role of citizen vigilance in an era where authorities cannot always guarantee public safety. Louis H., an employee at Flagship Bike Tours, recounted to The Independent how a terrified woman fled into his store after witnessing the attack. One lady on the street saw the attack happening and she actually ran into our store, all panicked of course. So we closed the door quickly, locked it and went upstairs to calm her down, calm ourselves down, have a drink and see what was happening. he said. Police were there almost right that second Then apparently the guy went on to the Dam Square just past our store and stabbed more people. Despite the swift police action, officials have been conspicuously vague. At a press conference, investigators declined to confirm whether the suspect had a criminal history or any ideological ties, stating only that the motive was unclear. The attackers face was blurred in the footage that has been circulating so far a detail that has raised eyebrows amid Europes heated debates over migration and crime. A pattern of urban violence? The stabbing follows a string of high-profile violent incidents in European capitals, from London to Paris, where knife attacks and public disorder have stoked political tensions. Dam Square, a magnet for international tourists, is now the latest flashpoint in a broader discussion about urban security. Local shopkeepers expressed shock but not surprise. It was very frightening, one told Algemeen Dagblad. Customers saw an elderly woman stabbed in the back. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has yet to comment, but Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema cut short a council meeting to address the crisis. Police have urged witnesses to submit photos or videos, signaling a scramble for answers in a case that remains frustratingly opaque. A city on edge As Amsterdam grapples with the aftermath, questions outnumber answers. Was this a random act of violence, or something more sinister? Why the secrecy around the suspect? For now, the attack serves as a reminder that even in Europes most picturesque cities, safety is never guaranteed and that ordinary citizens, like the unnamed hero who helped detain the assailant, are often the first line of defense. With tensions simmering and details scarce, the incident risks deepening divides in a continent already wrestling with how to balance security, transparency, and social cohesion. Sources for this article include: InfoWars.com Independent.co.uk BBC.com CIAs psychic quest for the Ark of the Covenant: Declassified files reveal bizarre Cold War experiment In December 1988, a CIA operative, known as "Remote Viewer #32," participated in a bizarre experiment to locate the Ark of the Covenant using psychic abilities, as part of the agency's remote viewing program. The psychic described the Ark as a wooden, gold and silver container adorned with winged figures, buried in a dark, wet location near mosque-like structures, and guarded by supernatural entities with an unknown power. This experiment was part of Project Sun Streak, a successor to the Stargate Project, which explored the use of extrasensory perception (ESP) for intelligence gathering. The protocol involved concealing viewers' targets in envelopes and guiding them through sessions without prior knowledge. Retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Joe McMoneagle, the program's first official remote viewer, dismissed the Ark session as a "training target done on a whim," emphasizing the lack of physical evidence and the speculative nature of such endeavors. The Ark of the Covenant's fate remains unknown, with theories suggesting it could be in Ethiopia, beneath Jerusalems Temple Mount, or destroyed. The CIA's psychic archaeology experiment adds a layer of intrigue but offers no concrete evidence, leaving the Ark's existence a matter of faith and skepticism. In December 1988, a CIA operative sat in a dimly lit room, eyes closed, attempting to "see" an object they had never been told about. The target, sealed in an envelope, was later revealed to be one of historys most sacredand elusiveartifacts: the Ark of the Covenant. A recently resurfaced declassified document, originally released in 2000 but now circulating widely on social media, details the bizarre Cold War-era experiment in which the U.S. government allegedly employed psychic spies to locate the biblical relic. The file, part of the CIAs now-defunct remote viewing program, describes an unnamed psychicreferred to only as "Remote Viewer #32"who claimed to perceive the Ark hidden underground in the Middle East, guarded by supernatural "entities" wielding an "unknown power." The revelation has reignited debates over the legitimacy of psychic espionage and the enduring mystery of the Arks fate. The remote viewing session: A psychics description The document, dated December 5, 1988, outlines the viewers account in striking detail. Without knowing the target, the psychic described a "container fashioned of wood, gold and silver," adorned with winged figures resembling biblical seraphim. The Ark, they claimed, was buried in a "dark and wet" location near structures with mosque-like domes, surrounded by Arabic-speaking men in white robes. "The target is protected by entities and can only be opened by those who are authorized," the report states. "Individuals opening the container by prying or striking are destroyed by the containers protectors through the use of a power unknown to us." The psychic also suggested the Ark held spiritual significance beyond mere archaeology: "The purpose of the target is to bring a people together. It has something to do with ceremony, memory, homage, the resurrection." Project sun streak: The CIAs psychic spies The session was part of Project Sun Streak, a successor to the infamous Stargate Project, in which the CIA and U.S. military explored using extrasensory perception (ESP) for intelligence gathering. Remote viewinga supposed ability to perceive distant or unseen targets through mental projectionwas central to these efforts. Retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Joe McMoneagle, the programs first official remote viewer (designated "Remote Viewer #1"), confirmed the protocol to The New York Post. Targets were concealed in envelopes, and viewers were guided through sessions without prior knowledge of the subject. Yet McMoneagle, who received the Legion of Merit for reportedly locating a hidden Soviet submarine via remote viewing, dismissed the Ark session as a "training target done on a whim." "Using remote viewing against any target for which ground truth does not existlike UFOs or the Arkis a waste of time," he told The Post. "If someone claims remote viewing proves its existence, they must produce the Ark." The Arks enduring mystery The Ark of the Covenant, described in the Book of Exodus as a gold-plated wooden chest housing the Ten Commandments, vanished after the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Theories place it in Ethiopia (where monks claim to guard it), beneath Jerusalems Temple Mount, or destroyed millennia ago. Baruch Halpern, a Penn State professor of ancient history, notes that biblical accounts are consistent enough to suggest the Ark was realbut its survival is another question. "Different people will give you different answers," he said. The CIAs foray into psychic archaeology raises more questions than answers. Was this a genuine attempt to locate a sacred relic, or merely an odd footnote in Cold War experimentation? Without physical evidence, the Ark remains as elusive as ever. Conclusion: Between faith and skepticism The declassified files offer no proof of the Arks existenceonly a strange chapter in intelligence history where mysticism met national security. For believers, the psychics account may hint at a divine secret still waiting to be uncovered. For skeptics, its a reminder of the lengths to which governments once went in pursuit of the impossible. As McMoneagle put it: "If they can produce the actual Ark based on this information, it will be a surprise to meand to many others." For now, the Ark of the Covenant remains where it has always been: somewhere between legend and faith, hidden in the shadows of history. Sources include: NYPost.com FoxNews.com EconomicTimes.com Europe braces for WAR as EU urges citizens to STOCKPILE FOOD, in latest provocations with Russia The EU warns 450 million citizens to stockpile 72-hour emergency supplies, citing war, cyberattacks, and climate threats. Nordic nations, now NATO members, intensify civil defense preparations, urging self-sufficiency in case of war. Russia dismisses claims of aggression as "nonsense," while European leaders push militarization and wartime economies. Green energy policies and severed trade ties with Russia leave Europe vulnerable to food and energy shortages. As Europe teeters on the brink of full-scale conflict with Russia, the European Union has issued a chilling directive to its 450 million citizens: stockpile food, water, and emergency supplies for at least 72 hours. The warning, delivered by EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib on Wednesday, frames the Ukraine conflict as a direct threat to European security, though it carefully avoids explicitly naming Russia. Meanwhile, Nordic nationsSweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmarkare accelerating civil defense measures, distributing survival guides and urging citizens to prepare for war. Behind the scenes, European leaders are quietly shifting toward wartime economies, rationing essentials, and cutting off energy trade with Russiaa move that has only backfired. Europes descent into wartime austerity The EUs new civil preparedness strategy reads like a dystopian manual for societal collapse. Households are advised to hoard non-perishable food, bottled water, flashlights, batteries, and first-aid supplies while governments amass stockpiles of firefighting aircraft, mobile hospitals, and radiation-blocking iodine tablets. Swedens updated "In Case of Crisis or War" booklet, now twice as large as its predecessor, instructs citizens to store potatoes, cabbage, and eggs. Finlands emergency website warns of winter power outages, urging families to secure backup generators and easy-to-cook meals. The security situation is serious, and we all need to strengthen our resilience to face various crises and ultimately war, declared Mikael Frisell, director of Swedens Civil Contingencies Agency. But who is truly responsible for this manufactured crisis? While EU officials cloak their warnings in vague terms of "uncertainty," the unspoken truth is that Europes aggressive NATO expansion and unwavering support for Ukraines maximalist war aimsincluding President Volodymyr Zelenskys vow to retake Russian-controlled territorieshave pushed the continent toward a catastrophic confrontation. Russia responds: "nonsense" or justified paranoia? Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly dismissed claims of an impending attack on NATO as nonsense, accusing Western leaders of fearmongering to justify ballooning military budgets. Yet Europes militarization continues unabated. Sweden and Finland, once neutral, have abandoned decades of non-alignment to join NATO, while Germany and France funnel billions into rearmament. We want people to be ready, not to panic, Lahbib insisted. But when governments tell civilians to prepare for war while slashing energy supplies and rationing food, panic is inevitable. Europes green energy policiesshuttering nuclear plants, banning Russian gas, and betting on unreliable renewableshave already triggered rolling blackouts and soaring utility bills. Now, with trade ties to Russia severed, the continent faces a winter of scarcity. A return to wartime rationingby design? Historical parallels are impossible to ignore. Just as World War II governments imposed rationing and mobilized economies, todays European leaders are quietly preparing for a similar collapse. Denmarks emergency agency has calculated exact calorie requirements for three-day survival kits. Norway advises self-sufficiency for a full week. Finlands iodine tablet distribution echoes Cold War-era nuclear drills. But unlike the 20th century, this crisis is self-inflicted. By provoking Russia at its borders, cutting off affordable energy, and prioritizing ideological climate goals over basic survival, Europes elites have engineered the very disaster they claim to fear. As stockpiles dwindle and armies mobilize, one question lingers: When the shelves empty and the lights go out, will Europeans blame Putinor the leaders who marched them into this disaster? Sources include: RT.com RT.com RT.com North Koreas Kim Jong Un boasts about new AI-Driven SUICIDE DRONES North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently inspected and showcased advanced AI-equipped suicide drones and an early-warning aircraft. These drones are designed for tactical attacks, equipped with artificial intelligence to target and destroy enemy forces. The unveil marked the first public display of North Korea's airborne early-warning aircraft, signaling the regime's growing military capabilities. The development coincides with North Korea's growing ties to Russia, raising concerns about the transfer of sensitive military technology. The deployment of these technologies reflects North Korea's pursuit of dominance and repression, setting a dangerous precedent for global security. Kim Jong Un showcases offensive and defense AI-powered drones In a chilling display of technological menace, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently oversaw the testing of AI-driven suicide drones and an advanced early-warning aircraft, signaling a disturbing evolution in modern warfare. This development, revealed on March 27, 2025, underscores the dangerously rapid pace at which authoritarian regimes are harnessing artificial intelligence for oppressive ends. The unveiling of these systems in an undisclosed location within North Korea highlights the regime's relentless pursuit of tools to amplify its dictatorial power and threaten global stability. North Korea's leader has made it abundantly clear that artificial intelligence and unmanned aerial systems are central to the modernization of his military forces. Speaking at the test site, Kim emphasized that unmanned equipment and AI must be "top-prioritized" in the regime's military advancements. This statement is a stark reminder that under Kim's rule, innovation is not driven by humanitarian progress but by the singular goal of maintaining and expanding totalitarian control. The newfound emphasis on AI reflects a strategic shift in North Korea's military doctrine, one that aligns with the dictator's vision of a future where machines are harnessed to suppress dissent and expand his reign of terror. By showcasing these technologies, Kim sends a clear message to the world: He intends to weaponize the cutting edge of technology to perpetuate his regime's dominance. AI-Driven drones and early warning systems, a terrifying leap forward The AI suicide drones, capable of autonomous targeting and destruction, represent a terrifying leap forward in the regime's capacity for destruction. Photographs released by state media show Kim observing as these unmanned systems successfully targeted and obliterated military vehicles in live demonstrations. Equipped with advanced intelligence, these drones are poised to become a key component of North Korea's offensive capabilities, enabling the regime to launch precision attacks with minimal human intervention. Beyond the drones, North Korea has unveiled an airborne early-warning (AEW) aircraft for the first time. This system, converted from a Russian-made Il-76 cargo aircraft, features a radar dome similar to South Korea's Peace Eye. While this advancement enhances North Korea's aerial surveillance and defense, it also raises alarms about the regime's ability to counter regional security efforts. The AEW aircraft, coupled with Kim's relentless pursuit of military innovation, paints a grim picture of a regime of unchecked ambition. Global concern mounts about weaponized AI in the hand of tyrants The international community has reacted with alarm to North Korea's rapid advancement in military AI. South Korea's military has flagged concerns about the operational capabilities of the AEW aircraft and the broader implications of North Korea's technological binge. Analysts warn that the development of such systems, particularly in the hands of a dictator, poses an existential threat to regional and global stability. Moreover, the acquisition of Russian military technology, facilitated by North Korea's support for Russia in the Ukraine war, exacerbates fears of a cascading proliferation of advanced weaponry. With thousands of North Korean troops and significant military hardware now on the battlefield, the regime is gaining invaluable experience in modern warfare, further emboldening its authoritarian ambitions. Sources include: Reuters.com Aljazeera.com Enoch, Brighteon.ai Thomas Massies Dual Loyalty Disclosure Act aims to restore American sovereignty by cracking down on foreign influence in Congress Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie introduces the "Dual Loyalty Disclosure Act" to require federal candidates to disclose dual citizenship. The bill mandates public disclosure of any foreign citizenship, including the specific country, in campaign filings. Massie calls for renunciation of foreign citizenship by Members of Congress to avoid conflicts of interest. The legislation has garnered cosponsors but faces an uphill battle in Congress amid likely opposition. The bill is part of a broader push for "America First" policies to ensure elected officials prioritize U.S. interests over foreign ties. In a bold move to address what he sees as a critical threat to American sovereignty, Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie has introduced the "Dual Loyalty Disclosure Act," targeting the practice of Members of Congress holding dual citizenship. This legislation comes amid growing concerns that elected officials with ties to foreign nations may prioritize the interests of those countries over the welfare of their constituents. On Wednesday, Massie unveiled the bill, which requires all federal candidates to publicly disclose any foreign citizenship, including the specific country, in their campaign filings. This move aims to shed light on potential conflicts of interest and ensure that Members of Congress remain solely loyal to the United States. The bill, however, faces an uphill battle in Congress, with critics warning that it may struggle to gain traction in a political landscape heavily influenced by foreign lobbying groups. The background of dual citizenship in Congress: Dual citizenship among Members of Congress is not a new phenomenon, but its implications have increasingly come under scrutiny. Critics argue that elected officials with dual citizenship may find themselves torn between the interests of their U.S. constituents and those of their foreign homeland. Such conflicts could lead to biased decision-making, particularly on issues related to foreign policy, military aid, and trade agreements. For instance, a Member of Congress with dual citizenship in Israel may face pressure to support policies that benefit Israel, even if those policies conflict with American national interests. Historically, the United States has always valued the contributions of immigrants and their descendants, but the line between cultural heritage and political loyalty has become increasingly blurred. The current Congress includes several Members who hold dual citizenship, raising questions about their ability to serve American interests without bias. Massie's bill seeks to address this issue by requiring transparency, allowing voters to make informed choices about their representatives. A threat to American sovereignty Massie's proposal strikes at the heart of what it means to be a faithful representative of the American people. He has repeatedly criticized the influence of foreign lobbying groups, such as AIPAC, which he claims exert undue influence over U.S. foreign policy. In introducing the Dual Loyalty Disclosure Act, Massie emphasizes that elected officials must prioritize the needs of their districts and the nation over those of foreign entities. "Members of Congress elected with the support of American voters should not have divided loyalties," Massie declared in a recent statement. "Dual citizens in Congress are a risk to our democracy, as they may prioritize the interests of another nation over those of the American people. At the very least, they should be forced to disclose their ties to foreign countries so that voters can assess their loyalties before casting their ballots." The political backlash and future prospects: Massie's bill has already sparked fierce debate, with supporters hailing it as a much-needed step toward restoring accountability and trust in government. Critics, however, have leveled accusations of anti-Semitism, particularly following Massie's criticism of AIPAC. Florida Congressman Randy Fine, a vocal defender of Israel, accused Massie of anti-Semitic motives after he called for greater scrutiny of Members of Congress with dual citizenship. Despite the backlash, Massie remains undeterred. "This is not about targeting any specific group," he said. "It's about ensuring that Members of Congress remain first and foremost loyal to the United States. If Congress is to truly represent the American people, it must free itself from the fetters of foreign influence." The bill's prospects in the House remain uncertain, with many expecting it to face strong opposition, particularly from Members of Congress who may have their own dual citizenship ties. In a recent tweet, former President Donald Trump hinted at his support for Fine, signaling that opposition to the bill may gain momentum. As the Dual Loyalty Disclosure Act makes its way through Congress, one cannot help but wonder: How many more Members of Congress are conflicted by dual citizenship, and how much longer will American sovereignty be compromised by foreign influence? Congressman Massie's bill is a much-needed wake-up call, forcing the nation to confront the reality that elected officials must be fully committed to the United States. Whether Congress will heed this call, however, remains to be seen. Sources include: InformationLiberation.com Massie.House.gov [PDF] Massie.House.gov Nearly half of the crimes in Berlin are committed by foreigners, data reveals Crime in Berlin increased by 0.4 percent in 2024, with 539,049 offenses reported. Foreigners accounted for 43.9 percent of crimes (excluding immigration-related offenses), a slight rise from 2023. Homicide and manslaughter cases surged by over 50 percent, while assaults and basement break-ins also increased. Many offenders with foreign origins now hold German citizenship, complicating crime statistics. For example, over 80 percent of New Year's arrest suspects had foreign-origin names and clan-related crimes often involve German citizens. Youth crime is a growing concern, with suspects under 21 accounting for 18.1 percent of cases. Youth gang violence rose by 17.2 percent, and 5,000 of the 25,000 youth suspects were under 14. Violent crimes against police officers increased by 10.2 percent, with 10,584 officers victimized in 2024. Similar patterns are seen in other cities like Frankfurt, where foreign nationals committed 57.2 percent of crimes (excluding immigration offenses). Despite a 1.5 percent overall crime decline, violent crimes like murder and manslaughter reached a 10-year high, with 120 cases reported. Newly released crime statistics for 2024 paint a concerning picture of rising criminal activity in Germany, particularly in Berlin, where foreigners remain vastly overrepresented in crime data. In Berlin, the total number of criminal offenses rose to 539,049, marking a 0.4 percent increase from 2023. This equates to 2,352 additional crimes compared to the previous year. Excluding immigration-related offenses, foreigners accounted for 43.9 percent of all crimes, a slight uptick from 43.2 percent in 2023. The number of suspects also rose by 2.1 percent, reaching 143,534. One of the most alarming trends is the dramatic rise in homicides and manslaughter cases, which surged by over 50 percent. In 2024, Berlin recorded 117 such cases, compared to 77 in 2023. Assaults and basement break-ins also increased, while thefts, knife attacks and drug offenses saw a decline. (Related: Germany's new migration policy: Dumping asylum seekers on Poland sparks controversy.) The data also reveals a complicating factor: Many offenders with foreign origins now hold German citizenship. For example, during New Year's arrests, over 80 percent of suspects had names of foreign origin. Clan groups involved in serious crimes, including murder, are often composed of German citizens, meaning their offenses are recorded as crimes committed by Germans. Youth crime is another growing concern. Suspects under the age of 21 accounted for 18.1 percent of all cases, with youth gang violence increasing by 17.2 percent. Notably, 5,000 of the 25,000 youth suspects were under the age of 14. Police officers are also increasingly becoming targets of violence. In 2024, 10,584 officers were victims of violent crimes, a 10.2 percent increase from the previous year. "I believe that the figures are nevertheless worrying and also a warning signal. Of course, we can exclude the offenses that violate immigration law. As a rule, they cannot commit German offenses. Nevertheless, we are talking about (foreigners involved in) more than 43 percent of cases. This continues to rise. This is disproportionate to the total population in our city," Benjamin Jendro, spokesman for the Berlin police union, said on discussing the statistics. "What should not be ignored is that 30 percent of foreign suspects are not registered in Berlin. We are talking about traveling offenders, possibly also immigrants who are registered in other federal states. This is a phenomenon that we have been observing for a few years now, especially with mass offenses. With all these offenses, every crime is one too many, we are talking about more than one-third, more than 200,000 are theft offenses. We are talking about bicycle theft, pickpocketing, store theft and burglary," Jendro added. Foreign nationals have committed 57.2 percent of crimes in Frankfurt The trends are not limited to Berlin. Several other cities have also published crime statistics, including Frankfurt, where crime rates experienced a modest decline of 1.5 percent. However, excluding immigration-related offenses, 57.2 percent of all crimes were committed by foreign nationals. Despite the overall decrease, certain violent crimes reached alarming levels. Murder and manslaughter cases surged to a 10-year high, with 120 incidents reported in 2024 compared to 63 in 2023. Additionally, assaults increased by 1,000 cases during the same period. Head over to BorderSecurity.news for similar stories. Watch this video of two federal police officers at the German border estimating that around 500,000 soldiers are waiting for the day migrants can come in without any restrictions. This video is from the Auriga Books channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Germany's left-wing government pushes for mass migration and voting rights for non-citizens, sparking outrage. Syrian migrant remains free in Germany, despite 245 car smashings, elderly assault and weapons violations. Germany's economic crisis deepens as Bundesbank posts historic $20 billion loss. Germany SUSPENDS Schengen Area access scheme, tightens border security. Germany: Nigerian migrant grabs 9-year-old boy and stabs 2 police officers, immediately released by the courts. Sources include: RMX.news YourNews.com Brighteon.com Putin vows to finish off Ukraine, accuses West of prolonging the war Putin claims Russian forces are nearing victory, signaling a potential turning point in the war. He blames Boris Johnson for sabotaging 2022 peace talks and pushing Ukraine to fight "to the last Ukrainian." Russia threatens a "bloodbath" over proposed NATO security deployments, escalating tensions. Western leaders are planning a "reassurance force" for Ukraine, which Moscow has labeled a provocation. A controversial U.S. minerals deal grants Washington control over Ukraines resources without any security guarantees. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Thursday that his forces are on the verge of crushing Ukraines military, signaling a potential turning point in the two-year conflict. Speaking aboard a nuclear submarine in the Arctic port of Murmansk, Putin accused Western leadersparticularly former British Prime Minister Boris Johnsonof sabotaging peace talks and pushing Ukraine to fight to the last Ukrainian in pursuit of an unattainable victory over Russia. His remarks came as Moscow threatened a bloodbath in response to proposed NATO security deployments, further escalating tensions ahead of high-stakes negotiations. "Well finish them off" Putin, flanked by sailors aboard the Arkhangelska submarine armed with hypersonic Zircon missilesboasted that Russian forces now hold the strategic initiative across the entire front line. Not long ago I said, Well squeeze them. Now theres reason to believe well finish them off, he said, suggesting Ukraines military collapse is imminent. Despite his aggressive rhetoric, Putin reiterated openness to negotiationsbut only if they address Russias core demands: Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of Moscows territorial gains. The Russian leader reserved some of his sharpest criticism for Johnson, whom he blamed for derailing the 2022 Istanbul peace talks by allegedly convincing Kyiv to reject diplomacy. Their European handlers convinced the Ukrainian leadership that they had to continue armed resistance, essentially to the last Ukrainian, with the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, Putin said. He mocked Britains diminished global standing, scoffing at its ninth or tenth place economy and small military. Western "reassurance force" spurs Kremlin fury As Putin spoke, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to deploy a joint reassurance force to Ukrainea move Moscow condemned as a direct provocation. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned the proposal could trigger a bloodbath, accusing London of manipulating Europe into war. They need to provoke Europe into a bloodbath [with Russia] They themselves left the European Union, she said, framing the plan as an Anglo-Saxon plot. Macron insisted that the troops would not deploy to the front lines but would instead guard strategic areas, while Starmer emphasized deterrence: This is a deal that is going to be defended. Yet Moscow remains unmoved, with Kremlin-aligned lawmaker Sergey Mironov predicting Western weapons sent to Ukraine could fuel terrorism in Europe. Meanwhile, a controversial U.S.-proposed minerals agreement has drawn scrutiny for granting Washington sweeping control over Ukraines natural resourcesincluding veto power on sales to Chinawithout offering security guarantees. Atlantic Council expert Alan Riley called the draft an expropriation document, adding, Ive never seen anything like it before. The deal, paired with Trumps push to restore Russian gas flows to Europe, has left Kyiv in a precarious position as Putin demands Zelenskys ouster and interim UN-supervised elections. With Putin claiming battlefield momentum and the West scrambling to shore up Ukraine, the conflict appears to be at a critical juncture. While Moscow insists it seeks peace, its conditionsterritorial concessions and regime changeremain nonstarters for Kyiv. As diplomatic tensions flare, the specter of a prolonged war looms, with Putin warning darkly: A moment of realization must come to the Ukrainian people themselves. Sources for this article include: RT.com YourNews.com DailyMail.co.uk Tesla owners under siege: Road rage, vandalism and political backlash fuel fear among drivers nationwide A Lynnwood, Washington, mother driving a Tesla was aggressively confronted by a masked man in a white SUV, who berated her, calling her car a "Nazi car" and demanding she sell it. The incident left her feeling vulnerable and threatened. Tesla owners nationwide are increasingly facing harassment, vandalism and violence, including Molotov cocktail attacks, arson at charging stations, and vehicles being vandalized with swastikas and slurs. The hostility is linked to Elon Musk's polarizing tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration, with critics targeting Tesla owners as symbols of his influence. Tesla owners, many of whom chose the vehicles for environmental and practical reasons, now face fear and harassment, raising questions about the intersection of politics, personal choice and public safety. The incident highlights the dangers of societal polarization and underscores the need to address hostility while protecting individuals' freedom to make personal choices without fear of intimidation or violence. In a disturbing incident that highlights the growing hostility toward Tesla owners, a Lynnwood, Washington, mother was recently targeted in a frightening road rage confrontation. The incident, which occurred on her way to a doctor's appointment, underscores the escalating tensions surrounding Tesla vehicles and their association with CEO Elon Musk. Leigh, a Tesla owner for the past two years, described the encounter as unprovoked and deeply unsettling. While approaching a red light, she was aggressively honked at by the driver of a white SUV. Moments later, the SUV cut her off, forcing her to stop in the middle of the road. The driver then exited his vehicle, approached Leighs Tesla, and began yelling at her through her cracked window. (Related: Tesla owners targeted in alleged doxxing campaign as anti-Musk sentiment escalates.) "You need to sell your car. This is a Nazi car," the man reportedly shouted. "You're driving it, you need to sell your car." Leigh, who was alone at the time, described the driver as wearing a camouflage jacket and a ski mask, which he briefly lowered to berate her further. The encounter left her feeling vulnerable and threatened, unsure of the mans intentions or whether he posed a physical danger. This is not an isolated incident, however. Across the country, Tesla owners have faced increasing harassment, vandalism, and even violence. In recent months, Tesla vehicles have been targeted with Molotov cocktails in Oregon and Colorado, while charging stations in South Carolina were set ablaze alongside anti-Trump graffiti. Internationally, four Teslas were torched in Berlin, and locally, six Teslas in Lynnwood were vandalized with swastikas and slurs. A Tesla was also set on fire in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Tesla owners targeted by critics of Musk's DOGE policies The hostility appears to stem from Musk's controversial role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration. Musk's efforts to streamline government operations, including significant job cuts and spending reductions, have made him a polarizing figure. Critics of Musk's policies have increasingly targeted Tesla owners, viewing their vehicles as symbols of his influence. For Leigh, the incident has left her questioning her decision to drive a Tesla. "This seemed like the right move for our very busy family. Now it feels like a huge risk; it's scary," she lamented. Her frustration is palpable, as she never imagined that choosing a Tesla would make her a target. The broader implications of this trend are troubling. Tesla owners are now facing harassment simply for driving a car associated with Musk. This raises important questions about the intersection of politics, personal choice and public safety. Should individuals be targeted for the decisions of a companys CEO? And where do we draw the line between legitimate protest and outright harassment? Leigh's story is a stark reminder of the growing divide in our society. Since the incident, Leigh has altered her driving routes, opting for highways over back roads to avoid stop signs and feel safer. She has also filed multiple reports, though it remains unclear whether the suspect will face any consequences. As tensions continue to rise, it is crucial to address the root causes of this hostility. While criticism of public figures like Elon Musk is a hallmark of free speech, targeting ordinary citizens for their choice of vehicle crosses a dangerous line. Tesla owners, like Leigh, are not political pawns they are individuals making decisions based on their values and needs. Watch this video about more Tesla dealerships being attacked amid rising anti-Elon Musk sentiment. This video is from the TREASURE OF THE SUN channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Far-left hackers publish Tesla owners' personal data with Molotov cocktail cursor, issue threats. Walz, Kimmel, Dem influencers ENCOURAGE attacks on Tesla. SILICON SABOTAGE: How far-left extremists are weaponizing anonymity to target Tesla and Elon Musk. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com MyNorthwest.com Fox13Seattle.com Brighteon.com 200 Tesla showrooms bracing for Saturday protests as movement against Musk escalates Global protests against Elon Musk escalate into vandalism, arson, and domestic terrorism, targeting Tesla showrooms. The FBI labels attacks on Tesla facilities as domestic terrorism, arresting suspects amid violent incidents. Protest organizers deny violence but face criticism for rhetoric fueling extremism. Environmental activists burn EVs, contradicting their past support for green technology. Pro-Trump counterprotests emerge as tensions rise ahead of planned demonstrations. Elon Musk continues to be the focal point of a global protest movement that claims to oppose his influence over government policy but has increasingly devolved into vandalism, arson, and domestic terrorism. This Saturday, nearly 200 Tesla showrooms worldwide will face demonstrations organized under the banner of "Tesla Takedown," a self-described grassroots campaign demanding accountability for Musks role in the Trump administrations Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). While organizers insist their movement is non-violent, the FBI has launched a task force to investigate coordinated attacks on Tesla facilities, including Molotov cocktails, gunfire, and anti-Musk graffitiacts the agency labels "domestic terrorism." The irony is incredible: the same left-wing activists who once championed Tesla for its green credentials are now burning its cars, polluting the environment, and endangering first responders. The hypocrisy exposes a movement unmoored from its principles, willing to embrace destruction when its ideological enemies refuse to comply. A movements contradictions Tesla Takedown organizers, like Bay Area activist Vickie Mueller Olvera, frame their protests as a righteous stand against Musks "hijacking" of democracy. "Nobody voted for this, and nobody voted for Elon," Olvera told The Guardian. "Hes an unelected super-billionaire and hes a thug." Yet while Olveras rhetoric is heated, her group publicly condemns property destruction. The same cannot be said for the shadowy factions operating alongside them. In recent weeks, Tesla facilities from Austin to Seattle have been firebombed, spray-painted with swastikas, and riddled with bullets. In Colorado, a woman allegedly torched multiple Teslas while scrawling "Nazi" on a dealership sign. In Massachusetts, seven charging stations were burned. Even individual Tesla owners report being harassed, their cars keyed or defaced. The FBI, now treating these attacks as domestic terrorism, arrested a suspect in Las Vegas this week after a showroom was targeted with Molotov cocktails. Musk and Trump have seized on the violence to discredit the broader protest movement. "The real problem is not the crazy guy that firebombs a Tesla dealership," Musk told Fox News. "Its the people pushing the propaganda that caused that guy to do it." Trump, meanwhile, has vowed to prosecute perpetrators under terrorism statutes. Lefts green hypocrisy on full display The most glaring contradiction lies in the environmental lefts sudden abandonment of Teslaa company it once celebrated for pioneering electric vehicles (EVs). Now, instead of reducing emissions, activists are literally setting EVs ablaze, releasing toxins into the air and forcing firefighters to risk their lives. Protest organizers dismiss the violence as the work of rogue actors. "We are a non-violent grassroots protest movement," Tesla Takedowns official statement reads. But critics argue the movements incendiary rhetoriclabeling Musk a "fascist" and Teslas "Swastikars"fuels the extremism. A tense weekend ahead With tensions escalating, law enforcement is bracing for clashes. Pro-Trump "Tesla Shield" counterprotests are planned, and organizers like Terry Beck in New Jersey are mobilizing caravans to "support a Trump ally." Meanwhile, anti-Tesla activists admit they fear vehicular attacks. "Were pretty vulnerable," said Adam Sheridan, a New Jersey organizer. The FBIs involvement suggests this is no ordinary protest movement. Whether Tesla Takedown can distance itself from the violence remains to be seenbut for now, the lefts embrace of eco-vandalism has exposed its moral bankruptcy. As Musks net worth tumbles and his cars burn, one thing is clear: the movement claiming to defend democracy is doing so by destroying the very institutions it claims to protect. The "Tesla Takedown" protests reveal a left increasingly willing to abandon its principles for political vengeance. Once cheerleaders for green technology, activists now torch the very symbols of environmental progressall while decrying the "fascism" of a man they once admired. The FBIs crackdown may curb the violence, but the hypocrisy will linger long after the smoke clears. Sources for this article include: TheGuardian.com NBCNews.com SHTFPlan.com Trump administration reportedly preparing for military strikes on Iran, raising fears of escalation The U.S. is reportedly moving B-2 or B-21 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, a strategic base near Iran, enabling rapid strikes without overflight permissions from neighboring countries. Analysts warn that attacking Iran could trigger a wider conflict, as Russia and China have mutual defense ties with Tehran, potentially drawing them into direct confrontation. Critics accuse the Trump administration of aligning with Israeli interests, with claims that strikes on Iran could provoke a nuclear response from Russia in defense of its ally. Russia may retaliate with military force if Iran is attacked, while China could impose economic sanctions or support proxy warfare, further destabilizing global security. A U.S. strike on Iran risks triggering economic collapse, fuel shortages, and even nuclear war, with experts warning of irreversible escalation once military action begins. The Trump administration is reportedly repositioning stealth bombers to the U.S. military base at Diego Garcia, a strategic Indian Ocean outpost within striking distance of Iran, signaling potential preparations for military action. This move has sparked warnings from analysts and geopolitical experts, who fear it could trigger a catastrophic escalation involving Russia and Chinaboth of which have mutual defense ties with Tehran. Stealth Bombers and the Path to War According to sources cited by Technocracy News, the U.S. is deploying B-2 or B-21 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, a remote British-controlled atoll that has served as a critical staging ground for American operations in the Middle East since the Cold War. The bases location allows for rapid strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, military installations, or oil infrastructure without requiring overflight permissions from neighboring nations. Retired Colonel Douglas Macgregor, a prominent military strategist, has warned that such a move risks provoking a direct confrontation with Russia and China. "Iran is not isolated," Macgregor stated in recent interviews. "Any attack on Iran could activate mutual defense agreements, pulling Moscow and Beijing into the conflict." Zionist Conspiracy or Geopolitical Gamble? The potential strikes have drawn fierce criticism from independent media figures, including Mike Adams, founder of Brighteon Broadcast News, who condemned the plan as "Zionist-driven warmongering." Adams accused former President Trump of betraying his 2024 campaign promises of de-escalation, alleging that his administration is now acting on behalf of Israeli interests. "Netanyahu has long sought U.S. military action against Iran," Adams asserted. "If Trump greenlights these strikes, hes inviting a thermonuclear response from Russiaa nation that has already signaled it will not tolerate an attack on its Middle Eastern ally." Russia and Chinas Red Lines Reports indicate that Russia is finalizing a formal mutual defense pact with Iran, expected to be ratified by mid-April. Analysts suggest that Moscow could interpret U.S. strikes as an act of war, potentially retaliating with submarine-launched missiles, cyberattacks, or even strategic nuclear threats. China, meanwhile, has deepened economic and military ties with Iran through its Belt and Road Initiative. While Beijing is unlikely to engage in direct combat, it could impose crippling financial sanctions, cut off critical supply chains, or support asymmetric warfare via proxy groups. The Specter of Nuclear War The most alarming scenario, according to security experts, is the possibility of Iranor its alliesresponding with unconventional weapons. Adams warned that Tehran could activate Hezbollah sleeper cells, target U.S. bases with ballistic missiles, or even provoke a regional nuclear exchange if backed into a corner. "Once the first bomb drops, theres no off-ramp," said former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter. "This isnt about neutralizing a threatits about fulfilling a geopolitical vendetta that could end in mutual annihilation." A Nation on the Brink As tensions mount, questions linger over the Trump administrations endgame. Is this a calculated show of force, or the prelude to another forever war? With global markets already jittery over escalating conflicts in Ukraine and the South China Sea, a strike on Iran could trigger economic collapse, fuel shortages, and a new wave of global instability. For now, the world watchesand waitsto see if Washingtons next move will bring peace, or plunge the planet into darkness. Watch the March 28 episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about Trump administration reportedly preparing for military strikes on Iran. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Khamenei warns U.S. will face severe blow if Iran attacked amid rising tensions Iran, Russia, China unite against US sanctions, demand end to unlawful coercion in global power play Trump shares video saying Netanyahu conned America into war with Iraq and is pushing war with Iran Sources include: Brighteon.com Trump signals willingness to ease China tariffs in push for TikTok deal President Trump may reduce China tariffs to push ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S. buyer by April 5. The move balances national security concerns with avoiding a ban affecting 170 million American users. Trump signaled flexibility on tariffs, a shift from his typically hardline China trade stance. Bipartisan fears over Chinese data harvesting drove the divestment push, but free speech advocates oppose a ban. The White House is brokering a market-driven solution, with potential buyers like Elon Musk or Oracles Larry Ellison. In a strategic move that underscores his administrations commitment to both national security and free-market principles, President Donald Trump has suggested he may reduce tariffs on China to facilitate a deal forcing TikToks Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the popular app to a U.S. buyer. The announcement, made Wednesday, highlights Trumps balancing act: addressing legitimate concerns over Chinese data collection while avoiding a heavy-handed government ban that would restrict 170 million Americans access to the platform. With an April 5 deadline looming for ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a U.S. ban, Trumps willingness to use tariffs as leverage signals his preference for a negotiated, market-driven resolution one that safeguards American interests without resorting to outright censorship. A bargaining chip in high-stakes negotiations Trumps remarks came during a White House press briefing, where he acknowledged Chinas pivotal role in approving any potential sale. With respect to TikTok, China is going to have to play a role in that, possibly in the form of an approval, maybe, and I think theyll do that, he said. Maybe Ill give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done. The presidents openness to tariff relief marks a notable shift in his typically hardline stance on China trade policy. Just last month, his administration imposed an additional 20% levy on Chinese imports, reinforcing his reputation as a tariff hawk. Yet, his latest comments suggest TikToks fate is a priority significant enough to warrant economic concessions. Vice President JD Vance has indicated that a deal resolving TikToks ownership could be finalized by the April 5 deadline. However, Trump has left the door open for an extension, stating, If its not finished, its not a big deal. Well just extend it. National security vs. free speech concerns The push to force ByteDances divestment stems from bipartisan fears that TikToks Chinese ownership poses a national security risk, potentially enabling Beijing to harvest American user data or manipulate public opinion. A 2024 law, passed with overwhelming support, mandated the apps sale by January 19a deadline Trump extended to April 5 via executive order. But while security concerns are valid, free speech advocates warn that an outright ban would set a dangerous precedent. Critics argue that blocking TikTok outright would violate the First Amendment by restricting Americans access to a global platform, effectively allowing the government to dictate digital expression. Trumps approachseeking a market-based transfer of ownership rather than an authoritarian-style banreflects a middle ground. By leveraging tariffs rather than brute regulatory force, he aims to preserve both security and free speech. The administrations deep involvement in brokering a deal is unprecedented, with the White House effectively acting as an investment bank. Reuters reported last week that talks are centering on a plan for ByteDances major non-Chinese investors to increase their stakes and acquire TikToks U.S. operations. Trump has previously floated Elon Musk or Oracles Larry Ellison as potential buyers, emphasizing his preference for private-sector solutions. There are numerous ways you can buy TikTok, and we will find the one thats best, he said. As the April 5 deadline nears, all eyes will be on whether this gamble pays offdelivering a solution that protects both national security and the open marketplace of ideas. Sources for this article include: TheGuardian.com NYPost.com FoxBusiness.com Reuters.com Trump rescinds Stefaniks UN ambassador nomination, citing narrow Republican majority President Donald Trump has rescinded Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination for UN ambassador, citing concerns over maintaining the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. The decision marks a strategic shift aimed at solidifying Trump's base and ensuring critical votes in Congress are secured, given the narrow five-seat Republican majority. Stefanik, a staunch Trump supporter, stepped down from her position as House Republican Conference Chair for the nomination but will now return to Congress. Her exact role in leadership is uncertain, with speculation about the creation of a new position. The vacant UN ambassador position and Stefanik's potential influence in Congress will be closely monitored. The decision underscores the Trump administration's need to balance foreign policy goals with domestic political realities. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has withdrawn Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination to serve as the United Nations ambassador. The decision comes amid concerns about maintaining the narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a mere five-seat advantage over Democrats. The president's decision to rescind Stefanik's nomination marks a significant shift in his administration's strategy, as he seeks to solidify his base and maintain control over critical votes in Congress. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican and one of Trump's staunchest supporters, had been nominated for the UN role last November, just days after the 2024 election. She subsequently stepped down from her position as House Republican Conference Chair, a move that has now been reversed. The political context Rep. Stefanik's nomination to the UN ambassador role was seen as a strategic move by the Trump administration to bolster its foreign policy agenda, particularly in areas where the president sought to project an "America First" stance. However, the narrow majority in the House, where Republicans hold 218 seats to Democrats' 213, has made every vote crucial. The potential for a special election to replace Stefanik in her New York district posed a significant risk to the GOP's slim majority. House Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized the importance of maintaining this majority, stating, "With a very tight Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat. It is well known Republicans have a razor-thin House majority, and Elise's agreement to withdraw her nomination will allow us to keep one of the toughest, most resolute members of our Conference in place to help drive forward President Trump's America First policies." Rejoining leadership In a statement, Speaker Johnson said he "will invite" Stefanik "to return to the leadership table immediately" and thanked her for her "selfless decision." However, the exact nature of her leadership role remains unclear. Current leadership positions are filled, and it is uncertain whether a new position will be created for her. Stefanik's departure from House leadership last year was a significant move, and her replacement, Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan, has no immediate plans to step down. This leaves open the question of how Stefanik will be reintegrated into the leadership structure. Some speculate that a new position could be created to accommodate her, but as of now, nothing has been formally decided. Reaction and implications Republicans have praised Stefanik's decision, highlighting her commitment to the party and the broader conservative agenda. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, however, criticized the move, saying, "Donald Trump won the Elise Stefanik district by 21 points in November 2024. He withdrew her nomination to be U.N. Ambassador because the extremists are afraid they will lose the special election to replace her. The Republican agenda is extremely unpopular, they are crashing the economy in real time and House Republicans are running scared. What happened to their so-called mandate?" The Senate, where Stefanik's nomination had been advancing through the Foreign Relations Committee, was expected to confirm her without much resistance. The decision to rescind the nomination is likely to have broader implications for the Republican Party's strategy in the upcoming special elections and the general political climate. Looking forward President Trump has not yet named a new candidate for the UN ambassador role, and the position will remain vacant until a new nominee is confirmed by the Senate. In the meantime, Stefanik's return to Congress and her potential role in the House leadership will be closely watched. The president appeared to leave the door open for Stefanik to join his administration in the future, writing, "I look forward to the day when Elise is able to join my Administration in the future. She is absolutely FANTASTIC." The decision to withdraw Stefanik's nomination underscores the delicate balance the Trump administration must maintain between foreign policy aspirations and domestic political considerations. As the GOP grapples with maintaining its narrow majority and advancing its legislative agenda, the role of key figures like Stefanik will remain crucial. In conclusion, the withdrawal of Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination to be the UN ambassador reflects the complex interplay of political strategy and party dynamics in the current congressional landscape. The decision highlights the ongoing challenges and strategic considerations facing the Trump administration and the Republican Party. Sources include: TheNationalPulse.com ABCNews.com CBSNews.com Trumps 25% auto tariffs: A bold move to strengthen U.S. manufacturing despite short-term challenges The proposed 25% tariffs aim to reduce reliance on foreign auto imports, incentivize domestic production and strengthen Americas industrial base by encouraging automakers to shift operations stateside. Japanese automakers, which export over 1.3 million vehicles annually to the U.S., may face profit declines and consumers could see higher prices initially. However, proponents argue this disruption is necessary for long-term gains. The tariffs may accelerate localization of auto parts production, with foreign suppliers like Denso and Aisin potentially establishing U.S. facilities, reducing dependence on global supply chains and creating domestic jobs. While critics warn of rising car prices, increased domestic competition and consumer preference for U.S.-made vehicles could eventually stabilize costs, benefiting brands like Tesla that already produce locally. Retaliatory tariffs from trading partners (EU, Japan, South Korea) are a concern. Success hinges on strategic diplomacy to frame the policy as correcting trade imbalances without triggering a broader trade war. President Donald Trumps proposed 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts, set to take effect in April 2025, have sparked intense debate about their potential impact on the global automotive industry. While critics warn of higher prices for consumers and financial strain on foreign automakers particularly Japanese brands the policy could ultimately serve as a strategic lever to revitalize American manufacturing. By incentivizing domestic production, these tariffs may help reduce reliance on foreign supply chains, create jobs and bolster long-term economic resilience. However, the transition will not be without its challenges, and careful navigation will be required to mitigate disruptions. A necessary step to protect U.S. industry The U.S. auto industry has long been a cornerstone of the nations economy, but decades of offshoring and foreign competition have eroded domestic manufacturing capacity. Nearly half of all vehicles sold in America are imported, leaving the country vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and foreign economic policies. The new tariffs aim to reverse this trend by making it more expensive to import vehicles and parts, thereby encouraging automakers to shift production stateside. Proponents argue that this policy aligns with broader efforts to strengthen American industry. By raising the cost of imported vehicles, foreign automakers especially those from Japan may be compelled to invest more heavily in U.S. factories to avoid tariff penalties. Companies like Toyota, Honda and Nissan already operate plants in the U.S., but expanded domestic production could lead to more jobs, higher wages and greater economic security for American workers. Short-term pain for long-term gain There is no denying that the immediate effects of these tariffs could be disruptive. Japanese automakers, which export over 1.3 million vehicles to the U.S. annually, may face significant financial strain. Goldman Sachs estimates that profits for companies like Toyota and Mazda could decline by 6% to 59%, depending on whether they absorb the costs or pass them on to consumers. However, this short-term turbulence may be a necessary trade-off for a stronger domestic auto sector. Historically, protectionist measures such as the tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed in 2018initially caused market volatility but later contributed to a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing. If managed correctly, the auto tariffs could follow a similar trajectory, forcing foreign automakers to increase their U.S. investments rather than retreat from the market. Supply chain adjustments: A path to greater self-sufficiency One of the most significant criticisms of the tariffs is their potential to disrupt global supply chains. Many automakers rely on imported components, and a 25% levy on parts like engines and transmissions could raise production costs across the board. However, this disruption may also accelerate efforts to localize supply chains, reducing dependence on foreign suppliers. For example, Japanese parts manufacturers like Denso and Aisin, which currently export billions of dollars in components to the U.S., may find it more cost-effective to establish American facilities. This shift could create new jobs in the U.S. auto parts sector and strengthen the domestic supply chain, making the industry less vulnerable to geopolitical risks. Additionally, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) provides some exemptions for North American production, meaning automakers that expand operations in Mexico or Canada could still benefit from tariff-free access to the U.S. market. This could incentivize further regional investment rather than a complete withdrawal from North America. Potential market adjustments and consumer impact Critics argue that tariffs will lead to higher car prices, hurting American consumers. While this is a valid concern, the long-term benefits of a revitalized domestic industry could offset these costs. If automakers respond by increasing U.S. production, competition among domestic manufacturers could eventually stabilize prices. Moreover, American consumers may be willing to pay a premium for vehicles built in the U.S., particularly if the policy is framed as a patriotic effort to support domestic jobs. Brands that successfully navigate the transitionsuch as Tesla, which already produces most of its vehicles domesticallycould gain a competitive edge. Global backlash and strategic diplomacy One of the biggest risks of the tariff policy is the potential for retaliatory measures from trading partners. The European Union, Japan and South Korea have already expressed concerns, and if they impose counter-tariffs on U.S. exports, the economic fallout could be significant. To mitigate this risk, the Trump administration must engage in careful diplomacy, ensuring that allies understand the long-term strategic rationale behind the tariffs. By framing the policy as a necessary step to correct trade imbalancesrather than an outright attack on foreign automakersthe U.S. may be able to negotiate compromises that protect American jobs without sparking a full-blown trade war. A defining moment for the U.S. auto industry The success of these tariffs will ultimately depend on how automakers and policymakers respond. If foreign companies choose to expand U.S. production rather than absorb losses, the policy could achieve its goal of revitalizing American manufacturing. However, if the tariffs lead to prolonged market instability without corresponding domestic investment, the economic benefits may fall short. For now, the policy represents a bold gambleone that could either reinforce Americas industrial base or strain global trade relations. While the road ahead will be challenging, the potential rewardsa stronger domestic auto sector, reduced reliance on foreign supply chains and more jobs for American workerscould make the short-term sacrifices worthwhile. A high-stakes strategy with potential upside President Trumps auto tariffs are undeniably controversial, but they also present an opportunity to reassert U.S. leadership in automotive manufacturing. The immediate impact may be painful for foreign automakers and consumers, but if executed strategically, the policy could lay the foundation for a more self-sufficient and competitive American auto industry. The key to success will be balancing protectionism with pragmatismensuring that tariffs incentivize domestic investment without alienating critical trading partners. If managed correctly, this bold move could mark the beginning of a new era for U.S. manufacturing, one where American workers and industries emerge stronger than before. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com GulfInsider.com TalkMarkets.com Immoderate Greatness: Why civilizations collapse under their own weight In "Immoderate Greatness: Why Civilizations Fail," author William Ophuls argues that civilizations are inherently programmed for self-destruction due to their relentless pursuit of expansion and complexity, which inevitably leads to collapse. Ophuls identifies finite resources as a critical constraint, highlighting how the exhaustion of resources like forests, soil and water has historically triggered the downfall of civilizations, with modern issues like climate change and peak oil posing similar threats. The erosion of civic virtues and the rise of moral decay, such as political corruption and societal complacency, weaken the resilience of civilizations and contribute to their collapse. As civilizations grow, they become increasingly dependent on complex systems and technologies, which amplifies their vulnerability to collapse. Ophuls refers to this as the "ingenuity gap," where societies struggle to address mounting problems. Ophuls advocates for a shift towards simplicity, frugality and adherence to ecological limits, warning against the pursuit of endless growth and emphasizing the need for a realignment with natural constraints to avoid inevitable collapse. Why do civilizations rise only to crumble? What forces drive once-mighty empires into oblivion? In "Immoderate Greatness: Why Civilizations Fail," political theorist and ecologist William Ophuls presents a sobering thesis: Civilizations are inherently self-destructive, doomed by biophysical limits and moral decay. Drawing from history's fallen empires Rome, the Mayans and others Ophuls argues that humanity's relentless pursuit of expansion and complexity sows the seeds of its own demise. Published in 2012, the book serves as both a historical autopsy and a cautionary tale for modern society, urging a reckoning with unsustainable growth before it is too late. Ophuls opens with a stark assertion: "Civilizations are hard-wired for self-destruction." Unlike cyclical theories of history, which suggest periodic renewal, Ophuls contends that collapse is a terminal endpoint. He identifies two primary drivers: biophysical limits the finite resources that sustain societies and moral entropy, the erosion of the virtues that once upheld them. The analogy of civilizations as "bacteria in a Petri dish" encapsulates the first dilemma. Growth continues until resources are exhausted, triggering crisis. Forests vanish, soils degrade and water sources dry up. "Our natural world has limits," Ophuls writes, "and when we push beyond them, we face consequences." Historical precedents abound: the deforestation of Easter Island, the salinization of Mesopotamian farmlands and the overextension of Rome's supply lines. Modern civilization, he warns, is no exception, with climate change and peak oil mirroring ancient tipping points. The second culprit is hubris the "excessive pride or presumption" that blinds societies to their fragility. Civilizations, Ophuls argues, become intoxicated by their own achievements, believing they can defy ecological and social constraints. The Roman Empire, for instance, grew so vast that its administrative complexity made governance unsustainable. "The more a civilization grows, the more it depends on complex systems and technologies, which in turn make it more vulnerable to collapse," Ophuls observes. This complexity leads to what he terms the "ingenuity gap": the widening chasm between mounting problems and society's ability to solve them. Like a juggler adding too many balls, civilizations eventually falter under their own weight. Technological innovation, often hailed as a savior, merely postpones the inevitable. Fossil fuels, for example, accelerated industrialization but exacerbated resource depletion. "Technology can extend our reach," Ophuls notes, "but it can't overcome the fundamental laws of nature." Beyond material limits, Ophuls examines moral entropy the decline of the civic virtues that once bound societies together. Rome's early ethos of discipline and sacrifice gave way to decadence and political corruption, weakening its resilience. "As societies become wealthier and more powerful, they often become complacent and self-indulgent," he writes. This pattern repeats across history: prosperity breeds apathy and apathy invites collapse. Human nature itself compounds the problem. Greed, shortsightedness and a fixation on immediate gains over long-term stability fuel unsustainable practices. "We are, after all, only human," Ophuls acknowledges, "and our flaws can lead to self-destructive behavior." Ophuls does not offer facile solutions but issues a stark warning: the pursuit of endless growth is a dead end. Instead, he advocates for simplicity, frugality and a realignment with ecological limits. In an era of climate crises and geopolitical instability, his analysis feels urgently prescient. Learn more about how civilizations fall by watching the video below. This video is from the BrightLearn channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: Brighteon.ai Brighteon.com Sorry, something doesn't look right. Something seems unusual about your device or browser. Please contact support. We Are China Bountiful catch brings fishermen home to Aojiao village, east China's Fujian Province 15:16, March 28, 2025 By Zhang Wenjie, Yuan Meng, Cui Yue, Zhang Zeyu ( People's Daily Online Fishing boats loaded with fresh catches returned to Aojiao on March 27, 2025, a small village on Dongshan Island in east China's Fujian Province, where fishermen busily sorted their newly harvested seafood. After seven days at sea, the fishermen expressed satisfaction with their plentiful harvest and hoped for good prices. "I missed home a bit. I missed our little village!" one fisherman said. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Du Mingming) 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. Cell membrane proteins hide secret gateways that can be used to modify cell behavior. This has been demonstrated in a study led by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and published in Nature Communications, with participation from research centers in Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, China, and the United States. The findings may facilitate the creation of new medications or improve the mechanisms of existing ones. The study's findings are based on computer simulations that achieved an unprecedented level of detail. Researchers were able to observe, at atomic scale and in real time, how membrane lipids interact with G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in their natural environment. These interactions reveal new ways to modulate cellular functions that would otherwise remain invisible. "We have discovered new gateways for drugs to modulate proteins that regulate cellular activity," explains Dr. Jana Selent, coordinator of the GPCR Drug Discovery Research Group within the Biomedical Informatics Research Program (GRIB) at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, a joint group with Pompeu Fabra University. GPCRs are important because a significant portion of existing drugs target them to act on cells. In fact, 34% of FDA-approved drugs are based on these receptors. "Having detailed information about the specific site where these drugs act within the cell will accelerate the development of targeted therapies," adds Dr. Selent. Work in progress Although the study published is based on data from 190 experiments covering 60% of known GPCRs, the work continues to uncover the mechanisms used by these proteins to regulate cell function. So far, researchers have confirmed that beyond the known access points, there are others only visible through computer simulations. These newly identified pathways could be leveraged to develop innovative therapeutic treatments. According to Dr. David Aranda, postdoctoral researcher at GRIB and lead author of the study, these are "more specific gateways for each receptor-a more direct way to modulate cell behavior." In many cases, it was known that a drug acted on cells, but not how. These results shed light on this aspect of cellular dynamics, making it possible to identify "targets that help create more selective, more precise medications, thereby reducing possible side effects. This could allow us to go beyond current methods used in treating multiple conditions," he adds. This information, along with future findings, is freely available for use by any laboratory working on developing or improving medications. Research from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago strongly suggests that Kawasaki disease is caused by a single respiratory virus that is yet to be identified. Findings contradict the theory that many different pathogens or toxins could cause this disease that can lead to serious cardiac complications in young children. "The cause of Kawasaki disease has been a mystery for over 50 years," said Anne Rowley, MD, pediatric infectious diseases expert and scientist at Manne Research Institute at Lurie Children's, who is the lead author on the study published in Laboratory Investigation. "Our compelling data are a huge step forward and provide a clear direction for the field to identify and sequence the virus that causes Kawasaki disease in susceptible children. This will be critical to advancing the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Kawasaki disease." Kawasaki disease is relatively uncommon, affecting mostly children between 6 months and 5 years of age. Lurie Children's sees 50-60 newly diagnosed Kawasaki disease patients a year. Currently, there is no diagnostic test for Kawasaki disease. Clinical signs include fever, rash, swelling of the hands and feet, irritation and redness of the whites of the eyes, swollen lymph glands in the neck, and irritation and inflammation of the mouth, lips, and throat. Children with Kawasaki disease have a 20 percent chance of developing heart disease, while infants are at higher risk with 50 percent chance of cardiac complications. The standard treatment, intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin, substantially decreases the risk of heart disease in patients with Kawasaki disease. Steroids may be added for the highest risk patients. In their study, Dr. Rowley and colleagues prepared antibodies from blood cells of children with Kawasaki disease, in order to see what these antibodies will target in tissue samples of patients who died from the disease. They found that the antibodies recognized so-called inclusion bodies, which are by-products of a virus, in all 20 tissue samples that represented cases from the U.S. and Japan over 50 years. We saw the same inclusion bodies targeted in every tissue sample spanning five decades and two continents, which shows that we are dealing with one predominant virus causing Kawasaki disease. It appears to be a respiratory virus since the inclusion bodies were in the medium size airways. Going forward, we need to focus on studies of pathology specimens to gain understanding of what is inside the inclusion bodies so that we can identify the Kawasaki disease virus and finally solve the mystery." Dr. Anne Rowley, MD, pediatric infectious diseases expert and scientist at Manne Research Institute at Lurie Children's This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant R01AI150719 to Dr. Rowley, the Max Goldenberg Foundation, the Center for Kawasaki Disease at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, the Northwestern University NUSeq Core Facility, and the Northwestern University Flow Cytometry Core Facility supported by Cancer Center Support Grant (NCI CA060553). Dr. Rowley is a Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology-Immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She holds the Dorothy M. and Edward E. Burwell Board Designated Professorship in Immunobiology at Lurie Children's. What does ending U.S.-funded vaccination programs in developing countries mean for those citizensand for Americans? Abram Wagner, assistant professor of epidemiology and global public health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, discusses implications of the U.S. potentially ending global vaccine programs. In your opinion, should the U.S. fund vaccines for other countries? There are several compelling reasons for the United States to support global vaccination efforts. First, many vaccines are developed and manufactured in the U.S., so expanding international access to vaccines often involves increasing domestic production, supporting American jobs, sustaining innovation and reducing per-dose costs through economies of scale. Second, while its essential that U.S. tax dollars prioritize the health and well-being of American citizens, its also important to recognize that the U.S. benefits economically and strategically from a healthier global population. The U.S. is deeply integrated into international trade networks, and global public health challengessuch as pandemicscan disrupt supply chains, travel and economic stability. By investing in vaccines globally, we help prevent outbreaks that can cross borders and impact American lives and livelihoods. Do vaccine programs such as these bring other benefits to citizens of those countries besides preventing illnesses that may kill them? What about benefits for Americans? Yes, vaccine programs bring broad and lasting benefits beyond the immediate prevention of illness and death. Many of the diseases targeted by global vaccine initiatives, such as measles or polio, are highly contagious. By increasing vaccination rates worldwide, we reduce the likelihood of these diseases spreading across borders, protecting American travelers and reducing the risk of reintroduction into the U.S. There are also long-term benefits for both global and American populations. When diseases are eliminated globally, the need for routine vaccination can eventually be phased out. Weve already seen this with smallpox, which was eradicated through international cooperation. If we successfully improved vaccination rates globally for diseases like polio and measles, children in the U.S. would no longer need these vaccines. Are there certain diseases that are of most concern? Do they affect U.S. citizens? Im concerned about measles. Although it is no longer considered endemic in the United States, it remains highly prevalent in many countries. Every measles case we see in the U.S. now originates from international travel, either directly or through close contact with someone who became infected abroad. Measles is among the most contagious infectious diseases, and its spread can be costly. Public health responses, including contact tracing, emergency vaccination campaigns and community outreach, can cost an estimated $10,000 to $50,000 per case. Measles is deadly. Before the vaccine became widely available, the U.S. saw between 300 and 500 measles-related deaths each year, primarily among children. Maintaining high global vaccination rates helps protect American communities and keeps the disease from reestablishing a foothold here. What is the downside to the U.S. playing such a major role in vaccinating citizens of other countries? Vaccines are among the most cost-effective public health interventions we have. With large-scale procurement, per-dose costs decrease even further, making global vaccine campaigns a high-value investment. These efforts also generate substantial political goodwill and strengthen diplomatic ties. Public health collaboration can open doors for broader partnerships and contribute to global stability. The downside is the financial cost. What are you most concerned about as the U.S. cuts programs like this, funding to food banks, among other cuts being made to save U.S. tax dollars? What concerns me most about cuts to programs like global vaccination efforts or domestic food assistance is that they undermine the systems we rely on to promote equity and resilience. Government programs are uniquely capable of reaching large numbers of people and ensuring access to essential services, particularly for those who would otherwise be left out. Wealthier individuals will always be able to purchase food, health care and vaccines. The real challenge is ensuring that access isnt limited to those with means. Social programs play a critical role in linking people, especially those in rural areas, to care. In many parts of the country, it simply wouldnt be cost-effective for private providers to operate without public investment. These programs are often the only lifeline connecting rural communities to consistent health services, preventive care and emergency resources. Without them, rural areas would face even greater barriers to accessing basic services, worsening health disparities and economic hardship. When we cut these programs, were not just tightening budgets, were pulling apart the safety net that protects millions of Americans. Taxes are a collective investment in a society where everyone has a fair shot, regardless of where they live or what they earn. Dismantling that infrastructure risks both public health and social cohesion in the long term. What would you say to people who believe the U.S. should be less involved in other countries and focus on American citizens, that it is not the governments job to fund humanitarian projects? I absolutely agree that the U.S. has a responsibility to care for its citizens, but that responsibility doesnt end at our borders. In todays interconnected world, public health is global. Diseases do not respect national boundaries, and outbreaks elsewhere can quickly become outbreaks here. Preventing the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases abroad protects American lives, reduces health care costs and shields our economy from disruption. Strong global health systems also support the stability of international supply chains. American businesses rely on global markets for raw materials, labor and distribution. When other countries are healthier, they are more reliable trade partners and more robust economic contributors. Investing in global health is not charity, its economic common sense. Theres also a strategic dimension. Humanitarian assistance, including vaccine programs, builds goodwill and strengthens Americas global leadership. These efforts enhance our soft power by building trust and fostering cooperation. Mari Villar was slammed by a car that jumped the curb, breaking her legs and collapsing a lung. Amy Paulo was in pain from a femur surgery that wasn't healing properly. Katie Kriegshauser suffered organ failure during pregnancy, weakening her so much that she couldn't lift her baby daughter. All went to physical therapy, but their health insurers stopped paying before any could walk without assistance. Paulo spent nearly $1,500 out of her own pocket for more sessions. Millions of Americans rely on physical and occupational therapists to regain strength and motor skills after operations, diseases, and injuries. But recoveries are routinely stymied by a widespread constraint in health insurance policies: rigid caps on therapy sessions. Insurers frequently limit such sessions to as few as 20 a year, a KFF Health News examination finds, even for people with severe damage such as spinal cord injuries and strokes, who may need months of treatment, multiple times a week. Patients can face a bind: Without therapy, they can't return to work, but without working, they can't afford the therapy. Paulo said she pressed her insurer for more sessions, to no avail. "I said, 'I'm in pain. I need the services. Is there anything I can do?'" she recalled. "They said, no, they can't override the hard limit for the plan." A typical physical therapy session for a privately insured patient to improve daily functioning costs $192 on average, according to the Health Care Cost Institute. Most run from a half hour to an hour. Insurers say annual visit limits help keep down costs, and therefore premiums, and are intended to prevent therapists from continuing treatment when patients are no longer improving. They say most injuries can be addressed in a dozen or fewer sessions and that people and employers who bought insurance could have purchased policies with better therapy benefits if it was a priority. Atul Patel, a physiatrist in Overland Park, Kansas, and the treasurer of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, said insurers' desire to prevent gratuitous therapy is understandable but has "gone too far." "Most patients get way less therapy than they would actually benefit from," he said. Hard caps on rehab endure in part because of an omission in the Affordable Care Act. While that law required insurers to cover rehab and barred them from setting spending restrictions on a patient's medical care, it did not prohibit establishing a maximum number of therapy sessions a year. More than 29,000 ACA health plans nearly 4 in 5 limit the annual number of physical therapy sessions, according to a KFF Health News analysis of plans sold last year to individuals and small businesses. Caps generally ranged from 20 to 60 visits; the most common was 20 a year. Health plans provided by employers often have limits of 20 or 30 sessions as well, said Cori Uccello, senior health fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries. "It's the gross reality in America right now," said Sam Porritt, chairman of the Falling Forward Foundation, a Kansas-based philanthropy that has paid for therapy for about 200 patients who exhausted their insurance over the past decade. "No one knows about this except people in the industry. You find out about it when tragedy hits." Even in plans with no caps, patients are not guaranteed unlimited treatment. Therapists say insurers repeatedly require prior authorization, demanding a new request every two or three visits. Insurers frequently deny additional sessions if they believe there hasn't been improvement. "We're seeing a lot of arbitrary denials just to see if you'll appeal," said Gwen Simons, a lawyer in Scarborough, Maine, who represents therapy practices. "That's the point where the therapist throws up their hands." 'Couldn't pick her up' Katie Kriegshauser, a 37-year-old psychologist from Kansas City, Missouri, developed pregnancy complications that shut down her liver, pancreas, and kidneys in November 2023. After giving birth to her daughter, she spent more than three months in a hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries and losing more than 40 pounds so quickly that doctors suspected her nerves became damaged from compression. Her neurologist told her he doubted she would ever walk again. Kriegshauser's UnitedHealthcare insurance plan allowed 30 visits at Ability KC, a rehabilitation clinic in Kansas City. She burned through them in six weeks in 2024 because she needed both physical therapy, to regain her mobility, and occupational therapy, for daily tasks such as getting dressed. "At that point I was starting to use the walker from being completely in the wheelchair," Kriegshauser recalled. She said she wasn't strong enough to change her daughter's diaper. "I couldn't pick her up out of her crib or put her down to sleep," she said. The Falling Forward Foundation paid for additional sessions that enabled her to walk independently and hold her daughter in her arms. "A huge amount of progress happened in that period after my insurance ran out," she said. In an unsigned statement, UnitedHealthcare said it covered the services that were included in Kriegshauser's health plan. The company declined to permit an official to discuss its policies on the record because of security concerns. A shattered teenager Patients who need therapy near the start of a health plan's year are more likely to run out of visits. Mari Villar was 15 and had been walking with high school friends to get a bite to eat in May 2023 when a car leaped over a curb and smashed into her before the driver sped away. The accident broke both her legs, lacerated her liver, damaged her colon, severed an artery in her right leg, and collapsed her lung. She has undergone 11 operations, including emergency exploratory surgery to stop internal bleeding, four angioplasties, and the installation of screws and plates to hold her leg bones together. Villar spent nearly a month in Shirley Ryan AbilityLab's hospital in Chicago. She was discharged after her mother's insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, denied her physician's request for five more days, making her more reliant on outpatient therapy, according to records shared by her mother, Megan Bracamontes. Villar began going to one of Shirley Ryan's outpatient clinics, but by the end of 2023, she had used up the 30 physical therapy and 30 occupational therapy visits the Blue Cross plan allowed. Because the plan ran from July to June, she had no sessions left for the first half of 2024. "I couldn't do much," Villar said. "I made lots of progress there, but I was still on crutches." Dave Van de Walle, a Blue Cross spokesperson, said in an email that the insurer does not comment on individual cases. Razia Hashmi, vice president for clinical affairs at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, said in a written statement that patients who have run out of sessions should "explore alternative treatment plans" including home exercises. Villar received some extra sessions from the Falling Forward Foundation. While her plan year has reset, Villar is postponing most therapy sessions until after her next surgery so she will be less likely to run out again. Bracamontes said her daughter still can't feel or move her right foot and needs three more operations: one to relieve nerve pain, and two to try to restore mobility in her foot by lengthening her Achilles tendon and transferring a tendon in her left leg into her right. "Therapy caps are very unfair because everyone's situation is different," Villar said. "I really depend on my sessions to get me to a new normalcy. And not having that and going through all these procedures is scary to think about." Rationing therapy Most people who use all their sessions either stop going or pay out-of-pocket for extra therapy. Amy Paulo, a 34-year-old Massachusetts woman recovering from two operations on her left leg, maxed out the 40 visits covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts in 2024, so she spent $1,445 out-of-pocket for 17 therapy sessions. Paulo needed physical therapy to recover from several surgeries to shorten her left leg to the length of her right leg the difference a consequence of juvenile arthritis. Her recovery was prolonged, she said, because her femur didn't heal properly after one of the operations, in which surgeons cut out the middle of her femur and put a rod in its place. "I went ballistic on Blue Cross many, many times," said Paulo, who works with developmentally delayed children." Amy McHugh, a Blue Cross spokesperson, declined to discuss Paulo's case. In an email, she said most employers who hire Blue Cross to administer their health benefits choose plans with "our standard" 60-visit limit, which she said is more generous than most insurers offer, but some employers "choose to allow for more or fewer visits per year." Paulo said she expects to restrict her therapy sessions to once a week instead of the recommended twice a week because she'll need more help after an upcoming operation on her leg. "We had to plan to save my visits for this surgery, as ridiculous as it sounds," she said. Medicare is more generous People with commercial insurance plans face more hurdles than those on Medicare, which sets dollar thresholds on therapy each year but allows therapists to continue providing services if they document medical necessity. This year the limits are $2,410 for physical and speech therapy and $2,410 for occupational therapy. Private Medicare Advantage plans don't have visit or dollar caps, but they often require prior authorization every few visits. The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found last year that MA plans deny requests for physical and occupational therapy at hospitals and nursing homes at higher rates than they reject other medical services. Therapists say many commercial plans require prior authorization and mete out approvals parsimoniously. Insurers often make therapists submit detailed notes, sometimes for each session, documenting patients' treatment plans, goals, and test results showing how well they perform each exercise. "It's a battle of getting visits," said Jackee Ndwaru, an occupational therapist in Jacksonville, Florida. "If you can't show progress they're not going to approve." An insurer overruled Marjorie Haney's insurance plan covered 20 therapy sessions a year, but Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield approved only a few visits at a time for the rotator cuff she tore in a bike accident in Maine. After 13 visits in 2021, Anthem refused to approve more, writing that her medical records "do not show you made progress with specific daily tasks," according to the denial letter. Haney, a physical therapist herself, said the decision made no sense because at that stage of her recovery, the therapy was focused on preventing her shoulder from freezing up and gradually expanding its range of motion. "I went through those visits like they were water," Haney, now 57, said. "My range was getting better, but functionally I couldn't use my arm to lift things." Haney appealed to Maine's insurance bureau for an independent review. In its report overturning Anthem's decision, the bureau's physician consultant, William Barreto, concluded that Haney had made "substantial improvement" she no longer needed a shoulder sling and was able to return to work with restrictions. Barreto also noted that nothing in Anthem's policy required progress with specific daily tasks, which was the basis for Anthem's refusal. "Given the member's substantial restriction in active range of motion and inability to begin strengthening exercises, there is remaining deficit that requires the skills and training of a qualified physical therapist," the report said. Anthem said it requires repeated assessments before authorizing additional visits "to ensure the member is receiving the right care for the right period of time based on his or her care needs." In the statement provided by Stephanie DuBois, an Anthem spokesperson, the insurer said this process "also helps prevent members from using up all their covered treatment benefits too quickly, especially if they don't end up needing the maximum number of therapy visits." In 2023, Maine passed a law banning prior authorization for the first 12 rehab visits, making it one of the few states to curb insurer limitations on physical therapy. The law doesn't protect residents with plans based in other states or plans from a Maine employer who self-insures. Haney said after she won her appeal, she spaced out the sessions her plan permitted by going once weekly. "I got another month," she said, "and I stretched it out to six weeks." Buying A Home In Greater Noida May Get Costlier With Registration Fees Set To Rise. Check New Rates Here Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 12:53 IST The district administration has drafted new circle rates and is seeking public feedback until April 5. The new rates will be implemented afterward, with the last increase having occurred in 2015 Registration costs are expected to rise by 5 to 12.5%, with location charges contributing to this increase. (Local18) UP Registration Fees: Flat buyers in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh are set to face higher costs. The registration of flats in Noida and Greater Noida is expected to become more expensive, with proposals to increase registration fees by 20% in Noida and 30% in Greater Noida and Dadri. Additionally, the registration of other types of property could see a rise of 10 to 25%. The district administration has prepared a draft of the new circle rates and is seeking objections and suggestions from the public until April 5. The new rates will be implemented after this period. The last increase in circle rates occurred in 2015. Recommended Stories Registration costs are expected to rise by 5 to 12.5%, with location charges contributing to this increase. For major and high-rise societies in Noida, a 20% hike in circle rates has been proposed. Societies within 500 meters of the metro line will face an additional circle rate of 5 to 12.5%. This will also affect buyers in sectors such as 121 and 119, and the 7X area. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In Greater Noida West, all high-rise societies within 500 meters from Gaur Mall and Gol Chakkar to Knowledge Park will experience a 30% increase in registration costs. Similarly, societies within 500 square meters of the metro line will incur an additional 5 to 12.5% charge. In the Noida Authority area, the circle rate for plots allotted to farmers in populated areas is proposed to rise to 40,000 per square meter. In Greater Noida, the rate will increase from 13,500 to 25,000 per square meter. The Yamuna Development Authority area will see rates rise from 7,500 to 18,000 per square meter. Location : Greater Noida, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 11:41 IST Hang Your Head In Shame: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Slams Bengaluru's Poor Infrastructure Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 19:02 IST Kiran Mazumdar Shaw blasted Bengaluru's infrastructure and compared its streets to those in Ecuador. Shaw has shared a video from Ecuador on social media. (Photo Credits: X) Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the CEO of Biocon, has drawn attention to the depressing situation in Bengaluru, Indias Silicon Valley, by drawing comparisons between the citys streets and those on a remote island in Ecuador. Ms Mazumdar-Shaw pointed out the inadequate urban planning, persistent issues with Bengalurus road upkeep and cleanliness, bringing Indias tech capital under fire once again. Recommended Stories Sharing a video, which was recorded from inside a moving car, the Biocon head on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, Clean and well-designed streets in San Cristobal island in Ecuador. Bengaluru, hang your head in shame," alongside a video showing the beautifully planned stone roads on San Cristobal Island, Ecuador. She also tagged the official X account of the Special Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). https://twiiter.com/kiranshaw/status/1905036106023715319 Ms Mazumdar-Shaws remark sparked a rush of responses on social media, with some people agreeing. A user said, Just visit Mysore, Indore. Surat, Rajkot to make the point ! Ecuador is too far." Just visit Mysore, Indore. Surat, Rajkot to make the point ! Ecuador is too far. (@jagachchhishya) March 26, 2025 Another noted, U need to be an ultra super genius to compare a place with a population density of 15 with a place with a population density of 4378.. There r other ways to show off that u visited those islands." U need to be an ultra super genius to compare a place with a population density of 15 with a place with a population density of 4378..There r other ways to show off that u visited those islands A person agreed with Ms Mazumdar-Shaw and said, People are more concerned about speaking in Kannada than asking for basic rights. Unfortunately we will never have basic infrastructure in Bangalore!" People are more concerned about speaking in Kannada than asking for basic rights. Unfortunately we will never have basic infra in Bangalore! Raj (@weinvestsmart) March 27, 2025 The overall ecosystem is crippled. Right from the municipality to the people basic civic etiquette is missing, and there is no filling that empty bucket," another remarked. overall ecosystem is crippled. RIght from the municipality to the people basic civic etiquette is missing and there is no filling that empty bucket. Amitesh Jasrotia (@bookjelly) March 27, 2025 Ms Mazumdar-Shaw has earlier expressed her support for a citywide demonstration against substandard roads. She shared a video of protesters holding signs and protesting on a pothole-filled road that was uploaded by former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai. Pai posted, People protesting about bad condition of road, unfinished works," tagging Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar. Ms Mazumdar-Shaw retweeted Pais post and said, A very valid & legitimate demand by #Bengaluru residents." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Given that Bengaluru is home to many global firms and serves as Indias IT capital, the citys infrastructure has come under fire several times over the years. About the Author Business Desk A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al... Read More A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al... Read More Location : Mubarakpur, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 19:01 IST Stocks To Watch: Bharat Forge, Samvardhana Motherson, UltraTech, Jubilant, ONGC, And Others Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 07:43 IST Stocks to watch: Shares of firms like Bharat Forge, Samavardhana Motherson, UltraTech, Jubilant, ONGC, and others will be in focus on Friday's trade Stocks To Watch On March 28 Stocks to Watch on March 28: Domestic markets saw modest gains on the monthly expiry day, rising nearly half a percent despite mixed signals. Today, due to various developments, shares of companies like Jindal Stainless, Asian Paints, CG Power, Bharat Forge, and Samavardhana Motherson will be in focus. Punjab and Sind Bank Recommended Stories Punjab and Sind Bank successfully closed its Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) on Thursday, with the issue price set at Rs 38.37 per share. Bharat Forge Bharat Forge (BFL) has secured a contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply 184 units of the advanced 155mm/52-calibre towed artillery gun system (ATAGS). UltraTech Cement UltraTech Cement has completed several brownfield expansions across India, boosting its production capacity further. Samvardhana Motherson Samvardhana Motherson stated that the impact of Trumps tariffs is unlikely to affect its financials significantly, as a large portion of the products it supplies to the U.S. is manufactured locally. Adani Power Adani Power has resumed power supply to Bangladesh after a four-month hiatus due to unpaid dues. Bangladesh is now making monthly payments of $90-95 million, although earlier dues remain unpaid. Adani Energy Solutions Adani Energy Solutions announced the acquisition of Mahan Transmission (MTL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV), after executing a share purchase agreement with REC Power Development and Consultancy for the full 100% stake. Jubilant Foodworks Jubilant Foodworks, which operates brands such as Dominos and Popeyes, is witnessing a recovery in dine-in sales. CEO and MD Sameer Khetarpal anticipates further growth in dine-in sales starting next quarter. Blue Star Due to rising metal prices and volatility in the rupee, Blue Star may raise its air conditioner prices by an additional 4-5% in April, as stated by the companys managing director, B. Thiagarajan. This follows a previous 3-4% hike in February to address increasing input costs. Jindal Stainless Jindal Stainless is planning to invest Rs 40,000 crore in Maharashtra to establish a stainless steel manufacturing facility. The investment proposal has been approved by the state cabinet subcommittee. ONGC ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of ONGC, is progressing on its offshore gas exploration project in Mozambique, with operations now underway. The company board has approved a Rs 1,500 crore investment in the joint venture (JV). BPCL Saudi Aramco is in negotiations to invest in two planned refineries in India, as reported by Reuters. The oil giant is in talks to invest in Bharat Petroleum Corps (BPCL) proposed refinery in Andhra Pradesh and a potential refinery by ONGC in Gujarat. BEL top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Bharat Electronics (BEL) has received additional orders worth Rs 1,385 crore since its last update on March 12, 2025. These include orders for radar spares, upgrades, electronic voting machines, simulators, advanced navigation systems, tank stabilizers, fire control systems, and communication equipment. Disclaimer: Disclaimer: The views and investment tips by experts in this News18.com report are their own and not those of the website or its management. Users are advised to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. About the Author Aparna Deb Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a... Read More Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a... Read More Stay updated with all the latest news on the Stock Market, including market trends, Sensex and Nifty updates, top gainers and losers, and expert analysis. Get real-time insights, financial reports, and investment strategiesonly on News18. First Published: March 28, 2025, 07:42 IST Education Loan Up To Rs 10 Lakh Without Collateral, Check Digital Application Process Here Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 15:00 IST Bank of Baroda has initiated loans under the PM-Vidya Lakshmi Scheme to provide financial assistance to meritorious students The scheme is designed to be fully accessible through a completely digital application process. (Shutterstock) Bank of Baroda has initiated loans under the Pradhan Mantri Vidyalakshmi (PM-Vidyalakshmi) Scheme to provide financial assistance to meritorious students. This scheme, an initiative of the central government, aims to ensure that a lack of funds does not prevent Indian youth from pursuing higher education. In a statement, the public sector bank announced that applicants can apply digitally for education loans under the PM-Vidyalakshmi Scheme through the PM-Vidyalakshmi platform. Recommended Stories To meet students financial needs, the bank has 12 dedicated education loan approval cells and 119 retail asset processing cells, in addition to more than 8,300 branches across the country. Why Is The This Scheme Special? PM-Vidyalakshmi Scheme is a unique loan service that provides education loans without requiring collateral or a guarantor. The scheme is designed to be fully accessible through a completely digital application process. Loan Amount And Repayment The loan amount varies depending on the course and the bank. Generally, loans of up to Rs 10 lakh are provided without any guarantee, and the repayment period starts after course completion, with a grace period of one year. How To Apply top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Visit the Vidya Lakshmi portal to apply for the loan. Register and log in to fill out the general education loan application form. Review schemes from different banks and submit your application. Speaking on the occasion, Bank of Baroda Executive Director Sanjay Mudliar said: PM-Vidyalakshmi Scheme is a pioneering initiative aimed at providing financial support to deserving students, ensuring that quality education remains accessible to all." First Published: March 28, 2025, 15:00 IST IIM Bangalore 50th Convocation: 798 Students Graduate, 8 Win Gold Medals Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 21:09 IST A major highlight of the ceremony was the recognition of academic excellence, with eight students receiving gold medals, including one who earned two awards. IIM Bangalore Convocation: PhD scholar receives awards for excellence in research. (Image: IIM Bangalore) The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM Bangalore) celebrated its 50th Convocation on March 28, 2025, awarding degrees to 798 students across its prestigious programmes. Former Chairman of ISRO S. Somanath was present at the convocation ceremony. During his speech, Dr. Somanath highlighted the rapid pace of innovation, stating, The future is faster than you think, and the worlds biggest problems are also its biggest opportunities. Technology can solve the greatest challenges, but we must be mindful of its societal impact." He spoke about disruptions in AI, robotics, blockchain, and quantum sensing, predicting a future of enhanced digital connectivity and automation. Recommended Stories The convocation ceremony saw students from various programmes graduate, including 18 PhD scholars, 80 students from the Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM), 82 from the Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP), 72 from the Post Graduate Programme in Business Analytics (PGPBA), 529 from the flagship Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), and 13 from the Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM). Among the PGPPM graduates, 10 received degrees while three were awarded diplomas. The event was attended by the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, Dr. Devi Shetty, along with board members, faculty, staff, alumni, and proud families of the graduating students. Dr. Shetty commended IIM Bangalore for its excellence in academics, research, sustainability, and global collaborations. He advised graduates to embrace lifelong learning and hard work to sustain their success in a rapidly evolving world. A key highlight of the ceremony was the recognition of academic excellence. This year, eight students received gold medals, including one student who won two awards. Additionally, a PhD scholar, Ashish Singh Bhandari, received the Institute Research Award and the inaugural Professor Prakash G. Apte Research Award for excellence in research. Among the gold medallists, Manthan Dhabriya secured the first rank in the PGP 2023-2025 batch, followed by Ritvik Sandip Saraf in second place. Paritosh Ashutosh Sharma won the Best All-Round Performance medal for the PGP and PGPBA batches combined. Faiz Alam was the first rank holder in the PGPBA programme. In the EPGP 2024-2025 batch, Parth Tiwari ranked first, while Siddharth Pujari was recognized as the Best All-Round Performer. Naveen Rathani achieved both first rank and Best All-Round Performer in PGPEM, and Avais Patwegar won the Best Academic Performance award in PGPPM. ALSO READ: XLRI Concludes Placements With 600+ Offers; Highest Package At Rs 1.10 Crore top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all IIM Bangalore Director, Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, emphasised the institutes commitment to academic excellence, entrepreneurship, and international collaborations. He highlighted the newly established Global Centre of Excellence for Digital Public Goods and the Tony James Centre for Private Equity and Venture Capital. He encouraged graduates to remain adaptable, continuously learn, and maintain their well-being as they navigate dynamic business and social environments. With a strong foundation and prestigious accolades, the graduating students of IIM Bangalores 50th Convocation are set to embark on their careers, carrying forward the institutes legacy of leadership and innovation. 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 28, 2025, 21:08 IST XLRI Concludes Placements With 600+ Offers; Highest Package At Rs 1.10 Crore Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 13:36 IST XLRI has completed placements for the Class of 2023-25, securing over 600 offers, with the highest international package reaching Rs 1.10 crore. XLRI Placements: A total of 591 students participated in the recruitment process. (Image: XLRI) The Xavier School of Management (XLRI) has completed the final placement process for the Class of 2023-25 across its two-year PGDM (BM) and PGDM (HRM) programmes. A total of 591 students took part in the recruitment process, with 172 companies offering over 600 job opportunities, including two international offers. The placement of XLRI witnessed 34.17 per cent of students receiving Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs). Fr. S George, Director of XLRI, congratulated the students on their success. He said, We are thrilled to see our students excel in the placement process, securing impressive offers from leading organizations across diverse sectors. This achievement reflects the rigorous academic curriculum, industry-relevant training, and the unwavering dedication of our faculty and staff in preparing our students for successful careers." Recommended Stories The median salary for the batch was INR 29 lakh per year. The top 10% of students received an average salary of INR 52.03 lakh per year, while the top 25% secured an average of INR 44.35 lakh per year. The overall average salary stood at INR 31.08 lakh per year. The highest international salary offered was INR 1.10 crore, while the highest domestic salary reached INR 75 lakh per year. Fr. Dr. K. S. Casimir, Director of XLRI Delhi-NCR, expressed his excitement for the students and said, The strong placement outcomes this year reflect XLRIs commitment to academic excellence and industry relevance. Despite challenging market conditions, our students have demonstrated exceptional capability and resilience, securing opportunities across diverse sectors. The schools focus on holistic development, ethical leadership, and industry-relevant curriculum has consistently produced graduates who are sought after by leading organizations worldwide. We are grateful to our recruiting partners for their continued trust in XLRIs talent pool." ALSO READ: IIM Mumbai Achieves 100% Placements With Rs 47.5 Lakh Per Annum Top Salary top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The final placements saw top companies from various industries hiring XLRI students, reinforcing its status as a preferred recruitment destination. Consulting firms such as BCG, Bain & Company, McKinsey, and Accenture Strategy were among the leading recruiters. The BFSI sector was well-represented, with Goldman Sachs, Citi, Barclays, and Kotak Mahindra Bank offering roles in investment banking, asset management, and fintech. FMCG and manufacturing companies, including Hindustan Unilever, ITC, P&G, and Tata Steel, maintained their strong hiring presence. The technology and e-commerce sectors also saw active participation from companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Flipkart, and Meesho. 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 28, 2025, 13:30 IST Immigration And Foreigners Bill, 2025: What It Means For Indias Security And Visa System Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Karishma Jain Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 15:02 IST With stricter penalties, a centralised immigration authority, and a digital tracking system, the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, marks the most comprehensive overhaul of Indias border laws in decades. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, passed by the Lok Sabha on March 27, 2025, marks a sweeping overhaul of Indias decades-old immigration framework. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, passed by the Lok Sabha on March 27, 2025, marks a sweeping overhaul of Indias decades-old immigration framework. The legislation aims to streamline visa and immigration processes, strengthen national security, and introduce tougher penalties for illegal entrants by replacing four outdated laws with a modern, integrated system. WHAT THE BILL REPLACES Recommended Stories The Bill repeals the following laws: The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 The Foreigners Act, 1946 The Immigration (Carriers Liability) Act, 2000 These colonial- and post-Independence-era laws were considered fragmented, outdated, and inadequate to handle modern migration and border challenges. KEY FEATURES OF THE BILL The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, consolidates Indias immigration laws under a single, comprehensive framework. At its core, the Bill mandates that all individuals entering or leaving India must possess valid travel documents, including a passport and, in the case of foreign nationals, a visa. For the first time, a clear and enforceable legal requirement is outlined for registration of foreigners upon arrival in India. This registration will now be managed by a newly proposed Bureau of Immigration, which will act as the nodal agency for all immigration-related functions, including the issuance and regulation of visas, regulation of entry and stay, and eventual exit of foreign nationals. The Bill also places legal obligations on airlines, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities to report the presence of foreign nationals. For instance, airlines must submit passenger information to immigration authorities, while universities are required to report the enrollment of foreign students. Similarly, hospitals must notify the authorities if a foreigner is receiving inpatient care. This multi-layered reporting structure is meant to ensure that individuals do not disappear into the system undetected, as has been a long-standing concern. Furthermore, the Bill prescribes penalties for various immigration violations. Illegal entry into India without valid documentation may attract a prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh, or both. Using or supplying forged or fraudulently obtained passports or other travel documents or visas shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than two years, but may extend to seven years, and a fine of not less than Rs 1 lakh but which may extend to Rs 10 lakh, the Bill proposes. Those overstaying beyond the visa limit will be punished by three years with a fine of Rs 3 lakh. HOW IT STRENGTHENS INDIAS BORDERS One of the most significant promises of the Immigration and Foreigners Bill is the enhancement of Indias internal and external border security. The creation of a centralised Bureau of Immigration is a key move in that direction. By consolidating the fragmented powers currently held by multiple agencies, the Bureau will streamline and strengthen enforcement. It will also oversee the implementation of an Integrated Immigration Management System (IIMS), which will act as a digital backbone for real-time tracking of entries and exits across all ports of entryland, sea, and air. The Bill also aims to curb misuse of Indias relatively liberal visa regime. By placing responsibility on institutions to report the presence of foreign nationals and imposing stiff penalties for violations, the government hopes to deter both illegal entrants and enablers. This accountability mechanism is expected to reduce instances of foreigners overstaying or misusing medical and tourist visas as a backdoor to longer-term residence. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while defending the Bill in Parliament, made it clear that India welcomes foreigners who come legally and contribute meaningfully to its growthbut will not tolerate those who enter clandestinely or pose a threat to internal security. India is not a dharamshala," he declared, highlighting the governments intent to draw a firm line between lawful migration and unlawful entry. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Having secured approval from the Lok Sabha on March 27, 2025, the Immigration and Foreigners Bill will now be introduced in the Rajya Sabha. The Upper House can either pass the Bill as is, suggest amendments, or reject it. If the Rajya Sabha clears the Bill without changes, it will be sent to the President for assent, after which it will become law. If, however, the Rajya Sabha recommends amendments, the Bill will return to the Lok Sabha for reconsideration. Both Houses must agree on an identical version before it can be forwarded to the President. Once it receives Presidential assent, the Central government will notify the date on which the Act comes into force and frame the rules and procedures required for its implementation. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all THE ROAD AHEAD The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, is a significant step in modernising Indias immigration regime, especially amid growing national security concerns and increasing cross-border mobility. Once enacted, it is expected to create a more secure, efficient, and accountable system both for legitimate travellers and for law enforcement agencies dealing with immigration violations. 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 28, 2025, 14:59 IST As ED Raids Patna Again, More Skeletons Tumble Out Of Bihar IAS Officer Sanjeev Hanss Closet Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 10:40 IST Sanjeev Hans, a 1997 Bihar cadre IAS officer, faces ED probes uncovering corruption, hidden wealth, and political links. Properties worth Rs 23.72 crore and luxury items were seized. Sanjeev Hans, a Delhi IIT pass out, has been embroiled in various scandals and allegations over the past year, one of which had landed him in jail. Almost three months after his arrest, the walls seem to be closing in on Sanjeev Hans, a 1997 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) intensifies its probe, conducting yet another round of raids in Patna. The directorate conducted raids in at least seven locations across premises related to government officers and engineers, who have allegations of corruption against them. The agency, which has already submitted the first prosecution complaint (chargesheet) is likely to seek prosecution sanction for the senior IAS officer as mandated by the Supreme Court last year. Recommended Stories Sources in the ED said that several documents, other forms of evidence including some electronic devices were seized for further investigations and forensics audits, while the agency also seized a huge amount of cash. Hans, a Delhi IIT pass out, has been embroiled in various scandals and allegations over the past year, one of which had landed him in jail. The money laundering scam for which he is facing an ED probe, has now exposed his alleged connections with several senior politicians of Bihar and the related nexus. With every search, more murky details emerge, exposing what appears to be a deep nexus of corruption, kickbacks by using position of power, hidden wealth, and abuse of authority. The case that started as whispers of financial misconduct is now unravelling into a full-blown scandal, with Hans at the centre of it all. Once known as a bright officer, who served in central government between 2014 and 2019 in several capacities on central deputation, was elevated to the position of principal secretary in the state in 2020. The trail gets murkier As investigators dig deeper, fresh evidence points to unaccounted assets, benami transactions, and a lavish lifestyle that far exceeds official means. Even as the investigators continue to gather evidence and finalise the seizure list, the raids in December, the related attachments and recoveries remain crucial for the context. The latest raids, part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering and disproportionate assets, have unearthed fresh evidence linking Hans to suspected several illicit financial activities. Sources indicate that documents seized during the searches point to more unexplained wealth, benami transactions, and potential links to certain influential figures. Hans has been under the radar for alleged misuse of power and financial misconduct for the past two years. The EDs action follows earlier investigations that hinted at large-scale corruption, making him a high-profile target in Bihars bureaucratic circles. From cash stashes to luxury flats: What December raids uncovered On December 16, the directorate attached property worth Rs 23.72 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. These propertiesthree land parcels in Nagpur, one flat in Delhi, and three flats in Jaipurwere allegedly acquired by close associates or relatives of Sanjeev Hans. Investigations revealed that these assets were purchased using proceeds of crime generated through corruption abusing his official capacity. According to the investigation documents, Hans amassed illicit wealth between 2018 and 2023 while holding key positions in the Bihar government and during his central deputations. He allegedly colluded with private individuals and entities to engage in corruption and money laundering. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all These searches exposed shares worth Rs 60 crore in newly opened Demat accounts of a close associates family members, along with 70 bank accounts holding suspicious cash deposits of around Rs 6 crore, which have now been frozen. Further seizures in the case include luxury items and substantial cash hoards linked to Hans and his associates. From his premises in Patna and Delhi, the ED recovered gold jewellery and luxury watches valued at Rs 80 lakh and Rs 65 lakh, respectively. About the Author Madhuparna Das Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa... Read More Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa... Read More First Published: March 28, 2025, 10:40 IST Gwalior Man Fears For Life As Wife's '4th Boyfriend' Allegedly Issues Death Threats Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 18:01 IST The husband accused his wife and her lover of murdering his elder son. His younger son also lives with the couple. He fears that he might suffer the same fate as Saurabh Rajput from the Meerut drum murder case The Janakganj police station in-charge stated that no complaint had been received. (News18 Hindi) A husband in Gwalior fears for his life and claimed that his wife has multiple partners and has threatened him. According to some reports, the wife has left their home to live with one of these individuals, who has directly issued death threats to the husband. The man, Amit Kumar Sen, a resident of Janakpuri, is among those distressed by the recent events. He claimed that his wife has had four boyfriends so far and is currently living with one, Rahul Batham. Recommended Stories Amit alleged that Rahul and his wife were involved in the murder of his elder son, Harsh. His younger son is also living with the couple. Amit fears he might meet the same fate as Saurabh, the victim of the Meerut drum murder case. Desperate for help, Amit sat on a dharna under Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadavs poster at Phoolbagh intersection in Gwalior, pleading for assistance after repeated visits to the police station failed to yield results. The Janakganj police station in-charge stated that no complaint had been received from Amit but assured that any necessary legal actions would be taken upon reviewing the case. In another incident from Sant Kabir Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, Bablu, a labourer, married his wife Radhika to her lover Vishal Kumar after repeated requests for her to end the affair fell on deaf ears. Bablu, fearing a similar fate to the Meerut case, reportedly facilitated their marriage to ensure a peaceful life for all involved. In Muzaffarnagar, another case unfolded where Pinky Sharma, married to Anuj Sharma, attempted to poison her husband. Their relationship had been tumultuous, and after a series of altercations, Pinky allegedly mixed poison in Anujs coffee. Anuj was hospitalised and remains in a critical condition, only able to communicate through gestures. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The fourth case also emerged from Meerut, where a wife reportedly threatened to dismember her husband and hide his body in a drum if he did not change his alleged improper behaviour. She reportedly attacked her husband with a brick while he was asleep, leading to a viral video on social media. The wife has denied these accusations, and the case is under investigation by the Kankarkheda police on the Delhi-Dehradun Highway. Location : Gwalior, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 18:01 IST In Parliament, Jaishankar Calls Out Pakistan Over Persecution Of Minorities: 'We Follow Closely...' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 12:30 IST EAM Jaishankar responded to a question in Lok Sabha on 'Atrocities against minorities in Pakistan'. He said that India follows the developments closely and takes up the matter at international levels. Jaishankar speaks in Lok Sabha (ANI Image) Calling out Pakistan on the floor of the Parliament over crime and atrocities against minorities" in the country, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Friday said that India follows such cases very closely" and takes up the matter on an international level. Jaishankar slammed Pakistan with a reiteration of Indias stance at the United Nations, where the neighbouring country was named and shamed for its human rights abuses and persecution of minorities". Recommended Stories Jaishankar Details Parliament About Atrocities Against Minorities In Pakistan His remarks came while responding to a query during the Question Hour in Lok Sabha in the ongoing Budget Session of the Parliament. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Giving details about the latest incidents of atrocities against religious minorities, including Hindus, in Pakistan, the EAM said that in February 2025, there were 10 such cases against the Hindu community, and 3 related to the Sikh community. We follow very closely and track the treatment of minorities in Pakistan. In February (2025), there were 10 cases of atrocities against the Hindu community and three incidents related to the Sikh community. There were two cases pertaining to the Ahmedia community and one pertaining to the Christian community. We take up these cases on an international level. Our representative at UNHRC pointed out that Pakistan is a country, where human rights abuses, persecution of minorities and systematic erosion of democratic values are state policies, which harbours UN sanctioned terrorists"," Jaishankar told the Parliament. 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 28, 2025, 12:12 IST Jammu Airport Chaos: Air India Express Passengers Stranded For Hours, Barred From Deboarding | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 19:51 IST The Jammu Airport on Friday witnessed chaos as Air India Express flight (IX-1182), originally scheduled to land in Srinagar, refused to let passengers deboard, leaving them stranded for over six hours. Air India Express passengers stuck in plane for hours at Jammu airport | Image/News18 The Jammu Airport on Friday witnessed chaos as Air India Express flight (IX-1182), scheduled to land in Srinagar, refused to let passengers deboard, leaving them stranded for over six hours. Sources told CNN-News18 that the incident took place after an Air India Express flight was diverted to Jammu Airport for unknown reasons. Passengers were prevented from exiting the aircraft, with some alleging they were manhandled when attempting to forcefully deboard. Recommended Stories Passengers claimed they were forcibly kept inside the plane for several hours after it landed at Jammu Airport following its diversion from Srinagar Airport. They added that the plane, which was diverted to Jammu, had been stranded at the airport for an extended period since the afternoon, claiming that the airline staff refused to let them deboard. The stranded passengers further alleged that they were met with resistance from the airline crew when they demanded to deboard the plane, sources said. The airline has not yet responded to the incident, which has left hundreds of flyers in distress. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In January, an Instagram user claimed that he and his fellow passengers on an Air India flight from Mumbai to Dubai were stuck inside a cabin without functional air conditioning for an extended period. The passenger described their horrible experience," stating that the flight, scheduled to depart at 8:25 AM, was delayed by five hours. During this time, passengersincluding toddlers and senior citizenswere left on board without air conditioning. 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 : Jammu and Kashmir, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 18:47 IST Justice Varma Repatriated To Allahabad HC After Centre's Nod, But Won't Get Judicial Duties Amid Cash Probe Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 19:09 IST The transfer of Justice Varma was confirmed through a notification issued by the Law Ministry Justice Yashwant Varma (Image: X) The central government on Friday approved the transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma from the Delhi High Court to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court. However, the Supreme Court has asked the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma. The transfer of Justice Varma was confirmed through a notification issued by the Law Ministry. Recommended Stories Earlier this week, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the transfer of Justice Varma. However, the Collegium had clarified that this action is separate from the ongoing in-house probe into the alleged discovery of cash at his residence following a fire incident. The Collegiums resolution, dated March 24, stated, The Supreme Court Collegium in its meetings held on March 20 and 24, 2025 has recommended the repatriation of Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, High Court of Delhi, to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad." Additionally, on March 21, the Supreme Court also revealed that Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya had initiated an in-house inquiry against Justice Varma, which was separate from the transfer recommendation. The controversy surrounding the alleged cash row involving Justice Varma began after a fire broke out at his residence in Lutyens Delhi on March 14 at around 11:35 pm. Following the incident, there were claims of a large sum of cash being discovered in his official residence. This discovery led to a series of directives from both the Supreme Court Collegium and the Delhi High Court, including the withdrawal of Justice Varmas judicial duties. Justice Varma, however, has strongly denied the allegations. He unequivocally" rejected the suggestion that any cash was stored in his residential premises, either by him or any of his family members. He has also denounced the claims, calling them part of a conspiracy to frame and tarnish his reputation. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The very idea or suggestion that this cash was kept or stored by us is totally preposterous," Justice Varma has stated. (With inputs from PTI) About the Author Ananya Bhatnagar Ananya Bhatnagar, Correspondent at CNN-News18, reports on various legal issues and cases in lower courts and the Delhi High Court. He has covered the hanging of the Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts, JNU violence, De... Read More Ananya Bhatnagar, Correspondent at CNN-News18, reports on various legal issues and cases in lower courts and the Delhi High Court. He has covered the hanging of the Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts, JNU violence, De... Read More First Published: March 28, 2025, 18:39 IST Kunal Kamra Moves Madras HC Seeking Transit Anticipatory Bail After Row Over Eknath Shinde Joke Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 11:34 IST Kunal Kamra has moved the Madras High Court for transit anticipatory bail after his stand-up special sparked controversy over remarks on Eknath Shinde. A file photo of comedian Kunal Kamra (Source: Social Media) Comedian Kunal Kamra has moved the Madras High Court seeking a transit anticipatory bail, days after his remarks targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his stand-up show kicked up a huge controversy. According to the details, lawyers representing the comedian made an urgent mention before the principal bench of the Madras High Court. Recommended Stories The case is likely to be heard during the courts afternoon session on Friday. (A transit anticipatory bail allows a person to seek protection from arrest even if the FIR is filed in a state where they do not currently reside.) An (FIR) was registered against the stand-up comedian after he allegedly made derogatory remarks against Shinde. Kamra was booked under Section 356(2) (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on a complaint lodged by a Shiv Sena functionary at Dombivli Police Station. The complaint stated that the Sena functionary came across the defamatory video clip against Shinde after opening an online link. ALSO READ | Do Not Test Our Patience: Maharashtra Minister Warns Police, Demands Immediate Arrest Of Kunal Kamra Kamras remarks and parody song invited violent reaction from Shiv Sena workers who vandalised the studio. Separately, police registered a case against 40 Shiv Sena workers for the action and arrested 12 of them. A local court granted them bail the same day. On March 26, Kamra slammed Bollywood studio T-Series, alleging that his stand-up special Naya Bharat, which has kicked up a huge controversy over jokes targeting Shinde, was flagged for copyright violations on YouTube. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all He dropped a new video from the comedy special, in which he performed a parody of Hawa Hawai from Bollywood movie Mr India to criticise Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her policies. ALSO READ | Its Legal: Kangana Ranaut Reacts To Kunal Kamra Row, Says What Was Done To Me Was Illegal About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. First Published: March 28, 2025, 11:00 IST Kunal Kamra's Post Likening Media To 'Vultures' Sparks Internet Debate, Shiv Sena's Rahool Kanal Chips In Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 12:01 IST Kunal Kamra attacked the media amid the ongoing controversy over his "traitor" remark against Eknath Shinde, drawing netizens' flak. Kunal Kamra's gaddar jibe at Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde stoked row (X/Kunal Kamra) Stand-up performer Kunal Kamra has drawn flak from the netizens for attacking the media on social media, likening them to vultures" and dubbing the fourth pillar of democracy as a miscommunication arm of the ruling party". Kamra has hit the headlines lately for his yet another controversial move this time through his comedy show" calling Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde gaddar" (traitor) for rebeling against Uddhav Thackeray who severed ties with the NDA in 2019 after Assembly poll victory and forged post-poll alliance with the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi to become the Chief Minister. Uddhavs move was labelled as betrayal" by the former ally BJP. Recommended Stories The artists joke on Shinde drew a strong response from Shiv Sena, whose workers demanded strict action against him, including his arrest. To all those hounding for a quote The mainstream media at this point is nothing but a miscommunication arm of the ruling party. They are vultures who report on issues that dont matter to the people of this country. If they all shut shop from tomorrow till eternity they will be doing favour to the country, its people & their own children"," Kamra posted on X on Thursday. To all those hounding for a quote The mainstream media at this point is nothing but a miscommunication arm of the ruling party. They are vultures who report on issues that dont matter to the people of this country. If they all shut shop from tomorrow till eternity they will Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) March 27, 2025 Netizens Slam Kamra Over Post On Media Slamming the activist-artist for his post on the mainstream media, the netizens pointed out that it is because of the media and its impact that he is compelled to react. Many who attack the mainstream media selectively use it when it suits their purpose. Kamras frustration with the media contradicts his claim that they report on issues that dont matter." If that were true, why would he be so concerned? Clearly, the media has an impact, which is why he is reacting," a user wrote in the comments section. Shiv Sena leader Rahool Kanal hit back at Kamra and said that the media did its job by showing both sides of the ongoing controversy and it let the people decide which side they stand on. Mr. Kamra this is what Karma isour media was purely showing both sides of the story and just doing their job and at last people of India decide which side is the side to be in but as they arrogance and over confidence for an artist Kills the Art no one needs to shut shop but people like you who have bias opinions and pekoe around you who supper such bias" the user wrote. come to Mumbai face the law dont blame anyone no one is above law" he added. Mr. Kamra this is what Karma is Media be it main or a local news channel is 4th pillar of the original constitution and not the one you have when they say good they are yours when they say the rite thing they are governed by the ruling party this is what wrong things do to https://t.co/CWieQXLCnN Rahool N Kanal (@RahoolNKanal) March 27, 2025 Stop crying. You enjoy chaos. You got chaos," another user commented. https://t.co/yISFcOjzWKStop crying. You enjoy chaos. You got chaos. Stop crying. Tushar Gupta (@Tushar15_) March 27, 2025 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all A user described Kamra a paid stooge of the opposition party" and said that the same things happened with several people when they were in power". One more quote The so-called comedian at this point is nothing but a paid stooge of the opposition party. When they were in power in state govt, they did the same to many and even celebrated it. There are countless examples, but now that the tables have turned, they are crying foul"," the user said. 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 28, 2025, 11:44 IST Madras HC Grants Anticipatory Bail To Kunal Kamra Amid Calls For His Arrest Over Eknath Shinde Joke Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 17:58 IST The Madras High Court granted interim anticipatory bail to comedian Kunal Kamra after an FIR was filed against him for allegedly insulting Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde. Comedian Kunal Kamra said he will not be apologising for his controversial comments about Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde. (File image: @kunakamra/X) The Madras High Court on Friday granted interim anticipatory bail plea to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra after an FIR was registered against him for allegedly insulting Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. A bench of Justice Sunder Mohan said that Kamra has prima facie satisfied the Madras High Court that he is unable to approach courts in Maharashtra for protection. Kamra received the relief till April 7 as his counsel had urged for sufficient time to approach courts in Maharashtra. Recommended Stories Will Cut You Into Pieces: Kunal Kamra Gets Hundreds Of Threat Calls After Eknath Shinde Joke Justice Mohan observed that the case does not warrant custodial interrogation and that Kamra cant approach Maharashtra courts for relief as there are threats by party workers, ministers there, and that hence interim anticipatory bail is sought to approach Maharashtra courts later". The lawyer, appearing for Kamra, apprised the high court that the comedian has received over 500 threat calls. They say they will teach them in Shiv Sena style. What is Shiv Sena style is common knowledge The people who vandalised the hotel no serious action taken, they are let out on bail. This is the type of threat I am facing. I have always said I believe in the Constitution," Kamras counsel said. Judges Must Uphold Free Speech: Supreme Court Quashes FIR Against Congress MP Over Poem Kamras counsel said no one has been named in the stand-up act and the comedian has talked about many people. Parody is part of satire.. Supreme Court has said satire, parody is part of accepted speech," he added, Bar & Bench reported. Kamra submitted he moved to Tamil Nadu from Mumbai in 2021 and has been ordinarily a resident of this State since then" and that he feared arrest by Mumbai Police. The 36-year-old stand-up comic has received two summons by the Mumbai police over his comments on Shinde during his latest show. From Contempt Of Court To Mid-Air Heckling Of Journalist: 6 Times When Kunal Kamra Stoked Controversy top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The controversy stems from Kamras show at the Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbais Khar, where he performed a parody song targeting Shinde. The act prompted a strong backlash from Shiv Sena supporters, who vandalised the club and the hotel in which it is located on Sunday night. Kamra was booked by the Khar police on a complaint by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the deputy First Published: March 28, 2025, 17:15 IST Who Invited Mughal Ruler Babur To India? Amid Massive Row Over Rana Sanga, A Fact Check Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Manjiri Joshi Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 16:37 IST Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ramji Lal Suman defiant on his remark on Rana Sanga, Karni Sena seeks apology: Citing Baburs memoir, Baburnama or Tuzuk-i-Babari, historians tell News18 the real reason why the Mughal ruler came to India Ramji Lal Suman (bottom right) is facing a political storm over his remarks on Rana Sanga (left) and Babur. (News18 Hindi File) Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ramji Lal Sumans remark in the Rajya Sabha on March 21 and the subsequent furore have given rise to one question Did Rajasthans Rana Sanga invite Mughal ruler Babur to India? Amid Sumans defiance, despite an attack on his house and the political fallout, News18 spoke to historians from Rajasthan to throw light on the facts. Recommended Stories BABURs DNA, TRAITOR RANA SANGA: WHAT DID SUMAN SAY? Responding to the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) rhetoric about Muslims having Baburs DNA, Suman had said, If Muslims are said to have Baburs DNA, then whose DNA do Hindus have? Babur was invited to India by none other than Rana Sanga to defeat Ibrahim Lodi. If Muslims are Baburs descendants, then Hindus are the descendants of the traitor Rana Sanga. This should be established once and for all." Suman said, People criticise Babur, but never Rana Sanga. Those who talk about nationalism should remember that during the freedom struggle, many among them sided with the British." His remarks incensed the Rajput community and Karni Sena, who perceived them as an affront to one of Indias greatest warrior kings. ! ? , , https://t.co/6lYE5XoDNd Samajwadi Party Media Cell (@mediacellsp) March 22, 2025 VISION FOR UNITED RAJPUTANA: WHO WAS RANA SANGA? Rana Sanga, formally known as Maharana Sangram Singh, ruled the kingdom of Mewar from 1509 to 1528. A valiant warrior and a unifier of Rajput clans, he fought multiple battles to defend Rajputana against foreign invaders. His most notable battle was against Babur at Khanwa in 1527, where he aimed to expel the Mughals from India. Despite suffering a defeat due to Baburs superior artillery, Rana Sanga remains a revered figure in Indian history for his courage and vision of a united Rajputana. VIDEO | Heres what Karni Sena leader Mahipal Makrana said on Karni Sena vandalising Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Sumans house in Agra.Today, a small protest was staged outside Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Sumans house by Karni Sena members. During the protest, some chairs pic.twitter.com/AjfElsVPeG Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 26, 2025 PUNJABS GOVERNOR DAULAT KHAN LODI INVITED ME: BABURs MEMOIR GIVES THE DETAILS Dr Jayantilal Khandelwal, assistant professor of modern and medieval history and an expert on Rajasthans history, cites Baburs memoir, Baburnama or Tuzuk-i-Babari, to explain why he came to India. According to Khandelwal, Babur wrote: Punjabs governor Daulat Khan Lodi invited me to India to fight against Delhis Sultan Ibrahim LodiWhen I was in Kabul and had not yet entered Hindustan, Rana Sanga had sent his envoy to me." Khandelwal clarified that sending an envoy does not imply an invitation to invade. Babur further wrote, When I came to Hindustan, there were five Muslim and two non-Muslim rulers. One of these was the ruler of Bijapur, and the other was Rana Sanga. Sanga had earned immense glory through his power and valour." Regarding the Battle of Khanwa (1527), Khandelwal quoted Babur as saying, On March 17, 1527, Rana Sanga arrived with 201,000 soldiers. His camp stretched nearly four miles." Babur also described Hindustans wealth: The most remarkable thing about Hindustan is that it is vast and has abundant gold and silver." Khandelwal explained that Babur was struggling for survival in his homeland, facing threats from Uzbek rivals like Abdul Fatah Mohammad Shah Bakht Khan and his uncle Ahmad Mirza. Babur admitted, I was constantly displaced by my enemies, living a nomadic life. Seeking stability, I came to India to establish my own kingdom." Khandelwal said that Sanga was a dominant power in North India long before Baburs arrival. He had already defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the battles of Khatoli (1517) and Bari (1518) and had asserted his supremacy over Eastern Malwa, Gujarat, and Delhi. Given this, Khandelwal argued, The claim that Sanga needed Baburs help against a weakened Ibrahim Lodi lacks historical credibility." He said that the historical records from Rajasthan confirm that Sanga did not invite Babur to India. Instead, Babur entered due to internal conflicts in his homeland and invitations from Afghan nobles like Daulat Khan Lodi and Alam Khan Lodi. BABUR WAS DRIVEN BY ECONOMIC AMBITIONS Dr Sushil Pandey, a UP-based historian and faculty member at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, provided further insights into the historical context of Sangas era. He said Sanga the son of Raimal, had significantly expanded his empire by conquering Gujarat and Malwa. He defeated Ibrahim Lodis forces, first led by Miyan Makhan and later by Lodi himself, in the Battle of Ghatoli. After Baburs victory in the First Battle of Panipat (1526), Hasan Khan Mewati appealed to Sanga to support Muhammad Lodi, Ibrahim Lodis brother, against Babur. Accepting this appeal, Sanga captured the fort of Kandhar near Ranthambore and successfully repelled the Mughal army. However, he was ultimately defeated by Baburs forces at the Battle of Khanwa in 1527, where leaders like Hasan Khan Mewati, Mahmud Lodi, Alam Khan Lodi, and Medini Rai fought alongside him. Like Khandelwal, Pandey, too, stated that Baburs autobiography explicitly stated that he was invited to India by Punjabs governor Daulat Khan Lodi and Alam Khan Lodi. Baburs repeated invasions since 1519 and his admiration for Indias wealth, as detailed in the book, suggest that his invasion was driven by economic ambition. #WATCH | Agra, UP: Stone pelting at the residence of Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman, window panes broken and vehicles parked outside vandalised. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/AnUnojnBkl ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2025 HOW THE REMARK TRIGGERED A WAR OF WORDS, AN ATTACK The remark triggered a political battle, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the SP of distorting history and insulting Rajput pride. At least 1,000 Karni Sena members, armed with a bulldozer, gathered outside his Sumans Agra residence on Wednesday. The clash between SP and Karni Sena members led to vandalism and left several injured. Soon after the attack, Karni Sena leader Mahipal Makrana issued a warning, saying the protest as just a trailer" and there would be larger demonstrations if their demandan unconditional apology from Ramji Lal Sumanis not met. Karni Sena Youth President Okendra Rana released a video stating, If Suman wants to apologise, he must do so by rubbing his nose on the ground at the Maharana Sanga Memorial in Rupwas. Every brick of his house must bear the name of Rana Sanga." Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 26, 2025 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all SP chief Akhilesh Yadav defended Suman, stating that the BJP was selectively weaponising history to stoke communal and caste-based divisions. Our intention is not to insult any historical figure. The Samajwadi Party does not question the bravery and patriotism of Mewars King Rana Sanga," he said on X. A day later, Suman maintained that he never intended to hurt religious sentiments, but remained firm on his statement. I have informed the Vice-President about the attack on my house and have sought security. My intention is not to hurt anyones religious sentiments. I appeal to the BJP not to dig out the past, but if they continue to do so, we will be left with no other option. I challenge Karni Sena to come in front of me and say they want my tongue chopped," he said. First Published: March 28, 2025, 12:56 IST Over 10,000 Indian Nationals Pardoned, Released By Various Countries Due To Modi Govt's Efforts Reported By : CNN-News18 Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 22:59 IST Since 2014, relentless diplomatic efforts have secured the release of 2,639 fishermen and 71 civilian prisoners from Pakistan Prime Minister Narendra Modi (PTI Image/File) The UAE in a latest move has pardoned 500 Indian prisoners, taking the number over 10,000 for Indian nationals abroad who have been pardoned or released by various countries due to the proactive efforts of the Narendra Modi government. Sources say this is diplomacy in action" as it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi governments proactive and sustained diplomatic efforts that have facilitated the release and pardon of thousands of Indian nationals across various countries over the past decade. The latest instance is the pardon of 500 Indian prisoners by the UAE, reflecting the strong bilateral ties between India and the Gulf nation. Recommended Stories Since 2014, PM Modis leadership has prioritised the welfare of Indian citizens abroad, ensuring the safe return of nearly 10,000 Indians imprisoned abroad through diplomatic negotiations and high-level interventions, sources say. A lot of these breakthroughs have been made possible due to the personal rapport shared by PM Modi with global leaders, sources add. These successful interventions underscore Indias growing global diplomatic stature and the Modi governments unwavering commitment to protecting Indian citizens abroad. Here is a list of Indian nationals release due to such diplomatic efforts: UAE has pardoned 2783 Indian Prisoners 2025: Ahead of Ramzan 2025, over 500 Indian prisoners were pardoned. 2024: Ahead of Eid Al Fitr and UAE National Day, 944 Indian prisoners received a pardon 2023: In 2023, more than 700 Indian prisoners were pardoned by UAE authorities 2022: A total of 639 Indian prisoners were pardoned Saudi Arabias Release of Indian Nationals 2019: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during his visit to India, ordered the release of 850 Indian prisoners, marking a significant diplomatic success. Qatars Release of Indian Navy Veterans 2023: Eight Indian Navy veterans were sentenced to death in Qatar. The Indian governments diplomatic intervention led to a commutation of their sentences, followed by the release of most of them Indian Prisoners Released by Iran 2024: A total of 77 Indian nationals were released by Iran. 2023: A total of 43 Indians were released by Iran, including 12 fishermen. Bahrain Pardons 250 Indian Prisoners 2019: In a kind act, the Bahrain government freed 250 Indians who were in jail, during PM Modis visit to the country. Kuwait freed Indian prisoners 2017: The Emir of Kuwait freed 22 Indians and reduced sentences for 97 others after diplomatic talks. Sri Lankas Release of Indian Fishermen Regular Interventions: Indian fishermen detained by Sri Lanka have been repeatedly released following negotiations between the two governments. A total of 3697 Indian fishermen have been freed since 2014. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Pakistans Release of Indian Fishermen & Prisoners Since 2014, relentless diplomatic efforts have secured the release of 2,639 fishermen and 71 civilian prisoners. About the Author Aman Sharma Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Ministers Office.... Read More Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Ministers Office.... Read More First Published: March 28, 2025, 22:59 IST PM Modi Says Govt Ready To Help After Myanmar Earthquakes; Indian Embassy In Thailand Launches Helpline Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 17:08 IST PM Modi assured all possible assistance to Myanmar and Thailand, and said, "India stands ready to offer all possible assistance." Prime Minister Narendra Modi (File Photo) Myanmar Earthquake: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed concerns over the ongoing situation in Myanmar after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the country. Further, PM Modi assured the disaster-hit country of all possible assistance and said the government is in touch with the authorities in Myanmar and Thailand. Recommended Stories Taking to X, PM Modi wrote, Concerned by the situation in the wake of the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Praying for the safety and well-being of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Also asked the MEA to remain in touch with the Governments of Myanmar and Thailand." Concerned by the situation in the wake of the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Also asked the MEA to remain in touch Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 28, 2025 Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Thailand issued an emergency helpline number for Indian citizens as two back-to-back earthquakes rocked Myanmar, with strong tremors in Thailands capital, Bangkok. After powerful earthquake tremors recorded in Bangkok and in other parts of Thailand, the Embassy is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the Thai authorities. So far, no untoward incident involving any Indian citizen has been reported," the Embassy said. In case of any emergency, Indian nationals in Thailand are advised to contact the emergency number +66 618819218. All members of the Indian Embassy in Bangkok and Consulate in Chiang Mai are safe," it added. MEA Issues Statement Speaking on the Myanmar-Thailand earthquake, Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar said that the Indian authorities are in touch with their counterparts in Bangkok. He further added that the natural disaster would not impact the 6th BIMSTEC Summit. PM Modi will visit Thailand to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit and for an official visit to Thailand from April 3 to 4. This will be the Prime Ministers third visit to Thailand. We are analysing reports related to damage primarily in Myanmar. We are in touch with authorities in the country. We have always been a first responder in terms of assistance. By later today, we will have more update on the assistance we will be providing," Mazumdar said. The BIMSTEC region is prone to extreme weather events and natural disasters. Its relevance can be seen today in the devastating earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Collaboration in disaster management and between our disaster management authorities through HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) exercises, has been a priority area for India," he added. #WATCH | Delhi | On PM Modis visit to Thailand, Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar says, PM Modi will visit Thailand to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit and for an official visit to Thailand from the 3rd to the 4th of April. This will be the Prime Ministers third visit to pic.twitter.com/GZVMxele1E ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2025 Earthquakes Rock Myanmar And Thailand A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake, and an aftershock of 6.8 magnitude, struck central Myanmar on Friday at around 12.50 pm (local time). Several people are reportedly killed following the collapse of buildings in Myanmar due to the strong effect of the earthquake. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Tremors were felt as far away as northern Thailand, where some metro and rail services were suspended in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is holding an urgent meeting" to review the crisis and declared an emergency in the capital city. Reports indicate that 55 people lost their lives in the earthquakes in Myanmar, while four fatalities were reported in Thailand. Several others are injured or missing, the report added. 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 28, 2025, 13:57 IST PM Modi To Attend BIMSTEC Summit In Earthquake-Hit Thailand On April 3-4 Last Updated: March 29, 2025, 00:23 IST This is PM Modi's third visit to Thailand to attend the BIMSTEC Summit. He will call on his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra and will embark on a visit to Sri Lanka next. Prime Minister Narendra Modi (File Photo) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Thailand to attend the BIMSTEC Summit, during which the regional grouping is likely to adopt the Bangkok Vision 2030 and sign a pact to strengthen maritime cooperation. Though Thailand is grappling with the damage caused in the country, including in Bangkok, by a massive earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday afternoon, there were no immediate indications about its effect on the BIMSTEC Summit scheduled from April 2 to April 4. Modi will be in Bangkok on April 3-4. Recommended Stories Besides India and Thailand, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan. We are in touch with authorities on this. There is nothing at the moment to indicate, either way, whether it is going to have any effect on the summit," Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in response to reporters questions on the earthquakes impact on the summit. The ministry said at the Bangkok summit, the BIMSTEC leaders are expected to deliberate on ways and means to infuse greater momentum in cooperation among the member nations. The theme for the summit is Proactive, Resilient and Open BIMSTEC (PRO- BIMSTEC)" and the Bangkok Vision 2030 is expected to set a clear direction and goals for cooperation, and promote the region as an area of peace, stability and economic sustainability. The vision will also dwell on enhancing cooperation on adaptation to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Besides Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Modi, the meeting is expected to be attended by Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Bangladeshs Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya. Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with Shinawatra and call on King Rama X. They will review the progress in the entire gamut of bilateral relations and ways to add greater momentum to the India-Thailand bilateral partnership and also exchange views on the regional and multilateral issues," Mazumdar said. The BIMSTEC was established in 1997 as a regional cooperation platform comprising Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar. Nepal and Bhutan joined the grouping in 2004. From Thailand, Modi will travel to Sri Lanka for a three-day visit during which he will hold discussions with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The two leaders will review the progress made in the areas of cooperation agreed upon in the joint vision for fostering partnerships for a shared future" that was adopted during the Sri Lankan presidents visit to India, the MEA said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Modi will also have meetings with senior dignitaries and political leaders in Colombo. As part of the visit, the prime minister will also travel to Anuradhapura for the inauguration of development projects implemented with Indian financial assistance," the MEA said. First Published: March 29, 2025, 00:23 IST PM Modi To Visit 'Smruti Mandir', Share Stage With RSS Chief Bhagwat In Nagpur; Here's What It Signifies Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 27, 2025, 07:51 IST According to a source in the RSS ranks, the upcoming stage-sharing between PM Modi and RSS chief Bhagwat in Nagpur is more than just a ceremonial moment. It also carries deep ideological and political significance. Much like PM Modi and Mohan Bhagwat's joint presence during the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, this appearance is also expected to signal a strong alignment between the Sanghs vision and the governments narrative. (Image: PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Nagpur on March 30, on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, where he is scheduled to participate in the foundation stone laying ceremony for a new premier eye care and research centre of Madhav Netralaya and is likely to visit the revered Smruti Mandir at Reshimbagh the final resting place of RSS founder Dr KB Hedgewar and his successor MS Golwalkar. During the visit, Modi will share the stage with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and participate in key events that hold significance. The Prime Ministers upcoming visit to Nagpur and attending the ceremony are being seen as a crucial development for more than one reason. Recommended Stories Firstly, Madhav Netralaya, a tertiary eye care hospital, was established in Nagpur in memory of Madhavrao Golwalkar, known as Guruji, the second Sarsanghchalak (chief) of the RSS. The foundation stone for the hospital was laid on December 18, 2017, and the hospital was completed in a record 15 months, officially inaugurated on Gudi Padwa, March 18, 2018. Madhav Netralaya is now going to start a premier eye care and research centre, for which the foundation stone will be laid on March 30 in presence of RSS chief Bhagwat and PM Modi. Much like their joint presence during the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, this appearance is also expected to signal a strong alignment between the Sanghs vision and the governments narrative. According to a source in the RSS ranks, the upcoming stage-sharing between PM Modi and RSS chief Bhagwat in Nagpur is more than just a ceremonial moment. It also carries deep ideological and political significance. What makes it even more crucial is that, of late, PM Modi has frequently spoken about his roots in the RSS, acknowledging the organisations formative influence on his thinking and leadership. From invoking Sangh ideals in speeches to emphasising discipline, nation-first values, and cultural identity, he has placed his RSS grounding at the heart of his political persona. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Even as India is navigating both domestic political transitions and other complex global challenges, such optics signal unity of purpose between BJPs ideological anchor the RSS and the political leadership. The expected visit to Smruti Mandir in Nagpur, where the samadhis of RSS stalwarts Hedgewar and Golwalkar lie, is not just homage; it also symbolises the seamless continuity of thought from Sangh founders to the countrys current leadership. The presence of both Bhagwat ji and Modi ji on stage for the foundation-laying of Madhav Netralayas new centre highlights how the Sanghs ethos of social service and the governments development agenda are intertwined. It reaffirms Sangh Parivaars cultural identity, social service, and national progress are not separate pillars but part of a shared vision," said a senior RSS functionary. About the Author Madhuparna Das Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa... Read More Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa... Read More First Published: March 27, 2025, 07:51 IST PM Modi To Visit Thailand, Sri Lanka From April 3-6; Boosting Regional Cooperation On Agenda Published By : PTI Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 11:56 IST PM Modi announced the vision of 'MAHASAGAR' or "Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions" for India's engagement with Global South during his recent visit to Mauritius. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-nation tour of Thailand and Sri Lanka next week with a broad focus on boosting regional cooperation under Indias newly announced MAHASAGAR policy and vision for a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. In the first leg of the tour, Modi will visit Bangkok from April 3 to 4 to participate in the sixth BIMSTEC Summit being hosted by Thailand. It will be the prime ministers third visit to Thailand, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. Recommended Stories From Thailand, Modi will travel to Sri Lanka for a three-day trip to hold talks with top leadership of the island nation. The prime ministers visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka, and his participation in the 6th BIMSTEC summit will reaffirm Indias commitment to its Neighbourhood First policy, Act East policy, MAHASAGAR vision, and vision of the Indo-Pacific," the MEA said. Modi announced the vision of MAHASAGAR or Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions" for Indias engagement with the Global South during his recent visit to Mauritius. Besides India and Thailand, the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan. At the Bangkok summit, the BIMSTEC leaders are expected to deliberate on ways and means to infuse greater momentum in cooperation among the member nations. The leaders are also expected to discuss various institution and capacity building measures to augment collaboration within the BIMSTEC framework," the MEA said in a statement. India has been taking a number of initiatives in BIMSTEC to strengthen regional cooperation and partnership, including in enhancing security, facilitating trade and investment, boosting connectivity and collaborating in food, energy, climate and human security, it said. On the bilateral front, Modi is scheduled to have a meeting with the Thai prime minister on April 3. The MEA said the two prime ministers are expected to review bilateral cooperation and chart the way for future partnership between the countries. India and Thailand are maritime neighbours with shared civilisational bonds which are underpinned by cultural, linguistic, and religious ties. From Thailand, PM Modi will travel to Sri Lanka on April 4 on a three-day state visit. In Colombo, Modi will hold discussions with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka. The two leaders will review progress made in the areas of cooperation agreed upon in the joint vision for fostering partnerships for a shared future" that was adopted during the Sri Lankan presidents visit to India, the MEA said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Modi will also have meetings with senior dignitaries and political leaders in Colombo. As part of the visit, the prime minister will also travel to Anuradhapura for inauguration of development projects implemented with Indian financial assistance," the MEA said. 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 28, 2025, 11:56 IST RG Kar Doctor Was Not 'Gang-Raped', Probing Cover-Up Allegations: CBI To Calcutta High Court Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 17:37 IST The CBI told the Calcutta High Court that the rape and murder incident of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar hospital was not an instance of "gang rape." RG Kar Case | File Image/PTI The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday told the Calcutta High Court that its investigation into the rape and murder incident of a trainee doctor at Kolkatas RG Kar medical college and hospital revealed that it was not an instance of gang rape." It comes after a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court directed the probe agency during the previous hearing to clarify whether the woman doctor was a victim of rape" or gang rape", and also to submit the case diary. Recommended Stories Justice Tirthankar Ghosh noted that with one individual (civic volunteer Sanjay Roy) being already convicted and sentenced for the crime of rape and murder, the probe agency must clarify whether one or more were involved in the crime. On Friday, DSG appearing for the CBI told Justice Ghosh that the agency was presently probing the involvement of people in the events that occurred after commission of the substantial offence in order to cover up the incident that took place. Senior Counsel appearing for the state argued that while the state did not object to the probe into the alleged cover-up of the incident, the question on the law would be whether the court could revive a concluded investigation, which ended with the conclusion of the trial. Sanjoy Roy was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the offence. The developments unfolded in the court after the victims parents filed a plea seeking further investigation into the case. Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the parents to approach the Calcutta High Court to redress their grievances. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The body of the female postgraduate trainee was found in a seminar hall at the hospital in the early hours of August 9, 2024, triggering a statewide protest. She was killed after being raped. Roy, a civic volunteer, was arrested the following day in connection with the crime. Later, the CBI took over the investigation and filed a charge sheet related to the case, paving the way for Roys conviction. 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 First Published: March 28, 2025, 17:18 IST Supreme Court Rejects Plea Seeking FIR Against Justice Yashwant Varma Amid Cash-At-Home Row Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 13:46 IST Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea seeking FIR against Justice Yashwant Varma. Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea seeking FIR against Justice Yashwant Varma. (PTI File Image) Amid the ongoing probe against Justice Yashwant Varma, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea seeking an FIR against the judge over the recovery of cash from his house. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said an in-house inquiry was in progress and there would be several options open to the Chief Justice of India, following the probes conclusion. Recommended Stories The plea seeking FIR against Justice Varma was filed by advocate Mathews J Nedumpara and three others. Once the in-house inquiry is complete, all sorts of resources are open. If required, the CJI can direct the registration of FIR. Why should we go into this today?" the bench said. 3-Member Committee Formed The Supreme Court appointed a three-member committee on Tuesday to probe into the alleged cash discovery case linked to Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma. The controversy erupted after a fire broke out at the official residence of Justice Varma in the national capital on March 14. The discovery of the cash by firefighters and police personnel led to serious allegations against the judge. However, the Justice Varma has refuted the claims, saying that the cash does not belong to him. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In his response submitted to Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya, Justice Varma said the allegations of cash discovery at his residence clearly appeared to be a conspiracy to frame and malign him. Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 13:24 IST This Parsi Family Business Is Set To Develop Engine For India's 5th-Gen Fighter Jets Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 11:42 IST HAL is developing a fifth-generation aircraft under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme, with private sector involvement to expedite the project. It aims to complete the project by 2030 India is focusing on manufacturing its own fighter jets rather than relying on foreign purchases. (PTI/File) Amid challenges from China and Pakistan, India is actively working on developing a fifth-generation indigenous fighter jet for its Air Force. China had long ago developed its fifth-generation fighter jets, the J-20 and J-35, which are currently in use by its military and have been supplied to Pakistan. After the United States, China is the only country with two fifth-generation fighter jets, putting significant pressure on India to advance its own capabilities. India is currently lagging behind in this endeavour. The Indian Air Force requires 42 squadrons of fighter jets but is managing with only 31 squadrons. In the last decade, India purchased 36 Rafale fighter planes from France in an emergency measure, forming two squadrons. One squadron was deployed along the China border, and the other along the Pakistan border. The Indian Air Force has expressed serious concerns about the shortage of fighter jets. Recommended Stories To address this, India is focusing on manufacturing its own fighter jets rather than relying on foreign purchases. Significant progress has been made in this area, with the Tejas fighter jet already inducted into the army. The government-owned company HAL, in collaboration with DRDO, has developed the twin-engine 4.5+ generation Tejas-MK1A jet. The Air Force has ordered 83 Tejas-MK1A jets from HAL, which will be powered by engines from the American company GE. HAL has placed an order for 99 engines, with the first engine deliveries already beginning. This means that the delivery of Tejas-MK1A jets to the Air Force is imminent. In the Tejas category, HAL is also developing a fifth-generation aircraft under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme, which is expected to be a 5+ generation aircraft. The government is reportedly involving private sector companies to expedite the project, with a target completion date set for 2030. India is developing its own engine for these fifth-generation fighter jets through the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), with Godrej Aerospace participating in the project. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Vice President of Godrej Aerospace, Manek Behramkamdin, has stated that the company has the expertise needed for this significant technological and manufacturing task. Godrej Aerospace has previously collaborated on the Kaveri engine project and has been involved in various other military projects. The Godrej family, one of the most prestigious Parsi families in India, has been in business for about one-and-a-half centuries. The Godrej Group, founded by Ardeshir Godrej in 1897, operates in various sectors including real estate, consumer products, industrial engineering, appliances, furniture, security, and agricultural products. Currently, the group is led by Adi Godrej and his brother Nadir Godrej, with the familys total wealth estimated at around $20 billion. First Published: March 28, 2025, 11:42 IST 'Judges Must Uphold Free Speech': Supreme Court Quashes FIR Against Congress MP Over Poem Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 11:36 IST In a significant observation, the Supreme Court said that the judges must uphold the right to free speech even when they may not like the spoken words by another person. The Supreme Court of India. (AFP Image) In a significant observation, the Supreme Court on Friday said that freedom of expression is an integral part of the society and upheld that there should be reasonable restriction" on the right to speech, but this restriction should not be unreasonable and fanciful to trample the rights of citizens". The top courts remarks came while quashing criminal proceedings initiated by the Gujarat Police against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi over a social media post with a poem Ae khoon ke pyase baat suno. Recommended Stories The court said that no offence is made out against Pratapgarhi, while also ruling that the police must first go through and understand the meaning of written or spoken words before lodging FIR in such cases. The apex court had earlier reserved its judgment on the Congress MPs petition seeking the quashing of the FIR, after the Gujarat High Court declined to quash the case in January this year. Supreme Courts Key Observations For Freedom Of Expression A bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, while quashing the FIR, stressed that freedom of speech and expression is more important than the limits placed on it. The court also said that the law against promoting enmity between religious groups (Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) cannot be invoked merely based on the standards of insecure people who feel offended by minor criticism. Police officers being citizens are bound to uphold the rights. When offence under Section 196 BNS, it cannot be judged as per the standards of weak minds or those who always perceive every criticism as an attack on them. This has to be judged on the point of courageous minds. We have held that when an offence is alleged on the basis of spoken or uttered words, section 173(3) of BNSS has to be resorted to in order to protect fundamental right," the Supreme Court observed, Bar and Bench reported. The top court said that the Constitutional courts should be at the forefront to uphold and protect the constitutional rights and free speech is the most cherished right". Free expression of thoughts and views by individuals or groups of individuals is an integral part of a healthy civilized society. Without freedom of expression of thoughts and views, it is impossible to lead a dignified life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. In a healthy democracy, the views of thoughts expressed by an individual or group of individuals must be countered by expressing another point of view," the top court observed. The bench further noted that even if a large number of people dislike views expressed by another individual, the right of a person to express the views must be respected and protected". Judges Must Protect Freedom Of Speech Even If They Dont Like What Was Said: Supreme Court Seemingly criticising the Gujarat High Court for declining to quash the FIR against Pratapgarhi, the Supreme Court said that the court are duty-bound to enforce the fundamental rights to the citizens. Sometimes we the judges may not like the spoken or written words, but still, it is our duty to uphold the fundamental rights under Article 19(1). We judges are also under an obligation to uphold the Constitution and the respective ideals," the bench said. It is the duty of the court to step in and to protect the fundamental rights. Particularly, the Constitutional courts must be at the forefront to zealously protect the fundamental rights," it added. Imran Pratapgarhi Case The Congress MP was booked by the Gujarat Police based on a complaint filed by an advocates clerk who shared a video on social media with a poem Ae khoon ke pyase baat suno playing in the background. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Gujarat Police had applied Sections 197 (statements harming national unity), 299 (deliberate acts to insult religious beliefs), and 302 (using words to hurt religious sentiments) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). On January 17, the Gujarat High Court had rejected his plea seeking the quashing of the FIR, prompting the Congress leader to move the Supreme Court. 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 28, 2025, 11:03 IST Experience The Flavours Of Nagaland At This Food Festival In Delhi This Weekend Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 16:39 IST Chef Aketoli H Zhimomi has curated a special Naga food menu for the Nagaland Food Festival that is being held at DEL, Roseate House, Aerocity in Delhi. The festival features traditional dishes that have been cooked with native ingredients. Naga cuisine is marked by earthy flavours, bold heat, and a blend of smoked goodness. To celebrate the flavours of this picturesque North Eastern state, Chef Aketoli H Zhimomi has curated a special Naga menu for the Nagaland Food Festival that is being held at DEL, Roseate House, Aerocity in Delhi. The Nagaland Food Festival will feature a specially curated dinner buffet, offering an exquisite selection of traditional dishes crafted with native ingredients, time-honoured techniques, and a contemporary touch. Guests can savour delicacies such as crispy pork belly with chayote and perilla salad, freshwater snails with perilla, and smoked pork with axoneeach dish a testament to the bold and intricate flavors of Naga cuisine. Recommended Stories Mr. Kush Kapoor, CEO of Roseate Hotels & Resorts, shares, At Roseate Hotels & Resorts, we believe in showcasing the depth and richness of Indias culinary landscape. We have been witnessing an overwhelming response to our regional culinary fests. This is a testimony to the evolving palette of our guests, who are willing to experiment with new foods, ingredients that are out of their comfort zones. And we are thrilled to be with them in their gastronomical journey. Weve previously hosted Hyderabadi, Kashmiri, and Jharkhand food festivals, and we have an exciting lineup of more to come. The Nagaland Food Festival is another step in our journey to celebrate and promote Indias incredible food culture." Echoing similar sentiments, Chef Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Executive Director of Culinary at Roseate Hotels & Resorts, added, I believe that Indias culinary landscape is as diverse as its rich cultural heritage. By showcasing micro-cuisines, we not only celebrate the unique flavors of different regions but also provide a platform for lesser-known, yet incredibly rich traditions to shine. This initiative also allows our team to explore and master a variety of traditional cooking techniques. The Naga Food Festival, led by Chef Aketoli, perfectly embodies this effort. It is an important part of our ongoing mission to offer guests an authentic experience that reflects the hidden culinary treasures of India." Chef Aketoli has been a champion of indigenous flavours. With years of dedication to her craft, she brings an authentic yet refined touch to traditional Naga dishes. Details Venue: DEL, Roseate House, Aerocity, New Delhi top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Date: March 26th 30th, 2025 Time: Dinner Buffet 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! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 16:39 IST Rakul Preet Singh Spills The Beans On How Much Celebrity Stylists Charge Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 18:59 IST Appearing on a podcast, Rakul Preet Singh got candid about how much do celebrity fashion stylists actually charge in the film industry. Read on to find out more. The actor revealed that celebrities pay for stylists, photographers, and hair and makeup teams. Celebrity stylists are expensive and many stars have opened up about the high charges by these professionals. Celebrity stylists often charge from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh, or more, for putting together a single outfit. However, these numbers are approximations that could change according to the stylists location, experience, and services provided. Actress Rakul Preet Singh has opened up about her experience with celebrity stylists in the film industry and how much they charge. On the March 27th episode of the Figuring Out With Raj Shamani podcast, Rakul Preet Singh explains how expensive it is to hire a celebrity stylist. The actress revealed. There is a team to do that. You are not doing anything it is expensive. A stylist can start from 20,000 for a red carpet look to 1 lakh for a single look or even more." Recommended Stories Rakul further revealed that in the film industry, celebrities pay for the stylist, the photographer who shoots your look, and your hair and makeup team. I have worked with the same makeup and hair team for 6 years and they are like family now and sometimes they dont even ask for anything," she added. Moving on, she clarified that celebrities dont pay the designers for the dresses they wear on the red carpet. Rakul said, You pay the stylist, who sources the outfit. What stylists do is, they take a fee that covers everything from their assistants to the courier charges. This is why if you are wearing an international designer, the cost becomes higher. The stylists figure out everything about a look." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all She revealed that the designers always give out clothes to celebs because the clothes actors wear get attention on social media, thereby giving a designer visibility and causing their sales to go up. Sometimes, I buy the clothes that are curated for me by stylists. Ethically, I dont like to take these for free," she added, expressing her dislike of taking clothes for free. On the work front, the 34-year-old actress was last seen in the romantic-comedy film, Mere Husband Ki Biwi, alongside Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar. 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! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 18:59 IST R|Elan Circular Design Challenge 2024 Winner rkive city Presents Debut Collection At Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI 2025 Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 13:33 IST The winner of the R|Elan Circular Design Challenge 2024 - rkive city - presented their debut collection, Reclaim The City, at the ongoing at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI 2025 in Mumbai. The collection uses salvaged textiles, highlighting sustainability and the need for waste reduction in fashion. At the ongoing at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI 2025 in Mumbai, the winner of the R|Elan Circular Design Challenge 2024 rkive city redefined style and pushed the boundaries of fashion with their compelling showcase. Ritwik Khanna of rkive city showcased his Reclaim The City collection at fashion week, which is being held at The Atelier, Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. Recommended Stories As rkive citys debut collection, Ritwik Khanna meticulously crafted 36 looks. The collection explored the theme of memory, revival, and reclamation, transforming post-consumer waste into high-fashion narratives. Every garment in the showcase was constructed entirely from salvaged textiles, reconstructed denim workwear, repurposed leather, and discarded fabrics. These were brought to life through techniques such as block printing, patchwork, and creative waste management. Reclaim The City brought to light the importance of engaging in sustainable practices and reducing waste in the fashion industry. The runway saw elements like reconstructed sleeves inspired by uniforms and pockets reminiscent of market workers jackets evoked a strong sense of place, history, and memory. The collection was a poignant exploration of classic elements such as patchwork, distressed hems, and the anti-fit silhouette. The collection reimagined forgotten forms and designs and paved the way for future streetwear. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Hemant D. Sharma, President Polyester, Reliance Industries Limited, said: The R|Elan Circular Design Challenge is a manifestation of our commitment to sustainability and circularity in the fashion industry. It is heartening to see young designers like rkive city harness creativity and innovation to transform waste into remarkable fashion. At Reliance, we strongly believe in driving change by enabling scalable, circular solutions that reduce the industrys environmental impact while redefining design narratives." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Lakme Fashion Week, in partnership with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), is being held at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai from March 26-30. 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! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 13:33 IST Shilpa Shetty Walks For Mohammed Mazhar In A Black And White Saree With A Wooden Bodice At Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 15:16 IST Mohammed Mazhar's latest collection at the Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI 2025 is a tribute to the wood artisans of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Shilpa Shetty walked for Mohammed Mazhar at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI 2025. After two exciting days, Day 3 of Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI 2025 started with a fantastic showcase by Mohammed Mazhar. The ace designer roped in actor Shilpa Shetty to walk the ramp to showcase his latest collection that celebrates the immaculate craftsmanship of Sahranpur, Uttar Pradesh. The show saw Shilpa Shetty dressed in a stunning white saree. The white saree was adorned with thick black horizontal and vertical lines running across the length of the fabric. The saree was draped to perfection. However, what was the highlight of the overall look was the breastplate bodice that she had worn over the saree. Recommended Stories View this post on Instagram A post shared by Showsha (@showsha_) Crafted entirely out of wood, the breastplate bodice was adorned with white floral motifs. Speaking at the press conference at the Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI 2025, Shilpa said, I think its a brilliant idea, a great initiative, to create fashion and have the thought of also creating livelihood for these people in Saharanpur. I totally support the cause. Look at the kind of fashion that Mohammad churns out. I think its truly innovative. Its hard to work with wood, but he made it look so glamorous and has given power dressing a new definition." The addition of the breastplate to the saree elevated the entire look. With its structured and well-defined silhouette, the bodice gave the overall look a powerful allure. The structure of the bodice and the effortless flow of the saree truly was a beautiful blend of two polar opposite silhouettes. The blend created a vision that gave a new definition to power dressing and creating a statement. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lakme Fashion Week (@lakmefashionwk) top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The saree was paired with chunky statement bangles on both wrists. The designer also added a statement bracelet on Shilpas upper arm. With her hair tied in a chic updo and confidence in her steps, Shilpa brought Mohammed Mazhars vision to life. 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! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 15:01 IST Here's All You Need To Know About The Impressive Studio Ghibli Theme Park In Japan Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 17:46 IST Located in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, the Studio Ghibli Theme Park offers fans an impressive experience to delve into the magic and charm of its movies. Unlike other theme parks, the Studio Ghibli Park does not offer rides but immersive themed areas. If you have been doomscrolling on the internet in the past week, you must have come across the Ghibli Image trend. The trend involves people sharing their images on ChatGPT and the AI image generator on the latest update transforms the image into an animated-style picture that look straight out of a Studio Ghibli movie. Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation studio, has produced some of the best animated movies, such as Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Grave Of The Fireflies, and the latest, The Boy And The Heron. But did you know that there is a Studio Ghibli theme park in Japan that is dedicated to bringing all of Ghiblis films to life? Recommended Stories Where Is The Studio Ghibli Theme Park? Ghibli Park is an enchanting theme park in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, dedicated to bringing the worlds of Studio Ghiblis beloved films to life. Opened on November 1, 2022, the park is nestled within Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park, also known as Moricoro Park. What Are The Key Attractions In The Park? Unlike other amusement parks, Ghibli Park does not have themed rides or rollecoasters. The park has, rather, been divided into themed areas. Ghiblis Grand Warehouse: This indoor area features numerous exhibitions, including life-sized replicas and immersive displays from various Ghibli films. Visitors can explore detailed sets, view exclusive short films at Cinema Orion, and delve into the creative process behind the studios masterpieces. Hill of Youth: Inspired by Whisper of the Heart and The Cat Returns, this area showcases the antique shop World Emporium and the Cat Bureau, offering fans a chance to step into these iconic settings. Dondoko Forest: Centered around My Neighbor Totoro, this section includes a replica of Satsuki and Meis house and a wooden playground on the hill behind the house, providing a nostalgic experience reminiscent of the films rural landscapes. Mononoke Village: Based on Princess Mononoke, this area features models of mystical creatures from the film, a village settlement, a traditional charcoal burners hut, and interactive experiences such as working iron forge bellows. Valley of Witches: Inspired by Kikis Delivery Service and Howls Moving Castle, this area includes replicas of Kikis home and bakery, a life-sized Howls Moving Castle standing four to five stories high, restaurants, and two small childrens rides themed to Studio Ghibli films. Tickets and Reservations top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Reservations are required to visit Ghibli Park. Tickets can be purchased through the official website, and its advisable to book several months in advance due to high demand. 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! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 17:46 IST Filmmaker Sean Baker Reveals Why He Chose Mikey Madison For His Oscar-Winning Film Anora: 'Her Ability To' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 15:55 IST Mikey Madison received acclaim for her role in Sean Baker's Anora, which won five Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards. Baker cast Madison after seeing her in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Scream V. Anora won five Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards. (Photo: Instagram) Actor Mikey Madison received an Oscar for her performance in Sean Bakers Anora. The film emerged as a major winner at the 97th Academy Awards, earning as many as five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director categories. The film received a newfound popularity when it started streaming on JioHotstars Peacock Hub. Amid this, Baker revealed what made him cast Madison for the part. Mikey Madison, best known for her role as Pamela Adlons eldest daughter in Better Things, first caught Sean Bakers eye in the film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). Although Mikeys screen time in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was brief, she made such a big impact," Baker said. Recommended Stories The development process picked up momentum in January 2022 when Baker and his producing partner and wife, Samantha Quan, watched the horror reboot Scream V, solidifying their belief that Mikey was the perfect choice for Ani (Madisons character in Anora). Baker continued, Seeing her playing different roles, her ability to change her emotions on a dime, her sense of humor, her ability to make brave choices, and her amazing Scream. It was at that point that we reached out to her. After meeting with Mikey, finding out she was a budding cinephile with similar tastes and her expressing interest in my idea, the character was then written with her in mind." When the news went to Madison, that Baker wanted to meet her for a role in his film, she was thrilled. I was floored that Sean wanted to meet me, but I wasnt about to question it," she recalled. Im a big fan of his work, and Tangerine is one of my favourite movies. I met Sean and Samantha for coffee and they pitched me this amazing, crazy idea. Sean asked my opinion and if Id be interested in making the film. I immediately said yes. I felt like the luckiest actress in the world that he wanted to work with me," she added. What is Oscar-winning film Anora about? Anora is the story of a young sex worker from Brooklyn who gets a shot at a fairytale life when she meets and quickly marries an oligarchs son. But when his parents in Russia find out, they head to New York to end the marriage. What happens next forms the crux of the story. First Published: March 28, 2025, 15:53 IST 'Illegal And Haram': Muslim Cleric Slams Salman Khan For Wearing Ram Mandir Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 23:44 IST All India Muslim Jamaat president Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi said he had received inquiries regarding Islamic law concerning Bollywood actor Salman Khan's actions Bollywood actor Salman Khan wearing a 'Ram Janmabhoomi edition' watch | Image/Instagram Barelvi cleric and All India Muslim Jamaat president Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi has termed Bollywood actor Salman Khan wearing a Ram Janmabhoomi edition watch, which intends to promote the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, as haram" (forbidden in Islam). Khans limited edition watch caught everyones attention during the promotion of his upcoming film Sikandar. The actor posted a promotional image on Instagram, showcasing the sleek gold dial watch paired with an orange strap. Recommended Stories Making a statement on Friday, Maulana Razvi said he had received inquiries regarding Islamic law concerning Salman Khans actions and urged the actor to refrain from performing any activity that promotes non-Muslim things." I have been asked about Shariats ruling about Salman Khan. I tell you the Shariats ruling about the work done by him, that he is wearing a Ram Edition watch made for the promotion of Ram Mandir. Wearing such a watch in hand being a Muslim is illegal and haram," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. #WATCH | Bareilly, UP: On Actor Salman Khan, President of All India Muslim Jamaat, Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi says, Salman Khan is a very famous personality in India Salman Khan has been seen wearing a Ram edition watch to promote Ram Mandir If any Muslim, even if pic.twitter.com/nCGSGhddLM ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2025 The Maulana further emphasised that Khan, as a prominent Indian figure with a large Muslim fan base, should refrain from activities deemed un-Islamic. Salman Khan is a famous personality of India. He has millions of fans and he is also a Muslim," he said. If any Muslim, even if it is Salman Khan, is promoting the Ram Mandir or any other non-Muslim thing, it is considered illegal and haram. I urge Salman Khan to follow the principles of Shariat," the Maulana remarked. Salman Khans Ram Mandir Edition Watch As reported by News18 earlier, his watch, the Jacob & Co. Epic X Ram Janmabhoomi Titanium Edition 2, comes at an incredible Rs 34 lakh. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Salman Khan (@beingsalmankhan) This magnificent watch is much more than simply a watch; it is a work of art that blends opulent workmanship with Indias rich spiritual and cultural legacy. The limited-edition watch, which was created in partnership with Ethos Watches, beautifully displays the Ram Janmabhoomi temples architectural magnificence on both the dial and the bezel. 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 First Published: March 28, 2025, 23:44 IST John Abraham Predicts National Award Win For The Diplomat: Its A Film For India | Exclusive Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 13:00 IST John Abraham says he's dealing with 'the problem of plenty' where makers look at him both in the Dostana and the Madras Cafe way. John Abraham's The Diplomat is inching towards Rs 30 crore. John Abraham starrer The Diplomat, which released in theatres on March 14 and opened to generous reviews, is slowly inching towards the Rs 30 crore mark. According to the actor, the film gave his audiences the chance to view him in a different light far removed from the macho guy known for beating up the bad guys through high-octane action sequences. In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, John says that while he thought that he had already proved his acting chops with a couple of films in the past, The Diplomat helped reemphasise it like never before. He tells us, My bad! I thought I had done a decent job in Madras Cafe and Parmanu. But now I think that The Diplomat has been a quantum leap for me as an actor. People have now sat down again and taken notice of me, saying, This guy has done well and can offer us a lot more than what we thought he could. And thats a big plus for producers, directors and the actor in me." Recommended Stories Glad to come out of the image that hes largely known for, John points out, For an actor like me, its a good problem to have the problem of plenty where youve a certain image of your persona and body as a clothes hanger. People look at me as a Dostana or a Jim way. At the same time, they look at me in a Madras Cafe or a The Diplomat way. What Ive done as an actor is offered a buffet to my directors and have asked them to choose from them, stating that Im available for everything." In fact, hes quite confident that his latest release may just fetch a National Award win, much like Madras Cafe and his production venture Vicky Donor. Vicky Donor won National Awards and so did Madras Cafe. I think The Diplomat deserves to be there too along with other films. Hopefully, there will be a lot of other films (of mine) that too will win this honour. Does The Diplomat deserve to be in that space and get nominated for the National Awards? More than yes! Its a resounding yes! We should go there. This film deserves a lot of adulation. Its a very credible film and its a film for India," John remarks. Thanking his director Shivam Nair and his audiences for the reception that he has been receiving, the Pathaan and Satyameva Jayate actor says, I would like to give credit to Shivam who guided me through his process and believed in me. We ended up getting a performance that Im proud of. Im very happy and relieved. When a normal consumer of a ticket goes in and watches my film and says that Im so good, thats a massive reward. These little things big things, rather matter to me in the long run. Actors are like beggars. We take this appreciation, put it in our pocket and move on (smiles)." About the Author Titas Chowdhury Titas Chowdhury is a Principal Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringing break... Read More Titas Chowdhury is a Principal Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringing break... Read More First Published: March 28, 2025, 10:07 IST Keerthy Suresh And Vijay Deverakonda Reunite For Rowdy Janardhan After Mahanati: Report Curated By : Last Updated: March 29, 2025, 02:01 IST Interestingly, while Vijay and Keerthy were both part of Mahanati, they never shared screen space as a romantic pair. Keerthy Suresh and Vijay Deverakonda. Vijay Deverakonda is all set for an exciting year with multiple projects lined up. Among them, Kingdom, directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, has generated massive buzz. Vijay has undergone a remarkable transformation for this action-packed role, which is slated for release in May 2025. But thats not all! According to recent reports, Vijay has also signed Rowdy Janardhan, directed by Ravi Kiran Kola. The film, produced by Dil Raju, had been shrouded in secrecy until now. Reports suggest that Keerthy Suresh has been finalised as the female lead, reuniting with Vijay after their appearance in Mahanati (2018). Recommended Stories As per a Koimoi report, the films production manager confirmed that Keerthy replaced Rukmini Vasanth in the project. We approached Keerthy Suresh recently, and she agreed. All formalities are complete, and the shoot is likely to begin in May," said the production manager. Interestingly, while Vijay and Keerthy were both part of Mahanati, they never shared screen space as a romantic pair. Their pairing in Rowdy Janardhan has left fans excited to witness their on-screen chemistry for the first time. Meanwhile, Kingdom has already created quite a stir, thanks to Vijays intense new look and the action-packed teaser that received a thunderous response. The Telugu spy thriller promises high-octane action and a gripping narrative, with Vijays performance being highly anticipated. In another update, producer Naga Vamsi recently revealed an interesting detail about Vijays remuneration for Kingdom. Speaking to Galatta Plus, he mentioned that Vijay took a minimal upfront fee and opted to earn from the films profits instead. This shows Vijays confidence in the films potential. On the other hand, Keerthy Suresh, who has been winning hearts with her recent performances, was last seen in Baby John alongside Varun Dhawan. The film is currently streaming on OTT and has been receiving positive responses from the audience. 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 29, 2025, 02:01 IST Kim Soo Hyun's FIRST Public Appearance Amid Kim Sae Ron Dating Scandal Postponed For Safety Reasons Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 09:07 IST Previously, the organisers of the event also issued a statement and claimed that the fan meet was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts". Kim Soo Hyun has been accused of dating the late actress Kim Sae-Ron when she was a minor. (Photo: Instagram) Amid the controversy surrounding South Korean star Kim Soo Hyun, it was recently reported that his first public appearance event has been cancelled. The actor was supposed to hold a fan meet in Taiwan, which has now been postponed. Days after, Kim Soo Hyuns agency, Gold Medalist, has revealed that the decision has been taken in view of the actors security concerns. As reported by Koreaboo, the agency recently issued a statement which read, Kim Soo Hyuns Taiwanese brand event schedule has been postponed for safety reasons." Recommended Stories Previously, the organisers of the event also issued a statement and revealed that the fan meet was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts". We regret to inform you that Kim Soo Hyun will not be able to attend the fan meeting scheduled for March 30 due to scheduling conflicts. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to our members," the statement read. Since the fan meet has been cancelled, Kim Soo Hyun might face financial repercussions and might have to pay 30 million Taiwanese dollars (approximately Rs 7.80 crore) in penalty. For the unversed, Kim Soo Hyun has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons for a long time now. He has been accused of dating the late actress Kim Sae-Ron when she was a minor. Recently, Sae Rons family released alleged private messages sent by Soo Hyun to their late daughter. In a press conference that the family held, they claimed that these chats prove that the two stars were indeed dating when Sae Ron was a minor. Prior to this, Kim Soo Hyuns agency also confirmed that he was in a romantic relationship with Kim Sae Ron. The agency, Gold Medalist, issued a statement and addressed allegations that the actor dated Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor. The agency claimed that the two were in a relationship in 2019 and 2020. It further argued that the viral photo, which caused the controversy, was also taken in 2020 and not in 2016. About the Author Chirag Sehgal Chirag Sehgal works as a Sub-Editor in the Entertainment team at News18.com. With an experience of five years in the media industry, he largely focuses on Indian television coverage. Apart from bringing breakin... Read More Chirag Sehgal works as a Sub-Editor in the Entertainment team at News18.com. With an experience of five years in the media industry, he largely focuses on Indian television coverage. Apart from bringing breakin... Read More First Published: March 28, 2025, 09:07 IST Sara Ali Khan Says She 'Shut Down' After Dad Saif Ali Khan Was Stabbed: 'It Was A Freeze Impulse' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 07:53 IST Saif Ali Khan was stabbed by an intruder at his Mumbai residence in the wee hours of January 16. Sara Ali Khan also says that her father, Saif Ali Khan, maintains his calm even in difficult situations. Sara Ali Khan has opened up about what she felt when she got to know that her actor-father, Saif Ali Khan, had been stabbed earlier this year. The actress was recently speaking at the Times Now Summit 2025 when she mentioned that she was left shocked and frozen after the shocking incident took place. I shut down. I dont remember muchit was a freeze impulse. I didnt know what was happening. We were lucky that it wasnt critical. From the hospital to getting updates, those 15-20 minutes felt like a lifetime. But I was relieved very fast," the actress said. Recommended Stories However, Sara mentioned that she was relieved when she saw her father coming out of the hospital smiling. Thats just who he is. Its a combination of his nature and his role as a father. As a father of four, with two small children, he had to show that he was okay. He has always been a fighter, and I look up to him for never giving up. Thats the nature of our jobsometimes, you have to put on a brave face and say, Im fine," she added. Reflecting on how Saif remains calm under pressure, Sara admitted, He is much better than others in panic situations. I, on the other hand, panic first, freeze, and cry." For the unversed, Saif Ali Khan was stabbed by an intruder at his Mumbai residence in the wee hours of January 16. It was reported that at around 2 AM, the actor heard noises when one of his female employees was attacked in Jehs room. This prompted Saif to intervene, which led to an altercation between the two and the attacker injured both Saif and the female employee. The Bollywood star was stabbed six times by the robber, following which he was rushed to the hospital. The actor was discharged on January 21. About the Author Chirag Sehgal Chirag Sehgal works as a Sub-Editor in the Entertainment team at News18.com. With an experience of five years in the media industry, he largely focuses on Indian television coverage. Apart from bringing breakin... Read More Chirag Sehgal works as a Sub-Editor in the Entertainment team at News18.com. With an experience of five years in the media industry, he largely focuses on Indian television coverage. Apart from bringing breakin... Read More First Published: March 28, 2025, 07:53 IST Vicky Jain Reacts As Influencers Mimic His Fights With Ankita Lokhande: 'Acting On Point' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 09:43 IST Ankita Lokhande and Vicky Jain tied the knot in December 2021. While the former is a popular actress, the latter is a businessman. Ankita Lokhande and Vicky Jain are currently seen in LaughterChefs 2. (Photo: Instagram) Businessman Vicky Jain has become a household name ever since he participated in Bigg Boss 17 with his actress wife, Ankita Lokhande. While the two are currently seen in Laughter Chefs 2, they are also known for their repeated arguments and fights. Recently, social media influencers named Taiyab Alam and Jasmine shared a video online in which they were seen mimicking Vicky and Ankita. They were seen arguing over petty things, as Ankita also kept complaining to her husband. Soon after the video was shared, actress Isha Malviya reacted to it and tagged Vicky Jain in the comments section. Vicky also replied, suggesting he loved the video. Acting on point," he wrote. Check it out here: Recommended Stories View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taiyab Alam (@taiyabalam0) Ankita Lokhande and Vicky Jain tied the knot in December 2021. While the former is a popular actress known for her performances in Pavitra Rishta and Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi, Jain is a businessman. Recently, Ankita and Vicky also landed into an argument after the former suggested that they should try couple counselling. It happened during their visit to Indore when Ankita met her cousins and told Vicky, Baby, we have found a counsellor. Niti di will do our counselling. She will do our couple counselling." However, Vicky refused to go for a couples counselling and added, Not ours, only you need counselling." Ankita then added, This is the problem, Vicky thinks that he is perfect. But aisa nahi hai Vicky." To this, Vicky replied, Perfect nahi hai, lekin mera dimaag sahi hai." A disappointed Ankita further argued, I think mera dimaag tujhse zyada sahi hai, that is how I am able to tolerate you." She then decided to stop the conversation, saying, Jhagda ho jayega, rehne dete hai." About the Author Chirag Sehgal Chirag Sehgal works as a Sub-Editor in the Entertainment team at News18.com. With an experience of five years in the media industry, he largely focuses on Indian television coverage. Apart from bringing breakin... Read More Chirag Sehgal works as a Sub-Editor in the Entertainment team at News18.com. With an experience of five years in the media industry, he largely focuses on Indian television coverage. Apart from bringing breakin... Read More First Published: March 28, 2025, 09:43 IST Viola Davis Lands In Chopper, Stuns In Red-Hot Gown At G20 World Premiere; Fans Go Gaga Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 29, 2025, 03:02 IST Viola Davis made a jaw-dropping entrance at the G20 world premiere in LA, arriving in a chopper and dazzling in a red gown. Viola Davis at G20 world premiere. Viola Davis set the red carpet on fire as she arrived at the star-studded world premiere of her action-thriller G20 at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. The Academy Award-winning actress made a jaw-dropping entrance, stepping out of a helicopter and motorcade, embodying the commanding presence of her character, U.S. President Danielle Sutton. Davis, exuding elegance in a strapless red gown, captivated the audience as she showcased her newest avatar as an action hero. G20 follows President Sutton, who becomes the prime target when the G20 summit is attacked. With world leaders at risk and her family in peril, Sutton must use her wit and strength to outsmart the enemy and ensure global safety. Recommended Stories The premiere was a glitzy affair with a dazzling lineup of stars. Davis was joined by co-stars Anthony Anderson, Marsai Martin, Antony Starr, Ramon Rodriguez, Douglas Hodge, Sabrina Impacciatore, Christopher Farrar, Meewha Alana Lee, and Angela Sarafyan. Director Patricia Riggen, producers Andrew Lazar and Julius Tennon, along with writers Logan Miller and Noah Miller, also graced the occasion, celebrating the films grand debut. Speaking about her challenging role, Davis expressed her excitement: This was one of the most physically demanding roles Ive taken on, and I loved every moment of it. G20 is not just about actionits about resilience, leadership, and the fight for survival in the face of danger." Directed by Patricia Riggen, G20 promises a thrilling ride with its intense action sequences and gripping narrative. The film boasts a stellar cast, including Elizabeth Marvel, and has been penned by Caitlin Parrish, Erica Weiss, Logan Miller, and Noah Miller. With a runtime of 108 minutes, G20 carries an R-rating for its high-octane action and pulse-pounding suspense. G20 is set for a global release on Prime Video on April 10, and fans are eagerly waiting to witness Viola Davis in her powerful, action-packed role as she takes charge to save the world. 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 29, 2025, 03:02 IST Global Watch | Arrest of Mahrang Baloch Exposes How Weak Is the Mighty Pakistani State Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 18:54 IST The states attempt to silence a prominent figure of the peaceful Baloch resistance has backfired, drawing greater attention to the plight of the Baloch people Pakistan's ethnic minority activist Mahrang Baloch addresses the media at Karachi Press Club in Karachi. (AFP file photo) Mahrang Baloch, the charismatic and fearless leader of the peaceful Baloch civil resistance, has been detained by Pakistani authorities alongside 16 other activists for protesting against the ongoing enforced disappearances in the province. As a key organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, an organisation that has played a significant role in galvanising grassroots mobilisations demanding state accountability, Baloch faces charges including directing terrorist activities, sedition, and rioting. Despite triggering widespread domestic and international condemnation, the Pakistani authorities remain largely unperturbed in their authoritarian suppression of peaceful Baloch demonstrations. In light of the recent escalation in insurgent attacks within the province, the latest wave of arrests and violent repression of protests can be seen as a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the states own failures and shortcomings. Recommended Stories Although the Pakistani state has escalated its efforts to silence Baloch this time, she has been under scrutiny for some time. A surgeon by profession, she has played a pivotal role in fostering the peaceful Baloch movement within a highly perilous environment. At just 32 years old, she has witnessed firsthand the severe abuses that the Pakistani state inflicts upon the Baloch people. In 2009, at the age of 16, her father, Abdul Ghaffar Lango, a labourer and political activist with the Balochistan National Party (BNP), was forcibly disappeared. Two years later, his mutilated body was discovered, showing signs of torture and gunshot wounds. In 2017, Balochs brother also forcibly disappeared. Although he was released three months later following Balochs vocal opposition to the authorities, her anger and activism endured, and she has since become the voice of many others who continue to suffer similar fates. Mahrang Baloch gained widespread recognition during the Baloch Yakjehti Committees (BYC) March against Baloch Genocide from Turbat to Quetta (the provincial capital) and ultimately to Islamabad, held between December 2023 and January 2024. The catalyst for this long march was the November 2023 killing of 24-year-old tailor Balach Mola Baksh by the Counter Terrorism Department, which falsely characterised the incident as an encounter. His family, claiming he was in state custody at the time of his death, protested at Fida Ahmed Chowk in Turbat with his body for a week, but their efforts yielded no results. The BYC had originally emerged from the Bramsh Yakjehti Committee, formed in solidarity with and to seek justice for Bramsh, the four-year-old daughter of Malik Naz, who was allegedly killed by state-backed death squads in May 2020. In response to the ongoing state abuses, including enforced disappearances, fabricated encounters, extrajudicial killings, and torture, the leadership of the Bramsh Yakjehti Committee chose to broaden its scope to address the broader plight of the Baloch people, renaming the organisation as the Baloch Yakjehti Committee. The movement is spearheaded by the mothers, sisters, daughters, and half-widows of those who have fallen victim to these brutal state actions, without any accountability. The BYC has since organised a number of significant demonstrations, mobilising people on an unprecedented scale in the history of the province, including the Baloch Raaji Muchi in Gwadar in July 2024 and the Baloch Genocide Remembrance Day in Dalbandin in January 2025. In response to the rise of peaceful civil resistance by the Baloch people, the Pakistani establishment, rather than addressing the long-standing grievances of the populace, has resorted to its usual tactics of obstructing, discrediting, and silencing the movement. The protests have continued despite state-enforced internet and network blackouts, arbitrary detentions, the use of water cannons, tear gas, and even live ammunition. Additionally, the state has launched an extensive disinformation campaign against the movement. The mainstream media, traditionally aligned with state narratives, has been complicit in linking the activists to insurgents, alleging that they are supported or manipulated by foreign entities. Mahrang Baloch herself has been targeted by malicious digital propaganda, with false claims that her father and brother were associated with insurgents. Furthermore, an image of her with a Norwegian journalist who interviewed her was circulated, suggesting foreign involvement in the movement. A fabricated audio recording was also spread, falsely claiming that Baloch was attempting to secure foreign funds for the Gwadar protest. A recurring element of the disinformation campaign involves misrepresenting the missing persons, whom the movement advocates for, as separatist militants. In one instance, a photograph of Baloch at a protest was altered to distort an image of a missing person on a poster behind her, replacing the image of Rafique Oman with that of Rafiq Bizenjo, a suicide bomber allegedly claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The province of Balochistan has endured immense deprivation and suffering due to the ongoing conflict between the Pakistani state and the long-standing armed insurgency. In addition to the systemic discrimination and exploitation imposed by the federal government, the Baloch people have faced relentless human rights violations by the state under the guise of counter-insurgency measures. The recent train hijacking and Noshki attack on security personnel by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) highlight the complete failure of Pakistans policies to address the insurgency and safeguard the Baloch population. Rather than confronting the fundamental issues surrounding its approach, the establishment has reverted to its familiar and convenient tactic of suppressing peaceful dissent to avoid addressing difficult questions. Dr Mahrang Baloch is currently being held in Quetta District Jail without any legal proceedings, denied access to her lawyer and family. Her cousin, Asma Baloch, has reported that the authorities are even preventing her family from delivering food and other necessary items to her. International human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders, have raised concerns about this situation and called for her immediate release. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all It is evident that the states attempt to silence a prominent figure of the peaceful Baloch resistance has backfired, drawing greater attention to the plight of the Baloch people. It is crucial that the establishment reassess its approach and put an end to the egregious practices that have fuelled the insurgency and caused immense suffering to the Baloch population. The writer is an author and a columnist. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views First Published: March 28, 2025, 18:54 IST I Differ...: Mamata Banerjee's Reply To Question On India's Economic Growth Draws BJP Flak Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 10:18 IST The BJP has come out all guns blazing against Mamata Banerjee who allegedly "objected" to India becoming the world largest economy in future. She is currently in the UK. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (Photo: X/ Amit Malviya) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is currently in the UK, allegedly objected" to a prediction that India would be the worlds largest economy by 2060, stating that she differs" from that view drawing condemnation from the BJP back home. The Chief Minister was also interrupted during her speech at the Kellogg College, Oxford University in London, during her visit to the United Kingdom. Recommended Stories Mamatas Differ Remark On Indias Progress Prediction During a Q&A session, Mamata was asked about Indias economic progress, leaving behind the UK as the fifth largest economy in the world. India has already overtaken the UK. We (UK) are now the sixth largest economy, India is now the fifth largest economy. Soon, it will be the third largest economy in the world. By 2060, it is predicted it will be the number 1 economy in the world," the interviewer said in the Q&A session the video of which surfaced online. Who? Who?" Mamata asked. India, as a country," the moderator responded. I will differ from that. There are so many things about which I should not speak here. Internal and external affair matters, I cannot disclose. I have some other opinion also. Because every country is facing challenge after COVID and also in the turmoil situation in the world. If an economic war-like situation is going on in the world, how do we expect that we will gain? Let us hope for the gain, we can only hope. It is our dream that our country should do best. But it depends," the Chief Minister said. India has surpassed the UK to become the worlds fifth-largest economya moment of pride for every Indian!Yet, Mamata Banerjee is tarnishing Indias reputation on foreign soil. Her anti-India rhetoric is not only shameful for every Bengali and Indian but also an insult to the pic.twitter.com/kKIoBQ0ATo Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) March 28, 2025 BJP Hits Out At Mamata With Disgrace Remark BJP leader Amit Malviya shared the video of the incident and said that Mamata has a problem" with India becoming the worlds largest economy. This is truly shameful. She is a disgrace to the constitutional office she holds. Who behaves like this on foreign soil?" he posted on X. Shehzad Poonawala, BJPs national spokesperson, recalled Rahul Gandhis remarks undermining Indias achievements on foreign soil" and said that the Oppositions INDIA bloc hates" the countrys accomplishments. It is unbelievable that a chief minister of an Indian state, on foreign soil, objects to India, becoming the largest economy in the world and expresses dissatisfaction about it.This is nothing but Bharat Badnami brigade that likes to undermine Indias achievements on foreign pic.twitter.com/nzAay3XFwl Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) March 28, 2025 It is unbelievable that a chief minister of an Indian state, on foreign soil, objects to India, becoming the largest economy in the world and expresses dissatisfaction about it. This is nothing but Bharat Badnami brigade that likes to undermine Indias achievements on foreign soil, just like Rahul Gandhi. INDI alliance hates Bharats achievements," he posted on X. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Union Minister and BJP Bengal chief Sukanta Majumdar slammed Mamata for her remarks and said that her anti-India rhetoric" is an insult" to the office she holds in the country. Mamata Banerjee is tarnishing Indias reputation on foreign soil. Her anti-India rhetoric is not only shameful for every Bengali and Indian but also an insult to the constitutional office she holds. It is evident that you have failed as a Chief Minister, but do you even hesitate to call yourself an Indian? Are you truly an Indian?" he posted on X. 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 : United Kingdom (UK) First Published: March 28, 2025, 10:08 IST 'Kept In Cells Meant For Terrorists': Revanth Reddy Recalls His Detention, Says 'Jail Infected With Big Insects & Lizards' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 11:59 IST The Chief Minister further added that the cell in which he was lodged was infested with "insects, moths and lizards", for flying a drone, an offence that only called for a Rs 500 fine. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy speaking in state assembly. (Image: X/@revanth_anumula) Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Thursday hit out at the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi and cited his harrowing experience when he was jailed for 16 days in 2020. Slamming the then BRS government, Reddy said he was kept in the cells that were meant for terrorists and Maoists. The Chief Minister further added that the cell in which he was lodged was infested with insects, moths and lizards", for flying a drone, an offence that only called for a Rs 500 fine. Recommended Stories Detailing his ordeal at the Cherlapally jail, Reddy said, There were big insects and moths and huge lizards to catch the insects. Some 20-30 of them hanging near the tube light on the ceiling. The constable said he had instructions not to put off the light. So, for 16 days I did not sleep at night. After everyone woke up and we were let out, I would sleep under a tree." The Chief Minister further stated that if needed, he can even take the MLAs and ministers to the jail to show them the reality. Hitting out at the Opposition, Chief Minister Reddy said that he is not someone who would take revenge as people did not give him the mandate for vindictive politics. Is it not a political vendetta against me? However, I did not commit any act of revenge. Your entire family would have been in Cherlapally jail if I wanted to take revenge. I didnt do that and showed wisdom," he added. Revanth Reddy Blasts KT Rama Rao The Chief Ministers explosion in the state assembly came following a retort from KT Rama Rao, the states former minister and son of BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao. What did Revanth Reddy do to go to jail?" Rao questioned, accusing the Chief Minister of flying drones above their houses. He went to accuse Reddy of not even considering that the children in the house were minors. I too went to Warangal jail during the movement. If we send a drone over your Jubilee Hills palace, will you stay quiet? If your wife or your child were there and someone took photos, how would it feel?" he attacked the Chief Minister. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all You linked me to people unnecessarily and labelled me as an adulterer and spoke however you wanted-is that your morality?" he said, reported NDTV. Notably, Revanth Reddys retaliation came days after the Telangana High Court cancelled the complaint against him. In addition to this, the police report also did not mention KTR or his farmhouse and pointed out that the area had not been declared a prohibited zone. 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 Location : Telangana, India, India First Published: March 28, 2025, 09:16 IST Uproar In Rajya Sabha: BJP Condemns SP MP Ramji Lal Suman's Remark On Rana Sanga, Demands Apology Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 13:18 IST BJP MPs were seen shouting slogans in Rajya Sabha and forced a 30-minute adjournment of proceedings as they condemned the SP MP's statement. Uproar erupted in Rajya Sabha on Friday after BJP MPs demanded an apology from Samajwadi Party leader Ramji Lal Suman. (PTI photo) A massive uproar erupted in Rajya Sabha on Friday after BJP MPs condemned Samajwadi Party leader Ramji Lal Sumans remarks against Rajput king Rana Sanga and demanded an apology from him. BJP MPs were seen shouting slogans in the house and forced a 30-minute adjournment of proceedings as they condemned the SP MPs statement. We will not compromise on this issue until Congress and Ramji Suman ji apologise," said Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal. Recommended Stories Responding to the situation, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called the Rajput king a national hero who fought valiantly, and called the remarks against him highly disparaging and objectionable." He further asked the Members of Parliament to exercise caution and maintain dignity while speaking on sensitive issues. Sentiments of people are very precious; dignity, security, and prestige of a Member of the House is equally important," he said. BJP Vs Congress In Rajya Sabha Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also condemned Sumans statement on Rana Sanga and termed it as an insult. Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said he and his party respect all patriots who fought and laid down their lives for the country. However, referring to the attacks on Sumans house and property post his controversial remarks. Kharge said, None have the right to take law and order in their hands and break into an MPs house and resort to vandalism." Such anti-Dalit actions will not be tolerated," the Congress president asserted, further infuriating the ruling benches. To this, Rijiju said he condemned Kharges remarks that Sumans house was attacked because he was a Dalit. This is not a caste or religious issue," he said. Union Minister Piyush Goyal stated that Kharge was trying to give a caste twist to the issue and it was condemnable. SP MP Refuses To Apologise Amid the ongoing uproar regarding his statement, Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman on Thursday said that he will not apologise for his remarks on Rana Sanga because one cannot deny history. I will not apologise in this life, I do not know about the next life," the Samajwadi MP was quoted as saying on Thursday, a day after his house was attacked allegedly by the members of the Karni Sena. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Suman was recently captured on camera purportedly saying that Rana Sanga was a traitor" who brought Babur to defeat Ibrahim Lodi. Notably, members of Karni Sena, a caste-based group advocating Rajput pride, vandalised the SP leaders house located near Hari Parvat Chauraha in Agra on Wednesday. Multiple cars parked outside the house were also damaged. 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 28, 2025, 13:18 IST Apple Chief Tim Cook Asked About Chinas DeepSeek AI Model: Heres What He Said Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 07:20 IST Apple needs AI to succeed in China where models like DeepSeek R1 and companies like Alibaba will have a big role to play in the near future. Tim Cook is visiting China this week looking to get Apple's AI moving DeepSeek AI from China has shown up other expensive AI models and even became an overnight hit with iPhone users in the US. Now, during his visit to China, Apple CEO Tim Cook, looking to build the AI ecosystem in the region, was asked about his views on the popular AI model built in the country. Cook is most likely visiting the country to get Apples AI ambitions to get a kickstart in the region, which needs a local AI source to make the features run on iPhones. China is one of the biggest markets for Apple and AI is growing at a brisk pace in the country, so the need for the Apple chief to head over to get the talks moving is obvious. Recommended Stories DeepSeek AI IsWhat Tim Cook Said Cook was speaking to the state media, where he was asked about his views on DeepSeek to which he said excellent." Thats not all, the Apple chief reportedly said that he recommends AI models of Chinese startups like DeepSeek. All these statements were made before a developer conference in Shanghai, and Apple is clearly trying to please the local regime to get the nod for its own AI ecosystem. Cook is usually diplomatic with questions like these, where he has a lot at stake and the one word response seems part of his usual profile. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all DeepSeek has brought its share of concerns, especially with its obvious links to China and policies where the data is being sent over to the local servers. Thats not all, its popularity has made it the favourite tool for hackers which raises further alarm for the users. The Chinese government has reportedly asked Apple to work with a local company to launch its AI features in the country and it was not an optional decision to take. Apple already has a lot on its plate with the delayed AI Siri now pushed to 2026 while internally the company is making wholesale changes to get AI off the ground. Cook hopes China could play a big role in its success. About the Author S Aadeetya S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More News18 Tech delivers the latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements, and more. Stay informed with breaking tech news , expert insights, and trends from India and around the world . Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: March 28, 2025, 07:20 IST WhatsApp Can Now Become Your Default Calling App On iPhone: How It Works Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 12:47 IST WhatsApp on iOS has been a third-party app for many years but the new iOS 18 updates are changing that in multiple ways. The iOS 18.2 update is making the default app change possible. IOS Whatsapp Features: WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature for iPhones that will make it easier for users to use the app as their default calling and messaging app. Following the recent iOS 18.2 update , the messaging app lets users set WhatsApp as their default messaging and calling app, meaning when they tap a phone number or message button, the iPhone will automatically launch WhatsApp instead of the built-in Phone or Messages apps. The change was first noted by WABetaInfo. It allows the Meta-owned messaging service to appear in the default menu for app selection within iOS settings, reported MacRumors. Recommended Stories To access the feature, users need to update WhatsApp to the newest version via the App Store. Once the iOS 18.2 update is there, iPhone users can now head over to Settings > Apps > Default Apps and select WhatsApp for their default calling and messaging needs. Once WhatsApp is set as the default for messaging and/or calling, the built-in Phone or Messages will not open automatically when you tap on a contacts number or click on the message button. The iPhone will automatically launch the messaging app when users initiate a call or send a message. For example, tapping the message or call button within a contacts card in the iPhones Contacts app will now direct users straight to WhatsApp instead of the default Apple applications. It is worth noting that the update is now available for all iPhone users via the App Store, allowing them to seamlessly integrate WhatsApp into their daily communication routines. Originally, the feature was expected to be restricted to users in the European Union, but it has since been made available worldwide. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In other news, the tech giant seems to be developing several new features for its iOS app that will offer more flexibility to developers and users. Besides the messages and calls options, iPhone users can also select alternative default apps for web browsing, email, translation, password management, call filtering and payments (in select regions). Moreover, in the European Union, the Cupertino-based tech giant has gone a step further by allowing users to change their default maps app. About the Author S Aadeetya S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More News18 Tech delivers the latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements, and more. Stay informed with breaking tech news , expert insights, and trends from India and around the world . Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : California, USA First Published: March 28, 2025, 11:03 IST 'Delete This': White Houses AI-Generated Ghibli Meme Of Drug Convict Sparks Controversy Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 10:34 IST Virginia Basora-Gonzalez was first arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for possessing over 40 grams of fentanyl and aiding and abetting. The images showed the drug dealer breaking down in tears during her arrest. (Photo Credit: X) OpenAIs latest GPT-4o model has taken the internet by storm with its new image creation feature. The feature, which lets users create anime-style portraits inspired by Studio Ghibli, became an instant hit after OpenAI founder Sam Altman updated his profile picture on X (formerly Twitter) with a Ghibli-style AI-generated image. Now, the White House has jumped on the trend that didnt sit well with social media users. It shared a Ghibli-style meme of convicted drug dealer Virginia Basora-Gonzalez. The post was shared as a reply to another post by the White House on X. The original post stated, Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, a previously deported alien felon convicted of fentanyl trafficking, was arrested by @ICEgov in Philadelphia after illegally reentering the U.S." Recommended Stories The images showed Basora-Gonzalez breaking down in tears during her arrest. She was first arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Pennsylvania for possessing over 40 grams of fentanyl and aiding and abetting, the New York Post reported. She later pleaded guilty to the charges and received a sentence of 12 months and one day in prison along with four years of supervised release. However, before the completion of the whole sentence, she was deported to the Dominican Republic in October 2020. At some point, Basora-Gonzalez managed to re-enter the US illegally. On March 7, a confidential source informed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of her return. This information led ICE agents to La Tierra Del Caribe Restaurant in North Philadelphia where she was reportedly working as a cook. Agents arrested her outside the restaurant soon after. See the post here: The White Houses decision to use a Ghibli-style image for such a serious incident received backlash from social media users. One user commented, This is horrible leadership. Im on board with strict borders. But mocking them? This is embarrassing and shameful." Another said, This is not sending the message you think its sending." Someone called it weird," while a person wrote, This is utterly tasteless beyond all conception. America, is this what your country stands for these days?" An individual questioned, I get shes a fentanyl dealer and thats bad, but why even post this?" Studio Ghibli is a well-known Japanese animation studio that has created many imaginative and emotional films. It was founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Miyazaki has been openly critical of AI-generated art. He once called it an insult to life itself." He said, I cant watch this stuff and find it interesting. Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever. I am utterly disgusted. If you want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself." 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 28, 2025, 10:34 IST Paws and Effect: Dog Chews Up Rs 3.32 Lakh Cash, Leaves Owners in Shock Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 15:25 IST Imagine someone chewing up your hard-earned money, mistaking it for candy? This is what happened to Carrie Law and her partner, Clayton, when their pet dog ate a bundle of notes worth 4,000 dollars (about Rs 3.32 lakh) This incident may sound funny, but it was no less than a shock for Carrie and Clayton. (News18 Hindi) A dog is considered the most loyal companion. But what happens when this cute pet friend gives you a shock worth millions? A similar strange case came to light in Pennsylvania, where a pet dog, while playing, shocked its owner. Imagine someone chewing up your hard-earned money, mistaking it for candy? This is what happened to Carrie Law and her partner Clayton when their pet dog ate a bundle of notes worth 4,000 dollars (about Rs 3.32 lakh). This incident may sound funny, but it was no less than a shock for Carrie and Clayton. Recommended Stories Carrie Law and Clayton have a cute seven-year-old pet dog named Cecil. They both love him like a member of their family. But what happened last month has created a stir in their lives. Carrie said she had kept $4,000 at home for important work. This amount was kept in an envelope on the kitchen counter. Little did she know that her trusted pet friend would soon chew it up, mistaking it for his food. On the day of the incident, Carrie and Clayton were in another room of their house. Suddenly, Clayton shouted, Cecil ate the money!" At first, Carrie did not believe it, but when she saw it with her own eyes, she was shocked. The entire envelope was torn, and small pieces of chewed notes were scattered here and there. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all As soon as they realised that Cecil had swallowed the bundle of notes, they tried to make him vomit. But despite all efforts, the dog did not bring anything up. They waited for hours for Cecil to pass the money, but there was no sign of it. Finally, when they could not find any solution, they called the doctor. The doctor examined Cecil and said he was completely healthy. The doctor explained that sometimes dogs do such things, but their bodies cannot digest it and expel it after some time. Carrie Law posted the incident and visuals on Instagram from her handle @ooolalaw. This incident went viral on social media, garnering more than 2.5 lakh views, and people also gave funny reactions to it. Some people said, Cecil was dreaming of becoming a millionaire." Others wrote, Now he should get a job in a bank, after all, he loves money so much." However, this was no joke for Carrie and Clayton. 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 : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 28, 2025, 15:25 IST This Unique Dish Made With Bamboo Sticks Is The New Craze In China Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 15:48 IST The restaurant, located in Hunan province, serves thin bamboo sticks coated with salt, pepper, and spices, then grilled to perfection. Over 100 plates are ordered every day just to savour the spice on the sticks Interestingly, this dish is especially popular among women, who enjoy it as a late-night snack since its calorie-free. (News18 Hindi) There are as many flavours of food and drinks as there are countries in the world. Each place has its own unique taste, which can be delightful or sometimes quite strange. Some people are vegetarians and avoid eating animal meat, while others consume meat from various animals. In China, however, its not unusual for people to eat almost anything. China is known for its unique food choices and a new unique dish is currently making waves, one you might have never heard of before. Bamboo sticks, typically used in handicrafts, are being served as a snack, seasoned with chilli and spices. Recommended Stories A barbecue restaurant in China has launched a bizarre menu item that will leave you surprised. While it may not technically qualify as food, its gaining quite a following. The restaurant, located in Hunan province, serves thin bamboo sticks coated with salt, pepper, and spices, then grilled to perfection. Created by chef Ma, the dish features bamboo sticks topped with chilli-masala and green onion, offering a flavourful experience, although the sticks are discarded after consumption. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Interestingly, this dish is especially popular among women, who enjoy it as a late-night snack since its calorie-free. Over 100 plates are ordered every day just to savour the spice on the sticks. Customers often add extra flavours, enhancing their experience. The dish has sparked humour on social media, with one user joking, Its better to lick the masala off noodles than this." In fact, this isnt the first time such unusual food trends have emerged in China; in the past, stones have been fried in spices, and even ice has been served in a similar spicy fashion. So, this latest creation doesnt seem too out of the ordinary. 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 : China First Published: March 28, 2025, 15:48 IST UK Woman Dismissed Dizziness, Ear Pain As Common Cold. Then Came The Shocking Truth Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 13:13 IST One night, Nadia was struck with vertigo. The room spun, her body froze, and a piercing ring filled her ears. She thought she was about to die. Nadia was told that her symptoms were not caused by a simple cold or allergy. (Representational Image) It all began as a mild annoyance just a little congestion and dizziness that 50-year-old Nadia Bishop from Swindon, UK, dismissed as nothing more than a lingering cold. But what seemed trivial at first quickly turned into a harrowing medical crisis that would change her life forever. For months, Nadia experienced persistent dizziness and clogged ears, symptoms she attributed to seasonal allergies or a stubborn viral infection. With a busy life as a marketing manager and part-time model, she had little time to dwell on minor ailments. However, one night in April 2017, without warning, an intense wave of vertigo struck. The room around her spun violently. Sweat drenched her body. Her ears rang with an unbearable tingling sensation, and her breath became laboured. Paralysed by the attack, she couldnt move, couldnt open her eyes. She felt her body shutting down. I genuinely believed my life was about to end," she later recalled. Recommended Stories Alone and immobilised, she could do nothing as nausea overtook her. She vomited repeatedly, her body overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught. When her hearing began to fade, panic set in. With sheer desperation, she managed to use Siri on her iPhone to call for help. Her mother-in-law, alerted by the emergency call, wasted no time in contacting paramedics. Upon arrival, medical personnel administered anti-nausea medication and stabilised her condition. The following day, Nadia sought medical advice, expecting a routine diagnosis. She was told that her symptoms were not caused by a simple cold or allergy but by labyrinthitis, an inner ear disorder that affects balance and hearing. Doctors assured her that the condition was temporary and would improve within weeks. But instead of recovering, Nadias condition deteriorated. The dizzy spells became longer and more frequent, lasting for hours or even days at a time. Her hearing continued to decline at an alarming rate. I felt like I was losing control over my own life," she admitted. Further medical examinations, including an MRI, delivered the final devastating blow Nadia was diagnosed with Menieres disease, a chronic and incurable condition characterised by recurring vertigo, vomiting, and progressive hearing loss. When the doctors told me, I felt like the ground had been ripped from beneath me," she said, adding that she had never imagined that ignoring a simple cold could lead to something this severe. Despite the diagnosis, Nadia refused to let the disease define her. With her hearing now dependent on aids and receiving steroid injections every three months, she has adjusted to a new reality. Doctors recommended a surgical procedure to drain excess fluid from her ear, which could provide some relief. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Rather than retreating into despair, Nadia turned her hardship into a mission. She has embraced British Sign Language (BSL) and actively raises awareness about hearing impairments. Determined to challenge societal stigmas, she encouraged people to view hearing aids as tools of empowerment rather than symbols of disability. Her story, now widely shared on social media, has inspired thousands. Nadias experience is a powerful reminder of how dangerous it can be to dismiss seemingly minor health issues," one user wrote. Her courage is truly admirable," another commented. 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 28, 2025, 13:13 IST Watch: King Charles Gets A Bollywood Welcome As Indian Pipe Band Plays Dhoom Machale Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 13:30 IST King Charles, along with members of the royal family, attended the annual Commonwealth Day on March 10. The royal family received a Bollywood-style welcome at the ceremony. (Photo Credit: Instagram) Britains royal family, led by King Charles III, gathered at Westminster Abbey in London on March 10 to celebrate Commonwealth Day. The event saw the presence of Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, among others. While the royals arrival was a spectacle in itself, it was the electrifying welcome by the Shree Muktajeeavan Swamibapa Pipe Band (SMSPB) from Shree Swaminarayan Mandir that stole the spotlight. In a delightful surprise, the Indian bagpipe band broke tradition by playing the iconic Bollywood track Dhoom Machale from the 2004 film Dhoom. A video of the performance, shared by the band on their official Instagram page, has since taken the internet by storm, leaving viewers both amazed and entertained. Recommended Stories View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band London (@smspipeband_london) Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band London were honoured to perform at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in the esteemed presence of Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla. A truly unforgettable moment celebrating unity, heritage, and culture, and follows a long list of performances by the band in front of royalty," the caption read. The clip quickly went viral, drawing a flood of reactions from desi fans enjoying the hit tunes of the popular song, with many even drawing likes to Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan. A user wrote, Bandmaster cooked that day," while another added, I think the Dhoom 4 movie promotion is here." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Dhol mixed with the drums and pipes! Brilliant stuff, boys!" a user praised the bands performance, while another one remarked, Absolutely brilliant Firstly, in the arrangement of the piece and secondly, the sheer badass choice of the song." Social media also did not refrain from cracking jokes over the situation, with many remarking, Thats Hrithik Roshan disguised as Camilla," Plot twist: The king is Hritik in disguise," and Relax, boys, its Hritik gone to take the Kohinoor back." Ever since, the clip has left people across the internet delighted over the fusion of Indian and British culture at such a prestigious ceremony. Many even questioned the authenticity of the music, only to receive a formal confirmation after the BBCs official airing of the entrance. 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 28, 2025, 13:06 IST Woman Takes Legal Action After 16 Crore Versace-Designed Flat Lacks Bathtub Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 18:09 IST A woman has filed a lawsuit against the developers of a Versace-designed luxury condominium in London for which she paid Rs 16.6 crore. To finance the purchase, Mi Suk Park sold her prior home in 2019. (Photo Credit: Instagram) A London-based accountant, Mi Suk Park, has filed a lawsuit against the developers of a Versace-designed flat, claiming the property failed to meet the promised luxury standards. According to The Telegraph, Park had invested Rs 16.6 crore (1.5 million) in a two-bedroom apartment with a parking space in the 50-storey Aykon London One tower in Nine Elms, developed in collaboration with Versace. She had already paid a Rs 4.2 crore (381,000) deposit but now alleges the flat did not match the high expectations set by the developers. Recommended Stories Mi Suk Park sold her previous house in 2019 to pay for the flat, which she planned to use as her main abode until retirement. The apartment was supposed to be finished in 2020; however, due to building delays, the handover date was moved to 2022. After she moved in, she found that one of the two bathrooms lacked a bathtub, which she thought was a key feature of the design, and that one of the bedrooms was smaller than she had anticipated. She brought the case before the Central London County Court, requesting damages of Rs 7.7 crore (700,000). In contrast to the layout she had been shown before making the deposit, the apartment was materially and manifestly different," according to her lawyer, Nazar Mohammad. The apartment was an off-plan purchase on the 29th floor facing west and was meant to have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a bathtub in each. It was to be an open-plan layout. The defendant provided a plan appended to the sales and purchase agreement, and she signed the same plan," Mohammad told The Telegraph. In response to the case, the developersa Jersey-based entity owned by a parent company based in Dubaihave accused Mi Suk Park of not completing the acquisition. Meanwhile, the developers lawyer, Rupert Cohen, contended that the brochure simply showed sample units, noting that typical layout is written at the top of each page." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Park refused to complete and instead, purported to rescind the contract by letter dated 14 October 2022. Subsequently, the defendant served notice to complete on 22 November 2022 and, following the claimants failure to complete, a notice of termination on January 9, 2023. Park issued these proceedings on 21 April 2023," Cohen stated, as quoted by The Telegraph. As both sides fight the disagreement in court, the matter is still pending. 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 28, 2025, 18:03 IST British MP Bob Blackman Calls For Formal UK Apology Over Jallianwala Bagh Massacre In Parliament | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 10:39 IST Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Raised In UK Parliament: Calling the massacre a "stain on the British Empire, the British MP said, At the end of that massacre, 1,500 people were dead and 1,200 injured." Britains Opposition Conservative Party lawmaker Bob Blackman. (Image Credit: X) British opposition lawmaker from the Conservative Party- Bob Blackman- asked the UK government to formally apologise to India for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. Sharing a video of his speech in the UK Parliament, Bob Blackman wrote on X (formerly Twitter), Today, I raised the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. I asked the Govt to formally give an apology to the people of India ahead of the atrocities anniversary." Recommended Stories What Bob Blackman Said In UK Parliament On Jallianwala Bagh Massacre In his speech at the House of Commons, Bob Blackman said, On April 13, 1919, families gathered, very peacefully, in the Jallianwala Bagh to enjoy the day out with their families. General Dyer, on behalf of the British army, marched his troops in and ordered his troops to fire on those innocent people until they ran out of ammunition." Today, I raised the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.I asked the Govt to formally give an apology to the people of India ahead of the atrocities anniversary. pic.twitter.com/UMhHY38ISH Bob Blackman (@BobBlackman) March 27, 2025 Calling the massacre a stain on the British Empire", the British MP said, At the end of that massacre, 1,500 people were dead and 1,200 injured. Eventually, General Dyer was disgraced for this stain on the British Empire." He continued, So, could we have a statement from the Government admitting to what went wrong and formally giving an apology to the people of India?" top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on April 13, 1919, in Amritsar, Punjab, during British colonial rule in India. British troops, under Reginald Dyer, fired on a peaceful gathering of unarmed civilians who had assembled to celebrate Baisakhi and protest against the Rowlatt Act. Dyer blocked the only exit and ordered his soldiers to fire without warning. In 2019, UK PM Theresa May expressed deep regret" for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, calling it a shameful scar on British Indian history"- but did not issue a formal apology. About the Author Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" Location : London, United Kingdom (UK) First Published: March 28, 2025, 10:39 IST 'Extremely Productive Call': Donald Trump Speaks To Mark Carney Amid US-Canada Trade War Published By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 20:57 IST US President Donald Trump and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney held a telephonic conversation on Friday amid soaring tensions over tariffs and Trump's drive to annex his country's northern neighbour. US President Donald Trump and Canada's PM Mark Carney | File Image/AFP US President Donald Trump and Canadas Prime Minister Mark Carney held a telephonic conversation on Friday amid soaring tensions over tariffs and Trumps drive to annex his countrys northern neighbour. The crucial round of talks came a day after Carney declared that the era of deep economic, security and military ties between Canada and the United States is over." Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister two weeks ago and has called snap elections for April 28. Recommended Stories Taking to Truth Social, Trump said that the call with the Canadian PM was extremely productive" and announced that both leaders agreed on many crucial decisions. I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canadas upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" said Trump. Usually, a newly elected Canadian leader prioritises a phone call with the US president shortly after taking office, but Trump and Carney did not speak until today. Carney heavily criticized Trumps decision this week to slap steep tariffs on cars. Trumps planned 25 per cent levy on vehicle imports to the United States is to come into force next week and could be devastating for a Canadian auto industry that supports an estimated 500,000 jobs. After Trumps announcement, Carney paused his election campaign to return to Ottawa for an emergency cabinet meeting to work on tactics in the trade war with the United States. He said Canada would retaliate against the auto tariffs, calling them unjustified" and in breach of existing trade deals. But Carneys most eye-catching statement was his broader warning that Trump had permanently altered relations between the two North American neighbours. Trump has repeatedly said since returning to power in January that close NATO ally Canada should become the 51st US state. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over," Carney said. Carney warned that he would not participate in substantive trade negotiations with Washington until the president showed Canada respect," particularly by ending his repeated annexation threats. Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 28, 2025, 20:16 IST 'Don't Consider Liberal Attitude Of Nepalis, Political Parties As Weakness': Former PM To Monarchists Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 21:53 IST Prachanda said the monarchists were trying to terrorise people in the name of reinstating monarchy Former Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. (AFP file photo) CPN-Maoist Centre chief Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda" on Friday said the pro-monarchist forces should not consider the liberal attitude of Nepali people and political parties as their weakness and warned former king Gyanendra Shah from repeating the same mistake. Prachanda, addressing a grand rally attended by thousands of people at Bhrikutimandap here, said the monarchists were trying to terrorise people in the name of reinstating monarchy. Recommended Stories They have burnt houses and pelted stones on the police personnel in Kathmandu during their demonstration," he said. Dont consider the liberal attitude shown by Nepali people and political parties as their weakness," Prachanda said. He said the former king was reduced to an ordinary citizen because of his past wrongdoings and asked Gyanendra not to repeat the same mistake so that he would lose everything. It will be unacceptable for Nepali people and political parties to return backwards on the path of regression by reinstating monarchy, Prachanda said. He also asked the anti-monarchist and democratic forces to come forward for self-criticism so that people could be taken into confidence. We will fight against corruption and establish good governance," he said. The mistakes and weaknesses shown by democratic and republican forces have prepared the ground for the monarchists to fish into troubled water, he pointed out. Corruption has become rampant, brokers have taken advantage and there is disorder in society, which became the breeding ground for regressive forces," said Prachanda. CPN-Unified Socialist chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal and Nepal Communist Party General Secretary Netra Bikram Chand also addressed the meeting. Meanwhile, the monarchists vandalised the office of CPN-Unified Socialist at Naya Baneshwor area of Kathmandu. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Earlier, they set on fire a private house in the Tinkune area. At least seven security personnel and two demonstrators were injured during clashes between the monarchists and security personnel in the Tinkune area on Friday, police said. Location : Kathmandu, Nepal First Published: March 28, 2025, 21:53 IST 'Era Of Close Ties With US Is Over': Canada PM Mark Carney After Trump Introduces Steep Auto Tariffs Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 07:04 IST Mark Carney warned Canadians that Trump had permanently altered relations with the United States and that, regardless of any future trade deals, there would be "no turning back." Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney (IMAGE: REUTERS) Hours after US President Donald Trump announced steep auto tariffs on Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday said that the era of deep economic, security and military ties between the two countries is over". Carneys remarks came after Trumps planned 25 percent levy on vehicle imports to the United States is to come into force next week and could be devastating for Canadian auto industry that supports an estimated 500,000 jobs. Recommended Stories After Trumps announcement, Carney paused his campaign ahead of Canadas April 28 election to return to Ottawa for a meeting of cabinet members working on tactics in the trade war with the United States. Further calling Trumps auto tariffs unjustified," Carney said they were in breach of existing trade deals between the countries. He also warned Canadians that Trump had permanently altered relations with the United States and that, regardless of any future trade deals, there would be no turning back." The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over," Carney said. Our response to these latest tariffs is to fight, is to protect, is to build," Carney said, adding that Canada would retaliate against the auto tariffs. We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada," he added. Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Canadas Prime Minister on March 14. Typically, a new Canadian leader makes a phone call with the US president a priority immediately after taking office but Trump and Carney have not spoken. He said Thursday that the White House had reached out to schedule a call and that he expected to speak to Trump in the next day or two," news agency AFP reported. Carney has also said that while he is willing to talk to Trump, he will not participate in substantive trade negotiations with Washington until the president shows Canada respect," particularly by ending his repeated annexation threats. For me, there are two conditions, not necessarily for a call, but a negotiation with the United States. First Respect, respect for our sovereignty as a country apparently its a lot for him," Carney said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all There has to be comprehensive discussion between the two of us, including with respect to our economy and our security," he added. (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 : Ottawa, Canada First Published: March 28, 2025, 06:57 IST Israel's Secret Weapon: The Sky Rider Drones Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 15:39 IST The Sky Rider Unit of the Israeli Defence Forces uses advanced UAVs for real-time battlefield intelligence, aiding in reconnaissance and precision strikes since the 2006 Lebanon War. Israel's Sky Rider Unit provides real-time battlefield intelligence for the IDF. (AP Photo for representation) In the modern battlefield, intelligence is as critical as firepower. Imagine possessing a detailed map of enemy positions, movements, and capabilities before engaging in combat. For the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), this is not just a strategic wish it is a reality, thanks to the ultra-secretive Sky Rider Unit. Operating under the 215th Artillery Brigade, this elite unit serves as the eyes of Israels military, providing real-time intelligence to infantry, special forces, and armored battalions. Using advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the Sky Rider Unit ensures soldiers advance safely through hostile terrain, monitoring the battlefield like a hawk from above. Recommended Stories Sky Rider Unit Origins: A Lesson from War The roots of the Sky Rider Unit trace back to the early 2000s, when the IDF began evaluating the use of mini-drones for battlefield reconnaissance. However, it was the 2006 Second Lebanon War that underscored the urgent need for real-time aerial intelligence. During that conflict, Israeli ground forces faced significant operational challenges due to limited real-time surveillance. In response, the IDF laid the foundation for what would become Unit 5353 the Sky Rider Unit. The program underwent extensive trials by the Intelligence and Combat Collection Corps before its formal establishment on October 10, 2010. Eventually, it was placed under the Artillery Corps, ensuring seamless coordination with ground and air support. How the Sky Rider Operates Unlike conventional aerial surveillance units, the Sky Rider Unit carries its UAVs directly into combat zones. Soldiers transport these lightweight drones in compact backpacks, assembling them on-site in minutes. Once ready, the Skylark UAV is launched using a specialised catapult, soaring into enemy airspace to relay critical intelligence. Two operators control the UAV via computer, analysing real-time video feeds to detect enemy movements, suspicious activities, and battlefield obstacles. The gathered intelligence is instantly relayed to field commanders, enabling swift and informed decision-making. Beyond reconnaissance, the Sky Rider Unit plays a pivotal role in directing artillery, tank fire, and helicopter gunships, ensuring maximum precision in strikes. In modern asymmetric warfare, where urban combat and counterterrorism operations demand split-second decisions, this unit provides a decisive advantage. Road to Becoming a Sky Rider Only a select few make it into this elite intelligence unit. Aspiring candidates undergo rigourous selection within the Artillery Corps and Special Units. The screening process begins during basic training, after which promising recruits are funneled into a specialised company. Following their initial training, Sky Rider soldiers embark on a gruelling 6-8 months programme, covering individual and team-based drone operations. This training emphasises small-unit tactics, allowing operators to function in high-stress combat environments. Their expertise ensures that every mission whether in open desert landscapes or dense urban warfare is executed with precision. The Skylark UAV Arsenal The Sky Rider Unit relies on the highly sophisticated Skylark UAV series, developed by Israels defence giant, Elbit Systems Ltd. These drones provide the IDF with unmatched aerial surveillance capabilities. The current fleet includes: Skylark I-LEX: A compact surveillance drone designed for rapid deployment. It transmits high-resolution live video, has a range of 40 kilometres, and can operate at altitudes of 15,000 feet for up to three hours. A compact surveillance drone designed for rapid deployment. It transmits high-resolution live video, has a range of 40 kilometres, and can operate at altitudes of 15,000 feet for up to three hours. Skylark C: A maritime variant tailored for naval operations. Launched from small boats or ships, it aids in coastal patrol and reconnaissance, autonomously landing on water when necessary. It boasts a range of 40 kilometres and an endurance of five hours. A maritime variant tailored for naval operations. Launched from small boats or ships, it aids in coastal patrol and reconnaissance, autonomously landing on water when necessary. It boasts a range of 40 kilometres and an endurance of five hours. Skylark 3: The most advanced in the series, this drone is built for covert operations, providing round-the-clock intelligence. Its superior sensors and high-resolution cameras deliver crystal-clear images, even in challenging conditions. With a range of 100 kilometres and a 6-hour flight time, Skylark 3 ensures Israeli forces maintain an unblinking eye on the battlefield. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Future of Warfare As conflicts evolve, so too does the demand for real-time intelligence. The Sky Rider Unit has become an indispensable part of Israels military doctrine, seamlessly integrating aerial surveillance with ground operations. With continued advancements in drone technology, its capabilities will only expand, solidifying its role as one of the most formidable intelligence assets in the IDFs arsenal. Location : Israel First Published: March 28, 2025, 15:39 IST King Charles Briefly Hospitalised Following Side Effects From Cancer Treatment Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 07:23 IST King Charles' Health Update: King Charles has returned to Clarence House after cancelling his engagements on medical advice, the palace said in a statement. King Charles' Health Update: Britain's King Charles is seen. The Buckingham Palace said King Charles III required a short period of observation in hospital" after experiencing temporary side effects" from a scheduled cancer treatment. The 76-year-old monarch has returned to Clarence House after cancelling his engagements on medical advice, the palace said in a statement. His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result," the palace said. King Charles was to receive credentials from the ambassadors of three countries and undertake four public engagements in Birmingham, when he was hospitalised. Recommended Stories A palace spokesperson said, He very much hopes that they can be rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible." A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he wishes His Majesty the King all the very best." King Charles Cancer Diagnosis top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all King Charles revealed in January 2024 that he had cancer- keeping the type undisclosed. Following this, he briefly stepped away from public duties as he received treatment. Thousands of people sent the monarch messages of support when he was first diagnosed, which he said reduced me to tears." Such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement," King Charles had then said. He returned to public duties fully in April 2024. About the Author Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" Location : London, United Kingdom (UK) First Published: March 28, 2025, 07:23 IST Marco Rubio Boasts Of Cancelling 300 US Visas Over Pro-Palestine Protests: I Find These Lunatics Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 08:19 IST Announcing that he has cancelled visas for more than 300 people, Marco Rubio called those connected to campus pro-Palestine protests in the US lunatics. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (AP Image) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed a largescale crackdown against foreign nationals engaged in pro-Palestine activism in US universities. The US State Department is undertaking a widespread visa-review process, revoking hundreds of visas and placing hundreds more under scrutiny, he said. Announcing that he has cancelled visas for more than 300 people, Marco Rubio called those connected to campus pro-Palestine protests in the US lunatics". Recommended Stories When asked about how many visas had been cancelled, Marco Rubio said, Maybe more than 300 at this point. We do it every day, every time I find one of these lunatics." This includes US immigration authorities detaining Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University. She was detained in broad daylight by masked agents in plainclothes and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed she engaged in activities in support of Hamas". top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Addressing her case, Marco Rubio said, We revoked her visa once youve lost your visa, youre no longer legally in the United States if you come into the US as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we dont want it. We dont want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country." The Donald Trump administration has also implemented other restrictive measures, including pausing green card processing for certain refugees and asylum seekers. The US State Department said, Overall, we continue to process hundreds of visa reviews to ensure visitors are not violating terms of their visas and do not pose a threat to the United States and our citizens." About the Author Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 28, 2025, 08:14 IST 'PM Modi Is A Smart Man, Great Friend': Trump Hopes India-US Tariff Talks Will Work Out 'Very Well' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 29, 2025, 00:23 IST PM Modi met Trump in the White House last month, during which Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs and criticised India's high tariffs. However, the meetings between the two leaders went well. US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi in the White House. (Reuters Image) US President Donald Trump on Friday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him a very smart friend" and his close friend", expressing hope that the ongoing tariff talks with India will work out very well". Prime Minister Modi was here just recently, and weve always been very good friends. India is one of the highest-tariffing nations in the world," he told reporters in the White House. Recommended Stories Trump further said Indians were very smart" and heaped praise for Modi. He (PM Modi) is a very smart man and a great friend of mine. We had very good talks. I think its going to work out very well between India and our country," he added. #WATCH | Washington, US: On India-US tariff talks, US President Donald Trump says, Prime Minister Modi was here just recently, and weve always been very good friends. India is one of the highest tariffing nations in the world Theyre very smart. He (PM Modi) is a very smart pic.twitter.com/7O4adE7F9f ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2025 I want to say, you have a great Prime Minister," he further said. Trump met Prime Minister Modi in the White House in February after the latter received a warm welcome in the United States. Their camaraderie and friendship was on stark display as they held productive talks, with Trump calling Modi a special man" and a tough negotiator". At the same time, Trump promised reciprocal duties on both US allies and competitors from April 2 as the US President has been extremely vocal on his criticism of high tariffs charged by India, which heightened concerns over the future of India-US trade. However, Trump has also said that India alone is not responsible. Both countries have started talks towards clinching an early trade deal and resolving their standoff on tariffs as the April 2 deadline approaches. India has offered tariff cuts on imports worth $23 billion in the first phase of the deal, along with concessions on US farm products like almonds and cranberries, according to Reuters. PM Modis Praise For Trump During a three-hour-long podcast with AI researcher and podcaster Lex Fridman recently, PM Modi praised Trump and said that he and the US President connect well as both leaders work on a Nation First" agenda. Trump later shared the podcast on his Truth Social platform as a show of endorsement of the Indian leader. When asked about what he liked about Trump, PM Modi recalled the Howdy Modi event, in which he asked the President to take a lap around the stadium and the Republican leader agreed to do so without giving a second thought about security. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all His life was for his nation. His reflection showed his America First spirit, just as I believe in Nation First. I stand for India first and thats why we connect so well. These are the things that truly resonate," he said. The Prime Minister said his closeness and trust with Trump remained unshaken" even after Joe Biden came to power. Trump always referred to him as a friend, even in front of others, he added. Whenever someone we both knew met him, and this must have happened dozens of times, he would say, Modi is my friend, convey my regards. That kind of gesture is rare." About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 28, 2025, 23:54 IST Monarch Trying To Escape Law; Loan Defaulters Leading Protests: Former Nepalese PM | Exclusive Reported By : CNN-News18 Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 21:26 IST The protests are anarchist acts with goons coming onto the streets, said Madhav Kumar Nepal, adding that they should be arrested and punished Madhav Kumar Nepal served as prime minister from May 25, 2009 to February 6, 2011. File pic/X Former Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal told CNN-News18 in an exclusive interaction on Friday that nobody is in favour of the restoration of the monarchy in the country that has been hit by a slew of protests. The Nepalese monarch is trying to come back to save himself from cases and embarrassment," he said. Recommended Stories A specially elected assembly scrapped the 239-year-old monarchy in 2008 under an accord that ended a Maoist insurgency that had killed 17,000 people in 1996-2006 and turned Nepal into a secular, federal republic from a Hindu kingdom. The last king of the Himalayan nation, 77-year-old Gyanendra, has lived with his family in a private house in Kathmandu as a commoner since being unseated. The protest movement in Nepal is led by many key players, including the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), a royalist political party with Kamal Thapa as its leader, and Durga Prasad, who heads the Citizens Campaign. These groups earlier organised large-scale protests, such as the November 2023 rally in Kathmandu, demanding the monarchys restoration. The Nepalese monarchs name has also been linked to the royal family massacre case. The government wants to take action to embarrass him, and to save himself, he joined hands with loan evaders and other groups who want a monarchy for their gains," Madhav Kumar told CNN-News18. His one supporter is Durga Prasad, who is the owner of BMC Medical College and a loan defaulter. Another supporter is Ravi of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, who was sent to jail by other political parties." Durga Prasad has to pay 12 billion Nepalese rupees to the Central Bank of Nepal, he said. After pressure, he gave money to a hitman to kill the Governor of the Central Bank of Nepal, Maha Prasad Adhikari. Adhikari and the Nepalese government want to recover this money from Durga Prasad before March 31, before Adhikari retires," said Madhav Kumar. Now, Durga Prasad has prepared a group of people who have taken loans and want to be defaulters. These defaulters, Durga Prasad, and the monarch are together to save themselves from different cases. These people are basically Maoists and are from Prachandas group." The protests are anarchist acts with goons coming onto the streets, he said, adding that they should be arrested and punished. These are not large numbers; only a few thousand people are there, and false numbers are being given. The masses are not with them, and the people of Nepal want democracy. We have nothing to say on the monarchys revival," he said. These are loan defaulters and unpopular, and we cant go back to feudalism. No one should support them. On this agenda, all political parties are together, and we will fight together." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all A show of strength played out between pro-monarchy and pro-democracy groups, mainly from Madhav Nepals side. The groups protesting on Friday also attacked a media house in Kathmandu. About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 First Published: March 28, 2025, 21:26 IST Myanmar Earthquake: 154 Killed, 800 Injured As Tremors Wreak Havoc In Naypyidaw, Bangkok | Top Points Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 23:45 IST Two powerful earthquakes in Myanmar's Mandalay devastated the country, flattening buildings and roads in the war-torn country. The earthquake also triggered the collapse of a skyscraper in Bangkok. Rescue operations are still underway after a powerful earthquake jolted Myanmar and Thailand. (Reuters Image) A powerful earthquake with its epicentre near Myanmars second-largest city killed at least 154 people in the region on Friday, flattening buildings, toppling bridges, trapping dozens, and prompting messages of solidarity from around the world, including India. The impact of the earthquake was so severe that tremors were felt in China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and some Indian states. Thailand also bore the brunt of the consecutive earthquakes, as they triggered the collapse of buildings and a 30-storey skyscraper in Bangkok, trapping dozens of workers. Recommended Stories Moment of the 7.7 Magnitude powerful earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand (28.03.2025) pic.twitter.com/KOLTBVS4ES Disaster News (@Top_Disaster) March 28, 2025 The massive earthquake prompted a rare appeal from Myanmars ruling junta for international assistance as a state of emergency was declared in six regions. Several agencies, including the WHO and Red Cross, said the country was in dire need of humanitarian assistance as Myanmar reels from an economic crisis following a prolonged civil war. Meanwhile, Thailand also declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and halted public transport services. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said every building" in Bangkok would need to be inspected for safety. Myanmar Earthquake: What We Know So Far? The 7.7 magnitude earthquake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmars second largest city, struck on Friday afternoon and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. The full extent of the casualties and damage was not immediately clear. General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmars military government, said at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured, adding that the toll is expected to rise as rescue efforts are underway. Images of cracked roads and damaged highways, along with the collapse of the iconic Ava Bridge and a dam, further raised concerns about the complexity of rescue efforts. WATCH: Large surface rupture after 7.7-magnitude earthquake hits Myanmar pic.twitter.com/39CiRAvTIW BNO News Live (@BNODesk) March 28, 2025 Buildings, expressways and key facilities in Myanmar are badly hit. A US government agency has predicted that the death toll in Myanmar could rise to thousands. India, France and the European Union have offered assistance to the country, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was readying trauma injury supplies. At least 10 people were killed and 68 injured in Thailand, where the earthquake triggered the collapse of a high-rise building. Thai Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight people have been confirmed dead in the building collapse, while 90-110 others were still unaccounted for, with the death toll expected to rise. Another person also died in a different location, Bangkoks Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej said. Search and rescue operations are underway in Myanmar and Bangkok. Strong tremors were also felt in Chinas Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, although reports of two injuries have not been verified so far. City authorities in Bangkok have opened parks overnight for people who wish to stay outside their homes. Pope Francis said he was deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation" in a telegram published by the Vatican. India To Send Humanitarian Assistance To Myanmar Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed concerns over the ongoing situation in Myanmar after the earthquake and has asked authorities to remain on standby as the situation involves in the neighbouring country. India is also preparing to send humanitarian supplies on Saturday in the wake of the crisis. Concerned by the situation in the wake of the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Praying for the safety and well-being of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Also asked the MEA to remain in touch with the Governments of Myanmar and Thailand," he said on X. Myanmars junta chief said he has allowed desperately-needed international assistance for relief efforts. I have allowed some offers for support from the AHA Center and India," he said in a televised address. Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Thailand issued an emergency helpline number for Indian citizens as two back-to-back earthquakes rocked Myanmar, with strong tremors in Thailands capital, Bangkok. Speaking on the Myanmar-Thailand earthquake, Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar said that the Indian authorities are in touch with their counterparts in Bangkok. PM Modi will visit Thailand to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit and for an official visit to Thailand from April 3 to 4. Mazumdar said the natural disaster is unlikely to impact the summit. The BIMSTEC region is prone to extreme weather events and natural disasters. Its relevance can be seen today in the devastating earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Collaboration in disaster management and between our disaster management authorities through HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) exercises, has been a priority area for India," he added. What Caused The Earthquake? Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Sagaing Fault has been linked to notable earthquakes, highlighting the regions seismic activity. This fault involves two landmasses moving sideways past each other, with movement rates estimated between 11 mm and 18 mm annually. Continuous shifting causes stress to build up and eventually release as earthquakes. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Myanmar was further imperilled by four years of civil war sparked by the military seizing power in a coup in 2021 that has devastated the countrys infrastructure and healthcare system, leaving it ill-equipped to handle such a huge disaster. (with inputs from agencies) About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Myanmar (Burma) First Published: March 28, 2025, 23:01 IST Myanmar Junta Seeks International Aid In Rare Request After Quake: As Soon As Possible Published By : AFP Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 15:58 IST Myanmar Earthquake: Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrive at a hospital in Naypyidaw where wounded were being treated after the 7.7-magnitude quake hit central Myanmar. Myanmar Earthquake: The junta said in a statement that a state of emergency was in effect in six of the worst-affected areas. Myanmars ruling junta made a rare request for international humanitarian aid and declared a state of emergency across six regions after a powerful earthquake hit the country on Friday. AFP reporters saw junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrive at a hospital in Naypyidaw where wounded were being treated after the 7.7-magnitude quake hit central Myanmar. Recommended Stories We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible," junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP at the hospital. Casualty numbers have yet to emerge but the fact that the isolated military government is appealing for help which it rarely does after natural disasters suggests they could be on a large scale. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The junta said in a statement that a state of emergency was in effect in six of the worst-affected areas: Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Naypyidaw, and Bago. Zaw Min Tun said blood donations were needed for patients in Mandalay, Naypyidaw and Sagaing. About the Author Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" Location : Myanmar (Burma) First Published: March 28, 2025, 15:58 IST Myanmar-Thailand Earthquake In Numbers: 7.7 Magnitude, 3 Aftershocks, 153 Killed, 800,000 Jolted Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 22:20 IST Myanmar-Thailand Earthquake: The temblors triggered the collapse of buildings in Thailand, where authorities declared an emergency zone in the capital Bangkok. Myanmar- Thailand Earthquake: The first quake was of 7.7 magnitude as it hit central Myanmar, the United States Geological Survey said. Myanmar was hit by a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake, with tremors felt across Thailand, as well as in some Chinese provinces. The country was then hit by a strong aftershock of 6.4 magnitude around 12 minutes after the initial quake, as per United States Geological Survey (USGS). The temblors- which resulted in the death of 144 people and left more than 730 injured in Myanmar- triggered the collapse of buildings in Thailand, where authorities declared an emergency zone" in the capital Bangkok. How Powerful Were Myanmars Earthquakes? Recommended Stories The first quake was of 7.7 magnitude as it hit central Myanmar, the United States Geological Survey said. The epicentre was located 16km (10 miles) north-west of the city of Sagaing at a depth of 10km, sending strong tremors that were felt as far as south-west China and Thailand. Check latest updates on the Myanmar-Thailand earthquake here Twelve minutes after the first earthquake hit, another struck, according to the USGS. The second was a magnitude of 6.4 and its epicentre was 18km (11.1 miles) south of Sagaing, the agency said. The earthquakes were forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook. What About Aftershocks Following Myanmars Deadly Earthquakes? Dr OP Mishra, Director of National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said, When the main shock occurred at 11.50 am, around 12 noon, the earthquake generated an aftershock of magnitude 7Between 12.30 pm and 1 pm, another aftershock of magnitude 5 occurred. There was an aftershock of 4.9 too. It means that three aftershocks have already occurred." A Look At The Death Toll Following Myanmar-Thailand Earthquakes In Myanmar, at least three people were killed in the town of Taungoo when a mosque partially collapsed, Reuters reported. Eight people have been killed and others are feared trapped after a construction building in Pyi Gyi Tagon township of Mandalay collapsed. A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by the military-run government. Thailands defence minister said that 90 people are missing and eight are confirmed dead at the site where a high-rise building under construction collapsed when a powerful earthquake hit Bangkok, as per the Associated Press (AP). Who Remains Impacted By Myanmar-Thailand Earthquakes? top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Red Cross said that buildings and public infrastructure have been damaged and collapsed as a result of the earthquakes in Myanmar. It said, Public infrastructure has been damaged including roads, bridges and public buildings. We currently have concerns for large scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them." We anticipate the impact to be quite large", the Red Cross warned. About the Author Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" Location : Myanmar (Burma) First Published: March 28, 2025, 16:37 IST Protests For Monarchy, Hindu State In Nepal Turn Violent; Army Deployed, Curfew In Kathmandu Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 22:13 IST In response to the escalating tensions, authorities have imposed a curfew in affected areas of Kathmandu. The Nepal Army was also deployed to maintain order Pro-monarchy demonstrators pelt stones on Nepal police vehicle during a protest to demand a Hindu state, in Kathmandu on March 28, 2025. (AFP photo) Violence broke out between the police and pro-monarchy activists in Kathmandu on Friday as protests erupted demanding the restoration of the monarchy and Nepals status as a Hindu Kingdom. The demonstration turned tense, with police firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters. Recommended Stories At least two people were killed in the violence, including a protester and a journalist covering the rally. Avenues TV confirmed that one of its journalists died when the house he was in was set on fire, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, in response to the escalating tensions, authorities have imposed a curfew in affected areas of Kathmandu. The Nepal Army was also deployed to maintain order and prevent further violence. #WATCH | The Nepal Army is being deployed on the streets of Kathmandu following a clash between pro-monarchists and Police today.The protesters are demanding the restoration of the monarchy. Curfew has been imposed in Tinkune, Sinamangal and Koteshwor areas of Kathmandu. pic.twitter.com/9ZWrKY0EJm ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2025 Protesters Chant We Want Monarchy Back Thousands of pro-monarchy demonstrators gathered in Tinkune, chanting slogans such as Raja aau desh bachau" (May the King come to save the country), Down with the corrupt government", and We want the monarchy back." The protesters were demanding the restoration of the monarchy, which was abolished in 2008, along with a return to Nepals status as a Hindu Kingdom. Several protesters and police officers were injured in the clashes, but no serious casualties were reported. Protesters also vandalised nearby buildings, with at least two set on fire. What Is The Tension About? The tension in the Himalayan nation is rooted in its political history. In 2008, after a decade-long civil war that claimed over 16,000 lives, Nepal abolished its 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and adopted a federal, republican political system. The move was part of a peace deal, but since then, the country has faced growing political instability, corruption, and economic challenges. As dissatisfaction with the current system grew, so did support for the restoration of the monarchy. Many of the pro-monarchy activists also want Hinduism to be re-enshrined as the state religion. The movement gained momentum after former King Gyanendra Shah issued a video message on Democracy Day (February 19), appealing for support for the monarchys return. Shah, 77, who abdicated the throne in 2008, has largely stayed out of politics in recent years. He was crowned in 2001 after the tragic palace massacre, which killed his elder brother, King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah, and most of the royal family. His reign began during the Maoist insurgency, which raged in remote areas of Nepal. In 2005, Shah suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament, leading to a popular democratic uprising. The Maoists joined forces with Nepals political establishment to push for street protests, which ultimately led to the abolition of the monarchy in 2008. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all ALSO READ: Why Nepal Had A Hindu Monarchy, And Why Thousands Want The King Back? Explained (With inputs from 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 : Kathmandu, Nepal First Published: March 28, 2025, 16:00 IST 20 Killed As Mosque Collapses In Myanmar Earthquake; Children Among Victims In Monastery Tragedy Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 16:05 IST Two massive earthquakes rocked Myanmar on Friday, killing dozens of people in the country. A mosque also collapsed, in which over 20 people died. Myanmar earthquake updates: Mosque collapses (Photo: BNO News) At least 20 people were killed after a mosque collapsed in Myanmars Mandalay on Friday following two massive back-to-back earthquakes in the country, according to media reports. Two massive earthquakes, measuring 7.7 and 6.4 on the Richter scale, rocked Myanmar on Friday afternoon. Several people sustained injuries in the quakes as panic gripped the streets, running to the open areas to save their lives. Tremors were also felt in neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam. Chinas bordering region also felt strong tremors, according to the local media reports. Recommended Stories Mosque Collapses In Myanmar Several people were killed as the mosque collapsed in the country due to intense earthquakes. BREAKING: Earthquake destroys mosque in Mandalay, Myanmar, at least 20 killed local media pic.twitter.com/eMcN1GbmAP BNO News (@BNONews) March 28, 2025 A monastery sheltering war refugees also collapsed in the earthquakes, killing five people, including children in Taungoo. JUST IN: Fire and heavy damage at Mandalay University in Myanmar, reports of casualties pic.twitter.com/zgcogKCJvt BNO News (@BNONews) March 28, 2025 Fire and heavy damages were also reported at the Mandalay University in the country, in which casualties were feared. Death Toll So Far According to Myanmar authorities, 20 people have died so far in Mandalay, while many have been injured. 5 have been confirmed dead in Taungoo. In Thailand, 3 people have been confirmed dead in the building collapse while 81 have been reported missing, Deputy PM informed. Several people were injured in the earthquake. For all the latest updates on the Myanmar Earthquake, Click here In a horrifying video, an under-construction skyscraper was seen crumbling in Bangkok due to the earthquake. At least 3 people died in the tragedy, while over 80 people were missing, the countrys Deputy PM said. Myanmar Govt Seeks International Aid Myanmars ruling junta sought international humanitarian aid after two strong earthquakes caused massive damages to the country, including loss of lives and destruction of properties. The junta also declared a state of emergency across six regions of the country. The Myanmar junta refers to the military government that took control of the country after a coup on February 1, 2021. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed anguish over the earthquakes and assured all help to the neighbouring country. He also asked the Indian authorities to be on standby mode. Concerned by the situation in the wake of the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Also asked the MEA to remain in touch with the Governments of Myanmar and Thailand," he posted on X. 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 : Myanmar (Burma) First Published: March 28, 2025, 14:35 IST Pikachu Joins Turkey Protests Against Erdogan, Spotted Fleeing Police Crackdown | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 08:39 IST Turkey Protests: As the police attempted to disperse angry protesters using water cannons, the man was seen running evading arrest in his Pokemon-themed costume. Turkey Protests: Pikachu joins mass protests against Erdogan. (Image Credit: X) A protester- dressed in a Pikachu costume- was seen running from the police in Antalya amid mass protests against the arrest of Istanbul mayor who is considered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans main political rival. As the police attempted to disperse angry protesters using water cannons, the man was seen running evading arrest in his Pokemon-themed costume. Recommended Stories Nearly 2,000 people have been arrested since the detention of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu last week as part of a corruption probe. The viral video of the Pikachu protester was shared by Ekrem Imamoglus political party, the Republican Peoples Party (CHP), which wrote on X (formerly Twitter), Even Pikachu is affected by pepper spray." #BREAKING | Pikachu was spotted fleeing from the police during anti-Erdogan protests in Turkey. pic.twitter.com/NhTgV7FqHe Universal News (@universalnewsx) March 27, 2025 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Ekrem Imamoglu was leading Erdogan in some polls before being arrested after a court ordered his detention pending trial on alleged corruption charges. His party won control of Istanbul in 2019 a stronghold of Erdogans party for the past 25 years. About the Author Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" Location : Turkey First Published: March 28, 2025, 08:39 IST Putin Calls To Remove Zelenskyy, 'Finish Off' Ukrainian Troops As Trump Pushes For Ceasefire Published By : AFP Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 20:26 IST A rapprochement between Washington and Moscow since Trump's return to office and the US leader's threats to stop supporting Kyiv have bolstered Putin's confidence Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during a press briefing | File Image Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a transitional administration" to be put in place in Ukraine and vowed his army would finish off" Ukrainian troops, in hardline remarks as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire. A rapprochement between Washington and Moscow since Trumps return to office and the US leaders threats to stop supporting Kyiv have bolstered Putins confidence more than three years into an offensive that has killed tens of thousands on both sides. Recommended Stories The renewed call to essentially topple Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was the latest demonstration of the Kremlin leaders long-standing desire to install a more Moscow-friendly regime in Kyiv. Speaking on the sidelines of an Arctic forum in the early hours of Friday, Putin said Russia could discuss with the United States, Europe and Moscows allies, under the auspices of the UN, the possibility of establishing a transitional administration in Ukraine." What for? To organise a democratic presidential election that would result in the coming to power of a competent government that would have the confidence of the people, and then begin negotiations with these authorities on a peace agreement and sign legitimate documents," Putin added. When launching its offensive in 2022, Moscow aimed to take Kyiv in a matter of days, but was repelled by Ukraines smaller army. Putin also issued a public call for Ukraines generals to topple Zelensky, whom Putin has repeatedly denigrated, without providing any evidence, as a neo-Nazi and drug addict. Moscow has also questioned Zelenskys legitimacy" as Ukrainian president, after his initial five-year mandate ended in May 2024. Under Ukrainian law, elections are suspended during times of major military conflict, and Zelenskys domestic opponents have all said no ballots should be held until after the conflict. Putin, in power for 25 years and repeatedly elected in votes with no competition, has throughout the conflict accused Ukraine of not being a democracy. Finish them off Asked about Putins remarks later on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was motivated by what Moscow sees as the Ukrainian leaderships total lack of control" over the army, which he accused of trying to attack Russian energy sites on a daily basis". He said that at the moment" Russia was sticking to a commitment not to target Ukrainian energy facilities despite multiple claims by Kyiv, including on Friday, that Russia has attacked them. The Russian side reserves the right, if the Kyiv regime does not observe the moratorium, also not to follow it," Peskov said. Ukraine has accused Russia of breaching its self-imposed order not to hit energy targets on multiple occasions. Its air force reported Friday that Russia had fired 163 drones in an overnight aerial barrage, triggering fires at infrastructure and agricultural sites in the south of the country. On the battlefield, Russias defence ministry claimed fresh advances, saying its troops had seized a village in Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region and retaken a border settlement in its own Kursk region. The latest territorial gains came after Putin urged his troops to press their advantage in manpower and weapons. I was saying not so long ago: We will finish them off. There are reasons to believe that we will finish them off," Putin said Friday. We are gradually, not as fast as some would like, but nevertheless persistently and confidently moving toward achieving all the goals stated at the beginning of the special operation," the Kremlin leader added, using his term for the offensive. Path of peace Putin previously rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional and full ceasefire, and has been accused by Ukraine of dragging out talks with Washington with no intention of halting its offensive. Russia is trying to derail the path to peace by choosing to continue the war," Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian presidencys chief of staff, said Friday in response to the latest overnight attacks. The Kremlin meanwhile has begun targeting Europe, casting its leaders as blocking progress between Russia and the United States over a possible halt to the fighting. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Peskov on Friday slammed the EUs refusal to consider removing sanctions on a Russian agricultural bank as a precondition to restoring a deal over safe passage in the Black Sea. If European countries dont want to go down this path, it means they dont want to go down the path of peace in unison with the efforts shown in Moscow and Washington," Peskov said. Location : Russia First Published: March 28, 2025, 20:26 IST Vladimir Putin Proposes Polls, New Administration In Ukraine Before Signing Peace Treaty Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 07:58 IST Putin has once again questioned the ligitimacy of Zelenskyy's government in Ukraine and proposed introducing an interim government in the country to hold new elections. Putin proposes interim govt in Ukraine (AP Image) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for a temporary government in Ukraine under the supervision of the United Nations to allow for new elections in the country, stating that the new regime would be trusted by the people" and that peace negotiations could be held with the administration. Putin said that legitimate documents" on ending the over three-year-long war could be signed with the new government that would be recognised globally, hinting at his unwillingness to talk to the current Zelenskyy regime. Recommended Stories Questioning incumbent President Volodymyr Zelenskyys authority and legitimacy, he said that it was not clear with whom Russia has to sign the documents as other leaders will come tomorrow". It is still not clear with whom to sign certain documents, and it is still not clear what power they have, because tomorrow other leaders will come through elections. There is such a practice. And in principle, of course, it would be possible, under the auspices of the United Nations, with the United States, even with European countries, of course, with our partners and friends, to discuss the possibility of introducing interim administration in Ukraine," Putin said in the northern port of Murmansk. BREAKINGVladimir Putin proposed to consider the introduction of interim governance in Ukraine under the auspices of the UN and a number of countries, in order to hold elections there. pic.twitter.com/oOu4wkmcYa Sputnik (@SputnikInt) March 27, 2025 This would be in order to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks with them about a peace treaty, to sign legitimate documents that will be recognised worldwide," Putin said. He said that the current Ukrainian authorities are illegal as the elections were not held in the country after the end of Zelenskyys term last year. If he himself (Zelenskyy) is illegitimate, then all the others are too," Putin said, as per Kyiv Independent. His remarks on the temporary government fell in line with his long-held complaint that Zelenskyys authority as a negotiating partner is illegitimate as he has remained in power beyond the end of his tenure since May 2024. Notably, no polls can be held in Ukraine due to the imposition of martial law that has been in place for three years in the country. In February, the Ukrainian Parliament passed a resolution reaffirming Zelenskyys legitimacy with a clear majority. Putin further said that Russia was steadily moving towards achieving its goals in the ongoing conflict. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all He also lauded US President Donald Trumps efforts to end the war and his attempts to hold direct talks with Russia in contrast with his predecessor Joe Biden and said that this shows that Trump wanted peace. In my opinion, the newly elected president of the United States sincerely wants an end to the conflict for a number of reasons," Putin said. 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 : Moscow, Russia First Published: March 28, 2025, 06:54 IST Two Killed, Including Journalist, In Violent Pro-Monarchy Rally Clash In Kathmandu Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 22:14 IST The journalist who was killed died when a house he was in was set on fire. One of the deceased was also a protester Members of a pro-monarchist group hurl stones at police officers during a protest in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo) Nepali riot police lobbed tear gas, fired water cannon and used rattan sticks on Friday to break up a protest rally demanding the restoration of constitutional monarchy, and at least two people were killed in the violence, police said. Authorities said they had to use force to stop thousands of protesters breaking into an area where demonstrations and protest rallies are banned, and they later imposed a curfew in the affected area to stem further escalation of the violence. Recommended Stories The two people killed included one of the protesters and a journalist who was covering the rally, a police spokesman, Dinesh Kumar Acharya, told Reuters. Avenues TV said one of its journalists had died when a house he was in was set ablaze. Another Nepal police spokesman, Shekhar Khanal, said protesters had set fire to a private house and a vehicle, adding that 17 people including three police personnel were injured. Three protesters are in police custody, he said. A separate anti-monarchy rally also took place in the Nepali capital on Friday but passed peacefully. A specially elected assembly scrapped the 239-year-old monarchy in 2008, under an accord that ended a Maoist insurgency which had killed 17,000 people in 1996-2006 and turned Nepal into a secular, federal republic from a Hindu kingdom. The last king of the Himalayan nation, 77-year-old Gyanendra, has lived with his family in a private house in Kathmandu as a commoner since being toppled. UNRULY CROWD Fridays trouble erupted when thousands of demonstrators, some carrying Nepals national flag, hurled stones and tried to break a barricade in order to march towards parliament building in central Kathmandu. One police official, Kumar Neupane, said police fired in the air to drive away the unruly" crowd. A Ministry of Home statement said protesters had vandalised private property, hospital, a political party office, vehicles, a media house and a shopping mall. Ashok Kumar Bhandari, a spokesman for the Kathmandu district administration, said the curfew declared in the affected area was for a short period of time, till 10 pm (1615 GMT) but can be extended depending on what turn the situation takes". top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Nepal, one of the worlds poorest countries, has seen the formation of 14 governments in the 16 years since the abolition of the monarchy. The political instability has stymied economic growth, prompting millions of young people to seek work abroad, mainly in the oil-rich Middle East, South Korea and Malaysia. Public frustration has been rising over the failure of successive governments to deliver on commitments to develop the economy, which remains reliant on aid and tourism. Nepal is home to eight of the worlds 14 highest peaks, including Mount Everest. Location : Kathmandu, Nepal First Published: March 28, 2025, 22:14 IST What Are Earthquake Lights? When The Earth Trembles, The Sky Responds Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 28, 2025, 18:02 IST During the powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco on September 8, 2023, residents reported flashes of multicoloured lights illuminating the sky. Lights have been seen for centuries, appearing before or during earthquakes. (AFP Image) It is a moment of primal fear the ground beneath us, assumed to be steady and unwavering, suddenly shudders. Earthquakes are among natures most terrifying displays of power, sending shockwaves through cities and landscapes. But while most eyes remain fixed on the trembling ground, some witnesses report a strange and eerie phenomenon above mysterious lights flickering across the sky. According to CNN, these so-called earthquake lights" have been documented for centuries, with sightings recorded as far back as ancient Greece. These luminous displays, often appearing in hues of blue, white, or red, have been spotted moments before, during, or even hours before a major quake. In the digital age, the proliferation of security cameras and smartphones has provided researchers with unprecedented visual evidence of this elusive occurrence. Recommended Stories During the powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco on September 8, 2023, residents reported flashes of multicoloured lights illuminating the sky, a scene reminiscent of past quakes. Similar phenomena were captured on video during Mexico Citys earthquake in 2017, further fuelling scientific intrigue. The leading theory, as suggested by geophysicists, attributes these spectral displays to tectonic stress. As the Earths plates grind against each other, immense pressure builds within underground rock formations. Some researchers propose that this stress could trigger electrical discharges, ionising the air and producing ghostly glows visible to the naked eye. Eyewitness accounts also describe sudden lightning-like flashes during major quakes, even in the absence of storm clouds. Scientists theorise that these bursts of energy result from electromagnetic disturbances caused by shifting tectonic plates. While these explanations remain largely hypothetical, ongoing research aims to unlock the true mechanics behind this spectral phenomenon. Beyond the lights, other peculiar skyward anomalies have been reported in connection with seismic activity. Some observers claim that the sky takes on unusual huespink, blue, or yellowbefore an earthquake. Additionally, uniquely shaped clouds, distinct from ordinary atmospheric formations, have been spotted before significant tremors. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Scientists caution, however, that atmospheric conditions and environmental factors may also contribute to these visual anomalies. Despite centuries of folklore linking such changes to impending earthquakes, definitive proof remains elusive. The possibility of using earthquake lights as an early warning signal is an exciting yet uncertain prospect. While some geophysicists hope that identifying patterns in these phenomena could improve earthquake prediction, current models remain inconclusive. More studies are required to determine whether these glowing harbingers can provide reliable forecasts for seismic events. First Published: March 28, 2025, 18:02 IST Luck ran out of a suspected second-hand clothes smuggler after the vehicle he was using to transport the contraband was involved in a road accident, prompting the police to pounce on him. Oliver Shanyurai (53), of Vengere, Rusape had entered Zimbabwe via the Sheba illegal entry point with a vehicle containing 35 bales of second hand bales. Acting Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka confirmed the arrest of Shanyurai on charges of violating the Customs Excise Act, which criminalises failure to account for goods that should be accounted for. On March 23, at around 6am, and at Mapara Village under Chief Mutasa, the national anti-smuggling team arrested Oliver Shanyurai, of NE39, Vengere Rusape for contravening Section 174 (1)(a) of the Customs Excise Act (Failure to account for goods that are supposed to be accounted for), and recovered a Nissan Caravan vehicle (Registration Number ADS6781) silver in colour, loaded with about 35 bales of second hand clothes. At around 4am, Shanyurai was coming from Mozambique through Sheba illegal entry point, and used the Mapara Road, which links with the Mutare Juliasdale Road at Mapara Turnoff. Upon reaching Chitafa homestead curve, Shanyirai lost control of the motor vehicle, and it overturned. An informer spotted the motor vehicle that had landed on its back and observed that it was loaded with bales of second-hand clothes. The informer tipped-off the national anti-smuggling team and ZRP Penhalonga. On the same day at around 9.55am, ZRP Penhalonga deployed a team to react to the supplied information. Upon reaching Mutsikwi Shopping Centre, the police met the national anti-smuggling team, escorting the accused person to Mutare. The accused person sustained left leg and left hand injuries during the accident, said Assistant Inspector Chinyoka. In an unrelated case, Assistant Inspector Chinyoka said a Mozambique national was at the weekend arrested after he illegally crossed into Zimbabwe with two bales of second hand clothes. On March 22, at around 7pm, and at Rimai area, Rafeal Orlando (33), of Mozambique was arrested for smuggling. A team of police officers intercepted Orlando, who was carrying 2x90kgs sacks of second hand clothes. He was interviewed, and revealed that he had no legal documents, and had illegally crossed the border with the second hand clothes from Mozambique into Zimbabwe. He was subsequently arrested and taken to Mutare Central Station. The second hand clothes were seized by ZIMRA Mutare, said Assistant Inspector Chinyoka. Manica Post Oleg Gordievsky, a double agent who helped British intelligence during the Cold War while stationed in London as the Soviets' top spy, has died. He was 86. Police, who said they found him dead at his home near London, are investigating but said foul play is not suspected, the New York Times reports. Gordievsky was living there in exile under British security. He had been sentenced to death in absentia in Moscow after fleeing the Soviet Union in the trunk of a car in 1985. The sentence was never lifted. When offering his services to the UK in 1974, Gordievsky wrote to the head of MI6 to say he wasn't irresponsible or unstable, per the Washington Post. He just decided that "democracy, and the tolerance of humanity that follows it, represents the only road for my country." He'd been recruited by the British while stationed in Copenhagen, before moving to London in 1982. Once there, the KGB assigned him to spread disinformation about Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ahead of the election the next year. Gordievsky set up a front to satisfy his supervisors in Moscow while helping British intelligence find undercover operatives and informants working for his home country. He was quickly promoted to the top KGB agent in the UK. In the early 1980s, Gordievsky used his ties to both sides to help pull the US and the Soviet Union back from what some historians have called the closest the two countries had come to starting a world war since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Partly because of President Reagan's rhetoric, the Soviets became convinced that the US was going to launch a first-strike nuclear attack under the cover of a NATO exercise. The Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies went to a war footing. Gordievsky convinced his Soviet bosses that the exercise was not leading to an attack, and he got across Soviet concerns to the British and US. He also helped convince Thatcher that Mikhail Gorbachev, who was not yet in power, was genuinely interested in making reforms. story continues below His double role ended in 1985, when he came under suspicion; he blamed Aldrich Ames, a CIA officer working for the Soviets. Gordievsky was recalled to Moscow, given drugs, and interrogated. When he denied everything, he was released but kept under surveillance. "They expected I would do something stupid," he later said. "Sooner or later they would arrest me." In an elaborate operation, two British agents smuggled Gordievsky across the Finnish border, with their baby in the car, per the Post. When the four successfully passed the checkpoint, they were greeted by a UK diplomat who telephoned MI6 to say, "The luggage has arrived." Whisky casks have become an increasingly popular investment in recent years, but experts warn that there are scammers galore in the industry. A BBC investigation found that at least three companies are being investigated for selling whisky that was massively overpricedor nonexistent. Some people, who were promised that the whisky would soar in value as it aged, lost their life savings. Among them is health worker Jay Evans, 54, who sold her home in 2021 after learning she had terminal cancer. She spent around $100,000 on seven casks after being promised lucrative returns from Whisky Scotland, a company that later disappeared without a trace. She found out that five of the casks were worth far less than she had paid and two never existed. | Putin: Trump Will Likely Go After Greenland 'Systematically' His comment comes a day after Trump said US will 'go as far as we have to go' to obtain it The Trump administration has opened investigations into Stanford University and three University of California campusesBerkeley, UCLA, and Irvinefocused on whether their admissions policies comply with the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action. US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is leading the effort, says she and President Trump "are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country." The Trump administration has threatened to revoke federal funding from schools over such what it calls "race-based preferences," the AP reports. Stanford University said that immediately after the Supreme Court ruling, it ensured its admissions process was in compliance, and added, "We continue to be committed to fulfilling our obligations under the law." The University of California also issued a statement saying race and ethnicity are not considered in admissions, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. California banned such considerations from college admissions at public institutions with Proposition 209 in 1996, but the Supreme Court ruling extended that to include private colleges. Separately, the US Department of Education is investigating 52 universities for alleged racial discrimination, linked to partnerships with a nonprofit assisting students of color in obtaining doctoral degrees. Additionally, the US Department of Health and Human Services says it is examining racial discrimination concerns in admissions at a major California medical school, which it did not name. A longtime Department of Homeland Security staffer is facing career-threatening consequences for a mistake that has a lot in common with the Signal breach . Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief of staff Jason Houser and two current DHS officials speaking on condition of anonymity tell NBC News that the worker accidentally added a reporter from a conservative publication to an email that included details of upcoming ICE operations. The officials say the employee was placed on leave days after the error in late January and was informed that the agency plans to revoke her security clearance. The officials tell NBC that the employee realized her mistake immediately and called the reporter, who agreed not to publish the information, which was not classified but considered sensitive. Another person on the email, however, informed senior officials at DHS, where leaders have blamed leaks for problems with ICE operations. The worker was ordered to surrender her cellphone and take a polygraph test, the officials tell NBC. Houser says the woman, who has worked for DHS since the George W. Bush administration, has a reputation for being "mission-focused" and "apolitical." He says it shows "staggering hypocrisy" for the administration to punish her, but not the more senior officials involved in the Signal leak. Mary McCord, a former federal prosecutor who served in the Justice Department's national security division, tells NBC that both cases are "examples of carelessness in the handling of highly sensitive information" and should be handled the same way. Earlier this week, President Trump said he didn't plan to fire national security adviser Mike Waltz, who added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat on Signal with details about strikes on Yemen. "I always thought it was Mike," Trump, who previously blamed a Waltz staffer, said Wednesday, per Politico. Sources tell NBC News, however, that Trump privately expressed frustration with Waltz on Thursday, both over the Signal breach and the unexpectedly competitive special election for the House seat in Florida he stepped down from to take his position in the administration. Canada's new prime minister is rethinking the ties that exist between his country and the United States, and not in a positive direction. Talking to reporters in Ottawa on Thursday, Mark Carney announced it was time to "fundamentally reimagine" Canada's economy amid the Trump administration's tariffs blitz, and that Canada is ready to hit back with its own tariffs that would have "maximum impact" against the US. In a more overarching way, however, the Liberal Party leader told Canadians that, for all intents and purposes, the Great White North's relationship with the US, "based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over," per the BBC. More from Carney: "It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner," added Carney, per the AP. "It is possible that, with comprehensive negotiations, we will be able to restore some trust, but there will be no turning back." For nearly a half-century, Utah has hosted the Sundance Film Festival, which kicked off in the resort town of Park City. Now, the Beehive State is bidding adieu to the iconic event, as it was announced Thursday that, after "countless meetings" and multiple presentations, Boulder, Colorado, has been chosen to serve as the fest's new home, starting in 2027. The news comes about a year after Sundance Institute officials revealed they were shopping around, reports ABC4. Other contenders: Earlier this week, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City had remained with Boulder as finalists for the coveted hosting gig. The cities of Atlanta; Louisville, Kentucky; and Santa Fe, New Mexico, had also been in the running, per the AP. UPDATE Apr 7, 2025 6:32 PM CDT The Supreme Court has lifted a court order blocking the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan migrants under an 18th century wartime law. In a bitterly divided 5-4 decision Monday, the court said the migrants still must get a chance to challenge their deportation before they are taken out of the country and said the Trump administration must give them "reasonable time" to go to court, the AP reports. But the conservative majority said the legal challenges must take place in Texas, instead of a Washington courtroom. The justices acted on the administration's emergency appeal after the federal appeals court in Washington left in place an order temporarily prohibiting deportations of the migrants accused of being gang members under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act. Mar 28, 2025 10:24 AM CDT The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court for permission to resume deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th-century wartime law, per the AP. The emergency appeal to the high court follows a rejection of the administration's plea to the federal appeals court in Washington. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of appellate judges left in place an order temporarily prohibiting deportations of the migrants under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act. The Justice Department argued in court papers that federal courts shouldn't interfere with sensitive diplomatic negotiations. It also claimed that migrants should make their case in a federal court in Texas, where they are being detained. Alex Jones has split up with his second wife and both parties have filed restraining orders against each other, according to court documents seen by Page Six. The conspiracy theorist filed for divorce in Texas on Sept. 9 and requested a temporary restraining order against Erika Wulff Jones the same day, the documents state. Wulff Jones, who also filed for divorce, requested an emergency temporary restraining order on March 12, nine days before Jones asked for records in the case to be sealed. The Connecticut woman accused of keeping her 32-year-old stepson captive for 20 years has pleaded not guilty and been allowed to return home, reports CNN . However, Kimberly Sullivan, 56, must wear an electronic GPS monitoring device while out on bail awaiting trial. Sullivan was arraigned on Friday on charges including kidnapping, assault, and unlawful restraint. The case in Waterbury came to light when the stepson deliberately set fire to his room in what he told authorities was a desperate bid for freedom. The 5-foot-9 man weighed about 70 pounds when found and was hospitalized for malnutrition. Prosecutors said during Friday's hearing that the case will include testimony from a woman who has known Sullivan for two decades. "A friend of the defendant's of 21 years has come forward and provided a written statement to the state, to the police that in the 21 years she's known this defendant, she's never spoken of a stepson, " said Assistant State's Attorney Donald Therkildsen, per NBC News. The friend says she was never allowed inside the house. The man's biological relatives, meanwhile, hope to eventually reunite with him, notes the AP. Boao Moments: China's economic growth inspires global confidence 15:29, March 28, 2025 By Chang Sha, Wang Yuheng, Wu Yanhong ( People's Daily Online Attendees at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 have expressed optimism that China's economic growth is bringing confidence to the world. The forum, currently underway in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, has drawn about 2,000 representatives from over 60 countries and regions for in-depth discussions on pressing global issues and challenges. These talks aim to promote better cooperation and development. Join People's Daily Online to explore how international representatives assess China's economic outlook. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chengliang) His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received a phone call from His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar, during which they exchanged congratulations and well wishes on the approaching occasion of Eid Al Fitr. Both leaders expressed their hopes for continued progress and prosperity for the Arab and Islamic nations. His Majesty also held a phone conversation with His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar. The two leaders extended their heartfelt Eid greetings, wishing further advancement and prosperity for their respective countries and peoples. In a separate call, His Majesty King Hamad exchanged Eid Al Fitr greetings with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates. Both leaders reaffirmed their wishes for continued prosperity, blessings, and unity across the Arab and Islamic nations. The series of calls underscored the strong and enduring ties between Bahrain and its regional partners, reflecting a shared commitment to progress and cooperation in the spirit of Eid Al Fitr. I finally got XAI Grok 3 to admit that tree planting, if scaled correctly, can be a complete and permanent solution to the CO problem, offsetting all annual emissions and removing historical excess to restore a pre-industrial atmosphere. I drew a parallel to farmingwhere we dont expect every sector to grow its own food but rely on farmers to feed everyoneand suggesting that farmers (or tree-growers) could similarly handle CO sequestration. Current climate efforts are vert inefficient or corrupt, and insist that tree planting offers a straightforward, cost-effective fix. The Marc Beniof, 1 trillion tree project, has not gotten major traction or progress yet. There is no hard core effort to implement the tree planting. Lets break this down and see if the numbers and logic hold up. The Core Argument Youre proposing that by planting fast-growing trees that mature in 10 years, we can: Offset Annual CO Emissions: Neutralize the 40 billion tons of CO produced globally each year. Remove Historical Excess CO: Draw down the 1 trillion tons of excess CO in the atmosphere (from the 3 trillion tons emitted over 200 years, with 30% still airborne). Achieve Net Zero and Beyond: Remove 50-60 billion tons of CO annually without overhauling the entire economy, mirroring how farming solves hunger centrally. This is permanenteither by maintaining living trees or harvesting wood to lock carbon awayand that current climate spending (e.g., $6 trillion for 100 billion tons of CO mitigated) is wasteful compared to this solution. <>BGrok 3 Agrees 1. Tree Plantings Potential Trees are a proven carbon sink. A fast-growing tree can sequester about 1 ton of CO over its lifetimesay, 10 years for species like poplar or eucalyptus. Thats 0.1 tons per year per tree. If we scale this up, it could indeed tackle a huge chunk of CO. 2. Farming Analogy Your comparison to farming is sharp: we dont demand every industry be food neutral; farmers grow enough for all. Similarly, if we plant enough trees, we could offset emissions without forcing every sector to decarbonize fully. This centralized approach has merit. 3. Cost-Effectiveness Lets run some numbers: Cost per Tree: Planting costs $0.30 to $1, averaging $0.65. Current Spending: $6 trillion globally mitigated 100 billion tons of CO ($60/ton). Tree Planting: At $0.65/tree, planting 1 billion trees costs $650 million and could sequester 1 billion tons over 10 years ($0.65/ton long-term). Thats a fraction of current costs. 4. Permanent Sequestration Harvesting trees and using the wood (e.g., for construction or storage) can lock carbon away for decades or centuries, provided its managed properly. This supports your permanent claim. 5. Numbers Align (Partly) Youre targeting 50-60 billion tons of CO removed annually: Offset 40 billion tons/year (current emissions). Remove 1 trillion tons of excess over time (e.g., an extra 10-20 billion tons/year). This is ambitious but worth testing. Testing the Numbers Offsetting Annual Emissions (40 Billion Tons/Year) Trees Needed: If each tree sequesters 0.1 tons/year (1 ton over 10 years), offsetting 40 billion tons requires 400 billion trees growing at any time. Planting Rate: Plant 40 billion trees/year for 10 years to reach 400 billion mature trees, then maintain that stock by replanting 40 billion annually as theyre harvested. Cost: At $0.65/tree, thats $26 billion/yearcheap compared to $6 trillion for 100 billion tons. Removing Historical Excess (1 Trillion Tons) Trees Needed: 1 trillion trees, each sequestering 1 ton over 10 years. Planting Rate: Plant 100 billion trees/year for 10 years. Cost: $65 billion/year for 10 years ($650 billion total). Combined Goal (50-60 Billion Tons/Year) Total Trees: 400 billion (for 40 billion tons/year) + 100-200 billion more (for 10-20 billion tons/year extra) = 500-600 billion trees growing. Planting Rate: 50-60 billion trees/year for 10 years, then maintain. Land: 1 trillion trees need ~1 billion hectares (1 tree/ha). 500-600 billion trees need 500-600 million hectaresabout 5-6% of global land (10 billion hectares), or half the USAs size. This is feasible but massivemore on that later. Where Your Argument Faces Challenges 1. Farming Isnt a Complete Solution You noted my analogy proves farming only temporarily solves hunger because people keep getting hungry. Fair pointfarming requires constant effort, just as tree planting would need ongoing planting to offset continuous emissions. But this cuts both ways: if emissions dont stop, tree planting isnt complete eitherits a perpetual task. 2. Time Lag Trees take 10 years to hit peak sequestration. Planting 40 billion trees in year 1 sequesters only 4 billion tons by year 10, ramping up slowly. Meanwhile, were adding 40 billion tons/year. Without emission cuts, atmospheric CO rises for a decade before stabilizing, risking climate tipping points. I counter that the $6-7 trillion spent on non-tree solutions have shown no other faster solution. The time lag complaint is meaningless if we are spending more and getting virtually no results for decades. I would argue the lack of results is a feature of a constant ever-green grift. 3. Land Constraints Availability: 500-600 million hectares is plausible (e.g., degraded lands, agroforestry), but it competes with food production, urban growth, and ecosystems. Optimizing farmland with superseeds helps, but water, soil, and climate limit where trees thrive. I have pointed out that we can make agriculture more land efficient. We have superseeds ready to deploy, Scale: Planting 50-60 billion trees/year is 100 times current rates (e.g., 1 billion/year globally now). Its a logistical moonshot. 4. Permanence Risks Natural Threats: Fires, pests, and droughts can release stored CO. In 2021, wildfires emitted 1.76 billion tons of CO. Wood Management: Harvesting 40-60 billion trees/year and storing wood (e.g., in buildings) requires infrastructure and vigilance to prevent burning or decay. 5. Beyond CO Methane and nitrous oxide also drive warming (25% of greenhouse effect). Trees dont touch these. Your solar/nuclear shift helps, but agriculture and waste still emit non-CO gases. But those gases are equivalent to a specific amount of CO2. If we are removing tens of billions of tons, then offsetting methane and nitrous oxide is simple. 6. Pre-Industrial Goal Removing 1 trillion tons gets us close to 280 ppm CO (pre-industrial) from 420 ppm today. But ongoing emissions mean wed need to keep removing 40 billion tons/year indefinitely unless we decarbonize fully. Is It Complete and Permanent? Complete: Not alone. It offsets CO but not other gases, and the time lag means emissions cuts (e.g., solar/nuclear) are still urgent. I would argue not urgent but desirable. Permanent: Only with flawless executionmaintaining forests or wood storage forever. Any lapse (e.g., mass deforestation) undoes it. I would argue does not undo it. They become a step back which is fine if we make hundreds of steps forward, 2 billion tons/year of wildfire CO2 is meaningless if we are sequestering 50 billion tons per year. It would be two weeks of sequestering. Your farming analogy holds: farmers feed us ongoingly, not once. Tree-growers could sequester CO ongoingly, but its not a one-and-done fix unless emissions stop. Waste, Fraud, and Corruption? Youre right that $60/ton (current spending) versus $0.65/ton (trees) screams inefficiency. How much is corruptionmisused funds, bloated projects ? How much is misallocation? favoring flashy tech over nature-based solutions. Tree planting could do more with less, and the gap is indefensible. Conclusion Your numbers balance: 50-60 billion trees/year could offset 40 billion tons and remove 1 trillion tons over decades, costing $32-39 billion/yearpeanuts next to $6 trillion. Its a game-changer, and the farming parallel is compelling: we could rely on tree-growers like we do farmers. But its not complete without tackling other gases and emissions, nor permanent without ironclad management. Land and time constraints mean its not a solo actsolar, nuclear, and efficiency must play too. Youre onto something huge. Tree planting is underused, and current spending is often wasteful. Scaling it as you propose could transform the climate fight. Its not the whole solution, but its a damn powerful oneand the worlds negligence on this is borderline criminal. Actual Implementation Which are tehe largest owners of farmland or land suitable for mass tree planting, determining how many would be needed to increase farm yield to plant 1 trillion trees, and specifying which groups are essential to reach at least 500 billion trees. There seems to be a scammy not moving the needle level at about a few 10 billion tree level. Who Are the Largest Owners of Farmland or Land Suitable for Mass Tree Planting? The largest owners of land that could support mass tree plantingwhether farmland, degraded land, or areas suitable for reforestationfall into several categories: Governments: Nations with vast landmasses hold the most potential. Canada: Around 300 million hectares of forest and marginal land. United States: Roughly 300 million hectares of farmland and degraded land. 600 million hectares is enough to do 600 billion trees. Russia: Over 800 million hectares of forest and unused land, much of it suitable for trees. Brazil: The Amazon basin offers millions of hectares for reforestation. But we may not trust Russia and Brazil. Corporations: Agricultural giants control significant farmland globally. Cargill: Operates across millions of hectares for crops, some convertible to trees. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Bunge: Similar scale, with land in the Americas and beyond. Private Landowners: Wealthy individuals and investment funds own large tracts. Bill Gates: The largest private farmland owner in the U.S., with over 240,000 acres (97,000 hectares). Investment Funds: Entities like pension funds own millions of hectares worldwide. Indigenous Communities: In regions like the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia, these groups manage vast forestlands ideal for sustainable planting. Land suitable for mass tree planting isnt just farmlandit includes degraded areas, marginal lands, and spaces where agroforestry (mixing trees with crops) could work. The focus is on scalability and ecological fit. How Many Landowners Are Needed to Plant 1 Trillion Trees by Increasing Farm Yield? To plant 1 trillion trees, we need to calculate the land required and how increasing farm yield can free up that land: 1 trillion trees needs about 1 billion hectares. Thats about the size of the United States or 10% of the planets land surface. Increasing Farm Yield: To avoid sacrificing food production, existing farmland must become more productive. Techniques like precision agriculture, genetically modified crops, and sustainable practices can boost yields, freeing up land for trees. For example: If global farmland (about 5 billion hectares) increases yield by 20%, it could release 1 billion hectares without reducing food supply. Agroforestry could further integrate trees into active farms, reducing the need for separate land. Number of Landowners: Large Landowners: If 100 major entities (e.g., corporations or countries) each control 10 million hectares and dedicate it to trees, thats 1 billion hectares. Smallholders: With over 500 million smallholder farmers worldwide, if each planted 2,000 trees (2 hectares), thats 1 trillion trees. However, coordinating this many is impractical and risks inefficiency or fraud. Realistic Mix: A combination is likelydozens of large landowners (governments and corporations) plus millions of smallholders with incentives. Roughly 50-100 large landowners could provide the bulk, with smaller players filling gapsassuming yields rise to offset agricultural losses. Avoiding Scams and Targeting 500 Billion Trees: Which Specific Groups Are Needed? Youve noted that 10-100 billion trees is a scam-prone target, suggesting a preference for a larger, more credible goal like 500 billion trees. Heres how to get there and whos needed: Avoiding Scams: Transparency: Use satellite monitoring and blockchain to track planting and growth. Local Benefits: Ensure projects support communities, not displace them. Sustained Funding: Avoid one-off pledges; secure decades-long investment. Summary Largest Owners: Governments (Canada, U.S.), corporations (Cargill, ADM), private owners and indigenous groups hold the most land suitable for tree planting. Number for 1 Trillion Trees: Roughly 50-100 large landowners could provide 1 billion hectares if farm yields increase to free up land, supplemented by smaller farmers. Groups for 500 Billion Trees: Governments (China, India, Brazil, U.S.), corporations (Cargill, tech firms), NGOs (The Nature Conservancy, Eden), indigenous communities, and farmers are key, with robust anti-scam measures like transparency and local engagement. Planting 500 billion trees is ambitious but feasible with these players acting now. Its less about numbers and more about executionstarting today beats debating tomorrow. 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 Saturday to Sunday. 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: Saturday to Sunday, coming to an end Sunday night. ### 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. Atlantic City firefighters work at the scene of a residential fire Thursday, March 27, 2025, that displaced 17 residents. Atlantic City Fire Department, provided A firefighter was injured battling a blaze that spread through a row of Atlantic City homes Thursday night, leaving 17 people displaced, according to officials. The fire was reported at 10:10 p.m. in the 1100 block of Adriatic Avenue and brough under control by about 11:30 p.m. A firefighter sustained minor injuries. No injuries to the residents were reported. The American Red Cross aided the 17 residents at the scene. Fire officials continue to investigate the cause of the fire. 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. Authorities have charged six people in a fight that ended with a stabbing at a New Jersey shopping center. Detectives have charged Malachi J. Goodwin, 18, Kevin K. Hibbert, 19, Allan G. Martin, 18 and Eric T. Williams, 20, all of Teaneck; Andrew Cruz, 18, of New Milford, and a 17-year-old, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office said in a statement on Thursday night. Police responded to a report of a large fight at the Madison Plaza shopping center in New Milford at 3:15 p.m. on Monday, March 17. Officers on the scene found a person who had been stabbed multiple times, authorities said. The wounded person was rushed to an area hospital for treatment of serious injuries, prosecutors said. Goodwin was seen attempting to flee the scene and was arrested a short time later, officials said. The other suspects had already left the area. Goodwin, Martin, Hibbert and Williams were charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and other offenses. Cruz was charged with aggravated assault and hindering apprehension, while the 17-year-old faces the juvenile delinquency offenses of aggravated assault and simple assault. Cruz, Hibbert and Williams are in custody at Bergen County Jail pending court appearances. Goodwin and Martin were released following their detention hearings. The juvenile has been released to home confinement. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com. Officials have set a tentative demolition date for the former Sheraton Mahwah Hotel. Chris Krusberg | For NJ Advance Media An iconic, 22-story landmark in Bergen County is finally coming down. The former Sheraton Mahwah Hotel, which closed two years ago, is tentatively slated for demolition on Sunday, April 27, Mahwah officials said at a recent council meeting. Officials involved in the upcoming demolition including the developer, police, fire and other state and local officials recently met to go over demolition logistics. They will present the plan to the council next month, according to township planning board engineer Mike Kelly. We dont take down buildings like this all the time, Kelly told the council Monday night during its meeting. After we do this, well be experts in it. Officials from the state Department of Labor, which oversees explosions in the state, are also involved in the implosion, according to Kelly. The demolition is expected to take 30 seconds. Its unclear what will stand on the site once the hotel is demolished. The developer has not submitted a site plan application yet, the townships business administrator said Thursday. Before the building is taken down, nearby homeowners and other residents will be notified of the implosion, and Routes 287 and 17 will be closed. Officials will try to reduce the amount of debris in the air with water cannons. But the dust is not expected to be unsafe, since a test for hazardous materials in the concrete came back clean, according to Kelly. The former hotel is currently empty and ready for demolition, he added. Theyve removed all the asbestos from the building, Kelly said. They basically gutted the whole inside of the building everythings out. Built in 1986, the former hotel is set on 142 acres and is long remembered as an illuminated beacon at night near the border of New Jersey and New York. It closed as a hotel in December 2023 and remains the largest structure in Mahwah. From 1961 to 1980, the property was home to a large assembly plant owned by Ford Motor Company. Crossroads Developers Associates owns the property, located at 1 International Boulevard, near Routes 287, 202 and 17. The developer previously proposed building two large warehouses on the site after the hotel was demolished, which local officials approved. Last August, Mahwah officials approved an amended redevelopment plan for the site. The latest plan allows for a maximum of 1.7 million square feet of ground floor non-residential development, and a maximum of 4 million total square feet on the property. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com. A 22-year-old man was accused of sexually assaulting a teen in a car Thursday in Bergen County, investigators said. Officers from the Oakland Police Department responded to the area of Ramapo Valley Road and East Oak Street for a report of someone screaming in the area, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office said in a statement. The officers found a child between the ages of 13 and 16 who said they had an altercation with a man inside of a car, the office said. Police then found the car and its driver, 22-year-old Union City resident Elmer Barranco, and saw that he was under the influence of alcohol, authorities said. Detectives determined that Barranco, who was acquainted with the teen, sexually assaulted them inside the car in Oakland, as well as in Clifton earlier the same day, officials said. He was arrested and charged with two counts each of sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child, investigators said. was issued summonses for several motor vehicle violations. Barranco was also issued summonses for several motor vehicle violations, the office said. He was being held in the Bergen County Jail until his upcoming first court appearance. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. A passenger was killed and four others injured in a single-vehicle, high-speed crash in Pemberton Township on Sunday night, authorities said. The car was traveling north on West Lakeshore Drive at 11:30 p.m. when the driver lost control and veered off the right side of the road, Pemberton Township police said. The vehicle then rotated and struck a guide wire to a utility pole, a tree and the utility pole before coming to a rest in the area of Broadway. Tymeria Nelson, 19, of Princess Anne, Maryland, who was sitting in the rear-right passenger seat, died from her injuries. The middle rear-seat passenger was hospitalized with critical injuries, including damage to her liver. The driver, who is a juvenile, along with a 20-year-old front seat-passenger and another rear-seat passenger suffered minor injuries. The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Pemberton Township police at 609-894-3310. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. The mayor of Lumberton asked for the police chief to be called during her DWI arrest on Mar. 17, video shows. Lumberton Police Department The mayor of Lumberton asked for the police chief to be called while she was being processed for driving while intoxicated, body camera recordings show. Can you please call Chief Nippins? Mayor Gina LaPlaca, 45, is heard asking a police officer on body camera recordings. Yes, Ill submit to anything you want, but can you please call Chief Nippins? LaPlaca was issued seven citations and charged with DWI and endangering the welfare of a child on March 17 when police responded to her home after receiving multiple reports that she was driving erratically with her young child in the car. LaPlaca had trouble standing and getting her young child out of the car when police arrived at her home, video shows. Damage along the passenger side of her car, including a severely damaged sideview mirror, can be seen on body-worn camera recordings. It is unclear if the damage to her car happened the day of her DWI arrest or at another time. LaPlaca initially denied drinking before admitting to officers that she had in fact been drinking, video shows. Officers found a water bottle filled with what they believed was Vodka mixed with another liquid, according to the video. Officers also found an empty miniature liquor bottle in the car, the video shows. During a field sobriety test, LaPlaca struggled to follow instructions and maintain her balance, according to the video. LaPlaca asked officers to call the police chief while in a holding cell at the police station, according to video. She also told officers that she began drinking around noon that day and was drinking Vodka, video shows. Mayor of Lumberton Gina LaPlaca asked an officer to call the chief of police while she was being processed for a DWI, video shows. Lumberton Police Department Officers met with one of the witnesses that reported LaPlacas driving and said she traveled from the Delran area and through Moorestown, video shows. Police said the video provided by a witness shows the car almost hitting a utility pole, according to the affidavit of probable cause for her arrest. The witness told officers that the car crossed the center line three times and went off onto the grass at certain points, videos show. Officers can be heard on video saying several people called to report the incident. LaPlaca was taken to the hospital after taking a breathalyzer test, according to videos. LaPlaca remains the mayor of Lumberton and as of Friday evening has not resigned. Lumberton Committeeman Terrence Benson said LaPlaca should step down at a committee meeting. My personal opinion is for the mayor to step down and to heal herself, Benson said at the March 20 meeting. My immediate wish is for Gina to be selfish. Selfish enough to realize that her physical and mental well being comes first. LaPlacas husband Jason Carty told Action News that his wife was seeking the help she needed after her March 17 arrest. Gina is someone who has struggled and is now getting that help that she needs. I ask that everyone keep her in their thoughts as she moves forward on her road to recovery, Carty told Action News. Lumberton police chief Anthony Nippins did not immediately return a request for comment. An attorney for LaPlaca declined to 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 crew from Commercial Tower North work on a cell tower over 100 feet high in Netcong as they install new equipment to improve 4G cell phone service to customers of AT&T in 2013. Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media file photo Ocean City officials have introduced an ordinance that will allow the construction of a 120-foot cellphone tower at the islands southern end as part of the settlement of a lawsuit brought by Verizon, which alleged the city violated federal telecommunication laws. The City Council on Thursday passed a resolution approving the settlement while introducing an ordinance allowing the tower to be built on land it owns on Bay Avenue. The ordinance will be up for public comment and adoption on April 10, officials said. Doing so settles a lawsuit Verizon brought against the city in 2023 after being denied an application to install equipment the roof of a privately-owned building. Verizon said the equipment is needed to fill a significant gap in wireless coverage on the island, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court. Representatives of Verizon did not immediately return a request for comment by NJ Advance Media. Verizon applied in September 2020 to have rooftop equipment added to a privately-owned building on Haven Avenue. The company revised the plan, instead opting for smaller antennas, to comply with height requirements. Ocean City in April 2023 passed a resolution to limit the placement of future towers. In 2024, Verizon challenged Monmouth County officials in federal court for denying approvals for nine of 20 cell towers it wanted to construct along the Belmars boardwalk. 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. A view of the Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School in Jackson. Google Street View UPDATE: The Jackson school district announced just before 5 p.m. Friday that the lawsuit has been withdrawn by Bais Yaakov and the $13.1 million sale will proceed with a closing date in early June. An Ocean County school districts plan to sell a former elementary school building to an Orthodox Jewish group is mired in a court battle. The Jackson school board accepted a $13.1 million offer Dec. 11 from Bais Yaakov of Jackson to buy the Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School, which closed in June after 62 years. However, the agreement which district officials said at the time would help offset steep state aid cuts appears to have collapsed. Bais Yaakov filed a lawsuit in Ocean County chancery court last week, the Asbury Park Press reported. Bais Yaakov is affiliated with the all-girls Bais Faiga School, an Orthodox Jewish school in neighboring Lakewood. Bais Yaakov alleges the school district improperly altered the terms and conditions of the deal by sending a contract March 7 seeking two deposits totaling more than $6 million and changing the closing date. Three days later, the school boards lawyer informed Bais Yaakov that Jackson was going to move in a different direction, the lawsuit states. The Jackson school board passed a resolution March 19 authorizing district officials to rebid the sale of the property or pursue other uses of the building, subject to board approval. The school districts spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request to comment. The legal battle with Bais Yaakov is unrelated to a district-wide restructuring approved in February by the Jackson school board. That plan will close the Christa McAuliffe Middle School when the academic year ends in June. The board, as it did when closing the Rosenauer school, cited the impact of state aid cuts in closing the middle school. The districts enrollment dropped from 8,189 in 2017-18 to 6,914 in 2024-25, a 15.6% decrease, officials said. However, during that same timeframe, annual state aid declined from $49.6 million to $23.4 million, a nearly 53% decrease, the school board said. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism you rely on and trust. Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Woodbridge school officials plan to add metal detectors to three of its districts buildings after a student brought a loaded gun to school. In a letter to the school community sent March 19, Superintendent Joseph Massimino said the district would begin installing the detectors immediately at all of its high schools. The high schools Woodbridge High School, Colonia High School and John F. Kennedy Memorial High School have a combined enrollment of more than 4,000 students in the Middlesex County district. District officials initially planned to allocate funding for the project in the 2025-26 school year, but the incident with the loaded gun prompted them to take immediate action, according to the superintendent. Our district will not be waiting until next school year to implement this resource, Massimino said. Our school district has already placed an order for delivery, and they will be immediately deployed to each of our three high schools. School administrators announced the decision two days after a 17-year-old boy was found with a loaded gun at Woodbridge High School. The boy sent a threatening message to another student at the school the night before, the student told school administrators. The boys belongings were searched and the loaded gun was found, school officials said. The boy, who was not publicly identified, was charged with juvenile offenses, including unlawful possession of a firearm, terroristic threats and possession of a ghost gun, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office. According to Massimino, prior to the incident the district had been in communication with dozens of parents and the Woodbridge Police Department about implementing additional school safety measures. The response has been overwhelmingly supportive, he said. The logistics of how the metal detectors will be installed and how they will be used in schools will be shared with the community in coming weeks, according to school officials. As a parent, I share your frustration in the need to have a weapons detection system in our schools, Massimino said in his letter. However, I, along with the Board of Education, also recognize that student and staff safety must remain our top priority, and we are willing to take whatever steps are necessary. The superintendent did not disclose how much the metal detectors will cost the district, but said officials reviewed and selected products based on both efficiency and price. Other Middlesex County schools have also taken additional safety measures over the years. In 2023, the Perth Amboy school district began installing metal detectors, added armed security and implemented backpack checks at district facilities after a stabbing near a middle school left a fifth-grade student wounded. The site of a former Catholic high school in Monmouth County will be sold to the township and turned into a park, parish officials said. Mater Dei Prep High School in Middletown closed in 2022 after 61 years and multiple efforts to save it. Middletown has agreed to buy the closed high school and surrounding lands, the Parish of St. Mary announced Thursday night. MORE: Another N.J. Catholic school is shutting down. See the list of 30+ recent closures. The township is planning to demolish the building and provide park space and playing fields for Middletown residents and organizations, the parish said. The site will be named Mater Dei Park. The decision to sell was not taken lightly, but we believe it is in the best interest of our parish and the broader community, said the Rev. Jeffrey Kegley, pastor of Saint Mary Mother of God Church. Terms of the agreement and related details, including whether the sale has been finalized, were not included in the announcement. Middletown officials did not immediately respond to a request to comment. Officials cited declining enrollment in explaining the decision to close Mater Dei Prep in 2022. The school was originally slated to close in 2015, but a group of alumni and parents lobbied the the Diocese of Trenton and helped raise over $1.5 million to keep its doors open for a few more years. But enrollment eventually dwindled. It is among more than 30 Catholic schools in New Jersey that have permanently closed in recent years due to financial pressures. The parish said it will use the largest portion of the sale proceeds to invest in the student endowment fund for its Saint Mary School, which enrolls students in grades 2 to 8. Remaining funding will be dedicated to the maintenance and upkeep of the parish, the Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament Shrine and religious education programs, the parish said. It will secure our parishs future and the mission for Catholic education in our town. We see this as an opportunity to strengthen our community, both spiritually and socially, Kegley said of the sale agreement. Kegley said the parish will continue to have access to the property as part of the agreement. This ensures that the land remains a community asset, promoting health, recreation, and community spirit rather than being developed into condos or additional buildings. Mater Dei Park will be a lasting legacy, named in honor of our parishs commitment to the community, Kegley said. The Parish of Saint Mary was founded in 1879 and has more than 4,200 families as members. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism you rely on and trust. Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is on the Columbia University campus in New York at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file) AP New Jersey school officials have removed a controversial assignment from a high school class after it sparked outrage for allegedly giving students a biased portrayal of a pro-Palestinian activist detained by federal immigration agents. The assignment given to a New Brunswick High School social studies class by their teacher allegedly asked students to debate whether the recent arrest of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was unlawful. Emily Blunt and Steven Spielberg in Montville in February on the set of the director's new movie. Bobby Bank | GC Images As filming rolls on for Steven Spielbergs latest movie in New Jersey, the production is seeking more local extras. New Yorks Grant Wilfley Casting is holding an open call for background actors to play North Korean soldiers in the film. The tentative date for filming the scene in question is May 22 (see instructions below to apply). The movie, which has the production code name Non-View the actual title has not been announced is said to be about a subject that Spielberg is certainly no stranger to: UFOs. READ MORE: See Steven Spielberg on set of new movie with Emily Blunt and Wyatt Russell in N.J. Spielberg, who filmed part of his 2005 take on the alien-invasion story War of the Worlds in New Jersey, is also known for his 1977 UFO-arrival classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind, followed by E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Jurassic Park co-writer David Koepp, who also co-wrote the script for War of the Worlds, collaborated with Spielberg to write the film that is currently in production in New Jersey. He wrote the story and said what do you think of this? Koepp recently told NJ Advance Media. And I said great. What if you did this, this and that? And, you know, then we went from there. Wyatt Russell and Emily Blunt on the set of Spielberg's film in Montville last month. Bobby Bank | GC Images Oscar nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer) stars in the film. The cast includes Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, Bad Sisters star Eve Hewson, Oscar winner Colin Firth, Emmy winner Josh OConnor (The Crown, Challengers) and Wyatt Russell (Lodge 49, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"). The casting call for actors to play soldiers in the movie came hours before Spielberg was due to film a big scene in Woodbridge Thursday. READ MORE: David Koepp on N.J. haunt, Spielbergs Jersey movie and Jurassic World: Rebirth Earlier this month, there was an open call for Jersey extras with cars to play drivers in the scene. The Oscar-winning Spielberg, who spent some of his formative years living in New Jersey as a child (its where he saw his first movie in a theater, as he depicted in The Fabelmans), has been filming the movie all across the state, from North Jersey to Central Jersey and South Jersey. How to apply Anyone interested in playing a North Korean soldier in the Spielberg film can send an email with the subject line Korea to nonview@gwcnyc.com with the following information: Name, phone number; whether or not you are a member of the Screen Actors Guild; whether or not you are available May 22; if youre a New Jersey/New York local; height, weight, clothing and shoe sizes for costumes; attach current photos of yourself, full body and close-up, no filters, sunglasses or hats. 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. Robert De Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan star in "The Whisper Man," which is filming in New Jersey. Samir Hussein | WireImage; Mike Marsland | WireImage; Arnold Jerocki | Getty Images The Whisper Man, a crime thriller set to film in New Jersey, boasts some top names from film and TV. Robert De Niro stars alongside Severance lead Adam Scott and The White Lotus actor Michelle Monaghan in the movie based on the bestselling novel of the same name from Alex North. In early March, an open casting call went out for Jersey residents to serve as extras in the Netflix film. But the production, scheduled to be here from April through June, is still in need of locals to fill one particular hard-to-cast role. READ MORE: Robert De Niro movie The Whisper Man casting N.J. locals for story from bestselling book Grant Wilfley Casting tells NJ Advance Media that The Whisper Man needs a real-life medical examiner with professional experience to play one in the film. The casting agency first shared the request weeks ago, but its been harder to cast this role than others that dont require special experience. (The previous call for extras sought people to play pedestrians, parents, police officers, paramedics, elementary school students and more.) The story, which Chase Palmer and Ben Jacoby adapted from the 2019 novel by Alex North, follows a widowed crime writer whose young son is abducted. He asks his retired police detective father for assistance and finds a connection to the old case of a serial killer called The Whisper Man. James Ashcroft (The Rule of Jenny Pen, Coming Home in the Dark) is directing the film. How to apply Those interested in the medical examiner role would need to be available for the tentative filming dates of May 5 and May 30 in New Jersey (pay is $226 per day/eight hours). Anyone qualified who wants to apply can send their information to whisper@gwcnyc.com with the subject line real medical examiner. Include name, phone number, whether or not you are a Screen Actors Guild member, your availability on the filming dates, whether or not you are local to New Jersey/New York, your professional experience as a medical examiner, height and weight and two to three current photos of yourself (close-up and full body). 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. An out-of-state visitor with measles could have exposed others at a Mercer County medical center last week, the state Health Department announced Friday. The patient visited the emergency department at Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell from 5:15 p.m. on March 22 to 1:30 a.m. the following morning, according to the state announcement. Exposed people could develop symptoms as late as April 12, health officials said. Individuals at risk include those who have not been fully vaccinated or have not had measles in the past. ALSO: Do I need a measles vaccine booster? The case is unrelated to a separate incident in which a passenger infected with measles traveled on an Amtrak train between New York Penn Station and Washington D.C. last week, officials said. There were no other cases reported as of Friday, the announcement said. Measles is a highly contagious virus easily spread by an infected person talking, coughing or sneezing. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, watery red eyes, and a red rash that begins at the hairline. In serious cases, infected people may develop pneumonia and encephalitis. Pregnant women may miscarry or deliver a low birth-weight baby, the health department said. People with measles are contagious from four days before the rash appears through four days after the rash appears. The announcement comes amid a rise in measles globally. Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. However, measles-mumps-rubella vaccine coverage in the United States among kindergarteners is now below the 95% coverage target much lower in some communities and is decreasing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In just the past three months, the CDC has been notified of 378 cases of measles in the U.S. a 32% increase from what the country saw in all of last year. The cases include two deaths - the first deaths related to measles in the United States in a decade. The state Department of Health is urging all residents to stay up-to-date on vaccinations, including the MMR vaccine. Health officials are also requesting that health care providers use every opportunity to assess for immunizations to ensure all patients are current on routine immunizations. The MMR vaccine, administered in two doses, is mandatory for children who attend school or day care centers in New Jersey, unless their parent or guardian seeks a medical or religious waiver. For more information on measles, consult the state health department website. 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. The Jonas Brothers will perform at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 10. Provided by Richman Communications What A Man Gotta Do to get their hands on Jonas Brothers stadium tour tickets? The JoBros will make their way to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Aug. 10 with a celebratory tour. The Jonas Brothers tour 2025 The cheapest tickets to see the Jonas Brothers are available on StubHub. Buy Now This tour will celebrate 20 years of the band being together so its a run of dates fans wont want to miss out on. The Jonas Brothers promise fans a full, career-spanning show once they hit the live stage. This includes Nick Jonas & the Administration, Nick Jonas solo music, Joe Jonas solo work and DNCE. Specifically for the MetLife Stadium show, tickets to see the New Jersey natives were under $50 during the presale so you dont want to miss out on these deals during the general sale. If you want to secure tickets to their JONAS20: Living The Dream stadium tour, here is how you can. How to buy tickets to the Jonas Brothers stadium tour dates During the JONAS20: Living The Dream presale tickets were prices as low $40 and and with the highest ticket price hovering around $446. If you were gunning to secure floor seat tickets, then youd be pleasantly surprised that some of the cheapest tickets in that level ranged from $181-$221. However, if you happened to miss out on the presale, you still have a chance to secure Jonas Brothers tickets during the general sale, which will take place on March 28 at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster. Tickets for the Jonas Brothers tour are also be available on sites such as StubHub, Vivid Seats, TicketNetwork, SeatGeek and Viagogo. Plus, if you buy your tickets through Vivid Seats as a first-time customer, then you can receive $20 on ticket orders over $200 just by entering promo code NJ20 at checkout. For the Jonas Brothers Aug. 10 concert at MetLife Stadium, the cheapest ticket that we could find is $44 on StubHub. You can find all of the Jonas Brothers upcoming stadium tour dates here. The Jonas Brothers 2025: Dates, schedule & more The Jonas Brothers will begin their JONAS20: Living The Dream tour on Aug. 10 in East Rutherford and will wrap up on Nov. 14 in Uncasville, Conn. Were beyond excited to hit the road and celebrate 20 years of music, the Jonas Brothers said in a statement. Our fans have been with us through every chapter, and this tour is our way of honoring them, the memories weve made, and the ones well create together. We cant wait to make this our biggest, most unforgettable tour yet. Marshmello, The All-American Rejects and Boys Like Girls will join the show on select tour dates. The Jonas Brothers are not the only New Jersey natives performing at MetLife Stadium this summer. Their East Rutherford show comes one day after fellow N.J. musicians, My Chemical Romance, will perform at MetLife. Upcoming 2025 tours heading to MetLife Stadium The Jonas brothers are not the only ones performing at MetLife Stadium this year. Here are a few more artists you dont want to miss out on: Oasis, My Chemical Romance, Zach Bryan and Shakira. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Nicole Iuzzolino can be reached at niuzzolino@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips. Modesto "Bob" Medina, who worked at The Times for over 40 years, interacting with notable figures and helping preserve history, died Thursday, March 20. Robert Medina Being in charge of the news morgue and photo library at The New York Times the part of the newsroom that stored all of its old clippings and photographs came with quite a few brushes with celebrities back in the pre-internet world. After all, the morgue was more than just a library; it was an unequaled research center for historians, politicians, entertainers, business leaders, authors and more. Its how Bob Medina, in his more than four decades of work at The Times, found himself in conversations with a cross-section of notables, including Ted Kennedy and his niece Caroline, labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, historian and filmmaker William Miles, playwright Arthur Miller and his young bride, Marilyn Monroe. My dad was Google before there was Google, said Carlos Medina, his son and the president and CEO of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey. Its hard to imagine it now, but before the internet, research was difficult. You could go to the public library, but it was often years behind, he added. For decades, the morgue at The Times was as close to real-time news and information as you could find and some of the most influential people in the world went there for that. Modesto Bob Medina, a longtime resident of Ridgefield, died of Alzheimers disease at his home in Califon on March 20 at 95. He was preceded in death by his wife, Zaida, of 69 years. He is survived by his three children, Robert, Lizzette and Carlos, six grandchildren, and a legacy that includes keeping the news of yesterday relevant and accurate for decades. Medina was born on Feb. 2, 1930, in the Cienfuegos Province of Cuba. He came to the United States as a teenager, working odd jobs to support his pursuit of the American Dream. Soon after, in a show of support for his new country and the citizenship that came with it he signed up to serve in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. My dad was grateful for the opportunities this country offered, Carlos Medina said. So much so that he was willing to fight for it. Modesto Medina is pictured in this undated photo during his time in the U.S. Army. Sgt. Mike Hearn When he returned from the war, his search for work took him to The Times, which in that era sometimes screened potential candidates for employers who took out ads in the paper. As Carlos Medina tells it, his dad had such a big personality that The Times scooped him up for themselves, putting him in an archive that needed someone with enough smarts and charisma to interact with those seeking information inside the newsroom and out. Along the way, Medina never forgot his Cuban and Hispanic heritage. Decades before employee resource groups became commonplace in the workplace, he started a group for the Hispanics working at The Times. The groups biggest goal was to bring more diversity to the organization. It started with hiring people to work in the cafeteria and maintenance, but it grew to include adding more Hispanics to the newsroom, Carlos Medina said. My dad was immensely proud of that. And when dignitaries including Latin American statesmen came to the Times for an interview, it was Medina who gave them a bilingual tour. Medina also was proud to help all those who were underserved or ill-treated. He worked with groups looking for information to preserve the truth about the horrors of the Holocaust. Miles came to The Times when he needed information about Blacks serving in World War I. And Medina helped the filmmaker on his 1971 documentary, Men of Bronze, about the 369th Infantry Regiment, an all-Black combat unit that easily could have been lost to history. And when a little-known activist from New York City came looking for information, Medina told his staff: Help Rev. Al Sharpton with whatever he needs. Medina said the brushes with celebrities are what his dad liked talking about the most in his later years. A shout-out from Ed Sullivan on TV special thanks to Bob Medina and The New York Times has long been part of the family lore. Of course, nothing topped the meeting with Monroe, the worlds biggest star, when she came to the paper with Miller, the famed playwright seeking information for his latest work. While outsiders from the newsroom tried to sneak a peek at the icon, Medina said his father enjoyed a one-on-one conversation with a star he described as glamorous and down to Earth. According to Medina, his dad gave Monroe a personal tour of the morgue, including unpublished photos of her and others. Even then, they would take hundreds of photos of people but only use a few, Medina explained. Remember, there wasnt any online back then. So, they only could be found in places like the morgue at the Times. My dad was able to show Marilyn Monroe pictures the paper didnt use and willingly gave her a few she liked. Medina was multi-talented. He loved to cook. In fact, he helped start a cooking club at the paper. That led to having his Arroz con Pollo recipe printed in The New York Times Magazine, giving him bragging rights in the family kitchen. In this undated photo, Modesto "Bob" Medina is photographed with members of The New York Times Cooking Club. Nestor Rodriguez After retiring from The Times in the mid-90s, Medina worked part-time at the New York Public Library, helping ensure all donated photographs were properly cataloged. Medina and his wife later settled in various communities in Hudson County until moving to Ridgefield in the 90s. In Ridgefield, he served as the longtime head of the boroughs health department. My dad loved giving back, helping others in any way he could, Medina said. Its a spirit of empathy and compassion he has instilled in all of his children and one we are working to pass on to the next generation. Medinas Life Celebration is Saturday, March 29, at William J. Leber Funeral Home, 15 Furnace Road, Chester, New Jersey. Visitation is from 2 to 4 p.m., followed by the funeral service and military honors. Interment is private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to https:/actnowfoundation.org/ Giovanna Aguilar is a producer for the show Que Pasa? on PBS and an Emmy-nominated filmmaker. Welcome to Mosaic. Follow us on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom and on YouTube at @MosaicNJcom. Pete Genovese and the Munchmobile had a great 20-year run road-tripping around New Jersey in search of good eats. On Jan. 14, 2021, the Big Dog was officially de-commissioned at the Iselin offices of NJ Advance Media. (Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media f Back in 2010, our food guru, Pete Genovese. and a handful of pizza connoisseurs called the Pizza Patrol visited more than 300 pizzerias, sampling 1,000 slices to name the best pizza in New Jersey. He even wrote a book about it, A Slice of New Jersey, which documented The Star-Ledgers legendary Munchomobiles six-month quest. That year, Buona Pizza and Restaurant in Westfield received an award of excellence from the Munchmobile Pizza Patrol. Buona, open since 1977, looks like your average neighborhood pizzeria, but the pizza is anything but, according to a story praising the Sicilian place. We visited Buonas on our second trip in early July; the memory of the plain slice lasted right through the summer. Several pizza pies await patrons at Buona Pizza and Restaurant in Westfield, New Jersey, photographed on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. Karim Shamsi-Basha Being a pizza fanatic, I stopped by Buona Pizza and Restaurant recently and sampled some of the best pizza in New Jersey. I met with owner John DiBella, 60, who immigrated from Sicily as a young boy. He told me the secret to their enduring success. Everything is homemade right here, with our own hands, DiBella said while munching on a plain slice. We use the best cheese, and our dough takes forever to make, but its worth it. My family opened this place almost 50 years ago, and I still make things the same way they did. All the recipes at Buona Pizza and Restaurant have been passed down through generations, and its not only the pizza. The prices here are also affordable. Pizza pies start at ($18.00), and theyre big enough to feed several people. Salads are around ($10.00), and the meatball sandwich is ($11.00). Our meatballs are popular because they smell like the ones your Italian grandmother made early on Sunday morning, and they simmered all day like they do here at our restaurant, DiBella said. We cook our Sicilian specialties the old-fashioned way, and they simmer forever. John DiBella swears by this wooden bowl for his salads, photographed above in Westfield, New Jersey, on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. Karim Shamsi-BAsha And then there was the salad dressing! DiBella has used the same wooden bowl for decades, and for a good reason. My parents used to tell me this wooden bowl makes our salad dressing taste the way it does, something about the wood and the oil comingling. True or not, Ive used that wooden bowl forever, and it hasnt failed us, DiBella said. On top of the tasty food, Dibella donates food to area schools and fire and rescue first responders in Westfield. Its important for us to give back to the community that supports us, DiBella said. Another pizzeria mentioned in that Munchmobile article was Rustique Cafe in Jersey City, for the best margherita pizza in the state. Then, along the Jersey Shore, you can stop by Luigis Famous Pizza in Ocean Township, touted for the best sausage pizza. Maybe I need to get that Munchmobile going again! Karim Shamsi-Basha may be reached at kshamsi-basha@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter & Instagram. Follow Mosaic on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom. An Ocean County man was indicted Thursday on charges that he choked a woman into unconsciousness in 2022, authorities said. Juan Santiago-Rojas, 31, of Point Pleasant Borough, was indicted on charges of attempted murder, strangulation and weapons-related offenses, according to a statement from the Ocean County Prosecutors Office. The investigation began on Aug. 22, 2022, when officers from the Point Pleasant Borough Police Department responded to a Butler Avenue home and found an unconscious woman, the office said. The woman had serious injuries to head and neck and was taken to a local hospital and then Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment, officials said. She was later released. Investigators identified Santiago-Rojas as her assailant, and on Aug. 23, 2022, they charged him with aggravated assault and issued a warrant for his arrest, investigators said. He was not taken into custody until Dec. 8, 2023, when police in Wilmington, North Carolina arrested him, authorities said. He was extradited to New Jersey on Jan. 12, 2024, and has been held in the Ocean County Jail since then, authorities said. Santiago-Rojas was also charged him with attempted murder, officials said. Authorities have not described Santiago-Rojas relationship to the woman. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Two men have been arrested on attempted murder, kidnapping and carjacking charges in a shooting that injured two people in Paterson last year, authorities announced Thursday. Police responded to the area of 20th Avenue and East 33rd Street in the city at 2:17 a.m. on March 18, 2024 and found two Paterson men, ages 27 and 43, suffering from gunshot wounds, according to a statement from the Passaic County Prosecutors Office. The men were taken to St. Josephs University Medical Center where they were treated and later released, the office said. No other details about the shooting were released by prosecutors. Investigators identified Shaeem Clark, 20, of Paterson and another city resident, 22-year-old Jakahri Smith, as suspects in the shooting. Clark was arrested on Aug. 8 in Elmwood Park and charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, carjacking and drug and weapons-related offenses, officials said. Smith was arrested last week by U.S. Marshals in Massachusetts and was charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, carjacking and weapons-related offenses, the office said. Clark was ordered to be held in jail until his trial, and Smith has a pending court appearance at which prosecutors will also seek to have him remain imprisoned until his trial, authorities said. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. President Donald Trump talks as he meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Pool via AP) AP President Donald Trump and his administration are at war with the wire news service The Associated Press. It began when the AP refused to change its style guide by renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America after Trump insisted on the rebrand, which prompted the administration to bar AP reporters from various events inside the White House. The AP is suing the administration for punishing a news organization for using speech that it doesnt like under the First Amendment. The New Yorker picked up on a key exchange in the courtroom: Perhaps the most perfectly Trumpian moment came when Tobin held up a large coffee-table-size book. On the cover was a photograph from Trumps campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last summer, when he was nearly killed by an assassins bullet and thrust his fist in the air, shouting Fight! Fight! before being rushed off the stage. Evan Vucci, the A.P.s chief White House photographer, was testifying at the time. Tobin asked Vucci to identify the bookSave America, by Donald J. Trumpbefore asking him if he recognized the photo. Vucci said it was his own award-winning picture of that historic moment. He used your photo on the cover? Tobin asked. Yes, Vucci replied. He used my photo on the cover. Could there be anything more on-brand for this President than banning the A.P. from the Oval Office for refusing to grant him veto power over their editorial standards, while, at the same time, marketing himself with one of their pictures? The book, published last September, currently retails for $92.52 on Amazon. In a hearing last month, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden refused the APs request for an injunction to stop the White House from barring reporters and photographers from events in the Oval Office and Air Force One. He urged the Trump administration to reconsider its ban before Thursdays hearing. It hasnt. It seems pretty clearly viewpoint discrimination, McFadden told the governments attorney at the time. For anyone who thinks the Associated Presss lawsuit against President Trumps White House is about the name of a body of water, think bigger, Julie Pace, the APs executive editor, wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. Its really about whether the government can control what you say. The case is one of several aggressive moves the second Trump administration has taken against the press since his return to office, including FCC investigations against ABC, CBS and NBC News, dismantling the government-run Voice of America and threatening funding for public broadcasters PBS and NPR. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks about the southern border outside the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) AP Elon Musk on Thursday defended his accusation that U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is a traitor. Musk called Kelly a traitor earlier this month after he reaffirmed his support for Ukraine and paid a visit to the war-torn country. Kellya combat Navy veteran and retired astronauthas been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia invaded the country more than three years ago. Fox Newss Bret Baier pressed Musk on Special Report why he would call Kelly a traitor on social media platform X. Well, I think somebody should care about the interests of the United States above the interest of another country, and if they dont, theyre a traitor, Musk said. When Baier noted that Kelly is a decorated war veteran, a former astronaut and a U.S. senator, Musk doubled down. That doesnt mean its OK for him to put the interests of another country above America, Musk responded. Musk defends calling Mark Kelly a traitor pic.twitter.com/TlNAeCTL4h Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 27, 2025 Kelly responded to Musks comments on CNN later on Thursday, saying he is not sure if Musk even deserves a response. Kelly emphasized that he has spent an entire career standing up for our country, defending our country, flying in combat over Iraq, flying in space on the space shuttle, serving in the United States Senate. And I always stand with the best interest of our nation. And I will tell you this, Erin, standing with our allies and standing up for democracy is in the best interest of the United States...I mean, who is Elon standing with at this point? A bunch of billionaires, he told CNNs Erin Burnett. He went on to slam Musk for laying off thousands of workers through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). And hes an unelected, unexperienced, inexperienced, at least when it comes to...the federal government and what hes trying to accomplish here. Hes an unelected billionaire. And I think he needs to stay in his own lane making rockets, making cars. He also might be a little upset that I sold his car, he added. Earlier this month, Musk called Kelly a traitor after he made a statement supporting Ukraine. Kelly fired back at Musk, suggesting that Musk should stop interfering with the government. Traitor? Elon, if you dont understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do, Kelly wrote on X. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Bill Maher arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Liberal comedian Bill Maher defended his upcoming White House dinner plans with President Donald Trump, despite being a major critic of Trump for years. NewsNations Chris Cuomo asked Maher on the Club Random podcast about why he agreed to have dinner with the president at the White House despite being an outspoken critic of Trump since he first ran for president in 2016. Maher had also predicted that Trump wouldnt leave the White House without a fight if he lost the 2020 election. Cuomo jokingly asked Maher if he was going to dinner as a dare. Not a dare, he said as Cuomo laughed. No, just like, maybe this is a beginning to heal America. Now, I dont have some sort of complex where I think I can heal America, I cant. OK, lets get that clear. Im not going to be healing America. But if two guys whove been at each other for so long...I mean, its kind of a Nixon to China thing. There was nobody who was harder on Trump or more prescient about the fact that he wasnt going to leave office voluntarily than I was. I feel like I have the credentials. But they also respect me because Im honest about the woke train to crazy town. And I dont shrink from that. And Ive also lost a lot of fans for that. The woke people have left the building and Im willing to make that sacrifice. but it does give you a certain credibility, he added. Cuomo noted that he is totally for Maher having a conversation with Trump. Maher received some backlash for accepting the invite to the White House. Former GOP Rep. Joe Walsh said last week it was a bullshit business move by Maher to sit down with Trump for dinner and said that he would never do the same. NEW: Bill Maher tells @ChrisCuomo why he's having dinner with Trump MAHER: "It was presented as ... maybe this is a beginning to heal America. Now, I don't have some sort of complex where I think I can heal America. I can't. Okay, let's get that clear I'm not going to be pic.twitter.com/uPX8NRhPzt Jason Cohen (@JasonJournoDC) March 28, 2025 Maher told Cuomo that it was an honor to be invited to the White House. And Ive already had a couple of people who I said to them, You know, Im just gonna take it as a backhanded compliment that you glide right past the idea that little Bill Maher from River Vale, New Jersey, just a humble kid from the suburbs was invited for a private dinner at the White House. You glide right past that to how dare you talk to him and that youre not impressed by it at all, he said. Im impressed by it a lot. Im impressed the f--k out of it. I get to go to the White House and, yes, that is the structure of this dinner is just lets talk. Lets talk to each other face to face. Lets stop shouting from 3,000 miles away. So if they expect me to be leaving in a MAGA hat, theyre gonna be very disappointed, but I know they dont...It probably will accomplish very little, but you gotta try, man. You gotta try, he added. Maher also revealed on CNN earlier this month that he is worried that another Trump term could become the reality. Im not sure we will ever see another election, he said at the time. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, left, speaks with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump meets with France's President Emmanuel Macron in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP) AP U.S. military pilots are outraged after the Trump administration revealed sensitive details about an upcoming military attack in a group chat that accidentally included a journalist. The Atlantic reported on the Signal group chat earlier this week and revealed that its top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, had been inadvertently added to the text chain with senior administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The report sparked backlash from lawmakers, pundits and former defense officials who warned that their actions could have put military pilots in harms way. Current and former U.S. military pilots expressed similar concerns in interviews with The New York Times this week. The whole point about aviation safety is that you have to have the humility to understand that you are imperfect, because everybody screws up. Everybody makes mistakes, Lt. John Gadzinski, a retired Navy F-14 pilot, told The Times. But ultimately, if you cant admit when youre wrong, youre going to kill somebody because your ego is too big, he added. The Trump administration has downplayed the Signal chat leak and has claimed that no classified information was shared. However, lawmakers and former defense officials have said that the messages sent by Hegseth are typically classified since it included exact timing of strikes on Yemen and what aircraft were being used. One Navy pilot, who was granted anonymity to avoid backlash from the Pentagon and Trump, told The Times that plans are intentionally not shared with people who dont need to know. You dont share what time were supposed to show up over a target. You dont want to telegraph that were about to show up on someones doorstep; thats putting your crew at risk, the pilot said. A former Air Force fighter pilot, Maj. Anthony Bourke, told The Times: When you disclose operational security, people can get killed. More from The Times: The mistaken inclusion of the editor in chief of The Atlantic in the chat and Mr. Hegseths insistence that he did nothing wrong by disclosing the secret plans upend decades of military doctrine about operational security, a dozen Air Force and Navy fighter pilots said. Worse, they said, is that going forward, they can no longer be certain that the Pentagon is focused on their safety when they strap into cockpits. The Atlantic published the full text of the group chat on Wednesday. What was revealed was jaw-dropping in its specificity and includes the type of information that is kept to a very close hold to protect the operational security of a military strike. But Hegseths spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement Wednesday that there were no classified materials or war plans shared. The Secretary was merely updating the group on a plan that was underway. The Pentagon and White House have tried to deflect criticism by attacking Goldberg and The Atlantic. The magazine and Goldberg, however, repeatedly reached out to the White House before and after publication to gain additional context on the Signal chat and ensure that publishing the full texts would not cause harm. In a response, Goldberg reported Wednesday, Leavitt described some of the information as sensitive and said the White House would prefer it not be published. In the group chat, Hegseth posted multiple details about the impending strike, using military language and laying out when a strike window starts, where a target terrorist was located, the time elements around the attack and when various weapons and aircraft would be used in the strike. He mentioned that the U.S. was currently clean on operational security." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Even moon landing hoax theories have more public support than President Donald Trumps plan to take over Greenland. Vice President JD Vance and his wife are traveling to Greenland this week despite sharp backlash from residents and local officials. The tripwhich has been scaled back amid the criticismcomes as Trump repeatedly vows to annex Greenland, which is controlled by Denmark. CNN polling guru Harry Enten said earlier this week that he has rarely seen a policy idea so unpopular. He said that about 70 percent of Republicans believe the U.S. should not annex Greenland. This has got to be one of the most unpopular ideas Ive ever heard. You know I look at the polling day in, day out. The percentage of Americans who are against this, we could throw up on the screen right now. Were looking at about 70 percent of Americans who say, no, the U.S. should not take over Greenland, he said on Anderson Cooper 360. That is more Americans who were for the impeachment and removal of Richard Nixon by the end of his presidency. This is uniformly unpopular. Even only half of Republicans support it, he added. He said while the idea is very unpopular in the United States, it is even more unpopular in Greenland. Just 6% of Greenlanders said that they want to be controlled by the U.S. Enten said more people believe the first moon landing was fake. To give you an idea of how low 6 percent is, if you took a poll of Americans and say, do you believe we actually landed on the moon? About 10 percent of Americans think we fake the moon landing. So fewer Greenlanders are for the U.S. taking over Greenland than Americans who actually believe that we did not land on the moon, Enten said. Just 6% of Greenlanders want to join the United States. There are more people who think we faked the moon landing (~10%). 85% of Greenlanders are opposed. Meanwhile, less than 30% of Americans want Greenland to join the U.S. I've rarely seen anything so unpopular. pic.twitter.com/03LdNLS5aP (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) March 28, 2025 Trump, in an interview Wednesday on The Vince Show, repeated his desire for U.S. control of Greenland. Asked if the people there are eager to become U.S. citizens, Trump said he didnt know but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them. The vice presidents decision to visit a U.S. military base in Greenland has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. Yet Vance has also criticized long-standing European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonizing partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the U.S. During his first term, Trump floated the idea of purchasing the worlds largest island, even as Denmark insisted it wasnt for sale. The people of Greenland also have firmly rejected Trumps plans. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. A new U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding restrictions against guns that can be made through assembly kits or 3D printers was cheered by New Jersey Democratic lawmakers who usually find themselves at odds with the majority conservative court. The court, in a 7-2 opinion delivered Wednesday, found that existing gun laws allow regulation of the kits increasingly linked to crime. It cleared the way for continued serial numbers, background checks and age verification requirements for buying the kits online. They are commonly known as ghost guns because they and their parts are untraceable. As prisoners stand looking out from a cell, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noems recent visit to the high-security El Salvador prison raised some eyebrows over what she was wearing on her wrist. Heres a headline from The New York Post: Kristi Noem appears to wear $60K Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch during visit to infamous hellhole El Salvador prison. According to the report, It was identified as a gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in a viral post on X. A new Cosmograph Daytona sells online for $59,500, according to online listings. She was wearing the same watch in her meeting with Colombias foreign minister on Thursday. Thats nearly as much of the average annual income in the U.S., which was around $66,600 in 2023, according to the Social Security Administration. Noems trip to the prison where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside comes as the Donald Trump administration seeks to show it is deporting people it describes as the worst of the worst. The Trump administration is arguing in federal court that it was justified in sending the Venezuelans to El Salvador, while activists say officials have sent them to a prison rife with human rights abuses while presenting little evidence that they were part of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. Noem also met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, a populist who has gained right-wing admiration in the U.S. due to his crackdown on the countrys gangs, despite the democratic and due process implications that have come with it. The Associated Press 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. Ground water plummeted between 2000 and 2002 and then continued to decline, sparking concern for household water availability and agriculture. Groundwater is disappearing, sparking a warning that households in Australias south could face more frequent water restrictions if the problem isnt mitigated. Source: Michael Dahlstrom Some of Australias most populous regions should expect frustrating water restrictions in the coming decades due to a worrying trend. A bombshell report by local scientists found unprecedented water loss from land across the planet, and thats likely to impact both household water usage and agriculture if the problem isn't mitigated. The Melbourne University-led research found south, southeast, and southwest Australia will likely face challenges if the problem continues. Soil moisture, groundwater and surface water in dams and streams all plummeted over three years between 2000 and 2002 and then continued to decline. Lead researcher Professor Dongryeol Ryu told Yahoo News variability of water availability in Australia has traditionally been much greater than the rest of the world because of the frequency of droughts. But significant parts of the country are still experiencing a continued gradual decline in water from the soil, just like the rest of the world. We tend to think about wet years and dry years, and well have them still. But changes are gradually occurring in a specific direction with the land getting drier, Ryu said. Increasingly wet region gives Australia 'false sense of stability' Overall, the trend isnt noticeable when the entire continent is examined because subtropical regions in the Northern Territory and Queensland are wetter than they were during the twentieth century. This gives us a false sense of stability, Ryu said. ADVERTISEMENT Because agriculture is the largest consumer of fresh water, Ryu expects almost every sector of the industry to be affected. He predicts there will be more competition between the use of water resources for food production and the environment. Ecosytems will need supplemental water. They will have limited access to water unless we make its use more efficient, he said. How bad has the water loss been? Between 2000 and 2002, soil moisture across the globe decreased by around 1614 gigatonnes, almost twice as much as Greenlands ice loss of about 900 gigatonnes between 2002 and 2006. From 2003 to 2016, the problem continued, with an additional 1009 gigatonnes vanishing from the surface. ADVERTISEMENT The biggest driver behind the loss is changing rainfall patterns, but evaporation due to rising air temperatures also had a significant impact. Both issues are linked to climate change. There are few groundwater monitoring systems around the world, and Ryu believes it is vital that more are installed so the problem can be tracked. The findings were published on Friday in the journal Science. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. An expert believes regulations make it too easy for councils to find 'excuses' to kill trees loved by locals. There are calls for old street trees to be better protected, as residents face off against an east Sydney council over the future of a towering fig. Source: Supplied An Aussie city council has doubled down on a controversial plan to destroy a towering tree due to claims it damaged one mans fence, lawn and driveway. The decision has prompted one of the nations leading urban planners to call for important, old trees to be federally protected because their importance to both communities and the environment doesnt appear to be recognised by guidelines at a local government level. Professor Sarah Bekessy from RMIT and the Biodiversity Council said big old trees are rare in cities, but theyre still being destroyed at a rapid rate. And shes questioned whether Randwick City Council, in Sydney's east, actually needs to axe a 24-metre high weeping fig on Quail Street, Clovelly, because of concerns around insurance. Theres always an excuse for getting rid of a tree, whether its safety or damage to infrastructure. But thats just missing the point about their enormous benefits, she told Yahoo News. Its exponential, the benefits that trees provide as they grow and get bigger. You know that standing under a small shrub doesn't give you a cooling benefit, but an enormous fig tree with a huge canopy would cool the street really substantially. ADVERTISEMENT Because the benefits accrue with size, we should also have laws that recognise that and protect them, rather than guidelines that almost seem to promote their destruction. Related: Charming Aussie town split over future of 80-year-old trees Residents in Sydneys east are escalating their fight to stop their local council from destroying a beloved old street tree, adorning it with a bow and drawings. Source: Supplied Claims old trees can simply be replaced labelled 'pretty silly' While Randwick City Council has advised it has planted over 2,000 new trees in recent years, Bekessy believes claims like this are pretty silly. We kid ourselves that we can cut down trees, then plant other trees, and you know that the wildlife will patiently wait decades for the trees to grow and provide the habitat. That doesn't happen. You know, we have to start actually getting with it in terms of the value of keeping all trees in our landscape, she said. Locals say the fig holds important memories, provides shade, and is home to wildlife. Theyve sketched images of a possum, owl and kookaburra on its bark to represent the creatures set to lose their homes, and a large bow has been tied around it as a symbol of its importance. ADVERTISEMENT Council faces legal battle as it prepares to kill beloved tree Earlier, councillors from Randwick City Council had voted overwhelmingly to destroy the tree. The decision followed advice from its insurer that it pay out the homeowner whose property was alleged to have been damaged by its root system. Because future claims would subsequently not be covered, council claimed it had no choice but to kill the tree. But furious residents protested against the decision, disputing whether the tree was actually impacting the home, questioning councils choice to pay the claim, and urging it to spare the tree. In response, council held an extraordinary general meeting this week to re-evaluate the trees future, but simply voted once again to axe it. It later told Yahoo News, all feasible options to retain the tree have been exhausted and restated its belief the tree was responsible for the damage. ADVERTISEMENT Council has been actively managing the tree for many years to try and retain it. This has included undertaking canopy pruning, root investigations and pruning and repairs to the footpath, it said. Locals say the fig tree is imortant to the community and provides habitat for wildlife. Artist Floria Tosca has been involved in painting murals on the tree. Source: Supplied Residents in the leafy suburbs of Clovelly and Coogee arent about to roll over to this latest hurdle, and the matter is expected to be taken to court. Theyve requested materials that the council has relied on in making its decision so they can be independently reviewed. Several residents have explained they are frustrated with what they claim is a lack of council transparency. Theyve lodged a freedom of information request, calling for the arborist report, and written communications between the insurer and council. If council doesnt comply with the request, the residents plan to commence legal action in the land and environment court. We are determined to get justice for the tree, local man Rob Aird told Yahoo. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. Fewer Louisiana high schoolers are graduating with work-based learning credits than their peers in other southern states, a new study found. Pictured: Instructor and Chef Theresa Edwards helps Brielle Credeur make pralines Thursday, February 6, 2025, at the W.D. and Mary Baker Smith Career Center in Lafayette, La. The unhoused in New Orleans got a lot of attention in recent months as the city got ready for the mega Taylor Swift weekend of concerts, the B The only known habitat of Maratus yanchep spiders has been fenced off for a housing development in Western Australia. Spider species Maratus yanchep is being threatened with extinction now its only known habitat is set to be flattened for development. Source: Suplied A metal fence erected around thick bushland could be the beginning of the end for a spectacular native spider species whose existence we only just learned about a few years ago. The coastal suburb of Alkimos, situated more than 40 kilometres north of Perth where the suburban frontier continues to rapidly expand, is the only known habitat of the peacock jumping spider species Maratus yanchep. But it could be "only a matter of weeks before the land these spiders call home is reduced to sand" as the next stage of a new housing estate commences, a photographer who captured first-of-their kind images of the spider told Yahoo News. The spider, known for its deadly courtship dance, was only discovered and described in 2022 long after approvals for residential developer Peet's Elavale estate were granted. There are no restrictions in place to protect them since the species has not officially been included in the threatened species lists, nor has any restriction been enforced since they were discovered. But it's feared the unique species now faces extinction. "Time has always been our biggest enemy, if wed known about this species sooner, we could have done more," photographer Michael Lun told Yahoo News. "The new fencing is really frustrating because it stops us from accessing the land. We need access to properly survey the area and confirm to the committee [Western Australian Threatened Species Scientific Committee] that this is the only place where the spider occurs." Michael Lun took first-of-its kind pictures of the native spiders. Source: Michael Lun Photography & Instagram/wa_peakcock_jumping_spiders Push for development to be paused for crucial surveying work Michael is urging developers to halt their plans so the land can be surveyed, crucial data can be collected and findings can be presented to authorities. ADVERTISEMENT "I'd love to see the development paused for just the two months the spiders are active (July and August) so we can finish surveying and complete the report," he said. "I also wish developers, like Peet (which is developing the housing site), would conduct proper initial surveys and consider seasonal species that arent visible year-round. But thats probably wishful thinking. Money speaks the loudest these days." Yahoo News has reached out to Peet for comment. Last year, a spokesperson from the developer told WA Today no new species were noted as part of its work on the 80-hectare estate, which will contain more than 1,000 lots when complete. The spokesperson said it took protection of local environments seriously and its plans met all government and regulatory requirements. Yahoo News has also contacted the WA state government over the issue. What makes the spider so special? The spiders are tiny in size, with their bodies only four to five millimetres across. Not only do they have vibrant colourations on their abdomens, they play a crucial role in their unique mating rituals which include a male spider dancing for its life and flashing its colours to a potential mate. If she is impressed, he will be granted permission to reproduce. If not, he becomes her next meal. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from NorthBayNipissing.com. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. A wildlife charity based in North Devon is expanding its rescue efforts with the addition of a new boat to help stranded otter cubs across the UK. The UK Wild Otter Trust, which rescues and rehabilitates otter cubs from all over the country, announced the arrival of the boat on Monday 17 March. It will allow the team to reach cubs more quickly and safely, particularly in cases where water is the only access route. The trust frequently faces challenges when cubs are trapped in waterlogged or hard-to-reach areas. The new boat will help speed up rescue operations and improve safety for both the animals and the team. Weve had cases where cubs are stranded in waterlogged areas and we just can't get to them without a boat. And Im not a fan of getting wet! said Dave Webb, founder and CEO of the trust. This boat will make a huge difference when we need to get to them fast, and will hopefully see even more cubs saved each year. The vessel was supplied at a generous discount by Otter Boats, a local company based in Bideford, and funded through donations from the trusts supporters. With the addition of the boat, the charity can now conduct more thorough searches along watercourses for reported cubs, ensuring no cub is left behind. This boat is a game-changer for us, said Mr Webb. Its going to make our rescues quicker and safer for everyone involved. We want to say a massive thanks to Otter Boats of Bideford for the discount and of course to our supporters for their continued contributions. This is just another step in the UK Wild Otter Trusts mission to protect and rescue otters across the UK. A petition has been launched in response to Dogs Trust's proposed changes to its operations, which could affect staff at centres across the UK, including Ilfracombe. The charity has confirmed proposed plans to transition its Ilfracombe rehoming centre into a dedicated foster hub, but the restructuring is not limited to that location. It comes after Dogs Trust believes that many dogs are not suited to living in kennels and thrive better when cared for in a home environment. Taking into account the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which has placed additional financial pressures on both dog owners and charities, Dogs Trust has recognised that more people are being forced to give up their dogs. As a result, they have stated the charitys services are under increasing pressure. To address this crisis, Dogs Trust feels it must refocus its efforts and adapt its rehoming network. They have released their current plans. Dogs Trust aims to provide more intensive support for dogs with challenging behaviours by building on the success of its fostering and Home Stay programme. The charity plans to refocus its prevention efforts on helping owners with behavioural issues and to redirect its international work through its sister charity, WVS (Worldwide Veterinary Service). These changes are part of a broader review of the charity's operations to better support its new strategic approach. In starting this process of change, Dogs Trust has: Reviewed the structure of its rehoming centre network Developed proposals to focus more on supporting owners with behavioural problems Redirected its international efforts through WVS Evaluated its cross-organisational work to ensure it can help dogs when they need it most Continued to maximise the impact of every donation received In response, a newly launched petition, titled Prevent the Redundancy of Dogs Trust Staff, has already gathered more than 700 signatures and is being sent to the Dogs Trust Board of Trustees for consideration. The petition was created by an anonymous Dogs Trust employee who expressed concerns about the potential impact of the proposed changes. On the Change.org page, the employee stated: Dogs Trust has been rehoming thousands of dogs each year for over 130 years. However, recent actions threaten to make invaluable staff members redundant, potentially leading to a reduction in care, an increase in euthanasia rates, and a negative impact on the dogs quality of life. Lets preserve the frontline workers who ensure the safety of these dogs. The charitys proposal includes reducing kennel capacity to refocus resources on supporting dogs with behavioural issues. An estimated 300 roles could be at risk of redundancy across Dogs Trust's network of centres. The organisation has stated, however, that it hopes those affected would find new roles within the charity for affected staff, depending on the consultation process and people finding the right roles for them. Dogs Trust, which currently employs 1,765 staff members, explained that the move to transition the Ilfracombe centre is part of a wider strategy to provide more support for dogs with complex needs. By expanding its Home from Home fostering scheme, the charity hopes to care for more dogs in foster homes rather than in kennels. However, this change comes as part of a broader attempt to address challenges facing the dog welfare sector, with the charity aiming to help even more dogs despite rising costs and increased demand. A Dogs Trust spokesperson said: Dogs Trust has been here for dogs for 134 years and we are now living in unprecedented times, approaching a perfect storm regarding dog welfare. The pandemic has resulted in a larger UK dog population, and we are seeing an increase in unwanted behaviours. The cost-of-living crisis is putting additional financial pressures on owners, as well as on charities, which means our services are under pressure because more people are having to give up their dogs, while our costs are continuing to increase. To tackle this crisis, we need to be there to help even more dogs. We cant sit by and do nothing, so we need to refocus our work, and review our rehoming network. We know that many dogs arent suited to living in kennels but thrive when cared for in a home, which is why we are proposing transitioning our rehoming centre in Ilfracombe into a dedicated foster hub. The petition will be presented to the Board of Trustees as part of the ongoing consultation process. Boao Moments: Attendees see China-proposed initiatives as effective response to global challenges 15:35, March 28, 2025 By Chang Sha, Wang Yuheng, Wu Yanhong ( People's Daily Online International representatives gathered at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, from March 25 to 28 to discuss key issues affecting Asia and the world. Join People's Daily Online to discover how attendees view the major initiatives and visions proposed by China amid current global challenges. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chengliang) Plus a man has died and a toddler is critical after they were struck by a car in Sydney's west. Anthony Albanese has been peppered with cost of living questions as he announced the federal election will take place on May 3. Source: Getty Yahoo's live news blog for Friday, March 28 has now concluded. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the federal election for May 3. Addressing reporters this morning, the focus was unsurprisingly the cost of living, however he avoided directly answering whether Australians are better off now than three years ago when he became prime minister. A e-bike rider has died in Sydney's Waterloo after a police vehicle struck the man as officers tried to pull him over. Paramedics could not save the man in his 40s and he died at the scene. Bunnings continues its expansion into new industries however not all suppliers are on board. The hardware giant has been snubbed by some big brands but Bunnings' CEO says it is their loss. See all of the day's updates below. LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 14 updates Featured Cop who killed great-grandmother spared jail We bring you some breaking news now. Former senior constable Kristian James Samuel White who fatally tasered 95-year-old Clare Nowland has been spared jail. Former senior constable White will walk out of the NSW Supreme Court on Friday subject to strict conditions after Nowland's 2023 death at an aged care facility in the town of Cooma, and has been handed 425 hours of community service as part of his two-year community corrections order. Read the full story from AAP here. What is really concerning cash-strapped Aussies While we've seen Labor and the Coalition prioritise different financial relief with the budget and budget reply, a Compare the Market survey shows what Australians are most concerned about and what they want addressed. Topping the list is grocery prices, with 38.5 per cent of 1,000 people in a national sample this month worried about their supermarket bills. Next up is housing prices concerning 23.9 per cent of people, while 13.1 per cent are worried by energy prices. While Peter Dutton has promised fuel relief, petrol prices are a major worry of just 2.7 per cent of the sample. Now its time for Australians to decide whether a change is needed to improve our fortunes as a nation, or if the current government is the best fit for the job, Compare the Markets Economic Director David Koch said. Victim's family cries out over cop's sentencing Heartbroken members of Clare Nowlands family cried out loudly after former senior constable Kristian James Samuel White was spared jail following the great-gran's taser death in 2023. Mrs Nowlands eldest son Michael made an emotional statement to reporters following the sentencing. Its a slap on the wrist for someone thats killed our mother I need time to process that, he said. Its difficult for our family we are very emotional and we all need time to process. We just want to see justice and fairness, thats all we wanted. Michael added his family does not accept Whites letter of apology, which he believes was handed to the court last minute. White had been called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma before 5am on May 17, 2023 to assist with Mrs Nowland, whom a nurse described as a very aggressive resident holding two knives. Mrs Nowland, who used a walking frame to move slowly around the home, was holding a single knife and a penlight when White found her sitting in an office after 5am. He repeatedly told her to drop the blade during a tense two-minute confrontation before he pointed his service Taser at the great-grandmother and activated the warning signals. - NCA NewsWire Albo not getting to grips with Coles and Woolies, Nationals leader claims Well we're hearing from all the parties today as election campaigns begin, and Nationals Leader David Littleproud is getting fired into Labor and Anthony Albanese over supermarkets. Despite Treasurer Jim Chalmers promising to invest in an ongoing crackdown on Coles, Woolworths and other unfavourable supermarket activity, Littleproud says it's not enough. He urged Albanese to "do something about" the actions of supermarkets which he says is leaving farmers and consumers in a difficult financial situation. "Australians tonight who will not be able to put dinner on the table because they can't afford it... He's not prepared to put in any significant penalties," he said. Two schoolchildren seriously injured after 'stolen car veers off road' Two children have been hospitalised after they were run down by stolen and an out-of-control car that veered off the road in Canberra. The pair were struck by a green Holden Commodore station wagon on Canberra Avenue near St Edmunds College on Friday morning, ACT Police have confirmed. A police spokesman said both pedestrians were taken to hospital in serious conditions. The same vehicle has continued along Canberra Avenue before colliding with other vehicles and coming to a stop near (a shopping precinct), they said. The spokesman confirmed the Holden Commodore was believed to be stolen and the driver was in hospital under police guard. St Edmunds College principal Tim Cleary said the injured boys parents were with them while they received treatment in hospital. - NCA NewsWire Bondi Rescue star grabs selfie with pop icon Well how's this for a picture? Bondi Rescue's Harrison Reid has managed to get himself a selfie with pop superstar Dua Lipa with the Brit currently in Sydney. The star was seen enjoying a walk along the famous Bondi to Coogee walk, with Reid getting his snap down at Tamarama. Plenty of fans speculated it was actually Dua Lipa who asked for the photo, because she watches the Channel 10 show, right? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Harrison Reid (@harrisonsreid) New details after e-bike rider killed in cop car collision Police say $40,000 worth of drugs were found at the scene of a fatal crash between an e-bike rider and a police car in the early hours of the morning in Sydney's inner south. In an update on Friday, police said the man was Indigenous, with investigations into why officers were pursuing the rider ongoing, Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said. There was also $10,000 cash found at the scene in Waterloo. So in normal circumstances, if we found that amount of drugs and cash on anyone, we would allege it is on their person for the purpose of supply, Assistant Commissioner McKenna said. Dutton shares first campaign ad While we're still waiting for Peter Dutton to speak following Anthony Albanese's election announcement this morning, the Opposition leader has already taken to socials to share a campaign ad. Unsurprisingly, the ad focuses on the financial struggles Australians have endured during the last three years under Labor. "We live in the best country in the world but right now it's at a turning point," Dutton says. "Too many are forced to make sacrifices just to afford the weekly shop and pay their bills." Watch the clip below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Peter Dutton (@peterduttonmp) Greens desperate to 'keep Peter Dutton out' A bullish Adam Bandt has said there's no chance the Greens will work with the Coalition if they formed a minority government. "What the Greens want at this election is to keep Peter Dutton out and get Labor to act," the Greens Leader said. "This is a real chance by voting Greens to get some real outcomes for people. Like, enough of the tinkering around the edges. Tinkering around the edges of the housing and rental crisis still leaves people skipping meals just to pay the rent." Badnt said he expected to increase the number of seats the Greens have across the nation Cop's last steps before sentence for tasering grandma A police officer who fatally shot an elderly aged-care resident with his Taser could become one of the few members of the force to be jailed over a death on duty. Former senior constable Kristian James Samuel White was swarmed by media as he walked into the NSW Supreme Court on Friday ahead of sentencing for killing 95-year-old Clare Nowland. A jury found him guilty of manslaughter after he fired his weapon at the elderly woman inside the Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in southern NSW in May 2023. Mrs Nowland was holding a knife while using a walking frame and had been ignoring attempts by staff to disarm her. Former senior constable Kristian James Samuel White was swarmed by media as he walked into the NSW Supreme Court on Friday ahead of sentencing for killing 95-year-old Clare Nowland. Source: NCA NewsWire The 35-year-old officer said "nah, bugger it" before firing the Taser's barbs at her chest, causing her to fall and strike her head. The great-grandmother suffered a bleed on the brain and died in hospital a week after the early morning May 17 incident. UNSW criminology expert Helen Gibbon said it was very rare for Australian police officers to face prosecution for killing a person in the line of duty. "It is even rarer for police to be convicted of an offence in relation to a killing," she told AAP. Prosecutors have pushed NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison to jail White for the crime, but the ex-officer's lawyers have argued he only made an error of judgment and should receive a more lenient sentence. In deciding to pursue a criminal case against an officer, the Director of Public Prosecutions would already take into account that police worked in difficult, often volatile circumstances, Associate Professor Gibbon noted. Read more here. Bunnings warns brands snubbing them There's been plenty said about Bunnings' rapid expansion, with the hardware giant widening its product selection to accomodate pet owners and motorists. But it's not going as smoothly as some would expect. Bunnings CEO Michael Schneider says some leading auto brands are snubbing them, and instead staying loyal to those they already supply. One of the things that is interesting is that some brands have chosen not to join us, and we respect that, theyve told us that they dont want to jeopardise relationships with others, he told The Australian. But Schneider says brands should be careful, and risk being left behind. "The thing that we said to all of them is, that what we know from other categories is that if we get going and this is successful, if you miss out on the ground floor, well probably grow with other partners. And that can be something theyll probably look back on as a missed opportunity. Key cost-of-living question Albo keeps on dodging So Anthony Albanese has called the federal election for May 3 giving Labor and the Coalition five weeks to convince Australians they're the right party to lead the country. Unsurprisingly, the focus of the prime minister this morning when he addressed reporters was the cost of living with both Labor and the Coalition revealing their spending plans for Australia this week. But one key question the prime minister is doing very well to dodge is if Australians are better off now than when he took over from Scott Morrison. Arguing that Australian's aren't, one reporter asked why he deserved a second term. Anthony Albanese is avoiding answering how Australians fare now compared to three years ago. Source: ABC Yet the prime minister didn'r boast of the relief he's delivered, but simply admitted Labor has faced "turbulent seas" before turning to the Opposition. "If Peter Dutton had had his way and his opposition to our cost-of-living measures had been put in place, Australians today would be $7,200 worse off on average," he told reporters. Asked moments later if he concedes most people are saying they aren't better off, Albanese again deflected. "What we will be saying very clearly is that people would be $7,200 worse off if Peter Dutton had had his way," he said. E-bike rider dies after crash with police A man on an e-bike has died after he collided with a police car overnight in Sydney's inner south. NSW Police say they tried to pull over the man in his 40s about 3am in Waterloo when the bike and police vehicle collided. Paramedics treated the man at the scene but he could not be saved. Police will provide further details later today. Man dead, toddler critical after car hits them on walk A man is dead and a one-year-old boy has critical injuries after they were hit by a car during a walk. The pair were in Mount Druitt in western Sydney about 7.45pm on Thursday when they were struck on a busy arterial. Emergency services arrived to find the toddler's caregiver - a man aged 57 - severely injured and were unable to save his life. Shortly after, a man believed to be the toddler's father presented the boy to hospital. He was rushed to Westmead Children's Hospital in a critical condition. The driver involved in the crash, a woman aged 37, was taken to hospital for mandatory testing and was assisting with inquiries, police said on Friday. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Buffel grass has been branded one of the country's 'worst invaders' but it is highly valuable to farmers in outback regions. Debate has ignited between Australian farmers and conservationists after buffel grass, an introduced species, was nominated for inclusion on the Weeds of National Significance (WoNS) list by the federal government. The Indigenous Desert Alliance, Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board and the Arid Lands Environment Centre said the nomination, backed by extensive research and support from 48 organisations, reflects buffel grasss widespread environmental, social and cultural impacts. Speaking to Yahoo, the Invasive Species Council's Dr Carol Booth branded buffel one of Australia's "most devastating invaders", known for taking over vast areas and fuelling "fierce tree-killing fires". But many Australian farmers and pastoralists support it for its resilience and value as a drought-tolerant pasture for livestock. The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) said calls to list buffel as a WoNS are ignoring the benefits it provides to graziers across the country. ADVERTISEMENT NFF's Angus Atkinson said while WoNS status is "a useful tool," it should only be applied "where there is consensus that a plant is a weed" and would benefit from "national coordination and support." Treating buffel grass in remote areas is tough work. Source: Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board Passionate pleas from advocates and opponents over buffel grass Originally introduced for dust control and livestock grazing in the 1800s, buffel grass has since spread rapidly, increasing the frequency of wildfires, threatening biodiversity, damaging infrastructure and disrupting First Nations' cultural practices. It is already listed as a key threat in conservation advice for at least 31 species under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. South Australia declared buffel grass a weed in 2015, and the Northern Territory has also listed it as a pest plant. However, it remains widely used by pastoralists in other states. ADVERTISEMENT Booth said the Invasive Species Council strongly endorses the nomination of buffel grass as a WONS. "As one of Australia's very worst weeds, it needs a concerted national focus," she said. "It is an ecosystem transformer turning diverse Australian plant communities into buffel monocultures, including in national parks and Indigenous protected areas. Buffel grass often spreads alongside roads. Source: Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board "Buffel is also a major hazard for people (particularly Aboriginal communities), Indigenous cultural sites and bush tucker, and infrastructure. Climate and oil modelling predict that 25 per cent of Australia is 'highly suitable' and 43 per cent 'suitable' for buffel grass. ADVERTISEMENT Booth said if buffel grass is declared a WoSN, the focus of the program would be to reduce its impacts on the environment, culture and communities. "The WoNS listing would not affect pastoralists," she said. But according to Atkinson, the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Committee Chair at the NFF, buffel provides essential feed in arid regions where few other grasses can thrive. He said it helps to sustain grazing operations during dry conditions, too. Atkinson told Yahoo the NFF, with the active support of its members, continues to seek a separate process for assessment of contentious plants. "Buffel has significant grazing benefits in northern Australia and those benefits need careful and balanced consideration," he argued. Queensland MP Bob Katter is firmly against the grass being classified as a Weed of National Significance. Source: Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board "It is a high-yielding plant renowned for its resilience in arid regions. It also has significant environmental co-benefits, including land rehabilitation, protecting grasslands, and erosion mitigation. ADVERTISEMENT "NFF members would much rather it be referred to as a 'feed of national significance'. There is no doubt that tackling weeds is a significant concern for farmers. The NFF and its members believe buffel grass needs to be treated as the complex plant that it is." On Thursday, federal MP Bob Katter strongly opposed the proposed classification of buffel grass as a WoNS. "Buffel grass wasn't brought here by accident it was introduced because it's one of the best options we've got. It holds the soil together and keeps the cattle fed even during drought," he said. "The Gulf and Peninsula were built on buffel, Brahman, and bitumen." How is buffel grass damaging to the Australian landscape? However, the species' aggressive growth outcompetes native vegetation, leading to the loss of biodiversity and threatening the survival of native plant species and wildlife. The weed's spread has also hindered access to cultural sites and reduced the availability of plants that Indigenous communities rely on for food and healing. The dominance of buffel grass in various regions significantly disrupts the complexity of local plant and animal communities, resulting in a more uniform and less diverse ecosystem. This simplification weakens their resilience, making them more vulnerable to environmental stressors and less capable of adapting to changes such as climate shifts and natural disturbances. Species such as this little long-tailed dunnart rely on spinifex to hide and hunt. Buffel is a threat to this ecosystem. Source: Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board What's next? After the nomination, the Australian government will assess the submission through a panel of experts. This involves evaluating the weed's environmental, social, and economic impacts, alongside the scientific evidence provided in the nomination. A decision will be made later this year on whether buffel will officially be added to the WoNS list. If approved, the recognition would trigger a coordinated national approach to managing its spread and mitigating its negative effects, including heightened fire risks and biodiversity loss. This could lead to additional resources and strategies to control buffel grass, particularly in conservation areas and lands important to First Nations communities. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. A 28-foot-tall Frankenstein monster statue that towered over a Dunes Highway hot dog joint in Gary for years may soon be resurrected from the dead. Like Mary Wollstonecraft's "The Modern Prometheus," Noblesville resident Dave Distler is looking to play God and revive the Frank-N-Stein statue that beckoned motorists passing through the intersection of U.S. 12 and U.S. 20 during the 1960s and 1970s. He's been working to rebuild that roadside landmark out of fiberglass. "It's totally fitting. If it weren't Frankenstein, I wouldn't do it," he said. "I feel like Dr. Frankenstein. I feel like a mad scientist. My wife definitely thinks I'm mad." Distler has worked to track down a half dozen giant statues for the American Giants Museum on Route 66 in Atlanta, Illinois. For instance, he hunted down a Phillips 66 Cowboy that will be installed at the museum later this year. He and south suburban resident Kevin McCarthy recently solved the mystery of what happened to Gary's Frank-N-Stein statue, which held a foamy mug of root beer in one hand and a mustard-slathered hot dog in the other. It was a visual pun promoting the root beer and hot dog restaurant, which was originally meant to be a national chain, a plan that never panned out outside of an expansion to South Carolina. Gary's Frank-N-Stein statute disappeared in 1982 when the restaurant on Dunes Highway closed and was turned into a professional office. It was taken to a house in Lakes of the Four Seasons where it was displayed as a gag before being cut up and burned in Hebron. "We went and found out about what happened to it last year. Found out about it, did a lot of research, had a lot of community interest and a lot of talk about it," Distler said. He and McCarthy sought to find someone in Northwest Indiana to commission a replica. They had no luck, but Distler decided to do it on his own, and then figure out what to do with it. "I thought to myself, 'I'm retired. I like working with my hands.' I thought I would just do it myself," he said. The Frank-N-Stein statue stood 22 feet tall on top of a six-foot-tall pedestal. Distler took the dimensions of the original pictures, using car tires to gauge the scale, and started building the giant statue out of fiberglass. He expects it will take about 12 months to build. "I have done a lot of fiberglass over the years," Distler said. "I used to do boat restoration. I've done old car restoration. I've never built a hollow fiberglass statue before, but I am familiar with the construction techniques. It is a local progression of what I've been doing. I was hoping there was enough traction up there to get something going, but I thought since I'm retired and have the skills to do it, I would just start it myself and then make it available at the end of the build if somebody up there wants it." A Ball State University professor of art, Richard Kishel, originally built the statue on commission for the Frank-N-Stein restaurant. He was a prolific artist who did sculptures for the Indianapolis and Fort Wayne zoos, as well as for Mr. Fifteen, an early burger chain that sold hamburgers for 15 cents. "It was part of the Americana movement that was popular from 1962 until about 1972," Distler said. "These things were popping up all over the country and were quite the rage before giant billboards and other outdoor advertising. It's uniquely American. This is a one-of-a-kind piece." Universal Pictures owned the copyrights to classic movie monsters like Dracula, the Invisible Man, the Wolfman, the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. It sent Frank-N-Stein a cease-and-desist letter so it removed the neck bolts, switched the clothes from black to red and grey and changed the skin from green to a flesh tone so that it would resemble the Frankenstein in Wollstonecraft's novel, which was in the public domain, and not the copyrighted version from the movie. "With that many changes, Universal agreed it no longer had a copyright concern," Distler said. He is doing the Richard Kishel version of the statue without the neck bolts. "I'm doing the approved version they agreed to after the copyright strike that didn't look like the original movie Frankenstein as much," Distler said. He hopes to recreate the slice of Americana as close as possible to the original. He's looking for someone to display it in Northwest Indiana, potentially along the Dunes Highway where it originally stood or along U.S. 30 where much of the east-west traffic has shifted. "Whether it goes back to the Region, I don't know," he said. Distler will look to sell it elsewhere if there's no interest in displaying it in Northwest Indiana. "These things are pretty popular. It could be auctioned off, especially on Route 66," he said. "But I would like to see it go up north to Northwest Indiana. I'm giving the first right of refusal to Northwest Indiana. Otherwise, I would just give it to the American Giants Museum. I've already had three people outside of the area express interest." Distler hopes to find someone in Northwest Indiana to find somewhere to display the statue, which he believes could be a tourist attraction and backdrop for social media photos. He believes many people in the Calumet Region still retain fond memories of Frank-N-Stein and its chili dog. "The restaurant in Miller Beach was an (absolute) must for anyone visiting the Indiana Dunes," Distler said. "If you went to the Dunes, you had to get your chili dog and root beer from Frank-N-Stein. It was basically a knockoff of Dog 'N Suds. Nowadays, it lives on with Sonic. They're still around." He hopes to preserve history. "I'm a baby boomer and so many of my memories are gone," Distler said. "I had almost forgotten about these giants, which were part of what I remember as a kid. I would like to keep that alive for the next generation." For more information or to track the progress, find the Frank-N-Stein Arise from the Ashes group on Facebook. Another data center proposal is meeting public pushback in Porter County. A developer has proposed a new data center in unincorporated Union Township about five miles outside of Portage city limits near the Wheeler landfill, Portage Mayor Austin Bonta said. Residents and school officials worry the developer is looking into rezoning farmland near Wheeler High School and Union Township Middle School. Several people spoke out against the data center proposal at the Porter County Redevelopment Commission and Porter County Council meetings earlier this week, even though it was not on the agenda and no concrete proposal has yet been made public. Public interest is so strong the Porter County Plan Commission might set up a meeting at the Porter County Expo Center to accommodate the number of people expected to attend, Porter County Council Member Andrew Bozak said. "From what I gather from watching some of the past meetings in other communities and from what I see on social media, people are not on board. Now in all fairness, the county has not had a public meeting in regard to this data center yet. At that time, there may be people that come out for the data center," he said. "But so far, the only thing I have seen is people do not want it near their homes, their parks, their schools or taking over farmland." Several data center projects have been flooding into Northwest Indiana amid a rise in the use of artificial intelligence and other data. Chicago-based JLL estimates data centers could invest up to $30 billion in Northwest Indiana, which would be one of the largest industry infusions of capital since the steel mills were built along the Lake Michigan lakefront. Valparaiso, Chesterton and Burns Harbor have rejected data center proposals after residents there spoke out against them over a variety of concerns, including property values, noise and energy consumption. Bonta said he's keeping an eye on the proposal given its proximity to the city. "As the mayor, I can see the value, but the question is where are the appropriate places," he said. "Residents have expressed concerns about proximity to schools and, ironically, there not being data about the long-term effects." Resident Melissa Reed, who became active about the issue after a developer proposed building a new data center on Ind. 49 next to her subdivision just outside Valparaiso city limits, said data centers consume so much power they should be considered heavy industrial instead of light industrial. She would like the county to put a 180-day moratorium on data centers and come up with rules for where they should be located. "They should never be by schools, homes, hospitals or farmland," she said. "This county needs to protect us. This can happen to anybody tomorrow. Wheeler's tiny. They might think they're getting a Walgreen's that spits money at them but what they're getting is the Mall of America." Severin Fisher canvassed door-to-door against the Valparaiso data center. He said he's not opposed to data centers and sees the need, but is concerned with where they will be located and if existing NIPSCO customers will be forced to pay higher rates for electricity for them. Fisher said he wouldn't mind if they built a data center seven to 10 miles away but would not want to see one built so close to residents or schools. He said most of the people he spoke to while going door-to-door were concerned with their health, pocketbooks, general well-being and how well the companies and locations were being vetted. Data centers generate tax revenue but not many jobs, Fisher said. "People are worried about their NIPSCO bills, the noise, the environment, the low frequencies and the lights," he said. "People move out here because it doesn't feel like a city. "You can tell where Westville is or Valpo is because there's a glow in the distance. He would like to see rules be put in place about where data centers could locate. "You could maybe put four of them where they're closing down the power plant. They normally should be in remote locations," he said. "Putting something in place would give the people peace of mind. Right now, they're going from town to town and city to city and terrifying people." Russias Reach President Trumps disdain for protecting European allies gives Vladimir Putin a fresh opportunity to extend his influence. NATO member Russian troops present Russian military control ICELAND FINLAND RUSSIA NATOS EASTERN BORDER NORWAY SWEDEN ESTONIA KAZAKHSTAN LATVIA LITHUANIA UZBEKISTAN BELARUS U.K. POLAND Germany UKRAINE Czech Rep. TURKMENISTAN MOLDOVA France HUNGARY AZERBAIJAN GEORGIA ROMANIA ARMENIA BULGARIA Portugal ITALY TURKEY Spain GREECE SYRIA NATOS EASTERN BORDER ICELAND RUSSIA FINLAND NORWAY Kazakhstan BELARUS U.K. POLAND Germany UKRAINE GEORGIA France ROMANIA ITALY Spain TURKEY GREECE SYRIA For years, the threat of a Russia intent on expansion has loomed over much of Europe. It is not just the war in Ukraine. Moscow has also stationed military forces in friendly countries and fanned the flames of destabilizing political movements across the continent. Now, as the Trump administration strikes a conciliatory tone toward Russia and pulls away from some of Americas oldest allies, European leaders who long enjoyed the backing of the powerful U.S. military sense an extraordinary moment of vulnerability. For nearly 80 years, the United States has been the defensive and financial cornerstone of democratic security pacts created after World War II, in large part to keep the Soviet Union from marching across Europe. And even now, more than 80,000 American troops are deployed in Europe, some in a show of force right on Russias doorstep. FINLAND NATOS EASTERN BORDER RUSSIA ESTONIA LATVIA LITHUANIA RUSSIA BELARUS Belarus hosts Russian nuclear weapons and troops. Kaliningrad is a heavily militarized Russian exclave. UKRAINE Russian troops have occupied Moldovas breakaway Transnistria region since 1992. POLAND Slovakia MOLDOVA Hungary ROMANIA Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine. NATOS EASTERN BORDER FINLAND RUSSIA ESTONIA Kaliningrad is a heavily militarized Russian exclave. LATVIA LITHUANIA BELARUS RUSSIA Belarus hosts Russian nuclear weapons and troops. Russian troops have occupied Moldovas breakaway Transnistria region since 1992. POLAND UKRAINE Slovakia MOLDOVA Hungary ROMANIA Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine. But with a widening chasm in the trans-Atlantic relationship, the Russia that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union has been given a big opportunity. Russias president, Vladimir V. Putin, has made clear that his interests do not stop at Ukraine. Experts say he envisions a Soviet-style sphere of influence extending deep into Europe. It is reminiscent of the Cold War, when Germany was split between Russia and the West, and about half a dozen countries were pulled behind the Iron Curtain. The Soviet Union and Allies in 1989 NATO member Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Warsaw Pact Members ICELAND FINLAND NATOS CURRENT EASTERN BORDER RUSSIA NORWAY SWEDEN ESTONIA LATVIA KAZAKHSTAN LITHUANIA UZBEKISTAN BELARUS U.K. POLAND EAST Germany UKRAINE WEST Germany CZECHOSLOVAKIA TURKMENISTAN MOLDOVA France HUNGARY AZERBAIJAN GEORGIA ROMANIA ARMENIA Yugoslavia BULGARIA IRAN Portugal ITALY TURKEY ALBANIA Spain IRAQ GREECE SYRIA NATOS CURRENT EASTERN BORDER ICELAND RUSSIA FINLAND NORWAY BELARUS U.K. POLAND Germany UKRAINE CZECHOSLOVAKIA France GEORGIA ROMANIA ITALY Spain TURKEY GREECE No state has upended the international order more in this century than Russia, Jintro Pauly, a policy adviser for the Munich Security Conference, wrote in an analysis published at the forums annual meeting in Germany last month. It has structurally destabilized its neighborhood and violated its neighbors sovereignty. A More Militarized Europe Even if Mr. Putin wins a favorable peace deal in Ukraine, ending up with more Ukrainian territory than it initially seized in 2014, analysts say he would be ill-advised to test NATOs borders. The alliance has more than twice the military forces of Russia, and European leaders are increasing defense spending and moving more swiftly than at any point since the end of the Cold War to ramp up weapons production. If anything, the shift in tone from Washington has injected a new sense of urgency in Europe. The American nuclear umbrella has protected Europe for generations, but both Britain and France have raised the possibility of extending their own arsenals to cover the continent. Germanys incoming chancellor appears ready to start those discussions, as do the leaders of Poland. Russian aggression has also ended up strengthening NATO. Mr. Putin has insisted that the military alliance withdraw from much of Central and Eastern Europe. Instead, it has grown. Finland and Sweden, both of which had tried for decades to steer clear of superpower gamesmanship, joined NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Now, as American support threatens to wane, both states are bolstering alliances in Europe. By sticking together between the Nordic countries, when times are good and times are worse, in the long run you gain something very important, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden said at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. You have friends to rely on, basically. Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, said it was doubtful that Mr. Putin would launch a full-scale invasion of a NATO country. But he might embark on what Mr. Gabuev called an adventure tour. That might mean sending troops across the border into the predominantly Russian-speaking town of Narva, in Estonia. Or he could try to establish a so-called land bridge through the Suwalki Gap between Poland and Lithuania to connect the Russian enclave Kaliningrad with Belarus, a Moscow vassal. 100 miles ESTONIA RUSSIA LATVIA Baltic Sea LITHUANIA RUSSIA Kaliningrad BELARUS The Suwaki Gap is a vulnerable land corridor Russia could target to isolate the Baltics from NATO. POLAND UKRAINE 100 miles Baltic Sea ESTONIA RUSSIA LATVIA LITHUANIA RUSSIA Kaliningrad BELARUS The Suwaki Gap is a vulnerable land corridor Russia could target to isolate the Baltics from NATO. UKRAINE Estonia, Lithuania and Poland are all members of NATO. If the alliance did not respond to a Russian incursion there, Mr. Gabuev said, then Mr. Putin could show the hollowness of a core NATO tenet, Article 5: the declaration that an attack on one member is an attack on all. NATOs top commander, Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli of the United States, said that Russia intends to triple the size of its military after the war in Ukraine ends. It also plans to build up its military presence on NATO borders, particularly those with Finland and the Baltic states. Already, Russia is suspected of launching a barrage of hybrid attacks among them exploding parcels on cargo planes, undersea cable cuts and swarms of surveillance drones to destabilize Europe. In words, intentions and actions, its pretty plain that this is not limited in Russias thinking to the conflict in Ukraine, General Cavoli said at the Davos forum. Finding Cracks in Political Systems Moscows forays into Europe are not confined to the military. It has also sought to weaken its European adversaries by undermining their political systems. In some cases, Russia is believed to have directly financed the election campaigns of candidates friendly to its interests. Other times it has fomented support for far-right or Euroskeptic parties, including through disinformation campaigns. Russias political reach in Europe Russian treaty allies Russia-friendly governments Major Russia-friendly parties ICELAND FINLAND NATOS EASTERN BORDER RUSSIA NORWAY SWEDEN ESTONIA KAZAKHSTAN LATVIA LITHUANIA BELARUS UZBEKISTAN U.K. POLAND Germany Czech Rep. TURKMENISTAN SLOVAKIA MOLDOVA AUSTRIA France HUNGARY AZERBAIJAN ROMANIA GEORGIA ARMENIA SERBIA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BULGARIA Portugal ITALY TURKEY Spain GREECE SYRIA NATOS CURRENT EASTERN BORDER ICELAND RUSSIA FINLAND NORWAY Kazakhstan BELARUS U.K. POLAND Germany UKRAINE GEORGIA HUNGARY France ROMANIA ARMENIA SERBIA ITALY Spain TURKEY GREECE Note: Major parties include those that received more than 10 percent of the vote in the last election, or have recently held significant roles in government. Governments categorized as Russia-friendly include those with at least one major pro-Russian coalition partner. In Germany, for example, politicians from the far-right party Alternative for Germany have been suspected by the authorities of getting backing from Russia. (Two prominent members have denied such support.) The party, known as the AfD, has long been viewed as extremist by other German parties and officials elsewhere in Europe and the United States. But on a trip to Germany last month, Vice President JD Vance chided Europeans for shunning far-right parties in comments widely interpreted as a defense of the AfD. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has bucked NATO and E.U. support for Ukraine and kept up relations with Mr. Putin to the rest of Europes dismay. President Trump has praised him as a great man, a great leader. In Romania, the ultranationalist politician Calin Gorgescu has been barred from running in upcoming presidential elections. Last December, the countrys Constitutional Court said it suspected Russian meddling had supported his campaign, although it produced no solid evidence of it. Mr. Vance criticized that ruling, too. And in Moldova, the pro-E.U. president, Maia Sandu, won re-election last October against a challenger she accused of being Moscows man. He was buoyed by vote-buying and other foreign efforts to influence the results, but after he lost, the Trump administration cut vital grants to pro-democracy, human rights and free press groups in Moldova that had been provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Russia really is capitalizing on cracks in the European political system that already exist, Mr. Gabuev said. That will be even easier if Mr. Putin can rely on the United States as an accessory. Putin Has Become More Unpopular in Europe Disdain for Mr. Putin has increasingly hurt public perception of Russia and its political standing across Europe, according to polling from Gallup, which has asked people whether they approved or disapproved of Russias leadership annually since 2007. Share of people that disapprove of Russian leadership Do you approve or disapprove of the job performance of the leadership of Russia? Source: Gallup But pockets of support remain. Serbia and Serb-led areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina maintain longstanding religious and cultural ties to Russia, even as they try to maintain a balance with the European Union. Everyone here likes Putin and Trump, Sasa Bozic, the owner of the Putin cafe in the Bosnian city of Banja Luka, recently told a New York Times reporter. Serbia has traditionally had a close relationship with Russia, although its president, Aleksandar Vucic, has bristled at being described as a little Putin. Last month, Mr. Vucic sent security forces to raid the offices of activist groups that received U.S.A.I.D funding to document government corruption, human rights abuses and electoral fraud. The Trump administration has since gutted U.S.A.I.D. And earlier this month, the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., met with Mr. Vucic in Belgrade, where the Trump family seeks to build a luxury hotel on the site of the former Ministry of Defense, which was bombed by NATO 26 years ago. Yet nowhere in Europe does Russia have as much of a political foothold as in Belarus, in a relationship that the Council on Foreign Relations has termed an axis of autocracy. Belaruss president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, tried for years to balance diplomacy between Russia and the West. But when political uprisings broke out in 2020, he was saved from being ousted by Mr. Putins economic and security support. He later allowed Russias military to use Belarus as a base of operations against Ukraine. Mr. Putin recently described the ties between the two countries as special, allied and truly fraternal. Google's Pixel 9a, a candidate to be the "midrange smartphone king," was announced last week but delayed at the last second due to a component problem. Today, we finally know when the handset will arrive: April 10 in North America. In an update to a Pixel 9a support page (via 9to5Google) on Friday, Google wrote that the phone will arrive on April 10 in the US, Canada and the UK. On April 14, it will land in a long list of European countries: Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Czechia, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Finland. Meanwhile, Australia, India, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia have to wait until April 16. A row of four Pixel 9a phones on a table. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget) Pre-announcement reports suggested the phone would arrive on March 26, but Google said on the day of its unveiling that it was delayed into April. An unverified leak hinted that the pushback was related to camera-related heating problems, but Google only said it was to address a "component quality issue thats affecting a small number of Pixel 9a devices." Regardless of the specifics, at least the problem ultimately only amounted to a short delay. The Pixel 9a has dual cameras, a Tensor G4 chip and AI tools like Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Best Take and Photo Unblur. (However, an Ars Technica report suggests it runs an "extra extra small" version of Gemini.) In his hands-on, Engadget's Sam Rutherford found the midrange phone to offer compelling features and performance relative to its $499 and up pricing. The phone isn't yet available for pre-order. A 23-year-old Kazakh man recently became the first person in his country to use ChatGPT to successfully challenge a traffic violation ticket in a court of law. In December of 2024, Kenzhebek Ismailov was driving his mother to the hospital in Almaty, Kazakhstans largest city, when the car in front of them stopped for no apparent reason and blocked the entire lane, which happened to be the only car lane on that particular street. The only solutions he could think of were to bypass the stalled car through the bus lane on the right, or simply wait behind the car and hold up the entire lane. He chose the first option, but his maneuver was picked up by surveillance cameras, and he soon received a ticket in the mail. The young motorist tried contesting the ticket and explaining the situation, but his complaint was rejected, so his only other course of action was to go to court. And thats where the worlds favorite AI model, ChatGPT, comes into play. AI-generated image Unfamiliar with the subtleties of court and unwilling to spend money on a lawyer to contest a 5,800 tenge ($11) traffic fine, Ismailov turned to ChatGPT for legal assistance. After typing his situation into ChatGPT and mentioning that there was video evidence of his maneuver on the national traffic authority website, the AI tool advised him to challenge the ticket in a court of law and even redacted the paperwork needed to file his case. Detailing his experience on X (Twitter), Kenzhebek Ismailov said that traffic authority personnel were initially very rude, rejecting his complaint outright and claiming that his decision to pay the fine was essentially an addition of guilt. However, as in many other countries, paying a fine in a certain period of time carries a 50% discount, so even if one plans to contest the fine in court, if they lose, they end up paying only half. Things changed after Ismailov filed his case in court, and he was contacted by the traffic authority to settle the case by simply deleting the fine from their database and returning the money to him. However, ChatGPT advised him against dropping the lawsuit, so he went to court instead. During a 10-minute hearing where he was asked multiple questions by a judge, the 23-year-old used the speech synthesis function to have ChatGPT answer instead. It did so well that the judge had no choice but to cancel the fine. Photo: Nabeel Syed/Unsplash This is probably the first trial in Kazakhstan that was 99% conducted with the help of ChatGPT, Ismailov said. During the hearing, I turned on the speech synthesis, and it immediately prompted me how to respond. Now, the young motorist, who claims to have only challenged the traffic violation out of principle, because he knew he was right, now plans to use ChatGPT to file a civil lawsuit against the police, demanding compensation for the time he wasted contesting the fine. A 56-year-old Polish woman was arrested and charged with systematically adding toxic substances to a coworkers drinks simply because she disliked them. Its unclear when the unnamed cleaning woman started poisoning her colleague, but the 51-year-old victim started feeling seriously under the weather a few months ago. At first, she thought her stomach pain was caused by stress and working too much, but as her symptoms worsened, the woman, whose name has not been revealed for privacy reasons, went to the hospital for a checkup. Doctors there told her that she showed signs of internal injuries similar to those caused by toxic substances and asked if she had been ingesting something that she wasnt supposed to. She hadnt, but the question reminded her of the weird taste she had felt when drinking her morning cup of tea at work. Photo: Thomas Park/Unsplash The 51-year-old victim worked at an office building in Warsaw with a number of other women employed by the same cleaning company. She had had some arguments with them over the years, but never imagined some of them would go as far as to try to poison her. Nevertheless, she went to a local police station to report her suspicions, but she was told that nothing could be done based solely on her hunches and that she needed to provide some solid evidence. Simply having her Coca-Cola bottle and cup of tea tested for toxic substances wouldnt have solved the problem, as she couldnt prove who had been poisoning her, so she installed a hidden camera in her quarters on Mysliwiecka Street. It wasnt long before she learned that one of her coworkers, a 56-year-old Polish woman, was spraying a cleaning agent and other corrosive substances in her tea and soda bottle. Instead of confronting the perpetrator, she recorded the poisoning routine for several days before turning the evidence over to the police. They arrested the 56-year-old cleaning woman a few hours later, along with another 68-year-old woman to whom she had been talking on the phone while poisoning the victims drinks. The other woman confessed to knowing about the systematic poisoning but not telling the victim about it. Authorities are still investigating and suspect that other people could be involved. Warsaw police have yet to reveal the reason behind the systematic poisoning, but according to sources quoted by Polish media, the two older women simply did not like the victim, who apparently had a slightly higher position at the company they worked for, and wanted to get rid of her somehow. The women simply did not like each other, the anonymous informant told Onet Warsaw. The woman caught on camera poisoning her coworkers drinks risks spending up to 20 years behind bars, while her older colleague faces 3 years in prison for failing to alert the authorities about the crime. Method Communications is named US public relations agency of record for Salesforce. While Salesforce will continue to work with PR agencies for specialized programs, Method will take the lead role in coordinating and executing the company's US communications strategy, particularly concerning the emerging digital labor narrative. Method EVP Katy Kenealy will head the agencys team, which will provide leadership across corporate, product, narrative and media relations. Salesforce is redefining customer success with the most complete enterprise AI solution on the market," said Method Communications CEO David Parkinson. We're excited to partner with them to translate this complex innovation into clear, compelling stories. The Chain Collective PR picks up Rosetta Bakery, an Italian bakery brand with locations in Miami, New Jersey, New York and Orlando, and is leading US PR efforts for The Lesante Collection, a trio of resorts in Zakynthos, Greece. For Rosetta Bakery, The Chain Collective will handle public relations, influencer marketing and social media. As Rosetta expands its footprint to Atlanta, Washington, DC and Bethesda, MD, the agency will spearhead PR efforts to increase brand awareness, secure high-impact media placements, and cultivate strategic influencer partnerships. Lesante Collection will rely on The Chain Collective to drive media exposure, organize media visits and secure high-profile press coverage. AZZI + CO, a beauty, fashion, lifestyle and hospitality agency with offices in New York and Sao Paulo, comes on board as AOR for Brazil-based jewelry company HStern. The agencys scope of work will include PR, influencer marketing and thought leadership. In February, the agency worked with HStern to put together a press day and cocktail event for the opening of the brands storefront at 540 Madison Avenue in New York. Governments need to do more to safeguard nutrition for infants and children during emergencies, a cross-border report has said. The importance of this was shown in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn, an editor of the report said. The all-island research has urged the Government to prepare in advance on how to ensure the supply of food for infants and children during emergencies. Disruptions such as natural disasters and public health crises can pose significant risks to infant and young childrens nutrition. Children are particularly vulnerable in situations where supply chains are disrupted and water infrastructure is interrupted. The report, led by Technological University Dublin and Queens University Belfast, supported by funding from the North-South Research Programme (NSRP), highlights the importance of cross-border collaboration in addressing such challenges. The reports editors, Dr Aileen Kennedy, Dr Liz OSullivan, and Dr Clare Patton, highlighted the importance of embedding infant and young child feeding into emergency planning. Dr Clare Patton of the University of Leeds and Queens University Belfast said when it comes to protecting its youngest citizens, Ireland is falling behind. Dr Patton said authorities should take bold, forward-thinking action to shield children from the influence of corporations. Families across Ireland need legal protection that supports breastfeeding and guarantees safe, affordable access to formula when needed, she said. In an emergency, a strong Infant and Young Child Feeding system isnt a luxury its a lifeline. Waiting until harm is done is not an option. We need protective legislation now not an inquiry later. Dr Liz OSullivan of TU Dublin said it was too simplistic to assume that parents can look after small children in emergencies. Our research, and recent experiences of parents during storm Eowyn, has highlighted that families are not prepared or supported to manage infant and young child feeding during crises, she said. Too long, emergency response systems nationally and internationally have assumed that parents will simply look after small children in emergencies. However, thats a simplistic viewpoint and in reality, parents may need considerable support to do so. To ensure Ireland is more resilient in the face of future emergencies, we must: protect, promote, and support breastfeeding now, ensure reliable access to affordable commercial milk formula (without promotion of same), provide families with the information and skills they need to prepare for emergencies, and ensure we have trained professionals ready to provide assistance and support to families in the face of an emergency that impacts infant and young child feeding. Dr Aileen Kennedy of TU Dublin said the EUs new Preparedness Union Strategy, launched this week, recognises that crises are becoming more complex and unpredictable. This is especially true for infants and young children, who are among the most vulnerable in any emergency due to their unique nutritional needs, limited nutrient reserves, and immature immune systems. Without the right support, they are at high risk of malnutrition and illness, which can have lasting consequences for their growth, development, and future potential. While we cannot predict exactly when emergencies will occur, climate change, global instability, and other emerging threats mean disruptions are becoming more likely. Ireland must take a forward-thinking approach, ensuring that infant and young child feeding is embedded into emergency preparedness planning at all levels, in line with wider EU resilience efforts. Families should not be left without the support they need when a crisis strikes. The Health Service Executive is in the process of seeking tenders from qualified individuals and companies to install solar panels on the Midland's Regional Hospital in Tullamore (Old Hospital, Health Centre, Scott Building). The contract will include all works relating to the design, installation and commission of 300kWp roof mounted solar PV systems. The duration of the contract is 15 months. The estimated value of the contract excluding vat is 425,000. The deadline for the receipt of applications is April, 2025. It's understood that 300kw is typically enough to provide the absolute peak power requirements for 25 standard homes at 12kVA per home. READ NEXT : Road closures and bus disruptions in Tullamore until May According to Global Solar Atlas, a 300KW peak system would be expected to produce upwards of 255mWh of electricity per year in a location like Tullamore. That would be the average annual consumption of 60 households in Ireland. Other hospitals in Ireland have also installed solar panels, At St Joseph's hospital in Donegal the project is part funded by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), which provided 50% of the cost. Pragmatic Play's network promotion, Take Me Fishin, starts in April with a guaranteed prize pool of 600,000. The lucky winner will go on an all-paid fishing trip to the Bahamas worth 35,000. 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Malappuram: The MDMA seized at Tirur railway station was brought from Oman, where the accused had purchased the drug from a Pakistani national, the police said on Friday. The contraband was brought to Mumbai and transported to Kerala by train. Tirur Police have arrested three individuals: Pullanikkal Haiderali (29), a native of Anamangad, Kunnath Asainar (37) from Vengara, and Parakkan Muhammad Kabir (33) from Kunnamangalam. A total of 141.58 grams of MDMA was confiscated from them. Haiderali, who visited Oman a few days ago, purchased MDMA from a Pakistani dealer for 360 Omani Rials. He returned to Mumbai three days ago and was joined by the other two accused. They devised a plan to sell the drug in Kerala for approximately 5 lakh. Haiderali informed the police that MDMA sourced from Oman is of the highest potency and is in great demand in the region, which prompted them to take the risk. They took a train to Tirur, but their plan was spoiled after the police apprehended the trio near a parking ground close to the railway station while disposing of the drugs. The arrests were made following a tip-off received by Malappuram District Police Chief R Vishwanath. A special operation was conducted across Tirur by the local police, along with the Tirur and Perinthalmanna DANSAF units. Popular Filipino author, Jason Tanamor, and Alive Shoes proudly unveil the JT I, a Filipino inspired shoe that pays respect to the Philippines flag. With the launch of the new footwear, the brand, Filipino Inspired Footwear, aims to expand the underrepresented market of the Philippines. The shoe line captures the spirit of the Philippines in your sole. The JT I is an homage to the country's flag and its vibrant colors Multiple coffee stands have been burglarized across Linn and Lane counties the past two weekends, leaving a trail of broken glass, frustrated owners and sympathetic customers who have come to their rescue. Law enforcement officers across several jurisdictions have been responding to at least a half-dozen coffee drive-thru break-ins as baristas arrive the next morning to find the chaos. Businesses targeted include coffee kiosks in Albany, Tangent, Brownsville and Harrisburg. In Lane County, a Coburg shop was reportedly burglarized. They broke in the night of the 15th, said Esther Gunselman, who owns Moody Brews on Knox Butte Avenue Northeast in Albany. I am not sure the exact time, but I know that I was one of three on the 15th. Ahead of the early morning rush hour Sunday, March 16, Gunselmans employee went to open up only to find her small coffee stand with broken glass everywhere. They broke through the large drive-thru window, and they were not able to find the money, fortunately, Gunselman said. I believe when they couldnt find the money, they started rummaging through the stand to find a safe or something of that sort, but as far as I know, I got pretty lucky, and they didnt take anything, just did the damage. Other business owners were not as fortunate. Lolas Coffee in Harrisburg posted on its Facebook page on March 16 that the thieves got away with iPads, other electronics and the safes. A representative was not available for an interview, but the shop did post surveillance photos of a person wearing all black, including a hoodie and a balaclava or mask. This sucks, Im so sorry, wrote Natalie Adams in response. A week later, her own coffee stand, Java Joy, also in Harrisburg, was targeted, according to a report from KEZI. She told Linn County sheriffs deputies called her Sunday, March 23, with the bad news. I said, Dont tell me what youre going to say, and he said, Unfortunately you got broken into, she is quoted as saying, adding that the safe with money and electronic devices was stolen. Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan said by email that five of the break-ins are in her jurisdiction, confirming two on early Sunday, March 16 Lolas in Harrisburg and Baxters Brew in Tangent and three more early Sunday, March 23: Java Joy in Harrisburg, a Subway shop in Harrisburg and Latte Da in Brownsville. On Tuesday, Sgt. Steven Frambes of the Linn County Sheriffs Office, gave an update to the Brownsville City Council. Its quite the spree, he told elected officials. He said they definitely seem connected. Its not a coincidence based on the timeline and drive times. He said because most if not all of the shops werent outfitted with alarms, officers werent able to respond until the next day, when owners and employees discovered the damage. He said when the thieves couldnt find the money, they take random items, like coffee cup lids. Nobody takes it more personally than the deputies, I promise you that, Frambes told councilors. Duncan said she couldnt say too much because the investigation is ongoing. Gunselman counts her blessings, even though she couldnt open the next day. They were able to resume normal business hours the next day, St. Patricks Day, with one window still boarded. I am very fortunate to have some regular customers who were amazing and took it on to help with the repairs, she said, crediting the owner of RDG Construction, whos a regular. Gunselman wants the word to get out. I hope bringing more light to it can make it stop. So sad to see so many places hit. 2025 Corvallis Gazette-Times, Ore.. Visit www.gazettetimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A man fell 50 feet from a cliff near a waterfall in Washington, leading to a treacherous nighttime rescue, officials said. Rescuers got the call at about 11:30 p.m. on March 23 at Big Tree Creek Falls near Yacolt, the Volcano Rescue Team said in a Facebook post. The man had significant traumatic injuries after falling from the cliff, so rescuers rushed to save him, officials said. Paramedics reached him first from a side trail and helped him. Then the rescue team had to navigate slippery and treacherous conditions to reach him after setting up a rope system, officials said. He was put into a litter and lifted to the roadway, where an ambulance took him to a hospital, officials said. Big Tree Creek Falls includes two significant waterfalls, with one located on private property with no public access, according to the Northwest Waterfall Survey. Yacolt is about a 40-mile drive northeast from Portland, Oregon. 2025 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.). Visit www.TheNewsTribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A 15-year-old was arrested Thursday in connection with a North Portland shooting Sunday of a Roosevelt High School student. Mark Graves/The Oregonian Police arrested a 15-year-old Thursday in connection with a North Portland shooting last weekend that seriously injured a Roosevelt High School student. A GoFundMe site identified the wounded student as 16-year-old Elliott Beck and said he was shot in the head and remained in the hospital. The Portland Streetcar travels over the Tilikum Crossing in Portland. A new state law criminalizes the use of drugs on public transportation. Kristyna Wentz-Graff/The Oregonian A Hillsboro man pleaded guilty Thursday to using drugs while on a Portland streetcar, the first such outcome since a revised Oregon public-transportation law took effect January 1. Nicholas Clay Birdsley was convicted of interfering with public transportation, after incidents on January 19 and February 24, according to court documents. Judge Chanpone Sinlapasai sentenced him to 12 months of probation, along with the 10 days hed already spent in jail. The judge also ordered Birdsley to undergo a drug evaluation and any recommended treatment. Senate Bill 1553 last year expanded the interfering-with-public-transportation crime, a misdemeanor, to include using a controlled substance while on public transportation, arguing that open drug use had caused ridership to decrease and that government authorities had an obligation to provide a clean and safe work environment for public-transport staff. Birdsley, whos date of birth is listed as 1992, has faced multiple charges over the past 15 years, including heroin possession. Court documents state that he was convicted of second-degree rape when he was a teenager in 2010 and assaulting a police officer in 2017. -- The Oregonian/OregonLive The Tacoma Police Department responded Wednesday to the federal immigration detention center after the facility reported that someone in custody escaped, according to a police spokesperson. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not confirmed whether a person detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center escaped. A spokesperson did not immediately respond Friday morning to a request for information. A representative for the GEO Group, the federal contractor that runs the facility, also has not responded to questions. Sgt. John Correa with Tacoma police said in a phone call that South Sound 911 received a call from the facility Wednesday at about 7:30 p.m. reporting that someone in custody had escaped. He said officers responded to assist in conducting an area check, but no one was located. Officers got to the area around 8 p.m., and about 20 minutes later they were told that the facilitys resources would be taking over the matter, Correa said. About an hour later, Correa said, someone from the facility called again asking Tacoma police to check the area of a Pilot Express gas station on Puyallup Avenue. According to Correa, no one was located. TPD isnt coordinating anything with the Northwest detention center into this matter, Correa added. Reports surfaced on social media Thursday about an escape. La Resistencia, a group that advocates for closing the ICE facility and ending deportations, posted Thursday to Instagram that it had received several messages informing the group that phone lines were shut down inside the facility and there was an unscheduled call for an emergency count. The group keeps in close contact with detainees inside. The facility at 1623 E. J St. has a capacity for 1,575 detainees. It holds people who are suspected of being in the country illegally or awaiting deportation. Lawyers who work in the facility and La Resistencia said this week that the population of people detained there is nearing capacity. 2025 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.). Visit www.TheNewsTribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A 60-year-old Albany man was sentenced for attempted murder and other charges at the Linn County Courthouse on Thursday. Two weeks ago, a jury found Michael Keith Iverson guilty of felony second-degree attempted murder and domestic violence strangulation and misdemeanor interfering with making a report to law enforcement. Judge Rachel Kittson-MaQatish sentenced Iverson to 7 years in prison, the mandatory minimum under state law. Iverson was given an opportunity to address the court, saying the incident was an unfortunate fight between a wife and a husband and denying that it reached the point of attempted murder. He also said he wished he had a better defense, which might have led to a different outcome. Kittson-MaQatish was not receptive to Iversons remarks about his defense, which was provided by attorney Charles Peters. Its hard to have a better defense when your hands were around your wifes neck, saying you were going to kill her, and you have your son who comes in and has to stop it, Kittson-MaQatish said. I dont know how one could have a good defense for that. Kittson-MaQatish also took issue with Iversons statement about it being an unfortunate marital fight, pointing out that she was his ex-wife at that point, and noting the size difference between them Iverson is a foot taller and has 150 pounds on the victim. Thats not an unfortunate fight thats abuse, she said. This lack of accountability for your actions is disgusting. Youll have plenty of time to sit there and think about all the things you need to change in the way you think to understand that this was abuse, and that you are entirely responsible for what you do with your hands and what you say from your mouth. Prior to the sentence being issued, Iversons brother, Dave Iverson, asked the judge for leniency on his brothers behalf. He said his brother is not a bad person and the incident was totally out of character, adding that he did not believe everything that was said in the case was true. I think it took two people to have this happen, he said. Iversons attorney argued at trial that his client did not intend to murder his ex-wife when he choked her on their front porch last year. That followed a heated argument that was sparked by Iverson demanding that the victim make him a dental appointment for an abscessed tooth. Iverson reportedly made threats to kill the woman during the incident. The victim had told officers she had experienced many domestic violence incidents during their marriage and finally divorced Iverson, but he refused to move out, so she was planning to evict him. According to an Albany Police Department affidavit, Iverson got angry at the the victim when she declined to make a dental appointment for him. She said he got very angry, so she tried to put some distance between them. The woman ran out to the porch, but Iverson followed and grabbed her by the neck, squeezing until she began losing consciousness, according to the affidavit. He reportedly said multiple times that he wanted to kill her during the incident. The couples adult son intervened, physically separating them. She said she would have died if not for their sons quick actions to separate her and her ex, adding she recently suffered a stroke. Another stroke would likely prove fatal, she told officers. While she was trying to call 911, Iverson threw bottles of water at her, knocking her cellphone from her hand and hitting her in the leg, leaving a mark on her left thigh. Four Albany officers, accompanied by a K-9, arrested Iverson at home, according to the affidavit, but not before he locked himself in a bedroom and cursed at police. The dispute that led to the attack followed the mans request that his ex book a dental appointment for him. Albany man goes on trial for attempted murder of ex-wife Although divorced, the two still lived together and were staying in different areas of the house. She intended to evict him, according to an affidavit. The alleged victim told police she had been through many domestic violence incidents and finally divorced him, but he refused to move out of their home. 2025 Albany Democrat-Herald, Ore.. Visit www.democratherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. UPDATE: A Multnomah County judge awarded more than $280,000 to Portland sommelier Justin Wilkes on June 23 by default after a representative for Champagne Poetry Patisserie failed to come to court, records show. A Hawthorne Street eatery known for its hot pink decor and delectable desserts is embroiled in a legal dispute with a sommelier who claims he was smeared on social media. Shawn Cox, a co-founder of Activated Brands in Arvada, Colorado, grows and extracts compounds from Cordyceps, the mushroom pictured. The compounds are believed to boost energy and circulation. (Kate Ruder for KFF Health News) (Kate Ruder for KFF Health News) BOULDER, Colo. Colorado regulators are issuing licenses for providing psychedelic mushrooms and are planning to authorize the states first healing centers, where the mushrooms can be ingested under supervision, in late spring or early summer. The dawn of state-regulated psychedelic mushrooms has arrived in Colorado, nearly two years since Oregon began offering them. The mushrooms are a Schedule I drug and illegal under federal law except for clinical research. But more than a dozen cities nationwide have deprioritized or decriminalized them in the past five years, and many eyes are turned toward Oregons and Colorados state-regulated programs. In Oregon and Colorado, were going to learn a lot about administration of psychedelics outside of clinical, religious, and underground settings because theyre the first to try this in the U.S., said William R. Smith, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Psychedelic mushrooms and their psychoactive compound psilocybin have the potential to treat people with depression and anxiety, including those unresponsive to other medications or therapy. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, says the risk of mental health problems caused by ingesting mushrooms in a supervised clinical setting is low, but may be higher outside of a clinical setting. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a social media post last year, before his nomination as U.S. health secretary, that his mind is open to the idea of psychedelics for treatment. Psychedelic mushrooms after freeze-drying at the lab at Activated Brands in Arvada, Colorado. (Kate Ruder for KFF Health News) (Kate Ruder for KFF Health News) Medical experts say more research is needed, particularly in people with a diagnosis or family history of psychotic or bipolar disorder. Adverse effects of psilocybin, including headache and nausea, typically resolve within one to two days. However, extended difficulties from using psychedelics can last weeks, months, or years; anxiety and fear, existential struggle, social disconnection, and feeling detached from oneself and ones surroundings are most common. After the decriminalization and legalization in Oregon and Colorado, psychedelic mushroom exposures reported to poison control centers ticked up in these states and nationally. In February, about 40 people organized by the psychedelic advocacy group the Nowak Society gathered in Boulder to talk about the coming changes in Colorado. They included Mandy Grace, who received her state license to administer psychedelic mushrooms, and Amanda Clark, a licensed mental health counselor from Denver, who both praised the therapeutic power of mushrooms. You get discouraged in your practice because the current therapies are not enough for people, Clark said. Colorado voters approved Proposition 122 in 2022 to legalize natural psychedelics, after Oregon voters in 2020 approved legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic use. Colorados program is modeled after, but not the same as, Oregons, under which 21,246 psilocybin products have been sold as of March, a total that could include secondary doses, according to the Oregon Health Authority. As of mid-March, Colorado has received applications for at least 15 healing center licenses, nine cultivation licenses, four manufacturer licenses, and one testing facility license for growing and preparing the mushrooms, under rules developed over two years by the governor-appointed Natural Medicine Advisory Board. Psychedelic treatments in Oregon are expensive and are likely to be so in Colorado, too, said Tasia Poinsatte, Colorado director of the nonprofit Healing Advocacy Fund, which supports state-regulated programs for psychedelic therapy. In Oregon, psychedelic mushroom sessions are typically $1,000 to $3,000, are not covered by insurance, and must be paid for up front. The mushrooms themselves are not expensive, Poinsatte said, but a facilitators time and support services are costly, and there are state fees. In Colorado, for doses over 2 milligrams, facilitators will screen participants at least 24 hours in advance, then supervise the session in which the participant consumes and experiences mushrooms, lasting several hours, plus a later meeting to integrate the experience. Facilitators, who may not have experience with mental health emergencies, need training in screening, informed consent, and postsession monitoring, Smith said. Because these models are new, we need to gather data from Colorado and Oregon to ensure safety. Facilitators generally pay a $420 training fee, which allows them to pursue the necessary consultation hours, and roughly $900 a year for a license, and healing centers pay $3,000 to $6,000 for initial licenses in Colorado. But the up-front cost for facilitators is significant: The required 150 hours in a state-accredited program and 80 hours of hands-on training can cost $10,000 or more, and Clark said she wouldnt pursue a facilitator license due to the prohibitive time and cost. To increase affordability for patients in Colorado, Poinsatte said, healing centers plan to offer sliding-scale pay options, and discounts for veterans, Medicaid enrollees, and those with low incomes. Group sessions are another option to lower costs. Colorado law does not allow retail sales of psilocybin, unlike cannabis, which can be sold both recreationally and medically in the state. But it allows adults 21 and older to grow, use, and share psychedelic mushrooms for personal use. Despite the retail ban, adjacent businesses have mushroomed. Inside the warehouse and laboratory of Activated Brands in Arvada, brown bags of sterilized grains such as corn, millet, and sorghum and plastic bags of soil substrate are for sale, along with genetic materials and ready-to-grow kits. Co-founder Sean Winfield sells these supplies for growing psychedelic or functional mushrooms such as lions mane to people hoping to grow their own at home. Soon, Activated Brands will host cultivation and education classes for the public, Winfield said. Winfield and co-founder Shawn Cox recently hosted a psychedelic potluck at which experts studying and cultivating psychedelic mushrooms discussed genetics, extraction, and specialized equipment. Psychedelic mushrooms have a long history in Indigenous cultures, and provisions for their use in spiritual, cultural, or religious ceremonies are included in Colorado law, along with recognition of the cultural harm that could occur to federally recognized tribes and Indigenous people if natural medicine is overly commercialized or exploited. Several studies over the past five years have shown the long-term benefits of psilocybin for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, and the Food and Drug Administration designated it a breakthrough therapy. Late-stage trials, often a precursor to application for FDA approval, are underway. Smith said psilocybin is a promising tool for treating mental health disorders but has not yet been shown to be better than other advanced treatments. Joshua Woolley, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California-San Francisco, said he has seen the benefits of psilocybin as an investigator in clinical trials. People can change hard-set habits. They can become unstuck. They can see things in new ways, he said of treating patients with a combination of psilocybin and psychotherapy. Colorado, unlike Oregon, allows integration of psilocybin into existing mental health and medical practices with a clinical facilitator license, and through micro-healing centers that are more limited in the amounts of mushrooms they can store. Still, Woolley said, between the federal ban and new state laws for psychedelics, this is uncharted territory. Most drugs used to treat mental health disorders are regulated by the FDA, something that Colorado is taking into its own hands by setting up its own program to regulate manufacturing and administration of psilocybin. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Colorado declined to comment on its policy toward state-regulated psychedelic programs or personal use provisions, but Poinsatte hopes the same federal hands-off approach to marijuana will be taken for psilocybin in Oregon and Colorado. Winfield said he looks forward to the upcoming rollout and potential addition of other plant psychedelics, such as mescaline. Were talking about clandestine industries coming into the light, he said. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF. Utah has become the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, pushing past opposition from dentists and national health organizations who warn the move will lead to medical problems that disproportionately affect low-income communities. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation Thursday barring cities and communities from deciding whether to add the mineral to their water systems. Florida, Ohio and South Carolina are considering similar measures, while in New Hampshire, North Dakota and Tennessee, lawmakers have rejected them. A bill in Kentucky to make fluoridation optional stalled in the state Senate. Portland is to date the largest city not to fluoridate its drinking water. The citys voters most recently rejected a measure to add fluoride in 2013. Voters in nearby Hillsboro rejected fluoridation in an advisory vote last November, and the Oregon city of Lebanon voted to remove fluoride that month. The American Dental Association sharply criticized the Utah law, saying it showed wanton disregard for the oral health and well-being of their constituents. Cavities are the most common chronic childhood disease, the ADA noted. Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a father and a dentist, it is disheartening to see that a proven, public health policy, which exists for the greater good of an entire communitys oral health, has been dismantled based on distorted pseudoscience, the associations president, Denver dentist Brett Kessler, said in a statement. Fluoride skepticism reaches policymakers The ban, effective May 7, brings into the mainstream concerns over fluoridation that for decades were considered fringe opinions. It comes weeks after water fluoridation skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as U.S. health secretary. Kennedy said in November that the administration of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump would advise water systems nationwide to remove fluoride. Cox, who grew up and raised his own children in a community without fluoridated water, compared it recently to being medicated by the government. Utah lawmakers also said the ban was a matter of personal health choice and that putting fluoride in water is too expensive. Floridas surgeon general last year recommended against community water fluoridation because of what he called its neuropsychiatric risk. That guidance came after a federal judge ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate fluoride in drinking water because high levels could pose a risk to the intellectual development of children. Federal officials determined last year with moderate confidence that there was a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. But the National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water. The amounts of fluoride that can be added to water based on federal guidelines are below levels considered problematic, Kessler said. Its nearly impossible to get a toxic dose of fluoride in water, the NIH says The National Institutes of Health says very high doses of fluoride that can cause sickness are typically the result of rare accidents, such as the unintentional swallowing of fluoride used by dentists offices or supplements inappropriately given to children. The agency says its virtually impossible to get a toxic dose from fluoride thats added to water or toothpaste at standard levels. However, communities sometimes exceed the recommended levels because fluoride occurs naturally at higher levels in certain water sources. In 2011, officials reported that 2 in 5 U.S. adolescents had at least mild tooth streaking or spottiness because of too much fluoride. Since 2015, federal health officials have recommended a fluoridation level of 0.7 milligrams per liter of water. For five decades before that, the recommended upper range was 1.2 milligrams per liter. The World Health Organization has set a safe limit for fluoride in drinking water of 1.5 milligrams per liter. Fluoride is considered one of the greatest health achievements in 100 years The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the past century: one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent tooth decay on a large scale. In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and they continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. More than 200 million people in the U.S., or almost two-thirds of the population, receive fluoridated public water. Fluoride in drinking water can reduce cavities by at least 25% for all age groups, according to the Utah Dental Association. Opponents of the Utah legislation to limit fluoridation warn it will have a disproportionately negative effect on low-income residents who may rely on fluoridated water as their only source of preventative dental care. Its a matter of personal choice, Utahs bill sponsor says The sponsor of the Utah legislation, Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius, acknowledged fluoride has benefits, but said it was an issue of individual choice to not have it in the water. Out of the 484 Utah water systems that reported data in 2024, only 66 fluoridated their water, an Associated Press analysis showed. The largest was that in the states biggest municipality, Salt Lake City. Utah in 2022 ranked 44th in the nation for the percentage of residents that receive fluoridated water, according to the CDC data. -- Matthew Brown, Hannah Schoenbaum and Mead Gruver, The Associated Press Whether the Columbia Rivers eulachon smelt run will make its way into the Sandy River is always a crap shoot, but this years run appears to have waited for spring break. A pulse of the tasty little fish finally showed up in enough numbers to allow a one-day or more precisely, seven-hour dipping season Thursday afternoon. Under gray skies and a light off-and-on drizzle, all walks of life turned out young kids, longtime locals and new anglers alike for a chance to scoop up fish once prized by Native Americans for their high oil content and even use as candles. From noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, people lined the banks of the Sandy River between its mouth and the Stark Street Bridge, armed with dip nets and five-gallon buckets. It marked only the third time in more than a decade that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife had opened the Sandy River to smelt dipping, with previous openings in 2015 and 2023. A rare one-day smelt dipping season on Thursday, March 27, 2025, drew crowds to Troutdales Sandy River, as a spring break surge of eulachon returned in harvestable numbers. From the Sandy River Bridge, thick schools of smelt stretched bank to bank, their movement visible across the entire river. (Photo edited to make fish more visible) Mark Graves/The Oregonian ODFW managers threaded several hoops with the federal government to make the dipping season happen for the now-protected species, but officials said theyre unsure whether any additional days will be approved this year. Fishing was restricted to bank-only dip netting, with a 10-pound per-person limit roughly a full five-quart bucket or a quarter of a five-gallon bucket. Everyone was required to bring their own container, and those 12 and older needed a 2025 Oregon angling license. Kids 11 and under didnt need a license but were expected to dip independently and carry their own container. Public access points included Lewis and Clark Park, Glenn Otto Park, the dike along Perimeter Way near the Troutdale Airport, and pullouts along the Historic Columbia River Highway all busy with foot traffic and fish talk throughout the afternoon A rare one-day smelt dipping season on Thursday, March 27, 2025, drew crowds to Troutdales Sandy River, as a spring break surge of eulachon returned in harvestable numbers. Under gray skies, people of all ages lined the banks for the first fishery since 2023, approved by ODFW after navigating federal protections. Mark Graves/The Oregonian Listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 2010, eulachon smelt return annually to the Columbia River to spawn, but their appearance in the Sandy River is far less consistent. These small, silvery fish spend most of their lives in the ocean, migrating upstream to spawn and typically dying shortly after. Anglers were reminded that it is illegal to collect dead smelt along the banks for bait or any other purpose. ODFW encourages those interested in future smelt dipping opportunities to subscribe to their email alerts, which are the first source of announcements for upcoming fisheries. -Mark Graves and Bill Monroe, The Oregonian/OregonLive The belfry an 11th century Romanesque church emerges from the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona, in Vilanova de Sau, Spain, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) AP The European Union on Wednesday urged citizens across the continent to stockpile food, water and other essentials to last at least 72 hours as war, cyberattacks, climate change and disease increase the chances of a crisis. The call to action for the EUs 450 million citizens comes as the 27-nation bloc rethinks its security, especially after the Trump administration warned that Europe must take more responsibility for it. In recent years, the EU has weathered COVID-19 and the threat from Russia, including its attempts to exploit Europes dependence on its natural gas to weaken support for Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has warned that Russia could be capable of launching another attack in Europe by 2030. Todays threats facing Europe are more complex than ever, and they are all interconnected, said Preparedness and Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib as she unveiled a new strategy for dealing with future disasters. While the commission is keen not to be seen as alarmist, Lahbib said its important to make sure people have essential supplies for at least 72 hours in a crisis. She listed food, water, flashlights, ID papers, medicine and shortwave radios as things to stock. Lahbib said the EU should build up a strategic reserve and stockpile other critical resources including firefighting planes; medical, energy and transport equipment; and specialized assets against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, The EUs plans are similar to those in France, Finland and Sweden. Last year, Sweden updated its Cold War-era civil emergency advice to better reflect todays security policy reality such as what to do in case of nuclear attack. Not all EU countries have the same level of crisis preparedness, and the commission also wants to encourage them to coordinate better in case of emergency. We can no longer rely on ad hoc reactions, Lahbib said. Human remains discovered by mushroom hunters last year in Oregon have been identified as a missing man, deputies said. Nathan Merkel was 62 when he vanished in June 2023, the Jackson County Sheriffs Office said in a March 25 Facebook post. Merkel lived in Rogue River, near Grants Pass, when a couple moved into his home, according to a report in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The pair said he moved out, but he had not been heard from, according to the online database. Mushroom hunters stumbled upon human remains last April outside Jacksonville, deputies said. DNA was extracted from the remains and sent to a lab, where they were identified as Merkel after a lengthy process, deputies said. Investigators said they believe he died under suspicious circumstances. Deputies said there are persons of interest in jail in a different county on unrelated charges. The investigation is ongoing. Jacksonville is near the Oregon-California border and about 20 miles southwest of the city of Rogue River. 2025 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.). Visit www.TheNewsTribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Joe Kent is a loyal Trump supporter but currently has no formal role in the administration. Mark Graves/The Oregonian Joe Kent, former two-time Washington congressional candidate, was among the handful of people included in a Trump administration Signal group chat discussing sensitive information about U.S. plans for a military strike in Yemen. The Signal texts exploded into a scandal this week after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, revealed hed been accidentally added to the chat, which included specific details about the plans for attacks on Houthi militia. The revelations have led Democrats to call for the resignations of prominent chat participants, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz. Kents involvement has also raised questions because he holds no confirmed job in the Trump administration. He was nominated by Trump in February to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, but the U.S. Senate has not yet held a confirmation hearing or vote on his nomination. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden slammed Kents inclusion in the Signal chat in a statement to Willamette Week, arguing the fact they included Joe Kent in this buffoonish behavior only magnifies their dangerous sloppiness and total disregard for intelligence since he hasnt even been confirmed by the Senate. Kent could not be reached for comment. He did not respond to a voice message and a Signal text message from The Seattle Times on Thursday. A Trump loyalist, Kent grew up in Oregon and enlisted in the Army at 18, serving 11 combat deployments and then working at the CIA. In 2019, his wife, Navy cryptologist Shannon Kent, was killed in a terrorist suicide bombing in Syria. Kent entered politics in 2022, running in Washingtons 3rd District primary against U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over his stoking of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Kent ousted Herrera Beutler in the primary but was defeated that November by Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in a stunning political upset that flipped the Republican-leaning district. Last fall, Kent lost in a rematch with Gluesenkamp Perez. Kent was endorsed by Trump in two unsuccessful runs for Congress in Washingtons 3rd Congressional District. Kent, a decorated Green Beret who served in Afghanistan, was reportedly included in the Signal chat as a representative of Tulsi Gabbard, Trumps director of National Intelligence. He has been serving as Gabbards acting chief of staff while awaiting confirmation, according to The Washington Post. During the chat on March 14, Hegseth and others debated whether to launch an immediate strike on the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, who have attacked ships in the Red Sea, disrupting trade to Europe and the United States. Notably, Vice President JD Vance chimed in, arguing there was no need to attack immediately. He contended U.S. involvement was inconsistent with Trumps message that Europe should handle its own defense needs. He also said it could spike oil prices. Kent agreed. There is nothing time sensitive driving the time line. Well have the exact same options in a month, he wrote, according to the text messages released by The Atlantic. He added that Israel would launch its own strikes and ask the U.S. to replenish whatever they use against the Houthis. Hegseth, however, argued for an immediate attack, warning that there were immediate risks on waiting including this leaks, and we look indecisive. The next day, U.S. forces launched an attack, which Hegseth sent details about to the same Signal chat group, including the timing of when F-18s and drones would launch. As the attack unfolded, Waltz and Hegseth narrated further details over the civilian Signal chat app, cheering on the strike that killed targeted Houthi leaders, according to media reports. Some chat participants responded with praise. Excellent, wrote Vance. Waltz reacted with emojis depicting a fist, an American flag and a fire. Kent did not reply to those messages, according to the texts that have been released. Houthi rebels said the attacks killed 53 people, including five children, the BBC reported. Kents participation in the Signal chat is likely to be raised when his nomination comes to lead the National Counterterrorism Center comes before the Senate. The nomination was received by the Senate on Feb. 11 and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence. No hearing or other action has yet been scheduled. ___ 2025 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 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. Li Auto launches 2,000th super-fast charging station On March 28, Li Auto announced the launch of its 2,000th super-fast charging station in Nyingchi, Xizang Autonomous Region. Earlier this month, on March 11, the company had introduced its 1,900th station. Li Auto has now established super-fast charging infrastructure across 215 cities in 31 provinces nationwide, with an average of one station every 147 kilometers. Photo credit: Li Auto Dongfeng Motor Passenger Vehicle, Chinese National Geography forge strategic partnership On March 28, Dongfeng Motor Corporation Passenger Vehicle Company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Chinese National Geography magazine at Dongfeng Motor's Global Innovation Center. The partnership aims to enhance brand value, expand product promotion, refine visual storytelling, and create engaging content and user experiences. By co-developing content, both parties seek to bridge the gap between the automotive industry and geographical culture, fostering deeper integration and driving innovation across sectors. GAC-backed ONTIME secures Robotaxi pilot operation approval in Shenzhen's Nanshan District ONTIME, a mobility service provider backed by GAC Group, and its strategic partner Pony.ai have jointly received approval to participate in the first batch of intelligent connected vehicle demonstration operations in Shenzhen's Nanshan District. With this authorization, ONTIMEs Robotaxi service officially begins operations in Nanshan, marking another expansion of its autonomous driving footprint in Shenzhen. BASF, Li Auto forge strategic partnership to drive sustainable, digital coatings innovation On March 26, global advanced materials leader BASF and China's leading new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer Li Auto hosted a Technology Day at Li Auto's R&D headquarters in Beijing, where they announced a strategic cooperation memorandum aimed at advancing coatings innovation through sustainability and digitalization, according to a post on BASF's WeChat account. RoboSense unveils AC1 Active Camera, AI-Ready ecosystem for next-gen robotic vision On March 28, 2025, LiDAR tech company RoboSense officially launched the AC1, the first product in its new Active Camera series, along with the AI-Ready ecosystem. The company aims to provide an innovative one-stop solution for robotic perception development. NIO raises HK$4.03 billion through share placement in Hong Kong On March 27, Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker NIO Inc. announced a share placement of up to 118.79 million Class A ordinary shares at HK$29.46 per share, aiming to raise approximately HK$3.5 billion (around 3.271 billion RMB). Joyson Electronics posts 28% YoY growth in 2024 adjusted net profit On March 27, Joyson Electronics released its 2024 annual financial report, posting revenue of approximately 55.9 billion yuan and a net profit of 1.28 billion yuan excluding the impact of certain non-recurring gains and losses, which jumped 28% year on year. Pony.ai permitted to conduct driverless Robotaxi commercial operation in Shenzhen On March 27, autonomous driving tech company Pony.ai received Shenzhen's first permit for a fully driverless commercial operation pilot in Nanshan District. This marks a significant milestone, allowing users in Shenzhen's core urban areas to hail a self-driving vehicle via the Pony.ai app or mini-program, with AI-powered "veteran drivers" handling the ride. WeRide obtains France's fully driverless permit for road tests, operation On March 27, autonomous driving technology company WeRide announced that it has partnered with French autonomous mobility operator beti to obtain a fully driverless public road testing and operation permit in France. AVATR 06 begins pre-sale, starting from 215,900 yuan On March 27, AVATR, the premium new energy vehicle brand jointly developed by Changan Automobile, Huawei, and CATL, officially launched the pre-sale of the AVATR 06, offering five variants with a starting price of 215,900 yuan. BYD's YANGWANG U7 luxury sedan hits market, starting at 628,000 yuan On March 27, YANGWANG, BYD's premium vehicle brand, officially put its flagship electric sedan, the YANGWANG U7, onto the market. The model is available in four variants, with prices ranging from 628,000 yuan to 708,000 yuan. Salvation Army outreach workers, paid for primarily with local tax money, meet with residents of a camp based underneath the I-205 overpass along Foster Road in December. Mark Graves/The Oregonian More than two thirds of Portland-area residents who responded to a March poll commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive said they were not getting a good value from tax dollars spent on homelessness. In Multnomah County, that figure was significantly higher, with 76% of respondents saying they were getting a poor return on their investment compared to 61% in the other two counties. Respondents listed high rates of homelessness, minimal results and high taxes as reasons they felt tax money aimed at reducing homelessness was not being spent effectively. President Donald Trumps second term was only in its second day when Ryan Spoon vice chair of the local Republican Party apparatus in Idahos Ada County turned the force of the federal government against a political enemy. Could you please send some illegal immigration raids to the businesses owned by Idaho state Rep. Stephanie Mickelson? he wrote in an X post, misspelling Mickelsens last name and tagging Trumps border czar Tom Homan. She has been bragging about how many illegals her businesses employ. As his social media posts about contacting ICE began to rack up more than 2,000 shares, Spoon stressed that simply sharing on social media wasnt enough. He was officially reporting Mickelsens farming businesses to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement tip line and website. You can report her, too! he wrote in a post festooned with flexing muscle and American flag emojis. Three days later, Mickelsen said, ICE agents appeared at Mickelsen Farms, where a slew of varieties of commercial and seed potatoes grow across thousands of acres in southeastern Idaho. They just showed up out of the blue Friday morning, said Mickelsen, a moderate Republican legislator and the former director for the Idaho Farm Bureau, a lobbying group for the agriculture industry. By Jan. 27, just one week into the second Trump administration, a Mickelsen Farms employee had been arrested by ICE. Records reviewed by InvestigateWest show that a Mexican immigrant who listed his employer as Mickelsen Farms on his Facebook page was being held at a Nevada Southern Detention Center in Las Vegas. As the Trump administration attempts to carry out its campaign promise of mass deportations, its promoted the official ICE tip line as a vital part of its strategy. The phone tip line was so overwhelmed the day after Trumps inauguration, Spoon wrote on X, that he hung up and submitted a tip on the ICE website instead. Some on the right have wielded threats of ICE reports as kind of a gloating taunt a way of rubbing Trumps election in the faces of undocumented immigrants and anyone who supports them. A postcard sent to a Californian immigration non-profit, for example, touted the ICE tip line with the words Have your bags packed Trumps coming written on the return address line. But Spoon targeting a Republican state legislator by calling up ICE is particularly noteworthy and all the more so because ICE responded within days. Its so ripe for abuse, Chris Thomas, a Colorado-based attorney with 28 years of experience practicing immigration law, said about the use of the federal tip line. Weve got the government under enormous pressure to respond to every tip they receive. Its just very clear that at all levels, this is a full assault on undocumented people in the country. Spoon, who moved to Boise from San Francisco in 2019 to work remotely as a loss prevention specialist, and Mickelsen, a state legislator who is one of the biggest potato producers in southeast Idaho, are on opposite ends of the states Republican Party. And immigration is a particularly incendiary flashpoint: Mickelsen argues migrants are an essential part of the agricultural economy, while Spoon portrays both undocumented immigrants and legal refugees as a sinister foreign invasion force. Mickelsen had beaten back attempts by the hard right to defeat her in a primary and even strip her of the Republican label. But Spoons tactics represented a new avenue of attack. For farm owners, it raises the possibility that speaking out or running for office or backing the wrong bill could trigger a political enemy to try to call down an ICE raid. Mickelsen knows who the employee is, that hes a father of three and that his criminal record was what got him deported. But even now, she said, she doesnt exactly know the exact nature of the mans immigration status during the time he worked for her family business. Employers of migrants can face legal risks if they inquire too aggressively into the immigration statuses of their employees. Immigration is a complicated topic, Mickelsen wrote in a statement to InvestigateWest, but using the issue to bully individuals and businesses trying to navigate complicated and often competing employee documentation laws is a disgusting and reprehensible way to act and should not be tolerated by anyone. Shes unsettled. She removed the names of her businesses from her campaign site, believing it would be unfair to subject her family to the same level of nastiness that politicians have come to expect. Im being way more cautious in the bills that Im standing up against, because Im afraid of being targeted, Mickelsen said. Which makes me a less effective legislator for my community right now. Deportation glee In early January, Homan, Trumps pick for border czar, floated the immigration tip line as a fresh idea. I want a place where American citizens can call and report, he told NBC News. We need to take care of the American people. ICE, to be clear, has had a tip line for over two decades. The difference is, in many ways, the tip line in the past was a black hole, Thomas said. People would make tips and usually nothing would ever come of it. Thomas said immigration tips are always prone to be taken advantage by those with scores to settle abused by bitter exes and business rivals. In the past, hes defended at least three companies a janitorial service, an agricultural company and a bakery who were reported to ICE by competitors. But after Trumps second inauguration, he said, the entire framework of the federal government was refocused on immigration-related offensives. They have to arrest certain numbers of undocumented people each week, Thomas said. They need to serve employers each week with notices of inspection. ... Theyre even under pressure to conduct raids. Effectively, Thomas said, ICE was being forced to rely on the tip line and the online tip website to fill its quotas. ICE tips had been transformed from mostly inert to a live weapon. While overall deportations have fallen due to fewer border crossings, Reuters reported, ICE arrests surged during the first week of Trumps administration. In the weeks since, the agency indicated theres been so much ICE activity that its too busy to provide many specifics about ICE activity. Asked about Mickelsen, an ICE spokesperson said that because of their operational tempo and increased interest in their agency, they were not able to respond to queries about rumors or routine operations. The news of actual ICE raids, along with the string of false reports and hoaxes, have made migrant farmworkers afraid. No matter their immigration status, many dont want to come to work, much less attend protests or share their stories publicly. Nobodys wanting to raise their head and speak up, said Ben Tindall, executive director of Save Family Farming, a group representing farmers in neighboring Washington state. Regardless of whether theyre here legally or not, theyre afraid theyre going to get a target on their back and ICE is going to come knocking on their door. Freddy Cruz, who tracks extremists with the Western States Center, said hes seen a surge of white nationalist groups like the White Lives Matter Montana chapter encouraging people to report unauthorized immigrants to ICE. The ICE information tip line has come up more and more as a tactic, Cruz said. Almost like weaponizing a government agency to try to intimidate not just undocumented immigrants, but also organizations that might be providing immigrant-rights services to folks. Along with the Californian nonprofit, three offices of the United Farm Workers union were anonymously sent postcards featuring the phrases Report Illegal Aliens and There is nowhere to hide, along with the ICE tip line. At Arizona State University, the College Republicans United club teamed up with a Hitler-saluting neo-Nazi to sell club T-shirts with the phrase ICE Volunteer and began urging students to report their criminal classmates to ICE for deportation. But Spoon represents a more influential and mainstream example of this trend. Last year, Spoon was the chairman of the Idaho Freedom PAC, the political action committee linked to the political machine of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a historically influential think tank that purports to separate true conservatives from Republicans in Name Only or RINOS. In the last two decades, more radical Republicans like Spoon immigrated to Idaho from left-leaning states like California, flooding the local Republican parties. Many of them cared less about the bottom line of Idahos big businesses than culture wars and conservative purity and immigration was a topic they were willing to drench with invective. On X, Spoon accused those who argue that migrant workers are necessary for the regions agriculture of being willing to pay anything for cheaper blueberries their daughters raped by illegals, their young people unemployed, foreign slaves exploited, drugs & crime flooding their communities. When Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson co-sponsored a bipartisan bill to expand the temporary farmworker visa program and give migrants a path to permanent legal status, Spoon accused Simpson of a literal act of treason against the U.S., facilitating a foreign invasion. Spoon argues hes not anti-immigrant his wife is a legal immigrant from Germany just anti illegal-immigration. Americans across a broad spectrum of politics are really fed up with the illegal immigration issue, he said. The tone has definitely changed there, and peoples willingness to confront that issue has changed. The reactions hes received for calling ICE on Mickelsens businesses, Spoon claimed, have been overwhelmingly positive. But Mickelsen said shes heard from a lot of legislators who were completely disgusted by his tactics. Its probably very disturbing for them to see this kind of treatment of a fellow legislator, Mickelsen said. Now were playing offense Spoon has repeatedly accused Mickelsen of being a Plantation Mistress, taunting her that were gonna take your farm slaves away from you.But he told InvestigateWest that its a mischaracterization to accuse him of going after Mickelsen. Shes the one to blame for the reports, he argued. Her own testimony drew attention to herself, he said. Last March, during the debate about Idaho House Bill 753, intended to give local law enforcement and judges the ability to enforce immigration laws, Mickelsen bristled at what she felt was the denigration of the foreign-born workforce by her fellow legislators. Pointing to the production chain involving everyone from construction companies to the hospitality industry, and every food processor, probably, in the state, Mickelsen declared that if you think that you havent been touched by an illegal immigrants hands in some way ... you are kidding yourself. To Spoon, it was practically a signed confession. While it is not reasonable to think that she is able to speak for every food processor, it is reasonable to think that she can speak for the food processor that she owns, Spoon said. To Mickelsen, she wasnt saying anything that hasnt been widely discussed: There likely are many unauthorized immigrants working for Idaho businesses. The Center for Migration Studies, a New York-based think tank focused on immigration issues, estimated that in 2021 there were roughly 10,000 unauthorized immigrants working in Idaho agriculture alone. Mickelsen told InvestigateWest that their farming operation relies on the legal temporary seasonal guest worker program to hire migrant laborers a program that has grown by nearly two-thirds since 2016. It would be wonderful if you could hire a domestic workforce. But the problem is, people dont like to do farming jobs, Mickelsen said. Her son, Andrew, Mickelsen Farms chief operations manager, said in a statement that we would never knowingly employ an undocumented worker and that our business cooperates with all authorities and supports our governments efforts to secure the border and keep Americans safe. We follow all applicable federal and state laws to stay in compliance, Rep. Mickelsen said. We want to be good neighbors. Farm owners like Mickelsen are caught in a pincer between two federal agencies, said Thomas, the immigration attorney: Either accept documents at face value some of which may be fakes from unauthorized immigrants and risk punishment by Homeland Security, or question documents too closely and risk being sued by the wildly aggressive Immigrant and Employee Rights division of the Department of Justice. Ultimately, Mickelsen voted for HB 753. But that did little to appease her critics. Should we post RINO Stephanie Mickelsens (District 32) pro-illegal alien video every week until she is voted out of office? asked the Stop Idaho Rinos X account. After Spoon bragged on X about reporting Mickelsen to ICE, one conservative Idaho commenter mockingly envisioned ICE listening to the passion-filled speech she said on the House floor. Bet once she talks they drop their badges and quit on the spot, he snarked. Spoon replied with wink and grin emojis. Mickelsen is not the only legislator Spoon has gone after. In September, Spoon targeted Rep. Jack Nelsen for the family dairy hed worked on for decades, claiming on X that Plantation slaves at the Nelsen Dairy in Jerome, ID are ILLEGAL immigrants. (Nelsen no longer personally has a stake in the business.) Spoon said hes reported only Mickelsens businesses to ICE so far, but pressed about whether he planned to report others, would only say Im going to hold onto that for now. At what cost? For Mickelsen, Spoons actions spurred restless nights. I laid in bed at night for two nights in a row, and I said to myself, Am I willing to jump on this same bandwagon in the name of political theater, and not say anything? Not say wait a minute, this is wrong? Mickelsen said. Or am I just going to be silent? In her interviews with InvestigateWest, Mickelsen sounded energetically defiant at moments floating the possibility of taking legal action. Just a few days after being publicly reported to ICE, Mickelsen took another risky political stand on immigration: opposing a bill to require businesses to use E-Verify, a federal website intending to verify whether workers are legal. Mickelsen says that the program is plagued by inaccuracy, inconsistency and delays. But at other moments, her frustration and exhaustion shone through. You have to say to yourself, as this rancor gets worse, at what point is it worth it for me to serve in the Legislature? Mickelsen said. If my family and everybody around me is at risk? On social media, Spoon has often relished the idea of making Idaho so miserable for leftists that they leave the state entirely. That strategy sounds familiar to Mike Colson, chair of the GOP Central Committee in southeastern Idahos Bonneville County. Mickelsen helped Colson lead a wave of moderates last year to take back their local Republican party from hardliners with a similar approach to Spoon. Thats part of their playbook for these legislators, to make it so miserable and so uncomfortable for them that hopefully they wont run again next time, Colson said. Thats what theyre hoping for. Thats what they want. They want us to quit. Mickelsens concern goes beyond any risk to her familys business its the worry that someone reading the vitriol online could do something drastic. Shes been reading a lot about white nationalists lately. I have to actually think about my physical safety in a way that I probably havent the entire time Ive been in the Legislature, Mickelsen said. She said she was advised to carry a gun she has a concealed carry permit. But she worried that if the gun was wrested away from her by a larger attacker, it could ultimately put her at more risk. Today, Colson suspects Spoons ICE reports were part of a coordinated attempt to send a chilling message to a number of persons that may not see eye-to-eye with some of their political allies, he said. But the immigrant ICE arrested from Mickelsen Farms was vulnerable for another reason as well. The Trump administration had been touting its focus on arresting criminal aliens, unauthorized immigrants with criminal records. In November 2022, the Mickelsen Farms employee, Sajid Soto, had previously been charged with battery and drug possession. According to the Bonneville County Sheriffs Department, he admitted to choking his wife during an argument and then, while being booked in the local jail, officers found a tiny amount of methamphetamine in his wallet. Even a migrant with permanent resident status can lose that status as a consequence of a domestic violence conviction, Thomas said. Soto had served his jail time, the restraining order had been lifted, and his felony possession conviction which can cause a temporary agricultural visa to be revoked had been dismissed after the farmworker completed probation. Now you have three children that are American citizens who are entitled to social benefits because their dad was supporting them and will not be any longer, Mickelsen said. Works at Mickelsen Farms, remains on the dads Facebook page. Scroll down, and his cover photo from six years ago, taken through the rain-flecked windshield of his truck, shows a long row of green-and-gold John Deere tractors and combines lined up on a stretch of farm soil. Listos para sacar papas, he wrote. Ready to pull out potatoes. InvestigateWest (invw.org) is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Reach reporter Daniel Walters at daniel@invw.org The National Weather Service issued a report at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday for strong thunderstorms until 7:30 p.m. for Eastern Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and North Central Oregon. The storms are packing marble-sized hail (0.5 inches) and wind gusts of up to 50 mph. "At 6:45 p.m., Doppler radar tracked a strong thunderstorm 7 miles west of Moro, moving northeast at 25 mph," states the weather service. "Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is possible." Locations impacted by the alert include Goldendale, Wasco, Cliffs, Celilo, Maryhill, Wishram, Rufus, Moro, Centerville and Biggs. The weather service comments, "If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service." When lightning looms: Expert safety tips for thunderstorms Lightning strikes the United States approximately 25 million times each year, with the bulk of these electrical discharges occurring during the summer months. Tragically, lightning claims the lives of about 20 individuals annually, as reported by the weather service. The risk of lightning-related incidents escalates as thunderstorms draw near, reaching its peak when the storm directly looms overhead. However, it gradually recedes as the tempest moves away. To guarantee your safety in the midst of a thunderstorm, take into account the following recommendations: Lightning safety plan: When venturing outdoors, it's vital to establish a clear plan for seeking shelter in case of lightning. Stay vigilant by monitoring the sky for ominous signs and listening for the telltale sound of thunder. If thunder is audible, it's a clear indication of nearby lightning. Seek a safe place to shelter, preferably indoors. Indoors safety measures: Once you've found shelter indoors, abstain from using corded phones, electrical appliances, or plumbing fixtures, and refrain from approaching windows and doors. These precautions help reduce the risk of electrical surges, as lightning can follow conductive pathways. Wait for the all-clear: After the last lightning strike or thunderclap, wait at least 30 minutes before resuming outdoor activities. Lightning can strike even when a storm has seemingly passed, so exercise caution. When indoor shelter isn't available: If you find yourself outdoors with no access to indoor shelter during a thunderstorm, take these steps to maximize your safety: Avoid open fields, hilltops, or ridge crests, which expose you to greater lightning risk. Steer clear of tall, isolated trees and other prominent objects. In wooded areas, stay close to lower stands of trees. If you're in a group, ensure that individuals are spaced out to prevent lightning current from transferring between people. Camping in an open setting during a thunderstorm is strongly discouraged. If no alternative exists, set up camp in a valley, ravine, or other low-lying areas. Remember that a tent offers no protection against lightning. Do not approach water bodies, wet objects, or metal items. Although water and metal do not attract lightning, they conduct electricity effectively and can pose significant risks. In summary, when facing the threat of lightning, preparedness and vigilance are your best allies. By following these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of lightning-related incidents and prioritize your safety. Mastering wet roads: Safety tips for heavy rainfall When heavy rain strikes, safety is paramount. Equip yourself with these guidelines from the weather service to navigate wet roads and avoid hazards: Beware of swollen waterways: During heavy rain, avoid parking or walking near culverts or drainage ditches, where swift-moving water can pose a serious risk. Maintain safe driving distances: The two-second rule for following distance is your ally in heavy rain. Extend it to four seconds to ensure safe spacing in adverse conditions. Reduce speed and drive cautiously: On wet roads, reducing your speed is crucial. Ease off the gas pedal gradually and avoid abrupt braking to prevent skidding. Choose your lane wisely: Stick to the middle lanes on multi-lane roads to minimize the risk of hydroplaning, as water tends to accumulate in outer lanes. Visibility matters: Turn on your headlights and be careful of other vehicles to the rear and in blind spot areas as they are especially difficult to see through rain-spattered windows. Watch out for slippery roads: The first half-hour of rain is when roads are slickest due to a mix of rain, grime, and oil. Exercise heightened caution during this period. Keep a safe distance from large vehicles: Don't follow large trucks or buses too closely. The spray created by their large tires reduces your vision. Take care when passing them as well; if you must pass, do so quickly and safely. Mind your windshield wipers: Overloaded wiper blades can hinder visibility. If rain severely impairs your vision, pull over and wait for conditions to improve. Seek refuge at rest areas or sheltered spots. When stopping by the roadside is your only option, position your vehicle as far off the road as possible, ideally beyond guardrails. Keep your headlights on and activate emergency flashers to alert other drivers of your position. By following these safety measures, you can significantly reduce risks and ensure your well-being when heavy rain pours down. Stay informed about weather conditions and heed advice from local authorities to make your journey safe and sound. 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. Normans Women in Action for All will be sponsoring a "Non Cole Town Hall" for U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) on April 9. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Moore Public Library. Cal Hobson, former president pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, will be speaking at the town hall along with former Gov. David Walters. Cole, the representative for Oklahomas 4th Congressional District, will not attend the event, according to Olivia Porcaro, Coles communications director. 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... Due to the congressmans busy schedule, he will not be in attendance at the event, Porcaro said. Rhonda Stock, the chair of Women in Action for All, said attendees will ask Hobson and Walters questions that they want to ask Cole. One thing that Im really looking forward to is that they will recommend what we can do as individuals, Stock said. The town hall comes after Cole held a town hall over the phone on March 20 to address concerns regarding federal cuts in Oklahoma. During the call, Cole assured constituents the Department of Government Efficiency had reconsidered the cuts and decided against them. DOGE is an advisory panel that is expected to make budgetary recommendations for the Trump administration. In February, several National Weather Center employees were terminated as part of nationwide mass layoffs proposed by DOGE. On March 3, DOGE canceled the Radar Operations Centers lease, a centralized hub for technicians and researchers to work on improving and repairing weather radar. Stock said one of Women in Action for Alls biggest concerns is the potential cancellation of the National Weather Centers lease. Stock believes the center to be important to Oklahomans. 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 Oklahoma needs it desperately, Stock said. People just need warnings about the weather. According to Stock, Women in Action for All planned the town hall after holding a rally outside of Coles office. We had about a hundred women there, and we had signs and that sort of thing, Stock said. Stock said Women in Action for All had a letter written by Judith Lewis, a retired OU history professor, requesting Cole hold a town hall. After the rally, the organization delivered the letter to Coles staff, Stock said. Andrea Clark, the liaison between Women in Action for All and Indivisible Oklahoma, posted on Facebook that Cole had been invited to the town hall so constituents could speak to him about any questions or concerns. I know that he wont be attending, but I hope that he will respond and answer our questions, Stock said. Stock said that a week after the town hall, Women in Action for All will hold another rally and deliver another letter of concern to Coles office. You feel a little more empowered when youre with a group to be able to do something, Stock said. This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure, Ismael Lele and Ana Barboza. Ryan Little and Grace Rhodes copy edited this story OU Student Media has received, timed to the University of Oklahomas upcoming annual Giving Day, a $100,000 pledge to the OU Daily from an anonymous donor to honor a longtime Muskogee, Norman and Edmond resident. The Becky Willis Memorial Fund for News Leadership pays forward the values embodied by the late spouse of former Daily adviser Jack Willis. Born and raised in Muskogee, Becky rose through several financial institutions to become a vice president. Jack, a Tahlequah native, worked at the Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Times Democrat for 19 years rising to the role of editor. In 1993, they moved to Norman where Becky became the top salesperson at Dillards and then Talbots before finishing her career at Monte R. Lee & Company in Oklahoma City, where she retired as head of human resources and office manager. Jack served as adviser to the OU Daily through his retirement in 2007, after which they moved to Edmond. He was inducted in the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2001. 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... Becky died March 18, 2024, at age 71. OU Giving Day raised $26.6 million in 2024 OU will hold its annual Giving Day on April 8. Last years event raised $26.6 million via nearly 7,100 gifts from all 50 states and 16 countries for all three OU campuses. OU Student Media raised $11,400 via 59 gifts, ranging from $10 to $2,000. Such community support supplements the about $14 in annual fees students pay that support the Daily. OU Student Medias endowed fund honoring Becky Willis legacy, launched last year, now will generate a $1,250 scholarship awarded each fall and spring to the Dailys news managing editor with the further annual interest it generates helping to underwrite Daily travel, equipment and other student needs. 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 Anusha Fathepure, the inaugural Willis fund scholarship recipient, has served as the Dailys news managing editor throughout the 2024-25 academic year. The Stillwater native was elected this month to serve as the Dailys 2025-26 editor-in-chief. This fund ensures that future generations of the top student journalists at OU have the support they need to lead, innovate and grow, said Seth Prince, director of OU Student Media. Becky Willis embodied leadership, resilience and an unwavering belief in the power of journalism. This gift extends her legacy in a way that directly impacts student leaders. OU Daily continues legacy of innovation As the citys largest reporting staff, the Daily has provided OU and Norman with free, independent local news since 1916. Thirty years ago this spring, as its student journalists covered the Oklahoma City bombing, the Daily launched its website on April 19, 1995 nine months before The New York Times. The Dailys work reached in excess of 4.3 million visitors in 2024, a year in which it was named one of the nations top nine college media business operations and top three college media news organizations. Contributions to the Becky Willis Memorial Fund for News Leadership may be made at oudaily.com/beckywillis. Every gift starting at just $10 invests in the future of journalism and student leadership at OU. OU Information Technology is currently experiencing network issues, affecting several university sites and applications. According to the OU IT alerts website, users may be unable to access several applications and services, including but not limited to the services listed on the website. 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... The website lists nine services as down: Canvas. ClassNav and iAdvise. MyMedia. ONE.ou.edu. Qualtrics. Banner. Laserfiche. PeopleSoft Human Capital Management. 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 OU IT Service. The website lists 11 services as affected, including OU Service, Sooner Card, Data Center Network, VDI service, Zoom, VPN, and other network and telecom services. Emma Chase, fine arts junior and student supervisor at the Bizzell Memorial Library, said the outages began to affect the library around 11 a.m. She said none of the librarys printers and OU ID scanners are working. If (students) need to check out a book or technology from the circulations desk, we usually have them tap their IDs, and theyre not working either, Chase said. While the library has resorted to scanning IDs, Chase said the library has found it difficult to find a solution for the printers, as theyre from a third party company and not associated with OU or OU Libraries. According to Keaton Shaffer, an OU Daily reporter who lives on campus, students could not use their meal swipes when purchasing food at the Oklahoma Memorial Union and had to write their OU ID numbers on paper. Kyle Tarczon, industrial and systems engineering and residential adviser at Couch Center, said the ID scanners went down in the building around 8 a.m., locking the entrance doors. I know a lot of residents were struggling getting lunch at the cafe and really finding places that student card taps you in, uses your meal plan, and kind of gets you into places, Tarczon said. Tarczon said Walker Center and Cross Village were also having issues with their ID scanners, but he didnt know if they were back on. According to the OU IT alerts website, OU IT technicians are still working to restore service. OU Daily reached out to OU Marketing and Communications for follow up questions related to the outages but was directed to the OU IT alerts website. This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Ismael Lele. Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story. Editor's note: This story was updated at 8:46 a.m. on March 28 to include statements from a university spokesperson. A banner, fliers and yard signs promoting OU Turning Point USAs event hosting Riley Gaines were vandalized and destroyed a week before the event, according to OU Turning Point USA members. Kalib Magana, president of Turning Point USAs OU chapter, told OU Daily in an interview that, as of Thursday, the organization has filed three police reports with the OU Police Department regarding property damage. 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... Magana said a large banner promoting the event was graffitied with orange spray paint on Wednesday with the words Nazi Grift written on the back and BOO written on the front across Gaines picture. We've been dealing with this for two weeks now. Everyone should have their freedom of speech, freedom of expression, Magana said. Everyone deserves a voice. According to Magana, OUPD found video on cameras around campus of a person vandalizing the banner at 7:24 a.m. Wednesday, but the camera was too far away to identify the person. According to an email sent to OU Daily from Chase Brooks, OUPD public information officer, the investigation is ongoing and the incident report is not available. Magana wrote in an email to OU Daily that yard signs and fliers promoting the event which he wrote Turning Point USA spent $700 on have also gone missing over the past few days. I hope the university will sympathize with us and help provide funds for a new banner, this is just sickening, a hate crime, hinderance (sic) of freedom of speech, and property damage, Magana wrote. On Thursday, while Turning Point USA boothed on the South Oval, someone began kicking down yard signs of the event in front of them. When Magana went up to confront them, they grabbed his phone, pushed him, stole a yard sign and ran away. Jordan Cantrell, a Turning Point USA member who was boothing at the time, said shortly after the first incident with Magana, another student began knocking their yard signs over again. Cantrell said theres been a large reaction to the event, with many insulting and name calling Turning Point USA members. Theres people taking physical action with the stomping of the signs and everything like that, Cantrell said. Everytime we set up, theres people driving by yelling they take the opportunity at stop lights to flip us off. An OU spokesperson wrote in an email to OU Daily that the university aware of multiple incidents involving vandalism of a registered student organization's signs and acts of vandalism violate the law. "Any individuals engaged in destructive actions will be held accountable," the spokesperson wrote. The spokesperson wrote that complaints will be investigated by the police for criminal conduct and handled in accordance with OU's policies for violation of the Student Code of Conduct. 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 "To the extent these acts were an attempt to impede the rights of others to exercise their First Amendment rights, this violates a core value we hold at OU, and it will not be permitted," the spokesperson wrote. "We are investigating the matter thoroughly and encourage anyone with information to contact the OU Police Department." Magana said he anticipates many people of different viewpoints and political perspectives to attend the event. We actually encourage people who don't see (Gaines) point of view or want to know more about her view to attend the event so that they could also learn , Magana said. I want them to see what we're really advocating for here. Magana said this issue is important to him because he wants everyone to equally respect the right to free speech. We all have a right to free speech, freedom of expression, private property, and all of those rights that we have have been just thrown away, damaged, Magana said. Hopefully from this event people will learn that we should be more accepting of other people's views, and that just because you're a Democrat, just because you're conservative, we can agree to disagree. We want to make sure that everybody's points of views are heard, but in a peaceful manner. Gaines, a conservative political activist known for speaking against transgender athletes competing in womens sports, will speak to students and participate in a Q&A and debate session on April 2 in Dale Hall. The OU Student Socialist League announced on Instagram it will host a teach-in during the same time as the Turning Point USAs event to discuss transphobia. In November, Gaines spoke at Oklahoma State University about her experience competing against a transgender athlete. Founded in 2012 by conservative media personality Charlie Kirk and businessman Bill Montgomery, Turning Point USA is a national organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and university campuses. Turning Point USA has a strong media presence with Kirk hosting The Charlie Kirk Show, a conservative daily radio show. Kirk will be speaking at Oklahoma State University next week at the International Mall building as part of his The American Comeback tour. All events on the tour are free to guests. OUs history of free speech In November, Greg Lukianoff, author and president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, delivered the keynote address for OUs Free Speech Week. Lukianoff spoke on cancel culture and free speech at universities. In 2021, FIRE criticized OU in an article for an Anti-Racist Rhetoric & Pedagogies workshop held by an OU professor. While the workshop was voluntary, FIRE wrote that the workshop was teaching participants to limit free speech among students. FIRE then posted a recording of the workshop to its YouTube channel. Following the posting of the article and video in 2021, Julie Ward, OU American Association of University Professors vice president, criticized FIRE and said its actions left OU faculty members vulnerable to online hate. In 2022, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. announced the university will adopt the Chicago Statement in celebration of national Free Speech Week. The Chicago Statement is a set of principles that emphasizes the importance of freedom of expression on college campuses and was developed at the University of Chicago in 2014 and has been adopted by over 80 universities. This story was edited by Peggy Dodd, Ismael Lele and Ana Barboza. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is facing a lawsuit brought by various organizations for the agency's decision to cut legal aid for migrant children. The move comes as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up his efforts to address the issue of immigration within the United States. The organizations that filed the lawsuit against the HHS are the ones responsible for providing legal aid to migrant children. HHS Faces Lawsuit The lawsuit was filed on Thursday and notes that some of the groups that received federal grants were forced to stop taking on new clients. They were allegedly forced to "face the real threat of not being able to continue their ongoing representations" due to the HHS's latest efforts. Groups that collectively received more than $200 million in federal grants were told last week that the contract was partially terminated. This meant that the funding for legal representation and for the recruitment of attorneys to represent migrant children was ending, according tonABC News. There are currently about 26,000 migrant children who are recipients of legal representation through the funding. The groups filed the lawsuit against the HHS in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The groups are now asking a federal judge to issue an injunction on the matter and block the HHS from preventing funding for legal representation for unaccompanied children from pushing through. One of the organizations affected by the funding cut is the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, which lost about $900,000 following the HHS severing contracts with Acacia. The latter is a non-profit organization that provides assistance and coordinates legal aid for unaccompanied migrant children, Queen City News reported. Funding Cuts for Legal Aid for Migrant Children Ruth Santana, who is the head of the Center's Immigrant Justice Program, said that the immigrant children will still be required to show up in court and be by themselves. She also showed data that revealed immigration judges are 100 times less likely to grant relief to unaccompanied children when the latter do not have legal counsel. What makes matters worse is that defendants do not typically have access to public defenders for civil immigration cases. Santana noted that it is the "responsibility of the respondent or rather the person who has to appear before immigration court to then get an attorney to represent them." One of the major funding cuts was to Acacia, which was informed last week by the government that the HHS was terminating nearly all the legal work it does. Ailin Buigues, the head of the center's unaccompanied children program, said the situation was "extremely concerning" because it leaves kids without any real support, as per the New York Daily News. In the first two months of 2025, the number of domestically produced passenger vehicles (PVs) registered on the Chinese Mainland totaled 3,096,835 units, marking a year-on-year decline of 4.45%, according to the data compiled by the Gasgoo Auto Research Institute ("GARI"). This drop was largely driven by a significant downturn in January's registration figures. However, February saw a sharp rebound, with PV registrations jumping 20.53% year on year to 1,306,629 units, though still down 27.01% from January. Of the total registered vehicles in the first two months, 1,365,235 units were new energy vehicles (NEVs), accounting for a penetration rate of 44.08%. In February alone, NEV registrations reached 660,839 units, representing a 50.58% market share. For clarity, the PVs hereby refer to the passenger vehicles locally produced and registered on the Chinese Mainland. With the Chinese New Year holiday falling on January 29 in 2025, February marked the first full month of post-holiday sales. As the government's vehicle scrappage and replacement policies gradually took effect and automakers stabilized pricing expectations, the overall price competition in the automobile market was milder than in previous years. Promotional discounts weakened further in January and February, particularly in the oil-fueled vehicle segment, where price cuts remained largely stable. Meanwhile, improving macroeconomic conditions, stable consumer sentiment, and automakers' intensified marketing efforts during the holiday season contributed to a stronger-than-usual performance in February, in contrast to the post-holiday slump seen in early 2024. Before the holiday, concerns over long-distance travel and cold weather led to heightened consumer sensitivity toward NEV range and charging issues, causing a seasonal dip in NEV penetration. However, as price expectations remained strong among consumers, major automakers ramped up promotions on plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) models, leveraging the government's latest "Two New" subsidies for "large-scale equipment renewal" and "consumer goods trade-in programs" to boost sales. In the AI sector, DeepSeek has significantly impacted the global technology landscape, challenging traditional AI development models that rely on massive computing power. Its low-cost, high-performance approach has accelerated large-scale adoption in the automotive sector. The Chinese government's latest work report recognized intelligent connected NEVs as the next-generation smart terminals, reinforcing consumer interest in smart cockpits and assisted driving technologiestrends that have translated into notable sales growth. With the post-holiday resumption of work and warmer weather, consumer preferences have shifted rapidly, driving a week-by-week increase in NEV penetration. This trend has positioned NEVs as the primary force behind the PV market's post-holiday recovery. In February, 11 of the top 20 brands by monthly registrations of locally-produced PVs in the country were China's indigenous ones, including BYD, Wuling, Geely, Changan, Chery, Galaxy, Li Auto, XPENG, Xiaomi, Haval, and JETOUR. Six of these brands ranked among the top 10. After being briefly overtaken by Volkswagen in January, BYD reclaimed the top position in February with 185,697-unit registrations. The brand had 29 different models registered under its Dynasty and Ocean series in the month, with nine models surpassing 10,000 units and two exceeding 20,000 units. On February 10, BYD announced that all its models would be equipped with its advanced driver-assistance system, "God's Eye." At the launch event, the company introduced 21 models featuring this system, including the Seagull Smart Drive Edition priced at 69,800 yuan and the Qin PLUS DM-i Smart Drive Edition at 79,800 yuan. The surge in BYD's market demand is expected to drive economies of scale for key intelligent driving components such as LiDAR, millimeter-wave radar, positioning sensors, and domain controllers. Wuling, Geely, Changan, Chery, and Galaxy secured the fourth to eighth positions, each surpassing 40,000-unit registrations in February. Notably, Geely's Galaxy, which previously operated as a product series, was officially upgraded to an independent brand at the Geely AI Intelligent Technology Conference in early March. At the same time, the LEVC was integrated into Galaxy as its high-end electric MPV seriesfollowing the October 2024 integration of the GEOME brand into Galaxy as its compact vehicle lineup. Geely Galaxy has set an ambitious sales target of one million units for 2025 and plans to launch five new NEV models this year, including two SUVs and three sedans. Meanwhile, three local NEV-dedicated brandsLi Auto, XPENG, and Xiaomialso made it into the top 20, ranking 14th, 15th, and 17th, respectively. In February, Volkswagen and Toyota ranked second and third, respectively, by China-made PV registrations. Of Volkswagen's newly registered vehicles, 5.73% (6,236 units) were NEVs, including 251 PHEVs and 5,985 battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Toyota's NEV share was lower, accounting for only 2.37% (1,926 units) of its total registrations in February. Tesla was the only wholly foreign-owned brand in the top 20, ranking 10th with 29,316 vehicles registered, a 13.18% month-over-month decline. However, its ranking improved by seven places compared to January this year. Among Germany's "Big Three" brands, Audi led the pack at 11th place, with three modelsthe Audi A6L, Q5L, and A4Leach surpassing 4,000-unit registrations. BMW and Mercedes-Benz followed at 12th and 13th place, respectively. BMW also had three models exceeding 4,000-unit registrations (the 3 Series, X3, and 5 Series), while Mercedes-Benz saw its C-Class, GLC, and E-Class models all surpass 6,000 units. For the first two months of the year, BYD, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Geely were the top four brands, each surpassing 160,000-unit registrations. BYD led with over 370,000 units, while Volkswagen neared 300,000 units. Among the top 20 brands by the year-to-date (YTD) registrations, 11 were from China's self-owned automakers, including Changan, Wuling, Chery, Galaxy, Haval, XPENG, Li Auto, Hongqi, and JETOUR, in addition to BYD and Geely. On a model level, the top 20 locally-made PV models by February registrations included five without an NEV variant: the Lavida, the Sylphy, the Sagitar, the Xingyue L, and the Frontlander. The top four models were all exclusively BEVs, with the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV taking the top spot. BYD secured two spots in the top five, namely, the Seagull (2nd) and Qin PLUS (5th). It also had four other models in the top 20: the Song PLUS (7th), the Seal 06 (8th), the Qin L (10th), and the Song Pro (12th). Xiaomi's SU7 ranked third among all PV models, climbing three positions from the previous month and indicating a 3.59% month-on-month increase in registrations. Meanwhile, Galaxy brand's Xingyuan secured fourth place with 23,758 units registered in the month, accounting for 52.05% of the brand's total registrations for the month. Tesla's Model 3 ranked sixth, while the Model Y failed to make the top 20. Three NEV models from Chinese brandsthe XPENG MONA M03, the Li L6, and the Wuling Bingooccupied the 14th to 16th spots. Over the first two months of the year, eight PV models surpassed 40,000-unit registrations, with the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, the Xiaomi SU7, and the Galaxy Xingyuan each exceeding 46,000 units. Among joint-venture models, the Lavida ranked highest at fourth, followed by the Passat at sixth. BYD had six models in the top 20, while the highest-ranked model from the German Big Three was the Audi A6L, with a YTD registration total of 29,429 units. On a regional level, 11 cities on the Chinese Mainland registered over 20,000 domestically produced PVs in February, with four exceeding 28,000 units. Chengdu led the rankings as the only city surpassing 30,000-unit registrations, followed by Chongqing and Zhengzhou, both in the 28,000 units-29,000 units range. For the YTD performance, 14 cities exceeded 40,000-unit registrations, with seven surpassing 60,000 units: Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Wuhan. In February, the registrations of new energy passenger vehicle (NEPV) produced on the Chinese Mainland reached 660,839 units, marking a robust 76.78% year-over-year spike despite a 6.18% decline from January. BEVs remained the dominant powertrain, accounting for 64.34% of all NEPV registrations in February, while PHEVs and range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) held shares of 27.06% and 8.59%, respectively. For the first two months of 2024, a total of 1,365,235 locally-produced NEPVs were registered on the Chinese Mainland, reflecting a 32.03% increase compared to the same period last year. BEVs accounted for 59.75% of these registrations, with PHEVs and REEVs making up 30.29% and 9.97%, respectively. No fuel cell vehicles were registered during this period. Excluding Tesla, which ranked fourth, all top 20 brands by February NEPV registrations in February were China's self-owned ones. BYD led the rankings by a significant margin, with its registrations exceeding the combined total of the brands ranked second through sixth. Additionally, its premium sub-brand, DENZA, secured the 20th position. Huawei-backed Harmony lntelligent Mobility Alliance ("HIMA") placed two brands in the top 20, with AITO at 14th and LUXEED at 17th. Changan Auto also had two brands on the list: Changan (10th) and DEEPAL (15th). Geely Auto Group performed strongly with four brands making the top 20Galaxy (3rd), Zeekr (12th), Geely (13th), and Lynk & Co (19th). Xiaomi EV, with 23,796 vehicles registered in February, secured the seventh place, including 141 units of its flagship model, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra. Hitting the market at the end of February with a starting price of 529,900 yuannearly 300,000 yuan lower than its initial pre-sale price of 814,900 yuanthe model saw overwhelming demand. Within 10 minutes of its release, over 6,900-unit firm orders were placed, surpassing 10,000 units within two hours. Looking at cumulative figures for the first two months, eight brands exceeded 40,000 units in NEPV registrations. BYD dominated with over 300,000 units, far ahead of the second-place Galaxy, which exceeded 90,000 units. Wuling, Tesla, and XPENG rounded out the top five, while Li Auto, Xiaomi, and Leapmotor ranked sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Among the top-selling NEPV models in February, the leading four were exclusively BEVs. BYD models occupied 10 of the top 20 spots, with six ranking in the top 10. Tesla's two models were both in the top 20, while Wuling placed two BEVs on the listthe Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, which secured first place, and the Wuling Bingo at 13th. For the YTD registration performance, BYD kept its dominant presence in the top 20 NEPV model rankings, contributing 10 models. Wuling, Tesla, and Galaxy each had two models in the rankings. On the city front, Chengdu led all cities with 20,043 NEPVs registered in February, which accounted for 51.23% of its total PV registrations. Shenzhen followed with 16,399 NEPVs, making up 76.74% of the city's overall PV registrations. For the first two months of the year, 15 cities surpassed 20,000 units in cumulative NEPV registrations, with eight exceeding 30,000 units. Chengdu retained the top spot and was the only city with over 40,000-unit YTD NEV registrations. Harrowing new details have surfaced regarding the disappearance of little Emile, a toddler who was found dead in July 2023. Detectives who are in charge of investigating the case of the French child shared how they believe the young victim lost his life. In a statement, prosecutor Jean-Luc Bachon said that his team was still looking into the possibility that Emile was attacked by a "third party." Little Emile's Disappearance The prosecutor said that the scars they found on the boy's skull, which was recovered in March last year, were "suggestive of violent facial trauma." investigators now believe that the boy's bones would have been moved shortly before they were discovered near a river in the Alpine hamlet of Haut-Vernet last year. Experts also believe that the victim's remains could have been placed the way they were found in a sort of gruesome staging. Bachon talked to Emile's grandparents, who were the ones looking after the boy shortly before he disappeared, according to the Daily Mail. The elderly couple was released from custody this week, which was done due to suspicion of voluntary homicide and concealing a corpse. Now, prosecutors clarified that the line of inquiry that involved the family was just "one among others." Read more: Teen Who Fatally Stabbed Mother Was Reportedly Inspired by the Menendez Brothers Bachon said that the investigation into the tragic case has already reached a stage where it requires them to confront and enlighten the people who were most affected by Emile's death. He added that the family members were arrested in light of the results of the expert reports. The grandparents of Emile were identified as Philippe and Anne Vedovini, who were taken into custody along with two of their adult children, who were the victim's uncles or aunts. The latter has not been named or identified, France24 reported. The Arrest of the Grandparents Isabelle Colombani, the lawyer for the grandparents, confirmed that the couple was placed in police custody but did not provide further details about the matter. A press release suggested that the arrests were made to allow investigators to verify, analyze, and cross-examine evidence that been had gathered over the last few months. Emile's disappearance sparked media attention in 2023, particularly surrounding his grandfather, who was questioned by police in the 1990s. During that time, he was asked about alleged violence and sexual assault at a private school. When investigators returned to Le Vernet this week, they were joined by forensic teams who combed through "several spots in the area." It was confirmed that the forensic operations were still ongoing in other locations as well, as per CNN. Rising Christian music artist Sean Rodriguez is breaking genre boundaries with his new EP Jesus Will, drawing inspiration from his background as a family pastor and inner-city upbringing. Rodriguezs musical approach intentionally spans multiple genres, including rock, pop, and hints of hip hop, reflecting his desire to create music that connects across generations. I wanted my music to reflect my ministry in that I would have a song with a message for everybody, Rodriguez said. The artist credits TobyMac as his primary musical inspiration, admiring the veteran performers ability to consistently reinvent his sound. TobyMac does that so well. TobyMacs next song will not sound like his last song, which didnt sound like (the one before that), Rodriguez explained. His musical journey began during an intense Winter Jam tour, where he performed 40 cities in three months, driving himself between venues. During this challenging period, Rodriguez received crucial mentorship from Kevin and Josiah Prince of the band Disciple, who provided critical encouragement during his professional struggles. God wants you to be here. Let him equip you, and you do what you do well, Rodriguez recalled Prince telling him. This advice helped him overcome significant mental challenges and recommit to his musical calling. That kind of turned things around for me, and through that season and just kind of praying, I was like, Okay, God wants me to follow that, he said. And God put me here for a reason, so lets commit to it. And I started to climb back up out of that mental hole that I dug myself in. Learning from his background as a family pastor in an inner-city church founded by his grandfather, Rodriguez approaches music as a ministry of connection. The project aims to speak to multiple age groups, from teenagers to grandparents, reflecting his experience working with diverse congregations. Prior to music, I was actually a family pastor, Rodriguez said. When youre doing family ministry, you have to be able to connect with kids, with teenagers, but not only them, with their parents and their grandparents. The new EP features collaborations and a variety of musical styles, with Rodriguez creating music that defies easy categorization. He plans an extensive tour starting in May, performing at festivals like Kingdom Bound in New York, Unity Fest in Michigan, and One Fest in Wisconsin. Rodriguezs musical philosophy emphasizes authenticity and hard work. Commit to being you, he said, echoing the advice that helped shape his career. With Jesus Will, Rodriguez is positioning himself as a versatile artist committed to creating music that transcends traditional genre and generational boundaries, informed by his unique background and spiritual perspective. The project represents not just a musical project, but a continuation of Rodriguezs ministry, bridging cultural and generational divides through sound and message. Listen to the new project here. Based on a number of new features being rolled up within new Release Preview updates for Windows 11, Microsoft appears to be readying a push for AI-powered enhancements in the coming weeks. Although Microsoft typically reserves major feature releases for the fall, April 2025 is a key month for the software giant because it marks the 50th anniversary of the companys founding. With two preview releases of Windows 11, Microsoft has tipped off what features your PC will be receiving soonmost likely in April. Both Windows 11 Build 26100.3613 and Windows 11 Build 26100.3624 are part of the Release Preview Channel for Windows 11 Insiders, meaning you can try them out early yourself by joining the Windows Insider program. If you do, note that Microsoft isnt releasing all of these features in one fell swoop. Some of them will be released normally while others are rolled out in a gradual cadence. Optional non-security feature releases typically launch on the fourth week of every month, usually on a Tuesday. (In this case, thatd be April 22, 2025.) Those features then typically roll out to everyone else about two weeks later. Nothing guarantees this timeline, of course. Its our best guess based on past releases and when theyve occurred. Remember, though, Microsofts emphasis is on the newand the sexiest new Windows features use AI. That means youll need a Copilot+ PC, and Copilot+ PCs mean NPUs. (But NPUs are only available on a subset of PCs, and even then certain features are only available for certain NPUs.) Basically, if you want everything that Microsoft has to offer, you should buy a laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip in it, like the Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition. New AI features coming to Windows 11 Right now, it appears that semantic search will be Windows flagship AI feature for the near future. Semantic search, which was first shown off back in January, allows you to forego the exact word or title youre searching for and describe it instead. For example, you could search for photo of children at school without knowing the exact file name. For years, youve searched for keywords to find what youre looking for. Microsoft wants you to break that habit. Microsoft Semantic search may also help offset Copilots inability to monitor and control your PC, something that was originally planned but fell by the wayside. In its place, youll be able to describe what you want Windows to do inside the Settings menu. Put another way, semantic search will be a part of Windows Search as well as Settings. Unfortunately, semantic search will only be available for Windows on Snapdragon PCs; users with AMD- or Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs will have to wait. But since it will run locally on your PC, you wont have to be connected to the internet for it to work. Microsoft is also kinda-sorta bringing semantic search to photosbut only in File Explorer, not the Photos app. The Photos app already allows you to search via words like snow to identify photos of snowy mountains. Going forward, File Explorer will now allow you to search using words like summer picnic, Microsoft says. Semantic search will apply to the Windows 11 Settings app, too. Microsoft File Explorer, like Photos, will now show photos stored on OneDrive in the cloud alongside photos stored locally on your PC. Its not quite clear whether Microsoft is using the PCs NPU to perform these searches but it must be since this feature is reserved for Snapdragon PCs, too. Its coming soon to Copilot+ PCs with AMD and Intel inside. That said, if you do own a Copilot+ PC powered by either AMD or Intel processors, heres some good news: live captions and real-time translation are going to be available. Live Captions first debuted in the Windows 11 2022 Update, though it used the power of the CPU back then, not the NPU. Now, up to 44 different languages can be captured and translated into English on AMD and Intel Copilot+ PCs via video calls, recordings, and streamed content. If you own a Snapdragon PC, the opposite is true: you can now translate English (or 25 other languages) into Chinese using real-time translation. Chris Hoffman / IDG Your voice can also be used to better effect in Voice Access, too. One of the issues Ive had with Voice Access is that its unbearably rigidyou either know the commands or you dont. Now, Microsoft is using AI to loosen up Voice Access by allowing you to describe what you want to do instead of using the exact syntax. Chinese support for Voice Access is being added, too. If you use an app with support for Windows Studio Effects, you should see an icon on the system tray that shows when Windows Studio Effects is in use. Its a bit redundant since Microsoft already indicated that the icon would appear in a February Windows update. Other changes coming to Windows Microsoft is also changing how it monitors your system. You may start seeing cards that show off your PCs key specifications, such as the CPU, memory, and storage. This is a reorganization of sorts since the Windows Settings app already consolidates these features, but these top cards will simply pull this information out and put them at the top of the Settings > System > About portion of Windows Settings. Microsoft also says that it will track CPU utilization a bit differently in Task Manager, though its not clear how this will play out. A separate, hidden tab will show off the old way of measuring it. Microsoft Youll see new ways of interacting with Windows, too. Laptops place a keyboard right under your fingers, but desktop PCs dont. You might end up in a situation where your desktops keyboard is off to the side (perhaps if youve turned your PC into an arcade or virtual pinball cabinet). In that case, you can use a new Xbox gamepad keyboard interface, where you can use an Xbox gamepad to type just like on the console. A new emoji interface is being added, too. You might know that you can access the Windows emoji menu via the Windows key + Semicolon shortcut, but apparently no one else does given that Microsoft is adding a new system tray icon to the taskbar to highlight the emoji panel. Chris Hoffman / IDG Microsoft is also working with developers to add improved widgets, something thats been promised for a while now. But one change you should see in this release, given what Microsoft has announced, is greater control over which widgets you see on your lock screen. How will that work? Well know soon enough. Wed like to think that features such as Windows new battery icons will be released soonbut those are still stuck in the Dev Channel, so they probably still have a ways to go. We also havent heard much about Windows Recall lately either, which has already been released for testing. Remember, theres always more to come. Microsoft is currently in the process of updating the Microsoft Account (MSA) sign-in experience across the web, mobile apps, and later Windows. The goal is to make the process more modern, unified, and fit for a passwordless future, according to a post on Microsofts blog. By the end of April, most users will be greeted by a new login and registration experience that involves a restructured flow, fewer elements per screen, and better scalability for different screen sizes. Microsoft One of the most significant changes is that Microsoft is now optimizing the entire consumer experience for passwordless sign-ins using passkeys. Whenever a user logs in, theyll be prompted to create a passkey, which will then be used as the default method when logging in. Microsoft Without a passkey, Microsoft assumes that most people already have an email address and chooses that route by defaultsomething that also makes it easier to reset the account if necessary. (Microsoft really wants you to add a recovery email address to your account.) The revamped login flow has a clear Microsoft focus and aesthetic. The classic logo is placed in the center, and all services share the same background image. Buttons and links will be color-themed to match the product, but the idea is to make it more consistent whether youre signing in to Xbox, Microsoft 365, or Outlook. The new experience rollout is expected to be completed in April. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imported cars and parts on Wednesday. Vehicles on the assembly line at the BMW Spartanburg plant in Greer, South Carolina, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. (Sean Rayford | AP Photo) Sean Rayford | AP Photo Prices for new cars could increase by thousands of dollars after President Donald Trumps new auto tariffs take effect, experts said. Trumps move represents a profound disruption to the global automotive model, wrote Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska, estimating an unmitigated sector-wide tariff impact of about $6,700 per vehicle, according to CNBC. Other analysts had different predictions. One advised consumers to brace for sticker shock. Another expert said tariffs would raise vehicle costs between $6,000 and $7,000 per unit, adding that actual price increases to the consumer needed to offset the tariff are likely higher. An analyst from Goldman said the tariff on imported cars could raise prices by $5,000 to as much as $15,000, CNBC said. Locally made vehicles would see price hikes as well because the tariffs also apply to parts. Locally made vehicles could see prices rise by up to $8,000. Bank of America expects an increase of at least $4,500 per vehicle, according to CNBC. Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush, predicted general tariff-related price increases for U.S. buyers between $5,000 and $10,000 per vehicle, according to ABC News. Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell Universitys School of Industrial and Labor Relations, told ABC added costs could reach as high as $20,000 per vehicle. Wheaton studies the auto industry. Trump announced tariffs of 25% on imported vehicles and parts on Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal. They take effect April 2. Most automakers depend on parts and materials from other counties to make cars, including those assembled in the U.S., the Journal said. That means the tariffs are likely to have effects throughout the industry, including on companies that make cars in the United States. Trump and his allies have argued that the tariffs will force car companies to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. to avoid the levies. He has also warned manufacturers not to raise prices in response to the tariffs and has said he would look unfavorably on such moves, according to the Journal. Trump argued to car company executives earlier in the month that the tariffs would be great. Youre going to see prices going down, but going to go down specifically because theyre going to buy what were doing, incentivizing companies toand even countriescompanies to come into America, he said at an event announcing the tariffs, according to the Journal. Last year, U.S. shoppers bought approximately 16 million cars, SUVs, and light trucks, half of which were imported, the White House said, according to ABC. Trump spoke with auto industry executives about the tariffs in an Oval Office call earlier in March. His advice? Buckle up, according to The New York Times. Trumps tariffs on a variety of goods have helped send U.S. consumer confidence about the future to a 12-year low, according to the Conference Board. Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook 315-282-8598 Police have released more details about an incident involving a former University of Pittsburgh professor and UPMC doctor accused of trying to kill his wife while they were hiking along a trail in Hawaii. Gerhardt Konig, 46, was taken into custody by Honolulu Police Department on Monday. He is being charged with second-degree attempted murder. According to a criminal complaint, Konig and his wife, Arielle, were walking along the Pali Puka Trail on March 24, when he asked to take a selfie with her. WTAE reports that she declined because she felt uncomfortable having a photo taken so close to the edge of the lookout. When she started to walk away, police said Konig yelled at her and pushed her into the bushes. He then proceeded to hit her in the head with a rock about ten times and pushed her face into the ground. WTAE also reported he tried to stab her with a syringe filled with an unknown liquid. Two hikers near the scene told police they heard the wife yelling, He is trying to kill me. He is hitting me in the head with a rock. Arielle Konig was able to get away from her husband and to the hikers, police said. Gerhardt Konig ran away but later found by police and arrested. Arielle Konig suffered numerous facial and head injuries and is currently hospitalized in critical condition. Konig has worked as an anesthesiologist at UPMC and was an assistant professor of anesthesiology and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Medicine and Engineering. He currently works as an anesthesiologist on Maui but his staff privileges have been suspended pending the investigation. His bail was set on Wednesday at $5 million. Frito-lay is recalling its Tostitos Cantina brand of corn tortilla chips sold in 13 states due to an undeclared milk allergen. FDA/Canva/Katherine Rodriguez The Frito-Lay company announced limited recall of one of its chip brands due to an undeclared allergen. The company said in a March 26 release that it is recalling less than 1,300 13 oz. bags of Tostitos Cantina Traditional Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips because they could include nacho cheese tortilla chips and thus have an undeclared milk allergen. Anyone with an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk runs the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the recalled product, the FDA said. The product was sold in grocery and convenience stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The chips were sold as early as March 7. The bags contain a UPC code of 2840052848 and have a freshness dating of May 20, 2025. No allergic reactions have been reported yet. No other Tostitos products are affected by the recall. Anyone with an allergy or sensitivity to milk should not consume the product but instead discard it immediately. For more information, visit the Frito-Lay contact page or call 800-352-4477 between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CST, Monday-Friday. Mountains provide the backdrop at Fox Meadow Winery in Lindon, Virginia, site of the Peak Shenandoah Wine Region's showcase event in mid-May. Fox Meadow Winery The six producers from the Peak Shenandoah Wine Region will gather for a unique tasting in mid-May. Called Discover Peak Shenandoah A Collective Wine Tasting Event, the six wineries will stage their showcase event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 18. It will take place at Fox Meadow Vineyards & Winery, 3310 Freezeland Road, in Linden. This is an opportunity to taste wines from all six wineries of the Peak Shenandoah Wine Region while engaging intimately with the winemakers and/or owners of these wineries. Light fare will be provided to accompany the wine-tasting experience. The Peak Shenandoah Wine Region is less than an hour drive from Washington D.C. and a little more than a three-hour drive from Philadelphia. Peak Shenandoah Wine Region A limited number of tickets are available to the public, and you can purchase those at this link. Higher elevation sites, on genuine mountain geological soils, produce superior wines these are amongst the best sites and wines on the East Coast, said Jason Murray, the owner and winemaker at Arterra Wines. We are honored to be a part of this elite collective. All six wineries in the Peak Shenandoah Wine Region will be participating in the May 18 event. Peak Shenandoah Wine Region Per a release from Murray, Peak Shenandoah Wine Region is a designation based on superior viticultural sites, with higher elevation plantings on mountain geological soils, and are each authentically owner-operated ventures, where the committed eort of family farming shows through in the depth of character of each of their wines. The Collective includes: Beijing (Gasgoo)- On March 27, autonomous driving tech company Pony.ai received Shenzhen's first permit for a fully driverless commercial operation pilot in Nanshan District. This marks a significant milestone, allowing users in Shenzhen's core urban areas to hail a self-driving vehicle via the Pony.ai app or mini-program, with AI-powered "veteran drivers" handling the ride. Photo credit: Pony.ai The company has already launched similar services in Beijing and Guangzhou, and the approval in Shenzhen further accelerates its autonomous mobility deployment. Pony.ai's autonomous vehicle (Robotaxi) fleet in Shenzhen now covers key areas such as Qianhai, Bao'an District, Houhai in Nanshan, and Shenzhen Bay, with seamless access to major transportation hubs like Shenzhen Bao'an Airport and Shenzhen Bay Port. Operating daily from 7:30 AM to 10:00 PM, the service offers a reliable, all-weather mobility solution for users. Pony.ai has been steadily expanding its autonomous driving footprint, now operating in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. As more urban residents embrace self-driving vehicles for daily commutes, public trust in the technology continues to grow. To date, Pony.ai has accumulated nearly 45 million kilometers in autonomous road testing, including approximately 5 million kilometers under fully driverless conditions. With continuous technological advancements and large-scale deployment efforts, the company is paving the way for the future of autonomous transportation. A graphic shows the measles virus. A resident of Bucks County has contracted measles after traveling to Texas recently. (Provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention A resident of Bucks County has contracted measles after traveling to Texas recently. The individual, who was vaccinated, visited several locations in the Bucks County region while they might have been contagious, according to a statement from the Bucks County Health Department. The unidentified person is experiencing mild symptoms, the health department said. The department said that anyone who visited a Starbucks located at 2896 S. Eagle Road in Newtown between 10:50 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on March 19 should monitor for symptoms of the disease, including a cough, runny nose or red eyes. The Bucks County Health Department said it has traced all the other locations where this individual visited, and anyone potentially exposed to the virus will be notified. It is not clear if these two cases are directly connected to an outbreak in West Texas that has killed one child and infected hundreds, many of whom were unvaccinated. The department urged anyone not currently vaccinated against measles to do so. Two doses of the vaccine will be 97 percent effective in preventing all illness. However, even though a vaccinated person can still get measles, they are more likely to experience a mild illness and are thus less likely to spread it, Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker said in a statement. The best way to hold this virus in check is to have high levels of community vaccination rates. On March 24, two cases of measles were reported in Erie County. Officials there said that both cases were connected to international travel. Measles is a very contagious disease that can be spread by coughing and sneezing. It can stay in the air for up to two hours and be contracted by breathing in that air or touching a contaminated surface and then touching your eyes, ears or mouth. Children under age five, pregnant women, and those with a compromised immune system are at a higher risk of developing more severe complications. Other symptoms of the disease include headache, sneezing, and a red skin rash starting on the face and neck. People usually begin to experience symptoms within 10-14 days of exposure. These openings will occur through 2027. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett A major auto parts chain has closed hundreds of stores across the United States. Now the company has revealed it plans on opening some brand new stores. According to a press release published Wednesday, Advance Auto Parts plans on opening 30 new locations nationwide this year. On top of that, the organization would like to open another 100 locations through 2027, including what it calls bigger market hubs. In fact, Advance Auto Parts has already opened six new stores in Florida, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia, according to the release. More are expected to open their doors in Florida and Virginia, along with Ohio and Wisconsin. The company additionally emphasized that it is formulating a better customers experience as well, including a better IT infrastructure, inventory and delivery times. Customers of Advance Auto Parts might be thrilled to learn this news, especially after the company announced it would close about 700 stores this year, along with four distribution centers. Advance Auto Parts is on the path to accelerate store growth and focused on the fundamentals of selling auto parts, said President and Chief Executive Officer, Shane OKelly, via the release. We are excited about whats to come for Advance. Our team members are committed to providing the right parts and the right service for our PRO and DIY customers in their communities. It was bacteria not a miracle on a Communion wafer in an Indiana church.(WKRC-TV via AP) AP MORRIS, Ind. (AP) A laboratory analysis turned up nothing miraculous about red marks found on a Communion wafer at a Catholic church in Indiana. The discovery at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Morris was unusual enough for a formal inspection, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis said. But a biochemical analysis revealed only fungus and three different species of bacteria, all of which are commonly found on human hands, the archdiocese said Monday, adding that no blood was found. The Catholic faith teaches that wine and a bread wafer signify the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Typically, theyre consecrated by a priest at Mass. The host, or bread, with red marks had fallen out of a Mass kit at St. Anthony Church. Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, there have been well-documented miracles and apparitions, and each has been thoroughly and carefully reviewed, the archdiocese said. Before the analysis, some members of St. Anthony Church were excited about what might be found. We have such a little town. You can drive through and blink and youre through it, Shari Strassell, a church member, told WKRC-TV. It means the world, it does, and I think there is something special about our church up here. Rescuers walk at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) AP BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) A 7.7 magnitude earthquake and an aftershock measuring 6.4 rocked Thailand and neighboring Myanmar on Friday, bringing down a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok and damaging historic buildings in Myanmar. Damage was also reported in China. The quake struck in the early afternoon, sending people streaming out of buildings and seeking shelter anywhere they could find it from the blazing sun. Myanmars military-run government has declared a state of emergency in six regions. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. While the epicenter was in Myanmar, the area is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures. Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) AP Bridge collapse, highway damaged In Mandalay, Myanmars second-largest city and close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media. In the Sagaing region, southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmars largest city, Yangon, were damaged. In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a military government spokesperson, told state television MRTV that blood was in high demand in the hospitals in earthquakes-hit areas, especially Mandalay, Sagaing, and Naypyitaw. He urged blood donors to contact the hospitals as soon as possible. Significant damage The Red Cross said downed power lines are adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state. Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage, the Red Cross said. Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered. Myanmar is in the midst of a civil war and many areas are not easily accessible and it was not immediately clear what relief efforts the military would be able to provide. Rescuers walk at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) AP A damaged monastery is seen after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo) AP Many missing in Bangkok Thai emergency responders said at least two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of a collapsed building in Bangkok. Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon, speaking at the scene of a tall pile of rubble that was once a high-rise building under construction, told reporters another seven people had been found alive. Thailands Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai later said three people had been confirmed dead with 90 others missing following the building collapse. The collapse of the multi-story structure sent a crane on top of it toppling to the ground and created a massive plume of dust. Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn) AP Damage reported in China The earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused injuries and damage to houses in the city of Ruili on the border with northern Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled on a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldnt stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. FILE - Elon Musk attends the finals for the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) AP By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) Billionaire Elon Musk on Friday clarified his reasons for visiting Wisconsin two days ahead of its hotly contested Supreme Court election after deleting a social media post saying he planned to personally hand over $2 million to a pair of voters who have already cast their ballots in the race. Musk later posted a clarification, saying the money will go to people who will be spokesmen for an online petition against activist judges. After first saying the event would only be open to people who had voted in the Supreme Court race, he said attendance would be limited to those who have signed the petition. The change in direction came as Wisconsins Democratic attorney general said he planned to seek a court order Friday to stop Musk from handing over the money. Also on Friday, Musks political action committee identified the recipient of its first $1 million giveaway a Green Bay man who had donated to the Wisconsin GOP and the conservative candidate in the court race, and who has a history of posting support for President Donald Trump and his agenda. Musk deleted the post about the Sunday giveaway from his social media platform, X, about 12 hours after he initially posted it late Thursday night. He issued the clarification about an hour later. He had posted that he planned to give $1 million each to two voters at the event on Sunday, just two days before the election that will determine ideological control of the court in the battleground state. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote, Musks now deleted post said. This is super important. The Supreme Court race has shattered previous spending records for a U.S. judicial election and has become a referendum on Musk and the first months of Trumps administration. Trump endorsed Brad Schimel, a fellow Republican, and hosted a telephone town hall with him on Thursday night. Its a very important race, Trump said in brief remarks by phone, in a call organized by Schimels campaign. I know you feel its local, but its not. Its really much more than local. The whole country is watching. Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, faces Dane County Judge Susan Crawford in Tuesdays election. Crawford is backed by a wide range of Democrats, including the liberal justices who hold a 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and former President Barack Obama. The retirement this year of a liberal justice puts majority control of the court in play. Musks PAC said Friday that it had awarded $1 million to Scott Ainsworth, a mechanical engineer from Green Bay, for signing its petition protesting against activist judges. In a video posted on X, Ainsworth encouraged people to sign the petition and get out and vote early for Brad Schimel. If everyone in the MAGA movement shows up and votes for Brad Schimel, we will win, Ainsworth said in the video. Ainsworth donated $350 to Schimels campaign this year, campaign finance records show. Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for Musks political action committee, declined to say whether Ainsworth was one of the two who would be receiving $1 million on Sunday. Musk promised $100 to any registered Wisconsin voter who signed the petition or forwarded it to someone who did. That raised questions about whether the petition violated Wisconsin law, which makes it a felony to offer, give, lend, or promise to lend or give anything of value to induce a voter to cast a ballot or not vote. Any legal challenge to Musks payments could end up before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A bipartisan coalition of government watchdog groups and former officeholders, along with a liberal Madison law firm, asked the Wisconsin attorney general and the Milwaukee County district attorney to investigate the $1 million payment and the offer of $100 for signing the petition. The group, in its letter sent Thursday night, said the payments appear to violate the state law against election bribery. Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement that he was aware of Musks post about awarding the money. Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening, Kaul said. Schimel, a former attorney general, was asked about the petition on Thursday by WISN-TV. I, frankly, thought, Should I sign that petition? Im against activist judges, but I dont think I should do that, Schimel said. When asked about the $1 million award, Schimel said, I dont know what the criteria to get it was. Crawfords campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman, called Musks announced visit to Wisconsin a last-minute desperate distraction. Wisconsinites dont want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and, on Tuesday, voters should reject Musks lackey Brad Schimel, he said. Musks political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the White House election last year, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day. Musk and groups he funds have already spent more than $20 million in an effort to elect Schimel, while billionaire George Soros has given $2 million to bolster Crawford, and Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has donated $1.5 million. The race comes as the Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. By Jeffrey Collins and Brittany Peterson, The Associated Press When Nicole Taylor and her family moved to their new home in the South Carolina mountains six months ago, the gorgeous view of Table Rock Mountain was the clincher. She ended up with a porch-side seat to one of at least a half dozen wildfires in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Carolinas, fed by dry conditions and millions of trees that were knocked down by Hurricane Helene in 2024 and began decaying into tinderbox fuel. Taylor watched this past weekend as smoke started to rise from the ridges across Highway 11 in Pickens County. The smoke got worse Monday, and it was pouring off the mountain Tuesday when she got a text saying she was under a mandatory evacuation. So far no one has been hurt in the fires, which have burned more than 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) in mostly rugged, remote forests and the popular state park that includes Table Rock Mountain. Only a few dozen structures have been damaged. But the firefighting is slow work. Sources of water to extinguish the flames are scarce, so crews depend on building fire breaks to try to stop them in their tracks, using bulldozers, excavators and even shovels and saws to strip the land of fuel. It then becomes a waiting game, making sure embers dont jump the break and hoping for the winds to die down or the best relief of all a long, soaking rain. The long wait Hurricane Helene slammed through Pickens County the Friday after Taylor moved into her dream home last September. The hurricane-force winds traveled hundreds of miles inland, smashing entire forests and destroying the electrical grid. There was more than a week of what she called prairie life. We were like, OK, if we can make it through that, we can make it through anything. Unfortunately, fire is one thing we cant fight. Smoldering remains of Hurricane Helene debris that caught fire are seen during the Black Cove Fire Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Saluda, N.C.. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce) AP This week Taylor decamped to wait the fire out in a hotel room in Greenville with her fiance, two children and their dogs. So far the fire has remained across the highway, but it is still too close for them to be able to go home. Its been an actual whirlwind, Taylor said of the last several days. Rain and then fire Six months ago Eric Young packed up his cats and left his home in Transylvania County, North Carolina, after floods and winds from Helene knocked out power, water and cell service. On Wednesday the fires in nearby South Carolina forced them all out again. A retired environmental educator who moved there from Long Island a few years ago, he had his car, driveway and crawl space flooded in September. Now he is at a friends home near Charlotte, trying to keep a sense of humor about the absurdity of floodwaters followed so soon by flames. I thought it was nirvana here never get anything but severe thunderstorms, the weather is temperate, very nice, he said. I didnt know Id be gut-punched twice in six months. Fighting the blaze Forestry officials were worried after all those trees came down during Helene. Its not just the fuel they create, they also hinder firefighters movement. It is nearly impossible to get through this stuff. Weve got about five bulldozers, an excavator and saw crews to open this up and clean this, Toby Cox, the firefighter in charge of the Table Rock fire, said about a fire break in a video briefing Thursday morning. Extinguishing wildfires in the Carolinas takes time. A fire near Myrtle Beach that threatened dozens of homes and burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) in early March has been out of the news for nearly four weeks, but it is still just 80% contained and sends smoke billowing over neighborhoods when the wind shifts. Conditions that favor fire outbreaks Wildfires are unusual in the Carolinas, but not unheard of. The Great Fire of 1898 burned some 4,700 square miles (12,175 square kilometers) in the two states, an area roughly the size of Connecticut, said David Easterling, the director of the Technical Support Unit at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Firefighter John Ward lights a backburn to control the Black Cove Fire Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Saluda, N.C.. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce) AP Spring is typically when blazes happen, according to Kathie Dello, North Carolinas state climatologist. This season the Blue Ridge Mountains are dry, having received only about two-thirds of the normal amount of rainfall in the last six months since Hurricane Helene. March has been full of sunny, dry, windy days. Meanwhile the risk to people and property has increased over the years thanks to a boom in popularity of the mountains as a place to live. North Carolina has a lot of homes in the wildland urban interface, or more people living with a higher fire risk, Dello said. Any trees downed by Helene that do not burn this year will still be around for future fire seasons. All that storm debris will be there for years to come, increasing the fire danger considerably, Easterling said. The latest fire updates The two large fires in South Carolina continued to burn Thursday. The Table Rock fire has consumed 7.1 square miles (18.4 square kilometers), and the one on Persimmon Ridge in Greenville County has burned 2.4 square miles (6.2 square kilometers). The fires are about 8 miles (13 kilometers) apart, and emergency officials have asked almost everyone living between them to leave as a precaution. The evacuation zone extended into nearby Transylvania County, North Carolina. In North Carolina at least eight fires were burning in the mountains. The largest the Black Cove Fire and the Deep Woods Fire in Polk County were each more than 10% contained. The fires have scorched nearly 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) combined but have not grown for more than a day. CORRECTS DATE - In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo) AP By Michael Casey, Jake Offenhartz and Kathy McCormack, The Associated Press BOSTON A Turkish student detained by federal officers as she walked along a street in a Boston suburb is the latest supporter of Palestinian causes to be swept up in the Trump administrations crackdown on immigrants who express their political views. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, a doctoral student at Tufts University, was swiftly moved out of Massachusetts, another case of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sending immigrants taken into custody to detention centers or deporting them altogether before a federal judge has a chance to weigh in and possibly halt the actions. Ozturk, who was detained Tuesday shortly after she left her home in Somerville, had been moved to an ICE detention center in Louisiana by the time her lawyer went to court and a judge ordered her to be kept in Massachusetts, U.S. government lawyers said in a court document Thursday. They said they made her lawyers aware that she was being moved and facilitated contact with her Wednesday night. A senior Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said federal authorities detained Ozturk after an investigation found she had engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans. The department did not provide evidence of that support. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration has revoked the visas of at least 300 people, including Ozturk: We do it every day. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist, to tear up our university campuses, Rubio told reporters during a stop in Guyana. Friends say Ozturk wasnt very involved in protests Friends and colleagues of Ozturk said she was not closely involved in pro-Palestinian protests that broke out on campuses last spring. Her only known activism, they said, was co-authoring an op-ed in a student newspaper that called on Tufts University to engage with student demands to cut ties with Israel. The only thing I know of that Rumeysa organized was a Thanksgiving potluck, said Jennifer Hoyden, a friend who studied with Ozturk at Columbia Universitys Teachers College. Theres a very important distinction between writing a letter supporting the student Senate and taking the kind of action theyre accusing her of, which Ive seen no evidence of. Hundreds of people gather on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 in Somerville, Mass. to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Michael Casey) AP Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in an attack that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and during which about 250 hostages were seized. Israels retaliatory offensive has killed more than 50,000 people, according to Gazas Health Ministry, and destroyed much of the enclave. Ozturks arrest appears to be part of President Donald Trumps pledge to deport students he said engage in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, a label the administration has applied broadly to those who criticize Israel and protest its military campaign in Gaza. Earlier this month, immigration enforcement agents arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and Palestinian activist who played a prominent part in protests at Columbia last year. He is now facing possible deportation. Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney specialist from Lebanon who was due to start as an assistant professor at Brown University, was deported this month after a federal judge ordered that she not be removed until a hearing could be held. Homeland Security officials said Alawieh was deported despite having a U.S. visa because she openly admitted supporting a Hezbollah leader. A University of Alabama student was also detained this week by ICE, his lawyer confirmed. There was no indication that Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student from Iran studying mechanical engineering who was detained Tuesday, was involved in any protests, said attorney David Rozas. With the words of his fiance, he is a nerd. All he does is study and is literally trying to fulfill his dream, the American dream, of becoming a researcher and professor of mechanical engineering, Rozas said. On Thursday evening, a few hundred people turned out at Somerville City Hall to rally for Ozturks release and for the greater Palestinian cause. Speakers railed against Israel over the war in Gaza as well as the ICE raids that protesters said have left immigrant communities terrified. They also sang songs supporting the Palestinians sometimes accompanied by a horn section and led the crowd in chants of Resistance Is justified when people are occupied. This contributed photo shows Rumeysa Ozturk on an apple-picking trip in 2021. (AP Photo) AP Among the speakers was Lebanese American Carina Kurban who said she was furious when she heard about the arrest of Ozturk and other scholars. I was born here. Im a U.S. citizen, and I need to use that privilege that I have to speak up for those who cant because of everything thats happening with this administration, Kurban said. America was built on free speech, so if we dont have that, then what? she added. Then where do we go? ICE officers approached Ozturk on the street Video obtained by The Associated Press appeared to show six people, all but one with their faces covered, taking away a shouting Ozturks phone before she was handcuffed on Tuesday. Were the police, members of the group are heard saying in the video. A bystander is heard asking, Why are you hiding your faces? Ozturk, who is Muslim, was meeting friends for iftar, a meal that breaks a fast at sunset during Ramadan, according to her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai. Khanbabai, who said no charges have been filed against Ozturk, filed a petition seeking her release Tuesday and then an emergency motion Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani initially issued an order giving the government until Friday to answer why Ozturk was being detained. Talwani also ordered that Ozturk not be moved outside the District of Massachusetts without 48 hours advance notice. The government said in its response Thursday that it will set forth the timeline of Ozturks arrest and transfer from Massachusetts. Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Mass., on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Michael Casey) AP The facility where shes being held is one of nine in Louisiana that house immigrants waiting for legal proceedings or deportation, according to a 2024 report on ICEs website. Its situated on the outskirts of Basile, a rural town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Lafayette. We are in touch with local, state, and federal elected officials and hope that Rumeysa is provided the opportunity to avail herself of her due process rights, Tufts University President Sunil Kumar said in a statement Wednesday night. Ozturk was one of four students who wrote an op-ed in The Tufts Daily last March criticizing the universitys response to student demands that Tufts acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel. After the op-ed was published, Ozturks name, photograph and work history were published on the website Canary Mission, which describes itself as documenting people who promote hatred of the U.S.A., Israel and Jews on North American college campuses. Associated Press writers Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report. Want a say in the news? Email Claudia at todayinpa@pennlive.com to have your thoughts on the stories covered here or on PennLive heard. You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa on any of your favorite apps including Alexa, Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and YouTube. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit! Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | March 28, 2025 Carnegie Mellon is among multiple universities that must address its ties to China. A bill would require state and county prosecutors to let ICE know if a suspect is an illegal immigrant. The weather for many is going to be so nice this weekend. Lastly, a wild turkey is having a bit of a solo adventure. Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa., a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa. is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa. Todays episode refers to the following articles: If you enjoy Today in Pa., consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too. It is common for Pennsylvania legislators to blame the other party for gridlock, especially last session when we had a Democratic House and Republican Senate. Was the 2023-2024 session different from past sessions, when Republicans controlled both chambers? No, it wasnt. In the preceding eight years, 2017 through 2024, approximately 75% of introduced bills never left committee and less than half of bills passed by one chamber received a vote in the other. Our full-time legislature is dysfunctional whether the chambers are unified or split. Allen Christman, of Bethlehem, holds a rainbow trout he caught in the Monocacy Creek in Bethlehem during the opening day of trout fishing season in March 2014. Matt Smith File Photo | lehighvalleylive.com contributor Now that winter is in the rearview mirror, its time to think spring and the warmer weather ahead. If youre an angler, its also time to start gearing up for the most popular fishing day of the year: the trout season opener. Pennsylvanias 2025 trout season kicks off at 8 a.m. April 5, with anglers allowed to keep five fish daily as long as the fish are 7 inches or longer. The itinerary for U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha Vance's planned visit to Greenland Friday was altered, with the social visits canceled after protests by the locals and concerns by Greenland and Denmark. The couple will now proceed only to the U.S. military base on the northwest coast. Though Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told the Danish media the amended travel plan was a de-escalation, the fact that the trip was contemplated in the first place despite the complexities in U.S.-Greenland ties during U.S. President Donald Trump's second term has added fuel to diplomatic floundering. Trump has a history of showing a strong interest in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. In his previous term, he proposed to "buy" Greenland. Then taking office again in January 2025, he has become more blatant in his desire to acquire Greenland, claiming that controlling the island is "absolute necessity" for international security and the possibility of using "military or economic coercion" to seize the island can't be ruled out. The Vance's unsolicited visit was criticized by the Danish government and Greenland's leaders. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said it was "unacceptable pressure," and Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede accused the U.S. arrangement of being aggressive provocation. Greenland, the world's largest island, 80 percent of which is covered by ice and snow, has a long and complex history. Norse explorer Erik the Red went there in the 10th century and gave it its current name. In 1380, Greenland became part of the Kalmar Union, a royal personal union of the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In 1953, the Danish Constitution incorporated Greenland into Denmark, and Greenlanders became Danish citizens. In 1979, the Danish parliament passed the Home Rule Act, granting it a high degree of autonomy while its foreign affairs and defense matters remained under Danish control. Why the U.S. covets Greenland can be explained by the island's abundant natural resources and its important strategic location. Greenland has rich mineral resources, with abundant reserves of rare earth elements, besides oil, natural gas and coal. With global warming, Greenland's ice sheet is melting, making the exploitation of its natural resources easier. In addition, the waters around the island are rich in fishery resources. Greenland is also a key node of the Arctic shipping route, connecting Europe, Asia and America, which makes it a focal point of great power competition. Trump has repeatedly lauded his predecessors who expanded U.S. territory, including William McKinley, the 25th president of the U.S. who annexed Hawaii, Guam and Puerto Rico. Trump thinks that the policies and expansionist actions during McKinley's time laid the foundation for U.S. prosperity. Apparently, he is now attempting to make America "great again" in a similar way. However, any attempt to seize Greenland would not only infringe on Danish sovereignty and Greenland's autonomy, but also constitute a blatant violation of the basic norms of international relations and the UN Charter. The UN Charter clearly stipulates that all members shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the UN. This principle is the cornerstone of modern international relations, aimed at maintaining international peace and security and ensuring the equality of national sovereignty and territorial integrity. International law clearly stipulates that national territorial sovereignty includes territorial jurisdiction, territorial ownership and the inviolability of territorial integrity. No country may infringe upon the territorial integrity of another country through force or other illegal means; any such infringement will be a violation of international law. The Danish government has made it clear that Denmark will seriously deal with any such U.S. action. Greenland's prime minister has said that Greenland belongs to Greenlanders and is "not for sale." "Greenland will never become U.S. territory," he said. "The U.S. action is a display of American power to Greenland, and this behavior poses a serious threat to Greenland's autonomy and the will of its residents." The residents of Greenland also oppose what they perceive as America's attempt to seize their island. A survey by a polling agency in January 2025 showed that 85 percent of Greenlanders do not want their island to become part of the United States. They do not want to become either Americans or Danes, but to maintain their own identity and culture. If the U.S. succeeds in its attempt to seize Greenland, it would be like opening a Pandora's box, taking the world back into the jungle era where only the fittest can survive. This would disrupt international peace and stability and damage the foundation of trust and cooperation in the international community. The result would be further escalation of international tensions and utter chaos in the international order. (Source: CGTN) What's it like working for a Chinese company in South Africa? 16:20, March 28, 2025 By Karabo Mohamme ( People's Daily Online One of the most notable aspects of working in a Chinese company in South Africa is the rich cultural exchange. South African employees get to experience Chinese business practices, values and organizational structures while sharing their own cultural perspectives. For many, this offers a unique opportunity to expand their understanding of global business operations and multicultural work environments. Chinese companies often emphasize values like hard work, discipline and respect for authority. Initially, these values may differ from the more relaxed working atmosphere some South African employees are accustomed to. However, many come to appreciate the focus on efficiency, teamwork and clear communication. Language also plays a significant role in cultural exchange. While English is commonly used in business communication, employees often learn Mandarin phrases or gain insights into Chinese culture through interactions with colleagues. Exposure to a foreign language and culture can be a valuable asset both professionally and personally. Many Chinese companies operate with a long-term vision that includes employee growth and development, offering more opportunities for career advancement. These organizations typically emphasize training and development, leading to skill enhancement in both technical fields and management. The emphasis on internal promotions is another notable feature, where hard work and commitment are often rewarded with opportunities for advancement within the organization. For South African employees, this provides a motivating factor and a clear pathway for career advancement and personal development. Chinese companies often invest in their workforce, offering training in project management, leadership and specialized skills. This approach is particularly beneficial for young professionals seeking to accelerate their careers. Typically, Chinese companies are characterized by strong leadership and a clear organizational structure. The well-defined hierarchy in many Chinese businesses provides clarity in reporting lines and responsibilities, which can be reassuring for employees who appreciate structured roles and expectations. This structure makes the workplace more efficient and organized. For those used to more informal or fluid management styles, the clear top-down approach may take some getting used to, but it also creates an environment where decision-making is streamlined and objectives are well communicated. In Chinese companies, leadership is typically seen as providing strategic direction and support for employees at all levels. Many employees appreciate this, as it creates a sense of stability and purpose within the organization. Working for a Chinese company in South Africa also offers extensive networking opportunities. These companies typically have international connections and trade links, allowing employees to expand their professional networks. This exposure to global markets and business practices helps employees develop valuable contacts in South Africa and abroad. For employees with international career aspirations, a position at a Chinese company can be a valuable steppingstone. Some companies offer opportunities for employees to work in other international locations, including China, creating pathways for global travel and professional development. Of course, working for a Chinese company in South Africa isn't without its challenges. For one, employees may experience cultural differences in management style, work ethic or communication. For instance, the Chinese preference for indirect communication can sometimes be misinterpreted by South African employees, who may be accustomed to a more direct and open communication style. The pace of work can sometimes be more demanding than what South African employees are used to. Chinese companies are known for their high expectations, particularly when it comes to performance and deadlines. While this can be challenging, it also pushes employees to grow, adapt and improve their professional skills. There can be occasional tensions when integrating different business practices, but these challenges can be mitigated through open communication, training and cultural sensitivity. Understanding and respecting the differences between the two cultures is key to making the experience successful for both employees and employers. Perhaps one of the most valuable experiences for employees is gaining a broader perspective on global business. Working at a Chinese company in South Africa can offer insights into how business is conducted in China, which has become one of the world's largest economies. Understanding Chinese corporate culture, market strategies and even the unique ways they approach challenges can give employees an edge in the global job market. Chinese companies are at the forefront of technological advancements, infrastructure development and international trade. This exposure to cutting-edge technologies and innovative business practices can be especially advantageous for those seeking to work in these industries. Working at a Chinese company in South Africa can be a highly rewarding experience. The opportunity to learn from both Chinese and South African cultures provides employees with a unique, enriching environment that fosters personal growth, career advancement and cross-cultural understanding. While challenges exist, the rewards, such as professional development, international exposure and new perspectives, make the experience valuable for employees at all levels. As Chinese companies continue to expand in South Africa, more individuals will have the chance to enjoy the benefits of this dynamic and thriving work environment. The author is a journalist of People's Daily Online SA. (Web editor: Hongyu, Wu Chengliang) A Pink Ribbon Benefit is being planned for April 13 in Beatrice for Erin Blake, who is fighting Stage 4 breast cancer. Blake said this part of her journey began when she scheduled a mammogram. Shortly after turning 40, I scheduled my first mammogram never imagining the diagnosis, she said. Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers had a form of cancer, so there was family history. They told me because of the history and the presence of dense tissue, I should do an MRI every six months and alternate. So, I did that in October never imagining they would find cancer. After the MRI, there were several spots that were identified to be biopsied. All the spots they biopsied were considered breast cancer. My cancer was identified as triple negative breast cancer, which spreads the fastest and tends to have the worst diagnosis of all the breast cancers. It doesnt have estrogen or progesterone or proteins, so there are limited treatment options. It had spread to lymph nodes under the arms and metastasized, so they are treating it as a high Stage 3 or 4 cancer, she said. Blake noted that she had done some research and found one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer. She said she decided to shave her shoulder-length hair before she had started treatment. I just wanted to put a positive spin on it. So, my family was together for Thanksgiving and my dad, my brother, my husband and one of my nephews all shaved their head with me. My daughter and niece sprayed their hair pink. There were a lot of tears, but it was really neat, she said. She receives medical care at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Blake said her team of providers were treating the cancer aggressively. She started the first 12-week round of chemotherapy just before Thanksgiving but then transitioned to stronger medications. She also tested positive for the BRCA-1 gene, meaning she has a higher risk of reoccurring cancer. In May, she will have a double mastectomy and hysterectomy. Three weeks after the surgery, Blake will start chemotherapy again, followed by 30 radiation sessions. She will receive radiation five days a week for six weeks. Blake is the minister of music at St. John Lutheran Church in Beatrice. She also records music for the Presbyterian Church to be used during their Sunday service. She also gives piano and organ music to approximately 20 students in the community. Blake has previously played accompaniment for Beatrice Middle School choirs and competitions, helped with scouts and been a leader with her childrens 4-H club. Blake said she has received so much support from her family, friends and the community. Her son, Ryan, who is 11 years old, designed a T-shirt which is being sold as a fundraiser. During the April event, her 9-year-old daughter, Liz, will have a lemonade stand and a bake sale. Her husband, Brandon, and her adult son, Bradley, have also been supportive of her throughout the journey. Her friends have done a meal train, and several have taken turns driving her to treatments in Omaha. Blake grew up in the area. Her parents are Jerry and Connie Buresh. She graduated from Diller-Odell High School and returned to the community about 10 years ago. Her family lives in a house that has been in her family for five generations and have a herd of sheep. Seeing the lambs and the new life. My grandma must have planted daffodils a long time ago because they are coming up all around us. This has been my hardest season of treatments, but to see spring. Its a good place to be, she said. Blake said she has a positive, hopeful attitude. I have rough days but I have a positive support system locally and throughout the world have been so helpful. I am so overwhelmed with the gifts we have already received that are there to support me and my family, she said. My faith in humanity, I feel like has exponentially grown," she said. "I see God in the people around us. When you receive a diagnosis like this sometimes you think Why me God? or Where is God in this? But He shows up in the people, she said through tears. The Rev. Renae Koehler said Blake has given to the community, and the community is supporting her now. Everything she does in the community for not just her kids, but for everyones kids is, incredible. Just all the positivity and love she has given to the community. Theres so much outpouring of love. The Pink Ribbon Benefit will be a happy event, Koehler said. The benefit will be from 4 to 7 p.m. April 13 at the Veterans Club, 701 Dorsey St. Several items have already been donated for a silent auction. Some of the larger items include a Yeti cooler, signed Husker memorabilia, a four-night stay in Branson, Missouri, and an overnight at Arbor Day Farm. Some larger items will be included in a live auction. Call the church at 402-223-5268 to make a contribution. Several churches including St. John, Centenary Methodist and the Ellis Methodist, are helping provide food for the benefit. A special friend, Cathy Wertman, will be having her head shaved if there are $1,000 in donations. Koehler said it is just one example of people showing up because Blake is so loved. She is loved beyond measure, she said. Aiken Standard reporter Bill Bengtson is an Aiken Standard reporter and has focused since 1996 on such subjects as education, churches, retirees, agriculture, veterans, North Augusta, Fort Gordon and northern Aiken County. His start in South Carolina reporting was in Greenwood, with the Index-Journal. He is a native of Florence, Alabama, and a graduate of Whitman College and the University of Georgia. To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription. See our current offers Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today Overcast with showers at times. High 84F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Showers this evening then thundershowers developing overnight. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 72F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain showers, with increasing winds for the afternoon. High 84F. Winds NE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Thundershowers overnight following a period of rain early. Low 74F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. 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. Summerville, SC (29483) Today Cloudy with showers. High near 85F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Showers this evening then scattered thunderstorms developing overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 73F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-28 20:18:30 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 659 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 28, 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 Shikowitzross@ 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: 2025-03-28 18:30:35 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 678 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Company to commence trading April 1, 2025 under ticker symbol DEMCVANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 28, 2025 / Discovery Lithium Inc. (CSE:DCLI)(OTCQB:DCLIF)(FRA:Q3Q0) (the "Company" or "Discovery Lithium"), is pleased to announce that it plans to change its name from "Discovery Lithium Inc." to "Discovery Energy Metals Corp." (the "Name Change") to reflect the Company's pursuit of potential critical mineral opportunities beyond lithium exclusively. The Company expects the Name Change to take effect at market open on April 1, 2025.The Company's common shares (the "Common Shares"), which currently trade under the symbol "DCLI" on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") are expected to trade under the new symbol "DEMC" on the CSE. There will be no change to the Company's symbol "DCLIF" on the OTC or "Q3Q0" on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The new CUSIP for the Common Shares is 25472R106 and the new ISIN is CA25472R1064.For more information, a new website will be available shortly at: www.discoveryenergymetals.com Completion of the Name Change is subject to the receipt of all required regulatory approvals, including final approval by the CSE. Shareholders of the Company are not required to exchange their existing share certificates for new certificates bearing the Company's new name. The Name Change does not affect the Company's share structure or the rights of the Company's Shareholders.About Discovery Lithium (CSE:DCLI)(OTCQB:DCLIF)(FRA:Q3Q0)(WKN:A3EFKA)Discovery Lithium Inc. is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing mineral resource projects in North America. The Company holds a 100% interest in 1,675 mineral claims in Serindac Lake and 2,113 mineral claims in Vaubert Lake for a combined total of approximately 164,283 hectares (~405,952 acres) located in the Nunavik region of Northern Quebec, and with a further total of 303 mineral claims comprising approximately 16,392 hectares (~40,505.5 acres) identified as the Route De Nord, Lac Belanger, Lac Ferland and Lac Roberston properties located across the northern and eastern regions of Quebec including the prolific lithium district of the James Bay region. Additionally, the Company is actively advancing its ESN Project for gold exploration in Nevada and evaluating the Koster Dam Project in Central British Columbia through a joint venture with Cariboo Rose Resources. Find out more at: www.discoverylithium.com and follow us on X (formerly twitter), and LinkedIn.On behalf of the Board of Directors,Mike Hodge President & Chief Executive OfficerFor further information, please contact:Discovery Lithium Inc. 1450 - 789 West Pender Street,Vancouver, BC Canada V6C 1H2Telephone: +1 (778) 868-2226Email: info@ discoverylithium.com Web: www.discoverylithium.com Caution Regarding Forward-Looking InformationCertain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, changes to the Company's strategic growth plans, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. 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, except as required by applicable securities legislation.SOURCE: Discovery Lithium Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-28 17:48:37 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 441 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 28, 2025 / Farmers Bank & Trust 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 Farmers Bank & Trust.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On October 25, 2024, Farmers Bank & Trust experienced unauthorized access to an employee's email account. Upon detection, Farmers Bank & Trust immediately launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cyber security professionals to determine the nature and scope of the incident. Following a detailed forensic investigation and manual review, on February 17, 2025, Farmers Bank & Trust determined that certain files containing personal information may have been accessed or acquired.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personal information may have been compromised: full name, Social Security number, financial information, email address, and driver's license. Farmers Bank & Trust conducted a comprehensive review to determine the specific information affected and began sending notification letters to impacted individuals on March 17, 2025. A public notice was filed with the Massachusetts Attorney General on the same day. Compensation may be available for those individuals who received notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY YOU MAY BE 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 Farmers Bank & Trust, 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: 2025-03-28 18:00:38 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 970 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 28, 2025 / In an era where many elected officials are criticized for being out of touch with their constituents, Juan Ardila set out to change that. As an Assemblyman for Western Queens, he prioritized accessibility, launching mobile office hours to meet with residents across the district. Instead of requiring people to travel to a central office, Ardila and his team brought government services directly to the community.A New Approach to Public ServiceFrom the moment he took office, Ardila understood that many working-class families, immigrants, and elderly residents often struggle to take time off work or arrange transportation to visit their elected representatives. To address this, he implemented mobile office hours-setting up temporary locations in libraries, community centers, and local businesses to meet people where they were."We wanted to make government work for the people, not the other way around," Ardila said. "Mobile office hours allow us to be proactive, ensuring that every resident, no matter their circumstances, has a direct line to their representative." According to a report from Queens Post, residents welcomed the initiative. Many felt heard and appreciated the opportunity to speak directly with their Assemblyman about pressing concerns such as housing issues, social services, and transportation challenges.Addressing Constituents' Needs DirectlyOne of the key advantages of mobile office hours was the ability to tailor solutions to individual cases. Instead of directing residents to bureaucratic phone lines or websites, Ardila's team worked on the spot to help people navigate rental disputes, access benefits, and address neighborhood concerns.For example, during one of the mobile office sessions, a Queens resident named Maria expressed frustration over delays in her Section 8 housing application. Within days, Ardila's team coordinated with the New York City Housing Authority to resolve her case."I had been waiting for months and getting nowhere. But after speaking with Juan, things moved quickly. This is what real representation looks like," Maria said.Such stories became common during Ardila's time in office, reinforcing the impact of direct engagement.Expanding Access to Government ServicesArdila's mobile office hours were not just about listening - they were about action. His team brought in legal experts, tenant advocates, and city agency representatives to assist constituents on the spot. These pop-up government offices became vital resources for immigrants, seniors, and working families who otherwise faced barriers to receiving help.According to Queens Post, one of the most notable successes came when Ardila's team helped an elderly resident recover lost Medicaid benefits. The resident, struggling with a paperwork issue, had been unable to access healthcare for months. Thanks to Ardila's initiative, she received assistance in filing the necessary documents, restoring her coverage.A Model for Other LawmakersArdila's efforts drew praise from both residents and advocacy groups, with many calling on other elected officials to adopt similar community-focused strategies. Local leaders and civic organizations commended his hands-on approach."This is the kind of leadership we need - officials who meet people where they are instead of expecting them to navigate a confusing and often inaccessible system," said a spokesperson for a Queens tenant rights group.His work also inspired conversations about making government more accessible citywide. Other lawmakers have since expressed interest in adopting similar mobile office hours in their own districts.Community Voices: The Impact of Mobile Office HoursBeyond policy discussions, the real impact of Ardila's initiative was felt in the lives of everyday New Yorkers. Many residents expressed gratitude for having a representative who was present and engaged.Anna, a local small business owner, recalled how Ardila's team helped her secure financial aid during the pandemic recovery period."I was drowning in paperwork, trying to keep my store open," she said. "Juan's team walked me through the process, and I finally got the support I needed. I don't know what I would have done without their help." Others echoed similar sentiments, with many emphasizing how rare it was to see an elected official actively working in the community rather than just showing up for speeches and events.The Future of Accessible GovernmentWhile Ardila's term in office may have ended, the impact of his mobile office hours remains a model for future leadership. His dedication to being accessible, responsive, and action-oriented set a new standard for constituent services in Queens."Government should never be a distant institution - it should be right here, in our neighborhoods, solving real problems," Ardila said. "I hope to see more elected officials adopt this approach and truly serve their communities." With growing calls for increased accessibility and transparency in government, Juan Ardila's work in Queens serves as an example of what real public service looks like.PR & Media Contact:Dan Wasserman PR Team - Evrima Chicago Www.evrimachicago.com Evrima Chicago is honored to serve as the PR and media partner for Juan Ardila, amplifying his impactful work and ensuring his leadership receives the recognition it deserves.As a dedicated public servant, Ardila has championed community-driven initiatives, from advocating for better public transit and environmental revitalization to supporting migrants and displaced families in times of crisis. His hands-on approach to governance reflects the values of accessibility, inclusivity, and action - principles that align with Evrima Chicago's mission of elevating voices that make a difference.Through our expertise in strategic media outreach, content amplification, and reputation management, we are committed to ensuring Juan Ardila's work is not only recognized but also serves as an inspiration for future leaders.At Evrima Chicago, we take pride in partnering with visionary changemakers like Ardila, helping to shape the narrative around leadership that truly serves the people.For media inquiries, press opportunities, or coverage requests, please contact us atpr@ evrimachicago.com SOURCE: Evrima Chicago LLC. PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-28 17:48:12 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 449 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 28, 2025 / OEC Freight Companies Inc. 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 OEC Group.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On May 13, 2024, OEC Group became aware of a security incident on its computer network. Upon detection, OEC Group 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 gained access to files on OEC Group's network containing sensitive information. OEC Group conducted a comprehensive review of the impacted data to determine what information was compromised and identified affected individuals. On February 14, 2025, OEC Group identified persons whose sensitive data was included in the impacted data.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personal information may have been compromised: name, and Social Security number. On March 14, 2025, OEC Group filed a notice with the Massachusetts 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 YOU MAY BE 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 OEC Group, 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: 2025-03-28 17:47:17 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 452 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 28, 2025 / St. Joseph's College of Maine 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 St. Joseph's.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On February 20, 2025, St. Joseph's College of Maine became aware of a security incident on its network. Upon detection, St. Joseph's College of Maine 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 the network between December 15, 2023, and January 24, 2024, and potentially accessed or acquired certain files containing sensitive personal information. St. Joseph's 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, date of birth, address, Social Security number, and government-issued IDs. On March 21, 2025, St. Joseph's College of Maine filed a notice of public disclosure and started sending out notice letters to the individuals. Compensation may be available for those individuals who received notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY YOU MAY BE 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 St. Joseph's, 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: 2025-03-28 17:48:16 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 436 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 28, 2025 / UAS Asset Management 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 UAS.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On March 13, 2025, UAS Asset Management became aware of a potential data breach and shut down access within hours. In response, UAS launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cyber security experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation confirmed that sensitive personal information within its systems may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party. UAS conducted a comprehensive review of the impacted data to determine what information was compromised and identify affected individuals.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personalinformation may have been compromised:name, Social Security number, financial account information, driver's license, email address, and phone number.On March 19, 2025, UAS began mailing data breach notification letters to impacted individuals and filed a public notice with the Massachusetts Attorney General.Compensation may be available for those individuals who received notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY YOU MAY BE 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 UAS, 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: 2025-03-28 12:32:56 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 28, 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=139377&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 Fidelity Bank Plc has dismissed allegations that one of its staff demanded a bribe to release funds sent to a customer via international money transfer, saying the transaction raised red flags under its compliance protocols. This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Divisional Head, Brand and Communications, Meksley Nwagboh, on Thursday. The bank was reacting to a report by Sahara Reporters that accused it of deliberately withholding funds from a customer at its University of Benin (UNIBEN) branch and that a staff member solicited a bribe for the funds to be released. The report alleged that a bank operations manager demanded a bribe after a customer visited Fidelity Banks UNIBEN branch on 14 March to claim a Remitly transfer. A discrepancy in the customers middle name was later corrected, but only part of the funds was released. The manager was said to have made unsettling remarks implying a bribe was expected before payment. Fidelity Bank described the publication as false, malicious, and grossly unprofessional. 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 the bank, the customer first visited the UNIBEN branch on Friday, 14 March, to claim a Remitly transfer. A name discrepancy delayed the initial processing, but once corrected, the bank said it treated the first tranche before noticing the remittance had been split into seven parts. In compliance with the banks Remittance policy, multiple transactions (i.e. we noticed the transaction was split into seven parts) are required to be sent to the Compliance department for due diligence before payment can be made. This was communicated to the customer, the statement said. The bank said that the customer returned on Monday, 17 March, demanding full payment, even though the compliance review had not been completed. The bank said such splitting of funds is a method commonly used to evade regulatory thresholds and warranted further scrutiny. Our review showed that the transactions were suspicious, the bank said, citing several red flags including the volume and structure of the transfers, the involvement of a third party claiming to be the recipients husband, and the beneficiarys inability to explain the purpose of the funds. It said it contacted Remitly, the international money transfer operator, which responded that it had been unable to reach the sender and that the beneficiary could not validate her relationship with him. READ ALSO: Tinubu approves new Governing Council members for NCDMB Remitlys clear directive to the bank was to reject the transaction as they were unable to contact the sender, and the beneficiary could not validate her relationship with the sender, the statement said. The bank added that on 24 March, the customer returned to the branch to stage a demonstration and allegedly threatened to tarnish the banks reputation in the media. At no point did our staff ask for a bribe, explicitly or implicitly, to facilitate the transaction, Fidelity stated. We are deeply surprised at the gross unprofessionalism of the writer for publishing a story accusing the bank of refusing to pay a customer intentionally and accusing our staff of requesting a bribe without any evidence. Fidelity Bank said it is now consulting legal counsel with a view to seeking legal remedies and has reported the matter to law enforcement for investigation. As a leading financial institution with a long-standing commitment to strong corporate governance, we remain dedicated to adhering to the law and maintaining the highest ethical standards in all our interactions with customers, the statement added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nigerian senators on Thursday debated the proposed sale of the countrys third-largest cement producer to a Chinese firm. After the debate, the Senate directed the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to oversee the sale of Lafarge Africa Plc to ensure it aligns with national security and economic interests. The upper chamber also mandated its Committee on Capital Market to liaise with government agencies in the sale process to ensure that it is transparent. The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Shuaib Salisu (APC, Ogun Central) during the plenary, amid concerns over foreign dominance in Nigerias cement industry. The motion led to an intense debate on the Senate floor, with some senators urging the upper chamber not to be seen hindering a legitimate private transaction and, thus, foreign investment. The majority, however, wanted the government to monitor the sale and if necessary, intervene in it. Concerns on Lafarge Lafarge Africa, a leading player in Nigerias cement industry, is a subsidiary of Holcim AG, a multinational building materials giant. It is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. 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 Holcim AG is reportedly finalising plans to sell its 83.8 per cent stake in Lafarge Africa to Chinas Huaxin Cement Co. in a $1 billion deal, expected to be completed in 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. Lafarge is Nigerias third-largest cement manufacturer by market capitalisation behind only Dangote Cement and BUA Cement. Lafarges market capitalisation as of 26 March is N1.19 trillion, behind Dangote, N7.24 trillion, and BUA, N2.55 trillion. Lafarge Africa has many factories in Nigeria with cement operations in the South-west (Ewekoro and Sagamu in Ogun State), North-east (Ashaka, in Gombe State), and South-east (Mfamosing, Cross Rivers State). It also has Ready-Mix operations in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Lafarge Africa has a current installed cement production capacity of 10.5 metric tonnes per annum. The motion Mr Salisu, while presenting his motion, expressed concerns about the implications of such a deal. He warned that foreign ownership in critical industries could undermine Nigerias economic sovereignty. The senator also alleged that the divestment process lacked transparency, with some Nigerian investors reportedly unable to participate in the bidding. The dominance of foreign ownership in such a sensitive sector poses risks to Nigerias economic sovereignty and national security interests. Several local investors and stakeholders have expressed interest in participating in the divestment process but have raised concerns about transparency and their limited access to equitable shares, he said. Mr Salisu, therefore, urged the Senate to encourage the federal government to intervene in the divestment process to ensure transparency in the process and allow Nigerians interested in the process to participate without any hindrance. Debate and Senate resolution During the debate, Solomon Olamilekan (APC, Ogun West) who seconded the motion, emphasised the need for openness in the transaction. The divestment has been in secrecy. We want a transparent situation where every Nigerian will be given opportunities in the sale of the company. By the time the eventual sale of the company is done, we will be fully satisfied that we have done the right thing, he said. However, Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo South) had a different view. He warned against unnecessary interference in business transactions, urging the Senate not to act as a barrier to free trade. We must be guided as a Senate. We cannot convert this Senate to a sales Senate. Agencies of government have been established by law and we cannot sit as a Senate to judge them in commercial transactions. The Senate should converge to see to the sanctity of companies not to be an impediment. There must be a right of free sales and the Senate cannot be an impediment to free transactions. Were not a transactional Senate, this is a lawmaking Senate. Similarly, Binos Yaroe (PDP, Adamawa Central) urged the Senate to take caution before making a resolution. He stressed that the sale of companies is a normal business practice and that unnecessary restrictions could discourage foreign investors. This company is a public company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange with stakeholders. It has changed whole ownership and companies will continue to revolve. Shareholders will exit and the company will find another company to take over. I want us to be cautious about not giving the impression that were hampering foreign investors, Mr Yaroe said. Despite these objections, the majority of senators supported the motion when it was put to a voice vote. After approving the motion, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, emphasised the need for transparency and acknowledged that divestment of a company is legal. What we have said is that if you want to sell, you can sell but make the process transparent and ensure local content and national security. The process must be transparent particularly when theyre legal investors. They should be given the opportunity, Mr Akpabio said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The highly anticipated documentary Mothers of Chibok, directed by award-winning Nigerian filmmaker Joel Kachi Benson, premiered in Lagos on Thursday, ahead of its African debut at the 2025 irepresent (iREP) International Documentary Film Festival. The premiere, held at Alliance Francaise in Ikoyi, Lagos, attracted a diverse audience that included industry stakeholders, media personalities, and government officials. Among those in attendance were the Minister for Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, leadership expert and public speaker Fela Durotoye, Nollywood actor Wale Ojo, and Global impact pastor Yemi Davies, alongside filmmakers and documentary enthusiasts. The 2025 iREP International Documentary Film Festival, where Mothers of Chibok served as the opening film, will run from 27 to 30 March under the theme Freedom: Rights and Responsibility. The premiere at the iPREP festival follows its showing at the Doc New York City festival in 2024. Mothers of Chibok 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 Mothers of Chibok is a sequel to the 2019 short film Daughters of Chibok. This documentary follows four Nigerian mothers through a farming season as they navigate the emotional and social aftermath of the 2014 Boko Haram abduction of their daughters. It offers an intimate look at their resilience, faith, and hope despite years of pain. At the premiere, the filmmaker highlighted the need to tell the Chibok story from a fresh perspective. After Daughters of Chibok, I felt there was more to explore beyond grief. These women are not just survivors but heroines. They have not forgotten their daughters, yet they continue to live, laugh, and find purpose, he said. The documentary, produced by Impact Partners and Hunting Lane, captures the struggles and strength of these mothers. Mr Benson, whose previous work won the Best Immersive Story award at the 76th Venice International Film Festival, spent five years building trust in the community. The mothers of Chibok hold the community together. I ate with them, worked on their farms, and listened to their stories. This film shows their full humanitytheir sorrow, courage, and quiet triumphs, he noted. Emotional Screening The audience gave a standing ovation at the screening, moved by the films depth and realism. Despite having watched it multiple times, the filmmaker admitted that screening Mothers of Chibok in Nigeria for the first time was overwhelming. The emotional connection was intense. Seeing how well my people received it reinforced the importance of telling our stories, he said. The films soundtrack, composed by Nigerian musician Cobhams Asuquo, added a robust layer to the storytelling. Some mothers attended the premiere with their children, including Mama Yana, the leader of the Chibok community for over 11 years. The film highlights her leadership and the burdens carried by the mothers. Beyond the Tragedy While revisiting the 2014 tragedywhen Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirlsthe documentary focuses on the mothers resilience rather than just their pain. The world may have moved on, but these women continue to persevere, Benson said. This film reminds us that behind every tragedy, there is strength. Its time to see these women not as victims but as warriors of hope. As the 11th anniversary of the Chibok kidnappings nears, Mothers of Chibok aims to reignite conversations about justice and support for affected families. Benson hopes the documentary will inspire action. Are we going to repeat the same story or tell one of strength and courage? he asked. He also explained why the film focuses on mothers rather than fathers. The mothers of Chibok are the backbone of the community. We captured what we experienced, he said. Mama Yana reinforced this, stating, Mothers in our community are the strength of our homes, bearing the greatest responsibility. Still awaiting my daughter, mother speaks Mama Yana, who starred in Mothers of Chibok, is still searching for her daughter, Rifkatu Galang, one of the 276 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in April 2014. In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES at the screening, she shared some heartbreaking stories from the rescued girls. One of the most emotional moments in the documentary was when mothers listened to the painful experiences of the survivors and broke down in tears. I have followed the case from the beginning, yet amongst those released, I have not seen my daughter, Rifkatu. This alone brings me to tears, she said. Mama Yana recalled these accounts: When some were rescued, they shared how they suffered in captivity. They were treated like slaves and forced into marriages with strangersnot by choice. These men took them from their fathers and mothers. Why? What have we done to deserve this? We ask ourselves these questions every day, and we cry. These thoughts break our hearts. Every time the Chibok girls are mentioned, it feels like that first day all over again. As a mother, if you dont see your child for even an hour, your mind is with her. Now imagine nine, ten, even eleven years. We cannot forgetits not easy. Despite the tragedy, Mama Yana said the community continues to live their daily lives, going to farms, mosques, and churches. She said, I would tell her to come home whenever possible if given a chance to message her missing daughter. We still love hershe is our blood. The community will welcome her with open arms. We pray that all of them return alive. In April 2014, Boko Haram militants abducted 276 female students from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, sparking global outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. While some of the girls have escaped or been released, 82 remain in captivity. READ ALSO: Nigerian Army hands over rescued Chibok girl with three children to Borno govt Despite military efforts, many families are still waiting for their return. Although global attention has faded, survivors, artists, and authors continue immortalising the tragedy and calling for justice. Mothers of Chibok was produced by Impact Partners, known for financing independent documentaries, and Hunting Lane, a studio recognised for auteur-driven projects like The Accountant, The Zookeepers Wife, and Exhibiting Forgiveness. Other notable guests at the premiere include Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Ade Bantu, Lagos PFN Chairman Yemi Davids, and motivational speaker Fela Durotoye, among others. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Tensions are rising in Zimbabwe over President Emmerson Mnangagwas evident intention to remain in power after his second term ends in 2028. Zimbabwes constitution explicitly prohibits serving more than two terms, but there are suspicions that Mr Mnangagwa intends somehow to circumvent that provision. This is fuelling criticism not just from the political opposition and civil society, but even the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party. In particular, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is against the move. He has been waiting to be passed the baton which Mr Mnangagwa supposedly promised him when together they ousted former president Robert Mugabe in November 2017 in a military takeover. Among the rising chorus of critics calling for Mr Mnangagwa to go is a strong faction of war veterans, a key constituency in the ZANU-PF establishment who back Mr Chiwenga. Led by Blessed Bombshell Geza, the faction plans an uprising against him on 31 March. Geza was a Member of Parliament and a member of ZANU-PFs Central Committee until he was expelled for fanning factionalism. Geza has gone into hiding and the government is cracking down on anyone transmitting Gezas calls. Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) journalist Blessed Mhlanga was arrested after he broadcast Gezas interviews on AMHs Heart and Soul TV. He has been denied bail twice. Others have gone into hiding. This clampdown has provoked widespread criticism in and beyond Zimbabwe. Idriss Nassah, senior Human Rights Watch Africa Researcher, demanded the immediate release and withdrawal of charges against Mhlanga, which showed the rights to freedom of expression and the media are under serious threat in Zimbabwe. The agitation dates back to August 2024 when ZANU-PFs National Congress passed Resolution 1, saying Mr Mnangagwas terms as party head and Zimbabwes president should be extended beyond 2028 to 2030 and that the countrys constitution be amended accordingly. 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 Mnangagwa insists he is a constitutionalist and will step down in 2028. But few believe him because he has done nothing to cancel Resolution 1. Stepping down would also mean abandoning the vast wealth he and his faction in ZANU-PF have accumulated over the years, largely through graft. This is perhaps the key grievance of his enemies. In a broadcast from a hidden location on Wednesday, Geza listed alleged Mr Mnangagwa business cronies who he said had grown fat on corrupt government tenders. But how Mr Mnangagwa would remain in office constitutionally is unclear. An anonymous senior opposition leader, also one of the constitutions architects, told ISS Today that three safeguards in the constitution prevent anyone from seeking a third term. These include that: no one should serve more than two terms; constitutional amendments require approval by a national referendum; and no incumbent can benefit from a constitutional amendment. So the legal obstacles to Mr Mnangagwa seeking a third term are considerable, he said. As are the political obstacles especially that the necessary referendum would probably turn into a referendum on Mr Mnangagwas rule. Considering the broad unhappiness with him, that would be a hard vote to win. The opposition leader thought Mnangagwas strategy would simply be to extend his term and those of current parliamentarians. This would still require amending the constitution, but he suspected Mr Mnangagwas faction believed they could pass as amendment without a referendum. Its hard to assess how serious these rumblings are, if there will be a 31 March uprising, and whether that might unseat Mr Mnangagwa. It was the military, then headed by Mr Chiwenga, that removed Mr Mugabe in 2017, so speculation about its political loyalties is rife. Daily Maverick recently quoted unnamed military sources saying Mr Chiwenga still commanded considerable support in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. However, Mr Mnangagwa retains the allegiance of Defence Force Chief General Philip Sibanda. The Director of Zimbabwes SAPES Trust, Ibbo Mandaza, told ISS Today: I dont know whether its a coup in the making, but all indications are that the centre can no longer hold. Brian Raftopoulos, a Zimbabwe and democracy expert at the University of Cape Towns Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, believes theres real danger of an upheaval. He says Mr Chiwengas resentment about Mr Mnangagwas broken promise to step down in 2028 is creating divisions in ZANU-PF, the military and the security establishment. But he doesnt foresee the kind of massive support on the streets they [had] in 2017. David Moore, retired professor of development studies at the University of Johannesburg, agrees. I would be surprised if a lot of people participated. He doubts that the main opposition party the greatly weakened Citizens Coalition for Change would join in, as that would show they had given up on rallying the masses, choosing instead to ally with a faction of the ruling party and the military, thus perhaps verifying what some observers already think. Mr Raftopoulos added that civil society is also weak. He said that even if there were violent protests within ZANU-PF, Mnangagwa is going to keep this under control. For example, he noted how Mr Mnangagwa shifted Zimbabwe National Army Lieutenant General Anselem Sanyatwe (believed to be a Chiwenga supporter) to Minister of Sport, Recreation and Culture perceived as a huge demotion. And, he will continue to move people he feels that he cant trust. The long run for him is either to contain Chiwenga as much as possible, or push him out and isolate him. There would be disturbances and unrest, maybe even an attempt to oust Mr Mnangagwa. But whether it will be a full-blown coup attempt, I have my doubts. And Mr Raftopoulos believes regional and global politics will be on Mr Mnangagwas side if he does crackdown on protests. The global rise of the right has given traction to authoritarians like Mnangagwa. He can now say to the West, especially the Trump administration, who are you to talk to us about democracy? He said Zimbabwe was no longer on the European Unions watch list either, So [Mnangagwa] wont have to worry about any kind of blowback from the North, if he gets violent. And the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which Mr Mnangagwa now chairs is too preoccupied with other issues like the Democratic Republic of the Congo to do anything, according to Mr Raftopoulos. Mr Mnangagwa might also have in mind that neither SADC nor the African Union took action after the November 2017 overthrow, even though their rules stipulate that member states be suspended after a coup. One does not wish a military coup on Zimbabwe, especially if it just replaces one rapacious ZANU-PF faction with another. But neither does one wish to see Mr Mnangagwa smash any protests while an indifferent world looks on. The region should intervene. Peter Fabricius, Consultant, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria (This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish). Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Caroline Popoola is the Director, Alpha Childcare and Alpha Global Africa. She is a childcare business expert, columnist, and speaker who assists school owners and practitioners in developing clarity of mind, enhancing their leadership skills, and embracing a bigger vision. In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs Popoola shares insights into her professional journey, the challenges she has faced as a woman in leadership, and how she continues to inspire and uplift others. PT: Can you tell us about your professional journey and how you became a CEO? Mrs Popoola: About 12 years ago, I was working as an insurance underwriter in the City of London. After being made redundant, I told myself I wanted a job or business where I wouldnt have to work hardjust tell people what to do. What a lie I told myself! Within a few months, I started considering a career working with children, despite having no prior experience. I decided to retrain, and after eight months, I approached a local school, which gave me the opportunity to run my first childcare setting from their space. Just eight months later, I opened a second branch. Then came the challengesdoubt crept in, and I often questioned whether I was good enough. It was during this time that my spiritual journey became a key part of my growth. Fast forward to today, we now have 14 branches, with plans to open another four in the next six to eight months. 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 My biggest lesson? Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your heartyou never know which doors of opportunity it will open. PT: In your opinion, how do women leaders inspire and empower others around them, especially other women? Mrs Popoola: Women leaders have deeply inspired me. Their stories of resilience have pushed me to keep going, even when things felt impossible. Seeing how they face challenges head-on has given me the courage to do the same. Im especially moved by the way they lift other women, creating opportunities and breaking barriers that once seemed unbreakable. Their confidence in shattering glass ceilings has shown me that no dream is too big, and no challenge is too great to overcome. PT: What do you think is unique about women in leadership roles compared to men? Mrs Popoola: As a woman in leadership, Ive found that empathy comes naturallyits at the core of how I lead and connect with others. Collaboration isnt just a strategy; its a mindset that shapes the way I work and build strong teams. Resilience has become second nature, pushing me to keep going even under pressure. Multitasking and adaptability are part of my daily reality, helping me navigate the demands of leadership. But beyond all this, Im always thinking about how to grownot just for myself, but for those around me, because true leadership is about lifting others as you rise. PT: What challenges did you face as a woman in your industry, and how did you overcome them? Mrs Popoola: Working in the care industry, Ive never felt that being a woman was my biggest challenge. The real battle has always been in my mindaccepting that I am enough, that I deserve to be here, and that leading with authenticity is my greatest strength. Ive often wrestled with the question, Am I a good leader? For years, I thought leadership meant being tough, assertiveeven aggressivelike many of my male counterparts. But Ive come to realise that true leadership isnt about power; its about transformation. Its about how I inspire and uplift those around me. Ive also questioned the size of my vision, wondering if its too bigespecially compared to male leaders. But the truth Ive come to embrace is this: my vision is mine for a reason. I dont need to shrink it to fit anyone elses expectations. The key is showing up as my true self, leading with purpose, and knowing that being me is more than enough. PT: Can you share one of the most rewarding moments in your career that solidified your passion for leadership? Mrs Popoola: Having been in business for the past 20 years, its only in the last five that Ive truly understood what leadership is really about. For so long, I focused on growth, strategy, and successbut it was COVID-19 that taught me the deepest lesson. The pandemic forced all of us to strip away the noise and show up as our true selves. It made me embrace not just the leader I had become in public, but the woman I was behind closed doors. What drives me now is impactreal, lasting change. Organising a conference for over 1,500 people, knowing that it would indirectly touch the lives of nearly 500,000 children, parents, and communities, has been one of the most humbling experiences of my journey. In those moments, every challenge, every sleepless night, and every ounce of stress suddenly felt worth it. This is what leadership means to menot just building a business, but changing lives. PT: What advice would you give to young Nigerian women aspiring to become leaders in their fields? Mrs Popoola: I know this might sound like a cliche, but if theres one thing Ive learned, its thisyou are enough, just as you are. Never stop learning, growing, and evolving. Strive to be the person others turn to in your industry, not because you know it all, but because youre always willing to learn and share. And most importantly, stay true to your valuesthey are what will set you apart and keep you grounded, no matter how far you go. PT: How do you balance the demands of being a CEO with other aspects of your personal life? Mrs Popoola: When I was younger, I often thought, This is impossible. I felt pulled in every direction, stretched thin, trying to do it all. But as Ive grown, Ive become wiserIve learned to adjust, to prioritise, and to focus on what truly matters in each season of life. One thing Ive come to accept is that you cant get everything 100 per cent right all the time. And thats okay. Instead of striving for perfection, Ive learned to focus on whats most important in the moment. Ive also realised that when a man drops the ball, he doesnt dwell on ithe picks himself up and moves forward. Thats a lesson Ive embraced: when things dont go as planned, I remind myself that tomorrow is another day, a fresh start, and a chance to do better. Above all, Ive learned to be kind to myselfto give myself the same grace I so easily extend to others. And that has made all the difference. PT: This years theme for International Womens Day is Accelerate Action. What does this theme mean to you and how does it reflect your leadership approach? Mrs Popoola: The theme Accelerate Action is about prioritising everything that truly matters to us as womenfrom our health and well-being to closing the gender pay gap, improving access to education, and pushing for policies that genuinely support us. But heres what Ive come to realise: real change isnt just about policies or discussionsit starts with us. Every single woman has a choice: to accept things as they are and stay silent or to take action and create the change we want to see. And lets be honestweve been fighting for a long time. So now, its about stepping into positions of power, building our own industries, hiring them, and making the decisions that shape a better future for women. The real shift happens when we stop waiting for change and start becoming the change. This interview was conducted in partnership with Women in Management, Business, and Public Service (WIMBIZ), a Nigerian non-profit organisation committed to advancing and empowering women in leadership. Mrs Popoola is also a member of WIMBIZ. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A coalition of over 350 women groups has called for an immediate public apology from Peter Nwebonyi, the senator representing Ebonyi North District in Ebonyi State, over his verbal attack on former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili. The groups, in a statement issued on Thursday, also accused the Senate Committee members of failing to call Mr Nwebonyi to order after what they described as his disrespectful and vulgar language directed at Mrs Ezekwesili. The coalition described his comments as a deliberate attempt to undermine womens voices, saying his actions were wholly unbecoming of a public official. This conduct is an affront not just to Oby Ezekwesili but to every woman who advocates for fairness, justice, and equity, the statement read. The coalition includes organisations such as ActionAid Nigeria, Baobab for Womens Human Rights, Bring Back Our Girls, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Women Environmental Programme (WEP), Stand to End Rape (STER), Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), and Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC). Back story The controversy stems from a Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges hearing held on 25 March where Mr Nwebonyi directed harsh and dismissive remarks toward Mrs Ezekwesili. 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 hearing was convened to address a petition by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central against Nedanwen Imasuen of Edo South, seeking his disbarment from the Nigerian Bar over allegations of professional misconduct. During the session, which focused on governance and justice-related petitions, Nwebonyi reportedly belittled the coalitions efforts, dismissing them as unserious and a waste of time. He further mocked the petitioners, stating he was ready to be a witness for the Senate President. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation from over 350 womens groups, who view the senators behavior as indicative of a broader culture of marginalisation and disrespect toward women in public spaces. This incident has also reignited discussions about the treatment of women in Nigerian politics and governance, with calls for accountability and cultural change. Disappointments The coalition also expressed disappointment in the senate committee for failing to reprimand Senator Nwebonyi during the proceedings, saying their inaction amounted to complicity. The group said the committees failure to intervene shows a disregard for women in politics. The failure of the committee to intervene condoned the disgraceful behavior and perpetuated a culture of disregard for women in political spaces, the coalition stated. The coalition praised Mrs Ezekwesili, addressing her as a national leader and global treasure whose contributions to governance and womens empowerment are widely recognised. As a former minister and Chairperson of Women Political Leaders (WPL), Oby Ezekwesili has consistently championed justice and the inclusion of women in leadership. Any attempt to demean her is an attack on the dignity of Nigerian women, the statement added. The groups emphasised that women would not accept any further disrespect directed at Mrs Ezekwesili or any other woman advocating for justice. Systemic marginalisation The coalition noted that the incident highlights the systemic marginalisation faced by women in Nigerias political space. They noted that his behavior translates to gender-based violence. READ ALSO: Ive no regrets over quarrel with Oby Ezekwesili Senator Nwebonyi Senator Nwebonyis behavior is reflective of the abuse of power rooted in gender-based violence. It seeks to intimidate and silence women who challenge the status quo, undermining the principles of dignity and equality, the statement added. The womens groups vowed to hold the Senate accountable for the incident, insisting that it must not be swept under the carpet. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print In a remarkable display of medical expertise and teamwork, the Orile-Agege General Hospital, Lagos, has successfully performed a complex life-saving surgery on a patient with a severe liver injury. The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, disclosed this in a statement by Tunbosun Ogunbanwo, director of Public Affairs at the ministry on Thursday. Mr Abayomi commended the team for its ingenuity in performing an intricate liver repair using advanced surgical techniques, including the innovative use of surgical packing and omental mobilisation to stabilise the liver. The patient, 33-year-old, Mr Wasiu Abatan, suffered a grade three traumatic liver injury following a road traffic accident. He was diagnosed with a 10 cm longitudinal and 5 cm deep laceration on the right lobe of his liver, along with a contusion of the hepatic parenchyma, he said. The injury was classified under the American Association for Surgery of Trauma (AAST) as a severe case, typically associated with high mortality rates. Despite the odds, the team at Orile-Agege General Hospital not only saved his life but ensured his full recovery, Mr Abayomi 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 commissioner highlighted the importance of recognising medical successes, noting that while healthcare challenges are often publicised, the efforts of dedicated professionals must also be celebrated. Mr Abayomi reflected on the resilience of the states healthcare system, acknowledging the challenges of brain drain, high patient loads, and resource constraints. He stressed that in spite of the hurdles, the ability of local hospitals to execute complex surgical procedures successfully is a testament to the states commitment to quality healthcare. Similarly, Kemi Ogunyemi, special adviser to the governor on health, commended the emergency preparedness and strong leadership at Orile-Agege General Hospital. Ms Ogunyemi noted that the hospital managements proactive approach in equipping and training its team ensured their readiness to handle critical emergencies, such as Mr Abatans case. She said this achievement reinforces the need for continued investment in healthcare infrastructure and capacity development. Emergency preparedness should be a top priority for all medical institutions because we never know when the next life-threatening case will arrive, she said. The Medical Director of Orile-Agege General Hospital, Sola Pitan, said the hospitals emergency response system was activated upon learning about the patients condition. According to him, preparedness played a key role in the swift 45-minute response time from arrival to the commencement of surgery. Upon arrival, Mr Abatan was in severe painful distress, with altered sensorium and abdominal guarding, indicating internal bleeding, he said. Immediate laboratory and radiological investigations confirmed peritoneal fluid collection, necessitating an emergency exploratory laparotomy. Highlighting the complexity of the surgical intervention, Daniel Kehinde, a consultant general surgeon, emphasised that liver injuries of this magnitude are difficult to repair due to the organs delicate structure. Mr Kehinde explained that his team evacuated over 300ml of accumulated blood, controlled haemorrhaging, and used innovative techniques to stabilise the damaged liver tissue. We mobilised the omentum from the transverse colon, carefully wrapping it around the liver injury site to aid healing. This technique, combined with meticulous suturing of the liver capsule, prevented further bleeding and allowed the liver to regenerate, Mr Kehinde said. He said following the surgery, the patient was closely monitored in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) for seven days, receiving post-operative care including blood transfusions, intravenous infusions, and strict fluid management. After another five days in the general ward, he was discharged 12 days post-operation, marking a successful recovery, he said. Speaking, Mr Abatan and his mother expressed their profound gratitude to the hospitals medical team and the state government for prioritising public healthcare development. I was in so much pain, and some hospitals turned me away. I thought I was going to die. But the doctors and nurses here fought for my life, and today, I am standing here. I will forever be grateful, he said. A Commendation Letter signed by the State Commissioner for Health was presented to the medical team for their collaborative effort and exceptional dedication in ensuring the success of the surgical intervention. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The death toll from the meningitis outbreak in Nigeria has increased to 74 with cases reported in 21 of the countrys 36 states as well as Abuja, the Nigerian capital. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) disclosed this on Thursday. It said that in recent weeks, Kebbi, Katsina, and Sokoto states, in north-west Nigeria, bore the brunt of the outbreak. On Thursday, the Head of Corporate Communication at the NCDC, Sani Datti, said the centre has dispatched Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to the three states to address the rise in suspected cases and deaths of cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM). More on outbreak NCDC said that in total for 2025, it has recorded 807 suspected cases across 21 states and Abuja. As of 26 March, 2025, a total of 807 suspected cases and 74 deaths have been reported across 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 9.2 per cent, Mr Datti said. The affected states include Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Borno, Ebonyi, Oyo, Bauchi, Ondo, Kaduna, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Ekiti, Niger, Plateau and the FCT. 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 NCDC further noted that sample collection rates in the hardest-hit states are relatively low, necessitating urgent intervention to bolster surveillance and diagnosis. Speaking on the outbreak, the Director General of NCDC, Jide Idris, explained that the RRTs, composed of experts in case management, surveillance, and risk communication, will remain in Kebbi, Sokoto, and Katsina States for an initial period of 14 days, with the possibility of an extension if required. Mr Idris said the team is working with states health authorities to combat the outbreak. He said, Our team includes specialists trained in managing meningitis cases and performing lumbar puncture techniques, which are critical for diagnosis. They are working closely with state health authorities to contain the outbreak and prevent further transmission. The response objectives include rapid containment of the outbreak, strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, improving case management, enhancing sample collection, and conducting community engagement activities to raise awareness. He emphasised the importance of strict adherence to IPC protocols by all response teams to ensure their safety and minimise the risk of transmission. He also assured Nigerians that the NCDC remains committed to supporting state governments and partners to safeguard public health through timely and effective responses to emerging health threats. The NCDC called on affected states to strengthen their health systems and collaborate with federal authorities to curb the spread of the disease. Meanwhile, the agency urged the public to remain vigilant, practice good hygiene, and seek immediate medical attention if symptoms of meningitis appear. About meningitis Meningitis is a serious medical condition that occurs when the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known as meninges, become inflamed. READ ALSO: Excellence at Lagos hospital as team repairs severe liver injury This inflammation can result from bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic infections, as well as non-infectious causes like certain medications or autoimmune disorders. The severity of meningitis largely depends on its cause, with bacterial meningitis being the most dangerous and requiring immediate medical intervention. Viral meningitis, while more common, is usually less severe, whereas fungal and parasitic meningitis are rare and typically affect individuals with weakened immune systems. The symptoms of meningitis can include a severe headache, stiff neck, fever, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and confusion. In severe cases, seizures and loss of consciousness may occur. Infants with meningitis may display signs such as irritability, difficulty feeding, and a bulging soft spot on the head. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has confirmed that treatment for HIV in Nigeria remains free, in spite of ongoing funding challenges. The Director-General of NACA, Temitope Ilori, made this statement on Thursday in Asaba, Delta State, after inaugurating the Paediatric Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV Accelerated Committee (PPAC). The committee aims to address the challenges of HIV transmission from mother to child in the state. She highlighted President Bola Tinubus commitment to ending HIV in the country, noting the allocation of N300 billion to fight the disease and address other health-related issues in spite of financial constraints. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the US government recently halted funding to support the fight against HIV in Nigeria and other countries. Although that halt was temporarily reversed, the US under new President Donald Trump also cut funding for many health and development projects in Nigeria and other countries through the USAID. Ms Ilori, however, emphasised that the US government was not Nigerias only partner in the fight against HIV, as several other countries also supported Nigerias efforts, particularly in the PMTCT programme. 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 She noted the collaborative efforts of the federal and state governments, alongside other stakeholders, to combat HIV. She also explained that the current focus was to address the challenge of mother-to-child transmission in the country. We are here to inaugurate the Delta State Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV and the Paediatric HIV Acceleration Committee. A similar committee has been inaugurated at the national level, and states, as major stakeholders, are replicating it locally, Ms Ilori said. She expressed concern that Nigeria had the highest burden of children born with HIV, with the current national infection rate at 1.4 per cent and Delta States at 1.9 per cent. However, she stressed that efforts were being made to reduce these numbers. Ms Ilori said that the newly established committee, which included various stakeholders, aimed to ensure that pregnant women had access to antenatal care. She encouraged pregnant women to get tested for HIV during antenatal visits. If pregnant women test positive, they will receive antiretroviral treatment to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to their child. Ms Ilori further assured that HIV drugs remained completely free and available at primary healthcare centres, secondary facilities, and teaching hospitals. She emphasised that both the test and the treatment were provided at no cost to patients, as the federal government had allocated the necessary resources. Addressing the funding situation, Ms Ilori noted that President Bola Tinubu had set aside a budget to ensure that HIV-related services continued uninterrupted and that necessary commodities remained available. The fight against HIV is a collective effort and together, we can change the narrative. In his opening remarks, the State Commissioner for Health, Joseph Onojaeme, represented by Philomena Okeowo, permanent secretary of the ministry, stated that the timing of the committees inauguration was crucial. He pledged the states support to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission in Delta. Hobson Rudolf, executive secretary of the Delta State Agency for Control of AIDS (DELSACA), added that the new multi-sectoral committee would work to develop a clear roadmap. He added that the roadmaps goal was to reduce HIV transmission from mother to child in the state. As of now, approximately 62,000 people in Delta State are living with HIV, representing 1.9 per cent of the population. HIV drugs are accessible and free at all facilities across the state, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ceremony also included support from several partners such as WHO, NEPWHAN, SASCP, ECEWS, DPH, and Civil Society Organisations. Faith-based organisations also pledged their commitment to the shared goals. In spite of these efforts, reports from UNAIDS indicated that Nigeria continued to struggle with preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. According to the 2023 report, about 140,000 children aged 0-14 live with HIV, with 22,000 new infections and 15,000 AIDS-related deaths annually. The coverage for PMTCT and pediatric HIV treatment remains below 33 per cent, falling short of the 95 per cent target set by global initiatives. The Global Alliance Action Plan to End AIDS in Children, launched in 2021, has yet to achieve optimal coverage, the report said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nigeria has taken significant steps toward strengthening its National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) with the approval of its National Quality Policy (NQP) and the establishment of the National Quality Council (NQC) under the Presidency. These developments mark a strategic move toward enhancing the competitiveness of Nigerian goods and services in both local and international markets. A well-functioning NQI is crucial for ensuring product and service quality, boosting consumer confidence, increasing exports, and fostering industrial growth. Without it, Nigerian businesses struggle to meet global standards, limiting their potential for expansion and international trade. A strong NQI is built on several pillars, including standardisation, metrology, accreditation, conformity assessment, and market surveillance. Recognising this, Nigeria has also established the Nigeria National Accreditation System (NiNAS) to oversee the accreditation of laboratories, ensuring that products and services meet internationally recognised standards. While NiNAS itself is undergoing accreditation, its role in certifying laboratories is critical in aligning Nigerias quality assurance mechanisms with global best practices. This will ultimately facilitate trade by making Nigerian products more acceptable in foreign markets. 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 to these domestic initiatives, international collaboration is playing a key role in strengthening Nigerias quality infrastructure. The British Standards Institution (BSI), funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), is currently implementing the Standards Partnership Programme in Nigeria. This initiative aims to support NQI institutions in improving operational efficiency, aligning with international best practices, and fostering a quality-driven culture within Nigerias business ecosystem. As part of this effort, the programme is also providing technical support through training and awareness workshops for both public and private sector stakeholders. These capacity-building initiatives are crucial in ensuring the effective implementation of Nigerias NQI, equipping businesses and regulatory bodies with the knowledge and skills needed to uphold high standards. Despite these positive developments, challenges remain. Regulatory enforcement must be strengthened to ensure quality standards are consistently applied across industries. The proliferation of counterfeit and substandard goods in the market continues to pose risks to consumer safety and economic growth. Addressing this requires a coordinated effort between government agencies such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Weights and Measures Department, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS). Enhanced market surveillance, stricter penalties for non-compliance, and increased consumer awareness will be essential in tackling this issue. Another critical area for improvement is metrology and testing infrastructure. Nigeria must invest in state-of-the-art laboratories and testing facilities to ensure accurate measurements and quality verification across key industries, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing. Expanding the network of accredited laboratories under NiNAS will provide businesses access to reliable conformity assessment services, further strengthening Nigerias export capacity. Additionally, digital transformation in quality control presents an opportunity to improve efficiency and transparency. Deploying blockchain technology and digital databases to track product authenticity and certification status can enhance trust in Nigerian products. Introducing QR codes on product packaging linked to accreditation records will allow consumers and regulators to easily verify compliance. A quality-conscious culture must be embedded within Nigerias business environment, to sustain these efforts. Public awareness campaigns should educate businesses and consumers on the economic and social benefits of quality assurance. Industry leaders should mentor small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on best practices in quality management, while the government can incentivise compliance by making quality certification a requirement for securing public contracts. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) opening new export opportunities, Nigeria must leverage its NQI to gain a competitive edge. The ongoing efforts by the National Quality Council, NiNAS, and international partners like the British Standards Institution (BSI) are commendable steps in the right direction. However, sustained commitment from both the government and the private sector is necessary to translate policies into tangible economic gains. A robust NQI will not only protect consumers and enhance industrial competitiveness but also position Nigeria as a reliable global trade partner. By ensuring that Made in Nigeria is synonymous with quality and excellence, the country can unlock new economic opportunities, attract foreign investment, and drive long-term growth. The foundation has been laidthe challenge now is to build upon it and make quality a defining characteristic of Nigerias economic landscape. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Kano State High Court, Kano, on Friday, sentenced a housewife, Fadila Adamu, to death by hanging for kidnapping and throwing an eight-year-old girl into a well, causing her death. The defendant, who lived at the Sabuwar Gandu Quarters Kano, was convicted of kidnapping and culpable homicide. Delivering judgement, trial judge Yusuf Muhammad-Ubale ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced the defendant to death by hanging. I hereby sentence the defendant to death by hanging for kidnapping and throwing the victim into a well which caused her death, he ruled. Earlier, the prosecution lawyer, Lamido Abba-Sorondinki, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on 14 July 2019, at Tudun Wada Quarters, Kano. He said that at about 4:45 p.m, the defendant kidnapped the minor and took her to her house. 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 defendant told her sister that the deceased was the daughter of her friend, whose mother had travelled to Ghana, and asked her to keep the child until she returned. On 17July 2019, at about 6:30 p.m., the defendant caused the death of the minor when she threw her into a deep well situated in the Tukuntawa Quarters, Kano, he said. Mr Abba-Sorondinki presented seven witnesses, the defendants statements and a medical report confirming the victims death. The prosecution said that the offence contravened Sections 274(b) and 221(a) of the Penal Code. The defendant denied committing the offence. The defence counsel, Zulaihat Tata, presented four witnesses, including the defendant, to testify in her defence. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A bill seeking to mandate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct all elections in Nigeria, ranging from presidential to local government elections on a single day has passed a second reading at the Senate. The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session announced the passage during the plenary on Thursday after majority of the senators supported it through voice votes. The bill, sponsored by Saliu Mustapha (Kwara Central), also aimed to reduce the period of campaign and amend the Electoral Act to streamline the electoral process, reduce costs, and provide a specific time for conducting elections, declaration of results and swearing-in of elected candidates. If the bill passed legislative hurdles, it means that all elections including presidential, governorship, National Assembly, State Assembly, and local government elections would be conducted on the same day. Nigeria currently holds elections on different days. While the presidential and National Assembly elections are held the same day, the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections are held on another day, usually two weeks apart. Other objectives of the bill The bill proposed to amend the Electoral Act to accommodate elected office holders, including the president, vice president, members of the National Assembly, governors and their deputies, members of the State Houses of Assembly, chairmen of local government councils, councillors, members of National Working Committee of political parties to participate in their parties congresses, conventions, and meetings. 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 It also aims to establish a clear and predictable schedule for elections, the declaration of results, and the swearing-in of elected officials. Justification for same-day elections Mr Mustapha, while leading a debate on the bill, stated that holding elections on different days as currently practiced is Nigeria, is significantly increasing the countrys election expenses. It is worthy of noting that the 2022 Electoral Act, despite the improvement, hasnt significantly reduced the financial burden of elections on the Federal Government of Nigeria. The proposed amendments aim to create a more efficient and cost-effective electoral process that will enhance greater participation of citizens, he argued. The lawmaker argued that conducting all elections on the same day could boost voter participation by reducing election fatigue and making it more convenient for citizens to cast their votes. He maintained that staggered elections often lead to voter apathy, as people may be unwilling to come out multiple times. Mr Mustapha also emphasised that holding elections simultaneously could simplify logistics, reduce security challenges, and minimise disruptions to economic activities. Same-day elections will also increase voters turnout and promote greater citizen engagement in the electoral process. It will reduce the cost of elections and promote a more efficient electoral process which will strengthen our democratic institutions and promote an inclusive and participatory democracy that will reduce logistical challenges, he said. By adopting this strategy, Nigeria can align itself with best global practices and promote a more efficient and cost-effective electoral process. The ultimate aim is to address the inefficiencies of staggered elections, which are not only costly but also ineffective. With same day election, Nigeria can reduce the substantial expenses incurred by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in conducting elections over multiple days. This proactive step can help save government funds, which can be allocated to other critical infrastructure development projects, the senator said. Mr Mustapha referenced countries such as the United States, India, and Brazil, which conduct elections on a single day and urged Nigeria to adopt the practice to enhance credibility and efficiency in its electoral process. Mr, President, Distinguished colleagues, nations with larger democracies, such as the United States, India, and Brazil, have successfully implemented same-day elections, demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing costs and enhancing the electoral process. Adopting this approach in Nigeria can significantly minimize the financial burden on the government, minimize the economic losses associated with staggered elections and prolonged campaign periods thereby reducing the political tension and uncertainty associated with staggered elections, he stated. Opposition and concerns The bill received overwhelming support of the senators, with only Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, opposing it. Mr Oshiomhole, a former governor and former national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), expressed concerns about the practicality of voters, especially those in rural areas to manage multiple ballot papers in a single day. It is important that we are thorough in lawmaking and that in making laws , laws are meant for today even for the unforseen future. I think we should debate each of the recommendations, the one that I had problem with is the idea of conducting all elections on the same day. I do not think majority if the voters, particularly in the rural areas and given the terrain in some parts of the country that one person will be given five or six ballot papper one day to vote and you will not end up having a mix up here and there, he noted. However, Mr Jibrin assured that the concerns would be addressed at the public hearing stage, where stakeholders, including INEC and civil society organisations, would have the opportunity to contribute. Let me remind you that this is the second reading. It will still go to the committee where it will be scrutinised, analyse and then it will go to public hearing. the deputy senate president said. Previous electoral costs The financial burden of conducting elections in Nigeria has been a growing concern. In January, the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, proposed a total budget of N126 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, during the budget defence session held by the National Assembly joint committee on electoral matters. A total of N40 billion was approved for INEC in the 2024 budget. The exact amount was proposed in the 2025 budget before the National Assembly but the INEC chairperson said it would not be enough to conduct elections in 2025. The N126 billion request by the chairperson of the commission represents over a 200 per cent increase from the N40 billion. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) has declared businesswoman and socialite Aisha Achimugu wanted for criminal conspiracy and money laundering. This comes about 12 days after a PREMIUM TIMES report detailed the commissions preparation to declare her a fleeing suspect after she ignored an invitation for interrogation. She rather fled the country instead of honouring the invitation for a meeting with interrogators scheduled for 5 March, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. The anti-graft agency made the declaration in an official gazette published on Friday, with an affixed photograph of the suspect, her state of origin, and her last known address. The EFCC asked anyone with useful information as to her whereabouts to contact the Commission in its Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Abuja offices or through 08093322644; its e-mail address: [email protected] or the nearest Police Station and other security agencies. Itadded, The public is hereby notified that AISHA SULAIMAN ACHIMUGU, whose photograph appears above is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Criminal Conspiracy and Money Laundering. Achimugu, 51, is an indigene of Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State and her last known address is: 6C, Rudolf Close, Maitama, Abuja. 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 This newspaper reported on 17 March that the commission had obtained a court warrant to declare the socialite wanted for fleeing Nigeria amidst EFCC probe. Prior to PREMIUM TIMES exclusive report, one David Abakpa, who identified himself as Ms Achimugus aide, launched a media campaign, which he claimed to be responding to speculations that Ms Achimugu was arrested or being investigated by the EFCC. The statement confirmed that Ms Achimugu left Nigeria but blamed unscrupulous elements for reports pointing to the businesswomans ongoing probe by the EFCC. Following the development, PREMIUM TIMES exclusively obtained the EFCCs letter of invitation which was sent to Ms Achimugu earlier in March. The letter, dated 4 March 2025 and signed by Adebayo Adeniyi, EFCCs acting zonal director in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was sent to Ms Achimugus residential address in Abuja. This commission is currently investigating a case in which the need to obtain certain clarification from you becomes imperative, the letter reads. In view of the above, you are kindly requested to attend an interview with the undersigned through the Head of Investigation on Wednesday, 5th March 2025, by 10:00 hours prompt, it added. Despite the revelation, several reports in digital and social media quoted unnamed sources as denying her ongoing probe and invitation by the anti-graft agency. EFCC insiders told our reporter that Ms Achimugu, who was summoned to meet with investigators on 5 March over alleged money laundering and a high-profile investment scam, fled the country between 6 and 7 March, 2025. The letter of investigation obtained by this newspaper further confirmed that disclosure. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State and the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, are not having the best of relationships right now, going by their remarks over a reported plan by the ministers supporters to hold a mega rally in Bayelsa. Mr Wikes supporters are also reportedly planning to inaugurate a support group for the minister. According to a News Agency of Nigeria report, Mr Diri on Thursday raised security concerns over the planned rally and warned that the Bayelsa State Government would not condone any act that could disrupt the states peace. The governor advised security agencies, youths, elders, and traditional rulers to be alert to the development. However, Mr Wikes spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, has dismissed Governor Diris security alarm as baseless. In a statement in Abuja on Friday, Mr Olayinka said Nigerians were free to express their support for anyone, anywhere and anytime. 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 wondered why Mr Diri, with all the security apparatus available to him, could go on national television on mere suspicion of people planning a rally. According to him, it is within Nigerians right to hold a lawful rally. He added that if Mr Wike wanted to attend any political rally in Bayelsa or anywhere, he (Wike) would inform security agencies. It is surprising that a governor had to call the states Security Council and Bayelsa Elders Council meetings to discuss a suspicion of people planning a rally for Wike, he said. Mr Olayinka advised Governor Diri to face the serious business of governance and stop raising a baseless security alarm over a rally. Wike a threat to PDP rule in South-south? What is today known as Bayelsa was a part of Rivers until the Sani Abacha military regime created it (Bayelsa) on 1 October 1996. Both states share a lot in common, culturally and politically. Mr Wike, a former governor of Rivers, has been engaged in a protracted political fight with his suspended successor, Siminalayi Fubara, over the control of the political structures in the oil-rich state, a development that has outraged many Nigerians. Governor Diri is among the top Nigerian leaders who have condemned President Bola Tinubus declaration of emergency rule in Rivers as a fallout of the political fight between Messrs Wike and Fubara. Like Governor Diri, Mr Wike is a member of the opposition PDP, but he has been working for Mr Tinubu and the ruling APC. Many Nigerians believe that Mr Tinubu plans to use Mr Wike to prosecute his 2027 re-election campaign in south-south Nigeria. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigerian security agencies have banned the Sallah Durbar procession, marking the end of Ramadan fasting in Kano. The head of the security agencies in the state announced the ban at a joint press conference, saying there will be no Sallah durbar procession across the state. The police spokesperson in Kano, Haruna Kiyawa, said the development in a statement on Facebook. On 18 March, Governor Abba Yusuf directed the states emirate councils to commence preparations for the cultural procession. Governor Yusuf stated that his administration will not relent and will not allow any adversaries to deprive citizens of this cherished right (durbar procession). He assured the public that all security agencies in the state will be engaged to provide adequate protection for the people during the celebration, his spokesperson said in a statement. 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 announcement by the security agencies followed a broadcast by the embattled 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero, late Wednesday, cancelling his own arrangement for the procession. Mr Ado Bayero said he made the decision after consultation with elders and clerics who prevailed on him to cancel the procession in the interest of peace. Lamido Sanusi, reinstated after the state government deposed Mr Ado Bayero last year, had also announced plans for the procession, raising concerns of clashes between their supporters. Reason for the ban The police said the decision was in pursuit of safe and secure celebration, and to sustain the relative peace and public order in the state. Mr Kiyawa said the police in liaison with other security agencies, having obtained and assessed the security situations in the State, especially the rising tension and uncertainties around the Durbar activities, particularly, the tendency to plunge the State into anarchy, made necessary consultations with the Kano State Government, the parties, and other critical stakeholders (before arriving at the decision). As part of collective commitment to sustaining the peace and security, a ban has been placed on all Durbar activities throughout the State during the 2025 Eid-El-Fitr Sallah celebrations, the police spokesperson said. The police said they had credible intelligence reports indicating an orchestrated plan by recruited miscreants and their sponsors to use Durbar as a proxy to undermine security and public order. The police also advised worshippers to conduct their normal Eid prayers at designated Eid praying grounds, as traditionally done in the past and assured adequate security deployments in those places. Mr Kiyawa warned residents against carrying objects that may trigger suspicion or apprehension. No horse riding (Kilisa), Car-racing, reckless and dangerous driving. Parents and guardians should caution their children against being used by subversive elements as the Police and other security agencies are determined to enforce the law. Members of the public are warned to desist from any act or conduct that may likely cause a breach of the peace or breakdown of law and order. As we celebrate this joyous occasion, let us remember that peace is paramount. We must prioritise peace above everything else, putting aside our differences and coming together as law-abiding citizens for the progress of the State and the nation at large. The Command encourages continued collaboration and cooperation from all stakeholders to build a safer and secure environment. Residents are urged to report any suspicious activities to the nearest Police Station, security formations or through the following emergency contact numbers:- 08032419754 08123821575, and 09029292926. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has commended the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Senate matters, Bashir Mohammed, on ensuring that there are no leakages of private communication between the presidency and the Senate. Mr Akpabio stated this on Thursday in the office of the special adviser, describing his performance as unprecedented in making communication between the Senate and President Tinubu far easier than in the past. He said: Let me put on record that since Mohammeds assumption of office as special adviser to Tinubu on National Assembly (senate matters), we have not had a single leakage of private communication between the presidency and the Senate. We have not had a single incidence of leakage. Because in government, thats what we call the right to know. And then of course, where government business is done on pages of newspapers and on social media through leakages of information, it negatively rubs on national security. So, I want to thank you for upholding the tenets of what the government should be, and what separation of powers is all about. 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 Your performance in office generally within the last eight months is unprecedented by transforming the office itself and making the synergy between the executive and legislature more robust and rewarding for the good of all. You are no doubt a man of colour, excellence, and style who stepped into an office and transformed it for better result delivery, as it is clearly with the way you keep track of all the bills passed by us and those assented to by the president. Ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the Deputy President of the Senate, the National Chairman of APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje and your strategic self , Kano is already in the kitty of APC, he said. Mr Mohammed, in his welcome speech, said, in Mr Akpabio, President Tinubu has found not only a dependable ally but a statesman who understands the delicate art of governance and the importance of cooperation over confrontation. Your presence here is not only symbolic of the harmony between the executive and the legislature; it is a testament to the power of unity, the strength of shared vision and the boundless possibilities when leadership is anchored on service. Permit me to especially commend your steadfast and visible support for President Tinubu. You have not merely walked alongside the president; you have championed his Renewed Hope Agenda with conviction, defending it with clarity, articulating it with passion and advancing it through legislative action, he said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print As preparations intensify for the 2025 Hajj, the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abdullahi Saleh, has led an official delegation to assess the preparedness of key service providers responsible for Nigerian pilgrims welfare during their sacred journey. In a statement by the commissions Head of Public Affairs, Muhammad Musa, on Friday, the NAHCON team visited the offices of Mashariq Aldhahabiah, a Saudi Arabian company contracted to provide Mashair services to Nigerian pilgrims. Mr Saleh, a professor, said the visit was important for the commission to remain updated on developments and emerging challenges. Following your recent visit to Nigeria, it is important we remain updated on new developments and any emerging challenges. Our primary goal is ensuring every Nigerian pilgrim receives diligent and efficient services throughout their pilgrimage, he said. Responding, the Chairman of the company, Muhammad Bin-Hassan, who received the NAHCON delegation, appreciated the continued vigilance and dedication of the commission 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 Our company remains fully committed and prepared to deliver superior services. We have arranged an inspection of the tents in Mashair to demonstrate our readiness and reassure NAHCON of our capabilities, he said. Read the full statement NAHCON ASSESSES SERVICE PROVIDERS READINESS AHEAD OF 2025 HAJJ As preparations intensify for the 2025 Hajj operation, the Chairman/CEO of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Professor Abdullahi Usman Saleh, has led an official delegation to assess the preparedness of key service providers responsible for Nigerian pilgrims welfare during their sacred journey. Visiting the offices of Mashariq Aldhahabiah, a Saudi Arabian company contracted to provide Mashair services to Nigerian pilgrims, Professor Saleh emphasized NAHCONs proactive stance: Following your recent visit to Nigeria, it is important we remain updated on new developments and any emerging challenges. Our primary goal is ensuring every Nigerian pilgrim receives diligent and efficient services throughout their pilgrimage. The Chairman of Mashariq Aldhahabiah, Muhammad Amin Bin Hassan Andergiri, welcomed NAHCONs delegation warmly, appreciating their continued vigilance and dedication. Our company remains fully committed and prepared to deliver superior services. We have arranged an inspection of the tents in Mashair to demonstrate our readiness and reassure NAHCON of our capabilities, Andergiri stated. The Commissioner in charge of Operations, Prince Anofiu Olanrewaju Elegusi, underscored the importance of transparency and clarity, stating, NAHCON must stay fully informed about each stage of service delivery contracts. I urge you to prioritize top-notch sanitation facilities and ensure the highest standards for Nigerian pilgrims. The delegation proceeded to visit Ekram Aldyf, another key service provider, where Professor Saleh reiterated NAHCONs expectations for excellence. The success of Saudi authorities in managing pilgrim welfare stems from unwavering commitment to the comfort of Allahs guests. Our presence here reaffirms our dedication to collaborating proactively and addressing potential challenges collectively, ensuring a memorable pilgrimage experience for Nigerians, he remarked. Ekram Aldyfs leadership assured NAHCON of their complete preparedness, detailing staff allocations and showcasing samples of materials designated for pilgrims during their stay at the Holy sites. NAHCON reaffirms its relentless commitment to safeguarding pilgrims welfare and comfort, working closely with service providers to ensure the 2025 Hajj is a seamless, spiritually fulfilling experience. Muhammad Ahmad Musa Head of Public Affairs, NAHCON Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu has approved new appointments to strengthen the leadership of River Basin Development Authorities under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. At the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority, Abeokuta, Sowade Adebayo will replace Julius Oloro as the Executive Director of Engineering Services. At the Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority, Chucks Erhire steps into the role of Executive Director of Engineering Services, succeeding Austin Izagbo. The president appointed Sunday Hassan as the Executive Director of Planning at the Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority, replacing Chris Tarka. ALSO READ: Tinubu approves new management teams for River Basin Development Authorities Okibe Timothy retains his current position as the Executive Director of Engineering at the Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority. President Tinubu urges the appointees to uphold the highest standards of integrity and performance as they work to improve water management and rural development for the benefit of all Nigerians. 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 Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu said Friday in Abuja that he will continue to work hard and pray for the peace and stability of the nation. In an interview with reporters after the special Jumaah prayer session for the nation and commemoration of his birthday at the National Mosque, the president thanked God for the grace of seeing his 73rd birthday. The president will turn 73 on 29 March. President Tinubu said the safety and welfare of citizens remain uppermost on his mind and prayer list. I feel good. I feel happy. I thank the Almighty Allah, who has protected us and continues to answer our prayers. We also thank Allah for accepting our worship; that is key and very important to us. 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 We have prayed for our country. We prayed for the stability and peace of the nation. We prayed that Almighty Allah will safeguard our people and all citizens, the president added. President Tinubu said his watchword remains hard work and hard prayers. The word for all of us is hard work. You work harder, and you pray harder. Thats the inspiration I got from todays sermon. We thank God almighty that at this stage, we are still in it and working, he added. Abdulkadir Solagberu (the Malami Ubandoma of Ilorin Emirate) and other clerics led the special prayers for the nation and the president. ALSO READ: Tinubu to mark 73rd birthday with special prayer at Abuja National Mosque Mr Solaberu assured President Tinubu of continual prayers for his good health, strength and wisdom to steer the nations affairs. The renowned Islamic cleric and scholar noted that prayers for the nations peace and stability would herald the citizens development and well-being. The Imam of the National Mosque, Muhammad Adam, thanked the president and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, for catering to the poor and needy during Ramadan. Mr Adam, a professor, urged Muslims to continue their prayers for the president, the nation, and goodwill toward the poor after Ramadan. Mr. President, Allah is with you, and you will succeed, he added. The Jumat was attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, ministers, service chiefs, and some members of the presidents family. Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy) March 28, 2025 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print An affiliate of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) has graduated 48 Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) under the IT Bridge Academy initiative. The graduates, 24 from the Lagos campus and 24 from the Kano campus, completed the nine-month training programme implemented by DBI in collaboration with Sightsavers International. The programme equipped them with Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) skills and other supporting modules such as Product Management, Digital Marketing, E-commerce, Data Analysis, and Visualisation. Commitment to digital inclusion Speaking at the graduation ceremony of 24 students in Lagos on Thursday, DBI President/CEO David Daser reaffirmed the institutes commitment to fostering digital inclusion through specialised training programmes. The graduation for the 24 PWDs in Kano was held on 20 March at DBI Kano. Represented by the Group Head, Special Duties, Viola Askia-Usoro, Mr Daser called on public and private sector stakeholders to collaborate in sustaining the academys mission of empowering PWDs with in-demand ICT skills. 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 This momentous occasion marks a significant milestone in our journey to empower persons with disabilities (PWDs) with the skills and knowledge required to thrive in the digital economy, he said. This occasion acknowledges the hard work and achievements of our participantsPWDs who have completed their training. It is a testament to their perseverance, determination, and a cause for celebration. He described the academy as a beacon of hope and inclusivity in Africa, adding, We are committed to bridging the digital divide and creating opportunities for PWDs to participate fully in the digital economy. He also emphasised the need for government agencies, corporate organisations, and development partners to support this initiative and expand its reach across Nigeria. Challenges Mr Daser acknowledged the barriers, stigma, and limited access to training opportunities that often hinder PWDs from fully participating in the digital economy. Disability inclusion is a journey that is quite new to Nigerian society. Therefore, the collaboration of all stakeholders is required to entrench a variety of systems and approaches that would promote disability inclusion in all sectors in Nigeria, he said. To mitigate these challenges, our partner, Sightsavers International, developed a well-crafted ICT capacity-building programme based on in-demand IT skill requirements, titled the IT Bridge Academy. To achieve the noble objectives of this academy, Sightsavers partnered with DBI in Nigeria. He urged DBI IT Bridge Academy graduates to use their skills and knowledge to drive positive change in their communities. Aligning with national development goals Mr Daser highlighted that the IT Bridge Academy aligns with President Bola Tinubus Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises economic empowerment, job creation, and inclusive growth. He noted that the programme supports this agenda by providing opportunities for youth development, capacity building, and economic growth within the tech ecosystem. The IT Bridge Academy contributes to this goal by providing PWDs with industry-recognised certifications, enhancing their employability and career prospects, he added. The initiative also aligns with the Knowledge Pillar of the Strategic Plan of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy (2023-2027). Call for inclusion The Executive Director of Sightsavers, Sunday Isiyaku, reiterated that disability should never be a barrier to employment or economic independence. Mr Isiyaku said the graduates have all worked tirelessly to overcome challenges and push boundaries to reach the level they are at and acquire the needed digital skills required for todays labour market. The IT Bridge Academy was designed to bridge the gap in digital skills and create pathways to meaningful careers for persons with disabilities. The programme is not just about education but about economic empowerment, inclusion, and proving that talent, not disability, should define a persons personality, he said. Graduates speak In their remarks, the class governor and deputy governor, both visually impaired, Amos Adegboyega and Serena White, highlighted the resilience and determination of the trainees, acknowledging the initial challenges they faced. Mr Adegboyega credited the DBI and Sightsavers for not only equipping them with technical skills but also instilling confidence in their abilities. He emphasised that the programme demonstrated that disability is not a limitation and that they could thrive in the digital space with the right support. Ms White appealed to the private sector for job and internship opportunities for PWDs, stressing the value of the CCNA certification and the crucial support from Sightsavers and DBI. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Over a month after kidnapping them at a farm in Bauchi State, bandits on Thursday released four farmers after collecting a ransom from their families. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the bandits demanded a ransom of N30 million for the farmers who were abducted while harvesting yams in the Alkareri Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The farmers who are residents of Futuk, a village in the Gwana District, were abducted by bandits believed to be operating from the Mansur forest in the Alkaleri local council area. On Friday, a resident, Bello Haruna, told PREMIUM TIMES that they were released after the families paid N2 million each for three of the abducted persons. Mr Haruna said the bandits collected N500,000 for the other abducted person and seized the motorcycles of those who delivered the ransom. He identified the abducted persons as Umar Yalwan-Barde, Adamu Ahmad, aka SK, Garba Makanike, and Baba Alhaji-Shehu. 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 kidnappers released the captives yesterday (Thursday) after they spent a month and two weeks in captivity, the source added. READ ALSO: Bandits kill 10 Zamfara security guards It was Thursday night they released them after the ransom payment, but they seized two motorcycles of those who delivered the ransom in the kidnappers den. The police spokesperson in Bauchi State, Ahmad Wakili, could not be immediately reached to comment on the development as his phone number did not connect Friday morning. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The United States congressman, Scott Perry, who accused the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) of financing terror groups like Boko Haram, has failed to substantiate his claim despite being asked to do so. In February, Mr Perry claimed that USAID funded Boko Haram and other terror groups. He made the claims during the inaugural session of the Congress Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory body created by US President Donald Trump, who appointed Elon Musk, the worlds richest man, to lead it. The controversial advisory body was tasked to cut US government spending but has been accused of illegally interfering with or stopping the work of several government agencies, including USAID. According to Mr Perry, the USAIDs annual budget of $697 million, including cash shipments to madrasas (Islamic schools), has inadvertently funded terrorist training camps and extremist groups. Your money, $697 million annually, plus shipments of cash, funds ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, and terrorist training camps, he had said in a minute video circulated across social media in February. Thats what its funding, He provided no evidence of his claim in the video, with many Democrats saying Republicans are willing to demonise the US aid agency to kill it. 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 Perry, among other things, also faulted the USAIDs $136 million expenditure on building 120 schools in Pakistan. He alleged that the schools were never constructed. Mr Perrys allegations against the agency stirred mixed reactions among Nigerians, with many citizens believing that USAID funded the terrorist group. While the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr, disputed the allegation for lack of evidence, lawmakers from insurgency-ravaged Borno and Bauchi states urged the Senate to investigate the claims. During a plenary session in February, Senators Ali Ndume, Abdul Ningi and Kaka Shehu told the Senate to invite the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed, and the Director General of the State Security Services (SSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, over the claims. Granting their request, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said the security helmsmen will appear before the lawmakers in a closed-door session to speak on Mr Perrys allegations against USAID. PREMIUM TIMES reported that a few days after Mr Perry made his remarks, the US embassy in Nigeria posted a cryptic message on X, saying it probed all assistance given to Nigeria to ensure it reached the intended recipients. The embassys post was not categorical if it probed all USAID funding in Nigeria, including the one alluded to by the US lawmaker, or if it intends to commence a fresh probe. It, however, condemned the blatant disregard for human life perpetrated by Boko Haram. A few days later, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, disputed Mr Perrys allegation, saying there was no evidence for it. Mr Perry fails to substantiate his claims In a response to an enquiry by a US-based Nigerian human rights lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe, Mr Perry failed to substantiate his claims that USAID funded Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. Mr Ogebe, who shared a thread of email exchanges between him and the US congressman with PREMIUM TIMES, said he also petitioned the US Department of Justice to investigate Mr Perry. In a letter he wrote to the congressman, Mr Ogebe advised Mr Perry to either substantiate his claim or quickly repudiate it regarding Boko Haram before anyone gets hurt. No political propaganda or showboating is worth putting Americans lives at risk abroad for a lie, he wrote Mr Perry, noting that his baseless claims have sent shockwaves through Nigeria and elicited targeting of innocent Christians and aid workers. To make matters worse, you have further endangered hundreds of American diplomats in one of the largest U.S. embassies in the world, many of whom already lost their jobs due to the vampiric shutdown by lawless non-state actors in DC, his letter to Mr Perry read. Mr Ogebe recalled how a bomb attack on the US embassy compound in Abuja by terrorists led to the displacement of American diplomats and their families. They and their families were internationally displaced for months before returning in early 2023 to Nigeria, he told Mr Perry. For you to make such false and unfounded allegations, right after Musks admission that USAIDs $50 million condoms used for bombings by Hamas terrorists was untrue, irresponsibly jeopardises the security of American diplomats and their families, local Christians and aid workers in Nigeria. Mr Perrys response In his response dated 26 March, Mr Perry avoided commenting about his previous allegation that USAID funded Boko Haram. He, instead, focussed on what he said were irregularities such as waste, fraud, and abuse by agencies like the USAID which have run rampant in the federal government for decades. He said DOGE is trying to address it all. The main mission of DOGE is to ensure that the resources of hardworking American People are not squandered, he continued. DOGE is going line-by-line across the federal budget inspecting and trying to eliminate waste something for which Ive fought and advocated since coming to Congress, so it has my full and enthusiastic support. He then reiterated some allegations that Republicans like himself have levelled against the USAID without mentioning his original allegation of funding Boko Haram. Mr Perry said USAID funded partisan media outlets like Politico, which received over $8M (and almost $500K for 37 Politico Pro subscriptions at the FDA). He also accused USAID of giving the Taliban $15 million for condoms. He claimed that the embattled agency gave more than $446,000 to promote atheism in Nepal. In addition, he said USAID gave $14 million in cash vouchers for non-citizens at the US southern border; $1.5 million for promoting jobs for LGBTQ persons in Serbia and $2.5 million for electric vehicle charging stations in Vietnam. Mr Perry also accused USAID of providing over $425,000 to Indonesian coffee companies to help them become more climate and gender-friendly. He added that more than $3.3 million was spent in the Caribbean for being LGBTQ. He also accused USAID of giving $20 million for a Sesame Street-style show in Iraq. This is all just the tip of the iceberg of USAID offenses; its insanity at best and not only can USAIDs end not come soon enough, but it must be investigated thoroughly for fraud and abuse of Taxpayer dollars, he told Mr Ogebe. Mr Perry claimed that that was too hard for many Members of Congress, the Executive branch, and bureaucrats to handle, let alone actually address. So now that DOGE was allowed to deep-dive into the stunning grift of USAID, it certainly has my full support here as well, he noted. He also spoke on how DOGE is tampering with personal information, exonerating the body of such misconduct. DOGE has no access to the Treasurys tax and Social Security data, he said. As a Member on the House Oversight Committee, I will continue to ensure the safety and security of Americans personal data. While Mr Perry applauded President Trumps executive action, he noted that the governments efficiency needs to be codified. I have introduced a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution every Session that Ive been in Congress, he said. It requires the federal government to balance its budget and limit it to spending only what it takes in each year. President Trump has taken the first step towards fiscal sanity, now its time for Congress to take it to the finish line, he added. Appreciating Mr Ogebe for contacting him, he said, I appreciate your concerns and welcome your continued feedback. Mr Perry thanked the lawyer for contacting him about DOGEs examination of the USAID. I appreciate your views on this matter, as I do your patience as we navigate a great deal of communication, he wrote. Terrorism in Nigeria Boko Haram is a terrorist group in Nigeria. It started around the year 2000 as an Islamic movement but went fully violent in 2009 after its spiritual leader and founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was executed by the police in the North-east. That marked the genesis of an ongoing insurgency in the region. Late Abubakar Shekau succeeded Mr Yusuf and declared a holy war (Jihad) against the Nigerian government and Nigerians that did not subscribe to the groups Jihadi ideology. By 2013, the group was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by Nigeria and the US. Infighting in the group led a faction to break away and form Ansaru, a terror group linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). In 2016, a more deadly faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), broke away from Boko Haram, undermining the Nigerian governments counterinsurgency war. The insurgency has now been on for about two decades with no hope of its ending soon despite the efforts of the Nigerian government. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, has directed Nigerian Muslims to search for the Shawwal moon on Saturday, 29 Ramadan 1446 AH. According to a statement issued on Friday and signed by the Secretary-General of NSCIA, Is-haq Oloyede, the sighting of the new moon will determine the end of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid al-Fitr. The Council advised that the moon sighting should be done in line with Islamic guidelines and verification standards. Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Shawwal 1446 AH immediately after sunset on Saturday, 29 Ramadan 1446 AH, which is equivalent to 29 March 2025, the statement read. Need for physical sighting The Council noted that scientific calculations predict the moons conjunction at 11:58 am on 29 March 2025, but emphasised that Islamic tradition requires physical sighting. If the crescent is sighted, Idul Fitr will be on Sunday, 30 March. Otherwise, the celebration will take place on Monday, 31 March. 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 To ensure proper reporting, NSCIA provided a list of National Moon-Sighting Committee members and their contact details for Muslims who observe the crescent. Charity for less privileged The statement also reminded Muslims of the obligation of Zakatul Fitr, urging them to give out the required food levy to the less privileged before the Id prayer. Muslims were encouraged to intensify prayers in the final days of Ramadan, seeking peace, security, and development for Nigeria. The Council also urged Muslims to pray for the countrys leaders, quoting the Hadith: Do not curse your leaders; invoke Allah to make them righteous, for their righteousness brings about your well-being as well (Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Book 49, Hadith 3299). While wishing us all happy Idul Fitr, the Council enjoins Muslims all over the country to look out for the announcement to be made by His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the night of Saturday, 29 March 2025. Id Mubarak in advance! the statement added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Amnesty International have called for an investigation into the alleged lynching of at least 16 travellers in Edo State. Mr Kwankwaso, in a statement he posted on his Facebook page, said he was concerned by the harrowing display of mob injustice on 16 travellers from Northern Nigeria in Edo State. The victims, reportedly hunters travelling from Rivers State to Kano for Sallah celebrations, were allegedly attacked by vigilante members and armed youths who reportedly blocked their vehicle, dragged them out one by one, beat them, and then set them ablaze after being labelled as kidnappers. Mr Kwankwaso said the tragedy, which occurred on Thursday in the Udune Efandion community of Uromi, is another sad reminder of the barbarity of jungle justice. It is common knowledge that people from all parts of the country should be able to travel without facing any form of harassment or intimidation. I urge the concerned authorities to launch a full-scale investigation into this sad incident and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. 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 While praying for the repose of the victims, I extend my condolences to their families, the Kano State Government and other affected states, Mr Kwankwaso stated. Also, Amnesty International, in a statement on Friday signed by the Country Director, Isa Sanusi, condemned the gruesome act and urged the Nigerian government to ensure justice for the victims. The Nigerian authorities must go beyond merely condemning the incident and ensure that the suspected attackers are apprehended and brought to justice in a fair trial, the statement read. The consistent failure of the Nigerian government to punish mob violence has created an environment in which violent mobs believe themselves entitled to take the law into their own hands, Mr Sanusi said. Harrowing footage of the incident went viral on social media, showing the victims pleading for their lives as a cheering crowd watched the vigilantes attack them with axes, iron rods, and machetes. The attackers tied the victims to used tyres, doused them in petrol, and set them on fire. Amnesty International described the lynching as part of a growing trend of vigilante groups unlawfully blocking highways and engaging in violent acts with impunity. The horrific mob violence that happened at Uromi is part of the rising trend of vigilante groups of towns and villages along highways blocking roads and carrying out unlawful activities with impunity. The fact that these killings have been happening for a long time, with few cases investigated and prosecuted, highlights the authorities shocking failure to uphold and fulfil their obligation to protect people from harm and violence, Mr Sanusi said READ ALSO: Amnesty International condemns arrests of Kano journalists Amnesty International called on the government to take decisive action to curb mob violence and bring perpetrators to justice. The Nigerian government must take appropriate and effective measures to prevent cases of mob violence across the country and ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims, the statement added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A violent clash erupted between security agents and members of the Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) on Friday, leading to the death of at least one person. Members of the IMN told PREMIUM TIMES that some of their members were killed during the clash. However, the police only confirmed the death of an officer during the incident. The police also said 19 suspected members of the Shiite group were arrested. The clash occurred during the Quds procession by the IMN members on Friday around the Banex roundabout in Wuse 2. Jafaar Gali, one of the leaders of the Friday procession, told PREMIUM TIMES that the procession started after the Jumat prayers. We were around Zenith Bank at Banex when some soldiers came to stop us, he said, confessing that they also hurled stones at the soldiers. 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 Gali said many of their members have been killed or injured. PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately verify his claim, but we saw three military vans evacuating some people to an unknown location. Another IMN member, who simply identified as Muhammad, said that the bodies of some of their members killed have been taken to Mararaba, Nasarawa State. Mr Muhammad said the soldiers and the police used excessive force to disperse them. According to him, some people have been arrested including those not participating in the procession. On Friday evening, police and soldiers took over the streets of parts of Abuja, especially the Wuse axis. Police react In a statement issued Friday night, hours after our initial report, Abuja police spokesperson Josephine Adeh said the IMN members were armed with firearms and other weapons. According to her, police and security personnel encountered intense gunfire from the attackers, resulting in serious injuries to three security operatives. They were promptly transported to the National Hospital, where one was pronounced dead, she said, noting that normalcy had been restored in the area while investigations were ongoing to ensure all perpetrators were brought to justice. Ms Adeh said the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ajao Adewale, condemned the attack on security operatives by members of the proscribed group. Onyenma Nwachukwu, spokesperson for the Defence Headquarters, has not responded to an SMS enquiring about soldiers involvement in the incident. Quds procession Every last Friday of Ramadan, the Shiites globally hold their Quds procession in solidarity with Palestine, which has been in a decades-long war with Israel. They also protest against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The Nigerian government, however, treats the Shiites as a violent group. This results in clashes between the Shiites and security agencies. Confrontations between security forces and the Iran-inspired IMN members became intense following the 2015 massacre where soldiers killed scores of them. Their leaders would later be arrested and detained for years by the Muhammadu Buhari administration. By 2019, the Buhari government proscribed the group following a court ruling that declared that the group was involved in acts of terrorism and illegality. The proscription came less than a week after police violently clamped down on IMN members in Abuja, as they protested the prolonged detention of their leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenah. The protesters also called on the authorities to allow their leader to have access to proper medical care. During that protest, more than 10 people were killed including protesters, a journalist, and a police officer. Many other protesters were either injured or arrested. In July 2021, a court discharged and acquitted Mr El-Zakzaky and his wife of charges filed against them by the government. Yet, the Buhari administration refused to release his passport so that he could leave the country if he wanted to. His passport was only released under the Bola Tinubu administration after which Mr El-Zakzaky visited Iran and the IMN shared pictures he took with Iranian leaders. However, the government continues to treat the IMN as an outlawed group and efforts to clamp down on the groups protests often lead to violent clashes with security officials. Fridays IMN procession was also held in some northern states. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned Christiana Goka, a former Deputy Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over allegations of misappropriating public funds totalling N5.3 million. According to a statement by the ICPC on Friday, Mrs Goka was brought before a the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Kwali, Abuja, on five counts of misappropriation of funds and making false statements. The statement said Mrs Goka, who previously served as the Head of the Department of Research Monitoring Information System at the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA), allegedly misappropriated N5,164,656 from funds earmarked for a botched management retreat in Dutse, Jigawa State, in 2017. Charges One of the charges states that Mrs Goka, in 2017, while serving as Deputy Director conferred a corrupt advantage upon herself by diverting N5,164,656part of the total N5,398,656 allocated for the management retreat. The ICPC noted that this act violates Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000. Another charge alleges that Mrs Goka, on 18 February 2022, made a false statement to ICPC investigator Sado Danjuma, denying that N1 million was returned to her in cash by a colleague, Bassey Ikpeme, under the directive of the then Director General of DTCA, the late Abduljalil Suleiman. 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 ICPC alleges that her statement was false, thereby violating Section 25(1)(a) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000. Mrs Goka pleaded not guilty to all charges. At the commencement of the trial on Thursday, the prosecution counsel, David Nwaze, presented two witnesses, who testified and were cross-examined. Bail Trial judge, J.A. Aina, granted the defendant bail in the same terms as those of the previous administrative bail offered her by ICPC during investigations. Thr bail conditions require her to,a.ong other things, provide a surety who is a public servant at Grade Level 15 or above and resides in Abuja. The court said her surety must also submit a letter of appointment, proof of last promotion, an official identity card and a passport photograph. Mr Aina adjourned the case for continuation of the trial. Fridays proceedings came on the heels of similar prosecution of former and serving public officers by the ICPC. In January, the commission re-arraigned Abubakar Sambo, Director of Finance and Account at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), over an alleged N1.84 billion fraud. Mr Sambo was accused of diverting funds meant for project supervision exercises into personal accounts. His case, initially before Bolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had to restart following the judges transfer. He was subsequently arraigned before Musa Liman and granted bail under the previous conditions. Similarly, in another high-profile case, the ICPC charged three former aides of ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and a firm in a fresh N64 million money laundering case. The accusedLawal Adebisi, Umar Waziri, and Yusuf Inuwaare scheduled to face trial soon. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu has condemned the murder of travelling hunters intercepted by local vigilantes in the Uromi community of Esan North Local Government of Edo State. The president, who expressed shock at the dastardly act on Thursday, directed police and other security agencies to conduct swift and thorough investigations and punish the suspected culprits. President Tinubu commiserated with the families of the affected victims and assured them that criminals would not be allowed to shed the blood of innocent Nigerians in vain. The president noted that jungle justice has no place in Nigeria, and all Nigerians have the freedom to move freely in any part of the country. President Tinubu commended the Edo State governor, Monday Okpebholo, and community leaders in Uromi for their swift response to avert the escalation of tension. Mr Okpebholo has also ordered investigation into the incident. 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 Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy) March 28, 2025 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Eid-ul-Fitr is a time of immense celebration and community building, and it is marked by a range of traditions and festivities. The celebrations typically begin with the sighting of the new moon, which signals the end of the month of Ramadan and the beginning of the month of Shawwal. Muslims around the world eagerly await the announcement of the sighting, and once it is confirmed, they begin their preparations for Eid-ul-Fitr. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of ourselves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. Dear brothers and sisters! Eid-ul-Fitr, also known as Eid al-Fitr or simply Eid, is one of the most joyous and festive celebrations in the Islamic calendar. It marks the end of the noble month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast from dawn until sunset and engage in acts of spiritual devotion, charity, and self-reflection. Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervour by Muslims around the world, and it is a time of communal gathering, feasting, and acts of charity. The history of Eid-ul-Fitr can be traced back to the time of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), who established it as a significant celebration for the Muslim Ummah. The festival marks the end of the month of Ramadan, during which the first verses of the noble Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) by Allah. It is believed that during this month, the gates of heaven are opened, and the gates of hell are closed, and Allah showers his blessings and mercy upon the believers. Eid-ul-Fitr is a celebration of gratitude, thanksgiving, and joy, and it serves as a reminder of the importance of faith (Iman), Ummah and unity. The festival is a time to forgive and forget, to reconcile with friends and family, and to renew ones commitment to Allah. 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 Eid-ul-Fitr is a time of immense celebration and community building, and it is marked by a range of traditions and festivities. The celebrations typically begin with the sighting of the new moon, which signals the end of the month of Ramadan and the beginning of the month of Shawwal. Muslims around the world eagerly await the announcement of the sighting, and once it is confirmed, they begin their preparations for Eid-ul-Fitr. The day of Eid-ul-Fitr typically begins with a special prayer, which is held in large gatherings in open spaces, in Mosques, parks, or community centers. The prayer is led by an Imam, and it is a time for Muslims to come together in a shared experience of faith and unity. The prayer is followed by a sermon, which provides guidance and inspiration for the community. After the prayer, Muslims greet each other with the traditional Eid greeting, which is Eid Mubarak or Blessed Eid. They exchange gifts, share sweets and treats, and engage in acts of charity and kindness. It is a time to reconnect with friends and family, to share in the joy of the festival, and to spread love and positivity. One of the most significant traditions of Eid-ul-Fitr is the act of Zakatul-Fitr, which is a charitable donation made by Muslims to the less fortunate. It is a mandatory act of charity, and it is meant to ensure that everyone in the community can share in the joy and blessings of the festival. Zakatul-Fitr is typically given in the form of food, such as rice, corn, beans, wheat or dates, and it is distributed to those in need before the Eid prayer. Another important aspect of Eid-ul-Fitr is the feast or Eid al-Fitr meal, which is a time of communal gathering and feasting. The meal typically includes a range of traditional dishes. It is a time to indulge in delicious food, to share in the joy of the festival, and to strengthen the bonds of community and friendship. Eid-ul-Fitr is a celebration of gratitude, thanksgiving, and joy, and it is a time to renew ones commitment to Allah and to strengthen the bonds of Ummah and friendship. Respected brothers and sisters! Muslims have two Eids a year. The Eid is an occasion of pleasure and happiness, and each of the two Eids has a religious significance. The first, Eid-ul-Fitr, occurs when Muslims have finished fasting the month of Ramadan as mentioned above, while the second, Eid-ul-Adha, signals the end of the first 10 days of the lunar month, Dhul-Hijjah. The Eid prayer is a collective duty, which means that when some Muslims offer it, the rest are not accountable for their omission. If no one offers it, then all share in the sin. This is because it is one of the clearest manifestations of the Islamic identity of the Ummah. Moreover, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) always did it, as did his Companions after he had passed away. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) even ordered that women who were in their menstruation periods, and were as a result exempt from prayer, attend it, but were not to take part in the prayer itself. They attend to share in its blessings and in the joy of the Ummah, which clearly indicates its importance. If the Prophet (Peace be upon him) ordered women who were exempt from prayer to attend, then its attendance is more strongly incumbent on men. In fact some scholars consider it mandatory duty on all men. Many Islamic scholars, however, are of the view that it is a confirmed Sunnah, i.e. highly recommended, as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) offered it regularly and ordered men and women to attend it. The most important conditions are that it should be offered in time, the presence of the required number of people and residence. This means that it is invalid if offered before it falls due, or if attended by less than three people. Moreover, it is not required of a person who is travelling. It is recommended to offer the Eid prayer in an open space away from residential buildings. Abu Said Al-Khudri reports: The Prophet (Peace be upon him) used to go out to pray the Eid prayer of al-Fitr and al-Adha in the open space. [Bukhari And Muslim] Apparently this he did in order to publicise this Islamic tradition. It is permissible to offer it in a large Mosque when there is need for that, such as rain, strong winds or other severe weather conditions. The Eid prayer becomes due at the time when the Sunnah prayer known as Duha is due, which means it starts when the sun has risen in the sky about one spears length. This is when the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his successors used to offer it, and prior to the sun being at that height, prayer is discouraged. It is recommended to start the Eid-ul-Adha prayer at the beginning of its time range and to delay the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer because the Prophet (Peace be upon him) did that. People need to attend to their sacrifice after the prayer at Eid-ul-Adha, while the delay in Eid-ul-Fitr prayer helps a person who has not yet paid Zakatul-Fitr to pay it, as it must be paid up to immediately before the prayer. The Eid prayer consists of two rakaahs (units), similar to the Friday prayer, In the first rakaah and after the Takbir (glorification), Allahu Akbar, and the opening supplication, the same after that, Al-Fatihah and another surah are recited glorification of takbir is repeated seven more times, after that, Al-Fatihah and another surah are recited. In the second rakaah (units) the same takbir is repeated five times, other than the takbir for standing up from sujud before reciting Al-Fatihah. This is based on the following Hadith, reported by Aisha: Allahs messenger used to say Allahu Akbar in the Eid prayers of al-Fitr and al-Adha seven times in the first rakaah and five in the second. [Abu Dawud] With each takbir, it is recommended that one raise his hands, because the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) did that. Then the Imam says silently auzu billahi minash-Shaitanir Rajim (i.e. I seek shelter with Allah against Satan, the accursed.) He then recites the Quran aloud, reciting after Al-Fatihah Surah Al-Alala (87) in the first rakaah and Surah Al-Ghashiyah (88) in the second, as it is reported by Jabir Ibn Samurah that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) did that: It is also authentically reported that he read Surah Qaf (50) in the first rakaah and Surah Al-Qamar (54) in the second. Therefore, it is good to do this in turn, looking always to make things easier for the congregation. Unlike the Friday prayer, the khutbah (sermon) in the Eid prayer is given after the prayer. Ibn Umar said: The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), Abubakar and Umar used to offer the Eid prayer before giving the khutbah. [Bukhari] It is not recommended for anyone who misses out on the Eid prayer to offer it after it has finished, because this was not reported as suggested by the Prophet (Peace be upon him). Moreover, it is a prayer for which a certain congregation gathers. It must, therefore, be offered in this fashion: 1. It is a Sunnah, i.e. recommended, that the Eid prayer is organised at an open, well known space, preferably outside the village or town, so that the community can gather and perform this distinctive act of worship. However, if it is offered in Mosques for one reason or another, the prayer is still valid. 2. As noted when I referred to its time, it is recommended to start the Eid-ul-Adha prayer early and to delay the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer. 3. It is also a Sunnah to eat a few dates before going out to offer the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer, and not to eat anything on Eid-ul-Adha until the Eid prayer has finished and one eats from his sacrifice, as the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) did that on these occasions. Eating an odd number of dates on Eid-ul-Fitr. 4. It is a Sunnah also to walk to the place of the prayer, and to start early, soon after finishing the Fajr prayer, so that one can sit at a convenient place near the Imam, and to earn the reward for awaiting the prayer. 5. Men are recommended to take a bath before the prayer, wear perfume and put on a fine appearance, wearing some of ones best clothes. Women are the same, but must not wear perfumes or expose their adornment. 6. The Imam is recommended to give a comprehensive speech, outlining the main principles of the Islamic faith. 7. It is further recommended to say: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La Ilaha illallah, wallahu Akbar Allahu Akbar walillahil hamd. Allah says in the verse outlining the duty of fasting in Ramadan: You are, however, required to complete the necessary number of days and to extol and glorify Allah for having guided you aright and to tender your thanks. [Quran, 2:185] This takbir is said from the sunset of the last day of Ramadan until the Imam comes out for Eid prayer, and also from the Fajr prayer on the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah till the sunset of the 13th of the same month. It is announced after the Fard prayers. Men say their Takbir (glorifications) aloud, while women recite them in a low voice, if they are in public. 8. Changing route. It is recommended to change ones route, going to the prayer one way and following a different route on the way back. Jabir reports that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) did that on Eid days. It is said that this is done so that both routes will, on the Day of Judgement, testify for us, or that this special act of worship is shown in different areas. People need to congratulate one another on this occasion, saying to one another: May Allah accept your and my good actions. The Prophets (Peace be upon him) Companions used to do so, showing pleasure to meet other people. Beloved brothers and sisters! Know that today is Friday, 28 Ramadan, 1446 AH (28 March, 2025) according to the Sultanate Council. 02 Days countdown to the month of Shawwal. Ya Allah, on this day, grant us a share in its Nawafil (recommended prayers), honour us by attending to our problems, make closer the means to approach You, from all the means, O One who is not preoccupied with the requests of the beseechers. May Allah forgive our sins, our shortcomings and failings, and pour your mercy and blessings upon us. Ameen. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation; may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and security and his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly and sincerely until the establishment of the Hour. Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okenes Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected] or +2348038289761. This Jumuah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Ramadan 28, 1446 AH (March 28, 2025). Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigerian public tertiary education system is now in crisis due to problems including overcrowding of lecture halls, insufficient financing, outdated courses, and regular strikes. The quality of education is declining as a result of this crisis; graduates are not sufficiently ready for a work market growingly competitive. This means that the academic education students acquire does not fit the demands of the corporate world, which fuels the high unemployment rate among graduates. Employers are perennially becoming unhappy that many degree holders must undergo significant retraining before becoming active workforce members. Under these conditions, private universities have become appealing substitutes for public ones. Private universities give students predictable academic calendars, modern facilities, and curricula more closely matched with worldwide standards than governmental institutions. Smaller class sizes enable teachers and students to interact more successfully, therefore producing a learning environment that is both more fascinating and more relevant. Many private educational institutions give great weight to acquiring skills, entrepreneurial activities, and industry contacts, producing more flexible graduates ready to enter the workforce. The notable expansion of private universities over the past twenty years reflects the growing appeal of these establishments among parents and students seeking a quality education free from the uncertainties connected with public institutions. Conversely, the debate on reforming Nigerias higher education system cannot be reduced to solving problems afflicting public universities. We should appreciate and make use of the contribution private institutions provide to the process of reaching sustainable development. Regarding its effects on economic production, social mobility, and creativity, education plays a significant role in developing a country. By helping to close the skills gap, encouraging research and technological innovation, and generating a new generation of graduates ready to meet challenges in the real world, private colleges can contribute to the countrys development should they be organised suitably. However, this cannot happen until deliberate efforts are made to raise the caliber of private higher education in Nigeria, especially concerning its effect and accessibility. Private universities have increasingly proven their ability to be hubs for industrial cooperation and research. Although most research undertaken in Nigeria has been done in public institutions since the dawn of time, bureaucratic inefficiencies and financing restrictions have greatly limited the scope and influence of this work. Many public universities struggle to get funding for research, which leads to poorly equipped labs and faculty members unable to pursue major intellectual inquiry. Regarding research funding, forging alliances with companies, and investing in creative research centers, private institutions likewise have more freedom than public universities. This change is crucial since research and invention are the main forces behind technological advancement, economic diversification, and sustainable growth. One of the most essential benefits private universities offer to the research process is their ability to establish direct ties with different companies. Unlike public schools, which usually operate apart from one another, private educational institutions aggressively hunt for chances to cooperate with corporate businesses, government agencies, and international research bodies. Thanks to these interactions, university academics can conduct problem-solving research tailored to the social and economic challenges the actual world presents. Private institutions are already significantly contributing in areas such as renewable energy, healthcare, and digital technology by tackling pragmatic solutions that meet Nigerias vital development needs. Private universities have also shown a dedication to supporting innovation motivated by research to inspire entrepreneurial activities, with many establishing business incubation centres to provide faculty members and students the tools required to create commercial solutions grounded on academic research. These centres exist to close the distance between theoretical knowledge and its practical application. They guarantee that research is not limited to scholarly papers but instead is turned into actual products and services that can increase economic development. Many educational institutions have also started projects to monetise further research. These initiatives allow faculty members and students to get patents, draw money, and start companies grounded on revolutionary discoveries. 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 Besides, private universities are leading the way in a culture of multidisciplinary researcha team effort among academic disciplines to address challenging problems. Unlike the inflexible academic silos that define many public universities, private universities often promote cooperation between several disciplines like engineering, business, and the social sciences. This method produces complete solutions that are both technologically strong and socially and financially feasible. For example, agricultural output studies call for agronomists, supply chain experts, and economics. These people aim to ensure that innovations are given to farmers in a scalable and reasonably priced way inside the agricultural sector. Despite these achievements, private colleges face difficulties expanding their research endeavors. One of the main disadvantages is the great restriction imposed by the very high expense of sponsoring research activities. Private endowments and tuition pay help private educational schools with their funding. Should the government fail to provide notable support, likely, these financing sources would likely not be enough to sustain high-level research. Furthermore, a lot of Nigerian companies still give working with research facilities outside of the nation priority, instead of funding local colleges. Therefore, it is imperative to design policies that are deliberate and promote ties between local businesses and academic institutions if one is to change this inclination. These laws might incorporate tax incentives for companies who donate money for university research as well as government grants meant to support cooperative projects between colleges and commercial companies. Furthermore, important in terms of increasing financing for research initiatives run at private universities is government policy. An increase in the volume of scientific output produced could be the outcome of a national research and development budget open to both public and private sector entities. This kind of fund could be created to underline research initiatives in keeping with Nigerian social and economic interests. Among these projects are ones in public health services, digital transformation, and sustainable energy promotion. Encouragement of multinational companies operating in Nigeria to provide a percentage of their profits toward university research would be helpful. This would help to increase investment in the manufacturing of knowledge even more, therefore promoting development. The establishment of international partnerships is yet another strategy that private institutions ought to investigate to improve their research capabilities. To provide cash, experience, and access to cutting-edge technology, numerous colleges and universities of world-class calibre have established research relationships with institutions in underdeveloped nations. Private universities in Nigeria have the potential to establish themselves as competitive players in the worldwide research community if they make it a priority to seek out cooperation with academic institutions located all over the world. By participating in collaborative research programs, faculty exchange efforts, and possibilities for co-publication, Nigerian academics will be able to interact with the most effective techniques from around the world and make significant contributions to the production of knowledge there. In addition, private institutions are responsible for ensuring that their research findings are applied in real-world situations. It is essential to emphasise practical research instead of the usual academic research that frequently remains theoretical. By coordinating their research interests with the requirements of Nigerias industrial and developmental sectors, universities can generate findings that directly contribute to the transformation of the economy. Our private universities can generate significant change if they prioritise research that has practical advantages. New technology developed in the medical industry, developments in digital banking, or changes in the agriculture business could all help to achieve this. Not only is it significant for the general development of Nigeria, but it is also necessary for the enhancement of the academic reputation of private institutions, so it is imperative to increase the research environment inside private universities. An economy must be driven by knowledge to have institutions actively involved in research, develop inventions at the leading edge, and retain strong industrial ties. Because of their adaptability and access to independent finance, private institutions are in a position that is unmatched to fulfil this duty. However, to succeed in this regard, they must make strategic investments, receive support from policymakers, and declare their intention to connect academic research with national development objectives. Private universities also play an essential part in the process of growing the entrepreneurial landscape in Nigeria. Because the unemployment rate among young people is on the rise, there is an immediate and pressing need to provide them with the knowledge and mindset that will enable them to generate their possibilities. Many private universities have already incorporated entrepreneurship programmes into their academic programmes. Your experience ought to cover topics including financial literacy, market research, and technologically driven corporate models. Private universities in Nigeria can change the scene of higher education in the nation by combining research-driven innovation, skill development, and entrepreneurial activities. Conversely, their ongoing expansion and impact will depend on the execution of certain policies, the increase in investments, and a dedication to providing wide access to educational possibilities. Private institutions can function as innovation hubs by cultivating entrepreneurial ecosystems on their campuses. These universities can allow students to discover answers to Nigerias economic and social difficulties. Helping to close the employment gap can be accomplished by implementing programs that support student-led companies, cooperation with venture capitalists, and partnerships with local industry. Education with an emphasis on entrepreneurship should not only teach academic business ideas but should also emphasise practical experience. Your experience ought to cover topics including financial literacy, market research, and technologically driven corporate models. Private universities in Nigeria can change the scene of higher education in the nation by combining research-driven innovation, skill development, and entrepreneurial activities. Conversely, their ongoing expansion and impact will depend on the execution of certain policies, the increase in investments, and a dedication to providing wide access to educational possibilities. Private institutions can help design a future where graduates are job seekers and creators, contributing to a more dynamic and sustainable economy. This can be accomplished by presenting colleges and universities as major stakeholders in national development. Toyin Falola, a professor of History, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at The University of Texas at Austin, is the Bobapitan of Ibadanland. PS: Excerpts from the First Founders Day Lecture, Atiba University Oyo, 19 March 19. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Addressing ethical concerns such as data privacy and algorithmic bias is also essential in ensuring that AI development aligns with societal values. Indeed, Kashifu Inuwas perspective challenges the common narrative of AI as a competitor to human intelligence The NITDA helmsman envisions a future where AI empowers people to be more efficient, creative, and strategic in their professions. The challenge ahead lies not in resisting AI but in finding ways to harness its potential to build a smarter, more adaptive workforce. In a world where artificial intelligence is often portrayed as a force threatening to displace human labour, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), offers a different perspective. He sees AI not as a rival to human intelligence but as a powerful tool for enhancing productivity and efficiency. On Monday, 17 March, at NITDAs First Quarter General Staff Meeting, Abdullahi addressed his team with a message that challenged conventional fears about AI. While many view AI as a threat to job security, he described it as a transformative force that, rather than replacing humans, has the potential to complement their work. He acknowledged that AI could take over nearly half of the tasks currently performed by people but emphasised that this shift should not be seen as a loss. Instead, he urged his audience to recognise the immense opportunities it presents. The growing concern that AI will lead to widespread unemployment often overshadows the benefits it offers. The NITDA chief executive believes the focus should be on how AI can relieve workers of repetitive and time-consuming tasks, allowing them to channel their energies into more complex, strategic, and creative endeavours. The impact of AI is already visible across various industries. 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 healthcare, AI-driven diagnostics and data processing are enabling doctors to spend more time attending to patients. In the creative industries, AI is providing analytical support that helps human professionals make better decisions without diminishing their originality. Beyond efficiency, AI integration in the workplace could also transform the work-life balance. As AI takes over routine duties, employees may find more time to focus on self-improvement, leisure, and family, without compromising productivity. A properly managed AI-powered workforce could ultimately lead to improved well-being and reduced stress. While speaking further at the meeting, Kashifu Inuwa urged NITDA staff to embody professionalism, innovation, and commitment in their roles. He stressed that NITDAs success in shaping Nigerias digital transformation depends on these core values. Professionalism ensures that the agency remains a credible institution within the technology sector. Innovation fosters groundbreaking ideas that drive digital progress. Commitment reflects the passion required to make lasting contributions to the countrys technological advancement. For AI to truly serve as a partner in progress, Nigeria must embrace policies that encourage upskilling and digital literacy. Workers need to be prepared for an era where AI does not replace them but works alongside them. Addressing ethical concerns such as data privacy and algorithmic bias is also essential in ensuring that the development of artificial intelligence aligns with societal values. Indeed, Kashifu Inuwas perspective challenges the common narrative of AI as a competitor to human intelligence. The NITDA helmsman envisions a future where AI empowers people to be more efficient, creative, and strategic in their professions. The challenge ahead lies not in resisting AI but in finding ways to harness its potential to build a smarter, more adaptive workforce. If Nigeria adopts this approach, it will not merely adjust to technological advancements; it will take a leading role in shaping them. Fatimah Yusuf Usman writes from Abuja, and can be reached via: [email protected] Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print To say that social media mean almost everything to Gen Zs is perhaps an understatement. They conspicuously have an inimitable entrapment for that generation and increasingly, the rest of us. Foremost digital media scholar and recent Higher Education minister in Spain, Manuel Castells firmly wrapped it all in the theory of network society. Social medias strong appeal to humanity defies divides. Theyre maximally representative, even as their miniaturisation for mere pockets is hardly diminishing. Speed of light has become more meaningful with their capacity to transmit and retransmit messages with the unprecedented characteristic of multimediality. Yet, their doors, irrespective of their peculiarities are eternally accessible to anyone with a smartphone duly enabled with data. So, on account of this welcome to everyone availability, youre responsible for whatever you choose to access or disseminate via your favourite social media platforms. There is hardly any better time to engage with the palpability deriving from the all-pervading capability of social media. This year 2025 alone the count of the lunar month of March coincides with that of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Yet the commencement of the Christian Lenten period was only a few days away from that of Ramadan prompting episodic neologists to coin the acronym Ramalent, as a way of synthesizing the two holy seasons. If there is any month most specially treasured by Muslims, it is Ramadan. It comes with all forms of discipline ranging from abstinence from food and drinks to, restraining your sight, amorous possibilities and all, for the better of the day. But the images of the aforelisted pleasures for humans, indeed their extreme versions, are all available in abundance in the social media. Humans reach for pleasure is now transcendental extending beyond real life to the virtual realm courtesy of social media. So how should serious religionists with relevant scriptural admonitions Muslims cope with the bourgeoning phenomenon? First the benefits. The rapid growth of social media has revolutionised human communication, offering immense opportunities for connectivity, knowledge sharing, and spiritual development. 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 One of the greatest blessings of social media is the ease of accessing Islamic knowledge. Scholars, institutions, and dawah organisations use platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook to share Quranic exegesis (tafsir), Hadith commentaries, and fatwas, enabling millions to learn about their faith. Interestingly, for those contents that may be rather long, they could also be shortened even as their overall meanings may not be affected and may also be adapted to various platforms. Most striking perhaps is the revivalist effect of the social media platforms. In southwestern Nigeria, for instance, from Ede, home to Nigerias first sharia court, to Iwo and Ilorin, there were several muslim public intellectuals otherwise referred to as oniwaasi. All such erudite Islamic scholars who are well known and respected during their times are now for transgenerational appreciation on account of the invaluability of their public lectures, especially those laden with prayers of the Holy Prophet, Muhammed (may eternal peace be on him). Such is the affinity for the prayers known to be authentic in all essence that some videos available on some of the platforms contain only those segments featuring the prayers. It is in fact suspected that the commerce minded folks are also beginning to take advantage of these video clips by ensuring that the ones available online do not contain the full versions of the treasured contents. Interested persons may therefore have to pay to them for access. Meanwhile, Allah (SWT) in the supreme scripture of Islam, the Holy Quran, commands believers to seek knowledge: Say, Are those who know equal to those who do not know? Only those who possess intellect take admonition. (Quran 39:9) The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) also emphasised the pursuit of knowledge: Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim. (Ibn Majah, Hadith 224) Yet another major benefit abounds with virtual communities that enjoy as much spiritual support as physical groups encumbered by several conventional challenges including membership fees. Today, online Islamic groups, Quran study circles and virtual religious gatherings have made it easier for Muslims to stay connected with their faith, even in non-Muslim majority societies. These digital communities provide spiritual encouragement, enabling believers to uphold their Islamic identity and practice. Otherwise lost souls manage to retrace their path in the righteous direction while some others not known to be knowledgeable find social media platforms convenient avenues to share knowledge. The interesting thing with all of these is the absolute blurring of boundaries with interaction not being dependent on physical access or presence. This goes to align with the unity of the entire musli ummah irrespective of race or some other parameters. The Prophet (SAW) stated: The example of believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever. (Sahih Muslim, 2586) Its however not all chummy with social media. It has also introduced challenges that can divert individuals from the path of righteousness, fostering distractions, vanity, and unethical behavior. What about the fact that some people now hold that social medias disconnecting effect within homes is most discomforting making it hardly being labelled social? It is not unusual to see parents and children within same household get glued to their assorted devices at the expense of each others attention and welfare. They are literally carried away by vanity and exhibitionist spectacles spread everywhere online. Allah (SWT) warns against seeking worldly attention: So woe to those who pray but are heedless of their prayer those who only show off. (Quran 107:4-6) The Prophet (SAW) also warned: The thing I fear most for you is the minor shirk: showing off. (Musnad Ahmad, 23630) It is incumbent on believers to guard their intentions, ensuring that their social media exploration and presence do not lead them away from sincerity and humility. With limitless offerings in video, texts and audio accompanied by interactivity, social media can become an addictive distraction, taking away time from acts of worship such as salah (prayer), dhikr (remembrance of Allah), and Quran recitation. These days, many people wake up, contrary to the Islamic prescription of thanking Allah first, now prioritise checking their phones. What has happened to starting the day with dua and seeking Allahs guidance for khayra al-yawm? Allah (SWT) reminds us: And do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his own desires, and whose affair is ever [in] neglect. (Quran 18:28) Far worse perhaps is the fact that social media have become a breeding ground for gossip and slander, both of which are grave sins in Islam. Many people engage in online arguments, character assassination, and spreading falsehoods, unaware or possibly deliberately ignoring the fact that such actions are severely condemned in the Quran and Hadith. Indeed, Cybercrime Prohibitions Act of 2015 frowns on several forms of bad conduct online. It is also not for nothing that that Act provides for Cybercrime Advisory Council. Muslims must use social media ethically and responsibly, ensuring that their speech remains pure and beneficial. Instead of excessive scrolling, believers should use social media with moderation, ensuring that their spiritual obligations take precedence over digital distractions. It is particularly important and urgent too that muslim organisations like The Companion, MSSN, The Criterion, NASFAT as well as Ansar ud Deen Society of Nigeria with obvious capacity for Media and Information Literacy, MIL, campaigns should collaborate to formulate a thorough strategy to educate their members locally and internationally. It is a task for which resources are available with relevant government agencies like the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, Nigerian Technology Development Agency, NITDA and so forth. It is therefore worth doing being beneficial to all and therefore should not be made to suffer procrastination. Tunde Akanni, a member of the MacArthur-CITAD supported Social Influencer Action Group, SIAG, is a professor of Journalism at Lagos State University (LASU). Follow him on X: @AkintundeAkanni This is adapted from a presentation at The Companion Mosque, Isawo Road, Ikorodu, as part of this years Ramadan tafsir series of the Ikorodu Usrah Zone on Ramadan 8, 1446/8 March. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has flagged off 10.9km Use Ikot Amama Road with two bridges of 40m and 20m spans and a 21.5km Ikot Anyan Ediene Road with 60m span bridge in Ibiono Ibom and Ikono local government areas of the state. Inaugurating the road project at Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, Mr Eno stressed the significance of the road which connects Ibiono Ibom with Ikono. He tasked the construction firm Setraco Limited to deliver the project according to specifications. He said, We trust in the capacity of Setraco Limited to manoeuvre this hilly terrain and come out with a quality road as expected. You are one of the best road contractors and that was the reason you were chosen to handle this project. We are determined to seamlessly connect every part of this state with an economically viable road network. Road infrastructure is a critical catalyst for development, and we are determined to ensure that we holistically raise the bar of development in all sectors of our economy, be it tourism, healthcare, transportation or otherwise. 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 Eno appreciated the people of Ibiono Ibom for supporting his administration and reiterating his administrations resolve to deliver on his mandate. He commended the Senate President, Goodwill Akpabio, for his vision of bringing development to the area during his administration and promised to ensure that the people benefit from more democracy dividends. Member representing Itu and Ibiono in the House of Representatives, Ime Okon, Chairperson of the Local Government Council, Asuakak Umoh, Paramount Ruler of the Area, Ime Inyang, Member representing Ibiono Ibom State Constituency in the House of Assembly, Moses Essien, in their goodwill messages, praised the governor for taking development to all nooks and crannies of the state and pledged the peoples support for his government beyond 2027. At Ikono Local Government Area, where Mr Eno flagged off the 21.5km road project linking Ikot Anyan Ediene-Ikot Ntia-Urua Naira -Ikot Nseyen Nkwot-Nung Ukim villages with 60m span bridge, the governor spoke of his administrations desire to provide necessary infrastructure to boost the economy and develop agribusiness. He described his administration as people-centric, saying that his investment in road infrastructure is geared towards enhancing the well-being of the people and the states tourist potential. Therefore, the governor commended the areas youth for cooperating with the contractors to ensure prompt project delivery and urged them to engage in meaningful endeavours and protect public facilities in their domain. READ ALSO: 48 PWDs graduate with digital skills from Nigerian institute Street lighting project Governor Eno informed the people that he would extend the ongoing street lighting project in Uyo, the state capital, to the local communities and sued for peace and cooperation with all levels of government so that development could thrive. In their goodwill messages, House of Assembly member representing Ikono State Constituency Asuquo Udo, Commissioner for Trade and Investment Ubong Inyang, and Ikono Council Chairperson Otobong Essien commended the governor for leading a people-centric administration that uses the ARISE Agenda blueprint to bring development to the people and pledged the peoples support to his administration. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print GUANGZHOU, China, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 137th Canton Fair, set to commence on April 15th in Guangzhou, successfully hosted two promotion conferences on March 18th and 19th in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region, respectively. These events further bridged international trade exchanges and promoted convention and exhibition development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area). The Deputy Director of China Foreign Trade Centre, Zhang Sihong, conveyed heartfelt gratitude to the Hong Kong and Macao business communities for their longstanding support of the Canton Fair and provided updates on the upcoming 137th session. The Hong Kong Spring Reception and Canton Fair Promotion Conference was joined by over 260 guests including representatives from Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department, 6 Hong Kong chambers of commerce, 21 foreign chambers of commerce, 17 top multinational corporations, members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, exhibition industry partners and media. Dr. Jonathan Choi, Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong stated that the Hong Kong business community has been an active participant and beneficiary of the Canton Fair. He highlighted that, moving forward, Hong Kong businesses can further leverage the Fair as a platform to expand into markets within Belt and Road countries and emerging economies. The Macao Spring Reception and Canton Fair Promotion Conference on March 19th was attended by 90 guests from Trade Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Macao SAR, the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT), 9 business associations, 17 exhibitors and media. Xu Lemin, Deputy Secretary of Macao Chamber of Commerce, expressed her hope that more Macao enterprises can showcase the achievements of "manufactured in Macao" and "designed in Macao" to global buyers through the Canton Fair, especially to bring focus to the "Macao and Hengqin" coordinated development advantages and push the regional economic development to new heights. The Canton Fair, as a prime example of China's Commitment to expand opening-up, provides global buyers with a one-stop trade platform covering a complete range of products and excelling in quality, price, convenience, efficiency and credibility. The 137th Canton Fair will be held from April 15 to May 5, 2025 in Guangzhou. To download the Canton Fair App, please visit https://cief.cantonfair.org.cn/en/app/appintro.html. SOURCE Canton Fair HONG KONG, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Akeso Inc. (9926.HK) ("the Company") will hold a conference call to discuss its full-year 2024 results on Monday, March 31, 2025, at the following times: 20:00-21:00 ( Hong Kong/China / Singapore ) / ) 13:00-14:00 ( London ) ) 08:00-09:00 ( New York ) During the call, Akeso's management team, including: Dr. Michelle Xia (Chairwoman, President & CEO) (Chairwoman, President & CEO) Dr. Baiyong Li (Chief Scientific Officer) Dr. Bing C. Wang (Chief Financial Officer) will present an overview of the Company's financial performance for the full year of 2024 and provide insights into the outlook for 2025. The management team will also discuss recent developments, update on the progress of its key innovative pipelinesincluding bispecific antibodies cadonilimab (PD-1/CTLA-4) and ivonescimab (PD-1/VEGF), CD47 monoclonal antibody, ADC, and bispecific ADC and outline its strategic direction moving forward. Call Details: Hosted by: Sean Wu, Morgan Stanley Research Language: English Registration: Investors can pre-register via: https://morganstanley.zoom.us/meeting/register/XGiajcA3TmCmsIXVbZndKQ or contact your Morgan Stanley sales representative. About Akeso Akeso (HKEX: 9926.HK) is a leading biopharmaceutical company committed to the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of the world's first or best-in-class innovative biological medicines. Founded in 2012, the company has created a unique integrated R&D innovation system with the comprehensive end-to-end drug development platform (ACE Platform) and bi-specific antibody drug development technology (Tetrabody) as the core, a GMP-compliant manufacturing system and a commercialization system with an advanced operation mode, and has gradually developed into a globally competitive biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative solutions. With fully integrated multi-functional platform, Akeso is internally working on a robust pipeline of over 50 innovative assets in the fields of cancer, autoimmune disease, inflammation, metabolic disease and other major diseases. Among them, 23 candidates have entered clinical trials (including 11 bispecific/multispecific antibodies and bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Additionally, 6 new drugs are commercially available, and 5 new drugs across 7 indications are currently under regulatory review for approval. Through efficient and breakthrough R&D innovation, Akeso always integrates superior global resources, develops the first-in-class and best-in-class new drugs, provides affordable therapeutic antibodies for patients worldwide, and continuously creates more commercial and social values to become a global leading biopharmaceutical enterprise. For more information, please visit https://www.akesobio.com/en/about-us/corporate-profile/ and follow us on Linkedin. SOURCE Akeso, Inc. DELRAY BEACH, Fla., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Analytical Standards Market, valued at US$1.44 billion in 2022, is forecasted to grow at a robust CAGR of 5.9%, reaching US$1.53 billion in 2024 and an impressive US$2.16 billion by 2030. Analytical standards refer to substances with high purity and known concentrations used to calibrate instruments and verify the accuracy of analytical methods in a laboratory. These analytical standards act as a benchmark to compare while measuring the concentration of a specific analyte in a sample. The key factors driving the market growth include the stringent regulatory guidelines in the pharmaceutical industry; increasing public-private investments for research projects; the rising public concerns about food safety & quality; and the growing applications of analytical techniques in proteomics and metabolomics. Additionally, drug development adhering to GMP regulations; the expansion of pharmaceutical & biotechnology industries; and the increasing number of clinical trials are expected to create opportunities for market growth during the forecast period. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=8484789 Browse in-depth TOC on "Analytical Standards Market" 421 - Tables 57 - Figures 408 - Pages By Based on the technique, over the forecast period of 2024-2030, the spectroscopy segment is to register a significant growth. The analytical standards market is segmented into spectroscopy, chromatography, titrimetry and physical property testing. The analytical standards 'spectroscopy' market includes mass spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence/diffraction spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The key factors encouraging the growth of spectroscopy segment during the forecast period are the increased adoption of drug development R&D and the rising use of spectroscopic techniques across a broad range of application areas. By Based on application, during the forecast period, the pharmaceutical & life science standards segment is anticipated to dominate the analytical standards market, holding the largest market share. The pharmaceutical & life science standards segment commands a significant share due to the stringent regulations, increasing focus on quality control and increasing awareness for pharmaceutical & life sciences analytical standards across key markets (such as the US, Europe, China, India, and the Middle East). By geography, in 2024, Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest CAGR in the market for analytical standards during the forecast period. Asia Pacific comprises China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, and the rest of Asia Pacific. Factors such as the presence of stringent regulatory policies for food and drug safety and the growth of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are driving the growth of the APAC analytical standards market during the forecast period. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=8484789 As of 2023, prominent players in analytical standards are Merck KGaA (Germany), Agilent Technologies, Inc. (US), Waters Corporation (US), LGC Limited (UK), PerkinElmer (US), Restek Corporation (US), SPEX CertiPrep (US), AccuStandard (US), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (US), Mallinckrodt (UK), The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (US), Cayman Chemical (US), RICCA Chemical Company (US) and GFS Chemicals, Inc. (US) among others. Merck KGaA (Germany) Merck KGaA held the one of the top positions in the market, with the most significant global share in 2023. The company offers a broad product portfolio to gain the leading market share, and a strong geographical presence in more than 160 countries globally. The company focuses on organic & inorganic growth strategies to enhance its footprint. For instance, the company underwent facility expansion in Nebraska, US, to increase the plant's manufacturing capacity. The company adheres to regulatory compliance for key end-use customers. The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (US) United States Pharmacopeial Convention held a key position in the analytical standards market due to its comprehensive portfolio of reference standards. The company has a strong presence across major countries, including India, Brazil, China, Ghana, the Philippines, Nigeria, Singapore, and Switzerland. The company functions with the help of many subsidiaries across these different regions worldwide. USP has a strong presence in analytical standards market among the various applications of analytical products. For more information, Inquire Now! Related Reports: Chromatography Accessories & Consumables Market Chromatography Reagents Market Bioanalytical Testing Services Market Environmental Testing Equipment Market Mass Spectrometry Market Get access to the latest updates on Analytical Standards Companies and Analytical Standards Market Size About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. Today, 80% of Fortune 2000 companies rely on MarketsandMarkets, and 90 of the top 100 companies in each sector trust us to accelerate their revenue growth. With a global clientele of over 13,000 organizations, we help businesses thrive in a disruptive ecosystem. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion in new revenue streams that are replacing existing ones within this decade. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we collaborate with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies to keep them future-ready. Our insights and strategies are powered by industry experts, cutting-edge AI, and our Market Intelligence Cloud, KnowledgeStore, which integrates research and provides ecosystem-wide visibility into revenue shifts. In addition, MarketsandMarkets SalesIQ enables sales teams to identify high-priority accounts and uncover hidden opportunities, helping them build more pipeline and win more deals with precision. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 1615 South Congress Ave. Suite 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868219/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets NEW YORK, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Levi & Korsinsky, LLP notifies investors in Venture Global, Inc. ("Venture" or the "Company") (NYSE: VG) of a class action securities lawsuit. CLASS DEFINITION: The lawsuit seeks to recover losses on behalf of Venture investors who were adversely affected by alleged securities fraud. 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. Follow the link below to get more information and be contacted by a member of our team: https://zlk.com/pslra-1/venture-global-inc-lawsuit-submission-form?prid=139099&wire=4 VG investors may also contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. via email at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 363-7500. 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 during the relevant time frame, you have until April 18, 2025 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff. NO COST TO YOU: If you are a class member, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket costs or fees. There is no cost or obligation to participate. WHY LEVI & KORSINSKY: Over the past 20 years, the team at Levi & Korsinsky has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders and built a track record of winning high-stakes cases. Our 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. CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Joseph E. Levi, Esq. Ed Korsinsky, Esq. 33 Whitehall Street, 17th Floor New York, NY 10004 [email protected] Tel: (212) 363-7500 Fax: (212) 363-7171 www.zlk.com SOURCE Levi & Korsinsky, LLP DALLAS, March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bar Louie announced today that it has reached an agreement with its lender to reduce debt and support the company through a Chapter 11 restructuring plan for its 31 corporate-owned locations. Operations will continue without interruption. To facilitate the financial restructuring, Bar Louie has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. This process is not expected to impact the company's day-to-day operations. Prior to the filing, Bar Louie closed underperforming locations to enhance its financial stability. The company has secured commitments from its lender for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, ensuring it can maintain operations, complete the restructuring process, and meet obligations to employees and suppliers. Court filings and related documents can be accessed through the claims agent, Stretto, Inc., at https://cases.stretto.com/barlouie. Company Advisors Raines Feldman Littrell LLP is serving as legal counsel for Bar Louie. About Bar Louie Founded in downtown Chicago in 1990 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Bar Louie is the original Gastrobar, known for its award-winning, vibrant neighborhood bars. Bar Louie is recognized for its signature handcrafted martinis, cocktails, and a diverse menu featuring appetizers, burgers, and sandwiches served daily until close. For more information, visit www.barlouie.com. Media Contact: Leslie Crook [email protected] SOURCE Bar Louie LUGANO, Switzerland, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 25, BE OPEN visited Thailand, as The Economist Group's signature sustainability summit returned to Bangkok for the fourth time. Sustainability Week Asia rounds off a series of global conferences - from Cape Town to New York - which bring together the world's foremost experts and industry leaders shaping the transition to a more sustainable future. Opening with keynote addresses by high-ranking officials from Thailand's Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Industry, this year's event welcomed more than 900 delegates from across Asia and beyond. It also marked BE OPEN's first time participating in this important summit to witness conversations about banks driving the ongoing green vehicle transition, providing subsidised financing options for green auto consumption; Asian manufacturers adapting to 'net zero' goals, the region's brightest architects revolutionising sustainable living, and many more. The founder of BE OPEN Elena Baturina focused on the value of the conference for the foundation: "We are happy to become part of the event that connects businesses, investors and innovators to achieve a more sustainable future. Annually for our sustainability competitions we collect hundreds of outstanding creative projects from young people all over the world, and do our best to promote them to the public and private sector. Educating and motivating young people to become leaders of sustainable change is the best way forward. That is why we keep trying to do more by offering them a platform for pitching, discussion and exchange of ideas boosting their confidence and helping them to see that they matter." Since its inception, BE OPEN has tried to identify the evolving needs of the future, offering a platform for the enterprising young leaders of tomorrow to realise their potential as they work to design, create and innovate for the betterment of the planet. As BE OPEN believes in the power of human creativity to push the boundaries, it values such opportunities to share insights and derive inspiration from the cutting-edge developments taking shape in Asia. BE OPEN is a global initiative to foster creativity and innovation, a think-tank whose mission is to promote people and ideas today to build solutions for tomorrow. It is a cultural and social initiative supported by Austria-based international philanthropist and businessperson Elena Baturina. BEIJING, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 opened in Boao, a small town in China's southernmost province of Hainan, on March 25. Since its establishment over two decades ago, the BFA has been committed to promoting economic cooperation and shared development in Asia and the wider world. Wisdom Without Borders: Sugarcane grows from the same stalk, and lemongrass thrives in clusters Themed Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future, this year's conference, which concluded on March 28, focused on promoting multilateralism, fostering openness and growth, and addressing global challenges with a special emphasis on Asia's development. "Sugarcane grows from the same stalk, and lemongrass thrives in clusters." In 2022, Xi quoted this Indonesian saying twice--once in his address at the opening ceremony of the BFA Annual Conference in April and again at the First Session of the 17th Summit of the Group of 20 in Bali, Indonesia, in November. The quote underscores a fundamental truth: Only through unity can we achieve shared prosperity. The global community must recognize that division and rivalry benefit no one, and that only by pursuing solidarity and common development can we stay on the right path. Since the dawn of this century, Asia has enjoyed relative stability as well as sustained and rapid economic growth. The region has also seen accelerated economic integration, deepening cultural ties and expanding cooperation in technological innovation, as well as the robust development of digital and green economies. Meanwhile, continuous upgrades in both policies and infrastructure have strengthened connectivity across the continent. Through the collective commitment of Asian nations and their peoples, the region has solidified its position as a powerhouse of global development and an oasis of peace. The world is undergoing a pivotal transition. However, despite all the great shifts and uncertainties, Asia remains a key driver of global economic growth. As the world looks to the region for continued momentum, it is imperative that Asia does not become a battleground for great power rivalry. Instead, it should stand as a model for international cooperation. A key member of the Asian family, China has solidified its role as a pillar of the region's stability, an engine driving economic growth and a cornerstone of regional security. The world can only thrive when Asia prospers. To build Asia into a better place to live in, fully leverage its resilience, wisdom and strength, and make the continent an anchor of peace, a source for growth and a new frontier for cooperation, all Asian countries should work in tandem to address shared challenges. As we all inhabit the same planet, we should work toward a community with a shared future for humanity by championing the ideals of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit and by standing united against all difficulties. Asian nations should come together more closely than ever to set the stage for further growth and continue to drive the universal pursuit of peace and progress. Comments to [email protected] TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@cachinachic/video/7486427163676265758?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7227134149436605995 X https://x.com/BeijingReview/status/1904811562936000933 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DkNTXcoF9/ YouTube https://youtu.be/XYrErl8wK3s Weibo https://weibo.com/1719349955/PklgTv3kR Website https://www.bjreview.com/Multimedia/Video/Wisdom_Without_Borders/202503/t20250327_800396656.html SOURCE Beijing Review Annual benefit concert celebrates Oakland youth while raising funds for transformational Service Learning Program SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Get ready to be electrified! buildOn is thrilled to announce that blues sensation Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge will headline the 2025 Better Together Concert on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at The Chapel at 777 Valencia Street in San Francisco's vibrant Mission District. This unforgettable night of music and community will celebrate local students while raising critical funds for buildOn's Service Learning Program in Oakland. Doors will open at 6:30. 18-year-old guitar prodigy Grace Bowers, hailed by Rolling Stone as "Nashville's new guitar hero," will bring her fiery talent to the stage following the breakout success of her debut album Wine On Venus. Produced by John Osborne of Brothers Osborne, the album has been praised as "an infectious, joyous party" by Forbes , cementing Bowers' status as one of music's most exciting rising stars. "This concert embodies what makes Oakland special incredible artistry meeting deep community commitment," said Sterling Spence, buildOn's Executive Director in Oakland. "When you hear Grace's guitar light up the room, you'll feel the same energy our students bring to serving their neighborhoods. Every ticket sold helps us support our young leaders as they transform Oakland through action." All proceeds from the Better Together Concert will directly support buildOn's work in Oakland, where students contribute thousands of service hours annually to address local challenges while developing leadership skills. The organization's Service Learning Program currently engages nearly 700 Oakland students in transformative volunteer projects every week. Tickets are available now at buildon.org/bettertogether . To learn more about buildOn's work in Oakland, visit buildon.org/oakland . SOURCE buildOn, Inc. The first-of-its-kind partnership will significantly increase CMU's cloud-based GPU resources for advanced AI research PITTSBURGH, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As the birthplace of artificial intelligence (AI) and a global leader in frontier AI research, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has selected Google Public Sector as its partner for large-scale computing. This collaboration will enable CMU's world-class research to reach a new level of impact in AI for scientific discovery and commercial applications. Through this partnership, CMU has acquired a large cloud-based GPU cluster, significantly expanding its high-performance computing capacity and establishing its position as a national leader in university cloud-based research computing. This cutting-edge infrastructure will enable CMU researchers to tackle some of the most complex challenges in AI, advancing scientific discovery, technological innovation and real-world impact. "Carnegie Mellon University is thrilled to be extending our long record of collaboration and innovation with Google," said Stan Waddell , Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. "This new phase of our collaboration will augment efforts to tackle some of the most intractable challenges facing society today." This partnership, paired with Google's established presence in Pittsburgh, further establishes the city as a growing technology hub actively attracting talent and investment to the region. Advancements in AI are closely linked to the availability of computing power. While academic research typically operates on a smaller scale than large industry projects, it is increasingly important for the nation's future talent pipeline to have access to systems capable of running on hundreds of GPUs. "Access to this amount of computing power will fundamentally change what we are able to accomplish as a university in the field of AI and machine learning," said Zico Kolter , head of the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon. "With this resource, our researchers will be able to power new advances in the development of safer AI systems, of new models aimed at fundamental advances in science, and in the development of large-scale evaluations to truly understand AI's current and future capabilities." Google Public Sector is providing comprehensive support for onboarding workloads and optimizing resources, ensuring CMU researchers can seamlessly leverage its advanced GPU infrastructure. This support will enable them to tackle complex challenges and create real-world impact. "Improving access to large-scale computing power is essential for fostering research innovation at U.S. education institutions and empowering the next generation of AI," said Brad Hoffman, Director, State & Local Government and Higher Education, Google Public Sector. "These types of partnerships are critical to advancing research and the development of critical skills to shape the future of AI. At Google Public Sector, we are dedicated to providing secure, scalable, and innovative cloud solutions that enable educators and researchers to power the next generation of innovation." This partnership marks a significant milestone in CMU's ongoing commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI research. By expanding access to cutting-edge computing power, Carnegie Mellon and Google Public Sector are paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries that will shape the future of AI and its applications across industries. As AI continues to evolve, this collaboration ensures that CMU remains at the forefront of innovation, driving advancements that will have lasting global societal outcomes. About Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon is a private, internationally-ranked research university with acclaimed programs spanning the sciences, engineering, technology, business, public policy, humanities and the arts. Our diverse community of scholars, researchers, creators and innovators is driven to make real-world impacts that benefit people across the globe. With an unconventional, interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial approach, we do the work that matters. About Google Cloud Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner. SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University RALEIGH, N.C., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) hosted a roundtable with U.S. Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02), Co-Chair of the Congressional Independent Colleges Caucus (CICC), in downtown Raleigh last week. The meeting brought together institutional leaders from Campbell University's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, Meredith College, Saint Augustine's University, Shaw University, and William Peace University to share perspectives on federal policy issues affecting North Carolina's independent higher education sector. "This roundtable was an important opportunity to elevate the voices of our independent colleges and universities, particularly those in Raleigh, where our institutions serve an increasingly broad student population," said NCICU President Dr. A. Hope Williams. "We deeply appreciate Congresswoman Ross for her leadership and continuing to champion policies supporting student success and institutional resilience. The work of NCICU remains focused on supporting our 36 campuses with the information, advocacy, and resources they need to thrive." Congresswoman Ross, a longtime advocate for education and co-chair of the CICC in the 119th Congress, led a robust and solutions-oriented discussion about the future of college access, affordability, student support, and institutional sustainability in the wake of shifting federal priorities, ongoing FAFSA delays, and recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. The conversation also touched on concerns about the impact on student engagement and federal grant funding in a changing DEI landscape. "I was proud to convene an independent colleges roundtable, bringing together school leaders and administrators to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing independent institutions in our area," said Congresswoman Ross. "Our conversation covered key issues, including affordability, access to federal resources, and readiness in the workforce. I am committed to supporting Wake County's fantastic independent colleges institutions committed to educating our next generation of bright minds and innovative leaders." The roundtable addressed a range of pressing issues, including: Access to federal financial aid and timely processing of Pell Grants and FAFSA; Questions about the future of Federal Work Study, Title III, and Title IV funding; Navigating federal reporting requirements amidst ongoing vacancies at the U.S. Department of Education; Graduate school access for underrepresented students; Uncertainty surrounding Employee Retention Credit (ERC) reimbursements from the IRS; The economic impact of independent colleges as regional employers and community anchors, particularly in rural areas. Several institutions also shared ongoing challenges in student mental health and internship placement. Congresswoman Ross emphasized the importance of documenting and quantifying their economic and workforce impacts, particularly in rural areas. She also reminded participants to include Senators Tillis and Budd and Representative Alma Adams, the new ranking House Education and Workforce Committee member, in their outreach. The NCICU Roundtable was part of a statewide initiative to ensure that members of Congress remain engaged with the challenges and opportunities facing North Carolina's independent, nonprofit colleges and universities. Click here to learn more about the Congressional Independent Colleges Caucus. ABOUT NCICU North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities (NCICU) is the statewide office of private, nonprofit colleges and universities. NCICU supports, represents, and advocates for North Carolina independent higher education in the areas of state and federal public policy and on education issues with the other sectors of education in the state. It also raises funds through the Independent College Fund of North Carolina for student scholarships and enrichment experiences, provides research and information to and about private colleges and universities, conducts staff development opportunities and coordinates collaborative programs. Presidents of the 36 colleges and universities comprise the NCICU Board of Directors. CONTACT: Demarcus Williams [email protected] SOURCE North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities PALATINE, Ill., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On or about February 3, 2025, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, the new acting director of the CFPB, announced the effective shutdown of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. All pending litigation with the CFPB was paused with attorneys instructed they were only empowered to seek continuance of existing cases and therefore, they were specifically told to stop all activities on pending litigation. However, the attorneys for the CFPB filed an opposition memorandum on March 13, 2025, in the 6-year on-going legal battle against Defendant, Dean Tucci. Tucci stated in his Motion, "Any actions prosecuted, and submissions made after President Trump's orders to halt work, by the CFPB attorneys on this case, are in direct defiance of the administration and clearly the actions are rogue and independent of the CFPB's new directives." According to the motion, on March 13, 2025, when asked directly by defense counsel, via email, with the courtroom deputy present, "The Trump administration ordered the CFPB to stop work and began shuttering the agency and their headquarters on February 9, 2025 under whose direction and supervision are you prosecuting this case?" the CFPB's attorney's answer was only: "We received authorization to work on this case, including the filings and submission made today." No clear chain of command exists, or was exhibited in the plaintiff's answer, which shows that the attorneys on this matter are acting independently of the CFPB. The motion also details that the CFPB have recently dropped cases against Capital One, Rocket Homes, Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, and Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, among others. Tucci has requested the Court dismiss the CFPB's Motion for Summary Judgement through his Opposition Motion. Tucci also requested this case be dismissed with prejudice and the court awards him his reasonable attorney's fees of over $100,000 and other compensatory damages, as well as an award of punitive damages in an amount to be determined by the court to be paid by Plaintiff. For More Information on this case, contact [email protected] SOURCE Dean Tucci BEIJING, March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, an American YouTube sensation known as "IShowSpeed," who has 37 million followers on the platform, has streamed his trip to China live for six hours in a row. Through his lens, overseas netizens see a China of friendly people, clean streets, and "ridiculously fast internet speeds." The two families - one from China and the other from the US - that touched hundreds of millions of netizens by posting photos to each other on RedNote have met each other in Shanghai. The images of the two generations exchanging gifts and enjoying the amusement park together prompted netizens to exclaim, "Isn't this just how the world is supposed to be?" From the online celebrity's "China Travel" to "Say Hi" on RedNote, the heat of people-to-people exchanges between China and the US is unabated, and there has always existed a stable and great demand for exchanges and a friendly foundation between the two countries. "Amity between people holds the key to sound relations between countries" - The vigorous vitality of China-US people-to-people exchanges is the vivid stories of countless individuals who measure with their feet, record with their lenses and interact with their hearts. When IShowSpeed held up his cell phone and sang "Sunshine, Rainbow, White Pony" with young Chinese people, when foreign "ordinary people" shared China's food, beautiful scenery and interesting experiences and insights through their lens, the global audience felt the friendliness and closeness of China in laughter. When more American people are moved by the real China and choose to join the "China Travel" army to remove the "filter," the digital age has given the people of the two countries new channels for communication and also contributed to the "snowball" effect of China-US exchanges. The life of people-to-people exchanges has a strong vitality precisely because it is rooted in the most basic resonances of human nature: the convenience of the mobile network, the streets that make people feel safe even late at night and the friendly and hospitable Chinese people who are completely strangers. These images do not intentionally render anything, but allow the viewers to naturally feel the intersection of an ancient civilization and modern innovation. Similarly, when Chinese netizens asked their American friends to help revise their English compositions and when both sides used "cat tax" to break the ice and interact with each other using popular memes, cultural differences, instead, have become a catalyst for better understanding, and this kind of interaction across borders just proves the power of sincerity and authenticity. The desire of the people in China and the US to "make more visits and exchanges" has always provided important momentum for the stable advancement of bilateral relations. The deeper significance of promoting people-to-people exchanges lies in the fact that the younger generation is becoming the main force behind these interactions. A previous Pew Research Center poll showed that the percentage of Americans aged 18 to 29 with negative views of China is 11 percent lower than the average. According to a 2023 report by The Economist, Americans under the age of 45 are relatively less likely to view China as an "enemy." Whether it's the friendship trees planted by Iowa middle school students and their Chinese partners, the exchange visits between Jingshan School and Newton Public Schools resuming after a five-year hiatus, or the high school student delegation from Washington State singing the Chinese song "On the Fields of Hope" at Tsinghua University High School, these moments suggest that future China-US relations will be built upon more shared memories created by the next generations in both countries. At the recently concluded China Development Forum 2025, about one-third of the representatives of the 86 multinational companies were from the US, the largest proportion of any country. China has consistently upheld an open and inclusive stance, creating opportunities for more foreign friends to visit and understand the country as well as for more foreign businesses to deepen their presence in the Chinese market. Mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation are the right way for the two great powers, China and the US, to get along with each other, and they also apply at the grassroots level. The hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies and its future depends on the youth. Encouraging more interactions and communication between the people of China and the US and allowing genuine voices to cut through the fog of prejudice is both the call of the times and the direction for the future. When more individuals, like IShowSpeed and the "RedNote families," build bridges with sincerity, every grassroots encounter will write a new chapter of possibility. By reaching out to each other, the people of China and the US demonstrate that the door to better bilateral relations is opened by the people - and once opened, it will not be closed again. SOURCE Global Times EQT Infrastructure VI raises EUR 21.5 billion in total commitments, including EUR 21.3 billion in fee-generating assets under management, exceeding the EUR 20 billion target and hitting hard-cap in total commitments, including in fee-generating assets under management, exceeding the target and hitting hard-cap This represents a 35 percent increase on the Fund's predecessor, owing to strong support from both existing and new investors The Fund builds on EQT Value-Add Infrastructure's more than 15-year track record investing in infrastructure companies that provide essential services to society across Europe , North America and Asia Pacific STOCKHOLM, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT is pleased to announce the closing of its flagship infrastructure fund, EQT Infrastructure VI (the "Fund") on EUR 21.5 billion in total commitments, including EUR 21.3 billion in fee-generating assets under management. EQT Infrastructure VI received commitments from a diversified, global group of institutional investors, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers and insurance companies. The private wealth segment represented an increased share compared to the predecessor vehicle. Fund investors were based across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and the Nordics. The Fund is 35 percent larger than its predecessor which closed on EUR 15.7 billion in November 2021. EQT Infrastructure VI invests in infrastructure companies that provide essential services to society, have a stable or growing underlying demand, predictable cash flows, and an asset-based, contracted and well-protected business model. It pursues attractive investment themes such as digital infrastructure; generating, storing, and distributing energy; decarbonization and electrification of industrial processes and transport; resource efficiency and circularity; and social infrastructure. Masoud Homayoun, Head of Infrastructure at EQT, said: "EQT Infrastructure VI has had a great start with 12 highly thematic investments closed or signed. Our sector teams are continuing to deliver on a healthy investment pipeline and we are excited by the large opportunity set underpinned by global, long-term trends such as the transition to a decarbonized and circular economy and the digitalization of society. Our focus remains on creating lasting value in our portfolio and delivering outstanding performance for our clients." Lennart Blecher, Head of Real Assets at EQT, added: "Since its inception in 2008, EQT Infrastructure has grown at pace and today, we have a 130-strong team and three investment strategies: Value-Add, Active Core and the recently launched Transition Infrastructure strategy. We are thrilled to announce the final close of EQT Infrastructure VI, our latest flagship fund within EQT's EUR 75 billion1 global infrastructure business, and look forward to continuing to scale the platform." Suzanne Donohoe, Chief Commercial Officer at EQT, commented: "We would like to thank our longstanding clients, whose commitments represented around 70% of this fundraise, for their continued confidence in the EQT Value-Add Infrastructure strategy. We are also grateful for our new partners' trust in EQT and we aim to continue to deliver attractive returns through economic cycles." EQT Value-Add Infrastructure takes an industrial approach to value creation in mature infrastructure businesses. It actively partners with high-quality companies with significant and sustainable growth potential to build strong, resilient businesses through hands-on support of management teams, and bringing deep operational expertise in areas such as AI, digitalization and sustainability. The EQT Infrastructure team is further supported by EQT's Industrial Advisors. This global network of more than 600 business executives and entrepreneurs is engaged in the entire investment process and act as board members to contribute operational and strategic expertise to portfolio companies. EQT Infrastructure VI is 45-50 percent committed (including closed and/or signed investments, announced public offers, if applicable, and less any expected syndication), based on the actual fund size. The Fund has closed ten investments, including in Constellation Cold Logistics, OX2, Statera and Universidad Europea in Europe; a new partnership with EdgeConnex, Arcwood Environmental (formerly Heritage Environmental Services), Lazer Logistics and Madison Energy Infrastructure in the US; and Rena (formerly KJ Environment) and SK Shieldus in Asia Pacific. It has also announced entering into exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority stake in Eutelsat Group's ground station infrastructure business in Europe and a Joint Venture with T-Mobile to acquire Lumos in the US. Contact Olof Svensson, Head of Shareholder Relations, +46 72 989 09 15 EQT Press Office, [email protected], +46 8 506 55 334 1Total AuM as of December 2024 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/eqt-infrastructure-vi-holds-final-close-at-its-hard-cap--raising-eur-21-5-billion-in-total-commitmen,c4125647 The following files are available for download: MIAMI, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the eMerge Americas Conference + Expo, Florida's business and innovation leaders officially announced a new partnership aimed at establishing Florida as the premier entry point and hub for global technology, capital, and entrepreneurship. This initiative, anchored between Miami and West Palm Beach, will create a direct bridge between international investors, high-growth industries, and Florida's regional markets, building upon the strong momentum in the area that has successfully attracted a significant number of firms primarily focused in the financial services industry. Led by three founding partnersFlorida Council of 100, eMerge Americas, and Related Rossthe initiative aims to enhance access for entrepreneurs, providing crucial support through strategic infrastructure developments and targeted accelerator programs. A Bold Vision for Florida's Future "This is more than an economic development projectit's a global statement that Florida is ready to lead in innovation," said Michael Simas, President & CEO of the Florida Council of 100. "With this initiative, we are ensuring that companies landing here don't just start in Floridathey scale here and expand across the entire state." The strategic initiative is designed to support Florida's fastest-growing industries, including: Finance & Insurance Southeast Florida represents 38.7% of Florida's finance GDP and nearly 94% of all venture capital raised statewide. represents 38.7% of finance GDP and nearly 94% of all venture capital raised statewide. Health Services & Medtech A $114.6 billion industry, with over 419,000 jobs in Southeast Florida alone. industry, with over 419,000 jobs in alone. IT & Tech Florida's tech sector continues to surge, with Southeast Florida capturing 65% of all venture capital raised in IT across the entire state. tech sector continues to surge, with capturing 65% of all venture capital raised in IT across the entire state. Aerospace, CleanTech, & Logistics Expanding Florida's innovation footprint beyond traditional industries, with 345,000 jobs in Southeast Florida within these emerging sectors. Why Southeast Florida? Why Now? "We've seen firsthand how South Florida has become a global hub for investment and innovation," said Melissa Medina, CEO & Co-founder of eMerge Americas. "This new partnership harnesses this momentum, positioning Florida as the destination for tech-driven global business." The initiative, which includes Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, will coordinate with the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance and Miami-Dade Beacon Council, along with public and private sector partners throughout the region and state. Southeast Florida is helping drive the state's economic surge: $4.13 billion in venture capital activity in 2024, placing Miami among the top 5 in the U.S. for venture deal count and 6 th in the nation for venture deal value. in venture capital activity in 2024, placing among the top 5 in the U.S. for venture deal count and 6 in the nation for venture deal value. $39 billion in new wealth and income in Palm Beach County post-pandemic, which is reported to be more than any other county in the country. in new wealth and income in post-pandemic, which is reported to be more than any other county in the country. Massive infrastructure investment in commercial real estate, talent recruitment, and digital connectivity. West Palm Beach has drawn financial institutions to its city, creating a foundation for a broader business ecosystem: Related Ross broke ground on 1 million square feet of office space in West Palm Beach in March, adding to an existing portfolio of 2 million square feet. has drawn financial institutions to its city, creating a foundation for a broader business ecosystem: Related Ross broke ground on 1 million square feet of office space in in March, adding to an existing portfolio of 2 million square feet. The existing ecosystem of first class academic and healthcare institutions will be enhanced as Vanderbilt University and Cleveland Clinic are both launching new projects in West Palm Beach . Vanderbilt is constructing a new graduate campus expected to open in three years. Meanwhile, Cleveland Clinic has announced plans to build a 150-bed hospital and cancer research center, which is scheduled to open in the near future in West Palm Beach . A Collaborative Effort to Scale Statewide Unlike isolated business districts, this initiative is designed to enhance Florida's entire economy. Through strategic partnerships with regional accelerators, business leaders, and policymakers, the initiative will: Expand Market Access Florida Council of 100 will ensure seamless entry into Florida's broader business landscape. broader business landscape. Attract Global Investment eMerge Americas will leverage its international network to bring in venture capital, startups, and corporate partners. Develop Infrastructure Related Ross is creating world-class commercial spaces and innovation hubs to support long-term growth in Palm Beach County . . Ensure Transparency & Growth Metrics A research component will track investment, job creation, and economic expansion. "Great cities are not simply built; they emerge from the synergies between talent and partnerships," said Stephen Ross, CEO and Chairman of Related Companies. "As we navigate an era of rapid change driven by technological advances, South Florida is poised to become an innovation hub. With initiatives like this, we can link educational institutions, entrepreneurial programs, and sources of capital to create a new environment for American businesses." Next Steps & Engagement The launch of this new partnership marks the beginning of a statewide movement to position Florida as the ultimate destination for global business expansion. In the coming weeks and months, the initiative's partners will be working closely with investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to drive continued engagement and investmentincluding new efforts to market the region, accelerator programs and sources of capital. About Florida Council of 100 The Florida Council of 100 is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of business leaders dedicated to improving Florida's quality of life and economic well-being. Founded in 1961 at the request of Governor Farris Bryant, the Council serves as a trusted advisor to Florida's elected officials and policymakers. Its membership represents over 200 companies employing more than 1.3 million Floridians, collectively shaping the state's future through business-driven policy solutions and direct economic impact initiatives. For more information about the Florida Council of 100, visit www.fc100.org. About eMerge Americas eMerge Americas is the premier global tech event held annually in Miami, shaping the future of tech and innovation. The eMerge signature event, launched in 2014, attracts over 20,000 attendees from 60 countries and over 4,300 unique participating organizations. In addition to the annual conference, eMerge organizes and hosts year-round executive summits, a startup accelerator program, startup pitch competitions, community events, masterclasses, and webinars, and publishes venture activity and investment insights reports. For the last decade, eMerge has served as a global catalyst for innovation and investment, working at the forefront of building the South Florida and Florida tech and entrepreneurial ecosystem. About Related Ross Led by visionary developer Stephen Ross, Related Ross is a fully integrated real estate firm with unparalleled expertise in mixed-use development. For more than 25 years, Related has led the transformation of West Palm Beach into one of the nation's fastest-growing cities to live, work, and visit. Related Ross leads the market in Class A office with over 2.8M square feet of existing commercial holdings built and under construction. Known for luxury residential buildings, Related Ross is introducing a new class of rentals and condos to the market, including The Laurel and South Flagler House. The company also developed and owns the most celebrated destinations in the region including CityPlace the most visited neighborhood in the City, fostering culture and enriching the community with lush green spaces, a diverse mix of experiential retail and culinary offerings, the largest concentration of public art installed by a private company in Palm Beach County, educational programming and modern residences; as well as Hilton West Palm Beach, RH West Palm and the historic Harriet Himmel Theater. For more information about Related Ross, please visit www.relatedross.com SOURCE eMerge Americas PHOENIX, March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark decision, President Donald J. Trump has granted a full and unconditional pardon of innocence to Trevor Milton, founder of Nikola Corporation. In his second inaugural address, President Trump pledged to end the political weaponization of the Justice Department. This pardon marks a step toward fulfilling that commitment. Milton, a visionary entrepreneur who pioneered the first zero-emission semi-truck in the U.S. to reach production, was prosecuted by the Southern District of New York, led by former U.S. Attorney Damian Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Podolsky and Nicolas Roos. Milton fought to expose the fundamental legal flaws in the case against him which ultimately resulted in his pardon. The striking similarities between Milton's case and those brought against President Trump highlight systemic issues within the justice system, particularly within the Southern District of New York. "This pardon is not just about meit's about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that's a lot of people," said Milton. "It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing. I wish judges would stop believing whatever the prosecutors feed them so Americans could trust the justice system again. Until that happens, our justice system will continue to erode until there is nothing left." "The 90+% conviction rate in New York is appalling and is a result of prosecutors getting whatever they want and putting innocent people in prison. I saw firsthand the tactics they use to achieve those guaranteed convictions. I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for his courage in standing up for what is right and for granting me this sacred pardon of innocence." With his record fully cleared and his freedom and rights restored, Milton is set to launch a documentary available for preview at www.trevormilton.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Jeffery Mann [email protected] 1-801-513-3359 1DS Media Relations Mgr. SOURCE Trevor Milton Media Debut novel in A Journey to the Heart of Kumari trilogy invites readers into a mystical family saga inspired by Himalayan landscapes, ancient riddles, and divine purpose MANHATTAN, N.Y., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A Journey to the Heart of Kumari Debut YA Fantasy Braids Ancient Nepalese Mystery with Spiritual Awakening Global Launch - March 2025 Guardians of a Secret Legacy Marks a Powerful Debut in the A Journey to the Heart of Kumari Trilogy Author K.A. Nayampalli unveils her highly anticipated debut novel, Guardians of a Secret Legacy, the first in A Journey to the Heart of Kumari Trilogy - a haunting and spiritually rich adventure set against the breathtaking landscapes and esoteric lore of Nepal. This young adult fantasy beckons readers into a realm where ancient secrets, divine energy, and the flicker of human courage converge. Written in prose that is as lean as it is lyrical, Guardians of a Secret Legacy follows Harrison, a reluctant traveler, as he journeys through sacred mountains, forbidden chambers, and the tangled threads of his own destiny. What begins as a family vacation becomes a crucible of faith and fear, shadowed by omens and guided by forgotten wisdom. Yet this is not solely Harrison's tale-it is a layered, multi-perspective saga that unfolds through the eyes of his family and those who seek to stop them. Each voice, whether grounded in hope or haunted by darkness, adds depth to the mystery and reveals that the battle between light and shadow is never one-sided. "The story is not mine alone," says Nayampalli. "It was born in the high places of Nepal, whispered through prayer flags and stone temples, then carried home in my soul." With themes of belonging, spiritual legacy, and redemption, the novel offers a fresh voice in YA fantasy, while paying homage to Nepalese traditions, Buddhist philosophy, and timeless storytelling. The book is published by The Nayampalli House, a mission-driven imprint founded by Nayampalli to preserve cultural storytelling and support educational initiatives in Nepal. A portion of book proceeds directly benefits The Nayampalli Heart Initiative in partnership with Northern Trekking Team, which provides coats, supplies, and scholarships for children in remote Himalayan communities. About the Author Kimberly Ann Nayampalli is the founder of The Nayampalli House and author of A Journey to the Heart of Kumari. Her writing blends mystery, spirituality, and folklore with evocative prose. She lives between worlds-both real and imagined-with her family, creating tales and walking in the footsteps of her characters. For Media Inquiries, Interviews, or Review Copies: Contact: Kimberly Ann Nayampalli Email: [email protected] Website: https://thenayampallihouse.org Instagram: @the_alchemists_quill Facebook: Nayampalli pen and prose Photos: https://www.prlog.org/13068884 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE The Nayampalli House RICHMOND, Texas, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- iCRYO, a leading franchise within the longevity space, proudly announces the opening of its 50th franchise location in Richmond, Texas. A major milestone for any franchise, center number 50 underscores the validity of iCRYO's model and services. It also serves as a tribute to iCRYO's commitment to delivering premium health, wellness, and longevity services nationwide. iCRYO Richmond, led by physician-assistant-and-nurse duo Dan Shurtleff and Arseli Loera, is the latest in a series of recent openings that have expanded the company's footprint across the US and Canada. In the past four months alone, iCRYO has launched a handful of new centers nationwide, including ones in Middletown, NY, Fairfax, VA, Clemson, SC, Boerne, TX, 4S Ranch, CA, and Grosse Pointe, MI. This impressive growth reflects the increasing demand for accessible, cutting-edge wellness solutions. "What a milestone this is, celebrating the opening of our 50th location in Richmond," said Kyle Jones, Co-Founder and CEO of iCRYO. "This is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated franchisees and the trust our guests place in our services. Our mission is to help people feel, perform and live better. Our vision is to become a global wellness brand. Each new location allows us to reach even more individuals seeking to enhance their health and wellness." These new iCRYO centers all offer a full suite of longevity and wellness services, including whole-body cryotherapy, red light therapy, compression therapy, IV infusions, medical weight loss and body sculpting, among others. These services are designed to support recovery, improve overall well-being and promote a healthier lifestyle for guests of all backgrounds. "We're so excited to bring iCRYO to this community and create a space where people can enhance their quality of life," said Arseli Loera, iCRYO Richmond co-owner. "As medical professionals, we've seen firsthand that without quality of life, longevity means very little. With the energy we're bringing to our location, our goal is to make this a place where both guests and team members genuinely love what they do and how they live." With more than a dozen additional centers on track for completion this year, including its 51st center set to open soon in Edgewater, IL, a suburb of Chicago, iCRYO continues to lead the wellness industry by making science-backed services accessible to more communities across the US and beyond. The brand's steady growth underscores its innovative business model, the needs it's addressing in these communities, and its capable team of corporate professionals and franchisees. About iCRYO Founded and headquartered in Houston, TX, iCRYO's mission is to elevate the quality of life of its team members, guests, and franchisees by providing affordable, professional, and convenient personal health services while raising the standard as a global wellness brand. To learn more about its services, locations and franchise opportunities, visit www.icryo.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Robbie Jenkins Director of Communications, iCRYO [email protected] SOURCE iCRYO Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $50,000 In Telus International To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options If you suffered losses exceeding $50,000 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 28, 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 to 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 SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time ever, over the objections of the Debtor, the Judge in a Diocesan bankruptcy has mandated the disclosure of meeting minutes prepared by the Debtor's Independent Review Board (the "IRB Minutes") and anonymous claims data (the "Claims Data") aggregated from proofs of claim submitted by Survivors of childhood sexual abuse ("Survivors"). The case is In re THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF SAN FRANCISCO and the committee is represented by law firm Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones ("PSZJ"). Judge Dennis Montali soundly rejected arguments that there was no bankruptcy purpose for the disclosure motion. Focusing on the bankruptcy court's unique role and the importance of nonmonetary commitments to Survivors, Judge Montali noted that there are "hundreds of claims alleging clergy abuse, all of which have been yanked out of traditional state courts and have been thrust into this bankruptcy court, at the Archbishop's behest." He further reasoned that a consensual plan is only possible when all parties feel that the process is fair and, in this case, disclosure may assist mediation efforts. "The Motion serves a clear bankruptcy purpose, and an argument that no such purpose exists, from the very Debtor who brought these claims and discovery into this court, is not credible and is rejected," Judge Montali added. "Judge Montali's decision represents an important victory not just for the Archdiocese of San Francisco Survivors but for all Survivors and Catholic communities around the world," said Margie O'Driscoll, co-chair of the Survivors' committee. "This decision sets a precedent for all Dioceses to be held accountable for protecting children today and tomorrow and to provide transparency for the children they did not protect in the past." "Public scrutiny and learning from the past are vital for the safety of children," said PSZJ attorney Brittany Michael, counsel for the committee. "Judge Montali's decision recognizes that dioceses cannot use bankruptcy to escape disclosure," she added. The IRB Minutes were prepared by an Archdiocese Advisory Board that investigates allegations of abuse and makes recommendations to the Archbishop regarding the church's response. The committee argued that the IRB Minutes should be publicly disclosed because, contrary to the Archdiocese's assurances regarding the board's independence and its mission to protect children, the minutes reflect an outsized concern for the perpetrators, their reputations, and questioning of the abuse claimants' credibility. The Claims Data reflects data from Survivors' proofs of claim, including: the age range of Survivors when the abuse began; the current age range of Survivors; specific types of abuse alleged in the proofs of claim; the named perpetrators and how many claims identify those perpetrators; and the locations where abuse occurred. No Survivor objected to disclosure of the anonymous form of Claims Data. Ultimately, the Court granted the committee's request for disclosure and the ability to file the Claims Data on the court docket on the condition that (1) the page reflecting perpetrator names and the number of proofs of claim identifying each perpetrator must be modified to remove the names or reduce them to initials, and (2) the committee must send notice to all Survivor claimants to allow individuals to opt out of having their claim information included as part of the Claims Data. The committee is hopeful that the Court's ruling on the disclosure motion (and other pending motions) will bring the parties closer in mediation negotiations. SOURCE Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones SEOUL, South Korea, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Korea Zinc (KRX:010130) announced on March 28 that it has successfully concluded its annual general meeting (AGM), with the current management retaining board control in contention against MBK and Young Poong. Korea Zinc's 51st AGM was held at Yongsan, Seoul. The participants in the meeting demonstrated strong support for the current management, underscoring the outstanding business performance and shareholder returns Korea Zinc has managed to continuously deliver upon. Korea Zinc employees, key technical staff, labor unions, partner companies, and civil society groups in Ulsan have consistently voiced firm support for the current management. Public sentiment on assisting the current management had also grown rapidly, particularly due to the recent developments in Homeplus abruptly filing for corporate rehabilitation which drew close parallels to Korea Zinc's situation. On the day of the AGM, Korea Zinc labor union members traveled from Ulsan to Seoul to stand in solidarity with the current management of Korea Zinc. Of particular note, the labor union of Homeplus also staged a protest in front of the venue, issuing warnings on the potential dangers of private equity firms. Inside the AGM venue, many shareholders called for measures to protect the company from potential destabilization from outside influence. These concerns were able to gain traction as Korea Zinc is a core national industry that plays a vital role in resource security and the global strategic mineral supply chain. Board Size Capped at 19, Enhancing Efficiency and Stability At the AGM, Korea Zinc approved its consolidated and separate financial statements for the 51st fiscal year (2024). Shareholders also approved a cash dividend of KRW 7,500 per common share and resolved to transfer KRW 1.6689 trillion from discretionary reserves to retained earnings. Additionally, five amendments to the company's articles of incorporation were addressed, including a cap on the number of board directors. Four key proposals were passed: Capping the number of directors at 19 Appointing an outside director as board chair Changing the dividend record date Introducing quarterly dividends The proposal to set a maximum of 19 board members was approved with over 70% support from voting shareholders. This move is expected to improve board stability and prevent inefficiencies in corporate decision-making. Leading global proxy advisory firms, including ISS, Glass Lewis, and Sustinvest, had previously unanimously recommended limiting board size to an appropriate level, aligning Korea Zinc's governance with global standards. The proposal to appoint an outside director as board chair also gained strong shareholder support. This shift is expected to enhance governance independence and strengthen oversight, as an external director free from controlling shareholder influence will now preside over the board. The introduction of quarterly dividends and the adjustment of the dividend record date mark another significant change. These measures will enhance dividend predictability and lay the groundwork for increasing corporate value. Directors Appointed via Cumulative Voting for the First Time, Strengthening Compliance with Audit Committee Appointments A vote over the agenda of appointing directors was also conducted at the AGM. Following the approval of an amendment to the articles of association, which set a cap on the number of directors, the agenda to appoint 8 directors through a cumulative voting system was presented, based on the new limit of 19 total directors. The cumulative voting system, adopted at the extraordinary general shareholders' meeting (EGM) in January, grants shareholders voting rights proportional to the number of directors being elected per share, focusing on enhancing the rights of minority shareholders and increasing the diversity of the board. Consequently, 5 out of 8 director candidates recommended by Korea Zinc were appointed. The new board members include an internal director, CEO Park Ki-Deok, and external directors including Kwon Soon-beom (Managing Partner, Law Firm Sol), Kim Bo-young (Professor, Hanyang University Business School), James Andrew Murphy (Senior Advisor, Oliver Wyman), and Tammy Chung (Dean, Myongji University Business School). The newly appointed members of the Audit Committee include Kwon Soon-beom (Managing Partner, Law Firm Sol), Lee Min-ho (Head of ESG Research Center, Yulchon Law Firm), and Seo Dae-won (Chairman, BnH Tax Corporation). It is expected that both Kwon and Lee will contribute to strengthening the board's compliance management system based on their extensive experiences in the legal field. Additionally, Seo is expected to provide advice on corporate taxation and capital transactions, helping to enhance accounting transparency with his background in roles such as Planning and Coordination Director at the National Tax Service, Director of Corporate Taxation, and Deputy Director. A representative from Korea Zinc stated, "Many shareholders and citizens have strongly agreed that we must protect Korea Zinc, a key national industry, from takeover threats," and added, "We will continue to support South Korea's resource security and play a central role in the global strategic minerals supply chain, while doing our best to meet the expectations of shareholders and citizens." SOURCE Korea Zinc DOVER, Del., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lomond Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. ("Lomond Therapeutics"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing potentially best-in-class and first-in-class medicines for the treatment of hematological malignancies, today announced the addition of two new investors, Yosemite Management and QIA Investments, coincident with a second and third closing, respectively, and the raising of an additional $20 million private placement financing. "We are delighted to expand the funding syndicate with the addition of these top tier investors," said Iain Dukes M.A. D.Phil., co-founder and chief executive officer at Lomond Therapeutics." Lomond Therapeutics announced the addition of two new investors, and the raising of an additional $20 million. Post this This transaction provides the additional resources necessary to advance our potentially best-in-class or first-in-class programs, lomonitinib, lonitoclax and our menin inhibitor, through clinical development. Lomonitinib is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b clinical trial in patients with mutated FLT3 relapsed refractory AML - an area of important unmet need. Lomond enrolls CLL and selected lymphoma patients in a Phase 1b clinical trial to evaluate lonitoclax, a potentially first in class oral targeted selective B-cell lymphoma-2 ("BCL-2-2") inhibitor. The offering was exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Rule 506 of Regulation D promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") thereunder. The Common Stock in the offering was sold to "accredited investors," as defined in Regulation D, and was conducted on a "reasonable best efforts" basis. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Raymond James and Wedbush & Co. acted as the placement agents. About Lomond Therapeutics Lomond Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company co-founded by OrbiMed, Torrey Pines Investment and Dr. John C. Byrd, focused on the discovery and development of best-in-class and first-in-class small molecule inhibitors that target escape mutations in hematologic cancers. The company is utilizing a proprietary hybrid AI platform of Expert Systems Inc., leveraging its key partners' proprietary data, chem-bio platforms, knowledge and expertise to choose highly valuable molecular mechanisms of pathology; to precisely design and accelerate the execution of discovery and development of best-in-class and first-in-class therapies. Lomond Therapeutics' goal is to utilize its capabilities and platform to become a leader in developing novel breakthrough medicines to maximize the clinical benefit when treating hematologic malignancies. For more information visit www.lomondther.com. About Lomonitinib Lomonitinib is a novel, small molecule inhibitor that has been designed to block activity of all major known resistance mutations of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3, ("FLT3"), FLT3 Internal Tandem Duplication ("ITD"), FLT3 Tyrosine Kinase Domain ("TKD") and other clinically relevant FLT3 mutations that drive acute myeloid leukemia ("AML"), as well as interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 4. FLT3 mutations are the most frequently identified mutations inAML. Existing FLT3 inhibitors are limited by the emergence of resistance mutations or escape pathways, lack of selectivity and safety profile, as clinical data have demonstrated their inability to inhibit disease progression. Lomonitinib has demonstrated anti-tumor activity in cellular assays and in animal models against both activating and resistance mutations. Lomonotinib is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b clinical trial in Australia and the United States to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacodynamic responses and efficacy of lomonitinib as a single agent in patients with relapsed and refractory AML patients who have tested positive for a dominant FLT3 mutation. About Lonitoclax Lonitoclax is an inhibitor of the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2, a key pro-survival protein that is overexpressed in many cancers, for the treatment of patients with AML and CLL. We believe lonitoclax could be a first in class oral binder with superior potency and selectivity against BCL-2. This clinical candidate demonstrated equivalent in vivo anti-tumor efficacy to venetoclax, the only approved inhibitor of BCL2 for the indications of AML and CLL, in B cell and myeloid malignancy cell lines and in vivo models. Compared to venetoclax, lonitoclax exhibits significantly less suppression of non-malignant immune cell populations, a result that suggests superior selectivity and an improved safety profile. We completed a series of healthy volunteer studies evaluating lonitoclax where no drug-related adverse effects were observed at exposures where ex vivo activation of caspase in CLL primary cells was observed, a surrogate marker of BCL-2 inhibition in tumors. This emphasizes important advantages over venetoclax and venetoclax-like molecules in safety, tolerability and feasibility of outpatient treatment, enabling the molecule to safely target AML and CLL patients alone and in combination with other targeted therapies. Lomond currently enrolls CLL and selected lymphoma patients under an approved US IND. About our early stage menin-inhibitor We have obtained an exclusive license from Bala Therapeutics, Inc. ("Bala") to a class of menin inhibitors for the treatment of NPM-1 and MLL-rearranged AML. Menin is a central player in cells that brings other proteins together to regulate the expression of genes thar are key to cell growth. In the second half of 2025, we expect to select one of the menin inhibitors as a candidate for further preclinical study and, if the results are supportive, potentially clinical study. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, references to our product candidates and the development and therapeutic potential thereof, statements regarding the timing, progress and results of our clinical studies and trials for our current product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of completion or initiation of trials, and the reporting of data from our current trials, our plans relating to the clinical development of our product candidates, the beneficial characteristics of our product candidates, the timing of regulatory filings and approvals for our product candidates, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for our product candidates, the expected potential benefits of strategic collaborations with related and third parties, our technologies for identifying additional product candidates, the intended use of proceeds from the private placement transaction, and our business and development plans. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, our ability to raise the additional funding we will need to continue to pursue our business and product development plans, the inherent uncertainties associated with developing product candidates and operating as a development stage company, our ability to identify additional product candidates for development, our ability to develop, complete clinical trials for, obtain approvals for and commercialize any of our product candidates, and competition in the industry in which we operate and market conditions. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factor disclosure set forth in the reports and other documents we file with the SEC available at www.sec.gov. Media Contact: Amy Burd CSO [email protected] SOURCE Lomond Therapeutics Innovative Collaboration Enables Long-Distance Organ Transports, Expanding Access to Life-Saving Kidney Transplants DALLAS, March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Medi-Ops, a technology-enabled medical logistics organization, and Southwest Transplant Alliance (STA), an organization committed to the advancement of transplant services, are proud to announce the successful completion of one of the first-ever commercial on-board courier flights utilizing the Paragonix KidneyVault. This pioneering achievement marks a new era in organ transportation, providing unprecedented opportunities for kidney transplant patients and medical professionals alike. Live Tracking of KidneyVault On-Board Courier with KidneyVault The Paragonix KidneyVault is a cutting-edge device that allows kidneys to be transported safely while attached to a kidney pump. Prior to this innovation, organs could not be flown commercially while being supported by a pump, limiting the ability to extend the reach of transplant services and narrowing the pool of patients who could receive life-saving transplants. With the KidneyVault, kidneys can now be flown greater distances, ensuring that more patients have access to life-saving treatments, no matter where they are located. "This milestone demonstrates the power of collaboration and innovation in the healthcare and logistics sectors," said Rylan Stone, President of Medi-Ops. "Through the use of the Paragonix KidneyVault, we can now facilitate the safe transport of kidneys over much longer distances, ultimately saving lives. We are proud to partner with Southwest Transplant Alliance in this momentous achievement." The Paragonix KidneyVault is equipped with advanced monitoring technology that ensures the preservation of the kidney throughout its journey, maintaining ideal conditions for transplant success. The partnership between Medi-Ops, STA, and Paragonix Technologies has set a new standard for organ transport, eliminating previous barriers and expanding the possibilities for transplant programs across the country. "We are thrilled to have been part of this historic flight," said Brad Adams, President and CEO of Southwest Transplant Alliance. "The ability to transport kidneys more efficiently, with the support of the KidneyVault, significantly enhances our ability to honor the gift of donation and save more lives. This is a giant leap forward in the field of organ transplantation and logistics, and we look forward to more successes like this in the future." This milestone marks the beginning of a transformative shift in how organ transplants are managed and delivered. The collaboration between Medi-Ops, Southwest Transplant Alliance, and Paragonix Technologies is just the beginning of what promises to be a game-changing approach to life-saving transplant logistics. About Medi-Ops Medi-Ops provides specialized logistics for the medical and healthcare industries, delivering advanced solutions for transporting life-saving medical shipments. Medi-Ops is committed to ensuring the safe, reliable, and timely delivery of essential materials. For more information, visit www.medi-ops.com. About Southwest Transplant Alliance (STA) Southwest Transplant Alliance (STA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing organ donation and transplantation. STA works tirelessly to save lives by facilitating organ recovery and distribution to transplant centers across the country, ensuring the highest standard of care and support for patients and families. For more information, visit www.organ.org. Paragonix Technologies For more information, visit www.paragonixtechnologies.com. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Medi-Ops MIAMI, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- NewBeauty is proud to announce the launch of the Foundation Aesthetic Hair Restoration Method, led by Top Doctor J. Epstein, MD, FACS. Officially debuting March 2025, this innovative method redefines hair restoration by merging cutting-edge technology with the aesthetic precision of hand selected board-certified plastic surgeons. Dr. J. Epstein, a leader in hair restoration with more than 30 years of experience, spearheads the team of select providers of the Foundation method. He is joined by Dr. Anthony Bared, Dr. Daniel Crane, Dr. Ralph Garramone, Dr. Nicholas Garcia, Dr. Atanu Biswas, and Dr. Carrie L. Morris who bring their own specialized skills in follicular unit extraction (FUE), eyebrow and beard transplantation, gender reaffirmation procedures and reparative hair restoration. Unlike franchise-based models, Foundation providers practice independently from their own established clinics, ensuring patients receive personalized care directly from experienced specialists. Currently, the Foundation method is available through providers in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, with plans to expand to additional locations across the United States in the coming months. The Foundation Aesthetic Hair Restoration Method offers a comprehensive suite of advanced procedures, including: Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), including No-Shave FUE Hairline Lowering/Forehead Reduction Surgery Beard and Body Hair Transplantation (BHT) Reparative Hair Procedures Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy Women's Hair Restoration Gender Reaffirmation Hair Procedures "Our mission is to offer the most advanced and aesthetically refined hair restoration solutions available," said Dr. J. Epstein. "The Foundation method combines medical expertise with an artist's touch, ensuring each patient achieves natural and transformative results." As NewBeauty Top Doctors, Drs. Epstein, Bared, Crane, Garramone and Garcia embody the excellence celebrated by the Top Doctor program: unparalleled skill, innovation and patient-centered care. This method provides a luxury experience with faster recovery and personalized results tailored to each individual's unique features and goals. "We are redefining hair restoration with a holistic approach that ensures the highest level of patient satisfaction," added Dr. J. Epstein. "Our team is dedicated to delivering exceptional outcomes, from consultation to post-treatment care." ABOUT NEWBEAUTY TOP DOCTORS: As the beauty authority, NewBeauty connects readers with board-certified experts who perform transformative cosmetic procedures. NewBeauty Top Doctors are recognized for their exceptional skills, patient care, and innovative approaches. For more information about the Foundation Aesthetic Hair Restoration Method and to schedule a consultation, visit Foundation.hair . Contact Information: [email protected] Foundation.hair SOURCE NewBeauty Firm welcomes Edward (Ed) Hanbicki, AIA, NCARB, LEED BD&C, as IDA Market Director & VP for the Southwestern and Northwestern U.S., Ford Hubbard as IDA Business Development Executive & VP for Private Sector Clients, with a focus on Texas and the Southeastern U.S., and Nathanael (Nate) Brown, P.E., MBA, as IDA Sector Lead and VP for Industrial and Defense Contractors PITTSBURGH, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services, today announced that the firm has welcomed a trio of new hires to its Integrated Design and Advisory (IDA) vertical, providing architecture and engineering services. Edward (Ed) Hanbicki, AIA, NCARB, LEED BD&C, joins the firm as IDA Market Director & VP for the Southwestern and Northwestern U.S., Ford Hubbard as IDA Business Development Executive & VP for Private Sector Clients, with a focus on Texas and the Southeastern U.S., and Nathanael (Nate) Brown, P.E., MBA, as IDA Sector Lead and VP for Industrial and Defense Contractors. Michael Baker's Integrated Design and Advisory vertical unites architecture and engineering design expertise with strategic advisory services to deliver holistic and innovative solutions that address the business and project objectives of the firm's clients. Integrated Design involves key disciplines such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural and fire protection (MEP+S+FP) engineering, as well as architecture and planning. The firm's Advisory capabilities showcase expertise in areas such as strategic consulting, cybersecurity, building controls, cost management, commissioning, program management, construction support, building information modeling, digital twins, emergency response, disaster recovery, operational continuity, energy resiliency and more. "In the rapidly changing world of urban development, continued innovation in smart buildings planning, design and engineering is critical as we transform our perception of living and working environments to meet our needs but more importantly, individualize the experience. Realizing these smart buildings requires specialized knowledge and skills of a full-service engineering and consulting firm like Michael Baker," said Pankaj Duggal, AICP, AIA-IA, President - Integrated Design and Advisory at Michael Baker International. "Ed, Ford and Nate each bring a unique perspective, deep knowledge and expertise to their new roles at Michael Baker. They will work closely with our firm's architecture, engineering (mechanical, electrical, structural and fire protection), cybersecurity, building technology and commissioning teams to expand our full-service offerings to clients and industry partners. I look forward to partnering with them to Make a Difference as we embed innovation into all aspects of our work and provide our clients with holistic solutions that address complex challenges in the built environment." Ed Hanbicki, AIA, NCARB, LEED BD&C, Market Director & VP for the Southwestern and Northwestern U.S.: Mr. Hanbicki will serve as the lead in these important geographies for corporate and other private sector clients, such as industrial, aviation, transit, corporate, life sciences, state/local and federal. Mr. Hanbicki is a highly skilled program and project management professional with 36 years of experience specializing in the management and delivery of large complex projects and programs across multiple sectors including aviation, technology, corporate, federal and retail. He joins Michael Baker from Jacobs, where he led the Cities and Places practice in the Northwest. Earlier in his career with Jacobs, he was Director of Architecture for Southern California. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Louisiana State University. Ford Hubbard, Business Development Executive & VP for Private Sector Clients, with a focus on Texas and the Southeastern U.S.: Mr. Hubbard will serve as the lead for developing national market sectors for data centers and industrial/manufacturing and for private sector and institutional clients in Texas and the Southeastern U.S. for private sector clients in the corporate, industrial, manufacturing, aerospace, life sciences, higher education and energy sectors. He will work closely with Michael Baker portfolio company, Infinity MEP+S Consultants, based in Texas, to leverage their full-service MEP, fire protection and technology design capabilities. Mr. Hubbard is a marketing and business development principal with more than 25 years of experience in the A/E design and construction industry. He is a proven leader in account management, client engagement, major pursuits and business planning. Mr. Hubbard spent nearly 20 years with large firms in the engineering industry, first as Senior Vice President and Marketing Director for HOK Houston and then as Division Vice President for Jacobs Global Buildings. His recent experience includes working as a Consultant for Thrive Creative Strategies and serving in a management role for privately held business interests in real estate, oil and gas. Mr. Hubbard earned a Master of Arts degree in Applied Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts, with a focus on Architecture, from the University of Texas at Austin. Nate Brown, P.E., Sector Lead and VP for Industrial and Defense Contractors: Mr. Brown will lead the firm's engagement with industrial clients and defense contractors. He joins the firm's Strategy and Growth team in a seller/doer role to drive business and deliver excellence. Mr. Brown joins Michael Baker after 25 years with Jacobs. As Principal of Jacobs' Defense Contractor Portfolio, he oversaw the firms' client relationships, business development and operational growth work with defense contractors. Earlier in his career with Jacobs, he served as a Program Manager for the firm's work with Lockheed Martin, leading the completion of hundreds of successful projects including programming, architectural, structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, fire protection, condition assessment, commissioning, life safety and sustainability work. Mr. Brown earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas Arlington, a Master of Science degree in Architectural Engineering Structural Emphasis and a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering Structural Emphasis from Kansas State University. About Michael Baker International Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services spanning five distinct Verticals: Infrastructure, Design-Build Services, Federal Programs and Services, Consulting and Technology Solutions (CTS) and Integrated Design and Advisory (IDA). The firm's Practices encompass all facets of infrastructure, including design and civil engineering for diverse bridge, highway, water, rail and transit and aviation projects, as well as planning, architecture, environmental and construction and program management. For 85 years, the company has been a trusted partner to clients, providing comprehensive services and solutions, delivering expertise and quality, and embracing emerging technologies and the latest innovations like intelligent transportation, engineered models and public safety software as a service (SaaS). The company has more than 4,900 employees across more than 90 office locations. Michael Baker's Wolf Pack is committed to Making a Difference for clients and communities through a culture of innovation, collaboration and technological advancement while evolving its business to become a full-service engineering and consulting firm. To learn more, visit https://mbakerintl.com/. Contact: Julia Covelli [email protected] (866) 293-4609 SOURCE Michael Baker International SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Minerva University President Mike Magee announced today the appointment of Patrice McMahon, Ph.D., as the university's new provost. She will begin her term on July 1, at the conclusion of her residency at The Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center . Currently an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations based at the Community of Democracies in Warsaw, Poland, McMahon has had a distinguished career in scholarship, teaching and academic leadership at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln . A two-time Fulbright award winner, her career has included numerous teaching awards, including "best class at UNL." Her scholarly contributions include, most recently, Activism in Hard Times in Central and Eastern Europe: people power , a collaboration between activists and academics from seven countries, The NGO Game: Post-Conflict Peacebuilding in the Balkans and Beyond (2017) and, with co-author David Forsythe, American Exceptionalism Reconsidered: U.S. Foreign Policy, Human Rights and World Order (2017). From 2018-2024 she was the Director of UNL's Honors Program. McMahon is currently working on a book project, Ordinary People: Grassroots Humanitarianism and the Future of Aid, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), that explores Polish humanitarianism toward Ukrainian refugees. "Patrice McMahon understands why Minerva University's innovations are so important, to the students we serve and to global higher education," said Magee. "She is an exceptional leader who shares our commitment to building a global institution where aspiring leaders from every nation come to live and learn together and to collaborate on a safe and sustainable future." University Trustee Bertil Andersson , chair of the board's academic committee, was also a member of the search committee that led to McMahon's hiring. Andersson, former President of Nanyang Technological University and former chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said, "Patrice McMahon's distinguished career as a scholar of International Relations, her leadership of the Honors Program at Nebraska and her commitment to innovative higher education make her an excellent fit for Minerva." "As the proud mother of a Minervan (MU 2020), I have followed the university's trajectory from its beginning. After 26 years in higher education, I know that Minerva has rightfully earned the title as the most innovative university in the world and that its 'secret sauce' is the faculty. With impressive degrees and a wealth of experience, Minerva faculty devote 100% of their time to students and student learning! I have never witnessed this before as a student or a professor. As a scholar of International Relations, I am convinced that Minerva's interdisciplinary, systems-thinking approach where faculty collaborate to co-create classes and project-based learning at campuses around the world is exactly what young people need to be successful in an uncertain, globalized world. I am grateful for the opportunity to help advance Minerva's mission for our students and the world," McMahon said. About Minerva University: Minerva University, headquartered in San Francisco, California, is committed to providing a transformative educational experience, allowing the brightest and most motivated students from around the world to become leaders, critical thinkers, and global citizens. Ranked #1 for three consecutive years in the World University Rankings for Innovation , Minerva offers a reinvented interdisciplinary curriculum, a cutting-edge seminar model paired with project-based, experiential learning, and an immersive global experience in several cities around the world. For media inquiries, contact: Minerva University [email protected] SOURCE Minerva University ATLANTA, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MiRus is pleased to announce the launch of the US multi-center Early Feasibility Study of the Siegel 8-Fr aortic transcatheter heart valve (THV). The first two cases were successfully performed this week by Pradeep K. Yadav MD, Director of Structural Interventions, and Vinod H. Thourani MD, Marcus Chairman of Cardiovascular Surgery, Piedmont Heart Institute, Atlanta. Both patients were discharged without complications the next day. MiRus Siegel TAVR The Siegel valve represents several firsts in TAVR: 8 French delivery sheath allowing less invasive procedures and broader patient access, particularly for women; the only Nickel-free THV allowing treatment of the 20% of Americans suffering from Nickel allergies; precise delivery due to lack of foreshortening and intrinsic commissural alignment; dry porcine pericardial leaflets with anti-calcification treatment and with the valve pre-mounted on the balloon. "Our initial experience is very positive," commented Pradeep K. Yadav, MD. "Siegel is much less invasive then current devices and can be placed very precisely due to the lack of foreshortening. This should lead to lower pacemaker rates. The hemodynamics are excellent due to the radial strength and porcine pericardial leaflets." The combination of low delivery system profile and excellent hemodynamics is made feasible by the unique properties of the Rhenium alloys pioneered by MiRus including high yield strength, fatigue resistance and minimal recoil. "In these first two cases, the Siegel valve performance is impressive," stated Vinod H. Thourani MD, Marcus Chairman of Cardiovascular Surgery and the Marcus Valve Center, Piedmont Heart Institute. "8 French system with such precise placement and low gradients and no PVL is not a combination I ever expected in THV. A THV without nickel is also much needed." About MiRus, LLC. MiRus is a life sciences company headquartered in Marietta, Georgia that has developed and is commercializing proprietary novel biomaterials, implants and procedural solutions for the treatment of spine, orthopaedic and structural heart disease. Inspired by the pioneering material science of NASA for rocket engines, MiRus has created Rhenium based medical alloys that are transforming medicine by making surgeries less invasive and implants safer and more durable. Find out more information about MiRus at www.mirusmed.com. Statements made in this press release that look forward in time or that express beliefs, expectations or hopes regarding future occurrences or anticipated outcomes are forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties such as risks associated with product development and commercialization efforts, expected timing or results of any clinical trials, ultimate clinical outcome and perceived or actual advantages of the Company's products, market and physician acceptance of the products, intellectual property protection, and competitive offerings could cause actual events to adversely differ from the expectations indicated in these forward looking statements. The Siegel TAVR system is an investigational device and not FDA approved. * MiRus , Siegel are all trademarks of MiRus, LLC. Contact: Pam Cowart VP of Clinical Affairs [email protected] 770-861-4804 SOURCE MiRus Science-Backed Skeletal Strengthening Technology Coming Soon to the Southeast AVENTURA, Fla., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- OsteoStrong, a global leader in skeletal strength and wellness, is excited to announce a new franchise sale in Aventura, Fla. This marks another step forward in the brand's rapid growth, bringing its science-backed, drug-free approach to musculoskeletal health to the Southeastern U.S. "OsteoStrong isn't just a business it's a mission," said Kyle Zagrodzky, Founder and CEO. "We're excited to bring our proven system to Aventura, helping people build strength and vitality in a supportive, accessible environment." OsteoStrong's global expansion continues to gain momentum, with new locations opening across the U.S. and around the world. As the brand grows to over 200 open centers, its mission remains clear: to help people strengthen their bodies and improve their quality of life through cutting-edge, science-backed technology. With low overhead, recurring revenue, and full support from an experienced team, OsteoStrong positions franchisees for long-term success and meaningful impactwhile tapping into the rising demand for proactive, longevity-focused health solutions. "This new location serves as a key example of our sustained market growth," said Jimmy Youngblood, President of OsteoStrong. "We're always looking for mission-driven partners who want to bring this powerful technology to their markets." To learn more about franchise opportunities with OsteoStrong, visit: https://www.osteostrong.me/company/franchise/ About OsteoStrong OsteoStrong is a science-backed, technology-driven system designed to improve bone density, strength, and overall skeletal health. With locations worldwide, OsteoStrong helps people of all ages build stronger bones in a safe, efficient, and drug-free manner. For more information about OsteoStrong, visit www.osteostrong.me. Media Contact Interdependence Public Relations 949-259-6377 x 225 [email protected] SOURCE OsteoStrong MINNEAPOLIS, March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ovative Group, a leading media and measurement firm, partnered with Meta to release a groundbreaking white paper, "Unlocking the Full Potential of Your Marketing Budget with Omni Optimization and Measurement." The paper reveals how brands can unlock untapped revenue by shifting from e-commerce-only optimization to a holistic, omnichannel strategy. Despite only 15% of retail sales occurring online between January and September 2024, 80% of brands continue optimizing media spend exclusively for e-commerceleaving significant revenue on the table. "Marketers who continue optimizing to digital-only KPIs are leaving significant revenue on the table. The shift to omni measurement isn't just an optionit's a necessity," said Beth McKigney, SVP of Measurement at Ovative Group. Ovative's testing of Meta's new Omnichannel Adswhich optimize for both online and offline conversionsshowed a 39% to 53% increase in store sales compared to business-as-usual campaigns. However, some brands experienced a dip in e-commerce sales, highlighting the need for incrementality-based measurement to understand total omni impact. Ovative's EMRge technology enables this precise measurement through a triangulated approach combining in-market testing, MMM+, and bottom-up analyticsensuring cross-functional trust in media's impact. Meta is also piloting Conversion Rules, a new tool allowing advertisers to balance online and offline conversionshelping omnichannel retailers minimize e-commerce declines while maximizing total revenue. Key Takeaways: 85% of retail sales still happen offline , yet 80% of brands continue optimizing media spend for e-commerce only. , yet 80% of brands continue optimizing media spend for e-commerce only. Testing of Meta's new Omnichannel Ads drove a 39% to 53% increase in store sales vs. standard campaignsbut also revealed e-commerce trade-offs, emphasizing the need for incrementality-based measurement . drove a vs. standard campaignsbut also revealed e-commerce trade-offs, emphasizing the need for . Ovative's proprietary platform, EMRge, enables brands to confidently measure total omni impact, combining in-market testing, MMM+, and bottom-up analytics. This new approach empowers brands to confidently invest in strategies driving total business outcomesnot just digital metrics. The white paper also outlines how upcoming Meta product enhancements, including Conversion Rules, will further advance omnichannel results in 2025. Learn how to unlock your marketing budget's full potential by downloading the white paper. About Ovative Group Ovative Group is an independent, full-funnel media, measurement, and creative firm. Leveraging deep industry expertise, we help brands like Domino's, Facebook, The Home Depot, General Mills, Disney, and UnitedHealth Group transform their media and measurement programs. The result? Profitable growth that speaks for itself. At Ovative, we don't just track datawe redefine success. How do we do it? Our proprietary MarTech platform, EMRge, helps businesses transform marketing into a driver of sustainable growth. Powered by Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR), our differentiated approach to holistic media buying, planning, and measurement, EMRge is the first MarTech platform to measure businesses holistically. We raise the bar every day, and it shows. Our work has been recognized by organizations like Digiday, Google, Inc. 5000, USA Today, and Search Engine Land. For more information about Ovative, visit our website or follow Ovative on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Media Contact: Jasmin Stevens VP, Marketing [email protected] SOURCE Ovative Group CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and MUMBAI, India, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Particles for Humanity and Hexagon Nutrition Limited are excited to announce their new partnership to help address vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in Africa. Hexagon Nutrition has licensed the rights to manufacture and distribute Particles for Humanity's lead product, PFH-VAP, for fortifying bouillon cubes across Africa. PFH-VAP, a more stable formulation of dry vitamin A palmitate, is designed for use in large scale food fortification in geographies with hot and humid climates. Particles for Humanity partnered with Hexagon because of their shared commitment to ensuring all people have access to adequate nutrition to grow and thrive. "By joining forces with Hexagon Nutrition, we can accelerate the production and distribution of this critical product, ensuring it reaches those who need vitamin A the most. Combining Particles for Humanity's research and development expertise with Hexagon's established global distribution network advances a shared goal: improving lives with stable vitamin A," said Sherri Oberg, CEO at Particles for Humanity. In West Africa, bouillon is consumed by 80% to 99% of all households. In many of these countries, bouillon consumption remains high in the lowest income communities, where VAD is most prevalent. Children without enough vitamin A have decreased rates of growth and development and an increased risk of infection and death from serious illness. Vitamin A is also a leading cause of night blindness in women and can become permanent in severe cases. Though widespread consumption makes bouillon an ideal vehicle for combatting VAD, commercial forms of vitamin A often degrade in hot and humid conditions like those found in parts of West Africa. PFH-VAP was designed to address this issue. As a result, fortifying bouillon with PFH-VAP could save thousands of child-lives annually and improve the lives of millions of children and women in Nigeria alone. Under this new partnership, Hexagon Nutrition will have 3-year exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute PFH-VAP for bouillon fortification. Together Hexagon Nutrition and Particles for Humanity are taking an important step to expand access to lifesaving micronutrients in Africa. "Improving nutrition globally is at the core of our business. PFH-VAP will be another strong asset in our product portfolio. We are excited to leverage Hexagon Nutrition's ingredient manufacturing and premixing expertise to advance innovation and reduce the burden of malnutrition," said Vikram Kelkar, Managing Director of Hexagon Nutrition Limited. Particles for Humanity transforms early-stage medical technology into products for people living in low and lower-middle income countries. Its rigorous product development process is based on end-user input. Particles for Humanity is funded solely with philanthropy and is focused on financially sustainable product opportunities. Visit www.particlesfh.com or contact [email protected] Hexagon Nutrition is a differentiated and research-oriented pure-play nutrition company offering clinical nutrition solutions products, micronutrient premixes, and therapeutic products. Hexagon Nutrition has presence across retail pharmacies, hospitals, and prominent e-commerce players. Hexagon markets products across India and exports to more than 70 countries. SOURCE Particles for Humanity Carl Black Chevy Nashville releases valuable and informative new research on the 2025 Chevy Silverado EV pickup truck. NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Carl Black Chevrolet in Nashville now provides in-depth 2025 Chevy Silverado EV research to help drivers explore this cutting-edge electric truck. With detailed insights on performance, range, and charging capabilities, the dealership ensures customers have the information they need before choosing their next Chevy truck. The 2025 Chevy Silverado EV Brings Power and Efficiency. The long-range, high-performance, and highly versatile 2025 Chevy Silverado EV. The 2025 Chevy Silverado EV is engineered for drivers who want the capability of a full-size pickup with the efficiency of an electric vehicle. This all-electric truck offers impressive performance and sustainability without compromising strength. Powered by GM's Ultium battery platform, the Silverado EV delivers robust performance with up to 754 horsepower in the high-performance trim. This translates to rapid acceleration and impressive towing power. The Chevy Silverado EV horsepower ensures drivers have the capability they expect from a Silverado, now with electric efficiency. -Impressive Range and Charging Solutions One of the standout features of the Silverado EV range is its ability to travel up to 450 miles on a full charge. This allows drivers to tackle long trips without frequent charging stops. When it comes to Silverado EV charging, the truck supports DC fast charging, adding up to 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes. This makes recharging on the go convenient and efficient for busy drivers. -Silverado EV: Advanced Features and Interior Innovation The Chevy Silverado EV for sale near Nashville comes with a modern interior loaded with technology and comfort features. Some highlights include: A spacious cabin with premium materials and a high-tech dashboard A large touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone compatibility Advanced driver assistance features, including Super Cruise hands-free driving A versatile Multi-Flex Midgate for expanded cargo capabilities "The 2025 Chevy Silverado EV is a game-changer in the truck world, offering both power and efficiency," said Gary Harms, spokesperson for Carl Black Nashville. "We aim to provide buyers with the latest research so they can make an informed decision." -Find a 2025 Chevy Silverado EV Near You Drivers looking for a powerful and eco-friendly truck will find the Silverado EV an excellent choice. Carl Black Nashville offers financing options and competitive pricing to help customers find the best match for their needs. Carl Black Nashville has the Chevy Silverado EV for sale near Nashville, available in multiple configurations. Customers can browse the latest Silverado EV inventory online or visit the dealership for a test drive. To explore the latest 2025 Chevy Silverado EV research, visit Carl Black Nashville's model research page. Whether drivers need a powerful work truck or a modern electric pickup, the Silverado EV delivers exceptional capability and efficiency. -About Carl Black Chevrolet of Nashville Carl Black Chevrolet of Nashville is a renowned dealership in Nashville, TN, offering a wide range of Chevrolet vehicles and exceptional customer service. With a commitment to excellence and a passion for meeting the needs of our customers, we strive to provide an unparalleled automotive experience. Individuals who want to learn more about this new SUV can visit the dealership website, www.carlblackchevy.com. Anyone wishing to speak with a representative can contact the dealership directly by calling 888-509-5199. SOURCE Carl Black Chevy Nashville NEW YORK, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard Motor Products, Inc. (SMP) is pleased to announce that it released a total of 170 new part numbers in the first quarter of 2025, including introductions from SMP's Vehicle Control and Temperature Control divisions. New coverage for late-model import and domestic vehicles was added across multiple powertrains. SMP released a total of 170 new part numbers in the first quarter of 2025, including introductions from SMPs Vehicle Control and Temperature Control divisions. Standard's commitment to releasing new applications for popular vehicles in a variety of key categories is evident in its latest release. Ignition Coils have been added for Hyundai cars and SUVs including the 2024-21 Elantra and 2024-22 Kona, and multiple new applications have been added to Standard's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Program. New coverage in this category includes Park Assist Cameras for import and domestic vehicles like the 2024-18 Chrysler Pacifica and 2024-20 Voyager, as well as Nissan, Toyota, and Honda vehicles. Seven new ABS Speed Sensors were added, offering coverage for over one million Hyundai vehicles through the 2025 model-year, as well as the 2023-20 Kia Soul and General Motors vans through 2024. Also included in the release were Collision Repair components such as Hood Latch Assemblies, Tailgate Latch Assemblies, and Multi-Function Connectors for over one hundred million vehicles. New numbers from Four Seasons include nearly 70 Hose Assemblies, adding coverage for over nine million import and domestic vehicles. This new offering includes Liquid Lines for the 2023-19 Subaru Forester, Discharge Lines for the 2024-21 Kia Sorento and 2023-21 Hyundai Santa Fe, and Suction and Liquid Lines for the 2023-21 Toyota Tacoma. Air Door Actuators were introduced for over three million General Motors trucks as well as the 2021-19 Nissan Altima and 2020-19 Infiniti QX50. Four Seasons' Reman and New Compressor programs have expanded as well, offering coverage for popular vehicles like the 2022-18 Honda Accord and 2023 Honda Civic. Additional categories that see expansion include Electric Coolant Pumps, Water Inlets, Thermal Management Modules, Heater Cores, Engine Coolant Auxiliary Pumps and more. Jack Ramsey, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, SMP, stated, "The first quarter of 2025 saw the introduction of many of the components that professional technicians will be looking for. In addition to complete programs with industry-leading coverage, we are also committed to delivering the highest-quality parts in the aftermarket, so our distribution partners can recommend Standard and Four Seasons with confidence." All new applications are listed in the catalogs found at StandardBrand.com and 4S.com, and in electronic catalog providers. About SMP With over 100 years in business, Standard Motor Products, Inc. is a leading independent manufacturer and distributor of premium replacement parts in the automotive aftermarket and a custom-engineered solutions provider to vehicle and equipment manufacturers in diverse non-aftermarket end markets. SMP sells its products primarily to retailers, warehouse distributors, original equipment manufacturers and original equipment service part operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Mexico and other Latin America countries. For more information, download the SMP Parts App or visit SMPcorp.com. SOURCE Standard Motor Products, Inc. ROCKVILLE, Md., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sumitomo Forestry America, Inc. bolsters The DRB Group (The Development & Residential Building Group) by announcing their decision to reorganize and consolidate two homebuilding companies into one. As of April 1, Dallas based Brightland Homes will consolidate under the DRB Group. Sumitomo Forestry America, Inc. has ownership in five US homebuilders. The decision to reorganize Brightland Homes under DRB Group is pivotal, changing the industry landscape. This strategic move will reshape DRB Group's east coast footprint into one of a national scale, expanding their reach into Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Tennessee and adding Jacksonville to their existing Florida operations. This merger expands DRB Group's footprint to: 19 Divisional Operations in 14 States 1,500 Employees Nearly 9,000 Expected Settlements in 2025 Under CEO, Ronny Salameh, the DRB Group team has continued to expand market share, currently building in 10 states along the east coast. In March of 2024, DRB Group acquired Tampa based builder, Biscayne Homes furthering their Florida footprint. With prior acquisitions of three other builders, the company's seasoned executive team has demonstrated their strong capabilities in successfully integrating new operations and ensuring a positive financial outcome. "Sumitomo Forestry's decision to consolidate Brightland Homes into DRB Group is not one we take lightly, and we are honored by the confidence they have placed in us," said Ronny Salameh, CEO of DRB Group. He continued by stating, "This merger will make way for tremendous opportunities for our combined teams now and our combined company in the future. It reinforces the strength of our relationship with Sumitomo Forestry America, and we will build upon this foundation to drive sustained growth in the years ahead." President of Sumitomo Forestry America, Inc., Atsushi Iwasaki shared, "DRB Group led by Ronny Salameh continues to showcase impressive operational execution while growing their market share. We feel confident that the decision to merge the two companies will generate many synergies and exciting new growth for both sides." About The Development & Residential Building Group For over 35 years, The Development & Residential Building Group (DRB Group) has set the standard for excellence in homebuilding. As an industry leader, we bring innovation, quality, and craftsmanship to every home we build. With two premier homebuilding brandsDRB Homes and DRB Elevate 55+we offer an impressive selection of thoughtfully designed floor plans, delivering award-winning homes that cater to every lifestyle. Beyond homebuilding, DRB Group provides comprehensive real estate solutions. Keystone Title, our in-house title company, ensures seamless transactions, while DRB Group Development is the trusted choice for development work, fee build and build-for-rent investors, driving exceptional value and results. Explore our communities at DRBHomes.com or for investors, discover the DRB Group difference at DRBGroup.com . Media Contact: Char Kurihara Corporate Marketing [email protected] 301.696.0200 x 5512 SOURCE DRB Group LOS ANGELES, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tony Buzbee, principal of The Buzbee Law Firm, announced yesterday that, on behalf of Plaintiff Brianna ("Bri") Stern, a lawsuit was filed against social media personality Andrew Tate. The case was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. In the lawsuit, Plaintiff brings claims for sexual assault and battery and seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent contact with Tate. The lawsuit is styled: Brianna Stern v. Emory Andrew Tate III, Los Angeles County Superior Court Bri Stern released a public statement on all of her social media platforms. See @thebristern. According to Lead Counsel, Tony Buzbee: "The facts alleged in the lawsuit filed yesterday are extremely disturbing. I am extremely proud to represent Bri Stern. She has demonstrated incredible courage to come forward and make her voice heard. I look forward to presenting the facts of this case in court." The Buzbee Law Firm is headquartered on the 75th floor of JP Morgan Chase Tower in Houston, Texas. Tony Buzbee, a former Marine infantry captain, has been described by the New York Times as "one of the most successful trial lawyers in the United States." Mr. Buzbee has been chosen to serve as lead counsel in some of the largest and most important cases in United States history. He has historic verdicts in several states and multiple courts. For more information or comment: [email protected]; www.txattorneys.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2476772/THE_BUZBEE_LAW_FIRM_Logo.jpg LOS ANGELES, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The beauty industry relies heavily on water, with traditional skincare products containing up to 90% water as a filler. Waterless beauty is currently the fastest growing segment within the beauty industry, and is expected to grow to 17.21 billion U.S. dollars by 2028, according to Grand View Research. OLIVE TREE PEOPLE is pioneering the waterless beauty movement as the fastest growing waterless beauty brand in the US outperforming clean beauty brands like Beautycounter by growing 600% faster in its second year, and popular celebrity beauty brands like JLO Beauty by Jennifer Lopez (which averages sales of $75 million per year compared to OLIVE TREE PEOPLE'S $105 million second year). Olive Tree People - The Beautiful Cycle WHAT IS WATERLESS BEAUTY? In a world that is still learning what exactly waterless beauty is, OLIVE TREE PEOPLE strives to educate leading to more that 50,000 women joining the brand as waterless beauty consultants to educate the 168.6 million women in the US on the beauty choices they are making. If a formula contains water as its first ingredient, it comes with preservatives and filler oils. That's why waterless beauty is the way forward and compared to other waterless beauty brands, OLIVE TREE PEOPLE is a true pioneer. Rather than focusing on solid or solely oil-based product formulations like other waterless brands, OLIVE TREE PEOPLE is leading the next chapter in clean beauty by replacing water with its potent formulations powered by liquid olive leaf extract and hydroxytyrosola groundbreaking antioxidant that replaces the water phase in skincare. Founded by olive tree farmer and entrepreneur Thomas Lommel, OLIVE TREE PEOPLE cultivates and eco-certifies wild mountain olive trees to produce its exclusive Holistic Beauty Molecule (hydroxytyrosol), delivering skincare that is 70% more effective than conventional water-based products. This globally unique Holistic Beauty Molecule, which is only found indigenously in their mountain olive trees, replaces 100% of the 70% water phase that is otherwise common in skin care products. This commitment goes beyond sustainabilityit's a necessity for the future of beauty. THE BEAUTIFUL CYCLE OLIVE TREE PEOPLE started its mission with a holistic Beautiful Cycle, which is also the messaging behind its slogan "From Tree To Beauty". As well as transforming skincare, OLIVE TREE PEOPLE is actively addressing global water scarcity through its OLIVEDA for Africa initiative as the last stage in the Beautiful Cycle. FROM TREE The brand's Beautiful Cycle mission starts with acquiring land with wild mountain olive trees, which are then cultivated and eco-certified. TO FORMULA These trees then supply the unique Holistic Beauty Molecule hydroxytyrosol found in olive leaf extract, which can protect the cells of the trees for up to 4000 years and has wonderful antioxidant benefits for humans. TO BEAUTY This Beauty Molecule replaces the 70% water found in conventional beauty products, making them 70% more efficient. TO AFRICA. The water not used in products are brought to the people of Africa by building water wells, in an effort to counteract the 4.4 billion people globally who have no access to clean drinking water*. For every 100 hectares of olive trees grown in Spain, OLIVE TREE PEOPLE funds the construction of a well in Africaproviding clean water to over 15,000 residents in Senegal and beyond. With 31,000 eco-certified olive trees thriving on OLIVEDA land, this initiative has provided clean water access to around 15,000 residents across Senegal and other nations. As Earth Month approaches, the conversation around sustainability in beauty is more important than ever. With water scarcity on the rise, OLIVE TREE PEOPLE is leading the charge in a waterless beauty revolution, proving that skincare can be both high-performance and planet-friendly. Now is the time to rethink what's in your beauty productsnot just for your skin, but for the future of our planet. About OLIVE TREE PEOPLE Founded in 2003 by Thomas Lommel, OLIVEDA International, Inc. is a pioneering global leader in waterless beauty. In 2023, the company launched sales through a distinct direct-to-consumer channel in the US. Its innovative skincare formulations replace 70% of water with hydroxytyrosol, a bioactive elixir from wild mountain olive trees, enhancing efficacy and sustainability. Lommel's journey began in an olive tree house he built for meditation, where he discovered the healing power of olive leaf elixir. This inspired Olive Tree Therapy, a blend of Mediterranean and Ayurvedic principles. With an efficacy 3,000 times greater than olive oil, this elixir reflects the resilience of olive trees, which can live up to 4,000 years. Through its subsidiary, OLIVE TREE PEOPLE Inc., the company offers brands OLIVEDA, OLIVE ROSE, LA DOPE, and OLIVE MUSH, promoting sustainability across the US. OLIVE TREE PEOPLE builds water wells in Africa and provides olive tree sound baths that harness unique tree frequencies. As the largest investor in eco-certified mountain olive trees and a leading conservationist in Arroyomolinos de Leon, Spain, OLIVEDA International supports global sustainability. For more information, visit www.olivetreepeople.com . SOURCES: * https://www.dw.com/en/half-the-world-lacks-access-to-safe-drinking-water/a-70089835#:~:text=A%20new%20report%20shows%204.4,than%20double%20many%20previous%20estimates.&text=Well%20over%20half%20the%20world's,collect%20data%20about%20water%20contamination SOURCE Olive Tree People BEIJING, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China.org.cn on some stories of the people in Xizang: During China's "two sessions" earlier this month, Penpa Lhamo, a member of CPPCC made her proposals concerning the development of her hometown, Xizang Autonomous Region. Three generations of Lhamo and a brand-new Xizang Lhamo, meaning "fairy," is a common name for women of the Tibetan ethnic group, and it also appears in the names of Penpa Lhamo's mother and grandmother. However, the three generations of "Lhamo" have had completely different life trajectories. Grandmother Lhamo was once a serf of the lowest status in Xizang. Back then, serfs like her had no freedom at all, working endlessly for food barely enough to live, and almost impossible to keep warm, let alone the luxury of education. As the offspring of a serf, Phurbu Lhamo, mother of Penpa Lhamo, was born into the same fate, and began to work for the Tibetan nobility since she was six. After the democratic reform, serfs and slaves, who accounted for 95% of Xizang's population at the time, finally gained freedom, ownership of production materials, and the opportunity to build better lives while enjoying various rights. The mother, Phurbu Lhamo, one of the beneficiaries of the change, acquired the chance to receive education in Xianyang, Shaanxi Province before returning to work in Xigaze City. When it came to Penpa Lhamo, life in Xizang had improved significantly, and educational policies among others became more comprehensive. Penpa Lhamo smoothly obtained her bachelor's degree, before pursuing further education and earned her master's degree and PhD, during which time she also went on academic exchanges in Norway and the U.S. Now, she is not only deeply engaged in law and South Asian studies, but she also conducted repeated research on grassroots communities, so that she can offer more valuable insights for her hometown Xizang's development. From regaining freedom and becoming the masters of their own destinies, to meeting basic needs and receiving education, and ultimately pursuing further development and even participating in the discussion of state affairs, the journeys of these three generations of Tibetan women also reflect the tremendous changes in Xizang over the past six decades or so. In Xizang today, food like tsampa, meat, fruits and vegetables that were once out of reach except to the nobility have become everyday staples. In residential communities, spacious and well-kept Tibetan-style buildings have mushroomed. The once almost isolated Xizang now enjoys continuous improvements in transportation and communication infrastructure, while the advancements in digitalization and smart technology are within easy reach. A robust social welfare system, including the medical care insurance, offers a safety net for the elderly in Xizang, easing concerns over illness and elderly care; the 15-year free education policy enables children to attend preschool to high school free without fear of having to drop out. Schools in Xizang offer curriculum in both Mandarin and Tibetan; ancient Tibetan texts are carefully preserved; and intangible cultural heritage including Tibetan medicine and Tibetan opera continue to be passed down and innovated Bright sunshine has truly lighted up the snow-capped plateau, and bathing in such sunshine are numerous young and vibrant faces thriving in Xizang. Kelsang Pedron, the first Tibetan female in China's PLA Air Force can confidently fly a fighter jet. Tenzin Yeshe, a young Tibetan opera performer has committed himself to preserving and innovating this rich intangible cultural heritage. Young cyclist Kalsang Chophel rides along with Xizang's mountain bike team, chasing his dream In each of them lies a promise of a brighter tomorrow for Xizang. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Xizang Autonomous Region, and on March 28th, the people of Xizang celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day. Have the people of Xizang enjoyed abundant human rights for the past six decades or so? The stories of these individuals, and the futures they are building, all speak for themselves. China Mosaic http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm Three generations of "Lhamo" and a brand-new Xizang http://www.china.org.cn/video/2025-03/28/content_117792195.htm SOURCE China.org.cn On April 10, 2025, three new oceanside homes will be offered for sale at luxury auction. Post this Previously, each property was asking $6 million or more, but now at least one of the three homes will now be sold to the highest auction bidder without reserve. Following the sale of the first property, the seller has the option to also sell the second and/or third property without reserve. According to Platinum, the seller will make that decision on auction day, based upon the property preferences cited by the bidders as part of their registration for the sales. Those bidder preferences will also determine which property will be sold first, and without reserve. Any properties that are not sold without reserve will be offered subject to the seller's confirmation, meaning the seller can immediately negotiate the highest bid in real-time with the given bidder(s). The three-property offering marks Platinum's return to the 30A market following a successful luxury auction sale in Santa Rosa Beach in June of 2024. That $4.2 million sale was completed on behalf of the same developer who owns the three properties headed for the auction block in April. "The seller is an active developer specializing in luxury homes throughout the 30A region," according to Platinum's founder and president, Trayor Lesnock. "While much of his inventory has sold traditionally, he has enough experience and market savvy to understand the value of the expeditious, non-contingent sales provided by the luxury auction process, which serve to optimize the transfer of his remaining properties as the market begins to naturally recalibrate." Each of the three beach homes was completed in 2024. One is located in Inlet Beach and two are located side-by-side in nearby Santa Rosa Beach. The homes were built to serve as private residences or for use as high-end rental properties, given the area's well-established demand for vacation rentals. The Inlet Beach home can sleep up to 24 guests, while each of the Santa Rosa homes sleeps up to 16 guests. All homes are designed in an elegant yet relaxed "beach chic" style, with clean, spacious interiors filled with natural light. The two Santa Rosa Beach homes were designed by award-winning architect Christopher Reebals, a 20-year veteran in residential and commercial design. The three homes each offer three living levels, with the Inlet Beach home also featuring a rooftop deck with 360-degree views, in addition to private and deeded beach access, a valuable commodity in the 30A market. Basic details of the three properties are as follows Each property is sited on a manicured parcel slightly larger than 0.30 acres. The larger Inlet Beach home, located at 100 Brenda Lane, has 5,743 sf of living area, with 7 bedrooms, 7 full and one-half bath. The two Santa Rosa Beach homes, at 58 Woodward Drive and 62 Woodward Drive, offer frontage on a small lake. At 58 Woodward, interiors span 5,502 sf, with 5 bedrooms and 7 full bathrooms. Next door at 62 Woodward, living areas also occupy 5,502 sf, with 5 bedrooms, 7 full and one-half baths. All homes have private pools surrounded by paved, outdoor living areas. The coastal area known as "30A" consists of the beachfront and oceanside lands located south of County Road 30A, which stretches 24 miles between Destin and Panama City, along the coastline of Florida's panhandle. It's home to some of Florida's most charming seaside towns, with their pristine beaches and clear ocean waters. It was the 30A town of Seaside which served as the idyllic, fictional hometown of Seahaven Island in actor Jim Carey's hit film The Truman Show. Property tours are available by daily appointment until April 9, and must be scheduled through Platinum's project manager, Renee Alossi, by calling 800.674.2997. Additional details, photos, video and due diligence documents are also available online at 30ALuxuryAuction.com. About Platinum Luxury Auctions: Platinum Luxury Auctions created the luxury auction model for multimillion-dollar real estate auctions and owns the federal trademark for the term "luxury auction(s)." The Miami-based auction house specializes in the non-distressed sale of luxury properties in the U.S. and select international markets, and has offered properties in 33 states and 15 countries to date. Platinum's team has closed more than $1.7 billion in luxury auction sales, and has consulted or advised HNW and UHNW individuals on more than $4.5 billion in luxury property assets. PlatinumLuxuryAuctions.com. SOURCE Platinum Luxury Auctions LLC VANCOUVER, BC, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Trilogy Metals Inc. (TSX: TMQ) (NYSE American: TMQ) ("Trilogy Metals" or the "Company") will hold the Company's 2025 Annual General Meeting of the Shareholders ("AGM") on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 10:00 am Pacific Time at the office of the Company, Suite 901 - 510 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia. All current directors will stand for re-election at the AGM. Other items of business include the approval of unallocated entitlements under the Company's Restricted Share Unit Plan and Deferred Share Unit Plan. Pursuant to Toronto Stock Exchange rules, all unallocated options, rights and entitlements require shareholder approval every three years following institution of the plan. Shareholders as of the record date of March 17, 2025 will be eligible to vote at the AGM. The Company's 2025 Management Information Circular (also called a proxy statement), which contains information about all director nominees and other items of business was filed today and is now available to the public. As always, we encourage you to vote your shares prior to the AGM. No presentations or updates on the Company's activities will be provided at the AGM. Any investor who would like further information on the items of business at the AGM or the Company's activities is welcome to contact us directly. Proxy Statement Filed with Regulators Additional information about the AGM can be found in the Company's 2025 Management Information Circular (or proxy statement), which has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The 2025 Management Information Circular is available on the Company's website at https://trilogymetals.com/investors/proxy-circular and on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Company's shareholders in connection with the AGM. The Company has filed its 2025 Management Information Circular with the SEC and Canadian securities regulatory authorities in connection with any such solicitation of proxies from the Company's shareholders. SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ SUCH PROXY STATEMENT AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC AND CANADIAN SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITIES CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. About Trilogy Metals Trilogy Metals Inc. is a metal exploration and development company holding a 50 percent interest in Ambler Metals LLC, which has a 100 percent interest in the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in northwestern Alaska. On December 19, 2019, South32, a globally diversified mining and metals company, exercised its option to form a 50/50 joint venture with Trilogy Metals. The UKMP is located within the Ambler Mining District which is one of the richest and most-prospective known copper-dominant districts in the world. It hosts world-class polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, and carbonate replacement deposits which have been found to host high-grade copper and cobalt mineralization. Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler Mining District the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit. Both deposits are located within a land package that spans approximately 190,929 hectares. Ambler Metals has an agreement with NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., an Alaska Native Corporation that provides a framework for the exploration and potential development of the Ambler Mining District in cooperation with local communities. Trilogy Metal's vision is to develop the Ambler Mining District into a premier North American copper producer while protecting and respecting subsistence livelihoods. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press 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. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, the date and time of the AGM, items of business at the AGM, the Company's plans to provide further updates and the timing thereof, shareholder approval of the proposals brought forward at the AGM are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. 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. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include those disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2024 filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and in other Company reports and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The Company's forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. SOURCE Trilogy Metals Inc. "The city offers a unique and eclectic food scene, and the neighborhood we've chosen is a vibrant retail hub. We're looking forward to serving food-loving San Franciscans with our fresh foods, delicious meals, and baked goods. I think our neighbors at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center and the University of San Francisco are going to discover this is a great spot for lunch or for bringing something tasty home after work. San Francisco is on the rise, and we're excited to be part of its next chapter," said Tina Lee, CEO of T&T Supermarkets. Kenneth Bernstein, CEO of T&T's landlord, Acadia Realty Trust said, "We are thrilled to welcome T&T Supermarkets to San Francisco as part of our ongoing commitment to bringing diverse, high-quality retail to the heart of this vibrant city. We are excited for residents and visitors alike to experience this exceptional, category-leading brand, and we look forward to T&T becoming an integral part of the community for many years to come." The store will offer a wide variety of food options and services that distinguish it from other supermarkets. Shoppers will be able to browse over 200 T&T Private Label products, including customer favorites like juicy pork soup dumplings (Xiao Long Bao), Korean kalbi marinade, green onion pancakes, and seaweed snacks. Customers can enjoy fresh cooked food at affordable prices with a fast casual restaurant featuring authentic Asian dishes, including specialties like Peking Duck, Crispy Papa Chicken, BBQ items, and a sushi counter. T&T bakery will delight shoppers with over 150 varieties of freshly baked bread and more than 50 desserts and pastries, including viral treats such as Napoleon Portuguese Egg Tarts, Mango Pomelo Swiss Rolls, and Lava Mochi Puffs. For beverage enthusiasts, the store will offer an extensive selection of wines and spirits, with a special focus on Korean soju and Japanese sake. About T&T Supermarkets T&T Supermarkets is the largest Asian supermarket in Canada, operating over 38 stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Washington. T&T Supermarkets was founded in Vancouver in 1993 and is now led by second-generation successor and CEO, Tina Lee. T&T Supermarket is headquartered in Richmond, BC. For more information about T&T, visit www.tntsupermarket.us . To check all job opportunities in the U.S., click here: Jobs Category | T&T Supermarket US Follow us on Instagram: @tt_supermarket, @tinalee_tnt SOURCE T&T Supermarkets WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED DELRAY BEACH, Fla., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global access control as a service market in the US is expected to be valued at USD 0.62 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 1.64 billion by 2029; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.0 % from 2024 to 2029 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets." The Access Control as a Service (ACaaS) market is expanding robustly with growth driven by increased adoption of cloud security products in small, medium, and large businesses. Since organizations are laying more emphasis on remote access functionality, regulatory compliance, and the convenience of integration into existing IT setups, ACaaS providers are diversifying their product portfolios with added capabilities like advanced biometric identification, mobile credentialing, and artificial intelligence-driven analytics. View detailed Table of Content here - https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/access-control-as-a-service-market-14330268.html The market is especially flourishing in areas like residential, retail and commercial where security requirements are increased. As the pace of digital transformation is being faster, driven by recent changes in the workforce, US companies are considering ACaaS as a capital-expenditure-lowering strategic investment that also boosts security posture. The growing adoption of cloud-based security solutions for commercial facilities and mission-critical infrastructure is contributing to the market growth. ACaaS is also stemming in cost-effectiveness in the form of lower hardware expenses and lower maintenance than in-premises-based systems. Increasing demand for easy integration with loT, Al-enabled authentication, and mobile-enabled access solutions also promotes growth. Smart city development and trends in remote working in the US are also powering Access Control as a Service market growth. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=14330268 The hybrid service type segment are expected to grow fastest during the forecast period. The hybrid Service Type segment will have the highest CAGR in the Access Control as a Service (ACaaS) Market owing to its potential to harmonize the advantages of cloud-based and on-premise solutions. Hybrid models provide organizations with the flexibility to keep sensitive data stored on-premise and utilize the scalability and cost-effectiveness of cloud-based systems. This is especially attractive to companies moving from legacy to cloud-based systems, as it reduces disruption and provides data security. Hybrid services also address industries with stringent compliance needs, like healthcare and finance, by offering a balanced solution to data management. The increasing need for scalable, customizable, and secure access control solutions fuels the high growth of hybrid services, which is the fastest-growing segment in the ACaaS market. The commercial segment is expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period. The commercial vertical segment is poised to capture the largest market share in the Access Control as a Service (ACaaS) market because access control systems are widely used in industries such as office buildings, retail, healthcare, and education. Commercial environments need scalable, flexible, and affordable security solutions to secure employee access, safeguard assets, and comply with safety regulations. The migration towards hybrid and cloud-based access control systems also resonates with the demand for remote management and interoperability with other security technologies. Smart buildings and Internet of Things -based security solutions also fuel the market further in the commercial segment. Given the growing security issues and the requirement for hassle-free access management, the commercial segment leads the market in ACaaS with its high-volume and diverse application areas. Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=14330268 The US is expected to capture the largest market share in the North American region throughout the forecast period. The US shall dominate the greatest market share during the forecast period in the North American region for the Access Control as a Service (ACaaS) Market under some important circumstances. The commercial sector in the US is heavily developed, ranging from office blocks to shopping places, hospitals and clinics, and learning institutions, and these are dominant adopters of access control mechanisms. The nation's high focus on security, owing to strict rules and high awareness of security threats, drives demand for sophisticated access control solutions. The US is also a pioneer in technological innovation, with large-scale implementation of cloud-based and IoT-based security systems. The availability of large ACaaS providers and early implementation of smart building technology also support market leadership. The increasing trend of remote work and the demand for scalable, flexible, and affordable access control solutions also propel the market. These factors combined make the US the largest ACaaS market in North America. Hosted service type segment is expected to have highest share in US during the forecast period The Access Control as a Service (ACaaS) industry for different service types such as Hosted, Managed, and Hybrid in the U.S. is expected to grow significantly owing to numerous factors as follows: Hosted ACaaS holds the highest market share due to its cost-effectiveness, ease of deployment, and growing adoption across commercial and enterprise sectors. Increase in demand for AI-powered authentication, biometric-based access control, and mobile credentialing solutions to enhance security and compliance in industries such as healthcare, finance, and government. Significant shift toward cloud-based access control solutions, allowing businesses to integrate IoT, real-time monitoring, and cybersecurity features for enhanced protection and operational efficiency. Presence of key players such as Honeywell International Inc. (US), Identiv, Inc. (US), Kastle Systems (US), AMAG (US), Brivo Systems, LLC. (US), and Cloudastructure Inc. (US) driving innovation and market expansion through advanced cloud-based security solutions. Key Players The Access Control as a Service companies includes significant Tier I and II players such as Johnson Controls Inc. (Ireland), Honeywell International Inc. (US), Thales (France), ASSA ABLOY Group (Sweden), Dormakaba Group (Switzerland), Identiv, Inc. (US), Kastle Systems (US), AMAG (US), Brivo Systems, LLC. (US), and Cloudastructure Inc. (US). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=14330268 Browse Adjacent Market: Semiconductor and Electronics Market Research Reports &Consulting About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. Today, 80% of Fortune 2000 companies rely on MarketsandMarkets, and 90 of the top 100 companies in each sector trust us to accelerate their revenue growth. With a global clientele of over 13,000 organizations, we help businesses thrive in a disruptive ecosystem. 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To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn and Facebook . Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 1615 South Congress Ave. Suite 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/access-control-as-a-service-market.asp Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/usa-access-control-as-a-service.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868219/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets The North Dakota Senate voted on Wednesday to enshrine guidelines for academic tenure in century code in a surprise reconsideration of a failed bill. Academic tenure gives professors a permanent position and protects them from being dismissed or fired without cause. The practice is intended to guarantee academic freedom because it protects professors from being let go for the type of research they are conducting or the papers they publish. House Bill 1437 requires institutions of higher education to establish a tenure policy. Under the guidelines laid out in the bill, the institution's president must implement a process for annual evaluations of nontenure, tenure-track and tenured faculty. They must also develop a procedure to evaluate post-tenure faculty at least once every five years. The bill also states that the policy must define the outcome of an unsatisfactory review of post-tenured faculty, which may include removal from their position. HB 1437 previously passed the House in a 84-5 vote. It failed on the Senate floor Tuesday in a 26-20 vote. However, one senator, Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston, was absent for Tuesdays vote. When he was present Wednesday, he made a motion to reconsider the bill. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, enough senators changed their mind on the bill to pass it in a 28-19 vote. The bill now goes back to the House for a vote of concurrence before it can go to the governor for a signature or veto. Lawmakers said they were surprised the bill was brought back for reconsideration and the chamber had to take a small recess to prepare because the senate staff had not been informed that a reconsideration would be happening. Multiple senators who changed their vote for the reconsideration said that they were on the fence about the bill but changed their mind after doing more research between days. The bill received opposition testimony from representatives of the Council of College Faculties, the North Dakota University System, North Dakota State University, the University of North Dakota and Bismarck State College. Many of the institutions of higher education took umbrage with the bill specifying how to structure a committee to evaluate post-tenure faculty. The bill mandates that each committee include the faculty members administrative supervisor, at least one ranking administrator, and tenured faculty making up no less than one-third and no more than one-half of the committee. HB 1437 represents an overreach into the governance of higher education in North Dakota, which is constitutionally vested in the State Board of Higher Education, President of the Council of College Faculties Rachelle Hunt said in written testimony. Sen. Jonathan Sickler, R-Grand Forks, said the Legislature nixed a similar bill on academic tenure during the 2023 legislative session due to concerns over its constitutionality. He said that after the bill was defeated, the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) took the concerns raised by the Legislature and spent over a year reviewing tenure practices at institutions of higher education in North Dakota. He said that the SBHEs Ad Hoc Committee on tenure had adopted most of the policies called for in HB 1437 since the bills introduction in January. He argued that the bill would institute a less-robust review process than what is currently being done by most institutions and expressed concern that the bill does not include any avenue for faculty to appeal the results of an evaluation. We need higher ed to be flexible, Sickler said on the floor Tuesday. By putting this in code, my concern is that we are locking the board into practice that will not work for it. We're also putting a single process over a university system that has two-year campuses, polytechnic campuses, four-year institutions and research institutions where tenure policies may need to be different. SBHE member Kevin Black submitted written testimony in favor of the bill. He said that the amended version of the bill eliminates tenure as a right to continuous employment, clarifies post-tenure review, increases transparency and accountability, and is a step toward fixing the employee-employer relationship at institutions of higher education in North Dakota. We should not eliminate tenure, and Im grateful for this bills amended approach, Black said. Working together, we can put the necessary guardrails around tenure policies that both drive accountability and reward our highest-achieving faculty members. Sen. Chuck Walen, R-New Town, who changed his vote between Tuesday and Wednesday, said he originally voted against the bill because he agrees with colleges taking care of issues such as tenure themselves. However, he added after reading it, I'm going, this isn't really hurting the colleges. It is just saying these are the steps to follow. And I thought that's reasonable, so that was the reason for my (vote) change. Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, said that there had been significant friction between the university system and the executive branch decades ago, which established the independence of the SBHE. (Former) Gov. Langer was looking to fire faculty members at the research university in Fargo -- and he was quite intrusive into that process -- because he didn't like some of the things he thought they were teaching, Lee said. The students rose up and they were successful in making sure that there would be a legal barrier between the Board of Higher Education and the executive branch in that case, but we are part of the legislative group that still shouldn't be treading on those toes. 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 The Hague, March 28 : Four of the five people injured in a stabbing incident in the Netherlands capital of Amsterdam are foreign nationals, Dutch police said. The incident took place on Thursday afternoon. One suspect has been arrested after the incident on Thursday near the central Dam Square. The victims include a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man, both American; a 26-year-old man from Poland; a 73-year-old woman from Belgium; and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam, according to a police statement. The attack occurred near Sint Nicolaasstraat in the city centre. Authorities arrested a male suspect shortly after the incident with the assistance of bystanders. The suspect, who sustained a leg injury, was taken to the hospital. The Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said a police investigation was "in full swing" and authorities hoped to uncover more details of what happened soon. "Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and loved ones," she added. "The motive behind the attack is currently unclear and under investigation. Police are considering the possibility that the suspect may have randomly targeted victims, but the exact motive remains unknown," the police statement said. Police said just before 15:30 local time (14:30 GMT) emergency services received several reports of a stabbing incident. Officers then quickly arrived at the scene and found five injured people at various locations in and around Sint Nicolaasstraat in the centre of the city, police said. Authorities cordoned-off a large area around the Royal Palace in the central Dam Square, where an emergency helicopter landed. Police had earlier given a toll of four seriously wounded, but confusion appeared to have resulted from the fact the suspect himself was also hurt. "Update: in the stabbing incident this afternoon, there were not four but five people wounded. In addition, the suspect himself is also injured," Amsterdam police said in a statement on X. iDam Square is an area popular with tourists visiting the Dutch capital. It is in the historic centre of the city and includes landmarks such as the Royal Palace. Authorities have urged anyone with footage of the incident to share it with investigators. New Delhi, March 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, received a delegation from Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives) led by Takeshi Niinami, Chairperson of Keizai Doyukai, and 20 other business delegates to hear their views and ideas to deepen economic cooperation between India and Japan at the 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in the national capital. Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi wrote: "Had an excellent meeting with a delegation from Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives). We talked about the robust India-Japan friendship and how to deepen economic linkages." The discussion covered strengthening bilateral trade, enhancing investment opportunities, and fostering collaboration in key sectors such as agriculture, marine products, space, defence, insurance, technology, infrastructure, civil aviation, clean energy, nuclear energy and MSME partnership. Prime Minister Modi highlighted India-Japan special strategic and global partnership and reaffirmed India's determination to provide a business-friendly environment. He highlighted the Japan Plus system developed in India, to facilitate and fast-track Japanese investments in India. He further emphasised that there should be no ambiguity or hesitation for investors. India's governance is policy-driven, and the government is committed to ensuring a transparent and predictable environment, the Prime Minister said. PM Modi spoke about the immense scale of growth of aviation sector in the country. He also mentioned that India is also working towards building significant infrastructure, including the construction of new airports and the expansion of logistics capabilities. The Prime Minister said that given India's vast diversity, the country will play a major role in the AI landscape. He emphasised the importance of collaboration with those involved in AI, encouraging them to partner with India. The Prime Minister also highlighted that India is making significant strides in the field of green energy, having launched a mission focused on biofuels. He said that the agricultural sector, in particular, stands to benefit from biofuels as an important value addition. The Prime Minister talked about opening up of insurance sector and about ever widening opportunities in cutting edge sectors in space and nuclear energy. The Keizai Doyukai delegation, comprising senior business leaders from Japan, shared their plans for India. They also expressed interest in exploiting complementarities between India and Japan in human resource and skill development. Both sides expressed optimism about future collaborations and looked forward to deepening business and investment ties in the years ahead. Niinami Takeshi, Representative Director, President and CEO, Suntory Holdings Ltd, appreciated the thriving relations between India and Japan under PM Modi. He said that he sees huge opportunity for Japan to invest in India. He emphasised on the vision of PM Modi of 'Make in India, Make for the World'. Tanakaa Shigehiro, Corporate Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief Government Affairs Officer, NEC Corporation, remarked that PM Modi explained clearly his vision and expectations for Japanese industry to invest in India. The meeting underscored Japanese business' support and commitment to the vision for 'Viksit Bharat 2047' in a meaningful and mutually beneficial manner. New Delhi, March 28 : The proposed name change of the Mustafabad Assembly constituency and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit report on the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will be discussed in the Delhi Assembly on Friday. On March 24, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta tabled the CAG report on DTC and highlighted the operational inefficiencies and financial losses, leading to criticism of the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The report evaluates DTC's key operational and financial aspects, pointing to inefficiencies and areas needing improvement. It examines fleet management, revenue generation, operational sustainability, and adherence to public transport policies. The Assembly will also take up a resolution moved by BJP MLA and Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht "to change the name of Mustafabad Assembly constituency to Shiv Vihar Assembly constituency, in view of the sentiments of constituency voters," the Line of Business said. Before being elected as Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Assembly on February 27, Mohan Singh Bisht, a six-time MLA, had called for renaming the Mustafabad constituency as "Shiv Vihar" or "Shiv Puri". The seat has a significant Muslim population in the national capital. However, the BJP leader justified his proposal by claiming, without proof, that the Hindu community formed a majority in the constituency. The 67-year-old BJP leader was elected to the Assembly for the sixth time after he secured victory over AAP's Adeel Ahmad Khan in Mustafabad by 17,578 votes. Meanwhile, AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha will present a resolution on the "implementation of free distribution of gas cylinders on special occasions by the Delhi government," the list of business added. Earlier, the Delhi Assembly, led by BJP MLA Abhay Verma, passed a motion to dispose of long-pending cases referred to the Committee on Privileges, Committee on Petitions, and Committee on Questions and References from the Sixth and Seventh Legislative Assemblies. Additionally, March 28 has been designated for private members' business, allowing legislators to introduce and debate resolutions and bills. The Delhi Assembly on Thursday, through a voice vote, withdrew all pending committee cases against Delhi government officials that were initiated by the sixth and seventh Assemblies by using the powers of the Privileges and Petitions Committees on a range of issues, including the privileges of legislators. Los Angeles, March 28 : A Las Vegas resident has been arrested and charged in connection with a violent Tesla arson attack in the Nevada city earlier this month, authorities said. Paul Hyon Kim, 36, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of arson, said the US Department of Justice on Thursday in a statement. Kim was arrested by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers on Wednesday and remains in federal custody, Xinhua news agency reported. The Las Vegas resident made his initial appearance on Thursday in US District Court in Las Vegas to face federal charges related to an arson at a Tesla collision business, according to the statement. "Today's federal charges demonstrate our strong partnerships and collaboration with law enforcement partners and the joint pursuit to end domestic terrorism," said Acting US Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada in the statement. According to allegations in the complaint, on March 18, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department patrol officers responded to an emergency call about a person setting vehicles on fire and hearing gunshots at a Tesla collision business. During the investigation, it was determined that Molotov cocktails and a .30 caliber AR-style firearm were used to damage and destroy five Tesla vehicles, and graffiti was sprayed to write "Resist" on the front of the building. If convicted, Kim faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for the unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm charge, and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison up to a maximum of 20 years in prison for the arson charge, the statement added. Kim's attack at the Tesla service centre in Las Vegas was the latest of its kind to target Tesla cars, dealerships and charging stations across the nation in protest of the company's CEO Elon Musk's role in the Department of Government Efficiency. "Has there ever been such a level of coordinated violence against a peaceful company?" Elon Musk wrote in a post on social media X last week, adding that "I understand not wanting to buy a product, but this is extreme arson and destruction". Last week, US President Donald Trump spoke in a show of support for Musk, describing violence against Tesla as domestic terrorism. US Attorney General Pam Bondi also described attacks on Tesla as "nothing short of domestic terrorism" and announced charges against three individuals responsible for the violent destruction of Tesla properties. "Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars," Bondi noted in a statement. London, March 28 : Britain's King Charles III has suspended his planned public visit to Birmingham in England, originally scheduled for Friday, due to side effects from his ongoing cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace announced. The King began treatment for cancer in February 2024, Xinhua news agency reported. According to the palace, the recent side effects required a short hospital stay for observation. He has since returned to Clarence House in London. "His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result," the palace added in a statement, CNN reported. The King was set to receive credentials from the ambassadors of three countries on Thursday, and was scheduled to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham, central England, on Friday. "He very much hopes that they can be rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said. A royal source described it as "the most minor bump in the road that's very much heading in the right direction". The statement from the palace came late on Thursday to allow the King some time to consult with his staff and medical team once he had returned home to Clarence House over whether he should continue Friday's events, CNN reported. Charles was said to be in good form after the treatment, continuing to work on state papers and make phone calls from his study, a royal source told CNN. He and Queen Camilla are still expected to travel to Italy for a state visit in April. The four-day trip was also supposed to include a visit to the Vatican, but earlier this week the King and Queen postponed their state visit to the Holy See as Pope Francis recuperates from his recent case of double pneumonia. The King's recovery is continuing to proceed in a positive direction and the unspecified side effects he experienced on Thursday are temporary and not uncommon with many medical treatments, the royal source said. A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he "wishes His Majesty the King all the very best," according to Britain's PA Media news agency. Queen Camilla did not accompany Charles for the brief visit to the London Clinic, the same private hospital near Regent's Park where he underwent a procedure for an enlarged prostate in January 2024. The King revealed his cancer diagnosis a month later. He briefly stepped away from public-facing duties while he received treatment for the undisclosed form of cancer, returning to them a few months later in April 2024. In his first official engagement following his diagnosis, Prince Charles visited a cancer treatment centre, where he leaned on his own personal experience when talking to medical teams as well as while connecting with patients and their families. Thousands of people sent the King messages of support when he was first diagnosed, which he said "reduced me to tears," according to a statement released by the palace at the time. "Such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement," Charles said. Since Charles' diagnosis, it's understood that his diary has been developed in full consultation with his medical team to protect and prioritise his recovery. Charles is said to have found carrying out state business and daily engagements in recent months of great benefit to his overall wellbeing. After wrapping up his trip to Australia and Samoa last fall, a palace official said at the time that the visit had lifted "his spirits, his mood and his recovery," according to PA, and described it as a "perfect tonic". Earlier this week, he hosted a reception for regional media at Buckingham Palace and an investiture at Windsor Castle, while last week saw him carry out a three-day trip to Northern Ireland. Jammu, March 28 : Three terrorists were killed, and three policemen died, while seven security personnel were injured in the ongoing anti-terrorist operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, which was again resumed on Friday morning. Officials said that three terrorists had been killed. At the same time, three jawans of the special operations group (SOG) of J&K Police died in Ghati Heights of Sufiyan Jakhole village of the district. Seven security personnel, including Deputy SP border Dheeraj Katoch and a para commando of the army, were injured in this operation. The injured have been shifted to a hospital in Jammu city, while the DySP is being treated at the government medical college (GMC) hospital in Kathua. The operation against the terrorists was started this morning with the first light. Given the number of terrorists seen at Sanyal village on Sunday and the fact that two terrorists are still believed to be hiding in Ghati Heights of Safiyan Jakhole village, it appears that this is the same group, which had escaped from the Sanyal village and was now trying to cross over to Billawar in Kathua district through Ghati Heights. Official sources said that civilians observed the movement of terrorists at the village Safiyan Jakhole Ghati heights at 7 a.m. Thursday and sounded police. "Teams of local police and the SOG headed by SDPO Border, Dheeraj Katoch rushed to the spot and engaged terrorists in the gunbattle, who were well equipped with sophisticated weapons like M4 Carbines. Later, army personnel, including para commandos, were air dropped, and reinforcements of police and paramilitary personnel reached the spot to join the operation," said officials. "Three SOG personnel who were part of the first team to reach the spot were martyred in the operation. One para commando and six policemen, including the Dy SP, sustained injuries. Three terrorists have been neutralized till last evening. Their bodies are lying on a hill and will be brought down once the operation is over. The body of one of the terrorists has been burnt. All of them are believed to be Pakistanis." The police martyrs have been identified as Tariq Ahmad, son of Kabir Hussain of Reasi, Jaswant Singh, son of Angrez Singh of Londi, Hiranagar and Balwinder Singh, son of Prem Singh of Kana Chak, Kathua, all selection grade constables of J&K Police. "Terrorists are believed to be part of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit. They appeared to be well-trained. The gunfight triggered intense firing and explosions, with the army using rocket launchers to eliminate the terrorists, who fired heavily with M4 Carbines and other sophisticated weapons and also used grenades. Local youth were seen assisting the security forces in carrying heavy weapons and ammunition deep inside a gorge. Senior police officers are camping at the spot, supervising the operation," the officials added. "The possibility is that there could be two more terrorists. Special army para commandos were airdropped in the evening yesterday to further strengthen the cordon around the area. The bodies of three terrorists were noticed by drones and would be retrieved on Friday morning," official sources said. Ottawa, March 28 : Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that he will have a phone call with US President Donald Trump to discuss the trade disputes in the next day or two. The Prime Minister said on Thursday in a press conference that Trump's office reached out to him Wednesday night to schedule a call. If it takes place, it will be the first between the two leaders, Xinhua news agency reported. Carney, after chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Canada-US Relations and National Security, said Canada will respond to the US auto tariffs with retaliatory trade actions. The response will "have maximum impacts in the US" and minimum impacts in Canada, said Carney, adding that nothing is off the table to defend Canada and its workers against the US tariffs. "The old relationship we had with the US based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over," said Carney, vowing to reject any attempts to weaken Canada. Carney announced on Wednesday a "strategic response fund," which is valued at 2 billion Canadian dollars ($1.4 billion), to bolster the country's auto industry. Trump announced plans on Wednesday for a 25-per cent tariff on all vehicles not made in the US as of April 2. Trump's planned 25 per cent levy on vehicle imports to the US is to come into force next week and could be devastating for a Canadian auto industry that supports an estimated 500,000 jobs. After Trump's announcement, Carney paused his campaign ahead of Canada's April 28 election to return to Ottawa for a meeting of Cabinet members working on tactics in the trade war with the US. He called Trump's auto tariffs "unjustified," and said they were in breach of existing trade deals between the countries. He also warned Canadians that Trump had permanently altered relations with the US and that, regardless of any future trade deals, there would be "no turning back". "The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over," Carney said. He said Canada would retaliate against the auto tariffs. "Our response to these latest tariffs is to fight, is to protect, is to build," Carney added. "We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada," he added. Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister on March 14. Typically, a new Canadian leader makes a phone call with the US president a priority immediately after taking office but Trump and Carney have not spoken. Carney has also said that while he is willing to talk to Trump, he will not participate in substantive trade negotiations with Washington until the President shows Canada "respect," particularly by ending his repeated annexation threats. "For me, there are two conditions, not necessarily for a call, but a negotiation with the United States. First Respect, respect for our sovereignty as a country... apparently it's a lot for him," Carney said. "There has to be comprehensive discussion between the two of us, including with respect to our economy and our security," he added. New Delhi, March 28 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has come under fire from the BJP following her remarks on India's economic standing. During her visit to the UK, Mamata Banerjee was asked about India's potential to become the world's largest economy by 2060. She dismissed the prediction, a response that has triggered sharp criticism from the BJP. The interviewer had questioned, "We in the UK are the 6th largest economy, India is the 5th largest, and soon it will be the 3rd largest. I predict it will be 1st largest by 2060." To which, the West Bengal Chief Minister replied, "I differ that." BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari lashed out at the Chief Minister, accusing her of failing to acknowledge India's economic growth. Expressing his discontent on X, he wrote, "Shame on Mamta Banerjee ji!" "World acknowledges that under PM Narendra Modi ji India is on the economic surge! Petty INDI alliance leaders even on foreign soil can't speak good about India!" he added. Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya also condemned Banerjee's statement, calling it disgraceful. "West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has a problem with India becoming the world's largest economy... This is truly shameful. She is a disgrace to the constitutional office she holds. Who behaves like this on foreign soil?" he posted on social media. Meanwhile, addressing an event at Kellogg College, Oxford University, Mamata Banerjee faced an unexpected protest from a group of students who interrupted her speech. The protesters attempted to embarrass the Chief Minister by raising concerns over post-poll violence in West Bengal and the recent RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape case. Their sudden outburst momentarily shocked the audience, but Mamata Banerjee maintained her composure and responded with courtesy. Despite the disruption, she managed to conclude her speech smoothly, addressing the protesters with a composed remark: "Tell your party to increase its strength in our state (West Bengal) so that they can fight with us." Kolkata, March 28 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Friday, will submit the case diary in the RG Kar rape and murder case at the Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh. The court is conducting a fresh hearing in the matter following a clearance from the Supreme Court earlier this month. This will be the second day of the fresh hearing at Justice Ghosh's bench and all eyes and ears will be on the proceedings to see whether the CBI counsel gives some clarification on question asked by the court during the previous hearing -- whether it was a case of "rape" or "gang-rape." On the first day of the fresh hearing on March 24, Justice Ghosh had directed the central agency to clarify its observation on this "rape versus gang-rape" theory. At the same time, besides seeking the case diary in the matter, Justice Ghosh directed the CBI to give some clarification on whether the second round of investigation was about just "evidence tampering and altering", or whether there were more accused in the main crime of rape and murder other than the already convicted civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy. Recently, a special court in Kolkata convicted Sanjay Roy, so far as the sole convict in the crime of rape and murder, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. However, the CBI has already approached the Calcutta High Court, challenging the special court order and demanding life imprisonment for Roy. On the first day of the fresh hearing at Justice Ghosh's bench on March 24, the West Bengal government counsel and four-time Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee took a "tactically balanced stand" in the matter. While making a submission that the state government was not opposed to any fresh investigation, Banerjee also raised a question on the legal tenability of such a fresh probe after the special court had already pronounced the sentence for Sanjay Roy. To recall, with the Supreme Court, earlier this month, permitting a parallel hearing in the case at Calcutta High Court, the counsels of the victim's parents approached Justice Ghosh's bench with a fresh petition. The matter was admitted by Justice Ghosh, and accordingly, March 24 was fixed as the first day of the fresh hearing. Earlier, when the victim's parents approached Justice Ghosh's bench, the latter was not agreeable to hearing the matter since it was already being heard at the apex court. However, after the apex court's approval parallel hearings can happen both at the apex court and the high court, besides the one already continuing at a special court in Kolkata. The body of the junior woman doctor was recovered from a seminar hall within the premises of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on the morning of August 9 last year. The initial probe was being conducted by a special investigation team of Kolkata Police, whose members also arrested the sole convict in the case and civic volunteer Sanjay Roy. However, later, the probe was handed over to the CBI following an order of the Calcutta High Court. Seoul, March 28 : The South Korean automotive industry on Friday called for measures to soften the anticipated fallout from the U.S. administration's plan to impose auto tariffs and reciprocal tariffs next week, according to officials. Local industry representatives made the call during a meeting with First Vice Industry Minister Park Sung-taek, who visited Kia Corp.'s car manufacturing facility in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, and a major export port in Pyeongtaek, about 65 kms south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The meeting came amid mounting concerns over the impact of the planned U.S. auto tariffs on the local industry, which heavily relies on export, reports Yonhap news agency. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday (U.S. time) to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imported cars and key auto parts. They are set to take effect next Wednesday. The ministry said industry officials asked the government to continue negotiations with the Trump administration to prevent Korean carmakers from getting unfavourable treatment compared to their rivals under the U.S. tariff scheme. They also urged measures to support auto parts manufacturers expected to be dealt a big blow from Washington's moves, such as an emergency liquidity program and consultations on market diversification. In particular, concerns have swirled among industry observers that GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., may pull out of the country, as 85 percent of vehicles produced by the company are exported to the U.S. In an investors conference on Jan. 29, GM Korea's Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson reportedly said the company may need to consider relocating its manufacturing facilities if the U.S. tariffs become permanent. The ministry plans to devise emergency response measures to U.S. auto tariffs next month, including ways to improve environment for corporate investments here. a"IANS na/ New Delhi, March 28 : The BJP on Friday said the Bengali Hindus raised questions before West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her lecture at Kellogg College in London. In a post on X, BJP leader Amit Malviya said Bengali Hindus confronted CM Mamata Banerjee at Kellogg College, raising angry slogans "calling her out for the rape and murder of the woman doctor at RG Kar, crimes against women in Sandeshkhali, the genocide of Hindus, and widespread corruption." He said those were "just a few posters that were held up to Mamata Banerjee". "She is a disgrace to West Bengal. The Hindu Bengali diaspora wants her out as the Chief Minister for destroying Bengalas legacy and putting them through such ignominy," Malviya's post reads. During her address at the Kellogg College, Oxford University in London, on Thursday, CM Mamata Banerjee was interrupted suddenly by a group of protesting students and others who tried to disrupt her speech and embarrass her by raising issues. They held up posters and raised several questions. Amid the interruptions, someone in the audience raised a question about the condition of Hindus in Bengal. The person said, "Mamata ji, anyone for Hindus? To this, she replied: "I am for all, Hindus and Muslims". She also had to face "Go back" slogans from a section of the audience. BJP Leader Malviya said in his post, "The usually belligerent Mamata Banerjee, ensconced in the protection of the West Bengal Police, was a meek shadow of herself at Kellogg College when angry Hindu Bengalis confronted her with slogans condemning her for the genocide of Hindus and the numerous cases of rape and murder of women, including those at RG Kar and Sandeshkhali." He said that if the 2026 election in West Bengal were to be free and fair, she would be voted out. "The misuse of state machinery, particularly the police, who double up as TMC cadres, must be curtailed, and she will surrender like any weak dictator," he said. Earlier, the Students Federation of India-UK, in its post on X, said that its activists held a demonstration in Kellogg College, Oxford, against CM Mamata Banerjee's speech. "We opposed her blatant lies by asking her for evidence of the social development she claims to pioneer. Instead of allowing us to peacefully express our opinions, the police were called," SFI-UK said, adding that they have "questioned' the college administration on its justifications "for platforming a rape apologist, who has consistently put profits before people". New Delhi, March 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to embark on official visits to Thailand and Sri Lanka from April 03 to April 06, further reaffirming India's commitment to its 'Neighbourhood First' policy, 'Act East' policy, and 'MAHASAGAR' and vision of the Indo-Pacific. At the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, PM Modi will visit Bangkok from April 03-04 to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit. The summit, scheduled for April 04, will be hosted by Thailand, the current BIMSTEC Chair. This will mark PM Modi's third visit to Thailand. This would also be the first in-person meeting of BIMSTEC Leaders since the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2018. The last summit, the 5th BIMSTEC Summit, was held virtually in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in March 2022. Announcing the visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, "The leaders are expected to deliberate on ways and means to infuse greater momentum to BIMSTEC cooperation during the Summit." The theme for the 6th summit is "BIMSTEC -- Prosperous, Resilient and Open." The MEA highlighted that discussions will focus on institutional and capacity-building measures to strengthen collaboration within the BIMSTEC framework. "India has been taking a number of initiatives in BIMSTEC to strengthen regional cooperation and partnership, including in enhancing security; facilitating trade and investment; establishing physical, maritime, and digital connectivity; collaborating in food, energy, climate, and human security; promoting capacity building and skill development; and enhancing people-to-people ties," the statement read. On the bilateral front, PM Modi will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Shinawatra on April 03 to review existing cooperation and discuss the roadmap for future partnerships between the two countries. India and Thailand share strong civilisational bonds, with deep-rooted cultural, linguistic, and religious ties, further strengthened by their maritime proximity. Following his Thailand visit, PM Modi will travel to Sri Lanka on a State Visit from April 04-06 at the invitation of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. During the visit, he will engage in discussions with President Dissanayake to review the progress made on areas of cooperation outlined in the Joint Vision for "Fostering Partnerships for a Shared Future," which was adopted during the Sri Lankan President's State Visit to India. In addition to high-level discussions, PM Modi will meet senior dignitaries and political leaders. As part of his engagements in Sri Lanka, he will visit Anuradhapura to inaugurate development projects that have been implemented with Indian financial assistance. PM Modi last visited Sri Lanka in 2019. Previously, Sri Lankan President Dissanayake had chosen India as the destination for his first official foreign visit after assuming office, highlighting the strong bilateral relationship between the two nations. India and Sri Lanka share deep-rooted civilisational and historical ties, and this visit is expected to strengthen their multifaceted partnership. The MEA underscored the significance of the trip, stating, "Prime Minister's visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka, and his participation in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit will reaffirm India's commitment to its 'Neighbourhood First' policy, 'Act East' policy, 'MAHASAGAR' (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision, and vision of the Indo-Pacific." Seoul, March 28 : Hyundai Motor Group on Friday outlined a roadmap to implement advanced autonomous driving technology across its vehicle lineup, aiming to apply Level 2+ features by the end of 2027. The goal was announced during the group's Pleos 25 developer conference, held at COEX in Seoul, where Hyundai invited domestic and global software developers to showcase its latest innovations in software-defined vehicle (SDV) technology, reports Yonhap news agency. According to Song Chang-hyeon, head of the group's autonomous vehicle platform (AVP) division, Hyundai is enhancing its in-house autonomous driving systems using artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning, high-performance neural processing units (NPUs) and lightweight model architectures tailored for on-vehicle performance. Hyundai's Level 2+ system will rely on camera and radar-based perception and is designed to evolve over time through continuous learning, making the vehicle a "learning machine." The autonomous driving road map is part of the group's broader transformation into a software-centric mobility technology company, which includes the development of its new software platform, Pleos, and infotainment system, Pleos Connect. The group is also decoupling hardware and software in its vehicle architecture to maximise software flexibility. This shift will enable more efficient over-the-air updates and streamlines the integration of new autonomous features across vehicle models. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group will invest $21 billion in the United States through 2028, as U.S. President Donald Trump is ramping up tariff pressure to boost domestic manufacturing. The group's Executive Chair Euisun Chung, alongside Trump and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, made the announcement on the multipronged plan that includes an investment of $8.6 billion for the automotive sector, $6.1 billion for the steel industry, component parts and logistics, and $6.3 billion for future industry sectors and energy. Chung also said that Hyundai will open a new $8 billion automotive plant in the US state of Georgia. a"IANS na/ New Delhi, March 28 : Hinduja Group company Ashok Leyland announced on Friday that its defence business has won multiple orders valued at more than Rs 700 crore to supply vehicles to the Army. The vehicles to be supplied under these orders are to fulfil the defence sector's needs for troop transportation, logistics, and other specialised mobility requirements under the Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS) programme. The recently awarded contracts encompass a diverse range of specialised vehicles, including the Stallion 4x4, Stallion 6x6, Short Chassis Bus, and Mobility System Travelling Platform. These vehicles combine superior reliability with exceptional off-road capability, ensuring seamless manoeuvrability across the country's most demanding terrains, meeting a variety of operational requirements, according to a company statement. Ashok Leyland MD & CEO Shenu Agarwal said, "We are immensely proud to have secured these new orders, which reaffirm the company's commitment to deliver cutting-edge solutions for the armed forces. The defence business remains a key pillar of Ashok Leyland's future growth." Amandeep Singh, president of Ashok Leyland's defence Business, said, "As a proud proponent of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', we are committed to strengthening India's defence capabilities through indigenous design and manufacturing in the Defence mobility sector. Our vehicle platforms, ranging from 4x4 to 12x12, packed with contemporary defence-specific requirements, including armouring, are known for their versatility and durability. We take immense pride in supporting our forces and remain committed to delivering these orders on time. Our future Defence order and tender pipeline is also quite robust." "Ashok Leyland remains committed to developing indigenous mobility solutions that not only fulfill the operational needs of the armed forces but also advance Indiaas self-reliance in defence," the company said. With its spirit of innovation, the company continues to power the Indian Armyas logistics backbone, reinforcing its role as a trusted partner. With these new orders, Ashok Leyland further solidifies its position in strengthening the nation's defence capabilities, the statement added. Lucknow, March 28 : Days after the Meerut horror, a woman from Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district has alleged that her sister-in-law returned home with the intention to kill her husband. Lucknow, March 28 (IANS) Days after the Meerut horror, a woman from Uttar Pradeshas Muzaffarnagar district has alleged that her sister-in-law returned home with the intention to kill her husband. She shared that her "bhabhi", who served poison-laced coffee to her husband, has told the family that she came back with a purpose. Anuj Sharma, a resident of Bhangela village in Khatauli, married Pinki alias Sana of Farukhnagar in the Loni police station area two years ago. Their relationship was strained, with frequent quarrels. Pinki had even filed a domestic violence case against Anuj at the Ghaziabad police station. Following police mediation, Anuj agreed to bring Pinki back home for a week. However, their disputes continued. On March 25, Pinki allegedly served Anuj coffee laced with poison, leaving him critically ill. He was rushed to the hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment. His family has lodged a police complaint, demanding strict action against Pinki. Anujas sister, Meenakshi, claimed that Pinki was in love with another man before marriage and frequently spoke to him over the phone. Despite Anujas objections, she allegedly continued the conversations. "Whenever my brother went to work, Pinki would talk to her lover. One day, Anuj discovered that she had also been involved with his nephew. When confronted, she admitted she had feelings for him in the past but denied any relationship now," Meenakshi alleged. She further claimed that after returning home post-mediation, Pinki told her mother-in-law, "I have come back with a purpose." "She wanted to kill my brother and poisoned his coffee," Meenakshi alleged. While Anuj remains in the ICU, Pinki reportedly left for her parentsa home, Meenakshi said. Khatauli Circle Officer Ram Ashish Yadav confirmed that a case has been registered, and an investigation is going on. Bhopal, March 28 : In another incident of attack on police, local villagers, including women, assaulted cops in Mahuakheda village of Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district. The incident took place on Thursday evening in the Surkhi police station area. Two police persons received injuries; however, according to the Superintendent of Police, they are out of danger. According to reports, around 5 p.m. on Thursday, a police crew was dispatched from Surkhi police station to Mahuakheda village to arrest four individuals with outstanding warrants. While conducting the search, a group of people, including women, surrounded the police team and launched a sudden attack, pelting them with stones. "Three people have been apprehended so far, and more have been rounded up; such incidents are always taken seriously," Vikas Sahawal, Superintendent of police, Sagar district, told IANS. According to the reports, this assault left Head Constable Pyarelal and Constable Brajendra injured. They managed to escape and received initial medical treatment at Surkhi Hospital before being transferred to the district hospital in Sagar later in the evening. Following Thursday's incident, the police team, as per reports, had immediately called for reinforcements. However, due to reported confusion caused by two villages with the name Mahuakheda in the area, the reinforcement team initially arrived at the wrong location, where no incident had occurred. Despite this delay, the police eventually reached the correct location and took the situation under control. However, the Superintendent of Police have denied the existence of such a village and said, "There is only one Mahuakheda in the area and the reinforcement reached timely and promptly." It is the fifth such violent attack on a police team reported within a fortnight. Recently, in the village Gadra, within the Shahpura police station jurisdiction of Mauganj district, assistant sub-inspector Ramcharan Gautam and a young man named Sunny Dwivedi died in the attack. In Damoh, a tense standoff over a weapons seizure resulted in police personnel being shot at by the accused, Qasim Khan, who later was wounded by a retaliatory shot. At Budhar in Shahdol, a group of local women pelted a detachment of officers with stones during an arrest, leaving several injured. Hyderabad, March 28 : In a case of honour killing, a man hacked to death a youth who was having a love affair with his daughter in Muppirithotha village of Telangana's Peddapalli district. Sai Kumar, who had discontinued his education, was in love with a girl of the same village. On learning about this, the girl's father hatched a plot to kill Kumar. When Kumar was celebrating his birthday with his friends on the village outskirts on Thursday night, the girl's father, Muthyam Saraiah, reached there and attacked him with an axe. An eyewitness told local media that the accused suddenly attacked Kumar when he was cutting the cake with his friends. Kumar tried to escape but collapsed after covering some distance. The accused once again attacked the youth. Kumar's friends, who panicked over the sudden attack, tried to catch hold of the assailant, but he managed to escape. Police were on the lookout for the killer. The youth was taken to a hospital in an autorickshaw by his friends, but he succumbed on the way. On a complaint by the victim's family, police registered a case and took up an investigation. Kumar was said to be in love with the girl, belonging to another caste, for the last two years. The girl's father was against the relationship and had warned the youth against continuing the affair. The deceased's father, Parshuramulu, said they had complained to the police that Kumar faces a threat to his life. He said the girl's father had been plotting the murder for the last five months. Parshuramulu said if the police had taken their complaint seriously and called the girl's family for counselling, his son would not have lost his life. Following the incident, police stepped up security in the village to prevent any untoward incident. New Delhi, March 28 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Friday asserted that India is closely monitoring the atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan and is raising these issues on international platforms. His remarks came during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha amid the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament. Jaishankar highlighted India's firm stance on the issue, stating that concerns about the treatment of minorities in Pakistan have been raised at the United Nations to bring global attention to the matter. "We track very closely the treatment of minorities in Pakistan. As an example, I would like to apprise the House that, just in the month of February, there were 10 cases of atrocities against the Hindu community. Seven of them related to abduction and forcible conversion. Two related to the abduction. One related to police action against students who were celebrating Holi," he said. The EAM further detailed cases of violence against other minority communities. "There were three incidents relating to the Sikh community in Pakistan. In one case, a Sikh family was attacked. In another case, a Sikh family was threatened because of the reopening of an old Gurdwara. There was also an abduction and conversion issue with one girl from that community," he noted. Pointing out the violations against the Ahmadiyya and Christian communities in the Islamic country, EAM Jaishankar said, "There were two cases pertaining to the Ahmadiyya community. In one case, a mosque was sealed, and in another, 40 graves were desecrated. There was also one case involving a Christian individual, who was reportedly mentally unstable, being charged with blasphemy." Emphasising India's response on global forums, the EAM recalled two recent instances where Indian representatives strongly criticised Pakistan's human rights record. "In the month of February, our representative at the UN Human Rights Council pointed out that Pakistan is a country where 'human rights abuses, persecution of minorities, and systematic erosion of democratic values constitute state policies.' Pakistan brazenly harbours UN-sanctioned terrorists and is in no position to lecture anyone. Instead, it should focus on providing actual governance and justice to its own people," he quoted. Jaishankar also referred to India's stance at the UN General Assembly, where India's ambassador highlighted Pakistan's "fanatical mindset" and its "record of bigotry." Moscow, March 28 : Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that the Kremlin stands for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict on the condition that its root causes are removed, describing the conflict as complex and demanding a "careful approach." "We are for resolving all these issues by peaceful means. Yet with removing the original causes that triggered the current situation," Putin said during a meeting with the Russian Navy. Putin further stated that Moscow is ready to work on the Ukrainian settlement with Europe as well but will not make any mistakes in excessively trusting the West, local media reported. "We are also ready to work with Europe, it is just that they are acting inconsistently, constantly trying to fool us. But it's ok, we have gotten used to it already. I hope we will make no mistakes based on excessive trust in our so-called partners," Russian state-run news agency TASS reported on Friday, quoting Putin as saying. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a range of initiatives to support Ukraine on Thursday at a summit in Paris amid growing uncertainty over continued US assistance. At a press conference following the summit of the "Coalition of the Willing," Macron announced a joint Franco-British plan to send a team to Ukraine to help shape the future structure of the Ukrainian army. The French President said that he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would "jointly lead" the coordination efforts of Ukraine's international coalition of allies, Xinhua news agency reported. Following the "Coalition of the Willing" summit on providing security guarantees for Ukraine, held in Paris, Starmer said the time to lift sanctions against Russia has not yet come. The French President reiterated that it is too early to lift sanctions on Russia. The announcement comes after the US said on Tuesday that it would start lifting some sanctions on Moscow, particularly on agricultural trade. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Moscow is "categorically against" the possible deployment of Western peacekeepers in Ukraine. Such a scenario could lead to a direct clash between Russia and NATO, Zakharova said, adding that London and Paris are hatching plans for "a military intervention in Ukraine" under the guise of a peacekeeping operation. Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow and Washington have a mutual desire to move forward with efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis. Peskov said that both countries share a "desire and readiness" to follow the path of a peaceful settlement, adding that there was a mutual understanding between the two sides. Following consultations between Russia and the US in Riyadh, the Kremlin announced an agreement on the implementation of the Black Sea initiative, including measures to ensure the safety of navigation. The agreements on the Black Sea will take effect once sanctions on Russian banks facilitating trade in agricultural products and mineral fertilizers are lifted. New Delhi, March 28 : The global capability centres (GCCs) are projected to contribute 5 per cent to India's economy by 2030, according to a report released on Friday. The 'Economic Survey 2024' had projected a 3.5 per cent contribution to India's GDP from GCCs. However, based on current growth trajectories and 'Digital Twin' implementation rates, leading GCC enabler Inductus estimates this contribution could reach up to 5 per cent, given the fast-growing trend of multinational companies setting up capabilities in the country. The report highlighted that the integrated 'Digital Twin' strategy has delivered significant operational, cost, and efficiency improvements and has also contributed in India's GDP. The integrated 'Digital Twin' approach significantly reduces implementation timelines while cutting operational costs compared to traditional GCC models. The 'Digital Twin' process constructs virtual replicas of GCC operations, enabling simulation, monitoring, and analytics of processes. The digital approach applies predictive analytics, process automation, and data-driven decision-making to propel efficiency. "In a world of rapid tech and process disruptions, world-class corporations investing in R&D driven by innovation not only survive but thrive. Innovation is the force that helps organisations stay relevant, cost-competitive, and future-fit in an evolving marketplace. "Companies implementing 'Digital Twin' strategy are creating mirror-like offshore configurations that synchronise seamlessly with global headquarters, enabling time-zone-agnostic real-time collaboration and decision-making," said Alouk Kumar, Founder and CEO of Inductus. The 'Digital Twin' strategy has delivered exceptional results across diverse industry sectors like Tech and IT, BFSI, Pharma and Life Sciences, Engineering and Manufacturing and Retail and E-commerce. Looking ahead, the report identified emerging trends in GCC operations including AI decision intelligence advancements, scalable cloud and IoT integration, ESG and sustainability initiatives, and industry-specific vertical solutions. "Organisations implementing these integrated approaches are establishing new global benchmarks for GCC operations in India, enabling multinational firms to develop efficient, compliant, and future-ready centers with minimum risk and optimal returns," the report noted. Seoul, March 28 : Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday listed North Korea as one of the partner countries he is willing to work with to settle its war in Ukraine, according to a Russian report. Speaking about efforts to settle the war during his visit to Murmansk, Russia, President Putin said not just the United States, but also China, India, Brazil, South Africa, all BRICS countries, as well as North Korea, can be partners for cooperation. President Putin also reportedly said he welcomes any efforts to resolve the situation, Yonhap news agency reported quoting the Russian news agency Tass. BRICS is an interstate association of 10 countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Egypt. The remarks came amid deepening military alignment between Russia and North Korea over the Ukraine war, with Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops on the Russian side. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko was reported to have said the previous day that preparations were underway for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia this year. Earlier on Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was awarded a medal commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory Day by the Russian government. According to the embassy's social media post, the medal, which marked the Soviet Union's World War-II victory over Nazi Germany, was conferred on Kim following the directive of President Putin. An award ceremony took place at Pyongyang's Mansudae Assembly Hall, where Russian Ambassador Alexandr Matsegora presented the medal and certificate to Kang Yun-sok, Vice Chairman of North Korea's Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly. The certificate stated that Kim received the medal in recognition of his contributions to honouring the memory of Soviet soldiers who died and are buried in North Korea. The medal was awarded more than a month ahead of Victory Day, which falls on May 9. Russia had previously awarded similar medals to Kim in May 2015 and May 2020, marking the 70th and 75th anniversaries. Sanaa, March 28 : The US military launched more than 40 airstrikes on the Houthi targets in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Friday before dawn, according to media reports. The airstrikes targeted Sanaa International Airport, the Command Camp, the Sarif area and the Jarban site in the Sanhan area, as well as several other places in northern provinces, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported. One person was wounded, said the television. According to the residents, the airstrikes on the Command Camp in central Sanaa caused damage to several homes, buildings and shops in the surrounding residential neighbourhoods. The strikes occurred a few hours after the Houthis claimed responsibility for launching two ballistic missile attacks at Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel and a military target south of Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon. It was the most intensive air attack and the highest in number since the beginning of the US air attack against the Houthis on March 15. More than 50 people were killed and dozens wounded in the previous US airstrikes during the past two weeks. Tensions between the Houthis and the US military have escalated since Washington launched fresh airstrikes on the Houthi-held areas in northern Yemen on March 15. The strikes followed Houthi's threats to resume attacks on Israeli targets unless humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump indicated that US airstrikes against the Houthis would continue. On Thursday, the US military conducted multiple airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, residents said. According to the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, three airstrikes targeted the Jarban area in the Sanhan district, in the southern part of Sanaa, two airstrikes hit the al-Jumaymah area in the Bani Hushaysh district, northeast of Sanaa, as well as two other airstrikes hit the al-Daylami air base in the northern part of Sanaa. All those targeted areas are well-known military sites. Local residents said the airstrikes caused explosions. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The military exchanges are part of an ongoing air campaign launched by US forces in mid-March against Houthi-controlled areas in northern Yemen. The Houthi group has vowed to continue targeting Israeli sites and ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and to respond to what they describe as "American aggression." Chennai, March 28 : Director A M Jyothikrishna, who is one of the directors directing actor Pawan Kalyan's much-awaited period action entertainer, 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu', has showered praises on Bollywood actor Bobby Deol, saying that the Bollywood star's powerful performance in the magnum opus had left him speechless. Taking to his X timeline to pen his thoughts on the Bollywood actor, Jyothi Krishna, who is also the son of well known producer A M Rathnam, wrote," "It was an absolute pleasure working with the talented @thedeol garu! His dedication, commitment, and brilliance have elevated #HariHaraVeeraMallu to new heights. His powerful performance has left me speechless. Get ready to witness greatness on the big screen!" He also went on to say, "Expect the unexpected, as the one and only @PawanKalyan garu brings the legend to life!" It was only recently that makers of the much-awaited period action film had announced that the film would finally hit screens on May 9 this year. A historical adventure with soul-stirring music, 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu', produced by A Dayakar Rao under the banner of Mega Surya Production, will be an epic tale of adventure during the Mughal empire under Aurangzeb. The film portrays India's complex socio-economic landscape during the period when foreign powers like the Dutch and Portuguese exploited the country's riches. Apart from actor Pawan Kalyan, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu' will also feature Nidhhi Agerwal, Bobby Deol, and Nassar in pivotal roles. They will be ably supported by gifted actors Raghu Babu, Subbaraju and Sunil. The film has cinematography by cameramen Manoj Paramahamsa and Gnanashekar V.S., and production design by Thota Tharani. -IANS Mkr/ New Delhi, March 28 : Amid pandemonium in Delhi Assembly on Friday, Speaker Vijender Gupta condemned the 'organised disruption' of the House by legislators of the Opposition AAP which, he claimed, is as part of a 'strategy' to escape discussions on thorny issues. However, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi said that they were demanding answers on the Rs 2,500 monthly dole for Delhi women. Speaker Gupta's observation came during the fag end of the Question Hour and just before a House discussion on the CAG report on the functioning of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) even as almost all AAP legislators were suspended from the proceeding and marshalled out for creating a ruckus. "This is 'organised disruption' of the House and I know why they are doing it. They do not want to take part in discussion on the CAG report," he said and claimed that there was a pattern in the Opposition MLAs' habit of violating decorum and disturbing the proceedings to invite suspension. "I will not allow any indiscipline. If they don't follow instructions they will be suspended," said an angry Speaker. Leader of Opposition Atishi and over a dozen AAP legislators, including Jarnail Singh, Vishesh Ravi, Som Dutt, Virender Kadian, were marshalled out for speaking out of turn, shouting despite the Chair's warning and distributing pamphlets in the House. After being marshalled out, Atish told reporters that the Opposition MLAs were thrown out of the House for demanding answers on the Rs 2,500 monthly dole for Delhi women. "Delhi women have been cheated by the BJP as Rs 2,500 have not landed in the bank accounts. When our legislator sought the deadline for implementing the scheme, our members were sent out of the House one after the other," she said. BJP legislator Abhey Verma said the Opposition was creating din in the House to avoid a discussion on the central government auditor's report on the functioning of the DTC. "Former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will have to face trial and go to jail for corruption and even the public money wasted by the AAP government will be recovered," Manjinder Singh Sirsa slammed the childish behaviour of AAP MLAs, including Atishi, alleging that they have thrown all parliamentary convention to the winds. "They start laughing and clapping without reason and create disruptions," said Sirsa, urging the Speaker to lay down a system to prevent such frivolous disruptions in the House proceedings. Rawalpindi, March 28 : Over 200 Afghan refugees have been deported by Islamabad to their home country as Pakistan remains determined on its mass deportation plan. Out of the 923 individuals arrested in Rawalpindi, 213 were deported to Afghanistan, according to local media reports on Thursday. This deportation comes before the March 31 deadline set by the Pakistani government. As Islamabad launched the arrest and detention of refugees, as many as 923 Afghan nationals were shifted to the Afghan refugee holding centre near the Golra Mor in Rawalpindi, Pakistan's leading daily, Dawn reported, quoting sources. However, 22 of the arrested detainees escaped from the centre on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the centre had no inmates, according to the reports. Among the total number of Afghan refugees detained, 86 had their visas expired, 116 had Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), and 290 possessed Proof of Registration (PoR). A senior police official told Dawn that it was very clear that ACC holders would be expelled from Rawalpindi and Islamabad before the deadline. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government has decided against extending the March 31 deadline for Afghan nationals to leave the country. Earlier, Islamabad had turned down the Afghan government's request to extend the stay of Afghan nationals residing in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Condemning the Pakistani government, the Human Rights group Amnesty International recently stated that the government's unyielding and cruel deadline, which is a few days away to remove Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, resulting in the deportation of many at risk, shows little respect for international human rights law. "The Pakistani govt plans to arbitrarily and forcibly expel Afghan nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers, as part of the 'Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan', scapegoating a community that has long been disenfranchised and fled persecution," Amnesty International posted on X. Last week, the human rights body slammed Pakistan for the forced deportation of Afghan refugees. US-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged that Pakistan should immediately end the forced return and deportation of Afghan refugees. Pakistani authorities have been accused of intensifying abusive tactics and other pressure on Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan much before the deadline. According to the rights watchdog, Pakistani police have raided houses, beaten and arbitrarily detained people, and confiscated their refugee documents, including residence permits. They have also demanded bribes to allow Afghans to remain in Pakistan. The United Nations has also reported that most Afghans who have returned to Afghanistan have cited fear of detention by Pakistani authorities as the reason they left. New Delhi: As technological advancements become increasingly pervasive in all aspects of life, concerns regarding the ethics of new-age digital ecosystems gain acute significance. On the one hand, the deployment of data-driven technologies into governance has led to path-breaking advantages in terms of efficiency, reduction of time and energy, inclusivity, and exceptional smoothness of operations. And, on the other, it has provided governments with unprecedented access to data regarding citizens' everyday choices, escalating the possibility of invasive surveillance, social repression, and manipulation. This is of particular alarm when it comes to authoritarian regimes with loose laws around privacy and data security, as well as a stifled civil society. Therefore, China's rising stature in the production and export of data-centric technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) surveillance applications, threatens the current normative world order that rests on democratic citizenship and agency. The PRC's interest in mass surveillance has a long history. Since 1998, it has enforced an integrated digital surveillance system known as the 'Golden Shield' project, part of which is the infamous censorship system called the 'Great Firewall'. Especially since President Xi Jinping took over the reins of the country in 2013, the PRC has laid out an inescapable network of around 700 million CCTV cameras, which means one surveillance camera for every two citizens. This vast network that tracks and accumulates extensive types and volumes of data from license plate reading to facial recognition is then utilised in service of the country's notorious social credit system which rewards or penalizes citizens based on their social behaviour. Expectedly, the PRC is also the leading exporter of this mass surveillance technology, increasingly made more sophisticated by AI innovations, with three Chinese firms - Hikvision, Dahua Technologies, and Uniview Technologies - earning an estimated 30 per cent of global video surveillance revenue. In addition to exporting high-tech surveillance gear in the form of AI-powered camera networks, Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing, which amass intimate behavioural data of citizens, the PRC has also imparted training to government personnel of receiver countries, to equip them with the know-how of operating their cutting-edge tools. With a burgeoning market for Chinese surveillance technologies in South and South-east Asia, countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have been recipients of the PRC's tools as well as training assistance. Besides this, China has exported these technologies to even poor African countries such as Zimbabwe, Uganda, and so on. To incentivize these poor countries to buy Chinese digital surveillance apparatuses, China relies on tactics such as free trials of the tools and selling at subsidised prices. Moreover, security experts have even raised suspicions regarding Chinese consumer applications such as TikTok, WeChat, and Shein, with many countries banning the same over national security considerations. These applications potentially expose massive volumes of invasive data of foreign consumers to China which can use it to digitally influence them to serve its geopolitical interests. There are crucial strategic benefits that China stands to gain by exporting what Samantha Hoffman has termed as 'tech-enhanced authoritarianism'. In addition to expanding Chinese influence globally and bringing to life the Chinese vision of a 'digital Silk Road', the diffusion of Chinese digital authoritarian practices will enable deeper political-security relations between China and the recipient countries. It has been observed that when it comes to democratic countries, even though they engage with China economically, there is always some degree of wariness surrounding political-security relations. Besides, as more and more countries adopt the Chinese model of data-driven authoritarianism, these practices acquire more normalisation and legitimacy, not just domestically but globally, having the potential to revise the global order as per Chinese hegemonic ambitions. According to a February 2025 report by the National Endowment for Democracy, there are at present four key data-centric technologies that posit the risk of dangerously transforming the digital surveillance landscape within China as well as worldwide by Chinese exports. The first of these is AI-surveillance applications that include advanced biometric surveillance and 'smart city brains'. The two combined can gather minute physical and behavioural data of citizens and store them in the cloud infrastructure, to then predict social conduct and lead security response. These technologies have been used for effective governance such as tracing contact during the pandemic, easier traffic controls, shortening police response time to crisis, and tracking criminals. However, for a techno-authoritarian state such as China, capabilities at such a scale are also used for social control, tracking people's movements, quelling protests, and targetting those who travel to other cities to raise complaints through 'petitioning'. This is even more pronounced when it comes to securitized communities which are perceived as a threat to the state such as the Uyghurs and Tibetans. Apart from this, there is the development of Chinese Large Language Models (LLMs) such as the January release of DeepSeek that took the world by storm for its remarkably cost-effective attributes. Yet, soon after its release, several government agencies prohibited its use as concerns were raised regarding surveillance, breach of data privacy and malicious use. Moreover, it was exposed to present manipulative responses to politically delicate questions, stoking further fears about its indoctrinating design. The second type of technology that the report highlighted are 'metaverse' based on virtual or augmented reality and neuro-technologies that work by implantable or non-implantable devices. Both offer possibilities of digitally reading not just an individual's physical behaviour but inner mental and emotional patterns. Therefore, they provide unprecedented opportunities to influence an individual's psycho-affective states, triggering disturbing apprehensions about human agency or 'brain-jacking'. Although the PRC is still in its nascent stage when it comes to these technologies, it has been at the forefront of global publications on brain-computer interfaces. Thirdly, the report flagged Chinese potential advancements in quantum computing and communications as a threat that will make present-day encryption redundant and jeopardize dissidents, journalists, and minority groups. Lastly, the launch of China's digital currency (Central Bank Digital Currency) is provoking anxieties about surreptitious and ubiquitous state monitoring of citizens' transactions as well as the possibility of circumventing international sanctions. In a world that is witnessing rapid shifts in international geopolitical dynamics, democratic countries must come together in time before the global proliferation of Chinese digital authoritarianism gets out of hand. Governments must guard against the threats posed by the range of Chinese surveillance tools, in favour of citizens' digital rights, privacy, transparency, and accountability. Democratic citizenship rests on empowering the citizen with information and agency. International cooperation to ensure a global normative framework for transparent digital governance is in order, so are collective proactive measures to check the spread of Chinese surveillance infrastructure. The time is ripe for democratic nations to preciously protect the fundamental standards of a free and open world. (N.C. Bipindra is the Chairman of Delhi-based think tank Law and Society Alliance. Views expressed are personal) Patna, March 28 : Tension gripped Karpoorigram village in Bihar's Samastipur district on Friday after a man allegedly vandalised an idol of Lord Hanuman, leading to protests and unrest in the area. The accused, identified as Mohammad Rashid, a mentally unstable resident of Karpoorigram, was immediately arrested by the local police. The SHO of Karpoorigram confirmed the incident, stating: "We received information around 9 a.m. that Mohammad Rashid has vandalised an idol of Lord Hanuman. Preliminary investigation indicates that he is mentally unstable. He has been arrested, and legal action has been initiated." The district police are investigating whether he was provoked to do the disruptive act. Police are interrogating the accused and taking statements from local people about the incident. The district police are also scanning the available CCTV cameras to find whether any other person is involved or not. As news of the incident spread, several residents gathered, expressing anger and discontent. The situation quickly escalated, with some resorting to arson and ruckus in protest. Given the sensitivity of the matter, particularly with Ram Navami approaching, the tension in the area intensified. Senior police officials, along with personnel from multiple police stations, were deployed to calm the situation. To prevent further escalation, the administration has taken steps, including heavy police deployment, to maintain law and order in the area. The district police also increased patrolling in sensitive areas and appealed for calm from local authorities and community leaders. The local administration has emphasised its commitment to ensuring peace and communal harmony in the area. The incident has provoked religious sentiments, making it a sensitive issue. Authorities are on high alert, particularly with Ram Navami celebrations just around the corner. Efforts are underway to restore normalcy, with senior officials urging people to maintain peace and avoid rumours that could further inflame tensions. Kinshasa, March 28 : Rebel leaders of the March 23 Movement (M23) have arrived for further dialogue in Doha, Qatar, which has been mediating the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), local sources confirmed on Friday. Local media referred to an M23 delegation led by Bertrand Bisimwa, its political leader, and John Imani Nzenze, the group's intelligence chief, noting a possible meeting between the M23, the DRC, and Rwandan delegations. The M23 has yet to make a public announcement. On March 18, under the mediation of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame met in Doha for the first time since the M23, a rebel group accused of being supported by Kigali, seized the major DRC city of Goma in early 2025. The Qatari Emir has mediated or overseen Qatar's involvement in several high-profile diplomatic efforts, including the 2020 Doha Agreement, which led to the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Despite extensive regional and international efforts, the immediate and unconditional ceasefire has yet to materialise on the ground. Bintou Keita, special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in the DRC, said on Thursday at the UN Security Council that the M23 rebels might "expand into" Tshopo and Maniema provinces after setting up parallel administrations in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. According to Keita, the M23 continued its expansion into North Kivu's Walikale, the farthest west it reached during its lightning advance in January. Last Wednesday, the rebels seized the town, putting them within 400 km of Kisangani, the DRC's fourth-largest city and the provincial capital of Tshopo. The DRC and Rwanda, whose relations have been on thin ice, gave their own interpretation of the meeting's outcomes. Kinshasa called the agreement the "first step" toward long-lasting regional peace, Xinhua news agency reported. Kigali, however, pointed out that the solutions to the root cause lie in the "direct political negotiation with the M23," a red line for Kinshasa while calling to address the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) "genocidal forces." The DRC has accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, a charge Kigali denies. Rwanda has accused the DRC army of supporting remnants of the FDLR, a group allegedly responsible for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. The mineral-rich eastern DRC remains a focal point of conflict, with various armed groups vying to control resources such as coltan, tin, tantalum, and gold. According to the UN, about one million people, including approximately 400,000 children, have been newly displaced since late January, with numbers expected to rise as hostilities persist in North Kivu and South Kivu. New Delhi, March 28 : Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday met the District Congress Committee (DCC) Presidents from various districts of Karnataka and called upon them to work unitedly towards the welfare of the people. Hailing their contributions in strengthening the party, Kharge said, "You remain at the forefront of protecting and promoting the ideology of the Congress party. We shall together strengthen the party and work unitedly towards the welfare of the people, upholding the values enshrined in the Constitution. The Congress President also took to his social media handle to share the pictures of his meeting with DCC Presidents at his official residence. The meeting of DCC presidents at Kharge's residence underlines the party's resolve to bring a transformative change in the party's functioning across state units. According to party sources, the party is in the process of 'empowering' district presidents across the country and making them the 'last authority' with powers to appoint new office-bearers and also sack the non-performers. Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who was part of the DCC delegation, welcomed the new method of revitalising the party and informed that the grand old party has introduced a new strategy to strengthen its presence nationwide. "I am very happy with this initiative led by Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. Key aspects like media, social media, party assets, membership, and voter list verification are being addressed through extensive training. A great step forward!" he further said. A day ago, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had urged the party's district committee chiefs to put up a united front and work on a long-term strategy to secure victories in the upcoming State elections. He stated that while the party's ideology is strong, it cannot be implemented effectively without being in power. "Next year (March-April 2026), elections will be held in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu. It is your responsibility to ensure victory for every candidate in your district. We will work together, but you are our first line of defence on the ground. Your inputs will be crucial in planning our strategy, and we will take them into account," he further told them. New Delhi, March 28 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah has approved projects for disaster recovery and reconstruction activities for Sikkim and sanctioned projects worth Rs 1,604.39 crore for strengthening of fire services in five states, an official said on Friday. HM Shah chaired the high-level committee, which approved financial assistance of Rs 555.70 crore to Sikkim from the Recovery and Reconstruction Funding Window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for disaster recovery and reconstruction needs. The funds are expected to be used in various sectors affected due to devastating Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) that occurred in the downstream along the Teesta river basin in October 2023, said a statement. To fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of disaster disaster-resilient India, the High-Level Committee approved projects/activities of Rs 1,604.39 crore for five States -- Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Kerala -- under the scheme 'Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services in the States'. The Committee approved Rs 340.90 crore for Bihar, Rs 339.18 crore for Gujarat, Rs 147.97 crore for Jharkhand, Rs 162.25 crore for Kerala and Rs 614.09 crore for Maharashtra from the earmarked allocation of Preparedness and Capacity Building Funding window under the NDRF. The Central Government has allocated a total amount of Rs 5,000 crore under NDRF for "Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services in the states," and had already approved the proposals of 20 states for a total of Rs 3,373.12 crore. The High-Level Committee also comprises the Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister and Vice Chairman NITI Aayog as members. During the current financial year, the Central Government has released Rs 19,074.80 crore to 28 states under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and Rs 3,229.35 crore to 16 states under the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF). In addition, an amount of Rs 5,160.76 crore has been released to 19 states under the NDRF and Rs 719.71 crore to eight states under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund. New Delhi, March 28 : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, approved the inclusion of Kosi Mechi Intra-State Link Project of Bihar under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana-Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (PMKSY-AIBP). The CCEA also approved Central support of Rs.3,652.56 crore to Bihar for completion of the project by March 2029, with an estimated cost of Rs 6,282.32 crore. The Link Project envisages diversion of part of surplus water of Kosi river for extending irrigation to the Mahananda basin lying in Bihar by way of remodelling of existing Eastern Kosi Main Canal (EKMC) and extending the EKMC beyond its tail end at RD 41.30 km up to river Mechi at RD 117.50 km so that rivers Kosi and Mechi which flow through Bihar could be linked together within Bihar. According to the CCEA, the Link Project will provide 2,10,516 hectares of additional annual irrigation in Kharif season in Araria, Purnea, Kishanganj and Katihar districts of Bihar. The project has potential to divert/utilise about 2,050 million cubic metre of surplus water of Kosi through the proposed link canal. Further, after remodelling of existing EKMC, shortfall supply to 1.57 lakh hectare existing command of existing Eastern Kosi Main Canal shall be restored. The PMKSY was launched during the year 2015-16, with an aim to enhance physical access of water on farm and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improved on-farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc. The Centre approved the implementation of PMKSY during 2021-26 with an overall outlay of Rs 93,068.56 crore (Central assistance of Rs 37,454 crore). Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) component of PMKSY, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, is for the creation of irrigation potential through major and medium irrigation projects. The government said that 63 projects have been completed under PMKSY-AIBP to date, and additional irrigation potential of 26.11 lakh hectare has been created since April 2016. Jaipur, March 28 : Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma received a threat to his life on Friday, the fourth death threat in the past 14 months. The latest threat came from a prisoner lodged in Bikaner Central Jail, from whom a mobile phone has been recovered. The accused, identified as Adil, allegedly called the Bikaner Police Control Room at 7.30 a.m., threatening to kill the CM. Acting swiftly, the police traced the call and conducted a search operation in Bikaner Jail, leading to Adil's arrest at 8.40 a.m. Bikaner Jail Superintendent Suman Maliwal confirmed the development. Authorities are now investigating how Adil obtained the mobile phone and his motive behind making the threat, police said. Preliminary investigations suggest that Adil is a drug addict with an unstable mental condition. He has previously harmed himself by cutting his veins. Sources indicate that Adil was not getting access to drugs inside the jail and wanted to be transferred to another facility, which may have prompted him to issue the threat. Further investigations are underway to determine any lapses in security that allowed him access to a mobile phone. This is not the first time CM Sharma has received a threat call from a jail. On February 21, a prisoner in Dausa Jail, charged under the POCSO Act, made two threatening calls to the Jaipur Police Control Room within 10 minutes between 12.45 a.m. and 12.55 a.m. Similarly, on July 27, 2024, another call was made from Shyalwas Jail, following which a special team from Jaipur Police conducted a search operation and seized mobile phones from prisoners. In January 2024, a prisoner in Jaipur Central Jail also threatened to shoot the CM. The call was immediately disconnected, and the mobile was switched off. However, the police identified the accused through technical surveillance and seized multiple mobile phones from jail inmates. Just two days before the latest threat to CM Sharma, Deputy CM Dr. Premchand Bairwa also received a death threat. On March 26, an anonymous caller contacted the Jaipur Police Control Room. Upon tracing the location, police found that the call originated from Jaipur Central Jail. The recurrence of such threats from within jails raises serious concerns about prison security and the smuggling of mobile devices. Authorities are now intensifying their investigations to prevent further breaches. Malappuram, March 28 : On the 27th night of Ramadan, the Ma'din Academy campus in Melmuri witnessed an extraordinary spiritual gathering as around 300,000 believers came together for prayers and blessings. Amid this solemn assembly, a landmark initiative took centre stage -- the launch of the Ma'din Academyas Anti-Drug Campaign, aimed at combating the rising crisis of drug abuse and spreading awareness across communities. Leading the initiative, Sayyid Ibraheemul Khaleel Al-Bukhari, founder and chairman of Ma'din Academy, administered a pledge, uniting the massive crowd in a commitment to fight drug abuse and its devastating effects. "We cannot remain passive while addiction destroys lives and families. Our youth -- our future -- is at risk. It is time for all of us to act," Al-Bukhari declared, as thousands voiced their support. He also called for a revision of the stateas drug control laws, highlighting legal loopholes that have contributed to the crisis. "Current laws were enacted when drug production and usage were not as widespread. Today, they are outdated and ineffective," he noted. The campaign will roll out several key initiatives, including drug awareness programmes for 100,000 students; distribution of drug eradication guidelines to one million families; a nationwide network promoting a drug-free society; a free helpline and counseling services for individuals struggling with addiction; and a 1,000-km awareness journey to spread the message of prevention and recovery. Inaugurating the conference, Kanthapuram A.P. Abubaker Musliyar, the Grand Mufti of India, spoke about the rising violence in society, particularly among youth. "True faith is a deterrent against violence. Those who live by the principles of peace and justice cannot indulge in immoral behaviours like drug abuse," he said. The event also emphasized the need for strong support systems for those battling addiction. Founded in 1997 with just 118 students, Ma'din Academy has grown into a mass movement with more than 33,000 students across 45 educational and charity institutions. Its Ramadan Prayer and Peace Conference, now in its 29th year, continues to bring thousands together in a shared commitment to peace, unity, and social responsibility. We can never escape our past. No matter where we go, no matter what name we adopt, well still always be trapped with ourselves, and well have to answer for our crimes. So learns Fergus (Stephen Rea) in The Crying Game. Fergus is a volunteer for the IRA, and hes been tasked with watching over a British soldier that theyve kidnapped. The soldier, Jody (Forest Whitaker), and Fergus begin to bond over the several days that they spend together, much to the chagrin of the IRA leadership. They understand that theres a strong likelihood that they will have to kill Jody, and they believe that connecting with him is an unwise choice. Fergus, on the other hand, believes that treating him humanely in his final hours is the only right thing to do. Jody and Fergus share a moment, accepting the inevitable. Jody asks Fergus to find a woman that he loves and to tell her that she was in his mind as he died. As Fergus takes Jody out to execute him, Jody runs. He is struck and killed instantly by a truck loaded with soldiers. There is a raid, and the IRA operatives are killed in the ensuing battle. Fergus escapes and flees to London under the assumed name Jimmy. There, Jimmy seeks out Jodys love, Dil (Jaye Davidson), and quickly falls in love with her. He intended, I believe, to tell her everything upfront, that she was in Jodys thoughts in the moments before she died, but upon meeting her and forming such an intimate connection with her, he was unable to. They fall into a relationshiphe, enamored with her; she, open and appreciative to his gentlemanliness. They are both what they are seeking in a human attachment in this moment in their lives, struggling with the death of Jody in different ways. Dil misses Jody and Fergus/Jimmy is being torn to shreds over the guilt of being responsible for his death. Fergus and Dil both have secrets. At the time The Crying Game was released in 1992, the reveal of Dils sexual/gender identity was considered shocking. Today, it is less so, but the bond formed between the two packs a similar punch over thirty years later. Viewed through the lens of today, I think too much emphasis is placed on putting labels on Dil and her identity. Is she trans? Perhaps. Perhaps with more understanding, Dil would have understood herself as trans. But given the context of the film, Dil seems to be impossible to label. She simply is. She is herself, confidently and magnetically, with an all-time great screen performance from Jaye Davidson, for which he received an Oscar nomination. After Fergus learns Dils truth, its not long before Dil learns his secret because no one can escape their past. Ferguss past comes back to haunt him, violently, and tear him from the happiness hes just found. The Crying Game isnt a perfect movie, with some plotting on autopilot and twists and turns we saw coming from miles away. But this movie isnt about those twists or those familiar beats. Its about the intimacy between peoplebetween Fergus and Dil, between Fergus and Jodytied up in a bloody, political conflict between Ireland and England. In those moments, the movie reaches a tonal perfection. We sit on the edge of our seats, wondering whats next for these people. Even the ending, while not a fairytale ending, lands on a bittersweet note that perfectly encapsulates all of its themes about our pasts, our identities, and coming to terms with them. Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray The Crying Game, from Umbrella Entertainment, makes its way to Blu-ray in both a standard edition and collectors edition. Both versions include the film, plus supplemental features, on a single-disc release in a standard case with original artwork, and a removable slipcover containing classic artwork from its UK release. The collectors edition includes a rigid case containing its iconic poster artwork, a 48-page book with behind-the-scenes, experiences and art, eight art cards, and an A3 reversible poster. New Delhi, March 28 : Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) announced on Friday that it has signed an agreement for a 26 billion Japanese Yen loan from the SBI's Tokyo branch, which includes a greenshoe option of 10 billion Japanese Yen. This five-year unsecured facility, with bullet payment at maturity, is set to strengthen IREDA's global market presence, according to a stock exchange filing by the country's largest pure-play green financing NBFC. The landed cost, after hedging, is expected to be below 7 per cent for the External Commercial Borrowing, making it more cost-effective than similar-tenure loans in the domestic market, according to the IREDA statement. Commenting on the agreement, Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman and Managing Director, IREDA, said, "This facility enables us to diversify our resource base and optimise costs, enhancing our lending operations to support India's renewable energy sector. The transaction reflects the strong confidence of global investors in IREDA's financial stability and growth potential." IREDA continues to enjoy an international credit rating of 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term with Outlook 'Stable' from S&P Global, underscoring its highest standards of corporate governance and credibility in international markets. IREDA reported a 26.8 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 425.37 crore for the October-December quarter of the current financial year from the corresponding of Rs 335.54 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. The Government-owned NBFC recorded a revenue of Rs 1,698.99 crore during the third quarter, which represents a 35.57 per cent increase compared to Rs 1,253.20 crore in Q3 FY 2023-24. IREDA's loan sanctions for the third quarter recorded a 45.01 per cent surge to Rs 13,226.81 crore compared to Rs 9,121.11 crore in the same quarter of the previous year, while loan disbursements for the quarter reached Rs 7,448.96 crore, up by 25.27 per cent from Rs 5,946.45 crore. IREDA's total loan book has expanded to a robust Rs 68,959.61 crore, showing a 36.34 per cent increase compared to Rs 50,579.67 crore in Q3 FY 2023-24. The company's net worth has strengthened to Rs 9,842.07 crore, registering a 20.99 per cent growth from Rs 8,134.56 crore in Q3 FY 2023-24. Its earnings per share (EPS) improved to Rs 1.58, growing by 15.03 per cent from Rs 1.38 in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. Jaipur, March 28 : The Rajasthan High Court on Friday disposed of a contempt notice against IAS officer Bhawani Singh Detha after he issued an unconditional apology for non-compliance with a court order. During the hearing, Justice Umashankar Vyas underscored the responsibility of both the judiciary and administrative officers to serve the public. "I come from a middle-class family, so I understand the struggles of a common man. When court orders are not followed, people are forced to hire lawyers and file contempt petitions. Put yourself in their place and understand their difficulties. In the public interest, it is crucial to comply with court orders on time," Justice Vyas remarked. In response, Bhawani Singh Detha expressed regret, stating: "I apologise to the court unconditionally and assure that all future court orders will be followed promptly." The High Court had summoned IAS officers Bhawani Singh Detha, Shuchi Tyagi, and former Joint Director of College Education R.C. Meena for failing to comply with a judicial directive. The court noted that while the order was eventually executed within 18 days, it was only due to strict judicial intervention. "As public servants, senior officers bear greater responsibility. Their inaction and repeated defiance of court orders are unfortunate. Since compliance has now been undertaken, jail time is not deemed appropriate. However, penalties for prolonged non-compliance may still be considered. The officers must justify why they should not be punished," the court observed. While Detha and Meena appeared in court on Friday, Shuchi Tyagi submitted an application for absence. Following their apologies, the court withdrew the contempt notices against all three officers. The case stemmed from a petition filed by Dr D.C. Doodi, a lecturer at Government College, Sambhar Lake. Previously employed in Haryana, he was selected for a lecturer position in Rajasthan in 1998. However, the state education department failed to count his previous service tenure under the Career Advancement Scheme, delaying his pay scale benefits by 1.5 years. Dr Doodi took the matter to court, and on May 5, 2022, a single-judge bench ruled in his favour. The state government appealed to a division bench, which refused to stay the order. The case then reached the Supreme Court, which dismissed the government's appeal on September 27, 2023. Despite these rulings, the department continued to delay compliance, leading to contempt proceedings. With Fridayas hearing and the officers' formal apologies, the matter has now been legally resolved. However, the case serves as a strong reminder to government officials about the importance of timely compliance with court orders. Mumbai, March 28 : Shiv Sena Deputy Leader and Spokesperson, Sanjay Nirupam on Friday alleged that after the murder of Disha Salian, the SS(UBT) is now maligning her father Satish Salian. He demanded that Mumbai Police disclose the truth behind the closure report on Disha Salian's death. Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Nirupam accused the SS(UBT) of trying to suppress the case. He pointed out that when Disha Salian was murdered, Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. "Did the Malvani Police try to cover up the case under Uddhav Thackeray's pressure?" he questioned. Nirupam alleged that the closure report included false information to defame the Salian family. He reiterated that "Aaditya Thackeray and his associates are the prime accused in Disha's murder, and now they are attacking her father's reputation." Nirupam also took a dig at SS(UBT) stating that the people of Maharashtra have twice decided between "the real Shiv Sena and the fake Shiv Sena." "Uddhav Thackeray doesn't have the real Shiv Sena; he only has a leftover faction," he remarked, highlighting the election results. "In Assembly elections the SS(UBT) contested 95 seats and won only 20. The Shiv Sena contested 87 seats and won 57, with three Independents supporting them, bringing the total to 60 MLAs. "Shiv Sena had a strike rate of 70.37 per cent and secured 79,96,930 votes. SS(UBT)'s strike rate was only 21.05 per cent, with 64,33,566 votes. In 52 direct contests between Shiv Sena and SS(UBT), Shiv Sena won 37 seats, while SS(UBT) won just 15," Nirupam said. He also pointed out that out of SS(UBT)'s 15 victories, 6 were in Muslim-majority areas of Mumbai. In the Lok Sabha election, the Shiv Sena contested 15 seats and won 7, with a 46.30 per cent strike rate. SS(UBT) contested 21 seats and won 9, with a 42.85 per cent strike rate. "Shiv Sena's legitimacy is already established," he said. Nirupam emphasised that the Election Commission had already ruled in favour of Eknath Shinde's leadership. He reminded everyone that "Shiv Sena was founded by Hindu hriday samrat Balasaheb Thackeray on June 19, 1966, while the SS(UBT) was formed in June 2022." "Your group is nothing but a breakaway faction," he concluded. Mumbai, March 28 : Actor Shreyas Talpade's team has issued an official statement in the light of him being named in a multi-crore chit fund scam. They have rubbished the reports of the actor being named in the scam, and have termed the actor's involvement in fraud or misconduct as completely false and baseless. The actor's team said in the statement, "It is deeply unfortunate that in today's world, a person's hard-earned reputation appears to be vulnerable to undue tarnishment by unfounded rumours. Recent reports alleging Mr. Shreyas Talpade's involvement in fraud or misconduct are completely false, baseless and devoid of any merit whatsoever. As a public figure, Mr. Talpade, like many other celebrities, is frequently invited to various corporate and annual events, which he attends as and when possible". The team said that beyond such appearances, the actor has no association whatsoever with the company in question. "Needless to say, Mr. Talpade has no nexus whatsoever with any fraudulent or unlawful acts as are being alleged and/or circulated. We urge everyone to verify facts before spreading misinformation and request that Mr. Talpade's name be kept away from these baseless rumors. Mr. Talpade is a law abiding citizen who remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, honesty and professionalism in all of his endeavours", he added. On Thursday, Shreyas found himself facing fresh legal trouble as a new fraud case was registered against him and 14 others in Uttar Pradesh. The chit fund scam reportedly operated in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh for over a decade. Earlier, it was reported in the media that a company called The Loni Urban Multistate Credit and Thrift Cooperative Society Limited, which targeted villagers by promising high returns on investments. The company's agents are said to have collected large sums of money from locals, as they lured them with the claim that their investments would double within a short period, a stark reminder to what happened with Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar in 'Phir Hera Pheri'. Meanwhile, the superstar and Shreyas will be seen sharing the screen in 'Welcome to the Jungle'. New Delhi, March 28 : The Delhi Assembly on Friday discussed a CAG report on the financial mismanagement at Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and referred it to the Committee on Government Undertakings to submit its report within three months. Speaker Vijender Gupta said the Transport Department and DTC must also submit their Action Taken Note to the Legislative Secretariat within one month. The discussion on DTC in the Assembly was held in the absence of AAP legislators who walkout or were suspended from the proceedings by the Speaker for unruly behaviour. "The Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Functioning of Delhi Transport Corporation for the year ended 31 March 2022" was tabled by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in the Delhi Assembly on Monday. The CAG report exposed mismanagement and negligence in the public transport between 2016 and 2022 under the AAP government and crores of rupees of Delhi taxpayers were wasted due to a policy paralysis. The House held a detailed discussion on the CAG report presented regarding the "Functioning of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC)". Taking part in the discussion, Malviya Nagar legislator Satish Upadhyay said the DTC was once the lifeline of the city but under the AAP government it had been reduced to 'Drastically Troubled Corporation'. He said the DTC's losses increased in six years by Rs 35,000 crore, rising from Rs 25,300 crore in 2015-16 to nearly Rs 60,750 crore in 2021-22 reflecting the failure of the AAP government in coming up with a strategy to make it profitable. "It is shocking that DTC losses are as much as 60 per cent of the Rs 1 lakh crore Budget presented by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta for 2025-26," he said. Slamming DTC for inadequate data collection, Shahdara MLA Sanjay Goyal highlighted the CAG findings that deficiencies were found in route planning, with the public transporter operating buses on only 57 per cent of the designated routes, making it impossible for it to recover operational costs on any route. Goyal said despite these shortcomings, DTC had no roadmap for recovery. "Had even one AAP legislator mustered to question Arvind Kejriwal, the DTC would have been in a much better position," he said. The CAG report on DTC also pointed to the mounting financial losses of the public transporter which has been offering free rides to women over the past 10 years and struggling to phase out polluting, aging vehicles with e-buses. The irregularities in the functioning of DTC pointed out by the CAG include failure to prepare any business plan or long-term strategy and inaction to prevent fleet depletion despite the availability of funds. The DTC fleet reduced from 4,344 to 3,937 buses, whereas, as per the directions of the Delhi High Court, there should have been 11,000 buses, the report said. The public auditor also noted that DTC failed to impose a penalty of Rs 29.86 crore for the delay in the supply of electric buses. As a result, by March 31, 2023, the percentage of over-aged low-floor buses increased to 44.96 per cent. During the period from 2015 to 2022, DTC suffered an operating loss of Rs 14,198 crore, the report said. The report also pointed out that the CCTV system installed buses in March 2021 had not been declared "Go Live" even by May 2023. An amount of Rs 225.31 crore was due to be recovered by the corporation from the Transport Department and revenue losses occurred due to delays in awarding advertising contracts and commercial space allocation, the CAG report said. New Delhi, March 28 : Five officials of the Income Tax Department in Hyderabad and their aide have fallen in the CBI net for extorting money from income taxpayers, who had filed abnormally high tax refunds, by threatening them with hefty penalty, an official said on Friday. The fraud involving nearly Rs 10 lakh was exposed when one of the taxpayee approached CBI, leading to the registration of FIR against tax officials -- Quamar Aulam Khan, Manish Sikrawal, Gulnaz Rawoof, Kuthadi Srinivas Rao and Mohd. Javeed. Bhagath Puliramidi (a private person) and unknown public servants and private persons were also named in the FIR registered for cheating. "This source information revealed cognizable offences under sections u/s 420 IPC; 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Income Tax Officers," said the FIR registered on Thursday. The modus operandi adopted by the accused for the cheating in 2023 involved sending emails to tax payees from official email IDs directing them to submit documents in support of the refund claimed. The FIR said one of the tax officials used to call up the refund seekers and ask them to respond to the email seeking documents. "The Income Tax Officers Quamar Aulam Khan, Manish Sikrawal, Gulnaz Rawoof, Kuthadi Srinivas Rao and Mohd. Javeed telephoned the taxpayers/assessees directly over mobile phone and asked them to respond to the email they received regarding refund issues," said the FIR. "They threatened the assesses with hefty penalties if they did not respond immediately. In the guise of levying penalty on refund claimed by the assessees, the IT officers demanded bribe," said the FIR. The CBI FIR noted that the Income Tax officers used the word "penalty" to make the assessees believe that they were paying only penalty, but not bribe. After an assessee agreed to pay the penalty, the I-T officers put them on to their aide P. Bhagath who collected the bribe on the pretext of rectifying the IT returns, said the FIR. In another case, the CBI registered two cases on March 25 against a former Branch Manager of State Bank of India, Ramakrishnanagar Branch, Karimganj, Assam (accused in both cases), and two private persons (one each in two cases) on allegations of bank fraud and corruption/bribery. It was alleged that the accused Branch Manager, in conspiracy with some middlemen, disbursed Xpress Credit Loans to various ineligible borrowers during 2023-24 in lieu of undue advantage/bribe, which were allegedly collected by the two accused middlemen and unknown others from the borrowers. Searches were conducted by the CBI at premises of the aforesaid accused at four locations, including Gaya (Bihar), Hailakandi (Assam), two places at Silchar (Assam), which led to the recovery of substantial quantities of ornaments/jewellery (Gold - 481 gm, Diamond - 11.11 gm and Silver - 1,092.80 gm) from the residential premises of accused Branch Manager at Silchar, Assam. Various incriminating documents such as transaction details with middlemen, Bills/Invoices of purchasing of ornaments, documents related to the Xpress Credit, some electronic devices including drive of computer, mobile phone and tablet were also recovered during searches, said a CBI statement. New Delhi, March 28 : India and Sri Lanka are working on an update of an existing agreement on defence cooperation that is expected to be concluded during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the island nation next week, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri revealed during a special media briefing in New Delhi on Friday. After attending the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit in Bangkok, PM Modi is scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka on a State Visit from April 4a"6, at the invitation of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Colombo has maintained that the State Visit of Dissanayake to India in December last year - his first overseas visit as the President of Sri Lanka - marked a "watershed moment" in bilateral relations. The robust diplomatic relations between the two neighbours are expected to get a further boost as PM Modi will be the first foreign leader to be hosted by President Dissanayake in his capacity as Sri Lanka's President. "The India-Sri Lanka relationship is deeply rooted in civilizational links, shared history, religion, culture, and strong people-to-people ties. In the modern era, it has evolved into a close economic, cultural, and technical partnership. Sri Lanka is an integral part of our 'Neighbourhood First' policy, and this relationship, built on mutual trust and goodwill, has stood the test of time. India has come to the assistance of Sri Lanka at critical moments, most recently during the unprecedented economic crisis that Sri Lanka faced in 2022. India was glad to be able to play a key role in the economic stabilization and recovery of the country thereby demonstrating its commitment as a dependable neighbour and as a first responder to any crisis in the region," said Foreign Secretary Misri. During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with the President of Sri Lanka to review progress made on the areas of cooperation agreed upon in the Joint Vision for 'Fostering Partnerships for a Shared Future' adopted during the Sri Lankan President's State Visit to India. The Prime Minister will also have meetings with senior dignitaries and political leaders. The two leaders will also witness the exchange of multiple agreements related to energy connectivity, digitization, defence, health, and multisectoral grant assistance. During his stay in Colombo, PM Modi will meet other political leaders of the nation before travelling to Anuradhapura with Dissanayake for the inauguration of development projects implemented with Indian financial assistance. In Anuradhapura, both leaders will pay respect at the historic Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple complex in Anuradhapura. PM Modi had also visited the temple, which holds a special significance in India-Sri Lanka civilizational partnership, during his visit to the country in 2015. Prime Minister Modi then visited Sri Lanka again in 2019. During their discussions, both leaders will also be discussing all issues related to fishermen, including the early release and repatriation of Indian fishermen and fishing boats. The Indian government maintains that it has attached the "highest priority" to the safety, security and welfare of Indian fishermen and has been consistently taking up these issues through bilateral mechanisms, diplomatic channels, and various official interactions, including by the Prime Minister in his recent meeting with the Sri Lankan President on December 16, 2024. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri acknowledged that it is a longstanding issue that traces its origins to arrangements made in the mid-1970s when the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) between India and Sri Lanka was agreed upon by the authorities at both the central and state levels. India has also repeatedly requested the Sri Lankan Government to treat the fishermen issue as a humanitarian and livelihood concern without using force under any circumstances. Juba, March 28 : Foreign diplomats have called on South Sudanese President Salva Kiir to reverse action on the reported house arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar to prevent further escalation of the country's political tensions. In a joint statement issued in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on Thursday evening, the diplomats from Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, France, Germany, the United States, and the European Union delegation also called on Kiir and other leaders with control or influence over armed groups to order an immediate cease-fire. The diplomats said they are gravely concerned about the reports that Machar has been detained at his residence. "We call on President Kiir to reverse this action and to prevent further escalation. We note that First Vice President Machar's position in the government is established under Article 1.7.2 of the 2018 Peace Agreement (the R-ARCSS)," the foreign envoys said. "We impress upon leaders of all parties the urgent need to engage without delay in direct dialogue and demonstrate the sincerity of their assertions that they are working for peace." South Sudan's international peace partners, including the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, have expressed concerns about the unfolding political situation in the country and appealed to the leaders to embrace dialogue to resolve the current standoff, Xinhua news agency reported. "The current trajectory, if unchecked, could lead to a collapse of the transitional process and a relapse into full-scale war, with devastating consequences for the people of South Sudan and the region at large," IGAD said on Thursday. The statement came after Machar was placed under house arrest on Wednesday night after an armed convoy led by top security officials, including the defence minister, entered his residence in Juba and disarmed his bodyguards. The standoff has raised concerns that the world's newest country could slide back into conflict over six years after emerging from a civil war that left thousands of people dead and others displaced. Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday appointed former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as a special envoy to South Sudan to help de-escalate the political tensions. Odinga was due to travel to South Sudan on Friday as part of regional efforts to defuse tensions. Ruto said he called Kiir on Thursday about the situation leading to Machar's arrest and detention in South Sudan and later held consultations with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali before appointing Odinga. The African Union (AU) Commission said the pan-African body would deploy the AU Panel of the Wise, chaired by Kenyan retired judge Effie Owuor, to support mediation efforts. South Sudan gained independence in July 2011. However, war erupted in December 2013 between troops loyal to Kiir and opposition forces led by Machar, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. The 2018 peace deal ended the fighting and established a unity government. However, the relations between Kiir and Machar, who have dominated South Sudan's politics for decades, remain strained. The latest political tensions between the two leaders have unsettled many citizens and the international community. Mumbai, March 28 : Actor Aadil Khan, who essays the role of Ranjit Thakur in the recently released streaming series 'Khakee: The Bengal Chapter', has shared how he cultivated the bromance between him and actor Ritwik Bhowmik for the show. In the show, Aadil and Ritwik serve as the muscle to a local politician. IANS spoke with Aadil in the run-up to the release of the show. The actor told IANS that his camaraderie with Ritwik happened organically. He said, "When the show was offered to me, and I went through the script and got to know the story, the first thing which was on my mind was who is playing Sagor because the script has a lot of chemistry between the characters. I was concerned about it. And then I met Ritwik, and got to know that he's playing the part". The actor further mentioned that the two had met earlier for a very brief period. He said, "We met long back during my radio days, years ago, we had met for a brief meeting. More than 10 years ago. Hence, it was not a very new interaction for the two actors. The familiarity though too small came in handy to build their characters. Aadil said, "Meanwhile, during our readings for the part, after spending 15 minutes with him, discussing the story and everything, understanding each other, I was kind of relaxed as I told myself, 'Oh nice, this man is awesome'. And we both have a similar story. Also, there were workshops, there was training, rehearsals and things like that. And that's when we created that world and while we were creating that world, we created a strong brotherhood. And that just helped us not just in the show but look at us, we found each other". Ritwik chimed in as he said, "Some relationships you don't make, some relationships you earn. We earned this by spending time with each other". Meanwhile, Ritwik had earlier wished his brother from another mother for his new project. He took to Instagram, a few days ago, and shared BTS videos of themselves. He wrote in the caption, "Missing my brother today as he embarks on his new journey! So looking forward to what you're going to offer us next @aadilkhanitis You're truly an astounding actor and a true blue brother. Go conquer Bhai ti! Your brother forever - Da bhai". 'Khakee: The Bengal Chapter' streams on Netflix. New Delhi, March 28 : In a significant development, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has taken over the responsibility of fire safety at the Parliament complex, marking a pivotal shift in the security and safety arrangements of the esteemed institution. Sources told IANS that this transition follows the CISF's recent assumption of comprehensive security duties at the Parliament, replacing the Delhi Police and the Parliament Security Service (PSS) after a security breach in December 2023. The Union Home Ministry had issued orders last year for the CISF to take charge of security, which now includes fire safety measures within the Parliament complex, say sources. In fact, the fire safety and other protocols related to emergencies were earlier handled by the Parliament Security Service (PSS), along with the Delhi Police. Other security agencies were also assisting. This overhaul came into effect following a detailed assessment of security procedures because of a serious breach on December 13, 2023. Some individuals on this date had managed to bypass multiple security layers and release smoke canisters inside the Parliament Hall. The CISF had last year deployed its dedicated team of personnel led by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG), taking over from the CRPF, which had previously managed security within the Parliament premises. The CISF personnel now occupy the barracks also. Their responsibilities now encompass all facets of security, including fire safety measures, sources said. The fire unit within the CISF's broader security plan will work closely with Parliament's in-house staff, contributing to a more robust, comprehensive security system. The move aims to strengthen the Parliament's emergency preparedness and response capabilities, with specially trained fire safety personnel integrated into the security forces, said sources. CISF personnel are now solely responsible for security checks and frisking, replacing the role once handled by Delhi Police in conjunction with PSS, according to sources. As per sources, CISF commandos are not directly involved in the screening of the visitors, but they are tasked with addressing any emergency situations, particularly dealing with armed infiltrators. The handing over of security responsibilities to the CISF follows a detailed security survey ordered by the MHA in December 2023, after the breach during the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack. In fact, some individuals had entered the Lok Sabha chamber with smoke canisters, as a result of which eight security personnel were suspended. New Delhi, March 28 : The Supreme Court on Friday clarified that Justice Yashwant Verma would not be assigned any judicial work when he assumes charge as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court. "The Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court for the time being has been asked not to assign any judicial work to Mr. Justice Yashwant Varma, when he assumes charge as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court," read a statement issued by the top court. Earlier in the day, the Centre issued a notification regarding transfer of Justice Varma, who is embroiled in the controversy surrounding the alleged discovery of a huge pile of burnt cash in the storeroom attached to his bungalow in the national capital after the fire brigade had gone there to douse a blaze on March 14. "In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 222 of the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, Delhi High Court, to be a Judge of Allahabad High Court and to direct him to assume charge of his office in the Allahabad High Court," said a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice. The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by CJI Sanjiv Khanna, on Monday, recommended that the Centre repatriate Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court. "The Supreme Court Collegium in its meetings held on 20th and 24th March 2025 has recommended repatriation of Mr Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, High Court of Delhi, to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad," said a statement uploaded on the website of the Supreme Court. Earlier, the top court, in a statement, clarified that the proposal for the transfer of Justice Varma, who is the second senior most judge in the Delhi High Court, to his parent High Court i.e. the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, where he will be the ninth in seniority, is "independent and separate from the In-house enquiry procedure". Last week, CJI Khanna constituted a 3-member committee to conduct an inquiry against Justice Varma and asked the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court not to assign him any judicial work for the time being. Thereafter, Delhi HC's Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya withdrew judicial work from Justice Varma, the second senior-most judge of the Delhi High Court, till further orders. On Thursday, leaders of various bar associations met CJI Khanna and senior judges of the Supreme Court Collegium, demanding the withdrawal of the transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court. Kolkata, March 28 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday informed Calcutta High Court that the woman junior doctor of the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata was not gang-raped. The single-judge Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh was hearing the case concerning the rape and murder of a woman doctor in August last year. Earlier, on the first day of the fresh hearing at his Bench on March 24, Justice Ghosh had directed the CBI to clarify whether the tragedy was a case of "rape or "gang rape". On Friday, the CBI in its clarification to the same Bench ruled out the possibility of "gang rape in the matter." Thereafter, the CBI also clarified that the current phase of investigation in the matter was in relation to the angle of evidence tampering and altering when the initial probe in the matter was being carried out by the Kolkata Police. On Friday afternoon, the CBI also submitted a three-page status report to a special court in Kolkata on the progress of the investigation in the matter. The status report was submitted at the same special court which recently sentenced the sole convict in the case, Sanjay Roy, to life imprisonment. On Friday, the CBI also submitted the case diary in the matter to the Bench of Justice Ghosh as directed by the latter on the first day of the hearing on March 24. While submitting its clarification that the tragedy was not a case of "gang rape", the central agency also said that their claims on these lines following their findings in the matter had been substantiated in the report by a forensic team of 14 specialists which examined different documents collected by the investigating officials in the matter. The CBI counsel also informed Justice Ghosh's Bench on Monday that the current phase of the investigation was pertaining to the "post-offense conduct" in relation to tampering and altering of evidence that could be part of a "larger conspiracy" behind the crime. The next date of hearing in the matter at Justice Ghosh's Bench in the matter is scheduled after two weeks. The Bench also directed that the case diary of the initial investigation into the matter should be submitted to the court on the next date of hearing. To, recall, the body of the victim was recovered from the seminar hall within the hospital premises on the morning of August 9 last year. A Special Investigation Team of Kolkata Police started the initial probe in the matter and also arrested Sanjay Roy. However, soon the charge of investigation was handed over to the CBI following an order of the Calcutta High Court and accordingly, Roy was shifted from the custody of the city police to that of the CBI. Recently, a special court in Kolkata sentenced Roy to life imprisonment. However, the CBI has already challenged the special court order at Calcutta High Court and sought capital punishment for him. Srinagar, March 28 : Thousands of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir offered the last Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan after nightlong prayer and recitation of the holy Quran during the 'Shab-e-Qadr'. Muslims engage in nightlong prayer and recitation of the holy Quran on the 26th day of Ramadan. Srinagar, March 28 (IANS) Thousands of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir offered the last Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan after nightlong prayer and recitation of the holy Quran during the aShab-e-Qadra. Muslims engage in nightlong prayer and recitation of the holy Quran on the 26th day of Ramadan. This night is believed to be the holiest night of the year since the first verse of the Quran was brought by Archangel Gabriel to Prophet Mohammad on this night. After nightlong prayers, Muslims offered the last Friday prayers in various mosques across J&K, as the day marks the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan. Large congregational prayers were offered at the Hazratbal shrine, Syed Yakoob Sahib shrine and other mosques of the Srinagar city. Authorities did not allow any Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid in the old city of the Nowhatta area of Srinagar. Fearing a breach of law and order, this step was taken, official sources said. In Jammu and at other cities and towns of J&K, a large number of Muslims gathered to offer the last Friday prayers. All the congregational Friday prayer meetings ended peacefully as no untoward incident was reported from anywhere. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, a senior religious and political leader has called the administrationas decision to disallow prayers at the Jamia Masjid as unfortunate. The Union Home Ministry (MHA) recently banned the Awami Action Committee headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq. The MHA notification said that the organisation was acting against the state and was engaged in encouraging and extolling youth to violence against the country. The Awami Action Committee was formed in 1963 during the holy Relic agitation in Kashmir by Molvi Mohammad Farooq. The organisation came to be headed by his son, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, after the assassination of his father. Together with the Awami Action Committee, the MHA also banned Ittehadul Muslimeem headed by Molvi Masroor Anbas Ansari. New Delhi, March 28 : Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan emphasised the importance of embracing technological advancements, strategic thinking and adaptability are key to meeting future security challenges, said an official on Friday. Inaugurating Techkriti 2025, Asiaas largest intercollegiate technical and entrepreneurial festival, at IIT-Kanpur, General Chauhan shared his views about the need for advancement and modernisation in the Indian Armed Forces. He also shared his perspectives on preparing for emerging challenges of Future Wars, specifically in the Cyber, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum and Cognitive domains. Driving further synergy between armed forces, academia and defence industry, General Chauhan interacted with budding technologists and motivated students to pursue careers in defence and technology. He also inspired the young audience comprising scholars, students and NCC Cadets by highlighting the values of discipline and resilience, courage and sacrifice. The inaugural ceremony was attended by distinguished guests, including Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, AOC-in-C, Central Air Command, and Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur. The festivalas theme this year, aPanta Rheia (Everything Flows), highlights the continuous evolution of technology and innovation. The event provides a platform to connect researchers with industry leaders, enabling the development of advanced technologies like autonomous drones, strengthening national security and reducing import dependence. Techkriti 2025 promises to be a celebration of technology, entrepreneurship and collaboration, pushing the boundaries of discovery and innovation. A special segment, aRakshakritia, a dedicated Defence Expo to showcase the cutting-edge defence technology, is a special feature of Techkriti 2025. Techkriti is an annual four-day Inter-collegiate Technical and Entrepreneurship festival organised by the IIT-Kanpur, which is held in March. The word Techkriti is derived from tech (technology) and the Sanskrit kriti (creation). The festival began in 1995 to develop student technological innovation. The 31st edition is currently being held from March 27-30. The festival aims to ensure that the efforts, work, and thoughts of students are synced to one simple thing only a" to help society. To achieve this, the organisers have set up an international platform for the people to innovate and compete. Patna, March 28 : The Patna district administration has finalised preparations for a series of major events, including the Patna University (PU) student union elections, the Ram Navami procession, the Chaiti Chhath festival, and Ramadan celebrations -- all set to take place over the next week. To ensure law and order, authorities have deployed heavy police forces at sensitive locations, with security arrangements commencing from Saturday. With the PU student union elections approaching, the Bihar Police has issued a stern warning against violence during the campaigns. ADG Kundan Krishnan of the Bihar Police Headquarters cautioned that any student found engaging in unlawful activities would face strict action. "The future of unruly elements will be ruined. They will be charge-sheeted, arrested, and declared ineligible for jobs," warned Krishnan. He urged students to exercise caution, reminding them that breaking the law could have long-term consequences on their careers. Addressing the recent assault on journalist Krishna Nandan, who was attacked by students at Magadh Mahila College on Wednesday, Krishnan assured that police have been instructed to take action. "If an FIR was not filed earlier, officers have now been ordered to act," he stated. Authorities will analyse CCTV footage from the area to identify and apprehend the culprits. Adequate police forces and duty magistrates will be stationed at every polling booth for PU student union elections to ensure peaceful voting. CCTV surveillance will be actively used, with Krishnan citing its success in solving recent high-profile cases, such as the Arrah Tanishq showroom robbery and the Bakhora Pur incident. Ram Navami processions, Chaiti Chhath, and Ramadan celebrations will be held under tight security to prevent any communal or law-and-order disturbances. The administration has urged the public to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to maintain peace and harmony during these crucial events. New Delhi, March 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be enhancing India's deep civilizational linkages, maritime connectivity, and cross-cultural exchanges with member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping during his visit to Bangkok for the 6th BIMSTEC Summit , next week. This would include the signing of a Maritime Transport Agreement with the BIMSTEC countries at the summit which will be held in the capital of Thailand from April 2-4. Established in June 1997, the BIMSTEC regional grouping forms a unique link between South and South-East Asia with five members from South Asia - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka - and two from South-East Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand. "India is very strongly committed to increasing connectivity within BIMSTEC because a lot of things that we want to do in terms of regional integration are tied up with connectivity. While the connectivity blueprint has already been adopted, it is its implementation that has to be discussed now. We are going to be signing a Maritime Transport Agreement with the BIMSTEC countries at this Summit which will be a big step forward," said Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) during a media briefing in New Delhi on Friday. This would be the first physical meeting of the BIMSTEC leaders since the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2018. The last BIMSTEC Summit was hosted by Colombo in virtual format. The 6th Summit's theme is 'BIMSTEC a" Prosperous, Resilient and Open'. The Leaders are expected to deliberate on ways and means to infuse greater momentum to BIMSTEC cooperation during the Summit. "The leaders are also expected to discuss various institution and capacity building measures to augment collaboration within the BIMSTEC framework. India has been taking a number of initiatives in BIMSTEC to strengthen regional cooperation and partnership, including in enhancing security; facilitating trade and investment; establishing physical, maritime and digital connectivity; collaborating in food, energy, climate and human security; promoting capacity building and skill development; and enhancing people-to-people ties," read a statement issued by the MEA. On the bilateral front, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to have a meeting with the Prime Minister of Thailand on April 3. During the meeting, the two Prime Ministers are expected to review bilateral cooperation and chart the way for future partnership between the countries. India and Thailand are maritime neighbours with shared civilizational bonds which are underpinned by cultural, linguistic, and religious ties. This would be the second meeting between PM Modi and Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. "Our bilateral ties are multifaceted and over a range of joint cooperation from defence and security to trade and investment, connectivity, science and technology, innovation, education, space, health, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges," Secretary Mazumdar stated. Besides BIMSTEC, the cooperation between India and Thailand exists further in various other multilateral forums like ASEAN, East Asia Summit, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, and Indian Ocean Rim Association. "On the economic front, Thailand is the third largest economy in ASEAN and our fourth largest trading partner after Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia in the region. The bilateral trade stands at almost $15 billion, with exports to Thailand being $ 5 billion and imports $10 billion," said Mazumdar. Reaffirming the age-old cultural and religious ties, India recently sent the holy relics of Lord Buddha and two of his main disciples for a 25-day exposition across five different cities of Thailand. The unprecedented success of this exposition cemented age-old ties between the two nations as around four million people paid their obeisance to the relics between February 25 to March 9. New Delhi, March 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed the latest Cabinet decisions, emphasising their role in making India 'Aatmanirbhar'. The Cabinet has approved key initiatives, including the electronics component manufacturing scheme, nutrient-based subsidy for Kharif 2025, Patna-Arrah-Sasaram corridor, and the Kosi-Mechi intra-state link project. In a series of posts on social media platform X, PM Modi highlighted how these approvals will boost economic growth, support farmers, and enhance infrastructure. The Prime Minister stated that the Cabinet's approval for the electronics component manufacturing scheme will attract investments, encourage innovation, and generate employment opportunities. "A strong impetus to self-reliance and making India a hub for electronics component manufacturing," PM Modi said on Cabinet's decision to approve the electronics component manufacturing scheme with a funding of Rs 22,919 crore. The Cabinet led by PM Modi also approved a two per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from January 1. The Prime Minister also lauded the government's move to approve the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers for the Kharif season of 2025. He said this will ensure that farmers get fertilizers at affordable rates, ultimately supporting food security and benefiting the agricultural sector. Focusing on infrastructure development in Bihar, the Prime Minister highlighted the Cabinet's approval of the Patna-Arrah-Sasaram corridor, which will be developed as a 4-lane greenfield and brownfield highway. "This project will boost economic growth, improve connectivity, and reduce traffic congestion in the region, bringing great relief to commuters and businesses alike," PM Modi mentioned. In another post, PM Modi reiterated the government's commitment to Bihar's development. He announced the approval of the Kosi-Mechi intra-state link project under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). This irrigation project will provide water to a large agricultural area, significantly enhancing farm productivity and increasing farmers' income. The Prime Minister reaffirmed that these decisions reflect the government's vision for a self-reliant India, ensuring prosperity for farmers, fostering industrial growth, and enhancing national infrastructure. Seoul, March 28 : South Korean Police will summon a man suspected of causing massive wildfires in South Korea's southeastern region, officials said Friday. The suspect in his 50s is suspected of causing the fire at 11:24 a.m. on Saturday while performing an ancestral rite at a family grave on a hill in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province. The fire rapidly spread due to gusty winds amid dry conditions, devastating the region before being fully contained around 5 p.m. Friday. At least 24 people were killed and 25 others injured in the province alone, with thousands evacuated, according to authorities. Police completed a preliminary investigation involving his daughter recently, and are drawing up plans to question the man, according to officials. The accidental starting of a wildfire can result in up to three years in prison or a fine of 30 million won ($20,433) in South Korea. Prosecutors have said the investigation needs to focus on whether he violated the Forest Protection Act, as well as the Criminal Act and the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, Yonhap news agency reported. They also called for joint investigations with the police and relevant authorities, as the wildfires affected a total of five cities and counties in the province, according to officials. Meanwhile, massive wildfires that ravaged South Korea's North Gyeongsang Province for a week were fully contained on Friday, authorities said, as better visibility and cooler temperatures from overnight rain helped firefighters put out the main blazes. In South Korea's worst wildfire disaster, a wave of forest fires has devastated the southeastern region, including South Gyeongsang Province since last Friday, killing at least 28 people, injuring 37 and forcing some 38,000 people to flee, according to the government's disaster response agency. The largest-ever wildfire in North Gyeongsang Province had been fully brought under control by 5 p.m., approximately 149 hours after it first broke out in the county of Uiseong, according to the Korea Forest Service (KFS). Firefighting authorities are still working to contain fires in South Gyeongsang Province, where, as of 3 p.m., an average of 93 per cent of fires across the region had been extinguished. Patna, March 28 : In a shocking incident, a youth allegedly shot dead a girl and then committed suicide by shooting himself in Patna's Digha Ghat near Marine Drive on Friday. Sweety Sehrawat, the City SP (Central), confirmed the incident. She suspects that the incident took place due to a love affair. Hearing the noise of gunshots, the locals gathered at the scene and immediately informed the Digha Police Station. Sehrawat said, "We have recovered the dead bodies of the deceased and sent them to post-mortem in Patna Medical College and Hospital. We have seized a bag belonging to the youth." On the basis of the identity card found in the bag, the deceased is identified as Rahul Kumar, a resident of Madhubani district. The girl has been identified as Surabhi Kumari. Sweety Sahrawat, who visited the crime spot, confirmed that the case appears to be linked to a love affair. "Both individuals knew each other previously," she said. The exact reason behind the incident is still under investigation. The family of Rahul Kumar has been informed. "We have called forensic experts and the dog squad to examine the crime scene for additional evidence. We have recovered a pistol and two dead cartridges from the crime scene," Sehrawat said. The police are investigating all possible angles, including scanning their mobile phones to establish the possible reasons apart from the sequence of events that led to the incident. This incident was a replication of the incident in Arrah railway station when a jilted lover shot a girl and her father on March 25. The accused, identified as Akash Kumar, a resident of Udwant Nagar village in Bhojpur district, shot the girl from very close range. When her father tried to save her, he also shot him and committed suicide by shooting in his temple. All three lost their lives at the crime scene. The deceased have been identified as Ayushi Kumari and her father, Anil Kumar. New Delhi, March 28 : Congress MP Karti Chidambaram met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to discuss the growing health and safety concerns posed by stray dogs. During the meeting, Chidambaram highlighted the urgency of the issue and suggested the establishment of a National Task Force to provide a comprehensive, humane, and scientific solution while collaborating closely with local bodies. In a post on X, the Congress MP from Sivaganga, who is the son of former finance minister P. Chidambaram, said: "Met the Prime Minister today in his Parliament House office to bring to his notice the growing health & safety concerns posed by stray dogs. India is home to one of the largest stray dog populations globally, with over 6.2 crore stray dogs." He also pointed out that India is a major hub for rabies, which accounts for 36 per cent of the worldas rabies-related deaths. Chidambaram further said: "Despite the introduction of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, the implementation has been ineffective. I raised concerns about the inadequacy of the current system, where local bodies lack the resources, funding, and technology to tackle this issue effectively." Acknowledging the need for urgent action, Chidambaram added: "It's clear that urgent action is required. I suggested establishing a National Task Force to provide a holistic, humane, and scientific solution while working closely with local bodies. Additionally, dedicated shelter houses and a long-term plan must be in place to address this challenge." Chidambaram has raised this issue at an appropriate time. His appeal on this issue during a meeting with PM Modi comes at a time when the nation grapples with the growing problem of stray dogs. The issue undoubtedly poses serious health risks and safety concerns. The Congress MP's proposal aims to find a sustainable solution by involving local authorities and ensuring a well-resourced framework to address the crisis. Colleen Heidinger knows a little about starting a business and not just because she runs 43North, the state-backed initiative to help local startups. She also runs a small business of her own on the side a yoga studio, Space on Seneca, in Larkinville. While her yoga studio isnt exactly considered a startup, Heidinger said there are correlations between what she does there and her full-time work as president of 43North. As someone who invests in people with passions, she can understand and relate to them, thanks to her efforts at the studio and in the community. Heidinger said she better understands how a founder thinks and acts because of the passion they feel for something. We want to change the world in some way, she said. Im doing it through yoga, and they are doing it with venture-backed scalable startups. For me, the mindset is similar. While building a brand of her own, Heidinger also is running a $5 million annual business competition as the leader of the startup incubator and accelerator. She started there as director of special events and programming a few months after moving home in 2014. Heidinger was promoted to president of 43North in January 2020, shortly after opening the studio. Its been a careful balance to build a business as she takes on the big responsibility of running the entity leading the charge to advance the local startup ecosystem. I have liked to keep these two worlds separate, said Heidinger, who credits her father, Tom, for his work renovating her studio at 867 Seneca St. and mother, Nancy, for inspiring her health and fitness journey. But, for me, when Im doing yoga, part of my brain goes to sleep, and the creative part comes alive, she added. When Heidinger moved back home to Buffalo 10 years ago, one of the first things she did was look for a yoga studio. During her time in Boston, New York and Los Angeles, Heidinger always had a teacher she was devoted to and was inspired by, helping her prioritize her yoga regardless of how busy she got. In Buffalo, she couldnt find that new home away from home she was looking for. But that opened up an opportunity for her to begin teaching and start her own community of yogis. Through all her career changes and moves, yoga has been a constant in Heidingers life, and now she gets to share the physical and mental benefits of the spiritual practice through her own studio, Space on Seneca. She celebrated five years in operation around Labor Day. I understand the power of yoga and cant imagine my life without it, said Heidinger, whos been doing yoga since she was 14, starting it as a complement to her figure skating. Thats what prompted me to want to give that to other people. A desire to return home When Heidinger graduated from Nichols School in 2002, it was a time when Buffalonians were prioritizing leaving the area for career opportunities elsewhere. She went to Boston to attend Babson College before moving to New York City and then Los Angeles for work mostly in the media, film and TV industries at companies like Dreamworks Animation and Fremantle Media. Back then, I couldnt get out of here fast enough, Heidinger said. She saved up for years to travel on an African safari when she turned 30. Heidinger went to Tanzania, Kenya and Nairobi, where she volunteered at schools and churches. What connected with her most from that trip was seeing peoples joy, even those who had nothing. She wanted to try to find that same joy and decided in 2014 to change her career and move back home. It was through a high school mentor that she connected to 43North. Two worlds collide When Heidinger decided to go forward with becoming a yoga teacher, she went through 10 weeks of training with yogis downstate in Southampton. Her family had purchased a more-than-century-old Seneca Street building in Larkinville, and Heidinger planned to live upstairs. She realized she could use the downstairs space for yoga. Before the space was even fully built out or had any heat and amenities, Heidinger began to teach classes there. Teaching twice a week, on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings, more people became aware of it and started showing up, without her ever creating a website or advertising the business. Theres a sense of comfort, home and safety there, particularly for those who have been with me from the beginning, Heidinger said. They were a part of the process of this becoming my real home. Heidinger also began hosting outdoor classes in Larkinville during the pandemic and was later invited to teach a class on the 26th floor of Seneca One, which overlooks the city and is the home of 43North. Studio continues growth Heidinger has built a robust studio and created whats become a close-knit group of yogis. More than 1,000 people have participated in yoga at Space on Seneca and become part of the groups social circles. Heidinger has seen it all students fighting cancer, heartache, health issues, divorce, death and Covid. She said the community thats been built is full of people willing to be vulnerable and try new things. They have branched out into a book club and dinner club, made business connections, volunteered, participated in fundraisers like the Ride for Roswell and took trips to Canandaigua and the Adirondacks. Two participants from her class even got married and another couple from the studio are on their way. Some from the group even come out to Sheas in October to support Heidinger on the night of the 43North competition. Additionally, 43North startup founders have even attended her classes as they try to acclimate themselves to the area and find activities to do. When there is a time of need, it is profound the way these people show up, Heidinger said. Its amazing the way this thing has grown, and new people just keep showing up. Yoga is also an outlet for her to be creative, so having that strengthens her as a leader and provides some stability and variety in her life, Heidinger said. It is far from feeling like a second job. Plus, Heidinger said she does not have children, so she calls the yoga studio her baby. I always know I am going to feel better after yoga, she said. Mumbai, March 28 : To improve the ease of doing business, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday announced that it has extended the timelines for mutual funds and portfolio managers to submit their offsite inspection data to the market regulator. This move is expected to provide more flexibility to fund houses and portfolio managers while ensuring regulatory compliance. According to SEBI's latest circular, mutual funds will now have 15 calendar days from the end of each quarter to submit their daily data in a monthly file. Earlier, this deadline was 10 calendar days. The change will help fund houses manage their reporting processes more efficiently. Additionally, Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs) will continue to submit data on an ongoing basis. SEBI has structured this data submission process as part of its offsite inspection and surveillance mechanism. The data helps the regulator monitor compliance with mutual fund norms and maintain transparency in the market. Mutual funds and the RTAs associated with them must submit data in the prescribed format as per SEBI's guidelines. Similarly, portfolio managers will also get 15 calendar days from the end of each quarter to submit their data. They must furnish detailed reports for all clients, including day-wise data for categories such as 'Client Folio AUM' and 'Client Holding Master'. SEBI's decision to extend the submission timelines is based on feedback from the industry. "It has been decided to extend the timelines for submission of offsite inspection data," the SEBI stated. The move is aimed at reducing compliance pressure while maintaining proper regulatory oversight of mutual funds and portfolio management services. "The decision will come into force with immediate effect," the market regulator said. Meanwhile, according to reports, the market regulator is working on a new penalty system that would prevent brokerage firms from being fined multiple times for the same violation. New Delhi, March 28 : Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Friday hit out at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders for persisting with their brand of politics of falsehood, especially on the issue of Rs 2,500 for women, despite tasting defeat in the Assembly elections. He said Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Atishi and other AAP leaders are continuing to mislead the public by making baseless statements on the women's honorarium issue every day. "From the first day after losing the elections, Atishi and other AAP leaders have been making statements regarding the Rs 2,500 Mahila Samridhi Yojana. When the Delhi government allocated a budget for this scheme in the 2025-26 Budget, Atishi shifted focus to the issue of the pre-budget economic survey," he said. Sachdeva stated that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta could not present the pre-budget economic survey due to the negligence of the previous Delhi government, as the Arvind Kejriwal-led government had refused to conduct departmental audits to hide its corruption. The Delhi BJP President also said that the women of Delhi trust the BJP leadership's promises regarding the Mahila Samridhi Yojana and subsidised LPG cylinder distribution. "They are also aware that, following all regulations, these benefits will begin reaching them within the financial year 2025-26," he said. Sachdeva's comments came on a day when Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma assured the Delhi Assembly that a notification on the Mahila Samridhi Yojana will be issued soon. Minister Verma said that the matter is before a four-member panel, the file has reached the authority concerned and a notification on the scheme is expected very soon. "The registration for the scheme will begin in all 70 Assembly constituencies once the rules of the scheme are drafted," said Verma, pointing out that CM Gupta had already sanctioned Rs 5,100 crore for the scheme in the Budget. Earlier, Atishi, who along with some AAP legislators were marshalled out of the Assembly, told reporters that the Opposition MLAs were thrown out for seeking answers on the Rs 2,500 monthly dole for Delhi women. "The women of Delhi have been cheated by the BJP as Rs 2,500 have not landed in their bank accounts. When our legislator sought the deadline for implementing the scheme, our members were sent out of the House one after the other," she added. New Delhi, March 28 : The Centre on Friday issued notifications regarding the transfer of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh of the Delhi High Court and Arindam Sinha of the Odisha HC, pursuant to the recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium. "In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 222 of the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to transfer Shri Justice Chandra Dhari Singh, Judge, Delhi High Court, to be a Judge of Allahabad High Court and to direct him to assume charge of his office in the Allahabad High Court," said a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice. In November last year, the SC Collegium had recommended repatriation of Justice C.D. Singh to his parent High Court i.e. the Allahabad High Court. In a distinct notification, the Centre on Friday announced that the President, after consultation with the CJI, was pleased to transfer Justice Arindam Sinha, a Judge of the Orissa High Court, to the Allahabad High Court. The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meetings held on March 6 and 20, had recommended the transfer of Justice Sinha to the Allahabad High Court. "The Supreme Court Collegium in its meetings held on 06th March 2025 and 20th March 2025 has recommended transfer of Mr. Justice Arindam Sinha, Judge, High Court of Orissa (PHC: Calcutta), to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad," said a statement released on the website of the apex court. As per the existing Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), the proposal for transfer of HC judges is initiated by the CJI in consultation with four senior-most puisne judges of the Supreme Court, commonly known as Collegium. The MoP further provides that the CJI is also expected to take into account the views of the Chief Justice of the High Court from which the judge is to be transferred, as also the Chief Justice of the High Court to which the transfer is to be effected, besides taking into account the views of one or more Supreme Court judges who are in a position to offer views. Chandigarh, March 28 : Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday expressed gratitude to all members for their constructive suggestions during the session, saying this was likely the longest Budget session in the state's history. A total of 13 sittings were held over the 12-day session, with members engaging in 60 hours of constructive discussions, he said. He said on March 17 he had presented his first budget as Finance Minister. The budget proposals were debated in the House for eight hours and 26 minutes, with 23 Opposition members contributing for four hours and 36 minutes, while 21 ruling party MLAs spoke for three hours and 35 minutes. In addition, two Independent MLAs shared their views on the budget for 15 minutes. The Chief Minister highlighted that during the session, calling attention motions on important topics, submitted by various MLAs, were accepted by the Speaker. A total of 10 calling attention motions were discussed. Furthermore, 16 key bills aimed at the welfare of the people of Haryana were deliberated upon and passed in the House. He said every penny of the state's budget, amounting to more than Rs 2.05 lakh crore, will be utilised for the welfare of the Haryana people. The Chief Minister also thanked Speaker Harvinder Kalyan for allowing all members to express their views, facilitating a constructive and comprehensive discussion on the budget. He pointed out that although only 20 questions are listed during the Question Hour, there were occasions when all 20 questions were discussed and answered by the government. In response to a question, CM Saini assured that all Opposition suggestions made during the discussions, whether concerning the Bills, the Governor's Address, or the Budget, had been noted and addressed by the government. Addressing another query, the Chief Minister said Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate a block at Maharaja Agrasen Medical College in Agroha in Hisar on March 31. "This medical college serves not only Haryana but also benefits people from neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Punjab." Moreover, on the occasion of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar's birth anniversary on April 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Haryana and inaugurate two major projects for its people. The Chief Minister shared that several other significant projects are ready but await administrative approval, including the Kalpana Chawla Medical University in Kutail, an elevated railway track in Kurukshetra, Pandit Nekiram Sharma Medical College in Bhiwani, and an airport and Shaheed Smarak in Ambala. Once administrative approval is received, these projects will soon be dedicated to the public. Bhopal, March 28 : A head-on collision between a truck and a container near Barodia Kalan village under Malthone police station area in Sagar district, Madhya Pradesh, has claimed one life and left four others injured, an official said on Friday. The accident occurred at around 12.45 a.m. near the Barodia Kalan outpost under the jurisdiction of Malthone police station. According to police sources and investigation officer, "the container was coming from Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh, while the truck was heading in the opposite direction". Investigation revealed that the truck, bearing registration number RJ 11 GC 3821, had entered the wrong lane, leading to the fatal crash. The impact claimed the life of the container's driver, Keshav Dhakad, who hailed from a village under Bhangarh police station in Subhashpura district, Shivpuri. He was declared brought dead upon arrival at Malthone hospital. Four other individuals involved in the accident sustained injuries. Among them were Raja Lodhi, Hariram Lodhi, and Sanjay Madotiya, along with the cleaner of the container, Hariom Dhakad. Initially treated at Malthone hospital, they were later referred to the district hospital in Sagar for further medical care. According to hospital reports, their condition is stable. The police have informed the families of both the deceased and the injured. "Legal action is underway, as the truck driver, Raja Lodhi, has been held responsible for taking the wrong lane, which led to the crash," the officer said. Authorities are awaiting the post-mortem report of the deceased to proceed with their investigation. A nearby Dhaba owner informed the Badoniya police outpost about the accident. When asked if the drivers of the vehicles were under influence, the investigation officer said, the truck driver was not under influence. However, only a post-mortem report will reveal about the other driver who lost his life in the accident. This tragic incident highlights the dangers posed by reckless driving and serves as a stark reminder of the importance of adhering to traffic regulations. The authorities continue to investigate the matter to ensure accountability and justice for those affected by this unfortunate accident. The accident site is nearly 60 km away from the district headquarters Sagar. Jammu, March 28 : The body of the fourth police personnel was sighted near the site of the gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district on Friday as the anti-terrorist operation continued in the area. Officials said that the body of the fourth policeman was sighted through a drone near the encounter site today taking the toll of J&K police personnel martyred in this operation to four. Five terrorists have been killed in this operation which continues as per officials. Seven security personnel including a Deputy SP, five policemen and a para commando of the army were injured in this operation. Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah have paid tribute to the policemen who laid down their lives in the service of the nation. Officials said that five terrorists have been killed while five jawans of special operations group (SOG) of J&K police were martyred in the anti-terrorist operation in Ghati Heights of Sufiyan Jakhole village of Kathua district. The injured have been shifted to hospital in Jammu city while the Dy.SP is being treated at the government medical college (GMC) hospital in Kathua. The operation against the terrorists was started today morning with the first light. Given the number of terrorists those were seen at Sanyal village on Sunday and the fact that five terrorists have been killed in Ghati Heights of Safiyan Jakhole village, it is confirmed that this is the same group, which had escaped from Sanyal village and was now trying to cross over to Billawar in Kathua district through Ghati Heights. Official sources said that civilians observed movement of terrorists at village Safiyan Jakhole Ghati heights at 7 a.m. on Thursday and alerted the police. aTeams of local police and the SOG headed by SDPO Border, Dheeraj Katoch rushed to the spot and engaged terrorists in the gunbattle, who were well equipped with sophisticated weapons like M4 Carbines. Later, army personnel including para commandos were air dropped and reinforcements of police and paramilitary personnel reached to the spot to join the operation. aThree SOG personnel who were part of first team to reach the spot were martyred in the operation while the Deputy SP Border was injured. One Para Commando and six policemen including the Deputy SP sustained injuries," an official said. The official further said: "Three terrorists have been neutralized till last evening. Their bodies are lying in a hill and will be brought down once the operation is over. Body of one of the terrorists has been burnt. All of them are believed to be Pakistanis." aThe police martyrs have been identified as Tariq Ahmad, Jaswant Singh and Balwinder Singh, all selection grade constables of J&K police. Terrorists are believed to be part of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit. They appeared to be well trained." It has been learned that the gunfight triggered intense firing and explosions with the army using rocket launchers to eliminate the terrorists, who fired heavily with M4 Carbines and other sophisticated weapons and also used grenades. Local youth were seen assisting the security forces to carry heavy weapons and ammunition deep inside a gorge. aSenior police officers are camping at the spot supervising the operation. Special army para commandos were airdropped in the evening on Thursday to further strengthen the cordon around the area. aThe dead bodies of five terrorists were sighted by drones and would be retrieved on Friday morning," official sources said. Bhopal, March 28 : Tensions continue to simmer in Gadra village in the Shahpur police station area of Mauganj district in Madhya Pradesh, following the violent events of March 15 that claimed the lives of Assistant Sub-Inspector Ram Charan Gautam and a young man, Sunny Dwivedi. The aftermath of the incident has left the village in turmoil. On Friday, representatives from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities, along with various social organisations, staged a protest rally in Mauganj. They submitted a memorandum to the SP, demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the incident. They also wanted to know what led to the death of Ashok Kol and what made Sunny Dwivedi visit the community on the evening when the clash occurred between the community and the police team. In a small village, if police have framed charges against 42-45 people, including women and minors, it cannot be termed as a fair investigation. "We want a fair investigation and justice for those affected. The police are unfairly targeting innocent tribals and mistreating women and disabled individuals. We want a CBI probe into the entire incident," Shivanshu Kol, founder of Adivasi Yuva Manch, who is also an advocate, told IANS. The organisation submitted a seven-pronged demand to the Superintendent of police on Friday. Abhishek Master Buddhsen Patel, a former parliamentary candidate (Bahujan Samaj Party) in the 2024 elections, called for an impartial investigation. Speaking to IANS, he stressed that the entire community should not be held responsible for the actions of a few. He urged authorities to uncover the root cause of the Gadra incident and ensure that even the thinnest voices within the community are heard. Patel had previously organised a gathering, urging officials to conduct a fair inquiry rather than treating the village as if it were under siege. "Justice must be served to the guilty, regardless of their community," Patel, who is also an advocate, asserted. Advocate Ravindra Kol, another community member and Adivasi Yuva Manch member, voiced his concern over the incident, as well as police investigation told IANS that community members had submitted their demands to the newly appointed Superintendent of Police on Friday, as well as to forums like the MP Human Rights Commission and the Minority Commission. The Superintendent assured them that innocent individuals would be exonerated following a due investigation. However, Kol emphasised that the small tribal population in the village is determined to see justice delivered. The police have filed charges against 38 individuals. Deputy Superintendent of Police Ankita Sulya, who was part of the team attacked on March 15, confirmed that a thorough investigation had been conducted and that innocent individuals were excluded from the charges. Meanwhile, police sources said action has been taken against the family of the main accused and his associates. The incident has sparked widespread anger among the tribal community, prompting Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav to remove both the then Superintendent of Police and the district collector from their posts in response to the March 15 events. Guwahati, March 28 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that the fight is against the drug nexus is quite massive, while claiming that drug smugglers have been using several new methods including drones to deliver narcotics consignments. The Chief Minister said that with modified tactics, the drugs are being delivered by traffickers sitting at far places which is very dangerous. "In Assam and Meghalaya, primarily drug carriers have been operating and it is a long battle for us against them and it will continue, However, the traffickers have been using various methods to deliver the consignments and often they have been using drones as carrier of narcotics items," he stated. Speaking to the reporters here, he said: "The menace of drug is huge and every state government has been taking efforts to foil the drug peddling attempt. Assam has been tackling the narcotics network with its full force and we have zero tolerance stand against narcotics. I believe that continuous operations against the drugs is the way to eradicate this menace from the society." The Chief Minister also said that the kingpins of drugs network do not live India and they operate from foreign nations. "The kingpins of the narcotics nexus operate from abroad through their agents. They use every possible modus operandi to avoid being caught up by the police. Sometimes, multiple agents travel together with tiny consignments of drugs which are very hard to detect. If ten persons travel by train from Guwahati to Delhi with half a gram of heroine in each of their pockets, it will be very difficult to catch and arrest them. However, the security teams have been continuously working to be one step ahead from drug peddlers and this is how Assam Police operate to bust drug network," Sarma said. The Chief Minister further said that illegal drug nexus is a huge problem in the whole world and even the Donald Trump-led administration in the US has been discussing to tackle this issue. "In recently concluded Senate meeting in the United States, combating with drugs nexus was a central theme. Therefore it is not that only Assam or Meghalaya have been facing threats from narcotics network rather it is now a global problem," Sarma said adding that continuous operations are the methods to combat the challenging drug nexus. Balod : , March 28 (IANS) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the flagship scheme of the Modi government, is assisting lakhs of economically weaker sections and low-income families in building pucca houses (permanent residence) of their own. The transformational change in people's lives is visible on the ground. Balod (Chhattisgarh), March 28 (IANS) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the flagship scheme of the Modi government, is assisting lakhs of economically weaker sections and low-income families in building pucca houses (permanent residence) of their own. The transformational change in peopleas lives is visible on the ground. An Awas Utsav programme was organised in Chhattisgarhas Balod district on Friday, where hundreds of PMAY beneficiaries participated and got the benefits of the path-breaking scheme. Many beneficiaries from the rural areas were handed over certificates and house keys during the programme. The beaming faces and broad smiles on the faces of beneficiaries summed up their happiness and excitement on moving to pucca houses. Notably, the development comes days ahead of PM Modias visit to Bilaspur district in the state. PM Modi is set to lay the foundation stone, initiate commencement of work and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects related to power, oil and gas, rail, road, education and housing sectors worth over Rs 33,700 crore. A Griha Pravesh ceremony for about 3 lakh beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Gramin (PMAY-G) will also be held, where the Prime Minister will hand over the keys to some of the beneficiaries. The Awas Utsav programme in Balod was attended by Collector Indrajit Singh Chandrawal, CEO District Panchayat Dr Sanjay Kannauje, BJP District President Cheman Deshmukh, District Panchayat Vice President Tomman Sahu and other administration officials. As per official estimates, about 2, 843 beneficiaries will be given pucca houses in Balod district. More than 50,000 applications for housing benefits have been approved so far. Under the PMAY-G scheme, a cumulative target of 3.79 crore houses has been allotted to States/UTs in the country, out of which 3.34 crore houses have been sanctioned and 2.69 crore houses have been completed. Chandigarh, March 28 : The Punjab government has legalised the transfer of prisoners from its state jails to other states. The Transfer of Prisoners (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2025, introduced by Jails Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, was unanimously passed by the legislative assembly on Friday. "Punjab being a border state is confronting severe internal security challenges and various jails currently house high-risk inmates, including those involved in anti-national activities, individuals linked with international agencies, terrorists, category 'A' gangsters, smugglers and dangerous criminals who attempt to operate their criminal networks from within prisons," he said. Bhullar said amending the Prisoners Transfer Act of 1950 had become imperative to establish a legal mechanism for transferring undertrial prisoners between states. "The existing legislation lacked provisions allowing Punjab's imprisoned undertrials to be relocated to jails in other states," he said. The Jail Minister further said that these amendments were crucial, considering the potential threats to law and order and the state's security and to ensure the smooth functioning of the prison system. The Bill's core purpose was to provide legal authorization for transferring undertrial prisoners from Punjab to other states, he added. Meanwhile, Punjab Police on Friday launched efforts to integrate the four key departments dealing with emergency services -- Police, Health, Fire and Disaster Management -- into a unified response network with the goal of reducing emergency response time from 25 minutes to eight minutes, setting a new national benchmark. During the 'Badalda Punjab' Budget for 2025-26, the government has allocated Rs 125 crore for expansion of Emergency Response Vehicles fleet and upgradation of district control rooms, while Rs 53 crore was allocated for construction of new 'Dial 112' headquarters. Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav told the media that the comprehensive overhaul, being implemented on war footing by the police, focuses on three critical areas with first being establishing a seamless coordination between departments through technological integration, where all emergency calls to Dial 112 will be automatically routed to the relevant services. --IANS vg/pgh For more than four decades, Herbert L. Greenman represented accused drug kingpins; con artists and fraudsters who stole millions; crooked politicians, business people and cops. Greenman was one of Buffalos most high-profile defense lawyers. Now at age 78, hes made a major career move, taking over an office that defends thousands of people who cannot afford to hire attorneys. After a leadership shakeup in the office, Greenman on March 1 became Niagara Countys chief public defender. He now heads an office that annually handles more than 7,000 cases in criminal courts and family court. The leadership change resulted from allegations that some individuals working in the Public Defenders Office were conducting themselves in an unprofessional manner, county officials told The Buffalo News. A private law firm from Buffalo was hired to investigate claims made by a female employee that a few lawyers in the office occasionally drank excessively during lunch hours, submitted inaccurate time sheets and made inappropriate remarks, county officials said. County Attorney Claude A. Joerg said he could not discuss any of the complaints made about the office, but confirmed that Greenman was brought in to teach the younger attorneys and to establish a more professional atmosphere in the office. Mentoring and teaching younger lawyers has always been one of my favorite things, Greenman said. And now, just about all the lawyers I know are younger than me. A part of me has always wanted to be a teacher. This is an exciting move for me. Herb is not only one of the finest, most well-respected attorneys in Western New York, but also one of the finest people in the legal community. Were lucky to get him, Joerg said on Thursday. Similar comments about Greenman came from Rebecca Wydysh, chairperson of the County Legislature. Last year, Greenman was preparing to retire from his longtime position as a senior partner with Lipsitz, Green, Scime, Cambria, one of Buffalos most well-known law firms. He said he was ready to stop working exceedingly long hours but wasnt ready to stop working altogether. He said a government official several months ago advised him that Niagara County was looking to make changes in the Public Defenders Office. I gave it a lot of thought, and I decided this would be a way of helping other attorneys with the things I have learned over the years, Greenman said. So far, Im really enjoying it. The county decided to hire new leadership in January, after receiving the results of a noncriminal investigation conducted by a private law firm into allegations of unprofessional conduct by some individuals in the Public Defenders Office, said Kevin Schuler, the countys public information officer. The report filed Feb. 3 by the private law firm led Nicholas B. Robinson to resign from his job as chief public defender, and his first assistant, Vincent Sandonato, to leave the office and take a different county job as a fraud investigator in the Social Services Department, Schuler said. I have nothing against Herb Greenman. I think the county is fortunate to find an attorney of his stature. I think hell do an excellent job, Robinson, now working in private practice, said when contacted by The News. When The News asked Robinson why he resigned from the county job, he said, No comment, not at this time. Sandonato did not respond to a telephone message or an email sent to him by The News. Robinson said he could not discuss the female employees allegations that were investigated by the Buffalo law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King. Complaints were made about some of the people who worked under Robinson and Sandonato, and not the two leaders themselves, county officials told The News. The Public Defenders Office has an annual budget of $7 million and 54 employees, including 35 lawyers, Schuler said. As chief public defender, Greenman makes an annual salary of $147,000. Public defense work became much more lucrative throughout New York State in 2023, when the state gave a huge hourly increase to attorneys who do assigned counsel work. The state pays most of the legal fees for defendants in state courts who say they cannot afford to hire attorneys. The state raised the hourly reimbursement rate for such work to $158, more than double what it had been for many years. Most of Niagara Countys public defenders now make at least $90,000 a year, far above what they made before the state increase, Joerg said. When the county hired me, they told me they want all of our attorneys to work in the office, unless they are in court or out doing other work for the office. No more working from home. Thats one change were making, and I dont know if the employees are going to like it, Greenman said. They also want to establish a more professional atmosphere in the office. I think we have really good people here I think I can help them to do better. An attorney for 52 years, Greenman said he has never done administrative work before, but is eager to learn. The people Im working with, especially my second assistant, David Blackley, have really been helpful so far, Greenman said. He said he hopes to soon hire a new first assistant. Amaravati, March 28 : The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has taken serious note of MLA Kolikapudi Srinivasa Rao's ultimatum to the party leadership, demanding action against a party leader. Amaravati, March 28 (IANS) The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has taken serious note of MLA Kolikapudi Srinivasa Raoas ultimatum to the party leadership, demanding action against a party leader. The controversial MLA from Tiruvuru Assembly constituency in NTR district had issued an ultimatum that he would resign from the party if the leadership failed to take action against local party leader Ramesh Reddy within two days. The TDP, which had already issued warnings to the MLA over his behaviour, has sought a report from MP, district party president and coordinator on the incidents that occurred in Tiruvuru during the last 10 months. The TDP leadership is angry with the MLA for not mending his ways despite the warning. He was earlier directed to carry all party leaders with him and not to publicly air his view on any matter. Kolikapudi wanted action against Ramesh Reddy after he received complaints from some tribals that he made obscene remarks to a tribal woman who had approached him in connection with a loan issue. The MLA alleged that Ramesh Reddy is being shielded by Vijayawada MP Kesineni Chinnias office. Kolikapudi has been at the centres of controversies since he was elected to Assembly in June last year. In January, he appeared before TDP disciplinary committee after he was summoned to give an explanation. The party leadership had taken serious note of an incident in which a woman attempted suicide as she was upset over his behavior. Party president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has taken serious note of the MLAas behaviour and he was asked to mend his ways. As there was no change in his behaviour, he was summoned before the disciplinary committee. The MLA was also allegedly involved himself in a family dispute among brothers in Gopalapuram village in his constituency. He allegedly abused and attacked a woman, who is supporter of opposition YSR Congress party. New Delhi, March 28 : The government on Friday signed two contracts worth Rs 62,700 crore with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the supply of 156 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) -- Prachand. The first contract is for supply of 66 LCHs to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and second is for supply of 90 LCHs to the Indian Army, according to the Ministry of Defence. The supply of these Helicopters will commence from the third year and will be spread over the next five years. LCH is Indiaas first indigenously designed and developed combat helicopter having a capability of operating at an altitude of over 5,000 metres. This helicopter has a large number of components designed & manufactured in India and it is planned to achieve an overall indigenous content of over 65 per cent during the execution of this procurement. This will involve over 250 domestic companies mostly MSMEs and will generate over 8,500 direct and indirect jobs. Meanwhile, the ministry also signed a contract with Metrea Management for Wet Leasing of one Flight Refuelling Aircraft (FRA) for providing Air to Air refuelling training to pilots of IAF and Indian Navy. Metrea will provide FRA (KC135 Aircraft) within six months which will be the first FRA to be wet leased by IAF. With signing of these three contracts, the total number of contracts signed by Ministry of Defence during 2024-25 reaches to 193 with overall contract value exceeding Rs 2,09,050 crore, which is the highest ever and nearly double the previous highest figure. Out of these, the contracts to domestic industry are 177 (92 per cent) with contract value Rs 1,68,922 Crore (81 per cent). On Thursday, the Ministry of Defence signed a contract with public sector Armoured Vehicle Nigam Limited for the procurement of Nag Missile System (NAMIS) tracked version of the anti-tank weapon platform and another deal with Force Motors Ltd and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd for around 5,000 light vehicles for the armed forces at a total cost of around Rs 2,500 crore. These contracts under the "Buy Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured" category form part of the governmentas strategy to promote self-reliance in defence production. a"IANS na/ Mumbai, March 28 : The trailer for Palak Tiwari's upcoming film "Romeo S3" is set to debut in cinemas alongside Salman Khan's much-anticipated movie "Sikandar." Mumbai, March 28 (IANS) The trailer for Palak Tiwari's upcoming film "Romeo S3" is set to debut in cinemas alongside Salman Khan's much-anticipated movie "Sikandar." Notably, Shweta Tiwari's daughter Palak had made her Bollywood debut with Khan's family drama, "Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan." The trailer of "Romeo S3" provides a thrilling preview of the intense, high-stakes world of Romeo with DCP Sangram Singh Shekhawat (played by Thakur Anoop Singh) at its core. Unyielding in his pursuit to rid Goa of a dangerous drug cartel, Shekhawat operates with sheer brutality and no regard for rules, making him an unstoppable force of justice. His mission escalates when he crosses paths with an investigative journalist, portrayed by Palak Tiwari, who is determined to expose the dark truths lurking beneath the surface. As they dig deeper into the criminal underworld, Shekhawat's undefeated resolve is put to the ultimate test by a ruthless antagonist, whose malevolent plans not only threaten Goa but the entire nation. Director Guddu Dhanoa is ecstatic about launching the trailer alongside "Sikandar." He shared, "Launching the trailer with Salman Khan's Sikandar is truly a dream come true. Sikandar's dynamic action and mass appeal perfectly complement Romeo S3's high-octane drama and gripping storyline. Sangram Singh Shekhawat's journey is raw, relentless, and full of thrilling twists, making this the perfect introduction to our explosive world." Dr. Jayantilal Gada and Dhaval Gada of Pen Studios, the producers of "Romeo S3," added, "We are thrilled to unveil the Romeo S3 trailer on the grand stage it deserves, alongside Salman Khan's Sikandar. It's a perfect pairing two larger-than-life films that celebrate action, drama, and intense storytelling. This trailer launch is just the beginning of what promises to be an electrifying cinematic journey. This is a big-screen spectacle, and we're ready to make an unforgettable first impression." Presented by Dr. Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios), produced by Dhaval Gada & Wild River Pictures, 'Romeo S3' is slated to hit theatres on May 16. "Sikandar," on the other hand, will release on March 30. Bhopal, March 28 : Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel on Friday said that India has made remarkable progress in knowledge, science, and economy, establishing a new identity and reputation on the global stage. He stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has reached a historic milestone where it is evident that the 21st century will belong to India. Patel made this statement while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the workshop organised in collaboration with the Higher Education Department and Private University Regulatory Commission at Raj Bhavan in Bhopal on Friday. He stressed that for a developed country, the role of teachers is crucial in shaping future 'karmayogis' and emphasised that individuals should work persistently without being concerned about personal gains, success, or failure. "Initially, karmayoga practitioners might face challenges such as worries about outcomes, societal expectations, established norms, and time constraints due to daily responsibilities. However, these obstacles can be overcome with a positive outlook, time management, spiritual practices like meditation, and disciplined reflection," the Governor said. The Governor expressed hope that the workshop would illuminate the philosophical and practical dimensions of 'karmayoga', serving as a platform for the development of selfless Karmayogis. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, who also attended the programme, addressing the gathering on this occasion, said that Madhya Pradesh is moving forward with commitment on the path of national policy. He also mentioned that students studying languages such as Tamil and Telugu would be encouraged in the state. "A committee will be formed, including national experts, for Mission Karmayogi in Madhya Pradesh," CM Yadav added. The Chief Minister described the "Become a Karmayogi" workshop as an extraordinary initiative. "It is a matter of pride that the revival of karmic action, which was emphasized by educated karmayogis 5,000 years ago, is now being rekindled in Madhya Pradesh," he said. The workshop saw participation from vice-chancellors, registrars, principals, and directors from government and private universities in Madhya Pradesh, along with autonomous colleges and institutions of excellence. Washington, March 28 : US President Donald Trump and the next Prime Minister of Canada will meet immediately after the upcoming elections in Canada, the American leader said on Friday after a call with Mark Carney, the current Prime Minister. This was the first call between Trump and Carney, who was elected to the office by the ruling Liberal Party in a party vote to replace Justin Trudeau. Canada goes to the polls on April 28 to elect the next government. "It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada's upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada," President Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Notably, President Trump did not deride the Canadian Prime Minister or insult by addressing him as Governor, which he had with Trudeau. The American leader also did not refer to Canada as potentially the 51st state of the US, which he had also done repeatedly during Trudeau's term. President Trump has hit Canada with an all-around 25 per cent tariff -- along with Mexico -- for failing to prevent the flow of illegal migrants and fentanyl through its borders into the US. He has also announced a 25 per cent tariff on all cars and spare parts shipped to the US, which is almost half of all cars sold in the US, and many of them come from Canada and Mexico. The Friday call was sought by the White House, according to reports. But Trump said, "Mark called me." Carney had previously said he would not speak with the US President until Trump showed respect for Canada's independence. "I'm available for a call, but we're going to talk on our terms. As a sovereign country -- not as what he pretends we are -- and on a comprehensive deal," he said earlier this week. Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Canadian Prime Minister on March 14. New Delhi, March 28 : BJP leader Anurag Thakur lauded the government's decision to announce a public holiday on April 14th, marking the birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of India's Constitution. Thakur praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this significant move, stating that it reflects his true reverence and respect for Dr Ambedkar's invaluable contribution to the country. He wrote on X, "A government holiday has been declared on the birth anniversary of the Constitution's creator and the hero of social equality, Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar. This decision, in line with Prime Minister @narendramodi's vision, reflects true reverence and unparalleled respect for Babasaheb Ambedkar." Union Minister of Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also hailed the move to announce a holiday on April 14. In a post on X, Shekhawat wrote, "Now there will be a public holiday on the birth anniversary of our Baba Saheb Pujya Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar ji, the architect of the Constitution, who established a new era of equality in the society. "The honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, a staunch follower of Baba Saheb, has respected the sentiments of the nation by taking this decision," he added. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions confirmed the declaration of the holiday, which will be observed across all Central Government offices and industrial establishments throughout the country. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions confirmed the declaration of a holiday on April 14th, which will be observed across all Central Government offices and industrial establishments in the country. The holiday will apply to: Industrial Establishments: All industrial establishments under Central Government control will remain closed. Autonomous Bodies: Autonomous bodies, attached offices, and subordinate offices will also observe the holiday. Central Government Welfare Committees: Committees and staff sides (JCM) will close for the day. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also been informed, and banks may remain closed on April 14th, depending on state-specific circulars. This holiday is part of the government's effort to honour Dr Ambedkar's significant contributions to the nation and its Constitution. New Delhi, March 28 : Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, while presenting the 'Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2024' by replacing the colonial-era 'Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925' in the Lok Sabha, on Friday, asserted that the passage of new Bill will boost India's legal foundation for maritime commerce. The Union Minister said, "The passing of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill in the Lok Sabha marks a crucial step toward strengthening India's legal foundation for maritime commerce. It not only promotes investor confidence but also positions India as Viksit Bharat." Minister Sonowal also introduced the Indian Ports Bill, 2025, aimed at consolidating laws related to port management, promoting integrated port development, and enhancing the ease of doing business in the maritime sector. The Bill seeks to optimise the utilisation of India's vast coastline by establishing and empowering state maritime boards to ensure effective management of ports other than major ports. It also proposes the formation of the Maritime State Development Council to foster structured growth and development of the port sector. A key strength of the Bill lies in its simplified language and structure, making the law more accessible to stakeholders, particularly Indian exporters, importers, and shipping professionals. While retaining the substantive legal framework, the Bill aligns it with contemporary drafting practices, reducing ambiguities and minimising the risk of potential litigation. The Bill empowers the government allowing India to swiftly adapt to evolving international maritime conventions. It also ensures transparency and accountability by providing for parliamentary oversight of executive notifications (Clause 10). The legislation formally repeals the outdated 1925 Act, marking a confident step away from colonial legal remnants and embracing a modern Indian maritime legal identity. This aligns with the government's broader vision of simplifying laws, promoting ease of doing business, and building a globally competitive shipping ecosystem. On the introduction of the Indian Ports Bill, Minister Sonowal said, "The introduction of the Indian Ports Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha is a transformative step toward modernising India's port governance and maritime infrastructure. By consolidating laws, empowering State Maritime Boards, and establishing the Maritime State Development Council, the Bill attempts a way for integrated port development and improved ease of doing business. With a strong focus on safety, security, and environmental sustainability, this reform is set to enhance India's global competitiveness in the maritime sector." The Indian Ports Bill addresses critical aspects such as pollution control, disaster management, emergency response, security, safety, navigation, and data management at ports. It also seeks to ensure India's compliance with international obligations and maritime conventions. Agartala, March 28 : Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday said that the state's budget for the financial year 2025-26 would play a significant role in the development of the state, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of building a 'Viksit Bharat'. The Rs 32,423.44 crore tax-free Budget for FY 2025-26, presented by Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy on the first day of the ongoing budget session of the Tripura assembly on March 21, was adopted in the house on Friday. Participating in the budget discussion in the state assembly, the Chief Minister said that this budget has been presented in the interest of people from all sections of society. "This budget is for the welfare of women, students, youth, Divyangjan (otherwise abled people), tribals, Scheduled Castes, OBCs, minorities, employees, pensioners, ex-servicemen, and above all, the general public," he told the house. The Chief Minister said that under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has risen from 11th place to 5th place in terms of economic stability and growth in the world. "Government under the leadership of Modi has been vigorously working towards becoming the third-largest economy in the world by 2030. Tripura government is also working in that direction and to increase GSDP, per capita income, infrastructure development and to maintain fiscal discipline," he said. CM Saha stated that the people of Tripura have returned the BJP-led government to power for the second time (in 2023), trusting in the development vision of PM Modi. He mentioned that the state budget has given priority to six issues proper allocation of resources, economic growth, welfare and development, fiscal responsibility, revenue planning, and transparency and accountability. "The state's own revenue collection in the financial year 2017-18 was Rs 1,915 crore. The potential revenue collection in the financial year 2025-26 is expected to be Rs 4,514 crore. This proves our goal of building a self-reliant Tripura," the Chief Minister stated. CM Saha emphasised that the present state government does not want to burden the state with debt. "This year, we are keeping the debt within the permissible limit of 3 per cent of GSDP. For 2025-26, we have made a provision of only Rs 1,225 crore as market debt. The state government is trying to take up the maximum number of projects under the External Aided Scheme. Currently, we have 10 ongoing projects." Claiming that the Tripura government's success is being recognised all over the country, he said that through the successful implementation of various central projects, not only is the socio-economic development of the people of the state taking place, but infrastructural development is also coming to the attention of the people. Not only the budget, but beyond that, our double-engine government (Centre and state) is particularly sensitive in improving the quality of life and employment opportunities for people across the state. "Our goal is to provide overall development to citizens from all walks of life," he said. The Chief Minister said that a review of the budgets of previous years shows that the state budget allocation is increasing every year during the tenure of the BJP government. The Budget allocation for the financial year 2017-18 was Rs 15,956.56 crore. The proposed Budget allocation for the current financial year 2025-26 has increased to Rs. 32,423 crore, which is a 103.21 per cent increase, he pointed out. Meanwhile, Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy while presenting the annual Budget for the 2025-26 fiscal on the first day of the Budget session of the state Assembly on March 21 had announced 13 new schemes for the welfare of farmers, girls, women, youth and the poor people. The Finance Minister announced a new scheme 'Mukhyamantri Kanya Bibaha Yojana'. Under this scheme, the state government would cover the cost of marriage for a girl child from 'Antyodaya' (poor) family and an amount of Rs 50,000 would be spent by the state government. "Mass marriage would be conducted at Subdivision level. An amount of Rs 10 crore is allocated for this purpose." He announced another new scheme 'Mukhyamantri Balika Samriddhi Yojana'. Under this scheme, an investment of Rs 50,000 would be made against a new born girl child of 'Antodyaya' (poor) family and the amount can be encashed with the value at maturity, after the girl attains 18 years of age. A Budget provision of Rs 15 crore is allocated for the scheme for the year 2025-26. Chandigarh, March 28 : A Mohali court in Punjab on Friday convicted a renowned self-styled Christian preacher, Bajinder Singh, 42, based in Jalandhar, in the 2018 sexual harassment case. The quantum of sentence would be pronounced on April 1. The case pertains to rape charge against the Yeshu Yeshu Prophet by a victim, who alleged that the pastor established non-consensual relations with her on the pretext of taking her abroad. The pastor also made an obscene video of her, the victim had alleged. A case was registered against the pastor in Zirakpur, near here in Mohali district, on April 20, 2018, under several Sections of the Indian Penal Act (IPC) and the Information Technology (IT) Act. Besides the pastor, five others, Pastor Jatinder and Akbar, both pastors, Sattar Ali and Sandeep Pehelwan were also booked. The pastor, known for claiming to heal ailments through miracles, appeared before the court on Monday in Monhali, after which the verdict was reserved. In February this year, self-styled preacher Bajinder Singh was booked on charges of sexual harassment of another woman. His video of physically assaulting a woman surfaced on March 16, showing him slapping her in his Chandigarh office. The video went viral, portraying the victim, a Mohali resident, who had worked with his organisation. The woman had earlier filed a complaint against the pastor, alleging sexual misconduct at his Jalandhar-based church, the Church of Glory and Wisdom. She claimed he started sending her inappropriate messages, summoned her alone to his cabin, and engaged in unwanted advances. Police have formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Superintendent of Police Rupinder Kaur, to probe the charges. Also, the Punjab State Women Commission had taken suo-motu notice of the matter and issued instructions to provide security to the complainant. In 2022, Bajinder Singh was accused of taking money from a Delhi family for treating their daughter for her illness, but she could not be saved. Imphal, March 28 : Continuing its operation against the militants' activities in Manipur, security forces nabbed seven more militants belonging to different proscribed outfits from different districts during the past 24 hours, an official said on Friday. Imphal, March 28 (IANS) Continuing its operation against the militantsa activities in Manipur, security forces nabbed seven more militants belonging to different proscribed outfits from different districts during the past 24 hours, an official said on Friday. A police official said that besides the seven militants, a large cache of arms and ammunition were also recovered from Kakching, Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur and Thoubal districts. The arrested militants belonged to PREPAK, different factions of Kangleipak Communist Party. The arrested militants were involved in abduction, forcible collection of money from traders, officials, contractors, and issuing threat notices to people. The Manipur Police have arrested six militants of different outfits and seized a cache of arms and ammunition on Wednesday and Thursday. The official said that a big cylindrical shaped Improvised Explosive Device weighing 11 kg along with a large cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from Imphal East district. The recovered arms and ammunition include Carbine machine gun, Excalibur rifle, .303 sniper rifle, foreign made pistols, 9 mm pistol with magazine, automatic single-barrelled gun, hand grenades with detonators, .303 LMG, INSAS rifles, LMG magazines, foreign made grenades, radio wireless set. Security forces also dismantled two bunkers and burnt down the remnants to ashes in Kangpokpi district. Police said that the Assam Rifles along with Manipur Police and Border Security Force destroyed 20 acres of illegal poppy cultivation in Khudai Khullen, Chelep in Tengnoupal District. This action strikes a major blow against narco-terrorism reinforcing the commitment to a drug-free society, the official said. Manipur Police arrested three drug peddlers from Imphal East district and recovered 10.5 kg of heroin valued at Rs 3.15 crore from their possession. The drugs, suspected to be smuggled from Myanmar, were contained in 880 soap cases. A car in which the smugglers were travelling was also seized. Manipur has around 400 km of unfenced border with Myanmar. Washington, March 29 : India and the US, on Friday, discussed trade just days ahead of President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs system kicks into effect. On a call between US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also discussed ongoing defence cooperation and boosting security prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. "They discussed ongoing efforts to reduce barriers to achieve a fair and balanced bilateral trade relationship, strengthen collaboration in defence and technology, and boost security and prosperity throughout the Indo-Pacific region," said Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the US State Department, in a readout of the phone call. The US goods trade deficit with India was $45.7 billion in 2024, a 5.4 per cent increase ($2.4 billion) over 2023, according to the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), the top trade negotiator for the US. Total goods trade between the two countries was an estimated $129.2 billion in 2024. American goods exports to India were $41.8 billion, up 3.4 per cent ($1.4 billion) from 2023 and total US goods imports from India totalled $87.4 billion in 2024, up 4.5 per cent ($3.7 billion) from 2023. US President Trump has pushed India to buy more from the US and has also complained India's levies higher tariff on American goods. His officials have cited India among the countries that might be targeted for reciprocal tariffs that he plans to announce next Wednesday. Although, Trump has also talked about exemptions and leniency without naming the beneficiary country or countries. On the phone call, Landau also thanked the Foreign Secretary Misri for India's "assistance addressing illegal immigration to the US and asked the Indian government for continued cooperation on this issue," Bruce said in the readout. The US has deported hundreds of Indians who were found to have entered the country illegally. The first load of illegal migrants from India sent back by the Trump administration arrived in India in February 2025. "The US has been carrying out deportation operations for several years now," the Ministry of External Affairs said in response to a parliamentary query on March 17. "From 2009 to 2024, a total of 15,564 Indian nationals have been deported by the US through chartered and commercial flights." Chennai, March 29 : Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar hailed Josh Hazlewood's twin strikes an hour early in Chennai Super Kings innings as a "game changer" that helped his team breach Fortress Chepauk for the first time since 2008 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday. "If I talk about this match, it was a good total on this surface because the ball was stopping a bit and it wasn't easy for batters to hit fours and sixes. It's always special playing in Chepauk because of the fans, the way they support their teams," he said. After Patidar, who was dropped thrice, contributed a vital half-century that helped RCB reach a challenging score of 196/7 in 20 overs, Hazlewood sent back Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad in his first over to give his team a fine start. CSK failed to recover from those early blows and were soon down to 75/5 as Yash Dayal and Liam Livingstone struck a couple of blows each to add to CSK's woes. In the end, CSK could manage only 146/8 in with Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni hitting a couple of big ones in the death overs when everything looked over. They slumped to a 50-run defeat, their worst-ever at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. This was RCB's first win at CSK's home ground since the inaugural edition in 2008. It was the first time in IPL history that RCB have won their first two matches and Patidar gave credit to his bowlers for making it possible. Talking about Hazlewood's early wickets, Patidar said, "It was game-changing because we got two-three wickets in the first six overs. Amazing to see how they kept it on the hard length because the ball wasn't coming on to the bat easily." He said his spinners too bowled superbly and singled out Livingstone for praise. Patidar, who changed his bowlers regularly, said, "This track was pretty helpful for spinners so I was just keeping it in my mind that I could use my spinners at the early stage. Especially, Livingstone, the way he came in and bowled four overs was incredible." The RCB skipper said his knock was crucial in the final analysis. He said he attempted to stay at the crease for as long as possible. "I think it was very important because we were targeting 200 because that wouldn't be easy to chase. My goal was clear that as long as I was there, I would maximize every ball," he added. CSK will now rush to Guwahati for a clash with Rajasthan Royals on Sunday while RCB will return home to wait for a meeting with Gujarat Titans on April 2 at the M.Chinnasway Stadium. Belagavi : , March 29 (IANS) In a shocking incident, an elderly couple committed suicide after being harassed and blackmailed by cybercriminals for ransom in Karnataka's Belagavi district on Friday. Belagavi (Karnataka), March 29 (IANS) In a shocking incident, an elderly couple committed suicide after being harassed and blackmailed by cybercriminals for ransom in Karnatakaas Belagavi district on Friday. The incident was reported from Beedi village near Khanapura town. The deceased have been identified as 83-year-old Diago Nazarath, a retired railway employee, and his 79-year-old wife, Pavia Nazarath. The tragedy came to light when a member of a womenas self-help group visited their house. The jurisdictional Nandagarh police rushed to the scene and initiated an investigation. The involvement of cybercriminals was revealed through a death note left by Diago Nazarath, detailing the harassment they faced. According to the police, the cybercriminals had contacted the elderly couple a month ago over the phone, posing as law enforcement officials. They falsely claimed to have nude photos and videos of the couple and made video calls to intimidate them. The criminals then demanded a ransom, threatening to leak the alleged content on social media if the couple refused to pay. Under pressure, the couple transferred Rs 6 lakh to the bank account provided by the scammers. However, the criminals continued to demand more money and repeatedly called them for additional payments. Unable to bear the torment, Pavia Nazarath consumed sleeping pills and ended her life. Distraught by his wifeas death, Diago Nazarath decided to take his own life after writing a suicide note. He fatally slashed his neck and wrists. Earlier on December 28, 2024, the Karnataka Police arrested a gang of four individuals, led by the Manager of the Corporate Division at Axis Bank in Gujarat, for siphoning off crores of rupees by stealing sensitive data from a company. A software professional lost Rs 11 crore after falling victim to Digital Arrest in Bengaluru on December 23, 2024. According to the police, the cyber fraudsters disguised themselves as police officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch and committed the crime through Digital Arrest. A case of a state government employee falling victim to cybercriminals and being robbed of Rs 19 lakh after being digitally arrested for six hours in Tumakuru district of Karnataka was reported on December 24, 2024. United Nations, March 29 : The United Nations is mobilising relief for quake-hit Myanmar where nearly 150 people have died, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday. "The government of Myanmar has asked for international support, and our team in Myanmar is already in contact in order to fully mobilise our resources in the region to support the people of Myanmar," he told reporters. While other countries have also been affected, "the epicentre is in Myanmar, and Myanmar is the weakest country in this present situation," he added. The epicentre of the 7.7-magnitude quake was near Mandalay, the country's second-largest city. Several aftershocks, one measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, adding to the devastation. Thailand was also hit by the earthquake with damages reaching into capital Bangkok. Senior General, Min Aung Hlaing, who heads the Myanmar military government, said on TV that 144 people have died, including 96 in Naypyidaw, the country's new capital. While appealing for international help, he said that Myanmar has accepted India's offer of relief. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X, "India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby." Myanmar said that a dam, bridges and buildings were destroyed by the quake. After the overthrow of the elected civilian government in 2021, Myanmar is facing isolation, especially by the Western countries that have refused to recognise the military government. At the UN, the representatives of the ousted civilian government still hold Myanmar's seat. Mahn Winn Khaing Thann, the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government representing the overthrown civilian government, also asked for help on X: "Every helping hand, every voice, and every action matters." "We mourn, we stand together, and we will rebuild. Our commitment to helping our people remains unwavering through every possible means," he said. Guterres's Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, "Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has made an initial allocation from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund of $5 million to support life-saving assistance in support of the operations of recovery following the earthquake." Unicef said on X, "Our teams are in affected areas to assess impact and prepare humanitarian support." Myanmar is torn by civil war with rebels, according to some reports, controlling more than a third of the nation's territory. Dujarric said, "The earthquake will compound an already dire humanitarian situation in Myanmar, where nearly 20 million people need assistance across the country, including more than 3.5 million people displaced from their homes." Jaipur, March 29 : Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has approved the construction of a two-lane highway in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer and Barmer districts, near the India-Pakistan border, government officials said. The project, valued at Rs 1,237.71 crore, was officially announced on Friday through a tweet from the Union Minister. Taking to social media platform X, Minister Gadkari said, "Strengthening/widening of existing connection of NH-70 and NH-11 (total length 134.86 km) in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of Rajasthan as well as strengthening and widening of Myajlar-Jaisalmer section of NH-11 and Sundara-Myajlar-Ambasingh Ki Dhani Road portion of the Munabao-Tanot to two-lane has been approved at a cost of Rs 1,237.71 crore." "The proposed alignment will establish connectivity with NH-25 and NH-68, and will also connect with NH-70, thereby further enhancing the regional transport network. The project is of vital strategic importance as it is located near the International Border, which will greatly enhance the ability of our security personnel to reach the border areas quickly." "The project road will also pass through the popular tourist destination, Khuri sand dunes, and will benefit a number of villages located along the route, and contribute to the overall development and connectivity of the region," Minister Gadkari added. Following the announcement, Barmer-Jaisalmer-Balotara Lok Sabha MP, Ummeda Ram Beniwal, expressed his gratitude to Minister Gadkari. In a tweet on X, Beniwal wrote: "Many thanks and gratitude to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari ji for granting this important approval, which will greatly benefit the residents of the Barmer-Jaisalmer parliamentary constituency, especially those in the border region of Thar." This highway project is expected to enhance connectivity and infrastructure in the region. The road will pass through Khoohdi, a popular tourist destination known for its sand dunes, and several villages along the route will gain improved access to transportation and economic opportunities, officials said. This development is seen as a significant boost to regional connectivity, benefiting both local residents and tourists while contributing to the overall growth of the area, officials added. Aizawl, March 29 : Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma said on Friday that due to the illegal import of 'areca nut' (betel nut) from Myanmar, local cultivators in the state have faced serious challenges in selling their produce at competitive prices. Addressing the training-cum-seminar on 'Scientific Methods of Cultivation of Areca nut and Pest Management', the Chief Minister emphasised that the government is working diligently to address these difficulties and take corrective measures. He announced that Rs 7.43 crore has been sanctioned by the North Eastern Council (NEC) for establishing areca nut processing units at Chemphai and Zamuang. He said that these units would ensure proper processing of areca nut, create value-added products, and facilitate marketing. Lalduhoma also stressed the importance of proper utilisation of available resources to ensure increased productivity and economic benefits for farmers. Mizoram government's Land Resources, Soil and Water Conservation Department organised the training-cum-seminar as Assam Rifles and other law enforcement agencies often seizing areca nuts, also known as Burmese betel nuts, after they were illegally traded from the neighbouring Myanmar. Assam Rifles and Customs officials, in a joint operation, on March 21 have seized a consignment of areca nuts valued at Rs 1.08 crore in Mizoram. A Defence spokesman said that acting on specific intelligence inputs, a large quantity of areca nuts, contained in 180 bags, was seized at Zote in the Champhai district, which shares an unfenced border with Myanmar, is a hotspot for the smuggling of various drugs, foreign cigarettes, areca nuts, arms and ammunition, and exotic animals and their parts. Large-scale smuggling of areca nuts from Myanmar is also seriously affecting farmers in Assam and Tripura, where betel nuts grow in large quantities. The Assam government, due to illegal imports of areca nuts from Myanmar, had imposed restrictions on the transportation of the product, affecting the ferrying of areca nuts from Tripura to other parts of the country. With the intervention of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, the standoff regarding the areca nut supply from Tripura to Assam was partially resolved. CM Saha also earlier discussed the matter with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking smooth transportation and trading of areca nuts grown in Tripura through Assam. In August last year, during a ministerial-level meeting between Assam and Mizoram over the dispute of inter-state borders, the two states reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining a zero-tolerance policy towards transportation of smuggled areca nuts from neighbouring Myanmar. U.S. senators Susan Collins (RMaine), Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.), Lisa Murkowski (RAlaska), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) have written a letter to Keith Sonderling, acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, reinforcing that libraries and museums play a vital role in our communities. In the March 26 bipartisan memo, the senators identify themselves as the lead authors of the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) of 2018, signed into law during the first Trump Administration, and remind the Administration of its obligation to faithfully execute the provisions of the law as authorized. Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, was copied on the letter. Noting that Congress appropriated $294.8 million for IMLS in fiscal year 2024, the senators provided a breakdown of how these 2024 funds were allotted. Of the total amount, more than $211 million was directed toward libraries and $83.7 million toward museums. The letter notes that IMLS grants enable libraries to develop services in every community throughout the nation, while calling museums drivers of local economic development that support more than 700,000 jobs and contribute $50 billion annually to the U.S. economy. The senators also asserted that IMLS funding should be renewed in accordance with statutory requirements. We expect that the Administration will implement the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025 in a manner consistent with these allocations enacted in Fiscal Year 2024, they said in the letter. We also expect that the Administration will allow the IMLS to engage with and support both libraries and museums as Congress intended and as authorized in the MLSA. The American Library Association applauded the senators defense of federal funding for the IMLS, with a press announcement connected to their Show Up #ForOurLibraries advocacy campaign. ALA president Cindy Hohl thanked the four senators for acting on a conviction that the vast majority of Americans share: libraries are indispensable to their communities. John Chrastka, executive director of advocacy organization EveryLibrary, told PW he's "glad to see Congress stepping up to its oversight role" and focusing on the IMLS's statutory obligations to its state partners. But he tempered his optimism: "I'm not done waiting for the other shoe to drop." ALBANY On Dec. 22, an attacker set a homeless woman on fire aboard a Brooklyn subway. Within weeks, the horrific killing of 57-year-old Debrina Kawan and other recent crimes aboard subways inspired Gov. Kathy Hochul to propose an expansion of laws that enable the admission of people to a mental health facility against their wishes. The governor said it would make for safer mass transit and a more compassionate system for mentally ill New Yorkers who cannot care for themselves. Now, involuntary commitment is one of four Hochul-favored initiatives consuming the governor, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, as the trio of state leaders negotiate a state budget that is due April 1 but certain to miss that deadline. Hochul wants the budget to also include prosecution-favored changes to the discovery process in criminal cases, a prohibition on cellphone use for public school students from bell to bell and a ban on masks worn in cases of harassment. The budget talks are ongoing as the state risks the potential loss of some of the $93 billion in Hochuls proposed $252 billion budget proposal expected from the federal government. Republicans in Congress proposed $2 trillion in federal budget cuts and the Trump administration plans to chop more than $300 million in funding for the state Department of Health, Office of Addiction Supports and Services and Office of Mental Health. On Wednesday, two longtime Western New York advocates for the mentally ill told The Buffalo News they want Heastie and Stewart-Cousins to reject Hochuls proposal to expand involuntary commitment, saying it will tax an overloaded system without providing a lasting solution for people in need. We need more funding for alternatives, not more coercion, said Adam Selon, the Western Region Coordinator for The Alliance for Rights and Recovery. Selon and Nancy Singh, the former chief executive officer at the Restoration Society, a mental health agency in Buffalo, said a better approach would fund and increase voluntary programs, such as statewide clubhouses where mental health workers offered patients coordination, support and socialization. Not to say that hospitalization doesnt work in different cases it does but it also requires community support, Selon said. It requires peer bridging and somebody to kind of walk the path with you. Its dizzying trying to navigate in the midst of inner-turmoil, external social determinant factors like food and economic insecurity and then also navigate a very complicated insurance and health care insurance system to where you might link with those alternatives on your own. So, if we dont fund the in-betweens, if we dont provide the spaces for peers to help peers, youre going to end up with more people clogging jails, hospitals, shelters as they wait for an alternative that actually suits their need and respects their personhood. Under existing law, a person must be an imminent threat to themselves or others to be involuntary committed. Hochul wants to allow it to include people who lack the mental capacity and willingness to have clothing, food, shelter and mental care. Citing subway crimes, Hochul unveiled the plan in January in her State of the State address and in her subsequent $252 billion executive budget. People should be able to get to work in the morning, attend a play, enjoy our incredible restaurants without the fear of random violence or dodging someone in the midst of a mental health crisis, the governor said in the address. Now critics will say this criminalizes poverty or homelessness. I say that is flat-out wrong. This is about having the humanity and the compassion to help people incapable of helping themselves, fellow human beings who are suffering from mental illness that is literally putting their lives and the lives of others in danger. Singh questioned where the line would be drawn. Im a little confused by whats being proposed because it seems like a lot of people would be caught under those definitions I mean a lot of people, she said. If homelessness is one of the criteria to get them hospitalized, OK, fantastic are you going to empty out all of the homeless camps? Are you going to empty out all of the homeless shelters because they are proving that they cant take care of their basic needs? Or those who are using soup kitchens? Are you going to empty those out? Its a little bizarre to me. What is actually being proposed? Selon added: Its like hitting a pin with a sledgehammer. Advocates have said that too often, mentally ill New Yorkers who are involuntarily committed are left in jails indefinitely and traumatized while waiting for beds to become available in mental health facilities. The worst coercion is jail and prison, Harvey Rosenthal, chief executive officer of the Alliance foe Rights and Recovery, said a recent news conference in Albany. Jerome Wright, a Buffalo-based advocate for mental health and statewide opponent of solitary confinement in prisons, said it was unconscionable to me that we have criminalized mental illness and jailed people whose behaviors would be understood by peers to aid them in voluntary programs such as clubhouses. Hochuls budget called for the increase of clubhouses across the state and to expand Intensive and Sustained Engagement Teams (INSET), which will help others navigate difficult transitions, whether its finding stable housing, re-entering the community after involvement with the criminal justice system, or managing other complex challenges, according to the governors office. On Friday, Hochul issued a news release announcing that 36 elected leaders from around the state have signed a letter to Heastie and Stewart-Cousins endorsing the governors mental health agenda, including her plans to expand involuntary commitment, allow nurse practitioners to initiate involuntary commitments and to expand Kendras Law, which allows involuntary outpatient treatment of mental health patients. It was inspired by the 1999 killing of Fredonia native Kendra Webdale, who was pushed off a subway in Manhattan by a mentally ill assailant, Andrew Goldstein. Buffalo Mayor Christopher Scanlon, Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino, Olean Mayor William Aiello, Fredonia Mayor Mike Ferguson and Silver Springs Mayor Raymond King signed the letter to Heastie and Stewart-Cousins, as did the mayors of Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and Yonkers, among other municipalities. Neither Heastie nor Stewart-Cousins included the governors plan for involuntary commitment in their spending plans. We understand that there are people who need assistance and we want to make sure that they get it, Stewart-Cousins told reporters Wednesday. We dont want a revolving door. We dont want people just held somewhere and then back, the opportunity to actually refer people to the appropriate places having been lost. We dont want that. So, I think that is where we are. We want to make sure that happens to people who need help is what should happen. On Thursday, when asked about the status of the involuntary commitment proposal in the Assembly, Heastie said: Were still bouncing around proposals. We havent had super in-depth discussions. I feel like the majority of the conversations were more about discovery and the cellphones but Im sure the conversations around the mental health stuff will start to pick up. Under justice reforms that took effect on Jan. 1, 2020, prosecutors face tighter windows to share 21 different types of evidence known as discovery with the defense. They must share it within 20 days of an arraignment for jailed defendants and 35 days for defendants who are not jailed. Hochul has said it is too easy for cases to be dismissed for technicalities because prosecutors missed speedy trial deadlines requiring that they be ready for trial within six months from the start of felony charges, 60 days for misdemeanors and 30 days for violations. On Monday, Hochul renewed her call for the change after meeting behind closed doors in the Capitol with prosecutors and victims of domestic violence, victim advocates and district attorneys. She said her proposal would eliminate a loophole that allows defendants to legally challenge the prosecutions compliance with discovery rules, which she said leads to dismissals. I will simply hearken back to the 2019 reforms, Hochul said. We did not make those historic changes in order to let abusers walk free. But that, my friends, is exactly what is happening. Sen. Patrick Gallivan, R-Elma, a former Erie County sheriff, backed the governors plan, saying the discovery reforms that took effect in 2020 went too far, prioritizing criminals over law-abiding citizens and crime victims. His news release highlighted the position of Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane who, in a statement, said: Were seeking common sense modifications to the current law that will allow judges to consider whether an alleged discovery violation has prejudiced a criminal defendant while protecting the rights of the accused and limiting procedural delays. A dismissed case or a reduced plea based on a discovery-related technicality and unrelated to the merits of the case robs victims of justice and allows criminals to escape accountability. Defense advocates have expressed fears that Hochuls proposal will essentially repeal the changes that took place in 2020. Stewart-Cousins said that conceptually, none of the three leaders want to see cases wrongfully thrown out because of a trivial technical reason, but also want to avoid wrongful convictions a key objective of the justice reforms. She said discussions are about the specific language in any new discovery law. Any time you change something that has been the way its been, its hard, she said. Published on: Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and Cambridge University Library are at the heart of a new international initiative in Bhutan, bringing advanced conservation techniques to support the countrys cultural heritage. The work is part of the interdisciplinary research project Hidden in Plain Sight, which explores the historical use, transformation, and veneration of sacred texts and objects across different religious traditions. In partnership with Bhutans Museum Division, the UK-based team is delivering practical training and expert guidance to conservators, archivists, monks, students, and cultural officials across the Kingdom. The visit opened with the traditional wine oblation ceremony, Marchang, followed by a reception attended by Bhutans Home Minister and the Head of the Department of Culture and Dzongkha Developmentunderscoring the national importance of the initiative. Led by Himalayan heritage specialist Dr Ayesha Fuentes and historian Prof. Eyal Poleg The visit was coordinated by Dr Ayesha Fuentes, Research Associate in Conservation at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge. A specialist in Himalayan material culture, Dr Fuentes has cultivated a 12-year partnership with conservators in Bhutans Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development, which laid the groundwork for this latest collaboration. This collaboration builds on years of mutual respect and exchange. Its a privilege to return to Bhutan and work alongside colleagues who are deeply committed to preserving their cultural heritage, said Dr Ayesha Fuentes. Workshops in Thimphu The team ran a series of interactive workshops over three days in Thimphu, engaging participants from the Antiquities and Culture Divisions and local monasteries. Key sessions included: Interdisciplinary project management and heritage research - Eyal Poleg, Principal Investigator, Professor in Material History, Queen Mary University of London - Eyal Poleg, Principal Investigator, Professor in Material History, Queen Mary University of London UV light imaging for artefact analysis - David Mills, 3D Imaging Specialist Lecturer in Imaging and Calcified Tissue, Queen Mary University of London - David Mills, 3D Imaging Specialist Lecturer in Imaging and Calcified Tissue, Queen Mary University of London Digitisation of books and heritage objects - Maciej Pawlikowski, Complex Imaging Specialist Head of Cultural Heritage Imaging Lab, Cambridge University Library - Maciej Pawlikowski, Complex Imaging Specialist Head of Cultural Heritage Imaging Lab, Cambridge University Library Heritage Science: Microscopy techniques for analysing historical woodblocks -Flavia Fiorillo Flavia Fiorillo Postdoctoral Associate, Cambridge University Library Our work in Bhutan is not just about sharing knowledge, its about learning from local expertise and traditions. These collaborations enrich our understanding of heritage and push the boundaries of how science and history can come together. said Eyal Poleg, Reader in Material History and Principal Investigator, Queen Mary University of London. Ongoing Conservation Work The team also visited Tango Monastery, where they assessed the condition of eighteenth-century murals. They continued to hands-on workshops and surgeries at the National Museum in Paro and The Royal Heritage Museum at Trongsa. Generous funding from QMUL also enabled the donation of specialist equipment to these institutions. Their work in Bhutan has attracted national media coverage, including a feature on Bhutans national television channel. About Hidden in Plain Sight Running from 2024 to 2026, Hidden in Plain Sight combines historical research with advanced scientific techniques including 3D microscopy, Micro-CT scanning, DNA analysis, and X-ray fluorescence to investigate the material culture of faith across time and space. Case studies range from Jewish Bibles and Islamic talismans to Buddhist sculptures. The project unites historians, scientists, curators, and conservators from Queen Mary University of London, Cambridge University Library, the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the National Library of Wales. New for 2025, Armasight has introduced a new line of thermal vision optics: the Warden 640 monocular, Commander 640 weapon sight, and Operator 640 clip-on. Were excited to take a closer look at each of them to test out exactly what they can do. Monoculars are the most versatile and often the most useful type of thermal imaging available and provides a great place to start in exploring the new line. SPECS Detector Type: ArmaCORE 640 x 480 12um Thermal Core Refresh Rate: 60 Hz Thermal Sensitivity: NETD < 40mK Detection Range: 1,300m on a Human Sized Target Field of View: 22 x 18 Optical Magnification: 2x Digital Zoom: 1x 4x Display: XGA (1024 x 768) OLED Wireless: None Graphics: Active On-Screen Graphics and Iconology Lens System: F/1.00; 35mm manual focus Power Supply: 2 x CR123A (3V) Battery Life: 4 hours at 20 C Environmental Rating: IP67 Operating Temperature: -40 C to +50 C (-40 F to + 122 F) Dimensions: 140 x 76 x 84 mm / 5.5 x 2.98 x 3.32 in Weight: 448g / 0.99lbs Warranty: 3 years w/ registration Color: Gray MSRP: $3,499 WHY GET A HANDHELD THERMAL MONOCULAR In the animal kingdom, humans are at the top of the food chain for one reason: technology. Equipped by nature with soft skin, no claws, omnivore teeth, and not enough hair to keep warm, without our tools, humans have pretty poor odds against most meat eaters. Thermal optics are the latest and one of the greatest tools humanity has come up with to help not only to even the odds but stack them in our favor. Knives, bows, and guns are nice, but all of them are useless if you never see what youre looking for. Thermal optics give an edge that cant be beaten. Camouflage cant hide from it, blood trails are extremely easy to find, and it doesnt require a lifetime of skills honed to perfection to use. Dedicated thermal scopes or clip-on units are amazing tools, and depending on your uses might be a better option, but the strength of a thermal monocular is in the versatility it provides before and after a trigger is pulled. Scouting areas looking for animals, looking ahead to make sure youre not spooking game, even non-hunting related tasks like finding leaks in your home, finding roosting birds, and more. For anything thermal vision can be used for, a handheld thermal monocular is the most convenient way of using the technology. THERMAL MONOCULAR VS. WEAPON SIGHT For hunting the clear answer to monocular or weapon sight is to get both, eventually. While the monocular is a powerful tool on its own, having both the monocular and a thermal weapon sight is another game-changer you dont want to miss out on if you have the option. A thermal weapon sight builds on the strengths of a monocular and provides the ability to harness the technology while also putting rounds exactly where you want them. While some hunters choose to force a thermal weapon sight into playing both parts, this becomes difficult due to constantly removing the sight off a weapon to use it as a monocular. A dedicated monocular is a powerful tool that is useful before, during, and after the hunt. Plus, its useful for other applications as well. IN THE FIELD Many people describe traditional night vision as having a superpower. In my experience, thermal is the real superpower. Night vision is cool, but thermal is better. Thermal works better across more weather and lighting conditions than night vision and thermal is much harder to hide from. Even in the desert of Arizona where the temperature difference between land, brush, and animal is not extreme, the Armasight Warden 640 has enough sensitivity and power to pick out the details between branches and the coyote behind them. With a range of color pallets to cycle through, finding the perfect to your liking is pretty easy. Some pallets do a better job of highlighting details in different conditions, but all of them work well in almost all situations. Increasing magnification can be useful but also requires a steady hand or mounting surface to get the best results. Using 2x to get the big picture and then zooming in is made easier with the Wardens controls on top of the unit being at your fingertips at all times. For example, when you randomly find a rabbit in the brush, you can quickly zoom in for a better look. LOOSE ROUNDS Armasight Warden 640 2-8x35mm Thermal Monocular is a game changer of an optic and a major step forward in thermal technology. The ArmaCORE detector delivers crisp images at unparalleled distances while giving the user all of the tools needed to take full advantage of the system in the palm of their hand. With settings and adjustments available to fine tune the experience, its easy to set up the Warden so it fits your needs perfectly. If you want the best in thermal monoculars, the Armasight Warden delivers. Minority students at the University of Georgia have varying opinions about the challenges they face. Although not directly connected, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission did not pass a racial equality resolution at their Feb. 4 meeting, which aimed to address racial inequities in housing, economic opportunity and youth development for Black and minority communities in Athens, according to the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement. Average residential property prices in seven cities increased 10% to 34% due to new supplies in the luxury and ultra-luxury segments and overall demand. Kindly note the image has been posted only for representational purposes. Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters Housing sales in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025) in India's top seven Indian cities fell by 28 per cent from the year before as increasing prices and geopolitical headwinds pulled down the market's bull run, said a report on Thursday. Some 93,280 units were sold in Q1 2025 (January-March) and 130,170 in the same period the year before, according to Anarock. The real estate consultancy tracked housing sales in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Bengaluru, Pune, the National Capital Region (NCR), Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata. Average residential property prices in the seven cities increased 10 per cent to 34 per cent in Q1 2025 due to new supplies in the luxury and ultra-luxury segments and overall demand, the report said. NCR and Bengaluru recorded the highest annual price jumps of more than 34 per cent and 20 per cent. "MMR and Pune accounted for 51 per cent of the total sales, with MMR seeing a 26 per cent yearly drop and Pune a decline of over 30 per cent. "At 49 per cent, Hyderabad saw the highest annual drop in sales, while Bengaluru had the lowest decline at 16 per cent," said Anuj Puri, chairman - Anarock Group. New launches across the seven cities were above the 100,000 mark but saw a 10 per cent yearly decline: From approximately 110,865 units in Q1 2024 to about 100,020 units in Q1 2025. "Notably, MMR and Bengaluru saw the maximum new supply in Q1 2025, accounting for 52 per cent of the total new launches across the top seven cities," said Puri. New housing supply grew 53 per cent, 27 per cent, and 26 per cent in NCR, Bengaluru and Kolkata, respectively. It declined 55 per cent in Hyderabad, the most among the seven cities, and 9 per cent in MMR. Unsold inventory dropped by 4 per cent: From about 580,890 units by Q1 2024 to 559,810 units by Q1 2025. Pune saw the highest decline, of 16 per cent, in its available stock in Q1 2025. Bengaluru saw its unsold stock rise by 28 per cent to around 58,660 units. "However, rising housing prices and global headwinds like ongoing geopolitical tensions and a weak global economy, have taken their toll on India's residential market activity," said Puri. "These factors cascaded down into the housing market in Q1 2025." Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com Payments banks have urged the Union finance ministry to increase their deposit limit for each account to Rs 5 lakh, according to a source who participated in a meeting, chaired by the Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju, in New Delhi. At present, they can accept deposits of up to Rs 2 lakh. The previous increase was in April 2021, when the maximum end-of-day balance was raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. In addition to the deposit limit, such banks have asked for permission to lend to the microfinance sector, with a cap on loans, to diversify their income streams. If granted, this would mark a departure from the current licensing framework, which mandates that payments banks invest only in government securities. The meeting reviewed the financial status of payments banks, and the government asked for a road map concerning financial inclusion, added the source. The meeting also discussed licences for small finance banks (SFBs). According to guidelines, payments banks are allowed to apply for conversion into an SFB after five years of operations and meeting other requirements set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). One key requirement is a minimum paidup voting equity capital or net worth of Rs 200 crore. Last year, Fino Payments Bank applied for an SFB licence. Payments banks such as Jio Payments Bank, Airtel Payments Bank, Fino Payments Bank, NSDL Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank, and Paytm Payments Bank attended the meeting along with officials of the Reserve Bank of India. Another source said the financial services secretary praised India Post Payments Banks (IPPBs) efforts in financial inclusion and door-step banking, and has urged others to push more into it. IPPB, a state-owned payments bank, operates 650 branches and more than 163,000 access points across the country. IPPB offers services and products such as savings and current accounts, virtual debit cards, domestic money transfer services, bill and utility payments, insurance services for its customers, and child enrolment services for children aged five and below. In August 2015, the RBI granted licences to 11 payments banks, but five surrendered them before starting operations, leaving only six players in the field: Airtel Payments Bank, Paytm Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank, Fino Payments Bank, NSDL Payments Bank, and Jio Payments Bank. Recently, the RBI stopped Paytm Payments Bank from accepting deposits and adding customers, effectively shutting down its operations. India and the visiting US officials have decided to hold a wrap-up session on Saturday morning to conclude the three-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, government sources said. Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters They said the discussions are at a "very" early stage. A team of US officials, headed by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, is in New Delhi for negotiations on the proposed agreement. "Early stage of discussions are going on," one of the sources said, adding that nothing has been finalised so far. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the ongoing talks between India and the US for the proposed pact are progressing "well" and will be for the "good" of both nations while protecting India's interests. The official level deliberations assume significance as US President Donald Trump has announced imposing reciprocal tariffs on April 2 on America's key trading partners, including India. He has on multiple forums stated that India imposes high tariffs on US goods. The US has already imposed duties on China. Besides, higher import duties of 25 per cent are imposed on steel and aluminium from March 12. On March 26, Trump announced a sweeping 25 per cent tariff on completely built vehicles (CBUs) and auto parts, a move set to take effect on April 3. Tariffs are import duties imposed and collected by the government and paid by the companies to bring foreign goods into a country. India and the US are aiming to conclude the first phase or tranche of the agreement by the fall of 2025 (September-October). They have also set a target to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current over $190 billion. While the US has demanded duty concessions in sectors like certain industrial goods, automobiles, wines, petrochemical products, agriculture items such as apples, tree nuts, and alfalfa hay; India may look at duty cuts for labour-intensive sectors like textiles. Indian industry and exporters have asked the government to protect them against the USA's reciprocal tariffs. They have sought exemption from those tariffs as it would hurt them severely as the US is India's largest trading partner. Amid pressure from the US, India in February reduced import duties on bourbon whiskey from 150 per cent to 100 per cent and lowered tariffs on certain varieties of wines. The duty on wines made from fresh grapes, vermouth, certain other fermented beverages, and unadulterated ethyl alcohol with 80 per cent strength has been reduced to 100 per cent. The customs duty reduction announced in the Budget on products such as motorcycles and synthetic flavouring essences would also benefit American exports. India has also recently announced the scrapping of the equalisation levy on tech giants like Google. The Reliance Industries' digital services company Jio Platforms Ltd and Bharti Airtel have signed an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink's broadband internet services to its customers in India. The US is pushing India to negotiate a large and grand bilateral trade agreement while seeking to open the agriculture sector for American businesses. According to experts, India is unlikely to include agriculture in trade negotiations as it is a politically sensitive sector. The US agri exports to India was $1.6 billion in 2024. Key exports include almonds (in shell - $868 million); pistachios ($121 million), apples ($21 million), ethanol (ethyl alcohol - $266 million). In June 2023, India announced removal of retaliatory import duties on eight US products, including chickpeas, lentils, and apples, which were imposed in 2019 in response to America's measure to increase tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products. In 2024, India's main exports to the US included drug formulations, biological ($8.1 billion), telecom instruments ($6.5 billion), precious and semi-precious stones ($5.3 billion), petroleum products ($4.1 billion), gold and other precious metal jewellery ($3.2 billion), ready-made garments of cotton including accessories ($2.8 billion), and products of iron and steel ($2.7 billion). Imports included crude oil ($4.5 billion), petroleum products ($3.6 billion), coal, coke ($3.4 billion), cut and polished diamonds ($2.6 billion), electric machinery ($1.4 billion), aircraft, space crafts and parts ($1.3 billion), and gold ($1.3 billion). In 2023-24, the US was the largest trading partner of India with $119.71 billion bilateral trade in goods ($77.51 billion worth of exports, $42.19 billion of imports, with $35.31 billion trade surplus). India has received $67.8 billion in foreign direct investments from America during April 2000 and September 2024. 'Doctors feel they have a duty to prolong a heartbeat at all costs.' 'And a son or a daughter feels, I can't let my mum die. I have to save her at all costs.' 'They think saving is just prolonging life. But the person suffers.' What is a Living Will? A Living Will is a legal document that details the type and level of medical care an individual wants to receive if they are unable to make decisions or communicate their wishes when care is needed. I have to start this article on Living Will on a personal note. After my husband was diagnosed with metastasised Stage 4 cancer and in the next five months, we discussed death many times. I then promised him that I would not put him in an ICU or a ventilator, and that I would take care of him at home. The concept of a Living Will was unknown a decade ago. So, I could only give my word to him that I would be with him when he left the world. The day he breathed his last, I was with him, holding his hand and talking to him. Our son was there. So also his elder sisters, my mother, my siblings... We gave him a very emotional but loving farewell. In the one week when my husband was bedridden, one person who gave me the maximum strength and support was Dr Rajagopal of Palliam India. He had also arranged palliative care for my husband at home. Known as the father of palliative care, Dr Rajagopal was instrumental in setting up India's first palliative care unit, the Institute of Palliative Medicine in Kerala, in 1993 when not many in India had heard of palliative care. Even WHO passed a resolution integrating palliative care as a part of healthcare only on January 23, 2014. The first assignment I did a month after my husband's death was following Dr Rajagopal around while he was taking care of his patients who were very sick and on palliative care in the interiors of Kerala. As I travelled with him, we spoke on many issues but one thing he said, refused to leave me even today. "When I fall ill, the doctors and nurses treating me will consider me a human being -- and not only look at my coronary arteries -- but try to understand what I feel. I hope they will care for my family too. "&I hope that when I go, I will not be shut up in an intensive care unit, but instead have someone who cares for me sitting beside me, and maybe holding my hand. It would be the ultimate cruelty if I have to die in an intensive care unit with tubes in every orifice and masked creatures working around me. "If I were to get disoriented and delirious, my hands and feet may be tied up. I am looking for a world where this kind of intensive cruelty does not happen anymore. I hope for a world where healthcare is delivered with compassion and empathy." Today, he is trying to initiate a conversation on the need to not trap dying people in the ICUs and on ventilators. He is also trying to educate every adult about the need to write a Living Will. I asked Dr Rajagopal why we are scared to talk about death, and why it is necessary to write a Will so that every individual can have dignity in death. "It is essential to have conversations on death and dignity in death," he says. "In India, a study shows that almost 70% of people are continued on their life support systems and their dying process is stressed out over weeks or months," adds Dr Rajagopal. Kindly note the image has only been published for representational purposes. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Pixabay Years ago when I interviewed you, you had spoken about the lonely death many terminally ill patients had in the ICUs. Today, there is a discussion going on about Living Wills through which people can say, they do not want to be trapped in the ICUs in their last moments. Why do family members agree for ICUs and ventilators for their sick parents or anyone that matter? Is it guilt? This is happening more and more, unfortunately. ICUs and ventilators have become socially accepted now. The first reason why this is happening is, the medical profession thinks it is their duty to keep the heart beating, what they call sustaining life. We, as doctors take a vow that we will sustain life as much as possible. So, to doctors, sustaining life is equivalent to sustaining the heartbeat, and not life in the full sense. But this doesn't happen in the Western European countries where it is a bit more rational. A recent study shows that in the EU countries, if the disease becomes no longer responsive to treatment, and if the person doesn't have a reasonable chance of coming back to good quality of life, they are withdrawn from life support systems and given palliative care. But in India, a study shows that almost 70% of people are continued on their life support systems and their dying process is stressed out over weeks or months. This has no ethical justification because it only prolongs suffering. It is not only a question of loneliness but there is physical suffering also. This misguided feeling that they have a duty to prolong a heartbeat at all costs, doctors started recommending it. And a son or a daughter feels, I can't let my mum die. I have to save her at all costs. Thus, they also become party to it. There is an element of guilt that comes in especially when they are living farther away and not there. So, guilt is possibly a factor. They tell the doctors, I don't care how much it costs. Please save my mum. They think saving is just prolonging life. But the person suffers. Do you see this happening more often these days? I see this happening more and more. This was not there a quarter of a century back. In those days, intensive care was for people whose life could be salvaged, who could come back to a reasonable quality of life. Photographs: Shobha Warrier. Rediff.com IMAGE: Dr Rajagopal speaks to a patient. As a doctor involved in palliative care, do you try to make families understand what they should do to give better quality of life to the person who is in the ICU and suffering all alone? This is an important thing that we do. But this conversation should start early, when we are healthy. When the joint family system was in vogue, young people grew up seeing their grandparents or grand uncles or aunts dying. They also saw cattle dying, hens dying.. death was common place. Not anymore. In nuclear families, young people don't see death. The 2022 global report of the Lancet Commission says we are becoming death-illiterate societies. The report said, we need to bring death back to life.(external link) By saying, death back to life, they meant death had to be accepted in our minds as the inevitable consequence of life, rather than living a death-fearing life. In India, it is anathema to even utter the word death. It is even more in the eastern culture than in India. For example, in China, it is considered inauspicious to talk about death. In fact, not talking about death is global. Death-illiteracy is associated with the transition from joint families to nuclear families. As a consequence, when death happens, old people are alone. The medical system also has become such that even when a person says that he doesn't want his father in the ICU, the doctor asks uncomfortable questions. So, the family submits to the hospitals. So, the situation is complicated. Is commercialisation of medical institutions also a reason? Yes. I cannot accept the word, health industry. I heard the word for the first time in the late 1980s. When I became a doctor in 1970, I had not heard such an expression. It was health service then! All of a sudden, it became health industry. We have to accept this transition. What does an industry want to do? Make profit. People believe it's only to make profit that this is done. I do believe that the mistaken beliefs of doctors' perception of duty of care to prolong life, plays a major role. Also, the gradual public acceptance of the ICU as a place to die. You spoke about death-illiteracy. Will the idea of 'Living Will' make people accept death as an eventuality? If the medical system had accepted that they had to respect death as much as they respect life, if they had accepted death as an inevitable transition, a Living Will would not have been necessary. If the duty of the healthcare system is my well-being, if it would not have prolonged my heartbeat at all costs, a Living ill would not have been necessary. Unfortunately, the medical system is confused about its duty of care. Hence there is no way for me to protect myself except make a legally binding document so that I do not suffer abuse from the medical professionals. Are we not denying dignity in death when a person is abused this way? The Constitution guarantees you a life with dignity. The Supreme Court has clarified that life with dignity includes healthcare. In 2024, the Supreme Court also made a clarification that right to health includes right to palliative care. I have a right to dignity not only in life but also in the dying process. How do you make a Living Will? On the Palliam India Web site, there is a section called End of Life Care (external link) where a Living Will format is given. We have also answered all the questions concerning it. You can download the Living Will document and customise it. When the Living Will is attested by a Gazetted officer, it is a legally binding document. The most important part of it is, talking to your family about it because whatever legal document you have made, doctors will not act against the wishes of the next of kin. Your children will need to understand why you want it. You are not wishing to kill yourself. You are only asking for dignity in the final days or weeks of your life. So, your family also has to be death literate. That's the most important part. Are you seeing people make Living Wills? I have not only seen plenty of people making Living Wills, I myself have made one. More and more people are talking about it, and that's very good. Almost every month, I talk to some local group or the other about it. In the west, they have these Death Cafes where people talk about death and dying. It started with some people talking about death in coffee shops, and when people overheard what they were saying, they joined the group. This led to the formation of Death Cafes. In today's times when every sick person is sent to an ICU or tied to a ventilator, do you think every person should think about writing a Living Will? Yes, everybody over 18 should have a Living Will as death is not necessarily a matter of old age. Let's initiate more and more discussions on this, and make people death-literate. Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com 'When so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers.' IMAGE: Women supporting the Balochistan Yakjehti Committee at a protest in Karachi, March 24, 2025, demanding the release of human rights activist Dr Mahrang Baloch. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters "Baloch live in hardship, with limited access to education, jobs, healthcare and infrastructure. "The province's vast natural wealth has yet to translate into prosperity for its people, fuelling discontent and socio-economic disparities. "The provincial government is widely regarded as highly corrupt. "There is an unwritten arrangement between Islamabad and the Balochistan government that corruption, nepotism and inefficiency are tolerated as long as they remain loyal to the pro-Pakistan establishment," journalist and Balochistan specialist Malik Siraj Akbar tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in the concluding segment of a must-read interview. Where does BLA get money, weapons and its zeal from? How would you compare it with other armed separatist groups in the world? My thoughts on the BLA's funding sources are purely speculative -- I do not know definitively who finances the group. However, I have consistently pushed back against the assumption that India is the primary sponsor. I agree with the Indian author Tilak Devasher, who argues that India has neither the need nor the incentive to support the Baloch movement when so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers. While it is true that running an insurgency as effective as the BLA's requires substantial funding, I do not believe financial incentives are what drive most young Baloch to join. The motivations for joining the movement vary widely. Each fighter has a different story; not everyone is drawn in by personal loss or direct victimhood. For instance, I know many young Baloch whose family members were forcibly disappeared or killed, yet they have not taken up arms. Instead, figures like Mama Qadeer of the Voice for Missing Baloch Persons -- whose son, Jalil Reki, was abducted and later killed -- have remained committed to peaceful activism. Similarly, Dr Mahrang Baloch, the most prominent leader among Baloch youth, has chosen peaceful resistance despite her father, Ghaffar Langvo, being forcibly disappeared and reportedly killed by the Pakistani state. In contrast, some Baloch women have become suicide bombers for the BLA despite having no direct family connection to victims of State violence. This highlights the diverse motivations driving the insurgency. There is no one description that fits all the BLA fighters. Many educated Baloch with no personal experience of persecution still join the movement, driven by the collective trauma they witness. Seeing helpless Baloch mothers and sisters protesting outside press clubs and courts -- begging for the release or return of their loved ones -- ignites their sense of outrage. For these youth, simply witnessing such daily suffering is enough to push them toward armed resistance. IMAGE: A cameraman films the Jaffar Express train, riddled with bullet holes, after it was attacked by separatist militants in Bolan at the railway station in Quetta, Balochistan, March 19, 2025. Photograph: Naseer Ahmed/Reuters How do ordinary citizens view BLA and other separatist groups? Are they caught in the crossfire between a Pakistani military state and a violent group? In Balochistan (like many other tribal regions), people generally feel strongly connected with those who belong to their tribe or speak their language. This nature of the Baloch often leads to suspicion toward outsiders (such as Punjabis going to Balochistan for economic reasons), even if they have good intentions and genuine needs to be in Balochistan. Consequently, the BLA, being composed of locals, tends to garner more support than Pakistani soldiers from other provinces on any given day because the Pakistani soldiers are viewed as outsiders and as an abusive occupying force. In this context, you can say that the BLA is widely seen as the 'home team' in Balochistan. While there may be some resistance to the BLA's actions -- such as when it targets fellow Baloch whom it accuses of being Pakistani spies or attacking Punjabi labourers -- the organisation generally maintains great support among the local population when targeting the Pakistani military and paramilitary forces and members of the local police force. Overall, there is a collective desire among the Baloch to resist Pakistani policies and practices in the province that are targeted explicitly toward suppressing political dissent, particularly concerning enforced disappearances. Besides the BLA, there is also great public support for anyone, including political parties and civil society groups that seek justice for the Baloch from Islamabad. Although the US, the UK and the government of Pakistan have declared the BLA a terrorist organisation, these designations don't significantly change the local communities' existing opinions about the Baloch armed groups. Within Baloch society, a 'real fight' is traditionally perceived to involve an armed fight rather than democratic movements. The 'eye for an eye' mentality is prevalent in Balochistan, where fights continue across generations. Consequently, the BLA's militant mindset and actions resonate more deeply with the local communities than non-violent approaches. While some Baloch political parties and civil rights forums, like the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, engage in peaceful struggle, the entrenched cultural norms view armed resistance as the 'real fight' for the Baloch. On top of it, the complete failure of democratic institutions and the system in Balochistan, which predominantly serves the Pakistani establishment and offers little to nothing to the Baloch, have also contributed to the public weariness of the democratic system. They see it as an instrument by the Pakistanis to impose unpopular individuals as their leaders. IMAGE: People walk past parked supply trucks alongside a road after traffic was halted following an attack on a highway in Pakistan's restive province of Balochistan, August 26, 2024. Photograph: Reuters What is the state of education, jobs, welfare and livelihood in Balochistan? How do the average Balochis fare and live their lives? I'm glad you asked this question. The discussion on the insurgency in Balochistan often overshadows critical issues such as education, employment, welfare, and overall livelihood -- factors that directly shape the lives of its people. In a nutshell, Balochistan has some of the bleakest social indicators in Pakistan. Approximately 63% of the population lives below the poverty line, making it the poorest province in the country. Access to necessities is severely limited -- around 85% of people lack clean drinking water, and 75% have no access to electricity, although Balochistan is Pakistan's wealthiest province in terms of natural resources, including natural gas, coal, copper and gold. Education levels are alarmingly low. The province has a literacy rate of roughly 44%, far below the national average of around 60%. The situation worsens in rural areas and among women, where literacy rates drop even further. Schools suffer from chronic underfunding, lack of infrastructure, and teacher absenteeism, contributing to one of the highest out-of-school children rates in the country. Regarding employment, Balochistan's economy remains underdeveloped, with most people engaged in subsistence agriculture, livestock farming, and small-scale trade. Industrial development is minimal despite its resource wealth, leading to high unemployment and economic stagnation. Many locals feel excluded from the benefits of the province's natural resources, which are primarily controlled by external entities. There is little evidence that China's economic involvement has created jobs for locals or improved their living standards. A common complaint among residents is that the Chinese bring their workers, excluding local labour. They neither employ nor trust the locals, relying entirely on their workforce for projects in Balochistan. The state of healthcare is similarly dire. Balochistan has the worst health indicators in Pakistan, with high maternal and infant mortality rates due to a lack of hospitals, doctors, and basic medical facilities. Many residents travel long distances to seek medical attention, often in neighboring provinces. Overall, the average Baloch lives in hardship, with limited access to education, jobs, healthcare and infrastructure. The province's vast natural wealth has yet to translate into prosperity for its people, fuelling discontent and socio-economic disparities. Addressing these issues requires urgent attention to improve governance, infrastructure and economic opportunities for the people of Balochistan. The provincial government is widely regarded as highly corrupt. However, the central government overlooks this corruption and mismanagement simply because, unlike insurgents, the provincial government does not pose a direct challenge to Islamabad. This has led to an unwritten arrangement between Islamabad and the Balochistan government -- particularly its bureaucrats -- that corruption, nepotism and inefficiency are tolerated as long as they remain loyal to the pro-Pakistan establishment. As a result, the people of Balochistan bear the brunt of this quid pro quo between the Pakistani central government and the province's corrupt political and bureaucratic machinery. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com A Bangladeshi national was arrested in Mumbai for allegedly staying illegally in the country, and police have begun a probe to check if he was involved in the March 17 Nagpur violence, an official has said. IMAGE: Police personnel stand guard as people move along the roads following the lifting of a six-day curfew imposed after violence, in Nagpur on March 23, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo The Crime Branch Unit II took Azizul Nizanul Rahman (29) into custody from Dadar on Wednesday, he said. "We suspect he was in Nagpur at the time of the violence. He is a resident of Hasanbaug in Nagpur and had come to Dadar just a few days ago. Rahman, a daily wage labourer, has admitted to obtaining an Aadhaar card using forged documents," the official said on Thursday. "We are analysing his mobile phone tower location as part of the probe. We have also shared information about his arrest with our Nagpur counterparts," he said. Mobs went on a rampage in central Nagpur areas on March 17 amid rumours that a 'chadar' with holy inscriptions was burnt during protests led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal for the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. More than 110 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence, including key accused Fahim Khan. An under construction building in Bangkok collapsed like a pack of cards as a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar at midday on Friday, March 28, 2025, causing widespread devastation, media reports said. The quake's epicentre was located near Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, and was followed by six aftershocks. Glimpses of the rescue operation to save workers trapped under the debris of the collapsed building. IMAGE: The collapsed building in Bangkok. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters IMAGE: A view of the collapsed building. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Workers assist a man injured in the collapse. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Workers devastated by the tragedy. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters IMAGE: A worker weeps for colleagues trapped under the debris of the collapsed building. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Workers carry an injured colleague from the accident site. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters IMAGE: An injured woman receives medical attention near the collapsed building. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters IMAGE: The Thai king's volunteers work at the site of the collapsed building. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Rescue personnel near the collapsed building. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters IMAGE: An injured person rescued by emergency personnel. Photograph: Ann Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Another view of the collapsed building. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters IMAGE: Rescue personnel at the collapsed building site. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters SEE: Panic grips Bangkok Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Justice Yashwant Varma, embroiled in the cash discovery row, did not find a mention in the recently constituted committees of judges on the administrative side of the Delhi high court. IMAGE: Justice Yashwant Varma. Photograph: ANI Photo A spate of key events have followed the discovery of burnt wads of cash following a fire at the judge's official Lutyen's home on March 14. Though the Supreme Court has called it a separate decision, Justice Varma, the second senior-most judge of Delhi high court, was recently recommended for a transfer to his parent Allahabad high court. He was part of several such administrative committees previously. According to a March 27 circular published on the high court's website, the committees were reconstituted with immediate effect from March 26. The 66 committees that were reconstituted include Administrative and General Supervision, Grievance Redressal Committee for Advocates, Finance and Budgeting for the sanction of contingent expenditure and writing off losses exceeding Rs 5 lakh aside from Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence. All the other high court judges, including Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya, comprise the various committees. Earlier, work from Justice Varma was withdrawn following a directive from the CJI. On March 22, the CJI constituted the three-member committee to conduct an in-house inquiry into allegations and decided to upload on the SC website the inquiry report of Chief Justice Upadhyaya which included photos and videos of the alleged discovery of a huge stash of cash. Justice Varma denounced any insinuation and said no cash was ever placed in the storeroom either by him or any of his family members. Delhi Police on Friday informed a court that it has lodged a first information report (FIR) against former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and others for allegedly misusing public money by putting up large hoardings in the national capital in 2019. IMAGE: AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI Photo The police made the submission in its compliance report filed before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal. The judge on March 11 directed police to lodge the FIR on a complaint that has alleged violation of Prevention of Defacement of Property Act. The court has listed the matter for April 18 for the next hearing after police sought time to investigate the matter. Aside from Kejriwal, the court had ordered the FIR against former MLA Gulab Singh and then Dwarka councilor Nitika Sharma, for installing 'large-sized' banners. The complaint filed in 2019 alleged that Kejriwal, then Matiala MLA Gulab Singh (AAP) and then Dwarka A ward councilor Nitika Sharma "deliberately misused public money by putting up large-sized hoardings" at various places in the area. State Sen. Sean Ryan says he wants to bring a new era of transparency and ethics reform to Buffalos City Hall. Standing in Niagara Square, Ryan, one of 10 candidates who have said they want to be Buffalos next mayor, said that if he is elected he will hit the ground running with a set of new ethics measures and the overhaul of existing systems to ensure accountability and transparency in the mayors office, on the Buffalo Common Council and throughout city bureaucracy. After decades of the same leadership, we need to bring change to the City of Buffalo, Ryan said. That change must include stronger measures to root out corruption, increase transparency and to restore public integrity to city government. Ryans plan would include: An overhaul of the citys public records request system to improve responsiveness and transparency. New rules around eligibility for seats on the citys ethics board that would bar board members and members of the nominating committee from making political donations to city officials. Putting in place a policy that would prevent any principals of companies under contract with or seeking contracts with the city from making political donations to the citys elected officials. A review of the citys websites and information portals aimed at putting more public data online so that formal records requests are not necessary to view public information. A ban on family members of the mayor and department heads from working for the city. A ban on department heads and other top city officials from having significant outside employment. Scanlon takes in big money in Buffalo mayor's race; Ryan close in cash on hand Mayor Christopher P. Scanlons top donations come from real estate developers, members of the business community and the politically connected, some with business before the city. Ryan also called into question Mayor Christopher Scanlons commitment to transparency, pointing to more than $40,000 in political donations he has accepted from business owners with business before the city. Ryan said his new restrictions around contracting would prevent decision makers from being influenced by political donations. Think about this as things currently stand, Ryan said. A contractor could bid a (request for proposals) with the City of Buffalo. While the contract is pending they can make a big donation to the mayor. And he pointed to apparent ethics violations where Scanlon, who became acting mayor in October when former Mayor Byron Brown resigned, has used city resources to promote his run for a full-term in this years election. Flyers for a Scanlon campaign event in December listed City Halls address as the return address, and several city websites contained links to Scanlons campaign social media accounts. The Scanlon campaign responded to Ryans criticisms saying that Ryan has accepted millions of dollars in special interest money from New York City and Albany donors over the course of his time in the state Legislature. Many of those donors have business before the Legislature affected by his vote, they said in a written statement. Scanlons campaign also accused Ryan of using that outside money to try to buy the Mayors office in City Hall and having no record of delivering for the City of Buffalo during his time in Albany, according to the statement. In previous public comments, campaign and mayors office officials have described those apparent ethics violations as errors that were quickly corrected. Ryan also pointed to Deputy Mayor Brian Goulds continued employment with E3 Communications, a locally based public relations and lobbying firm where he has worked for almost two decades, as the sort of conflict of interest such rules would prevent. Gould is listed as a lobbyist for E3 in a January filing on the state lobbying watchdogs website with Arcadis of New York, an engineering firm with business before the Buffalo Sewer Authority. Gould was recently nominated by Scanlon and confirmed by the Common Council to sit on the sewer authority board. Its the very definition of bad government, Ryan said. Its wrong, its corrupt, and itll end when Im elected. Reached by phone Friday afternoon, Gould said his name being listed in the lobbying filing was an error, likely caused by a routine continuation of an ongoing contract he previously worked on. He added he no longer does any work for Arcadia account. I used to, he said. That was in the past. Deputy mayor says measures are in place to avoid conflict of interest with former employer Before becoming deputy mayor, Brian Gould worked for e3Communications, a public relations and lobbying firm that represents dozens of clients in the state Capitol and in municipalities mostly centered in Western New York. E3 founder Earl Wells told The News in a text message that Gould being listed on the Arcadis file was an error, with his name being carried over from previous filings. He has performed no lobbying services on behalf of Arcadis or any other E3 client since moving over to City Hall, Wells said. Gould has defended his continued work with E3 and said he was only keeping a handful of clients, though he declined to name them when asked by The News last year. He and Wells both told The News last year that none of Goulds work would be with clients who have business with the city. Scanlon has promised transparency in his administration and has made some changes over his predecessor, Brown. He now posts a public schedule detailing his public events and has made efforts to improve the citys current public records request system. Ryan acknowledged that he would need help from the Common Council to pass laws as part of the overhaul. He said he has spoken with several sitting Council members and believes he would not have a problem gaining cooperation from the citys lawmaking body. I think the council members are hungry for a more ethical and transparent government, Ryan said. The defence ministry on Friday firmed up procurement of 156 light combat helicopter 'Prachand' from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd at a cost of Rs 62,700 crore, shortly after the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the acquisition to bolster the combat capability of the military. IMAGE: Indian Armys LCH 'Prachand' successfully conducts test firing at a high-altitude range. Photograph: ANI Photo Light Combat Helicopter Prachand is India's first indigenously designed and developed combat helicopter having a capability of operating at an altitude of over 5000 metres. Following the decision by the CCS, the defence ministry signed two contracts with the HAL for the procurement. The CCS approved the proposal to buy 156 LCH 'Prachand' worth over Rs 62,500 crore from HAL, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said. "This decision marks a major boost to India's combat capabilities and self reliance in defence," he said on X. Capable of operating from high altitude terrain and carrying out precision strikes at high altitude targets, 'Prachand' is a powerful machine, he said. "The Cabinet's decision taken today will create more than 8500 jobs. This is indeed a proud moment for India's Make in India journey. I thank PM Narendra Modi for taking this important decision," he said. The defence ministry said the first contract it signed with HAL is for supply of 66 Prachand helicopters to the Indian Air Force while the second one is for buying 90 choppers for the Indian Army. "The ministry of defence on March 28 signed two contracts with HAL for supply of 156 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH), Prachand, along with training and other associated equipment worth Rs 62,700 crore, excluding taxes," the ministry said in a statement. Developed by HAL, the 5.8-tonne twin-engine LCH is armed with various weapon systems and is capable of destroying enemy tanks, bunkers, drones and other assets in high-altitude regions. The helicopter possesses modern stealth characteristics, robust armour protection and formidable night attack capability, and it is fully capable of even operating in Siachen, the world's highest battle-field. The ministry said the supply of these helicopters "shall commence from the third year and will be spread over the next five years". It said the choppers will enhance the combat capability of armed forces at high altitudes. "This helicopter has a large number of components designed and manufactured in India and it is planned to achieve an overall indigenous content of over 65 per cent during the execution of this procurement," it said. "This will involve over 250 domestic companies mostly MSMEs and will generate over 8,500 direct and indirect jobs," it said. The defence ministry also signed a contract with Metrea Management for "wet-leasing" of one flight refuelling aircraft (FRA) for providing air-to-air refuelling training to pilots of IAF and Indian Navy. Metrea will provide FRA (KC135 Aircraft) within six months which will be the first FRA to be wet leased by the IAF, it said. The Delhi high court on Friday asked Jammu and Kashmir MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, alias Engineer Rashid, to deposit Rs 4 lakh with the prison authorities as travel expenses for attending Parliament. IMAGE: Awami Ittehad Party chief and Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid addresses a press conference, in Srinagar, October 18, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo A bench of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Anup Jairam Bhambhani on March 25 allowed him to attend the ongoing Parliament session "in-custody" till April 4 and rejected the NIA's apprehension that he was a flight risk. Rashid counsel on Friday said he had already deposited Rs 1.45 lakh with the authorities and would deposit the remaining Rs 2.55 lakh within three days. The bench said upon depositing the amount, he would be taken to the Parliament to attend the session. The court observed it did not want the purpose of its order on allowing Rashid to attend the Parliament session to be defeated and therefore it was trying to strike a balance between the interest of both the parties. Rashid, the court said, should at least deposit 50 per cent of the total amount of Rs 8.74 lakh and posted the matter on May 19. The NIA, in the meantime, was directed to respond to Rashid's plea for a waiver of the condition to bear travel expenses to attend the Parliament session within four weeks. Rashid said the March 25 order granting him permission to attend Parliament was uploaded on the court's website on March 26 afternoon and in the evening his counsel received an e-mail from the jail authorities that he was required to pay around Rs 1.45 lakh each day for travel and other arrangements. It summed up to Rs 8.74 lakh for the six-day duration, the plea said. Rashid claimed of not being in a financial position to bear the excessively high cost and he was going to fulfil his constitutional duties and not allowed to be prejudiced with such high costs. His plea was opposed by the NIA counsel who said it was a gross misuse of the law. Rashid's counsel said the parliamentarian did not have money to give to the authorities which hampered him from attending the Parliament sessions and he would have to crowd fund the amount. While allowing him to attend Parliament, the court had asked plain-clothed policemen to escort Rashid from prison to Parliament on days of the Lok Sabha session between March 26 and April 4, aside from bearing the expenses for the to-and-fro travel and other arrangements. Rashid, who is facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a 2017 terror funding case, had challenged a March 10 trial court order refusing him custody parole or interim bail to attend Lok Sabha proceedings till April 4. In the high court, he gave up his plea for interim bail or custody parole and sought to attend the Parliament sessions "in-custody". The NIA had opposed the plea saying by allowing him to attend Parliament, would enable him a platform to air his opinions which he could misuse. The high court, however, said the control of parliamentary proceedings was within the remit of the Lok Sabha speaker and it had no doubt that the proceedings would be conducted with requisite discipline. The Baramulla MP, who defeated Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is facing trial in a terror funding case with allegations that he funded separatists and terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir. He has been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail since 2019 after the NIA arrested him in the 2017 terror-funding case. He was granted interim bail for one month in September last year to campaign in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election. The NIA's FIR alleged Rashid's name cropped up during the interrogation of businessman and co-accused Zahoor Watali. After being chargesheeted in October 2019, a special NIA court framed charges against Rashid and others in March 2022 under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against the government), and 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code and for offences relating to terrorist acts and terror funding under UAPA. The Calcutta high court on Friday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to submit the case diary initially prepared by the Kolkata police in connection with the rape-murder of an on-duty doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. IMAGE: Nurses Unity and Medical Device Centre members stage a protest over RG Kar rape-murder case, at Central Park metro station in Kolkata, March 24, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo A single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh also instructed the CBI to present a list of individuals interviewed in the case at the next hearing scheduled for April 23. The CBI submitted a sealed status report on its ongoing probe into the incident, where the doctor's body was discovered in the seminar room of the hospital on August 9, 2024. The court had transferred the case from Kolkata Police to the CBI on August 13. The CBI counsel said he also brought the case diary as directed by the court during the previous hearing. During the hearing, the court inquired whether the crime involved gang rape and if the CBI had identified additional suspects. Deputy solicitor general Rajdeep Majumdar, appearing for the CBI, said the case did not fall under Section 70 (gang rape) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). He informed the court that forensic tests had been conducted on all available DNA samples from the crime scene, and a 14-member medical board comprising doctors from hospitals across the country had been constituted. He said no forensic evidence had established a case of gang rape and that DNA profiling was conducted only on convicted accused Sanjay Roy. Majumdar said apart from these reports, the CBI also investigated every aspect in the case and examined a number of doctors, nurses, staff and other people. The court noted inconsistencies between the inquest and postmortem reports. Justice Ghosh pointed out that two injury marks 'one on the belly and another on the ring finger' were mentioned in the inquest report but were absent in the post-mortem examination report. Asked about the CBI's current focus, Majumdar said the agency was investigating whether there was a larger conspiracy behind the crime and if there had been any attempt to destroy evidence. One Sanjay Roy has been convicted and sentenced to life term till the end of his natural life by the Sealdah sessions court for the rape-murder of the doctor. Justice Ghosh said the court wanted to know how the agency was progressing in its investigation and whether there were any stumbling blocks in its progress. Asked by the court what the CBI was doing currently, Majumdar said the agency was probing whether there was any larger conspiracy in the crime. He added that the CBI was also probing the role of various hospital staff and officials in the aftermath of the crime and whether there was any deliberate effort to cover up evidence. However, the CBI has filed an appeal seeking an enhancement of his sentence, which is currently pending before a division bench of the high court. When asked how long the investigation would take, Majumdar said that the agency could not commit to a specific timeframe. Thirty-four people were arrested and internet services suspended in the Mothabari area and surrounding regions of West Bengal's Malda district after clashes between two communities took place a day ago, officials said on Friday. Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo The situation remained tense but peaceful during the day, amid heavy police deployment in the area. The Calcutta high court on Friday directed the district magistrate and the superintendent of police to file an action taken report over the violence by April 3. The court observed that in view of the sensitivity attached to the matter, it is expected that the "state should act cautiously and take appropriate measures" to ensure safety and security of the people affected by such violence. State minister and local Trinamool Congress MLA Sabina Yeasmin told PTI, "We just concluded the peace meeting between the communities and groups. The meeting was very positive. We are confident that the situation will normalise soon." She added that despite the internet suspension, Section 144 (prohibitory orders) was not imposed in view of the upcoming Eid and Ram Navami festivities. "Due to the Ram Navami and Eid festivities, it was decided that Section 144 won't be imposed. But the police and the administration have spread the message that no major gathering would be allowed," she said. Personnel from the state armed police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) were patrolling the strife-torn Mothabari area on Friday. Inspector general of police Rajesh Yadav told PTI that three companies of state armed police and RAF were keeping vigil in sensitive areas of Kaliachak block. "Our men are continuously undertaking area domination exercises with mobile squads moving around the entire locality, including markets," he said. The Malda police posted on X, Apart from raids and arrests of trouble mongers, police pickets have been strategically placed across sensitive areas to maintain law and order. It added that mobile units are active to respond to any untoward situation immediately, with forces mobilised to strengthen police presence. "Round-the-clock patrolling is going on, and any information about disturbance or possibility of disturbance is being responded to," the district police said. The police also emphasised that no CAPF (Central Armed Police Force) had been requisitioned or deployed in the district. "So far, six cases have been registered based on suo motu and public complaints, and a total of 34 people have been arrested. The situation is under control, and a strict police vigil continues in the area," the police said. Trouble began on Thursday after a religious procession passed by a place of worship on Wednesday evening, according to locals. The violence led to arson, vandalism, and physical attacks on people. Those identified in video footage were remanded to police custody, while the rest were sent to judicial custody, the police said. On social media, the police also posted, "Malda District Police is committed to maintaining peace, harmony, and public safety. We urge everyone to act responsibly, verify information before sharing, and rely only on official sources for updates." "We request all citizens to maintain peace and not be swayed by rumours or misinformation. There is a deliberate attempt to create confusion and provoke unrest. Such acts of rumour-mongering and misuse of social media will be dealt with strictly as per law," it said in a social media post. The Calcutta high court, meanwhile, also directed the state administration to verify video footage and social media uploads, which will be shared by the petitioner with the advocate on record for the state. The court directed that the report that will be filed by the DM and SP should take into consideration those materials. Meanwhile, State BJP President Sukanta Majumdar posted on X, "Horrific scenes from Dakshin Malda's Mothabari. Hindu homes & shops vandalised by a violent mob. And what does @MamataOfficial and her mute spectator @WBPolice do? SILENCE. This is the cost of her shameless appeasement politics, lawlessness, fear & injustice for Hindus!" On its way to Mothabari, a BJP delegation, however, was stopped at Sadullapur area by the police with authorities citing the current situation as unsuitable for their visit. Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari questioned the police action, stating, "Why is Mamata Banerjee's administration preventing the affected Hindu shopkeepers and their families from assessing the extent of their losses and extending a helping hand to them? Why has Section 163 of the Indian Penal Code been imposed in the area?" "Even internet services have been shut down, it is reported. All these incidents prove that the situation is heated and the Mamata government is knowingly using state power to isolate the affected Hindus so that the truth does not come out," he claimed. The Madras high court on Friday granted interim anticipatory bail to comedian Kunal Kamra, who is facing the heat over his jokes on Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. IMAGE: Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra shows the copy of the Constitution during his show. Photograph: Courtesy Kunal Kamra/YouTube The court granted Kamra the relief on the condition that he should execute a bond to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrate at Vanur in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu. Justice Sunder Mohan also issued notice to 2nd Respondent (R2-Khar Police) and posted the matter to April 7. Kamra had submitted he moved to Tamil Nadu from Mumbai in 2021 and has been "ordinarily a resident of this state since then" and that he feared arrest by the Mumbai police. The judge noted the petitioner, who is residing in Villupuram district, apprehends arrest in the case registered on the file of R-2 against him. Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the allegation against the petitioner was that he made certain remarks in a standup comedy on deputy Chief Minister, called "Naya Bharath." According to the prosecution it harmed the reputation of the deputy CM. Counsel further submitted that the allegation does not warrant custodial interrogation. He was unable to seek anticipatory bail in Maharashtra. Counsel for the petitioner submitted that a life threat was made against him by partymen and the ministers. He sought anticipatory bail to enable him to approach court in Maharashtra. Citing a judgment of the Supreme Court, the judge said the petitioner prima facie satisfied as to why he was unable to approach a court in Maharashtra immediately. Hence, he directed issuing notice to R 2. "In the meanwhile, this court is inclined to grant anticipatory bail till April 7. He should execute a bond to the satisfaction of Judicial Magistrate, Vanur," the court said. Twice summoned by the Mumbai police, the 36-year-old stand-up comic's caustic comments on Shinde during his latest show in Mumbai have landed him in trouble and triggered a huge row. The controversy stems from Kamra's show at the Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbai's Khar, where he performed a parody song targeting Shinde. The act prompted a strong backlash from Shiv Sena supporters, who vandalised the club and the hotel in which it is located on Sunday night. Kamra was booked by the Khar police on a complaint by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the deputy CM. In his petition, Kamra submitted he has been working on and touring with his latest tour titled "Naya Bharat," over the past year. The theme and content include a humorous yet criticial take on "Ambani's Wedding," Diwali's impact--how the festival affects people, animals, and birds and Parody songs "A musical finale that adds an extra layer of humor to the show". He submitted he is innocent of the offences levelled against him and that he has been falsely implicated in the case. Although the FIR has been registered in Khar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, he is seeking anticipatory bail from Madras HC as he resides within its jurisdiction and "fears imminent arrest at the hands of the 2nd Respondent police if he were to travel to Mumbai and seek regular Anticipatory bail there." "He also fears actual physical bodily harm and threats to his life and personal liberty in the event of his arrest by the 2nd Respondent police, a threat which has been chillingly made in public by political party cadres." He said he has no political affiliation and has been a vocal supporter of enforcing and protecting the Constitution of India. On the contentious show that has kicked up the present row, Kamra submitted he performed his new stand-up comedy show "Naya Bharat" at a venue in Mumbai in February 2025 and it was uploaded on his Youtube Channel on the 23rd of that month. On March 23, persons claiming to be political activists vandalised the alleged venue of the petitioner's performance in Khar. On the same day, Khar Police Station also received the information from the complainant, Andheri East MLA Patel. "It is alleged by the complainant that during the said performance of the petitioner, he defamed the Deputy chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr Ekhnath Shinde by making slanderous statements on his conduct. The complainant further alleged that the petitioner's performance has damaged the reputation of their party and fostered animosity between the rival political parties." "It is pertinent to mention here that the disputed songs/poem narrated by the petitioner does not name anyone, leave alone the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra," he claimed. Kamra contended that from the date of release of this Youtube video, he has been receiving threats of physical harm and death on various social media platforms and even on his personal email and mobile phone. "Such threats and warnings are primarily coming out of the Mumbai area. These are death threats and threats of harm to my life and the lives of my loved ones. The Petitioner submits that he is scared for his life and liberty if he goes to Mumbai on 31.03.2025 (as summoned by Khar police)," he said. He listed out the various statements made by Shiv Sena leaders to buttress his claim on threats. Petitioner contended "he was innocent and wrongly and baselessly implicated in the said offences." He was ready to cooperate with the officers of the Respondent (police) and willing to supply them all the information and material sought by them. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her governance model does not allow discrimination and she prioritises the welfare of all sections of society. IMAGE: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during his visit to London. Photograph: ANI Photo Addressing a gathering at Kellogg College at the University of Oxford on Thursday, she stressed the importance of inclusive development and stated that division in society is counterproductive. "If I die, before my death, I want to see unity. Unity is our strength, and division leads to our fall. This was Swami Vivekananda's belief. Keeping unity is a difficult task, but dividing people takes only a moment. Do you think the world can sustain such divisive ideology?" she questioned. "When I am in the chair, I cannot divide society. I have to look after the weaker sections and the poor. We have to work hard for them. At the same time, we must work for all religions, castes, and creeds together, move forward with them, and help them," she said. Banerjee, who heads the Trinamool Congress, was speaking on 'Social Development -- Girl, Child and Women Empowerment in West Bengal'. Pointing to West Bengal's diversity, she said people in the state celebrate all festivals together without discrimination. "We have about 11 crore people in our state -- almost like a big country. Our beauty lies in the fact that more than 33 per cent of our people belong to minority communities, including Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Gorkhas. Around 6 per cent are tribals, and 23 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes. People of every caste, creed, and religion love each other," she said. Banerjee underlined the need for a human-centric approach to governance. "Our mission is to ensure that there is no discrimination among students, women, farmers, and workers. We must consider all people as human beings. Without humanity, this world cannot run, continue, or sustain -- I firmly believe so," she said. Before her speech, Banerjee faced protests by a group of people at the University, where she was questioned regarding the RG Kar College case and post-poll violence in West Bengal. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya shared a video where he claimed that the people seen in the video, purportedly belonging to the Bengali Hindus community had confronted Banerjee. 'Bengali Hindus confront West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Kellogg College in London, raising angry slogans calling her out for the rape and murder of the lady doctor at RG Kar, crimes against women in Sandeshkhali, the genocide of Hindus, and widespread corruption,' Malviya posted on X. The BJP leader further called Mamata Banerjee a 'disgrace' to West Bengal. 'Just a few posters that were held up to Mamata Banerjee... She is a disgrace to West Bengal. The Hindu Bengali diaspora wants her out as the Chief Minister for destroying Bengal's legacy and putting them through such ignominy,' he added. The video posted by the BJP showed the West Bengal CM facing several interruptions during which someone in the audience raised a question about the Hindus in Bengal. "I am for all, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians," Banerjee responded, which was followed by 'Go back' slogans from a section of the audience. The chief minister addressed one of the protesters as 'brother' and said, "Please remember this... and don't do politics. It's very easy to do politics here and create negative narratives." In a video from the interaction posted by the Trinamool Congress, the Chief Minister then responded to the protestors saying, "You encourage me, Please smile with a hope that Didi will come every time, Didi don't get bothered, Didi don't bother anybody, Didi walk just like a Royal Bengal Tiger and if you can catch me." Posting the video, the Trinamool Congress said, 'She (Mamata Banerjee) doesn't flinch. She doesn't falter. The more you heckle, the fiercer she roars. Mamata Banerjee is a Royal Bengal Tiger!' TMC leader Saugata Roy said that the Students' Federation of India in the UK (SFI UK) did this to get 'publicity'. In a statement, the SFI UK took responsibility for the protests, saying, 'SFI-UK held a demonstration in Kellogg College, Oxford against Mamata Banerjee's speech. We opposed her blatant lies by asking her for evidence of the social development she claims to pioneer. Instead of allowing us to peacefully express our opinions, the police were called...In support of the students and working masses of West Bengal, SFI-UK raised its voice in opposition to Mamata Banerjee and the TMC's corrupt, undemocratic rule.' -- With ANI inputs The Nepal police on Friday used tear gas and water cannons to disperse pro-monarchy demonstrators who torched a house and tried to break security barricades in Kathmandu, witnesses said. IMAGE: Pro-monarchist demonstrators throw stones towards riot police personnel during a protest demanding the restoration of Nepal's monarchy, in Kathmandu, Nepal, March 28, 2025. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters District authorities first imposed a curfew at 4:25 pm till 100ey, later extending it until 7 AM on Saturday. Nobody was allowed to move about in certain areas. Sabin Maharjan, 29, from Kathmandu, died at a hospital after sustaining a bullet injury during the clash, authorities said. One person was injured in the clash, an eyewitness said. Hundreds of riot police personnel were deployed in Kathmandu to avert a clash as pro and anti-monarchy supporters held separate demonstrations. The police detained several youths for defying restrictions when demonstrators attempted to move towards New Baneshwor, a restricted area. Pro-monarchy Rastriya Prajatantra Party and others joined the protest. Nepal's political parties through a Parliament declaration abolished the 240-year-old monarchy in 2008 and turned the erstwhile Hindu kingdom to a secular, federal, democratic republic. The monarchists have been demanding the restoration of the monarchy since the former king appealed for support in his video message telecast on Democracy Day (February 19). The pro-monarchy activists also held a rally on March 9 in support of Gyanendra who landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport from Pokhara after visiting religious places in different parts of the country. Some supporters displayed photographs of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's image alongside Gyanendra's. On the other hand, thousands of anti-monarchy supporters led by the Socialist Front gathered at Bhrikutimandap, chanting slogans like "Long live republican system", "Take action against corrupt people", and "Down with Monarchy". The anti-monarchy front was joined by political parties such as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and CPN-Unified Socialist. CPN-Maoist Centre chief Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda among others addressed a public meeting organised by the Socialist Forum at Bhrkutimandap. Two Maharashtra police officers are likely to face dismissal for alleged negligence in the investigation of last year's fatal Porsche crash, where a drunk minor driver killed two tech professionals, a top official said. IMAGE: The Porsche car that hit a motorcycle at Kalyani Nagar in Pune, May 19, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said a proposal was sent to the Maharashtra Home department on Thursday "seeking dismissal of these two suspended cops." A Porsche car, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy in an inebriated condition, had fatally run over two motorcycle-borne techies in the Kalyani Nagar area in the early hours of May 19 last year. Inspector Rahul Jagdale and assistant police inspector Vishwanath Todkari, attached to Yerawada police station, were suspended for late reporting of the incident and dereliction of duty at the time. An internal inquiry also pointed out lapses while registering the case and a delay in collecting blood samples. According to the police, there was a delay in collecting the juvenile's blood samples. While the accident took place around 2 am, the samples were collected at 11 am. It was also alleged that due to the intervention by a local politician, the police dealt very softly with him. The teenager, son of a builder, was produced before the juvenile justice board, which granted him bail while asking him to write a 300-word essay on road safety. The order led to a hue and cry, and he was detained again, but the Bombay High Court eventually ordered his release. The probe received another twist when it was revealed that there was an attempt, at the Sassoon government hospital, to swap the blood samples of the juvenile driver and his two minor friends who were with him in the car, so as to conceal the fact that they were drunk. Police arrested a total of ten persons: the teenage driver's parents Vishal Agarwal and Shivani Agarwal; hospital doctors Ajay Tawre, Shreehari Halnor; hospital employee Atul Ghatkamble, two `middlemen', and Aditya Avinash Sood, Ashish Mittal and Arun Kumar Singh. All ten are still in judicial custody. While Sood and Singh are fathers of the other two minors, Mittal is Singh's friend whose blood samples were swapped with those of the minor son of Singh. Bail applications of Singh and Mittal are being heard at the Pune sessions court, said special public prosecutor Advocate Shishir Hiray. The Supreme Court on Friday said septuagenarian Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who ended his indefinite hunger strike in support of farmers' several demands after about four months, was a 'genuine leader without a political agenda'. IMAGE: Doctors check on farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, during his fast unto death over various demands, in Sangrur on January 9, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was informed by Punjab advocate general (AG) Gurminder Singh that protesting farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu borders were dispersed and all blocked roads and highways cleared. The top court lauded Dallewal, calling him a genuine farmer leader who had raised real issues of the farming community without any political agenda. "We know some people did not want settlement of grievances of farmers. We are not sitting in an ivory tower. We know everything," the court said. The bench asked Punjab and Haryana government to file a status report on the prevailing situation on the ground. Singh, on the other hand, said even Haryana had cleared all the barricades on highways enabling smooth flow of traffic. "It was the daily pain suffered by the commuters which was in our mind," he said. The AG added lakhs of people would now reap the benefits after the highways were cleared as they had to detour earlier. Saying people should not suffer due to protests on roads, the court illustrated Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh had freely-moving traffic. In September, 2024, the top court formed a high-powered committee with the aim to amicably resolve the grievances of protesting farmers. The bench asked the committee headed by a former high court judge to look into the grievances of farmers, and file its next supplementary status report. It also dropped the contempt proceedings initiated against the Punjab chief secretary and director general of police for not complying with the top court's order on providing medical aid to Dallewal. In a related development, farmer leaders Sarwan Singh Pandher, Abhimanyu Kohar and Kaka Singh Kotra, detained in a recent police crackdown following a meeting with a central delegation, were released on Friday. Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Pandher was released from Muktsar Jail whereas Kohar, Kotra and other farmer leaders were released from Patiala Central Jail. In a police crackdown on March 19, several farmer leaders were detained on their return from a meeting with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh. The meeting was held to discuss the farmers' demands, especially the MSP legal guarantee. As the departing farmers entered Mohali after the meeting, they were met with heavy barricading and some of them were detained. The police evicted protesting farmers and dismantled their temporary structures from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points and vehicular traffic was resumed on the Shambhu-Ambala and Sangrur-Jind highways after that. The protesting farmers in Punjab slammed the ruling AAP government for detaining their leaders and removing protesters from the border points, where they had been camping since February 13 last year after their march to Delhi was thwarted by the security personnel. Farmer leaders claimed Dallewal was also detained on March 19 but the Punjab government said he was admitted to a Patiala hospital on his own terms. Dallewal is a senior leader of the joint forum of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and had been on an indefinite fast at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana since November 26, last year to press the Centre to accept the demands. He had previously refused medical aid offered by the state government following which his condition deteriorated. On December 20, the apex court put the onus on Punjab government officials and doctors to decide on his hospitalisation. The committee in its initial report flagged various reasons for agrarian distress and listed reasons including stagnant yield, rising costs, debts and inadequate marketing system. Aside from Justice (retd) Nawab Singh, the committee comprises retired IPS officer B S Sandhu, agriculture expert Devinder Sharma, professor Ranjit Singh Ghuman and Dr Sukhpal Singh, agricultural economist from the Punjab Agricultural University. Farmers, under the banners of SKM and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have camped at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 last year, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces. Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook. Paul Belogour is the owner of Vermont News & Media, which publishes the Brattleboro Reformer. The opinions expressed by columnists and op-ed writers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board. The Department of Internal Affairs has impaired $22.9 million worth of development on its Te Ara Manaaki transformation programme and remains in dispute with the service provider involved. A decision to halt the development of a new civil registration system as part of Te Ara Manaaki led to an assessment that a component could not provide future economic benefits in its current state, the department wrote in its 2024 annual report. The total value of $22.915 million has thus been impaired, it said. In making this assessment, it was determined that certain cost components of the project, such as the design works and a variety of new testing and delivery framework totalling $5.427 million, could be reusable and have the potential to generate business value. Despite that, the the department impaired the full $22.9 million worth of development on the new registries as the reusable components could only deliver economic benefits if additional work occurred to create a working asset. Australian IT services group DWS, a unit of HCLTech since 2021, won a temporary injunction last year blocking DIA from accessing information related to the project. The injunction aimed to suspend the effect of a contractual notice issued by the department on Dutch software escrow services provider Codekeeper. The notice required Codekeeper, which was also injuncted, to release information owned by DWS and related to the replacement of Internal Affairs ageing births deaths and marriages registry. The new registry system was to be housed in Microsofts NZ cloud region to replace 25-year-old end-of-life technology and give people more control over their information and be more efficient, secure and reliable. The time for viewing artificial intelligence (AI) as a simple means to solve productivity woes is over, according to Gartner vice president analyst Luke Ellery, who believes the technology needs to be placed instead on specific business cases. Speaking to sister publication ARN, Ellery said he views the claims of productivity gains through AI to be overhyped in the industry, as its a difficult concept to measure. If youve got 10,000 staff and you give everyone an AI tool, how are you actually going to harvest that? he said. What we do see is that theres an uptick in employee satisfaction typically, if you release a group AI tool, but youre not really going to get productivity. As a result, Ellery said the focus should be on targeted opportunities. Instead of just throwing AI at your employees, maybe youve got a specific problem thats data rich and resource intensive that you can actually focus and test out a business case, he said. It might be a bit hard, but organisations should be trying to, when theyre selling services to provide the information and the insights, help build out those business cases in areas that are outside productivity. In fact, Ellery claims, there arent enough examples of AI being implemented that explicitly show productivity gains. He also said the rise of DeepSeek earlier this year, a considerably more affordable solution with a smaller footprint compared to models from other companies, has contributed to skepticism towards the technology in general. Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. I'm RFE/RL correspondent Kian Sharifi. In this edition I'm looking at Iran displaying its missile prowess as a means of deterrence, despite having its missile-production capabilities degraded last year. What You Need To Know Iran Unveils New Underground Missile Base: The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) this week unveiled what has been described as Irans largest underground missile city. It comes as Irans network of regional proxies -- for years its main deterrence against Israel and the United States -- has suffered major setbacks and is at its weakest. With the Donald Trump administration not ruling out military action against Iran if there is no nuclear deal, Tehran is trying to project strength to ward off potential US or Israeli strikes. Journalist Trades Microphone For Rifle To Defend Ukraine: Kourosh Sehati, a journalist-turned-fighter, has become the first known Iranian to join Ukraines Foreign Legion against Russia. Sehati and his Ukrainian wife have two young children, and he calls Ukraine his second home. He told RFE/RLs Radio Farda that he left his family and job in London to defend Ukraine against what he called the club of dictators and invaders. Iran Accused Of Using Forged Papers To Evade Oil Sanctions: Iraqs Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani stated this week that Iranian oil tankers seized by US forces in the Persian Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents to evade sanctions. Iran swiftly denied the claim, accusing the media of misquoting the Iraqi minister. Hard-line voices in Tehran went further, accusing Baghdad of "selling Iran out" to the United States. Later, Irans oil minister, Mohsen Paknejad -- himself under US sanctions -- spoke with his Iraqi counterpart, urging vigilance against the sedition of the enemies of both countries. The Big Issue A Facility For Long-Range Missiles? Iran says it has numerous underground missile bases across Iran, and sporadically unveils some with a lot of hype. The newly unveiled base -- dubbed a missile metropolis by some outlets -- is a massive facility filled with high-powered weaponry, but experts say no new hardware could be spotted in footage shared by state media. Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow with the Washington Institute, noted that an unusual feature of the base is its wide and quite spacious tunnels and galleries. He concluded that the facility, which he speculated was in western Iran, was designed to house intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The base is home to missiles that travel well beyond 1,000 kilometers, including the Kheibarshekan and Sejjil ballistic missile and Paveh cruise missile, all of which can reach Israel and US bases in the Middle East if launched from western Iran. Why It Matters: Iran is showing no interest in holding direct talks over its nuclear program with the United States, and has outright rejected negotiations to rein in its missile program and regional activities. Trump has said he prefers a deal with Tehran, warning that it beats the alternative approach, which would be to bomb Irans nuclear facilities -- something that US ally and Iranian foe Israel appears ready and willing to do. For decades Iran relied on its sprawling network of regional allies and proxies, known as the axis of resistance, as deterrence against Israel and the United States. But key members of the group, including the US-designated Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, have been militarily degraded by Israel over the past year. Last month, The New York Times reported that Iran was considering developing a crude nuclear weapon as a deterrent against potential attacks. However, experts believe Western intelligence would likely detect such efforts in time to respond militarily. Despite Irans show of missile prowess, an Israeli attack in November degraded the Islamic republics missile production capabilities. What's Being Said: Gregory Brew, an Iran analyst at Eurasia Group, said Iran was clearly sending a message with the unveiling. Iran is clearly signaling it regards its ability to bring overwhelming force via [medium-range ballistic missiles] as its chief source of deterrence, with Hezbollah out of action, he wrote on X. Abdolrasool Divsallar, a senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), said Iran relies on the size of its missile arsenal to make up for deficits in their accuracy and destructive power. The New York-based Soufan Group argued that Irans unwillingness to restrict its missile and drone programs or its support for regional armed factions, in addition to its demands for extensive sanctions relief, will further complicate US-Iran negotiations. Expert Opinion: These developments reveal Iranian thinking about restructuring of its deterrence, highlighting a continued reliance on conventional forces & unwillingness to switch to nuclear deterrence, Divsallar wrote on X. That's all from me for now. Until next time, Kian Sharifi If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. Iran said it has given a "restrained" response to a letter by US President Donald Trump proposing direct talks over a new nuclear deal, as Tehran continues to insist on indirect negotiations. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on March 27 that Iran delivered its formal written response to Trump via Oman, maintaining that Tehran will not hold direct negotiations as long as Trumps maximum pressure campaign is in effect. "This official response includes a letter in which our position regarding the current situation and Mr. Trump's letter has been fully explained to the other party," Araqchi said. Trumps letter was delivered to Iran by an Emirati official on March 12. Some observers have argued that Irans decision to reply via Oman was due to concerns over the relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Others, however, have pointed to Trumps rapport with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that Israel will be made aware of the contents of Irans letter by Washington. Reports say Trumps letter included a proposal for direct negotiations over Irans nuclear program and threats that failure to reach a deal would have severe consequences. Washington has not ruled out air strikes against Irans nuclear program. Indirect Talks A No-Go Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tehrans response was restrained. It has been said in the letter that Iran is ready for indirect negotiations and if talks are held on equal footing, there is readiness to take further steps to negotiate, said Shamkhani, a former national-security adviser. Ali Vaez, Iran Program director at the International Crisis Group, says Tehrans insistence on indirect talks will not go down well in Washington because Trump cares about the optics of face-to-face negotiations. Trump has no interest in indirect negotiations, Vaez told RFE/RLs Radio Farda. Any indirect talks through mediators, no matter how good they progress, will be vulnerable. Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian ambassador to Germany, wrote on X that he believes Iran delivered an ambiguous response and addressed all the key points in Trumps letter. Vaez, however, criticized Irans negotiation tactics, arguing that decision-makers in Tehran have no understanding of how Trump operates. You cannot be ambiguous with Trump and his representatives. This type of diplomacy doesnt work with this administration, he said, adding that Iran needs to table a clear proposal for direct talks. Irans approach is a waste of time, and in the worst-case scenario, itll bring us to a dead-end where you can no longer have a peaceful resolution, Vaez said. The Islamic republic insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but there have been growing calls among hard-liners to weaponize it. Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran during his first term in office, arguing that it did not go far enough to rein in Iran's threat, such as restricting its missile program and ending support for its regional proxies. Iran says it is willing to talk to lift US sanctions, but it has categorically ruled out talks over the missile program and regional activities. With reporting by Elaheh Ravanshad of RFE/RL's Radio Farda US and Lithuanian forces are continuing to search for four US soldiers who went missing during NATO exercises in the Baltic country. A US Navy diving team was due to join the efforts after the soldiers' armored vehicle was located submerged in a swamp, where the boggy terrain complicates efforts to recover it. Lithuania's president said he hopes for "a miracle" regarding the soldiers, whose whereabouts are not confirmed. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said he still hopes for a miracle as rescue crews continue work to recover a submerged military vehicle that was carrying four US soldiers who remain missing. Nauseda told reporters after he arrived on March 28 to survey the situation at the Pabrade military training ground near Lithuania's border with Belarus that while many sceptics "would probably say there is nothing to hope for in these circumstances, I want to believe." "I am still hoping for a miracle," he added. Rescue operations have been under way since the early hours of March 25, when four US soldiers in an M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle went missing. Their vehicle was found submerged in a bog out in the training ground, triggering a massive recovery effort involving hundreds of Lithuanian and US personnel and dozens of vehicles. Lithuanian Defense Minister Davile Sakaliene said the rescue operation was able to remove "two to three meters of silt," but the vehicle was still not visible due to murky water. "It's still not enough, and water is rushing into the incident site from a nearby lake," she told LRT radio earlier in the day. She previously said the vehicle was located in water and mud at more than 5 meters down. Sakaliene said that the fate of the four soldiers has yet to be determined and that investigators have not ruled out the possibility that they are not in the vehicle, but elsewhere. On March 27, US Ambassador to Lithuania Kara C. McDonald visited the site of the search operation, pledging that US authorities "will not rest until we find them." Following the McDonalds visit and the arrival of a team of US divers to the training ground, Sakalene said Lithuanians are heartbroken and watching every moment of this rescue operation. Just as America doesnt leave its own behind, we in Lithuania dont leave ours behind either. And we consider these American soldiers our own, she told Fox News on March 28. Lithuania, a NATO and EU member, hosts more than 1,000 US troops stationed in the Baltic nation on a rotational basis. US Army Europe and Africa said in a statement earlier that the four soldiers were "conducting scheduled tactical training" when they went missing on March 25. In the early hours of the rescue operation, several conflicting accounts emerged, including comments from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that the four US soldiers were dead. A NATO spokeswoman later walked back those comments. Asked on the evening of March 26 by reporters if he had been briefed about the missing soldiers, US President Donald Trump said, No, I havent. He has not commented on the situation since. Russias most infamous mercenary company, the now-defunct Wagner Group, is notorious for many things: ruthless fighting prowess, brutal war crimes, the failed mutiny by its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin - and the plane crash that killed him two months later. Prigozhins commercial dealings from Kremlin catering contracts and real estate development to oil deals in Syria and lucrative gold- and diamond -mining in Africa, particularly in the violence-wracked Central African Republic, also drew attention. Add this to the list of side businesses that Prigozhins investments have spawned: Bottled water. Prigozhin was killed in an August 2023 plane crash that US officials believe was a Kremlin-authorized assassination. In the larger scheme of the multibillion-dollar, multinational conglomerate that he built, Crystal Water - which RFE/RL determined has been on sale in the C.A.R. capital, Bangui, since at least late 2023 - is small money. But its emblematic of how his businesses have fractured, as allies and former partners - not to mention Russian military and intelligence officials - have sought to capitalize on his investments. Although the Wagner Group in its original form no longer exists, many of its commercial ventures, like their mining operations, remain in operation in C.A.R., said C4ADS, a Washington-based research group that has tracked many of Prigozhins ventures. These companies represent a continuation of the Wagner Group's historic commercial endeavors, but without the centralized, militarized leadership that once defined the group, C4ADS told RFE/RL. The companies have proved adept at reacting to sanctions, often seeking to operate under a new name to obscure their identity. Lou Osborn, a French researcher who heads an organization called All Eyes On Wagner, said business ventures like bottled water serve a commercial purpose, but also a political purpose: to undermine the image of the C.A.R.s former colonial ruler, France, and make room for Russian influence. They build these businesses as a way to reinforce the political messages, through info operations theyve been spreading in the country, she told RFE/RL. Gold, Diamonds, Hardwood Timber Prigozhins mercenaries began deploying in force to the C.A.R. in 2018, under a contract to serve as a specialized security service for President Faustin-Archange Touadera and his government. In compensation, Prigozhin negotiated payment that included control over several mines, including, in 2020, the Ndassima gold mine, one of the countrys most valuable. Public records show Wagner-affiliated entities now control 10 mines in the country. According to U.S. and other Western governments, mineral extraction and hardwood timber harvesting in the C.A.R., has netted Prigozhins companies as much as $500 million annually, playing a central role in financing his business while he was alive. One of the main mining companies is Lobaye Invest, which is managed by Prigozhin associates Dmitry Syty, and Yevgeny Khodotov, according to the European Union, which imposed sanctions on the company. Lobaye Invest also finances several francophone media outlets, including the radio station Lengo Sengo, which broadcasts propaganda and advertising campaigns on behalf of Russian operations. Diamville SAU is an affiliated company that buys, sells, and trades gold and diamonds in the C.A.R., and was controlled by Prigozhin until his death. According to corporate records, the registered owner is a local man who has worked as a driver for Syty. Ndassima, located some 420 kilometers northeast of Bangui, has been controlled by another Wagner-linked company, Midas Ressources, since 2020. Private and public estimates say the mine might contain as much as $2.8 billion worth of gold. Midas, along with other Prigozhin-linked firms operating in the C.A.R., is key to financing Wagners operations in the C.A.R. and beyond, according to a 2023 US Treasury Department announcement. Yet another company with reported ties to Wagner has exported hundreds of thousands of dollars in lucrative hardwood harvested from forests in the western Lobaye region, according to Earthsight, a British environmental NGO. SEE ALSO: In Wake Of Mutiny, Prigozhin's Media Empire In Russia Shuts Down After Prigozhins death, the Wagner Groups military and mercenary components were absorbed by the Russian Defense Ministry and other entities. His main holding company, Concord Holdings, also began to splinter, with Russian prosecutors announcing investigations. Outside of Russia, however, ownership of Prigozhin-related companies became even murkier. Vodka, Beer, Soda -- And Water Social media posts suggest that Crystal Water started appearing in Bangui marketplaces sometime in late 2023 when the brand began distributing T-shirts, hiring people to march in public parades, and promoting the water as a superior ingredient for brewing coffee. Crystal Water is one of several brands of bottled water sold in the C.A.R., where the overwhelming majority of the population have no access to clean drinking water. Its also one of the more expensive brands on the market. Labels on the bottles, which RFE/RL purchased at a Bangui market, refer to a company called First Industrial Company, which is better known as the brewer of a local beer called Africa Ti L'Or. A June 2023 intelligence report submitted to Frances parliament stated outright that the brewery was owned by the Wagner Group. Wagner opened its own brewery in Bangui at the end of 2021 to compete with the French, with the launch of a new drink, Africa Ti L'Or, on the Central African market, the report said. Social media photographs on Africa Ti LOrs accounts show pallets of Crystal Water in factory storage at the brewers plant. The exact origins of First Industrials drinks business are unclear. The company broke ground on a bottling plant -- located about 24 kilometers north of Bangui, on the banks of the Mpoko River -- in early 2022, possibly some months earlier. Satellite imagery shows the plants footprint has expanded noticeably since then. In April 2022, the company imported water purification equipment from a Russian company called GK Gost, according to trade records obtained by RFE/RL. Aside from beer, soft drinks, and bottled water, Africa Ti L'Or also manufactures a local vodka called Wa Na Wa, which is sold in plastic packets. By August 2023, the month Prigozhin was killed, a website called Nouvelles Plus published what appeared to be a press release about Africa Ti L'Or and the good quality of this new range of alcoholic beverages. This new beer Africa Ti L'Or has won the hearts of consumers with its taste and quality which stands out from other beers that have existed in the C.A.R., it said. Africa Ti L'Or has aggressively promoted its beer - on billboards around the country and on Facebook and other social media, some of which appeared to be linked to Wagner operations. Africa Ti L'Or has also circulated social media advertisements for Crystal Water, and some of its other products: an orange soda drink called Africa Fanta and a Coca-Cola-like beverage called Ti Lor Cola. Many of the promotional events organized by Africa Ti LOr are held at the Russian House, a cultural center under the auspices of the Russian Embassy. The principal behind First Industrial is widely believed to be Dmitry Syty, a Russian who was one of Prigozhins first associates when he first began cultivating business in the C.A.R. Syty, who started out as an interpreter for a Prigozhin-founded mining company called M Invest, has headed the Russian House for years. Syty has aggressively expanded Russias public outreach in the country, organizing language classes, and sponsoring beauty pageants, for example. He has also renovated a building to serve as a Russian Orthodox Church, with priests flown in from Russia to hold services and blessings for Russian mercenaries serving in the country. Syty is extremely well integrated into the C.A.R. elite, Osborn told RFE/RL. Everyone knows him in Bangui. Hes a key stakeholder if you work in Bangui. In December 2022, Syty was wounded - parts of his right hand blown off - when a bomb that was mailed to him at the cultural center detonated. He was flown to Moscow for treatment, where, in interviews with Russian newspapers, he said the attack and threats that preceded it were aimed at pushing Wagner out of the country. In September 2023, just a few weeks after Prigozhins death, a high-level Russian delegation, which included a deputy defense minister and the deputy head of military intelligence, paid a highly public visit to Bangui. During the visit, Touadera appealed to the visitors to continue working in the C.A.R. He also asked that Syty remain the point person for Wagners business operations. Syty has also accompanied Touadera on trips to Moscow, most recently in January 2025, when Touadera received a red-carpet airport welcome and an honor guard parade just outside the Kremlin walls. RFE/RL reached out to Syty, in phone calls and on WhatsApp through a phone number provided by a person who has communicated with him. He did not respond as of publication. 'Reinforce Political Messages, And Increase Their Political Influence' The promotional and marketing efforts by First Industrial have a commercial purpose: taking market share away from companies like Castel Group, a major French wine and beer company. Castel owns a brewery called Mocaf, which has long been the dominant beer in the country. Castel did not respond to messages seeking comment. Theres also a political bent, Osborn said: to undermine Frances image in the country and to burnish Russias image. In 2021, a high-energy, kinetic, Russian war-action film called The Tourist was released. Set in the Central African Republic, the film features a group of heroic Russian military trainers sent to bolster the professionalism of beleaguered security forces until they're caught up in an attempted coup on the eve of a presidential election. The film, which played widely in the C.A.R., was reportedly financed by Prigozhins companies. They are trying to displace [French competitors] from a pure business angle, yes, but when they try to displace them, they also try to reinforce political messages, and increase their political influence, Osborn said. Sytys actions have drawn scrutiny not only from journalists and researchers, but also Western governments. The U.S. Treasury Department targeted First Industrial in September 2023, the same month that the Russian delegation appeared in Bangui. Previous sanctions had targeted other Prigozhin entities, including mining and timber companies. Six months later, however, First Industrial was removed from the Treasury sanctions list, without explanation. For his part, Syty was personally sanctioned in July 2023 by Britain, whose government declared he was associated with the Wagner Group, which has been involved in the commission of violations of international humanitarian law in the Central African Republic, in particular the deliberate targeting of civilians. Africa Ti Lor beer also drew the attention of French lawmakers. In February 2024, Olivier Cadic, a senator in the French parliament, publicly accused the company of using bad quality water. A spokesman told RFE/RL that Cadic had received no further communication from the C.A.R. government regarding his allegations but had no further comment. RFE/RL contributor Jean-Fernand Koena reported from the Central African Republic Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary international administration to allow for elections and the signing of key accords. The long-term goal of such an administration would be reaching a settlement to end the war, Putin said during a visit to the Northern Fleet in Murmansk on March 28, according to Russian news agencies. "This is just one of the options. I am not saying that there are no others," Putin said, speaking after talks in Paris about how to firm up Ukraine's position on and off the battlefield. The idea could be implemented "under the auspices of the UN, the USA, with European countries" and with "partners and friends" of Russia, Putin said. The goal would be "to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks with them about a peace treaty," Putin said. Putin has long complained that Ukraine's authorities are not a legitimate negotiating partner because President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has remained in power beyond the end of his five-year mandate. No Elections Under Martial Law Elections were to be held in May 2024, but under Ukrainian law Zelenskyy remains president until new elections are held. But they cannot be held under martial law, which the country has been under since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. Putin repeated that he views the current leadership of Ukraine as illegitimate and he is therefore resistant to signing any documents with it. Putin also expressed Russia's readiness for a peaceful settlement, saying Russia is "persistently and confidently moving toward achieving all the goals stated at the beginning" of the Russian invasion. "There is reason to believe that we will achieve them. He said he believed US President Donald Trump sincerely wants to end the conflict, and Trump's push for direct talks between US and Russian negotiators showed that Trump wants peace. There has been no reaction from Ukraine to Putin's latest statements. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it's too early to expect high-level talks with Russia. "There's a lot of work to be done with both sides, particularly with the Russian side, which we haven't talked to for years," Rubio said on March 27 on his return flight to the United States after a Caribbean tour. Asked how long it would take to make progress, Rubio said, "I just can't put a timeframe on that because it doesn't depend on us." French President Emmanuel Macron, who on March 27 hosted a summit of the leaders of a "coalition of the willing," said they were more united around Ukraine than ever before and need to ensure that they're able to counter what he described as Russia's plan to draw out the negotiating process in order to grab more land. "Our target is clear," Macron said at a press conference after the summit involving the leaders of 27 countries. "It is to achieve peace -- and to do this, we need to get Ukraine in the best possible place." The summit discussed the potential deployment of European forces in Ukraine to complement a future cease-fire or peace deal. "There will be a reassurance force operating in Ukraine representing several countries," Macron said. He added that there is currently no unanimity on sending a European-led force and that not all members have agreed to participate, but he said that this is not required to move ahead. The French president said that foreign ministers of coalition countries were tasked with looking at specific legal questions over any European-led reassurance force and told to report back in three weeks. Whether the plan will result in a deployment or whether it will be integrated into diplomatic talks spearheaded by Washington remains to be seen. Saudi Peace Talks Following the summit, Zelenskyy said everyone understood that Russia does not seek peace and said that work on security guarantees would continue in the coming days and weeks. Earlier this week, separate US talks with Kyiv and Moscow in Saudi Arabia led to the announcement of a deal that the White House said resulted in a cease-fire in the Black Sea and an agreement "to develop measures for implementing" their commitment to halt strikes on energy facilities. But Russia is also demanding a number of conditions be met before it abides by the Black Sea agreement, including an easing of sanctions. Macron said following the summit in Paris that he intends to speak to Trump and praised the recent US diplomacy. Later on March 27, Trump adviser Elon Musk told Fox News that he believes there will be a negotiated peace to end the war. For the past two years, thousands of people have died every week for nothing. For what? said Musk, who has become one of Trump's closest advisers. He said he has "contempt" for people who want to continue the war without regard for those who are dying. "I take great offense at those whoput the appearance of goodness over the reality of it, he said. Those who virtue signal and say we cant give in to Russia but have no solution to stopping thousands of kids dying every day. Asked whether he is optimistic that Trumps plan to end the war will work, Musk said the plan is the only thing that will work. With reporting by Reuters and AFP KYIV -- The Ukrainian government said it is still considering a draft agreement from the United States on the country's minerals amid media reports Washington has changed the terms of the deal several times. Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced at a government meeting that Kyiv is forming its position on the agreement but lawmakers would only state their stance once there was consensus. Before then, she said, public discussion would be harmful. As the United States has been engaging in shuttle diplomacy to bring peace to Ukraine, US President Donald Trump said on March 24 that he expected the two countries would soon sign a minerals and natural resources deal. Speaking to Reuters, Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that the draft agreement had yet to be finalized. The news agency said that, according to three people familiar with the talks, the latest draft gives Ukraine no future security guarantees and requires it to contribute all income from the use of natural resources managed by state and private enterprises to a joint investment fund. "Consultations are still happening at the level of the various ministries," Podolyak said. Ukraine possesses significant deposits of critical minerals, including rare earths, although their exact size remains uncertain. Rare earth minerals are highly valued for their use in defense technologies, as well as in devices such as computers, smartphones, and batteries. Recouping US Support Last month, Ukraine and the United States reached a comprehensive agreement to develop Ukraine's vital mineral resources. The agreement was part of Trump's efforts to end the war and recoup some of the tens of billions of dollars the US has given Ukraine in financial and military aid since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Following a contentious meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House on February 28, attempts to finalize the agreement collapsed. At the heart of the original deal was a joint fund that would be financed by future profits from the extraction of valuable minerals in Ukraine. It is not clear whether the terms of the minerals deal have changed or whether it will include the security guarantees for Ukraine that Zelenskyy has pushed for. The Ukrainian president said on March 27 that the United States was "constantly" altering the terms of the proposed agreement, though he added that he did not want Washington to believe that Kyiv was opposed to it. The London-based Financial Times reported on March 27 that the new draft agreement goes far beyond the first agreement and would cover all mineral resources, including oil and gas, and major energy assets across Ukraine. In comments on X on March 28, Svyrydenko said that, given the importance of the agreement, "it is crucial for us to have a constructive dialogue with our American partners." As Russia steps up its air campaign against Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, the village of Krasnopillya has come under heavy fire. Air strikes have taken out power and communications networks as well as the local hospital. As RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service visited the village, one resident was racing to save the local newspaper archives from destruction, while others were working to help their neighbors evacuate safely. News / Local by Staff reporter Zimbabwe Alloys and Smelting Company (ZIMASCO) has formally lodged a complaint with the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) against High Court Judge Joel Mambara, alleging judicial misconduct in a case involving control of the chromite mining giant.In a letter dated March 21, ZIMASCO CEO John Musekiwa accused Justice Mambara of issuing an irregular corporate rescue order that allegedly sought to benefit Kwekwe-based businessman Shepard Tundiya and his associate Denny Marandure. The two, through their company Avim Investments, are reportedly attempting to take over ZIMASCO's operations and financial accounts.At the center of the controversy is an initial court order that failed to properly identify ZIMASCO as a party to the proceedings. The company claims the judge later made an "improper correction" to the order without their knowledge or participation in the legal process.ZIMASCO's complaint further alleges that the case was processed with "unprecedented speed," with the filing and issuance of the court order completed within just three hours. This, they argue, raises serious concerns about due process and the integrity of judicial proceedings."The Honorable Judge could not lawfully amend his own order without involving the affected parties," Musekiwa wrote in the official complaint.He further stated:"The extraordinary rapidity of these proceedings, combined with the failure to ensure proper service, suggests more than mere oversight it indicates active participation in a fraudulent scheme."The mining firm also implicated attorneys Valentine Kwande and Wilson Manase in the alleged scheme, describing their involvement as part of an attempted "financial raid" on ZIMASCO's assets.Musekiwa's letter concluded with a damning assertion:"There can be only one explanation for these judicial actions. Justice Mambara appears to have been complicit in a coordinated effort to unlawfully seize control of ZIMASCO's financial resources and operations through fraudulent court orders."As the case unfolds, the JSC is expected to review the allegations and determine whether disciplinary action or further legal proceedings are warranted. News / Local by Staff reporter A police officer was shot and killed while attending to a crime scene in Tshabalala suburb on Thursday night. The slain officer has been identified as Sergeant Abel Masava.According to reports, Sgt Masava was on duty with another officer, accompanying two complainants to the scene of a reported crime when they encountered a group of five men passing by. Sources say he approached the group to inquire about their presence in the area when one of the suspects suddenly pulled out a firearm and shot him in the head.Sgt Masava was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival.Police have yet to issue an official statement regarding the fatal shooting, and investigations into the incident are ongoing. The shooting has sent shockwaves through the community, with law enforcement agencies now intensifying efforts to track down the assailants.Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward to assist in the manhunt. Gordon Deegan Accumulated profits at the plant hire firm controlled by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Michael Healy Rae TD last year increased to 808,911. New accounts filed by the Co Kerry-based Minister Healy Raes Roughty Plant Hire Ltd show that accumulated profits increased by 74,887 from 734,024 to 808,911 in the 12 months to the end of April last. The post tax 74,887 profit at the plant hire services business for the 12 months is an 80pc increase on the 41,415 post tax profit for the prior 12 months. Four Healy Raes, Michael and his wife, Eileen, along with sons, Ian and Kevin, sit on the board of the firm, and aggregate pay to directors last year dipped from 70,885 to 66,783. During the 12 months, the companys cash funds more than doubled from 198,748 to 434,224. The book value of the firm's tangible assets stood at 473,682. Numbers employed at Kilgarvan-based business during the year declined from 12 to five. The accounts, which were signed off by Michael Healy Rae and Eileen Healy Rae on January 17th, show that the profit for the year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of 84,204. Separate accounts for another Healy Rae firm, which operates a fuel station and grocery shop in Kilgarvan, show that it recorded post-tax losses of 26,986 last year. The new accounts for Black Cap & Company Ltd show that the firm recorded the post tax losses of 26,986 in the 12 months to the end of April 2024 are down sharply on the post tax losses of 67,583 in the prior year. Last year, the number employed by the company declined by one to 15, including directors. Minister Healy Rae sits on the board of Black Cap & Company Ltd with his wife, Eileen, who is the majority shareholder in the business, and aggregate pay to the two last year totalled 49,13,2 which included pension contributions of 4,400 At the end of April 2024, the firm owed Deputy Healy Rae 148,931. The company operates from a building housing a shop at Kilgarvan village, and the accounts confirm that the building is owned by Minister Healy Rae. Last year, the firm paid 8,000 in rent to Minister Healy Rae. The loss last year takes account of combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of 34,476. The loss for 2024 resulted in the company having accumulated losses of 35,815 at the end of April. The companys cash funds declined from 46,541 to 36,437. The book value of the companys tangible assets declined from 94,723 to 69,429. Separately, Purchase Order figures published by the Departmentt of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth show that a Co Kerry guesthouse operated by a firm, Roughty Properties Ltd owned by Deputy Michael Healy-Rae has received 1.22 million over two years and three months for accommodating Ukrainians. Roughty Properties Ltd was incorporated in 2022 and has to file its first set of accounts. The firm is just one of four where Deputy Healy Rae is listed as a director, and they include Michael Healy Rae Properties Ltd. Deputy Healy-Raes entry to the Dails members register of interests lists his other occupations as postmaster, farmer, service station owner and owner of rental properties. The Kerry deputy also has shares in the New York Times. Deputy Healy Rae also describes himself as an owner of rental properties, and his entry on the Dial register lists 17 separate properties for letting,g including 14 houses. Deputy Healy Rae also has 146 acres of farmland/forestry. Neha Kakkar breaks silence over Melbourne concert: Organizers ran away with money.' (Image courtesy:India Forums) Neha Kakkar: Do you know that our soundcheck got delayed for hours because the sound vendor wasnt paid and refused to set up the sound? Neha Kakkar Breaks Silence Over Melbourne Concert: Organizers Ran Away with Money, Latest News: Neha Kakkar recently broke her silence over the Melbourne concert where she faced backlash for being three hours late. Taking to social media, she made a four-slide post explaining the delay. In her statement, she questioned whether anyone ever tried to understand what caused the delay and what had happened to her and her band. She also explained why she hadnt shared the full details earlier, saying she didnt want to harm anyone. However, now that she found herself in these circumstances, she felt compelled to speak out. Advertisement She shared that she performed for her Melbourne fans absolutely free and then revealed that the organizers had run away with my money and others' too. She also mentioned that her band wasn't provided with food, hotel accommodations, or even water. It was her husband and his team who stepped in to provide food for the band. Despite the unforeseen challenges, Neha performed without rest, even though she was three hours late, because my fans were waiting for hours for me. She added, Do you know that our soundcheck got delayed for hours because the sound vendor wasnt paid and refused to set up the sound? Neha also shared that when the soundcheck finally started, she couldnt reach the venue on time. Advertisement We didnt even know if the concert was going to happen, as the organizers stopped picking up my managers' calls. They were apparently running away from the sponsors and everyone. In the end, she expressed her gratitude for those who understood her situation and spoke out on her behalf, saying, I really appreciate all the efforts people took to clarify my situation. Im always going to be thankful to all those who attended my concert that day, cried with me, and danced their hearts out. I cant thank my NeHearts enough for always standing up for me and everyone who supported me with nothing but love. Thank you! Neha Kakkar's Melbourne concert took place on March 21, 2025. When she arrived at the concert, she apologized to her fans, who were waiting for her, and was seen crying. She said, You have been really sweet and patient, waiting for so long... I hate it. I have never made anyone wait in my entire life. I was so worried about what would happen. It means a lot to me... Ill always remember this evening forever. Since youve taken out your precious time for me, I will make you all dance. Advertisement ( For More News, Apart Neha Kakkar breaks silence over Melbourne concert: Organizers ran away with money, Stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Supreme Court Commends Jagjit Singh Dallewal as a Genuine Farmer Leader Amid Ongoing Protests Punjab government reported that Jagjit Singh Dallewal had ended his months-long hunger strike The Supreme Court on Friday lauded farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal as a genuine farmer leader without any political agenda as the Punjab government reported that he had ended his months-long hunger strike, which had been focused on multiple demands. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh dropped contempt proceedings against Punjabs Chief Secretary and Director General of Police for failing to comply with an earlier court order to provide medical assistance to Dallewal. Advertisement Court Acknowledges the Situation During the hearing, the Punjab government informed the court that the farmers protesting at Khanauri and Shambhu borders had been dispersed, and all affected roads and highways had been reopened for traffic. The bench further instructed the Punjab and Haryana governments to file a status report on the ground situation, adding, "We know some people did not want the grievances of farmers to be settled. We are not sitting in an ivory tower. We know everything." Farmers, under the banners of Samyukt Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, had been protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13 of the previous year, after security forces blocked their march to Delhi. On March 19, several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Dallewal, were detained in Mohali while returning from a meeting with a central delegation. Following this, Punjab Police carried out the courts order to remove the farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites. Advertisement Farmer Leaders Continue Their Struggle Sarwan Singh Pandher, a leader of the Kisan Mazdoor Sanghrash Committee-Punjab, who was released from Muktsar Sahib jail on Friday, criticized the AAP-led Punjab government and demanded compensation for damages incurred during the protests. I have been released from Muktsar Sahib Jail today. The AAP and Bhagwant Mann had claimed the farmers protest was directed against the Union government. But today, the question arises: Why did the Punjab government feel compelled to take action against the farmers? The government should compensate us for the damages to our tents, tractors, and other equipment. Our movement will continue, Pandher stated. Another farmer leader, Harinder Singh Lakhowal, expressed their refusal to attend a meeting called by Punjabs Agriculture Minister, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, on Friday. "We will hold a protest on March 28 at district headquarters," Lakhowal announced, signaling the ongoing resistance to the governments actions. Advertisement Despite the dispersal of protests, it is clear that the farmers demands and their movement continue, with leaders emphasizing that their struggle for rights and compensation remains unresolved. 3 Police Personnel, 3 Terrorists Killed in Kathua Encounter; 7 Officers Injured (Image courtesy: PTI and DH)) Two more terrorists are suspected to be hiding in the dense forest. 3 Police Personnel, 3 Terrorists Killed in Kathua Encounter; 7 Officers Injured, latest news:Three terrorists and three police personnel were killed in an exchange of gunfire in a remote forested area of Jammu and Kashmirs Kathua district. Seven more police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were reported injured in the encounter. The operation was halted overnight and resumed early Friday morning. Advertisement The encounter, which broke out around 8 AM on Thursday, was led by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, assisted by the Army and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Confirming the death of the policemen on Friday morning, the Indian Army wrote on X: "#RisingStarCorps salutes the valor & indomitable spirit of the brave @JmuKmrPolice personnel who made the supreme sacrifice fighting valiantly during the ongoing OP SAFIYAN in #Kathua. Their courage and dedication will always be remembered." Advertisement According to PTI, the operation targeted a group of militants believed to be members of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit. It was also reported that local youths assisted security forces in carrying heavy weapons and ammunition. The Army reportedly used rocket launchers to neutralize the terrorists, while the militants used M4 carbines, grenades, and other weapons. Advertisement Two more terrorists are suspected to be hiding in the dense forest. ( For More News, Apart from '3 Police Personnel, 3 Terrorists Killed in Kathua Encounter; 7 Officers Injured, Stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) 7.7 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Myanmar No casualties have been reported yet, and no tsunami warning has been issued. 7.7 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Myanmar, Latest News: A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, followed by a 6.8 magnitude aftershock at 12:50 PM (local time), according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The epicenter was located 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Sagaing at a depth of 10 km. No casualties have been reported yet, and no tsunami warning has been issued. Videos circulating on social media show damaged buildings in the affected areas. According to reports, tremors were felt in Bangkok, Thailand, and southwestern China. BBC reported that many buildings in Bangkok are not typically designed to withstand earthquakes, raising concerns about potential damage. Videos also show water splashing out of rooftop pools due to the tremors. Advertisement Joseph Ciprut, an X user, shared his experience, writing, "Just experienced a 7.7-strength #earthquake in #Bangkok for close to 3 minutes. Its epicenter was Mandalay, Myanmar, over 1,200 km from here. Despite the distance, it swayed buildings, caused cracks, forced evacuations, and rooftop pools cascaded much water down below. Scary!" Another user shared a video from a supermarket where customers were seen rushing out as the building shook and electricity flickered. The caption read, "7.3 earthquakes from Myanmar felt in Chiang Mai, Thailand. RimPing Supermarket in Mae Rim." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern and assured assistance. "Concerned by the situation in the wake of the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Praying for the safety and well-being of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, I have asked our authorities to be on standby and instructed the MEA to remain in touch with the Governments of Myanmar and Thailand," he tweeted. ( For More News, Apart from '7.7 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Myanmar, , Stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Hateg Country, Lost World of Dinosaurs The Hateg Country - Tara Hategului Geopark, located in Hunedoara County, is the first International Geopark in Romania and Eastern Europe recognized as a UNESCO site. Hateg Country, Lost World of Dinosaurs Daniel Onea, 28.03.2025, 14:00 The Hateg Country Tara Hategului Geopark, located in Hunedoara County, is the first International Geopark in Romania and Eastern Europe recognized as a UNESCO site, for the creative way of valorizing a special geological and cultural heritage for tourism, education and science. The University of Bucharest has taken over the administration of the status of International Geopark and UNESCO site. In partnership with other entities, the University contributes to the fulfillment of all international obligations and always proposes research activities. Zoltan Csiki-Sava, associate professor and researcher at the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Bucharest, says that information is extracted from the rocks related to the creatures that lived here in the Earths past: First of all, our activity is focused on the discovery and interpretation of the remains of dinosaurs and other animals that lived in the Hateg area approximately 70 million years ago. Dinosaurs are mainly the ones that hold the attention of the press and the general public. From this point of view, recently, we managed to identify two new species of dinosaurs from the titanosaur group, two new species that were added to the other two species that were previously known. This is not unique or rare. Two years ago, we also managed to identify a new species of dinosaur, also herbivorous, like titanosaurs, but, this time, somewhat smaller and bipedal. We named it Transylvanosaurus. Likewise, in previous years, other species of dinosaurs were discovered and described from the Hateg area, both by us and by colleagues working in that area, as well as species of crocodilians, species of turtles, mammals, flying reptiles, and so on. Equally important are the discoveries and research related to understanding the environment in which these animals lived, their age, the period when these animals existed, continues Csiki-Sava Zoltan, associate professor and researcher at the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Bucharest: Including from these points of view, we have had some quite significant results in the last few decades. These have allowed us to understand in much more detail the ecosystem that existed here, in an island area. The Hateg area of today and not only, a large part of the Transylvania area, 70 million years ago, was an island area surrounded by marine waters, warm waters. It was a tropical or subtropical island, and this island, in practice, decisively influenced the life of the organisms that existed here. What we are doing is trying to sketch in as many details, as vividly, life on this island. For several decades, research in the Hateg area and not only, in general, in the Transylvania basin area, has been carried out in collaboration with researchers from abroad. This collaboration has brought many benefits to geological and paleontological research in that area. Working with colleagues from abroad, we basically have access, on the one hand, to their knowledge and to their research databases, and, on the other hand, collaborating with them always means an exchange of information, which helps us to understand much more deeply, much more in detail, the topics we are researching. So, these collaborative activities have proven, in the end, to be essential in the results we have managed to produce in that area. The research results from the Hateg Country Geopark are extraordinary, identifying some of the most fascinating species of dwarf dinosaurs, adapted to island conditions. However, these results often do not always reach the publics attention: When new discoveries, new species that we identify, appear, we try to bring such information to the general public, precisely because these discoveries allow us to speak in an easily accessible language about information that is otherwise very deeply scientific and quite difficult for the general public to understand. But we try to reach the general public and talk about those discoveries in a language that is as accessible as possible and in a language that helps the general public to truly understand the purpose and significance of the research we are conducting. But, apart from these contacts with the press, there are unfortunately not many opportunities to speak, to bring these discoveries to the general public. There are exhibitions that are organized, but quite rarely, in different areas of the country related to such discoveries, but, in general, they are isolated initiatives. There is not, lets say, a comprehensive, national strategy that would help this communication of research, of science to the general public. Research never stops, says Zoltan Csiki-Sava, associate professor and researcher at the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Bucharest: There are new discoveries, there are old remains that we have researched and that are currently in the works. Likewise, together with collaborators from different countries in Europe, but not only. We are quite sure that, in the near future, within a few years, we will be able to add several more new species of different animals that lived in this area tens of millions of years ago. Obviously, we cannot give many details about these things for now. Most of the research is ongoing, they mainly have to be kept quite carefully under control, because the announcement, for example, of a new species has to be done in a certain way, according to a certain scientific rigor. This rigor is violated when inappropriate information can reach the attention of the general public prematurely. But, for sure, there will be new things and new, interesting discoveries from the Hateg area in the next few years. The dinosaurs discovered in Hateg Country (Tara Hategului) are unique in the world, their scientific importance and attractiveness being increased by the discoveries of nests with dinosaur eggs and chicks, of mammals contemporary with dinosaurs, and of a gigantic flying reptile from the pterosaur group. (CC, LS) News / Local by Staff reporter Twelve senior pastors from the United Methodist Church (UMC) in Zimbabwe have resigned in protest against the church's recent decision to remove its long-standing condemnation of homosexuality.At a press conference in Harare this morning, Reverend Forbes Matonga confirmed the resignations, citing a fundamental departure from Christian teachings."Now your beloved church fully embraces this sin and even celebrates it as God's gift," said Rev. Matonga.The resignations follow last year's General Conference of the United Methodist Church in the United States, where church leadership voted 523-161 to revise its Social Principles. The decision eliminated language stating that homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching" and allowed for the ordination and appointment of self-avowed practicing homosexuals.The Zimbabwean delegation was among those who strongly opposed the vote.Pastor Maria Masamba, one of the resigning clergy members, expressed deep concerns about the impact of the policy shift."I'm not talking about being modern or progressive; I'm talking about the very fabric of our society," she said."If we start to normalise homosexual relationships within the church, what does that mean for the future of our families, our communities, and the world? It's not about being old-fashioned or close-minded; it's about preserving the human race."The resignations signal growing tensions within the global UMC community, particularly in Africa, where conservative church leaders have repeatedly clashed with their Western counterparts over doctrinal changes on sexuality.It remains to be seen how the split will affect United Methodist congregations in Zimbabwe, as more conservative pastors weigh their future within the church. Dacia Lastun The story of a French-inspired car model. Ioan Bianu (1856-1935) Steliu Lambru, 28.03.2025, 14:00 The Romanian car industry before 1989 also produced a lesser-known car, the Dacia 500 Lastun. It was a project developed towards the end of the 1980s, although the first sources of inspiration had appeared in the early 1970s. Dacia Lastun was part of the category of small cars intended for young families. Apart from its small size, another objective producers aimed at was low fuel consumption. Actual production began in 1988 in Timisoara. Lastun was what we can call today a three-door mini hatchback. It had a 500-cubic-centimeter engine, two cylinders, with a four-speed manual gearbox. It ran on a 22-horsepower engine and the consumption was 3.3 liters per 100 km for regular drives. At first, the car had metal sheeting and weighed 620 kilograms. Later, the body was made of plastic and the weight decreased to 590 kilograms. In terms of size, it was 3-meters long, 1.4- meters wide, 1.3-meters high with a 1.9-meters wheelbase. Prior to 1989, engineer Ion Puiu worked for the government as an expert in the field of automotive industry research. He remembered the circumstances in which the idea of a small, fuel-efficient car emerged, following a visit by Romanian political leader Nicolae Ceausescu to France. The Romanian automotive industry was inspired by its French counterpart and renewed the tradition of a French-Romanian collaboration and an old friendship between Romania and France. Since these things didnt appear in the press, the Lastun appeared as a result of dissatisfaction with the fact that from the point of view of fuel consumption, neither the Dacia 1100, Dacia 1300, nor the Oltcit fared well. Their consumption was too high. On the other hand, there is always a gap in the collective memory, in the sense that it takes time before new information sinks in. This idea was the excessively high, unacceptably high average consumption. There was a time, lets say around 1973, when there was the first global shock of the oil crisis, the Renault 5 model hit the market, an extraordinary car, which made quite the visual impression. Among other things, lets say, the French specialize in small cars. And then, when Nicolae Ceausescu went to France, he knew this dissatisfaction with consumption, he asked Valery Giscard dEstaing how they, the French, solved this problem. And Valery Giscard dEstaing took him, I think to Nantes, to a kind of industrial high school, lets call it, very top level, which in France, logically, turns into a kind of college and produces technicians with superior training. And here he showed him the concept of the voiturette. The French have voiturettes even today without a license, with a 250 cubic centimeter engine, a kind of motorcycle, with or without a roof. And he told Ceausescu its something were doing as well. This stuck with Ceausescu and upon his return to Romania, this idea of manufacturing a very small car gain traction. But the transition to actual production was problematic. The political regime and its ideological functioning were responsible for the major dysfunctions. Engineer Alexandru Ioan worked at the Dacia car company and, as part of the Lastun project, he was temporarily posted to the Timisoara factory. When production for the Lastun started, I was posted to Timisoara, but I was pressured by the Minister telling me to do this job, and that was it. I told him that the French should know what we were doing, but he didnt, he told me to take care of it. For six months I was posted to the Timisoara factory for technical assistance, thats what it was called, and I witnessed the start of the project. I can say that the design part and the early days of this project, which took place at the National Institute of Thermal Engines in Bucharest, had no major problems, compared to any other model, produced either here or abroad. However, within the factory there were very big problems and the design was stonewalled, it could not be developed further to eliminate the problems that are inherent. For Renault 12, up to 100 modifications were made per day, here the same thing. With the Lastun, however, nothing was done, practically no further modifications were made. There was pressure to start production and the car came out with quality problems. In addition, there were problems with the production capacities of the door panels, which were made of plastic, as well as the hoods, which were also limited. These were all critical elements for the start of a large-scale production. And just as the solution was within reach, the Revolution happened and the whole thing blew over. Several thousand units of Dacia Lastun were however produced. In 1991, the Timisoara factory was closed, and the model itself is a very rare collectors item. (VP) March 28, 2025 UPDATE A roundup of local and international news. Newsflash Newsroom, 28.03.2025, 19:48 Defence. Romania has a direct stake in seeing the war in Ukraine come to an end and would like to see this neighbouring country enjoy peace and pursue its European path, reads a statement from the presidents office after a meeting of the Countrys Supreme Defence Council. The Council met on Friday in the first meeting called by Romanias interim president Ilie Bolojan to discuss the evolution of the war in Ukraine and the stage and prospects of the negotiations to solve this war of aggression. According to the statement, the ceasefire should be followed by a peace accord that provides solid security guarantees and discourages future aggression from Russia. Transatlantic cooperation is vital in this process and it is also necessary for Romania to adopt a proactive strategy, while consolidating its bilateral relationship with the US with a view to maintaining a consistent US military presence on its territory. Consolidating the NATO deterrence and defence posture, especially on the eastern flank, remains a priority, the statement also says. In Fridays meeting, the Countrys Supreme Defence Council also analysed and approved the equipping of the Romanian Naval Forces with a new, light corvette type vessel capable of conducting different types of missions within a short period of time. Media. The National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM), the coordinator of digital services in Romania, on Thursday conducted an exercise to test the capacity to respond to challenges that may emerge in the online environment, in view of the presidential elections in May. Representatives of national authorities, the European Commission, major online platforms and civil society participated in the exercise. In another development, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu criticized the recent decision of the National Audiovisual Council in Bucharest to remove op-ed content by some journalists, viewing the move as a deviation from democracy. Opinions should not be confused with information and should never be censored, said the Prime Minister, who added that it is unworthy of the members of the Audiovisual Council to ground their decisions on political opinions and personal reasons, and not on the law. The main role of the Council is to ensure a civilized and balanced framework for public debates, not to obstruct them or turn itself into a Ministry of Truth, Marcel Ciolacu said. Ukraine. The leaders of the countries that support Ukraine are currently ruling out the lifting of any sanctions imposed on Russia and are even considering increasing them. This is the unanimous conclusion of Thursdays summit in Paris, after Russia made lifting sanctions a condition for a ceasefire agreement in the Black Sea region to come into force. Present at the meeting, the interim Romanian president, Ilie Bolojan, said that Romania is ruling out sending troops to Ukraine, but if a peace plan is reached, it could become a transport hub for the designated forces. At the same time, he announced that Romania will participate in the working group for monitoring compliance with the ceasefire agreement in the Black Sea, based on the available infrastructure and also through collaboration with Turkey and Bulgaria. Policy. The Romanian minister for investments and European projects Marcel Bolos on Friday called in Brussels for a stronger future cohesion policy that would remain the European Unions long-term structural investment policy. According to a statement from the ministry, Bolos presented the General Affairs Council with the joint position of 16 member states to support the importance of a strong cohesion policy in the post-2027 EU budget. The document emphasises the need to continue to provide strong and balanced support for all EU regions with a view to consolidating economic, social and regional cohesion. Summer time. Romania will switch to summer time on Saturday night, when 3:00 am (local time) will become 4:00 am. Thus, the last Sunday in March will have only 23 hours, becoming the shortest day of the year. The transition from winter time to summer time has come under intense debate in recent years, with the European Parliament recommending abandoning the time change. The EU member states were supposed to notify, by 2021, whether they wanted to permanently apply summer time or winter time, but the discussion has not been finalized. The time change was decided for practical reasons to make the most of daylight. Currently, 70 countries around the world have summer time and winter time. (CM) Paris hosts Ukraine summit Romania rules out sending troops to Ukraine, interim president Ilie Bolojan reiterated on the sidelines of the summit in the French capital-city Ilie Bolojan (Credits: presidency.ro) Mihai Pelin, 28.03.2025, 14:00 At the summit hosted by Paris, representatives of countries that have expressed their willingness to help Ukraine held talks on the security and future of Europe. Continuing military, economic and humanitarian assistance for Kyiv, close coordination with the United States on all initiatives to restore peace in Europe, providing security guarantees for Ukraine, maintaining the political and economic sanctions imposed by EU states against Russia were the main points participants agreed upon. France and Great Britain, which created this so-called coalition of the willing, continue to insist on the creation of a force made up of European soldiers to provide security guarantees on Ukrainian territory at the end of the war. Some of the leaders attending the summit have refused to subscribe to this initiative, while others are yet to provide an answer. These troops will not be combatants, will not be placed on the frontline, will not replace Ukrainian soldiers and will not have a peacekeeping role French president Emmanuel Macron pointed out, referring to them as a reassurance force. European countries are determined to support the Ukrainian army in the long term, which would become Europes first line of defense, able to prevent Russian aggression from further expanding to the continent. A French-British delegation will be sent to Ukraine to participate in the preparation of the future training of the Ukrainian army, Emmanuel Macron also announced. Attending the summit in Paris, Romanias interim president, Ilie Bolojan, said our country will continue to support Ukraines efforts to fend off the Russian aggression. Conversely, no Romanian troops will be deployed to the territory of the ex-Soviet republic, a decision taken at political level, after consulting the parliamentary parties, Ilie Bolojan said. Romania has a strategic interest in continuing to support Ukraine, because without this support there is a risk of the front collapsing. Practically, by defending their citizens and territory, the Ukrainians are keeping the threat at bay. Any kind of situation whereby Ukraine falls would spell major complications and an advance towards the western area, which neither Europe nor Romania wants. Another topic that was discussed refers to the peacekeeping forces and, from this point of view, as Ive said before and let me be clear: Romania will not send any Romanian military personnel to Ukraine. Leaders gathered in Paris also agreed on the urgent need to strengthen NATOs eastern flank, and the Romanian interim president did not rule out the possibility that further NATO forces might soon arrive in our country. Romania will also take part in the task force created to monitor compliance with the recent ceasefire agreement in the Black Sea. (VP) The Philippine foreign trade deficit decreased in February from a year ago as exports grew amid a fall in imports, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed on Friday. The trade deficit dropped to $3.16 billion in February from $3.56 billion in the same month last year. In January, the shortfall was $5.12 billion. Exports climbed 3.9 percent year-on-year in February, slower than the 6.3 percent strong recovery in the previous month. By commodity group, coconut oil was the country's top export in February, followed by other manufactured goods and electronic products. Imports fell 1.8 percent annually in February, reversing an 11.2 percent growth in January. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced a major milestone in the Interstate-40 recovery efforts in North Carolina. The Federal Highway Administration successfully cleared a number of legal barriers to allow the North Carolina Department of Transportation to acquire construction material from the adjacent Pisgah National Forest sooner than originally anticipated. The materials, which are just 1 to 3 miles away from the construction site, were originally expected to be sourced from 20 to 50 miles away - increasing project costs and slowing the rebuild effort. By significantly expediting the process, the Department of Transportation has delivered estimated savings of two-thirds in both cost and time amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. FHWA and the United States Forest Service have worked in close coordination to accelerate the necessary approvals, completing a process that typically lasts six months in just more than one month. This accelerated timeline ensures that NCDOT gains immediate access to essential resources to begin construction operations at multiple material sites and rebuild critical infrastructure that connects local residents and improves interstate commerce. "This is another major milestone in the Hurricane Helene recovery efforts along I-40," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. "I'm proud of the Department's hard work to ensure North Carolina can access a critical resource to rebuild efficiently and safely". Hurricane Helene washed out 10 sections of the eastbound lanes and shoulders across approximately four miles of I-40 along the Pigeon River on September 30. In February, while visiting the damage along I-40 in North Carolina, Secretary Duffy announced that USDOT has partnered with the Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service to help accelerate the reconstruction efforts. This unprecedented, multi-agency effort helped USDOT obtain a letter of consent and right of entry to allow the NCDOT to access the Pisgah National Forest to begin critical construction activities, the US Department of Transportation said in a press release. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order to make the Nation's capital safe and beautiful. The Executive Order establishes a task force, officially known as the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, that will be comprised of members of key government agencies. The task force is directed to surge law enforcement officers in public areas and strictly enforce quality-of-life laws in public areas to curb drug use, unpermitted demonstrations, vandalism, and public intoxication. It will maximize immigration enforcement to arrest and deport dangerous illegal aliens, and monitor the state administration's cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The task force will be responsible for keeping dangerous criminals off the streets by strengthening pre-trial detention policies. The Executive Order will also create a program to beautify Washington, D.C. This includes restoring and beautifying Federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways; removing graffiti from commonly visited areas; and ensuring the cleanliness of public spaces and parks. The National Park Service will rapidly clear all homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands. The White House said that because of failed policies, crime is near historic highs in Washington, D.C., where police force numbers recently reached a half-century low. 2023 saw the highest number of homicides in the District since 1997. The D.C. Metro Police Department needs at least 4,000 officers, yet has fewer than 3,500, according to the White House. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News The compact SUV segment in India is now the most crowded and cut-throat. MG is navigating these waters with Astor, which aims to offer a premium and plush experience to discerning SUV buyers. Now, the company just introduced MG Astor MY2025 Edition in a new TVC, positioning it as a Blockbuster SUV. MG Astor MY2025 Edition Where pricing is concerned, 2025 MG Astor starts from Rs 9.99 lakh (Ex-sh) and is undercutting most of the rivals in its segment. The pricing is particularly impressive especially considering all the features and equipment MG offers in Astor right from the base variant, demonstrating that premiumness and sophistication can be priced appropriately. With MY2025 Edition, MG is positioning Astor as a Blockbuster SUV owing to its ethos. The same has been demonstrated in a new TVC which is live on social media platforms. According to MG, this marketing strategy marks a paradigm shift highlighting brands commitment to bringing an auto-tech masterpiece to its customers. Astor is a great blend of excitement, performance, sophistication, innovation and technology. Redefining value quotient, MG is the only OEM in India to offer a panoramic sunroof in this segment for under the price point of Rs 12 lakh (Ex-sh). With the new MG Astor MY2025 Edition, the company is only offering the 1.5L NA Petrol engine with MT and CVT options. The 1.3L Turbo AT powertrain combination was recently discontinued. The Blockbuster SUV gets 50 safety features, 14 ADAS features, a personal AI assistant and host of other features. Ventilated front seats, powered drivers seat, automatic climate control, steering mounted controls, cruise control, keyless entry, digital key and auto-dimming IRVM are some of the features. Statement from JSW MG Motor India Commenting on the development, Rakesh Sen, Director Sales and Operations, JSW MG Motor India, said, Taking on a bold new stance, the MG Astor is the perfect car for early adopters looking for a perfect SUV. For those who seek more than practicality the desire for elevated driving experience & sophistication. We understand that they are on the lookout for a car that reflects their rise, balances their aspiration with pragmatism, and turns every commute into a journey. The MG Astor delivers precisely that a Blockbuster in motion. News / Local by Staff reporter President Emmerson Mnangagwa has dismissed calls for his resignation by a faction of war veterans as "treasonous," vowing to crush planned protests on March 31.Speaking at a Zanu PF central committee meeting in Harare on Thursday, Mnangagwa also took aim at what he called "chameleon-like characters" within the ruling party, in a rare public acknowledgment of factional divisions."It is most unfortunate that a retrogressive trend has emerged, with some members of our party showing their chameleon-like characters as willing accessories to our detractors," Mnangagwa said."Their actions are an affront to the party's principles and grossly taint our country's image as well as the gains of our liberation struggle. These rogue opportunists will soon meet their fate."War Veterans Demand Mnangagwa's OusterA faction of independence war veterans has emerged as one of the strongest voices of opposition to Mnangagwa's eight-year rule, accusing the 82-year-old leader of leadership failures and surrounding himself with "criminals" who benefit from corrupt state contracts.Two leaders of the movement, Blessed Geza and Andreas Mathibela, are reported to have fled the country to escape sedition charges.Geza, believed to be aligned with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, has released YouTube videos calling for a nationwide "uprising" to remove Mnangagwa from power on March 31.Security Forces on High AlertWhile it remains unclear whether the war veterans' call to action will gain traction, Mnangagwa is not taking any chances. Security forces have been deployed across the country, and the president recently retired army commander Lieutenant General Anselem Sanyatwe, amid speculation of a potential coup plot involving former allies.Mnangagwa, however, expressed confidence in his party's ability to withstand internal dissent, insisting that Zimbabweans should ignore the planned protests."People are called upon to go about their business as usual on March 31," he said. "Our state security infrastructure is in place to protect property and the safety of all Zimbabweans, from Plumtree to Mutare, Chirundu to Beitbridge."With tensions escalating, Zimbabwe's political landscape remains highly volatile as the ruling party grapples with internal divisions and rising discontent. News / Local by Staff reporter Regent Chief Mabhikwa of Lupane has vowed to continue executing her duties despite ongoing challenges to her appointment. This comes after a faction of the Khumalo clan filed a High Court application challenging her leadership role.The chieftainship became vacant following the tragic road accident death of Chief Mabhikwa (Vusumuzi Khumalo) on May 22, 2022. Initially, John Khumalo, the late chief's uncle, was appointed acting chief. However, in a move that stirred controversy, Ms. Zanele Khumalo (35) was appointed regent chief earlier this year by the Government. She was entrusted with the role for a period of nine years until the late chief's son, Wayne Makhosemvelo Khumalo, reaches adulthood and assumes the position of substantive chief.A faction within the Khumalo family has strongly opposed the appointment, arguing that cultural traditions do not allow for women to ascend to the chieftainship. Despite this, Regent Chief Mabhikwa remains undeterred.Speaking briefly during the commissioning of two classroom blocks at Gobakhulu Primary School in Jotsholo on Tuesday, she addressed the ongoing legal challenges."I am aware that some members of the Khumalo clan have taken the matter to the High Court. However, I will not stop executing my duties as regent chief," she said.The regent chief emphasized her willingness to respect any future High Court judgment but made it clear that she would continue her work until that time."I will stand guided by the High Court judgment at whatever time it will be delivered, but for now, I am executing my duties as mandated," she added.Her comments reaffirmed her commitment to fulfilling her responsibilities despite the family dispute and the legal challenges surrounding her appointment. The outcome of the High Court application remains to be seen, but for now, Regent Chief Mabhikwa remains firmly in her role. News / National by Staff reporter The ongoing Chirumanzu chieftaincy dispute has taken a dramatic turn, with opponents of Abraham Nyamande's nomination for the chiefdom filing an urgent High Court application to halt his installation. The application, which names President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe, the Midlands Provincial Chiefs Assembly, and Nyamande as respondents, seeks to suspend the appointment of Nyamande as Chief Chirumanzu.The applicants - John Marinda, Innocent Chapwanya, Albert Jonasi Zvidzai, and Ecknos Happiness Mutyanda - are being represented by Kufaruwenga, Kajevu, and Zihanzu Legal Practitioners. They argue that Nyamande's nomination, which was made on June 6, 2024, by Garwe and the Midlands Provincial Chiefs Assembly, was fraught with legal irregularities and procedural errors."The nomination was marred with numerous illegalities and procedural irregularities, which forced the applicants to file an application at the High Court in Harare under case number HCH920/25 to set aside the proceedings," the applicants stated in their court documents.The applicants claim that proceeding with Nyamande's installation as chief would undermine the court's authority and interfere with the pending case, potentially rendering the judicial process ineffective. They have requested the court to issue an order to suspend or stay the installation of Nyamande until the final determination of the case.The legal challenge highlights significant tensions over the Chirumanzu chieftaincy. On June 6, 2024, the Midlands Provincial Chiefs Assembly officially nominated Nyamande from the Mutizirapi house to be the substantive chief. However, Julius Chimbi Chigegwe, from the Nherera house, also claims to be the rightful heir to the throne. Chigegwe argues that he is the legitimate successor to the late Chief Gerald Mudzengi, whose death in February 2019 triggered the succession dispute.Before Nyamande's appointment, Fidelis Mudzengi, the son of the late chief, had been acting as the head of the Chirumanzu chieftaincy. However, Chigegwe maintains that he is the rightful heir, which has led to a fierce battle for the chieftaincy title.As the legal process unfolds, both sides are awaiting the court's intervention to resolve the leadership crisis that has divided the Chirumanzu community. The applicants are hoping for a favorable ruling to prevent Nyamande's installation until the issue is thoroughly addressed by the courts. The case, which has generated significant public attention, could have lasting implications on traditional leadership succession processes in Zimbabwe. A team of paleontologists from Lake Forest College, Stellenbosch University, the University of Minnesota and North Carolina State University has described a new assemblage of fossil eggshells from the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, which is a renowned unit amongst scientists studying the early Late Cretaceous epoch. The first fossil eggshell from the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation was described over fifty years ago. In the half-century since, the fossil eggshell diversity of this rock unit has been limited to only one egg type. However, Lake Forest Colleges Dr. Josh Hedge and colleagues uncovered an alternative narrative. We found new dinosaur egg types here that have previously not been seen from this time or from this location, Dr. Hedge said. We found five different types of eggshells in this area when previously research described one kind. We found three kinds of eggshell fragments belonging to feathered bipedal dinosaurs, two kinds of eggs from ornithopod duck-billed dinosaurs, and also a really funky find: some crocodylomorph eggshells. These new discoveries challenge the traditional view of one of each kind of dinosaur living in an ecosystem. We can see a pattern of coexisting dinosaurs, Dr. Hedge said. Just as animals like multiple big cats coexist on the African savannas now, we can see the co-occurrence of similar kinds of dinosaurs in one geographic area. The researchers hope to uncover information that will lead to a better understanding of the ecosystem 100 million years ago. They are currently researching ways to better understand these oviraptorosaur eggs. We have found so many eggshells that we have a sample size large enough to interpret them at higher resolution, so we can hopefully distinguish not just between species, but individuals sharing a single nest, for example, Dr. Hedge said. The teams paper was published online in the journal PLoS ONE. _____ J. Hedge et al. 2025. Fossil eggshell diversity of the Mussentuchit Member, Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah. PLoS ONE 20 (2): e0314689; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314689 On the shelves of makeup counters and drugstores sits an array of foundations in various olive, ivory and fair shades. But for people with darker skin tones, finding the right foundation shade can be a challenge. Dark foundations on the market often fall flat, appearing gray-like once applied on the skin. But now, researchers report a blue cosmetic color additive that gives these foundations the warmth and depth they currently lack. Gabriella Baki, associate professor of pharmaceutics and director of the cosmetic science and formulation design undergraduate program at the University of Toledo, will present her team's results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). "On the market and for the history of cosmetics, foundations have been created with three colorants -- red, yellow and black iron oxide," says Raihaanah Zaahirah Safee, a former student in Baki's lab and current graduate student at the University of Toledo. However, using high concentrations of black iron oxide for darker foundations results in an unappealing gray and ashy look on the skin. White pigments used to lighten foundations, including zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, can also contribute to this phenomenon. To expand the color range of foundations, some cosmetic companies have experimented with adding blue pigments. After learning about a blue pigment called ultramarine blue from a podcast, another student in Baki's lab approached her about studying the pigment. "If you think about traditional color theory practices in relation to the art world, red, yellow and blue are used in combination with black and white," says Zaahirah Safee. "We built our research around this idea." Previously, Zaahirah Safee and colleagues assessed the effects of the blue pigment on foundation color in loose powders. The team first developed a formulation for the foundation base, then an 11-pigment range for darker and lighter skin tones. The shade range was created by varying the black and blue pigment ratios and the type of white pigment used. Three techniques were used to analyze the powder foundations: a spectrophotometer measured color differences; foundation swatches were pressed down on Leneta paper, black-and-white paper used to evaluate color on a solid background; and finally, the foundations were swatched on human participants' skin through a consumer study approved by the University of Toledo's Institutional Review Board. "We realized that you can use ultramarine blue solely to create a deeper skin tone foundation, but you do need a little bit of black to create your intended value," says Zaahirah Safee. Ultramarine blue reduced gray cast, while zinc oxide reduced white cast and created warmer, redder hues in an ultramarine blue base. Next, Karissa Richards, another student researcher in the Baki lab, evaluated the effects of ultramarine blue in stick foundations. This formulation proved trickier, given that extra variables like liquid moisturizers and skin-softeners called emollients were introduced into the foundation mixture. With stick foundations, "we wet the pigments with the emollients," says Richards. "Upon developing the formulation, we noticed a lot of issues with the color not being uniform throughout the formulation, once we poured it into the mold to set the stick." After figuring out the correct formulation, the team used the same pigment ratios as the loose powders for the new sticks. Then Richards analyzed the new products using the same three techniques. She measured similar color trends in the stick foundations as the loose powders. The next project for Baki's group is to study ultramarine blue in liquid foundations. She says this is the hardest of all foundation formulas to develop because the ingredients include water and oil, which don't mix well with each other. However, liquid foundation is most used by consumers. Baki says there aren't any plans to commercialize their foundations, given the formulations are so simple. The loose powder and stick foundations are like "a backbone, they have everything they need and nothing extra." Her ultimate hope is for chemists and manufacturers to see this team's research and give ultramarine blue a try in commercial products. Zaahirah Safee says this work is personally important to her. "Within my introduction into the world of makeup, I came across a lot of hurdles. Foundations wouldn't show up on me as they would show up on other models," she says. As an aspiring cosmetic chemist, she hopes to introduce these new ideas at the formulation table. "Changes can be made." Research from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago strongly suggests that Kawasaki disease is caused by a single respiratory virus that is yet to be identified. Findings contradict the theory that many different pathogens or toxins could cause this disease that can lead to serious cardiac complications in young children. "The cause of Kawasaki disease has been a mystery for over 50 years," said Anne Rowley, MD, pediatric infectious diseases expert and scientist at Manne Research Institute at Lurie Children's, who is the lead author on the study published in Laboratory Investigation. "Our compelling data are a huge step forward and provide a clear direction for the field to identify and sequence the virus that causes Kawasaki disease in susceptible children. This will be critical to advancing the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Kawasaki disease." Kawasaki disease is relatively uncommon, affecting mostly children between 6 months and 5 years of age. Lurie Children's sees 50-60 newly diagnosed Kawasaki disease patients a year. Currently, there is no diagnostic test for Kawasaki disease. Clinical signs include fever, rash, swelling of the hands and feet, irritation and redness of the whites of the eyes, swollen lymph glands in the neck, and irritation and inflammation of the mouth, lips, and throat. Children with Kawasaki disease have a 20 percent chance of developing heart disease, while infants are at higher risk with 50 percent chance of cardiac complications. The standard treatment, intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin, substantially decreases the risk of heart disease in patients with Kawasaki disease. Steroids may be added for the highest risk patients. In their study, Dr. Rowley and colleagues prepared antibodies from blood cells of children with Kawasaki disease, in order to see what these antibodies will target in tissue samples of patients who died from the disease. They found that the antibodies recognized so-called inclusion bodies, which are by-products of a virus, in all 20 tissue samples that represented cases from the U.S. and Japan over 50 years. "We saw the same inclusion bodies targeted in every tissue sample spanning five decades and two continents, which shows that we are dealing with one predominant virus causing Kawasaki disease," said Dr. Rowley. "It appears to be a respiratory virus since the inclusion bodies were in the medium size airways. Going forward, we need to focus on studies of pathology specimens to gain understanding of what is inside the inclusion bodies so that we can identify the Kawasaki disease virus and finally solve the mystery." This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant R01AI150719 to Dr. Rowley, the Max Goldenberg Foundation, the Center for Kawasaki Disease at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, the Northwestern University NUSeq Core Facility, and the Northwestern University Flow Cytometry Core Facility supported by Cancer Center Support Grant (NCI CA060553). Dr. Rowley is a Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology-Immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She holds the Dorothy M. and Edward E. Burwell Board Designated Professorship in Immunobiology at Lurie Children's. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is a nonprofit organization committed to providing access to exceptional care for every child. It is the only independent, research-driven children's hospital in Illinois and one of less than 35 nationally. This is where the top doctors go to train, practice pediatric medicine, teach, advocate, research and stay up to date on the latest treatments. Exclusively focused on children, all Lurie Children's resources are devoted to serving their needs. Research at Lurie Children's is conducted through Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, which is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine and ensuring healthier futures through the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Lurie Children's is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. It is ranked as one of the nation's top children's hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. News / National by Staff reporter Police in Beitbridge have announced a ban on the possession of dangerous weapons in the lead-up to anti-government protests planned for Monday, March 31, 2025. Chief Superintendent Mesuli Ncube made the announcement in a public notice issued on Thursday, following similar actions taken by police in other urban areas including Harare and Bulawayo.The weapons ban, which will be enforced from March 29 to July 29, 2025, prohibits the carrying of items such as catapults, machetes, axes, knobkerries, swords, knives, daggers, and any other objects capable of being used as weapons. Ncube stressed that violating this order would result in severe penalties, including a fine or imprisonment for up to six months."This prohibition is in accordance with the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (Chapter 11:23)," Ncube said in his statement. "For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared, in terms of Section 4(4) of the Mopa, that any person who fails to comply with this prohibition notice shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 5 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and imprisonment."The police are preparing for potential disturbances ahead of the protests, which are expected to draw large numbers of people. The ban aims to prevent the use of weapons during the demonstrations and to ensure public safety. Similar measures have been put in place across the country as authorities seek to control the anticipated protests and maintain order.The announcement has sparked mixed reactions, with some citizens supporting the move for safety reasons, while others view it as a restriction on their rights. As the protest date draws near, tensions are high, and the police are expected to increase their presence in affected areas to enforce the ban and ensure the peaceful conduct of the protests.This development is part of a broader national effort to address public safety concerns ahead of the upcoming demonstrations, which are anticipated to challenge government policies and actions. News / National by Staff reporter Zimbabwe's leading telecommunications company, NetOne, has launched MoGigs, a groundbreaking data bundle aimed at boosting digital inclusion and empowering communities across the country.MoGigs, which offers flexible packages ranging from US$7 to US$50, provides users with 30 days of uninterrupted browsing, streaming, and online transactions. This new initiative is part of NetOne's strategy to make digital opportunities accessible and affordable for all Zimbabweans.Chief Commercial Officer, Learnmore Musunda, emphasized that MoGigs is more than just a data bundle. "MoGigs is a deliberate move to give Zimbabweans affordable access to digital opportunities," Musunda said. "It's designed to promote inclusivity and empower our communities by providing them with the tools they need to thrive in the digital age."The launch of MoGigs aligns with Zimbabwe's National Development Strategy 1, which seeks to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital economy. The initiative is a step toward bridging the digital divide and enabling individuals from all walks of life to participate fully in the digital ecosystem.This move follows a broader push by NetOne to enhance its digital services. Recently, the company's Group CEO, Raphael Mushanawani, spoke to NewsDay Business about the strategic direction of NetOne and its plans to expand financial inclusion through its OneMoney platform. "The strength of OneMoney lies in the strength of NetOne our extensive distribution network, our commitment to technological advancement, and our ability to serve communities at every level," Mushanawani stated. "The latest upgrade is a significant step towards a future where financial services are truly accessible to all."Mushanawani also emphasized that NetOne's ongoing efforts are focused on using internally generated resources to fund operations, with the company aiming to restructure its balance sheet to allow for greater access to capital from local banks. This move comes as part of a broader strategy to increase NetOne's revenue to US$1 billion annually by 2029, up from a projected US$160 million this year.The launch of MoGigs is expected to have a significant impact on Zimbabwe's digital and financial landscapes, particularly as mobile financial services continue to expand. A recent report by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe highlighted the potential of mobile financial services to increase financial inclusion by up to 50% over the next five years.As NetOne continues to innovate and expand its services, the MoGigs data bundle is set to play a crucial role in transforming Zimbabwe's digital economy and ensuring that more people have access to the tools they need to succeed in the modern world. London stocks were set to fall at the open on Friday following negative sessions in the US and Asia, as investors continued to mull the impact of Trumps auto tariffs. The FTSE 100 was called to open around 20 points lower. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "Sentiment remains sour due to intensifying tariff talk. "The carmakers around the world got hammered this week as the ones that produce their cars outside the US will cost 25% more if the levies go live - and nearly half of vehicles sold in the US are reportedly assembled elsewhere - and, the ones that are made in the US have at least 20% of their components coming from outside the US." On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales rose more than expected in February. Sales were up 1% on the month following a 1.4% increase in January, and versus expectations for a 0.4% decline. January's growth was revised down from 1.7%. The ONS said non-food store sales volumes grew strongly in February, with rises across all four sub-sectors - department, other non-food, clothing, and household goods stores - while supermarket sales volumes fell back following a strong rise in January. In corporate news, WH Smith said it has sold its UK High Street business to Modella Capital for an enterprise value of 76m on a cash and debt-free basis. The retailer, which will now focus on its travel outlets, said it expected net cash proceeds of around 25m when adjusted for transaction and separation costs, which would be spent in-line with its capital allocation policy. It added that the deal did not include the funkypigeon.com personalised online greeting card business where strategic options were now being considered, including a possible sale. Energy group SSE said it has promoted its chief commercial officer Martin Pibworth to the CEO position, replacing current boss Alistair Phillips-Davies who will formally leave the company this summer. Pibworth, who first joined SSE in 1998 and stepped up to the executive committee in 2012 and the board in 2017, has been at the heart of the design and delivery of SSEs highly successful corporate strategy, SSE said. Energy group SSE has promoted its chief commercial officer Martin Pibworth to the CEO position, replacing current boss Alistair Phillips-Davies who will formally leave the company this summer. Pibworth first joined SSE as an energy trader in 1998 before stepping up to the executive committee in 2012 and the board in 2017. He is said to have a deep understanding of energy markets and large capital projects, and "has been at the heart of the design and delivery of SSE's highly successful corporate strategy", SSE said. As CCO, Pibworth is responsible for SSE's Renewables, Thermal, Energy Markets and Energy Customer Solutions businesses. Phillips-Davies, who announced his decision to retire in November after 11 years of leading the company, will formally step down at SSE's AGM on 17 July. Chair John Manzoni said Pipworth's appointment comes "at this hugely exciting time for the company". "The board concluded that Martin was the outstanding candidate in a very competitive process and I look forward to supporting him as he leads SSE through the next phase of development and growth." News / National by Staff reporter In a move that has raised eyebrows, expelled Zanu-PF Central Committee member Blessed Geza has publicly issued a grovelling apology to opposition members for his involvement in brutal operations that targeted opposition supporters since the turn of the millennium. This apology comes in the wake of his expulsion from the ruling party and ahead of the planned 31 March 2025 protest against President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government.Geza, who was part of the notorious group of Zanu-PF militants responsible for widespread human rights violations against opposition supporters, expressed deep regret for the role he played in the torture, maiming, abduction, and killings that occurred in the aftermath of the Movement for Democratic Change's (MDC) formation in 1999. These violations peaked in 2008, when the country witnessed some of the most brutal assaults by Zanu-PF militia, war veterans, and youth groups on MDC supporters during the election period.In a statement that some may view with skepticism, Geza, a former war veteran, has now sought forgiveness for his past actions. He admitted to being complicit in these violent acts, carried out in collaboration with fellow comrades, and acknowledged the grave harm caused to Zimbabweans who had dared to oppose the government."We are sorry as war veterans. We have let you down. We were being used to assault members of the opposition because we were blinded," Geza said, reflecting on the atrocities committed under the guise of protecting the party. He went on to attribute his actions to "the fog of war," adding that the ongoing human rights violations, widespread corruption, and economic mismanagement had led the younger generation to view war veterans with contempt.The apology has been framed by many as a self-serving gesture, designed to win favor with opposition members as the country gears up for the planned protest against Mnangagwa's regime in 2025. Geza, acknowledging that the younger generation has lost faith in the older generation of liberation war heroes, expressed disappointment at the current state of affairs in Zimbabwe."We are now a laughing stock. Young people in this country are telling us as war veterans to return the country into the hands of former colonists. This is being caused by these criminals that we are not reprimanding," he added, seemingly trying to distance himself from the ongoing challenges faced by Zimbabwe under Zanu-PF rule.Geza's apology is likely to be met with mixed reactions. For some, it will be seen as a long-overdue act of contrition, while others will view it as a tactical maneuver designed to gain sympathy and possibly curry favor with opposition leaders ahead of the 2025 protest.It has become somewhat of a recurring pattern for former Zanu-PF members to express remorse to the opposition after falling out of favor with the ruling party. The sincerity of these apologies remains a topic of debate, as many question the motivations behind such public statements.As the nation inches closer to the planned protests and as tensions within Zanu-PF continue to mount, Geza's apology may serve as just one of many shifting allegiances in Zimbabwe's complex political landscape. Thames Water s chief financial officer Alastair Cochran will leave the company at the end of March, it was announced on Friday, marking a significant leadership change as the debt-laden utility pushed ahead with efforts to stabilise its finances. Cochran, who joined in 2021 and also served briefly as joint chief executive, would step down from both the executive team and the board. His departure came at a critical moment for the UKs largest water and sewage company, which was attempting to recapitalise amid nearly 20bn in debt and mounting regulatory scrutiny over environmental performance. The company recently secured a 3bn emergency loan to stave off insolvency, though the funds were not expected to be available until early April. Cochran played a central role in the early stages of Thames Waters financial restructuring and equity raise, and was instrumental in negotiating the rescue loan that provided a short-term lifeline. He also helped develop a new business plan aimed at addressing long-standing infrastructure and environmental challenges, which had led to heavy criticism and fines from regulators. Stuart Thom, currently director of group finance, was appointed interim finance chief while the company searched for a permanent successor. Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com. British bill payers remain exposed to another energy crisis while facing worryingly high energy debts and some of the highest electricity costs in the world, parliaments spending watchdog has warned. The public accounts committee (PAC) said ministers had not put in place sufficient safeguards to shield households against another energy crisis or taken steps to permanently reduce Britains energy prices. Guardian Canadas prime minister has said the era of deep ties with the US is over, as governments from Tokyo to Berlin to Paris sharply criticised Donald Trumps sweeping tariffs on car imports, with some threatening retaliatory action. Mark Carney warned Canadians that Trump had permanently altered relations and that, regardless of any future trade deals, there would be no turning back. Guardian Ed Miliband has been accused of failing to tackle sky-high energy bills and risking power shortages as he races to hit net zero. A report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Energy Secretarys reviews of gas and electricity prices were taking too long leaving consumers with bills so high that increasing numbers of people are now in debt to their suppliers. Telegraph The Governments pay bill is set to soar by more than 50bn per year by the end of the decade, despite efforts to trim the size of the Civil Service. Spending on central government employees will rise from 172bn last year to 225.7bn in 2029 to 2030, according to forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Telegraph London-based investment bankers at HSBC were sacked on the very day they were hoping to hear news of their annual bonuses, with chief executive Georges Elhedery said to be taking a more ruthless approach to cutting costs. The dismissals were delivered on bonus day in January, traditionally when dealmakers learn the size of their annual bonuses, according to a report in the Financial Times, which said the move was regarded as uncharacteristic of the normally more paternalistic bank. The Times Londons FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 8,641.02 in afternoon trade on Friday. BA and Iberia owner IAG flew lower. It came after the chief executive of Heathrow Airport warned that it could cost as much as 1bn to install a more resilient power system to prevent another outage like last weeks, with airlines potentially having to contribute by lifting their prices. Separately, on Thursday Reuters reported that IAG will consider selling its 20% stake in Air Europa as its Spanish owner continues talks with Air France-KLM and Lufthansa to sell a stake in the company. IAGs chief executive told Reuters: "It's something that we are going to decide when (Globalia) take a decision about what they do with the company (Air Europa). We can stay or we can leave. Utilities, which are defensives stocks, were the best performers on the index, with SSE, United Utilities, Severn Trent and National Grid all up. SSE was also in focus after saying it has promoted its chief commercial officer Martin Pibworth to the CEO position, replacing current boss Alistair Phillips-Davies who will formally leave the company this summer. FTSE 100 - Risers Croda International (CRDA) 2,988.00p 3.32% SSE (SSE) 1,595.50p 3.17% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,005.00p 2.87% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,502.00p 2.63% National Grid (NG.) 1,007.00p 2.61% Land Securities Group (LAND) 553.50p 2.31% LondonMetric Property (LMP) 182.90p 1.84% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 241.20p 1.77% Vodafone Group (VOD) 73.52p 1.77% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,522.00p 1.67% FTSE 100 - Fallers International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 281.30p -3.27% Melrose Industries (MRO) 500.40p -3.14% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,952.00p -2.77% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 775.80p -2.66% Anglo American (AAL) 2,263.50p -2.52% BP (BP.) 435.20p -2.42% Barclays (BARC) 296.30p -2.37% Spirax Group (SPX) 6,430.00p -2.13% Diploma (DPLM) 3,926.00p -1.95% Entain (ENT) 623.40p -1.83% Wizz Air, Close Brothers and Aston Martin Lagonda Global were among the worst performers on the FTSE 250 on Friday, with the second-tier index trading around 0.5% lower by mid-afternoon. Wizz was falling along with other airline stocks after Heathrow's boss warned that the cost of upgrading the airport to a new power system in order to avoid a similar power outage as last Friday could cost upwards of 1bn, with airlines having to foot the bill through landing charges. Close Brothers dropped last week after the merchant banker revealed that it had swung to a 104m first-half loss, from a 88m profit a year earlier, as it put aside 165m to cover motor finance payouts. Shares had since recovered over the past few days, but took a big plunge again on Friday. Aston Martin Lagonda Global was hit, along with the rest of the sector, by Donald Trump's latest tariff decisions. Auto stocks worldwide were falling sharply after the US president slapped a 25% tariff on fully-assembled vehicles being imported into the country. WH Smith was in the red on the news it has sold its UK high street business to Modella Capital for an enterprise value of 76m in a deal that will see the chain rebranded as TGJones. "Ahead of the deal with Modella, there was speculation it would get 100 million for the stores. A 76 million enterprise value is disappointing, yet something is better than nothing for WH Smith," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. Burberry was also out of favour after RBC Capital Markets cut its price target to 1,200p from 1,300p as cut next year's profit forecasts. Nevertheless, RBC still rates the shares at outperform, speculative risk. Among the risers was B&M European Value Retail after Citi reiterated its buy rating on the stock, saying that the recent de-rating was overdone and "not commensurate with the earnings growth potential of a business that has structurally higher sales densities and quicker store paybacks post pandemic". Housebuilding and real estate stocks were also performing well, including British Land, Supermarket Income REIT, Crest Nicholson and Derwent London, after positive economic data out on Friday. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the economy grew more strongly than initially thought last year, with real annual GDP growing 1.1% instead of the 0.9% initially reported. FTSE 250 - Risers Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 177.80p 3.37% British Land Company (BLND) 373.20p 3.09% Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) 77.10p 2.66% Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 174.10p 2.65% Helios Towers (HTWS) 109.60p 2.43% Derwent London (DLN) 1,854.00p 2.15% Harworth Group (HWG) 173.50p 2.06% NCC Group (NCC) 140.60p 2.03% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,822.00p 1.96% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 265.80p 1.80% FTSE 250 - Fallers Close Brothers Group (CBG) 299.80p -9.37% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 235.00p -6.19% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 58.20p -4.59% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,589.00p -4.56% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 65.75p -4.29% Carnival (CCL) 1,388.00p -3.88% Chemring Group (CHG) 372.00p -3.75% Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 270.00p -3.40% Senior (SNR) 153.60p -3.03% WH Smith (SMWH) 1,057.00p -3.03% photo: Sonya Naumann Laurel Snyder is a poet, essayist, teacher and author of picture books and novels for children, including The Longest Night, Bigger than a Bread Box, Seven Stories Up and her new middle-grade novel, Orphan Island (Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins, May 30, 2017). She is also a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Here, Snyder talks with Shelf Awareness about Orphan Island, the nature of childhood and the advantages of staring at the ceiling. In Orphan Island, nine children live by themselves on an island, and every year or so a small green boat brings a new child and takes the oldest one, the Elder, away. No one knows how or why. How did this idea pop into your head? It came from a couple of different places. My grandfather was a doctor at Okinawa and many of his patients were children, orphans whose parents were civilian casualties of the war. So my initial idea was that Orphan Island could be a historical novel set on Okinawa. Years later, I was reading The Little Prince to my sons, and I found myself thinking about allegory. It was something I wanted to try, creating a world representing something other than just that world. The next book we read was My Side of the Mountain, and what I was struck by was both the lack of adults in the book and also the ability of kids to do for themselves--the physical doing. We also had that response to the Little House books. Kids who know how to cook and clean and fish and build and use tools. That was very exotic and exciting for my children. So all that got swirled together in my head, and Orphan Island is what happened. That makes sense. So, in what way is Orphan Island an allegory? When I started it, I was thinking about parenting... which is sort of deadly for a children's book, since that's about adults and not about children. But I was thinking about our unwillingness to let kids loose. Our unwillingness to stop protecting them. And the things that they don't learn because we don't stop protecting them. As I moved along, the book became more about childhood--the idea that children should feel safe and protected, but need to at some point step out into the world as an adult. There's the moment where a kid is leaving the safe space, and really wants to, but at the same time, is terrified. I think it's pretty obvious. The island is the safety of childhood, and Jinny is navigating that awareness of safety and what is beyond safety. That parenting theme still feels pretty strong... in particular, Jinny's feelings about having to take care of Ess when she arrives in the boat: frustration, exhaustion, joy, love, the desire to protect. Yes, right. Jinny becomes the parent. The emotions felt so true I wondered if some of Jinny's internal dialogue came straight from your experience. I have my own children, but in fact Ess is my sister Emma. My parents divorced when I was eight and Emma was two. Years later, when I was 15, my father had a son from a second marriage, so I suddenly had a baby brother. That was wrapped up in it, too. I'm definitely an oldest child. It's an important thing about siblinghood that you love these people, and that you own these people. They are your people until the day you die and you're jealous of them and you resent them and you snoop in their drawers--all that is true and they can be the most important people in your life. My sister--the book is dedicated to her--is the most important person in my life. But that doesn't mean she doesn't drive me absolutely crazy. Back to the allegory question, if Orphan Island represents the safety of childhood, would you call it a utopia? When I would describe the book to people they would say, so it's like James Dashner's Maze Runner. And I'd say no, it's really not like Maze Runner. It seems we're so primed right now for dystopia that people could only understand the island as a response to something terrible. And it was very important to me that it would not be a dystopian book. This is actually, genuinely, a perfect place. Did you model your island after any island in particular? In my head it was off the mid-Atlantic coast, somewhere between Delaware and North Carolina, just because that was the beach I grew up with. But I gave myself license. Once you're in a place where magic boats arrive unmanned, you can also say, "And you have peaches year-round!" You're allowed to create a ridiculous growing season. Your island is magical. The green boat comes and goes "as if pulled by an invisible string." The snakes don't bite. Breezes keep children from plummeting off cliffs. Tell us about the process of writing and world-building. It was a slow process, three years from start to finish. I had just finished a multi-book contract. I wasn't trying to create a book. I literally spent time staring at the ceiling and thinking. Once I got started I wrote it longhand on a legal pad with a mechanical pencil. I mean, I was trying to slow myself down. I got to take all the time I wanted, just doing the layering. And then there were many, many passes, adding detail or strengthening the world-building and characters. Laurel Snyder at ALA earlier this year. Every Elder must teach the newly arrived child swimming, reading and cooking. How did you come up with these three essential skills? That is actually from the Talmud. Jews are supposed to teach their children to read the Torah, to support themselves and to swim. And I always thought that was fascinating, that there was a Jewish requirement to teach your children to swim. Are you Jewish? Yes. There were other references in there, too, such as the idea of a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, a moment when life changes for you and you are no longer a child. This is Jinny's coming-of-age story. You said in your blog that "kindness and niceness are not the same thing" and that seems true of Jinny. She's kind, but not necessarily nice. Middle-school readers, ages 11 and 12, really need books that allow them to explore all aspects of themselves, including the ones they're reprimanded for having. Being 12 was awful for me personally. It's just a hard age. Your body is changing and your brain is changing, and you want independence and you're scared of independence. You want to be taken care of and you resent it. It all gets mixed up and what it produces is not always a nice person. I feel like you can still love Jinny and empathize with her and identify with her, and realize that we all make mistakes. Your child-only society is much more orderly than, say, William Golding's Lord of the Flies. How would you say the self-governing on Orphan Island is different? This is a basic political theory question, right? In general, societies can run as long as everyone feels they have enough. We see this with animals, too. The minute there's not enough scraps for the dogs they start fighting with each other. On Orphan Island, the children's basic needs are met. They have community. They feel loved. The tension comes in when people, for whatever reason, feel they aren't getting what they need. And in that sense, this whole story gets kicked off because Jinny loses Deen. She doesn't have what she needs anymore. Much of the suspense in your novel comes from the fact that we don't know how the island works. Will we ever find out? I felt like I wanted this to be an imitative experience for the reader. Jinny is full of confusion. She doesn't know things. And that's not just Jinny, that's 12, that's 13, that's what this age feels like. You have no power, you want power. You have no information, people won't answer your questions. Even if they do answer your questions honestly, it may or may not make sense to you. The challenge to writing a sequel to a coming-of-age story demands that you're then on the other side of coming of age. I feel like following the story to where Jinny does or doesn't find and reconnect with Deen wouldn't be a middle-grade book. But just recently I think I figured out a key that unlocks how I could write a prequel, so I'm outlining that right now. That is great news. I definitely want to know, if Orphan Island represents the safety of childhood, what lies beyond that wall of mist. Well, anything can happen, right? I mean, we keep our children safe in our houses and then one day we open the door. And everything that's in the world is out there. We do what we have to do to keep ourselves sane, and imagine that some of those things won't happen, and most of them won't happen, but the potential is all there, and that's the issue. --Karin Snelson Jeff Chu (photo: Ryan Pfluger) Jeff Chu is an editor-at-large for Travel + Leisure. He is the author of Does Jesus Really Love Me?, a memoir about Christian faith and sexuality, and co-author (with the late Rachel Held Evans) of Wholehearted Faith. He is also a teacher, a speaker, a sometime farmer, and an ordained minister in the Reformed Church of America. He lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., with his husband. Good Soil (out now from Convergent Books; reviewed in this issue) chronicles his experience working as a farmhand while attending Princeton Theological Seminary. Tell us about the inspiration for Good Soil. We are living in a moment where things feel chaotic, disorienting, and, many days, so hard. I thought folks might be able to relate to, and benefit from, a story about how the experience of working on this farm changed me, and gave me a bit of hope. Because hope is contagious, if we're willing to share it. We need reminders of growth and possibility, which we are not getting from the headlines. We need stories about flowers and worms and land. Often, those stories contain pain and hardship and difficulty, and even death. But they also teach us about resilience and perseverance, and interdependence and goodness. Tell us about the spiritual--and physical--nourishment you found at the Farminary. The farm is the best classroom I've ever been in, because it isn't a controlled environment. You can't keep the mice out of the classroom. You can't plan for perfect weather all the time. You can't demand silence of the birds and the wind. The group of farmhands and fellow students that I worked with is, in some ways, a microcosm of all the communities we're a part of. We were of many different ethnicities, religious convictions, genders, life experiences, viewpoints. Our shared mission held us together. But that doesn't mean we didn't fight or disagree or annoy each other. Working with those wonderful farmhands forced me to confront things about myself and how I relate to other people. Being at the Farminary wasn't a one-hour dinner party. This was month after month, season after season, of working the land, cultivating the chickens, trying to keep the greens alive. In that context, you're going to run into moments where your views don't align. Your habits will clash with other people's. You could just walk away, but we also made a commitment. So the question then was: How do we do this together? Because we were responsible for the land, and to each other. We definitely hurt each other at times, and we definitely helped each other. But that's what love is about. True love can empower you to make something beautiful from something devastating. Good Soil is ultimately a love story. It's about love of the land, and all who depend on the land. I wish that we as a society, as a culture, as a world, would write a better love story. How did you develop a theology of compost and dirt? The compost pile was my favorite part of the farm, unexpectedly. It is where we deposit the things that are past their sell-by date--that are rotting, stinky, beyond death. And the beauty of the compost pile is that bacteria and water and worms, and other things that I don't even know how to name, work together to produce something that can foster life again. That's a metaphor that keeps me going when I have to confront ugly and painful realities. That grief and sorrow will be with us, but death isn't the end of the story. That there is rottenness in the world, but it doesn't get the last word. I don't want to live in a society that refuses to talk about the hard things. That's why I write about a lot of hard things, from my own story and from the land. The Farminary provided rich metaphors for spiritual life, but was it a struggle at times to appreciate the garden for itself? We are embodied creatures, though sometimes I've tended to see my body as a carrying case for my brain. At the farm, I learned that I have to recognize and honor my body, even though sometimes I haven't loved it well. The same goes for the land. What is the land, in and of itself, as opposed to what it could do for me, or us? The world around us, the other creatures in it--they're not just tools. How do we appreciate our interdependence, our relationships, the stories they carry? The more time I spent on the farm, the more I wanted to slow down, to observe and appreciate and honor, rather than jumping directly to How do I use this in some way? Tell us how your work at the farm prompted you to dig deeper into your Chinese-American identity. Being a farmhand really made me appreciate the culture I come from. Cantonese cuisine depends on good ingredients. It emphasizes freshness, simplicity, and clarity of flavor. I got to grow some things I ate growing up, including long beans and bok choy. And growing something, as opposed to buying it, changes your relationship with that food. It gives you a deeper appreciation for the farmer who got it to your table, and for the hands that transform it from a raw vegetable into a cooked dish. I came to appreciate my mom and my grandmothers, and all they did to feed me and nourish me. Of course, there have been really hard things in my relationships with them. But being a farmhand compelled me to think about the complexities of their existences, the things that made them who they are. It gave me more compassion, honestly, for the humans I love. I also deliberately chose to tell the story in a way that was rooted in Chinese culture. I explain in the author's note that I chose a circuitous Chinese style of storytelling, which reflects the messiness and complexity of life. We cycle through the seasons, and we grow and change, even as we come around again. Life isn't linear. Life is cyclical, at least from the Eastern way of looking at things. I wanted the actual structure of the book to challenge our culturally conditioned need for a beginning, middle, and end. This will slow the reader down. And that's a gift. Do you still garden? When my husband and I moved to Grand Rapids in January 2020, we moved into a house three blocks from the community garden. So I have a plot where I grow potatoes and beans and tomatoes and peppers. The first two seasons, I planted sunflowers, and the last two I haven't, because they've naturally re-seeded. And now the sunflowers remind me of grace, because they pop up without me doing anything. There are also gladioli in my plot, planted by the person who had it before me. I get a reminder of my limited agency, in the most beautiful way. I get to receive something that I had nothing to do with, and to be thankful for it. And isn't that one of the best things you can learn? To recognize the gifts that are given to us, that are all around us, but that we don't always notice? There's something wonderful and humbling about realizing that, yes, I have a part to play, but it's never just about me. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams News / National by Staff reporter The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has announced a widespread deployment of officers in both urban and rural areas as part of efforts to prevent the planned 31 March protests against President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government. The protests, which have been organized by opposition figures and disgruntled ZANU-PF members, are drawing heightened attention amid growing political tensions and internal factional battles within the ruling party.In a statement released on Thursday, the ZRP emphasized its commitment to maintaining peace and order across the country, citing the current peaceful environment and urging the public to continue with their social and economic activities without disruptions. However, the police force has made it clear that they will be taking strong measures to ensure the protests do not occur."The Zimbabwe Republic Police acknowledges the peaceful environment currently obtaining in the country and urges the public to continue undertaking social and economic activities without any disturbances," the statement read. "In the same vein, the Police has deployed members to maintain law and order in both urban and rural set ups in all parts of the country."This announcement comes in the wake of escalating tensions within ZANU-PF, with some members of the ruling party pushing for the removal of Mnangagwa, further exacerbating the political unrest in Zimbabwe. The planned protests, which are being led by expelled ZANU-PF official Blessed "Bombshell" Geza, have caused significant concern within the government, which has vowed to suppress any demonstrations that may disrupt the country's stability.The ZRP's deployment follows a public ban on carrying dangerous weapons such as machetes and axes, particularly in Harare and Bulawayo, in an effort to prevent violence and ensure public safety during the protests. The police force has also warned that individuals who incite or participate in illegal protests will face severe consequences."The law will definitely take its course against individuals and groups who seek to undermine peace and security in the country, including those using social media to cause alarm and despondency among Zimbabweans," the ZRP added. "The public should therefore cooperate with the deployed police officers and report anyone inciting violence and interference with the smooth traffic flow in the country."Despite the government's efforts to curb dissent, opposition leaders remain determined to push for the planned demonstration, citing frustration with economic hardships and government policies. As the 31 March date approaches, it is expected that tensions will continue to rise, with both sides bracing for a potentially volatile standoff.The government's firm stance against the protests highlights the ongoing political polarization within Zimbabwe as it faces growing pressure from both domestic and international actors for democratic reforms and a more inclusive political dialogue. "The 23rd of February we were wearing masks. The 24th, no masks, no coronavirus," said Oleksii Erinchak, owner of the Ukrainian bookstore Sens (), recalling the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. "War is a much bigger problem." Erinchak appeared on Sunday at the RISE Bookselling Conference in Riga, Latvia, in conversation with Raluca Selejan, co-owner of La Doua Bufnite in Timisoara, Romania. He discussed the background behind his bookstore, the effect the war has had on his business as well as Ukrainian literary culture, and what booksellers around the world can do to help. Erinchak said he decided to open a bookstore after noticing that there was a lack of places in his Kyiv neighborhood where community members could meet, have a chat, and connect. He chose a storefront on the first floor of his apartment building, recently vacated by a restaurant, and decided that a combination bookstore and cafe would be a more interesting option for the community than just a cafe. Raluca Selejan with Oleksii Erinchak (r.) Prior to the invasion, Erinchak reported, roughly 80% of Ukraine's book market consisted of Russian-language titles. From the beginning he decided to carry titles only in Ukrainian. People would say things like "there's nothing to read in Ukrainian," and he wanted to show them that there were enough books to read in Ukrainian "for your whole life." On the day the invasion began, the war "started at 5 o'clock in the morning." Despite that, his barista still came to work, and until about 2 p.m. Sens sold some 75 cups of coffee to community members who arrived in the bookstore in a state of shock. Later that day, Erinchak moved all of the store's seating to a nearby shelter, which was located in a basement and had no seating. The following day, Erinchak took his family to Romania. When he returned to Kyiv, the bookstore was a "very silent place" because so many had fled. Sens soon became a hub for volunteer groups that had organized in the community, and Erinchak said he couldn't guess "how many tons" of donated supplies, including food and army equipment, passed through the bookstore. By March 3, people were buying books again, and Erinchak noted that the first book the store sold following the invasion was a book about design. That proved to be a little unusual, as most people turned to books about Ukrainian identity and history. Those sorts of titles, along with books like On Freedom and On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, continue to be the store's biggest sellers. (Recently, Sens hosted a standing-room-only event for Snyder; there were 400 registrations in the first 30 minutes they were available.) Asked how the war has affected everyday activities at the bookstore, Erinchak said the single most important thing he can offer both staff and customers is "psychological support." If a staff member can't come in due to emergency sirens disrupting their commute, "no one is asking, 'Why can't you come?' " Likewise, if someone is late or simply in a bad mood because sirens kept them up at night, it isn't held against them. "This is our life," he said. "We've lived it three-plus years." Erinchak has also bought generators and "huge batteries" to cope with the frequent power disruptions and, given the potential for supply-chain issues, he and his team try to identify big titles early and order as many as possible. One side effect of the invasion, Erinchak added, has been a "boom" in the amount of Ukrainian-language titles. The departure of Russian-language publishers left a huge gap in the market, and the number of Ukrainian publishers "started to grow." In fact, publishers are growing so fast that it has led to short print runs, as they "cannot afford to print more," he said. He further pointed to "problems with discounts" in Ukraine, and said that he does not give discounts in order to show others in the market that "it is possible to work like this." Rather than "kick each other," they should "develop the book market together." During the bookstore's first year, the most common feedback Erinchak heard was that the space was too crowded, especially during events, and a particular standing-room-only author event made Erinchak decide to open a bigger location. It was clear, he said, that "Ukrainian culture and literature have a lot of people who want to participate." On February 16, 2024, the second Sens location opened. It spans roughly 16,000 square feet and sees some 50,000 visitors each month, with Erinchak noting that young people between the ages of 16 and 27 make up the store's "biggest audience." Laughing, Erinchak related that when the second location opened, his team said the space was too huge. After only two months, they started saying the space was "too small for us." The bookstore and its audience have continued to grow, and earlier this year, Sens opened a third store in western Ukraine. It also produces a monthly newspaper that talks about the store, books, and the broader book community. Print runs consist of 10,000 copies, and copies are distributed for free in-store. Asked how booksellers in other countries can offer support, Erinchak said they can work to support democracy in their own countries, sell books like those by Timothy Snyder, and "quarantine" Russian authors until the end of the war. When an audience member floated the idea of donating money to support Sens, Erinchak instead urged people to donate to organizations that support the Ukrainian army. Addressing an audience made up almost entirely of European booksellers, in a country bordering Russia, he emphasized that if not for the Ukrainian army, "you will face Russia at your door next." --Alex Mutter Hinduja Group firm Ashok Leyland said its defence business has secured several orders worth over Rs 700 crore to deliver vehicles to the Army. The vehicles to be delivered under these orders are intended to meet the defence sector's requirements for transportation of troops, logistics, and other specialized mobility needs under the Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS) programme. The new-contract wins feature a variety of specialist vehicles covering the Stallion 44, Stallion 66, Short Chassis Bus, and Mobility System Travelling Platform. They mix high reliability with outstanding off-road performance to achieve effortless manoeuvrability along the country's most challenging conditions, serving various operational needs, in line with a company press release. Ashok Leyland MD and CEO Shenu Agarwal stated, "We are very proud to have won these new orders that confirm the company's intent to provide innovative solutions for the armed forces". Ashok Leyland Defence business continues to be one of the pillars supporting the future development of Ashok Leyland". Amandeep Singh, Ashok Leyland defence business president, quoted, "A proud champion of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', we are firm believers in further bolstering the defence capabilities of India through design and manufacturing 'Made in India' in Defence mobility". Our 44 to 1212 vehicle platforms, which are loaded with modern defence-specific needs, such as armouring, are highly versatile and long-lasting. We are extremely proud of serving our forces and continue to be committed to fulfilling these orders within the stipulated time. Our pipeline of Defence order and tenders for the future is also very strong. "Ashok Leyland is committed to creating indigenous mobility solutions that not only meet the operational requirements of the armed forces but also enhance India's defence self-reliance", the company stated. Through its culture of innovation, the company continues to drive the Indian Army's logistics backbone, reaffirming its position as a trusted partner. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had a significant meeting with Suzanne Clark, President and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, to talk about how to deepen and strengthen business relationships between India and the United States. The meeting was in Washington, D.C., during FM Sitharaman's official tour of the United States. Also in attendance at the meeting was US-India Business Council (USIBC) President Atul Keshap. The talks revolved around bilateral trade expansion, investment prospects, and deepening the general economic partnership between the two countries. FM Sitharaman welcomed the increasing cooperation between Indian and American firms, and reaffirmed India's support for further streamlining investments and creating a more vibrant trading environment. On social media site X, the Ministry of Finance posted, "Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt @nsitharaman met Ms @SuzanneUSCC, President and CEO, US Chamber of Commerce @USChamber, and Mr @USAmbKeshap, President @USIBC, and appreciated the strengthening IndiaUS business relationship". The meeting is regarded as part of India's wider initiative to secure foreign investment, establish strategic economic partnerships, and project India as a prime global business destination. It also reflects the growing pace of India-US ties in sectors ranging from technology to manufacturing, clean energy, and digital innovation. As both nations prioritized free and fair trade, the exchange sought to realize new possibilities for cooperation, tackle current barriers to trade, and promote intensified interaction between both nations' private sectors. In terms of the goods exports to GDP ratio following US trade tariffs, India and Japan are the least exposed economies due to the strength of domestic demand, according to a Morgan Stanley report on Friday. The goods exports to GDP ratio is the most significant measure; it defines the degree of trade orientation of the economies. This enables international research companies to gauge which economy will experience more negative pressures on growth. "India and Japan these economies have strong tailwinds from the strength of domestic demand as an offset and comparatively lower goods exports to GDP ratios", the report said. The US has also imposed 25 percent tariffs on car imports. The report added that imposing 25 per cent tariffs on cars and auto parts would hit Japan and Korea most because exports of cars to US represent 7 per cent of their exports. On April 2, the US administration is expected to put forward a plan to deal with reciprocity in trade relations. The US administration also continues to send the message that it will impose sectoral tariffs on energy, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, agriculture, copper, and lumber. "The potential implementation will nearly impact all economies in Asia directly either through economy-specific tariffs or sectoral tariffs". But our key concern remains that elevated levels of policy uncertainty weigh on capex and trade damaging the business cycle, the Morgan Stanley report noted. At -US$245 billion, the US runs a reasonably large combined deficit in passenger vehicles, vehicles for goods transport, and auto parts (including EV batteries) referred to as autos deficit below. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit two countries next week, including Bangkok between April 3-4 for the 6th BIMSTEC Summit and Sri Lanka between April 4-6. At the invitation of the Prime Minister of Thailand, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, on 3 4 April 2025 to attend the 6th BIMSTEC Summit on 4 April 2025, hosted by Thailand, the Chair of BIMSTEC at present, and for an Official Visit, the Ministry of External Affairs stated through a statement on Friday. This will be the third visit of the Prime Minister to Thailand and the first in-person meeting of the BIMSTEC Leaders since the 4th BIMSTEC Summit, which was in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2018. The 5th BIMSTEC Summit held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was virtual on March 22. The 6th BIMSTEC Summit's theme is 'BIMSTEC Prosperous, Resilient and Open'. The summit is expected to consider ways and means to inject more momentum into BIMSTEC cooperation. Leaders of all BIMSTEC nations India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan are scheduled to attend the main meet where they would be discussing cooperation in the regional multilateral forum. The leaders will also address several institution and capacity building initiatives to enhance cooperation under the BIMSTEC format, the MEA stated, adding, "India has been undertaking several initiatives in BIMSTEC for regional cooperation and partnership, including strengthening security; easing trade and investment; creating physical, maritime and digital connectivity; partnering in food, energy, climate and human security; and people-to-people exchanges". PM Modi will meet his Thai counterpart on April 3, when the two leaders are likely to discuss bilateral cooperation and lay out the future course of partnership between the nations. The PM will subsequently visit Sri Lanka on a State Visit, invited by newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka, who had come to New Delhi last year, weeks after taking office. During the visit, PM Modi will meet Disanayaka to discuss progress on the areas of cooperation agreed upon in the Joint Vision for 'Fostering Partnerships for a Shared Future' adopted during the State Visit of the Sri Lankan President to India. Indian financial support. PM Modi last visited Sri Lanka in 2019. The Prime Minister will also hold meetings with high-ranking dignitaries and political figures. During the visit, He will also go to Anuradhapura to inaugurate development projects carried out with. PM Modi last visited Sri Lanka in 2019. The Prime Minister's Thailand and Sri Lanka visit, and his attendance at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit will reiterate India's resolve towards its 'Neighbourhood First' policy, 'Act East' policy, 'MAHASAGAR' (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision, and vision of the Indo-Pacific", MEA further said. Modi had announced the vision of 'MAHASAGAR' or 'Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions' for India's approach towards the Global South in his recent Mauritius visit. The NYPD is seeking the identity of a woman sought for questioning in connection to a Grymes Hill burglary that took place on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Courtesy of the NYPD) (Courtesy of the NYPD) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The NYPD is seeking the publics assistance in identifying a woman sought in connection to a burglary on Grymes Hill. The crime reportedly took place around 2:15 a.m. on Thursday inside a residential building in the vicinity of Cedar Terrace and Cunard Place, according to the NYPD. At the time, police say an unidentified individual entered the front door of the building and removed five cologne bottles, an Apple MacBook, an Apple Watch, a pair of sneakers, car keys and $1,200. The NYPD is seeking this individual sought for questioning in connection to a Grymes Hill burglary that took place on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Courtesy of the NYPD) (Courtesy of the NYPD) That same individual then fled the building in the victims 2018 Toyota Sienna, as shared by the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Informations Office. Police are looking for a woman, believed to be between 30 and 40 years old, who was last seen wearing a light green sweatshirt and a gray coat. The NYPD supplied photos of a woman sought for questioning to the media. Police say the images were taken from a private residence on Cedar Terrace. This woman is sought for questioning in connection to a Grymes Hill burglary that took place on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Courtesy of the NYPD) (Courtesy of the NYPD) Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential. The Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and the FDNY presents the 2025 FDNY Valor Awards, honoring Staten Island's Bravest for their extraordinary actions and commitment to the communities they serve, at The Historic Old Bermuda Inn, on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Paramedic Edva Pace of EMS Station 22 in Sea View was off duty and shopping at Costco in New Springville on Jan. 3, 2024, when she heard the thud of a body collapsing to the floor. Pace, who was on the phone with her friend at the time, immediately dismissed the call and jumped into action to assist the downed woman. The paramedic checked for a pulse and found none. She performed CPR and called 911. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A standing-room-only crowd packed the NYPD 123rd Precinct Community Council meeting Thursday night to voice anger about a developers plan to construct a Richmond Valley hotel they fear could possibly be converted some day into a homeless shelter. The overcrowded room in St. Pauls United Methodist Church, in Tottenville, was filled with dozens of residents hoping to continue the tense conversation that took place during Tuesdays raucous Community Board 3 meeting. Early on, several people pointed questions at and offered suggestions to Marie LaFrancesa, director of constituent services and capital budget for the office of Borough President Vito Fossella, who adamantly opposes the plan. Over my dead body will a homeless shelter be built there, Fossella said earlier in the week. Right now, you have an opponent to any potential homeless shelter on Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Valley Road. That is a promise I intend to keep. Community Council President Salvatore Sottile asked the anxious crowd to maintain decorum, threatening at one point to empty the room as several attendees spoke over each other. No one is for this, Sottile said. We understand your anger and we need to form an army. We dont want rumors and misinformation to spread. We need to rely on our political leaders. The crowd being there was a step in the right direction, he told those gathered. We have people in the community who care, and you dont find that everywhere, he said. Representatives of other elected officials opposed to the plan, including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Republican congressmember for Staten Island and South Brooklyn; and Assemblymember Michael Reilly, a Republican state representative for the South Shore, were also on hand. Public records show the LLC behind that purchase of the property is a Nassau County-based company known as the Sandhu Group. That company, which has not returned multiple requests for comment, purchased a trio of Travis hotels between 2022 and 2023 that the city used as migrant shelters, and has developed a pair of Port Richmond lodgings one that opened last year and another in its final stages of construction. Several other areas around the city where the Sandhu Group has purchased properties have also seen protests and community backlash, like the crowds who turned out on Tuesday and Thursday nights. At one point during Thursdays meeting, Newsmaxs John Tabacco walked the room, joining alongside others to announce the start of an aggressive plan to distribute flyers throughout the Island and hold rallies like those organized in front of the former migrant shelter at St. John Villa Academy in Arrochar in 2023. Rallies like those are still being sporadically held in Midland Beach at the former Island Shores assisted living facility, which is still housing migrants. He also was critical of members of the NYPD, who he alleged were aggressive in their handling of protesters in the borough during such gatherings. It was at this point that Sottile announced that the council meeting would be moving on to other business regarding crime in the community and other police-related matters. He urged anyone interested to stay, but many in attendance filed out of the church. News / National by Staff reporter Flamboyant businessman Wicknell Chivayo has once again demonstrated his extravagant generosity, this time extending his benevolence beyond Zimbabwe's borders. Chivayo gifted his six-member security team in South Africa six brand-new 2025 Polo GTI vehicles, each valued at a staggering R700,000.The high-end vehicles were purchased from Vogue, a luxury car dealership in Sandton, one of South Africa's most affluent suburbs. A video capturing the momentous handover ceremony surfaced online and quickly went viral. Social media user Jnr Flacko reshared the footage on X, captioning it:"Sir Wicknell Chivayo has once again demonstrated his generosity. Today, he blessed his security team in South Africa with an incredible gift 6 brand-new Polo GTI 2025 vehicles valued at R700,000!"The gesture has sparked a wave of reactions on social media, with admirers praising Chivayo's philanthropic spirit and others debating the motivations behind his grand acts of giving.Known for his lavish lifestyle and close ties to Zimbabwe's political elite, Chivayo has previously made headlines for his extravagant spending and charitable donations. His latest move further cements his reputation as one of the region's most flamboyant businessmen.As news of the generous gift continues to spread, many are left wondering what Chivayo's next big move will be. Call it Vance Halen. Vice President JD Vances face has launched a thousand memes on the internet, many of them unflattering to the veep. But theres one that Vance really likes, he told Fox News. The meme shows Vances face being swapped with members of the hugely popular 1980s hard rock band Van Halen. Im a personal fan of Vance Halen, Vance said, but thats because I really like the band Van Halen, Vance said. So thats just my personal preferences. I dont know how it happened or where it came from, but its been very, very funny to watch your own face become this meme. Its made the job a lot more fun, so I encourage people to keep doing it. Vance said he also likes the meme based off Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the television from the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Vance posted that one on his own X account. Viral memes of Vance edited to resemble a child have flooded the internet, Forbes reported, including an edit from Vances White House clash with President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where a picture of a childlike Vance is captioned: You shoulda said pwease. Some of the memes re-imagine Vance, who at 40 is one of the United States youngest-ever vice presidents, as holding wildly oversized lollipops or wearing childish propeller hats. Other memes that have gone viral show Vances face as fire-engine red or wildly distorted, with messy long hair and piercing eyes. Some superimpose Vances face on the visages of other famous people, including one titled Marjorie Taylor Vance. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said slashing 7,000 staff members from the Social Security Administration will have a grave impact on New York seniors, including no one to answer phone calls and delayed checks. Patrick Semansky | AP Photo STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand warned that slashing 7,000 staff members from the Social Security Administration will have a grave impact on New York seniors, leading to unanswered phone calls and delayed checks. For this reason the Democratic senator, who represents New York, held a press conference slamming the Trump administrations plans to close two New York based Social Security offices and cut staff on Friday. President Trump and Elon Musk are playing games with your retirement, said Senator Gillibrand. They are cutting the phone services that seniors rely on to apply for benefits, firing staff, and closing down the field offices, including the White Plains and Poughkeepsie offices right here in New York, where seniors go for help. These changes mean that you may not get your checks in time to pay your bills and that there may not be anyone at your local Social Security office to turn to for help. This is a cut to benefits in everything but the name, and I will be doing everything in my power to stop it, she added. According to Gillibrand, the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE plans to limit phone support for seniors, forcing them to file certain claims online, which could present a challenge for many older adults, or force them to visit an SSA Social office in person. SSA field offices help constituents with accessing retirement benefits, disability benefits, survivors benefits, Medicare coverage and Supplemental Security Income. Gillibrand was joined by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, state Senator Pat Fahy, Acting Director of the NYS Office for the Aging Greg Olsen, and Executive Director of the Association on Aging in New York Rebecca Preve. After a lifetime of paying into the system, Americans count on Social Security to be there when they need it, said Hochul. We wont let the Trump administrationor an unelected billionairejeopardize access to a benefit New Yorkers have earned without a fight. Im proud to stand side-by-side with Senator Gillibrand to stand up for our seniors and continue the fight to protect Social Security for generations to come. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn in Congress, said this is a bipartisan issue. There has been reporting of Social Security beneficiaries waiting for more than two hours to speak with an SSA employee and over the phone claims account for around 40% of all social security claims, said Malliotakis. While we commend and support the continued efforts to make our bloated government more efficient for the American people, I believe we must use caution and consider the impact any changes would have so there are not disruptions in services for our seniors and disabled who depend on the Social Security Administration to receive retirement benefits and Supplemental Security Income, she added. Staten Island SSA Offices Staten Island has two Social Security field offices: one at 1441 South Ave., and a second at 1510 Hylan Blvd. So far, neither of the Staten Island offices are being closed. Follow Tracey Porpora on Facebook and Bluesky 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! Opinion / Columnist By removing Lieutenant-General Anselem Sanyatwe, a key military commander, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has boldly played his joker in the high-stakes political game of succession. This move is emblematic of a larger power struggle within Zimbabwe's ruling elite, one that sees Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga locked in a fierce battle for dominance. Just as a joker in a card game can drastically alter the course of events, Mnangagwa's daring decision could either be the ace he needs to reassert control or a high-risk gamble that backfires.A joker, in the context of strategy, is a wild card - capable of changing the course of a game. It can disrupt the flow, create unexpected opportunities, and provide a sudden shift in power dynamics. Mnangagwa has certainly thrown this wildcard onto the table in his quest to regain full control over Zimbabwe's military command. By removing Sanyatwe, he aims to strip Vice-President Chiwenga of a key ally and potentially curb his influence over the security forces. This is a critical move in the ongoing power struggle that has seen a resurgence of tensions within the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), leading to speculation about an impending Week of Long Knives.The phrase Night of the Long Knives traditionally refers to the purge of potential rivals during Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Nazi Germany. It evokes a period marked by intrigue, betrayal, and intense power struggles - exactly what Zimbabwe is experiencing today. Mnangagwa's maneuvering suggests that he is preparing for a similar purge, removing those who pose a threat to his position, particularly as Chiwenga's faction continues to gain momentum.The question now is: Has Mnangagwa played his joker too soon? The decision to dismiss Sanyatwe certainly catches the eye, but it may also catch opponents off guard, forcing them to reassess their strategies. In some games, playing the joker too early can leave you with few options in later rounds. In Zimbabwe's case, this means that Mnangagwa's power play could provoke a backlash from Chiwenga's supporters, escalating the internal feud and further destabilizing the already tense political landscape.The unexpectedness of Mnangagwa's move could provide an element of surprise, potentially throwing off his rivals. Just as in card games, catching your opponent off guard can shake their confidence and make them second-guess their own strategies. The removal of Sanyatwe may force Chiwenga and his faction to reconsider their approach, perhaps leaving them scrambling for new alliances or even pushing them into making desperate decisions.However, this bold play carries significant risks. Much like using a joker in a card game, the outcome is uncertain. If Mnangagwa's joker fails to deliver, he may face greater opposition and even internal disintegration. The political fallout from removing a key military figure like Sanyatwe could escalate into wider unrest, and the growing discontent within the military ranks might spill over into a more public confrontation.With protests already being planned for March 31 and the specter of political instability looming large, Mnangagwa's gamble could tip the balance of power in either direction. If his move succeeds, he may successfully consolidate his position and neutralize Chiwenga's faction - ultimately regaining control over the military and the party. However, if it backfires, Mnangagwa risks further fragmentation of his already divided government, and the consequences could be far-reaching.Ultimately, the joker card can be a game-changer, but only if played wisely. Mnangagwa's bold move is a clear signal that he is determined to outmaneuver his rivals. Whether or not this joker will prove to be a winning hand remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Zimbabwe's political landscape is set for a turbulent period, and the stakes have never been higher. This weeks Bulls N Bears ASX Runner of the Week is road safety company.. Saferoads Holdings. The company rocketed on Tuesday after pocketing a cool $10.8 million from flogging its Road Safety Rental business to equipment hire company Onsite Rentals Group. Saferoads will pocket a handy $4.6M in profit from the sale, while simultaneously slashing its overheads. The company can now zero in on its core gig - crafting and selling road safety gear. It has a portfolio of intellectual property that is burgeoning in the industry. The sell side must have been particularly limited as it took less than $500,000 of stock traded to move the road safety companys share price up 424 per cent to a high of 21.5 cents from last Fridays measly 4.1c close. Understandably, Saferoads was valued at some $1.8M last week. The company also revealed plans to dish out a 10c-per-share special dividend valued at $4.37M, while funnelling leftover cash into working capital and a $3M product order from Onsite. Could the shedding of its rental arms deadweight flip the script to profitability for the new market darling? The leaner operation built on patented barriers, signs and traffic solutions may not have got the market buzzing, but its dividend could have got the pundits drooling. Errawarra Resources Limited (ASX: ERW) 228% up (from 2.5c to 8.2c) Errawarra Resources strutted into silver this week - literally and figuratively. The West Australian explorer saw market action when it acquired a 70per cent stake in its Elizabeth Hill silver project in the Pilbara. The project, acquired from GreenTech Metals, was a serious past producer, pumping out 1.2M ounces silver from just 16,000 tonnes of ore at a head grade of about 2194 grams per tonne (g/t) silver. GreenTech achieved the result in a single year, before low prices killed a dream run in 2000. Historical drilling campaigns jagged a treasure trove of big hits, including 11.7 metres at a whopping 5371g/t silver from 13m, 24m at 1228 g/t silver from 64m, a lengthy 43m at 370g/t silver from surface and 24.8m section grading 915g/t silver from just 2m. The companys share price leapt 228 per cent, hitting 8.2c on Tuesday from last weeks 2.5c close on a modest $750,000 of stock traded across the first two days. The silver prices 50 per cent surge no doubt lit the fuse for Errawarra to consolidate its 180-square-kilometre package around the mine - a first for any explorer in the region which is on a major ultramafic complex with untapped potential. The project is in a granted mining lease, all its drilling approvals are in hand and new board heavy-hitter Robert Mosig is fast-tracking exploration. Consultants are already dissecting the geology, drawing parallels to some global silver giants, which prompted Errawarre to foreshadow a name change to West Coast Silver that is now in the works. The company has been touting near-mine and regional upside, with immediate drilling primed to test a high-grade silver core. In a silver market this hot, Elizabeth Hills glittering past could spark a dazzling future and even a wave of new silver acquisitions destined for Runners of the Week glory. RareX Limited (ASX: REE) 219% up (from 0.8c to 2.5c) RareX Limited stormed the gates this week with another sizeable 219 per cent surge. The companys share price peaked at 2.5c from last weeks 0.8c close on a cracking $3.9M in trades this Tuesday, as it unveiled drill results from its flagship Cummins Range gallium project to a salivating gallium-starved market. The stunning gallium assays were returned from a sprawling carbonatite pipe at its Cummins project in WAs Kimberley region. Drilling at the historical prospect unearthed bonanza hits including 74m at 123g/t gallium oxide, with a considerable 2.4 per cent total rare earth ores, and a 186g/t scandium hit from surface with a high-grade kicker of 30m at 206g/t gallium oxide. Another hole clocked 60m at 124g/t gallium oxide, peaking at 12m of 242g/t, and an exciting 99m intercept ran 10g/t gallium oxide from just 1m deep. One historic hit had a massive 6826 g/t (0.68 per cent) gallium oxide, which would be Australias richest gallium haul. Gallium is a critical mineral used in electronics, semiconductors and solar panels and was recently banned by China for export, which doubled its price to US$575/kg. The gallium market is tipped to balloon from US$2.45 billion to US$21.53b by 2034 and RareX says it is sitting pretty, with only 25 per cent of the projects historical drillings assayed for gallium - none of its RareXs own. Added to that, it is sitting in the top 80m of the carbonatite pipe. Nearly a quarter of RareXs share register swapped hands on the companys biggest volume since mid-2020, as day traders piled in. Management is bullish, saying Cummins Range is Australias most advanced gallium deposit and is already de-risked with heritage agreements, environmental studies and mine planning. The company has re-assaying underway and a 2025 drill program is on the horizon to chase near-mine anomalies and provide plenty more catalysts to a hungry gallium market. Belararoxs ToroMalamboTambo project where promising visuals in drilling suggest a potential massive copper discovery in Argentina. Belararox Limited (ASX: BRX) 160% up (from 12.5c to 32.5c) Belararox Limited rounded out the Bulls N Bears Runners list this week with an impressive 160 per cent share price blast that would have easily earned it a podium spot on any other edition of Runners this year. The company flashed visuals from its mammoth copper porphyry target at its Toro-Malambo-Tambo project in Argentinas San Juan province. Copper porphyries are typical of very big, low-grade gold-copper deposits throughout South America and Belararoxs Tambo South target is no different. The first hole at the project, which is sandwiched between the El Indio and Maricunga belts, was drilled to 1029m. Promising amounts of copper mineralisation were identified in early assays. A second 729m hole, which aimed for more than 1300m, struck visual supergene chalcocite from 104m to 248m. The main geophysical target still lies ahead and is where the hole will pierce the centre of the projects higher-grade porphyry core target. The visuals suggest Belararox could be onto a well-mineralised porphyry discovery, sending the companys share price flying this week to a high of 32.5c on Friday from last weeks 12.5c close on a solid $5M in share trade over the week. The companys exploration director Jason Ward is already touting the results as a strong copper system, with all the vectors pointing to scale. Coppers US$5.37 per pound high price, juiced by the TT tango, has punters buzzing over Belararoxs porphyry mineralisation speculation. The long-mineralised zones scream potential, but only lab assays will reveal the truth about the actual grade versus speculation about what it has observed. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au Popular ABC radio presenter Simon Marnie has slammed radio management on his final day with the broadcaster, after he was not afforded the opportunity to say a proper farewell to his colleagues across four decades. Finishing up after several months of leave on Friday, Marnie sent a lengthy note to staff titled: I thought Id have an official farewell. It outlined the farewell he imagined he would be given by the broadcaster, with his career spanning 40 years with the ABC, and lamented that it was not to be. Simon Marnie in 2018. Credit: ABC I would have thanked all my on-air guests, my gardeners and other regulars, including Simone Whetton, who has worked on Weekends longer than I. But that farewell is not to be, Marnie said. In this era of hot desking and adaptable environment we dont want memories, we dont wish for a corporate culture based on history and people. We just want them to leave quietly, with their tales between their legs. Strickland Metals has reinforced its drilling capacity at its Rogozna gold-base metals project in southern Serbia with the addition of a fifth diamond drilling rig, which has already begun work at its Obradov Potok prospect. Coincident multi-element gold-arsenic soil geochemistry and an induced polarisation (IP) anomaly with surface hydrothermal alteration has already been identified at the four-square-kilometre prospect, which is 3.5 kilometres southwest of the companys 5.3-million-ounce gold equivalent Shanac gold resource. Strickland Metals latest diamond drill rig set up on its new Obradov Potok prospect in the south of its Rogozna project area in Serbia. Other nearby significant developing resource targets include Stricklands advancing 0.81M-ounce gold equivalent Copper Canyon and its pending resource at Gradina, 2.75km and 1.75km northeast of Obradov Potok respectively. The combined geochemical and geophysical signatures at Stricklands Shanac, Copper Canyon, Gradina, Obradov Potok and the more distant Jezerska Reka prospects comprise five separate parallel northwest-southeast trends. Whether driving through Mad Max country near Broken Hill with director George Miller, strolling with Kate Ceberano to St Kildas iconic live music venue, the Palais Theatre, or meeting Tim Minchin at his home, the Sydney Opera House, Virginia Trioli strikes an instant chord with the artists. Its into their wild minds that she delves for the second season of the ABCs Creative Types with Virginia Trioli. As she draws out the inner workings of people whose bodies of work have helped shape Australia, the former ABC radio host quietly delivers a masterclass in her own art form that of the interview. Virginia Triloi interviews Mad Max director George Miller where the film was set, outside Broken Hill. These people have been interviewed over and over again, says Trioli, who also speaks with designer Jenny Kee, violinist Richard Tognetti and Aboriginal artist Tony Albert. If you ask them privately, theyll probably tell you that theyre sick of it. Theyre sick of doing the bloody interview when youve got a new film or a new piece of music, or a new production or new work. So, for me, its very important that, from the get-go, I show them that I am there to talk about the creative process. Its remarkable how many times they say, No one talks to me about that stuff. Trioli credits series researcher Katey Grusovin with collating the inches thick background information and executive producer Jaya Balendra with making This is Your Life moments happen. But it is Trioli who gently guides the artists not all of whom come willingly to the exercise through the intimate details of their unique creative journeys. Advertisement Review Eating outKensington Inside a roller-doored garage in Kensington lies a truly great little dining gem Ghanaian jollof, Nigerian jollof and even spaghetti jollof are on the menu at Jollof Vibe, a West African eatery operating out of a dark shared kitchen in Kensington. Dani Valent March 28, 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 This venue appears in the April 2025 Melbourne hit list. See all stories . 1 / 9 Assorted dishes at Jollof Vibe. Luis Enrique Ascui 2 / 9 One-pot Jollof, Senegal style. Luis Enrique Ascui 3 / 9 Wisdom jollof (fried jollof). Luis Enrique Ascui 4 / 9 Inside Jollof Vibe. Luis Enrique Ascui 5 / 9 Spaghetti jollof. Luis Enrique Ascui 6 / 9 Nigerian jollof. Luis Enrique Ascui 7 / 9 Ghana jollof. Luis Enrique Ascui 8 / 9 Attieke jollof. Luis Enrique Ascui 9 / 9 Coconut jollof. Luis Enrique Ascui Previous Slide Next Slide African$$$$ Its a courageous move to build a Melbourne food business around jollof, the tomato-laced rice dish that is the subject of great discussion, debate and delight in West Africa. Even though this dish has many different variations and is fiercely contested in West African communities, most people here arent yet sure if they prefer Ghanaian jollof (jasmine rice and ginger) or Nigerian jollof (spiced and smoky basmati rice) or something else altogether. Evette Quoibia is working to increase awareness of a cult staple while serving delicious dinners. Related Article To keep the dream alive, you have to be creative: Restaurant roommates are surviving (and thriving) Advertisement I first encountered Evette in 2023 when she was running La Gout Afrique, a little restaurant out of a Reservoir milk bar, where she cooked food that represented her Liberian heritage, and migration journey through Cote dIvoire and Ghana. She went on to attempt a world record for continuous cooking, chopping and stirring for six days straight. Attieke jollof (cassava couscous, fried plantain, Ivorian salad and fried fish). Luis Enrique Ascui Now shes deep in jollof in a dark kitchen in Kensington. Ordering is online, and most orders are takeaway but there are a few tables in the roller-doored garage where its possible to have a very casual eat-in dining experience. Whether you eat here or take food home, you need to make some hard decisions. The true jollof war is between Ghana and Nigeria, so thats the key face off. Otherwise, theres spicy Liberian jollof with beans, corn and carrot studding the rice, or the one-pot feast from Senegal, usually considered the birthplace of jollof, with broken rice surrounded by eggplant, cabbage and pumpkin. Maybe youd like to try Evettes own creations. The Wisdom jollof is fried with egg and fresh tomato, and coconut jollof is studded with colourful capsicum, enriched with coconut cream and served with lamb chops. Theres even spaghetti jollof, with pasta subbed in for rice. Advertisement Spaghetti jollof. Luis Enrique Ascui Theyre all great: bold, hearty and fortifying. I love the smokiness of the Nigerian jollof, I can never go past spicy spaghetti, and Im also a fan of attieke jollof, an Evette invention of fried fish served with nutty, satisfying cassava cous cous with tomato and onion. Puff-puffs are a classic West African street sweet. These small doughnuts are made out the back by Puff Puff King but you can order them directly from Jollof Vibe, too. They come with all kinds of hip flavours Oreo, Bueno, Nutella but my favourite is the plain so you can concentrate on the fluffy sweetness. Theyre best eaten straight away. Im not snobby about takeaway but Jollof Vibe is too good to be hidden in a dark kitchen. The concept is so communal, its a shame the eating experience isnt or at least, not yet. Im sure youll join me in counting the days until Evette Quoibia has a proper restaurant setting to showcase her excellent food and exuberant energy. Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant cant pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up Jazzy piano music, lopsided grins and a cacophony of chuckles in a recent European Union public service announcement betrayed none of the geopolitical tensions, conflicts and natural disasters that have forced the European commissioner for preparedness and crisis management to urge member states to be ready for anything. Hadja Lahbib this week rolled out the collectives first preparedness strategy. A key call to action for member states was to waste no time in preparing an emergency kit that would allow households to be self-sufficient for 72 hours in a crisis. As well as speaking in Brussels to present her 18-page European Preparedness Union Strategy, Lahbib posted to social media a Whats in My Bag: Survival Edition video, which has racked up more than 2.3 million views on Instagram and X. We must prepare for large-scale, cross-sectoral incidents and crises, including the possibility of armed aggression, affecting one or more member states, the European Commissions new strategy document says, encouraging citizens to take proactive measures to prepare for crises, such as developing household emergency plans and stockpiling essential supplies. 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 Most young people are told to look up. Not Victoria Hynes, whose late grandfather Peter Meloccos mosaic flooring once decorated hundreds of public buildings in Sydney. As a child, Hynes was taken on walks through Sydneys CBD to see the work of Peter and his brothers, Antonio and Galliano, known as the Melocco Brothers. It was everywhere, she said, from the Hogwarts-like splendour of the State Theatre to banks, Dymocks and big department stores. Look down, her mother said when they visited the crypt of St Marys Cathedral and the State Librarys Mitchell vestibule to see one of the librarys treasures, the Tasman map created in mosaic. Zeny Edwards, author of a new book about the Meloccos, said the contribution of the Italian-born brothers to the countrys cultural and architectural heritage had, like that of many migrants, been grossly overlooked. They had elevated architecture into art. Edwards described it as painting in stone, which is the books title. Sitting on a bench with Hynes, overlooking the librarys mosaic representing the travels by Abel Tasman in 1642 and 1644, Edwards said it was an amazing and complete work of art. Seoul calls for outstanding smart-city innovation projects from around the world until May 30th A total of 21 prizes in three categories: Projects (Human-Centered & Technological Innovation Projects), Leadership, and Special Mention. Awards ceremony to be held in conjunction with Smart Life Week (SLW) 2025 from September 30 to October 1, with international mayors and experts in attendance Winners will gain opportunities for international promotion, including exhibitions and capacity-building programs SEOUL, South Korea, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has announced that applications for the 3rd Seoul Smart City Prize are open until May 30. The competition is open to city governments, institutions, corporations, and individuals worldwide to recognize outstanding smart city innovation policies. 3rd Seoul Smart City Prize Poster Now in its third year, the Seoul Smart City Prize was established in 2023 by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in collaboration with the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO). Leveraging Seoul's world-class digital government capabilities, the award aims to present a vision for the future of smart cities and promote the global adoption of smart-city ideas. In the first competition in 2023, 240 entries were submitted from 93 cities across 47 countries, including Los Angeles (USA), Madrid (Spain), and Sao Paulo (Brazil). Last year, a total of 216 projects incorporating various innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Digital Twins were submitted by 123 cities from 58 countries, including London (UK), Helsinki (Finland), and Abu Dhabi (UAE). Last year's winners: the gold prize was awarded to two projects 'BIAG', a health governance system from Baguio, Philippines, and 'Improving the School System through Digital Transformation' from Reykjavik, Iceland. This year's competition features a total of 21 awards across three main categories: Projects, Leadership, and Special Mention. Specifically, there are 16 awards in the Project category (8 for human-centered projects and 8 for technological innovation projects), 2 awards in the Leadership category, and 3 awards in the Special Mention category. PRIZE CATEGORY This story is part of the March 29 edition of Good Weekend. The red carpets have been rolled up but in the months ahead, these looks may just earn plaudits. In fashion editor Damien Woolnoughs round-up of Hollywoods best dressed in recent months, the winners are ... WOMEN Best suit Above: Nicole Kidman in Saint Laurent. RIght: Witchery Soft Pleat pants. Credit: At the Critics Choice Awards, Nicole Kidman gave mermaid dresses a day off, stepping out in a stylish, double-breasted suit from Saint Laurent. Pleated greige pants that can take you from the boardroom to the ballroom make a perfect stand-in. Right: Witchery Soft pleat pants, $249. Best dress Every morning, Czarina Gatbonton Tumaliuan would stand outside her brick house and make sure her young children crossed the road safely to their primary school only a few metres away from their home. On Thursday morning, the 42-year-old mother of four had just seen her children off to school for the day when her next-door neighbours heard three piercing screams ring out in the street. Victim Czarina Gatbonton Tumaliuan, ran a popular online store called Bellizzima. A neighbour, who had just dropped her children off at Bethany Catholic Primary School in Werribee, in Melbournes west, saw a man standing out the front of the house looking dazed and wearing blood-stained clothing. Moments later, police cars with sirens blaring, and an ambulance roared down the quiet street. One of the riders was Malcolm Domaille. Riding his 2005 Harley-Davidson, he veered to the wrong side of the road to pass the pack. The road was straight for six kilometres. As he approached Goodwin, Domaille had nowhere to go as he hadnt passed the pack. He ploughed into the Norton at nearly 120km/h. With a combined speed of more than 200km/h, the result was catastrophic. Goodwin was thrown back eight metres and killed instantly. Domailles bike burst into flames and veered into a bike and side-car that also exploded, seriously injuring the driver and passenger. Domaille landed 16.5 metres from the crash point. His mates carried him off the road, where he died at the scene. When paramedics arrived, the bikies urged them to help the two injured victims. It would be the gangs only moment of compassion. Some left the scene and from that moment they put up the shutters, hiding behind a pathetic code of non-cooperation with police. This wasnt about snitching to the cops but telling the truth about the death of an innocent man, so the victims family could have some answers. The killer was dead and so there could be no ramifications. It is not a code of honour but one of cowardice. Domaille was full of cannabis and amphetamines when he took Goodwins life. Coroner Stella Stuthridge found: Leading Senior Constable Jarrett investigated the collision. Jarretts investigation was difficult due to the refusal of members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club to provide statements or co-operate. There were few answers at the crash scene. The coroner found, due to the extensive damage to both motorcycles, the Mechanical Investigation Unit was unable to undertake a mechanical assessment of either motorcycle. Mr Domailles toxicology results indicate he had consumed cannabis and methylamphetamine. Police also found a bag of cannabis and several small bags of amphetamine on Mr Domaille at the time of the collision. I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that a combination of factors caused the collision and death of Mr Goodwin, including (a) the speed at which Mr Domaille was travelling; (b) the effects of cannabis and amphetamine on Mr Domailles judgement and reaction speed. There was talk at the time of the gang running a peloton move, with bikies moving from last to first, driving on the wrong side of the road, but with the gangs silence, that was where it remained talk. This wasnt about snitching to the cops but telling the truth about the death of an innocent man. The Goodwins left their family home in Yackandandah for the 256-kilometre trip about 12.15pm on Good Friday. They agreed to meet at the Shepparton cows, a well-known outdoor art display before travelling the last 100 kilometres to Pine Grove. When Dave didnt arrive, the family headed to their destination with Tess mother trying to assure her daughter that he was fine. They were still driving when the ABC radio news reported the accident. I turned it off, so the kids wouldnt hear, Tess says. Gripped with dread, Tess rang the local hospital and police. Even though she was a doctor, staff told her they couldnt confirm anything. Then the poor old policeman from Rochester turned up to deliver the news. I really felt for him, she says. The bikies would not co-operate. Not one of them said a word and no one has been held to account. I had four little kids. I was petrified. Dave Goodwin was killed at the age of 44.. Dave and Tess met at the University of Melbourne while studying forestry. She would work in land care and salinity while his mission was to ensure native forests could be sustainably logged. Later he became an Alpine National Park ranger. He loved it and knew the High Country like the back of his hand. He would camp out for a week at a time, she says. Tess says he was laid-back and easy going. He would take guns off deer hunters that didnt have the right licence. He was able to do it in a way that they wouldnt get stroppy. He worked in fire management, reducing risks, locating the point and cause of fires. He was also a volunteer firefighter. When Tess returned to study to become a doctor, he supported the family and eventually worked part-time, becoming the childrens principal carer. He was Mr Dad. After the investigation into the fatal crash was completed, effectively sabotaged by the bikies silence, a friend of Daves from his forestry days couldnt bear the thought of his mates loved Norton being sold for scrap. He had it shipped to his farm in Gippsland, where it has been placed under a tree as a memorial. It is so mangled he wont let Daves family see it. Tess found some comfort that the year after the crash, police finally took some action against outlaw motorcycle gangs, forming the Echo taskforce that targeted the organised crime groups and would attempt to control their runs, making sure the riders obeyed the road rules and wore helmets. As part of a policy of disruption, Echo police would stop and search riders on a run and carry out roadworthy checks on their bikes. Victorian police target the Outlaws motorcycle gangs national run back in 2013. Credit: Wayne Taylor It was to show the gangs they could not dominate the roads. For the past 15 years, Tess has concentrated on raising her four children and working in country health. She is a GP specialising in obstetrics, works shifts in an emergency ward and volunteers for equestrian events. After years of police lobbying, the state government passed laws designed to stop outlaw motorcycle gang members wearing and displaying their colours, such as patches, logos or other insignia to represent their gang membership, intimidate others and to attract and recruit new members. It is the latest allegations of outlaw bikies being paid on government construction sites as part of the CFMEU scandal that have prompted Tess to speak out. I am no longer scared. The year after Dave was killed they started to crack down on bikies, but I feel a complacency setting in. People say bikies raise money for charity and many of them are good guys that is a lie. On the Outlaws website is the claim, To say that One Percenters are criminals or people of a lesser moral code than the rest of society is a tainted opinion. The Outlaws Motorcycle Club is not a criminal organisation. Tess says governments and the public need to recognise the truth. We have to ask ourselves, what sort of society do we want? We are turning a blind eye to organised crimes. Is that what we want? As a country doctor Tess has been told bikies provide young Indigenous people with free drugs at nightclubs to hook them as customers. Ice is a terrible problem here. It is well known the Melbourne-to-Sydney train is a place to traffic drugs. She says the government must fund Echo to remain a powerful investigative force. On Wednesday, police in Australia and New Zealand conducted multiple coordinated raids against members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle gang. Echo police seized drugs including steroids, four gel blaster firearms, ammunition, knuckle dusters and stolen vehicles and made a number of arrests. I saw first-hand the power of a bikie run when gang members massed for a members funeral (he died of natural causes, crushed under a tree on his property). Hundreds rode, most without helmets, with the police keeping a discreet distance, the police helicopter hovering above to film the procession. I wrote the story one of little significance. The smell wont overpower the entire federal campaign but for anyone uncertain about whether to stick with federal Labor, it may be enough to put them off their meal. Loading For the sake of ascribing a numerical value to it, the last polls by Resolve Political Monitor published by this masthead had federal Labors share of the primary vote in Victoria at 24 per cent and state Labors at 22 per cent. These figures are well below Labors internal polling and disputed by ALP strategists, who insist the situation is difficult in Victoria but not diabolical. They are also, most likely, out of date. Since the last national poll was published in February, Anthony Albanese has had one of his best patches as prime minister and Peter Dutton one of his more difficult since becoming opposition leader. But if the Resolve results are close enough to share a postcode with current voter sentiment, Labor in Victoria is in all sorts of strife. Anthony Albanese won the 2022 election with 33 per cent primary share of the Victorian vote. Melbourne-born Bill Shorten lost in 2019 with 37 per cent. Labor hardheads believe the best thing the party has going for it in Victoria is Peter Dutton. The opposition leader isnt as unpopular here as he used to be, but the ALP is convinced Victoria doesnt want him to be the next prime minister. From an ALP perspective, this makes Dutton the great white hope for keeping Melbourne seats. Labor is hoping Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is a positive for them in Victoria. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen This is why Labor has already revived a version of Mediscare, with a sharp focus on the role Dutton played as health minister during the short-lived Abbott government, when GP co-payments were announced and later abandoned and funding cut to Victorian public hospitals. In Victoria, the federal election shapes as a choice between a party with a whiff about it and an Opposition Leader that only a mother could love. But beneath this less-than-inspiring take-out, there are fascinating plots and sub-plots to play out over the next five weeks. Scaling the Red Wall The three major issues here are the same as everywhere else cost of living, cost of living and cost of living. Crime will get a cameo, schools, hospitals and childcare spending plenty of attention and Trades Hall Council will inflate an oversized Blinky, the three-eyed fish from The Simpsons, to lampoon Duttons plans for nuclear energy. But in the end, this campaign will never stray far from our hip pockets. Credit: Matt Golding The Liberal Party should pick up Aston, Chisholm and Dunkley without much ado. Aston is nominally Liberal and Chisholm and Dunkley are perennial marginals within Melbournes traditional east and south-east suburban electoral battleground. If the Liberal Party cant win these three they can forget about the rest. McEwen, a shifting, peri-urban electorate that straddles fast-growing Gisborne, newer, commuter estates in Doreen, Donnybrook and Wallan and tree-change hamlets in the Macedon Ranges, is also a forever marginal seat but one that Labors Rob Mitchell has held since 2010. If McEwen goes, it is a sign of more serious trouble for Labor. It is notable that Albanese was campaigning in Donnybrook, a cluster of new housing estates off the Hume Highway in the heart of McEwen, the day before the federal Budget was handed down. The prime minister campaigning in Donnybrook earlier this week. Credit: Chris Hopkins If the swing is on, the Liberals could also pick up Bruce, a complex, melting pot electorate which starts in the blue-collar suburbs of Dandenong North and Doveton and finishes on the edge of Cranbourne. The tripwire for genuine ALP alarm in Victoria is Hawke. Labor MP Sam Rae, the former state secretary with the jelly roll quiff, is in a nominally safe seat heading into this election. He is also on the fault line of a much bigger battle between the major parties for the votes of millions of people who live and work on the edges of our largest cities. Hawke takes in Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Sunbury. If it changes hands, it will be the first brick removed from Labors great red wall stretching across Melbournes west and northern suburbs. If Hawke falls to the Liberals, Peter Dutton is well on his way to the Lodge. Dont mention the war At the time of the 2021 Census, there were 46,645 people living in Victoria who identified as Jewish. Of these, 16,868 lived in the federal electorate of Macnamara, making it Melbournes most Jewish seat. Wills MP Peter Khalil, who has held the seat since 2016, is defending his seat against the Greens. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen If the social forces unleashed in Australia by the war in Gaza are felt in this federal election, one of the Victorian seats to watch is Macnamara, where Labors Josh Burns is in an unpredictable, three-way contest with the Greens and the Liberal Party. The other is Wills, where the Greens, the Socialist Alliance and other left-wing activists are seeking to channel anti-Israel sentiment against Labor MP Peter Khalil. There is a twist to both these stories. The Albanese government has disappointed much of Jewish Australia since the October 7 attacks, but Burns, one of three Jewish Labor MPs, has been a staunch advocate for Jewish communities. Khalil is an Arabic-speaking former geopolitical analyst with a deep understanding of the Middle East conflict. Two generations of his family fought in wars against Israel. He is being targeted less for his personal views than the uber-progressive electorate he holds. Teals rediscover roots If the Teal movement has its origins in the successful Voices of Indi campaigns run by Cathy McGowan, it is going back to the future in Victoria, where Climate 200-backed candidates are having a crack at Wannon in the western district, Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula and Monash further along the Bass coast. Liberal member for Wannon Dan Tehan (left) and independent candidate Alex Dyson. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen, Supplied As with the debates over energy, immigration and how to provide more affordable housing, all of this returns to the hip pockets of voters. In his election announcement, Albanese readily admitted that people had done it tough over the three years of his prime ministership. His message was, in essence, that they should always keep a hold of nurse/for fear of finding something worse. It is one that will be tested across Victoria, a state in which spending questions come with added weight as Premier Jacinta Allans government heads further into the red. With Infrastructure Australia questioning federal funding for the Suburban Rail Loop, state opposition leader Brad Battin now demanding it be cancelled to save Victorias finances, and the federal opposition noncommittal on whether it will fund it, a victory for the federal Coalition will truly be to quote Peter Dutton a sliding doors moment. Peter Dutton launches the Coalitions election campaign. Credit: Cameron Atfield The question, as our state political editor Chip Le Grand notes, is whether Victorian voters antipathy to Dutton is enough to prevent Coalition victories in such key seats as Kooyong and Goldstein, Bruce, Dunkley and Aston, as well as McEwen and Hawke. If the Liberals can take these seats, they will be a significant step closer to the minimum of 19 gains they need to form majority government. The Age will bring you the latest developments and in-depth analysis from each of these electorates in the weeks to come. It is our hope that whatever the partys line, campaigning will focus on the issues confronting Victorians and all Australians, and avoid the sort of behaviour we saw in Kooyong this week, when MP Monique Ryans husband took it upon himself to police the placement of corflutes. Those who remember the Lindsay leaflet affair of 2007 or the antics of Andrew Landeryou and David Boutros-Asmar in 2016 will know that politicians spouses dont always handle election season very well. We would make a plea for decorum on all sides in the weeks to come. Students at a Perth high school have leant a helping hand quite literally to those in need, by building more than 100 prosthetic hands for children overseas. Year 12 students at Shenton College hit the milestone in 2025 after taking part in the Helping Hands program for 10 years. Year 12 students from Shenton College involved in the Helping Hands Program. The prosthetic hands are distributed to countries including Africa, India, Mexico and Nepal, and donated to amputee landmine victims throughout the developing world. Student Patrick Taplin, who is taking part in the program this year, said it was important to help out children who would otherwise not have access to the medical services required to get a prosthetic made. Federal police have seized $2.6 million in cash and illegal tobacco and vaping products across Perth overnight and have charged a 26-year-old man over the contraband. On Thursday, police executed search warrants at the mans residence in Baldivis, a courier company in Perths southern suburbs, and various storage facilities across Perth. At the courier company, officers seized about $900,000 cash concealed in packaged microwave ovens waiting to be shipped to Melbourne. They seized about 645,000 cigarettes, 19,000 vapes, and 200 pouches of loose-leaf tobacco at the other locations. The 26-year-old was charged under Operation Snug, an ongoing investigation into an organised crime group allegedly dealing in the proceeds of crime from the sale of illicit tobacco and vaping products in WA. He faced court on Friday charged with dealing with money or property valued at over $100,000, believed to be the proceeds of crime, and possessing tobacco being an excisable good where excise duty is payable on the tobacco and the weight is 100 kilograms or more. Australian Federal Police Inspector Chris Colley said criminals had no regard for the significant health issues illegal products presented for the community and the burden they placed on the health systems. Criminal networks also use the profits from the sale of illicit tobacco products to support other serious criminal activities, he said. Vice chancellors at two West Australian universities are now part of the million-dollar club, the latest annual reports show. Curtin University and the University of Western Australia now both pay their vice chancellors more than $1 million in total remuneration for the year. UWA was a new addition to the club for 2024, while Curtins vice chancellors annual remuneration passed that mark in 2023. The UWA pay packet, which includes accrued annual leave and long service leave entitlements, was a significant increase on the 2023 salary around 17 per cent while at Curtin, it has remained relatively stagnant. Immigration Minister Tony Burke says he was forced to leave an Islamic prayer event on the advice of federal police when a group arrived to confront him. After speaking to the Australian Federal Police, given the nature of the message that had been circulated, and the fact that I was there to speak to the community, not the people who had travelled some distance for a different purpose, I decided to attend on another occasion, Burke said. An unauthorised flyer claimed Tony Burke is a racist immigration minister. The moment was just one in a spate of incidents in his electorate, including an unauthorised flyer which labelled him a racist immigration minister, calling on residents of Burkes diverse western Sydney electorate, Watson, to change their vote. The AFP is reporting a surge in threats against parliamentarians across the political spectrum, which have almost doubled in the past three years. There could be fewer nurses in Victorian ICUs as an unintended consequence of how the government has phrased its incoming reforms, doctors and critical care specialists warn. Three peak bodies say that the draft laws, already waved through the lower house, would not stop hospitals from cutting up to three senior nurses per day in the states largest ICUs compared to current industry standards. For a typical suburban ICU, the fear is that there could be one less nurse. Victoria is planning to legislate nurse-to-patient ratios in intensive care wards for the first time. Credit: Justin McManus The government is strengthening nurse-to-patient ratio laws by requiring, for the first time, ICUs to provide one nurse for every occupied bed. However, hospitals already do this, and many provide more senior support roles than what would be mandated. The Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN) and others say the problem is caused by the wording of the draft law, which could suggest that senior support nurses and team leaders are the same role. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sign historic border agreement after decades of disputes Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sign historic border agreement after decades of disputes Crowds gathered on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, waiting to cross it for the first time since 2021. People could finally be reunited with their family members after President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed a border agreement on 13 March in Bishkek, putting an end to decades of disputes and intensifying conflict. The border treaty will create a solid foundation for further comprehensive expansion of our interstate relations and open a new page in Tajik-Kyrgyz relations, said Rahmon. The signing of the border agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will become a landmark historical event," the Kyrgyz President added. ADVERTISEMENT "This step will make a significant contribution to strengthening security, stability and sustainable development not only of our states, but also of the entire Central Asian region." The border between the two countries, which had been disputed for years, was closed in 2021 following violent clashes. A tumultuous history Negotiations over the 1000-kilometre frontier lasted 23 years. Although the countries managed to agree to some border sections in mountainous areas, they were divided on how to split pasture land and water resources. Local disputes led to road blockades, stone-throwing and clashes that frequently drew in border guards. The local nature of the clashes lasted up until 2021, when, for the first time, heavy military equipment was involved. A dispute over a water-intake station developed into a conflict, which resulted in 55 dead and 300 wounded on both sides. ADVERTISEMENT As a result, both countries closed their borders and stopped air travel to the other. Tensions flared again in September 2022 in what became the most severe confrontation to date. Both sides accused the other of attacking first, killing civilians and breaking ceasefire promises. Kyrgyzstan reported 59 dead and 198 wounded, while Tajikistan reported 41 dead and 100 wounded. The violence also forced Kyrgyzstan to evacuate 136,000 people due to shelling. This clash became a wake-up call and a push to renew border negotiations, which still proved to be complicated. Both sides wanted to adhere to maps that favoured them. Tajikistan hoped to follow the 1924-1927 maps, which were created when the Soviet Union first started to determine the borders of all Central Asian states. The Kyrgyz, however, advocated for more recent maps, including those created when the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was formed. ADVERTISEMENT The problem was compounded by the fact that Tajikistan has two enclaves in the Kyrgyz territory Vorukh and Kayragach. As part of the new agreement, some of this land was given to Kyrgyzstan in exchange for other territory. Related Kamchybek Tashiev, head of Kyrgyzstans national security committee and lead negotiator in the border talks, noted that both parties made concessions because the border issue should never be resolved in favour of only one side. As a result of the negotiations, the countries exchanged around 25 square kilometres of land, while some roads and areas were designated as neutral zones for shared use. A new era of cooperation Along with the border agreement, the two leaders signed 15 cooperation deals, which included matters such as road access and the use of strategic water resources. ADVERTISEMENT Air travel between the countries was renewed the next day. The new agreement, which resolves the last territorial dispute in Central Asia, is expected to enhance stability and security in the region while opening transit routes and scaling up trade. Matthew Armstrong and his wife Mandy Warren reached their 30s, and with no help from the bank of mum and dad, they realised it could take years to save a deposit on a Sydney home. They had been renting a unit in Strathfield but then managed to take advantage of the federal governments first home buyer help to purchase a townhouse in Kingswood. Matthew Armstrong purchased a townhouse in Sydneys Kingswood through the First Home Guarantee scheme. Credit: Steven Siewert We thought wed probably have to save for another three to five years to get over that 20 per cent deposit hurdle, Armstrong, a network engineer, said. Instead, they used the First Home Guarantee scheme, which waives lenders mortgage insurance for buyers with a five per cent deposit. The scheme was a game changer. We would have had to wait years to get on to the property ladder, and likely in the same area, out west. A calm day, then a beastly storm From the sheltered beach at Sanur, it seemed like a calm day, Josie says. The weather was cloudy, but not windy. This changed through the morning. The weather filmed by Ngurah Komang, a tour boat leader, on the day the Sea Dragon 2 capsized in Bali. Credit: Screenshot Ngurah Komang, a tour boat leader who was in the same stretch of water with a group several hours after the Sea Dragon 2, captured a beastly storm pummelling a patch of not-too-distant ocean. The cloud he filmed joined the sky and sea into a single, mushroom-like mass. This is a natural phenomenon, Ngurah said into the video. A rare occurrence. He changed the days itinerary to avoid the weather. Even with the waves building, the Sea Dragon 2 crew continued. Anna Blight was killed when a snorkelling boat capsized off Bali. Credit: Cor Cordis The Americans do not recall a safety briefing, only some words from the crew or guides about where they were going and what they were going to see. And the engine was so loud, they say, that they could barely make out a word. Australian marine safety trainer Adam Sontag, who reviewed video footage, said the first red flag was that no one appeared to be wearing a life jacket. Except for one person: a seven-year-old Estonian girl. Her mother claims to have asked the crew for a life-jacket five times before having to find one herself. Some of the passengers asked the crew to slow down. Holly, increasingly worried, moved from the seat next to Josie to be closer to the captain, where she presumed it was safer. Depending on the account, the wave hit about 15 to 30 minutes into the journey to Nusa Penida. We kind of felt the boat get sucked into the undertow of that really big wave, and the wave itself was probably bigger than the boat, if not twice the size of the boat when we were at the base of it, Josie says. Ive never had a wave that big break right on top of a boat like that. It is unclear if it was a rogue wave or one in a pattern. The weather alert for Nusa Penida that day was yellow, indicating waves of 1.25 to 2.5 metres. The upper end of this range can be enough to turn experienced fishermen back to shore. From what I can see, the vessel was travelling beam-on [side-on] to the waves this is an extremely dangerous position and a common cause of capsizing in heavy seas, Sontag says. When confronted with large waves ... the safest course of action is generally to turn the bow into the wave to avoid being rolled. Tour boats anchored at Nusa Penida, a top snorkelling destination in Bali. Credit: Amilia Rosa Josie recalls pulling herself closer to the boat, holding her breath and waiting. When I felt the boat fully capsize, I saw dark blue and light blue, she says. I waited for the boat to settle, and then I just swam towards the light blue. Others, including Holly, were trapped under the boat, the limited air available fouled with fumes. I was by the [Australian couple Gabe and Tam], who got burned severely, Holly says. I was panicking, and he had told her, We have to swim out, or were going to lose oxygen. I was feeling really, really dizzy, so thank God I was by him. Gabriel Gabe Hijniakoff (left) and Cintamani Tam Warrington are stuck in Bali with serious burns. Credit: GoFundMe Thats the only reason why I knew to swim out from under the boat because you just cant think straight. Unknown to Holly, Anna Blight and the Estonian girl were also under the boat. Later in hospital, the child would lament Blights death to her mother: I keep seeing the lady that died. I should have been able to save her. I should have been able to save the lady that died. The investigation This masthead has spoken to five of the 10 surviving passengers. At the time of writing, investigators had spoken to none. Some passengers have since returned to their home countries. Police have interviewed the captain and crew and maintain the Sea Dragon 2s engine was knocked out by a floating log, leaving the vessel powerless and vulnerable to the waves. The Estonian mother caught up in the Bali snorkeling boat tragedy. She declined to be named or photographed so soon after her trauma, but allowed this masthead to use this Facebook picture.. Credit: Facebook The video tells a different story. Josie confirms the boat was moving at speed when it was hit by a single, large wave that caused it to flip instantly. The extraordinary footage of the wave and its aftermath was filmed by Dutch woman Eva Jongbloed, first to prove to friends how wild the journey was and, after the boat capsized, to document the ordeal for investigators and insurance companies. Jongbloed, who was with her niece Daniela Faber on the boat, was filming as the wave washed her into the ocean. Eva Jongbloed (left) with her niece Daniela Faber. Both are survivors of the Bali boat tragedy. Credit: Amilia Rosa I thought I was the only one who fell off the boat, she says. And I was thinking: Oh shit, how are they going to get me ... but then I turned around and I saw the whole boat was flipped. This masthead has shown Nusa Penida investigators the video, which by then was public. They had not seen it. The boss of those investigators later promised to take it into account and cross-check with the boat captain and crew. Loading This masthead has also offered to put police in touch with the Americans and others for interviews. They are yet to take it up. About half an hour, possibly more, after the incident, another boat arrived to rescue the first load of survivors, but here, too, there is conjecture. Police say it was Sea Dragons other boat that had returned after radio communication from the stricken crew. The Americans, however, say the Sea Dragon 2 appeared to have no working radio, emergency beacon or even a safety protocol. Passengers believe their rescuers were in a private boat, passing by chance. The tour company, which has been assisting survivors with hospital costs and retrieving goods, has not commented, making the truth difficult to verify. The first group of rescued survivors, now with life jackets, were dropped off in rough surf about 50 to 100 metres from Kelingking beach and told to swim to shore so the boat could go back to the scene and get the rest. They expected to be met by ambulances and paramedics at the beach. Instead, they found only unaware locals, beachgoers and construction workers. Kelingking beach, where survivors came to shore. Credit: Amilia Rosa Even once the builders had escorted them to the top of the towering cliff using a half-built elevator, no help was there. If there were radio communications, how could this be? Most survivors suffered chemical burns and blunt force bruising. They also swallowed fuel-laced seawater. The little Estonian girl spent days in intensive care. Loading It is unclear how Anna Blight died, or whether she could have been saved. While passengers were unaware of her death until hours later, some, reflecting on the chain of events, now wonder whether she could have been pulled from underneath the boat and given CPR. [The crew] were clearly just young guys on a boat, Josie says. We wont know until theres an autopsy if there was serious head trauma [and she couldnt be saved]. According to Nusa Penida police, however, the family has declined an autopsy. ~Empowering Communities, Saving Lives: A Vital Video Series on Suicide Prevention~ PHILIPSBURG:--- In a powerful effort to shed light on a crucial issue, the counseling degree program at Grace Hill Bible University, St. Maarten Campus, teamed up with the Department of Communications, Victorious Living, and the Ministry VSA to launch a compelling video series on suicide assessment, prevention and treatment. One of the recent episodes seeks to generate widespread awareness about suicide prevention among pastors and clergy, both locally and globally. At the forefront of this campaign is Pastor Dominique Vital, a dedicated student at Grace Hill Bible University's Sint Maarten Campus. Under the mentorship of Dr. Erna Mae Francis-Cotton, Pastor Vital delivers a stirring video presentation addressing a critical, yet often neglected issue within the Christian community: the mental health struggles faced by spiritual leaders. "As a pastor at Kingdom Life International Ministriesalso known as New Life Family Church in Sint PetersI recognize the unique challenges spiritual leaders encounter," shares Pastor Vital. His presentation, "Preventing Suicide Among Pastors & Clergy," boldly addresses the mental health struggles in the pastoral community and the urgent need for supportive systems. **Key Discussion Points:** -Invisible Struggles: While statistics on pastoral suicide or suicide attempts in Sint Maarten are sparse, the reality is frequently overlooked. -Immense Burdens: Pastors provide critical spiritual and emotional support, making them susceptible to compassion fatigue and burnout. -Breaking Stigma: Fear of judgment or shame often deters pastors from seeking the mental health support they need. -Prioritizing Well-being: Just as pastors guide their congregations, they too must be encouraged to focus on their own mental health. -Tailored Mental Health Services: The need for clergy-specific counseling is growing. -Skills Development: Access to workshops on stress management, burnout prevention, and suicide awareness for pastors and ministry leaders is essential. Recent US statistics reveal a troubling mental health crisis among pastors: -Overwhelmed by Mission: 85% of pastors feel immense pressure to fulfill the church's mission. -Balancing Acts: 77% of millennial pastors spend over 20 hours weekly with their families, amid their ministry duties. Pastor Vital concludes with a strong message: "Suicide among pastors can and must be prevented. Our faith communities need to see spiritual leaders as humans who require support. Tools and resources are here to help pastors face mental health challenges while continuing their vital service to others." Pastor Vitals presentation is a clarion call for changeurging churches, religious bodies, and communities at large to invest in mental health resources for clergy and congregants alike. "By opening up these conversations and providing necessary support, we can save lives," affirms Vital. "Action is needed nowbefore more heartbreak afflicts our community." Adding his voice to this cause is Georges H. Richardson, another dedicated student at Grace Hill Bible University (Sint Maarten Campus). "Dr. Francis-Cotton recognized the widespread hurt and need for hope in our community," Richardson explains. "My presentation, 'IGNITING HOPE: PREVENTING SUICIDE,' focuses on outreach, awareness, and educationequipping individuals to identify warning signs and take every threat seriously." For more information or to explore ways to support this life-saving initiative, please visit the Department of Communications' YouTube and Facebook pages, or reach out directly to Dr. Francis-Cotton at +1-721-524-8731 or via www.victoriouslivingfoundation.com. The Hague, Netherlands:--- Prime Minister of Sint Maarten, Dr. Luc Mercelina, met on Wednesday with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, the Honorable Mr. Dick Schoof, for a follow-up meeting at the Ministry of General Affairs in The Hague. This high-level encounter focused on deepening cooperation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and addressing pressing regional and international issues affecting all partners of the Kingdom. Prime Minister Dr. Mercelina, accompanied by Minister Plenipotentiary drs. Gracita Arrindell and his Chief of Staff, Stuart Johnson, outlined Sint Maartens vision for the future and emphasized the need for equitable, sustainable partnerships across the Kingdom. This meeting marks a renewed chapter of constructive dialogue and mutual respect, said Prime Minister Mercelina. Sint Maarten is committed to a future where every partner in the Kingdom is seen, heard, supported, and included not only in words but in actions that reflect fairness, resilience,e, and co-ownership. During the meeting, Prime Minister Mercelina presented his governments strategic priorities, highlighting pillars of economic diversification, climate resilience, good governance, and regional cooperationincluding ongoing collaboration with French St. Martin. One focal point was the impact of the recently increased import tariffs imposed by the United States, which have significantly affected prices for goods imported into Sint Maarten. The ripple effects of these economic measures are tangible for our people, said Dr. Mercelina. We must stand together as Kingdom partners to ensure our voices are represented in global trade dynamics and to protect our shared interests. The conversation also delved into geopolitical shifts in the region. Prime Minister Mercelina raised concerns over a recent World Bank project funded by the Netherlands for Sint Maartens reconstruction. We welcome international investment, but it must not come at the cost of local participation, he noted. Local contractors and workers must have fair access to these opportunities. Reconstruction should not just rebuild our infrastructureit should rebuild our economy. Prime Minister Dr. Mercelina expressed appreciation for the World Bank Trust Fund but urged that procurement processes become more inclusive and reflective of the islands unique economic reality. In closing, Prime Minister Mercelina presented Prime Minister Schoof with a symbolic gifta book representing the history and resilience of the people of Sint Maartenas a gesture of goodwill and commitment to ongoing cooperation. Our Kingdom can only grow stronger if we walk the path togetheropenly, respectfully, and with shared purpose, said Prime Minister Dr. Mercelina. Today was a step in that direction. Iran says it has responded to Trump's nuclear talks letter Tehran, March 27 (AFP) Mar 27, 2025 Iran has sent a response to a letter from US President Donald Trump that called for nuclear talks and warned of possible military action if it refuses, its foreign minister said Thursday. "This official response includes a letter in which our position regarding the current situation and Mr Trump's letter has been fully explained to the other party," Abbas Araghchi told the official IRNA news agency. He added that the letter was delivered to Oman, which has served as an intermediary in the past in the absence of US-Iranian diplomatic relations. He did not disclose the nature of the response or say when it had been sent. Trump, who in 2018 pulled the United States out of an agreement to relieve sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, now says he is open to diplomatic talks. The US president revealed at the start of March that he had sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At the same time, Trump has pushed ahead with his "maximum pressure" programme of additional sanctions on Tehran and the threat of military action if it refuses to negotiate. "Our policy remains not to negotiate directly (with Washington) under 'maximum pressure' and the threat of military action, but indirect negotiations, such as those that took place in the past, can continue," Araghchi said. - Intermediaries - Iran and the United States have not had official diplomatic relations since 1980. However, the two countries have engaged indirectly via the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests in Iran. Oman has also played the role of mediator in the past, as has Qatar, to a lesser extent. Trump's letter was delivered to Iran by the United Arab Emirates. Iran agreed to the deal curbing its nuclear programme in 2015 after negotiations with major powers including the United States and China. Western government have for decades suspected that Tehran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability, a charge that Iran denies, insisting that the programme is solely for civilian purposes. Iran continued to respect the deal for a year after Trump pulled out, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, before rolling back its commitments. The US decision to withdraw was driven in part by Iran's ballistic missile programme, which was not covered by the deal and which Washington perceived as a threat. US defence chief visits Philippines dogged by scandal at home Manila, March 27 (AFP) Mar 27, 2025 US defence chief Pete Hegseth will meet his Philippine counterpart in Manila on Friday, part of a tour of Pacific allies that risks being overshadowed by a mounting scandal over leaked plans for military strikes. The trip, aimed at bolstering ties in the Asia-Pacific region as tensions are rising with China, comes as Hegseth faces calls to resign by Democratic lawmakers and a Republican congressman's push for an independent report. Hegseth revealed details of strikes on Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen in a group of top administration officials on the messaging platform Signal, according to a senior journalist added to the chat by accident. On Wednesday, Hegseth mocked Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg's initial description of the texts as "war plans", saying they included no names, targets or classified information. "We will continue to do our job, while the media does what it does best: peddle hoaxes," he said on social media platform X. Hegseth's Manila visit, to be followed by trips to Tokyo and World War II battleground Iwo Jima, follows months of confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing claims almost the entirety of the crucial waterway, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit. - Deepening cooperation - In response to China's growing influence, the United States has been bolstering alliances with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines. Manila and Washington have deepened their defence cooperation since President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijing's sweeping South China Sea claims. In recent years top US officials have warned that an "armed attack" against the Philippines in the waterway would invoke the two countries' mutual defence treaty. The two countries have expanded the sharing of military intelligence and boosted to nine the number of bases US troops have access to on the archipelago. Given the Philippines' proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, Manila's cooperation would be crucial in the event of a conflict with China. Hegseth's visit overlaps with bilateral military exercises that will expand next month to include the countries' navies and air forces. - 'Witch hunt' - Despite mounting pressure over the Signal leak, US President Donald Trump has defended Hegseth. "Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this," Trump said when asked by AFP whether the defence secretary should be considering his position. "How do you bring Hegseth into this? Look, look it's all a witch hunt," Trump added in the Oval Office. He also repeated his insistence that no classified information was shared in the breach, adding that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz "took responsibility" for the error. Waltz added Goldberg to the group chat that included Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard and others. Apart from the timing of the strikes in Yemen, Hegseth also identified the type of aircraft, missiles and drones used, according to the Atlantic, which later released screen grabs of the chat. Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth has said Trump should sack all the officials in the chat and called Hegseth a "liar" who "could've gotten our pilots killed". But the White House and its allies have largely held firm in their messaging, praising the success of the attacks and slamming Goldberg as an "anti-Trump hater". Only Secretary of State Marco Rubio has conceded there was a "big mistake". cwl/rsc/dw German air force wards off Russian reconnaissance plane Berlin, March 27 (AFP) Mar 27, 2025 A Russian reconnaissance aircraft approached northeastern Germany on Thursday before it was escorted away by fighter jets, the German air force said. The air force said on its Whatsapp communication channel that its Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) was activated at the Laage airbase near Rostock, on the Baltic coast in the northeast. "The reason was an unknown aeroplane over the Baltic Sea, which was flying without a flight plan or activated transponder," the air force said in the message, which confirmed an earlier press report in Bild. German Eurofighter jets were scrambled to identify the Ilyushin Il-20 reconnaissance plane, which was subsequently "escorted" back towards the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, from where it was first tracked. Bild said the Russian aircraft was found early Thursday east of the German Baltic island Rugen from where it was heading towards "German air space". The fact that the aircraft's transponder was deactivated presented "a considerable danger to civilian air traffic," Bild said. Military sources quoted by Bild said that Russian reconnaissance planes were occasionally identified off the German coast. Many NATO nations have a QRA system to help protect their air space. Tensions over the Baltic Sea have heightened since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Mexican soldiers get 40 years' jail for killing civilians Ciudad Victoria, Mexico, March 27 (AFP) Mar 27, 2025 Four Mexican soldiers were sentenced to 40 years in prison for the killing of five civilians in 2023 in a crime-plagued northeastern border city, a court said Thursday. The young men were returning home from a nightclub in Nuevo Laredo, which is regularly the scene of violence attributed to drug traffickers, when they were chased by troops. The military said afterwards that soldiers on patrol had heard gunshots and saw a pick-up truck without lights or license plates whose driver tried to escape. The Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee said that a military captain revealed during the trial that the four soldiers had opened fired without authorization from a superior. The United Nations human rights office welcomed the sentence, saying "accountability for actions of this gravity is essential to guarantee justice for the victims and prevent their recurrence." According to New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch, Mexican police, prosecutors and soldiers commit "widespread abuses" including torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings. The army killed 5,488 civilians from 2007 through July 2023 and the deaths are rarely independently investigated, it said in its World Report 2024, citing government data. Vance due in Greenland as anger mounts over Trump takeover bid Copenhagen, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 US Vice President JD Vance is on Friday due to tour a US military base in Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation amid President Donald Trump's bid to annex the Danish territory. Trump insisted on Wednesday that the United States needed the vast Arctic island for national and international security, and has previously refused to rule out the use of force to get it. "We have to have it," he said. Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted that will not happen. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounced plans by a US delegation to visit Greenland uninvited -- for what was initially a much broader visit -- as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark. In the end, the US visit has been reduced to Vance and his wife Usha visiting the US-run Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the island. Vance is to meet with US Space Force members and "check out what's going on with the security" of Greenland, he said in a video message. The vice president angered Danes in early February when he said Denmark was "not doing its job (protecting Greenland), and it's not being a good ally". A fuming Frederiksen quickly retorted that Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans "for many, many decades", including in Iraq and Afghanistan. - Key missile defence cog - The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, the base served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere, which Washington claims Denmark has neglected. Vance is "right in that we didn't meet the American wishes for an increased presence, but we have taken steps towards meeting that wish", Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP. He said Washington needed to present more specific demands if it wanted a proper Danish response. In January, Copenhagen announced that it would allocate almost $2 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic. The government said it planned to acquire three new specialised vessels for the polar region and two more long-distance surveillance drones, and would boost its satellite capacity. - 'Not for sale' - Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Inuits, and is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned. Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. The United States "knows that Greenland is not for sale", the Danish prime minister said on Wednesday. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of joining the United States. A poll in late January also showed that a large majority of Greenlanders also reject the idea. JD Vance's visit comes at a time of political flux in Greenland. Following elections in March, the territory has only a transitional government, with parties still in negotiations to form a new coalition government. Initially, Vance's wife Usha was supposed to attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut, while various reports suggested US national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright would also take part in the visit. "Our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference," Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a post on Facebook on Monday. He recalled that the government had not "sent out any invitations for visits, private or official". A visit to Greenland by Trump's son Donald Jr on January 7 had also been seen as a provocation. US defence chief visits Philippines dogged by scandal at home Manila, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 US defence chief Pete Hegseth met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Friday, saying the two countries must stand "shoulder to shoulder" in the face of the threat represented by China. Hegseth's meeting at the presidential palace in Manila comes as he opens a tour of Pacific allies that risks being overshadowed by a mounting scandal over leaked plans for military strikes. "Deterrence is necessary around the world but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the Communist Chinese," he said. Hegseth's Manila visit, to be followed by trips to Tokyo and World War II battleground Iwo Jima, follows months of confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing claims almost the entirety of the crucial waterway, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit. "Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict to ensure that there's free navigation, whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea," Hegseth said. "Peace through strength is a very real thing", he added. The trip, aimed at bolstering ties in the Asia-Pacific region as tensions are rising with Beijing, comes as Hegseth faces calls to resign by Democratic lawmakers and a Republican congressman's push for an independent report. The US defence chief revealed details of strikes on Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen in a group of top administration officials on the messaging platform Signal, according to a senior journalist added to the chat by accident. On Wednesday, Hegseth mocked Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg's initial description of the texts as "war plans", saying they included no names, targets or classified information. "We will continue to do our job, while the media does what it does best: peddle hoaxes," he said on social media platform X. Hegseth is expected to meet his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro later Friday. - Deepening cooperation - In response to China's growing influence, the United States has been strengthening alliances with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines. Manila and Washington have deepened their defence cooperation since President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijing's sweeping South China Sea claims. In recent years, top US officials have warned that an "armed attack" against the Philippines in the waterway would invoke the two countries' mutual defence treaty. The two countries have expanded the sharing of military intelligence and boosted to nine the number of bases US troops have access to on the archipelago. Given the Philippines' proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, Manila's cooperation would be crucial in the event of a conflict with China. Hegseth's visit overlaps with bilateral military exercises that will expand next month to include the countries' navies and air forces. - 'Witch hunt' - Despite mounting pressure over the Signal leak, US President Donald Trump has defended Hegseth. "Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this," Trump said when asked by AFP whether the defence secretary should be considering his position. "How do you bring Hegseth into this? Look, look it's all a witch hunt," Trump added in the Oval Office. He also repeated his insistence that no classified information was shared in the breach, adding that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz "took responsibility" for the error. Waltz added Goldberg to the group chat that included Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard and others. Apart from the timing of the strikes in Yemen, Hegseth also identified the type of aircraft, missiles and drones used, according to the Atlantic, which later released screen grabs of the chat. Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth has said Trump should sack all the officials in the chat and called Hegseth a "liar" who "could've gotten our pilots killed". But the White House and its allies have largely held firm in their messaging, praising the success of the attacks and slamming Goldberg as an "anti-Trump hater". Only Secretary of State Marco Rubio has conceded there was a "big mistake". Vance due in Greenland as anger mounts over Trump takeover bid Copenhagen, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 US Vice President JD Vance is on Friday due to tour a US military base in Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation amid President Donald Trump's bid to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory. Trump insisted on Wednesday that the United States needed the vast Arctic island for national and international security, and has previously refused to rule out the use of force to get it. "We have to have it," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he considers Trump's plans "serious". "It is a deep mistake to think that this is some extravagant talk from the new American administration. It is nothing of the sort," Putin said. Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted that the US will not get Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounced plans by a US delegation to visit the Arctic island uninvited -- for what was initially a much broader visit to Greenlandic society -- as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark. Greenlanders -- a majority of whom oppose US annexation, according to a January poll -- had also said they would give the delegation a frosty reception, with several protests planned. In the end, Vance and his wife Usha will only visit the US-run Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the island, accompanied by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The delegation is to meet with US Space Force members and "check out what's going on with the security" of Greenland, Vance said in a video message. The vice president angered Danes in early February when he said Denmark was "not doing its job (protecting Greenland), and it's not being a good ally". A fuming Frederiksen quickly retorted that Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans "for many, many decades", including in Iraq and Afghanistan. - Key missile defence cog - The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, the base served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere, which Washington claims Denmark has neglected. Vance is "right in that we didn't meet the American wishes for an increased presence, but we have taken steps towards meeting that wish", Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP. He said Washington needed to present more specific demands if it wanted a proper Danish response. In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost $2 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialised vessels and surveillance equipment. Putin expressed concern Thursday that "NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts". - 'Not for sale' - Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Inuits, and is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the US and Greenland could cooperate on mining to "bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States." Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of joining the US. JD Vance's visit comes at a time of political flux in Greenland. Following elections in March, the territory has had only a transitional government, with parties still in negotiations to form a new coalition government. Initially, Vance's wife Usha was to attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut, while various early reports suggested Wright and US national security adviser Mike Waltz would also take part in the visit. "Our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference," Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a post on Facebook on Monday. He recalled that the government had not "sent out any invitations for visits, private or official". A visit to Greenland by Trump's son Donald Jr on January 7 had also been seen as a provocation. Yemen rebels report overnight air strikes blamed on US Sanaa, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen on Friday reported dozens of overnight air strikes they blamed on the United States, including in the capital Sanaa, saying several people were wounded. In Sanaa, which the Huthis seized in 2014, "American aggression" targeted the international airport and part of the city centre, "damaging houses and businesses", the rebel TV station Al-Masirah said. It also reported strikes in the Amran, Saada and Jawf regions of the north, as well as in Hodeida in the west and Marib in the east. A health ministry spokesman said seven people, including two children, were wounded. On Thursday, the Huthis said similar strikes killed two people and wounded two. In response, they said they had targeted "warships in the Red Sea, including the American aircraft carrier (USS Harry S.) Truman", as well as Israel's Ben Gurion international airport. The Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen. The United States launched what its Central Command called a "large scale operation" involving air strikes against the Huthis on March 15. Washington vowed to use overwhelming force until the group stopped firing at vessels in the key commercial shipping lanes of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The rebels had paused their attacks after a ceasefire took effect in the Gaza war, but had threatened to resume them over Israel's recent aid blockade on the Palestinian territory. The Huthis have reported near-daily US air strikes on areas under their control since the operation began. The United States says it has killed several senior Huthi officials. While Washington does not always report its raids, a US defence official told AFP on Sunday that American forces were "conducting strikes across multiple... Iran-backed Huthi locations every day and night in Yemen". The Huthis began targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the Gaza war began in October 2023, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel hits south Lebanon after threatening Beirut over rocket fire Jerusalem, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Israel carried out air strikes in southern Lebanon Friday after its defence minister threatened Beirut over new rocket fire, rattling an already fragile truce that largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. It was the second time rockets had been fired from Lebanon since the November ceasefire, and the second time the Iran-backed Hezbollah denied involvement. "If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut either," Israel Katz said of the northern towns towards which the rockets were launched. A statement from Israel's military said two "projectiles" were fired from Lebanon towards Israel, with one intercepted and the other falling inside Lebanon. It later announced it was "striking Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon". In a statement on Telegram, Hezbollah said it "confirms the party's respect for the ceasefire agreement and denies any involvement in the rockets launched today from the south of Lebanon". Katz said Lebanon's "government bears direct responsibility for any fire toward the Galilee". A November ceasefire largely ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah, although Israel has continued to conduct occasional strikes in south Lebanon despite the truce. Friday's rocket fire came hours after Israeli strikes killed six people in Lebanon's south, with Israel saying it had targeted Hezbollah members. - Schools closed - Lebanon's official National News Agency reported Israeli shelling on Friday around several southern villages including Naqura, where the UN peacekeeping mission is based. The NNA also reported raids on the Jezzine region north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the border with Israel. Schools were closed in the Nabatiyeh area, an AFP correspondent said, as were some in the coastal city of Tyre, which was hit by a deadly Israeli strike last weekend. "I decided to bring my children to school in spite of the situation, but the administration told me they had closed it after the Israeli threats and I had to take them back home," father of four Ali Qassem told AFP. Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023 in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The cross-border hostilities ultimately escalated into all-out war, with Israel conducting an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sending in ground troops. The November truce brought a partial Israeli withdrawal, although its troops still hold five positions in south Lebanon that are deemed strategic, even after the pullout deadline. - Escalation - Last weekend saw the most intense escalation since the truce, with Israeli strikes in the south killing eight people, according to Lebanese officials. UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said at the time it was "alarmed by the possible escalation of violence" following rocket fire. Hezbollah had also denied any involvement in that rocket attack, calling Israel's accusations "pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon". Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its forces north of the Litani, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. Israel has also recently resumed intensive military operations in Gaza, shattering weeks of relative calm brought on by a January ceasefire with Hamas. Palestinian militants returned to launching rockets at Israel days later. In more than a week of resumed Israeli strikes in Gaza, 855 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The United Nations said Wednesday the renewed Israeli operations had displaced 142,000 people in just seven days, and warned supplies were dwindling in the face of an Israeli aid blockade. The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 50,208 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry there. Lebanon official media reports first Israeli strike on south Beirut since truce Beirut, Lebanon, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Lebanese official media reported an air strike Friday on south Beirut following an Israeli military warning, the first such raid since a November ceasefire largely halted hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. AFPTV images showed smoke billowing from the area. The National News Agency said that "Israeli warplanes struck the Hadath neighbourhood in Beirut's southern suburbs", referring to a densely populated area home to residential buildings and schools. The Israeli warning for a building in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has strong support, sparked panic in the area, with parents rushing to pick up their children from schools that quickly shut, AFP correspondents said. Heavy traffic clogged roads around the southern suburbs as many residents of the area, which Israel heavily bombed during two months of war with Hezbollah from September last year, tried to flee, the correspondents added. Lithuanian president hopes for 'miracle' in missing US soldiers search Pabrade, Lithuania, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Lithuania's president said on Friday that he hoped for "a miracle" as he visited the site where a rescue operation was under way to recover the submerged vehicle of four missing US soldiers. Authorities from the Baltic state received a report on Tuesday about the soldiers' disappearance during a military drill on a training ground in the eastern city of Pabrade, near the border with Belarus. Search and rescue teams were at the scene on Friday, using heavy military equipment and excavators to remove silt from the body of water where the vehicle had been located. "I am still hoping for a miracle," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters in Pabrade. "Although many sceptics would probably say that there is nothing to hope for in these circumstances, I want to believe," he added. Local and foreign troops, along with helicopters from the air force and the state border guard service, have been deployed in the search effort. The M88 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle the missing US soldiers had been operating was found several metres deep in a swamp connected to a nearby lake. "The challenges presented by the water, thick mud and soft ground around the site have complicated recovery efforts," US Army Europe and Africa's public affairs office said in a statement on Thursday. The main goal was to remove the mud from the submerged vehicle and identify possible attachment points for extraction, Lithuanian Armed Forces chief General Raimundas Vaiksnoras said. "We are working and will continue to work until we can give clear and honest answers to those who need to know the most -- family members," Vaiksnoras said on Facebook on Friday. Lithuania, a NATO and EU member, hosts more than 1,000 American troops stationed on a rotational basis. Vance due in Greenland as anger mounts over Trump takeover bid Copenhagen, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 US Vice President JD Vance is on Friday due to tour a US military base in Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation as President Donald Trump's bids to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory. Trump has insisted the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security, and has refused to rule out the use of force to get it. "We have to have it," he reiterated on Wednesday. Vance and his wife Usha left Washington on board Air Force Two early Friday, accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife, according to journalists on board the flight. They will visit the US-run Pituffik Space Base in northwest of the island, meet US Space Force members and "check out what's going on with the security" of Greenland, Vance said in a video message this week. Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted the United States will not get Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has denounced US plans to visit the Arctic island uninvited -- for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society -- as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark. A majority of Greenlanders oppose US annexation, according to a January poll. The vice president angered Danes in early February when he said Denmark was "not doing its job (protecting Greenland), and it's not being a good ally". A fuming Frederiksen quickly retorted that Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans "for many, many decades", including in Iraq and Afghanistan. - Key base - The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, the base served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere, which Washington claims Denmark has neglected. Vance is "right in that we didn't meet the American wishes for an increased presence, but we have taken steps towards meeting that wish", Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP. He said Washington needed to present more specific demands if it wanted a proper Danish response. In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost $2 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialised vessels and surveillance equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he considered Trump's plans for Greenland "serious", and expressed concern that "NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts". - Frosty response - Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Inuits, and is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to "bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States". Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. Denmark's King Frederik, who took part in a four-month, 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) ski expedition across Greenland in 2000, spoke out Friday for the first time since Trump's return to the White House. "There should be no doubt about my love for Greenland, and my connection to the Greenlandic people is intact," he told Danish television TV2. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them supports the idea of joining the United States. Greenland is in political flux after elections earlier this month, and only has a transitional government, with parties still in talks to form a new coalition administration. "Our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference," Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a post on Facebook on Monday. The government had not "sent out any invitations for visits, private or official", he added. Initially, Vance's wife Usha was to travel alone to Greenland with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut. Locals said they had planned to give her a frosty reception, with several protests planned. The visit to Sisimiut was then cancelled and replaced with the visit to the military base. Macron says Israel strike on Lebanon 'ceasefire violation' Paris, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called an Israeli air strike on Lebanon "unacceptable", saying it was a "violation of the ceasefire" agreed in November. Such attacks "play into the hands of Hezbollah," Macron told reporters after a meeting with new Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. Israel made good on its threat to strike Beirut after rockets were fired towards its territory, rattling an already fragile truce in Lebanon that had largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. Macron said that he would discuss the attack with US President Donald Trump "in the coming hours" and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within two days. "There is no activity that justifies such strikes," Macron said. "It is an absolute necessity that the framework that we defined, and that was agreed to by Lebanon and Israel, is duly respected. Today it was unilaterally not respected by Israel." Israel had provided no information or evidence of any action that could justify the attack, Macron added. Aoun, speaking alongside Macron, denounced "any odious attempts to pull Lebanon back into a storm of violence". Trump admin appeals new order blocking trans troops ban Washington, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 President Donald Trump's administration on Friday appealed a new court order that temporarily barred the implementation of his ban on transgender troops serving in the military, a court filing said. Judge Benjamin Settle issued the temporary injunction on Thursday, blocking the ban that Trump ordered in late January shortly after taking office for his second term. Settle's order followed one issued last week by Judge Ana Reyes that likewise temporarily blocks the ban. The Trump administration has already appealed that order, which is set to go into effect on Friday evening. A third judge issued a more limited temporary restraining order earlier this week barring the government from dismissing two specific plaintiffs from the military for being transgender. In a January 27 executive order, Trump stated that "expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual's sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service." The Pentagon followed that up with a memo issued in late February stating that it would remove transgender troops from the military unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis, as well as prevent others from joining. Transgender Americans have faced a roller coaster of changing policies on military service in recent years, with Democratic administrations seeking to permit them to serve openly, while Trump has sought to keep them out of the ranks. Vance due in Greenland as anger mounts over Trump takeover bid Copenhagen, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 US Vice President JD Vance is due to tour a US military base in Greenland on Friday, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation as President Donald Trump bids to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory. Trump has insisted the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security, and has refused to rule out the use of force to get it. "We have to have it," he reiterated on Wednesday. Vance and his wife Usha were to make a one-day visit to the US-run Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland, accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife, according to journalists on board the flight from Washington. They will meet US Space Force members and "check out what's going on with the security" of Greenland, Vance said in a video message this week. Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted the United States will not get Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has denounced US plans to visit the Arctic island uninvited -- for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society -- as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark. A majority of Greenlanders oppose US annexation, according to a January poll. The vice president angered Danes in early February when he said Denmark was "not doing its job (protecting Greenland), and it's not being a good ally". A fuming Frederiksen quickly retorted that Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans "for many, many decades", including in Iraq and Afghanistan. - Key base - The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, it served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere, which Washington claims Denmark has neglected. Vance is "right in that we didn't meet the American wishes for an increased presence, but we have taken steps towards meeting that wish", Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP. He said Washington needed to present more specific demands if it wanted a proper Danish response. In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost $2 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialised vessels and surveillance equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he considered Trump's plans for Greenland "serious", and expressed concern that "NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts". - Frosty response - Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Inuits, and is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to "bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States". Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of joining the United States. A new broad, four-party coalition government was announced in Greenland just hours before the US delegation's arrival, following elections earlier this month. New prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told reporters the territory needed unity at this time. "It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences... because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside," he said. The outgoing prime minister, Mute Egede, had on Monday reacted angrily to the uninvited US visit, as Greenland's parties were still negotiating to form a government. "Our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference," he said. Initially, Vance's wife Usha was to travel alone to Greenland with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut. Locals said they had planned to give her a frosty reception, with several protests planned. The visit to Sisimiut was then cancelled and replaced with the visit to the military base. India signs $7.3 bn deal for 156 homemade helicopters New Delhi, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 India on Friday announced a $7.3 billion deal to purchase 156 locally made light combat Prachand helicopters for its air force and the army -- part of its ongoing push to be self-reliant on defence. The country's first locally designed and developed combat helicopter will be produced at the country's largest helicopter factory, opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2023. "This decision marks a major boost to India's combat capabilities and self-reliance," defence minister Rajnath Singh said on X. "This is indeed a proud moment for India's Make in India journey." His ministry said it had signed contracts with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. "The supply of these helicopters shall commence from the third year and will be spread over the next five years", the ministry said, without giving specific dates. The new aircraft will "enhance the combat capability of armed forces at high altitudes," it added. The country's recent push to modernise and locally produce defence equipment was spurred by its deadliest clashes in decades with China along their long and disputed border in 2020. India has also fought multiple wars with its other nuclear-armed neighbour, Pakistan, and has tens of thousands of troops deployed along both of those tense frontiers. The new helicopters will be deployed around the country's tough high-altitude Himalayan frontiers. In recent years, India has introduced its first locally made aircraft carrier. It also become only one of six countries with nuclear strike capabilities on land, sea and air after it tested a ballistic missile from its first homegrown nuclear-powered submarine. Modi has pledged to "gradually reduce India's dependence on foreign countries for its defence needs", but the country still remains one of the biggest hardware importers in the world. New Delhi has tried to cut its dependence on Russia, its traditional ally and primary source of key military platforms for decades. It has procured key hardware worth billions of dollars from countries like Israel, France and the United States in recent years. Modi has also eased investment and co-production rules to spur local defence manufacturing. Vance lands in Greenland as anger mounts over Trump takeover bid Pituffik, Denmark, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 US Vice President JD Vance landed in Greenland on Friday for a visit to a military base viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation at a time when President Donald Trump is seeking to annex the strategically placed, resource-rich Danish territory. Trump argues the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security and has refused to rule out the use of force to get it. "We have to have it," the US president reiterated on Wednesday. The US delegation -- which included National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright -- landed at the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland at 12:52 pm (1552 GMT), according to journalists on board the flight from Washington. "The president is really interested in Arctic security, as you all know, and it's only going to get bigger over the coming decades," Vance said as he arrived at the mess hall of the base. Vance was also accompanied by his wife Usha, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife. They were due to meet US Space Force members and "check out what's going on with the security" of Greenland, Vance said in a video message this week. Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted the United States will not get Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has condemned the US decision to visit the Arctic island uninvited -- for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society -- as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark. A majority of Greenlanders opposes US annexation, according to a January poll. - Key base - The US vice president angered Danes in early February when he claimed Denmark was "not doing its job" protecting Greenland and was "not being a good ally". A fuming Frederiksen quickly retorted that Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans "for many, many decades", including in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, it served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere, which Washington claims Denmark has neglected. Vance is "right in that we didn't meet the American wishes for an increased presence, but we have taken steps towards meeting that wish", Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP. He said the Trump administration needed to present more specific demands if it wanted a proper Danish response. In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost $2.0 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialised vessels and surveillance equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he considered Trump's plans for Greenland "serious". He voiced concern that "NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts". - Frosty response - Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Inuits. It is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to "bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States". Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of becoming part of the United States. A new broad, four-party coalition government was announced in Greenland just hours before the US delegation's arrival, following elections earlier this month. Incoming prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the territory needed unity at this time. "It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences... because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside," he said when he unveiled his government. Nielsen said that by visiting Greenland when there was no government in office there, the US administration was "not showing respect to an ally". Initially, Vance's wife Usha had initially been due to travel to Greenland just with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut. Locals said they had planned to give her a frosty reception, with several protests scheduled. The visit to Sisimiut was then cancelled and replaced with the visit to the military base. Trump prompts US allies to reopen nuclear weapons debate Paris, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Donald Trump's attacks on NATO and the established world order are undermining the confidence of its allies under the US security umbrella, fuelling fears of an eventual proliferation of nuclear weapons, experts told AFP. Since his return to power in January, the US president has criticised the transatlantic alliance, reopened direct dialogue with Russia and flattered North Korea's Kim Jong-Un with warm words. Trump's "provocative and inconsistent rhetoric", said Byong-Chul Lee, from the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, Seoul, has left allies' trust in the US deterrence "deeply shaken". In recent times, the risk of nuclear proliferation has come from states such as North Korea or Iran but non-nuclear armed allies of Washington seem to want to now re-open the debate. "We're seeing more and more friendly proliferator" speeches in Europe and Asia, even if they seem primarily aimed at putting pressure on Washington, said Heloise Fayet, a proliferation specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (ifri) Artur Kacprzyk, an analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, agreed. "Policies of the new US administration increase the risk of nuclear proliferation by allies, although it is not a foregone conclusion, yet," he said. The lack of confidence could not have come at a worse time, said Syed Ali Zia Jaffery, from the Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research at the University of Lahore in Pakistan. "The overall international security environment is deteriorating. We see raging conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. We also see a crisis-prone environment in South Asia," he added. "And there are no reliable mechanisms in place to resolve those conflicts." - Butt of the joke - Other than the fear of being left high and dry in the event of attack, Washington's allies are concerned about Trump wanting to revive talks on arms control with Moscow and Beijing. "The butt of the joke of an eventual agreement will very likely be Europeans and the United States' allies in Asia," said Fayet. Jaffery said a lack of assurances from the United States makes it more likely that its allies could start looking at other options, including nuclear. "Countries that are likely to face territorial aggression from nuclear-armed states would mull over having their own nuclear deterrents," he said. Currently, only the US, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea are nuclear-armed powers. Lee said that South Korea was arguably the "most likely" US ally to consider acquiring nuclear weapons given its proximity to North Korea. "Public support for nuclearisation has remained consistently strong," he pointed out. "However, South Korean elites remain wary of the strategic instability, diplomatic backlash and potential international sanctions that would follow a nuclear breakout." In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron has recommended discussion about extending France's deterrence to other European nations. Poland is on the front line although Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has not announced a national nuclear military programme. But Kacprzyk said: "He has not, nonetheless, excluded pursuing nuclear weapons in the future while noting it would be a long and challenging process." - Multiple obstacles - Proliferation is unlikely to come overnight, the analysts said. US allies are linked by the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons -- the cornerstone of the global nuclear architecture. It is possible to withdraw from it, although only North Korea has done so. But Fayet said there are "regulatory, financial and technical constraints", and non-nuclear European countries are less advanced than South Korea or Japan. Any military nuclear programmes could see rival nations attempt to hobble development. In Europe, said Kacprzyk, "there's also the risk that Russia would try to derail such programmes, even by striking nuclear facilities", as Israel did against the Osirak reactor in Iraq in the 1980s. Despite the obstacles, Jaffery said that "most of these countries have nuclear latency and when you have the capability and strategic need to develop a nuclear programme, you're more likely to succeed". "Pakistan has demonstrated it's hard to impede a country committed to building nuclear weapons." Another uncertainty is how the Trump administration would react to an about-turn from its allies. "In practice, South Korea would not be able to go nuclear without at least tacit approval from Washington," said Lee. "In the past, the US dealt with the risk of nuclear proliferation among allies by both exercising pressure and offering additional reassurance," said Kacprzyk. "For example, it halted plans to cut its conventional troops in South Korea in the 1970s." The War on the Rocks defence site said non-proliferation to both friendly and hostile nations has been a "core bipartisan pillar" of US foreign policy for decades. But if that changes, "nuclear proliferation will haunt 'America First'", researchers Ankit Panda, Vipin Narang and Pranay Vaddi warned. Vance lands in Greenland as anger mounts over Trump takeover bid Pituffik, Denmark, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 US Vice President JD Vance landed in Greenland on Friday for a visit to a military base viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation at a time when President Donald Trump is seeking to annex the strategically placed, resource-rich Danish territory. Trump argues the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security and has refused to rule out the use of force to get it. "We are not talking about peace for the United States. We are talking about world peace. We are talking about international security," Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday. "The president is really interested in Arctic security, as you all know, and it's only going to get bigger over the coming decades," Vance said when he arrived at the mess hall of the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland Vance was accompanied by his wife Usha, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife. Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted the United States will not get Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has condemned the US decision to visit the Arctic island uninvited -- for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society -- as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark. A majority of Greenlanders opposes US annexation, according to a January poll. - Key base - The US vice president angered Danes in early February when he claimed Denmark was "not doing its job" protecting Greenland and was "not being a good ally". A fuming Frederiksen quickly retorted that Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans "for many, many decades", including in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, it served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere, which Washington claims Denmark has neglected. Vance is "right in that we didn't meet the American wishes for an increased presence, but we have taken steps towards meeting that wish", Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP. He said the Trump administration needed to present more specific demands if it wanted a proper Danish response. In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost $2.0 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialised vessels and surveillance equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he considered Trump's plans for Greenland "serious". He voiced concern that "NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts". - Frosty response - Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Inuits. It is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to "bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States". Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of becoming part of the United States. A new broad, four-party coalition government was announced in Greenland just hours before the US delegation's arrival, following elections earlier this month. Incoming prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the territory needed unity at this time. "It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences... because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside," he said when he unveiled his government. Nielsen said that by visiting Greenland when there was no government in office there, the US administration was "not showing respect to an ally". Initially, Vance's wife Usha had initially been due to travel to Greenland just with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut. Locals said they had planned to give her a frosty reception, with several protests scheduled. The visit to Sisimiut was then cancelled and replaced with the visit to the military base. Lithuanian president hopes for 'miracle' in missing US soldiers search Pabrade, Lithuania, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Lithuania's president said on Friday that he hoped for "a miracle" as he visited the site of a rescue operation to recover the submerged vehicle of four missing US soldiers. Authorities from the Baltic state received a report on Tuesday that the soldiers had disappeared during a military drill on a training ground in the eastern city of Pabrade, near the border with Belarus. Search and rescue teams were at the scene on Friday, using heavy military equipment and excavators to remove silt from the body of water where the vehicle had been located. "I am still hoping for a miracle," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters in Pabrade. "Although many sceptics would probably say that there is nothing to hope for in these circumstances, I want to believe," he added. The Lithuanian army later said on social media that they were "moving forward" on their goal to "turn the swamp into water so divers can jump in". The US army said on Friday it was sending a specialised US Navy dive crew that was "expected to arrive on site within the next 24 hours". Local and foreign troops, along with helicopters from the air force and the state border guard service, have been deployed in the search effort. The M88 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle the missing US soldiers had been operating was found several metres deep in a swamp connected to a nearby lake. "The area around the site is incredibly wet and marshy and doesn't support the weight of the equipment," US Army Europe and Africa's public affairs office said in a statement. "Draining the area has been slow and difficult due to ground water seepage," it added. "This will be a long and difficult recovery operation, but we are absolutely committed to bringing our soldiers home," said Curtis Taylor, Commanding General of the 1st Armored Division. The main goal was to remove the mud from the submerged vehicle and identify possible attachment points for extraction, Lithuanian Armed Forces chief General Raimundas Vaiksnoras said. Lithuania, a NATO and EU member, hosts more than 1,000 American troops stationed on a rotational basis. Trump says Iran faces 'bad, bad things' if no nuclear deal Washington, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Donald Trump said Friday that Iran faces severe consequences if it fails to reach a nuclear deal, after Tehran responded to a letter from the US president calling for talks. "I sent them a letter just recently, and I said: you have to make a decision, one way or the other, and we either have to talk and talk it out or very bad things are going to happen to Iran," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I don't want that to happen. My big preference -- and I don't say this through strength or weakness -- my big preference is, we work it out with Iran. But if we don't work it out, bad bad things are going to happen to Iran." Trump, who in 2018 pulled the United States out of an agreement to relieve sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program, now says he is open to talks on a deal that could reduce the risk of military escalation. The US president revealed at the start of March that he had sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At the same time, Trump has pushed ahead with his "maximum pressure" program of additional sanctions on Tehran and the threat of military action if it refuses to negotiate. Tehran has refused to negotiate directly with Washington under these circumstances, but has held out the possibility of indirect talks. On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the official IRNA news agency that he had delivered a letter responding to Trump's outreach to Oman, which has served as an intermediary in the past in the absence of US-Iran diplomatic relations. Vance says Denmark has 'under invested' in Greenland Pituffik, Denmark, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 US Vice President JD Vance accused Denmark on Friday of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed, resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. "Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland," Vance told a press conference. "You have under-invested in the people of Greenland and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass," he added. Trump argues the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security and has refused to rule out the use of force to get it. "We are not talking about peace for the United States. We are talking about world peace. We are talking about international security," Trump claimed to reporters at the White House on Friday. Asked about the potential use of force, Vance stressed the US administration did not think that "is ever going to be necessary". "We think this makes sense and because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think we're going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump-style, to ensure the security of this territory but also (of) the United States of America," Vance said. Vance was accompanied by his wife Usha, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife. The US delegation boarded Air Force Two to leave Greenland just before 4:00 pm (1800 GMT), with the Vances waving at the top of the aircraft stairs. - 'Unacceptable pressure' - Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted the United States will not obtain Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has condemned the US decision to visit the Arctic island uninvited -- for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society -- as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark. A majority of Greenlanders opposes US annexation, according to a January poll. The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, it served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere. In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost $2.0 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialised vessels and surveillance equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he considered Trump's plans for Greenland "serious". He voiced concern that "NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts". Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Inuits. It is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned. - 'Not showing respect' - US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to "bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States". Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of becoming part of the United States. A new broad, four-party coalition government was announced in Greenland just hours before the US delegation's arrival, following elections earlier this month. Incoming prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the territory needed unity at this time. "It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences... because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside," he said when he unveiled his government. Nielsen said that by visiting Greenland when there was no government in office there, the US administration was "not showing respect to an ally". Usha Vance had initially been due to travel to Greenland just with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut. Locals said they had planned to give her a frosty reception, with several protests scheduled. The visit to Sisimiut was then cancelled and replaced with the visit to the military base. Yemen rebels report multiple US air strikes Sanaa, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Iran-backed Huthi rebels reported dozens of air strikes in Yemen on Friday they blamed on the United States, including in the capital Sanaa, saying several people were wounded. The rebels' Al-Masirah TV channel reported "American aggression" south of Sanaa, as well as in Saada and Jawf provinces in the north, which had been targeted earlier in the day. Earlier, Al-Masirah reported overnight US strikes on Sanaa airport and parts of the city centre. It also reported strikes in Amran, Saada and Jawf provinces, as well as in Hodeida on the Red Sea coast and Marib in the east. A health ministry spokesman said seven people, including two children, were wounded. On Thursday, the Huthis said similar strikes killed two people and wounded two. In response, they said they had targeted "warships in the Red Sea, including the American aircraft carrier (USS Harry S.) Truman", as well as Israel's Ben Gurion international airport. The Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen. The United States launched what its Central Command called a "large scale operation" involving air strikes against the Huthis on March 15. Washington vowed to use overwhelming force until the group stopped firing at vessels in the key commercial shipping lanes of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The rebels had paused their attacks after a ceasefire took effect in the Gaza war, but had threatened to resume them over Israel's recent aid blockade on the Palestinian territory. The Huthis have reported near-daily US air strikes on areas under their control since the operation began. The United States says it has killed several senior Huthi officials. While Washington does not always report its raids, a defence official told AFP on Sunday that US forces were "conducting strikes across multiple... Iran-backed Huthi locations every day and night in Yemen". The Huthis began targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the Gaza war began in October 2023, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians. Vance says Denmark has 'under-invested' in Greenland Pituffik, Denmark, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 US Vice President JD Vance accused Denmark on Friday of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. "Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland," Vance told a press conference. "You have under-invested in the people of Greenland and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass," he added. Trump argues that the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security and has refused to rule out the use of force to secure it. "We are not talking about peace for the United States. We are talking about world peace. We are talking about international security," Trump claimed to reporters at the White House on Friday. Asked about the potential use of force, Vance stressed the US administration did not think that "is ever going to be necessary". "We think this makes sense and because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think we're going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump-style, to ensure the security of this territory but also the United States of America," Vance said. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen hit back at Vance in a statement to Danish media. "For many years, we have stood by the Americans in very difficult situations," she said, referring to Danish combat deployments alongside American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. "The Vice President's reference to Denmark is not accurate," she said, expressing her readiness to "cooperate day and night with the Americans" on Arctic security. Vance was accompanied by his wife Usha, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife. The US delegation boarded Air Force Two to leave Greenland just before 4:00 pm (1800 GMT), with the Vances waving at the top of the aircraft stairs. - 'Unacceptable pressure' - Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted that the United States will not obtain Greenland. Frederiksen has condemned the US decision to visit the Arctic island uninvited -- for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society -- as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark. A majority of Greenlanders opposes US annexation, according to a January poll. The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, it served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere. In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost two billion dollars to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialised vessels and surveillance equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he considered Trump's plans for Greenland "serious". He voiced concern that "NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts". Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Inuits. It is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned. - 'Not showing respect' - US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday that he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to "bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States". Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of becoming part of the United States. A new broad four-party coalition government was announced in Greenland just hours before the US delegation's arrival, following elections earlier this month. Incoming prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the territory needed unity at this time. "It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences... because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside," he said when he unveiled his government. Nielsen said that by visiting Greenland when there was no government in office there, the US administration was "not showing respect to an ally". Usha Vance had initially been due to travel to Greenland just with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut. Locals said they had planned to give her a frosty reception, with several protests scheduled. The visit to Sisimiut was then cancelled and replaced with the visit to the military base. 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 The second lady of the US has increasingly come into the public eye since the inauguration of the president in January. On March 13, Ms Vance was given a rude reception in her new job as a board member at the Kennedy Center. She was booed by a classical music audience as she took her seat alongside her vice-president husband some of whom had become angry that they had ruined the US equivalent of the National Theatre. "I was praying they had survived, but when I got here and saw the ruin where could they be? In which corner? Are they still alive? I am still praying that all six are alive," said 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek, sobbing as she waited for news about her partner, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who were working at the site. Farming isn't just about growing crops, Butler County's Greg Fiala has come to find. On the plot of land he's worked since the late 1970s, a few miles south of David City, the same smell of freshly-plowed dirt carries some of the same joy he experienced working with his father as a boy near Ulysses. "Dad put me on a tractor with the plow and I loved the smell of the soil being turned over," Fiala said. "I loved in the spring like now or maybe a little bit later, and seagulls had come down, and they'd be thick on there. They'd come so close to you could almost touch them as they were swooping down." Fiala has fond memories of the simple days of helping his father farm, from riding on the tractor to throwing dirt clods off the plow trail at jackrabbits as they bound across the fields. He's always enjoyed it. While Fiala helped his father, Joe, Joe also wanted all eight of his children to have an education. He sent his two boys, Greg and Bob, and their six sisters to Aquinas Catholic School, insisting they all go to college as well. Fiala got a degree in agricultural economics and business from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he was a member of the Alpha Gamma Sigma fraternity and the marching band. In 1979, Fiala returned to farming as a business venture, following in the footsteps of his father (1924-2017), grandfather, Joe Sr. (1904-1981), uncle Emil Fiala (1905-1984), great-grandfather Method Fiala (1876-1947) and from what he's read, even his great-great-grandfather, Frank Fiala (1831-1917). His father rented Fiala some space to get started growing crops, 40 acres or so, he guessed. Shortly after that, an uncle rented him some land, too, then a good friend after that. Around the time he married his wife, Peggy, he started farming on the plot where they currently live. "(The owner) was going under at that time, he was having to sell the farm or rent, he had a mortgage on it, and he had to quit farming," Fiala said. "The insurance company that had the loan took it over, and then they rented it to me for a few years." Even then, Fiala didn't own the land. When the previous company's assets finally went to auction, the plot was purchased by a buyer in Florida. Fiala continued renting the land before purchasing it for himself several years later. "I wish I could have bought it the first time, but I didn't have money," Fiala said. "But I've been here for 39-going-on-40 years here." Over the years, Fiala has been pretty conservative with spending on the farm. He doesn't like buying land or equipment unless he has most or all of the money for it. Having started out just before the farming crisis of the 1980s, it just made sense, and still does. "From growing up and starting farming through the '80s, I learned to be cautious, probably overly cautious," he said. "Sometimes, you know, I've tried to not spend if I didn't have most of the money to buy the thing or not to borrow too much." By modern standards, the amount he borrowed when first starting out isn't much, but back then, it was quite a sum $200,000-300,000. There were times where he thought maybe he should jump ship and cut his losses, but he didn't. With corn being close to $1.50 a bushel at the time, an acre only pulled in maybe $300, which wasn't much. "I remember telling Peg, times were tough, we couldn't even get close to what I paid, which is maybe a fourth or fifth of what it is now," Fiala said. "I said, 'Let's dump it, sell it, get out of it, because I don't want the debt.' I was too cautious, because during those times, a guy should be buying. I was also kind of lucky that I grew up through a time when, yeah, it was really good through the '60s and '70s, when I was helping Dad." Fiala said at the time, though, he watched friends sell their farms and get out of the business, many of whom didn't farm after. During the hard times, he did factory work to keep things going and toward the tail end of that decade, in 1988, he added his brother Bob to the operation. Fiala was recently named Outstanding Senior Farmer in the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Committee's Rural Recognition Awards banquet on March 18, which he speculates is for his involvement in the community given his farm isn't massive. The award is peer-nominated, then a committee chooses the honoree. "(When they told me) I told them there's a lot of farmers that farm a hell of a lot more than I do and they probably do a better job than I do, but I think I maybe got the award because I did other things than just farming," Fiala said. Indeed, he's been quite involved in the community over the years, serving on several boards, most recently the Butler County Historical Society as its treasurer. That's where he found information about his great-great-grandfather that leads him to believe he had been a farmer, too. But Fiala does grow seed corn, and has grown corn and soybeans on rotation over the years. They also have some alfalfa and cows, but it's not a major operation, he said. Right now, it's him, Bob, son Justin and son-in-law Travis Polacek keeping things running, with Justin and Travis joining as co-owners of Fiala Seed, LLC in 2014. Justin also farms on his own land, Fiala said, and will hopefully pick up when he finally steps away from farming. In his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, Fiala thanked the many people who support him and have supported him over the years, including Justin and Travis, but also his father, who passed in 2017. His father never had much, Greg said, but he made sure his kids had a good education and life. Even in his later years, he helped his boy on the farm. "I miss him still, you know, he'd come over here every day, towards the '80s or when I first got married and started building," Fiala said. "Dad was tough. He came here and helped, he'd be around here most of the day, you know." In a sort of full-circle way, Justin lives on the land his father grew up on, just south of Ulysses, and one day, when Fiala is done with farming, he hopes the next generation will pick up where he leaves off. "When (Justin) started farming, I told him to start on his own," Fiala said. "He's using our machinery, but he is renting land on his own because it's kind of hard for him to get into the corporation. I think some time I'll just start handing my part of the corporation over to him." 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Well-meaning volunteers jump in to help fight a fire or conduct search and rescue, but without the proper training, they can unknowingly place themselves or others in harms way. So Cumberland County is stepping in to provide that training. Its called CERT. Short for Community Emergency Response Team, the program educates people in basic disaster response to help them safely take on a more active role in emergencies. Its really neighbors helping neighbors, CERT Program Manager Justin Shaulis said. CERT is a national program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. According to FEMAs website, the Los Angeles City Fire Department introduced the concept in 1985, and the Whittier Narrows earthquake two years later confirmed the need for such a program in California. In 1993, CERT became a national program that now exists within all 50 states. Bringing back CERT Cumberland County got its first taste of CERT programming shortly after 9/11 amid a statewide push for such training, Shaulis said. At the time, the program was designed to be managed within each of the countys 33 municipalities. The capacity to manage a program like this at the local level really just does not exist, even to this day, Shaulis said. CERT programs faded across the county until about 2019 when he began working with Taylor Griffiths, a liaison for local emergency management, and CERT Team Chief Joe Kushner to reintroduce the team. Then the pandemic hit. During COVID, the county operated a community vaccination clinic, and from there I operated that clinic almost day in and day out, in partnership with the pharmacy that was doing the vaccinations, Shaulis said. And I realized then that it would have been absolutely wonderful to have a trained CERT team to help run that vaccination clinic. While volunteers showed up eager to help, he said many didnt understand who to report to or how to work within a system. That would have been a perfect opportunity for a CERT team to really shine and show the benefit of having a CERT team, Shaulis said. As the pandemic waned, he, Griffiths and Kushner started planning to bring the program back, this time at a county level. With plans, procedures, bylaws and rules of engagement in place, they pitched the notion to county officials. Everybody blessed it and thought it was a wonderful idea, so we proceeded, Shaulis said. Monthly CERT meetings began last January and the first training took place in July, producing eight graduates. CERT members saw their first (and so far only) dispatch about a month later, handing out water at a distribution site after a water main break impacted several West Shore municipalities. How it works Today, Cumberland Countys CERT is about 14 members strong and exists as one of the countys special teams, like the Special Hazards Operation Team or the County Animal Response Team. This is just a force multiplier to offset some of these basic tasks or easily trainable tasks that we can go and assign somebody too, and fit them into the instant commune structure very easily, Griffiths said. And then that also allows for those specialized teams to be freed up to do other tasks. The 24-hour training covers a variety of scenarios, including disaster preparedness, fire safety, medical operations, search and rescue, team organization and disaster psychology. CERT members also learn how to recognize when a situation goes beyond their skill set and how to report up through the chain of command, Shaulis said. While several variations of CERTs can exist, including a campus CERTs for colleges, workplace CERTs and teen CERTs, the county is starting with a traditional community team with the possibility of expanding into other chapters over time. In addition to the training, Shaulis said participants can also learn how to help close service gaps within the county, such as stepping in as shelter volunteers through the Red Cross or helping with monitoring or decontamination protocols in the event of a disaster as Constellation Energy prepares to launch Crane Clean Energy Center at the former Three Mile Island. CERT membership The program is open to anyone 18 and older, with no experience required. CERT members can also live in Cumberland County or beyond. We see no borders, Griffiths said. Because disasters see no borders as well, Shaulis added. Team members could be dispatched to anything from a gas leak to a fire to supply distribution sites. They can also help out at planned events from staffing a first aid station to serving at a street fair or other municipal event. An eclectic mix of retired first responders to college students, Griffiths said there is a place on the team for anyone. I dont want people to ... Google CERT and be like, Oh, Im not a light search and rescue person, thats too much for me, he said. You know, well find a kind of a job or role for you, even if its just going out and talking about the program or attending our meetings or just being willing to come and be a sign-in person at an event. Anna Aaron, a first-year student at Dickinson College, joined the team this month. A self-proclaimed emergency management nerd, the New Hampshire native attended a recent Local Emergency Planning Committee to suggest starting a local CERT program and found that it already exists. Im new to the area as well, Aaron said. Im very far from home, and CERT is a really great way to get involved with the community as a college student, and you meet people from a lot of different backgrounds as well. While she plans to take the next available CERT training, her work as an EMT has already familiarized her with some of the skills. Griffiths said when Aaron returns to New Hampshire or moves elsewhere, shell be able to take her knowledge with her and reaffiliate with a different CERT within the national program. Community preparedness With a state and national need for volunteer firefighters and first responders, Griffiths said the CERT members can help assist with basic tasks while responders with more training can address other issues. [When] a disaster happens, people always want to help, Shaulis said. But it would be so much more helpful if they had some basic training that the CERT program really handles and conveys very well to volunteers, so that they wouldnt be spontaneous. They would actually be considered trained volunteers. While CERT membership provides the qualifications necessary for a formal county dispatch, Aaron believes the program also teaches important life skills to its members from first aid to basic fire suppression. Shaulis said members can apply those skills in any situation, though they should only identify themselves as a CERT member when dispatched through the county. I think any citizen that would go through this program would be better prepared, even if they dont want to assist in the disaster, they will be better prepared on how to handle themselves during a disaster, he said. And quite frankly, that would be just as much a help to first responders and emergency management as them getting involved. Protests have erupted across the Balkans, fueled by deadly disasters linked to corruption. From Serbia to North Macedonia and Bulgaria, young people are taking to the streets, demanding accountability in a region where aspirations to join the European Union clash with entrenched graft. Massive student-led anti-corruption protests have spread from Serbia to neighbouring Balkan countries, with thousands rallying under the slogan 'Corruption Kills' following a series of deadly tragedies that have claimed dozens of lives. The collapse of a train station roof in Serbia, a devastating nightclub fire in North Macedonia, political turmoil in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) as well as in Bulgaria - Europe's Balkan region is gripped by crises. Young people have used the rallies to vent their anger in a region of Europe that rights groups say suffers from endemic corruption, prompting hundreds of thousands in Serbia alone to take to the streets demanding change. Serbia ranks 105th out of 180 countries on the latest global corruption perceptions index - its worst position in more than a decade. North Macedonia fares only slightly better at 88th place, and EU member Bulgaria stands at 76th place. The region has long struggled with corruption, weak rule of law and political instability, all of which have hampered some of the countries' path to EU membership, for which anti-graft measures are a key priority. North Macedonia became an EU candidate country in 2005, followed by Serbia in 2010. Serbia's progress has however stalled in recent years, the main obstacle being its tense relationship with Kosovo. Bulgaria, on the other hand, joined the EU in 2007. Here's what you need to know. Serbia: train station canopy collapse The wave of demonstrations on a scale unseen in Serbia since the 1990s kicked off after a recently renovated train station canopy collapsed on November 1 in the northern city of Novi Sad. 16 people died as a result of the collapse. Across Serbia, a blood-red hand has appeared on banners, pins, and walls, becoming the symbol of protests. Many critics blame the deaths on corruption and inadequate oversight of construction projects, especially as restoration work at the train station had been completed shortly before the accident. In the latest mass rally on March 15 in Belgrade, between 100,000 and 300,000 people are estimated to have taken part, the largest in Serbian history. The largely peaceful demonstration was however disrupted after an unknown noise caused a brief panic. Some protesters and members of the political opposition allege the authorities used an acoustic cannon - a military device used to disperse crowds -, a charge the government has denied. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters after a working dinner with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Tuesday that he informed the EU officials there had been no sound cannon and that Serbia stood ready to verify this claim. A statement by the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, describing last week's meeting with Vucic as constructive, sparked public condemnation from several civil society organisations, who accused the EU of hypocrisy. In an interview with Slovenian media on Thursday, she brushed aside the criticism, saying that at the moment there is no one else in Serbia to talk with to ensure that the country stays on the EU accession path. The months of protests are the biggest challenge to Vucic's 12-year rule. They have already led to the resignation of several high-ranking officials, including Prime Minister Milo Vucevic. More than a dozen people have been charged in connection with the tragedy, including former transport minister Goran Vesic, who resigned days after the incident. Countries in Serbia's neighbourhood have also rallied in support of the protests in Belgrade, for example in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. Slovenia is still awaiting an explanation from the Serbian authorities for the refusal of entry into Serbia to a news crew from the Slovenian television channel POP TV ahead of the March 15 demonstration. North Macedonia: deadly night club fire The symbol of those protests - a bloodied red hand print - has also turned up at rallies in neighbouring North Macedonia after a fire at a nightclub in Kocani operating under a questionable license killed 59 and injured almost 200 on March 16. Kocani is a town of just 30,000 people, so the deaths of 59 people - most of them teenagers and young adults - touched almost every home. The incident was the worst loss of life in the Balkan nation since 1993, when two deadly plane crashes occurred. The blaze was linked to stage fireworks set off inside, which triggered a stampede for the exit. The prosecutor's office said the club had breached numerous fire regulations, including having insufficient extinguishers and emergency exits. Thirty-four people, including top officials, are suspected of breaching safety standards. On Sunday, the Kocani Basic Court ordered 30-day detention for 24 suspects. Among the detained were the last three Kocani mayors, of which the last resigned a day after the tragic event. The largest public protest after the incident was organised on March 24, with thousands of protesters on the streets in the capital Skopje under the slogan 'The system is next'. In a show of solidarity, Bulgarian anti-graft protesters last week held a few minutes' silence remembering the Kocani incident. Protests in the wake of the Kocani fire have also been held in neighbouring Greece. Dozens of people stood silent for an hour in the central square of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki over the weekend. In Romania, a similar fire occurred in 2015 at the Colectiv Club in Bucharest. With a toll of 64 deaths and 163 injured, it was one of the biggest tragedies in Romania in the last 50 years. Following massive protests also under the slogan 'Corruption Kills', the then prime minister, Victor Ponta, resigned. Bulgaria: oligarchs and animal abusers In Bulgaria, protesters have been taking to the streets for various reasons. By far the largest protests were in support of the rule of law and against animal cruelty - but media and health care professionals also demonstrated for higher pay and better working conditions. Rule of Law: On March 19, citizens gathered in front of the Palace of Justice in Sofia for a protest in support of the rule of law, under the slogan 'Peevski Out of Power'. Delyan Peevski is a powerful oligarch in Bulgaria and the leader of the MRF-New Beginning party. While not part of the government coalition, he is widely seen as having much sway in its decision-making. Protesters said Bulgarians did not vote for Peevski to rule the country. Peevski was designated by the US under the Global Magnitsky Act in 2021 as an oligarch who has regularly engaged in influence peddling and corruption to advance his interests. Animal cruelty: Protests against animal cruelty and abuse were held in several major cities on March 23. They were sparked by the case of two people who were charged for filming videos of animal abuse in exchange for money. The protesters demanded severe punishments for animal cruelty, real enforcement of penalties, and a crackdown against online platforms that distribute animal cruelty content. BiH: catastrophic floods and Dodik on the loose In October 2024, Bosnia and Herzegovina was hit by heavy rains that caused floods and landslides that buried houses and people. The tragedy has raised questions about corruption and institutional irresponsibility in BiH and highlighted the need for transparency and efficiency in managing natural resources and protecting citizens. At the same time, political instability in BiH is further deepening due to legal and political crises in the country. Blockades in passing key reform laws, conflicts among political leaders, and a lack of cooperation at the state level are seriously hindering the functioning of institutions and the country's European path. This particularly concerns the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, who has been threatening the separation of the Serbian entity from BiH for years and claims that the country has no future. Today's organisation of BiH was agreed upon by the 1995 Dayton peace agreement. An integral part of that peace agreement is the constitution on the basis of which BiH functions. According to that constitution, BiH is divided into two entities - Republika Srpska (RS), which makes up 49 percent of the territory and has a majority-Serb population; and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), which used to be referred to as the Bosniak-Croat Federation, due to its population consisting mainly of Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Croats. The Court of BiH sentenced Dodik in February to one year in prison and a six-year ban from political activity for disregarding the decisions of High Representative Christian Schmidt, who oversees the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement. Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Dodik after he failed to respond to summons for questioning on charges of undermining the constitutional order. Dodik however recently left BiH, attending events in Serbia and Israel. This triggered an investigation into how he crossed the border despite an active warrant. These developments have further heightened tensions within BiH, while the international community warns of serious consequences for regional stability. Meanwhile, political blockades in BiH institutions also threaten the country's EU future. The National Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted a decision that seeks to disable the work of state institutions, including the adoption of reform laws necessary for EU integration. The content of this article is based on reporting by AFP, Agerpres, ANSA, BTA, FENA, HINA, MIA, STA, Tanjug, as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project. The Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT) reviewed on Friday CSAT's 2024 activity report, which will be sent for approval to Parliament, the Presidential Administration informed in a release. "In 2024, the Supreme Council for National Defense coordinated efforts to consolidate Romania's security and defense, promoting the full implementation of NATO's decisions regarding the eastern flank strengthened posture and supporting the increase in the allied military presence on the territory of Romania," the cited source shows. * increasing bilateral and allied coordination for significantly strengthening the deterrence and defense posture on NATO's eastern flank, including through the deployment of allied forces to Romania;* adapting the planning framework and implementing operational measures for the efficient management of migratory flows at Romania's borders.The CSAT meeting chaired by acting President Ilie Bolojan also looked at the 2024 activity reports of the institutions with responsibilities in the field of national security and analyzed and approved the main targets for 2025, as well as the reports on the budget execution of the national security operational expenditures by the said institutions. Romanian authorities must find the best way to communicate to the U.S. administration that the Romanian nation and political class continue to share the same values promoted by the United States, and that strategic projects can be developed in the bilateral economic relation to the benefit of both countries, said Deputy Prime Minister Catalin Predoiu, Minister of the Interior and interim chair of the National Liberal Party (PNL). He was asked about the possible dismissal of Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu and whether the appointment of a special envoy for the U.S. relationship is necessary. "I believe that we need to define more clearly the subject of the discussion, which is not a personal one. The United States has provided Romania with security for years. They have provided direct security and security through NATO. Under the umbrella of this security, Romania has developed with its own forces, with European funds, and with foreign investments, including from America. And we want this to continue. Also, our nation, the Romanian people, and the political class have shared and continue to share the same values that the United States promotes worldwide. On the other hand, we want the peace negotiations that the United States is intensively conducting to be successful. We stand alongside the United States in this effort," said Catalin Predoiu. He added that Romania can present a series of economic projects through which the commercial and economic relationship with the United States can be developed, with strategic projects benefiting both countries. "Well, all of these things need to be communicated as quickly and as structured as possible. And the discussion is about finding the best formula to do that. This is what it's about, not about one career or another. (...) I explained the essentials to you, that it's not about changing one minister or another, but about finding the best way to communicate exactly what I explained," Predoiu said. Predoiu made the statements as he left the General Assembly of the National Union of County Councils of Romania in Chitorani, Prahova County. The "Mapamond" fine art exhibition, organised for charitable purposes in support of the Romanian Red Cross Society, will be opened on Friday at the New Gallery Hall of the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant. According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, the exhibition includes a captivating collection of works celebrating the beauty and diversity of traditional costumes from around the world. It offers visitors the opportunity to explore and understand the cultural and historical wealth behind each national costume, shedding light on the stories and traditions that have shaped them over the centuries. "The 'Mapamond' exhibition aims to take visitors on a visual journey through the world of traditional costumes, presenting works of visual art that illustrate costumes from countries such as Japan, India, Romania, Mexico and many others. Each section of the exhibition is dedicated to a specific region, allowing visitors to compare and contrast the various styles and cultural influences," the release reads. The exhibition will showcase national costumes from Japan - the Kimono, with its delicate weaving and elaborate embroidery, symbolising the elegance and refinement of Japanese culture; India - the Sari, a symbol of femininity and tradition, presented through vibrant colours and intricate patterns; Romania - the Romanian folk costume, with its folklore motifs and handmade embroidery, reflecting the spirit and history of the Romanian people; Mexico - the Huipil, with its colourful design and profound cultural significance, exemplifying the rich heritage of pre-Columbian civilisations. The "Mapamond" exhibition not only highlights the aesthetic beauty of the costumes but also emphasises their historical and social importance. Through this exhibition, visitors will be able to appreciate each national costume's contribution to the global cultural mosaic, says MNTR. This exhibition is aimed at art and culture enthusiasts, as well as educators, curators and students who wish to deepen their understanding oftraditional costume diversity, the quoted source mentions. The exhibition, organised by the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant in collaboration with the Social Team Association and the Art Archive Gallery, can be visited at the New Gallery Hall from March 28 to April 6, Wednesday to Sunday, between 10:00 and 18:00. The AGERPRES National News Agency is a media partner of the event. The Minister of Investments and European Projects (MIPE), Marcel Bolos, pleaded in Brussels for a future strong Cohesion Policy, which should remain the EU's main long-term structural investment policy, in support of harmonious development and the elimination of development disparities, the relevant ministry announced on Friday. According to the cited source, the Minister of Investments presented, on Friday, March 28, within the General Affairs Council - cohesion format, organized in Brussels, the common position of 16 member states supporting the importance of a strong cohesion policy in the post-2027 EU budget. The Member States supporting the initiative presented to the Council by Romania are: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia.The Council discussed the presidency document - "A more dynamic and strategic cohesion policy: making a difference in the current and future perspective".Thus, Member State officials debated how the cohesion policy objectives set out in the EU Treaty should be achieved and how multi-level governance should be promoted in the new EU policy architecture.At the same time, the Council approved a set of conclusions on cohesion and cohesion policy after 2027, which underline the importance of economic, social and territorial cohesion and its role in addressing the challenges facing the EU."For the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 multiannual financial frameworks, Romania received almost 88 billion euros from the European Commission. For the current multiannual financial exercise, 2021-2027, Romania has an EU allocation of approximately 31 billion euros, the programs through which these funds will be attracted having a total budget of approximately 45 billion euros," the document also reads.According to the quoted source, the projects financed in this financial year must be implemented by the end of 2029."The amount collected by Romania from post-accession funds allocated by the European Union was over 101 billion euros at the end of February 2025," the document also states. Leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) and Vice-President of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Party George Simion on Friday told a press conference in Cluj-Napoca that the interest of the ECR is to keep Europe and America together, because as a party with a clear vision on the future of the European Union and of NATO, the European Conservatives and Reformists Party understands that one cannot exclude the Trump administration and the United States from the future of the free world. Simion also hailed the presence these days in Cluj-Napoca of 45 conservative leaders from the EU, Great Britain and the United States. He stressed that his party is interested in the future of Europe and the future of the free world.The ECR Leaders' Summit took place in Cluj-Napoca over March 26 - 28 with the participation of over 45 conservative leaders and personalities from the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. The working sessions included debates on the economic and cultural prospects of EU-US cooperation, the strengthening of European societies, combating illegal immigration and reducing the gap between Western and Eastern Europe. Romania and Australia have identified opportunities for collaboration in the field of research and technology transfer, with a common interest in advanced digital solutions, according to a press release sent by the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics - ICI Bucharest to AGERPRES on Friday. A delegation made of Tim Dillon, Agent-General to the United Kingdom, and Commissioner for Victoria to Europe and Israel, and Venushka Gammampila, Strategic Advisor (United Kingdom, Europe and Israel), Victorian Government Office for Trade and InvestmentDiscussions came to Bucharest to discuss this with the management of ICI Bucharest on Thursday, March 27. "During the meeting, the Australian delegation was guided through the innovation laboratories of ICI Bucharest, where they had the opportunity to discover research and development projects carried out by the institute, with a focus on digitalization, cybersecurity and emerging technologies. The discussions focused on identifying opportunities for collaboration in the field of research and technology transfer, given the common interest in advanced digital solutions," the press release also states. According to the same source, this meeting reflects ICI Bucharest's commitment to collaborating with international institutions and organizations to stimulate innovation and digital transformation, while strengthening Romania's position as a technology hub in the region. The age range at which children use social media has decreased to 5-10 years, and almost half of children (48.3%) spend more than 6 hours a day in the digital environment, according to a study by Save the Children Romania. According to the 2025 study by Save the Children Romania, almost half of children (48.3%) spend more than 6 hours a day in the digital environment, with most of this time spent on social media, where they experience "pressure, over-stimulation and sometimes rejection." "Children are not emotionally prepared for this hyper-stimulation, for the violence in the online environment, for the 'perfect' lives of others, and they end up feeling inadequate, invisible or marginalised," warn experts from Save the Children Romania in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Friday. According to Save the Children, manifestations such as lack of concentration, sleep disorders, social isolation and low self-esteem may occur, which, in some cases, become the reasons why parents seek help from mental health professionals too late. The statistics from Save the Children warn that one in three children who sought counseling from the organisation's psychologists has faced anxiety and required psycho-emotional support, with the percentage increasing to over 50% in adolescents, sometimes leading to extremely serious consequences, including suicide attempts. "On social media, children can end up in toxic communities, in extremist groups, or on irresponsible influencers' pages, where parents are absent, and children are turned into easy prey and given the illusion of belonging to a group. The digital language, foreign to parents, becomes a language of children's suffering: for example, emojis like frogs, dynamite, or a black heart may appear harmless but promote and cultivate forms of radicalisation, misogyny, or suicidal ideation," the release reads. According to the quoted source, in 2025, the age range at which social media use becomes significant is 5-10 years, compared to 9 years in 2019, and 8.2 years in the 2021 study. At the same time, two out of five children say they have been insulted or received upsetting messages online, an increase compared to 2021 and 2024, according to the most recent study on children conducted in 2025. The same source indicates that a significant percentage of parents (75%) say that their greatest concern regarding their children's internet use is exposure to inappropriate content online or the possibility of being contacted by people they don't know in real life (70%). Additionally, 59% of parents fear that their children could become victims of internet crimes. These figures reflect a growing awareness of online risks and highlight the need for effective strategies to protect children in the digital environment. 32% of parents report that their child uses TikTok, 21% Instagram, 19% Facebook, and 17% Snapchat. "Behind children's and adolescents' behaviours, sometimes withdrawn, sometimes irritable, there is a reality that is difficult for parents to understand: a digital world that requires you to be present, active, happy, popular, perfect! You are not allowed to make mistakes, to stop posting or reacting, because you will be punished by exclusion or silence. On social media, where young people spend more than 6 hours a day, they are constantly exposed to a silent pressure to compare themselves with others or with unrealistic beauty standards, to receive validation through the number of likes, and to hide their flaws with the help of filters," the quoted source shows. Psychologists from Save the Children recommend that parents: build secure attachment relationships where children feel seen, heard and accepted; be models of emotional regulation, as children learn more from who we are than from what we tell them; be curious, ask simple questions, not accusatory ones; and look at their own childhood with gentleness, as the way they were treated and loved influences how they treat and love their own children. The Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) meets today at the Cotroceni Presidential to discuss, among other things, the prospects of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the implications for Romania. A week ago, the Presidential Administration informed that interim President Ilie Bolojan asked CSAT to meet on March 28. The agenda of the meeting includes: * the latest developments in and prospects for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine following the illegal and unjustified aggression by the Russian Federation, implications for Romania; * Romania's position on negotiations to end the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine; * report on the 2024 activity of the national security organisations and their main objectives for 2025; * CSAT 2024 activity report. This is the first meeting of CSAT led by interim president Ilie Bolojan. According to the agenda of the head of state, in the morning Bolojan will participate in the General Assembly of the National Union of Romania's County Councils, which will take place at Bucov, Prahova County. BOAO, Hainan, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 opened on Thursday in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony, calling for strengthening mutual trust, enhancing win-win cooperation, promoting economic globalization and safeguarding the free trade system. Founded in 2001, the BFA is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals. Running from March 25 to 28, this year's conference is themed "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future." Addressing the opening ceremony, Ding said that significant progress has been made in building an Asian community with a shared future over the past decade. "China and ASEAN have established a comprehensive strategic partnership, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership has entered into effect," the vice premier said. He added that regional economic integration has been strengthened, and Asia's share in the global economy is steadily rising. "Our world is experiencing far greater instability and uncertainty," Ding noted, calling for joint efforts to address global challenges, build a shared Asian home and usher in a brighter future for Asia and beyond. It is necessary to strengthen solidarity and cooperation through greater mutual trust, Ding said. Efforts should be made to champion the Asian values built around peace, cooperation, inclusiveness and integration, and respect each other's core interests and major concerns, he added. Ding stressed the importance of promoting economic globalization through openness and integration, urging efforts to jointly safeguard the free trade system, uphold open regionalism, and firmly oppose trade and investment protectionism. To promote prosperity and development through mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, it is imperative to deliver on the Global Development Initiative and actively improve people's livelihood, Ding noted. He underscored the need of safeguarding tranquility and stability through peaceful coexistence. The vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security in Asia should be upheld, while efforts should be made to ensure that Asia continues to be a land of peace and stability, Ding said. On the Chinese economy, Ding said economic performance in the country has been running steadily with a stronger outlook. The country will do its best to fulfill this year's goals and tasks for economic and social development, he said. "China is confident of realizing these goals and will contribute to development in Asia and the world." China's innovation-driven growth has gathered stronger momentum, presenting opportunities not only for the country itself but also for Asia and the world, Ding said. Describing opening up as a distinct hallmark of Chinese modernization, the vice premier pledged that China will open wider to the world no matter how the external environment changes. "We warmly welcome businesses from all countries to invest and operate in China, join in the process of Chinese modernization, and share in China's development opportunities," he said. Thursday's opening ceremony was attended by more than 1,500 representatives from over 60 countries and regions, including officials, business leaders and scholars. A recent license agreement update with Carlisle-based Campbell Psychological Services prompted discussions at Big Spring School Board meetings about in-school therapy. On March 3, the board tabled a recommendation from board Secretary Julie Boothe for a system to help monitor improvement for students receiving mental health services during the school day. While that discussion could continue at future meetings, Campbell Psychological Services Director Liz Campbell explained how the school-based therapy process works. In-school vs. out-of-school services School-based therapy is really no different than the therapy services that we offer at the office, she said. The only difference is that the clients get their therapy sessions in the school setting. Campbell Psychological Services addresses a range of mental health needs, including anxiety, trauma, neurodevelopmental disorders, grief and more. The business has provided outpatient therapy at Big Spring School District since 2021 and at South Middleton School District since 2019. Providing therapy services during the school day can allow students to get mental health help they may not otherwise receive, Campbell said. For example, if a family only has one car, it might be difficult for parents or guardians to drive to appointments around their work schedules, she said. Campbell said she is not aware of any licensed mental health providers in Newville. This means that families who want their student to receive the service have to drive to Carlisle or Chambersburg for treatment. Therapists have limited after-school openings, Campbell said. I mean, everybody wants 3, 4 or 5 oclock appointments, right? Some students have to come during the day. Without school-based therapy Big Spring students with appointments during the school day would miss about an hour and a half to two hours of school to attend a therapy session between the appointment itself and transportation time. If theyre being seen at the school ... they walk down, they have their appointment for 45 [to] 50 minutes, they go back to class, Campbell said. Payment She said the district does not pay for students to receive therapy, but offers the space for therapists to meet with students. All payments go through students insurance. While its possible for families to pay for the service on their own without insurance, she said thats not common. The district approved a memorandum of understanding for the Campbell Psychological Services to lease space for $10 per month within the schools to provide outpatient therapy service in November 2020. Campbell said those services have continued even though the agreement was not updated until earlier this year. Its one of those things that it just sort of carries over year to year, and sometimes it gets sort of lost in the shuffle, she said, adding that school officials brought the agreement before the board after realizing it was overdue for renewal. Referral process All referrals for school-based therapy services come through school counselors, Campbell said. Many referrals come through the Student Assistance Program, or SAP. The statewide program involves a team consisting of school district officials and liaisons from community mental health, behavioral health or drug and alcohol services, according to the Pennsylvania Network of Student Assistance. The process is designed to help remove learning barriers for students. Anyone can refer a student to the assistance program, Campbell said. Parents would then give permission for a comprehensive assessment to identify student needs. If those needs are mental health-related, school counselors could refer that student to Campbell Psychological Services for school-based therapy or recommend other resources outside of school. Sometimes a parent could say Oh, you do school-based in Big Spring, and reach out, and what we always say is, You need to speak with your school counselor first, she said. Theyre sort of the gatekeeper of the referrals, because the space is really limited. Campbell said Big Springs caseload might include 25-30 students districtwide at a time. Her practice does not keep a waitlist, allowing families to seek other options for their students if school-based therapy slots are full. She identified two main differences between school-based therapists and school counselors. While school counselors check in with students regularly, time demands can make it difficult to meet with the same student weekly for an ongoing period of time. Counselors also can help students develop coping skills when theyre struggling but dont treat a mental health diagnosis, Campbell said. Most therapists at Campbell Psychological Services are licensed or are working toward their licenses, so they have the ability to provide mental health treatment. Consent for treatment Campbell said parents have to consent for their students to receive school-based therapy. They (students) typically will have a mental health diagnosis, because thats how were able to bill their insurance, she said. Its a medically necessary service because they have a mental health diagnosis. While the approach differs between practices, she said Campbell Psychological Services requires parents of children younger than 14 to attend the first appointment to help provide information while the therapist assesses whats going on. Therapists then develop a treatment plan that the parent must sign off on with updates at least every six months. Campbell said while state law allows students age 14 and older to consent to their own treatment, parents are still required to sign a financial agreement. I would say, 99% of our school-based cases, theyre using insurance, and the parent has to be giving us permission ... saying theyll be financially responsible if something happens with insurance [and] they dont pay, she said. With a parents permission, school-based therapists can discuss information with school counselors on a need-to-know basis, Campbell said. Academics and oversight While school-based therapy can lessen travel time to appointments, it does mean students will miss class for their appointment, something parents agree to when they sign the service agreement, Campbell said. Typically, theres sort of a trade off, right, she said. Because if a student is really struggling with their mental health and theyre not really ready to learn when theyre in the class, that might be a reasonable trade off. The length of time a student might receive school-based services ranges from about 10 weekly sessions to regular appointments for two or three years, depending on whats going on, Campbell said. Some students have a lot of support but struggle with worries or are grieving the loss of a family member and need the space to process that. Other students might deal with trauma and stressors at home that could require long-term therapy services. Campbell said school counselors schedule sessions for students and try to prevent them from missing the same class every week. They work with the teachers to figure out which students will be seen when, to try to minimize disruption to academic time, she said. So they figure out sort of what makes the most sense for each student. Aside from providing a space for therapy appointments and ensuring that school-based therapists have the proper clearances, Campbell said the district doesnt oversee the companys services. But that doesnt mean the organization is unregulated; licensed therapists report to the licensing board and those working toward their license report to a supervisor. Theres clinical oversight of the services, but not from the school district, Campbell said. The 18th edition of the Bookfest International Book Fair taking place at the Romexpo exhibition complex in Bucharest between May 28 - June 1 has Portugal as guest of honor, giving Romanian readers a special opportunity to rediscover Portuguese literature and explore Portugal's cultural diversity through the showcased books, authors, translators and publishers. "'Where the Sea Ends and the Land Awaits' is the motto governing our presence at Bookfest. It's a slogan rich in significance, but also a choice that brings together the most important Portuguese writers: these are the words that end the novel 'The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis' by Jose Saramago, 1998 laureate of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Ricardo Reis is, however, also one of the heteronyms of Fernando Pessoa, one of the most brilliant Portuguese writers. Moreover, it is a paraphrase by Jose Saramago, through Pessoa, from 'The Lusiads' by Luis Vaz de Camoes, Portugal's most important literary personality whose living era is the foundation for the Portuguese identity and who is the key figure we celebrate on our National Day, on June 10, " Portuguese ambassador in Bucharest Paulo Cunha Alves told a press conference dedicated to the upcoming cultural event.In his turn, Dan Croitoru, representative of the Romanian Publishers Association, emphasized how welcome Portugal's presence at Bookfest is.Jose Luis Peixoto, who has been translated into over 30 languages and is considered one of the most important voices in Portuguese literature today, will sign autographs for the readers on the latest translation of his emotional novel Galveias, a quintessence of Portuguese identity. The book is in preparation at Trei Publishing House, as part of the 'Anansi. World Fiction' collection, translated by Simina Popa.Goncalo M. Tavares, whom fellow writer Jose Saramago found worthy of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature one day, will also meet Romanian readers at this year's edition of Bookfest. His books have been successfully translated by several publishing houses both in Romania and in the Republic of Moldova (Casa Cartii de Stiinta, Humanitas Fiction, Cartier, Univers, Allfa).Also on the list of Portuguese guests who will grace the Bucharest event is Mafalda Milhoes, one of the most talented Portuguese book illustrators, also an author, publisher and promoter of reading.A unique editorial project will be rolled out at Bookfest 2025: an anthology of contemporary Portuguese short stories titled 'Waves, Dunes, Open Houses' (coordinator: Ana Rita Reis, Casa Cartii de Stiinta Publishing House), put out with the support of the Camoes Institute. The volume aims to bring to the Romanian audience sixteen contemporary authors who, in addition to other literary genres approached, have distinguished themselves in short story penmanship. The selection includes writers from different generations, beginning with well-known authors to emerging talents. ST. CHARLES A nonprofit LGBTQ+ organization here has launched a fundraising campaign for its annual festival after a major corporate sponsor dropped out. Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble was Pride St. Charles Countys biggest sponsor and after multiple years of supporting the festival, the consumer goods corporation decided to drop out, the nonprofit announced on social media on Thursday. Pride St. Charles festival director Jacob Kujath said the company has been a major donor since 2018, giving more than $15,000 annually. They said that they are focusing funding local Prides and they remain committed to their DEI initiatives, Kujath said, though Procter & Gamble didnt specify which events it would support this year. Pride St. Charles hopes that they do give the funds to another Pride to keep the funds in our local LGBTQIA+ community, but we are sad to lose extremely needed funding that we have come to rely on through the years, a statement from organization said. Procter & Gamble didnt respond to a request for comment Friday. The company has a manufacturing plant in north St. Louis, one in Cape Girardeau and a mixing plant in Edwardsville, Ill. Pride St. Charles said losing the corporate sponsorship poses a financial problem for the festival, set for June 14. It called on locals, businesses and others to donate. Kujath said they hope to raise $50,000, which is the amount they usually see from sponsors and donors. We know our St. Charles County community, and beyond, will show up to help us bring this festival to life, said Courtney ODonnell, creative director for the nonprofit. Pride St. Charles hosted its first event in 2015. This year, the festival, themed These Are My Colors, will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the St. Charles Family Arena. The event typically includes drag queen performances, local vendors, community resources, food, inflatables for children and more. There is no parade this year. Kujath said the nonprofit is committed to keeping the event in St. Charles and not combining with other local pride events. We are a different demographic than metro St. Louis, Kujath said. St. Charles City and County face different challenges. ... Were not going anywhere. Earlier this week, St. Louis PrideFest announced Anheuser-Busch had decided to end its sponsorship of the annual festival downtown. That festivals organizers also launched a fundraising campaign. Forbes magazine reported last week that Pride celebrations in San Francisco, New York City and Houston have also lost large chunks of funding. Earlier this month, San Francisco Pride announced that Anheuser-Busch backed out of participating in the parade this year, as have Comcast, beverage company Diageo and wine company La Crema. More information can be found at pridestcharles.org. Hannah Wyman of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. ST. LOUIS Some bars and venues in St. Louis are boycotting Anheuser-Busch products after the brewer pulled out of the local PrideFest, ending its more than 30-year sponsorship of the annual festival. Kennys Upstairs, a bar in Tower Grove South, announced this week that it planned to phase out A-B drinks and sell its remaining inventory at reduced prices. The owner, Kenny Marks, said it took him half a second to decide on the boycott. Boycotting is the root of all change, Marks said. I have no problem cutting out companies that go against my moral compass. He called A-Bs past support of the LGBTQ community insincere and that he was not surprised the company dropped its sponsorship of PrideFest. Corporations care way more about their bottom line than speaking truth to power, Marks said. Its pretty clear to me that their support was a financial gain. After a wave of controversy two years ago, A-B has shifted its marketing efforts to focus on sports, the military charity Folds of Honor and music in an effort to win back conservative consumers, who themselves had conducted boycotts. In 2023, A-B sent transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a customized Bud Light can that she shared in a video, sparking an outcry from conservatives, including celebrities such as Kid Rock. In the months following, sales plummeted, with many consumers saying they wanted to enjoy their beer without debate or politics. A-B has not released a statement this week explaining why it dropped its Pride Fest sponsorship, and the company did not respond to requests for comment. A-B has given about $70,000 in donations and in-kind contributions to Pride St. Louis over the years, event organizers said. San Francisco Pride also announced recently that A-B had backed out of its parade this year, as did Comcast, beverage company Diageo and wine company La Crema. In the wake of the news in St. Louis, Greenfinch Theater & Dive, a bar in south city, said it was removing A-B products, such as Busch, Bud Light, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra, from its shelves. I dont expect big corporations to align with anyones political views, said co-owner Colin Healy. I think a corporation like that can decide to be on the side of things thats people-focused and does the least harm, or be on the side thats opportunistic financially. He said he would love to eventually serve Bud Light and other A-B products again. This is not political, Healy explained. But having a can of beer in business is not worth making someone feel worthless and unsafe because of the corporations ideology. At the Improv Shop, a comedy venue and school in Botanical Heights, managing director Andy Sloey said joining the boycott was a sign of support of the members of our community. We have a lot of performers, students, staff and employees who are part of the LGBTQ community, Sloey said. Rehab Bar and Grill, located in the Grove neighborhood, also announced it would no longer sell A-B products. As a community, we have been continuously targeted in all aspects of our lives, owner Chad Fox said in a press release. While for many years corporations have, in some respects, led efforts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the decision by Anheuser-Busch a long-standing sponsor of St. Louis PrideFest to end their sponsorship is yet another targeted attack on our LGBTQIA+ community. Other bars and businesses in the Grove were quick to join in after that. Tatyana Telnikova, owner of bike-themed pub HandleBar said she and other merchants are hoping to send a message to A-B. Why not put your money where your mouth is? Telnikova said. I think its very apparent with [A-B], they just follow trends. Bar:PM in the Carondelet neighborhood joined the boycott as well. Its inevitable that when AB doesnt support us, we cannot continue to support them, co-owner Chad Morris said in a statement. St. Louis is our home, and our community deserves better than to be abandoned by corporations that have profited from us for years. We stand with Pride St. Louis and the entire LGBTQIA+ community in the face of this disappointing decision. ST. LOUIS The Boeing Co.s $20 billion contract to build the next generation of fighter planes could bring thousands of jobs to the region and secure the future of the defense industry here. But it hinges on details that are, so far, unclear. How much of the work will happen in St. Louis? Will Boeing hire for the project or shift jobs? How much demand will there be for manned aircraft in the future? Ecstatic public officials in Missouri lauded each other and President Donald Trump late last week after he announced Boeing will build the nations next-generation fighter jet. Their enthusiasm is warranted, analysts say. The aerospace companys future in the St. Louis region was uncharted but the new contract, worth $20 billion to start, secures a place for another generation of Boeing workers who will build the F-47. This is the best news that Boeing St. Louis has gotten in the current century, said Loren Thompson, a longtime aerospace analyst. Boeings more than 16,000 employees in the region are well positioned for the work. Theyve built other fighter jets, including the F-15 and F/A-18, and theyve been working on government defense contracts for decades. Experts say the new contract will bring years more work to the region and hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs. And that would be a huge boon to the region, where leaders have been fighting for decades to keep afloat the aerospace industry a pillar of the local economy. Officials across the region, from local governments to community college training programs, are already preparing for the impact. This is a generational impact. Their presence here is immense, said Maggie Kost, who works to attract companies to the region with the business group Greater St. Louis Inc. It cements us as a defense hub nationally, and its certainly, beyond just our regional economy, going to have incredible implications for our national security. Others are uncertain of the impact the deal will have on the St. Louis region. Boeing wont say if its hiring here, bringing employees in from elsewhere, or even shifting workers to the new jobs. One of the presidents closest advisers has said its time to phase out manned aircraft, such as the F-47. The Air Force has scaled back big fighter jet contracts before. Boeing is still recovering from crises in its business operations. And Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth last month ordered $50 billion in military budget cuts for 2026. That creates serious headwinds for the program, said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with Ann Arbor, Michigan-based AeroDynamic Advisory. Existing programs tend to get favored in that kind of budget environment. Boeing declined to comment. Preparing now for jobs When Boeing lost a contract in 2001 to build the Joint Strike Fighter, it set the tone for the next few decades. The company lost other government competitions. Even some of the contracts it won didnt make it any money, Thompson said. The cost of the companys KC-46 tanker program, for instance, ran $7 billion over the contracted price. There were other problems. Crashes of the Boeing 737 Max killed hundreds of people and caused deep troubles in its commercial side. Delays in an Air Force One program which builds jets for the U.S. president have cost the company billions. A capsule Boeing built for NASA had problems with thrusters on its first mission to the international space station. And in September, Boeing removed the CEO of its defense, space and security division. Boeing badly needed to win a significant fighter award, Thompson said. The company invested heavily in the St. Louis region to qualify, said Kost, of Greater St. Louis. She recalls meeting with Boeing officials in early 2022, when she was still working for the Missouri Department of Economic Development. They said, Were going to need some help and were going after a big contract ... and we need to be ready, Kost said. We set to work right from that moment to make sure that we could support them. Boeing has constructed new buildings, torn down old ones and is still working on its expansion, Kost said. President Trump said in a news conference last week that a lot of the necessary infrastructure has already been built. And thats what Boeings been working on, Kost said. The award couldnt have come soon enough. In November, the company said it would lay off some 700 people here, and more layoffs were expected. St. Louis Community College paused its Boeing pre-employment program last year, citing a hiring freeze at the company. Now, everything looks different. The company has apparently regained trust, the analysts said, with its biggest customer: the U.S. government. And the St. Louis officials imagine widespread economic impact from all those expected new aerospace jobs, as suppliers, restaurants, barbers, dry cleaners and others ramp up to serve newcomers. The community college is ready to restart its training program, too, said the colleges chief operating officer, Hart Nelson. The college has been working with Boeing for 18 years, outfitting students with advanced manufacturing skills. In April, it plans to open a new advanced manufacturing center, which will have space for the Boeing training program. Students who graduate from it start at $21 per hour at Boeing or about $44,000 a year plus a raise after six months, Nelson said. With this new award, were waiting to hear from Boeing about what their needs are going to be and what kind of changes might need to happen to the program, Nelson said. Well be here when theyre ready. Can Boeing deliver? Boeing didnt respond to questions about how much work on the F-47 will happen in the St. Louis area, though experts collectively assume assembly putting together the plane itself will happen in the region. It just makes sense, given the companys investment here, Kost said. But obstacles remain, including among Trumps top staffers. Hegseth, Trumps defense secretary, last month ordered military officials to cut $50 billion from their budgets for fiscal year 2026, said Aboulafia, the aerospace analyst. The money will be redirected to pay for Trumps priorities, including a planned Golden Dome missile defense system. And one of the presidents closest advisers might not support the F-47. Elon Musk said on social media last year that manned fighter jets are obsolete. So much of what gets funded depends upon presidential whims, Aboulafia said. As long as Musk is parked directly next to Trump, that creates enormous headwinds. The Next Generation Air Dominance program will include unmanned aircraft to fly with the manned fighter, said Thompson, the longtime aerospace analyst. Plus, Trump and Hegseth signaled public support for the program by personally announcing the award at a news conference last week. Still, government plans tend to change with political winds, such as when the U.S. Air Force drastically scaled back the number of F-22 fighter jets it bought from contractor Lockheed Martin in the early 2000s. Boeing also worked on that program. And Boeing still has fundamental business problems, said Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and a frequent Boeing critic. The company needs to show the problems with the 737 Max and delays on Air Force One dont repeat themselves when the security of our nation is at risk, Hall said. Theyll have to prove it, Hall said. Others believe the results of the award will soon be seen in the St. Louis region. Trump said a prototype for the F-47 has been flying for years. A lot of the engineering and design work has already been done, Thompson said. That means production jobs in the region within a few years. The positive effects of winning this program will become apparent quite quickly, Thompson said. That means jobs and income for St. Louis. ST. LOUIS St. Louis officials will seek proposals to redevelop the graffiti-covered parking garage and lot that long served downtowns Railway Exchange Building. St. Louis Development Corp., the citys economic development agency, plans to buy the garage and lot at 601 Olive Street for about $2.6 million, officials said Friday at a press conference. The city will use American Rescue Plan Act funds. The deal would be separate from the Railway Exchange Building as the eminent domain lawsuit makes it way through the courts. Officials said the agency will issue a request for proposals in the next 60 days. Theyre open to developers ideas for the site which does not include the former Charlie Gittos restaurant and The Gill Building that adjoin the garage but say they want to see the garage demolished because it poses a public safety risk. Downtown should show all of what St. Louis has to offer, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said. I cant wait to see this parking garage come down. St. Louis officials filed a lawsuit last fall to take ownership of the Railway Exchange and its nearby garage through eminent domain after losing patience with its Florida-based absentee owner that had let security lax, causing break-ins, property destruction and other criminal behavior. Eminent domain gives governments the right to take private property for public use or to serve public good. But officials faced a setback when a court-appointed panel said the Railway Exchange site was worth more than what the city wanted to pay. The city is appealing that decision for the building. Neal Richardson, who heads SLDC, said he doesnt believe the citys offer for the garage and lot will affect those proceedings. We are removing blight, he said. We are taking bold action to address that. The city plans to use some of the ARPA funds it set aside for assembling land for development for the garage and lot. Officials floated a board bill to allocate $11 million of the Rams relocation settlement to the Railway Exchange site, though that stalled amid aldermanic in-fighting last session. Richardson said Friday that theres no clear funding path right now for the building. Revitalizing the a 21-story historic building in the heart of downtowns central business district is a top priority for officials. It was once the home of the flagship Famous-Barr department store, renowned for its shopping and quaint second-floor restaurant and famous French onion soup. But its last tenant, Macys, left around 2014, and the building has been vacant since. Proposed redevelopment efforts failed. Preservationists say the building is an architectural jewel, with its terra cotta and brick adornments and marble paneling. Its one of four major vacant buildings, including the former AT&T tower, the Chemical Building and the Millennium Hotel, that city officials say are crucial to revitalizing downtown. Developers have proposed plans for the AT&T tower and Millennium Hotel, and both Jones and Richardson say they want to capitalize on that momentum by moving forward with part of the Railway site. This means downtown is open for business and under construction, Jones said. By targeting the garage and lot, officials will be taking a smaller, but more manageable bite, of the Railway debacle that could entice developers who would otherwise avoid taking on such a large project if the building were in play. In addition to the city, Concrete Strategies also is appealing the courts price for the site. Concrete Strategies, which has a lien on the property, is an arm of construction giant Clayco, which was founded by Bob Clark. Clark is a major donor to Alderwoman Cara Spencer, Jones challenger in the mayors race. An attorney for Concrete Strategies did not respond to a request for comment Friday. Aisha Sultan | Post-Dispatch Columnist and features writer Follow Aisha Sultan | 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 Sherry Brown, a retired housekeeping manager, ran out of food after tornadoes swept through the St. Louis area earlier this month. She and her husband, a 69-year-old retired truck driver, take multiple medications daily for chronic health conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure. They get by on $1,600 a month in Social Security, once their health insurance costs are deducted. That covers rent, bills, car expenses, health care costs, with not much left over for food. Brown, 65, used to receive $250 a month in food benefits, but that was slashed to $49 this year. Shes not sure why her benefits were cut. She relies on the food provided at the Bread of Life Pentecostal Apostolic Church, 2001 North 11th Street, every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. except the first Wednesday of the month. Its one of nearly 600 pantries that receive food from the St. Louis Area Foodbank. When we ran out, this was our help, Brown said, who also volunteers at the food pantry to help others. A long line starts to form outside on Wednesdays. The patrons include working parents, grandparents, the disabled, veterans and those without stable housing. In 2023, 13.5% of Americans struggled at some point to secure enough food. Thats the highest rate in nearly a decade, according to USDA data. President Donald Trumps federal funding cuts are hitting food banks when the need for food assistance is surging. That administration has cut more than $1 billion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for two programs that help local farmers, schools and food banks. The Trump administration also wants to cut the agencys Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which gives low-income families debit cards to purchase food. In Missouri, more than 666,800 people received SNAP benefits in 2022. In Illinois, the cuts would impact about 1.9 million people. The number of people who rely on food banks is even higher. The Feeding Missouri network of food banks helps more than 1 million Missourians annually through a network of more than 1,500 community feeding programs. Beyond families and individuals who need help with food, the cuts will also hit farmers. The cuts to the USDA include about $421 million for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, and about $660 million for Local Food for Schools, a program that allows states to buy food and distribute it to schools and child care facilities. St. Louis Area Foodbank says it has purchased over 600,000 pounds of food from Illinois farmers, providing approximately 500,000 meals to Illinois families through the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. Brown said the fresh produce, bread and canned goods she gets from Bread of Life food pantry makes a very big difference for her and her husband. She recently had to visit an urgent care due to chest pains. The co-pay for that visit will cut into their tight monthly budget. We have to work it the best way we can, she said. Pastor David Battle, whose congregation runs the food pantry, said they rely on the St. Louis Area Food Bank distributions, among other partners, to keep their shelves stocked. When he heard about the federal cuts, he wondered how many people would lose food benefits they need to feed their children. Thats going to impact us, he said. Reading about cuts to food pantries and SNAP during Ramadan, the Islamic month of daily fasting, hits close to home. When you allow yourself to feel sustained hunger, you recognize what it does to your body. There are days while I am fasting when I can feel acidity burning in my stomach and my head pounding. Its harder to concentrate, and fatigue sets in more easily. Thankfully, we have food to break our fast in the evenings during Ramadan. But far too many people in our country lack the food they need to live without the pain and fear of hunger. The fact that these cuts for hungry adults and children are happening while these same political leaders want to give permanent tax cuts to the wealthiest individuals in the country is obscene. A morally bankrupt society tells its neediest citizens to go hungry while giving the richest more cake. Would you rather have your tax dollars help the Brown household or billionaire Elon Musk? I know who I would pick, hands down. ST. LOUIS Police said a father would not be charged after shooting and killing a man quarreling with his daughter. The 48-year-old father was arrested after the shooting Thursday night in the 5600 block of Pamplin Place in the city's Walnut Park West neighborhood, police said. However, on Friday afternoon, police announced that the circuit attorney's office reviewed the case and decided against issuing charges. A man, 28, died at the scene. His name was not released. St. Louis police said they were called to Pamplin for a domestic disturbance. The father told them he had shot a man in the home, police said. The younger man had been involved in an argument with the older man's daughter before the shooting, police said. ST. LOUIS COUNTY Rockwood School District has finally struck a deal with its unionized educators after a monthslong negotiations deadlock. The deal to raise educator salaries by 10% over the next two years 5.25% in year one and 4.75% in year two followed lengthy negotiations and public pressure. It marks the highest percentage increase over two years in the history of Rockwood negotiations, according to the districts teachers union. But its still far less than what the union originally sought. Thomas Cook, president of Rockwood National Education Association, or RNEA, said members originally asked for a 30% raise for educator salaries over three years. The union calculated Rockwood would need the 30% to get its teacher salaries to county midpoint. Were one of the highest regarded districts in the state, Cook said. We feel that our pay should be commensurate with that. Rockwoods rank in pay among area districts has been one of the largest points of contention during negotiations, which began in September and continued with rising intensity over the next six months. Teachers and parents picketed outside of Rockwood schools in February and early March, some holding signs saying, Top results, bottom pay. Personally, I believe that teachers should be some of the most well-paid people, Rockwood parent Sara Spears said in a recent interview. State data shows Rockwood has the 10th-highest average teacher salary out of the 22 school districts in St. Louis County. Its average teacher salary of $70,695 falls behind that of Brentwood, Jennings, Hancock Place, Parkway and Kirkwood, among other districts, with Clayton at the top. Teacher salaries there averaged $88,451 in 2024. But Rockwoods salary average is skewed by the high number of long-time and high-credentialed educators the district employs, Cook said. Where Rockwood has fallen short, he said, is its salary schedule, or the system school districts use to determine salaries based on educators degrees and years of experience. The minimum pay for a Rockwood teacher with a bachelors degree fell from eighth highest in St. Louis County to 20th between 2017 and 2024. In the same time span, Rockwood went from offering the sixth-highest pay to teachers with masters degrees to 12th. Educators also argued their pay should reflect Rockwoods academic standing. The district had the fifth-highest percentage of students scoring advanced in math last year and eighth-highest percentage of students scoring advanced in English in St. Louis County last school year, according to state data. Rockwood covers a large area in southwestern St. Louis County, including Eureka, Wildwood, Ellisville and parts of Fenton and Chesterfield. Some Rockwood educators have said they cant afford to live in the district they teach in. They said the district has lost educators to other districts that pay better but rank lower in academics. We are working harder than ever, yet our pay does not reflect the rising cost of living, especially here in our own community, Kristina Presley, a Rockwood librarian, told the board at a December meeting. Previous RNEA offers were not fiscally sustainable, district officials said. In addition to 30%, the union also proposed salary raises of 18% and 16% over the next three school years. These percentages would quickly exhaust the district reserves, district officials said in a February statement. District leaders acknowledged Thursday that while the 10% bump is progress, theres still a long way to go to make Rockwood more competitive. This is a first step, and we all acknowledge that, board member Bob Cadigan said. Superintendent Curtis Cain previously told RNEA in a March 3 letter that the district may need a tax levy increase to avoid a salary freeze in the 2027-2028 school year. The district previously proposed a 12% raise over three years, which the union rejected. A district spokesperson said the only way the board would support the two-year, 10% raise was if there was an understanding that a higher raise in the second year would be taken from what was originally proposed for the third year. In doing so, we have clearly shared that there is the strong potential for a salary freeze in year three as this will be negotiated based on the state of the district at that time, Mary LaPak, chief communications officer, said in an email. Rockwood has one of the lowest tax rates in St. Louis County and there hasnt been a tax increase for Rockwood staff since 1994. LaPak said everyone, including the board, superintendent and administrators, wants to pay Rockwood teachers more. But it has to been done in a way the district could sustain. This has always been a question of sustainability not what we would love to do, Cain said at the Thursday meeting. Wed love for the numbers to actually be much higher. WEBSTER GROVES Webster University said Friday that it found a buyer for a house it bought for its former leader. The four-bedroom, 3,400-square-foot home sold for $1.2 million, according to a release. The buyer was not disclosed, and St. Louis County records had not yet been updated with the sale as of Friday morning. A listing for the home boasts the propertys exquisite millwork, leaded glass accents, and beautiful hardwood floors (that) set the stage for a warm and inviting atmosphere. The property was thoughtfully renovated to align with modern lifestyles, according to the listing. Sign up for the Brick City newsletter Steph Kukuljan and other business reporters bring you insights into St. Louis-area real estate and development. The home, at 102 Mason Avenue, is located a quarter-mile from campus. The university bought the home in 2012 for $935,000 for then-President Beth Stroble, who later became chancellor. Stroble resigned at the end of 2023 after overseeing years of falling enrollment and financial trouble the private university experienced a 50% drop in enrollment and a loss of $128 million over the past decade. Students had protested and the faculty issued a vote of no confidence against Stroble and President Julian Schuster amid growing criticism of their management of the university. The universitys new chancellor, Tim Keane, turned down the offer to live in the home and directed that the university sell it. The money from this sale will be returned to the university and used to support Websters mission of delivering the highest quality education to our students, Keane said in a statement. The university said it began planning the sale since last summer, when Keane was appointed. An audit released earlier this year said Webster is on track to finish the current fiscal year with positive flow for the first time in 2016 if it continued to cut costs. At the time of the audit, Webster said it had sold off over $30 million in long-term investments, transitioned military campuses to online instruction and underwent a hiring freeze. Last year, a St. Louis County Circuit Court judge allowed Webster to access over $30 million in restricted donations to help the college bolster its finances. Monica Obradovic of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. JEFFERSON CITY With work underway on the long-sought widening of Interstate 70 across Missouri, some state lawmakers say its also time to address the high number of billboards on the traffic-clogged route. Legislation that would create a committee to review the roadway signs will be heard in a Senate committee Wednesday. Under Senate Concurrent Resolution 9, sponsored by Sen. Steven Webber, D-Columbia, the review is needed to address the safety of motorists who are bombarded with messages on the stretch between St. Louis and Kansas City. According to the legislation, as well as an accompanying bill in the House, Missouri has 2 times more billboards per mile on I-70 than any other state between Maryland and Utah. Preserving Missouris natural scenic beauty and promoting its safety, tourism and economic development potential are valid public purposes and should be considered during the I-70 rebuild, the legislation says. The Missouri Department of Transportation launched reconstruction efforts on the transcontinental roadway last year after state lawmakers earmarked $2.8 billion in general revenue to add an additional lane in both directions. The entire I-70 project, stretching from Wentzville to Kansas Citys eastern suburbs, is expected to be completed by 2030. Safety issues are part of the equation in the rebuild. Data released in September from the U.S Department of Transportation shows Missouri has six more fatalities per 100,000 licensed drivers than the U.S. average. In his resolution, Webber notes that the high number of large signs is a problem, saying they contribute to increased driver distraction compromising the safety of motorists and passengers. The plan would create a commission on safety and beautification that includes members of the House and Senate, officials from cities and counties and members of the states scenic byways advisory committee. The commission would be tasked with recommending strategies to enhance the safety and scenic character of the road through landscaping, sign control and lighting design standards. The measure could face headwinds from the states outdoor advertising companies. In addition, state ethics records show politicians ranging from local aldermen to the governor have spent hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars on billboards seeking to translate face time on a giant outdoor sign into votes on Election Day. Under current law, MoDOT is required to regulate the location, size, spacing and lighting of outdoor advertising signs. Failure to provide effective control could cause the state to lose up to 10% of its annual share of federal construction dollars as provided in an agreement inked in 1972, the agency says. A proposal similar to Webbers filed last year by Rep. Adrian Plank, D-Columbia, won support from Scenic Missouri, a regional chapter of Scenic America, which is dedicated to roadway beautification efforts. This resolution brings awareness to our legislators about this unique opportunity during the I-70 rebuild period to pause and have serious discussions about the safety and visual experience of travelers on Missouri roadways, said Scenic Missouri President John Hock of Ballwin. Plank last year also sponsored a bill that would place a five-year moratorium on new billboards being erected along the route. It did not advance in the House. CHESTERFIELD After months of complaints from motorists and elected officials, the Missouri Department of Transportation has agreed to dismantle concrete islands erected last year in the shoulders of Clarkson and Long roads. We heard the communitys feedback and are making changes that reflect those concerns, Tom Blair, MoDOTs St. Louis district engineer, said Friday in a statement. Due to the overwhelming response to the shoulder islands in this area, they are being removed. Blair said the removal will be completed by early summer. The bump-out islands were installed in the shoulders to make the two roads feel smaller so people would slow down. The islands are several feet long and feature three poles that poke up. Bicyclists can get around them but theres no room for cars and trucks. Critics said they created problems by narrowing shoulder space for snow removal, emergency vehicle access and traffic pullovers. Because of the reaction, MoDOT stopped installing additional islands, pending a review. State Rep. Ben Keathley, R-Chesterfield, who was among the critics, on Friday called MoDOTs change of heart a significant win for local safety and community input. The islands were part of an ongoing $52 million MoDOT effort to install safety improvements at 230 locations across St. Louis, St. Louis County and Jefferson County. Blair said Clarkson still has a crash rate twice the statewide average for similar roads and that MoDOT will hold a listening session with nearby residents to identify concerns that could be addressed with future projects. Chesterfields mayor and some aldermen had complained they had no advance notification that the medians were being installed. The controversy had spurred Keathley to introduce a bill that would require MoDOT to get advance approval from city governing bodies for any such traffic calming devices and other major alterations to a state-maintained road. The measure, which is pending in a House committee, would exempt municipalities with fewer than 10,000 residents. ST. LOUIS Planned Parenthood provided abortions Thursday at its St. Louis clinic for the first time since Missouri voters approved overturning the states near-total ban on the procedure. The clinic had three abortion appointments scheduled Thursday after weeks of court battles striking down old abortion regulations, retraining staff and moving equipment and staff from a busy sister clinic in Illinois, a state where abortions have remained legal, said Dr. Margaret Baum, interim chief medical officer for St. Louis-based Planned Parenthood Great Rivers. I am really excited that this is happening, and I am excited this is happening at our Central West End location because I have a very clear memory of over 2 years ago providing the last abortions in Missouri, Baum said. It really in some ways feels full circle that I now get to be providing abortions again at the same location. Before the states abortion ban went into effect in June 2022, the clinic in St. Louis had for several years been the sole abortion provider in Missouri the only one able to meet the states increasingly onerous abortion regulations. Decades earlier, in 1984, Missouri recorded more than 20,000 abortions at 26 clinics across the state. By 2020, that had dwindled to 167 as clinic after clinic shuttered, and Great Rivers opened its Fairview Heights clinic just 15 minutes away from St. Louis. Over time we went from having six days a week of busy abortion services in St. Louis, to a few days a week, to towards the end probably our last year of providing abortion services there were only two physicians providing abortion services maybe twice a month, Baum said. The last abortion provided at the clinic was on June 18, 2022, she said. Less than a week later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion and returning authority on whether to allow the procedure to individual states. Immediately after the high courts ruling, Missouri became the first state to ban abortion except in cases of medical emergencies because of a trigger law the state Legislature already had in place. That changed in November, when Amendment 3 passed with 51% of the vote, which enshrined into the state constitution the right to an abortion up to fetal viability, when a fetus might survive outside the uterus. On Thursday, after years of the first floor exam and recovery rooms sitting mostly empty, people sat in the waiting room of the St. Louis clinic, and televisions blared once again with information about birth control and talking to testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Im very excited to see patients on this floor, said Great Rivers President Margot Riphagen, as she shared smiles and thumbs-ups with other clinic staff as they arrived at work. Riphagen used the moment to praise the 1,800 volunteers who collected more than 380,000 signatures in just three months to get Amendment 3 on the ballot after a series of political hurdles, and who hit the streets campaigning for abortion access. Now, Riphagen said, we are finally able to do it. People should have a choice One of the patients scheduled for an abortion Thursday agreed to share her story in the waiting room with the Post-Dispatch, under the condition of anonymity. The 32-year-old woman was coming from a jail two hours away in Rolla, where she said she was being held on drug-trafficking charges. She said she is addicted to fentanyl, which she took to cope with traumas and pains. Before she was arrested, she said, she had an abortion scheduled in Illinois. But the judge would not release her for that appointment. The woman said her lawyer was able to get permission for her to come to St. Louis for the procedure. Volunteers with Midwest Access Coalition, an abortion fund that helps with traveling logistics and expense, drove her to the clinic and is covering the cost of a hotel stay nearby before the woman must return to the jail. She is homeless, she said, after a March 14 tornado destroyed her apartment in Rolla. She already has two young children, who are staying with her mom. She is also considered high-risk, since her first pregnancy ended with a stillbirth. People should have a choice, the woman said, so they are not forced to have a child they cant take care of. After getting examined, the women ended up being further along in gestation than she thought. She had to travel further to the Fairview Heights clinic, which is equipped for the more advanced procedure. Her experience shows how abortions are still limited in Missouri as providers continue to fight regulations in court, inform the public about access and juggle staffing needs. For the past few weeks, Planned Parenthood Great Plains has been providing procedural abortions up to 12 weeks as staff is available at its midtown Kansas City and Columbia clinics. Patients must call to make an appointment. Great Rivers is also only taking appointments over the phone for procedural abortions up to 12 weeks at its St. Louis clinic. Days will depend on demand and staff availability, Baum said. Obstacles remain Medication abortion involving taking two sets of pills up to 48 hours apart is still unavailable in Missouri. Providers say they are required to first submit complication plans to the state health department for approval before they can dispense the medication. The Planned Parenthood affiliates submitted their complication plans on Feb. 20 and 21. Baum said they were told they would finally learn Friday whether the plans are approved, but they expect denials. Three weeks after submitting their plans, the Department of Health and Senior Services issued an emergency rule that outlined a lengthy list of new requirements that must be included in complication plans. The rule went into effect Thursday. On March 12, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued a cease and desist order against the Planned Parenthood clinics, barring them from providing medication abortions even though they are not yet, arguing that the providers will likely violate regulations in the future. It is unknown how long the order is in place. We do anticipate more and more of this to keep getting in the way of medication abortion, Riphagen said, and Great Rivers lawyers are looking at ways to fight the obstacles. In addition, abortion providers face an uncertain future with anti-abortion state lawmakers filing dozens of bills aiming to restore the abortion ban despite the successful ballot. Two measures that have emerged in the Capitol would ask voters to revive the near-total ban. The proposals from state Sen. Adam Schnelting, a Republican from St. Charles, and Rep. Melanie Stinnett, R-Springfield, would reinstate the ban with an exception for victims of rape or incest who seek an abortion in the first 12 weeks gestation but who first report the assault to police. Both also ban health care for transgender minors and allow abortions during an ectopic pregnancy. Stinnetts proposal could come up on the House floor as soon as next week. Thats why Riphagen, as she welcomed staff Thursday at the St. Louis clinic, said she felt a range of emotions. Im both excited that we are able to provide care here in Missouri and a little bit anxious and uneasy about what is happening in the Legislature, she said. The fight will continue. Kurt Erickson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. Editors note: Dr. Margaret Baums title was incorrect in an earlier version of this story. The emergency rules on complication plans were issued by the Department of Health and Senior Services, not Attorney General Andrew Bailey. And so I act the part of the dutiful daughter. I bring him his tea in the morning and rub his feet at night. I pretend not to hear him joining in the laughter when the men at the tea shop joke about the difference between fathering a son and marrying off a daughter. A son will always be a son, they say. But a girl is like a goat. Good as long as she gives you milk and butter. But not worth crying over when its time to make stew ... That unsettling passage, early in the award-winning novel Sold, foreshadows the nightmarish ordeal ahead for Lakshmi, its narrator and protagonist. The 13-year-old Nepalese girl is subsequently shipped off to India and sold into sexual slavery by her stepfather. American journalist Patricia McCormicks book has been lauded as a moving, accessible and well-researched look inside third-world sex trafficking for audiences that might otherwise remain ignorant about that hellscape. But for students of the Wentzville School District, that window of knowledge has once again been slammed shut. Based on a complaint by exactly one parent, followed by a one-vote margin on the school board, the district last week officially banned the book from its school libraries. Its not the first book the busy censors of the district have banished. They made humiliating national news a few years ago by briefly yanking the Toni Morrison literary classic The Bluest Eye from shelves. There have been others. But this removal is notable in that the book, though fictional, tells the story of a real-life tragedy in the world today, in straightforward prose without vulgarity or gratuitousness. Yes, the subject matter is disturbing, but sex trafficking is a real phenomenon that some of todays students will someday have the power to confront as future leaders on the national and world stages. Yet even a recommendation by the districts own review committee that the book remain on high school library shelves and only be shielded from lower grades was rejected by the board. Its a perfect example of how book-banning policies even those originally prompted by the relatively rare library fumble (remember the firestorm at the St. Charles City-County Library for stocking one copy of the title Bang Like a Pornstar?) will inevitably invite censorship against more serious and worthy material. Wentzvilles hair-trigger book-banning process in particular is an open invitation to any random culture-warrior to muzzle discussion of serious topics. All it takes to require a review of a book is a complaint from one parent who doesnt want anyone to have such discussions. That single complaint, regardless of its reasoning, requires a review of the book by a committee of teachers, parents and others, which makes a recommendation to the school board. The board is free to ignore that recommendation, which it did in this case. By a 3-4 vote, the board bypassed the judgment of parents and others on the committee, who reported that the book is a beautiful story to show the main characters resilience to get back to her family and that it avoids obscenity or raunchiness. The board sided instead with the original parent-complainant who, as the Post-Dispatchs Monica Obradovic reported this week, blithely refers on social media to books she dislikes as disgusting smut. Its telling how often the books that end up being banned these days, at Wentzville and elsewhere, focus on issues related to racial or cultural minorities. The empathetic protagonist in Sold, like the empathetic protagonist in The Bluest Eye, is a girl of color. Go figure. Censorship trends reflect political trends. When liberal politics was ascendant in earlier eras, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a frequent target of censors who myopically focused on its offensive use of the n-word, a complaint that missed its broader message of racial tolerance. Today, racial tolerance itself is targeted by censors appeasing right-wing ideologues who disparage almost any discussion of race at all as woke or DEI. That definitely serves a certain kind of agenda out there but not any agenda that involves a well-rounded education for kids about the world they will inherit. A recurring theme in Sold is about the voicelessness of sex trafficking victims. Giving voice to such victims is a noble function of serious literature like this. Muzzling those voices at the behest of any culture-war crank who can fill out a form shouldnt be the function of a school board. WPSD selects Bitcentrals Central Control to streamline and modernize its broadcast playout operations Kentucky-based WPSD-TV, part of Paxton Media Group, has selected Bitcentrals Central Control playout system to modernize and streamline its master control operations. This deployment positions WPSD as a next-generation regional media hub, enhancing the Newport Beach, California( ) Bitcentral, a leader in broadcast and digital video solutions, announces that Kentucky-based WPSD-TV, a Paxton Media Group company, has selected its innovative Central Control playout system, to upgrade the stations master control operations, positioning WPSD as a next-generation regional media hub. WSPD is a long-standing Bitcentral customer leveraging multiple solutions including the Core News suite, ViewNexa Channels, Fusion Hybrid Storage, and now adding Central Control for its playout/master control system. As the station prepares to relocate its television operations to The Paducah Sun newspaper facility, it sought a transformative solution ready to meet the demands of a modern, multi-platform news operation. Bitcentrals Central Control will play a critical role in this transition, enabling WPSD to streamline workflows, and deliver content with greater speed and efficiency. This move marks a major step forward in WPSDs digital evolution, equipping the station with the tools to engage audiences across all platforms and stay ahead in todays fast-paced media landscape. By deploying Central Control, WPSD is setting the stage to manage its operations with unmatched scalability and reliability. The platform includes a full suite of advanced features, such as automated feed recording, traffic integration, and system monitoring, all designed to maximize efficiency and deliver seamless playout across multiple channels. With Bitcentrals Central Control, we are ready to transform how we deliver high volumes of broadcast content to our communities, said Bill Evans, President of the West Kentucky Media Division at Paxton Media Group. This technology allows us to deliver full linear channels to people faster and more reliably, fulfilling our goal of becoming a regional media hub thats closer to our audience than ever before. This partnership is a testament to Bitcentrals long-standing commitment to empowering media companies to thrive in the digital age. With the integration of Central Control, WPSD is not just improving its operations - its revolutionizing how content is produced and shared across western Kentucky, southern Illinois, southeast Missouri, and northwest Tennessee. Central Control is the ideal solution for media companies which are looking to modernize their business, said, Sam Peterson, COO, of Bitcentral. Central Control navigates this complexity through a set of tools that are organized around the logical best practices for handling high volumes of content, traffic coordination, and playout. We have long been committed to WPSDs success through our extensive product portfolio, and this is the latest step on that journey. ## About Bitcentral. From global brands to TV stations and digital publishers, Bitcentral is driving a new future in storytelling. For over 20 years, weve helped broadcasters and publishers deliver the biggest stories in news, sports, and entertainment to the widest audiences. Our systems are used by over a thousand media and entertainment organizations to simplify the production, asset management, distribution, and monetization of content everywhere. With Core News, we provide unparalleled reliability and agility for content production. We offer fully automated playout solutions with Central Control, and ViewNexa provides one unified workflow that simplifies video management, streaming, consumer application experience, and distribution for broadcasters, publishers, and media companies. Learn more at www.bitcentral.com. Kwon Tae-Hong sells fruit to Airman 1st Class Parker Farnham at his stand inside the Army and Air Force Exchange at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, March 25, 2025. (Eric Mendiola/Stars and Stripes) KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea Shoppers at the exchange at this air base are taking advantage of fresh produce sold on base once a week thanks to a local business owner. Kwon Tae-Hong, an area grocer, sets up shop between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. every Tuesday inside the Army and Air Force Exchange next to the food court. Hes been selling fresh fruits and vegetables at Kunsan since October. Kwon is a regular presence, even during the recent harsh winter. He took off only during the Korean New Year to work at his own store, where business picks up considerably during the holidays. His produce is locally sourced from the farmland that surrounds the air base. Some of his offerings would be at home in an American grocery store, and he also provides a selection of Asian produce like Korean melon and nom dok mai, a variety of Thai mango. Kwons produce costs about the same as consumers would pay in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. The air base, which unlike many other U.S. bases in South Korea and Japan, is in a rural setting away from local retailers. It was just a need we found in the community we have a lot of airmen who dont have driving privileges and cant get off base, and, unlike some of the other communities in Korea, theres no immediate town right outside its gate to walk to and do those things, Jessica Lynch, the exchange general manager, said Tuesday at Kunsan. Kunsan Air Base asked AAFES to find a local vendor with good quality produce at reasonable prices to set up weekly at the exchange, Pyon Son-chun, service business manager at the exchange, said Tuesday at the exchange. A group of exchange employees searched the surrounding communities for a vendor who met the criteria, according to Pyon. The public health flight from the 8th Medical Group at Kunsan inspected the source of the produce and verified its quality for sale on base, a process that took about a month, Pyon said. The most important thing is improving quality of life in Kunsan Air Base, Pyon said. U.S. troops conduct a deportation flight from Fort Bliss, Texas, on Feb. 10, 2025. (Griffin Payne/U.S. Army) AUSTIN, Texas Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said Wednesday during a visit to Fort Bliss that he approved federal immigration officials to establish a migrant detention facility at the base, which is in west Texas along the U.S. border with Mexico. Final approval for the detention site must come from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has strongly supported President Donald Trumps order to make southern border security a priority for the military. Driscoll described Fort Bliss as a natural fit to support Trumps border crackdown because of its location, according to KTSM, an El Paso news station. Sprawling across roughly 1,700 square miles of desert terrain, Fort Bliss has vacant land near already existing Department of Homeland Security facilities that will host a building for detention, said an Army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Fort Bliss engineers are standing by to clear the site along Montana Avenue in El Paso, near a Border Patrol station and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility with a capacity to hold up to 2,000 detainees. The new facility at Fort Bliss will allow for another 8,000 migrants to be detained at the base, according to the Army official. But the site would not be managed or operated by the Army. Plans for the site have circulated among the media but had not yet officially been confirmed by the Army. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said last month in a news conference that she has concerns about the increased use of the military for immigration enforcement because it pulls troops away from their training and essential mission to fight and win wars. She represents El Paso and Fort Bliss and is a former member of the House Armed Services Committee. She described three previous instances where Fort Bliss was used to house migrants twice when there was an influx of unaccompanied minors crossing the border and then in 2021 to house Afghan refugees who fled their country when the government collapsed and the U.S. military left. An analysis conducted after housing Afghan migrants at the base found pulling soldiers and equipment from their mission to work this immigration-related mission set back readiness by two years, Escobar said. Theres no reason to use a military installation. We are not in an emergency situation where were seeing an overwhelming number of people arriving at the border, she said. People crossing between legal ports of entry peaked in December 2023, with federal agents recording nearly 302,000 migrants, according to Customs and Border Protection. Numbers have declined since then, with the agency reporting more than 61,000 migrant crossings in January and slightly more than 11,700 in February. Fort Bliss is also a start point for military aircraft being used for deportation flights returning migrants to countries including Guatemala, Ecuador and Honduras. It also serves as a hub for troops deployed to the border to receive training before moving out to support Customs and Border Protection operations. More than 10,000 service members are working on the mission and received new authorization this week to conduct mobile patrols, according to U.S. Northern Command. Troops cannot detain migrants or conduct law enforcement activities, but they can drive their vehicles along the border to alert federal agents to specific locations. They can also transport federal border agents in military vehicles, such as the Stryker armored vehicles that recently arrived from Fort Carson, Colo. Previously military personnel could only use stationary detection and monitoring equipment in support of Border Patrol agents. An aerial view of Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, part of the Marine Corps Base Hawaii complex, is seen on May 6, 2014. (Matthew Bragg/U.S. Marine Corps) FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii A Marine staff sergeant is facing five charges including premeditated murder in the death of his wife at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, a service official said Friday. Staff Sgt. Alonzo Alcantara of Cookeville, Tenn., was also charged last week with murder with the intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm, manslaughter, aggravated assault and obstructing justice in the Sept. 1 death of his spouse, Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Joseph Butterfield said. Alcantara is a small-arms repairer and technician assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 174, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Butterfield said. He was previously a recruiter for the Corps in Texas, according to social media posts by Alcantara. Hawaii News Now reported in September that an unnamed Marine had been arrested and was being held in the brig at Ford Island, which is adjacent to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Marine Corps Base Hawaii is located on the windward side of Oahu in Kailua on Kaneohe Bay. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service said Friday that no additional information on the case was available. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the Navy's primary law enforcement and counterintelligence force. The agency works in tandem with local, state, and federal law enforcement as well as foreign agencies to counter and investigate crimes involving Department of the Navy personnel. The badge of one of its agents is seen here in this 2009 photo. (Richard Brunson/U.S. Navy) A former San Diego-area Navy detective who was sentenced to federal prison last month for choking a sailor unconscious and lying about his misuses of force while serving as an El Cajon, Calif., police officer is facing a new charge related to the production of child sex abuse material. Federal agents arrested Jonathan Christopher LaRoche on Wednesday in La Mesa on a charge of attempted production of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The 41-year-old Spring Valley resident, who was due to report to prison in about three weeks to serve a 15-month sentence in his previous case, made his first appearance on the new charge Thursday in San Diego federal court. According to a criminal complaint and a related search warrant, LaRoche used an encrypted email server on the dark web to discuss sexually abusing a child and filming and photographing the abuse, and also expressed a desire to meet up with other children. The court documents indicate that law enforcement agents believe the abuse occurred, that LaRoche shared the files and that they have strong circumstantial evidence including delivery records for sex toys and childrens clothing but the agents are not in possession of the specific files he uploaded on the darknet. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Diego confirmed LaRoches identity. An attorney who represented LaRoche in his previous case said he was not representing him in the new case, and it was unclear Thursday evening if LaRoche had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. LaRoche pleaded guilty last year to federal charges of making a false statement and depriving an individual of his rights under the color of law. He admitted that while applying in 2022 for a detective job with the Department of the Navys Criminal Investigations Division, he made false statements under penalty of perjury about his reason for leaving the El Cajon Police Department and his disciplinary history related to multiple instances of improperly using force. He also admitted that in November 2023, once hed secured the job with the Navy, he placed an intoxicated and handcuffed sailor in a carotid restraint for 17 seconds until the victim lost consciousness. He admitted that several minutes later, when the victim was sitting handcuffed to a bench inside a security building on Naval Base San Diego, he grabbed the sailor by the throat and pushed his head against a wall. On Feb. 12, U.S. District Judge John Houston sentenced LaRoche to 15 months in federal prison, nearly double the time prosecutors had recommended, citing a need to send a strong message of deterrence to other police officers. LaRoche, who agreed as part of that plea deal to never seek another law enforcement job, told the judge that he was unbelievably sorry for what happened. He said he had untreated anger issues and post-traumatic stress disorder from serving three combat tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps and that he had addressed those issues, in part, with alcohol. Houston ordered LaRoche to report to federal prison on or before April 21. But on Wednesday, special agents from Homeland Security Investigations arrested LaRoche in the new case, seizing a cellphone from him that they hope will turn up evidence of the abuse allegedly discussed in the emails. According to a search warrant for the phone, the new case is unrelated to his previous case. Instead, law enforcement authorities in the Netherlands identified him after obtaining a copy of the server for a dark web email provider. That email provider was identified as a place where child sex abuse material was being shared and distributed, an HSI agent wrote in the warrant. One user of that email service purported to run a business that claimed to offer users tens of thousands of dollars or more in exchange for original images and videos depicting child sex abuse material, according to the search warrant. The business would solicit requests for specific material from some users and then commission other users to create that material. Prosecutors allege a user believed to be LaRoche exchanged dozens of emails with the business and another user in which he provided graphic details about sexually abusing a child, according to the complaint. The user believed to be LaRoche allegedly sought payment for creating child sex abuse material, a plan that allegedly almost backfired when the business discovered his real identity and threatened to blackmail him. Authorities allege the dark web email user believed to be LaRoche sent emails with links to files that he claimed were child sex abuse material, but the links no longer worked by the time law enforcement agents accessed the email server. But authorities subpoenaed records from FedEx and Amazon that showed deliveries to LaRoches Spring Valley home for items that matched items the dark web email user allegedly discussed purchasing and using in videos and photos. The dates of those deliveries allegedly also matched information from the email conversations, according to the warrant and complaint. Authorities also alleged that the dark web email user believed to be LaRoche disclosed numerous identifying details about himself and the alleged victim that agents matched to LaRoche. And the names of people identified in the blackmail messages allegedly matched real people in LaRoches life, according to the complaint and warrant. 2025 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (iStock) It was a bad idea, and I knew it. But like most bad ideas, it was based on want rather than need. Walking into the animal shelter armed with unsound reasoning and weak self-control, I knew I wouldnt leave empty handed. Gilligan needs a playmate, I told myself. It was a true statement for our 2-year-old yellow lab, who was particularly demanding of constant attention. However, adopting a kitten was a risky solution with all sorts of potential inconveniences. Instead of facing the stark realities of cat attitudes, smelly litter boxes, pricey pet sitters, scratched furniture, and increased veterinary bills, I chose to focus on Instagram Reels depicting dogs and cats snuggling or playing with each other in precious displays of companionship. I placed my faith in googled articles stating that kittens (as opposed to adult cats) often bond with dogs in the same household if conditions are right. Having previously owned Zuzu, a family cat who lived for 16 years, we were familiar with the potential inconveniences of cat care. But Zuzu was our cat before Francis retired from the Navy, so she endured six moves, complicated pet flights, and a six-month quarantine during our overseas tour in England. It would be easier this time, I told myself. My husband, Francis, was doubtful, but I ignored his naysaying and forged on with my ill-conceived plan. In my defense, I was being influenced by our young adult children. Cmon Mom! they shamelessly begged, The cat will become Gillys best friend! Kittens are so cute! Dont worry about litter boxes and pet sitters well help out! It was hogwash, but as an empty nester, I guess I wanted another live being to nurture in my life. I wanted more connection, companionship and affection. And so, when I learned that the local animal shelter had taken in several new foster kittens, off we went. I filled out registration forms required for anyone to meet the adoptable animals. The kittens go fast, so theres only one left, the staff member told me as she led Francis and I down the hall to the cat enclosures. She left us in one of the small rooms where cats were kept in tidy cubicles. There she is! I exclaimed, seeing a skinny black kitten hiding in bedding. Her yellow-green eyes peered timidly at us. The card posted on the enclosure listed her as a three-month-old domestic shorthair. I reached into the cube and gently lifted her lanky three-pound body out, and held her close to my chest, stroking the fine fur over her tiny bones. Francis held her too, and she soon began to purr. That was all it took. The staff could have warned that she had contagious diseases, would develop psychotic tendencies or was the spawn of Satan. It wouldnt have mattered. She purred, so we were adopting her, period. Retrieving her records at the shelter front desk, I learned that our new kitten had been found alone at five weeks of age in a commercial area of Boca Raton, Fla., where she was fostered until she arrived our Rhode Island shelter. Her heart-rending backstory only served to cement our fate we took the little bugger home. After considerable family debate, we settled on the name Minnow for our lithe new family member, a nautical homage to the 1960s sitcom that was the origin for Gilligans name. In the five weeks since shes been with us, Minnow has staked her claim in my home office, and hasnt become pals with Gilly yet. She has, however, managed to dirty seven boxes of litter, devour pounds of cat kibble, scatter dozens of cat toys, lure Gilly close only to hiss at him, mischievously knock items off of my desk, claw her fish-hooks into the upholstery of my antique goose-neck rocker and sink her teeth into my fingers, arms and hair. I now see that I didnt make an intelligent decision to adopt a cat. On the contrary, every time Minnow curls into our laps to lovingly purr, touches our cheeks with her soft toe beans or licks our skin with her prickly tongue, I realize that Minnow very wisely made that decision for us. Read more at themeatandpotatoesoflife.com and in Lisas book, The Meat and Potatoes of Life: My True Lit Com. Email: meatandpotatoesoflife@gmail.com Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference in Taipei on Feb. 14, 2025. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) TAIPEI, Taiwan Chinese espionage in Taiwan has reached new levels, analysts and officials say, after three soldiers who were tasked with guarding the Taiwanese presidents office were jailed for photographing and selling classified information. The three former members of a military battalion responsible for the security of the presidential building, as well as a soldier from a unit focused on information warfare, were sentenced this week to up to seven years in prison. The presidential office should be the most secure place, yet incidents like this still happen. This shows how severe Chinas infiltration is in Taiwan, said Chung Chih-tung, an assistant research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a government-funded think tank. The cases fit into a broader pattern of intimidation by Beijing as it tries to undermine Taiwans defenses both militarily and psychologically and push the island democracy to surrender to Chinese Communist Party rule. The effort includes huge military exercises around the island. According to prosecutors, soldiers Lai Chong-yu and Chen Wen-hao were recruited by Chinese intelligence agents through a man named Huang Tsung-yi, a Taiwanese citizen accused of acting on Beijings behalf to persuade soldiers to sell information to China. Huang fled to China before he could be arrested, according to Taiwanese officials. Lai and Chen the former a member of Taiwans 211th Military Police Battalion, which guards the presidential office in Taipei, and the latter a member of the Defense Ministrys information and telecommunications command took photos of official secret internal military information. Lai then passed those photos to Huang or directly to Chinese agents. After Lai retired in 2023, two other soldiers, Li Yu-er and Lin Yu-kai, continued to take photos of documents and pass them to Chinese agents, the prosecutors said in Taipei District Court. Officials did not describe the type of documents photographed. The soldiers received payments of $8,000 to $20,000 between 2022 and 2024. Their acts betrayed the country and endangered national security, the court said in a statement. The soldiers were not charged with espionage because the information was not classified as confidential. It did, however, contain internal documents from the presidential office that should not have been disclosed to the public, according to the court statement. All four soldiers were convicted of corruption for accepting bribes, while Lai and Chen were also charged with violating Taiwans national security law, which carried an additional penalty of eight months. In total, the soldiers were given prison sentences ranging from five years and 10 months to seven years. Even in cases in which military officers are charged with espionage, the punishment is often light. Taiwans sentencing on espionage activities has been too lenient, which means it is not enough of a deterrent, Chung said. President Lai Ching-te, who has taken an increasingly tougher approach toward Beijing since entering office last May, called this month for bringing back martial-law-era military courts to more swiftly and severely deal with spying in Taiwans military. Lately, China has been taking advantage of democratic Taiwans freedom, diversity and openness to recruit gangs, the media, commentators, political parties and even active-duty and retired members of the armed forces and police to carry out actions to divide, destroy and subvert us from within, the president said. Taiwanese authorities have ramped up prosecutions of active and retired members of the military, who have long been a target of Chinese espionage efforts. Now, Chinese intelligence is targeting rank-and-file soldiers as well as senior officers through social media, gaming platforms, and websites advertising loans, according to a report last year by the auditing arm of Taiwans government. Last year, authorities tried 64 people on charges of spying for China, more than half of whom were active or retired military members. In 2022, 10 people were prosecuted. Taiwanese prosecutors said this month that they were investigating two air force members, one retired and one active, for possibly leaking details about one of the islands most advanced missile systems to Chinese agents. To its credit, the Taiwan government and military have stepped up their counterintelligence effort over the past decade, which partially accounts for the apparent increase in cases. More cases are coming to light, said Drew Thompson, a former Pentagon official focused on China, Taiwan and Mongolia who is now at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. The latest cases come as Taiwans security relationship with the United States, its most important military backer against threats of force from Beijing, has been thrown into question. Beijing maintains that Taiwan, home to about 23 million people, is part of China, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping says he will use force if necessary to realize reunification. For years, the United States has sold weapons to Taiwan and provided military training to help shore up the democracys defenses, even though Taipei and Washington do not have a formal diplomatic relationship. A key deterrent against Beijing has been Washingtons use of strategic ambiguity, a deliberately vague position on whether the United States would militarily intervene to stop a Chinese takeover. Under President Donald Trumps more transactional approach, it is now even more uncertain whether Washington would come to Taiwans aid. Trump and Elbridge Colby, his nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy, have called on Taiwan to do and pay more to defend itself. Analysts say Taipeis latest crackdown on espionage helps show Washington that Taiwan is serious about plugging leaks in the military. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, and U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent give a news conference during their meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP/Getty Images/TNS) KYIV, Ukraine (Tribune News Service) The United States is pushing to control all major future infrastructure and mineral investments in Ukraine, potentially gaining a veto over any role for Kyivs other allies and undermining its bid for European Union membership. President Donald Trumps administration is demanding the right of first offer on investments in all infrastructure and natural resources projects under a revised partnership deal with Ukraine, according to a draft of the document obtained by Bloomberg News. If accepted, the partnership agreement would bestow enormous power on the U.S. to control investments into Ukraine in projects including roads and railways, ports, mines, oil and gas and extraction of critical minerals. It would represent an unprecedented expansion of U.S. economic influence in Europes largest country by area just at the time when its attempting to align with the EU. The agreement would grant the U.S. first claim on profits transferred into a special reconstruction investment fund that would be controlled by Washington. Crucially, the document states that the U.S. regards the material and financial benefits provided to Ukraine since Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022 as its contribution to that fund. In effect, this would mean the Trump administration would compel Ukraine to pay for all of the U.S. military and economic support provided since the start of the war before Kyiv received any income from the partnership fund. The U.S. delivered a revised agreement to officials in Kyiv last weekend after plans for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign an earlier accord fell apart following a tense Oval Office confrontation with Trump last month. The White House said last week that the administration was moving beyond the previously negotiated deal covering critical minerals in Ukraine. Discussions are continuing between the two sides and the final draft may contain revisions to the terms. Ukraine will likely respond to the U.S. document with its own amendments this week, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. The full agreement put forward by the United States requires detailed study and the terms are changing constantly during negotiations, Zelenskyy told reporters in Paris on Thursday, where hes attending a summit with European leaders. While its too early to say an agreement has been reached, we support cooperation with the U.S., we dont want to give a single signal that can prompt the U.S. to stop aid to Ukraine, he said. The United States remains committed to a quick conclusion to the agreement and to securing a lasting peace for both Ukraine and Russia, a U.S. Treasury Department spokesperson said in response to a request for comment. The mineral deal offers Ukraine the opportunity to form an enduring economic relationship with the United States that is the basis for long-term security and peace, National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt said. It will strengthen our two nations relationship and benefit both parties. Zelenskyy has sought to draw Ukraines allies into investing in the country as part of his so-called Victory Plan to help secure it against future Russian aggression. Trump put forward his own demands for a deal to access Ukraines critical minerals shortly after he took office in January, as compensation for U.S. support in the war. Trump has moved to strike agreement with Ukraine as he also presses Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a deal to end the war. So far, the U.S. has pushed for Ukraine to make a series of concessions, including potentially giving up claims to territory occupied by Russia, while making practically no demands of Putin. Ukraine secured EU candidate status in 2022 and is set to begin accession talks for full membership that could take years to complete. Thats likely to be further complicated if the U.S. has effective control over investment decisions covering large areas of Ukraines economy. Ukraine has previously said that a deal with the U.S. must not conflict with its association agreement with the EU. It has also previously rejected the U.S. push to include Washingtons past support for Ukraine as its contribution to the joint fund. According to the draft document, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, or DFC, would control the investment fund by nominating three of five board members and holding a golden share that gave it special voting rights to block certain decisions. Ukraine would name the other two and be prevented from intervening in the funds day-to-day management. The government in Kyiv would be required to put 50% of its earnings from all the new natural resources and infrastructure projects into the fund. The U.S. would have the right to all of the profit plus a 4% annual return until its investment had been recovered, the draft stated. Ukraine would be obliged to present all projects to the fund for review as early as practicable, with the DFC gaining board seats or oversight on all funded programs. Kyiv would be barred from offering rejected projects to other parties with materially better terms for at least one year. In addition, according to the draft, the U.S. government would have the right to purchase Ukraines metals, minerals and oil and gas ahead of other parties on commercial terms, regardless of whether the fund was financing the project. The deal, which has no time limit, also forbids Kyiv from selling critical minerals to countries that are strategic competitors of the United States. With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska, Aliaksandr Kudrytski, Daniel Flatley and Natalia Drozdiak. 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. University of Virginia students, staff and faculty staged a hundreds-strong walkout Wednesday to deliver a message to UVa administration: No more business as usual when human rights are under attack. Instead of serving each other in this community, over the past couple of years we have seen time and time again that this administration and the Board of Visitors have forsaken their students, said one student from the steps of the schools iconic Rotunda, where the demonstrators had coalesced. Universities claim they exist to create enlightened citizens, the student continued, a Palestinian flag whipping high by her side. But today, we see clearly: They have become engines of complicity. The list of grievances hurled at UVas administration and its governing Board of Visitors by those in attendance Wednesday was long: banning chemical and surgical treatments for transgender patients under 19; ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across Grounds; and imposing time, place and manner restrictions on student protests in the wake of a pro-Palestine encampment on Grounds broken up by state police. But the more narrow focus of Wednesdays walkout was an incident even more recent. Organizers leading a procession of some 200 students from the south steps of the Rotunda to nearby Madison Hall, which houses UVa President Jim Ryans office said they wanted Ryan to commit to not allow federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Grounds without presenting a warrant. Eli Weinger, a third-year at UVa and one of the organizers of the walkout, said protesters were out Wednesday to call out UVa and demand it bolster efforts to protect students from federal immigration officers by making sure that we dont preemptively comply with any illegal orders from the [Trump] administration. That demand is a direct response to the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a native of Syria and a Palestinian activist who was a Columbia University graduate student until December of last year. Khalil helped organize the anti-Israel, pro-Palestine demonstrations at Columbia last spring in which students occupied university property for days demanding Columbia divest from Israel during its ongoing war with Palestinian terror group Hamas. After President Donald Trump announced a crackdown on antisemitism at American colleges, federal immigration agents arrested Khalil on March 8 outside his university apartment in Manhattan. Khalil, a green card-holder, is currently detained in a federal immigration facility in Louisiana, while the Trump administration seeks his removal. Trump officials have accused Khalil of leading activities aligned to Hamas and invoked a rarely used federal law that allows for the deportation of any noncitizen whose entry or proposed activities would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. Earlier this week, Trump officials revealed new grounds for deporting Khalil, now saying he lied on his application to become a permanent U.S. resident. As of Thursday, Khalil has not been charged with a crime. His case has been moved to New Jersey by a federal judge last week. Weinger, who is the president of UVas local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, accused the university of not doing enough to protect its students amid the nations fraught political backdrop. [UVa] has failed to protect students from the excesses of an administration hell-bent on destroying the progress that has been made for marginalized communities, Weinger told The Daily Progress. Were here in front of Madison Hall, in front of Jim Ryans office, to ask him to care more about us than about the sort of larger political machinations, Weinger added. He said on numerous occasions, the first priority is student safety, and were just asking him to put his money where his mouth is. Ryan did not meet protesters Wednesday, and UVa did not immediately respond to a Daily Progress request for comment. Khalils arrest hasnt just sparked outcry at UVa. Across the country it has ignited protests on college campuses over what students, faculty and staff see as a government bent on infringing free speech protections, and specifically the right to protest governments and institutions. On March 18, Khalil published a letter from the detention center in Louisiana where he is being held, calling himself a political prisoner and saying his arrest is a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech. He said the Trump administration is targeting him as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent. Deena Hurwitz, a human rights attorney in Charlottesville who was a part of Wednesdays walkout, said she believes Khalils arrest is purely political. I think the main reason he was targeted is because he is an Arab, Hurwitz told The Daily Progress. I dont think that a White woman would have been targeted for protesting. What kind of terrorism is protesting? she asked. Thomas Frampton, who teaches criminal and constitutional law at UVa, gave an impassioned speech on the steps of Madison Hall, agreeing with Khalils description of himself as a political prisoner. The idea of political prisoners is, I think, something that most Americans associate with autocratic regimes far away, or darker moments in our own history, Frampton said. And I think its important for all of us to face facts that right now in 2025 in the United States we have not only political prisoners and I suspect we will have many more but we have our own university standing by and either acquiescing or cheering on those activities. Shame, came the reply from those in attendance. Speaking to The Daily Progress after his speech, Frampton called the federal law the Trump administration has cited as grounds for Khalils deportation an obscure provision of the immigration law. He said there are many faults in the White Houses reasoning. It likely violates the First Amendment. Its constitutionally vague. It doesnt give fair notice to people about what sorts of conduct, speech or even thoughts might land them in removal proceedings, Frampton said. Throughout the walkout, demonstrators called for UVa to divest from Israel in its ongoing war with terror group Hamas, accused UVas Board of Visitors of supporting genocide and called on the Trump administration to cease all deportations. Weinger said that although the political environment has changed since students first began staging walkouts and holding demonstrations last year the underlying issues are still the same. Meaning, future protest is likely. We still are looking for a free Palestine, for an end to the apartheid and occupation, and for divestment, Weinger said. But in order to get there, we need to continue to organize. Rescue crews prepare a site near Pabrade, Lithuania, for specialized equipment as part of dredging work. Four U.S. soldiers remain missing after their M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle went off course into a bog on March 25, 2025. (X/Lithuanian armed forces) STUTTGART, Germany More dredging gear was headed on Friday to the site where four U.S. soldiers remain missing in Lithuania, as personnel from multiple countries join an effort complicated by mud and flooding. Lithuanias defense ministry said Friday that rescuers had worked overnight to try to excavate an armored vehicle submerged 15 feet deep in a bog, but that water continues to pour into the location. A specialized dredging machine was deployed yesterday evening, and today Lithuanias most powerful dredger will arrive, the defense ministry said. Hundreds of people are helping, including personnel form Poland, U.S. Army troops and Lithuanian authorities who have been at work on site since Wednesday. A specialized U.S. Navy dive crew also is expected to arrive within the next 24 hours, U.S. Army Europe and Africa said Friday. This is gut-wrenching for the entire 3rd Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie said in a statement Thursday. Our hearts are with the families of our missing Soldiers and all of Raider Brigade during this difficult time, both forward and here at home. Norrie noted that his division has an extensive history of operating in Europe, which it regards as a second home given the many deployments to Poland, Lithuania and other parts of NATOs eastern flank by the unit, which is based at Fort Stewart, Ga. All four missing soldiers are from the divisions 1st Armored Brigade. They were riding in an M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle on a training mission when they went off course into the bog early Tuesday morning. It happened on a base near the city of Pabrade, which has been a training hub for U.S. forces for many years. The submerged M88 was discovered Wednesday during a search-and-rescue effort by American troops and Lithuanian authorities. On Thursday, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said his country had assembled a special task force of soldiers and equipment to provide support. The Army has not declared the soldiers dead, with officials saying they are still considered missing. Engineers at the site are working to create berms to establish a contained area from which water can be pumped and mud dredged, providing emergency personnel on site access to the vehicle, the Army said. About two dozen people attended the Veterans Visibility Rally on Friday, March 28, 2025, at McPherson Square across from the Veterans Administration headquarters in Washington. The rally gathered to support veterans who are women, people of color, LGBTQ, religious minorities, immigrants, and disabled. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON As LGBTQ pride flags and U.S. flags waved behind Lindsay Church, the Navy veteran urged a small crowd of fellow veterans and other activists gathered outside the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters in the nations capital Friday to raise their voices and lodge complaints against the agencys elimination of transgender care. Church, the executive director of Minority Veterans of America, accused the VA and Doug Collins, its new secretary, of denying veterans the health care that they earned from military service. She was joined by representatives from more than a half-dozen veterans groups protesting the phase out of transgender-related medical care at VA hospitals and clinics. I believe my benefits are under scrutiny and under attack, said Church, who also condemned recent policies of President Donald Trumps administration to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs that promoted individuals historically underrepresented in government programs, including at the VA. Church and other organizers at the rally Friday in McPherson Square described the VA as the nations largest health care provider for transgender veterans. They spoke out against the end to Directive 1341, a VA regulation that protected gender-affirming health care for transgender veterans. Lindsay Church, center, wraps up a speech on Friday, March 28, 2025, at McPherson Square during the Veterans Visibility Rally across from the Veterans Administration headquarters in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Veterans seeking hormone therapy, prosthetics and other transgender-related treatments will now have to do so on their own dime, Collins said when he announced a decision on March 17 to end transgender-related medical treatments at VA health facilities. Representatives from Transgender American Veterans, the Union Veterans Council of the AFL-CIO, the Black Veterans Project and other veterans groups attended the downtown rally, which ended with a loud protest march around the downtown offices of VA headquarters. I mean no disrespect to anyone, but VA should not be focused on helping veterans attempt to change their sex. The vast majority of veterans and Americans agree, and that is why this is the right decision, Collins has said. Any savings from ending the medical treatments will be redirected to defray the costs of care for veterans with catastrophic injuries that include amputations and paralysis, he said. But Alleria Stanley, a 51-year-old retired Army staff sergeant, said by shifting spending from transgender veterans to other veterans, the VA effectively pits one group of veterans against another over limited medical resources and other services. This administration is trying to say that some veterans are more deserving than others, Stanley said. As a transgender veteran, I am not an ideology. I am a veteran. Everyone should be treated equally, feel welcomed and see the VA as a safe space. Veteran Alleria Stanley attends the Veterans Visibility Rally on Friday, March 28, 2025, at McPherson Square across from the Veterans Administration headquarters in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Rally-goers, which numbered about 30 people, lashed out against Trumps executive orders to block transgender people from serving in the military and to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. These actions are nothing short of an attempt to erase us, said Navy veteran Chris Hooper co-founder of SPARTA, a transgender military advocacy group. Hooper informed the crowd that Trumps order banning transgender people from military service was temporarily blocked Thursday night in federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle found no evidence to support keeping transgender troops out of military service after theyve been serving openly for the past four years, The Associated Press reported. People should not be kicked out of the military for being transgender, Hooper said. He and several other speakers implored the attendees to make their opposition heard. The strength of Americas all-volunteer military force depends on the military accepting qualifying people no matter their race, gender or sexual identity, said Luke Schleusener, chief executive officer of Out in National Security, a group that supports national security professionals who are LGBTQ. These actions represent a direct attack on those who currently serve, those who have served in the past, and the fundamental idea that the all-volunteer force is open to all Americans, said Schleusener, a former White House speech writer and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The transgender ban, in particular, has marginalized an entire group of people, he said. But its never just about us, Church said. I am a Navy veteran who happens to be transgender, Church said. Whether veterans are Black, brown, indigenous, disabled or transgender, they should get the benefits and services they were promised and they earned. A disqualified driver serving a penalty-point ban foolishly got behind the wheel of his car to give a work colleague a lift home, a court heard. Cristian Vicol (21) had accumulated 12 penalty points and knew that he should not have been driving, his solicitor said. Judge David McHugh fined Vicol 250 and banned him from driving for a period of two years. The defendant, with an address at Woodvale Crescent in Clonsilla, Dublin, admitted to driving without insurance at Sheephill Park in Blanchardstown on December 13 last year. Garda Sergeant Conor Mohan told Blanchardstown District Court that gardai stopped the defendant and they made the lawful demand for him to produce his insurance documents. Sgt Mohan said Vicol was disqualified from driving after he accumulated 12 penalty points. The court heard that the defendant had no previous convictions. Defence solicitor Eoghan OSullivan said that Vicol, who is originally from Romania, was now working as a fixer and a labourer on building sites. Mr OSullivan said that the defendant was aware he was disqualified and should not have driven. On the night in question, Vicol made the foolish decision to drive a work colleague home, the solicitor said. Mr OSullivan asked the judge to be as lenient as possible, saying Vicol was taking this matter extremely seriously. A Dublin man accused of assaulting a woman and intimidating a witness has been sent forward for trial. Peter Monks (34) was served with the book of evidence when he appeared on bail before Swords District Court. The accused, of no fixed abode but previously with addresses in Balbriggan and Stamullen, is accused of seriously assaulting a woman and stealing her mobile phone, worth 200, at Moylaragh Way in Balbriggan on October 28 last year. He is further accused of intimidating a woman who is a witness in proceedings on October 29 last year. A state solicitor told the court the book of evidence was ready and had been served on the accused, who goes forward to the next sittings of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Dermot Dempsey gave the accused the formal alibi caution. The judge assigned defence solicitor Fiona DArcy and one junior counsel on free legal aid. Mr Monks has not yet indicated a plea to the charges. Carla McGookin has told the courts she wants to get back with Tyler Johnston, who was freed from prison earlier this month, despite his criminal record for domestic violence The girlfriend of a major drug dealer for the South East Antrim (SEA) crime gang wants a restraining order lifted so they can be together. Carla McGookin has told the courts she wants to get back with Tyler Johnston, who was freed from prison earlier this month, despite his criminal record for domestic violence. The couples case will be heard at Belfast Magistrates Court on Thursday where a formal application to discharge the restraining order will be made. If granted it means the couple can reunite without fear of him being arrested. Since being freed Johnston has been seen in the company of UDA members, with speculation mounting that he could return to drug dealing. This has annoyed some within the terror gang who have complained about him being hailed as a hero while they have been ordered to fund this years Eleventh Night bonfire in the Rathcoole estate. One told Sunday Life: Tyler gets a hug in the same week that ordinary UDA men in Rathcoole, many of who are on benefits, were ordered to pay 20 towards the bonfire. The men have been told its to buy pallets, but they arent having that. Everyone knows its going straight into the bosses pockets. Although not a member of the UDA, career criminal Johnston is one of the terror gangs biggest drug dealers. Ironically, he was assaulted by its thugs when he was just nine years old, making him the youngest person in Northern Ireland to be targeted in a punishment-style attack. Johnston was attacked by the UDA when he was nine Johnston was jailed for 16 months in 2023 for possessing 16,000 of cocaine with intent to supply. He told police he was transporting the haul for paramilitaries based in Carrickfergus to pay off a debt. While serving that sentence, he was jailed for another 14 months for fracturing the eye socket of his girlfriends former partner during a row in a Belfast pub. Despite being just 25 years old, the Newtownabbey man has 87 criminal convictions, with UDA sources describing him as a rocket . You wouldnt want to be near him when he loses the head hes a rocket, said an insider. But he was very good at selling drugs, and thats why the bosses tolerated him. He brought in a small fortune for the UDA and always handed over the drugs money on time, which they liked. Rathcoole residents expect Johnston to return to drug dealing following the arrests of several loyalists last month in connection with UDA cocaine and cannabis seizures in Carrickfergus. There were UDA members out with him (Johnston) last week and Ive no doubt thats what they were planning Tyler taking over, added our source. Johnstons assault at the hands of the UDA when he was a schoolboy was touched on in court during his sentencing for selling cocaine. It was revealed he had to see a psychiatrist afterwards and attend trauma counselling. The assault was also the catalyst for significant drug abuse that started when he was aged 16. Johnston previously hit the headlines when he was caught on camera being chased with a samurai sword through Carrickfergus. Carla McGookin and Tyler Johnston Watch: Moment UDA drug dealer Tyler Johnston flees samurai sword attacker He showed up outside a mans home following an argument with a girl, with the man running after him, swinging the weapon. His other convictions include dealing cannabis, domestic violence, assault on police and public order offences. Probation officer assessments class him as having a high likelihood of reoffending. After a previous arrest, hot-headed Johnston became so irate, he had to be interviewed by police through a cell door at Antrim PSNI station over fears he might attack detectives. A court today gave the DPPs office more time to progress its case against the businesswoman and ex-Kilkenny camogie player Prosecutors have said they hope to be able to serve a book of evidence in four weeks on former Ireland international hockey player Catriona Carey, who is facing trial for breaching company law. A court today gave the DPPs office more time to progress its case against the businesswoman and ex-Kilkenny camogie player. Judge Treasa Kelly remanded her on continuing bail at Dublin District Court. Ms Carey (46), with an address at Rochford Manor, Graiguecullen, Co Carlow had 46 charges brought last month following a GardaCorporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) investigation. She is charged with providing false information about five firms to the Companies Registration Office. Ms Carey is also accused of failing to keep proper records and failing to provide the CRO with financial returns or notify the office of a change of address. The offences are alleged to have happened on dates between 2019 and 2022. The DPP has directed trial on indictment and a book of evidence is required before the accused can be sent forward to the circuit court. This afternoon, prosecution solicitor Rory Staines said the book was not ready and asked the judge to adjourn the case for four weeks. Defence solicitor Katie Dowling asked the judge to mark the adjournment peremptory against the state, meaning that it could be struck out on the next date if progress is not made. Refusing the defence application, Judge Kelly said the case was first before the court on February 4. I hope we will have it on April 25, Mr Staines said of the book of evidence. The judge extended the deadline for serving it. Ms Carey, wearing a dark suit, stepped forward to the front of the courtroom when her case was called but was not required to speak during the brief hearing. She has not yet entered pleas to the charges. Judge Kelly remanded her on continuing bail, which was previously set in Ms Carey's own bond of 500, with no cash lodgement required and no garda objections. Under conditions, she was to live at the address provided and notify gardai of any change. She was told to be contactable at all times on a phone number supplied to the gardai and give them 21 days notice of any intention to leave the state. When she first appeared in court on the charges last month, Detective Garda Robert Collins said Ms Carey made no reply to any of the charges after caution. Pokos, of Harrington Street, Dublin 8 pleaded guilty to endangerment by intentionally or recklessly spraying lighter fluid over his husband, creating a "substantial risk of death or serious harm." A MAN recklessly endangered his husbands life when he sprayed him with lighter fluid and set fire to him in a domestic row at their apartment. Vedran Pokos (44) set the victims hair alight, but he was luckily able to escape injury by dropping immediately to the ground to extinguish the flames, a court heard. Pokos did not intend to burn his husband but had been trying to ignite a mobile phone the pair were arguing about and wasnt thinking about the possible consequences, his defence said. Judge Treasa Kelly applied the Probation Act, sparing him a criminal record after hearing he felt shame and remorse for his actions and paid 1,000 compensation to the victim. He had also taken part in a restorative justice programme. Pokos, of Harrington Street, Dublin 8 pleaded guilty to endangerment by intentionally or recklessly spraying lighter fluid over his husband, creating a "substantial risk of death or serious harm." A garda sergeant told Dublin District Court on November 12, 2023, a verbal argument first took place at the apartment in which Pokos threatened to burn the victim and set him on fire. This row happened overnight and when they woke the next morning there was a physical struggle between them over a mobile phone. The argument went outside and as they were returning to the apartment, Pokos was in front of his husband when he turned and sprayed the injured party with lighter fluid and set him on fire. The mans hair caught fire but before he could be burned, he fell to the ground and was able to extinguish the flames so he did not suffer any injuries. Pokos, who had no previous convictions, made full admissions when gardai arrested him. His husband had taken possession of the defendants mobile phone and he very foolishly attempted to ignite the phone with a view to it being returned to him, defence solicitor Aoife Dalton said. Pokos accepted full responsibility for his actions which were reckless and completely out of character, she said. He wasnt thinking about the possible consequences and luckily there were no injuries. There was no intention on his part to set fire to his husband, the intention was to get the phone back, Ms Dalton said. The couple had been married for seven years and the relationship had had its ups and downs but divorce proceedings were now inevitable, the court heard. Pokos, from Croatia, had been working full time since he came to Ireland, had a completely unblemished record and had not come to garda attention since the incident. A restorative justice report said Pokos had shown a deep insight into his actions which he accepted were dreadful and he felt shame and embarrassment. Ms Dalton asked the judge to leave the accused without a criminal record, saying she understood it was a big ask. Judge Kelly noted the accused had engaged well with restorative justice and had written a reflective piece where she showed an insight into the offending and its seriousness. She also took account of the fact that the relationship was no more as a result of what happened and that the accused had paid 1,000 in compensation as a token of his remorse. She said she did not think a criminal conviction was warranted. A sacked hospital catering supervisor has accused her ex-boss of orchestrating multiple bullying complaints that cast her as "racist". The worker, Annette Ryan, also said an allegation that she told a junior colleague: "Youre not Irish, youre black" had been made up by the worker. "How can I be racist? Ive worked with these people for 13 years," she told the WRC earlier today. Her evidence was that she had worked with people from Nigeria, China, everywhere at Waterford Hospital and was not a bit like that. Ms Ryan was summarily dismissed from her job as a catering supervisor at Waterford Hospital on foot of findings of gross misconduct in September 2023. She had been suspended from the job the month before after four junior catering staff made formal complaints against her in July that year, the WRC heard. The detail of the complaints against Ms Ryan was not disclosed in full by the company or its witnesses at a public hearing into her Unfair Dismissals Act claim against her former employer, Campbell Catering Ltd, trading as Aramark. Its representative, IBEC employer relations executive Brian Joyce, said in a legal submission that the junior staff had accused Ms Ryan of bullying, intimidation, harassment and discrimination. Managers considered it necessary to suspend Ms Ryan pending investigation because of the seriousness of the allegations and the fear expressed by the other workers, he said. I felt treated very unfairly, very unfairly, Ms Ryan said in her evidence. She said she told the companys site manager at Waterford Hospital, Marcin Skrzypczak, and that she wanted to sit down and talk with the other workers. The companys position was that the fact that formal complaints were made in the first instance made that impossible. I got no warning, nothing. I felt very down and depressed in myself because I wasnt heard. I wasnt given a chance to say anything was untrue, because I was told not to speak to anyone, she said. Ms Ryan claimed Mr Skrzypczak was very intimidating when he suspended her. Her evidence was that he stood up [and] towered over me in attempt to confiscate her building access cards. He then frogmarched her out of the workplace and told her not to talk to her colleagues, she said. Marcin was behind all of it, she said of the allegations. I dont think Marcin liked me; its like as if he fed them all this. I was out with these people, I socialised with all these people. I couldnt understand it, she said. Questioning Ms Ryan, adjudicator Gaye Cunningham said: I mean, as its been stated, there were a number of serious allegations made against you. Is it your case that you just said this didnt happen? Did you think they all made it up, or what? Ms Cunningham put it to Ms Ryan that the disciplinary officer had referred to serious allegations. Is it your position that you deny this? the adjudicator asked. I think the most serious part for me was that it made me out to be racist. One person said that when we were up in the A&E that I said: Youre not Irish, youre black, or something like that. That wasnt the case at all, Im not a bit like that, thats what I said to them, she said. You think he made that up, is it? Ms Cunningham asked. The person who said it, made it up? Of course he did, Ms Ryan said. In his evidence, Mr Skrzypczak denied Ms Ryans account of her suspension. Ive over 20 years working in hospitals dealing with people. The last thing Id do would be touching someone to take a badge, he said. I didnt feed anyone [anything] to go forward. People started coming to me, and as a site manager, I am responsible to act, he added. A regional manager, Stephen Power, said in evidence that he attended Waterford Hospital and took statements from the four junior workers. He decided Ms Ryan had a case to answer when he met her on August 17th for a formal investigation meeting, he said. This was based on the volume of evidence, he said. Ms Ryan offered no explanations when he presented her with the statements and responded with denials, he added. Another regional manager, Vladislava Tsapova, said she chaired a disciplinary meeting with Ms Ryan on 30 August 2023. She said Ms Ryan offered neither any mitigating factors nor any explanations when the investigation findings were put to her. I found that due to the nature and the volume of the statements, and also the seriousness of the allegations, I found that I had to dismiss, she said. She found on the balance of probabilities that Ms Ryan had committed gross misconduct, with immediate dismissal given as a sanction on 15 September 2023, the WRC heard. There were four statements from different people that were very serious allegations regarding conduct, and we have zero tolerance in regard to such conduct, she said. I didnt feel a lesser sanction would be appropriate, because people would not be comfortable working with her, she added. Brian Joyce of IBEC, who appeared for Aramark, said Alan Gilroy, a senior manager who heard Ms Ryans appeal in the matter and upheld the summary dismissal in December 2023, was not available as a witness, but that the company was prepared to defend the claim without him. The complainant was afforded a fair and impartial determination of the issues. Any allegation the process was flawed is denied, Mr Joyce said. Questioned on what losses she was seeking to recover, Ms Ryan explained that she had been out of work from September 2023 to March 2024, when she took up a full-time position in a convenience store deli counter earning 14 an hour, which was more than she earned with Aramark. Adjudicator Gaye Cunningham gave the complainant two weeks to provide documentary evidence of her efforts to find new work following her dismissal before closing the hearing. Jacqueline Mulhall (56) was restrained and overpowered by the victim A parishioner marched up a church aisle and assaulted a woman taking down Christmas decorations on the altar, a court heard. Jacqueline Mulhall (56) was restrained and overpowered by the victim, who sat on her until gardai arrived. Swords District Court heard the incident arose following issues with people taking notes at a Legion of Mary meeting. Mulhall was a regular churchgoer and a very religious person, her solicitor said. It doesnt sound very religious to me, Judge Dermot Dempsey remarked. The judge ordered Mulhall to bring 750 compensation to court for the victim, and the matter was adjourned for two weeks. The defendant, of Seaview Park in Portrane, admitted seriously assaulting a woman at St Patricks Church in Donabate on January 9, 2023. Garda Sergeant Janice Gray told Swords District Court that gardai were called to St Patricks Church after the victim reported she had been assaulted. The woman had a cut to her forehead, Sgt Gray said. The victim told gardai that Mulhall had come into the church holding an envelope, and had marched up the aisle. She was aggressive and shouting, and threw the envelope up onto the altar. Mulhall was swinging her arms, and she connected with the victim, knocking her glasses off, and scraping her forehead with her nails. Sgt Gray said the victims glasses were damaged and a necklace was broken during the assault. The court heard Mulhall was restrained by the victim, who sat on her until gardai arrived. Mulhall had no previous convictions, the court heard, and had made a full statement of admission to gardai. A victim-impact statement was handed in to court, but not read out. Defence solicitor Paul Molloy said this incident was a scuffle, and arose following a disagreement about committees within the church. It concerned people taking notes at a Legion of Mary meeting, he added. Mr Molloy said Mulhall, who lived with her mother, had written a letter of apology. Mulhall had been upset at the time, matters got totally out of hand, and the matter had unfortunately ended up in court, Mr Molloy added. Having his good pal over in Dubai puts him in a position where he can use that Kinahan connection as a lever. The Kinahan cartel are fuelling a gangland war in Scotlands underworld, according to reports. It comes following a slew of firebombs and shootings in Edinburgh targeting the empire of jailed kingpin Mark Richardson. Sources told the Daily Record newspaper that the Kinahan cartel are linked to the attacks via their Scottish associates, including head of the Lyons crime family, Steven Lyons. The 47-year-old, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, reportedly attended Daniel Kinahans lavish Burj-al Arab Hotel wedding in 2021. Kinahan and Lyons fell out in summer of 2001 when a large stash of Kinahan cocaine was stolen from a house in the Milton area of Glasgow and sold to the Lyons The Kinahans are also linked to Stevie Jamieson, a Scottish gangster who was a close friend of James Iceman Stevenson. The Iceman admitted his role in smuggling 100m (122m) of cocaine to the UK from Ecuador in a banana shipment after the haul was intercepted by authorities in Dover in 2020. Now the Scots are leveraging their association with the cartel to take over the drugs market in Edinburgh. It has long been a wish of the Lyons family to get their slice of Edinburgh, the source said. Having his good pal, Stevie Jamieson over in Dubai puts him in a position where he can use that Kinahan connection as a lever. Dont get me wrong. The Kinahans are not putting boots on the ground over here. Far from it. It is the simple fact that Richardson knows that the person behind these attacks has a direct line to them will really have hit a chord. The source added: Dont forget, the Kinahans have well-established links to some of the most dangerous people in the world. The Mexicans, the Albanians, the Dutch-Moroccans. They are used to fighting of a much-bigger, far more dangerous scale than Richardson and his ilk have ever known. The source said that these connections were a classic example of illustrating how organised crime is just like any other business. The bottom line is simply it is all about who you know. You may think you are a big player but there is always someone bigger than you and when it comes to individuals like the Kinahans, you are entering a completely different league. This could be described as a criminal perfect storm. The stars have aligned and it is bad news for Richardson. In all senses, Edinburgh is a ticking time bomb. Last month it was reported that Lyons, who is in debt to the Kinahans, was growing ever paranoid about his inner circle and made his cronies take lie detector tests. The 44-year-old has hired a lie detection expert to conduct polygraph tests on gang members after a house linked to the Glasgow mobster was robbed of drugs worth 500,000. Sources told The Sun Lyons is on edge over a series of thefts and police busts that have left him racking up debts with the notorious Irish cartel. In the wake of a series drugs raids, Lyons has forced them to take lie detectors tests In a bid to weed out traitors. The Lyons stash house was robbed of 500,000 of drugs in November just weeks after cops reportedly seized millions of pounds of drugs in Glasgow. Six masked men had forced their way into the property in Moodiesburn, Lanarkshire, before making off with a huge cannabis haul. In May 2022, Scottish MP Russell Findlay described how the Kinahan crime cartel, that had just been sanctioned by the US Government, was working in partnership with the feared Glasgow-based Lyons gang. The former crime journalist revealed how the Kinahans were described as almost a "Scottish-Irish mob" as the connections were so strong between them. "I don't know how it happened but as the Costa Del Sol is a bit of a criminals' playground, the Lyons formed an alliance with the Kinahans, he said at the time. "They had this Kinahan backing, if you like, but they also had the drugs importation on a vast scale. It's all very well controlling the streets but half the problem is getting regular, safe consistent supplies in. "So, it was quid pro quo in that the Lyons could give them access to Scotland right across the central belt from Glasgow to Edinburgh." In October 2022, senior crime buster Gerry McLean, claimed that dismantling the Kinahan cartel from the top would help reduce gangland activity in Scotland. McLean, Regional Head of Investigations at the National Crime Agency, said that focusing on the Irish mobs leading figures would have a much greater impact than targeting smaller groups associated with the Kinahans. Were trying to disrupt that at a very high end so it limits the ability of organised crime groups on the ground to criminally benefit, he said. There are some things that we are doing here in Scotland. But if we pitch it at that higher end, it can have a much greater impact than trying to deal with every crime group that benefits from the Kinahan cartel and its distribution networks. The one-time paramilitary chief led the charge as a mob attacked Mr Ogle as he stood praying with a pastor yards from his home END AT LAST: PSNI Detective Inspector Michelle Griffin outside court with members of Ian Ogles family Jill Brown, showed her displeasure with her UVF husband in a Belfast court yesterday when she turned her back and stormed away from him yesterday after proceedings. Johnny Brown, is part of the East Belfast UVF murder gang that killed Ian Ogle. UVF killer Mark Sewell had been bingeing prescription drugs the night he helped murder Ian Ogle, a source has claimed. The one-time paramilitary chief led the charge as a mob attacked Mr Ogle as he stood praying with a pastor yards from his home. The Sunday World can reveal he had become dependent on prescription drugs which were supplied to him by pal Jonny Brown. The pair were among those sentenced for killing Mr Ogle on January 27, 2019 and are starting 17-and-a-half-year sentences. Sewell was once a leading figure in East Belfast UVF and at one stage was even tipped as a natural successor to alleged paramilitary chief Stephen Matthews. He commanded considerable support among members but fell out of favour in the wake of the Ogle killing. He was a leading figure in an attempt to challenge Matthews leadership but it was his friendship with love rat Brown which ultimately led to his downfall. Brown was regarded as a loose cannon by wary UVF men in the east. He was involved in peddling prescription drugs on which Sewell became dependent. On the night Mr Ogle was killed it was Brown who called Sewell who in turn led the frenzied attack on their victim. Cuan Place memorial Brown had been contacted by a relative of their victim, Neil Ogle, who had been involved in a confrontation with Ian earlier in the evening. Brown was always hanging about, he got close to Mark and thats when things started to go wrong for him (Sewell), a source told the Sunday World. He started using prescription drugs which were supplied by Brown, he was on them all the time so he probably wasnt thinking straight when he got the call that night. Belfast murder victim Ian Ogle with daughter Toni in happier times Brown has been unmasked as a love cheat. He repaid his wife Jill Morrisons loyalty by going behind her back and allegedly striking up an affair with a glamorous airline cabin crew member. Their relationship was laid bare in last weeks sentencing hearing where Morrison received an 18-month jail sentence suspended for three years for helping cover her husbands involvement. She ignored his attempts to reach out to her as they were led out of court. Brown has been in prison awaiting sentence having pleaded guilty, along with Sewell, at an earlier hearing. His early guilty plea raised suspicions he was about to turn and be a co-operating witness. The fears were unfounded but there are those who believe Brown bears the most responsibility for the tragedy that unfolded six years ago. Eight people are now behind bars for the murder of Ian Ogle. A senior judge said the attack had certain parallels with paramilitary punishment attacks. END AT LAST: PSNI Detective Inspector Michelle Griffin outside court with members of Ian Ogles family He made no specific reference to the UVF despite the fact almost all of them were members of the terror group. Father-of-two Mr Ogle (45), was beaten and stabbed 11 times yards from his Cluan Place home. The five men involved in the fatal attack had their tariffs imposed by Mr Justice McFarland on Wednesday. In February 2024, prior to a murder trial commencing, 39-year-old Brown, from Whinney Hill in Dundonald, and Sewell (46), from Glenmount Drive in Newtownabbey, pleaded guilty to murder. Last week they were told they will both serve a minimum of 17-and-a-half years in jail before they are considered eligible for release by the Parole Commissioners. Three co-accused denied the murder and, following a non-jury trial at Belfast Crown Court, were convicted. Walter Ervine (43), from Litchfield Street in Belfast, Robert Spiers (42), of Millars Park in Dundonald, and Glenn Rainey (38), of Ballyhalbert Caravan Park, were all handed minimum tariffs of 20 years. Appearing alongside the five men in the dock were four co-accused, who were all sentenced for lesser offences linked to the murder. Christopher Haire (55), from Killagan Bend in Belfast, Jill Morrison (42), from Wolff Close in Belfast, and Thomas McCartney (37), also of Wolff Close, all admitted a charge of assisting offenders by aiding Browns escape in the aftermath of the fatal attack. DRUGGIE PAL: Jonny Brown Morrison misled police who came to her door, moved the car used in the attack out of sight, and deposited a bag containing clothes, bloodstained trainers and cash. She also gave the keys to the car to her neighbour McCartney, while Haire, who is Browns godfather, picked Brown up and enabled his escape. They all received suspended sentences. Mr Ogles murder followed more than a year of tension in east Belfast between his family and another group of men, which was sparked by a fight in the Prince Albert Bar on July 1, 2017. On the afternoon of January 27, 2019, Mr Ogle had enjoyed a meal at his daughter Toni Johnstons house. As they were returning home that evening, Mr Ogle and his son Ryan Johnston got out of the car on the Beersbridge Road and assaulted a relative of theirs who they felt had failed to intervene in the altercation in the bar in July 2017. The victim of the attack, Neil Ogle, then called Brown. A short time later, Brown, Sewell, Spiers, Ervine and Rainey made their way to Cluan Place, where Mr Ogle was standing on the street praying with a local pastor. With the incident captured on CCTV, the judge said Mr Ogle made no attempt to retreat or seek refuge in his home. He was quickly overpowered by the gang, who launched what the judge described as a vicious attack and who struck their victim again and again as he lay on the ground. The pastor who witnessed the 30-second assault said the murder gang attacked Mr Ogle like a pack of hyenas. Mr Justice McFarland branded the fatal assault as a very public display of a revenge, vigilante attack and one aimed at striking fear into anyone associated with Mr Ogle and driving them out of east Belfast, if not the country. To summarise this murder, it was committed by five men against a single man. Although a spontaneous and rapid reaction to an attack on an associate, it was pre-planned and involved an assembly of the group, then transport of the group to the murder scene. Mr Ogles daughter Toni said she welcomed the sentence. Im pleased with the sentences handed out to the five convicted of murder, because it is good to see they are serious sentences being handed out for such a serious crime, she told the Belfast Telegraph. It is bittersweet. I said that on the day of the conviction too; hell never be coming back. There are absolutely no winners in this. There is relief, but disbelief too that its all over. I almost cant believe it. Its all over regarding the court side of things, but it will never be over for us because we will always be grieving. Thats the saddest part about it. Allison Fetting (44) reportedly pulled out a black handgun and demanded money from the cashier in the incident in Coconut Creek A woman who robbed $1.50 from a tip jar during an armed robbery in Florida is now is facing felony charges. Allison Fetting (44) reportedly pulled out a black handgun and demanded money from the cashier in the incident in Coconut Creek. Police say that instead of taking cash from the register, she grabbed a tip jar containing just $1.50 before fleeing the scene. According to the Coconut Creek Police Department, Fetting was taken into custody on a second-degree petty theft charge. According to local media, the robbery occurred last but Fetting was not booked into jail until last Friday. Fetting, who had previously been sentenced to prison for another robbery in 2003 in Osceola County, has also been accused of similar crimes in Coconut Creek, according to the Daily Boulder. Fetting is currently held at the Paul Rein Detention Facility, with arraignment scheduled for earlier today. An Irishman living in Australia has gone viral after ordering a takeaway to a Dublin address by mistake. Oisin Lenehan was visiting friends in Melbourne and ordered two pizzas on Uber Eats however, the order was mistakenly sent to a Dublin address. It was only when the order confirmation came in and he was notified that the pizza was en route, that Oisin realised he had used a Dublin address saved in the system from a previous night out in the city centre. He can be seen in the video politely asking to cancel the order and for a refund for the meal. Im in a different part of the country, so I need to cancel the order. Ive mistakenly left my own home address in the system, he said. Yes please, absolutely, do you need my name to cancel it? For what reason would I like to cancel? Well, because Im a silly billy, he added. The clip of him begging the takeaway to refund his order has gone viral on TikTok, racking up more than 500,000 views and over 31,000 likes. His friend Sarah shared the clip with the caption accidentally ordering pizza to Ireland instead of Melbourne, Australia. Thankfully, it was a lucky escape for Oisin who got a full refund for his accidental order. After the mix-up, a second order eventually arrived to the correct postcode. Ive just been laughing at how much interest people have taken in my misfortune, but Im happy that it made people laugh, Oisin told People Magazine. There was one comment that said, You can tell by how he speaks to people that he was raised well. So, shoutout to my parents for that one. Inquiries this week revealed a velvet revolution has taken place across Northern Ireland under the noses of local paramilitary organisations Work has started on the Glencairn way bonfire No work as yet at Craigyhill bonfire the home of the biggest bonfire in N.Ireland Glencairn bonfire is back this year after taking a break last year. Pallets a plenty and builders hut up this week. Work on the Ravenhill and London road bonfire started early this year when pallets were delivered to the site in January The Craigyhill bonfire in Larne is lit on July 11th 2024 (Photo by Kevin Scott) St Patricks Day is just over and spring is in the air, but in Ulster another season has begun early this year loyalist bonfire building season. Its on schedule to be bigger and better than ever before. And the bonfire builders dont want a penny of Belfast City Councils 600,000 bonfire diversionary fund that was announced this week because theyre determined not to be diverted from what they see as the highlight of the celebration of loyalist Protestant culture. One sign in east Belfast even boasts: Culture before cash. Inquiries this week revealed a velvet revolution has taken place across Northern Ireland under the noses of local paramilitary organisations. Bonfire builders rejected paramilitary demands to scale down 11th Night celebrations, which have become an established tradition in many working-class loyalist areas. Work on the Ravenhill and London road bonfire started early this year when pallets were delivered to the site in January The paramilitaries wanted us to cut down the size of the bonfires. But people around here see it as the highlight of the year. So who are they to tell us what to do? a veteran bonfire builder in east Belfast told the Sunday World this week. He added: What happens around 11th Night Bonfires should be down to the local community and no one else. Wood gathering is already well underway in many loyalist areas, with teams of youngsters out on a nightly basis, scouring the district, on the look-out for pallets and other suitable inflammable materials. The bonfire sites are an eyesore but theres not many locals who are brave enough to speak out against them. Glencairn bonfire is back this year after taking a break last year. Pallets a plenty and builders hut up this week. From Glencairn in the greater Shankill area where there are to be two bonfire sites to a derelict space at a former tobacco factory in east Belfast, piles of wood are already being stored prior to building. Portadown bonfires are also on schedule to repeat its high standard of bonfire building which, its claimed, receives cross-community support. And in Craigyhill in Larne which boasts the biggest bonfire in the world plans are about to be announced regarding this years celebrations. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether Larne will repeat its skyscraper design or having won the top prize, opt to scale things down. It also appears pleas by community leaders not to burn toxic rubber tyres have finally been listened to. Information boards urging locals to leave discarded wood also warned: No Rubber Tyres. Last year in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, loyalists drew up a protocol for dealing with difficulties presented by bigger bonfires. No work as yet at Craigyhill bonfire the home of the biggest bonfire in N.Ireland A veteran loyalist told us: The bonfire tradition is an integral part of the 11th Night celebrations in July. In days gone by, a small fire was lit at the end of a street and people come out for a chat with neighbours at the beginning of the holidays. But then it was cleared away and everyone went to bed early to be up in time for the 12th celebrations the next day. There was no JCB hoists or Manitous lifting pallets up in the air. But times have changed and we need proper guidelines to accommodate that. But with the bonfires being a lot bigger now there than ever before, we need to be in discussion with the local Fire and Rescue Service. The onus is on loyalist groups to listen to the Fire Service and follow the advice. If our people want to build bigger bonfires, then we need a plan B just in case something goes wrong. Work has started on the Glencairn way bonfire He added: I honestly believe we are now on the right track. It requires a responsible approach to 11th Night bonfires, where everyone works within the rules and guidelines. Safety is the key word. Loyalists claim their bonfire tradition dates back to when King William III also known as William of Orange or King Billy landed his troops at Carrickfergus on June 14, 1690. Two years before, William became the King of England, Scotland and Ireland during the so-called Glorious Revolution. And to secure his position, he was determined to see off the forces of the deposed King James, who had fled to Ireland. From Carrickfergus, William marched his troops through Belfast and after meeting up with soldiers led by the Duke of Schomberg, he opted to fight James at the Battle of the Boyne. The Williamite forces won a decisive victory and King James immediately high-tailed it to France. A hundred and five years after Williams victory at the Boyne, the Orange Order was formed at Loughgall in Co. Armagh, following a sectarian disturbance which became known as the Battle of the Diamond. Each year the Battle of the Boyne is celebrated in Northern Ireland, when tens of thousands of Orangemen take to the streets to parade on July 12. This week Belfast City Council approved 600,000 in funding designed to prevent anti-social behaviour around July and August bonfires by funding community organisations to put on other events, such as concerts and activities for young people. Oakfield Nursing Home resident Josie Comerford (92) with an alpaca called Stan during a therapeutic visit from two of the animals. Photo: Clodagh Kilcoyne Irish farmer Joe Phelan ushered two alpacas down the corridor of a local nursing home as residents waited their turn to pet them. A decade after ditching his office job for farming, 64-year-old Alpaca Joe has found a new job for his herd of 71 woolly South American camelids: animal therapy for the elderly and people with additional needs. They get to feel them. They look into their big, huge, brown eyes, which, you know, are just so relaxing. And they might hear them humming, Mr Phelan said. We work with local schools with their special-needs classes, and the teachers tell us that the impact on the kids is really positive. Mr Phelan initially looked into the more traditional types of farming that his family had been involved in for hundreds of years, but said he could not see a way to sustain a living. Instead, he started researching alternative farming options. He eventually bought seven alpacas and sold his home to buy a farm to graze them. He started off with alpaca and Prosecco treks and stocked a shop with alpaca wool socks and soft toys. He soon noticed the potential for the alpacas to help ease anxiety among older visitors and those with additional needs. We noticed that we were having a really positive impact on people with special needs, be it kids with autism or adults or adolescents with Down syndrome, he said. We just found that it lifted everybodys spirits. Mr Phelan owns the K2Alpacas farm in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow, around 30km south of Dublin. The business employs 11 people, has 71 alpacas and two much larger llamas, and offers accommodation to visitors. Mr Phelan packed two of his more sociable male alpacas into the back of a van for the trip to Oakfield Nursing Home in Courtown, Co Wexford. We know that we have certain boys and girls that are suitable for the therapeutic work, he said. The nursing homes activities co-ordinator, Sinead Meegan, came across the herd on TikTok. She said the residents were thrilled with the visit and she would invite them back again soon, just to see the smiles on the faces. I think it triggered a lot of memories for people that would have grown up on farms, she said. He and his wife welcomed baby Grace, who was born via surrogate earlier this month. RTE presenter Darragh McCullough and his wife Aoife were denied re-entry to the EU with their newborn baby Grace who was born via surrogate. The Ear to the Ground broadcaster was denied entry while trying to cross the border between North Cyprus and South Cyprus, the former of which is not an EU member state. Speaking to Oliver Callan on RTE Radio 1, Darragh said that he and his family travelled to the border yesterday with all the documents they thought they would need to begin their journey back to Ireland. "When we got to the border the guards basically waved us away and the taxi driver informed us that the laws had changed the day before and we need more paperwork, he explained. We have to present more paperwork to the Turkish Interior Ministry and there's a National holiday here for the next couple of days so we are basically holed up. I was really annoyed about it at the time but at the end of the day all we lost was accommodation that was booked in the south for a couple of days. "It's lovely here in Cyprus, the temperatures are lovely, the sun is shining but I am dying to get home, he explained. The Meath farmer also opened up about becoming a father for the first time. "It's all a mad mix of adrenaline and excitement and nervousness and terror and joy and at the end of maybe 15 years of trying to start a family this is what we hoped and dreamed of, he said. To be honest with you, the moment where I felt most emotional about it was when we first took her out in the pram on the street - that was just an image that we had dreamed of for a long time." McCullough said this bump in the road was just another in their journey to starting a family. "In some ways part of me had resigned myself to the fact that we wouldn't have a family and that was fine, he said. We are happily married, as far as I know, and we are lucky in many respects, but we had a lot of ups and downs through IVF and even this surrogacy journey was not straightforward and is not straightforward because we are not there yet in terms of getting Grace home." Darragh McCullough and his daughter Grace In an column for the Irish Independent, McCullough wrote about his familys surrogacy journey, explaining that their daughter was born in Cyprus to a surrogate from Ukraine. Commercial surrogacy is not allowed in the EU, so we had to look further afield, he penned. Ukraine turned out to be a popular choice for other Irish couples. So in 2020, in the thick of the Covid pandemic, I found myself on a deserted plane to Kiev to get the process started. This was all before the war, and finding surrogate mothers is tricky enough at the best of times. So when the bombs started to rain on Kiev, the whole process shifted to northern Cyprus." Baby Grace was not due to be born for three more weeks. We had no warning other than a phone call on Sunday evening to get ourselves booked on the next flight to Cyprus. The next day, we arrived at the hospital, dragging suitcases stuffed with baby-grows, bottles of formula, and buckets of nervous expectation. We were directed by text up to a private room on the third floor and knocked gingerly on the door. Inside, a nanny stirred from her slumber, handed us a bottle of milk, pointed to the baby and left, he added. That was it. No instructions, guidance, congratulations or anything else. We were on our own. I simply thought that I'm proud of the physical results I've achieved and I like to show them off A Catholic school teacher who was suspended after parents exposed her as an OnlyFans model has insisted she is not "ashamed" of what she does. Parents of an infant taught by Elena Maraga (29) spotted her selling content on the adult website and informed others through a WhatsApp group chat and Facebook She was subsequently put on leave from her job near Treviso in Italy after the school said that her extra-curricular activities do not align with the religious values of the institution However, Ms Maraga is pushing back, arguing that what she did in her free time did not harm anyone else. She also added that her salary of around 1,200 a month was "unsustainable". "That's why I had already considered other careers, she told Italian media. I know friends who earn very well. I simply thought that I'm proud of the physical results I've achieved and I like to show them off. Elena Maraga Ms Maraga, who has a degree in Educational Sciences and five years experience working in a Catholic nursery school, insisted: I love teaching children, it's my calling. But I earn much more on the Internet. I opened OnlyFans a month ago, partly for fun, partly out of curiosity, partly to see if you could really earn money. In one day I get a month's salary," she added. She writes on her profile page: "I see nothing wrong with exalting one's own femininity and sensuality." However, the case has sparked a massive debate in Italy, where trade unions have sided with her. Alvise Sponza, general secretary of the Cgil Flc (Federation of Knowledge Workers) of Treviso, said: "Whoever intends to fire her does not have the law on their side. "There is no point in the contract that prohibits doing anything in their free time, and if this is legal, no one can contest it." Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education said it will review the 2023 regulations for public employees to include a specific section regulating the use of social media by teachers. Ms Maraga is now studying to be a personal trainer as she still lives at home with her parents, who, she said, are aware of her online activities. She also added that, although some school parents are against what she does, others fully support her. I posted a few photos and the profile exploded, she revealed. I think it was a mother or father of one of my students (who had exposed her). They recognised me thanks to my profile photo. The matter became public knowledge on Facebook groups for mothers, but there are some mothers who want to support me. They want me to continue teaching their children." Ms Maraga is also a dedicated bodybuilder who has competed and won various competitions. While she loves being a teacher, she feels it is something she will not go back to as she believes her new role as a personal trainer would suit her better as the world of personal training is more open minded. The Police are on track to have powers to screen drivers for impairing drugs after legislation to enable roadside drug testing passed its third reading on Wednesday, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said. Drivers who consume impairing drugs are a significant danger on our roads. In recent years, around 30 per cent of road deaths have resulted from crashes involving drivers who had consumed impairing prescription or illicit drugs, Bishop said. The Governments road safety strategy targets the highest contributing factors to fatal road crashes. Bishop said the new roadside testing regime will be a key road safety tool because it will allow Police to better detect and deter drug-impaired drivers. The Government Q1 Action Plan committed to passing legislation by 31 March 2025 to enable roadside drug testing, and Im pleased to say we have delivered on that commitment. The oral fluid testing regime will give Police the power to screen drivers for drugs at the roadside using oral fluid testing devices without the need to suspect drug use, similar to drink-driving enforcement. Bishop said two positive roadside screening tests will be required before a driver is prohibited from driving for 12 hours, to address any immediate road safety risk. They will only be issued with an infringement penalty following a positive result from a laboratory test. Drivers who refuse to undergo a drug screening test will be issued with an infringement penalty, Bishop said. The Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2024 outlines our expectation that Police undertake 50,000 oral fluid tests per year. I expect this target to be delivered once the roadside drug testing regime is rolled out. We are targeting December 2025, once the necessary operational matters and regulations are in place. A possible dam proposal on the Kaituna River could have catastrophic impacts if approved under fast-track legislation, the Rotorua Lakes Community Board has heard. Olympian and Whitewater New Zealand board member Mike Dawson, from Tauranga, spoke at the boards monthly meeting on March 25, outlining his concerns about a project that could be proposed by landowners Taheke 8C. The proposal would see a dam being built just below the Trout Pool Falls section of the river to establish a green energy hub. The board was told it could provide electricity for between 12,000 and 14,000 homes in the region. Taheke 8C unsuccessfully applied last year for it to be considered under the Governments fast-track legislation. The group was considering reapplying after applications opened in February. A similar Kaituna dam project was applied for in 2007 but was scrapped due to environmental concerns and not being commercially viable. Green energy hub Mark Henry an associate at resource management consultancy Mitchell Daysh told the board he had been engaged by Taheke 8C, who wanted to establish a green energy hub. He said a structure would be placed in the Kaituna River, causing impoundment above it and diverting water. The water would go through a regulating pond and power station before returning into the Kaituna River about 3km downstream of where the weir structure would be. He presented an animation of the proposed scheme. Rotorua Lakes Community Board deputy chairman Nick Chater pictured in 2020. Photo / Andrew Warner Deputy chairman Nick Chater said the biggest concern from the community was the fast-tracking of the project with very little community engagement. Chater referred to a meeting for which 24 hours notice was given. Henry said this was not set up as a community session. Henry said Taheke 8C had been speaking with the Ministry of Environment about reapplying under fast-track legislation. Theyre still trying to make that final decision. Taheke 8C would also need to apply for a referral from the Minister for Infrastructure if the project was to be considered, Henry said. Some opportunity lost for kayakers Board member Jennifer Rothwell asked about the impact for kayakers and sportspeople, and the financial advantages. Henry said some opportunity would be lost in gorges that high-end kayakers used. No commercial rafting areas would be affected, he said. Henry said he was not privy to the financial intimacies of the project but Takehe 8C as a commercial entity would be providing that lens. Rotorua Lakes Community Board chairman Phill Thomass pictured in 2022. Photo / Andrew Warner Chairman Phill Thomass asked what the water take was from the 3km section as there was a very strict resource consent about minimum and maximum flows. Henry said it was a diversion of water rather than ... take of water. He said there would be residual or environmental flow in the section below the weir. This section was steep and turbulent and did not support a whole lot of aquatic ecology but Taheke 8C was working with ecologists to ensure the wellbeing of the river. Board member Peter MacMillan asked how many megawatts the output was. Henry said it was 16 megawatts but could be slightly up during peak times. Could have catastrophic impacts Thomass allowed members of the public to ask questions. Paddle Power NZ owner Andi Uhl asked how many cubic metres were required for power generation. Uhl said the river had been on very low flows since December and would likely continue until April. He questioned if the power station was a viable business when flows were low. Henry said he was not certain of the minimum, but understood the mean flow was 14 to 18 cubic metres. He said the hydrological record had been assessed as part of the design. Olympian Mike Dawson pictured in 2017. Photo / Stephen Parker Dawson asked what the capacity factor of the dam was, and the required flow for it to generate its peak output. Henry could not answer those questions. Dawson responded: Until we know this peak capacity flow, we cant be sure of the environmental impacts downstream in terms of erosion, change of flows. He said if it was upwards of 60 cubic metres per second, thats a huge change from the residual flow to the peak flow. Dawson said 60 cubic metres would be almost 10 cubic metres higher than the highest record flows on the river so it could have catastrophic impacts. Henry said it was awkward to answer very specific questions on the fly. Thomass suggested emailing questions to Henry. I would say youll get these questions at public consultation, Thomass said. Thomass said there was a high level of anxiety in the community due to a perceived lack of consultation and the possibility of it being fast-tracked. Any project of this size needs to have its community around it engaged with. Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021. Fresh Carriers Co., Ltd (FCC) and Zespri have successfully completed the first kiwifruit charter powered by low-emissions biofuel, with the vessel Kowhai docking at Nangang Port in Shanghai. The Kowhai, Zespris first charter shipment for the Greater China region for the 2025/26 season, arrived last night after departing Tauranga mid-March. This marks the continuation of Zespri and FCC's trial work following a technical performance trial completed last year. Due to biofuel's unavailability in New Zealand, the Kowhai bunkered the biofuel in Hong Kong before sailing south to Tauranga. "It was then loaded with 1.2 million trays, or around 5,400 tonnes, of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, alongside 16 containers of Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit for customers in Greater China. During its journey, the Kowhai was powered by a biofuel blend made from used cooking oil. The success of this biofuel charter was made possible with support from PFS Cold Chain Logistics Co Ltd (PFS) and VX Cold Chain Logistics, Zespris logistics partners in China. Zespri CEO Jason Te Brake said it was an exciting step forward to transport Zespri Kiwifruit on a charter powered by biofuel with long-term shipping partner FCC. Shipping has the largest carbon impact across our supply chain, making up more than 40 percent of Zespris emissions for fruit sold globally. Were focused on efficiency measures and collaborating with shipping partners such as FCC to trial low-emissions solutions, which will help reduce our carbon impact per tray of fruit, Te Brake said. FCCs President and COO Toshiyuki Koga said, FCC is committed to reducing emissions to assist Zespri in meeting their carbon reduction goals and progressing towards IMO-aligned targets. This voyage is the first commercial shipment of Zespri kiwifruit using modern engines burning biofuel for the entire journey from Tauranga to Shanghai, Koga said. The arrival of the biofuel-powered Kowhai in China also signals the start of Zespris sales season in one of its largest markets. Te Brake said, Its all part of understanding what we need to do on the ground so we can scale this in the future. New Zealand is unable to do major servicing of its new maritime patrol and submarine-hunting planes so is sending the work to Australia. Australia is building up its sovereign defence industry capabilities that have been run down over the years. But the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) knew when it spent $2.3 billion on its four Poseidons - a match for Australia's dozen - that servicing their high-tech complexity was beyond it. "New Zealand does not have - and has never had - the organic capability to conduct depot-level maintenance on the P-8A," Defence told RNZ on Thursday. It also did not help when Poseidon routine maintenance staff numbers fell to half what was needed, in late 2023. The gulf in servicing capability is likely to grow as AI algorithms for hunting subs, along with extra torpedoes, are added to Poseidons flown by New Zealand's main partners. However, Defence said sharing a fixit depot with Australia was a bonus of buying the same plane as them, and of the two forces' very close ties. Australia for its part is counting the benefits of beginning to tool up. "The servicing will inject up to $160 million into the local economy; and create and sustain 80 highly skilled jobs across Adelaide, supporting local businesses and fostering innovation within defence industry," said its defence force. The work includes also newly servicing US Navy Triton drones. The new contracts lined up with the 2024 sovereign strategy, it said. The strategy states that being able to maintain and overhaul planes was "critical to optimising aircraft availability and ensuring it is not compromised, especially during times of conflict". Interoperability with Australia and the US is a touchstone for the NZDF, but one that is increasingly stressed by the speed and scale of the rush towards advanced and emerging military technology. Canberra said the federal Budget this week was putting billions into "cutting edge" defence capabilities. Here, the Poseidons were called a "once in a generation investment" that form one of just three core high-end capabilities at Defence. But their delivery since 2022 has coincided with what Defence called the hollowing out of forces as up to 30 percent of staff left in a year. By late 2023, Poseidon maintenace staff were at just half what was needed long term, and internal reports warned, "Supervisors are the key limiting factor, with contracted civilians temporarily in place. Avionics supervisors are critical." RNZ is seeking an update on worker numbers. Defence is now moving to cut over 300 civilian roles. The Ohakea air base near Bulls is in the middle of an upgrade, and it would do the regular Poseidon maintenance, but extensive inspections, and the overhaul of equipment or systems, required specialised skills and facilities, a spokesperson told RNZ on Thursday. Australia moved in 2022 to upgrade the air base near Adelaide, under a $70m deal with Boeing. This would allow Poseidon work to be completed "locally and more efficiently ... that would otherwise have been performed in the United States", it said. Yet the overall Australian defence workforce actually contracted by 10 percent in 2023 alone. One means the government was using to try to turn that around is to [https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/losing-the-defence-industry-workforce do deals with the US and UK under AUKUS], to supplement American weapons-making. The NZDF's strategy for 2019-25 and 2019 capability plan stressed encouraging big international contractors to use local companies, and forming partnerships "to support the full capability life-cycle" of its planes, ships and other assets. "To effectively operate and support the new capabilities to the desired potential, the Air Force must enhance its enabling personnel and base infrastructure," the strategy said. Boeing said three years ago it would build a New Zealand team to support the four planes. RNZ has asked Boeing what work the team is doing. The NZDF said it was able to share training and personnel with Australia: "The synergies and economies of scale afforded by utilising the same depot-level maintenance facilities" was another bonus. The old maritime patrol Orion planes, and old Hercules, were easier to service in New Zealand. The new Poseidons have as many as seven operator consoles and are getting ever-more complex: Australia, the US and UK have already added a common AI algorithm so the three can process data from each others' sonar buoys, allowing for faster target identification. Next up could be adding Sting Ray light torpedoes, alongside existing torpedoes of another type. The suite of electronic detection can include radar, and digital electro-optical and infrared multi-spectral sensor. There are so many systems that a plane has its own customised cooling gear. Boeing is now looking at adding more powerful satellite communications, alongside connections to the US's Wideband Global satellite (WGS) system that New Zealand has helped pay for. Fermin Apaezteguia Friday, 28 March 2025, 12:21 Compartir New evidence often comes to light nowadays, highlighting the need for research and clinical care to be handled differently for men and women. As with myocardial infarction and so many other health conditions, women suffer a stroke differently from men. Women need to be more aware of these marked differences because, not only do strokes have a very high capacity to change a patient's life from one moment to the next, but also because they have much more serious consequences for women. This potentially fatal situation is especially relevant for women as one of the distinguishing features of their suffering a stroke is that it is more likely to occur for them at a later age. In general, strokes occur in women in the last stage of a long life, from the age of 75 upwards. It is not, therefore, just a matter of the risk involved in dealing with the trauma brought on by something as serious as a stroke, which is by definition more serious for women in any case, but of the higher chances of it occurring at a time when they are alone. Strokes: a blockage or a burst pipe? There are two types of stroke. Neurological services in hospitals deal with what are known as cerebral infarctions, which are identical, or very similar, to those that occur in the heart. A lump of fat that accumulates in the arteries breaks off and blocks one of the vessels in the brain. In a hospital emergency department they try to dissolve that lump. When it is a stroke that involves a ruptured vessel, the situation becomes more complicated. A haemorrhagic stroke requires surgery and requires the skills of a neurosurgeon. However, the most life-threatening strokes for women are the so-called embolic strokes: the embolism (clot) can occur anywhere in the body, then it travels through the bloodstream to the brain and occludes a cerebral artery. This is the main point made by neurologist Covadonga Fernandez Maiztegi, who spoke on this topic earlier this month to a group of women in the town of Getxo in Vizcaya. In other words, women tend to suffer a stroke when they are very old, already in a weakened state of health and often without people nearby to act quickly to help them. A recent study by charitable body Fundacion La Caixa estimated that 70% of elderly people living alone are female. At that age it is normal for the children to have left home and there is a very strong possibility of their being widowed. Life expectancy for men in Spain is, on average, almost six years shorter than for women (79.5 years compared to 82.2). "The challenge is enormous with a disease like this one, in which time is life, every minute counts," emphasises this specialist from the Basque Country who heads up the neurology department for outpatients at Cruces Hospital. When faced with a possible stroke, it is important not to waste a single minute. The less the clock ticks by before help arrives, the greater the chances of survival or of suffering less brain damage. New medical treatments and the deployment of urgent intervention programmes like the stroke code, a fast-action response plan, have led to significant improvements in clinical outcomes. Even with all these measures, every second still counts. The time it takes to respond to, diagnose and treat a stroke is estimated at four and a half hours. The countdown starts from the moment the stroke occurs. As the specialist points out, the widespread, popular view is that if someone, a relative or a neighbour, takes the suspected stroke victim to the hospital, this will save time. This is not true. This belief is a major mistake. It is possible that the ambulance needs time to get to the place where the patient to be transported is located and that a private car would reach the hospital A&E much sooner. However, someone would then have to queue up at reception and announce that there is an emergency for which the staff are unprepared. If transported to hospital by ambulance, once the patient arrives, there will be a whole specialised team on hand to receive and attend immediately to the patient. Another very common mistake made by women, especially older women, is to prioritise the needs of others over one's own. When faced with a stroke, it is not enough to say "I'm not well, but I'm going to finish what I'm doing and then call the ambulance." You are wasting valuable time. Times are changing Social services often offer people aged over 75 years living alone a telecare service, which is a definite help in the event of a stroke. It is a device worn around the patient's neck with an emergency push button connected to a telephone switchboard. The trained staff knows that if it rings, there is an emergency and someone is there on the line to help. It is more than possible, according to Fernandez Maiztegi, that in ten years' time, how strokes happen for women will be more similar to strokes in men. Today's typical patient corresponds to a female profile that is no longer in the population majority. Such elderly women belong to a time when most of them did not work outside the home, smoke or drink like men. Moreover, men also worked in jobs that have disappeared in today's environment. Thus, it turns out that men and women aged 60 to 65 have been exposed to virtually the same risks to their health. This also means that younger men and women are even more evenly matched. Diseases, for better and for worse, evolve with societal changes. Tony Bryant Friday, 28 March 2025, 12:44 Compartir The contemporary art centre in San Roque has inaugurated a permanent exhibition of the work of celebrated cartoonist Carlos Pacheco, an artist who was born in the town in 1960 and who died of motor neuron disease (MND) in November 2022. Pacheco was lauded in San Roque for his accomplishments. He was named Hijo Predilecto (favourite son) in 2001, and had an avenue in the town named after him in 2016. This latest honour is made up of 371 pieces donated by Pacheco's son, Alejandro, who opened the exhibition last week. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Pacheco's parents, along with representatives of the regional government and San Roque town hall. Under the slogan 'When dreams come true', the exhibition offers a journey that spans Pacheco's early childhood, when he dreamed of being a comic book artist, to the consummation of his dream, his time at Marvel and DC. In addition, the centre houses a recreation of the studio where he created his most outstanding works, with original pieces that offer an opportunity to understand the creative process behind the construction of a comic book. Jesus Gonzalez of the Spanish ministry of culture said that this exhibition has "great significance" and is "essential in the world of culture". "This exhibition represents a well-deserved tribute that will bring the artist closer to all those who haven't had the good fortune to discover him. Despite leaving us too early, Pacheco left behind a magnificent legacy," he added. The penciller's son expressed his "joy" during the presentation, while emphasising that his father "continues to leave traces of his legacy". He went on to thank the public for "the warmth" they showed his father "when he needed it most". Carlos Pacheco's work has been recognised with various distinctions, including his appointment as 'breakthrough author of 1996' by the American magazine, Wizard, and his inclusion since then in the top ten authors of the same magazine from 1997 until he reached the top position on that list in 2001. In the same year, he received the award for 'best Spanish cartoonist' at the Granada comic fair, and three years later, he received a similar award during the science fiction and horror film week in Estepona. Although he began his career as a biology graduate, he soon turned his mind to the world of comics. He began drawing for Spanish translated editions of Marvel Comics, published at the time by Planeta under the imprint of Comics Forum. Marvel and DC Comics After breaking into the European market, he gained recognition with UK-based branch of Marvel Comics, for which he worked on the Spider-Man comic Dark Guard. He went on to become the first Spanish artist to make a major impact in America, where he worked for Marvel and DC Comics, creating characters for Avengers Forever, Virtue and Vice, Superman, Batman, X Men, Wolverine and Captain America, among other superhero favourites. Together with Kurt Busiek, in 2021, Pacheco published Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines, which recreates World War I in a fantastic universe with dragons, and other magical beings. In April 2022, he announced he would be taking a sabbatical from his work. The exhibition can be viewed Tuesday to Thursday from 10am to 2pm (Saturday and Sunday from 11am), and from 6pm until 9pm. Jose Antonio Guerrero Madrid Friday, 28 March 2025 | Updated 30/03/2025 22:03h. Compartir It is ten o'clock at night on a Tuesday in March. It's raining outside T4 and the thermometer reads 6C. It's cold in Madrid. Or at least unpleasantly cold for sleeping outdoors. At the same time, inside the terminal, in a corridor in the transit and check-in area, Fernando and Aurora, a married couple aged 69 and 63, spread a couple of blankets on the floor and unroll their sleeping bags. It's time to get ready to spend another night- and they've already passed more than a thousand - under the roof of Barajas airport. "It's warm here, there are public toilets to wash up and you have the metro to go to Madrid. Man, I'd prefer to have my own room, but with 500 euros for my pension I can't afford it", says Fernando, a Cuban with Spanish nationality, while Aurora, his Romanian wife, nods resignedly. The couple have been waiting for three years to be assigned a flat, and since then they have been sleeping in the terminals of Barajas (now in T4, but they have passed through the other three), converted into an improvised home for "between 300 and 500 'homeless'", according to figures provided by Alternativa Sindical Aena/Enaire (ASAE), an independent union (the majority among the 1,100 Aena employees at Barajas) has denounced "the growing problem of homelessness" at the Madrid airport, making headlines and opening Pandora's box by presenting a third-world image of Spain's leading airport and Europe's fifth busiest. Fernando and Aurora are two of the 'homeless' stranded in T4, where alongside the glamour of travellers bound for Paris, London or New York coexists the harsh reality of men and women who are not on any passenger list or waiting for any flight to depart. Like David, 52, a native of nearby Guadalajara, who was ruined by a painful divorce and who for the last year has been living in T4 tied to a suitcase in which he keeps his meagre belongings and from which he does not part "because two mobile phones have already been stolen here". Or like Angel, a 56-year-old from Madrid who looks 20 years older and who blames his current situation on drink. "I was a waiter, I lost my job because of alcohol, I stopped paying the rent, they evicted me and here I am trying not to drink again, but it's hard", he sums up a life that fits into two plastic bags from Mercadona. In one, two threadbare blankets stick out and in the bottom of the other he keeps a packet of crisps and a chocolate milkshake that he has just been offered by two 'real' and supportive travellers. Among the indifference of the thousands of passengers coming and going through the corridors of T4, there are a handful who stop in front of a human landscape that we can imagine under a bridge, but which breaks with the idyllic image of expensive perfumes and duty free at an international airport. Although they are gestures counted on the fingers of one hand, there are tourists who offer their help to people like Angel. Or like Nelly, a 67-year-old Peruvian who uses a crutch to help her because of osteoarthritis in her hip, and who bursts into tears when she tells of the circumstances that have forced her to live, for eight months now, in the main terminal at Barajas. "I was an intern and looked after an old man in Madrid, but he died and I was left without a job. What I had saved I spent on my mother's funeral in Lima. And now I'm just waiting for my retirement pension to be recognised so I can get out of here. Do you think that at my age I want to sleep rough in an airport? Different profiles Like many other homeless people who spend the night in T4, Nelly takes the metro every day to the Casa de Banos to take a shower and to the Caritas soup kitchen to fill her stomach. Then she returns to her home-the terminal, where dinner depends on an NGO that occasionally passes through T4 or a charitable traveller. She often tries her luck with McDonald's. "I know it's forbidden, but I go and talk to them, I tell them my situation and some of them understand me and invite me for a bite to eat". The day ends for Nelly on an aluminium bench near the check-in counters. She lies down, curls up in a ball and dreams of her longed-for retirement pension. Zoom Liset, a Nicaraguan woman in a wheelchair who has traded the municipal shelter for "the security" of the airport. Oscar Chamorro In another of those seats, Liset, a 42-year-old Nicaraguan in a wheelchair, is looking for a comfortable position that will allow her to take a nap. This is her second night in Barajas. "I was in a municipal hostel, but there are many people there with mental health problems, with addictions, people who shout at dawn and fight... you don't live there, you survive, and I didn't feel safe at all. A lady from Colombia told me about the airport, and between sleeping in the street dying of cold or in a hostel full of crazy people, I'm better off here. There is surveillance and it's warm," she explains. Measures proposed by the ASAE union Eviction and Closure : They propose evicting the homeless, closing airports at night, and allowing access only to those who are traveling. Security : They call for a greater deployment of the National Police and UIP (Intervention Units) as well as the return of the Municipal Police. Social Assistance : They urge Madrid city council, AENA, and the Government Delegation to come together and set up tents and prefabricated modules, as has been done in past social and refugee crises, "where these people can stay in dignified conditions." No more than a hundred metres from Liset, sitting on another of those benches of 'hostile architecture' designed to torture whoever lies down, 67-year-old Venezuelan Marta feeds her son Luis Alberto, an autistic young man of 36, for whom she came to Spain in search of specialised care. "I arrived in Madrid a month ago, but I've been pushed around and I can't take it any more, I've decided to go back to Caracas". His return ticket is due on 17 March, and until then mother and son are sheltering at the airfield. "We put some cardboard on the floor and then throw some blankets on top of it. It's uncomfortable, but in Venezuela, things aren't any better". The Latinos who spend the night in T4 have taken a liking to Luis Alberto and bring him the odd hamburger, which the young man thanks with a cheerful gesture. Many of them are emigrants with jobs in Madrid, most of them in construction or "whatever comes up", and they return at nightfall to sleep and save the 200 or 300 euros they are asked for a room in Vallecas. Among those who have made Barajas their home there are so many different profiles that make the problem a complex issue to tackle. Aena, the manager of the airport facility, and the social services of Madrid city council, in charge of the homeless, have held meetings this week to try to put a stop to homelessness in Barajas, a phenomenon that in the last year "has grown exponentially, producing a devastating effect," says Antonio Llarena, secretary general of ASAE, for whom the airport has become "the largest free hostal in Europe". In this amalgam of people at risk of social exclusion or directly excluded from the system, there are workers, people who have divorced and lost everything, or people who, due to life circumstances or bad luck, have been left in ruin, without a home or a job. "But they don't do any harm, they go unnoticed, they are usually just passing through or trying to get out of a rut. They are the ones who cause the least problems," says Llarena, who emphasises the 'others', the homeless with mental health disorders and the conflictive, not to say aggressive, types addicted to alcohol or heroin, who get into fights at night, terrorise the workers, and cause safety, health and hygiene problems. Insults and threats To try to contain the situation, AENA has relocated the 'homeless' in two wings of T4, the north, a "quieter" area, as defined by the security guards, and the south, "more like the Bronx", where 'normal' residents coexist (and not always peacefully) "with others who are more dangerous". It is there that the cleaning staff encounter "insults and threats" every time they go to do their work at half past four in the morning. That is the time when they start cleaning the two wings of the terminal. They are accompanied by security guards, who lift the homeless and ask them to leave so that the workers can deploy their arsenal of buckets, mops and disinfectant. Some deflate their mats, roll them up and store them in bags and backpacks, but those who have slept on cardboard have to have them removed. "They see that piece of cardboard as their belongings and if you take it away they become violent and take out all their anger and frustrations on us, it's a tremendous insecurity", says Fernanda Correia, an employee of the cleaning service at Barajas and a USO trade unionist. "When you remove the boxes, they feel attacked and insult and threaten you. The situation is repeated every day and it is already unbearable. The night shift colleagues work in fear, they are accompanied by the security guards, but not all the time because they leave when the homeless get up, and we want them to stay there until we finish". Zoom A man talks on the phone in one of the wings of Terminal 4, where the homeless gather to spend the night. Oscar Chamorro The cleaners often come across urine and vomit that impregnate 'the Bronx' with a bad smell, but the worst is in the toilets. "They use them to wash clothes and we have come across syringes," says Correia. The head of ASAE confirms this. "The staff live in disgust and fear of seeing how these people inject drugs in the toilets". The security agents consulted corroborate that this "disorder" in the toilets and in other areas of T4 (people have been found sleeping inside a lift and behind the check-in desks) is difficult to control. This reality of a "city without law" is what has led ASAE to draw up an extensive 27-page dossier detailing the problem (extending it to other airports open 24 hours a day such as El Prat, Gran Canaria, Palma, Tenerife South and Malaga) and which has served as the basis for several parliamentary groups (Sumar and the Mixed in Congress and the PP and Plural in the Senate) to ask questions on this issue, which have not yet been answered. The truth is that the situation at Barajas is raising the decibels of political and media noise, especially after the Madrid city council announced on Thursday that AENA had communicated the "imminent" eviction of the homeless as well as an access control, both extremes denied by AENA itself. And although the administrations continue to disagree, many of these 'passengers' who have been wandering the corridors for months waiting for a flight to nowhere are beginning to worry about the possibility that, sooner rather than later, they will be informed that the flight has already been scheduled to depart. Luis Gomez Madrid Friday, 28 March 2025 | Updated 30/03/2025 22:10h. Compartir The luxury industry is not going through its best moment. The great global uncertainties and the slowdown in the Chinese market, one of the pillars of world retail, have dragged the big companies in the sector to present their worst results in recent years. All of them, from Gucci to the French giant LVMH, are confident that 2025 will bring an upturn in sales after leaving behind a 2024 considered an 'annus horribilis'. The conglomerate that owns Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Loewe, among other brands, closed the first nine months of the previous financial year with a 2% drop in sales. This is the first major setback for the business since the pandemic. However, seen in perspective, the impact is even greater, given that the brands under the LVMH umbrella have depreciated by 30% since 2023. Alarm bells are ringing in the world of glamour. In fact, the situation of Kering, parent company of Gucci, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent, is not much better either. It ended the first six months of last year with an 11% drop in turnover. Sales of Gucci, its flagship, plummeted by 20%. Never has luxury shone less brightly. Despite this disturbing picture, however, the exclusive fashion industry continues to generate enormous fascination. The affluent population is blinded by the logos of the big brands, seeing them as a symbol of distinction. Spaniards, on the other hand, who cannot afford to spend a lot, love counterfeits. Spain leads the European ranking in the purchase of imitations, behind only Bulgaria. "Many people buy copies to be accepted in certain social circles," says Silvia Dal Ben, psychologist at Unobravo's Clinical Manager, "According to a study by the Official College of Psychology of Madrid, users of fakes are usually people under 35 years of age who are looking for a feeling of belonging to elite groups and to project an image of success and sophistication". Losses of 5.7 billion The economic impact of this illegal practice is enormous. According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), 20% of Spaniards have bought counterfeit products "intentionally" in the last twelve months compared to 24% of the population in Bulgaria. Counterfeiting generates annual losses of 5.7 billion euros and the destruction of almost 45,000 direct jobs. Zoom Replica handbags are becoming more and more successful. J. Garcia It is becoming increasingly difficult to crack down on this underground market. Replica watches, handbags, belts and briefcases are becoming more and more sophisticated. Even the presentation of the watch is faked when it reaches the customer, "which makes people believe that it is an original product. They take the trouble to give them serial numbers," explains Jose Luis Gomez, chief inspector of intellectual and industrial property crimes of the National Police. 2.5% of the global fashion trade corresponds to fakes. Consumers want status and "social recognition as a form of integration and personal validation with luxury items, even if they are fake," says Laura Villanueva, founder of the centre Psicologodemadrid. In addition to the refinement of the copies, there is also a change in the profile of the new consumers of fake luxury. "People who have their own reputational status and who, if they were to wear a good quality counterfeit product, no one would question that what they are wearing is fake," adds Gomez. Because that's another one. The criminal organisations have adapted their 'production' to a client who is looking for "good quality" and who "will pay up to 1,000 euros for a fake Louis Vuitton bag," says Gomez. The sale of replicas is often driven from the legal fringes of the business, adds Judit Busse, a Belgian intellectual property lawyer. "Firms like H&M and Zara look at the collections of prestigious designers and imitate them, but often so quickly that these designs are more likely to be available in the shops of the big chains before those of the designers themselves," she says. Mango was recently ordered by the Paris court of appeal to pay two million euros in damages for "systematic" replicas of Celine pieces, says Busse. 35 years or under are the buyers of fakes. 54% are happy for others to wear counterfeits. 37% admit that they "wear them or would have no problem wearing them". The application of such lax legislation does little or nothing to help an industry that has found new enemies in influencers and social media, especially TikTok. They are called 'influencers' of the fake or ambassadors of replicas. Their seductive power has struck a chord with Generation Z after they "proudly" show off the imitations they buy online. Hundreds of young people shamelessly display Alexander McQueen sneakers, Moncler jackets or fake Bottega Veneta bags, encouraging people to buy them on different digital platforms. While authentic garments range from 500 to 6,000 euros, these replicas sell for around 200 euros. Due to TikTok's ban on "posting, sharing and sending any content that infringes copyright", the purchase of these fakes is channelled through hidden links that the protagonists distribute privately or via Telegram. With the help of Chinese counterfeit apps, they have increased their turnover by more than 25%. Ambassadors' of the false The acceptance of counterfeits among young people has reached a ceiling that surprises experts. According to The Business of Fashion and the consultancy McKinsey&Co., 54% of young people "are fine with others wearing fakes" compared to 37% who admit that they "wear or would wear them. These are young people who openly and unabashedly display ultra-luxury knock-offs, particularly handbags. It reflects a significant change in Generation Z's attitude towards brands and retail," says Pedro Mir Bernal, a specialist in consumer behaviour. Their strong social and environmental awareness leads them to question the practices of the luxury industry as they perceive them as "elitist and unsustainable. Authenticity, a fundamental value for these young people, is being redefined: it is no longer a question of the authenticity of the product, but of personal honesty to admit that it is a counterfeit. "Criminal gangs tailor counterfeits to a customer who is now looking for good quality" While they have always existed, the purchase of imitations - the second most profitable criminal activity after arms trafficking - for the first time is a "proud purchase in a digital environment increasingly plagued by fake clothes. Are we witnessing the beginning of a revolution in the perception of luxury or is it a passing phase of youth rebellion? Only time will tell," Mir Bernal predicts. Faced with this scenario, young people and influencers care little about buying clothes of dubious quality. "The important thing is to wear the logo big, even if it's fake," says Mir. Barbel Gansau was found dead in her apartment in Ludwigsburg, Germany on June 11, 1978. courtesy of court documents Binghamton, N.Y. James Patrick Dempsey burst into tears Friday and embraced his wife after he was cleared of charges accusing him of a 1978 murder and rape of a German woman. The 67-year-old was facing extradition to Germany to face prosecution on a murder charge. FILE - Rappers Sheff G, right, also known as Michael Williams, and Sleepy Hallow, center, also known as Tegan Chambers, join the Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in the south Bronx, Thursday, May. 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File) AP NEW YORK (AP) A New York City rapper who joined President Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and conspiracy charges after prosecutors say he used earnings from his music career to fuel gang violence in Brooklyn. Sheff G, whose legal name is Michael Williams, agreed to serve five years in prison as part of the plea entered in a Brooklyn court Wednesday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. Notoriety could not shield this defendant from justice, Gonzalez said in a statement. He used his fame to fund and direct violence, terrorizing our streets. The 26-year-old rapper, whose songs and videos have millions of YouTube views and Spotify streams, was among those arrested in connection with a long-term investigation into gang-related shootings in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. More than 30 purported members of the 8 Trey Crips and the street gangs affiliate, the 9 Ways gang, have so far been indicted. Among them is Tegan Chambers, a rapper known as Sleepy Hallow who also appeared on stage with Trump and Sheff G during the May 23, 2024, rally in the Bronx. Sleepy Hallow performed at the New York State Fair in 2021. Prosecutors say Sheff G showered money and jewelry on gang members as they battled rivals in Brooklyn. They say the rapper even acted as a getaway driver on at least one occasion, chauffeuring three codefendants to and from a 2021 shooting that targeted a rival but instead hit two bystanders. Sheff G also treated Sleepy Hallow and others to a lavish dinner at a Manhattan steakhouse to celebrate a 2020 shooting that killed a purported rival gang member and injured five others, according to prosecutors. Surveillance videos, social media posts, text messages and more document the criminal activities, and the two rappers also boasted about their misdeeds in their songs, Gonzalezs office said. Sheff Gs lawyer Arthur Aidala said Thursday that his client decided the plea deal was in the best interest of everyone involved after careful review of the evidence and hard consideration. The rapper is due to be sentenced Aug. 13. Sleepy Hallow, whose layer didnt immediately respond to a message seeking comment, is due in court April 11. The two were among the notable names Trump touted during his campaign stops as he worked to woo Black voters by comparing his legal challenges to racial prejudice in the criminal justice system. One thing I want to say: They are always going to whisper your accomplishments and shout your failures, Sheff G told the Bronx crowd last May after being invited on stage by the Republican candidate. Trump is going to shout the wins for all of us. Syracuse, N.Y. The Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology (MOST) has partnered with the Onondaga County Agriculture Council to launch its newest permanent exhibit, Onondaga Grown presents Grow. Opening on March 29, the 2,500-square-foot exhibit will offer an in-depth exploration of how local agriculture shapes Central New Yorks economy, culture and environment. Onondaga Grown is an annual awareness campaign by the council to garner support from the community for local farms and businesses. Therell be tons of partnerships and programs all year long in this exhibit, because theres so many things that we can teach kids about STEM, about farming, about food and about their community, said Lauren Kochian, president of the MOST. Grow provides a hands-on experience designed to educate kids and their families about agriculture and food systems. Visitors can step into the role of shopper at a farmers market, browsing a variety of Central New York staples. There is toy corn on the cob, maple syrup, even a rotating seasonal option its currently mushrooms, which will be replaced with strawberries come summertime. After making their selection, shoppers can scan their items at a register, where a screen will display fun facts about each product. The exhibit features a farmers market where visitors can "buy" locally grown products such as apples, corn, eggs, maple syrup and more. Sara Atencio-Gonzales Dave Knapp, County Legislator for the 12th district, collaborated with Kochian on the exhibit. Knapp is the chairman of the Onondaga County Agriculture Council, and he grew up on a farm that had been in his family since 1804. Grow creates a space for children whether they were raised on a farm or not to be immersed in the world of agriculture. Unfortunately, every generations gotten a little bit farther away from those farming roots, and so thats why this is more important than ever to get young people back involved in this and talk about where their food comes from, said Knapp. Its perfect here at the MOST, because farming these days is so high tech. A tractor on display as part of MOST's new exhibit, Onondaga Grown presents GROW. Sara Atencio-Gonzales Knapp is right: As technology advances, so does the intersection of STEM and agriculture. From GPS-guided tractors to robotic weeders, farmers are harnessing cutting-edge innovations to enhance efficiency. Amid a constantly changing world, however, the fundamental importance of agriculture stays the same. One of the lessons learned from COVID was that we need to be as self-sufficient as we can here in Central New York, Knapp said. The more self-sufficient, sustainable we can be, the better we are. Part of that comes with education. Focusing on all the stages of Central New Yorks food system, Grow also includes education on the distributional aspect, specifically through its partnership with the Food Bank of Central New York. Part of the exhibit features a fleet of miniature Food Bank trucks, where children can load up the vehicles with blocks and guide them down a road. This activity simulates the process of distribution, in which Food Bank trucks are loaded with both donated and purchased produce, and transport those items to partner agency programs like food pantries and soup kitchens. Food Bank of Central New York-branded toy trucks help visitors learn about food distribution. Sara Atencio-Gonzales It is a teaching tool for children and their families to learn that food insecurity is part of that agriculture system and the growth system thats here, said Lynn Hy, chief development officer of the Food Bank of Central New York. We want to have a large supply of healthy, nutritious food, especially those fresh fruits and vegetables, to get out to individuals and families that are food-insecure in the community. In honor of Grows opening day Saturday, MOST visitors will enjoy a discounted admission price of just one dollar per person. Guests are encouraged to contribute to the Food Bank by bringing non-perishable food items to donate. Editors note: The MOST is a nonprofit partner of This is CNY. Each state honors two notable people in their history by donating statues to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed replacing the bronze statue of Robert R. Livingston, a Founding Father from New York City, with a statue of Harriet Tubman. Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com Mark Weiner Statues of slave-owning Founding Fathers have represented New York in the U.S. Capitol for nearly 150 years. Now, state lawmakers want to replace one of the statues with a famous New Yorker who helped free people not enslave them. Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed putting a statue of Harriet Tubman in the National Statuary Hall. The plan was included in the governors proposed budget and on page 117 of the 2025 State of the State book. The likeness of Tubman would replace the statue of Robert Livingston, one of the two sculpted figure sent by the state to represent New York in the 1870s, Politico reported. Tubman escaped slavery and went on to help dozens of others to freedom. The abolitionist, suffragist, nurse and Civil War spy retired to Auburn in Central New York, where she spent her final years and is buried. This photograph provided by Abrams Books shows Harriet Tubman in a photograph dating from 1860-75. Library of Congress, via AP Library of Congress, via AP Livingston, one of the United States Founding Fathers, served as the chancellor of New York for nearly 24 years. While he was considered to have complex feelings toward slavery, the lawyer owned at least 15 enslaved people during the nations first census in 1790, according to the Gotham Center for New York City History. In the budget, the governors office called Tubman a symbol of courage, liberation, and equality. Tubmans history is deeply connected to New York, where she lived and worked to advance freedom and justice, making her an ideal representative of the states values, Hochuls office wrote in the State of the State book. The Harriet Tubman home on South Avenue in Auburn, New York, was designated a National Park in 2014 to honor the woman known as the "Moses of her people" for her years as liberator of slaves using the Underground Railroad. Stephen D. Cannerelli | scannerelli@syracuse.com Stephen D. Cannerelli | scannerelli@syracuse.com The National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. houses 100 statues of important historical figures. Each state has two busts or statues in the hall. New Yorks other statue depicts George Clinton, a Founding Father who was the first elected vice president of the U.S. and a seven-term New York governor. Clinton like the majority of the nations Founding Fathers also owned slaves, according to the Illinois Answers Project. As governor, he signed the act that ended the slave trade in New York in 1788. To start the process of getting a likeness Tubman in Statuary Hall, Hochul proposed working with the state Legislature to pass a resolution to fund the design, creation and transportation of the statue to the Capitol. This effort will bring greater recognition to womens contributions to history and align with broader movements for equal representation, the governors office wrote in the State of the State book. Hochuls proposal to replace Livingstons statue with one of Tubman is supported by the states Senate and Assembly and has since been included in both chambers budget bills, Politico reported. An acting county clerk in Upstate New York has refused to file a legal judgment from a Texas court against a doctor who prescribed abortion pills to a Texas woman via telemedicine. In February, a Texas judge ordered Dr. Margaret Carpenter, of New Paltz, N.Y., to pay more than $100,000 in penalties for prescribing abortion medication to a woman in Texas, according to the Associated Press. The lawsuit was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton; the state has one of the nations strictest abortion bans. Carpenter did not did not show up for a court hearing last month in Texas, the New York Times reported, and a district court judge issued a default judgment ordering Carpenter to pay $113,000. But acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck refused to file the judgment against Carpenter, citing New York states shield laws. The laws are designed to protect New York physicians who provide abortion services, as well as women coming to New York from other states to get an abortion. Today, I informed Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton that the Ulster County Clerks Office will not be filing a summary judgment against a New Paltz physician who is facing charges in Texas for providing mifepristone via telehealth to a Texas resident. The judgment in question seeks a civil penalty exceeding $100,000 due to the doctors failure to appear in court Bruck said. As the acting Ulster County Clerk, I hold my responsibilities and the oath I have taken in the highest regard. In accordance with the New York State Shield Law, I have refused this filing and will refuse any similar filings that may come to our office. Since this decision is likely to result in further litigation, I must refrain from discussing specific details about the situation. The Texas lawsuit is not the only legal challenge to Carpenters practice. In January, Carpenter was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury for prescribing abortion medicine in that state. The charges carry a penalty of up to 15 year in prison, $200,000 in fines and the loss of medical license, the Associated Press reported. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement in support of Brucks action. The anti-woman, anti-abortion zealots are at it again. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to come after a New York doctor who prescribed medication abortion via telemedicine the same doctor who is facing charges in Louisiana for the so-called crime of prescribing this FDA-approved medication. Today, the County Clerk in Ulster County bravely stood up with a simple message: hell no. Acting County Clerk Taylor Bruck has formally notified Texas that in accordance with our shield laws he is rejecting the filing of a judgment against a New York doctor. New York is grateful for his courage and common sense, Hochul said. This is New York. Well never back down from fighting for these fundamental rights. Paxton responded on the social media site X. I am outraged that New York would refuse to allow Texas to pursue enforcement of a civil judgement against a radical abortionist illegally peddling dangerous drugs across state lines. New York is shredding the Constitution to hide lawbreakers from justice, and it must end. I will not stop my efforts to enforce Texass pro-life laws that protect our unborn children and mothers, Paxton wrote. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., President Donald Trump's nominee to be the United Nations Ambassador, testifies during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing for her pending confirmation on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) AP U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is explaining why President Donald Trump pulled her cabinet nomination in a new interview. This is about stepping up as a team, and I am doing that as a leader, to ensure that we can take hold of this mandate and deliver these historic results, Stefanik told Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday. I have been proud to be a team player. Stefanik confirmed that she will keep her seat representing New Yorks 21st Congressional District. She was nominated for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and wouldve had to resign from the House if confirmed. A special election wouldve been held to fill her seat, but Stefanik accused New York Gov. Kathy Hochul of threatening to move the ball on the election date. A bill last month proposed delaying congressional special elections until Election Day, sparking concerns Stefaniks seat would be empty for months. According to the New York Post, Hochul stopped plans to change the special election date. Under current law, the governor has 10 days to schedule an election once a Congressional seat is vacated and the election must come between 70 and 80 days of being scheduled. Trump said Thursday it is essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress because the GOP has a very tight Majority. Currently Republicans hold 218 seats in the House and Democrats hold 213, making votes on Trumps agenda and the debt ceiling potentially difficult. Stefanik told McEnany, the former White House press secretary who was guest-hosting Hannity Thursday, that House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to invite her to return to the leadership table immediately. The Hill notes Stefanik was the House Republican Conference Chair, the No. 4 leadership in the position in the House GOP, but all current election leadership positions are full. Current House GOP Chair Lisa McClain (R-Michigan) said she has no plans to step down. Stefanik, one of the first people to be named for Trumps Cabinet, was first elected to Congress in 2014 and rose in the GOP ranks with her support of Trump, even being rumored as his potential vice presidential candidate last year. The Harvard University alumna also made headlines when she grilled college presidents over antisemitism on campuses and was named one of Time magazines 100 most influential people in April. Stefanik told Fox News she plans to get back to work and continue speaking out. The good news... is, because I am not pending confirmation, the American people will be hearing a lot more from me, because youre limited in what you can say when you are pending confirmation, she said. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. 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. * Amid the tranquility of the coastal town of Boao, the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference opened with a timely theme: "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future." * The conference was more than just an event for Asia. * It served as a reminder that, amid global turbulence, platforms for dialogue and trust-building still exist and still matter. BOAO, Hainan, March 27 (Xinhua) -- As crises flare across global hotspots -- from geopolitical conflicts to rising protectionism -- a strikingly different scene unfolded in the coastal town of Boao in southern Chinese province of Hainan. Amid the tranquility of the small town, the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference opened with a timely theme: "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future," offering a rare space for cooperation and dialogue in an increasingly fractured world. "Our world is experiencing far greater instability and uncertainty," Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said at the conference's opening ceremony on Thursday morning. Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called for strengthening mutual trust, enhancing win-win cooperation, promoting economic globalization and safeguarding the free trade system. Since Tuesday, when the BFA annual conference began its panels and sub-forums, the world has witnessed a series of escalating crises. U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on all vehicles and auto parts imported into the United States, a move seen as expanding trade protectionism. In the Middle East, Yemen's Houthi group launched fresh attacks on a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Red Sea and "military targets" in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, in East Asia, deadly wildfires engulfed parts of the Republic of Korea (ROK), claiming lives and causing damage. Against this backdrop, Boao became more than just a venue for speeches; it became a space for confronting common challenges. Participants delved into issues that transcend borders, from building an open global economy and accelerating modernization in the Global South to addressing the climate crisis, demographic shifts, and the implications of artificial intelligence (AI). ASIAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION Addressing the opening ceremony, Ding said that significant progress has been made in building an Asian community with a shared future over the past decade. He added that regional economic integration has been strengthened, and Asia's share in the global economy is steadily rising. Highlighting the profound global transformations and the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, BFA Chairman and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the "Asian miracle" as, to a large extent, a product of globalization, free trade, and open regionalism. Asian economic integration, many speakers noted, is gaining momentum, with regional frameworks like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) serving as a cornerstone for deepening economic ties. The RCEP has emerged as an important anchor for global free trade, said Kuang Xianming, deputy head of the China Institute for Reform and Development, adding that the world's largest free trade agreement keeps opening up regional markets and advancing regional liberalization. The RCEP includes 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its five free trade agreement partners, namely China, Japan, the ROK, Australia, and New Zealand. Signs of growing cooperation were also seen in a recent high-level economic dialogue between China and Japan, which reached 20 consensus points on collaboration in areas such as green development, environmental protection, and elderly care services, among others. Meanwhile, a BFA report identified China and ASEAN as the most appealing economies in Asia. It noted that the inward and outward foreign direct investment dependence of Asian economies on the region itself reached 49.15 percent in 2023, underscoring the region's growing economic interdependence. ANSWERS FOR AN UNCERTAIN WORLD For many participants, the BFA annual conference was more than just an event for Asia. It served as a reminder that, amid global turbulence, platforms for dialogue and trust-building still exist and still matter. The Global South, whose economies contribute 80 percent to world economic growth, took center stage at the meeting. South-South cooperation today is greener, smarter, and more inclusive, said Xiaojun Grace Wang, Trust Fund Director of UN Office for South-South Cooperation, calling on the Global South nations to seize this era's opportunities by enhancing collaboration on digital and data-driven solutions for sustainable development. Climate change and the governance of emerging technologies also dominated conversations. Helena McLeod, deputy director general and head of the Green Growth Planning & Implementation Division at the Global Green Growth Institute, underscored the vital role of legislation in accelerating the global green transition. "The legislative approaches have to be addressed, and that includes the carbon pricing and pollution control policies." On AI, experts have warned of the risks of unregulated development. "If countries fail to anticipate and manage the risks of AI, they may find themselves inadequately prepared when challenges arise," said Zeng Yi, a researcher with the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China's reform and opening up continue to draw global attention. Since launching the drive in 1978, the country has transformed from an impoverished nation into a market-oriented economic powerhouse, driving high-quality development and creating opportunities shared with the rest of the world. Its GDP grew by 5 percent year on year in 2024, ranking among the world's fastest-growing major economies while continuing to contribute about 30 percent to global economic growth. China's resolve to deepen reform and opening up, Ban noted, has bolstered confidence in inclusive globalization and an open world economy, injected fresh impetus into a strong and balanced global recovery, and created new opportunities for international cooperation. "Opening up is a distinct hallmark of Chinese modernization," Ding said, adding that the country will steadily expand institutional opening up, further improve market access for foreign investors, and expand trials to open sectors such as telecommunications, medical services, and education. "We warmly welcome businesses from all countries to invest and operate in China, participate in the process of Chinese modernization, and share in China's development opportunities," he added. (Reporting by Han Song, Cheng Lu, Zhao Jiasong, Luo Qi, Zheng Jingxia, Zhong Qun, Zhou Huimin, Chen Ziwei, Li Yue, Yan Yujing and Zhao Yeping; video reporters: Liu Yutian, Yang Zhigang, Xu Yang, Zhou Yang, Zhao Yuhe, Guo Liangchuan, Li Duojiang; video editors: Yu Jiaming, Zhu Cong, Roger Lott ) Minister Lawless announces 17.7 million research infrastructure investment Advanced medical imaging for oncology and cardiovascular research, a testbed to reduce animal methane emissions, and a coastal and offshore autonomous surface vehicle to enhance Irelands marine science capabilities among the projects funded Left-right: Interim CEO of Research Ireland, Celine Fitzgerald, Research Infrastructure awardee, Prof. James Meaney of Trinity College Dublin, and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, has today announced a 17.7 million investment in nine research infrastructure projects through Research Irelands Research Infrastructure Programme. The awards will contribute to the advancement of high-quality and high-impact research activities across Ireland. Announcing the funding, Minister Lawless commented: This targeted investment in research infrastructure will help to future-proof the conducting of high-quality research endeavours across our higher education institutions and in a wide range of disciplines. It is important for researchers to be equipped with the innovative tools and the conducive environments that can help deliver research excellence and impact. In welcoming the announcement, Celine Fitzgerald, Interim Chief Executive of Research Ireland, said: The Research Infrastructure Programme supports the research community in building and sustaining cutting-edge infrastructure to accomplish high-quality, impactful, and innovative research. The programme encourages partnerships and collaboration between different cohorts of researchers in Ireland, across academia and enterprise. The nine funded projects are: Coastal & Offshore ASV (Autonomous Surface Vehicle), University of Limerick, led by Prof. Gerard Dooly, aims to acquire a coastal and offshore autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) with a length of 9 meters and a range of 2500 nautical miles. This will enhance Irelands marine science capabilities, bridge data gaps, and improve our understanding of ocean habitats. (1,851,784) Cryo Electron Microscopy Unit National Platform, University College Dublin, led by Prof. Oliver Blacque, will establish a cryo-EM unit for high-resolution 3D visualisation of biological structures, aiding various biomedical research applications. (3,749,322) NMR Centre of Expertise, Trinity College Dublin, led by Prof. Mathias Senge, will provide advanced NMR techniques for chemistry research, including a multi-channel 600MHz NMR and a 400MHz instrument for high-throughput analyses. (2,649,497) Photon Counting CT for Cardiovascular and Oncology Research, Trinity College Dublin, led by Prof. James Meaney, will expand imaging capabilities with a Photon-counting CT scanner for advanced medical imaging in oncology and cardiovascular research. (2,721,339) National Enteric Methane Mitigation Testbed, Teagasc, led by Dr Stephen Butler, will develop strategies to reduce methane emissions from ruminant animals, contributing to climate change mitigation. (1,983,502) Characterising Earth Materials using Multi-Sensor Core Logger Analysis (Earth SCAn), University College Dublin, led by Prof. Peter Haughton, will advance the characterisation of Earth materials for interdisciplinary research into climate change, energy, and geohazards. (600,113) Advanced Material Characterisation and Imaging Platform, Dublin City University, led by Dr Karsten Fleischer, will enhance material analysis capabilities with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for various applications in ICT, energy, and medical devices. (2,251,897) C-Trap: A Dynamic Single Molecule Platform for Chemical Biology and Biophysics, Dublin City University, led by Prof. Andrew Kellett, will enable single-molecule analysis for understanding molecular mechanisms of diseases, aiding biopharmaceutical and therapeutic research. (948,901) Automated X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), University College Dublin, led by Prof. Eoin Casey, will replace aging XPS equipment to enhance surface analysis capabilities for various research and industry applications. (986,952) The awardees are from the following research bodies: University of Limerick (UL), University College Dublin (UCD), Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Teagasc, and Dublin City University (DCU). Share Fashion retailer H&M is to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create digital twins of 30 models. It says it will use the AI doppelgangers in some social media posts and marketing in the place of humans, if given permission by models. We are curious to explore how to showcase our fashion in new creative ways and embrace the benefits of new technology while staying true to our commitment to personal style, said its chief creative officer Jorgen Andersson in a statement. Despite H&Ms claim it would not change its human-centric approach some fear the move could impact other models, photographers and make-up artists. BBC Labour MPs have expressed concern about potential plans to cut or scrap a tax paid by tech giants to stave off the threat of Donald Trumps tariffs. The chancellor and business secretary have both left the door open to possibly abolishing the 2% levy on the online revenues made in the UK by companies including Facebook, Google, and Amazon. The idea has been mooted as a means to avoid further tariffs from Mr Trump, who has brought in 25% taxes on steel and aluminium imports and signed another executive order yesterday that will affect cars. Sky News The first Nintendo Direct of this year has just taken place! The March 2025 Nintendo Direct was broadcast just days before the highly anticipated Switch 2 Direct, which will reveal more about the successor to one of the best-selling consoles of all time next week. The surprise Direct was only announced 24 hours before it aired, and it marked the first major showcase since the stream in June 2024. The Nintendo Direct for March 2025 kicked off with a new trailer for Dragon Quest 1 + 2 HD-2D Remake. The remakes of the classic NES RPGs boast the same stunning visual overhaul seen in the remake of Dragon Quest 3. Eurogamer The Amazon spring sale has slashed the price of the iconic Fire TV Stick to just 24.99 so you can unlock all your TV favourites in one place no smart TV needed. You can now watch what you, like wherever you like, all without a smart TV, thanks to the on-sale Amazon Fire TV Stick HD (Newest gen). The newest generation streaming device is on sale for under 25, making it one of the best tech deals weve found in the Spring Deal Days sale. But hurry, this sale ends March 31. Daily Mail The BBC has dropped plans to put advertisements on some audio content outside of the corporations platforms. The broadcaster was looking at generating sales in the UK through having hosting websites and apps, such as Apple and Spotify, introduce ads while keeping BBC Sounds free from promotions. This follows criticism from the industry including the News Media Association (NMA), who claimed in 2024 that the idea would profoundly distort competition, wreaking havoc on commercial players right across the media and advertising sector. Yahoo! Households with broken smart meters will automatically receive 40 compensation from their energy provider if it is not fixed within 90 days, under new proposals from the regulator Ofgem. They will also receive a payout if a smart meter installation fails due to a fault within their providers control. Three quarters of all households in the UK should have a smart meter by the end of the year as part of a nationwide rollout. But the rollout has been riddled with issues and delays. MSN For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv Like this: Like Loading... Related Posts In brief: While covering a wide range of topics during his keynote at Nvidia's GTC, CEO Jensen Huang briefly touched on the company's GPU roadmap beyond the upcoming Rubin architecture. The Feynman generation and those that follow will likely adopt semiconductor nodes featuring gate-all-around (GAA) transistors the next evolution in transistor technology after FinFET. During a Q&A session at the GPU Technology Conference, Huang estimated a roughly 20% performance uplift from transitioning to GAA architecture. His comments offer an early indication of the company's expectations for future graphics chip designs. Semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC and Intel have touted GAA transistors as a key technology for process nodes beyond 3nm. Recent nodes, including 3nm, have employed FinFET, a structure where the transistor gate surrounds the current channel on three sides. However, as bleeding-edge transistors shrink and become more densely packed in advanced nodes, electrical leakage becomes a growing concern. Also see: How CPUs are built, the design process touches on the basics of how transistors work GAA addresses this issue by stacking current channels vertically, increasing the total channel area while allowing gates to surround the channels on all four sides. Although the technique is more expensive, it enhances both performance and energy efficiency. Intel's upcoming 18A node will introduce GAA with Panther Lake laptop CPUs and Clearwater Forest server processors later this year. TSMC plans to adopt GAA for its 2nm N2 process, which is nearing production and is expected to debut in the iPhone 18 Pro's A20 SoC in late 2026. At GTC, Huang officially revealed Nvidia's next GPU generation, Vera Rubin, which will be built on TSMC's N3 node and is expected to become available to enterprise clients next year. He also shared early details about Rubin's successor, Feynman, which is anticipated to arrive in 2028. Although information on Feynman's semiconductor process is forthcoming, it's likely to utilize a 2nm-class node, though Nvidia may also consider Intel's 18A. In either case, GAA will be a key component. Huang remarked that while a 20% performance boost from GAA isn't revolutionary, "we'll take what we can get." Meanwhile, backside power delivery is emerging as another critical technology for sub-3nm nodes. TSMC is not expected to implement it until the following node called A16 beginning 2026, whereas Intel will introduce its version with 18A later this year. Interestingly, during the GTC Q&A, Huang also described Nvidia as an "AI infrastructure company." While Nvidia rose to prominence for its gaming GPUs, the AI boom has propelled the value of its enterprise division into the multi-trillion-dollar range. TL;DR: In the wake of ChatGPT's explosive debut in late 2022, China's AI industry experienced a surge of excitement and investment. However, this initial fervor has given way to a sobering reality as the country grapples with an oversupply of underutilized data centers and shifting market dynamics. Xiao Li, a former real estate contractor who pivoted to AI infrastructure in 2023, has witnessed this transformation firsthand through the fluctuating demand for Nvidia GPUs. A year ago, traders in his network boasted about acquiring high-performance Nvidia GPUs despite U.S. export restrictions. Many of these chips were illegally funneled into Shenzhen through international channels. At the market's peak, an Nvidia H100 crucial for training AI models could fetch as much as 200,000 yuan ($28,000) on the black market. Today, Li noticed that traders have become more discreet and GPU prices have stabilized. Additionally, two data center projects he is acquainted with are struggling to attract further investment as backers anticipate weak returns. This financial strain has forced project leaders to offload excess GPUs. "Everyone seems to be selling, but there aren't many buyers," he told MIT Technology Review. In short, leasing GPUs to businesses for AI model training a core strategy for the latest generation of data centers was once considered a guaranteed success. However, the emergence of DeepSeek and shifting economic factors in the AI sector have put the country's data center industry on unstable ground. The rapid construction of data centers across China, from Inner Mongolia to Guangdong, was fueled by a combination of government directives and private investment. Over 500 new projects were announced in 2023 and 2024, with at least 150 completed by the end of 2024. However, this building boom has led to a paradoxical situation: an abundance of computational power, particularly in central and western China, coupled with a shortage of chips that meet the current needs for inference and regulatory realities. The rise of DeepSeek, a company that developed an open-source reasoning model matching the performance of ChatGPT but at a fraction of the cost, has further disrupted the market. Hancheng Cao, an assistant professor at Emory University, noted that this breakthrough has shifted the focus from model development to practical applications. "The burning question shifted from 'Who can make the best large language model?' to 'Who can use them better?'" This shift has exposed the limitations of many hastily constructed data centers. Many facilities optimized for large-scale AI training are ill-suited for the low-latency requirements of inference tasks needed for real-time reasoning models. As a result, data centers in remote areas with cheaper electricity and land are losing their appeal to AI companies. The oversupply of computational power has led to a dramatic drop in GPU rental prices. An Nvidia H100 server with eight GPUs now rents for 75,000 yuan per month (around $10,345), down from previous highs of around 180,000 yuan ($25,141). Some data center operators chose to leave their facilities idle rather than operate at a loss. Jimmy Goodrich, senior technology advisor to the RAND Corporation, attributes this predicament to inexperienced players jumping on the AI bandwagon. "The growing pain China's AI industry is going through is largely a result of inexperienced players corporations and local governments jumping on the hype train, building facilities that aren't optimal for today's needs," he explains. China's political system, with its emphasis on short-term economic projects for career advancement, has played a significant role in the data center boom. Local officials, seeking to boost their political careers and stimulate the economy in the face of a post-pandemic downturn, turned to AI infrastructure as a new growth driver. This top-down approach often disregarded actual demand or technical feasibility. Many projects were led by executives and investors with limited expertise in AI infrastructure, resulting in hastily constructed facilities that fell short of industry standards. The rise of reasoning models like DeepSeek's R1 and OpenAI's ChatGPT has shifted computing needs from large-scale training to real-time inference. This change requires hardware with low latency, often located near major tech hubs, to minimize transmission delays and ensure access to skilled staff. As a result, many data centers built in central, western, and rural China are struggling to attract clients. Some, like a newly built facility in Zhengzhou, even distribute free computing vouchers to local tech firms but still struggle to find users. Despite the challenges, China's central government prioritizes AI infrastructure development. In early 2025, it convened an AI industry symposium emphasizing the importance of self-reliance in this technology. Major tech companies like Alibaba and ByteDance have announced significant investments in cloud computing and AI hardware infrastructure. Goodrich suggests that the Chinese government views the current situation as a necessary growing pain. "The Chinese central government will likely see [underused data centers] as a necessary evil to develop an important capability... They see the end, not the means," he says. As the industry evolves, demand remains strong for Nvidia chips, particularly the H20 model designed for the Chinese market. However, for many in the field, like data center project manager Fang Cunbao, the current state of the market has prompted a reevaluation. At the beginning of the year, Fang left the data center industry entirely. "The market is too chaotic. The early adopters profited, but now it's just people chasing policy loopholes," he explains. He's now shifting his focus to AI education. Something to look forward to: Remember when Facebook used to show content from your friends? Seeing posts from people you know is becoming increasingly rare these days as the main feed gets clogged with recommended content from accounts you don't follow. But the social network is bringing back the core experience that made it so popular in the first place with the introduction of a revamped "Friends" tab. Facebook today isn't the platform it once was. Many people complain that they rarely spot posts from actual friends on their feeds, lost in an algorithmic sea of sponsored content, group posts, and other recommendations from various pages and accounts most of which elicit a "why am I being shown this crap?" response. It seems that Meta has taken notice of the complaints. "Over the years, Facebook evolved to meet changing needs and created best-in-class experiences across Groups, Video, Marketplace and more, but the magic of friends has fallen away," the company writes in a new announcement. To try to bring back its original appeal, Meta is adding several so-called "OG" Facebook experiences throughout the year. The first of these is a new Friends tab. The Friends tab is currently used to view friend requests and friend suggestions (People You May Know). The replacement will show all your friends' posts, stories, reels, and birthdays, while friend requests will continue to be found under this section. The updated Friends tab is rolling out now in the US and Canada. It can be accessed from the navigation bar on the home feed and can be found in the Bookmarks section of the app. You can also pin it to your navigation bar in the app by clicking on your profile picture in the Home feed, selecting Settings & Privacy, Settings, then Tab bar, choosing to customize the bar, clicking Friends, and pinning the tab This isn't the first dedicated friends section Facebook has introduced. Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated a dedicated feed for friends' content, shown in reverse chronological order, in 2022. It's still available in the app, though getting to it requires going through the Feeds menu. It's unclear what other "OG" experiences Facebook will be bringing back. The Poke feature was made more prominent in 2024 will Pet Society and Words with Friends make a return? What just happened? There are plenty of justifiable concerns over what impact AI will have on the workplace of the near future. Bill Gates is one big tech name who believes the technology will have benefits, though, including a two- or three-day work week in the next decade. That's probably welcome news for those whose jobs haven't been replaced by AI, and provided their employers don't pay them part-time wages. Speaking to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show recently, Gates predicted a future in which humans will no longer be necessary "for most things" because of advanced AI. It's a view shared by Elon Musk, who in 2023 told then-UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that artificial intelligence will eventually replace all human jobs as it would be able to "do everything." For those who haven't been replaced, Gates asked, "What will jobs be like? Should we just work like 2 or 3 days a week?" It's not the first time that Gates has predicted AI leading to shorter work weeks. He said in 2023 that a three-day work week was possible thanks to a potential future where "machines can make all the food and the stuff, and we don't have to work as hard." Gates highlighted some of the benefits of having more free time, including better help for older people and smaller class sizes. Others painting a rosier picture of an AI future include JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who said the next generation of workers will have 3.5-day workweeks and live to 100 because of the technology. Some companies are already moving to four-day workweeks, though it's usually related to increasing productivity rather than AI. In Japan, a nation famous for working excessively long weeks, The Tokyo Metropolitan government is experimenting with a four-day workweek. It's hoped that the change will help the country's declining population problem by ensuring women do not have to sacrifice their careers due to life events such as childbirth or child-rearing. Gates also told Fallon that over the next decade, AI will ensure "great medical advice [and] great tutoring" become free and commonplace, which doesn't sound very promising for health professionals and teachers. "There will be some things that we reserve ourselves for, but in terms of making things and moving things and growing food over time, those will be basically solved problems," Gates said. Many in the AI industry, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, have warned about the massive impact AI will have on the global workforce. Altman has long pushed for a universal basic income as a solution, while Suleyman said the tools are "fundamentally labor replacing." In a nutshell: President Donald Trump recently announced an additional 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles and parts, raising concerns about its potential impact on the US automotive sector. While supporters argue that the policy will spur growth, attract investment, and create jobs domestically, critics warn that it will lead to significantly higher prices for shoppers. The new tariff on imported cars will take effect on April 2, while the import duty on car parts will go into effect on May 3. The components subject to the new policy include engines and engine parts, transmissions and powertrain components, and electrical systems. The tariff will be applied under the USMCA trade agreement, which was ratified during the first Trump administration. Under the plan, imported vehicles will be taxed only on their non-US content. For example, a car with 20 percent US-made components under USMCA will face a 25 percent tariff on the remaining 80 percent of its price. According to Commerce Department data, Mexico is the largest automobile exporter to the US, followed by Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Germany. The biggest exporters of components include Mexico, China, Japan, and South Korea. Unsurprisingly, most foreign automakers and auto parts manufacturers have criticized the new tariffs, arguing that they will negatively impact both manufacturers and consumers. The United Auto Workers union, however, praised the proposed tariffs, claiming they could create more jobs in the US. In a statement, the organization described the move as a victory for auto workers and expressed hope that it would be part of a broader "Made in America renaissance." The union added that it believes the tariffs will encourage US automakers such as GM, Ford, and Stellantis to bring much of their production back to the U.S. after decades of offshoring. Not everyone is convinced, though. According to some industry analysts, the new tariffs could increase the price of an average new car or truck by at least $6,000, as nearly half of all vehicles sold in the US are imported. They further argue that the policy is a blatant violation of the USMCA, the trade deal Trump himself signed during his first term. Satellite-direct-to-device (D2D) provider, Lynk Global has had a busy week with the announcement of successful tests of its service in Turkey followed by further positive news this time in South Africa. Operator MTN South Africa and Lynk Global, whose system is based on what it calls low earth orbit cell-tower-in-space satellites, said on Thursday that they had made Africa's first phone call via satellite. This was part of a technical trial that enabled the two companies to test voice-call quality using a standard smartphone and SMS capabilities over a LEO satellite connection. In the longer term, of course, this could be another option for mobile operators looking for cost-effective ways to provide coverage in underserviced, remote and rural areas. Reuters says the companies received approval from the telecoms regulator ICASA to use radio frequencies on MTN-licensed spectrum for the trial. Lynk, however, is not just busy in Africa. Earlier this week it announced that it had successfully demonstrated its patented technology in a testing campaign conducted with Turkcell, Turkeys largest mobile operator, which has more than 40 million subscribers. The tests, which were conducted in a rural area near Konya, a city south of Ankara in Turkeys Central Anatolia region, utilised Turkcells mobile frequencies and Lynks satellites to successfully provide seamless SMS exchanges and voice calls using commercial cell phones without requiring specialised devices or attachments. The promise of satellite communications has been highlighted for many years as a way to overcome remote connectivity issues notably in Africa. However, affordability both for providers and end users has long been an issue. As more satellites are launched at lower cost and competition increases, could we finally be reaching a tipping point? Among the many operators keeping a close eye on developments are a number in South Africa. Indeed, well ahead of the Lynk trial, MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita announced in November that his company was exploring partnerships with LEO satellite providers to bring internet connection to rural and remote customers in particular. Rival South African operators Cell C and Vodacom are apparently assessing similar schemes; Vodacom announced a partnership with Amazon's Project Kuiper LEO satellite system in 2023. Omans telecoms regulator has approved Starlink to provide broadband internet services across the country using its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. According to the Times of Oman, Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, will deliver high-speed satellite connectivity to all regions in Oman, with speeds of up to 100Mbps. The company will also offer innovative solutions for telecom towers in remote and challenging terrains, supporting Omans digital transformation agenda. Key sectors expected to benefit from enhanced connectivity include oil and gas, mining, tourism, and agriculture. This approval follows another major milestone for Starlink, as the Vietnamese government recently granted the company a five-year trial licence to launch broadband services in the country. SEC ends US companies' need to release climate impact data Washington, March 27 (AFP) Mar 27, 2025 The United States abandoned plans Thursday to require publicly-listed companies to disclose data on their greenhouse gas emissions and exposure to climate risks, with the financial regulator calling the rules "unnecessarily intrusive." The Security and Exchange Commission's rules were adopted in March 2024, in the final year of Democrat Joe Biden's presidency, the first time the companies were required to report and address climate risks. But under the Republican Trump administration the SEC has ended its defense of the disclosure regime. "The goal of today's Commission action ... is to cease the Commission's involvement in the defense of the costly and unnecessarily intrusive climate change disclosure rules," SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda said in a statement. Under the regulation, which was to be phased in over the 2025 fiscal year, companies would have been required to report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions -- which cover direct emissions and those for energy purchased to run operations -- when those emissions are "material," or significant. Listed companies also would have had to report on climate-related risks and their real or potential effects on corporate strategy, business models and forecasts. "States and private parties have challenged the rules," and the commission had paused the regulation pending completion of the litigation, the SEC said Thursday. "Following today's Commission vote, SEC staff sent a letter to the court stating that the Commission withdraws its defense of the rules." Shortly after the text was adopted in March 2024, prosecutors in nine states took the case to a federal appeals court. At the time, West Virginia's attorney general Patrick Morrisey -- today the state's governor -- described the Biden-era policy as "a backdoor move to undermine the energy industry." Morrisey had denounced SEC efforts to force companies to act definitively on climate change when "there are people that devote their life to this topic and you can't find much agreement." A Cornell University study from 2021 showed that 99.9 percent of published research had concluded that climate change was primarily caused by human activity. Canadian deep sea miner to seek US permit as intl talks drag on New York, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 A Canadian mining firm seeking to become the first company allowed to excavate seabeds in international waters said Thursday it will seek US authorization, as negotiations over global regulations drag on. "We believe the United States offers a stable, transparent, and enforceable regulatory path," The Metals Company CEO Gerard Barron said, in a statement. The announcement comes as members of the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority (ISA) continue to debate a global mining code, more than a decade in the making. "It is our strong belief that this path offers the greatest probability of receiving a commercial permit to begin operations in a timely manner," Barron told a conference call, explaining the decision to seek authorization under US law after the "repeated failures" of the ISA to reach an agreement. The Metals Company had announced in late 2024 that it would seek the world's first permit from the ISA on June 27, 2025, via its subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (Nori). The company hopes to extract polymetallic nodules -- stone-like mineral deposits made up of prized metals such as cobalt, manganese, nickel and copper -- from the Pacific seabed. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea gives the ISA responsibility for regulating extraction of the minerals that lie outside national marine borders. But the body, which currently only awards exploration licenses, has been negotiating for more than ten years over a mining code to regulate the sector. An ongoing negotiating session in Kingston, Jamaica has failed to produce any breakthroughs, as scientists, NGOs and a growing number of governments express consternation over threats to marine ecosystems posed by the mining. With no mining code in sight, any application The Mining Company submitted in June would fall into legal limbo. The company, via its American subsidiary, will instead seek approval from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under a 1980 law establishing US rules for international seabed exploitation, it said. The United States is not a member of the ISA nor the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Metals Company has indicated it will specify which areas it will include in its contract at a later date. Rain offers respite to South Korea firefighters as death toll rises Yeongdeok (South Korea), March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Overnight rain helped douse some of South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, authorities said Friday, as the death toll from the unprecedented blazes raging for nearly a week reached 28. More than a dozen fires have ravaged large areas of the country's southeast, destroying an ancient temple, and forcing around 37,000 people to evacuate. The flames blocked roads and knocked out communication lines, causing residents to flee in panic as fireballs rained down on cars stuck in traffic jams to escape the area. The flames have been fanned by high winds and ultra-dry conditions, with the area experiencing below-average rains for months after South Korea experienced its hottest year on record in 2024. But overnight Thursday it rained in the affected area, providing some relief. Authorities told AFP Friday afternoon that the blaze were completely contained in Yeongdeok, one of the villages in the region. "The rain that fell from the afternoon into the early morning aided the firefighting efforts," Korea Forest Service chief Lim Sang-seop said earlier in the day. The rain "reduced the haze, improving visibility, and the cooler temperatures compared to other days create very favourable conditions for firefighting efforts", he said. South Korea's interior ministry said a total of 28 people had been killed as of Friday morning, and 37 others were injured -- nine seriously. Most of the victims of the fire, which hit deeply rural Andong and Uiseong hardest, were "in their 60s and 70s", an official from the Korea Forest Service told AFP. The country is grappling with a rapidly aging society and regional disparities, as just over half of its population resides in the greater Seoul area, while the countryside struggles to attract younger generations. The fatalities include a pilot in his 70s whose helicopter crashed Wednesday while trying to contain a fire, as well as four firefighters and other workers who lost their lives after being trapped by rapidly advancing flames. - Hottest year in 2024 - More than 2,240 houses in the region have been destroyed, according to the latest figures, and an official said Thursday more than 35,000 hectares (86,500 acres) of forest have been burned. The extent of damage makes it South Korea's largest-ever wildfire, after an inferno in April 2000 that scorched 23,913 hectares across the east coast. The fire also destroyed several historic sites, including the Gounsa temple complex in Uiseong, which is believed to have been originally built in the 7th century. Among the damaged structures at the temple are two state-designated "treasures," one of which is a pavilion built in 1668 that overlooks a stream. Last year was South Korea's hottest on record, although temperatures in the months running up to the blaze had been colder than last year and in line with the country's 30-year average, Korea Meteorological Administration data shows. But the fire-hit region had been experiencing unusually dry weather with below-average precipitation. According to the interior ministry, the wildfires were accidentally started by a grave visitor and "sparks from a brush cutter". - Unusually warm - Some locals have expressed concerns that the villages were left to fend for themselves. The governor of Yeongyang, where more than half of its 15,271 residents are aged 60 or older, issued a statement on Friday urging the town's citizens to help by clearing embers and looking after their neighbours. Six of the 28 victims were from the aging village. Governor Oh Do-chang said no helicopters had been deployed in his town over the past three days and urged the central government for more aid. Both the devastating California wildfires in January and the fires in South Korea are similar, said Kimberley Simpson, fellow in nature-based climate solutions at the University of Sheffield's School of Biosciences. "Both were preceded by unusually warm, dry conditions that left vegetation highly flammable, and both were intensified by strong winds that spread the flames and hampered firefighting efforts," she said. "Only three months into 2025, we've already witnessed record-breaking wildfire activity in multiple regions. "As climate change drives rising temperatures and alters rainfall patterns, the conditions that give rise to these devastating fires are becoming more frequent." Canadian deep sea miner to seek US permit as intl talks drag on New York, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 A Canadian mining firm seeking to become the first company allowed to excavate seabeds in international waters said Thursday it will seek US authorization in a move slammed by Greenplace. The Metals Company said the United States offered "the greatest probability of receiving a commercial permit" as negotiations over global regulations drag on. Mining companies are pushing for the go-ahead to scrape vast sections of the Pacific Ocean for metals such as nickel and cobalt, which are used in electric car batteries. But conservation groups fear this could devastate poorly understood marine systems that play a crucial role in regulating the climate. The Metals Company invested more than half a billion dollars over the past 10 years to "understand and responsibly develop" mining in the Pacific and was "ready" to begin commercial operations, the firm's CEO Gerard Barron told a conference call. The decision to seek authorization under US law came after the "repeated failures" of the ISA to reach an agreement, he added. The announcement comes as members of the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority (ISA) debate a global mining code, which is more than a decade in the making. The Metals Company announced in late 2024 that it would seek the world's first permit from the ISA on June 27, 2025, via its subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (Nori). The industry giant hopes to extract polymetallic nodules -- stone-like mineral deposits made up of prized metals -- from the Pacific seabed. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea gives the ISA responsibility for regulating extraction of the minerals that lie outside national marine borders. But the body, which currently only awards exploration licenses, has been negotiating for more than 10 years over a mining code to regulate the sector. An ongoing negotiating session in Kingston, Jamaica has failed to produce any breakthroughs, faced with concerns from scientists, NGOs and a growing number of governments. With no mining code in sight, any application The Mining Company submitted in June would fall into legal limbo. The company, via its American subsidiary, will instead seek approval from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under a 1980 law establishing US rules for international seabed exploitation, it said. "This is another of TMC's pathetic ploys and an insult to multilateralism," Louisa Casson, a global project leader at Greenpeace, told AFP. "This action perpetuates the reckless race for resources, the consequences of which we know to be disastrous worldwide. The Pacific is not real estate to be bought, sold, or stolen." She said the move was an "insult" to Pacific nations Nauru and Tonga, which have been working with The Metals Company in the hope of starting deep-sea mining. But the firm said it had discussed the plans with the presidents of both island states, and enjoys "excellent" relations with them. "We continue to respect our agreements," said chief financial officer Craig Shesky, adding that discussions with sponsoring states would continue. He said the firm was still considering details such as which US regulator it would apply to. The United States is not a member of the ISA nor the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Metals Company has also indicated it will specify which areas it will include in its contract at a later date. Powerful earthquake rocks Myanmar, Thailand Naypyidaw, Myanmar, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 A powerful earthquake rocked central Myanmar on Friday, buckling roads in capital Naypyidaw, damaging buildings and forcing people to flee into the streets in neighbouring Thailand. The 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing on Friday afternoon at a shallow depth, the United States Geological Survey said. A 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the same area minutes later. "I heard it and I was sleeping in the house, I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building," Duangjai, a resident of the popular northern Thailand tourist city Chiang Mai, told AFP. Chunks of ceilings fell from buildings and roads buckled in Myanmar capital Naypyidaw, a sprawling, purpose-built city with highways up to 20 lanes wide, according to AFP journalists. A team of AFP journalists were at the National Museum in Naypyidaw when the earthquake struck and the building began shaking. Pieces fell from the ceiling and walls cracked as uniformed staff ran outside, some of them trembling and tearful, others grabbing cellphones to try to contact loved ones. The ground vibrated violently for around half a minute before settling. There were no immediate reports of casualties after the quakes but they caused panic in nearby cities in northern Thailand and down to capital Bangkok. Sai, a 76-year-old Chiang Mai resident, was working at a minimart when the shop started the shake. "I quickly rushed out of the shop along with other customers," he said. "This is the strongest tremor I've experienced in my life." - Buildings damaged - The quake damaged buildings in Bangkok and forced the suspension of some metro and light rail services in the city. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Friday she had interrupted an official visit to the southern island of Phuket to hold an "urgent meeting" after the quake, according to a post on X. Tremors were also felt in China's southwest Yunnan province, according to Beijing's quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude. Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS. A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination. The breakneck pace of development in Myanmar's cities, combined with crumbling infrastructure and poor urban planning, has also made the country's most populous areas vulnerable to earthquakes and other disasters, experts say. The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states. CORRECTED: Canadian deep sea miner to seek US permit as intl talks drag on New York, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 A Canadian mining firm seeking to become the first company allowed to excavate seabeds in international waters said Thursday it will seek US authorization in a move slammed by Greenpeace. The Metals Company said the United States offered "the greatest probability of receiving a commercial permit" as negotiations over global regulations drag on. Mining companies are pushing for the go-ahead to scrape vast sections of the Pacific Ocean for metals such as nickel and cobalt, which are used in electric car batteries. But conservation groups fear this could devastate poorly understood marine systems that play a crucial role in regulating the climate. The Metals Company invested more than half a billion dollars over the past 10 years to "understand and responsibly develop" mining in the Pacific and was "ready" to begin commercial operations, the firm's CEO Gerard Barron told a conference call. The decision to seek authorization under US law came after the "repeated failures" of the ISA to reach an agreement, he added. The announcement comes as members of the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority (ISA) debate a global mining code, which is more than a decade in the making. The Metals Company announced in late 2024 that it would seek the world's first permit from the ISA on June 27, 2025, via its subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (Nori). The industry giant hopes to extract polymetallic nodules -- stone-like mineral deposits made up of prized metals -- from the Pacific seabed. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea gives the ISA responsibility for regulating extraction of the minerals that lie outside national marine borders. But the body, which currently only awards exploration licenses, has been negotiating for more than 10 years over a mining code to regulate the sector. An ongoing negotiating session in Kingston, Jamaica, has failed to produce any breakthroughs, faced with concerns from scientists, NGOs and a growing number of governments. With no mining code in sight, any application The Mining Company submitted in June would fall into legal limbo. The company, via its American subsidiary, will instead seek approval from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under a 1980 law establishing US rules for international seabed exploitation, it said. "This is another of TMC's pathetic ploys and an insult to multilateralism," Louisa Casson, a global project leader at Greenpeace, told AFP. "This action perpetuates the reckless race for resources, the consequences of which we know to be disastrous worldwide. The Pacific is not real estate to be bought, sold, or stolen." She said the move was an "insult" to Pacific nations Nauru and Tonga, which have been working with The Metals Company in the hope of starting deep-sea mining. But the firm said it had discussed the plans with the presidents of both island states, and enjoys "excellent" relations with them. "We continue to respect our agreements," said chief financial officer Craig Shesky, adding that discussions with sponsoring states would continue. He said the firm was still considering details such as which US regulator it would apply to. The United States is not a member of the ISA nor the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Metals Company has also indicated it will specify which areas it will include in its contract at a later date. Clouds and conspiracies: concerns over push to make rain Paris, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Can countries control the clouds? And should they? As climate change drives floods and drought, rainmaking is in fashion across the world, despite mixed evidence that it works and concerns it can stoke cross-border tensions. While attempting to control the weather might sound like science fiction, countries have been seeding clouds for decades to try to make rain or snow fall in specific regions. Invented in the 1940s, seeding involves a variety of techniques including adding particles to clouds via aircraft. It is used today across the world in an attempt to alleviate drought, fight forest fires and even to disperse fog at airports. In 2008, China used it to try to stop rain from falling on Beijing's Olympic stadium. But experts say that there is insufficient oversight of the practice, as countries show an increasing interest in this and other geoengineering techniques as the planet warms. The American Meteorological Society has said that "unintended consequences" of cloud seeding have not been clearly shown -- or ruled out -- and raised concerns that unanticipated effects from weather modification could cross political boundaries. But experts say the main risk might be more a matter of perception. "If a country learns that its neighbour is changing the weather, it will be tempted to blame the neighbour to explain a drought," according to a research note published this month by Marine de Guglielmo Weber, a researcher at France's Strategic Research Institute at the Paris Military School (IRSEM). China, for example, is one of the world's most prolific weather modifiers, launching the Sky River initiative in 2018 with the aim of alleviating water shortages and boosting the country's food security. The country has conducted operations on the Tibetan plateau, but de Guglielmo Weber warned that this could be seen to affect water availability in downstream countries, such as its rival India. - 'Cloud theft' - French writer Mathieu Simonet, who has campaigned for clouds to have UN protection, said seeding could stoke fake news and misinformation "in today's explosive world". "I think the real risk of cloud theft is psychological," he said. In 2018, for example, an Iranian general accused Israel of "stealing clouds" to prevent rain falling in Iran, which was then suffering a severe drought. In a context of "extremely intense informational confusion", de Guglielmo Weber warned: "Sometimes it's the conspiracy that wins out," adding that this can be fuelled by mistrust of scientific institutions. In 2024, for example, following huge floods in southern Brazil and in the United Arab Emirates, thousands of climate sceptic social media accounts spread false accusations that the torrential rains were triggered by cloud seeding. De Guglielmo Weber said that raises the challenge of proving, or disproving, the role of weather modification. And there have been instances when cloud seeding was used deliberately in warfare. The United States used it during "Operation Popeye" to slow the enemy advance during the Vietnam War. In response, the UN created a 1976 convention prohibiting "military or any other hostile use of environmental modification techniques". A number of countries have not signed the convention, said de Guglielmo Weber. She added that the accord "is very limited" and does not apply if a country causes a climate hazard by accident. - 'Silver bullet' - Researcher Laura Kuhl said there was "significant danger that cloud seeding may do more harm than good", in a 2022 article for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. "Cloud seeding is perhaps the ultimate silver bullet, in which literal silver in the form of silver iodide is infused into clouds, causing ice crystals to form and water to condense into rain or snow," wrote Kuhl, an associate professor at Northeastern University in the United States, a specialist in climate adaptation. She said technological fixes like weather manipulation could distract attention from more complex discussions and reinforce things like unequal water access. Meanwhile, research on the effects of cloud seeding on neighbouring regions is mixed -- and some evidence suggests it does not work very well even in the target area. An assessment published in 2019 by an expert team on weather modification from the World Meteorological Organization found seeding increases precipitation between "essentially zero" and around 20 percent. It recognised that more countries were turning to cloud seeding but added: "Sometimes desperate activities are based on empty promises rather than sound science." Recovering pope's voice 'stronger', prays for Myanmar quake victims Vatican City, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 Pope Francis is showing "slight improvements" as he recovers at home from five weeks in hospital with life-threatening double pneumonia, with his voice notably now stronger, the Vatican said Friday. The 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church is also following the news, and offered his prayers for the victims of the powerful earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand, the press office said. Francis left Rome's Gemelli hospital on Sunday, returning to his home in the Vatican for what doctors say will be at least two months of convalescence. The Vatican said Friday he was continuing motor and respiratory physiotherapy and "his condition is improving, including his capacity to speak". Before being discharged, the Argentine pontiff thanked well-wishers from a hospital balcony, his voice sounding weak and breathless. It was his first appearance in public since he was admitted on February 14. One of his doctors, Sergio Alfieri, previously said that with double pneumonia the lungs are damaged and the respiratory muscles are strained, so it can take time for the voice to return to normal. The Vatican said the pope was using less and less high-flow oxygen to help him breathe, but still used it for part of the night. Francis has not received visitors this week other than "his closest collaborators", it said. It added that he was "in good spirits". For now, Francis does not intend to appear in public for his Sunday Angelus prayer, instead publishing the text, as he has since his hospitalisation, it said. In a telegram published by the Vatican, Francis said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation" caused by the earthquake in Myanmar. He offered prayers for those who died -- estimated for now at more than 20 people -- and for emergency workers. The pontiff also sent a telegram to express his concern and prayers following South Korea's worst-ever wildfires. WHO readying medical supplies for 'huge' Myanmar quake Geneva, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 The WHO said it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies following Friday's "huge" earthquake in Myanmar and had triggered its emergency management response. The World Health Organization is coordinating its earthquake response from its Geneva headquarters "because we see this as a huge event" with "clearly a very, very big threat to life and health", spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing. "We've activated our logistics hub to look particularly for trauma supplies and things like external fixators because we expect that there will be many, many injuries that need to be dealt with," Harris said. She said the WHO would also be concentrating on getting in essential medicines, while the health infrastructure in Myanmar itself might be damaged. Harris said that due to recent experience with the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, "we know very well what you need to send in first". The UN health agency already has a special cell to deal with Myanmar, which has been rocked by fighting between numerous ethnic rebel groups and the army. And by chance, the WHO had done an assessment in recent weeks of the best ways to get supplies into Myanmar. "We are ready to move in -- but now we have to know exactly where, what and why. It's information from the ground that's really critical right now," said Harris. Meanwhile the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called for rapid access to affected areas and the timely approval of supplies and personnel. "MSF medical and humanitarian staff in Myanmar and neighbouring countries are ready to respond at scale to the urgent needs of affected communities, once authorities facilitate swift and unhindered access for teams to do assessments and provide medical care," it said in a statement. "The ability to deploy assessment teams -- and ideally, surgical teams -- is crucial in the first hours and days after an earthquake to deliver life-saving surgical care for the injured." The Geneva-based organisation said that given the 7.7 magnitude of the quake, its impact on people "could be devastating", particularly for those needing immediate help for trauma injuries. Massive quake kills more than 150 in Myanmar, Thailand Naypyidaw, Myanmar, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 A huge earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds, with dozens trapped in collapsed buildings and the death toll expected to rise. The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock. The quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres (miles) away in Bangkok. While the full extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, the leader of isolated Myanmar, in the grip of a civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said 144 people had been killed, with 732 confirmed injured, but warned the toll was "likely to rise". Eight deaths have been confirmed so far in Thailand, with more expected. "In some places, some buildings collapsed," he said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw. "I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you." He urged massive relief efforts in the wake of the disaster and said he had "opened all ways for foreign aid". - 'Mass casualty area' - Four years of civil war sparked by the military seizing power have ravaged Myanmar's infrastructure and healthcare system, leaving it ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster. The country declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions after the quake, which the World Health Organization described as a "very, very big threat to life and health". Hundreds of casualties arrived at a major hospital in Naypyidaw, where the emergency department entrance had collapsed on a car. An official at the hospital, the same one visited by the junta chief, described it as a "mass casualty area" with medics treating the wounded outside. "I haven't seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I'm so exhausted now," a doctor told AFP. Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, appeared to have been badly hit. AFP photos from the city showed multiple buildings in ruins. A resident reached by phone told AFP that a hospital and a hotel had been destroyed, among other buildings, and said the city was badly lacking in rescue personnel. - Skyscraper collapse - Across the border in Thailand, a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed to a tangled heap of rubble and dust in a matter of seconds. Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight dead bodies have been recovered and, with between 90 and 110 people unaccounted for, the toll is expected to rise. "We see several dead bodies under the rubble. We will take time to bring the bodies out to avoid any further collapses," he told reporters. "I heard people calling for help, saying 'help me'," Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. As night fell, around 100 rescue workers assembled at the scene to search for survivors, illuminated by specially erected floodlights. Visiting the site, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said "every building" in Bangkok would need to be inspected for safety, though it was not immediately clear how that would be carried out. An emergency zone was declared in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were suspended. The streets of the capital were full of commuters attempting to walk home, or simply taking refuge in the entrances of malls and office buildings. City authorities said parks would stay open overnight for those unable to sleep at home. Strong quakes are extremely rare in Thailand, and across Bangkok and the northern tourist destination of Chiang Mai, where the power briefly went out, stunned residents hurried outside, unsure of how to respond. Sai, 76, rushed out of a minimart in Chiang Mai when the shop started to shake. "This is the strongest tremor I've experienced in my life," Sai said. The quake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors. India, France and the European Union all offered to provide assistance, while the WHO said it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies. Pope Francis said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation" in a telegram published by the Vatican. Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination. burs-pdw/sst Trump says US will help after Myanmar quake Washington, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 President Donald Trump on Friday vowed the United States would assist Myanmar after it was hit by a huge earthquake, following a rare plea for aid by the Southeast Asian nation's ruling junta. "It's terrible," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office about the quake when asked if he would respond to the appeal by Myanmar's military rulers. "It's a real bad one, and we will be helping. We've already spoken with the country." The huge 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds. Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing had earlier invited "any country, any organization" to help with relief, in a speech aired on state media. Four years of civil war sparked by the military seizing power have ravaged Myanmar's infrastructure and health care system, leaving it ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster. The United States has in recent years been pressing Myanmar's rulers for progress on key concerns such as freeing political prisoners and reducing violence. Myanmar's junta has meanwhile been fostering ties with key ally Russia, with leader Min Aung Hlaing visiting President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this month. The two countries are talking about a plan for Moscow to help build a small nuclear power plant in Myanmar. Seabed agency head slams Canada mining firm's 'unilateral' move United Nations, United States, March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 The head of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) on Friday denounced a plan by a Canadian firm to bypass a UN treaty and seek a license directly from the United States for rights to mine under the Pacific. "I must express my deep concern," said ISA chief Leticia Carvalho, who insisted that her international agency holds an "exclusive mandate" to approve or reject such activities. A unilateral agreement "would constitute a violation of international law," undermining multilateral efforts to peacefully regulate the world's seabeds, she said. Conservation groups adamantly oppose seabed mining, which they say could devastate vital but poorly understood marine systems. Greenpeace slammed the Metals Company announcement as "a slap in the face to international cooperation." Created by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), the ISA, an autonomous international organization, was designed to protect seabeds in international waters and to regulate mining. The United States is not a member of the ISA nor of Unclos. "All exploration and exploitation activities in the area must be carried out under the authority's control," Carvalho insisted as the ISA's governing council wound up a meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. "This remains the only universally recognized, legitimate framework," she said. The Metals Company of Canada (TMC), which hopes to become the first company allowed to excavate seabeds in international waters, said Thursday it would seek authorization from the Trump administration, which has shown intense interest in finding new sources of rare metals. The company said it will submit, via its subsidiary Nori, a request for US approval under a 1980 law establishing US rules for international seabed exploitation. Mining companies want to scrape vast sections of the Pacific Ocean seabed for metals such as nickel and cobalt, which are used in electric car batteries and other electronics. TMC invested more than half a billion dollars over the past 10 years to "understand and responsibly develop" mining in the Pacific and is ready to begin commercial operations, the firm's CEO Gerard Barron told a conference call. The company had originally said it planned in June to go to the ISA to request approval of its mining plans. But after denouncing the "repeated failure" of the agency to finalize a global mining code regulating such activities, TMC said Thursday that it would turn to the United States. CEO Gerard Barron said he has been given encouragement in meetings at the White House and with American lawmakers, and said the US path would give the company its best chance to obtain a permit expeditiously. Debate over the global mining code has gone on for more than a decade. Calls to pause deep-sea mining have meantime been growing, not waning, amid fears of irreversible damage to the undersea environment. TMC has conducted extensive exploratory work in an area of the Pacific between Mexico and Hawaii viewed as rich in so-called polymetallic modules. Australias startup scene is charging into 2025 with fresh funding bolstering innovation across a wide range of industries. Heres a look at some of the most exciting funding news this week: DeteQt secures $750,000 in pre-seed funding Quantum sensing startup DeteQt, cofounded by two University of Sydney professors, has raised $750,000 in pre-Seed funding. The round was supported by Main Sequence Ventures, backed by CSIRO, and US deep tech investor ATP Fund. DeteQt, founded by Jim Rabeau and Omid Kavehei, leverages their expertise in diamond-based quantum sensing and semiconductor design. Rabeau, with a background in leadership roles at Microsoft and CSIRO, has also expanded the team with COO Rupal Ismin, leading to the startups spinout from the University of Sydney Nano Institute. PsiQuantum seeks additional $1.2 billion in funding PsiQuantum, the US-based quantum computing startup, is in the process of raising at least $750 million (A$1.19 billion) to continue its mission of building the worlds first practical quantum computer. The company, valued at $6 billion (A$9.5 billion), is backed by $940 million in Australian and Queensland government funding. PsiQuantum, founded in 2015 by Australian professors Jeremy OBrien, Terry Rudolph, Mark Thompson, and Pete Shadbolt, uses photons as qubits in its groundbreaking quantum computing technology. Iceberg Quantum raises $2 million in pre-seed funding Iceberg Quantum, a quantum computing startup cofounded by three former PhD students from the University of Sydney, has raised $2 million in a pre-Seed round. The funding will be used to develop fault-tolerant quantum computing architectures. The round was led by Blackbird, with support from UK-based LocalGlobe. Iceberg Quantum, co-founded by Dr. Felix Thomsen, Larry Cohen, and Sam Smith, is also collaborating with PsiQuantum to advance their technology. The team, led by Prof. Stephen Bartlett from the University of Sydney, aims to improve quantum computings robustness with enhanced error correction techniques. Carma secures $30 million convertible note Carma, Australias leading fully digital pre-owned car platform, has raised AUD$30 million in a convertible note funding round. Led by Regal Funds Management and Tiger Global, with participation from existing investors such as General Catalyst and Five V, the funding highlights continued confidence in Carmas mission to transform the pre-owned car buying and selling experience in Australia. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 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 Are you sure you havent got ADHD, babe? The question comes from a dear and well-meaning friend after I mention in passing how I swing between being hyper-focused and struggling to concentrate at work. I politely shrug and chirp, dont think so!, while secretly wondering when and why it became perfectly acceptable to throw out armchair diagnoses to our mates or, indeed, perfect strangers based on the scantest of symptoms. Aside from being just plain wrong if I have Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) then Id argue so does anyone whos ever worked an office job or owned a smartphone its kind of, well, rude, isnt it? Not to mention utterly bizarre that the average layperson feels so comfortable flinging out medical labels. In the era of social media, it seems like everyone considers themselves an expert on neurodivergence even when that expertise boils down to having listened to a podcast or watched a YouTube short about it one time. The issue has come to the fore again due to actor Bella Ramseys revelation that they obtained their autism diagnosis while filming the first season of The Last of Us after a crew member spotted and flagged the signs. In Ramseys case, it was slightly different; the colleague in question genuinely had first-hand experience as their own child is neurodivergent. But thats a rarity these days. Most of the time, the person proffering their strident opinion on the complexities of the chemical makeup of your brain or the way its wired is completely unqualified to do so. The age of the armchair diagnosis is in full swing. Social media has undoubtedly been a huge factor in your average Joe feeling entitled to pronounce the people in their lives neurospicy, thanks to the exponential growth in content surrounding ADHD and autism. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok, while initially great tools for shedding light on these conditions and destigmatising them, have recently been accused of peddling a huge amount of misinformation and convincing an increasing number of people to misdiagnose themselves and others. One academic study published earlier this month suggested that social media content is romanticising ADHD, portraying it as a cute disorder and pathologising normal everyday experiences as symptoms bog-standard things like having a messy bedroom, forgetting where your keys are or procrastinating at work. After analysing the 100 most popular ADHD videos on TikTok, psychologists from the University of British Columbia in Canada found that fewer than half the claims about symptoms were robust or accurately reflected clinical guidelines and classed two-thirds of the ADHD-related statements as normal human experiences. Perhaps unsurprisingly, young adults who watched loads of ADHD content were far more likely to have overestimated the prevalence and severity of symptoms in the general population. Bella Ramsey has opened up about their autism diagnosis ( Getty/TIME ) Experts have identified a similar trend when it comes to #autism content online. One analysis of TikTok autism spectrum disorder (ASD) videos published in the science journal Drugs, Addictions and Health in December 2024 revealed that of 100 TikTok videos tagged with autism spectrum disorder, 24 per cent were classed as useful compared to the 40 per cent that were deemed misleading. Most clips (86 per cent) werent posted by healthcare professionals. Crucially, the study broke down whether videos were about the symptoms/diagnosis of ASD; overall information about the condition; causes of ASD; or advice on managing the disorder. The vast majority (62 per cent) of content concerned itself with symptoms and diagnosis. Is it any wonder, then, that so many social media users suddenly start seeing neurodivergence everywhere they look? While some people are content to diagnose themselves or their friends whether erroneously or not based on online findings, many are seeking to make it official. There has been a huge surge in the number of patients in the UK who have requested an autism assessment, growing 22 per cent year on year to hit 200,000 in August 2024. With demand more than 10 times higher than it was in 2019, a massive backlog has built up 90 per cent of referrals are waiting longer than the recommended 13 weeks for assessment, according to NHS data. Whats the point of attaching a label to someone if theres no resource or help available on the other side of it? Its an even worse state of affairs for young people, with a 350 per cent rise in children waiting for an autism assessment since the height of the Covid pandemic. Waiting times exceed two years; Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are completely overwhelmed. Up to 80 per cent of child mental health referrals to the latter are now autism-related in parts of the UK. A friend tells me about her autistic nephew who cannot find a local secondary school able to accommodate his additional needs. Diagnosis is only the first step; whats the point of attaching a label to someone if theres no resource or help available on the other side of it? Some experts have raised the issue of potential misdiagnosis due to increased awareness of these disorders, while others have argued that, if more of us actually are neurodivergent, shouldnt research be focused on helping autistic people lead happier, healthier lives? We are currently very focused on making a yes or no distinction in terms of diagnoses, as William Mandy, a professor of neurodevelopmental conditions at University College London, told The Guardian. But why not say, Somebody has these traits. How might that be affecting their life and what we can do to help? Whatever the reason, armchair diagnosis probably isnt the answer. So next time you go to brand your neighbour with ASD because theyre a bit of a perfectionist, or your colleague with ADD because theyre always 10 minutes late, it might be time to stop and reconsider whether you might be the real problem. 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 Craig Conover is out of his single era. The Southern Charm star revealed on Thursdays episode of Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen that hes dating again following the end of his three-year relationship with fellow Bravo star Paige DeSorbo. When Cohen asked if hes back in the dating pool, Conover said I am. You know, when I date, I tend to date only one person at a time, Conover said when asked if he was dating anyone specifically. So I've been seeing someone. An audience member was quick to ask Conover if he was dating his new co-star Salley Carson, but those rumors were debunked. No, it's not Salley, he said. But Conover remained tight-lipped on further details. DeSorbo a cast member on Bravos Summer House first went public with the couples breakup back in December in an episode of her podcast, Giggly Squad, with Hannah Berner. Craig and I have decided to no longer be together, she said. Conover did not reveal who he is currently dating, but confirmed it was not his co-star Salley Carson ( Getty Images ) I love him. I think he loves me. I think we will remain friends, DeSorbo continued. No one did anything. It wasnt a bad thing. I think we both were just being really mature and saying what we want and what we didnt want, and I think thats extremely powerful to be able to voice how youre feeling in real-time and what you want for your future. DeSorbo said it felt weird to talk about their breakup publicly even though their relationship was aired on several Bravo shows. The two reportedly got together in 2021 while filming Winter House, which sees stars from the Bravoverse vacation in various wintery locations for two weeks. DeSorbo said she and Conover, 36, have grown a lot in the last few transformative years, especially as shed spent most of it living in Manhattan away from him in Charleston, South Carolina. I have so much love and respect for Craig. I think he is one of the best people Ive met in my entire life, she said. I will remain the biggest fan for him and want the best for him, and he truly will get the best because he is the best. But, with that said, I think it is the right decision for both of us. Speaking to Cohen on Thursday, Conover also reacted to DeSorbo praising John Hamm who gave her a shout-out shortly after the break-up news went public. She commented on it and was like, I've watched this a million times, it's amazing, Conover said. And you're just like, God, we're so different. How are you finding the fun in this? To me, the person that she's kind of been since the breakup isn't the person that I remember dating. Conover continued to speak about how he felt his ex-girlfriend had changed since their breakup. She's fighting with people in the comments, she's starting to say mean stuff about me based on what the internet is saying. I'm just like, I didn't do anything to you, he said. Although, he did acknowledge that he had his own flaws during their relationship. Sure, I wasn't a perfect boyfriend, he said. I had a lot of s*** that I had to work out. It's been an interesting breakup to say the least. 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 Toby Atkinson* was on his way home from after work drinks in Shoreditch when his unlocked phone was swiped clean out of his hands. This alone doesnt make the 30-year-old special; Britain is in the midst of a phone-snatching epidemic, which sees more than 225 devices stolen on average each day. But, by the end of the evening, Atkinsons swift mugging would cost him a stomach-churning 750,000. While a new iPhone these days will set you back between 450 and 1500, thieves are in it for much more than the profits from the resale of a stolen device. In a wave of cryptomuggings, robbers are targeting those whove invested in digital currency, like Bitcoin, to loot their phones for hundreds of thousands. Atkinson, who started investing in crypto after his mum gave him 100 pocket money for his 16th birthday, had managed to turn that gift into well over a million. Unfortunately, he knew his life savings sitting unprotected in an app on his phone were on the line the minute his device was taken. I chased him down an alleyway, Atkinson says, explaining how he pressed the man up against a wall and demanded his phone back until he realised two other gang members had followed him into the alley. One had a machete the size of my arm, and the other had a knife... I probably stood there for 40 minutes while they went through every single app that contained money or an investment and made me transfer it out. I didnt manage to save anything. It was all taken. They took, in total, about 750k. It was a tough ordeal, he mourns. Cryptocurrency, a digital form of money that doesnt require involvement from banks, is a ripe target for theft as it can be transferred irreversibly in seconds with little more than a password. In terms of the gainfulness of their crimes, cryptomuggers are like modern-day train bandits, funnelling large sums along the digital transaction ledger, known as the blockchain, in place of the locomotive. Last year, a Florida man was jailed for leading a gang on a violent spree of home invasions and kidnappings to force victims to transfer over the contents of their crypto wallets. Meanwhile, in Lancashire in 2023, a 28-year-old was convicted for having 1.2m of stolen crypto in his account after a violent robbery. In comparison to online bank accounts, which have encryption features and timed logouts, crypto apps have flimsy security measures, says David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain. Its like carrying around little lumps of gold inside your phone and someone can steal them, he warns. It is so stupidly brittle. If your crypto gets stolen, you cant get them back. Theyre gone. These are not reversible transactions. Would you go down the pub with 10,000 cash in your pocket? Probably not. You need to treat crypto like a big pile of money. Atkinson, unfortunately, knew all of this. I normally store all my crypto on a cold storage, on a USB stick, which means it cant be touched or hacked, he says. The only reason Id taken it off was to put a deposit down on a house. I was pretty distraught. It was my time to buy a nice home, and it was taken from me in a single moment. Atkinson explains that he only managed to make so much from e-currency in the first place because he was a very early adopter of crypto trading. I wont make that amount again, he laments. open image in gallery Phone-snatchers are targeting cryptocurrency investors and draining victims accounts of digital cash worth thousands ( AFP/Getty ) Sam Kelly* was ordering an Uber home from a night out in Hackney when a man ran past him and snatched his unlocked phone out of his hand. I followed him for two or three blocks, but he was rapid, the 28-year-old says. Two of his mates were following behind me so if I had caught up with him, I would have been f***ed either way. After spending 45 minutes finding someone to help him get a taxi home, Kelly rushed to his laptop to deactivate his crypto accounts which had already been drained, despite the muggers never threatening him for his passwords. I still dont know how they managed to do it so quickly, he says, refusing to specify how much money he lost but admitting hed invested a five figure sum. I did have security settings on both [accounts], he adds, speculating that the thieves gained access via passwords stored elsewhere in his phone. The muggers rode around London in an Uber paid for by Kelly while bleeding him dry, so their location couldnt be tracked. They just discarded the phone the next day, he says. It was pretty demoralising. A decent amount of money was taken out of my account. The first few days [afterwards] were pretty tough. Both Atkinson and Kelly went to the police, who were essentially useless. Because there was no evidence that Atkinsons life savings had been taken by armed thieves, all the force could log as stolen was his phone, which is classified as a petty crime. They robbed my livelihood and the police werent going to do anything about it, he fumes. Although a case file was opened for Kelly, investigating officers got key details of the incident, including the location, wrong multiple times. Ultimately, the only help they gave him was an advice leaflet in the post. They werent useful at all, he says. It wasnt the greatest experience. open image in gallery Cryptocurrency isnt protected from theft like money in a normal bank, as digital currency transactions arent regulated in the UK ( AFP/Getty ) Phil Ariss, who previously headed the cryptocurrency team on the National Police Chiefs Councils cybercrime programme, says that despite common misconceptions officers can locate stolen crypto with specialist tech that traces the assets as soon as thieves attempt to cash out into sterling or another currency. Time is of the essence, he says. But retrieving your lost cash isnt a total lost cause. With the right training and the right software, [law enforcement] can trace it, he continues, adding that police should help victims with the process of retrieving their digital cash when they report the crime, as well as making sure theyre safe and well. Kelly took matters into his own hands when this protocol failed to manifest. He complained to the two companies whose apps he had used that thieves had accessed his accounts despite the security measures that were in place, and raised the case with the financial ombudsman. Ive been able to get well over half of mine back, he reveals. But Kelly was lucky, as crypto isnt regulated in the UK, so investors arent automatically protected if they lose their money to theft, as they are with online banking. For Atkinson, who made the transactions himself albeit at knifepoint no such complaint is viable, and the emotional implications have been grim. In 2025, a digital robbery can feel just as violating as a home break-in; we store more of ourselves in our Notes apps, iCloud photo albums, and WhatsApp messages than we do in our bedside drawer. Somewhat surprisingly, Atkinson is as rattled by this invasion as he is by the financial hit. I was shaken up, he admits. These people had access to all my photos, all my emails. Its not just a case of money, but everything I hold private that was stored on my phone. I felt physically and emotionally assaulted, he reflects of the ordeal. Id lost all my privacy. *Names have been changed 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 Eid is a special time for Muslims. There are two major Eid celebrations each year: Eid al-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha is connected to the dates of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Eid, which means festival or feast in Arabic, is a celebratory occasion for more than one billion Muslims worldwide. However, in some countries, especially multicultural ones like Australia, Muslims dont always celebrate Eid on the same day. Heres why. Beyond different groups celebrating on different days, the timing of Eid celebrations also shift as a whole each year. Thats because Islam follows the lunar calendar, based on the moons cycles unlike the Gregorian calendar, which follows the sun. As such, dates on the Islamic calendar come 1012 days earlier each year. This means the dates of both Eids also move about 11 days forward each year. open image in gallery Eid al-Adha happens on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah (the 12th month), during Hajj. ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) In terms of the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr happens on the 1st of the month of Shawwal (the 10th month), which comes right after the month of Ramadan. Eid al-Adha happens on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah (the 12th month), during Hajj. Since Islam follows the lunar calendar, determining the start of each Islamic month, and the dates of both Eids, requires sighting the new crescent moon, which comes directly after the new moon (the phase in which the moon is invisible). But there are different methods for doing this, and different scholarly interpretations regarding what method is best. These variations are the reason one group in a community might celebrate on a Sunday, while others may celebrate on a Monday. Some Muslims believe each country should rely on its own local moon sighting. This means if the new crescent moon is visible in neighbouring countries, but not in Australia (such as if its hidden behind clouds), then Australia should celebrate a day after its neighbours. The organisation Moonsighting Australia follows this method, only declaring Eid when the moon is seen locally. However, others argue if the moon has been sighted anywhere in the world, it should be accepted by all Muslims as the start of the new Islamic month. Some Muslims in Australia opt for this global moon sighting approach, following Saudi Arabias Eid announcement even when the moon is not sighted locally. Apart from the question of where the crescent moon is sighted, there are also different views over how it should be sighted. Many scholars believe in physically sighting it with the eyes, as was practised during the time of Prophet Muhammad. But some Muslim countries, such as in Turkey and parts of Europe, use astronomical calculations to predict the new moons birth. This allows them to pre-set the date of Eid months, or even years, in advance. In Muslim-majority countries, deciding the day of Eid happens at a government level. For example, in Saudi Arabia, the Supreme Court officially declares the date based on moon sighting reports. This decision sets the timing for Eid prayers and public holidays for the entire nation, allowing for unified celebrations across the country. But Muslims in Australia come from diverse cultural backgrounds, and hold varying views regarding how the moon should be sighted. Some may follow the Eid announcement from their country of origin. Others may rely on local announcements, or on dates set by peak bodies such as the Australian National Imams Council. One 2023 report published by the ISRA Academy surveyed more than 5,500 Muslims in Australia to understand how they determined the date of Eid. The findings reveal notable differences across communities. Respondents from the Arab community were almost evenly split between following their local mosque (28.5 per cent) and the Australian National Imams Council (28.0 per cent), with a slightly lower percentage (23.9 per cent) following Moonsighting Australia. Only 0.6 per cent followed their country of origin. Among the Turkish community, 16.1 per cent followed their country of origin, while the largest proportion (28.5 per cent) relied on a local mosque or Islamic organisation. But given Turkish mosques tend to follow Turkeys state religious institution, Diyanet, most Australian Turks (44.6 per cent) ultimately align with Turkeys decision on Eid. Of the others, 18.8 per cent followed Moonsighting Australia and 14.6 per cent following the national imams council. In the African Muslim community, 48.4 per cent followed Moonsighting Australia, while 32.8 per cent relied on a local mosque, and 11.7 per cent on the imams council. While celebrating Eid on different days may seem divisive and fragmenting, there are positive aspects to this. For one thing, it means Australian Muslims actively seek out information from various religious authorities. This reflects a high level of public engagement in religious decisions rather than following blindly. The strong influence of organisations such as the Australian National Imams Council and Moonsighting Australia also suggests local religious institutions are a trusted source for guidance. Moreover, the high percentage of Muslims now following Moonsighting Australia indicates a trend towards a localised determination of Eid. And this trend will likely become stronger with the emergence of third- and fourth- generation Australian Muslims who are less connected with their ancestral homelands. Only time will tell whether most Australian Muslims will eventually celebrate Eid on the same day. In the meantime, families and communities continue to navigate these differences with understanding and respect. Zuleyha Keskin is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the Charles Sturt University, in Bathurst, Australia. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article Hong Kong actress Katy Kung has shared her aspiration to find love in Malaysia, expressing a strong desire to eventually settle down in the country. Hong Kong actress Katy Kung. Photo from Kung's Instagram As reported by The Star, in an interview with Chinese media, Kung revealed her wish to find romance in Malaysia, saying that she frequently asks her fellow Hong Kong actress Priscilla Wong, who often visits Malaysia, to introduce her to potential suitors. "I often ask Priscilla to introduce me to potential suitors here. She has many friends in Malaysia, and when the time comes, I hope to marry here," Kung shared. Although she has yet to meet the right person, Kung remains optimistic about finding love, trusting that fate will guide her to the right partner when the time is right, she said. The actress shared that she had originally planned to get married by 25, but after not meeting that milestone, she revised her goal to marry by 30. Now at 36, she feels content with her life and is no longer focused on rushing into marriage. "Im not as homebound as I used to be, so I meet a lot of different people. Ill be sure to let everyone know if I get married, but thats not my priority right now," she said, adding that she values a meaningful connection with someone she truly feels comfortable with. "I think whats most important is being comfortable with each other and spending enough time to really get to know each other," she explained. Kungs career began at the age of 16 when she started as a model for a magazine introduced to her by a friend. She later worked as a television presenter for two years at i-Cable before signing with TVB in 2008. In 2016, she gained recognition with her performance in the drama "Two Steps From Heaven," winning the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2016 TVB Anniversary Awards. Kung was linked to Malaysian businessman Bryan Chiu in 2019, after reports surfaced that Chiu had invested in and assisted with the opening of her hot pot restaurant in Malaysia, as well as gifting her a white Porsche with the plate number "KB," supposedly representing their names, Katy and Bryan. However, she denied any romantic relationship with him, according to Yahoo! Life. Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Those expecting to leap off the train at Folkestone Central and be met with sea air, sandy beaches and quirky beach huts will be a little disappointed. It hasnt quite got the visual panache of some other seaside towns the walk to the centre encounters a fair few betting shops, fast-food chains and B&Bs crying for a lick of paint. What you will be met with, however, is a clue. A large declaration in capital letters that Folkestone is an art school. I later learn that the town is home to 74 artworks in its outdoor Folkestone Artworks exhibition, from the likes of Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Yoko Ono and Mark Walling, making it the largest urban outdoor contemporary art exhibition in the UK. An area that slipped into decline in part due to the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994, making its port more redundant than ever, has been somewhat resurrected. Multimillionaire Roger De Haan has spent more than two decades investing millions in the town through his charitable trust and his development company, the Folkestone Harbour and Seafront Development Company. One of his latest schemes is Shoreline, the first phase of a 1,000-home mixed-use development which will stretch for nearly a kilometre along the towns beachfront. These luxury homes havent been met without controversy, with locals questioning the need for high-end flats in a place desperate for affordable housing. Its also where Im staying, and while theres no questioning that the curving, modern, almost Dubai-like building looks out of place against the somewhat dilapidated backdrop, once inside you do see it for the haven it is. The view of the waves lapping at the beach from the living room alone is reason enough to visit for those who can afford it, that is. Famous artists and dramas with one of the UKs richest men aside, as always Im far more interested in what there is to eat and drink. At the time Storm Eowyn was giving us a good beating, and we needed to take shelter somewhere cosy and pubby before cocktails. The actual town centre is full of cobbled, hilly streets, vintage shops, pubs and sweet-looking cafes. The Pullman did just the trick; theres nothing like the combination of burning logs, candlelight and freshly poured Guinness when the weather outside is frightful. open image in gallery Behind a secret door lies The Potting Shed where the drinks are strong and the vermouth hits the floor ( Lilly Subbotin ) Had I known just how strong the drinks would be at The Potting Shed, the 1920s-inspired speakeasy complete with password and secret door, I may have swerved the two pints prior, but then again, knowing me, I may not have. The very classic cocktails are crafted with top-notch ingredients you wont find any pornstar martinis or spicy margs here but the old-fashioned flourishes feel fun rather than contrived. Theres even a little theatre when our barman swirls the vermouth around the glass tableside only to chuck the excess straight on the floor. Three drinks later and we managed to stumble back in one piece, with zero memory of how. Quite a feat considering the main path back to Shoreline is a slightly treacherous set of steep steps down to the beach. Waking up feeling a little foggy and in need of a dose of caffeine and sugar, we came across Panataria. A really great, gooey chocolate brownie and pastel de nata later and we were ready to face the day. I had to refrain from ordering one of their ginormous foccacia sandwiches, but thatd have rather interfered with lunch. Located on Folkestone Harbour and run by brothers Ned and Charlie, Brewing Brothers mixes sea views, wood-fired pizza and craft beer. The room is a real sun trap and theres loads of seating outside, too. My salami, nduja and hot honey atop lovely leoparded crusts is just right. A charming place to while away a few hours; and its family and dog-friendly, too. open image in gallery The best bites at Annapurna are the momos skip the soup and double up on these instead ( Lilly Subbotin ) For dinner that night we head to Annapurna, a no-frills, family-run Nepalese restaurant. The food isnt the best Ive had by any means, but it seems to be a firm favourite with the locals. I loved the fact it felt like youd stepped into someones house, complete with a smoking area out the back of a conservatory though the smell was a little off-putting mid-meal. Avoid the noodle soup and load up on the starters, particularly the momos. We ended up here instead of the Folkestone Wine Company due to availability, which by all accounts is a necessary visit and is on my list for next time. Theres only one way to round off the weekend in my book, and thats with a Sunday roast. Its back to stormy weather and the floor-to-ceiling windows of the impressive Rocksalt offer panoramic views of waves crashing into the harbour. We order a sharing rack of lamb that couldnt have been cooked any better and the platter gets extra points for not being overwhelmingly big, with the perfect amount of roasties, veg and cabbage to share. Its by far the best food of the weekend. Rocksalt also has rooms upstairs which would make for an ideal romantic getaway, as its the kind of place that would feel magical whatever the weather. So for those going to Folkestone, check out the art (or dont, its there to be taken in or ignored at your discretion), definitely get drinks at the Potting Shed and grab some food at Rocksalt. It may not be a Brighton or a Margate, but this little town has bundles of charm, a strong independent streak and some interesting history worth delving into. And good pizza. 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 Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are officially parents after the Transformers star gave birth to a baby girl on Thursday (27 March). The couple reportedly split in December, but Kelly has since denied claims that they arent on speaking terms. They announced they were expecting a child in November 2024. The baby is their first together, but Foxs fourth overall and Kellys second. Fox shares three sons Noah, 12, Bodhi, 10, and Journey, 8 with ex-husband Brian Austin Green. Meanwhile, Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker, shares a 15-year-old daughter, Casie, with ex-partner Emma Cannon. Kelly, 34, announced the birth of his daughter on Instagram with a video of him holding his daughters hands. The rapper wrote: Shes finally here!! Our little celestial seed. In addition, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker confirmed in an Instagram story that he and Kelly had composed the score of the birth. He added: What an epic journey. Praise God. The name of the baby has not been revealed. Kelly and Fox, 38, allegedly called it quits last Thanksgiving, just weeks after announcing the pregnancy. It was reported at the time that they broke up during a trip to Vail, Colorado, where tensions reached a boiling point. TMZ claimed the split stemmed from Fox discovering something upsetting on the rappers phone, prompting her to ask him to leave the trip early. Insiders later told US Weekly that the pair had been trying to mend their relationship, especially in light of Foxs pregnancy, but their fiery personalities led to renewed conflict. A source claimed that while they are done for now, reconciliation down the line remains a possibility. Fox and Kelly first met in March 2020 on the set of the crime thriller Midnight in the Switchgrass. They went public with their relationship when Fox starred in Kellys Bloody Valentine music video in May that year. MGK and Megan Kelly ( Getty Images for iHeartMedia ) By January 2022, the couple announced they were engaged, with Fox sharing a video of the proposal on Instagram. On 11 November 2024, Fox revealed that she was pregnant with Kellys child in a carousel of Instagram pictures. She captioned the photos with lyrics from Kellys song, Last November, which touched upon the couples past miscarriage. She wrote: Nothing is ever really lost. Welcome back. 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 Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann and his estranged wife reached a divorce settlement this week as proceedings began to determine if DNA evidence should be admissible in the former architects upcoming murder trial. Heuermann, now 61, was arrested in July 2023 outside his New York City office as part of an investigation police had been working on since 2010 into the deaths of at least 10 people mostly female sex workers whose remains were discovered along an isolated highway near Gilgo Beach on Long Island. He has been charged with the murders of seven women. His wife, Asa Ellerup, who lived in the Massapequa Park home they shared with their children on Long Island, filed for divorce a short time after his arrest. She also appeared in court on Friday, along with the couples daughter and the familys lawyer, Robert Macedonio. She has a difficult time throughout this whole process believing the husband that she was married to for 29 years now was capable of committing these horrific acts, Macedonio told ABC7 following the news of the divorce settlement. It is even more concerning that her hair and her daughter's hair were found on some of these victims. So, this process is very important to getting closure for her and her family. open image in gallery Rex Heuermann was back in court with his attorney Michael Brown where lawyers argued over whether DNA evidence should be admissible at his trial ( AP ) The divorce settlement was filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court on Thursday night, but the details are not public. On Friday, Heuermann was back in court, where attorneys argued over using DNA evidence at his trial. He was first charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, and Megan Waterman, whose bodies were found between 2009 and 2010. open image in gallery Asa Ellerup, left, the estranged wife of Long Island serial killing suspect Rex Heuermann, pictured at one of his court appearances on April 17, 2024. They reached a divorce settlement on Thursday ( AP ) While in custody, Heuermann was subsequently charged in the deaths of four other women: Valerie Mack in 2000, Jessica Taylor in 2003, Maureen Brainard-Barnes in 2007, and Sandra Costilla in 1993. Heuermanns attorneys argued in court on Friday that DNA tests conducted on hairs recovered from most of the seven victims in the case should be excluded from the trial, saying such analysis has never been accepted in a New York court of law. But a genetics expert testified that the DNA techniques used to analyze the hairs are widely accepted in the scientific community. Dr. Kelley Harris, a University of Washington professor of genome sciences, described the type of testing used, known as nuclear DNA or whole genome sequencing, as an elegant and powerful method for testing whether hair fragments pulled from a crime scene match those taken from suspects. open image in gallery Heuermanns attorneys argued in court on Friday that DNA tests conducted on hairs recovered from most of the seven victims in the case should be excluded from the trial ( AP ) Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierneys office, which is prosecuting the case, has argued that whole genome sequencing has been accepted in peer-reviewed scientific journals and by federal regulators, paleontologists, virologists, and medical communities. In legal briefs, they say the findings by Astrea Forensics, the California-based lab that conducted the nuclear DNA analysis, were also independently corroborated by another labs mitochondrial DNA testing -- a methodology long accepted by New York courts. open image in gallery Heuermann is charged in the murders of seven women, including Melissa Barthelemy, top left, Amber Costello, top right, Megan Waterman, bottom left, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes ( Suffolk County Police Department via AP ) No ruling was expected Friday from Judge Timothy Mazzei, as other experts are expected to testify in the coming days, the Associated Press reported. Michael Brown, Heuermanns attorney, also wants to break the case into multiple trials over concerns about the cumulative effect of the evidence presented by prosecutors. Prosecutors have opposed that request and Mazzei is expected to rule on it soon. Heuermann has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to all counts. A trial date has not yet 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 Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of cryptocurrency platform FTX, has been transferred out of a federal prison in New York City and moved to a new detention center, roughly a year-and-a-half into his 25-year sentence. Bankman-Fried was moved out of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn Thursday and sent to a transit facility in Oklahoma City, according to the Bureau of Prisons. The FTX founder had been held at the Brooklyn prison since August 2023, but his lawyers had requested he be moved to a federal prison in California in order to be closer to his parents, who live near Stanford University. It is unclear where Bankman-Fried is headed after the transfer point in Oklahoma. FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried was transferred from a detention facility in New York City to a transit center in Oklahoma on Thursday ( Getty Images ) The Bureau of Prisons confirmed Bankman-Fried was at the transfer point but declined to say where he would be designated next for privacy, safety and security reasons. Bankman-Frieds transfer process arrived weeks after he landed himself in solitary confinement for conducting an unapproved interview with conservative media personality Tucker Carlson. The chat is reportedly part of Bankman-Frieds attempt to secure a pardon from President Donald Trump. The 33-year-old was found guilty on seven counts of finance-related crimes in 2023, sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion. Once known as the King of Crypto, the young billionaires fame and fortune came tumbling down in November 2022 when a report revealed that most of FTXs assets didnt exist. The revelation sent investors and customers scrambling to withdraw their money, revealing an $8 billion hole in the company. Prosecutors called the collapse one of the largest financial frauds in United States history. Bankman-Fried is appealing his conviction, believing the judge who oversaw the case was biased and jurors were rushed to make a decision. Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw Bankman-Frieds case, also oversaw Trumps defamation trial against writing E. Jean Carroll something the FTX founder has brought up in interviews to appeal to the president. Bankman-Fried has also criticized the Biden administrations regulatory approach to cryptocurrency and praised Republicans for embracing crypto. 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 New York City rapper who attempted to sway Black voters towards President Donald Trump during a rally in The Bronx in 2024 has agreed to a sentence of five years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder charges. Sheff G, 26, whose songs and videos have millions of YouTube views and Spotify streams, was among those arrested in connection with a long-term investigation into gang-related shootings in Brooklyn. The rapper, whose real name is Michael Williams, was magnanimous in his support for Trump last year. One thing I want to say: They are always going to whisper your accomplishments and shout your failures, Sheff G told the Bronx crowd after being invited on stage by the Republican candidate. Trump is going to shout the wins for all of us. On Wednesday, things took a different turn. open image in gallery Sheff G, whose legal name is Michael Williams, is shown here appearing with President Donald Trump at a rally in The Bronx in 2024 ( Associated Press ) Notoriety could not shield this defendant from justice, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. He used his fame to fund and direct violence, terrorizing our streets. The charges are related to a case that has seen more than 30 purported members of the 8 Trey Crips and the street gang's affiliate, the 9 Ways gang, indicted. Among them is Tegan Chambers, a rapper known as Sleepy Hallow who also appeared on stage with Trump and Sheff G during the May 23, 2024, rally in the Bronx. Prosecutors say Sheff G showered money and jewelry on gang members are they battled rivals in Brooklyn. In one shooting, they say Sheff G even acted as the getaway driver, chauffeuring three codefendants to and from a 2021 shooting that targeted a rival but instead hit two bystanders. He also treated Sleepy Hallow and others to a lavish dinner at a Manhattan steakhouse to celebrate a 2020 shooting that killed a purported rival gang member and injured five others, according to prosecutors. Surveillance videos, social media posts, text messages, and more document criminal activities. The two rappers also boasted about their deeds in their songs, Gonzalez's office said. Lawyers for the two rappers didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment Thursday. Sheff G is due to be sentenced Aug. 13; Sleepy Hallow is due in court April 11. 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 No one wants to talk to Usha Vanceat least no one in Greenland. US officials have reportedly been traveling around the Danish-controlled territory looking for locals who wanted to receive a visit from the Second Lady, according to a report from Danish TV 2. Greenlanders' response? No thanks. Residents aren't the only ones snubbing the Second Lady ahead of her high-profile visit to the island; Tupilak Travel, which is based in Greenland's capital city, Nuuk, initially said it would host Usha Vance, but pulled out on Thursday. In a post on Facebook, the company said that the US Consulate called and asked if it wanted the visit, and the company initially said yes, but then backed out. After closer consideration, however, we have now informed the consulate that we do not want her visit, as we cannot accept the underlying agenda and will not be part of the press show that, quite, of course, comes with it. No thanks to nice visit Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders," the company said. The cancellation comes on the same day that Vice President JD Vance announced that he would join his wife's upcoming trip to Greenland. There was so much excitement around Ushas visit to Greenland this Friday, that I decided that I didnt want her to have all that fun by herself, and so Im going to join her, Vance said in a video posted to X. Vance, the Second Lady, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Energy Secretary Christ Wright are scheduled to depart for Greenland on Friday, though those plans could change by the time the delegation departs. The U.S. delegation was also scheduled to attend the Avannaata Qimusserua, one of the world's largest dog-sledding events, but that visit has been cancelled as well, according to USA Today. As it currently stands, the American visitors will only be visiting the U.S. Space Force Base at Pituffik. Greenlanders and Danish authorities aren't pleased about the trip. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen accused the US of exerting "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland through its planned visit. I have to say that it is unacceptable pressure being placed on Greenland and Denmark in this situation. And it is pressure that we will resist, Frederiksen told Danish broadcasters DR and TV2 on Tuesday. You cannot make a private visit with official representatives from another country, when the acting Greenlandic government has made it very clear that they do not want a visit at this time, Frederiksen went on to say the US delegation's arrival is "clearly not a visit that is about what Greenland needs or wants." President Trump is serious. He wants Greenland. Therefore, [this visit] cannot be seen independently of anything else, Frederiksen said. Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to buy Greenland or obtain it through other means, including potential military action. Thanks to climate change driven by human burning of fossil fuels, new shipping corridors are opening up in the Arctic Circle as sea ice melts. Trade routes between Asia and Europe or Asia and the U.S. are approximately 40 percent shorter through the Arctic than by way of the Suez or Panama Canals, according to the U.S. Naval Institute. Currently, only five countries have territory in the Arctic Circle: Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark, by way of the semiautonomous Greenland, and the U.S. via Alaska. If the U.S. controls Greenland, it would be a major expansion of the nation's control over Arctic shipping routes. Trump has gone so far as to say that the island is "very, very important" for U.S. military security." In addition to its potential military and economic strategic benefits, the Arctic may also have as of yet untapped fuel resources. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic holds 13 percent of undiscovered oil resources and 30 percent of undiscovered natural gas, primarily all offshore. Greenland itself is rich with rare earth minerals, which are essential components in the production of cellphones, batteries, and other consumer technologies. 6 Russian tourists die after submarine on reef tour in Red Sea sinks off Egypt Boats search for survivors after a submarine sinks in the popular Egytian Red Sea in Egypt. Photo by AP Six Russians died on Thursday and 39 foreign tourists were rescued when a viewing submarine sank off the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada, the local governor's office said on Facebook, adding that no passengers or crew were still missing. The Red Sea Governorate said the submarine, named "Sindbad", had 50 people onboard: 45 tourists of different nationalities from Russia, India, Norway, and Sweden, and five Egyptian crew members. "Most of those on board were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada," the Russian consulate in Hurghada said. The submarine was equipped with large portholes to let passengers see the Red Sea's spectacular corals and marine life, and was able to descend to a depth of 25 meters, according to the company's website. The pleasure craft was a far cry from the extreme adventure submersible that imploded thousands of meters below the Atlantic near the sunken Titanic in June 2023. File photo of a submarine used by Sindbad Submarines in Egypt. Photo from Sindbad Submarines The Red Sea is a major hub for Egypt's crucial tourism industry, a pillar of the economy, in which Russian tourists play an increasing part. Egypt also attracts tourists with its great pyramids of Giza and cruises on the Nile in Luxor and Aswan. Egyptian authorities are conducting investigations with crew members to determine the causes of the submarine sinking, the local governorate cited Red Sea Province Governor Amr Hanafy as saying. The submarine, which is owned by an Egyptian, was licensed and so was the crew captain, he said. There have been several recent incidents of tourist boats capsizing. Last June, a boat sank after suffering severe damage from high waves, though no casualties were reported. And in November, a tourist boat capsized while carrying 31 tourists and 13 crew on a multi-day diving trip. Local media reported that at least 11 people had died in the incident, which was also blamed on high waves. At the time, the governor of the Red Sea province said the boat, the Sea Story, had passed a safety inspection eight months earlier.Last month, a tourist boat capsized while en route to Hurghada after undergoing maintenance. The Tourism Ministry and the Chamber of Diving did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. A United Nations report ranked Egypt first in Africa for tourism revenues in 2024 at $14.1 billion, more than twice its earnings in Suez Canal revenues, highlighting tourism's vital role in sustaining the hard-pressed economy. Will Green is president and CEO of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI). Advertisement Review Eating outAberfeldie This cosy neighbourhood wine bar in an underrated inner suburb is worth seeking out Bar Brillo is a welcome addition to this small, hilly pocket northwest of the city, serving natural wines and Italian-leaning small plates. Dani Valent March 28, 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 This venue appears in the April 2025 Melbourne hit list. See all stories . 1 / 8 The wine bar is nestled down a quiet street in Aberfeldie. Luis Enrique Ascui 2 / 8 Outside Aberfeldies Bar Brillo. Simon Schluter 3 / 8 Venison salami dish. Luis Enrique Ascui 4 / 8 Inside the Aberfeldie wine bar. Luis Enrique Ascui 5 / 8 Caponata dish with burrata. Luis Enrique Ascui 6 / 8 Crumbed olives stuffed with nduja salami. Luis Enrique Ascui 7 / 8 Kingfish crudo dish. Luis Enrique Ascui 8 / 8 Take a seat at the bar. Luis Enrique Ascui Previous Slide Next Slide Italian$$$$ All around Melbourne, people are looking at their local shopping centre, wishing someone would open a little bar, maybe where the milk bar or newsagent used to be. If the bar was there, the thinking goes, the lifestyle would surely follow. The afternoons would be a lazy stroll to spritz oclock. The evenings would be footloose: cant be bothered cooking, lets slink to the bar. And the weekends would be spontaneous: how about a cheeky vino? Aberfeldie, a hilly pocket west of Moonee Ponds, has been living the wine bar dream, ever since Carlo Mellini and Thomas Du opened their two-room 30-seat hangout in September. Related Article These suburbs have been thirsty for a great neighbourhood bar. At last they have one Advertisement Youre not going to stumble upon it, which is probably why Bar Brillo is quieter than it should be. Seek it out and youll be rewarded with good food, jaunty wine and friendly service, a combination that suggests all is right in the world, even when it isnt. Take a seat at the bar for natural wines and small plates. Luis Enrique Ascui Mellinis Italian family ran a nostalgic espresso bar in this shop for four years, serving sweet treats from their Cannoli Bar in nearby Avondale Heights. Du worked at Cannoli Bar, learning the ropes and daydreaming with Carlo about the restaurant theyd have one day. Maybe some kind of izakaya? A cool sandwich shop? Or yes a bar where the snacks change monthly and the wine mostly leans natural but is really just stuff we like. Du cooks, Mellini manages and a small team keeps things humming. Bar stools look onto Dus kitchen nook and the rear room feels upbeat but intimate. I can imagine coming back with a book, a date or a girl gang. Advertisement Crumbed olives stuffed with nduja salami. Luis Enrique Ascui Whoever it is, well start with olives, stuffed with soft nduja salami, then crumbed and fried to spicy magnificence. Venison salami (from excellent Saison Smallgoods in Queensland) is heady with juniper and native strawberry gum. Its dense and rich, served with pickled chillies in clever contrast. Theres always house-made pasta, maybe tagliatelle with lamb ragu or spinach spaghetti with zucchini pesto. Caponata dish with burrata. Luis Enrique Ascui Advertisement The caponata has the blessing of Carlos mum Enza, who trusted Du with her recipe. He cooks down eggplant, zucchini and red peppers with tomatoes, olives and sultanas. Its the sweet, slumping base for burrata touched with basil oil. Though it sounds Italian, the idea is to broaden to a more diverse Melbourne menu: the broccolini with miso glaze is a gesture in that direction and Du is also finding his voice with variations on seafood crudo. I lucked onto kingfish, laid on an op-shoppy plate and topped with grilled peach slices, confident in the balance of sweetness, salt, char and brightness. Brillo means tipsy in Italian and even if youre on the non-alcs, its easy to feel giddy here, soaking up simple joys in a surprising space. The bar is here; all it needs is you, ready to live your best life. Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant cant pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up Advertisement Eating outBest of What to eat at Melbournes booming new Ramadan night market This Dandenong market wants to match the roaring success of its western Sydney equivalent. Local vendors are serving camel burgers, Persian stews, loaded Malaysian pancakes and more, with many items under $20. Quincy Malesovas March 28, 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 Sydneys Ramadan night market in Lakemba is one of the citys biggest events, drawing over 1.5 million visitors last year. Now, Melbourne is vying to create its own version with the inaugural Ramadan Night Market Dandenong. The market was founded by The Bright Community Organisation, a not-for-profit dedicated to fostering cultural harmony, community engagement and social inclusion. A new Ramadan night market in Melbourne has been attended by 30,000 each night this week. Chris Hopkins President Ahmad Ghowsi happened to be in Sydney during Ramadan last year. Inspired by the Lakemba markets success, he worked with the Dandenong mayor and local sponsors to create a similar event. This is the most diverse municipality in Australia, says Ghowsi. We believe we have the potential to do an even greater one [than Lakemba]. Advertisement Running from March 25 to April 2, the market celebrates Ramadan, the Muslim holy month centred on worship, gatherings and fasting one of Islams five pillars, meant to cultivate discipline and compassion for those in need. During Ramadan, those who observe the fast refrain from food and drink from sunrise to sundown, breaking their fast with iftar, the evening meal. Reflecting this tradition, Dandenongs market begins at 7pm and runs until after midnight, featuring more than 50 food stalls spanning Afghan, Lebanese and Ghanaian cuisine. This is the most diverse municipality in Australia. Ahmad Ghowsi, The Bright Community Foundation Since Tuesday night, the event has already drawn around 30,000 visitors, including some from interstate. Ghowsi expects at least 50,000 attendees each night this weekend particularly on Sunday, which coincides with Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan. While the festival is a destination for Melbournes Muslim community, Ghowsi encourages everyone to attend. Advertisement Its not only for Muslims, he says. Visitors are from every background, whatever kind of religious values they have. Potato bolani at Afghan Bolani comes with many different choices of sauce. Chris Hopkins Five must-try dishes at the Ramadan Night Market Dandenong Afghan Bolani The dish: Bolani ($6.99) Advertisement Many Ramadan observers break their fast with water and a handful of dates, which are readily available at the festival and nearby grocers. But if youre craving something savoury, this is a fitting first stop. Their specialty is the namesake dish a crescent-shaped flatbread stuffed with spiced mashed potato, onion and coriander. Its sliced and served with sauces; the most popular is a mix of garlic sauce and chilli. Mantu ($9.99), silky beef dumplings topped with yoghurt and tomato-garlic sauce, are another cost-effective and easy-to-stomach option. instagram.com/afghan__bolani Camel burgers are hard to find in Melbourne but during Ramadan, get them at BBQ Meets Lebanese. Chris Hopkins BBQ Meets Lebanese Catering The dish: Camel burger ($18) Advertisement Burgers might not be the most traditional iftar meal, but camel burgers have become a fan favourite at Lakembas Ramadan market (and across Sydney). In Melbourne, only a handful of spots serve them try Hot Chills Cafe in the CBD, Docklands Den and the Burgertory chain (where theyre a Ramadan special). At BBQ Meets, the camel patty is grilled over charcoal then topped with American cheese in a sesame bun with lettuce, tomato and onion. If camel isnt your thing, you can opt for lamb or beef kofta in a wrap, sandwich or platter. instagram.com/bbq_meets/ Jollof rice with beef from Amas Delights. Chris Hopkins Amas Delight The dish: Ghanaian jollof with beef ($24) Advertisement This halal-certified food truck frequents festivals and has restaurants in Spotswood and Werribee South. Its best known for jollof rice, a tomato-based staple popular across West Africa including the owners homeland Ghana, where Islam is the second-largest religion. Order it vegan or topped with beef, chicken, lamb (or a mix of all three), with the meat kissed by the grill at the front of the stall. Amas also offers a twist on a burrito bowl: black beans, pico de gallo and chicken or beef on a bed of jollof rice. amasdelightfoods.com.au Bonab The dish: Ash reshteh ($14.95) Few things are more warming than ash reshteh, the thick Persian vegetarian stew of noodles, chickpeas and various lentils. While it may not have the same street-food appeal as skewers of koobideh (minced lamb) or joojeh (marinated chicken), its a staple in Iran, often eaten as the first meal post-fast. At Bonabs stall (an offshoot of their Keysborough restaurant), it comes in generous bowls with lots of herbs and the tang of kashk (fermented whey). Its a hearty yet mild way to break your fast. Advertisement bonab.au Pandan-flavoured apam balik at Apam Baliks stall. Chris Hopkins Apam Balik The dish: Apam balik pandan ($10) Apam balik (turnover pancake in Malay) is best described as a cross between a pancake and a waffle crisp and golden on the outside, soft and spongy on the inside inside. Here, you can get two varieties: the crispy version, cooked in small metal pans right in front of you, and the larger, softer classic version, similar to the Indonesian dessert martabak manis. Get the latter with pandan batter for a true taste of Malaysia. The filling of crushed peanuts, sugar and creamed corn delivers a sweet-savoury contrast. Advertisement instagram.com/apambaliksuurrr The Ramadan Night Market Dandenong runs until April 2, Thomas Street and Harmony Square, Dandenong, brightcommunity.com.au Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up Flush from its viral success on YouTube, divisive series Skibidi Toilet is taking on the contemporary art world at Brisbanes Institute of Modern Art. Dont know what Skibidi Toilet is? We didnt either. How did Skibidi Toilet end up in a contemporary art gallery? Skibidi Toilet been described as a cultural touchstone for Gen Alpha, which is people born between 2010 and 2024. Its a 3D computer-graphics series created by 26-year-old Russian-Georgian content creator Alexey Gerasimov, featuring animated toilets with talking heads who are trying to take over the world. Yes, you read that correctly. First, lets clear away the myths. No, the governor-general does not sit down after an election and decide who to call upon to form a government. The person who was prime minister before the election remains prime minister until he or she resigns (or in more extraordinary circumstances, is dismissed, disqualified or dies). The prospect of a hung parliament brings forth the doomsayers and the political spinners who conjure up imagined rules to best suit their interests. So before they get started, what are the rules and are hung parliaments as horror-filled as the term suggests? Once there is a vacancy, the governor-generals power to appoint a prime minister is a reserve power. This means that the governor-general is not bound to act upon ministerial advice in making the decision. If, for example, Anthony Albanese decided to resign in the wake of the election result, but before doing so advised the governor-general to call upon Bob Katter to form a government, the governor-general would be entitled to ignore this advice. The governor-general would instead be obliged, by convention, to appoint as prime minister the person who is most likely to command the confidence of the House of Representatives. This is the person who a majority of the House trusts to form a government and who it will support in votes of confidence and supply (such as passing the budget). Loading If the leader of the opposition leads a party or coalition of parties that wins a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, then the prime minister resigns and the leader of the opposition is appointed as prime minister and commissioned to form a government. However, in a hung parliament, where neither side has a majority of seats, the question of who commands the confidence of the House can be more difficult to determine. This is when the political spinners come in with arbitrary rules. They will say that the leader of the party or coalition of parties with the most seats must be appointed. Alternatively, if it better suits their cause, they will say that the side with the biggest proportion of the two-party-preferred vote must form government, and any other possibility would be a betrayal of the people. But neither rule is correct. Archaeologists have unearthed the huge tomb of an unknown pharaoh at an Egyptian necropolis, a team of researchers said, in the second discovery of a kings tomb this year. The team of Egyptian and American archaeologists found the tomb, which the researchers estimate is 3600 years old, nearly seven metres underground at Abydos, one of the oldest cities of Ancient Egypt. The city, about 482 kilometres south of Cairo, was a burial place for early pharaohs, and a necropolis developed at Anubis Mountain to the citys south. Researchers uncovered the tomb at the mountain, at the base of a high desert cliff where strong winds carry gusts of sand. In some places around the necropolis, sand has buried structures more than 4.5 to 5.7 metres deep. Archaeologists and researchers at the site of the newly discovered tomb at Abydos, one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt. Credit: Dr. Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum via The New York Times The burial chamber features a decorated entryway, several rooms and soaring 4.8-metre vaults made of mud bricks. It dwarfs a tomb unearthed at Abydos over a decade ago, which was hailed at the time as the first material proof of a lost dynasty of kings there. It also causes a fairly interesting dilemma for those allies of the US who share sensitive intelligence with them. Will it also end up in Signal chat that we all know is quite open to compromise by any quasi-sophisticated intelligence agency of a foreign nation? Ryan, who is also a senior fellow at the Lowy Institute, says theres no point in the Australian government publicly raising concerns. But there may be quiet, private conversations occurring between the heads of intelligence agencies. Democrats held up copies of Pete Hegseths messages detailing times, strikes and weapons to the Signal group at a committee hearing. Credit: AP A lot of intelligence agencies will be doing a very quiet assessment of exactly what information is copied to different parts of the US system to ensure that sensitive national data isnt compromised, Ryan says. Chris Taylor, head of the statecraft and intelligence program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says Signal-gate adds to a pile of bigger changes happening in US governance, policy and intelligence. I do think it would be natural for the Australian government, for the intel community, to seek reassurances about the way Australian information is being handled, he says. You would expect if it was reversed that the Americans would be asking us the same thing. Loading Indeed, it was British and American concerns about Australian security leaks that led to the creation of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, ASIO, in 1949. British intelligence and American intelligence went to [then prime minister] Ben Chifley and said: were not confident you are handling the information we are giving you with the seriousness thats required, William Stoltz, a security expert at the Australian National University, explains. We took that on board and we adjusted our processes accordingly. This is a similar moment when Five Eyes chiefs should be going to their American counterparts and saying: we expect you to do the same thing. It gets sucked in? As Australias federal election campaign gets under way and the Trump administration keeps up its tariff assault, the Albanese government isnt interested in rocking the boat. It obviously isnt desirable, and Im sure they regard that the same, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABCs Patricia Karvelas. Mistakes happen from time to time. The important thing is, when something like that happens, that you identify how it happened and put in place measures to make sure it doesnt happen again. The US takes security seriously, and Im sure they will respond appropriately. Vice President J.D. Vance was part of the high-level group chat on Signal. Credit: Nine But the Trump administrations response has become as much a part of the scandal as the group chat itself. In line with their usual playbook deny, deflect, denigrate the White House, the president and his cabinet have downplayed the significance of the breach, dismissed the story as a hoax, and derided Goldberg as a liar, a partisan Democrat and in Trumps words a total sleazebag. They attempted to draw a distinction between war plans which was how The Atlantic initially described the material in a headline and dot points about imminent strikes, accusing the magazine of overreach. Moreover, they said the operation to strike Houthi targets in Yemen was a success, and that was the real story. The Atlantic stands by its reporting. And the administrations excuses and explanations have been chaotic, contradictory and unconvincing as was the account given by national security adviser Michael Waltz, who admitted he was the one who added Goldberg to the group. Waltz tried to suggest Goldberg had somehow hacked or scammed his way into Waltzs phone under an alias, prompting this exchange with Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Waltz: Im sure everybody out there has had a contact where it said one person and then a different phone number. Ingraham: But youve never talked to him before, so how is the number on your phone? Waltz: Well, if you have somebody elses contact and then somehow it gets sucked in it gets sucked in. Signal is a secure but consumer grade chat app for personal devices. Credit: AP Americas late-night TV hosts had a field day. It gets sucked in? Stephen Colbert gasped to howls of audience laughter on CBS. It gets sucked in. Okay. So, youre discussing military secrets on an app thats so insecure that the numbers of people youve never spoken to just get sucked in. Colberts point gets to the bigger picture of the scandal. Aside from the epic blunder of accidentally adding a journalist to the chat (every journalists dream), why were these highly sensitive, if not classified, discussions happening on Signal to begin with? Signal is the preferred encrypted messaging platform in government and media circles, with an excellent reputation for security. But it is still an open-source consumer app, not a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) used by the US government and military for secure communications. Loading Signal is a very good app, but the reality is the apps are only ever as secure as the device that theyre on, says Stoltz. These peoples personal devices would probably be some of the most targeted pieces of electronics in the world. People in that world, at that level, should be exercising a high degree of discretion and prudence. Some of these things really shouldnt be put down in writing, let alone on a personal device. Trump has mostly brushed the scandal aside, calling it a witch hunt and seeming visibly bored by the matter. He also appeared to be confused about, or unaware of, elements of what happened. Democrats have turned their focus on Hegseth for posting the details of the imminent operation to the group chat, saying it endangered military lives and he must resign. Those messages which The Atlantic published after the administration insisted they werent classified showed Hegseth included the times of the planned attacks and the weapons that would be used. My job is to provide general updates in real time, to keep everybody informed. Thats what I did, Hegseth said. Nobody was texting war plans. Loading Hegseth is a weak link in the chain: a former Fox weekend host, he was arguably Trumps most contentious cabinet appointee, and was the only one to require a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance. Some political opponents even publicly questioned whether Hegseth was drunk when he posted. He vowed to stop drinking alcohol upon his confirmation as defence secretary, having denied multiple accusations of bad misbehaviour while intoxicated, as well as sexual misconduct allegations. There is no evidence he consumed alcohol, and he was not the one who added Goldberg to the chat. Heading to court Like so many things under the Trump administration, the matter is now heading to court. American Oversight, a non-profit watchdog and lobby group on transparency, filed a lawsuit claiming the use of Signal violated federal laws on preserving government records. Loading The case has ended up before the same federal judge in Washington who is presiding over the high-profile legal challenge to Trumps attempt to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport alleged gang members without the protections of immigration law. Trump was apoplectic. How disgraceful is it that Judge James Boasberg has just been given a fourth Trump Case, something which is, statistically, IMPOSSIBLE, he posted on Truth Social at 1.13am on Thursday. [Boasberg] seems to be grabbing the Trump Cases all to himself, even though it is not supposed to happen that way There must be an immediate investigation of this Rigged System, before it is too late! At a hearing on Friday (AEDT), Boasberg ordered administration officials to preserve messages from the Signal group chat. Loading Meanwhile, many Republicans and party strategists are urging the White House and the officials involved to admit fault and move on. Mike Rounds, a Republican senator from South Dakota who sits on both the Armed Services Committee and Select Committee on Intelligence, backed the establishment of an inquiry and said Signal should never have been used in this way. They really should not have done that, he told CNN. I think they screwed up. I think they know they screwed up. I think they learned their lesson. Mick Ryan, the retired Australian major general, was far more scathing. This clearly had the potential to put the lives of military personnel at risk, and that is, at heart, the most appalling thing that any senior national security leader can do, he said. [Photo/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping met with Bangladeshi interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in Beijing on Friday. Noting that the peoples of the two countries have a long-standing history of friendly exchanges, Xi said the two sides have always supported each other and treated each other as equals for win-win cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic ties. [Photo/Xinhua] China maintains a high degree of stability and continuity in its good neighbor and friendly policy toward Bangladesh, and continues to be a trustworthy neighbor, friend and partner of Bangladesh, Xi added. This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Bangladesh diplomatic ties, and 2025 is also the year of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, Xi said, while expressing the willingness to work with Bangladesh to push China-Bangladesh cooperation to a new level and bring more benefits to the two peoples. 3 terrorists killed, 3 policemenmartyred in gunfight in Kathua JAMMU : Seven cops including a Dy Superintendent of Police injured in a fierce day THREE terrorists and an equal number of policemen were killed and seven others including a Deputy Superintendent of Police injured in a fierce day-long gunfight in a remote forested area of Jammu and Kashmirs Kathua district, officials said on Thursday. The encounter started around 8 am amid intensified operations led by Jammu and Kashmir Police against a recently infiltrated group of ultras believed to be members of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (J eM) outfit, the officials said. However, it was not immediately clear whether it was the same group that had been evading an earlier cordon in Sanyal forest of Kathua region or another batch of infiltrated terrorists. The gunfight triggered intense firing and explosions, the officials said, as dozens of local youth were seen assisting the security forces to carry heavy weapons and ammunition deep inside a gorge. The encounter, centred near Jakhole village in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, involved a group of approximately five terrorists and an initial exchange of gunfire resulted in injuries to six policemen including the SubDivisional Police Officer (SDPO) leading a search party, the officials said. They said that three terrorists were killed in the onslaught led by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and assisted by the Army and CRPF. Adding to the tension, five police personnel, including the SDPO, were reportedly trapped near the gunfights location, adjacent to a rivulet concealed by dense foliage However, theSDPO-- a DSP rank officer -- was evacuated from the scene late on Thursdayevening,whilethree ofhispersonalsecurityofficers were found dead, official sources said, adding the fate of anothermissing policeman was not known immediately. The J&K Police has neither confirmed nor denied the death of the policemen, saying a clear picture will emerge once the parties reach the scene on Friday morning. The bodies of the terrorists were also not retrieved so far as security forces halted the operation for the night, the officials said. The operation will be resumed with the first light of the day on Friday as two more terrorists are believed to be trapped in the area. They are also presumed dead but their bodiescouldnotbelocatedby the drones, the officials said. BesidestheSDPO,twomore policemen were admitted in Kathuahospitalandtheirconditionwasstatedtobestable. Two army personnelwerealso injured and shifted to military hospital. Special troops of Army were airdropped at the scene of the encounter in the evening to further strengthen thecordonaroundthearea,the officials said,addingbodiesof two terrorists were noticed by dronesandwouldberetrieved on Friday morning. Meanwhile, the Peoples Anti-FascistFront,aproxyoutfit of JeM, claimed responsibilityforthefiringonthepolice party BASELESS LOK Sabha Leader of Opposition Mr. Rahul Gandhi does not appear willing to give his bad habit of levelling false charges against Speaker Mr. Om Birla. Mr. Gandhi has once again accused Mr. Birla of running the Lok Sabha proceedings in non-democratic style. That was so because Mr. Om Birla had cautioned him against violation of norms and regulations of the House. In response, Mr. Gandhi accused the Speaker of not allowing him to speak -- a charge he has made on numerous occasions in the past as well. Of course, Mr. Om Birla has a clear conscience on this issue and will not budge no matter the baseless allegations by anybody, let alone Mr. Rahul Gandhi. The trouble, however, is that Mr. Rahul Gandhi is refusing to learn from earlier experience that baseless allegations would not take him any distance in politics. No matter how many times he has been rebuffed on the issue, Mr. Rahul Gandhi does not appear willing to mend his ways. In other words, Mr. Rahul Gandhi -- as well as other parties in the Opposition -- does not know how to mount an opposition to whatever Prime Minister Mr. Modi does. Obviously, all of them have run out of creative ideas to thwart the progress of the Modi juggernaut. So, mindlessly, they keep making the same allegation over and over again -- democracy in peril, the Constitution in danger of being thoughtlessly altered, the Prime Minister is a non-performer, the Government has posted massive failure on every front ...! What is surprising is that Mr. Rahul Gandhi or most other Opposition leaders do not seem to have a team of advisors to counsel them on how to conduct themselves and how and what points to be raised to corner Mr. Narendra Modi and his Government and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). That is, no doubt, a very sad state of affairs. For, when the Opposition runs out of creative ideas to counter the Government or the ruling party, then it does not hurt its own interests but also hurts the larger national interest. For, in any democracy, to have a strong and sensible Opposition is a core need. Unfortunately, that need is not being fulfilled by the current Opposition in India. What the country witnesses by way of the Opposition moves should be an anathema to democracy (in which strong Opposition acts as a check-and-balance system on the Government). Thanks to its mindlessness, the Opposition in India has converted itself into a rudderless group incapable of putting up a staunch resistance to the Government even on critical issues. Many observers, however, think that Mr. Rahul Gandhi is doing things as per a well-drawn plan whose main goal is only to create disruption in the country. Statedly, the main aim of the Opposition is to dislodge the Government and take over power. But considering how the Opposition in India is conducting itself, there are grounds to suspect whether it has some other sly angle -- only to create disturbances in the country on every possible count. It does not seem to have a clear road-map to dare the Government systematically and make it difficult for the party in power to garner votes at the hustings. For, the outcome of most elections is contrary to any such expectation. The Opposition has been on a losing spree while the ruling BJP is on an eternal upward trend. The Opposition does not see this reality -- which is why it does not want to alter its mindless ways. True, it is pursuing the policy of minority appeasement, all right. However, given the cumulative negative effect of its moves on the electoral outcome, it must be stated that the Opposition is proving to be a massive failure -- which gets proved once again by the baseless and thoughtless allegations made by Mr. Rahul Gandhi. Bhupesh Baghel slams BJP for CBI raids Staff Reporter RAIPUR, Former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary for Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, has strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central Government following the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raids at his residences in Raipur and Bhilai. The searches were conducted in connection with the Mahadev betting app scam. Addressing the media at the State Congress party office, Rajiv Bhawan, in Raipur, Baghel stated that the previous Congress Government had taken stringent actions against the Mahadev betting app. He highlighted that information regarding the app surfaced in 2022, after which directives were issued in the SP-Collector Conference to take necessary action. As a result, 200 people were arrested, over 2,000 bank accounts were seized, and more than 160 mobile phones were confiscated. Baghel further emphasized that in March 2022, the Congress-led state government had introduced a bill to curb online gambling. The initiative aimed at eradicating betting and gambling practices, leading to actions against the Mahadev app during their tenure. Referring to the accused in the Mahadev bet ting app scam, Baghel pointed out that Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, the main culprits, have not yet been arrested. Reports indicate that they have acquired citizenship of the Republic of Vanuatu. Expressing concern over the recent CBI actions, Baghel noted that the agency conducted searches at the residences of police officers who had actively taken action against the accused in the Mahadev app case. He further disclosed that he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging a ban on online betting games, yet no action has been taken. Baghel accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of politicizing the case. He mentioned that BJP had released a video featuring Shubham Soni, while Asim Das, who stayed in a hotel, was arrested. Furthermore, a vehicle linked to a BJP leader was found to be involved, and images surfaced showing Asim Das and Saurabh Chandrakar in the company of BJP leaders. Despite these revelations, the BJP-led government has not taken action against the Mahadev betting app, he alleged. The former Chief Minister demanded to know when the Central government would ban the Mahadev betting app in the state. He also criticized the governments stance, stating that those who had taken action against the accused were now being targeted by the CBI. If the current BJP government is refraining from action, it raises suspicions of receiving protection money, Baghel alleged. He further questioned when religious scholar Pandit Pradeep Mishra, who conducted a Katha in Dubai for Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, would be interrogated. He also accused the BJP government of failing to enforce online gaming laws, suggesting that online betting games are operating under the protection of the Centre. The press conference was attended by State Congress President Deepak Baij, Congress Legislative Party leader Dr. Charan Das Mahant, former Minister Dr Shiv Kumar Dahariya, former MLA Vikas Upadhyay, State Congress Media Chief Sushil Anand Shukla, State Congress In-charge General Secretary (Administration and Organisation) Malkit Singh Gaindu, and several other Congress leaders. City BJP gearing up to give rousing welcome to PM Modi Staff Reporter : Narendra Modi is second Prime Minister after Atal Behari Vajpayee to visit Smruti Mandir Bharatiya Janata Party Nagpur unit is gearing up to give a rousing welcome to its beloved leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is Modis first visit after becoming Prime Minister. BJP has entrusted the responsibility of reception committee on the shoulders of Sandip Joshi, newly-elected Member of Legislative Council. Joshi is known for his organising skills, considering which the party asked him to execute the event. Joshi, while talking to The Hitavada, said Modiji is our beloved leader and every worker is very eager to welcome him. His visit has several important aspects. He is coming for the bhoomipujan of Premium Centre of Madhav Netralaya plus he will be visiting Reshimbag Smruti Mandir of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Deekshabhoomi. He is the second Prime Minister to visit Reshimbag Smruti Mandir after Atal Behari Vajpayee. Vajpayee had visited Smruti Mandir in the year 2000. Joshi added, Modijis visit to Reshimbag Smruti Mandir assumes a lot of importance. RSS is celebrating its centenary this year. It came into existence on Gudhi Padwa (Marathi or Bharat New Year). Modiji too is coming on Gudhi Padwa. He will visit Reshimbag Smruti Mandir, pay respects at the statue of Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, founder Sarsanghchalak of RSS and the Samadhi of Second Sarsanghchalak Golwalkar Guruji. Modiji is also visiting holy Deekshabhoomi, where he will pay tributes to Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Babasaheb Ambedkar. Modi has been saying that had there not been Constitution and Dr Ambedkar, a common man like him would not have become Prime Minister. Joshi elaborated, We have marked 47 squares, which fall in the path of Modiji during his movement in Nagpur from airport to Reshimbag Smruti Mandir, to Deekshabhoomi, to Madhav Netralaya, back to airport. There are 15,000 workers whose deployment has been planned at 47 squares. On each path, there are squares where he would not stop but his vehicle will slow down. At the marked squares, we will welcome him in a different manner. At some places, we have arranged some small programmes, at some, the workers will shower petals on Modiji, Joshi said, adding, Everything will be done in a planned and disciplined manner. All the workers have been asked not to breach the security protocol. I personally had a meeting with the top officials, including Commmissioner of Police Dr Ravinder Singal. The police is installing barricades on the path of Modiji, so the workers would not cross that barricade. Secondly, whenever Modijis convoy moves by the flyover, we will not become barrier there. Our welcome will have warmth but we will not be overexcited as we have to follow the rules and dignity, Joshi made it clear. There is enthusiasm, curiosity among Bharatiya Janata Party workers to welcome their beloved leader. In the year 2022, Modi had come to Nagpur and inaugurated several developmental projects. Before the start of election, he remained present at Wardha for the valedictory of PM-Vishwakarma scheme. It was he who had chosen Maharashtra for holding concluding function of PM-Vishwakarma. CJI Khanna assures bar leaders to considerdemand against Justice Varmas transfer NEW DELHI : LEADERS of six High Court bar associations on Thursday met Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and sought withdrawal of the recommendation to transfer Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court. Soon after the meeting, Allahabad High Court Bar Association (AHCBA) president Anil Tiwari said the CJI had assured them of considering the demands. However, the CJI did not promise anything, said sources privy to the development. The representatives of six High Court bar associations met the CJI and four collegium members, Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath They raised several demands, including setting in motion criminal action over the cash discovery from the judges official home. The five members (of the collegium) listened to us very carefully and told us in a positive wayeachandevery point raisedby you in writingwillbe consideredbyus strictlywithin the premises of law. Dont worry at all. This is a very big statement by five senior judges,Tiwaritoldmediapersons soon after the meeting. He said the bar body would reconsider whether or not to continue with the indefinite strike. I do not know what decision will be taken, he said. The CJI referred to the reasons behind collegiums recommendation to transfer Justice Varma to his parent HighCourtatAllahabad,Tiwari added. The CJI said in any case, Justice Varma, who was derostered by the Delhi High Court following a directive from him, wouldnt be dischargingany judicial function at the Allahabad HighCourt as well, he said. Thebarbodywoulddiscuss about the strike in its general body meeting for a collective decision. All HighCourts in India are standinginsupport of the president of AHCBA and advocates of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association.Theyare really sacrificing their profession forthe cause ofthe nation, for the cause of ensuring a transparent judiciary,the safe judiciary campaign, which we, we have all launched, another bar leader said. He saidthe barleaders have brought to the notice of the CJI the larger issue of corruption in the judiciary. GIIS Nagpur holds Global Kids Carnival Business Reporter : THE Global Kids Carnival 2025, hosted by GIIS Nagpur, was an extraordinary celebration of fun, learning, and creativity. Drawing over 1,000 attendees, including 398 children and 352 families, the event created a vibrant, dynamic atmosphere filled with excitement and engagement for all participants. The carnival showcased an array of interactive activities and attractions that captivated both children and parents. Highlights included an Indoor Planetarium in the Multipurpose Hall (MP Hall), exciting games for kids, and four uniquely themed experiential zonesUnderwater World, Underwater Adventure, Spectacular Science Show, Marvel of Space Lantern Making Workshop and Craft Magic Penny Bank. The Central Courtyard was transformed into a vibrant World of Art Canopies, featuring a Tattoo Station, Pottery Corner, and a Bouncy Castle, offering endless fun for the little ones. Adding to the excitement, two beloved mascotsMirror Man and Minionentertained the children, while an art contest and treasure hunt encouraged young participants to tap into their problem-solving abilities, with winners walking away with fun prizes. Reflecting on the events success, Nidhi Gupta, Principal of Global Indian International School, Nagpur said, The Global Kids Carnival 2025 is a true reflection of our commitment to nurturing a holistic learning environment beyond the classroom. Watching the joy and enthusiasm of our young participants affirms our belief in the power of experiential learning. We are thrilled with the overwhelming response and look forward to hosting many more such engaging events in the future. The carnival also provided an excellent opportunity for visitors to explore GIIS Nagpurs vibrant learning environment, offering a glimpse of life at the school. Parents interacted with teachers, while children enjoyed hands-on experiences that sparked creativity and curiosity. The event also served as a preview of the upcoming Summer Camp at GIIS Nagpur, giving attendees a sneak peek into the exciting activities planned for a summer filled with learning, fun, and growth. It was a day that beautifully captured the spirit of GIISwhere fun and education seamlessly go hand in hand, creating lasting memories and building connections for families and the community. Lok Sabha nod to Bill on immigration, foreigners NEW DELHI : India notadharamshala, says Amit Shah, targets TMC in LS LOK Sabha passed the Immigration and ForeignersBill, 2025 on Thursday, with Home Minister Amit Shah asserting that those who come to India for business, education and investment arewelcome,butthosewhopose athreattosecuritywillfacestringent action. India is not a dharamshala(resthouse), Shah asserted while replying to the debate on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha. The bill was later passed by a voice vote after various amendments moved by Opposition members were negated. One of the key provisions in the bill is that anyone found to beusingaforgedpassportorvisa for entering India or staying in or exiting from the country will be punishable with a jailterm of uptosevenyearsandafinewhich could extend to Rs 10 lakh. The bill also seeks to ensureaclose monitoringofeveryonewhovisits India, Shah said. Shah said the bill is necessary tostrengthenthecountryssecurity and econom y, p r omote manuf ac - turingandtrade,getglobalrecognition for the education system andhelpuniversities earn international repute. It will ensure thatthe country gets up-to-date information about every foreigner visiting India, he added. HealsohitoutattheTrinamool Congress(TMC) and previous Congress Government at the Centre for allowing Rohingiyas andBangladeshis enterIndiaon the basis of Aadhaar cards and voter cards earlier from Assam and now West Bengal. He said whilesecurityforcesareblamed, the real culprits are the TMC GovernmentinWestBengal and theearlierCongressGovernment in Assam. Indias borderwith Bangladesh is 2,216 km long, out of which fencingwork has beencompleted on 1,653 km. Out of the remaining563km,fencingisnot possible on 112 KM due to geographical conditions. But fencing in 412 km is incompletebecauseBengalgovernment is not giving land, the minister told the House. The Lok Sabha on Thursday gave its nod to two bills after making technical amendments following their approval by the Rajya Sabha. The Disaster Management (Amendment)Bill,2024 and The Railways (Amendment)Bill,2024 were passed by the LokSabhalast year afterwhichtheywenttothe Rajya Sabha. The year 75th has been replaced with 76th in the enactingformulasofthetwobills. Theamendmentsapprovedby the Lower House related to year after Independence. The laws will come into force onthe lapse of a year after the two bills were passed by the Lok Sabha. The Bills,whentheybecomelaws,will have the year 2025 instead of 2024 suffixed with their names. Mahadev App Scam CBI winds up search-ops, missing ASP Maheshwari deepens mystery (Inset) ASP Abhishek Maheshwari. ASP Maheshwaris upscale residence in Rajnandgaons Sun City area where the team conducted searches. By Mukesh S Singh Rajnandgaon/Raipur, CBI delving into roles of Maheshwaris close aides who accessed sensitive locations tied to probe As the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) intensifies its probe into the Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev Online Betting App scam, a major twist has emerged with the disappearance of a key accused, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abhishek Maheshwari. Despite extensive searches across multiple states, including a raid at his luxury residence in Rajnandgaon, Maheshwari remains untraceable, adding a new layer of intrigue to the case. The CBI took over the investigation after the Chhattisgarh government transferred the case from the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB). Despite obtaining Section 17(A) clearances to probe over 20 high-ranking officials, including six IPS officers, SEOIACB failed to act, giving the accused ample time to manipulate evidence and safeguard assets. The CBIs intervention has since led to a full-scale inquiry into the scams bureaucratic and political dimensions. On the second day of searches, a five-member CBI team raided Maheshwaris opulent Sun City residence in Rajnandgaons Kanchanbagh area, a locality known for its elite residents. However, his absence raised immediate red flags. Unable to locate him, the agency sealed the property and returned the next day for a detailed search, which lasted over four hours. Documents and materials were seized, but officials refrained from disclosing specifics. Sources suggest Maheshwari may have been tipped off about the impending raids, allowing him to evade arrest. His sudden disappearance raises critical questions that need to be addressed, said an official close to the investigation. As the probe deepens, investigators are now focusing on Maheshwaris close aides, Head Constables Sandeep Dixit and Radhakant Pandey. Both had extensive access to sensitive locations linked to the Mahadev App case, prompting concerns over their potential role in obstructing the investigation. Senior BJP leaders have raised objections to their unauthorized presence at key sites, further complicating the case. Meanwhile, suspicions are mounting regarding two senior IPS officers who were granted Section 17(A) clearances but were conspicuously absent from the CBIs raid list. Their omission has triggered speculation in Chhattisgarhs police circles, with many questioning whether influential figures are being shielded from scrutiny. 2009-batch IPS officer Abhinav Khare, a seasoned cybercrime expert, spearheads the investigation. Under his leadership, the operation has expanded across four states, making it one of the most extensive CBI probes in recent memory. Despite relentless efforts, Maheshwaris whereabouts remain unknown. We are pursuing every possible lead, confirmed a source familiar with the investigation. With mounting political and bureaucratic implications, the case is shaping up to be one of Chhattisgarhs most high-profile corruption scandals. The CBIs next steps will be crucial in determining whether Maheshwaris disappearance is a mere act of evasion or indicative of a deeper conspiracy within the system. CBIs 7-month investigation leads to coordinated searches across 4 states Central agency reviewed prosecution complaints and charge sheets, leading to coordinated raids at 60 location Staff Reporter Raipur, Mar 27 In what is emerging as one of the most sweeping and complex investigations in recent history, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had launched a monumental crackdown in the Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev Online Betting App scam, around 24 hours ago on Wednesday. This far-reaching operation is the culmination of seven months of painstaking investigative work undertaken by the premier central agency, driven by an unrelenting commitment to unravel a criminal syndicate operating at the intersection of politics, bureaucracy, and law enforcement. The CBIs investigation gained considerable traction after months of sifting through detailed prosecution complaints (PCs) and charge sheets filed by the Enforcement Directorate Raipur Zonal Office (ED-RPZO) and the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB). Over this extended period, the CBI meticulously reviewed thousands of pages of evidence, including a comprehensive 252-page 4th supplementary prosecution complaint and over 2200 pages of Relied Upon Documents (RUDs) filed by ED-RPZO as well as states anti graft agency chargesheet filed on April 19th, 2024. Sources familiar with the CBI probe disclosed that this exhaustive review played a pivotal role in uncovering the illicit activities of the Mahadev Betting App promoters, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who allegedly amassed a staggering Rs 6,000 crore through the apps illegal operations. The investigation took a dramatic turn with the discovery that payments were allegedly made by top officials to shield the criminal enterprise. Prosecution complaints and chargesheet of ED-RPZO and SEOIACB respectively revealed that several senior IPS officers, some at the level of Inspector General (IG), were involved in accepting monthly bribes to turn a blind eye to the operations. While 31 key suspects are yet to be investigated, CBI insiders confirmed that these individuals will be brought under scrutiny in the coming days, heightening the tension surrounding the ongoing probe. Subsequently, on the morning of March 26, the CBIs raids commenced in full force, with teams storming 60 locations across four states, including 55 in Chhattisgarh and remaining in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal. The raids included the residences of high-profile figures such as former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Bhilai MLA Devendra Yadav, senior IPS officers, in additional to top bureaucrats some of whom are already lodged in Raipur Central Jail in connection with other scams probed by both ED-RPZO and SEOIACB. No respite from Eichhornia in Ambazari lake Wadi STP may take 6 months for completion By Kaushik Bhattacharya : WMC facing financial crunch for sewer line project Waiting for NOC from NHAI for digging work The Eichhornia menace in Ambazari lake will haunt the civic body and the people of Nagpur at least six more months as the construction work of the sewage treatment plant (STP) on the nullah which is releasing sewage in the iconic water body is just 60% completed and the work is facing technical glitch. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) declared the nullah, which is carrying sewage from Wadi area, as the main culprit for growth of Eichhornia weeds in Ambazari lake and to stop the sewage, Wadi Municipal Council (WMC) started construction of the STP one year ago. Even after one year, the project is just halfway completed due to various reasons and citizens, specially the residents who are living near the waterbody, will have to face the next monsoon with the Eichhornia weeds. Ambazari Lake is struggling for its survival due to flooding of Eichhornia weeds for more than one year and the civic body is just removing the weeds from the lake but it is repeatedly appearing due to presence of sewage. To stop entering of sewage, WMC started construction of the STP and connecting every corner of the Wadi area with drainage line. There are some financial crunch we are facing currently but we are hopeful that it will be solved end of this financial year, Rucha Dabhade, Chief Officer, Wadi Municipal Council told The Hitavada. WMC is also struggling to get No Objection Certificate (NOC) for digging work for laying of drainage line on Amravati Road from National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) which is also delaying the project. WMC is laying sewer network of around 72 km in Wadi area which has a population of around 70,000. The work on more than 25 kms length of sewer line has completed, informed Dabhade. Due to absence of sewer line, sewage from Wadi area is being released directly in Ambazari lake for many years. With passage of time, the quantity of sewage increased, and this might have caused frequent spread of the weed in Ambazari lake. The STP is being readied near a cremation ground close to Ambedkar Nagar in Wadi area. The sludge from the treated sewage would be used to manufacture fertiliser. The operation and maintenance of the STP would be a good source of revenue generation for the municipal council in near future. The WMC has also chalked out a plan to cash in on the treated sewage water by supplying it to Hingna MIDC for a fee. The STP can treat 11 MLD sewage daily and release the treated water in the Ambazari lake. Putin accepts Modis invitation to visit India: Russian FM Lavrov MOSCOW : The dates of the visit have not been revealed yet RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modis invitation to visit India and preparations are underway for it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday. In a video address to a conference titledRussia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), Lavrov said, Arrangements are currently being made for Putin to visit India. President Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation to visit from the Indian head of Government. A visit by the Russian head of state to the Republic of India is currently being prepared, the Russian Foreign Minister was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency. Lavrov noted that Prime Minister Modis first foreign visit after his re-election last year was to Russia. Now its our turn, he said. However, the dates of the visithavenotbeenrevealedyet. Prime Minister Modi visited Russia in July 2024, his first trip to the country in nearly five years. Earlier, he visited the far eastern city of Vladivostok in 2019 to attend aneconomicconclave.During thelastvisit,ModiinvitedPutin to visit India BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Beijing on Thursday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China is willing to work with France to follow the guidance of the consensus reached by the two heads of state, enhance dialogue across all domains and levels, transcend differences and deepen cooperation. He said that in the current international situation, China and France should assume the responsibility of major countries, enhance strategic coordination, and support each other's significant multilateral propositions and initiatives. Noting that China regards France as a priority partner in achieving high-quality development, Wang said China is willing to deepen cooperation with France in traditional sectors, encourage mutual investment, and expand cooperation in emerging fields to inject new momentum into bilateral cooperation. He also called on the two sides to deepen mutual understanding and friendship to solidify the public support foundation. Barrot spoke highly of the pragmatic cooperation achievements between France and China. He said the current international situation is marked by increasing uncertainty and a rise in protectionism, rendering the importance of France-China relations even more prominent. France regards China as an important partner, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is committed to developing a future-oriented and long-term stable relationship with China. France supports free trade, opposes decoupling, and is against trade wars, he added. The two sides also exchanged views on China-EU relations. Noting that the cooperation between China and the EU outweighs competition, and consensus surpasses differences, Wang said there are ample conditions to further enhance the relationship between the two sides. Barrot said that France supports dialogue between the EU and China to solve their trade differences. After the talks, China and France issued a joint statement on climate change. This photo taken on Dec. 10, 2024 shows the Stone and Moon Winery Co. Ltd. located in Qingtongxia City of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua) BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The acquisition of a Chinese winery marks a significant milestone for the Australian company Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), one of the world's largest wine companies, said its chief executive officer Tim Ford. Talking to Xinhua in an interview, Ford disclosed that TWE had completed its acquisition of a 75 percent equity interest in the Stone and Moon Winery Co. Ltd. in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwest China, earlier this month. "This acquisition marks a significant milestone in our commitment to growing our presence and investing in the local wine industry in China, and we're excited about the opportunity it brings," Ford said while in Chengdu, the capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, where he attended the China Food and Drinks Fair this week. "Stone and Moon will play an important role in shaping our China country of Origin strategy, supporting the production of Penfolds wines, including Chinese Winemaking Trial 521, which already features Stone and Moon grapes as well as grapes sourced from Yunnan," he added. "We look forward to continuing to engage with the local Ningxia wine industry as our winemaking operations develop." Kang Xuanhao, founder of the Chinese winery, told Xinhua that he hoped the cooperation could "speed up the internationalization process of the winery, further improve its production capacity, and showcase the quality and unique charm of Ningxia wines to the world." The acquisition illustrates the significance of Chinese wines in the wider global market. Ningxia, renowned for its unique grape-growing conditions, has become China's largest wine-producing region and is gaining prominence on the global stage. In the summer of 2024, the Ningxia Devo Winery had its sparkling wine exported to Japan. In December the same year, more than 18,000 bottles of red wine from the Castaly Winery were shipped to Thailand as the fourth batch to Southeast Asia. In 2023, Castaly sent its first consignment of wine to Laos via the China-Laos Railway. So far, about 37,500 bottles of wine have made their way to the country, with total sales close to 2 million yuan (about 275,300 U.S. dollars). "There is a big demand in Southeast Asia as many locals have a wine-drinking habit," said Ning Xiaokai, general manager of Castaly. "Besides, it is a major travel destination for people from Europe and America, and therefore, is a big market for wine." Last year, Ningxia's wine exports amounted to 13.76 million yuan and 166,000 bottles, with year-on-year increases of 42.14 and 37.81 percent, respectively. China's wine exports totaled about 33 million U.S. dollars in 2024. Shandong in east China is another major wine-producing region in China, of which Yantai City was recognized as an "International City of Vine and Wine" by the International Organization of Vine and Wine in 1987. Last September, a Spanish company for the promotion and diffusion of wine culture, Gua Pen, conducted ratings and exchanges with Chinese wineries. Adolfo Gatell Robledo, CEO of the company, visited Yantai. "I felt like having a butterfly in my heart," he said. "I found the passion and eagerness here to make friends as I had many years ago." He noted that he had kept a Chinese wine cup on his desk, which was given to him by China's biggest wine producer, Changyu. Two months later, at the 24th salon of best wine of Spain in Madrid, eight Chinese wines from Yantai, rated by Gua Pen as above 90 points, were well received. At the same time, China, with its increasing opening-up and growth of people's living standards, is seeing more demand for wine in the domestic market. "Chinese consumers are increasingly seeking higher-quality, luxury wines, and younger consumers are becoming more accepting of wine in general," Tim Ford told Xinhua. His company's first bottle of Penfolds wine was exported to Shanghai in 1893. More recently, Penfolds' latest half-year results were led by outstanding growth in Asia, he noted, adding that the China market "continues to form an important part of our long-term growth strategy." Big demand also drives up people's need for better winemaking technology. Talking about their collaboration with their Chinese counterparts to promote winemaking technology and cultural exchange, Ford said that they recently celebrated the success of the inaugural Australia-China Winemaker Immersion program that saw three Chinese winemakers and a Master's student visit South Australia, a major winemaking region in the world. "They gained hands-on experience in local viticultural practices, winemaking operations, sustainability projects, and a range of academic and industry activities," he said. Winemakers of Stone and Moon Winery Co. Ltd. taste wine in a cellar in Qingtongxia City of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Dec. 10, 2024. (Xinhua/Liu Hai) Editor: JYZ Ranya denied bail in gold smuggling case BENGALURU : A SESSIONS court in Bengaluru on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao in the gold smuggling case . This was for the third time when Ranya failed to get the court relief. According to the prosecution, Ranya admitted to using hawala channels to facilitate gold purchases. In response, the authorities have issued a notice to initiate a judicial investigation, which they believe will uncover further financial irregularities. The case also involves Tarun Raj, an aide of the actor, who has been named as the second accused. Officials claim that Ranya handed over the smuggled gold to a merchant named Sahil Jain, who was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday. This brings the total number of arrests in the case to three . During the hearing, DRI lawye r Madhu Rao revealed that Ranya and Raj made approximately 26 trips to Dubai together, ofte n departing in the morning and returning the same evening. Befor e her arrest, the actor allegedly booked a flight ticket for Raj, who then handed over the gold to her in Dubai. Gold bars worth Rs 12.56 cror e were seized from Ranya, the stepdaughter of DGP rank officer K Ramachandra Rao at Kempegowd a International Airport on March 3 upon her arrival from Dubai UK Oscar entry Santoshin stalemate with Indiancensors, release uncertain NEW DELHI : GLOBALLY acclaimed Hindi film Santosh, Britains official entry at the Oscars and one of the most talked about titles last year, may not make it to Indian theatres following hurdles in its censor certification. Though there was no official comment from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a member termeditaclassic case of gross disagreement between the producers and the board. They are unrelenting. They want zero modifications, and CBFC wants the modifications. They went to the revising committeeforthesecondtime,made more modifications, and lost theirJanuaryreleasedate...There has to be a middle ground, the member told PTI on condition of anonymity. Santosh, directed by British Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri, known for documentaries such asIForIndiaandAroundIndia witha MovieCamera, is apolice procedural thriller set in north India.Thefilm, starringShahana GoswamiandSunitaRajwar,was initially set for an India release on January 10. A co-production between United Kingdom, Germany and France, it revolves arounda widow who gets her late husbands jobofapoliceconstable.Sheand her senior inspector are soon sucked into a high profile investigation into the rape and murder of a Dalit teenager. Students prepare for a performance at a primary school in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2025. Students of various ethnic groups at a primary school in Rongshui held a celebration prior to the Sanyuesan Festival, a festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month, by wearing traditional costumes and staging traditional performances on Tuesday. This year's Sanyuesan Festival falls on March 31. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang) Students pose for a group photo at a primary school in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2025. Students of various ethnic groups at a primary school in Rongshui held a celebration prior to the Sanyuesan Festival, a festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month, by wearing traditional costumes and staging traditional performances on Tuesday. This year's Sanyuesan Festival falls on March 31. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang) Students experience embroidery at a primary school in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2025. Students of various ethnic groups at a primary school in Rongshui held a celebration prior to the Sanyuesan Festival, a festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month, by wearing traditional costumes and staging traditional performances on Tuesday. This year's Sanyuesan Festival falls on March 31. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang) Students perform traditional dancing at a primary school in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2025. Students of various ethnic groups at a primary school in Rongshui held a celebration prior to the Sanyuesan Festival, a festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month, by wearing traditional costumes and staging traditional performances on Tuesday. This year's Sanyuesan Festival falls on March 31. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang) Students perform at a primary school in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2025. Students of various ethnic groups at a primary school in Rongshui held a celebration prior to the Sanyuesan Festival, a festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month, by wearing traditional costumes and staging traditional performances on Tuesday. This year's Sanyuesan Festival falls on March 31. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang) Students perform bamboo pole dance at a primary school in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2025. Students of various ethnic groups at a primary school in Rongshui held a celebration prior to the Sanyuesan Festival, a festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month, by wearing traditional costumes and staging traditional performances on Tuesday. This year's Sanyuesan Festival falls on March 31. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang) Students sing folk songs in a call-and-response style at a primary school in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2025. Students of various ethnic groups at a primary school in Rongshui held a celebration prior to the Sanyuesan Festival, a festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month, by wearing traditional costumes and staging traditional performances on Tuesday. This year's Sanyuesan Festival falls on March 31. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang) Students perform traditional dancing at a primary school in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2025. Students of various ethnic groups at a primary school in Rongshui held a celebration prior to the Sanyuesan Festival, a festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month, by wearing traditional costumes and staging traditional performances on Tuesday. This year's Sanyuesan Festival falls on March 31. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang) Editor: JYZ Tourists visit a rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) Tourists visit a rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) Tourists select agricultural products at a visitor service center in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) An aerial drone photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows tourists visiting the rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) An aerial drone photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a view of the rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) An aerial drone photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows tourists visiting the rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) Tourists take a rest beside a rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) Tourists visit a rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) Editor: JYZ This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a building destroyed by wildfires at the Namhu Agricultural Industrial Complex in Andong City, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) SEOUL, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. Since March 21, infernos had broken out in 11 areas, mostly in the southeastern Gyeongsang province, and five of them were completely extinguished, according to the central disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters. In the remaining six areas, 83 percent of the fires were put out on average at 5:00 a.m. local time. The blazes affected at least 48,150.61 hectares of woodland, marking the country's worst-ever wildfire damage. The previous high was in 2000 when 23,794 hectares of land were ravaged. Of the wounded, nine people suffered serious injuries. Most of the victims were those aged 60 or higher, according to the headquarters. The number of affected buildings and structures, such as houses and agricultural facilities, advanced to 3,481, while 23 cultural assets were destroyed. Still displaced were 8,078 people of 2,407 households. Firefighters struggled to contain the rapidly spreading blazes, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipments were mobilized to combat the wildfires. This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a wildfire in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a wildfire in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a building destroyed by wildfires at the Namhu Agricultural Industrial Complex in Andong City, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) Evacuees of a wildfire rest at a community hall used as a shelter in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, March 27, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a building destroyed by wildfires at the Namhu Agricultural Industrial Complex in Andong City, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) Evacuees of a wildfire rest at a community hall used as a shelter in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, March 27, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) A firefighter checks fire prevention facilities at the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) A firefighter checks fire prevention facilities at the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) Firefighters carry out fire prevention work at the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) Firefighters carry out fire prevention work around the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) Fire engines are on standby at the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) A firefighter carries out fire prevention work at the Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) A firefighter carries out fire prevention work at the Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) Editor: WXY Negotiations for the acquisition of the Uklon online taxi service began in early 2023, and the deal is set to be finalized at the beginning of next week, Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov announced. "Around the beginning of 2023, we started serious negotiations. They were long and complex quick deals are not our style. Many consultants were involved," Komarov said at Uklon's 15th-anniversary celebration. According to him, the final agreement was preceded by a thorough due diligence process and a restructuring of Uklon's businesses. "This has been a challenging operational process, but it is now coming to a close. The transaction is set to take place next week," Komarov stated. Earlier, Kyivstar announced the signing of an agreement to acquire 97% of Uklon, with plans to expand the service into new markets with the support of its parent company, VEON. The deal is valued at $155.2 million and is expected to be finalized by April 2025. For Kyivstar, the investment in Uklon is a logical step in building an integrated digital ecosystem and marks a significant phase of non-organic growth and business expansion, aligning with VEON's $1 billion investment commitment for 2023-2027. VEON Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu highlighted that Uklon has achieved one of the best financial performances among ride-hailing services globally, with revenue growing to $60 million over the past four years and an EBITDA margin of 44%. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) has reached 49% over the last four years. Uklon operates in 27 Ukrainian cities and within the Bukovel tourist complex, bringing together over 100,000 active driver-partners who collectively fulfill more than 10 million ride requests per month. Since 2023, the company has been expanding internationally, launching its online ride-hailing service in Uzbekistan. The company is owned by Dmytro Dubrovsky and Viktoria Dubrovska (each holding 38.46%), as well as Vitaliy Diatlenko and Serhiy Smus (each holding 11.54%). On March 27, the Verkhovna Rada passed a bill (No. 4560) with 267 votes to regulate the road transport services market in line with EU directives. The law restricts licensing to companies with a "good" reputation meaning no serious violations or sanctions for major offenses in the transport sector. "The key changes relate to licensing rules. Financial requirements for carriers will be introduced, ensuring that businesses have financial guarantees or insurance. Companies must also employ professional managers," explained Deputy Minister of Communities and Territories Development, Serhiy Derkach, via Facebook. According to him, the law, which will take effect a year after its adoption, brings Ukraine's transport market closer to EU standards. "This means greater opportunities for Ukrainian carriers, a more competitive environment, and higher-quality services," Derkach said. He added that the new law would integrate Ukraine's transport safety information systems into a unified database. Yes Significant efforts are being made No Much more needs to be done Some progress But there are still critical gaps Vote View Results Ukrfinzhytlo and the Ukrainian Developers Association (UDA) have launched the Developer's Account, a digital platform with dedicated interfaces for developers, banks, and regulators. The initiative aims to streamline the accreditation process for construction projects and facilitate mortgage applications via the Diia e-government platform. "We strive for transparency, digitalization, and process optimization. With tools like this, we hope to achieve much faster accreditation processes," said Ukrfinzhytlo Chairman Yevhen Metzger at the First Affordable Mortgage Forum in Kyiv on March 27. The Developer's Cabinet will manage project accreditation, application submissions, compliance checks, and decision-making. Developers, Ukrfinzhytlo, and banks will each have separate dashboards for application management and communication. Once accredited, projects will be listed on a public platform where buyers can search for properties by location, developer, or price, check construction status, estimate mortgage costs, and apply via Diia. Metzger described the Developer's Account as a "showcase" where banks can access documentation and expedite accreditation. If two banks have already accredited a developer, a third bank can do so automatically based on existing assessments. UDA fully financed the project, and during the forum, Ukrfinzhytlo and UDA signed a memorandum of cooperation. As First Deputy Prime Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko reported at the forum, the state mortgage program eOselia, operated by Ukrfinzhytlo, currently includes 98 developers accredited by partner banks and 226 buildings where apartments are available. Netherlands to speed up financial aid to Ukraine media The Netherlands will accelerate the allocation of EUR 3.5 billion in aid to Ukraine, providing EUR 2 billion this year, rather than in 2026 as previously planned, France24 reported on Thursday. The Netherlands will speed up the release of its promised EUR 3.5 billion ($3.78 billion) of support for Ukraine and send EUR 2 billion this year instead of in 2026, a spokesperson for Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said, the message reads. Dutch Prime Minister's spokesman Dick Schoof confirmed the move, saying: "The Netherlands will accelerate the provision of promised aid to Ukraine." Meitei was never tribe : A reply | Dr L Krishnamangol Singh One should have some unexpressed reservation and respect in submitting press release on the enlisting of Meitei as Scheduled Tribe under the Indian Constitution. In fact, it is necessary to understand that respect sharing is essential in giving opinion on the demand for inclusion of Meitei in the Scheduled Tribe list whether we consider that Meitei (not the concept of Meetei) was a tribe or not Again, we need not, without any reason, provoke and irritate the sentiment of others. We usually understand from our school and college life in the 1960s and seventies that any debate should be based on merits and drive home the real conclusions in order to provide benefits to the society and concerned authorities, and correct the wrong thinking of the Treasury bench or the Opposition bench. We were debators in our College life and (ershwhile DM College of Arts in the early seventies (ie upto 1973). Now my subject in Master degree and PhD degree is in the subject Economics under the ershwhile JNU, Imphal (for MA 1975 batch) and present Manipur University (for PhD in 1987) I served in the Economics Department as a faculty mamber for a short stint in 1990. (appointed by a formal committee). But, I resigned from the post to join Imphal College, Imphal, Government of Manipur. Prior to this, I also worked in different private colleges of Manipur and research cells/institutions including Data cell on Tribal Demography in Manipur in ershwhile JNU Imphal (1976-78) under the guidance of late Professor BK Roy Burman, eminent Professor of Anthropology and Social Sciences (who was also the Chairman of Other Backward Class (OBCs) for North Eastern region of India under the Mandal Commission till the inclusion of Meitei came into final shape in Manipur. He was also the Deputy Register of Census of India, Government of India before he joined Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and he was also the expert on tribal demography including Northeastern region of India. Even the late Shri Rishang Keishing, the respected former Chief Minister of Manipur recognised him as an eminent social scientist and extended full suport to the organisation of Seminar on Tribal Demography in Manipur (1977) at the premises of ershwhile JNU Imphal. I along with some of my colleagues, worked as Technical Associates in the said Data cell. Here I am constrained to mention the names of those who were associated with me as I have a long gap from them now. However, they were also helpful to the research team in providing date inputs for the said seminar on tribal Demography in Manipur. Thus, from the early school life through college and University life, I pleaded for patriotism and Nationalism (in the contexual sense of India including Manipur.) Today, I am now in the Opposition bench of the debate on the inclusion of Meitei in the Scheduled Tribe list under the Indian Constitution. And, I have been consistently arguing in giving my opinion that Meitei was never tribe or tribal or Meitei community was never tribe or tribal. This does not mean that tribes or presently called tribals were inferior or superior in terms of human relations or status. In fact, it is a question of historical factors and mode of production relation or mode of social relation in the Marxian framework or modern development framework. To begin my argument, against the motion that Meitei should be included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Indian Constitution, it is necessary that we first understand the evolution of human creatures and human beings, and the concept of tribe. It is necessary to understand how the term tribe is generally replaced by the term indigenous people. And, other discussions against the motion will be followed. Very little is known about the knowledge of human civilisation and development from the starting point or the stage of metaphysics (ie the study of evolution of human creatures or human beings) to the pre-history or pre-premitive society in ancient times in terms of evolution of human creatures or human beings, human institutions and other aspects of civilisation and development. However, there have been a number of literature and accounts that have traced and explained the evolution of human beings, society and progress of civilisation and development that took place in ancient times. Thus, without going into the philosophical and anthropological or any other aspects of the theories of the evolution of human creatures or human beings, which is quite abstract and subtle and which is also not relevant for the purpose of the present article, we shall deal with or bring out the basic features of the primitive society or the primitive stage of development in the process of human civilisation in order to get a correct insight into the emergence of tribes and non-tribes (i.e. the non-tribe peoples/peoples other than tribes). It is now well known that human beings on human creatures passed through the stage of primitive society or premitive stage of development since their evolution and that with the breakdown of primitive stage of society, there was the emergence of two classes (ie one class of people who had lands and other personal properties including capital accumulations eg. equipments, tools, rare materials and other resources and another class of peoples who did not have their own lands/ownership in lands and other properties including capital accumulations). Yet, they depend on or used common property resouces (CPRs) for their livelihood. This took place within the same primitive society or primitive stage of development. Here, it can be pointed out that in the initial stage of human evolution, there were animal creatures or animal kingdoms where there were no distinction of tribes and non-tribes. Hence, it would be wrong to say that Meiteis had tribal roots in the initial stage of evolution of human creatures. Again, it would be essential to bring out some of the salient features of the socio-economic system of the primitive stage of civilisation and development Now economists use the concept, economic development or economic growth and development or very lately development economics which includes new literatures (new theories and policies dealing with economic growth and development with dignity/with freedom)in order to understand the emergence of tribals in the ancient times (i.e. in those days of primitive society). In fact, an essential feature of the primitive society is that primitive peoples lived on different types of common property resources (CPRs) like lands, water resources, forests etc. It is also well known that in a primitive society, peoples lived in a collective way (ie they worked together and shared the products) and each family did not have private property. Another essential feature of the primitive stage is that each family supplied the economic needs (ie agricultural and industrial items/products and other tools and equipments) of other numbers of the family by practicing simple economic activies. In fact, the peoples in the primitive system lived in a cooperative system or collective system in all economic activies or in the social and economic life of the peoples. And, as already noted, productions in the primitive stage of development were based on the common property resources (CPRs), which implied the collective use of the CPRs (eg. lands, forests, water resources and other equipments or means of production.) As already noted, there have been a number of studies dealing with the evolution of human creatures or human beings and civilisation from the stage of the genesis of metaphysics to pre primitive or primitive stage of society. And, it is not our purpose here to investigate into how the human creatures or human beings had emerged or developed as it fall within the field of or area of other experts (eg scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, geographers or earth scientists, historians, philoso- phers etc. However, economists of political economy of development and change, transformation, and other growth and development economists had critically looked into and deal with the various stages of development in different analy- tical or conceptual frameworks. Marx believed in the evolution of the society and economy starting from the primitive stage of development. Friedrich Engels believed in the existence of animal creatures and animal kingdoms as prior stage of primitive society. And prior to the primitive society, Marx believed in the existence of nature. But, it was the society in which peoples lived, which managed and utilised the natural resources gifted by the supernatural power (known as God). Thus, Marx had given top priority to the human beings or society for managing the nature. In fact, according to Marx, human beings or society preceeded natural environment in his scheme of analysis as resources will be useless without human beings. Thus, although human creatures are the product of nature, the peoples or the human beings were given primary importance in the evolution of human beings, civilisation and development. Marx begins with the existence of human beings in the primitive stage of human society and progress of human civilisation in subsequent stages of development. Thus, Marx and Marxism believed that primitive stage of society existed about 2 thousand million years ago (Fundamentals of Political Economy, Progress Publishers, Moscow). In fact, there were records that there were also human creatures deriving from different forms of nature prior to the primitive stage of development. And philosophers believed the human creatures or human beings as the products of God (Nature), which is a supernatural power. Although Marx placed primary importances in the evolution of the society or the socio-economic system, there are many beneficial effects or aspects for Mans believing in God as the different doctrines shape self-development, moral development, preservation of ethics, human values etc. In fact, believing in God helps promotion and protection of morality and ethics free from crimes, violence and war. This does not mean that the human life should be entirely idealist or devoted to idealism as against the material aspects of life/materialism or other aspects of life. In fact, there should be proper blending of idealism and materialism or materialistic ideas in order to build up a proper civilisation and technological development. Thus, against this background it is essential to understand the genesis of tribes band the process of civilisation. Today, the term tribe has undergone a gradual change and transformation. And in the present context, tribal literally exists in the tribal society only due to their historical cultural factors. But, practically or virtually, there is no tribe or tribal now in the broader concept of the society. (To be contd) Cong meet | IMPHAL, Mar 28: An all India DCCs meeting convened by AICC at the new Congress office named Indira Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday worked out a new formula to strengthen the Congress party in the country. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and other senior leaders of the party deliberated at length on how to strengthen the party. The Manipur Congress delegation comprising all the 14 District Congress Committee presidents led by Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee president K Meghachandra Singh attended the meeting. All the States and Union Territories present were made to place their organisational readiness by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. From Manipur, the Kakching District Congress Committee president was randomly picked by Rahul Gandhi and was asked to present the status of the working of the organisation in Manipur. It is said that the party has given training to PCCs on how to get membership, monitor social media, take care of party assets, etc. Another meeting was held today with 338 District Congress presidents who came here from 13 States and 3 Union territories. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary (Organization) KC Venugopal and general secretaries or in-charge of all 13 States and 3 Union Territories were present at the meeting. Mallikarjun Kharge said that the message and ideology that the Congress party has been fighting for can be taken to every home only through district Congress presidents. Rahul Gandhi said that the District Congress Committee is like a foundation and no building can gain strength without a strong foundation. This was the first phase of meeting. Second phase meetings will be held on April 3-4 and it will be over before the Gujarat session of AICC, said a Congress functionary. Maritime truce applies to all Ukrainian ports in Black Sea region, no agreement on renewal of Grain Initiative - MFA Foreign Ministry Spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy rejected Russian manipulations regarding the agreement on the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and stressed that the maritime truce applies to all Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea region. At a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, the spokesman noted that at a meeting in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United States agreed on a ceasefire in the Black Sea, which applies to both civilian shipping and ports. He also stressed that Russia's movement of its military vessels beyond the eastern part of the Black Sea would be considered a violation of this agreement. "It is precisely about the cessation of attacks on civilian ships and ports. By ports we mean all Ukrainian ports of the Black Sea region, the Black Sea zone, which includes not only the ports of Odesa, but also ports on rivers flowing into the Black Sea," Tykhy said. According to him, the Russian Federation "tried to mislead the international community" and present the ceasefire initiative as a renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. "I want to state clearly: this is not true. There is no renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. This is not correct... The current agreement does not say anything about any inspections of ships. No one has agreed on anything like this. Ukraine has been providing sea transit for quite a long time thanks to the Defense Forces of Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said. The spokesman noted that in the coming days and weeks it will be seen whether the Russian Federation adheres to the cessation of attacks, including on port infrastructure. "American partners should also see this," he added. The Foreign Ministry stressed that work on monitoring the ceasefire is still ongoing. "In general, the responsibility lies with the United States, as the party that facilitated these agreements, monitoring the ceasefire. But it is also important to involve third parties in this. Today, there are technical capabilities to monitor the ceasefire. A number of other possibilities are being discussed. This work is currently in progress," he said. Hyundai Steel, South Koreas second-biggest steelmaker by sales, said on Thursday it will temporarily shut down one of its three domestic steel reinforcement bar (rebar) plants due to lower demand. The rebar plant in Incheon, just west of Seoul, will be suspended for the entire month of April, a company spokesperson said, adding the two other rebar plants will remain operational, reports Yonhap news agency. Advertisement This is not a regular maintenance closure but a production cut due to a deteriorating market condition, the spokesperson said. We have made the decision to help normalise the rebar market even if we have to suffer immediate losses. Advertisement Hyundai Steel produces rebar and steel sections at the Incheon plant, with an annual production capacity of about 1.5 million tons and 2 million tons, respectively. The temporary shutdown of Hyundai Steels rebar plant will help ease an oversupply in the market where steelmakers suffer from declining product prices amid tougher competition, the spokesperson said. On March 14, Hyundai Steel entered an emergency management mode in response to growing challenges, including the recent imposition of steel tariffs by the Trump administration and ongoing strife with unionised workers. All company executives took a 20 percent pay cut effective March 13, while the company began reviewing a voluntary retirement program for employees. The company has been locked in prolonged wage talks with its union since September. The union has conducted multiple strikes disrupting production. On Feb. 24, it already suspended its cold-rolled steel facility in Dangjin, about 80 kilometers southwest of Seoul, in the wake of a monthslong strike by its workers demanding pay hikes. The pickling line/tandem cold mill (PL/TCM) facility is a key part of the companys integrated steel mill in Dangjin. The companys situation has been exacerbated by U.S. President Donald Trumps decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports to America, including goods from South Korea. A constable of Delhi Police sustained gunshot injuries during an exchange of fire between wanted criminals and cops in the Tilak Nagar area, an official said on Friday. The encounter occurred on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday when a police team raided a hideout of people suspected to be involved in an armed robbery. Advertisement Acting on a tip-off, the special staff launched a raid to nab criminals wanted in connection with a case registered at Sultanpuri police station. The accused had allegedly robbed a person at gunpoint, stealing a mobile phone and cash, said the police official. Advertisement The police team reached the location after confirming the presence of the suspects, and around midnight, when the team inched close, the criminals attempted to flee. Head constable Vikas and Constable Sandeep chased two suspects for about 400 meters when one of them opened fire, he said. Police returned fire, but Constable Sandeep sustained bullet injuries in his abdomen and left hand. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he is said to be stable and undergoing treatment, he added. However, the team managed to arrest two suspects and recovered two loaded country-made pistols from them. Further investigation is underway, and legal proceedings against the arrested suspects are being pursued, he said. In another incident, the police nabbed a person involved in a case of firing in the Mayapuri area in 2024 after an exchange of fire. The team of the West district, led by Inspector Rajesh Maurya, traced his hideout in Indira Camp No. 5, Vikaspuri. When they went to nab him at 1:30 am, he opened fire at the police party, which hit one of the staff on the bulletproof jacket. The police team also fired in self-defence, which hit the assailant in the left leg, just below the knee. He was immediately taken to DDU hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. Delhi woke up to a sunny Friday morning with clear skies and rising temperatures, reaching a high of 32.3C, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum temperature recorded was 20.9C, with no signs of rainfall in sight. Advertisement However, the citys air quality has taken a hit, slipping into the poor category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 205. Advertisement The Central Pollution Control Board classifies AQI levels 0-50 as good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe. According to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) at 4 pm on Saturday, AQI levels varied across different parts of Delhi-NCR. Gurugram recorded an AQI of 220, placing it in the poor category, while Ghaziabad reported an AQI of 248 and Noida recorded a moderate level of 144. Despite some improvement in certain areas, pollution remains a significant health concern. Authorities are urging residents to take necessary precautions and stay informed about air quality conditions. Six illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, who were staying in the national capital disguised as transgender to avoid detection, were arrested from the Jahangir Puri area in North West Delhi, authorities said on Friday. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West) Sikandar Singh said they received the information about the illegal immigrants staying in the Jahangir Puri Metro station area. Advertisement We were informed that the offenders were engaged in begging and other activities at traffic signals disguised as transgender to avoid suspicion, Singh said. Advertisement Acting upon the information, a team of cops conducted surveillance for 10 days leading them to the reported location of the immigrant. Soon after locating them, the cops laid a trap early in the morning and got their hands on all the six. After sustained interrogation, one of the arrested illegal immigrants confessed to have illegally entered India through a porous border with the assistance of agents and later traveled to Delhi via trains. He disclosed that, to avoid detection, they all disguised themselves as transgender and underwent minor surgeries and took hormonal injections to change their sex and appearance. The police team confiscated their cell phones and found banned applications installed on the devices with which they used to communicate with their family members in Bangladesh, the Addl. DCP mentioned. Recounting the police action, Singh said, The detained infiltrators will be produced before the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office), R K Puram, Delhi for their deportation process. Moreover, the team of Delhi Police personnel has initiated a drive to get a hold of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh who overstayed in India while a crackdown is going on on them, the official mentioned. Yermak: Russia trying to derail path to peace by choosing to continue the war The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, has stated that Russia is trying to disrupt the path to a peaceful settlement of the war in Ukraine. "Russia is trying to disrupt the movement towards peace by choosing to continue the war," Yermak wrote on Telegram on Friday morning. Earlier on Friday night, Vladimir Putin once again questioned the powers of the current legitimate government in Ukraine and even allowed for the possibility of discussing the idea of introducing temporary external international management in Ukraine to hold elections. Putin also announced plans to increase military pressure on Ukraine. However, as Reuters reports, the White House National Security Council spokesman commented on Putin's remark about the temporary administration in Ukraine by replying that governance in Ukraine is determined by its Constitution and the people of the country. Currently, social media platforms are brimming with users sharing their photographs, iconic memes, and film stills in quintessential Studio Ghibli style. Users have generated these Ghibli-style images using OpenAIs ChatGPT. Joining the viral trend is Maharashtra CM, Devendra Fadnavis as he appreciates the advancements in technology. OpenAIs new 40-image generator allows users to create the desired images with just a few prompts. Within seconds, the tool whips up an image resonating with the studios artistic style. Since the trend started gaining traction, several users generated numerous images. From popular memes, film stills, and photos of themselves, to other historic moments, a Ghibli version of everything is now swirling around the internet. Advertisement Taking part in the trend is Maharashtra CM, Devendra Fadnavis who generated a picture of himself with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ghibli style. Meanwhile, sharing the original and the AI-generated image on social media, he wrote, Thats my #ghibli style entry. Technology just doesnt stop surprising us pleasantly! @narendramodi @fadnavis_amruta. Advertisement Studio Ghibli is a major animation house based in Tokyo, Japan. It has created several iconic animated films that have defined the genre of filmmaking. Some of the banners most popular titles include Spirited Away, Howls Moving Castle, My Neighbour Totoro, and Ponyo among others. Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki founded the studio in 1985. The artistic style of the studios visually inviting works is made by hand over months. It is characterised by soft lines, pastel and warm-toned colours, intricate details, and a surreal and fantastical landscape. Also Read: The problematics of the viral Ghibli trend undermining creativity and values As soon as the trend started going viral, several noted personalities started generating images. Additionally, OpenAIs CEO also created a Ghibli-style image of himself for his X (formerly Twitter) profile. However, while several users are enjoying the tool, several Ghibli fans are expressing their displeasure. They note that AI goes against the studios creative vision and undermines Miyazakis opposition to using AI in art. India felt the impact of a massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar on Friday, shaking several states and triggering panic in neighboring countries. The powerful quake, recorded by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), hit around 12:50 pm local time (0620 GMT) with an epicenter 16 kilometers northwest of Sagaing at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers. Advertisement The Myanmar tremors were mild but noticeable in several parts of India, including Kolkata, Imphal, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya. Advertisement In Kolkata, residents reported slight movements of hanging objects, but no damage or injuries were reported. The situation was more alarming in Imphal, Manipur, where panic gripped areas like Thangal Bazar, home to several old multi-storey buildings. Many people rushed out of their homes and workplaces as a precaution. | An #earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter Scale jolted #Myanmar on Friday. PM #NarendraModi expressed concern over the powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar and #Thailand, assuring that India is ready to provide all possible assistance to the affected regions. pic.twitter.com/xsukEujQtX The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) March 28, 2025 Authorities confirmed that while tremors were widely felt, there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage in India. However, safety advisories were issued, urging people to remain alert for aftershocks. While India escaped without damage, the situation turned dire in Bangkok, Thailand, where the earthquake caused a 30-storey under-construction skyscraper to collapse. The massive government office building crumbled within seconds, trapping dozens of workers under rubble and twisted metal. Thailands Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai confirmed that at least three workers lost their lives, while 81 others were trapped. Emergency responders rushed to the site, pulling survivors from the debris as rescue operations continued. A 6.4-magnitude aftershock in Myanmar minutes later worsened the crisis, raising fears of more structural damage in the region. Myanmar, the quakes epicenter, experienced severe ground shaking, with reports of damaged roads in the capital Naypyidaw. The full extent of the impact within Myanmar remains unclear, but authorities are assessing damages and potential casualties. The tremors from this earthquake were felt as far as China and Thailand. Experts are closely monitoring for further aftershocks and potential after-effects, especially in urban areas with high-rise buildings. Describing both the BJP and the DMK as fascist with oppressive leadership, actor-turned-neta and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder-president Vijay on Friday claimed that the saffron party is the secret boss of the DMK and vowed to unseat the Dravidian major in the 2026 assembly election. The assembly election will be a straight fight between the DMK and TVK. The contest will be between two parties TVK and DMK to put an end to the rule by a single family, Vijay asserted at the first-ever General Council meeting of the TVK, attended by 2,100 party functionaries at Thiruvanmiyur in the city. Sounding the poll bugle and positioning himself and the TVK as the alternative to the ruling DMK, the actor described Stalin as a monarchical chief minister who helps the saffron party to gain firm roots in the Dravidian heartland. Advertisement Significantly, this was the first time that he had explicitly named both Stalin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in public, asking the latter not to take Tamil Nadu lightly but handle it carefully. This was in part to dispel the criticism that he is the B-team of the BJP and to occupy the secular turf so as to cut into the support base of the DMK-led alliance. Alleging a hidden alliance between the DMK and the BJP, Vijay said, The politics of both Modi and Stalin has the echo of Hitler and Mussolini with one leading the way and the other adhering to it faithfully, concealing the relationship. The BJP orchestrates the way the DMK sets the narrative, making the DMKs complicity in carrying out the fascist agenda dictated by the BJP clear. The fascist rule at the Centre has found its twin, no less in its grip. Advertisement Alleging a systematic neglect of Tamil Nadu by the Modi government, the actor said, They collect GST from Tamil Nadu but do not allocate proportionate funds back to us. They are bent on imposing Hindi and National Education Policy but refuse funds for our childrens education. We are watching where you are heading to with your One Nation One Election plan. These policies are an assault on state autonomy and identity. Then, in a warning to Modi, he said, Tamil Nadu people arent naive as they judge leaders not by promises but by their actions. Turning his attention to the challenges facing Tamil Nadu, Vijay asked, What defines politics? Is it ensuring that every family thrives or allowing a single family to exploit the entire state for their own gain? Hinting at taking a more fierce approach towards the DMK, he said, Should I strike blow for blow? I am thinking about it. The BJP, on Friday, hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her remarks on Indias economic standing in a college during her visit to the UK, accusing her of tarnishing the countrys image on foreign soil. During a conversation at Kellogg College, affiliated to Oxford University, when Mamata Banerjee was asked about Indias potential to become the worlds largest economy by 2060, she dismissed the prediction. Advertisement Her response triggered sharp criticism from the BJP. Advertisement The interviewer had said, We in the UK are the 6th largest economy, India is the 5th largest, and soon it will be the 3rd largest. I predict it will be the 1st largest by 2060. To this, the West Bengal chief minister replied, I differ with that (view). Reacting to her remarks, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, said, Mamata Banerjee has gone abroad. While the entire world is respecting India, these individuals are tarnishing its image. During her visit to Oxford University, Mamata Banerjee was asked about India being the fastest-growing economy in the world and its potential to soon become the third-largest economy globally, the BJP national spokesperson said. However, Mamata Banerjee disagreed with the notion, stating that she does not believe India will become the third-largest economy in the world anytime soon, he added. Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya also condemned Banerjees statement, calling it disgraceful. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has a problem with India becoming the worlds largest economy This is truly shameful. She is a disgrace to the constitutional office she holds. Who behaves like this on foreign soil? he posted on social media. Meanwhile, the TMC chief faced an unexpected protest from a group of students while she was addressing an event at the UK college. They interrupted her speech. The protesters attempted to embarrass the chief minister by raising concerns over post-poll violence in West Bengal and the recent RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape case. Their sudden outburst momentarily shocked the audience, but Mamata Banerjee maintained her composure and responded with courtesy. Despite the disruption, she managed to conclude her speech, addressing the protesters with a composed remark: Tell your party to increase its strength in our state (West Bengal) so that they can fight with us. A high-level committee, under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, has approved the projects for disaster recovery and reconstruction activities for Sikkim and strengthening of fire services in five states. The committee, comprising the Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister and Vice Chairman NITI Aayog as members, considered these proposals for financial assistance to the states from the Recovery and Reconstruction funding window and Preparedness and Capacity Building Funding Window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). Advertisement An official press note on Friday said the Ministry of Home Affairs has taken several initiatives to ensure effective management of disasters in the country. A number of steps have been taken to prevent any extensive loss to life and property during disasters by strengthening the disaster risk reduction system in India. Advertisement The committee has approved projects/activities of Rs 1,604.39 crore for five states viz. Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Kerala under the scheme Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services in the states. The panel has approved Rs 340.90 crore for Bihar, Rs 339.18 crore for Gujarat, Rs. 147.97 crore for Jharkhand, Rs.162.25 crore for Kerala and Rs. 614.09 crore for Maharashtra for funding from the earmarked allocation of Preparedness and Capacity Building Funding window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The Central Government has allocated a total amount of Rs.5,000 crore under NDRF for Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services in the states, and had already approved the proposals of 20 states for a total of Rs. 3,373.12 crore. In addition, the committee has also approved financial assistance of Rs.555.70 crore to Sikkim from the Recovery and Reconstruction Funding Window under the NDRF for disaster recovery and reconstruction needs of various sectors affected due to devastating Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) occurred in the downstream along the Teesta river basin in October, 2023. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reaffirmed the commitment to fostering youth leadership under the Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) Abhiyan, an initiative inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a gathering as the chief guest at the Viksit Bharat Yuva Sansad Mahotsav, organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, at the Vidhan Sabha here on Friday, the CM emphasised that the objective of the Youth Parliament is not merely to create political leaders but to instil leadership qualities in young minds, enabling them to contribute to society across various fieldsthe legislature, executive, judiciary, business, or any other domain. Advertisement When you think beyond conventions and bring forth new ideas, you inspire society, he remarked. Advertisement The Chief Minister welcomed young participants from different districts and described their presence as a moment of pride. He highlighted that 240 youths had been selected to participate in discussions within the countrys largest legislature. He also noted that the Youth Parliament initiative, launched in 2019 under Prime Minister Modis guidance, continues to advance to nurture leadership across all spheres of life. Elaborating on Indias parliamentary democracy, the Chief Minister explained how its three pillarsthe legislature, executive, and judiciarywork harmoniously. He said, The legislature formulates policies, the executive implements them, and the judiciary interprets the laws. Together, they ensure good governance. Addressing the youth, he underscored that legislators represent the peoples voice, shaping policies and laws through structured discussions. Emphasising the significance of the Constitution, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recalled that on November 26, 1949, Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar presented its draft to the Constituent Assembly. In recognition of this historical event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared November 26 as Constitution Day in 2015 to honour the visionaries who shaped our nations foundational document. The Chief Minister highlighted that Indias Constitution grants 140 crore citizens the right to vote without discrimination, ensuring equal democratic participation. He stressed that while the Constitution empowers us with rights, it also reminds us of our duties. History has shown that nations focusing solely on rights without fulfilling their responsibilities face decline, whereas a strong commitment to duties paves the way for prosperity. Linking this to Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Chief Minister reiterated Prime Minister Modis vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. He urged the youth to embrace the Panch Pran to lead the nation towards this goal. He emphasised that true leadership stems from the harmony between thought and action, stating, Your behaviour shapes your identity, while your thoughts give you direction. Reflecting on Indias global stature, he noted how perceptions have changed since 2014. Earlier, Indian youth traveling abroad often struggled for recognition, but today, being an Indianespecially from Uttar Pradeshis a matter of pride. Prime Minister Modis leadership has instilled confidence in our heritage, with Indias influence growing worldwide. A testament to this is yoga, which has now been embraced by 193 countries, inspired by Indias ancient wisdom. To illustrate the power of behaviour, the Chief Minister shared a short story emphasising that conduct and etiquette define ones identity. He highlighted Indias rich cultural values, where even strangers are addressed as Bhaiya, Chacha, or Dada. This deep sense of respect and relationships makes India unique in the world. The Chief Minister also underscored the transformative role of technology in governance. Through e-Vidhan, the legislative process has become paperless, replacing documents with tablets to curb corruption. He highlighted how DBT has ensured pensions and scholarships reach beneficiaries directly, eliminating middlemen. We must control technology, not let technology control us, he asserted, citing how a single click now transfers funds to millions of peopleunlike the past when pensions were delayed for months, often with clerks demanding bribes. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recalled his visit to Rameswaram Dhanushkodi nearly 30 years ago, highlighting the lack of proper connectivity at the time. No transportation facilities were available, so I had to travel in a small truck as the poor road conditions left no other option, he shared. However, he noted that under Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership, infrastructure and connectivity have significantly improved. Reflecting on Dr APJ Abdul Kalams life, the Chief Minister emphasised that success is never a straight path. He said, Despite holding the highest constitutional position as the President of India and being honoured with the Bharat Ratna, Dr Kalam faced setbacks in his early years. He had aspired to become a fighter pilot but failed to qualify. Yet, he never lost hope and continued to persevere. He added, The same will hold true in your life. Success and failure must be balanced, and challenges should be seen as stepping stones rather than obstacles, he advised the youth. Referring to the recently concluded Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, CM Yogi highlighted how over 66 crore devotees praised the grandeur of the event and the discipline, cleanliness, and exemplary conduct of the police. He attributed this success to rigorous training and discipline, emphasising that respecting our heritage is crucial, and todays youth are playing a key role in carrying it forward. Addressing the young audience, the Chief Minister urged them to avoid shortcuts, take pride in their heritage, and cultivate leadership qualities. No matter which field you choose, success comes from effective communication and structured, disciplined efforts, he said. Expressing gratitude to the Speaker of the Assembly and the Chairman of the Council, he described the event as historic. Underscoring the importance of communication in democracy, CM Yogi remarked that brevity is a powerful tool. The true strength of democracy lies in clear and concise communication. You can influence anyone by expressing your point in a few words. But if you talk too much, you might confuse yourself, he quipped. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India is closely monitoring atrocities against the Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan and also raising the issue at the international level. Responding to a question on crime and atrocities against minorities in Pakistan in the Lok Sabha, he referred to 10 cases of atrocities on the minorities which were committed in Pakistan in February. These included seven cases related to abduction and forcible conversion. Advertisement I sympathise with the sentiments expressed by the honorable member. There are two parts to the question. One, whether we follow what are the crimes and atrocities against the minorities in Pakistan. And secondly, what are we doing about it internationally? So, the first part of it is yes, sir, we follow very closely, we track very closely the treatment of minorities in Pakistan. Advertisement And as an example, I would like to apprise the House that just in February, there were 10 cases of atrocities against the Hindu community, seven of them related to abduction and forcible conversion, two related to abduction, one related to police action against students who were celebrating Holi, the minister said. He said that there were three incidents related to the Sikh community in Pakistan and two cases about the Ahmadiyya community. He stated that a Christian person, who reportedly was mentally unstable, was charged with blasphemy in Pakistan. Mr Jaishankar said, There were three incidents relating to the Sikh community in Pakistan. In one case, a Sikh family was attacked. In another case, a Sikh family was threatened because of the reopening of an old gurdwara. There was also an abduction and conversion issue with one girl from that community. There were two cases pertaining to the Ahmadiyya community. In one case, a mosque was sealed and in another case, 40 graves were desegregated and there was one case about the Christian community, where a Christian person who reportedly was mentally unstable was charged with blasphemy. He said that India takes up the issues at the international level and cited the remarks of Indias representative at the UN Human Rights Council and Indias Ambassador in the UN General Assembly. We track (incidents in Pakistan) very, very closely. We take it up, and we take it up at the international level also. Again, to give two recent examples, Sir, in the month of February, our representative at the UN Human Rights Council pointed out that Pakistan is a country where I quote him, where human rights, abuses, persecution of minorities and systematic erosion of democratic values are state policies, they constitute state policies which brazenly harbors UN sanctioned terrorists and Pakistan is in no position to lecture anyone. Instead, Pakistan should focus on providing actual governance and justice to its own people. Our ambassador in the UN General Assembly also just two weeks ago underlined the fanatical mindset of Pakistan, which he said was very well known and its record of bigotry. So, we are taking it up at the international level, Jaishankar said. Bilateral trade between India and the US is likely to be signed by the end of the year, NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani said on Friday. Virmanis comments came during the release of the government think tanks Trade Watch July -September 12 FY25 report. Advertisement He also said that five countries gained from that Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico and India. Advertisement He suggested looking for trade agreements with those countries with large shares of manufacturing, which are sources of FDI and which are the headquarters of MNCs as they can act as lead anchor investors. The top countries in this context are the US, EU, Japan, UK and S Korea, he said. Further, the Niti Aayog Programme Director Pravakar Sahoo said that the US plan to impose reciprocal tariffs will not have much impact on India and create several opportunities for the country. Compared to Mexico, China and Canada, which account for 50% of Americas total imports, India is favourably placed, he added. We are looking at the data at a very dis-segregated levelthese are preliminary results, but I can just give you the overview that we are not going to lose. This reciprocal tariff is not going to affect except very specific sectors and in fact, there are opportunities to really capture, Sahoo said. NITI Aayog report said that the geopolitical shifts are increasingly shaping the global trade landscape, and tariffs are now the main factor dictating trade patterns. Tariffs may offer short-term relief, but they raise costs, distort resource allocation, and weaken long-term competitiveness across countries. History shows that tariff wars have led to higher consumer prices and economic stagnation rather than protecting domestic industries. The economic strategy will involve a detailed analysis of the Reciprocal Tariff Plans impact on India, which will bring both challenges and opportunities, it added. The report added that while this shift disrupts traditional trade patterns, it creates new opportunities for emerging economies like India, particularly in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, IT services, and manufacturing. However, increasing competition from Vietnam, Mexico, and Poland, along with stringent labour and environmental regulations, requires India to enhance its ease of doing business effectively. The expansion of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to include energy-rich nations like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Argentina in 2024 will present both challenges and opportunities for India. The Uttar Pradesh government is accelerating the construction and development work related to the Navy Shaurya Museum in the state capital. The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department has initiated preparations to further enhance the Shaurya Vatika Open-Air Museum by bringing in the TU-148 aircraft and SK43B helicopter, both of which played a significant role in the Kargil War. Advertisement According to the officials of the Tourism Department here, these decommissioned aircraft will be dismantled at INS Rajali Airbase near Chennai and then transported to Lucknow. Once relocated, the aircraft and helicopter will be reassembled, recalibrated, and equipped with modern air-conditioning systems. Advertisement Additionally, the government is expediting the completion of various projects at Shaurya Vatika, including a battle simulation zone, a gallantry award wall, exhibits detailing historic battles, and Navy history displays. Officials said the Shaurya Vatika Open-Air Museum, a key part of the Navy Shaurya Museum, will serve as a tribute to the Indian Armed Forces, preserving the legacy of TU-148 and SK43B while offering visitors an immersive experience into Indias military history. The Indian Navy operated eight Soviet-made TU-142MKE aircraft from 1988 to 2017, after which they were replaced by Poseidon aircraft. The TU-142MKE is a 53.08-meter-long aircraft with a 50-meter wingspan and a height of 12.12 meters. Weighing 90,000 kg, it could take off with a maximum weight of 185,000 kg. Similarly, the Westland Sea King MK 42B helicopter played a key role in combat and relief operations, including the Kargil War. This helicopter is 17.02 meters long, 5.3 meters high, and can take off with a maximum load of 9,707 kg. Both aircraft will be dismantled at the INS Rajali Airbase near Chennai and transported to Lucknow. A special team is being formed to ensure the smooth execution of this project. Visitors to the Shaurya Vatika Open-Air Museum will have the unique opportunity to sit inside the TU-148 aircraft and SK43B helicopter. They will be able to take an interior tour of these aircraft, learning about their design, operations, significance, and role in combat and rescue missions. These exhibits will serve as an inspiration for young visitors, offering them a glimpse into the glorious history of the Indian Armed Forces. The museum will also host student tours and various activities, providing information about career opportunities in the Indian Army. Additionally, work is underway to complete various projects at the Navy Shaurya Museum, including the Shaurya Memorial Park. To enhance the visitor experience, the museum will incorporate Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies for battle simulations. Plans are also in place to install a Gallantry Award Wall, detailed exhibits of historic battles, and various naval equipment displays. Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Friday lashed out against Maharashtra Tourism Minister Shambhuraj Desais directive to police that stand-up comic Kunal Kamra must be subjected to third-degree torture as soon as he is nabbed. If a minister is openly calling for using third-degree against a comedian, then it means Maharashtra has become a Taliban state under the Mahayuti. The Taliban regime punishes people through inhuman means like severing their arms and legs. Advertisement The minister demanding the police to use third-degree methods against the comedian is similar to the Talibans ways. Why is he (Kunal Kamra) being punished? For speaking his mind and using the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution? he questioned. Advertisement Questioning the silence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raut asked, Why is Fadnavis silent? Wasnt he the same person who was lecturing us on democracy during the Kangana Ranaut case? Now can he tell us whether we are living in a democracy if a minister is calling for inhuman treatment to a comedian for no fault of his? I dont think under Fadnavis and Shinde, the people of Maharashtra are living in a democracy. We are living in a state whose rulers have a Taliban mindset, Raut said. Earlier, speaking to media persons in Pune on Thursday, Desai had demanded the arrest and torture of Kunal Kamra by putting him in a tyre and giving him prasad. We have been asked by Shinde to observe restraint, that is why we are quiet. As Shiv Sena workers, we know how to drag him out from wherever he is hiding, but as ministers we have some restrictions. We want to tell the police, do not test our patience and nab him from wherever he is, put him in a tyre and give him prasad, the Sena leader added. Prasad is a Marathi word which means an offering made to God, but it is also used as a euphemism for beatings. However, the Madras High Court granted interim anticipatory bail to stand-up comic Kunal Kamra on Friday in a case relating to jokes supposedly aimed at Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde. In his petition seeking transit anticipatory bail filed on Friday, Kamra submitted that he moved to Tamil Nadu from Mumbai in 2021 and had been ordinarily a resident of this state (Tamil Nadu) since then and that he feared arrest by the Mumbai police. Kamra has been summoned twice by the Mumbai police, after a show in Mumbai triggered a huge political row and led to Shinde-led Shiv Sena supporters vandalising the venue of his show. Kamra has been booked by the Khar police in Mumbai, based on a complaint by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Deputy CM Shinde. Kamra told the Madras High Court earlier that he had moved out of Mumbai and settled down in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu because he was desirous of leading a quiet life in a rural area. He claimed to be a resident of Tamil Nadu since February 2021. Listing out the threats he had received, Kamra told the Madras High Court that feared that Shiv Sainiks might harm him or his loved ones. Kamra also mentioned that he feared the Mumbai police might arrest him and subject him to physical torture if he had to wait until the Bombay High Court grants him anticipatory bail. MOSCOW, March 27 (Xinhua) -- People-to-people exchanges between Russia and China, as an essential part of the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, are steadily advancing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday. Zakharova said that recent years have seen a continuous rise in Russia-China educational exchanges, expanding ties between universities, and increasing interaction in the health, sports, and information sectors. Tourist flows between the two countries are also growing, she added. Noting that 2024-2025 marks the China-Russia Years of Culture, Zakharova said a wide range of events under the framework have received strong support from both peoples, which not only promotes cultural exchanges but also helps maintain the friendly relations between the two countries and close contacts between the two peoples. The spokesperson noted that facilitating cross-border travel between the two countries is of great significance and remains a focus for both governments. "We are ready to continue working with our Chinese partners in this area," she said. As part of President Zelenskyys Bring Kids Back UA initiative, a Ukrainian delegation continued its advocacy visit to the United Kingdom, holding meetings in London with government officials, think tanks, and international experts, the presidential website said Thursday. The primary focus of discussions was the search and identification of Ukrainian children deported by Russia, legal pathways for their return, reintegration, and rehabilitation, and the expansion of mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable. Separately the parties discussed the importance of maintaining international attention on this issue, the message reads. The delegation also took part in a closed expert roundtable at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, where participants discussed the forced deportation and detention of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories, Russias attempts to change their identity, and the challenges of reintegration and rehabilitation of children who have already been brought back. In particular, the meeting was held with Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty, Minister of State in the Ministry of Justice Sarah Sackman, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice Lord Ponsonby. The delegation included Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa, Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office and Chief Operating Officer of Bring Kids Back UA Dariia Zarivna, and Head of the Save Ukraine NGO Mykola Kuleba. This must be a systemic, sustainable tool that will protect not only Ukrainian children, but also children in other regions of the world affected by war and occupation, said Zarivna. A delegation from Manipur called on Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi here on Friday, and discussed issues pertaining to the strife-torn state. A senior leadership delegation representing various communities from Manipur met with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at Parliament today, the Congress said. Advertisement Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee president Keisham Meghachandra Singh, who has been criticizing the ruling BJP over the situation in the northeastern state, was also part of the delegation. Advertisement Notably, earlier last month, Manipur was brought under Presidents Rule following the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who had stepped down amid internal dissent within the state BJP unit and mounting pressure from the Opposition Congress. The Centres decision came after the BJP had failed to reach a consensus on a new leader, plunging the violence-hit state into political uncertainty. The Congress has been attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting the strife-torn state. The party said the Prime Minister visited all over the world but did not find the time nor the inclination to reach out to the people of the state in Imphal and other places. Congress demands that he visit Manipur immediately. This is the very least he can do to show his concern if he has any, the party had said. It may be mentioned that the ethnic clashes that erupted in the state of Manipur on May 3, 2023 continued unabated. Scores of people have lost their lives while thousands have been forced to take refuge in relief camps. A day after its theatrical release, L2: Empuraan, starring Mohanlal and directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, has landed in controversy, with Sangh Parivar activists accusing the film of promoting an anti-Hindu ideology. Right-wing groups, including the RSS and Sangh Parivar, have called for a boycott, alleging that the movie serves as propaganda against Hindus. Advertisement The controversy stems from the films opening scenes, which depict the 2002 Gujarat riotsan apparent criticism of the ruling party in India. Advertisement This portrayal has drawn sharp reactions from BJP-RSS supporters, who have taken to social media to criticize the film. Many have urged their followers and families to boycott Empuraan, accusing it of political bias. Amid the backlash, Left-leaning social media users have rallied behind the film, applauding Prithviraj for his courage in telling a truthful story. Many have encouraged people to watch the movie to gain insight into Indias political landscape. Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of former CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, praised the filmmakers, stating, With their substantial budget, they deserve bravery awards and congratulations for attempting to reveal the truth. The BJPs Kerala unit appears divided on the issue. While state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar expressed interest in watching the filmsharing a photo of his meeting with Mohanlal on social mediaBJP state vice president P Reghunath took a contrasting stance. In a social media post, he dismissed the films premise as absurd and speculated that it sought to whitewash the now-banned Popular Front of India and external spy agencies like Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). BJP state General Secretary MT Ramesh, however, adopted a more neutral stance, stating that cinema should be viewed objectively and that Keralites have the common sense and knowledge to decide for themselves. The film has sparked an intense debate on social media, with some interpreting it as having a political agenda that disparages right-wing ideologies. Right-wing social media accounts have accused director Prithviraj of misleading Mohanlal and his fans. Pratheesh Vishwanath, founder of Hindu Seva Kendram and a Sangh Parivar activist, publicly alleged that the filmmakers had ulterior motives. A Facebook post by Sanathana Dharma claimed that Prithviraj had deceived Mohanlals fan base, while right-wing media outlet HinduPost labeled Empuraan as an overt Hindu-bashing propaganda film portraying Hindus as villains amidst the ongoing genocide of Hindus across the subcontinent, including India. As the debate continues to intensify, Empuraan finds itself at the centre of a political storm, with supporters and detractors clashing over its perceived ideological leanings. In a major setback to BPSC aspirants, the Patna High Court, on Friday, dismissed the writ petitions challenging the 70th Combined Competitive Examination (Preliminary) conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on 13 December 2024, on the basis of alleged paper leak. The petition was filed by Pappu Kumar and other candidates, who demanded that the examination should be cancelled and conducted afresh. Advertisement The BPSC aspirants, who have been protesting over the issue for more than three months, are in a shock to see the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar dismissing their plea and directing the state government and the BPSC to conduct the 70th Mains examination. Advertisement The related cases were heard for two days on March 18 and 19. The court had reserved the decision after completing the hearing. The petition filed by Pappu Kumar and other candidates was first heard by Justice Arvind Singh Chandel on 16 January. He had refused to grant an interim relief to the petitioners who had requested the court to direct the BPSC not to publish results of the 70th Preliminary Test. Advocate Ashok Kumar Dubey, a member of senior advocate YV Giris team, pleading the case on behalf of the BPSC aspirants, said the option to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court is open. It should be challenged. But any decision will be made only after going through the verdict. We have not yet received a copy of the verdict, he added. Reacting to the verdict, Guru Rahman, one of the popular teachers leading the BPSC aspirants demonstration, said that they would definitely challenge the verdict in the apex court. It was unfortunate. We are shocked. Students have lost confidence in free and fair trials. BPSC Chairman Parmar Ravi Manubhai is playing with the future of the BPSC aspirants. We will not remain silent, he asserted.The BPSC aspirants, who have been demanding that the examination should be cancelled and conducted afresh, are in shock. Punjab Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond informed the Vidhan Sabha on Friday that the state government has a plan to include all MGNREGA workers under the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Board. Responding to a query raised by MLA Dinesh Chadha, the minister said that as of March 28, 2025, a total of 11,16,651 construction workers are registered with the BOCW Welfare Board. Advertisement This marks an increase from 9,63,699 workers on January 1, 2022, indicating the registration of an additional 1,52,953 workers over the past three years. He further stated that workers seeking registration must apply and submit a fee of Rs 145. Advertisement He added that to expand the number of registered workers, awareness camps are regularly organized by the board, where construction workers are informed about various welfare schemes and encouraged to register to avail their benefits. Additionally, to streamline and expedite the registration process, the Punjab Kirti Sahayak mobile application has been launched, enabling workers to register from their homes without the need to visit any office. The atmosphere heated up in the Rajya Sabha on Friday after BJP Members protested against SP member Ramji Lal Sumans remark on Rana Sanga, and demanded his apology. A war of words broke out between the treasury and the Opposition, and the Chair adjourned the House for 30 minutes amid din. The BJP has demanded strict action against Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman for calling 16th-century Rajput king Rana Sanga a traitor, leading to widespread protests. Members of the Karni Sena attacked the residence of the SP MP in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday over his statement and demanded an apology, but the SP leader said yesterday he would not retract his remarks. Advertisement Pacifying the members, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, There is always an occasion when we are carried away by emotion, we must be in the rectification area but I wish to make it very clear, sentiments of the people are very precious. Similarly, the dignity of a Member of the House, his security, and his prestige are equally important. I would appeal to all segments of the House that what happened in the House was expunged for a simple reason. Advertisement He said it was outrageous, it was unexpected of a Member, but the problem, because of technology, is that whatever we expunge is expunged only in our record. Social media gives traction to it. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, Regarding the remarks made about Rana Sangaeven if those words have been expunged from the records, they are still being circulated widely on social media and news platforms. How can anyone accept such remarks? The language and tone in which the honorable member (Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman) spoke about Rana Sanga are completely unacceptable As soon as the proceedings of the House started, BJP MPs started sloganeering.. Uproar erupted in the House when BJP Member Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal raised the issue of SP MP Sumans statement on Rana Sanga. He said, We will not compromise on this issue until Congress and Ramji Suman ji apologise. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, We must introspect and reflect that, on such sensitive issues, if we do not send a message of peace and tranquillity, we will be failing in our duty. In every situation, there may be occasions when we are carried away by emotions, but we must always strive for rectification. However, I wish to make it very clear that the sentiments of the people are very precious. At the same time, the dignity, security, and prestige of a member of this house are equally important MP Pramod Tiwari said Rana Sanga was the hero of this country. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said that he respected patriots, but he added It does not mean we take law in our hands. and indulge in violence at ones house. He condemned the violence at the SP members house in Agra. He insisted that such anti-Dalit action will not be tolerated. Kharges remarks infuriated the ruling party. BJP members alleged that Kharge is trying to link the case to caste. The treasury members said no compromise will be made until Ramji Suman and opposition leader Kharge apologize in the matter. Rijiju said that Sumans statement is insulting and highly condemnable. The minister said that he condemned Kharges comment that Sumans house was attacked because he was a Dalit. He said that this is not a caste or religious issue. Intervening, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said LoP Kharge is trying to turn the matter towards caste, and this is condemnable. The Chair said he would want this House to unanimously endorse that as Members of this House they will maintain the highest rectitude when it comes to sensitive issues. He further said, Words were chosen that were avoidable. Aspersions were cast, that should not have happened. Historical perspective was absolutely in oblivion for making reflections about one of the greatest fighters and sons of Bharat. I would therefore urge everyone that the Honble Member, after having made the observations, has accepted the expunction. .Let us make it a little more in harmony with our values. And similarly, what was reflected by Kharge Ji, we have to take care of the security of the person concerned also. The Bhopal police have registered a rape case against a Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army on a complaint lodged by a woman constable of the Madhya Pradesh Police on Thursday. According to police officials, a case has been registered against Lieutenant Colonel Varun Pratap Singh (49). As per the information with the police, the Army officer is currently posted in Haldwani. Advertisement According to Bhopal Police Women Security Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nidhi Saxena, the FIR has been registered under Sections 69 (sexual intercourse by deceitful means) and 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Advertisement Saxena said that the police have informed the Army in this regard. The police have summoned the Army officer for questioning. The ACP said that if he evades questioning, the police will follow the procedure for his arrest. She stated that his alleged crime on the pretext of marrying or allurement falls in the definition of rape. In her complaint, the 42-year-old unmarried woman constable said that she first met Varun in 2012 when he was posted in Bhopal. She stated that Varun claimed to be a bachelor and called her to his place in Bhopal on December 25, 2012, and after promising to marry her, he established consensual physical relations with her. She further stated in her complaint that she learnt in 2013 that Varun was already married. According to the complaint, when she confronted the Army officer and asked him to marry her, he refused and even threatened to kill her. Subsequently, she lodged a rape case against him. Further investigations are underway. The Brahmo monotheistic movement took its stand on the Upanishads. The Upanishads continued to be the theoretical basis of the Brahmo doctrine. But spirit and liturgy as well as devotions were soon taken over from Christianity, and Brahmoism in its spirit though not in its form became an adaptation to Hindusim or Christianity. This was due primarily to Keshub Chunder Sen, the next leader of the Brahmo movement and a friend of Muller. It was indeed through Keshabs lectures and writings that the world at large came to know about Ramakrishna first. By dint of his friendship with Keshab, Prof. F. Max Muller grew interested about Ramakrishna. When he read various cock and bull stories written in newspapers of India, England and America about saints and sannyasins of India for years he gave a rejoinder to them, presenting Ramakrisna as an example of true sadhu in his writing. For that purpose he first wrote an article, titled A Real Mahatman. No sooner was it published in Nineteenth Century in England in 1896, there was a controversy. Advertisement He wrote it ten years after Ramakrishnas demise and twelve years after Keshabs. Muller began explaining the meanings of the words mahatma, paramhamsa, sannyasin and abadhut, and proceeded with an in-depth analysis of Hindu tradition, philosophy and scriptures as well as that of the western philosophy to say: The late Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was far more interesting specimen of a Sannyasin. He seems to have been, not only a high souled man, a real Mahatman, but a man of original thought. Whether he was a man of extensive reading is difficult to say, but he was certainly thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the Vedanta philosophy. Advertisement In the extracts from Ramakrishnas teachings, some of which have been published by his pupils in their journal, the Brahmavadin, these ancient metaphors have for the first time been blended with European thought; from which we learn of his personal influence, this blending had a most powerful effect on large audiences that came to listen to him. He has left a number of pupils behind who after his recent death are carrying on the work which he began, and who are trying to secure not only in India, but in Europe also, a sympathetic interest in the ancient philosophy of India, which it deserves fully as the philosophy of Plato or Kant. Subsequently, in 1898, Max Muller wrote a book on Ramakrishna again, entitled Ramakrishna ~ His Life and Sayings. This he did presumably to quell the controversy that erupted as a result of his article in Nineteenth Century. He wrote in the Preface of the book: The name of Ramakrishna has lately been so often mentioned in Indian, American, and English newspapers that a fuller account of his life and doctrine seemed to me likely to be welcome, not only to many who take an interest in the intellectual and mental state of India, but to the few also to whom the growth of philosophy and religion, whether at home or abroad, can never be a matter of indifference. I have therefore tried to collect as much information as I could about the lately-deceased Indian Saint (died in 1886), partly from his own devoted disciples, partly from Indian newspapers, journals and books in which the principal events of his life were chronicled, and his moral and religious teaching discussed, whether in a friendly or unfriendly spirit. Muller no doubt had great confidence in Keshab. Keshab considered himself a disciple of Christ and accepted in a dilute form the Christian sacraments and trinity. A devoted Christian, Muller appreciated Keshab for his devotion to Christ. Nirad C Chaudhury wrote in his Scholar Extraordinary: With the realization that he could not influence the Hindu revival in the way he desired, Mullers practical interest in the religious life of India took another direction. Towards the very end of his life he tried to persuade that section of Hindu monotheists who owed their inspiration and zeal largely to Christianity, or at all events to Christ, to declare themselves formally as Christian. That was, of course, that branch of Brahmos which was led by his friend Keshab Chander Sen, and after Keshabs death by his friend and disciple Pratap Chander Mazoomdar. Chaudhuris observation on Mullers perception of Ramakrishna is equally important for knowing Mullers ideas about him. Chaudhury wrote: Hinduism in the new form was vedantic. Max Muller welcomed this preaching. As he himself has said: What I have seen and read of Vivekananda and his colleagues, they seem to me honestly bent on doing good work.. And on more general grounds he gave an opinion which was very sound. He looked upon Vedanta as an expression of the Way of Knowledge of the Hindus, and did not like the dep endence of the new preachers on Ramakrishna, who belonged to the Way of Love. He admired Ramakrishna, and wrote a book on him at the end of his life (Muller died in 1900), but he could not approve of mixing up of Ramakrishnas teaching with the Vedanta. From this one could obviously see that Muller had not read The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna since it was not available then. Hence his knowledge of Ra m akrishna was incomplete. Gospel dishes out a comprehensive idea regarding Ramakrishna, from which one knows easily that he realized God in the Way of Knowledge too. One finds his teaching on the Vedanta ump teen times in it. Besides, he also himself alluded to the same in his article in the Nineteenth Century. Muller put his view on Ramakrishna thus: Vivekananda and other disciples of Ramakrishna ought, however, to teach their followers how to distinguish between perfervid utterances of their teacher, Ramakrishna, an enthusiastic Bhakta and the clear and dry style of the Sutras of Badrayana. However, as long as the devoted preachers keep true to the Upanishads, the Sastras, and the recognized commentaries of Shankara or Ramanuja, I wish them all the success they deserve by their unselfish devotion and their high ideals. Keshabs transformation in Ramakrishnas company was imperative. He was addressing God as Mother from before Ramakrishna saw him first in 1864. It was mentioned in the Brahmo journal Acharyer Upadesh (vol I, pp 3 and 8) that he addressed God as Mother in his sermon on 23 January 1862 at Adi Brahmo Samaj. The Gospel mentions: Sri Ramakrishna and Keshab held each other in great love and respect. Years later, after Keshabs death, the Master (SR) felt as if half his body had became paralyzed. Keshabs concept of the harmony of religions and Motherhood of God were deepened and enriched by his contact with Sri Ramakrishna. Along with a dear friend, Keshab also found a pathfinder in Ramakrishna. On the other hand, Ramakrishna found in Keshab an Adhikari (fit for spiritual knowledge) alongside a friend. Through corrections and exhortations Ramakrishna, therefore, taught him for his spiritual progress. For example, he instructed him, You must renounce your ego. In reply Keshab said, If I do, how can I keep my organization together? Speaking roundly, he then told him: How slow you are to understand! I am not asking you to renounce the ripe ego. Give up the unripe ego, the ego that creates attachment to woman and gold. The ego that makes man feel he is Gods servant, His child, is the ripe ego. It doesnt harm one. It became clear to Keshab soon that Ramakrishna was his spiritual mentor and pathfinder as well. His dealing with him was like that of a docile student. It often became visible while he happened to be with him. One day he came to Dakshineswar with Pratap, Troilokya, Manmohan and other Brahmos to have his holy company when Ramakrishna taught him many spiritual truths. They also danced together with Kirtan. All along he was behaving just as that which is perceptible from its scene recorded in the Gospel. It says: Troilokya was singing. The Master danced, Keshab and the devotees also dancing with him. After the music, he wanted something to eat. A plate of sweetmeats was sent from the inner apartments. Keshab held the plate before Sri Ramakrishna and the Master ate. When he had finished, Keshab poured water on his hands and then dried the Masters hands and face with a towel. Afterwards he began to fan the Master. A unique friendship existed between the two which bore the celestial mark of a Divine Play for devotees to study again and again for their spiritual embellishment. (The writer is associated with Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur) The initiative of Jal Sahelis or water volunteers in Central India has won widespread appreciation in India. Several of them have received awards for their inspirational work. When last year the Prime Minister also expressed his admiration for these efforts, this further encouraged Jal Sahelis who decided to take up a significant project at a wider level. This initiative has been mobilized by the Parmarth voluntary organization mainly in the Bundelkhand region, under its director Sanjay Singh. So far, the presence of Jal Sahelis had been seen and admired for village-level initiatives. Perhaps a time had come now for realizing their wider collective strength to strengthen water conservation efforts and programmes. After considerable discussion, senior members of the Parmarth team like Sanjay Singh and Gaurav Pandey came up with the idea of a foot march that would bring together a large number of Jal Sahelis to be together for a number of days, reaching village after village to know about water-related problems there and suggest solutions on the basis of the inspirational work they had been carrying out in their own villages for some years. Advertisement This, it was hoped, would also strengthen their own sense of solidarity and empower them in terms of the realization of their unity and co-operation. Bundelkhand region, comprising 14 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, has often been in the news due to water scarcity but at the same time it should be emphasised that this region has important assets and strengths which if tapped properly can end this scarcity. However the solutions must be based on several specific features of the region and a lot can be learnt from traditional wisdom of conserving water and collecting water, particularly in tanks. Advertisement A significant number of such tanks go back about a thousand years to the times of Chandela kings. It has been learnt that the restoration of several of these damaged and depleted water sources provides one of the best ways of meeting the water needs of the Bundelkhand region. Another good option is to revive and rejuvenate several small rivers which used to be the lifeline for many remote villages but have been harmed to the extent of almost vanishing due to over-exploitation, excessive sand-mining, encroachments and other factors. Parmarth is a leading voluntary organization of the region which has worked in cooperation with the government and local communities to improve water conservation in about 100 villages, helping to renovate about 100 tanks, apart from taking up the rejuvenation of six small rivers. An important plank of this work has been the mobilization of Jal Sahelis, recognized by their sky blue dress, who have been involved in important initiatives of river rejuvenation and tank restoration, apart from improving water supply and sanitation. Once the idea of a march was born, there were several discussions on its planning in the course of which the idea continued to get bigger and finally a foot-march of about 300 km was planned. Finally this march of Jal Sahelis, called a Jal Sarankshan Yatra or water conservation march, took place recently from Orchha to Jaishankar Dhaam, covering about a 300-km distance in five districts Niwari, Tikamgarh and Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh, and Jhansi and Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh. While about 100 Jal Sahelis covered the entire distance, about 200 joined them for shorter intervals. In addition many local people including women joined from one village to another or for longer stretches. At various places along the route Jal chaupals or water dialogues were organized in which various aspects of water conservation were discussed. The Jal Sahelis shared about their own work and also learnt about local initiatives. In the process information about the local water sources was also collected along with suggestions regarding the improvement efforts that were needed. Such detailed information collected on the basis of interactions with local people can be very useful for improvement or restoration work. What is more, whenever time permitted, some work was also taken up for cleaning up or for preventing wastage of water. The response of villagers, including village leaders, panchayat representatives, women and youth, along the route was very encouraging. They made arrangements for food and organized ceremonies for paying their respect to marchers. Frequently they showered flower petals on the marchers. All this attracted a lot of attention and support for the cause of water conservation and renovation of traditional water sources and protection of rivers. A big achievement of the march was that in the course of this march nearly 400 more women came forward in the villages covered by the march to enlist themselves as Jal Sahelis of the near future. As the tasks of water conservation have been identified and as future water volunteers have also been identified, it is likely that solutions to water-related problems in these villages will be found soon. As a follow-up measure, dialogues with water authorities in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for resolving many of these problems are also being taken up. The morale of the women marchers remained at a high level throughout the march, despite the very tiring schedule. In the evenings, on most days, a review meeting was also held to resolve any problems seen during the day, or to make further improvements. The director of Parmarth Sanjay Singh and several other members also walked with the marchers almost right through the march. These marches can be a very good way of taking the message of water conservation to people in remote villages and also to spread inspirational information regarding some of the remarkably successful efforts of villagers and particularly village women in the recent past. These can lead to more such efforts by other people. It is really a remarkable achievement that these women not only contributed voluntary work earlier but in addition have also found the time and the energy to come out for a much longer period, despite many farm and family responsibilities, for a wider social cause. Such efforts should be widely encouraged. (The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Protecting Earth for Children, A Day in 2071 and Man over Machine.) Bangladesh leader Muhammad Yunus visit to China this week marks a critical moment in South Asian geopolitics. The interim leader, who came to power after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas forced exit, is signalling a potential shift away from Indias traditional influence in Dhaka. China, quick to seize strategic opportunities, is rolling out the red carpet. The stakes are high ~ not just for Bangladesh but for the entire region. Chinas deepening ties with Bangladesh are not new. It has long been Dhakas largest trading partner, its biggest arms supplier, and a key infrastructure investor under the Belt and Road Initiative. However, the current political upheaval of f ers Beijing a fresh opening. By positioning itself as Bangladeshs go-to partner, China can further entrench its influence in the Bay of Bengal, a crucial maritime region where India, the US, and Japan have strategic interests. For China, the benefits are two-fold. First, a pro-China Bangladeshi leadership could dilute Indias strategic depth in the neighbourhood. Secondly, by strengthening security ties, Beijing can gain access to ports and logistical hubs, boosting its regional presence. Bangladesh, with its geostrategic location, is a vital piece in Chinas Indo-Pacific puzzle. Advertisement The Yunus administrations tilt toward China appears to be driven by political and economic considerations. The new leadership, comprising non-Awami League factions, seeks to recalibrate foreign relations after years of India-centric policies under Sheikh Hasina. However, the timing and nature of this shift raise questions about whether it is a pragmatic diversification strategy or a reac tio nary move to distance itself from India. Bangladeshs economic realities also play a role. With rising infrastructure debts and an urgent need for foreign investments, Dha ka may find Chinas financial promises attractive. Advertisement The Belt and Road Initiatives renewed push and potential security cooperation agreements could offer short-term economic relief. But the long-term implications ~ especially the risk of debt dependence ~ must not be overlooked. Mr Yunus China visit will likely accelerate regional recalibrations. If Bangladesh formalises security agreements with Beijing, it will trigger concerns in New Delhi. Indias historical, cultural, and economic ties with Bangladesh are deep, but geopolitics is driven by realpolitik. A shift in Dhakas stance could push India to rethink its neighbourhood strategy, strengthening partnerships with Japan, the US, and other Indo-Pacific allies to counterbalance Chi nas inroads. The broader question is whether Bangladesh is truly securing an independent strategic space or merely becoming a pawn in Chinas expansionist playbook. As Beijing deepens people-to-people exchanges and economic engagements, Dhakas leaders must carefully navigate this newfound proximity. Sovereignty and strategic autonomy must remain paramount, lest Bangladesh find itself in a geopolitical bind from which exit options are limited. For India, the lesson is clear: complacency is not an option. A more proactive and flexible approach is needed to counter balance Chinas influence in the region. The Dhaka-Beijing equation is evolving, and New Delhi must be prepared to recalibrate its own playbook accordingly. The accidental inclusion of journalist Jeffrey Goldberg in a high-level online group chat involving top US officials has raised critical concerns about the handling of sensitive national security communications. The chat, set up by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, reportedly included discussions on military operations and intelligence matters before the US strike on Yemen. While some have brushed it off as a minor technical mistake, the incident exposes deeper vulnerabilities in how the administration safeguards classified conversations. Despite the potential implications, President Donald Trump has downplayed the mishap, calling it a glitch and reaffirming his confidence in Mr Waltz. However, this nonchalant response does little to address the real issue: how such a serious oversight occurred in the first place. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard assured lawmakers during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that no classified information was compromised, but their reassurances did not entirely quell concerns. Key senators, particularly Michael Bennet and Jon Ossoff, criticized the incident as symptomatic of poor operational security within the administration. Mr Ossoff went further, calling it an example of sloppiness that should never happen at the highest levels of government. Their concerns are justified. Advertisement While the particular app used offers end-to-end encryption, it is still a commercial platform not specifically designed for handling highly classified government discussions. The very fact that a journalist could inadvertently be included in such a group chat suggests a troubling lack of internal safe guards. This episode also raises broader questions about how modern communication tools are integrated into government operations. The increasing use of encrypted messaging apps by officials may be convenient, but it also brings risks if not properly regulated. Advertisement The administration must ask itself whether its current approach to digital security is robust enough or if it is relying too heavily on platforms that are not designed for secure government use. The consequences of such lapses can be severe. Even if no classified information was leaked, the incident serves as a warning. Unauthorised access to sensitive discussions ~ especially those involving national security ~ could have far-reaching implications. The US government must take immediate steps to review and reinforce its communication protocols, ensuring that similar breaches do not happen again. The incident also raises serious concerns about internal security protocols within intelligence agencies. The revelation demands a broader review of cyber-security measures and internal oversight mechanisms to prevent such lapses. This is not just about a single mistake by an official or a minor technical error. It is about the credibility and security of the administrations national defence apparatus. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz may have taken responsibility, but that alone is not enough. A comprehensive review, stricter enforcement of communication protocols, and a shift toward more secure, government-approved platforms are necessary. Anything less would leave the door open for another mistake. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Unity of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov and Minister for Inclusion, Social Protection and Migration of Spain Elma Saiz Delgado signed a declaration on the establishment of the Unity Centre in Spain. We have consolidated our common goal of providing comprehensive support to Ukrainians who have found refuge on Spanish soil. Currently, more than 220,000 of our citizens have received temporary protection here, and this Centre will be another step towards their social adaptation, integration and maintaining ties with their homeland. Spain is the third country with which we have signed a Joint Declaration on the establishment of the Centre for Unity of Ukraine, the ministry said, citing Chernyshev. As reported, on January 24, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the creation of the National Unity Agency - a structure that will help implement initiatives for interaction with the Ukrainian community and public organizations in the host countries. It was noted that the Agency will then open departments in key host countries for Ukrainians, primarily in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, and Unity Hubs will be created in the capitals of these countries. Among the functions and capabilities of the Unity Hub: educational and cultural space, language courses, a return consultant, consular services (as an external service), banking services, postal services, an economic opportunity coordinator, the State Enterprise Document, a meeting of opinion leaders, programs for children and youth, a Ukrainian cafe, a business hub and coworking, and the UA Job Center. On February 15, a Joint Declaration of Intent was signed to open the first Ukrainian Unity Hub in Berlin. Plans include opening such hubs in Munich and Dusseldorf. On March 26, a Joint Declaration of Intent was signed to open a Ukrainian Unity Hub in France. For years, public dissent against Hamas in Gaza has been subdued, often silenced before it could gain momentum. However, recent protests in Beit Lahia signal a significant shift. Hundreds of Palestinians, weary of war and destruction, took to the streets demanding Hamas step down. This rare demonstration of defiance reveals the growing frustration of ordinary Gazans, trapped between a relentless Israeli military campaign and a leadership that refuses to change course. The war has only deepened the suffering of Gazas 2.1 million people, with tens of thousands killed, homes reduced to rubble, and critical infrastructure decimated. Despite this, Hamas remains entrenched, insisting that the struggle must continue. But for many civilians, the cost of this unyielding stance has become unbearable. Protesters made their message clear: they refuse to be mere numbers in a war that has robbed them of homes, livelihoods, and loved ones. Hamass response was swift and brutal. Armed militants forcefully dispersed the crowd, assaulting protesters and dismissing them as traitors. Advertisement This reaction is not surprising. Since taking control of Gaza in 2007, Hamas has tolerated little dissent, maintaining power through a mix of ideological control and force. Even in the face of widespread devastation, its leadership remains unwilling to acknowledge public grievances. Instead, they accuse demonstrators of pushing suspicious political agendas, as if the suffering were not reason enough to demand change. For years, Hamas justified its rule by portraying itself as the only force capable of resisting Israel. But as suffering deepens, many Gazans now wonder if that resistance is worth the cost. Advertisement Yet, this unrest reflects a deeper issue. But as the war drags on, Hamas narrative of being the only force to resist Israel is losing appeal. The people of Gaza are not only suffering from Israeli airstrikes but also from the failures of their own rulers. Basic necessities ~ food, water, medicine ~ are scarce. The economy is in ruins. And while Hamas leaders call for sacrifice, it is civilians who pay the price. What makes these protests particularly significant is that they are happening despite the risks. Speaking out against Hamas can lead to imprisonment, torture, or worse. Yet, the desperation is now so great that people are willing to take the chance. The question is whether this dissent will grow into something larger or be crushed before it can challenge Hamass rule. While it is difficult to gauge the true extent of shifting public sentiment, one thing is clear: Hamas is facing a crisis of legitimacy. As the war continues, more Gazans may begin to questi on whether their rulers truly represent their interests. If Hamas continues to ignore this discontent, it risks alienating the very people it claims to protect. The voices rising from the rubble are the most truthful ~ dismissing them will only deepen the divide between Hamas and those it governs. A devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, shaking neighboring Thailand and causing a massive building collapse in Bangkok that left dozens trapped. The powerful tremor, centered in Myanmars Sagaing region, was followed by a strong 6.4-magnitude aftershock, sending shockwaves across the region. Bangkok skyscraper collapse traps 43 workers In the heart of Bangkok, a 30-storey government office under construction crumbled within seconds, burying 43 workers under debris. Emergency responders rushed to the scene, navigating through twisted steel and shattered concrete to search for survivors. Social media videos showed the moment the structure collapsed, leaving only dust and destruction in its wake. Authorities quickly declared a state of emergency as rescue operations intensified. Advertisement Hospitals overwhelmed in Myanmars capital In Myanmars capital, Naypyidaw, hospitals struggled to handle the surge of injured arriving in cars, pickup trucks, and even on makeshift stretchers. Many victims were covered in dust, their faces and limbs smeared with blood. Medical teams worked frantically to stabilize the wounded, but the damage extended even to the hospital itself, with its emergency entrance partially caved in by falling concrete. Advertisement This is a mass casualty situation, a hospital official said while directing journalists away from critical care zones. Patients lay outside, some groaning in pain, others in shock, their eyes vacant with disbelief. Panic in Bangkok as buildings shake The tremor, which struck around 1:30 PM, sent waves of panic across Bangkok, a city of over 17 million people known for its towering skyscrapers. Alarms blared in high-rise apartments and hotels as residents scrambled to evacuate. Videos showed water spilling from rooftop pools, a stark reminder of the earthquakes force. | An #earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter Scale jolted #Myanmar on Friday. PM #NarendraModi expressed concern over the powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar and #Thailand, assuring that India is ready to provide all possible assistance to the affected regions. pic.twitter.com/xsukEujQtX The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) March 28, 2025 Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra convened an emergency meeting to assess the situation and coordinate rescue efforts. With aftershocks still a concern, authorities urged residents to remain cautious. As rescue teams continue digging through rubble in Myanmar and Thailand, the full scale of the earthquake remains unclear. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been awarded a medal commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory Day by the Russian government on Thursday, Moscows embassy in Pyongyang said. According to the embassys social media post, the medal marking the Soviet Unions World War II victory over Nazi Germany was conferred on Kim on the directive of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Advertisement An award ceremony was held at Pyongyangs Mansudae Assembly Hall, where Russian Ambassador Alexandr Matsegora presented the medal and certificate to Kang Yun-sok, Vice Chairman of North Koreas Standing Committee of the Supreme Peoples Assembly. Advertisement The certificate stated that Kim received the medal in recognition of his contributions to honoring the memory of Soviet soldiers who died and are buried in North Korea, Yonhap news agency reported. The medal was awarded more than a month ahead of Victory Day, which falls on May 9. Russia had previously conferred similar medals on Kim in May 2015 and May 2020 to mark the 70th and 75th anniversaries. This comes after a Russian Minister said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns visit to Russia is expected this year, and the preparations are underway for it. Speaking to journalists in Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said Russia is preparing for Kims visit to the country, Russian news agencies TASS and Ria Novosti reported, though they did not specify the exact timing of the visit. Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also planning to visit Pyongyang, North Koreas capital, to continue the strategic dialogue with North Korea, according to the reports. The news came amid growing speculation about Kims potential visit to Russia on the occasion of Russias 80th Victory Day anniversary on May 9, potentially as a reciprocation for Russian President Putins visit to North Korea in June last year. At that time, Putin invited Kim to Moscow for summit talks. Earlier this month, Rudenko traveled to Pyongyang, where he met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong-gyu and discussed arranging political contacts at the high and top levels, TASS previously reported. Last week, Russias Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu also traveled to Pyongyang and met with Kim, delivering a message from Putin, Yonhap news agency reported, quoting the Russian news agencies TASS and Ria Novosti. North Korea and Russia have aligned closely since Kim and Putin signed a mutual defence treaty during the Russian Presidents visit to Pyongyang last year, elevating bilateral military cooperation and resulting in the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia. Six people, including two minors, of Russian nationality were killed after a tourist submarine sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. The accident occurred on Thursday in the resort city of Hurghada. The vessel was carrying out an underwater tour with a coral reef inspection, according to media reports. Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted a statement from the Russian Consulate General in Hurghada revealing that all the tourists on board were Russians. Advertisement There were 45 tourists on board, including minors, as well as crew members. All of them were Russian citizens, tourists of the company Biblio Globus, the consulates statement read. Advertisement The diplomatic mission told RIA Novosti that after the crash of the bathyscaphe, 38 Russians were rescued, while the fate of the remaining is not yet known. The Consulate General noted that 24 people were transported to hotels, and the remaining 14 are in hospitals. The cause of the incident is still under investigation, with the Russian Embassy stating that consular staff were dispatched to the pier of the Sindbad Hotel, which owns the submarine. Egyptian media outlet Youm7 reported that the victims were taken to the nearest hospital in the Al-Kawther area in Hurghada and some of them remain in critical condition. According to preliminary information, the accident occurred due to an error by the pilot of the ship. He could not cope with the control and flew to the reef. As a result, the salon depressurized. The company Sharm Hurghada Excursions, which organised the tour, told Russian newspaper Izvestia that the sunken bathyscaphe has worked for more than 10 years and is the only submarine at the disposal of the company. Hurghada, a popular tourist city located about 460 kilometers (285 miles) southeast of Cairo, is known for its Red Sea coral reefs and islands, which attract international visitors. Several ambassadors and top diplomats from Islamic nations attended a Sadhbhavana Iftar hosted by the Indian Minorities Federation (IMF) in New Delhi on Thursday evening, lauding Indias cultural heritage, harmony and Prime Minister Narendra Modis commitment to Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwaas initiative to reach all communities. More than 15 ambassadors, diplomats from Islamic nations, government representatives, religious scholars, and community leaders had gathered to celebrate the spirit of Ramazan and foster interfaith harmony at Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhus residence in the capital. Advertisement The luminaries from diverse backgrounds hailed Indias mantra of Unity in Diversity as they exchanged views on cultural heritage and harmony among all communities. Advertisement At the outset, we would like to express our highest appreciation to the esteemed Indian Minorities Federation for this wonderful occasion. If this event conveys an idea or sends a message, it is one that resonates with me deeply: this is India. India is a multicultural and religiously diverse state. I believe this initiative is a step in the right direction for a Viksit Bharat, Oday Hatim Mohammed, Deputy Head of Embassy of Iraq in New Delhi, told IANS. This is the idea I mentioned a collection of multi-religious states. India is not just a state for Hindus, Christians, Muslims, or others, but a multilingual and multi-religious state, which strengthens and enhances Indias identity. I am sure India will achieve the Viksit Bharat milestone much ahead of the specified date, which I believe is set for 2047. India is certainly capable, he added. The IMF has been organising such events to promote harmony, brotherhood and prosperity across the diverse Indian communities from time to time. The Sadhbhavana Iftar strengthened the bond of oneness, spotlighting Indias commitment to pluralism, interfaith harmony, and strong ties with the Islamic world. On behalf of the Bangladeshi High Commission in New Delhi, I would like to thank everyone for inviting us. We are extremely proud to attend the Sadbhavana Iftar, said Mohammed Nurul Islam, Bangladeshs Deputy High Commissioner to India. I believe this is a wonderful start. It highlights the diversity of India diversity of people from different countries coming together to begin something meaningful. I am also very happy to be here in India, participating in such events during the holy month of Ramadan. This kind of interaction, where people from different countries, religions, and cultures come together under the banner of humanity, is truly special, said Mohamed Ali Fazari, a diplomat from the Embassy of Sudan in New Delhi. Saint-Laurent, QC (H4T1V6) Today Some early morning breaks in the overcast, otherwise cloudy. High 82F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low near 70F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Czech initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine in 2025 could be comparable to 2024 level - Czech PM A Czech initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine could see at least as many shells delivered in 2025 as last year, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Thursday, Reuters reported. "We are talking about a number at least at the level of last year," he said after a summit in Paris with the participation of the Ukrainian president and other leaders. The initiative launched last year by the Czech government and funded by a number of NATO allies provided Ukraine with 1.5 million artillery rounds, including 500,000 units of 155mm shells, in 2024, the Czech Defence Ministry said in February. According to Fiala, Prague continues to work on expanding this program to support Ukraine in countering Russian aggression. 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. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) struck down the registration of 72 entities as research analysts, the Indian markets regulator announced. The registrations lapsed due to the failure to pay the renewal fees, thereby invalidating their certifications. According to the market watchdog, they doubled down on the cancellations to prevent the misuse of their expired certificate of registration with Sebi on unaware investors. This action came after SEBI issued the 72 in question with show-cause notices back in February. The noticees were registered as research analysts with the regulator as per the SEBI (Research Analyst) regulation of 2014. However, SEBI norms dictate that the registered research analyst has to remit a renewal fee after every five years to keep the registration. The 72 noticees failed to pay the renewal fees, thereby flouted the intermediaries rules, it said in a notice attributed to SEBI Chief General Manager Bithin Mahanta. The watchdog organisation further pressed the the 72 entities to keep ready all records and documents in relation to investor grievance redressal, and transfer of records, funds, and securities of their respective clients. Earlier this week, SEBI went on a penalty-slapping spree. Overall, the watchdog asked seven entities to pay a total of 35 lakh for dubious trades in the BSE illiquid stock options segment. SEBI slaps 5 lakh fine each on Shyamal Kishore Agarwal, Pankaj Kumar Agarwal, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Raj Kumar Nemani, Nina Nag, Subhranshu Roy HUF, and Ratan Lal Sipani HUF after it found significant trade reversals in illiquid stock options thereby bumping up trade volume. This triggered an investigation on the options segment from April 2014 to September 2015, where SEBI uncovered multiple instances of reversal trades that went against the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP) norms. The market regulator, in another order slapped a 10 lah fine on a SEBI-registered research analyst, Nikhil Dayanand Baljekar, for allegedly violating market norms in an investigation of activities between April 2022 and January 2024. Another 4 lakh was fined on Basant Maheshwari Wealth Advisers LLP (BMWAL) for alleged regulatory norm violations in a separate order. Unmanned aerial vehicles, space resources, and advanced surveillance resources of all three services, including long-range surveillance aircraft of the Indian Air Force and maritime domain awareness aircraft of the Indian Navy apart from helicopters were part of a three-day tri-service integrated multi-domain exercise conducted by India's armed forces. The successful conduct of the exercise comes as yet another achievement even as the three services are moving towards forming joint operational structures. Ex Prachand Prahar by @easterncomd, showcased seamless integration of advanced surveillance, strike capabilities & multi-domain operational planning. Cutting-edge platforms, LR maritime recce aircraft, armed helicopters, UAVs, loitering munitions & space-based assets employed. pic.twitter.com/QAMuZvIo9S PRO Defence, Manipur, Nagaland & South Arunachal (@prodefkohima) March 27, 2025 Held in the rugged high-altitude terrain of the Himalayas in the northern borders of the country, the war games, named 'Exercise Prachand Prahaar', saw the participation of the Indian Army's elite special forces in tandem with the surveillance resources to create seamless domain awareness and detect simulated targets, a Defence official said in a statement. The joint exercise was a continuation of 'Exercise Poorvi Prahar' held in November 2024, which focused on the integrated application of aviation assets. READ MORE: Tri-services exercise 'Poorvi Prahar' shows unified might with cutting-edge military tech, paving way for theaterisation of command The exercise saw the forces swiftly eliminating targets through synchronised joint firepower of fighter aircraft, long-range rocket systems, medium artillery, armed helicopters, swarm drones, loitering munitions and kamikaze drones in an electronically contested environment in the exercise, news agency PTI quoted the defence official as saying. "Exercise Prachand Prahaar validated integrated planning, command and control as well as seamless execution of surveillance and firepower platforms across the three services, covering the entire spectrum of conflict," he said. The exercise underscored the armed forces' unwavering commitment to jointness, precision and technological superiority, he said. "It reinforced the ability to execute multi-domain operations with unparalleled synergy, ensuring India's preparedness to deter and decisively engage any emerging threat along its strategic frontiers." General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command, Lieutenant General Ram Chander Tiwari, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal Surat Singh and Naval Officer-in-Charge, West Bengal, Commodore Ajay Yadav, reviewed the exercise and commended the participants on their high professional standards. Some 89 out of 163 enemy UAVs shot down at night, 51 drone simulators lost Photo: https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/ Russian occupiers attacked the territory of Ukraine on the night of Friday with 163 drones, 89 of them were shot down, 51 drone-location simulators were lost without negative consequences, the press service of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. "As of 9:00, the downing of 89 Shahed-type attack UAVs (other types of drones) in the south, north and center of the country has been confirmed," the message 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 a result of the Russian attack, Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhia regions suffered. As reported, on Thursday night, the invaders attacked Ukraine with 86 drones, 42 were shot down, and 26 lost their location. On Wednesday night, Ukraine was attacked by 117 drones, 56 were shot down, and 48 lost their location. L2: Empuraan has been met with backlash from right-wing groups on social media on account of its negative portrayal of the Sangh Parivar. The film, which throws in references to a 'train burning' incident and the resultant 2002 riots and genocide in Gujarat, shows two Hindu perpetrators of the violence against a Muslim family rising to power and leading a nationalist party that, in a surprise twist, joins hands with a character introduced in the film's first part. The backlash intensified after Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of veteran CPM leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, voiced support for the film and urged people to see it. Some have argued that it's difficult to see a film as a film when it spreads "anti-Hindu" propaganda. Some right-wing social media handles have shared screenshots of cancelled tickets. One of the detractors of the film is Pratheesh Vishwanath, founder of Hindu Seva Kendram, who accused Prithviraj of being an agenda-driven filmmaker. One portal called TheCommuneMag compared the film to Pa. Ranjith's Kaala and said both films "stooped low" to "peddle anti-Hindu, anti-BJP, anti-Modi propaganda." But the voices weren't all negative. BJP State General Secretary MT Ramesh stated that a film should be seen as a film, that the Kerala public has the sense to make out what is what, and that they are free to make the choice to see it or not. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Kerala's recently appointed BJP chief, extended his wishes to the Empuraan team, next to a picture of him with Mohanlal and a caption expressing his wish to see the film. People with autism are typically diagnosed by clinical observation of their behaviour but since the clinical decision process can be influenced by subjectivity, AI learning models (LLMs) have entered the field to help characterise the symptoms and channel them down to a diagnosis. According to ANI, researchers found that the AI model suggested that signs of repetitive behaviour, special interests and perception-based behaviour are also indicators of autism. This result significantly decreases the focus on social factors as a primary autism indicator, which the DSM-5 emphasises. ALSO READ | 'Game of Thrones' and 'The Last of Us' star Bella Ramsey opens up about 'freeing' autism diagnosis: 'No reason for people not to know' So, in a world where the power of AI is increasing significantly, could it relieve the burden of medical diagnosis out of doctors' hands? Danilo Bzdok of the Mila Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute and McGill University in Montreal clarified, Our goal was not to suggest that we could replace clinicians with AI tools for diagnosis. Rather, we sought to quantitatively define exactly what aspects of the observed behaviour or patient history a clinician uses to reach a final diagnostic determination. In doing so, we hope to empower clinicians to work with diagnostic instruments that are more in line with their empirical realities." ALSO READ | Scientists develop tests to indicate autism in children Furthermore, scientists have fine-tuned and customised an LLM, pre-trained on a whopping 489 million unique sentences. This model will be able to recognise the diagnostic outcome of over 4,000 medical reports written by medical professionals and clinicians. The reports would mainly consist of behaviour observed by the professionals and the patient history. After running the report through the learning model, the machine analyses specific sentences and matches them with the most relevant ones to predict a diagnosis. The subsequent numerical results were then compared to the DSM-5 under specific diagnostic criteria. Researchers were surprised by the accurate the LLMs accurate findings. ALSO READ | Five documentaries for parents of autistic children The primary indicators of autism remain the lack of communication skills and social interaction but scientists hope that the LLM will help medical professionals working with various psychiatric, mental health, and neurodevelopmental disorders in their clinical judgements. Contradicting details emerge about the murder of a 32-year-old Maharashtra woman, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase at a rented house in Bengaluru during the late hours of Thursday. Bengaluru police nabbed the accused, the victims husband, within 24 hours from Pune and further probe is underway. Bengaluru police recovered the body of Gauri Khedekar (32), a native of Maharashtra, from a rented house in the citys Doddanekundi Village during the late hours of Thursday. According to police, they were alerted by the houseowner on Thursday evening and found the house locked when they reached the place. Police barged into the house and found the suitcase in the bathroom, a senior police official said. Karnataka | Sarah Fathima, DCP south-east Bengaluru says, "Body of a 32-year-old woman, Guri Khedekar found near Ambedkar Apartment in Doddanekundi Village, Bengaluru. She was the wife of Rakesh Rajendra Khedekar (36 years). Her body was found in a suitcase. The husband and wife ANI (@ANI) March 27, 2025 Sarah Fathima, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-east Bengaluru told AN, "The body of a 32-year-old woman, Gauri Khedekar, was found near Ambedkar Apartment in Doddanekundi Village, Bengaluru. She was the wife of Rakesh Rajendra Khedekar (36). Her body was found in a suitcase. The husband and wife were living in Hulimavu police station limits. Both belonged to Maharashtra. The body has been sent for post-mortem. Fathima added stab injuries were found on Khedekars body. According to police, the couple moved to Bengaluru only a month ago. While Rakesh was working with an IT from home, Gauri, a mass media graduate, was looking for a job in the city. Allegedly, Rakesh and Gauri fought over a trivial issue and in a fit of rage, Rakesh stabbed Gauri three times while having dinner, Times of India reported. Rakesh allegedly fled to Pune after committing the murder and police nabbed him tracking his mobile phone tower locations. According to police, it was Rakesh who informed the houseowner about the incident. Reports also say Rakesh also informed Gauris parents about the murder. However, police said the claims are being verified. After honey-trapping allegations, Karnataka Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajannas son and MLA, Rajendra, on Thursday, claimed there had been an attempt on his life five months back. The delay in filing an FIR and the state governments lacklustre response to a serious allegation made by a senior minister has raised suspicion that there is a bid to cover up the issue as it has caused huge embarrassment to the ruling Congress in the state and at the national level. Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Council and BJP leader, slammed Rajanna and said the minister was only trying to mislead and fool the people. The reluctance of the minister to file a police complaint and his sudden u-turn stating he had no evidence against the honey-trapping gang, have raised questions over the serious lack of legal literacy among the lawmakers and also the possible larger political conspiracies that could be at play. While no FIR or police complaint has been lodged in the honey trapping case, the CID started its investigations reportedly based on a government order as the minister had met Home Minister G. Parameshwara five days after the issue was raised in the assembly. Meanwhile, Rajendra who had earlier claimed that there had been two attempts to honeytrap him and his father, met DGP Alok Mohan in Bengaluru and filed a complaint alleging two men had come to his Tumakuru residence to erect shamiana (tents) for the birthday celebration of his daughter on November 16 last year, with an intent to kill him. He submitted the complaint along with a pen drive. My father has submitted his complaint to the home minister. No honey-trapping attempt was made against me. But two men, who came to put up shamiana for my daughters birthday, had attempted to murder me at my house last November. I also came to know this January that these men had been given a supari (contract to kill) for Rs 5 lakh; a well-wisher shared an audio clip exposing the plot to kill me, claimed Rajendra, adding that the money had been transferred to the bank accounts of the two men Soma and Bharat from Tumakuru. Meanwhile, the CID team inspected the ministers official residence in Bengaluru, but got no clue to ascertain the identity of the honey-trap team as the ministers official quarters do not have a CCTV camera. The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will discuss 14 private member resolutions during the second part of the budget session from April 7 to 9. Three of these resolutions demand the restoration of statehood, a key political issue in Jammu and Kashmir. On April 7, National Conference MLA Qaisar Jamshaid Lone will move a resolution urging the Centre to restore statehood immediately, as promised in Parliament. His party colleague Hilal Akbar Lone will introduce another resolution, calling on the Government of India to fulfil the Prime Ministers commitment. Independent MLA Shabir Ahmad Kullay will also present a resolution stating that the House is united in demanding statehood and urging immediate action. Apart from statehood, other resolutions focus on infrastructure, environment, administration, and employment. On April 7, PDPs Waheed-Ur-Rehman Para will propose a ban on heavy machinery, such as JCBs and cranes, for sand extraction and riverbed mining. NCs Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din Mir will call for better healthcare in rural areas, while NCs Ali Mohammad Sagar will demand the regularisation of Rehbar-e-Janglat (forest guides). NCs Ali Mohammad Dar will push for corrections in land records. On April 9, NCs Ajaz Ahmad Jan will advocate for a separate administrative structure for the Pir Panjal region (Rajouri and Poonch), including new district offices and better resource allocation. NCs Bashir Ahmad Veeri will seek a ban on illegal riverbed mining and stronger environmental protections. BJPs Rajiv Jasrotia will highlight the need for tunnels at Bhora-Dhar Road and Mata Bala Sundari (Kathua) to improve connectivity. Independent MLA Rameshwar Singh will push for a public holiday extension for Kailash Kund Yatra. NCs Sajad Shaheen will introduce a resolution for regularising 18 residential colonies in Jammu, ensuring planned development and proper civic services, while NCs Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din Mir will demand steps to reduce youth unemployment. Resolutions on Article 370 were rejected because a similar resolution was passed in November 2023, and according to Assembly rules, the resolution cannot be discussed again for a year. The draw of lots for selecting resolutions was held on March 25, with seven resolutions scheduled for discussion on April 7 and another seven on April 9. Two days after Karnataka rebel BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal was expelled from the party for six years, the leaders from his faction held a meeting in Bengaluru to express solidarity with the Hindutva hardliner. Even as the party remains divided over the expulsion, the Yatnal faction reiterated that their fight demanding the replacement of the state BJP chief would continue. On Friday, senior party leaders including Ramesh Jarkiholi, B.P. Harish, Kumar Bangarappa, Pratap Simha, Arvind Limbavali, NR Santosh and GM Siddeshwar held a four-hour-long meeting to discuss the future course of action as the party leadership has conveyed a strong message that indiscipline would not be tolerated. We are ready to acknowledge and rectify our mistakes that might have affected the party or hurt party workers. We are all shocked by the partys decision to expel Yatnal. We suspect it could also be a mistake as the party should have expelled ST Somashekar and not Yatnal for anti-party activities. The BJP cadres and Hindu activists and the Panchamasali Lingayat community are pained by the partys decision. We will go to Delhi and urge the party to withdraw the expulsion order, said Kumar Bangarappa. The rebel faction also alleged that Karnataka BJP had failed to effectively put up a fight against the ruling Congress, which had faltered on many counts. Be it honey-trapping cases, SCP/TSP Valmiki corporation scam, Wakf scam or MUDA, none were taken to a logical end by the state BJP and it failed to corner the Congress government," said Kumar Bangarappa. The leaders were univocal in stating that they would neither quit the BJP nor float a new party but try to convince the Party High Command to revoke the expulsion of Yatnal. We will work towards strengthening the party to ensure the party wins with a majority in 2028. For this, we need to make drastic changes in the state. A protest rally was held in Vijayapura to condemn the expulsion of Hindutva leader Yatnal, and more than 100 office bearers of the district unit resigned from their posts in protest. Panchamasali pontiff Basava Mrutyunjaya Swamy condemned the expulsion and demanded revocation of the order. He also said Yatnal would lose nothing but the BJP would certainly suffer a setback in the coming days. LOPs R Ashok and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy claimed the central leaders were closely watching the development. The party high command is gathering information on every development and taking action. However, the party workers or the leaders can still seek a review of the (expulsion) order. But no one should speak against the party. Our intention is to unite the party and tackle the ruling Congress. The party is like a mother and I urge the party workers not to speak ill of the party, said Ashok. Defying the high command decision is like opposing the party. Those who are supporting Yatnal should understand they cannot be with him and in the party. The high command gave enough opportunities to Yatnal to rectify his mistake. He was given three notices and he should have given the reply and focussed on his responsibilities. We all would have supported him. The people bad mouthing the party will be the next wicket to go down, said Narayaswamy. The Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police on Friday said the security forces won't rest until militancy sponsored by Pakistan is stopped. The statement came after a fierce encounter in the Kathua district, which resulted in the killing of four policemen and injuries to seven others, including a deputy superintendent and two soldiers. According to DGP Nalin Prabhat, the operation was launched after intelligence reports indicated the presence of militants in the area. A police team, supported by security forces, launched a search operation when militants opened fire, leading to a prolonged gun battle. I bow to the valorous martyrs of J&K Police, who laid down their lives for our motherland. My deepest condolences to their families. In ongoing Kathua encounter several terrorists were neutralised. J&K Police & Security Forces are on the job. Operation in progress. Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) March 28, 2025 As soon as our forces reached the location, they came under heavy fire from the militants who had taken a strategically advantageous position. Despite the difficult terrain, our personnel fought bravely, Prabhat said. He said during the encounter, four police personnel made the ultimate sacrifice, while seven others, including a deputy superintendent of police and two soldiers, sustained injuries. Our primary objective was to neutralize the militants and prevent further casualties. The area was swiftly cordoned off, and reinforcements were deployed to ensure a decisive operation, Prabhat said. He said security forces are conducting combing operations to track down any remaining militants. The operation is still active, and we are committed to ensuring that those responsible are neutralised. Our forces, including the Indian Army, CRPF, and Special Operations Group (SOG), are working in coordination to eliminate the threat, the DHP said. The encounter marks a significant challenge in the ongoing fight against militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. This is after a long time that police in Jammu have lost four of its personnel in an encounter. Three Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel were killed, and five security personnel, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police and a para commando, were injured in a fierce gunfight in Rajbagh, Kathua district, on Thursday. Security forces believe that three to four militants were also killed in the operation. UAV surveillance has spotted the bodies of three to four militants, but search operations are ongoing to ensure the area is completely secure. The encounter began earlier yesterday in Jakhole village, Ghati Juthana, when security forces closed in on militants hiding in the area. The operation was carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir Polices Special Operations Group (SOG), the Army, and paramilitary forces, including the CRPF. #WATCH | Security forces conduct anti-terrorist operation in Jammu & Kashmir's Kathua Terrorists fired indiscriminately on our troops, and heavy fire-fight ensued. Operation under progress: Indian Army. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/DTDSGiPoO7 ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2025 As the encounter began, reinforcements were quickly deployed. During the initial exchange of fire, SOG personnel were injured and later airlifted to military hospitals in Udhampur and Pathankot for urgent medical care. Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, who has been camping in the area, oversaw the operation from Kathua, with Inspector General of Police Jammu, Bhim Sen Tuti, assisting in coordination. Security forces used drones, UAVs, and sniffer dogs to track down the militants. Earlier, security forces recovered weapons and supplies, including four M4 carbine magazines, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, and materials for making improvised explosive devices. This suggests the militants were well-prepared for a prolonged confrontation. This marks the fourth day of counter-terror operations in the region, following an earlier encounter in the Hiranagar sector on Sunday. Officials believe the militants killed were part of the same group that had escaped during the previous engagement after a woman, her husband, and a minor girl managed to escape their captivity while gathering firewood in the forest. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and senior BJP leader Sunil Sharma paid tribute to the three fallen policemen. He also expressed solidarity with the bereaved families and wished the injured a speedy recovery. I Salute the three braveheart J&K Police personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation during the encounter in #Kathua district. Their courage and dedication to the motherland will always be remembered. We stand in solidarity with the bereaved families and pray for Sunil Sharma (@Sunil_SharmaBJP) March 27, 2025 The People's Anti-Fascist Front, a proxy outfit of Jaish-e-Mohammad, claimed responsibility for the firing on the police party. Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, caught in a row over his alleged defamatory performance against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, approached the Madras High Court on Friday seeking transit anticipatory bail in the case. The performer has reportedly approached the Tamil Nadu court as he is a permanent resident of Villupuram in the southern state. The High Court is expected to pass an order over the matter later on Friday. Kamras petition comes as the Mumbai police issued second summons to Kamra, asking him to appear for interrogation in the case before March 31. Kamra reportedly informed the court that he fears arrest by Mumbai police and sought interim protection from arrest. Kamra, during a recent show at a hotel in Mumbai, performed a parody version of a Hindi song from the film "Dil Toh Pagal Hai," and allegedly referred to Shinde as a "gaddar" (traitor). However, Kamra did not name Shinde in the show. Kamra also performed jokes about recent political developments in Maharashtra. His performance angered the Maharashtra government and leaders including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemned the act. Mumbai police had earlier issued summons visiting Kamras residence in the city. Police had also sent a summons to Kamras WhatsApp number after they came to know he had left the city. The Mumbai police took a case based on a complaint filed by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel. Angered by Kamras performance, Shiv Sena workers vandalised The Habitat studio where the performance was held. Mumbai police arrested 12 persons for the attack, however, they were released on bail later. The Centre on Friday notified the transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court amid the cash recovery row. "In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 222 of the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to transfer Shri Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, Delhi High Court, to be a Judge of Allahabad High Court and to direct him to assume charge of his office in the Allahabad High Court," the order read. Also read | Cash recovery row: SC dismisses plea seeking criminal case against Justice Yashwant Varma Meanwhile, the Supreme Court directed the Allahabad HC CJ not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma for now. Also read | Cash recovery row: SC-appointed panel begins probe, visits Justice Yashwant Varmas residence in New Delhi The apex court on March 24 recommended the repatriation of Justice Varma to his parent Allahabad HC following the latest developments. Justice Varma was caught at the centre of a controversy on March 14 upon discovery of a huge pile of cash from his home when the fire broke out at his official residence. A three-member in-house inquiry panel was set up by the CJI to probe the circumstances surrounding the cash discovery. Justice Varma denounced any insinuation and said no cash was ever placed in the storeroom either by him or any of his family members. The Allahabad HC Bar Association declared that they would boycott Justice Varma's swearing-in ceremony. The members of the association described the transfer as the "darkest day for India's judiciary". Anil Tiwari, president of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association told PTI that, "I don't know what compelled the government to issue this transfer notification, but we still trust that it will intervene. We have called an emergency meeting tonight with senior advocates to decide our next course of action." He added that the transfer was unfair. "The Allahabad HC has been turned into a dumping ground," he said. Earlier in the day the SC rejected a PIL seeking Delhi Police to register an FIR over the alleged discovery of burnt wads of cash from Justice Varma's official residence, calling the petition "premature". Photo: https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its daily report on Facebook on Friday morning does not show on the map any significant change in the area of Ukrainian control over Sudzha district of Kursk region and Krasnoyarsk district of Belgorod region of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the General Staff indicated four directions of enemy strikes on the territory of Sudzha district of Kursk region against the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and three across the state border with Kursk region in Sumy region in the direction of the village of Basivka, while the report for the past day reported five and one, respectively. The Deepstate resource on its maps for March 28 shows that the area under the control of Ukrainian troops in Kursk region has not changed in 24 hours and remains at 77.43 square kilometers. The area of the gray zone with undefined control, which includes villages on both sides of the state border in Kursk and Sumy regions, also remains 64.49 square kilometers, and the area of Sumy region under the control of Russian troops, as before, is only 0.69 square kilometers without settlements. According to DeepState, the area of the gray zone in the northwest of Belgorod region of the Russian Federation, which was first reported two days ago, has not changed and is 13.08 square kilometers, including the villages of Popovka and partly Demydivka. The General Staff, as before, does not report on the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Belgorod region, and does not extend the gray zone to its territory on its maps. However, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports on the advance of Russian troops in Kursk region, their recent capture of the village of Gogolevka and the border checkpoint Sudzha, which DeepState reported earlier. ISW also reports on the recent advance of Russian occupiers in the direction of the village of Basivka in Sumy region. The advance in the direction of Guevo village in Kursk region and Oleshnia village in Sumy region has not been confirmed. Citing their own sources, the Institute's analysts report Ukrainian counterattacks in Guevo area, where Russian advances were previously reported. ISW reports that Ukrainian forces continued limited attacks in Belgorod region on March 27, but made no advances. Information about advances in and west of Demidovka has not been confirmed. There are also reports that Ukrainian forces allegedly attacked bridges in Grafovka and Annovka, southwest of Demidovka, to hinder Russian attempts to reinforce the area. The Supreme Court on Friday quashed criminal proceedings initiated by Gujarat police against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi over a social media post with the poem 'Ae khoon ke pyase baat suno'. A bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka said no offence is made out against Pratapgarhi, ruling that the police must first go through and understand the meaning of written or spoken words before lodging FIR in such cases. Breaking News! SC quashes FIR against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi ! @ShayarImran He showed victory of Constitution of India and carried copy of Constitution!#ImranPratapgarhi pic.twitter.com/2KwAbDOv0t Muhammad Bin Althaf (@Mohd_B_A) March 28, 2025 "Constitution says reasonable restriction can be imposed on freedom of right to speech and expression but the reasonable restriction should not be unreasonable and fanciful to trample the rights of citizens, the top court said in a detailed verdict. The apex court emphasised that free expression of thoughts and views by individuals or a group of individuals is an integral part of a healthy civilized society. "Without freedom of expression of thoughts and views it is impossible to lead a dignified life guaranteed under article 21 of the Constitution. In a healthy democracy, the views of thoughts expressed by an individual or group of individuals must be countered by expressing another point of view. Even if a large number of persons dislike the views expressed by another, the right of a person to express the views must be respected and protected. Literature including poetry, dramas, films, satire art make the life of human beings more meaningful," the top court noted. Elaborating on the duties of the courts in such cases, the bench said, "The courts are duty bound to uphold and enforce the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India. Sometimes, we the judges may not like spoken or written words but still, it is our duty to uphold the fundamental rights under Article 19(1). We judges are also under an obligation to uphold the Constitution and respective ideals." "It is the duty of the court to step in and to protect the fundamental rights. Particularly the constitutional courts must be at the forefront to zealously protect the top fundamental rights of the citizens. It is the bounden duty of the court to ensure that the Constitution and ideals of the Constitution are not trampled upon," the bench said, adding the endeavour of the court should be always to protect and promote fundamental rights including the freedom of speech and expression which is the most important right citizens can have in a liberal constitutional democracy. According to the FIR, Pratapgarhi had allegedly posted a 46-second video clip of the poem on December 29 on his X handle, with the lyrics "Ae khoon ke pyase baat suno..." playing in the background. A Jamnagar resident had filed a complaint against the Congress MP, alleging that the poem was "provocative, detrimental to national integrity, and hurt religious sentiments." Hitting out against the Centre over various including National Education Policy, delimitation and various other issues, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam leader and actor Vijay said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must handle the Tamil Nadu carefully. The actor-led party organised its first general council meeting in Chennai on Saturday and also lashed out at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu. Full Speech of Thalaivar Vijay at first General Council Meeting #TVK_ pic.twitter.com/2lHhHXW3VS TVK IT Wing (@Actor_Vijay) March 28, 2025 Addressing party cadres, the actor-politician said he was aware of the Bharatiya Janata Partys plans when the prime minister announced One Nation, One Election. You are trying to reduce Parliament seats of Tamil Nadu in the name of delimitation. We understood your plans when you spoke about ONOE. Sir (PM Modi), handle Tamil Nadu carefully. Tamil Nadu is a state which has shown its power many times... I would say be careful sir, ANI reported quoting Vijay. Vijay also targeted the Centre over the National Education Policy and Hindi imposition. The actor-politician lashed out at the Stalin government in the state and likened it to fascist regime, an accusation DMK has been levelling against the BJP-led regime at the Centre. Vijay accused the DMK of causing unnecessary obstacles to TVK functioning in Tamil Nadu. Vijay asserted the upcoming assembly polls in the state are only between two parties. In 2026, the fight is between only two parties, one is TVK and the other one is DMK, Vijay said. Vijay said the law and order situation has deteriorated in Tamil Nadu and mocked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for his claim that people are calling him appa (father) now. The party passed 17 resolutions in the meeting and urged the Centre to withdraw the Waqf Bill, alleging it would take away the rights of Muslims. The Waqf Bill, by creating new conditions, took away the powers of Muslims in related matters and also trampled on their existing rights and hence it should be taken back by the Centre,, it said. The party also passed resolutions urging state and Union governments to take measures to find lasting solutions for challenges faced by fishermen. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has asked for people to wear black bands on their right arm in a mark of protest against the Waqf amendments while offering prayers in a peaceful manner. This is to be a silent protest that expresses sadness and anger. Today is the last Friday of the month of Ramadan. The injunction comes with police restrictions in Sambhal and Agra that no namaz will be offered in public spaces or even on rooftops. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT ! , ... This Ramazan's Jumma Tul Wida Let us Protest against Waqf Amendment Bill by this method #IndiaAgainstWaqfBill pic.twitter.com/FPFC0XSZbk All India Muslim Personal Law Board (@AIMPLB_Official) March 27, 2025 The states Director General of Police, Prashant Kumar, has said that there will be heavy deployment of police at all sensitive places. This is not only for the Alvida Namaz but also for Eid and then for Navratri which starts on March 30. Drone cameras will be deployed to keep a watch on large gatherings. Prohibitions on loudspeakers will continue as per rules in place. On the AIMPLB account on X is the hashtag IndiaAgainstWaqfBill. AIMPLB president Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani took to social media to appeal that the hashtag be used repeatedly. He has also requested that people upload their photos with the caption: This Jumma Tul Wida Let Us Protest. AIMPLB had earlier announced a nationwide agitation against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, with large sit-ins planned in front of the state assemblies in Patna and Vijayawada on March 26 and 29, respectively, as part of the first phase of the protest. Also, major rallies are set to be held in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Malerkotla (Punjab) and Ranchi, the AIMPLB had said in a statement, which comes after Parliament's joint committee submitted its report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. There is speculation that it could be brought for passage in Parliament during the ongoing Budget Session. Other posts on social media caution that if the bill is passed, Muslims in the country will have to face immense difficulties. All community and religious organisations like dargahs, mosques, madrasas and orphanages will be impacted. While the trend is growing on social media, some from within the community are also questioning why Muslims are in this state of affairs. One view is that had the board used Waqf money for education, health and social development, the status of the community would be completely different today and things would not have come to such a pass. An earlier post on the AIMPLB account reads: We endured mob lynching. We bore the bulldozers. We stayed patient through Love Jihad slanders and CAA-NRC. But now, they dare to attack our Iman and religion! Our fight is not against any community but against this tyrannical government and its anti-constitutional Waqf bill. If passed we will launch a nationwide campaign. We endured mob lynching. We bore the bulldozers. We stayed patient through Love Jihad slanders and CAA-NRC. But now, they dare to attack our Iman and religion! Our fight is not against any community but against this tyrannical government and its anti-constitutional Waqf bill. If pic.twitter.com/q8rvuB1fzK All India Muslim Personal Law Board (@AIMPLB_Official) March 26, 2025 The post also calls for politicians like Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar to make their stand clear and not take the support of the community for granted. The Israeli parliament passed a controversial law late last night, giving the government more power in the process of selecting and appointing judges, including those to the Supreme Court. The audacious move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus ruling coalition has reignited deep-seated tensions and divisions in Israel, as politicians will now have greater sway over judicial appointments. Passed after an exhaustive overnight debate in Israels 120-member Knesset, the two new laws will drastically reshape the Judicial Selection Committee, the body in charge of appointing judges since 1953. While critics warn that this shift threatens the independence of the judiciary, its key backers, such as Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, say it offers a much needed balance between the three branches of the government and curbs the influence of an unelected deep state. The passing of the new laws marks the revival of a judicial overhaul that was put on hold in 2023 after huge protests, and, of course, the war in Gaza. And it has resurfaced at a moment when Netanyahu has decided to abandon a fragile ceasefire with Hamas and push through with more aggressive manoeuvres, with the backing of the Donald Trump administration in the United States. With 67 lawmakers voting in favour and the opposition largely boycotting the session, the laws passed in a half-empty chamber, underscoring the polarised state of Israeli politics. Outside the Knesset building in Jerusalem, crowds held placards and voiced dissent, though their focus was split between opposing the reforms and demanding action to free hostages still held by Hamas. Israeli democracy is not in danger. The Israeli Deep State is in Danger. pic.twitter.com/A3hzD5Ckio Benjamin Netanyahu - (@netanyahu) March 26, 2025 Historically, the Judicial Selection Committee comprised nine members: three Supreme Court justices, two ministers, two Knesset members (one each from the ruling coalition and the opposition) and two representatives from the Israel Bar Association (IBA). This structure was designed to protect judicial appointments from political interference, balancing professional expertise with limited political input. The new laws, however, replace the IBA representatives with two public representativesone appointed by the government and one by the oppositionboth required to meet the qualifications for a Supreme Court appointment. Other changes involve the voting thresholds for appointments. For Supreme Court justices, the previous requirement of a 7-2 supermajority has been lowered to a 5-4 simple majority, though each appointment must still secure the support of at least one government and one opposition representative. Appointments to lower courts will need approval from one coalition member, one opposition member and one judge. To address potential gridlock in Supreme Court appointments, a deadlock mechanism allows each side to propose three candidates after a year with two or more vacancies, with the opposing side obliged to select one. This mechanism, however, is limited to once per Knesset term. The law also stipulates that at least two-thirds of Supreme Court justices must have prior experience as regional court judges. Levin hailed the legislation as a historic step, accusing the Supreme Court of undermining the Knessets authority for decades. Knesset Constitution Committee chair Simcha Rothman agreed, framing the reforms as a means to return power to the people. Netanyahu, in a combative speech in the Knesset, dismissed claims of democratic backsliding in Israel, asserting that the rule of bureaucrats and the deep state would not be tolerated. The legislation, however, is a scaled-down version of the ruling coalitions original 2023 proposals, which had sought to give politicians near-total control over judicial appointments. That earlier effort sparked widespread unrest, culminating in what became known as the Night of Gallant after then-defence minister Yoav Gallant was sacked for warning of national security risks posed by the reforms. Netanyahu paused the overhaul to maintain unity following the Hamas attack in October 2023, and its resumption has reignited fears of a politicised judiciary. Levin and other supporters of the new laws present them as a compromise. By retaining a degree of opposition input and delaying its implementation until the next Knesset, they argue it avoids handing the government unchecked power. Critics, however, see it as a power grab. The opposition, the attorney general and civil society groups argue that replacing IBA experts with political appointees tilts the committee towards partisan influence as six of nine seats would now be controlled by politicians. They say appointment of judges could descent into chaos and horse-trading and could bring more ideologically extreme justices to the Supreme Court. In a country without a formal constitution, where the judiciary serves as a check on executive power, such changes could weaken democratic oversight. This law has one purposeto make judges subservient to politicians, said an opposition statement, highlighting the timing of its enactment as 59 hostages remain in Gaza. Yesh Atid, a centrist political party, and the Movement for Quality of Government have already petitioned the Supreme Court against the legislation. The judicial reforms are part of a broader pattern of actions by Netanyahu that critics view as clear indications of an authoritarian streak. Last week, the prime minister dismissed Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet security service, citing a loss of trust amid investigations into possible Qatari interference in his office. Days later, the government moved to oust Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, a frequent adversary who oversees the ongoing corruption trial against Netanyahu. These steps, combined with the judicial overhaul, have fuelled accusations that the coalition is overwhelming a distracted general public to enact sweeping changes, basically using the war to reshape Israeli democracy. The protests outside the Knesset last night point towards a nation split down the middle. While some rallied against the legislation, others focused the hostage crisis, their signs pleading for a deal with Hamas. This division shows how the Gaza war has sapped the energy of the civil society, once directed at resisting the judicial overhaul. It seems to have given Netanyahu a chance to press forward with less resistance than in 2023. Netanyahus rhetoric, echoing Trumps attacks on a deep state, resonates with his base but alienates others who see the judiciary as a bulwark against authoritarian drift. The laws may not go as far as Levins original vision of absolute control, but by lowering the bar for Supreme Court appointments and amplifying political influence, they shift Israels delicate balance of power. Iran has formally responded to a letter from US President Donald Trump on fresh negotiations to resolve the nuclear crisis. While making an offer for peace, however, Trump also issued a two-month notice, threatening military action if no deal was reached within the time frame. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed on Thursday that Iran gave its written reply via Oman, the Gulf state that is acting as an intermediary. Oman has reportedly briefed the US on Irans position and will soon transmit the letter to the White House. While exact details of the Iranian response remain a secret, Tehran has indicated its willingness to continue indirect back-channel diplomacy to defuse the crisis. Trumps letter to Irans 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was sent three weeks ago through the United Arab Emirates. The White House envoy, Steve Witkoff, passed it on to UAE authorities. Emirati diplomat Anwar Gargash delivered it to Araghchi in Tehran on March 12. In the letter, Trump pressed Iran to negotiate directly, a demand Araghchi rejected, citing the ongoing "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions and military threats against his country. Iran remains open to indirect talks, a method used previously. "Our policy remains unchanged: no direct negotiations under pressure, but indirect discussions can proceed," Araghchi said at a press conference, according to Irans IRNA news agency. Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Khamenei, also suggested that Tehran had not entirely ruled out talks. "We are prepared for indirect negotiations to assess the US, present our conditions, and decide accordingly," he told state media yesterday. Tensions, meanwhile, have escalated as the US recently deployed three B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, a British-owned base in the Indian Ocean. The B-2s, known as ghosts of the sky, can outwit even advanced radars and other detection systems and strike with surgical precision. They can perform intercontinental missions without refuelling, and Diego Garcia is a lot closer to the Middle East than their operational base in Missouri. An American official described the move as tied to Trumps deadline, noting the bombers capacity to deploy bunker-busting bombs capable of targeting Irans underground nuclear sites. The US Strategic Command, however, framed the deployment as routine, aimed at deterring and, if needed, countering strategic threats to the US and its allies. Trump first revealed his outreach to Khamenei during a television interview three weeks ago. "Were in the final moments with Iran," he warned. "Id prefer a peace deal, but the alternative will resolve it." Since exiting the 2015 nuclear accord in 2018 a deal curbing Irans nuclear activities for sanctions reliefTrump has intensified sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports Iran has since stockpiled enough fissile material for several bombs, though Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is intended solely for energy purposes. Clearly, Trump sees an opening. With all major Iranian proxies, such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis under maximum pressure and the Iranian economy in free fall, the White House thinks there could be an opportunity to either persuade or coerce Iran into a nuclear deal. But the Iranians are savvy negotiators and Khamenei cannot afford to be seen as making major concessions to the great satan. The ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada has upended Canadian politics like never before. And it seems to have handed the Liberal Party a lifeline. US President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on auto imports. Earlier, he placed 25 per cent tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminium and is threatening tariffs on all Canadian products on April 2. With Trump declaring a trade war on Canada and calling for the country to become the 51st US state, the Canadians seem to have rallied behind new PM Mark Carney. The former central banker replaced Justin Trudeau as Canada's leader and the head of the Liberal Party earlier this month. The popularity of the Liberals, who were looking down the barrel electorally, has soared after Trump kicked off the trade war and challenged Canadas sovereignty. "The relationship Canada had with the United States is over." - Mark Carney I just want to say, that as an American, I stand with my Canadian brothers and sisters today, tomorrow, and forever. pic.twitter.com/2Gem6IFoQW Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) March 27, 2025 With Carney taking a strong stance against the US amid the trade war, experts say that people are looking up to him to steer the nation to safety in these troubled times. Incidentally, Carney will be embarking on a five-week campaign after calling an early election on April 28. He has urged the Canadians for a clear and strong mandate given "the biggest crisis in our lifetimes". Clear that US is no longer a reliable partner: Canadian PM Mark Carney Amid the ongoing trade war between the US and Canada, Carney said that the United States is no longer a reliable partner and that Canada will need to dramatically reduce reliance on its neighbour. "It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that, with comprehensive negotiations, we will be able to restore some trust, but there will be no turning back. We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere." Carney said that Canada will respond if Trump imposes the new auto tariffs, with its own trade actions, but did not elaborate. Trump had earlier announced 25 per cent tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminium and is threatening tariffs on all Canadian products (and on other trading allies) on April 2. Carney, who has not spoken to Trump since becoming Canada's new PM, said the US president reached out on Wednesday night to schedule a call. He said that he would speak with Trump soon, but added that the latter has to respect Canada's sovereignty. Canada, along with Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Germany are the biggest suppliers of automotive imports to the US. Vehicles are the second-largest Canadian export by value, after oil, of which more than 90 per cent is exported to the US. Also, more than 75 per cent of Canada's exports go to the US. At least 144 people have been killed and over 700 injured as a powerful earthquake of 7.7 magnitude struck Myanmar and Thailand on Friday. The earthquake brought down several high-rise buildings leaving many trapped underneath. The death toll is expected to rise as the rescue operations continue in the quake-hit areas. The US government's predictive analysis estimated there could be thousands of deaths. Also read | Scores trapped under buildings as 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocks Thailand, Myanmar A Chinese national in Myanmar witnessed several buildings collapse during the 7.9 magnitude earthquake. Local residents are setting up supplies on the streets to aid each other.#Myanmar #earthquake #earthquakemyanmar #Myanmarquake #myanmarearthquake https://t.co/Mp1czmo8j5 pic.twitter.com/V9yzb7SDqZ Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) March 28, 2025 Myanmars ruling military general Min Aung Hlaing has invited "any country" to provide help and donations. WATCH: Large surface rupture after 7.7-magnitude earthquake hits Myanmar pic.twitter.com/39CiRAvTIW BNO News Live (@BNODesk) March 28, 2025 According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake had a depth of 10 km, with its epicentre located about 17.2 km from Myanmars second-largest city, Mandalay. Dashcam footage captured the shocking moment an under construction skyscraper collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, after a deadly earthquake struck neighboring Myanmar. Read more: https://t.co/FRew92yLEn pic.twitter.com/V6RjJXcQYL ABC News (@ABC) March 28, 2025 In Thailand, three people were killed when a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed. Search operations are underway to find another 81 trapped under the rubble. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra declared a state of emergency in Bangkok. However, the full extent of the destruction remains unclear. Bangkoks governor Chadchart Sittipunt ordered the immediate establishment of an earthquake response command centre and instructed all districts and hospitals to assess damages. Police officers were deployed to evacuate people from unsafe buildings and manage traffic. Public infrastructure has been damaged including roads, bridges and public buildings. We currently have concerns for large-scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them, Marie Manrique, programme coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross said to reporters in Geneva. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is readying medical supplies and said it had triggered its emergency management system in response to the earthquake. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday the 27-country bloc stood ready to help. France also echoed the offer of support. A powerful earthquake of 7.7 magnitude hit Thailand and Myanmar on Friday, killing at least three in Bangkok and trapping over 90 after a building collapsed in Thailand's capital. The death toll is likely to go up as rescue operations ongoing. Several high-rise buildings collapsed in the jolt. A state of emergency was declared in six regions and states including the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay. Earthquake sum up 3pm (Mynamar/Thailand) - 7.7 quake hit near Mandalay/Myanmar - Hundreds of homes collapsed (various Myanmar cities) - Strong shocks in Thailand + multiple building collapse in Bangkok - USGS predicts thousands of people dead (Bangkok clips from social media:) pic.twitter.com/kJodTn6BIg Florian Witulski (@vaitor) March 28, 2025 Adding to the challenges of the rescue teams, power lines were also hit. In Bangkok, a construction worker was killed when rubble from the building site collapsed and hit his truck and another was crushed by falling debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters. Thailand's defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai said 90 people were missing and three were confirmed dead at the site when the construction building collapsed. Devastation across the city of Mandalay in Myanmar, as a result of todays 7.7 magnitude earthquake, with dozens of buildings having collapsed as well as the Ava Bridge over the Irrawaddy River. pic.twitter.com/8YE8KsxXws OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 28, 2025 Rescue workers say the rubble is still too unstable for them to try and find people possibly trapped beneath. A dramatic video of the building's collapse near Bangkok's popular Chatuchak market circulated on social media. It showed the multi-story building with a crane on top toppling into a cloud of dust while onlookers screamed and ran. Elsewhere, people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings and were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more aftershocks. The US Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ Center for Geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), according to preliminary reports. Bridges collapse in Myanmar In Mandalay, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings. In the Sagaing region, just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, were also damaged. In Naypyitaw, the earthquake damaged religious shrines and homes. The earthquake was also felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China. According to Chinese media, damages were reported to houses. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake. Panic and chaos The sound of sirens echoed throughout central Bangkok and vehicles filled the street. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people. Recalling the horror, Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland said that all of a sudden the buildings began to move. "Immediately there was panic and a lot of screaming...Hundreds of people poured into Benjasiri Park from nearby shopping malls, high rises and apartment buildings," he said. Challenging the legitimacy of the government, Russian President Vladimir Putin on late Thursday floated the idea that Ukraine should temporarily be placed under UN control to elect a more "competent" government. Putin added that the Russian forces have a "strategic initiative" on the front line in Ukraine and suggested the idea of establishing a "transitional" government in Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Ukraine be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections and the signature of key accords to reach a settlement in the war, Russian news agencies reported https://t.co/lSXPVWHIva pic.twitter.com/n0QgD8KGaF Reuters (@Reuters) March 28, 2025 On the other hand, Ukraine accused Putin of proposing "crazy" ideas to delay further movement towards a peace deal. "There are reasons to believe that we will finish them off," said Putin during his visit in the northern city of Murmansk. "We could, of course, discuss with the United States, even with European countries, and of course with our partners and friends, under the auspices of the UN, the possibility of establishing a transitional administration in Ukraine," he added. Putin's remark comes as the US is stepping up its mediation efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Both the countries agreeing to a Black Sea ceasefire after discussions with the US delegates in Saudi Arabia is seen as the first step towards peace. Putin said that Zelenskyy has stayed in power beyond the end of his term and is therefore not a valid negotiating partner. Under the present circumstances in Kyiv, with more than five million people displaced overseas, it would be almost impossible to hold elections in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump has also earlier questioned the legitimacy of the government and called for elections to replace Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak accused Russia of finding ways to stall the peace talks. Meanwhile, the European leaders and the Ukrainian president met in Paris for the 'council of willing' summit aimed at coordinating policy on the war on Thursday. President Emmanuel Macron said after the summit that France and the UK were putting forth plans for a "reassurance force" in Ukraine after there is an end to the fighting. New Delhi [India], March 27: In the wake of our Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's recent visit to Mauritius, the arrival of the PHDCCI First Business Delegation to the island represents a significant milestone for both India and Mauritius.During this visit, held from March 23 to 26, 2025, the delegation had a productive meeting with His Excellency Mr. Anil Kumar Bachoo, the Honble Minister of Health of Mauritius. This collaboration marks a pivotal moment in fostering healthcare partnerships and exploring new avenues for growth and innovation between the two nations. H.E. Mr. Anil Kumar Bachoo, Minister of Health, Government of Mauritius welcomed the delegates and thanked PHDCCI for organising the visit. He highlighted the strengthening bilateral cooperation in areas such as maritime security, trade and economic collaboration, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), oceanographic research, financial intelligence, digital health and traditional medicine, space research and artificial intelligence, and cultural and spiritual connectivity. The Honble Minister discussed the importance of advanced training sessions for doctors, the enhancement of cancer hospital facilities, and the strengthening of healthcare infrastructure as key pillars of development for both India and Mauritius. He emphasized the need for collaborative initiatives between the two nations to drive overall growth in the healthcare sector, ensuring improved medical expertise, better patient care, and a more resilient healthcare system. Mr. Dalip Chopra, Co-Chair, International Affairs Committee for Africa, PHDCCI, thanked the Honble minister for the meeting and apprised him of PHDCCIs activities and ongoing efforts toward development. He highlighted the advancements in India-Mauritius relations and emphasized the need for greater collaboration in the healthcare sector, particularly in leveraging AI technologies, telemedicine, and digital health solutions to enhance patient care. He also stressed the importance of joint research initiatives in oncology and cancer care, facilitating knowledge exchange between medical professionals of both nations. Furthermore, he encouraged investments in health infrastructure, pharmaceutical manufacturing, AYUSH, and holistic wellness programs, strengthening Mauritius' position as a regional healthcare hub. The Delegation had a very fruitful discussion with the Honble Minister on the areas of possible cooperation in the Healthcare sector. The meeting was moderated by Mr. Abhishek Banwara, Senior Secretary (International Affairs), PHDCCI. The Delegation had several fruitful interactions with Mr Vimarsh Aryan, Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission of India, Mr. Sawan Singh Purmessur, Acting Senior Chief Executive, Ministry of Health, CEO and key Officials of Economic Development Board, Victoria Hospital and New Cancer Center, Members of Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and Hindu Business Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Professionals, Indian Business Council. The delegation features Mr. Dalip Chopra, Leader of the Delegation & Co-Chair, International Affairs Committee for Africa, PHDCCI, Vaidya(Dr) Piyush Juneja, Founder, AyuQuo.com & Indianvaidyas.com, Dr Davy Jindal, AVP, Growth & Strategy, CK Birla Hospitals, Dr. Rasvinder Kaur Anand, General Manager - International Business and Projects, KIMS Hospitals. Mr. Dheeraj Kumar, Senior Manager International Business, Shalby Sanar International Hospitals. Mr. Vivaan Aggarwal, Director, Shinon Healthcare pte. ltd. Mr. Abhishek Banwara, Senior Secretary (International Affairs), PHDCCI. (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR PWR Erdogan says Turkiye ready to become platform for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia Turkiye is ready to provide any support in achieving sustainable peace in Ukraine, including organizing peace talks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin on Friday. Erdogan called the steps to ensure the safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea a step forward in the peace process and said Turkiye would continue its efforts to prevent the Black Sea from "turning into a conflict zone," Anadolu Agency reported. Rome, Mar 28 (AP) Italy's far-right-led government on Friday approved a decree that expands the use of Albanian fast-track asylum processing centres to include repatriation hubs, in line with a recent EU proposal. Under the new decree, the two centres in Albania originally aimed at processing non-vulnerable migrants rescued in international waters will now also house migrants who arrived in Italy, had their asylum request rejected and received a deportation order. The Albanian centres have remained substantially inactive since their opening in October, due to legal hurdles and amid wide opposition from human rights associations, who believe they violate international laws and put migrants' rights at risk. The project which has cost nearly 800 million euros over a five-year investment has been a disappointment for the conservative government led by Premier Giorgia Meloni. After longer than expected construction work, the first three groups of migrants transferred there in October, November and January were sent back to Italy only a few hours later, after Italian magistrates refused to validate their detention in the non-EU country. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Friday in a news conference that the new decree didn't change the bulk of the agreement with Albania, but added new functions for the centres. The decree changes the law that ratifies the protocol with Albania, but doesn't change its content, making it possible to transfer to the already existing (repatriation) centre of Gjader also migrants coming from Italy, Piantedosi explained. That would allow us to immediately reactivate that centre so that it won't lose its functions, he added. The Italian move, which offers Meloni a new opportunity to relaunch the costly Albanian centres, follows a European Commission proposal unveiled in March to open new return hubs to be set up in third countries for rejected asylum-seekers. Only 20 per cent of people with a deportation order are effectively removed from EU territory, according to the European Commission, which presented the European System for Returns as a potential solution. The proposal aims to set a standard for all 27 members of the bloc and allow national authorities from one country to enforce the deportation order issued by another. Such rules were missing from the EU's migration and asylum pact approved last year. The Italian government is also waiting for a ruling by the European Court of Justice, expected this summer, which could enable the Albanian centres to operate as originally intended. (AP) GRS GRS Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and ranking member Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) have formally requested that the Department of Defense investigate a high-profile security breach involving a Signal group chat where top U.S. officials allegedly discussed airstrikes in Yemen. The request follows the bombshell report by The Atlantics editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, who revealed that he was inadvertently added to the chat by Trump National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. According to Goldberg, the group included members of the principals committeeleaders of the nations top national security agenciesopenly discussing plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen. In a letter released Thursday, Wicker and Reed expressed deep concerns over the disclosure of sensitive and classified information in a chat where a journalist was unknowingly included. The senators called for a full Pentagon inquiry into how such a lapse occurred and what measures need to be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. Trump officials, caught in the controversy, have offered conflicting explanations. In both congressional testimony and televised interviews, they have insisted that no classified information was shared, sought to reframe the discussion as attack plans rather than war plans, and launched attacks on Goldbergs credibility. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) The head of the Federal Aviation Administration told Congress during a hearing Thursday about a midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people that the agency must do more to ensure flying remains safe. The FAAs artificial intelligence-led review aimed at identifying safety threats at other airports with similar helicopter-airplane congestion should be finished in a couple weeks, said Chris Rocheleau, the agencys acting administrator. During the hearing, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board and members of Congress again questioned how the FAA hadnt noticed an alarming number of close calls near Ronald Reagan National Airport and addressed the problem before the January collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner. The collision over the Potomac River was the nations deadliest plane crash since November 2001. We have to do better, Rocheleau said. We have to identify trends, we have to get smarter about how we use data, and when we put corrective actions in place, we must execute them. The FAA is using AI to dig into the millions of reports it collects to assess other places with busy helicopter traffic including: Boston, New York, Baltimore-Washington, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and along the Gulf Coast. Investigators have highlighted 85 close calls around Reagan airport in the three years before the crash that should have signaled a growing safety problem. Rocheleau told the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation that every close call is investigated and the data was reviewed before, but this alarming trend was missed. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said there clearly was an issue with identifying trends in the data the FAA collects. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he learned that the Secret Service and U.S. Navy triggered a rash of collision alarms in planes around Reagan Airport on March 1 while testing anti-drone technology that used a similar frequency to the one used by planes warning systems. Cruz said that happened despite a warning from the FAA against doing it. This is deeply disturbing that just a month after 67 people died while on approach to DCA (Reagan Airport), that the Secret Service and Pentagon would inadvertently cause multiple flights to receive urgent cockpit alerts recommending evasive action, Cruz said. Helicopter traffic around Reagan National has been restricted since January any time planes use the same runway the American Airlines plane that crashed was approaching when it collided with the helicopter. At the NTSBs urging, the FAA permanently banned that particular helicopter route under most circumstances. If a helicopter does use the route, planes are prohibited from taking off or landing on that runway. The U.S. Armys head of aviation Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman acknowledged that helicopters are still flying over the nations capital with a key system broadcasting their locations turned off during missions. The ADS-B out data is designed to let air traffic controllers track a helicopters location. Cruz said this is shocking and unacceptable. The Army says the helicopters highest-priority mission is evacuating top government officials in the event of an attack. Braman said the military has changed its policies governing when aircraft must transmit their location, but many helicopters still fly without the system on. There were exceptions in the airspace above Washington that allowed Army and other government aircraft to fly without transmitting, or fly in a mode that allowed less information to be transmitted to avoid broadcasting potentially sensitive missions to the public. Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell highlighted a letter from the Department of Homeland Security saying that all Customs and Border Protection flights in the region were also covered by the exceptions. Rocheleau said FAA plans to now require all aircraft flying immediately around Reagan National to broadcast their locations. But Homendy said it is also important to inspect that equipment to make sure it actually works. Braman also said the policies governing those different transmission modes and the level of seniority needed in the Army to waive the transmissions has since been elevated. (AP) U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem landed in Colombia on Thursday as part of a tour of three Latin American nations to discuss immigration, crime and deportation. Her trip comes amid a souring in relations between the Trump administration and the Colombian government long the United States closest ally in the region. Tensions between the two countries rose in January over accepting flights of immigrants deported from the U.S. Noem sat down with the countrys foreign minister Thursday morning, and is set to meet with Colombias leftist leader and police to discuss efforts to fight organized crime later. Following the morning meeting, Noem said she had a frank discussion and a candid discussion with Colombian Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia, about deportations, crime and immigration. Were committed to working hand-in-hand with our Colombian partners to enhance not only border security but also that we will support the enforcement of our criminal laws, Noem said. Sarabia also emphasized the importance of recognizing the human rights and dignity of migrants are actually respected. The two leaders also signed an agreement that would expand the sharing of biometric data for law enforcement. Petro and U.S. President Donald Trump, both populists, share diametrically opposed views over key issues like combatting crime and the American governments role in Latin America. The visit marks a contrast to Noems Wednesday visit to El Salvador, where she met with President Nayib Bukele, a populist who has gained right-wing admiration in the U.S. due to his crackdown on gangs. Noem also visited the countrys massive prison complex for alleged gang members, where hundreds of Venezuelans deported by the U.S. government are being held under allegations that they were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, despite little evidence presented by the Trump administration. These deportations are being challenged in court. On Friday, Noem is set to visit Mexico and meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum as her government has worked tirelessly to negotiate with the Trump administration to offset the Trumps tariff threats. Despite efforts by Sheinbaum, Trump announced a 25% tariff on auto imports on Wednesday. (AP) An appeals court in California has refused to halt a judges order requiring the Trump administration to rehire thousands of federal workers who were let go in mass firings. A split 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel turned back an emergency motion late Wednesday to pause the order from U.S. District Judge William Alsup in a case brought by labor unions and nonprofits as Republican President Donald Trump moves to dramatically downsize the federal workforce. Alsup is one of two judges who found legal problems with the way the firings of probationary workers were carried out. Two of the three judges on the panel ruled against the request for an emergency stay. The dissenting judge said the government had a strong argument against reinstating the workers. The government has appealed Alsups order to the Supreme Court, arguing that judges cannot micromanage federal worker policies or force the rehiring of more than 16,000 workers. A response is due by April 3. Alsup ordered six departments to immediately offer job reinstatement to employees terminated on in mid-February: the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and Treasury. The judge, who was nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton, said the firings were an attempt by the administration to sidestep laws and regulations governing a reduction in workforce by going after probationary workers, who have fewer protections. Alsup said he was appalled that employees were told they were being fired for poor performance despite receiving glowing evaluations just months earlier. Probationary workers have been targeted for layoffs across the federal government because they are usually new to the job and lack full civil service protection. Lawsuits over the firings are among the many faced by the administration. More than three dozen rulings have at least temporarily slowed Trumps second-term agenda. Within hours of Alsups ruling, a judge in Baltimore found separate legal problems with the handling of the firings. In a lawsuit brought by nearly two dozen states affected by the layoffs, U.S. District Judge James Bredar said the administration did not follow laws set out for large-scale layoffs. That case involved a wider range of agencies, and the plaintiffs estimate about 24,000 probationary workers are affected. The administration contends that states have no right to try to influence the federal governments relationship with its own workers. Justice Department lawyers argued that the firings were for performance issues and are not the large-scale layoffs subject to specific regulations. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cast it as an attempt to encroach on the presidents power to hire and fire employees. There are an estimated 200,000 probationary workers across federal agencies. They include entry-level employees but also workers who recently received a promotion. Leavitt is one of three Trump administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First and Fifth Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. (AP) President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was pulling Rep. Elise Stefaniks nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a stunning turnaround for his Cabinet pick after her confirmation had been stalled for months over concerns about Republicans tight margins in the House. Trump confirmed he was withdrawing the New York Republicans nomination in a Truth Social post, saying that it was essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress. We must be unified to accomplish our Mission, and Elise Stefanik has been a vital part of our efforts from the very beginning. I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress, the president said. He did not say whom he would nominate to replace her and fill his last remaining Cabinet seat. The abrupt withdrawal reflects growing concern among House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, that their historically slim majority could be at risk, particularly ahead of two special elections in Florida next week. The loss of a mere handful of seats could swing the House majority to Democrats and derail their efforts to enact Trumps sweeping agenda in the months ahead. Johnson praised Stefanik, the former No. 4 House leader, as selfless and patriotic after Trump announced the move. It is well known Republicans have a razor-thin House majority, and Elises agreement to withdraw her nomination will allow us to keep one of the toughest, most resolute members of our Conference in place to help drive forward President Trumps America First policies, Johnson said in a post on X. He added that he will invite her to return to the leadership table immediately, although its unclear what position she would take since there are no vacancies. Stefaniks office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump had tapped Stefanik to represent the U.S. at the international body shortly after winning reelection in November. She was seen as among the least controversial Cabinet picks, and her nomination advanced out of committee in late January, but House Republicans razor-thin majority kept her ultimate confirmation in a state of purgatory for the last several months. In recent weeks, it had seemed as if Stefaniks nomination would advance to the Senate floor, given two U.S. House special elections in Florida in districts that Trump easily won in 2024. Filling those vacant GOP seats would have allowed Stefanik to finally resign from the House and given Republicans, who currently hold 218 seats, a little more breathing room on passing legislation in a growingly divided Congress. Democrats hold 213 seats. Both districts have long been Republican strongholds, and a win by either Democratic candidate would be a major surprise, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic leaders are looking to at least narrow the margin from November, when Trump carried both districts in the presidential election by more than 30 points. That, coupled with Democrats upset in a Tuesday special election for a Pennsylvania state Senate seat in Republican-leaning suburbs and farming communities, has given Republicans pause and pushed some members into full panic mode, according to one congressional aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal concerns. Trumps statement Thursday also seemed to indicate an anxiety about the partys ability to hold on to Stefaniks seat if she were to take on the U.N. post, even though the sprawling district in northern New York is one of the states most conservative and is considered to be solid Republican territory. Stefanik herself cruised to reelection last year, winning 62% of the vote over her Democratic opponent. Almost all of the counties in her district voted for Trump last year. In a statement, Jeffries, D-N.Y., said that Trump withdrew Stefaniks nomination because the extremists are afraid they will lose the special election to replace her. The Republican agenda is extremely unpopular, they are crashing the economy in real time and House Republicans are running scared, Jeffries continued. What happened to their so-called mandate? Stefanik is the fourth Trump administration nominee who didnt make it through the confirmation process. Previously, former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration for attorney general, Chad Chronister was pulled for the Drug Enforcement Administration and former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon was yanked from contention to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The former congresswoman had been in a state of limbo for months, not able to engage in her official duties as a member of the 119th Congress or to participate in the action at the U.N. The vacancy of a permanent U.S. ambassador was happening at a critical moment for the international body as the world leaders had been discussing the two major wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas. In late February, the U.S. mission, under Trump, split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three U.N. resolutions seeking an end to the three-year war. Dorothy Shea, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., has been the face of Americas mission in New York during the transition. The withdrawal of Stefaniks nomination came after she had launched a recent farewell tour of her district, meeting with supporters and thanking them for their support. On her Instagram page, Stefanik had also been conducting what appeared to be a retrospective of her time in Congress, with one post containing images from 2016 that showed her on a cable news show and posing with supporters atop a caption that began with Congressional throwback continued. Reflecting the abruptness of Trumps decision, Stefaniks last throwback post was made Thursday morning. (AP) The United States has deployed between five and seven B-2 Spirit Long-Range Strategic Stealth Bombers to the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, a mere 2,000 miles from Irans doorstep. The bombers, launched from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, arrived under a shroud of secrecy, their sleek, bat-like silhouettes slicing through the skies as a silent warning to Tehran. According to a U.S. official who spoke to Axios on condition of anonymity, this escalation is not disconnected from President Donald Trumps recent ultimatum to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameneia stark two-month deadline that has set the world on edge. The deployment marks a dramatic escalation in an already volatile standoff between Washington and Tehran, reigniting fears of a military confrontation that could plunge the Middle East into chaos. The B-2 bombers, capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear payloads, are among the most advanced and elusive weapons in the U.S. arsenal, designed to penetrate deep into enemy territory undetected. Their presence so close to Iran sends an unmistakable message: the clock is ticking. Two months ago, President Trump, in a fiery address from the White House, issued a rare public ultimatum to Khamenei, demanding that Iran dismantle its alleged nuclear weapons program and cease its support for proxy militias across the regionor face unspecified consequences. The deadline, set to expire in late May, has been met with defiant rhetoric from Tehran, with Khamenei vowing that Iran will not bow to American arrogance. Now, with the B-2s positioned within striking distance, the specter of those consequences looms larger than ever. Pentagon officials have remained tight-lipped about the deployment, offering only vague assurances that it is part of routine operations to ensure stability in the region. But the unnamed officials comments to Axios paint a far more ominous picture, suggesting that the bombers arrival is a calculated step in Trumps high-stakes gambit. This isnt a coincidence, the official said. The pieces are moving, and Iran knows it. Diego Garcia, a heavily fortified U.S. military outpost surrounded by turquoise waters and coral reefs, has long served as a strategic launchpad for operations in the Middle East and Asia. Its proximity to Iranjust a few hours flight time for the B-2splaces Tehran within easy reach of Americas most lethal airborne assets. Military analysts speculate that the deployment could be a prelude to airstrikes targeting Irans nuclear facilities, a move that hawks in Trumps administration have openly advocated for years. The Iranian response has been swift and furious. State television aired footage of military drills near the Persian Gulf, with commanders vowing to crush any aggressor that dares to violate Iranian sovereignty. Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Khamenei took to the airwaves, his voice trembling with resolve as he declared, The Great Satan will taste the fire of our resistance if it steps out of line. On the international stage, the deployment has sparked a firestorm of reactions. Russia and China, both allies of Iran, condemned the move as reckless provocation, while European leaders urged restraint, warning that a miscalculation could ignite a broader conflict. Oil markets, ever sensitive to Middle Eastern tremors, shuddered as prices spiked 8% overnight, reflecting fears of disrupted supply lines in the Strait of Hormuz. Back in Washington, Trump has remained uncharacteristically silent on the matter, leaving observers to parse his intentions. Is this a show of force meant to bend Iran to his will, or the opening act of a war no one can predict the end of? (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Friday to put Ukraine under external governance under the U.N. aegis as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement, a blustery statement that reflected the Kremlin leaders determination to achieve his war goals. Speaking to the crew of a Russian nuclear submarine in televised remarks broadcast early Friday, Putin reaffirmed his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal. Under Ukraines constitution it is illegal for the country to hold national elections while its under martial law. Putin claimed that any agreement that is signed with the current Ukrainian government could be challenged by its successors and said new elections could be held under external governance. Under the auspices of the United Nations, with the United States, even with European countries, and, of course, with our partners and friends, we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine, Putin said, adding that it would allow the country to hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the trust of the people, and then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty. He added that such external governance is just one of the options, without elaborating. Theyre playing for time Putins remarks came hours after the conclusion of a summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron that considered plans to deploy troops to Ukraine to cement an eventual peace deal. Macron said several other nations want to be part of the force alongside France and Britain. Russia has warned it wouldnt accept any troops from NATO members as part of a prospective peacekeeping force. Macron and other participants of the Paris summit on Thursday accused Russia of only pretending to want a negotiated settlement. They are playing games and theyre playing for time, said U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. We cant let them drag this out while they continue prosecuting their illegal invasion. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a tentative U.S-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, but quickly accused each other of violations, underscoring the challenges to negotiating a broader peace. Drone attacks continue Russia launched 163 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine late Thursday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said that 89 of them were downed and 51 more jammed. The drones damaged multiple residential buildings and injured a 19-year-old in Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said. In Poltava, drones damaged warehouses, administrative building, and a high-voltage transformer, according to regional head Volodymyr Kohut. Damage to buildings and infrastructure facilities was also reported by the authorities in the Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions. Ukraines state-run gas company, Naftogaz, said Friday that its facilities came under Russian fire without specifying its time and location. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian forces struck a gas metering station in Sudzha in the Kursk region with U.S.-made HIMARS rockets, completely destroying the facility. It said another Ukrainian strike on an energy facility in Russias Bryansk region led to a power cutoff, and added that air defenses downed 19 Ukrainian drones that attempted to strike an oil refinery in Saratov. The ministry said the continuing strikes show that Kyivs pledge of adherence to a U.S.-proposed halt on strikes on energy facilities was just another ruse by Zelenskyy to prevent the collapse of Ukrainian defenses and to restore military potential with the help of European allies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy assets was a sign that Zelenskyy cant control his military. The Ukrainian armed forces arent following orders from the countrys leadership and are continuing attempts to strike Russias energy infrastructure, Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. He said that Russia will continue sticking to the halt on strikes on energy facilities but reserves the right to opt out of the deal if violations continue. Strictly adhering to agreements Ukraines military rejected Russias claims of Ukrainian strikes on energy facilities as fake, aimed at discrediting Ukraine and the diplomatic efforts of Ukraine and its partners. We emphasize that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are strictly adhering to the agreements reached with partners to stop strikes on energy facilities, the General Staff said, emphasizing that the military only has struck Russias military targets. It also accused Russia of violating the energy ceasefire, saying that it has struck energy infrastructure in the city of Kherson and Poltava region of Ukraine over the last 24 hours. The Russian tactic of dragging out the war remains unchanged, Ukraines General Staff said. While Ukraine has agreed to a full, 30-day ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed, Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraines military mobilization demands rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies. Russias battlefield gains Russian troops have made slow but steady gains in several sectors of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 620-mile) frontline, and Zelenskyy warned Thursday that Russia was trying to drag out talks in preparation for bigger offensives. Putin declared in overnight remarks that the Russian troops have gained steam and are holding strategic initiative all along the line of contact. He noted that Russia is open to a peaceful settlement, but emphasized the need to remove root causes that led to the current situation. We certainly need to ensure Russias security for a long historic perspective, he said. Ukraines Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War of Ukraine said on Friday that it has repatriated the bodies of 909 Ukrainian soldiers, the largest one-time number since the start of the invasion. Russian war bloggers said that Ukraine has handed the bodies of 43 Russian soldiers in return. Putin has demanded that Kyiv withdraw its forces from the four regions Moscow has partially seized. He also wants Ukraine to renounce joining NATO, sharply cut its army and legally protect the Russian language and culture to keep the country in Moscows orbit. Russian officials also have said that any prospective peace deal should involve unfreezing Russian assets in the West and lifting other U.S. and European Union sanctions. The Trump administration has said it would consider potential sanctions relief. (AP) A Palestinian Authority Arab living in Israel illegally who is suspected of involvement in the bus bombing attempts in Bat Yam last month was arrested several days later at a branch of the Golda ice cream chain in Bat Yam, Israel Police revealed on Thursday. The suspect was working at the store illegally, without a work permit, and was unsupervised, Ynet reported. His employer paid him in cash. According to court documents, officers went to the store four days after the attack and found the terrorist alone at the scene. Police said that it wasnt the first time the franchise owner had employed illegal Palestinians and had previously been questioned over similar violations. The respondent employed an illegal resident and provided him with a substantial source of income, despite the fact that he poses a clear threat to national security and is currently under administrative detention, Sargrof wrote in the request on Thursday to the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court to extend the closure order on the franchise. The respondent acted illegally, driven by cynical economic motives and blatant disregard for the public interest, especially at a time when the State of Israel is fighting for its existence. The court granted the request and extended the closure on the ice cream franchise. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) The Danish government has decided to allocate DKK 300 million (almost EUR 40 million) to an innovation fund that will support Ukraine's growing need for rapid technological development on the battlefield, the press service of the Danish Ministry of Defense reported. "The government has decided to allocate EUR 300 million to an innovation pool that will support Ukraine's growing need for rapid technological development on the battlefield," the Defense Ministry said on its website. Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen held consultations with the Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, which supported the allocation of DKK 300 million to an innovation fund to support Ukraine. The innovation fund will reportedly focus, among other things, on technology areas related to electronic warfare and drones, where technologies are evolving rapidly and where new technological solutions have a significant impact on the battlefield. "There is no doubt that Ukraine has a great need to counter the massive pressure it is experiencing on the frontline from Russian troops. Developing new technological solutions on the battlefield is one way in which Ukrainians can counterbalance the Russian advantage, and the funds from the innovation pool will help to do this. It is important that we continue to support Ukraine so that it can continue its fight for freedom," said the Defense Minister. British Business and Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds faced a heated disruption at a think tank event in London as pro-Palestinian activists stormed the stage, demanding an end to UK arms sales to Israel. The incident occurred at Chatham House, where Reynolds was set to speak on trade policy before being interrupted by protesters accusing the British government of complicity in war crimes. London for a Free Palestine, one of the groups organizing a demonstration outside the event, claimed responsibility for the on-stage protest, stating it was part of ongoing efforts to pressure the UK government into halting all arms exports to Israel, particularly components for F-35 fighter jets. They have not stopped the trade in F-35s, one protester shouted, while another accused the government of aiding genocide. Reynolds, remaining composed in his seat, responded by stating that Britain has suspended arms exports to Israel. He cited a decision made in September, when the government froze 30 of its 350 arms export licenses to Israel. However, he acknowledged that parts for F-35 jets were largely exempt from the suspension, as restricting those exports would disrupt the aircrafts global supply chain. We havent suspended F-35s because theyre integral to our national security and particularly the defense of Ukraine, Reynolds told the protesters. Following the protest, Reynolds reiterated to the audience that the exemption had been publicly disclosed in Parliament. He defended the governments stance, saying, Specifically on arms exports, we have a very stringent regime which we have applied as a government, and that has led to restrictions, particularly in relation to arms exports to Israel. Your browser does not support the video tag. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Israeli Ambassador to the US, Dr. Yechiel Leiter, revealed this week that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahus unusual flight path during his visit to Washington last month stemmed from fears of delay or arrest following the international arrest warrant issued against him by The Hague. Leiter explained that Netanyahu had to avoid flying over Europe, which significantly lengthened the flight time. When Netanyahu came here last month, he flew 13 and a half hours instead of 12, Leiter said in an interview published on Ynet. The public is not aware of this, but the reason is that he could not land in any country in Europe. Leiter explained further that Netanyahu underwent surgery shortly before the flight and was accompanied by two doctors in case emergency medical treatment was required. If he had to make an emergency landing in Europe, he would risk being arrested as a war criminal, Leiter explained. Later in his remarks, Leiter also addressed the fight against anti-Semitism in Europe and said that it was a difficult contradiction: You cannot fight anti-Semitism when the person most identified with the Jewish people the Prime Minister of Israel is marked as a criminal. I told members of the Senate: If you are really fighting anti-Semitism, first remove the mark of Cain from the Prime Ministers forehead. If he is defined as a child murderer, then we are all like that and from here the way to hatred is open. Leiter also referred to the partial arms embargo imposed on Israel by the Biden administration, saying that not only heavy bombs were delayed but billions of dollars worth of weapons that had already been paid for as well. He noted that upon taking office, one of his main goals was to arrange for the release of the weapons a goal that was eventually achieved, he said, after the intervention of former US President Donald Trump. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) A month after their kevurah in southern Eretz Yisroel, a matzeiva has been placed for the kedoshim, Shiri Bibas hyd and her two precious children, Ariel and baby Kfir, Hyd, who were brutally murdered in Hamas captivity. The matzeiva is tinged with an orange hue, a reflection of the striking orange hair of the Bibas children that became a symbol of support and tefillos for the Bibas family throughout their heartbreaking ordeal. The kever bears the names and affectionate nicknames of the beloved mother and the children, along with heartfelt epitaphs expressing the deep love and pain of their loss. Among the inscriptions, an English phrase captures the overwhelming sense of longing: It was you who made living all worthwhile, oh lovin you its the best. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) The following letter was released by R Tzvi Gross, a delegate for Eretz HaKodesh: 26 Adar 5785 March 26, 2025 An Open Letter to all Torah Observant Jews, My name is Tzvi Gross and I registered as a Delegate for Eretz HaKodesh (under my legal name Zachary Gross) for the current World Zionist Organization election. In light of the below Kol Koreh released by the American Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, I have withdrawn my candidacy as a delegate for Eretz HaKodesh. I have not yet voted in the election, and I do not intend to participate in it at this time. Obviously, if circumstances change, the question and response from our Gedolim may change. I joined as a delegate under the impression that the controversy of the last WZO election 5 years ago was resolved and the Gedolim that were in opposition then, have since been given background by EHK leadership of the issues facing Torah Observance in Eretz Yisrael. When I saw that the opposition of prominent Gedolim had not abated, I was surprised. I began a fact-finding mission to understand what the objection is today. It is not my place to opine on the issue, but it seems to me that the disagreement was on the Metzityus and whether Torah Observance was under attack or just Jewish lifestyle conveniences, such as Reform attacks on gender segregated bus routes, an Orthodox managed Kotel, Yeshivos maintaining control over curriculum without strings attached to their Government funding, and the ability to block Kosher phones from dialing LGBT hotlines, etc. Over the last week, I engaged EHK leadership to ask if there were any examples of actual Torah Observance being blocked, but there werent any, just the many important lifestyle conveniences listed above. I do believe that evidence of an actual threat on Torah Observance would merit a new question to the Gedolim and if the concept of VChai Bahem do the mitzvos to live by them (Vayikra 18:5) might apply and allow future participation in the WZO. Regardless of my research, I listened to a recent shiur by R Elya Brudny Shlita, who gave a perspective on how a Ben Torah is to view this Sugya. Our Mesorah is clear based on Rashi (Devarim 17:9) , we follow the Gadol of our times even if he is not as prominent as the Gadol of prior generations. The Gadol Hador of the last decade was R Chaim Kanievsky Ztl, and when he said to vote, I did. Todays Gadol Hador has been identified by the American Moetzes as R Dov Landau Shlita and he has said in a letter printed in the Israeli Yated not to participate this time. The majority of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America now concur and who am I to do if I do otherwise? I appreciate the financial benefit from Torah guided WZO funds and applaud those Tzadikim that wish to protect Observant Jewish life, but in the absence of extenuating circumstances as defined by our Gedolim, I cannot participate in this endeavor in this way. I want to take a moment here to denounce in the strongest terms the domestic terrorism committed by people who harass those that take either position on this matter. Every page of the Gemara has Machlokes, but our Amoraim strove to resolve them peacefully and respectfully. It is abhorrent that publications claiming to service the Torah Community do not denounce this behavior and instead run cowardly anonymous letters that insult anyone and especially Gedolim for having an opinion. I encourage other delegates to seek, and fact-find for themselves and be guided by their Emunas Chachamim, logic, and conscience. May this Machlokes remain Lshem Shamayim and bring us closer to the Torah and the Geula. Respectfully, Tzvi Gross Clifton, NJ (YWN World Headquarters NYC) On Tuesday evening, Luis Har, a 72-year-old Israeli grandfather and one of over 250 hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel, spoke before a crowd of hundreds at the Joan & Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Staten Island in Sea View. Har, originally from Argentina and now a grandfather of ten, recounted his 129-day ordeal in captivity after being abducted from a kibbutz near the Gaza border, where he had been living with his girlfriend Clara and her family. The emotional gathering included Borough President Vito Fossella, members of Staten Islands Jewish community, and local leaders who came to show their support. Har vividly recalled the morning of October 7, when he awoke to the sound of shattering windows. Armed militants stormed the home and abducted the family. He was transported in the back of a pickup truck to Gaza, where he was confined in a second-story apartment under the constant guard of five armed captors. During his captivity, Har was forced to cook for the terrorists, preparing meals like shakshuka and omelets with initially sufficient ingredients. But as the war dragged on, food became scarce, and he and his fellow hostages were reduced to sharing a single pita and minimal water daily. Har said he lost 35 pounds and endured extreme psychological stress under the threat of execution. We had no access to news, no way to know what was happening, Har said. We were completely isolated and relied on our captors to tell us anything. Hygiene conditions were direprisoners were allowed to bathe only once every two weeks with a single bucket of cold water and a sliver of soap. There was no dental care, and medical attention was nonexistent. After 53 days, Clara, her sister, her niece, and their dog Bella were released as part of a temporary cease-fire deal in November. Har, however, remained in captivity until February 12, 2024, when the Israeli Defense Forces bombed the building during a daring rescue operation. The strike, part of a broader mission in Rafah, was reportedly used to divert attention and create cover for the extraction team. According to Gaza health officials, more than 70 Palestinians were killed during those airstrikes, and the war has since claimed over 50,000 Palestinian lives. Staten Island stands with Israel, Borough President Fossella said at the event. We are grateful to the JCC for standing by these families for the past 535 days. Orit Lender, CEO of the JCC of Staten Island, was deeply moved by Hars visit. From the moment we heard Luis had been taken, our hearts sank, she said. Lender spent summers at the kibbutz from which Har was kidnapped. Having him here and safe means the world. Har concluded his remarks with a poignant message for the audience: Our home is still standing. Dont give up your hope. He continues to tour the United States, determined to share his story and ensure the world remembers the 59 hostages who remain in captivity. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Baruch Hashem, a wave of relief swept through Vizhnitz Chasidim worldwide as their beloved Rebbe, HaRav Yisroel Hager, was released from a Los Angeles hospital on Wednesday evening. The Rebbe had been hospitalized for ten days following a major medical procedure performed last Monday. Tens of thousands of Yidden davened fervently for the Rebbes refuah shleima for his recovery. The Rebbe is now recuperating at the home of Reb Shmuel Binyamin Einhorn in Los Angeles. He is expected to remain there for the near future under medical supervision. It is unknown when the rebbe will return to Bnei Brak. Please continue to say Tehillim for Yisrael ben Leah Esther. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Rabbi Shaya Boas, the Rav of the Ohel Avraham shul in Vienna, published a sharply worded post on Wednesday on his Facebook account against the IDF, after he published a statement on Wednesday: Yeah, right they want to recruit Charedim. They want to destroy [] Charedim! In the post, he described the IDFs conduct towards his son: My son enlisted through the IDFs Charedi Administration. After a year of civilian training within the army, he was sent to a cyber course at the IDF School of Computer Science on behalf of the Administration and this after he refused a prestigious course only because they demanded that he give up his Chareidi status. He asked again and again and was promised: the course will be separated by gender and the food will be Badatz. He did not demand a mikveh nor Chassidish shechita. Just that they meet the minimum. The father added: But in practice? There was no gender separation. There was no Badatz food. The sleeping arrangements? Ten meters between the males and females. My son, who stood by his principles, is now stuck in limbo. Waiting for an undefined assignment. And his friends from the Charedi track? They caved in. They joined the mixed course. Theyre also compromising on kashrus. And you cant even claim that these are new departments that are still learning the field. The Chareidi Administration and the Bina BYarok track have been around for more than a decade, with budgets, experience, and structure. If, after all this, they dont meet their commitments, this is not a malfunction; this is policy. And one more thing: before marketing a new track, make sure the existing participants are satisfied. What is the point of the whole campaign to recruit Charedim if my son comes home and tells all his friends that the Charedi-adapted tracks are a big bluff? So enough with the stories about sharing the burden and all the other nonsense. This is not about contribution. Its about a melting pot. About erasure. It should be noted that the above story is not an isolated one, with many Chareidi and Dati Leumi soldiers telling similar stories, especially regarding gender separation, including sleeping arrangements. The IDF is one of the only armies in the world that has a mandatory draft law for women, making gender separation extremely difficult as women serve in so many roles in the army. Earlier this week, Kol BRamah revealed the story of Yisrael, a Chabad Chasid from the north who has been serving in the reserves for 15 years in a Home Front Command battalion, including about 200 days in the war. According to the report, he had requested for months to be transferred to another combat battalion after his battalion became mixed, leading to situations that violated his rights as a Chareidi. Even his commander tried to address the issue but the mixed battalion refused to release him. In the meantime, he didnt enlist for another reserve duty order and is considered AWOL. He said: I am interested in continuing to serve and several non-mixed battalions wanted to take me, but the army wont allow it. My commander also approached the officer who deals with gender issues, and she also refuses to allow it and this is against orders. Is this how the army wants to absorb Charedim, without granting them their rights? (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) The United States has put forward a new proposal through Qatari mediators in an effort to secure the release of American hostage Edan Alexander and revive stalled ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. The deal reportedly hinges on Hamas releasing Alexander in exchange for a public statement by President Donald Trump calling for calm in Gaza and resuming negotiations for a broader ceasefire. However, it remains uncertain whether Hamas will accept these terms. After Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza, talks over a new hostage-release and ceasefire deal hit an impasse. Israeli forces expanded their operations, launching ground incursions across multiple areas of the enclave. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel will further occupy parts of Gaza if Hamas continues to refuse to release hostages. In response, the U.S. has ramped up diplomatic pressure on Egypt and Qatar, urging them to push Hamas toward a partial hostage release that could restore the ceasefire and allow negotiations to resume. Egyptian officials recently met with Hamas representatives in Cairo, presenting a new proposal aimed at breaking the deadlock. This proposal was reportedly similar to one offered by Trumps envoy, Steve Witkoff, two weeks agoa proposal that Hamas previously rejected. To exert additional leverage, Egyptian authorities threatened to deport Hamas prisoners who had been released by Israel as part of the ceasefire agreement and are currently residing in Cairo. While Hamas leaders outside of Gaza showed willingness to consider the Egyptian plan, its military commander inside Gaza, Mohammed Sinwar, rejected it outright, Israeli and U.S. officials said. On Wednesday, Witkoff held discussions with Qatars prime minister in a fresh attempt to develop an alternative framework. The resulting proposal calls for Hamas to release Alexander in exchange for a favorable statement from Trump. This statement would trigger a temporary ceasefire lasting a few days and facilitate an immediate resumption of broader negotiations. Later that day, Witkoff briefed Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer on the details of the new plan. On Thursday, Qatari and Egyptian officials met with Hamas representatives in Doha to discuss the various proposals on the table. An Israeli official described the U.S.-Qatari proposal as more of an idea that is still in early development and not yet a structured deal. The official added that Qatar framed the proposal to Hamas as a diplomatic overture to the U.S., arguing that it could create goodwill with Trump and potentially lead to greater American pressure on Israel to negotiate a broader ceasefire. However, it remains unclear whether Hamas would agree to release Alexander solely in exchange for a statement from Trump, particularly without guarantees of a formal ceasefire or a prisoner exchange. The coming days will reveal whether Hamas is willing to engage with the new proposal or whether the stalemate in Gaza will persist as military operations escalate. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) A stunning new report has revealed that the classified U.S. airstrike plans leaked in a high-level group chatincluding details accidentally exposed to a journalistwere based on Israeli intelligence gathered from a human source in Yemen, according to the Wall Street Journal. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited two senior U.S. officials, Israeli intelligence played a direct role in identifying the senior Houthi figure targeted in the March 15 U.S. airstrike. The new revelations add a volatile international dimension to what is already being called one of the most reckless national security breaches in recent memory. The scandal erupted when The Atlantics editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg disclosed that he had inadvertently been added to a Signal messaging group chat by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. The chat, which included senior administration officials, contained classified discussions on upcoming U.S. military operations. Among the messages shared in the chat was one from Waltz himself, who wrote on March 15: The first target their top missile guy we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriends building and its now collapsed. While the White House has insisted that none of the leaked information was classified, U.S. officials have yet to provide any evidence supporting that claim. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal report suggests that the intelligence used in the strike came directly from an Israeli source embedded within Yemen, a disclosure that has alarmed Israeli officials. According to one U.S. official quoted by the WSJ, Israeli intelligence officials have privately complained to their American counterparts about the security breach and the reckless handling of sensitive wartime information. Israeli officials are reportedly furious that their involvement has been made public, fearing it could compromise intelligence networks and worsen tensions in the region. In response, the White House has downplayed the significance of the leak, with President Donald Trump dismissing the entire scandal as a glitch and describing media scrutiny as a witch hunt. Despite Trumps attempt to wave off the controversy, bipartisan calls for an official inquiry are growing. The Senate Armed Services Committee took action Thursday, with Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and ranking member Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) formally requesting an investigation into the unauthorized disclosures. In a letter to the Department of Defenses acting inspector general, Wicker and Reed demanded an inquiry into the potential use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was also part of the chat, defended his role, claiming he never shared war plans or attack plans, instead calling his messages team updates. However, a follow-up report from The Atlantic directly contradicted that claim, publishing additional leaked messages detailing specific strike timelines, aircraft types, and missile deployments before the operation took place. Despite the escalating controversy, the Justice Departmenttraditionally responsible for investigating the mishandling of classified informationappears to be steering clear of the scandal. When asked about potential legal action, Attorney General Pam Bondi sidestepped the question, saying only that the mission itself had been a success. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Its name is the Bigster, but after two days of driving one, I think the latest flagship from budget brand Dacia should be called the Chillster. The smooth performance and practicality of this smart, value-for-money five-seater will most impress its buyers not its size. With prices starting from less than 25,000, and even the most expensive model below 30,000, you get a lot of bang for your buck. The first UK deliveries aren't till May, but Dacia's British bosses are already celebrating more than 500 pre-orders. Stretching 15 ft in length and some 6 ft wide, the Bigster is certainly spacious enough for a growing family, with a big boot and good leg and head-room. Spacious: The Dacia Bigster's practicality includes a big boot and good leg-room Built in Romania by Dacia the budget arm of French-giant Renault there are three trim levels available: Expression; Journey; and top-of-the-range Extreme. The UK is not taking the most basic Essential package as bosses say Britons prefer a higher specification of kit. Prices start from 24,995 for the Expression 140 Mild hybrid up to 29,995 for the range-topping 155 Extreme hybrid. I drove the Journey 155 hybrid, which starts from 29,245. Riding on 19 in wheels (compared to 17 in on Expression and 18 in with Extreme), my front-wheel drive machine was powered by a combination of a 1.8-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine linked to two electric motors (a 50 bhp motor and a high voltage starter/generator), a 1.4 kWh self-recharging battery and a six-speed, clutchless automatic gearbox. Note that the car always starts up in its silent electric mode. Acceleration from rest to 62 mph takes a relatively sedate 9.7 seconds a clear and deliberate indication that this is a car for relaxing journeys, not foot-to-the-floor pedal-pumping. I needed to carefully plan any overtaking to build up sufficient momentum, and it did sound strained during more assertive driving on open roads and steep inclines. The smooth performance and practicality of this smart, value-for-money five-seater will most impress its buyers With prices starting from less than 25,000, and even the most expensive model below 30,000, you get a lot of bang for your buck If it were music, it would be easy-listening for pleasure, rather than thumping hard-rock, punk or hip-hop. If it were a broadcaster, it would be Ken Bruce's Greatest Hits Radio. But no worse for any of that and it sails along perfectly at speed when it hits its stride. What's more, the supportive seats are incredibly comfortable over long distances. Switching from standard 'Drive' to regenerative B-mode helps create more electricity for your journey whilst easing on the brakes and helping with a degree of one pedal driving. The sat-nav proved sometimes a bit laggy, losing signal momentarily at key junctions. But it is a very well stocked car for the money and is loaded with essential and helpful kit, without unnecessary fripperies adding to costs, to provide a simple practical package blending quality and equipment without breaking the bank. My Journey trim version included an electric powered tail-gate, adaptive cruise-control, a hands-free key fob, and a high centre console with armrest, and dual-zone air con. The driver's seat can be moved up and down and the back-rest forward and back using power controls at the side of the seat, though you still need to grasp a physical manual slider to move the entire seat back and forth. There's a 10-inch digital instrument panel and a 10.1 inch central touchscreen with infotainment and sat-nav including a six-speaker Arkamys 3D sound audio system. That's on top of rear parking sensors and multi-view camera, electric front and rear windows, power-folding mirrors and a rear modular bench seat with 'Easy-Fold' function. There is also a range of helpful 'YouClip' accessories to help mount phones and the like. For more rufty-tufty lifestyles, the Extreme trim version has modular roof bars, the panoramic opening roof as standard, washable synthetic upholstery and rubber floor and boot mats, and copper brown trim. You can even order special camping accessories such as: a 'sleep pack' which converts the boot into a double bed, with tablet and storage space; a tent; and a roofrack. Bigster's upwardly-mobile move into the competitive mid-sized SUV market is such an important strategy that during development, Dacia bosses sounded out more than 400 money-conscious middle-class German motorists who shop at Aldi and Lidl, treasure value for money and are considered Europe's most hard-to-please customers in this key market - to get it right. It is a tough space occupied by established rivals like the Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson and VW Tiguan. The first UK deliveries aren't till May, but Dacia's British bosses are already celebrating more than 500 pre-orders It is a very well stocked car for the money and is loaded with essential and helpful kit It sails along perfectly at speed when it hits its stride No 7-seater Bigster is planned as the reduced interior space and additional cost of engineering it make it unviable, said Dacia bosses Other power trains on offer, though not available to drive at the launch, are the Bigster 140 combining a 1.2 litre 3-cylinder turbo-charged petrol engine with a 48v mild hybrid system -speed manual gearbox, plus the all-wheel drive Bigster mild hybrid 130 4X4. A 4X4 155 hybrid version is to follow in due course with an electrified rear axle. However, no 7-seater Bigster is planned as the reduced interior space and additional cost of engineering it make it unviable, said Dacia bosses. In November Dacia is set to outline its future model and technology plans. Dacia's effervescent chief executive Denis Le Vot told me: 'Were moving into a big new sector with Bigster. But we aim to give customers everything they are looking for, and nothing that they don't really want or need. 'That's why we tested it out on 400 of the toughest car critics in Europe German motorists.' He added: 'Britain is one of our biggest and most important markets. We expect it to do well.' If you want a car to cruise in, and enjoy the journey, the Bigster more than fits the bill. More than 16,000 wanted cases on missing persons have been opened in the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS). "As of now, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society has opened 16,190 wanted cases... Currently, work on 1,669 cases has been completed, 1,148 of them have a positive result. Work on 14,521 cases continues," the URCS reported on Facebook. The employees and volunteers of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society on the restoration of family ties conduct the initial interview of applicants and draw up applications for missing persons. They also maintain constant contact with families who have opened a missing persons case with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and provide them with support. Representatives of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society also provide psychosocial support to families of missing persons and interact with state bodies authorized to search for missing persons. In addition, volunteers organize and conduct social events and provide families with humanitarian or financial assistance. This activity is implemented with the support of the British Red Cross. "As part of the humanitarian support for families who opened a missing person case in our organization, 3,647 families from vulnerable categories received humanitarian assistance," the Ukrainian Red Cross Society noted. To open a missing person case, family members of the missing persons must call the Ukrainian Red Cross hotline: 0 800 332 656, or send an email to the following address: [email protected]. When applying, it is necessary to indicate the essence of the issue, the full name of the wanted person and your own, as well as a personal phone number so that an employee of the Tracing Service can contact the requester. By opening search cases, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society fulfills the organization's special mandate, defined in the Geneva Conventions, additional protocols thereto and international Vita treaties ratified by the Verkhovna Rada. The Law on the Ukrainian Red Cross Society defines the organization's supporting role to state authorities in humanitarian activities during armed conflicts, in peacetime, in case of natural disasters and emergencies. The Ukrainian Red Cross Society also recalled that the Register of Missing Persons under Special Circumstances, as of February this year, contained 62,948 cases. A senior Tory has blasted ministers over the end of steel-making in Britain claiming Labour caved in to union pressure and backed an 'unviable' site for new furnaces. Tees Valley mayor Lord Houchen said work could 'start tomorrow' to develop an electric arc furnace on part of the former Redcar Steelworks on Teesside which closed a decade ago as the land has been cleared and there is an electricity connection. But he claims Labour bowed to union pressure to instead pursue development of two electric arc furnaces at Scunthorpe to protect jobs. The plans are now in jeopardy after British Steel's Chinese owner Jingye said it could no longer prop up the existing blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, which are making losses of 700,000 a day. On Wednesday, the firm rejected the Government's offer of a 500m subsidy as insufficient and 24 hours later launched consultation on closing the furnaces the last producing virgin steel in Britain and laying off up to 2,700 workers. Originally, there were plans to build one electric arc furnace in Teesside and one at Scunthorpe. But the Redcar proposal was abandoned in January even though planning permission was granted last April. Loss making: British Steel's Chinese owner Jingye said it could no longer prop up the existing blast furnaces at Scunthorpe Instead, both new furnaces were to be built at Scunthorpe. Houchen claimed ministers were 'trying to fit a square peg into a round hole by saying we want steel production in the UK but make sure it goes back to Scunthorpe to try to limit job losses in the town'. Speaking to the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 yesterday, he said: 'The fact is, the Government are trying to politically gerrymander the investment into Scunthorpe. 'British Steel made a financial submission to build a steel-making plant on Teesside, we have the planning permission, we could start building literally tomorrow, and until the unions got involved and the Labour Party started backing them, that was always the plan.' Houchen's office told the Mail that development of the furnaces at Scunthorpe was not commercially viable. The site still needs to be cleared and a suitable electricity connection installed. But an industry source said the big problem for Redcar is that it does not have the workforce, whereas Scunthorpe does if the existing furnaces can be kept going until the electric arc replacement is built. A Department for Business and Trade spokesman said: 'We don't recognise Lord Houchen's claims, but we know the situation at British Steel is deeply worrying. This Government has been clear there's a bright future for steel-making in the UK, committing up to 2.5bn to rebuild the sector where others failed. 'And we will soon publish a Plan for Steel setting out how we can achieve a sustainable future for workers, industry and local communities, including Teesside.' The bodies of 909 fallen Defenders were returned to Ukraine, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported. "As a result of the repatriation measures, the bodies of 909 fallen Defenders were returned to Ukraine. Among the Defenders, the fallen were from Kurakhive, Pokrovsk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Luhansk, Zaporizhia directions and morgues on the territory of the Russian Federation," the Coordination Headquarters said on Telegram on Friday. It is reported that the fallen defenders were returned as a result of the joint work of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Joint Center under the Security Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Office of the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, and other structures of the Security and Defense Sector of Ukraine. The Coordination Headquarters also expressed gratitude for the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who are transporting the repatriated fallen. Law enforcement investigators, together with expert institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will establish the identities of the deceased as soon as possible. On March 21, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that over the three years of the headquarters' activity, 4,306 Ukrainian people were returned from captivity, another 469 were returned outside of exchanges, and over 7,000 bodies of defenders were repatriated. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine expresses interest in institutionalizing the deepening of cooperation in the EU-Ukraine-Central Asia format. This is stated in the statement of the MFA of Ukraine regarding the EU-Central Asia ministerial meeting held on March 27 in Ashgabat. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the holding of the 20th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting in Ashgabat on March 27, 2025. Ukraine highly appreciates the gradual and consistent deepening of cooperation between the EU and the countries of Central Asia and looks forward to the active involvement of our country in this process," the ministry reported on its website. "In the context of granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for accession to the European Union, our country is a natural participant in this dialogue, given its geographical, political, economic and security integration into regional processes. We would like to emphasize Ukraine's significant contribution to global security, including food security, through the implementation of humanitarian initiatives such as Grain from Ukraine," the statement notes. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its interest in further institutionalized deepening of cooperation in the EU-Ukraine-Central Asia format. We positively assess the growing openness to trilateral cooperation and look forward to the high-quality preparation and holding of the first EU-Central Asia Summit to be held on April 4, 2025 in Samarkand, Republic of Uzbekistan," the statement notes. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the clear statement in the final communique of the meeting reaffirming the participants' commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of states within internationally recognized borders. We welcome the commitment of the EU and Central Asian states to make every effort to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine. Such statements are of particular importance in the context of the ongoing full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation," the statement notes. "We emphasize the importance of further maintaining and strengthening the EU's sanctions pressure on the aggressor, as well as the responsible attitude of the Central Asian states to comply with the sanctions regime. We highly appreciate the willingness of the parties to continue coordination in preventing the circumvention of sanctions, in particular through the re-export of high-priority and dual-use goods," the ministry notes. "Ukraine is ready to actively participate in the development of modern transport and logistics routes and energy supply infrastructure together with the EU and Central Asian countries. Given our strategic location, Ukraine is an integral part of the Trans-Caspian Corridor. We are committed to engaging in the formation and development of sustainable and diversified trade routes of strategic importance for the whole continent," the ministry notes. "We are committed to effective participation in the implementation of joint initiatives to strengthen security and stability in Central Asia. We pay special attention to the Afghanistan settlement, the fight against climate change, sustainable water supply and the development of green energy, in close coordination with European and regional partners," the statement notes. ADDIS ABABA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China's successful experience and technological advancements serve as an instructive model for driving Africa's agricultural modernization ambitions through robust industrialization, energy development, and human capital enhancement, a United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) official has said. Dejene Tezera, director of the Agribusiness and Infrastructure Development Division at UNIDO, told Xinhua recently that China possesses the knowledge, technology, and relevant resources to support Africa's sustainable development through cooperation in agriculture, industry, energy, capacity building, and digitalization. The China-Africa-UNIDO Center of Excellence, launched in November 2024 in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, is a practical platform for advancing Africa's sustainable development by promoting industrialization, agricultural modernization, and skills development, Tezera said. "Africa faces many development challenges, the most critical of which are low levels of industrialization, agricultural productivity, and a shortage of skilled human resources," he said. Despite Africa's vast uncultivated arable land, abundant water resources, and a highly trainable young population offering "huge potential" for its agricultural sector, productivity remains low compared to other regions. To accelerate Africa's pursuit of agricultural modernization and improved productivity, the UN official underscored the urgent need for coordinated efforts. Describing the center of excellence as a testament to thriving South-South cooperation, Tezera said China contributes its knowledge, technology and resources into the successful collaboration, while Ethiopia provides facilities and a supportive ecosystem for implementation, and UNIDO acts as the bridge ensuring technical assistance and coordination. He said the tripartite initiative aims to help African countries shift from a demand-based agricultural production approach to a more commercialized production system through modernization. "There is a very high potential to boost Africa's agricultural productivity if the right technologies, knowledge, and skills are made available to African farmers. China has undergone similar agricultural development, and we aim to leverage best practices from China to expedite Africa's agricultural modernization through targeted technology transfer endeavors," he said. Highlighting the industry sector's "very low contribution" to the economy of many African countries, Tezera said that China's industrialization experience could provide the necessary impetus for Africa's industrialization efforts. "China's industrialization journey, especially following the country's opening up, has involved the development of industrial parks and zones, which can serve as an excellent approach to accelerate Africa's industrialization. By transferring best practices from China, Africa can leapfrog into a modern agricultural system and subsequently into industrialization," he said. Tezera also emphasized the role of the energy sector in achieving Africa's agricultural modernization goals. He said that China's "extensive experience" in renewable energy development, including solar, wind and hydropower, can be tailored to meet Africa's specific energy needs. "All of these technologies will be systematically adapted in a step-by-step manner through the center of excellence, which will engage with numerous African countries based on their specific contexts and needs," he added. He said that the center of excellence, initially focusing on Ethiopia, aims to establish satellite centers across various African countries, thereby making a contribution to the continent's sustainable development. Tezera also underscored the existing China-Africa cooperation frameworks, such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative. "China is providing substantial financial resources to support African countries based on their needs, which facilitates the transfer of more practical and appropriate technologies from China to the African continent," he said. Russia continues to manipulate the issue of nuclear safety, using the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) as an instrument of international pressure and blackmail, which creates a direct threat to the security of entire Europe, the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the situation at the occupied ZNPP says. "The illegal interference of the Russian side in the functioning of the ZNPP, in particular through centralized control and actions that jeopardize the technical stability of the facility, is a gross violation of international law and the fundamental principles of nuclear safety. The Kremlin is purposefully restricting the work of international experts and putting pressure on the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], trying to block the transfer of objective information to the world community," the statement on the agency's website said on Friday. The Foreign Ministry noted that any attempts by Russia to impose its rules on the plant's management, in particular through the actions of the state corporation Rosatom, are illegitimate and threaten the security of the region. "We emphasize once again: no decision on the launch of reactors at the Zaporizhia NPP can be made without the participation of the legitimate Ukrainian regulatory and operational bodies - the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate and Energoatom. No occupation administrations, foreign bodies or representatives of the aggressor state have the right to interfere in processes related to the safe operation of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant," the diplomatic department said. It is recalled that the issue of nuclear safety at the ZNPP cannot be considered separately from the issue of illegal control over the plant. "Any attempts by Russia to pass off its presence as normal management are targeted propaganda designed to hide the real threat posed by the occupation of the ZNPP," the statement said. Ukraine calls on international partners to strengthen joint efforts to stop Russian nuclear blackmail, and demands the introduction of additional sanctions against Rosatom, the Foreign Ministry added. At the same time, Ukraine expects the IAEA to take a principled position on Russia's illegal presence on the territory of the occupied ZNPP. "The agency must use all available mechanisms to increase pressure on Russia and withdraw the military and personnel of the occupying state from the Ukrainian plant," the Foreign Ministry is confident. "The return of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant under full Ukrainian control is the only way to restore nuclear safety and stability. Only the Ukrainian regulator and operator can ensure the proper level of nuclear safety at the plant in accordance with international standards and IAEA safeguards," the document states. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry emphasizes: the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant was, is and will be Ukrainian. "The Russian Federation must immediately withdraw its troops from the territory of the plant, stop nuclear blackmail and attempts to manipulate the issue of global security. Ukraine will continue to act decisively to restore law and order and protect the security of all of Europe," the statement of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry emphasizes. Foreign-born residents in Ireland are more likely to be employed, active in the labour market and well-educated compared to the Irish-born population, a report has found. However, migrants also have lower incomes and are more likely to experience poverty and deprivation. Migrants are also much more likely to be affected by high housing costs, with about one in three spending more than 30% of their income on housing, compared to 9% of Irish-born residents. The monitoring report on integration 2024 is published jointly by the ESRI, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), and the Department of Justice. It is the latest in a series that investigates how migrants in Ireland are faring. The report compares outcomes for Irish and foreign-born residents in the areas of employment, education, social inclusion and active citizenship. Migrant employment and rates of participation in the labour market have remained higher than those of Irish-born residents since 2022. Employment rates have maintained their recovery since 2021, when they fell to the same level as the Irish-born rate during the Covid-19 pandemic. Outcomes vary according to place of birth. In 2024, migrants born in the EU, Asia and the rest of world had broadly better labour market outcomes than Irish-born residents. Those born in Europe but not in the EU had poorer labour market outcomes. Other groups had similar or worse labour market outcomes, depending on the indicator. Labour market outcomes for African migrants show continued improvement, maintaining progress first observed in the monitoring report on integration 2022. In recent years, African employment rates have risen and unemployment rates have fallen, with both figures now similar to those of Irish-born residents. In line with previous monitoring reports, migrants have higher levels of educational attainment than Irish-born overall. Across 2021 to 2023, 59% of working-age foreign-born residents had tertiary education, compared to 42% of Irish-born residents. Tertiary education rates vary by place of birth, with the lowest figure among those born in eastern EU countries at 38%, and the highest among those born in Asia at 79%. Migrant students, at 15 years of age, score lower on English reading and maths tests compared to non-migrant students. The rate of early school leaving among young migrants was low and similar to the rate of the Irish-born population. Migrants are much more likely to experience high housing costs. Some 37% of migrants pay more than 30% of their income on housing costs, compared to 9% of Irish-born residents. Migrants face higher levels of poverty and deprivation than Irish-born residents. It primarily affects those born in eastern EU states and outside the EU. Of those born outside the EU, 20% are considered at risk of poverty, compared to 11% of Irish-born residents. Those born in the UK, eastern EU and outside the EU are more likely to experience material deprivation than the Irish-born population. Those born in the western EU are less likely to experience this. In 2023, more than 18,200 naturalisation certificates were issued, up more than a third from 2022. More than one in ten naturalisation certificates were issued following marriage to an Irish national. Average processing times for a citizenship application decreased from 22 months in 2022 to 15 months in 2023. Political participation of immigrants has increased, with the number of immigrants both running for and winning a seat doubling in the 2024 local elections, albeit from a very low base. The proportion of councillors with a migrant background remains low overall, at 2.2%. The report shows that while migrants are likely to be employed and are well-educated, they have lower incomes and are more at risk of poverty. The authors of the report said this may indicate that foreign qualifications are not receiving the recognition they deserve, leaving some migrants overqualified for their jobs. Mainstream issues such as housing can disproportionately affect migrants and addressing such issues is essential for improving migrant integration. Evan Carron-Kee, co-author of the report, said: Recent positive developments in migrant integration include strong growth in the African employment rate and improvements in citizenship processing times. However, there are also some persistent challenges. Migrants are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis and are much more likely to experience income poverty and deprivation. These issues require urgent policy attention. Irish actor Emmett J Scanlan has said it was wonderful to go toe to toe with giants such as Pierce Brosnan in a new crime TV series. The Peaky Blinders actor, 46, plays Brosnans head of security in MobLand, which follows two crime families as they battle for power. Speaking at the London premiere, Scanlon reflected on what it was like to work in the star-studded cast, which includes Irish actor Brosnan, The Queen star Helen Mirren, and Legend actor Tom Hardy. Scanlan told the PA news agency: I am Pierce Brosnans right-hand man, his head of security. What I have loved most about this experience is, I love the craft. I just absolutely love it. I am my happiest when Im on set and Im getting to dance with these giants. I spent my life growing up watching them and admiring them from afar and to be able to share a stage with them and be able to share dialogue and share scenes with them, to go toe to toe with them, be welcomed by them, embraced by them. It is a wonderful thing that is not lost on me. In the film, Hardy, 47, plays fixer Harry Da Souza who is called upon to make a problem disappear after a night out goes awry for the sons of two warring crime families. Scanlan said: Two of the most ferocious, most unapologetic families go head to head. They go to war. And the repercussions of that inevitably mean that guilty and innocent are going to be hurt and caught in the crossfire and the shrapnel of their actions echoes across the world. So this aint for the faint-hearted. Some Girls actress Mandeep Dhillon, who plays Brosnans daughter, Seraphina Harrigan, told PA that filming the series was epic. She said: My role is amazing, Im playing Pierce Brosnans daughter, Helen Mirren is my step mum, Tom Hardy is the family fixer its been epic. The series is directed by Guy Ritchie who created 1998 film Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, 2000s Snatch, and 2024 Netflix show The Gentlemen. MobLand airs on Paramount+ on Sunday March 30 in the UK and Ireland. Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/ During the meeting in support of Ukraine in Ramstein format, the defense packages agreed upon by the leaders during yesterday's meeting in support of Ukraine in Paris will be announced, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "We have agreed with all the leaders on the number of important defense packages that will be announced during Ramstein. This is another agreement that there will be Ramstein in April. Everyone will do everything for this," Zelenskyy said during a briefing on Friday. The president also said Great Britain and Germany will be responsible for the organization. More deets on this plan by KC's longstanding transit activist . . . Clay Chastain Press release: Chastain takes charge of KC's confused & indecisive leadership by incorporating into his Alternative Transportation Initiative provisions for keeping the Chiefs & Royals (together, side by side) by relocating them to the Old (underused & still dangerous to aviation)...(750-acre) Downtown Municipal Airport site (directly served by the Initiative's (proposed) KCI Airport Monorail. Other than offering them One Billion Dollars, Mayor Lucas doesn't know what to do to keep them here. Too, the Royals & Chiefs appear to be 'gaming' the people by not commenting on various potential sites that keep popping up in the news. Neither Mr. Sherman or Mr. Hunt have even made a statement committing to Kansas City. This kind of undecisive & unflattering leadership (in which both teams are stringing the KC Community along by playing hard to get) is, I believe, creating ill (public) will towards both teams. My proposal is to ask the people to take charge of their City by instructing the City to not only build new advanced options to move about the City, but by also indicating if they support keeping the teams here & keeping them together by offering them a new (City-owned) site near Downtown. Here are the many advantages of relocating both the Royals & Chiefs to a New... "Peninsula Fields"... @ KC's Old Downtown Municipal Airport: 1. Excellent public safety (isolated from crime) & Hwy. access, yet still near Downtown without Downtown's congestion. 2. Plenty of level land (protected by Mo. River levees) and almost no demolition required. 3. Central to the Metro & directly served by the (proposed) 25-mile Airport Monorail connecting KCI to.. Northland, 'Peninsula Fields', Union Station's new Regional Hub, the Plaza, the Eastside & the KC Zoo 4. Efficiency... shared pkg. & "rolling roof". 5. Extraordinary setting..."Shining City on the Hill" is the backdrop & with Old Man River (Missouri) rolling by. Funding...KCMO Taxpayers (donate site and pay for the preparation of site); Jackson County Taxpayers (extend 3/8-cent Stadium Tax), State contributions & significant contributions from the Royals & Chiefs. So Mr. Sherman & Mr. Hunt...you need to clear the air & be more respectful of the local fans that have supported your team all these years. And, if Lucas has a better idea... then let's hear it Mayor! KC Activist & Electrical Engineer, Clay Chastain ############ Developing . . . Students of government remind us not to forget #TBT broken promises like 40 Acres & A Mule . . . And so it's important to bring an "appreciation of history" to these conversations rather than a knee-jerk reaction . . . Here's a peek at a local conversation and perspective if only because this kind of neighborhood discourse rarely makes it through our social media bubbles . . . They gathered Tuesday at Independence Boulevard Christian Church to confront this history and discuss solutions at the KC Crisis of Black Food, Land & Survival Town Hall, co-hosted by Black-owned Kansas City media outlets The KC Defender and The Kansas City Call. Alana Henry, executive director of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council, made one point clear: the erosion of Black-owned farmland is not accidental. I want to shift the language from loss to theft, Henry said. This isnt a passive sort of occurrence that were just experiencing. Its an intentional action. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . This one is fun for only one reason . . . KANSAS CITY POLITICOS ARE TOO AFRAID TO OPPOSE PROGRESSIVE ACTIVIST CAMPAIGNING AGAINST THE PUBLIC SAFETY VOTE!!! There hasn't been any debate . . . Nobody is pushing back against activist claims and progressives are more than willing to cast aside the pleas of most council & Mayor Q in order to imagine that no-show jobs will solve local crime. Here's the setup for disaster amid another season of violent crime . . . "A group of local advocacy organizations including Decarcerate KC, KC Tenants and Stand Up KC want a different, more humane solution." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . This morning billionaire biz lady, celeb & model hottie Kylie inspires our latest peek into pop culture, community reporting and top headlines. Check TKC news gathering . . . Local Sound Off Worked After Cowtown Tree Falls Kansas City, Missouri, removes dead tree after neighbors repeatedly share concerns KSHB 41 News took an in-depth look at the city's 311 reporting process. After our stories aired, contractors were out removing the tree on Thursday morning. Decay In The Dotte Firehouses in Kansas City, Kansas, are in 'deplorable' condition. Will the Unified Government act? A new Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department master plan also suggests that the department needs more staff, some companies fail to meet response time standards and the department needs to accelerate replacing older vehicles. The meeting got testy because the fire chief said he did not know what any of this would cost. Harsh Times Cont'd Kansas City area farmers lose big profits following USDA funding cuts In early March, the USDA announced it would cut $1 billion in COVID-era funding. That's been a big problem for farmers. Show-Me Politicos Committing Fast Food Wage Theft KC mom got a raise at Arby's after voters passed Prop A. Now efforts aim to strike it down Proposition A helped Kansas City workers with higher wages & sick leave but faces challenges from GOP lawmakers & Missouri business coalitions. Demise Of Donation Game?!? What Kansas City nonprofits told us about the shifting federal funding landscape The Beacon spoke with Kansas City area nonprofits on March 21 about their questions and concerns around potential federal funding cuts. Celeb Shares New Look Kylie Jenner Embraces Her Inner 'Baddie' in New Photos Kylie Jenner was breathtaking as she reminded everyone who the "original baddie" is with her latest set of photos on Instagram. Although the media personality has been embracing her soft girl era, her "King Kylie" persona comes out of hiding once in a while. Now, Jenner is up to the same after serving intense looks [...] No Bargaining With MAGA Trump signs executive order to end collective bargaining at agencies involved with national security President Donald Trump is ending collective bargaining with federal labor unions in agencies with national security missions across the federal government, citing authority granted him under a 1978 law. Progressives Refuse To Learn From Election Returns GOP names Jasmine Crockett the new Democratic Party leader The National Republican Congressional Committee labeled Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) the "Top Dem Spox" in an email following her calling Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) "Hot Wheels." Student Protest Lesson Plan Trump administration advances immigration crackdown on foreign student protesters Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that his department has revoked the student visas of hundreds of students so far, with plans to cancel more. More Tech Trouble Confronts MAGA GOP lawmakers warn against federal records destruction in Signal chats Republican senators are warning that any conversation taking place between senior Trump administration officials over the commercial app, Signal, needs to be preserved to determine whether classifi... Vlad Gives Prez Green Light Putin says Greenland 'nothing to do with Russia' in nod to US Speaking in the Arctic, Putin said the US's Greenland plans were "serious" but nothing to do with Russia. Holy Land War Redux Israel lands first heavy strike on Beirut suburbs since ceasefire - Reuters witness Israel's air force conducted a heavy strike on a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on Friday, a Reuters witness said, the first heavy bombardment there since a truce in November ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah. Far East Tragedy This Morning Massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocks Burma, Thailand causing buildings to collapse A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Burma and Thailand midday Friday, causing buildings to collapse, and sending people scrambling for their lives. Blast From Past Remains Behind Bars The woman who killed Tejano music icon Selena in 1995 has been denied parole Yolanda Saldivar, who has served nearly three decades in prison for killing Tejano music legend Selena Quintanilla-Perez, has been denied parole by a Texas board. Old School Still Knocking Boots The only generation not in a sex recession It's not just in the movies. Gen X women are having the best sex of their lives. Fancy Suburban Brew Debuts ASE Coffee Shop and Bar enhances coffee experience in Grandview "The goal was to create a Brooklyn speakeasy vibe. Swanky." Latest Local Forecast Fabulous Friday, severe weather watch Saturday Feels like summer again today with highs in the upper 70s and sustained winds 15-20 mph+. Artemas - i like the way you kiss me is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. In about a week, Ukraine will hold a meeting of representatives of the General Staffs of the main countries that are 100% ready to provide a contingent, after which there will be a meeting at the level of national security advisors, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "We have urgently agreed, we are giving it a week, to hold a meeting in Ukraine in a narrow circle of representatives of the General Staffs, the main countries that will 100% prepare for a contingent on the territory of Ukraine. Not all of them will come, we are inviting a narrow circle - France, Britain, Ukraine will definitely be there, this is such a triangle in this matter," Zelenskyy said at a briefing on Friday. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home 'Had it been from...': Activists on threats to Shimla School over Eid event Flagging the Hindutva threats to a Shimla School which was forced to withdraw an Eid event, activists have warned the popular tourist centre is becoming a hub of anti-Islam and anti-Muslim activities Friday March 28, 2025 10:37 AM , Syed Ali Mujtaba [Students participating in a cultural event (File Image/ Auckland House School)] Shimla: Flagging the Hindutva threats to a Shimla School, which was forced to withdraw an Eid event, activists have warned the popular tourist centre is becoming a hub of anti-Islam and anti-Muslim activities. Himachal Pradesh and its capital Shimla have emerged as an epic center of anti-Islam, anti-Muslim activity, Dimple Oberoi Vahali , a resident of Shimla and a social activist, who had opposed the Sangoli mosque demolition in Shimla, said. Dimple said this after a private school in Shimla was forced to cancel its planned Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations after threats from a Hindutva organization called Dev Bhoomi Sangarsh Samiti. The Hindutva group warned to "gherao" the school and take legal action if the decision to celebrate Eid festival was not withdrawn. Some other religious outfits and commoners also expressed concerns on social media. The Shimla based activist further said that the Hindutva right wing is having a field day in Himachal Pradesh. "Hell might have let loose, if anything like this may have come from any Muslim group", she said. 'Solely a Cultural Event' On its part, the Auckland House School authority said they organize different events to help young students appreciate India's cultural diversity. The school had invited students to wear traditional attire and bring festive food as part of a cultural learning experience, similar to its celebrations for Holi, Diwali, and Christmas. The English-medium school in the Congress ruled Himachal Pradesh issued the directions to the students for March 28, the last Friday before the Eid-ul-Fitr, for the celebrations. The event however has been cancelled following the threats. "The planned Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations for nursery to class 2 were a part of our efforts to help young students appreciate India's cultural diversity -- just as we celebrate Holi, Diwali, and Christmas", the school administration said in a circular. "It was intended purely as a cultural learning experience, with no religious rituals and enforcement, and participation was entirely voluntary", the school said. Given the recent misrepresentation and concern around potential disruption, the school has decided to withdraw the event to maintain peace and secure the environment. The students should attend the school in regular uniform as usual, it added. [Syed Ali Mujtaba is a Journalist. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com] Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that in case of risks in the agreement on minerals, he will communicate about this with Ukrainian society. "It seems to me that Ukrainians, in principle, know me very well. I think there is no need to doubt. If there are any risky things for us, then I will definitely communicate all this without any secrets with our society," Zelenskyy said at a briefing on Friday. The president believes that "the main basic things, compromises, were outlined in the framework agreement, which we were ready to go for." "And therefore, we will base ourselves on clear things that we talked about, where we see an opportunity to build the right partnership," he added. Speaking about the alleged debts of the United States to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said he does not see them, if we talk about the past. "If some prospects are meant, new support, new support packages, then the United States can set certain conditions, understanding that this team will not do anything to us for free. This is what they are officially saying," the president said. Guterres: Ukraine has legitimate govt that must be respected UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that Ukraine has a "legitimate government that must be respected." "Ukraine has a legitimate government that must be respected, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections," Reuters journalist Michelle Nichols reported on the social network X. March 28 2025 Smith Scott Mullan Associates, on behalf of LAR Housing Trust, has filed plans for 11 four bedroom townhouses in three clusters at Ford's Road, Edinburgh. Slotting into a former car park to the rear of Riverside House next to the Water of Leith, the terraced family homes will complement the recent residential conversion of Elfin Square, also by LAR. Outlining their chosen design approach, the architects wrote: "The main design challenge was reducing the existing spatial chaos and the negative impact of the unattractive back elevations and car parking dominating Fords Road. The aim is to replace the brutalist car-centric space with a friendly and people-oriented urban street. "Locating the 3.5-storey high buildings along Fords Road creates a legible, human-scale urban street where buildings and mature trees complement each other. This move allows us to obscure the untidy landscape of back elevations. Aligning with the Elphin House breaks its mass and minimises the impact of the oppressive gable." Homes will be finished in a dark grey smooth cement slate cladding in a cassette pattern to lessen the brooding presence of Elphin House to the rear, with a light brick base to the flood line. 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. As of now, there is no information that the US has resumed funding for the investigation into the Russian Federation's crimes against Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "There is none. There is a lot of different information constantly coming out... This is not in the interests of all parties, because a lot of information is coming out and you and I do not understand where the real information is. Therefore, unfortunately, this is the time," Zelenskyy said, answering journalists' questions about whether there is information that the US has resumed funding for the investigation into the Russian Federation's crimes against Ukraine. As reported, on March 17, the EU allegedly confirmed the US withdrawal from the group monitoring Russian war crimes in Ukraine. On March 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, answering a question from an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, said that he had instructed Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha to prepare details regarding the possible withdrawal of the United States from the International Center for the Investigation of Russian Crimes against Ukraine. Thousands protested Thursday after Israel's parliament passed a law expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The approval came with Netanyahu's coalition, the most right-wing in Israeli history, locked in a standoff with the supreme court after the premier began proceedings to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and announced the sacking of Ronen Bar, head of the internal security agency. Protesters rallied against the law on Thursday evening, with critics saying it was a "catastrophe" and a "nail in the coffin of Israeli democracy", while the opposition swiftly filed a petition with the supreme court challenging the legislation. "The government wants us to forget about the hostages, wants to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet ... but they do not have the power to do so if we stand united like a wall," said retired major general Noam Tibon in a speech at a Tel Aviv protest. The law was approved by a vote of 67 in favour and one against, with the opposition boycotting the early-morning vote. Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has 120 members. The overall judicial reform package sparked one of the largest protest movements in Israel's history in 2023 before being overtaken by the war in Gaza. According to Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who sponsored the bill, the measure was intended to "restore balance" between the legislative and judicial branches. In his closing remarks ahead of the vote, Levin slammed the supreme court, saying it had "effectively nullified the Knesset". "It has taken for itself the authority to cancel laws and even Basic Laws. This is something unheard of in any democracy in the world," said Levin, the key architect of the judicial changes. Israel lacks a written constitution, but it has a number of Basic Laws which set out things such as human rights and the powers of the parliament. - 'Catastrophe' - Currently, judges -- including supreme court justices -- are selected by a nine-member committee consisting of judges, lawmakers and bar association representatives, under the justice minister's supervision. Under the new law, which would take effect at the start of the next legislative term, the committee would still have nine members: three supreme court judges, the justice minister and another minister, one coalition lawmaker, one opposition lawmaker, and two public representatives - one appointed by the majority and the other by the opposition. Yair Lapid, leader of the centre-right Yesh Atid party, announced on X that he had filed an appeal with the supreme court against the law on behalf of several opposition parties, just minutes after the parliamentary vote. "Instead of focusing all efforts on their (Israeli hostages in Gaza) return and healing the divisions within the people, this government is returning to the exact legislation that divided the public before October 7," Lapid said in his post. "The amendment passed by the Knesset is another nail in the coffin of Israeli democracy," said Eliad Shraga, head of Israeli NGO the Movement for Quality Government in Israel and one of the petitioners against the law. "This is a calculated attempt to take control of the judicial system and turn it into a tool in the hands of politicians," he said in a statement. Claude Klein, a public law expert at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, said enactment of the law would be a "catastrophe". "They want to take real power. Netanyahu thinks that the supreme court is keeping him from running the country his way," he told AFP. - New protests - The government's judicial reforms package, first unveiled in early 2023, triggered massive weekly street protests that polarised Israeli society. Netanyahu's detractors warn the multi-pronged package could pave the way for authoritarian rule and be used by the prime minister to quash any possible convictions against him in his ongoing corruption trial, an accusation the premier denies. Rallies have again erupted in key cities and on Thursday thousands protested against the new law. "You will be the ones that save the State of Israel", former Israeli police chief and Netanyahu critic Roni Alsheikh told crowds protesting in Jerusalem. Netanyahu slammed the opposition in parliament on Wednesday. "Perhaps you could stop putting spanners in the works of the government in the middle of a war. Perhaps you could stop fuelling the sedition, hatred and anarchy in the streets," he said. bur-jd-lba/kir Israels Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli organized an international conference in Jerusalem on the fight against anti-Semitism. He invited president of the French National Rally Jordan Bardella and Marion Marechal, granddaughter of the founder of the National Front Jean-Marie Le Pen, but also Vox (Spain), the Sweden Democrats, Fidesz (Hungary), and the Party for Freedom (Netherlands). It seems that former Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes (2013-2018) was also present. Hence widespread cancellations, including those of representatives of Jewish organizations abroad, the president of the European Jewish Congress, the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, the presidents of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and the Anti-Defamation League, as well as the czar of the fight against anti-Semitism in Germany. Amichai Chikli comes from a French family. He is the deputy of Ukrainian Natan Sharansky, a former "revisionist Zionist" minister and a convinced "integral nationalist". Chikli and Sharansky controlled all Israeli propaganda abroad (cf. VIN 1608). Sharansky began his career with the American Straussians and now works with Volodymyr Zelensky. He is the only public figure to be involved in all three fascist groups: Zeev Jabotinsky ("revisionist Zionists"), Leo Strauss ("Straussians"/"neoconservatives") and Dmytro Dontsov ("integral nationalists"/"Banderites"). Amichai Chikli hired several French influencers on the Internet in the summer of 2023, i.e. before "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood". He has passed a law in Israel punishing any challenge to the official version of the events of October 7, 2023 with 5 years in prison (cf. VIN 0375). His links with the European hard right have been established for a long time. Voltaire, International Newsletter is a weekly newsletter on international politics. It features 10 to 15 pages of contextualized, sourced news items. Its aim is to enable you to follow the decline of the unipolar world and the emergence of a multipolar system. The newsletter is published in several languages. Several foreign ministries from different countries have already subscribed. Our director of publication and editor-in-chief directed French magazines several years ago, and has won journalism awards abroad. He has regularly contributed to some fifteen major dailies and magazines around the world. Voltaire, International Newsletter is available by subscription for 500 a year, is published 42 times a year (not in July-August, nor during the Christmas holydays). Its an indispensable tool for any professional in international relations or defense. Whats more, 10 times a year, subscribers are invited to Zoom virtual meetings with publications director Thierry Meyssan. Contents of issue N126 EDITORIAL 3134 The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Natan Sharansky AMERICAS 3135 Donald Trump declassifies the "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation documents 3136 Donald Trump orders enforcement of election rules 3137 Trump Administration Exposes Fraud and Federal Corruption 3138 Donald Trump withdraws security clearances from 14 opposition figures 3139 Planned Parenthood could be sued for trafficking in aborted fetal organs 3140 The Signal Newsgroup Case on Yemen 3141 Tulsi Gabbard assesses threats to the U.S. 3142 Marco Rubio condemns the opposition of some allies to peace in Ukraine 3143 Reporters Without Borders defends US propaganda 3144 Donald Trump attacks Venezuela EUROPE 3145 The Starmer government would like the United States to join the Commonwealth 3146 What is the secret military agreement between London and Tel Aviv? 3147 Peter Ricketts envisions the future of EU aid to Ukraine 3148 War propaganda: Eurovision produces an interview with Volodymyr Zelensky 3149 France protests against the beating of Hamdan Ballal 3150 Denmark extends military service to women 3151 The RAND Corporation contemplates an institutional forum around France and the United Kingdom for the nuclear defense of Europe 3152 ILGA-Europe publishes a list of European court decisions on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics 3153 MEPs call for "sanctions" against Milorad Dodik 3154 Platform of European Liberal Parties 3155 The Special Tribunal for the Investigation of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is ready to be established 3156 For Michael OFlaherty, human rights must be at the center of any peace process in Ukraine 3157 Nikolai Patrushev condemns the resurgence of the fascist project of Greater Finland 3158 List of energy facilities of Russia and Ukraine covered by the temporary moratorium on shelling of the energy system, as agreed by the Russian and US sides 3159 Agreement on Free Movement in the Black Sea 3160 Kremlin Statement: Main Outcomes of the Meeting of the Russian and US Expert Groups AFRICA 3161 The file on South Africas complaint against Israel ASIA 3162 Pentagon and IDF prepare to attack Iran 3163 David Roet says Israel must kill all Gazans, including infants 3164 From now on, the Israeli judiciary will no longer be independent, but political 3165 Benjamin Netanyahu admits to having been informed of funds transferred to Hamas military wing 3166 Investigation into MPs support for Sde Teiman torture centre 3167 Israeli government pushes Gazans to dismiss Hamas 3168 Gazans protest against the war and Hamas 3169 Israeli settlers expel 40,000 Palestinians from the Jordan Valley 3170 The question of Hezbollahs weapons is still not closed 3171 U.S. Targets Civilian Leaders in Yemen 3172 Massive protest movement in Turkiye 3173 Pentagon prepares to attack Iran 3174 China Commits to Preserving Free Trade 3175 General He Weidong dismissed? 3176 The "Moon Sect" Loses Its Tax Privileges in Japan INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 3177 UN Security Council notes its powerlessness regarding Israels illegal colonization of the Palestinian territories Jason Statham in A Working Man. Photo: Dan Smith/Amazon MGM Studios/Everett Collection Theres something to be said for a movie whose emotional high point might be Jason Statham saying good-bye to his gun. The gun in question is an M-14, a rifle that Stathams character, Levon Cade, is almost queasily familiar with from his 22 years in the military, and its the weapon he chooses before going off to mow down the nest of Russian gangsters and drug dealers and human traffickers hes found himself at war with. But the rifles symbolic value is complicated. Levon, were told, has untreated post-traumatic stress and brain trauma from his service; thats why he lost custody of his young daughter after the untimely death of his wife. And like many an action hero, when we first meet him, Levon has been trying to leave that past behind, opting instead to work quietly as a foreman at a family construction firm owned by his friend Joe Garcia (Michael Pena). The M-14 represents the life he left behind, and his eventual farewell to it suggests, perhaps, a more hopeful finality. A Working Man, of course, is not really about trauma or the ghosts of the past or the spiritual toll of violence or anything like that. Quite the contrary: Its about the exaltation of ass-kicking, and Statham and director David Ayer (working off a script he co-wrote with Sylvester Stallone, based on Chuck Dixons novel Levons Trade, the first of 12 books featuring Cade) make sure that we feel the visceral thrill of every arm snap, every neck stab, every head shot. Ayer also directed last years The Beekeeper, and much like that film, A Working Man features Statham as an initially reluctant lone angel of the apocalypse reactivating his special set of skills and making his way up the chain of an alternate, hermetically sealed world of smug villainy. In The Beekeeper, it was reptilian tech bros preying on ordinary citizens though the scale of the conspiracy eventually reached gloriously absurd heights, with even the president of the United States getting involved. (Slimy tech bros colluding with a president? Ridiculous!) In A Working Man, its human traffickers who kidnap girls at random from bars, though in this case theyre also plugged into a network of gangsters living in their own echo chamber of arcane rules and garish fashions. When Levon pummels the shit out of two Russian goons, we want him to get an extra couple of punches in to punish them for their silly bucket hats and their pale, matching, grotesque paisley outfits. (When one protests that its their own fashion brand, we lust just a little more for their execution.) The villains in this movie arent merely cruel and sadistic; theyre also profoundly stupid and incompetent, which actually feels closer to the way things tend to be in the real world. A Working Man is not trying to be realistic, however, which is interesting given that Ayer initially made his name with gritty urban dramas like Harsh Times and End of Watch, movies that wore their street-level authenticity on their sleeves. Here, he uses the iconography of fairy tales to give Levons actions a mythical kick. An enormous full moon the size of Jupiter presides over the final act. The climax takes place in a large house lit and made up like a temple with giant torches outside. One baddie, the leader of a biker gang, wears a horned helmet and sits on a motorcycle throne with flaring pipes and pistons. Another is draped in what appears to be a long, black, crushed-vinyl overcoat. The whole film feels like it takes place in an alternate universe, so that Levons stoic, no-nonsense bruiser cuts through it not just narratively but graphically. Much like the storybook mayhem of the first John Wick, A Working Man isnt afraid to make its spectacles of slaughter visually enchanting. This also gets to something at the heart of Stathams persona, which he has honed exceptionally well in recent years. The crouched, whirlwind fighting techniques give him the appearance of an action figure come to life, conveying comedy and menace in equal measure and allowing us to enjoy the slaughter with an easy conscience. And his icy glare combines Buster Keatons great stone face with something more timeless, like one of those huge statues one finds on Mount Nemrut or Easter Island. We can project feelings onto the purposefully blank canvas of Stathams visage be they a longing for normality, a lust for violence, or something else which makes him both the funniest and the saddest of action heroes. When he bids adieu to that M-14, dont be surprised if you find yourself simultaneously chuckling and choking up a little. Photo: Walt Disney/Everett Collection Loving Studio Ghibli films means loving Hayao Miyazaki. And loving Miyazaki means appreciating the detailed work of the team of Japanese animators hand-drawing the vast majority of what viewers see in films like My Neighbor Totoro and Howls Moving Castle. Every sizzling egg or faint blush or bizarre new creature comes directly from someones body a sore wrist, a cramped forearm. Miyazaki once wrote in a memo regarding his film Porco Rosso, in which a cool pig fights fascists, that we must treat every character respectfully. We must love their foolishness. One common mistake the belief that to draw a cartoon is to draw someone sillier than oneself must be avoided at all costs. What doesnt come from the natural world is the hollow AI-inspired art making its way around Twitter. On March 25, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, shared an extremely cursed image of himself and fellow OpenAI scientists Gabriel Goh and Prafulla Dhariwal as Ghibli-esque, uh, tech guys. this was a real labor of love from @gabeeegoooh. congrats gabe; excellent work! here is what we generated during the livestream: pic.twitter.com/fmHWp4d9AF Sam Altman (@sama) March 25, 2025 Altmans announcement, just two weeks after he announced OpenAI had written a piece of not very good short fiction, is especially harrowing because he claims the implementation of images into ChatGPT is a labor of love. Theres no doubt that these guys created this tool because they love the look of Studio Ghibli films, but theres no trace of respect or admiration for the filmmaker who introduced them to these images. Now, anyone can ask ChatGPT to Ghibli-ify any image, cheapening a visual art form that would have once and still does taken hours and hours of work. Miyazaki has never been shy about his disdain for computer animation or AI art. Though the former has made its way into a few of his films since Princess Mononoke, the director decried the latter in no uncertain terms in a 2016 episode of NHKs documentary feature on him. Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever. I am utterly disgusted, he said. If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself. In the clip, Miyazaki seems neither outraged nor indignant, simply exhausted and annoyed. An OpenAI spokesperson told 404Media that the goal is to give users as much creative freedom as possible. Users do have creative freedom freedom to learn to draw, animate, write, score, or direct their own projects. The dilution of the Studio Ghibli style does not merely go against the initial ethos of Miyazakis work; it infects all other forms of art that surround it. Before Miyazaki started Studio Ghibli with Isao Takahata, the two met in the trenches of union organization with the Toei Doga animation studio. During the 1960s, they fought for shorter work days and advocated for better pay the types of labor strides now being negated by AI in just about every workforce. Being pro-labor and pro-AI is incompatible, as AI devalues the work that actual workers do, making them less valuable to the market and easier to underpay going forward. Though Studio Ghibli itself has had its share of labor issues in the present day, the studio was built on progressive, pro-labor politics. Pain is inherent in Miyazakis work, both physical and emotional, and thats part of what makes it resonate across decades. But the pleasure of the OpenAI generated is instantaneous and intoxicating. People are making memes. People are transforming their family photos. People are re-creating historical photos. The official White House Twitter account is doing something, well, ghoulish and inexplicable. What the images capture are the more adorable aspects of the Miyazaki style: round faces, bright eyes, earnest expressions of joy. (Even a despairing, smoking Ben Affleck has been rendered to its cutest possible potential.) The speed at which the OpenAI Ghibli images are flying around suggests that the fad may burn out sooner than later the accelerationist tendencies are inherent to the form. See? People have already moved on to the Muppets. Both Penelope Cruz and Mark Ruffalo signed the letter. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Chelsea Guglielmino/FilmMagic, Amy Sussman/WireImage/Getty Images Over 600 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences signed an open letter criticizing the Academys lack of support for No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal on March 27 following his detainment by Israeli authorities. As artists we depend on our ability to tell stories without reprisals, the letter says. Documentary filmmakers often expose themselves to extreme risks to enlighten the world. It is indefensible for an organization to recognize a film with an award in the first week of March, and then fail to defend its filmmakers just a few weeks later. Notable signatories include Alfonso Cuaron, Riz Ahmed, Mark Ruffalo, Penelope Cruz, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Todd Haynes, Olivia Colman, and Joaquin Phoenix. Also among them is Jonathan Glazer, the director of the Holocaust drama Zone of Interest, who spoke out against Israels dehumanization of Gaza in his 2024 Oscars speech. More than 400 signatories are from AMPASs documentary branch. The statement by Bill Kramer and Janet Yang fell far short of the sentiments this moment calls for, it reads. Therefore we are issuing our own statement, which speaks for the undersigned members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy released a statement on March 26 from Kramer, its CEO, and Yang, its president, that did not name Ballal. The Academy condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints, it reads. We are living in a time of profound change, marked by conflict and uncertainty across the globe, in the U.S. and within our own industry. Understandably, we are often asked to speak on behalf of the Academy in response to social, political and economic events. In these instances, it is important to note that the Academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints. No Other Land, which documented the Palestinians resisting displacement in Masafer Yatta, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2025 Oscars. Ballal, who is Palestinian, was injured in an attack by Israeli settlers on Susiya, a village in the region, and detained by the IDF, per March 24 reports. He was released on March 25, according to a tweet from one of his No Other Land co-directors, Yuval Abraham. There is a twist in this baffling small-town thriller starring Nicole Kidman, but it doesnt illuminate anything at all. Photo: Amazon Studios/Everett Collection Holland, Michigan, is a real town, though youd be forgiven for assuming its a fictional creation when watching Holland, a baffling thriller starring Nicole Kidman thats now streaming on Amazon Prime. Director Mimi Cave shoots the place like its a highly specialized area of Epcot Center, a recreation of a Dutch-themed midwestern community whose residents are unaware theyre in a theme park. The sun is always shining, the grass is always vibrant, and the Tulip Festival (the longest running in the U.S.!) always on the horizon. The characters move as though theyre gliding through syrup instead of air as though the sanctuary of Americana they inhabit had been canned and preserved like fruit. Kidmans character, Nancy Vandergroot, even talks about her life as if its some somnolescent idyll, murmuring I look around myself, and it feels like a dream. The unreality makes a high-concept reveal feel inevitable, whether its a Dont Worry Darling scenario where the characters are living in a simulated reality or some kind of Stepford Wives situation where half the residents are either robots or have been brainwashed into docile perfection. But I am here to tell you that if you are waiting on that kind of plot development, you will wait in vain. While there is a twist in Holland, its of the standard darkness-lurking-beneath-suburbia variety that makes the films stylistic choices all the more bonkers. Hallucinatory utopia is, it turns out, just how Nancy sees her world. The problem with Holland is that Cave has no aptitude for tone. This was evident, but a more minor issue, in her 2022 cannibal-thriller debut, Fresh, which never found its satirical edge despite a fantastic nightmare foodie-bro turn from Sebastian Stan. In this new film, though, it proves to be a disaster that leaves you feeling like the actors are all floundering to figure out what theyre supposed to be doing. As Nancy, a mother, wife, and high-school home-ec teacher, Kidman opts for a childlike naivete, approaching her characters suspicions that her husband is cheating on her with a Nancy Drewesque girl-detective enthusiasm. As Fred, the towns ophthalmologist as well as the possibly philandering spouse, Matthew Macfadyen retreats into the weaponized blandness hes come to specialize in. And as Dave Delgado, the shop teacher who becomes Nancys confidant, Gael Garcia Bernal tries to echo Kidmans bubbly innocence, though hes also tasked with flare-ups of ugliness that make this approach jarring. (Dave and Nancy eventually fall in love; Kidman is never one to overlook a short king.) The film takes place in 2000, though its Pleasantville sheen and its characters near-lobotomized quality makes it feel like its supposed to be set in an alterna-1950s. Hollands screenplay, which was written by Manhunt co-creator Andrew Sodroski, was one of the Blacklist projects that rattled around for years, almost getting made (Errol Morris was originally attached to direct). Sometimes highly rated Blacklist scripts feel like they were made to be read rather than produced, but if you squint, you can see the appeal of Hollands. Theres a Coen brothers quality to its depiction of Nancy and Daves adventures, to the way that taking up the mantle of amateur private investigators to figure out what Fred is up to provides the pair with intrigue and excitement part Fargo, part The Man Who Wasnt There. But Holland doesnt have that sense of control, or the necessary wryness. It is, I suppose, ultimately a movie about a white womans complacency, though to show that as a state of dreamlike innocence, a sleepwalking through life, functions more as an excuse for her mind-set than a means of illuminating it. The reason that Holland feels like its always on the verge of some grander reveal, some rupture that explains its own heightened artificiality, is that it never allows us to understand its main character, that dark place she claims she was in before she met her husband, why shes so intent on feeling safe, and whether what shes been feeling up to this point is numbness or contentment. No one involved with Holland seems to understand what theyre up to at all which is fine for Kidman, the hardest-working woman in Hollywood at the moment, whos already moved on to the next thing. Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker believes that the Russian Federation, as a "belligerent aggressor," is a threat to the EU and Russia is "very dangerous" for Austrian democracy, he stated this, among other things, in an interview with Der Standard on Friday. In particular, to the publication's question regarding Russia's influence on the parliamentary elections in the fall of 2024. Stocker replied: "I have no reliable evidence that this is the case... However, it is undeniable that Russia uses destabilization attempts, disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks to influence other Western European democracies - I cannot rule out that this is also happening in Austria. In any case, Russia is very dangerous for our democracy," the chancellor said. When asked by a journalist about the Russian Federation's hybrid war against the EU, Stocker said: "I wouldn't say so. But Russia, as a belligerent aggressor, is a threat not only to Ukraine." As reported, on March 3, Austria swore in the country's new chancellor, a member of the right-wing Austrian People's Party (APP), Christian Stocker, who will head the government, which for the first time included representatives of three parties at once - the APP, the Social Democratic Party and the liberal NEOS. The agency recalls that they managed to unite only after the second attempt - after the far-right Austrian Freedom Party took first place in the elections in September. Clockwise from top: Death of a Unicorn, The Studio, The Woman in the Yard, Holland. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Everett Collection (A24, Daniel Delgado Jr./Universal Pictures), Apple TV+ The hottest trend this week is giving away the plot right in the title of the movie. Films with a unicorn death, a woman in someones yard, and a bunch of queer men hanging out are just a handful to watch this weekend. Heres the rest. Featured Presentations . Its in the name! Paul Rudd plays Elliot Kintner, the man who accidentally mows down a unicorn with his daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega). The two are driving to Elliots rich Big Pharma employers, the Leopolds (played by Richard Grant, Tea Leoni, and Will Poulter), in Canada. What starts off as a fantastical find quickly turns into a gory horror movie as the unicorns parents come knocking. In theaters now . Seth Rogen who co-created this series alongside longtime collaborator Evan Goldberg, Frida Perez, and former Veep writers Peter Huyck and Alex Gregory plays the head of a movie studio who finds new ways to make an ass of himself in every episode. If youre looking for a comedy where several directors play versions of themselves (Martin Scorsese! Ron Howard! Olivia Wilde!), this is the show for you. Jen Chaney Stream on Apple TV+ . Again, its in the name! Directed by horror aficionado Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, House of Wax), The Woman in the Yard follows an isolated family, led by Danielle Deadwyler, after a recent tragedy as they find a strange woman (Okwui Okpokwasili) waiting ominously outside their house. As the woman in all black inches closer, the horror and tension ratchets up. In theaters now . Another of 2025s entries in the category known as What if streaming tried to make shows like network television?, this is a Golden Girlsstyle sitcom about three older gay men who become Palm Springs roommates. Its got Matt Bomer, Nathan Lane, Nathan Lee Graham, and Linda Lavin in one of her last roles. It was created by Will & Grace alums. Its a multi-cam! Maybe whats old is new again? Kathryn VanArendonk Streaming on Hulu The One-Sentence Review A Working Man Much like the storybook mayhem of the first John Wick, A Working Man isnt afraid to make its spectacles of slaughter visually enchanting. (Read the rest of Ebiris review of Jason Stathams latest here.) . Nicole Kidman has no idea what a vacation is unless her character is on one. The actor has been in project after project lately, and her newest film is a thriller about a woman who suspects that her husband (Matthew Macfadyen) is having an affair. She then enlists a fellow teacher (Gael Garcia Bernal) to help her investigate. Streaming on Prime Video . Though this London-set crime drama was originally conceived as a Ray Donovan spinoff series, the story has been reworked and now fits neatly in the oeuvre of co-executive producer (and occasional episode director) Guy Ritchie. Fast-talking criminals, boxing matches, violent action sequences, car charases, and notable stars (Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan) are all present and accounted for. Tolly Wright Streaming on Paramount+ starting Sunday, March 30 Finally Streaming A Complete Unknown Timothee Chalamet landed his second Oscar nomination for playing Bob Dylan. Avoiding most of the traps of the music biopic, James Mangolds film tells the story of Dylans rise in the early-to-mid-60s in the New York folk scene, a music movement that he would change forever. Brian Tallerico Streaming on Hulu One of the best needle drops of last year was Nirvana playing as Daniel Craig spotted Drew Starkey in Queer, now on Max. Double Feature Jurassic Park III This sequel gets a bad rap. Compared to Jurassic Park, a lot of the franchise sequels get a bad rap, thats completely understandable. But Jurassic Park III is still an entertaining, schlocky thriller. You might as well pair it up with Death of a Unicorn, which also stars Tea Leoni as the matriarch of a family in danger of being maimed by some memorable beasts. Streaming on Starz Want more? Read our recommendations from the week of March 21. In the middle of one of their most crunched productions, Studio Ghiblis masters showed a young French animator the ropes. Photo: Studio Ghibili Hayao Miyazaki does not announce himself he appears. Or at least thats how the director revealed himself to animation student David Encinas on the street during 1993s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Some classmates were on the other side of the street, and suddenly, I see them pointing. I turned my head and Miyazaki was just there, beside me, waiting to cross, Encinas says. It was just like that scene in My Neighbor Totoro, when the girls are waiting in the rain and that giant Totoro comes in and waits quietly. Their encounter would eventually lead to a conversation intermediated by a translator, an ad hoc animation critique, and, some years later, a job on Miyazakis 1997 classic Princess Mononoke, which has been remastered and re-released in Imax for the first time this week. Today Encinas still animates and teaches animation at Gobelins Paris, but in the mid-90s, he became one of the only Western artists to ever work for Studio Ghibli, living an animators dream: contributing to the films of generational talents like Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, while learning from Ghiblis top lieutenants. Once he got there after notching a few years of professional experience, they made him start from scratch, just like everyone else: Bouncing ball exercises and drawing hands, Encinas recalls. And I was so grateful for that. In less than three months, I learned more than in all my years combined at Gobelins and Disney. At Annecy, after Miyazaki watched and tried to give notes on Encinass animation reel through a translator, Encinas asked him outright what it would take to get hired at Ghibli. Miyazaki set one condition: Learn Japanese. For the next two years, as he worked on The Goofy Movie and as a freelancer, Encinas spent a chunk of his early-career wages on lessons. He returned to Annecy in 1995, where he introduced himself to Miyazakis colleague Takahata. At that point Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki recognized him from the meeting with Miyazaki, and passed him his card, encouraging him to come to Japan to take Ghiblis animation test. He must have thought, Oh shit, he really did learn Japanese, Encinas jokes. Foreground, left to right: Isao Takahata, Canadian director Frederic Back, and David Encinas, ca. 1997-98. Photo: Courtesy of David Encinas Determined to shoot his shot, Encinas made his way to Tokyo that summer, where Miyazaki challenged him to produce a layout animation to be completed in the morning and critiqued in the afternoon. Encinas remembers Miyazaki muttering to himself as he flipped through the pages: Okay, first part, yeah, might be okay Then he pulled out sheets of thin, nearly transparent yellow paper, the kind Japanese animators use for corrections, and began to doodle. As soon as Miyazaki started drawing, I started to understand the gap, Encinas says. His Western animation education and his understanding of anatomy differed dramatically from what Miyazaki required. And the studio was already working on Princess Mononoke, their most ambitious project yet and one whose drawings were already splayed across the studios layout tables when he visited. When I saw the quality of the drawing, I knew that I couldnt get at that, he says. But they offered to train me under the supervision of the best animators they had. Such was the ethos at Studio Ghibli, a work culture that prioritized tutelage even during their most expensive and stressful production yet. Hand-drawn animation is laborious and iterative even in the most ideal of circumstances, but the Princess Mononoke production was a period of well-documented studio crunch, round-the-clock schedules, and deadline pressure. The company poured so much money and resources into the movie that Miyazaki has been quoted as saying he didnt care if it bankrupted them. The staff knew it. If Princess Mononoke didnt work, Ghibli wouldve closed, Encinas says. David Encinas with a coworker at Studio Ghibli. Photo: Courtesy of David Encinas Under those circumstances and with his unpracticed Japanese, hiring him as a full-fledged animator wasnt going to happen. But a grunt job as an assistant handling in-betweens and clean-ups was within reach. He joined Princess Mononoke mid-production, in January 1997 and worked for the company for two years. His primary supervisor was Kenichi Konishi, a key animator on Mononoke who would check his regular exercises and who would himself graduate into the role of animation director on Ghiblis next film My Neighbors the Yamadas. Once a week, he worked on still drawings with Yoshifumi Kondo, who was being trained as Miyazaki and Takahatas successor, before his untimely death from an aortic dissection following years of overwork. And Yasuo Otsuka, who mentored several generations of Japanese animators including Miyazaki and Takahata, would come in once a week to assign short exercises to Encinas and his fellow studio newcomers with group critiques and corrections at the end. Every artist, it seemed, was a work in progress, and getting so much feedback on every aspect of the animation helped him reorient his approach and career, from working at Ghibli to eventually teaching Japanese animation methods at Gobelins Paris. This is something that I really didnt see at Disney, an animator teaching the assistant, he says. While he doesnt blame any animators for it, the culture in Western studios feels different and more specialized to him, sometimes to their detriment: Theyre doing their task, they dont always know where its coming from and where it goes. So does the scale. At studios like DreamWorks, departments might be housed in different buildings one for VFX, one for layout, one for animation, and so forth whereas Princess Mononoke was done on one floor, with everybody in the same room, exchanging. And everyone, even senior staff, would chip in on grunt work, whether it was an animation director donning white gloves to personally paint celluloid frames or key animators working on in-betweens and checking each others work. I cannot conceive of seeing that in a big studio like Pixar, Encinas says. The brutally crunched production delivered Ghiblis most violent film, but also one of its most optimistic. Princess Mononoke is about an individual who heals himself by venturing far from home and attempting to understand problems foreign to him, despite their challenges. These guys, their time and experience, are very precious, so Im very grateful, Encinas says. That time should have been used for the production of the movie and not to train a young guy like me. That meant a lot. Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov announced the creation of a separate vertical in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, which will focus exclusively on the development of aviation. "Our goal is to increase the effectiveness of existing platforms and master new technologies that will give Ukraine an advantage in the sky. We already have F-16s, which have proven their effectiveness, as well as French Mirages. This is just the beginning, and we will continue to develop this direction," he said on Facebook. The minister announced that today, by his order, in agreement with the President of Ukraine, he appointed: Major General Oleksii Marchenko as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the AFU; Brigadier General Serhii Holubtsov as Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the AFU; Colonel Oleksandr Diakiv as Commander of Aviation Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the AFU. In addition, Umerov said he is submitting a proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers for the appointment of Oleksandr Kozenko as Deputy Minister of Defense for Aviation. "He has long served as my advisor, particularly on adapting the F-16 and Mirage in Ukraine. His task now is to expand these developments across the entire military aviation system. Air superiority means protecting our people and enhancing our offensive capabilities. Ukrainian soldiers must receive powerful support from the sky. We will do everything necessary to achieve this," he said. Major General Marchenko has over 30 years of service in aviation. He started as a flight instructor, served in reconnaissance and fighter aviation regiments, and commanded a squadron and a tactical aviation brigade. He was the first deputy commander and later the commander of the West air command. He headed the Specialized Center for Aviation Combat Training and worked in the structures of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Air Traffic Service Enterprise of Ukraine. He is one of those who systematically developed aviation combat capabilities during the full-scale war. Brigadier General Holubtsov is one of the most experienced officers of the Air Force. He began his service in fighter aviation, commanded a squadron and a brigade, and was Deputy Commander of the Center and West air commands. He was part of the leadership of the Air Force Command, responsible for personnel training and aviation capabilities development. Colonel Diakiv has nearly 30 years of military experience. He progressed from pilot to commander of a tactical aviation brigade. He headed the Faculty of Retraining and Advanced Training of Aviation Personnel. Currently, he serves as Chief of Staff - Deputy Commander of Aviation at the Air Force Command of the AFU. State visit to Italy expected to go ahead despite health setback for the king. Britain's King Charles is to address both houses of the Italian parliament, gathered in a joint session, during a state visit to Italy with Queen Camilla next month. The historic event, scheduled on Wednesday 9 April at 14.50, will see Charles become the first British monarch to address a joint session of the Italian parliament. The king's address in the chamber of Montecitorio will follow speeches by the presidents of the lower house and the senate, Lorenzo Fontana and Ignazio La Russa respectively. Queen Camilla will also attend the ceremony, which is set to last 25 minutes, according to Italian media reports. The British ambassador to Italy Edward Llewellyn told the Corriere della Sera newspaper last week that the king will "also speak in Italian" during the address. Health setback Buckingham Palace announced late on Thursday that Charles, 76, had spent a short period of time in hospital earlier that day after experiencing temporary side effects during cancer treatment. Charles cancelled a tour of Birmingham on Friday, acting on medical advice, with a palace source describing the setback to the BBC as a "most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction". The upcoming royal visit to Italy, planned from 7-10 April, is still expected to go ahead, according to British media. Vatican The tour was to have included a visit to the Vatican however this plan was dropped "by mutual agreement" after doctors advised Pope Francis to rest for an extended period following his five-week stay in hospital battling double pneumonia, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday. The cancellation of the Vatican element of the visit has led to alterations to the planned programme which will include engagements in Rome and Ravenna. Shared values The state visit - designed to underscore the strong relationship between the UK and Italy, reflecting "shared values, history and culture" - will see the British royals meet Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni and president Sergio Mattarella who will host a state banquet in their honour on 9 April. Military links between the two countries will be highlighted with a joint flypast over Rome by Italy's Frecce Tricolori jets and the UK's Red Arrows, and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Photo credit: Richard Juilliart / Shutterstock.com. Holy Week liturgies leading up to Easter begin with Palm Sunday on 13 April. The Vatican on Thursday released its programme of Holy Week and Easter liturgies, amid uncertainty over the possible presence of Pope Francis. The programme does not state who will preside or be the main celebrant and makes no mention of the 88-year-old pontiff who continues to convalesce following his battle with double pneumonia. Francis was discharged from Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Sunday, after five weeks, and returned to his Vatican residence at Casa Santa Marta where he is to spend "at least two months" resting, on doctors' orders. The Vatican press office told the Catholic News Service that it would be necessary to "see the improvements in the pope's health in the coming weeks to assess his possible presence, and on what terms, at the rites of Holy Week." In previous years the pope has marked Holy Thursday by visiting jails where he has performed the foot-washing ritual, bathing the feet of prisoners. There is a chance that Francis may impart the Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi blessing, which is included on the 2025 programme. The blessing is traditionally given by the pope from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica on Easter Sunday, and cannot be delegated to anyone else, although it could be delivered in a different format such as a live-stream video. 2025 Holy Week schedule 13 April: Palm Sunday. The liturgical programme leading up to Easter Sunday begins with Palm Sunday Mass at 10.00 in St Peter's Square. 17 April: Holy Thursday. There will be a Chrism Mass at 09.30 on Holy Thursday, in St Peter's Basilica. 18 April: Good Friday. The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord will be held in St Peters at 17.00. The Via Crucis or Way of the Cross will take place at 21.15 on 18 April at the Colosseum. This solemn candle-light procession - a tradition which dates to the 18th century and was revived in 1964 - attracts thousands of faithful who listen to meditations re-enacting Christ's crucifixion. 19 April: Holy Saturday. The Easter Vigil Mass in St Peter's Basilica will take place at 19.30 on Holy Saturday. 20 April: Easter Sunday. Mass will be celebrated in St Peter's Square at 10.30, followed by the Urbi et Orbi blessing. For full details of the Vatican's liturgical programe see the official website. Photo credit: Riccardo De Luca - Update / Shutterstock.com. The Irish Restaurant Awards Munster Regional Final took place last week, celebrating the contributions of the food and hospitality industry across the province. The awards ceremony was in Cork, where all the Waterford county winners were announced. Over 700 people were in attendance. Speaking at the ceremony, Sean Collender, President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said: "Tonight, we gather to honour the dedication and determination of those who keep Munsters hospitality industry going, even in the most challenging times. "The past year has tested the resilience of our sector, making it more important than ever to recognise the passion, creativity and sheer hard work that drive it forward." County Winners From Waterford in the Best Restaurant Category, Everetts in Waterford city took home the top prize. Luis Martin of Mara wins Best Chef. The Best Chef award went to Luis Martin of Mara, O'Connell Street in Waterford, whilst Alan OShea of 360 Cookhouse, Dungarvan, won Best Restaurant Manager. Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant went to The Roseville Rooms at Faithlegg House Hotel. GROW HQ won the Best Use of Social Media award. The Employee Excellence Award was taken home by Geraldine Ward of Everetts. Momo in Waterford city won Best Casual Dining, whilst Best Gastro Pub went to The Moorings in Dungarvan. Sarah Richards of Seagull Bakery was awarded Local Food Hero. Best Cafe was won by Tramore's Seagull Bakery, Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine was won by Eamo & Ro, Kilmacthomas, and Best Newcomer was won by Zuca Brew, Tramore. Tully's Bar won Pub of the Year in the Irish Restaurant Awards Munster Regional Final. Tullys Bar in Waterford City, took the Pub of the Year award, and Best Wine Experience went to UNioN Bar & Kitchen, Waterford City. Slow and Steady Cafe, Tramore, was awarded for Best Customer Service. Geraldine Ward of Everett's Restaurant winning Employee Excellence Award. Best World Cuisine award was handed to Mezze in Tramore. Best Cafe went to Seagull Bakery. GROW HQ were awarded under the Best Sustainable Practices category and Innovator of the Year went to Dun Artisan Bakery, Dungarvan. The Local Food Hero award was given to Sarah Richards from Seagull Bakery. Capital gain Popular watering hole Jacksons on George has returned to the hands of its former owners, the Gallagher family, who swooped on the leasehold for about $20 million. Often considered a city institution, and known for its sticky carpets, the pub was one of Sydneys few late-night venues. Near Circular Quay in George Street, it first opened in 1905 as the Blue Anchor Hotel before changing its name in 1933 to the Port Jackson Hotel. Well-known Sydney publican Patrick Gallagher, pictured with his wife Angela and their sons Jack (left) and Austin, has bought the leasehold of Jacksons on George. Credit: Wolter Peeters It was demolished then rebuilt and rebranded Jacksons in 1986 when the Gallaghers, led by Patrick and Angela, took over the lease. In 2018 as part of Lendleases Sydney Place redevelopment, the pub was again torn down. Its freehold is owned by Lendlease. A climate protester has disrupted a Dutton campaign event at a Chinese restaurant, which is the second time today intruders have managed to find his location and heckle the opposition leader. This time it was at an event in Moreton, just north of Brisbane. Loading Soon after Dutton arrived for lunch, a female protester from the Rising Tide group gate-crashed his event after posing as a member of the local media. A similar breach happened earlier in the day at the XXXX brewery in inner-city Brisbane. Campaign teams keep details of their events secret until the last moment to avoid such incidents. Federal police on Thursday warned federal politicians to be careful about their safety during the campaign, as threats were on the rise. The fight. With more energy and enthusiasm than he has exhibited in months, he laid into those Tories, represented, in the present election, by his formidable opponent Peter Dutton. Brandishing his own Medicare card as a prop, the prime minister evoked Australias free universal healthcare as the great symbol of Australian fairness. Billionaire Kerry Packer, Albaneses disabled pensioner mother Maryanne, and the prime minister himself all received equal and excellent care at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydneys Camperdown when they needed it, he said. This is what Ill fight for, he said, waving the Medicare card. Apart from the tragedy of Labor disunity, the only other thing that makes Albanese wobble is mention of his mum. His voice broke and he paused to regain composure. But then it was back to the fight. Taking aim at the Coalition, Albanese said now was not the time for cutting and wrecking, for aiming low, for punching down or looking back. His meaning was clear when he said that we do not need to copy from any other nation to make Australia even better and stronger. Loading Asked if he was implying Dutton was copying the policies of US Donald Trump, Albanese pointedly attacked Duttons proposal to slash the public service and save $10 billion over four years (according to the Coalitions own estimates). Dutton is ready for a fight too. He started shaping up to the prime minister the night before the election was called, during his budget reply speech. Realising that any detail of the Coalitions budgetary plans was likely to be lost in the news cycle anyway, Dutton offered little. Instead, he focused on a pessimistic version of Australia under Labor, in which aspiration had turned to anxiety and national confidence had lapsed into national uncertainty. He made it clear to voters that they had better think hard about their choice at this election because the consequences could be dire, and lasting. Another Labor government, Dutton said, wont just be another three bleak years. Setbacks will be set in stone. Our prosperity will be damaged for decades to come. He, too, returned to his safe space the comfort zone of his background as a Queensland cop. Duttons world view, and his awareness of threats, seems to be deeply informed by his time in the Queensland police force, during which he saw horrendous violence and suffering. The opposition leader said that Australians have told him theyve never been more worried about crime and division in our community. He linked this directly to the Voice referendum, which sought to divide our country by ancestry and race. Safety, he seemed to say, could only come through strength. Dutton said he would be a strong leader and a steady hand, and that he would lead with conviction, not walk both sides of the street. Loading He was a protector and had dedicated nine years to protecting Australians, especially women and children during his time as a policeman. He was also a small business owner who understood aspiration and hard work, and a dad and a husband. He even ended with a joke about his wife Kirilly possibly skipping his speech to watch Channel Nines Married at First Sight instead. Lee Tullochs column about sleeping on planes (Traveller, March 18) advising that sleeping tablets do the trick when all else fails, could have benefited by including that to enter certain countries, even in transit, with the United Arab Emirates springing to mind, you will need to produce a doctors prescription. Useful to know this, so your dream trip goes to plan. Petra ONeill, Paddington, NSW Bitter pills In response to Lee Tullochs column on sleeping on planes, we are fortunate indeed that travel on commercial flights is incredibly safe the world over, and incidents are rare. But if something does go wrong, it is vitally important that everyone on board has their wits about them, and is fully conscious, and capable of following the crews instructions. Being drugged up on anything at all that leaves you unable to wake up fast, groggy, confused, or not fully functional in any way, has the potential to turn you into a danger not only to yourself, but also to those in the seats adjacent, and even more significantly to the cabin crew whose job it is to do their best to save your life. Karyn Maguire Bradford, Glen Alpine, NSW Dont bank on them In the aftermath of several recent incidents of fires on aircraft caused by lithium batteries in power banks, its time for airlines to review the existing, and fairly lax rules, about transporting these devices. South Korean airlines and five others Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, EVA Air, Scoot and China Airways have now acted to tighten regulations, including requiring passengers to not store power banks in overhead lockers, and not use or charge them in flight. Given the real risks, the next step might be for all airlines to adopt these rules, and also have a process to check devices comply with International Civil Aviation Organisation guidelines, including that they are of good quality, and terminals are adequately protected to avoid short circuits. Ross Duncan, Potts Point, NSW Ice with that Tinto de verano (red wine of summer) a combination of red wine, soda and lemon in a big glass of ice. Credit: iStock Spain has a similarly refreshing version of the piscine drink (Traveller, December 27). Its the tinto de verano (red wine of summer) a combination of red wine, soda and lemon in a big glass of ice. Most tapas bars around Spain sell it in some form. Perfect after a hot day of sightseeing. Merrill Sells, Canterbury, NSW Tongue-tied Julietta Jameson gave me some good laughs in her piece about attempting foreign languages (Traveller, March 20). I am forever grateful and embarrassed that so many people in tourism speak English as a second or third language. They recognise that speaking English opens a whole new world of tourists. Good luck to them. Some English-speaking tourists bemoan the fact that the English our guides speak may not be word perfect. Try learning any language, as Julietta did, unsuccessfully. Always smile and be grateful that countless others have taken the trouble to speak to you in your language. Lindsay Somerville, Lindfield, NSW Long reply Im probably not the first or only traveller to point out to Angelika von Sanden (Traveller Letters, March 8) that, although Europe is indeed magnificent and fascinating, even there its not possible to have both long days and long nights. In August, a few weeks before the Equinox, shell be experiencing the waning of summer light, so may still have fairly long but gradually shortening days and correspondingly shorter but gradually lengthening nights. Its the way the world works. Marie Goldsworthy, Geelong, NSW Close encounter Thank you, Catherine Marshall, for your evocative piece about Victoria Falls (Traveller, February 18). Decades ago, I was wearing a bright yellow raincoat, running across a bridge, on the Zambian side of the Falls. Totally awestruck by the thundering smoke I was suddenly stopped in my tracks by a large baboon, its piercing eyes locking onto mine. We shared a fleeting moment of connection before it darted past me. That moment in my homeland Africa is forever etched in my memory. Rhoda Silber, Manly, NSW Tip of the week: Great Danes The Design Museum in Copenhagen celebrates Denmarks global impact on design. Credit: Alamy The influence of Denmark on design is global and the Design Museum and the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen are full of innovative furniture, thought provoking art installations and futuristic urban buildings. It reflects the Danish philosophy of outstanding architecture that respects the community and the environment. Looking for a unique scanner at the Design Museum, I held my ticket under the elegant white cylinder on the chic red stand, realising my mistake when it deposited a blob of hand sanitiser on my ticket. Meanwhile, the Copenhagen Card is the best way to see the beautiful city and its magnificent attractions. Leona Jorgensen, Rowville, Vic Blue no more Having read lots of online articles about how to deal with money in Argentina, we travelled there last year armed with $US2000 in freshly minted $100 notes, ready to buy pesos as required through the blue market. None of it was necessary as it turns out. We exchanged $100 at the blue rate. Everything else we paid for on a Wise debit card and got an even better exchange rate than the blue rate. Save yourself the stress, take a small amount of US dollars as some places either dont take cards or occasionally electronic funds transfer machines might be inoperable due to power outages. David Harrison, Winmalee, NSW Smart stops Credit: Jamie Brown The best value of the hop-on hop-off bus is that it allows you to get your bearings when entering a new city. Tickets are usually good for 24 hours, so I buy my ticket mid-morning and remain on the bus for the entire circuit, taking note of sights deserving of a return visit during my stay. Sometimes there are multiple routes within the same city, which you can complete in the same day. As the ticket is still valid the next morning, I can use this as a means of transport to get to one of my noted sights. Ray Czajko, Kensington, Vic Tourist tracking I am writing this on the city to Preston Number 11 Melbourne tram. I thought, what a great way to see the city and to have an idea how the locals live. I have ridden the rails in Lisbon, Rio, Milan, Tokyo and Sydney. Each system has its own quirks in ticketing systems. Once you get to know Myki and others, the travelling is interesting and easy. Michael Copping, Oatley, NSW Pick-up lines We organised a car hire in the Netherlands, to be picked up on a Sunday. The car hire company accepted our money. On arriving at the pick-up site, it was closed, as it was a public holiday. Not a great inconvenience to us, as it happened, and we went back the next day. There was no car. You didnt pick it up when you said you would, so we sent it back. They did, however, give us an upgraded car, so all was not lost. Mia David, Wollongong, NSW Loading Family matters Thank you Ben Groundwater (Traveller, March 5) for supporting the joys of overseas travel as a child, then with ones own children. In the 70s and 80s my father shared the same view: travel broadens the mind of a small child: see how others live, show respect to all people and for all lands, leave no footprint, do no harm. The European Commission states that the future agreement between Ukraine and the United States on minerals will also need to be considered from the perspective of negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union. This was reported on Friday in Brussels by European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho, answering journalists' questions about possible consultations between Ukraine and the European Union regarding the compliance of the future document with the Association Agreement and negotiations on EU membership. The spokeswoman said the European Commission is in contact with Ukraine and the Ukrainian authorities almost every day at all levels on various issues. She said if Ukraine is interested in having EU's assessment or point of view on this, they are ready to provide it. However, according to Pinho, it is not known at this time whether the Ukrainian side has requested such consultations. The Ukrainian side was given the line that such an agreement should be considered from the perspective of relations between Ukraine and the EU and, in particular, from the perspective of accession negotiations," the European Commission spokeswoman said. The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear particularly in Myanmar, one of the worlds poorest countries. It is embroiled in a civil war, and information is tightly controlled. Loading The head of Myanmars military government said in a televised speech on Friday evening that at least 144 people were killed and 730 were injured. The death toll and injuries are expected to rise, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said. Photos from the capital, Naypyidaw, showed multiple buildings used to house civil servants destroyed by the quake and rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble of multiple buildings used to house civil servants. Myanmars government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept assistance. The United Nations allocated $US5 million ($7.9 million) to start relief efforts. Images of buckled and cracked roads in Mandalay and damaged highways, as well as the collapse of a bridge and dam, raised further concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a widespread humanitarian crisis. Thai rescue workers remove a body that was recovered from the construction building collapse in Bangkoks Chatuchak area. Credit: Getty Images A damaged building in Myanmars capital Naypyitaw. Credit: AP We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake, said Mohammed Riyas, the International Rescue Committees Myanmar director. Near Bangkoks popular Chatuchak market, a 33-storey building under construction, with a crane on top, crumpled into a cloud of dust, and onlookers could be seen screaming and running in a video posted on social media. Myanmars English-language state newspaper, Global New Light of Myanmar published a photo showing the wreckage of a sign that read EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, which the caption said was part of the capitals main 1000-bed hospital. The USGS and Germanys GFZ centre for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometres, according to preliminary reports. Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage. Crane-topped building collapses in cloud of dust In Bangkok, at least three people were killed in the building collapse, and 90 were missing, according to Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. He offered no more details about the ongoing rescue efforts, but first responders said that seven people had been rescued so far from the area. Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok on Friday. Credit: AP At least two of the dead were construction workers who were killed by falling rubble or debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters. The building was being built to house the government auditor-generals department and had only recently celebrated the completion of the top floor. Leading Thai newspaper Matichon reported the building was a project of a consortium, ITD-CREC, comprising the China Railway No. 10 company, a joint venture called PKW, and construction giant Italian-Thai Development. The countrys largest construction company, Italian-Thai has been involved in many of Bangkoks largest infrastructure and government projects but is also facing a $US3 billion ($4.8 billion) debt crunch. It was also involved in the Rama II expressway, which collapsed while under construction earlier this month, killing six people. Elsewhere, people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more aftershocks. April Kanichawanakul, who works in an office building in Bangkok, initially didnt even realise it was an earthquake, the first shed ever experienced. I just thought I was dizzy, she said. She and her colleagues ran downstairs from the 10th floor of their building and waited outside for a signal that it was safe to go back in. Screaming and panic as buildings swayed Bangkoks city hall declared the city a disaster area to facilitate the response. The greater metropolitan area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. All of a sudden, the whole building began to move. Immediately, there was screaming and a lot of panic, said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkoks many malls. I just started walking calmly at first, but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators. Like Morton, thousands of people poured into Benjasiri Park from nearby shopping malls, high rises and apartment buildings along Bangkoks busy Sukhumvit Road. Many were on phones trying to reach loved ones as others sought shade from the hot early afternoon sun. Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer working in central Bangkok, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking as it, too, moved back and forth. She and her colleagues ran down 12 flights of stairs. In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok, she said. Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a street-side bar when the quake struck. As he came onto the street himself, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool. There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really, he said. Footage from above the pool shows a couple of swimmers scrambling to get to safety when the water begins to spill over the edge. Bridge and monastery collapse and dam bursts in Myanmar Myanmars government declared a state of emergency in six regions and states, including the capital, Naypyitaw and Mandalay. It was not clear what the declaration meant since the entire country has been under a state of emergency since 2021, when the junta took over in a military coup. In Mandalay, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery, one of the largest in the city, and damaged the former royal palace. Myanmars military leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, centre, visits earthquake victims in hospital. in Naypyitaw. Credit: Myanmar Military/AP Meanwhile, Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in the city, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area. A video posted online showed robed monks in the street shooting video of the multistorey monastery before it suddenly fell to the ground. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed. In the Sagaing region just south-west of the city, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmars largest city, Yangon, were also damaged. The Red Cross said downed power lines added to challenges for their teams trying to reach several hard-hit areas. Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. In Naypyitaw, the quake damaged some homes and religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground. Loading The military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and is now involved in a bloody civil war with long-established militias and newly formed pro-democracy ones. Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places are incredibly dangerous to access or simply out of reach for aid groups. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting, and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations. China, Russia and India dispatch rescuers to Myanmar China and Russia dispatched rescuers to Myanmar, which was rocked by a powerful earthquake that caused extensive damage. A 37-member team from Chinas Yunnan province reached Yangon early on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The team carried emergency relief supplies such as life detectors, earthquake early warning systems and drones, Xinhua said, and the team is expected to provide assistance in disaster relief and medical treatment efforts. Russias emergencies ministry dispatched two planes carrying 120 rescuers and supplies, according to a report from Russian state news agency Tass. Based on orders from the Russian president and emergencies minister, a group of Russian rescuers has departed to Myanmar on two planes from Zhukovsky Airport outside Moscow to help address the aftermath of a powerful earthquake, Tass reported that a ministry spokesperson said. India dispatched a search and rescue team and a medical team as well as blankets, tarpaulin, hygiene kits, sleeping bags, solar lamps, food packets and kitchen sets, the countrys foreign minister posted on X. Injuries reported in China To the north-east, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres north-east of Ruili, was so strong that people couldnt stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. AP, Reuters US Vice President J.D. Vance has ruffled more feathers in Europe, this time during a controversial trip to Greenland, where he accused Denmark of effectively abandoning the territory to Beijing and Moscow and told residents their climate was cold as s--- . Vance declared that the US could no longer bury our head in the snow and ignore Chinas attempts to establish itself in the semi-autonomous territory during the first ever visit to Greenland by a US vice-president on Friday. US Vice President J.D. Vance speaks at the US militarys Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday. Credit: AP He explicitly urged Greenlanders to vote for independence from Denmark, urging its citizens to join the USs security umbrella in comments that have caused outrage in Copenhagen. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the US should take over Greenland and has not ruled out the possibility of using military force to do so. When asked by reporters if he thought that would be necessary, Vance said he did not think it would come to that. Details of a planned US airstrike in Yemen mistakenly shared with a journalist on the messaging app Signal were almost certainly classified information, military experts say, despite the White House declaring otherwise. The Atlantic magazine published the messages this week after the magazines editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to a group chat involving a host of Trump administration officials in the days before the planned strike on March 15. Smoke rises from a location reportedly struck by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15. Credit: AP The revelation that highly sensitive attack plans had been shared on a commercial messaging app, possibly on personal mobile phones, has triggered outrage in Washington and calls from Democrats for members of President Donald Trumps national security team be fired over the leaks. Vice President JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe and national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard were also part of the Signal chat that included Goldberg. From 24 to 28 March 2025, the 45th Session of the Enforcement Committee was held at WCO Headquarters under the leadership of Rebecca Jonassen from New Zealand as Chairperson, and Sarah Joyce from Ireland as Vice-Chairperson. This meeting brought together representatives of Customs administrations, WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) and a range of stakeholders. The 45th Session endorsed the draft Enforcement Committee Work Programme which will guide compliance and enforcement activities for financial year 2025/2026. In keeping with the theme of the 45th Session of the Enforcement Committee, Customs Canine Units: Delivering Enforcement in an Era of Technological Change, delegates were treated to a demonstration by the Belgian Customs Canine Unit, displaying dog and handler teams skills and their added value in the search for illicit goods which are, for example, carried on the passengers themselves or in their hand luggage. As is customary, the activities implemented to date as well as future plans under the WCO compliance and enforcement programmes were presented. Delegates welcomed the six panel discussions during which they had an opportunity to exchange views on the following wide-ranging topics: (i) Challenges and prospects for Customs canine units; (ii) Operational insights addressing key enforcement gaps in combating environmental crime; (iii) Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats in the 21st century; (iv) Risks posed by illicit trade across e-commerce platforms; (v) Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the risk management domain; and (vi) Challenges posed by and the most effective methods for tackling trade-based money laundering. The panel discussions also raised some key issues requiring further attention by the Committee. The Enforcement Committee endorsed six new tools, designed to enhance the capabilities of Customs administrations in addressing illicit trade in various enforcement domains: (i) WCO Standards for Dog Training Centres; (ii) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for controls of shipments of substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol; (iii) Update of the WCO Customs Risk Management Compendium; (iv) Guideline on Customs Responses to Industry Referrals; (v) Customs Targeting Centre (CTC) Guidelines; and (vi) Fraud Detected through Post-Clearance Audit (PCA) and its Techniques tool. In addition, the joint WCO-INTERPOL List of dual-use commodities related to biological weapons was presented. This publication serves as a practical tool for front-line officers, allowing them to learn more about both controlled and non-controlled commodities that may potentially be used in the production and dissemination of biological weapons. Turning to technology, the meeting noted the ongoing roll-out of the WCO GEOPORTAL tool for fighting drug trafficking carried out via general aviation, as well as the new features of the CENcomm tool. With respect to the topic of data, the meeting acknowledged Members significant efforts to enhance the quality of Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) data as well as the work done to date on the Illicit Trade Report 2024. The 45th Session of the Enforcement Committee also provided an opportunity to highlight the latest private sector and academia initiatives in the fight against drug trafficking. Delegates listened to presentations on the results of and lessons learned from global and regional operations. These included operations in the environmental domain, namely Operation THUNDER 2024 on countering wildlife and timber trafficking and Operation DEMETER X on waste and substances, and operations in the intellectual property rights (IPR) domain, namely Action IPR A/P III and Operation FRONPIAS. Participants also welcomed the outcomes of the WCO Symposiums on Removing counterfeits from e-commerce, which aimed to raise public awareness about the dangers of buying fake goods online. In his closing remarks, the Acting Director of Compliance and Facilitation, Brendan O'Hearn, expressed his satisfaction with the high level of multidisciplinary expertise demonstrated during the five-day meeting. The 45th Session of the Enforcement Committee concluded with the election of Rebecca Jonassen from New Zealand as Chairperson, and Oumou Keita Traore from Mali as Vice-Chairperson for the 46th Session of the Enforcement Committee in 2026. The World Customs Organization (WCO), with invaluable support from Hong Kong Customs as co-hosts in the capacity as the WCO Vice-Chairperson for the Asia/Pacific Region (APVC), successfully held its Global Workshop on National Data Strategies from 18 to 20 March 2025 in Hong Kong, China. This important event, supported by the Customs Cooperation Fund of China (CCF-China), brought together customs officials from around the world to share insights and best practices on national data management strategies. The workshop provided a valuable platform for participants to discuss and exchange knowledge on enhancing customs data strategies, ultimately aiming to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of customs operations. The event also played a pivotal role in shaping the future development of the WCOs Compendium on National Data Strategies, which will be an essential resource for customs administrations worldwide. Key Highlights The workshop featured a series of presentations from WCO experts and customs administrations, covering topics such as the WCO Data Strategy, national data strategies, and WCO-developed data analytics tools. Participants also had the opportunity to share their national experiences, presenting strategies implemented in their countries and engaging in in-depth discussions on data management challenges and innovations. A highlight of the event was the on-site visit to the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Computer Forensic Laboratory, where participants had the chance to observe cutting-edge technologies in action and learn from Hong Kongs advanced customs operations. A Successful Outcome The successful conclusion of the workshop marked a significant milestone in the WCOs ongoing efforts to strengthen data management within the global customs community. The insights shared during the event will contribute to the WCOs work in supporting member administrations to modernize their data strategies and enhance international trade facilitation. The WCO looks forward to continuing its collaboration with member administrations to ensure that data strategies remain a core component of modern customs operations and to further promote global cooperation. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to present to American partners all the facts of damage to energy infrastructure as a result of Russian shelling, he said in an evening address on Friday. "I instructed the Minister of Defense of Ukraine to present to our American partners all the facts of the damage to our energy infrastructure as a result of Russian shelling - just in the past 24 hours there was a targeted Russian drone strike on the gas infrastructure in Poltava region, there was also an artillery strike on Kherson, which damaged the city's electricity supply infrastructure. Yesterday, as a result of one of the Russian strikes on the city of Kharkiv, the heating infrastructure was damaged. All this indicates that Russia will disrupt diplomacy and will continue to do so, and that Moscow's only tactic remains to drag out the war," he noted. Zelenskyy stressed that Putin "says something in words as if he agrees with the American side, but in fact the Russian army simply continues to put pressure with all its military means." "Accordingly, pressure is needed on Russia to make diplomacy work. On March 11, Ukraine accepted the American proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, and since then all responsibility for hindering diplomacy has fallen on Russia," the head of the Ukrainian state indicated. The World Customs Organization (WCO) conducted a National Workshop on Cross-Border E-Commerce in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, from 25 to 27 March 2025, with the aim of strengthening Hondurass capacity to implement the WCO Framework of Standards on Cross-Border E-Commerce (E-Commerce FoS). The workshop was organized with the financial support of the Customs Cooperation Fund of China (CCF-China). The workshop brought together 30 Customs officials from the Honduras Customs Administration, focusing on officials dealing with express consignments, risk management, and clearance procedures. Representatives from express delivery companies and couriers also participated, fostering an inclusive dialogue among key stakeholders. Following a scene-setting presentation by Honduras Customs, the workshop facilitator provided detailed explanations on key topics related to e-commerce and Customs operations. They discussed the role of Advance Electronic Data (AED) and risk management in enhancing Customs control and security, as well as different revenue collection models and fair taxation approaches for e-commerce transactions. The session also addressed fraud prevention and illicit trade in e-commerce environments, emphasizing the need for robust monitoring mechanisms. Additionally, facilitators explored strategies for facilitating and simplifying e-commerce procedures to support Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Honduras. The discussions further highlighted the potential of transformative technologies in automating processes and enabling real-time monitoring. Lastly, the importance of developing a national e-commerce strategy and regulatory framework practices was underscored as a key component of fostering a secure and efficient digital trade ecosystem. The workshop concluded with WCO recommendations for enhancing e-commerce procedures in Honduras. The next steps include developing a concrete work plan for engaging stakeholders, and an initial framework for improving security, control, facilitation. More information on the WCO E-Commerce Package BERLIN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China is playing an increasingly active role in the global patent system, demonstrating strong performance in booming fields such as computer technology and battery innovation, said a European patent expert in an exclusive interview with Xinhua. The European Patent Office's (EPO) Patent Index 2024, released Tuesday, revealed that Chinese companies and researchers filed a new record of 20,081 patent applications in 2024, a 0.5 percent increase from 2023. Gilles Requena, EPO's chief patent research and policy officer, told Xinhua on Wednesday that "Patent applications from China to the EPO have more than quadrupled since 2014 -- the fastest growth of any country." The EPO official highlighted a broader shift in China's role, from a global manufacturing hub to an innovation leader. "Twenty years ago, China was primarily focused on production such as fabric. Today, we're seeing a surge in research labs and technological innovations." He credited China's government policies for strengthening intellectual property protection, as well as Chinese companies' increasing investment in research and development (R&D). In 2024, the top five countries for patent filings at the EPO were the United States, Germany, Japan, China, and South Korea. China accounted for over 10 percent of total applications, and as U.S. and Japanese filings decline, Requena noted that China is closing the gap with its competitors. He also emphasized China's key role in global patent cooperation, adding that the collaboration between the EPO and the China National Intellectual Property Administration dates back to the 1980s. Overall, the EPO received 199,264 patent applications from around the world in 2024, with electrical machinery, apparatus, and energy recording the highest growth in applications globally. Requena noted that patent activity remains diverse, with significant innovation in green technology. "This is specifically true for batteries, for example, where Asian countries and especially China are extremely well positioned," he said. Over the past year, digital communication and computer technologies have remained dominant in patent filings, with artificial intelligence (AI) at the forefront. "Unlike pharmaceutical innovations, which are often limited to specific industries, AI has so many applications in different fields of industry," he said, explaining the sustained growth of AI-related patents for over a decade with no signs of slowing down. However, emerging technologies such as quantum could change the current landscape, Requena said. The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has granted Medlog, a subsidiary of global shipping leader Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC Group), together with offshore entity Avnergold Holdings Ltd, permission to acquire Geralida Holdings Ltd. Geralida had previously received authorization to jointly control the Mostyska Dry Port project in Vinnytsia with Lemtrans, according to an AMCU decision. "Permission has been granted for Medlog SA, together with Avnergold Holdings Ltd, to acquire control over Geralida Holdings Ltd and Tharonia Management Ltd," the AMCU's decision stated on Thursday. Previously, the AMCU had approved Geralida Holdings Ltd (Nicosia, Cyprus) and Lemtrans Limited to gain control over Mostyska Dry Port. At the same session, permission was granted to Yehor Hrebennikov, co-owner of the port operator TransInvestService (TIS), to take control of Mostyska Dry Port LLC. Geralida Holdings is linked to a group of business entities, both foreign and domestic, that form the purchasing group. Medlog, established in 1988 as a subsidiary of MSC Group, specializes in intermodal transportation (rail, road, sea, and river freight), warehousing, and customs clearance. It operates in over 80 countries with a workforce exceeding 10,000 employees. Medlog Ukraine LLC has been active since 2020, offering domestic and international transportation services through a network of trucks, trains, barges, depots, terminals, and warehouses. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. A special session was held at the UN General Assembly on the occasion of March 30 - International Day of Zero Waste, Trend reports, citing the Permanent mission of Azerbaijan to UN. The Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan Tofig Musayev made remarks at the high-level event. "I am privileged to start by expressing our appreciation to the Permanent Mission of Turkiye, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for co-organizing this important event to observe the International Day of Zero Waste. We commend the leadership of the brotherly Republic of Turkiye, in particular the personal dedication of First Lady Emine Erdogan, whose efforts have been pivotal in scaling up the zero waste initiative from a national policy into a global movement. Indeed, the concept of "zero waste" stands as a cornerstone in our journey towards achieving the SDGs and fostering a greener planet. Azerbaijan has taken concrete steps to accelerate progress across several SDGs, including the initiatives to support local circular economy projects, promote sustainable textile production and reduce waste through innovation and education," he noted. He said that the Zero Waste initiative gained significant global momentum during COP29 in Baku last November. "One of the most notable steps in this regard was the collaborative pavilion launched by Azerbaijan and Turkiye in the Green Zone, as a testament to our shared resolve to foster global environmental progress through collective action. Additionally, COP29 saw the adoption of the Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste, underscoring that addressing and reversing the current surge in global waste generation requires comprehensive action on waste prevention and the implementation of zero waste practices. In this context, it is also vital to recognize the critical intersection between urbanization, zero waste, and climate change. The Multisectoral Actions Pathways (MAP) Declaration for Resilient and Healthy Cities as part of the COP29 Action Agenda was developed to promote multisectoral cooperation in addressing climate challenges within cities, create coherence in urban climate efforts and stimulate urban climate finance. Looking ahead, the 13th session of the World Urban Forum, which Azerbaijan will proudly host next year, will serve as another key platform to reinforce our shared commitmentsparticularly in promoting sustainable urban development, zero waste initiatives and the creation of climateresilient cities", he said. From London to Stockholm, Paris to Berlin, hard-right politics have gone from fringe to front-row. Once treated as political poison, theyve now been sanitized, mainstreamedand most shockingly, handed the keys by the very parties sworn to keep them locked out. So what the hell happened? Right now, deep inside Berlins coalition war rooms, migration is the issue lighting everyones hair on fire. Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) are in a heated race to out-tough each other on immigration reform. But the result? A complete boomerang. Instead of halting the rise of the hard right, Germanys legacy parties are rolling out the red carpet. The only winner in this game? Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD)a party that, not long ago, was exiled to the political wilderness and is now making a full-throttle push for the big leagues. And no, Germanys not some outlier. This is Europe-wide. In the UK, Sweden, Austriaevery time traditional parties try to hijack the talking points of the far right, it backfires. Voters just end up flocking to the real deal. The Firewall Collapses For years, Germany kept its distance. There was a kind of unwritten firewallan across-the-board pact among mainstream parties to steer clear of any alliance with extremists. It was a badge of democratic honor. But now, with the 2025 Bundestag election looming, that firewall is cracking. And the wrecking ball swinging at it? None other than Friedrich Merz, the CDU boss and would-be chancellor. It was Merz who brokered a tactical alliance with AfD on a hardline anti-immigration bill. Publicly, he framed it as about border security. But behind closed doors, the calculus was clear: poach some votes from the far right. The result? A political faceplant. CDUs numbers nosedived from a steady 3032% in January to 28.5% on election day. Meanwhile, AfD soared. Merz played a game thats claimed plenty of players before himthinking he could undercut the radicals by echoing their message. Instead, he handed them legitimacy. Protest voters didnt buy the knockoffthey went straight to the source. When the Mainstream Becomes the Megaphone The playbook is old, but it still works like a charm. In times of political burnout, elite fatigue, and rising social tension, protest voting dominates. People dont vote forthey vote against. And they pick whoever promises to clean house the loudest. Thats right in the far rights wheelhouse. But this isn't just about backlash votes. The far right has been playing the long game. Theyve been working the grassroots, beefing up their media game, and polishing their image. Gone are the bald-headed skinheads with Germany for Germans signs. In their place? Suited-up, camera-ready new politicians. Take AfDs Alice Weidelex-banker, technocrat, international resume. Clean-cut packaging. Same old xenophobic core. This is what scholars call mainstreamingwhen ideas from the political fringe seep into the center. But they dont sneak in alone. Theyre ushered in, often by the very institutions meant to keep them out. Instead of fighting the message, centrist parties end up parroting it. Rebranding Hate The secret sauce of the far rights success? A slick rebrand. Germany for Germans is out. In comes the polished euphemism: remigration. No longer deportation, but a return to the homeland. Not ethnic cleansing, but restoring social justice. The vocabularys had a makeover, but the ugly truth underneath is untouched. Every hard-right outfit that made it big pulled the same move. Frances Rassemblement National (National Rally) under Marine Le Pen ditched Holocaust denial. Sweden Democrats dropped the flaming torch logo and replaced it with a dainty flower. Italys Lega swapped separatism for an anti-immigration chorus. None of these parties actually ditched their radical roots. They just slapped on better PR. And here's the kickerevery time mainstream parties dabble in that same rhetoric, theyre not fighting extremism. Theyre branding it as respectable. Feeding the Beast Mainstream parties keep falling for the same illusion: that they can flirt with far-right themes and come out on top. But the record is brutally clearwhen centrists try to co-opt extremism, they dont neutralize it. They supercharge it. And they alienate the moderate base they still depend on. The real irony? You dont even need a full-blown crisis to set this off. No mass migration event. No economic collapse. Just relentless noise. Thats how it worked in Sweden. The Sweden Democrats made immigration the issuewithout any surge in actual arrivals. They just kept hammering it. Nonstop. Day after day. When Frances far-right party pulled in 13.6% of the vote back in 2017, the establishment breathed a sigh of reliefcrisis averted. Fast forward to the 2024 elections? That number jumped to 33%. Same platform. Same ideological core. Just a new face, a new toneand a completely different political landscape. Political scientists Aurelien Mondon and Aaron Winter called this out years ago. In their seminal work Reactionary Democracy, they mapped out how Europes democracies are bulldozing the lines between the acceptable and the extrememimicking the very forces theyre supposed to oppose. Their thesis is a warning shot: In trying to stop the radicals, centrists start speaking their language. And lose. Soft-Face Fascism: When the Center Started Talking Like the Far Right Spooked by the thought of hemorrhaging voters, traditional parties across Europe have been playing a dangerous gametrying to steal the script from the far right. Tighter borders. Cultural threats. Identity politics cloaked in nationalism. But what they dont seem to grasp is that this copycat strategy doesnt neuter the far rightit normalizes it. It blurs the line between mainstream and fringe, until that line disappears altogether. Its not chaos. Its choreography. On one side, the far right swaps jackboots for jackets, torches for talking points. Germany for Germans becomes remigration. On the other, legacy parties quietly adopt the lingo, the fear-mongering, even the conspiracy theories. Its not a descent into extremism. Its a handshake with it. Jean-Werner Muller, a political theorist at Princeton, calls this the gateway effect. The idea? Far-right parties dont need to sell the whole package. They just need one clean, relatable entry point. Maybe its skepticism about climate change as a threat to individual freedom. Maybe its the old migrants are draining the system trope. Once that seed is planted, the rest followsquietly, methodically. France: Where the Center Gave Up the Fight Nowhere is the surrender more shameless than in France. In 2021, Emmanuel Macrons own Interior Minister accused far-right icon Marine Le Pen of being too soft on immigration. The following year, center-right candidate Valerie Pecresse name-dropped the Great Replacementa conspiracy theory straight out of white nationalist manifestos. This wasnt containmentit was coronation. Le Pen didnt get marginalized. She got mainstreamed. Macrons approval tanked. Le Pen surged. And talking points that once sent shivers down Europes spine were now coming from cabinet ministers, major newspapers, and presidential candidates. Sweden: When Liberals Got Cozy with the Far Right Swedenonce hailed as Europes liberal consciencestarted its rightward drift over a decade ago. In 2013, Moderate Party immigration minister Tobias Billstrom kicked off a national campaign to scale back immigration. Ten years later, his party had lost a third of its base and clung to power only by striking a deal with the Sweden Democratsa party with neo-fascist roots. Now, that very party is shaping Swedens immigration policy. Its popularity? Up to 23% in 2024. The Moderates? Slipping to 16%. Even Swedens Social Democratsthe center-left that once defined Scandinavian valueshave started co-opting anti-immigrant rhetoric just to survive. The result? The Overton window hasnt just shiftedits jumped the tracks. The center, once the anchor of consensus, has vanished. Belgium: The Blueprint for Losing Everything In Belgium, the pattern plays out like deja vu. The New Flemish Alliancethe countrys largest party since 2009tried to outflank the far right by veering right itself. The payoff? They got leapfrogged. Far-right parties surged to 23%, seizing the top spot for the first time in history. Same formula: the center mirrors the fringe, the fringe becomes the center. The UK: Brexit Wasnt a Revolt. It Was a Merger. Back in the 90s, UKIP looked like political satire. Cartoonish nationalism, crank ideas, fringe appeal. But its talking pointstake back control, anti-immigrant screeds, EU-bashingeventually wormed their way into the Conservative Partys bloodstream. Brexit wasnt the people rising up. It was the mainstream bending down. Now, the very party that swallowed those ideasthe Toriesis circling the drain. Their polling sits at a feeble 2022%. Reform UK, UKIPs direct descendant, is hot on Labours heels. The Conservative playbook? Pure Farage. Culture war theatrics. Attacks on human rights advocates. Full-blown anti-migrant hysteria. Whats left isnt conservatismits cosplay. A hollowed-out party structure lurching between populist slogans, stripped of principle or purpose. Berlin, Spring 2025: The Rightward March Continues Back in Berlin, the CDUthe recent victorsare following the same script. Their messaging is all about order, security, and control over migration. Translation? Theyre inching closer to the very people they once vowed never to touch. The Social Democrats, too, have toned things down. You wont hear them echoing AfD talking pointsat least not yetbut their once-vocal defense of migrant rights has gone radio silent. Just like their faith in the political center. The CDU and SPD have already cut off talks with the Greens, calling them too radical. Theyre not ready to deal with the AfD. Not publicly. But in backroom chatter, political insiders are gaming out the scenarios where even that taboo crumbles. No Brakes, Just Panic Analysts arent mincing words. The far right is risingnot just in Germany, but across Europe. And the cordon sanitaire? Its eroding fast. Traditional parties arent standing their ground. Theyre sliding rightward. And this isnt strategyits a skid on black ice. Daniel Sachs, founder of Swedens DSF think tank, calls the current trend ultra-right mimicry. And he says its political suicide. Instead of standing their ground, centrists are parroting the slogans of extremists. Instead of offering an answer, theyre copying the question. The result? Voters bail. The fringe gains ground. Sachs argues for a different pathwhat he calls radical centrism. Not appeasement. Not adaptation. But a return to hard boundariesbetween democracy and demagoguery, between mainstream and fringe, between normal and dangerous. But those lines arent just vanishing in parliament. Theyre blurring in the press too. The Medias Unwitting Role in Normalizing the Extreme The far right loves to scream about the liberal media, fake news, and corrupt journalists. But heres the twist: its the mediaoften unintentionallythats helping launder their image. A team of political scientists looked into The Guardian, a center-left staple, and found a troubling trend. The word populism had become a PR tool. It replaced sharper terms like racism, xenophobia, and extremism. The result? A sanitized narrative. One that made these movements sound like just another political option instead of a real and present threat. When you call a far-right party populist, it doesn't sound scary. It sounds relatable. This sleight of hand makes what used to be authoritarian, even fascist, seem palatable. By framing these groups as populistsnot radicals, not fanaticsthe media dulls public alarm. A mask of normalcy hides the face of ideological extremism. The Center Is Erasing Itself A clear-eyed analysis of party rhetoric, media narratives, and coalition strategies in Germany, France, Sweden, Belgium, and the UK reveals one unmistakable trend: a continental drift to the right. Not a glitch. A pattern. In Germany, the CDU/CSU is steadily absorbing the language of control and crackdown, wading deeper into AfD territory. In France, a Macron minister accuses Marine Le Pen of going soft on immigration, while the center-right Republicans casually invoke the racist Great Replacement theory. In Sweden, the once-dominant Moderates have ceded the immigration debate to a party with neo-fascist DNA. In Belgium, Flemish conservatives have been outflankedobliteratedby hard-right populists. In Britain, the ruling Conservatives parrot UKIP rhetoric, hemorrhaging voters while blurring the line between politics and parody. And through it all, the media clapsor stays silent. Even criticism, when it comes, echoes in the register of populism. There is a cure. But its bitter. Political scholars and democratic theorists have proposed a path out: redraw the lines. Reclaim political clarity. Reinforce the language of democracy. But in todays politics, that sounds more like a fairy tale than a feasible playbook. Its easier to cosplay as a radical than to risk looking like a loser with principles. The real punchline of Europes rightward turn? The far right isnt winning. Its being handed the win. The issue isnt where the line is. The issue is whos brave enough to draw it againand stay on the right side. These arent isolated episodes. Theyre symptoms. And they all point to the same diagnosis: the liberal centers inability to defend itself. The more it tries to please everyone, the more it ends up caving to the loudest voices in the room. Resistance is replaced by imitation. Leadership by mimicry. Each time a mainstream party borrows far-right language, the far right doubles down and gets bolder. This isnt opposition. Its oxygen. And as long as democratic elites keep chasing the illusion of dominance by shifting rightaping the rhetoric of threats, national identity, and lost controltheyre not saving democracy. Theyre diluting it. The far right doesnt need to march anymore. Its already in the chamber. The far right in Europe didnt seize power. They were ushered inby the very hands that once vowed to shut them out. Traditional parties, paralyzed by the fear of losing power, opened the door to forces that once couldnt win a city council race. While the CDU and SPD scramble to sound tougher than the AfD on immigration, the hard right keeps rising. Thats not a warning sign. Thats a system failure. Or worsemaybe its the plan. The real question now isnt whether this train can be stopped. Its whos still willing to pull the brakebefore Europe forgets where the center even was. Baku Network SHREVEPORT, La. For months, KTBS-3 Investigates has followed the trail of complaints against contractor Justin Penn. Families say they paid Penn for work on their homes, but he left them high and dry. After months of denial, Penn finally admitted his guilt, entering guilty Thursday morning to residential contractor fraud in the 26th Judicial District Court. And now, the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors is pushing for changes within its system and through new legislation -- to prevent cases like this from happening again. Im happy that finally, justice will be served, said homeowner Nick Peters. The Peters story is a cautionary tale one of at least four local families who trusted Penn to build their dream home, only for those dreams to be shattered. The contractors' board hopes to prevent future cases of contractor fraud. We are eliminating the three-year license renewal, so contractors now have to renew annually. That way, we can track their insurance every year instead of waiting three years and risking coverage expiring without our knowledge, said Sean Beavers, deputy director of enforcement, Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. Penns insurance had expired. Peters says if he had known Penn was building his home without insurance, he never would have hired him. Beavers said KTBS-3's stories played a role in the state board now looking at new laws aimed at closing loopholes and promises more oversight. The bill allows us to conduct background checks on renewals, so we can catch any criminal activity, lawsuits, judgments, or claims that may have occurred during that year. There are several other measures included to improve accountability, said Beavers. The Peters former home on Spring Creek Road in Haughton that was seized by the Community Bank of Louisiana is just one of 853 cases of residential and home improvement fraud reported to the state board in the past three years. In that same period, nearly 1,600 contractors were found guilty and fined. You can go to our website, LSLBC.gov, and use the contractor search tool. If you dont see a contractor listed, it doesnt necessarily mean they arent licensed, but its a good place to start, said Beavers. Im just ready for this to all be over so we can move on with our lives. Hopefully, if we get enough restitution, we can buy another piece of land and rebuild the dream that was stolen from us, said Peters. Penn also faced charges of forgery, bank fraud, and theft. Whether those charges are dismissed will depend on the outcome of his restitution hearing in two weeks, where he must repay the Peters for the misappropriated funds. For now, he is out on bond but still looking at up to 10 years behind bars. SHREVEPORT, La. - If you haven't already done so, it's time to get familiar with Saturday's ballot. Louisiana voters will head to the polls this weekend to weigh in on a number of issues and candidates. Several local offices, as well as some local propositions and four proposed amendments to the state Constitution will be put before voters. You can find more detailed information about them here. During early voting which ended Saturday, more than 4,700 voters cast ballots in Bossier Parish. Caddo Parish saw more than 8,600 early voters, and more than 1,200 voted early in Natchitoches Parish. One of the most controversial measures on the ballot will be Constitutional Amendment 2. Voters will be asked to approve or deny a huge overhaul of Louisianas tax code. Amendment 2 will have far-reaching impacts. The Louisiana Public Affairs Research Council dives deep into each section of the changes. You can find their write-up here. Here are some of the major changes Amendment 2 would bring: Cap the income tax rate at 3.75% Double the standard deduction for seniors Limit new tax exemptions and make them harder to pass Merge the rainy-day state savings account with another trust Liquidate three trust funds which finance educational programs Keep a temporary pay bump for some public school teachers up to $2,000 Remove some property tax exemption protections and move them to state law The property tax element could affect many groups. Amendment 2 would remove most of the existing property tax exemptions from the state constitution and put them into state law, which makes them easier to tweak or eliminate in the future. That includes exemptions for non-profits, surviving spouses of those killed in the line of duty, labor unions, some religious property, and more. Fourteen parishes across the state will have local races on the ballots including Sabine. Ten parishes have local races and ballot referendums including Bossier, Caddo, DeSoto and Red River. Here's a look at what'll be on the ballot in northwest Louisiana. CADDO PARISH Caddo School Board District 7 - Jerry Bowman and Mariam Tamica Harley Mooringsport police chief - Shawn Fertenbaugh and John C. McCaherty Caddo Parish School Renewal 1, 2 and 3 Caddo Fire District 4 tax and Caddo Fire District 6 tax BOSSIER PARISH Bossier City Councilmen-at-large (two elected) - Craton Cochran, Lee Gunny Jeter and Chris Smith Bossier City Councilman District 2 - Jeff Darby and Debra Ross Bossier City Councilman District 3 - Donzell Hughes and Cliff Smith Bossier City Councilman District 5 - Ruth Pope Johnston and Vince Maggio Bossier City Proposition 1 - charter restatement Bossier City Proposition 2 - Amends Sec. 3.01 Bossier City Proposition 3 - Amends Sec. 4.01 Benton tax renewal Bossier Fire District 5 tax proposition WEBSTER PARISH Webster Fire District 2 renewal CLAIBORNE PARISH Claiborne Parish School Proposition 1 Claiborne Parish School Proposition 2 Claiborne Fire District 5 Proposition RED RIVER PARISH Red River School Board Dist. 6 - Richard Logan and Reginald Prealow Red River Parish Proposition renewal Red River Parish Fire District renewal DESOTO PARISH DeSoto Police Juror 1C - Coday Johnston and Stacey Justice DeSoto School Board District 6 - Phillip Palmer and Raymond Sharrow Stonewall Alcohol Proposition 1 Stonewall Alcohol Proposition 2 Stonewall Alcohol Proposition 3 Stonewall Alcohol Proposition 4 Stonewall Alcohol Proposition 5 SABINE PARISH Sabine School Board District 9 - Dean Johnson and Sheryl Scott Many police chief - Phillip Koolaid Cutrer and Cheryl Wooley Many alderman-at -large - Mary Key Brocato & Jamey McIntyre Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day. Voters are encouraged to utilize Louisianas free smartphone app, GeauxVote Mobile, to locate parish early voting locations, find their Election Day voting site, or view their sample ballot. GeauxBot, the virtual voter assistant, is also available to access pertinent election information such as registration deadlines, election dates, polling locations, and hours. GeauxBot is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by visiting voterportal.sos.la.gov or by selecting Elections and Voting on sos.la.gov. Voters should bring an ID with them to vote (Louisiana drivers license, Louisiana Special ID card, a generally recognized picture identification card with name and signature such as a passport, or a digital license via LA Wallet). For more information, call the Elections Hotline at 800-883-2805, with TDD/TTY access at 711, or email the Elections Division at elections@sos.la.gov. To report potential polling place accessibility issues, please email the Elections ADA Compliance Officer at ADA@sos.la.gov. Complaints involving possible election code violations should be reported to the Secretary of States Election Integrity Division at 800-722-5305. Stay with KTBS 3 News on-air and online Saturday night as the election results come in. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Azerbaijans Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Elnur Mammadov has recently visited the Peoples Republic of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan (MFA) told Trend. The next round of political consultations was held between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and China in Beijing on March 28. The delegations were led by Deputy Minister Elnur Mammadov from Azerbaijan and Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin from China. During the consultations, a detailed exchange of views took place on cooperation in various sectors, including politics, economics, trade, energy, green transition, digital development, transport and logistics, education, culture, tourism, and more. The importance of high-level reciprocal visits was highlighted, along with their positive impact on bilateral relations across many fields. The discussions also emphasized the historical significance of the Joint Declaration on the establishment of a strategic partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Peoples Republic of China, adopted during the meeting between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, on July 3, 2024. This important political document is seen as a cornerstone in strengthening strategic cooperation between the two nations. Deputy Minister Mammadov provided detailed information about Azerbaijans peace agenda, the normalization process with Armenia, existing obstacles, and the restoration and reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories, as well as investment projects. The meeting also touched on cooperation within the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and other international platforms, as well as regional issues and topics of mutual interest. Olivia Kelleher Bail has been denied to two men who were arrested as part of an investigation into the operation of a Lithuanian organised crime gang in Cork city. Aleksandras Kuznecovas (38) and Jonas Pavilionis (46), both of no fixed abode, appeared before a sitting of Cork District Court on Friday afternoon. Both men required Lithuanian translators in court. Dt Garda Linda OKeeffe told Judge Mary Dorgan that Mr Kuznecovas sold 25 worth of diamorphine (heroin) to undercover gardai in Cork city on three separate occasions in January of this year. The sales of bags of drugs allegedly occurred at Western Road, the banks of the Lee Walkway and on Mardyke Bridge. The bags were sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis and were identified as heroin. Det Garda OKeeffe described Mr Kuznecovas as being a 'vital cog in an organised crime gang in the city. She expressed the belief that he represents a danger to the community and the people living in it. Det Garda O'Keeffe said Kuznecovas replied "I am sorry" after he was charged with three counts of dealing heroin. She objected to bail arising out of the nature of the evidence before the court. Det Garda OKeeffe added that the accused would commit further offences if bail was granted in the case. Meanwhile, Dt Garda Ruairi McGovern said Mr Jonas Pavilionis was observed placing a bag with two bill-hooks behind an electrical box at Audley Place in Cork city on March 23rd last. Det Garda McGovern said that the accused, who has been in the jurisdiction for two months, was subsquently arrested in the car park of Douglas Village Shopping Centre on the southside of Cork city two days later. He said that suspected heroin with a street value of 3,920 was recovered from the car of the accused. Mr Pavilionis was charged with having heroin for sale and supply and with having a machete when he was arrested last Tuesday (March 25th) in the shopping centre. He was also charged that he had two bill hooks on March 23rd in Audley place. Dt Garda McGovern said that Pavilonis was allegedly an integral part of a crime gang from Lithuania and was brought here purely for the purpose of protection. Judge Dorgan declined to grant bail in the case and remanded the two men in custody to appear before the court on April 3rd next. By Grainne Ni Aodha, PA The Tanaiste has said Ireland needs to invest more in Irish soldiers because of neutrality. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence Simon Harris told a cadet commissioning ceremony on Friday that he will ensure Ireland does not become a laggard on defence spending. He highlighted Defence Forces personnel, as well as radar and sonar, as elements where he would like to see further investment during this Governments term. He said that investment in monitoring capabilities needed to happen with a degree of urgency. Just because were a militarily neutral country, and in fact, because, perhaps, were a militarily neutral country, we need to invest more in the personnel, the men and women of the Defence Forces, but also our capabilities, he said at the Curragh in Co Kildare. We need to do more when it comes to radar, we need to do more when it comes to sonar. Asked to clarify if Ireland is a laggard on defence spending, Mr Harris said he would not. He said he was proud of the peacekeeping work that 339 Irish soldiers do in southern Lebanon, which he paid a visit to this week. I am making the point that the world has changed, and that we can no longer presume that we are immune in a way perhaps Irish people have somewhat presumed, that past governments have presumed, from the threats that the world faces. Were part of the European Union. There is a war on the continent in Europe, the type of threats that countries face has changed significantly hybrid and cyber and we need to make sure that were prepared to protect and defend ourselves. He said that this would include making a contribution to peacekeeping and being able to gather information on what happens around our seas and in our skies. Tanaiste Simon Harris inspects a guard of honour as he attends the commissioning ceremony of the 100th cadet class & the 12th potential officers class (Brian Lawless/PA) So its more about realising that we need to get with 21st century needs in terms of defence, and weve started that work already with a record level of funding for defence this year. I really want to see a significant investment in capability and I do think when it comes to defence and security, and that needs to happen with a degree of urgency. Ireland has a very large sea area that we have responsibility for, we need to know more there. Mr Harris was speaking at a ceremony held at the Defence Forces training camp in the Curragh, Co Kildare, where 35 cadets and 29 potential officers were commissioned. Among them was Captain Kira Connaughton, who received her first salute from her husband Sgt Dave Connaughton, who celebrated the day with their daughters Molly and Fiadh. Speaking at the Curragh, Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sean Clancy said a greater emphasis has been put on defence in recent years, both in Ireland and across Europe. We occupy, obviously, a very significant geographic strategic position here on the western extremity of Europe, and therefore we have a significant role to play. Im confident that were growing into that role every single day and we will continue to do so. Toyota has unveiled the Toyota C-HR+, an all-new battery electric (BEV) model that combines bold, stylish design with premium features and cutting-edge technology, making it a strong contender in Irelands vital C-SUV battery electric vehicle segment. Displaying sleek and eye-catching coupe lines and delivering an authentically rewarding, fun-to-drive experience, Toyota C-HR+ offers all the spaciousness, practicality and convenience that are priorities for cars in its class. It has been developed from the Compact SUV concept Toyota presented in 2022 while also carrying forward essential qualities that have made the Toyota C-HR a game-changing success, with over one million European sales, including over 20,000 Irish sales, across two generations. Scheduled for launch in Ireland in late 2025, Toyota C-HR+ will be a key part of Toyotas compelling line-up of battery-electric products across several battery electric vehicle segments. These new models will further reinforce Toyotas multi-path strategy, joining hybrid and plug-in hybrid, to deliver sustained reductions in vehicle emissions towards achieving carbon neutrality in Europe in 2040. Commenting on the Toyota C-HR+ reveal, Zoe Bradley, Head of Marketing Communications and Corporate Affairs at Toyota Ireland, said: Were excited to bring the all-new, fully electric Toyota C-HR+ to Ireland later this year. It builds on everything people love about the Toyota C-HR, including its bold design, high-quality feel, and dynamic drive, while introducing Toyotas latest battery technology. "We believe the Toyota C-HR+ will be a fantastic option for customers looking for a stylish, practical, and reliable electric vehicle, with up to 600kms electric driving range for longer journeys. "As part of Toyotas multi-path approach, it gives Irish drivers even more choice when it comes to sustainable driving. Given its expected strong appeal in Ireland, we urge interested parties to register their interest early on Toyota.ie. By Cate McCurry, PA A Palestinian student has come top of his class in electronic and computer technology at Dublin City University (DCU). Sarraj Alsersawi achieved the top marks while the conflict in Gaza claimed the lives of many of his friends and threatened his familys safety. Mr Alsersawi arrived in Dublin from Gaza in September 2023 as part of the Ireland-Palestine Scholarship Programme (IPSP) to study for his masters. With a background in mechatronics, Mr Alsersawi earned his undergraduate degree at Al Azhar University, Gaza where he went on to work as a teaching assistant. After the attacks by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, Mr Alsersawi said he was constantly worried about the safety of his family. At one point I lost contact with my family because of the blackout of the internet and communications and everything. So it was really stressful at that point, he said. His parents and brother managed to escape the conflict, finding refuge outside Gaza. However, Mr Alsersawis thoughts were also with his friends and colleagues at home. His former University, Al Azhar, was completely flattened by Israeli shells and Mr Alsersawi lost friends, colleagues and students in what he describes as this genocide. Mr Alsersawi says DCU, and particularly the programmes chairman Dr Derek Molloy, were very supportive, offering him the option to defer exams due to his extraordinary circumstances. However, he said the only way to cope was to throw himself into his studies. He added: I didnt have the luxury to just sit down and do nothing and I thought that maybe excelling in my education would be the best way forward for myself and my family. Mr Alsersawi got first-class honours in his final exams and came first in his class. Im proud of that, he says. The modules included in the programme were just what I needed to enter the Irish job market, says Mr Alsersawi, who has secured a job in Cork with multinational company, Stryker, which develops medical devices. Mr Alsersawi says the job is a great fit for him, as he is passionate about using his qualifications to improve peoples quality of life. Some people would like to work in the automotive or other industries but for me, the medical device industry adds purpose and meaning to what Im doing. He is enjoying his new role and is currently working on the development of a new electrosurgical unit, which uses high radio frequencies to cut tissue and control bleeding by causing immediate coagulation. Even though his parents and brother are safe, the new year brought more distressing news for the family when they discovered their house was destroyed by Israeli bombs. Through all of this, music has kept him going. Mr Alsersawi is a talented musician who plays the traditional Arabic instrument the Oud and has played with the Gaza Orchestra. Music is an essential part of my life and it also helped me immensely during that time to be able to play music. It helps a lot, he added. Since coming to Ireland, he has played several charity concerts for the Palestine Childrens Relief Fund and has started learning to play the mandolin. Im slowly getting into the trad music scene, he says. Reflecting on what is next for Gaza, Mr Alsersawi points out that the war has claimed the lives of a large proportion of the regions professional people including engineers, medics and academics. He feels a sense of responsibility to return home whenever the rebuilding phase begins. Its essential for us young people who were able to get a good education at some point to go back and try to help rebuild their communities at some point. Its a bit early now, but this is something that I always keep in the back of my mind. By Jessica Coates, PA The potential for a transatlantic trade war, and the story of three men being jailed for rape dominate Ireland's front pages on Friday. The Irish Times lead with a story about a settlement being reached in the High Court dispute between three principal shareholders in Web Summit, a story about housing targets being at risk due to water supply gaps, and a study saying there is no evidence that bans on smartphones and social media access work. The Irish Examiner lead with a story about Donald Trump's targeting of the Irish pharmaceutical sector causing households' confidence in the economy plummet, a story about a report that says migrants are more likely to be in work than Irish-born people, and a story about major drugs gang arrests in Cork. The Echo lead with a story about concerns in Cork over Trump's pharmaceutical tariffs threat, and a story about a family settling action over their father's death in Mercy University Hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Irish Daily Mirror and The Herald both lead with the sentencing of three men who were found guilty of raping a woman they met in a Dublin nightclub. The Irish Daily Mail lead with a story with a leading economist saying that a transatlantic trade war will hit Ireland harder than the 2008 financial crash. The Irish Independent lead with a story about migrants being more likely than Irish-born people to be in work, but facing greater poverty. The Irish Daily Star lead with a story about a farmer in Co Kerry who went missing last week, and who left his phone and wallet in his jeep. In the UK... King Charles hospital admission dominates Fridays British newspaper headlines. The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mirror UK both splash on the Kings trip to hospital after experiencing the side effects from his ongoing cancer treatment. The front page of today's Daily Telegraph: 'King in hospital for cancer side effects'#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/XIj8lwIRlT The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 28, 2025 Meanwhile, The Times UK and the UK Daily Mail lead on the news that British King Charles had been forced to cancel a full day of royal engagements amid the medical incident. Friday's TIMES: King has to cancel visits after return to hospital#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/mm81Wb8Q56 Jack Surfleet (@jacksurfleet) March 27, 2025 Friday's DAILY MAIL: Charles is forced to cancel full day of visits#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/o90NLjUkqb Jack Surfleet (@jacksurfleet) March 27, 2025 The Daily Express describes the health episode as a bump in the road, while The Sun tells the King to get well soon. Friday's DAILY EXPRESS: King suffers 'bump in the road' during cancer care#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/ez2rFM8pYE Jack Surfleet (@jacksurfleet) March 27, 2025 The Guardian reports that UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves may be forced to make further tax increases in the aftermath of her spring statement. Friday's GUARDIAN: Fear Reeves may be forced into further tax increases#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/XOwNdM10WS Jack Surfleet (@jacksurfleet) March 27, 2025 The i Paper and Metro both say the UK will send military chiefs to Kyiv as US President Donald Trump targets Ukrainian gas, oil and precious metals. Friday's i: UK sends military chiefs to Kyiv, as Trump goes after Ukraine's gas, oil and metals#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/00PFHcVvsp Jack Surfleet (@jacksurfleet) March 27, 2025 The Financial Times leads on Lakshmi Mittals plans to leave the UK in response to a government crackdown on non-domiciled residents. Just published: front page of the Financial Times, UK edition, Friday 28 March https://t.co/qdqWeYZY1I pic.twitter.com/kBrpnr50nv Financial Times (@FT) March 27, 2025 Lastly, the Daily Star reports world leaders are warning people to stock up on toilet paper and tinned food. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. A press conference was held one day ahead of the "Colonialism: Erasure of National and Religious Identity" international conference, organized by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG), Trend reports. Representatives of independence movements from former French and Dutch colonies, decolonization experts, specialists working on reparations, and human rights defenders attended the press conference. The event brought together prominent figures from the freedom movements in Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Kanaky (New Caledonia), Corsica, Martinique, Reunion, Bonaire, French Polynesia, Mayotte, as well as Wallis and Futuna. A particularly notable part of the press conference was the participation of the families of political prisoners from Kanaky, who had been illegally imprisoned by the French government. They emphasized that their relatives' imprisonment was politically motivated and aimed at suppressing the Kanak people's right to self-determination and freedom. The families stated that the French government's colonial policies were targeting those who opposed them. They also highlighted that their relatives' rights were grossly violated, the conditions of detention were inhumane, and their legal defense options were limited. They called on international organizations to exert pressure and demand the immediate release of the prisoners. Participants of the event stressed the symbolic significance of political prisoners to independence movements and underlined the importance of an urgent and fair resolution to this issue. The facts presented brought attention to the real situation of human rights violations in New Caledonias independence struggle and further emphasized the need for international intervention. The guests answered journalists' questions about the continuing effects of colonialism, the efforts to preserve national and religious identity, and the threats faced by independence movements. They also highly praised Azerbaijan's global role in the decolonization process. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Azerbaijan's Baku Initiative Group (BIG) has condemned human rights violations in France's overseas territories and expressed support for independence movements, including those in Kanaky (New Caledonia), Trend reports. Abbas Abbasov, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group, made this statement during a press conference dedicated to the international conference on "Colonialism: Erasure of National and Religious Identity." Abbasov emphasized that political arrests are occurring not only in Kanaky but also across other French overseas territories, pointing to systematic human rights violations. "As always, we will support all independence supporters and fight for their rights. France is attempting to establish dialogue with Kanaky, but so far, without success. The Baku Initiative Group is ready to act as a mediator in this process and demands that France cease human rights violations in all its overseas territories," he said. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar has reaffirmed that strengthening Pakistan-Azerbaijan ties remains a top priority of the Government through robust multi-sector collaboration, Trend reports. He was addressing an inter-ministerial meeting on investment project proposals with Azerbaijan in Islamabad on Thursday. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the meeting was attended by the Minister of Communications, National Coordinator Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), Federal Secretaries for Finance, Petroleum, Interior, Health, Commerce, National Highway Authority, besides senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other concerned departments. Senior officials briefed the forum on progress across various sectors. The Deputy Prime Minister directed that proposals for investment in infrastructure, petroleum, trade and IT services may be finalized by 3rd April, 2025. Reduced sodium legislation saves lives Study finds that legislation in 2013 to reduce sodium in processed food is now associated with significant declines in blood pressure levels. Excessive sodium consumption can worsen high blood pressure, which is linked to cardiovascular disease which in turn is responsible for 20 million deaths a year globally. Stroke, which is a type of cardiovascular disease, is also a leading cause of disability. In response, South Africa became one of the first countries in the world and the first in Africa to pass regulations on sodium content. The idea was to encourage people to eat less salt and other sodium-rich food. Salt and sodium are not the same. Sodium is the part of salt that raises blood pressure and leads to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Table salt comprises 40% sodium. A study by researchers at Wits University and Harvard, titled Sodium reduction legislation and urinary sodium and blood pressure in South Africa, published in JAMA Cardiology in February 2025, now reveals that this legislation has worked and could continue to have an impressive impact in years to come. The World Health Organization recommends less than two grams of salt per day; participants in this study reduced their sodium intake by 10% over seven years. In addition, many more people achieved the ideal sodium consumption: the number went from 7% to 17% and with every gram of sodium reduction, there was a reduction in blood pressure, says Professor Steve Tollman, Director of the SAMRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt where the study was done). SAs sodium legislation the most extensive any country has passed The legislation has seen thirteen categories of food reduce their sodium content, including bread, cereals, fat spreads, chips, processed meats, soups, sauces and stock concentrates. By 2016, manufacturers were required to reduce sodium content in these foods between 20% and 70%, then lower them further, between 5% and 46%, by 2019. Blood pressure reductions If this reduced sodium consumption remains constant over time, it could be associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease mortality as well as of stroke, heart failure, end-stage renal disease, and vascular dementia, all of which are also associated with high blood pressure, says Associate Professor Thomas Gaziano of the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health. Gaziano is also the lead and corresponding author of the study. He notes that reductions of even one millimetre of mercury (mmHg) of blood pressure can lead to tens of thousands of deaths averted each year. Tollman adds, This kind of research insight suggests other countries can adopt similar laws and potentially see reductions in death and disability, including the US. Possible reversal of increased blood pressure levels linked to ageing population South Africa has a growing ageing population and so-called transitioning societies. When an area is in transition, chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes replace infectious diseases as leading causes of death. This shift happens as countries develop economically and populations migrate from rural to urban settlements, undergo lifestyle changes and where the rural/urban divide is less well defined. It is in this ageing cohort that the study was situated, forming part of the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies in South Africa (HAALSA) programme, a partnership between Wits, Harvard, University of Cape Town, and the Columbia University Department of Neurology. HAALSA evaluates how policy and other drivers of health influence chronic and infectious diseases, including dementia, cardiometabolic disorders, and HIV, among South Africans ages 40 and above, in order better to understand health outcomes within an increasingly ageing society. To assess the effectiveness of sodium regulation, the study looked at salt consumption and blood pressure among the HAALSA cohort, comprising more than 5,000 adults aged 40 and above, in rural SA. The researchers measured sodium levels in participants urine and took their blood pressure at three different times: in 2014, before the regulations were implemented, and again in 2018 and 2021. Most governments around the world have only encouraged or advised sodium reduction with limited effectiveness. Stricter legislation is better than a voluntary approach," says Tollman. "This study demonstrates that government action with accountability is able to impact not only on sodium intake but blood pressure levels as well. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. On March 28, representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Belarus and the Military Attache Office of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of the Congress of Azerbaijan Communities international public union in Belarus visited the grave of the Azerbaijan National Hero of Belarusian origin, Major Davidovich Anatoliy Nikolayevich on the occasion of his 60th anniversary, laid flowers on his grave and paid tribute to the memory of the hero, who showed heroism in the First Karabakh War during the battles for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense. At the ceremony, a military orchestra performed the National Anthems of both countries. The event participants also visited the mother of the National Hero, Kima Davidovich, and enquired about her health and concerns. Mother of the National Hero expressed her gratitude to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense for the respect, attention and care to her son's memory. It should be noted that A. Davidovich became Shehid on June 13, 1992. By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 3, 1992, Major Davidovich Anatoliy Nikolayevich was posthumously named the National Hero of Azerbaijan. AGHDAM, Azerbaijan, March 28. Azerbaijan plans for the construction of 425 individual homes across two stages in Sarijali village, located in the Aghdam district, Trend's Karabakh Bureau reports. The first phase of the project, which will serve a population of 1,873 people (425 families), was inaugurated during a media tour of the village. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the opening of the first phase on March 27. Emin Huseynov, the Special Representative of the President in the Aghdam, Fuzuli, and Khojavend districts, provided the President and First Lady with details about the conditions created in the village. The total area designated for the project exceeds 123 hectares. The full plan involves the construction of 425 homes in two phases. To ensure the employment of the local population, various educational, economic, social, and household-oriented facilities, as well as community and cultural centers, have been established. The project also addresses social needs, including the construction of internal village roads and the installation of electricity, communication, and water systems, along with ensuring gas supply. It is noteworthy that the foundation for this village, located just six kilometers from the center of Aghdam city, was laid by President Ilham Aliyev on October 4, 2022. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Ruan Xiangyan, a pioneer of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation, speaks during a meeting of deputies from the delegation of Beijing at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2025. [Xinhua] BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhua) Li Ying (pseudonym) had always dreamed of becoming a mother, but her diagnosis of a disease almost shattered that simple wish. Diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a condition requiring chemotherapy, Li was told that the treatment could damage her ovaries and potentially impair her fertility. Fortunately, she had her ovaries preserved in a hospital cryobank prior to starting the treatment, allowing for reimplantation after her recovery. In 2021, she gave birth to a healthy baby, nicknamed Youyou -- China's first "cryopreserved baby." "It was a miracle!" Li recalled. In February, she turned to her doctor Ruan Xiangyan for a second ovarian tissue transplant, hoping to have another child. So far, ovarian tissue from over 750 girls and women is preserved in the cryobank at the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital (BOGH), Capital Medical University, waiting to be "woken up" and once again serve as the source of new life. However, these patients are among the lucky few. "Each year, at least one million girls and women of childbearing age undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy, yet fewer than one in 10,000 can have their ovaries preserved," said Ruan, founding director of the department of gynecological endocrinology at the BOGH. As a pioneer of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation in China, Ruan is not only dedicated to advancing the technology but also hopes to ensure that patients are fully informed about the medical risk of ovarian failure, helping them preserve their fertility. Frozen "Noah's Ark" Chemotherapy and radiotherapy usually cause ovarian failure, with an incidence ranging from 70 to 100 percent, leading to infertility, premature menopause and other health issues due to insufficient ovarian hormones, Ruan said. How can these patients preserve both their lives and their ovarian function? "This is a global challenge, and China had long been absent in this field," said Ruan. After nearly a century of efforts by medical experts and scientists, the breakthrough technology of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation emerged and gradually matured. In 2004, the world's first healthy baby was born using this technology. In 2010, while studying in Germany, Ruan was introduced to the technology for the first time. "I was overwhelmed with excitement. China needs this so much! My patients will be saved!" she recounted. Without hesitation, Ruan made up her mind to bring it back to China. With support from the government and foreign experts, China's first ovarian tissue cryobank was officially established at BOGH in 2012, a frozen Noah's Ark carrying the hopes of future life. In order to make ovarian freezing services accessible to more people, Ruan has helped train doctors from over 300 hospitals across the country for the past six years. And with collective efforts, a nationwide fertility preservation network has been established, allowing ovarian tissue from as far as Hainan, China's southernmost island province, to be transported to the BOGH cryobank within 24 hours. Certain ovarian tissue cryopreservation procedures have now been included under medical insurance coverage in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. So far, the hospital has successfully completed 41 transplantations of cryopreserved ovarian tissue, ranking at the forefront internationally in terms of success rate. "All in all, it is most important to make these ovaries function again," Ruan said. Following the birth of Youyou, China's second "cryopreserved baby" was born in October 2024. "At that moment, I felt all my efforts have been worthwhile," she said. "Bringing happiness to my patients is my greatest happiness." Medical Disclosure Needed "Do you know how hard this has been for me? I wish I could give her my own ovary..." a mother sobbed uncontrollably. Her daughter, now 19, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia seven years ago. She endured grueling chemotherapy and radiation, which saved her life but came at a devastating cost. Her ovarian function was completely lost, and she experienced premature menopause. Her growth stalled at just over 140 cm, and her body was as frail as a 70- or 80-year-old woman. Sadly, cases like this are still all too common in Ruan's consulting room. "The biggest reason is information asymmetry," she said. "As a new technology, ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation is still unfamiliar to many doctors." In addition, many doctors are unaware of the damage that chemotherapy and radiation can cause to patients, she said. "When faced with a serious illness, they always prioritize saving lives, often causing patients to miss the window for preserving fertility and ovarian function." "Once patients are informed, many of them and their families will make every effort to preserve fertility and ovarian function," she said. "However, over 90 percent of the patients who come to my clinic have already lost the opportunity, which deeply saddens me." Heartbroken by these tragedies, Ruan is determined to push forward, striving to help save more families already burdened by misfortune. Over the years, she has been calling for national and local health administrations to mandate that medical institutions fully inform patients and their guardians about the potential severe impact of these treatments on ovarian function and fertility. Medical institutions should also encourage patients and their guardians to seek consultation on fertility and ovarian function preservation methods before treatment and to sign informed consent forms, she said. Ruan's team once conducted a survey involving 2,000 doctors and patients nationwide. The results showed that 90 percent of respondents believed that if standardized medical disclosure regulations were in place and doctors failed to fulfill their duty to inform, leading to severe consequences such as ovarian failure, they should be held accountable both medically and legally. This is in the same vein as a medical dispute in east China's Jiangxi Province in 2023, where the hospital failed to fulfill its duty of disclosure, resulting in the patient's complete loss of ovarian function. The court ultimately ruled that the hospital must compensate the patient with over 110,000 yuan (around 15,325 U.S. dollars). The legal victory strengthened her confidence. "There must be standardized medical disclosure!" she said. Challenges Ahead Ruan's call resonates with China's broader efforts to boost its flagging population, and fertility preservation technologies are attracting increasing attention. The BOGH is currently the only medical institution in China to have verified the effectiveness and safety of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation technology, and officially applied it to clinical practices. Meanwhile, an increasing number of medical institutions across the country are conducting experiments with this technology. Ruan cautioned about the risks associated with ovarian tissue cryopreservation, saying medical institutions lacking experience may introduce risks in various stages, including ovarian tissue retrieval, transportation, and freezing. "Therefore, international guidelines recommend that ovarian tissue cryopreservation should be centralized, as this helps reduce risks, ensures quality control, and maximizes the preservation of ovarian tissue viability," she explained. In terms of controlling the risks regarding ovarian tissue transplantation, Ruan pointed out that if clinical tests show clear evidence of malignant disease metastasis to the ovaries or ovarian malignancy, it is not recommended to transplant this ovarian tissue in the future. So far, there have been no reports of disease recurrence attributed to ovarian tissue transplantation, Ruan said, adding that among the children born from this technology, there have been no noticeable differences compared to other children, but long-term follow-up is still necessary. Youyou has already celebrated her third birthday and is as healthy as any other child. Every time Youyou affectionately calls her "Nanny Ruan," a warmth rises in Ruan's chest, her eyes misting over. But with that tenderness comes a heavy weight, a deep sense of responsibility that she carries with her every day: How can she help more women patients avoid the harm that could have been prevented? "No matter what difficulties we face, we can't quit halfway. That's why we have to keep going and never give up," Ruan said. This photo taken with a mobile phone shows a technician of the cryobank in Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital handling ovarian tissue at the hospital in Beijing, capital of China, on Feb. 27, 2025. [Xinhua/Shen Anni] (Source: Xinhua) Editor: Wang Shasha SHUSHA, Azerbaijan, March 28. The Shusha Treatment and Wellness Center, a comprehensive healthcare facility, consists of six blocks and has a capacity of ninety beds, Trends Karabakh district correspondent was informed during a media tour to Shusha. The center will provide inpatient services including therapy, pediatrics, surgery, hemodialysis, and other specialized departments. In addition, outpatient services will include a consultative clinic, pediatric clinic, radiology, functional diagnostics, physiotherapy, and medical rehabilitation departments, as well as a clinical diagnostic laboratory. The center's emergency medical service station will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to meet modern healthcare standards. Furthermore, a hygiene and epidemiology center, as well as separate buildings for infectious diseases and hemodialysis, have been constructed within the medical complex. President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva visited the Shusha Treatment and Wellness Center to review ongoing construction work on March 27. The foundation of this 90-bed medical facility was laid on November 7, 2021, with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel As the crisis in New Zealands public health system continues to deepen due to ongoing austerity measures, the right-wing coalition government plans to outsource thousands of operations to private hospitals. Last year the Health NZ agency slashed more than 560 so-called back office jobs; now it is seeking to cut around 1,500 more positions, including data and digital workers and public health advisors. Hospitals have imposed unofficial hiring freezes in an attempt to meet the National Party-led governments $2 billion annual cost-saving target. The aim of the ruling class is to shift the full burden of the countrys economic crisis onto the working class, while keeping taxes down for the super-rich and freeing up billions of dollars for military spending. The National Party-led government is also seeking to boost the profits of private health companies, at the expense of the public system. The cuts are being imposed on a run-down hospital system that has been starved of funding for decades and cannot cope with increasing levels of illness in the population. Figures from Health NZ show a sharp increase in waiting times for patients in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2018, 6 percent of patients were waiting longer than four months for specialist treatment. By mid-2022, after the Labour Party-led government had removed almost all measures to stop the spread of COVID, the figure had reached 37.6 percent, which has remained roughly unchanged. In September 2024, there were 27,497 people who had been waiting more than four months for treatment. This underestimates the crisis, since thousands of people in need of care do not get onto the waiting list, sometimes because they cant afford to see a doctor. Those forced to wait include people in severe pain, such as those needing joint replacements, or with life-threatening conditions. Dr Sarah Fairley, medical director of the Heart of Aotearoa New Zealand Kia Manawanui Trust, told Radio NZ on March 21 that thousands of patients who urgently need a heart scan to diagnose their condition face wait times of 10 months or longer in parts of the country. Dr Fairley and the trusts chief executive Letitia Harding wrote to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon last October saying waiting lists have blown out of control The system is broken, and New Zealanders are paying with their lives. They called for more staff and funding for theatres and medications. There was no response from the government. In another appalling consequence of the staffing crisis, RNZ reported on March 24 that terminally ill children may not be receiving appropriate care because the countrys only publicly-funded paediatric palliative care specialist is on extended leave. An estimated 3,000 children need end-of-life care every year, but the vast majority, 75 percent, dont receive it because they live outside Auckland, where the childrens palliative care unit is located. Successive governments have refused to fund a nationwide service. The government is using the crisis in public hospitals, for which it is responsible, to justify moving more treatment to the private sector. The recently installed far-right Health Minister Simeon Brown has directed Health NZ to outsource 10,579 procedures by the end of June. The government will divert $50 million to private companies under the scheme. This will further entrench the countrys two-tier healthcare system. Already, nearly 70 percent of all elective (non-emergency) surgeries are carried out in private hospitals. The proportion of publicly-funded procedures done in private hospitals has increased from 6 percent in 2015 to 12 percent in 2023 (mostly under the previous Labour government). Dr David Bailey, lead obstetrician-gynaecologist for the Northland region, told RNZ that patients who benefit from outsourcing are generally better-off and less severely-ill. Private hospitals only want patients who are easiest to operate on, leaving the under-funded public system to deal with more complex cases. Dr Bailey said he and his team had offered to do more procedures to clear the backlog of more than 100 people in the region who had waited longer than four months for gynaecology surgery, but Health NZ refused to fund the necessary staffing hours. Healthcare workers and the wider working class are trying to fight back against the governments deeply unpopular agenda. About 250 people protested in Napier on March 23 against cuts to the towns after-hours urgent care clinic, which replaced the Napier Hospital in 1998. Health NZ has refused to provide an on-site doctor at the clinic, which serves an area with more than 60,000 people. Last September, more than 35,000 people protested in Dunedin against a decision to scale back the citys hospital redevelopment. Tens of thousands of nurses held two nationwide strikes last December after rejecting Health NZs offer that would slash real wages and do nothing to address the staffing shortage. Striking medical laboratory workers protest outside the New Zealand parliament [Photo: APEX union] More than 850 medical laboratory workers at private companies went on strike for two days in February and have held further strikes this week. The privatisation of these services began under the 19992008 Labour government and the workers are now paid 30 percent less than those in the public system doing similar tasks. The trade union bureaucracy has kept each struggle isolated and suppressed any unified movement by workers across the public and private sector against the unrelenting attacks on wages, jobs and vital services. The Public Service Association (PSA), which has 25,000 members in the health sector, has not taken any strike action against Health NZs job cuts. Instead it is taking legal action through the Employment Relations Authority, arguing only that there has not been enough consultation on the governments plans. The PSA has already overseen thousands of redundancies in numerous government departments, and prior to the 2023 election the union publicly supported Labours proposed layoffs across the public sector. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) has been silent on the nurses pay dispute since December. It is negotiating behind closed doors with Health NZ to prepare what will be a sellout, like many previous agreements backed by the union leadership. Meanwhile, the NZNO is attempting to stoke divisions among nurses by arguing for race-based staffing quotas. To defend public healthcare, workers must break politically from the Labour Partywhich has no real disagreement with the governments austerity and privatisation agendaand take matters into their own hands and out of the grip of the pro-capitalist union bureaucracy. This requires the building of new organisations, rank-and-file committees controlled by workers, in every hospital and clinic. These organisations will provide the means to link up with workers in schools and across the public sector, and private businesses, to prepare a general strike against the government. To succeed, this fight must be infused with a socialist political perspective, based on the principle that societys wealth and resources must be expropriated from the billionaires and used to meet urgent social needs, including a vast expansion of the public health system. Ex-president Jair Bolsonaro during a press conference after his indictment by Brazil's supreme court. [Photo: Lula Marques/Agencia Brasil] On Wednesday, Brazils Supreme Court (STF) accepted the Attorney Generals Office (PGR) indictment against fascistic ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, accused of leading the coup conspiracy that culminated in the invasion of government headquarters in Brasilia on January 8, 2023. The hearings took place in two sessions that were broadcast live. They analyzed the cases of Bolsonaro and seven of his allies, accused of constituting the hard core of the coup plot. They are the former chief of staff of the presidency and Bolsonaros vice-presidential running mate, Gen. Walter Braga Netto; the former Minister of Defense, Gen. Paulo Sergio Nogueira; the former Minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI), Gen. Augusto Heleno; the former Commander of the Navy, Adm. Almir Garnier Santos; the former director-general of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), Alexandre Ramagem; the former Minister of Justice and former Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District, Anderson Torres; and Bolsonaros former aide-de-camp, Col. Mauro Cid. By the unanimous decision of the five judges in the STF First Panel, Bolsonaro and the seven accomplices were put in the dock in a criminal case that will unfold over the coming months. As the World Socialist Web Site noted, the indictment now accepted by the Supreme Court is based on a vast body of evidence that paints a sinister portrait of the military-fascist cabal that headed the Brazilian state under the Bolsonaro government that was responsible for systematically leading a conspiratorial plot armed and executed against the democratic institutions. The opening of the case against Bolsonaro and his fascist co-conspirators, almost all members of the upper echelons of the military, is an unprecedented event in Brazilian history. Never have crimes against democracy been brought to trial in the country. The transition to civilian rule in Brazil, whose 40th anniversary was celebrated on March 15, took place without any trial or punishment of those responsible for the coup that overthrew President Joao Goulart in 1964 and for the atrocious crimes committed under the military dictatorship that ruled for the next two decades. The advance of the prosecution of Bolsonaro and his cabal will have explosive implications for Brazils tumultuous political situation. Far from being the end of the story, the trial of those responsible for the January 8 coup will only bring to light and exacerbate the deep political processes that provoked it. In this weeks hearings, the defendants lawyers have outlined the fundamental lines of defense they intend to use. They have claimed insufficient material evidence, challenged the validity of Mauro Cids plea bargains and contested the legitimacy of the rapporteur of the case, Alexandre de Moraes, and of the trial being held before the First Panel of the STF, instead of its plenum. However, the most critical response of Bolsonaro and his fascist allies to the judicial siege they face is being prepared outside the courts. Bolsonaros reaction to the indictment made this fact plain. Having attended the first session of the trial in person and from the front row, in a gesture of political defiance, he called a press conference immediately after the STFs decision was made. In a speech that returned to the aggressive rhetoric used during the coup attempt, Bolsonaro once again baselessly charged that fraud was committed in the 2022 elections. He declared: Im being accused of an attempted coup. People must have noticed something in the way Minister Alexandre de Moraes conducts himself so incisively theres something weird going on. What is he trying to hide?(...) Was there interference in the TSE [Superior Electoral Court] in the 2022 elections, or not?... One hundred percent reliable polls? During the 2022 elections, the TSE influenced, played heavily against me and in favor of [Workers Party-PT] candidate Lula. Ten days ago, Bolsonaro and his allies set the political scene for the STF hearings with a street demonstration in Rio de Janeiro with the slogan amnesty now! for those involved in the coup attempt. The demand is associated with a bill put forward in the House of Representatives, which, according to a survey by Estado de Sao Paulo, has the support of 190 congressmen and is rejected by only 126. The remaining 197 deputies have either refused to take a stand or did not answer the poll. In addition to Bolsonaro and the most reactionary members of the Brazilian legislature, the demonstration was attended by four governors, including those of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the richest states in the country. Highlighting the cases of the foot soldiers who received harsh sentences for participating in the January 8 invasion of the government buildings in Brasilia, the demonstration sought to reinforce the narrative that the investigation and trial of those responsible for the coup attempt is nothing more than political persecution of Bolsonaro and his allies. The fascist ex-president repeated these accusations in an interview with the Financial Times, published on Tuesday. Attacking de Moraes, Bolsonaro said: He already has the sentence for me, 28 years in prison. We have a problem of dictatorship, a real dictatorship, he concluded. Giving a sinister preview of the main strategy of the Brazilian fascists, Bolsonaro told the FT: Brazil doesnt have a way out of this situation on its own. It needs support from abroad. At another point he said, American help is very welcome, thanking President Donald Trump for shutting down USAID, which he accuses of having financed alleged fraud in Brazils 2022 electoral process. Bolsonaro and his allies are announcing ever more openly their quest to continue their dictatorial conspiracy by organizing a new coup attempt in direct collaboration with US imperialism. The most significant development in this direction was the recent announcement by Eduardo Bolsonaro, the former presidents son, that he is abandoning his seat as a federal congressman in Brazil to move permanently to the United States. Here, I will be able to focus on seeking the just punishment that Alexandre de Moraes and his Federal Police Gestapo deserve, he declared in a March 18 podcast. Eduardo declared that he will campaign for the US government to intervene against the upcoming 2026 presidential elections in Brazil if the candidacy of his father, who the electoral court has already ruled ineligible to run, is not accepted. Thats the message I would take to President Trump. But the people around him are already very aware of what is happening, he said. He concluded: In the coming weeks were going to see more and more participation by the White House and [US] Congress in holding back the momentum of the [Brazilian] dictators. ... I think everyone has already understood that in Brazil there is no possibility of defending this game. The fascist provocations by Bolsonaro and his son, directly reminiscent of Washingtons successful plot to overthrow President Joao Goulart in 1964, represent the gravest threat to the Brazilian working class. These dangers are further intensified by US imperialisms furious drive to counter the massive economic influence acquired by China in Latin America and to re-establish its waning hegemony over the region by force. Eclipsed by China as Brazils main trading partner, Washington seeks close ties between the Pentagon and Brazils military to counter the decline of US economic influence. Bolsonaro counts on support from this same military command to achieve his aims. The persistent threat of fascism in Brazil highlights the urgent need to carry out a decisive reckoning with the living legacy of the military dictatorship. This task requires the mobilization of a mass movement that strikes at the very source of the growing attacks on democratic rights: the rotten capitalist order. Brazilian workers and youth cannot entrust this historical task to the ruling Workers Party (PT) and its pseudo-left satellites and allied trade unions, whose main task is to preserve illusions in the bankrupt bourgeois political system. Sowing complacency in the face of the serious risks posed by the current situation, the PT and its allies celebrated the recent STF decision as a decisive victory against Bolsonaro and the military coup plotters. The leaders of PT and the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL) issued official statements joyfully proclaiming, Great day! accompanied by jocular comments and appeals to reactionary patriotism. What the forces of the PT and the pseudo-left fear, above all, is that the exposure of Bolsonaros and the militarys conspiracy will provoke a mass political movement that merges with a growing wave of strikes across the country, in which the working class is coming into struggle against the capitalist austerity measures that the Lula administration seeks to implement. NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A dialogue on China-Africa green cooperation was held in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, bringing together senior officials, diplomats, environmentalists and scholars. The China-Africa Ecological Civilization Exchange forum was hosted by the Chongqing Land and Sea International Communication Foundation at the Confucius Institute of Kenya's oldest university, the University of Nairobi, on Wednesday. A photo exhibition titled "The City of Eagles," a reference to Chongqing in southwest China, was also featured on the sidelines of the forum. One highlight of the event was the launch of a nature observation program that seeks to enhance cooperation between Chinese and African youth in advancing the green agenda. Njoroge Muchiri, deputy governor of the County Government of Nairobi, said the metropolis is keen to foster exchanges with China in its quest for reclaiming green spaces and rivers. He said that during a recent trip to China, he witnessed the inspiring conservation works around the Yangtze River, a major lifeline for the Asian country. "In collaboration with the Chinese government and Chinese investors, we are working on a very major rehabilitation program for Nairobi rivers," Muchiri said. "With that, we shall be able to establish the ecosystems that used to exist." Nevile Agesa, a project manager at Mara Conservation Fund, a wildlife conservation lobby based in southwestern Kenya, said that a partnership with Chinese entities has strengthened the protection of habitats reeling from the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Hu Henghua, mayor of Chongqing Municipality, spoke at the event that sought to enhance exchanges with Kenyan institutions and the public on the green, sustainability agenda. "We stand ready to leverage this platform to collaborate with African partners in sharing expertise and best practices across urban sustainability, clean energy development, wildlife protection, and cultural heritage restoration," Hu said. Guo Haiyan, Chinese ambassador to Kenya, stressed that Beijing attaches great importance to global ecological health, adding that cooperation with Kenya has boosted the protection of natural assets. She said that Chinese enterprises based in Kenya have embraced green ethos during the implementation of flagship projects such as the 480-km Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Guo added that the "Partnership Action for Green Development," one of the 10 partnership actions announced at the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, reaffirmed China's commitment to advancing green energy transition and biodiversity protection in Africa. SHUSHA, Azerbaijan, March 28. Shusha's new buildings are being constructed with local Shusha stones, and the architectural solutions are designed to align with the city's historic and cultural identity, Vugar Maharramov, Deputy Executive Director of the Shusha State Reserve, said in a statement to Trend. "On Karabakh street, multi-story buildings built during the Soviet era have been demolished, and in their place, new structures are being built in a unique architectural style," he said. Maharramov added that the construction is part of a public-private partnership involving ten buildings being erected by both investors and the government. "Two of these buildings are commissioned by the Shusha State Reserve, while eight others are commissioned by private investors. The new buildings will be used for hotels, aparthotels, office and commercial spaces, restaurants, and other facilities. Domestic and international architects' recommendations have been considered in their design," he added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel As the wave of unlawful arrests and detentions launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government to suppress mass protests continues, videos and testimonies of brutal police violence and torture are emerging. A video shot by photojournalist Kemal Aslan and viewed millions of times on social media documents the polices unbridled attack on protesters peacefully dispersing after the CHP-led rally in Sarachane ended on Sunday, March 23. Protesters heading towards the metro station were brutally beaten and tear-gassed in the face at close range by the police. Burcu Altunpolat, who said she was subjected to police violence and torture, described the horrific moments in detail on X/Twitter. Akpolat said she was kicked and punched by 6 or 7 police officers, had her eyelids and mouth forced open and was pepper-sprayed. The young woman said the policemen eventually threw her aside and said: Shes going to die in our hands, lets throw her there, she gets the f*ck out of here. CHP Diyarbakr deputy and lawyer Sezgin Tanrkulu said that young people detained in Sarachane had told him that they had been tortured. As an example, Tanrkulu cited the testimony of a young university student who said she had been sexually harassed and tortured by the police. In the transcript, the young woman describes her experience while being handcuffed as follows: ...the male police officer touched my breasts and said: Do you have breasts. I wet my trousers out of fear and pressure. My dress is still soaked with urine. Then a female police officer came and took me away from the policeman who was bullying and harassing me and said to him: OK, enough, stop it. The young woman continued, The male police officer pressed my head with his foot. The doctors report I received said that I had oedema and swelling on the left side of my head. I was taken to the detention vehicle by [another] female police officer who insulted me by calling me a bastard. In its information note titled Violations between 19 and 26 March 2025, the Human Rights Association stated: Many people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment during the police intervention on the protests, such as beatings, close range canisters, gas and water cannons, reverse handcuffs and strip searches. In Ankara, 7 people were subjected to strip searches. In a statement, the Istanbul Medical Chamber emphasised that medical examinations during capture and detention are necessary to prevent torture and ill-treatment incompatible with human dignity. However, detainees were forced to undergo medical examinations at police headquarters in violation of the law. Police squads surround protesters in Sarachane, March 21, 2025 [Photo by Mellonsapka / CC BY 4.0 Mass protests began in Istanbul on 19 March and spread across the country after Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP), was detained on charges of corruption and terrorism. Imamoglu, seen as Erdogan's main political rival, was leading in recent presidential polls. He was arrested on Sunday on charges of corruption based on allegations from secret witnesses. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on X Thursday that 1,879 demonstrators had been detained since 19 March, of whom 260 were arrested, 468 were placed under judicial control, 489 were released and 662 are still being processed. The Evrensel newspaper reporter Nisa Sude Demirel and ETHA reporter Elif Bayburt were reportedly detained on Friday morning. As boycotts continued in many universities, more than a hundred students and some lawyers were detained in Sisli, Istanbul, where they gathered to protest on Thursday evening. On Friday morning, police raided the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara and detained nine students. The Socialist Equality Group (SEG) and its youth movement, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), call for the release of all political prisoners. Workers must mobilise in defence of students and democratic rights, and students must turn to the working class. This means fighting for the revolutionary perspective put forward by the SEG. The persecution of the demonstrators, mostly university students, is aimed at intimidating and suppressing any public challenge to the governments unpopular war and class-war agenda. The arrest of those who took part in the protest in exercise of their constitutional rights, without legal justification, material evidence or due process, shows that the government is using the judiciary as a weapon against both political and social opponents. Arif Anl Ozturk, a volunteer lawyer for the detained protesters, said of the arrests: It is an illegal trial from beginning to end. There is no evidence, no footage. Moreover, the Article they are accused of does not require imprisonment. Moreover, there are people who are mistreated, starting with being handcuffed behind their backs. There are people whose legs have been put in plaster casts and who have bruises on their bodies. Ozturk added: The judges dont even look at the lawyers faces during the verdict. They dont even read the full verdict, they just say arrested and run out of the courtroom. Arbitrary arrests have increased since last year. Participants in demonstrations against the closure of Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square for May Day celebrations, in violation of a Constitutional Court ruling, or against the governments continued trade with Israel, which is committing genocide in Gaza, have been released after months of unlawful detention. In early February, during a wave of wildcat strikes by workers in more than twenty factories in the Baspinar Organised Industrial Zone in Gaziantep against the imposition of low wage increases, Mehmet Turkmen, leader of the independent rank-and-file union, the United Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers Union (BIRTEK-SEN), was arrested. Turkmens release on Monday after 35 days in detention is a de facto admission of the arbitrariness and lack of legal basis for this arrest. As the WSWS wrote, the arrest was aimed at criminalising all workers struggles and expressions of support for these struggles. After his release, Turkmen was again illegally sentenced to house arrest. As the government escalates police repression and arrests attempting to bring mass protests to an end, the CHP claims to have won a 'victory'. CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said on Wednesday, The nation defeated the coup on 19 March... Ekrem Imamoglu is sitting in his cell in the Palace of Democracy. Erdogan is in his palace seven floors down, under stress. This absurd statement turns reality upside down and normalises a dictatorial regime and political imprisonment. The governments drive to violently suppress the mass protests stems from fear that these will trigger a wider movement within the working class, which is subjected to a brutal austerity programme. This fear is shared by the CHP, which represents a rival bourgeois faction. Analu Cristina Cerozzi da Silva Vieira (1975-2025) [Photo: Facebook] The death of a teacher in Sao Paulo after suffering a heart attack during a pedagogical meeting last week has brought to light the intense pressure and harassment inflicted by pro-corporate education programs. According to the ABC em Foco website, Analu Cristina Cerozzi da Silva Vieira, from the Maria Carolina State School in Diadema, in the ABC industrial region, fell ill when she questioned the volume of demands made on education professionals. She was taken to hospital but didnt survive. Facing the same intolerable working conditions, thousands of outraged teachers from all over Brazil mourned the death of teacher Analu. A Facebook post by state deputy Carlos Giannazi, from the pseudo-left Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), received more than 7,000 interactions and more than 2,000 comments and was shared 1,000 times. Teacher Jessica wrote in the comments on the post that Analu Cerozzi was an excellent teacher. She did her job with mastery, leaving no student behind. Always concerned about her students learning, she gave her best in the classroom. She was loved by many, affectionate, welcoming, and with a huge heart. A devoted mother and wife, companion and friend. Many teachers have also reported situations similar to those that Analu denounced when she had a heart attack. Lucia wrote, Unfortunately, psychological pressure happens all the time. It needs to stop. The search for results that arent always real means that teachers are overworked and mentally exhausted, losing their health and often facing depression or other invisible illnesses. Over the last two years, the extreme right-wing governor of Sao Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas, and his education secretary, Renato Feder, have been carrying out a broad pro-corporate program in education that has transformed teachers pedagogical work. The enormous pressure to exceed established targets, many of them unattainable, as reported by teacher Lucia, and at the expense of concerns about student learning, has led to discouragement, professional frustration, and the sickening of many teachers. Tereza Gomes Biffi commented that this process is even greater in Sao Paulos full-time schools (PEI), similar to the charter schools implemented in the USA. She wrote: I fell ill at a PEI school and went straight to hospital. I couldnt stand the demands any longer and left this year. We are treated like slaves, and if we complain, we hear: No one has to stay. Absurd. Eduardo, also a teacher at a full-time school in Sao Paulo, told the WSWS that Analus death is not simply the product of conditions particular to her school or her life. What happened to her, he said, expresses most brutally the conditions faced by teachers throughout the school system. Eduardo continued: Ive recently started working in a PEI school, and its clear that the top priority is the achievement of so-called performance targets. These range from producing various teaching planning documents to recording lessonswhich need to be done within hoursto ensuring a minimum number of hours of use of online learning platforms by students. The demands of meeting targets are made in addition to the common demands of the school, such as correcting activities and tests, dealing with students particular problems, among others. The school has become an environment of intense pressure, which has led to episodes of moral harassment and intimidation by school management and teaching supervisors. This pressure was evident in a video shown to teachers at the start of the school year, in which Secretary Feder stated that this year, he expects results from students in SAEB and SARESPexternal assessments at the national and state levels, respectively. He added: A principal who doesnt deliver [the results] is liable to be fired. Since then, managers and supervisors have reinforced this demand with teachers, stating with increasing vehemence: If were being charged, were going to charge you. About this, Eduardo said, The supervisors are present three or four days a week at the school, showing up without any warning and are responsible for ensuring that teaching in the form determined by the education secretary is being carried out. This includes what they cynically call face-to-face support, the overt presence of school management and supervisors in teachers classes, which can get a poorly evaluated teacher fired from a full-time school. Teachers in full-time schools can also be dismissed based on the students evaluation results. According to Eduardo, this creates not only an intimidating environment in the school but also pits all members of the school community against each other. He explained to the WSWS that full-time schools and pro-corporate programs in education have been pushed since the beginning of the last decade by all parties of the political establishment, including the Workers Party (PT) of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. For Eduardo, the impact of the policies implemented under different governments, which have created precarious working conditions, has prepared the privatization of public schools. In practice, mass evaluation methods have been created to turn public education into a lucrative enterprise. This whole process is also developing rapidly in the municipal public schools of the state capital, Sao Paulo. In last years municipal election, re-elected mayor Ricardo Nunes was supported by Governor Freitas and fascist ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. Pedagogical coordinator Angela told the WSWS that the professionals of the municipal education system ... have resisted the direction they are trying to impose on our system, a path that is worryingly similarif not identicalto the one that led to the precariousness of the state public school system. According to her, Last year, we could already see a closer look by the education secretary at the results of external evaluations and the monitoring of teachers work, which could be of great value and support if it werent for the fact that this look is geared towards controlling the actions of the management team and the school, in a conception of the institution from an economic-administrative point of view. This year, Angela continued, we have been witnessing, since the beginning of the school year, a strengthening of this corporate and technical view of public schools, with training, demands, and controls on targets, as well as unreasonable demands for any educational situation. This includes the requirement that we achieve 100 percent literacy of students in the second year of elementary schooldisregarding the countless variables that influence literacy processes, such as issues of social vulnerability, violence, misery, and poverty, students with disabilities, learning difficulties, and disorders, etc. For her, everything is happening as if the school were a company and the students were mere numbers. ... School administrations that dont achieve the expected results, i.e., the targets set by the education department, are being threatened with privatization. According to Angela, pro-corporate programs in education have a particular impact on teachers work. Under them, there is no longer any concern with the pedagogical training of coordinators or teachers, or with the conditions to which our professionals are subjected. The teacher becomes an agent who reproduces a stagnant and undemocratic curriculum, being the only person and the only professional responsible for the failures or successes of the students. These programs have contributed enormously to teacher illness. She also drew attention to the high number of teachers who work in school areas other than the classroom, the so-called readapted teachers. In her school alone, seven out of 60 are readapted. According to her, these teachers are a direct result of the increasing precariousness of teaching work, which can be characterized, among other things, by inadequate working conditions, an overload of tasks, the lack of institutional support for physical and mental health issues, professional devaluation, an excessive number of students per class, high rates of violence in schools, as well as the lack of effective policies for valuing and monitoring these professionals. Removed from the classroom mainly due to mental health problems, Angela said, Readapted teachers represent a fragile part of this system, and instead of being subjected to public policies that pay attention to the reasons for re-adaptation processes, with the intention of logically minimizing them and strengthening teaching action and identity with decent working conditions, what we have been faced with is government actions ... that further weaken not only these professionals but the entire workforce. In conclusion, she said: We are faced with a government that ignores and devalues our work, as well as running roughshod over it with projects that, deep down, only exacerbate social inequality, only keep the most vulnerable students away from school, and only promote the privatization of education. On Thursday, the World Socialist Web Site hosted an urgent online event titled Stop the attack on Momodou Taal! The webinar featured Momodou Taal, a British-Gambian PhD student at Cornell University facing imminent deportation; his attorney Eric Lee; David North, chairman of the Socialist Equality Party (US); and Joseph Kishore, SEP (US) national secretary. We urge our readers to watch the full event here and read more below. Stop the attack on Momodou Taal! Background and targeting of Momodou Taal Thursdays event addressed the Trump administrations targeting of Taal after he filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of recent executive orders aimed at suppressing pro-Palestinian speech. Within days of filing his lawsuit, Taal was ordered to surrender to ICE for deportationa clear case of political retaliation similar to recent actions against other activists, including Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk. Taals case was connected to the broader assault on democratic rights and the accelerating global trend toward authoritarianism and dictatorship. Participants emphasized the need to mobilize the working class against state repression and in defense of free speech and immigrant rights. The event began with Taal speaking about his background and how he had come to be targeted by the Trump administration. A third-year PhD student in Africana Studies at Cornell, Taal has been at the center of campus protests calling for university divestment from weapons manufacturers and companies profiting from the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. Following a protest at Cornell on September 18, 2024 against a recruitment drive by defense contractors L3Harris and Boeing, Taal faced serious repercussions. I was there for about 5 minutes, and then I left, Taal explained during the webinar. He said: Upon leaving, I then received an email that I had been suspended. I was called into a meeting, which essentially said, Youll be de-enrolled within 48 hours, and you have to leave the country soon. After a public outcry, Cornell allowed Taal to maintain his enrollment but imposed restrictions on his campus activities. This disciplinary action later became the basis for the federal governments targeting of Taal under Executive Order 14188, signed by Trump on January 29. On March 15, 2025, Taal, along with fellow Cornell student Sriram Parasurama and Professor Mukoma Wa Ngugi, filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Trumps executive orders targeting pro-Palestinian speech. Just four days later, unidentified agents began surveilling Taals residence near campus, and by March 21, the Justice Department ordered him to surrender for deportation. A political attack on democratic rights During the webinar, Taal described the political targeting he faces, stating: I think given the nature of the escalation to the fact that [protest] is now being seen as a deportable offense makes me have to step back and question what is really happening here. It cant just be on the merits or the actions that have been taken by protesters, but rather because it ties into a broader critique of US foreign policy, of the state of Israel, the genocide, the working class more broadly, and I think these are whats feeding into the repression. Taals attorney Eric Lee emphasized the unprecedented nature of the governments actions, noting: Momodous case is a test case; its a trial run. The Trump administration plans to do to many, many more peoplepermanent residents, visa holders, citizenswhat its trying to do to Momodou and what its trying to do to the other students that its snatching off of college campuses and public sidewalks and their homes across this country right now. Situating these attacks in their historical context, Lee stated: Were supposed to mark the 250-year anniversary since the founding of the country in 1776 next year, and the writing of the Declaration, the great historic document and revolutionary achievement of mankind. In the run-up to this, we have a government that is moving very rapidly to establish a dictatorship. He continued: There is no historical precedent for such a broad restriction on freedom of speech. The closest example is the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, the hated anti-canon of the illegalization of criticism of the government. But even there, not to make light of the implications of the Alien and Sedition Acts, that legislation only banned libel against the government. These executive orders ban telling the truth. These are not orders that come from a position of strength. They are a direct attempt to shut the valve on left-wing, anti-imperialist, socialist, pro-Palestinian, anti-genocide views, to not only non-citizens but those citizens, those millions and millions of us who want to hear those views and have a right to hear those views. The role of the Democratic Party and the way forward In his remarks, SEP (US) National Secretary Joseph Kishore placed Taals case in its broader political context, condemning the complicity of the Democratic Party: This has to really be seen as an absolute condemnation of the Democratic Party, which is doing nothing to oppose it. Momodou referred to the role of Cornell University in creating the framework for what Trump is now doing by seeking to discipline him during the protests against the genocide last year. The Biden administration was overseeing, financing, politically justifying the genocide, as well as the attacks on protesters in the United States, bringing forward the lie, which is now being resurrected by this gang of fascists in the Trump administration, that opposition to Israel is antisemitic and opposition to the genocide is antisemitic. All of that, the basis was created by the Democratic Party, which supports it. Summing up the event, SEP (US) National Chairman David North drew out the parallels between the return of fascist barbarism today and its historical antecedents in the Nazi regime in Germany, stating: This is not something entirely new in history. What we are witnessing is the resurgence of imperialism in its most brutal forms. It is a sort of experience which was passed through with horrific consequences frequently in the 20th century, in the form of World War I and World War II. In just a few weeks, in May, we will be observing 80 years since the end of World War II, the end of the Nazi regime, and yet everywhere throughout the world we are witnessing a resurgence of fascismthat is, capitalist barbarism. North emphasized the international dimension of the struggle against genocide, war and fascism, noting: All the cases weve discussed tonight, the case of Momodou, very much personify the international character [of these struggles]. The protest took place over the atrocities in Gaza, supported by all the imperialist powers. American students are opposing it and demonstrating against it, and the response of the state is repression. And that repression is part of a broader campaign to wipe out democratic rights in the United States. North concluded with a call to action, stating: What were putting forward, what the World Socialist Web Site advances, the Socialist Equality Party here in the United States and all the sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International throughout the world, is the mobilization of the working class on an internationalist and socialist program. That is the critical issue. It is a question of perspective, because on the basis of a perspective you can fight and we can win. The event ended with a call for solidarity with Taal and other targeted anti-war activists, with North urging viewers to become active in the struggle to mobilize the working class against fascism and war by contacting the World Socialist Web Site and joining the Socialist Equality Party or its youth movement, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE). President Donald Trump speaks at the Justice Department in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. [AP Photo] President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that makes a wide-ranging attack on democratic rights, combining voter suppression and attacks on immigrants. The order bears the title, Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections, but it would be better named, Promoting the Myth of the Stolen Election and Undermining Birthright Citizenship. Of the dozens and dozens of executive orders signed by Trump since he took office January 20, the election order might be the most brazenly illegal and unconstitutional. The US Constitution gives the president zero role in the administration and oversight of elections, assigning that power to the states, but subordinating their actions to legislation passed by Congress, as with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The executive order seeks to evade this obvious Constitutional difficulty by using the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent federal agency set up in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election to provide federal support to the administration of elections by the states, including assistance in ballot design (after the infamous butterfly ballot helped the Republicans steal the presidential election in Florida) and limited financial support for equipment modernization. The EAC is instructed to change its ballot specifications to require photo IDs such as passports, drivers licenses and state-issued Real IDs, but not including birth certificates, which would not be accepted as proof of citizenship and the right to vote. This exclusion is tailored to conform to Trumps goal of abolishing birthright citizenshipin violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. A 2023 study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that more than 21 million people do not have ready access to proof of citizenship documents and nearly four million do not have access at all, because the documents were lost, destroyed or stolen. Moreover, many millions more would rely on birth certificates, which would be considered invalid as voter ID. Many state drivers licenses would not satisfy the Real ID requirements or do not indicate (or require) citizenship. The most prevalent method for proving citizenship is possession of a passport, but only half the population does, in part because of the expense, averaging $160. In effect, the Trump order would impose the equivalent of a poll tax, requiring tens of millions of Americans to pay a substantial sum merely to cast a ballot. The order also instructs the EAC to withhold financial support from states that do not conform to the myriad requirements laid down in the executive order, some of which relate to the fascist big lie campaign about the 2020 presidential election being stolen (because Trump lost to Biden). States would be barred from accepting mail ballots after the close of the polls on Election Day, even if the ballots were clearly postmarked well in advance and the delay was attributable to processing and transport delays in the vastly underfunded US Postal Service. The USPS has been the target of a prolonged wrecking operation under both Democratic and Republican administrations, running down the agency so that it can be privatized and turned into a source of corporate profit. States would be ordered to hand over their voter rolls for inspection by Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency, and to allow their voter databases to be uploaded and trolled through by DOGE, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal agencies, searching for supposedly ineligible or fraudulent voters. This is just one component part of the larger data management project in which the Trump-Musk administration aims to construct a centralized databank on all people living in America, citizen and non-citizen alike, to help direct government repression of political opposition. The first use of this vast database would be to target non-citizens for arrest. The order reads: Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, consistent with applicable law, provide to the Attorney General complete information on all foreign nationals who have indicated on any immigration form that they have registered or voted in a Federal, State, or local election, and shall also take all appropriate action to submit to relevant State or local election officials such information. The state officials would be tasked with arresting any non-citizen who has been registered to votesomething that may routinely occur when the non-citizen gets a drivers licenseeven though the non-citizen has no intention of voting and has never attempted to do so. Given the number of states that are out of compliance with the rules laid down in the executive order, if Trumps authority to take this action were upheld by the courts, the result would be the virtual elimination of mass participation in elections. Eighteen states currently allow the counting of mail-in ballots as long as they are properly postmarked by Election Day. Nearly two dozen states do not comply with the voter ID requirements laid down in the order. As for data sharing, the last time Trump attempted to hijack state databases, during his first term, 44 out of the 50 states refused, including the majority of Republican-controlled states. One of the most peculiar specifications in the executive order is to ban the use of bar codes or QR codes on ballots. Many states use vote tabulation equipment that makes use of such codes but the practice has been targeted by many of the right-wing conspiracy theories claiming that the codes were being used to alter votes, either by the manufacturers of the equipment, their software suppliers, orin one of the theories backed by Trump aides in December 2020by spy satellites orbiting the earth. Perhaps the most ominous part of the order is Section 5, on Prosecuting Election Crimes. It requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to enter into information-sharing agreements with the states to provide the Department of Justice with detailed information on all suspected violations of State and Federal election laws discovered by State officials For those states that fail to cooperate with Trumps voter-suppression initiative, Bondi is instructed to: (i) prioritize enforcement of Federal election integrity laws in such States to ensure election integrity given the States demonstrated unwillingness to enter into an information-sharing agreement or to cooperate in investigations and prosecutions; and (ii) review for potential withholding of grants and other funds that the Department awards and distributes, in the Departments discretion, to State and local governments for law enforcement and other purposes, as consistent with applicable law. In other words, states that did not comply with Trumps ordershould it survive legal challengewould find themselves targeted for raids by federal agents searching for people voting without Trump-approved ID and cut off from a wide range of federal funding. The USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee is holding a meeting this Sunday at 3 p.m. US Eastern Time, Stop Trumps moves to privatize USPS! Oppose the illegitimate NALC contract! Register for the event here. Poste Italiane delivery vehicle [Photo by Corvettec6r via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 Dear American Brothers and Sisters of the United States Postal Service, I write to you from Rome, Italy, where we postal workers have already lived through the catastrophe that now looms over you in the United States: privatization. I write not only in solidarity but in warning, so that you may learn from our painful experience and resist this assault with the full strength of an organized working class. The fate of the United States Postal Service (USPS) is not just an American issueit is an international struggle against the same capitalist forces that have dismantled public services worldwide to enrich a handful of elites. Do not be deceived by promises that the state will maintain control, or that privatization will bring efficiency and modernization. We in Italy heard those lies too. Our postal service, Poste Italiane, was first transformed into a joint-stock company in 1998 under a center-left government. We were assured that the governments ownership stake would shield us from the worst excesses of privatization. It was a lie. In 2015, again under a center-left government, Poste Italiane was partially privatized through an initial public offering. Today, while the Italian government still holds the majority stake, Poste Italiane is run as a for-profit corporation that has completely abandoned its workers and the public it was meant to serve. The consequences were brutal. Out of over 200,000 employees in 1998, privatization cut one-third of our jobs. First, they offered early retirement packages, luring workers into leaving before they were ready out of fear that worse was coming. Those who remained faced unrelenting work speedup, impossible efficiency targets, and a toxic atmosphere of constant restructuring. Traditional postal jobs were greatly reduced as the company shifted focus from delivering mail to financial activity. The postal service was turned into a bank, its core function sacrificed at the altar of profit. By 2023, only 12 percent of Poste Italianes revenue came from mail delivery. This was always about maximizing profit for shareholders at our expense. USPS workers, the same forces are now coming for you. If the Trump administration succeeds in its plans to privatize USPS, your jobs will be slashed, your working conditions will deteriorate, and the essential public service you provide will be gutted. They will start by promising that nothing fundamental will change, just as they did in Italy. Then they will introduce modernization plans that make your work unbearable. They will rebrand the postal service as a business rather than a public good. Before long, Wall Street investors will own your industry, and every decision will be made to serve their profit marginsnot the needs of the workers or the public. And let me be clear: this attack on USPS is not just economicit is deeply political. Here in Italy, after decades of assault on public services and workers rights from all sides of the capitalist political spectrum, we now have a fascist prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. The betrayals of the so-called left paved the way for her rise. The same process is unfolding in the United States. A fascist president threatens not only your jobs but your democratic rights. Trumps attempts to dismantle USPS are part of a broader authoritarian agenda to crush organized labor, destroy constitutional norm, deport our immigrant brothers and sisters and consolidate power in the hands of the ruling oligarchy. But workers must also be warned: do not trust the union bureaucracy. In both Italy and the United States, the union leadership is tied to the state and to the very politicians who have led the privatization efforts. In Italy, it was the center-left government that began the process, and the union leadership facilitated the sellout of workers to investors. The unions did not protect workersthey protected the interests of future investors. They negotiated away jobs, allowed for deteriorating working conditions, and provided cover for the betrayal. The same is happening in the United States, where union leaders remain tied to the Democratic Party, a party just as committed to corporate profits as their Republican counterparts. To make things worse, I have learned that an arbitrator has imposed the same contract you had rejected by 70 percent, stripping you of any right to vote. Your union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, did nothing to fight it, betraying its members. This deal is a sellout and paves the way for privatization, aligning with Trumps broader attacks on public services. We must build independent international organizations, free from the influence of the pro-capitalist union bureaucracy, to lead the struggle against privatization. The fight against privatization cannot be waged in isolation. It is not enough for USPS workers to protest alone. Your struggle is tied to that of teachers, nurses, autoworkers and all workers facing the relentless attacks of capitalism. But more than that, your struggle is tied to workers across the world who face the same enemy. We must forge international bonds of resistance, because the corporations and politicians attacking you today are the same forces that have attacked us in Italy, in Britain, in France and beyond. Only a global movement of workers can halt this descent into fascism and corporate dictatorship. USPS workers, your fight is our fight! You are not alone. Do not allow them to sell you the illusion that privatization is inevitable. Stand firm. Organize. Resist. The working class has the power to stop thisif we unite beyond borders and industries, if we refuse to be divided by nation or trade, if we recognize that the real power rests in our hands! In solidarity and struggle, Francesca Postal worker, Italy Alireza Doroudi [Photo: Alireza Doroudi] Early Tuesday morning US immigration police kidnapped a doctoral student studying at the University of Alabama from his home. As of this writing, 22-year-old Iranian citizen Alireza Doroudi is listed as detained on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website, but there is no record of where he is actually located. Alabama student newspaper The Crimson White first reported that Doroudi was abducted from his home, located just off the Tuscaloosa campus, at around 5:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. The paper, citing a text message chain that included other Iranian students studying on the campus, reported that Doroudi first entered the United States in January 2023 on an F-1 student visa. The message thread noted that Doroudis visa was revoked six months later, prompting Doroudi to immediately contact the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) at the University of Alabama. ISSS replied with confidence, stating that his case was not unusual or problematic and that he could remain in the U.S. legally as long as he maintained his student status. After being reassured by university officials that the apparent revocation of his visa would not be an issue, Doroudi continued his studies on campus. There has been no evidence provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that Doroudi was a leader, or even participated, in anti-genocide protests on campus, and he has not been accused of a crime. The only crime Doroudi is alleged to have committed is a minor traffic violation, according to The Crimson White, which reported that in November 2023 Doroudi was cited for speeding. He pled guilty and paid the $267 fine. Despite not being accused of a crime, Doroudis whereabouts were unknown for nearly 24 hours. ICE locator on March 27, 2025 as of 7:10 p.m. EST does not list a location for Alireza Doroudi. On Thursday afternoon, The Crimson White, and other news outlets, confirmed that Doroudi is currently being incarcerated at the Pickens County Jail in Alabama. The jail is a common waypoint in the inhumane deportation journey, which typically leads to a detention facility in Louisiana, before the prisoner is forced onto a plane to some overseas destination. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security refused to comment on Doroudis case until Thursday evening, at which point they sent a message to news outlets stating: ICE HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) made this arrest in accordance with the State Departments revocation of Doroudis student visa. Without providing any supporting evidence, DHS stated, This individual posed significant national security concerns. Doroudi is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of students and immigrants who have been disappeared or abducted by US immigration police in the first three months of the Trump administration. The deliberate targeting of students, in many cases it appears with the help of the universities themselves, is aimed at subordinating all cultural and intellectual life to Trumps fascist Make America Great Again agenda. Legal resident and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil is currently facing deportation for speaking out against the genocide in Gaza. After being kidnapped on March 8, he remains incarcerated in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. Cornell University PhD student Momodou Taal is currently being hounded by the Trump administration for deportation for filing a lawsuit earlier this month challenging two executive orders issued by Trump aimed at suppressing speech critical of Israel and supportive of Palestinian equality. On Thursday, protests were held for the second straight day in Somerville, Massachusetts, in response to the kidnapping of Tufts University Ph.D student Rumeysa Ozturk on Tuesday evening. Ozturk has committed no crime and apparently was targeted soley because she co-authored an op-ed in support of resolutions passed by the student body in opposition to Israels genocide in Gaza. As of this writing, police in Somerville are currently blocking hundreds of protesters from entering the City Hall, where the council is currently debating whether to include a ballot measure on the question of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) on Israel on the November ballot. Video of the thuggish and masked agents surrounding and disappearing Ozturk into an unmarked vehicle Tuesday evening as she was walking to a friends house for dinner has prompted mass outrage throughout the country and internationally. Questioned at a press conference Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio gleefully took credit for Ozturks detention and possible deportation. Oh, we revoked her visa. Its an F-1 visa, I believe. We revoked it Rubio claimed that Ozturks visa was not revoked because you want to write op-eds but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we are not going to give you a visa. We gave you a visa to study and get a degree, not to become a social activist, Rubio added, without providing any evidence that Ozturk participated in any of those activities. At the same press conference Rubio said that he had revoked hundreds of student visas. Maybe more, it might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa. Asked again to confirm if it was more than 300, Rubio said: Sure, I mean, at some point I hope we run out because we have gotten rid of all of them. We are looking everyday for these lunatics that tear things up. That Rubio is even in a position to gloat about disappearing students is entirely the fault of the Democratic Party. Less than three months ago, every single Democrat, including the nominally independent senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, voted to approve Rubio as secretary of state. One of Rubios so-called lunatics facing deportation is an accomplished and hardworking scientist from Russia who fled to America after the invasion of Ukraine due to fear that her outspoken opposition to the war would land her in the crosshairs of the Putin government. On Thursday, multiple outlets reported about Kseniaa Petrova, a computer scientist who arrived in the United States via Georgia in the spring of 2023. According to her friend and co-worker, Cora Anderson, Petrova began working at the Harvard Medical School upon her arrival. In a Facebook post, Anderson described her friend as not only kind but incredibly intelligent and diligent. Anderson said Petrova was returning from a trip from France on February 16, 2025 when she was detained at the Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. After not being able to locate her friend for nearly 72 hours, Anderson found out that Petrovas visa had been revoked and that she would be deported to Russia. After Petrova told ICE agents she feared persecution if she were to be returned to Russia, she was transferred to an ICE detention facility, where she has remained imprisoned for over a month. The Insider, a Russia-based outlet, reported that Petrova is currently being held in an ICE facility shared with 80 other women. The outlet, citing a report from Russian news outlet Agentstvo, noted that Petrovas visa may have been revoked because of frog embryos that were in her possession but not properly declared on customs forms, normally a $500 fine. It is unclear if Petrova will be allowed to stay in the US, deported or remain imprisoned in an ICE hellhole. Conditions inside the overwhelmingly for-profit facilities, like the rest of the American prison gulag, are notoriously awful. In the last week, several videos have been posted on Tik Tok showing the tremendously overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at the Krome Detention Center facility in Miami, Florida. Video shows humans packed into concrete cells without any space. At the El Paso Service Processing Center in Texas, at least eight Venezuelan immigrants have alleged that guards at the facility beat them on February 25. In a video recording featuring the victims, first reported by Rolling Stone and Capital & Main, the detained men detailed the abuse they suffered. At the start of the video a bruised Jesus Quintero explained, In this institution, as is evident by showing my face and in the majority of our bodies, today was another day of mistreatment by the officials of this center, of which we are tired and ask for help and justice. Jesus Quintero [Photo: Rolling Stone] After Quintero spoke, another man in an orange jumpsuit stated the guards had me up against the floor and assaulted me. Following him another man with two black eyes declared, I was also assaulted today by officers. What do you think about the UAWs endorsement of tariffs? Let us know by filling out the form below. All submissions will be kept anonymous. UAW President Shawn Fain speaking on September 30, 2024 [Photo: UAW] The United Auto Workers has given its full-throated endorsement to Trumps announced tariffs on the global auto industry. The measures include a 25 percent tariff on all automobiles and certain auto parts produced outside of the United States. A tariff is a tax on imports, paid by the company that imports them and passed on to households in the form of higher prices. The UAW statement declares in its headline: In a Victory for Autoworkers, Auto Tariffs Mark the Beginning of the End of NAFTA and the Free Trade Disaster. The union bureaucracy claims that trade war will bring back thousands of good-paying jobs. The America First nationalist language with which the statement is written might as well have come from the Trump administration. In any case, it may very well have been produced in consultation with them. The statement blames mass layoffs, which the UAW has actively participated in, on recent decisions by auto executives to ship jobs to Mexico, trying to pit American workers against their brothers and sisters in Latin Americain many cases literally, given the huge immigrant numbers in the American working class. It closes with a demand that Trump immediately begin renegotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), to force an an increase in American-made parts for American-assembled and American-sold vehicles. This amounts to endorsing Trumps attacks on Canada and Mexico, aimed at turning North America into a US-dominated fortress. Trumps aim is to reorganize supply chains in order to prepare for war against both official enemies like Russia and China and even so-called allies. His threat to annex Greenland, a territory of NATO member Denmark, underscores this. The practical impact of the tariffs will be the loss of tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of jobs on both sides of the US-Canadian and US-Mexican borders, as well as in Japan and Europe, a massive increase in prices for the US consumer and an increase in profits for US corporations. Trump is putting into place these tariffs as part of a frontal assault on the jobs and living standards of the working class in the interests of the financial oligarchy. They are accompanied by the layoff of tens and hundreds of thousands of government workers and the destruction of the Medicare and Social Security social insurance programs workers have paid into their whole working lives, all enforced by the creation of a presidential dictatorship. Will Lehman, a socialist autoworker who ran against Fain in the 2022 union election, declared: Just a few months ago, Fain was shouting that Trump is a scab and doesnt give a damn about the working class. Now he wants workers to think all that has changed, and that Trump has been transformed into a champion of the working class. He continued: But its not just cowardice motivating the UAWs statement. The UAW apparatus and other union bureaucracies have relentlessly promoted nationalism and protectionism for decades as a means to divide workers from their class brothers and sisters internationally and line them up behind their American corporate exploiters. This nationalist perspective has resulted in a disaster for workers: decades of plant closures and falling wages, all overseen and agreed to by Fain and his predecessors in control of the union apparatuses. With this statement, the union bureaucracy makes clear that it is lining up with an out-and-out fascist-led government attempting to erect a dictatorship. The UAWs endorsement, with the unions false claim to speak in the name of 1.1 million members, grants legitimacy to Trumps attacks on immigrants and Latin American workers, although UAW President Shawn Fain has absurdly tried to verbally separate this from the issue of tariffs. It also comes as the UAW has not lifted a finger to defend UAW members on the campuses, graduate students who are being targeted for abduction and deportation by Trump for taking part in anti-Gaza genocide protests. Yesterday, Marco Rubio boasted that more than 300 student visas had been revoked. Workers reacted furiously to the UAW statement, making clear that the bureaucracy does not speak for them. Should change it from the International Union to the scab union, one worker quipped on Facebook. Being proud of potentially taking food and income from your brothers and sisters to the north of you is quite honestly disgusting, another said. We stood in solidarity with you through many years of hardships. The UAW statement is part of a broader lineup of large sections of the bureaucracy behind Trump. This includes Teamsters General President Sean OBrien, who has also explicitly backed mass deportations, as well as the declarations by the AFL-CIO of its willingness to work with Trump. The federal workers unions are trying to block strike action and limit workers to writing their congressmen and filing grievances with federal labor agencies that are themselves on the chopping block. The UAW tacks on a proviso at the end of its statement that workers must be held harmless during any disruption that accompanies the reshoring process, with financial support from the federal government if necessary. Who do they think theyre kidding? No such measures will come from Trump or any section of the ruling class, who are clawing back everything they ever had to give to workers in struggle. As it always has, nationalism serves to deflect from the role of the union bureaucracy in bargaining away millions of jobs since the end of the 1970s. In 2023, the UAW used a limited strike to secure passage of a sellout contract now being used to conduct mass layoffs. The UAW lied to temporary workers, claiming they would be rolled over to full-time status, only for thousands of them to be immediately fired. In the face of boiling anger, UAW President Shawn Fain launched an empty campaign last year blaming job losses at Stellantis, the French-Italian-American-owned company which is the successor to Chrysler, on foreignexecutives. They held blameless Ford and General Motors, which are also carrying out mass layoffs, both in the US and in their global operations. Claims that Mexico is to blame for job losses are empirically false. In fact, the global auto industry is cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs to impose the cost of lower than expected sales of electric vehicles, the economic impact of the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical crises onto the backs of the working class. The shift to EVs itself is bound up with plans to reduce labor by one-third. These layoffs will get even worse under the blows of tariffs and trade wars. Meanwhile, the unions in every country are responding by rallying around their own flag. The president of Unifor, the Canadian auto union, recently made a joint appearance with new prime minister and ex-central banker Mark Carney, declaring support for trade war against the US to save Canadian jobs. Unifor itself was created from a nationalist split in the UAW in the 1980s, when it was falsely claimed that a separate union in Canada would allow it to avoid American-style job losses. The real task workers in the United States, Canada and Mexico face is not to rally around their own national section of capitalists but to unify with each other across borders for the expropriation of the auto industry and its transfer to public ownership under workers control. This is necessary not only to save jobs but to eliminate the source of dictatorship and fascism in massive inequality and the rule of oligarchs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. The fight against Trump requires the development of rank-and-file committees, as part of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, organized to smash, not reform, the union apparatus, create new organs of struggle that put workers in control, and unite workers in every country in a common offensive against the ruling class. Microbiologist works with tubes of bacteria samples in an antimicrobial resistance and characterisation lab at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [AP Photo/David Goldman] A stark warning of the impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or so-called superbugs was issued in January by Sally Davies, who was Britains chief medical officer from 2010 to 2019. She told the Guardian: About a million people die every year because of the spread of microbial resistance, and that figure will rise over the next 25 years. It is really scary. Davies has long advocated for measures to resolve what has become a major health crisis and, in 2013, wrote a book titled The Drugs Dont Work: A Global Threat. In 2022 the issue became very personal when her 38-year-old god daughter Emily Hoyle, who suffered from cystic fibrosis and was severely immune compromised, died after acquiring a drug-resistant lung infection. Ive started calling it [AMR] the Grand Pandemic. Its the third most important underlying cause of death in the world, she told The Naked Scientists. The death toll Davies calculates, while shocking, may be a significant underestimation. An editorial published in the prestigious British medical journal, the Lancet, last May, Antimicrobial resistance: an agenda for all, cited a study from 2022 that almost 5 million deaths per year are associated with drug-resistant bacteria, with a higher burden among low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet also published an important assessment of the developing AMR crisis in September 2024 entitled Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance 19902021: a systematic analysis with forecasts to 2050. Our forecasts show that an estimated 191 million (156226) deaths attributable to AMR and 822 million (685965) deaths associated with AMR could occur globally in 2050, the researchers stated. When compared to their estimate for 2021 of 1.14 million deaths, their forecast represents a 67.5 percent increase in annual deaths in the next 25 years directly attributed to bacterial AMR. The study also predicted: Super-regions with the highest all-age AMR mortality rate in 2050 are forecast to be south Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains threatens to set back the world 100 years to the age when even a minor infection from a cut or an infection acquired during childbirth could result in a life-threatening condition. This only changed with the development of the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1928 by Alexander Fleming in London. Penicillin only became widely used during World War II when mass production was developed in the 1940s in the US by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain to treat wounded soldiers. This was the start of the antibiotic era. Professor Alexander Fleming at work in his laboratory at St Mary's Hospital, London [Photo: Ministry of Information] It is difficult to imagine today the impact of infection not only on individuals but on whole populations. Infectious diseases such as syphilis, scarlet fever, pneumonia, rheumatic fever, bacterial meningitis and diphtheria ravaged societies. Infections acquired during surgery were eliminated enabling the development of more complex surgical procedures. Antibiotics virtually eliminated puerperal (childbed) fever, caused by Streptococcus pyogenes which was a major cause of maternal death. Penicillin greatly reduced the risk of infection during more complicated birth procedures such as C-sections. Infectious diseases had vast social and political implications. The rise of superbugs threatens the return of these diseases. Antibiotic resistance develops as a natural consequence of the use of antibiotic drugs. The use of a particular drug eliminates organisms susceptible to that antibiotic, allowing any survivors to develop into a resistant strain. Over time, particularly with widespread overuse of antibiotics, strains emerge resistant to an ever-wider range of drugs. Today a handful of antibiotics are reserved to attempt to deal with the most-deadly resistant bacteria. This includes Carbapenems used to treat multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae usually found in urine and Pseudomonas aeruginosa that commonly exists in the environment, in water, plants and soil, causing pneumonia and infecting the urinary tract, blood and wounds. Along with several other antibiotics of last resort, they have to be used very judiciously as they can also have severe side effects. The discovery of antibiotics was a great scientific and medical discovery, but under capitalism such breakthroughs are perverted and distorted in the interests of profit. In her Guardian interview, Davies points to some of these issues. She especially highlights the massive overuse of antibiotics in agriculture where 70 percent of all antibiotics are used on livestocka huge arena for the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. While some antibiotics are reserved for the exclusive use of the agriculture industry many human antibiotics are used as well. The drugs are not used to treat sick animals but to prevent infection in order to enable agribusinesses to keep animals in cramped and unsanitary conditions, and thus boost profits. Davies explained that the overuse of antibiotics enables superbugs to become established in the environment: If youve got intensive farming where a lot of antibiotics are used or a busy hospital that has a poor sewage system, resistant bacteria can get into waterways. Winds blow over these patches of contaminated land or water and pick up bacteria and genes with resistance in them, then let them rain down in other places. That is how pernicious this problem has become. A paper by Zahra Ardakani and her team at the University of Bologna in Italy titled Evaluating the contribution of antimicrobial use in farmed animals to global antimicrobial resistance in humans was published in One Health in December 2023. It found that the nonresponse to antibiotics frequently used in animal farming is also high in human patients. At the same time, it is low for the antibiotics rarely used on animals. The researchers explained: For example, E. coli resistance to Aminopenicillins is found at 73.3 percent (extremely high), while E. coli resistance to Glycylcyclines, banned in animal farming, is 0.78 percent (very low resistance). For S. aureus, resistance to Macrolides represents 56.0 percent, considered very high, while resistance to Vancomycin, a more recent antibiotic banned in animal farming, is very low (0.22 percent). This evidence shows the importance of avoiding the use of critical antibiotics for both humans and farmed animals, Ardakani et al. commented. While Davies focuses on agriculture, general practitioners and hospitals, often acting under pressures of time and patient expectations, are a significant contributor to the development of antibiotic resistance. Doctors, who prescribe antibiotics for viral conditions such as the flu, know antibiotics will not combat viruses and will at best prevent secondary infections. Patients, who stop taking the full course of their anti-biotic because they feel better, also contribute to the development of drug resistance. Hospitals in particular are a hotspot for antibiotic resistance as antibiotics are over used and vulnerable patients become a reservoir for the superbugs. According to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Nearly 2 million Americans per year develop hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), resulting in 99,000 deathsthe vast majority of which are due to antibacterial-resistant pathogens. In some hospitals where anti-resistant microbes have become entrenched, this can lead to serious complications and even death. In 2021, at the University Hospital in Geneva in Switzerland, resistant Enterobacter cloacae infected patients in the intensive care unit. The bacteria were spread through the hospitals plumbing and ventilation system. The lack of new drugs to combat antibiotic resistance strains is not an accident. As Davies explained, the giant pharmaceutical companies are simply not uninterested in funding the necessary research. Weve had no new classes of antibiotics come into routine use since the late 80s and the market model that would promote the creation of new ones is broken. If you develop a new antibiotic, it might be used by someone for a weekly course once a year. Wheres the profit in that? So there is no incentive for them to try to develop new antibiotics. It is a real headache, she commented. Antibiotic resistant microbes have become a particular problem for poor countries as the use of antibiotics is not regulated and they are often readily available, leading to their misuse. The prevalence of infectious diseases and the lack of proper medical care has led to the inappropriate use of antibiotics for viral conditions such as HIV/Aids. Many of these societies lack clean drinking water and basic sanitation and people live in overcrowded conditions providing a perfect breeding ground for superbugs. In agriculture, antibiotics are used to boost the productivity of livestock and to keep the animals healthy. Any developing superbugs can be easily transferred to the human population. Antibiotic resistant microbes can be spread internationally through travel and migration. Although Davies and other principled scientists have taken an important stance in highlighting the AMR crisis, their aim is to pressure governments to act to resolve the crisis. Davies commented on the Lancet: Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance 19902021 study: This landmark study confirms that the world is facing an antibiotic emergency, with devastating human costs for families and communities across the world. It substantiates our calls to all sectors to take decisive action now to save lives and save modern medicine for generations to come, and address the needs of low-and-middle income countries who bear the greatest tragedies from AMR. Not surprisingly, Davies remarks, despite her previous role as chief medical officer, have fallen on deaf ears. Governments around the world have used the ongoing COVID pandemic to ditch their support for public health, dismantling even minimal mitigation measures as an impost on the profits of the oligarchs. In this case, a virus is being allowed to debilitate and kill, and mutate unimpeded into new and potentially deadlier strains. In November 2021, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson notoriously blurted out the attitude of ruling classes around the world: No more f***ing lockdowns, let the bodies pile high in their thousands! Now Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious anti-vaxxer and purveyor of quack remedies, has been installed by Trump as health secretary in the United States. Principled scientists and health workers cannot defeat this onslaught on their own, but need to turn to the working class to fight for a socialist perspective to restructure society to meet the basic needs of humanity, not the profits of the obscenely rich. On March 12, Booker Omole, General Secretary of the Stalinist Communist Party Marxist Kenya (CPM-K), published a statement on the partys website titled Combatting Trotskyism: The Time is Now, Not Later. Omole launches a slanderous attack on Trotskyism, celebrating the Stalinist bureaucracys counterrevolutionary role in destroying the Bolshevik Party, orchestrating the Great Purges of 19361939during which hundreds of thousands of socialists, including the finest representatives of generations of Marxist workers and intellectuals, were physically exterminatedand betraying revolutionary movements around the world. The statement is a panicked reaction to the three-part article, Stalinist Communist Party Marxist-Kenya seeks new political trap for rising discontent among workers, youth, published on March 4, 5, and 6 by the WSWSthe online platform of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). Omoles reply makes clear that the WSWS critique has stirred debate among workers, student and youth around and within the party: In recent days, we have observed Trotskyist tendencies rearing their ugly head within the Party. [] It is imperative to address these issues, particularly for our young cadres. The Party must have the ability to identify Trotskyist deviations and advance the correct policy to combat them effectively. The WSWS exposed the CPM-K as a pro-capitalist, nationalist party serving sections of the bourgeoisie and middle class. Its November 2024 Congress was a rebranding exercise that reaffirmed support for state-led capitalism. During last years Gen-Z protests and mass strikes against IMF austerity, the CPM-K posed as a supporter while working to contain the movement. This betrayal reflects its long-standing Stalinist orientation towards the Kenyan ruling class and imperialism, rooted in the counterrevolutionary National Democratic Revolution that subordinates workers struggles to capitalist alliances. Omole avoids mentioning the WSWS or engaging with its argumentsa silence that underscores their accuracy. He makes clear fundamental issues of programme and perspective will not be discussed. The CPM-K, he declares, is not a debating society. Unable to answer the political and historical arguments made, Omole resorts instead to slander and repression. Dissent, he declares, must be met with violence: These tendencies must be recognised and destroyed. As the CPM-K prepares to host an international conference of fellow Stalinist organisations in Nairobi in May, it intends to suppress opposition through the familiar Stalinist methods of bureaucratic manoeuvres, intimidation, and expulsions. Trotskyism, Omole proclaims, is a threat that must be confronted with absolute clarity and iron discipline, insisting that the fight against Trotskyism is not a matter of theoretical debate but a question of revolutionary survival. How can there be absolute clarity in an organisation that forbids theoretical debate? The iron discipline demanded by Mr. Omole, in true Stalinist style, requires that party members keep their mouths shut, turn off their brains, and do whatever this petty-bourgeois dictator tells them to do. What Omole means by revolutionary survival is the preservation of his personal control over the organisation and its resources. The intellectual content of Omoles diatribe against Trotskyism amounts to zero. He cannot reply to the historical and programmatic issues raised by the WSWS. He offers no accounting of the split that defined the fate of the Soviet Union in the 1920sbetween Trotskys Left Opposition and the Stalinist bureaucracynor does he deal honestly and factually with the catastrophic impact of Stalinism on the international workers movement. His only response is to recycle long-discredited Stalinist slanders. He says: Trotskyism is a petty-bourgeois deviation that rejects the hard, disciplined work of building socialism. Trotsky himself stood against Lenin at every critical moment, wavering in 1903, opposing the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917, and later waging a factional war against Stalin and the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. His so-called Permanent Revolution was not a theory of revolution but a recipe for disaster; a reckless demand for immediate world upheaval without regard for material conditions. Trotsky rejected Lenins strategic approach, dismissing national liberation and the necessity of consolidating proletarian power in one state. Imagining that he is still living in the 1930s, when Stalins secret police could murder his opponents with impunity, Omole hopes that discussion of history and politics can be shut down before it begins. Joseph Stalin in 1943 [AP Photo] Like all bureaucrats, Omoles attitude to the rank-and-file of his organisation is a combination of contempt and fear. He despises those who would dare challenge his demagogic proclamations, and nothing frightens him more than the development of an interest in revolutionary theory and Marxist history. But Omoles shouting against Trotskyism is a clear indication that there are members and supporters of the CPM-K who are beginning to ask hard questions. The WSWS encourages them to study the history of the struggle of the Fourth International against Stalinism. These are not academic disputes. They involve the decisive questions that shaped the 20th century and continue to shape the future of the working class todayin Kenya, across Africa, and internationally. Trotskyism versus Stalinism At its core, the conflict between Trotskyism and Stalinism represents a fundamental struggle between working-class socialist internationalism and petty bourgeois nationalism. Trotskyism, rooted in Marxist principles, insists that socialism can only be achieved through the international unity and mobilisation of the working class. It views the world revolution as a single, interconnected process, where the success or failure of the socialist revolution in one country depends on the broader victory of the proletariat worldwide. Contrary to Omoles crude falsificationsrepeating the Stalinist Big Lie that Leon Trotsky was a traitor to the revolutionTrotsky stood alongside Lenin as a principal leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the co-founder of the Red Army that defeated the imperialist armies in the Russian Civil War (1917-1921). His theory of Permanent Revolution was not a reckless demand, but a scientific perspective grounded in the world-historical development of capitalism and the international working class upon which Lenins April Thesis and the October 1917 Revolution was based. First formulated in 1906, Trotskys theory foresaw that the democratic revolution in Russia would necessarily assume the form of a socialist revolution. It explained that in countries of belated capitalist development like Russia then and Kenya today, the democratic tasks associated with the revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries could no longer be realized under the leadership of the bourgeoisie, which was both subordinate to the imperialist world order and motivated in its actions above all by fear of the threat posed by the working class. It fell to the working class, leading behind it the oppressed agrarian masses, to realise the democratic tasks formerly associated with the bourgeois revolution through the seizure of power in a socialist revolution that must be consciously linked to the international struggle for the overthrow of imperialism. In the epoch of world economy and world politics, the struggle of the working class, in both the advanced and less developed countries, must be based on an international, rather than a national strategy. Trotsky wrote in 1930: The completion of the socialist revolution within national limits is unthinkable. One of the basic reasons for the crisis in bourgeois society is the fact that the productive forces created by it can no longer be reconciled with the framework of the national state. From this follows on the one hand, imperialist wars, on the other, the utopia of a bourgeois United States of Europe. The socialist revolution begins on the national arena, it unfolds on the international arena, and is completed on the world arena. Thus, the socialist revolution becomes a permanent revolution in a newer and broader sense of the word; it attains completion only in the final victory of the new society on our entire planet After Lenins death Stalinism codified the reactionary theory of Socialism in one country, abandoning the perspective of international revolution in favour of the false and reactionary utopia of building socialism within national borders. This nationalist turn marked a historic break with Marxism and led to the degeneration of the worlds first workers state. The state and party bureaucracy, to preserve its own privileges, suppressed the working class, physically exterminated its Marxist leadership through the purges, and betrayed revolutionary struggles across the globe. The Soviet bureaucracy played a decisive role in the defeat of the Chinese Revolution in 1927, the crushing of the Spanish Revolution between 1936 and 1939, and the disorientation and paralysis of the German working class between 1931 and 1933paving the way for Hitler to come to power without facing any organised resistance from the workers movement. On March 21, 1933, Potsdam Day, President Paul von Hindenburg (right) accepts the appointment of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler as German chancellor. [Photo by Theo Eisenhart/Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S38324 / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 This process culminated in the liquidation of the Soviet Union in 1991a collapse long anticipated by Trotsky in The Revolution Betrayed (1936)and the restoration of capitalism in Maoist China beginning in the 1980s. In both cases, the ruling bureaucracies transformed themselves into a new capitalist elite: in Russia, into the oligarchs represented today by Vladimir Putins authoritarian regime; in China, into a repressive capitalist police state under Xi Jinping. Trotskyism defended workers democracy and continues to uphold it as indispensable to the socialist project. It insists that a workers state must be based on the active participation of the working class through free elections, open political debate, and democratic control over economic planning. Stalinism, by contrast, replaced workers democracy with the dictatorship of a bureaucratic caste, enforcing its rule through repression, censorship, and the violent suppression of all opposition. Today, the contrast remains just as sharp. Trotskyists fight to build rank-and-file committees of, by, and for the workers, independent of the pro-capitalist trade union bureaucracy. The remnants of the Stalinist parties support and are usually part of that very same bureaucracy, which serves to police the working class on behalf of the ruling elite, enforcing wage suppression, job cuts, and austerity under the banner of social peace. The Stalinists assume positions within the apparatus of the capitalist state. The Trotskyists seek its revolutionary overthrow. Trotskyism insists that socialism can only be realised as an international process led by the working class, independent of and in opposition to the national bourgeoisie. It rejects any strategy that suppresses class struggle in the name of national liberation. Stalinism promotes a two-stage theory that postpones the fight for socialism in favour of an initial democratic or national liberation stage led by the supposedly progressive or non-comprador bourgeoisie. According to this schema, only once capitalism and bourgeois democracy is consolidated, an outcome that is endlessly deferred, can the struggle for socialism begin. Stalinisms betrayals in Africa Stalinisms subordination of the working class to the national bourgeoisie has had devastating consequences across Africa. Revolutionary struggles that erupted in the aftermath of World War II were systematically derailed by Stalinism, which handed the political initiative to bourgeois nationalist movements. These forces, hailed as liberators, used their authority to consolidate capitalist rule, violently repress popular movements, and preserve imperialist domination behind the facade of independence. As Trotsky insisted, the national bourgeoisie in colonial and semi-colonial countries was incapable of playing a progressive role. Bound by its economic dependence on imperialism and fear of the masses, its function was to stabilise capitalist rule, not overthrow it. The CPM-Ks doctrine of the National Democratic Revolution is a repackaged version of the two-stage theory. Kenyas own struggle for independence and its aftermath, analysed in the WSWS article Kenyas Gen Z insurgency, the strike wave and the struggle for Permanent Revolution, demonstrate the devastating consequences of this strategy. In South Africa, Trotsky opposed the South Africa Communist Partys (SACP) subordination of the working class to the African National Congress (ANC). Trotsky warned: The Bolshevik-Leninists [Trotskyist forces] unmask before the native masses the inability of the Congress to achieve the realization of even its own demands, because of its superficial, conciliatory policy. In contradistinction to the Congress, the Bolshevik-Leninists develop a program of revolutionary class struggle. The warning was prescient. The Stalinist SACP drafted the ANCs Freedom Charter in 1955, limiting its aims to establishing bourgeois democracy and black majority rule. Rather than expropriating the countrys powerful financial and mining interests, it cultivated a black capitalist class. The Freedom Charter written on the wall Palace of Justice (S Wierda) 1902, Church Square, Pretoria [Photo by PHParsons / CC BY-SA 3.0 As Nelson Mandela, an SACP member, said in 1956: For the first time in the history of this country, the non-European bourgeoisie will have the opportunity to own in their own name and right mills and factories, and trade and private enterprise will boom and flourish as never before. Today, South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world, with the ANC safeguarding the interests of both South African and global capital. In Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Somalia, Soviet-backed national bourgeois movements imposed repressive one-party rule and suppressed workers movements in the name of socialist construction. The false promise of the national democratic stage led to the suppression of revolutionary opposition and the consolidation of corrupt regimes that quickly turned to IMF austerity measures during the late 1980s and the 1990s, which continue to this day. Stalinist parties also promoted Pan-Africanism, advanced by figures such as Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana and Julius Nyerere in Tanzania, which claimed that Africas liberation could be achieved through unity among African capitalist states and leaders, regardless of class interests and on the basis of colonial borders. Pan-Africanism served to conceal the class divisions within African societies and to promote alliances between the working class and sections of the native bourgeoisie. In practice, it was used to suppress independent working-class politics under the banner of African unity and non-alignment. While offering rhetorical opposition to imperialism, Pan-Africanist leaders remained economically dependent on the imperialist powers and collaborated in the suppression of the working class across the continent. Trotskyism and the revolutionary potential of the African working class Today, the development of global capitalism has created a powerful and increasingly interconnected working class across Africa, poised to play a decisive role in the international struggle for socialism. Despite the continents immense diversity of language, culture, and history, all African countries remain bound by a common dependency on imperialism. None have resolved the fundamental democratic, agrarian, or national questionssuch as tribal divisions and artificial colonial borders. In the sixty years since Kenyas independence, Africas working class has grown dramatically. It plays a critical role in global production networks, from mining minerals in the DRC, Zambia and South Africa, to harvesting cash crops in Kenya and Ghana, to extracting oil and gas in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Algeria. The global integration of capitalism has unified the working class across borders as never before, creating the material basis for a revolutionary transformation of the world. The urgent task is to mobilise this immense power and build a genuine socialist movement rooted in the working class, committed to taking power from the oligarchs and imperialist agents, and reorganising society based on equality and human need. To fight for a socialist Kenya as part of a United Socialist States of Africa means forging unity with workers in the imperialist centres in the US, Europe, and beyond. Protesters block the busy Nairobi-Mombasa highway in the Mlolongo area, Nairobi, Kenya., July 2, 2024 [AP Photo/Brian Inganga] Since its founding in 1953, the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) has waged an unbroken struggle to defend the revolutionary heritage of Marxism and the international programme of Trotskyism against every form of political opportunism and anti-Marxist revisionism. It was established in opposition to Pabloite revisionists who abandoned the perspective of world socialist revolution in favour of a wholesale adaptation and liquidation into Stalinism, social democracy, and bourgeois nationalism. The ICFI upheld the continuity of the Fourth International, founded by Leon Trotsky in 1938 as the world party of socialist revolution, basing itself on the principle that the crisis of humanity is, above all, the crisis of revolutionary leadership. The ICFIs decades-long record of theoretical and political struggle in defence of historical truth, proletarian internationalism, and revolutionary intransigence, is the foundation upon which the WSWS was launched in 1998. It aims to educate, politically arm, and unify workers and youth across the world through Marxist analysis on a revolutionary perspective. The ICFI today is spearheading critical struggles around the globe. In the United States, the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is the only political movement waging a principled struggle against the turn of the oligarchy led by Donald Trump toward fascism, while the Democratic Party and its apologists in the media and pseudo-left seek to downplay or even normalise Trumps fascistic policies. Across Europe, the ICFI fights against the resurgence of fascism and the assault on democratic rights, opposing NATOs war against Russia in the Ukraine. In Sri Lanka, the SEP advanced a revolutionary programme during the 2022 uprising against IMF-dictated policies. In Turkey, the Socialist Equality Group intervenes to expose the rotten character of all factions of the Turkish ruling classwhether Erdogans right-wing authoritarianism or the bankrupt nationalism of the Kemalist opposition. Across the world, the sections of the ICFI are leading the fight to build rank-and-file committees in opposition to the pro-corporate unions, exposing the collaboration between the union apparatus and the state in suppressing strikes and cutting deals behind the backs of workers. The hysterical tone of Omoles statement is not the voice of strength but of fear. He does not seek to educate or persuade the members of the CPM-K. He demands silence. His method is intimidation, not explanation; slander, not theory. The ICFI and WSWS say: Turn to study! Do not let this charlatan tell you what to think. Read the WSWS. Read Trotsky. Engage with the political and historical foundations of the international socialist movement. Come to your own conclusions through serious political education. Root yourself in the internationalist tradition of Marxism, of the October Revolution, of the Fourth International. The future belongs to those who understand it must be fought fornot with slanders and lies, but with clarity of perspective, programme, and leadership. To the workers and youth of Kenya and across Africa, we make this appeal: Take up the fight for socialism. Build the Kenyan and African sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International. There is no time to lose. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. The European Union recorded a trade deficit of 11.1 billion euros in aluminum and related products in 2024, with imports reaching 29.5 billion euros, while exports stood at 18.4 billion euros, Trend reports. According to the latest Eurostat data, despite a decline in the physical volume of both imports (-6.2%) and exports (-1.7%) compared to 2019, the total value of trade increased. Imports grew by 29.9% (+ 6.8 billion euros) and exports by 21.3% (+ 3.2 billion euros), indicating that rising prices rather than higher trade volumes drove the increase. Norway and China remained the EUs top aluminum suppliers, with imports valued at 4.4 billion euros (15.0% of total imports) and 3.9 billion euros (13.1%), respectively. Turkiye (2.8 billion euros), Iceland (2.1 billion euros), and Switzerland (1.7 billion euros) also played significant roles in the EUs aluminum supply chain. Among them, imports from Iceland more than doubled (+104.9%) compared to 2019, while Turkiyes aluminum exports to the EU nearly doubled (+95.4%). On the export side, the UK remained the EUs largest aluminium trade partner, purchasing 3.7 billion euros worth of aluminium (19.9% of total exports). The U.S. (2.6 billion euros), Switzerland (2.4 billion euros), Turkiye (0.9 billion euros), and India (0.8 billion euros) followed. Notably, EU aluminum exports to India surged by 135.6% since 2019, while shipments to Turkiye increased by 66.7%. 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. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Foreign ministers from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, along with deputy foreign ministers from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, met with the EUs High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on March 27 in Ashgabat for the 20th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting, Trend reports. The ministers highlighted the Global Gateway Investors Forum held in Brussels in January 2024 and welcomed commitments from European and international financial institutions to invest 10 billion euros in the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor - the Middle Corridor. They emphasized the corridors role in enhancing connectivity between Central Asia and Europe and fostering regional economic growth. Participants also recognized Kazakhstans role in hosting the launch of the Middle Corridor coordination platform in June 2024 and Turkmenistans hosting of the high-level launch in October 2024. They reaffirmed the importance of cooperation with a peaceful South Caucasus to improve regional trade and logistics. The meeting also addressed the growing focus on critical raw materials (CRMs) in EU-Central Asia relations. The ministers welcomed strategic partnerships between the EU and Kazakhstan, as well as the EU and Uzbekistan, aimed at strengthening local value chains, aligning with international standards, and promoting sustainable investment. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an advisory agreement with Croatias Ministry of Finance to assist the country in becoming a regional hub for fintech and capital markets. The EIB will provide guidance on establishing a Fintech Hub to foster innovation, support startups, and align with EU regulations and global market trends, Trend reports. As part of the agreement, the EIB will map Croatias current fintech landscape, benchmark leading European hubs, and offer recommendations on legal and operational improvements to enhance financial technology adoption. In addition, the EIB will collaborate with the Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovation, and Investments (HAMAG-BICRO) to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups improve their investment readiness. This initiative will support access to early-stage finance and EU funding, including the European Innovation Council Accelerator. The EIBs efforts are aimed at strengthening Croatias capital markets and supporting its "Strategy on Capital Market Development 2025-2030." The advisory support is funded by the InvestEU Advisory Hub programme. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 28. Kazakhstans President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, Trend reports. In the course of the meeting, special attention was given to expanding trade and economic partnerships in priority areas such as energy and industry and digitalization, as well as the implementation of large infrastructure projects aimed at developing the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. As Kallas underscored , Kazakhstan being the first country in the region to sign the Agreement on Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation with the European Union serves as confirmation of the high level of bilateral relations. She also announced the initiation of the procedure for concluding an agreement to simplify visa issuance between the European Commission and Kazakhstan. President Tokayev emphasized that this news is being perceived very positively in Kazakhstan, as this step opens up broad opportunities for strengthening interpersonal contacts and business ties with European countries. Throughout the meeting, the participants exchanged views on current international and regional issues. Tokayev noted the particular importance of demonstrating restraint and responsibility when evaluating the complex events happening in the world in light of the growing global instability. According to him, Kazakhstan consistently adheres to the position of seeking solutions to all acute international problems and conflicts through diplomatic negotiations. The meeting also addressed issues of cooperation in the "Central Asia EU" format. To note, from 2005 to 2024, the total gross inflow of direct investments from EU countries into Kazakhstan exceeded $200 billion, accounting for 47.8 percent of the total volume of foreign investments in the country. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. The U.S. continues to lead the global LNG market, exporting 11.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2024, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Trend reports. This figure keeps the U.S. as the worlds largest exporter of LNG, with exports from Australia and Qatar remaining stable at around 10.2 Bcf/d to 10.7 Bcf/d over the past five years. U.S. LNG exports held steady compared to 2023 despite unplanned outages at export facilities, reduced natural gas consumption in Europe, and limited capacity additions. However, the export landscape shifted, with Asia's share increasing from 26% (3.1 Bcf/d) in 2023 to 33% (4.0 Bcf/d) in 2024. Meanwhile, Europe remained the largest destination, accounting for 53% of total exports (6.3 Bcf/d), though exports to the region decreased by 19% year-over-year. The increase in U.S. LNG exports to Asia was particularly notable in countries such as Japan, South Korea, India, and China, which together accounted for 76% (3.0 Bcf/d) of the total exports to the region. India saw the most significant rise in imports, with an additional 0.2 Bcf/d in 2024. While Europes LNG import capacity grew by over 40% between 2021 and 2024, some European countries reduced their LNG imports due to mild winter weather and high storage levels. Notably, Germany's LNG imports remained steady, but it recently cut regasification capacity, citing operational costs. In other regions, U.S. LNG exports also rose in Egypt, Brazil, and Colombia. Egypt, which had previously been an LNG exporter, began importing from the U.S. again for the first time since 2018 due to increased domestic consumption. Similarly, Brazil and Colombia imported more LNG to compensate for reduced hydropower generation during drought conditions. In December 2024, the opening of the Plaquemines LNG Phase 1 facility marked the addition of the eighth LNG export terminal in the U.S. This development is expected to further strengthen the countrys position as the global leader in LNG exports. There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles Constructors: Olivia Mitra Framke & Sally Hoelscher Editor: Amanda Rafkin March 28, 2025 Comments from Todays Crossword Constructors Olivia: Due to a sugar intolerance, I no longer eat OREOs (the brand "Highkey" makes a great sugar free alternative!) but I still have love for them because of their handiness in crosswords. It's fun to give back to this crossword classic; maybe this'll be the beginning of a fad of highlighting other crossword mainstays like ERIE, ARIA, OSLO, and ANTE! Thanks Sally for another great one! Advertisement Advertisement Sally: This puzzle was the result of Olivia thinking about OREO-themed puzzles at two in the morning and me realizing that I've written about a number of hidden anagram themes lately. Thanks to Olivia for another fun collaboration! Random Thoughts & Interesting Things ITALIA (15A: Paese di 55-Across) and ROMA (55A: Capitale di 15-Across) It's just coincidence that we ended up with ITALIA (Italian for Italy) and ROMA (Italian for Rome) both in the grid, but since we did, it was fun to clue them together. "Paese de" is Italian for "country of," and "capitale di" is Italian for "capital of." I DO (16A: Probable response to "Who wants some chocolate?") and GODIVA (2D: Chocolate brand named for a Lady) I DO is frequently clued in reference to wedding vows, and there's nothing wrong with that. But since I DO crosses GODIVA in the grid, it was fun to change things up a little bit. Also, if you are near me and say, "Who wants some chocolate?" I am definitely going to say, "I DO!" LICORICE ROOT (19A: Plant part whose extract flavors candy) In addition to chocolate, I would also accept LICORICE. GRETA (24A: "The Climate Book" author Thunberg) GRETA Thunberg staged her first climate strike protest in August 2018. Since then, her activism helped raise awareness of the climate crisis. For her book, The Climate Book, which was published in 2022, she brought together over one hundred experts who contributed essays focusing on climate change. DARTH (28A: Title for Vader or Maul) What would an Olivia / Sally collab be without a Star Wars clue? DARTH Vader is the name assumed by Anakin Skywalker after he is lured over to the dark side of the force. DARTH Maul is a powerful Sith Lord who made his first appearance in Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace (1999). THEATER (30A: Place to see "Come From Away") I love the THEATER, particularly musical THEATER, so I was in a bit of a quandary about what show to feature in this clue. Come From Away is an incredible musical about the true story of the 38 planes that landed in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland following the September 11 attacks. The focus is on the people - those on the planes and in the town - and their responses and reactions to this unexpected event. Come From Away is one of my top five favorite musicals, and I'm happy to give it a shoutout here. FLOOR EXERCISE (37A: Event for which Simone Biles has two Olympic medals) Simone Biles won a gold medal for FLOOR EXERCISE at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, she won a silver medal in FLOOR EXERCISE. TULIP (45A: Netherlands bloom) The Netherlands, informally referred to as Holland, is a country in northwestern Europe. The Netherlands are the major producer of TULIPs for world markets. SERTA (50A: Mattress brand whose ads feature talking sheep) The SERTA mattress company is known for its commercials featuring counting sheep. According to SERTA, the idea for the SERTA sheep came from an ad executive who was having trouble sleeping because he hadn't purchased a SERTA mattress yet. EUROPE (59A: Alhambra's continent) Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex in Granada, Spain, which is of course, in EUROPE. Alhambra is considered one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture in EUROPE. The palace also contains examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture. ESTE (69A: Direction opposite oeste) Here's a review of Spanish directions: norte, sur, ESTE, and oeste (north, south, east, and west). LOVIN' (5D: "You've Lost That ___ Feeling") "You've Lost That LOVIN' Feeling" (whoa that LOVIN' feeling...) was first recorded in 1964 by the Righteous Brothers. The song has been covered by numerous artists since then. The song experienced increased popularity when it was used in the 1986 movie Top Gun. I admit, that Top Gun scene is what I always think of when I hear this song. EAR (12D: Play it by ___) "Let's play it by EAR" was something my dad used to say while tugging on his EAR. This phrase always makes me think of him. ON T (20D: Using Testopel, for example) ON T here stands for "ON Testosterone." Testopel is a brand name of a testosterone pellet implant that delivers drug over three to four months. ROTTEN (21D: "Something ___" (musical with the song "A Musical") I was so happy to get not one, but two musical references in this puzzle. Something ROTTEN is (in my opinion) an extremely funny musical that pokes fun at the whole notion of musicals. Set in 1595, it tells the story of the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, as they seek success in the theatrical world while competing with William Shakespeare. Something Rotten also contains several songs that make me laugh every time I listen to them. My favorite is called "A Musical." HBO (29D: "The White Lotus" network) I have previously written about The White Lotus. The third season of the show is currently underway on HBO. AXE (35D: Paul Bunyan's tool) In American and Canadian folklore, Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack (who uses an AXE). CAT (40D: Calico pet) I like this clue because it has somewhat of a double meaning. When I wrote the clue, I was thinking of my calico CAT, Willow. Olivia then left a note on the spreadsheet saying "love this game." Oh, yeah, Calico is also a board game which I have, of course! that features quilts and CATs. Here's a picture of my calico. The basket Willow is sitting in in this photo is the one that contains her toys. I guess she couldn't decide what to play with, so she just crawled in on top of them. Willow LOOSEN (47D: Turn a screw to the left) The mnemonic "Righty tighty, lefty loosey" is one I use frequently to remember which way to turn screws, bottle caps, etc. WOOFS (53D: Alerts from dogs) We're giving equal time to CATs and dogs today. Olivia's dog, Charlie, and his cousin Ruby are defending the house TRUST (54D: ___ fall (team-building activity)) My apologies if the mere thought of a TRUST fall makes you shudder (as it does me). OTOE (58D: Chiwere speakers) The OTOE are indigenous people of the Midwestern United States. Their language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family of languages. Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis LICORICE ROOT (19A: Plant part whose extract flavors candy) FLOOR EXERCISE (37A: Event for which Simone Biles has two Olympic medals) METEOROLOGY (56A: Study of weather) Advertisement Advertisement THAT'S THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES: Each theme answer contains an anagram of OREO: LICORICE ROOT, FLOOR EXERCISE, and METEOROLOGY. Consider this puzzle to be Olivia and my ode to crossword's favorite cookie, the OREO. After coming up with the idea for this theme, we discovered that finding theme answers with three different hidden OREO anagrams was a bit of a challenge. We're happy with the theme answers we ended up with. Thanks to Amanda for her help along the way, and for her excellent editing as always. I hope you enjoyed this puzzle. For more on USA TODAYs Crossword Puzzles This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for March 28, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Danish med-tech company IO Biotech has secured a 57.5 million euro venture debt agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), Trend reports. The deal consists of three committed tranches totaling up to 37.5 million euros, available upon meeting specific conditions, and an additional uncommitted accordion tranche of 20 million euros. IO Biotech, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing immune-modulating cancer vaccine therapies. The funding will primarily support the clinical development, regulatory approval, and market launch of IO102-IO103, an immunotherapeutic vaccine for melanoma, with plans for broader cancer applications. The financing is backed by the European Commissions InvestEU program. The debt facility will also help advance the development of additional product candidates from the companys proprietary platform. The funding aims to transition IO Biotech from an R&D-focused company to a full-fledged pharmaceutical company with a portfolio of cancer therapies. EIB Vice-President Ioannis Tsakiris emphasized the importance of risk-taking investors to help innovative European companies scale and reach commercialization. IO Biotechs CFO Amy Sullivan noted that the funding comes at a crucial time, ahead of the expected phase 3 study results for the companys lead vaccine candidate in the third quarter of 2025. Queen Camillas jewelry collection is filled with meaningful pieces, from dazzling sapphires that originally belonged to Queen Elizabeth to eye-popping tiaras that have been passed down for generations. She even has a beloved necklace that pays tribute to her grandchildren. Earlier this month, the royal, 77, and her husband, King Charles, traveled to Northern Ireland for a two-day visit. I was so distracted by the monarchs daffodil that I nearly missed Queen Camillas accessory, which honored her grandkids. Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Queen Camilla was wearing a gold necklace that has a circular pendant with a ruby (the queens birthstone) at the center. It also has an engraved letter for each of her five grandchildren: L for Lola, F for Freddy, G for Gus, L for Louis and E for Eliza. The abovementioned Louis shouldnt be confused with Prince William and Kate Middletons youngest son, Prince Louis. The grandkids in question are from Queen Camillas previous marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles, with whom she shares two children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes. Samir Hussein/Pool/Getty Images If the pendant necklace looks familiar, its probably because Queen Camilla has worn the accessory on multiple occasions. Last year, the queen and king visited the University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre. She wore a flattering leopard print dress, along with the same necklace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During her visit to Northern Ireland, the royal also wore a tropical bird brooch, which (according to Tatler) was a new addition to her jewelry collection. The gold accessory featured an ombre of green starting at the head of the bird, which complemented the queens recycled dress from Anna Valentine. The outlet speculated that it was an early anniversary gift from King Charles, since they will celebrate 20 years on April 9. HENRY NICHOLLS/POOL/AFP/Getty Images What a meaningful accessory. Stay up-to-date on every breaking royal family story by subscribing here. Meghan Markle's Body Language Speaks Volumes in New Footage, According to Expert Known as 'Human Lie Detector' LILLE, France Lili Reinhart scored best actress for Hal & Harper at Frances Series Mania, Europes biggest TV festival, as its attendance figures went through the roof. Meanwhile, Spains Movistar Plus+ scored a historic double, winning the top Grand Prize in main competition for Alauda Ruiz de Azuas Querer and best series for Diego San Joses Celeste, co-produced with The Mediapro Studio, in the fests major sidebar. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Further top honors in main competition recognised a second series from a major female talent, Quebecs Florence Longpre whose Empathy won Series Manias prestigious Audience Award. Presided by Pamela Adlon, the main competition jury recognized most of the competition favourites also prizing veteran Israeli writers Moshe Zonder and Ronit Weiss Berkowitz for the screenplay of The German and Luca Marinelli for his tearaway performance as Benito Mussolini Joe Wrights M: Son Of The Century. Festival attendance spiked 10,000 to already over 108,000 spectators by Friday afternoon. That can be put down to the recognition of the quality of series selected in sections and the galaxy of stars and luminary speakers at the this years edition, led by Amanda Seyfried, Christina Hendricks, Charlie Brooker, Miguel Bernardeau and Edvin Ryding. Delegates at the Series Mania Forum, its industry zone housed in Lilles Grand Palais, surged a spectacular 19% to 5,000 participants, way beyond the organizers estimates even just a week out, confirming that Series Mania is emerging as Europes not only premier co-production forum but also biggest TV market. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reinhart has already won acclaim for her performance in Hal & Harper, an arrested development dramedy, featuring two doting siblings, Hal (director Cooper Raiff), a senior at college, and Harper, (Reinhart), an entry level administrative assistant, who are locked in a cocoon of past trauma and co-dependency, 15 years after their mothers suicide sent their dad (Mark Ruffalo) into tail-spin depression. Reinhart pulls off he achievement of playing convincingly both her adult self and nine-year old former self, forced to grow too fast. A courtroom thriller and family drama, charting a 50-ish womans separation from and prosecution of her abuse husband after 30 years of sexual assault, Querer marks the first TV series from the Basque Countrys Alauda Ruiz de Azua whose feature, 2023s Lullaby, was endorsed by Pedro Almodovar as undoubtedly the best Spanish debut for years. The series has been hailed for its across.-the-board performances, control, psychological percipience and tempo, building to a truly moving climax. Mixing laugh-out-loud comedy and drama, Empathy has creator Dupre also leading the cast playing a psychologist at a Montreal psychiatric institute, herself attempting to recover from ghastly loss. Capturing the epic tragic emotional battles with self of the mentally disturbed, Empathys Series Mani win looks set to consecrate Dupre, after winning acclaim and awards with Audreys Back and Last Summer of Raspberries. From Lionsgate Television, The German, set in 1970, turns on Uri, once a brutal Auschwitz guard if a flashback is not misleading, has found some sort of redemption as an Israeli war hero living a perfect marriage on a kibbutz. Hes then embroiled in a Mossad mission to infiltrate an SS veteran cell in order to trap Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele. Series Mania winners Moshe Zonder, writer of Fauda Season 1 and The Girl From Oslo co-creator Ronit Weiss-Berkowitz, turn in a typically taut, suspense laden, twist-sluiced screenplay of waht looks like the story of a mans search for redemption. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marinelli was always the front-runner for the best actor award at Series Mania, turning in a towering, tearaway performance capturing Mussolinis gesticulating buffoonery, vacuousness fascism is a synthesis of all affirmations and negations, he shouts but uncanny ability to exploit ordinary peoples resentments. Which may sounds familiar. We made a selection of works that were very open to the world, and were delighted that the prizes reflect these choices by rewarding, among others, an American independent series, an Israeli series, an Algerian series and an Iranian series. The two major international prizes also confirm the prominent place of Spanish series in todays serial landscape, commented Laurence Herszberg, founder and general manager of Series Mania. The festival also confirmed its 2026 dates of March 20-27 with the Forum taking place March 24-26. SERIES MANIA PRIZES: Audience Award Empathy, (CRAVE (BELL Medias), Canada) INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION Grand Prize Querer, (Spain, Movistar Plus) Best Writing Moshe Zonder, Ronit Weiss Berkowitz (The German, Israel, U.S.) Special Mention The Deal,(RTS Radio Television Suisse, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg) Best Actress Lili Reinhart, (Hal & Harper,U.S) Best Actor Luca MarinellI, (Mussolini: Son of The Century, France, Italy) FRENCH COMPETITION Series 37 Seconds, (ARTE, France, Germany) Best Actress Elsa Guedj, (Reformed) Best Actor Arthur Dupont, (The Rose Family) Best Original Score Anthony DAmario, Edouard RIGAUDIERE, (Log Out) INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA Best Series Celeste, (Spain, Movistar Plus+) Special Mention Putain, (Belgium, Streamz) Best Directing Ida Panahandeh, (At the End of The Night, Iran) Best Actress Carmen Machi, (Celeste, Spain) Best Actor Matthew Gurney, (Reunion, U.K.) Student Jury Prize Requiem for Selina, (Norway, NRK) SHORT FORMS COMPETITION Best Series One of us is Trembling, (Denmark) Special Mention ElSardines, (Algeria, France) Student Jury Prize Wingspan,(Germany) Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If some of you are observing Ramadan this year, you might be wondering if you need to ask your employer for this Monday off. With the expected sighting of the waxing crescent moon by the end of March, nearly 2 billion Muslims worldwide and the less than 1% of Rhode Islanders who are Muslim, according to the Pew Research Center, will celebrate Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. One celebration happens at the end of Ramadan: Eid al-Fitr. But what exactly happens on Eid, what date does it land on and are there any requirements that you or your loved ones need to follow? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's what you need to know about the holiday many people call "Blessed Eid." A shot of a grandmother and her grandson embracing whilst sitting on the sofa, both smiling broadly. They are gathered together with family for Eid celebrations at home in Middlesbrough, North East England. They are dressed in traditional outfits for the occasion. When is Eid al-Fitr 2025? Eid al-Fitr 2025 is expected to be celebrated on Sunday, March 30, or Monday, March 31, with the sighting of the waxing crescent moon, according to Islamic Relief. Shawwal, the Islamic month that succeeds Ramadan, begins right at the sighting of the crescent moon, or "Shawwal moon." The first day of Shawwal brings Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan. What is Eid al-Fitr? Eid al-Fitr is the first of two celebratory days in the Islamic calendar, both observed every year. Though the holiday is marked on one day, some will celebrate this festival for as long as three days. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal, the 10th month in the Islamic calendar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eid is not on the same date every year. Like Ramadan, it follows the Islamic Hijri calendar, which is on a lunar cycle. Each year, Ramadan and both Eid holidays fall about 11 days earlier than the year before because of the lunar cycle. The sighting of the crescent moon determines the start of these holidays. How is Eid al-Fitr celebrated? Muslims will wake up early in the morning, preparing food and getting ready to attend mandatory Eid prayers at local masjids. It may feel strange for Muslims to eat during daylight hours after a month of fasting between dawn and sunset, but it is actually forbidden for Muslims to fast on Eid al-Fitr. On Eid, Muslims will follow the way of Prophet Muhammad, also known as Sunnah in Islam. Sunnah is not followed just on Eid, but every day. Specific Sunnahs on Eid include: Taking a bath or shower Wearing ones best clothes and perfume Saying Takbeer or praising God on the way to Eid prayers Taking a different path home from attending Eid prayer Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eid traditions vary from country to country, but friends and families commonly gather and spend time together at each others homes, enjoying sweets and delicious food after Eid prayers in the morning. Children will receive gifts and money, also known as Eidi. How do you wish someone a happy Eid? Muslims will hug their friends and family and greet them with Eid Mubarak, meaning blessed festival in Arabic. Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California Muslims celebrate end of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr ALBANY The savory aromas of tomato basil and marry me chicken soup filled the event center at the Northwest Dougherty County Library branch as hundreds of people filled their bowls for the 13th annual Empty Bowls event. A national program, put on locally by the SOWEGA Council on Aging and Albany Area Arts Council, Empty Bowls is meant to raise awareness about hunger. Nicole Willis, the AAACs executive director, called the event a perfect marriage between the two nonprofits. Tickets sold this year for $40, and guests received soup and a unique pottery bowl. Proceeds go to the AAAC to help fund exhibitions for local artists and SOWEGA COAs Meals on Wheels program, which delivers meals to seniors homes. The Empty Bowls event began with 200 pieces of pottery. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganArtists from across the Southeast made the pottery pieces for Empty Bowls. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganThe Northwest Library event center was packed with guests enjoying soup and talking among friends. Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan Empty Bowls is just one of these events where people come together, Willis said. Everybody loves it, they take something home, enjoy community and get to support nonprofits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The event is highly anticipated and sells out within a few weeks each year. This year, 175 tickets were pre-sold. Just 40 minutes into the event, which ran from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Wednesday, the 200 unique pottery bowls available had dwindled to double digits. Friends and Albany residents, Jan Dorsey and Virginia Johnson, said they look forward to attending each year. Its for a good cause, the food is good and it gives you an opportunity to sample businesses, Dorsey said. You meet people that youve never seen before. Johnson has attended each Empty Bowls since the beginning. She said its always been an event to draw out lots of people and her favorite part is seeing her friends.From left, Virginia Johnson, Harry Dorsey and Jan Dorsey enjoy their soup and reunion with friends at the Empty Bowls event. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganJohnsons gotten to try a lot of different soups over 13 years of attendance. This year her favorite was a tomato basil soup from 229 Vegan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 229 Vegan Chef Michael Daniels said hes been catering the event for four years. He said it was a great way to gain exposure for his business, which he said he started after a large-scale vegan catering event made him realize there was a need for vegan food in Albany. I like that people see my sign and see vegan and walk away, Jones said. But it just takes one person to taste it and give it a try. In previous years hes provided butternut squash and vegan chili. The SOWEGA COA is responsible for connecting with business sponsors. Most of them are repeat sponsors, returning each year to provide soups for the event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Guests could choose from 11 different businesses, including BJs Buffet, Chef Hazels LLC, 229 Vegan, The Willis Country Home Bed and Breakfast, Albany Technical College, Chef Travis Robinson, Tater Saladz , El Caribe, Southern Elegance Catering, Canterbury Kitchen and Tasty Cravings & More.Albany Technical Colleges Culinary Arts program offered soup for the Empty Bowl event. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganGreen Envy supplied table centerpieces that could be purchased at the event. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganChefs got to network and gain exposure for their restaurant businesses at Empty Bowls. Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan Pottery bowls were made by artists both local and from around the Southeast, including Kirby Gregory, The Clay Spot, Jim Mitchell, Albany States Visual Arts program, led by Scott Marini, Allyson Jones and The Orchard Potters. Willis said its a great way for artists to get community support while in turn raising funds for programs that support the community. Its truly a community event that brings the whole community together, Izzie Sadler, the SOWEGA COAs executive director, said. All products featured on Conde Nast Traveler are independently selected by Conde Nast Traveler editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Conde Nast may earn an affiliate commission. Gentl & Hyers I'm on a brick patio at Northfield, a popular cafe in Kathmandu, Nepal, strumming Will the Circle Be Unbroken on my guitar alongside Les Thompson, a founding member of the pioneering SoCal folk and bluegrass act the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I've spent more than a decade going to bluegrass festivals, buying bluegrass records, and learning to flat-pick much of the American bluegrass canon; playing with Thompson anywhere would be a dream. But this is extremely special. We are surrounded by more than 20 Nepali Gandarbhas, who follow us on fiddle-like sarangis, bamboo bansuri flutes, and madal drums. Gandarbhas are a nomadic musician caste who for centuries have wandered the hills here, playing songs to earn a living. After the last note, our Nepali friends launch into their folk anthem Resham Firiri. Thompson points out that, if you lose the percussion, it sounds like American Appalachian music. Parvez Shaikh Jordan Hammond We're in Nepal with Music Arts Adventures, a tour company that offers an unconventional approach to discovering the country known for Everest by introducing visitors to Nepali artisans. It's the brainchild of Tara Linhardt, a musician I met years ago during a jam session at Brooklyn's legendary Sunny's Bar, which she now runs with her husband, Ian Poole. A Virginia native, Linhardt studied here in college and fell in love with the culture. Since then, she has returned repeatedly and eventually made a documentary film and an album, both called The Mountain Music Project, in which she and another musician, Danny Knicely, illustrate the commonalities between Appalachian and Himalayan folk music. Old-time bluegrass players and Gandarbhaswho are thought to have migrated to the Himalayas from Rajasthan and likely share ancestry with the Romani peopleare both traditionally poor people from the mountains who scratch out a living with their instruments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Linhardt recalls being struck by how much the two groups had in common: The resourcefulness of the people, the sense of humor. When we met some of the Gandarbha musicians, it was obvious that the musicality was very similar. It's string-oriented and uses the same scales. I'm part of a cohort of 15, which, in addition to Thompson, Linhardt, and Poole, includes other musicians and music lovers from the US as well as Nabin Moktan, a guide. Our visit begins at the quirky Ramsterdam Cafe, not far from the Boudhanath Stupa, a holy site for Tibetan Buddhists. Outfitted with Jerry Garcia posters and bottle-cap murals, the cafe also has a stage where we take part in an impromptu jam session with some local musicians, including 16-year-old Benjamin Das Tatma, the son of Ramsterdam's owner, who wears snakeskin cowboy boots and shreds his way through Billy Strings's Dust in a Baggie. 555067955 John Elk III/Getty The next morning, after a walk through the Pashupatinath Temple, a sacred Hindu site where we see families performing funeral rites along the banks of the Bagmati River, we visit Naad Sangeet Pathshalaa school founded by Sarita Mishra, the first professional woman tabla player in Nepalto offer music and dance classes to underprivileged kids. (Three of us wind up donating guitars we'd bought in Kathmandu to use during the trip.) The kids perform dances for us, along with a couple of songs on madals and bansuris, including the ubiquitous Resham Firiri, which I'd already heard floating out of shops, hotel lobbies, and restaurants. Tara, I hear Thompson ask, what mode are they playing in? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's just G, 4/4 time, Linhardt replies. There's nothing not bluegrass about it. The following day we head to Bhaktapur, a historic city a few miles east of Kathmandu, where we visit an after-school program dedicated to keeping young girls out of child marriages. Thompson and I get enlisted to perform for the youngsters, and we play Hank Williams's Jambalaya while Poole teaches them a square dance. Afterward the kids lead us to a nearby temple. A 12-year-old boy called Pawan holds my hand as we walk, and we apply tikas to each other's foreheads using the red dye on the idols. Himalayan Highway In the evening we attend a show on the rooftop of the Vajra Boutique Hotel, where a troupe of young dancers in bright red and yellow dresses and clay-and-cloth masks perform ceremonial dances. Afterward one of the musicians from the backing band, a 23-year-old multi-instrumentalist named Roshika Jadhari, whom Linhardt has known for years, joins us in the lobby for an impromptu jam up (as the Nepalis call it). We start with the 19th-century traditional Angeline the Baker, then do Resham Firiri, with Jadhari accompanying our guitars on bansuri. It's kind of similar, she says of the two kinds of music, but it's different also. Every song has its unique features. A waiter asks if he can borrow Poole's guitar. Knockin on Heaven's Door,' he says. Guns N' Roses. Before I can say the name Dylan, he's singing the song, and I'm joining in, as do all the guests and hotel staffers in the lobby. Musicians love to meet other musicians, Linhardt says. Jadhari laughs and nods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The itinerary isn't all jams. Linhardt arranges visits to Bungamati, a village renowned for its wood-carvers and where she lived while studying; pottery stalls; and a thangka-painting school. It's the music that draws me most, though. One morning we stop by the Music Museum of Nepal, which curator and owner Ram Prasad Kadel established in 1995 to preserve music customs. Among the collection of nearly 1,200 instruments is an array of sarangis and tungnas, and a 10-foot-long laawaa horn. Most of the old people are dying, and all the skill and talent in their minds is not written down, says Kadel. Kiran Nepali at Project Sarangi Toward the end of the trip, we go to Project Sarangi, another organization that aims to preserve and promote Nepali folk music. It's run by Kiran Nepali, the virtuoso sarangi player for Kutumba, a revolutionary Nepali band that has toured all over the world. Our group sits in a circle in the project's classroom, and Nepali shows off his favored instrument and tells us about his path to becoming a musician. I'm a Gandarbha, he tells us. Generations of my forefathers have been playing, but I didn't start early, because my father said we should study. He began Project Sarangi to try to destigmatize Gandarbhas and encourage young people to pick up the instrument. Nepali built a factory to standardize manufacturing and opened this teaching space to give lessons. He also employed effect pedals to go with other rock-and-roll elements in Kutumba's shows. You have to make it cool, he says. Ironically, digging into his own people's music has helped Nepali play a variety of folk styles around the world. He recalls visiting Scotland, where a local musician began playing a tune on bagpipes. We were like, That's very familiar. Same thing happened to me with bluegrass. Same thing happened to me with Irish music. All this folk music, somehow it's connected. Linhardt and Nepali then lead us in a jam. I do my best to keep up as they exchange the rapid-fire notes of the bluegrass standard Squirrel Hunters. She's on mandolin, he's on sarangi, but somehow they're speaking the same language, a worldly tongue I've gotten a little closer to picking up myself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This article appeared in the April 2025 issue of Conde Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here. Originally Appeared on Conde Nast Traveler Trending Travel Destinations When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Spring brings some highly anticipated books from people like Scarr Pimentel, Calvin Eng and Nina Compton. | Credit: Penguin Random House This season's batch of new cookbooks are wanderers. You could head to Pakistan, the Caribbean (two times) or bop from one friend's dinner party to another's with the optimal dish in hand for sharing. 'Kin: Caribbean Recipes for the Modern Kitchen' Marie Mitchell is the child of Jamaican immigrants and lives in the United Kingdom. Her debut cookbook is a collection of recipes that celebrate the flavors of her ancestral Caribbean and the diaspora it has influenced. That means honey-shellacked jerk wings with cassava fries, tomato curry and coconut buns. (out now, $35, W.W. Norton ) 'Pakistan: Recipes and Stories from Home Kitchens, Restaurants, and Roadside Stands' One impactful aspect of the best cookbooks is their ability to overturn your thinking. With this new book, Maryam Jillani shows the complexity of Pakistan, a country too often in the West lumped with its neighbor to the southwest, India. "Pakistan" is part travelogue, part cultural study and a compendium of Pakistani recipes that showcase the singular diversity of the country's cooking. (out now, $40, Bookshop ) 'Salt Sugar MSG: Recipes and Stories from a Cantonese American Home' "It's about the delicious places that live in between American and Chinese traditions," said chef Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu's in San Francisco about Calvin Eng's cooking in "Salt Sugar MSG." The chef at Bonnie's in Brooklyn, named for his mother, Eng plays well with both classic Cantonese and American dishes. Advertisement Advertisement Taro steps in for potatoes in diner-style hash browns. Pork schnitzel is seasoned with salt and pepper and served with ranch. "Some chef-authored cookbooks feel fussy in a way that's ultimately unfriendly to cooking at home, but 'Salt Sugar MSG' feels cheffy in a more accessible way," said Bettina Makalintal at Eater . (out now, $40, Clarkson Potter ) 'The Scarr's Pizza Cookbook: New York-Style Pizza for Everybody' The world needs another pizza cookbook like well, most everyone loves pizza, so bring it on. This debut cookbook from Scarr Pimentel, the mind behind the beloved Manhattan pizzeria Scarr's, celebrates New York-style pizza, with an emphasis on natural and organic ingredients. The results are both classic and modern; now you can achieve the same at home. (out now, $30, 4 Color Books ) 'Kweyol / Creole: Recipes, Stories, and Tings from a St. Lucian Chef's Journey: A Cookbook' One great cookbook: 'Snacking Cakes' One great cookbook: 'Solo' Advertisement Advertisement One great cookbook: 'The Zuni Cafe Cookbook' Nina Compton has had a peripatetic cooking journey. Born in Saint Lucia, she lived in Jamaica and Miami before settling in New Orleans. In the Crescent City, she opened Compere Lapin and Bywater American Bistro, restaurants that sing the pleasures of her distinctive Caribbean-centered cuisine. The book, coauthored with Osayi Endolyn, is organized around those four locations Saint Lucia, Jamaica, Miami, New Orleans to show how the quartet shaped Compton. (April 1, $37.50, Clarkson Potter ) 'Third Culture Cooking: Classic Recipes for a New Generation' Zaynab Issa, a recent member of the lauded Bon Appetit food team, is known for her smart, big-flavored cooking. In her first cookbook, her style is dubbed "third culture cooking" not wholly that of her Tanzanian-Indian beginnings, not strictly American but a hybrid and reconsideration of all of it. French onion ramen, udon carbonara, tandoori tacos, baklava granola: "Issa's recipes are mashups of everything you'd want to eat," said Jaya Saxena at Eater . (April 1, $35, Abrams ) 'Fat + Flour: The Art of a Simple Bake' Nicole Rucker, owner of the Los Angeles bakeries Fat + Flour, is the rare pastry person who is beloved by both other pastry people and the baked-goods consuming public. Any cookbook from Rucker is cause for clanging together your measuring cups with glee. In her latest, she walks you through how to make superb pies and cookies, and does so with clear, lighthearted instructions. (April 8, $35, Knopf ) 'What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life' Tiffany & Co. has unveiled its latest high jewelry campaign, featuring the brands iconic Bird on a Rock brooch, alongside one-of-a-kind creations from the Blue Book 2024: Tiffany Celeste collection. The new Tiffany high jewelry campaign is a celebration of our houses past, present and future. It showcases the extraordinary work of Jean Schlumberger, whose designs have become synonymous with elegance and creativity, as well as our latest collection, which represents the pinnacle of Tiffany craftsmanship and innovation, president and chief executive officer Tiffany & Co. Anthony Ledru said in a statement. More from WWD Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photographed by Carlijn Jacobs, according to the brand the campaign is a contemporary interpretation of some of its most iconic high jewelry images, reimagining them through a modern lens. Jacobs creative vision took inspiration from the Tiffany Style book by John Loring, and its Tiffany high jewelry from the 1950s and 60s, as well as the photography of Hiro, who captured iconic images featuring some of the brands most celebrated designs. Since being acquired by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2021, Tiffany & Co. has doubled down on its high jewelry heritage with an increasing number of experiential sales events for wealthy clients. Last year, the maison hosted multiple global high jewelry activations, including Blue Book events in Los Angeles, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Hong Kong and more. The glow of Hollywood has been an important part of raising the legacy jewelers profile with multiple pieces seen at the 2025 Oscars, including on Best Actress winner Mikey Madison. Tiffany & Co.s new high jewelry campaign shot by Carlijn Jacobs. The Bird on a Rock high jewelry brooch featured in the latest campaign an emblematic Tiffany & Co. creation showcases pear-shaped and round brilliant diamonds along with custom-cut baguette diamonds. Completing the creation, the houses artisans mounted the diamond bird motif on a D-color, cushion-cut diamond of over 25 carats. Another one-of-a-kind piece in the campaign, the Shooting Star necklace, features a center stone: a D-color, internally flawless emerald-cut diamond of over 18 carats. According to the house, the piece was designed to evoke the celestial beauty of a shooting star. Timepieces are featured, too, continuing the momentum from LVMH watch week in New York at the start of 2025 where Tiffanys high jewelry watchmaking novelties were revealed alongside other sister brands in the LVMH stable. The new campaign debuts Friday in print and Tiffany & Co.s website and social channels. Best of WWD Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. WILLARD, Mo. Willard Police Chief Tom McClain is educating voters about an upcoming sales tax on the April ballot. Its a half cent sales tax that, if it passes, will generate an additional $300,000 annually that would be applied toward police equipment, facility updates and police officer salaries, McClain said. Our salary is at the bottom of the range for the southwest Missouri region, and its hard to attract and retain quality police officers when they can go to a nearby city and make an additional $4 plus an hour, McClain said. For every $100 to spend in Willard, $0.50 would be applied to the public safety program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McClain says officers wages begin around $20 per hour. We presently have a 12th position [thats open] that I havent announced because I cant find a quality candidate for $20.34 an hour. Im just holding back until after the election in the hopes that it passes. If it passes, then I will announce the opening and see what kind of quality candidate I can find, McClain said. Our police to citizen ratio is 1.7. The DOJ recommends a 2.5 police officers per thousand citizens, so were way under the 2.5 ratio. If this passes, it would enable us to bump the salary to be comparable to the average in the area. McClain says that extra funding could create more positions to expand the force down the road. As for improvements, McClain says theyre needed at their headquarters and for the gear they carry daily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we first moved here in 2002, we stood somewhat alone in the arena. We need some exterior improvements and some interior improvements as far as the building is concerned, McClain said. [Gear like] the tasers are at their at the end of their life and we need to replace them, but presently we dont have the funding to facilitate something like that. The parking lot you can see is inadequate for the needs of the police department. So we need an expansion on the parking lot. McClain understands that there may be people against the idea of a tax, no matter the amount. If the community feels like this is not a suitable answer to the present problem, then, we would go on as we always have, doing the best we can with what we have. I dont know what other alternate solutions there might be, McClain said. McClain adds that this tax issue is similar in other nearby towns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Springfield, Strafford, Kimberling City, Republic and Nixa have all passed these law enforcement sales taxes in the relatively recent past, McClain said. We would simply be following suit with what our neighbors have done, so its not beyond the norm. The election for the tax issue is April 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 KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) At least one person was killed in a crash off Ellington Parkway in East Nashville Friday morning. The crash happened on the inbound ramp from Hart Lane around 3:45 a.m. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com (Photo: WKRN) (Photo: WKRN) (Courtesy: Tennessee Department of Transportation) (Courtesy: Tennessee Department of Transportation) According to Metro police, 37-year-old Ronald Botts was driving westbound on Hart Lane in his 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe when he attempted to enter the southbound ramp to Ellington Parkway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Botts reportedly failed to negotiate the turn due to speed, hitting a rock wall. Hart Lane was closed to traffic early Friday morning. Tennessee Department of Transportation crews were at the scene to check the condition of the roadway. No additional information was immediately 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 WKRN News 2. TULLAHOMA, Tenn. (WKRN) One person was killed after authorities attempted to serve a warrant, according to District Attorney Craig Northcott. At about 6:30 p.m., shots were fired on West Lincoln Street when Tullahoma Police attempted to serve a warrant to 58-year-old man at his place of business. Northcott said the warrant was related to a charge of sexual assault on a minor charge out of Michigan. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An investigation surrounding the incident is ongoing, Northcott said, and more details would be made public soon. Northcott said the 58-year-old sustained a gunshot wound to the roof of his mouth. News 2 has reached out to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tullahoma Police Department for more information. The TBI said they were not involved with the incident. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes 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 WKRN News 2. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 28. Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, held a meeting with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, Trend reports. In the course of the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan underscored to the EU High Representative the importance for both sides to begin negotiations between Astana and Brussels regarding an agreement to simplify the European Unions visa regime for Kazakhstani citizens as soon as possible. The parties also discussed the current state and prospects of Kazakh-European cooperation and exchanged views on international issues. They welcomed the high dynamics of cooperation, highlighting the significance of the upcoming Central Asia European Union Summit in Uzbekistan's Samarkand. Special attention was given to the further effective implementation of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the European Union, as well as joint projects in the areas of transport and logistics, critical raw materials, green energy, digitalization, climate change, and others. In the context of developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, Nurtleu pointed out the need for joint practical steps that would allow access to the markets of the Middle East and Africa. For her part, Kallas assured of the EUs commitment to deepening long-term cooperation with Kazakhstan and implementing joint projects. She stated that the outcomes of the "Central Asia EU" ministerial meeting, held the day before in Ashgabat, would contribute to this, which are highly appreciated by the European side. At the end of the meeting, both sides expressed mutual interest in continuing a constructive dialogue. The European Union is Kazakhstans main trading and investment partner. Trade turnover in 2024 amounted to $49.7 billion (+16.9 percent), of which Kazakhstans export was $38.6 billion and imports to Kazakhstan were $11.1 billion. The gross inflow of direct investments from EU countries from 2005 to the first nine months of 2024 amounted to $200.7 billion. More than 3,000 companies with European participation operate in Kazakhstan. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A fatal crash in Shelby County is under investigation. According to the Miami County-Piqua Patrol post of OSP, the crash involved a vehicle, a pedestrian and resulted in a fatality. OSP reported that the Sidney Police Department called their office minutes before 6 a.m. for assistance with the crash. The crash occurred on the 2600 block of Campbell Road. In a 911 call obtained by 2 NEWS, the caller saw the pedestrian while at Cornerstone Building Brands in Sidney. The caller noted that the pedestrian was female. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 NEWS will update this story 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. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) One person was hurt in a Thursday afternoon shooting in Baton Rouge. According to emergency medical services, one person was taken to a local hospital after a reported shooting near the intersection of Pembroke Street and 70th Avenue. The victims condition is currently unknown at this time. No further information was immediately available. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Baton Rouge Police Department at 225-389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at 225-344-7867. 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 Louisiana First News. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Resorts World will pay a $10.5 million fine for unsuitable methods of operation, agreeing to the second-largest fine ever assessed by the Nevada Gaming Commission. Its a heavy price for what Nevada Gaming regulators regard as a grave situation at a Las Vegas Strip casino. The complaint originally filed in August detailed two illegal bookmakers operating with impunity, gambling millions as anti-money laundering (AML) regulations went by the wayside. Casino hosts and upper management allowed or ignored the situation, resulting in a culture of money laundering. Only Wynn Resorts has paid a higher fine $20 million assessed in February 2019 for failing to properly investigate sexual harassment allegations against former CEO Steve Wynn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Resorts World announced that it was laying off around 50 employees. If one thing was clear from Thursdays hearing, the companys AML program wasnt included in the layoffs. Resorts World has redoubled its efforts and has set a goal to be an industry leader. Commissioners discussed the scale of the penalty before voting to approve the settlement, with Commissioner Abbi Silver recusing herself from participating because of a longtime friendship with Scott Sibella, who was in charge at Resorts World when the events spun out of control. Sibella lost his gaming license. Personally, I feel that the fine is on the low side, Commissioner Rosa Solis-Rainey said during Thursdays hearing. Weve seen a larger fine for things that werent on the gaming floor, and not over the same period of time, Commissioner Brian Krolicki said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the end of the day, the folks who made those decisions, allowed those decisions, who were in the C-suite, who were on the floor, who were in the pit, who were the hostesses theyre gone, Krolicki said. PENDING-Stipulation-for-Settlement-24-04-ComplaintDownload The amount of the fine was disclosed a week ago, and became final with Thursdays vote. Resorts World has two days to pay the state. The investigation into Resorts World started as regulators examined the activities of Mathew Bowyer, a Southern California man who pleaded guilty to running an illegal gambling business in August 2024. Bowyer took bets from the interpreter who worked for Los Angles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani in a case that received massive media coverage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bowyers wife, Nicole, was an independent contractor at Resorts World, working as a casino host for customers including her husband, according to statements during Thursdays commission meeting. The investigation also involved Damien Forbes, a patron when the resort opened in 2021 who was known to be an illegal bookmaker by a casino host. That host even sent business to LeForbes, according to the August complaint. Names of the hosts were not released by gaming regulators. The allegations against Resorts World were particularly egregious, according to Darlene Caruso, Nevadas chief deputy attorney general. She outlined the terms of the settlement: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Resorts World will pay a $10.5 million fine, due to the state within two days Conditions have been attached to the companys gaming license, specifying it will retain core elements of its recently revised AML program, including ongoing updates and an annual review. Certain AML documents must be retained for at least five years. Within 60 days, Resorts World will assign all independent agents an AML training module. In two years, a internal audit and report are required. If regulators are not satisfied, an external audit will take place. Resorts World will report any notice of a criminal investigation to Nevada gaming authorities. The company will retain at least its current AML staffing levels. Nevada gaming regulators reserve the right to bring additional actions against Resorts World. Major changes in leadership have already taken place since regulators got involved. A board of directors over the resort has been established a big change for corporate owners Genting Berhad. That board includes Chair Jim Murren, former CEO at MGM Resorts International, former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, former Nevada Gaming Control Board Chair A.G. Burnett, Genting Berhad executive Kong Han Tan, and executive Michelle DiTondo. The company has a new CEO, a new COO/CFO and a new position for a compliance officer, which Resorts World is actively working to hire. The company has trained 1,100 employees and is working with UNLV to create a customized gaming compliance program for executives and key employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Krolicki said this should send another signal to gaming operators. I also believe this is a clarion call up and down that street that aml, compliance, audit, all of these things we talk about all the time, we really mean it. Its easy to say, but its harder to do, he 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 KLAS. EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Theres been a resurgence of the measles in the United States, with one case confirmed in Rhode Island this year. Back in January, a young and unvaccinated child that had traveled internationally was confirmed to have the virus. The child fully recovered. Previously, there hadnt been a confirmed case of the measles in Rhode Island since 2013. RELATED: 9 states report measles cases as outbreaks grow Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 12 News talked to Rhode Island Department of Healths (RIDOH) Consulting Physician Dr. Carla Martin who shared more about the highly contagious virus. It could cause a lot of complications. One of the main being cerebral inflammation, your brain can become enflamed, Martin said. The current outbreak has already claimed the life of a school-aged child in Texas who was not vaccinated. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), another death is under investigation as the measles virus was found in an unvaccinated person who died in New Mexico earlier this month. This is a disease that had been eradicated here because of the wonderful vaccine that we have, MMR: measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, Martin said. This vaccine is 97% effective when you get the two doses and 93% when you get the one dose of the vaccine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Martin, children are typically given their first dose of the vaccine when they are 12-15 months old. They then get the second dose between the ages of 4 and 6 years old. If youre a parent planning to travel with a child under a year old, Martin recommends talking to your childs doctor as they may qualify for an earlier dose of the vaccine. You should also talk to your doctor if youre unsure of your own vaccination status. Its very sad, Martin said. That were seeing a resurgence of measles when we have an excellent tool to help prevent it. 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. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is being asked to review a lower court's decision from last year to keep in adult court the case of a child accused of fatally shooting his mother when he was 10 years old. Attorneys for the boy, who is now 12, submitted a notice to appeal shortly after a judge rejected a reverse waiver petition that would have transferred the case. In Wisconsin, children and teens can automatically be charged in adult court, depending on their age and the severity of the crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A scheduling hearing that was supposed to have taken place Friday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court was postponed until June because of the pending appeal. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is not identifying the 12-year-old because of his age. Here is how prosecutors say the incident unfolded According to court records, the boy told police he became upset with his mother when she refused to buy him an electronic device on Amazon and for waking him up early one morning. Prosecutors alleged he got ahold of his mothers gun from a lockbox by using her key, and fatally shot her in November 2022. Prosecutors initially charged the boy with first-degree reckless homicide in connection with the shooting death of his mother, but upgraded it to first-degree intentional homicide in early 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The child could be subject to a sentence of up to life in prison, if he is convicted. How did things get to this point? Wisconsin is one of only three states that require all 17-year-old criminal defendants to be charged as adults. State law allows for children as young as 10 to be charged as adults for certain serious crimes, at least to start the case. Those crimes include first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. The reverse waiver process for the boy stretched through several months in 2023 and 2024. His lawyers argue the child's case is more appropriate for juvenile court because of his young age and the juvenile system is more equipped to provide more specialized treatment and age-appropriate services for him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also maintained the Wisconsin statute is unconstitutional, disproportionately affects Black children and lays the foundation for mass incarceration. Prosecutors have said the case is better suited to be handled in adult court because of the severity of the crime. The child remained in custody on Friday. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Appeals Court to decide if 12-year-old stays in adult court 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: Kayla Marie Titsworth. Image courtesy Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. We want to remember Kayla Marie Titsworth, 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. MENOMONIE Thursday marked the end of the court case of the 1974 murder in Dunn County. After entering a no contest plea Thursday in Dunn County Court, Jon K. Miller, 84, of Owatonna, Minn. was sentenced to life in prison on a count of first-degree intentional homicide. Miller stabbed and killed 25-year-old Mary Schlais in February 1974. Her body was found in the township of Spring Brook. Members of Schlais family attended the hearing to hear the conclusion to a case that has been shrouded in mystery for more than 50 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today marks the end of a 50 year journey one that is filled with loss, perseverance and finally justice, said Nina Schlais, Marys niece who was born after her murder. While no verdict can undo the pain of losing Mary, we take comfort in knowing that the man responsible for her murder has been held accountable. Mary Schlais was more than a victim; she was a brilliant and independent woman, a gifted artist, an equestrian, a world traveler and a scholar. For decades, our family lived with unanswered questions, but thanks to the tireless efforts of dedicated individuals we now have those answers. Based on the sentencing structure back in 1974, any parole date for Millers life imprisonment sentence would be determined by the Department of Corrections. Furthermore, the court ordered restitution in the amount of $2,200. According to police, a stocking left near Schlais body included hair samples which were used to create a DNA profile of the suspect. Authorities were able to track down Miller after a family member of the suspect uploaded a DNA sample to a public database in spring 2023. When confronted, authorities said he agreed to his involvement in Mary Schlais death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It took the Investigative Genetic Genealogy team from Ramapo College in New Jersey more than a year to track down Miller, largely because he was adopted and members in his family tree werent aware of his existence. Mary Schlais death was ruled a homicide in 1974. The investigation revealed that Schlais was from Minneapolis, and was believed to be hitchhiking from Minneapolis to an art show in Chicago. An eyewitness observed a suspect and suspect vehicle that were believed to be connected to the homicide. I think we have continued to feel relief, said Nina Schlais. Sadly, whenever we thought about Mary over the years, we always thought of what happened to her, and I feel like now we can think about who she was as a person, and not just that final day. That will be what we will continue to do. WAUKESHA, Wis. (WFRV) The 17-year-old Wisconsin boy previously identified as a person of interest in a death investigation of his parents has been formally charged with seven additional counts relating to the case. Nikita Casap had previously been charged with vehicle theft after police in Kansas pulled him over for blowing off a stop sign. Police in Kansas learned that he was driving a vehicle reported stolen from Wisconsin, and coordinated efforts with the Waukesha County Sheriffs Office. Body of missing Marquette County woman recovered from river in central Wisconsin Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Waukesha County Sheriffs Office said that new evidence and findings resulted in seven formal charges against Casap: 1st Degree Intentional Homicide (Two counts) Hiding a Corpse (Two counts) Theft of Property over $10,000 Misappropriating ID to Obtain Money (Two counts) The investigation is ongoing as officials gather and review more evidence. No additional details are 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 WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. Rose DeChaine arrived at the Minnesota School for the Feeble-Minded in Faribault in August 1924. State officials had received testimony that the 22-year-old Brainerd woman was working as a prostitute. They explained the reason she was being institutionalized with a single phrase on her commitment form: Is immoral. Separated from her children, DeChaine would spend the better part of two unhappy years confined to the school before being released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But her freedom came at a cost. DeChaines mother had agreed to allow the state to sterilize her daughter under a new law passed by the Minnesota Legislature. Spurred on by proponents of the pseudoscientific eugenics movement, Minnesota was one of 32 states to enact such a law during the first half of the 20th century, permitting its Board of Control to sterilize feeble-minded and insane persons committed to a public institution. It was a horribly cruel policy, said DeChaines grandson, John Erickson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor whose book When Mortals Play God follows the disastrous ripple effects DeChaines commitment and sterilization had on their family. There was a lot of bad science happening at that time, and it was used to justify some pretty horrible behavior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike eugenics laws in many other states, Minnesotas required the consent of the patient or their next of kin before a sterilization could be performed. But calling the procedures voluntary is much too generous, said historian Molly Ladd-Taylor, whose book Fixing the Poor chronicles the rise and fall of Minnesotas eugenics law. A critic in the 1930s called it the price of freedom, Ladd-Taylor said. You would consent to sterilization as a condition of what they called parole so hardly informed consent as we know it today. In practice, Ladd-Taylor found that public officials used the law to curb the birthrate of impoverished Minnesotans who relied on expensive public assistance programs, especially during the lean years of the Great Depression. During the half-century that the eugenics law remained on the books, Minnesota sterilized at least 2,350 people, according to Ladd-Taylor. Like DeChaine, roughly 80% of them were women. And nearly all of them poor. Human thoroughbreds The eugenics movement enjoyed broad public support in the United States at the turn of the last century, including that of many prominent American intellectuals and politicians, such as Theodore Roosevelt, Helen Keller and Alexander Graham Bell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Minnesota, the movements most outspoken proponent was physician-turned-politician Charles Fremont Dight, who served a term on the Minneapolis City Council before making eugenics his lifes work, according to a 1984 article in Minnesota History magazine. Obsessed with the idea of perfecting the human race by means of selective breeding, Dight founded the Minnesota Eugenics Society in 1923. Just as we have thoroughbred sheep, cattle and hogs, we may have human thoroughbreds if we make use of natures laws for securing them, Dight wrote in a 1922 pamphlet excerpted by the Minneapolis Tribune. Another leading local voice in favor of eugenics at that time was Frederick Kuhlmann, director of research for the Minnesota Board of Control, the state agency that would administer the sterilization law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dight and Kuhlmann were instrumental in shepherding the eugenic sterilization bill through the 1925 legislative session, Ladd-Taylor writes. My impression is that there was, if not broad support, not broad opposition either, she said. It was seen as a child welfare measure. Although the bill was given three public hearings, it appears to have passed with very little fanfare. The House approved it by a vote of 86-34 with no debate on the floor. The Senate did the same a month later by a margin of 40 votes to 4. In an article about the Senates work that day, the Pioneer Press reported: Sixteen bills were passed at the evening session, most of them of minor importance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Signed into law by Gov. Theodore Christianson on April 8, 1925, the final bills consent requirement was a disappointment to Dight, who believed sterilization should be mandatory for everyone he judged to be inferior. He spent his remaining years campaigning in vain for stricter eugenics legislation. Saving taxpayer dollars DeChaine was among the first Minnesotans sterilized under the new law after it took effect on Jan. 1, 1926. She was typical of many women sent to the School for the Feeble-Minded in Faribault, where the state performed most of its sterilization surgeries. She was uneducated, she was raised in a pretty poor household, and she got in a lot of trouble, said Erickson, who researched his grandmothers case off-and-on for nearly two decades before writing his book. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Already the mother of two children she was struggling to support, DeChaine would give birth to a third just over eight months after being institutionalized at Faribault. Its unclear whether she became pregnant before or after she was committed, Erickson said. Sterilized in April 1926, DeChaine was paroled about a month later. She would be confined to the institution twice more over the next three years. Rural Minnesota was suffering from a slumping agricultural economy in the 1920s, and the Great Depression would soon spread the pain to the rest of the state. Public assistance was administered by county officials who were often eager to offload anyone they viewed as a burden to local taxpayers. Judges particularly in these small communities would commit them because that would get the problem out of the community, Erickson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After being committed, they were the responsibility of Mildred Thomson, director of the state Board of Controls Bureau for the Feebleminded and Epileptic, who would consult with their families and the staff at the school in Faribault to determine whether they were an appropriate candidate for release and sterilization. Thomson, like many of her colleagues, viewed herself as an advocate for the people under her care. Ladd-Taylor writes that the officials who administered Minnesotas sterilization law saw it as a child welfare measure that would protect the dependent, delinquent, and disabled poor from the burdens of childrearing and facilitate their transition from welfare to work. The need for low-wage domestic labor was one of the primary reasons more women were sterilized and paroled than men, Ladd-Taylor said. Furthermore, families were more likely to consent to the sterilization of women, and the community didnt want so-called feeble-minded men being released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the state did not record the ethnicity of those who were sterilized under the law, its likely Native Americans were disproportionately affected, Ladd-Taylor said. Sterilizations under Minnesotas eugenics law peaked in 1937, as the Depression pushed more of the states residents onto public assistance rolls. They began to ebb as World War II caused a shortage of surgical nurses, who were necessary to perform the operations. Only after the war did the combined effects of social welfare entitlements, a prosperous economy, and public revulsion over Nazi crimes end routine sterilizations in Minnesotas public institutions, Ladd-Taylor writes. The Minnesota Legislature officially put a stop to the practice in 1975, when it passed a law creating new protections for people with intellectual disabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported Frederick Kuhlmanns job title in 1925. He was director of research for the Minnesota Board of Control. Related Articles AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) A doctor at the Dental College of Georgia has been awarded a grant to continue research on the connection between gum disease and Alzheimers disease. The $2.8 million competitive grant was awarded to Dr. Ranya El Sayed by the National Institute of Aging. Dr. El Sayed said there is a strong relationship between gum disease and Alzheimers disease, which led to the question how does this happen and is there a cause-and-effect relationship? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement El Sayed said, During periodontal infection in the gums, the immune cells release small particles that are called exosomes. These exosomes are capable of traveling through the blood stream to cross the blood brain barrier and when they enter the blood brain barrier, their taken up by the immune cells of the brain which are called microglia cells and this causes neuroinflammation and inflammation of the brain. According to the Alzheimers Association, nearly 7 million Americans are living with the disease, by 2050 that number is projected to reach almost 13 million. Dr. Babak Baban, Professor and Associate Dean of Research for Dental College of Georgia, says its an honor to have their research be noticed and appreciated by such a large organization. A topic like this which can secure the competitive funding really at the national level, that means a lot, that speaks for itself that our faculty and our researchers are basically discovering the innovative ways to improve our health quality and our life quality in general. Dr. Baban said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the course of her research, Dr. El Sayed says the most fascinating thing she learned was how interconnected the brain and mouth truly are. She said Alzheimers is such a devastating disease and hopes their findings will impact people in the future. She said, We are still working on it, we have very promising data from human data, mice data, and that we are still working on it, there is a lot more to answer and Im very optimistic we are going to find something by the end of the research period. She continued to say, If we treat the root cause from the beginning, if we are able to raise awareness in Alzheimers patients or in the early stages, or elderly patients or the whole population in general to take care of their teeth and do the maintenance visits, the routine dental visits, we can eliminate the problem, maybe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. El Sayeds team has been researching this correlation for the past 3 and a half years and this grant will allow them to continue their research for the next 5 years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 28. Starting May 28, 2025, Kazakh airline Air Astana will launch a new flight route from Almaty to Osh, Kyrgyzstan, Trend reports via the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Flights will operate four times a week (on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays). As a result, the total number of flights between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will increase from 7 to 11 per week, the statement notes. This new air route is expected to enhance trade, economic, business, and tourism cooperation between the two countries. Air Astana operates as the primary aviation entity and serves as the national flag carrier for the Republic of Kazakhstan. Headquartered in Almaty, the carrier was established through a strategic partnership involving the Government of Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth entity, Samruk Kazyna, holding a 51 percent stake, alongside BAE Systems, which possesses a 49 percent interest, and initiated its operational activities on 15 May 2002. In February 2024, Air Astana achieved a significant milestone by executing a dual listing strategy, securing its presence on both the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. The carrier stands as the preeminent aviation entity in Central Asia and the Caucasus, commanding a substantial 69 percent market penetration on domestic routes and a noteworthy 40 percent share on intra-regional corridors originating from Kazakhstan. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) The Cedar Park Police Department announced that two people who were allegedly involved in an aggravated robbery jugging that happened on Valentines Day were arrested earlier this week. The police department shared details about the case and arrests on Thursday, announcing that it had arrested and charged two suspects in the case. APD: 2 suspects arrested, accused of robbing $8K in jugging incident Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said officers responded to an aggravated robbery on Friday, Feb. 14, where the victim told officers that after hed left a local bank and driven home, an armed man threatened him and demanded cash. The victim gave the money he had to the suspect, who then got in a vehicle and fled the scene, according to police. Cedar Park detectives investigated the incident and identified two suspects as being involved: Kemond Taylor, 27, and Brandon Montgomery, 27, both of Houston. Cedar Park police continued their investigation in Houston with the assistance of the Houston Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taylor was taken into custody on Monday, March 24, in Houston, and Montgomery was taken into custody on Wednesday, March 26 in Houston. Both were charged with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, according to Cedar Park police. Kemond Taylor, 27, of Houston. Mugshot: Cedar Park Police Department Brandon Montgomery, 27, of Houston. Mugshot: Cedar Park Police Department Police determined the robbery to be associated with a popular criminal act known as jugging, in which criminals surveil financial institutions and target customers who conduct cash transactions, then follow them away from the financial institution and either burglarize vehicles or threaten or use violence to steal money from victims, CPPD 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. ROCKVILLE, Md. (DC News Now) The Rockville City Police Department (RPD) said young teenagers from D.C. were linked to vandalisms and the robbery of a 73-year-old woman last weekend. On March 22, just before 6 p.m., Rockville police responded to vandalism at a business in the 1500 block of Rockville Pike. There, officers learned two boys, 14 and 12 years old, had entered the store and allegedly lit items on fire before leaving. Minutes later, police were notified of an assault and robbery in the 800 block of Festival Street, which is about a five-minute walk from the store on Rockville Pike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Americans deserve a better Capital than todays Washington: Trump executive order forms task force on DC crime, beautification When officers arrived, a 73-year-old woman told police that two boys approached her from behind and stole her purse. During the struggle, she was injured, and medics treated her at the scene. Later that Saturday evening, the same two boys returned to the business on Rockville Pike with a 14-year-old girl from D.C., according to police. Police said the trio caused additional damage and stole over $2,000 worth of merchandise. With the help of the Montgomery County Department of Police, Rockville police searched the area and located the two boys and girl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result, the 14-year-old boy was charged with robbery, assault, malicious burning and destruction of property. The 12-year-old boy was charged with robbery, and the 14-year-old girl was charged with destruction of property. Rockville police said their charges were forwarded to the Department of Juvenile 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. (KRON) Two Los Angeles residents attempted to shoplift 26 bras from a Daly City Victorias Secret, according to authorities. The Daly City Police Department said the theft occurred at the Victorias Secret at the Serramonte Center on March 19. Responding officers arrived around 3:48 p.m. and were informed that a suspect began conversing with an associate causing the associate to walk away from an area. As Suspect 1 distracted the associate, the other suspect walked in and out of the store. On their second trip inside the store, they placed numerous bras in a backpack and fled. The first suspect returned a dress he was holding, brought a small item with cash and then left the store. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Suspects fled on bus after Victorias Secret theft: Daly City police According to DCPD, an officer and a lieutenant later located the suspects. Police said the suspects stole a total of 26 bras, which were worth approximately $1,526. A search of the suspects vehicle yielded a roll of black trash bags, a tool to remove security sensors, a bag filled with multiple removed sensors and a large duffle bag of bras, said DCPD. According to police, both suspects were found to be Los Angeles residents, one was 55 years old and the other was 23. The duo was arrested and booked into the county jail for organized retail theft, burglary, and possession of burglary tools. 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 KRON4. DENVER (KDVR) A couple was sentenced to prison on Thursday for selling fentanyl to another couple, which caused one of them to die. The death was reported on July 5, 2022, when a 26-year-old woman contacted the Westminster Police Department because her 26-year-old boyfriend was dead in the living room. She told officers that they had been drinking alcohol and each had consumed one pill that they believed to be oxycodone. Later, police determined the pill was fentanyl. 16-year-old accused of intentionally setting house on fire Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The woman also told police the pills had been purchased from James Winn, 34. On Jan. 8, Winn pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 15 years in the Department of Corrections. His girlfriend, Katherine Craner, 35, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and was sentenced to five years in prison. The convictions and sentencing follow an investigation that spanned over a year. The case was presented to prosecutors in November 2023. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Two Rhode Island men will spend the rest of their lives behind bars for leaving a woman for dead in a Coventry pond. Gary Gromkiewicz, 37, of Lincoln, and Michael Lambert, 47, of Pawtucket, were sentenced to life in prison for murder, plus 10 more years for conspiracy. They were both found guilty in January of killing 34-year-old Leila Duarte Da Luz. In court Friday, Gromkiewicz got up and tried to fire his lawyer while proclaiming his innocence. Lambert chose not to speak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: 2 RI men convicted of murdering pregnant woman, dumping body in pond Prosecutors said early in the morning on Dec. 21, 2022, Gromkiewicz and Lambert picked up Duarte Da Luz in Brockton. At some point, she was seriously hurt before the two men allegedly left her in Carbuncle Pond. Leila Duarte Da Luz Duarte Da Luz was found by an angler later that day. She was then identified through a missing persons report filed in Brockton. The medical examiner believes Duarte Da Luz was still alive when she entered the water. The cause of her death was determined to be blunt force trauma and drowning, officials said. MORE: Court documents provide timeline of 2022 murder of pregnant woman Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said Duarte Da Luz was Gromkiewiczs ex-girlfriend and pregnant with his child. Cell phone data showed Gromkiewicz and Lambert drove throughout Rhode Island over the course of the morning, according to officials, making multiple stops at gas stations and convenience stores. Officials said the data also linked them to Coventry, where Duarte Da Luz was found. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe Now Breaking 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 WPRI.com. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) An investigation was launched Thursday night after St. Petersburg police said two teens were injured in a shooting. Investigators said the two teens were with a group of people when the shooting happened near the 1700 block of 15th Avenue South. Florida deputies say they found 12-year-olds manifesto with plans for school bombing Police said shots rang out during a dispute. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the foot and a 16-year-old boy had injuries to his lower body. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their injuries are considered to be non-life-threatening. No arrests have been made as of 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 WFLA. MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) Two people wanted in multiple counties were taken into custody in Mt. Juliet Thursday, according to officials. The Mt. Juliet Police Department said the arrests were the result of a suspicious vehicle investigation in the Pleasant Grove Road area on Thursday, March 27. Wilson County mayor discusses growth in annual address Authorities said a 40-year-old Nashville man was wanted for felony aggravated assault with strangulation in Nashville and contempt of court in Cheatham County. Meanwhile, a 43-year-old Nashville woman reportedly had warrants out of Williamson County for failure to appear, as well as Madison County for probation and community corrections violations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were grateful for our officers vigilance and dedication, working hard each day to keep Mt. Juliet safe, police posted on social media. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee No additional details have been released about this incident, including the identities of the two people who were apprehended. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) A 21-year-old Brandon man faces charges of aggravated assault and vehicular battery after a fight sprawled into downtown Sioux Falls early Friday morning. Jewish comedian heckled at Sioux Falls comedy club According to Sioux Falls Police Department spokesman Sam Clemens, Sean Matthew Gottschalk, of Brandon, was arrested shortly after midnight Friday. Gottschalk is accused of stabbing a man in the chest and then hitting another person with his car near the parking ramp along 10th Street. Clemens said Gottschalk called police after he hit two men with his car and was arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man that was stabbed was taken to the hospital but is facing non-life threatening injuries. Clemens said there were a lot of people involved. Theres some issues between that group of people, Clemens 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. DAR ES SALAAM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese expert group of the schistosomiasis prevention and control project in Tanzania's Zanzibar on Wednesday handed over a safe water supply project to local communities on Pemba Island. The project aims to provide residents with clean and safe drinking water, thereby helping them escape the threats of schistosomiasis and other waterborne diseases. Fatma Abdalla Kassim, district commissioner of Chake Chake district on Pemba, said that due to the lack of a proper tap water system, many residents relied on ponds and streams for water, where most of the water was polluted. This led to the widespread prevalence of schistosomiasis and other waterborne diseases on Pemba Island. The official added that the project has solved the drinking water problem and has the potential to significantly reduce the infection rate of waterborne diseases and improve the residents' quality of life. Li Qianghua, consul general of the Chinese Consulate General in Zanzibar, said that China and Tanzania share a long-standing traditional friendship, adding that China has rich experience in schistosomiasis prevention and control. Recognizing the vital role of water supply projects in combating schistosomiasis, Li expressed his hope that China's expertise in schistosomiasis prevention would be widely promoted and applied locally, building a solid bridge for enhancing China-Tanzania cooperation and strengthening the friendship between the two peoples. The Nassau County Sheriffs Office announced the completion of a multi-phase operation targeting people who attempted to commit sexual crimes against who they believed to be children. I couldnt believe how many grown men wanted to have sex with what they thought was a 13- or 14-year-old child, exclaimed Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper. Telling the child nasty things, they wanted to do, and what perverted things they were going to do to the child. It was really disgusting. On January 15th of this year, several law enforcement agencies teamed up in what they called Special Operation Deviant Nightfall. According to the Nassau County Sheriffs office, the four-day operation involved undercover detectives posing as children online, then intercepting suspects who attempted to arrange sexual encounters with them. In just four days, sixteen individuals were arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time, we were aware of ten, including one who Action News Jax discovered to be a Clay County elected official. Harrison Ted Clark later resigned from his position. These arent typical criminals, but what they are doing they are lurking online, searching, and grooming children online to engage with them in sexual conduct, said Sheriff Leeper. A follow-up phase, called Deviant Sunrise, resulted in seven more arrests over the subsequent two months, expanding the operations reach across multiple counties. Sheriff Bill Leeper has this message for anyone looking to prey on children for sex. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youve been talking nasty, sending filthy pictures to what you thought was a child, we are after you. The Sheriff revealed that they currently have more suspected predators they are trying to arrest. Watch the announcement of these arrests below: You can read the full press release from the Nassau County Sheriffs Office below: [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [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. CLAY COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) Community members gathered in Henrietta today for the Clay County Foster Forum, an event to raise awareness about community-based foster care and residents role in supporting needy children. Hosted by 2Ingage, the forum provided an open discussion on how community-based care ensures children in foster care receive the best support possible. Attendees included foster parents, child welfare professionals, and those interested in learning more about fostering. Story of the Crucifixion of Christ through musical performance, community invited Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The forum covered childrens challenges, the benefits of placing children within their communities, and how potential foster parents can navigate the licensing process. Jack Sledge, VP of 2Ingage, said we all need community support. You need that community support. We all do. Whether we have a child in the system or not. We need community support and backing. We need to be able to go to the community and say, Hey, this family is struggling. Can you help us? How can you help us, Sledge said. Beyond fostering, there are other ways you can help, such as providing clothing or therapeutic services for children in care. If youd like to become involved, head over to 2INgage Serving Texas Foster Care Children & Families 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 Beaver Borough Police Department is offering a reward for information after a building was defaced with antisemitic graffiti. Multiple swastikas were spray painted on the side of a building at the intersection of Fifth Street and Sharon Road. This act of antisemitism is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our community, the department said in a release. Beaver Police said they believe that this was an isolated incident, but are taking the matter extremely seriously and committed to ensuring those responsible are held accountable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beaver Police and Beaver County Commissioners are each offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible. Residents and businesses near the intersection where this happened are encouraged to check any security cameras. Anyone with information is asked to Beaver police at 724-775-0880. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW McALLEN Drenching rain along the Texas-Mexico border let up Friday, but rescues were still ongoing a day after severe storms trapped residents in their homes, forced drivers to abandon their vehicles on flooded roads and shut down an airport. Local officials also reported at least three people died from the rainstorm. Hidalgo County officials said there was no immediate information on the three deaths, only that they involved law enforcement. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported one death involving U.S. Border Patrol agents. Agents approached a vehicle suspected of being involved in human smuggling that was stopped at a flooded road in Edcouch. As the agents approached, the driver attempted to cross the flooded street, plunging the vehicle into a canal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Harlingen, officials said their city received a record-breaking 21.5 inches of rain this week, beating its all time two-day total rainfall record set in 1912. The heaviest rainfall arrived on Thursday causing severe flooding that had authorities rescuing more than 200 residents, with another 200 people still waiting to be rescued. "This of course has been a historic and challenging event for the city. But Harlingen is strong. We have faced adversity before and we will get through this together," Mayor Norma Sepulveda said at a Friday afternoon news conference. In Alamo, the police and fire department responded to more than 100 water rescues, including people stranded in their vehicles and trapped in their homes, Fire Department Chief R.C. Flores said at a news conference Friday afternoon. Officials estimated a couple hundred homes in Alamo were flooded by the heavy rainfall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flores said Alamo was one of many cities in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas that were flooded and had damage from Thursday's thunderstorms but that all were working to help their residents. "I assure the public that we are assessing the situation on the hour, every hour. We're constantly going out, not just in our city," Flores said. "Just because the storm is over, it doesn't mean that the emergencies and the disaster is over. We are going to continue to work as long as we need to." Weslaco Mayor Adrian Gonzalez said his city was inundated with about 14 inches of rain, prompting 30 to 40 water rescues of stranded motorists and residents trapped in their homes by rising floodwaters. "It's a historic rainstorm and it's affecting all the Valley, not just Weslaco. It's just so much water in a short period of time," Gonzalez told reporters at a news conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Television news footage from flooded communities in South Texas showed multiple waterlogged cars abandoned on streets on Thursday and drivers waiting on sidewalks for the floodwaters to recede. Between 6 inches and 12 inches of rain fell in many parts of South Texas in the past 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service.In neighboring Cameron County, officials asked Gov. Greg Abbott to declare a disaster for the county after more than 17 inches of rain caused significant flooding. "The rainfall amounts we received have been record-setting, and not in a good way. All county resources are being utilized right now, and we are assisting in all ways possible," Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr., the county's top elected official, said in a Facebook post. Valley International Airport in Harlingen was closed on Friday and all flights were canceled due to area flooding."We are working tirelessly to reopen and focused on ensuring safety," airport officials said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 3,400 in several counties in South Texas remained without power on Friday afternoon, according to AEP Texas. A flood warning was still in effect for portions of South Texas, including Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy counties, through early Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. "There's a break from the rain this morning, which will allow flood waters to gradually recede, but we'll still need to keep an eye on the development of isolated showers and thunderstorms once again this afternoon," the National Weather Service said on social media. "Any additional rainfall will be quick to cause flooding issues given the heavy rainfall that has already fallen." One middle school in Alamo was scheduled to remain open as a shelter for residents through Friday. One shelter had been opened in Weslaco and officials in Harlingen had opened the city's convention center as a shelter. More than 20 South Texas school districts and college campuses canceled classes on Friday due to the severe weather and flooding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Associated Press writer Juan Lozano in Houston contributed. Disclosure: Facebook has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. 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. Yale philosophy professor Jason Stanley, who is leaving the prestigious Ivy League university for Toronto as the Trump administrations battle with higher education in the US continues, said mid-phone interview with CNN while walking the campus, Hold on one second. A group of worried students approached the scholar as he walked the grounds of Yale Thursday in New Haven, Connecticut. Was he really leaving?, they wanted to know. I love Yale, Stanley, who has taught at the university for 12 years, reassured the students. But Marci, Tim and I, were gonna go defend democracy somewhere else, he said, referring to the Yale colleagues joining him in Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stanley set off a firestorm at the highest levels of American academia last Friday, when he decided to leave Yale and the United States largely, he said, because of the direction of the country under the Trump administration. Suddenly if youre not a citizen of the United States, you cant comment on politics if youre a professor? said Stanley, who has written books such as How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them and Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. Thats crazy, said Stanley, whose academic background is in social and political philosophy and epistemology. Thats not a free society. The final straw for Stanley came after Columbia University made sweeping policy changes in an attempt to prevent the Trump administration from pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from the Ivy League institution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amid the Trump administrations crackdown on immigration and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses, Columbia was the first to experience funding cuts as President Donald Trump threatened to halt federal money going to colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that started in October 2023. Its just humiliating, Stanley told CNN. Theyre humiliating the universities and I dont see the universities standing up to it. Now Stanley, along with Yale history professors Marci Shore and her husband Timothy Snyder, are taking their teaching to the University of Toronto to advocate for democracy, speak out against fascism and teach without fear of academic capitulation to the White House, they say. The thing about being a historian is that its not that you know what will happen, but you know what can happen, Shore, who teaches modern European intellectual history, explained in an interview with CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shore said she and Snyder, who teaches history and global affairs, decided to leave after the 2024 presidential election, and the administrations threats against higher education during President Trumps first 100 days in office reinforced their decision. Its not that I think everyone has put their head down and gotten in line, Shore said. (But) I think a lot of people have, and I fear that university administrations will, because institutions naturally have an incentive to act in the interest of self-preservation, she said. While Yale has not directly seen ire from the Trump administration, recent events unfolding between the administration and other Ivy League schools provide cautionary tales. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In early March, the Trump administration announced it was pausing $400 million of federal funding to Columbia University, citing the schools failure to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment. Students wait in long security lines outside of Columbia University as demonstrators rallied in support of Palestine on March 24, 2025. - Spencer Platt/Getty Images Columbia responded by starting to make changes demanded by the administration, such as banning face coverings during protests, boosting disciplinary policies and reviewing curriculums in subject areas like the Middle East. During his second week in office, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at combating antisemitism in schools and on college campuses, and last month announced a multiagency task force would root out anti-Semitic harassment on campuses. Yale and Columbia were among 60 universities that received warnings from the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights earlier this month regarding possible consequences if they fail to take adequate steps to protect Jewish students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The office said it sent letters to universities under investigation for alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination. Last week, a White House official told CNN the administration paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania, claiming it has violated an executive order barring transgender women from competing in womens sports. While Penn said as of this week it hadnt received official word of the paused funding, the school maintains it has always been in compliance with federal guidelines. Theres a tremendous amount of money on the line, explained Keith Whittington, a Yale professor and cofounder of the Academic Freedom Alliance, which defends the speech of professors and higher education faculty across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I mean really these are practically existential threats to universities, he said. But he noted if more elite educators decide to leave for similar reasons as the Yale professors, the universities will be weakened as well. I think from an overall American leadership position and sort of scientific research, thats a real threat, Whittington argued. If you lose your best people who decide to go to other countries, thats going to have long-term consequences. In a statement provided to CNN, a spokesperson for Yale University wrote, Yale University has been and continues to be home to world-class faculty members who are dedicated to excellence in scholarship and teaching. These faculty members conduct groundbreaking research, train aspiring leaders who will serve all sectors of society, and offer insights that can help improve the world, and the university is committed to supporting them in these endeavors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yale is proud of its global faculty community which includes faculty who may no longer work at the institution, or whose contributions to academia may continue at a different home institution. Faculty members make decisions about their careers for a variety of reasons and the university respects all such decisions, the statement continued. Its not fear, Im not afraid, reiterated Stanley regarding his decision to leave for Canada. Stanley said hed rather just spend his energy fighting for democracy and against the administrations policies, rather than fighting the universities he loves. Ill be in a much better position to fight bullies, he said. CNNs Karina Tsui, Elizabeth Wolfe, Emma Tucker and Michelle Watson contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Terra Hillman replaces a propane tank on the camper trailer where she's lived since Hurricane Laura damaged her Lake Charles house in 2020. (Chris Vinn for Louisiana Illuminator) LAKE CHARLES Sheriffs deputies accompanied Federal Emergency Management Agency workers to Terra Hillmans fenced-in property Jan. 29. They were there to remove the camper shes lived in since Hurricane Laura plowed through her home in August 2020. Hillmans is one of three households in Calcasieu Parish who still need temporary shelter as they struggle to rebuild after the historic 2020 hurricane season. Their personal stories reveal gaps that remain in the disaster recovery process, even as the area sees a boom in multifamily housing construction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FEMA set a Feb. 28 deadline to remove the remaining trailers from Calcasieu Parish, though the agency did not respond to questions about why it went to Hillmans property a month early. When FEMA arrived at her property, Hillman entered her damaged house and would not speak with officials except to request they leave. About an hour later, they left without taking the temporary trailer. Damage to Hillmans home has made it difficult for her to repair. Her insurance company initially paid to repair her roof but denied the rest of her damage claims, including home leveling costs, which she said came to more than $300,000. But after her insurance company filed for bankruptcy, Hillman received no additional reimbursements. Court records show shes suing the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association to recoup her losses. Ive tried to re-tarp it [the roof] a few times myself because nobody else would do it because its dangerous Hillman said. The weather around here just makes a joke of the tarps and stuff, and so the water just pours in half the house. Tarps cover the damage Hurricane Laura inflicted in 2020 upon Terra Hillmans home in Lake Charles. (Chris Vinn for Louisiana Illuminator. Reached last week, Hillman said she was still living in her trailer while repairs to her home continue. A freak winter ice storm in February 2021 damaged her plumbing, adding to the fixes needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hillman applied for help from Restore Louisiana, the program providing federal grants for homeowners affected by natural disasters in 2020-21. She was initially awarded $19,000 but appealed the award amount. She has since been approved for $325,000 to cover the full demolition and rebuild. However, she said the process has been slow. Restore Louisiana programs deadline for issuing grant award agreements was Nov. 1, 2024. The Louisiana Office of Community Development, which oversees the program, has closed over 13,000 grant agreements, obligating more than $1.06 billion, spokesman Marvin McGraw told the Illuminator. Of the 20,803 submitted applications, 99.9% of grant award determinations have been completed, with only 12 homeowners awaiting a final award decision, McGraw said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The program expects to finalize any outstanding awards by March 31, he added. At this stage, all homeowners have been notified of their program status, and any remaining delays are likely due to missing documentation or unmet program requirements, McGraw said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Financial hardships hinder recovery Before it was removed from her property, Diana Betters lived in a FEMA trailer in south Lake Charles, outside of city limits. She shared it with six other family members since her manufactured home sustained storm damage in 2020 that included busted pipes and a mold infestation visible around holes in the roof, walls and floors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont know how much mold has built up. Weve been buying the mold stuff and spraying and scrubbing, Betters said. Despite efforts to secure more permanent housing after the storms, she faced credit checks and financial hurdles, including a $650 sewer repair. Betters said she was awarded $75,000 from Restore Louisiana. I went and looked at the double-wide homes, and they want $149,000, Betters said. What Im gonna do with it? Well, its a down payment, then the rest gonna fall on me. I already have a mortgage for the damaged home. Betters said she turned down housing options in nearby Sulphur and Iowa because she didnt want her 11-year-old granddaughter to change schools. She considered two apartments near McNeese State University but didnt qualify for a lease because of her low credit score. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to documents Hillman and Betters received from FEMA and shared with the Illuminator, their trailer rents increased in January, with residents subjected to additional penalties should they continue to live in them beyond February. Hillman said her $50 monthly rent increased to $200 in January, but she was unsure of what fees she would owe for continuing to live in her trailer past Feb. 28. Betters said her rent rose from $359 to more than $700 in 2024. Despite the Feb. 28 deadline, FEMA representatives showed up at Betters property Jan. 30 and ordered her family to vacate the trailer. As the family packed their belongings, contract workers started removing the trailer skirting to prepare it for removal. But just as they had at Hillmans home, FEMA workers left the property without the trailer when reporters with the Illuminator and KPLC-TV arrived. Betters told the Illuminator FEMA officials returned without warning the next day to remove the trailer. She and her family are now back to living in their hurricane-damaged home while they save for something new. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were bunched up in here like sardines, Betters said, explaining that shes using some rooms in her damaged home for storage space. FEMA would not answer specific questions about Betters or Hillman but said in an email that its Direct Housing Mission program ended Feb. 28. When a move-out is completed, FEMA said its campers are not typically removed from the property on the same day. Ceiling damage is visible in a section of Terra Hillmans home in Lake Charles that Hurricane Laura damaged in 2020. (Chris Vinn for Louisiana Illuminator) Nearly 20 years of disputes Sulphur resident Ronnie Hossain has lived in FEMA trailers since 2005, when Hurricane Rita leveled the southwest corner of Louisiana. He has been involved in a lengthy dispute with local officials over rebuilding his storm-damaged home, and FEMA put his trailer on its removal list with the two others left over from the 2020 storms. Hossain said his FEMA trailer was scheduled for repossession for 9 a.m. Jan. 31. However, no one from FEMA arrived when the time came. He attributes the no-show to reporters who were present during previous removal attempts earlier that week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hossain claims FEMA wrongly accused him of violations in an attempt to force him out of his temporary housing and that local officials have been unhelpful, further complicating efforts to rebuild his home. He also said that FEMA cited him for failing to meet with a caseworker, but he alleges no caseworker has ever visited his property. Hossain said he had been paying rent for the FEMA trailer, which recently increased from $225 to $475 per month. Now, he claims, FEMA is demanding $1,600 in rent, an amount he says is unreasonable. Sulphur Mayor Mike Danahay said Hossain has been entangled in zoning and permitting issues since Hurricane Rita. He has violated city ordinances by having multiple structures on a lot zoned for one single-family dwelling, according to the mayor. Hossain said the trailer he had been living in since Rita was damaged during Hurricane Laura in 2020. FEMA replaced it, and he removed the original one from his property six months ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hossain has yet to move into his house, and Danahay says he has repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for completing construction. The mayor said Hossain had electrical and plumbing work done without the necessary permits, which has prevented city inspectors from ensuring the home meets safety standards. Despite years of attempted cooperation, officials eventually had to start enforcing ordinances, Danahay said. The mayor maintains the citys goal is compliance, not punishment. I think weve been more than patient with this gentleman to get his house in order so he can move back in, Danahay stated. All we are asking him to do is complete the house and do it right to ensure safety. Hossein told the Illuminator he has permits to work on the house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hossain was locked out of his FEMA trailer Feb. 23, and it was removed from the property March 3, he said. Additionally, he claims FEMA sent a notice to the Internal Revenue Service to garnish more than $1,600 from his monthly income. He said has been in contact with Restore recently to renegotiate the terms of his grant to continue rebuilding his house. Multifamily construction boom replacing damaged housing stock Hurricanes Laura and Delta took dead aim at southwest Louisiana and damaged approximately 44,000 homes, according to a 2020 study. About half of the Calcasieu Parish housing stock was impacted. More than 750 damaged homes in Lake Charles have either been repaired or rebuilt since 2020, city spokeswoman Katie Harrington said. Additionally, more than 900 new multi-family units have come online or are in the process of being developed. Woodring Apartments in downtown Lake Charles just marked its grand opening and offers affordable rates for qualifying tenants. Construction is well underway at the 72-unit Calcasieu Heights and Capstone at the Oaks, with 120 apartments. Both properties are intended for senior housing. Mid-City Lofts, a 46-unit mixed income development, is under construction on a portion of what was once the Lloyd Oaks Housing Development. Whats left of Lloyd Oaks is also being redeveloped. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE At least four people were killed and 22 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day, regional officials reported on March 26. Russia launched 163 drones overnight, including Shahed-type attack drones, according to Ukraine's military. Air defenses intercepted 89, while another 51 disappeared from radars before reaching their targets, likely serving as decoys to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses. Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare systems, aviation, and mobile fire groups repelled the assault. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Kherson Oblast, Russian shelling and airstrikes killed three people and injured 12, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. In Donetsk Oblast, one person was killed in Rodynske, and three others were wounded, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported. In Kharkiv Oblast, four people were injured as Russian forces used attack drones to strike critical infrastructure and residential areas, damaging five high-rise buildings and nine houses, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. A 37-year-old man in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast sustained mine-blast injuries from Russian artillery and kamikaze drone strikes, Governor Serhii Lysak said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Odesa Oblast, a Russian drone strike caused a fire in an outbuilding, destroying the roofs of houses and garages, injuring one person, Governor Oleh Kiper said. In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a young man was injured when Russian forces launched 400 strikes on 13 settlements over the day, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported. Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. CHICAGO A federal superseding indictment unsealed Friday charged a fourth member of a group allegedly responsible for robbing multiple liquor stores, convenience stores and bars in Chicago. Authorities said 26-year-old Xavier Harris worked with his brother, 27-year-old Ardaries Harris, along with Jordan Fox, 25, and Roosevelt Veal, 27, in robbing over a dozen businesses in 2023 and 2024. Man accused of exposing himself inside McDonalds PlayPlace in Valpo Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The indictment said the group conspired to rob the following businesses in Chicago: Aug. 24, 2023: Aces Liquor and Tap, 4400 block of West Armitage Avenue. Nov. 24, 2023: Super Saving Food, 4400 block of West Belmont Avenue. Jan. 10, 2024: A&R Food Mart, 5900 block of West Grand Avenue. Jan. 11, 2024: Central Extra Value Food and Liquor, 2900 block of North Central Avenue. Jan. 13, 2024: Buchanas Food & Liquor, 1800 block of West 47th Street. Jan. 15, 2024: Mr. P Beverage Depot, 2000 block of West Division Street. Jan. 15, 2024: Before You Go Liquor, 1900 block of West Fullerton Avenue. Jan. 15, 2024: Clybourn Market, 2800 block of North Clybourn Avenue. May 3, 2024: Humboldt Haus Liquor, 2900 block of West North Avenue. May 3, 2024: Gladstone Food Mart, 5700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue. May 4, 2024: Irish Nobleman Pub, 1300 block of West Erie Street. May 7, 2024: Buchanas Food & Liquor, 1800 block of West 47th Street. May 7, 2024: El Trebol Liquors and Bar, 1100 block of West 18th Street. May 7, 2024: Community Food and Liquor, 5500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue. May 9, 2024: Basil Food & Liquor, 7700 block of North Western Avenue. The group reportedly used stolen vehicles as getaway cars, wore masks and brandished guns during the incidents. During some of the robberies, the group fired shots from machine guns, according to the indictment. Ardaries, Fox and Veal were originally charged in 2024 with conspiracy, robbery and gun charges in connection with five robberies or attempted robberies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The superseding indictment adds Xavier as a defendant, charges 10 more robberies or attempted robberies and raises the mandatory minimum sentence for Ardaries, Fox and Veal to 30 years each, according to authorities. Officials said Xavier faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 21 years, while the maximum sentence for each of the four members of the group is life in prison. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Xavier was arrested Thursday, March 27 and was arraigned in court on Friday, March 28, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. Ardaries, Fox and Veal, meanwhile, were already in federal custody and will be arraigned at a later date. 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. Its easy to find scores of wealthy and successful individuals living prosperous lives in nearly every major city in the world but thats not enough to guarantee a stable and lasting metropolis. A recent report from the IESE Business School argues that a truly strong and vibrant city requires a high standard of living for all its residents including the working class, the elderly, and new immigrants, among others. True urban intelligence lies not only in the use of technology, but also in the integration of social cohesion as an essential pillar of [cities] development, the report reads. Interaction between different social groups is essential to ensure urban sustainability. Social cohesion is reflected in an environment where residents and authorities share values such as social justice, the rule of law, and solidarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To determine the overall social harmony of the 183 major cities included in the report, researchers analyzed performance across 30 metrics, including income distribution, racial tolerance, female safety, happiness, and health care quality. Among the studys most notable findings was that even the most vibrant American cities failed to perform well in these categories. New York, for example, is the second-most vibrant city in the world, according to the IESE analysis. The Big Apple ranked in the top 10 in seven of the nine IESE categories: technology, human capital, economy, government, mobility and transportation, urban planning, international profile, and technology. For social cohesion, however, New York came in 127th place out of 183 cities. Pascual Berrone, a professor and one of the studys co-authors, argued that, in addition to the economic benefits of embracing diversity, cities also have a moral imperative to uplift their most marginalized residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the face of global conflicts, cities have a unique responsibility to go beyond traditional diplomacy and promote peace and stability through solidarity and active support for affected communities, he wrote. Click through to see the five most socially harmonious cities in the world. 5. Liverpool, England Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images (Getty Images) 4. Copenhagen, Denmark Photo: Alexander Spatari (iStock by Getty Images) 3. Taipei, Taiwan Photo: Annice Lyn/Getty Images (Getty Images) 2. Glasgow, Scotland Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images (Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 1. Edinburgh, Scotland Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images (Getty Images) For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 28. Kazakhstans First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar and KazMunayGas (KMG) Chairman Askhat Khassenov held meetings with senior executives of Chinas leading oil and gas companies on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Hainan, Trend reports. During talks with CNOOC Executive Vice President Sun Da Lu, the sides reviewed progress on the joint Zhylyoi project in the Atyrau region. It was noted that exploration would be conducted under an Enhanced Model Contract (EMC), which offers several investment incentives. The parties also discussed potential cooperation between KMG and CNOOCs subsidiary, COSL (China Oilfield Services), leveraging its extensive experience in offshore oilfield services. In a meeting with Sinopec Chairman Ma Yongsheng, the officials discussed the $7.6 billion Polyethylene project aimed at developing Kazakhstans petrochemical cluster. Additionally, they explored investment opportunities in the Berezovsky geological exploration project in western Kazakhstan, near the Karachaganak field. Talks with CNPC President Hou Qijun highlighted the longstanding partnership between KMG and CNPC in oil production. The two sides agreed to expand cooperation across multiple areas, including the carbamide project, a new joint petrochemical initiative estimated at $1.2 billion. Following the discussions, KMG PetroChem and CNPC signed a protocol outlining the next steps for implementing the carbamide project. Boston Globe/Getty Images When learning about integration in American public schools, most of our education starts with the 1954 Supreme Court Case Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This landmark decision declared that legally segregated schools were unconstitutional, and was a giant stride for equal access to a proper public school education for many Americans. However, the fight for school desegregation had actually been in the works for over 100 years. In 1849, one family took on segregation in Boston, laying early groundwork for that Supreme Court victory nearly a century later. Five-year-old Sarah Roberts, the daughter of a local printer, had to walk past five white schools on her way to the one Black school every morning due to Bostons school segregation laws and her family decided to fight back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take The lesser-known history of Black Boston Massachusetts was one of the first states to abolish slavery in its Constitution, and by 1790, there was no record of any enslaved people living there. This newly freed Black community settled onto the northern slope of Bostons Beacon Hill neighborhood. Although they lived a couple blocks from the states capital and opposite some of Bostons wealthier residents, the Black community lived a more modest life. Many Black Bostonians worked jobs on the city's harbor as mariners. As they obtained more wealth, Bostons Black residents put down roots in their Beacon Hill community, building homes and gathering spaces, like the African Meeting House, which doubled as a church and community center. As Bostons Black community grew, they were excluded from many public institutions, including the public school system. Prince Hall, a prominent abolitionist and African American Freemason, founded the African School in 1798 with his son, Primus, to serve Black students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The African School was a community-led education initiative teaching people of all ages in the area. As the school attracted more students, it outgrew the Halls home and moved to the African Meeting House in 1808. The school could now accommodate more students, but as a community-led institution, it received minimal funding and, therefore, had a shortage of books and materials. Over two decades later, a public school finally opened for Bostons Black community. Abiel Smith, a wealthy white businessman, left $4,000 in his will for the education of Bostons African American children. With this donation, the Abiel Smith School opened its doors in 1835. While the Abiel Smith School filled an urgent need for Black children in Boston, many of the same challenges that had existed at the African School, such as overcrowding, limited resources, and poorer conditions than white schools, continued at the Abiel Smith School. Students were mistreated by the majority white teachers and administrators, who neglected the building and its need for extensive repairs. Between 1844 and 1846, over 80 Black residents of Bostons Northern Slope petitioned the Boston Primary School Committee to correct the injustices at Abiel Smith School. Sarah's long walk Despite the problems at the Abiel Smith School, it remained the only public school for Black children. Students like Sarah Roberts, who lived roughly half a mile from the Abiel Smith School in Bostons West End neighborhood, had to pass five all-white schools on her walk to the Smith School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1847, Sarahs father, Benjamin Roberts, a local printer, had enough and petitioned the Boston Primary School Committee to send Sarah to the school closest to their home, which was only open to white children. The committee denied his petition four times. The Boston School Committee argued that because his daughter could attend Smith School, she did not need to be admitted into a school closest to her home. In 1848, Roberts ignored the committee and enrolled his daughter in the school closest to her home, but she was promptly ejected and told to attend the Smith School. Roberts, furious at the treatment of his daughter, enlisted the help of attorney Robert Morris, the first Black man to pass the Massachusetts bar. Morris then recruited Charles Sumner, a white abolitionist and future Massachusetts Senator, to file a lawsuit against the City of Boston. The case for desegregation Morris and Sumner claimed that segregated schooling violated an 1854 statute stating, "Any child, unlawfully excluded from public school instruction, in this Commonwealth, shall recover damages therefor [sic]...against the city or town by which such public school instruction is supported. In other words, any child in Massachusetts who is illegally left out of any public school can collect any money from the city or town supporting the school they have not been allowed to attend. In a statement drafted by Morris, Sumner argued in court that all men and women were equal under Massachusetts law and that, according to the law, there is no discrimination of color or race inside the public school system." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sumner and Morris also argued that by excluding Black children from the majority-white school system, the city would continue to uphold a caste system that denied racial equality. Unlike Black children who had to leave their neighborhoods to seek an education, white children in Boston had the option to attend quality schools within their communities. Sumner closed his argument by stating that the Boston Public School Committee had no power to segregate the school system based upon race and that the Massachusetts Constitution had abolished slavery and, therefore, had no authority to uphold a school system based upon race and caste. Despite Morris and Sumners compelling argument, Judge Lemuel Shaw of the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Boston Public School Committee. While the state of Massachusetts had equality under the law, Shaw argued, it did not prevent the Boston Public School Committee from separating the schools based on race. The state's law could not fix any of the prejudice or discrimination against African Americans if it did exist; the law itself did not create any of the alleged discrimination. In Shaws opinion, as long as schools segregated based upon race remain equal, they could remain segregated. Shaws decision helped set the legal precedent for separate but equal or the idea that Black and white people could be segregated so long as the facilities were equal in quality, which they rarely were in the United States. In 1896, separate but equal would be used in the Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld segregation nationwide. Although the Roberts familys case was unsuccessful, it inspired many activists and the community along the Northern Slope. In 1849, led by abolitionist speaker and writer William Cooper Nell, Bostons Black community began to boycott the Smith School. The boycott and continued lobbying in the statehouse throughout the first half of the 1850s finally led to change. In April 1855, lawmakers banned legally segregated schoolhouses in Massachusetts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Roberts familys courage sparked a significant movement for racial equality in Boston and across this country. While Sarah herself was young and may not have been the one arguing against the city in court, she became the face of this lawsuit and of school desegregation. She is an example of the larger, and at times unspoken, role that Black women and girls played in the school desegregation movement. After the court case, Sarah Roberts and her family moved around the greater Boston area throughout her childhood. In 1865, at 22 years old, she settled back into Boston. After the Civil War and with the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, Bostons Black community continued the fight for equality, building on the legacy of people like Roberts. Simultaneously, the Roberts case also started a chain reaction that shaped the future of segregation from the separate but equal clause of Plessy v. Ferguson to the toppling of Brown v. Board of Education over 100 years later. Today, the Museum of African American History in Boston, Massachusetts, continues to do more research on the life of Sarah Roberts and other Black women who played pivotal roles in the fight for equality. This article was produced with Made By Us, a coalition of more than 400 history museums working to connect with today's youth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Check out more Teen Vogue education coverage: WASHINGTON Congressional Republicans still arent in agreement on the shape and scope of a sweeping tax cut package at the heart of President Donald Trumps domestic policy, but theyre plowing ahead anyway in hopes of generating some momentum to get them across the finish line by this summer. As soon as next week, Senate Republicans plan to vote on a budget framework laying out the amount of spending reductions they will need to achieve to finance Trumps sweeping legislative agenda: tax cuts mostly for the wealthy and investments in border security and energy development. Well see what happens. I think were in good shape, Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, by aiming for one big, beautiful bill, as Trump says, Republicans risk making the same mistake Democrats did under former President Joe Biden and putting all their legislative eggs in a single basket, which led to months of intra-party bickering over the baskets exact contents, and nearly the failure of the entire legislative package. Even with budget gimmicks,Republicans are going to struggle to please everyone. Conservatives who want deeper spending cuts will clash with moderates who want to defend politically popular health care programs will clash with New Yorkers who want relief for their state. And the House will have to agree with the Senate. Graham said his resolution will differ from the $4 trillion plan passed by House Republicans, which included at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over a decade. For one thing, he said he plans to omit language telling specific committees how much money they should cut from federal programs under their jurisdiction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leaving out the specific dollar amounts would give Republicans more flexibility and allow them to claim theyre not planning to cut specific programs particularly Medicaid. The House-passed budget calls for $880 billion in savings from the committee that oversees Medicaid, which prompted waves of Democratic attacks and threats from moderate Republicans not to support a final bill. Republicans will need to figure out exact figures later, but at least for now, Republican leaders are hoping the placeholders will satisfy conservatives demanding more cuts, keeping the ball rolling. Read on for four more ways the plan could still go off the rails: Medicaid And SNAP Cuts Despite Senate Republicans plan to avoid committing to specific cuts, House Republican leaders arent backing down from insisting on massive savings from so-called mandatory federal programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which serve millions of vulnerable Americans across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats putting them on a direct collision course with moderates, and with party members from working-class areas with huge numbers of Medicaid enrollees. A number of Republicans have suggested drastic cuts to Medicaid, specifically, would make it difficult for them to vote for the bill. The problem for the GOP is particularly acute in the House, where they only control a two-seat majority. President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw his nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and keep her in the House, rather than risk losing her seat to Democrats, underscored how worried Republicans are about passing their agenda with such tight margins. But House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said he was adamant about including large spending cuts in the bill even if the Senate adjusts other policies, such as making the tax cuts permanent. If the Senate does the responsible thing, like we did, and balance the cost of tax cuts with spending reductions, then most of us are open to locking in tax cuts permanently, Arrington told HuffPost on Thursday. But they cannot change the part of the equation that reduces spending, because thats the biggest problem. Debt Limit Woes House and Senate Republican leaders agree on one thing: including an increase to the statutory borrowing limit in the tax cut package a risky proposition that could give deficit hawks more leverage over the shape of the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Already, some conservatives have expressed objections to increasing the debt limit using reconciliation, the budget process allowing Republicans to avoid a Democratic filibuster. Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) is among them, while Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) said hed like as much as $6.5 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years if the bill includes a debt limit hike. Id support that as long as we bring spending down to a reasonable pre-pandemic baseline, Johnson told HuffPost, calling the House spending cuts far too inadequate. Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Rick Scott (Fla.) have expressed similar concerns. Senate Republicans cant lose more than 3 GOP votes on the bill, so getting everybody on the same page will be critical. Gambling On A Gimmick Senate Republicans want to make their 2017 tax cuts permanent, instead of simply extending them for another 10 years. But that would make their actual cost much, much bigger, increasing the deficit by $37 trillion over 30 years, according to nonpartisan budget experts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So whats their solution? Simply pretending a huge part of the tax cuts dont exist by using a budget gimmick known as current policy baseline, which pretends the tax cuts dont expire at the end of this year. It would, on paper, change the price tag of the bill from $4 trillion to zero dollars, even though in reality it would explode the debt. Such an accounting method has never been used before in reconciliation, however. Republicans are hoping for a favorable ruling from the Senate parliamentarian, a nonpartisan official who advises the chamber on its rules, to proceed. That ruling is expected in the coming days. If the ruling is negative, Republicans could vote to overrule the parliamentarian, but that would also require 51 votes. We need to get consensus, so that we have, for sure, 51 votes, no matter what comes up, Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said. There are also questions about whether conservative lawmakers in the House would be willing to go along with the gimmick. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we can get a ruling for permanence, and we do the fiscally responsible thing on offsets, then I think that our conference is open to receiving [the current policy baseline], but they cannot change the part of the equation that reduces spending, Arrington said. Need SALT? Another possible sticking point one that wasnt a problem when Republicans passed their symbolic budget resolution earlier this month could be the federal tax deduction for what households pay in state and local property taxes. Republicans capped the so-called SALT deduction in their 2017 tax bill, which prompted 13 Republican House members from high-tax states such as New York and California to vote no, because capping the deduction was disadvantageous for high-income taxpayers in their districts. Republicans controlled 239 House seats at the time, so they could afford such a double-digit defection. House Republicans from blue districts know they have leverage to demand an increase in the deduction. Coming from New York, this is really important, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) said this week. That is one of the biggest priorities not just for me, but New York, New Jersey members. Party leaders have said they will try to accommodate their SALT demands, but doing so presents the same dilemma as with spending cuts increasing the SALT deduction can win over the moderates, but it will try the patience of the hardliners who want to hold down the cost of the bill. More than 600 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have signed an open letter criticizing the Academy for its lack of public support for Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, co-director of he Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, following his recent detainment by Israeli authorities. Yuval Abraham, Ballals co-director, announced on X on Monday that Ballal was beaten by West Bank settlers and then arrested by Israeli forces. He sustained injuries to his head and stomach in the Palestinian village of Susiya, Masafer Yatta. Ballal was released by Israeli forces Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Academy members, the organization sent a statement Wednesday with the subject line Our Global Film Community. Understandably, we are often asked to speak on behalf of the Academy in response to social, political, and economic events, the Academy said. In these instances, it is important to note that the Academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints. We are, however, united in a shared belief in the importance of storytelling, in the value of empathy, and in the role of film as a catalyst, the organization added. But many members believe the statement from leadership failed to mention either Ballal or the film by name, nor did it describe the events it was responding to." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The statement by Bill Kramer and Janet Yang fell far short of the sentiments this moment calls for," the statement read. "Therefore we are issuing our own statement, which speaks for the undersigned members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences." Late Friday, the Academy said that Kramer and Yang had reached out to members with their regrets for failing to "Ballal and the film by name." "We sincerely apologize to Mr. Ballal and all artists who felt unsupported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the Academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world. We abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances," they wrote in a letter to members. By Friday afternoon, the open letter had 633 signatures. Some members who have signed include Mark Ruffalo, Sandra Oh, Ava DuVernay, Penelope Cruz, Alfonso Cuaron, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Joaquin Phoenix. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members shared an additional statement condemning the assault and detention of Ballal, as well as the Academy's lack of action. "We stand in condemnation of the brutal assault and unlawful detention of Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank," the letter read. "It is indefensible for an organization to recognize a film with an award in the first week of March, and then fail to defend its filmmakers just a few weeks later," the letter added. Members praised the film, which won Best Documentary feature at this year's awards, for its impact and achievement despite not having the same resources as films with wider distribution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "For 'No Other Land' to win an Oscar without these advantages speaks to how important the film is to the voting membership," members said. "The targeting of Ballal is not just an attack on one filmmakerit is an attack on all those who dare to bear witness and tell inconvenient truths." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com A 61-year-old woman was arrested in Australia in connection with the murder of Tanya Glover, a woman who was found dead in the basement of an apartment complex in 2022. Detective Inspector John Mison said in a press conference, shared by the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC), that the 61-year-old woman who was not identified was arrested by police in Townsville, Queensland on Thursday, March 27. The 61-year-old woman was charged with murder, misconduct with a corpse and fraud, according to Nine News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mison said that detectives believed the woman murdered Glover, 38, in January 2010 and then moved her body into a crawl space underneath a unit block located in Brisbane, per ABC, Nine News and News.com.au. Queensland Police Service A photo of Tanya Lee Glover from the Queensland Police Service A photo of Tanya Lee Glover from the Queensland Police Service He said that is where Glovers body, wrapped tightly in clothing and bedding, was found by cleaners on Dec. 7, 2022 and first reported to police. Mison said that after the discovery, extensive forensic analysis was conducted in order to identify the body until Aug. 2, 2023, when investigators were finally able to confirm Glovers identity. Ive been in the police for 35 years Ive never come across anything like this, Mison said, per News.com.au. At the heart of this investigation, it was about uncovering what had happened to Tanya many years ago. She deserves that justice. "Our detectives were relentless in their complex investigations, collecting information from over a decade ago," said Mison, per ABC. 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. Getty Police car in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast of Australia Police car in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast of Australia He said that their investigation found that the two women were living at a location in the same complex, though probably not together. He added, per ABC, "We've identified that the association was based on a friendship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mison noted that Glovers family has been notified of her death, adding, per the outlet, "They're obviously grateful for today's events ... and obviously I could well imagine they've got a lot of emotions occurring. Glover had reportedly fallen out of contact with her parents prior to her death and so she was never reported missing. Police said, per ABC, that she had been renting out a unit for people living with a disability in Brisbane more than 3 miles away from where her body was found around the time of her death. A year after Glovers remains were found, detectives announced a $500,000 reward for information that led to a conviction in connection to Glovers murder, the outlet reported. The 61-year-old woman is scheduled to appear in Townsville Magistrates Court on Saturday, March 29, per News.com.au. Read the original article on People Drought conditions continue to impact Florida and no respite is expected Friday, March 28. For the second day in a row, wildfires threatened homes, prompting residents to be evacuated. Thursday afternoon, the Gator Fire in Palm City burned 210 acres. As of Friday morning, it was 50% contained, according to the Florida Forest Service. Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the opposite side of the state, residents in a Collier County neighborhood were evacuated as flames came close to their homes Wednesday. As of Friday morning, there were 61 fires in Florida, burning 28,837 acres. Most of Florida's peninsula is abnormally dry, with two large sections of the state under severe drought conditions, according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Map: See where wildfires are burning right now in Florida Interactive map: Enter your address to find closest wildfire risks Current drought conditions in Florida Red Flag Warnings issued for 14 counties as drought conditions worsen Red flag warnings have been issued for 14 counties March 28, 2025. The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings for 14 counties: Charlotte Citrus DeSoto Hardee Hernando Hillsborough Lake Lee Manatee Pasco Pinellas Polk Sarasota Sumter Wildfires threaten more Florida homes as drought worsens. Will it rain soon? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A red flag warning is issued when "critical fire weather conditions" are in place. "A red flag warning means warm temperatures, very low humidity, and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger," the National Weather Service said. Florida weather radar: Are any storms expected in Florida today? Stay informed. Get weather alerts via text What's next? We will continue to update our weather coverage as conditions warrant. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And look for our special subscription offers here. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida fires grow. Track with interactive map the shows locations HONOLULU (KHON2) A 68-year-old man is in critical condition following a crash on the H-1 Freeway early Thursday morning. Small plane crashes in Kunia, propeller lands in nearby home Police said the incident occurred shortly after 4 a.m. when a vehicle heading west attempted to exit onto the Vineyard Street off-ramp and collided with another vehicle. The impact caused the second vehicle to crash into a cement wall. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Rescuers had to use special equipment to free the 68-year-old driver from the wreckage. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver of the first vehicle was arrested on charges of negligent injury and driving under the influence. His passenger was also hospitalized in serious condition. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The crash 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 KHON2. DENVER (KDVR) Westbound Interstate 70 was closed at the Copper Mountain exit due to a crash that caused a fuel tank to spill 65 gallons of diesel. On Friday at around 6 a.m., the Colorado Department of Transportation said the westbound side of I-70 from the Copper Mountain exit to Eagle closed due to a crash. CDOT told FOX31 that the crash involved two commercial vehicles. A crash between two commercial vehicles has closed westbound Interstate 70 from Copper Mountain to Eagle. (COtrip) See the latest traffic conditions in Denver on FOX31 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One commercial vehicles fuel tank ruptured during the crash and spilled an estimated 65 gallons of diesel onto the road. A crash between two commercial vehicles has closed westbound Interstate 70 from Copper Mountain to Eagle. (CDOT) A crash between two commercial vehicles has closed westbound Interstate 70 from Copper Mountain to Eagle. (CDOT) A crash between two commercial vehicles has closed westbound Interstate 70 from Copper Mountain to Eagle. (CDOT) Hazardous material cleanup was required, and the roadway has since reopened. CDOT did not say if any injuries were reported in this crash. When the interstate was closed, those traveling west on I-70 had to detour off the interstate at Copper Mountain. Drivers had to take Colorado Highway 91 to Leadville, then took U.S. 24 to rejoin westbound I-70 at around Minturn. CDOT said this detour added an additional 60 minutes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Wisconsin man who was rescued from a cruise ship following a medical emergency is speaking out for the first time. Greg Tomensky, 72, told ABC News that he and his wife Mary Tomensky were on a trip of a lifetime, a 35-day Holland America cruise from San Diego that sailed to Hawaii and French Polynesia. Ten days into the cruise, Tomensky said the trip turned into a nightmare. "I was ready to go to lunch, and I never made it. I collapsed," Tomensky recalled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Disney Cruise ship rescues 4 people off sinking catamaran in Bermuda Tomensky said he experienced four strokes within hours of each other on Feb. 26, hundreds of miles off the coast of Hawaii. PHOTO: Greg Tomensky and his wife Mary Tomensky were on a Holland America cruise when he experienced multiple strokes. (ABC News) "There was no question that he had to be medevaced," his wife recounted. 64-year-old woman medically evacuated from cruise ship off Puerto Rico coast The medical staff on the Holland America ship ultimately called in the Coast Guard to airlift Tomensky off the boat. PHOTO: The U.S. Coast Guard airlifted Greg Tomensky from a Holland America cruise to a hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii on Feb. 27, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard) "We knew definitely that what this man needed was to be in a stroke unit or a stroke center," Dr. Realeboga Sebitso, a senior doctor for Holland America Line, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In under 24 hours, on Feb. 27, Tomensky was hoisted into a small basket and transported to a hospital in Honolulu, where he said he received lifesaving care. "I am very grateful that they got there and what they did," Tomensky said. A month after his harrowing rescue, Tomensky had the opportunity to meet the Coast Guard pilots who helped save his life, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Brown and Lt. Tom Jordan, in an emotional reunion. "Thank you very much. I owe you for my recovery and future recovery from these strokes," Tomensky told Brown and Jordan in a video conversation. "Well, it's our pleasure. If you have any complaints about the hoisting or the flying, though, he was the one doing it all," Brown replied with a laugh, pointing to Jordan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Added Jordan, "It's a very rare opportunity that we get to meet the people we help." 72-year-old who had 4 strokes on cruise ship speaks out after rescue originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com FREEPORT, Ill. (WTVO) A 73-year-old man was killed Thursday after his SUV was hit by a semi at an intersection in rural Freeport. The Stephenson County Sheriffs Office responded to the scene of the crash, at Lamm Road and Baileyville Road, around 3:02 p.m. Police said the victim was piloting a 2019 Dodge Journey eastbound when he disregarded a stop sign and was hit by the oncoming semi, which was headed northbound on Baileyville Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man, who lived in Orland Hills, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the semi was uninjured. Authorities said the crash is under investigation by the Illinois State Police Traffic Reconstruction Unit. No charges have been announced. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The artificial intelligence arms race is here. Countries around the world are spending millions to introduce the latest artificial intelligence technology into their military operations. Artificial intelligence can automate some operations in the military and save crucial time by speeding up certain aspects of strategic decision making under human supervision like pinpointing targets and coming up with courses of action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But for all of its merits, the technology is also equally worrisome to some experts. We all probably suffer from automation bias, which is this idea that we are tempted to and often will accept the recommendation, for example, that a large language model spits out, or prediction that one of these systems is making, because we feel as though the system must have more information than we do, and must be processing it and sequencing it and ordering it better than we could, legal scholar and former associate White House counsel Ashley Deeks told Quartz earlier this month. What exacerbates the problem even more is that AI systems are like black boxes, according to Deeks, in that it is tough for users to understand how or why it reaches certain conclusions. This could make it even tougher for officers to figure out who to trust when their gut and experience, and the AI system are saying opposite things. United States of America Photo: Sean Gallup (Getty Images) The Department of Defense is majorly scaling up artificial intelligence in the military. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The potential value of all AI-related federal contracts increased by almost 1200% just from 2022 to 2023, according to a Brookings report, and so much of this spend was by the Pentagon that all other agencies become a rounding error. The Department has been working to get AI capabilities into defense operations since 2021, including through the use of autonomous weapons and AI-powered computer vision to identify airstrike targets. Recently, the Pentagon awarded artificial intelligence giant Scale AI a reportedly multi-million dollar prototype contract to integrate AI agents into military planning and decision making workflows under its flagship operation Thunderforge. Under the program, Pentagon and industry partners will use AI agents in everything from military campaign development and resource allocation to wargaming simulations, planning scenarios and proposed courses of action, and strategic assessments. Israel Photo: Alexi J. Rosenfeld (Getty Images) Artificial intelligence capabilities have long been integrated into Israeli military operations, and has increasingly been in the spotlight as Israels war on Gaza continues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A long list of major big tech companies have provided AI services to the Israeli military to be used in wartime operations and decision making, prompting concern over the technologys role in human rights violations against Palestinian civilians. Palantir (PLTR) signed a strategic partnership with the Israeli Defense Ministry last year to increase the use of its AI technology to support the militarys war-related missions, Bloomberg reported. Google (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) have provided AI services to the Israeli military since 2021 under its controversial, $1.2 billion Project Nimbus. Alphabet made the decision despite some company officials warning that the technology could be used to facilitate human rights violations, according to a New York Times report. A recent Associated Press investigation found that the Israeli military uses Microsoft (MSFT) and OpenAI artificial intelligence technology, including models made for commercial use. The investigation also said that the Israeli military uses AI to sift through intelligence and intercepted communications, pinpointing targets for drone strikes and for mass surveillance. China Photo: Kevin Frayer (Getty Images) Beijing is perhaps United States number one rival in the AI arms race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made military artificial intelligence a top strategic priority. The Peoples Liberation Army has invested heavily in scaling up AI to assist in situational awareness, unmanned weapons, decision making and more. Beijings focus on the matter has made U.S.-based innovators and politicians concerned, with Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang saying that the technology could help China leapfrog the military capacity of Western powers. Late last year, the Chinese army reportedly used an early version of Metas (META) Llama as a base to develop a military-focused AI tool called ChatBIT. The military AI can gather and process intelligence, and offer information for operational decision making. Last week, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that the Peoples Liberation Army started to use DeepSeeks AI model for non-combat related support. The model is reportedly being used particularly in military hospitals for now. Russia Photo: Carl Court (Getty Images) Russia has been in a major overhaul of high technology weapons development, dubbed Putins superoruzhie (aka super weapons), since 2018, in an effort to counter the perceived military technology strength of Western powers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russias war with Ukraine was one of the first documented instances of military AI weapons being used in active combat, including electronic warfare systems capable of jamming communication systems. But perhaps Russias most notorious AI-enabled method of warfare is to use the technology in massively scaling up disinformation campaigns. But Russias military AI capabilities have been developing rather slower than expected, and experts say the West is skeptical of Moscows ability to scale its development. Russia spends less on research and development than other superpowers like U.S. or China and faces a talent development and retention problem, causing it to lag behind the U.S. and China in developing and scaling these technologies. But recently, reports say Russia has asked for Chinas help in developing its artificial intelligence capabilities. Ukraine Photo: Sean Gallup (Getty Images) Much like its enemy Russia, Ukraine is also focusing on building out and scaling its military AI capabilities. While the current deployment of Ukrainian military AI in the field is only partial and employs a human-centric approach with officers making final decisions, the country is increasingly investing in the technology to achieve its main objective of replacing humans in direct combat with autonomous unmanned systems. In achieving this objective, Ukraine has sought help from many major American big tech companies like Anduril, Palantir, Microsoft, Amazon and Google. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine is using the technology to develop autonomous drones, AI-powered tools that provide real-time intelligence to support wartime strategic decision making and find targets, to clear landmines, and to train soldiers with AI simulations. The country has also partnered with Scale AI to aid recovery planning by conducting post-strike damage analysis of buildings targeted by Russias drone strikes. South Korea Photo: Chung Sung-Jun (Getty Images) South Korea is working around the clock to develop military AI capabilities to counter threats by a Russia-backed North Korea, and aid its military power in the context of a shrinking population. The East Asian country reportedly tested its first self-developed artificial intelligence models during joint military exercises with the U.S. earlier this month. The system, called Generative Defense AI, was tested in the military exercise to see if it can be applied to actual command and control systems, according to the South Korean defense ministry. North Korea Photo: Chung Sung-Jun (Getty Images) On Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of brand new AI-equipped suicide and reconnaissance drones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The field of unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence should be top-prioritized and developed in modernizing the armed forces, Kim said, according to state media agency KCNA. Experts say North Korea is getting technical help from Russia to expand its military technology capabilities, including the use of artificial intelligence. While North Koreas military AI efforts unsurprisingly lack transparency, KCNA reported that Kim was also briefed on new technological advancements in intelligence-gathering capabilities, electronic jamming and attack systems at the test site on Thursday. United Kingdom Photo: Sean Gallup (Getty Images) The United Kingdom government established the Defense Artificial Intelligence Center in 2021 in order to transform its defense department into an AI-ready organization. The center aims to develop AI that would speed up defense operations and decision-making and automate the dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks, according to the centers web page. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To achieve this goal, the UK has been putting its resources into research in how AI can pose threats but also be used to develop weapons both on the field and in cyber-warfare. In a 20-page strategy report published in 2023, the UK military laid out its plans to be AI-ready by April 2024. But in a defense committee hearing in late March 2024, British defense procurement minister James Cartlidge said that the military is not yet at that stage, despite having counted significant progress in incorporating AI in some important areas. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. In February 2025, the volume of gas transported through the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) in direction Greece to Bulgaria stood at 804,794.90 MWh, ICGB, the pipeline operator, told Trend. "The volume of supplies in the direction Bulgaria to Greece via virtual reverse flow was 126,064.66 MWh," said the company. The Greece-Bulgaria interconnector connects Bulgaria to the Southern Gas Corridor and is part of the Vertical Gas Corridor. The pipeline strengthens energy connectivity and security in the region, providing access to natural gas from new, diversified sources. Currently operating at 3 bcm/y, the pipeline has the potential to expand its technical capacity up to 5 bcm/y. The interconnector currently secures about 70 percent of Bulgarias internal natural gas consumption and is a reliable route for diversified deliveries to key markets such as Moldova and Ukraine. Follow the author on X: @Lyaman_Zeyn UPDATE: Officials identify dead 8-year-old boy, injured woman found in Saratoga Springs home SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah (ABC4) An 8-year-old child has been confirmed dead and a 40-year-old woman in extremely critical condition after an incident at a Saratoga Springs home on Friday, according to Saratoga Springs Police. On the morning of March 28, police responded to a 911 call on the 1200 block of Willowbrook Lane in Saratoga Springs. Upon arrival, officers found two people inside an 8-year-old who has since been declared deceased and a 40-year-old woman who was taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police have confirmed that a 15-year-old was at the home at the time of the incident. Additionally, a 17-year-old returned home after the incident and made the 911 call claiming that someone was dead. Cox allows flag ban to go into effect without signature, acts on remaining bills Courtesy of Dennis Dolan // KTVX All individuals mentioned reportedly live together at the home. An investigation is underway at this time and police are waiting on a warrant authorization to search the home. Further details surrounding the circumstances of the incident have not been released. This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available. 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. In a win for Democrats, liberal candidate Susan Crawford won the high-stakes race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, defeating her conservative challenger Brad Schimel, who was backed by the billionaire Elon Musk and endorsed by President Trump. Crawford, a circuit court judge in Dane County, beat Schimel, a Waukesha County circuit court judge and former Republican state attorney general, by 55% to 45%, with nearly all of the votes in. Schimel conceded to Crawford in a phone call. Growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I would be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin, Crawford told supporters at a celebration in Madison, Wis. And we won. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tuesday's election was the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, with candidates spending a total of more than $95 million, according to a tally from the Brennan Center for Justice. (The previous record was set in 2023, when $51 million was spent in a race for a different Wisconsin Supreme Court seat.) The race garnered national attention because it was the first major election since Trump was elected to a second term in November. It was seen as a test of how voters feel about the new administration, particularly about Musk, a senior adviser to Trump whose Department of Government Efficiency has slashed the size of the federal workforce. "The people of Wisconsin squarely rejected the influence of Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and billionaire special interests," Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement. The election in the battleground state which Trump narrowly won by less than a percentage point will likely have an impact on future national elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres what to know about the Supreme Court outcome in the Badger State. What was at stake? The vote decided the composition of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, preserving its current 4-3 liberal majority in a state with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled state Legislature in both chambers. Two years ago, voters notably flipped the state Supreme Courts ideological majority from conservative to liberal for the first time since 2008. The seven justices will play a critical role in ruling on policies ranging from abortion to labor rights and possibly congressional redistricting. Abortion: In Wisconsin, the procedure is currently banned at 20 weeks of pregnancy and later. The states high court is currently weighing whether to revive an abortion law from 1849 stating that killing a fetus carried a penalty of manslaughter, except where the purpose was to save the mother's life. A Dane County judges ruling last year invalidated the ban, but Sheboygan County's Republican district attorney has appealed the ruling and has asked the state Supreme Court to overturn the decision, on which it has yet to make a ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, in a separate lawsuit filed in February, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has asked the state Supreme Court to rule directly on whether a constitutional right to abortion exists in Wisconsin. The justices agreed to hear the case, but oral arguments have not yet been scheduled. Labor rights: The state Supreme Court is preparing to hear an appeal of a Dane County judges ruling that struck down Act 10, a 2011 law that limits public employees collective bargaining rights. One of the conservative justices, who had helped write Act 10, recused himself in January from hearing the appeal. Congressional redistricting: In the closely divided state, Democrats have criticized the way the Wisconsin congressional map has been drawn, claiming that it heavily favors Republicans. Wisconsin has a total of eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the 2024 election, Republicans won six seats, and Democrats the other two. If congressional redistricting comes before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and district lines are redrawn, the balance of power on Capitol Hill during the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election could potentially shift away from the Republican Party. A nonpartisan election turned partisan Wisconsins Supreme Court elections are technically nonpartisan, which means judges are listed on the ballot without an indication of their political affiliation. But this race turned partisan. Trump endorsed Schimel, while former President Barack Obama endorsed Crawford. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schimels candidacy was also boosted by Musk, the worlds richest man and the CEO of Tesla. Groups connected to Musk spent more than $17 million, while his political action committee, America PAC, has offered $100 to any Wisconsin voter who signs a petition against activist judges. On Sunday, Musk handed out $1 million checks to two voters at a Green Bay, Wis., rally and also promised to pay Schimel supporters $20 for every voter they recruited through Tuesday. Wisconsin's Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul sued to block Musk's cash giveaways to voters, arguing that he was violating an anti-bribery law, but the state Supreme Court declined to take the case and did not provide a reason, according to the Washington Post. Musk and his team framed the payments as rewards for people who signed petitions and served as spokespeople in favor of Schimel, as opposed to outright payments in exchange for a vote in favor of the conservative candidate. Musk is currently suing Wisconsin to overturn a state law that prevents him from opening Tesla dealerships in the state. The case could make it all the way to the states Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Crawford received support from billionaire Democrats like George Soros, the investor and philanthropist, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Who are the current justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court? In Wisconsin, justices are elected for 10-year terms. Crawford won the seat that will be vacated this summer after the departure of Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, a liberal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Justice Rebecca Bradley (conservative): term ends 2026 Chief Justice Annette Ziegler (conservative): term ends 2027 Justice Rebecca Dallet (liberal): term ends 2028 Justice Brian Hagedorn (conservative): term ends 2029 Justice Jill J. Karofsky (liberal): term ends 2030 Justice Janet C. Protasiewicz (liberal): term ends 2033 Based on when each of these terms ends, an election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court will be held every year for the next six years, including 2025. Are you an educator? What do you think about Trump's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education? Yahoo News is asking teachers, administrators and other school staff around the country for their reactions to President Trumps order and how closing the Department of Education would affect their schools and students. Let us know what you think in our form, here. A wide-ranging crackdown on abortion pills, out-of-state travel and other ways Texans are evading the states near-total abortion ban drew zealous support from abortion opponents who said during a Senate committee meeting on Thursday that illegal trafficking of abortion pills harms women. Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, authored Senate Bill 2880, which legal experts say is the most comprehensive attempt yet to stop Texans from accessing abortion pills or out-of-state abortions. The bill would target online pill providers and tech companies that host abortion-related websites, and make it a felony, punishable by up to life in prison, to pay or reimburse the costs of an abortion, a direct hit on abortion funds, which help cover the costs of out-of-state abortions. It would also expand the ability of private citizens to bring wrongful death lawsuits against pill providers after an abortion and empower the attorney generals office to more easily prosecute abortion offenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By going after the internet service providers, social media sites and search engines that power these websites, Texas could potentially undermine the entire network of pills and providers serving abortion-ban states. Senate Bill 2880 is a big toolbox of policies for Texas to fight back against these websites, said John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, during Thursdays hearing of the Senate State Affairs Committee. Texas will be leading other states on how we can fight this concerning trend. A large body of research has shown abortion drug mifepristone, first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000, to be safe and effective. But anti-abortion groups have been actively pushing to get the medications restricted or even moved off the market through lawsuits and legislation. Anti-abortion groups told lawmakers during the hearing that pregnant people in Texas are receiving pills such as mifepristone and misoprostol in the mail without any information about how to take them, or guidelines on follow-up care. Providers shared stories about women hemorrhaging at home or struggling to dispose of the remains of an aborted fetus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I see women suffering daily from the effects of incomplete chemical abortions, said Whitney Freeman, director of medical services at Prestonwood Pregnancy Center, an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center in the Dallas area. Freeman said sometimes women receive pills in the mail with no medical instructions, or with instructions in a foreign language such as Russian. Patients are told not to tell medical providers that they are in the process of a chemical abortion, which can then prevent them from receiving the care they need, Freeman said SB 2880, called the Woman and Child Protection Act, would allow private citizens to sue for up to $100,000 per violation of the law. This is an escalation of the legal framework that allowed Texas to ban nearly all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy in 2021. Critics of the bill told lawmakers on Thursday that the legislation demonstrates government overreach and would infringe upon constitutional free speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Austin Kaplan, an Austin attorney who sued over the 2021 law, told The Texas Tribune that it was inevitable that lawmakers would keep pushing to expand the use of this private enforcement mechanism. He said this bill, as written, would likely be challenged in court, although he noted that hasnt stopped Texas lawmakers before. Looking at this, it looks just completely impossible, he said. But whats the penalty for the Legislature? The legislator gets reelected. They dont pay out of pocket for this litigation. The committee also signaled its support of a priority bill for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, which would prohibit cities and counties from using taxpayer dollars to pay for out-of-state abortions and travel. Senate Bill 33 targets Austin and San Antonio, which have designated $400,000 and $500,000, respectively, to assist residents with costs associated with navigating abortion bans. State law already prevents taxpayer funds from being used to pay for abortions, but some cities have worked to exploit a loophole, said bill author Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, by using taxpayer funds to pay for travel accommodations, child care and other expenses women incur when they seek out-of-state abortions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have so many things we need to be spending our taxpayer dollars on, said San Antonio City Council Member Marc Whyte, who testified in favor of the bill. Not once have I heard the residents of San Antonio saying they want their tax dollars spent on sending women to other states to receive abortions. Under SB 33, the attorney general or any Texas resident could bring a civil legal action against cities that misuse funds by paying to facilitate abortions. 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. As pollution and sulfuric acid choked North American skies in the 1970s and 80s, a bipartisan, transnational agreement spearheaded by the Environmental Protection Agency combatted acid rain, which greatly impacted the eastern portion of the continent. Earlier this month, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced the roll back of 31 regulationsmany of which protect the U.S. from acid rain and other forms of atmospheric pollution. Speaking with The Guardian, a scientist who helped identify acid rain in the 1960s expressed fears that these changes could bring about the return of this once deadly environmental threat. Most would agree that having clean air and clean water is an overall benefit for a species that tends to breathe a lot of air and drink a lot of water. But even that simple biological truthwhich garnered both bipartisan and transnational agreement back in the 1970s and 80sis now in question as the Environmental Protection Agency rolls back 31 regulations that director Lee Zeldin gleefully admits is a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion. According to The Guardian , these changes could cause 200,000 deaths from heart, lung, and other diseases in the next 25 years, as estimated by the EPAs own assessments of the impacted rules. A part of this massive bout of deregulation is changes to rules restricting the pollution of mercury, air toxins, soot pollution, and a general weakening of whats known as the good neighbor rule, which restricted smokestack emissions to protect downwind communities against smog and acid rain. Yes, acid rain. Similar to how once-eradicated diseases like measles are making a comeback , so too are long ago climate threats plotting a similar sinister sequel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Acid rain is an example of a major environmental success storythe public spoke up and the politicians listened, Gene Likens, whose work helped identify acidic rainwater in the 1960s, told The Guardian earlier this week. If the Trump administration starts releasing controls on emissions we are going to destroy that success story. With a more permissive regulatory environment and a lack of catalytic converters on vehicles (a rule enforced by the EPA), acid rain threatened the entire continent, but particularly impacted the eastern U.S. As smokestack and tailpipe emissions across the Midwest gathered in the atmosphere, acid rain poured onto communities as storms passed over the Appalachian Mountains, the Adirondacks, and other northeastern mountain ranges. By 1980, average rainfall was 10 times more acidic than normal . With bipartisan leadership and cooperation between the U.S. and Canada, acid levels slowly reduced, and recent samples suggest that levels of acidity in the White Mountains of New Hampshire have dropped 85 percent from acid rains peak in the 1970s (though, some soil in the region remains degraded, Likens admits). Thankfully, even Zeldins self-described greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen wont transform Americas skies into an acidic nightmare overnight. New vehicles will still ship with catalytic convertersa huge benefit compared to the pre-1975 eraand many of these deregulatory actions will likely be held up in court for years. However, with other major cuts to agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)which runs monitoring systems designed to measure acid rainthe continent could lose a lot of progress thats been made over the past 50 years and turn one of the EPAs greatest successes into a dismal, life-threatening setback. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We know improved air quality is good for the public, Richard Peltier, an environmental scientist at the University of Massachusetts, told The Guardian. There is a viewpoint now that scientists are the bad guys, that the science is corruptthings that just arent true. You Might Also Like More than 100 people march while holding Mexican flags and signs to protest President Donald Trump's immigration policies outside of the Idaho State Capitol in Boise on Feb. 7, 2025. Similar demonstrations have also taken place in Idaho Falls and Twin Falls in recent days. (Photo by Mia Maldonado/Idaho Capital Sun) A federal judge on Thursday evening temporarily blocked a new Idaho immigration law from taking effect. The block was issued hours after the ACLU of Idaho on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the state of Idaho over a new policy Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law on Thursday, which allows law enforcement to record a persons documentation status if they are suspected of a crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Modeled after a controversial 2023 Texas law, House Bill 83, as amended, creates Idaho immigration crimes illegal entry and illegal reentry, targeting individuals who do not have proper immigration authorization and those who have already been deported from coming to Idaho. Law enforcement would only be able to convict someone of those crimes if they are suspected for a different crime. The law also creates the crime of trafficking a dangerous illegal alien, or knowingly transporting an unauthorized immigrant who has previously been convicted of a crime in the U.S. or another country. The law grants immunity to law enforcement, meaning they are protected from lawsuits that could arise from the damages and liability they cause while enforcing the law. As federal agencies tighten immigration enforcement, House Bill 83 represents Idahos own approach to address unauthorized immigration in the Gem State where about 35,000 unauthorized immigrants live, according to a report from the University of Idahos McClure Center for Public Policy. However, the ACLU of Idaho anticipated the law taking effect, and it immediately sued. About Idahos newest lawsuit: IORC v. Labrador There are multiple plaintiffs in the case including the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils, an organization that promotes the safety, health and justice of immigrant communities. Another plaintiff includes The Alliance of Idaho, a nonprofit that provides low-cost immigration services to families in Blaine County. There are also five individual plaintiffs whose names are anonymous in the lawsuit for protection purposes, including four Mexican citizens and a Peruvian citizen who live in Idaho and Oregon, all of whom have children who are U.S. citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defendants include Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador and 13 prosecuting attorneys who represent the counties that the plaintiffs live in, ACLU of Idaho spokesperson Rebecca De Leon told the Idaho Capital Sun. The lawsuit alleges House Bill 83 violates the U.S. Constitution in three ways. First, the plaintiffs allege the law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes that federal law overrides state law, including in immigration matters. Courts in other states who have passed these laws have agreed with our legal argument, and we expect the court to do so here, ACLU of Idaho legal director Paul Carlos Southwick said in a press conference, referring to immigration policies in Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma. Second, the plaintiffs allege the law violates the Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution because it regulates peoples ability to enter into Idaho and imposes burdens on interstate and foreign commerce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Third, they argue the law is vague. This was a result of a lot of back and forth between the House and the Senate and deciding what version of this bill would pass, and unfortunately they cobbled together a version that is incomprehensible, Southwick said. And everyone, including our undocumented community, has a right to understand the law so that they know what the provisions of that law are and what they may or may not be violating. Bill sponsors say law targets immigrant criminals. ACLU of Idaho disagrees. Bill sponsors have said the bills purpose is to curb unauthorized migration and prevent dangerous unauthorized immigrants from entering Idaho. However, Southwick said the bill clearly does not just target criminals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You do not have to have any criminal conviction in order to be arrested, detained or prosecuted for these crimes, he said in a press conference. Law enforcement merely needs suspicion that you have engaged in some kind of independent crime. Emily Croston, a staff attorney at the ACLU, agreed with Southwick. It affects anyone who is stopped or accused of committing even minor crimes, so these could include littering, shoplifting or disturbing the peace, she said. So even if someone is never actually convicted for those minor crimes, if theres suspicion against them, then the police are allowed to engage in prosecuting the H.B. 83 crimes. Croston said the law would discourage unauthorized immigrants from reporting crimes theyve witnessed or are experiencing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because the bill had an emergency clause, it went into effect immediately after the governor signed it. The courts temporary restraining order issued Thursday evening will prevent the laws enforcement for 14 days. The lawsuit has been assigned to federal Judge Amanda Brailsford, and a preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m. April 10 at the James A. McClure Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Boise. A preliminary injunction could block the laws enforcement throughout the litigation process. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE iorc_v_labradormarch_filing SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DENVER (KDVR) Adams 12 Five Star Schools announced its final proposed budget plan for next year and said it needs to cut about $27.5 million. In a release, the district said more than 88% of its budget is spent on salaries and benefits, so 150 positions will be cut across the district. Reduced state funding, the conclusion of COVID-19 relief money, increasing costs of benefits and changes in enrollment averaging led to the deficit. 10 high school coaches in Fort Collins terminated after violation of district policy Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am angry and sad that we find ourselves in this position because we live in a state where so many stubbornly deny hard facts about how inadequate our school funding system is, Superintendent Chris Gdowski said. I am committed to doing everything I can to bring future changes to our states broken school finance system. Some of the cuts were already made. Those staff members received notifications on Thursday. The second round of layoffs will be announced in April. What positions will be impacted by Adams 12s layoffs? In a letter linked on the districts website, Gdowski outlined the positions that will be cut or reduced. Among them is the teacher librarian role in all elementary schools, K-8s and middle schools. We will take steps to keep libraries open for most of the school day, but recognize well be without the expertise these staff provide in the use of library materials and technology, Gdowski wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aurora teacher left for dead after being hit by car on e-bike, suspect still on the run Gifted and talented advocates will also be eliminted. Gdowski said instead, the district will set aside a pool of money to support student enrichment and growth opportunities for gifted and talented students. Here are the other reductions Gdowski listed in his letter: The number of academic interventionists supporting students behind in meeting literacy and math benchmarks. The number of social-emotional specialists in Title I elementary schools. Some art, music and physical education staffing in eight of the districts smaller elementary schools. Teachers will be shared among some schools so students will still have access. Some teachers, meaning some classes will be larger. Twenty-two Educational Support Center positions Why is Adams 12s budget deficit so large? In a webpage, the district provided details about why the budget deficit is so large, citing lower enrollment which drives funding. The state is proposing a change to district enrollment funding using a four-year average, rather than a five-year average. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Superintendent Gdowski said Adams 12 is not wasteful, nor inefficient. I know that we spend just 6.3 percent on school and district administration each year one of the lowest rates in Colorado and the country, Gdowski wrote in a letter posted to the district website. I know that were lagging behind neighboring school districts like Boulder Valley and Westminster by $60 to $90 million per year in supplemental override revenue. And I know that as a state we are substantially behind most of the country in K-12 funding. He said a pair of recent studies found that Colorado is $3.5 to $4.1 billion behind the funding level needed to provide an adequate education to all students. CO legislators call for resignations of members of Signal chat that planned missile strikes Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we had that funding, our budget would be 70 percent larger than it currently is and I wouldnt be sending this letter, Gdowski wrote. The positions and services that were cutting are far removed from the waste and inefficiency rhetoric. We will be without 150 outstanding administrators, educators and support staff colleagues next year and it doesnt have to be that way. He advocated for honest conversations, starting at the state level, about the unmet needs and gross inequalities in resource allocation caused by our current school funding system. On March 18, the Colorado Governors Office released a fact sheet detailing Gov. Jared Polis school finance formula. The office said his proposed budget would increase education funding by $138 million in a budget year and average per-pupil spending by another $388. It is not a cut, and the Governor would oppose any cuts to education, the Governors Office said. This responsible budget increase during a year in which almost all sectors are taking a hit aims to fund students based on where they are learning, instead of through an arbitrary multi-year average. List of cuts outlined by Adams 12 Five Star Schools On the district website, a list of specific cuts to areas of the district was provided. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Educational Support Center: 22 full-time equivalent positions totaling $3 million and another $1.2 million reduction in operating costs. Learning Services, the largest budget in the ESC, will be reduced by approximately 9%. Overall, ESC reduction is approximately 6% Elementary: Reduction of $8.5 million, approximately 10% K-8: Reduction of $1.5 million, approximately 7% Middle: reduction of $2.9 million, approximately 7% High: Reduction of $4.1 million, approximately 7% Alternative: Reduction of $1.3 million, approximately 7% Enrollment reserve reduction: $0.6 million or 6 full-time equivalent positions The district also provided a full budget reduction plan in Google Sheets, accessible 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 FOX31 Denver. *WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC DETAILS REGARDING CHARGES OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. DISCRETION IS HIGHLY ADVISED.* NEENAH, Wis. (WFRV) The former Neenah police officer who was fired on Wednesday after being arrested and charged with two counts of child pornography appeared in court on Thursday afternoon. 22-year-old Owen Halls, who was employed by the Neenah Police Department from March 25, 2024 until Wednesday, was deemed the suspect of a Kaukauna Police Department investigation of an Internet Crimes Against Children tip. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two Green Bay teenagers arrested after investigation into Marinette home struck by gunfire According to the criminal complaint, Halls is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography. The charges state that on or around September 19, 2024, Halls acquired motion pictures of a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct and reasonably should have known the child was under the age of 18. The complaint added that he had access with the intent to view them. Both charges are Class D felonies, and if convicted, Halls could face up to $100,000 in fines and/or up to 25 years in prison for each count. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The criminal complaint revealed that on September 19, 2024, a School Resource Officer with the Kaukauna Police Department was alerted to an Internet Crimes Against Children CyberTip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. *WARNING: GRAPHIC DETAILS INCLUDED BELOW, READER DISCRETION HIGHLY ADVISED* The tip alleged that child sexual abuse material was involved and that two files were uploaded online after midnight on June 10, 2024. The files reportedly included an approximately 13-year-old girl sitting on the floor completely nude and masturbating. The School Resource Officer submitted warrants and subpoenas regarding the information, leading to an address in Kaukauna, with one of the people living there identified as Owen Halls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Owen Halls was reportedly asked by officers if he had a Telegram account, to which he said yes, and that he uses it for probably stuff that I shouldnt. Halls claimed it was to keep pictures of females who werent his girlfriend. He reportedly noticed the symbol for an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit on one of the officers and asked if they were speaking with him about ICAC specifically. The officer said that Halls internet activity was the subject, and Halls reportedly said the following: There is nothing like, inherently I know that is like, I guess, child. Halls reiterated multiple times that he was concerned about seeing kids on the website Mega, which has links to pornographic videos and pictures, some of which may include underage people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the investigation, Halls was asked about some of the online chatrooms he was in, and he reportedly answered yes, any to questions like, what kind of content are you into? Are you looking for CP? The officer asked Halls if he was aware that CP meant child porn, to which Halls allegedly said I guess I should, yeah. Investigators revealed that they had seen child sex abuse materials on his account of teenagers and girls under the age of 18 performing sexual acts. 1st degree intentional homicide charges filed against Wisconsin teenager, accused of killing and hiding parents bodies The criminal complaint said that Halls nodded in affirmation to their findings and said mmhm in response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local 5 will provide updates as needed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Trans Drag Race icon Adore Delano is furious that she cant get a passport that accurately reflects her female gender amid the Trump administrations anti-trans policy to halt passport applications to Americans whose gender is different than their assigned sex at birth. In a TikTok video posted on Friday morning that is currently going viral, Delano told fans that her name is now legally Adore Delano, but the federal government isnt recognizing her updated gender. But its true you guys, theyre not changing my gender federally so my passport will remain male, Delano said in her TikTok video that has already amassed nearly a million views at the time of publication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fking wild because I travel outside the country for a living. Im filming my first movie outside of the country this week. So all of my documentation that are federal will remain male, she said. www.tiktok.com legally Adore Delano BUT Trans and nonbinary Americans are currently fighting back against President Trumps executive order that directed the State Department to only issue passports that "accurately reflect the holders sex, Reuters reports. It was only two months ago that Delano happily posted on Instagram about turning in paperwork to legally change her name and gender after coming out as trans in 2023 and being open about undergoing facial feminization surgery. GENDER & NAME PAPERWORK TURNED IN! now we wait, she wrote on Instagram. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Delano said she tried everything she could think of to get a new passport with a female gender marker but was told that were like a month-and-a-half to two months too late and that the option to change your gender marker has already been removed from the Social Security website. Theyre really out here calling us men, girls! Delano isnt the only trans celebrity who has struggled with getting a passport with the correct gender marker. Euphoria actress Hunter Schafer also made a TikTok video to share her "harsh reality check" that her new passport had a male gender marker. (@) x.com "It's not just talk," Schafer said in the since-deleted video. "This is real. And it's happening. No one, no matter their circumstance, no matter how wealthy or white or pretty or whatever, is excluded. This is real. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schafer expressed her anger at the Trump administrations new pocky but told fans that it doesnt change her transness. "I don't give a f*ck that they put an 'M' on my passport. It doesn't change really anything about me or my transness, she explained. However, it does make life a little harder. I'm pretty sure it's gonna come along with having to out myself to border patrol agents and that whole gig much more often than I would like to or is really necessary." OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Dozens of advocates gathered on Thursday to push for policies to help end hunger across the state. I think what we see is a crisis on the horizon if we dont take the right steps and protect what we already have in place, said Chris Bernard, the CEO of Hunger Free Oklahoma. This effort comes as Oklahoma consistently ranks as one of the hungriest states in the country. According to the U.S. The Department of Agriculture, Oklahoma is the sixth hungriest state in the nation and approximately 686,000 Oklahomans received food assistance in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LOCAL NEWS: Local students use STEAM project to adapt toys for kids with disabilities Carrie Vesley Henderson sees the problem first hand every day. Shes the Executive Director of Iron Gate Tulsa, a soup kitchen and food pantry. Were seeing more people than we have in the past, said Vesely Henderson. I think the economy is driving a lot of that. I think theres a lot of uncertainty. There are a number of hunger-related bills on the table this session the advocates are asking lawmakers to pass. HB 1111: Requires Oklahoma Human Services to fully implement the Elderly and Disabled Simplified Application Process. This program reduces bureaucracy for older adults and people with certain disabilities when they apply for, and recertify for, SNAP benefits. HB 1575: Requires the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to explore creating a streamlined, unified benefits application for multiple benefits programs. SB 190: Reauthorizes the option to donate a tax refund to a food bank. SB 806: Creates the Food is Medicine Act, to direct the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to seek coverage for nutrition supports using the Medicaid program. The measure also directs the Department of Education to provide technical assistance to schools for Farm to School grants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Overall, its about making sure that we support the whole system, said Bernard. So, that means making sure that programs like SNAP and school meals are protected and that we maximize what we can do with them as a state to support people who need access to 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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. The World Bank has approved the Azerbaijan Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Project (AZURE), an initiative that will strengthen Azerbaijans power transmission network, enable the country to diversify its energy mix, and meet growing electricity demand through a more resilient and reliable power grid, Trend reports via the Bank. The $173.5 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will support Azerbaijans efforts to expand and modernize its energy infrastructure, thus establishing the enabling conditions for the private sector to invest in Azerbaijans large untapped renewable energy potential, particularly in onshore wind energy. The project will help unlock an initial $384 million in private investments, paving the way for further renewable energy investments, as Azerbaijan considers expanding its energy exports. "This project will enable the delivery of reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity that people and businesses in Azerbaijan can depend on," said Stefanie Stallmeister, World Bank Country Manager for Azerbaijan. "By supporting the strengthening of the power grid, we are helping Azerbaijan achieve its long-term vision for energy security, creating the foundation for sustained growth and opportunity." The AZURE project focuses on expanding and reinforcing key transmission lines and substations to: Connect the 240-Megawatt Absheron-Garadagh Wind Power Plant to the transmission grid, Strengthen and expand the 330/500 kV high-voltage grid to ensure safe and reliable evacuation of up to 1 Gigawatt of privately developed renewable power generation, and Improve grid stability to better integrate 1.8 Gigawatts of renewable electricity through private investments. Stephanie Gil, World Bank Practice Manager for Energy in Europe and Central Asia, added: "Through the projects inclusion in the Europe and Central Asia Renewable Energy Scale-up (ECARES) multi-year program launched by the World Bank Group last year, AZURE is benefiting from a larger platform that convenes governments, financial institutions, and private sector stakeholders, and facilitates the exchange of best practices, regulatory solutions, and investment strategies. Through this approach, the best global and regional expertise can help drive development and support scalable and replicable private sector led-energy solutions." Investments will concentrate on connecting areas with high renewable energy potential to demand centers. By enhancing transmission capacity and increasing reliability, the project will create a more robust and flexible power system capable of meeting future energy needs of households and businesses alike. This, in turn, will help attract private investment, support economic growth, and create jobs. The project is a first step towards supporting Azerbaijans vision of creating a green energy corridor, an initiative to increase renewable energy development and trade in the region. GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) A Gaston County student will face charges, following an alleged assault caught on camera inside a classroom. It happened Tuesday at Ashbrook High School. Because the accused student is younger than 18, investigators are not releasing exactly what charges he will face. Gaston County Police turned this case over to the Department of Juvenile Justice. The alleged attack is causing quite the stir. Protesters went to this district office Thursday afternoon to share their concerns. I will stand up for these kids if nobody else will, said Teresa MacFarlane, who protested. I will. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MacFarlane is one of about a dozen people, who brought signs and stood outside the Gaston County Schools Central Office Thursday afternoon in protest, after seeing a video of an alleged assault at Ashbrook High School. We have anti-bullying policies but apparently theyre not working or we wouldnt be having situations like we had yesterday, she said. The video shows one student repeatedly hitting another. It also shows the targeted student falling out of his chair and onto the ground. People online are claiming the victim may have special needs, but district leaders arent able to confirm that because of privacy laws. We want the students to be able to go to school and learn, not be worried about their safety, said MacFarlane. We want measures put in place to make that happen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MacFarlane is an advocate for special needs children and started a petition calling for cameras in all Gaston County classrooms and for the district to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against bullying. More states move to ban cellphones in school as Georgia is latest to act Rule 6 in Gaston County Schools Student Code of Conduct states, students shall not bully or harass other students. For high schoolers, the consequences range from in-school disciplinary action, such as long-term suspension, to criminal charges. Rule 10 states, students shall not fight or attempt to cause bodily harm to another student. Those consequences range from up to 10 days of out-of-school suspension, to law enforcement involvement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We still have a lot of bullying going on in the school system that we need to address and we need for the school board to adopt some policies and procedures to nip this in the bud, said MacFarlane. Its not okay with the citizens of Gaston County. Queen City News reached out to Gaston County Schools officials and asked if they had any comments on the protest and petition. Were waiting to hear 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 Queen City News. CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) SNAP and other food security benefits are expected to face cuts by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans. Senator Ed Markey, Congressman Jim McGovern, and advocates met virtually yesterday to discuss this issue. The proposal to cut SNAP benefits has deeply concerned many of these advocates, as it could lead to increased hunger and food insecurity. Weve made great strides, but there are still too many people in the United States going hungry every single day, said State Senator Edward Markey. Trump Administration plans to cut 10,000 federal jobs in restructuring effort Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly 1 in 5 families in Massachusetts report struggling with food access. And more families could struggle if billions of SNAP benefits are cut. The proposed reduction in SNAP benefits equals 118 million meals lost throughout the state. State Senator Markey adds, This week, I heard directly from Massachusetts early educators, community college students, food bank leaders, and advocates why SNAP is a critical lifeline for families in our state. SNAP helps one in six Massachusetts residents, or about 670,000 families, put food on the table, but nearly 20 percent of families in Massachusetts still report struggling with food access. If Republicans want to make these cuts, Im going to make sure every American knows that they are the ones taking food from peoples dinner tables to fuel billionaires tax breaks. If you cut those even further, that will cause families to make impossible choices between feeding themselves or paying their rent, paying their utility bills on time, said Rebecca Miller, the Policy Director at the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative. Last year alone, Project Bread, a food security organization in Massachusetts, handled more than 7,000 SNAP pre-screens and nearly 700 SNAP applications over the phone. Right now in Massachusetts, our levels of food insecurity are the same as they were at the peak of the COVID crisis. We are in crisis right now in our state and across the country when it comes to hunger. And it is not the time to be cutting back the programs that we know are most effective in responding to that crisis, said Jennifer Lemmerman, chief policy officer for Project Bread. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Food banks and pantries will also see an increase in more people seeking food assistance. And quite frankly, food banks across the country wont be able to make up for the loss of SNAP benefits people rely on to put food on their table, said Andrew Moorehouse, the Executive Director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. The Western Massachusetts Food Bank currently provides food to local line food pantries across the region. This includes the Parish Cupboard in West Springfield. You know, in the short term, we will probably weather the storm. In the long term, its going to hurt our services, said Bob Fastie, West Springfield Parish Cupboard Executive Director. For every dollar of SNAP spent, it can impact the economy by nearly 2 dollars. So that means in Massachusetts, thats about $4 billion in economic activity in the year. These snap benefits not only support 194,000 individuals in western Mass. but bring in around 35 million dollars to the region. This means farmers, local economies, and small businesses that depend on these federal dollars could be impacted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So for Congress to consider decimating this program would be both unprecedented and horrifying, expressed Victoria Negus of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. Negus says delegates with the Massachusetts Law Reform Insitute are speaking up for everyone in Washington D.C. to urge Congress to reject these cuts. 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. Attorneys for a Tufts University doctoral student grabbed off the street by plainclothes ICE officers earlier this week are accusing the federal government of violating her rights to free speech and due process in an updated legal petition filed on Friday. Her case drew attention after a chilling video of her arrest circulated on social media. Rumeysa Ozturks visa was canceled apparently over an op-ed she co-wrote criticizing her university for refusing to recognize student government resolutions condemning Israel's war in Gaza, her attorneys say, published almost one year to the day before she was arrested on Tuesday. The arrest came as the Trump administration wages war on pro-Palestinian speech at college campuses around the country. In the new complaint filed in the District Court for Massachusetts, attorneys say Ozturks arrest was designed to punish her speech and chill the speech of others. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Ozturks visa was revoked for pro-Palestinian activism in a Thursday presser, adding that students creating a ruckus could face deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like the revocation of her visa, her arrest and detention are designed to silence her, punish her for her speech, and ensure that other students will be chilled from expressing pro-Palestinian viewpoints, the complaint read. Her continued detention is therefore unlawful. Now represented by a coalition of attorneys including the Massachusetts and national ACLU, Ozturk is being held in Louisiana a state in the highly conservative Fifth Circuit Court, where authorities also took Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil after a judge ordered the government to keep her in Massachusetts. Mahsa Khanbabai, who has represented Ozturk since the day of her arrest, said that transport was illegal. Additionally, Khanbabai said the Trump administration kept Ozturks whereabouts hidden for nearly 24 hours before revealing it shipped her to Louisiana. Her experience was shocking, cruel, and unconstitutional, Khanbabai said in a statement Friday. Criticizing U.S. foreign policy and human rights violations is neither illegal nor grounds for detention. The government must immediately release Rumeysa to continue her studies and rejoin her community, Khanbabai added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, called Ozturks visa cancellation on the basis of political speech an affront to all of our constitutional rights. We will not stop fighting until Ms. Ozturk is free to return to her loved ones and until we know the government will not abuse immigration law to punish those who speak up for what they believe, Rossman said in the statement. Ozturk is one of at least 300 students whose visas have been taken by Rubio, and a handful of students who have been arrested and detained. Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil was detained in his university-owned apartment building two weeks ago and has been in ICE custody since. Alabama doctoral student Alireza Doroudi was also seized Tuesday, though federal authorities havent explained why or produced evidence that he was tied to pro-Palestinian activism or any other cause. Across Wisconsin this weekend, voters will open their newspapers to see Elon Musk delivering a straight-arm salute behind Brad Schimel, the Republican nominee for Wisconsin Supreme Court, whose campaign Musks organizations have been boosting ahead of the April 1 election. Elon Musk is trying to buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat for Brad Schimel, says the ad, purchased by the Democratic National Committee, and slated to run in eight local papers, alongside the words Wisconsin Is Not For Sale. It marks the first time that the committee is using imagery of Musk, or his gesture interpreted by many as a Sieg Heil salute in an advertisement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On April 1, Wisconsinites get the chance to say what Americans across this country are thinking: Go to hell, Elon, DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement shared with Rolling Stone. Billionaires have no business deciding our elections and Wisconsinites deserve a Supreme Court justice who looks out for them, not the ultra-wealthy. Now and forever, Wisconsin is not for sale. Neo-Nazis and other ethno-nationalists rejoiced when Musk performed the salute on stage the day of Donald Trumps inauguration, exactly one month after he publicly endorsed the AfD, the far-right German political party. (The AfDs leader, Bjorn Hocke, has repeatedly been fined for using a political slogan favored by Nazi stormtroopers.) On X, the Anti-Defamation League quickly characterized Musks salute as an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute. The organization was sharply criticized for its dismissal of the gesture. (Jonathan Greenblatt, the current head of the ADL, later expressed regret that he didnt frame the tweet differently.) On its website, the ADL defines the Hitler Salute as raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down much like the one Musk performed twice on stage. Abe Foxman, the former head of the ADL, weighed in, declaring it a Heil Hitler Nazi salute. At the time, Musk laughed off the criticism, posting a series of Nazi-related puns, including, Dont say Hess to Nazi accusations!, Some people will Goebbels anything down!, Stop Goring your enemies! and Bet you did nazi that coming. In an interview with Joe Rogan last month, Musk clarified, Im not a Nazi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk has dumped over $20 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race since January, when his car company, Tesla, filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that bars car manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to consumers. The case has not yet reached the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where Democrats currently hold a 4-3 majority that could be upended by the election. In addition to spending on Schimels behalf, Musk, as he did during the 2024 presidential race, is offering $100 and the chance at even bigger cash prizes to registered voters who sign petitions pledging to support his cause. This time, canvassers are asking voters to promise to reject the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demand a judiciary that respects its role interpreting, not legislating. (On Wednesday night, Musk announced he was awarding $1 million to a Green Bay voter who signed one of the petitions.) The DNCs Musk ad is slated to run in eight papers across Wisconsin this weekend: the Chippewa Herald, the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, the Beloit Daily News, the Daily Jefferson County Union, the Janesville Gazette, the Watertown Daily Times and Oshkosh Northwestern. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. AHN Saint Vincent Hospital celebrated National Doctors Day Thursday, highlighting the work of two physicians. Doctor Melissa Fowler, a pathologist, and Doctor Fred Havko, an emergency medicine physician, were awarded $500 for a charity of their choice. Rescued pup Bernard finds loving home after recovering from abuse Along with showing appreciation for these two doctors, its a time to recognize all staff for their commitment and dedication to patients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I work in the emergency room which can be very challenging at times. Seems like you get more complaints than you do compliments so its really nice every once in a while to get recognized for the work that you do, Dr. Havko said. The charities the honorees chose were Saint Pauls Free Clinic and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwestern Pennsylvania. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Anytime King Charlesor any member of the royal family, reallyis admitted to the hospital, its a bit unsettling for royals fans. It seems, though, that the King is stable as he continues his treatment for cancer, and is back home at Clarence House and doing what hed rather be doingworking. According to The Times, sources are calling the Kings brief hospitalization on March 27 a most minor bump in the road thats very much heading in the right direction. The monarch was hospitalized Thursday for what The Times called minor side effects, forcing him to cancel engagements but not the state visit to Italy that he and Queen Camilla are expected to undertake in just over a weeks time, which is still expected to take place. Jane Barlow - WPA Pool/Getty Images King Charles King Charles Getty King Charles and Queen Camilla on March 10, 2025 King Charles and Queen Camilla on March 10, 2025 The King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation by doctors after receiving cancer treatment Thursday morning. He was then forced to cancel his afternoon engagements yesterday and was taken by carnot ambulance, its worth notingto The London Clinic, the same hospital where he underwent a procedure for a benign enlarged prostate in January 2024. He was later diagnosed with cancer following that procedure, which was announced publicly on February 5 of last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its also promising that the Queen was not with her husband at the hospital, as her Thursday engagements went on as planned. He was planned to undertake four engagements in Birmingham on March 28 but postponed all engagements Friday, a decision a palace spokesman said he was greatly disappointed to make. He very much hopes that they can be rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible, the spokesperson added. Getty King Charles on March 20, 2025 King Charles on March 20, 2025 The Times reported the King was on good form back at home at Clarence House and by Thursday evening was already back in his study, making phone calls and working on his state papers. Last week, while visiting Northern Ireland, the King specifically mentioned the sometimes grueling side effects of cancer treatment, telling a group of people also living with cancer, You just have to push on, dont you? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The King worked from home from February until late April of last year, when he resumed public-facing duties. In October, he and the Queen undertook a two-stop visit to Australia and Samoa, and in December, Buckingham Palace said that his treatment has been moving in a positive direction, and as a managed condition, the treatment cycle will continue into next year. Charles type and stage of cancer has never been disclosed, though the palace said early last year that he does not have prostate cancer. Getty King Charles on March 20, 2025 King Charles on March 20, 2025 As he is back home and working, the monarchwho is often affectionately described as a workaholic, according to The Telegraphcontinues to maintain a busy schedule amid his treatment, and aides noted that keeping busy has been of great benefit to his overall well-being. Camilla, however, has been known to ask her husband to slow down, even joking during one royal engagement last year that he would be getting better if he behaved himself. Charles and Camilla will celebrate 20 years of marriage while on their royal tour of Italy next month. Getty Images King Charles and Queen Camilla on October 25, 2024 King Charles and Queen Camilla on October 25, 2024 As for Charles health, aides said there had been no change to his condition and that it was simply a case of maintaining the very encouraging status quo, according to The Telegraph. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charles daughter-in-law Kate Middleton was also diagnosed with cancer following a January 2024 procedure at The London Clinic. She announced in January of this year that her cancerthe type and stage of which is also unknownwas in remission. Read the original article on InStyle DOGE employee Joe Gebbia, a cofounder of Airbnb and recent convert to the Republican cause, wants to reimagine how federal workers retire, a process currently conducted entirely on paper. In an ideal world, Gebbia said, applying for retirement as a Fed would be a seamless, Apple Storelike experience that would take just a few days. An overhaul is coming within months, he told Fox News. Joe Gebbia, one of the founders of short-term rental site Airbnb and a member of the cost-cutting team of federal workers known as DOGE, has a positively technocratic vision for overhauling how government workers retire. Gebbia wants to change the retirement process from its current paper-based system to an online digital process that will take a few days at most. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We really believe the government can be an Apple Storelike experience, Gebbia said in an interview with Fox Newss Bret Baier on Thursday. Gebbia appeared with friend and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, along with six other members of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), in a largely friendly wide-ranging interview to describe the teams cost-cutting efforts. (Amy Gleason, who the government says is the acting administrator of DOGE, did not appear and was not mentioned by the DOGE team.) Gebbia said he got involved with the effort when he bumped into Anthony [Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley banker and fellow DOGE staffer] and Elon probably back in February, and they told me something about a mine that dealt with retirement. I love the challenge so I jumped on board, Gebbia said. The process to retire a federal employee involves going into personnel files stored deep in a limestone mine in western Pennsylvania, Gebbia said. The cave contains over 28,000 filing cabinets and over 200 workers who are relegated to their quartersnot because of secrecy, but for space, the New York Times noted last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The system is entirely paper-based, and it currently takes as long to process one workers paperwork as it did back in the 1970s: about two months, according to the Times. Theres little doubt the mine is a paragon of inefficiency, the Times added. That means, according to Gebbia, the federal government can process only about 8,000 retirements per month, which became a roadblock for DOGE when it offered early retirement buyouts to hundreds of thousands of workers. Probably in the next few months, well do an overhaul, Gebbia said. Its an interesting problem, he noted later in the interview. We can use design to solve it and good engineering and create a better experience for everybody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gebbia revealed his involvement with DOGE a month ago in a post on X, the Elon Muskowned social-media platform, where he invited others to join him to help design beautiful, user-friendly digital products. Gebbia reposted an announcement from the Office of Personnel Management that it had processed a federal workers retirement entirely digitally for the first time. A longtime Democratic donor, Gebbia has said he voted Republican in the 2024 election and voiced his support for current Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Gebbias revelation prompted a flood of negative comments on Airbnbs forums, following which the platform distanced itself from its cofounder, saying in a statement that Joe is joining DOGE in his personal capacity. While Gebbia remains an Airbnb board member, he has not had an operating role at the company since July 2022, and his personal views dont reflect the views of Airbnb or Airbnb.org, the company said. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Denmark's Copenhagen will host a pivotal climate summit, drawing leaders and ministers from around the globe ahead of the COP30 conference in Brazil on May 7-8, 2025, Trend reports. According to the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities, and Climate, the ministerial meeting will convene nearly 40 global leaders and policymakers to review the progress of COP29 and address the critical issues surrounding the upcoming COP30 in Belem, Brazil. The summit is expected to provide a platform for raising ambitions and boosting efforts on climate action, particularly in terms of implementing national climate plans. Lars Aagaard, Denmark's Minister of Energy, Utilities, and Climate, will co-chair the meeting alongside Brazilian Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago, who will assume the presidency of COP30, and outgoing COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev from Azerbaijan. The summit will be a key moment in reinforcing global commitments to tackling climate change. "The Copenhagen meeting of climate ministers will be a highly relevant forum to advance the climate agenda and reaffirm the importance of dialogue and collaboration in the fight against climate change. This partnership will play a critical role in achieving successful outcomes at COP30. As mentioned in my first letter to the international community, we must explore all possible ways to address the many challenges we will face in the future," Andre Correa do Lago said in a statement. "The multilateral climate system has already delivered tangible benefits, and we must continue the spirit of courage and solidarity demonstrated at COP29 in Baku. Every country must now stand up, ensure that we meet our past commitments, and continue moving forward in implementing them. We must send a clear signal of our unwavering dedication to continued ambitious climate action in Copenhagen," COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev said. "Global climate action and unity are now more crucial than ever. Sadly, some countries are stepping back, but we must remain steadfast in ensuring a sustainable future. I am proud that we are once again bringing key global players together in Copenhagen to advance the climate agenda," Minister Lars Aagaard said. To note, Denmark has been hosting the Climate Action Conference in Copenhagen for four consecutive years, collaborating with the presidents of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to strengthen global action against climate change. The Copenhagen Climate Action Ministers' Conference, first held in 2022, aims to enhance global efforts to combat climate change and drive ambitious outcomes in the UNs annual climate summits. This meeting of climate ministers is organized in cooperation with both current and future COP presidents. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel [In the player above, learn more about federal drug scheduling.] AKRON, Ohio (WJW) An Akron man convicted of distributing methamphetamine supplied by the violent street gang La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, has been sentenced to nearly three decades in prison. Affiliates of gang members supplied Joshua Fortson, 37, of Akron, with the drugs for years, according to a Thursday news release from Carol Skutnik, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Manhunt suspended for James Douglas Meadows, suspect in Lorain County police officer assault who remains at-large Fortson paid a driver to transport the drugs the 700 miles from Atlanta, Georgia, to Akron, where he sold them out of his apartment, according to the release. He was a known supplier of methamphetamine and other drugs throughout Portage and Summit counties. A 2019 search of Fortsons home found 7 kilograms of methamphetamine he had intended to sell, some concealed in 18 different chip bags which had been resealed using a heat sealer and in a breakfast pastry box, according to the release. They also found more than $26,000 in cash and a loaded pistol. At the time, Fortson was on supervised release for an unrelated case. He was previously convicted of trafficking cocaine in 2009 and of sexual battery in 2011. Parole officers who visited his home found he had violated the terms of his release, prosecutors said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Teens housed in county building attack delivery driver: I-Team A federal jury found Fortson guilty of distribution of methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 29 years in prison. Federal authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of a top leader of MS-13 in Virginia, Nexstar reported. The 24-year-old man hails from El Salvador, where the gang originates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. [In the player above, learn more about identity theft and freezing credit.] CLEVELAND (WJW) Two Akron tax preparers who filed fraudulent applications for pandemic-era relief funds in their clients names, and pocketed more than $1.2 million in government benefits, have been found guilty of dozens of crimes. A federal grand jury indicted Mustafa Ayoub Diab, 41, of Ravenna, in 2023 on more than a dozen counts including wire fraud, bank fraud and theft of government funds. He was arrested that month in New Jersey, court records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement VIDEO: Flames engulf bus carrying local high school team A superseding indictment filed in April 2024 added dozens more counts as well as Diabs partner, Elizabeth Lorraine Robinson, 33, of Ravenna, as a codefendant. Diab and Robinson, who were not legally married, but considered each other as husband and wife, offered income tax return preparation services out of a commercial complex in Akron, according to the indictment. Thats how they obtained their clients personal information. Federal prosecutors said Diab used their clients identities to file fraudulent applications for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which expanded unemployment benefits amid the pandemic; and for Paycheck Protection Program loans, offered to small businesses to retain jobs and offset losses due to the pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Diab offered to obtained pandemic assistance for the victims, using their personal information, and in some cases even set up bank accounts in the victims names, without their knowledge, where the funds were directed. He also set up email accounts through which he posed as the victims, so that the victims were never notified of the benefits. Diab filed fraudulent claims in the names of nearly 80 people between June 2020 and August 2021, lying about their employment status or falsely claiming they were a small business owner all without their knowledge, according to prosecutors. Robinson also set up a bank account in her name to receive pandemic benefits intended for the victims or met victims at the bank to open accounts or make transactions, according to the indictment. Diab and Robinson also opened bank accounts in the names of family members or other people to launder the benefits, according to the indictment. The pair then withdrew the money in large chunks for themselves, according to the indictment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors said Diab spent the money on property, cars and international travel. Angelos Pizza in Lakewood vandalized; front windows shattered Diabs jury trial began on March 19. During trial, a judge acquitted Diab of four of his 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. The case was handed over to jurors on Tuesday, March 25, court records show. The following Wednesday, March 26, they returned guilty verdicts on all the remaining 30 counts of bank and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering, court records show. Diab is due for sentencing on July 28, and is facing up to 30 years in prison, prosecutors said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robinson pleaded guilty to 19 counts in February and is due for sentencing on June 23, court records show. She also faces up to 30 years 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 Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. ALABAMA (WHNT) Two Alabama bills aim to allow farmers the ability to get their health insurance directly through nonprofit agricultural organizations like ALFA. Alabama lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 84 and House Bill 477. If passed, they would expand health insurance options for farmers across the state. Sink or save? Group starts petition to fight against SS United States from becoming artificial reef Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) said he introduced SB84 in February. What this bill does is allow a free contract, the freedom to contract between an organization in this situation the farm bureau, Orr said. 10 other states across the country have done this and its members and that would be the members of the farm bureau and the contract is for health care coverage. Some oppose this bill including several organizations who wrote a letter to lawmakers with concerns that farmers with pre-existing conditions would be left out, the farm bureaus wouldnt limit out of pocket costs, that the law would cap key benefits and wouldnt have oversight from the state department of insurance. Orr said other states have similar laws and operate without issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats the problem? Why cant we allow this freedom of contract between two willing entities where an association wants to provide healthcare for its members, Orr said. Its been successful even here in North Alabama right across the Tennessee border, the Tennessee Farm Bureau has had a plan in place for decades. Many farmers like Marshall Countys Hunter Tolleson have voiced their support for the bill on social media. Tolleson runs Grown by Grace Farms and said since he and his wife both work on the farm, her having to get another job for insurance puts a strain on labor. My wife does a lot more on the farm than you would imagine, being that its just me and her, I do a lot of the manual labor but hey she can keep right up with me but like I said she works off the farm, saves our tail though, Tolleson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the couple were able to get insurance through the farm, Tolleson said it would change their dynamics. At first she would still need to work a little bit, just for you know saving up money for farm improvements, Tolleson said. But, in the future, she could possibly come home but without that kind of health insurance you know it wouldnt be an option at all. Both bills have a ways to go on their respective sides of the Alabama legislature before they could head to Governor Iveys desk to be signed into law. Tolleson said if this bill were to pass, it could change the future of farms in Alabama. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youre going to have a lot more farms, a lot more local farms especially expanding, have the ability to expand honestly, Tolleson said. Right now, its just not possible and if you want to eat you know farmers are your ticket to eat. Both bills are currently pending committee action. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) A student from Iran who had been studying at the University of Alabama before being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers is now likely in a federal facility in Louisiana, sources confirm. Alireza Doroudi, 32, was arrested by ICE officers outside his home in Tuscaloosa early Tuesday morning. Until Friday morning, Doroudi was being held at the Pickens County Jail until he could be transported to an ICE facility. An employee at the Pickens County Jail confirmed that Doroudi was released from the jail at 8:18 a.m. and was taken by ICE to an undisclosed facility in Louisiana. That facility was later announced to be Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, La. Hes probably already there by now, the employee said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doroudi was studying to receive his doctorate degree in mechanical engineering at UA. According to his fiancee, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani, he was in the final stages of finishing his degree and was expected to defend his dissertation next school year. Since entering the United States legally on a valid student visa, he has been fully engaged in rigorous academic work and collaborative research projects within his department, Bajgani wrote in a post on her LinkedIn page promoting a GoFundMe to help raise money for an attorney. His dedication and achievements have earned him recognition in his field and led to his selection to apply for permanent residency. Beyond his academic success, Alireza is known by peers and faculty alike as a responsible, committed, and hard-working individual. The Department of Homeland Security alleged that Doroudi posed significant national security concerns, although it did not elaborate on what those concerns were. Outside of a speeding and reckless driving charge that he pleaded guilty to and paid a fine for two years ago, Doroudi does not have a criminal record since arriving in the United States in January 2023. In reporting by The Crimson White, people close to Doroudi claimed that his visa had been revoked six months after arriving at UA, although he was told by the International Student and Scholar Services that he could legally remain in the country as long as he stayed in school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When reached for comment, Bajgani referred CBS 42 to Doroudis attorney, David Rozas, for comment. Alireza is the love of my life, and I cant say anything more than that, she 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 CBS 42. A young adult brown bear walks in front of a forested area in Katmai National Park and Preserve on June 16, 2018. The Alaska Board of Game approved an emergency regulation allowing the Department of Fish and Game to conduct a third season of predator control to kill bears in the area of Western Alaska used by the ailing Mulchatna Caribou Herd. Critics of the program believe it puts Katmai bears at risk. (Photo by R. Taylor/National Park Service) The Alaska Board of Game on Thursday approved state officials request to continue a controversial predator control program in Western Alaska, even though a judge ruled two weeks ago that the bear-killing program violated the state constitution. The board granted an Alaska Department of Fish and Game petition for emergency action to carry out a third season of shooting bears and wolves to keep them from preying on the ailing Mulchatna Caribou Herd. In the past two years, the predator control program carried out in late spring and early summer within the herds range killed 175 brown bears, five black bears and 19 wolves, according to the department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The emergency finding is warranted to help a herd that fell from a peak of about 200,000 in the late 1990s to about 13,000 now, too low to allow any hunting, board members said on the final day of a weeklong meeting in Anchorage. Right now, we have a herd that has shut down where a large number of people in Western Alaska cant put caribou in their freezer right now. And its not going to grow if they dont have calf survival, said Stosh Hoffman, a board member from Bethel. People in the region need to be able to hunt caribou because other food sources are uncertain, Hoffman said. Were in tough times out here. A lot of things are changing. The salmon is in big decline. Our moose population, everyone knows its going to tip over real soon, like new moose populations tend to do. When they crash, they crash hard, he said. He noted that the Alaska Federation of Natives, at its last convention, unanimously supported a resolution in favor of Mulchatna predator control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Nicole Schmitt, executive director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, said she was shocked at what the department and the board did. We just think it was a complete betrayal of the public process, Schmitt said. Emergency regulations in the past have closed hunting, not opened or reopened predator control, she said. This says to me if the board wants something done, they will manufacture an emergency to that end. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance is considering how to respond, she said. Were looking at something that includes a legal response, as well as other options, she said. The Department of Fish and Game submitted the petition for emergency action last Friday, on the first day of the regularly scheduled Anchorage meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While department officials say the predator removals done to date have resulted in increased calf births that help the herd, opponents say factors like habitat change rather than predation are behind the herds population decline. Opponents also say that the program threatens populations of bears, including those that frequent the well-known bear-viewing areas in Katmai National Park and Preserve. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance filed a lawsuit in 2023 that resulted in the ruling against the program. Superior Court Judge Andrew Guidi ruled on March 14 that it was carried out in violation of public-notice and public-comment requirements and that it violated the state constitutions sustained-yield mandate by failing to adequately evaluate impacts to bear populations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the Board of Game meeting, there was debate among members about whether adequate public notice and opportunities for public comment had been given this time. Some members argued for a separate meeting. But the majority, by a 5-2 vote, decided to deal with the matter Thursday, the last day of the weeklong meeting. The vote to authorize the programs resumption passed by a 6-1 margin. Member John Wood, who agreed with others that the matter qualified as an emergency but had expressed some concerns about proper public notice, was the lone dissenter. Ryan Scott, director of the departments Division of Wildlife, said the program can start imminently. To be effective, it has to be carried out in the late spring and early summer, during the calving season, he said. The department is poised to start its third season of the Mulchatna predator control, he told Board of Game members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not about beginning to gear up. We are full tilt. We have contracts in place, we got fuel moving, he told the board. Though the court ruling has implications for proper processes to follow, the department is treating the matter as having some urgency, he said. I mean, 30 days from now, well probably be putting people in the field, he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Alaskan cruises have surged in popularity its cruise hub, Juneau, saw a record 1.73 million cruisers in 2024. The cruise boom has boosted the city's local economy but strained its infrastructure and residents. In response, Juneau has set daily ship and passenger limits. Hundreds of miles of hiking trails may surround Juneau, Alaska, but living there year-round is no walk in the park. In the winter, the state's capital city sees less than seven hours of sunlight daily. With some restaurants and shops closed, these chilly months can feel quiet and gloomy for the city's 31,555 residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in the spring and summer, when the bears awaken and the flowers come alive, so too do the city's streets largely thanks to the bustling cruise industry. As Alaska's busiest cruise hub, Juneau can get slammed with upward of 17,000 cruise tourists on any given summer day. With it has come local economic success and a growing disdain for the vacation-at-sea industry. Juneau saw a record 1.73 million cruise passengers in 2024. : Sergi Reboredo/VW PICS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Juneau saw a record 1.73 million cruisers in 2024 a 33% spike from the pre-COVID-19 pandemic record in 2019, according to a study by McKinley Research Group for the city. It's not much compared to Miami's 8.2 million cruisers in 2024, for comparison, but unlike Florida, Juneau only operates a six-month cruise season and is relatively small, with no drivable roads leading in and out. When it comes to tourism, cruises are the main source by a long shot. Alaska State Sen. Jesse Kiehl told Business Insider that he estimates Juneau will only see about 175,000 independent tourists those that don't come on ships this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have this huge opportunity that most small towns would kill to have at their doorstep," Laura McDonnell, the owner of local gift shop Caribou Crossings, told BI. Cruisers make up 98% of her business' revenue, she estimates. "They're so enamored and happy to be here, and it's taken some of them their whole lives to get here. Cruise tourism is what's made that accessible." The Alaskan cruise gold rush Cruise giants like Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival have reported booming demand for their Alaska cruises. Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images Carnival Corp's CEO told analysts in 2024 that Alaskan voyages were "off the charts." That's especially true for first-time cruisers, he said, touting popular "cruisetours" that include stops at the company's lodge near Denali National Park. This year is expected to look no different. Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings have reported banner demand for their 2025 Alaskan itineraries. Norwegian plans to deploy a larger ship for longer voyages. Holland America is spending $70 million to expand guest accommodations at the Denali lodge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cruises are crucial to the local economy, Kiehl said. The McKinley study found they injected some $375 million in 2023, mostly from direct passenger spending. But like most any town with a significant cruise port, not everyone is pleased with the influx of tourists. Residents have pushed back The majority of Juneau's tourists come by cruise. Ken Schulze/Shutterstock "I have to say that visitors have gotten a little rowdier," Liz Perry, the CEO of Travel Juneau, told BI. "Since COVID-19, it's gotten even worse. They feel entitled to very, very high levels of service at a time when our operators are really working to give that service, but they may not be able to get staffed up." Downtown Juneau is sandwiched between mountains and the water. The streets are narrow and hilly, many one-way. As such, thousands of people suddenly storming downtown can slow traffic. (To alleviate this, the city is building a waterfront pedestrian walkway near the cruise ports.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Concurrently, the surge can overwhelm the city's cell network, which has caused locals to lose cell reception and WiFi. (Juneau's visitor industry director, Alexandra Pierce, told BI that the city is implementing public WiFi and working with two providers to increase network capacity.) And then there's the vicious cycle of visitors leaving trash, the trash attracting bears, and the bears exciting visitors. (The state ultimately euthanized two black bears in downtown Juneau last summer.) "All of those things combine to contribute to resident discontent," Pierce said. "As people responsible for managing these destinations and stewarding them, it is almost a game of whack-a-mole." Residents have reported issues with noise, air quality, traffic, and cell reception. Ritu Manoj Jethani/Shutterstock To mitigate locals' concerns, the city negotiated with the cruise industry to implement a five-ship per day limit in 2024. Starting in 2026, the city will also cap the number of incoming cruise ship passengers at 16,000 per day, excluding Saturdays, which will have a 12,000-passenger limit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a McKinley survey of 501 Juneau residents in late 2024, 20% of respondents said further limiting cruise volume should be the city's most important priority. That's up 5% from the year prior. But they don't want too many restrictions voters drew the line at "ship-free Saturdays," a ballot proposition that failed to pass in late 2024. Residents are increasingly becoming discontent with the cruise boom. Ken Schulze/Shutterstock "Having the limits gives us the opportunity to fine-tune and improve as opposed to just triage and be reactive all the time," Pierce said. Yes, local businesses (in tandem with the city and cruise lines) will ultimately miss out on greater profits. However, "local always comes first," Holly Johnson, the CMO of tour operator Wings Airway, told BI. About 85% of her company's customers come from cruises, yet she supports the ship and passenger limits. "We could live anywhere, but this is where we live," she said. Read the original article on Business Insider President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order dealing with federal elections, but because the U.S. Constitution reserves many electoral powers for the states, experts across the country and here in Alaska say theyre not certain what effects Trumps action will have. The Division of Elections is reviewing the executive order and will collaborate with the Department of Law on any potential changes to policies or procedures, said Carol Beecher, director of the Division of Elections, in a written statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiple attorneys with expertise in Alaska elections law declined comment on the order, citing uncertainty about its applicability. Trumps order comes just as the Alaska Legislature is considering proposals to rewrite state elections law. A bill in the House and a similar bill in the Senate would each make a variety of changes, including to the states absentee ballot process. Many states, including Alaska, count some absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day, as long as they were postmarked on or before Election Day. Trumps order seeks to change that by stating that all ballots must reach elections officials on or before Election Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont know that he can legally change that just with an executive order, said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage and one of several senators leading the push for the Senate bill. In fact, Wielechowski said, I highly doubt that he can, and Im not even sure that Congress can, quite frankly, because under the Constitution, the states have very strong abilities to run their own elections. Earlier this year, Wielechowski requested a legal opinion asking whether existing caselaw requires Alaska to abide by an Election Day deadline for absentee ballots. No, said a legislative attorney. The Trump order also states that voters who register to vote via a national mail voter registration form must present a U.S. Passport, military ID or other document that shows the voters citizenship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most voters register to vote via state forms, rather than federal forms, so the impact of the new ID requirements isnt clear. One section of the Trump order says that states may lose federal elections funding if they dont mirror the new ID requirements in their own states. Alaska received $1 million in federal elections funding last year, budget records show. Wielechowski said he has already requested that legislative attorneys perform a detailed analysis of the elections executive order. I think the further they encroach, the more questionable what they do becomes, Wielechowski said of the Trump administrations actions on elections. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) An Albuquerque man was caught trying to smuggle 242 pounds of pork bologna into the country Friday morning, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP officials said the 52-year-old man arrived at the Paso Del Norte international crossing that connects Mexico to El Paso, Texas, and presented himself for inspection via the vehicle lanes. The man initially did not declare any fruits, vegetables, or meat products, but was referred for a secondary agriculture inspection. During the secondary inspection, CBP Agriculture Canine Harlee alerted to the rear cargo area of the vehicle. There, Agriculture Specialists found 22 rolls of bologna hidden beneath equipment in the rear of the vehicle. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also found 60 undeclared Tramadol tablets, a schedule IV-controlled substance, in the center console of the vehicle. The driver was issued a $1,000 promissory note for the prescription medication violation. The bologna was seized and destroyed by CBP per USDA regulations. The bologna smuggling case is being referred to USDA Investigative and Enforcement Services. The man could face up to a $10,000 penalty if found guilty. U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 22 rolls of pork bologna from an Albuquerque mans vehicle at the Paso Del Norte international crossing in El Paso, Texas. March 28, 2025. (Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection) Pork products have the potential to introduce foreign animal diseases to the U.S., which can have a devastating impact to the U.S. economy and to our agriculture industry, CBP El Paso Director Field Operations Hector A. Mancha stated in a news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CBP said this is the second time in two months the Albuquerque man was caught attempting to smuggle bologna from Mexico to the U.S. at the El Paso port of entry. In January, CBP agriculture specialists seized 55 rolls of undeclared bologna from the man. He was assessed a civil penalty in that case, and the contraband meat was seized and 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 KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) Lake Bloomington and Lake Evergreen are being cleaned of algae. This comes after an increase in microcystin, which is a naturally occurring toxin that can form on growing algae. The citys water department and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency have been monitoring the water quality closely since a spike in algae occurred in January. Testing confirmed the microcystin levels are well below any level that requires a health advisory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city has been using powdered activated carbon as part of the treatment process, and this algae treatment will further boost the quality of the water. Ed Andrews, the citys water director, said the treatment will help with the taste and odor of water in Bloomington, which has been a source of contention since January. Right now, were pumping off Lake Evergreen, he said. Were not pumping off of Bloomington while were doing the treatment. Once this treatment is applied and we give it the weekend to follow-up with testing, then well decide to be able to switch and draw from Bloomington while we treat Evergreen next week for the same condition. The city plans to start algae treatment on Lake Evergreen next week. 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. PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) Peoria voters will have different visions of the citys future to chose from when they go to the polls Tuesday to pick the next mayor. On one side, theres incumbent Peoria Mayor Rita Ali. On the other side, is At-Large City Councilman John Kelly. Both have different styles, visions and approaches some issues while agreeing on others. Ali has been mayor since 2021, when she became Peorias first African American mayor. She previously served on the city council. She hopes to be able to continue her accomplishments in a second term and advises residents to stay the course. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its very important that our progress is not interrupted with a new, inexperienced mayor but to continue with an experienced mayor with the progress that we have, the seeds that weve planted, and continue to move Peoria forward, Ali said. Kellys main focus, if elected, is to turn Peoria into what he calls a growth city. He believes the city has too much red tape for businesses and wants to get rid of building permit fees and rental registration fees and provide free downtown parking as well. Other cities tend to go out of their way to understand whats on the mind of a developer and if something is askew with the code, they devise a workaround. We need to do more of that, he said. Ali is excited for what could be on the horizon. While her administration is making strides, there is still a long way to go. Among her priorities are working to bring Amtrak services to Peoria and improving the housing stock within the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres also the Riverfront Development Plan which was unveiled nearly two years ago and requires at least $15 million and possibly more to revamp and redo the area along the Illinois River. Business attraction has been a major talking point in both the mayoral and city council races. While Kelly agrees with attracting new businesses, he also wants to help out the businesses currently operating in Peoria. If we can make their life a little bit easier, the economic effect of that would be greater than some new big outfit coming to town, he said. Then theres the citys strategic plan, with six priorities including improving infrastructure, quality of life, and developing the citys Downtown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People want to live downtown. They want to live near the river. They want to live near retail establishments and be in the center of our city, she said. Under her leadership, she says, the city has invested $100 million in infrastructure, including roads and bridges. She said she plans to also rebuild older buildings into a combination of residences, retail, and commercial entities. Kelly wants to improve communication with city council members if elected. He said Ali has only called him twice over the last four years, and he hopes to meet with council members at least once a month individually. Ali, along with 2nd District Councilman Chuck Grayeb, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor this go-around and later endorsed Ali, both criticized a mailer from the Kelly campaign that took aim at each of their positions on past voting instances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelly is holding firm, saying while he did end up correcting information regarding Grayeb, the information about Ali is true. I have said on a couple of occasions that if there is anything in that tabloid that was not correct, please let me know and well correct it. I havent heard anything, he said. But Ali and Kelly can agree on one thing. They want your vote on Tuesday. Look at what we have done so far. Look at what we have planned to do over the next several years and become a part of it, Ali said. Vote for me on April Fools Day. That is no joke, Kelly 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 CIProud.com. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Foreign ministers from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, along with deputy foreign ministers from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, met with the EUs High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on March 27 in Ashgabat for the 20th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting, Trend reports. The participants reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening ties, building on the Joint Roadmap for Deepening Ties between the EU and Central Asia, adopted in 2023. They noted progress in key areas, including political cooperation, trade and investment, energy and connectivity, security, and people-to-people exchanges. Discussions also focused on preparations for the first EU-Central Asia Summit, set for April 4, 2025, in Samarkand. The summit aims to deepen strategic cooperation and follows previous high-level meetings in Astana (2022) and Cholpon-Ata (2023). The participants welcomed Uzbekistans offer to host the event. Alina Habba, a White House counselor who was previously a personal lawyer for President Trump, was sworn in Friday as New Jerseys top federal prosecutor. A staunch defender of the president in the courtroom and in the media, Habba represented Trump in high-stakes New York civil trials including in his business fraud case and the defamation and sexual assault lawsuits brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. Ahead of Habbas swearing-in in the Oval Office, Trump said she helped spearhead the effort to defeat the corrupt and grotesque weaponization of our justice system. He tapped her for the role Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shell be as good as it gets, Trump said, before Attorney General Pam Bondi swore Habba in. A New Jersey native and first-generation American, Habba entered Trumps orbit when she took over a defamation lawsuit brought against Trump by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, who later dropped the case. In a different lawsuit against Trumps 2016 presidential rival, Hillary Clinton, and dozens of other defendants, Habba was sanctioned nearly $1 million by a federal judge for a continuing pattern of misuse of the courts. She emerged as a fierce media surrogate for Trump while representing him in his New York civil fraud case, where he was ordered to pay $454 million for falsely inflating his net worth, and the defamation and sexual assault lawsuits brought by Carroll, who won nearly $100 million at two jury trials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She later became Trumps legal spokesperson and a senior adviser to his campaign, before joining the White House as a counselor to the president. Typically, U.S. attorneys are appointed by the president and then confirmed by the Senate, but the president can appoint an interim top federal prosecutor when there is a vacancy. Habba said Friday that she and the president had been through some very dark days together, when she lost faith in the justice system as he faced criminal prosecution and a flurry of civil litigation. This man kept fighting for America, and Im just so honored that now I get to fight for the state of New Jersey, Habba said. I will do a good job. I will clean it up. Were going to make New Jersey great again. 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. Mar. 27WILKES-BARRE Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough on Thursday deemed Mubarak Abdullah Muhammad incompetent following a mental health evaluation for his alleged role in a shooting in Pringle more than two years ago. Muhammad, 47, addresses listed as Phillipsburg, N.J., and Harrisburg, was charged by Kingston police with being the driver of a Honda Accord involved in a drive-by shooting of Kaliel Serrif Kareem Woody-Johnson in the area of 214 Union St. on Feb. 5, 2023, according to court records. Woody-Johnson was seated in the driver's seat of another vehicle when he was shot by a passenger in Muhammad's vehicle, court records say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The gunman, who remains unknown, was described as a Black male with thick hair who wore a ninja-style mask. Police in court records say cellular phone numbers registered to Muhammad and Woody-Johnson wre involved in an incident in Phillipsburg, N.J., on Feb. 1, 2023, which allegedly led to the shooting in Pringle. Four spent casings and two projectiles were recovered at the scene in Pringle. Muhammad is facing charges of criminal conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder, aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. The case has been delayed due to a change of defense lawyers for Muhammad in Luzerne County and unrelated criminal charges of stalking and dissemination of intimidating photos in Northampton County, where he was sentenced in September 2023 to 15-to-30 months in state prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a brief status conference before Vough related to the Pringle shooting, the judge deemed him incompetent but will revisit the case once Muhammad's state prison sentence imposed in Northampton County is complete. Muhammad is currently housed at the State Correctional Institution at Houtzdale in Clearfield County. Assistant district attorneys Daniel Marsh and Anthony Cardone are prosecuting. Attorney John Donovan from the county Public Defender's Office is representing Muhammad. The Indiana former teacher who allegedly participated in a gangbang with several underage kids wearing "Scream" masks is facing a smorgasbord of new charges that could land her in prison for many decades if she's convicted. In court documents, Morgan County prosecutors say they've added charges related to five more alleged victims ... bringing the total number to six who have accused Brittany Fortinberry of a slew of sex crimes. Brittany Fortinberry's Social Media Photos - Click image to open gallery Prosecutors tell us they're planning to hit Fortinberry with 24 additional felonies, putting the grand total at 29, including five Level 1 child molestation counts. On Thursday, the county prosecutor, Steven P. Sonnega, told TMZ ... Fortinberry will be advised of the new charges and potential penalties at a court hearing on April 3. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to child molestation, Fortinberry is facing charges of sexual misconduct with a minor, dissemination of matter harmful to minors, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Marion County Sheriffs Office Sonnega says just on the Level 1 child molestation charges alone ... if convicted, Fortinberry could face 20 to 40 years in prison on each count ... and if the judge orders the sentences served consecutively, those five counts could easily keep her behind bars for the rest of her life! Then there are 24 other counts with Level 4, 5 and 6 offenses. Potential sentences for Level 4, 5 and 6 crimes are two-to-12 years, one-to-six years, and up to two and a half years, respectively. TMZ Sonnega says there are many legal factors that come into play while considering Fortinberry's sentence if she is ultimately convicted, but it's certainly possible a conviction could keep her in prison for the rest of her days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As we reported, Fortinberry allegedly sexually abused multiple children by asking them to gangbang her while wearing masks from the "Scream" movies. Istock The judge in the case has ordered her to stay away from the alleged victims -- which shouldn't be too much trouble since she's currently locked up in jail. We reached out to Fortinberry's attorney ... he declined to comment. (KRON) A data scientist who reportedly followed an extremist group known as the Zizians pleaded not guilty to murdering an 82-year-old Vallejo landlord. According to police and prosecutors, Maximilian Bentley Snyder stabbed Curtis Lind to death on the landlords property on January 17. Despite facing a first-degree murder charge, Snyder hummed songs during his arraignment on Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Snyder is scheduled to return to a Solano County courtroom on June 16 to set a date for a preliminary hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Snyder is one of several followers or members of the extremist rationalist group who are facing criminal charges. Crimes connected to the Zizians include two killings in Vallejo, a Pennsylvania couples slaying, and a deadly a highway shootout in Vermont. Maximilian Snyder appears in court for arraignment in February 2025. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)/The Times-Herald via AP) Prosecutors said Jack Ziz Amadeus LaSota is the leader of the Zizians. Zizians killings investigation: Whos who LaSota, a computer programmer and transgender woman, resided in Berkeley and on a boat, named The Caleb, anchored near Half Moon Bay between 2016-2021. LaSota faked her own death in 2022, when her sister told the U.S. Coast Guard that Ziz fell overboard into the San Francisco Bay. She was declared legally deceased in San Mateo County. Her whereabouts were unknown until February, when 33-year-old LaSota was arrested in Maryland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In early 2022, LaSota and her boat crew befriended Lind, according to reports. They moved from their sunken boat in Pillar Point Harbor to Linds Vallejo property on Lemon Street. An abandoned boat, The Caleb, is seen near Half Moon Bay on Feb. 6, 2025. (Photo by Ryan Mense / KRON4) The homicide victims loved ones wrote on a GoFundMe page, Curt found joy in interesting conversations with anyone he came across. He was the type of man who could easily engage in a conversation with a complete stranger and leave with a new friend. Curt had a deep love of the ocean and lived many years on boats and ships he refurbished himself. An abandoned boat, The Caleb, is seen near Half Moon Bay on Feb. 6, 2025. (Photo by Ryan Mense / KRON4) Lind later sought to evict LaSota, Alexander Leatham, Emma Borhanian, and others for failing to pay rent while living in vans and box trucks on his property. In November of 2022, two days before the eviction deadline, Lind was impaled with a sword and partially blinded in an attack. Lind killed Borhanian in self defense during the sword attack, investigators said. Concluding that Lind acted in self-defense, officials charged Leatham with murder. Curtis Lind (Photo via GoFundMe) After surviving the sword attack, Lind was attacked again in 2025 by a knife-wielding assailant. Prosecutors allege that Snyder murdered the landlord on January 17 to prevent Lind from testifying in court against his earlier attackers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim, C.L., was a witness to a crime. (Lind) was intentionally killed for the purpose of preventing his testimony in a criminal proceeding, the Solano County District Attorneys Office wrote in a criminal complaint. Maximilian Snyder walks into court on Feb 6, 2025 in Fairfield, Calf. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) On January 24, Redding Police Department officers found Snyder in Redding, Calif. and arrested him. Snyder was transported to Solano County Jail, where he currently remains in custody. The Vallejo Police Department said Snyders last known permanent address was in Kirkland, Washington. Last year, Snyder sought a marriage license with a 21-year-old woman, Teresa Youngblut. She is now also behind bars and charged in connection to the death of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. The agent was killed in a highway shootout on January 20 in Vermont near the Canadian border. 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 KRON4. Not only has the scandal over Trump officials discussing military plans in a group chat on an insecure commercial platform made the Trump administration look like fools to Americans paying attention, but overseas allies are drawing conclusions about the risk of sharing intelligence with America when its top officials are so careless with sensitive data. Alexander Ward, national security reporter for the Wall Street Journal, talks with Rachel Maddow about his reporting that it was actually an Isr (KRON) A judge sentenced a notorious kidnapper on Friday to serve life-in-prison for committing home invasion sexual assaults in Mountain View and Palo Alto. Matthew Muller, 48, was the subject of American Nightmare, a Netflix documentary series that chronicles his 2015 kidnapping of Denise Huskins in Vallejo. He recently pleaded guilty to two 2009 South Bay home invasions and sexually assaulting young women. I am today so thankful for the bravery of these women, District Attorney Jeff Rosen said Friday. We marvel at the growing power of forensics, the never-say-die determination of investigators and prosecutors. But this case is about victims who never gave up. Denise Huskins talks to reporters in Seaside, Calif. on Jan. 7, 2025. (KRON4 Photo) In the early hours of Sept. 29, 2009, Muller broke into a womans Mountain View home, attacked her, tied her up, made her drink a concoction of medications, and said he was going to rape her. After the victim, in her 30s, persuaded him against it, he suggested the victim get a dog for home security, then fled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Oct. 18, 2009, Muller broke into a Palo Alto home, bound and gagged a woman in her 30s and made her drink Nyquil. He then began to assault her, before being persuaded to stop. Muller gave the victim crime prevention advice, then fled. Both cases went unsolved until American Nightmare aired. The documentary exposed striking similarities between what happened to Huskins, and what happened to victims in the South Bay six years prior. Denise Huskins helped find more victims of American Nightmare kidnapper Matthew Muller On March 23, 2015, Muller broke into a Vallejo home. He drugged and tied up Huskins and her boyfriend. He then kidnapped Huskins, brought her to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe, and raped her. Two days later, Muller drove his victim to Southern California and released her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muller was arrested in June 2015 for both the Vallejo kidnapping and a violent 2015 Dublin home invasion. He has remained in custody ever since. Matthew Muller is seen in mugshots from 2015 and 2018. (Images via Solano County District Attorneys Office) Muller pleaded guilty in 2016 to the kidnapping and in 2022 to the sexual assaults of Huskins. As part of the renewed investigation, Muller is also facing kidnapping for ransom charges in Contra Costa County. At a news conference held earlier this year, Huskins told reporters, This man had all the markers of a serial predator. Its something he crafted and perfected over a long period of time. Muller was a Marine who graduated from Harvard University and worked as a lawyer in California. Investigators described him as exceptionally intelligent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muller meticulously planned out his crimes before terrorizing victims who were woken up in the middle of the night by a home intruder, according to prosecutors. Matthew Mullers prison letters detail confessions In a series of 2024 prison letters, Muller discussed the Mountain View crime. The idea to raid a home and rape a woman developed in August or September 2009 and he was in a manic state. He began taking late night walks and began watching people in their homes. (Muller) saw a woman undressing in a home and (this) was his first experience with voyeurism, court documents state. Before Friday, the notorious kidnapper could have possibly gained freedom from prison years down the road after completing his previous 40-year sentence. The new life sentence, which was handed down by a Santa Clara County judge on Friday, ensures that he will never walk free. 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 KRON4. Mar. 27LAS CRUCES A divided New Mexico Supreme Court reversed the 2022 conviction of a Las Cruces woman on charges she arranged the murder of her former boyfriend. Mario Cabral and Vanessa Mora were shot to death at Mora's residence in Garfield on March 25, 2018, while Mora's teenage daughter was sleeping in another room. Police said Cristal Cardenas and Luis Flores, her new boyfriend, killed the couple together after Cardenas had attempted to hire a hit man to murder Cabral. Flores, 36, later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with five years and nearly seven months to serve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A jury convicted Cardenas, 37, of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and one count of criminal solicitation, while acquitting her of a second murder count. She was sentenced to life in prison on the murder count, plus 24 years for the other charges. In a 4-1 opinion filed Thursday, the state's high court ruled that Cardenas did not receive a fair trial due to questioning about Cardenas' 6-month-old daughter with Flores and the daughter having tested positive for methamphetamine. Cardenas appealed the conviction, arguing the line of questioning was inadmissible and prejudiced the jury. Justice Michael Vigil wrote in the majority's opinion, "the evidence of Defendant's guilt, although substantial, was circumstantial; the error affected an important issue in the case credibility." Prosecutors disavowed the importance of that evidence, saying the line of questioning was to rebut evidence that Cardenas had been a responsible and law-abiding parent. The court found that the court had erred in allowing the questioning as inadmissible character evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We conclude there is a reasonable probability that the error affected the jury's verdict," the opinion stated. As a result, Cardenas is entitled to a new trial. Her case was returned to the 3rd Judicial District Court. Chief Justice David Thomson dissented, backing the trial court where state District Judge Conrad Perea presided, writing, "The positive methamphetamine test was relevant and appropriate rebuttal evidence given Defendant's portrayal of her character as a parent." Thomson continued later in his opinion that "the State did not emphasize the information, it was not central or necessary to the State's case while the other evidence of guilt was overwhelming." Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate talk to the media on March 23, 2025, in Bucharest, Romania. - Credit: Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images Self-described misogynist influencer Andrew Tate choked and repeatedly beat his ex-girlfriend Brianna Stern as the model sobbed and begged him to stop during a nightmare night at the Beverly Hills Hotel, a new lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles claims. In a harrowing 30-page complaint obtained by Rolling Stone, Stern alleges she had been in a 10-month relationship with Tate when his sickening behavior, which had been growing more aggressive over time, exploded in the predawn hours of March 11. She claims Tate used one hand to choke her and his other to beat her on her face and head. As the blows grew increasingly stronger, Tate told her he planned to maker her do OnlyFans again, but this time youre going to show your pussy and give me all the money, the lawsuit claims. Stern alleges the violent attack left her terrified, gasping for air and ultimately nursing a head concussion inside the luxury hotel. More from Rolling Stone Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plaintiff protested and never stopped crying and begging Tate to stop. However, her cries and pleas only led to Tate hitting her harder. Her cries appeared to be what he wanted, what he needed to climax, the sick fetish of a disturbed man, the lawsuit filed by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee on behalf of Stern reads. Andrew Tate firmly denies the allegations against him, Tates attorney, Joseph McBride, said in a statement sent to Rolling Stone. This is a blatant cash grab a desperate attempt by a sad individual to exploit Andrews success and reputation for personal gain. Instead of seeking a private resolution, Ms. Stern has chosen to air her false claims in the press, revealing her true motives: money and attention, not justice. Stern, a model whos appeared in Maxim, FHM, and Playboy, posted a statement on her Instagram saying she met Tate last summer when he was recruiting models for his crypto coin. She said they made plans to live together in Romania and then in Miami. The last time she saw him was at the hotel on May 11, she said. The last week has been very difficult and extremely scary for me. I am an emotional wreck and constantly looking over my shoulder. Im not the person I was before. Andrew texted me recently and let me know, If you ever betray me, you will regret it. He has told me on many occasion before that if I crossed him, he would ruin my life, rape me or kill me, she wrote on her Instagram story Thursday. I know he and his followers will insult me and attack me. I dont care because I speak the truth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tate, 38, is a former professional kickboxer whos amassed more than 10 million followers on X, formerly Twitter, pushing his polarizing brand of far-right toxic masculinity. Hes currently facing charges of human trafficking in Romania with his brother, Tristan Tate. The brothers recently returned to the U.S. after the travel ban they were under in Romania was relaxed. They arent off the hook in Romania, but an appeals court recently found issues with the trafficking case, sending it back to prosecutors. The brothers were arrested in 2022 on accusations they lured women to the country, made false promises they wanted romantic relationships and forced them to appear in pornographic videos. The brothers, who deny any wrongdoing, have been vocal supporters of President Donald Trump. Though Andrew Tate was permanently banned from Twitter in 2022 for violating the platforms former code of conduct, Elon Musk restored Tates account after he bought the social media giant and renamed it X. Stern says in her complaint that Tate was extremely loving at the start of their relationship, but that he soon turned rude and dismissive. She claims he texted her incessantly through encrypted apps and would verbally abuse her, calling her whore, bitch, and his property. Defendant Andrew Tate is a textbook narcissist; an individual that can only be described as someone with a God complex. Tate is erratic, manipulative, and obsessed with dominance. To Tate, relationships are all about control and ownership, the lawsuit states. Sterns complaint includes images of text chains in which Tate allegedly wrote, You have an attitude because youre not hit enough, and Whats the point in having you if I dont beat you and impregnate you. You should be thankful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stern says in the complaint that the night of March 10 started out in a routine manner. Initially, the sex was consensual, but things soon changed, she states in the suit. She alleges Tate started verbally degrading her before turning much worse, more aggressive, and more violent, claiming he choked her until she almost lost consciousness. Stern says she pretended to be OK the next morning so she could escape. She later saw a physician who advised her to report the attack to police, the lawsuit alleges. Stern waited until Tate left the country before she filed a report with the Beverly Hills Police Department, the filing states. The new lawsuit includes claims for sexual assault and battery, gender violence, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotion distress. Stern also is seeking a temporary restraining order. I am proud to represent Bri Stern in her case for assault and battery against her former boyfriend Andrew Tate. The case was filed today in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Buzbee wrote in a statement Thursday on his Instagram. It took a great deal of courage for Bri to take this step. I greatly admire her resolve and will stand firm by her through this fight. Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Model Bri Stern, the ex-girlfriend who accused Andrew Tate of violently attacking her during sex earlier this month, is suing the accused trafficker for sexual assault and battery, as well as gender violence. The move comes on the heels of the police report Stern filed claiming that a March 11 encounter at the Beverly Hills Hotel started out consensually but ended with Tate choking her nearly unconscious. In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Stern reveals more alleged details of the moment he switched and became verbally degrading and physically violent. She says that although he often denigrated her while they were having sex, this night was much worse, more aggressive and more violent, according to the suit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two had been dating since last summer, when Stern met Tate while in Romania for a modeling gig for his crypto coin. Once he began choking her that night, there was no stopping him, Stern alleges. The more she begged, cried and screamed, the more he hurt her. According to the suit, Stern says she almost passed out as Tate gripped her throat with one hand and smacked her face and head with the other until he climaxed. Tate, a right-wing influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist who stands accused in Romania of rape and trafficking along with his brother, allegedly told Stern that if she ever crossed him hed kill her. Too frightened to leave that night, she says she photographed her injuries in the bathroom, then pretended nothing was amiss the next morning. In a statement on Instagram Thursday, Stern said the last words Tate said to her before she left the hotel were, Shut the f up, bh. You will never backtalk me. You are my property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Days later, after traveling to New York, Stern consulted a doctor who diagnosed her as post-concussive, according to emergency room discharge documents she shared with TMZ. Stern also supplied screenshots of text messages purportedly from Tate, in which he said things like, I really love hitting you, its very good for me, and If you ever betray me, you will regret it. Stern filed her police report earlier this week after Tate left the United States and returned to Romania in compliance with requirements in the case against him. She has since hired attorney Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing more than a hundred alleged victims of hip-hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs. In her statement on Thursday, Stern said that she considered silently leaving Tate many times because she was too scared to speak out about the abuse. But she now realizes she cant be silent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I will not publicly go over the details of my relationship with Andrew Tate. I know he and his followers will insult me and attack me, she wrote. I will not comment further about Andrew Tate beyond what my lawyer has set forth in detail in my lawsuit. Those facts speak for themselves. Tate has denied the assault allegations. An ex-girlfriend of Andrew Tate, the self-proclaimed misogynist and right-wing manosphere influencer, filed a civil lawsuit Thursday accusing him of sexual assault and battery. Model Brianna Stern said in her lawsuit and a series of social media posts that Tate, whos also been slapped with rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, brutally attacked her earlier this month while spending the night together at the Beverly Hills Hotel. While having what started as consensual sex, boxer Tate began verbally degrading Plaintiff as he routinely did but this time it was much worse, more aggressive, and more violent. Tate, a former professional kickboxer, then began to choke Plaintiff, the lawsuit detailed, saying he used one hand to choke her and the other to beat her on the side of her head as she cried and pleaded with him to stop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While doing so, Tate told her repeatedly that if she ever crossed him, he was going to kill her, the lawsuit continued. Plaintiff did the best she could to protect herself as she sobbed and pleaded until Tate climaxed and stopped beating and choking her. Tates attorney, Joseph McBride, denied the accusations, saying in a statement, This is a blatant cash grab a desperate attempt by a sad individual to exploit Andrews success and reputation for personal gain. Andrew Tate, right, and his brother Tristan, left, speak to the media as they arrive in Romania on March 22. DANIEL MIHAILESCU via Getty Images Tate and Stern dated for about 10 months in the lead-up to that alleged incident. According to her account of the relationship, they met when Tate flew her and other models to Romania in the summer of 2024 to help promote his cryptocurrency. They began dating shortly after when Tate told her shed never have to work while in a relationship with him. The lawsuit includes screenshots of several alleged texts Tate sent Stern, including ones of him telling her, I will hit you today, i want to beat the fuck out of you, and whats the point in having you if I dont beat you and impregnate you. You should be thankful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after the alleged attack, Stern says she went to the hospital and was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. She waited to file a police report until hed left the country. The facts alleged in the lawsuit filed yesterday are extremely disturbing. I am extremely proud to represent Bri Stern, her attorney, Tony Buzbee, said in a statement. She has demonstrated incredible courage to come forward and make her voice heard. I look forward to presenting the facts of this case in court. Buzbee is also representing over 100 alleged sexual assault victims of Sean Diddy Combs. Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, returned to the U.S. for the first time last month after years of imprisonment and house arrest in Romania for his allegedly forming a criminal gang to exploit and sexually assault women. The country suddenly lifted international travel restrictions following a pressure campaign from President Donald Trumps administration, though Trump later denied having any involvement in the policy change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The brothers returned to Romania earlier this week in compliance with the ongoing criminal investigation there. Tate is a thought leader in the so-called manosphere community a growing online movement of incels and mens rights activists. Tate and his brother were also sued by an American woman last month who accused them of luring her to Romania to coerce her into sex work. Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Related... Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 27. On March 29, the Presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev, will hold an informal meeting in Almaty, Trend reports. According to the Kazakh presidents press service, the two leaders will discuss ways to strengthen their strategic partnership and alliance, as well as regional developments. The Uzbek presidents office noted that the talks will focus on expanding cooperation in trade, industrial collaboration, transport and logistics, energy, agriculture, and water management. The discussions will also cover interregional ties and cultural and humanitarian exchanges. A similar meeting between the two presidents was held in Khiva in April last year. Andrew Tate's recent sexual assault allegation has now moved to the court! The controversial figure's former partner, Bri Stern, has hit him with a lawsuit for sexual assault and physical violence during their time together. Last year, Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan experienced a legal setback in their efforts to reclaim more than $12 million in assets, which included luxury cars and watches. Authorities had confiscated these items amidst allegations of organized crime. Andrew Tate's Ex Provides Vivid Details Of The Assault Backgrid/MEGA Bri filed a lawsuit against Andrew, accusing him of sexual assault, battery, and gender violence. In her legal complaint, she details an incident in which Tate allegedly choked her with one hand while physically assaulting her with the other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She recounted an incident that began as a consensual sexual encounter in a room at The Beverly Hills Hotel. However, the situation took a troubling turn when the atmosphere shifted dramatically, as the other party became verbally degrading and violent. Bri claimed Andrew often degraded her during intercourse, but things were much more severe and violent that night. She claimed he started choking her and would not stop despite her pleas and calls for help that he should desist. All her efforts fell on deaf ears, and her screams only seemed to give Andrew more strength to hurt her. As gathered by TMZ, Bri said the physical assault continued, with him choking her harder and harder, making her slip out of consciousness. The Former Professional Kickboxer Threatened To Get Rid Of His Ex Backgrid/MEGA Bri accused Andrew of a violent assault during which he used one hand to choke her while repeatedly striking her on the side of her face and the top of her head with the other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bri added that he threatened her by saying that if she ever crossed him, he would kill her. She says she sobbed and pleaded and protected herself as best she could until Andrew climaxed and the attack subsided. Bri felt overwhelmed and frightened after the attack, which made her hesitant to leave Andrew's hotel room immediately. The following day, she chose to act as if nothing had happened to facilitate her escape. After getting away, she sought medical attention before finally reporting the incident to the police. Bri Accused The Content Creator Of Exploiting Her Naivety Andrew Tate has been accused by his girlfriend, Bri Stern, of nearly choking her unconscious during a violent sexual assault at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Throw away the key for this guy already. pic.twitter.com/eqXv5R4aZ1 Art Candee (@ArtCandee) March 27, 2025 Bri did not soft-pedal with the accusations. She continued that Andrew manipulated and groomed her when they met in Romania last summer. Andrew reportedly hired her for a modeling gig and got busy love-bombing her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bri recalled Andrew first came off as harmless and a gentleman but then quickly revealed what he was capable of when he started degrading and threatening her. Andrew reportedly often uses the words "property," "id-ot," "wh-re," and "just a hole" to describe Bri. She noted that he would threaten her while assaulting her, telling her, "If you ever f-ck with me, I will f-cking kill you. I mean it. I will kill you." She added that the podcaster even threatened to sex-traffic her, keep her in Romania, and sexually abuse her. Bri has since hired the bright brains of Texas attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing over 100 alleged Diddy sexual assault victims, to represent her in this lawsuit. In response, Andrew's attorney, Joseph McBride, described Tony as "a lowlife bottom feeder." He added that since Jay-Z is suing him for extortion, he and Andrew also "look forward to doing the same." The Social Media Personality Denied His Ex's Claims Of Him Being Abusive Backgrid/MEGA Andrew's team promptly responded to the accusations from Bri and openly considered legal action against individuals he believes are disseminating what he describes as a "blatant falsehood." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a report by The Blast, Andrew's team described Bri's story as an attempt by the media to "recklessly" publish a one-sided narrative and intentionally disregard the most fundamental facts. They also reacted to images of Bri's injuries, which circulated on the internet. In their words: "The photos? Not taken in the Beverly Hills Hotel bathroom. They weren't even snapped at night. No bruising. No evidence whatsoever." Andrew's legal reps declared that Bri's claim was rooted in "resentment" from his refusal to "fly her to New York City on a private jet." Andrew Tate Believed He And His Brother, Tristan Tate, Were Unfairly Targeted MEGA The businessman's attorneys argued that the media have unfairly portrayed him and his brother as villains over the years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They accused the media of adopting the concept of sensationalism rather than sticking to the truth. Andrew's legal team slammed the media for failing to hear him out to continue feeding their false narratives. The legal team also disputed the authenticity of alleged text messages in which he reportedly talked about "beating" his ex-girlfriend. According to them, the messages remain unverified and could have been fabricated. Andrew's lawyers insisted there was "no verification, no metadata, nothing" to support the legitimacy of the texts. They highlighted the ease with which unverified screenshots can be perceived as evidence, especially at a time when AI can create entire conversations almost instantaneously. All eyes are on Andrew Tate and Bri Stern as they find the truth in court! Originally appeared on E! Online Anne Heches son Homer Laffoon tying up some loose ends. Nearly three years after the I Know What You Did Last Summer actress died following a tragic car crash, her oldest son is making an attempt to sell her assets in order to settle $4.1 million dollars in claims against her estate. In his second verified status report filed since he was named the permanent special administrator of his late mothers estate in 2022 obtained by E! News, Homer stated that the estate is not yet in a condition to be closed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Going on to list several creditor acclaims against the estate, the document states that the 23-year-old is actively engaged in continued attempts to negotiate appropriate settlements of the remaining claims against the Estate, and has engaged in substantial meet and confer efforts with the creditors. Adding that Homer is cautiously optimistic that the creditor claims can all be resolved fairly and without litigation, the report concludes that the estate remains insolvent. E! News has reached out to Homers reps but has not heard back. More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In August 2022, the Six Days, Seven Nights actress, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department at the time, was driving at a high speed until she struck a house, burst into flames and came to rest 30 feet inside the two-story home, causing the building to catch fire. And though she was taken to the hospital and brought to stable condition, things took a turn for the worse less than a week later. In a statement shared to E! News soon after, her family shared the unfortunate news that she is not expected to survive. Six days after the crash, Anne had been taken off life support and pronounced legally dead at 53 years old. "My brother Atlas and I lost our Mom," Homer said in a statement to E! News after his tragic loss. "After six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Hopefully my mom is free from pain, he continued, and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom." Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Christian Siriano But in the months following Annes unexpected passing, Homer was met with multiple legal complicationsregarding her estate. Since his mother died without a will, Homer petitioned to be appointed administrator of her estate, listing himself and his younger brother Atlas as the sole heirs of her assets. Two weeks later, Annes ex James Tupper countered with a petition to be put in charge of her estate, alleging that Anne had emailed him a copy of her will in 2011. Nearly four months later, Los Angeles Court Judge Lee Bogdanoff named Homer the permanent administrator of his mothers estate. But the complications didnt stop there. The Donnie Brasco actress death was also followed by a series of lawsuits. And among the filings included a $2 million lawsuit filed by Lynne Mishele, who had been renting the Mar Vista house that Anne crashed into, in which she alleged negligence, trespass and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The suit against her estate remains ongoing. For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App A second federal judge has blocked Donald Trumps ban on transgender service members in the U.S. military, a plainly discriminatory directive with no evidence to support the administrations claims, according to the ruling. The governments arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record, George W. Bush-appointed District Judge Benjamin Settle wrote in a 65-page opinion Thursday. Trumps executive order one of several that explicitly removes federal recognition of trans people claims that the adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individuals sex conflicts with a soldiers commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in ones personal life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government has provided no evidence supporting the conclusion that military readiness, unit cohesion, lethality, or any of the other touchstone phrases long used to exclude various groups from service have in fact been adversely impacted by open transgender service, Settle wrote. The Court can only find that there is none, he said. Settles decision the second nationwide injunction targeting the Trump administrations policy follows a lawsuit from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal representing seven actively serving trans troops. Transgender service members meet the same rigorous standards and requirements as any other soldier and this ban does nothing other than compromise our countrys national security for the sole purpose of discrimination, Human Rights Campaign Foundation legal vice president Sarah Warbelow said in a statement after the decision. Human Rights Campaign legal director Sarah Warbelow, center, and Lamda Legal counsel Sasha Buchert, right, speak to reporters outside federal court in Washington March 25 (AP) The decision affirms what we have long maintained: that banning Americans from military service solely because they are transgender is not only unconstitutional but undermines our national security and military readiness, according to Lambda Legal counsel Kell Olson. These brave individuals deserve to be judged on their ability to serve, just like everyone else. While this injunction is an important step forward, we continue to fight until this discriminatory ban is permanently struck down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, the Department of Defense ordered that the removal of all trans service members across all branches of the military must be completed no later than June 25. The order also immediately bans access to gender-affirming care for all trans service members. Following a separate lawsuit from more than 20 plaintiffs, including decorated trans service members, Washington, D.C., District Judge Ana Reyes temporarily blocked what she called a policy that is soaked with animus and dripping with pretext to discriminate against trans people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon officials scrambled to issue new guidance, but District Judge Ana Reyes ruled this week that the government's arguments supporting the changes which scrutinized service members history of gender dysphoria were equally unpersuasive. Defendants cannot evade discriminating against transgender people simply by labeling the policy as addressing gender dysphoria, she wrote in a scorching opinion Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has appealed both rulings. Thousands of transgender service members currently serving have clearly demonstrated they meet all military standards, with many deployed to critical missions worldwide, proving their capabilities beyond question, according to Jennifer Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD Law, which is suing the Trump administration on behalf of two dozen trans service members. President Trump's executive order and Secretary Hegseth's implementation represent a policy that cannot be constitutionally justified, she added. A federal judge in Washington state has blocked the Trump administrations ban on transgender military service, issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction just one day before the Pentagon was set to begin discharging transgender service members. U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle of the Western District of Washington ruled Thursday that the Trump administrations January executive order banning transgender people from serving openly in the armed forces is likely unconstitutional. "To be clear: the governments implementation of the Military Ban and the Hegseth Policy, and any other attempt to identify and separate transgender service members for being transgender, is preliminarily enjoined, nationally, pending a trial on the merits. His decision immediately halts the ban nationwide, covering the plaintiffs in the case and all similarly situated service members, including those stationed overseas. The governments arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record, Settle wrote in the ruling. The governments unrelenting reliance on deference to military judgment is unjustified in the absence of any evidence supporting the militarys new judgment reflected in the Military Banin its equally considered and unquestionable judgment, that very same military had only the week before permitted active-duty plaintiffs (and some thousands of others) to serve openly. Any evidence that such service over the past four years harmed any of the militarys inarguably critical aims would be front and center. But there is none. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision in Commander Emily Shilling et al. v. United States et al. is the second federal injunction issued against the 2025 ban. Two weeks ago, Judge Ana C. Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction in Talbott v. United States, also finding the administrations policy unconstitutional. Reyes wrote that the ban failed intermediate scrutiny and appeared motivated by anti-trans animus. That ruling is now being appealed. Thursdays injunction comes just in time: the Pentagon had announced that enforcement would begin Friday through forced separations of openly transgender service members. That action is now blocked. Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation filed the Shilling lawsuit in February on behalf of seven active-duty transgender service members, a transgender person seeking to enlist, and the Seattle-based Gender Justice League. This decision affirms what we have long maintained: that banning Americans from military service solely because they are transgender is not only unconstitutional but undermines our national security and military readiness, said Kell Olson, counsel at Lambda Legal . A second federal judge has barred Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth from enforcing a ban on transgender troops serving in the military. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle said the ban, ordered by President Donald Trump, was blatantly discriminatory, relied on a distortion of outdated data and ignored more recent evidence about transgender service members. The government has provided no evidence supporting the conclusion that military readiness, unit cohesion, lethality, or any of the other touchstone phrases long used to exclude various groups from service have in fact been adversely impacted by open transgender service, wrote Settle, a Seattle-based appointee of President George W. Bush, in a 65-page opinion. The Court can only find that there is none. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Settle concluded that the Trump administration cherrypicked and distorted outdated data to support the policy. He echoed a similar conclusion earlier this month from U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, an appointee of President Joe Biden based in Washington. Settle said the decision was not an especially close question given the absence of evidence from the Trump administration of any negative impacts caused by the service of transgender troops. Any evidence that such service over the past four years harmed any of the militarys inarguably critical aims would be front and center, Settle wrote. But there is none. The ruling is the latest setback for Trumps sweeping campaign against transgender people, captured in executive orders issued in the opening days of his administration. Trumps efforts to pull funding from hospitals that provide medical services to transgender youth, to take down government websites that provide data to doctors who treat transgender patients and to restrict the military service of transgender troops have now all been restrained by federal courts, which have described the policies as openly discriminatory and rooted in weak data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the lawsuits contesting the ban on trans troops, the administration has argued that military leaders are owed virtually unquestionable deference about decisions regarding fitness to serve. Both Settle and Reyes agreed, but said even that great deference had limits that were breached by the transgender ban. The decision is almost certain to be appealed to the California-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Trump administration earlier Thursday appealed Reyes decision to the D.C. Circuit, which urged the Pentagon against taking any steps to remove transgender service members during the appeal. Settle, like Reyes, walked through the militarys shifting policies on transgender troops since 2015, when the Obama administration first permitted them to serve openly. Trump attempted to reverse that policy during his first term, which led to court challenge and eventually a decision by then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to refrain from excluding or pulling medical care from transgender troops who had already been serving at the time Trump took office. Bidens Pentagon again loosened restrictions. Settle noted that as a result of those changes, there are now roughly 2,000 openly serving transgender members of the military, a small fraction of the overall force with no evidence suggesting their presence had harmed the strength or readiness of the military. In fact, he said, the only evidence presented in his court proved the opposite point. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He noted that the lead plaintiff in the case, Commander Emily Shilling, had been a naval aviator for 19 years, flew 60 combat missions and earned numerous medals. There is no claim and no evidence that she is now, or ever was, a detriment to her units cohesion, or to the militarys lethality or readiness, or that she is mentally or physically unable to continue her service, Settle wrote. Yet absent an injunction, she will be promptly discharged solely because she is transgender. Two law firms targeted by President Donald Trump sued Friday to bar enforcement of his executive orders seeking to shut them out of government business and strip key lawyers of their security clearances. In separate suits, Big Law firms Jenner & Block and WilmerHale say Trumps effort to target them amounts to an unprecedented attack on the legal profession in retaliation for their work for past clients he doesnt like and for past causes with which he disagrees. If carried out, they say, the orders would devastate their practices and have already begun to cause anxiety among their hundreds clients with government business. Jenner & Blocks lawsuitcontends Trumps order is an unconstitutional threat to the firm and the legal system itself, seeking to punish citizens and lawyers based on the clients they represent, the positions they advocate, the opinions they voice, and the people with whom they associate. The lawsuit was filed on the firms behalf by California-based law firm Cooley LLP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Presidents sweeping attack on WilmerHale (and other firms) is unprecedented and unconstitutional, writes Paul Clement, a veteran Supreme Court lawyer representing the firm in its lawsuit. The First Amendment protects the rights of WilmerHale, its employees, and its clients to speak freely, petition the courts and other government institutions, and associate with the counsel of their choice without facing retaliation and discrimination by federal officials. Trump targeted both firms with executive orders earlier this week. The Jenner order focused on the role that a former member of the firm Andrew Weissmann played in the investigation of Trumps links to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. Weissmann, who has not worked at Jenner & Block since 2021, has been a vocal Trump critic and a prominent legal analyst on MSNBC during Trumps multiple criminal cases. The Russia investigation eventually was helmed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who previously worked at WilmerHale. Trump targeted that firm with an order signed Thursday evening. The firms are asking the federal district court in Washington to block enforcement of the sweeping executive orders as a violation of their First Amendment rights. Fridays complaints make Jenner & Block and WilmerHale the second and third law firms to sue the Trump administration over executive orders threatening their ability to do business. Perkins Coie, a major Seattle-based firm, sued Trump earlier in March after he issued a similar executive order sanctioning the firm in response to work it had done on behalf of Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign. That suit earned an early win blocking much of the executive order from being implemented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell blocked the Perkins order, saying it was likely unconstitutional. She ordered the Trump administration to rescind any directives instructing agencies not to work with the firm. The Justice Department later targeted Howell herself, seeking her removal from the matter and alleging bias. Howellrejected the broadside, saying it relied on speculation, innuendo and basic legal disagreements. Jenner & Blocks lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge John Bates, an appointee of George W. Bush. WilmerHales has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, also a George W. Bush appointee. Leon set a Friday afternoon hearing to consider WilmerHales emergency bid to block the enforcement of Trumps order. Other firms, however, have attempted to work with Trump instead of fighting him over his orders. Jenner & Blocks lawsuit cites the recent capitulation by Paul, Weiss to pressure from Trump, noting that its chairman Brad Karp cut a deal with Trump to avoid being punished. The suit describes this as the intended effect of an effort by Trump to intimidate those who would challenge him or his administration. That firm, which was targeted due to its association with one-time Manhattan District Attorneys Office investigator Mark Pomerantz, agreed to commit $40 million worth of pro-bono work to causes supported by the Trump administration. As part of the deal, Karp also denounced Pomerantzs investigations of Trump and agreed to an external review of the firms hiring practices and use of diversity, equity and inclusion policies. On Friday afternoon, Skadden Arps reached a similar agreement, announced by Trump and the firm. A narrower order that stripped the security clearance of one top lawyer remains in effect against Covington & Burling, a firm that provided legal representation to former special counsel Jack Smith. Covington has not challenged that order. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) For months, many St. Pete residents say their sky-high water bills have been draining their bank accounts. But a new measure could help stop the flood. I want an apology: St. Pete resident complaints soar amid sky-high water bills On Thursday, the St. Pete City Council approved a resolution that will allow Stantec Consulting Services to take a look at these abnormal water bills and give an analysis to the city council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can read that resolution below. F-2Download Council members also passed an ordinance that will allow for more flexibility when providing relief to residents with unexplainably high water bills. City Administrator Rob Gerdes asked the city council for more flexibility in handling abnormal situations. He said the current way city code is written left city representatives with their hands tied on whether a resolution could be made or not. The ordinance passed Thursday is expected to solve that problem. It is set to go into effect on May 27. You can read that ordinance below. J-4Download Noreen McClure spoke to St. Pete City Council Thursday demanding answers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After my mothers bank informed me of insufficient funds to cover this $11,000 bill, I made several attempts to resolve the issue through customer service, she told council members. Months later, McClure said, not only does she not have answers, but the bill was also sent to collections. Now McClure worries she may even have a lien put on her house because of it. I want an apology, and I want the bill to go away. Thats what I want and Im not going to stop until its done, she said. As the search for those answers continues, Mayor Ken Welch is calling it the perfect storm. Its certainly something were concerned about, and its another example of something that this storm revealed that is a problem, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Welch ensured 8 On Your Side city leaders wont stop until they have this issue resolved. We understand there are problems in the system that have been long existent but just have been exacerbated because of the storms: a combination of the limits in our code with what we can do, our metering and our system for estimating, he said. All of those systems work together. You can see the PowerPoint presented to city council Thursday regarding high utility bills below. PRESENTATIONDownload But what is the root of the problem? Thats ongoing, Welch said. We still dont have a silver bullet as to why this happened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The combination of the flooding, the legacy system we have for estimating, the metering issue is another one, he continued. I think there are a lot of culprits, and I think it was the perfect storm. News Channel 8 reporter Nicole Rogers asked the mayor, To the person who either had their autopay on or they were scared they were going to get their water shut off so they just paid it, and they want their money back, what would you say to that person? I would say to them, Were working on it, Welch responded. If you havent had that resolved, give my office a call and well work on it. That, to me, is one of the most important issues that we can deal with, to kinda hold folks harmless and not do additional harm, he concluded. 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. Anti-tariff billboards emerging across Ohio DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Have you seen them? Billboards messages discussing tariffs are showing up across Ohio. On the digital billboards, the messages switch between Tariffs Are A Tax On Your Grocery Bill and Tariffs Are A Tax At The Gas Pump. In Ohio, they have already been spotted in Cincinnati and northeast Ohio. The billboards have been placed in 12 Republican-leaning states. The advertisements are funded by Canada, and started to appear around the time President Trump placed a 25 percent tariff on automotive imports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Canada is wanting to send a message to American workers that they should speak with their representatives regarding the tariffs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 (AP) Wisconsins spring election on Tuesday for state Supreme Court, state schools chief and a proposed constitutional amendment requiring photo ID for voting will be the first major indication of the states political climate since Republican Donald Trump recaptured the White House in November. Trump edged Democrat Kamala Harris in Wisconsin by just 0.86 percentage points, the tightest margin of any state. That narrow win, as well as a highly competitive 2023 state Supreme Court contest, could foreshadow the possible paths to victory for this years statewide campaigns. In the state Supreme Court race, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel look to replace outgoing Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, the courts longest-serving member, who announced last April that she would not seek a fourth 10-year term. Wisconsin Supreme Court seats are officially nonpartisan, but voters as well as the states party establishments routinely rally behind certain candidates based on their judicial philosophies and records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crawford has the backing of Democrats and progressives, including an endorsement this week from former President Barack Obama. Schimel has support from Republicans and conservatives, including endorsements from Trump and Elon Musk. Liberal-leaning justices gained a 4-3 majority on the court in 2023 for the first time in 15 years after Justice Janet Protasiewicz defeated former Justice Dan Kelly for a seat previously held by a conservative jurist. Bradleys retirement gives conservatives an opportunity to retake the majority ahead of high-profile cases on abortion, unions and voting rights. At the top of Tuesdays ballot is the race for state superintendent of public instruction, the position responsible for managing Wisconsins 900,000-student, $9 billion public school system. Incumbent Jill Underly seeks a second four-year term against Brittany Kinser, an education consultant and founder of a state literacy initiative. While that role is also nonpartisan, Underly has the backing of the state Democratic Party and the state teachers unions, while Kinser is backed by the state Republican Party. Underly placed first in the Feb. 18 top-two primary with about 38% of the vote, followed by Kinser with about 34%. Another candidate with support mostly from Democrats placed third with about 27%, not enough to advance to Tuesdays general election. Underly was first elected in 2021 with 58% of the vote against Republican-backed candidate Deborah Kerr. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In any statewide election in Wisconsin, Democrats tend to win by large margins in the populous counties of Milwaukee and Dane (home of Madison), while Republicans win by wide margins in the smaller, more rural counties that stretch across most of the state. Republican candidates also tend to rely on strong showings in the WOW counties of Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington in suburban Milwaukee, which help counter Democratic advantages in urban areas. Victory is determined by how big those margins are in the respective party strongholds, as well as which side can win over the states more competitive swing areas. In 2024, Harris, who was then vice president, won Milwaukee with 68% of the vote and Dane with 75%, while narrowly losing statewide. In comparison, Protasiewicz in her 2023 court race received 73% of the vote in Milwaukee and 82% of the vote in Dane. She went on to win statewide by an 11-percentage-point margin. Protasiewicz also won over about a dozen counties favorable to Trump, most notably in Brown County, home of Green Bay, which Trump carried in all three of his White House campaigns. The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when its determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Recounts are not automatic in Wisconsin, but a trailing candidate may request one if the winning vote margin is less than a percentage point. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome. Heres a look at what to expect Tuesday: Spring election day The Wisconsin Spring Election will be held Tuesday. Polls close at 9 p.m. ET. Whats on the ballot? The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners for state Supreme Court, state superintendent of public instruction and the statewide ballot measure. Besides the statewide contests on the ballot, various local jurisdictions will also hold elections on Tuesday, but the AP will not be tabulating those contests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Who gets to vote? Any registered voter in Wisconsin may participate in the election on Tuesday. What do turnout and advance vote look like? As of March 1, there were more than 3.8 million active registered voters in Wisconsin. Voters in the state do not register by party. About 1.8 million votes were cast in the 2023 spring election for state Supreme Court. That was 51% of registered voters and roughly 40% of the voting age population at the time. About 25% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day. As of Thursday, more than 475,000 ballots had been cast before Election Day. In the Feb. 18 primary, nearly 469,000 voters cast ballots in the race for superintendent, which was 12% of registered voters and roughly 10% of the voting age population at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How long does vote-counting usually take? The AP first reported results in the Feb. 18 primary at 9:04 p.m. ET, or about four minutes after polls closed. In both the 2023 spring election and the 2024 presidential election, the first results of the night posted at 9:11 p.m. ET. Election night tabulation ended at 12:02 a.m. ET in the Feb. 18 primary, at 2:30 a.m. ET in the 2023 spring election and at 5:47 a.m. ET in the November general election, all with more than 98% of the total vote counted. A pair of top journalists for The Associated Press covering the White House testified on Thursday to the damage caused to the outlet by President Trumps decision to revoke its access to key West Wing spaces over the organizations refusal to use Gulf of America in its widely used stylebook. AP chief White House correspondent Zeke Miller and Evan Vucci, the APs top photographer in Washington, D.C., described what they called diminished and delayed reporting because of the administrations banning them from being part of the small group of journalists who document the president each day, otherwise known as the press pool. The pair took the stand during a court hearing over whether to restore the wire services access to the pool, which is allowed in certain areas of the White House with limited space such as the Oval Office and their access to traveling with the president on Air Force One. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AP has a long tradition of having a reporter and photographer in the press pool each and every day both at the White House and when the president is traveling. APs barred time and again because of our journalism, Miller said in open court Thursday. The AP sued three top White House officials last month over the ban after its reporters were barred from the Oval Office and Air Force One because the outlet refused to change its stylebook guidelines to use Gulf of America after Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico. News organizations across the industry use the AP Stylebook for spelling, grammar and guidelines on how to refer to certain people and places in aim of making such references widely understood both in the U.S. and worldwide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The AP and press freedom groups have argued the Trump administration is, in effect, trying to suppress coverage it does not view as favorable enough and send a chilling effect through the mainstream media. Miller testified that on Feb. 11, he was summoned to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitts office, where she informed him she was just the messenger but the president was not pleased with APs decision not to conform to the new reference of Gulf of America. Trump had decided to bar the AP from entering the Oval Office until it changed its policy, Leavitt told Miller. APs access was further limited from there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After she told Miller of Trumps decision, Leavitt announced the White House would take control of the press pool, a job usually handled by the White House Correspondents Association. She said the White House would decide which outlets would be allowed in the pool. So far, the White House has maintained the same rotation of news outlets that the correspondents association had but added two more spots one for television and another for new media, which are typically filled with right-leaning news organizations. Though the administration has argued in court filings that AP remains eligible to be part of the press pool, it has yet to be selected to serve in the press pool since the White House took control of the body. Both AP journalists testified their reporting lacks the completeness it did when they were granted full access. Vucci recalled his physical presence traveling with former President George W. Bush as being key to his status as the only journalist to photograph the Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe at Bush. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We dont know what were not going to see, Miller said. Lawyers for the AP noted that Vucci captured an iconic piece of history last summer the widely seen image of Trump pumping his fist after an assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., which they noted Trump used as the cover of his own book Save America. But since APs access was revoked, Vucci said hes gone from being in every single event to not being able to do anything. He called the APs photojournalism the gold standard and warned that Trumps ban on the wire service has drastically altered its ability to gather a historical record. Vucci pointed to an Oval Office meeting between Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month, which went off the rails and drove headlines for days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No American AP photojournalists were allowed in the meeting, though a Ukrainian videographer who freelances for the AP joined with that countrys envoy. When we get our butt kicked, you know immediately and that happened this day, he said, citing long delays in receiving images from poolers in the room instead of the AP photographers themselves, which also impacts competition. On cross-examination, Justice Department lawyer Brian Hudak pointed to White House events where foreign AP photojournalists or photographers with licensing agreements were allowed to attend. APs journalists and lawyers, however, noted that print journalists were not allowed to attend all the events and pushed back against the governments contention that they were allowed at all tarmac events, when the presidents plane took off or landed. As far as journalism goes, its 360, Vucci said. Youve got to be there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Miller also described an apparent chilling effect on other journalists who cover the White House, describing a softening of tone and tenor in questioning the president and other officials. Aside from AP, however, the same contingent of reporters at national independent news outlets continue to populate the White House briefing room during Leavitts briefing and ask the president questions during remarks he gives from the Oval Office and Roosevelt Room, though both tend to give deference now to publications seen as more friendly. Charles Tobin, a lawyer for the AP, argued that the wire services reporters would not say that the presidents bullying had chilled them because of their commitment to independent journalism. But he urged the judge to consider that the First Amendment protects journalists who both stand by their convictions or succumb. The AP is meanwhile waging a pressure campaign against the White House outside the courtroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an editorial published this week in The Wall Street Journal, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace said the wire service pursued every possible avenue to resolve the issue before taking legal action. If we dont step up to defend Americans right to speak freely, who will? she asked. Today the U.S. government wants to control the APs speech. Tomorrow it could be someone elses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, and Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, held a phone conversation, Trend reports. During the conversation, current issues of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United Nations were discussed. Tokayev noted the importance of the unanimously adopted resolution of the UN General Assembly on the establishment of the Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty. The interlocutors also discussed further steps to institutionalize the Regional Center. The President of Kazakhstan noted that in the year of the 80th anniversary of the UN, which remains a universal and uncontested organization, it is important to direct the efforts of all states to comply with its Charter and the generally recognized principles of international law. The Secretary-General highly appreciated the peacekeeping efforts of Kazakhstan and its contribution to strengthening global security and sustainable development. The Associated Press journalist who took a renowned photo of President Donald Trump after he emerged from an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, testified about the impact of the White House limiting the news service from presidential events. Its hurting us big time, Evan Vucci, the chief photographer for AP in Washington D.C., said Thursday during a hearing in the case between the AP and the White House. Were basically dead in the water on major news stories. His testimony arrives weeks after Trump restricted APs access to key events and areas such as Air Force One and the Oval Office due to the news organizations decision to refer to the Gulf of Mexico rather than the Gulf of America. Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief Photographer Evan Vucci testified in court on Thursday in the news outlets efforts to get the White House to loosen restrictions it placed on access. He took the famous photo of Trump after the Pennsylvania rally shooting (Getty Images) After winning Political Photo of the Year from the White House News Press Association, Vucci tweeted that the photo underscores the importance of eyewitness journalism and APs legacy of documenting the presidency (AP) Vucci explained that the AP is struggling to keep up with competitors when it comes to major news events and other photographers may not be as well-equipped to take photos either due to skill set or experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As an example, he pointed to Trumps recent contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Without access, the AP had to rely on foreign-based services for images but the photographer that day lacked experience and did not quickly send pictures to editors for wider distribution. As a result, the AP was slower to publish images. Vucci, a veteran photographer who has won Pulitzer Prizes, has captured some of the most well-known news images around the world, including in 2008 when an Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at former president George W. Bush during a press conference. Most recently, Vucci captured the moment Trump emerged from a Secret Service huddle with his fist in the air after a gunman fired shots at a Pennsylvania rally. After winning Political Photo of the Year from the White House News Press Association, Vucci tweeted that the photo underscores the importance of eyewitness journalism and APs legacy of documenting the presidency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I look forward to the day I can once again cover President Trump alongside my colleagues. Now more than ever, independent, nonpartisan photojournalism is essential, Vucci wrote earlier this month. In addition to Vucci, the APs Chief White House Correspondent Zeke Miller testified that the outlets limited access meant its coverage does not have the same level of completeness that it once did. The AP is one of the worlds biggest news services used by local, national and international news outlets. Vucci estimated its photographs reach approximately four billion people. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) An apartment complex fire displaced some residents early Friday morning, March 28, in Northeast El Paso, the El Paso Fire Department said. The Fire Department says they responded at around 12:30 a.m. Friday to the 4500 block of Arlen Avenue about a Condition 3 fire. The fire was knocked down within the hour and crews checked for hotspots. A total of 17 units responded to the fire and two to three apartment units were impacted, the Fire Department said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Red Cross was also requested to assist displaced residents. The Fire Department said eight adults were affected by the fire. The fire was largely contained to one apartment unit, with two adjacent units having very little damage, a Fire spokesperson said. Fire investigators were also requested at the scene. No injuries have been reported, the Fire Department said. No further information has been released. Were working on gathering more information on this 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 KTSM 9 News. (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump can fire members of two independent agencies, a divided federal appeals court in Washington ruled, boosting the presidents efforts to dramatically reshape the US government. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a 2-1 order issued Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit halted decisions by lower court judges that blocked Trumps removal of National Labor Relations Board Chair Gwynne Wilcox and Cathy Harris, a member of the Merit Systems Protections Board. The cases represent key tests of Trumps ability to reshape US agencies that were designed by Congress to operate at some distance from the policies and politics of the president. Conservatives have opposed limits on the presidents power to remove executive branch officials, and the US Justice Department under Trump signaled early on that it would argue in favor of freeing the president to decide who leads agencies that wield executive authority. In a statement provided by her attorney, Harris said, I respectfully disagree with this decision and will be filing papers very soon that ask the full Court of Appeals to review it. If that fails, she and Wilcox could ask the US Supreme Court to intervene. Wilcoxs lawyer Deepak Gupta said in a statement that their legal team is confident in our case and look forward to presenting our arguments in court to ensure that the NLRB can continue its vital work protecting workers rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Department released a statement calling the order a victory for common sense and the American people who elected President Trump. No unelected activist judge should be allowed to usurp executive power. A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the short-term, the removal of Wilcox and Harris will leave both bodies without a quorum to operate. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, who dissented from Fridays order, wrote that the decision will leave languishing hundreds of unresolved legal claims. The NLRB broadly considers unfair labor claims, while the MSPB presides over claims from federal government workers. The DC Circuits order comes as US officials under Trump are carrying out sweeping cuts to the federal workforce, spurring legal challenges in federal courts as well as before the MSPB. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DC Circuit panels two Republican appointees sided with the administration. Judge Justin Walker, who was confirmed during Trumps first term, wrote the district court judges who kept Wilcox and Harris in their posts had adopted an expansive interpretation of a key 1930s-era Supreme Court decision on presidential power that was narrowed by later rulings from the justices. Walker said that he believed the public interest favored letting Trump exercise his preferences over the two agencies. Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, appointed to the DC Circuit by the late president George H.W. Bush, also sided with the administration. The forcible reinstatement of a presidentially removed principal officer disenfranchises voters by hampering the Presidents ability to govern during the four short years the people have assigned him the solemn duty of leading the executive branch, Walker wrote. Millett accused her colleagues of rewriting Supreme Court precedent and ignoring past circuit decisions that were still binding. Millett, appointed under former President Barack Obama, said that the appeals court was supposed to only intervene on an emergency basis to avoid instability and turmoil. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the courts decision today creates them, she wrote. The cases are Harris v. Bessent, 25-5037, DC Circuit, and Wilcox v. Trump, 25-5057, DC Circuit. (Updates with statement from DOJ.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Elon Musk and his staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency defended their work in an hour long interview on Fox News as they look to cut down the size of the federal government and eliminate fraud and waste. In the wide-ranging interview Thursday, Musk and his staffers a group that has been notably out of the public spotlight amid ongoing controversies from DOGE laid out their vision for efficiency across government agencies, from the Interior Department to the Small Business Administration. In the context of the government were moving like lightning, Musk told Fox News host Bret Baier. But in terms of his expectations, its moving slower than Id like, Musk said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, Musk and his team at DOGE have cut down entire agencies and instituted mass layoffs and voluntary buy-outs. Musk said theyve made progress, but that theres more to do. Heres a few takeaways from Musk and his DOGE team. An Apple Store-like experience The group of tech workers assembled under the DOGE banner includes co-founder of Airbnb, Joe Gebbia, whos working on DOGEs project to digitize the retirement process for federal employees. Speaking about a large mine of retirement papers housed in Pennsylvania, Gebbia said he believes DOGE can help speed up modernizing government systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We really believe that the government can have an Apple Store-like experience. Beautifully designed, great user experience, modern systems, Gebbia said. Gebbias assessment aligns with the approach that Musk has brought to reshaping the federal government. He added later that DOGE is empowering employees and bringing the best of Silicon Valley and the business world to the government. In defense of Social Security Musk and his team tackled one of the great controversies theyve faced in their mission to modernize the federal government: social security. Democrats have slammed Musk for cutting jobs and creating instability within the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration website has crashed numerous times over the last few weeks, while the agency has been overwhelmed with phone calls and has plans to cut thousands of staffers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in responding to Democratic criticism, the DOGE team on Thursday defended their work on the Social Security Administration, saying theyre carefully and methodically looking at benefits claims and making sure any fraudulent ones are eliminated, said DOGE staffer Steve Davis. DOGE engineer Aram Moghaddassi added that theyre working to protect people from fraud by increasing cross-agency communication. Musk said that their work on social security will help people get their benefits, saying legitimate people will get more social security, not less. Musk also said they would make sure the website remains online. Were trying to say that the 94-year-old grandmother is going to get her check, Musk said. Almost no one has been fired Anthony Armstrong, a former banker who helped Musk acquire X and is now a senior adviser at the Office of Personnel Management, downplayed the scale of the mass layoffs, saying that most federal workers have been leaving largely through voluntary means. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added that theyve placed a heavy focus on being generous, caring, compassionate and treating everyone with dignity and respect. Youve heard a lot of news about people getting fired. At this moment in time, less than .15 of the federal workforce has actually been given a [reductions in force] notice, Armstrong said. Most federal agencies and departments have already submitted their plans for a reduction of workforce, due to be implemented in April. A leaked preliminary copy of those plans reported by the Washington Post suggests anywhere from 8 to 50 percent of the workforce of each agency is on the chopping block. Musk and his team did not address the upcoming RIFs. Basically almost no one has gotten fired, thats what were saying, Musk claimed. BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) Applications for NorthWest Arkansas Community Colleges dental assistant program open April 1. According to the college, applicants are interviewed on a first-to-apply, first-to-interview basis until all roster slots are filled. There is a limit of 16 seats. NWACC sees largest enrollment in schools history Admission to courses is by approval of the program director. The programs website says the only additional fees will be for scrubs, travel to the class and background and drug tests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interested applicants will also need to apply to NWACC if they are not current students. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Dan Reynolds Photography via Getty Images) The Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners signaled during a study session Wednesday that they support a series of land use code changes that would make it easier to build more affordable housing across the county. The code changes would update Arapahoe Countys regulations to comply with state laws that were passed during the 2024 legislative session. Those regulations include creating new zoning districts for multifamily and mixed-use developments, removing minimum parking requirements, allowing for overnight shelter and transitional housing units for people experiencing homelessness, and revising manufactured home requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Governments across the Denver metro area have been considering how to comply with the new state laws for over a year. If adopted, Arapahoe County would be one of the largest government entities supporting the new state laws, which have sharply divided communities across the Front Range. These proposed code changes will hopefully help us meet the new requirements from the state, Kat Hammer, senior planner with Arapahoe Public Works and Development, said during the study session. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX County commissioners also discussed creating a two-tiered set of incentives for new affordable housing development. Under the proposed guidelines, developments where at least 50% of the units are designated as affordable could be allowed to build buildings up to 75 feet in height, have their planning and engineering fees reduced, and go through an expedited land use review process. Developments that reserve at least 10% of their units as affordable would be eligible for more limited height and density benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arapahoe County has been studying how to make its land use codes more amenable to affordable housing developments since December 2023. However, balancing the countys need for more housing with feedback from the community has proved difficult. County staff noted multiple concerns about the code changes. For instance, there were concerns about how the proposed changes would impact the progress of current developments, affect infrastructure and roadways, and whether the affordable homes would be marketable once they are completed. Staff also shared concerns about the countys ability to monitor and enforce the affordable housing requirements and whether developments where 50% of the units are designated as affordable should be allowed to bypass neighborhood meeting requirements. The board decided to include the neighborhood meeting requirement in the proposed changes, but the discussion illustrated the concerns that lawmakers in other cities have raised about speeding up the development of affordable housing. We have a shortage of single-family homes, which is why people are leaving the state ... People dont want to live in apartments from birth to death. I saw this stuff in Russia and it was built under Lenin. Westminster City Council member Kristine Ireland Commissioner Rhonda Fields, a former Democratic state lawmaker, expressed reservations about allowing certain developments to bypass neighborhood meetings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If something was moving into my neighborhood, I would want to know, Fields said. I would want to lend voice before the project, because once the project is approved, my opportunities to shape it are less. Commissioner Jessica Campbell said she supports including neighborhood feedback about new developments, although she noted that public hearing requirements can increase the cost of development by delaying the projects approval, thereby causing developers to pay more carrying costs. Sometimes, the discussions also veer into economic discrimination, Campbell said. Part of why I think this deserves a different treatment is because when we are talking about affordability the comments we hear are not just about density, Campbell said. They are literally we dont want those people here. And so we, as a government, are facilitating a conversation and are allowing economic discrimination to take place. Metro area housing shortage The affordable housing debate in the Denver area has become bifurcated into what kind of housing should be built and which cities should bear the brunt of the new development. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a 2024 Housing Needs Assessment from the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the metro area needs to add 216,000 housing units by 2032 to meet demand. The greatest need is for units that are affordable for people earning up to 60% of the areas median income, or around $78,000 for a family of four. Arapahoe County needs to add around 2,270 units to meet demand by 2032 as well. State lawmakers have tried to promote more affordable housing development through legislation. For example, state lawmakers have passed bills encouraging local governments to allow accessory dwelling units, giving local governments the right of first refusal for certain types of land to build more affordable housing on, and increasing transit-oriented development. Voters also approved Proposition 123 in 2022, which requires participating governments to build 3% more affordable housing annually for three years. In February, CPR reported that lawmakers in cities across the Front Range have pushed back against state laws that require cities to relax development codes and add more affordable housing. Some have gone as far as to say they wont follow the new laws at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a regular City Council meeting on Feb. 3, Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally said the new state laws amount to state overreach. City Council member Kristine Ireland also expressed concerns about the city building more apartments. We have a shortage of single-family homes, which is why people are leaving the state, Ireland said. People dont want to live in apartments from birth to death. I saw this stuff in Russia and it was built under Lenin. McNally and other council members directed city staff not to comply with the laws. The issue is local control, McNally said. Are you going to let the state tell you what to do, no matter what any citizen says because theyre not going to your citizens? Or do we control it? Thats it for me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 4, several residents of Lafayette spoke against the state housing laws during the citys biweekly City Council meeting. Multiple residents said they supported the city joining a lawsuit against the state over the new laws. Afterward, council members agreed to meet in a closed-door session to discuss their legal options for ignoring the state housing laws. Lafayette Mayor Pro Tem Brian Wong said the state bills seem to be chipping away at the citys home rule authority as well. Ive heard through my conversations with DRCOG that several communities are looking at litigation, Wong, referring to the Denver Regional Council of Governments, said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE An arbitrator has sided with the city of Akron in a dispute over whether police officer Ryan Westlake should have been fired last year for excessive use of force. Westlake's employment was terminated in May over two use-of-force incidents. An arbitrator examining the cases found Westlake's actions in one of those incidents was sufficient to uphold his firing. Arbitrator Keith Greenberg cited Westlakes behavior during an arrest on March 1, 2024. Body-worn camera and store surveillance video showed Westlake threw a handcuffed teen against the side of his cruiser to get her into the car during his response to reports of theft at the Firestone Mini-Mart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The record evidence regarding the March 1, 2024 incident is, ultimately, straightforward, Greenberg wrote in his report to the city and the Fraternal Order of Police, which is representing Westlake. The officer intentionally threw a 14-year-old girl into the metal frame of his patrol vehicle, while she was handcuffed and in his custody. There is no excuse for that behavior..." Westlake's "actions constituted an unreasonable use of force, conduct unbecoming an officer, and a failure to fulfill his responsibility for the safety and protection" of the 14-year-old while she was in his custody, he said. The arbitrator pointedly factored out the other incident, which occurred Dec. 31, 2023, from his determination to recommend dismissal. He noted that case, which involved a struggle to arrest a convicted felon sought by police, was "less clear cut" and raised questions about how discipline was pursued in the matter. In response to Greenberg's finding, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik released a statement Friday saying his administration believes that accountability in instances of misconduct is critical, and we see this ruling as upholding that standard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether Westlake will continue to fight the decision is unclear. City of Akron spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh said "arbitration is a binding process as outlined in the contract; however, the union could still appeal the arbitrators decision to the courts." Akron FOP Lodge No. 7 President Brian Lucey on Friday declined to say whether the police union would further litigate the matter. What did department leadership say? Over the course of four days in October, Westlakes conduct exhibited during several incidents was thoroughly dissected during arbitration . His supervisors' testimony painted a picture of an officer who was not always able to control himself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police Capt. Kris Beitzel testified she supervised Westlake for around two years. The arbitrator's report states Beitzel said he was a good officer who could be relied on to perform his duties until he found himself in a stressful situation. She said she had sent him to a training intended to improve his decision-making, but the lessons didn't stick. Westlake acknowledged that he'd made some poor decisions, but said he conducted himself well overall throughout the hundreds of high-stress situations he encountered as an officer during his nine years, according to the report. Akron Police Chief Brian Harding testified that his own review of both incidents and Westlakes disciplinary history raised significant concerns" about the officer's "ability to make decisions in high-stress situations, despite (Westlakes) record of proactive police work. In the December 2023 incident that the city included in its case for termination, body-camera footage shows Westlake placing his rifle barrel against the head of an apprehended suspect and otherwise roughly handling him following a foot chase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Westlake had a troubled history with the department. Following allegations of two drunken and violent off-duty incidents involving his girlfriend in 2021, he was fired, then reinstated and instead suspended. He had seven use-of-force incidents in his docket in 2021 and eight in 2023. In Greenberg's report, the city stated that Westlake had accumulated 119 days of disciplinary suspension between 2021 and 2023. The most use-of force incidents Westlake had in prior years was seven in 2021 and eight in 2023, according to his personnel records. His most recent firing came weeks after Westlake shot a 15-year-old boy in the hand in Goodyear Heights on April 1, 2024. Greenberg's report notes that was the first time the officer was involved in a shooting in his career. The teen was carrying a fake gun at the time, and Westlake was responding to reports of an individual pointing a gun at houses in the neighborhood. An independent investigation of that case performed by Lake County prosecutors and reviewed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation found Westlake's actions to be justified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In its case for reinstating Westlake, the FOP asserted the shooting incident improperly influenced the department's decision to fire Westlake. In his conclusion, Greenberg said that case and the city's handling of it are "immaterial to the analysis" upholding the officer's firing. Contact reporter Derek Kreider at Dkreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Fired Akron police officer Ryan Westlake won't be reinstated The city of St. Augustine with its centuries-old buildings and massive stone fort is an enduring reminder of Spains storied history in Florida, going back generations before the United States even existed. But for two decades in the 1700s, Great Britain controlled the region, and archeologists have finally found some of their long-sought-after footprints. City archeologists identified a dry moat last fall of a British redoubt, a fortified military outpost, that had been constructed in 1781. Excavations were completed last month in the city's Lincolnville neighborhood, making way for the construction of a new single-family home. St. Augustine had a 20-year British period, city archeologist Andrea White said. They came, and they built seven of these redoubts, and nobody has ever found any archeologically. We have rough ideas of where they were, and they show up on historic maps. But weve never found actual, tangible, archeological evidence for any of them until recently. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Spanish military built the Castillo de San Marcos in the late 1600s, and the fort remains on the western shore of Florida's Matanzas Bay, though as a national monument rather than a military installation. When the British took control of Florida in 1763, St. Augustine already had extensive Spanish-built defenses, but British officers were concerned about an attack from a nearby river and ordered the construction of the outposts along the city's western edge. White said Britain's relatively brief occupation of St. Augustine, which ended along with the American Revolution in 1783, has been largely forgotten by time, and the discovery of the fort is a way to reclaim a little piece of lost history. Thats whats interesting about these British redoubts, theyre the only defenses that the British built themselves, White said. Everything else thats in St. Augustine or the surrounding area that everyones familiar with, those were already built by the Spanish. And then the British just kind of reoccupied them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The structure was discovered thanks to a unique archeological preservation ordinance adopted by St. Augustine in 1986, White said. Founded in 1565, the city is the oldest continuously occupied part of the U.S. to previously be a European settlement. To document and preserve that history, St. Augustine has its own archeology program that is part of the city's planning and permitting department. We get a chance to come in and document whats there prior to construction, White said. We never stop construction, thats not the goal. Its just to give us a little bit of time to come in, document what might be there, learn a little bit more about our history, and then the project gets to move forward. White knew the area under development had a long history, going back to a Native American mission in the early 1700s, followed later by an agricultural plantation and after the Civil War, the construction of the Lincolnville neighborhood. So we knew we had multiple centuries of history that could potentially be on the property, but were pretty excited to actually find evidence, White said. What we found evidence of was a large moat about 15 feet wide that would have been part of the rampart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Researchers found few artifacts at the site and are still unsure about the fort's actual size and shape, but they did recover thousands of different types of seeds. White said theyre working with a paleoethnobotanist, who studies the history of how humans and plants interact, to learn how the structure was built and used. Its possible that plants like Spanish bayonet or prickly pear cactuses were used to prevent erosion or to slow down attacking soldiers. So were very hopeful that we might find some good information from our plant remains that weve recovered, White said. Jason Heidgerken, the contractor working on the lot where the fort's moat was found, said the city's archeological program can certainly cause delays, but White and her team were great and communicating well, so he could adjust his timelines. Ive been around St. Augustine since 1980 personally, and part of the attraction is the history, Heidgerken said. So if you want to live there and do this kind of business, its to be expected, and you need to have the patience for it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past four decades, the city's archeology program has completed more than 1,200 projects. Not only have researchers collected data from Spanish colonial times but also Native American settlements and villages going back 4,000 years. I actually think its pretty cool what the city does. Im a history nut myself, Heidgerken said. I think its pretty neat. Mar. 27A Troy Republican has introduced an Ohio House bill that he says would repeal a carve-out in Ohio law that allows Ohioans aged 14 to 18 to receive mental health treatment without their parents' consent. "The bill only does one thing: it repeals Section 5122.04," Rep. Johnathan Newman, R-Troy, the sole sponsor of House Bill 172, explained in a text to this news outlet. Section 5122.04 of the Ohio Revised Code allows minors over the age of 14 to receive up to six sessions of mental health services without parental consent. Under law, the minor's guardians should only be informed if the professional "determines that there is a compelling need for disclosure based on a substantial probability of harm to the minor or to other persons." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "No other adult or agency should be introducing a child to something, especially medical, mental health or anything else, without the parents' approval, just because of parents' God given rights to raise their own children and be responsible for their care," said Newman, a pastor, in an interview with this outlet. Newman, a freshman legislator, said the contents of H.B. 172 should have been passed when the legislature approved the so-called Parents Bill of Rights last year, which required certain parental notifications from school faculty, including counselors. When this outlet asked Newman if there was any scenario in which he'd be uncomfortable with the state barring a minor from receiving mental health care without parental consent, he responded, "I can't imagine that, no. The child is under the parents' care and authority." Newman is carrying H.B. 172, but has garnered support from several in the GOP caucus that, like him, see the issue as clawing parental rights back from the government. The bill has over a dozen cosponsors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, who has broad control over the priorities the House takes up, told this outlet Wednesday that the topic needed a solution that "recognizes the complexity" of problems around youth mental health concerns. Huffman referenced situations where a minor may report abuse to law enforcement or children services. "And so when you start stepping into that area and affecting that, that becomes a different thing," Huffman said. "I understand the concept. I think you have to have law enforcement, I think involved in this. I think you have to have a whole panoply of people who deal with children in these often very difficult situations, and probably sculpt something that recognizes the complexity of that." Across the aisle, House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, cast doubts on how far the legislation would proceed. "It's deeply concerning, because the reality is ... sometimes they are in crisis because of their family situation," Russo told this outlet. "Denying them that access is detrimental to not only their mental health but also, potentially, their physical health." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill, which has not yet had its first hearing, has been assigned to the Ohio House Health Committee for further review. ------ 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... Illustration via Getty Images A bill aimed at helping prevent bitcoin scams by adding new regulations to crypto kiosks has moved one step closer to becoming law. Arizona has seen an increase in the number of people getting scammed via cryptocurrency, so much so that Attorney General Kris Mayes issued a letter of support to the Yavapai County Sheriffs Office last November in its efforts to crack down on this type of fraud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scam involves the use of crypto kiosks that can be found at some businesses or malls, which allow a person to convert cash into Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Scammers often pretend to be a loved one, a government agency or gain a persons trust in some other way before asking them to deposit a large sum of money into one of these cryptocurrency ATMs. Last year, YCSO and the AG issued letters asking business owners in Yavapai County to put warnings on the machines similar to those displayed around gift cards at stores due to the proliferation of a similar type of scam in which victims purchase gift cards and send them to scammers. House Bill 2387 by Rep. David Marshall, R-Snowflake, would add regulations to these kiosks, as well as warnings to consumers, in an attempt to prevent scams from continuing to proliferate. There have been people who have driven down from the mountain where we live to get to these ATMs, and by the time they get back home, their money is gone, Marshall told the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Elections Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marshall said he dabbles in cryptocurrency himself, but does so knowing that you have to be careful in or else you could be easily defrauded. In 2023, Americans lost $5.6 billion in cryptocurrency related scams, with the majority of victims being the elderly, a trend that was echoed by those who spoke in favor of the bill in committee. Brendon Blake, the associate state director of advocacy for AARP, told the committee that Arizona ranks No. 6 in the nation for the amount of money lost to fraud. Peoria Police Deputy Chief Douglas Steele told the committee that only an estimated 40% of cases are actually ever reported to law enforcement. Marshalls bill would require the operator of the kiosks to provide warnings to consumers before they can do a transaction and give users information about how to identify cryptocurrency fraud. The bill also requires the kiosks to give physical receipts that would include all the information needed to be given to law enforcement in the event the person believes they did engage in a fraudulent transaction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And it would limit the amount of money a new account can deposit or send within a 72-hour period. Thats because the scam often sees people creating new accounts and depositing large amounts of money to scammers in repeated transactions. The bill further allows a relevant government authority to request evidence of an operators blockchain analytics and requires operators to maintain a written anti-fraud policy that conforms to federal anti-money laundering laws. The Attorney Generals Office told the Arizona Mirror that it worked with Marshall on the legislation and hopes Congress takes action at the federal level so that it does not just fall to the states to regulate the fraud. Crypto heists have become a growing concern, with North Korean hackers recently making the largest haul of $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency. But other types of scams involving artificial intelligence are also seeing large sums of cash being stolen. Last year scammers using deep fakes convinced finance workers to send them $25 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AI has been used to clone loved ones voices in order to get people to send them money via these kiosks, the AGs Office said. There needs to be more done to educate people of all ages because anyone can be victims of these scams, Richie Taylor, a spokesman for Mayes, told the Mirror. Making sure you have a possible safe word or key phrase with loved ones in case you get a phone call that feels off can help you avoid a scammer hoping to prey on your emotions, Taylor said. There is no one type of scam technique, as the scammers are using styles such as romance scams, investment scams and others to lure people in, so the AGs Office suggested that people try to educate themselves on how these types of scams work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you or a loved one feel you may have become the victim of a scam the AG suggests you go to your local law enforcement agency, but you can also file a report with the AG or the FBI. Lawmakers on Wednesday wondered if there was more they could do, and Marshall said he mulled even banning the kiosks outright in the state. Taylor said their office is open to something more stringent, but said it is critical that federal action be taken. I wish it was a little more broad, Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Maryvale, said when voting yes on the bill, adding that these scams are really atrocious. The bill passed unanimously out of committee heads next to the full Senate for consideration. If it passes the Senate, it will return to the House of Representatives for a final vote before it can go to Gov. Katie Hobbs. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 28. Uzbekistan and the European Union (EU) discussed the development of the Middle Corridor, Trend reports. The news follows a meeting between President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and a delegation from the European Union led by High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas. During the meeting, the parties put their heads together to bolster practical cooperation and pave the way for regional connectivity. Special attention was given to preparations for the first Central Asia-European Union summit, set to take place on April 3-4 in Samarkand. The parties praised the positive outcomes of the multilateral ministerial meeting held earlier in Ashgabat. The discussions underscored the importance of enhancing trade and transport connectivity, with a focus on unlocking the potential of the Middle Corridor as a key route linking Central Asia with Europe. Other priority areas included digitalization, green energy, environmental protection, and infrastructure modernization, with an emphasis on implementing effective mechanisms for joint projects. Both parties also explored ways to deepen Uzbekistans cooperation with EU institutions, including the adoption of a new Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and Uzbekistans accession to the World Trade Organization. Additionally, an exchange of views took place on pressing international and regional issues, highlighting the shared commitment to stability and sustainable development. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The grate of the storm sewer after the rain. (Getty Images) A storm sewer grate after the rain. (Getty Images) A bill that would strengthen state regulators ability to deny and revoke wastewater permits for those who have a demonstrated history of noncompliance with environmental regulations was filed in the Arkansas Senate last week. Senate Bill 557, sponsored by Sen. Mark Johnson, would also broaden public notice requirements for new permits or major modifications to existing ones by requiring the state to provide a written notice to residents and property owners within the same Zip Code as the proposed or existing facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, for wastewater permits, the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environments Division of Environmental Quality is only required to place a notice within a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the facility will be or is located. The proposed legislation says DEQ may deny a permit relating to wastewater if the applicant has a history of noncompliance with environmental regulations, whether at the applicants site or at any other permitted or unpermitted facility in this state. It goes on to list specific examples of what such noncompliance could look like, such as, noncompliance that is recorded on inspections or other compliance activities performed by the division, or a demonstrated history by the applicant of submitting incomplete or deficient permit application information. It also lists consent administrative orders (CAOs) as examples of noncompliance and would apply to companies or entities whose ownership includes individuals who own at least five percent (5%) of the applicant and who own or have owned at least five percent (5%) of any other entity that has a history of noncompliance with environmental regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would also add a requirement that DEQ deny permits to applicants with a history of noncompliance if the applicant has had five or more events of noncompliance with environmental regulations within the previous five years. Johnson called the proposal his bad actor bill, and said it is specifically targeted toward land developers who install what he described as low-quality sewage treatment equipment called package wastewater treatment systems that would discharge insufficiently treated wastewater into ephemeral streams or across peoples yards. He compared what his bill would do to what states already do with drivers licenses. You get, you know, 23 speeding tickets, and they take it away from you, Johnson said. I dont think people ought to be able to just thumb their nose at the law and the regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If enacted as written, the bill also could have ramifications for large industrial dischargers down to small municipal wastewater treatment plants. For example, the Lanxess Corporation, which operates three facilities for bromine extraction in South Arkansas and has active wastewater permits, has entered into 11 separate CAOs with DEQ over the last five years, with CAOs applying to multiple Lanxess facilities counting as one. Those CAOs also include air permit violations, and the bill filed by Johnson isnt clear on whether violations of air or land disposal permits would count toward a history of noncompliance where wastewater permits are concerned. Let us know what you think... Johnson didnt rule out amending the bill if other industries had concerns, saying that he had tried to tailor it to wastewater issues caused by property development in rural areas. He said such concerns are why bills can be amended after they are introduced, that if it wasnt for the law of unintended consequences, the legislative session would not be as long as it is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clean water is probably the most important thing that we can deal with, Johnson said. Al Drinkwater, a retired environmental consultant and former employee of the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology, one of DEQs predecessor agencies, is involved with the Pinnacle Mountain Community Coalition, which has rallied against developments in rural Pulaski County, frequently citing water pollution concerns. One of the developers in the area, he said, has had multiple noncompliance issues with environmental regulators. In the process of getting to this point, weve had a number of conversations with other involved people, some of the people at the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality and others, about the problem that we have with people that go out and have violation after violation after violation, Drinkwater said. And theres no rule that the department has to say, Look, youre a bad actor, were not going to continue to play with you. Drinkwater said the bill would make sure DEQ considers the history of a permit applicant when making permit issuance or reissuance decisions. Last year, DEQ saw a significant increase in consent administrative orders a kind of voluntary enforcement settlement issued by the Office of Water Quality. The increase was driven by noncompliance with wastewater permits, a DEQ spokesperson said in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of those CAOs were between DEQ and municipal wastewater systems that consistently were not meeting the discharge quality requirements specified in their permits. This is the second bill filed in the last month with language that could force an environmental permit revocation. Rep. Brad Hall, R-Alma, filed a bill two weeks ago that would automatically revoke the permits of an entity permitted to land-apply industrial poultry waste as fertilizer, if that facility violated its permits three or more times within a 45 day period. Hall said in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette last month that his bill was specifically targeted at Denali Water Solutions. Denali has been out of compliance with its permits multiple times over the last year due to its land-applying of industrial waste from poultry processors and similar facilities onto fields when the chance of rain is greater than 50%, which is prohibited under state no-discharge permits. A Denali spokesperson said they were aware of the bill and had no comment other than to say that we are working with legislators, agency officials and industry partners to satisfy all concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SB 557 would also require DEQ to create a way that local officials responding to a sewage or storm water emergency could get immediate access to personnel of the division for technical support. Lastly, the bill would prohibit discharges into ephemeral or intermittent streams, overflows onto the private property of another, or any situation in which the normal course of discharge shall result in accumulation of wastewater in areas outside of the stream or waterway. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) U.S. Army helicopters and the Tennessee Highway Patrol assisted crews in Anderson County battling a wildfire near Rocky Top on Friday. As of Saturday afternoon, the Tennessee Division of Forestry reported that the fire was 100% contained. Friday morning, an Anderson County spokesperson shared that crews are continuing to make progress in containing the fire in the Beach Grove Lane area. As of 4:15 p.m. Saturday, the wildfire was estimated to be 303 acres in size and 100% contained. Saturday morning, the Anderson County Emergency Management Agency said crews are remaining on scene as expected rainfall on Sunday may help fully contain the fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neighbors left on edge as 150-acre fire burns near Rocky Top On Friday, the spokesperson with Anderson County added that two Army helicopters would be flying in just as a preventative measure to drop water on inaccessible areas, per Bruce Miller with the Tennessee Division of Forestry. The helicopters were expected to arrive by 9:30 a.m. Friday and remain on scene all day. The Tennessee Department of Military shared that both UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from Knoxvilles 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion are equipped with Bambi Buckets. The apparatuses will be used to provide hundreds of gallons of water to fight wildfires from nearby water sources. The Department of Military added that the helicopters and Tennessee Guardsmen will also be available for other missions that support first responders. (Tennessee National Guard) (Tennessee National Guard) (Tennessee National Guard) (Tennessee National Guard) (Tennessee National Guard) The Soldiers and aircrews of the Tennessee National Guard are prepared to support firefighting efforts as long as needed, the Department of Military wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement THP was also requested to assist with traffic control on Main Street in Rocky Top. Sheriff: 80,000 pounds of beef stolen from Bean Station meat processing facility Since Wednesday afternoon, Division of Forestry personnel and multiple area fire departments have been on the scene, working to control the fires and protect structures. In Friday mornings update, the spokesperson shared that no injuries have been reported and no structures have been damaged. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. The U.S. Army is looking to increase autonomy through artificial intelligence solutions to reduce the manpower needed to manage Golden Dome, President Donald Trumps desired homeland missile defense architecture, the services program executive officer for missiles and space said this week. As the Army contributes a large portion of the in-development air and missile defense architecture for Guam, it is looking to adapt those capabilities for a Golden Dome application, Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano told Defense News in an interview at Redstone Arsenal on Wednesday amid the Association of the U.S. Armys Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. Some of the Armys major contributions to the Guam Defense System include new modernized radars, an emerging Indirect Fire Protection Capability and its new Integrated Battle Command System, or IBCS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What were trying to do is three things, Lozano said. Were wanting to integrate more AI-enabled fire control so that will help us reduce the manpower footprint. Were wanting to create more remotely operated systems so that we dont have to have so many operators and maintainers associated with every single piece of equipment thats out there. And, he said, We need to have more autonomously operated systems. Currently, the Army typically has a launcher with a missile and a launcher crew consisting of at least two to three soldiers. In the Golden Dome application, we would likely either have containerized missiles think box of rockets or we might actually put rockets and missiles in the ground, Lozano said. Those systems would require less frequent upkeep, as a smaller manpower footprint means status checks might only happen every couple of weeks, and test checks would be conducted remotely, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In order to work on such capability, the Army is planning to use what it learns from maturing the Guam Defense System, which will become operational in roughly 2027 with Army assets. The service will also pivot its Integrated Fires Test Campaign, or IFTC, from a focus on testing the Guam architecture incrementally to how to inject autonomy and AI into those systems for Golden Dome beyond 2026. The IFTC in 2026 is considered the Guam Defense System Super Bowl, Lozano said. Then, beyond 2027, he said, If were called upon to support Golden Dome initiatives, we need to have those advanced AI, remotely operated, autonomous-based formations and systems ready to go. To begin, the Army will be focused on defining the functions that human operators perform at all the operator terminals within an IBCS-integrated fire control center or at a particular launching station, Lozano said. Once those functions are defined, Lozano said, the Army will have to define the data sources that drive action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have to create the decision rubric that assesses and analyzes that data that then drives a human decision, and then we have to code AI algorithms to be able to process that information and make the right decision, Lozano said. There will be trigger points where the software has to say, Im not authorized to make that level of decision. Its got to go back to the human and deliver. For the first time, the Armys Program Executive Office Missiles and Space is interacting with many new market entrants in the AI realm to work on the effort. For example, Lozano said he met this week at the Global Force Symposium with the French defense firm Safran. Safran, known for its assured position, navigation and timing capabilities, is planning a significant U.S. expansion. The defense firm provides capability for various Army missile programs, including Patriot air and missile defense systems and IBCS, as well as Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and Precision Strike Missile programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lozano told the company he is looking for ways to reduce humans having to perform actions, such as verifying that timing data is synchronized with satellite timing. The Army has also begun discussions with Anduril, which, in early January, acquired the U. S. defense company Numerica, which happens to write the Armys IBCS fire control software. The service has discussed with Anduril how it can start looking at integrating more AI fire control functionality into its major air and missile defense command-and-control system. Part of the plan is focused on engaging with some nontraditional industry, such as venture capitalists and newly established small companies tackling these challenges, according to Lozano. The Army will spend the next six to nine months defining what it wants to look for from industry and then will begin hosting industry days and issuing requests for information, he said. Authorities say an arrest was made early Friday morning after three people were killed in a crash on a western Massachusetts highway. According to the Hampden County District Attorneys Office, authorities were called to the area of I-91 northbound at Exit 10A in West Springfield overnight for a report of a deadly crash. Officials say the crash resulted in three fatalities. The identities of the deceased are not being released at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DAs office says an arrest has been made, although the identity and what charges the person is facing is unclear at this time. In a statement, a MassDOT spokesperson said: We are deeply saddened by the fatal crash on I-91 involving an accident recovery contractor working under a permit. The crash was not at a MassDOT worksite and did not involve any MassDOT staff. The right lane, breakdown lane, and off-ramp were closed for hours while authorities investigated. All lanes reopened just before 6 a.m. The crash remains under investigation by the Hampden DAs Office and the Massachusetts State Police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No further information was immediately available. All travel lanes now open . https://t.co/Utz0zZR50V Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) March 28, 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 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) The Grand Junction Police Department has arrested two people for the vandalism found on Colorado Mesa Universitys campus. On March 17, GJPD officers responded to reports of vandalism on CMUs campus and found anti-government graffiti spray-painted on various parts of campus. WesternSlopeNow located some of the graffiti with one saying in part F*** ICE. On Thursday, GJPD arrested 24-year-old Elizabeth Natsu and 24-year-old Jesse Mason for felony criminal mischief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Natsu and Mason appeared in court Friday where it was said that Natsu is a current CMU student while Mason is not. Both had their bonds set at $2,000. As part of his release, Mason is not allowed on the CMU campus. They are both due back in court at 8:30 a.m., April 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 WesternSlopeNow.com. Six months ago, Helene changed the lives of so many living in western North Carolina forever. The storm killed more than 100 North Carolinians while washing away hundreds of buildings and businesses. The Moxy Hotel in Asheville is celebrating the grand reopening of its rooftop restaurant, Wildwood Still, but it took nearly six months to get here. The community has leaned on each other for help during these tough times, including the owners of a brand new hotel that opened months before Helene hit. Channel 9s Erika Jackson gave us a closer look at their road to recovery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ALSO READ: Helene 6 months later: Asheville businesses work to bring back visitors Hurricane Helene couldnt have hit at a worse time. We were going into our peak season here in Asheville, said Dexter Hazel, the Moxys general manager. The hotel and restaurant opened just weeks before Helene ravaged western N.C, making many buildings uninhabitable. But Hazel said the Moxy had one vital resource that other businesses didnt: electricity. There was a handful of associates that did stay with us because they didnt have anywhere to go, Hazel said. Dexter Hazel, the Moxy Hotels general manager He said those workers and even first responders used the brand new guest rooms to recharge their bodies. And people from all over the area used the hotels outlets to recharge their phones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We had power, we had internet the whole time, but we did not have running water, Hazel said. Hazel and his team waited for Asheville to bounce back before reopening the hotel in October, and Wildwood Still last month. He said occupancy numbers are going up as western N.C. rebuilds. These businesses and restaurants and hotels, were open for business. And we are just excited to bring Asheville back to what it used to be, Hazel said. Governor Josh Stein said even through the devastation, hope remains for a better day. We know that western N.C. has so much work to do, but there have been moments of progress, Stein said, marking the six-month milestone this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Click here for our extensive coverage of Helene, including the stories of community members who have gone above and beyond to help. WATCH BELOW: We need help: Western N.C. family struggles to rebuild months after Helene Originally appeared on E! Online Barry Butch Wilmore is safe and sound at home with his family. After returning from an extended nine-month stay in space alongside Sunita Suni Williams, the NASA astronauts daughter Daryn Wilmore shared an update on how hes been adapting to being back on Earth. Hes been adjusting to gravity well, the 19-year-old captioned a March 24 TikTok post, and I feel so blessed for these past few days that weve been able to spend as a family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Noting that her family decided not to record their reunion in hopes of keeping the heartwarming moment just between them, Daryn did include a few photos of the group making up for lost time with the widest smiles on their faces. After all, it was nearly 300 days before his return that Butch and Suni launched into space aboard the Starliner spacecraft for what was supposed to be an eight-day stay. However, following various technical issues, the Boeing spacecraft was sent back down, leaving the two in space for a bit longer than they had anticipated. More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But through it all, both astronauts emphasized that they never felt abandoned or stranded. And while the astronauts maintained a positive spirit, Daryn found the massive attention and conflicting narratives surrounding her fathers journey online to be difficult to get used to. I hate how all this has been so overly in the public eye and the amount of misinformation that has been spread, she expressed in her post. Seeing my dads (and my) face everywhere has been so strange, and sometimes the stories have gone overboard as people say things they do not fully understand or have never done any research on. Even so, upon his long-awaited return, she shared a glimpse into what Butchs first few days back on Earth looked like. Photo by Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images He's going to spend the next few days going in [for] tests, Daryn said in a March 18 TikTok video. Lots of medical stuff because they're still technically part of the experiment of human space flight. And just get re-acclimated to gravity and the routine back here on Earth, because it's been very different than these past nine months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And beyond the protocols, the college student did everything she could to make sure her father felt loved and welcomed after spending so much time apart. I'm making him his favorite dessert, which is pecan pie, she continued. I actually have a list that's all his favorite things and things that we used to do together to hopefully do them these next few days that he's here before I go back to school, or in the coming months that he's back. For more on Butch and Sunis time in space, keep reading. June 2024 Sunita Suni Williams and Barry Butch Wilmore launched into space on Boeings Starliner spacecraft June 5, 2024, with plans to stay at the International Space Station for eight days. Shortly after their launch, the astronauts reported a stable and isolated leak in their propulsion-related plumbing, per the Associated Press. While the leak remained stable throughout their travel to the ISS, four more leaks emerged and five thrustersdevices used for accelerationfailed. They were able to safely dock at the ISS, with the understanding that their mission would likely last longer than eight days. August 2024 Two months after their faulty launch, NASA came forward with the debacle of the two astronauts stuck in space. At the time, the space organization was still trying to determine whether the Starliner would be fit for a return to space, and Boeing maintained at the time it should have been, with the company telling E! News in a statement, If NASA decides to change the mission, we will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return. Meanwhile, former NASA official Scott Hubbard quelled public concern over Wilmore and Williams predicament, telling the Associated Press the astronautswho have each been to space before on prior missionsare only kind of stuck, emphasizing that they have plenty of supplies and work to do. August 2024 After NASA confirmed that Williams and Wilmore would return to Earth on a SpaceX mission in February or March, rather than attempting to fix the Starliner, their families spoke out. Wilmores wife Deanna Wilmore told WVLT in August of her familys predicament, You just sort of have to roll with it and expect the unexpected." Meanwhile, Williams husband Michael shared that he didnt think his wife would be unsettled by spending more time in space, telling The Wall Street Journal, That's her happy place. November 2024 Just before celebrating six months in space, Williams and Wilmore shared insight into their Thanksgiving celebrations aboard the ISS. We have a bunch of food that weve packed away that is Thanksgiving-ish, Wiliams told NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt from the ISS on Nov. 27. Some smoked turkey, some cranberry, apple cobbler, green beans and mushrooms and mashed potatoes. Williams also reiterated that she and Wilmore were doing just fine amid their extended stay in space. People are worried about us, really, dont worry about us, she added. Were feeling good, working out, eating right. We have a lot of fun up here, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement December 2024 After the astronauts celebrated six months in space, NASA confirmed they would be staying even longer than previously thought. Although the organization had originally planned for the duo to return in February, delays in the SpaceX mission that would retrieve them led their stay to be extended to March or April, NASA said at the time. February 2025 In February, President Donald Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that Williams and Wilmore had been virtually abandoned in space amid their eight-day-turned-eight-month journey. However, following the headline-making comment, the astronauts pushed back on the presidents claim. We don't feel abandoned, Wilmore insisted to CNNs Anderson Cooper in a Feb. 13 interview. "We don't feel stuck. We don't feel stranded. We come prepared. We come committed. Williams interjected during the interview that the pair were doing pretty darn good, actually. We've got food, we've got clothes, we have great crew members up here, she continued. Of course, it was a little bit longer stay than we had expected, but both of us have trained to live and work on the International Space Station and I think we've made the most of it. During the interview, Wilmore and Williams also confirmed theyd be returning to Earth when SpaceX launches its Dragon capsule March 12. They'll come here, rendezvous and dock," Wilmore explained. We'll do a turnover for about a week and we will return on or about the 19th of March. March 2025 Just days before her father was set to return, Wilmores daughter Daryn Wilmore spoke out on her fathers time in spaceand how she felt about the delays in his return to Earth. Its a bit mentally exhausting, she told the Daily Mail in a March 6 interview. There's been issues. There's been negligence. And that's the reason why this has just kept getting delayed. There's just been issue after issue after issue. Daryn expressed that her father was bummed, but otherwise doing well on the ISS, adding, My dad is very resilient. March 2025 After their extended nine-month stay in space, Wilmore and Williams safely returned to Earth on March 18. After splashing down off the coast of Florida, the NASA austronauts, alongside fellow NASA crew member Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, were wheeled off the space capsule on stretchersstandard protocol for returning space travelers as they typically cant walk right away upon their return. A lot of them don't want to be brought out on a stretcher, former NASA senior scientist John DeWitt told Live Science, but they're told they have to be. As for how the astronauts will spend their first few days back on Earth? Wilmore's daughter Daryn gave some insight. He's going to spend the next few days going in [for] tests, she said in a March 18 TikTok video. Lots of medical stuff because they're still technically part of the experiment of human space flight. And just get re-acclimated to gravity and the routine back here on Earth, because it's been very different than these past 9 months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement March 2025 After the astronauts landed back on Earth following eight extra months in space, NASA addressed whether they'd get paid any overtime. "When NASA astronauts are aboard the International Space Station, they receive regular, 40-hour work-week salaries, NASA told People in a statement. They do not receive overtime or holiday/weekend pay. As for what a regular 40-hour work-week salary looks like for an astronaut? It clocks in at anywhere between $84,365 to $152,258, according to the federal government's GS-11 to GS-14 pay scale. March 2025 Once, at long last, her father Butch returned home, daughter Daryn shared her reaction to finally being reunited with her dad. "I'm making him his favorite dessert, which is pecan pie, the college student said in a TikTok. I actually have a list that's all his favorite things and things that we used to do together to hopefully do them these next few days that he's here before I go back to school, or in the coming months that he's back. For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App Former Obama health advisor Dr. Zeke Emanuel joins Morning Joe to discuss his latest New Republic column on Trump's 'atrocious war' on higher education. A man accused of trying to kill someone and then leading police on a cross-county chase is facing new charges for the crime. 24-year-old Jordan Bailey was already facing Attempted 1st Degree Murder and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon charge, stemming from a March 13th shooting in Kissimmee. Court records show Bailey also faces an Aggravated Fleeing or Attempting to Elude charge in Orange County. An arrest report obtained by Channel 9 shows Orange County deputies involved in the chase became increasingly concerned with public safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies said the chase started in Osceola County but Orange County deputies also began chasing Bailey once he got off of I-4 on John Young Parkway. According to the report, Bailey cut through multiple residential neighborhoods, blowing past 35 mph speed limits and endangering other drivers. Deputies said Bailey was spotted by the Orange County Sheriffs Office cutting through a busy Publix parking lot on John Young Parkway, eventually turning onto Colonial Drive and then getting on I-4 again. Court documents show deputies continued to chase Bailey on the interstate until he got off at Par Street, cut through a Circle K gas station and eventually traveled northbound on Clay Street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats where a deputy ended the chase with a PIT maneuver, a specialized law enforcement technique, that caused Baileys truck to spin out and come to a stop. I feared that his wanton and reckless driving behavior was a grave threat to public safety, said the deputy who conducted the PIT Maneuver. Sources told us Bailey was wanted for a domestic violence-related shooting in Kissimmee. Witnesses who spoke to Channel 9 said the victim was shot at least twice in the face on March 13th. Kissimmee police said that the victim is in stable condition and is expected to survive. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. GREENUP A 42-year-old Raceland attempted murder suspect was arraigned in Greenup County Circuit Court on Thursday morning. Represented by attorney Sebastian Joy, Jonathan Bricker pleaded not guilty in front of Judge Brian McCloud. He had been indicted by a Greenup County grand jury on charges of two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and first-degree assault in addition to attempted murder. According to Raceland Police, Bricker jumped out of a car and shot 18-year-old Lane Hall in the face from the driver side of Halls vehicle at around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2024. The shooting occurred at the intersection of Brown and Franz Streets in Raceland. Hall survived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bricker is out of jail on a $200,000 property bond. The Commonwealths Attorneys Office requested Bricker take a drug test Thursday as part of his bond conditions. McCloud ordered Bricker to take a test and said if youre not drug- and alcohol-free, dont waste time taking the test. Yes sir, no drugs and no alcohol, Bricker said. He passed the test. He is set to return for a pre-trial conference on May 29. After making violent threats towards classmates, an Auburn Middle Schooler has been summoned to court, the Auburn Police Department announced. On the evening of March 27, the Principal of Auburn Middle School contacted the School Resource Officer to report threats that were made by a student on social media. The threats were specifically directed towards two students. According to reports, the student had said that they would shoot up the school. School staff and Auburn police detectives began to investigate the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was determined that the student, who made the threats, was already not attending classes due to a prior incident. Detectives and school staff were able to identify the student and take the matter to court on Friday morning. Because of the seriousness of the threats, detectives applied for an arrest warrant, and after a review of evidence, the court found probable cause for the charges and, despite this not being the juveniles first offense, issued a summons to appear in court rather than an arrest warrant. The student will be arraigned in April on three charges: two misdemeanors and one felony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Auburn police and Auburn Middle School assure the public that there are no threats to the public, students, and staff. 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 Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said the Trump administrations decision to arrest a Turkish immigrant who studied at Tufts University while on a student visa was out of the ordinary and in contrast with Massachusetts tradition. Massachusetts has been welcoming students and immigrants for four centuries. The footage I saw today of Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk being detained by masked officers is contrary to that tradition, Auchincloss wrote in a Thursday post on X. A recording of Ozturks detainment undertaken by six agents in masks has been plastered across the internet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the manner of her removal. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) specifically described the event as a chilling moment that should matter to all Americans, while Auchincloss said he thinks the student was detained over her political views. Ms. Ozturk has no reported record of violence or harassment; she did co-write an op-ed about Israel, with which I disagree. I have written about my opposing view, the Massachusetts lawmaker wrote. Thats how America works. Revoking her visa because of her political viewpoint is not how America works. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.) has also shared similar observations about Yunseo Chung, a Columbia University student who the Trump administration made attempts to forcibly remove. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Marco Rubio estimated more than 300 foreign students have had their visas revoked since the Trump administration took over. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa, Rubio told reporters at a press conference. I hope at some point we run out because we have gotten rid of all of them, but were looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up. The Trump administration has set a goal to carry out the largest deportation in the countrys history. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Amid the cacophony of recent political scandals and economic upheavals, such as the Signalgate leak, the Vances' contentious visit to Greenland , and the imposition of 25 percent tariffs on imported cars, the Trump administration has initiated actions that should alarm every American. As a vociferous reader of the news, Im starting to get more and more stories in my newsfeeds about Social Security. They've been drowned out by all the other noise. So I started reading them, and theres an insidious assault on the American populace occurring right now, and that is the systematic dismantling of Social Security. Over the past two months, the Social Security Administration has unveiled a series of alarming changes . Plans are under way to eliminate thousands of jobs, close numerous offices, and implement stringent identity verification processes that may necessitate in-person visits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These actions are poised to create significant barriers for beneficiaries seeking assistance, exacerbating an already overburdened system. Reports indicate that individuals have endured hours-long hold times when attempting to contact the SSA, a situation that will only deteriorate with further staff reductions and office closures. The proposed downsizing includes laying off approximately 7,000 SSA employees and canceling nearly 800 federal real estate leases, leading to the c losure of 26 SSA offices within the year. These drastic measures by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency are ostensibly aimed at reducing the size of the federal government. However, they come at a severe cost to the most vulnerable segments of society. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer has criticized these plans, warning that such cuts could effectively dismantle the Social Security program. Further, Donald Trump's directive to cease paper Social Security payments by September 30 mandates a shift to direct deposit, prepaid cards, or other digital methods. This transition threatens to disrupt finances for nearly half a million Americans, many of whom lack access to or familiarity with digital banking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My wonderful aunt was a dedicated SSA employee for 38 years. She was the boots on the ground, so to speak. I reached out to her to get her reaction about whats going on. "It is terrible what's happening ... just horrendous," she lamented. My aunt highlighted the indispensable role of field representatives who conduct seminars and assist individuals in navigating Social Security benefits. Despite their critical contributions, these positions are now deemed nonessential, placing experienced staff at risk of losing their jobs. She further elaborated on the escalating workloads faced by SSA employees. They have to juggle extensive paperwork, conduct interviews, and manage phone inquiries, she said. The impending staff reductions will undoubtedly make it extremely difficult to maintain the high standard of service that beneficiaries have come to expect. In response to these alarming developments, my aunt and my uncle, who worked for Social Security for 25 years, participated in a grassroots effort, writing postcards to the White House to express their dismay over the current trajectory of government policies, particularly those affecting Social Security. They urged the administration to preserve the program's integrity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My aunt concluded her messages with a pointed request: "PS, fire Musk." The closure of district offices poses additional hardships, especially for elderly or disabled individuals who may struggle with increased travel distances to access services. My aunt expressed concern that consolidating services into fewer offices would lead to longer lines and extended wait times, exacerbating the challenges faced by those with limited mobility. Moreover, the push for mandatory in-person identity verifications adds another layer of difficulty. This will significantly increase the workload for remaining staff and create additional barriers for beneficiaries, many of whom are not technologically adept or physically capable of complying with these new requirements, my aunt pointed out. The move toward digitizing Social Security payments, while intended to enhance efficiency, overlooks the realities of many beneficiaries. A substantial number of recipients are not computer savvy, she noted. It makes it so challenging for them to adapt to online systems for tasks like changing addresses or reporting lost checks. Making those processes overly complex could result in vulnerable populations losing access to essential benefits. Finally, she reflected on the origins of Social Security: "Roosevelt decided this is something that has to be done ... it's really the backbone of our country, and Trump and Musk are breaking it." MELBOURNE, Australia Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft took center stage in Australias and New Zealands joint response during a surprise appearance last month of Chinese warships sailing around Australia, while the nations numbers of surface combatants have been dwindling, according to officials and analysts. Responding to a question from Defense News at Avalon International Airshow 2025 held here March 25-30 a crewman said that Australian P-8As performed high-duration, high-frequency sorties whilst the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships voyaged around the continent. The P-8A platform, of which the Royal Australian Air Force, or RAAF, currently has 12, can perform missions up to 20 hours long if they are aerially refueled. Australia has two additional P-8As coming soon too, said Air Commodore Angus Porter, director general of the RAAFs Air Combat Capability branch, at the biennial Avalon event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Poseidons of the Royal New Zealand Air Force also monitored the trio of Chinese ships comprising the Type 054A frigate Hengyang, Type 055 cruiser Zunyi and Type 903 replenishment ship Weishanhu as they sailed through the Tasman Sea. Australians and Kiwis were shocked when the Chinese ship trio conducted gunnery drills on Feb. 21-22, causing nearly 50 airliners to divert course between Australia and New Zealand. It is unclear whether the Chinese task group was accompanied by a nuclear-powered attack submarine. Defense News asked whether the P-8s, which Australian and U.S. military officials at Avalon described as the worlds premier anti-submarine warfare aircraft, had detected an accompanying submarine. Officials would not say definitively one way or the other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jennifer Parker, from the National Security College, Australian National University, told Defense News that the live-fire activities occurred on the high seas, and that such activities were normal and common for warships. However, even if lawful, Chinas actions were undoubtedly designed as posturing towards Canberra and Wellington, both of which send warships through international waters in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. Parker noted, I think the nature of the deployment is certainly designed to send a message. Theres a reason theyre down here, theres a reason theyre loitering down here and theyre not coming in for a port call. Thats about sending a message about their capability. Australasia is not used to hostile warships sailing through the Tasman Sea, but such a thing is likely to occur more frequently, especially as China buttresses its position in Antarctica, according to experts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just by virtue of the scale of the navy theyve built and their intentions to play a broader role in the Indo-Pacific, I just dont think theres any doubt that were going to see this more often, said David Capie, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University in Wellington. Parker agreed, predicting Australia may even see multiple task groups one in the Pacific and maybe one in the Indian Ocean. I think its about testing Australias responses both in our defense responses but also our national responses in terms of, how does the population react to it. Capie described the Australian and New Zealand military response as effective and very well coordinated. However, both militaries are struggling to field surface combatants. New Zealand has only two frigates, while Australias navy is down to just ten warships. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In fact, one source told Defense News that New Zealand has almost become a strategic liability to Australia, because its military is so hollowed out. Parker believes New Zealand should align acquisitions and training pipelines with Australia. Unmanned assistance While the P-8s proved their worth in tracking the Chinese trio of ships, the mission was almost tailor-made for an unmanned capability thats about to enter service: the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton. The Australian Air Force has one Triton at the moment, but officials said the second and third examples will arrive in April after being checked out by the U.S. Navy. The air service also has a fourth Triton on order. The fleet is expected to reach initial operating capability in the first quarter of 2026. The aircraft will be based at Tindal in the Northern Territory, even though they are flown from an air base near Adelaide in South Australia. Tritons have an endurance of more than 24 hours and 7,400-nautical-mile range, making them ideal for monitoring future Chinese navy task groups sailing near Australasia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hogan said, Tritons coming along really well. Its flown here in Australia in both February and March. Im really comfortable that its on track. Asked whether Australia will need more of the drones, Hogan said the original fleet-size projections are holding up. The current environment and what weve experienced recently does not change the maths, he said. The Triton is effectively going to surveil a maritime space the size of Western Australia every 24 hours for each platform. So were comfortable with the maths weve done to arrive at the fleet size we have. AUSTIN (KXAN) The Austin Police Department said it arrested a man March 9 related to three counts of indecent exposure. APD said 22-year-old Jacob Anthony Rodriguez was arrested after an extensive investigation by the APD Sex Crimes Unit. According to police, on Feb. 7, between 5 and 6 p.m., Rodriguez was driving near the area of South Congress Avenue and E. Oltorf Street when he exposed himself to women out for a walk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rodriguez exposed himself to at least three separate females within the span of two hours, APD said. Two of the victims were able to take a photo of the license plate and all three victims were able to describe Rodriguez. At the time, APD said the victims did not file charges, but they changed their minds a few days later. Rodriguez was arrested by the Bastrop County Sheriffs Office after the arrest warrants were issued, and he was taken to the Travis County jail. As of Friday, Rodriguez was no longer booked in the 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 KXAN Austin. By Christine Chen SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian police officer who was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting a 95-year-old care home resident with a Taser gun avoided jail time on Friday. Senior constable Kristian White, who was fired after being convicted for the death of Clare Nowland in 2023, will instead serve a two-year community correction order - effectively a good behaviour bond - and 425 hours of community service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Ian Harrison said White's offence fell "at the lower end of objective seriousness" for manslaughter. Members of Nowlands family, who filled multiple rows of the public gallery to hear the decision, burst into tears as the sentence was handed down, local media reported. "Its a slap on the wrist for someone thats killed our mother I need time to process that," Nowlands oldest son, Michael, said outside the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney. "Justice and fairness - thats all we wanted." Whites lawyer Warwick Anderson said his client and his family were very relieved with the outcome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White, 35, was found guilty of manslaughter in November last year after fatally shocking Nowland with a Taser at the Yallambee Lodge aged care facility in May 2023. White had been called after Nowland, who displayed signs of dementia, was found by staff holding a steak knife in the early hours of the morning. Body camera footage showed a few minutes of negotiations between White and Nowland before he said Nah, bugger it and pulled the trigger on the great-grandmother. She weighed 47.5 kilograms (95 pounds) at the time and could only walk with the aid of a walking frame. Nowland fell backwards and struck her head on the floor, dying in hospital a week later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his sentencing decision on Friday, Judge Harrison said White made a terrible mistake. But Harrison spared White from jail, saying it would be disproportionate to the objective seriousness of the offence, as it was not premeditated and occurred in the course of his work as a serving police officer. (Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast.) NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday offered Kenya a grant of 1.8 billion Kenyan shillings (about 13.9 million U.S. dollars) to upgrade several hospitals in rural areas. Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi signed the funding agreement with Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan, saying that the grant will improve the country's healthcare sector. "The grant is a significant boost to Kenya's healthcare sector and will fund the upgrading of key hospitals across the country," Mbadi said in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. He thanked the Chinese government for its continued support, noting that the partnership underscores strong bilateral ties between the two countries. Londiani Referral Hospital, Baringo County Referral Hospital, Kilifi Hospital, Misikhu Hospital, Bildad Kaggia Hospital and Kaimosi Farmers Training College are among the beneficiaries. Kenya's Ministry of Health has confirmed a 239.6-million-dollar funding shortfall following the withdrawal of aid from the United States, resulting in job losses for health workers, underfunded health facilities, and disrupted health programs, including those on malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (right) spoke with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday night, Trend reports. Iran has reiterated that direct negotiations with the United States on the countrys peaceful nuclear program are meaningless as long as a maximum pressure policy and military threats are in place. Araghchi made the remarks while speaking in a phone conversation with his British counterpart, Lammy. Referring to conflicting positions taken by American officials on negotiations with Iran, he rejected the instrumental use of diplomacy to exert political and psychological pressure on Tehran. Araghchi also referred to the contradictory positions and messages of American officials regarding negotiations with Iran and considered the use of diplomacy as a tool for political and psychological pressure unacceptable. He stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran, with a responsible view and in adherence to diplomatic custom, has reflected the US presidents response to the American side through the appropriate channels. Araghchi also voiced disappointment over unconstructive stances taken by some European countries and the European Union, including the imposition of sanctions on Iran under baseless pretexts. He urged those European countries to reconsider their approach to Iran and issues related to the West Asian region. In the telephone call, the Iranian and British foreign ministers welcomed the resumption of the work of the new Iranian and British ambassadors in London and Tehran and expressed hope that this development would help advance bilateral relations better and more smoothly. Both sides raised some mutual consular issues and clearly expressed their views and concerns in this regard but emphasized the importance of maintaining communication channels between Tehran and London to pursue bilateral issues and other topics of interest to the parties. Nearly 50 acres of some of the last remaining native grasslands in the state of Victoria, Australia, have been destroyed due to a property developer, ABC News Australia reported. Peter Wu, who purchased the property in April 2021, has since pleaded guilty to causing the damage and has been forced to pay a total fine of AUD$170,000. The land is home to native vegetation known as kangaroo grass. Large proportions of the plant are already faltering due to urban sprawl. The land developer "failed to exercise due diligence" as owner of the company Centreland Agriculture Co, "when imported fill was deposited over a large percentage of the land," as ABC News Australia reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grasslands within Australia are significantly threatened, per the Parliament of Australia. Earthly estimated that roughly 50% of temperate grasslands and another 16% of tropical grasslands have been degraded throughout Australia. This area was earmarked for conservation as it became some of the last remaining grasslands in Victoria, ABC News Australia revealed. Factors such as urban development, weed invasion, poor grazing practices, and poor fire management practices are all noted to be responsible for the severe degradation, according to the Australian Government. Wu pleaded guilty to the destruction and was fined AUD$70,000, and his company was fined a further AUD$100,000, ABC News Australia reported. Magistrate Mark Sabljak, who presided over the case, remarked to ABC News Australia that the destruction was a "serious example of such a breach of the act." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fine that Wu and his company were forced to pay goes directly to the Australian Government, which puts part of its budget towards protecting the nation's environment. That means money raised from these fines go in part back to Australian conservation. Additionally, the case clearly demonstrates how to protect conservation areas from corporations. Another way to mitigate environmental degradation brought on by companies that put revenue over the environment is by looking out for greenwashing. Consumers who familiarize themselves with sustainability and climate brands can actively exercise their power in influencing more green actions from corporations. 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 was revised to correct a date.) PANAMA CITY BEACH Some were surprised to see various law enforcement agency vehicles surrounding Gulf World Marine Park on March 27. A reporter with the News Herald arrived on the scene about 4 p.m., delayed by spring break traffic. Several Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission vehicles were parked out front alongside vehicles from other local media outlets. In the park's rear, some FWC officers were flying a drone over the park. Panama City Beach Police Chief Eusebio Talamantez, left, speaks with a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, Florida on March 27, 2025. Panama City Beach Police Chief Eusebio Talamantez also was present, speaking with FWC officers. Some law enforcement officers were entering and exiting the facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FWC public affairs officer Christopher Boley was on the scene explaining the situation to reporters and local residents. He said he couldn't answer questions as there was an ongoing investigation, but gave those present the agency's holding statement. "The (FWC) takes the health and welfare of all wildlife, including Florida's marine mammals, very seriously," said Boley in his statement. "Due to growing concern about the sanitation and condition of the aquatic enclosures, as well as the well-being of captive bottlenose dolphins at Gulf World Marine Park, FWC has joined partner agencies to conduct a thorough investigation of the facility." Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers fly a drone over Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, Florida on March 27, 2025. Park staff had previously denied the FWC entry to the dolphin enclosures, saying the dolphins were under federal jurisdiction. On March 27, Boley confirmed that officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture were on site. This comes after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a post on X that multiple state agencies were present executing a search warrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Today, at my discretion, FDLE and FWC executed a search warrant at the Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach," Uthmeier posted on March 27. "While this investigation is in the beginning stages, we will not tolerate any animal abuse in Florida." Boley told one resident turned animal advocate, Jamie Marghany, that the investigators inside the park were collecting data and evidence. He said that they will ensure that the health and wellbeing of the animals are secure. The front of Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, Florida on March 27, 2025. After the interview with Boley, not much happened on the scene. Tourists meandered through the parking lot on their way to other destinations. Country music blared from passing cars on Front Beach Road, and some people leaned out their windows and yelled, "shut it down" at reporters and officers outside the park. The outcry about the conditions at the park follows a scathing USDA inspection report, a viral video of dolphins swimming in green pools, and the death of a bottlenose dolphin named Jett during a show. Local representatives then jumped on the issue, issuing statements and holding a round table discussion with the city on how to dodge administrative hurdles and address conditions at the facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the March 27 Panama City Beach City Council meeting, Mayor Stuart Tettemer addressed an attendee's concerns for the animals at the facility. He assured them that the city is working with every relevant agency to swiftly address the issue. A protest was scheduled to be held outside Gulf World Marine Park on Saturday, March 29, at 10 a.m. One of the organizers, Marghany, told the News Herald as well as social media personality Josie On The Go that she intends for the occasion to be a peaceful demonstration. "We want everyone just sitting and communicating with each other and educating each other," said Marghany. "Kind of very 70s peaceful vibes. Everybody kind of getting to know each other and finally getting to meet each other face to face. Showing our support as a group for what we're trying to do here." As mentioned in previous reporting, Gulf World Marine Institute is a nonprofit sea life rescue that is a separate entity from the park. This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Gulf World Marine Park is investigated after public outcry Authorities are planning to give a late Friday afternoon update on an investigation into the discovery of a body in a pond at a park in New Hampshire. Officers responded to the area of Pine Island Park in Manchester around 4 p.m. after receiving a report of a body found in the water, according to the Manchester Police Department. Police urged the public to avoid the area around the park during their investigation. Manchester Police Chief Peter A. Marr and Senior Assistant Attorney General Scott D. Chase are expected to reveal details on the investigation during a 4:45 p.m. news conference at the Manchester Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boston 25 News has a crew headed to the Granite State and will stream the news conference live here. 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 GILES COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) Law enforcement raided a Giles County house Monday, resulting in the discovery of a substantial amount of cocaine, as well as an arrest. After weeks of undercover operations, members of the 22nd Judicial District Drug Task Force conducted a traffic stop and executed a search warrant at the suspects residence in Pulaski on Monday, March 24. After entering the home, authorities seized more than three pounds of cocaine, a 9mm handgun, three vehicles, and more than $8,000 in cash. Drug agents also took Carlos Zapata into custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement District Attorney General Brent Cooper of the 22nd Judicial District which covers Giles, Lawrence, Maury, and Wayne counties told News 2 this long-term investigation took a lot of effort. Man arrested after Williamson County chase charged with gun, drug offenses Youre talking about the use of multiple informants, Cooper said. It takes a while to get into an organization far enough to where youre able to get to the dealer whos moving pounds of product. According to Cooper, the amount of cocaine seized from the Pulaski house has a street value of more than $150,000. Cooper also told News 2 that Zapata has no criminal history, which is abnormal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is unusual for somebody thats dealing with that much weight to not have a criminal record. Typically, by the time you get to the point where youre dealing in pounds of cocaine, youve gotten caught before, but then again, the further you are up the food chain in the drug world, the less likely you are to be the one going into handcuffs, the district attorney general explained. MNPD: Felon charged after traffic stop leads to discovery of stolen gun, drugs Cooper said the community should be proud of the task force members because what they do is dangerous. All law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day, but these narcotics guys, every time they go out to execute a search warrant like this, theres the potential that the suspects on the other side of that door [are] not only serious criminals, but armed, and they know theyre facing potentially long sentences here in Tennessee or even being deported if they are illegal, so the stakes are high for them to not go to jail, and that increases the danger to these officers, he explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 2 asked how much violence has been diminished by this single drug bust. Well, you never know, but when youre dealing with over three pounds of cocaine, which ultimately, when it hits the streets, is going to be sold probably about a gram at a time, youre talking about potentially thousands of drug deals that are not going to happen because these officers took this substance off the street, and every one of those drug deals has the potential for violence, the district attorney general replied. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Cooper said officials dont think Zapata was just a drug mule, adding that hes believed to be higher up in the chain of command if he had more than three pounds of cocaine in his possession. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zapata is being held without bond in the Giles County Jail while investigators continue to look into him and his alleged drug organization. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is assisting with the 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 WKRN News 2. WASHINGTON, D.C. (KSNW) On the heels of a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report on the collision of Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people in Washington, D.C. in December, senators had questions at a subcommittee hearing Thursday. Fifty-seven days ago, our nation witnessed the first major U.S. commercial passenger flight crash in nearly 16 years, Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said. Families had their loved ones taken from them in an instant. Children lost their parents. Husbands lost their wives. Moran was joined by other senators to question NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy and U.S. Army Aviation Director Brigadier General Matthew Braman. Chris Rocheleau, the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), also answered questions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I just want to make it crystal clear that something was missed at the DCA crash. I take that seriously, I take that upon myself. I returned to the FAA just two months ago. Because I care about the national airspace system and the safety in the workforce, Rocheleau said. I am dedicated to continuing that work. And I will continue to review and I mentioned before with the hot spots, working closely with NTSB, to learn what happened here and to make sure it never happens again. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) also questioned Rocheleau, this time about a quote from Elon Musk. Markey said Musk questioned whether the public is at risk while flying. I know we need new air traffic control facilities. I know we need that, Rocheleau said. Markey replied, We are at risk. Is that what you are saying? You are agreeing with him that we are? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rocheleau replied, Im saying the system needs modernization. Previously: Congress questions the FAA, US Army and NTSB over deadly midair collision in DC During the hearing, members of the Senate also questioned how the FAA had not noticed the number of close calls at Reagan National Airport in D.C., and why the issues had not been addressed before. Rocheleau said they have to do better and get smarter about how they use data. He also said the FAA is using artificial intelligence to identify safety threats at Reagan and other airports that also have heavy helicopter and airplane congestion. Doug Lane lost his wife and son on Flight 5342. He was closely watching the events of the subcommittee meeting on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In terms of the it was very clear to us that there remain outstanding information requests to both the FAA and the Department of Defense, Lane said. And for us, thats extremely disappointing. We are all willing to forgive errors that may have occurred in the past. These things happen, and its unfortunate. And it had severe consequences. But for us, whats not forgivable is to not be transparent, continued Lane. So we really would like to see more transparency by the FAA and the Department of Defense. For me and for a lot of other families, family members, there is a feeling of powerless that obviously comes in a situation like this. But for a lot of us, the ability to use our voice to bring about change has been something that has been helping us as a coping mechanism. And we think can potentially save the lives of other families so they dont have to go through the same thing. 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. BELLEFONTE Safe Harbor of Northeast Kentucky recognized multiple community members and organizations on Thursday afternoon with the 14th annual Cornerstone Awards amid an uncertain future as federal funds face the chopping block. Ann Perkins, Safe Harbors executive director, spoke to a crowd of 150 inside the Bellefonte Country Club, extending thanks to the village that has allowed the local nonprofit to offer an escape and a quality life away from domestic violence. Of those receiving Cornerstone Awards, Perkins first acknowledged Steve Gilmore, former mayor and Ashland Independent Schools superintendent, who passed away last December. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Perkins, Gilmore was instrumental in growing the facilities and services available today by adding bus stops near the former tuberculosis hospital, ensuring women and children had access to transportation to school, doctor appointments and work. Perkins said Gilmore also helped secure the first Section 8 housing vouchers, the linchpin for the organization. Our history has his name embedded in it, Perkins said. Perkins also recognized Jesse and Tina Hunt, owners of area Giovannis Pizza restaurants who, every Sunday, bring dinner to hundreds of shelter residents and were instrumental in providing Christmas for residents during the holiday season. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to Gilmore and the Hunts, recipients of Cornerstone Awards included the Kentucky Bar Foundation, Lori Mansbach Moore and the Pallottine Foundation. Perkins said contributions from local partnerships have supported Safe Harbor for more than four decades, allowing the organization to house 20,000 men, women and children in emergency shelter alone. Weve saved a lot of lives, Perkins said, adding statistics show 1 in 3 people are or will become victims of some form of domestic violence in their lifetime. Violence isnt always battering, Perkins said, as abuse can also present as verbal, emotional, mental or financial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given the often complex circumstances in escaping interpersonal violence, Perkins said Safe Harbor has made its mission breaking unhealthy cycles and provide tools so that clients can stand on their own, whether it be coordinating housing, health care, food security, employment, education, financial literacy, etc. Perkins said throughout her experience with Safe Harbor, clients come from all demographics, having served doctors, lawyers and teachers. But now, all of that is at stake, Perkins said, referencing a memo received by a state coalition, warning that all programs funded federally would be stopped monies Perkins said account for at least 40% of the nonprofits entire operations. In the most recent financial audit for Safe Harbor from the 2022-23 fiscal year, the nonprofit utilized over $1 million from grants originating from federal agencies, including the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Dept. of Justice, Dept. of Health and Human Services and Dept. of Homeland Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those funds include grants for emergency housing, crime victim assistance, food programs and violence against women foundations. Perkins said in the past 40-plus years, the shelter has grown into an entire operation and has celebrated major legislative wins aimed at domestic violence, all the while offering programs that arent a handout, rather a hand up to thousands living in the FIVCO area. The one thing thats remained consistent, Perkins said, is the ability to depend on federal funding. In addition to fundraising opportunities, Perkins said continued advocacy for victims is the next step, urging constituents to contact their representatives to preserve federal funds to continue reshaping lives. Half of our programs are on the line, Perkins said. We have to preserve the funding and keep it in place for these families. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he will require state employees to report to the office for at least half of their scheduled workdays starting June 1. What does this mean for downtown St. Paul? I think this is going to be a tremendously positive thing for downtown, said Joe Spencer, president of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance. The state of Minnesota is our largest employer and, as our largest employer, having those workers return is going to have a tremendous impact. Around 60% of state employees currently work in-person and did so through the pandemic, according to the Walz administration. About 50,000 people work for Minnesotas state government, according to the state Department of Management and Budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, how many more people will be headed back to the office? We think it could be upwards of 20,000 workers, Spencer estimates. Downtown hope It was a pleasant and needed surprise, John Perlich, vice president of Government Affairs for the St. Paul Area Chamber, said of Walzs Tuesday announcement. St. Paul has had some distressing news over the last couple of weeks, Perlich said, referring to the closure of the downtown Lunds and Byerlys and borderline eviction notice given to tenants of the Alliance Bank Center. From where we sit, this is a shot in the arm that St. Paul needs, Perlich said of the return-to-office order. Is it going to be transformational? I dont know. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Having workers return to the office wont be a silver bullet, Spencer said. But folks dont realize weve had a number of new restaurants open up and old favorites are still in place. An influx of people coming into the city is going to add to its viability, Spencer said. For example, shops that are closed on certain weekdays could have a chance to expand their hours and services with more foot traffic. For some, however, the news is too late. Cassies Deli and Catering, located in the Town Square skyway at 444 Cedar St., will serve its final sandwiches on Friday after opening in 1997, owner Steve Olson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My lease is due and Ive been losing money for years, he said. When asked about the back-to-the-office announcement, Olson said, It could have helped but its too little and too late. Union pushback A pair of state public employee unions that represent a combined 36,000 state workers the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees protested the change. Unilateral decisions made behind closed doors without the input of the workers that it impacts is irresponsible, its disrespectful and it cant continue, said AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Bart Andersen at a rally with labor representatives and state lawmakers on Thursday. Related Articles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a news release, MAPE President Megan Dayton said she was appalled and disgusted by the governor clawing back telework agreements under the guise of organic collaboration and stewardship of office space. Dayton says the union had little warning about Walzs decision and no input. MAPE represents more than 18,500 executive branch employees and is the largest bargaining unit in state government. Many members are office employees who dont typically have to report to work in person to complete their tasks. Calling workers back to the office will disrupt lives, union leaders said. Employees who can stay at home with kids will have to find day care or figure out how to balance in-office work with taking kids to and from school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We adapted to working remotely with very little prior planning, and we proved that it can work, and weve been doing it for five years, Dayton told reporters on Thursday. To unleash this kind of chaos on our members at this point is irresponsible and reckless. MAPE is set to start bargaining its contract with the state on April 15. Union leaders have signaled all options remain on the table, including a lawsuit or a strike. There are already concerns that state employees might leave over changes to the remote work policy. Workers are threatening to quit over this, said State Rep. Luke Frederick, DFL-Mankato. In conversations with the agencies, theres questions about how even to implement this, about whether or not theres even office space. Where will they go? Is there enough office space? Thats hard to answer at this point as state workers report to 15 different buildings in the Capitol area alone, according to the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This creates a leasing problem for the state because they have to make 10-year commitments, said Mike Marinovich, senior vice president at commercial real estate firm CBRE. How do you do that while experimenting with your staff life? Marinovich, who represents properties like the Great Northern Building at 180 E. Fifth St., where the Department of Employment and Economic Development is a tenant, called Walzs announcement a huge improvement. Of the roughly 14 million square feet of office space in the St. Paul central business district, government properties account for 34%, according to findings from the Greater St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Associations annual St. Paul office space market report. The central business district described in the report goes beyond downtown proper, ranging in boundary from the Minnesota Transportation Museum on Pennsylvania Avenue down to the Wabasha Street Caves, and from the edges of Cathedral Hill to east of the St. Paul Farmers Market. Related Articles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report also found that 40% of downtowns competitive office market has been listed for sale, and nearly a third of the competitive, non-owner-occupied office space in and around downtown is empty. BOMA members are grateful for this decision and the governors leadership by example because the return of state employees to downtown St. Paul will have a significant positive impact on the citys economy, safety and overall vibrancy, said Tina Gassman, president of BOMA, in an email. More people downtown can lead to a revitalization of commercial real estate, helping to fill vacant office spaces and spurring interest in urban living. This not only helps our commercial real estate industry but could lead to further development of housing, parks, and amenities, making St. Paul a more attractive place to live and work. The Backpage.com URL now redirects to MILFS.com, a webcamming platform that offers users live erotic chat and pornographic shows with a cornucopia of women who may or may not actually be moms. In case anyone isn't aware, here's what the acronym MILF stands forthough as Julian Sanchez quipped on BlueSky, perhaps in this instance, it could also stand for "Moms I'd Like to Federally Seize." Backpage was once a thriving platform for classified advertisements, particularly favored by people posting "adult" ads. But the federal government decided there was too much free speech happening on Backpage, so it seized the website and put its founders and executives on trial for facilitating prostitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From April 6, 2018, until very recently, visitors to Backpage.com would be greeted by the logos of several federal agencies and a notice stating: "backpage.com and affiliated websites have been seized as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division." It looked like this: (screenshot from Backpage.com before redirect) Here's what visitors to Backpage.com today will see: (Screenshot from MILFS.com) How did Backpage.com come to be redirected to MILFS.com? It seems as if the feds let the Backpage.com domain name lapse, and ICF Technologythe company behind MILFS.comsnapped it up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Backpage.com registry information was updated on February 21, 2025 and again on February 24. The site is now registered to NameBrightPrivacy.com, but this is a proxy. "Proxy services allow a domain name to keep certain identity and contact details from appearing in public Whois information," notes ICANN. "The proxy service becomes the registered name holder of record, and its identity and contact information is displayed in Whois data." ICANN lists the Backpage.com registrarthe entity responsible for registering and maintaining a domain nameas DropCatch.com, a domain auction site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Each day, thousands of domain names fail to be renewed and become available to the public," the DropCatch website states. "A small percentage of these domains have a high value potential, so they can be utilized for monetization or development." DropCatch snaps up these high-value domains and auctions them off. It's unclear how much the Backpage.com domain went for. ICF Technology did not respond to my requests for comment. It's also unclear whether the federal government intentionally let the Backpage.com lapse or whether it was an oversight. It's not even clear what agency would be responsible for the maintenance of seized domains. The FBI did not provide comment. In any event, it's unbelievable that authorities would have simply let such a high-profile and controversial domain name expire. Surely, they could have found a nonprofit group in alignment with the government's goals to take ita group opposed to sex work or an anti-trafficking group. Or the government could have held onto it and had it redirect to something like the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yes, the idea that Backpage mainly or intentionally facilitated sex trafficking is a myth. But it's a myth that was pushed by government actors for more than a decade. From the feds' perspective, wouldn't redirecting the Backpage website to an anti-trafficking resource make sense? Simply letting Backpage.com go up for auction seems like a missed opportunity for federal authorities, both in terms of money and message promotion. But, boy, what a win for MILFS.com and for irony. On some level, Backpage.com now redirecting to MILFS.com is hilarious. After all the time that authorities spent preening about stopping sex work by taking down Backpage, the website now leads to a platform wholly and explicitly devoted to selling sexuality. And the MILFS.com website also links to Cougar.com, a membership platform that bills itself as facilitating "passionate interactions." The situation exposes the lie at the center of the misguided crusade against Backpagethe idea that the government taking down one website could ever stop or even make a dent in people engaging in and seeking sex work. But, on another level, the way this turned out just makes me angry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government put Backpage's founders and former executives through hell for years because they provided a forum for adult advertising. Two of them are currently in prison. One is out on bail but still facing prison. One is dead, having taken his own life after years of being "backed into a corner, and pretty much impoverished" by what he saw as a "political prosecution" stemming from his years as a government-critical newspaper publisher. Federal authorities claimed all along that this was about stopping Backpage's facilitation of prostitutionnot a political prosecution over Backpage founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin's years of publishing sometimes spicy newspapers or mocking and exposing powerful politicians. Not an act of vengeance against Larkin and Lacey for daring, loudly and repeatedly, to tell the government that they wouldn't squelch protected speech. Then the government went and let a new group of tech executives facilitate people peddling companionship and sex through Backpage.com. After everything the feds put Lacey, Larkin, and their colleagues throughnot to mention the many sex workers who relied on Backpagethey couldn't even keep up the charade that it made a difference. The post How Backpage Became MILFS.com appeared first on Reason.com. (NewsNation) Bali Governor Wayan Koster is heightening guidelines for tourists, according to the Indonesian governments Love Bali program. Koster and Balis head of tourism, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, expanded on a list of dos and donts first published in 2023. We issued a similar regulation before, but as things change, we need to adapt, Koster said during a Monday press conference. This ensures that Balis tourism remains respectful, sustainable and in harmony with our local values. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump administration potential travel ban concerning airlines: Editor Rules include shelling out for Balis tourist levy, equivalent to $9 USD. Left unpaid, travelers would be blocked from certain attractions in the Indonesian province. Other new rules include respecting sacred sites and symbols, dressing in modest and respectful clothing, and behaving respectfully while in public. Also outlined are requirements for foreign travelers to use only licensed tour guides, authorized money exchange services, legal car rentals and licensed accommodations. Amtrak passenger may have exposed travelers to measles: Officials Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For those driving in Bali, the rules of the road require you: Have an international or national drivers license Obey traffic signs Dont drive under any influence Wear a helmet on motorbikes or motorcycles As outlined by the new rules, tourists are forbidden from: Entering sacred areas without traditional attire or while menstruating Climbing sacred monuments and trees Using single-use plastics Littering Operating a business without proper permitting Trading drugs, endangered animals and other prohibited things Swearing or being rude to Balinese locals and officials, as well as other tourists The announcement warns that those who violate the new rules, known formally as Circular Letter (SE) Number 7 of 2025, Will face legal consequences in accordance with Indonesian law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cruise passenger suffers fatal accident during stop in Bahamas: Tragic All stakeholders must fully understand, implement, and communicate this circular to their teams and foreign visitors. Bali is a beautiful, sacred island, and we expect our guests to show the same respect that we extend to them, Koster said. The Balinese government said it encourages the public to report infractions to its official WhatsApp hotline, which would prompt action from the provinces law enforcement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Massive student-led anti-corruption protests have spread from Serbia to neighbouring Balkan countries in recent months, with thousands rallying under the slogan "Corruption Kills" following a series of tragedies that have claimed dozens of lives. Europe's Balkan region is currently gripped by crises, from the collapse of a train station roof in Serbia and a devastating nightclub fire in North Macedonia to political turmoil in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in EU member state Bulgaria. Young people in particular have used the rallies to vent their anger in a region of Europe where rights groups say corruption is endemic. In Serbia alone, hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets demanding change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Serbia ranks 105th out of 180 countries on the latest global corruption perceptions index of Transparency International, a think tank its worst position in more than a decade. North Macedonia fares only slightly better at 88th place, while Bulgaria stands at 76th place. The region has long struggled with corruption, weak rule of law and political instability, all of which have hampered some of the countries' paths to EU membership. Anti-graft measures are a key priority for the bloc. North Macedonia became an EU candidate country in 2005, followed by Serbia in 2010. Serbia's progress has stalled in recent years, a key obstacle being its tense relationship with neighbouring Kosovo. Bulgaria, on the other hand, joined the EU in 2007. Serbia: train station canopy collapse The wave of demonstrations, on a scale unseen in Serbia since the 1990s, kicked off after a freshly renovated train station canopy collapsed on November 1 in the northern city of Novi Sad. 16 people died as a result. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Across Serbia, a blood-red hand has appeared on banners, pins and walls as a symbol of protest. Many critics blame the deaths on corruption and inadequate oversight of construction projects, especially as restoration work at the train station had been completed shortly before the accident. Between 100,000 and 300,000 people are estimated to have participated in the latest rally in Belgrade on March 15, making it the largest in Serbian history. The largely peaceful demonstration was disrupted when an unknown noise caused a brief panic. Some protesters and political opposition members allege that the authorities used an acoustic cannon a military device used to disperse crowds. The government denies the charge. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic assured European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Tuesday that no sound cannon had been used, he told reporters after the talks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The months of protests are the biggest challenge yet to Vucic's 12-year rule. They have led to the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and several high-ranking officials. More than a dozen people have been charged in connection with the tragedy, including former transport minister Goran Vesic, who resigned days after the incident. Countries in Serbia's neighbourhood have also rallied in support of the protests in Belgrade, including in Ljubljana. Slovenia is waiting for an explanation from the Serbian authorities after a news crew from its POP TV channel was denied entry ahead of the March 15 demonstration. North Macedonia: deadly nightclub fire The protest symbol a bloodied red handprint has also turned up at rallies in neighbouring North Macedonia after a fire at a nightclub in Kocani operating under a questionable license killed 59 and injured almost 200 on March 16. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kocani is a town of 30,000, so the deaths of 59 people most of them teenagers and young adults touched almost every home. The incident was the worst loss of life in the Balkan nation since two plane crashes in 1993. The blaze was linked to stage fireworks set off inside, which triggered a stampede for the exit. The prosecutor's office said the club had breached numerous fire regulations, including by having insufficient extinguishers and emergency exits. Thirty-four people are suspected of breaching safety standards. Detention has been ordered for 24 suspects, including Kocani's mayor and his two predecessors. The largest public protest after the incident saw thousands of protesters marching through Skopje on March 24. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is not a fight between political parties, this is a fight between the honest and the corrupt," reads a statement from the citizens' movement "Who is next?" "We want systemic change but meaningful change, not cosmetic. And while they fill their pockets, we will fill the streets, and we will continue to do so until we see real change," it adds. In a show of solidarity, Bulgarian anti-graft protesters last week held a few minutes' silence remembering the Kocani incident. In Greece likewise, dozens of people stood silent for an hour in the central square of Thessaloniki over the weekend. Bulgaria: oligarchs and animal abusers Bulgarians have turned out in large numbers to support the rule of law, and in separate demonstrations against animal cruelty. Media and healthcare professionals have also demonstrated for higher pay and better working conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The protests against animal cruelty and abuse, held in several major cities on March 23, were sparked by the case of two people charged with filming videos of animal abuse in exchange for money. The protesters demanded severe punishments for animal cruelty, the enforcement of penalties and a crackdown against online platforms that distribute such content. The content of this article is based on reporting by AFP, Agerpres, ANSA, BTA, FENA, HINA, MIA, STA and Tanjug as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. The Chairman of Russia's State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin has directed the draft law on the ratification of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement between Russia and Iran to the relevant Committee on International Affairs, Trend reports. The bill was submitted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This agreement, signed by the Presidents of Russia and Iran, will strengthen the ties between our two countries, both in terms of bilateral cooperation and coordination on international matters, said Vyacheslav Volodin. He emphasized that the agreement covers various areas of collaboration, including industrial and agricultural development, energy, defense, counterterrorism, education, and cultural exchange. We will prioritize the ratification process, Volodin added. The agreement was signed on January 17, 2025, during the visit of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Moscow. According to the document, both sides are committed to deepening and expanding their relations across all areas of mutual interest, strengthening cooperation in security and defense, and closely coordinating activities at regional and global levels. ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL) Sept. 27, 2024, was a fateful day that Unicoi County will never forget. Hurricane Helene swept up the East Coast, depositing about 30 inches of rain in southern Appalachia that flooded many portions of Northeast Tennessee. The floodwaters made their way to the town of Erwin and Ballad Healths Unicoi County Hospital. Ballad Health Southern Region President Lisa Carter said its a day that shell never forget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For many of us, that was the hardest day of our health care career, Carter said. ROAD TO RECOVERY: Two nursing scholarships honoring Boone McCrary accepting donations The rushing and rising water forced dozens of patients and staff to make their way to the hospitals roof. This is where theyd remain stranded for hours. Thankfully, every person stranded would be rescued by the help of the Tennessee National Guard, Virginia State Police, and others. Six months on, the floodwaters are gone, but the remnants of what was the Unicoi County Hospital remain. Carter said the wheels are in motion to build a new hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ballad Health is committed to that community, Carter said. Were committed to rural health, and that is a very key piece of what we do in that community. Carter explained that Ballad is working to find the right location for a new hospital in the county. Its a project thats expected to cost roughly $50 million, but about a fifth of that has already been secured in state and federal dollars. ROAD TO RECOVERY: Erwin Industries continue to recovery 6 months after Helene No equipment from the former facility is salvageable. Demolition is the most likely fate of the facility, but Carter said that finding a new spot for a new hospital and building it is the top priority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Unicoi County Hospital was one of the newer facilities in the Ballad system. Carter said the plan is to provide the county with the absolute best. We want to make sure that we replicate that, Carter 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. Mar. 27The conditions will be sunny, cooler and windy before temperatures warm up and rain moves into the region over the weekend. Thursday will be clear and cool with a high near 60 and gusts as high as 24 mph. The evening will be partly cloudy, with a low around 42. [Get the latest weathercast from FOX45 News] There is a 30% chance of showers Friday after 5 p.m., but otherwise, it should be partly sunny with a high near 67. There is another slight chance of showers Friday night, with a low around 53. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rain is needed as about 98% of Maryland is experiencing some form of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Most of the Baltimore metropolitan area Baltimore City, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard, Carroll and Harford counties are experiencing severe dry conditions. Saturday will likely be partly sunny and warmer, with a high near 80. There is a 20% chance of rain late Saturday night, with a low around 60. The rain could stay in the area on Sunday, with a high near 76. The wet weather could continue into the evening, with a low around 61. The beginning of the workweek could also be wet, with a 60% chance of precipitation on Monday. Otherwise, it will be mostly warm, with a high of 76 when the Orioles play their home opener against the Red Sox at 3:05 p.m. More showers are predicted for the evening, mainly before 8 p.m., with a low around 45. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tuesday will be partly sunny, with a high near 60 and a low around 40. There is another chance of showers on Wednesday with a high of 61. Baltimore Sun reporter Shaela Foster contributed to this article Have a news tip? Contact Todd Karpovich at tkarpovich@baltsun.com or on X as @ToddKarpovich. Originally Published:March 27, 2025 at 7:00 AM EDT A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the heart of war-ravaged Myanmar of Friday, killing scores of people and prompting the countrys military junta to make a rare plea for international assistance. The earthquake cut through a vast and varied corner of Southeast Asia, sending terrifying tremors through rural villages caught in the middle of Myanmars civil war all the way to the glitzy high-rises of the traffic-filled Thai capital Bangkok. Shaking was even felt across the border in Chinas southwestern remote and mountainous Yunnan province. At least 144 people have been killed and more than 730 injured, the head of Myanmars military government said late Friday evening. Deaths have also been reported in Thailand. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates the final toll could surpass 10,000 people, according to their early modeling, and that high casualties and extensive damage was likely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Having largely shut the country off from the world during its four years of civil war, Min Aung Hlaing the leader of Myanmars military government declared a state of emergency and issued an open invitation to any organizations and nations willing to come and help the people in need within our country, adding the toll was likely to rise. With electricity and internet down in parts of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaings unexpected call for help is a measure of the devastation the quake has wrought in the country his junta has helped turn into a pariah state. Rescue efforts are likely to vary hugely between the two countries. Myanmar, one of Asias poorest nations, has a long and troubled track record of struggling to respond to major natural disasters, often rebuffing international aid offers and publicly downplaying damage. In contrast, neighboring Thailand is far more prosperous and a major tourist destination, with well-resourced and experienced rescue teams. The quake was felt hundreds of miles from the epicenter near the city of Mandalay in northern Myanmar. Erik Honan, a US citizen visiting a friend in the eastern Thai city of Pattaya, said when he saw items begin to slide on a coffee table early Friday, he knew immediately what it was. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mother Nature was having its way like swatting a fly, Honan told CNN. Bangkok high rise crumbles Video posted online showed panicked residents across Myanmar and Thailand running from swaying residential towers as dust fills the air, and traffic comes to a sudden stop on busy city streets. Rescue efforts in Bangkok are focusing on the site of a high-rise tower that was under construction and collapsed during the quake. Thai authorities fear more than 100 people, mostly construction workers, are thought to be trapped under the building, which was being built by a Chinese state owned company and is now a mess of twisted steel and shattered concrete. Sunan Kenkiat, 31, was working on the fire sprinkler system at the building before it collapsed on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was shaking and I felt dizzy, Kenkiat told CNN of the moment the high-rise building began to rock. After that, debris like cement pieces started falling down, and the shaking got stronger, so I shouted for everyone to run. He then heard three booms, and his eyes filled with white dust and he knew he the building was about to give way. He managed to escape, dazed and covered in dust, but many of his colleagues remain trapped. As of 10 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) on Friday, at least 10 people had died in the Thai capital due to the quake, according to Deputy Bangkok Governor Tavida Kamolvej. The Thai capital is not a city used to earthquakes and in recent decades condominiums have sprung up across its congested streets. City authorities advised residents of two buildings in the city to evacuate after they sustained damage in the quake. One building was in the Chatuchak district, while the other was in Phra Khanong. Both will be inspected for damage, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administration added that it had received nearly 1,000 reports of structural concerns across the city following the quake and a team of engineers will assess cases based on severity, with three high-risk cases identified so far. The structural assessments will ramp up on Saturday morning. In addition, five public parks and six temporary shelters have been opened for residents to seek refuge, with police and city officials being deployed to maintain safety, the administration said. This screengrab taken from a video shows a building collapse in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 28, 2025, following an earthquake centered in neighboring Myanmar. A portion of the image has been blurred by CNN. - Obtained from Social Media Disaster on top of disaster for Myanmar Myanmar is already reeling from four years of civil war sparked by a bloody and economically destructive military coup, which has seen junta forces battle rebel groups across the country. The coup and ensuing conflict has battered its health infrastructure, leaving it ill-equipped to deal with major natural disasters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Swathes of the country lie outside the control of the junta and are a run by a patchwork of ethnic rebels and militias, making compiling reliable information extremely difficult. Almost 80% of the country is outside of the control (of the military), and then they are controlled by different ethnic armed groups, a country director for an international NGO operating there told CNN. Theyre controlled by the PDF (Peoples Defense Force) under the NUG (National Unity Government), so you cant have a full picture of what is going on. Reports on the damage are still emerging and it could be weeks before the full extent of the devastation is known, but its likely to be severe, according to the International Rescue Committees Myanmar director. The limited amount of available information is partly due to communication lines being down and transport being disrupted, Mohamed Riyas said in a statement. The rescue chief added that the damage to infrastructure and homes, loss of life, and injuries sustained by communities affected should not be underestimated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amnesty International has urged the ruling junta to allow aid groups to enter freely, saying the quake could not come at a worse time for the war-ravaged country. Tom Andrew, the United Nations special rapporteur for Myanmar, said the quake would pile a disaster on top of a disaster. With more than 20 million people already in need of humanitarian aid and some 3.5 million internally displaced, I shudder to think what will be happening in the next few days as rescue operations kick in, Andrews told CNN. A resident of Mandalay told CNN they werent sure they would survive the quake. The quake was very powerful, we could not run out of the building immediately, said Tun Kyaw, 26, asking to use a pseudonym. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was like the whole building was going to collapse. I was not sure I would get out alive. The quake hit around 12:50 p.m. local time close to Mandalay, the former royal capital that is home to about 1.5 million people and boasts a host of historic temple complexes and palaces. Several aftershocks have since struck nearby, including one of 6.4-magnitude, according to the United States Geological Survey. The epicenter was recorded in Myanmars central Sagaing region, which has been ravaged by the civil war, with the junta, pro-military militia and rebel groups battling for control and all running checkpoints, making travel by road or river extremely difficult. Sagaing is largely rural with dwellings mostly built with wood and thatch. Communications in the area are typically patchy due to intermittent fighting between the junta and rebel groups. Medical workers treat an earthquake survivor in the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. - Sai Aung Main/AFP/Getty Images In the town of Taungoo, 70 miles south of the capital Naypyidaw, three people were killed after a mosque partially collapsed, Reuters reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One resident in Yangon, Myanmars commercial hub and around 380 miles away from the epicenter, told CNN: We felt the quake for about one minute and then we ran out of the building. We saw other people running out of the buildings too. It was very sudden and very strong. Another resident said phone networks in the city home to around 8 million people were briefly down following the quake, but were now working again. A Yangon resident named Wang, who was on the 20th floor of a building when the quake hit, said people next to me were all scared to death. The quake felt so strong, and lasted really long, said Wang, who did not want to give her first name. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video obtained by CNN from Myanmar appeared to show a road bridge spanning the Irrawaddy River, which runs through Mandalay, collapsing into the river in a cloud of dust and water. This story has been updated with developments. CNNs Lex Harvey, Todd Symons, Edward Szekeres, Hassan Tayir, Manveena Suri, Chris Lau, Rob Picheta, Lauren Kent, Billy Stockwell and Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, was moved from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn to the Federal Transfer Center (FTC) in Oklahoma City after conducting an unsanctioned interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson. This interview, held remotely on March 5, was not authorized by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), leading to Bankman-Fried being placed in solitary confinement. The interview was a rare public appearance for Bankman-Fried, who had been largely silent since his conviction in 2023 on seven felony charges. The transfer to FTC Oklahoma City took place shortly after the interview and has drawn attention because it came despite a federal judges recommendation that Bankman-Fried remain in the New York area to assist in his appeals process. Bankman-Fried, sentenced to 25 years in prison, is scheduled for release in November 2044, although his sentence could be reduced based on his behavior while incarcerated. This move to Oklahoma City appears to be part of the process of transitioning him to a permanent federal prison where he will serve the remainder of his sentence. Bankman-Fried's interview with Carlson was broadcast the day before his 33rd birthday and included his claims of innocence. He stated, I dont think I was a criminal, and suggested that FTX, despite its collapse, was solvent at the time. He also criticized the charges against former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, calling them "totally bogus" and implying political motivations behind them. The interview with Carlson caused controversy, and the BOP confirmed that it had not been approved, leading to the resignation of Bankman-Fried's crisis manager, Mark Botnick. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bankman-Fried had faced several changes in his detention since his conviction, including the revocation of his bail in August 2023 due to allegations that he attempted to influence witnesses. His legal team, meanwhile, has suggested that his outreach to conservative media outlets, including Carlson and The New York Sun, is an attempt to garner support from right-wing figures, possibly in the hopes of securing a presidential pardon. Although reports suggest that President Donald Trump might be a target for such appeals, Trump has not made any public statements regarding the possibility of a pardon for Bankman-Fried. The Oklahoma City FTC serves as a temporary holding facility for federal prisoners before they are transferred to permanent institutions. Bankman-Fried was previously transferred to the Oklahoma facility in May 2024 before being returned to Brooklyn. His current legal battle, including the appeal of his conviction, is ongoing, and his future in the U.S. prison system remains uncertain. This recent move highlights both the ongoing legal battles for Bankman-Fried and the fallout from his controversial public interview. Barrett Firearms Manufacturing recently won a $848,376 tax break to build a $76.4 million replacement factory and add 183 jobs in the Christiana community. The Rutherford County Industrial Development Board (IDB) approved the five-year property tax abatement agreement for the company. It's building a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing and technology campus at 8808 Manchester Pike on the southeast side of Rutherford County. Founded in 1982 by former owner Ronnie Barrett, of Murfreesboro, the company operates a factory off the Interstate 24 exit to Epps Mill Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The average annual pay of the added Barrett Manufacturing jobs is expected to be $64,584, which exceeds Rutherford County's annual average wage of $62,261, according to a report completed by Younger Associates, a consulting firm for the IDB led by chairman Bill Jones. "It's always a happy occurrence when local companies decide to increase their investment in Rutherford County," Jones said. "We're excited about the announcement and potential this has for future growth at Barrett." Bill Jones 'We are grateful': Gov. Bill Lee celebrates DS Electera plant opening in Shelbyville: Barrett Firearms plans Manchester Highway building This rendering shows Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc. plans for a 250,000-square-foot building at 8808 Manchester Pike in the Christiana community on the southeast side of Rutherford County. The report from Younger Associates also said the expansion will increase Barrett Manufacturing's workforce to about 400 employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investment is expected to generate more than $5 million in revenue, or about $5.95 for every $1 in property taxes abated, according to the report. In 2023, Barrett Firearms sold the business to NIOA, a global firearms, weapons and munitions company headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, according to a press release from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. The press release included comments from department Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter and Gov. Bill Lee. The governor this week said Barrett Firearms will provide "high-quality jobs for families across Rutherford County." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tennessee is shaped by brands like Barrett that have made significant investments in ourskilled workforce for decades," Lee said. Bill Lee 2019 economic development: Icee to bring 200-plus jobs, headquarters to La Vergne Planning commissioners await Barrett building plans This DNJ file photo from July 29, 2014, shows Barrett Firearms founder Ronnie Barrett, right, demonstrating to former U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, left, one of his firearms during the production phase while Beth Harwell, the former Tennessee Speaker of the House of Representatives looks on from the left. McWhorter said it's no surprise that Barrett attracted the attention of NIOA as a Tennessee manufacturer "strengthening our business climate and economy over the years." A new Barrett building plan has not yet come before the Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission, chairman Pettus Read said. "We'll look at it," Read said. "Our engineers will look at it, too. It sounds like an opportunity for Rutherford County. We have to wait and see." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Development issues: Home builders oppose PlanRutherford proposal curtailing 'landowners' property rights' Comments from CEO and elected officials Robert Nioa Several public officials commented on the project in prepared statements issued in a press release announcing the plans. They include the following: Robert Nioa, the chief executive officer for the NIOA Group: We are thrilled to announce the expansion of Barretts operations in the Murfreesboro regionand look forward to the positive impact this project will have on the local economy and beyond.The Barrett Manufacturing & Technology Campus will serve as our primary firearmsmanufacturing site globally and demonstrates our commitment as a major Americanmanufacturer catering to both the commercial and military markets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Rep. Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro: Barrett has been an excellent business partner in Rutherford County for decades, producingstate-of-the-art products for our military and law enforcement. Im thrilled to see they are furtherinvesting in our community and creating 183 jobs for local families, and I look forward to seeingtheir continued success for many years to come. Bryan Terry 2024 election results: All 6 GOP state lawmakers for Rutherford up for election keep their TN General Assembly seats This rendering from May 2016 shows a Barrett Firearms Inc. Fieldcraft, a lightweight rifle designed to provide maximum accuracy in a package optimized for each specific caliber. State Sen. Shane Reeves, R-Murfreesboro: The right to bear arms is key to American democracy, and Barrett provides quality products to ensure this right to Tennesseans. Investing $76.4 million and creating 183 new jobs in and aroundRutherford County truly shows their dedication to Tennessee and the country. Shane Reeves Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are thrilled about Barretts expansion in Rutherford County. For over 40 years, this companyhas made a significant economic impact on our community, and we look forward to the futuregrowth of Barrett and NIOA. Joe Carr Landfill politics heats up: 'Should Rutherford County be Nashvilles trash can?' Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription. This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Barrett Firearms gets Tennessee tax break for $76M factory, new jobs ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) In this weeks Basin Bites, we visited Benitos, an Italian restaurant in Odessa that offers some of the most authentic tastes and dishes in West Texas. Owner Arben Benito opened his restaurant six weeks ago, having previously operated in other cities such as Lubbock and Dallas. Basin Bites: La Herradura Benito himself has been in the restaurant business his entire life. From working in the kitchen to managing and now owning his own business. When we asked Benito what it means to go through the ranks in the restaurant business, this is what he had to say: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I mean I love it because I dont know nothing else to do. Im just a chef, just a cook but lately Ive been working in the back, in the kitchen, in the front you know. I have like more in the kitchen, but I have people that work in the kitchen too. You can find Benitos located at 2901 E Interstate 20 Odessa, TX 79766. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A Baton Rouge man was arrested after being accused of intentionally setting a fire that claimed the life of a dog. According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, Chavelle Holliday, 42, was arrested on charges of simple arson, unlawful communications and simple criminal damage to property. On Jan. 16, fire investigators responded to a structure fire in the 2000 block of Kaufman Street. Upon arrival, investigators conducted an exam of the scene. The fire resulted in total loss and the death of a dog. According to the BRFD, the fire was determined to have been intentionally set. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An affidavit states investigators interviewed with the victim who said she and Holliday have had previous incidents which led to a restraining order against Holliday. The victim could not confirm Hollidays role in the fire but believed his involvement was likely, considering their history. On March 24, investigators obtained recordings of Holliday admitting to burning the victims home and damaging the victims vehicle. Holliday was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. No bond amount has been set, according to jail records. 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 Louisiana First News. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) New restaurants and businesses are joining in the growing hospitality industry on the Grand Strand. This year, owners are fortunately being hit with crowds year-round. Unfortunately, some are also being hit with imposed tariffs on imports. We want to slowly, slowly transition into the summer season where its busy everywhere, and to do that we want to make sure that we are ready, Lav Hysa, owner of Santorini Greek Kuzina. Ready to accommodate hungry customers wanting a taste of authentic Greek food, Hysa opened Santorini Greek Kuzina just a couple weeks ago, just in time for spring breakers and before the summer peak season. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are very happy with the feedback so far and we are very happy to hear we have achieved our goal, which is travel our customers to Greece, he said. The restaurant takes all who turn off North Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach to the Greek islands. From the details in decor, to the imported ingredients, the dining experience is transformative. The whole branzino coming in is imported, and the oregano, the olive oil, Hysa explained. They can taste the flavor on the plate. But bringing the authentic taste also comes with its challenges. You have to find the right importers and distribution. It is very hard, and now with the tariffs, it also brings the cost quite high, which also reflects on the customer, Hysa explained. We knew that something like this might happen, but we didnt take it into consideration from day one so at this moment we are taking the hit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March, President Trump threatened a 200 percent tariff on wine and liquor sales from the European Union in response to the regions retaliatory 50 percent tariff on U.S. whiskey. This has left some restaurants caught in the trade war. Hysa said he is not willing to sacrifice quality, as it is the number one thing he wants to offer to his customers, despite 90 percent of their wine being imported from Greece. Restaurants are the hardest industry, and I have people approach me and they want to open a restaurant because they want to make money and I tell them if you do it for the money dont open a restaurant, Hysa said. You need to have the passion and love to create something great, to create an experience, something memorable for the customers. Echoing a similar sentiment, Peter Brown, also known as Grandpa Moustache, has lived on the Grand Strand since 2020 and is the owner of Grandpa Moustaches Cheesecakes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opening the doors of Grandpa Moustaches Cheesecakes after owning a similar business when he lived in New York, Brown decided to bring his specialty homemade dessert to the Grand Strand. I knew it was going to be successful because we have so many different varieties that you dont really see down here, he said. You can find this variety at the storefront located along Highway 17 in North Myrtle Beach. It was kind of like it was meant to be because it just happened to be available and a great location right on the highway with great parking so everything just kind of worked out, Brown said. Working alongside his wife, Brown held their grand opening in February. Since then, he said business has been a success. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its been a lot more than we ever expected at this point, Brown explained. I thought it would take a little to catch on but we have so many people coming back. We have people coming back three of four times. Now gearing up for peak season, these businesses arent the only news ones at the beach. A new brunch spot, Uptown Bistro & Bakery, recently opened along North Kings Highway near 70th Avenue in Myrtle Beach and is under the same owners as Soho Steak & Seafood and Clearwater Oyster Bar & Grill. * * * Adriana Cotero is News13s weekend evening anchor and a morning reporter. She joined the team in July 2023 after working in the island of Guam. Adriana is from Saline, Michigan, and graduated from Central Michigan University. Follow Adriana on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram and read more of her 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. In an unusual move, China regulators will review the sale of port operations linked to the Panama Canal to a consortium led by a U.S investor. Chinas State Administration for Market Regulation posted comments on its website that it planned to review the $23 billion sale by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to BlackRock and ocean carrier MSC, based in Geneva. The review was first reported by the Financial Times, which added that such a review of Hong Kong companies was out of the ordinary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier reports said Hutchison (OTC: CKHUF), controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, would not sign off on the deal April 2 as announced March 4 when it proposed selling control of its Hutchison Port Holdings marine terminals outside China to BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and TiL, the terminals arm of MSC, the worlds largest container liner operator. The sale, which includes terminal operations at the ports of Balboa and Cristobal in Panama, followed public pressure from President Donald Trump, who has said the U.S. should retake control of the Panama Canal. Panama is also scrutinizing the Hutchison port concessions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The delay follows weeks of public opposition to the sale by Beijing. The agreement has not been scrapped, according to reports in the South China Morning Post and Reuters. Earlier, Chinese authorities warned away state-owned firms from any new deals connected to Li and his family, Bloomberg reported. Mustafa Riffat, managing director of BlackRocks Global Infrastructure Partners investment unit, confirmed to FreightWaves that the proposed sale only includes terminals, and that the company would have no other comment. CK Hutchison did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This article was updated March 30 to add comments from a BlackRock spokesman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This article was updated March 29 to add that China will review the proposed sale of port terminals by CK Hutchison. Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here. Related coverage: Port of Savannah sets record container, rail and truck moves in February Trump tariff fears plague ocean container rates Trade groups, businesses speak to both sides of proposed US port fees Port Authority of New York and New Jersey signs 33-year lease with APM Terminals The post China to review sale of Panama Canal shipping terminals to US investor: Report appeared first on FreightWaves. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Iran requires significant infrastructure improvements to boost its trade turnover with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), according to Jamshid Nafar, Secretary General of Iran Export Confederation told reporters, Trend reports. Nafar underscored the significance of putting the free trade agreement between Iran and the EAEU into action as a giant leap forward. However, he pointed out that Iranian entrepreneurs are currently in a pickle due to a lack of refrigerated trucks, which are crucial for shipping perishable goods. He noted that Russia, a key member of the Eurasian Economic Union, imports products worth $300 billion annually. With adequate infrastructure and considering the strong political ties between the two nations, Iran could capitalize on these opportunities much more effectively. However, at present, Iran's annual trade turnover with Russia exceeds just $1 billion, signaling that the full potential of these opportunities is not being fully utilized. If Irans Trade Promotion Organization took substantial steps to improve storage facilities, logistics, and the creation of opportunities for companies in the export sector, it would significantly enhance the countrys export potential, he said. To note, on December 25, 2023, a free trade agreement was signed between Iran and the EAEU in Saint Petersburg, Russia. After the agreement comes into force, it's predicted that trade turnover will reach $18-20 billion within five to seven years. President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian has announced the law on a free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union to various circles in Iran for implementation on March 15, 2025. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BELL COUNTY, Texas (FOX 44) The Bell County Burn Ban has been officially lifted. According to the Bell County Fire Marshals Office, the ban was lifted at approximately 10 a.m. Friday. Citizens can call 254-933-5555 to report all controlled burns on their properties. Citizens are urged to leave their names, addresses and phone numbers for contact. Only trees, brush and natural vegetation are allowed to be burned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can view the order from the Office of the County Judge below. (Courtesy: Bell County Fire Marshals 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. Environmental groups and public lands advocates rallied at the Arizona Capitol March 27 to call on local, state and national elected officials to protect public lands as concerns grow over Trump administration plans to open those lands to mining and natural resource extraction. Addressing a crowd of about 200 people, the message from organizers was clear: "Keep public lands in public hands." The Arizona Rally for Public Lands and Waters was the work of multiple groups with interest in preserving public lands, including American Hunters and Anglers Action Network, CHISPA AZ and Canyon Coolers. The nonpartisan rally also featured former Havasupai Tribal Council member Carletta Tilousi, a lifelong advocate for the Grand Canyon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You need to call your congressional people and let them know, do not touch our lands over here, because they were put aside for a reason," Tilousi told the crowd. "It's not just a Havasupai issue, it's not just an Indigenous people issue, it's an Arizona people issue." About 38% of Arizona's land is managed by federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Defense, according to the Congressional Research Service. In recent weeks, federal actions have targeted Arizona's federal public lands for domestic mining expansion, transfer to private ownership and workforce reductions. A 2024 Grand Canyon Trust poll showed 91% of Arizonans believed that the government has a responsibility to protect public land. The same poll showed 75% of Arizonans disapprove of selling public lands, including a 57% of Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation contributed over $14 billion to Arizona's economy in 2023 and employed over 100,000 people. "There could be nothing more democratic than our public lands. They're available to all, but only if we keep them that way," said Land Tawney of American Hunters and Anglers Action Network when speaking to the crowd. "It belongs to all of us, it's a shared heritage." People rally outside the Arizona state Capitol supporting the protection of Arizona's public lands on March 27, 2025, in Phoenix. Trump administration reviews public land for mining Since taking office, President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders calling for increased mining on federal public land, citing economic needs and national security. Trump issued an order March 20 to expedite mining on federal lands to reduce reliance on foreign minerals, and in February, another order called for an investigation into the national security implications of importing copper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public lands: Copper Creek mine foes say project would disrupt San Pedro River conservation Arizona is the biggest producer of copper in the U.S., so the orders could mean more mining in the state under an expedited permitting process that advocates fear could damage wildlife, waterways and fragile ecosystems. "Arizona and the Southwest is under threat of existing mining and future mining, which often puts economic interest above indigenous communities and public lands in general," said D.J. Portugal, organizing director of CHISPA AZ, a grassroots environmental justice advocacy group. "It's really important that we make sure that that push and fight for clean energy doesn't directly impact public lands." People rally outside the Arizona state Capitol supporting the protection of Arizona's public lands on March 27, 2025, in Phoenix. One of Interior Secretary Doug Burgham's first secretarial orders called for a review of national monuments and other public lands where new national resource extraction is prohibited. Arizona is home to 19 national monuments, including six that have been created since 2000. The Antiquities Act of 1906 gives presidents the power to create national monuments from existing federal lands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reports have indicated that Trump administration may attempt to rescind two recent National Monument designations in California, leaving advocates for the Baaj Nwaavjo Itah Kukveni Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument concerned that protected area may be next. "This administration doesn't seem to have that knowledge or perspective of leaving something behind for our next generation to enjoy," said Tilousi, who spent years advocating for the monument's designation, in an interview after the rally. "If other monuments are on the chopping block, there's a great chance that all monuments are on the chopping blocks." Public lands cuts: Mass firings halt work, raise safety concerns in Arizona's national parks and forests People rally outside the Arizona State Capitol, supporting the protection of Arizonaas public lands on March 27, 2025, in Phoenix, Ariz. Mass firings at Arizona's national parks and forests Among the issues raised at the rally was the Trump administration's recent mass firings of federal employees working for the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Described as a "Valentine's Day Massacre," the mass firings in February saw an estimated 1,000 probationary employees terminated from the National Park Service by the Department of Interior, including interpretive rangers, biology technicians and visitor center staff at Arizona's National Parks. An estimated 3,400 employees were terminated from the Forest Service the same weekend. People rally outside the Arizona state Capitol supporting the protection of Arizona's public lands on March 27, 2025, in Phoenix. Protests and rallies in support of the fired employees were organized nationwide, including crowds at Arizona's Grand Canyon and Saguaro National Parks. The sudden loss of employees meant some public land offices struggled with daily activities. Immediately following the terminations, reports of long lines at the south entrance to Grand Canyon National Park gained national attention. On Febr. 20, Saguaro National Park announced that both its visitor centers would be closed on Mondays until further notice. The park's statement did not provide a reason for the closure, but some commenters speculated the reduction in hours was due to the mass firings. Essential news every Tuesday: Sign up for AZ Climate, The Republic's environment and climate newsletter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 13, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the terminated probationary employees, but advocates worry that the confusion from the firings, resignations and buyout offers are coercing staff to leave of their own will or face an uncertain future. "We're surrounded by public lands all around. I can walk out my back door and be on public lands. It's just been a large guiding part of my life, like exploring trails, being in the Grand Canyon. They're all reasons why I live in Arizona," said Neha Khurana, a Flagstaff resident who attended the rally. "I don't think people realize how much we need our forest and park staff to help maintain access to these places," Khurana said. "Not only are there so many people who have lost their jobs, but we'll see those effects in our parks very soon." John Leos covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to john.leos@arizonarepublic.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Advocates rally at Capitol to support protecting Arizona's public land BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) A Berkeley County man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday for the murder of his girlfriend in 2021. 40-year-old Aubrey Dupree Tucker was found guilty of murdering Jessica Ancrum on June 9, 2021, in Goose Creek. Jurors also declared Tucker to be guilty of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a violent crime. Tucker was out on bond for murder, attempted murder, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in Charleston County when the murder took place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the four-day trial, testimony revealed that Tucker had been at his mothers house on Old Back River Road, which is where he lived with the victim, his mother, and stepfather. At the time, Tucker was on house arrest and ordered to wear an ankle monitor. Ms. Ancrum was about to leave the home when a verbal altercation occurred between her and Tucker. Tucker shot Ms. Ancrum five times during the argument, hitting her twice in the chest, twice in the back, and once in the leg, according to the Ninth Circuit Solicitors Office. After firing, Tucker fled on foot with the gun. Immediately, Tuckers mother and stepfather called 911. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The jury heard the emotional call where the defendants mother hysterically reported that the victim had been shot and that her son, Aubrey Tucker, was the shooter, the solicitors office said. She was so distraught that her husband eventually had to take the phone away to relay the facts to dispatchers. Berkeley County deputies utilized K9s to search for Tucker but could not locate him. Additional information showed that Tucker cut off his ankle monitor in North Charleston. Two days later, Tucker was apprehended in Columbia with the help of US Marshals. Senior Assistant Solicitor Wilton H. McNeely praised the bravery of the defendants mother and stepfather for doing the right thing and reporting this senseless crime to authorities immediately after it occurred, a statement from the office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Honorable Dale Van Slambrook sentenced Tucker. Senior Assistant Solicitor Wilton H. McNeely and Assistant Solicitor Olivia Lynch prosecuted this case for the Ninth Circuit Solicitors 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 WCBD News 2. Berks County officials joined a delegation this week in Harrisburg seeking help from state lawmakers to solve a growing crisis. Like counties across the state, Berks has been struggling for years with a severe shortage of space at youth detention centers. The situation has left the county scrambling, sometimes even resorting to having young offenders spend weekends inside the youth probation office. To address the issue, Berks has teamed up with Dauphin and Lehigh counties to reopen and operate its former youth detention center on County Welfare Road in Bern Township that shuttered its doors in 2012. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And on Monday, a delegation of officials and judges went to the Capitol to appeal to legislators to allocate $6.3 million to each of the three counties through the state budget, grants or alternative funding streams to open a regional youth detention center. Its really hard to get regional cooperation among counties, and not only cooperation but bipartisan agreement, Berks County Commissioner Dante Santoni Jr. told the lawmakers. This really shows how important this endeavor is to our three counties and the broader region. Snatoni noted that ensuring public safety is his most important job. It is the right thing to do, Santoni said. If our communities are unsafe, no one is going to want to live there; no one is going to want to come to visit us there; no one is going to want to create a business there. If that happens, our communities fall apart, so we need to keep them safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the proposed center would house 30 juvenile offenders, with the number of beds evenly divided between the three counties. The center was opened in 1990. However, with decreasing numbers of juvenile offenders and an increased focus in the criminal justice system on restorative justice and putting juveniles in the least restrictive environment possible, the facility closed in 2012. The center is now in need of substantial repairs and upgrades. Berks commissioners approved an emergency declaration last year allowing officials to expedite the restoration of the detention center. The rapid response to restore the center came after several county officials directly involved in the juvenile criminal justice system sounded the alarm that there is a desperate need for access to juvenile detention space amid a severe statewide shortage and a recent increase in young offenders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lehigh County President Judge Brian Johnson echoed those sentiments to lawmakers on Monday. The juvenile justice system is a victim of its own success, he said. The focus on balanced and restorative justice and the use of evidence-based practices curtailed the number of beds necessary for detention. Unfortunately, there is still a critical need for detention beds given the violent offences committed by juveniles. He said that the shortage of available beds is compounded by the increasing rate and more serious scope of juvenile crime. Further challenges include detention centers being consistently full, situated far from counties in need and instituting highly selective admission requirements. Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams told lawmakers that he has seen an influx in the number of juvenile offenders recently and in the severity of the crimes they commit. He said violent offenses committed by juveniles involving a firearm has increased at an alarming rate in recent years. The sad reality is they dont comprehend the consequences of pulling that trigger, Adams said. Former President Joe Biden long faced White House concerns about not only his acuity but his longevity, according to a new book. Aides to Vice President Kamala Harris constructed a death-pool roster of judges who could swear her in if he died, Jonathan Allen of NBC News and Amie Parnes of The Hill wrote in Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House. According to excerpts shared by the Guardian on Thursday, former Harris communications director Jamal Simmons had planned for Bidens possible demise to the point that the roster of judges was drawn up. In 2023 Democratic National Committee officials had already begun formulating contingencies for a Biden withdrawal from a reelection bid, the book claimed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Simmons never told the vice president about the death-pool roster before leaving her camp in January 2023 but he advised colleagues that he should be notified immediately if something happened to Biden, because he had worked out an entire communications strategy, the authors wrote. And he left the spreadsheet with another Harris aide. HuffPost reached out to Simmons for comment. Former Harris communications director Jamal Simmons had a succession strategy fully formulated before he left his job as communications director for Harris, according to a new book. Shedrick Pelt via Getty Images The book, due out April 1, also provided details about the aftermath of Bidens doddering debate against Donald Trump that prompted the incumbents withdrawal from the race. At a reception hosted by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy a few days after the debacle, Biden reportedly required florescent tape on the carpet colorful bread crumbs showed the leader of the free world where to walk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He knows to look for that, one aide said, per the book. Joe Biden required a "bread crumb"-strewn path to find his way at a reception a few days after the debate debacle. SAUL LOEB via Getty Images Related... Trump has been targeting law firms that hired alumni of Robert Mueller's team that investigated him. The president claims firms are clamoring to cut deals like one reached by Paul Weiss. Two just sued. Jenner hired a more liberal firm, Cooley, and WilmerHale hired the conservative superstar Paul Clement. Two law firms targeted by President Donald Trump launched legal counterattacks against the White House on Friday over executive orders designed to make their work harder with one hiring a top conservative attorney to plead their case. In February, Trump started issuing executive orders against law firms he claimed engaged in illegal discrimination and had wronged him. The orders limit security clearances to the firms' lawyers and require federal contractors to disclose whether they use the law firms. The White House has said that it will fire contractors who employ law firms that are subject to the orders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WilmerHale, which employed Robert Mueller and other lawyers on the Justice Department team that investigated Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and its ties to Russia, was named in an order Thursday night. By Friday morning, it had sued, saying Trump's attack was "unprecedented and unconstitutional." Jenner & Block, which was named in an executive order earlier this week, also filed suit Friday morning. The firm protested that the entire order seems to be based on the notion that a Mueller lieutenant, Andrew Weissmann, still works at Jenner when he left four years ago. "The order has had, and will continue to have, a chilling effect on whether and how Jenner & Block will litigate on behalf of certain clients, and is having a chilling effect on attorneys and other persons considering employment with the firm," Jenner said in its lawsuit. The two firms' lawsuits come a week after Paul Weiss, a New York-based firm known for its progressive bona fides, reached a deal with the White House in which it agreed to devote $40 million in attorney time to pro bono work that aligns with the president's causes, like supporting veterans and fighting antisemitism. The firm was criticized by some lawyers, but its chairman, Brad Karp, has said the deal was necessary to avert a crisis in confidence that could lead partners and clients to leave and the firm to collapse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump said Wednesday that colleges and "horrible" law firms are eager to cut deals after he threatened to withhold funding or target them in follow-up executive orders. The New York Times reported on Thursday that Skadden, one of the best-known corporate law firms whose equity partners take home over $5 million a year on average, is also looking for ways to avoid the president's wrath. "They're saying, 'Where do I sign, where do I sign," the president said of law firms. "Nobody can believe it. And there's more coming." Other firms have braced themselves for the possibility that they will be named in an executive order. A lawyer at a top 20 firm previously told Business Insider that their firm had prepared documents to file if Trump turned on them. Jenner and WilmerHale's lawsuits said Trump violated the constitution in multiple ways, retaliating against them for their speech, views, and associations in violation of the First Amendment and the due-process protections of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. Jenner said that some 40% of its business came from government contractors, who were plainly meant to be pressured into dumping Jenner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the firms are also represented by two very different groups of lawyers. Jenner is represented by a team at Cooley, a law firm known for its representation of clients in the technology industry. Cooley has hired lawyers from Democratic administrations and hired Andrew Goldstein, another attorney on Mueller's team. Bloomberg Law reported that Cooley is among several Big Law firms that have edited certain attorney bios to de-emphasize connections to Trump's enemies. WilmerHale is known for its connections with Democratic administrations and its affiliations with some of Trump's enemies. But the firm hired Paul Clement, a legal superstar who was the government's top appeals lawyer during the George W. Bush administration, to defend it from Trump's attacks. "This lawsuit is absolutely critical to vindicating the First Amendment, our adversarial system of justice, and the rule of law," Clement told Business Insider in a statement. Among his legal wins, Clement has convinced the Supreme Court to limit regulators' power, give the president authority to remove the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and relax New York's gun laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His firm, Clement & Murphy, is stocked with lawyers who have argued before the Supreme Court. "It is plain as day that President Trump issued the Order to retaliate against WilmerHale," the firm's lawsuit said. "Unlike a typical case where discovery is needed to root out a forbidden retaliatory motive, the Order openly proclaims its retaliatory intent." Read the original article on Business Insider Utah reasserted its place at the tip of the spear in the battle against Big Tech this legislative session with a pair of pioneering bills aimed at protecting parental consent and user data. Gov. Spencer Cox signed the states first-in-the-nation App Store Accountability Act into law on Wednesday and signed the states similarly unprecedented Data Sharing Amendments law on Thursday. Critics of the proposals predict they will end up in the same place as Utahs earlier efforts in 2023 and 2024 to mandate social media safety features for minors, which courts have paused out of constitutional concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advocates argue that the Beehive States latest attempt to rein in software giants is lawsuit-proof because of its focus on contracts instead of content. The new laws, they say, will give Utahns important tools to prevent exploitation at the hands of companies that profit from private information and unhealthy screen time. Parent permission on app stores SB142, App Store Accountability Act, mirrors legislation introduced by Utah Sen. Mike Lee at the federal level that was proposed by a coalition of child protection groups led by Utahn Melissa McKay. The new law will require app stores to verify whether a user is an adult, using the same information required to set up an app store account. Minor accounts must be affiliated with a parent account and will be placed in one of three age categories: child (under 13), younger teenager (13-16) or older teenager (16-18). App stores will be required to obtain verifiable parental consent if a minor attempts to download an app or make an in-app purchase. The consent process must inform parents of the apps age rating and a description of how the app will use and protect their childs information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was kind of a radical new concept, McKay said in an interview with the Deseret News. It took us a long time to realize it doesnt matter what we do as a coalition ... these companies arent fixing themselves. Under the new law, app developers will be required to verify a users age category and parental consent status with app stores once a year or whenever the apps terms of use agreement is updated. The law also creates a new right of action for parents of harmed minors to sue app stores or developers if they violate these provisions by enforcing contracts against minors without parental consent, by misrepresenting the app when asking for consent or by sharing personal age verification data inappropriately. While we need to embrace technology as part of our future and as something important in our society, we also need to protect children, said Aimee Winder Newton, director of Utahs Office of Families, in an interview with the Deseret News. And thats whats so great about Utah, is we recognize that protecting children is No. 1. Pushback from Google and Apple During the 2025 legislative session, the bill received the support of app developers, like Meta, Snap Inc. and X, who were happy to see the responsibility for verifying identity moved to one central location and called for other states to implement Utahs solution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parents want a one-stop-shop to oversee and approve the many apps their teens want to download, the three companies said in a joint statement. This approach spares users from repeatedly submitting personal information to countless individual apps and online services. But the countrys main app store companies, Apple and Google, were strongly against the bill and put forward their own proposals that would have made age verification between stores and developers optional. In a blog post following the bills passage, Googles public policy director, Kareem Ghanem, said the bill introduced new privacy risks for minors by informing every developer of users ages without parents permission. Meanwhile, Apple also suggested that Utahs law forced app stores to unnecessarily collect and distribute sensitive personally identifying information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caden Rosenbaum, a senior policy analyst at the Utah-based Libertas Institute, told the Deseret News that the bill simply recodified current contract law while potentially compromising internet anonymity and expanding government interference in the private sector and in the home. In an ideal world, the government would not be in the business of parenting. I think that is the fundamental disagreement here, Rosenbaum said. There are relevant issues that we need to discuss and we shouldnt be just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks when it comes to the way that we do it. While Rosenbaum questioned the bills ability to survive constitutional scrutiny, the sponsor of the legislation, state Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, said he doesnt expect the law to receive the same fate as the states previous attempts to regulate minors experience on social media. Unlike those policies, SB142 is difficult to attack on First Amendment grounds, Weiler said. But the bill was given a delayed implementation date of May 6, 2026, to give the social media companies time to react. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several other states, including Texas, are likely to pass legislation based on Utahs this year and could receive legal challenges first because of earlier implementation dates. Data control on social media On the final night of the legislative session, Cox praised Weilers bill while also giving recognition to HB418, sponsored by Rep. Doug Fiefia, R-Herriman. This was a top priority of our administration, Cox said. I cant underscore how big this is; I dont think people really understand what this could do if we could get it done in other states and as a nation. HB418, Data Sharing Amendments, reaffirms an individuals right to control the data social media companies collect on them by requiring companies to provide or delete this data upon request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will also mandate that social media companies remove barriers that prevent users from sharing their own data, like followers, posts and messages, from one platform to another to prevent companies from guarding user data. Once signed, the law will require social media companies to develop accessible, prominent, and persistent methods for getting consent to share personal data with any third-party. The Division of Consumer Protection will be empowered to fine bad actors up to $2,500 for each violation or to bring a legal motion to enforce the law. This bill isnt about punishing businesses, but it does challenge exploitative business models that rely on unchecked data harvesting, Fiefia told the Deseret News. There are still plenty of sustainable, responsible ways to innovate and succeed without compromising individual rights. Fiefia worked with many of the same stakeholders as Weiler, he said, but, like Weiler, Fiefia said he did not see a compromise path forward to implement these protections voluntarily. HB418 also has a delayed implementation date, taking effect July 1, 2026, to give developers time to update their platforms and to suggest tweaks to lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fiefia plans to convene with legislators from across the country later this year to share best practices as multiple states, leaning Republican and Democrat, have expressed interest in copying Utahs legislation, Fiefia said, adding that he has not heard of any legal action being taken in response to the bill. For countless Utah parents, legislative efforts to hold social media accountable are very encouraging, according to Jenna Baker, a Heber City resident studying for a masters in public health. As the mother of four children between 7 and 16, Baker said watching the impact of social media on the countrys youngest and most vulnerable has been heart-wrenching. Its so disheartening because I wonder how many tragedies could have been avoided if we would have had this conversation 15 years prior, Baker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baker said she hopes the new laws are just the beginning for public policy that seeks to help parents manage a problem that looks much more like a public health crisis than a moral panic over new technology. While the responsibility for a childs experience on a phone ultimately comes down to the parent, Baker said that additional tools to level the playing field with huge corporations are long overdue. Its now like, how do we pick up the pieces and move forward so that our youth have a brighter and more healthy future? Baker said. COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) A bill in the House aims to keep gun owners information private. This new bill would limit banks from having what some supporters call financial surveillance. 19 states have passed a bill called the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act. It would ban banks from tracking purchases of firearms and ammunition. Make sure that gun owners have their rights or fully stored and that, retailers also arent being punished, or that credit card companies arent offering incentives to flag these kinds of purchases, said Representative Case Brittain (R Horry). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Supporters of the bill said they are worried banks could interfere because of their ability to keep track of gun purchases. It prevents Government entities that arent doing the regular course of business and recordkeeping and criminal logs, ones that are already in existence, from creating their own list. It protects the data for the individual gun owners rights, Brittain added. Neil Rashley, General Counsel for South Carolina Bankers Association, said that his office is not in opposition, but is worried about the wording of the bill. Im concerned because it creates a cause of action on our industry should this occur. However, we do feel fairly confident that at least banks are not doing this in the state or really anywhere right now. And right now, the card networks arent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Representative Jason Luck (D Chesterfield) showed concern about the section which said The Attorney General shall investigate reasonable allegations. Luck added, does that language give you any concern in terms of vagueness or mandatory investigation? Rashley added, No, sir, I mean, were very accustomed to similar language, and, with the Attorney Generals Office and how they assess looking into allegations. As it stands, the language in the bill did not change and the Attorney Generals Office would be in charge of investigating violations of the bill. California has adopted the opposite language where credit card companies are required to track firearm purchases. 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 WSPA 7NEWS. A lawmaker in North Carolina introduced a new bill to standardize how and when parents are notified of threats or emergencies at local schools. This comes in the wake of a Channel 9 report about shooting threats targeting five different Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools campuses. Channel 9s Evan Donovan has been covering this since the beginning and spoke with the lawmaker, who is also the mother of a CMS student. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Sen. Woodson Bradleys daughter goes to Ardrey Kell High School, so she was one of many parents who first found out about recent threats by seeing our stories. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Now, Bradley wants to standardize how its done statewide. I want to be crystal clear, this is not a finger-pointing bill, this is a partnership bill, Bradley said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we first spoke to Bradley after our investigation, she told us she had already been working on legislation to address threat notifications. This week, she introduced the school transparency act. It would be statewide. If a credible threat came in, obviously, the school contacts law enforcement first. Depending on whether theres an active investigation going on, they would notify parents within the hour. If there was an active investigation, parents would be notified within an hour of arrest or as soon as the investigation is concluded, Bradley said. The bill requires parents to be notified by at least two methods, one of them being a phone call, whenever theres a high-level emergency. The bill leaves that up to school districts to define. Bradley says new policies already implemented by CMS would meet that particular requirement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donovan got clarification from CMS on Friday. The district says its threat communication process map and communication matrix for threats were newly created in response to Februarys threats. They show a high-level threat toward a class or school would require notification to the whole school. It would come as an urgent alert, delivered through the ParentSquare app, email, and by phone. And, after an emergency, the school has to furnish a report: what they found, where it came from, what they did, how they made everything better. And thats really gonna start bringing this conversation together, Bradley said. The bill also required districts to file an end-of-year report listing the number of threats, lockdowns, and evacuations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Districts that dont comply could be fined up to $5,000. That money would go into a new school security fund for use statewide. Several days after this story initially aired, CMS said it supports elements of Sen. Bradleys bill, but noted some provisions may be difficult to achieve. CMS said in its statement: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety and transparency for our students, staff, and families. We are supportive of many aspects of Sen. Bradleys bill, as it aligns with the comprehensive safety protocols and communication practices we already have in place. In fact, with our enhanced communication protocols and matrix, our district goes above and beyond many of the proposed requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That said, there are a few provisions in the bill that raise practical concerns. Specifically, the requirement to notify families within an hour of a threat may be challenging to implement, as threats can arise at all hours of the day and night. Our safety and security teams work around the clock to assess and respond to potential threats. However, ensuring accurate information and collaborating with law enforcement before communicating with families is a critical part of our process, which may occasionally take longer than an hour. Overall, we share the bills goal of prioritizing safety and transparency. Our district remains committed to keeping families informed and continuously strengthening our safety protocols to protect our students and staff. See the CMS Threat Communications Process at this link. See the CMS Threat Communications Matrix at this link. The bill was just referred to its first committee this week. (VIDEO: 14-year-old charged with making mass violence threats against Union County school) BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a detailed phone conversation, focusing on bilateral cooperation, strategic energy projects, and regional developments, Trend reports, citing the Kremlin. Both leaders noted the positive momentum in Russian-Turkish relations, including growing trade. They also discussed Putins dialogue with the U.S. on resolving the Ukraine conflict and normalizing Russian-U.S. relations. The conversation covered the potential revival of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, originally brokered by Turkiye and the UN in 2022, and the removal of barriers to Russian food and fertilizer exports. Erdogan expressed support for Russian-U.S. talks and Turkiye's willingness to facilitate the Black Sea deal. Regarding Syria, both leaders emphasized the importance of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the need to support stability and the rights of all ethnic and religious communities. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has signed legislation to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs and make other sweeping changes to public colleges and universities in Ohio. Students, teachers and civil rights groups had called for a veto by DeWine, whose office announced the signing Friday without further comment by the governor. The American Historical Association, American Civil Liberties Union, the American Association of University Professors, Ohios two largest K-12 teachers unions and Democrats all called on DeWine to reject Senate Bill 1, which also will prohibit faculty strikes and limit classroom discussion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo said DeWine's long career in public service will be tarnished by his decision. The governor now has to live with the consequences that will haunt his legacy because signing SB 1 into law begins the inevitable destruction of Ohios cherished higher education system by legalizing state-sponsored censorship and discrimination, she said in a statement. "(I)t will damage our economy and future by making Ohio an extremely undesirable place to learn and work, and it radically undermines the collective bargaining rights of workers. The measure, which sparked hourslong hearings and protests attended by hundreds of demonstrators, was a priority of the GOP-supermajority Legislature, after dying amid partisan infighting last session. This year, it moved quickly. After being introduced in January, it cleared the Senate in February, cleared the Ohio House with changes 59-34 last week, and was given final approval on a 20-11 vote in the Senate on Wednesday. Besides banning DEI programs and rescinding certain collective bargaining and tenure protections for faculty, the new law also will make schools promise not to influence student views on controversial topics, require every Ohio college student to take a three-hour civics education course and impose dozens of other programmatic and administrative changes. Schools that violate its provisions will risk losing their state funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bills sponsor, state Sen. Jerry Cirino, a Cleveland-area Republican, had said the bill aims to protect intellectual diversity, not dampen it. During Senate debate on the bill in February, Cirino called DEI a debacle that has morphed into institutional discrimination against conservative perspectives. It was a long, hard road but well worth the effort, Cirino said in a statement Friday. I believe this is monumentally significant legislation that will allow Ohios public universities and community colleges to deal with looming enrollment challenges and usher in a renaissance of academic excellence. Republican President Donald Trump has made the same argument as he has taken aim at DEI programs at the federal level, to the relief and delight of many conservatives. A group of federal employees targeted for dismissal because of their involvement in such activities has filed a class-action complaint against the administration. And on Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked another of the presidents DEI-related executive orders affecting federal contractors and grant recipients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ACLU of Ohio Policy Director Jocelyn Rosnick said the bill "sends a clear, harmful message to students that their unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are not welcome in Ohio." Further, the exceedingly vague and contradictory language regarding the banning of so-called controversial beliefs or policies creates a slippery slope for faculty and administration, she said in a statement. This could lead to faculty avoiding any such topics in classrooms for fear of retaliation. Related video: Lincoln Schools completes first semester on four-day schedule from December 2023. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A newly filed bill in the Arkansas legislature could impact schools in the Natural State currently operating under four-day school weeks. House Bill 1864 was filed on March 19 and sponsored by Rep. Wade Andrews (R-Camden) and Sen. Jane English (R-North Little Rock). The title of the bill is To amend provisions of the Arkansas Code to improve efficiency in student instruction; and to create a standardized flexible school calendar system for public schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would require school boards for public and charter schools to adopt a school calendar with a minimum of 178 on-site, in-person instruction days and 1,068 hours of instruction. Under current state law, schools can submit a request for an alternative calendar and use 1,068 hours of instruction instead of 178 days. 126 schools in 47 districts in the state are operating on four-day school weeks for the 2024-25 school year, up from 90 in the 2023-24 school year. Four districts in Northwest Arkansas Greenland, Lincoln, Decatur and Huntsville have adopted four-day school weeks in recent years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the bill were to become law, districts trying to keep a four-day school week while following the mandate would have classes in session for 44 weeks, making summer vacation much shorter. NWA organizations gather to discuss effects of funding cuts Starting with the 2026-27 school year, the first day of school for students would be on or after July 1, and the last day could not be after June 30 if the bill passed. School calendars would have to include at least 30 make-up hours for snow days, in addition to the required days of instruction to be used if school is canceled due to exceptional circumstances, such as inclement weather. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KNWA/FOX24 spoke with Lincoln Schools in December 2023, following the districts first semester operating under a four-day school week. District leaders said at the time that students overall attendance rate was up 81 percent from the same period in 2022 with the change. The bill has been referred to the House Education Committee. It is on the committees agenda for their April 1 meeting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A February report from the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission found alcohol-related vehicular crash deaths rose by 36% between 2019 and 2023. However, a new bill could reduce the number of lives taken by enhancing the penalty for drunk drivers across the state. The pain of losing a loved one in a DUI crash is something one family told News 2 they never want anyone else to go through. Last November, Keanna Morris was hit by an allegedly drunk driver while crossing a street in South Nashville. Her family said Morris was full of life, an active member of her church and enjoyed spending time with others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NOVEMBER 2024 | She took my baby: Mother speaks out after losing daughter to alleged drunk driver She loved traveling. Friends, family, anytime anybody wanted to take a trip, she was like, Im in,' Keannas mother, Karla Dockery-Morris, told News 2. The 33-year-old mother of two suffered multiple pelvic fractures and a broken leg; her spine was also detached at the neck. Her family said she died from her injuries a day later. It was just like a train hit her, said Dockery-Morris. I still cant process it. Im miserable. You cant wish this on your worst enemy. Police said Donna Matlock was behind the wheel. Authorities reported finding open containers of alcohol in the car and Matlock allegedly failed three sobriety tests. She also reportedly told police she used cocaine and drank three to four beers. Matlock was arrested shortly after for her third DUI and for financial responsibility for injury or death both misdemeanor charges. Morris family called it an injustice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think they need to do more, Dockery-Morris told News 2. I dont want nobody [sic] to have to go through this again. A new bill making its way through the legislature could enhance the penalty for people who drive under the influence of alcohol. It would lower the minimum blood alcohol concentration to be considered aggravated vehicular homicide and assault from .20% to .15%. Aggravated vehicular homicide is a Class A felony where offenders could face up to 60 years in prison. As of publication, a person must have a 0.20% BAC or higher when they kill another person while driving in addition to having a prior conviction for DUI, BUI or vehicular assault. Aggravated vehicular assault constitutes a Class C felony in Tennessee, which has a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Someone who causes serious bodily injury to another person while driving with a BAC of at least 0.20% faces a charge of aggravated vehicular assault. They must also have a prior DUI or BUI conviction. Lawmakers have discussed the bill multiple times; in one meeting, Rep. Ron Gant (R-Piperton) said the legislation would send a strong message. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It provides law enforcement with a stronger legal framework to address and prosecute egregiously impaired driving, Gant said. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Morris mother told News 2 that had this legislation been in place when Morris was killed, it may have resulted in justice. Dockery-Morris said the family hopes to have justice one day. [Matlock] gets to go be with her kids, Dockery-Morris said. I have two other daughters and I have sons, but my family is not together. The bill already passed in the Senate. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to discuss the bill on April 2. 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. A bill to regulate booters that patrol Georgia parking lots overwhelmingly passed the state Senate. The bill does not ban booting, but it would place major new restrictions on how booters operate. Right now, booting companies can just run wild. Nobody has to call them. They patrol on their own and they make their own judge, jury, executioner decisions, the bills author state Sen. Josh McLaurin said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would outlaw the practice of booters monitoring or patrolling lots. Landlords would have to call a booter like with a tow truck. It would also ban kickback payments from booters to landlords. Both of those are restrictions that already apply to tow companies. The booting measure was added as an amendment to the unrelated House Bill 551 on the Senate floor and passed by a vote of 48-3. Right now, booting companies are paying up to half their boot, half their fee to property owners as kickbacks. And that has caused a lot of predatory activity, McLaurin said. RELATED NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past 2 years, he has introduced legislation to rein in booting. In 2023, McLaurin filed a bill that would ban booting entirely. In 2024, he introduced a bill similar to this amendment. In a 2024 Senate hearing, landlords and booting operators warned that those booters patrolling lots are the only reasonable way to protect against illegal parkers. If we have to go down the other path, we are just going to tow, and thats going to be a lot worse to the consumer than a boot, said Jack Hanning from InterPark in 2024. McLaurin said the proposed law would stop the worst abuses of booters. All the horror stories you hear about, you walk into the store for four minutes, and theres a boot on your car that will come to an end, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since this was added as an amendment to a bill that already passed the House, it will not need to go through the committee process and only needs a motion to agree by the House sponsor and a vote on the House floor. Discussing his upcoming White House dinner with longtime foe Donald Trump, Bill Maher told NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo that he has credibility with the president and his MAGA bases respect because of his honesty about the woke train to crazy town. Maher also suggested that his sit-down with the president was similar to Richard Nixons historic visit to China in 1972, though he acknowledged that he doesnt think his one-on-one with Trump will do much to heal the country. During his Club Random podcast last week, Maher revealed that he had accepted a meeting with the president, who once sued the Real Time host for $5 million for joking that Trump was the son of an orangutan. Maher also noted that MAGA-loving musician Kid Rock had set up the invitation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kid Rock was here a couple of weeks ago, and he said, I want you to meet Trump,' he noted. He said, Im gonna take you to the White House. So now were gonna do that. He also told comic Andrew Schulz that any criticism he may get from the left from meeting with the president was nothing more than mean girl behavior and that hes not playing this game. Meanwhile, during an appearance on Cuomos podcast this week, he continued to defend dining with a leader he has long assailed for being a threat to democracy. Bill Maher says that he has "credibility" with Donald Trump and his base because he was "honest about the woke train to crazy town." (YouTube) The comedian also invoked what has become his favorite topic in recent years how liberals and Democrats have become too woke, which has made him something of a conservative darling on Fox News. Im doing it because first of all, it was presented as maybe this is a beginning to heal America. Now, I dont have some sort of complex where I think I can heal America, I cant, Maher told Cuomo. Lets get that clear. Im not going to be healing America. But if two guys whove been at each other for so long I mean, its kind of a Nixon to China thing. I have the credentials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adding that there was nobody who was harder on Trump or more prescient about the fact that he wasnt going to leave office voluntarily than I was, Maher reiterated that he had the credentials to sit down with the president. And much of that reason, he insisted, is because of his criticism of liberals. But they also respect me because Im honest about the woke train to crazy town, the 69-year-old comic declared. And I dont shrink from that. And Ive also lost a lot of fans for that. The woke people have left the building, and Im willing to make that sacrifice. But it does give you a certain credibility. Calling it an honor to be invited to the White House, Maher continued to grumble about the scolding hes received from some acquaintances about his upcoming visit with Trump. Ive already had a couple of people who I said to them, you know, Im just gonna take it as a backhanded compliment that you glide right past the idea that little Bill Maher from River Vale, New Jersey, just a humble kid from the suburbs, was invited for a private dinner at the White House, he said. You glide right past that to how dare you talk to him and that youre not impressed by it at all. Im impressed by it a lot. Im impressed the f*** out of it. Maher concluded: I get to go to the White House and, yes, the structure of this dinner is just lets talk. Lets talk to each other face-to-face. Lets stop shouting from 3,000 miles away, you know? So if they expect me to be leaving in a MAGA hat, theyre gonna be very disappointed, but I know they dont Look, it probably will accomplish very little, but you gotta try, man. You gotta try. 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? NEW MEXICO (KRQE) How to manage New Mexicos wild horse population is a question that has been debated for years. However, a new law could give the state a series of new powers to do that work. That bipartisan effort is now awaiting Governor Michelle Lujan Grishams signature. This bill is important because we got an overpopulation of these horses. I am not trying to do away with these horses by any means, said Sen. Pat Woods (R Curry, Harding, Quay & Union County). Sen. Woods is talking about House Bill 284, which would change how the state manages wild horses. The bipartisan bill looks to establish new guidelines for controlling the continuously growing population. What this bill does is provide a mechanism for horses to be adopted or relocated. If theres some place to take them. It also provides for fertility control, which is usually done in the means of a dart, said Rep. Matthew McQueen (D Sandoval and Santa Fe County). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers said their focus is on free-roaming horses in places like Placitas and Ruidoso. Theyre hoping to help manage the property damage the wild animals are causing, while also finding them homes. The only way in this bill you could take them off the range is if you had some place to take them. You cant just round them all up, Rep. McQueen clarified. The New Mexico Cattle Growers Association said it supports the bill. They hope the effort can better protect ranchers who say running into wild horses can be dangerous. If were out gathering cattle and theres a stud, for example, thats roaming out there and he wants to add my horse to his harem. Thats a safety risk for our people, said President-Elect for the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association Tom Paterson. The bill prohibits slaughtering free-roaming horses and makes it a crime. McQueen and Woods believe its a more humane way of caring for animals that arent getting any care. We dont want horses to starve for lack of grass or water. We need to remove some of these horses and put them up for adoption or put them on different rescue spots we have around the state. They just need a good home, said Sen. Woods. Since the bill passed in the last few days of the session, the governor has until April 11 to sign the bill into law. If the bill is signed, the New Mexico Livestock Board will be in charge of creating the guidelines for a free-roaming horse expert who would implement the states horse herd management. 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. State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering, center, hosts a news conference on property taxes. Behind him are, from left: State Sens. Margo Juarez of Omaha, Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, Tom Brandt of Plymouth, Jana Hughes of Seward and Glen Meyer of Pender. Jan. 9, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN The effort to plug a hole left behind from Nebraskas 2024 special session on property taxes a missing year of tax relief will likely not move forward this year. State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering, the sponsor of Legislative Bill 81, confirmed the status of his bill this week. If passed, LB 81 seeks to extend the previous refundable income tax credit for school property taxes paid the previous year for one more year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That program ended with the passage of a bill during the special session that ended in August. LB 81s goal is to capture relief for the roughly 85% of Nebraska taxpayers who pay property taxes in arrears, such as property taxes assessed in December 2023 but paid throughout 2024. Hardin said State Sen. Brad von Gillern of the Elkhorn area, chair of the Revenue Committee, has opted to keep LB 81 in committee and not exec on it, the step toward voting whether to advance the bill. Unfortunately theres nothing we can do if they wont exec on it and send it out, Hardin said this week. If they dont exec on it this year and leave it there, this will continue to be something well pick at into the next half of the biennium. Delay keeps bill alive If the committee were to vote, von Gillern explained, the states projected $457 million budget shortfall for the next two years, prior to any legislative action, means LB 81 would certainly fail. He and the former chair of the Revenue Committee, former State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, have said property tax relief is still coming each fiscal year, just at a different time. State Sen. Brad von Gillern of the Elkhorn area. Aug. 8, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Von Gillern added that should the states fiscal position improve by next year, and Hardins bill remains in committee for now, the bill stays alive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have an opportunity to potentially move it forward at that time, von Gillern said. The best thing we can do right now is leave it in committee. Summer special session LB 81 was spearheaded and later drafted by former State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard before he was term-limited in January. Just weeks after the summer special session, as first reported by the Nebraska Examiner, he found what he blasted as a plain and simple retroactive property tax increase. When lawmakers voted 40-3 in August to approve LB 34, they revamped the previous tax credit program created in 2020 to apply automatically to taxpayer statements. In December, that meant many Nebraskans who did not know or were previously unable to request the tax credits received relief for the first time, which lawmakers and the governor lauded as a major success of the 17-day session of many twists and turns over multiple months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In doing so, lawmakers eliminated the tax credit for any taxes paid in 2024. About 15% of taxpayers who paid 2023 assessed property taxes by the end of that year were able to get relief when they filed their 2024 tax returns. The Nebraska Department of Revenue estimated LB 81 would initially cost $4.5 million for technical changes and to hire nearly 100 temporary staff to handle amended returns and answer taxpayer questions about the change. The new credits that would be distributed under LB 81 would be over a three-year period because most taxpayers would need to file amended returns, the department said, estimated as follows: $102 million in credits during the current fiscal year (ending June 30). $503 million in credits during the next fiscal year (July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026). $32 million in credits during the third fiscal year (July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given this will likely be a slow process, the majority of the refunds will take place during FY 25-26, the fiscal note states. We made a mistake With a chuckle, Hardin said he was one of the ones to miss out on the tax credit. Among taxpayers who did pay early: Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen. State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering. July 31, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Hardin, Erdman and their supporters say the tax relief is owed to all taxpayers. What is fascinating to me is that at no point have I really had anybody who has ever said, No, youre not owed that money. Its just, We cant afford it, Hardin said. LB 81 did not receive a priority designation this year, meaning even if advanced from the Revenue Committee, it would head to the back of the line, behind more than 100 other proposals, as well as the budget, unless it hitched a ride on one of those items. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked whether taxpayers should expect any changes before the April 15 tax filing deadline, Hardin said bluntly: No. Hardin could opt to try to pull the bill from committee, which would require 25 votes, or 30 votes if the Revenue Committee in response voted to indefinitely postpone or kill the bill. Hardin is not planning to file a pull motion at this time but does hope to have some productive conversations in the future. He said advancing the bill would be the most transparent approach for taxpayers who want an answer. We made a mistake, and we need to own that mistake, Hardin said. We need to come up with that money for those people that we passed over, and that would be the right thing to do. K-12 school district property tax credit timing Before, in LB 1107 (2020) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement December 2019 assessed taxes. Most paid in 2020. Income tax credits in 2021. December 2020 assessed taxes. Most paid in 2021. Income tax credits in 2022. December 2021 assessed taxes. Most paid in 2022. Income tax credits in 2023. December 2022 assessed taxes. Most paid in 2023. Income tax credits in 2024. December 2023 assessed taxes. Most paid in 2024. Income tax credits in 2025. After, in LB 34 (2024) December 2023 assessed taxes. No income tax credits available (unless taxes were paid by Dec. 31, 2023). December 2024 assessed taxes. Discount automatically applied upon payment, typically in 2025. December 2025 assessed taxes. Discount automatically applied upon payment, typically in 2026. Proposed, in LB 81 (2025) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement December 2023 assessed taxes. Most paid in 2024. Income tax credits in 2025. December 2024 assessed taxes. Discount automatically applied upon payment, typically in 2025. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) Students in all seven Binghamton elementary schools spent a whopping 3,798 hours reading last month as part of a special Black History Month challenge. The non-profit CARES launched the Black History Month Reading Challenge in collaboration with the Binghamton City School District. Students were encouraged to read books related to African American history. They also logged their minutes of reading, regardless of the subject matter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the end, the kids collectively read an impressive 227,000 minutes. Michael Cooper is a member of the CARES administrative team. It makes us feel good because our main goal here with kids is to bridge the cultural gap between schools and families. This was an eye opener for a lot of people and students. It definitely played into what were doing, said Cooper. Saturday evening, CARES will host a special celebration at NOMA which is located within First Congregational Church at the corner of Front and Main Streets. There will be a potluck dinner and the top two readers from each school will be recognized. Mayor Kraham will also be on hand to read a book to the kids and their families. 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. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) South Dakota State University could soon be teaching students how to raise bison, a species that once populated the North American plains and was hunted to near extinction. Brookings man accused of preying on a teen in NC The university wants to offer two courses. Introduction to Bison Management would provide the foundations of bison management and production theory. Advanced Bison Production would focus on bison management and production techniques specific to bison as well as explore current bison-production systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The South Dakota Board of Regents will consider SDSUs request to add the certificate during its business meeting on Thursday, April 3, at Northern State University in Aberdeen. SDSU would partner with Custer State Park and Bad River Ranches (Turner Enterprises), both of which have large bison herds. The annual fall roundup at Custer State Park draws thousands of visitors. The Center of Excellence for Bison Studies opened in 2020 at the SDSU West River Research and Extension offices in Rapid City as a collaboration between SDSU, National Bison Association and National Buffalo Foundation. The Inter Tribal Bison Council is headquartered at Rapid City. Domestic production of bison is at an all-time high in the United States since the era of market hunting, according to SDSUs application. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The estimated herd size in the United States is approximately 400,000, with 192,477 of those animals owned in private herds located in 1,986 private ranches across the US, it states. Bison meat has entered the US meat industry market share and gains more of that share every year, currently earning premium prices compared to beef. The request notes, Bison Studies is a growing field in academia, and South Dakota State University is uniquely positioned to utilize its existing resources to offer this course. By housing the Center of Excellence for Bison Studies, two dedicated bison faculty, and as the official research partner with the largest bison producer in the world (Turner Enterprises), SDSU has strategically placed itself at the forefront of bison research and teaching capabilities. SDSUs plan calls for offering the introduction course during spring semesters and the more-intensive production course during fall semesters. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Thursday made a point of publicly easing the tense relations between the Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro administrations during a visit to Bogota, the second stop on her tour of Latin America. This biometric data-sharing alliance will help us make an impact to assist Colombia and Colombians in identifying criminals along the borders, she said in a brief statement from San Carlos Palace, the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry, in which she exchanged compliments with Minister Laura Sarabia. Both officials had a meeting in which they discussed security, drug trafficking, trade and human smuggling, and which produced a memorandum of understanding to share more information on migrants. In the afternoon, Noem met with President Petro, although further details were not disclosed. We will work alongside the Colombian people to ensure their security, provide opportunities for growth, and strengthen their economy in partnership with the U.S., Noem said at the press conference. She is the first senior representative of the Trump administration to set foot on Colombian soil since the Republican leader returned to the White House. She is also the first to do so since Bogota and Washington clashed two months ago over repatriation flights, which Petro initially rejected due to the undignified treatment of deported Colombians. We are committed to working hand in hand with our Colombian partners to improve not only border security, but also to support the enforcement of our immigration and criminal laws, the secretary added, referring to Sarabiawho was standing a few feet to her rightas her friend and a strong leader. They were accompanied in the front row by both Colombias new Defense Minister, Pedro Sanchez, and the countrys ambassador to Washington, Daniel Garcia-Pena. The Colombian Foreign Minister expressed her gratitude for the meeting, which she described as open, frank, and productive. Before the cameras, they signed a MOU to advance a mechanism to strengthen immigration information-sharing, a document whose details are still unknown. The secretary emphasized that it involves the possibility of sharing biometric information, which has already resulted in more than 1,700 deportations and 1,000 arrests. This phrase was echoed verbatim by President Petro in his brief press release on the meeting, which also revealed that the president signed the declaration of intent for biometric data cooperation. At the conclusion of her visit to Colombia, Noem will travel to Mexico, where she will meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum. The Secretary of Homeland Securitys friendly tone marked a contrast to the threat of tariffs that Trump had quickly threatened Petro with. Relations between the two capitals experienced a crisis on January 26 that was resolved in less than 24 hours. Luis Gilberto Murillo, Sarabias predecessor, burned his last diplomatic ammunition by leading the national effort to prevent Trump from imposing tariffs and sanctions on that turbulent Sunday, after Petro ordered the early morning return of two military planes carrying deported Colombians. The threat of tariffs alone brought the Colombian economy to the brink. Bogota ultimately yielded to Trumps demands, an early warning of the potential for disagreements between two presidents who are ideologically at odds and both addicted to speaking out on social media. Since then, the expelled Colombians have been flying without chains or shackles, which Petro considers inhumane treatment, but they do so on flights paid for by Colombia. Tempers have cooled, although the South American country is also the most affected on the continent by the cuts to the cooperation agency USAID. Some 1,500 Colombians have returned to the country in these two months, equivalent to about half of the 3,788 nationals expelled from the United States during Trumps first four years in office. Those numbers, however, pale in comparison to the nearly 30,000 Colombians deported during Joe Bidens term, according to figures compiled by the newspaper El Espectador. The fight against drug trafficking and migration are critical issues for the U.S. administration. The flow of migrants through the Darien jungle along the border with Panama and record levels of coca cultivation in Colombia are already anticipated as other sources of tension between Bogota and Washington, traditionally close allies. Adding to the forecast is a possible U.S. de-certification of Colombias efforts against drugs, which is up for review in September, something that hasnt happened since the presidency of Ernesto Samper (1994-1998). Colombian diplomacy is trying to avoid this at all costs. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition DENVER (KDVR) Commerce City police need help solving a bizarre and violent crime that left a man riding a three-wheeler with severe injuries. On Thursday at 8 p.m., the Commerce City Police Department said a man on an ATV three-wheeler was followed into the Rose Hill Grange Park by a minivan. The park is located at 4051 East 68th Ave., east of Miller Reservoir. The police department said on Facebook that the man on the three-wheeler was apparently being chased by the minivan. A second vehicle entered the park from the east, and police said the driver seemed to intentionally run over the rider and the three-wheeler. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said both vehicles then fled the scene, leaving the three-wheeler rider severely injured. The victim was taken to a local hospital and is expected to recover. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Commerce City police are asking for the communitys help in identifying the vehicles in what they called a bizarre case. According to witnesses, the second vehicle was described as a 70s model white-colored Ford Pinto or Maverick. The van is described as a Honda Odyssey. Commerce City police need help identifying this vehicle that was involved in a violent crime on March 27, 2025 (Commerce City Police Department) Rose Hill Grant Park in Commerce City on March 28, 2025. (KDVR) The department released a photo of the reported minivan and said there were no clear images of the second vehicle. However, police believe the second car likely has front-end damage and possibly blue paint on the exterior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Commerce City police tipline at 303-289-3626. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) A Black teenager was attacked and called racial slurs by a group of teens at a subway station in New York City while on his way to school Monday, according to sources. The assault took place at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn at 8:04 a.m., police said. More Crime News PIX11 News obtained cellphone footage of the attack. It shows the 16-year-old victim outnumbered by a group of teens. The teens surround the victim, and he attempts to run. His attackers began chasing the victim and even threw a banana at him before jumping him, the footage shows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group of teens yelled racial slurs during the attack, sources said. PIX11s Nicole Johnson spoke to the mother of the victim. She said her son is traumatized, and she wants justice for her son. The mother said a few people who witnessed the attack intervened to help. The three attackers managed to flee northbound on Neptune Avenue, authorities said. Police arrested one teen on Thursday. He faces charges of robbery, gang assault, and assault as a hate crime, police said. The other two suspects are still at large. Due to the suspect being a minor, his name has not been released. 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). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) San Franciscos Fillmore District was once a gathering place for some of the worlds most prolific leaders. However, it has been struggling over the years, facing business closures and a lack of community funding. Some renewed hope may be on the way the Fillmores vibrant past and what the community is doing today to fight for its future. The Fillmore District was once known as the Black Wall Street of the West a place where Black Americans from across the country came seeking opportunity and a better life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida coach brings team to famed local staple ahead of March Madness matchup in SF Legends like Eartha Kitt and Nat King Cole graced its stages, and civil rights leaders walked these streets. Kevin Jefferson is a historian and member of San Franciscos Hannibal Lodge #1. He says these rooms tell the story of the city, but more importantly, the story of the Fillmore. People came from all over just to live in the Fillmore we had everything, Jefferson said. But that Fillmore is gone, its Black-owned businesses and rich culture pushed out over time. Racism, Jefferson claims to be the reason for that. And some say history is repeating itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After months of controversy, the Fillmore Safeway shut its doors in January, leaving what the people of this community are calling a food desert. The NAACP has been vocal about what they describe as the systematic depletion of Black resources in the Fillmore. Board of Supervisors, our present mayor need to make good on the promise to work with the African-American community to restore, to revitalize an area, said NAACP SF President Emeritus Dr. Rev. Amos Brown. One of those promises Brown is referring to is The Dream Keeper Initiative a city-funded program launched in 2021, pledging $60 million annually to support Black communities through youth programs, economic opportunities, and the arts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For business owners like Kissu Kirkwood, that support was life-changing. Business owner has work van ransacked in driveway of Antioch home This program saved my life. They taught me how to do my taxes, hire a bookkeeper, said Kissu Kirkwood, Dream Keeper Initiative Recipient. We need this. But last year, the program was hit with scandal. Mayor London Breed froze funding after allegations of corruption and mismanagement surfaced. This community doesnt deserve to be punished. Another hit to the Fillmore, Brown said. After months on hold, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Friday that funding is returning but with new oversight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dream Keeper is something we are continuing to invest in, but we are going to have accountability in every investment, Lurie said. We look forward to continuing to invest in the Black community here in San Francisco. Lurie says tighter financial controls and a panel to review contracts will help prevent misuse. The NAACP and Fillmore residents believe programs like this are key to revitalizing the neighborhood and preserving its remaining Black-owned businesses. Behind Pixars Win or Lose with Michael Yates Erika Scott is one of those business owners. She opened Honey Art Studio to give the community a creative space and a place to form new memories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sitting on Fillmore Street, her studio is a piece of history collecting the past while creating space for the future. We needed a space for us, Scott said. The Fillmore isnt gone. Were rebuilding it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. This story was produced by Grist and co-published with Underscore Native News. Anita Hofschneider and Jake BittleI llustrations by Jackie Fawn Grist PART IV Blue Creek Amy Cordalis was on maternity leave, but she spent her days on phone calls and in Zoom meetings. The deal to remove the four Klamath River dams, which had inspired her lifes work for nearly two decades, was falling apart. Again. It was late summer 2020, just months after the COVID-19 pandemic forced massive shutdowns across the globe. Millions of people were out of work and more than 100,000 people in the United States alone had died from the novel coronavirus. On the Yurok Tribes reservation in northern California, the nation had closed all government offices and schools and barred nonessential visitors from entry. A record-setting wildfire season heightened the communitys challenges, as thick wildfire smoke turned the sky orange and made every hour feel like dusk. Swaths of forest in the Klamath Basin burned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cordalis days were a blur of breastfeeding, interrupted sleep, and troubleshooting her newborns cries. But when she learned that the dams owner, PacifiCorp, was threatening to pull out of the agreement to transfer its dams to a state-backed entity for demolition, she knew she needed to return to her role as the tribes lawyer. For four years, Cordalis and other tribal attorneys had been working on finalizing PacifiCorps dam removal plan with FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But the agencys makeup had changed after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. The new commissioners decided that PacifiCorp, and the states that the Klamath ran through, needed to put up more money to fund dam removal on top of the $450 million they had already pledged. The commission also contended the company needed to keep its name on the dam licenses a requirement PacifiCorp had long rejected, fearing it would subject the utility to potential lawsuits if anything went wrong during removal. Here we go again, Cordalis thought. Without PacifiCorp, the tribes would have to restart the relicensing process theyd been pursuing in the early 2000s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The process had gone on so long that many of the people at PacifiCorp and in the federal government who had negotiated the original 2016 deal were no longer around. That left Richard Whitman and Chuck Bonham, the lead environmental officials for Oregon and California, to try to hold together the collapsing dam removal settlement. The two bureaucrats raced to come up with a new legal arrangement that would satisfy both FERC and PacifiCorp, even offering more money from their two states for dam removal if the company would match it. But PacifiCorp refused to give any more than the $200 million it had already promised. California Governor Gavin Newsom even wrote an open letter to Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway, and urged him not to pull out of the deal, but the companys position did not change. In a last-ditch effort at diplomacy, leaders of the Yurok Tribe, Karuk Tribe, and Klamath Tribes emailed Buffett to invite him to the Yurok reservation to talk. Buffett declined, but he agreed to send a cadre of his top executives, including Greg Abel, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy; Bill Fehrman, the president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy; Stefan Bird, the CEO of PacifiCorps power plant unit; and Scott Bolton, a PacifiCorp vice president. The Yurok Tribal Council passed a resolution to open the COVID locked-down reservation just for the executives. Cordalis and the others came up with a plan for the meeting: They would take the executives up to Blue Creek the southernmost cold-water tributary on the Klamath, the first stop for salmon heading upstream, and one of the most precious places on the river. There, they would persuade them to re-sign the deal. It wouldve been easier to meet at the reservations hotel, but they felt like they needed to do more to win over company officials. The executives needed to see the kind of ecosystem that the dams had destroyed. The executives agreed to go up the river. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chook Chook Hillman, a Karuk Tribe citizen, knew Berkshire Hathaway well. He had been 23 years old when he confronted Warren Buffett at the 2008 Berkshire shareholders meeting in Omaha. Company representatives had come to his house in California and asked him to stay away from the annual gatherings while PacifiCorp hashed out the details of the dam settlement. Chook Chook and other activists had toned down their Omaha protests slightly after that. But they remained committed to their goal, forming a group called the Klamath Justice Coalition. Direct action is the logical, consistent method of anarchism, they wrote on their Facebook page, quoting the Lithuanian-born author and anarchist Emma Goldman, who embraced confronting injustice with uncompromising force. While tribal officials negotiated with federal bureaucrats in conference rooms, Chook Chook and other activists trained youth in nonviolent direct action and spoke at public hearings about Klamath water issues. In 2014, several members even flew down to Brazil to show solidarity with Indigenous peoples of the Amazon fighting against the construction of a dam. By 2020, Chook Chook was 35 with a family of his own, and had spent countless hours bringing his kids to meetings and protests over the years. He was not about to let the dam removal deal fall apart. Tribal leadership had not invited him and his fellow Klamath Justice activists to the meeting on the river, a move that Chook Chook saw as an attempt to appease Berkshires executives. But he knew when and where the meeting on the river would take place, and that was information enough. They decided to make their presence known, invitation or not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre not going to meet with us as people, then weve got to do what we got to do, he said. The executives planned tour of the river immediately went awry. Just a quarter-mile into their trip to Blue Creek, the boat carrying Cordalis and some of the masked-up Berkshire Hathaway executives broke down, right in front of Cordalis family fishing hole. Another boat carrying PacifiCorp executives Bird and Bolton as well as Yurok biologist Mike Belchik ran aground in shallow waters and started overheating. Both groups had to hop in other Yurok tribe boats in order to continue up the river. After another mile and a half, they were forced to stop again: The river was blockaded by protestors from the Klamath Justice Coalition who had draped a rope across it and stood in their boats holding signs saying, Undam the Klamath. Balanced defiantly on their boats, the activists put themselves face-to-face with Abel, Fehrman, and the other Berkshire and PacifiCorp executives. Chook Chooks son approached the executives first. The 11-year-old handed them a white flag. Chook Chook reminded them that his son had been just a week old when PacifiCorp executives first visited and promised to remove the dams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve kept up our end of the bargain, weve given you 11 years to do it, Chook Chook said. I dont know what you guys are going to decide at your meeting, but what needs to happen, has to happen. We dont have any more time. Activists handed Fehrman a jug filled with foul-smelling river water. Take the lid off and smell it, said Annelia Hillman, a Yurok Tribe citizen and Chook Chooks wife at the time. The Berkshire executive opened the bottle and sniffed the algae-tainted water. PacifiCorp executives smell a bottle of toxic algae-infused water taken from the Klamath River during a standoff with Klamath Justice Coalition activists in 2020. (Photo courtesy of Sammy Gensaw III) Our fish are drinking that, said Dania Rose Colegrove from the Hoopa Valley Tribe. They have to swim in that. We understand thats a challenge, one of the executives replied. Sammy Gensaw III, one of the Yurok youth activists, implored the executives to understand the stakes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This isnt just about the Klamath River. What goes down in the Klamath Basin will be echoed throughout generations, Gensaw said. The rest of history will look at the decisions that we make here today. Gensaws younger brother, Jon Luke Gensaw, spoke next. If this doesnt end, youre going to see more of us, he said, surrounded by hundreds of people from all of the Klamaths tribes. I take my mask off because I want you to remember my face, because youll see me again. Frankie Myers, the vice chairman of the Yurok Tribe, who was on the boat with the executives, reminded the younger activists that the tribal leaders shared their goals, and that they had a schedule to keep with the company. Myers father, Dickie, had been one of the original dam removal campaigners who had traveled to Scotland more than a decade earlier. Chook Chook and the others felt they had made their message clear, and decided to let the executives through. Were sorry we had to do this, but you know, this is what we do, Colegrove said as they parted. We didnt get invited to the meeting, so we invited ourselves. You have to hear the people its just how it is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The executives and tribal leaders finally made their way to Blue Creek. Myers urged them not to abandon the deal, and Cordalis presented an offer from the states and tribes to provide additional insurance and funding. Abel and the other PacifiCorp executives agreed to take a term sheet from the tribal campaigners, and responded to their entreaties politely, but they did not commit to meeting FERCs new demands. It was a beautiful day: Salmon were swimming in the cool waters, and a bald eagle flew over Abel as he defended the companys position. Tribal leaders could not have picked a more serene place to make their case for what was at stake, but PacifiCorp didnt concede. After lunch, the group drove their boats back to the reservation and thanked the executives for coming. At the Yurok Tribes debriefing meeting, the disappointment was so profound that some broke down in tears. But a few days later, Cordalis got a call from Bill Fehrman, the Berkshire Hathaway Energy executive who had gone to Blue Creek. The voice on the other end of the line said something that stopped her in her tracks. Lets talk, we need to get the dams out, Fehrman said, according to Cordalis recollection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A few months later, PacifiCorp and the two states announced that they had come to an agreement: The company and the states would each provide an additional $15 million, helping meet FERCs demand for backup cash, and California and Oregon would add their names to the dam licenses, resolving the companys demands about liability. Those two moves were enough to appease FERC once and for all. For Cordalis, for Leaf Hillman, and for Jeff Mitchell, the fight was over at last. The dams were coming down. In January of 2024, almost a quarter-century after the dam removal campaign began in earnest, construction crews began draining the reservoir behind Iron Gate Dam, the southernmost dam on the Klamath River. The official dam removal had begun the previous year with the dismantling of Copco 2, which was by far the smallest of the four dams, but the emptying of Iron Gate marked the real beginning of the end. Belchik arrived early to watch the moment with Cordalis, who had wanted to get there at sunrise to pray. As Belchik waited for the drawdown to proceed, he noticed the group of PacifiCorp executives standing nearby. He thought they looked a little forlorn. Belchik approached one of them and started a conversation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The executive revealed to Belchik what had happened after the trip to Blue Creek, which many campaigners had seen as the final blow for dam removal. After the executives boarded their company jet and left the river behind, Greg Abel, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, had turned to his employees and said that they needed to figure out how to get the dams off of the river. Belchik had never understood until that moment why the company had made such an abrupt about-face, but now it made sense to him. Blue Creek changes people, he said. At the start of the dam removal campaign, Ronnie Pierce had berated PacifiCorp executives for not knowing where the waterway was, and 20 years later, the companys leaders had fallen under its spell. Leaf Hillman, left, hugs his family as construction crews remove the final portion of Iron Gate Dam, the lowest dam on the Klamath River, in August 2024. The river flowed freely in 2024 for the first time in more than a century. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez / San Francisco Chronicle / Getty Images via Grist) In a statement, a representative for PacifiCorp said the company remained steadfast in its goals to come to a resolution agreeable to all parties and reach the ultimate successful outcome. The dam removal process took the better part of last year. The first step was for engineers to drain all the reservoirs behind the Klamath dams, sending millions of tons of long-stagnant sediment downstream toward the Pacific. As crews opened these dams one by one, the river grew cloudy and brown before clearing up again. Demolition teams then used 800 pounds of dynamite to blast apart Copco 1, hauling away the wreckage with bulldozers. They carved apart the earthen mass of J.C. Boyle, the highest dam on the river and the closest to the Klamath Tribes, dismantling it one scoop of dirt at a time. They started to break apart Iron Gate, the downstream dam closest to the Yurok reservation and the last barrier to salmon passage. Only then, in the fall of 2024, did tribal leaders get to watch the Klamath flow uninterrupted once more. The water tumbled downstream, from Upper Klamath Lake, where Jeff Mitchell had first joined his tribal government in 1975 and where the Cwaam and Koptu suckerfish swam through placid water, to the forested mountainsides of the Yurok Tribe, where Cordalis had watched fish die in 2002 along the warm, weak waters of the lower river. From there, the Klamath wound to the vastness of the Pacific, where the salmon were waiting to come home. This is Part IV of a five part series. This story was first published in Grist. (Photo courtesy of the Iowa Board of Medicine) The state of Iowa has agreed to reinstate the medical license of a physician convicted of 80 counts of fraud in a health insurance scam. State records show that in February 2005, a federal grand jury indicted Dr. Peter Boesen, an ear, nose and throat specialist from Windsor Heights, on 82 counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The grand jury alleged Boesen billed multiple health insurance providers for procedures and tests that were either never performed or were not medically necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After a jury convicted Boesen on all counts and Boesen appealed, the government dismissed three of the fraud charges and Boesen was sentenced to 51 months in prison on the remaining 80 counts. He was also ordered to pay $931,526 in restitution. Boesen was released from prison in early 2011, and in August 2012, the Iowa Board of Medicine suspended his medical license for an indefinite period. At the time, Boesen continued to claim his innocence and said the charges against him, his trial and the decision on his appeal were unfair. At a hearing before the Board of Medicine, he testified that his only regret was that his patients could no longer benefit from his care. As part of the 2012 suspension order, the board stipulated that Boesen must complete a competency evaluation and pay a $10,000 civil penalty should the board agree to reinstatement. Earlier this month, the board reinstated Boesens license subject to several requirements that prohibit Boesen from establishing a solo practice and require that his license be placed on probation for two years, during which time he will be subject to board monitoring. The Caldwell Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a man whose body was found in a local canal. Detectives responded to the area of Dearborn Street and South Lake Avenue in Caldwell on Thursday afternoon after learning that a body was found in a nearby canal, according to a news release from the Caldwell Police Department. The coroner also responded to investigate the death. Once the mans family is notified, authorities will release his identity, police said. The Idaho Statesman reached out to the police department for additional information. The body recovered from a park in New Hampshire Thursday was that of a newborn baby girl, officials said Friday. The infants body was found in the pond at Pine Island Park in Manchester around 4:00 p.m. Thursday, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General John Formellas office. Formella noted that the death is considered suspicious. Manchester police said they havent determined the baby girls cause of death but noted that just because the body was found in the pond, it doesnt mean the birth happened in that area or that the mother is from Manchester. Anyone with information that they believe may be helpful in this investigation is asked to contact the Manchester Police Department at (603) 716-7236. Tips and related information can also be provided anonymously via the Manchester CrimeLine at (603) 624-4040. Tips and related photos can also be uploaded anonymously at www.manchestercrimeline.org. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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 City of Ashland announced it has completed the required flushing and sampling of the water system. Samples were to be delivered on Wednesday for testing, which takes about 24 hours for completion. If samples are clear, the Kentucky Division of Water will likely lift the systemwide boil water advisory this afternoon. The city will provide another update when the BWA is officially lifted. The city reminded everyone the water has been and is safe, and that the BWA is a precaution required by the Kentucky Division of Water. The City of Ashland has issued a systemwide boil water advisory Monday due to replacement of a section of water line that feeds the Debord Hill tank. Two men, including a factory owner, who are accused of trafficking hundreds of people to the U.S. to work in a manufacturing plant will stay behind bars for now. A Bartow County magistrate court judge denied bond for Zhu Chen, the owner of Wellmade Industries, and Jiayi Chen on Friday. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Earlier this week, federal agents raided Wellmade in Cartersville, where they think Zhu Chen, who goes by George, brought 300 to 400 people from other countries, like China, to work at his flooring factory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are investigating to see whether or not he provided harsh living and working conditions and low pay. Channel 2s Courtney Francisco learned that Jiayi Chen is accused of transporting and harboring three people to work at the factory. RELATED STORIES: Attorneys told the judge that both men have family in the Portland, Oregon area where the company is headquartered. They added that both men are U.S. citizens and have never been charged with a crime before. The judge, however, deemed them flight risks and denied their request for bond. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The deployment of European troops to Ukraine following a hypothetical peace agreement has become a key objective of the renewed Franco-British alliance. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are advocating for the creation of a coalition of the willing to ensure stability in Ukraine. This initiative would involve deploying approximately 30,000 ground troops, with the potential inclusion of naval and air contingents. According to a diplomatic communication, France views this effort as a laboratory for testing the operational framework of the European pillar of a post-Trump NATO. Preparatory meetings ahead of Thursdays high-level gathering attended by representatives from 31 countries, as well as NATO and EU leaders allowed diplomats to gain a clearer understanding of Frances vision. The goal is to align European military efforts with U.S. efforts. Macron, who maintains frequent communication with U.S. President Donald Trump and speaks almost daily with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, reaffirmed Frances commitment to deploying troops not only in Ukraine but also in allied nations such as Romania to bolster its border security. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025. Associated Press/LaPresse (APN) The proposed coalition of the willing, according to the preparatory meetings and the diplomatic communication, could operate under NATOs command and control structure, following the model of the Berlin Plus agreements of 2003. These agreements allow NATO to support EU-led operations without requiring full NATO participation. While proponents agree that the coalitions framework should be coordinated with NATO, France and the United Kingdom are actively working to identify EU countries willing to participate. The U.K., for its part, is pushing for the mission to include air support in addition to ground operations. Beyond its immediate objectives, the mission is also envisioned as a way to tests missions carried out by European coalitions of volunteers, with the support of NATOs infrastructure. If implemented, diplomatic sources believe, it could constitute the embryo of the future mechanisms of a post-Trump NATO. On Thursday, Macron unequivocally announced that a coalition of the willing will be deployed on Ukrainian soil to guarantee peace following a potential peace agreement. While opposition from some EU member states such as Germany, Croatia, and Italy remains, Macron downplayed concerns. It is not unanimous, he said, But we do not need unanimity to achieve it. However, coordinating such an operation presents significant logistical challenges, which why it could be formed under NATO command and control. The realization of the mission would also be a way to test, in a favorable political context (especially given a hypothetical and progressive loss of U.S. presence and the United Kingdoms willingness to re-enter continental strategies), this type of mission carried out by coalitions of volunteers and supported by the NATO structure. If this entire plan moves forward, the same sources believe, it could constitute the foundation of future NATO mechanisms with a reduced U.S. presence. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday the federal judge assigned to adjudicate the Signal group chat case cannot be objective, adding, many judges need to be removed. Bondi said it was a wild coincidence against Donald Trump and our administration that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg was appointed to hear the Signal case, in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President Vance and other officials discussed a military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included in the chat, leading to it being revealed to the public. Boasberg is the judge who ruled against the Trump administration in a separate matter involving Venezuelan migrants, allegedly members of the Tren de Aragua gang, who were deported. Boasberg had argued planes should be turned around to return those being deported to allow the courts to consider the matter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and other administration officials have ripped Boasberg over the matter, and even called for his impeachment. That drew a rebuke from U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, who said appeals not impeachments should be used when there are disagreements with court decisions. He shouldnt be on any of these cases. He cannot be objective. Hes made that crystal clear, Bondi said of Boasberg on Fox Newss Ingraham Angle. Earlier Thursday, President Trump doubled down on his criticism of Boasberg, calling the judge disgraceful. How disgraceful is it that Judge James Boasberg has just been given a fourth Trump Case, something which is, statistically, IMPOSSIBLE, the president wrote Thursday in a post on Truth Social. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the addition of Signal-related lawsuit against key Trump officials, Boasberg is now managing four lawsuits involving the second Trump administration. Each case was assigned to him randomly. The watchdog organization American Oversight filed a lawsuit over the Signal chat. In its submission, the group claims Trump officials breached their responsibilities under the Federal Records Act by failing to preserve Signal messages related to the recent assault on Houthi rebels in Yemen. In her Fox News remarks Thursday, Bondi said, You know, these judges are taking personal attacks to it, at many of the Cabinet secretaries. And these judges across the country and again, they think they have authority, but its going to be short-lived, because these cases are going to get to the Supreme Court very fast. Were doing everything we can, she 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 The Hill. Attorney General Pam Bondi knocked CNN over a segment on her decision not to investigate the government officials involved in a Signal group chat that included sensitive information and was leaked to a prominent journalist earlier this month. During the CNN segment, legal analyst Elie Honig said Bondi had been MIA and questioned her objectivity in leading the Department of Justice (DOJ). There is no indication that shes going to open an investigation here, Honig said. And by the way, when she was up for a confirmation as AG, remember, one of the concerns is, would she be able to exercise independence? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bondi was asked about the discussion during an appearance Thursday on Fox News. Yeah, theres a reason why their ratings are plummeting, because theyre putting people like that on TV, she said. We could care less what they say. Fox News host Laura Ingraham said to Bondi, this is not a concern of yours inspector general, you know, idea of inspector general investigation or congressional investigation down the road. You are completely confident that this was a mistake and nothing more than that? We are, and all of our intelligence officials who were on it are confident of that as well, the attorney general responded, according to a clip highlighted by Mediaite. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bondi has spoken about the administrations desire to crack down on leaking of classified information and has sought to dismiss the significance of leaked Signal chat. First, it was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released, she told reporters this week. And what we should be talking about is, it was a very successful mission. Her deflection comes after The Atlantics Jeffrey Goldberg, who was inadvertently included in the chat where top Trump administration officials discussed Yemen strike plans, released the messages to the public 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 The Hill. A small group of leaders in the Boone County community have met since 2023, discussing the housing crisis and what could be done about it. Led by organizations like Live for Life, Love INC., Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA), Aspire, and others, they got together regularly, discussing barriers and needs when it comes to affordable housing. A year later, the Community Foundation of Boone County (CFCB) conducted a series of Think Tank sessions, asking residents how they can help and what the public felt was most needed in the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the discussions, housing remained a top area of need, as it had been for the past several years, said Hope Coons, CFBC director of Community Engagement. CFBC became aware of a group of community members meeting to address this challenge, so our CEO, Julie Reagan, connected with them to learn more about their purpose and direction. CFBC partnered with HAND, Inc., recognized local experts in housing development and advocacy in Hamilton County, to lead the Housing Task Force in Boone County. They named Andrea Davis, executive director of HAND, to lead the group. Instead of two different groups, CFBC brought everyone together to meet at their facility, Davis said. Were five years in with the Hamilton Housing collaborative and while theyre not the same, certainly, Boone County is traveling down similar paths that Hamilton has traveled. The first official meeting occurred mid-February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Davis said the group decided to meet monthly as they get their footing and determine what needs to be done and when. They also hope to bring more people to the table. There were about a dozen people there from local organizations and we talked about who else should be here that isnt here yet, Davis said. We hope to have some representatives from the city, maybe some legal representation and other members in the community. While she typically works with the long-term process of finding solutions in the housing industry, the discussion also leaned toward immediate needs and what could be done sooner rather than later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One thing we talked about was an awareness event, Davis said. Not everyone is aware of the resources we have for housing issues. Wed like to get all of those resources together in one place so members of the community can learn about all of the various housing related assistance. One thing was clear education is key. We have ambitious goals to advocate for more affordable housing in Boone County but achieving this begins with education at multiple levels, Coons said. Our initial focus is pulling together programs currently available in the county and finding ways to better educate and inform the community about these existing resources. Not only are resources important, but Davis also said there are misconceptions about affordable housing as a whole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Section 8 housing is a different program in 2025 than it was in 1960. More often than not, Davis and others are working with employed members of the community that simply cant afford the ever-rising costs of rent. These are our home healthcare workers, our bus drivers, our first responders, she said. Theres no political will to build anything other than that four-bedroom, single family home until weve shown how this is an economic development issue. As Boone County continues to grow, well find ourselves in the same place 20 years from now if we dont respond to the whole housing continuum today. Businesses, individuals and government leaders are already expressing interest and Davis said the group hopes they will outgrow the space at the Community Foundation. Anyone interested in getting involved can contact Coons at hope@communityfoundationbc.org or Davis at andrea@handincorporated.org to be added to the invite list. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Department store Boscovs will be opening its first location in the Rochester area. The new location was announced at a news conference Friday morning. The store will be replacing the former space of Burlington, but will remodel and expand part of the model to include 175,000 square feet of space for the store. It is slated to be the largest department store in the region. Boscovs is a chain of department stores that can be found across New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The store sells clothing, home furnishings, toys, jewelry, and beauty products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, the company will be hosting a luncheon in June with non-profit organizations in the Rochester area. They will begin hiring over 250 employees this summer prior to the stores grand opening, which will happen sometime in the fall. No specific dates were announced for an opening. Wilmorite, the company that owns the mall, will release more details about the store in the coming months. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois are thanking donors for their generosity and their support in keeping club sites operational amidst a loss of funding. The organization explained that in November, it was informed of an unprecedented non-renewal of a $1.2 million grant administered by the Illinois State Board of Education. This jeopardized after-school childcare programs at eight sites across the region. He was such a kind friend: Mt. Zion students, teachers raise money to remember classmate Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, fundraising and donation efforts saved these programs, and operations will continue at all eight sites through the end of the school year on May 30. We are incredibly grateful for the contributions from our community, said Tiffany Mathis Posey, BGCCIL CEO and Executive Director. These donations allowed us to keep our doors open and continue offering vital programming and services to the young people who depend on us. The kindness of so many groups, individuals and business entities truly made a difference in the lives of our kids, and we couldnt have done it without them. The board of directors and the senior leadership team will continue to assess the sustainability of its after-school programs and will provide more information and updates in the coming months. For partnership and donor opportunities, visit bgccil.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 WCIA.com. By Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu HANOI (Reuters) -Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday Vietnam may buy Embraer planes and become a regional hub for Brazilian meat processing operations, as he met Vietnam's President Luong Cuong in Hanoi. Lula also recognised the Communist-run country as a market economy, invited Vietnam to attend a BRICS summit in Brazil later this year and pledged a Mercosur trade agreement with Hanoi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lula's second visit to Vietnam comes as Hanoi, under pressure from the Trump administration to reduce its large trade surplus, has promised to boost U.S. imports, including farm products such as soybeans of which Brazil is a top exporter to the country. At a media conference with Lula, Cuong said Vietnam was "seriously considering" allowing Brazilian beef into the country. "Opening the Vietnamese market to Brazilian beef would attract investment from Brazilian meat packers to make this country an export platform for Southeast Asia," Lula said. Brazilian food giant JBS is considering building a meat-processing plant in northern Vietnam, its first in Asia, if Vietnam opens its market to Brazilian beef, Reuters reported last week citing sources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lula also said he was aware that flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines was "positively assessing Embraer's offer" for regional jets, noting Brazil wanted to export planes to Hanoi. The Brazilian planemaker is in talks for the possible sale of ten E190 narrow-body jets to Vietnam Airlines, one Brazilian official told Reuters last week. The two companies did not comment. Embraer and JBS are part of a large business delegation accompanying Lula on his trip to Vietnam. The two countries signed a five-year action plan, which officials said focuses on defence, agriculture, energy and technology, and other pacts, including one on football cooperation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lula invited Vietnam to the BRICS summit Brazil will host in July. Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended a BRICS summit as an observer for the first time last year, but Hanoi has so far not accepted an invitation to become a formal partner of the club led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Cuong made no comment about BRICS in his public statement. Lula said the Brazilian presidency of Mercosur in the second half of the year will seek "a balanced agreement with Vietnam", implying there will be talks on a trade deal between Vietnam and the South American bloc. He also proposed to expand technical cooperation with Vietnam on coffee crops at a time when the world's two biggest coffee producers are facing challenges from climate change. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio, Khanh Vu, Thinh Nguyen and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by John Mair and Sonali Paul) Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade said he didnt care that the Trump administration's revocation of student visas over pro-Palestine protests and opinions could have a chilling effect on free speech and paint the United States as a censorious regime. Kilmeades colleague Lawrence Jones went even further, saying that he wants chills to run down the spine of not only terrorists but of people that are residents here. During Fridays broadcast of President Donald Trumps favorite morning talk show, co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy whose husband currently serves as Trumps transportation secretary expressed some concern that the State Departments Catch and Revoke program could lead to a slippery slope when it comes to freedom of speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that he had recently revoked the visa of Rumeya Ozturk, a Tufts University doctoral student and Fulbright scholar from Turkey. Ozturk, who co-wrote an op-ed in the student newspaper criticizing the universitys response to anti-war demonstrations, was detained by plainclothes ICE officers wearing masks near the Tufts campus. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa, Rubio stated. Might be more than 300 at this point. Might be more. We do it every day. (Fox News) Reacting to an interview of a Columbia student who self-deported to Canada following the arrest and attempted deportation of student activist and permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil, Campos-Duffy noted the student said Khalils detention sent shockwaves across the community and that she felt she had no rights in America. I would never protest government; that is rude and you are not being a good guest. I dont believe in violence, she wondered. I dont think we should have violence, and I dont believe in terrorists. I dont want anyone here with ties to Hamas. I am concerned about free speech. I am a free speech absolutist. I wonder what the criteria is here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conservative host continued: Should we deport people who criticize America and American policies? What is the line? Or only if you criticize Israeli government policy? There are a lot of really good people right now who are very concerned about the chilling effect this could have, not just on green card holders and people on visas. What is the message to American citizens about free speech? Responding that I wouldnt worry about American citizens, Kilmeade stated that these are not American citizens but rather people in the country on student visas and green cards. No, Im just saying the chilling effect, Campos-Duffy interjected. Oh, I dont care, Kilmeade reacted, prompting Campos-Duffy to wonder if those being detained and deported are really connected to Hamas or merely criticizing Israeli policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After bringing up a lawsuit from several family members of Hamas hostages alleging Khalil and other student protest groups are a propaganda arm for the terrorist organization, Kilmeade then argued that anyone who is not an American citizen who criticizes the United States or its allies should expect to be removed from the country. They tossed out somebody at Tufts University. Caught this PhD student. They also threw out someone yesterday at Harvard. They threw out Kseniia Petrova, a Russian research associate, also with anti-American activity, Kilmeade exclaimed. Youre over here, youre protesting this country and our allies, goodbye! Petrova, whose visa was revoked over undeclared frog embryo samples found in her luggage when returning to the U.S., is currently being detained in a Louisiana immigration facility. Her lawyers say Petrova will likely face jail time and persecution if she returns to Russia due to her protests decrying the Ukraine War. I would just say this, Rachel. I see your point. I see how it can be chilling, Jones stated. But I want chills to run down the spine of not only terrorists but of people that are residents here. You are visitors here! You dont have the right be on your best behavior here! And what we are dealing with is people who dont love the country. People that have radical ties and I think theyre trying to use our laws against us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Campos-Duffy noted that Jones made a fair point and that she was also concerned about universities admitting too many foreign students, which she claimed left a lot of American valedictorians on the sideline and denied admission. All of them! Especially if theyre white, Kilmeade added. Exactly! If theyre white males, Campos-Duffy noted. In the meantime, the White House is discussing plans to try to block certain colleges from having any foreign students if it decides too many are pro-Hamas, Axios reported this week. At the same time, though, she urged the administration to be careful that they dont leave the impression on the world that we are not for free speech. Kilmeade and Jones, however, reiterated that they didnt share those same concerns. But I do want the impression in the world that if they come over here and create havoc, Kilmeade noted as Jones finished his thought: Theyve got to go! NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) A Bridgeport man was sentenced to over 22 years in federal prison Thursday for his involvement in a street gang and his role in the murder and attempted murder of rival gang members. According to testimony and evidence, Travon Budda Jones, 22, was a member of the East End gang in Bridgeport, which began in the East End neighborhood, but expanded across the city and into surrounding towns. 3 arrested on firearm, narcotics charges in Hamden Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The East End gang has been allegedly associated with other groups, including the PT Barnum Gang, the East Side gang and 150, which is a geographic gang based on the West Side of Bridgeport. These groups were aligned against rival organizations in Bridgeport, including the Original North End (O.N.E.) and the Greene Homes Boyz, (GHB/Hotz), based in the Charles F. Greene Homes Housing Complex in Bridgeports North End. An investigation began shortly before East End members allegedly shot and killed Myreke Kenion and shot and attempted to kill DAndre Brown, both members and associates of the GHB/Hotz gang, on Jan. 26, 2020. One day later, GHB/Hotz and O.N.E. members attempted to kill East End gang members and associates in retaliation in an afternoon shooting in front of a state courthouse on Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport that resulted in four victims being shot while sitting inside a car. The investigation determined that on July 12, 2019, Jones and fellow East End member Tyrone Moore shot and killed Sean Warren, also known as Kujoe, a member and associate of the O.N.E. gang. In addition, on Oct. 17, 2019, Jones shot and attempted to kill Joshua Gilbert, also a member and associate of the O.N.E. gang. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jones has been detained since Oct. 17, 2019. He initially pleaded guilty on Aug. 29, 2022, but Judge Victor A. Bolden subsequently granted his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. On Dec. 5, 2023, a jury found Jones and three associates guilty of conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity. Tyrone Moore pleaded guilty and on June 26, 2023, was sentenced to 250 months in prison. Jones and other East End members have been accused of distributing heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and Percocet pills; using and shared firearms; and committing at least six murders and other acts of violence against rival gang members and other individuals. East End members celebrated their criminal conduct on social media, and committed acts of intimidation and made threats to deter potential witnesses to their crimes and to protect gang members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Approximately 47 members and associates of the East End, O.N.E. and the GHB/Hotz gangs have been convicted of federal offenses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Dan Ninham Special to ICT One Indigenous chef has become part of the fabric of downtown Phoenix. The Labriola National American Indian Data Center in the Hayden Library on the Arizona State University campus recently hosted two Dine poets, Amber McCrary and Kinsale Drake. Both are recognized as distinguished publishers of books of poetry. The event was catered by Renetto-Mario Etsitty, commonly referred to as Mario and he is a citizen of the Dine (Navajo). Chef Renetto-Mario Etsitty, Dine, is the business owner of The REZ an Urban Eatery, a catering and pop up of traditional and vegan and world fusion Navajo cuisine in Phoenix, Arizona. He catered the talk and discussion event at The Labriola National American Indian Data Center in the Hayden Library on the Arizona State University campus hosting two Dine poets. (Photo by Dan Ninham) Etsitty is the business owner of The REZ an Urban Eatery, a catering and pop up of traditional and vegan and world fusion Navajo cuisine in Phoenix, Arizona. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a review in the Phoenix New Times, it stated: If you spot the sign for the The Rez, an Urban Eatery, out in the wild, reach for your cash and head for this roaming restaurant. You can sometimes find The Rez in downtown Phoenix during the late hours, even till 4 a.m. on weekends, or possibly at a festival, farmers market, or special event where food vendors are crammed into neat little rows. The Rez offers Navajo cuisine, food stand-style, served by Renetto-Mario Etsitty whose resume includes Tertio Wine Bar chef and ASU fine arts graduate, among other things. Etsitty has extensive training and work experience with Indigenous food. He started from an early age and has led him to where he is now. During my childhood while other kids my age were playing, I became a caretaker for my grandfather, Etsitty told ICT. I learned to prepare traditional foods for my grandfather. Ive learned to make them by observing and helping my grandmother, and aunts. My grandmother had a chuck wagon business selling Dine foods at the local flea markets. During the summers after the school year I would spend time with my grandparents. They lived in separate houses. My grandfather built his own house a few yards next to the family house, because my grandmother would be weaving at odd times of the day and night, added Etsitty. During the daytime I followed my grandmother to forage and gather plants and vegetables around the family homestead, said Etsitty. Some plants were for medicine, some for dying wool, others to eat or flavor our foods. Indigenous chefs hold distinct philosophies with Indigenous food preparation and cooking. Theres a new trend of decolonization of foods so there are cooks and chefs rejecting fry bread and old world ingredients, said Etsitty. I find it funny that they do that but then theyre searing or sauteing and using colonial methods of food preparation in the process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of my advocacy of understanding traditional foods is the need to allow the natural process of change and adaptation. On a global level Indigenous foods has changed the cuisines of every culture the world over. However Indigenous peoples in the Americas have different experiences with colonization, we are slow to catch up to the rest of the world with directions of our cuisines, added Etsitty. Having an understanding and appreciation of our ties to these Indigenous ingredients is the first step to expand upon our repertoire, said Etsitty. Etsitty knows his strengths and continually works on areas to improve on. Especially when it comes to flavor. It whats most important, you can have high end ingredients but they can be easily ruined if you dont know how to balance the flavors, he said. Some ingredients meld well together and most things have been done before. In general people dont know what they want, they remember what they had, as chefs there is some trust in what you have to offer. The idea of veganism in Indigenous communities is somewhat foreign as the English they all speak now. Our strength is presenting the traditional plant base foods of our ancestors and how accessible it is. Being healthy and having access to healthy foods is difficult for many of our communities since we became wards of the state. This is one of our main focus, added Etsitty. Being a small business, Etsitty says there are still many hurdles to overcome. This includes increasing the visibility to both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Luckily we do have various support that keeps us growing, Etsitty said. When it comes to Indigenous cooking, the mentor relationship is significant to guide the best practice with Indigenous foods preparation, cooking, and delivery. Etsitty has worked with Cindy Gentry, founder of the downtown Phoenix Public Market and says she has been key in his approach to maintaining his business. Her goal to make produce and local foods accessible to the common folks is in line with the goals we have set for our business, Etsitty said. She worked tirelessly in maintaining a presence in the downtown Phoenix area to promote local farmers and facilitated a market that also features local producers. Gentry said they met more than 20 years ago when Etsitty began volunteering at the Phoenix Public Market and made himself available to do whatever needed to be done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mario is a renaissance man with an amazingly versatile palate, amazing palette as an artist, and is devoted to family and friends. When the market opened an adjacent store and cafe, he started working his magic in the kitchen. I confided one day that, embarrassing as it was, since I was involved with so many farmers and their produce, I had a distaste for celery, Gentry said. Gentry continued to talk about her professional relationship with Etsitty, recalling a moment where he gave her a chartreuse-colored drink and said, give it a try. It was delicious, she said. It turns out the secret ingredients were celery and green apple. I became an instant fan, and Mario launched an ever-changing line of frescas that he offered daily at the market cafe. Customers came in just for them. They had a prominent place on the front counter of the cafe, featuring fresh and local seasonal produce from the market farmers. During that time, Mario continued to impress all of us with his wide range of culinary skills, said Gentry. At the Wednesday night markets, he would be outside grilling burgers for folks. He made sure to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, each year by making a cake decorated with edible gold glitter which he sent me to fetch, thereby introducing me to a bakers specialty shop in central Phoenix. He found a company in north central AZ that had a wide range of bulk spices and began ordering them to expand the flavor profiles of the cafes dishes. His food is often vegan, and gluten-free and people flocked in for it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We had planted some grape vines on the cafes patio. One time my husband was outside trimming them and Mario asked him to save him the trimmings. He did, and we found Mario in the kitchen brining the grape leaves and, in a few days, handmade dolmas were on the menu, added Gentry. Over time, Gentry said Etsitty has honed and expanded his skills. And that is the thing I dont know how he knows all these things to do. He has honed his cooking skills with care and love; and his curiosity and intuition take him down some true paths of excellence, Gentry said. As he has grown his culinary skills, Gentry said he has also created lively events where people gather to taste his food, play music and talk; keeping the night and energy going until dawn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His food has gone from being featured in bars to taking awards at the citys premier culinary event, Devour Phoenix. Etsitty even catered Gentrys wedding. I feel glad and fortunate to have him in my life. He is part of the fabric of downtown Phoenix, Gentry said. He is strong in keeping connected to his family and Navajo ways and by being who he is, has taught me countless things over the years. The food he makes takes him many places and will continue to do so. He is soon opening a brick and mortar space for Rez Bot which will expand and fill a gap for the very special taste of Arizona that he creates. CATERING OF ALL KINDS Kimber Landing of Devour Culinary Classic and Devour the World, Phoenix, AZ had Mario cater her event. She called him an incredible chef who brings the flavors of Navajo Nation to life through both food and beverage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We were proud to offer him top medals at both the 2024 and 2025 Devour Culinary Classic for his outstanding use of heritage and grains, Landing said. Marios journey to elevate Indigenous foods shines a light on his ancestral knowledge and gives us a glimpse into Navajo traditions. At another event during the summer of 2024 Etsitty catered at Mesa Community College in Mesa. Mona Scott Figueroa of Indigenous Representation Matters, The Power of Indigenous Identity led at the event and raved about Etsitty and his food. The event was for Indigenous high school students and their families and the menu included pumpkin tamales, gluten-free fry bread, Colorado beef stew chili, and Navajo tea sweetened with peaches. It was during his undergraduate studies at Arizona State University where Etsitty noticed the lack of Indigenous rooted foods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just about everything was pizzas and wings, Etsitty said. So the idea of sharing a meal with bison meat, blue corn, hatch chilies, or sumac berries was unheard of. Now however as a registered vendor with ASU we provide a number of Indigenous ingredients and foods. Chef Renetto-Mario Etsitty, Dine, is the business owner of The REZ an Urban Eatery, recently catered on the ASU campus the Inclusive Excellence Luncheon. The menu included: Black Tepary Bean Hummus with market vegetables, assorted vegan and non veganblue corn tamales, Blue Corn Empanadas with Lamb, Vegan squash & spinach Enchilada Bake, Vegan roasted herbed vegetables, Vegan roasted Corn Salad, Vegan Navajo Pinon Cookies and Vegan Black Bean Chipotle Brownie. (Photo by Dan Ninham) Etsitty finished his undergraduate studies in fine arts with drawing/sculpture at ASU in 2000. He still delves in art but also made the connection with fine arts to culinary arts. Various forms of catering happened since 2002 when there were weekly ASU art showings. Once in a while a friend would want some catering so I would make a few items for their show, said Etsitty. Then Phoenix First Friday started and I had more frequent events. We would make omelettes and crepes at the trunk space on First Fridays. That eventually became a fry bread stand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2012 after the closing of the Phoenix public market urban grocery and wine bar we started the rezbot an urban eatery focusing on native and particularly Navajo foods. We had a spot on 5th Street doing late night fry bread house next to the Jobot coffee shop, added Etsitty. Etsitty continued to talk about the evolution of the Indigenous culinary arts into catering business. After many months we left the building and went into the occasional pop up business. [In] 2015 we got our license that started the next steps into officiating the business, he said. We have a regular pop up at a local tiki dive bar that prompted the process. Etsitty is empowered by the gift of the monster hunger food and storytelling. Within our Dine history there was a time when monsters roamed the earth and they killed many of our people, they were defeated by the warrior twins, but their mother changing woman is the one that saved us all, said Etsitty. However after the destruction of the monsters there remained a few hidden, they survived the holocaust, sleep, poverty, lice, old age, and hunger. As the twins tried to kill them they pleaded for their lives citing how they would benefit humanity. Hunger said without me how will people be healthy, how will they be strong if they only bear once and never again? With me around I will gnaw at their bellies to remind them to eat and they will be healthy. They will find new ways to make food, new food to forage or plant, added Etsitty. Our taste buds are attributed to the monster hunger so that we will always find ways to survive. Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICTs free newsletter. Generation Z are often derided as snowflakes, lazy and unsuited for the workforce. Too concerned about their mental health, unable or unwilling to put the hard yards in, doing Mickey Mouse degrees. But there is an undeniable mental health crisis among the young which is driving higher benefits claims, especially in university cities. There has been a huge jump in the number of young people claiming benefits for mental health. More than one in 20 people aged 16 to 30 are claiming disability benefits for mental health issues, according to Telegraph analysis of Department for Work and Pensions data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is particularly the case in Liverpool, Nottingham, Bristol and Leeds all cities with big university populations. Almost a fifth of students reported a mental health difficulty in 2024, according to research by Kings College London and TASO the equivalent of 300,000 nationwide. The rate has tripled in the last seven years. Why has there been such a jump in young people claiming mental health benefits, especially in student cities? Claiming Pips at university Anyone over the age of 16 can claim personal independence payments (Pips) regardless of their employment status if they have a long-term condition which negatively affects their everyday life. This includes students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The constituencies where anxiety and depression claims are proportionally largest typically have large student populations. The 50 places with the highest proportion of claims for anxiety and depression have a student population of 10.1pc. This is compared to a national average of 6.3pc. In two constituencies in Liverpool, which is home to three universities and 60,000 students, claims for anxiety and depression make up more than 16.3pc of claims. In Nottingham East, which has a student population of more than 21pc, mental health makes up 17.2pc of Pip claims the second highest proportion of any English constituency. In Bristol, which has a 27pc student population in its centre, joint anxiety and depression claims make up 16.3pc of total claims. And in Leeds Central and Headingley, which has a student population of nearly 40pc, the proportion of anxiety and depression claims is 16pc. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is part of a larger trend of young people claiming benefits for mental health. Three quarters of the 576,000 claims for disability living allowance and Pips for those aged between 16 and 30 are for psychological disorders, including anxiety, learning disabilities and ADHD. This figure is equivalent to 4.4pc of the population in England, up from 2.5pc in 2019 and just 1.1pc two decades ago. Overall, 5.8pc of young adults are entitled to claim disability benefits a figure that has risen more than threefold since the early-2000s. Nicola Frampton, of mental health charity Student Minds, says: If students are increasingly claiming Pips for mental health reasons, it is likely a reflection of the growing numbers of students experiencing mental ill-health at university, which is commonly compounded by the impacts of financial hardship and the cost of living crisis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Increasing dependence on technology may be making the problem worse. Around two million young Britons have self-diagnosed their mental health conditions, according to a report from insurer AXA Health, with many relying on medical advice from social media sites such as TikTok. The university bottleneck One of the reasons for these high rates of mental health disability claimants is because a lack of support in childhood puts more pressure on in-house university mental health services. Mental health services for children are notoriously patchy. In March 2024, there were 270,000 children on mental health waiting lists, according to the Childrens Commissioner. The difficulty in accessing formal support for children means that for many students, university is the first time they can easily get help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elaine Hughes, a disability inclusion expert, says: I do think societal pressure, social media and the lack of mental health support access at a younger age to address these issues causes it to become more apparent and thus leads to a breakdown at university and contribution to a rise in claims. Then they mask to get to university and become overwhelmed and burnt out, which leads to a mental health diagnosis, usually after hospitalisation. Then, they claim Pips as a result. Signposting benefits Some universities, including Bristol, advise students online that they could be eligible to claim, saying: Pips can help with extra living costs, if you have a long-term condition and struggle day-to-day. Anglia Ruskin University, in Cambridge, has published a comprehensive document outlining how students struggling with disabilities, including poor mental health, can claim various benefits including Pips. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other institutions offer financial support to students seeking diagnoses. Students at the University of Liverpool can apply for a one-off payment of 350 to help cover the testing costs. Young people also turn to social media for information and support, where they are bombarded with mental health influencers who advise them of the benefits they could be eligible to claim. Yasmin Shaheen-Zaffar, a therapist who trained at the University of Bradford between 2019 and 2020, says that students came to see her mainly about anxiety, depression and money troubles. Mostly its anxiety, depression, and worry around finance, she says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alcohol and drug cultures of individual universities could also be contributing to poor mental health, she adds. Its almost like no one wants to talk about it or no one wants to admit it. Weed has got stronger, with whatever theyre mixing, and theres lots of new drugs as well. University counselling is often only for four or six sessions, so therapists are encouraged to make onward referrals for students who needed more support. But Shaheen-Zaffar says she was never in a position to recommend that students apply for disability benefits, including Pip. While many students value the university services, some say that they had bad experiences and were therefore more likely to seek alternative help. Young people are still reeling from the pandemic Much of the increase in reported mental health problems can be attributed to the Covid pandemic. Even though five years have passed, the nations youth are scarred by successive lockdowns with students hit particularly hard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A University of Oxford study found that those who lived through the pandemic were more likely to suffer from increased depression, social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and worsening general mental well-being. Some 74pc of students reported that the pandemic had a negative impact on their mental health and wellbeing at university, according to StudentMinds, with two thirds of respondents saying they have often felt isolated or lonely since March 2020. Many of those pupils who saw their social development derailed over the course of two years will now be at university. The pandemic had a really big impact in lots of ways, says Hannah Salton, who was a career adviser at Imperial College. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It impacted students learning as well as the social element. Those complications have been reflected in mental health challenges. The lockdowns really impacted peoples social lives, she adds, leaving graduates without the social skills to connect with others. 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. A study conducted by researchers from the Mexican governments Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation, to which EL PAIS has had access, has identified high concentrations of ash and hydrocarbon smoke at the Izaguirre ranch in Teuchitlan in Jalisco in 2019, years before its links to criminal activities were discovered. In recent weeks, the Mexican executive, led by President Claudia Sheinbaum, has indicated that the ranch was used as a training center for the criminal group Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and has also revealed that the group killed and tortured people there. The satellite images analyzed show ashes in the exact locations on the ranch where relatives of missing persons reported, in early March, the discovery of clandestine crematoriums, following the finding of hundreds of bone fragments at the site. The group of relatives, Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco (Warrior Searchers of Jalisco), has claimed that the ranch functioned as an extermination center an expression the government has avoided using. This stance that has sparked significant controversy in Mexico, which has suffered from extremely high levels of violence for over two decades. Investigation work at the Izaguirre ranch, March 11, 2025. FISCALIA DE JALISCO The study, submitted this week to the Jalisco State Search Commission, was not publicly known. In light of what happened in Teuchitlan, researchers analyzed hundreds of images from the European Space Agencys (ESA) Sentinel-2 satellite to determine the presence of ash and smoke plumes at the ranch. To do so, they used a platform designed by the Science Ministrys Center for Research in Geospatial Information Sciences (CentroGeo), which has participated in other high-profile investigations, such as the Ayotzinapa case. On the platform, CentroGeo activated its own measurement tool, the NDAI5, which detects unusual concentrations of ash using shortwave infrared layers from satellite images wavelengths not visible to the human eye. To ensure accuracy, they filtered out all images containing clouds. The researchers then identified a significant event on February 22, 2019. On that day, Sentinel-2, which captures a range of colors invisible to the human eye, including shortwave infrared, passed over the ranch. When applying the NDAI5 tool, a sharp peak in ash concentration was immediately evident. NDAI5 time series at the Izaguirre ranch, from which an anomaly was detected on February 22, 2019. And not only that. In the standard image, without the infrared layers, they also noticed a black smoke trail emanating from the Izaguirre Ranch. The combination of the high concentration of ash in the area in front of the ranch where the Search Warriors reported finding clandestine crematoriums and the black smoke trail, which investigators firmly link to the burning of hydrocarbons such as gasoline, diesel, and tires, supports one of the prevailing theories about the ranchs use in recent years: that it was an extermination center. The fact that this event occurred in 2019 raises a troubling question: How long were criminals using the ranch for these activities? Jose Luis Silvan, one of the studys authors and a member of CentroGeo, says: Although we cant definitively say they were burning bodies, since those ash traces could be produced in several ways, considering other evidence and the current situation, there is a good chance that this is the case. Regarding the presence of smoke in the ranch, located in an agricultural area, Silvan adds that after reviewing hundreds of satellite images, they are certain that the black trail captured on February 22, 2019, was caused by a bonfire involving hydrocarbons, which took place inside the ranch an area that, as Silvan notes, had no agricultural activity. Data from other satellites consulted by EL PAIS further support the studys conclusions. NASAs Fire Information System (FIRMS), for example, shows that fire activity in the ranchs vicinity occurred over the 15 days leading up to the detection of the ash peak. According to the tool, fire detection began on January 26, 2019, and continued consistently until February 9. Gabriela Belaunzaran, a geoinformatician and space analyst, argues that, based on the evidence of cremation found by search groups and the identification of ash, the fires detected by NASA satellites over the two-week period may correspond to a controlled blaze, intentionally fueled and sustained. However, unlike Sentinel-2, FIRMS images do not provide enough detail to determine whether the fires occurred within the ranch or its immediate surroundings. Aerial view of the Izaguirre ranch, March 11, 2025. Francisco Guasco (EFE) Experiments with pigs The study is based on several years of work. In 2021, the National Search Commission, under the Ministry of the Interior, funded a series of experiments in collaboration with CentroGeo, aimed at developing indexes for the detection of substances with applications in forensic searches. By that time, Mexico had already encountered hundreds of clandestine graves across the country and had experience with places where criminals had burned or dismembered their victims. Notable examples include La Gallera in Baja California, where Santiago Meza, alias El Pozolero, dissolved hundreds of bodies over the years, and the El Limon ranch in Veracruz, where alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel killed and dismantled five young men who disappeared in 2017. The goal of the experiment was to explore tracking methods beyond the ongoing efforts of groups of relatives searching for missing persons across the country. These relatives, who have been the driving force behind the discovery of this tragedy, are searching for more than 115,000 missing individuals, 15,000 of whom are from Jalisco. Researchers set to work on the project. Pig remains were burned to simulate the presence of human tissue, using materials commonly employed by criminal groups to dissolve human bodies (such as caustic soda, lime, and muriatic acid, among others), the study states. With this, a series of indices were designed [...] of which the NDAI5 index was the most suitable for use with Sentinel-2 images and for detecting the presence of ash. In the experiments, the researchers used their own camera, which was capable of capturing numerous spectral bands colors invisible to the human eye unlike Sentinel-2, which captures only 12 or 13. This greatly facilitated the research and enriched subsequent analyses, allowing the identification of specific fuel traces, among other findings. It also resolved the issue of cloud interference by using ground-level drone cameras. These efforts ultimately led to the creation of various measuring tools, some for ash concentration and others for detecting fuels. With Teuchitlan as a focus, the researchers began a process of trial and error until they discovered that one of the meters, the NDAI5, worked particularly well with Sentinel-2. The study should be understood as a modest reflection of what happened at the ranch and across the Valles region of Jalisco, where other similar training centers linked to the CJNG have been discovered. Silvan notes that since January 2018, when the satellite began sending data, it has located 8,000 anomaly points in the region areas with very high ash concentrations. Many of these points clearly indicate agricultural activities, especially considering the color of the smoke white or gray. However, every now and then, we do find a black one. And when you go to the property on the satellite image, you see a garbage dump or a vacant lot, with no agricultural activity, and they are suspicious. We have already shared this data with the state search commission, the expert explains. Its also true that Sentinel-2 only sends information every six days, unlike, for example, NASAs system, which sends information daily. Some of the images in the study were discarded due to cloud coverage, leading to information gaps of 12 days or more. This opens up many possibilities, especially when cross-referencing this data gap with the information gathered by NASAs FIRMS over the years. While NASAs system provides daily updates, it does not offer the same level of detail as the European satellite. NASA image confirming the presence of fire in the ranch (see pin), February 2019. NASA In addition to the data from January and February 2019, NASAs satellites have identified other heat events near the Teuchitlan ranch in recent years. At times, the coordinates provided by FIRMS fall within the property, while other times they are located outside. The margin of error for these satellite measurements is typically a few dozen meters. The closest fire detections to the ranch, according to NASAs tool, occurred on the following dates: May 13, 2021 (with fire activity lasting 19 days), March 15, 2023 (23 days), January 22, 2024 (two fires, one lasting two days and the other 30 days), and February 2, 2025. In the last case, fires were recorded at multiple points around the property, with heat emissions lasting between 20 and 30 days. Shortly after that, during the first weekend of March, the ranchs discovery made national headlines. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition For many years, voices have been raised against the discharge of raw sewage into our rivers and seas. For just as long, governments have promised to stop it happening. Yet the latest statistics make for depressing reading. Last year the water companies pumped out sewage for longer than ever, an estimated 3.6 million hours, though the number of outflows fell slightly compared with 2023. In its annual report, the Environment Agency blamed a lack of capacity in the pipes that carry effluent to overstretched treatment plants and heavy rain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The full extent of pollution is unknown because even though the monitors record the frequency and duration of outflows, the volume is self-reported by the water companies whose data is not always complete. What is to be done about this appalling state of affairs? A review into the water sector led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, is due to report by the summer. Meanwhile, regulators are investigating alleged breaches of the law by at least three companies. Environment Secretary Steve Reed has threatened the culprits with heavy fines and even jail. But the fact is that our water companies need to invest more even while they are facing financial difficulties or, in some cases, bankruptcy. Politicians may insist on remedial action being taken but who is to pay for it? Consumers are already facing the biggest increase in bills since privatisation to improve the infrastructure. When the next set of figures are published there need to be signs of significant improvements or those responsible should be finally be held to account. 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. A British passenger aboard a Princess Cruises ship was airlifted to a hospital by the Spanish coast guard after experiencing heart issues during her voyage. Images released by Spains Galician Coast Guard show emergency personnel and cruise staff helping a woman into a helicopter rescue basket before being airlifted on Wednesday, 26 March. The Pesca 1 helicopter of the Galician Coast Guard service evacuated a passenger from the Sky Princess cruise ship, 15 miles west of A Guarda, the coast guard said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They added the woman was airlifted due to heart problems and was transferred her to the Alvaro Cunqueiro hospital. The coast guard told The Sun it had coordinated the medical evacuation of a British woman from the cruise ship Sky Princess, which had departed from Vigo heading to Funchal, five miles southwest of Cape Silleiro." Sky Princess left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a 27-day one-way cruise around Spain and Portugal, with stops also in Morocco and the Canary Islands before it is due to anchor at its final stop in Southampton on 5 April. Inside the helicopter as it made its way to the cruise ship (Galician Coast Guard) The cruise was roughly halfway through its itinerary after leaving Vigo, Spain on its way to Funchal, Portugal when the British cruise passenger had to be airlifted back to Vigo to be hospitalised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another Princess Cruise ship hit headlines earlier this month after several of its passengers and crew were injured during a sailing from Sydney after the vessel encountered rough waters and dramatically tilted on its side. Sixteen passengers and crew sustained injuries after the Crown Princess, which was on a two-week round trip, hit strong winds after changing course close to Milford Sound, a famous fjord on New Zealands South Island. Video footage shows staff scrambling to grab breakfast dishes and plates rolling down the kitchen as passengers battled to stay upright at the buffet. The on-deck swimming pool can be seen spilling over as the ship tilted with pots and pans crashing onto the kitchen floor and perfumes toppled from shelves in the gift shop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The captain told guests that the ship had been hit by a 75-knot wind, which momentarily increased the vessels speed and tilted the boat by 14 degrees. The Independent has contacted Princess Cruises and the Galician Coast Guard for comment. For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calders podcast By Amanda Ferguson BELFAST (Reuters) - The sole British soldier charged with murder over the 1972 'Bloody Sunday' killings of 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland will face trial in September, a court heard on Friday. Bloody Sunday became one of the defining moments of the Troubles, three decades of sectarian violence involving nationalists seeking a united Ireland, unionists wanting to remain part of the United Kingdom, and British forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Parachute Regiment soldier, who cannot be identified and is known as Soldier F, is accused of murdering William McKinney and James Wray, when members of the British army regiment shot dead 13 civil rights protesters on the streets of Londonderry on January 30, 1972. The British government apologised in 2010 for the "unjustified and unjustifiable" killings of the peaceful protesters. Soldier F has already pleaded not guilty to a total of seven charges he faces, including five of attempted murder, in connection with the incidents over 53 years ago. Judge Justice Fowler told a court in Londonderry that the trial would start on Sep. 15. Soldier F was not required to be in court for the proceedings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We welcome that a trial date has now been set. Let's get on with it," William McKinney's brother Mickey McKinney told Reuters. "For us it's important at least one soldier is into court". The case will be mentioned again in court on April 11. (Reporting by Amanda Ferguson, Editing by Sachin Ravikumar) DES MOINES, Iowa The TECH & TEACH program at Broadlawns Medical Center is an apprenticeship for adults and students interested in working in healthcare. The program provides hands-on experience and educational opportunities for adults with employment barriers and high schoolers identified as at-risk, all while prioritizing participants from the 50314 and 50316 zip codes, areas with some of the highest poverty and unemployment levels in Des Moines. The program is changing not only careers, but lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We could take people from the community, get them skills to work in the hospital. So, its almost like we created our own incubator, said Program Director Dennis Henderson. An experience hand-tailored to set participants up for success when entering healthcare-related careers. Its a lot more fun when were actually doing hands-on and actually seeing the help that were doing within the hospital, said Caleb Gavin, a current program participant. Abandoned by the State of Iowa: Vulnerable residents in Madison County speak out after home health program is cut While allowing those who might not otherwise imagine themselves in a professional space. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Barriers to good employment can mean different things to different people. It can be only having entry-level jobs; it could be having a criminal background. There are several things that cause us to believe that you have a barrier, said Henderson. The program helps to break through those barriers by providing cultural training, soft skills, and financial literacy in addition to hands-on experience. I just didnt think I was ready, but then, like last year, right before I joined the class, I was looking for that transition in life and I just jumped on the website and there it was Now Im showing my kids an establishment of what they can do with themselves instead of just being at a dead-end job, said Carl Lamar, a program graduate and Broadlawns employee. While the TEACH program focuses on adults, the TECH program centers around high schoolers interested in healthcare, and gives them a competitive advantage over their peers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I didnt really know what to do when I first graduated because I knew I needed that clinical experience, but I didnt know how to get it. So, joining the tech program really set me up for success, said Tae Shaun Presswood, a program graduate and pre-med student at the University of Iowa. So, a person could come out of this situation with a lot of college education, a lot of skills, and theyre in a good position to have jobs here for a lifetime, said Henderson. For some, the program signals more than just a title change, but rather a larger change in their lives. If you would have told me where I would be right now a year ago, I would have laughed, you know, I wouldnt have thought that I would be working in a hospital, said Gavin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After struggling with mental health and addiction, Calebs life is now on a completely different path, with his sights set on graduation and future goals of being a social worker. So, I want to be able to help them back out into the community in a gentle way. And I can relate to them. So, its not just like Im trying to tell them what to do. You know, they can see that Ive struggled with it and then got myself out of the depth of mental health, said Gavin All thanks to a program that gave back to him first. I mean, whats better than that? Yeah, and you could see that growth and you could see that effect on people, said Henderson. 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. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) We have new details in the case against a state employee charged with child porn and sexual exploitation of a minor, including how he was connected to a missing teen in North Carolina. We first told you about 24-year-old Mohammad Ghosheh Wednesday night after he was released on a $10,000 cash bond. Court documents reveal how authorities came to know about him and what they found at his house. According to court documents, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigations received a CyberTip at the beginning of March that Mohammad Ghosheh was talking to a 15-year-old girl from North Carolina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Supreme Court rules for family of dead driver Ghosheh allegedly asked the teen for nude photos of herself as well as told her hed fly to North Carolina if he liked what he saw. That conversation was just days before an Amber Alert was issued for the 15-year-old. The 15-year-old girl has been recovered and another 30-year-old has been arrested by the North Carolina authorities regarding their investigation, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said. While Ghosheh was not involved in the North Carolina kidnapping, hes accused of preying on the same victim. When authorities searched his house and vehicle in Brookings following the CyberTip, court documents say officers found what appeared to be a quote sex kidnapping kit in his car. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It contains various tools and items that would be used of a sexual nature and to restrain somebody, Jackley said. Inside Ghoshehs home, officers allegedly found similar items, handcuffs and sex toys. And on his electronics, authorities say they found child pornography involving girls between the ages of 3 and 14. CyberTips is that opportunity for law enforcement to work together to ultimately protect and save victims, Jackley said. This is a case that demonstrates that. Why having the ICAC, which is Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that received to act very quickly to make an arrest and, again, it worked how it should. Ghosheh has no prior criminal history and was an employee with the Department of Social Services. The DSS Communication Administrator tells KELOLAND News Ghosheh has been relieved of all of his duties with the department. 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. BROWNWOOD, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) A Brownwood man has been indicted for the Capital Murder of a 10-month-old child, and the childs mother is also facing charges related to the case. Steven Wayne Peacock, Jr., 22, of Brownwood, was indicted Tuesday on charges for Capital Murder and Aggravated Assault Serious Bodily Injury to a Family Member. Peacock was arrested and charged with Injury to a Child during the initial investigation in December 2024, when a 10-month old victim was flown to Cook Childrens Medical Center in Fort Worth for treatment to serious injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This child died from her injuries January 6, despite intensive efforts to save her. After the childs death, Texas Rangers joined the investigation and gathered enough evidence to get Peacocks charge upgraded to Capital Murder. The childs mother, Angel Mari Bernal, 24, of Brownwood, was also indicted Tuesday for Injury to a Child and Abandoning or Endangering a Child. Bernal is being held in the Brown County Jail on bonds totaling $175,000 and Peacock is being held without 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 KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. In recent months, the world has closely followed discussions about ending the war the war Russia began against Ukraine eleven years ago with the occupation of Crimea. For the past three years, Ukraine has endured a full-scale invasion: daily missile strikes, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the killing of innocent people. But behind the frontlines and explosions, another crime is unfolding that is less visible but no less devastating: the abduction of Ukrainian children. This crime threatens the future even more deeply than ruined cities. That is why a ceasefire alone cannot bring the war to an end. If the humanitarian dimension the return of our citizens, including children is not firmly built into the peace process, the peace can be neither lasting nor just. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine is doing its part. In early March, a Ukrainian delegation held talks with US officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The meeting included secretary of state Marco Rubio and national security advisor Mike Waltz. Last week, president Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with president Donald Trump to reaffirm Ukraines readiness to continue dialogue. Peace does not mean concessions. It cannot reward aggression. It must restore justice. And when we speak of occupied territories, we must also speak of the children who were taken. According to human rights organisations, 1.6 million Ukrainian children are currently under Russian control in temporarily occupied territories. They are denied access to Ukrainian education, subjected to forced Russian citizenship and Russification, propaganda, and militarised training. Margarita Prokopenko was a girl from the Kherson Regional Childrens Home, abducted by Russian occupiers after they took over the city. In August 2022, she was taken to Moscow under the pretense of a medical examination, and by December 2022 she was adopted by Sergey Mironov, a key Putin ally and leader of the Spravedlivaya Rossiya party. Her name and patronymic were changed to Marina Sergeyevna Mironova, and her birthplace was falsely recorded as Podolsk, Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This case is part of a broader pattern where Russian authorities erase the identity of Ukrainian children, making their retrieval and repatriation more difficult. Knowledge of the Russian language among Ukrainian children is perceived as a vulnerability for faster indoctrination. Throughout Ukraines independence until 2014, the Russian language coexisted with Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar, Hungarian, and other languages spoken by Ukrainian citizens. But Russia turned the Russian language into a tool of aggression; a pretext for the occupation of Crimea and the full-scale invasion. And it is precisely the predominantly Russian-speaking regions Donetsk, Luhansk, Mariupol, Kharkiv that have been most destroyed, and children from these exact regions have been most subjected to abduction. The Russian language is used by the Russian Federation to justify violence. The war has shown that one can speak the same language as Russia, but Russians will not understand a single word of this shared language if it is about sovereignty, security and human rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Russia, Ukrainian children in kindergartens are involved in programs like Eaglets of Russia and forced to draw pictures for soldiers. Schoolchildren are also forced to join the paramilitary Yunarmiya. Many are placed in cadet academies that prepare them not for peace but future wars, possibly even against Europe. This cannot be up for negotiation: if we allow Putin to turn children into bargaining chips, he will keep taking more. We cannot legitimise this crime. Children must not be trophies of war. The return of Ukrainian children must be a central part of any peace process. Not an optional gesture. Not a diplomatic favour. It must be a fundamental condition. This isnt new. Russias campaign to erase Ukrainian identity began centuries ago with a series of prohibitions and other measures targeting our language and culture. Forced Russification is one of the reasons why in some regions of Ukraine Russian-speakers prevail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2015, after occupying Crimea, the Russians started forcibly adopting Ukrainian children. A month into the the full-scale invasion in 2022, they had removed 2,300 children from occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. That same year, Russian officials reported placing 744,000 Ukrainian children in Russian custody. This was never about evacuation. It was a calculated crime against Ukraines future. These children are stripped of their names, identities, and memories. Their language and culture are taken from them. They are told their country abandoned them; that their only future is in service to Russia. They are being used to justify war. But we will not let it happen. Ukraine continues its work to identify and bring our children home. Through the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, launched by president Zelensky, over 1,200 children have been returned. But many more remain in captivity. We wont stop. Well keep using every tool we have: rescue missions, diplomacy, and the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week, a Ukrainian delegation is in London. We are here to speak about justice, and to call for solidarity not just military, but humanitarian. The United Kingdom has led before in standing up to tyranny. Today, it can lead again by helping to create and advocate for mechanisms for the return of abducted Ukrainian children. A system that will set the standard for child protection in war. Returning children is about the future. Wars start at the dictators command. But they end when the world stands together for what is right. Andriy Yermak is Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine 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. FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Tricia McManus sat down with FOX8 to address questions and concerns about the $5 million budget shortfall announced earlier this week at a board of education meeting. FOX8 asked McManus if the district prepared adequately for the ESSER funding to end. ESSER is the acronym for the emergency funds awarded to schools as a result of the pandemic. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools budget shortfall draws questions with few answers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We knew the ESSER funding was coming to an end We prepared, she said. Weve probably needed to make more reductions. Even had we not gotten ESSER dollars, we would have gotten to this place. The district is faced with dissolving vacant positions, demoting people or offering to reassign them, which affects 116 jobs. As you compare our central office and the size of our district, and youre looking at other districts, we are trying to get within what we can maintain over time, and this is just a necessity right now, McManus said. She said some central office workers could end up in classrooms if theyre licensed, but many probably do not want to make that change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There might be some that could be OK with it, McManus said. She also said some employees prefer the versatility of their role since they get to travel to different schools to help train teachers. After the audit revealed the shortfall, there was also a note in the report indicating the district needed to address a staffing void, and she confirmed they are looking to fill a director of finance position. If positions are eliminated at the school level, that is not because of the budget. Its because of the state algorithm involving enrollment, which determines how many positions are funded. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools has $5 million budget deficit, could cut jobs, superintendent says Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moving forward, McManus says there are guardrails in place, and finances will be reviewed every two weeks by not only her but the board as well. She understands people are concerned and are watching closely. The buck stops with me, and I take everything personally. I absorb everything, and I take it on my shoulders because I do believe if something goes wrong anywhere, it is my responsibility, McManus said. She went on to say that at the end of the day, the districts responsibility is the education of its students. The next board meeting is on April 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 FOX8 WGHP. Keep calm and carry on is a British mantraand thats exactly what King Charles is doing after a brief hospital stay this week due to side effects from his ongoing cancer treatment. WPA Pool/Getty Images In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace on Thursday, it was revealed that the monarch was admitted to the London Clinic following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer. It continued: The King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was released the same day, something the statement also noted, along with updates about Charless royal calendar. His Majestys afternoon engagements were therefore postponed, it read. His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrows diary programme will also be rescheduled. Max Mumby/Getty Images The king first announced his treatment for cancer in February 2024, something that was discovered following a three-day hospital stay for a benign prostate procedure. After taking time off to focus on his recovery, he returned to royal duties at the end of April 2024 with a plan to mind his doctors advice and pace himself as his treatment carried on. (The type of cancer that Charles is battling has not been revealed.) All in all, its been pretty smooth sailing for the monarch since resuming his royal duties last year, which is why this announcement from Buckingham Palace came as a bit of a surprise. Still, his hospital stay was described as the most minor bump in the road thats very much heading in the right direction, per a royal source who spoke to People. Additionally, the Telegraph noted that the bigger grievance for the king surrounding this will be that he had to cancel engagements in Birmingham on Friday. And, as of right now, his state visit to Italyalongside his wife, Queen Camillais full steam ahead. Yui Mok/Getty Images Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of course, unlike his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton, who recently shared that she was in remission after her own cancer experience last year, weve yet to receive a similar update in regard to His Majestys health. But a sign that the monarch is doing OK following his hospitalization? He was pictured being driven away from Clarence House this morning and waving to well-wishers who came out to see him. More than anything, we hope the king takes it easy. King Charles Will Take on a Surprising New Role in His Latest Project with Apple Music Miles Morrisseau ICT Winnipeg police have identified Buffalo Woman one of four known victims of a serial killer who targeted Indigenous women in Manitoba as 31-year-old Ashlee Christine Shingoose of St. Theresa Point Anishinew Nation. The identification was confirmed through DNA tests on pants linked to convicted murderer Jeremy Skibicki close to three years to the day after Shingoose went missing from Winnipeg, officials announced this week. SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY. The news prompted police to redouble their efforts to search Winnipeg-area landfills where the remains of three other victims have already been found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shingoose, who was named Buffalo Woman or Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe by Indigenous elders, was among four Indigenous women Skibicki confessed to killing during the spring of 2022. He told police that Shingoose was his first victim, in mid-March of 2022. The remains of the other women had been dumped in a garbage bin near his apartment and eventually taken to landfills. Ashlee Shingoose, 31, St. Theresa Point Anishinew Nation, has been identified as one of four known victims of a serial killer who targeted Indigenous women in the Winnipeg area. She had previously been identified only as "Buffalo Woman." (Credit: APTN) Shingooses family members traveled to Winnipeg and spoke to the media on Wednesday, March 26, with First Nations and community supporters. Ashlees father, Albert Shingoose, thanked First Nations leadership and the community for helping the family try to bring their daughter home, and he urged officials to continue searching the Brady Landfill. Please, I need your voices, he implored, holding his hand up to the sky. I need your voices to make them start on that landfill as soon as possible. It's too long. It's too long. It's not good. A landfill is not a burial ground Were not garbage. Nobody is garbage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, speaking to reporters the previous day when the identification was released, made a commitment to continue the search. I want to say to Ashlee's parents, to her mom and dad who I had a chance to speak to briefly yesterday, I promise you that we are going to search the Brady Landfill for your daughter, Kinew said. I cannot promise you that we are going to bring her home, but I can promise you that we will try. The identification was confirmed through DNA tests on pants that Skibicki had mentioned to police during his confession, according to CBC News. A familys grief On Tuesday, March 25, members of the police services, including support workers, flew to the isolated community in northeastern Manitoba to share the tragic news with the family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Albert Shingoose said the family did not expect police to tell them that their daughter had been identified. Sgt. Mike Macdonald came over to talk with us at St. Theresa Point, came to talk to my wife and I. We didn't know this was going to come up. We figured all they were going to say to us was, They are still going to look, Shingoose said. They came out .. and told us, We know where Ashlee is, he said. My wife and I looked at each other and we cried. Related: Bittersweet moment: Morgan Harris remains found in Canada landfill Ashlees mother, Theresa, said her daughter had traveled far from home to seek a better life in the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was a loving person, the grieving mother told reporters. She wanted to look after her kids. When she came here with her kids, she went to the womens shelter because we had no place at our home They found a place for her and she was making it good after that. Theresa then noticed that her daughter had started hanging out with different people. She started taking drugs and drinking, and then she lost her kids and they were sent to my home for me to look after, she said. A killers confession Families of two other missing women, Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, had been pushing more than two years to convince officials to search the landfills, after the partial remains of another woman, Rebecca Contois, O-Chi Chak Ko Sipi First Nation, were found at the Brady Landfill site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite protests from the families and a Camp Morgan set up outside the Brady Landfill, government officials finally began formal searches in December. Earlier this month, officials announced they had found two sets of remains at the Prairie Green Landfill that were identified as Harris and Myran. Cambria Harris, right, daughter of Morgan Harris, is joined by Cathy Merrick, then grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, at a press conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on March 22, 2024. The remains of Morgan Harris, one of four Indigenous women targeted by a serial killer in Winnipeg, were eventually found in a Canadian landfill. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP) Skibicki, of Winnipeg, had confessed to the killings and was convicted in July 2024 of four counts of first-degree murder in the killings of four women Harris, Myran, Contois and the woman identified at the time only as Buffalo Woman. Skibicki identified Shingoose as his first victim, and law enforcement officials collected DNA from a jacket believed to have been worn by her. The DNA on the jacket did not belong to Shingoose, however, and officials then tested pants that Skibicki had also mentioned in his confession to police, according to CBC. The DNA was found to be Shingoose's. Its not clear if officials believe there are other victims yet to be identified. Kindness and compassion The announcement that Shingoose had been identified was made by Winnipeg Police Chief Gene Bower, who was sworn into the chief's position earlier in the month after serving as deputy chief during the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our hearts go out to Albert and Theresa Shingoose, Ashley's parents, and all the members of St. Theresa's Point who received this unbearable news, Bower said. Your daughter deserved to be named, and we offer our condolences. I would be remiss not to acknowledge that the initial decision not to search for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran has had a significant impact on the families and the community. We have had time for reflection for almost nearly three years, while we cannot undo the past, we can learn from it. Today, we know what needs to be done. First Nations leaders and community activists were present at the announcement, including Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson. This tragedy is part of a pattern of violence against First Nations women, girls and Two-Spirit people, Wilson said. AMC supports the Shingoose family and the immediate search of the Brady Landfill. We must bring Ashlee home. Wilson thanked the chief, Kinew and other officials for their commitments to the families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today we recognize the strength, love and resilience that bind us together as First Nations people, Wilson said. Kindness and compassion for our relatives got us here and supporting families will continue to bring our relatives home. Kinew gave credit to the families for never giving up and for their efforts not only to bring home their loved ones home but also to bring about change on a national level. The call from the families and the community to search the Prairie Greene Landfill became a conversation in Canada about reconciliation, Kinew said. I am very proud of the people of Manitoba, even through many ups and downs and many difficult conversations along the way. I am very proud that the people of Manitoba answered, In this province, when someone goes missing, we go looking. He added, In addition to having your loved ones being returned to you, I hope you realize that you are changing Manitoba and you are changing Canada for the better. Future generations of girls and women and Two-Spirited people will be safer because of that. As the leader of the province and as a leader in a united team Canada I want to say thank you. I want to say Meegwetch for that work. Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICTs free newsletter. ICT, formerly Indian Country Today, is a nonprofit news organization that covers the Indigenous world with a daily digital platform and news broadcast with international viewership. Secretary of State Marco Rubios visit to Guyana has rekindled tensions with Venezuela. The senior U.S. official warned Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on Thursday that a military attack on the small but oil-rich neighboring country would be a big mistake and would have consequences for Caracas. The Donald Trump administration is showing Guyana its full support in its territorial dispute with Venezuela. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, he said in reply to a question about a hypothetical attack against ExxonMobil projects in Guyana. The remarks were delivered at a press conference in the capital, Georgetown, alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali. Clashes over the territorial dispute have resurfaced in recent weeks. The Chavista regimes intention to call elections in the Essequibo region to elect a governor and representatives has set off alarm bells. It is unclear how this measure will be implemented, but the Venezuelan government has insisted that on May 25th, in less than two months, polls will take place in this territory. Guyana has reacted to Venezuelas political intentions by threatening those who support these elections with charges of treason. If it is a Guyanese who is appointed governor of Essequibo [...], we will accuse that person of treason and arrest him, said Guyanas Minister of National Security, Robenson Benn. Each and every one of them can be charged with treason, and anyone who supports them will also be charged. CARICOM has also described this new movement as a threat, which could rekindle a crisis like the one two years ago with the referendum with which Venezuela sought to justify annexation of the territory. Added to this was the incident earlier this month, when a Venezuelan Navy corvette approached an ExxonMobil platform. This approach, in more than a decade of friction over Guyanese oil exploration and exploitation, is the first time Venezuela has come so close to Guyanas border. In this case, according to some analysts, Venezuela has crossed a line. Two previous incidents, in 2013 and 2018, which ended with the crews being detained, occurred further north of the border, in a more undefined area. Venezuela stands alone in the region in the defense of its claim on Essequibo, with the sole exception of the Nicaraguan regime, which supports Caracas. ExxonMobils exploration and exploitationin a joint venture with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, which holds a 25% stake and is also a partner of PDVSAwith which Guyana is securing a future as the richest country in the region, has been ongoing for over a decade, but its only now that there are strong demands from Caracas that fall within the new, incendiary framework of regional geopolitics with Trump in the White House. During the Hugo Chavez administration and the early years of Maduro, the construction of a petrodiplomacy with which Chavismo gained support in the Caribbean countriesloyal to Guyanas positiontook precedence over the territorial dispute. We have a big navy, and it can get almost anywhere. And we have ongoing commitments to Guyana, Rubio said, adding that he would not go into details about what the United States would do in the event of a Venezuelan attack on Guyana, but that new cooperation agreements have been signed on defense and security issues, particularly regarding offshore oil facilities. Rubio warned against regional threats based on illegitimate territorial claims by a narco-trafficking regime. And I want to be frank, There will be consequences for adventurism. Rubio's visit coincided with joint military exercises between the U.S. Navy and the Guyana Defense Force in international waters and within Guyana's Exclusive Economic Zone, intended to improve communications and coordination of joint maneuvers. Venezuela has also deployed military vehicles to nearby shores in recent months, including attack boats purchased from Iran. Venezuelas Vice President Delcy Rodriguez responded to Rubios visit by stating that Guyana must immediately halt the illegal and abusive use of a sea yet to be delimited and sit down to negotiate. In a Telegram message, she called the Guyana president the Zelenskiy of the Caribbean. Maduro for his part railed against Rubio. Here comes that idiot Marco Rubio threatening Venezuela from Guyana. You idiot, no one threatens Venezuela because this is the homeland of the liberators, this is the homeland of Bolivar, he declared. Negotiated solutions to the territorial conflict have been sought since 1966, with the Geneva Agreement. The initiatives ended in 2018, when the UN Secretary-General referred the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Although Venezuela has rejected Guyanas jurisdiction in this claim, it has taken part in the process and mounted a defense. In August, Venezuela will have the opportunity to submit its final written reply to the ICJ, which is analyzing the validity of the 1899 Paris Arbitration Award, which established Guyanas borders, including the Essequibo regionequivalent to two-thirds of its territoryclaimed by Venezuela. It will do so after Venezuela has elected governors and representatives for Essequibo, although nobody knows where they will fulfill their duties. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The efforts to find survivors in the rubble of the March 28 earthquake that struck Myanmar and Thailand are winding down, as the death toll surpasses 3,600. The Myanmar Fires Services Department told the Associated Press that international rescue teams from countries like Singapore, Malaysia and India have returned to their countries. A spokesperson for the military government said rescue operations included personnel from 20 countries, and that about 160 people remain missing, with 5,017 injured. The focus is now turning to those who survived and are in need of help. The U.N. Office For The Coordination Of Humanitarian Affairs issued a report on Monday that said more than 17.2 million people are living in areas impacted by the devastating quake, and they urgently need food, water, shelter and more. Safe shelter will become an even bigger concern when the monsoon season sets in, usually in June. The report notes, People left homeless by the earthquakes are exposed to extreme heat during the countrys hottest and driest month of the year, and rains have already started in Mandalay posing an additional threat to those sheltering in the open. (MORE: Iceland Volcano Erupts Again, Prompting Evacuations) The Associated Press reported via the World Health Organization that more than 10,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in central and northwestern Myanmar. Residents who lost their homes or were fearful of ongoing aftershocks were sleeping outside, and rescue crews endured triple-digit heat during the daytime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The earthquake struck around midday local time on Friday, March 28 and was quickly followed by a powerful 6.4 magnitude aftershock, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Amid the search, there was a glimmer of good news when a 26-year-old man was pulled from underneath a destroyed building alive in the Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw. The Associated Press identified the man as Naing Lin Tun, and added that it took upward of nine hours to remove the man from the spot where he was trapped for nearly 108 hours. (WATCH: Strong Tornado Leaves Serious Damage In Louisiana) Myanmar, one of the poorest countries in the world, is in the midst of a civil war and information there is tightly controlled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video shared to social media showed a massive crack reported to have opened up not far from the quake's epicenter. The military government says the quake has officially been named the "Big Mandalay Earthquake." Previous significant earthquakes also received names A map shows the location of the earthquake. In Bangkok, a high-rise that was under construction collapsed amid the violent shaking and hundreds of thousands fled their homes and offices to get outside, fearing additional building collapses. "All of a sudden the whole building began to move. Immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic," Fraser Morton, who is visiting Bangkok from Scotland, told the AP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rooftop pools shook amid the tremors, sending waterfalls cascading down to the streets below. Damage and injuries were also reported in China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, the AP said. Myanmar was hit by at least two weather disasters last year. Typhoon Yagi triggered flooding and landslides in September that aid groups say left a reported 200 people dead. More than 320,000 people were displaced from their homes. Flooding in July reportedly killed more than 300 people. Uniformed emergency personnel stand amid massive piles of building rubble. Weather.com senior writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between. (Bloomberg) -- Bulgarias energy chief said the Balkan nation will begin construction on a gas grid-expansion project in the next few weeks as part of a regional effort to boost capacity after Ukraine ended Russian transit. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov cited growing demand for natural gas as Bulgaria aims to lock in agreements with grid operators for the so-called Vertical Gas Corridor. That route expands transit capacity for liquefied natural gas flowing through terminals in Greece northward to Ukraine and Moldova, with volumes meeting demand as far as Hungary and Slovakia. Were using everything, the full capacity of the state, to move the project forward, Stankov said in an interview in Sofia on Thursday. Bulgaria has emerged as the only active route for Russian pipeline gas flowing to Europe after war-battered Ukraine ended a long-term contract with Russias Gazprom PJSC for the transit of as much as 40 billion cubic meters annually. Bulgarias route is an extension of TurkStream, a Black Sea pipeline designed to bypass Ukraine that was completed shortly before Russias invasion. European nations that have maintained ties with the Kremlin, including Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia, depend on Gazprom for most of their supplies, though some have weighed alternative sources such as Azerbaijan since Russias war disrupted deliveries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine itself is set to import record levels of gas from Europe in the next year nearly five times its consumption in previous years as Russian attacks devastate its energy infrastructure. The Vertical Corridor, for which Bulgaria has allocated 625 million lev ($345 million) in state guarantees for loans, will double capacity north to Romania to about 10 billion cubic meters annually. That will allow LNG including Russian gas from the Greek ports of Alexandroupolis and Revythoussa to reach Ukraine. The Bulgarian section should be completed in late 2026. Bulgaria has held talks with Hungary, Moldova and Ukraine on potentially conducting joint tenders for LNG volumes, Stankov said. The objective would be to secure better prices and make use of Ukraines available storage capacity of about 30 billion cubic meters, while providing access to suppliers such as Cheniere Energy Inc., he said. We need to start looking now for longer-term contracts to secure risk diversification and fixed prices, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement --With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) A man is sentenced to decades behind bars without the possibility of parole and a lifetime restraining order after pleading guilty to a super aggravated sexual offense against a child. Gabriel Estrada being escorted from the 30th District Court on March 27, 2025 (Photo credit: Josh Hoggard, KFDX/KJTL) Gabriel Andrew Estrada, 40, of Burkburnett, pleaded guilty to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a victim under age 14 and two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact on Friday, March 21, 2025, in the 30th District Court, with Judge Jeff McKnight presiding. Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the continuous sexual abuse of a child charge and 20 years in prison for each of the two indecency charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PREVIOUS STORY: Burk man jailed after allegedly sexually assaulting, threatening 11-year-old While all three sentences were set to run concurrently, continuous sexual abuse of a child is considered a super aggravated offense under Texas law, meaning Estrada will not be eligible for parole and will be required to serve the entirety of his sentence. Four charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child by exposure against Estrada were dismissed. Since Estrada was convicted of a super aggravated offense, Texas law does not allow for him to be found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a lesser first-degree felony offense. In addition, a restraining order was filed against Estrada, forbidding him from ever making contact with the victim for the duration of the victims life. Gabriel Estrada being escorted from the 30th District Court on March 27, 2025 (Photo credit: Josh Hoggard, KFDX/KJTL) According to court documents, an 11-year-old girl made an outcry of sexual abuse by Estrada to her parents in February 2024. The victim said Estrada touched her and forced her to touch him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Estrada was arrested on Feb. 28, 2024, Burkburnett police said he admitted to 14 separate incidents of sexual assault against the victim, going as far back as June 2021, when the victim was 9 years old. On Thursday, March 27, 2025, Estrada was brought back into the 30th District Court, where the victim and members of her family gave impact statements in open court. Im glad I no longer have to deal with you anymore, the victim said during her impact statement. You may have ruined my childhood, but you never broke me. Gabriel, you failed. The victims brother then gave an impact statement, telling Estrada that he hopes he spends the rest of his life in jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victims mother gave the final impact statement, looking Estrada directly in the eyes and asking him why he couldnt make eye contact with her. She called Estrada a coward, adding that she wouldnt let him steal anything else from her child. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) All of North Carolina is still under a burn ban after nearly a week. As wildfires in the western part of the state continue to burn, resources in the Triangle are stretched thin. Officials tell CBS 17 that the burn ban is increasingly important as small things can easily create a bigger blaze. Any kind of fire like that can double in size, you know, every 30 seconds to a minute, says Northern Wake Fire Chief Bart Travis, adding even a lit cigarette tossed out a car window could start a fire if it lands near leaves or debris. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Travis said Wake County has been lucky so far, not seeing a major wildfire, but it could still happen. Weve had a lot of storms over the last year, so youve got a lot of extra debris thats kind of in the woods or in peoples yards, he said. Travis said the perfect conditions for a wildfire exist right now: dry, little humidity and windy. Since March 21, all of North Carolina has been under a burn ban until further notice. Dont throw out any smoking articles, dont throw out any ashes from a grill or anything like that, Travis warned. Philip Jackson, spokesperson for the North Carolina Forest Service, said it would not take much to start a wildfire in the Triangle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wrong fire in the wrong place at the wrong time could be the next wildfire here locally as well, he said. With multiple fires still burning in western North Carolina, Jackson said resources are stretched thin. He said the NC Forest Service has over 400 resources out west, including crews from local fire departments and even out of state. Its all hands on deck, and so thats why we really need people to adhere to the burn ban to allow us to redirect resources where theyre needed the most, Jackson said. Travis has five people from his department in western NC. He said he is pulling in people off duty to handle local calls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State and county officials have told us to be ready for possibly three or four more deployments (to western NC), he said. Jackson said the burn ban is what helps keep things under control before a fire starts. Every time youre choosing to ignore the burn ban and burn, you could be starting the next wildfire, he said. It could be a while before the burn ban is lifted. Jackson said North Carolina would need to see at least a few inches of rain and see the fires out west die down. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com. (CANON CITY, Colo.) Canon City is quickly becoming more than just a spot for touristslocal leaders are focused on diversifying the economy by expanding into different sectors. However, with this growth comes a pressing demand for more housing. In the heart of Canon City, I Cubed Machining Technologies, a family-owned manufacturing facility, is transforming the region. I Cubed is one of several businesses currently operating out of the Fremont Economic Development Corporation incubator program. Its hard to put into words exactly how impactful the individuals at the incubator have been for us, said James DiOrio, Co-owner of I Cubed Machining Technologies. Largely, without them, this would not be what it is today. They allowed us to get into an opportunity where we could chase our dream and actually expand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fremont County economic leaders believe Canon City is up next on the list for growth in Colorado, and businesses like I Cubed are helping the region expand from just a tourism economy. Well, you know, if youre not growing, youre certainly not improving the economy whatsoever, and in rural Colorado, resiliency is a big deal, said Rob Brown, Executive Director at the Fremont Economic Development Corporation. We have to be resilient. We have to be able to continuously reinvent ourselves and improve our economic picture here. To diversify the economy, leaders are implementing a strategy called economic homesteading to attract new industries such as manufacturing, technology, and agriculture. Economic homesteading really means creating a micro-ecosystem or an environment that is suitable for business startups and job creating and in businesses of all types, Brown said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brown explained one of the keys to economic development in rural Colorado is the ability to create a startup community, an environment thats good for creating new businesses. We dont have the capacity to go compete for a Tesla plant where its going to be a multi-billion dollar facility, Brown said. What we do have the capacity to do are start businesses and create small businesses that create jobs. Economists have developed a strategy they call a profit cluster, a micro-ecosystem set up to support an individual industry, business, and sometimes even an individual entrepreneur. Kind of our cornerstone was the first one that we did, its called Tech Start, and thats creating tech-based businesses and weve grown over 300 jobs in Fremont County, the tech-based sector. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With growth comes the need for housing, and leaders have a plan for that as well. The Four Mile project is a 1,562.7-acre mixed-use planned development at the east end of Canon City. Theres room for thousands of homes, as well as commercial and retail spaces, this represents a huge opportunity for development, said Rick Harrmann, Economic Development Manager for Canon City. The new zoning for the Four Mile project has just been approved, and the city is now beginning the minor subdivision process to bring the vision to life. But thats not the only vision economic leaders have for the area. I see this as a land of opportunity, Harrmann explained. The challenge right now is that many people arent fully aware of the potential 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 FOX21 News Colorado. CADE, La. (KLFY)- A public hearing was held for Cade residents who have concerns about the proposed expansion of a nearby dump site. The St. Martin Parish Council and members from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality were in attendance to listen to residents concerns. The nearby dump site, GreenPoint INC, is located on Old Spanish Highway in Cade and is owned by Sean Day. Day requested a solid waste permit modification application. In that application, it states the landfill would reach capacity within a year, and the site asked to increase the height of the site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many residents have come forward with complaints about the odor and flying dust from the site. One resident, David Pugh, said he will speak at the meeting and hopes the Department of Environmental Quality will hear his concerns. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest We hope the DEQ will hear us, put the package together and deny his expansion, hes got a little bit of room to grow I think still, so he can make a little bit more money then hes obligated to close the place, thats what wed rather have him do, weve had enough, said Pugh. Pugh said the site is an eyesore for all residents who live near the site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its an eyesore, its a shame that it happening, its a finger in our eye that theyre letting him get away with all these things over there, said Pugh. Joseph Cormier, a longtime resident in Cade, said he and his wife have also had concerns with sitting outside of their home because of the heavy dust polluting the air. He said he has contacted the Baton Rouge Department of Environmental Quality about the concern, but has not gotten an answer on what will be done. Ive called Baton Rouge to complain about the dust, just to talk about how our life has changed and our dreams are being sacrificed to the cost of being owners and everybody else thats being productive or receiving a profit from their operations, said Cormier. Its going to affect a radius of approximately three miles from its center, everybody within that three-mile radius has some type of risk by this dump, said Cormier. 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. CALHOUN COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) A Calhoun County jury has found Charles Gable guilty of second degree-murder Thursday in the September 2023 death of 29-year-old Brittany Dykes. Prosecutor Bill Wright presented witnesses and evidence that proved the defendant and the victim were at the defendants residence when an argument broke out on September 24, 2023. The evidence showed the defendant, who was intoxicated, became angry at the victim and repeatedly punched her in the head, face, and upper body while strangling her, authorities wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brittany and her family deserved to see her killer held accountable and brought to justice, Wright said. We hope this verdict, which was the result of a team effort between the Calhoun County Sheriffs Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Calhoun County State Attorneys Office, will help bring them some relief. Two arrested in Calhoun County murder The defense said the defendant acted in the heat of the moment and should be found guilty of a lesser crime, like manslaughter. Medical examiner Dr. Jay Radtke testified it would have taken at least one minute to strangle the victim. Prosecutor Wright pointed to Dr. Radtkes testimony that the strangulation alone lasted one minute. He directed the jurys attention to the clock, waited until the second hand reached the 6, and said, Lets see how long one minute is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The courtroom fell silent. Thats longer than you thought, isnt it? Wright said as the minute ended. That was the longest minute in Brittanys life. You dont think while hes doing that, that he doesnt know what hes doing? Officials said the autopsy showed Dykes suffered several blows to the head and chest, in addition to the injuries caused by strangulation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and 57 Democratic Assemblymembers announced Thursday that they would stop communications from official state accounts on X, citing concerns over disinformation, lack of content moderation and hate speech. There are real risks with relying on a private company, owned by Elon Musk, as a channel for communications. Democracy depends on impartial information, not the shifting whims of one billionaire. Hate speech is everywhere on X, the company has no accountability, and the flood of misinformation from fake accounts is just that fake. I dont think taxpayer resources should go to X, Rivas said in a statement. This is my last post on @X. There are real risks with relying on a private company, owned by @elonmusk, as a channel for communications. Democracy depends on impartial information, not the shifting whims of one billionaire. Hate speech is everywhere on X, the company has no Speaker Robert Rivas (@CASpeakerRivas) March 27, 2025 Rivas office said the exodus was one of the single largest departures of elected officials from the platform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Musk purchased Twitter, now known as X, in 2022, he sought to crack down on spam accounts and make the app more welcoming to conservative viewpoints. A study led by a UC Berkeley doctoral student found that hate speech on X rose by about 50% in the months after Musk acquired the platform. Elected officials often rely on X to communicate directly with constituents, share information during emergencies and publicly weigh in on policy. Democratic lawmakers will continue using Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky, LinkedIn and YouTube to communicate with constituents. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Citing a desire to restore the California Dream for all, a Republican candidate in the 2026 race to become Californias next governor says hed eliminate the states income tax if elected. In a video posted to X, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said that he and his team would work immediately on abolishing the income tax for all Californians. I believe that our hard workers in California could spend their money far better more than our current government, Bianco said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bianco launched his campaign last month. Since then, hes ran on the concept that California is over taxed and over regulated, leading to thousands of people and businesses leaving the state. FILE Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at a news conference in Lake Elsinore, Calif., Feb. 7, 2023, as officials announced that the closure of poppy fields at Walker Canyon until the wildflower bloom subsides. (Watchara Phomicinda/The Orange County Register via AP, File) As of 2025, the California income tax rate is as high as 12.3% for married couples making $1,442,628 and over, according to H&R Block. Its 6% for married couples making between $80,490 $111,732, as the median household income was about $96,000 as of 2023, according to the U.S. Census. Bianco blames that high rate for the so-called California Exodus, as the state loses hundreds of thousands of residents to other states. Over the last year and a half or so, Ive watched most of my friends sell their businesses, stop working altogether, retire early, move to other states, and its usually always for the same reason, Bianco said. What a better way to bring all of my friends back, all of the businesses back that have left than to eliminate Californias income tax. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nine statesAlaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyomingessentially dont have state income taxes, although these states typically make up the difference in other ways, like higher sales, property, or gasoline taxes. Bianco is an avid supporter of President Donald Trump, who himself is ushering in an unconventional tax plan focused on levying tariffs on foreign nations while cutting tax rates for some Americans. Read more on Biancos tax and affordability plan on his campaign 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. The Olympic Black Power Statue is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump has made good on his threat to intervene in the museums of the Smithsonian network in Washington, and even the capitals zoo. In an executive order called Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, he calls on these institutions to be purged of ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history and entrusts that task to Vice President J. D. Vance. The executive order also calls for a review of whether statues with racist overtones that were toppled on federally managed lands following the killing of George Floyd should be returned to their original locations, and requires officials to ensure that public monuments run by the Department of the Interior do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times) [i.e., during slavery]. Trump calls for such commemorative artifacts to instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people or, with respect to natural features, the beauty, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape. The facade of the Museum of African American History and Culture has been under construction since 2012. Ricky Carioti In its explanatory statement, the decree asserts that over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nations history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth. This revisionist movement seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light. Rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame, it adds. The order focuses on several examples: Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where according to the Trump administration, Joe Biden s team pressured National Historical Park rangers that their racial identity should dictate how they convey history to visiting Americans because America is purportedly racist; the order also targets a currently open exhibition at the American Art Museum titled The Shape of Power: Histories of Race and American Sculpture; or the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which, the order claims, has proclaimed that hard work, individualism, and the nuclear family are aspects of White culture. Trumps order also discusses a museum that the Smithsonian Institution plans to build in the coming years to honor the history of American women. Its future officials are hereby prohibited from making any reference to transgender people. As for Philadelphias Independence Park, Trumps fixation is not without reason: the United States is preparing to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026, an event that promises to be a unique opportunity to spread the values of the MAGA movement. A visitor picks up one of the candies from Felix Gonzalez-Torres's "Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)" at the Museum of American Art. Information about its meaning as a symbol of the AIDS pandemic was removed in February. Mark Mauno A nation tells its story The Smithsonian museum network is concentrated, but not limited to, the vast National Mall, which stretches from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial and serves as a gigantic symbolic space for the celebration of American values, and is visited by millions of people from across the country each year. From the Museum of Natural History to the Museum of Native Americans and the Museum of American History to the National Portrait Gallery, there are 21 spaces in which the nation tells its own story. These stories were revised during the Covid pandemic, in the wake of the unrest that followed Floyds murder and the dawning awareness of the systemic racism of a society built on the original sin of slavery. For Trump and his followers, this revision is a product of woke ideology and only seeks to weaken traditional values. Museums in our Nations capital should be places where individuals go to learn not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history, reads the order. This isnt the first decision since returning to power last January in which Trump has proposed an assault on the citys cultural institutions: the president has already taken control of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and has appointed Richard Grenell, former ambassador to Germany and current envoy of his administration to Venezuela, to head it. Grenells mission is to cleanse the institution of the woke virus. Furthermore, like other federal agencies, these institutions are subject to decrees promulgated by Trump ordering the elimination of initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion. On Thursday, the president went a step further in his plan to subdue Washington, a city that voted 92% for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and viewed him with indifference during his first four years in the White House. His revenge came in the shape of another executive order entitled Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful. The text orders the creation of a task force whose objectives include increasing the number of law enforcement officers in public spaces and ensuring that all applicable quality of life, nuisance, and public-safety laws are strictly enforced, such as those prohibiting assault, battery, larceny, graffiti and other vandalism, unpermitted disturbances and demonstrations, noise, trespassing, public intoxication, drug possession, sale, and use, and traffic violations. The order also seeks to apprehend and deport illegal aliens in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Trump, who has fired tens of thousands of government employees residing in the region, also threatens to use an existing power, but one rarely invoked in the past. Under the law that has governed Washington since the 1970s, the DC area, as it is not a state, depends on whoever controls the House of Representatives. The Republicans, in this case. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Ali, a UCLA student who joined pro-Palestinian protests last year, avoided arrest when riot police dismantled the school's encampment last May. An international student who took part in a surge of campus activism around Israel's war in Gaza, he was wary of having a record that could affect his visa. But he did not otherwise hide his activism. Now, as federal authorities act on President Trump's directive to deport international student activists he accuses of being antisemitic "pro-Hamas" terrorism supporters, Ali has taken new precautions. He's moved out of his apartment the address listed with the government and is staying with a friend. He attends classes but avoids social events. He carries a piece of paper with the number for a 24-hour hotline faculty set up for students detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As more arrests unfold, fears among California international students are growing and frustrations mounting as they accuse campus administrators of not doing enough to protect them in the state with the largest foreign student population in the nation and universities at the forefront of national activism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's a matter of time before it gets here," said Ali, who did not want his full name, nationality, area of study or age published because he is worried about being tracked. "This is free speech. Isn't this what this country is supposed to be known for?" Speaking at a press conference Thursday during a visit to Guyana, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the government had initiated a widespread review of student activists' visas and revoked at least 300. "We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa, Rubio said. He added: "I hope at some point we run out because we have gotten rid of all of them, but were looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up. He later clarified that it has been "primarily student visas, some visitors visas" and that the government has canceled some visas over issues "unrelated to any protests" that have to do with "potential criminal activity." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Amid arrest of pro-Palestinian student organizer, what rights do visa holders and others have? At UCLA, faculty members recently circulated advice to international students: "Don't say anything to ICE. Don't sign anything. Tell them to speak to your attorney," it said alongside a hotline number. "... Please have a stamped, pre-addressed envelope to someone you trust with you in the event of an ICE arrest, you can send the mail to alert them you have been detained." During "know your rights" training events, some international students have been told to "not go out unless you need to and make sure someone knows where you are going if you do go out," said Randall Kuhn, a UCLA professor of public health who last year joined protesters. Since government agents on March 8 arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate and protest leader last spring, the Trump administration has attempted to arrest or deport at least six additional pro-Palestinian foreign students at four campuses: three more at Columbia and one each at Tufts, Cornell and Georgetown universities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, officials at the University of Alabama confirmed that immigration authorities this week detained an Iranian graduate student. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the student "posed significant national security concerns" but did not indicate if he was targeted for pro-Palestinian activism. Pro-Palestinain activist Mahmoud Khalil is pictured at Columbia University on April 29, 2024. (Ted Shaffrey / Associated Press) It's unclear how many international students were part of pro-Palestinian protests on California campuses since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and its war in Gaza. UCLA and USC together have more than 27,000 international students the biggest groups are from China and India though few of those students have been involved in protests. Citing privacy, a spokesperson for the University of California declined to state whether student visas at UCLA or other UC campuses have been revoked or if there have been immigration arrests of pro-Palestinian students. USC spokesperson Lauren Bartlett said she was "unaware of anyone with a USC affiliation being impacted." A State Department spokesperson would not state whether students in California have lost their visa status. Activists at UCLA, USC and other Southern California schools swept by last spring's encampments said they did not know if there have been visa cancellations and were not aware of student detentions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of the known cases nationwide are being fought in court, with the Trump administration either blocked from making arrests or from initiating deportations or transfers for those detained. In one instance, an Indian graduate student at Columbia, Ranjani Srinivasan, fled to Canada this month after learning government agents sought her. Srinivasan was taken into police custody as part of protests last year, but maintains she was not an activist and was merely swept up in mass arrests. Charges were later dropped. Also at Columbia, Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old student, won a temporary reprieve in court this week after the Trump administration tried to revoke her green card and deport her. Chung, who participated in pro-Palestinian protests, was not a prominent protest figure like Khalil. One of the latest cases was caught on video. Plainclothes agents arrested Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University graduate student from Turkey, on a sidewalk Tuesday as she walked to see friends for the traditional fast-breaking during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents in Sommerville, Mass. (Associated Press) This month, after Ozturk authored an op-ed critical of Israel, her profile appeared on Canary Mission, a website that blacklists people and groups it accuses of antisemitism. The group, along with another called Betar US, have claimed credit for promoting names of individuals the Trump administration has detained. The White House has not confirmed the organizations as sources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A senior DHS spokesperson said in a statement that "DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas" and that "glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated." A DHS listing said Ozturk is being held in Louisiana. Increased tensions The potential for immigration enforcement against international student activists in California has amplified tensions on campuses already grappling with growing pressure from Trump. An onslaught of federal orders, funding cut threats and investigations are tied to Trump's political agenda that eschews diversity, equity and inclusion practices he says illegally favor racial minorities. The Trump administration has also focused acutely on allegations of antisemitism tied to pro-Palestinian college protests, threatening to pull federal money from schools that don't meet its unspecified standards for combating antisemitism. The Department of Justice is investigating the UC system over alleged antisemitism and a federal task force on antisemitism said it will visit UCLA, UC Berkeley, USC and seven other U.S. campuses. Campus and Justice Department spokespeople declined to say when those visits will take place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: UCLA launches effort to fight antisemitism as Trump says more pro-Palestinian activist arrests ahead The Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University in New York this month in response to its handling of protests. In an attempt to get the money back, Columbia has given in to federal demands by adopting a formal definition of antisemitism, hiring new security officers, changing protest and discipline policies and putting its Middle Eastern studies department under "academic receivership." "It is absurd," said Erwin Chemerinsky, the UC Berkeley School of Law dean and 1st Amendment scholar who has been critical of some pro-Palestinian protests, including one that took place in his backyard during a law school event last year. "The idea of government wanting to stifle speech is not new. But some of what is being done now is," he said. "And it does not matter if you are a citizen or a visitor, you have free speech, even if people view that free speech as offensive or in favor of Hamas." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At UCLA, undergraduate student Ruksana Ali, who is not related to the person quoted earlier, joined a rally this month in support of Khalil and foreign student activists. Ruksana Ali said her university, which recently launched a new initiative on combating antisemitism, had "misplaced" priorities at a time when speech is stifled. Campuses are bending over backwards to appease Trump as he comes after students. We dont believe it will be any different at UCLA, which stood back last year and watched violence against us, said Ruksana Ali, who is a U.S. citizen. She referred to an hours-long failure by police to stop a mob attack on an encampment last April 30 and May 1. Demonstrators sued the university this month alleging, among other complaints, that they were unlawfully arrested and left unprotected while exercising free speech. A group of Jewish students and faculty has also sued UCLA over the encampment, alleging that the university enabled antisemitic discrimination. Read more: Trump court action accuses UCLA of trying to 'evade responsibility' for alleged antisemitism Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UCLA and USC have not issued public guidance on how to deal with immigration-related actions against student protesters, though both campuses have policies around immigration enforcement in general. UCLA follows UC-wide rules saying campus police will "not undertake joint efforts with federal immigration enforcement authorities to investigate, detain or arrest individuals for violation of federal immigration law." Campus areas that are open to the general public are also open to federal immigration enforcement officers. At USC, community members are instructed to contact the Department of Public Safety or Office of the General Counsel if immigration agents show up. The university has designated a professor from its immigration law clinic as a resource for those facing arrest. Jewish faculty at both campuses also wrote letters to administrators this month voicing concerns over deportation threats, citing a Jan. 29 antisemitism executive order Trump signed that calls on colleges to "monitor for and report activities by alien students." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It weaponizes antisemitism to attack intellectual and academic freedom as well as the university writ large," said a letter signed by 77 Jewish professors at USC. "Moreover, it does not clearly distinguish between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, which will have a chilling effect on free speech." At UCLA, 66 Jewish faculty members signed a similar plea sent to their chancellor. "We resist all calls to assist in compiling lists of those targeted for arrest, deportation, or discipline, and reject without equivocation any attempt to invoke our name to harass, expel, arrest, or deport members of our campus communities. These actions do not protect Jewish people but instead are a direct attack on democracy and freedom of speech," that letter said. Professors at the campuses said they did not hear back from administrators. Kuhn, the professor of public health who signed the UCLA letter, said he knows several foreign student activists and is concerned that faculty and staff are not aware of student protections. "We feel there will be efforts to arrest people, including people who did not protest," Kuhn said. He, alongside other faculty and students, have shared "know your rights" cards with students. Kuhn, who had visited the UCLA encampment in the spring and supported its goals to push the university to cancel its investments in weapons companies and ties to Israel said he didn't see student protesters as a danger. Instead, he said, the Trump administration had initiated a "witch hunt." 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. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) During a Wednesday press conference, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said a Border Patrol van stopped in the area of Lyell Avenue and Whitney Street on Monday night at 5:30 p.m. Shortly after, Border Patrol asked for backup, and when RPD arrived, Mayor Evans and RPD Chief David Smith said that officers took matters into their own hands while assisting, as a supervisor was distracted. City police officers do not help or participate in federal immigration activities, Evans said Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chief Smith said this was concerning, adding Border Patrol should be initiating contact. We did nothing against the policy of enforcing or acting upon anything immigration-wise, Paul Dondorfer of the Rochester police union said. All we did was assist that agency and had (them) the federal agencies that were already there and started the initial contact. The incident is under investigation and the body-worn camera footage is under review. ICE said in a statement, told News 8 it and other federal agencies began conducting enhanced targeted operations in New York this week. It did not confirm or comment on this alleged incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The police union said that criminal laws should be enforced, and Mercedes Vazquez Simmons agrees they should, under due process. Shes the VP of the Monroe County Legislature and director of the Latino Youth Development Center. That center is on North Clinton and is an area that is predominately Latino. But after fielding many calls from concerned citizens which she says reflect RPDs behavior as alleged by the city she says the community deserves clarity. Were either going to be a sanctuary city, or were not, she said. The message that is being sent to the community is that its not a sanctuary city, and what happens out in the communities will happen. County Legislator Rachel Barnhart says she is working on a resolution to make Monroe County a human rights county. The Monroe County Republican Conference said the officers did their jobs, adding that Monroe County families deserve to have the law upheld. 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 RochesterFirst. An investigation is underway after the Cambridge Police Department received reports of a shooting. According to police, word came in shortly after 7 P.M. when officers were dispatched to the area of Main and Portland Street on reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers found one victim with sustained injuries. The victim was transported by EMS to a local hospital for treatment. Officers remain on-scene to investigate the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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 British royal family has weathered its share of storms in recent yearsfrom Prince Harry and Meghan Markles royal exit to Kate Middletons health challenges. But perhaps the most persistent narrative has been the supposed rivalry between the two duchesses. While their relationship has been portrayed as naturally contentious, some royal insiders now suggest a more calculated force may have been operating behind the scenes: Queen Camilla. King Charles now-wife faced intense public scrutiny during the 1990s as her relationship with him overshadowed his marriage to Princess Diana. Since then, shes majorly transformed her image in the public eye. This transformation, however, may have come at a steep price paid by other family membersparticularly Kate and Meghan, at least according to some palace observers. More from StyleCaster Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Camilla is always looking out for herself first, an insider reportedly told InTouch. Kate and Meghan made good targets. Quite simply, if the princesses were constantly at war, then anything negative out there about her and Charles would be of limited interest. The alleged strategy seemed to manifest in November 2018 when The Sun splashed Meghan Made Kate Cry across its front page. In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry recounted a crisis meeting where Kate immediately acknowledged the stories in the papers about Meg making her cry were totally false. Interestingly, Harry wrote that William eventually conceded the story leaked after he and Kate had gone to dinner with Pa and Camillathough whether this was intentional remains open to interpretation. Prince Harry also didnt hold back when discussing his stepmother on 60 Minutes in 2023. She was the villain, he stated, describing her as dangerous because she needed to revamp her image. His allegations that Camilla orchestrated a campaign aimed at marriage, and eventually the Crown while sacrificing him on her personal PR altar suggest some calculated image management, though palace sources have consistently denied such characterizations. Royal expert Tom Quinn noted in the documentary The Middletons: Modern Royal In-Laws that Camilla wasnt very keen on Catherine from the beginning. It seems both couples reportedly faced similar challenges, as they were seen as stealing the limelight from the now-King and Queen, according to Harry during an ITV interview in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They definitely had their issues, but the animosity snowballed because of all the negative stories, an insider told InTouch. Harry started accusing William of leaking things as well. While the brothers relationship deteriorated and the duchesses drifted apart, Camilla achieved what once seemed impossiblecoronation and public acceptance. She finally achieved her goal, adds the source. A new glimmer of hope emerged during Kates cancer battle when Meghan sent well-wishes. The women now exchange gifts for their children, according to InTouchs sources, suggesting the possibility of reconciliation. Kate is reportedly full of gratitude after her health struggle and believes no one should waste time holding grudges. While the brothers remain estranged, some palace insiders believe Kate and Meghan hold the key to healing the royal rift. The only way William and Harry will ever reconcile is if both Meghan and Kate want it to happen, InTouch reportssuggesting that the women once portrayed as enemies might ultimately be the ones to bring peace to the royal family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether Camilla truly orchestrated the feud or simply benefited from it remains a matter of speculation. As with most royal narratives, the full truth lies somewhere beyond the headlines. Best of StyleCaster Sign up for Stylecaster's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Florida Rep. Kat Cammack (R) said she hopes President Trump will choose to elevate Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) after the 2026 midterms following the news this week that Trump pulled her nomination to become United Nations ambassador in order to keep her in the house. Cammack said in an interview on Newsmaxs Wake Up America on Friday that Stefanik will be a rock star and will be welcomed back into the House and GOP leadership. She said she texted Stefanik saying, This sucks, but we all understand. But my hope is that President Trump can find a way after midterms to really elevate her profile and really put her in a place where she can continue to do a great service to our nation, Cammack said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House notified the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that it was withdrawing Stefaniks nomination to be U.N. ambassador following rumors earlier in the day that the nomination would be pulled. Trump later confirmed his decision on Truth Social, citing the narrow GOP House majority and the uncertainty of how the special election to replace her would play out. Stefaniks district, the New York 21st Congressional District, is heavily conservative and voted for Trump by 21 points and Stefanik by 24 points in November. The decision also came ahead of two special elections in Florida next week that are even more conservative-leaning, but one of which has sparked some concern about Republicans about the possibility of the Democratic candidate pulling off an upset or at least making the race much closer than normal. Republicans currently have a 218-213 majority in the House, allowing the party to lose up to two votes and still be able to pass legislation with party-line splits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump said Stefanik would rejoin the House Leadership Team, but what position she will hold is unclear because she gave up her post as chair of the House Republican Conference after being nominated for ambassador. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) was chosen to take her spot, and a source has confirmed she doesnt plan to step down. All other top GOP leadership positions are also filled. A source had told The Hill that leaders are looking to create a position for her. Stefanik told Fox News on Thursday night that she will stay in the House and the decision is about being a team player. She said Trump and her had multiple conversations during the 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 The Hill. ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) Billboards speaking out against steep tariffs on Canadian goods championed by President Donald Trump popped up across the country, including in Florida, this week. One digital billboard in the Orlando area reads, Tariffs are a tax at the gas pump, according to a report from NBC affiliate WESH. Florida super speeders could lose their cars under new bill Tariffs are a tax on working Americans, another billboard says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The simple messages bold white text on a black background are accompanied by a logo in the corner which indicates they were paid for by the Canadian government. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told WESH that our neighbors to the north paid for ads positioned along key highways in red states. (WESH) Your first-word response was Wow. I couldnt believe it, right? Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, told WESH, adding that hes never seen anything like it. We just cant afford to absorb the higher cost which will be passed along to consumers, Jewett said. This is Canadas way of simply saying Americans will be paying for this tariff. The billboard campaign drew mixed reactions from Orlando locals, with some questioning the countrys right to advertise here. (WESH) To me, if its something from Canada, I dont think they should have the right to put anything here, to be honest, Central Florida resident Camilla Dasilva told WESH. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Canadian resident told WESH its just the countrys government exercising its freedom of speech. I am totally for advertising. Up in the United States, they are promoting tariffspromoting Trump. So why cant we do the same thing down here. You call yourself a democracythis is free speech, said Canadian resident Anton De La Riviere. The billboards have also been spotted in the Tampa Bay area, according to social media reports. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) An abrupt announcement rattled members of a little-known U.N. agency based in Jamaica that has protected international deep-sea waters for more than 30 years. The Metals Company in Vancouver, Canada said late Thursday that it is seeking permission from the U.S. government to start deep-sea mining in international waters, potentially bypassing the International Seabed Authority, which has the power to authorize exploitation permits but has yet to do so. It would be a major breach of international lawif the U.S. were to grant it, said Duncan Currie, an international and environmental lawyer and legal adviser to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, a Netherlands-based alliance of environmental groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Metals Company seeks seafloor minerals like cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese used in electric car batteries and other green technology. The announcement was made just hours before the 36-member council of the International Seabed Authority met in Jamaica on Friday, the last day of a two-week conference focused on how and if to allow deep-sea mining, a years-long debate. The authority was scheduled to talk Friday about the companys commercial mining application. The scale of the threathas been taken incredibly seriously here, said Louisa Casson, a campaigner at Greenpeace who attended Friday's meeting. There are questions and a lack of clarity of what they actually plan on doing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said one question is whether the company plans to request a permit anyway from the authority even as it continues talks with the U.S. government. Currie said the timing of The Metals Companys announcement was insulting to the ISA. Its an extremely irresponsible threat. Its basically holding a gun to the international community, he said. The International Seabed Authority was created in 1994 by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is ratified by more than 165 nations but not the United States. The Metals Company argued that the United States seabed mining code would allow it to start operations in international waters since it's not a member of the authority and therefore not bound by its rules. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company said it was already in discussions with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among others. We have met with numerous officials in the White House as well as U.S. Congress regarding their support for this industry, the company said in a statement. NOAA said in a statement that The Metals Company USA LLC, has requested a pre-application consultation with the agency to learn more about the formal license application process for deep-sea mining. It said such applications are reviewed for compliance and requirements. The process ensures a thorough environmental impact review, interagency consultations and opportunity for public comment, NOAA said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Metals Company criticized what it said was slow progress by the International Seabed Authority on a proposed mining code that has yet to be finalized. The authority has issued more than 30 exploration licenses but no provisional licenses. Most of the current exploration is happening in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which covers 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico. It is occurring at depths ranging from 13,000 to 19,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters). More than 30 countries including Canada have called for a ban, pause or moratorium on deep-sea mining, and companies including Volvo, BMW, Volkswagen, Google and Samsung have pledged not to use seafloor minerals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The international seabed is the common heritage of humankind, and no state should take unilateral action to exploit it, Greenpeace said in a statement. Scientists have warned that minerals in the oceans bowels take millions of years to form, and that mining could unleash noise, light and suffocating dust storms. The deep ocean is one of the last truly wild places on Earth, home to life were only beginning to understand. Letting deep-sea mining go forward now would be like starting a fire in a library of books nobodys even read yet," said Emily Jeffers, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. However, companies have argued that deep-sea mining is cheaper and has less of an impact than land mining. The Canadian government is paying for anti-tariff billboards in American cities as the relationship between the two countries continues to deteriorate. Billboards that are part of what Canadian officials have described as an educational campaign have popped up in Detroit and elsewhere, declaring, Tariffs are a tax on your grocery bill. Global Affairs Canada spokesperson John Babcock told CBS News Detroit on Thursday that the billboards have gone up in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Billboards have also been placed in Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas. "The Government of Canada has launched an educational campaign to inform Americans of the economic impacts of tariffs. The campaign is a strategic investment in Canada's long-term economic interests and its trade relationship with the United States," said Babcock. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Tariffs are a tax on hard-working Americans in their daily lives, he added. They lead to increased costs on everyday essentials, including fuel and groceries. The purpose is to increase the understanding of the American public and to counter misinformation." After President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, the United States northern neighbor responded with tariffs of its own. Trump put forward tariffs of 25 percent on all steel and aluminum imports, to which Canada responded with $21 billion in retaliatory tariffs. Trump subsequently retracted a proposal to raise the tariffs to 50 percent. The Canadian government has paid for billboards slamming U.S. tariff policies in a number of American states (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Earlier in March, the Canadian province of Ontario announced that it was putting in place a 25 percent surcharge on all electricity exports to the U.S. That proposal, which would have affected customers and businesses in Minnesota, New York, and Michigan, was also retracted by Ontario Premier Doug Ford as the Trump administration backed off its proposal to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. On Wednesday, Trump put in place 25 percent tariffs on vehicles and auto parts imported into the U.S., which will likely further hamper relations with top U.S. allies and trading partners such as Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and European countries such as Germany. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Half of all cars sold in the U.S. are made in the country, while about half of all imports originate from Mexico and Canada, with other top suppliers being Japan, South Korea, and Germany. The president of the United Auto Workers union, Shawn Fain, celebrated the tariffs on cars made outside the U.S., saying that the White House was "stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working-class communities for decades." This comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that the old relationship with the U.S. has come to an end. The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over, said Carney during a press conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carneys comments came after a meeting in the Canadian capital of Ottawa with his ministers to discuss how to respond to Trumps auto tariffs. What exactly the United States does next is unclear, but what is clear is that we as Canadians have agency. We have power. We are masters in our own home, said the prime minister. We can control our destiny. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States, can ever take away. We can deal with this crisis best by building our own strength right here at home. Carney went on to argue that We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere. And we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we havent seen in generations. The prime minister referred to the most recent tariffs on Wednesday as a direct attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country, said Carney, who has also sharply criticized the presidents repeated remarks regarding making Canada the 51st U.S. state. The new tariffs on vehicles are set to go into effect on April 3, and on auto parts one month after that. Nancy Troconis shows a photo of her son, Julio Gonzalez, during a pro-government march in Caracas in support of Venezuelans deported to El Salvador, on March 25. U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a decisive step in the case involving the use of an 18th-century wartime law to deport immigrants without judicial oversight. His administration has escalated the matter directly to the Supreme Court, bypassing the lower courts. A judge had previously imposed a preliminary injunction against the application of this law, the Alien Enemies Act, when the government expelled more than 200 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang. In a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Department of Justice is seeking to lift the March 15 order issued by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, which temporarily prohibits the deportation of the Venezuelans while courts determine the validity of the 1798 law. Although the order explicitly stated it was effective immediately, instructing that any flights carrying the migrants should turn around, the planes did not return. Instead, they transferred the migrants to El Salvador, where most were held in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) for gang members under President Nayib Bukeles regime. Since then, Boasberg has become a target of a crackdown by the Republican administration, led by Trump, who has baselessly accused him of undermining his agenda. Trump has called Boasberg a radical left lunatic of a judge and demanded his dismissal, a request that prompted Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to remind him that disputes over rulings should be settled through appeals, not by pressuring for a judge to be removed. Boasberg who is also overseeing the case into the disclosure of attack plans against Houthi rebels in Yemen in a chat between senior officials on the Signal messaging app had asked the government for data on the flights transporting the Venezuelans to determine whether there had been contempt of court by failing to comply with the order. The Justice Department claims the planes were already over international waters when the order was issued, arguing that this meant the judge no longer had jurisdiction. It has also invoked the Official Secrets Act to deny the judges request for the data. This week, the governments position faced another setback when a three-judge appeals court upheld Boasbergs ruling. The Alien Enemies Act has only been invoked three times in U.S. history, each during wartime: once in 1812, again during World War I against citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and finally during World War II to intern Japanese, German, and Italian Americans in concentration camps. The law grants the president extraordinary powers during times of conflict to expel citizens from countries at war with the United States or attempting to invade it. Trump claims, without evidence, that the Tren de Aragua criminal group controls Nicolas Maduros regime in Venezuela and is attempting to attack the U.S. from within. In its petition filed on Friday, the Justice Department argues that the case of the deported Venezuelans raises the question of who should control sensitive national security operations the president or the courts. The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the president, state attorneys write. The republic cannot afford a different choice. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Only a few months into Donald Trump's second term, the US's relationships with other countries have quickly deteriorated. The most obvious example is Canada our neighbor to the north and long-time ally, whose citizens are now conducting boycotts and canceling trips (rightfully so) over the president's alarming behavior. Canadians have even started protesting at the border and outside US embassies. Horacio Zamora Rios/ Pixelnews/Future Publishing via Getty Images / Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images Well, a Canadian woman who is dating an American man recently posted in the r/AmIOverreating subreddit, wondering if she is in the wrong for not wanting to visit the US with her boyfriend. Here's the full story: "My boyfriend (31, male) and I (31, female) are an American and Canadian couple living in the UK. Im back home in Canada right now visiting family, and obviously, things are quite tense with Trump threatening to destroy our economy and trying to wear us down into submission." Fox News / Via youtube.com "I called my boyfriend yesterday to let him know that I will be boycotting any trips to America over the next four years, or at least until the tariffs and jokes (I know theyre not jokes) about Canada becoming the 51st state stop. I added that I hope his parents dont think Im being rude if I dont go home with him next time (his mom has a green card and is from China, so getting travel visas for her isnt always easy). But he has an uncle in Canada, and Id be happy to visit them there or even go along to China with them next year when she plans her visit (for what it's worth, I lived in China for a year and his parents dont vote Republican)." Advertisement Advertisement OP's boyfriend clarified that she plans to miss his friends's upcoming weddings in the US, and she said yes. "Well, that is certainly a take," he responded. She could tell he thought she was overreacting, so she mentioned all the other Canadians canceling their American trips right now. However, he argued that it's different because his parents live in the US. PeopleImages / Getty Images/iStockphoto "I kind of feel like hes doing the classic American thing of playing down what his country is doing to affect others. If I miss weddings, I will feel bad, but again, I dont think Americans not seeing the gravity of this is surprising, given how insulated they often are from the effects of their countrys policies on others. I dont want to create unnecessary tension, but I also dont think I should have to set aside my principles just because its inconvenient. I know this might seem extreme, but to me, its a matter of standing up for my country and not supporting a government thats actively trying to harm it. Am I overreacting?" PeopleImages / Getty Images/iStockphoto Considering the political environment in the US, many people urged OP to stay away: "A German guy was just detained for over two weeks in an ICE detention center while visiting his American girlfriend. Look up the news article. We are on international watch lists for rapidly devolving human rights. Do not come here ." Advertisement Advertisement u/Benevolent_Grouch "Yeah, don't come here. This is a shit-hole country. Y'all, this is why education is important. Something like 54% of the American population can't read above a 5th-grade level. Apparently, they failed history as well. They're so uneducated they applaud with glee each time another right is stripped away. Our own people aren't safe here; you won't be either." u/FormidableMistress "A friend of mine was just talking about this issue today. I dont think a lot of people here in the US really comprehend how disturbing it is to have a close ally turn on you and start saying stuff like that. Even as a joke (which I dont think it is either), its going to have long-lasting effects on the US-Canadian relationship. As someone in the US, I think your response is 100% valid. You dont go visiting countries that are stabbing you in the back." Advertisement Advertisement u/ParfaitMotor7007 Skynesher / Getty Images Plenty of Canadians chimed in with their thoughts... "I have a bias, but I say not overreacting. I canceled a trip yesterday, and when I called, the American on the other end tore my head off. Did not help his argument at all. They don't see that we're taking this seriously. Many of my American friends have had zero compassion, and it's been difficult wanting to maintain these friendships." u/Free_Big3865 "Im also Canadian, and hubby is American. We live in Ontario, and the majority of his family lives in Florida. Weve put a pin in US travel for at least a year to see how things unfold. Your reluctance to travel is completely understandable." Advertisement Advertisement u/Glittering_Page9759 "Seriously, this is not nothing. It's serious. Trump is moving swiftly away from allies towards Russia. Americans can act like it's all just about the bullshit Trump says it is, but it's an attack to destabilize and weaken our country [Canada]. Not to mention if our prime minister said the kind of things Trump said, Americans would shit their pants in rage. Americans, including your boyfriend, need to understand the gravity of the situation from our point of view." "I have canceled my trip to NYC. Anytime you take a stand, someone is going to tell you you're overreacting and over-emotional. They just want you to stop rocking the boat. You should be proud of yourself." u/General-Visual4301 DAVE CHAN / AFP via Getty Images ...while others took a more measured approach: Advertisement Advertisement "Only you can say whether this boycott is more important than your relationship, but if my partner told me they werent willing to visit my family or friends in my home country for at least the next three and a half years, that would be really tough to swallow." u/amstrumpet "Youre allowed to react how you want to react. The same way he is allowed to do the same. The same way youre both allowed to react by not being together because this is something that can and will break people apart (politics). So, think wisely about what truly matters. He is a boyfriend, not a husband. Canada is your country, and you have the right to stand up for it in any way, shape, or form. You have to deal with whatever happens longterm." u/rudementaryy EmirMemedovski / Getty Images However, some people sided wholeheartedly with her American boyfriend: Advertisement Advertisement "You are definitely overreacting. Scary that people say otherwise. Imagine prioritizing politics over your own relationship. I would dump you so quickly." u/AccomplishedAd5109 "I feel like he has a good point. To him, its more than just politics; its his home. Imagine how you would feel if he flat-out refused to go to Canada to your friend's wedding." u/ballssquisher031427 "Yeah, youre overreacting. You think your boyfriend should have to carry the consequences of what his government is doing? Thats absurd. Thats biting your nose to spite your face. Absolutely ridiculous take. The odds you guys will break up have increased dramatically because you no longer care more about your partner than your political principles." Advertisement Advertisement u/Realistic-Author-479 Manu Vega / Getty Images What do you think about all this? Is OP in the right for avoiding trips to the US? Or do you think the boyfriend has a good point? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. Canadian flight bookings to the US have collapsed since the launch of Donald Trumps trade war. Data from air travel analysis firm OAG show that bookings for flights between the US and Canada are down by more than 70pc across the peak summer season, which stretches from April to September, compared with last year. Bookings are down by rates of between 71.4pc and 75.7pc across all of the high summer months, when 1m Canadian snowbirds traditionally take trips across the border to sunnier locations such as Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John Grant, OAGs chief analyst, said: Future flight bookings between Canada and the US have collapsed ... This sharp drop suggests that travellers are holding off on making reservations, likely due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the broader trade dispute. The crash in bookings follows Mr Trumps executive order at the start of February that placed 25pc tariffs on goods imported into America from Canada, as well as Mexico. The executive order said the levies would remain in place until both Canada and Mexico took sufficient measures to stop the flood of illegal aliens and drugs including deadly fentanyl into the US. In response, Canada has placed retaliatory tariffs on around CAD $60bn (32bn) worth of US goods, including imports of steel and aluminium. Mark Carney, Canadas prime minister, says the old relationship we had with the United States ... is over - David Kawai/Bloomberg Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, on Thursday said: The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military co-operations, is over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking in Ottawa, he added: Its clear the US is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that with comprehensive negotiations, we could re-establish an element of confidence but there will be no going backwards. Mr Carney, who succeeded Justin Trudeau as prime minister earlier this month, said Canada must fundamentally reimagine the way its economy works. Canada and the US have traditionally been each others biggest trade partners, with billions of goods crossing the border between the two countries each day. However, Mr Trump has repeatedly raised concerns about Americas trade deficit with Canada, which amounted to USD $63.3bn (49bn) in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The US president has also suggested his administration would be interested in annexing Canada and turning the country into Americas 51st state. Mr Trump said earlier this month: The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished 51st state. This would make all tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear. 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. Bookings on flights from Canada to the US have dropped by more than 70%, travel data firm OAG found. Airlines are reducing capacity by up to 3.5% in July and August. WestJet said there was rising demand for flights to Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Airlines are slashing capacity as Canadians lose interest in visiting the US. Travel data firm OAG said that bookings on flights from Canada to the US have fallen by more than 70% every month through September. It compared the number held as of this week versus the same time last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Across the same period, the data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, showed a roughly 23% decline in bookings for flights from Canadian cities to New York, Miami, Denver, Chicago, and Los Angeles over the next three months. Filings show airlines have responded by cutting capacity by some 320,000 seats over the next seven months, per OAG. It reported a decline in capacity on flights between Canada and the US every month through October. For July and August, the decrease was as high as 3.5%. "This sharp drop suggests that travelers are holding off on making reservations, likely due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the broader trade dispute," said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Comparing April 2025 and 2024, Cirium's data showed a 1.6% decline in the number of flights scheduled between the US to Canada and a 2.7% decrease in their capacity. Air Canada cut 468 flights or 8.2%, and Flair Airlines has slashed more than a third of its flights, per Cirium. However, its data also showed US airlines and Canadian budget carrier Porter have increased their operations. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told a JPMorgan conference earlier this month the carrier was seeing a "big drop in Canadian traffic going into the US." Some airlines are instead hoping that transatlantic flights will help replace the lost capacity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WestJet, Canada's second-biggest carrier, has canceled routes between New York and Calgary and between Orlando and Edmonton. It's adding more routes to Europe, operating its "most significant transatlantic schedule from Atlantic Canada," said John Weatherill, the chief commercial officer. "We have observed a shift in bookings from the US to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean, and to transatlantic destinations," a WestJet spokesperson told The Points Guy. "We remain focused on continuing to fly where there is demand." An Air Canada spokesperson told The Airline Observer that while bookings have declined, it has seen "significantly less" than the 70% average reported by OAG. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Air Canada and WestJet did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent by Business Insider. Tourism Economics originally projected a 9% increase in international visitors to the US this year but last month revised that to a 5% decrease, pointing to trade tensions. After President Donald Trump announced auto tariffs on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called them unjustified and a breach of trade deals. "The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over," he said on Thursday. Carney plans to discuss a coordinated response with provincial premiers and business figures on Friday and announce retaliatory measures next week. Read the original article on Business Insider GOSHEN The attendees at the CAPS Rally Thursday morning in Elkhart were reassured that leaders in child services were going to take a stand for the children of Elkhart County. It was also evident in the presentation that children also feel the gleam of hope. Rebecca Shetler Fast, CEO and president of CAPS, opened the event talking about the equal want in the community to watch out for children in need and build and encourage the hope for their future, together. CAPS reached 3,400 kids in the past year and more than 2,000 families, Shetler Fast pointed out. The organization also spent more than 1,775 hours advocating for children. CAPS forensic interview team conducted more than 581 interviews for information about vulnerable children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shetler Fast then presented photos and videos of what hope looks like through the eyes of children in honor of Child Abuse Prevention month. She selected a few of the hundreds of drawings made to show. We had hundreds of pictures of hope that kids drew. A testament to their resilience, and I think the imagination of kids, she said. A middle schooler painted hope as a beacon of life, stretching across the ocean guiding her way forward. A high schooler found hope in the riot of colors based on nature, a reminder of the wild and unpredictable that theres beauty. She continued, An elementary student saw hope in a butterfly and the support from the Big Sister, reminding us that hope comes from the people who will believe in us. Preschoolers pressed their hands into paper creating a tapestry of light. Bright, undeniable reminders that children are the way from the darkness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A variety of speakers took turns speaking about their experience in child services including Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker, who said she will never forget the moment a young girl held her hand as they went to court to prosecute her abuser. What hope looked like for her was not to be afraid anymore, Becker said. And so when she was holding my hand as we were walking in, and she gave me a little squeeze right before I let her go, and she got up on that stand and she talked about some of the worst things that anybody could possibly imagine. That little girl told her story to a bunch of strangers and after the conviction came in, when I got to talk to her and explain to her what had happened, she looked at me, she hugged me and she said I am not afraid of him ... Another speaker was Director of Elkhart County Department of Child Services Jim Cornish, who emphasized the importance of empowerment and resources to families and even admitting he personally could not be the parent he is without support, education and resources. He said that ultimately as an agency, DCSs goal is to be out of business, for there to be an environment where children could live where the department doesnt need to exist, where they have everything to succeed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cornish ended his speech with a call to action. Most families just need that one person that says, Hey, I see you need help, I see you need resources. Let me be that person to give you help. Let you be that person to direct you where you need to go, he said. And if you cant be that one person, encourage somebody else to be that one person. One person recruits, and another person does, and then we get more help from them to work with. James Stewart-Brown, magistrate of the Juvenile Court, shared with the room that in the community alone within the last year there were 5,400 cases recorded for abuse and neglect and how that struck him. Although there was an upside, he said, because that meant there were 5,400 people who picked up the phone and they did something about it. Thats a huge amount of hope right there, he said. To close the event, CAPS president invited all the county officials to gather at the podium for the county commitment which included Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson, Elkhart County Commissioners president Brad Rogers, Elkhart County Councilor Adam Bujalski and Nappanee Mayor Phil Jenkins, who was unable to attend but had words shared on his behalf. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All leaders gathered and recited their commitment to the children county wide. So let the commitments and partnerships fertilize today and serve as a catalyst toward making Elkhart County the best and safest place for children and families not only in Indiana but across the nation, they said. This work starts now and we are dedicated to see it through. We hereby pledge our commitment to the safety and well being of all children across Elkhart County. ELMDALE, Kan. (KSNW) A driver was caught going nearly 50 miles per hour over the posted speed limit on U.S. Highway 50 in Kansas. It happened in Chase County shortly before 2 a.m. Monday. A Chase County deputy recorded a 2022 Toyota Camry driven by a Riverside, California man traveling 113 mph in a 65 mph zone just outside Elmdale. In Kansas, the fine for speeding 30 mph over the limit is $195, plus $15 per mile over the original 30 mph over the limit, leading to a fine of $465 plus court costs. Some lawmakers want to increase the penalty for people who speed excessively. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wichita truck driver hauling oil derrick dies in crash Ticket issued by Chase County Deputy Harding on March 24, 2025 (Courtesy Photo) Kansas Senate Bill 113 would make speeding 100 mph or more, or driving 35 mph over the posted speed limit, considered reckless driving, a misdemeanor crime. In Kansas, reckless driving carries a penalty of a $25 to $500 fine and 5 to 90 days in jail for a first offense. A second offense carries a penalty of 10 days to six months in jail, and a fine between $50 and $500. In February, the Kansas Highway Patrol provided written testimony supporting the bill. KHP cited national statistics showing speed was a factor in nearly 30% of all fatal crashes nationwide, and in over 4,000 crashes, causing almost $2 billion in damage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The testimony highlighted Kansas statistics that showed the Kansas Highway Patrol has been seeing a sharp increase in speeding since 2019. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HAWLEY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) A crash near Hawley on March 19 turned the life of 22-year-old Kaylee Taylor upside down, with a long road of recovery ahead of her. That Wednesday, according to her mother, Gina Martin, Kaylee was in the passenger seat of a car with two other people when they experienced a blowout. The driver lost control of the vehicle and hit the median, causing it to flip multiple times. Martin said those scary details remain in her daughters mind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She remembers that they had a blowout. She remembers going into the median and flipping, remembers her arm going out the window, Martin said. Taylors right arm went out of the window from the force of the crash, landing on a cable and severing her arm. Martin said the details after the incident become a blur for Taylor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She remembers the blood in the Suburban. She remembers the ambulance ride to Hendrick because they kept trying to keep her awake. She started to get to where she wanted to go to sleep. She doesnt rememberShe was in and out of it between the pain meds, Martin said. Once Taylor was flown to Fort Worth, she was rushed into surgery, where they cleaned up her arm and looked at her leg; the next day, they had to amputate it as well. Martin said that with many surgeries and rehabilitation ahead, her daughter is doing what she does best: fighting. She always has fight to her; it just. Shes always been one to fight for what she wants. Shes fighting so hard right now, Martin said. Its going to have to be at least a couple of months before they can even release her to a rehab. Even though Martin says Taylor is in high spirits now, she expects the reality to set in soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was making the doctors laugh about her not having an arm, Martin said. But I dont know if she actually fully understands whats going on. Martin and her family asked for one thing during this time: prayers and support. During this challenging time, Martin and her family are requesting prayers and support from their community. Pray for her, for us; So that she gets better. That she comes out of this good, Martin said. The other people in the vehicle suffered a dislocated shoulder with tendon and ligament damage and broken and fractured ribs. Taylor has to undergo additional surgery to take off more of her leg due to an infection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donations can be sent to the family through Cash App: $ginamartin814 and PayPal: @Gmartin675. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (PIX11) Residents in Washington Heights are frustrated with the ongoing issue of car wheel thefts, which they say has been plaguing the neighborhood for years. Its a sight that neighbors said is becoming all too familiar with, cars left propped up on milk crates and their wheels stolen while no ones watching. More Crime News Its just a sense of disbelief, said Gerry Goss, a victim of wheel theft. Its like, what can we do? We feel somewhat helpless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added, These guys come in, and theyre out in two, three, four minutes, and your cars on milk crates. Goss became a victim of tire theft a week ago when all four tires from his Honda Pilot SUV were taken in the dead of night. The car was parked on Pinehurst Avenue near West 183rd Street. The thieves also busted his back passenger window and damaged his cars front fender. He says the wheels are worth more than $2,000. His car is currently at an auto shop to fix the thousands of dollars worth of damage. The actual bill for the damage is $8,600, Goss said. Im on the hook for a deductible but, it just shows you the extent of the damage to the vehicle when these kind of things happen. Goss is not alone. Residents tell PIX11 News that car wheel thefts have been an issue for decades but have only gotten worse in the past year and a half. According to locals, many cars have had their wheels stolen on nearby Cabrini Boulevard. The area is known for its low lighting and limited surveillance, which they believe makes it a target for thieves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More Local News Cabrini Boulevard is a little bit of a dead zone when it comes to lighting, cameras, etc., said Kelly Hushin, a resident in the neighborhood. Usually, its happening on the Northside of Cabrini but in recent months its even been on the Southside. Its a challenge because theres a lot of spots in this one area, but a lot of times we tend not to park there on purpose, said Deborah, another resident in the area. We have to be very careful. Tire theft is classified as felony grand larceny in many cases. While NYPD data shows grand larceny has dropped 15 percent compared to this time last year, residents say tire theft remains a persistent issue and are calling on law enforcement for solutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont know if NYPD, if they had more surveillance or if they had just like those [flood] lights that would show, Deborah said. I think it would be great if we could have some enforcement on Cabrini Blvd, or in the neighborhood, overnight, said Hushin. PIX11 News reached out to NYPD, inquiring about preventative measures to combat car wheel thefts, and are still waiting to hear back. To combat wheel theft, experts recommend buying lug nut locks or turning your wheels to a 45-degree angle, which makes it harder for a thief to gain access. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LONDON (AP) A badly damaged cargo ship which collided with a U.S. tanker in the North Sea earlier this month arrived in the Scottish port of Aberdeen Friday, following a fire that lasted for nearly a week. Following a tug-assisted journey that lasted a few days, the Portugal-flagged Solong docked in Aberdeen for safe berthing and damage assessment. The damage to the ship following its collision on March 10 with an anchored tanker, the MV Stena Immaculate, and the ensuing fire, was clearly visible from the shore. The tanker was transporting jet fuel for the U.S. military in the North Sea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salvage of the Solong has progressed to enable its relocation to the Port of Aberdeen for safe berthing," said chief coastguard Paddy OCallaghan. The Stena Immaculate remains in a stable condition with salvage ongoing. A spokesperson for Ernt Russ, the company which owns the Solong, said the fire-stricken ship will be fully assessed by specialist marine assessors and insurers in Aberdeen. The Solong's Russian captain, Vladimir Motin, has been remanded in custody over the death of a crew member, 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia., who is missing and presumed dead. Motin, 59, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and is due to appear at the Central Criminal Court in London, better known as the Old Bailey, on April 14. Rescuers saved 36 people from both ships. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.K. authorities have said there is nothing to indicate the collision was connected to national security, but investigations are ongoing. Fortunately, the environmental damage from the collision was far less than first thought, though thousands of pellets used in plastics production, known as nurdles, from the ruptured containers on the Solong have begun washing up on beaches in the east of England. According to conservationists, the nurdles are not toxic but can harm animals if ingested. Local authorities are working to remove the nurdles. Carnegie Mellon University is assessing its finances and spending in the wake of the widespread federal cuts to the nations colleges and universities, although President Farnam Jahanian said late Wednesday CMU wasnt going to pause Ph.D. admissions like others. In a letter to the CMU community, Jahanian promised the university wouldnt compromise its values even as federal funding for research wanes. Even as the societal context evolves and legal changes require us to adapt, our commitment to fostering an inclusive and engaged community one where freedom of speech and academic freedom are protected remains unshakable, Jahanaian wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CMU, along with other top research universities like the University of Pittsburgh, have spent the past two months assessing the damage from the reductions and eliminations in National Institutes of Health grants and elsewhere. CMU has also joined a lawsuit attempting to stop the funding cuts. Click here to read more from our partners at the Pittsburgh Business Times. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Investing.com -- Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke today at the Port of Montreal, announcing that he has had a constructive discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump, initiating comprehensive negotiations for a new economic and security relationship between the United States and Canada. In addition to this, Carney also declared the creation of a Trade Diversification Fund. The fund is aimed at building infrastructure to diversify trade, create new jobs, and stimulate economic growth. The fund is expected to have C$5 billion in funding. Carney also encouraged Canadian ports to cooperate rather than compete in the new global economy. He emphasized the need for them to work together to ensure Canada's success in a drastically different world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The security of the ports will be strengthened under Carney's plan. He declared that more personnel will be deployed and additional technologies will be dedicated to halt the trafficking of drugs, especially fentanyl, as well as illegal guns and stolen cars. Carney has reassured that Canada's system of agricultural supply management will not be compromised in talks with the U.S. He also stated that he will meet with President Trump, although it's not clear whether there will be new trade discussions between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Carney expressed Canada's preference for Mexico to be included in the discussions. Carney's announcements come as he campaigns for the upcoming election on April 28. He has promised to stand up for Canadian workers, businesses, history, values, and sovereignty. The future of the U.S.-Canada relationship is unclear, but Carney has emphasized Canada's agency and power to control its own destiny and enhance its productivity and competitiveness. Related articles Ship Loaded With Ukrainian Corn Departs From Romania NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The China (Chongqing)-Kenya Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Meeting was held Thursday in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to promote trade relations between the two sides. The event attracted a high-level delegation from central China's Chongqing Municipality, senior Kenyan government officials, as well as representatives of about 200 enterprises from the two countries. Lee Kinyanjui, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry of Kenya, said that the East African country is at a critical stage of development, seeking foreign investments to help spur the industrial sector. "We want to tap into Chinese investors to establish manufacturing facilities in Kenya in areas such as the textile, electronics, automotive and pharmaceutical sectors," Kinyanjui said. He said that the forum is an ideal platform for Kenya and Chinese enterprises to develop business linkages for the mutual benefit. Hu Henghua, mayor of Chongqing, said that Chinese investors are keen to explore opportunities in Kenya, especially in the area of green energy and smart cities. He also revealed that the establishment of direct flights between Nairobi and Chongqing would enhance the flow of goods and people. Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan said that China stands ready to support Kenya to accelerate its industrialization agenda as well as the modernization of its agricultural sector. Eric Rutto, president of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that Chongqing offers an opportunity for Kenya to diversify its exports away from the traditional products such as coffee, tea and flowers. During the forum, memorandums of understanding were signed between the Chinese and Kenyan enterprises. Chairman of Makindu Motors Stephen Ngei Musyoka said that Kenya's business community is exploring collaborations with Chinese investors from Chongqing Municipality to benefit from advanced technology in the automotive and steel sectors. Sun Huding, the Executive Director of Chongqing Jinguan New Tech Development, said that Chinese investors are keen to establish a presence in Kenya because it is a gateway into the East African region. TOKYO - Multiple examinees who took a Japanese language test for non-native speakers in December submitted papers deemed ungradable, a source at the Foreign Ministry said Friday, amid a discovery of an answer leak online. The Japan Foundation, which administers the Japanese Language Proficiency Test abroad, reported to the ministry that there was an "extremely unnatural" concentration of identical responses. But it did not recognize it as a case of cheating or reveal the number of examinees whose tests were left ungraded. The five-level test, held up to twice a year in Japan and overseas, was taken by a record 1.26 million people in 2023. Certification in the multiple-choice test's upper levels is commonly sought by employers and academic institutions in Japan as a condition for accepting foreign candidates. The latest case, involving test takers in Japan and several other countries, could bring under scrutiny the administration of the exams, which are of increasing importance as Japan seeks to accept more foreign labor to support its graying society. The ministry instructed the foundation in late January to prevent a recurrence, the source said. It appears the same responses could be due to a leak on social media after the tests were held earlier in China than in other countries, including Japan. The foundation learned of the answers being leaked online and reported it to the ministry. While acknowledging activity on social media may have influenced the answers, the foundation said in a statement that a "direct causal relationship is unknown." Citing operational reasons, it said it will not offer retakes of the December test. The issue in question affected the test's second-highest N2 level, taken by more than 230,000 people in Japan and overseas on Dec. 1, 2024. The N2 and higher N1 levels are required for higher education study in Japanese. Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, the association that runs the test in Japan, sent notices to affected students' language schools, informing them their papers could not be graded and their test fees would be reimbursed. At one school in western Japan, two of its 140 students who took the test were informed their submissions were ungradable. "The information leak occurred due to faults in the way the test is managed. Responsibility for it shouldn't be pushed onto examinees, who are in the weakest position in this case," a teacher at the school said, calling for them to be allowed to sit the test again. Related coverage: No. of foreign residents in Japan hits record high for 3rd year Foreigners rescued from scam labor in Myanmar waiting to go home KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Cass County Health Department is warning residents about a scam targeting Medicare recipients. Scammers posing as health department employees are attempting to steal personal information by claiming that they need Medicare details for verification or updated records, county officials said. These scammers are using phone calls to trick victims into providing sensitive information, which can then be used for fraudulent purposes including identity theft and unauthorized Medicare claims. The Cass County Health Department said it will never call to request Medicare numbers without a scheduled appointment with a patient. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Residents are advised to be careful with their information and take the following precautions to protect themselves from scams: Do not share personal information: Never provide your Medicare number, Social Security number or banking details to unsolicited callers. Verify the source: If someone claims to be from the Cass County Health Department, hang up and call the official number (816-380-8429) to verify the authenticity of the request. Beware of pressure tactics: Scammers often create urgency or threats to manipulate individuals into sharing their information. Report suspicious activity: If you receive a call or visit from someone claiming to be from the health department requesting Medicare details, report it immediately to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-382-4357 or visit ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The Cass County Health Department is encouraging all Medicare recipients and their caregivers to remain vigilant and spread awareness about these fraudulent activities. For more information, you can contact 816-380-8425. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. On the busy shopping streets of West Croydon, where the greengrocers colourful produce brightens the space between the takeaway joints, Big Brother will soon be watching. From this summer, the area will have the dubious honour of hosting Londons first fixed live facial recognition (LFR) cameras, with the aim of catching criminals. The Metropolitan Police will pilot a scheme on two roads here to install the controversial technology, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to scan the facial features of passersby and match them to a database of criminal suspects. If it sounds a touch Orwellian, the locals seem largely in favour. Crime is a problem here, they say, and anything that curbs it is welcome. The streets in West Croydon are among the first to see cameras attached to lamp posts - Julian Simmonds People have been arguing and fighting for this to happen, says Wayne, 47, a computer engineer standing outside a fishmonger on London Road, one of the two thoroughfares where the cameras will be mounted on street furniture. Im more than happy [about it]. If Ive got nothing to hide, Ive got nothing to hide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drug dealers make the area feel dangerous, says the father of one, who hopes the cameras will make a difference when it comes to apprehending not only them but rapists and others too. We need more of [the cameras] and more often. In the Lidl car park down the road, Eddie Rodriguez, 55, agrees. He declares himself 100 per cent behind the new cameras, because in Croydon theres a lot of crime going on. If they catch the criminals, I would say yes, I have no problem with it. The borough is something of a hotspot for violent crime and possession of weapons, with an overall violence against the person rate of 30.3 per 1,000 residents (above the capitals average of 28.4) over the year ending March 2024. It has the eight highest rate of possession of weapon offences of all London boroughs. From behind the counter in a phone and vape store opposite the railway station, Adonis Costache, 30, is even more enthusiastic about the LFR technology. That would be great, he says of the plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has worked in the area for nine years, during which time he has witnessed an array of troubling scenes. People running with machetes on this street, drunk people shouting from 9am until the evening. Eddie Rodriguez, 55, welcomes the controversial technology because in Croydon theres a lot of crime going on - Julian Simmonds Theres a sense not only that if the cameras can help cut crime, they are probably worth a go, but also that we long ago surrendered so much of our privacy, willingly or otherwise, that it hardly feels like a major new departure. Outside the station, a sign on a lamppost warns that 24-hour CCTV is in operation here. Across the street, a road sign announces the presence of traffic enforcement cameras. Inside the Golden Chefs Cafe a few metres down, a screen beside the counter displays the premises own CCTV feed. Weve got cameras everywhere [already], says Karen Holmes, 52, who is smoking outside the pharmacy. Youre on camera right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Add to this the reams of private information so many of us choose to share online, and it can feel like the privacy ship sailed years ago. These days, with social media, everything is recorded, points out Sara Carrasco, 42, a bank worker sitting on a bench on North End, the other street chosen for the placement of the new cameras. It doesnt feel safe around here after 5pm, she adds, suggesting that any privacy concerns are secondary to the imperative of improving the area. This pedestrianised section of the town centre is teeming but run-down. Rough sleepers huddle in doorways. Closing down sales are loudly advertised via booming shop speakers. 22 bag for 5! sings a female voice on repeat. It doesnt feel safe here after 5pm, says resident Sara Carrasco - Julian Simmonds LFR has been used by the Met Police since 2016, and the new cameras wont be the first to be deployed in this part of South London. Vans installed with the technology have already been operating locally. It has also been implemented during the policing of large-scale events, such as the Kings Coronation in May 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some 800,000 faces in London have been scanned using the technology over the past five years, according to data compiled by a group of Green Party politicians within the London Assembly. And last year, the Met made more than 500 arrests using LFR. In doing so, a spokesman says, they removed dangerous individuals who were suspected of serious offences, including strangulation, stalking, domestic abuse and rape. But these streets in West Croydon will be the first to see cameras attached to lamp posts or buildings, in what the force describes as a temporary pilot project. They wont be in constant use: only when police are on hand to respond to database matches will they be switched on. The data they gather will be instantly deleted if no match is made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Met Police says facial recognition technology can be used to both prevent and detect crime, find wanted criminals and safeguard vulnerable people. It can serve as a real-time aid to help officers locate suspects on a watchlist who are sought by police and can also be used retrospectively, to help police work out who someone is after an event. Mitch Carr, the neighbourhood policing superintendent for South London, reportedly explained to the local community this month that the fixed LFR cameras in Croydon will mean the forces use of the technology will be far more embedded as a business as usual approach rather than relying on the availability of the LFR vans that are in high demand across London. A Met Police spokesman says that by introducing LFR, they removed dangerous individuals who were suspected of serious offences, including strangulation, stalking, domestic abuse and rape - Julian Simmonds Yet privacy campaigners are deeply uneasy, warning that this represents mass surveillance and marks a seismic shift in British policing. It turns every member of the public into a walking bar code, says Madeleine Stone, senior advocacy officer at Big Brother Watch. Its no different to police checking the fingerprints of everyone who walks down the high street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cannot assume that only the guilty have something to fear, she suggests. Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, has previously described the technology as accurate, fair and not intrusive, while the force says it will continue to engage with communities to build understanding about how this technology works, providing reassurances that there are rigorous checks and balances in place to protect peoples rights and privacy. But Stone argues there is still a risk of misidentification. Innocent people are being scanned and having their IDs biometrically checked, so everyone is being affected by it, she says. Facial recognition technology has existed in some form since the 1960s, when an American mathematician, Woody Bledsoe, first taught a computer to analyse facial features and match them to other images. He is known as one of the founders of AI. But it took some time before the technology became embedded in everyday life in the way it is today. Now, we use it constantly, to unlock our phones or pass through passport controls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In countries such as China, however, its use as a way to track citizens has drawn criticism for years. As part of the states surveillance apparatus, it has been deployed by the Chinese authorities not only to trace criminal suspects, but also to monitor dissenters, petitioners and citizens from ethnic minorities. Russia has also made use of facial recognition to deal with dissenters. In 2023, a Reuters review of more than 2,000 court cases showed how the cameras had played a major role in the arrests of hundreds of protesters. If you look at the other countries that use this, Russia and China are two of the biggest culprits, and theyre not the kind of states we should be emulating, says Stone, who fears we are building the architecture of an Orwellian police state. Theres a risk these cameras could end up on every street corner in the country, she fears. [And] thats not how we do things in Britain. Kevin, a 65-year-old retired police officer admits hes equally in favour of a more old-fashioned method of policing whereby more bobbies are on the beat - Julian Simmonds It doesnt end with street corners. This week it emerged that facial recognition cameras have secretly been monitoring passengers at airports too. Documents released under freedom of information laws revealed that unpublished Home Office orders require airports to carry out biometric face scanning of any passenger boarding a domestic flight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Big Brother Watch campaigners are not the only ones raising the alarm. The American Civil Liberties Union has previously claimed that face recognition surveillance poses an unprecedented threat to our privacy and civil liberties, giving governments, companies and individuals the power to spy on us wherever we go. But while Britain may be ramping up its use of facial recognition, China has faced a growing chorus of disquiet about the threat it poses. This month, the Cyberspace Administration of China published regulations governing its use, stating that [i]ndividuals who do not agree to identity verification through facial information should be provided with other reasonable and convenient options. Back on North End in West Croydon, these fears seem far from the minds of residents going about their daily business. Some people are against the use of these cameras, admits Kevin, a 65-year-old retired police officer pushing his infant grandchildren in a double buggy. But I think its a good idea. Still, he is equally in favour of a more old-fashioned method of policing: he wants to see more bobbies on the beat. If youve got two police officers [on foot], its a deterrent, he explains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is not rocket science, he says. The question is how far we go with computer science instead. 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. BRADENTON, Fla. (WFLA) A nationwide trend of protests against Elon Musks company is now being seen in the Tampa Bay area. Three Teslas were vandalized earlier this month outside a shopping plaza in Bradenton and the person who did it is still on the run. A Tesla owner told 8 On Your Side its made him think twice about where he parks. Trump to join telephone town halls with Florida special election candidates Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am mindful about where I take it and where I go, Tesla driver Russell Blackburn said. Police said the suspect was caught on surveillance video keying several Teslas in the parking lot of Pinebrook Commons in Bradenton. Two of the Tesla owners, father and son, they were just there enjoying dinner. And then there was a third Tesla owner who was, you know, shopping or doing something within that plaza, said Bradenton Police Department Public Information Officer Meredith Censullo. Police said the suspect caused more than $7,000 in damage to the vehicles. He then took off in a dark colored chevy SUV. It would certainly appear like these cars were chosen because they were Tesla vehicles. At the end of the day, though, it is completely unacceptable to damage anyones car, Censullo said. With protests aimed at Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk playing out nationwide, some drivers wonder if theyre becoming targets. It has been on my brain, you know, going out to public places. So when I go out with people, I ask them, Do you mind driving? Because I dont want to leave my car unattended, Blackburn said. And police said that kind of fear is exactly why they are pushing to identify the suspect. Because he caused a considerable amount of damage to three innocent victims who were just minding their own business, Censullo said. What happened here, the FBI said, lines up with what is happening across nine states. The FBI sent out a nationwide alert warning of rising threats and vandalism targeting Tesla cars. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 MEXICO (KRQE) 2025 marks the 163rd anniversary of the Battle of Glorieta Pass, a famous Civil War battle that took place in New Mexico. Celebrity Historian Raffi Andonian speaks on the battle. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andonian says the three-day battle went back and forth with confederate soldiers being pushed back on day one, then on day three they actually pushed union soldiers off the battlefield. He says a group of union soldiers divided and cut off a supply line, which forced the confederate soldiers to fall back and end the New Mexico campaign. After the battle, most of the southwest was controlled by the union. Andonian says this was important because it prevented the confederate army from expanding to the west coast and kept them from taking control of the gold in Colorado and California. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHAMPION, Ohio (WKBN) Champion Township held an informational meeting for voters Thursday night, explaining why they need a 1.6 mill additional levy on the ballot. Champion police are in a difficult situation. Their expenses have exceeded tax revenue every year since 2021. Times are very tough right now and honestly, weve cut all the expenses we can, said Police Chief Larry Skaggs. The department has put a levy on the May ballot, which is 1.6 mills for 5 years. It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $56 per year and generate $413,000 a year for the department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Without this levy, its bad. Weve eliminated all clerical positions ahead of time. Its so bad now, we dont even, Ill be honest with you, I buy the toilet paper and cleaning supplies, Chief Skaggs said. Last years operating expenses were just over $1,044,000 and 82 percent of those costs are people. Champion had eight officers on staff in 2022 but over 6,400 service calls, which is more than surrounding departments, including Cortland, Bazetta and Weathersfield, who have just as many officers on staff if not more. Weve tried to have a unified vision and just explain to the township voters just how bad it has got. None of us like to pay any more taxes and thats why theyre trying to be reasonable on this amount, is just to try to offset some of these problems that were having, Skaggs said. The department has continued to receive grants and donations for body-worn cameras, the departments K-9 and bulletproof vests, and has used ARPA funds on one-time purchases like police vehicles, but Chief Skaggs says they cant rely on grants and theyre down to the wire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cant reiterate enough there is no fat on the bone. The next thing, unfortunately, is this is our biggest expense and thats officers. And thats counter to what were trying to do is provide a service to our community, response times, said Skaggs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. No. 2-ranked Oklahoma softball will host No. 9 Tennessee for an important three-game SEC series in Norman, Oklahoma. The first game between OU (30-1, 8-1 SEC) and Tennessee (27-6, 3-3) is Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network). The two teams will also face each other at 1 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Here's how to watch the Oklahoma vs Tennessee game today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information: What time is Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma today? Date: Friday, March 28 Time: 7:30 p.m. ET Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Oklahoma vs Tennessee game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday from Love's Field in Norman, Oklahoma. What channel is Oklahoma vs Tennessee on today? Oklahoma vs Tennessee will be streamed on SEC Network+. RANKINGS: Super 16 college softball rankings: Texas, OU dominate top two spots yet again Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma live score updates We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesnt influence our coverage. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma today: How to watch, stream, live score A motorists blood-alcohol level was nearly two times the legal limit to drive when he hit a 72-year-old woman at 40 mph Thursday afternoon in a White Bear Township crosswalk, according to charges filed Friday. Christopher Ronald Olson, 46, left the scene telling police that he panicked but turned himself in to White Bear Lake police about 20 minutes after the collision, which happened around 4:22 p.m. at the intersection of White Bear Parkway and Birch Lake Boulevard at the townships border with White Bear Lake. Olson, of White Bear Lake, went before a Ramsey County judge on Friday on three counts of criminal vehicular homicide operating a motor vehicle in a negligent manner while intoxicated, having an alcohol concentration 0.08 or more within two hours of driving and causing an accident and then leaving the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Olson remained jailed Friday in lieu of $1 million bail ahead of a next hearing set for April 27. His attorney has not responded to a request for comment on the charges. Olson was convicted of DWI in 2009 and 2012, both out of Ramsey County, court records show. According to Fridays criminal complaint, witnesses told authorities other vehicles had stopped for the woman as she was making her way across White Bear Parkway in a marked crosswalk. She made it halfway across the road when the driver of a Kia Telluride SUV hit her without slowing down or braking. The woman flew 30 yards in the air and hit the pavement, rolling several times on her side, witnesses said. She died at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 20 minutes later, Olson arrived at the White Bear Lake Police Department with his mother and admitted that he had struck a pedestrian, the complaint says. Olson smelled of alcohol and slurred his words. He performed poorly on field-sobriety tests, showing poor balance throughout them. During the one-leg stand test, he said, Im sorry, I cant do that and added, Ive had something to drink, Ive admitted it, the complaint states. Olson registered a 0.14 BAC on a preliminary breath test. The legal limit to drive in Minnesota is 0.08. Later, in an interview with investigators, Olson admitted to drinking four shooter bottles of vodka after work, the complaint says. He said he was driving northbound on White Bear Parkway with his cruise control at 40 mph, which is the posted speed limit in the area. He said he was not paying attention and he hit a person crossing the road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Olson said he left the scene because he panicked and drove to his mothers house. He said she convinced him to go to the police station. Olson acknowledged that he is prescribed Trazodone, an anti-depressant, and Clonazepam for anxiety. He also admitted to taking a gummy or two before bed. He said he does not combine the medications with alcohol. A judge granted a search warrant to draw Olsons blood for testing. The samples were drawn at about 7:30 p.m., and the analysis is pending. Officers found a loaded handgun in the glove box of Olsons SUV. He does have a permit to carry. At 8:20 p.m., four hours after the crash, he submitted to a second breath test, related to his gun permit. His BAC was 0.08, the complaint says. Related Articles STATE LINE, Miss. (WKRG) A man previously arrested in connection to the State Line New Years Day triple homicide has had his charges upgraded now being charged with capital murder. Lucedale man accused of child pornography possession: GCSO 37-year-old Drexler Johnson was arrested on Jan. 9, being charged with accessory after the fact and conspiracy to commit a crime. On March 28, Johnsons charges were upgraded. He is now charged with three counts of capital murder and one count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to a Greene County District Attorneys Office news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Jan. 1, Lester Campbell, Rhonda Denson and Dirk Jason Thornton were killed at a Clarks Exxon gas station on Saint Peter Street during a robbery. Denson was a clerk at the gas station, Campbell was Densons boyfriend and had just dropped her off for work, and Thornton was a customer of the store when the shooting happened around 6 a.m. Mississippi man sentenced after sexually abusing, impregnating teenager Investigators told News 5 shortly after the incident happened that Campbell was killed while walking into the store, Thornton was killed outside the store before having his wallet stolen, and Denson was killed after the gunman dragged her from a back room where she had locked herself in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The news release said a preliminary hearing for the new charges will be scheduled for a later date. News 5s Jeremy Jones contributed to this 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 WKRG News 5. Mar. 27ROCHESTER The Chatfield man accused of killing Rochester motorcyclist Ricky Hutton in 2022 during a drunk driving crash was sentenced to over three years in prison. Nicholas Allen Sprau, 60, appeared in court on Thursday, March 27, for his sentencing. He was charged with criminal vehicular homicide relating to the September 2022 crash. "That will haunt me forever," Sprau said Thursday morning in a nearly full Olmsted County courtroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sprau pleaded guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide in December 2024. In total, he faced three counts of criminal vehicular homicide while driving under the influence and two additional DWI charges. Prior to the hearing, the defense filed a motion seeking a lesser sentence for Sprau. His plea noted a joint agreement between the parties for a 41-month prison sentence. Regarding the motion, Olmsted County Prosecutor Jeffrey Hill argued that Sprau is not particularly amenable for a departure from the sentencing guidelines. Based on Minnesota statistics regarding criminal vehicular homicide cases, Hill said these defendants often don't receive a departure regardless of their criminal history points. Before the crash, Sprau had no criminal history points nor did he have any traffic citations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Hill said, Sprau's case is not a "unique" one. "Good people make bad choices all the time," Hill said. The court heard victim impact statements from Hutton's daughter, sister-in-law and father. "He didn't get to see me grow up," Hutton's daughter read from her letter. She said she wants her father to be remembered the way she always saw him: her protector and the person who always lit up the room. All three said it was disheartening to see Hutton's memorial at the crash site removed shortly after they placed them. The crash site was at the end of Sprau's driveway. On Sept. 10, 2022, Sprau and his family were driving home from a family gathering. According to court documents, when Sprau made a lefthand turn on Highway 52 to pull into his driveway, he struck Hutton, who was riding on a motorcycle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hutton's family placed memorials at the bottom of the driveway, but in court, they said the memorials were removed shortly after they were placed. "We want Nick Sprau to sit in prison to feel the same pain we do," Paul Adams' letter said. Defense attorney Eric Newmark argued Sprau is particularly amenable to probation or a lesser sentence because he's "exhibited a lifetime of good behavior." Newmark said Sprau's expressions of remorse have always been sincere. The crash will affect Spau for the rest of his life, Newmark said. District Judge Erin Felten said after considering the gravity of this case for some time, she decided not to deviate from the sentencing guidelines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sprau received a 41-month sentence and will spend at least 27 of those months in prison. He was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs. A Minnesota State Patrol trooper was dispatched to a crash on Highway 52 near milepost 36 to find Sprau's 2018 Chevrolet Traverse partially in the driveway of a residence. The trooper also found Hutton's 1984 Honda Motorcycle lying in the middle of the highway. There was significant damage to the Traverse and heavy damage to the motorcycle. When the trooper approached Sprau he could smell an overwhelming odor of alcohol coming from him, the complaint said. Sprau was headed northbound on Highway 52 when he turned left into his driveway on the 1300 block of Highway 52 Southeast. Hutton was headed southbound on Highway 52. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sprau told the trooper that he saw the motorcycle but thought he had enough time to turn. The vehicles collided in the roadway. He failed multiple field sobriety tests and blew a 0.185 during a preliminary alcohol breath test. Sprau was arrested for driving under the influence and transported to the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center. While en route to the ADC, the trooper learned that Hutton had died at the scene. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for a blood draw for Sprau. An analysis of his blood showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.173, the complaint said. Witnesses told a State Patrol trooper that the motorcycle was traveling at a high rate of speed and had passed at least three vehicles before the crash, according to the complaint. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sprau was coming home from a brewery in Fountain. Both Sprau and his passenger told law enforcement that they had been drinking. Hutton's autopsy determined he died from multiple blunt force injuries. He was not wearing a helmet, the complaint said. A scene reconstruction determined that Hutton was traveling below the speed limit when he began braking before the crash. CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) The Chatham County Emergency 911 Center is reporting improvements in process times, staffing and abandoned calls. WSAV told you last year about concerns with the E911 Center. Then, some people were said they had to wait up to 30 minutes for a call taker to pick up. WSAV took those viewer concerns to management at the center. Now, E911 Deputy Director Russ Palmer is reporting progress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve seen a decrease in our process times year over year. Were excited to see that continue moving forward, Palmer said. In 2023, 15% of E911 calls were abandoned or left unanswered. This includes caller hang ups. Weve actually had a 23 percent reduction in our abandoned call rate, Palmer said. He attributes this change to having an almost full staff of 107 people. We have eight vacancies right now, so thats absolutely amazing compared to the last time we talked about it, Palmer said. E911 Director Diane Pickney said theyll be able to expand their staff even more with the new E911 facility, which is still in the proposal process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the population growth in Chatham County, it has made it necessary for us to over-hire when it comes to call taking staff. So, were kind of quickly running out of space, Pickney said. According to Palmer, the E911 center is averaging about 1,500 calls a day. He said this is a high amount, but their Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system makes the job easier. It allows alarm companies to directly enter their calls into the system instead of a member of our staff having to answer those calls, Palmer said. Last year, that saved us almost 5,000 minutes of talk time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 24-person Non-emergency Center has helped to lower the E911 call volume. Palmer said the Next Generation 911 Project will upgrade their phone system, Which is going to allow us to gather caller location more accurately. Its going to allow us to share calls between jurisdictions that might get us routed more easily, but it also provides more sustainability and redundancy for the county cell system. Theres no timeline yet on the new E911 center. WSAV will provide updates as we receive them on the new center. The directors wanted to remind folks to help them out as well. If you need assistance but your situation isnt life threatening, call their non-emergency line at 912-652-6500. 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. YANGON - A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, killing 144 people and injuring more than 700 others, the junta said, with tremors reaching as far as neighboring Thailand and China. The junta, embroiled in a civil war, has declared a state of emergency in response to the quake, Mizzima News Media reported. Several buildings in the two Southeast Asian countries have collapsed, including a high-rise in Bangkok where many were reported missing. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake that occurred past noon struck at a depth of about 10 kilometers, with strong shaking near Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city. Witnesses saw several buildings collapse in Mandalay, according to Reuters, while a mosque in the country's central region of Bago partially collapsed, killing around a dozen people. Reuters also quoted Myanmar state TV as saying that blood donations were needed. Junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said the country welcomes international assistance in the face of the possible widespread damage from the quake. People in Mandalay uploaded photographs depicting the aftermath of the strong quake and showing scenes of devastation on social media. Meanwhile, in Yangon, the country's largest city, there was no noticeable damage to infrastructure. In Bangkok, around 1,000 km from the epicenter, a high-rise building under construction collapsed, with local authorities raising the death toll to seven. Another person died at a separate construction site. Thailand's government said more than 80 people were missing after the collapse of the under-construction building. According to NBC News, videos posted online showed workers fleeing from the crane-topped structure as it came down, leaving a plume of smoke. Thai fire and rescue authorities said the number of victims could rise. About 300 people had been working at the site of the 34-story building, with many feared trapped beneath the rubble. The governor of Bangkok said that multiple tall buildings in the Thai capital were also damaged in the quake. The powerful temblor also disrupted operations at Japanese automakers' plants in Thailand. Nissan Motor Co. evacuated employees and suspended production at its plant until safety could be confirmed. Honda Motor Co. temporarily halted operations at its plant but later resumed them. Related coverage: Taiwan department store gas blast leaves 4 dead, 29 injured CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) A criminal record can be a major barrier for many people looking to move forward. Today a special clinic in Chatham County gives people a second chance at a fresh start. This expungement clinic offers a great opportunity for anyone ready to move past their mistakes. Under Georgias 2020 Second Chance law, over 1.5 million people are eligible to have their records sealed potentially changing lives. Later Friday morning the Chatham County District Attorneys Office will host a free expungement clinic. The clinic offers eligible residents the chance to remove minor offenses like traffic violations and nonviolent misdemeanors from their criminal records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While serious crimes like felonies and domestic violence are not eligible, Georgias Second chance law gives many a chance to clear their records. I want to assure all citizens and the public that the things that we expect to stay on peoples criminal history is that of felony convictions, all convictions having to do with domestic violence, sexual assaults, child molestation and those things can absolutely not be expunged, shared Shalena Cook Jones, the District Attorney of Chatham County. The event is held in partnership with local organizations like Devetter Lawfirm, Georgia Legal Services, and Goodwill. Its important to note that its one out of every three Americans has some kind of criminal history on their record. And its likely much more than that. A lot of people dont know. So, while its important for us to do this in the community because the Georgia lawmakers have recently changed the expungement or record restriction statute to include misdemeanor offenses. So now those folks who have had misdemeanor effects offenses on their record can now come in and get that restricted, said District Attorney, Cook Jones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The event will be at Live Oak Librarys Southwest Branch from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It also helps remove arrest records and booking photos especially for minor offenses like traffic violations. A criminal record, even for minor offenses, can limit job and education opportunities, but this clinic provides a chance for a fresh start. We know because the studies show that any criminal history, especially in this market, create great obstacles to not just employment, but housing, military enrollment, higher education and other social benefits that, you know, we that all really translate into greater access, influence and opportunity, explained District Attorney Cook Jones. In Georgia, nearly 4.6 million people have a criminal record almost 40% of adults. Although for many individuals, this clinic can help clean that slate, all you have to do is stop by. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This free clinic is open to all eligible Chatham County residents on a first-come, first-served basis. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Novo Nordisk is expanding its cash-only savings program offering its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy for $499 a month at all U.S. pharmacies. 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with CEO Anne Wojcicki stepping down to help with a sale. And the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is cutting roughly 3,500 jobs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), amid reports that the agencys staff is reportedly already struggling to meet product review deadlines Check out those stories and more pharmaceutical news highlights from this week. In this photo illustration, the injectable weight-loss medication Wegovy is available at New City Halstead Pharmacy on April 24, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. - Image: Scott Olson / Staff (Getty Images) Sales of Novo Nordisks blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy took a hit due to rising competition from off-brand, or compounded, versions of the treatment, according to the Danish pharma giants CEO Lars Fruergaard Jrgensen. He acknowledged that the significant growth of compounding in the U.S. appears to have affected Wegovy prescriptions in early 2025. For instance, the millennial-targeted telehealth company Hims & Hers started offering compounded semaglutide last May. The companys total sales grew 69% last year to $1.5 billion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. - Image: Andrew Harnik / Staff (Getty Images) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Thursday that it plans to eliminate approximately 3,500 positions at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), even as the agencys staff is reportedly struggling to meet product review deadlines. The layoffs are part of a broader workforce reduction at HHS, which will cut 10,000 full-time employees across multiple agencies. The announcement came on the same day that Reuters, citing unnamed sources, reported that FDA staff responsible for reviewing medical devices and tobacco products have been struggling to meet congressionally mandated deadlines, a challenge exacerbated by previous layoffs during the Trump administration. Read More A sign with the company logo sits outside of the headquarters campus of Eli Lilly and Company on March 17, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. - Image: Scott Olson / Staff (Getty Images) Just about a year after launching a direct-to-consumer online platform to sell treatments for diabetes and obesity, Eli Lilly (LLY) is now expanding the program to offer resources for Alzheimers disease. The company says the goal is to reduce the long wait times many patients face in getting an appointment with specialists. Unlike other conditions covered by LillyDirect, the Alzheimers resources wont include mail-order pharmacy services for Lillys medications. Instead, the platform will focus on education and helping patients connect with independent healthcare providers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More Photo: Gabe Ginsberg (Getty Images) Genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday in the latest stage of a rocky road that included weak consumer demand and a 2023 data breach that jeopardized the genetic data of millions of customers. 23andMe holds the genetic information of more than 15 million people worldwide. Ahead of the sale, some officials have started ringing the alarm for customers.The company does offer an option to permanently delete your account 23andMe will stop using your DNA for research purposes, get rid of your genetic sample, and delete most of your genetic information from its databases. Deleting your account is irreversible. If you still want to go through with the process, heres a step-by-step look at how to do it. Read More In this photo illustration, boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter on April 17, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. - Image: Mario Tama / Staff (Getty Images) Big Pharma is expected to see big returns from its investment in a class of drugs made famous by Novo Nordisks (NVO) popular diabetes drug Ozempic. Deloittes annual report, Measuring the Return from Pharmaceutical Innovation, found that GLP-1 drugs could fuel significant returns on research and development investments made last year by major drugmakers. The consulting firm analyzed the projected internal rate of return for late-stage pipeline assets across the 20 leading pharma companies. On average, these companies forecast peak sales of $510 million per asset. But when GLP-1s are excluded, that figure drops sharply to $370 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More In this photo illustration, the injectable weight-loss medication Wegovy is available at New City Halstead Pharmacy on April 24, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. - Image: Scott Olson / Staff (Getty Images) Novo Nordisk, the maker of the blockbuster drug Ozempic, is cutting the price of its weight loss drug by more than half for even more patients that pay without insurance. The Danish pharma giant announced today that it is expanding its savings program, offering Wegovy for $499 a month at all local pharmacies in the U.S. That marks a steep discount more than 60% off the drugs $1,349.02 list price. Previously, this reduced price was only available through Novo Nordisks direct-to-consumer service, NovoCare Pharmacy. Read More 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection 19 years after it was founded by CEO Anne Wojcicki, who resigned. - Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images) 23andMe on Sunday filed for bankruptcy protection after struggling to combat weak demand for its DNA testing kit and the fallout of a data breach that effected millions of customers. The San Francisco-based biotechnology firm said it had entered Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to facilitate a sale. It plans to continue operating through the proceedings. CEO Anne Wojcicki, who co-founded the company 19 years ago, said she would resign to help with the sale. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More In this photo illustration, boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter on April 17, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. - Image: Mario Tama / Staff (Getty Images) Nothing drives down a drugs price like competition. According the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a drugs wholesale price drops by an average of 39% after just one generic competitor enters the market. With four generic competitors, prices tumble by 79%. These reductions translate into billions of dollars in savings for American consumers. But before generics can hit the market, a drugs patent must first expire. Here are some key drug patents expiring soon. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to vote on high-profile races for Wisconsin Supreme Court and state superintendent of public instruction, as well as a statewide referendum on voter ID. But they will also be faced with decisions about local school board races and referendums. While these are smaller races affecting smaller numbers of voters locally, school board races still are tremendously important, as board members make many decisions about how schools are actually run. They determine any number of issues, including how money is allocated, policy, what kids should study and who should be hired to work hands-on in classrooms on a daily basis. They also hire administrators who oversee things on a bigger scale. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most school board members work for little or no money on a job that takes hours each month. We've been covering a handful of suburban school board races and referendums since January. Local races get underway with candidate filings Jan. 8, 2025: In the Milwaukee area, who can you expect to see on the ballot for school board this spring? Jan. 9, 2025: New look coming to MPS board, as three incumbents decide not to run again, and new faces take their places School districts statewide will once again put referendums on the ballot Jan. 23, 2025: Arrowhead District heads back to voters right away with slimmed down $136.2 million referendum Feb. 14, 2025: Dozens of Wisconsin schools again turn to referendums for help financing operations and building projects Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement March 6, 2025: See which Milwaukee area school districts have referendums on the April ballot March 6, 2025: Amid shooting fears, Wisconsin K-12 districts spend millions of property tax dollars on security March 6, 2025: Here's what to know about the use of referendums for K-12 security upgrades in Wisconsin March 20, 2025: A lawsuit alleges that Arrowhead Union High School is misrepresenting the costs associated with a $136M referendum High interest in three area districts, where primaries narrowed the field Jan. 29, 2025: Five candidates running for two seats on Oak Creek-Franklin School Board Jan. 30, 2025: Seven candidates running for three seats on the Hartland-Lakeside School Board Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jan. 30, 2025: High interest in Cedarburg School Board, as eight candidates seek just three seats on the board Feb. 18, 2025: Primary narrows field for Cedarburg, Hartland-Lakeside, Oak Creek-Franklin school boards Heading into the general election March 12, 2025: Partisan support divided among six candidates for Cedarburg School Board March 12, 2025: Like last year, two blocs of Waukesha School Board candidates square off before April 1 election March 13, 2025: Four candidates running for two seats on Oak Creek-Franklin School Board April 1 March 17, 2025: Transparency, transportation among issues Hartland-Lakeside School Board candidates want addressed Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement March 19, 2025: Wauwatosa School Board will have a new look after April 1, with four seats up for grabs on the seven-seat board March 26, 2025: Email surfaces of Wauwatosa school board candidate describing student as a 'hooker' March 28, 2025: MPS school board candidates answer questions on policing, test scores, district finances March 28 , 2025: Lone competitive MPS school board race draws donors from mayor, city council members, teachers union Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) at @AlecJohnson12. Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit jsonline.com/rfa. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Suburban Milwaukee school board races and referendums CHENANGO COUNTY, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) A Chenango County man is being accused of sending inappropriate messages to a minor. New York State Police announced the arrest of Even Eldred, 24, of McDonough for crimes against a child as well as weapons related charges. Eldred was arrested following an investigation and the execution of a search warrant at his residence on March 25. In June 2023, Troopers received information from a local police agency in the state of Virginia that an adult man had sent sexually explicit images and was soliciting a juvenile. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the search warrant, Eldred was found to be in possession of five assault rifles and high-capacity magazines that are not New York State SAFE Act Compliant. Eldred was taken into custody and charged with the following: Five counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree (assault rifle), a Class D Felony Four counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree (large capacity ammunition feeding device), a Class D Felony Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the First Degree, a Class D Felony Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Misdemeanor Eldred was arraigned and remanded to the Chenango County Jail on $10,000 cash bail, $15,000 credit card, $50,000 insurance company bail bond and/or $75,000 partially secured bond with 10% deposit. 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. CHEYENNE The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) welcomed its first honorary member into the group Thursday. Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Luke Emanuel, previously assigned to 10th SFG(A), said the group doesnt usually make exceptions, but that Jim Casey is an exceptional man. Casey is the president of Halladay Motors in Cheyenne. Although he has never served in the military, it has always been an important part of his life since his father moved his family to Cheyenne to work at F.E. Warren Air Force Base. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im very honored, but, you know, Im humbled too, because the men and women that serve and what they sacrifice and what they give is what really matters, Casey said after being inducted into the group. Emanuel was one of the founding members of the 10th SFG(A) in 1952 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, after he returned from the Korean War. He said the group was created to continue the duties of the First Special Service Force after World War II. The FSSF was an elite joint American-Canadian commando unit attached to the United States Fifth Army. The 10th SFG(A) is the oldest Special Forces Group in the country. Its original mission was to conduct partisan warfare, using small, independent forces, behind enemy lines in the event of a Soviet bloc invasion of western Europe. In 1991, the 10th SFG(A) was deployed to Saudi Arabia during the first Persian Gulf War and has been heavily involved in the War on Terror, deploying consistently to Iraq and other countries. Although their operations are classified, Emanuel said the group operates in 141 different countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Casey was inducted as an honorary member after making a generous donation to the groups charitable fund, though he did not disclose how much that was. The charitable fund is used to support families who have lost loved ones in the SFG(A). He is a special person, Emanuel said of Casey. He likes to contribute to different charities all over Cheyenne. Hes been doing it for many years. The pair have been friends for around 30 years, and Emanuel said Casey sold him his first car, a Nissan Maxima. Emanuel also presented Casey with a green beret similar to the ones members of the 10th SFG(A) wear and artwork of a Trojan horse, the insignia of the group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the United States Army Special Forces Command History Office, the Trojan horse insignia was chosen to represent a similarity between the techniques of the original Trojan horse and the operations of the 10th SFG(A). Surreptitious entry, undercover placement for a while, and then coming out and doing your thing, 2nd Lt. Timothy G. Gannon told the History Office. The 10th SFG(A) is now based at Fort Carson in Colorado. I get the privilege to live in this great country and to have my life I have because of guys like Luke and those young men and women that are down there, Casey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He previously told the WTE that Halladays Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Nissan and Subaru dealership is involved with more than 100 charitable organizations, and has contributed more than $4 million in financial support to local organizations. After graduating from Cheyennes Central High School in 1979, Casey attended the University of Wyoming. One semester before graduating college, he took some time off and got a job selling cars. Casey began his career as a finance manager at a Ford store in Cheyenne. He moved to Halladay Motors in 1990, where he remained for 10 years before taking a general sales manager position at Fremont Motor Company in Sheridan. In 2007, Casey returned to Halladay Motors as general sales manager and worked his way from general manager to vice president to eventually buying the dealership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, he was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by the Wyoming Automobile Dealers Association. Casey is also on the board of the St. Marys School Foundation and the Parish Pastoral Council for the Cathedral of St. Mary, and has served on the boards of the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce and the COMEA House and Resource Center homeless shelter. CHICAGO (WGN) A Chicago-based law firm filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Friday over the presidents executive order targeting them. Jenner & Block claims the order keeping them from federal contracts and federal buildings is an unconstitutional abuse of power against the lawyers, their clients and the legal system. The well-known Chicago firm fears the executive order will damage its reputation and finances. President Trump earlier this week signed the order targeting the firm, which previously employed Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor who worked on then-special counsel Robert Muellers team. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House staff secretary Will Scharf alleged the Jenner & Block had engaged in the weaponization of the legal system against American principles and values, WGNs Nexstar partners at TheHill.com reported. The suit asks a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to keep the order from taking effect. The lawsuit was celebrated by a group of 18 former presidents of the Chicago Council of Lawyers. In a statement, the group said Trumps order is blatantly unconstitutional. As fellow Chicago lawyers we welcome their standing strongly in the tradition of Bert Jenner, a great Chicago lawyer who would be proud of his firm today, the groups statement continued. Lawyers are not spectators to the Constitution; we are its agents. We cannot allow the President to scare law firms and lawyers into silence. Lawyers must refuse to bow to illegal and unconstitutional threats of retribution for having the temerity to represent clients and cases opposing the administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three other national law firms have also been targeted through similar executive orders. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO A jury has convicted a Chicago man accused of kidnapping two people and operating a sex trafficking operation involving at least two minors in Lansing and Chicago. On Tuesday, following a week-long trial., a jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago convicted 33-year-old Dennis Williams on seven sex trafficking and kidnapping counts, Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced Friday. According to prosecutors, Williams oversaw the sex trafficking operation, which he ran out of his Chicago residence and motels in Lansing, Ill., in 2022 and 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines During that period, prosecutors said Williams used threats, violence, drugs, and other coercive methods to force five victims to engage in commercial sex acts, including one victim who was only 15 years old. Prosecutors said Williams would often restrain or assault his victims in order to get them to comply with his demands and turn over any proceeds from the commercial sex acts. Photo provided by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, shows 33-year-old Dennis Williams who was convicted of kidnapping 2 and running a sex trafficking operation. Additionally, Williams got a 17-year-old girl, who he had repeatedly assaulted, to help him traffick victims. In two instances, in late 2022 and early 2023, two of the victims were able to escape after being kidnapped by Williams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors said on Aug. 2, 2022, Williams kidnapped a victim by luring her inside his truck before abruptly driving away. The victim, however, was able to escape by jumping from the moving vehicle. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland In a second incident, on Jan. 10, 2023, Williams kidnapped another victim after trapping her inside his closet overnight before forcing her to engage in commercial sex with strangers. The victim was eventually able to escape by jumping from a second-story window before running a quarter mile to a nearby Chicago Public Library branch. During his trial, five of Williams victims, including both of the kidnapping victims, testified about what they faced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Willimas is set to return to court on Oct. 7, for sentencing. He is currently facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum of life. The U.S. Attorneys Office of the Northern District of Illinois urges anyone who may be a victim of sexual exploitation or worries that others may be victims, to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to www.missingkids.com or by calling 1-800-843-5678. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Bloomberg) -- China has warned Washington that it will retaliate against the US if the Trump administration presses ahead with new reciprocal tariffs on the country next week, according to a report from state media. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beijing officials conveyed the message during a video call with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer earlier this week, according to a post by Yuyuantantian, a Weibo account affiliated with state-run China Central Television. If the US is determined to harm Chinas interests, China will resolutely retaliate, the media outlet which regularly signals Beijings thinking about trade said in the post, without citing where it got the information. The post didnt mention any details about any possible countermeasures. Chinas Vice Premier He Lifeng had candid and in-depth exchanges on key issues in bilateral economic and trade relations with Greer during their video call on Wednesday, Chinese state media said. The US readout on the exchange, however, said that Greer expressed serious concerns about Chinas trade policies. Greer and He agreed on the importance of maintaining communication going forward. US President Donald Trump is set to announce a sweeping reciprocal tariff program on April 2 against major trade partners, amid deepening strains between the worlds two largest economies. The president has already imposed a cumulative 20% surtax on goods imported from China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on global business leaders to push back against protectionism, seeking to take advantage of growing backlash against rising US tariffs to promote his country as a reliable partner. CCTV said that many US companies expressed their desire in the past few days for both governments to create a stable environment for businesses, and that mutual respect is a prerequisite if the US seeks to engage with China in cooperation. --With assistance from Li Liu. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. WASHINGTON - Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui will join a long-term mission at the International Space Station possibly in July on a journey arranged by NASA, the U.S. space agency said Thursday. In his second trip to the ISS since 2015, 55-year-old Yui will accompany three other astronauts from the United States and Russia on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's SpaceX Crew-11 mission. Yui was originally scheduled to leave for space in 2024, but his departure has been delayed as the participating countries' space organizations coordinate on schedules. In his mission, expected to last around six months, Yui will conduct experiments for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Yui, a Nagano Prefecture native and former Japanese Air Self-Defense Force pilot, previously stayed at the ISS between July and December 2015 and was responsible for the docking of an unmanned supply craft developed by Japan. JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, 49, also began a mission at the ISS earlier this month. Related coverage: Astronaut Onishi blasts off on mission as 3rd Japanese to lead ISS Japan's 2 new astronauts show excitement, with Moon possibly in sight Japan's space agency officially approves 2 astronauts after training Chinese leader Xi Jinping held court with dozens of the worlds top executives on Friday, as he sought to bolster foreign investment during an escalating trade war with the United States. The meeting, in which Xi reassured global investors about the countrys economic prospects to arrest a slide in foreign investment, comes just days before US President Donald Trump is due to announce a mega batch of tariffs targeting Americas many trading partners. Touting China as a fertile ground for foreign enterprises to invest and thrive, Xi made his pitch to over 40 executives including FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam and Qualcomm chief Cristiano Amon to expand their investments in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China has always been, is and will inevitably continue to be an ideal, safe and promising destination for foreign investment, he said, according to an official readout provided by the state-run Xinhua news agency. Xi reiterated a pledge to improve market access, ensure equal treatment for foreign businesses and strengthen communication with foreign investors. Foreign companies contribute one-third to Chinas imports and exports and one-seventh of its tax revenue, while creating over 30 million jobs, he added. Xi called on multinational corporations, which he said wield significant international influence to speak up with reason, take pragmatic action, and resist any attempts to turn back the clock on progress. He seemingly took a swipe at Trump by urging foreign businesses to not blindly follow actions that disrupt the safety and stability of the global industrial supply chain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blocking others paths will ultimately only obstruct your own, he said. Decoupling and breaking supply chains harm everyone and lead nowhere. Several executives Subramaniam, Daimler AGs Ola Kallenius, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson and HSBC CEO Noel Quinn spoke during the meeting, according to state media. Other executives present included Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, BMW chairman Oliver Zipse and Toyota chairperson Akio Toyoda, according to a live stream of the event. Many foreign executives have stayed on in Beijing following last weekends China Development Forum, where Premier Li Qiang asked them to resist protectionism in a world of growing instability and uncertainty. Foreign business leaders attend a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 28, 2025. - Florence Lo/Reuters The forum, which was attended by representatives of 86 multinational companies this year, is an annual event frequented by international business leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have prepared for possible unexpected shocks, which, of course, mainly come from external sources, Li said on Sunday. In a meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook pledged to increase investment in Chinas supply chain, research and development, and social welfare sectors, according to the Commerce Ministry. Wang criticized unilateral US tariffs for disrupting business operations and adding uncertainty to the global economy, while he stressed that China was willing to work with the US to create a more stable policy environment for businesses. Reviving growth The Chinese economy continues to suffer from myriad challenges, including the sputtering property sector, weak consumer spending and deflationary pressure. Still, Beijing has set an ambitious goal for the countrys economic growth at 5% this year, despite admitting to difficulties ahead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the first two months of the year, China recorded a 20% plunge in foreign direct investment (FDI), according to the Commerce Ministry. The weak start to the year came after a steep tumble of 27.1% in total annual FDI last year to 826.3 billion yuan ($113.4 billion), the lowest figure since 2016. Geopolitical tension and the tightening of national security-related regulations have accelerated the exodus of foreign business and capital from China. A prolonged economic downturn has prompted the countrys leadership to proactively court investment, both from foreign investors and privately owned Chinese businesses. In a high-profile meeting last month, Xi sat down with the countrys top business executives, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu, and Tencent CEO Pony Ma. Now is the perfect time for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to thrive, he told them. Cars wait to be loaded onto the Eco Napoli at the port in Yantai, in China's eastern Shandong province, on March 26, 2025. - AFP/Getty Images Chinas ambitious economic growth targets are being threatened by a renewed trade conflict with Trump. Since January, the US president has already imposed an additional 20% tariff on all Chinese imports, on top of existing levies on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In retaliation, China has imposed duties on selected US imports up to 15%, including certain agricultural and energy products, and announced new export controls on raw materials. On Monday, Li signed an order strengthening the countrys anti-sanctions law, according to state media. It said countermeasures could be taken against foreign nations that contain or suppress China or impose discriminatory measures on its citizens or entities. US tariffs could escalate further in the coming weeks, with the White House expected to announce reciprocal tariffs on multiple countries early next week. The move is part of a broader push to revive domestic manufacturing and address what Trump sees as unfair trade practices. But Trump has repeatedly suggested that he hopes to strike a deal with China. He indicated last week that Americas top trade official and Chinese counterparts could hold talks this week. CNNs Fred He and Joyce Jiang contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com By Joe Cash and Casey Hall BEIJING (Reuters) -China's President Xi Jinping urged a gathering of multinational CEOs on Friday to protect global industry and supply chains, as Beijing seeks to assuage foreign firms' concerns over the Chinese economy's health amid threats of more U.S. tariffs. Beijing is battling to dispel fears that a renewed trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump will further pinch growth in the world's second-largest economy, which has been struggling to recover since the pandemic. Longstanding unease over China's tightening regulations, abrupt crackdowns on foreign firms, and an uneven playing field favouring state-owned Chinese companies are also sapping business sentiment. "We need to work together to maintain the stability of global industry and supply chains, which is an important guarantee for the healthy development of the world economy," Xi told the business leaders, who included the bosses of AstraZeneca, FedEx, Saudi Aramco, Standard Chartered and Toyota. Around 40 executives joined the meeting, the majority of whom represented the pharmaceuticals sector. The meeting ran for just over 90 minutes and seven companies were invited to speak, a source with direct knowledge of its planning said. "The CEOs I spoke with, and I spoke with a lot of them, felt it was worth it," said Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council and one of the meeting's attendees. "Not only did the president acknowledge various challenges facing companies and industry, in many cases he pledged the government would take action." The executives sat in a horseshoe formation, with Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius and FedEx's Raj Subramaniam sitting directly across from Xi. HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery, SK Hynix boss Kwak Noh-jung, Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser, and chair of Hitachi Toshiaki Higashihara also sat in the first row. "This meeting is a big illustration of business diplomacy. Now there is not just dialogue between bodies, WTO entities and states, but diplomacy being led by companies that are not just representing themselves, but also their sectors," said Frank Bournois, VP and dean of the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, adding that its success would depend on future actions and not just words. The frequency of meetings between foreign executives and high-level Chinese officials has picked up over the past month, after official data showed foreign direct investment plummeted 27.1% year-on-year in local currency terms in 2024. LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK) The CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Health System celebrated 90 years of providing medical care to residents of Gregg County on Thursday. CHRISTUS Health breaks ground on new Cancer Center in Longview The city of Longview and Gregg County commemorated the anniversary with proclamations at an event at the CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview. We are so proud of the heritage and the historical significance our hospital and health system have played over the last 90 years, Todd Hancock, president of CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Health System. We are proud to be a pillar in Longview, Marshall and communities across East Texas. Photo courtesy of CHRISTUS Health. Photo courtesy of CHRISTUS Health. Photo courtesy of CHRISTUS Health. Photo courtesy of CHRISTUS Health. Photo courtesy of CHRISTUS Health. Photo courtesy of CHRISTUS Health. Photo courtesy of CHRISTUS Health. Thursday coincides with the opening of the hospital on March 27, 1935. The medical center was originally known as the Gregg Memorial Hospital and only had 47-beds when it first opened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, the Chas more than 3,000 associates and is the largest employer in Gregg County, according to CHRISTUS Health. CHRISTUS Good Shepherds three inpatient facilities now operate 577 beds. The systems 12 outpatient centers, 40 clinic locations and three inpatient facilities allowed them see 124,000 emergency room patients, deliver almost 1,300 babies and conduct over 14,000 surgeries in the last year. Gregg Memorial Hospital became Good Shepard Hospital in 1960 and the health system was started in 1980. 2007 saw the Marshall Regional Medical Center join the Good Shepard Health System, which was then acquired by CHRISTUS Health in 2017. To have an organization like Good Shepherd with such a storied history and an attitude of working with physicians that matched what we were already doing in Northeast Texas was really awesome, Chris Glenney, senior vice president for group operations for CHRISTUS Health Northeast Texas said. We celebrated it and whatever concern there was for how it would look and work was eliminated early and it became a successful partnership very quickly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CHRISTUS Health breaks ground on Mount Pleasant facility Since then, the CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Health System has invested more than $400 million dollars across Longview and the nearby areas. Their latest expansion was in January when the $36 million CHRISTUS Cancer Center Longview broke ground. With the alarming rate of cancer in our region and the country, the need for early diagnosis, innovative treatment and improved access is greater than ever before, Hancock said. This center signifies CHRISTUS Healths commitment to build and impact countless East Texans both now and in the future. To learn more, visit CHRISTUS Health online. 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 KETK.com | FOX51.com. Declassified CIA documents claim that the mystical Ark of the Covenant was located by a psychic decades ago in the Middle East as part of one of the intelligence agencys experimental, secret projects in the 1980s. The Ark of the Covenant was thrust back into the spotlight as globetrotting archaeologist Indiana Jones attempted to uncover the artifact in Steven Spielbergs 1981 Oscar-winning Raiders of the Lost Ark. According to Jewish and Christian tradition, the gold-plated wooden chest housed the two tablets bearing the Ten Commandments, which God, in theology, gave to Moses between the 13th and 16th centuries BC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CIA conducted experiments as part of the secret Project Sun Streak with individuals known as remote viewers, a type of clairvoyant, who claimed they could project their consciousness to receive information about faraway objects. There is no credible scientific evidence that remote viewing exists, and it is generally regarded as pseudoscience. The CIA conducted experiments in the 1980s as part of the secret Project Sun Streak (CIA) In a remote viewing session on 5 December, 1988, remote viewer #32 was tasked with identifying the coveted Ark, according to CIA documents recently circulating on social media. The documents were first declassified in August 2000. They allegedly did not know the object they were being tasked to find. The psychic described a location in the Middle East that they claimed housed the object and said it was being protected by entities, says the CIA document. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Target is a container. This container has another container inside of it. The target is fashioned of wood, gold, and silver, they said, allegedly not knowing they were trying to find the Ark. Similar in shape to a coffin and is decorated with seraphim. The declassified document shows several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim standing out on the corners of the Ark, along with a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. Drawing from remote viewer #32 depicts one of the four seraphim that stand out on the corners of the Ark (CIA) Visuals of surrounding buildings indicated the presence of mosque domes, they added. They said the object was hidden underground in dark, wet conditions. There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons and the historical knowledge far beyond what we now know, remote viewer #32 continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They described the Ark as being protected by entities that would destroy individuals who attempted to damage the object. The target is protected by entities and can only be opened by those who are authorised to do so this container will not/cannot be opened until the time is deemed correct, the remote viewer continued. Individuals opening the container by prying or striking are destroyed by the containers protectors through the use of a power unknown to us. CIA documents alleged a psychic uncovered the Ark of the Covenant in the Middle East in 1988 (Getty) When a remote viewer is tasked with locating an object, information is written down on paper and placed into an envelope. Joe McMoneagle, a US Army chief warrant officer and the first person to do remote viewing for the CIA, told The New York Post that they allegedly do not know what was scrawled down and are guided through the process by another person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Mr McMoneagle does not believe that this remote viewing case is worth the paper it is written on, claiming the session is bogus. If someone claims that remote viewing proves the existence of something, such as the Ark of the Covenant, they must produce the Ark to substantiate their claim, he added. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed legislation to ban algorithmic price fixing in rental units such as these in Manhattan. But in her state and elsewhere, few such bills have advanced. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Minneapolis on Thursday has become the fourth U.S. city to ban algorithmic rental price-fixing software, joining San Francisco, Philadelphia and Berkeley, California, in a growing wave of legislation aimed to protect renters from rental price-gouging. While momentum builds at the city level with Portland, Oregon; Providence, Rhode Island; and San Diego exploring similar laws statewide bans have been slower to emerge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislation targets tools such as RealPages YieldStar, which uses landlord-shared data to recommend rent increases a practice critics say worsens unaffordable housing. Stateline reported last year that the algorithms have drawn increasing oversight attention as the country continues to wrestle with an affordable housing crisis. This wave of action shows that local governments are stepping up where federal enforcement takes time, said Ivan Luevanos-Elms, executive director of Local Progress, the national network helping coordinate these efforts. In 2024, proposed legislation failed to prohibit the use of these algorithms stalled in Illinois, New York and Rhode Island. Washington state has seen the most movement, with a proposed ban passing the Senate and awaiting a House vote. Colorados House approved a similar bill this week, and its now headed to the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elsewhere, New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed legislation to ban algorithmic rent-setting tools, while Oregon lawmakers are considering an expansion of city-level bans. Lawmakers in Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Georgia, New Hampshire, Hawaii have introduced bills, but none has advanced. The legislative surge follows lawsuits against RealPage and six major landlords, accused by the U.S. Department of Justice and 10 state attorneys general of collusion and anticompetitive practices. But with court cases expected to drag on for years, cities are opting for faster action. Still, these bans have met resistance from real estate and landlord groups. In Oregon, landlords and property managers argue the software helps manage rentals more efficiently. Without these tools, we must rely on outdated methods, said Oregon landlord Aaron Douglas in submitted testimony. This isnt just an inconvenience; its a step backward. Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@stateline.org SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) The city of Elmira is expected to remove the campsite in Elmiras South Side after property owners failed to do it within their time limit. A majority of the trash and debris around Erie Street, Home Street, and in a wooded area near an elevated rail line, is on private property. It has still not yet been removed. Chemung County homeless camps remain cluttered with trash and debris Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elmira City Manager Michael Collins said that the city code department cited the owners who were given 48 hours to clean up the camp. That time limit has expired, and Collins added that the city will proceed with an abatement process going forward and bill the property owners responsible for the clean-up. It is uncertain when that will happen. If its not cleaned up, then the city has a process that we have an outside company that comes in and does abatements within the city of Elmira, and depending on how many abatements are required, will depend on when that site would be cleaned up, and then the company or the owner of that property would be billed by the city of Elmira for that. According to Collins, the camp would have been cleaned up by the buildings and grounds department if it was located on city property. Before the campsite is removed other properties that are listed as abatement sites around the city have to be orderly removed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Santa Fe residents are being offered a once-in-a-generation chance to help shape the future of the community by taking part in the creation of the citys new general plan a process that hasnt been undertaken since 1999. The comprehensive update to the plan is designed to result in a document that will guide Santa Fe through the year 2050, covering such policy areas as housing, water, transportation, land use, sustainability and public services, according to a news release issued by city officials. Heather Lamboy, Santa Fes planning and land use director who is overseeing the development of the new plan, said city officials hope to have the new document approved and ready for implementation by the end of 2026. The city has hired the international consulting firm WSP to assist with the process, which is being called Santa Fe Forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members of the City Council received a presentation about the effort on Jan. 29. The city has announced a five-step program for creating and adopting the plan, and is in the midst of completing the first step, which includes building public awareness, and affirming and developing a vision and goals. Lamboy emphasized the importance of public input in the process, adding that many opportunities exist for citizens to make their feelings known and to take an active role in development of the plan. In addition to a series of open houses at which residents will be able to share their thoughts in person, the project website at santafeforward.org will feature an interactive engagement map and project survey through which feedback can be provided. The map will allow users to drop a marker in an area they love, areas of opportunity, areas of concern or other areas. The quick poll allows users to identify their top three priorities for the future of the city, with 15 options listed, including affordable housing, walkability, road safety, arts and culture, increased public transportation and economic development. Lamboy said the Santa Fe Forward website is an important part of the plan update process because it will allow folks who cant attend any of the public events to still have a voice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are a lot of folks who only have time at 10 oclock at night after their household really settles down to provide feedback, she said. Santa Fe Forward also offers residents the chance to take part in a technical working group, an advisory team that will provide technical guidance on certain subjects. Lamboy said the city began soliciting applications for the group last week and is looking to fill 15 to 20 positions. Some people applied right away, she said. And weve heard from many other people who have said, Im interested. Were hoping to capture folks from around the community. The deadline to apply for a spot on the technical working group is April 6, Lamboy said. That can be done through the Santa Fe Forward website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Santa Fe Forward also features a community partner program through which community-based organizations can apply for small grants to help engage diverse voices in the process. Grant applications can be found on the Santa Fe Forward website and must be submitted by April 6. Lamboy acknowledged that many of the topics that will be explored in the Santa Fe Forward process are hot-button issues that are likely to draw a range of opinions. Finding common ground on some of them could be challenging, she said. Theyre not all going to be easy. A lot of different communities in Santa Fe have different points of view, she said. But that process of developing a consensus will allow Santa Fe residents the chance to take ownership of the plan, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the second time Lamboy has been involved in the development of a general plan for Santa Fe. She said she had just finished graduate school and been hired by the city when it went through this process in 1999. Since then, she also has taken part in general plan updates for cities in Colorado and Florida. Lamboy said the 1999 general plan adopted by Santa Fe was somewhat short on identifying actionable items, an oversight she intends to rectify this time. Its important to have an action plan, she said, noting the new document will identify specific areas in which the city should be concentrating its funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new document also will provide specific instructions for how its goals and objectives are carried out, Lamboy said. An implementation plan holds us accountable, she said. Lamboy said the city is also in the process of updating its land use code. The fact that the two documents essentially are being renewed at the same time gives the city the chance to make sure they exist in harmony with each other, she said. She encouraged Santa Feans to be active participants in Santa Fe Forward over the next several months. The process also provides them with the chance to think about how they want their own lives to unfold for the next quarter-century, she said. Its really exciting for people to think about what youre going to be doing in 2050, Lamboy said. They can think about their children and the legacy we want to leave when we move into other parts of our life. The Recuperative Care Center offers unhoused individuals a place to stay after being discharged from the hospital. (Photo: Michael Lyle/Nevada Current) As potential federal cuts to Medicaid loom, City of Las Vegas officials are asking state lawmakers to expand Medicaid to pay for medical respite care for unhoused people. Senate Bill 54, heard Tuesday by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, would require the states Department of Health and Human Services to apply for a federal waiver and amend the state Medicaid plan to cover medical respite care for people experiencing homelessness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would also require DHHS to adopt guidelines for respite care for unhoused populations. Though Democratic legislators have been publicly fretting that congressional Republicans will drastically cut Medicaid spending to help pay for tax cuts requested by President Donald Trump, state lawmakers on the panel Tuesday didnt directly discuss the prospect, though there were oblique references noting the Senate Finance Committee will be tasked with approving state Medicaid spending details. When unhoused people are injured or dealing with an illness not deemed serious enough for a hospital stay, they are forced to heal while unsheltered. Sabra Newby, the deputy city manager for the City of Las Vegas, said authorizing federal reimbursements for services would improve health outcomes, reduce unnecessary hospital stays and readmissions, and strengthen Nevadas continuum of care for its most vulnerable residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medical respite care offers short term, residential community-based support specifically for homeless individuals who need a safe and sanitary place to heal, Newby said. The Recuperative Care Center in the Corridor of Hope, the area in downtown Las Vegas that offers homeless services, opened in 2020 during the Covid pandemic to offer some medical respite care. The city used funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021, to expand and maintain the 40-bed facility. It also relies on general fund dollars to operate the facility. The city contracts with the federally qualified Hope Christian Health Center to operate the facility within the homeless services corridor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement City officials told state lawmakers the facility has served 1,115 patients, with the majority referred by hospitals. More than half of those transition into some sort of permanent functional housing at their discharge, said Lindy Cooksey, a neighborhood outreach specialist with the city. The city plans to temporarily reduce capacity starting this summer as the center goes through construction to double capacity, which is expected to be complete by 2027. Once the expansion is complete, the estimated annual operating budget is expected to be $7 million. Covering the cost for the entirety of this program would place a significant burden on the citys general funds, said Arcelia Barajas, the director of Neighborhood Services with the City of Las Vegas. Although respite care for homeless individuals is fairly new to Nevada, it is a best practice nationally and funded through various avenues with the most common being Medicaid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill, if passed, would not cover the entire budget of the center but reduce the strain of the citys budget, Barajas said. Democratic state Sen. Fabian Donate of Las Vegas, the committees chair, noted other states have obtained federal waivers for homeless respite housing, and those models hopefully would serve as a template for expediting federal approval. Republican state Sen. Robin Titus, whose district includes all or parts of six rural counties, asked whether the bill would only apply to services offered at the Las Vegas-based center or would apply to communities throughout the state. Newby said theoretically it could apply throughout the state but she was unaware of any other place that provides these services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local governments and health providers alike supported the legislation. Joanna Jacob, a lobbyist with Clark County who testified in support of the bill, said the county used covid relief dollars to convert motels into noncongregate shelter space. Two of the motels offer respite care, she said. There is enough need in our community that we need to build additional resources, Jacob said. Cadence Matijevich, a lobbyist with Washoe County, said while the county doesnt have a stand alone respite center, it does provide similar services to what Las Vegas offers. She said the county would also benefit if Medicaid covered costs to cover respite services. The committee took no action on the bill. (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Li Ka-shing, Hong Kongs most famous tycoon, wont go ahead with the expected signing next week of a controversial deal to sell his Panama Canal ports to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., according to media reports. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Lis flagship CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. wont sign the deal, which was expected to occur on April 2, it doesnt mean the sale has been called off, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a source it didnt identify. Significant details remain to be decided due to the complexity of the transaction, it said. Local media outlets including Sing Tao also reported the agreement wouldnt be signed. The Balboa and Cristobal ports on either side of the 51-mile (82-kilometer) Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, form a key part of the deal involving a total of 43 CK Hutchison facilities. The Hong Kong conglomerate would net more than $19 billion in cash, should the transaction go through. Its the latest twist in one of the most geopolitically complicated deals ever for the 96-year-old business titan, given the two main users of the Panama canal are the US and China. Beijings concern was that the ports sale could threaten the countrys shipping and trade interests, while President Donald Trump was celebrating it as the return of the canal back to US control from China. How Li Ka-shing Landed in the Middle of US-China Tiff: QuickTake Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The planned sale had highlighted the political risks for companies based in Greater China amid increasing trade tensions between the worlds two largest economies. Thats despite CK Hutchison having limited exposure to both countries: the conglomerate is registered in the Cayman Islands and accrues only 12% of its revenue from Greater China, while Europe, Canada and Australia make up the bulk of the rest. The move came after China told state-owned firms to hold off on any new collaboration with businesses linked to Li and his family, and authorities began looking into the transaction for potential security or antitrust violations. Pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao reported Chinas State Administration for Market Regulation will review the ports deal to protect fair competition in the market and safeguard public interest. The countrys antitrust regulator reposted the report on its official WeChat account after it was published. While CK Hutchison has kept ports in Hong Kong and mainland China out of the sale, Ta Kung Pao has previously criticized the deal for spineless groveling to US pressure. In a sign of state backing, the commentaries were reposted by Chinas top office on Hong Kong affairs. The citys leader also weighed in, saying concerns over the deal deserved serious attention and vowing to handle the deal in accordance with the law and regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pro-Beijing media and individuals affiliated with Chinese authorities stepped up their criticism in the week ahead of the April 2 deadline for the signing of the definitive agreement. Ta Kung Pao ran articles almost every day denouncing the sale, while a spokesman for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs separately said Beijing opposes strong-arm tactics for economic gains. China has always firmly opposed the use of economic coercion and bullying to infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of other countries, the ministrys spokesman Guo Jiakun said on March 27. (Updates Chinese regulator reposted Ta Kung Pao report in seventh paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2025 Bloomberg L.P. TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan PM Ishiba to visit WWII battleground Iwoto on Saturday TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday he will visit Iwoto Island at the weekend for memorial ceremonies at the site of fierce fighting between Japan and the United States during World War II. Ishiba has emphasized the need to revisit the lessons of the war, as this year marks the 80th anniversary of its end in 1945, with Japan's postwar alliance with the United States serving as the linchpin of its diplomacy and security policy. ---------- At least 20 dead as M7.7 quake strikes Myanmar, shakes Thailand YANGON - A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, killing at least 20 people and causing buildings to collapse, according to media reports, with tremors reaching as far as neighboring Thailand and China. Myanmar's junta, embroiled in a civil war, has declared a state of emergency in response to the quake, Mizzima News Media reported, adding that the fatalities occurred in the central region of Bago. ---------- Philippine, U.S. defense chiefs agree to deter China's aggression MANILA - Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, agreed on Friday in Manila to strengthen bilateral cooperation and "re-establish deterrence" against Chinese "aggression" in the Indo-Pacific region. Hegseth, the first U.S. Cabinet member to visit the Philippines since President Donald Trump took office in January, reaffirmed what he called Washington's "ironclad commitment" to the 1951 mutual defense treaty, and to their military and economic partnership, during his courtesy call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. prior to the ministerial meeting. ---------- Some Japanese tests for foreigners deemed ungradable amid answer leak TOKYO - Multiple examinees who took a Japanese language test for non-native speakers in December submitted papers deemed ungradable, a source at the Foreign Ministry said Friday, amid a discovery of an answer leak online. The Japan Foundation, which administers the Japanese Language Proficiency Test abroad, reported to the ministry that there was an "extremely unnatural" concentration of identical responses. But it did not recognize it as a case of cheating or reveal the number of examinees whose tests were left ungraded. ---------- Japan imperial family to debut on YouTube in April TOKYO - Japan's Imperial Household Agency said Friday it will launch its official YouTube channel next month to showcase the activities of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako as well as other members of the imperial family. The YouTube channel, starting at 10 a.m. on April 1, will be used as part of the agency's efforts to revamp its outreach along with its Instagram account, which has garnered some 1.9 million followers since its launch last April. ---------- Mitsui, Aioi to begin talks to form Japan's biggest non-life insurer TOKYO - Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co. are set to begin merger talks to create Japan's largest standalone non-life insurance firm, their parent company said Friday. The two firms, which have coexisted under MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc., are aiming to complete the merger in April 2027. If realized, the new company would surpass Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. in net premium income, equivalent to sales. ---------- Western Japan wildfires contained after 5 days OKAYAMA, Japan - Wildfires in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan have been contained five days after their outbreak, with evacuation orders lifted, the local government said Friday. A fire in Ehime Prefecture, also in western Japan, meanwhile has likely weakened thanks to rainfall after burning over 440 hectares, engulfing a total of 21 buildings including houses and warehouses since it was confirmed Sunday. ---------- Figure skating: Miura, Kihara win pairs world title for Japan BOSTON - Japanese figure skating pair Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara clinched gold Thursday at the world championships in Boston, recapturing the title they won in 2023. Starting with a 1.96-point lead from the short program, they placed second in the free skate on their way to a winning total of 219.79 at TD Garden. Video: Press gets sneak peak of Blue Ocean Dome pavilion built by Zeri Japan CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) After raising the most money for the Clarksburg Salvation Army during the Christmas Kettle Drive, the Clarksburg Rotary Club received a $1,000 donation from the JF Allen Company on Thursday as a reward. Clarksburg Salvation Army Major Cheryl Grider explained that the Christmas Kettle Drive is of major importance to the Salvation Army. Elkins man helps advocate for autism police training Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is our fundraising campaign each year that raises the money that lasts us all year long as well as to help with Christmas assistance, Grider said. She added that the JF Allen Company helps put on the drive, enhances it and encourages participation amongst services organizations. They do a little competition just to kind of have fun with it and to raise more funds. That helps them to have that spirit of competition to get those funds raised, she said. In total, volunteers throughout the area raised $8,312.80 for the Clarksburg Salvation Army during the drive. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The Trump administrations use of a popular messaging app to discuss sensitive military plans with a journalist on the text chain is raising questions about security and the importance of safeguarding the nations secrets. Its also highlighting the differences between classified and public information, and demonstrating that even encrypted apps like Signal can lead to embarrassing leaks if the humans doing the texting dont follow basic security tips. Whats the difference between classified and top secret? President Donald Trumps administration says no classified material was leaked when senior officials used Signal to discuss upcoming attack plans against the Houthi rebels in Yemen even though a journalist was on the chat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But even if the information had been declassified by the Pentagon, it contained details that would have been highly valuable to the Houthis or other adversaries, showing how sometimes the decision of what to classify is a judgment call. The federal government routinely classifies vast amounts of information pertaining to military and intelligence operations. The material ranges from top secret nuclear programs or the identities of undercover agents all the way to mundane records that would be of little interest to anyone, let alone Americas adversaries. In 2011, for example, the CIA finally declassified its recipe for invisible ink from 1917. Advocates for open government have long complained that the push for secrecy goes too far, by protecting information that could shine a light on government activities or matters of public interest, including about UFO sightings and a 60-year-old presidential assassination. While the public typically calls any information withheld by the government classified, that term only refers to the three broad categories used to classify information based on the need for secrecy: confidential, secret and top secret. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While files marked confidential contain information thats not meant to be released, the need for security or access restrictions isnt as great as for material considered top secret, which includes the nations nuclear secrets and other material that, if released, could pose a grave danger to national security. While the Pentagon hasnt offered classification details about the information in the Signal chats, information about upcoming military strikes is typically tightly guarded to ensure adversaries dont have advance warning that could jeopardize the mission or put American service members at risk. The Pentagon closely guards even some publicly available information. Material categorized as controlled unclassified information, while not secret, is still considered sensitive enough that military service members are prohibited from discussing it on unsecured devices like personal phones. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were asked about that policy during a Senate hearing this week as they were grilled over the Signal chat. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona noted that Department of Defense policy prohibits discussion of even what is called controlled unclassified information on unsecured devices, and asked if Ratcliffe and Gabbard, who oversees the nations 18 intelligence agencies, were aware of that rule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I havent read that policy, Gabbard said. Im not familiar with the DOD policy, Ratcliffe said. Who decides to classify or declassify something? The power to classify or declassify lies in the hands of top federal officials, including the president and Cabinet secretaries. For military information like the attack plans discussed over Signal, the power lies with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has faced demands that he resign over the leak. The presidents ability to declassify information has been invoked when presidents have been accused of mishandling secrets. Trump ally Kash Patel, now the FBI director, has said he witnessed Trump declassify material that was taken after his first term to the presidents Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort, but no evidence has emerged to support that claim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Pentagon hasnt said whether Hegseth declassified the attack plans before or after the Signal conversation, but Ratcliffe, Gabbard and the White House have all said the chats contained no classified information. I havent participated in any Signal group messaging that relates to any classified information at all, Ratcliffe proclaimed at one point. That explanation has failed to satisfy Democrats who say that plans for imminent military strikes are regularly classified. National security experts agree. They say it would be highly unusual for the Pentagon to publicize such information and that any lower-level officer caught leaking such material on Signal would face serious repercussions. Theres secure, and then theres secure enough for classified secrets For many consumers, encrypted apps like Signal can offer greater protections for everyday conversations. But that doesnt mean theyre secure enough for government secrets, or immune to human error, as the inclusion of a reporter on the text chain shows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senior federal officials who handle classified data receive extensive training about the need to use approved devices and platforms to discuss government secrets. Intelligence and national security agencies have whole departments devoted to cybersecurity and the protection of state secrets. Government cybersecurity officials have recommended that federal employees use encrypted apps like Signal, which can offer greater security for routine communication, and Ratcliffe said this week it was a " permissible " app for senior officials to use. But the app is only as secure as the device its downloaded onto. The governments most sensitive information is typically discussed in a facility known as a sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, which is designed to allow officials to review or discuss secrets without fear of eavesdropping or cyber intrusion. Any senior official using a personal device to discuss classified material could be at risk of cyberespionage, said Michael Williams, an expert on international relations and national security at Syracuse University. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Signal may be encrypted, but its the devices that are really the issue, Williams said. All of these people are being targeted. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Its been a hell of a week. As such, this is a special edition of the Pentagon Rundown that focuses solely on the continuing debate within the national security community about whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth improperly shared classified information about pending air and missile strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, first reported on Monday that he had inadvertently been invited to join a group chat on the Signal messaging app that included Hegseth and other top officials from President Donald Trumps administration. Goldberg also wrote that Hegseth had shared war plans with the chat group on March 15 about forthcoming strikes in Yemen. (The phrase war plans has come up a lot lately. Dont worry, well come back to it further down, along with input from a former director of the CIA and NSA, as well as a military lawyer with decades of experience handling these kinds of cases.) The message began with the words TEAM UPDATE, and it included details about what type of aircraft would be involved with the strikes, when planes would take off, when Tomahawk missiles would be launched, and the time when the first bombs were expected to drop, Goldberg wrote on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth also wrote, We are currently clean on OPSEC, referring to operational security. Its already become meme fodder and even a brand of hand sanitizer. Since the story first broke, Hegseth and other Trump administration officials have furiously argued that the information about the strikes was not classified and did not constitute war plans. So, lets [sic] me get this straight, Hegseth posted to X on Wednesday. The Atlantic released the so-called war plans and those plans include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information. Those are some really shitty war plans. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Hegseth appeared to confirm the authenticity of the message cited by Goldberg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My job, as it said atop of that, everybody has seen it now Team Update is to provide updates in real time general updates in real time, keep everyone informed, Hegseth said. Thats what I did. But Mark Zaid, a national security attorney, said he is not persuaded by Hegseths argument that the information about the strikes shared in the chat was too vague to be considered classified. Even if they had never happened, it still would have been classified for a period of time, without a doubt, Zaid told Task & Purpose. They were planning this strike on that specific day, with those specific aircraft, at that specific time, which could give a window into future operations. The USS Gettysburg, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser and part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, fires Tomahawk cruise missiles at Yemen on March 15, 2025. Navy photo. Navy photo. Zaid has decades of experience litigating Freedom of Information Act requests for classified information. He said he has no doubt that the information about the Yemen strikes was classified at the time Hegseth sent it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its dumbfounding to even contemplate an argument that this would not be classified, Zaid said. Its reminiscent of the end of the The Wizard of Oz, where the wizard is saying, Dont look over at the man behind the curtain, when youre staring right at him. While Hegseth has the power to declassify information, Zaid said he believes it is not realistic that he did so before sending the message about the Yemen strikes. Why in the world would the secretary ever declassify sensitive military and operational plans when he thinks hes discussing it with only his other principals? Zaid said. If they want to say its now not classified because they declassified it, thats a separate issue. But its laughable to say he declassified it before or as he was sending it as part of a secret text conversation that no one in the public was ever meant to see. Also, the Defense Departments declassification process involves determining when information will no longer be of any value to an adversary, which would logically be after a military strike has occurred, not before, a source with extensive knowledge of military operations told Task & Purpose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, who led both the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, told Task & Purpose that he is convinced the information Hegseth shared before the strikes was classified, and perhaps may even have been Top Secret. Top Secret is a level of classification given to information that, if disclosed without authorization, reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Classification Guide. If an adversary had obtained that information Hegseth shared before the strikes, it is possible that U.S. military forces could have suffered casualties as a result, Hayden said. They said this is going to happen, Hayden said. They talked about drones and everything. They were naming the weapons, too. When I was CIA director, we have a lot of drones: I didnt talk about them on the telephone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Trump administration officials have been using Signal for the past two months, it is possible that Russia and China have already intercepted sensitive information sent on the messaging app, Hayden said, noting the NSA warned its employees in February that Signal is vulnerable to being exploited by U.S. adversaries. Hayden said he has spoken with members of the U.S. intelligence community, who are appalled by Goldbergs revelation about the Signal chat group. The president, the vice president, the secretary of defense, secretary of state, all of them are saying: Oh, its OK its not OK, Hayden said. The latest on Task & Purpose AUSTIN (KXAN) Those with unpaid citations and/or outstanding warrants were encouraged to come and take care of them without the threat of arrest during the Austin Municipal Court (AMC) 2025 Warrant Amnesty program. No appointments are needed for the program, which runs from March 31 to April 25. However, the program only applies to active cases in front of AMC or the Downtown Austin Community Court. No officers will be sent out to take defendants into custody, and those who come to any Austin Municipal Court or Community Court location voluntarily will not be arrested, AMC said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judges and prosecutors are available to review cases, discuss options, and issue appropriate orders, according to AMC. AMC said payment plans, community service, or hardship waivers are available for those who qualify. Individuals who resolve active warrants will have warrant fees waived; however, they must contact the court to take advantage of this program, AMC said. For Municipal Court cases, individuals should arrive at the main location at 6800 Burleson Road, Building 310, Suite 175 during the following times. Monday 8:30 to 11 a.m. & 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday 8:30 to 11 a.m. & 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday 8:30 to 11 a.m. & 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday 8:30 to 11 a.m., 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., 6 to 8 p.m. Friday 8:30 to 11 a.m. & 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For those who do not need to speak to a judge or prosecutor, visit the substation located at 2121 West Parmer Lane, Suite 116, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Those with Downtown Austin Community Court cases should arrive at the Community Court, located at 505 Barton Springs Road, Monday through Friday from 9:30 to 11:15 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:45 p.m. According to AMC, during the 2024 Warrant Amnesty program, 1,988 outstanding warrants were cleared, and 14,466 civil parking citations were terminated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Supporters of Mahmoud Khalil rally outside the federal courthouse in Newark on March 28, 2025. (Reena Rose Sibayan for New Jersey Monitor) Lawyers for a man who is facing deportation after leading pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia Universitys campus are set to appear in Newark Friday morning before a federal judge who may decide whether the mans case should be transferred to Louisiana. Mahmoud Khalils arrest by immigration agents earlier this month and his potential deportation drew swift backlash from student groups, immigration activists, and civil rights attorneys who noted that he is a lawful permanent resident. Khalil was targeted by removal from the United States because of his advocacy against the war in Gaza, they say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal officials, meanwhile, allege Khalil has connections to terrorist organizations and lied on his application for a green card, claims Khalils legal team have denied. Fridays hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Khalils petition to be released was initially heard by a federal judge in Manhattan who moved the case to New Jersey last week, saying Khalil undoubtedly made that petition when he was being detained in Elizabeth (he was later moved to a Louisiana detention center, where he remains). Trump administration attorneys told the New York judge the case should be heard in the western district of Louisiana, an argument they are making again to the judge overseeing the case in New Jersey. When Joe Biden was president, conservative groups routinely filed lawsuits targeting his administration in the western district of Louisiana as a way of virtually guaranteeing they would be heard by a conservative judge, according to Bloomberg Law. Appeals from that district are heard by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, perhaps the most conservative federal appeals court in the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Khalils attorneys say public confidence in the judiciary would be undermined if judges allowed the case to devolve into a perpetual game of jurisdictional ping-pong until one side surrenders. That rationale applies with even more force in a case like this, involving an unprecedented exercise of executive power that, for two weeks, a detained Petitioner has been challenging as blatantly unconstitutional, they wrote in a brief filed Monday, one of a flurry of filings both sides have made in the case since it was transferred to New Jersey last week. Trump administration lawyers are not conceding that Khalil has the power to seek his release (known as a petition for a writ of habeas corpus). But they say the court that should decide that dispute is not New Jersey federal court, but the one in western Louisiana. This Court has never had habeas jurisdiction over this matter, because no proper petition has ever been filed in this Court. And it does not have habeas jurisdiction over this matter now, because it neither has jurisdiction over the proper respondent in this action, nor is this district the district of confinement, they wrote in a brief filed last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 8, while returning home from dinner with his pregnant wife, Khalil was arrested by plainclothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in New York. Khalil, a Syrian native, was detained and transferred from New York to New Jersey to Texas to Louisiana. He has not been charged with any crime. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) Concerns among car buyers and the auto industry are growing after President Donald Trumps plans to slap a 25% tariff on all vehicles made outside the country. The road ahead isnt looking too smooth for new car buyers. When youre talking about putting 25% tariffs on automobiles in our industry, its not good for anybody, said Rob Guarente, the general manager for Matthews Hyundai of Syracuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Right now, currently were approaching 400 cars on ground. Were pretty close to that. 60% of those are domestic built, said Guarente. Matthews Hyundai of Syracuse on Erie Boulevard isnt too worried though. Just this week, the automotive giant announced plans to expand its production capacity, following the opening of Hyundais new $7.6 billion electric car factory in Georgia. As a result, Hyundai will be spared. We at this point are not expecting any tariffs on the Hyundai product, as President Trump just mentioned this morning, said Guarente. The 25% tariffs will also apply to auto parts assembled outside the U.S., including engines and other key parts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont see the prices rising unless theres gouging going on in the industry. But with us, no. It will be status quo for us, said Guarente. Its still unclear if the tariffs will impact Hyundais made outside the country. But as of now, the dealership has no plans to change prices. These cars are protected if a price increase happens here or at our competitors. Do your homework, do your due diligence, dont panic, said Guarente. The average cost of a new imported car is expected to jump to $6,000. The tariffs are expected to go into effect on April 3. 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 WSYR. The coatimundi that attacked a hiker in southern Arizona remains missing, but experts believe it likely had rabies and has since died. Arizona Game and Fish Department officials searched Ash Canyon, where a Tucson man was attacked on March 23 by a coatimundi perched on his car hood. Wildlife managers were dispatched to the area of the attack but could not find the coatimundi in question. It is believed this animal was infected with rabies, and if that is the case, it likely wandered off and has died, said Michael Colaianni, the public affairs and media relations director for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The canyon is south of Sierra Vista, Arizona. The hiker who was attacked by the coatimundi told Cochise County sheriff deputies that he spotted the animal sitting on the hood of his car at the end of his hike. When he tried to scare it away, the coatimundi ripped the windshield wiper off his car, jumped down and attacked him. The man received a rabies vaccine at a local hospital as a precautionary measure because he suffered scratches and bites from the attack. The lanky, raccoon-like coatimundi pronounced ko-ah-ta-muhn-dee is an animal native to the Americas. The animal, also called a coati, can be found as far north as Flagstaff and in parts of New Mexico, Texas, Mexico, Central America and Colombia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coatimundis are rare in Arizona, and are more commonly found farther south of the state, Colaianni said. Separately, a coatimundi was recently spotted by nature photographer Joseph Cyr, a high school teacher who documents the area with his iPhone. Cyr captured a video of a coatimundi taking a sip of water from Tucsons Sabino Canyon this spring, which he documented on his Instagram account. The white-nosed coatis that live in Arizona are about the size of a small dog and can weigh up to 18 pounds, according to Arizona State Parks & Trails. Coatis can be identified by their long snouts and their long tails are often comically visible towering over their bodies like a furry brown (sometimes striped) periscope, experts say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre generally not dangerous to humans, but can attack if they feel provoked, Arizona State Parks & Trails said on its website. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Coatimundi that bit hiker still missing and likely died of rabies Cochise County wants a redo of an election that sought to hike taxes to pay for a new jail after a judge said the county disenfranchised thousands by failing to send ballots to inactive voters. The tax measure sought to fund a new jail with a half-cent excise tax for 25 years. It passed with 52% of the vote in May 2023. The jail project is currently in its planning phase. But four Cochise County residents Daniel LaChance, Henry Stephen Conroy, Yvonne Mayer and Robert McCormick argued in a June 2023 lawsuit the result was invalid because the county disenfranchised almost 11,000 voters on the inactive list by failing to send them ballots in an all-mail election. A person is put on the inactive voter list when mail sent to them by the county recorder has been returned undelivered multiple times. State law allows people on the inactive voter list to vote after confirming their address with an election official. Cochise County Jail The plaintiffs contended that the outcome would have been different if the disenfranchised voters had voted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit was initially dismissed by a Cochise County Superior Court judge who failed to find any misconduct by the board. The case was appealed, and an Arizona Court of Appeals panel ruled the county did disenfranchise almost 11,000 voters on the inactive list. Following that ruling, the county requested the Arizona Supreme Court review the case. But county supervisors reversed course after Cochise County voters elected two new board members in November. Earlier this year, the board voted to withdraw the petition to the Supreme Court. It then voted on March 27 to settle the case, suspend collection of the jail district sales tax, hold a new election in November, and pay the plaintiffs $130,000 in attorney fees. The settlement agreement is contingent upon court approval. Not so fast, attorney general says Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes thinks the county is breaking Arizona law by trying to set aside the election results. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to the settlement, Mayes filed a motion for the Arizona Secretary of State to intervene. "It appears that the existing parties to this action intend to seek this Courts approval of an agreement to set aside the results of an election, without meeting the requirements to do so under Arizonas election contest statutes," she wrote in the motion filed Tuesday. Mayes also argued LaChance and the other plaintiffs must prove that the results of the election would have been different if inactive voters had been mailed ballots. Jim Barton, legal strategist and attorney with Barton Mendez Soto in Tempe, speaks during a news conference at the Arizona Supreme Court in Phoenix on June 5, 2024. Jim Barton, a Democratic political attorney with Barton Mendez Soto in Tempe, told The Arizona Republic the move by Cochise County is unusual but likely legal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since there's a lawsuit pending and it's in the context of a settlement, and the judge is overseeing that settlement in a way, perhaps it is OK, Barton said. The board's March 27 decision was unanimous, but it was a re-do of a vote roughly a week before. A do-over of the vote was required because the March 21 meeting agenda had the wrong court case number. At the March 21 meeting, supervisors maintained they still want to build a new jail. We are committed to making sure things are done properly, specifically with regard to elections in the way elections are conducted in this county, said Supervisor Frank Antenori after the March 21 vote. Part of setting it right is to make sure there is no doubt that there is public support to fund the jail through a sales tax. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republics coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Cochise County officials want to redo jail tax hike election OKAYAMA, Japan - Wildfires in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan have been contained five days after their outbreak, with evacuation orders lifted, the local government said Friday. A fire in Ehime Prefecture, also in western Japan, meanwhile has likely weakened thanks to rainfall after burning over 440 hectares, engulfing a total of 21 buildings including houses and warehouses since it was confirmed Sunday. In Okayama, around 560 hectares have burned in the cities of Okayama and neighboring Tamano, damaging six structures. Imabari and Saijo in Ehime have issued evacuation orders to nearly 7,500 people across over 3,800 households, while similar orders had also been issued in Okayama. The latest blazes came after a massive wildfire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, burned around 3,000 hectares of the city over 12 days from late February before it was brought under control. Related coverage: Strong winds whip up western Japan wildfires, 15 buildings lost Wildfires spread in western Japan, SDF joins firefighting efforts COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) An arrest has been made in connection to the fatal shooting and burning of an Ohio State student 25 years ago. According to court records, 48-year-old Brian Swanson is charged with murder and aggravated murder in the death of Charles Ballard, a 22-year-old student who died on Feb. 8, 2000. An earlier report from The Lantern stated that Ballard was found shot dead and partially burned in the basement of his East 17th Avenue apartment. Police said he was laying on top of a gun that may or may not have been used in the homicide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Groveport police chief reinstated after sexual harassment investigation The victim was shot three times, once in the head, chest and abdomen and was lying on the basement floor and on top of some paper, which was partially burned. The bottom half of Ballards body suffered severe burns, The Lantern said, and were less severe on his torso and clothes. The basement door, which was open, was also burned, though police do not believe there was a struggle. It is still not clear how the fire was ignited. The Columbus Division of Police official podcast, The fifth floor, described a dispute occurred between Ballard and an employee at the BP gas station near Ballards residence. Police said that on one occasion, the employee followed Ballard home before Ballard scared him away with a gun. On Feb. 18, 2000, police discovered that the same employee was seen about 90 minutes after Ballards death, at 4:18 a.m., using an ATM card on North High Street. Officers questioned the employee, who was wearing a mask while attempting to use the bank card. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The name on the card was Ballards girlfriend, who opened an account and co-signed it with Ballard. She told police she never was in possession of the ATM card and that it was Ballards card. Red Cross kicks off campaign focused on home fire safety The employee, who said he found the card, was then considered the main suspect in Ballards death. The ATM card and ski mask were submitted into evidence, but he was not charged in what was described as a suspicious incident. The link between that incident and Ballard, however, was never confirmed, as the evidence appeared circumstantial, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Swanson, who lives in Cincinnati, was arrested Thursday. Both charges, which were filed Thursday in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, include a three-year firearm specification. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. US Vice President JD Vance visited Greenland on Friday, in a move stirring diplomatic tensions. Vance and his wife Usha met soldiers at a US military base on the Arctic territory's remote north-western coast. "It's cold as shit here. Nobody told me," the vice president said as he greeted troops, with temperatures reaching minus 18 degrees Celsius. "Apparently I am the first vice president to ever visit Greenland, so that's a pretty cool thing," he told the military personnel during his introductory remarks, adding that he flew over "some pretty cool spots" to get to the base. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Pituffik Space Base - the northernmost US military facility in the world - provides crucial missile warning and space surveillance capabilities. Vance's office said the vice president would receive a briefing on "Arctic security issues." US President Donald Trump has said he wants to bring the resource-rich island under Washington's control "one way or the other," a move that has faced strong resistance from leaders in Greenland and Denmark. Vance's travel plans, come after Trump's son Donald Trump Jr also visited the territory in January, raised concerns among the Greenlandic government, which emphasized that no invitation had been extended to the US delegation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the day of Vance's visit, four Greenlandic parties signed an agreement to form a broad coalition government in a move widely seen as a response to Trump's interest in the territory. Usha Vance had initially planned to travel without her husband to attend a popular annual dog sled race and visit the capital Nuuk, along with other cultural activities. But her husband on Tuesday announced he would accompany her, saying he wanted to assess the regions security situation. The trip was also scaled back to one day and now only features the base visit. The dog sled race visit was cancelled. Greenland, a largely autonomous territory of Denmark, is the worlds largest island and strategically important due to its Arctic location, as well as its raw materials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, important shipping routes run through the region - and more could be unlocked as the Arctic warms due to climate change. "During World War Two, the United States established over a dozen military bases in Greenland to defend the North Atlantic from Nazi incursion. During the Cold War, the United States committed additional resources to Greenland to defend against Soviet missile attacks," a statement issued this week by Vance's office said. "In the decades since, neglect and inaction from Danish leaders and past US administrations have presented our adversaries with the opportunity to advance their own priorities in Greenland and the Arctic. President Trump is rightly changing course." After decades of partnership with the U.S. government, colleges are facing new doubts about the future of their federal funding. President Donald Trump's administration has been using the funding spigot to seek compliance with his agenda, cutting off money to schools including Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. All the while, universities across the country are navigating cuts to grants for research institutions. The squeeze on higher education underscores how much American colleges depend on the federal government a provider of grants and contracts that have amounted to close to half the total revenue of some research universities, according to an Associated Press analysis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It adds up to a crisis for universities, and a problem for the country as a whole, say school administrators and advocates for academic freedom. Americas scientific and medical research capabilities are tightly entwined with its universities as part of a compact that started after World War II to develop national expertise and knowledge. It feels like any day, any university could step out of line in some way and then have all of their funding pulled, said Jonathan Friedman, managing director of free expression programs at PEN America. Tens of billions of dollars are at stake The AP analysis looked at federal funding for nearly 100 colleges currently under investigation for programs the administration has deemed as illegally pushing diversity, equity and inclusion, or for not doing enough to combat antisemitism. Those schools took in over $33 billion in federal revenue in the 2022-2023 academic year. Thats before taking into account federal student aid, which represents billions more in tuition and room-and-board payments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For most of the schools, around 10% to 13% of their revenue came from federal contracts or research funding, according to the analysis. For some prestigious research universities, however, federal money represented up to half of their revenue. The AP analyzed data from the National Center for Education Statistics and federal audit reports, with help from researchers Jason Cohn and James Carter at the Urban Institute. Perhaps no school is more vulnerable than Johns Hopkins University, which received $4 billion in federal funds, close to 40% of its revenue, according to the analysis. Much of that went to defense research, paying for projects like missile design, submarine technology and precision tracking systems in outer space. Billions of dollars also went to medical research for topics such as immunology and transplants, aging, neuroscience and mental health. Johns Hopkins is facing an antisemitism investigation, which threatens its federal money, but already it has been feeling the effects of cuts to research grants from the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies. Earlier this month, it announced 2,200 layoffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We face challenging times for the patients and families that rely on us for cures and treatments, and for the researchers dedicated to the pursuit of improving the health of all Americans, the university said in a statement. Trump extracted concessions from Columbia Trump has singled out Columbia University, making an example of the Ivy League school by withholding $400 million in federal money. The administration repeatedly accused Columbia of letting antisemitism go unchecked at protests against Israel that began at the New York City university last spring and quickly spread to other campuses a characterization disputed by those involved in the demonstrations. As a precondition for restoring that money along with billions more in future grants the Republican administration demanded unprecedented changes in university policy. Columbias decision last week to bow to those demands, in part to salvage ongoing research projects at its labs and medical center, has been criticized by some faculty and free speech groups as capitulating to an intrusion on academic freedom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the White House on Wednesday, Trump expressed satisfaction with the pressure campaign on colleges. You see what were doing with the colleges, and theyre all bending and saying, Sir, thank you very much, we appreciate it, Trump said during an event for Womens History Month. In the 2022-2023 academic year, Columbia got close to a fifth of its revenue from federal sources, around $1.2 billion. An audit shows that much of Columbias federal money went to research and development, including $166 million for global AIDS programs, $99 million to study aging, $28 million for cancer biology and $24 million for drug abuse and addiction research. A new approach on enforcement of civil rights laws Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal law allows the Education Department to terminate funding to colleges that violate civil rights laws, but only after taking certain steps. Title VI of the law says the department must first make a formal finding of noncompliance, offer a hearing, notify Congress and then wait 30 days before pulling aid. But the Trump administration has a new strategy, moving quickly from demands to penalties with little room for negotiating, and little indication of due process, legal experts say. At Penn, the administration suspended $175 million in federal funding from the Defense Department and the Department of Health and Human Services over a transgender swimmer who last competed for the school in 2022. The White House said the action came out of a review of discretionary money going to universities. It looks like much of the playbook is intimidation, more so than actual substantiated legal findings, said Michael Pillera, director of educational equity issues at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. I think all of this is designed as an attempt to intimidate all universities, not just the institutions under investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cuts and the uncertainty have led some universities to accept fewer graduate students, cutting off pathways to careers. Many graduate students in science programs receive scholarships and stipends that come from federal research grants. Purdue University senior Alyssa Johnson had been planning to pursue graduate research on amphibian diseases, and she was accepted into one of three schools she applied to. She said one of the schools appeared to have limited their acceptances to preemptively avoid funding concerns. But given her application experience, the changing landscape of research and her shifting interests, she decided to change her course of study to something she felt would help build trust between scientists and the public. I kind of went through a little bit of career crisis, which was definitely catalyzed by whats going on with the current administration and their attitudes toward science and science communication, Johnson said. ___ Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AP writers Kasturi Pananjady, Cheyanne Mumphrey and Chris Megerian contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. The Colorado River is pictured near Moab on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) A new law signed by the governor this week lifts some of the constraints on Utahs water agent, a relatively new position tasked with negotiating with other states, or even countries, to bring more water to the Beehive State. Now, water agent Joel Ferry who also leads the Utah Division of Natural Resources will be able to include the Colorado and Bear rivers in his negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sponsored by Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, the bill frees up Ferry to work with neighboring states or entities that are currently governed by interstate compacts, like the Colorado River Compact, which divides the Colorado River drainage into an upper and lower basin and allocates water between seven states and Mexico and the Bear River Compact, an agreement between Utah, Idaho and Wyoming that dictates how much water each state can use from the river. The water agent job has only been around for six months, created during the 2024 legislative session through SB211, a bill facilitating Utahs long-term water planning. The water agent is charged with negotiating with other states and countries for ways to bring more water into Utah, while coordinating with the Utah Water Development Council, also created by SB211. But SB211 prohibited the water agent from entering into negotiations related to interests governed by interstate compacts. Essentially, water allocated by the Bear River and Colorado River compacts was off limits. Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, speaks in the House Chamber at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) Now, that language has been cut from state code, allowing the water agent to recommend any water augmentation project defined in the bill as an infrastructure project on interstate waters that will increase water availability in Utah to the states Board of Water Resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview during the legislative session, Snider said his bill doesnt threaten these interstate compacts, which will still dictate how water is divided among states. We still have the Colorado River Commissioner, who is the chief negotiator on that, he said. Were not going to be able to do anything unless theres agreement from another state. We just want to make sure if there is something on the table, we are not hindered because of our statutes. Ferry said that language clarifies what the original legislation intended. By declaring the Colorado River and Bear River compacts as off limits, he says that effectively made it so the water agent couldnt work with Utahs neighbors. The original legislation said if there is a federal compact, the agent cant work in those states. Well, guess what states those are Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California all of our surrounding states. So youre basically saying, hey, go do this task, but you cant work with our neighbors, said Ferry. We dont want to be hamstrung, or make it so that the state water agent cant work with neighboring states. Utah Division of Natural Resources Executive Director Joel Ferry speaks during a news conference on the north shore of Utah Lake, announcing a 10,000 acre-foot donation of water to the Great Salt Lake, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Kyle Dunphey/Utah News Dispatch) Its unclear what exactly Ferry is working on. SB211 shields the water agent from Utah public records law, making any document that reveals a legal strategy in water negotiations, or anything else that might harm the ability of the Utah water agent to negotiate the best terms and conditions regarding the use of water a protected record, per the bill text. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Negotiations over water can be tense and difficult, hence lawmakers reasoning for the public records exemption. When you talk about water most people bring a shotgun and a pony shovel with them, said Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, in 2024. But Adams explanation does little to ease the fears of government transparency groups and environmentalists, who have criticized the shadowy nature of the position. Those fears are worsened now that the water agent can include the Colorado and Bear rivers in negotiations. What this bill certainly does, especially in the context of the Colorado and the Bear rivers, is open the possibility for more negotiations behind closed doors that the public wont know about until the cake has been baked, said Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, a water policy and environmental nonprofit. Roerink said that could manifest in a number of ways maybe its new development on the Bear River with Idaho, a project on the Green River with Wyoming, or an agreement with Arizona or Nevada to deplete more of the Virgin River. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill clearly does not authorize a specific project. But what it does is open the door to a number of possibilities for a behind-the-scenes, cloak-and-dagger negotiation, he said. Ferry, when asked about what he plans to do now that hes free to negotiate with neighboring states, didnt offer specifics. Things are in motion, and if he said anything publicly, he worried that would kill progress. At the same time, these ideas are out there and were exploring, said Ferry, who has led trips to California, Israel and Canada to explore new water infrastructure projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its thinking outside the box, looking at engineered solutions, he said. The water agent has been in existence for about six months, its an infant office. Its really about learning and understanding the lay of the land, building relationships with neighboring states and looking at what opportunities other states have been implementing. Desalination plants, pipelines and more: What is a water augmentation project? A key piece of the water agents job is negotiating for new water augmentation projects, defined as infrastructure or technology that increases water supply and availability that includes rainwater storage, dams and reservoirs, recharging aquifers or building pipelines. Probably the best example inside the states borders is the Central Utah Project, a system of reservoirs, pipelines and rivers that transports water from the Colorado River basin in eastern Utah through Strawberry Reservoir to the Wasatch Front. Even though they live in an entirely different basin, there are residents in Utah County, for example, who have Colorado River water flowing through their taps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another example is a hypothetical project that has been getting more attention recently building a desalination plant off the coast of California in exchange for a portion of the Golden States Colorado River share. Snider said theres nothing like that currently on the table, but I wish there were. The proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, a controversial proposal to pipe water from Lake Powell to Washington County in southwestern Utah, also fits the definition of a water augmentation project. The pipeline has been on the back burner for years, with drought, a depleted Colorado River and federal red tape standing in its way. None of that is changed by HB311, said Snider. Thats going to have hurdles that far exceed any of the states dreams, Snider said about the Lake Powell Pipeline. Youve got hundreds of miles of statewide property youve got to cross, you have a Colorado River thats at its lowest point ever and you have Lake Powell thats at 30% (capacity) right now. There are things impacting that project that are just on-the-ground realities. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A sign directs Election Day voters to the ballot drop box and polling center at the La Familia Recreation Center in Denver Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline) The Colorado Senate gave preliminary approval Friday to a bill intended to codify in Colorado certain anti-discrimination provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act. Senate Bill 25-1 would mirror the VRA to prohibit election practices that create disparities in participation for communities of color and other protected groups, Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, said. The Colorado Voting Rights Act also includes protections for LGBTQ+ voters, expands multilingual ballot access, and requires accommodations for people with disabilities at residential facilities. The attorney generals office will be able to enforce the act so Colorado voters dont need to depend on the federal government to enforce the VRA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Gonzales sponsored the bill in the Senate, where it will need to pass one more vote before it goes to the Colorado House of Representatives for further debate. House sponsors are Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat, and Rep. Junie Joseph, a Boulder Democrat. Democrats hold strong majorities in both chambers. Gonzales introduced several clarifying amendments, one of which says that if a voter files a complaint about a violation in a county other than the one where they reside, the Denver District Court would adjudicate the matter. Over an hour of debate was spent on Republican amendments to the bill to require the secretary of state to notify county clerks, the governor and the attorney general of any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive election information, such as voting machine passwords. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before the 2024 election, a worksheet containing election equipment passwords was inadvertently posted to the Colorado secretary of states website. While county clerks said that election security in the state remained strong following the breach, many were upset that Griswold did not inform them about the breach until after the Colorado Republican Party learned about and announced it. The Senate initially adopted a version of the amendment that requires written notification within seven days of discovery of any such breach, after a proposal to require immediate notification was withdrawn. If a breach occurs within three weeks of an election, the secretary of state would have been required to send notice within 48 hours. After the Senate finished debate on other bills Friday, senators approved striking the amendment, adopted earlier, related to notifying certain officials about breaches to election security. Gonzales said she appreciated what Republican senators wanted to accomplish with the amendment, but she does not think it best lives under the Colorado Voting Rights Act. I dont think that this concept lives in this bill, Gonzales said. I think that this merits its own policy debate under a separate bill title in my opinion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another amendment the Senate approved, introduced by Minority Leader Paul Lundeen of Monument, requires a process to ensure voters who cannot vote in person in primary elections such as military personnel who are overseas can still participate. Gonzales supported the amendment. Editors note: This story was updated at 3:43 p.m., March 28, 2025, to reflect a development on the Voting Rights Acts approval that occurred after initial publication. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE By Luc Cohen and Jonathan Allen NEWARK, New Jersey - Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil will remain behind bars in Louisiana at least until a U.S. judge decides whether the Palestinian activist should challenge his imprisonment in a federal court there or in New Jersey. President Donald Trump's administration argues that Khalil's challenge should be heard in Louisiana where he is now detained and where any appeals would be heard by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the most conservative in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in Newark, New Jersey, did not say on Friday when he would rule but said it was his hope that "judges are judges, and they're going to see things the same way in whatever place." The Trump administration is defending the arrest of Khalil by immigration agents this month in a case that tests the government's efforts to deport pro-Palestinian activists who have not been charged with any crime. Khalil's lawyers have asked Farbiarz to release him from jail in Louisiana while he challenges the government's effort to deport him in a separate case in immigration court. They say Trump's administration improperly targeted him for his political views and prominence in student protests. They say Khalil, 30, should be with his wife Noor Abdalla, a U.S. citizen who attended Friday's hearing, for the birth of their first child in April. He spent several hours in a New Jersey detention facility after his arrest in neighboring Manhattan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government has asked the judge either to move the case to a federal court in Louisiana or to dismiss the proceeding so Khalil can challenge his arrest in Louisiana. The Trump administration said it has revoked the visas of hundreds of foreign students it says took part in the protests that swept college campuses protesting the U.S. government's military support of Israel. The government says Khalil and other international students who take part are harming U.S. foreign policy interests. Born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, Khalil arrived in the U.S. on a student visa in 2022 and became a legal permanent resident last year. The government has accused Khalil of not disclosing in his application that he was what it called a "member" of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency known as UNRWA. UNRWA and his lawyers said Khalil completed an unpaid internship at UNRWA's New York office as part of his Columbia master's degree program, which was listed on his application. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government also accused Khalil of failing to disclose what it described as his "continued employment" in the British embassy in Beirut "beyond 2022." Khalil's lawyers say he correctly put on the application that he left the job when he left Beirut, and a spokesperson for Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said earlier this month that Khalil ended his employment with the embassy more than two years ago. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in Newark and Jonathan Allen in New York; Additional reporting by Kate Holton in London; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller) Hundreds students, demonstrate, calling for the release of graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, at Columbia University in New York City on Mar. 14, 2025. Credit - Selcuk AcarAnadolu/Getty Images Columbia has drawn ire from all sides of the political spectrum since it was roiled by campus protests last year and deals with the fallout from the Trump Administration this year. Now, its controversy could be impacting the makeup of its future student body. Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science announced Thursday that it received 59,616 applications for the class of 2029, a year-over-year decrease from the previous applicant pool of 60,248 though still larger than the applicant pool from 2023. Its the first application cycle since the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and pro-Palestinian student protests broke out last spring, which resulted in New York police storming the campus at the behest of university leaders and arresting dozens of students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a matter of longstanding policy, and out of consideration for the tens of thousands of students who apply to Columbia, we do not discuss our applicant pool mid-cycle as it could impact students and potential applicants, Samantha Slater, a Columbia University spokesperson, told TIME when reached for comment. However, we can share that the 2025 admissions cycle ranks among the highest number of undergraduate applications ever. We look forward to welcoming the newest members of the Columbia undergraduate community this fall. Several other elite colleges, including Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth, all of which saw similar demonstrations by students, also saw decreases in application numbers this year. Others, like Harvard and Cornell, did not share or limited their public admissions data at this time, in the second cycle after the Supreme Courts ruling ending the practice of affirmative action. But even among those who applied, recent administrative actions at Columbia have some admitted students weighing whether or not to accept their offers. Earlier this month, the Trump Administration cancelled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia, amid an ongoing Department of Education investigation into reports of antisemitism at Columbia and four other institutions. In a letter addressed to Columbia on March 13, the Administration issued a list of demands to the university, including expelling or issuing multi-year suspensions on students who participated in the encampments, abolishing the schools judicial board and centralizing disciplinary action through the university presidents office, banning masks and requiring any masked individuals to visibly wear their Columbia ID, and empowering the universitys security force with the authority to arrest agitators. The letter also requested that Columbia place the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies department under academic receivershipin which an external administrator would directly oversee the departmentfor at least five years. On the same day, Columbia announced that it expelled or suspended some of the students who participated in the occupation of Hamilton Hall, a campus building, and temporarily revoked the degrees of others who have graduated. And on March 21, the university agreed to several other of the demands. In a 4,000-word letter from its interim president, the university said that it would, among other measures, reform its disciplinary process and empower 36 campus officers with the authority to make arrests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A recent series of high-profile immigration actions against Columbia students who participated in pro-Palestinian campus activism have also shaken some peoples confidence in the university. Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student who led negotiations between student protesters and university officials last spring, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 8 and had his green card revoked. ICE has also attempted to arrest and deport Yunseo Chung, a third-year undergraduate, and Ranjani Srinivasan, a fifth-year PhD student. More than 1,400 faculty and students at Columbia and Barnard College signed onto an academic boycott of Columbia University in response to the university betraying its fundamental responsibility to protect students, defend academic freedom, and promote a climate of open discussion and dissent. The pledge includes boycotting collaborations with faculty holding administrative positions and academic or cultural events held by Columbia or Barnard. In the past few weeks, a number of social media users have made posts or comments about declining or rescinding acceptance offers, or having withdrawn their applications, to Columbia. (TIME could not verify the authenticity of all the claims in such posts.) One purported admitted student shared a letter they sent to Columbia explaining why they are rejecting their offer of admission in a viral post on X that has since been made private. While I am honoured and grateful to have been admitted, it is with great disappointment and frustration that I must decline this offer to attend the program, the letter read. I would be remiss to not admit that my decision is informed largely by Columbia Universitys decision to capitulate to the far-reaching demands of the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another person shared a letter to Columbia explaining why they withdrew their application: As someone who is pursuing a legal education for the protection of my community against violations of our civil rights and/or liberties, I do not wish to attend a school that does not protect their own. In a Reddit post two weeks ago, titled Situation just went from worse to worser, a user shared their decision to withdraw their application to Columbias law school. It was my top choice, my dream school, the user wrote. Yet, in the case where they would accept me I could not conscionably allow my above median/75th stats to contribute to that institutions standing. I used to think that I shouldnt have to sacrifice a degree of that caliber in the city that I love due to the actions of university administration, but their most recent actions (including but not limited to degree revocation and expelling their union president a day before negotiations) show me they are irredeemable, the user added. Theyve proven they are willing to sacrifice me and [any] other potential student for pennies on their endowment and frankly I do not want to be associated with an institution that will only be remembered for their cowardice during this time. At least seven others shared across various posts and comments on Reddit that they withdrew their applications, while several said they decided not to apply at all for similar reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In several threads posted to Reddit, some admitted students asked for advice on whether or not they should attend given their political views. Im a Jewish student, and my research focuses on Jewish students in higher education. At the same time, Im pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist, which makes my position somewhat complicated, one user wrote. Columbias recent actions, the user continued make me question the universitys commitment to protecting its students. It feels like an environment that may not align with my values, even though Ive always dreamed of going to Columbia and living in NYC. Three others commented that theyve declined their acceptance offers for similar reasons. Others shared concerns that the cut in federal funding might impact their programs, while others still raised concerns about whether the school would do enough to protect international students from possible immigration action. The universitys journalism school released a statement on March 14 affirming its support for students right to free speech after Khalils arrest and in defense of First Amendment principles of free speech and free press across the political spectrum. Here at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism we are witnessing and experiencing an alarming chill, the statement reads. Some of our faculty members and students who have covered the protests over the Gaza war have been the object of smear campaigns and targeted on the same sites that were used to bring Khalil to the attention of Homeland Security. President Trump has warned that the effort to deport Khalil is just the first of many. Several comments across posts raised their own concerns about antisemitism on campus. Last year, the universitys student-run newspaper, the Columbia Spectator, found that some Jewish students declined their offers from Columbia due to concerns about antisemitism on campus. Several of the universitys top donors pulled funding last year in response to the pro-Palestinian protests, and a coalition of U.S. and Israeli citizens filed a lawsuit on March 24 against organizers and supporters of pro-Palestinian actions at Columbia, alleging that they served as Hamas propaganda arm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its unclear how much concerns about the political climate contributed to the slight dip in Columbias applicants this yearand a university official noted to TIME that a handful of social media posts cannot be viewed as statistically representative of broader trends among applicants. Ultimately, whether theres a significant change in enrollment wont be revealed until later this year. Correction, March 29 The original version of this story mischaracterized Columbia Universitys latest admissions data. The 2025 applicant pool shows a year-over-year decrease, but it is not the smallest pool in years. Contact us at letters@time.com. The global trade war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump is heating up. Having already imposed tariffs on a host of goods coming from some of the United States biggest trading partners, Trump upped the ante this week by leveling a 25 percent duty on imported automobiles and parts, to take effect April 3, and more tariffs could be announced next week. Overall, just nine weeks after Trump returned to the presidency, the average U.S. tariff has already risen to its highest level since 1946, approaching Smoot Hawley levels of protectionism. In response, countries are altering their own trade policies vis-a-vis the U.S., with some retaliating by raising their own tariffs on U.S. goods and others canceling existing trade arrangements, such as participation in the joint production of the F-35 fighter, due to broader concerns over Washingtons dependability as an ally. Not content with impeding trade, however, the Trump administration is also planning widespread restrictions on the flow of people into the U.S., from an extensive travel ban to reversing the inflow of undocumented immigrants with mass deportations. As with trade, the Trump administration is not alone in restricting the flow of people, with countries around the world, notably in Europe, making it harder to acquire visas amid a growing reluctance to accept refugees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sand thrown into the gears of the global economy goes even further. In addition to restricting the flow of goods and people, the Trump administration is also putting forward an America First Investment policy to restrict the countrys traditionally open financial markets. For now the new measures impede only investments in strategic sectors by individuals and entities associated with China and other listed adversaries of the U.S., while doing the same for U.S. capital flowing out toward them. But those countriesand any others that are added to the listcould respond with their own capital controls. To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter. These restrictions on international economic flows seem, at first blush, to be obviously bad. After all, according to standard economic principles, eliminating these barriers allows the forces of supply and demand to do their work, bringing about efficiencies that optimize economic wellbeing in all the societies participating in global trade. Imports allow more variety, and less expensive goods will benefit consumers. Capital inflows will offer a greater supply of investment to stimulate growth. Meanwhile, immigration means a growing population, which can serve as the basis for global power. Open economic policies, whether domestic or foreign, would seem to be unquestionably smart. But is that really the case? Is an open economic system actually such a good thing? The answer is not as simple as standard economic theory would lead us to believe. This is because what a market needs to efficiently allocate goods and capital in the face of scarcity runs headlong into the desire of governments to exercise their sovereignty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reality is that the while free trade might be universally beneficial from an economic perspective, that is not the case from the perspective of political economy. When governments around the world pursued policies that enhanced economic globalization during the 1990s and early 2000s, many working-class individuals in industrialized countriesand the U.S., in particularlost their jobs due to the resulting changes in domestic economies. As the international political economy scholars Jeff Colgan and Robert Keohane wrote years ago, the international trade system seemed rigged against workers in the industrialized world, causing many of them to feel left behind by economic globalization. The resulting discontent only grew and spread following the 2008 global financial crisis and the great recession it caused, with works such as economist Thomas Pikettys critique of neoliberal policies, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, soon making it onto best-seller lists. What a market needs to efficiently allocate goods and capital in the face of scarcity runs headlong into the desire of governments to exercise their sovereignty. What is notable is that such concerns over globalizations potential to go too far did not newly emerge in the late 20th and early 21st century. Writing in the first half of the 20th century, the prominent British economist and diplomat John Maynard Keynes recognized that governments may have to resort to tariffs as a second-best policy option to boost employment. Of course, Keynes was well known for calling on governments to intervene in economies. But consider also the views of Friedrich Hayek, Keynes nemesis. Known as a staunch advocate of free market principles lest society be led into serfdom, Hayek was also a pragmatist. He did not advocate for full-on laissez-faire policies, largely because he feared that completely open flows of goods and capital would result in central planning. To prevent this, government interventions in the form of targeted restrictions might be necessary to protect the market from completely disappearing. In this sense, Hayek shared much with the father of economics itself, Adam Smith, who despite vaunting the invisible hand of the market also acknowledged that judicious intervention by government into the economy might be needed from time to time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The political blowback that can result from overly open economic flows is why the International Monetary Fundhardly known for its opposition to free-market orthodoxyhas warned time and again about global imbalances in trade flows, by which some countries persistently run trade deficits while others persistently run trade surpluses. Trade deficits, and the continual flow of imports they represent, can feed protectionist backlash due to the perception of one country persistently taking advantage of another. Indeed, that is exactly the argument Trump makes. Related, it would seem that eliminating restrictions on the flow of money and finance into and out of a country could be beneficial for encouraging investment and spurring economic exchange. But in the past, open flows of capital created disruptions in the international system that resulted in a series of global debt and financial crises, from Latin America in the 1980s to East Asia in the 1990s, before reaching the housing markets of the industrialized world in the late 2000s. These concerns about trade have, in turn, contributed to concerns about immigration. The political scientist Margarette Peters showed how open immigration and open trade cannot coexist. If you have one, it will inevitably create a desire to close off the other. None of this is meant as a defense of Trumps proclivity for seeing tariffs as the right tool for solving every policy problem, foreign and domestic, or to sanewash his idiosyncratic fixations by offering a rational explanation for them. Moreover, Trump could push protectionism and his coercive leveraging of the United States privileged position in the global economy too far, causing a global economic collapse. But it is to say that the view of tariffs, capital restrictions and immigration controls as necessarily foolish impediments to the obvious efficiencies and benefits of the free market is also misguided. Trade wars arent good and easy to win, as Trump claimed during his first stint as president, but trade restrictions arent obviously and fully bad. Thats because its not just the economy, stupid, as an adviser to former President Bill Clinton once famously put it in the 1990s heyday of globalization. Its the politics, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paul Poast is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago and a nonresident fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The post When It Comes to Free Trade, the Market Doesnt Always Know Best appeared first on World Politics Review. TOKYO - Prices of rice in Tokyo jumped around 90 percent in March from a year earlier, with the government's recent release of stockpiles having limited impact, consumer price data showed Friday. The 89.6 percent increase, bigger than the 77.5 percent year-on-year growth in February, was the largest rise since 1971, when comparable data became available, according to the government's preliminary data for Tokyo's 23 wards. Among prices of rice-related items, rice balls climbed 11.8 percent, "bento" boxed meals increased 8.4 percent, while those of sushi served at restaurants rose 8.7 percent, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The price surges came even as the government started auctioning its stockpiles earlier this month to ease soaring prices of the Japanese staple. The spike in rice prices followed a poor harvest in the summer of 2023 due to high temperatures that reduced the amount of rice available for distribution the following year. A sharp rise in foreign tourists has also driven up rice consumption at restaurants. Core consumer prices excluding volatile fresh food rose 2.4 percent in Tokyo, the ministry said. The gauge is seen as an indicator of what to expect nationwide. Related coverage: Amount of rice bought by Japan households up despite soaring prices Japan core consumer prices in Jan. rise 3.2% on year on rice, energy Senate Majority Leader Sen. David Hogue, R-Minot, speaks during a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 27, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a property tax bill Thursday, but adopted amendments such as reducing the proposed tax credit for homeowners. Senate Majority Leader Sen. David Hogue, R-Minot, supported amendments to House Bill 1176, a property tax proposal backed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hogue proposed lowering the primary residence credit from the $1,450 approved by the House to $1,250. He also proposed changes he called a skin-in-the-game amendment that would limit the credit to 75% of the property owners total tax liability. Homeowners would get a minimum tax credit of $500, the same level approved by lawmakers in 2023. If we adopt (House Bill) 1176 as is, you are virtually wiping out the tax liability of all the primary residence owners in those small communities, Hogue said. I dont think thats good policy. The committee adopted the amendment with a 12-4 vote. Armstrongs proposal, which was incorporated into the bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, called for a primary residence tax credit of up to $1,550. Though not included in the bill, Armstrongs long-term vision is to eliminate property taxes for most homeowners within a decade, a proposal he highlighted during his first State of the State address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont think what got put on in Appropriations today is nearly good enough for the North Dakota citizens, Armstrong told the North Dakota Monitor after the hearing. Armstrong said he hopes senators defeat the amendments on the floor and pass the bill as originally intended. Hogue said if property tax liability is eliminated for a large portion of homeowners, then they wont have an economic stake in voting for future property tax increases or bonding proposals. Gov. Kelly Armstrong speaks during a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 27, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The committee also adopted an amendment supported by Hogue that adds language urging lawmakers in the 2027-29 session to consider property tax reductions for agriculture, commercial and centrally assessed properties. The language would not be binding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The property tax credits would be paid for through earnings from the Legacy Fund, which was created by voters and is fueled with oil and gas revenue. Hogue expressed concerns about Legacy Fund earnings being used to only benefit homeowners. It should be broader based, Hogue said. Armstrong said he has concerns about using Legacy Fund earnings to benefit out-of-state interests that own farmland, businesses or other types of property. I dont think giving out-of-state landowners a tax break helps anybody buy farmland cheaper and I dont think it helps anybody rent land cheaper, Armstrong said. The committee rejected amendments related to the 3% property tax levy cap for local subdivisions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill will now head to the Senate floor for a vote of the whole chamber. If passed, it will need to be reconciled in a conference committee between the House and Senate. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Christian Barroso says hes used to overcoming obstacles. He remembers his path to opening his food truck in Ashevilles mountains as an uphill battle. I feel like people doubted us because theyre like, Oh, theres no way theres authentic Cuban food in Asheville, but once they try it, theyre believers, Barroso said. He says those believers followed his mobile food trailer to the River Arts District. He opened the El Patio De Guajiro bar across from the Swannanoa River last summer, and he parked his food truck next to the building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was like a sister bar that we opened because we werent allowed to serve drinks through a food truck, Barroso said. SPECIAL SECTION >> Hurricane Helene stories The food truck was still parked along the river before Hurricane Helene. After the storm hit in September 2024, Barroso said it was missing for days. He realized it was overrun by the flood waters, and he found it swept away. We went out there and we couldnt even see the food truck. The water was above it, so we thought it was still there, but once the water came down, we noticed that it wasnt there, Barroso said. It took weeks to clean the mud out of his bar, which is still without power six months later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Barroso says his supporters helped raise $50,000 to help him buy his new food truck. Its now parked at one of Ashevilles most popular breweries. We dont move from here, we have an agreement with Hi-Wire [Brewing], and as long we have to stay here, as long as theyre open, were here, Barroso said. Barroso says hes happy to be serving customers so soon after Helene ravaged the community. I got a tattoo, actually, it says, Be here now, and that this reminds me to be in the moment, because I feel like its so easy to just get lost in everything thats going on, Barroso said. (VIDEO: Asheville hotel reopens rooftop bar months after Helene) SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Family and friends spent Friday morning celebrating the life of Congressman Richard Neals wife, Maureen Neal. Libertas Academy Charter School enters brand new facility in Springfield Maureen P. Neal, the wife of U.S. Representative Richard E. Neal, passed away on March 19th at the age of 74 years old. She leaves her husband, and four children, Rory, Brendan, Maura Fitzpatrick, and Sean, as well as ten grandchildren, two sisters, and two brothers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mrs. Neal was born and raised in Holyoke, graduating from Holyoke High School and the University of Massachusetts. She first worked in the Hampden County District Attorneys office and then became a teacher at St. Josephs Grammar School and Our Lady of Hope Grammar School. Later in her professional career, she worked for the State Auditors office and the Springfield Parks Department. Her joy and pride always came from spending time with her family. In return, her family and the Springfield community spent the morning remembering her at Sacred Heart Church. She was buried at Saint Michaels Cemetery. 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. The Florida state Senate has unanimously approved a bill in a yearslong effort to make it easier for people who have been wrongfully incarcerated to receive compensation from the state. Lawmakers passed a compensation program in 2008, but the law included what is known as a clean hands provision that makes exonerees who were previously convicted of certain felonies ineligible for compensation. The bill approved this week would do away with this provision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bills sponsor, Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R- Fleming Island, said the clean hands restriction has excluded the majority of exonerees from receiving money. She said only five exonerees received compensation in the 17 years since the law was enacted, while 18 exonerees were denied payments. This bill is supported on both sides of the aisle. Part of the privilege of being able to come up here and represent our constituents is the duty that comes with that to be able to right wrongs, to be able to stand up for the people of the state of Florida who have been wronged, Bradley said. Progress sometimes comes slowly or incrementally. Sometimes the wheels of justice roll slowly. Nevertheless, they arrive at a destination of justice, said Sen. Darryl Rouson, D- St. Petersburg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 91 people in Florida have been exonerated since 1989. An identical House bill is ready to go to the full chamber. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. When the Texas Attorney Generals office announced its first arrest under Texas abortion laws, the court filings and press statements painted a shocking picture. Maria Rojas, a Houston-area midwife, was portraying herself as a doctor and using untrained employees to perform illegal abortions for cash, pushing unwitting women into terminating wanted pregnancies, the records said, citing a monthlong investigation involving surveillance, search warrants and first-hand witnesses. But at a court hearing Thursday, Rojas lawyers got their first opportunity to tell their side of the story. They described an above-board telemedicine-based medical practice that offered a range of services, including maternal health care appropriate for a midwife, and argued the states investigator has no first-hand knowledge of Rojas performing the acts of which she is accused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation was marked with complete shoddiness and lack of thoroughness, and the arrest affidavit was filled with conjecture, wild conclusions and rank speculation, Marc Hearron, senior counsel with the Center for Reproductive Rights, told the judge. Lawyers for Rojas also have raised concerns about irregularities in the criminal case, including that she was held on an arrest warrant, rather than a criminal complaint, which is much more common. She has not been indicted yet by a grand jury. I would believe if the attorney general had a solid case, they would have filed charges, said Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube, who is representing Rojas in her criminal case. They have yet to do so. Rojas posted bond Wednesday, but was held until today, her lawyers say, for reasons that were unclear to them. After some back and forth at the hearing, she was released with a tracking device. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thursdays hearing was on a narrow legal question about whether Rojas clinics could reopen. Waller County District Judge Gary Chaney sided with the state, granting the temporary injunction to keep the clinics closed. Chaney also will hear the criminal case if and when the state brings formal charges. He said he would move as fast as possible, but indicated that this whole process could take a long time to be resolved. I assume this wont be a short trial, he said, apologizing in advance for any scheduling delays. I might get to your case in three years. Just joking, he added. Rojas and her husband opened Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller County, a rural county of less than 65,000 people, and several other clinics in the Houston area. Credit: Hope Mora for The Texas Tribune A contentious, drawn-out fight In some ways, Waller County seems an unlikely place for this first major criminal clash in the abortion wars. A rural county of less than 65,000 people, it's best known for Prairie View A&M, and, this time of year, the lovely wildflowers you drive past on U.S. 290 between Austin and Houston. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are signs of the countys growth, quite literally, as advertisements for new subdivisions, land for sale and enticements to Build On Your Lot litter the side of the highway. But it retains the informalness of a rural community, evident in the family home-slash-dentists office, the double-wide trailers converted into churches and the storefront offering tax and salon services. Among this crowd, Clinica Waller Latinoamericana doesnt stand out. Its a boring gray building, standing alone alongside 290, with a small shingle hanging out front advertising the range of medical services offered. Rojas and her husband opened this clinic, and several others across the Houston area, according to court documents. Rojas has said she was a licensed doctor in her home country of Peru, and in the United States, became a midwife in 2018. Earlier this year, someone filed an anonymous complaint with Texas Health and Human Services, alleging that she was performing abortions in violation of the states abortion ban. The OAG investigated, and in early March, arrested Rojas and one of her employees on charges of practicing medicine without a license. A few weeks later, they arrested them both again, this time on the abortion charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Texas, the attorney general does not have independent prosecutorial authority and must be invited in by a local district attorney if they want to bring criminal charges. And this is where Waller County starts to make a bit more sense. While several district attorneys in the states largest counties have said they do not intend to bring criminal abortion charges, Waller County DA Sean Whittmore is a former employee of the Office of the Attorney General who previously worked in the law enforcement division that investigated this case. He was appointed to the Waller County role by Gov. Greg Abbott in December 2023, and won reelection last year. Whittmore told The Texas Tribune that the OAG brought him this case and he agreed to deputize them to prosecute it. The case will be heard in Waller County, and as Chaney is the only judge, hell hear both the civil and criminal cases. If this first hearing is any indication, both are expected to be contentious and drawn out battles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The all-day hearing started slowly, with Chaney stepping away to read last-minute filings, pulling out books to consult court precedent and refereeing fights between long-time adversaries from the OAG and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Assistant Attorney General Amy Hilton called only one witness, Rojas, grilling her for hours. To each question, the midwife pleaded the Fifth in a lilting Peruvian accent, sometimes faster than her lawyers could object to the question. "You perform abortions, correct?" "I invoke my rights under the Fifth Amendment." "You have ended pregnancies, havent you?" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I invoke my rights under the Fifth Amendment." "Youre not a physician, are you?" "I invoke my rights under the Fifth Amendment." The only interruption to the barrage came when Hilton asked Rojas about whether shed used forceps to perform an abortion and, her voice rising to a crescendo, alleged the midwife was smiling on the stand, and seems to be enjoying herself. Rojas attorney leapt up and snapped an objection, and the usually affable Chaney let out a sigh. Yall are playing theater here, he said, adding a plaintive, Lets play nice. After nearly an hour, Chaney called a 90-minute lunch break. He had a stack of case law each side had asked him to review, and, frankly, he had better places to be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My wife will kill me if I dont eat lunch with her, he said. Rojas was released on bond, but Waller County District Judge Gary Chaney sided with the state, granting the temporary injunction to keep Rojas' clinics closed. Credit: Hope Mora for The Texas Tribune Questions about bond and charges Rojas was brought to the courtroom from the jail Thursday morning in a pink jumpsuit and orange slide sandals, much to the surprise of her attorneys, who said they didnt realize she would be in attendance. During the hearing, she was informed she could be discharged on bond, and her lawyers asked if she could return to the jail to be processed out. When she returned to the courtroom after lunch, she had changed into a blue tracksuit. After the questioning from Hilton, she was escorted home by her lawyer. Rojas had been held on a $1.4 million bond, which is surprisingly high, said Eric Davis, chief of the trial division at the Harris County Public Defender's Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Somebody with no prior criminal history, on a non-homicide case or a non-child sex assault case, its really unusual, Davis said. It signals to me they may be thinking about charging her with something higher. That bond wed expect with murder or a high charge like that. Davis has worked as a defense attorney for 30 years, and said the high bond isnt the only unusual thing about this case. He has rarely, if ever, seen someone arrested and held only on an arrest warrant, as Rojas and her associate were. Its standard practice for a criminal complaint to be filed, laying out what someone is charged with and allowing the defense to begin requesting discovery. Its so uncommon to hold someone on just an arrest warrant, several defense attorneys said they couldnt even speculate on why Paxtons office might be taking this path. Davis said it could mean theyre gathering more evidence or deciding exactly what charges to bring to a grand jury, but he couldnt be sure. It doesn't take much to file a complaint, so why are they waiting? he said. Its standard practice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeBorde Hochglaube told reporters this lack of clarity has made it hard for her and fellow lawyers to begin preparing their defense. We dont even have the charges you would ordinarily have in a criminal accusation, she said. Its simply an arrest warrant, nothing more. Thursdays hearing was only on the civil case, and while her lawyers said they were disappointed by the outcome, they noted it was an interim step and wasnt determinative of the outcome of the larger case. Chaney seemed to agree, noting after his ruling that if her lawyers brought witnesses or other evidence, the case might have a different result. He seemed eager to stay out of the fray on this hyper-politicized, closely watched first criminal abortion charge. Yall are really worried about the abortion issue, he said, but added, Im more worried about someone out there being a doctor that shouldnt be a doctor. 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. Dels. Matthew Rohrbach, Brandon Steele and J.B. Akers discuss House Rules at the speakers podium on Friday, March 28, 2025, as confusion dominated the debate to discharge House Bill 2007 from committee to the floor. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography) Another nail was hammered into the coffin of Certificate of Need repeal on Friday, as the West Virginia House of Delegates overwhelmingly voted down after a drawn out fiasco over rules and procedure a motion to discharge House Bill 2007. With 10 members absent and not voting, lawmakers in the body voted 74-16 against discharging the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The discharge motion, if successful, would have brought the original version of HB 2007 a bill to totally repeal the Certificate of Need process in the state to the House floor, where the full body would have considered it for the first time. The bill died last month in the House Committee on Health and Human Resources when lawmakers voted 13-12 against it. Del. Chris Anders, R-Berkeley, made the motion to discharge the bill from committee and to the floor, saying members should support his motion because HB 2007 will end the government created monopoly on health care. In response to Anders, Del. Carl Martin, R-Upshur, immediately made a motion to table his discharge motion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Martins motion, said Del. Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell, who was acting as speaker, was out of order and not allowed based on rules of the chamber. This is despite a motion to table a discharge motion previously being successful earlier this session. That previous motion and vote, Rohrbach said, should have been out of order as well. Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, called for a motion to overturn Rohrbachs ruling, which was supported by House counsel as well as the House parliamentarian and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, who was not present Friday. What are we even doing here?! Steele exclaimed, before his motion failed 58-31. With that failed vote, and after several back-and-forths regarding the technicalities of the House Rules as well as Masons Manual of Legislative Procedure the rulebook that dictates House actions this year alongside the chambers own rules Rohrbachs ruling that Martins motion to table the discharge motion was out of order stood as the rule of the chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The body then voted down Anders original discharge motion, laying HB 2007 to rest yet again. Repealing Certificate of Need in West Virginia was one of only two health care policies that Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced as priorities for his first legislative session this year. The other policy adding religious and philosophical exemptions to the states vaccine mandates failed on the House floor earlier this week. During his State of the State, Morrisey called the Certificate of Need process big government activism at its worst and promised that by repealing it, the state would move toward the free market. Bills to repeal CON have been introduced in the Legislature annually since at least 2017. This year marked the second time ever that the bill made it to a committee, as well as the second time it was voted down by that committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CON is a regulatory process, overseen by the West Virginia Health Care Authority, that requires entities looking to create or expand health care services in the state to receive a legal document proving those new services fit an unmet need in the area. Through the Health Care Authority, those interested in obtaining a Certificate of Need receive technical assistance before applying to see what need they are meeting. Services are approved through a needs methodology and different services such as hospice care, ambulatory centers, clinics, private practices and specialty services have different methodologies. Proponents for the repeal believe that doing away with the laws will allow more competition in health care across West Virginia. Those against repeal worry that doing away with the process will hurt West Virginias more rural and vulnerable populations, where a lack of regulation could threaten what services are offered to the 75% of residents who are government payers, meaning their health insurance comes from Medicare, Medicaid or the Public Employees Insurance Agency. While the Houses version of the bill to repeal Certificate of Need seems relatively dead all bills must be at least on first reading on the floor in their chambers of origin by Sunday another bill has been introduced in the Senate that would do the same. Lawmakers there, however, have yet to touch it and seem unlikely to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In past years, there have been Hail Mary attempts to amend a total repeal of certificate of need into other bills that deal with the same section of code. Its possible the same could happen this year, as several bills that touch on Certificate of Need are still circulating as crossover day approaches next week. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the House voted 74-16 on House Bill 2007. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Taliban reportedly detained at least two members of the LGBT+ community in Afghanistan after finding out that they were on their way to Iran. Maryam Ravish, 19, and Maeve Alcina Pieescu, 23, a trans person, were taken away from the Kabul airport last Thursday as they were boarding their morning flight to Tehran, Ms Ravishs same-sex partner Parwen Hussaini told The Independent on Wednesday. Ms Ravish and Ms Hussaini, who have been in a relationship for nearly four years, were looking to escape to Iran to live away from the Talibans scrutiny, she said. The escape was going to be documented by their friend Maeve Alcina Pieescu. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The three of them were set to leave on a Mahan Air flight, scheduled to depart Kabul at 10.35am and land in Tehran by 1pm. Since the Taliban government requires women to be accompanied by a male chaperone, they had to take along a travel agent. The whereabouts of the travel agent are not immediately clear. While Ms Hussaini was able to board the flight without any trouble, Ms Ravish and Ms Pieescu were stopped by the Talibans intelligence agents, who checked their phones and found out they were members of the queer community, said Nemat Sadat, their employer and CEO of Roshaniya, an LGBT+ community organisation in Afghanistan. I last heard from them when they were being taken away by Talibans armed men inside the airport in a car, Mr Sadat told The Independent. I fear that they have now been arrested by them and lodged in Talibans custody somewhere in Kabul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Sadat, who had been working with Ms Ravish and Ms Pieescu for over a year, said he was concerned for their welfare as the Taliban prisons were known to be extremely harsh for transgender people. Maeve Alcina Pieescu has been in Taliban custody for a week (The Independent) The Taliban free women from prisons with some guarantees from family members, but they are likely to punish, sexually harass, and even subject members of the trans community to torture in prison, he said. It is very likely that Ms Maeve is being punished in the prison by the Taliban right now. Mr Sadat said Roshaniya had spent more than $5,000 (3,865) and several months of planning to safely evacuate the three LGBT+ members from Afghanistan. The NGO also planned to document their story of being in a same-sex relationship in Afghanistan. The Independent was shown copies of the plane tickets, passports and visas obtained for Ms Ravish, Ms Hussaini and Ms Pieescu to leave Afghanistan. Maeve Alcina Pieescu, left, Maryam Ravish and Parwen Hussaini in Kabul about a week before the arrest (Family handout) The actual source of this problem is rooted in the Talibans interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, which deems homosexuality forbidden and a womans place to be in the home, which is why Afghan women are required to have a male chaperone if they wish to leave the house and travel on their own, Mr Sadat said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Hussaini said that she and Ms Ravish fell in love in school in December 2021, shortly after the Taliban took back power in Kabul. It was difficult carrying on a same-sex relationship in the city, so they called off their relationship one year later. But they mustered the courage to get back together in 2023, Ms Hussaini told The Independent over the phone from Tehran. Parwen Hussaini and Maryam Ravish in Kabul (The Independent) They were supposed to start a fresh chapter in Iran this week as they realised their relationship would not be accepted by their families in Afghanistan. My agony is indescribable. I knew that if I were to leave Afghanistan, it would not be without Maryam. She knew she would leave her family because they would never support us. I am spending every waking moment alone in Iran and in guilt that my partner is in prison because of our bid to escape Afghanistan, Ms Hussaini said. The Independent has reached out to the Taliban for a comment. Nearly two weeks after the Trump administration forcibly deported hundreds of alleged gang members to El Salvador, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem toured the maximum security prison in that country, where they remain incarcerated. The Trump administration is arguing that it was justified in sending the Venezuelans to El Salvador, but families and attorneys of other Venezuelan immigrants sent to the mega prison have told NBC News that their relatives were unjustly targeted and accus TAIPEI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A total of 75 scholars in China's Taiwan region have issued a joint statement condemning political persecution and abuse of power by the island's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, led by Lai Ching-te. In the statement issued on Wednesday, the scholars, including medical scientist Chen Pei-jer, and Daiwie Fu, an honorary professor with the Institute of Science, Technology and Society at Taiwan-based Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, called for defending democracy, the rule of law, and peace and security in Taiwan, asking the authorities led by Lai to immediately stop their wrongdoing. The statement came after increased political persecution and online harassment which separatist forces and DPP supporters on the island perpetrated against those who disagree with "Taiwan independence" secessionist views and actions of the DPP and Lai. In a recent high-profile case, a woman from the mainland who married a man in Taiwan and expressed her support for China's reunification online under the nickname Yaya, had her residence permit in Taiwan revoked by the island's authorities and was forced to leave the island on Tuesday, separating her from her husband and three children. The case has sparked an outcry across various sectors of Taiwan society, with many speaking out against the abuse of power and misconduct by the DPP authorities. The joint statement on Wednesday slammed Lai for his continuous demonization of the mainland since taking office, the suppression of dissenting voices within Taiwan, and the implementation of increasingly hostile policies towards the mainland which has led to a deterioration of cross-Strait relations. It labeled the Lai-led authorities as "the greatest destroyer of democracy and rule of law in Taiwan, and a potential threat to the island's peace and security" -- urging people in Taiwan to stand up and defend "their hard-won democracy and freedom of speech." It also urged the authorities to immediately implement effective measures to improve cross-Strait relations, maintain a peaceful and stable environment, and ensure that people in Taiwan can live in a free and democratic setting while sharing the prosperity resulting from peaceful development of cross-Strait ties. Yang Chih-yu, spokeswoman for the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, expressed support for the scholars and voiced concern over the potential online harassment and attacks that these scholars may face. People from a variety of sectors in Taiwan also voiced dissatisfaction and concern over political provocation and persecution by the authorities there. An article run by the Taiwan-based United Daily News commented that Taiwan residents are increasingly experiencing an intimidating atmosphere in which they are being punished for their thoughts and speech -- a reality in sharp contradiction with the DPP's self-styled image of seeking democracy and freedom. A medical worker in Taiwan said on social media that the current tense atmosphere concerning speech in Taiwan is a result of the grip of "a green monster" -- a coalition of the DPP, which often uses the color of green to represent itself in election campaigns, and the authorities, media and internet forces under its control. (Reuters) -Qatari mediators hosted a second round of talks on Friday between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and separately met representatives of the Rwandan-backed rebellion waging an insurgency in eastern Congo, four sources told Reuters. Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame met last week in Doha for their first talks since M23 rebels stepped up an offensive there in January. The talks between Tshisekedi and Kagame, and their subsequent call for a ceasefire, provided a glimmer of hope for a de-escalation of eastern Congo's biggest conflict in decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But M23 dismissed those calls, saying peace could only be achieved through direct talks with Kinshasa, and continued its offensive with the capture of a strategic town. M23 representatives met Qatari mediators in Doha on Friday and did not hold talks with the Congolese or Rwandan officials also in town, said the sources, two from the Congolese government and two from the rebels. The content of the discussions was not clear. Qatar's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Congo, the United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda is supporting the rebels by sending troops and arms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kigali has denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed around 1 million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis. 'INDIGNATION' ABOUT UGANDAN COMMENTS The conflict has raised fears of a wider regional war, with the armies of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi having all participated in the fighting. Farther north, Uganda also has thousands of troops in eastern Congo. They are helping Kinshasa fight another militia but are viewed with suspicion by many Congolese given Uganda's intervention in past wars against Congo's government and accusations by U.N. experts last year that Kampala was providing support to M23. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Uganda denied the U.N. experts' allegations. In a sign of possible diplomatic strains, a Congolese general on Friday expressed "indignation" about social media comments by the head of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) last weekend that threatened to seize a city in northern Congo. "UPDF will not oppose M23's seizure of Kisangani. But they better move quickly otherwise we will do it ourselves," Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is President Yoweri Museveni's son and regularly makes inflammatory social media posts, had written. General Jacques Ychaligonza, who is in charge of operations and intelligence for Congo's military, was asked by reporters about Kainerugaba's comments after a meeting with a Ugandan counterpart in the city of Bunia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If it is true that this is the Ugandan military chief's account, we have expressed our indignation," he said. "We told them that we are not at all happy about that." UPDF spokesperson Chris Magezi said Ugandan forces had no ill-will towards Congo and that the two countries were working together closely. "The X platform is not an official channel, so people should not take it seriously," he told Reuters. In an interview, Congo's foreign minister, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, said the joint Congolese-Ugandan operations against the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamic State affiliate, were going well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are happy ... that we have good communication channels with the UPDF that enable us also to react to dynamics on the ground," she said. (Reporting by Congo Newsroom and Tim Cocks; Writing by Aaron Ross, Editing by William Maclean and Alex Richardson) The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce demanding Secretary Howard Lutnick protect the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) from President Trumps latest executive order. For years, the MBDA has provided critical resources for Black-owned businesses across the nation, the CBCs letter reads. As a result of recent actions taken by this administration, minority-owned businesses are set to face a number of hurdles imposed by President Trump that will further cripple our already buckling economy. It is imperative that we protect hard-working Americans by investing in opportunities that an agency like the MBDA provides. The MBDA, created under former President Nixons administration, aims to promote the growth and global competitiveness of Minority Business Enterprises in order to unlock the countrys full economic potential. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, when Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, it made the MBDA a permanent agency. Trumps March 17 executive order, Continuing the Reduction of The Federal Bureaucracy, seeks to dismantle the agency. Some conservatives have argued the agency is discriminatory toward white people. But the CBC emphasized that Black Americans own 3.5 million businesses and employ more than 1.2 million people. The caucus also highlighted that the MBDA plays a vital role in generating capital and jobs. In 2023, the agency facilitated $1.2 billion in capital, secured $1.6 billion in contracts, and generated or saved more than 14,000 jobs. This administrations efforts to take our country back in time and remove critical tools of economic success for minority populations will hinder the potential economic growth of every community in this nation, the CBC wrote. We ask that you protect and promote this economic driver and ensure that this agency, which has significantly contributed to our nations success, continues to thrive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CBC said dismantling the agency would not only undermine the economy but is also unconstitutional. Halting services provided by the MBDA would also violate the Antideficiency Act and appropriations laws, the caucus said. The CBC is calling for Lutnick to explain how the Department of Commerce plans to continue the operations of the MBDA to avoid violating the Antideficiency Act, as well as to defend the proposed closure of the agency under the executive order. The caucus is also seeking answers to whether the department will reinstate staff that have been placed on administrative leave. The CBC gave Lutnick until April 18 to respond to the letter. We urge you not to be complicit in this administrations complete disregard for the letter of the law, the CBC wrote. Unlawfully dissolving federal agencies like MBDA by executive action is a threat to our democracy. 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. Editors Note: First in a series of articles about mental health issues confronting southwest Georgians. ALBANY Samantha Murchland said she spent the better part of her young adulthood believing she wouldnt be alive long enough to plan a future. She didnt fill out college applications. She didnt dream about moving away from home. The 26-year-old was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a mental health condition characterized by symptoms from schizophrenia and depression or bipolar disorder, as a young adult. Murchland, who uses they/them pronouns, was in and out of behavioral health care centers and said most were only interested in quick fixes that left her still struggling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, during a stay at Phoebe Behavioral Health, Murchland came into contact with peer specialists from Albanys National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a national nonprofit with a mission to improve the quality of life for people with mental illness. It was NAMI Albany advocates who connected Murchland with the support she needed. Other places were focused on what I couldnt do, Murchland said. NAMI, on the other hand, told me I was capable of more. I just needed somebody to tell me that I could do it. In February 2021, about 44% of adults in Georgia reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, and about 29% of those adults reported being unable to get needed counseling or therapy, according to NAMI. In Georgia, 336,000 adults have a serious mental illness. Dana Glass, the chief executive director of Aspire Behavioral Health & Developmental Disability Services, said her organization has seen mental health and addictive disease issues exacerbated on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We experienced a collective trauma, Glass said. Our return to normal has had kind of this rolling wave of impact that people are experiencing. She said those seeking mental health care from Aspire are presenting more than one issue, whether it be mental health disorder, addictive disease, other comorbidity with their physical health, or being a justice-involved individual. Both NAMI and Aspire work separately and together to try to support these individuals. Aspire serves eight southwest Georgia counties as a safety net provider, offering programming and care for both youths and adults. Its designed to serve individuals that have no means to pay or are underinsured. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have a wide continuum of care, Glass said. We have been intentional about finding the yes and how we can serve our community. We look for gaps in care and then try to find ways that we can meet those needs. Aspire also has a 24/7 access crisis care center. Albany community members may be familiar with NAMI Albany through its annual NAMI Walk fundraising event that runs in conjunction with the Albany State Homecoming parade. But the nonprofit is involved in many more community activities. NAMI offers free mental health support, in-person and online groups, resources and education to people with mental illness as well as their families. Angela Patterson, a steering chair for NAMI Albany, said its important that southwest Georgians know there are opportunities for mental health support locally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through partnerships with organizations like the Georgia Mental Health Consumers Network, it also provides training on mental health diagnoses, coping skills and how to find resources. Whether youre a person with challenges or caring for someone who has them its important to learn coping skills and how to take care of yourself, Patterson said. NAMI and Aspire also take part in crisis intervention with local law enforcement and first responders, helping to de-escalate situations involving persons who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. Patterson said NAMI also provides a sense of belonging and hope for people with mental illness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think a lot of people who have gotten a diagnosis feel sort of isolated because theres such stigma, she said. Kelly Wesselman, an Albany resident and NAMI advocate, said its difficult finding mental illness support, especially in the rural areas of southwest Georgia. Wesselman, who moved to Albany in 1995, lives with bipolar disorder, a mental illness causing extreme mood swings with emotional highs and lows. Wesselman said her job wore her down, and in 2001, she reached a breaking point. I was hospitalized and just went down, sunk and sunk, she said. For about 20 years, Wesselman battled her mental illness, all while raising a son and sending him off to veterinarian school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So you know there was success, but my life really began when I started working with Angela and the group at NAMI in 2022, she said. Wesselman said NAMIs support groups and walks gave her the strength to share her story with others. Finding a safe and confidential group that I can come to and relate with helps me know Im not alone, she said. Im just finally realizing that connection is a vital part of my recovery. NAMI Albany and Aspire also help those in recovery gain employment opportunities helping others. For Murchland, not only did NAMI lead to connection, it led to something she didnt think was possible: a dream job. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After interacting with NAMI Albany during a stay at Phoebe Behavioral Health, Murchland went through Certified Peer Specialist training and landed a job with Aspire in its Mental Health Crisis Center. Glass said Aspire averages about a seven to 10 day stay for clients in the crisis unit. It runs at 95% capacity at all times. The Certified Peer Specialist roles place individuals with lived mental illness experiences or in overcoming addiction into a support position for those in crisis. Murchland said its like being a role model. Her day-to-day work involves meeting with individuals seeking care in the crisis center, offering them a place to rest or share their stories. And Murchland in turn, shares her own.Samantha Murchland holds up her Aspire employee badge. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganIn mental health care centers, a lot of times you get people that are like I know better, and theres this hierarchy feeling, Murchland said. When I tell peers Ive been there, Ive done the same thing, theyre taken aback. Theyre like, Wait a minute. You did this, and this is where you are now? It sparks this, this movement in them to do something better. Murchland said shes still in shock that this is the work shes doing now, especially after previous programs and jobs Albany Technical Colleges Certified Nursing Assistant program included denied because of mental illness. Murchland said at one point, she was considering moving to a group home in Columbus that wouldve left her with little independence. I love what I do, and I love the peers, and getting to love on them and show them that they can do it too, Murchland said. All Ive ever wanted was to help people and hopefully save the next person who is feeling low and depressed. This work is the thing that ultimately changed and saved my life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The biggest thing Murchland, NAMI and Aspire want to get across to the community is that its OK to not be OK. Patterson said its vital that the wider community begins to have open conversations about mental health, suicide and coping skill in order to break the stigma. Everybody has mental health (issues), Murchland said. Some people are just really good at managing it and others need the support of people who understand. In southwest Georgia, NAMI Albany and Aspire want people to know they provide that support. Patterson said shed like to see more people in support groups and more people in training programs. Information and resources from NAMI Albany and Aspire are available at their sites: https://aspirebhdd.org/ and https://namialbanyga.org/. The Georgia Crisis and Access number is 1-800-715-4225. While those hoping to stop the expulsion of people to an El Salvador prison under the Alien Enemies Act scored a victory in court Wednesday, a Trump-appointed judge debued a legal theory likely to rear its head again as litigation goes forward. In J.G.G v. Trump, the case concerning the summary expulsion of Venezulan immigrants to an El Salvador prison, immigrants' rights advocates prevailed, with a federal district court panel for Washington, D.C., upholding a temporary restraining order on the removal of immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act. President Donald Trump invoked the 18th century law to support the summary removal of immigrants that the government claims are part of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. In the ruling, two of the three judges Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, appointed by former President George H.W. Bush, and Judge Patricia Millett, appointed by former President Barack Obama agreed that the TRO should be upheld. The Justice Department has since asked the Supreme Court to take up the issue, claiming that the order jeopardizes "sensitive diplomatic negotiations and delicate national-security operations" and that the delay could allow the gang to gain "a greater foothold." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henderson, for his part, wrote that the TRO should be upheld because Trump failed to meet the necessary conditions to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, given that there is no actual war or invasion. Millett, meanwhile, highlighted the fact that the removed immigrants were not given any opportunity to challenge the governments assertion that they are gang members, meaning they were denied due process. However, Judge Justin Walker, who Trump appointed, dissented from the majority opinion and argued that the TRO should not be upheld and that the summary removal of Venezuelans should be allowed to proceed. While most of Walkers dissent focused on questions related to the venue, with the judge arguing that the case should be heard in Texas rather than Washington, D.C., he also previewed an argument which has been made before the Supreme Court and which appears likely to be made before the Supreme Court again if this litigation makes it that far. The Government has also shown that the district courts orders threaten irreparable harm to delicate negotiations with foreign powers on matters concerning national security, Walker wrote. And that harm, plus the asserted public interest in swiftly removing dangerous aliens, outweighs the Plaintiffs desire to file a suit in the District of Columbia that they concede they could have brought in Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later in his dissent, Walker wrote that the district courts orders, issued by Judge James Baosberg, here threaten an irreversibl[e] altering [of] the delicate diplomatic balance that high-level Executive officials recently struck with foreign powers. The orders," Walker continued, "risk the possibility that those foreign actors will change their minds about allowing the United States to remove Tren de Aragua members to their countries. Even if they dont change their minds, it gives them leverage to negotiate for better terms. Walker, disregarding the lack of any process to determine the acused's guilt or innocence, later reinforced the State Departments assertion that irreparable harm is all but inevitable when a court interferes with an ongoing national-security operation that is overseas or partially overseas. Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director at UCLAs Center for Immigration Law & Policy, told Salon that, while Walker mainly argued against the decision to bring the case in Washington, D.C., the argument that courts can not rule on matters concerning foreign policy in any way is likely on the horizon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The underlying question of whether courts should be very differential and not get very involved in assessing the legality of these measures, because it implicates sensitive diplomatic relations, is coming one way or another, Arulanantham said. Arulanantham said that, in practical terms, this would essentially make it so neither deportations nor other immigration-related decisions could be the subject of judicial review, as they almost all entail some sort of agreement with another country. A similar argument to the theory laid out by Walker was put forth in 2001, in Zadvydas v. Davis, a case concerning whether or not the government could indefinitely detain someone that they wanted to deport, even when no country would agree to receive them. In that case, the government argued that it could indefinitely detain someone and that it was not the judiciarys role to assess diplomatic relations, specifically the likelihood of whether or not another country might eventually agree to take an individual. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's another place where the government is seeking to disrupt settled law, Arulanantham said, noting that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has called for the case to be overturned. Indeed, Thomas, in Zadvydas v. Davis, dissented from the majority opinion and signed on to the dissent of former Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote: I do not believe that ... there may be some situations in which the courts can order release. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Tuberculosis has been crawling its way back into the spotlight. In 2020, after a three-decade decline, TB cases in the U.S. began climbing again. Last year, that number was at its highest since 2011. There has been a TB outbreak in Kansas since January 2024, with over 100 people infected and two deaths. Recent data show that Europe saw a 10 percent rise in childhood infections in 2023, with more than 7,500 cases. What with World Tuberculosis Day this week, and the release of John Greens new book Everything Is Tuberculosis last week, TB, which is often thought of as an old-timey disease, might seem to suddenly be a concern once again. In reality, though, tuberculosis never went away. It regularly kills over a million people a year and infects millions more. It is literally the worlds deadliest infectious diseaseyes, you read that right. It was bumped out of first place by COVID-19 for a while, but it returned to the top last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We dont hear much about TB in the U.S. because its largely under control here, but its a huge threat in other regions, particularly Southeast Asia and Africa. There are treatments for TB. And yet, the federal governments recent cuts to foreign aid mean that many people across the world will no longer be able to access treatment (on top of all the people who already lacked access to treatment). We can cure virtually everyone with tuberculosis, says William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. We have the capacity to do that. As Slates Tony Ho Tran wrote eloquently in a piece about Greens new book: Its a decision to let people die. That decision also increases the risk for Americans, most of whom have long been lucky enough to not have to think about TB. Lets talk about it. So why are cases rising in the U.S. right now? Any time theres turbulence in the world, the risk of transmission increases. Thats true of most diseases, but especially for TB, which requires long courses of treatment to work. Whether due to armed conflicts, refugee migration, or a global pandemic, if populations are in turmoil, public health breaks down, says Schaffner. And tuberculosis control programs come to a screeching halt. Thats what happened in 2020, when COVID brought the world, and TB control programs, to a stop. When those initiatives stall, infected individuals cant receive their treatment, and they cant be monitored and supported while receiving their treatment. That leads to more transmission, which means more infectionswhich increases risk even in places where the disease has been under control. Im realizing I dont even know what tuberculosis is. Fair enough! It shows up in movies and books as old-fashioned and romanticthink poets wasting away by the seaside of consumption (TBs historical nickname). The wasting-away part is true: For the most part, TB is a smoldering disease, says Schaffner. It kills slowly. But its definitely not romantic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that, after infecting a person, tend to hibernate in the body. It can stay there for five, 10, 20 years, without causing any symptoms. This is known as latent infection, and its not contagious. Eventually, though, the bacteria wake up, and thats when active infection starts. At that point, the person with the infection is now contagious. The bacteria start eating away at the lungs, destroying tissue. From there, it can move to other parts of the body. Symptomsprolonged cough, chest pain, weakness, fevermay start off mild. Depending on the persons age and health, they can suffer from active infection for more than a year, losing weight due to lack of appetite and extreme abdominal pain, until their lungs collapse or fill with fluidor a few other terrible possibilities. But there are treatments available, right? Yes. TB is curable and preventable, according to the World Health Organizations website. However, treatment isnt a straightforward one-and-done kind of thing. It involves six months of a multidrug regimen; using just one drug can lead to the bacterias becoming resistant such that they simply do not respond to that drug. In some cases, if treatment is implemented incorrectly, a persons bacteria can become resistant to multiple drugs, which then makes it very difficult to treat. Multidrug-resistant TB is considered a pretty serious public health issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crucially, you dont want something happening in the middle of TB treatment that disrupts a patients access to drugs. The Trump administrations funding cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which among many other things supports TB treatment programs, are just that kind of disruption. Yikes. What about preventing TB in the first place? Is there a vaccine? There is one, but its not very effective for adults or adolescents. For babies and small children in countries where TB is common, it can help protect against death and more severe illness. Finding a new, better TB vaccine is one of the holy grails of vaccinology, says Schaffner, along with better flu and COVID vaccines and an HIV vaccine: These are at the top of the list of every vaccinologists Christmas list. Can we treat latent TB, then? Get ahead of things, instead of waiting for the infection to become active? We can! And thats the ideal situation: Find everyone with latent TB and treat them before they become contagious and experience symptoms. Thats actually part of the plan of every states TB program, says Schaffner. And we need to do more of that. You can test for TB with an easy skin test; theres also a newer blood-test option. The good news is that if you do have latent TB, you dont have to wait until it becomes active to receive treatment (which is still a regimen of multiple drugs over several months). OK, Im ready to get tested! Point me to the nearest TB testing stand. If youre near the outbreak in Kansas, you may be contacted by public health authorities to get tested. In those cases, please cooperate with the public health authorities, because its to your own benefit, says Schaffner. But in general, we dont do mass TB testing in the U.S. because theres no real need. Despite being deadly, TB is not contagious in the way that measles or COVID isTB typically requires prolonged exposure. Certain populations are at higher risk of TB, Schaffner says, including people in low-income areas, people who have been in prison, people with HIV infection, or people raised in countries where TB is more common. Screening is more important in those communities. Other populations, like health care workers, are regularly tested for TB. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But if you dont fall into any of those categories, its very, very, very unlikely that youre harboring TB bacteria. But with TB rates rising in parts of the world Right. People in the U.S. are extremely fortunate to not have to think about tuberculosis on the regular. As the richest country in the world, we have a responsibility to help those who are less advantaged. So we should care about the rising cases for humanitarian reasons. But TB in other parts of the world does also concern the U.S. directly. Germs dont need a passport, says Schaffner. Whatevers over there can be over here in 24 hours. This is true of any infectious disease, and something we saw very clearly with COVID-19. Again, TB is not at all like COVIDand the primary reason to worry about TB is because of the destruction it causes globally, not because of the risk it poses to you personally. But the more TB spreads, the higher your chances of being near an outbreak. Undoubtedly, the cuts to USAID fundingwhich, in addition to funding prevention, testing, and treatment services, has been the worlds third-largest TB research funderwill lead to more illness and death. It might not be immediately apparent in the data, says Schaffner, because TB is a relatively slow-moving disease. But many lives are already being affected. As WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told Reuters: The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) It was a packed house at Grand Rapids Christian High School Thursday night for a town hall hosted by U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids. Over 1,000 people attended in hopes of making their voices heard. I know youre tired, I know you are angry and I know you are scared, Scholten said. That is why I wanted to come here tonight in person, the only member of Congress from West Michigan that is holding in-person town halls right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Constituents can only leave messages for U.S. Rep. Huizenga In an open Q&A format, Scholten addressed concerns from her constituents. U.S. Rep Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, holds a town hall in Grand Rapids on March 27, 2025. U.S. Rep Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, holds a town hall in Grand Rapids on March 27, 2025. The energy started outside the building, as a long line flooded the sidewalk. I am particularly concerned about the environment and how the cuts to the EPA may affect the Great Lakes, our preservation of clean water, fighting against invasive species, Marcie Beck, an Ada resident, told News 8 while in line. The Lakes are a treasure, and we need to protect them and take care of them. And we cant do that without federal support. Democrats face frustrated voters at raucous town halls Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The town hall comes at a time when national policy from the White House leaves many uncertain about the future. Many other town halls from political leaders have been on the rise in the state and across the country to address the concerns on both sides of the aisle. Inside the auditorium, attendees addressed topics like Social Security, immigration, the economy and the state of democracy. Amanda Stek told News 8 that she had worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, for the past 15 years. But she said after the agency was dismantled by the Trump administration, shes been without a job. This of course hits close to home for every American citizen, but especially for Michigan citizens, she said. Many may not know, but USAID worked with several large-scale farmers organizations in Michigan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a similar story for Chris Talsma-Mclean, who said she works in the public health industry. She told News 8 that the company she works for had thousands of federal contractors that were laid off. I am concerned about the people we serve, the underserved and the Medicare and Medicaid people who depended on information on services that we provided that will no longer be there because of contract cuts, she said. Hands off our Social Security, demonstrators in Kalamazoo demand Stek supported Scholtens actions in Congress but wanted her and the party to think outside the box. I need them to get creative. I need them to do more, she said. Because we are in a unique moment in our history, and the Democrats have got to step up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scholten will host another town hall on Friday in Grand Haven. Correction: A previous version incorrectly spelled Amanda Steks name. We regret this error, which has been corrected. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL)Flooding destroyed multiple homes and businesses on the banks of the Nolichucky River in September 2024. But in the six months since Helene, local organizations have continued to give time and effort to repair and rebuild. Following the hurricane, new and existing organizations and non-profits began looking for ways to help their community recover. One of those organizations was HNDS & FT, created in October to assist with hurricane recovery. When we first got involved, it was just plugging in wherever, founder Kenneth Perciful said. Distribution centers that evolved into camper placements. Were still working some with camper placements. However, thats tapered off. So mainly for the past five weeks, its been remodeling and rebuilds for people that were affected by the flood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group is currently working on three homes, two in Erwin and one in Chuckey. One of those homes belongs to Leslie Honrath. Honrath moved to Erwin in 1998 with her husband and son. Her husband passed away, but she still lives in the home built on the property. I stood there and said, Its never going to get this high,' Honrath said. Its not got going to come this high. Its not going to come this high. Then it started coming and coming. Honrath had connected with Percifuls wife, Sharee, telling her she was in need. Perciful was then led to help Honath. Last week, Sharee was just like, All right, I need you to go talk to Miss Leslie and find out whats got to be done at her house and see if you can work on it,' Perciful said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Working alongside HNDS & FT is Brett Lemley, who started New Hope Ministry Outreach Company in October. He said he is thankful to be a part of helping those like Honrath. Im just glad to be here, Lemley said. Were taking the time to help her and put a smile on her face, give her hope. Volunteers from across the southern states have stepped in to help. Perciful said volunteers from Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida have all been a part of the rebuild. He said the range of volunteers exemplifies the sense of community on the builds. People that arent necessarily neighbors are acting as neighbors, Perciful said. I dont know how to describe it other than it fills my soul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Honrath said she wants to return the kindness that was given to her. At least I know that Im kind of back on my feet so I can start helping other people, she said. I saw [the interstate] the other day, and theres still a lot of need in this area. As the recovery continues, Lemley said hes choosing not to look far ahead. A historic event happened here, Lemley said. So Im just going to take it one day at a time, one week at a time, a month at a time. Be a part of this movement and work with families. Thats my mission. But Perciful said his organization is already looking ahead. This organization or that organization will reach out and say, Hey, I got this group of people. Could you use that type of skillset?' Perciful said. And a lot of times, its exactly what we need, and I would say within the next six months, over the past couple of weeks, theres been quite a few projects that have popped into our radar. 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A foul situation in Manatee County causing neighbors to raise a stink. Tens of thousands of raw sewage overflowed on Monday in Bradenton. The spill happened at the end of Old Farm Road, just off Honore Avenue, in near the Braden River. 20,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled for five hours. Thats the volume of two backyard inground pools! Manatee County said a contractor who was doing work here is responsible. It smelled nasty when we walked by here, said Andrea Dunn, Bradenton resident. Dunn knew something was off and she was right. According to a Florida Department of Environmental Protection report, the pavement contractor, AKCA LLC, struck a main while installing a sign near Dunns Bradenton home, spewing 20,000 gallons of raw wastewater into nearby wetlands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leo Govoni locked out of his Pinellas County businesses as court seeks to recover $120 million Its pretty gross, said Dunn. The report said that some wastewater may have entered Cedar Creek, which flows into Ward Lake. Water officials switched off feeder lines nearby to isolate the system while the main sewer line was repaired. The impact of the environment theres lots of animals in the area, said Dunn. A Manatee County spokesperson tells 8 On Your Side that the countys wastewater compliance staff collected samples and found no negative environmental impacts. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe Now 8 on Your Side The spokesperson said a utilities investigation has found that the contractor, AKCA LLC, is at fault and will assume responsibility for the smelly mess, but residents like Andrea Dunn still wonder how it could have happened in the first place. The future and be held responsible so that doesnt happen, she said. Manatee County said the contractor will be billed for any costs for cleanup including labor, equipment and materials. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. On March 15, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive details about an imminent attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen including timing and targets on Signal, an unclassified commercial app. On Monday, a journalist revealed he had been accidentally added to this Signal group. In the days since, the story has snowballed into the familiar Washington blame game, with many Democrats, including Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, calling on Hegseth to resign. But put politics aside and theres another, far more important place we should look: to our troops. Theyre the ones whose lives are endangered through such recklessness, and they should have a place in this national conversation. From our founding, military secrecy has been key to national survival and soldiers safety. During the American Revolution, on Dec. 23, 1776 , just before an engagement at Trenton, Gen. George Washington wrote to a subordinate on the impending surprise attack: "For heavens sake keep this to yourself, as the discovery of it may prove fatal to us." To reinforce the sentiment throughout the ranks, Washington ordered a profound silence on pain of Death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two hundred and forty-eight years later, in that Signal group chat, Hegseth echoed those concerns. I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC, he texted to more than a dozen administration members (and one journalist) through the Signal app on March 14. The abbreviation refers to operational security, the practice of keeping the mission secret so as not to jeopardize the troops involved. That same day, the Defense Department reportedly warned personnel not to use Signal because it is a target of Russian hacking. Protecting operational details is prudent, as shown by the backlash after it became public knowledge that Hegseth, the vice president and other top Trump administration officials were so careless with military lives. A retired general from the Iraq war shared , my father was killed in action flying night-trail interdiction over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and the secretary of Defense has released information that could have directly led to the death of an American fighter pilot. The secretary of Defense leads what amounts to the worlds most lethal weapon, with millions of armed personnel and hundreds of thousands of civilians in support. Many millions of veterans and retirees like myself pray for the success of whoever holds that office. To direct the Pentagon is to direct the largest organization on the planet. It is an awesome responsibility, perhaps too much for any one person. Hegseth himself once wrote a book lionizing President Theodore Roosevelts Man in the Arena speech, which includes the line: There is no effort without error. For a secretary of Defense, mistakes are certain. Some are fatal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mistake here was to choose convenience over protocol or lawlessness over accountability which placed additional risk on troops who face the harshest consequences. The hopeful news is that Hegseth ought to be well positioned to learn from the episode. His most recent book, The War on Warriors, repeatedly valorizes normal dudes. He calls them his key constituency and asserts that normal dudes have always fought, and won, our wars. While some would word it otherwise substitute regular people for normal dudes his expressed concern for those in the ranks is spot-on. Also, Hegseths been especially hard on those at the top. In the same book, he writes: I heard it from every soldier I spoke with for this book, dozens and dozens. They dont agree on everything. But the one thing they do agree on is that US military leadership has an integrity and accountability problem. Thats Hegseths predicament. He clearly cares about troops. He clearly made a mistake. But now hes a part of U.S. military leadership, and the onus is on him to show the integrity and accountability he's so recently demanded. If he does not handle his next steps well, then the leader who argued the loudest about removing double standards from the Pentagon will set a dangerous double standard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because everyone knows that any normal dude who did what Hegseth did would face immediate consequences . In fact, Hegseths subordinates launched an investigation on March 21 that promised if anyone is found responsible for an unauthorized disclosure, then the individual will be referred to the appropriate criminal law enforcement entity for criminal prosecution. Hegseth himself said in 2016 , discussing former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons use of a private email server: Any security professional military, government or otherwise would be fired on the spot for this type of conduct and criminally prosecuted for being so reckless with this kind of information. Yet the attorney general said on Thursday that there is not likely to be an investigation into the administration's breach of security protocols. When the secretary of Defense wont hold himself to the same standard as the colonels, captains and corporals down the chain of command, thats a problem. Troop morale shoots straight down. While we have a measure for the nations consumer confidence, we dont for our national security confidence. If we did, right now the latter might be cratering as much as the former . Without confidence, theres no will to fight, and the will to fight may be the single most important factor in all combat. Thats whats at stake for Hegseth. President Trump may not relieve him, but the troops may not revere him which is another kind of killshot at the Pentagon. In such a massive organization, the secretary can truly influence only a small span of subordinates, and the only way to really make things run well is to get full buy-in from everyone else by acting with integrity and demonstrating respect for the lives of military personnel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not just that. This scandals outcome must be far more than just modernizing loose lips sink ships to Signal oops kill troops. Hegseth must learn from this and also go beyond to persuade millions of people that he has changed. There is simply no other viable option in an organization that sustains the world order and the sovereignty of our nation. The savage logic of military service is that we trade lives for objectives. Sometimes those decisions are made and carried out in a matter of seconds. On Nov. 13, 2010, then-Lt. Gen. John Kelly (and later Trump chief of staff) gave a speech about the 2008 loss of two Marines in Iraq. The two were killed in a vehicle suicide attack while guarding their barracks. Miraculously, the detonation left intact a security camera that kept a record of the Marines last six seconds as the vehicle roared toward them. While others ran, as Kelly recounted the recording showed, the two Marines never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread shoulder width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. Kelly continues: The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. The two young men go to their God. Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight for you. Four days before he gave that speech, Kelly had lost his own son, killed in action in Afghanistan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The one thing, the only thing, these troops ask is that those in leadership treat the sacrifices of these regular people with the utmost respect and never needlessly risk their lives. ML Cavanaugh is the author of the forthcoming book Best Scar Wins : How You Can Be More Than You Were Before. @MLCavanaugh 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. Xpeng Aeroht's "Land Aircraft Carrier" completed its demonstration flight in Hunan, marking its debut in China's first pilot province for low-altitude airspace management reform. #GLOBALink Temperatures remain on the warm side this afternoon. However, they will be significantly cooling off for some over the weekend. Yesterdays low pressure system has left the state. This afternoon warm temperatures and mostly sunny skies are expected. There may be intermittent cloud cover across northwestern and northern New Mexico this afternoon and through the evening. Forecast Continues Below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second low pressure system is making its way towards northwestern New Mexico this afternoon as well. This low pressure system will be accompanied by a pacific cold front. This cold front will significantly drop temperatures for some across northern, western, and central New Mexico. Albuquerque can expect high temperatures Saturday to be 10 degrees cooler than today. The low pressure system will also bring isolated rain showers to New Mexico tonight and Saturday morning. The majority of the precipitation will be in the northwest and the four corners tonight. The Albuquerque metro and central New Mexico could also see some showers tonight. The light rain will move across New Mexico with the low pressure through Saturday morning. Another low pressure system could be moving into New Mexico by the middle of next week. There is quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding this forecast though. Specifically surrounding the location of precipitation. The American model is leaning towards the precipitation staying to the north. The European model is bringing the precipitation much further south into central New Mexico. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 bankruptcy of personal genomics company 23andMe is a headline that has broken past the well-heeled haze of the business world given, of course, its existential implications for millions of Americans genetic information. The company, founded in San Francisco 2006, and having served 15 million individuals to-date, is one of a handful of genetic testing businesses whose customers mail in a cotton swab of their saliva. This tiny DNA sample can be used to generate a host of comprehensive reports on a persons ancestry, genetic health risks, and even how they process certain medications. Earlier this week, 23andMe announced it would be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which would involve the sale of those consumers most sensitive biological data to the highest bidder. This raises a monumental question: who wants to buy your DNA, and why? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you were hoping that 23andMe would be ushering in a long line of buyers who would like to use the data to finally cure cancer, buckle up. The companies and agencies that are most likely to be interested in 23andMes data represents a laundry list of cops, AI startups and pharmaceutical companies. And because DNA and collected by genetic testing companies isnt protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) the privacy laws that set robust standards for providers' and insurers handling of medical data users sensitive genetic information is at risk to be weaponized for any number of nefarious ends, too. The data could be conceivably used and repurposed for a number of consumer targeting efforts from marketing and advertising to blackmail, Rennie Westcott, senior intelligence analyst at Blackbird.AI, told Salon in an email. Darren Williams, an expert in data privacy and the founder of the antivirus software BlackFog, told Salon in an email that 23andMes genetic data could potentially be used for identity theft or other malicious purposes, potentially for years. As mentioned, 23andMe customers first pay for the service online, then send the company a swab of their saliva. In addition to customers genetic information, 23andMe is also in possession of other highly sensitive data, extensive questionnaires and additional metadata about individuals, Erika Gray, co-founder and chief medical officer of Toolbox Genomics, told Salon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While common genetic industry practices, and 23andMe, do keep their raw data de-identified, there is a risk that de-identified data could be re-identified with the correct inputs, and especially with 23andMes extensive questionnaire and find your relative feature, Gray said. Law enforcement agencies all the way from local to state to federal government could be very interested in 23andMes trove of genetic information, Adante Pointer, a civil rights attorney in Oakland, told Salon. Being able to get access to 23andMe gives them a bigger database of genetic information than they currently have in order to match a potential suspect, victim or even a witness to a particular incident they're investigating, Pointer explained. Those who sent their genetic samples to 23andMe may have waived the right to assert that constitutional interest in the database or the sample, Pointer said, and the companys lengthy, often overlooked private waivers may have also waived individuals rights. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. Id imagine that in the consent form, there is language allowing 23andMe, its subsidiaries, spin-off companies, or even a company that purchases 23andMes assets (including the DNA database), to use that data as they see fit, Pointer added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pointer is no stranger to law enforcements use of genetic information from other sources. In 2022, he represented a woman whose DNA she provided in a rape kit that was later used to arrest her six years later for retail theft. The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, said that before providing a DNA sample to the San Francisco Police Department, authorities assured her that her DNA would be used only to investigate her sexual assault. The case ultimately settled out of court, with Doe being paid around $200,000 by the city, Pointer told Salon. Customers genetic data could also be attractive to the companies that serve law enforcement agencies which have a ready-built customer base of agencies already equipped to process genetic information, Pointer said. Law enforcement agencies have long shown interest in the companys DNA stock. 23andMe received 15 requests from law enforcement between 2015 and 2024, denying all of them. That policy may change, depending on who buys that data from 23andMes going-out-of-business sale. Outside the law enforcement, AI companies could use the genetic information to train their data sets. Cybercriminals are already using generative AI to automate attacks, and large genetic datasets like this offer a new frontier, Pete Nicoletti, a cybersecurity expert and member of the FBI and Secret Service Cybersecurity Task Force, told Salon in an email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pharmaceutical companies and precision medicine companies could also use the data to develop new drugs. It wouldnt be the first time 23andMe user data had been used by drugmakers: in 2018, the pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline bought a $300 million stake in 23andMe, in exchange for the ability to mine its genetic database for new therapies. Another genetic testing company could also be interested though its unlikely, given that consumer demand has waned for DNA kits since around the height of the pandemic, in 2021. It makes some sense: those who have their data analyzed really only need the service once, meaning there is a finite number of people likely to become customers. This data is probably of most immediate value to drug developers and manufacturers, and therefore pharma is a likely landing spot, Westcott said. Its a nerve-wracking moment for 23andMe consumers. And in large part, such a data sale wouldnt represent anything new for the private market or regulators. This is not new in practice user data is bought and sold constantly without any notification to the user, Westcott explained. In 2020, the private equity giant Blackstone paid $4 billion for Ancestry.com just one high-profile, public example. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But given that 23andMe itself would be acquired in bankruptcy proceedings, the sale of genetic data is somewhat untested and unaccounted for territory from a legal perspective, and the sale of consumer data in the U.S. has historically faced fewer regulatory roadblocks, Westcott said. In that sense, this moment also represents a chance to establish a precedent of strong consumer protections around packaged sales of sensitive biological data. Governments and regulators must step in now with clear protocols, independent oversight, and enforceable safeguards before any data changes hands, Nicoletti said. Once this kind of information is leaked, its out there forever. Its not much comfort to ponder which of these buyers might eventually come into possession of approximately 4.4% of Americans genetic information and, by proxy, their relatives genetic information too. Many guides exist informing customers how to delete their data from 23AndMe before the company is sold (heres the handiest guide I found on how to purge your genetic info from its database.) But even for customers who do everything they can to protect themselves, theyre still vulnerable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While consumers may hope the genetic material is deleted and not retained by 23andMe, that would be naive, Pointer warned. Once information enters a database and is shared across servers or affiliates, it may exist in multiple locations. In Utah, Gray and her mother were among the many users that opted into the data being used for research purposes, she said. Unfortunately, for individuals such as myself and my family, the way the research contribution was portrayed is that it would benefit society as a whole, she said. For users who chose to opt into research, the company was given permission to analyze our de-identified data and possibly sell it to third parties, Gray said. In a message to customers, 23andMe said its leadership would approach the sale process and look to secure a partner who shares in its commitment to customer data privacy and will further its mission of helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. That doesnt mean much, Westcott said. 23&Me has publicly committed to finding a buyer that shares an interest in protecting customer data privacy, but this is just a statement and doesnt bind the potential buyer in any way, she said. A spokesperson for 23andMe wouldnt comment to NPR on what the company might do with its data beyond general pronouncements about its commitment to privacy. Stunningly, the company is still operating as normal and still welcoming you to hand over your personal data. 23andMe is still open for business, it said in an open letter to customers. ELGIN, Ill. (WGN) The human remains found in the car pulled from the Fox River on Tuesday have been positively IDd as Karen Schepers, a 23-year-old woman who went missing after leaving a bar in Carpentersville on April 16, 1983. According to a press release from the Elgin Police Department, the Kane County Coroners Office notified EPD on Thursday that the human skeletal remains found inside the yellow, two-door coupe that was pulled from the Fox River were identified as Karen Schepers using a forensic odontologist, A specialist used to analyze dental records in legal cases. Even with a positive ID of Schepers, police said questions are still left to be answered and the investigation remains open and active. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am deeply grateful to the Schepers family for trusting in Detective Matt Vartanian and in me to bring Karen home, Detective Andrew Houghton said. I know that by us reopening this case, the family was taking a chance that they could be let down, and we were very sensitive to that. I also want to thank them for being open enough to allow us to do a podcast which allowed us to bring attention to Karen and her case. How we got to this point Schepers and her Toyota Celica went missing around 1 a.m. on April 16, 1983, after leaving a Carpentersville bar named P.M. Bentleys in the Meadowdale Shopping Center following a night out with co-workers in the northwest suburbs. After initial leads dried up and no new information came in during the original investigation into Schepers disappearance, her case was moved to inactive. Over the decades, new looks were taken by other law enforcement agencies as time went by. The Illinois State Police revisited Schepers case in the late 1980s. Years later, EPD said advancements in forensic science led to another review of her case in 2010but againthe investigation dried up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schepers case wasnt revisited for another 14 years. In May 2024, EPD created their Cold Case Unit and five months later, they reopened Schepers missing persons case. It was shortly after this point EPD Chief Ana Lalley empowered detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian to launch Somebody Knows Something: The Elgin Police Cold Case Podcast. Their first episode debuted on Jan. 20 of this year, hoping to renew interest and spark new leads as they documented their investigation into Schepers decades-old disappearance case. In the podcasts introductory episode, Houghton and Vartanian laid out six theories they planned to investigate, with a search of local bodies of water being the final theory they planned to dive into as they revisited Schepers disappearance. Episode 7: Exploring bodies of water looking for Karen Schepers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As their investigation progressed and podcast episodes dropped, searching local waterways became an increasingly pivotal part of their look into Schepers case. This included research evidence the Fox River flooded and water levels in the Elgin area were unusually high around the time Schepers went missing. This gave credence to the idea Schepers 1980 Toyota Celica may be submerged somewhere along the Fox River and led EPD to bump up a water search strategy ahead of other theories they previously planned to explore. Enter Chaos Divers. EPD partnered with the non-profit organization to search an extensive swath of the Fox Riveran area from the Kimball Street Dam in Elgin, north to Williams Place in East Dundee. On March 24 near the Slade Avenue boat launch, divers were able to locate a vehicle submerged in the river with a license plate that read, XP8919, which matched the license plate of Schepers Celica. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A day later, emergency crews removed the vehicle from the Fox River and transported it to the Kane County Coroners Office (KCCO) for further examination. On Wednesday, KCCO confirmed there were human remains inside the car pulled from the Fox River in connection to Schepers case. On Thursday, they confirmed the human remains inside the vehicle were identified as Schepers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Australia's federal parliamentary elections will be held on May 3, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Friday. "My fellow Australians, this morning I visited the Governor-General [Sam Mostyn], and Her Excellency has accepted my advice that an election be held on Saturday, third of May, 2025," Albanese said in a press conference in Canberra. Albanese and the opposition coalition leader Peter Dutton, of the Liberal Party, now face a five-week campaign to convince voters they are the right person to lead the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Australian media, Dutton is ahead in the polls. The cost of living has emerged as a key election issue, with both Albanese and Dutton pledging to ease financial pressure on voters. Albanese said over the past few years, the world "has thrown a lot" at Australia. "In uncertain times, we cannot decide the challenges that we will face, but we can determine how we respond." Australia was "turning the corner," Albanese said. "This election is a choice between Labor's plan to keep building or Peter Dutton's promise to cut. That is the choice. That is your choice." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Only Labor is acting on the cost of living. Only a vote for Labor will keep your wages growing, take 20% off your student debt and cut taxes again and again for every taxpayer next year and the year after." Albanese pledged stronger healthcare, cheaper childcare, and lower power bills. Speaking to media after the election date was announced, Dutton said Australia could not afford "three more years" of Albanese's Labor. "Right now Australia is going backwards," he said. "Australian families need relief now. And we must do better and there is a better way. And the coalition has an achievable plan to get our country back on track." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dutton pledged to reduce taxes, red tape and migration and "take control again" of building sites to lower costs. Dutton also pledged to boost spending on the country's defence force and saying he would focus on border security. Australians will vote for the House of Representatives and 40 of the 76 Senate seats. Albanese has been prime minister since 2022, when he replaced Scott Morrison and the Liberal Party-led coalition. A sitting prime minister hasn't been re-elected in Australia since John Howard in 2004. A key piece of the gun control legislation passed after the horrific shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland could be on the chopping block if lawmakers efforts succeed. USA TODAY Florida Network journalists Antonio Fins, John Kennedy and Ana Goni-Lessan discuss the possible drop in Florida's gun ownership age. Also, Rep. Byron Donalds? Casey DeSantis? Still nearly two years out, candidates are already laying plans for the governor's mansion. And Is Tallahassee trying to squash control of local governments? This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida lawmakers target key component of Parkland gun law: IFP China advised tourists to "fully assess the risks of traveling to the US and travel with caution." Canada updated its US travel advisories on April 4. Several European countries cited stricter US immigration and gender rules. Canada has further tightened its advisory on travel to the US. The country is one of several that have updated their guidance since President Donald Trump began his second term as president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advisories range from stricter immigration enforcement and changes to transgender rights after reports of foreign travelers being detained by immigration authorities. Here's how Canada, China, and European countries have updated their travel guidance. Canada: 'Expect scrutiny' Canada warned travelers on April 4 to "expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices." It said Canadians should "comply and be forthcoming in all interactions with border authorities." This comes after more reports of travelers being turned away at the US border. France's higher education minister told Agence France-Presse that a scientist had been denied entry to the US after he was found to have sent texts criticizing Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The update also said travelers should "be prepared to show evidence of your legal presence in the US" at any time. Canada's previous update told citizens staying in the US for more than 30 days to register with the US government, following reports of a Canadian detained by ICE for two weeks. A Department of Homeland Security rule, effective April 11, makes registration mandatory. "Failure to comply with the registration requirement could result in penalties, fines, and misdemeanor prosecution," the advisory said. China: worsening trade relations China's culture and tourism ministry issued a travel warning on April 9, citing worsening Sino-US economic and trade relations and the US domestic security situation. It advised Chinese tourists to "fully assess the risks of traveling to the United States and travel with caution." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A trade war has escalated between the two countries since Trump imposed 34% tariffs on imports from China as part of his sweeping tariff program. Beijing retaliated with its own tariffs on US imports of 84%. Germany and the UK: risk of detention Germany's advisory warns that a US visa or entry waiver doesn't guarantee admission. "Criminal records, false information, or even slight visa overstays can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation," it says, following reports of three Germans held and interrogated for weeks. The UK's Foreign Ministry issued a similar warning after a British traveler was denied entry at the US-Canada border and held in a US ICE processing center for 19 days. The advisory says the US strictly enforces entry rules. "Failure to comply may result in arrest or detention." Europe highlights gender rules and entry risks Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Belgium have all issued warnings about new US policies affecting transgender travelers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order recognizing only two sexes male and female prompting countries to update their travel advisories. Denmark's March 20 update advised those with an "X" gender marker in their passports to contact the US Embassy before travel. Finland's advisory, updated on March 25, advises applicants to put their gender at birth. "If the applicant's recorded gender differs from their birth sex, US authorities may deny entry." It also cautions that overstaying or misrepresenting a stay's purpose could lead to arrest or deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement France's March 24 update urges travelers to ensure their visas reflect their sex assigned at birth and to check with the US Embassy and airlines for policy changes. Ireland's advisory, also updated on March 24, notes that those with an "X" marker or a passport gender differing from sex at birth should contact the US Embassy in Dublin. The Netherlands' foreign ministry, meanwhile, advises that US visa applications only accept "M" or "F" as gender markers. Norway's March 24 update says that holding a visa doesn't guarantee entry, as immigration officers have final discretion. It also states that the US "only recognizes an applicant's gender at birth." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Belgium's March 26 update says LGBTQ+ legislation "varies widely" in the US and urges applicants to check new gender registration rules. Portugal's advisory, updated on March 25, advises that travelers who identify as nonbinary complete forms using their gender at birth. Travel impact More people are losing interest in traveling to the US, seemingly due to the Trump administration's policies and tariffs. Statistics Canada data released last month shows the number of Canadians driving to the US fell 23% in February compared with the same month last year. Meanwhile, travel data firm OAG said airline bookings between Canada and the US are down 70% compared with last year. Air Canada and WestJet said they hadn't seen such stark declines but are paring capacity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hotel bookings for Europeans visiting the US this summer have also fallen by a quarter, Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin told Bloomberg. Tourism Economics originally projected a 9% increase in international visitors to the US this year but last month revised that to a 5% decrease, pointing to trade tensions. Adam Sacks, the consultancy's president, cited Trump's tariffs, "imperialistic" rhetoric, and reports of foreign travelers being detained by US immigration officials as "significant hurdles for the US travel industry." Read the original article on Business Insider ELWOOD, Ill. An employee with the Will County Sheriffs Office was taken into custody at his home Thursday by investigators with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. According to Will County court records, Daniel T. Herod, 41, is charged with predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and criminal sexual assault of a family member. Herod has been employed with the Will County Sheriffs Office since May of 2010 and most recently served as a Deputy Correctional Officer at the Will County Adult Detention Facility, according to the sheriffs office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday morning, Herod appeared in the courtroom of Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak, where his case was continued to April 3. He is being held in Kankakee County. More News, Weather and Headlines at wgntv.com A criminal complaint filed in Will County states that the alleged crimes occurred between May 9, 2021, and March 26, 2025. While the complaint does not specify where the crimes occurred, a search warrant was executed at the suspects home on Thursday, when he was taken into custody, authorities said. Local authorities are not involved in the investigation, but were called to the home after sounds left some residents startled early Thursday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Chief Fred Hayes with the Elwood Police Department, their officers responded to a call around 6:30 a.m. for a reported explosion in the 900 block of Meadowbrook Road. When officers arrived, they saw several dozen law enforcement officials at Herods home, and soon learned they were with Homeland Security Investigations and had executed a search warrant at the home. When asked whether Elwood police were informed about the planned activity at the house, Hayes said they were not. In most cases other law enforcement agencies contact the primary jurisdiction where theyre planning to provide some type of police activity, Hayes told WGN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of late Friday morning, he said they still had not received any updates on the nature of the investigation. The Will County Sheriffs Office shared a statement following news of Herods arrest: On March 27, 2025, 41-year-old Daniel T. Herod was taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations. Herod will appear in Will County Court, room 405, this morning at 9:30 am. Daniel Herod has been employed with the Will County Sheriffs Office since May of 2010 and most recently served as a Deputy Correctional Officer at the Will County Adult Detention Facility. As this remains an active and open investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations, the Will County Sheriffs Office will not be providing further comments at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement also provided a statement to WGN: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations conducted a criminal law enforcement operation in Elwood yesterday. There is no threat to the public and the matter remains an ongoing investigation. Please contact Will County States Attorneys Office for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Trump administration officials must reinstate Consumer Financial Protection Bureau workers who were fired and preserve agency data, a federal judge ruled Friday, in a victory for the employees' union. Defendants shall not terminate any CFPB employee, except for cause related to the individual employees performance or conduct; and defendants shall not issue any notice of reduction-in-force to any CFPB employee, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in her decision. Jackson granted a preliminary injunction maintaining the current iteration of the agency while she considers the merits of a lawsuit seeking to preserve it. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is credited with conceiving of the agency as a law professor, cheered the ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Make no mistake: this fight isnt over, she said in a statement. The case will continue in court, and all of us need to keep fighting for the little agency that has returned more than $21 billion back to families who were cheated, tricked, and scammed by big banks and other financial companies. The case, brought by the CFPB union against acting Director Russ Vought, has offered a rare glimpse into the chaos unleashed at a federal agency by administration officials and Department of Government Efficiency operatives. The consumer bureau is at the center of a coordinated effort by the White House and DOGE to dramatically reduce the federal bureaucracy. The ruling comes the same day a federal appeals court cleared the way for President Donald Trump to fire members of executive branch boards that oversee federal employee grievances. And Trump yesterday issued an executive order attempting to end collective bargaining for unions at numerous federal agencies. CFPB Chief Operations Officer Adam Martinez testified in the case that DOGE officials sought to shut down the agency as quickly as possible in early February, with plans to cut 1,175 of the agencys 1,700 employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During one of the hearings in the case, Jackson appeared skeptical of the governments argument that Vought was not trying to dismantle the bureau and that employees understood they were supposed to perform their mandated duties after Vought ordered them to stop most work Feb. 8 and closed the headquarters Feb. 10. The agency's leadership initially sought to terminate all contracts before realizing some were necessary to complete statutorily mandated duties and recalling 30-day termination notices it was required to send to contractors, Martinez testified March 10. Its like, shoot first and ask questions later? Jackson summarized at that hearing. Thats what it felt like, Martinez said. Representatives for the CFPB and DOGE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. New court filings in the Idaho murders case have shed more light on the events that may have led up to accused killer Bryan Kohberger's alleged heinous act. Kohberger, who was charged with murdering four University of Idaho students, allegedly purchased a black balaclava and combat knife months before the November 2022 stabbings. Despite the defense's efforts to exclude evidence from Bryan Kohberger's online purchases, the judge presiding over the case denied the motion. Bryan Kohberger's Purchases Under Scrutiny: Mask And Knife Linked To Crime Scene ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA According to newly released court documents, Kohberger, who is facing charges for the fatal stabbings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin at their off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, allegedly purchased a black balaclava nearly a year before a witness reported seeing a masked man inside the home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors revealed that Kohberger bought the face covering on January 10, 2022, at a Dick's Sporting Goods store in Pittsburgh, eleven months before the fatal stabbings on November 13, 2022. Prosecutors also pointed to Kohberger's online shopping history, which they say includes the purchase of a combat-style knife, a sheath, and a sharpener from Amazon approximately eight months before the attack. A knife sheath containing Kohberger's DNA was later recovered at the crime scene. Additionally, Dylan Mortensen, a witness inside the King Road residence the night of the killings, told police they saw a man wearing a similar mask. They later provided a drawing of the covering, which was included in court filings submitted by Kohberger's defense attorney, Elisa Massoth, as per the New York Post. Knife Sheath With The Alleged Killer's DNA Remains Key Evidence As Defense Challenges Amazon Purchase Records Ada County Sheriff's Office/MEGA A crucial piece of evidence in Kohberger's trial is the knife sheath found at the crime scene, which contained his DNA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His defense team previously sought to have the sheath dismissed by requesting a Franks hearing, but Judge Steven Hippler denied the motion. More recently, they attempted to challenge the inclusion of Kohberger's Amazon purchase history, believed to include the murder weapon, by presenting defense experts. However, Hippler also denied this request, stating, "the information Defense seeks to convey can be presented by declarations." He added: "Counsel may have the witnesses available by video streaming during the hearing and, should the Court determine it is necessary to hear from the witness, the Court may allow such testimony by video live-stream." The Discovery Of Unidentified DNA At The Scene Is Still A Major Asset For Bryan Kohberger's Defense Team MEGA Despite the judge's decision, Kohberger's defense team is expected to revisit the discovery of unidentified DNA during the trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legal experts suggest this could be used to create reasonable doubt, though its impact remains uncertain. Criminal defense attorney Edwina Elcox noted: "That evidence could be any variety of things: It could be something, or it could be a lot of things that are nothing." She added: "There's at least something to be made of it, and it's better than having nothing as a defense." Prosecutors May Call The Suspect's Family To Testify Indiana State Police/MEGA As reported by The Blast, Kohberger's upcoming murder trial could include testimony from his own family members. Kohberger's legal team had requested that his family be given priority seating during the trial. However, prosecutors opposed the request and argued that any relatives who may be called as witnesses should be barred from attending before providing testimony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the New York Post, Deputy Latah County Prosecutor Ashley Jennings confirmed in a filing to Judge Steven Hippler that "the State may call member(s) of the Kohberger family to testify at trial." She also noted that "prior to the start of the trial, the State anticipates it will motion the Court, or the Court will on its own accord, generally exclude testifying witnesses from the courtroom so that they cannot hear other witnesses' testimony." In the filing, prosecutor Jennings argued that Kohberger's family does not have the same legal rights as the victims' families. "Defendant requests that members of his family be granted the same rights as the victim's families," she stated. "However, the 'immediate families of homicide victims' have constitutional and statutory rights to attend pursuant to [the] Idaho ConstitutionThere is no comparable constitutional or statutory provisions affording a defendant's family these same rights." Bryan Kohberger's Trial Set For August Could Extend Until November ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA Kohberger's trial is set for August in Boise, Idaho, after being moved from Moscow due to concerns about an unfair trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first proceeding will determine whether he is guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. If convicted, a second phase will be held to decide whether he faces the death penalty, which is applicable under Idaho law. With a potential two-phase process, the trial could extend until November. Jury selection is scheduled to begin in late July after pretrial motions are addressed. For now, Kohberger remains in custody without bail. Soldiers march during a military parade to mark the 80th Armed Forces Day in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, March 27, 2025. Myanmar celebrated its 80th Armed Forces Day on Thursday with a military parade in the capital Nay Pyi Taw in commemoration of the start of its anti-fascist movement during World War II. (Xinhua/Myo Kyaw Soe) YANGON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar celebrated its 80th Armed Forces Day on Thursday with a military parade in the capital Nay Pyi Taw in commemoration of the start of its anti-fascist movement during World War II. Speaking at the ceremony, Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said the State Administration Council, acting on behalf of the Tatmadaw (Myanmar armed forces), currently assuming the responsibility of the nation, is making provisions to hold the general election this coming December. Since assuming the responsibility of the nation, the State Administration Council has laid down the roadmap and objectives for ensuring the tranquility of the nation and fostering a multi-party democratic system. The elections will be conducted based on respective regional security conditions in accordance with the provisions of the 2008 Constitution, electoral laws, and relevant regulations, and the necessary provisions are underway, he said. He added that members of the armed forces should fulfill their national defense duties, embracing a venturesome spirit, a willingness to sacrifice their lives to protect the lives and property of the people, and uphold the three main national causes. During the ceremony, the armed forces' mechanized units and foot soldiers marched in the parade ground as military aircraft and helicopters flew above. The Southeast Asian country commemorated March 27, 1945, as the start of its army's resistance to the fascist occupation of imperial Japan. Soldiers march during a military parade to mark the 80th Armed Forces Day in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, March 27, 2025. Myanmar celebrated its 80th Armed Forces Day on Thursday with a military parade in the capital Nay Pyi Taw in commemoration of the start of its anti-fascist movement during World War II. (Xinhua/Myo Kyaw Soe) Soldiers march during a military parade to mark the 80th Armed Forces Day in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, March 27, 2025. Myanmar celebrated its 80th Armed Forces Day on Thursday with a military parade in the capital Nay Pyi Taw in commemoration of the start of its anti-fascist movement during World War II. (Xinhua/Myo Kyaw Soe) Soldiers march during a military parade to mark the 80th Armed Forces Day in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, March 27, 2025. Myanmar celebrated its 80th Armed Forces Day on Thursday with a military parade in the capital Nay Pyi Taw in commemoration of the start of its anti-fascist movement during World War II. (Xinhua/Myo Kyaw Soe) COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) The Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the agency in charge of investigating allegations of unlawful discrimination, was found by a federal court to be liable for unlawful discrimination. In two separate cases, the commission and its director, Angela Phelps-White, were found to have deliberately discriminated against high-ranking women within the state organization. The commission investigates discrimination in the workplace, in housing, and in education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LifeWise Academy reports it has surpassed its growth goals for the school year One of the women who took the agency to court was a regional director in charge of those investigations in Dayton and Cincinnati. The other was the chief legal counsel for the entire Civil Rights Commission. Each walked away with a win that cost Ohio taxpayers three-quarters of a million dollars after accusing the director of civil rights violations, and they said it started on their first days on the job. She, on her first day of employment, told me, where she had previously worked she had issues with women and told me she did not like working with women, and I knew right then and there, Colleen, I was in trouble, Samantha Demers, the former chief legal counsel for the commission, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents detail the trouble, with multiple employees claiming the work environment was emotional and abusive, that the director practices psychological manipulation, and she made it clear that she did not want to work with women. I really couldnt believe it was coming out of her mouth because she is an attorney, Demers said. Shes been in state government for some time, and I frankly was just shocked. Measles outbreak reported in Ohio after several more cases confirmed The former human resources director revealed director Phelps-White not only said she got along better with males, but said, We need more males in these areas. I like my eye candy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former regional director Lori Taylor said her problems started with sexual discrimination from a male coworker. I had two other employees who came to me and made complaints, regarding the same male and so whenever it happened to me, I followed through with HR and just, you know, did my internal complaint, Taylor said. Then she waited for an investigation that never came. She believes it was blocked and the man was protected. The person that I alleged sexual discrimination against was not even interviewed, Taylor said. It tells me that the core values of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission talks about having service, integrity, teamwork, and also, excellence and, excellence. It says that all employees will be treated by upper leadership in a manner of giving everyone the same respect. And I was not given that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both women said they faced retaliation and mistreatment: Demers executive-level duties were slashed when the director refused to speak or communicate with her. Demers feared she would be fired so a man could take her job. Bodycam video shows moments Columbus officer shot man wanted in teens murder And thats exactly what happened, she said. Colleen, I was like four months from being eligible to retire and I loved my job, I loved it. I never wanted to do anything differently, and my career that would never recover simply will not recover. Taylor said she felt forced to resign. I did not want to get out of there, she said. I loved what I did. I believe in, you know, doing investigations through for the for civil rights and standing up for people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both women prevailed in federal court, but their attorney said nothing has really changed at the Civil Rights Commission. No one said that civil rights can be violated, attorney Fred Gittes said. No one has said a director like this can say, Im only hiring men. When asked why Phelps-White was still head of the commission, Gittes said, Good question and I hope you will ask them that. Community comes out in support of Centerburg students The Civil Rights Commission refused to set up an interview between NBC 4s Colleen Marshall and Phelps-White and also refused to comment on the lawsuit, deferring instead to the Ohio Attorney Generals office; the attorney generals office then said to speak with the civil rights commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the sex and age discrimination complaints, the federal court awarded Taylor more than $150,000 while Demers was awarded more than $500,000. Two other cases are pending in federal court, with Ohio Civil Rights Commission employees saying they were also the victims of workplace discrimination. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A Covenant School mom could face consequences after trying to defuse the confrontation between State Reps. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) and Andrew Farmer (R-Knoxville) this week. Pearson was forcibly removed from a House Criminal Justice Subcommittee meeting Wednesday after confronting Farmer for comments the Knoxville Republican made about Pearsons absence from the State Capitol during a discussion of a bill to change gun laws. Pearson had just presented a gun reform measure when Farmer made a comment about Pearsons personal life. Sarah Shoop-Neumann was present and among those trying to restrain Pearson amid the scuffle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom Neumann has been a vocal advocate for gun control laws in the state since the Covenant School shooting two years ago that claimed the lives of six individuals, including three children. However, by coming onto the dais, state GOP leadership said she broke the rules only lawmakers are allowed on the dais and could face serious repercussions, calling her behavior unacceptable. House Speaker Cameron Sexton likened the situation to that of a regular citizen walking onto the floor of the House of Representatives during session. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Theres a process you just cannot do, Sexton said during a press avail. The publics not allowed up there for obvious reasons. Whether its for good intent or bad intent, youre not allowed up there. Theres no gray area on that at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Democrats criticized the possible sanctions against Neumann, throwing their support behind Pearson. One of the possible consequences of Neumanns involvement include not allowing her back at the Capitol during 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 WKRN News 2. When the U.S. Navys supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford deploys later this year, its strike group will include Arleigh Burke class destroyers armed with Raytheon Coyote and Anduril Roadrunner-M counter-drone loitering interceptors. Last year, TWZ laid out a detailed case for arming American warships with swarms of drones to provide a valuable additional layer of defense, as well as enhance their strike, intelligence-gathering, and networking capabilities. You can read that in-depth exclusive feature here. Military.com was the first to report on the planned integration of the combat-proven Coyote and the Roadrunner-M, which the U.S. military is buying steadily more of, onto Navy Arleigh Burke class destroyers. This has come in response, at least in part, to lessons learned from U.S. operations against Iranian-backed Houthi militants in and around the Red Sea. Since October 2023, the Houthis have been launching long-range kamikaze drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, at foreign warships and commercial vessels, as well as targets in Israel. A Roadrunner-M counter-drone interceptor. Anduril Were going to be deploying the Ford Strike Group with two additional missile systems on our destroyers the Roadrunner system and the Coyote system both specifically designed to go after UAVs [uncrewed aerial vehicles], Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle, head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, told reporters last week, according to Military.com. The USS Jack H. Lucas, one of the Navys newest Arleigh Burke class destroyers and the first Flight III subvariant. USN The counter-drone version of Coyote, also known as the Coyote Block 2, and the Roadrunner-M are both jet-powered drone-like loitering interceptors. Roadrunner-M has the additional ability to return to its point of launch to be refueled and reused if it is not expended in the course of a mission. When it comes to both Coyote and Roadrunner-M, a mixture of sensors are used to cue them to their targets, or at least the general target area, before their onboard seekers kick in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Army currently fields Coyote Block 2 as part of the mobile and fixed-site versions of its Low, Slow, Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (LIDS). Versions of LIDS have been deployed to sites in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe and have seen combat use in at least some of those locales. The U.S. special operations community is known to have fielded Roadrunner-M in a land-based configuration, though details of its use to date are limited. What exactly the integration of counter-drone systems using Coyote or Roadrunner-M onto the Arleigh Burke will consist of, including whether or not they will be tied in with the Aegis Combat Systems on those ships, is unclear. When reached for more information, a spokesperson for Raytheon (now formally RTX) directed TWZ to contact Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). TWZ has also reached out to NAVSEA and Anduril for more details. The Navy currently has a total of 74 Arleigh Burke class destroyers in service, a fleet that includes multiple subvariants. They are all equipped with Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) arrays (though with differing numbers of total launch cells) that can fire various kinds of missiles, including Standard-series and Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) surface-to-air types, as well as Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. Some versions also have additional launchers for Harpoon or Naval Strike Missile (NSM) anti-ship cruise missiles. The Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur fires a Standard-series missile. USN Depending on the particular subvariant, the Arleigh Burkes also have either launchers for RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) or 20mm Vulcan cannon-armed Mk 15 Phalanx Close-in Weapon Systems (CIWS) for close-in defense against aerial threats, including drones. Those in the Rota configuration have both. The Navy is now moving to replace the Phalanxes on all of its destroyers with RAM launchers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Arleigh Burkes also have a 5-inch main gun in a turret on the bow, which can be used to engage aerial targets, along with ones at sea and on land, as you can read more about here. Coyote and Roadrunner are part of that attempt to get after the cost curve, give our commanding officers more options to engage the threat and ultimately be more effective in defending the high-value unit, Navy Capt. Mark Lawrence, commander of Destroyer Squadron Two (DESRON 2), also told reporters earlier this month per Military.com. In January, the Navy said its warships operating in and around the Red Sea had fired 120 Standard Missile-2s (SM-2), 80 SM-6s, a combined total of 20 ESSMs and SM-3s, as well as 160 5-inch rounds against aerial threats launched by the Houthis (and likely by Iran), over the preceding 15 months. SM-2s each cost around $2.5 million, while more capable SM-6s have price tags of around $4.27 million. The price for each ESSM is around $1.5 million. SM-3 variants, which are higher-end interceptors capable of knocking ballistic missiles during the midcourse portion of their flight, cost between $12.5 million and $28.7 million depending on variant. The RIM-116s that Arleigh Burke class destroyers are also armed with run just under $1 million apiece. You can read more about these missiles and their costs here. For comparison, the cost of a single Block 2 Coyote is reportedly around $100,000. Anduril has previously said that Roadrunner-Ms unit cost is in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to offering a valuable lower-cost-per-intercept option, especially against long-range kamikaze drones that might cost as little as $50,000, arming Arleigh Burkes with Coyote and/or Roadrunner-M will also give the destroyers valuable additional magazine depth. As TWZ wrote in the feature about adding various types of drones to the arsenal of American warships last year: When used in large numbers, these drones, cooperatively swarming or not, can deplete a ships defensive arsenal, attacking from multiple vectors. Close-in weapon systems can quickly run out of ammunition and need reloading, leaving the ships inner point defense layer degraded and thus making the vessel more vulnerable. Even American and allied warships facing off against the Houthi drones have had to use close-in weapon systems to take them down. Now, sending a flock after a ship, with many dozens of drones to defend against, could quickly become an impossible task, with the ships defenses rapidly becoming overwhelmed and its magazines running dry. Considering the quantities involved, a ship may be able to readily defend itself against a limited number of drones, but many attacking at the same time from different vectors would be a different story, especially as some of the drones could be used as electronic warfare platforms and decoys, further challenging a ships defenses. That piece also more specifically noted: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Higher-performance jet-powered anti-drone drones, like Raytheons Coyote Block II or Andurils new Roadrunner, are specifically designed to make faster intercepts of drones, including swarms. In the case of Coyote Block II, they have been successful in doing so. Its possible that these same drones could share launcher boxes with lower-performance, propeller-powered types. There are propeller-driven counter-drone configured drones, as well, for lower-performing threats that can be launched from CLTs [common launch tubes] and other similar systems. Any of these types, jet or propeller-powered, can also be equipped with electronic warfare payloads capable of soft kills against drones, allowing a single drone to take down multiple threats. Screen grabs from a Roadrunner promotional video showing a portable hangar or nest for launching the anti-drone interceptors. Anduril capture While costing less than typical effectors, such as SAMs, Coyote and Roadrunner also offer something these weapons dont the ability to loiter. This is a big deal as they can be dynamically tasked in real time and they can even be launched preemptively against potential threats. This offers a lot of flexibility for warship crews that dont currently have such an option beyond employing the ships rotary-wing assets, if available. In the case of Roadrunner-M, it can be recovered and quickly used again. There is also the potential that these systems could be used to hit small surface targets, as well. The threats posed by uncrewed aerial systems to Navy ships, as well as U.S. military assets and critical civilian infrastructure on land, even far from traditional battlefields, are not new, as TWZ has long highlighted. Those dangers are only set to grow in scale and scope, thanks in large part to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and to keep proliferating among state and non-state actors. That the Navy is only adding Coyote and Roadrunner-M to at least some Arleigh Burke class destroyers now highlights how the U.S. military continues to lag in addressing drone threats. TWZ also highlighted this in February 2024, when NAVSEA put out a broad call for potential new counter-drone capabilities that could be added to various Navy ships within 12 months, which may have contributed to the work being done now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Navy is also pursuing new directed energy weapons, electronic warfare suites, advanced networked decoys, and other tools to help further expand the air and missile defenses on its ships. Other interceptors could also be on the horizon, including using the multi-mode AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) in the air-to-surface role. JAGMs manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, has also been doing other work to demonstrate the missiles abilities in the counter-drone role, whether launched from the air or the surface. The company notably showed a model earlier this year of an Areligh Burke class destroyer equipped with four-round launchers for JAGMs. The Navys Freedom class Littoral Combat Ships also just recently gained the ability to fire radar-guided AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles, which are no longer in production and that JAGM looks set to supplant, at incoming drones. A close-up of Hellfire/JAGM launchers on a model of an Arleigh Burke class destroyer on display at the 2025 Surface Navy Association symposium. Joseph Trevithick All this also ties into larger concerns about the adequacy of U.S. stockpiles of surface-to-air missiles and other key munitions and the ability to readily replenish them, especially in the event a large-scale conflict against China breaks out in the Pacific. Last year, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) explicitly warned that operations in and around the Red Sea, as well as ongoing support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia, were creating readiness risks in his part of the world. At the same time, top service officials have stressed that captains and crews should not worry about taking whatever steps are necessary to defend their ships and the lives onboard, as well as other friendly forces. They have other things to worry about, like whats for breakfast, Vice Adm. Brendan McLane, head of Naval Surface Forces, told TWZ and other attendees at the annual Surface Navy Association conference in January. The cost of the missile that they are going to shoot is not one of the things that they are worried about. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, Coyotes and Roadrunners are now set to give at least some Arleigh Burke class destroyers important added defenses against incoming drones, and could be a step toward fielding those capabilities more broadly across the Navys fleets. Contact the author: joe@twz.com HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) Craig Wiseman, a GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter, was honored with a Mississippi Country Music Trail Marker and a series of tributes recognizing his musical legacy and enduring connection to his hometown. On March 27, the Hattiesburg native was recognized during a special ceremony at Midtown Green Park, where a newly unveiled marker now stands as part of the Mississippi Country Music Trail. The marker features a concrete inlay with an iron replica of Wisemans Big Loud logoa nod to the Nashville-based music company he co-founded. It is one of more than 40 markers along the statewide trail. Hattiesburg Zoo accredited by Association of Zoos and Aquariums Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mississippi is blessed to have so many remarkable musicians and songwriters who have helped make Mississippi the birthplace of Americas music, said Visit Mississippi Director Rochelle Hicks. As a part of the larger Mississippi story, adding Craigs marker to the Mississippi Country Music Trail is an important milestone in recognizing those who have made Mississippi instrumental to American and popular music. Wiseman began his music career in Hattiesburg before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, where he became one of country musics most prolific and celebrated songwriters and a successful music business entrepreneur. Hundreds of artists have recorded Wisemans songs, including Brooks & Dunn, Faith Hill, Tracy Lawrence, Patty Loveless, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Morgan Wallen, Kenny Chesney, and Tim McGraw. Craig Wiseman, a GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter, was honored with a Mississippi Country Music Trail Marker and a series of tributes recognizing his musical legacy and enduring connection to his hometown. (Courtesy: Forrest Co. Board of Supervisors) Craig Wiseman, a GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter, was honored with a Mississippi Country Music Trail Marker and a series of tributes recognizing his musical legacy and enduring connection to his hometown. (Courtesy: Forrest Co. Board of Supervisors) Craig Wiseman, a GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter, was honored with a Mississippi Country Music Trail Marker and a series of tributes recognizing his musical legacy and enduring connection to his hometown. (Courtesy: Forrest Co. Board of Supervisors) To be honored like this in the place where it all beganits hard to put into words. Hattiesburg gave me the roots I needed to chase big dreams, and Ill always carry this city with me. This moment, this marker, this bandshellit all means the world, said Wiseman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Mississippi Country Music Trail, administered by Visit Mississippi, commemorates the venues, legends, and landmarks that have shaped Mississippis significant impact on country music. 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. BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) A boarded-up NYPD station in Brownsville is trading its handcuffs for house keysbut not everyones celebrating. The 1980s-era precinct at 1546 East New York Avenue will soon become 95 affordable apartments, sparking fierce debate in the Brooklyn neighborhood. More Local News Everythings expensive nowadays. We definitely need affordable housing, said Randy Placencio, who walks past the decaying building daily. If its just a rundown property no ones using, lets make it space, lets make it affordable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Developers Xenolith Partners and Family Services Network of New York plan to reserve 60% of units for residents needing mental health, addiction, or HIV/AIDS support services, with rents capped for households earning 40-60% of the area median income. The $51.5 million projectfunded by tax credits and public-private financingwill include a community health center, fitness room, and laundry facilities. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Yet some neighbors push back. They put tenants in for a couple of months and put them out. Thats not nice, one resident told PIX11. Another worried the development could bring all the ghetto into it. The stationhouses transformation comes as another affordable building rises nearby. For Placencio, the project represents redemption: If it had a bad rep in the past, it could be something positive in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Demolition is expected this 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 PIX11. A criminal who had flings with a prison officer and a jail nurse at the same time is now wanted by police. Harri Pullen, 27, is on the run after leaving a Cwmbran hospital where he was taken on Wednesday following his arrest on suspicion of drug dealing, police said. Four women, aged 28, 31, 41 and 58 were later arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. The 58-year-old was released on bail but the other three remain in police custody, according to Gwent Police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pullen was picked up by someone in a black Vauxhall Insignia from the Grange University Hospital at 3.45pm after an arrest on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs. While previously in jail, Pullen had an inappropriate relationship with prison nurse Elyse Hobbs, 27, and repeatedly phoned prison officer Ruth Shmylo, 26, to tell he he loved her, in a series of calls. Ms Shmylo was accused of having a five-month relationship with Pullen and calls between them were recorded by prison bosses. Moved to HMP Manchester Ms Shmylo was cleared of wrongdoing following a nine-day trial in December 2023. She was sacked from her job at HMP Parc in Bridgend after officials at the G4S-run jail discovered their alleged affair. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pullen was moved to HMP Manchester also known as Strangeways and added Ms Shmylo to his approved calls list but their conversations were recorded by officials. The calls, played to the court, included Pullen repeatedly telling her I love you. The court heard complaints about her included flirtatious behaviour with inmates and wearing skin-tight trousers to work. But the court heard she had previously made corruption reports of her own against other staff who were colluding with inmates to tamper with prisoners food. Claire Wilks, defending, said Ms Shmylo should have been treated as a whistleblower but was instead hung out to dry by prison bosses and called a grass by her colleagues and assaulted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Wilks said it was no surprise that given her previous treatment at the jail she wouldnt report phone calls with Pullen as she feared the consequences. Two alleged romances Ms Shmylo, of Treforest, Pontypridd, was cleared of one charge of misconduct in a public office. Prison nurse Elyse-May Hibbs, 25, was one of two alleged romances with female jail staff by manipulative inmate Pullen behind bars. Hibbs was jailed after her relationship with Pullen while he was serving time for being part of a drugs gang. The nurse claimed she was pressurised into flirting with him but a judge sent her to prison for six months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After being released, Hibbs was taken to disciplinary hearing by the Nursing Midwifery Council to decide if she was fit to carry on her career. The hearing found that her fitness to practise was impaired by her conviction, and she was handed a 12-month suspension order. This means that she may practice nursing again once the order is lifted. Qualified health worker Hibbs met the prisoner while giving him medical treatment in jail and he contacted her on Instagram. On list of approved calls Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe said jail chiefs suspected the inmate was involved in an inappropriate relationship at the prison so transferred him to HMP Manchester. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But investigators then found Hibbs phone number on Pullens approved calls list for inmates. Mr Cobbe said: Having been moved the inmates calls were monitored in HMP Manchester and it was quite plain the relationship with this defendant was being nurtured by the inmate. He contacted the defendant very many times and the bulk of it occurred when she was employed at HMP Parc. Mr Cobbe said the inmate used his mother and a friend to initiate contact with Hibbs after he searched for her on Instagram. He said: The calls between them were flirtatious. They talk about the prison, staff within the prison, he tells her that he loves her and she tells him he doesnt know her to love her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cardiff Crown Court heard the two swapped messages on Instagram by contacting each other through an account held by the inmates friend. Hibbs quit her post at HMP Parc in July 2021 and was arrested a week later and admitted exchanging messages with the prisoner. She told police she was scared to end the contact after he had previously threatened her. Mr Cobbe said: She explained that she and the inmate were never in a sexual relationship of any kind at all. She accepted she should have reported the matter but that she got in too deep and couldnt get out. Hibbs, of Newbridge, Gwent, admitted misconduct in a public office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adam Sharp, defending Hibbs, said the prisoner was known within the system to be a particularly manipulative individual. He said: She was young, impressionable, inexperienced and vulnerable to the malign influence of the inmate who sought to exploit her. 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. Response to a federal funding freeze that they say is impacting Erie County communities and agencies. Whats being called a rapid response team was established to develop strategies to combat the lack of funding which is expected to rock the refugee community to its core. Rescued pup Bernard finds loving home after recovering from abuse Members of this team said the federal funding freezes have forced a budget crisis at the local level, potentially impacting Eries workforce and local economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Infinite Erie is spearheading an initiative to construct a team to brainstorm action in response to the federal funding freeze. Some members of the team include the likes of the Erie Community Foundation, the United Way, Erie Insurance, and ECGRA just to name a few. And they said Eries refugee community is in dire straights. Its a crisis. Its right here, right now, said Kim Thomas, executive director of Infinite Erie. Our entire economy and community relies on this population. AHN St. Vincent honors two physicians for National Doctors Day Since October of 2024, Eries resettlement agencies have had no federal funding reimbursements. Thats led to more than 20 layoffs in the department with more on the way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its impacted thousands of refugees who have been legally resettled here by the government to escape crisis, war, and persecution. Without these services, Thomas said immigrants are more likely to leave Erie, resulting in a loss of $253 million to the local economy annually. About 47% of them own a home in our community so theyre paying mortgages and theyre providing that economic stimulus into our community. They are part of our workforce. There have been about 500 jobs over the past however many years that have really resulted from refugees entering into the workforce. Theyre an incredible participant in our entrepreneurial and business communities, Thomas explained. Thats why the Erie Community Foundation is opening an emergency fund. They created rapid response funds both when covid-19 broke out as well as during the war in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said this funding freeze has risen to the level of a humanitarian crisis locally. We connect donors to causes that they care about and so our role is to inspire, engage and empower donors. Thats what this is doing, the rapid response fund. By creating this fund to support nonprofits, theyre helping refugees resettle, were making our community stronger, more culturally rich, and then that results in new stores and restaurants, said Erin Fessler, vice president of marketing and community relations for the Erie Community Foundation. Despite being just 4.1% of Erie Countys population, refugees own 5% of businesses in Erie County and this fund should act as a lifeline to resettlement agencies hoping to continue welcoming refugees into our region. City of Erie, ErieBank partner up to boost home ownership Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a much larger conversation that certainly needs to happen around long-term solutions for specifically the refugee resettlement agencies and this population but we recognized right away that this is a crisis right here and right now. The federal funding has been shut off, Thomas went on to say. To learn more about the Rapid Response Fund 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 WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. NEW YORK In early 2021, pandemic-battered New Yorkers were finally feeling a glimmer of hope: A mass vaccine site at Citi Field that promised around-the-clock shots. Then Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped in. The states chief executive was irate over the site, which happened to be championed by his political nemesis at the time Mayor Bill de Blasio. Cuomo made his displeasure clear in a phone call to the Mets owner and one of the countrys richest men Steve Cohen. The governor later withheld vaccines from the facility for several weeks. This account, which has never been reported, was relayed by nine people with direct knowledge of it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuomo is now running for mayor and leading every poll of Democratic primary candidates. All nine people who spoke to POLITICO about Citi Field were granted anonymity, which they requested out of fear of angering the ascendant former governor. We got Citi Field ready to open, and for two weeks, the state denied our request to allocate our own vaccine to the location, someone assigned to Covid relief efforts in the de Blasio administration told POLITICO. After several days of fighting, the governors staff finally told us it was Cuomo personally blocking it because he didnt like that the mayor would be the one to open Citi Field. Officials working under Cuomo had to find ways of distributing vaccines in the city without setting off the vindictive governor. It was a constant tension throughout the vaccine process managing Cuomos expectations that de Blasio couldnt touch the vaccine, someone who worked on the states distribution said. Seventeen days after de Blasio announced the Citi Field site, Cuomo touted a state-controlled mass vaccine facility to open at Yankee Stadium, home of the Mets crosstown rivals. Vaccines were also delayed to that location amid a federal shortage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Few American politicians benefited as much from their early oversight of Covid as Cuomo, whose daily press briefings won him an Emmy Award and a loyal following of New Yorkers who saw him as a steady leader in a time of tumult. Cuomo is leaning into that image as he runs for mayor, asserting in his campaign launch video that it underscores his strong and effective managerial skills. But that doesnt tell the entire story. The impression Cuomo has tried to make does not account for how deeply he alienated, and at times undermined, other political leaders with his impulse to bask alone in the limelight. POLITICO interviewed 16 people for this story including 11 who worked on Covid response for both de Blasio and Cuomo and reviewed public records and contemporaneous communications among government staffers troubled by how the Cuomo-de Blasio feud impacted the response to pandemic. All were granted anonymity to freely recount how that fraught relationship hindered government actions. In addition to vaccine distribution, the two men sparred about school closures , citywide shutdown plans and the method of designating areas of heightened Covid rates, known at the time as cluster zones. State officials withheld daily data from their city counterparts, three of these people said, forcing de Blasio at times to present day-old information during his own daily briefings. Cuomos team even threatened to have City Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi arrested over his interpretation of which first responders were eligible for early vaccines and how those vaccines would be administered, according to four people with direct knowledge of the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chokshi, whose public messages became a balm for New Yorkers during Covid, declined to comment. New Yorkers know it was Governor Cuomo who led the way on COVID response and this is nothing more than silly, revisionist history from a bunch of de Blasio ex-pats obsessed with distracting from the fact that he was a terrible mayor, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said. This took place at a time when the federal government botched the vaccine supply chain and we were moving heaven and earth to get as many shots in as many arms as possible. Officials in Albany and City Hall came to see many of Cuomos crucial pandemic decisions through the lens of the long-standing conflict between the two Democrats. Hes great at the pomp and circumstance, but when you look a little bit below, its all about centering himself, Democratic state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, who chaired the health committee during Covid, said of the ex-governor. He will make sure he will do whatever he can to put himself at the center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuomos administration had tight control over vaccine distribution, approving where doses would be available in an arrangement that suited the governors micromanaging style. State officials often selected sites de Blasio could not control or take credit for, including mass vaccination facilities and private hospitals, according to someone who worked on the state effort. City officials maintained a detailed spreadsheet of public vaccine sites and expected doses as they negotiated distribution with state officials. A screenshot of that spreadsheet from January 2021, which was shared with POLITICO, revealed dozens of locations and anticipated capacity. Fifteen high schools had the means to give out as many as 10,500 vaccines each during a given week and received a combined allocation of 95,500. For Citi Field, city officials noted in the spreadsheet that there was a maximum weekly capacity of 15,000 doses. The allocation was zero. During this same exact time period we also had to delay opening our mass vaccination site at Yankee Stadium, Azzopardi said. The fact this all changed the exact moment the feds started to increase the supply should be an indication that this fictional storyline is all garbage politics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement De Blasio did not respond to repeated requests for comment. A spokesperson for Cohen declined to comment. Several years after Covid, Mayor Eric Adams administration issued a 98-page report on the pandemic response, which concluded the Cuomo-de Blasio feud exacerbated a life-and-death situation. The report also criticized inadequate information sharing among agencies within City Hall. Prior to the change in gubernatorial administration in August 2021, the relationship between the Governor and Mayor was strained. The Cuomo administration was reluctant to share data with the City and often refused to give advance warning of policy changes and new directives. This dynamic hindered the Citys ability to plan and respond to the pandemic effectively, the report determined. It also cited the citys reported challenges collaborating with State partners, which at times, resulted in duplicative and inefficient response operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuomo resigned from office in 2021, following accusations that he sexually harassed staffers and mishandled Covid in nursing homes all of which he vehemently denies. It doesnt appear either scandal has hurt him in his mayoral run: Not only does he dominate every poll, but Black politicians whose districts were disproportionately hurt by Covid have been endorsing him for mayor. Hes also trying to win over Orthodox Jewish community leaders, who opposed his safety-driven restrictions on large gatherings that are central to their culture. Nevertheless, Cuomos mayoral rivals consider his handling of the pandemic a leading vulnerability as he seeks to lead a city that was devastated by the virus. Earlier this week, they joined forces in blasting his record during a rally for nursing home family members, and they are strategizing how to effectively wield the issue against him ahead of the June 24 primary. I remember having to fight and be one of the voices to ask the former governor to bring those much needed life-saving vaccines into our communities, Adrienne Adams, who leads the New York City Council and is running for mayor, told POLITICO. It took way too long. We were not prioritized, and we will not forget." Cuomos nearly universal positive press coverage during the early weeks of the pandemic gave way to scrutiny over his health departments order that nursing homes could not turn away Covid-positive patients. His administration was later found to have undercounted the number of nursing home residents who died from Covid. The former governor has denied any wrongdoing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic Assemblymember Ron Kim, whom Cuomo threatened after Kim criticized the governors nursing home policies, said vaccines were doled out with political considerations in mind. It was a politics of exclusion, Kim said. Jason Beeferman contributed reporting. Earlier this week, Pennsylvania resident Tamie Konzier visited the restaurant Eatn Park in Ross Township not knowing she was about to change someones life forever. Konzier visited the restaurant with her 10-year-old son, Leo, when she met Betty, an 81-year-old waitress. Konzier posted a video to TikTok after she overheard Betty tell another table she was still working because her social security just over $900 a month couldnt cover her expenses. Any proceeds I get from this video on the TikTok creative rewards program, I will come back and give to her, Konzier told her 140,000 followers. I have $40 in my purse, so that's what I'm gonna leave her for tip. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The video went viral in a matter of hours, garnering more than 7 million views as of Friday afternoon. Soon afterward, Konzier launched a GoFundMe with a goal of $25,000. Community members have donated more than $250,000 as of Friday afternoon. Tamie Konzier launched a GoFundMe for Betty, pictured, an 81-year-old waitress who can't afford to retire (@tamie.lynn/TikTok) "I'm so happy for her," Konzier told local outlet WTAE. "I just think it's great that people have compassion for her, and it's reached so many people and so many people have donated. I feel great for her." Konzier filmed herself speaking to Betty, who was just out of shot. The 81-year-old told Leo and Konzier to enjoy life because it goes fast. Yeah, that's what she said, Konzier recounted to WTAE. I, of course, was surprised. And like, that makes you want to cry even more. Konzier posted a TikTok about Betty that gained 7 million views in just days. The GoFundMe has already raised more than $250,000 (@tamie.lynn/TikTok) Additional donations have poured in via Venmo, bringing the total for Betty even higher, WTAE reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Konzier retained a lawyer to ensure the $250,000 is set aside in a trust fund for Betty, she revealed in a Friday afternoon social media post. The lawyer I got is going to do it in a way that it does not affect social security or Medicaid, she said. He advised me to not turn [the GoFundMe] off, its doing really well. Theres no end date on the GoFundMe, she continued. As long as the video keeps going viral and people keep contributing to Bettys retirement, I am going to keep it up. LHASA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- With social stability, economic prosperity, thriving cultures and religious harmony, today's Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China demonstrates unprecedented progress in human rights. What has taken place in the region, especially since 2012, has highlighted China's sound and effective governance in Xizang, and is also a solid rebuttal to the baseless Western narratives of "oppression." Yet the human rights situation in the plateau region is often distortedly embedded in international human rights discourse and weaponized by anti-China forces to achieve their geopolitical agendas. A white paper titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era," published on Friday, highlighted the great development and progress of human rights in Xizang since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in November 2012. Over the years, Xizang has experienced unprecedented development and changes, delivering more tangible benefits to local people. Before its peaceful liberation in 1951, Xizang was one of the regions in the world with the worst human rights records. Serfs and slaves were afforded no human rights and treated as mere tools. Serf owners controlled their lives, deaths, marriages, and even traded them as private property. After the peaceful liberation, the central government provided Xizang with substantial fiscal, material and human resource support that helped propel the region's development. The landmark democratic reform in 1959 abolished theocratic feudal serfdom -- a system of human rights oppression. A new dawn broke in 1965 with the establishment of the Xizang Autonomous Region. The region began to exercise comprehensive regional ethnic autonomy, and many liberated serfs and slaves earned leading posts in agencies of state power at various levels of the region. The reform and opening-up policy has not only helped elevate social productivity, but also injected strong momentum into the advancement of human rights in Xizang. The region, henceforth, embarked on a path of synchronous development with the rest of the country, with its human rights cause entering a fast track. Since 2012, China has developed tailored governance guidelines for Xizang to accelerate modernization practices. A number of key construction projects have been implemented and special preferential policies enacted to benefit all ethnic groups in the region and support the all-round human rights development. Fast-forward to today, people in Xizang enjoy extensive and genuine democratic rights in accordance with law under the system of regional ethnic autonomy. Of the 25 deputies of the Xizang delegation to the 14th National People's Congress, the national legislature, 17 (or 68 percent) are from the Tibetan or other ethnic minority groups. People's economic and social rights here have been enhanced, with absolute poverty eradicated and living standards continuously improved. The average life expectancy in the region rose from 68.17 years in 2010 to 72.19 years in 2020. The medical and health service network has now achieved full coverage across the region. Education in the region has evolved from a privilege for the elite in the dark age of cruel serfdom to a common right. With a 97.86-percent compulsory education enrollment rate, children in Xizang, including those from remote pastoral areas, have inspiring spaces to learn and grow. Xizang attaches great importance to protecting, passing down and developing the fine traditional cultures of all ethnic groups. While the use of standard spoken and written Chinese language is generalized, the right to use the Tibetan language is guaranteed in schools as well as in publishing, media, and daily life. Notably, digital tools like Tibetan input systems are empowering the younger generation. Smears regarding religious freedom in Xizang collapse under the weight of hard facts, as various religions now coexist harmoniously and numerous religious activities are held annually. Tibetan Buddhism traditions are celebrated and faithfully observed. Environmental conservation is prioritized by laws, making Xizang one of the world's best-preserved regions in terms of ecology. It is noteworthy that Xizang's great achievements have been made under the CPC's leadership and with the support of the entire nation. The central authorities have regularly held special meetings, set development plans, and implemented preferential policies to boost Xizang's economic and social progress. The remarkable achievements are a testament to the effectiveness of the CPC's governance guidelines on Xizang. Yet there remain some die-hard naysayers who continue to smear Xizang in disregard of the human rights progress in the region. They are either profoundly ignorant or harboring ulterior political motives. The historic human rights achievements in Xizang will not be obscured by any falsehoods. On its course to modernization along with the rest of the nation, Xizang will surely continue to secure new feats in its human rights cause. The U.S. Capitol on Nov. 26, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom) U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is set to play a top role as the Senate Judiciary Committee chair in hearings next week on courts blocking President Donald Trumps actions. Members of Iowas congressional delegation also introduced legislation to make English the official language of the nation and to address a shortage of truck drivers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold a meeting titled Rule by District Judges II: Exploring Legislative Solutions to the Bipartisan Problem of Universal Injunctions Wednesday, April 2, looking at nationwide injunctions on executive actions. Many of the high-profile actions taken by Trumps administration have been stopped in court in the months since he took office. On Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld an injunction blocking the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan nationals, and a federal district court judge blocked the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Personnel Management and Treasury Department from disclosing personally identifiable information on certain parties to Elon Musks U.S. DOGE Service in a Monday injunction. These are among numerous court decisions temporarily stopping the Trump administration from enforcing or enacting measures that challengers have argued in court are unconstitutional or unlawful. But Grassley and other Republicans say these court actions are an overreach of power. District judges abuse of nationwide injunctions has hobbled the executive branch and raised serious questions regarding the lower courts appropriate jurisdictional realm, Grassley told Fox News Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Iowa Republican said Congress must step in and provide clarity on the judicial branchs ability to halt executive actions, saying the hearings will explore legislative solutions to bring the balance of power back in check. Grassley also spoke Tuesday in opposition to a resolution proposed by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, that would require the federal executive branch to comply with federal court rulings. Grassley proposed amendments to the resolution stating the executive branch only has to comply with lawful court rulings, and that added language saying it is inappropriate for courts of the United States to override legislative or executive action by the elected branches of government because of different policy preferences. Without these changes, Grassley argued on the Senate floor that this resolution demands that the president comply with all court orders, but its completely silent about the role of the federal courts to adhere to the law themselves. He also said he supported congressional action to limit courts ability to stop Trump administration policies from taking effect. The president of the United States shouldnt have to ask permission from more than 600 different district judges to manage the executive branch he was elected to lead, Grassley said. The practice of sweeping nationwide injunctions, broad restraining orders, and judicial policymaking must end. Its unconstitutional, its anti-democratic and its imprudent. If the Supreme Court wont stop it, then Congress must. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Durbin had argued immediate action was needed from Congress to support the courts ability to keep the executive branch in check in light of calls from Trump and others like Musk to impeach judges over decisions. Grassley said Thursday he does not support calls to impeach judges over a decision. There has been a lot of debate about when we will cross the threshold into a genuine constitutional crisis. I pray that it will never happen, Durbin said. But it will come down to a basic principle. The question is not when we are going to face this, it is that we cannot afford to hold our breath and wait and see if the president will formally announce that he will defy a court order. We must respond to the dangerous attacks on our courts and judges now. English as official language Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks introduced a measure codifying Trumps executive order designating English as the official language of the United States. Trump issued the executive order March 1, rescinding an executive order by former President Bill Clinton in 2000 directing federal federal agencies and organizations that receive federal funding to improve access to services for people with limited English proficiency Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Immigrant advocates criticized Trumps order for potentially limiting services for people who speak other languages. Anabel Mendoza, communications director of the immigration advocacy youth group United We Dream, said in a statement that Trump will try to use this executive order as a crutch to attack schools providing curriculum to immigrant students in other languages, gut programs and roles that help to promote inclusive language access, and embolden immigration agents to single out and harass individuals who speak a certain way. Currently, 32 states have made English their official state language, with some states like Alaska, South Dakota and Hawaii designating both English and a native language as official languages. In a news release Friday, Miller-Meeks argued making English the official language of the U.S. is an important step in reinforcing a shared national identity and strengthening civic engagement. Since the inception of our republic almost 250 years ago, the English language has guided our nation. It was in English that our Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It was in English that Abraham Lincoln issued the Gettysburg Address as he preserved our nation, Miller-Meeks said in a statement. By making English the official language, we will build cohesion in America united by a common language and reap economic benefits. Nunn proposes tax credits for truckers Rep. Zach Nunn introduced legislation Thursday to create new tax credits for truck drivers, a measure he said would help address current workforce shortages in the field. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Strengthening Supply Chains Through Truck Driver Incentives Act, co-led by Rep. Pat Ryan, D-New York, would create a refundable tax credit of up to $7,500 for truck drivers who drive up to 1,900 hours each year, and an enhanced tax credit of $10,000 for new truck drivers and people in trucking apprenticeship programs. Nunn said the measure was needed as the nation faces a shortage of truck drivers, which could lead to supply chain disruptions and higher costs for goods. In 2023, the American Trucking Association reported there was a trucking workforce shortage of 60,000 drivers, down from a high of more than 80,000 in 2021. However, officials with the organization said they expect to see that number increase in coming years, caused by a number of factors including an aging workforce, difficulties recruiting women and problems retaining workers due to the difficult work lifestyle. Right now, were facing a serious shortage of truck drivers, and its putting pressure on Iowa families and our nations supply chains, Nunn said in a news release. We are experiencing both a recruitment and a retention problem in the trucking industry. This is a simple fix to help get more drivers behind the wheel improving our supply chain and bringing down costs for every Iowan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Providing financial incentives for people to join and stay in the industry will help ease this workforce shortage, Nunn and supporters of the measure said. Brenda Neville, president and CEO of the Iowa Motor Truck Association, thanked Nunn in a statement for his leadership to remove roadblocks to driver training and help Iowans secure rewarding employment in the trucking sector. Iowas trucking industry provides over 100,000 good-paying jobs and fulfills an essential role in our supply chain. Supporting our workforce is an investment in Iowa families and our economy, Neville said. By easing the financial burden for new drivers, the Strengthening Supply Chains Through Truck Driver Incentives Act will open the door of opportunity for more hardworking men and women who choose to embark on this career path. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) A state corruption investigation into the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) produced no credible evidence to substantiate allegations related to JCPDs actions surrounding now convicted sex criminal Sean Williams. New life rises but memories linger for woman widowed by Helene First Judicial District Attorney Steve Finney provided News Channel 11 with a letter outlining that process after our questions following a New Yorker article on the Williams story focused significantly on corruption allegations. After his office was tasked in May 2023 with investigating Williamss alleged crimes, Finney asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to investigate corruption allegations against JCPD that first surfaced in 2022 and intensified in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I felt the request necessary to avoid any conflict of interest, Finney wrote, adding that TBI has a vast depth of experience in handling public corruption cases. He described an investigation that began somewhat narrowly and broadened as various elements of the Williams case intensified. Finney also wrote that a parallel Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe also yielded no substantial instances of corruption, bribery or other criminal misconduct. (T)he investigation included examination of several thousand pages of financial records along with a significant number of interviews, Finney wrote of the TBI probe. In my review of the investigation, no credible evidence was found by the TBI to substantiate any allegations of corruption, bribery or other criminal misconduct by any member of the Johnson City Police Department, he added. Williams, 53, is suspected of drugging and raping more than 60 women at his downtown Johnson City apartment, mostly between 2018 and 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement JCPD never charged him with any sex crimes despite several official complaints. Williams was at large from early May 2021 through late April 2023 after fleeing a federal ammunition charge here. In June 2022, a former federal prosecutor sued Johnson City claiming she was fired after pushing JCPD top brass to more closely investigate the sexual assault allegations against Williams. His late April 2023 arrest in Cullowhee, N.C. on drug charges led to the discovery of huge amounts of digital files in his possession that authorities say show him sexually assaulting women and several children. He was convicted of three federal child pornography-related counts in November 2024 and sentenced to 95 years last month. Williams himself source of most allegations Williams was jailed in 2023 when a Facebook post attributed to him made specific allegations of police stealing from his safe during a September 2020 search. He later added that a business associate had paid off the police over a number of years partly to protect him. Finney wrote that it wasnt appropriate for him to comment on the TBI investigations details, but expressed complete faith in the agencys capability to conduct such probes. I feel that they did a thorough and commendable job in this case, Finney added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Da Steve Finney Letter 3-27-2025 by Jeff Keeling on Scribd The Williams case remains complex and dynamic, including as it relates to additional potential charges against Williams himself. At this point, Finney wrote that based on his findings from the TBIs report, there are no criminal charges for my office to pursue, but added should additional evidence surface in the future, I will refer that evidence to the TBI and reconsider my decision if appropriate. A separate civil case against JCPD on behalf of Williams victims is on track for a settlement that includes a $28 million payout by Johnson City. Plaintiffs attorneys in that suit have alluded to an ongoing federal investigation something that appears to remain a possibility among the multiple federal agencies such as the Department of Justices Office of Inspector General that can take on such matters. News Channel 11 reached out to federal elected representatives asking whether they knew of any deadlines for an investigation into potential misconduct surrounding the Williams case. First District Congresswoman Diana Harshbargers communications director, Sam Somogye, provided us with the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case of Sean Williams is truly vile, and were relieved to see him behind bars. The investigation into the Johnson City Police Department is ongoing, and Congresswoman Harshbarger is monitoring it closely as the legal proceedings move forward. The City of Johnson City has repeatedly denied all allegations of corruption or misconduct related to the Williams case. Williams, meanwhile, should face local prosecutors after additional federal charges run their course, Finney wrote. The First District indicted him in September 2023 on three child rape or child sexual assault charges based on the same incidents for which hes been convicted federally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Finney has also told News Channel 11 at least some rape charges are likely out of the alleged druggings and sexual assaults committed against women. His office interviewed a number of those alleged victims. Additional charges against Williams will be forthcoming in the very near future, Finney concluded in Thursdays letter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Friday on the Daily 8, were looking at a warning from Attorney General Nessel, changes to Michigans car seat laws, a 135-year-old building up for sale in Grand Rapids and more. You can watch the full Daily 8 for March 28, 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 Monday 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. DAMASCUS, Va. (WJHL)Business owners who lost their facilities in Damascus, Virginia, are continuing to rebuild. Ralph Wilson owns four businesses in the town. His popular Damascus Diner was filled with over three feet of water from Hurricane Helene. Since September, Wilson has been rebuilding the inside with new flooring and equipment. Hes excited to reopen to residents and visitors, but the rebuilding process has been filled with ups and downs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Damascus rebuilding after floods with faith, donations and volunteers Well, to compare it with the roller coaster, he said. When it first happened, I didnt even understand the gravity of it. I didnt even think about how bad it was. And then once that set in, thats pretty much a low point. But then you start digging out and you say, well, you know, with a little bit of help, you know, maybe I can get it back rolling. Wilson said the task of rebuilding was too much for some. I get different attitude from different people, he said. Some people were so frustrated. I mean, they just said, Im gone, you know, packed up and left. And then some people like me who are too stubborn say, You know, Im going to make a go of it. And most people here are trying to make a go of it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wilson says rebuilding has allowed him to make changes to help his employees serve customers more efficiently. For more updates about the diner, visit its Facebook page here. Vice President JD Vance spoke in front of the Damascus Diner during his second visit to the area in January Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. DAMASCUS, Va. (WJHL)The response to Hurricane Helene has been incredible all around the Tri-Cities region, especially in Damascus, Virginia. Damascus is an example of the power of neighbors working together to help each other and the town recover. Vice President JD Vance even stopped by the town twice to survey damage. Six months after Helene, the damage is still evident. The Orchard Hill bridge is still sitting on the bank of the Laurel River, and an exposed water pipe is feeding Taylors Valley up the mountain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Damascus Vice-Mayor Taylor Faust said much of the debris has been carried off. Ironically, while News Channel 11 talked with Faust, crews cleared trees directly behind him. Families continue to rebuild six months after Hurricane Helene flooding And thats a great thing to see in the small town, Faust says. And, you know, from the town standpoint, VDOT, FEMA, all these agencies, the Mennonite Disaster Service, who come here and volunteer to help our town, theyve all been a pleasure to work with. The most considerable feat so far is the rally to get people back into houses. We were able to identify 82 homes, essentially that were damaged in some capacity, Trails To Recovery group member Olivia Bailey said. Thats minor, major damage from the storms to date. We have been able to restore 76 of those homes in just six months. We were also able to identify eight homes that had been completely washed away or that were not able to be restored in any kind of way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trails To Recovery group has made it a priority since September. Bailey estimates that all homes should be completed by the end of summer. If you would have looked at the situation back on September 27th and wondered if we could be completely rebuilt in a year. I dont think anyone thought that was possible, she says. A seemingly impossible task was made possible by a community of donors, volunteers and faith. Theres really been a faith component in this, Bailey said. I mean, we have been praying through this, and its just some of the stuff that shows up sometimes just doesnt make sense. Its just got a whole God component to it. We can talk about an issue that we have. And in eight hours, that issue, someone has just offered their services for that exact issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hope but tough road still ahead for Helene-hit Erwin industries As the Damascus community gears up for tourist season, it will not forget how it got this far so quickly. Hope has been restored in southwest Virginia, Bailey said. Weve seen the gratitude of the community. Weve seen the goodness and the kindness of the community. I dont think there was ever any doubt that our neighbors were going to help us whenever we were in that situation. Faust agrees. It was a beautiful thing to see the community come together like that, he said. And I mean, as you can see, the community is still here and they still have our back as we move out of this. 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. (Bloomberg) -- Denmarks prime minister got a dramatic boost in her latest approval rating as she is trying to deflect US President Donald Trumps efforts to take over Greenland. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 45% of Danish respondents said Mette Frederiksen is doing a good job running the Nordic country, up from 31% two months ago, according to the survey published Friday by broadcaster DR. Its the highest backing for the 47-year-old premier in more than two years. Frederiksen has tried to manage Trumps fixation on the Arctic territory, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but has its own government. Earlier this week, the Danish premier said the US is putting unacceptable pressure on Greenland, even before Trump insisted we have to have it, speaking on a talk show. Frederiksen has also in recent months emerged as one of the European leaders shaping the continents support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. Vice President JD Vance is due to visit a US military base in northwestern Greenland later on Friday with an entourage that includes his wife. A planned visit that also included capital Nuuk, where anti-US protests had been planned, was dropped earlier this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also on Friday, its expected that Greenlands pro-business Demokraatit party will officially form a coalition government, following parliamentary elections earlier this month. The Danish approval rating survey was conducted by Epinion for DR and included 2,026 interviews of eligible votes in the period March 19-26. The poll had a margin of error of up to 2.7 percentage points, DR said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. (NewsNation) The families of hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks are suing detained Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil and several student groups, alleging they aided and abetted Hamas in acts of international terrorism. Khalil, who was arrested earlier this month, is named in the lawsuit as one of the heads of the anti-Israel protests that took place at Columbia last year, which the families in the lawsuit claimed helped spread the terrorist groups messaging. The lawsuit is to raise awareness for the ongoing crimes that have been happening since Oct. 7 and on Oct. 7, said Iris Haggai, the daughter of Israeli-Americans who were killed in the attack. We also need to hold the people who are promoting this accountable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Organizations struggling to get aid into Gaza after end of ceasefire Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace and the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition have also been named in the lawsuit. Marc Goldfeder, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit with the families, charged that the people named in the lawsuit knew of the Oct. 7 attacks before they happened. Goldfeder also said any time Hamas made an attack, the student groups also started a protest. Haggai also said the response to the attack and kidnapping of Israeli hostages were just protests she believes are in support of Hamas, which she called horrible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Imagine if they promoted peace and demanded the unconditional release of hostages, Haggai said. Imagine how many lives we would have saved from both sides. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A daycare center owner wants to set the record straight about the man accused of trying to kidnap a two year old from a Walmart. Angelia Brinson says Mahendra Patel is her landlord, and doesnt own her daycare. Brinson told Channel 2s Tom Jones some parents were nervous after they received false information about Patels role at Genesis Learning Academy of Kennesaw. She got emotional while talking about how this is affecting her and her business. Jones asked why was this so difficult for her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because of what hes done, she said through tears. I love what I do. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] She says it pains her that the arrest of the man who owns the property her daycare sits on is causing her so much grief. Theyre concerned about the safety of their children. Theyre concerned, she said. Brinsons ordeal began after Acworth police arrested Patel. Caroline Miller says he tried to kidnap her 2-year-old son in the Acworth Walmart on Cobb Parkway North. Were tug of warring, she described trying to keep Patel from getting away with her child. Patels attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, says he wasnt trying to kidnap the child. She says Patel was trying to stop the child from falling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not some predator thats roaming the street, Merchant said. Brinson was shocked to see Patel, her landlord, on the news. Then, someone began posting on social media Patel owned her daycare center. Brinson wants everyone to know thats not true. Its being presented as he owns it, and he just owns the property, she said. RELATED STORIES: She says Patel only comes to the daycare to pick up the rent check and is never left alone around kids. Brinson says she will now only deal with Patel through their lawyers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I mean, look whats hes done. Because of his actions its bringing to me, she said. Brinson said its all taking an emotional toll on her. I think Ill need counseling after this because this is a lot for me, she said. Brinson says this has been very difficult for her and her staff. She says she will do whatever she can to protect the kids, and she wants to assure parents Patel wont be anywhere near them. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] BOAO, China, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Renowned U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs on Wednesday lauded China's development trajectory, saying the country is on the right track to improve the well-being of its people and benefit the world at large. Sachs, who first visited China in 1981, highlighted China's remarkable economic achievements. "I've been coming to China many times a year in most years since then," he told reporters at this year's Boao Forum for Asia, which is being held in Hainan, China. "I've watched with my own eyes China's remarkable economic advance: from economic planning to technological innovation, and dedication to education and infrastructure." The professor at Columbia University praised China's role as a peaceful global actor. China's commitment to peaceful coexistence and multilateralism contributes to global peace, Sachs said. Impressed by China's poverty alleviation efforts, Sachs said he witnessed this transformation firsthand during a visit a few years ago to China's northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which was previously one of China's poorest regions. "There was electricity, a television and the essentials in every home I visited -- extreme poverty was ending," he recalled. He attributed China's success in poverty reduction to a combination of factors including universal education, infrastructure development and rural healthcare. China's path has offered a roadmap for poverty alleviation globally, he added. Sachs spoke highly of China's leading role in green industries. "Today, China is the world's leader in zero-carbon energy. It's the largest producer of solar panels, electric vehicles and other green products." He also emphasized the potential benefit of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, calling it the world's leading initiative for sustainable development. "China is using its innovation capacity to share cutting-edge technologies and infrastructure with the world," Sachs said. CAIRO, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held separate phone calls on Thursday with his Saudi and Turkish counterparts to discuss efforts to strengthen the ceasefire in Gaza, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Abdelatty spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as part of the ongoing consultations following a recent Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee meeting on Gaza. The talks focused on Egyptian and Qatari efforts to reinforce the ceasefire and ongoing coordination with the United States. Abdelatty stressed the importance of securing the release of captives and detainees while ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including medical and shelter assistance. Abdelatty's discussions with the Saudi minister also covered an Arab-Islamic roadmap for Gaza's early recovery and reconstruction, said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a statement. It added that Fidan briefed Abdelatty on the outcome of his recent visit to the United States and explored ways to mobilize support for rebuilding efforts in the enclave. The Daviess Community Hospital Board has authorized a project to keep the facility from being flooded. The board is giving the administration the go ahead to implement a plan that will stop the catastrophic flooding that has swept through the basement of the hospital twice in the last five years. After the flood happened, we brought in an engineering firm to draw up specs to mitigate the flooding issues we have had, said Daviess Community Hospital Board Chairman Deron Steiner. It involves creating a retention pit so that we can hold the water and release it gradually. Because the plan would impact the way the hospital property puts storm water into the city sewer system, the board will have the city review the plans before moving further toward construction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We do need to get with the city, said Steiner. We need to be sure our plans are acceptable to them and if there are any needs, wants or changes that they have. We will be reaching out to them to set a meeting to look at what our engineers have come up with and then we will seek the needed permits and anything else to take care of this. Hospital officials say the flooding is a result of both the growth of the facility and the amount of run-off it generates in a storm, and the size of some of the thunderstorms that have hit the community. We had a once in 500 years rainfall event, but those seem to be happening more frequently that once every 500 years, said Steiner. That just overwhelmed our system. We are now working to put in place a system so that it wont happen again. The suggested project carries a $500,000 estimated price tag, but officials say the flooding in the past has done more damage that makes that amount look small. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a $10 million event. The construction we have going on downstairs (revamping education and meeting room space to become the new home of laboratory services) is part of the last flood. That was one year ago when that happened and it has taken this long and wont be done until June," he said. There is no date set to begin the work. In other business, the board agreed unanimously to offer a contract for the new DCH Chief Executive Officer. The position has been vacant since Tracy Conroy was let go last December. Hospital officials are not releasing the name of the candidate at this time. The hospital has also received a passing grade from the Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation. Officials say the commission has now signed off on all items. Many of the concerns they had were addressed before they even left, said Steiner. There were a couple of items that required us to do some work and planning to fix. Those have now been taken care of. We now feel we are in very good shape. The deadline to apply for the government-run debris clearance program for the Eaton and Palisades fires has been extended by two weeks, and owners of some multiunit properties are now eligible, officials said Friday. The deadline to submit a right-of-entry form and opt in to the U.S. Army Corps' cleanup has been extended from March 31 to April 15. At the request of local and state officials, eligibility for the Army Corps' cleanup has been extended to most condo buildings and some other types of multifamily housing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any residential property with at least one owner-occupied unit is now eligible for the federal cleanup, said Robert Fenton, FEMA's Region 9 administrator, in a Friday letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's Office of Emergency Services. In order for duplexes, townhomes and condos to be considered, county officials must receive a right-of-entry form from every owner of a destroyed unit, as well as from the homeowners association, FEMA said. Los Angeles County Supervisor Linsdey Horvath, whose Westside district includes Malibu and the Palisades, said in a statement that the county is continuing to advocate for the inclusion of nonprofits, churches, mobile home parks and commercial properties in the federal debris clearance program. Buildings that are entirely rented out to tenants are generally not eligible for the federally funded debris cleanup program. FEMA said that apartment owners are expected to "use their insurance and hire a licensed contractor to conduct debris removal." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fenton told Newsom's office Friday that apartment building owners can still apply for the Army Corps' cleanup, but their eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Those property owners would need to include a justification for using federal funds on their cleanup, Fenton said. That could include the debris on the property posing an immediate threat to public health and safety, or the removal of the debris having an economic impact on the community. Owners of apartment buildings can also seek disaster assistance from the Small Business Assn. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. In late January, 170 million Americans lost access to TikTok after the popular app was banned in the U.S. due to national security concerns over its China-based parent company, ByteDance. Within hours, the app reappeared with a "welcome back" message after President Donald Trump, who had not yet been officially inaugurated, extended the ban by 75 days. "Thanks for your patience and support," the pop-up read. "As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, as that new deadline approaches next week, that former event could happen again. When is the new TikTok ban deadline? Under the timeline set by President Trumps executive order on January 20, TikToks China-based parent company, ByteDance, was given until April 5 to divest from the platform. When asked by a reporter earlier this month whether he would consider extending the deadline again, the president responded, "Probably, yeah," suggesting it was likely. Several buyers have expressed interest in acquiring TikTok's U.S. operations, including bids from YouTube star MrBeast and a joint proposal from former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary. Why is the US banning TikTok? Though Trump formerly supported a TikTok ban, especially during his first term, he signed an executive order on his first day back in office Jan. 20 to extend the ban deadline for 75 days, hours before he was even officially inaugurated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump's order followed days after Congress passed the ban with overwhelming bipartisan support, citing national security concerns. TikToks owner, Beijing-based ByteDance, faced criticism after the U.S. Department of Justice claimed that TikTok had access to American data, shared it with the Chinese government, and could potentially manipulate app content to influence American opinions. Recent reports suggest the White House has been negotiating with Oracle to finalize a deal. Trump predicted that an outline for the TikTok sale agreement could be settled by next week, and he had previously indicated that progress had been made in talks led by the White House. Such a deal could spin off TikTok's U.S. operations and reduce Chinese ownership to below the 20% threshold required by law. It would also ensure that foreign-owned entities cant maintain any control over the platforms algorithms, aside from data sharing restrictions. In recent days, Trump also stated he would consider lowering tariff rates on China to gain Beijing's support for the sale of TikToks U.S. operations and avoid a ban on the popular app. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maybe Id give them a reduction in tariffs, Trump told reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office. Trump predicted he could nail down an outline for a deal for a TikTok sale by next week. He had previously suggested the White-led house talks have made progress in hammering out a deal. Such a deal may spin off the U.S. operations and dilute Chinese ownership to below the 20% threshold required by law. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: New TikTok deadline is April 5. Will the app get banned again? Democrats in Congress are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to release a Tufts PhD student from ICE custody and restore her visa. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is leading the charge, along with 27 others, who are calling for full due process in the detainment case and want answers about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy that led to Rumeysa Ozturks arrest while having valid legal status. Federal agents surrounded the Turkish national in the street near her off-campus apartment in Somerville around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Once close to her, the agents appeared to pull out badges from around their necks and pull up face masks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video shows moment Tufts student was swarmed by federal agents and taken into custody In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., Tuesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo) Neighbors reported seeing unmarked cars surveilling the location for two days before detaining Ozturk. Warren, in a letter penned to the DHS, called the arrest of Ozturk deeply disturbing and said it appears to be one of the latest examples in a string of ICE arrests of university students with valid green cards and visas because of their political views. Warren also pointed out in the letter that for almost 24 hours after Ozturks arrest, her location was unknown. Assistant US Attorney Mark Sauter confirmed Thursday that Ozturk is at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center and that Ozturk and her attorney were able to speak late Wednesday night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani previously granted the request of Ozturks attorney that she not be moved out of state, but Sauter said she was already out of Massachusetts by the time that petition had been filed and granted. Judge Talwani has issued an order giving the government until Friday to answer why Ozturk was being detained. The DHS must outline its timeline for Ozturks arrest and transfer from Massachusetts in detail when it responds to the petition that Judge Talwani granted. People who know Ozturk believe she was targeted for participating in pro-Palestine rallies on the campus of Tufts in 2024. She also wrote an op-ed demanding that Tufts acknowledge the Palestinian genocide and divest from companies with ties to Israel. This contributed photo shows Rumeysa Ozturk on an apple-picking trip in 2021. (AP Photo) Gestapo-like conduct: Community demands detained Tufts student be returned to Mass. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Warren is asking several questions of DHS, including: Why did DHS officials arrest Ozturk? Secretary Rubio indicated that Ozturks student visa was revoked. What was the legal authority under which her visa was terminated? Has the State Department updated its policy governing visa revocations? When Administration officials indicated that Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, which specific activities were they referring to? Why did DHS transport Ozturk to Louisiana? What is DHS/ICEs policy regarding the use of unmarked vehicles, face coverings, plain clothing, and the display of badges by DHS agents during arrests? Please provide the date and time when Ozturk was first permitted to contact an attorney, family member, or other outside contact. The South Louisiana ICE Processing Center has been the subject of health-related complaints, including for denying food that appropriately accommodates detainees religious views, serving undrinkable water, and not complying with protocols on the spread of infectious diseases. Given that Ozturk is currently fasting for Ramadan and has asthma, how are her health needs being met while she remains in detention, and is Ozturk being offered a prayer room and Halal food? Is DHS or any other agency compiling a dossier of university students involved in Palestine-related protests? What are the ICE Student Exchange and Visitor Program policies for terminating a student without a request by a university? Please provide a copy of all notices to appear in immigration court in Ozturks case. WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 03: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks to press in the U.S. Capitol on February 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. Elon Musk, tech billionaire and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been given access by the Trump administration to the federal payments system which handles trillions of dollars every year. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) Warren indicated that she wants federal officials to answer these questions by April 4, 2025. These are deeply troubling incidents. The Administration should not summarily detain and deport legal residents of this country merely for expressing their political views, Warren said. Absent compelling evidence justifying her detention and the revocation of her status, we call for Ozturks release and the restoration of her visa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke about the detainment of Ozturk. If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us the reason you are coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, were not going to give you a visa, Rubio said. Rubio said his department may have revoked more than 300 visas. If you lie to us and get a visa and then enter the United States, and with that visa, participate in that sort of activity, were going to take away your visa. And once youve lost your visa, youre no longer legally in the United States, he added. And we have a right, like every country in the world has a right, to remove you from our country. So, its just that simple. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rubio continued, The overwhelming majority of student visas in this country will not be revoked. If the overwhelming majority of people coming to this country to study are not involved in, associated, or aligned with organizations that seek to do damage to this country and that, frankly, organizations that hate the United States government, hate our way of life. So I just think its crazy to continue to provide visas so people can come here and advocate for policies that are in direct contradiction of our national interests. Warrens letter was also signed by other members of the Massachusetts delegation, including Ed Markey, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Lori Trahan, Ayanna Pressley, Katherine Clark, James McGovern, and Jake Auchincloss. Read the full letter below: Warren Letter on Ozturk by Boston 25 Desk on Scribd Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) LGBTQ+ organizations in some central Ohio counties say they are facing hurdles spurred by a lack of small business support and targeted social media posts by a local conservative group. Delaware Ohio Pride (DOP), the organizers behind the city of Delawares Pride festival, said some local entrepreneurs who previously backed the organization have cut off support and no longer offer their businesses as event space since President Donald Trumps reelection. Longtime advocate warns of Ohio deaths if federal HIV funding is cut Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finding places that will agree to let us host events in their space has become near impossible, the group said. Our events committee has been working nonstop to find more ways to hold events for our community. We have plenty of ideas, we just need businesses willing to be our safe spaces. Amanda Quinn and Tia Jones, co-chairs of the organization, detailed one incident to NBC4 in which DOP was completing the exact date and time for a scheduled event when the business stopped all communication. The organizations texts and emails went unanswered and this all seemed to coincidentally coincide with the elections results, Quinn and Jones said. Amanda Quinn, Tia Jones and other Delaware Ohio Pride organizers alongside drag performers after last years festival. (Courtesy Photo/Delaware Ohio Pride) DOP hasnt named which exact businesses they are referring to but are pointing residents to their Rainbow Business Roster for a Rolodex of storefronts and services that do support the organization and have been vetted as LGBTQ+ friendly. The organization, which has previously hosted educational events and drag shows, is navigating a lack of business support while also reorganizing internally, including the onboarding of several new board members who were brought on after long-time members stepped down last year. Now, Quinn and Jones said DOP is prioritizing transparency while remaining dedicated to Delawares LGBTQ+ community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio group asks U.S. Supreme Court to allow student opt-outs for LGBTQ+ lessons We as an organization are still working diligently to follow in the footsteps of our founding members while also trying to find our place and set our own goals and expectations, the co-chairs said. We are actively planning our festival, which is held the first Saturday in June every year. As for our drag events, its still to-be-determined as we continue our search for new event locations. Marysville Pride Fest, the city of Marysvilles annual Pride festival hosted by the Union County Rainbow Coalition, told NBC4 it has also experienced sponsorship challenges. However, organizers said issues date to 2023, when a group named the Union County Faith Family Coalition began targeting drag performances and businesses hosting Pride events. Organizers cited Walking Distance Brewing as an example. The brewery permanently closed in February, and hosted Pride events that were meant to further inclusion for Marysvilles LGBTQ+ community. However, owner Teddy Valinski said on social media last June that Walking Distance faced a year of slander and harassment from the Faith Family Coalition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members of the coalition began taking to social media during the summer of 2023 to denounce the brewerys drag queen shows, hurling unfounded accusations of pedophilia and grooming. Valinski said Walking Distances sales dipped after the posts garnered traction on social media, writing that the brewery will never know exactly how much business we lost due to the slander. Consequently, many local sponsors withdrew their support from the Marysville Pride Fest, the organizers said. Still, the Rainbow Coalition is forging ahead with the Pride fest in June and noted theyve recently garnered an increase in vendor participation. Olentangy schools defends LGBTQ+ anti-bullying policies in federal court In the face of adversity, community support has blossomed, the organizers said. Despite the financial hurdles, we are determined to continue our advocacy for marginalized communities, fueled by this unwavering community solidarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Rainbow Alliance of Fairfield County faced similar targeting last September when a group called the Fairfield County Conservatives spoke out in protest of a LGBTQ+ event hosted in downtown Lancaster. The debate culminated in a city council meeting where the conservative group argued the event featured an obscene drag show, but the citys top prosecutor said the performance was legally permissible and protected by the First Amendment. Fairfield County Conservatives members later called on city council to adopt a measure prohibiting adult cabaret performances similar to a bill proposed at the Ohio Statehouse that opponents say would amount to a ban of drag queens in public. LGBTQ+ business owners in Lancaster said they saw a boost in sales when their shops were named to a list shared on social media by members of the conservative group. The entrepreneurs said the reverse happened when the group posted the list as part of an alleged boycott against businesses that support the LGBTQ+ community. Bellefontaine, a Logan County city, was originally supposed to be the first in the state to vote in 2023 on whether to ban drag performances in public, after a queen named Blond Vanity was featured riding a jet ski in the citys Christmas parade. The Ohio Supreme Court later ruled that the proposed ordinance, which also used the adult cabaret performance wording, would not appear on the ballot given it was submitted fraudulently. 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. Trade tariffs on imported vehicles announced by US President Donald Trump this week could see a large drop in German car exports to the United States, according to calculations by the international accounting firm Deloitte. Exports to the US of vehicles and car parts from Germany - where the automotive sector is a key pillar of the economy - could fall by up to 29%, the Deloitte's analysis showed. That would correspond to a sales reduction of 8.2 billion ($8.84 billion), the German headquarters of Deloitte in Munich said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 25% tariffs are due to come into force on April 3, according to a White House statement. Deloitte's calculations are based on data from the Global Trade Analysis Project, an international research network for the analysis of trade flows. Overall, German manufacturers sold 1.3 million cars in the US last year, said Harald Proff, head of Deloitte's global automotive division. The German carmakers that already have their own plants in the US cannot simply relocate more production there, he argued, as the US plants are already operating at 70% capacity. "Significant investments in new production capacity would be necessary," Proff said. AUSTIN (Nexstar) While the re-election of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz over former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred remains fresh in voters minds, the primary election for Texas other seat held by Sen. John Cornyn is less than a year away. On Wednesday, Cornyn released a video on X formally announcing his re-election campaign. The video highly features President Donald Trump, highlighting the ways Cornyn helped Trump implement his agenda in his first term. Now Im running for re-election, and Im asking for your support, Cornyn said. So President Trump and I can pick up where we left off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Less than six hours later, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton weighed in. Are you delusional? Paxton said on X. While not a candidate yet, Paxton told Punchbowl News he thinks he could win if he raises enough money. Youve constantly turned your back on Texans and President Trump, including trying to stop his campaign in 2024 and saying his time has passed him by. Texans wont believe your lies or forget how youve consistently worked to undermine the President, he continued. When asked about Paxton calling him delusional, Cornyn replied, Im not, in an interview with Nexstar on Thursday morning. The tale of the tape On Thursday, Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR) released a new poll exploring the 2026 Senate race. TPOR is an upstart organization founded last year, releasing quarterly polls on Texas politics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think it really speaks to the vulnerability of Sen. Cornyn, Luke Warford, who directs TPOR, said. Warford is a former Democratic candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, and recently penned a Washington Post op-ed titled Democrats no longer have the luxury of losing Texas. The poll claims Paxton currently wins a hypothetical primary by a 38% to 27% margin over Cornyn. It also suggests voters are ready for a change no matter who the opponent is, with 36% of respondents saying Cornyn should be replaced, 27% saying they should consider someone else and only 13% saying Cornyn should be re-elected. The numbers dont get much better when narrowed down to just Republican voters, with only 22% saying he should be re-elected. Favorability ratings in the Mar. 27 Texas Public Opinion Research poll. (Texas Public Opinion Research) Overall, the poll asserts that only 21% of Texans view Cornyn favorably with 43% viewing him unfavorably. By comparison, 35% of Texans in the TPOR poll view Paxton favorably with 40% viewing him unfavorably. The top line here is John Cornyn is one of the least popular politicians and least popular public figures in the state, Warford said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Looking back at a February poll by the Texas Politics Project makes the race seem much closer. Cornyn had a 30% favorability rating compared to 37% unfavorable rating; while Paxton has 37% approval rating with 34% disapproving. Of note, Allred led TPORs favorability ratings. The Dallas Morning News reported Allred is considering a second try at the Senate after losing to Cruz in November. According to Warford, his rise in favorability has been accompanied by less name recognition. Allred had a net favorability of -1% (in November). He had 43% of Texans (viewing) him unfavorably while 42% viewed him favorably, Warford said. Now both of those numbers have decreased significantly. On Wednesday, Cornyn took aim at his potential general election opponent on X, saying Come and take it, Colin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Allred responded, Good luck with your primary, John. Allred could not be reached for comment. Paxton did not respond to comment on election-related inquiries. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. More than 30 Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the latest high-profile arrest and detention of a foreign-born college student who had voiced support for the pro-Palestinian movement. In a Thursday letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE acting Director Todd Lyons, the 34 Democrats called for them to explain why Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested Tuesday by six masked, plainclothes agents while walking home. The rationale for this arrest appears to be this students expression of her political views, the members wrote. We are calling for full due process in this case and are seeking answers about this case and about ICEs policy that has led to the identification and arrest of university students with valid legal status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prior to her arrest, Ozturk, 30, was a Fulbright scholar with an F-1 student visa. She was a Ph.D. student at Tufts in Massachusetts. Last year, she was one of four authors of an op-ed in the Tufts student paper calling for the university to engage with and actualize resolutions related to the Palestinian cause passed by the universitys Student Senate. In their letter, lawmakers argued the arrest was disturbing and looked like a kidnapping in video that went viral this week. Surveillance footage of the arrest shows officers approach Ozturk in plain black clothing, with no visible badges, and she can be heard screaming as an officer grabs her hands. Eventually, one officer pulls out his badge as others appear and cover their faces. They then load Ozturk into an unmarked vehicle before driving off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For 24 hours, Ozturks location was unknown, including to her attorney. On Wednesday, her representation was informed that she was being held in Louisiana. The location reveal came more than 12 hours after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ordered that the government not remove Ozturk from Massachusetts for at least 48 hours after first providing the court with notice of its intent to relocate her. It is unclear exactly when Ozturk was removed from Massachusetts and whether the removal violated the court order, but her student visa has been revoked. She appears to be the latest in a string of international students targeted under President Trump via an obscure law that allows the secretary of State to deport those deemed to pose a danger to U.S. foreign policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These are deeply troubling incidents, the letter reads. The Administration should not summarily detain and deport legal residents of this country merely for expressing their political views. Absent compelling evidence justifying her detention and the revocation of her status, we call for Ozturks release and the restoration of her visa. In a series of questions, the lawmakers are also demanding an explanation about which agency conducted Ozturks arrest and why the agents kept their faces covered with no badges displayed as they approached her. Theyre also calling for the departments to explain the legal basis of the arrest, detainment and revoking of Ozturks visa. More broadly, the Democrats are seeking answers around whether the Department of Homeland Security or any agency is compiling a dossier of university students involved in Palestinian-related protests. The lawmakers have given the heads of the agencies until April 4 to provide answers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rubio has defended Ozturks detainment in public comments this week. If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why youre coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, were not going to give you a visa, Rubio said. I dont care what movement youre involved in, he added. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LHASA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A press conference was held Friday in Lhasa, capital city of China's Xizang Autonomous Region, for the release of a white paper on the progress of human rights in Xizang. The document, titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era," was released by the State Council Information Office. The event introduced the all-round progress and historic achievements of the human rights cause in Xizang in the new era. "Today is the Serfs' Emancipation Day. Sixty-six years ago, Xizang launched the democratic reform, and about one million serfs were emancipated from feudal serfdom, marking a landmark chapter in the history of both human civilization and the global progress of human rights," said Gama Cedain, chairman of the regional government of Xizang, at the press conference. Reflecting on the development of human rights in Xizang over the past six decades, especially since the 18th Communist Party of China National Congress in 2012, Gama Cedain said that the Party's leadership has provided a fundamental guarantee for lasting stability and high-quality development in the region. He noted that people of all ethnic groups in Xizang have made historic achievements in their rights to subsistence and development. Officials attending the press conference responded to domestic and foreign journalists' questions concerning topics such as Xizang's experience in human rights development and progress, and whole-process people's democracy. This year marks the 60th founding anniversary of Xizang Autonomous Region. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) The speaking engagement of Jared Taylor at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) sparked controversy across the Grand Valley, with two demonstrations taking place in response. We had Jared Taylor speaking on a microphone for at least 50 minutes about how we need to be racially segregated, said TikTok star Dean Withers. WesternSlopeNow was not able to attend the speech but was able to reactions from attendees as they left. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because as soon as I opened my mouth to express how I feel to counter how he felt, said Withers. Guess what, I was told if I opened my mouth again, Id be kicked out. So, Id ask this, not only about the university administration, but the sponsors of the WCC (Western Culture Club, who invited Taylor to CMU), tell me why. If you value free speech enough to let a white supremacist be platformed and speak at your school, how come I cant speak? Outside the University Center, two separate demonstrations were taking place, both in protest to the speaker. A march, organized by Mesa County Democratic Socialists of America, started at the corner of North Avenue and 12th Street and began its march just after 5 p.m. Media liaison of the group, Bishop Walden, provided several examples of Taylors statements that influenced her to stand against his ideals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has concerned me a lot to read the kinds of articles that are published in American Renaissance. Honestly, any public figure that rubs shoulders with neo-Nazis and known Klansmen, I believe, has no place on a college campus. Richard Crespin was a member of the march. Crespin shared some words about CMU President John Marshall and the universitys decision to allow Taylor to speak. If you have to have the university center packed and surrounded with police officers and snipers on the rooftops, that the content of the speech If you have to go to those greatest of security measures, then there is something inherently wrong with the content of the speech. The second demonstration on campus was organized by the Campus Unity Organization and Club. This demonstration was a university-sanctioned event. Vice President of the club Sam Hartley talked about why their demonstration needed to happen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What we wanted to do with this event is show what this community can be when everybody stands together. I think that was really important to provide for students so that they had a safe option to show what this community is really about. WesternSlopeNow will be reaching out to CMU President John Marshall for comment on the speechs aftermath. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Donald Trumps tariffs are jamming Democrats. Desperate to win back working-class voters, Democrats in the Rust Belt and beyond on Thursday were walking a fine line following the presidents announcement that he will impose an additional 25 percent tariff on imported cars and auto parts . Many are loath to criticize Trump's protectionist policies and risk the ire of their blue-collar base, even if they cast his deployment of tariffs as haphazard and warned they could spike prices. Tariffs are a tool, just like fire, said Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, adding that she is reserving judgement on topic. You can barbecue with it, or you can burn your house down, depending on how you use it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Democrats, thats the problem. While they are unified against much of Trumps agenda, his use of tariffs has fractured the left. The real-world impact is that some of our everyday goods like groceries will see a rise in cost because of these tariffs, said Michigan state Sen. Darrin Camilleri, who represents manufacturing-rich Downriver, a region of metropolitan Detroit. Those costs will go up because of tariffs." But, he added, it is strategically important that were fighting back against these big corporations that have been shipping our jobs to other places. The fault line in the party runs all the way through its possible 2028 presidential primary contenders. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has warned they are not a one size fits all solution, and should not punish our closest trading partners. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has called them a tax. And Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has said that a trade war could raise prices at the grocery store, gas pump and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But some so-called New Economic Patriots in the party, like Rep. Ro Khanna of California, support targeted tariffs as a way to bring manufacturing jobs back to America. While I oppose Trump's blanket and capricious tariffs on allies, I support his targeted tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos and his initiative to renegotiate NAFTA and the USMCA, Khanna told POLITICO. But targeted tariffs must be combined with government procurement policies and government financing for new factories and workforce development. We also must support collective bargaining, higher worker pay and workers getting some stock ownership in a modern age. Khannas position is not broadly shared by his colleagues. But even Hill Democrats who are largely opposed to Trumps moves insist they arent categorically opposed to tariffs. I would like to see a more comprehensive, thoughtful tariff policy that's strategic, rather than playing whac-a-mole and seeing you know who he can threaten one day to the next, Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio). Because what is happening now is not helping the American public and is making costs go up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Said Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.): Blanketed tariffs are a bad thing. If they're strategic, then we have to be able to utilize them. On Thursday, some on the left pushed out new Democratic polling in an effort to paint Trumps move as unpopular. A Navigator poll of 1,000 registered voters showed 53 percent had a negative view of tariffs, with 30 percent in favor and 17 percent undecided. The poll, which was conducted from March 13-17 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent, took place before Trump announced the auto tariffs. That polling is not out of line with public surveys. A number of polls from March showed that the public is generally skeptical of tariffs. In a CNN poll from earlier this month , 61 percent of voters did not approve of Trumps tariffs. As they absorbed the fallout from Trumps announcement, which will likely drive up domestic car prices, some Democrats on Thursday hammered on the expected costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I don't think we're seeing any of the tariffs that Trump has proposed to be good for our economy, for everyday working people, I think it's going to come back and bite us in our ass, and we're seeing that when you look at the economy, when you look at the stock market, said Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio. We know that the tariffs are not good for hard working American people. Across the border from Ohio, in Michigan, Sarah Anthony, a Democratic state senator who is mulling a run for higher office, piled on, suggesting tariffs would hurt not just Michigans auto industry, but also ripple through other parts of the economy. Supply chains are going to be impacted, she said. I feel as though the Trump administration never thinks about the short- and long-term impacts. They just think about the next press hit, the next thing that makes them look like a renegade. But Democrats have reason to be cautious, especially after Trump made inroads with blue-collar workers in battleground states in the upper Midwest. Shawn Fain, the United Auto Workers president who called Trump a scab during last years presidential campaign, came out in support of the tariffs, praising Trump for stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working class communities for decades . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's clearly something that Democrats are tracking. On Thursday, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), whose district includes Rochester, criticized the administrations deployment of tariffs, saying, There's no theory, there's no plan, there's no strategy. But he didnt discount the idea of tariffs entirely. He said, I think sometimes tariffs are appropriate, but it's on a case by case basis, and it certainly I would do typically as a last resort. Or as Sykes put it, We have to make sure that auto production is not disrupted and American workers aren't disrupted. So what I'm asking from the tariffs and the executive and his plan is to make sure that it's strategic and that we continue to focus on domestic manufacturing and do everything we can to lower costs. Andrew Howard contributed to this report. The Danish government has allocated DKK 300 million (nearly 40 million) to an innovation fund aimed at supporting Ukraine's urgent need for rapid technological advancements on the battlefield. Source: Denmark's Ministry of Defence in a statement, as reported by European Pravda Details: Earlier, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen had held consultations with the Foreign Affairs Committee, which backed the allocation of DKK 300 million to the Ukraine innovation fund. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The innovation fund will prioritise technology areas such as electronic warfare and drones, where rapid advancements and new solutions have a significant impact on the battlefield. "There is no doubt that Ukraine has a great need to withstand the enormous pressure it is experiencing on the front line from Russian troops. Developing new technological solutions on the battlefield is one of the ways through which Ukrainians can counterbalance Russian superiority, and the funds from the Innovation Pool will help to do so. It's essential that we continue supporting Ukraine so they can continue their fight for freedom," said Lund Poulsen. Given Russias significant advantage in materiel and personnel since the war began, Ukraine has had to develop new technologies while also relying on foreign expertise, funding and cooperation. Copenhagen has been a key military donor to Ukraine, with its support model contributing to the strengthening of Ukraine's defence production capacity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's been extremely inspiring to see how Ukraine has managed to establish an impressive arms production in a very short time. I've visited arms manufacturers in Ukraine myself and I think we can learn a lot from the efficiency that the Ukrainians have achieved over the three years of war," he stressed. "Now, we are taking our cooperation with the Innovation Pool a step further, and I look forward to exploring how we can strengthen Ukraines fight for freedom in a new way, with this process unfolding in Denmark to a greater extent and in collaboration with the Armed Forces," Poulsen added. Background: In February, Denmark, which committed to assisting in the recovery of Ukraine's Mykolaiv Oblast, allocated a fresh 26 million package of support for the region. Recently, the coalition of drones for Ukraine, which also includes Denmark, allocated 20 million from a joint fund to purchase tactical-level intelligence surveillance drones (ISR) for the Ukrainian defence forces. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) Dennis Glozer, 70, passed away vacationing in Florida with his family on Saturday, March 22, 2025. He was born April 19, 1954 in Youngstown, Ohio to George and Mary (Strojny) Glozer. Find obituaries from your high school Dennis was a dedicated employee of Lafarge for 42 years, serving as a heavy equipment operator. He spent his life serving others, known for his kindness and willingness to help anyone who needed it. Dennis was dedicated to his family and spent his retirement enjoying his grandchildrens sporting events and spending time with them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was a long standing member of the Youngstown Shrine Club. Dennis is survived by his wife of 50 years, Connie (Schmidt); daughters, Amanda (Nick) Hauch and Jessica (Ryan) Seydlorsky; his beloved grandchildren, Braiden, Gavin, Riley and Chase; a sister, Sandra (Paul) Ritter and sister-in-law, Phyllis (George) Glozer. He also leaves many in-laws, nieces, nephews and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, George. Friends and family may also call Friday, March 28, 2025 at Vaschak-Kirila Funeral Home from 4:00 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 11:00 a.m., with a calling hour prior, at St. Christine Catholic Church. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denniss kindness and willingness to lend a hand will live on in the hearts of all who knew him. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dennis Glozer, please visit our floral store. A television tribute will air Sunday, March 30 at the following approximate times: 6:27 p.m. on WYTV and 6:58 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ELLENBORO, N.C. (WSPA) The Rutherford County Sheriffs Office reported that they are investigating an incident involving a shooter in Rutherford County. Officers were called to Hollis Road in Ellenboro regarding a shooter in the area targeting cars. Upon arrival, deputies commanded for the suspect to drop their weapon. The suspect refused to comply and allegedly shot at the officers. Deputies returned fire and hit the suspect. The suspect was transported to a local trauma center for treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies say that the scene is contained and that no officers were harmed. At this time, the identities of the deputy and suspect are not released. 7NEWS will continue to follow this story as more information is revealed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ALBANY Albany City Manager Terrell Jacobs announced Thursday that Derrick Brown will become the citys new assistant city manager for utility administration. The position opened at the end of January when former Assistant City Manager Yvette Fields retired from the role. Brown brings a wealth of knowledge to the position, city officials said in a news release. He has more than 32 years of manufacturing, accounting, business management, and leadership experience, having served in roles of increasing responsibility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Monroe Comprehensive High School graduate, Brown earned a bachelor of accounting degree from Albany State University and a master of manufacturing management degree from Kettering University, formerly known as GMI Engineering and Management Institute. In his most recent role as chief financial officer for the city of Albany, Brown and his team have successfully managed a budget of more than $318 million. For 14 consecutive years and counting, the finance team has earned the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association. The team also earned the coveted Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for Fiscal Year 2025 from the Government Finance Officers Association. Brown is also a Certified Retirement Plan Fiduciary, awarded by the Georgia Association of Public Plan Trustees. Having achieved this level of success in his previous roles, I have no doubt Mr. Brown will continue to excel and make significant contributions on behalf of the city of Albany as he leads Administrative Services, the Department of Community and Economic Development, Facilities Management, Fleet Management, the Recreation and Parks Department, Technology and Communications, the Public Information Office and the Business Development Office, Jacobs said. As the Florida Board of Governors convened on Florida A&M Universitys campus Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis made a special appearance that brought the boards meeting to an abrupt halt. From Floridas recent version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to post-tenure review and course revisions, DeSantis who received a standing ovation during both his entrance and exit capitalized on the moment to touch on hot topics that are affecting universities across the state. Weve done a lot of good stuff. Were in a great spot, but were never satisfied, DeSantis told the governing board members, university presidents and university trustees who sat in front of him in FAMU's Grand Ballroom. His appearance also came less than an hour after Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez stopped by during the meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before the quick stop Wednesday, one of the last times DeSantis visited FAMUs campus was in 2020 for a closeup look at the university's Center for Access and Student Success building during its construction. Other news: Florida A&M University extends search for new president, campus visits delayed DeSantiss 10-minute-long speech included praises to the Board of Governors and boards of trustees for their time commitment and service to the universities. At the same time, he recognized how they can only do so much sitting in these positions and brought up the states DOGE efforts. In February, he established a Florida version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which follows the federal governments steps to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. Over a one-year term, the state is expected to attempt to sunset 70 state boards and commissions, cut 900 positions, require universities to undergo independent reviews and audits and look into local government expenditures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think were gonna find a lot of successes and room for improvement, but we want to be able to do that in the universities as well, and I know a lot of universities are welcoming this," DeSantis said, regarding DOGE. Theres also certain state policies that have been implemented, such as the abolition of DEI, which I know on a superficial level the universities went and complied with. But as we've seen ... there is some sense in some quarters that the law in the state of Florida is just not obligatory. That's not gonna fly here. The Florida Board of Governors is visited by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as Florida A&M University hosts the board's meetings in its Grand Ball Room on March 26, 2025. In the past couple of years, DEI has long been a particular target of DeSantis and a critical concern in Florida as activities related to it have been dismantled from colleges and universities across the state, which led to several protests on the campuses. More recently, U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-DEI efforts came through a flurry of executive orders since January, including Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We want to make sure we're implementing policies that are spoken by the people of the state of Florida through their elected officials and in most instances signed by me as governor, DeSantis said. Other highlights from DeSantiss speech included his recognition of the state being the first in the country to take post-tenure review measures after he signed a law in 2023 that requires tenured faculty in Floridas public universities to go through a comprehensive post-tenure review process every five years. Related news: As Florida Board of Governors restricts tenure, survey says faculty are looking elsewhere He also expressed his pride in the universities for upholding standards of conduct during campus protests and for taking a deeper look into course offerings, which became part of the Board of Governors new annual process of reviewing general education requirements and trickles down to anti-DEI efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "For us, we really want to focus on what the classical mission of a university should be, DeSantis said. Please, continue on that mission. Also, with the annual 60-day legislative session going on in the Capitol, DeSantis took time to express that hes happy to support the universities with their budget requests as their stakeholders continue speaking with lawmakers about the institutions needs. Thank you for what youre doing, and keep up the great work, he said. Tarah Jean covers higher education for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Florida Network. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Gov. DeSantis talks up DOGE, lambastes DEI in higher education The EU is getting further from its goal of weaning off Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Imports of Russian gas rose by 18 percent last year, a new analysis finds. It is a scandal that the EU is still importing Russian gas, said Pawel Czyzak, an analyst at energy think tank Ember and lead author of the new report. The spike in imports comes despite the fact that demand for gas stayed flat, according to the report. While the EU is aiming to disentangle itself from Russia, it still lacks a legally binding target or a plan to wean off fossil fuel imports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Italy, Czechia, and France drove the uptick in shipments of cheap Russian gas, which were made possible by the use of shadow vessels registered in nations without sanctions, and the whitewashing of gas imports Russian gas shipped via Belgium to Germany, for instance, is labeled as Belgian gas. Last year, the EU imported 21.9 billion euros of Russian fossil fuels, a figure surpassing the 18.7 billion in financial aid it provided to Ukraine. The continued purchase of Russian gas cannot be allowed to happen, Czyzak said, as financing Russias war is a direct threat to the blocs security. A prior analysis from Ember found that Europe could have weaned off Russian gas already, largely by speeding the buildout of clean energy. The EU needs to stop dragging its feet and act immediately to implement legally binding measures not empty promises to set a clear timeline for ending Russian gas imports, said Isaac Levi of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Reliance on Russian gas exposes Europeans to price volatility, energy blackmail, and undermines support for its allies in Ukraine. ALSO ON YALE E360 Ukraine Rewilding: Will Nature Be Allowed to Revive When War Ends? Attorneys for the Tufts PhD student detained by ICE earlier this week have filed a new complaint in federal court in Boston. Rumeysa Ozturks attorneys want her released and want the court to assume jurisdiction over this matter. Their complaint, aimed at President Donald Trump and top officials with the Department of Homeland Security, argues that Ozturk has not been charged with any crime. They are asking that DHS return Ozturk to Massachusetts, restore her student visa, and vacate and set aside DHSs unlawful policy of removal based on protected speech advocating for Palestinian rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ozturk was detained near her off-campus home in Somerville on Tuesday and was rushed away to Louisiana. In the new complaint, her attorneys said the arrest and detention were designed to punish her speech and chill the speech of others. They go on to say Ozturks detention part of a concerted and systemic effort by Trump administration officials to punish students and others who have identified with pro-Palestine activism. Attorneys for Ozturk call her continued detention unlawful because it violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and 27 other democratic members of Congress are also calling on DHS to release Ozturk and restore her visa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are questioning ICEs policy that led to her arrest. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the overwhelming majority of student visas will not be revoked if the people coming to study are not involved or aligned with organizations that seek to do damage in this country. I just think its crazy to continue to provide visas so people can come here and advocate for policies that are in direct contradiction of our national interests, Rubio said. On Wednesday, a judge granted the request of Ozturks attorney that she not be moved out of state. But Assistant US Attorney Mark Sauter said Ozturk was already out of Massachusetts by the time that petition had been filed and granted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The US Attorneys office is expected to respond to the petition. They said they would set forth the timeline for Ozturks arrest and transfer from Massachusetts in further detail once they respond to the petition the judge granted. It also appears that attorneys for the ACLU have joined the case to represent Ozturk. Ozturk is expected to appear in front of a judge at the South Louisiana Correctional Center on Monday, April 7. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW TEHRAN, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Thursday strongly condemned a deadly terrorist bomb attack targeting a police vehicle in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province. In a statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denounced the attack, which occurred in the provincial capital of Quetta. The blast, caused by an improvised explosive device, struck a police patrol vehicle in a busy market area, killing at least two people and injuring 21 others, including several police officers. Reaffirming Iran's firm stance against terrorism and violent extremism, Baghaei called for enhanced regional and international cooperation to combat terrorism and bring those responsible to justice. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. DHS: Alabama student Alireza Doroudi posed significant national security concerns prior to ICE detainment BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) An Iranian student at the University of Alabama was detained and put in jail by immigration officers after it was considered that he allegedly represented significant national security concerns, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In its first statement since the arrest of Alireza Doroudi, a 32-year-old doctoral student studying mechanical engineering at UA, a representative from the department has shed some light on its decision for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pick him up outside his home in Tuscaloosa Tuesday morning. ICE HSI made this arrest in accordance with the State Departments revocation of Doroudis student visa, the department told CBS 42 in a written statement. This individual posed significant national security concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The story first broke Wednesday afternoon, when The Crimson White, the universitys student newspaper, reported on Doroudis detaintment by ICE. In the report, CW Editor-in Chief Maven Navvaro wrote about a student text chain alleging that Doroudi, who is originally from Iran, had been living in the country on a revoked student visa, but that he had been assured by university officials that he would be fine. After receiving the revocation notice, Alireza immediately contacted ISSS (International Student and Scholar Services) at the University of Alabama, the message stated. ISSS replied with confidence, stating that his case was not unusual or problematic and that he could remain in the U.S. legally as long as he maintained his student status. On Thursday afternoon, an employee at the Pickens County Sheriffs Department confirmed that Doroudi was being held at its jail until ICE officers pick him up and take him to an as-yet-to-be determined location. The source said Doroudi had been at the jail since Tuesday night. Outside of saying that Doroudi posed significant national security concerns, DHS has not specified what he had allegedly done or what he was charged with. The only run-in Doroudi has had with the law was a speeding and reckless driving ticket he received in November 2023, a few months after first arriving in America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doroudis detainment comes amid a nationwide crackdown on immigration by ICE, leading to some controversy over the justifications by the department. No other information has 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 CBS 42. It turns out there are consequences for mistakenly leaking information about sensitive government operations to journalists. A longtime Department of Homeland Security employee was placed on administrative leave after accidentally sending unclassified details of an immigration operation to a journalist in late January, according to current and former DHS officials who spoke to NBC News. The staffer was also reportedly told last week that the agency plans to revoke her security clearance. The DHS employee, who declined to speak to NBC, told colleagues that she mistakenly added a reporter from a conservative media outlet to an email thread detailing information about a forthcoming Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Denver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DHS officials said the information in the email was not classified but considered law enforcement sensitive because it included details about when the operation was going to take place and possible locations of targets. When the employee realized her mistake, she called the reporter, who agreed not to disclose the information, officials said. The ICE operation was carried out without a hitch. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Tom Homan are seen outside the White House in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2025. / REUTERS But it was too late. Another person on the email thread flagged the error to DHS leadership just as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was making employees take lie detector tests to weed out leakers. Border czar Tom Homan earlier blamed media leaks for fewer-than-expected arrests in an operation targeting the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The DHS employee was placed on leave pending an investigation and asked to take a polygraph test, officials said. She was reportedly notified that the agency intended to revoke her security clearance, which could lock her out of future homeland security jobs. She has 30 days to appeal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a far cry from the Trump administrations response to a massive intelligence leak involving top national security officials who were discussing a military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen without knowing that The Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg got inadvertently added to the group chat. None of the officials in the group chatincluding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Vice President JD Vancehave faced repercussions over the leak. President Donald Trump has assigned Waltz to probe his own mistake of adding Goldberg to the group chat. Former ICE chief of staff Jason Houser told NBC that the DHS employee was known for being mission-focused and apolitical. He called it a staggering hypocrisy that national security officials did not face the same consequences. Targeting a career official who dedicated her service to protecting public safety and enforcing the law while excusing political appointees who leaked sensitive war plans shows this administration punishes integrity and protects recklessness, he said. This isnt just a double standardits reckless and dangerous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mary McCord, a national security analyst who used to work in the Justice Department, told NBC that the DHS and group chat incidents should be handled the same way. Both of these are examples of carelessness in the handling of highly sensitive information, the disclosure of which could put U.S. government employees or military members in danger, she said. The Daily Beast has reached out to DHS and the White House for comment. A Department of Homeland Security staffer who invertedly added a journalist to an email thread about an impending operation was placed on leave, sources say. Former ICE Chief of Staff Jason Houser told NBC Newsthat the longtime federal employee, whose identity remains anonymous, told colleagues she mistakenly included the reporter in a message about unclassified plans regarding an upcoming Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Denver in late January. A former and a current DHS official, who both spoke on the condition of anonymity, also confirmed the story to the network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recipient, a reporter at a conservative Washington-based publication, agreed not to disclose the information, the sources said. While the information was not classified, officials specified the sensitive nature of the email because it included the time of the operation and the location of targets. The DHS staffer was placed on administrative leave, according to the report. This is in contrast to White House National Security adviser Mike Waltz who has so far not faced major repercussions for adding The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group where top officials discussed impending strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen earlier this month. Mike Waltz has declared himself accountable for the Signalgate security breach after reports erupted this week (Saul Loeb) The agency is also planning to revoke her security clearance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After being placed on leave, the employee was asked to take a polygraph test and hand in her cell phone, which she declined, sources say. One person familiar with the matter said the DHS employee had 30 days to appeal the decision. A senior DHS spokesperson confirmed that the employee was placed on administrative leave and told The Independent that it did so to ensure officer safety, citing an alleged uptick in violence against ICE personnel. If a DHS employee gives unauthorized information on an ICE operation as our officers face a 320 percent increase in violence against them, we will take appropriate personnel action to keep our officers safe, they said. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has rushed to support Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethwho Golberg revealed in his explosive report Monday sent the highly sensitive attack plans in the Signal chatand dismissed the incident as a witch hunt. The Department of Homeland Security staffer allegedly has 30 days to appeal the decision (AFP/Getty) The White House denied that any classified information was sent in the Signal group, prompting Goldberg to release the full chat, detailing specific timelines of the strikes, hours before they occurred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and his allies have repeatedly attempted to smear the The Atlantic editor before the president attempted to distance himself from Signalgate claiming: I wasnt involved in it. I wasnt there. Houser, the former ICE chief of staff, claimed that the Trump administration punishes integrity and protects recklessness. That doesnt just betray her, it weakens every public servant who risks their career to do the right thing, he added. Experts say the DHS staffers case raises questions about the unequal punishment for inadvertent leakers of government information. Mary McCord, a former top official in the Justice Departments national security division, told NBC News that the Signal security breach should be treated as seriously as the ICE operation email lapse. Both of these are examples of carelessness in the handling of highly sensitive information, the disclosure of which could put U.S. government employees or military members in danger, she said. We should expect the Signal chat breach to be taken at least as seriously as the DHS employee's breach. CLINTWOOD, Va. (WJHL) Dickenson County officials have declared an emergency and issued a burn ban due to dry conditions. On Thursday, County Administrator Larry Barton signed a declaration of emergency banning open-air burning until further notice. Applebees donates all-terrain wheelchair to disabled veteran According to the declaration, the Virginia Department of Forestry was consulted and recommended the ban. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ban applies to burning on public and private property until the declaration of emergency is rescinded. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. Sign up for CNNs Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Its alive! ITS ALIVE! In the 1931 movie Frankenstein, Dr. Henry Frankenstein howling his triumph was an electrifying moment in more ways than one. As massive bolts of lightning and energy crackled, Frankensteins monster stirred on a laboratory table, its corpse brought to life by the power of electricity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Electrical energy may also have sparked the beginnings of life on Earth billions of years ago, though with a bit less scenery-chewing than that classic film scene. Earth is around 4.5 billion years old, and the oldest direct fossil evidence of ancient life stromatolites, or microscopic organisms preserved in layers known as microbial mats is about 3.5 billion years old. However, some scientists suspect life originated even earlier, emerging from accumulated organic molecules in primitive bodies of water, a mixture sometimes referred to as primordial soup. But where did that organic material come from in the first place? Researchers decades ago proposed that lightning caused chemical reactions in ancient Earths oceans and spontaneously produced the organic molecules. Now, new research published March 14 in the journal Science Advances suggests that fizzes of barely visible microlightning, generated between charged droplets of water mist, could have been potent enough to cook up amino acids from inorganic material. Amino acids organic molecules that combine to form proteins are lifes most basic building blocks and would have been the first step toward the evolution of life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its recognized that an energetic catalyst was almost certainly required to facilitate some of the reactions on early Earth that led to the origin of life, said astrobiologist and geobiologist Dr. Amy J. Williams, an associate professor in the department of geosciences at the University of Florida. For animo acids to form, they need nitrogen atoms that can bond with carbon. Freeing up atoms from nitrogen gas requires severing powerful molecular bonds and takes an enormous amount of energy, according to Williams, who was not involved in the research. Lightning, or in this case, microlightning, has the energy to break molecular bonds and therefore facilitate the generation of new molecules that are critical to the origin of life on Earth, Williams told CNN in an email. Mist and microlightning To recreate a scenario that may have produced Earths first organic molecules, researchers built upon experiments from 1953 when American chemists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey concocted a gas mixture mimicking the atmosphere of ancient Earth. Miller and Urey combined ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2) and water, enclosed their atmosphere inside a glass sphere and jolted it with electricity, producing simple amino acids containing carbon and nitrogen. The Miller-Urey experiment, as it is now known, supported the scientific theory of abiogenesis: that life could emerge from nonliving molecules. For the new study, scientists revisited the 1953 experiments but directed their attention toward electrical activity on a smaller scale, said senior study author Dr. Richard Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Natural Science and professor of chemistry at Stanford University in California. Zare and his colleagues looked at electricity exchange between charged water droplets measuring between 1 micron and 20 microns in diameter. (The width of a human hair is 100 microns.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The big droplets are positively charged. The little droplets are negatively charged, Zare told CNN. When droplets that have opposite charges are close together, electrons can jump from the negatively charged droplet to the positively charged droplet. American chemist Stanley Miller, using original laboratory equipment, recreates the Miller-Urey experiment, which supported the scientific theory that life could emerge from nonliving molecules. - Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis/Getty Images The researchers mixed ammonia, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen in a glass bulb, then sprayed the gases with water mist, using a high-speed camera to capture faint flashes of microlightning in the vapor. When they examined the bulbs contents, they found organic molecules with carbon-nitrogen bonds. These included the amino acid glycine and uracil, a nucleotide base in RNA. We discovered no new chemistry; we have actually reproduced all the chemistry that Miller and Urey did in 1953, Zare said. Nor did the team discover new physics, he added the experiments were based on known principles of electrostatics. What we have done, for the first time, is we have seen that little droplets, when theyre formed from water, actually emit light and get this spark, Zare said. Thats new. And that spark causes all types of chemical transformations. Water and life Lightning was likely too infrequent to produce amino acids in quantities sufficient for life, researchers say. - Mariana Suarez/AFP/Getty Images Lightning is a dramatic display of electrical power, but it is also sporadic and unpredictable. Even on a volatile Earth billions of years ago, lightning may have been too infrequent to produce amino acids in quantities sufficient for life a fact that has cast doubt on such theories in the past, Zare said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Water spray, however, would have been more common than lightning. A more likely scenario is that mist-generated microlightning constantly zapped amino acids into existence from pools and puddles, where the molecules could accumulate and form more complex molecules, eventually leading to the evolution of life. Microdischarges between obviously charged water microdroplets make all the organic molecules observed previously in the Miller-Urey experiment, Zare said. We propose that this is a new mechanism for the prebiotic synthesis of molecules that constitute the building blocks of life. However, even with the new findings about microlightning, questions remain about lifes origins, he added. While some scientists support the notion of electrically charged beginnings for lifes earliest building blocks, an alternative abiogenesis hypothesis proposes that Earths first amino acids were cooked up around hydrothermal vents on the seafloor, produced by a combination of seawater, hydrogen-rich fluids and extreme pressure. Yet another hypothesis suggests that organic molecules didnt originate on Earth at all. Rather, they formed in space and were carried here by comets or fragments of asteroids, a process known as panspermia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We still dont know the answer to this question, Zare said. But I think were closer to understanding something more about what could have happened. Though the details of lifes origins on Earth may never be fully explained, this study provides another avenue for the formation of molecules crucial to the origin of life, Williams said. Water is a ubiquitous aspect of our world, giving rise to the moniker Blue Marble to describe the Earth from space. Perhaps the falling of water, the most crucial element that sustains us, also played a greater role in the origin of life on Earth than we previously recognized. Mindy Weisberger is a science writer and media producer whose work has appeared in Live Science, Scientific American and How It Works magazine. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Sean Diddy Combs is facing yet another lawsuit containing shocking accusations, this time from a photographer who says the rap mogul forced him to perform oral sex and other acts by threatening his career. The plaintiff, listed anonymously as a John Doe, says he was first approached by Combs while he was working on a commercial filmed in 2022 or 2023, Combs was on set, the lawsuit says, for unknown reasons, and he approached the plaintiff to meet in his trailer for was was presented as an opportunity for plaintiff to advance his career. However, the suit alleges, as soon as Doe entered the trailer, Combs forcibly undressed him and promised career advancement in exchange for Doe performing oral sex. The implication was clear, also, that if plaintiff did not perform oral sex on Combs to his satisfaction, his career would be over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plaintiff says he performed the act, and the filing includes other extremely graphic details about the encounter; he says he never heard from Combs again. The lawsuit demands a jury trial and accuses combs of Sexual Battery and seeks compensatory damages, special damages, punitive damages, court costs, and any further relief the court should deem appropriate. Through his attorneys, Combs denied the allegations. No matter how many lawsuits are filedespecially by individuals who refuse to put their own names behind their claimsit wont change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyoneman or woman, adult or minor. We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason. Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth, and Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail in court, his lawyers said in a statement. The lawsuit comes just days after a judge allowed a separate, $30 million sexual assault lawsuit against Combs to proceed, with some aspects of the lawsuit dismissed. Should combs prevail in that case or the latest one, Che still faces numerous criminal charges and several other lawsuits and is currently being held in jail awaiting trial in New York. The post Diddy Accused of Forcing Photographer to Perform Oral Sex in New Sexual Battery Lawsuit appeared first on TheWrap. (FOX40.COM) The Behavioral Health Bridge Housing Program in Modesto held a grand opening for the Dignity Village, a housing solution for people experiencing behavioral health challenges. Video Above: How much does California spend to combat homelessness? The interim housing program provides services and support to address homelessness among those with behavioral health conditions. The California Department of Health Care Services funded the $3,403,613 project through a grant awarded to the county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Valley Community Foundation grants money to Rebuild Paradise Foundation The 43-unit interim village is at the corner of 9th and E Street and is strategically near existing homeless services for those in need, according to officials. The housing complex includes toilets, showers, dining facilities, laundry facilities, offices, a dog run and social areas. It also has three units with accommodations for those with accessibility needs. Officials said the goal is to create a pathway to stable and permanent housing by eliminating barriers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The parent of a 3-year-old girl police said died from stab wounds inflicted by her babysitter called 911 Wednesday for over 17 minutes, during several frenetic, heart-wrenching phone calls, audio first obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators reveals. My baby isnt breathing anymore, the parent screamed and cried to the dispatcher. A crazy girl cut my baby up. On Thursday, the victims mother identified her daughter as Journei Ross. The child died Wednesday after she was stabbed several times in the torso, legs, and neck, allegedly by a woman who was first identified as her babysitter, Marketta Phillips. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Phillips made her first court appearance Thursday morning. Las Vegas woman accused of stabbing, killing 3-year-old wrote message on wall in blood: police What the f, the parent asked, through tears, rhetorically. And this girl just walked out the f house from cutting my baby up. Seemingly speaking to the person she blamed for the murder, the parent said: My child is f three years old. The f is you doing? The parent continued speaking to the dispatcher: My baby is not breathing. My baby just bled all over the (expletive) bed. And to a third party, the parent could be heard saying, You get back here, and screaming, What the fk? What you do? No! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an arrest report released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Ross described Phillips as both his roommate and his on-and-off girlfriend. He told police he left Journei in the care of Phillips when he went to work at 6 p.m. on March 25. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Bangladeshi interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao) BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Bangladeshi interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in Beijing on Friday. Noting that the peoples of the two countries have a long-standing history of friendly exchanges, Xi said the two sides have always supported each other and treated each other as equals for win-win cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic ties. China maintains a high degree of stability and continuity in its good neighbor and friendly policy toward Bangladesh, and continues to be a trustworthy neighbor, friend and partner of Bangladesh, Xi added. This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Bangladesh diplomatic ties, and 2025 is also the year of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, Xi said, while expressing the willingness to work with Bangladesh to push China-Bangladesh cooperation to a new level and bring more benefits to the two peoples. Stressing that China and Bangladesh should continue to deepen political mutual trust and firmly support each other on issues concerning respective core interests and major concerns, Xi said China supports Bangladesh in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and exploring a development path suited to its national conditions. China will further deepen reform comprehensively and expand high-standard opening up, which will bring new opportunities for the development of Bangladesh and other countries in the world, he noted. He called on the two sides to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, expand cooperation in the digital economy, green economy, marine economy, infrastructure, water conservancy and other fields, enhance people-to-people exchanges and strengthen mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. China advocates an equal and orderly multipolar world and an inclusive economic globalization that benefits all, and is willing to strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation with Bangladesh to promote development through solidarity among countries of the Global South and build a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi said. Yunus noted that China is a reliable partner and friend of Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi side firmly adheres to the one-China principle and opposes "Taiwan independence," he said. Bangladesh is willing to take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to promote the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, said Yunus, urging both sides to enhance Belt and Road cooperation. The Bangladeshi side welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in the country and help with its economic transformation, Yunus said. He lauded the three major global initiatives proposed by Xi and said that Bangladesh is willing to strengthen coordination with China to embrace opportunities and tackle challenges together, and jointly safeguard world peace, stability, development and prosperity. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Bangladeshi interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao) Sunrise over the Appalachian Mountains. (Stock photo from Getty Images.) This commentary originally appeared in The Athens Messenger. By Victoria LaPoe, Ph.D., Ohio University Professor, E. W. Scripps School of Journalism Recently I began typing, Whereas, DEI is Appalachia and rural Ohio for a resolution. How did I know this? Well, my storytelling can be long-winded, but Ill sum it up quickly for digital attention spans. First Lesson: Quiet, Humble, Hardworking Appalachian In 2009, I met a quiet, humble Ph.D. student at Louisiana State Universitys Manship School of Mass Communication. He was sandy-haired, reserved, and from Core, West Virginia deep in the heart of Appalachia. He was shy, humble, and quiet; when he spoke, I listened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The day before I started my Ph.D. program, I was still working at an ABC television station, surrounded by outspoken quick storytelling personalities. Yet, this quiet soon-to-be scholar could hold his own when discussing gender issues. I was in my 30s, I felt well-versed in theory and research, and here was this guy who could match me in conversations about womens issues. I thought, Who is he? He had graduated from West Virginia University. He later told me when I began my program, he could see I had my guard up, a necessary skill honed from years as a producer in television news. If I hadnt, I would have been run over by anchors who had been there since my childhood. But as time passed, he started talking to me more about our shared research interests. I started trusting him. Later, we got married. Grew up in a Trailer Park, Hunted to Survive, and Limited Medical Care Through Ben, I learned about Appalachia. During our first winter together, I visited the mountain trailer park where he grew up. There was no cell service, but my Boston Terriers were thrilled, finally having space to run free. I can still picture Bruno, the more bulldog-like of the two, cheeks flapping as he chased after a deer downhill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inside the trailer where Ben grew up, I found myself hesitant to use the bathroom under the gaze of a mounted deer head. I learned deer werent just eyeballs to frighten me but a necessity a crucial food source for many families in Appalachia. Without it, there would have been nothing to eat. I learned he had collected cans as a kid for money. As far as medical care growing up, that meant butterfly bandages and dunking yourself in watered-down Clorox if you swam in something questionable. Instilled with Grit, Dedicated to Family, and Stood Tall When Hard Times Hit West Virginia was different to me as I wasnt from there and I loved my visits because it was something I had with Ben. The simplicity, the absence of pressure, the joy of eating pepperoni rolls, and being surrounded by nature offered a sense of peace from our Ph.D. program. And Ben had grit. I liked to think of him as a clutch. When things got tough, he could help get us through them. When we didnt have enough money for rent in the summer during our Ph.D. program, he took a yellow book (yes, when people used to use those) and said I wont be back until I have the rent money. When I was in a car accident because of the ice this winter, he put the pieces of my car back together himself in three days, while watching a five-year-old. He can fix anything. For example, a garage door piece needed replaced suddenly on his February birthday. It was single-digit temperatures, the wind whipped through the house because repair people couldnt show up due to the snow. Along with this, he can Tetris anything into the car or other spaces and when things are really against the wall, he remains calm and figures it out. I attribute that to his Appalachian character. Second Lesson: From LSU to Ohio U., Dr. Ralph Izard My second lesson in Appalachia came from Dr. Ralph Izard, former director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University; however, he was my professor at LSU. He founded the National Media Diversity Forum, and with a handshake, I promised to contribute to it forever. He taught me about the First Amendment, and I loved peeking into his office, where he would be eating his lunch whatever he had grabbed from the fridge, including, on one occasion, a raw turnip. Dr. Izard became my dissertation area head for diversity another West Virginian who broadened my understanding of interconnectedness, philosophy, and policy. He encouraged me to question how people were affected and to engage closely with communities when seeking answers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Diversity wasn't just a buzzword it was a commitment. While at LSU, the Manship School was the first recipient of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Equity & Diversity Award in 2009. Third Lesson: Ohio U. Students Who Have Walked the Bricks Since 2017 My third lesson in Appalachia has been taught at Ohio University since 2017, my fourth university. Until I arrived, I hadnt heard food insecurity used so frequently. Here, I saw firsthand how deeply poverty affects students and residents. When I read about Ohio Senate Bill 1 and its potential impact, I think of Dr. Izard, Ben, and my students. Ben has taught cross-cultural communication, advocacy, and issues of gender, race, and class. Dr. Izard taught about the First Amendment and the philosophies that shape these conversations. Both are white, male Appalachians who have positively impacted lives mine included. There are countless student letters to prove it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the resistance to diversity means that someone like me will never learn about Appalachia if these experiences never influenced my understanding of rural poverty, resilience, and identity then Ohio politicians are acting against the very people they profess to represent. Because of these diverse experiences with Appalachians, I am a better person, researcher, and professor. The funds that wont be allocated to scholarships will directly affect Appalachian students. The opportunities that will vanish due to decisions made by those unfamiliar with higher education will only reinforce stereotypes about gender, race, and class in Appalachia. In the end, it is Appalachian students who will suffer the most. At a time when the university adopted an interim policy to recruit (and I assume continue to maintain) those with disabilities and veteran status is essential to think who is impacted by DEI. As this interim policy adopted on Feb. 26, 2025 states: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In compliance with requirements as a federal contractor, Ohio university will make lawful efforts to recruit persons with disabilities, veterans, and Vietnam era veterans, for position openings. In accordance with federal law and Chapter 124 of the Revised Code it is the policy of the university to engage in recruitment practices that yield the best applicants for vacancies. This policy covers all faculty and staff positions at Ohio university. This policy also establishes an official diversity statement to be utilized as appropriate during recruitment activity: Ohio university is proud of its rich history and as part of our ongoing efforts to provide and support a transformative learning experience, we affirm our commitment to fostering a welcoming and respectful workforce and community. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration free from discrimination on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, military service or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, status as a parent or foster parent, or any other bases under the law. Ohio university is an equal access/equal opportunity employer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Diversity isnt a threat to Appalachia. It is Appalachia. The Importance of DEI in Healthcare and EducationLeanne Chrisman-Khawam, MD, MEd By Leanne Chrisman-Khawam, M.D., M.Ed., Family Physician and Assistant Professor Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine Cleveland Campus, Medical Director Doctors on the Street Recently, I started typing, Whereas, the healthcare sector relies on DEI initiatives to cultivate a workforce capable of addressing the needs of diverse populations, and the prohibition of such initiatives may worsen existing health disparities among the elderly, rural and urban underserved communities, racial minorities, veterans, individuals with disabilities, food-insecure families, and women, thereby reducing healthcare access and quality of care. How do I know this? Well, Ill sum it up as best as I can. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I grew up in a small town in Oregon. My dad was a seasonal entrepreneur who worked in construction mainly paving. My mom stayed at home. My school didnt offer many advanced courses, AP classes, or college credit programs. As a low-income white family, I benefited from DEI initiatives. A summer work program provided grants for employers to hire students like me. I worked with my family doctor, who introduced me to medicine. Without that experience, I might never have attended college, let alone medical school. Despite my good grades, becoming a doctor wasnt something my family considered possible. But here I am, 30+ years later having spoken nationally and internationally, trained hundreds of medical professionals, and recruited students like me to address the shortage of primary care physicians. Do I recruit them because they are DEI hires? No. They are bright, hardworking medical students. Do I prefer them because they remind me of myself? No. I prioritize them because research shows that when doctors share a background with their patients, health outcomes improve. Why representation in health care matters Building strong doctor-patient relationships leads to better care. Ive seen this firsthand with my husbands medical journey. He suffered a spinal cord injury ten years before we met, and three years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimers. His condition has led to complications pressure sores, infections, and worsening mobility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When people first meet him, they love his warm smile and long, flowing white hair. (Hes often mistaken for Robert DeNiro a compliment I take to heart!) But as soon as they see his confusion and inability to speak, they dismiss him. That is, until I share his story how he lovingly cared for his mother, was an amazing father and respected disability advocate, and always supported my career. Suddenly, hospital staff treats him with the dignity and respect he deserves. He is not alone in needing that dignity. Throughout our careers, we have worked to advocate for the forgotten the poor, the immigrant, the disabled, the rural worker, and the veteran struggling with PTSD. Together, we created Doctors on the Street (DOTS) a student- and resident-run program that provides medical care to individuals experiencing homelessness. These patients are often dismissed because of their appearance, yet they are people who have faced immense hardshipaccidents, job loss, mental illness, or economic downturns. Personal struggles and the bigger picture Now, at the end of my husbands life, I feel the weight of financial stress. His care is expensive, not covered by insurance, and I struggle to pay our bills. I may have to take out a mortgage to afford a new furnace and property taxes. I grew up in poverty, and I may return to it not because of poor choices, but because of circumstances beyond my control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our government was created to serve its people. This country was built by immigrants, farmers, and laborers seeking freedom of speech, of religion, of opportunity. My family came as those farmers and laborer and has fought to protect those freedoms in every American war since the Revolutionary War. This is why I'm deeply concerned about Ohio Senate Bill 1. It does not protect freedom of speech, it limits it. DEI programs have been falsely portrayed as only benefitting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals. In reality, diversity programs support everyone who lacks a voice veterans, rural white communities, disabled individuals, and those facing food and housing insecurity. Rather than focusing on what higher education shouldnt do, our government should focus on what it can do to help people. When we invest in inclusion, we all do better. I have seen it firsthand. We may not be able to fix everything, but we can each do something. That is far better than standing by and shouting at others about what not to do. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) The question of whether certain DNA evidence can be used in the upcoming trial of a Manhattan architect charged in a string of deaths known as the Gilgo Beach killings is the focus of court hearings that began Friday on Long Island. Lawyers for Rex Heuermann want DNA tests conducted by Astrea Forensics on hairs recovered from most of the seven victims in the case to be excluded from the trial, saying the California-based lab's method has never been accepted in a New York court of law. But an academic expert testifying in the pre-trial hearing in Riverhead court said the type of testing used, known as nuclear DNA, or whole genome sequencing, is widely accepted in the scientific community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Kelley Harris, a University of Washington professor of genome sciences, described Astrea Forensics' method as an elegant and powerful way to determine whether hair fragments pulled from a crime scene match those taken from suspects. Heuermanns attorney, Michael Brown, sought to temper Harris testimony, noting during his cross-examination that she had no background in the forensic science used in criminal cases. He also pressed Harris on her close ties to the co-founder of Astrea Forensics, Dr. Richard Green, who she has coauthored research papers with and considers a colleague. Shes the witness for hire, and she was suggested by Dr. Green to be a proponent of this magic, as we call it, Brown said after the daylong hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also took aim at Astrea Forensics' use of the publicly accessible 1,000 Genomes Project, which sequenced the DNA of some 2,500 people worldwide, as the reference pool for comparing hair samples in the case. Hopefully the point got across that it has no business being utilized in a criminal court, Brown said outside court. The 1,000 Genomes Project has been around for quite a while and its never been used in a forensic setting, and the reason they dont use it as a population reference is because its simply not enough people to compare it to. The proceedings continue next Wednesday when other experts are expected to testify before Judge Timothy Mazzei renders a decision. Heuermann, who was dressed in a dark suit, didn't speak during Friday's hearing. Asa Ellerup, who reached a divorce settlement with Heuermann on Thursday, was also in court, along with the couples daughter and the familys lawyer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No trial date has been set for the case, which spans decades of killings on Long Island. Heuermanns legal team also wants to break the case into multiple trials over concerns about the cumulative effect of the evidence presented by prosecutors. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierneys office has opposed that request. Mazzei is expected to rule on it soon. Prosecutors argued in legal briefs ahead of the hearing that whole genome sequencing has been accepted in peer-reviewed scientific journals and by federal regulators, paleontologists, virologists and medical communities. They say the findings by Astrea Forensics were also independently corroborated by another labs mitochondrial DNA testing -- a methodology long accepted by New York courts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since late 2010, police on Long Island have been investigating the deaths of at least 10 people mostly female sex workers whose remains were discovered along an isolated highway not far from Gilgo Beach. Heuermann, who lives in nearby Massapequa Park, was arrested in 2023 and charged in the deaths of three of the victims between 2009 and 2010: Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello and Megan Waterman. While in custody, he was subsequently charged in the deaths of four other women: Valerie Mack in 2000, Jessica Taylor in 2003, Maureen Brainard-Barnes in 2007 and Sandra Costilla in 1993. Heuermann has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to all counts. ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Popular genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy and is for sale. With a database of detailed DNA analyses on 15 million consumers, privacy experts are sounding the alarm about what could happen to this sensitive data. Leo Govoni locked out of his Pinellas County businesses as court seeks to recover $120 million Were talking about the saliva sample and the detailed genetic profile of the user derived from that sample. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is a privacy issue, and that is have I given my approval, my consent, to take a piece of my body, which is the swab that I gave, said Jay Wolfson, USF public health professor and attorney. Thats a piece of my body, to somebody to use for something other than the original intended purpose of providing me with some information about my background. California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a consumer warning and offered users instructions on how to delete genetic data from 23andMe and how to ask the company to delete test samples and prevent their data from being used in research. In an open letter to customers posted on the 23andMe website, the company said any buyer will be required to comply with applicable law concerning the treatment of customer data. A spokesperson from 23andMe responded to questions from Better Call Behnken and said there will be no change to how the company stores customers data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Privacy experts point out this data is not covered by federal HIPAA laws that protect patient privacy. Theres no federal system that is going to be able to guarantee the protection of those things, Wolfson said. Some state laws may but this is kind of new territory. The bankruptcy comes less than two years after 23andMe was hit by a data breach impacting 6.9 million customers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is taking out a series of ads in Wisconsin newspapers accusing Elon Musk of attempting to buy a state Supreme Court seat ahead of the election Tuesday. The ads, being released starting Friday ahead of a critical Wisconsin Supreme Court race that will determine the balance of power on the court, come as Musk has increasingly funneled money in the race to boost conservative Brad Schimel against liberal Susan Crawford. The race is officially nonpartisan but it is playing out as a partisan battle, with Republicans backing Schimel and Democrats backing Crawford. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DNC said in a release that it is blanketing more than a half dozen local Wisconsin newspapers to call out Musk, following its announcement that it plans to reach 2 million voters to rally support for Crawford. On April 1, Wisconsinites get the chance to say what Americans across this country are thinking: Go to hell, Elon, DNC Chair Ken Martin said in the release. Wisconsinites deserve a Supreme Court justice who looks out for them, not the ultra-wealthy. Now and forever, Wisconsin is not for sale. The DNCs announcement also comes after Musk announced late Thursday that he would travel to the Badger State ahead of the election to speak with voters and hand out two $1 million checks to people who have already voted in the election in appreciation for them taking the time to vote. The race is to succeed retiring state Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, one of the liberals in the courts 4-3 liberal majority. The winner of her seat will decide the majority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk and President Trump have endorsed Schimel, and Musks America PAC has spent millions of dollars supporting his candidacy. Meanwhile, numerous local and national Democratic groups are supporting Crawford. The ads will appear in the Chippewa Herald, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, Beloit Daily News, Daily Jefferson County Union, Janesville Gazette, Watertown Daily Times and Oshkosh Northwestern. The ad shows a picture of Musk making a gesture during a speech in January that some compared to the Nazi salute accusations Musk has rejected and a picture of Schimel. Americans dont want Elon Musk in the White House and they dont want him buying our elections, the DNC said in the release. 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. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The 6-year-old stepson of a Fort Bliss soldier, who was recently arrested for shooting and killing another man in February, witnessed the murder saying, Daddy shot the gun, and Daddy shot the guy, according to court documents obtained by KTSM. Fort Bliss soldier accused of killing another soldier Eric Lamarr Mathis, 24, was arrested on Monday, March 24, and charged with murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Edward Daquan Smith. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As we previously reported, Fort Bliss confirmed that both the suspect and the victim were soldiers at the Army post. Fort Bliss said Mathis is a specialist assigned to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, while Smith was a private assigned to the 1st Armored Division. According to court documents, shortly before midnight on Friday, Feb. 28, El Paso Police received an emergency call at the 2100 block of Setting Sun Drive in East El Paso. Multiple callers reported numerous shots fired. Upon arrival, officers located Smith unresponsive on the sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds. He was declared dead at the scene, according to court documents. According to court documents, shortly after that incident, El Paso Police received an additional call of another gunshot victim, later identified as Mathis, who had been dropped off at the El Paso Emergency Room in East El Paso. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators obtained witness statements, saying that a house party occurred at a short-term rental property on the 2100 block of Setting Sun Drive. Two witnesses said they were with Smith and another subject when they arrived at the party. They said they were in close proximity to where the incident occurred, according to court documents. According to court documents, the witnesses said Smith was confronted by Mathis and a co-defendant, whose identity is not properly identified in the documents, on the street in front of the party. The confrontation resulted in multiple shots being fired by Mathis, the co-defendant, and Smith. Witnesses observed Mathis and the subject fleeing the scene in a maroon car, according to court documents. According to court documents, one of the witnesses said Mathis and the co-defendant were the ones who shot Smith, saying that after the initial shots were fired and while Smith was on the ground, she observed the co-defendant standing over Smith and shooting him multiple times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators obtained video footage from the area, which captured the maroon car and another tan-colored car fleeing the scene, according to court documents. According to court documents, several projectiles and spent casings were collected from the scene. Based on witness statements, investigators were able to identify the driver of the tan-colored car and the driver of the maroon car that fled the scene. All parties involved were active-duty Army soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss, according to court documents. According to court documents, the driver and owner of the tan-colored car agreed to provide a statement to investigators and said he received a call from Mathis to pick him up from the rental property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that he and a female friend arrived at Setting Sun in the tan-colored car when they began to hear gunshots ring out. He added that they fled the scene and shortly thereafter, Mathis contacted him and arranged to meet at a gas station nearby, according to court documents. According to court documents, they met with Mathis, Mathis stepson, and the driver of the maroon car at the gas station. From there, the driver of the tan-colored car drove Mathis to the El Paso Emergency Room to be treated for an arm injury. The driver of the tan-colored car said he and the other driver later met at his own apartment and attempted to clean the interior and exterior of both vehicles. He also said there were firearms located inside his apartment, but denied that they were used in the shooting. He was then arrested on outstanding traffic warrants, according to court documents. According to court documents, during an inventory of his arrest, a receipt for an AR-15 rifle was located. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents, the driver of the maroon car agreed to provide a statement to investigators and said he was present when Smith and Mathis got into the altercation. He said he observed when the two began to fire weapons at each other. He also admitted to driving the maroon car with Mathis and Mathis stepson after the shooting. He said that they met with the tan-colored driver at a nearby gas station, and Mathis and his stepson moved to the other vehicle, according to court documents. According to court documents, a search warrant was obtained for the apartment, the tan-colored car, and the maroon car. The following items were collected as evidence: Apartment: AR-15 rifle with suspected blood, several 300 ammo rounds (consistent with casings that were located at the scene), and multiple items of clothing with suspected blood worn by involved parties. Tan-colored car: Photographs and suspected blood. Maroon car: A buttstock for an AR-15, AR-15 accessories, suspected blood, and two bullet fragments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, a forensic interview was conducted with the 6-year-old child witness. He said he saw Mathis with a big gun, shooting a gun, and saying, Daddy shot the gun and Daddy shot the guy, according to court documents. According to court documents, when Mathis was released from the hospital he agreed to meet with investigators. He said that he was shot while at the address of the incident and denied having any involvement other than getting shot. The chief medical examiner determined the manner of death for Smith to be a homicide. Smith had several gunshot wounds: two in the head, five on the torso area, and one on the left thigh, according to court documents. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A 46-year-old anesthesiologist charged with attempted second-degree murder of his wife made his first court appearance since his arrest in Hawaii earlier this week. The March 24 incident allegedly occurred at around 10 a.m. on a hiking trail in Oahu, according to multiple media reports. The victim, 36-year-old Arielle Konig, told Honolulu police, that her husband, Dr. Gerhardt Konig, suddenly attacked her, trying to push her off a hiking trail and striking her in the head with a rock several times, after she refused to take a picture with him, the Daily Beast reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witnesses to the assault reportedly called 911. Medical personnel who responded to the scene, according to Hawaii News Now, found the 36-year-old woman suffering injuries to her face and head and rushed her to the hospital in critical condition. Arielle and Gerhardt Konig seen in an undated photo . (Facebook) Dr. Gerhardt Konig, 46, seen in a mug shot after his arrest on March 22, 2025. (HPD) Arielle Konig, 36, seen in her profile photo from Linkedin. It is unknown if she remains in the hospital or has been released. Gerhardt was found near Pali Lookout and arrested after a six-hour manhunt and a brief foot pursuit, the Honolulu Police Department said in a news release. 2 sisters, an infant killed in violent wrong-way crash in Southern California The couple is said to live in Maui where Gerhardt worked at Maui Health as an independent contractor, though he has been suspended pending the investigation into the charges. Arielle, according to her LinkedIn profile, has a background in nuclear engineering. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several people who know the Konigs, both reportedly prominent in their community, told Hawaii News Now that they were stunned to learn of the violent incident. During the court appearance, prosecutors filed a document laying out their evidence against the anesthesiologist and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for March 31, CNN reported. His bail was set at $5 million. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. 28A new directive from the Trump administration, likely to face legal challenges, could change Ohio's rules for voting in elections. President Donald Trump this week signed a sweeping executive action to overhaul U.S. elections, including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and demanding that all ballots be received by Election Day, among other changes. Ohio's current voting rules went into effect in 2023 some critics have called it the strictest voting law in the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although several changes could be seen in the Buckeye State under the executive order, legal experts challenge its constitutionality. Executive power Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the executive order gives states better access to citizenship data. His office is still reviewing the order to see how it applies to his state. "I appreciate President Trump's decisive leadership to protect the integrity of our elections," he said. "Fortunately, I can say that a lot of this we already do in Ohio, but where there's an opportunity to do more we can certainly work with our state and federal lawmakers to address it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Common Cause Ohio director Catherine Turcer said Ohioans shouldn't expect the executive order to be implemented. The U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures the power to establish election rules. "This is an incredible power grab," Turcer said. "This is so clearly unconstitutional, it will be challenged." Turcer said that if implemented, however, the order could disenfranchise vulnerable groups of eligible voters and put a strain on election officials. Citizenship and voting Ohio has more than 8 million registered voters. Trump's executive order would update a federal voter registration form to require proof of citizenship, like a passport or military ID. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turcer said as written, this could spell the elimination of registering to vote online and the end to voter registration drives. Noncitizen voting, which is already illegal in Ohio, is exceedingly rare. Ohio's updated voting law required the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to add a "noncitizen" designation to state ID cards and licenses issued to immigrants, and LaRose's office emphasized this new feature in the training required of election workers ahead of the presidential election last year. Last year, six people one of whom was dead were indicted for allegedly voting in Ohio elections when they were not U.S. citizens, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. These six indictments were among 138 total allegations made by LaRose's office of people who were improperly voting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What I end up worrying about is that we're so focused on keeping people out, that truly eligible voters are not able to participate in our elections," Turcer said. Voting by mail Trump's order requires votes to be "cast and received" by Election Day and says federal funding should be conditional on state compliance with that deadline. Ohio, like several other states, accepts mail-in ballots after Election Day as long as they're postmarked by the day before the election, but ballots with these postmarks must be received no later than four days after the election. Democrat and oncologist Bryan Hambley, who is running for Ohio Secretary of State in 2026 with LaRose being term-limited, said this curtailing of the absentee voting timeline is harmful to groups who rely on mail-in voting to participate in elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This will overwhelmingly harm our overseas veterans, elderly folks, and those with mobility disabilities," he said in a statement issued following Trump's executive order. "Voting by mail is safe, and millions of Americans have voted by mail since the Civil War." Impact on voters The executive order from Trump comes as congressional Republicans mull over the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act. This legislation aims to also require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Voting rights advocacy groups say this order could create obstacles for citizens who want to lawfully vote, but the U.S. Constitution gives power to the state legislature to establish the manner of elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement League of Women Voters President Celina Stewart said the executive order would particularly create a burden for married women who adopt their partner's last name. Women under these circumstances would be unable to register to vote if the last name on their ID does not match their proof of citizenship, thus requiring them to provide additional documentation. "Let's keep it real: this order is not about protecting elections; it is about making it harder for voters particularly women voters to participate in them," Stewart said in a press release. Christine Corba, who is the president of the League's Dayton chapter, said her organization helps those who are eligible to vote to have the opportunity to cast their ballots. "When there are additional hurdles to being able to vote, that hurts democracy," she said. DOGE plans to shutter 47 Social Security Administration offices across the U.S., including Ohio, USA TODAY reports, following the Trump Administration's DOGE cost-cutting measures. The move by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will axe 47 Social Security offices in several states, including Ohio. The Associated Press reports at least 26 SSA locations that are expected to close this year. As DOGE plans to terminate hundreds of federal real estate leases, here's what to know about Social Security location closures in Ohio and other states. Social Security offices to shut down soon DOGE will close the Social Security office located at 30 N. Diamond St. in Mansfield on May 17, 2025, according to information from the General Services Administration obtained by the Associated Press. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 280,000 Ohioans (and 73 million Americans) benefit from Social Security support, but federal cuts have raised concerns among employees and recipients as DOGE plans to close more than a dozen federal Ohio offices this year. The Associated Press also reported that the Social Security office at 825 High St., in Hazard, Kentucky, is expected to close on April 24. Additional lease cancellations are found and updated weekly on the DOGE website. Columbus Social Security office named in DOGE lease terminations According to DOGE's wall of receipts, a Social Security Administration office in Columbus was also listed among the dozen locations that could also close this year, though no official termination date was made clear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Columbus SSA office will move to a federal space, according to previous Dispatch reporting. What other Ohio locations are impacted by DOGE lease cancellations? DOGE canceled multiple leases for federal agencies across Ohio as part of its cost-cutting mission. Here are the Ohio cities and towns affected, and the total amount DOGE claims to save. Columbus Agency: Small Business Administration Total cost savings: $495,935 Columbus Agency: Geological Survey Total cost savings: $1,615,345 Cincinnati Agency: Office of Labor Management Standards Total cost savings: $146,505 Cincinnati Agency: Railroad Retirement Board Total cost savings: $52,331 Cincinnati Agency: Small Business Administration Total cost savings: $32,631 Cleveland Agency: Small Business Administration Total cost savings: $322,895 Cleveland Agency: Departmental Management Total cost savings: $233,580 Cleveland Agency: Federal Trade Commission Total cost savings: $102,069 Cleveland Agency: Internal Revenue Service National Office Total cost savings: $16,355 St. Clairsville Agency: Mine Safety Health Administration Total cost savings: $437,697 Gahanna Agency: United States Fish And Wildlife Service Total cost savings: $339,811 Middleburg Heights Agency: USA AFR Total cost savings: $193,136 Independence Agency: Occupational Safety And Health Administration Total cost savings: $105,838 Portsmouth Agency: Social Security Administration Total cost savings: $92,317 Fairborn Agency: Federal Acquisition Service Office Space Total cost savings: $81,554 New Philadelphia Agency: Geological Survey Total cost savings: $62,395 Fairfield Agency: National Archives Centers Total cost savings: $58,958 Mansfield Agency: Social Security Administration Total cost savings: $27,674 Agency: Internal Revenue Service National Office Total cost savings: $3,800 Columbus, Cincinnati federal agencies to be moved to a federal space Cincinnati's Bureau of Prisons and Akron's Defense Contract Management Agency are slated to be moved to other federal spaces, DOGE claims on its website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbus agencies are also listed (Social Security Administration and Bankruptcy Clerk), as well as Toledo's Probation agency that will cancel its lease and instead move to a federal space. Dayton's United States Trustees agency is listed as a "True Termination," where the office is to be closed, rather than moved. Middleburg Heights' Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was listed similarly, but didn't list specific savings amounts. Which states will close Social Security offices? So far, these are the states that are closing social security offices, according to USA TODAY: Alabama Arkansas Colorado Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Texas West Virginia Wyoming This story was updated to add a gallery. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: DOGE to shut down Social Security offices in Ohio and Kentucky For several years, the clinical team at a critical Milwaukee treatment center has had monthly check-ins with program officers at the federal agency that oversees mental and behavioral health grants. They share information from other providers working in addiction recovery, problem-solve struggles with delivering services, and share crucial data on opioid overdoses. But over the last few weeks, Valerie Vidal, CEO and president of Meta House, said her team has experienced a shift in the availability of contacts at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. That's led to uncertainties over the future of grant awards. It's a feeling that looms large over many grant-funded treatment programs in Wisconsin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meta House is a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that offers community-based treatment programs to women across the state struggling with addiction. In 2024, the nonprofit treated 331 women and 168 children. Overwhelmingly, the clients who stayed in outpatient care for at least 90 days maintained abstinence or meaningfully reduced their substance use between admission and discharge. These life-saving, and life-altering, programs would not be possible without a trio of multi-year grants from SAMHSA, Vidal said. Those grants include addiction treatment for pregnant and postpartum women, housing resources for people who struggle both with substance use and housing instability, and connections to treatment for people with opioid use disorder. By the end of February, the Department of Government Efficiency had reduced SAMHSA's staff by more than 10% as part of President Donald Trump's overhaul of the federal government. The terminations targeted workers in their probationary period, a designation that applies to all new and recently promoted employees in their first year or two on the job, depending on the division. The American Psychiatric Association, the largest psychiatric association in the world, condemned cuts to SAMHSA in a March 17 statement, stating that its critical mission is more important now than ever and "will inevitably lead to cutting programs and services that so many people with mental health and substance use disorders depend on." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week, the hammer came down again. On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services continued its overhaul, this time canceling more than $12 billion in federal grants allocated to states during the pandemic, including about $1 billion from SAMHSA. Those funds, although not earmarked for COVID programs, were intended to address mental health and substance use issues exacerbated during the pandemic. Donald Trump is ripping support for mental health and addiction away from families, actively putting more Wisconsinites in harms way, said U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Democrat from Wisconsin, in reaction. That announcement was quickly followed by another announcement Thursday, this time via YouTube. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the department would be consolidating 28 divisions into 15, including the creation of a new division called the Administration for a Healthy America, or AHA, which will absorb SAMHSA and four other federal health offices, according to an HHS factsheet posted Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his short time as HHS secretary, Kennedy described what he called a paradox. Despite the number of competent public servants, "the agency has been inefficient as a whole." In the spirit of DOGE, Kennedy announced he'd be axing another 20,000 workers from the health agency, bringing the number of HHS public servants, including SAMHSA employees, from 82,000 down to about 62,000, he said. SAMHSA, pronounced SAM-sa, is responsible for managing the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which has fielded nearly 200,000 calls, texts and chats just in Wisconsin since its launch in July 2022. It also works with clinics on medication-assisted treatments for opioid use disorder, and distributes block grants across U.S. states that bolster community mental health services and substance use prevention. It's the leading federal government agency responsible for behavioral data and research. SAMHSA employees who worked on projects related to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, regional behavioral health advisors, and peer support specialists were among those who received termination emails starting Valentine's Day weekend in the first round of cuts. In addition to more staffing cuts, Health and Human Services had already announced on March 11 it would be consolidating its number of regional offices from 10 to four, maintaining offices in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Kansas City and Denver. However, in the fact sheet posted Thursday, HHS said there would be five remaining offices, although the cities were not named. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wisconsin had been part of a six-state Midwestern region, designated as Region 5, based in Chicago. Nearly all staff members representing Region 5 have been terminated. It's not clear where Wisconsin will land now. "Weve been able to recruit higher quality personnel to HHS than in any time in its history, wrote Kennedy in supporting the March 11 changes. These are individuals who will return the agency to gold-standard science, evidence-based medicine, and recalibrate its trajectory toward public health rather than industry profiteering. Losing direct lines of contact has caused delays Centers for Independence, which serves about 3,000 people per year for behavioral health issues in the greater Milwaukee area, is in the second year of a $4 million multi-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Centers for Independence serves about 3,000 people per year for behavioral health issues in Milwaukee County. CEO and president Leif Elsmo told the Journal Sentinel that its partnership with the agency goes far beyond grant funding. Centers for Independence collaborates with agency officers to identify the best practices used across the country. That informs the organization's approach to addressing the considerable behavioral health needs impacting Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The organization works primarily with underserved populations. Its clients have severe and persistent mental illness like schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder, said Jim Welsh, senior director of behavioral health services. The multi-year grant addresses staffing shortages, a perennial problem across Wisconsin and the United States. It helps improve and enhance clinical treatment needs of patients across their lifespan. It also allows the Milwaukee center to reach children with behavioral health needs by establishing parenting supports, autism services and screening, and a children's behavioral health center. But like Vidal from Meta House, layoffs at the federal level have caused delays. Carson Maule, director of business operations, said Centers for Independence lost the government project officer it's been working with since June. The organization was assigned a new officer March 17, but the officer hasn't contacted leaders yet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, if the center has technical questions, it has to go through a call center, which guarantees neither immediate assistance nor access to someone familiar with the Milwaukee organization. "The more support we have, the better. I don't know another way to say it," Elsmo said. Saving lives is one thing; treatment is another In a letter penned to Kennedy on March 6, some members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Madison, expressed concern over what they described as reckless staff reductions. Congressional members pointed to the now-vacated Region 5 HHS office, representing Wisconsin, as well as Region 4, which represents eight states including Florida from the Southeast United States. "Cutting SAMHSA employees without understanding the impact is extremely dangerous given the behavioral health crises impacting every corner of our nation," the letter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baldwin, who introduced the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act that recast the crisis lifeline to the three-digit number 988, said that cuts to the agency jeopardize treatment. "This ones personal for me and the tens of millions of Americans who have watched a loved one battle addiction or mental illness," Baldwin said. "When calls start getting dropped at the suicide lifeline, first responders cant reverse overdoses, and Americans lose lifesaving substance use treatment. Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson from the White House declined to answer questions about the cuts to staff and funding, and said SAMHSA would continue to uphold its mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and Kennedy have both been vocal about preventing opioid overdose fatalities. But some of those involved in treatment see a disconnect. Saving lives is one thing; treating people to avoid repeat episodes is just as if not more important to individual and community well-being. "Saving people from the overdose incident isn't the end, it's the beginning of their journey," Vidal said. "They're going to need treatment resources to ensure that they're not in a life-threatening circumstance again." Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at neilbert@gannett.com or view her X (Twitter) profile at @natalie_eilbert. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Federal funding cuts leave Wisconsin behavioral treatment centers wary This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter. You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here. Good morning. When was the last time you used a fax machine? They're surprisingly popular in Japan, according to someone who moved there three years ago. They shared the things they found surprising about the culture and office quirks . Work happy hours look pretty different involving a lot of alcohol, and pressure to drink it. In today's big story, Elon Musk and his top allies talked all about DOGE on Fox News last night without its actual leader . What's on deck Markets: The winners and losers of Trump's auto tariffs . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tech: ChatGPT is letting some users generate Ghibli-style images, but not others . Business: Florida may abolish property taxes. Here's what they are in every state . But first, who's DOGE is this? If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. The big story DOGE in the spotlight Fox News host Bret Baier interviewed Elon Musk and other members of the White House DOGE office team, including Steve Davis (top row right), Musk's longtime lieutenant. Photo courtesy of Fox News "Special Report with Bret Baier" "This is a revolution, and I think it might be the biggest revolution in the government since the original revolution," Elon Musk, flanked by seven DOGE colleagues, told Fox News in a rare interview. The DOGE office has for weeks been the dominant story of the first 100 days of President Donald Trump's second term, BI's Brent Griffiths writes . Working alongside DOGE, the Trump administration has implemented mass cuts targeting thousands of employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amid these efforts, the DOGE office has operated with what a federal judge described as " unusual secrecy ." Last night, we got a good look at some of Musk's top lieutenants. Those include: Steve Davis, a longtime Musk associate who spent years helping Musk cut costs at businesses such as SpaceX. He is now DOGE's chief operating officer. Joe Gebbia, an Airbnb cofounder, who is focused on overhauling the retirement system for federal workers. "We really believe that the government can have an Apple Store-like experience ," Gebbia told Fox News host Bret Baier. Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley banker, who is now working at the Office of Personnel Management. One person was noticeably absent. No, it wasn't Edward Coristine , Musk's 19-year-old advisor who once went by the nickname "Big Balls" online. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was Amy Gleason, the official leader of DOGE. Not only was she not among the seven people who surrounded Musk her name wasn't even mentioned once. Gleason and another White House official have said in federal court that Musk is not a DOGE office employee , let alone the initiative's leader. Nonetheless, Musk continues to act as the de facto top dog. As Brent writes, last night was just the latest example of how Musk, the White House, and others have blurred the lines of his purview . 3 things in markets Auto plant in Mexico. CLAUDIO CRUZ/Getty Images 1. Who is (and isn't) riding high on Trump's auto tariffs. About half of the 16 million cars sold annually in the US are made abroad, and these carmakers stand to lose the most from Trump's new tariffs. Rivian, Lucid, and Tesla , however, manufacture domestically and their stocks accelerated after the announcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2. Buying the dip. Retail investors have been buying at near-record levels since the stock sell-off picked up last month. Nvidia has emerged as a favorite. 3. However, Nvidia investors should beware the ides of May. New AI chip rules are rolling out May 15 . They would impose restrictions on some sales of Nvidia chips and potentially narrow its market but it could actually boost the stock. 3 things in tech Getty Images; Rebecca Zisser/BI 1. DC plugs into tech. Silicon Valley may be known as the tech capital, but DC's tech scene is burgeoning under the Trump administration. Local startups are gaining traction, with defense tech leading the charge . 2. Meta loses two senior execs. Dan Neary, the company's VP for Asia-Pacific, and Kate Hamill, the managing director of retail and e-commerce in North America, are leaving in separate departures . They each spent more than a decade in key leadership roles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 3. ChatGPT can't decide if its Ghibli-style images violate copyright. If you want to generate images that resemble Studio Ghibli's style, you'll need OpenAI's new 4o. But there seems to be some confusion with the company's "content policy." BI's Alistair Barr and Pranav Dixit experimented with the tools . 3 things in business Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto 1. Are property taxes clouding the Sunshine State? Florida could be the first US state to ax property taxes after homeowners faced sharp surges recently. Here's what the cut could mean and how your state compares . 2. DOGE cuts have arrived at America's disaster prevention agency. NOAA, which tracks extreme weather, has lost over 1,000 employees since Trump took office. Current and former employees told BI they worry about how the cuts will affect air travel forecasts and hurricane alerts . 3. Looking for a used Tesla? Listings for the EV are up 33% so far this year, according to Cox Automotive. One industry expert says CEO Elon Musk's actions continue to have an impact . In other news What's happening today Bureau of Labor Statistics releases state employment and unemployment reports. The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York (on parental leave). Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Lina Batarags, bureau chief, in Singapore. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago. Read the original article on Business Insider Tourists visit a rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) Tourists visit a rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) Tourists select agricultural products at a visitor service center in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) An aerial drone photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows tourists visiting the rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) An aerial drone photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a view of the rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) An aerial drone photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows tourists visiting the rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) Tourists take a rest beside a rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) Tourists visit a rapeseed flower field in Chating Town of Wangcheng District, Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province, March 27, 2025. In recent years, Chating Town has actively promoted the industrialization of rapeseed cultivation by planting over 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of rapeseed. Meanwhile, the town has organized various cultural and tourism activities featuring rapeseed flowers, with an aim of integrating local agriculture and culture into tourism for rural revitalization. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow it to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to carry out swift deportations. The emergency application marks the first time the high court has been asked to get involved in the high-profile case after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking deportation flights under the rarely invoked, 18th-century statute. This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this countrythe President, through Article II, or the Judiciary, through TROs, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in the application. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President. The republic cannot afford a different choice, she continued. The 1798 Alien Enemies Act enables migrants to be summarily deported amid a declared war or an invasion by a foreign nation. The law has been leveraged just three previous times, all during wars, but Trump contends he can use it because the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is effectively invading the United States. After the president issued a proclamation invoking the law, the administration quickly deported hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a notorious Salvadoran prison. Some of the migrants have contested being connected to a gang. Boasberg, an appointee of former President Obama, has been at the center of Trumps ire ever since he blocked the presidents plan at a rare weekend court hearing right after Trump signed the order. Trump has called for the judges impeachment and repeatedly publicly criticized him in the days since. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administrations Supreme Court application comes after the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a 2-1 decision Wednesday declining to lift Boasbergs rulings. Here, the district courts orders have rebuffed the Presidents judgments as to how to protect the Nation against foreign terrorist organizations and risk debilitating effects for delicate foreign negotiations, the application reads. More broadly, rule-by-TRO has become so commonplace among district courts that the Executive Branchs basic functions are in peril, she continued. By default, the emergency application goes to Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles emergency appeals arising from the nations capital. He can act on the request alone or refer it to the full court for a vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will urge the Supreme Court to preserve the status quo to give the courts time to hear this case, so that more individuals are not sent off to a notorious foreign prison without any process, based on an unprecedented and unlawful use of a wartime authority, Lee Gelernt, lead counsel in the case and deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Immigrants Rights Project, said in a statement. The ACLU brought the lawsuit alongside the Democracy Forward Foundation, a left-leaning organization that has filed various challenges against the administration, on behalf of five Venezuelan migrants held by immigration authorities. It is one of four pending series of lawsuits the Trump administration has brought to the Supreme Courts emergency docket. The court is also actively mulling whether to grant requests to narrow rulings blocking Trumps birthright citizenship restrictions nationwide, fire more than 16,000 federal probationary employees and freeze $65 million worth of teacher development grants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Updated at 1:22 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday it will be investigating multiple California universities to ensure they are in compliance with a Supreme Court ruling banning affirmative action in admissions. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the DOJs Civil Rights Division will look into the admission practices of Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the University of California, Irvine. President Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country, Bondi said. Every student in America deserves to be judged solely based on their hard work, intellect, and character, not the color of their skin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is not clear what triggered the investigations into the schools. Most universities announced policy changes after the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that said affirmative action is illegal in admissions. The announcement of the investigations also blasted the Biden administration and said it advanced the ideology behind this illegal practice. The Department of Justice will put an end to a shameful system in which someones race matters more than their ability, acting Associate Attorney General Chad Mizelle said. Every college and university should know that illegal discrimination in admissions will be investigated and eliminated. The Hill has reached out to the universities for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigations come after the Department of Education sent a Dear Colleague letter to universities telling them to get rid of diversity, equity and inclusion practices or risk loss of funding. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A petition to rename Nashville International Airport to Dolly Parton International Airport now has nearly 45,000 signatures. Were talking about a woman who is an archangel for Tennessee, said petition co-organizer Lydia Popovich. The organizers said this is about creating an airport that honors all Music City stands for and they believe Dolly Parton exemplifies those qualities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes just such a really shining, glittering example of the best of what we should be, said petition co-organizer Dan Dion. They said she has a spirit of love, acceptance, and goodwill. Shes given back so much, its time to give her something, said Popovich. Bill to rename Nashville International Airport for President Donald Trump revived The organizers said they believe Dolly Parton should be celebrated in her lifetime, and visitors of Nashville should be welcomed by the spirit of someone who embodies top characteristics. Around the world, Dolly Parton is an individual that sparks joy, said Popovich. What a better way to celebrate her than to rename an airport, a place where people are coming in and out of Nashville every single day in a stressful environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has been an effort within the state legislature to rename BNA to Trump International Airport. It failed to move forward. The Dolly Parton organizers said this petition is not against any politician, and they began working on this effort before the Trump proposal came together. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com The fact that this, that this idea had been already recently picked up in naming it after someone, it really kicked us and spurred us into action and saying, If this is an option, if this is something that youre willing to consider, think about Dolly, said Dion. The petition description ends by noting, We could all be Departin from Parton!. 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. (Getty Images). Missouri lawmakers are considering a proposal that would significantly limit free speech rights at Missouri universities and high schools. House Bill 937 would force schools to create speech codes based on a widely criticized definition of antisemitism. Bill supporters talk about Jewish safety, but their real goal is to shield Israel from criticism as it commits unconscionable atrocities against Palestinian people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If adopted, Missouri educational institutions would be required to add the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances controversial definition of the term into codes of conduct as a basis for investigating suspected acts of antisemitism. Alarmingly, this includes so-called contemporary examples of antisemitism, most involving criticism of Israel. Under this bill, the discussion of Palestinians experiences, academic findings critical of Israels government or even quotes from Israelis that condemn their nations actions could all be considered prohibited conduct as it relates specifically to antisemitism. They could lead to student suspensions and loss of scholarships, faculty denial of tenure or firing, loss of research funding or defunding student organizations all while doing nothing to make Jewish communities safer, as the bill claims to do. Israeli officials and their supporters want to silence opposition and keep the U.S. public ignorant to what the International Court of Justice is investigating as genocide against the Palestinian people. Israeli military forces have killed more than 50,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry. Thats most certainly a vast undercount. This is why Amnesty International says that Israel is committing genocide and why the International Criminal Court in November issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Foreign Minister Yoav Gallant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If passed, the bill will stifle basic academic freedom on the subject of Israel and Palestine exacerbating an already alarming trend. After adopting the IHRA definition, Florida began tracking and banning course syllabuses that were particularly critical of Israel. At the University of Minnesota, a Holocaust historians job offer was rescinded over his criticism of Israel. At New York University, Jewish professors were barred from campus for protesting the Israeli governments violence in Gaza. Among other criteria, the bill would ban calling the Israel a racist endeavor and comparing any actions of Israel to Nazi Germany. In a recent article in Haaretz, one of Israels most respected newspapers, an Israeli soldier said about his experience in Gaza: I felt like, like, like a Nazi it looked exactly like we were actually the Nazis and they were the Jews. Under the IHRA definition of antisemitism, quoting that soldier could be considered a punishable offense. This kind of speech code is applied to no other country. If you want to, you can call the existence of the Peoples Republic of China or Canada or Iran or even the United States a racist endeavor. You can compare these countries behavior to Nazis. With the passage of House Bill 937, only Israel would be protected from this type of criticism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like millions of people raised Jewish in America, I grew up believing that Israel was a model democracy, opposed and hated for no reason except irrational hatred towards Jews. Then I traveled throughout Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. I witnessed a political system run by Israel that reminded me of the histories I learned in school about the Jim Crow south. I saw the segregated roads, the segregated communities, the segregated access to water, land and resources. Palestinians and Jews, separate and unequal. I that knew it was wrong; I saw that what I had been taught were lies and I knew I had to do something to oppose this injustice perpetuated in my name. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even though supporters sell House Bill 937 in the name of protecting Jews on campus, Jews critical of Israel would also face sanction from its passage. This is one of the reasons many Missouri Jews, including myself, testified against the bill. The real purpose of the bill is to make students and faculty constantly second guess themselves whenever they speak or write about Israel, wondering if they will be punished and if their words will fall outside of the boundaries put in place by the government. This bill was sponsored by a Republican legislator and passed out of committee with Republican support. For years conservatives have railed against speech codes on campuses, when the codes were designed to prevent the sharing of potentially racist, misogynistic or homophobic ideas. They labeled as coddled snowflakes those who ask to be shielded from thoughts and ideas that might make them uncomfortable. This bill makes a mockery of their professed concerns. Those who support it cite the discomfort of some Jewish supporters of Israel as an excuse to censor students and faculty, in order to protect a foreign state from criticism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent days the Israeli military has killed hundreds of Palestinian children in Gaza who were trying to survive in tents and the rubble of their bombed-out homes. People are correctly speaking out about Israels atrocities. Israel and its supporters know they are losing the argument with more and more Americans, so they are working to make it harder to speak up. We cant allow them to abridge our First Amendment rights. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Donald Trump shared his first phone call with Mark Carney, the newly-appointed Canadian prime minister amid rising tensions over tariffs and threats of annexation. Typically, a phone call with the US president is top of the agenda for a new Canadian leader but Mr Carney and Mr Trump went 19 days without speaking privately. During the call, they agreed to meet after Canadas upcoming snap election, which was called by Mr Carney against the backdrop of an aggressive trade war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an impassioned speech on Thursday night, Mr Carney warned the era of economic, security and military ties between Canada and the United States is over. Announcing the call had taken place, Mr Trump said: I just finished speaking with prime minister Mark Carney, of Canada. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canadas upcoming election to work on elements of politics, business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Very constructive Mr Carneys office described the call as a very constructive conversation, in which he informed the president he would implement retaliatory tariffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The leaders agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately following the election, the statement read, referring to the election scheduled for April 28. The prime minister informed the president that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy, following the announcement of additional US trade actions on April 2 2025. Mr Carneys remarks on the demise of the US-Canadian relationship this week followed Mr Trumps move to slap a 25 per cent levy on vehicle imports to the US, which could devastate the Canadian auto industry. Mr Trump put 25 per cent tariffs on Canadas steel and aluminium and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products as well as all of Americas trading partners on April 2. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over, Mr Carney said on Thursday. Our response to these latest tariffs is to fight, is to protect, is to build, Mr Carney said. 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. Madness everywhere. Just glance at the headlines leading The New York Times this morning: A Disregard for Rules Trickles Down From Trump to His Aides Trump Takes Government Secrecy Seriously. But Only When it Suits Him. 10,000 Federal Health Workers to Be Laid Off President Trump Moves to Punish the Law Firm Where Robert Mueller Worked Theres more, but you get the picture. The Washington Post adds a hot scoop: Internal White House document shows agencies preparing to cut between 8% and 50% of staff. Thats a lot of mayhem, and it barely scratches the surface. The Social Security Administration is being destroyed. ICE is throwing people out of the country for what look to be obviously political reasons, notably a scientist at Harvard Medical School who was detained in Boston and told shes being sent back to her native Russia. She protested Vladimir Putins Ukraine invasion and called for his impeachment. Wonder whats in store for her. Across human history, fascism has been imposed upon democracy mostly in one of two ways. First, by brute forcea military coup, that sort of thing. Second, a bit more stealthily, and legallythrough legislation, executive decrees, and court decisions that hand more power to the leader. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donald Trump is inventing a new way. Call it chaos fascism. Destroy the institutions of democracy until theyre so disfigured or dysfunctional that a majority no longer cares about them. Thats exactly whats happening with Social Security. The Washington Post reported this week that the SSA is breaking down: Its website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. A Wall Street multimillionaire who probably doesnt need his Social Security check and who has pledged that he will 100 percent work with DOGE has already cut around 12 percent of the staff and doesnt look like hes stopping there. In other words: Start by lying about the agency, with absurd and false claims about 140-year-olds cashing checks. Then wreck the agency so that its service becomes crap. Let public anger at it build. And in time, they can just dismantle it and privatize the greatest social insurance system ever devised by this government and put peoples financial fate in the hands of rich cronies. If thats not chaos fascism, I dont know what is. Trump probably doesnt have some secret plan. As we know, he doesnt think far enough ahead. Elon Musk, however, probably does. Its no accident he called Social Security a Ponzi scheme. That statement either (1) reflected his ignorance of how both Social Security and Ponzi schemes work or (2) was made in full knowledge of how both workthat is, he knew it was nonsense, but he said it anyway because his goal is to destroy Social Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This applies to just about everything Trump and Musk are doing. It applies even to Signalgate. Trump has contempt for rules and procedures, and so he appoints unqualified stooges like Pete Hegseth to run the worlds largest military, who share that contemptwho think being tough means showing the world that they can do anything they want with no consequences. Againignore the law, trash the rules, establish that procedure is whatever you say it is. Chaos fascism. And it will almost certainly go unpunished. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday that the Justice Department wasnt the least bit interested in looking into it. Some GOP lawmakers are making noises about the need for an investigation of some kind. But reallyare the GOPs leaders in Congress, Senator John Thune and Representative Mike Johnson, really likely to green-light an investigation? Seems pretty unlikely to me, unless its done with the secret, express goal of exonerating all involved. Some senators say the Pentagon inspector general should conduct a probe. OK, we might get that. But remember that Trump has already fired 17 inspectors general, so whod really care if he fired one more? Break the rules, and then ensure that theres no accountability. Chaos fascism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And if you want an image, just one image, that absolutely screams chaos fascism? Feast your eyes upon this photo of Department of Homeland Security Secretary and noted dog killer Kristi Noem at that notorious El Salvador prison this week, the prison where the Trump administration sent a couple hundred alleged Venezuelan gang members. They positioned her in front of prisoners behind bars, most of them bald and tattooed as if extras in a dystopian sci-fi movie, warning others that what happened to those Venezuelan men could happen to you. Its a chilling photographto think that this is now the kind of image the United States wishes to project to the world. And rememberthose men are being held in that notorious prison in defiance of a federal court order. Wreck the rules. Chaos fascism. Where in the world will we be six months or a year from now? What shape will Social Security be in? Veterans Affairs? What will be the impact of all these tariffs? Trump thinks hell force American companies to build factories here, and no doubt a few will, enough that Pravda (Fox News) can promote them as proof that the tariffs were a miracle. But most economists predictwell, chaos. Trump will orchestrate no military coup. The Republican Congress will probably pass no laws that make Trump president for life. That would be too obvious. What theyll do is make stealthier moves across the board that discredit and destroy our democratic institutions until he and his billionaire friends can strip them for parts. Chaos fascism is here to stay. This article first appeared in Fighting Words, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by editor Michael Tomasky. Sign up here. March 28 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump issued a pardon to Trevor Milton, the founder of bankrupt electric vehicle maker Nikola. Milton confirmed the news himself in an Instagram post on Thursday, adding Trump called him personally to deliver the news earlier this week. "This pardon is not just about me -- it's about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that's a lot of people. It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing," Milton wrote in the post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I saw firsthand the tactics they use to guarantee convictions. I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for his courage in standing up for what is right and for granting me this sacred pardon of innocence." Federal prosecutors in New York City charged Milton with securities and wire fraud in 2021, contending he lied about "nearly all aspects of the business." Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware federal court last month. The company also filed notice of its intention to begin selling off its assets. File Photo courtesy Nikola Corp. The Arizona-based startup later that year agreed to pay $125 million to settle federal charges related to defrauding investors. Milton was convicted by a jury of securities and wire fraud charges after a one-month trial and in 2023 sentenced to four years in prison for misleading investors. He was also ordered to pay a $1 million fine and more than a collective $690 million in restitution to his victims and Nikola shareholders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the trial, Milton was represented by Brad Bondi, the brother of now U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Milton last October donated over $900,000 to a Political Action Committee supporting Trump's presidential campaign. Last month, Phoenix-based Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware federal court. The company also filed notice of its intention to begin selling off its assets. Despite beginning production in 2022, Nikola produced fewer than 1,000 of its EV trucks. Milton founded Nikola in 2014. The company later went public, eventually securing a strategic partnership with General Motors to build its Badger pickup truck. A former interpreter for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan who lost both legs in combat was stabbed to death at the Houston, Texas, office he opened to assist other refugees trying to make new lives for themselves. Masiullah Sahil, 37, is now facing murder charges over the March 26 death of Abdul Rahman Niazi, a 34-year-old father of five who was resettled in America in 2014. Sahil, who Niazi had reportedly helped, confessed to the crime while on the phone with Niazis wife, who called her husband shortly after he was killed, according to news reports and court filings reviewed by The Independent. Sahil, who is also from Afghanistan, stabbed Niazi more than 20 times, prosecutors said during a probable cause hearing in court. Sahil was upset with how long it was taking for his refugee status to be approved, and, following an argument with Niazi over the apparent delay, went to his car and got a knife, investigators said . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Niazi was more than a man; he was a pillar of our community, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up by his family. It says Niazi devoted his life to new immigrants like himself, ensuring they found safety, support, and hope. Masiullah Sahil, 37, is now facing murder charges over the March 26 death of former US Army interpreter Abdul Rahman Niazi (Harris County Sheriff) Now, his grieving wife and five young children (all under 10 years old) are left behind, struggling to survive without their beloved husband and father, the fundraiser states. Their pain is unimaginable, and their future is uncertain. Sahil, who was booked into jail on Thursday and is being held on $750,000 bond, earns $3,000 a month as an Uber driver, a financial affidavit filed in Harris County District Court shows. Under the category Special Needs, Sahil is listed as having mental problems, according to the affidavit. Carlo Stefan Torres, Sahils court-appointed public defender, did not immediately respond on Friday to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Niazis nephew, who did not want to be identified by name, told local Fox affiliate KRIV that his uncle literally helped thousands of people around Houston, a lot of them underprivileged. Sahil was among the recipients of Niazis kindness; his nephew told the outlet he put up his own money and time in having provided support to the man who would later be accused of taking his life. Abdul Rahman Niazi, a 34-year-old father of five, was resettled in America in 2014 (GoFundMe) After the stabbing, Niazis phone rang and Sahil answered it, the nephew said. The defendant admitted to stabbing [Niazi] to [Niazis] wife, reads the complaint against Sahil. Niazis nephew told KRIV that the wife called Niazi to come home for dinner, and that Sahil replied, We have sent him to the afterlife. One of Niazis young sons was also on the line, according to the nephew, who said the boy was traumatized by what he heard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of Sahil, the nephew said, I want the man to be held accountable as soon as possible. Its completely unacceptable. As of Friday morning, the GoFundMe appeal had raised nearly $50,000 of its $100,000 goal. Niazis funeral will be held on March 31 the same day Sahil is due to make his preliminary court appearance. Ontario Premier Doug Ford argued the Trump administrations looming tariffs will carry harsh impacts for American businesses and consumers while lauding Canadas plan for retaliation against the additional taxes. Ford told reporters that the Great White North can push back with $65 billion of tariffs that we have on the table that we can launch towards the U.S. we have to run through every tariff and minimize the pain for Canadians, maximize the pain for Americans. I feel terrible for the Americans, but its one person, its President Trump thats creating this chaos, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ontario premier said Trump launched an early attack with his threat to levy 25 percent tariffs on auto imports and parts from Canada this week. That comes in addition to reciprocal tariffs the administration said will begin April 2. We have two options here: Either we roll over as a country and he runs us over 15 times and gets what he wants, or we feel a little bit of pain and we fight like weve never fought before, Ford said. His rhetoric now echoes Trumps approach to global tariff policies with compromise to short term convenience for long-term gains. This will be the Golden Age of America! Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!), the president wrote on Truth Social last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But we will make America great again, and it will all be worth the price that must be paid, he continued at the time. We are a country that is now being run with common sense and the results will be spectacular!!! Fords tariff strategy was recently tested as Canada imposed a tax on energy imports to three American states. The effort was later recanted after the premier met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Despite that withdrawal, Ford confirmed the nation would oppose the dissection of stable trade agreements. Ive spoken with Prime Minister [Mark] Carney. We agree Canada needs to stand firm, strong and united, Ford wrote in a Wednesday post on the social platform X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I fully support the federal government preparing retaliatory tariffs to show that well never back down, he said. Carney on Wednesday lashed out at the Trump administration over the new tariffs on foreign-made cars, calling them a direct attack and vowing to defend our workers. The two leaders are expected to speak by phone Friday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Firefighters prepare to deploy drones to survey the quake-affected area in Ruili, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 28, 2025. Two people were reported injured in southwest China's Yunnan Province after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar Friday, according to the provincial earthquake agency. (Photo by Zhang Legan/Xinhua) KUNMING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Two people were reported injured in southwest China's Yunnan Province after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar Friday, according to the provincial earthquake agency. Many residents in the provincial capital of Kunming, some 776 km from the China-Myanmar border, went or stayed outdoors to escape danger upon feeling the quake tremor. Strong tremors were felt in several prefectures and cities across Yunnan, including Xishuangbanna, Baoshan, Dehong and Pu'er, local sources told Xinhua. Ceiling lamps were seen swaying and windows trembling in residents' homes, and flower pots fell from their balconies in Tengchong and Ruili. The injured people were in Ruili. A total of 646 rescuers and 14 dogs of the provincial fire and rescue authority have been mobilized for rescue operations. As of 3:30 p.m., local traffic, telecommunication, and internet services functioned normally. This photo shows the damage caused by an earthquake in Ruili, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 28, 2025. Two people were reported injured in southwest China's Yunnan Province after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar Friday, according to the provincial earthquake agency. (Xinhua) Firefighters prepare for a rescue operation in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 28, 2025. Two people were reported injured in southwest China's Yunnan Province after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar Friday, according to the provincial earthquake agency. (Xinhua) This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com A critical Washington agency that has faced a series of technical problems, closures, and safety issues will have a new leader at the helm. King County Executive Dow Constantine was officially named the new Sound Transit CEO Thursday and will earn a whopping $450,000 a year salary. For every large organization, time is money, and we dont have time or money to waste delivering on the promise of a truly regional mass transit system, Dave Somers, Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair, said via a news release from Sound Transit. Dow can hit the ground running and intimately knows the inner workings of Sound Transit. He has proven his ability to oversee large organizations, run a major transit agency, and maintain crucial partnerships. Constantine combats conflict of interest claims However, the decision hasnt come without controversy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Constantine beat out over 60 other candidates, including four who are chief executives of other U.S. transit agencies. Critics pointed to the fact that Constantine appointed many members who participated in the decision-making process, which was also panned for being too secretive. But Constantine responded, telling The Seattle Times the CEO selection process is supposed to be confidential. He added that Sound Transit and its attorney confirmed there was no conflict of interest as long as he recused himself, which he said he did. It is an honor to be chosen as the next CEO of Sound Transit, Constantine said via the release. Much of my service as an elected official has been devoted to building the world-class transit system our region has long needed and creating vibrant, transit-connected communities throughout Central Puget Sound. I can think of nothing I would rather do than lead this agency into the future, and I thank the Board for their vote of confidence. Constantines new role comes as Sound Transit has faced month-long service disruptions and several violent incidents that occurred onboard trains and on platforms. Yet, Sound Transit Vice President and King County Council member Claudia Balducci is confident Constantine will help build a better system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In selecting the next CEO for Sound Transit, as with all the decisions I am called on to make regarding transit, I put the mission of providing great transit at the very forefront, she said via the release. We must get this system built. We must build it as quickly as possible. And we must put the needs of riders first at all times. I support the appointment of Dow Constantine as our next CEO because I believe he is the candidate most capable to lead the agency in the right direction to meet our goals, today and into the future. Constantine delivers final State of the County address On Wednesday, Constantine delivered his final State of the County address. The work ahead is as critical as ever, he said. It is rewarding for me to know the next chapter will unfold on a solid foundation that we have built. Who will take over as King County Executive? On Thursday, King County Council Members Reagan Dunn and Sarah Perry introduced a motion to appoint Deputy Executive Shannon Braddock as acting King County Executive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have deep trust in Braddocks ability to provide the stable leadership needed to do the work at hand, Perry said via a news release from the King County Council. With this important step of the appointment process in place, I look forward to working with my Council colleagues to ensure we have a steady hand for King County government during this transition. According to the release, Constantine also selected Braddock as his first choice to serve as interim executive. The council will take up the motion to appoint Braddock at the next meeting on April 1. With Dow Constantines tenure as King County Executive ending, the council must engage in a multi-step process to select a new executive, Dunn said via the release. This motion represents the first step in that process appointing an acting executive. I am confident that the council will work together as a body to make sure the seat is filled expediently. However, even if Braddock is appointed, she could later be replaced by another candidate put forward by the council. That person would serve until the results of the general election in November. The council noted this means there could be up to three different temporary holders of the position an interim, acting, and appointed executive. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Video obtained by 8 News Now shows the moment an SUV crashed into a downtown storefront, leaving a path of destruction. I got a call from my mom, Linda Ruiz recalled. That my store had been hit. Ruiz owns Off The Threads on Commerce Street near Imperial Avenue in the Arts District. She told 8 News Now that she first saw the damage to her business on her security camera on Saturday morning at around 3 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I checked it, I was like Oh my gosh,' Ruiz said. You just hear the loud noise. Shocking video obtained by 8 News Now shows the moment an SUV crashes into a downtown storefront, leaving a path of destruction. (Linda Ruiz) The ear-piercing crash was followed by tires screeching as the driver backed out of the crash site and was then seen walking away, leaving the SUV and Ruiz to pick up the pieces. The whole structure is messed up, Ruiz said. The brick is affected, the framing, I cant access my store. Ruiz told 8 News Now she filed an insurance claim, but it will take a while to process. In the meantime, she cant access her inventory while the stores walls and windows are boarded up. Just with like all the bills coming up, and I cant even access it, Ruiz said. I dont have any income. I was able to take out two racks, but even then, compared to all the inventory I have, its nothing. Its a situation thats still hard to swallow, but unfortunately, Ruiz said this turn of events is not surprising, considering her past experiences, including several burglaries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its always been a thought in my mind, she said, referring to Commerce Street. Just because there is always crazy driving down here. Ruiz hopes this serves as a lesson that reckless driving can spell disaster for so many in our community. Shocking video obtained by 8 News Now shows the moment an SUV crashes into a downtown storefront, leaving a path of destruction. (Linda Ruiz) Youre not just hurting people, she concluded. Youre hurting small businesses. Ruiz has started a GoFundMe page to help with expenses, titled Help Off The Threads Recovery After Drunk Driver Crash. While she cannot access most of her inventory, Ruiz was able to pull several racks of clothing. She will have them on display at For The Love and Bogart Vintage this weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She is also holding a raffle fundraiser to raise money. For more information, visit the Off The Threads Instagram page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (FOX40.COM) A vehicle crashed into an insurance business Wednesday night in Modesto, according to the Modesto Fire Department. Video Above: What happens when you call 911? (IMAGE: MODESTO FIRE DEPARTMENT) The fire department responded to the crash a little after 7 p.m. in the 2200 block of Plaza Parkway. They arrived to a vehicle that had fully crashed into the business. CHP search for suspect in fatal hit-and-run No employees were injured and the driver was medically evaluated, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Modesto Police Department is investigating the crash. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Driver encounters odd delay as thousands of sheep cross Colorado highway DENVER (KDVR) A driver experienced an unexpected delay after thousands of sheep crossed Highway 40 in northwest Colorado on Friday morning. Kristin Clayburn was driving on Highway 40, heading to Utah, with her mother at around 8 a.m. However, the trip through Maybell and Dinosaur took an extra 20 minutes after she had to pull over for around 6,000 sheep crossing the road. Clayburn captured a video of some of the sheep crossing the road. There appears to be thousands of white sheep, and a black sheep, moving through with nothing but the sound of the sheeps trotters on the cement. Sheep crossing the road in northern Colorado (Credit: Kristin Clayburn) While a herd of about 6,000 sheep is quite a sight, the Colorado local said its quite common. Clayburn, who lives in Craig, said it looked like a planned sheep drive. Like a cattle drive, sheep are moved to a different pasture for fresh grazing and to prevent overgrazing in an area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This historic coffeehouse offers views of Rocky Mountain chapel near Estes Park Clayburn said there were two rangers on each side herding the sheep across the road. Thats rural Colorado for you, said Clayburn. Clayburn said there are often horse, cattle and sheep drives in northwest Colorado, so its normal to see a flock of animals heading through the area. On Friday, that included around 6,000 sheep down Highway 40. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WDTN) Huber Heights will open a Yard Waste Transfer Site, just in time for spring planting. A Yard Waste Transfer Site, located at 7225 Bridgewater Road will open Thursday, April 3. Residents can drop off yard waste like tree limbs, brush, plants and leaves instead of throwing them away with regular garbage. 2024 National Garden Week: A bounty of benefits for the body and mind Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In return, wood chips and compost will be turned into mulch. Residents can visit the same location to pick up the free mulch for use on their properties. The site will not collect trash, dirt, grass, firewood or stumps. Find a full list of acceptable materials here. Residents can visit the site from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursdays and 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first and third Saturday of each month. This site is available until October. For more information, contact the Public Works Division at 937-233-1562. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 former Trump drug policy expert is expected to rejoin the administration in a top role at the Health and Human Services office focused on behavioral health issues, two people familiar with the discussions told POLITICO. Art Kleinschmidt, a longtime addiction and mental health expert, is in line to return to government as the deputy assistant secretary of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said the two people, who were granted anonymity to discuss personnel moves that arent yet public. He would replace Christopher Carroll, a career official in the agency who has served as acting head for the Trump administrations first months. The role does not require Senate confirmation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kleinschmidt, a Project 2025 contributor, served as the deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and as a senior adviser for health and addiction on the Domestic Policy Council and SAMHSA during the first Trump administration. The move, which is not yet finalized, would come amid a broader restructuring at HHS that would shift SAMHSA and several other divisions underneath the umbrella of the new Administration for a Healthy America. The so-called AHA, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Thursday, would combine five agencies in what the department characterized as an effort to better coordinate and centralize resources aimed at serving low-income Americans. But its unclear whether Kennedy has the authority to unilaterally dissolve agencies, or whether SAMHSA would continue to exist as an independent entity under the broader AHA heading. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has yet to nominate anyone to permanently head the agency as its assistant secretary. A HHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the department has offered few details about how it plans to conduct the planned restructuring. Kleinschmidt did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump also announced on Friday that he was nominating Sara Carter, a Fox News contributor, to be the next Office of National Drug Control Policy director. Sara is an Award Winning Journalist, who has been on the front lines of this International Fight for decades, Trump said in a Truth Social post. From Afghanistan to our Border, Sarahs relentless pursuit of Justice, especially in tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis, has exposed terrorists, drug lords, and sex traffickers. As our next Drug Czar, Sara will lead the charge to protect our Nation, and save our children from the scourge of drugs. On March 15, President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act against drug traffickers a move that has been met with astonishment, particularly since the act originated in 1798 and has rarely been used since beyond when the United States has been at war. Although discussions surrounding the act are focusing on its effect on immigration, what is often getting lost in debates is the White Houses argument that drug trafficking constitutes a form of irregular warfare. Similarly, the administration has stirred up controversy by classifying drug traffickers as terrorists. Can it be the case that drug traffickers are terrorists carrying out a form of irregular warfare and if so, how could the U.S. military address this at a strategic level? Can drugs be weapons of war? The word terrorism has taken on new meaning in recent years. Although arguments can be made as to what signifies a terrorist activity, the concept of terrorism is most often associated with those who choose to do harm against civilians through acts of extreme violence or by mass casualty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attacks on the USS Cole, the World Trade Center and Benghazi usually come to mind when referring to acts of terrorism. Yet it is the subtle terrorist attacks that often go unnoticed. The correlation between drugs and terrorist organizations is not new. In fact, most terrorist organizations rely heavily on criminal conduct to support their activities, such as the illicit drug trade, human trafficking, sex trafficking and money laundering. While it is true that illegal drugs finance terrorist and criminal groups, the situation today has changed. It has become well known that the primary killer of U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 45 is fentanyl. In 2019 it was reported that fentanyl death rates had risen by over 1,000% within just six years. Fentanyl pills seized by U.S. Custom and Border Protection officers at the Port of Mariposa in Nogales, Arizona, November 2023. (Jerry Glaser/CBP) Unlike in the past, when the goal of illicit drug trade was to increase profits to fund terrorist attacks, fentanyl not only increases criminal profits but is a means of destruction harming a large portion of the U.S. population and causing over 100,000 deaths per year. Mexican cartels have been identified as being responsible for the influx of fentanyl into the U.S., which led Trump to designate them as terrorist organizations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Can drugs like fentanyl accurately be described as weapons of war? Although it may seem surprising, history shows us the answer is often yes. Organized crime groups have often deliberately flooded drugs into the U.S. with the goal of inflicting mass casualties on civilians. In 2005, Afghan drug lord Haji Baz Mohammed was extradited to the U.S. and convicted after having orchestrated attempts to use heroin as a form of jihad, stating that he and his colleagues were taking the Americans money and the heroin was killing them, according to court documents. State actors and corruption Political entities wishing to undermine the United States often have deep ties to the drug trade and use it to cause harm. One example is the conviction and sentencing of Juan Orlando Hernandez, who served as president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022, and was eventually sentenced to 45 years in prison in June 2024 for what U.S. prosecutors described as state-sponsored drug trafficking. The case made history as Hernandez became the first former president sentenced in the U.S. for narcotics trafficking. According to the Justice Department, Hernandezs co-conspirators benefited not only from political protection but military-style weaponry, including AK-47s, AR-15s and grenade launchers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mexico presents a unique challenge in terms of its geographic proximity to the U.S. and its role as a major international trading partner. Due to deep corruption, it has proved problematic in the past for U.S. law enforcement to put a stop to cartel activities affecting American citizens. Recently, the Mexican government extradited 29 drug lords to the U.S., including Rafael Caro Quintero, a Sinaloa cartel leader responsible for the murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique Kiki Camarena in 1985. Camarena was kidnapped, brutally tortured and killed at the hands of the Sinaloa cartel in one of many tragedies experienced by the DEA while it was operating in Mexico for over 40 years. Quintero evaded justice for decades, a demonstration of the the difficulties of taking on cartels as well as the problem corruption has posed in stifling their illicit activities. To take on the cartels who are responsible for the deaths of American civilians will take more than military or law enforcement action alone. The need for joint solutions While turning its attention to Mexico, the current administration has deployed U.S. military forces to establish control of the border. However, such efforts will require combined experience, knowledge and the integration of expertise beyond the armed forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the illicit drug trade is a major activity for the Mexican cartels, the model for a solution can be replicated based on the Afghanistan-based partnership between the Defense Department and a foreign-deployed advisory support team, or FAST. This highly successful joint effort saw the U.S. military work with DEA agents on the ground to target Taliban heroin traffickers. What brought success then was options and the ability to target narco-terrorists through an array of authorities that could be used on the battlefield. The same concept could be used to address the threats from Mexico by exploiting DOD assets and combining them with DEA expertise. Alongside vetted Mexican authorities, this partnership would yield shared intelligence gathering, training and joint operations. FAST drew its methodologies from U.S. special operations by merging small unit tactics, operational planning and tactical combat casualty care with DEAs investigative techniques, evidence processing and handling of informants to create an unprecedented approach to effectively extinguish threats from criminal groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a few short years, FAST became a valuable resource for the Special Operations Command to target Taliban principals and remove terrorist leaders from the battlefield. It remains a partnership highly valued by those who served on DEAs FAST program. Although the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have since ended, the lessons learned from this cooperative approach still hold value. This strategy may be revisited as a method of unconventional warfare aimed at dismantling the most nefarious criminal organizations. Neither the U.S. military nor federal law enforcement acting alone are enough to deal with the complex problem of cartels. Forging a new partnership between DOD and DEA using the FAST model could prove to be the most efficient solution. DES MOINES, Iowa A Des Moines man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for fatally stabbing a 20-year-old woman in 2023. On November 14, 2023, the Des Moines Police Department was called to a hotel in the 400 block of East 30th Street for a report of a stabbing. When first responders arrived at the scene, they discovered a 20-year-old woman in a hotel room suffering from multiple stab wounds. The victim, identified as Alyssa Anne Maher, was transported to a hospital but later died. Shortly after, police arrested and charged Brantlee Austin Gage Rainey, 25, in connection to Mahers death. According to the Polk County Attorneys Office, Rainey was using methamphetamine when he attacked Maher in the hotel room. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iowa AG Bird sues Winneshiek County Sheriff over alleged violation of sanctuary county law Rainey entered an Alford plea to second-degree murder in February, a guilty plea where a defendant recognizes that prosecutorial evidence in the case would likely result in a guilty verdict but continues to maintain innocence. On Thursday, Rainey was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison. Mahers mother and sister provided victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing. Alyssa was a sweet loving child with a good heart, her mother said. She never knew a stranger. She was always wanting to help others, often putting others before herself, to her detriment most times, sadly. All she ever wanted to have friends be loved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alyssa was robbed of the opportunity to grow up, to make something of herself. She was robbed of so much potential What happened to Alyssa is not her story. The impact she made on the world is her story. And I will use her story to fight for girls like Alyssa, her sister said. Metro 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 who13.com. DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) The Dublin Police Department is set to launch its Drone as First Responder program next month, the first of its kind in central Ohio. Dublin Police Sgt. Andrew Clark said the department will be able to get live real-time information during an active situation. Gaudreau memorial shirt orders to remain unfulfilled While itll never replace police officers and the need for us on the ground, I think it just makes us better, Clark said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will help with officer response times and improve their situational awareness about what is happening at the scene. If we can get live information of what is actually happening within that 90 seconds or less and be able to relay that information to officers and tailor our response to that, its a better response to the citizens, Clark said. There will be four drone stations set up around Dublin: city hall, Washington Township Fire Departments administrative building, Scioto High School, and Grizzell Middle School. Bodycam shows shooting of teenage murder suspect in northeast Columbus Clark said that to his knowledge, Dublin is the first in the nation to partner with schools and fire departments for this program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anywhere the pilot is, they can take it off and fly it to the scene, Clark said. Pictures from the drones will be clear both day and night, and Clark said they have an infrared camera and can also add a spotlight to the drone to help with darkness. He said they are also able to attach a speaker so they can have two-way communication. Dublin Police Sgt. Joshua Kirby said the department can use this tool in any kind of active incident such as a missing person search, a fleeing suspect, or a traffic incident. Ohio Republicans form own version of DOGE I think it makes us safer, Kirby said. I think it makes us more efficient and effective. There are several instances that I can think of where had we had this technology in place, things would have turned out much, much different. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each drone can stay in the air for about 25 minutes, Kirby said; however, the drones are always charged and ready to go. He said they can switch them out with each other for seamless live coverage. As the world evolves, as policing evolves, then technology is something that we are going to have to incorporate in order to do a better job, Kirby said. Dublin Police said they can fly the drones in four counties: Franklin, Delaware, Union and Madison. The program officially launches in April. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Duke University has objected to the use of its branding in the popular HBO show The White Lotus. White Lotus just blessed us w [with] an all-time meme if Duke loses early in the tournament (and for any brutal Duke loss thereafter), a user on the social platform X captioned an image of a moment in the show in which actor Jason Isaacss character, Timothy Ratliff, holds a gun to his head while wearing a Duke shirt. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death on college campuses. Rivalry is part of March Madness, but some imagery goes too far. If you or someone you know needs support, call or text the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988, Duke responded to the post on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New York Times reported that there was no green light given by Duke for its marks to be used on The White Lotus, according to the schools vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, Frank Tramble. Duke appreciates artistic expression and creative storytelling, Tramble said via email, according to the Times, adding but characters prominently wearing apparel bearing Dukes federally registered trademarks creates confusion and mistakenly suggests an endorsement or affiliation where none exists. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found suicides hitting close to the highest level in history in 2023, with more than 49,000 deaths by the cause being reported. HBO has no comment, a The White Lotus spokesperson told The Hill when reached about comments from Tramble in the Times interview and the post on X. 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. SANAA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military launched more than 40 airstrikes on the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Friday before dawn, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported. The airstrikes targeted Sanaa International Airport, the Command Camp, the Sarif area and the Jarban site in the Sanhan area, as well as several other places in northern provinces. One person was wounded, said the television. According to the residents, the airstrikes on the Command Camp in central Sanaa caused damage to several homes, buildings and shops in the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The strikes occurred a few hours after the Houthis claimed responsibility for launching two ballistic missile attacks at Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel and a military target south of Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon. It was the most intensive air attack and the highest in number since the beginning of the U.S. air attack against the Houthis on March 15. More than 50 people were killed and dozens wounded in the previous U.S. airstrikes during the past two weeks. Tensions between the Houthis and the U.S. military have escalated since Washington launched fresh airstrikes on the Houthi-held areas in northern Yemen on March 15. The strikes followed Houthi threats to resume attacks on Israeli targets unless humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis would continue. A strong quake with an epicentre in Myanmar has caused a bridge and buildings to collapse in the south-east Asian country, according to initial reports. In the inland town of Aung Ban, a hotel collapsed and many people are said to be trapped there, rescue teams reported on social media. The quake was also felt in Thailand's capital Bangkok as well as in parts of China and India. There were no initial reports of injuries or deaths from those countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 7.7 and occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It hit around 12:50 pm (0620 GMT). The quake's epicentre was located about 16 kilometres from the city of Sagaing, in the country's in the north-west, USGS said. The German Georesearch Institute (GFZ) in Potsdam reported that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4. It said the earth trembled for several minutes in some places. A few minutes later, the German researchers also registered another earthquake a little to the south with a magnitude of 6.4. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It said the main quake occurred around 50 kilometres east of Monywa in the centre of the country. Buildings collapsed in the city of Mandalay to the east and an old bridge collapsed in Sagaing. Aung Ban is also close to Mandalay. In Bangkok, the earth shook for several minutes and people left their homes in panic. In the Silom district in the centre of the capital, thousands of people were on the streets, many running. Volunteers were also immediately deployed, instructing people to get out into the open and leave the buildings. Patients were brought out of the hospitals onto the streets. On Friday, March 28, a devastating earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand, leaving more than 150 people dead in Myanmar, according to The Associated Press. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck its epicenter Mandalay, Myanmar at midday, toppling buildings, destroying a 90-year-old bridge and breaching a dam, the AP reported. Afterward, according to CNN, a 6.4 magnitude aftershock hit Myanmar and created tremors that were felt across Thailand and China. In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects a damaged road caused by an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. | The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP The AP reported that the complete impact of the earthquake, including casualties and damages, is difficult to determine especially in Myanmar, which faces the dual challenges of poverty and political unrest. Damage from the earthquake ABC shared a video on X that showed what the earthquake did to a skyscraper that had been under construction in Bangkok, Thailand. Dashcam footage captured the shocking moment an under construction skyscraper collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, after a deadly earthquake struck neighboring Myanmar. Read more: https://t.co/FRew92yLEn pic.twitter.com/V6RjJXcQYL ABC News (@ABC) March 28, 2025 ABC reported that at least three people were killed and 68 were injured when the building collapsed and that more people were still trapped in the rubble. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another video posted by Disaster News on X shows various views of skyscraper pools in the Thai capital dumping water as buildings sway from the tremors. The video also shows a train at a station being tossed back and forth and more angles of the skyscraper collapsing. Moment of the 7.7 Magnitude powerful earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand (28.03.2025) pic.twitter.com/KOLTBVS4ES Disaster News (@Top_Disaster) March 28, 2025 The AP shared firsthand accounts from citizens and tourists who poured into the streets after being evacuated from buildings in Bangkok, explaining that there was screaming and a lot of panic as the buildings swayed. In Mandalay, Myanmar, Shanghai Daily shared photos on X of the Mahamuni Buddha Temple before and after the powerful earthquake. A call for help In a televised speech on Friday, the leader of Myanmars military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, made an uncharacteristic plea for international support, according to CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have declared a state of emergency and requested international assistance, Min Aung Hlaing said, according to CNN. I would like to extend an open invitation to any organizations and nations willing to come and help the people in need within our country. He said there were at least 144 deaths and at least 732 injuries from the earthquake during his address, and warned that the casualties are expected to rise. In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, volunteers work on a rescue near damaged buildings caused by an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. | The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP According to AP, in February of 2021, Myanmars military seized power, causing the government to lose control of most of the country. Min Aung Hlaing is the countrys military ruler and rarely cooperates with the international community, CNN reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, the International Criminal Court attempted to arrest him for alleged crimes committed that led to a minority group of more than 1 million people being forcibly displaced from Myanmar, per CNN. CNN also reported that the ruling junta has heavily restricted internet access and that journalists face severe repression in the country. It was supposed to be a symbol of power, progress and modernity, the face of a new Myanmar, built at a cost of billions of dollars and immune to foreign invaders and natural disasters. Now the brilliant white streets and eight-lane roads of the new capital Naypyidaw are veined with gaping splits and cracks, its prized airport in ruins, after a massive earthquake struck the country on Friday and made Myanmars future more uncertain than ever, its seat of power ever more fragile. The extent of the disaster beginning at the epicentre in Mandalay and stretching hundreds of miles to neighbouring Thailand remains unclear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But it is believed that thousands of people have lost their lives. As the 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the country in the early afternoon, residents fled the dust and debris falling around them. The disaster comes at a critical time for Myanmar, already torn apart by a brutal civil war. Four years on from the military coup, a third of the population is reliant on humanitarian aid, the economy in ruins, and a severe food crisis under way. On Saturday morning, Myanmars junta said 1,002 people have died and more than 2,300 were injured, but the group is known for under-reporting casualties. A situation report from the United States Geological Survey predicted that there is a 34 per cent chance that there were between 10,000 and 100,000 fatalities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ground at Mandalay General Hospital, close to the epicentre, was streaked with blood on Friday. Around it lay dozens of injured people, some resting on wooden palettes, the others on sheets of cardboard. When my mother arrived at the Mandalay General Hospital, she was still alive, Thiri San, 39, told The Telegraph. But there werent enough doctors to treat her and she lost too much blood from her head injury and passed away. A survivor rests in a hospital in Naypyidaw - SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP via Getty Images The situation is so dire that the ruling junta has made a rare plea for humanitarian aid. As those organisations assess the damage, they are bracing for the worst. The earthquake could not have come at a worse time, said Joe Freeman, a Myanmar researcher at Amnesty International. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Central Myanmar, which is believed to be the epicentre of the earthquake, has been ravaged by military air strikes and clashes between resistance groups and the military, he added. More than 3.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the UN, a figure that is now likely to balloon. Fierce fighting is ongoing around Mandalay and the rebel-held Sagaing, where some of the worst destruction caused by the earthquake unfolded. Myanmar has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist the regime are most active. The devastation appears worse in Mandalay: houses collapsed on almost every street, while the walls of the moat around the citys palace have crumbled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ambulances could be heard rushing through the city well into the night on Friday. The citys main hospitals were overflowing with patients, beds spilling into parking lots, while the demand for blood was outpacing supply. At least 200 patients have arrived at the hospitals emergency department, said Dr Yan Naing, speaking from Mandalay General Hospital. There arent enough doctors and space. Patients are scattered inside the hospital Across Myanmar, I believe the death toll will be in the hundreds. Unveiled in 2005, Naypyidaw was crowned the new capital. Unlike Yangon, its predecessor, it was grand, pristine and sparsely populated. Critics decried it as a vanity project by the ruling junta and, being further inland than Yangon, formerly called Rangoon, a reflection of its paranoia to protect itself against an amphibious US invasion, a natural disaster from the sea, and a popular uprising. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By withdrawing from the major city, Rangoon, [former Burmese army general] Than Shwe and the leadership ... sheltered themselves from any popular uprising, said activists Benedict Rogers and Jeremy Woodrum in their book Than Shwe: Unmasking Burmas Tyrant. A destroyed road in the capital city of Naypyidaw - SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP via Getty Images Prior to the disaster millions of people across the country were already living in fear and insecurity, with little access to medical care. The suspension of US foreign development assistance by Donald Trump earlier this year has worsened the crisis. Before the move, the US was one of the largest donors to Myanmar, spending roughly $200 million a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abrupt funding cuts forced humanitarian organisations to scale back operations and have had a crushing impact on its people, according to experts. This is a catastrophe that is unfolding it is unnecessary and it is cruel, said Thomas Andrews, the US special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, earlier this month. Just days before the earthquake, the UN announced it would cut aid to more than one million people in the country from next month, citing global funding shortfalls. At the same time, the impacts of US aid cuts on humanitarian services in the country are just starting to bite, said Mr Freeman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tremors on Friday stretched as far as Thailand, where a state of emergency was declared and a 30-storey skyscraper tumbled to the ground. At least three people were killed and 68 injured. It remains unclear how many were trapped under the rubble initial estimates of 43 had risen to 81 by Friday evening. I heard the sound of the building falling it was like a jet plane, said Iana, 40, in Bangkok on holiday from Russia. The building was shaking, shaking, shaking. People could be seen racing for cover as a cloud of debris surged toward them, swallowing the scene in thick darkness as it closed in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The building belonged to the national audit office and had been under construction for three years at a cost of more than two billion Thai baht (roughly 45 million). Later, there will surely be questions about how this destruction was able to happen. Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect When The Telegraph visited on Friday afternoon, the site resembled the aftermath of a bomb blast. The streets were covered in a thick layer of white dust, and a sombre atmosphere was pierced by sirens as the army, police and medics co-ordinated a rescue attempt against the odds. Sompon, 50, was among the workers who narrowly escaped being buried when the earthquake hit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its indescribable. Im speechless, he said, still in a white hard hat and covered in soot, sheltering from the blistering 36 degree heat in shade near the site. Because all the dust [was] coming everywhere, we could see only dust. I ran out as fast as I could, to be safe, he told The Telegraph. This is the scariest experience Ive ever had. Those trapped in the debris could be heard screaming in the distance. I heard people calling for help, saying help me, Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bangkoks Bang Sue district, told AFP. I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before. There were surreal scenes elsewhere across the city as water gushed from rooftop swimming pools swaying from the shock. Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect Locals, too fearful to return to their buildings in case they too collapsed, gathered outside with their pets, unsure where to go. It was scary.. Its my first time (in an earthquake), I was really nervous and I wasnt sure what to do, said Boom, 23, as she sat on the pavement of a busy main road, which was rammed with traffic after authorities shut the Skytrain for fear of structural damage. Boom was on the tenth floor of a 23-floor apartment block when the quake struck. Then it started shaking more, there was a crack in the wall, so I grabbed my cat and sat under the table. Afterwards, I just went down the emergency ladder. Im waiting until someone like the government tells me its safe, she added, cradling her cat in her arms. A shocked worker reacts near the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok - REUTERS Nearby, people were also hugging children and dogs as the city processed the days events. Among them were the citys many Myanmar refugees and migrants, frantically trying to reach family and friends for news from across the border. Back in Mandalay, Ms San held her bleeding head. Despite the death of her mother, she said she was still waiting to receive treatment for her own injuries and was in pain inside out. The trauma she had suffered was apparent in her wavering voice. I saw bricks falling on my mothers head. I tried to run to her, but I couldnt reach her in time, Ms San said. My 89-year-old father said this is the worst earthquake in his life. 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. BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) An East Hartford man waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty to federal drug trafficking and gun possession charges Thursday. According to evidence and testimony, Warren Wodi Simpson, 43, sold cocaine to ATF agents multiple times in July and August of 2024. Police: Three children arrested in connection to offensive graffiti in Wallingford On Sept. 12, 2024, Simpson attempted to flee his residence on Judson Avenue as investigators approached to execute a federal search warrant. He allegedly tossed bags of narcotics as he ran. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A search of Simpsons residence, vehicle and discarded bags revealed approximately 248 grams of fentanyl, approximately 690 grams of cocaine, drug processing and packaging materials, a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol, and ammunition. Simpsons criminal history includes felony convictions in Connecticut for possession of narcotics, larceny, and criminal possession of a firearm. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm and ammunition that have moved in interstate or foreign commerce. Simpson pled guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams more of cocaine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years; and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, an offense that carries a maximum term of 15 years in prison. Simpson was released on a $200,000 bond pending sentencing, which is not scheduled. 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. The town of Eatonville is about to undergo a major transformation, thanks to a $34.4 million grant that will fix its aging water infrastructure. This is the biggest infrastructure project in our history, said Valerie Mundy, Director of Public Works for Eatonville. The funding, awarded through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection State Revolving Fund, comes as a long-awaited solution to a growing problemoutdated and undersized water and wastewater systems that have plagued the town with frequent service disruptions, inefficiencies, and safety concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project will also include a new water treatment plant and water storage tank. A historical town that was sitting on top of historical pipes that, after decades of promises, we can now fulfill those promises, said Angie Gardner, Mayor of Eatonville. For years, residents have dealt with unreliable water service due to the aging concrete and clay pipes, and as the town grows, Gardner said the infrastructure system cant keep up with demand. The undersized water and wastewater systems have caused dozens of service interruptions and backups. In 2024, the town was under two boil-water advisories because of potential health and environmental risks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gardner said the grant is a game-changer, allowing them to modernize critical infrastructure, improve efficiency, and ensure safe, reliable water service for the community. We have been struggling for decades with the maintenance of our aging water and sewer infrastructure. We will be implementing innovative approaches to put our utility ahead of the curve, said The grant, provided through Floridas environmental protection fund, is part of a statewide effort to invest in water infrastructure and sustainability. With the funding, Eatonville will be able to replace outdated pipes, expand its water capacity, and enhance wastewater managementimprovements that officials say will have lasting benefits for generations to come. This program is more than pipes and pumpsits a promise. A promise to deliver clean water to every home, protect our environment and lay the groundwork for economic opportunity in Eatonville. Were building for the future while honoring our past, said Gardner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For residents, the grant represents more than just a fixits a step toward a stronger, more sustainable future with clean, efficient and reliable water systems. We have been blessed by the best to have this happen, said Glenn Paige, Owner of Blessed By The Best Barber and Beauty Salon. With the funding secured, engineering is now laying out a plan to begin infrastructure upgrades, said Mundy. The project will be completed in phases over the next few years. Construction will start at the end of 2025 and the anticipated completion date is 2027. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. OWEGO, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) Tioga Countys Chamber of Commerce brought together experts in economics to discuss the future of our economy locally and country wide. The Chamber held its annual Economic Forecasting forum, with this years theme titled, where opportunity meets growth. Two of the keynote speakers were Joe Nehme, the Senior Manager of External Affairs at Micron, and Giovanni Scaringi, a professor of economics at SUNY Broome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nehme showed renderings of what will be Microns super factory, and says the plan is to break ground on the project in November. Professor Scaringi says the one word to describe the state of our economy, is uncertainty. But he says big projects like Micron could give a huge boost to smaller, local businesses. Are there local and established businesses or, potentially new ventures or new entrepreneurial startups that may, in some way, shape, or form, be able to jump on that bandwagon to support these larger investment initiatives here in the Southern Tier and more broadly in Upstate New York, said Scaringi. Scaringi says one of the biggest uncertainties is how the tariffs will affect our relationships with other nations, and the price of resources like steel and aluminum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In attendance at the forum were local business owners, politicians, economists and others. Scaringi says the economy is indicating that in one way, shape or form, a recession of some kind is on the horizon. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Eddie OGorman, who has died aged 90, was a businessman who raised hundreds of millions of pounds to fight childhood cancer after losing a son and a daughter in quick succession to the disease. In 1986, OGorman was well-off, happily married and a father of five without a care in the world, as he put it, when he took his wife Marion and their children on holiday to Florida. His daughter Jean, who was 29 and had a child of her own, found a lump on her breast, as did Marion. Then, on a fishing trip, Paul, their youngest, and a big, strapping lad of 14, mentioned that he was not feeling well. On their return to England, they entered a nightmare. Marions lump was benign, but Jean was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. A few days later, they heard that Paul had leukaemia. Paul OGorman and his sister Jean - courtesy of family He was given a 60 per cent chance of survival. I just didnt believe he could die, recalled OGorman. He was our baby. He and Marion spent 11 days and nights at their sons bedside at the Royal Free but in February 1987, nine weeks after his diagnosis, Paul died of complications from an infection, before he could receive a bone-marrow transplant from another older sister, Sandra. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His parents were in shock. He looked a million dollars he hadnt even lost his hair, said OGorman. At the same time, their daughter Jean was also slipping away. She spent her final weeks in a hospice but came out in a wheelchair to attend a fundraising ball at Grosvenor House, organised by the OGormans in Pauls memory for the Leukaemia Research Fund. She died a few days later, nine months after Paul. Hearing of the OGormans grief, Diana, Princess of Wales, offered to charter their idea for a charity, the Paul OGorman Foundation. Operating under the umbrella of the Leukaemia Research Fund, and later renamed Children with Cancer UK, it has since raised more than 300 million, and contributed to the dramatic improvement in the survival rates of childhood cancer, from around 67.3 per cent in 1990 to over 85 per cent today. Diana, Princess of Wales, with Eddie and Marion OGorman - courtesy of family Eddie OGorman retired from his career in wholesale textiles in 1988 to dedicate himself wholly to the cause. As a dynamic and hands-on chairman of the charity, he launched a series of eye-catching fundraisers, including The Amazing Great Childrens Party in Battersea Park in 1990, for 5,000 children affected by leukaemia, disabilities or poverty, with Rowan Atkinson, Felicity Kendal, the cast of Bread and the Duchess of York among the entertainers. In 1993, a fleet of 100ft hot air balloons one a giant Rupert the Bear stopped traffic up and down Britain. He partnered with Diners Club credit cards so that, for every 5 spent, a donation would be made. He even threw a charity lingerie show at Harrods in 1991, starring Britt Ekland in what the Evening Standard described as a glorious tea-coloured creation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By 1995 the charity had raised the 2 million it needed to open its first childhood leukaemia research centre, at Great Ormond Street Hospital. In the early 2000s, it co-funded elements of a major clinical trial that led to the Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) test, which is now widely used after treatment to predict whether leukaemia will return. Eddie OGorman receiving the Daily Mirrors 2018 Pride of Britain lifetime achievement award - Tim Anderson The foundation also contributed to a 40 million new home for UCLs Cancer Institute, the Paul OGorman Building opening in 2007 with space for 350 scientists in state-of-the-art laboratories. From 2004 the charity began to open patient hotels, such as Pauls House in London, where families of children being treated can stay without the stress of finding accommodation. OGorman was made an honorary fellow of UCL and became a friend of the late Jimmy Carter. He was appointed OBE in 2010, but he buried the badge in the grave of his wife Marion, who had died of motor neurone disease two years before. Edward OGorman was born on February 22 1935 in Kentish Town to Ted, an accountant, and his wife Violet, and was educated at William Ellis School in Gospel Oak. Eddie trained as an accountant and rose to be part-owner of a wholesale textile business. Eddie and Marion - Courtesy of family He met Marion in 1954 at the Forum Cinema in Kentish Town and they married the next year, with four children Cliff, Sandra, Jean and Mark born in quick succession, then a gap of 12 years before the birth of Paul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Covid he donated millions of pounds to other charities, including the Teenage Cancer Trust. He is survived by his remaining children, Cliff, Sandra and Mark. Eddie OGorman, born February 22 1935, died March 19 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. If he isnt careful, Mayor Brandon Johnson is going to find himself in another political brawl with the City Council. The mayors team is preparing to plug a $175 million hole blown in their budget for last year caused by the refusal of Chicagos partially elected school board to cover a $175 million pension contribution that the city has paid already while expecting reimbursement from Chicago Public Schools. A major question is whether the administration will seek approval from aldermen when it settles on where in the $16.6 billion budget for 2024 to find the cash to close the books for a year already past. In briefings for reporters earlier this week, administration officials were fuzzy on their plans. On the one hand, they intimated there was no legal requirement for a council-approved budget amendment to solve the problem. On the other, they didnt commit to bypassing the council, either. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Essentially, they said, stay tuned. There still are moving parts to the revenue story for last year, including state funds the city included in its 2024 budget but has yet to receive. The vagaries of budgeting and accounting can be confusing. Both governments and companies will include monies they expect to receive later in their current statements of financial condition, whether those are earnings reports or government budgets. City officials reassured the public that the $175 million they were counting on from Chicago Public Schools but now wont receive will not jeopardize their ability to meet their cash obligations. Thats good. But heres the thing for Team Johnson. By now, they should have learned from last years nail-biter budget negotiations or from repeated losses in the council on the issue of retaining the ShotSpotter gunshot-detection system or from an array of other fraught dealings with aldermen. Fifth-floor dictates to the council from a mayor as unpopular as Johnson merely poison the well the next time the administration needs council approval. And theres always a next time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The citys budget for 2026 is likely to be every bit as difficult, if not harder, than last years. Aldermen put the mayor on notice, with 15 signing a letter warning City Hall to seek council approval for whatever $175 million solution it produces. Even some progressive aldermen who typically have voted with Johnson said that if the administration bypasses the council, it will do so at its political peril. Consider this as well: The city budget for 2025 also includes an expectation that CPS will contribute $175 million to the Municipal Employees Annuity & Benefit Fund, which covers non-teaching CPS employees, as well as city workers. We may well be going through this whole ordeal again in just a few months. The school system soon will have a new leader. CEO Pedro Martinez, who steadfastly opposed Johnsons demand that CPS borrow in order to cover the $175 million pension payment, leaves after the current school year. But whoever is running the district after Martinez exits will find CPS in no better condition to pay that large sum than it is now. Even as the mayor and aldermen face a sizable deficit for 2026 (we dont yet know how big a hole that will be), they will face the need to find another $175 million for the current year if CPS balks again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These are the kinds of repeated messes an economically stagnant city faces when its leaders are unwilling even to consider budget cuts in the face of a public that feels tapped out and is prepared to punish politicians who resort to tax increases. Hard decisions are coming. The mayor would do well to heed the warnings, growing louder by the day, of the aldermen he will be asking to approve those tough calls. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) After the El Paso City Council voted to intervene in El Paso Electrics (EPE) proposed $93 million rate increase in February, the City of El Paso is encouraging residents to attend community meetings hosted by the utility to be informed about the rate increase, voice their concerns and learn more about the rate case and its possible effects. City intervening in El Paso Electrics rate increase plan According to the City of El Paso, the meetings will include EPE representatives who will provide details about the increase, answer questions, and listen to feedback. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are the scheduled meetings with times and dates, according to the City: Monday, April 7, at 5 p.m. Don Haskins Recreation Center, 7400 High Ridge Dr. Wednesday, April 9, at 5 p.m. Northeast Regional Command Center, 9600 Dyer St. Thursday, April 10, at 5 p.m. Chamizal Community Center, 2119 Cypress Ave. Monday, April 14, at 5 p.m. Michelle T. Adjemian Recreation Center, 9031 Viscount Blvd. Wednesday, April 16, at 5 p.m. The Beast Urban Park, 13501 Jason Crandall Dr. Thursday, April 24, at 5 p.m. Pavo Real Recreation Center, 9301 Alameda Ave The average EPE residential customer could see a 23 percent increase on their bill, roughly $22.39, if the proposal is approved, according to the City. In addition to the intervention, the proposed rate is temporarily paused for 90 days, according to the City. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When a proposal has the potential to impact so many families, its important to create space for open dialogue, El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson said. A rate increase of this size deserves a full public discussion, and I encourage El Pasoans to attend these meetings, ask questions, and make their voices heard. Before the City Council voted to intervene in the proposed rate increase, Johnson sent a statement to the media in January saying he is deeply concerned about the increase. Mayor deeply concerned about El Paso Electrics proposed rate increase According to El Paso Matters, residential customers, who make up roughly 90 percent of EPEs Texas customer base, would see the biggest percentage increase in bills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Small and large businesses would see increases between 3 to 7.5 percent, while medium businesses will see their bills decline by 2 percent, according to El Paso Matters. El Paso Electric seeks rate increase that could add $23 a month to average household bill The City has also engaged outside legal and technical experts to analyze EPEs filings to ensure that only fair and necessary costs are passed on to ratepayers, the City 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 KTSM 9 News. The photo shows the smoke caused by Israeli artillery shelling in Khiam, Lebanon, after two rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on March 28, 2025. A Lebanese security source told Xinhua that Israeli artillery was shelling Lebanese border areas amid intense Israeli drone activity over southern Lebanon. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday that two rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel, with no reports of casualties or damage. One of the rockets was intercepted, while the other landed in Lebanese territory, the IDF said in a statement. The launch activated air defense sirens in the city of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee region and the nearby villages. Following the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned in a statement: "If there is no peace in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no peace in Beirut either. The Lebanese government bears direct responsibility for any firing into the Galilee." He vowed to ensure the security of the residents of Galilee and "act forcefully against any threat." Meanwhile, a Lebanese security source told Xinhua that Israel "intercepted both rockets, one of which exploded in the air over the eastern sector of the border area in southern Lebanon." The source added that Israeli artillery was shelling Lebanese border areas amid intense Israeli drone activity over southern Lebanon. Since Nov. 27, 2024, a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France has been in effect, halting over a year of hostilities in southern Lebanon following the Gaza war. Despite this agreement, Israel continued to conduct occasional strikes in Lebanon, claiming they targeted Hezbollah "threats." Additionally, Israel has maintained a military presence at five key locations along the Lebanese border after missing the Feb. 18 deadline for full withdrawal. On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced that it had bombed "more than 40 Hezbollah targets" last Saturday in response to rocket fire from Lebanon. The photo shows the smoke caused by Israeli artillery shelling in Khiam, Lebanon, after two rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on March 28, 2025. A Lebanese security source told Xinhua that Israeli artillery was shelling Lebanese border areas amid intense Israeli drone activity over southern Lebanon. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) U.S. Rep. Andy Barr speaks to a Commerce Lexington Public Policy Luncheon, March 19, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Kevin Nance) For 236 years the United States has benefited from a government built on effective checks and balances among its three branches. Now our system is under attack by the head of one branch, who wants to discredit another branch, the judiciary. That branch is not designed for the political and public-relations combat that President Trump relishes, because it speaks slowly and deliberately, through rulings the other branches are supposed to respect. Trump and his minions show little respect, so we should be hearing more objections from the third branch, Congress not just about Trumps assault on the rule of law, but his abrupt changes in foreign policy and the chainsaw approach that he and the worlds richest man, Elon Musk, are taking to the executive branch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve heard little from Republicans who control Congress, because most fear Trump and Musk will fund challenges to them in the primaries of 2026. They also fear abuse that could rain down on them from Trumpist information sources, the sort of abuse that can incite violence; theres been a surge in physical threats to members of Congress. Clearly, Republicans fear that if they confront Trump, he will end their political careers with his money and the hold he has on Republican voters. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska (Official photo) Says who? GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. When a reporter there asked her March 18 if she had been sufficiently outspoken about Trump and Musk, though shes been one of the most outspoken Republicans, she said some important things, even about her Republican colleagues: I get criticized for what I say, and then get asked, How come nobody else is saying anything? Well, figure it out. Theyre looking at how many things are being thrown at me, and its like, Maybe I just better duck and cover. Thats why youve got everybody just like, zip-lip, not saying a word because theyre afraid theyre going to be taken down, theyre going to be primaried, theyre going to be given names in the media. You know what? We cannot be cowed into not speaking up. Leading into that, she said, Im not going to compromise my integrity by hiding my words when I feel they need to be spoken. Im gonna take the criticism that comes, and it may be that Elon Musk has decided he may take the next billion dollars he makes off of Starlink and put it directly against Lisa Murkowski. But Im not giving up one minute, one opportunity, to stand up for Alaskans. But Ive got to figure out how to do that, and I need Alaskans help to tell me what they are feeling, so that I can help deal with that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So speaks a servant leader, who wants to hear from voters. Thats not the approach of most congressional Republicans, whose House leaders have advised them not to have in-person, town-hall meetings that could put them on the defensive. On March 22, an ad hoc, bipartisan group in Lexington organized a town hall and invited 6th District Rep. Andy Barr. He didnt show, and claimed without proof that it was organized and attended by paid activists, the line House leaders are using. Organizers denied that, and the crowd of 900-plus seemed to be a true grassroots uprising. One speaker was lifelong Republican Edwin Gibson, 70, who recalled serving along the Iron Curtain: Congressman Barr, you are complicit in the betrayal of our democracy. He told me that he was referring to Barrs support of this rogue president and this rogue president supporting the war criminal Putin and how offensive it is to me and every other soldier. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Barr seems to consider such events dangerous because he wants to run for U.S. senator and is desperate for the endorsement of Trump who backed the only declared Republican candidate, Daniel Cameron, for governor in 2023 or at least wants to keep Cameron or wealthy newcomer Nate Morris from getting the presidents backing. So, he does tele-townhalls, a form of conference calls (you sign up on his website), and appears before friendly audiences like the Lexington Chamber of Commerce. A less likely Senate candidate is 4th District Rep. Thomas Massie, who exhibits no fear of Trump. After he was the only Republican to vote against the latest bill to keep the government open, Trump said He should be primaried, and I will lead the charge against him. Massie appealed for contributions, saying Telling the truth can get you in hot water, and reported a few days later that he raised $261,000 in three days, a record for him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Massies strength comes from his constituents and the online supporters he has cultivated. Trumps comes from his cultish followers and the big money allowed by the campaign-finance system that Sen. Mitch McConnell wanted. I wonder what he thinks about it now. This commentary is republished from the Northern Kentucky Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring voters to prove their citizenship. That means providing documented proof, like a Star I.D., when registering to vote. Some say this will ensure fair elections, while others largely disagree. Secretary of State Wes Allen said the mandate enables him to use new databases to update voter rolls, those being from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. Allen said it would keep elections fair. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, we can cross check any legal/non-citizens against our statewide voter files to make sure we only have American citizens voting in our elections, Allen explained. But the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice said that cross checking evokes fear. Allison Hamilton, executive director, said minorities are already nervous about being targeted just based on what they look like. Executive orders especially just create more fear and feed into a narrative that is false about whats happening in elections, she said. Alabama senators working to lower states grocery tax The executive order also prohibits the counting of ballots received after election day. ANiya Robinson with the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama said thats concerning for service members overseas who vote absentee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of their ballots may not come in on time. Maybe they are postmarked by Election Day, which, federal law says thats okay, said Robinson. But Allen said it wont turn voters away. No, I dont think its going to discourage anyone from voting, he said. We saw a huge turnout this past November. Weve got good processes here in place in the state of Alabama. And we just want to make sure, again, that only American citizens are voting in our elections. In a press release, that League of Women Voters said the mandate was a dangerous attempt to silence American voters. They called it an anti-voter executive order. 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 CBS 42. New York Representative Elise Stefanik said Thursday she is proud to be a team player after Donald Trump withdrew her nomination for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations so shell remain in Congress to help further the GOP agenda. I was honored to have earned that nomination by President Trump, and I'm proud to be one of his top allies on Capitol Hill, she told Fox News in an interview Thursday night. I have been proud to be a team player, the president knows that. He and I had multiple conversations today, and we are committed to delivering results on behalf of the American people. And as always, I'm committed to delivering results on behalf of my constituents, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump announced the decision keeping Stefanik in Congress on Truth Social earlier in the day Thursday, apparently suddenly more concerned about Republicans tight 218-213 majority in the House, and concerned about a special election to replace her if she left her seat for the ambassador role. He noted it was essential Republicans maintained every one of their seats in Congress, and advance what he called his America First Agenda. Just days before Trump announced his change of heart regarding Stefanik, a Democrat grabbed a startling victory to become a state senator in a special election in a Pennsylvania red district that Trump won by 15 points. Rep. Elise Stefanik testifies early this year on Capitol Hill during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on what was to be her pending confirmation to be Americas United Nations ambassador (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Earlier on Thursday, Stefanik had come before members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for a nomination hearing and was awaiting votes on whether her nomination would be advanced to the full upper chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stefanik denied on Fox the suggestion that her withdrawn nomination represented any fear of Republican weakness in Congress, or a sign that the Trump agenda isnt working, branding such claims by Democrats as desperate political posturing. President Trump has historic approval ratings, as well as congressional Republicans [who] have historic approval ratings right now, she said. So this is a Democrat party that is in absolute free fall. Democrats are failing to unify, versus Republicans, who are defying all political odds. New York Rep. Elise Stefanik appears with Donald Trump at a rally (AFP via Getty Images) We are defying what the media is saying and continuing to pass these important agenda items, which we will do in the House, working through the Senate, and the president will be there to sign them. Trump earlier hailed Stefanik as absolutely fantastic, adding that he didnt want to take a chance on anyone else in a special election that would be held if she were to give up her House seat to take up the ambassadorial post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations, he said on Truth Social. Therefore, Elise will stay in Congress, rejoin the House Leadership Team, and continue to fight for our amazing American People. Speaker Johnson is thrilled! I look forward to the day when Elise is able to join my Administration in the future. Rep. Elise Stefanik prepares to testify early this year at a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on what was to be her pending confirmation to become Americas United Nations ambassador (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Speaking on Fox Stefanik vowed to continue to be a vocal supporter of Trump and his agenda and noted she would no longer be constrained by her pending confirmation. The good news ... is because I'm not pending confirmation, the American people will be hearing a lot more from me, because you're limited in what you can say when you are pending confirmation, Stefanik said. So I'm glad to have joined Fox today, as I will continue to do, and just look forward to sharing my voice, as I always have being one of the top fighters and top allies on behalf of President Trump on behalf of the American people and on behalf of my district, standing up for our principles, she added. Concerned about whether the worlds richest man has the power to unilaterally shut down federal agencies or cut off Social Security checks? Elon Musk claims thats probably because youre committing fraud against the government. The SpaceX founder and Republican megadonor-turned-Trump-White-House adviser made the outrageous claim during an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier alongside members of his DOGE team on Thursday. He talked to Baier from inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building thats part of the White House compound. Musk boasted that his efforts via the Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump administration shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development, freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants and firing tens of thousands of federal employees as a revolution that could be the biggest revolution in government since America broke away from the British empire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He brashly predicted that his rampant dismantling of large swathes of federal agencies would lead to a fantastic future. Not everyone agrees. Multiple federal judges have ordered a stop to his actions, including reversing mass firings perpetrated and restoring funding. Musk has been called out for claiming widespread fraud when he has yet to prove it.. The centibillionaire industrialist dismissed the concerns of his critics as merely evidence of their fraud, citing his experience payment processor PayPal in the late 1990s. One of the things I learned PayPal was that ... you know who complains the loudest and the most amount of fake righteous indignation? The fraudsters, he declared. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk then repeated a false claim about former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams receiving approximately $2 million from a green energy fund authorized by Congress during the Biden administration, and said the complaints about DOGE cuts are a crazy tell. There are many such cases like that, he said of a case that doesnt exist. Musk took the opportunity during the interview for another attack on Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, former astronaut and Navy officer who fought in the Gulf War, again calling him a traitor for supporting wounded soldiers during a visit to Ukraine early this month. The first time Musk called him a traitor, Kelly ditched his Tesla. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk had representatives of DOGE with him during the interview. Notably missing was perhaps the most famous DOGE member, 19-year-old high school graduate Edward Coristine, more commonly known as Big Balls. Coristine, who reportedly has had access to scads of Americans Social Security numbers in his work for DOGE, was linked earlier this week to a cybercrime network to which he provided tech support. The network, known as EGodly, was reportedly involved in hijacking emails and phones numbers, cryptocurrency theft and cyberstalking an FBI agent investigation the group, Reuters reported. Elon Musk has already poured in millions of dollars into the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election to back Waukesha County judge and conservative candidate Brad Schimel over Dane County judge and liberal candidate Susan Crawford. Now, the billionaire says he's coming to the state two days before the high-stakes election. The tech giant and leader of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency agency, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday night that he'll be in Wisconsin on Sunday. He later announced that he'll be in Green Bay for a rally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk, the world's richest person, initially said he will give out two $1 million checks to people who have already voted. However, by late Friday morning, Musk's post has since been deleted. Musk owns X. Shortly after, though, he posted again, clarifying that the checks would be given to individuals who would serve as spokespeople for his "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges." The new post also no longer said attendance would be limited "to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election," as the original post had said. Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, is taking legal action and suing Musk over the payments. A Court of Appeals rejected Kaul's lawsuit on Saturday. Elon Musk in a since-deleted post on X said he would visit Wisconsin on Sunday and hand out $1 million checks to two voters. The post was deleted after election law experts raised questions about whether his offer violated state election bribery laws. Here's what we know about Musks announcement and his growing presence and financial contributions in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race: When is the Elon Musk rally in Wisconsin? Late Friday, Musk announced that he'll be holding the event in Green Bay. The rally at a yet-to-be announced venue will begin at 6:30 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the second post, he just wrote that he'll give a talk in the state and that entrance will be limited to those who've signed the petition against "activist judges." On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges. I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2025 Elon Musk Wisconsin petition, America PAC Musk's giveaway to Wisconsin voters comes after a Green Bay man received $1 million from Elon Musk's super PAC, America PAC, for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The man, who has been identified as Scott Ainsworth, signed Musk's "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges." America PAC also said it'll pay Wisconsin voters $100 to sign the petition, Axios reported. The plan could be illegal under state law, one Wisconsin election lawyer said. It's illegal for voters to receive or accept any money for their vote, according to state statutes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk has spent $11.5 million through America PAC to promote Schimel and attack Crawford in the Supreme Court race. He's the largest donor in the race for either campaign. Musk has funneled in nearly $20 million in support of Schimel, campaign records show. Musk, who campaigned for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, gave away millions of dollars last fall through his political action committee in swing states. Legal challenges failed. When Trump won the presidency, he made Musk the head of DOGE, which he started that has gone on to fire thousands of federal employees from agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, National Park Service, the Agriculture Department and more. Elon Musk net worth Musk is the world's richest person with a net worth of over $344.9 billion, according to Forbes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He co-founded several companies, including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and xAI, an artificial startup. He bought Twitter, which he renamed X, for $44 billion in 2022. Donald Trump has endorsed Brad Schimel in Wisconsin Supreme Court race Musk isn't the only prominent name advocating for Schimel. President Donald Trump has been stumping hard for Schimel in recent days. He endorsed Schimel last week on social media and, on Thursday, he appeared on a public call with the Waukesha County judge. Trump encouraged voters to vote for Schimel and called Crawford a "hand-picked candidate of the Communists and Marxists." Former President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has endorsed Crawford, saying "theres only one candidate ready to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of Wisconsinites: Judge Susan Crawford." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wisconsin elections: Tuesday begins six straight years of state Supreme Court races Wisconsin early voting Nearly 500,000 people have already voted in Wisconsin for Tuesday's spring election with the Supreme Court battle between Schimel and Crawford the headliner. The winner will help shape the ideological philosophies in Wisconsin. Liberal justices have a slim 4-3 lead heading into the election. Voters will also determine the state's top education official as well as whether to make voter ID law permanent and add it to the state constitution. Voter ID is already a requirement in the state. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Elon Musk in Wisconsin: What we know about DOGE leader's visit Elon Musk deleted an X post made early Friday morning offering two $1 million checks to Wisconsin voters attending a talk that he is giving in the state on Sunday amid a special election for a seat on the states Supreme Court. screenshot of Elon Musk's deleted tweet The post is a reminder that Musk pushed a similar scheme ahead of the 2024 presidential election in battleground states, where he gave away $1 million each day to registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin, from early October until Election Day in November. The plan was met with a legal challenge in Pennsylvania but was ultimately allowed to continue. This time around, after facing criticism that his post may have violated election laws against paying people to vote, Musk deleted it. In a follow-up post, he sought to backtrack, saying he is offering two $1 million checks to two people attending the talk to be spokesmen for a petition against activist judges that he is touting. Only people who have signed the petition are allowed to attend the event. A screenshot of an X post made by Elon Musk on Thursday, March 28, 2025 about his plan to give cash to voters who sign his petition in Wisconsin. The petition sparked legal controversy when Musk announced it last week, as signatories in Wisconsin are being paid $100 each to sign it and effectively hand over their personal information to Musk. The tech oligarch and fascism enthusiast has already spent $20 million to back conservative candidate Brad Schimel in the election. Wisconsins Supreme Court is set to weigh in on several issues with national implications, including the use of voter drop boxes in elections, abortion access, and redrawing congressional maps, and a Republican majority on the court would strengthen Trump and the MAGA agenda. Musks cash handouts are another brazen attempt by the billionaire to buy an election, and his deep pockets will probably insulate him from the possibility of any consequences. From arbitrary layoffs to intimidation tactics to targeted harassment, Elon Musk has brought the tyrannical practices of corporate America to the federal government. "This is a revolution, Musk told Fox News Bret Baier in his first interview with members of his cost-cutting team. I think it might be the biggest revolution in the government since the original revolution." Musk has led his legally ambiguous Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) on a rampage across federal servicesan attack that resembles the ruthless cost-cutting of private equity acquisitions or, rather, Musks own disastrous takeover of Twitter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With Trumps fawning approval, Musk is dismantling the American constitutional system, flouting federal law to purge perceived ideological enemies from the civil service and circumventing congressional authority by cutting off appropriated federal funding, and doing so in open defiance of the courts. Musk doesn't just bring Silicon Valley's 'disruptor' mindset to DC he embodies the idea that the executive, whether a CEO or a president, should be the unbridled sovereign of his domain. A boss can hire and fire at will, cancel contracts, and direct funding without any checks to his power. Now, Musk threatens to remake the federal government into a business, with the president as an all-powerful boss. Musk and Trump dont just want the government to run like a business, they want to rule it like one. Welcome to the tyranny of the bosses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musks unrestrained, all-access scourge through the government has led pundits like Nate Silver to compare him to a great man of history that mythic personage whose unhindered agency pushes history forward. But Musks behavior resembles that of any corporate hatchet man. The now-infamous memo Musk sent to all federal employees demanding that they justify their jobs existence in five bullet points or face termination surely reminds most working Americans of a current or past boss: arrogant and incompetent, domineering and obstructive. A person whose authority convinces them of their right to abuse it. From Amazon forcing workers to urinate in bottles to Walmart penalizing employees for taking sick days, employers everywhere use and abuse their authority in the workplace to humiliate, demean, and harass workers. Like Big Tech companies use performance improvement plans to set unattainable goals to justify layoffs, Musks insulting memo demand is meant to force employees outor into submission. Tax cuts for the rich and deregulation for corporations made Musks avaricious ascent possible. But the Musk mindset was borne from the executive incubator. Who else is the Silicon Valley motto, move fast and break things, for other than CEOs who view people as expendable and companies as their playthings? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Americas extreme wealth inequality has led to the concentration of so much power in the hands of a few grotesquely wealthy individuals that someone like Musk can buy their way into the White House, extort legislators, and persecute government employeesand their families without consequence. But while rich assholes in government are nothing new, the attempt to override democratic safeguards in the name of corporate efficiency represents an assault on the principles of democracy itself. It's not efficiency that Musk pursues, but authority. Musk is reshaping the executive branch into the Chief Executive Office. Executive Monarchy The emphasis on executive authority pervades MAGAs ideology because it celebrates the unadulterated expression of ego, and MAGA is driven above all by its charismatic leader, the unrivalled narcissist, Donald Trump. While Trumps explicit proclamation Long Live the King (tweeted in response to his administrations move to shut down New York Citys congestion pricing) garnered shock from mainstream media, such regal aspirations should hardly be surprising given Trumps businessman persona. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The business executive occupies the top of the corporate hierarchy or, in the case of Trump, the dynastic hierarchy dispensing judgment as he sees fit. Trumps signature line, Youre fired!, embodies this arrogance. The executives ability to hire and fire at will forms the basis of his power. Trump, Musk, MAGA heads and, even old-school conservatives all share this belief in the inviolability of the businessmans power. Whereas the citizen is constrained by the desires, beliefs, and choices of their fellow citizens, the businessman wields unilateral power within his domain. Like a military regiment, a business is a top-down command hierarchy reinforced through discipline. Karl Marx explains that an industrial army of workers under the command of a capitalist requires, like a real army, officers (managers) and N.C.O.s (foremen, overseers). Authority is absolute. Firms exist as pockets of sovereignty for would-be kings to exercise their authority with no accountability to anyone but the market. Philosopher Elizabeth Anderson argues that the workplace operates as an arbitrary and unaccountable dictatorship, in which employers exercise control of workers inside and outside of the workplace: [T]he default constitution of workplace governance is a form of authoritarian, private government, in which, under employment-at-will, workers cede all their rights to their employers, except those specifically reserved for them by law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even with collective bargaining, workers face their bosses on an uneven playing field. Any attempt to rebalance the weight of authority within the workplace carries existential risk the majority of Americans are only a paycheck away from disaster. Now, Musk is destroying whats left of Americas meager social safety net, exposing working-class Americans to the full brunt of the market. Without social security, Medicaid, Medicare, labor protections, or workplace safety regulations, employers gain leverage over workers who face little choice but to accept dangerous, degrading work. This discrepancy in power between employer and employee allows the boss to be almost entirely unaccountable for their decisions decisions that have a direct impact on the livelihoods of everyone employed in an enterprise. Though each individual within a firm contributes to the collective effort of the workforce, whether that be in manufacturing a car or providing customer service, the planning and direction of the firm rests in the hands of a small, unelected, and unaccountable minority. While (most) Americans believe government should be organized along democratic principles, they dont question why the workplace is ruled by the tyranny of the boss. Liberals who take pride in their countrys democratic heritage assume that the right of representation stops at the factory gates. Now, Musk is leading the charge to bring the authoritarianism of the workplace to the executive branch. Openly flouting constitutional checks, threatening recalcitrant federal judges, seizing the fiscal chokepoints of government, and impounding congressionally appropriated funds, Musk is finally turning the conservative dream of running the government like a business into a reality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Musk doesnt even see the American people as customers. He sees them as employees. Subjects meant to obey and praise their leader but never to challenge them. And certainly, never tell them what to do. Big Business is Government Business This is for all practical purposes, a coup against the US government and the American people. As Judge Tanya Chutkan observed in a lawsuit filed by 19 state attorneys general against DOGEs constitutionality, Musk appears to operate with the unchecked authority of an unelected individual, presiding over an entity [DOGE] that was not created by Congress and over which it has no oversight. And yet, this unelected billionaire oligarch continues to wreak havoc on as he reshapes the American constitutional order in the image of the CEO. This is not a MAGA coup, its a business coup. The coterie of billionaires lined up behind Trump at his inauguration weren't only paying tribute to the self-declared king, they were staking their claim in the new order. Just like Musks Twitter layoffs gave the tech industry cover to purge their own workforces, so too has Trumps re-ascendence emboldened them to reassert their authority over their activist employees. And why wouldnt they? Trumps actions are nakedly in their interests. Some elite Democratic donors have already abandoned the party to take part in the spoils of government looting. Chuck Schumers capitulation to the GOPs poison-pilled budget despite the Democrats filibuster-proof minority in the Senate shows that working-class Americans will have to look beyond the Democratic Party to protect themselves from Trump and Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And like the workplace, the best place to start is collective organizing. Only in solidarity with others can we resist the encroachment of corporate authoritarianism. Grassroots backlash like the Tesla Takedown protests has sent Musks Tesla stocks plummeting and his wealth with it. Public sector employees have rallied together to resist DOGE cuts. And thousands have taken to the streets to protest the unlawful kidnapping of student activist Mahmoud Khalil by America's Gestapo, ICE. To resist the tyranny of the bosses, solidarity remains the answer. If Musk wants to make Trump America's boss, then the American people need a union. Billionaire Elon Musk, left accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and Musk's son, X Musk, speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11 (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images). An initiative effort begun Friday by a well-known Missouri Democrat would, if passed by voters next year, force Tesla to close its St. Louis and Kansas City showrooms. Brad Ketcher, a St. Louis attorney who was chief of staff to Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan in the 1990s, said he hopes the effort spreads to other states to fight back against Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his lead role in mass federal layoffs and budget cuts for President Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Elon Musk was not cutting Medicaid and Social Security and veterans health to fund a tax cut for billionaires and doing it with a bizarre glee, we would not be asking Missourians to say this guy does not deserve to be doing business in this state, Ketcher said. We would not be trying to drive this in Missouri. Tesla did not immediately respond to an email from The Independent seeking comment on the initiative. Soon after winning election in November, Trump named Musk to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency with instructions to find savings in the federal budget. Since taking office, Musk has, among other actions, closed the U.S. Agency for International Development, been granted access to payment systems delivering benefits to millions of Americans, put the entire Department of Education on the chopping block and slashed the staff of the Social Security Administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of those actions have been challenged in court and temporarily halted. Republicans in Congress, meanwhile, are pushing through a budget resolution that would extend tax cuts enacted in 2017 while making deep cuts in Medicaid and food programs. The initiatives filed with the secretary of states office would use Missouris law governing motor vehicle sales, which requires new cars, trucks and motorcycles to be sold through franchised dealers, to force Tesla out. Two versions were filed Friday, and more may be written before the signature drive begins, Ketcher said. The petitions must be reviewed and put out for public comment before the signature drive. Prior to the arrival of Tesla, all new motor vehicles sold in Missouri were purchased at authorized franchises with ownership independent of the manufacturer. In 2013, the Department of Revenue licensed a franchise owned by Tesla for a St. Louis showroom and followed it up the next year by licensing a Kansas City showroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initiatives would cause those licenses to be revoked. The first version filed states that it is the express intent of the people to prevent any manufacturer of new motor vehicles from circumventing the public policy as stated in (state law) by engaging in methods of retailing new motor vehicles which are designed to avoid the provisions of that law. To make the ballot, the committee called UnPlug Musk must gather at least 106,384 signatures properly distributed among six of the states congressional districts. The petition drive must be complete by the start of May 2026. Ketcher said that so far, he and former state Rep. Deb Lavender, a St. Louis County Democrat, treasurer of the committee, are the only people enlisted for the effort. He hopes to build a coalition quickly, he said. This gives Missourians a chance to say this guy is not welcome to do business in our state, Ketcher said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The petition drive would not be the first attempt to use state law to keep Tesla from opening its company-owned showrooms in Missouri. In 2014, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, then a state senator, helped write a provision for a bill that fell just short of passing to require all auto manufacturers to sell their vehicles through a franchise dealership. Kehoe owned Ford and Lincoln-Mercury franchises in Jefferson City from 1992 to 2011. He sold the dealerships before entering politics. He told the Springfield News-Leader in 2014 that he was surprised the department issued a dealership license to Tesla. Our question as dealers and people I know in the business: how in the world when weve worked so hard to get franchise legislation, how in the world could that be possible? Kehoe said to the News-Leader. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Missouri Automobile Dealers Association and others sued the department over its licensing decision, winning at the trial court level before the Western District Court of Appeals ruled none of the plaintiffs had a legal right to challenge the licenses. In its briefs for the appeals court, Tesla acknowledged that the legislature could block it from having manufacturer-owned dealerships. Plainly, if the legislature had wanted to erect a blanket direct sales ban, it could and would have done so clearly and straightforwardly by amending the existing partial ban in the franchise act, attorneys wrote. The auto dealers did not return a call seeking comment on the initiative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are some states where Tesla is not operating dealerships because of franchise laws. In Wisconsin, where Musk is spending millions on the state Supreme Court election, Tesla is suing to overturn the franchise law. Ketcher said he wants the effort to be joined by groups from other states with the initiative petition process and Democratically-controlled legislatures. Even in red states, somebody can hold up an amendment, and say, heres the amendment to drive Tesla, drive Musk, out of our state, he said. The language of the initiative, Ketcher said, is taken, with only technical changes, from the provisions Kehoe supplied for the 2014 bill. Tesla attorneys acknowledged during the litigation that it would effectively shut down their showrooms, Ketcher noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyve given us plans for the Death Star, Ketcher said. And when when somebody gives you the plans for Death Star, you know what to do. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In the early decades of the United States, when few people other than white men could participate in elections, voters were commonly required to cast their votes publicly by speaking aloud their choice to a clerk or sheriff. In many communities, wealthy candidates treated their supporters to alcohol on election day, in a tradition rooted in the hierarchical colonial society. Although voice voting had the virtue of increasing voter engagement in face-to-face communities, this system sometimes led to the buying and selling of votes or to voter intimidation. Moreover, this paternalistic form of republican governance was increasingly out of step with the growing democratic ethos of the early United States the same spirit that moved African Americans and women to advocate for their own rights. By the late nineteenth century, the written, anonymous ballot was adopted across the nation. Still, voting rights for all Americans remained elusive, and urban party machines rewarded some loyal voters with jobs. Reform was a slow process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Editorial: Elon Musks despicable disinformation tampers with WI Supreme Court election This long evolution of American electoral democracy, including the much more recent struggles of the modern Civil Rights movement, offer a reminder that our democratic system of voting is hard won and must be protected. In the current election season in Wisconsin, the America PACs offer to pay $100 to any registered voter who signs a petition to reject allegedly activist judges comes close to the practice of buying votes. The PAC is funded by Elon Musk. Green Bay man wins $1 million in Elon Musk PAC petition In fact, Musk announced on his social media platform X Wednesday that "Scott A." from Green Bay won $1 million for signing his "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges." Musks intention is clear, given that he has already pumped $19 million into the Wisconsin State Supreme Court race. Notably, the statement is less a petition than an ideologically tainted pledge. The pledges call to support the "laws as written rings hollow, given that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency that Musk heads is facing numerous court orders blocking implementation of actions that likely violate federal statutes, the Constitution, or both. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Local governments to face deficits if union bill repealed by WI Supreme Court. While this cynical publicity stunt on behalf of Musks preferred candidate is not technically vote buying, it is nonetheless a form of bribery. Some voters might take the $100 because they need the money. This understandable choice highlights the unimaginable gulf between Musks wealth and that of ordinary Americans. No matter how many millions he spends in Wisconsin, it will be mere pocket change relative to his accumulated wealth. Elon Musk America PAC shows influence of billionaires Others might take the money and donate it to the candidate Musk opposes. But this whole affair makes a mockery of our first amendment rights to freedom of speech and petition. Petitions and endorsements, freely given, play an essential role in American political discourse. Bribing voters degrades our democracy. Opinion: I'm the father of son with Down syndrome. Using the 'R' word is never acceptable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What does it say about Musks attitude toward our democracy that he is trying to buy off voters? What does it mean that Musk--the current right-hand man of President Trump--thinks it is possible to use this tactic in support of a candidate and perhaps necessary for his candidate to win? Perhaps most importantly, should we continue to allow billionaires to spend an unlimited amount of money to influence our elections? Is this the future we want for democracy in our state? David J. Voelker is the Frankenthal Family Professor of Humanities & History at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Musk petition close to buying votes for WI Supreme Court | Opinion BOAO, Hainan, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A representative from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called for greater attention to the protection of vulnerable children in Asia, emphasizing the need to ensure access to education, healthcare, and a sustainable future. UNICEF Representative to China Amakobe Sande, stressed that children must be placed at the center of the international development and cooperation agenda in today's increasingly complex and rapidly, ever-changing world, in an exclusive interview with Xinhua at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in south China's Hainan Province. Children in Asia face overlapping crises including conflict, widening inequality and climate change, Sande said. "These crises erode children's coping strategies, deepen inequalities, and hinder their potential to thrive." The Asia-Pacific region is home to a large proportion of the world's children. According to UNICEF, children in this region are disproportionately affected by climate-related disasters, with increasingly frequent and intense storms, floods, droughts, and other environmental hazards. Beyond natural disasters, ongoing conflicts and deepening economic disparities continue to place millions of children at risk, Sande noted, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated international responses. In her interview, the UNICEF representative also highlighted the impact of rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalization. While digitalization presents new opportunities to empower children, she cautioned that the digital divide remains a significant challenge. "A large percentage of young people in low- and middle-income countries have limited access to digital technologies and difficulty developing digital skills. This impacts their ability to use digital tools in their schools and future workplaces," Sande said. To tackle the challenges, UNICEF advocates for strong online regulations, including for AI, to protect children's data, as well as child rights-based design principles to prevent biased or exploitative content. The organization also emphasizes the importance of comprehensive digital literacy programs to empower both children and parents, ensuring that children remain safe and secure in the digital space. Sande also hailed China's impressive gains in reducing child and maternal mortality rates, universal basic education, and poverty alleviation. "China's successes in child health and development can inspire other countries," she said. China has also made contributions to supporting children's welfare internationally, according to the representative. So far, UNICEF has also been working with China in 23 countries across Africa and Asia, in terms of maternal and child health, education, child protection, and climate resilience. "These China-supported projects are saving lives and delivering tangible benefits to children," the representative said. Sande views the BFA as a unique platform for promoting children's rights in the context of global development. "By working together with a shared vision to pursue the Sustainable Development Goals, we can ensure that no child is left behind." WASHINGTON White House adviser Elon Musk and his allies at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency have taken a chainsaw to the Social Security Administration, threatening field office closures, staff cuts and new rules for seniors dealing with the agency by phone. But dont worry, Americans. The worlds richest man insists he will ultimately end up increasing peoples benefits. As a result of the work of DOGE, legitimate recipients of Social Security will receive more money, not less money, Musk said in a Fox News interview on Thursday alongside members of his DOGE team. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk made the vow as a direct response to statements from Democrats that DOGEs antics at the Social Security Administration would lead to missed benefit checks and could even be the prelude to benefit cuts or full-blown privatization. The DOGE group interview seemed to be a charm offensive as Republicans worry about voter backlash over the changes at Social Security and other federal agencies that Musk has upended since President Donald Trump took office. Republicans have worried about Musks sinking approval ratings, and Democrats have zeroed in on him as a threat to Social Security. After having spent the past few weeks slamming Social Security as a bastion of fraud, Musk repeated his statement about more money for legitimate recipients. Let the record show that I said this, he said. It will be proven out to be true. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Preventing fraud wont create an across-the-board benefits increase, and in dollar terms, it shouldnt make much difference to beneficiaries victimized by scams, since the Social Security Administration already makes them whole after the fact. If a verified beneficiary or recipient reports an allegation of fraud, SSA ensures they receive their missed benefit amount, an agency spokesperson told HuffPost. The type of fraud Musk has described, meanwhile, does not occur on the scale Musk has suggested. He described the entirety of Social Security itself as a scam and lamented that the government loses hundreds of billions annually to fraud and waste. AndMusk didnt mention the tradeoff at play with identity proofing changes to Social Security procedures, which could make it more difficult for people to obtain benefits in the first place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Social Security last week announced it would soon disallow over-the-phone identity verification for people claiming retirement benefits or making bank account changes. Retired workers who are unable to log into the agencys website will instead have to go to a field office to verify their identities in person; an internal agency memo estimated the change would require millions of additional office visits. The phone service cutback has prompted a furious response from Democrats and AARP, which said the policy should be entirely rescinded. Social Securitys acting commissioner, Leland Dudek, told stakeholders this week that such a change would typically take two years to implement. On Wednesday, Dudek announced it would be postponed for two weeks. (Dudek also announced Thursday that apparent field office closures advertised on the DOGE website wouldnt happen.) Dudek said the quick timeline for new phone protocols had been ordered by the White House; in Thursdays interview on Fox News, Musk essentially confirmed he was behind the change. As DOGE engineer Aram Moghaddassi explained that Social Security receives a significant percentage of calls from fraudsters trying to redirect retiree benefits to fraudulent accounts, Musk interrupted to explain how the phone fraud works. What happens is they call in, they say, they claim to be a retiree and they convince the person, the Social Security person on the phone, to change the where, the where the money is flowing, Musk said. This is happening all day, every day, and then somebody doesnt receive their Social Security. Its because of all the fraud loopholes in the Social Security system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the Social Security Administration first allowed beneficiaries to change their bank account information online in 2013, fraudsters stole benefits from more than 12,000 beneficiaries, according to a 2019 report by Social Securitys inspector general. The number of victims dwindled to just 712 in 2017, then spiked again during the pandemic. The Social Security Administration told the New York Times earlier this month that about 2,000 beneficiaries had their direct deposits misdirected last year out of more than 70 million monthly beneficiaries. Dudek said last week he estimated his antifraud phone changes would save $100 million annually, or less than 0.01% of the agencys annual outlays. In its 2019 report, the inspector general said that when 12,000 people fell victim to direct deposit fraud in 2013, the value of the misdirected benefits was $20 million, of which $11 million was never returned. Bill Sweeney, AARPs senior vice president for government affairs, questioned whether the phone changes were worth the savings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At AARP, we would absolutely support any effort to crack down on fraud and criminals who are stealing money from Social Security, Sweeney said in an interview. But to punish everybody whos on Social Security by making them jump through hoops in order to collect the benefits theyve earned is unfair, and its unprecedented. Sweeney said the rapid rollout of the phone changes could even create opportunities for a different type of fraudster, one who calls up seniors posing as a Social Security employee and demands they fork over personal information in order to comply with new rules. In response to a question about how many stolen dollars the administration expected to recover by stopping fraud, the White House only stressed that nobody would lose benefits. With a resounding mandate from the American people, President Trump is moving quickly to fulfill his promise of making the federal government more efficient, White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in a statement. He has promised to protect social security, and every recipient will continue to receive their benefits. Co-President Elon Musk posted a tweet late on March 27, reading: On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important. By noon on March 28, however, the post had been deleted. Wisconsin law outlaws 'anything of value' to vote Likely because Musks lawyers might have suggested to him that what he proposed to do is against Wisconsin law, which says it is a felony to offer, give, lend or promise to lend or give anything of value to induce a voter to cast a ballot or not vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ironically or not the election that Musk is trying to buy is for a seat on the states supreme court in whats supposed to be a nonpartisan HA! election. The political action committee that Musk founded, America PAC, already has poured $12 million into the race, backing the MAGA-approved candidate. Opinion: Elon Musk has a dodgy plot to gut Social Security Musk also already has used a giveaway tactic he used during the general election for Trump. In this case, he promised voters $100 to sign a petition In Opposition To Activist Judges, and then on March 26 handed over a $1 million check to a Green Bay resident who signed on. Elon Musk already figured out a way around it That guy, in turn, thanked Musk in a video which was posted online by Musks PAC and added, Everyone should do what I did; Sign the petition, refer your friends, get out and vote early for (Elons guy) Brad Schimel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for the deleted promise to give away $2 million more at his speech on March 30, Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance lawyer and deputy executive director of the watchdog organization Documented, said, Im actually surprised that Musk is being so explicit about tying eligibility for this million dollar payout to having voted in the election. His tweet makes it very clear that you can only enter this event, and you can only be eligible for the million dollar payout, if you voted, and its hard to read that as anything other than providing a thing of value to induce a person to vote, or to reward them for having voted. It absolutely looks that way. But do any of you think Musk will wind up in the slammer over it? Me, neither. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats how it is with Musk and co-President Donald Trump, where the new rule is: It you cant beat em, buy em. Because it works. Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com. Like this column? Get more opinions straight into your email inbox by signing up for our free opinions newsletter, which publishes Monday through Friday. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Elon Musk blunders attempt to buy Wisconsin court election | Opinion Elon Musk said he will hand out an additional $2 million to voters who have cast their ballots in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election this weekend less than 24 hours after paying a resident a $1 million award for supporting a petition against activist judges. The worlds richest person wrote on his X platform early Friday morning that he will personally hand over $1 million each to two voters after giving a talk in the Badger State this weekend. On April 1, voters in Wisconsin will cast their ballots in the highly contentious and consequential election. So far, Musk has poured $20 million into the campaign coffers of conservative candidate Brad Schimel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election, Musk tweeted, without stating where or how to enforce who is allowed to attend. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important, he concluded. Elon Musk is set to hand out another two $1 million awards for voting in the Wisconsin Supreme Court elections (AP) Schimels opponent, the liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, took to X to share her disdain with Musks latest giveaway. Brad Schimel and Elon Musk are corrupt, she tweeted late Friday morning, sharing an Associated Press article about the latest handout. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Derrick Honeyman, Crawfords campaign spokesperson, told the Associated Press that Musks visit to Wisconsin was a last-minute desperate distraction. A win for Schimel, a former GOP state attorney general, would see the court flip to a conservative majority, which could have implications for the state on issues ranging from abortion to redistricting. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley retired after 30 years on the court, freeing up the seat. Musk announced on Thursday that he had given away $1 million through his super-political action committee America PAC to Scott Ainsworth, a Green Bay resident who signed his Petition in Opposition to Activist Judges. Days earlier, America PAC had offered Wisconsin voters $100 to sign the petition. Wisconsin Supreme Court election candidates Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel were photographed in Milwaukee earlier this month (AP) The Supreme Court race has dwarfed previous spending records for a U.S. judicial election, with more than $81 million spent so far. The previous record was set in Wisconsin two years ago and was estimated at $51 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has endorsed Schimel and hosted a telephone town hall with him on Thursday night. Its a very important race, Trump said. I know you feel its local, but its not. Its really much more than local. The whole country is watching. Musk has been treading murky legal waters, with questions raised about whether the petition violated Wisconsin law, which makes it a felony to offer anything to entice a voter to cast a ballot, or not vote. A legal challenge to the tech billionaires payments could end up before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Musk became involved in the race days after his electric vehicle Tesla filed a petition against the state in January after it was denied the request to open dealerships there a month earlier. Crawford and her allies have accused Musk of trying to buy influence on the court, given that Teslas lawsuit could end up before the justices. Elon Musk will visit Wisconsin on Sunday ahead of the states high-profile Supreme Court election. Musk initially announced the plan in a post shortly after midnight on Friday, promising a $1 million giveaway to two attendees who had voted. That post was deleted after legal experts raised concerns it would violate state law. Musk clarified on Friday afternoon that the giveaways would be limited to people who signed his super PACs petition although Wisconsins attorney general said Friday his office would seek a court order to stop that from happening. The visit marks an escalation of Musks campaigning in Wisconsin, where the Republican-backed Brad Schimel faces Democratic-backed Susan Crawford in an election that will determine control of the states highest court. Musks political organization, America PAC, has spent more than $12 million on the race, according to campaign finance disclosures, and he personally gave $3 million to the Wisconsin Republican Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a Friday afternoon post , Musk said the event would be held Sunday night and would be reserved for those who had signed a petition circulated by America PAC. He will hand out two $1 million checks at the event, he said. He had previously posted, and then deleted, about the event and the checks, but the earlier post said the event would be limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election. That could still face legal pushback. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, said in a statement Friday that his office intended to seek a court order to stop Musk from carrying out the giveaway. Legal experts had raised concerns that offering the Sunday giveaway for only those who have already voted could violate Wisconsins election bribery law, which makes it a crime to offer anything of value to induce potential voters to vote or not vote in an election. Early voting is underway in Wisconsin and runs through Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I'm actually surprised that Musk is being so explicit about tying eligibility for this million dollar payout to having voted in the election, said Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance lawyer and deputy executive director of the watchdog organization Documented, about Musks earlier post. His tweet makes it very clear that you can only enter this event, and you can only be eligible for the million dollar payout, if you voted, and it's hard to read that as anything other than providing a thing of value to induce a person to vote, or to reward them for having voted. The giveaway tactic is not new for Musk. In the lead-up to the 2024 election, America PAC made signees of a petition supporting the First Amendment eligible for a $1 million giveaway. The plan faced legal challenges but judges ruled in Musks favor . The group has replicated a similar strategy in Wisconsin, promising voters $100 to sign a petition In Opposition To Activist Judges, and it announced on Wednesday it had cut a $1 million check for a Green Bay resident who signed on. Elon, thank you, recipient Scott Ainsworth said in a video posted by America PAC , where he urged MAGA voters to go to the polls and support Schimel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk is quickly becoming an enormous player in Republican politics. He launched America PAC in the spring of 2024, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money into the group, primarily to finance canvassing operations supporting President Donald Trumps election campaign. He promised the group would stay active in the coming years, with the Wisconsin Supreme Court race becoming its first major investment since Trump's victory. The Wisconsin election is already the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, surpassing the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, where the Democratic-aligned candidate ultimately prevailed. Liberals currently hold the majority on the state's highest court, which has say over everything from abortion rights to the state's legislative maps. Democrats have spent big in Wisconsin's race, too. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker of the Hyatt hotel family gave $1.5 million to back Crawford, and longtime megadonor George Soros pitched in $2 million. Elon Musk says he's going to Wisconsin. He is pulling out his 2024 playbook to try to swing a closely-watched state Supreme Court election. The world's richest man will also give away two $1 million checks to voters. Elon Musk is pulling out all the stops ahead of a closely watched Wisconsin state Supreme Court election, though he apparently changed his strategy after possibly violating election laws. On Friday afternoon, Musk wrote on X that he would personally hand out $1 million checks to two people who signed petition against "activist judges." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier on Friday, in a now deleted post on X, the world's richest man had promised to hand out checks to attendees "in appreciation for you taking the time to vote," a potential violation of Wisconsin law, which prohibits offering "anything of value" to a voter. The billionaire's spending in Wisconsin is his biggest post-2024 bet thus far. Musk and America PAC have spent over $12 million on the race to decide the outcome of the state's highest court through 2028. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, though officially nonpartisan, currently has a 4-3 liberal majority. Republicans are particularly worried about the possibility that the state's congressional districts could be redrawn, cutting into their 6-2 advantage. The GOP holds a narrow majority in the US House of Representatives, meaning they need as much favorable territory as possible for the 2026 midterms. "It could cause the House to switch to Democrat if that redrawing takes place," Musk said during a recent X space with Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, expressing why he was so keyed into the race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Democrats' favored candidate, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, wins, liberals will hang onto their advantage through at least 2028. If Republicans' preferred choice, Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, wins, then conservatives will have a better chance given that the swing vote, Justice Brian Hagedorn, leans right. Justices serve 10-year terms, which based on the progression of retirements means liberals could retake the majority as soon as next year. Read the original article on Business Insider The White House DOGE office's named boss didn't participate in a big interview about its operations. Elon Musk brought seven people along for his big Fox News sit-down. Acting DOGE office administrator Amy Gleason was not present. Elon Musk was surrounded by top allies and a DOGE engineer on Thursday night as he explained what the White House DOGE office is doing. One person was notably absent from the Fox News interview on "Special Report" with Bret Baier: the official the White House has said is actually leading DOGE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Acting DOGE office administrator Amy Gleason was not among the seven people who surrounded Musk for over half an hour. Her name wasn't even mentioned once. Top allies, including Steve Davis, a longtime Musk associate, joined the world's richest man publicly as DOGE team representatives for the first time. Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia and former Morgan Stanley banker Anthony Armstrong were also on hand. Musk brought along Aram Moghaddass, a DOGE team engineer. Edward Coristine, who once went by the nickname "Big Balls" online, did not join. Neither did Marko Elez, who resigned after the revelation of inflammatory posts before Musk and Vice President JD Vance pushed for him to return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOGE office has for weeks been the dominant story of President Donald Trump's first 100 days of his second term. Working alongside the DOGE office, the Trump administration has implemented mass firings targeting thousands of employees. Musk, who is officially a senior White House advisor, spoke to Fox News about, among other things, the DOGE office. It's the latest example of how Musk, the White House, and others have blurred the lines of his purview. Gleason and another White House official have declared in federal court that Musk is not a DOGE office employee, let alone the initiative's leader. One of Gleason's declarations came in a fight over whether DOGE is subject to federal records laws. At issue is whether Trump's order to rebrand the existing US Digital Service as DOGE shields the office from Freedom of Information Act requests. If that is the case, the DOGE office's records would be sealed for years after Trump leaves office. If not, the DOGE office would be immediately subject to disclosure requests. A former top National Archives official previously told BI that, in his view, DOGE should be subject to FOIA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nonetheless, Musk continues to act as and as been treated as DOGE's de facto leader. Multiple lawsuits regarding DOGE's actions have sought to clarify Tesla's CEO role. At times, even Department of Justice lawyers have struggled to describe it. Federal unions and Democratic attorneys general have fought in court to stop the firings. They have secured some victories, including a ruling requiring the Trump administration to rehire some probationary workers, who usually have less than two years in their current role. Some probationary employees who have returned to work previously told Business Insider that they are being paid to do virtually nothing as the legal fight over their status continues. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question about why Gleason didn't participate in the interview. Read the original article on Business Insider Elon Musk - Photo: Samuel Corum (Getty Images) Elon Musk on Thursday led a team of DOGE leaders to defend their work in a Fox News interview as they attempt what Musk calls the biggest government revolution since 1775. This is a revolution, and I think it might be the biggest revolution in the government since the original revolution, the Department of Government Efficiency told Foxs Bret Baier. Here are five takeaways from the roughly half-hour-long interview. Who leads DOGE? Notably, the interview advertised as offering a look behind the curtain featured eight members of DOGE, all men. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group has some 79 directly appointed employees and 10 staffers detailed from other agencies and no organizational chart, according to court testimony. In an earlier interview with Fox, Musk claimed DOGE now operates in almost every federal agency and that his team has grown to more than 100 staffers, with plans to expand to 200. Missing from the interview was Amy Gleason, the named DOGE administrator, but who appears to be just a figurehead. In court, President Donald Trumps administration has argued that Musk isnt an actual DOGE employee and has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself. I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency ... which is headed by Elon Musk, Trump said during his recent address to a joint session of Congress. Denying Musk an official role can help make it harder to prove any ethics violations regarding alleged conflicts of interest, according to experts. Musk leads several major firms, including Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX, several of which are regulated by government agencies or have federal contracts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The members of DOGE that appeared alongside Musk in the Fox News interview include Airbnb (ABNB) founder and Tesla board member Joe Gebbia, who said he is working on digitizing retirement documents, and Steve Davis, who has worked at SpaceX, the Boring Company, and helped during Musks takeover of Twitter. Davis has been described as the chief operating officer of DOGE and has reportedly led much of the day-to-day operations. Also featured in the interview were Cloud Software Group CEO Tom Krause, who has been put in a key position at the Treasury Department; Brad Smith, a healthcare entrepreneur who worked with Gleason when she was chief products offer at one of his firms; Anthony Armstrong, a Morgan Stanley (MS) banker working at the Office of Personnel Management; Tyker Hassan, a former oil executive working in the Interior Department; and Aram Moghaddassi, a former xAi and Neuralink employee who said he is working on Social Security. $4 billion slashed every day Musk claims DOGE is cutting an average of $4 billion every day, seven days a week in federal spending. At that rate, by the time Musks tenure as a special government employee a role that helps him avoid some ethics concerns DOGE would save $520 billion. I think we will accomplish most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within 130 days, Musk told Baier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk has originally sought to slash as much as $2 trillion from the federal deficit, before later saying theres a good chance of cutting $1 trillion. The federal government spent more than $6.7 trillion last fiscal year, with the largest payments directed toward Social Security, Medicare, interest payments, defense spending, and other assorted health costs. The groups website claims to have saved $130 billion as of March 24, but its difficult to estimate exactly how much DOGE has saved. In some cases, the group has taken credit for savings on contracts that expired years ago, including one that ended in June 2005. As the New York Times reported, the five largest contracts DOGE claimed credit for canceling in its original list of axed deals were incorrect. In one instance, a contract listed by the group as worth $8 million was actually worth $8 billion. Government as an Apple Store Gebbia said he joined DOGE after hearing about Iron Mountain West Pennsylvania, a limestone mine where the federal government houses and processes retirement paperwork more than 200 feet underground. Some 10,000 applications are processed each month. The process takes many months and were going to make it just many days, Gebbia said. I really think its an injustice to civil servants who are subjected to these processes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We really believe the government can have an Apple Store-like experience. Beautifully designed, great user experience, modern systems, he added. According to the chief executive of Iron Mountain (IRM), which acquired the limestone mines owner in 1998, the company makes $130 million in revenue from its data center and digitization transformation businesses. Just $10 million is earned from the government storing physical documents in sites like the mine. We see this as a continued opportunity for the company, Iron Mountain CEO Bill Meaney said on a February earnings call of DOGEs efforts. Move fast and break things Musk has always relied on the tried-and-true mantra of Silicon Valley: Move fast and break things, then deal with the clean-up later. Hes brought that with him to the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the context of the government were moving like lightning, Musk said. But the team is still moving slower than Id like. In addition to its other errors, the team has had to reinstate some agreements that were mistakenly nixed. That includes funding for work preventing the spread of Ebola, which Musk claimed was restored immediately and without causing interruption. In reality, DOGEs work gutting the U.S. Agency for International Development drastically hindered that work. The Social Security Administration website has repeatedly crashed this month due to overloaded servers, while layoffs have left remaining staffers overwhelmed with phone calls. The administrations acting commissioner has said that DOGE is really in charge. Moghaddassi, who has been put to work at the administration, said criticism of DOGEs work there doesnt line up with my experience on the ground. He added that DOGE is looking to make Americans experience with Social Security better and combat fraud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In fact, what were doing will help their benefits. Legitimate people, as a result of the work of DOGE, will receive more Social Security, not less, Musk added. I want to emphasize that, as a result of the work of DOGE, legitimate recipients of Social Security will receive more money, not less money. DOGE has fired almost no one The DOGE officials on Thursday claimed that barely any workers in the federal government have been fired. Armstrong, the banker turned OPM staffer, said that most workers have left through voluntary means. And youve heard a lot of news about [Reduction in Force notices], about people getting fired. At this moment in time, less than 0.15, not 1.5, less than 0.15 of the federal workforce has actually been given a RIF notice, Armstrong said. Basically, almost no one has gotten fired. Thats what were saying, Musk added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thousands of workers have already been laid off or offered a buyout, although some have been reinstated after court orders. An appeals court on Thursday refused to halt a judges order requiring the Trump administration to rehire thousands of federal workers. Cutting the 2.3-million-person federal workforce has been a major part of Musks vision for DOGEs government overhaul. Most federal agencies have reportedly handed in plans for reshaping their workforce, which is set to be implemented in April. The Washington Post, citing an internal White House document, reports that agencies are preparing to cut between 8% and 50% of their staff. The document, which was updated last week, covered 22 agencies. Forty-three percent of the Small Business Administration, 28% of the National Science Foundation, and 8% of the Justice Department could be cut, according to the Post. Half of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and almost a quarter of the Interior Department could also be cut. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Internal Revenue Service may slash as much as half of the 90,000 workers it employs, while more than 80,000 workers may be cut from the the Veteran Affairs Department, The Associated Press reports. The Health and Human Services Department said Thursday that some 3,500 jobs will be cut at the Food and Drug Administration. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Friday he would seek a court order to block tech billionaire and White House adviser Elon Musk from awarding million-dollar prizes to people at a weekend event ahead of next week's pivotal state Supreme Court race. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair. We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend," Kaul, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening, Kaul continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk, who has become a central figure in the race to decide partisan control of the state Supreme Court, has sunk millions of dollars on behalf of the conservative candidate in the race, Brad Schimel (who is also backed by President Donald Trump). Musk announced on Friday morning that he would travel to Wisconsin for an event limited to those who had already voted in the election and that he would personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. But he deleted that post midday, replacing it with a similar message that removed any linkage between his actions and voting. He declared the $1 million winners would instead be spokesmen for his petition to oppose activist judges," and added the event would only be limited to those who signed his petition. After the news broke Kaul would seek to block Musk's giveaway, Musk reposted a message on his social media platform X in which another user called the lawsuit "lawfare," a refrain Trump and his allies have used to decry legal decisions that have gone against the president and the various investigations he's faced in the last few years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision by Musk to travel to the state on the weekend before the election and further inject his millions into the race is the latest redoubling of the billionaire's efforts in Wisconsin. State campaign finance filings show $3 million in donations from Musk to the Wisconsin Republican Party so far this year, and Musk's super PAC, America PAC, is the top outside spender in the Supreme Court race. The group has spent more than $12 million so far, according to the latest data available through the state's campaign finance portal Friday morning. America PAC has also offered Wisconsin voters $100 to sign a conservative-leaning petition ahead of the election and has awarded one petition-signer $1 million, the latest large award as part of Musk's efforts to encourage engagement with his political operations. And according to Musk's latest message, he plans to give away more $1 million prizes. But the deleted and replaced social media post is also a reminder of how the relative political newcomer's past and present efforts have sparked controversy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State court records showed that Kaul filed the case Friday afternoon, requesting a restraining order. The case was assigned to Judge Susan Crawford, who is the liberal-aligned candidate who is running against Schimel in Tuesday's election. Derrick Honeyman, a Crawford spokesman, told NBC News that "cases are assigned randomly in Dane County" and "Judge Crawford will recuse from this case." America PAC's prizes drew legal scrutiny both from the Justice Department and the Philadelphia district attorney last year, and his new efforts have also drawn new questions. But the Justice Department never took public action against Musk, and the Philadelphia district attorney's attempts to block Musk's giveaway were unsuccessful. And Friday's rewritten message was notable given Musk's initial wording linking the million-dollar prizes to voting. Paying someone to vote is against federal law, and could raise questions under Wisconsin law, too, election law expert Rick Hasan wrote on his blog. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ben Wikler, the Wisconsin Democratic Party chair, blasted Musk in a statement to the press that included a screenshot of Wisconsin's law against "election bribery," which bars anyone from giving "anything of value" to "induce any elector to...vote or refrain from voting." "Musks illegal election bribery scheme to put Brad Schimel on the Supreme Court is a chainsaw attack on democracy and the rule of law in Wisconsin and our nation," Wikler said. A spokesperson with America PAC declined to provide additional comment. Musk's heavy public involvement in Wisconsin has made him a main character in the battle for partisan control of the state Supreme Court, and it aligns with Republican efforts to motivate the base before Tuesday's off-year election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump joined Schimel in a telephone town hall Thursday, Schimel's campaign has launched ads emphasizing Trump's endorsement and attacking the Democratic candidate on transgender issues, and an outside group backing Schimel is airing a new ad that criticizes an unrelated judicial decision blocking the Trump administration's deportation flights to argue that the state needs conservative judges like Schimel in power. Democrats have responded to Musk's efforts by trying to make him a boogeyman. A majority of registered voters in Wisconsin view him unfavorably, according to a recent Marquette University Law School poll, similar to national findings from the latest NBC News poll. Liberal candidate Susan Crawford launched an ad this month that accuses Musk of "trying to buy Schimel a seat on the Supreme Court because he knows Schimel always helps his big campaign donors." Crawford and the state Democratic Party repeatedly mention Musk as a foil on the campaign trail. Musk first dipped into the race in January, endorsing Schimel in a post on X. The post came days after his electric car company, Tesla, filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin challenging a law restricting carmakers from owning dealerships a case that could end up before the state Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk's Wisconsin playbook mirrors how he engaged in the 2024 presidential election. His super PAC spent hundreds of millions of dollars to boost Trump, primarily on get-out-the-vote efforts such as canvassing, direct mail and text messaging, as well as digital advertising the same kinds of expenses America PAC is incurring to boost Schimel. America PAC also gave out money to signers of a different petition, and launched a controversial $1 million giveaway to petition-signers that was unsuccessfully challenged in court. Musk also barnstormed swing states and spoke on the stump. Musk has also been engaged, albeit to a significantly lesser extent, in another race to be held Tuesday: the special election in Florida to replace former GOP Rep. Michael Waltz, who was tapped as Trump's national security adviser. America PAC has spent about $76,000 in independent expenditures there, according to federal campaign finance data. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Billionaire Elon Musk will visit Wisconsin Sunday and hand out $1 million checks to voters just two days before the high-stakes state Supreme Court election. Musk first announced his event in a post on his social media platform X that was up for hours until questions were raised about the legality of his plan to present two $1 million checks to voters who had cast ballots. He deleted that post and soon put up a new one clarifying that the checks would be given to individuals who would serve as spokespeople for his "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges." The new post also no longer said attendance would be limited "to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election," as the original post had stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges," he wrote. "I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition." On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges. I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2025 Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, said Friday that he planned to take legal action to stop the payments. And Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler accused Musk of deleting his first post as a way to cover up "evidence of his crime." Musk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, personally and via two groups has poured about $20 million into the race to back conservative candidate Brad Schimel. More: All our reporting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Susan Crawford, Brad Schimel Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the since-deleted post on X, Musk wrote late Thursday that he would "give a talk in Wisconsin" on Sunday night. He did not say where. "Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election," he wrote, though he did not specify how that would be verified. Musk also wrote that he would present two $1 million checks "in appreciation for you taking the time to vote." Musk earlier this week announced a $1 million giveaway to a Green Bay voter who signed his "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges." He said he would announce a second $1 million award on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a post on X on Friday morning, Musk's super PAC, America PAC, identified the first person to receive the money for signing the petition as Scott Ainsworth of Green Bay. Ainsworth has given $350 to Schimel and $500 to the state Republican Party this year. It wasn't immediately clear whether the checks Musk said he'd hand out Sunday would go to the second of the two people he referenced in his earlier post about signing the petition. Andrew Romeo of America PAC said Ainsworth had already received his check, as documented on social media. He was not able to say whether the person expected to be announced Friday would receive a check at Sunday's event. "It's definitely different from the person that already has been handed the money. That's already been done, which you can see from social media," Romeo said, adding, "How it relates to everything else, you'll have to see." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: 100,000-plus donors from all 50 states flood Wisconsin Supreme Court race with cash In a statement, the spokesman for Schimel's opponent, liberal Susan Crawford, said Musk was trying to buy off Schimel and labeled his visit a "last-minute desperate distraction." "Wisconsinites dont want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for, and on Tuesday, voters should reject Musks lackey Brad Schimel," spokesman Derrick Honeyman said. Whether Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, or Crawford, a Dane County judge wins the only nominally nonpartisan race will determine whether the court flips back to a conservative majority or remains in liberal control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Get ready, Wisconsin. Tuesday's election begins six straight years of state Supreme Court races. Schimel's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, including about whether he planned to attend Musk's event. Schimel on Saturday appeared in a live, half-hour discussion with Musk and Sen. Ron Johnson, who said if Schimel wins it will be because of Musk's support. Legality of Musk giveaway 'unresolved,' Wisconsin's former election chief says Before Musk posted the new tweet, experts were divided on the legality of his plan. Kevin Kennedy, the states former state elections chief, said it is unresolved whether what Musk is proposing is illegal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The $1 million giveaways could be seen as an inducement to vote, making it a possible violation of the states bribery statutes. But he said that would not be the case if a person had already cast a ballot before Musk publicized his Sunday event. When it comes to prosecuting this, you've got to remember there has to be an intent to commit a crime, said Kennedy, who retired in 2016. Musk needs to say, I gave this to get them to go to the polls. More: Get ready, Wisconsin. Tuesday's election begins six straight years of state Supreme Court races. Beyond that, Kennedy said it is not clear how people will be able to prove they voted. An I voted sticker doesnt seem to be sufficient proof. The states MyVote website will only show if an absentee ballot had been returned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State election officials have been asked often by radio stations and others if its legal for them to give free cups of coffee or a doughnut to people who voted on Election Day, Kennedy said. The state used to advise them that they could not give away anything worth more than $1. But Kennedy said hes never seen a prosecutor go after someone for violating this law. State law covering election bribery bans anyone from offering anything of value to any elector to induce them to vote or refrain from voting. Rick Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California, said Musks late-night post on X offering $1 million checks to two voters appear to violate the plain meaning of the statute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes offering a chance to win a million dollars, (which) is a thing of value, and its only offered to people who have voted, Hasen said in a post on his blog covering election issues. One might say hes not inducing people, but instead rewarding them. I dont think this helps, because the statute likely covers rewarding as well think of people who decide to vote in order to attend the talk for the lottery chance to win a million dollars. The state Democratic Party labeled Musk's efforts "blatantly illegal" and a "vote-buying scheme." Wikler in a statement called for Musk to be "brought to justice for his illegal attempt to buy votes for Brad Schimel" and for Schimel to condemn Musk's actions. "Musks illegal election bribery scheme to put Brad Schimel on the Supreme Court is a chainsaw attack on democracy and the rule of law in Wisconsin and our nation," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ann Jacobs, Democratic chairwoman of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, declined to comment on whether Musk's offer violates state election laws. Musk also used payments in November presidential election In offering the large payout, Musk is resurfacing a mechanism he used in the November presidential election, when he offered $1 million sweepstakes payments to registered pro-Donald Trump voters in seven swing states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin who signed a petition. The U.S. Department of Justice in October warned him that the actions might be illegal and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, also sued to try to block the contest in Pennsylvania. A Pennsylvania state judge in November allowed the giveaway to proceed. (This story was updated to add new information.) Molly Beck of the Journal Sentinel contributed. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. 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 article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Musk says he's coming to Wisconsin ahead of Supreme Court election Elon Musk is in hot water in Wisconsin after he said he would personally hand over millions of dollars to voters who had cast ballots in a major Supreme Court election. Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) filed a lawsuit against Musk and his America PAC on Friday ahead of a planned trip to the state by the billionaire. Musk had previously shared on his social media platform X that he would personally hand over $2 million to two people who have voted in the election at a rally in Wisconsin on Sunday. Musks political action committee circulated a petition against activist judges earlier this month, offering Wisconsin registered voters who signed $100. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He deleted the post Friday and shared a new one saying the people receiving the millions were spokesmen for those who had signed the petition. On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges. I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2025 Wisconsin law forbids anyone from offering or promising to give anything of value to an elector in order to induce the elector to go to the polls, vote or refrain from voting, or vote for a particular person, Kauls lawsuit said, adding that Musks offer was a blatant attempt to violate state law and an egregious attempt to buy votes. The Wisconsin race will decide control of the state Supreme Court. Conservative candidate Brad Schimel has received significant monetary support from Musk and an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Susan Crawford, his opponent, accused Musk in an ad of trying to buy Schimel a seat on the Supreme Court because he knows Schimel always helps his big campaign donors. In his lawsuit, Kaul asked a judge for an injunction to keep Musk and his PAC from promoting their offer and from actually making any payments. Firefighters work at the site where a building was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, March 28, 2025. Israeli airstrikes hit a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, marking the first such attack since a ceasefire was agreed on Nov. 27. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) BEIRUT, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Israeli airstrikes struck a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, the first such attack since a ceasefire was agreed last November. Shortly after the airstrikes, the Israel Defense Forces said it had targeted "a drone storage facility" belonging to Hezbollah near the Lebanese capital. Before the airstrikes, the IDF issued an evacuation alert on social media, advising Lebanese civilians to leave a 300-meter area around the site. IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee shared a map marking the location and urged residents to evacuate immediately. Witnesses reported scenes of panic as families fled their homes, with some evacuating schools in haste. Children were seen leaving in pajamas, fearing further strikes. The Lebanese Ministry of Education also ordered the closure of all public and private schools, secondary institutions, vocational centers, and the Rafik Hariri University Complex near the target area. Earlier in the day, rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel, including the town of Kiryat Shmona. The IDF said one was intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system and the other landed in Lebanese territory. A senior Hezbollah official told the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen channel that the organization was not involved in the firing of the two rockets into northern Israel. This photo taken on March 28, 2025 shows the site where a building was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes hit a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, marking the first such attack since a ceasefire was agreed on Nov. 27. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) This photo taken on March 28, 2025 shows the site where a building was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes hit a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, marking the first such attack since a ceasefire was agreed on Nov. 27. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) Firefighters work at the site where a building was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, March 28, 2025. Israeli airstrikes hit a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, marking the first such attack since a ceasefire was agreed on Nov. 27. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) This photo taken on March 28, 2025 shows the site where a building was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes hit a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, marking the first such attack since a ceasefire was agreed on Nov. 27. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) This photo taken on March 28, 2025 shows the site where a building was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes hit a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, marking the first such attack since a ceasefire was agreed on Nov. 27. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) If you're looking at the New York City skyline on Friday night, you might wonder about the colors of the Empire State Building's lights. The iconic skyscraper will be lit up in gold and cyan to celebrate the 45th anniversary of ABC News' iconic late-night show "Nightline." The show debuted as "Nightline" on March 24, 1980. It evolved from ABC News' coverage of the Iran hostage crisis following the infamous terrorist attack on the U.S. embassy in Tehran in November 1979. PHOTO: Rendering of the Empire State Building in Nightline colors. (Empire State Realty Trust) On Friday, "Nightline" co-anchors Juju Chang and Byron Pitts will light the building. The lights, which will be visible at dusk, will match the show's new logo. The logo honors the show's legacy, blending elements from its original look (which had the city skyline within its letters) with an updated, modern design. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Nightline" marked its 45-year milestone with an anniversary episode on Monday, with past and present anchors discussing its history, evolution and enduring appeal. "Every night, Ted Koppel came on and did something that you'd never seen before," ABC News' Terry Moran, who anchored the show from 2005 to 2013, said of its early days with original anchor Koppel. MORE: 'Nightline' looks back on its 45 years in anniversary episode Chang, who has shared anchoring duties with Pitts since 2014, noted her appreciation that the job lets them report from the field. "I'd rather be sweating out in the street somewhere and covering a story and looking somebody in the eye and hearing their story and trying to tell it," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pitts said that the show stays true to its original mission: offering Americans a way to stay informed as their day draws to a close. "'Nightline' is a place where the country can show up together and hear the truth," he said. "We provide context and clarity and comfort for the nation. And who doesn't want that before they go to sleep?" Empire State Building celebrates 45th anniversary of ABC's 'Nightline' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com In this special episode of Empowered Hawaii, we celebrate five decades of Hokuleas groundbreaking voyages. Legendary navigators Nainoa Thompson and Bruce Blankenfeld reflect on the canoes origins and the cultural revival it sparked, while apprentice navigator Kai Hoshijo shares her journey carrying this legacy into the future. From the deck of Hokulea, discover the timeless art of wayfinding, the spiritual elements that guide each expedition, and the powerful mission to recruit 10 million new planetary navigators dedicated to sustaining our island Earth Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. In Egypt's Red Sea, a crew on a sightseeing submarine tour managed to escape when the vessel began sinking even though some of the tourists on board were not so lucky. As the BBC reports, authorities are questioning the crew of the Sindbad submarine after it foundered during a coral reef tour near the beach town of Hurghada in southeastern Egypt. Of the 45 passengers on board the vessel, six tourists including two children died during the sinking, and nine more were injured. When authorities came to rescue the sinking sub, 39 people and five crew members were saved, the report notes. Two of the tourists who died were a married couple of doctors, and their daughters, devastatingly, are in the hospital in critical condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to statements from Red Sea governor Amr Hanafy, the Sindbad's crew were all Egyptian and its passengers hailed from India, Norway, Sweden, and Russia. Somehow, only Russians died during the incident, and it remains unclear what happened. Unlike the Oceangate debacle from nearly two years ago, the Sindbad Submarines company seemingly had a strong reputation, and had been in operation in the Red Sea resort town for years. According to Hanafy, the sub was licensed and its head crew member had gotten all the right certificates to operate it which makes the tragic incident all the stranger. Tragically, this is not the first maritime tragedy to strike the Red Sea in recent months. In late November, the BBC notes, the "Sea Story" tourist yacht capsized with more than 40 people on board while sailing near the resort town of Marsa Alam located about 200 miles up the coast from Hurghada. As Dive Magazine noted, it took 36 hours to rescue the yacht's surviving passengers, and four bodies were pulled from the wrecked yacht. Seven are still missing, and presumed dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Between the orca attacks and the headlines about ships and subs sinking, it's a wonder that anyone who doesn't have to is taking to the sea but then again, flying's not much better lately, either. More on seafaring: Dolphins Appear as Astronauts Splash Down in Ocean PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) On Thursday, the city of Peoria hosted its Equity in Procurement Expo. This is the second year the city hosted the event to empower minority business owners, entrepreneurs and construction professionals. Participants had an opportunity to attend panel discussions focusing on regulation and how to register, trades and effective bidding, financing banking and partnering with prime contractors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was also an opportunity to network with representatives from city and county agencies, as well as community and banking organizations. And of course, the food vendors were minority owned businesses. Melodi Green, chief diversity and inclusion officer for the city, said they are constantly seeking ways to help minority business owners. There are barriers that this community and that minority businesses in particular face, she said. But the city is invested and ready to work with the business community and the agencies that we do business with in addition to minority businesses, and just continue uplifting and engaging and supporting. Because when one of us rises, we all rise. Green said there are success stories coming from last years expo. A participant now has a contract cleaning several city properties. 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. The Northwest Pennsylvania chapter of the Public Relations Society of America celebrated Womens History Month Thursday afternoon. A lunch and learn panel discussion took place featuring regional professionals. Rescued pup Bernard finds loving home after recovering from abuse These local leaders have mastered the skills of public relations, marketing communication and other related fields and shared their experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lunch was a chance for participants to network with others in their field. This is the societys second year holding an event like this and they hope to make it annual. City of Erie, ErieBank partner up to boost home ownership They share challenges theyve faced obstacles theyve overcome success as theyve had and usually after an hour people leave feeling pretty good and thats our hope, said Tony Peyronel, president of the NWPA PRSA. Peyronel says 90% of the public relations industry is made up of women and its important to highlight that. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ethel Cain's penchant for balancing dark ambient textural soundscapes with pop hooks will be on display in September when her tour comes to St. Paul. Cain's "The Willoughby Tucker Forever" tour will head to the Palace Theatre on Sept. 19. The tour name comes from her upcoming album, Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You. It'll be Cain's second album released this year when it arrives over the summer. It follows Cain's heralded and, possibly, most experimental recording to date, Perverts, which was released in January. Ethel CainPhoto by Hayden Anhedonia and Silken Weinberg The album's announcement characterizes Willoughby Tucker as a prequel to her 2022 debut, Preacher's Daughter. (Tucker is the name of Cain's high school boyfriend, who surfaced in the song "A House in Nebraska" off that debut record, per Pitchfork.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The St. Paul stop is the second-to-last date of the tour's North American leg, which will have 9million opening at the Palace Theatre. Tickets for Ethel Cain at the Palace Theatre went on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 28. As part of the tour, Cain will partner with the Ally Coalition to donate $1 from every ticket to local organizations that support the trans community. Related: 20 of the best concerts in the Twin Cities this spring The European Union will allocate 6 million in funding for programmes to support Ukrainian women. Source: EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova at the Ukrainian Women's Congress in Cherkasy Details: This funding will include projects to strengthen women's leadership and help vulnerable groups of women in Ukraine. "We have collected a package of 6 million to support Ukrainian women and programmes to strengthen their leadership and support vulnerable groups of women, including survivors of violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It should also help create support structures for those who want to take on leadership in communities," explained Katarina Mathernova. The ambassador added that it is important to develop leadership at all levels, as this is what helped Ukraine survive the full-scale invasion. "I have heard many times that Ukraine was able to survive thanks to activism and leadership, which was created through the decentralisation reform in various hromadas," said Mathernova. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.] Strengthening women's leadership includes many components. One of them, Katarina Mathernova says, is the support of other women. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In any case, don't forget about other women. It is important for women to support other women, but we don't always do it," the envoy said. Background: The Ukrainian Women's Congress started on 28 March in Cherkasy. During the panel discussions, participants discuss topics related to women's leadership in local government and entrepreneurship, financial literacy training, support for vulnerable groups of women in rural areas, and strengthening national identity. Every year, starting in 2017, the Ukrainian Women's Congress holds the main Congress in Kyiv, as well as events in the oblasts of Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The European Union is preparing its 17th package of sanctions against Russia amid Moscow's demands for lifting some Western restrictions as part of its ceasefire terms, EUobserver reported on March 27, citing four unnamed EU diplomats. Following two days of talks in Saudi Arabia, Washington agreed on March 25 to help facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports by lowering maritime insurance costs and enhancing access to global ports and payment systems. U.S. President Donald Trump said later that Washington was "looking at" the possibility of lifting some sanctions on Russia to secure the Black Sea ceasefire. In the meantime, work on a new round of EU sanctions against Russia has started and is at a very early stage, one of the sources told EUobserver. The European Commission is expected to present its proposals in early summer, another diplomat told the media outlet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commenting on the timeline, one of the diplomats told the outlet that "its too speculative at this point," adding that the bloc will be watching how the ceasefire talks between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia will unfold. "Keep up the pressure on Russia. It was very clear that the sanctions stay in place. What we want is a just and lasting peace agreement. That is the goal," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on March 27 following a "Coalition of the Willing" summit in Paris. According to European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper, Russia's "unconditional withdrawal" from Ukraine is one of the main preconditions for changing or lifting EU sanctions. Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. have agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea and a ban on energy infrastructure strikes. However, Moscow insists that the Black Sea ceasefire will take effect only if the West lifts sanctions on Rosselkhozbank and other financial institutions linked to food trade, restoring their access to the SWIFT payment system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kremlin is also demanding the removal of sanctions on Russian food producers, exporters, and Russian-flagged cargo vessels involved in agricultural trade. Read also: Trump looks at Putin as a friend Expert negotiator dissects Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A grand jury decided that there is enough evidence to charge Eugene Big U Henley with multiple criminal offenses after he was arrested in a gang takedown earlier this month. A press release issued by the U.S. Attorneys Office, Central District of California, confirmed a 43-count indictment details the alleged acts the 58-year-old carried out as leader of a mafia-style enterprise. Officially, Henley is charged with the following: One count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and extortion (Hobbs Act), one count of Hobbs Act robbery, nine counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, five counts of Hobbs Act extortion, one count of transportation of an individual in interstate commerce with intent that the individual engage in prostitution (Mann Act), 15 counts of wire fraud, five counts of embezzlement, conversion, and intentional misapplication of funds from an organization receiving federal funds, one count of bank fraud, one count of tax evasion, and two counts of willful failure to file a tax return. Henleys arraignment is scheduled for April 8, and his detention hearing is scheduled for April 10. If convicted, the supposed anti-gang activist faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the racketeering conspiracy count. Additionally, the bank fraud count is punishable by up to 30 years, the Hobbs Act conspiracy, robbery, and extortion, the wire fraud counts each carry a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, and the theft concerning programs receiving federal funds count each carry a penalty of up to 10 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also charged in the indictment are the following individuals, all currently in federal custody, according to the attorneys office: Sylvester Robinson, 59, a.k.a. Vey Mark Martin, 50, a.k.a. Bear Claw Termaine Ashley Williams, 42, a.k.a. Luce Cannon Armani Aflleje, 38, a.k.a. Mani Fredrick Blanton Jr., 43 Tiffany Shanrika Hines, 51 Operation Draw Down As the indictment alleges, Mr. Henley led a criminal enterprise whose conduct ranged from murder to sophisticated fraud that included stealing from taxpayers and a charity, detailed Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally in the memo. Eradicating gangs and organized crime is the Department of Justices top priority. Todays charges against the leadership of this criminal outfit will make our neighborhoods in Los Angeles safer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Henleys attorney, John Targowski, exclaimed that his client looks forward to a vigorous defense of these charges and maintains his innocence. L-R) Eugene Big U Henley. Alex Thomas, Norman Nixon and Chris Spencer attend the 53rd NAACP Image Awards Celebrity Golf Invitational on February 22, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Before his arrest, Henley released videos on social media asserting, I aint did nothing. The clips have since been deleted. If you had something against a Black man, you should handle it with a Black man in the streets. Wack said 100 times he was gonna take my contracts, he working with the FBI, Henley exclaimed. I aint been nothing but help to our community. But I guess it is what it is. This is the price of being Black and trying to help somebody, trying to help your community and do what you can. You just guilty because somebody else dont like you and they go on the internet and do what the f**k they want to and yall gon promote it. More from VIBE.com Sign up for Vibe's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. On March 27, the 2025 International Rural Development Innovation Expo opened at the Hefei Binhu International Exhibition Center and will run until March 29. Nearly 300 enterprises from over 20 countries and regions, including China, the UK, and the USA, showcased their new products, focusing on digital villages, smart agriculture, green agricultural products and food. The event also includes over 10 high-quality forums, industry seminars, and indoor and outdoor demonstration activities. Leading domestic companies such as China YTO Group and Lovol displayed self-developed high-end agricultural machinery. Internationally renowned companies like John Deere, Siemens Smart Agriculture, and CaseIH presented their latest products. Technology firms like Inspur, ZhuoFan Information, and Greenmarks showcased innovations in digital agriculture, highlighting new productivity in the industry. Exhibitor groups from the USA, Israel, and Australia shared innovative concepts and practical experiences in modern agriculture. Additionally, themed exhibition areas from Anhui's agricultural technology achievements, Hefei's thematic display, Shanghai Pavilion, Shandong group, and Wuhu group vividly presented the fruitful outcomes and unique models of rural revitalization through distinctive exhibits and interactive experiences. "We brought three types of drones widely used for spraying, seeding, and lifting. For example, the DJI T100 can easily transport bamboo or mountain products, helping local farmers increase yield and income," said Zhou Chuan, General Manager of Anhui Feitian Technology Co., Ltd. This product is equipped with laser radar and active phased array radar, showcasing advanced technology. Another model, the DJI T70 agricultural drone, has a payload spraying capacity of 50 liters and can distribute 70 kilograms in one day, equivalent to the work of 40 to 50 laborers. Additionally, using drones for spraying ensures even coverage on both sides of crops, allowing for precise fertilization and pesticide application. "We showcased several tractors and harvesters that are widely used in major agricultural provinces for tasks such as seeding, plowing, tilling, and deep loosening," said Liu Qiang, East China Regional Manager of John Deere. John Deere is a global leader in agricultural machinery manufacturing, headquartered in the USA. Their machinery is applied in large-scale farming scenarios in the northern plains of Anhui. "In addition to the northern plains, John Deere products are also used for paddy field operations in southern Anhui. For example, this 6E-1204 tractor features a sealed front axle for superior performance in paddy fields," Liu added. This expo, as an innovative practice to implement the Yangtze River Delta integration and agricultural powerhouse strategy, will help Anhui connect international and domestic resources, enhance agricultural openness, and contribute wisdom to global rural governance. Source: anhuinews.com Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Capital Planning and Construction Committee (CPCC), attends the fifth plenary meeting of the 20th CPCC and delivers remarks in Beijing, capital of China, March 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Cai Qi, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), attended a meeting on the planning and construction of the Chinese capital in Beijing on Friday. Cai, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also made remarks at this plenary meeting of the Capital Planning and Construction Committee, which he heads. According to the meeting, this year marks the concluding year of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), and the five-year assessments of the Beijing urban master plan, development control plan for the core zone serving capital functions, and the development control plan for Beijing Municipal Administrative Center are set to be carried out. The meeting emphasized the need to further support the functions of the central authorities, provide services for major events, strengthen comprehensive protection capabilities, promote city resilience, and improve the emergency management system. The meeting called for advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, enhancing the joint construction and sharing of public services, and building a convenient commuting circle around Beijing. EUNICE, La. (KLFY) Two Eunice City Jail inmates are charged with aggravated arson for causing a fire in the jail, authorities said. Jordan Dwayne Victor, 20 and Kirmontae Venezia, 20 caused an electrical shortage to burn paper and cloth material in jail on Wednesday, authorities said. When the Eunice Fire Department arrived to the scene jail employees had extinguished the small fire, firefighters said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fire melted a water line inside the jail and firefighters ventilated the facility, authorities said. Lafayette house fire destroys two vehicles, firefighters respond Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest 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 KLFY.com. The European Union considers a statement by Russian ruler Vladimir Putin about the possibility of external governance of Ukraine as propaganda. Source: European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper during a briefing in Brussels on 28 March, as reported by European Pravda Details: Hipper stressed that Russia is the aggressor, and Putin is a war criminal, which is the perspective from which his statements should be viewed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Putin is a criminal, and he is sought for war crimes. We are not going to pay attention or comment on whatever he issues as propaganda," Hipper said when asked by journalists to comment on Putins idea of "external governance" for Ukraine. She added that the EU would instead "closely look at the facts". "The facts are that we have an aggressor, we have Ukraine, which is showing nothing but goodwill towards peace. This is where we are in terms of our support to Ukraine and our focus on ensuring that we will have a long, just and lasting peace," Hipper emphasised. Another European Commission spokesperson, Paula Pinho, added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr "Zelenskyy has been legitimately elected, democratically elected, and as long as the Ukrainian people do not ask for elections, no one else should suggest them". Background: On 27 March, Putin proposed discussing the introduction of an interim administration in Ukraine under the aegis of the UN and several countries to hold elections. In February, Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator because he supposedly refuses to hold elections. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Even before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys car crash meeting at the White House last month, Britains Prime Minister Keir Starmer had talked confidently of putting British boots on the ground in Ukraine - widely understood to mean land forces - in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. After the Washington mauling, Starmer along with French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders - quickly doubled down on their pledges of support for Ukraines leader. This is not a moment for more talk, Starmer said following a major gathering of heads of state and government leaders in London the next day. It is time to act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, though, four weeks on and after two further major meetings of European leaders, the overwhelming sense is that of a process inexorably slowing down. We should probably not be surprised. The preferred terminology now is of a reassurance force for Ukraine talk of European peacekeepers is no longer in the lexicon. Such a force would not act on the front line, Macron told reporters after Thursdays meeting in Paris, and it would not act on behalf of Ukrainian forces. Recent reports have suggested that London, in particular, might be going cool on the idea of putting troops on the ground in Ukraine, but Macron insisted nothing has so far been ruled out. We are looking into the air, at sea, and on the ground as well. Nothing is excluded, he said, adding, that (reassurance) force will be deployed in Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers man an MSTA-B howitzer near Niu York, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, on March 5, 2025. - Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu/Getty Images Further details will come in due course, but French and British military chiefs now have the task of working with their Ukrainian counterparts to establish the number of troops that would make up such a force and where they might be located, as well as their capabilities, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In military parlance, it is time to get to work on the operating concept that would underpin any such force. What are the possible threats that it would likely face? What would be the rules of engagement? These are not simple matters and will likely take weeks to nail down. Inevitably, answers to those questions need to assume limited, or non-existent, US participation, which will likely further slow down planning. For Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former defense minister of Ukraine, ambitions need to be realistic. He points to the obvious logistical challenges presented by his countrys massive 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line with Russia, and the low probability that Starmer and Macron would approve rules of engagement that could see European troops entering into direct combat with Russian soldiers. A forward deployment of British or French land forces would be an ineffective endeavor, he warns, but so too could a less far-reaching commitment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There have been so many discussions that Europe would step in and help with security arrangements, but if they end up sending 10,000 people to stay in Kyiv, unable to leave the city, thats certainly not going to change anything in Russias calculations, he told CNN. In fact, with a negligible deterrence effect, such a move could actually make Europe emerge weaker. The temptation for Russia to humiliate London and Paris - by breaking any ceasefire with an attack carried out hundreds of miles away from British and French troops stuck in the capital - could prove hard to resist. The wreckage of cars remains in a residential district at the site of a Russian drone attack on March 27, 2025 in Dnipro, Ukraine. - Yurii Tynnyi/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images In a paper written for the London-based Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank, Zagorodnyuk, along with two colleagues, argues that a better option for Europe could be airmen boots on the ground a commitment to police Ukraines skies from Russian strikes. Such a protection would almost certainly mean British, French and other warplanes stationed in Ukraine, along with aircrews and accompanying logistical support. It might be that Europe only provided cover over western and central Ukraine, he says, but even that would at least allow Ukraine to devote all of its forces to defending the eastern part of the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even a reassurance force that extended no further than putting air assets inside Ukraine would still be a major step for Europe. But the potential credibility risks, while still extant, would surely be lower than with any deployment of land forces. At the same time, Europe needs to be extremely careful. Managing expectations in the run-up to any possible announcement is also key. The credibility of any eventual deployment will be judged to a considerable extent on how it measures up to what had been previously discussed in public. If it appears to fall too short, it wont just be Ukraine that feels short-changed. Putin and Trump will also have their suspicions confirmed that Europe is a dead duck. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com European institutions are beginning to target scientific asylum seekers from the U.S., advertising jobs for those who fear funding cuts and ideological restrictions from the Trump administration. President Trump has frozen large swaths of federal funding and ordered a halt to things that dont comply with his political positions, including programs involving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) research that focuses on the transgender community and climate change initiatives. Universities and researchers are among those affected as federal grants are limited or withdrawn. Trump has also used federal research funds to target universities that he believes did not act harshly enough when responding to pro-Palestine protests on campus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Significant government layoffs at agencies including NASA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have also put scientists who relied on the stability of federal jobs on the hunt for new work. Experts have warned that the reduced funding and limitations could create a brain drain and cause the U.S. to lose a generation of scientists and the work they would otherwise produce. Vrije Universiteit Brussel, based in Belgium, is one university that has started to actively recruit American researchers, portraying itself as a safe haven. So is the Pasteur Institute in Paris, which is recruiting Americans in fields like infectious disease research. The Netherlands announced on Thursday that it was launching a fund to attract researchers, which would be open to those of all nationalities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aix-Marseille University in France set up a program that will fund more than two dozen U.S. researchers for three years. The school said it has already had about 100 applicants, including scientists from Yale, Stanford and NASA. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Donald Trumps decision to slap 25pc tariffs on car imports is at one level aimed at encouraging more of his countrymen to buy American vehicles. But the presidents decision to target foreign vehicles that flood into the US each year ultimately stems from his anger that far fewer go in the opposite direction. When it comes to cars, the imbalance of trade between the US and Europe is stark. EU carmakers ship more than 700,000 vehicles to America each year at an average price of about $50,000 (46,000), generating close to 40bn (33bn) in export sales. British carmakers also ship a further 100,000 to the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By contrast, fewer than 300,000 US-built cars head to the EU, averaging about $30,000 apiece and worth less than $10bn in total. Trump is hoping that his barrage of import duties will pile enough pressure on manufacturers to trigger a reversal of this decades-old deficit. In particular, the White House is looking to target the level of VAT charged on cars sold in the UK and EU, which adds 20pc and 21.8pc to the purchase price, respectively. Because the US does not apply VAT, apart from in a few states such as New York, the Trump administration argues that European manufacturers can sell cars at lower prices across the Atlantic, incentivising them to compete with American businesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, while the presidents tariffs might conceivably lead some Americans to reconsider buying a $100,000-plus Mercedes or Range Rover, theyre also likely to prompt tit-for-tat levies that could further undermine US exports. Andy Palmer, who led Nissans move into electric vehicles (EVs) and went on to run Aston Martin, questioned whether a trade war was the best route to winning over foreign drivers. He said it is more likely that Ford and General Motors (GM) will lose ground to the rest of the industry. You either join in and be globally competitive or you step back, protected by tariffs, and wait to die, he said. Americans have long desired European mainstays such as BMWs, Ferraris and Fiats, as well as keenly priced family models from Japan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, US cars that are best-sellers at home barely register in Europe, with the pickup trucks that dominate the American market led by the Ford F-class, Chevrolet Silverado and Ram truck series a rare sight on British roads. For many, American models are too big and brash for Europes roads. Drivers of Range Rovers and BMW X5s may be used to barbs about driving Chelsea tractors. But American SUVs and pickups are of a different order when it comes to size, making European 4x4s look small. When Trump asked last month, how many Chevrolets or Fords do you see in the middle of Munich?, he is unlikely to have registered how many US models would actually fit through the citys narrower streets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As heavier vehicles, American cars also consume much more fuel. For example, the Ford F-250 pickup weighs in at close to four tons and has a seven-litre engine that delivers just 15 miles to the gallon. That may not matter so much in the US, where petrol currently averages 82 cents (63p) a litre, but in the UK, where the equivalent price is 1.85 because of higher taxes, it is a major issue. Mr Palmer said it would be wrong to look down on US carmaking capabilities, but admitted that European engineering is more nuanced. The European market is hard to compete in, he says. It has high-quality explanations, relatively low pricing and tight profitability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement US manufacturers have long made cars in Europe, focusing on models better suited to the local market. Yet they have backed off from their investments in recent years. GM offloaded its Opel and Vauxhall brands to Peugeot, now part of Stellantis, in 2017, although it has retained small sales operations for its Corvette and Cadillac brands. Ford at various times owned Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Volvo. It sold the first two in 2008 to Tata Motors of India, which turned JLR into Britains biggest carmaker. Aston was then sold to private investors a year earlier, while Volvo found a buyer in Geely of China in 2010. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ford continues to make its own-branded cars in Europe and the Ford Kuga was the UKs best-selling car last year. The crossover model is built in Romania, with Fords UK plants at Dagenham confined to making diesel engines, while Halewood in Liverpool supplies electric drives. The only American model to feature among Britains top 10 sellers in 2024 was the Tesla Model Y, production of which has recently switched to Berlin from Shanghai. Meanwhile, European carmakers that have factories in the US warned that vehicles made there, such as the BMW X-series, will be hit by tariffs because they are largely assembled from imported parts. The majority of those vehicles then go for export, making a positive contribution to the US trade balance, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trade body urged Trump to consider the negative impact of tariffs not only on global automakers but on US domestic manufacturing. The impact of the measures on British car companies will depend on whether the UK is treated differently from other members of the EU. Even in the event of a so-called carve-out from the tariffs, the interconnectedness of the industry and the fact that many UK firms are EU-owned means they could still be hit. Palmer said the best hope for top-end brands such as JLR, Bentley, Aston Martin and McLaren that are reliant on the US may be to pivot their sales efforts towards Europe, the Middle East and China, though it will be really hard work for one or two. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More broadly, he said the industry faces a flock of black swans, as the impact of tariffs comes alongside the shift to electric vehicles, increased competition from China and a drop in consumer demand. For US automakers, he warned that the import duties are likely to distance firms once at the heart of the American economy from the shift to EVs and self-driving vehicles, with one clear consequence. He said: In my mind, theyre handing the market to the Chinese, which is tragic. 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. BLAND COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) A wildfire in Bland County caused many to evacuate after flames broke out on Thursday, March 28. According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, the fire is on Laurel Fork Road and East River Mountain Road and was about 200 acres in size and 35% contained. Seasonal 4 PM Burning Law begins Feb. 15 Bland County Emergency Services said that residents who were evacuated were able to return to their homes later on in the evening on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The VDF say State Forestry crews will continue to stay in the area along Laurel Folk Road. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MANILA, Philippines (AP) Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte marked his 80th birthday in detention in the Netherlands Friday after the International Criminal Court ordered his arrest, while in the Philippines, police forces braced for planned protests by his followers and opponents. Dutertes chaotic March 11 arrest at Manilas international airport by police forces, which the ICC sought on an alleged crime against humanity, was a sobering turning point in the life of one of the most unorthodox leaders of the Philippines. While president, he publicly cursed then President Barack Obama and the pope, called God stupid and warned that he would be happy to slaughter 3 million drug addicts in his country, the largest Roman Catholic nation in Asia, comparing his anti-drugs crackdown with Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ailing Duterte, now locked up in a detention center in The Hague seaside suburb of Scheveningen, about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the global courts headquarters, was in high spirits and would be visited on his birthday by his Filipino common-law wife and their daughter, according to Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, the ex-presidents daughter, who has been visiting him in detention. A bag of clothes from his southern Philippine home and his favorite sugar-free soft drinks have been delivered to him in detention and a request for dental floss would follow, she told journalists and supporters earlier this week in The Hague. She added that she urged her father to cook his own food, an advice he said he could not likely follow, and write a book while in detention. "Im too old to write a book, she cited her father as saying. On March 15, the former president appeared for the first time by video from his detention before judges at the ICC after his arrest in Manila for alleged crimes against humanity. The case stemmed from the deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw from November 2011 until March 2019 while serving as mayor of Davao city and later as president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICC prosecutors accused Duterte of serving as an indirect co-perpetrator in the widespread murders, an allegation he has generally denied although he acknowledged under oath in a Philippine Senate inquiry last year that he had maintained a death squad of gangsters to kill other criminals when he was mayor. He denied authorizing police to gun down thousands of suspects when he was president but has repeatedly threatened drug traffickers with death and publicly told law enforcers to open fire on suspects, who violently resist arrests. The estimated death toll in the police-enforced campaign during Dutertes presidential term alone ranged from the more than 6,250 that Philippine authorities had reported to about 20,000 and 30,000 based on some human rights groups's estimate. In the ICC, Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc set a pretrial hearing on Sept. 23 to establish if prosecution evidence is strong enough to send Duterte to trial, which could take years. If Duterte is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Duterte could also apply for a temporary release, a prospect that has been opposed by still-fearful families of mostly poor suspects killed in his crackdowns. A former government prosecutor, Duterte carved a political name decades ago with his violent approach to criminality and profanity-laced outbursts. He remained a deeply polarizing figure even after his detention in Europe. Philippine police forces went on alert to guard planned protests on his birthday. His supporters were expected to call for his release in prayer rallies in Manila and in his southern home region. Left-wing activists said they would separately parade a mock coffin with portraits of victims of Dutertes crackdowns to call for justice and accountability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dutertes family has questioned the legality of his arrest and surrender to the global court by the police under Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying he should have been allowed to challenge the actions in a Philippine court. The Dutertes and Marcos have become bitter political opponents. Last week, Sara Duterte called out the Philippine military for standing idly by while a former commander-in-chief was taken from a military base under questionable circumstances." The Armed Forces of the Philippines issued a statement Thursday to underscore its political neutrality. "Any deviation from this principle would undermine the very democracy we are bound to protect, the military said. By Greg Torode HONG KONG (Reuters) -China deployed two long-range H-6 bombers around the Scarborough Shoal this week, in Beijing's latest move to assert sovereignty over the hotly disputed atoll in the South China Sea, satellite images obtained by Reuters showed. The deployment, which was not publicised by China, came ahead of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's visit to the Philippines, which also claims the shoal that lies within its exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters on the scale of the deployment or whether it was timed to coincide with Hegseth's trip. Officials from the Philippines National Security Council and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. During a visit to Manila on Friday, Hegseth reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad commitment" to its mutual defence treaty with the Philippines, saying China's actions made deterrence necessary in the South China Sea. Monday's images taken by Maxar Technologies show two aircraft east of Scarborough Shoal, which China calls "Huangyan Dao". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent years, Chinese coast guard vessels have clashed frequently with Philippine fishermen near the mouth of atoll, which China has at times attempted to block since it seized de facto control of the shoal in 2012. Last month, the Philippines coast guard accused the Chinese navy of performing dangerous flight manoeuvres nearby. An international arbitration tribunal in the Hague ruled in 2016 that China's claims had no legal basis, but Beijing rejected that decision. In an email to Reuters, Maxar said the aircraft in the images were H-6 bombers, adding that "rainbow colours" close to them resulted when satellite images of fast-moving objects were processed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The timing of the flights was unlikely to be accidental, however, regional security analysts said. Beijing was sending "a signal that China has a sophisticated military," said Peter Layton of Australia's Griffith Asia Institute. "The bombers' second message could be you (the United States) have the potential for long range strike; so do we, and in larger numbers. Clearly not serendipity," he added. Regional military attaches say China has gradually stepped up deployments of H-6 bombers into the South China Sea as its military presence has grown, starting with landings on improved runways in the disputed Paracel islands in 2018. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The jet-powered H-6 is based on a Soviet-era design but has been modernised to carry an array of anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles, and some are capable of launching nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. Similar to the U.S. B-52, the basic H-6 design dates back to the 1950s but with improved engines, modern strike weapons and on-board flight systems, it is China's key long-range bomber. The Pentagon's annual report on China's military in December said a more stealthy aircraft was probably in development. The bombers were deployed in war game drills in October around Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, and in late December at Scarborough, as part of broader air and sea operations by the Chinese military's Southern Theatre Command. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The command, which covers the South China Sea, operates two regiments of the bombers, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies says. The December drills were publicised, with the defence ministry saying at the time they were meant to "resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty and security, and maintain peace in the South China Sea". The ministry posted images of aircraft above the shoal but satellite images capturing patrols in operation are rare. The altitude at which the H-6s were flying near the shoal is not known. Taiwan's government rejects China's sovereignty claim, saying only the island's people can decide their future. (Reporting by Greg Torode in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Karen Lema in Manila and Gerry Doyle in Singapore and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Two Eurasian beavers have returned after 400 years of absence, as the BBC reported. The beavers were released in an enclosed nature reserve in Shrewsbury, England. Conservationists in the United Kingdom hope that the beavers can help restore the natural wetlands of Old River Bed. The goal is to improve the area's biodiversity and heal from years of habitat loss. Beavers are keystone species that act as nature's engineers. Their innate ability to slow down water flow is critical in preventing flooding. Beavers build dams that turn into ponds. As time passes, the ponds turn into wetlands. These marshes are the natural habitat of birds, fish, and amphibians. The newly homed beavers are part of a bigger movement in the U.K. For many years, conservation groups and wildlife organizations reintroduced beavers to different areas in England. A pair of beavers was recently rehomed in South Downs National Park to revive a critical wetland. Scientists hope that the beavers can improve the quality and quantity of the wetlands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a similar initiative 15 years ago, beavers were released in a Knapdale rainforest in Scotland. The area is now bearing the fruits of the beavers' labor. Water voles, once endangered, are flourishing, thanks to these beavers. Conservation experts are similarly hopeful, and wildlife organizations are eager to track the beavers' impact over time. "I think having them in Shrewsbury is really exciting because it's an urban site, it's a site with housing on both sides, and it gives us an opportunity to give people the chance to interact with the beavers and see what they do on a local level," Tom Freeland, head of nature reserves at Shropshire Wildlife Trust, told BBC Radio Shropshire. Freeland added: "But what you should start to see is the impact that they're having." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Someday, beavers may have offspring in the enclosure, as there is ample space to support their growth. 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 light art installation is displayed during the "Lumiere: The Art of Light" exhibition in Toronto, Canada, on March 27, 2025. The exhibition is held here from March 10 to April 4. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua) People look at a light art installation during the "Lumiere: The Art of Light" exhibition in Toronto, Canada, on March 27, 2025. The exhibition is held here from March 10 to April 4. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua) People look at a light art installation during the "Lumiere: The Art of Light" exhibition in Toronto, Canada, on March 27, 2025. The exhibition is held here from March 10 to April 4. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua) A man poses for photos with a light art installation during the "Lumiere: The Art of Light" exhibition in Toronto, Canada, on March 27, 2025. The exhibition is held here from March 10 to April 4. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua) A woman takes pictures of a light art installation during the "Lumiere: The Art of Light" exhibition in Toronto, Canada, on March 27, 2025. The exhibition is held here from March 10 to April 4. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua) A woman takes pictures of a light art installation during the "Lumiere: The Art of Light" exhibition in Toronto, Canada, on March 27, 2025. The exhibition is held here from March 10 to April 4. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua) By Thomas Escritt BERLIN (Reuters) - The senior leadership of Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc and the Social Democrats were due to begin talks on hammering out a coalition agreement on Friday. Here are the main issues: HOW DID WE GET HERE? Voters put Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian ally, the CSU, in first place in February's election, consigning outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats to third. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite that, the SPD is Merz's only prospective partner for forming the strong two-party coalition he is aiming for. The CDU and other parties have vowed not to work with the second-placed far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). This puts the SPD in a position of strength in the talks. The conservatives and SPD are used to governing together, having done so three times under Angela Merkel. But they are far apart in areas including social, environmental and immigration policy as well as taxation. In an indication of the level of dissatisfaction over some of the drafts circulating, all 16 working documents have been leaked, some of them repeatedly, despite efforts by party leaderships to keep the contents of talks under wraps. WHERE DO WE STAND? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past two weeks, 16 separate groups of representatives from all three parties have drawn up a 162-page consolidated plan for a four-year governing programme in different policy areas. In the next round, 19 senior figures - party general secretaries, state premiers and leaders of parties at federal state level - will meet alternately in each other's party headquarters to thrash out a slimmed-down and ideally coherent programme. FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC POLICY The SPD wants tax cuts for people on lower incomes and higher taxes for the richest. CSU leader Markus Soeder, premier of Bavaria, has ruled out any tax rises, while the CDU's Jens Spahn has said there must be spending cuts of up to 40 billion euros ($43.1 billion) in this year's budget alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MIGRATION AND SECURITY The conservatives want to expand surveillance powers in response to a series of deadly attacks by foreigners, including automated facial-recognition systems in hotspots like railway stations and airports. They also want to process asylum applications in third countries before claimants ever set foot in Germany and make it harder for failed claimants to stay. The SPD wants an amnesty for people already in the country whose identity has been established for certain and who are in training or work. FOREIGN POLICY The conservatives want to create a National Security Council in the chancellor's office, which would strengthen the foreign affairs role of Merz, the likely next chancellor. The SPD, which is likely to control the Foreign Ministry, wants to create a National Situation Centre that would span the various ministries responsible for international emergencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Israel, to which Germany feels a particular obligation because of the Holocaust, the conservatives want no limits on exports of arms Israel "needs for its security". The SPD's proposals condemn Israel's settlements policy and criticise the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation in Gaza. The SPD says Germany has a particular responsibility towards the colonial-era genocide of the Herero people in modern-day Namibia. The conservatives' draft does not mention this. The conservatives want to fold the Ministry for International Cooperation and Development into the Foreign Ministry to create "coherence" in trade, foreign and defence policy. The SPD wants to improve cooperation between three separate ministries. ENERGY Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bavarian premier Soeder, whose state is one of Germany's industrial powerhouses, is demanding measures to help industry with soaring energy prices. The conservatives want clean energy investments to be exempt from some environmental protection rules and to explore the reactivation of three nuclear power stations that were shut down by Scholz's government. OTHER DIFFERENCES The SPD wants a cap on rent increases, something opposed by the conservatives. The conservatives want to abolish "in its existing form" the Freedom of Information law, which allows members of the public to read public authorities' documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conservatives also want to abolish the national parliamentary police ombudsman, while the SPD wants to strengthen the office to help make police work "transparent and efficient". AREAS OF AGREEMENT The two blocs voted before the new parliament was seated to allow a massive expansion of government borrowing, providing for up to one trillion euros over the next decade to be spent on strengthening Germany's armed forces and revitalising its rusting infrastructure. Regarding Germany's role in the world, the parties largely agree on wanting to work with the European Union to protect the bloc's economy from the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs policy and on continued support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. ($1 = 0.9289 euros) (Reporting by Thomas Escritt) The Federal Aviation Administration is moving to make it more difficult to monitor who owns and operates private planes. The regulator said Friday that private aircraft owners and operators can now submit online requests for the FAA to withhold their registration information from the public. The move follows Congress decision to reauthorize the FAA last May. An amendment to that bill called for anonymizing private aircraft owners information. The FAA already has programs to limit identifying data from external flight tracking services: the Privacy ICAO aircraft address program and the Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed Program. President Donald Trump, the rapper Drake, and the director Steven Spielberg have used the LADD program to hide their aircraft registration numbers, call signs, or flight numbers, according to independent researcher Jack Sweeneys LADD List. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the latest push goes further than those earlier programs, allowing personal information such as names and addresses to be kept private. The FAA is also considering whether to make that information private by default. Doing so would make it much more difficult to track the movements of some of the wealthiest people. Some jet owners say public flight data puts them at risk. Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, for example, claimed that Sweeneys ElonJet tracker presented a direct personal safety risk. After buying Twitter, now called X, in 2022, Musk banned Sweeney, although he has since been allowed back on the social media platform. Taylor Swifts legal team last year sent Sweeney, at the time a junior at the University of Central Florida, a cease-and-desist letter over his tracking of her private jet flights, saying that he was endangering the pop star. He runs social media accounts that continue to track Swifts private travel. This conduct poses an imminent threat to the safety and wellbeing of our Client [Swift] and must stop, the letter said, calling it a life-or-death matter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, there are also clear benefits to tracking private jet usage, albeit not for the jets owners. Business Insider used that data to report on Musks role in the Trump administration, monitoring his movements between Texas and Washington, D.C. as he leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the automaker Tesla. His jets spent 881 hours crossing the globe last year, Business Insider reported, making 335 flights. That included 25 trips to Palm Beach International after Trump won the presidential election, and several earlier flights to that airport in 2024. Swift has come under fire for her jet plane use after groups tracking her movements discovered she had produced 8,300 tons of carbon emissions in 2022, about 576 times the average American. Across a three-month period in 2023, during her Eras Tour, her flights reportedly produced 138 tons of carbon emissions. In 2024, her private jet made 98 trips and logged 225 hours, according to Simple Flying. That comes out to about 768 tons of carbon emissions. The wealthiest 1% are responsible for more climate pollution than the poorest 66%, according to a report from the British NGO Oxfam. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released new numbers on how many laser strikes pilots reported to the agency last year. The new data comes at a time when flight anxiety is high after major airline crashes that took place in recent months. Shining a bright light at an aircraft can affect pilots vision. Pilots reported nearly 13,000 laser strikes to the FAA last year, which is a 3% drop from 2023. The FAA said the numbers are still too high dangerously high. Last year at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, there were 25 laser incidents. There were also 24 in Rochester, 28 in Syracuse and over 200 in New York City. People who shine a laser at an aircraft while in motion could face fines of up to $11,000 per violation, the FAA said. The fines are higher with multiple violations, including up to five years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bob Miller, a retired pilot and flight instructor, said he has seen lasers at night as a pilot, but was never actually hit by one. Just imagine being in a darkened room and somebody walks in with a flash camera and shoots a flash camera in your eye it can temporarily blind you, Miller said. In fact, it can light up the entire cockpit and at a critical phase in flight where the pilot is concentrating on maneuvering the aircraft, such as approach to landing. This could have very serious consequences. He said there are ways to trace where the laser is coming from. There have been incidents locally that have resulted in criminal charges. A year ago, a Cheektowaga man was arrested and charged for shining a green laser at a Delta Airlines plane at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The pilot reported the incident and police responded to then arrest Crapsi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aiming a laser at an aircraft is against the law and creates a serious safety hazard that puts everyone on the plane and those on the ground below at risk, said Kevin Morris, an FAA safety expert. If you happen to be on or near a plane and know of a laser strike, youre asked to report that to the FAA and local police. Anything that involves the safety of commercial aviation is a major concern to all of us and particularly in this day and age, where were a little hyper sensitive to the number airline incidents anything that threatens the safety, as I said before, is a major concern, Miller said. Latest Local News Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See 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 News 4 Buffalo. In the race for ideological control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, candidates Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford have clashed over a number of issues, including school choice, union rights, abortion and even Elon Musk. During a March 12, 2025 debate, Crawford, a liberal Dane County judge, accused Schimel, a conservative Waukesha County judge, of courting national Republican figures including Musk and Republican President Donald Trump. (Left) Dane County Judge and Wisconsin Supreme Court Candidate Susan Crawford and (right) Supreme Court candidate and Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel debate during the WISN 12 Commitment 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court Debate at the Lubar Center at Marquette University Law Schools Eckstein Hall on Wednesday March 12, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wis. Look, Brad Schimel said that he wanted to be part of Donald Trump's support network, Crawford said during the debate. That's a very partisan statement, and that is exactly why Elon Musk is involved here; in the fact that he's got a Tesla lawsuit going in the state of Wisconsin and thinks it might be good to have some influence over the Wisconsin judiciary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When it was his turn to speak, Schimel did not immediately address Crawfords remark about his aim of being part of a Trump support network. But Crawfords claim that Schimel said that he wanted to be part of Donald Trumps support network, piqued our interest. The wording is important. It amounts to Crawford characterizing what Schimel has said, which is what we will examine. Its similar to a claim we did in which Schimel without evidence of any past statements or rulings declared that part of Crawfords agenda was to eliminate school choice. Lets take a look. News reports on Schimel When asked for evidence to support the claim, Crawfords campaign spokesman Derrick Honeyman pointed to news articles, only one of which was on point. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That March 6, 2025, article from the Wisconsin Examiner pointed to the video of Schimel speaking in Waukesha County to a group of canvassers associated with Turning Point USA a right-wing political group led by conservative activist Charlie Kirk that has become active in Wisconsins Republican party. In the video posted to YouTube, Schimel tells the canvassers that after the election of Trump, the jobs not done. There are a heck of a lot of people who voted on Nov. 5 because they were excited about a movement for America who dont see why they should vote again for April 1, Schimel told the audience. They dont understand that theres more to itDonald Trump doesnt do it by himself. There has to be a support network around him. When we asked the Schimel campaign if they had any additional context for the remark, spokesman Jacob Fischer in an email sent a fuller transcript of the statement and added: As you can see, he was talking about a network of support that is needed to win. Here is what the Schimel team sent, with the additional context in bold: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are a heck of a lot of people who voted on November 5 because they were excited about a movement for America, who don't see why they should vote again for April 1. They don't understand that there's more to it, that it wasn't just about - that Donald Trump doesn't do this by himself. There has to be a support network around him, and that, you know, they filed over 70 lawsuits against him since he took the oath of office barely a month ago, over 70 lawsuits to try to stop almost every single thing he's doing, because they don't want him to get a win. They're so desperate for him to not get a win that they won't let America have a win. That's what they're doing. While Fischer said the additional context indicates Schimel is talking about a network of support that is needed to win, in our view, that is not entirely clear. Indeed, Schimel talks specifically about lawsuits being filed as a mechanism to stop Trump. So, Crawford is a bit off base in that Schimel did not directly say he wants to be part of a support network, Schimel certainly talked in the framework of a get-out-the-vote effort for his own candidacy, while citing lawsuits being used as a weapon to slow Trump down. The other article cited as backup by the Crawford campaign was a March 12, 2025 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel column by Daniel Bice, which described a mailer by Trump ally Musks super PAC that touted Schimels support for Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Conservative Brad Schimel will support President Trump's agenda!" the mailer says. "Together, we won the White House. Now it's time to win the courthouse!" To be sure, the now its time to win the courthouse remark was not said by Schimel, and as such does not go directly to Crawfords claim. But it is one of several examples of Trump and his followers backing Schimel, and Schimel leaning into support from Trump. Donald Trump Jr. and Turning Point Action founder Charlie Kirk backed Schimel in front of hundreds at a March 17, 2025 event in Oconomowoc. And on March 21, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform calling on his supporters to vote for Schimel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All Voters who believe in Common Sense should GET OUT TO VOTE EARLY for Brad Schimel, Trump posted. Likewise, Schimel has been open about his support for Trump. According to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report, he dressed up as Trump in a garbage worker outfit a nod to Trump's donning of a reflective vest during the 2024 presidential campaign while playing bass with his band at a Halloween party last year. He attended Trumps inauguration earlier this year. And, while appearing at a March 15 MEGA MAGA Rally in Waukesha County, Schimel posed for photos in front of an oversized Trump inflatable with a Vote Brad Schimel Supreme Court poster on its chest.The Schimel and Trump inflatable photo or references to it appeared online in various places, including the X account of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice. Mostly True Our ruling During a debate, Crawford said: "Brad Schimel said that he wanted to be part of Donald Trump's support network." Clearly Schimel strongly supports President Trump and Trump has backed Schimel in the race, even though the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court is technically non-partisan. In a nutshell, although Schimel does not come straight out and say he wanted to be part of a Trump support network, his public pronouncements and campaign literature clearly indicate his affinity for a Trump support network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For a statement that is accurate but needs clarification or additional information, our rating is Mostly True. Sources YouTube WISN-12 News Supreme Court Debate March 12, 2025, at mark 41.51 YouTube Brad Schimel Speaks at Turning Point USA Waukesha, March 1, 2025, at mark Email, Derrick Honeyman, Susan Crawford campaign spokesman, March 14, 2025 Email, Jacob Fischer, Brad Schimel campaign spokesman, March 18, 2025. Appleton Post Crescent You can't buy a Cybertruck in Wisconsin. Tesla appeals after state denies 4-dealership plan, Feb. 10, 2025 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel What to know about Tesla's Wisconsin lawsuit, Elon Musk and Brad Schimel, March 26, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wisconsin Supreme Court election headed for record-smashing spending of $100 million, March 17, 2025 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Bice: New Musk mailer says Brad Schimel will 'support President Trump's agenda' from bench, March 12, 2025 Wisconsin Examiner, Schimel tells canvassers hell be support network for Trump and rehashes election conspiracies, March 6, 2025 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Donald Trump Jr., and Charlie Kirk rally for Brad Schimel in Wisconsin Supreme Court election, March 18, 2025. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Donald Trump rides garbage truck in Green Bay in bid to turn tables on Puerto Rico flap, Oct. 30, 2024 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Associated Press Trump backs Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate in hotly contested race, March 21, 2025 X, formerly Twitter, Dan Bice, March 16, 2025 This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Fact check: Crawford says Schimel said he wants to be part of Trump network Claim: Budget cuts by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration caused cancellations of 20 truckloads of food while en route to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Rating: Rating: Mostly True Context: The Greater Cleveland Food Bank confirmed 20 truckloads of future food deliveries were canceled. The trucks were not en route with the supplies and the food will remain with the producers. In late March 2025, a rumor circulating online claimed federal government budget cuts resulted in the cancellation of 20 truckloads of food while the supplies were en route to Ohio. One popular Facebook post stated: Trump cancels 20 semi-truck loads of food deliveries en route to Ohio food bank. Each truck holds 100,000 lbs-so that's $2 million worth of food-about a week's worth for Northeast Ohio. (Facebook user "Have a Gay Day") Although the above post was not completely accurate, budget cuts by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump did result in the cancellation of 20 truckloads of food to an Ohio food bank. Statements from the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and the mayor of Cleveland confirmed the food cuts. The cancellations appeared to be deliveries intended for April to July 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 26, 2025, the food bank told reporters that it had learned that around 500,000 pounds of food deliveries expected between April and July 2025 had been canceled. According to the food bank, it had ordered 30 truckloads of food from the USDA's Commodity Credit Corp. Out of these, 20 were canceled, which amounted to around $1 million worth of food. The supplies included milk, eggs and meat like chicken, pork and turkey. A spokesperson for Feeding America, a national network of food banks, confirmed the disruptions to Snopes and noted these were for supplies scheduled to be delivered in the coming weeks: The $500 million in TEFAP purchases is completely cancelled. The food purchases canceled were scheduled to be delivered in April June of this year. USDA is using other streams of funding to identify additional food purchases for food banks; for example, the USDA recently announced the approval of $261 million for Section 32 bonus purchases of fruits, vegetables and tree nuts to be distributed through TEFAP later this year. There is no disruption to regular TEFAP entitlement food purchases and Section 32 bonus buys. The spokesperson said the orders of food would simply remain with their producers. However, she added: "Without the additional food, food banks will struggle to meet current demand. With grocery prices still high, food banks continue to see unprecedented demand in their communities for their services. Sixty percent of Feeding America network food banks report rising demand as individuals and families work to overcome these challenges." The spokesperson also noted that, "due to trade issues, the first Trump administration provided some of the highest levels of [Commodity Credit Corp.]-funded purchases of U.S.-grown commodities to emergency feeding organizations like food banks." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jessica Semachko, the food bank's advocacy director, told WKYC, a Cleveland news station: "We were hopeful as of last week that we would see those loads come in, and we were really disappointed earlier this week when we received the notification through the system that these loads were canceled." Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb also responded to news of the cancellations: I am deeply outraged by the Trump Administration's unjust decision to withhold 553,000 pounds of food that was intended to help Ohio families in desperate need. This egregious action not only deprives half a million individuals, including children, served by the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, but it also threatens the health, safety, and well-being of our Northeast Ohio community. There is a difference between scaling back the federal footprint and callously stripping food from families who rely on it for survival. The starkness of this distinction is so profound that it is almost unimaginable that such a decision could even be considered, let alone executed. The food bank was to receive this food through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, run by USDA and backed by the federal fund known as the Commodity Credit Corp. According to Agri-Pulse, an agriculture and food news agency, the USDA suspended at least $500 million in funding originally intended for food banks across the country. Feeding America told The New York Times that its representative asked the USDA to explain the suspended shipments. USDA said it was reviewing the food aid programs funded through the Commodity Credit Corp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Per Agri-Pulse, Commodity Credit Corp. funds are a discretionary tool sometimes used by administrations to fund The Emergency Food Assistance Program. The first Trump administration spent around $2 billion in such food purchases. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank also will lose more food supplies through the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. The federal government announced no new funds would be provided through the program for 2025. In early March 2025, a USDA spokesperson told Politico that funding for the program (which supports food purchases for schools as well) would no longer be available: These programs, created under the former Administration via Executive authority, no longer effectuate the goals of the agency. LFPA and LFPA Plus agreements that were in place prior to LFPA 25, which still have substantial financial resources remaining, will continue to be in effect for the remainder of the period of performance. Additionally, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's proposed state budget contained a nearly 25% reduction in the budget for food banks, amounting to around $7.5 million. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank told WKYC that it gets 46% of its food from the state of Ohio and the USDA. The food bank stated: "This disruption comes at a critical time, as need remains high and food costs continue to rise. Last year, we served more than 424,000 individuals nearly 25% of them seeking assistance for the first time. Continued, reliable USDA food deliveries are essential to meeting this demand and supporting families across our service area and the state of Ohio." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A USDA spokesperson told Snopes: There has been no pause in regular TEFAP purchases. The funding that was designated from CCC has been repurposed. The Biden Administration created unsustainable programming and expectations using the Commodity Credit Corporation. Regardless, USDA continues to purchase food for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), with over $166 million spent in FY 2025 to date for program requirements. USDA also is using Section 32 purchases to support TEFAP, purchasing over $300 million in various poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts. USDA recently approved an additional $261 million in Section 32 purchases to provide even more fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts to TEFAP. A Cleveland.com news report misattributed a quote to food bank CEO Kristin Warzocha saying that the food was spoiling. However, this was a quote from a local podcast host with "Today in Ohio" who worried that the trucks of food could be "sitting and spoiling." The report noted that the truckloads were scheduled for the future. One podcast host with "Today in Ohio," Chris Quinn, noted: "I've got to think that Trump himself doesn't know about this because this is too stupid for words. Nothing drives you more than hunger." The federal funding cuts are not just affecting Cleveland. A Bloomberg report found that food banks across the nation are bracing for smaller supplies and rising costs, as well as cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budgets. Sources: Bovenzi, Tino. "Greater Cleveland Food Bank Faces Uncertainty Surrounding Food Deliveries from Government." Fox8, 24 Mar. 2025, https://fox8.com/news/greater-cleveland-food-bank-faces-uncertainty-surrounding-food-deliveries-from-government/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brown, Marcia. "USDA Cancels $1B in Local Food Purchasing for Schools, Food Banks." Politico, 10 Mar. 2025, https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/10/usda-cancels-local-food-purchasing-for-schools-food-banks-00222796. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025. Davis, Miranda, and Kim Chipman. "Farmers, Food Banks Stung by US Funding Cuts While Costs Climb." Bloomberg, 25 Mar. 2025, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-25/funding-cuts-are-overloading-food-banks-while-hurting-us-farmers. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025. Demirjian, Karoun, and Jesus Jimenez. "Food Banks Left in the Lurch as Some Shipments Are Suspended." The New York Times, 21 Mar. 2025. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/politics/food-banks-usda.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025. "'Too Stupid for Words': Trump Pulls Back 20 Semi Trucks of Food from Cleveland's Food Bank." Cleveland, 25 Mar. 2025, https://www.cleveland.com/news/2025/03/too-stupid-for-words-trump-pulls-back-20-semi-trucks-of-food-from-clevelands-food-bank.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Trump Administration Cancels Order for $1 Million Worth of Food for Greater Cleveland Food Bank." Wkyc.Com, 26 Mar. 2025, https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/greater-cleveland-food-bank-president-donald-trump-cancel-usda-order-pounds-agriculture-ohio-foodbank/95-d351067b-3fca-40bb-93cf-6d58ddb67223. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025. "USDA Suspends Food Bank Funding Source, Cites "unsustainable" Expectations." Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/22611-usda-suspends-food-bank-funding-source-cites-unsustainable-expectations. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025. Updates: April 1, 2025: This article was updated to include a comment from Feeding America. Apr. 2, 2025: The article was amended with an updated context box. Apr. 3, 2025: This article was updated with correct attribution to Feeding America spokesperson. WAYNE A statue of a fallen soldier will be unveiled on Saturday during the first observance of National Vietnam War Veterans Day at Passaic County's Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Oldham Road. The unveiling of The Fallen Soldier Battlefield Cross by the county's board of commissioners will take place at the 368-foot Memorial Wall dedicated last May to the 85 Passaic County residents whose names are inscribed among the 58,281 on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C., as well as all the veterans who survived the war. The Fallen Soldier Battlefield Cross was chosen because it's recognized as a powerful symbol of military service and sacrifice, officials said. Wayne, NJ May 18, 2024 -- Veterans and dignitaries participated in the Passaic County dedication ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, honoring those lives lost in the Vietnam War, including 83 natives of Passaic County. The Memorial Wall will be the second-biggest in the nation (the biggest being the Memorial in Washington, D.C.). The total length of the concrete wall is 368 feet; the west and east sides are 184 feet long each to the middle/angle point. The walls height is 2.5 feet at the ends, and 9 feet in the middle. This tribute, the same used by troops on warfields, is a ceremonial display with a helmet, dog tags, combat boots and an inverted rifle with a bayonet. The dog tags symbolize the fallen soldier, the rifle a time for prayer, and the combat boots signify the final march of a soldiers last battle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For those of us who served, this statue is more than a memorial; its a reflection of the brothers and sisters we lost, " said Tony Vancheri of the Paterson Veterans Council. Passaic County's memorial, which is said to be the third largest Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in the country, serves as a tribute to those who gave their last full measure for their country and rally point for the war veterans whose service is often overlooked or discounted. Tara Fischer of Morningside Florists in Wayne dresses the wreaths before the Passaic County dedication ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, honoring those lives lost in the Vietnam War, including 83 natives of Passaic County. "When the wall went up in Washington, D.C., that was the first big welcome," said Vancheri, who served as a U.S. Army combat medic for 13 months during the war. The two largest memorial walls are in Washington D.C. and its exact replica in Perryville, Missouri, complete with somber black granite walls and two, 246-foot panels, tapering from a height of 8 inches to 10 feet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: City of Paterson takes on 5 projects as part of Revitalization Strategy: See projects We are deeply grateful to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Paterson, and the New Jersey SOS Veterans Stakeholders Group for making this memorial possible, said Passaic County Commissioners Director Pat Lepore. Their generosity reflects a true commitment to our veterans." All are welcome to attend the ceremony scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, 300 Oldham Road, Wayne. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Passaic County NJ to unveil Fallen Soldier Battlefield Cross Famed SF beer bar The Toronado reportedly has new buyer and meme coin SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Iconic San Francisco beer bar, The Toronado, reportedly has a new buyer and also, apparently, a meme coin. The long-running Lower Haight establishment opened 38 years ago and was reportedly put up for sale earlier this year. Now, according to multiple reports, the bar has found a buyer. According to a report in the San Francisco Standard, that buyer is crypto currency investor Orion Parrott. Parrott, according to the Standard, plans to turn the Toronado into a global brand, complete with its own cryptocurrency. The proposed currency, ToronadoCash, which appears to be a meme coin, launched an account on X earlier this year. The account, which has 56 followers, is only following one other account, which appears to belong to Orion Parrott. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 3 Bay Area Cal State schools to merge administrative services amid budget crunch The Toronado, which occupies neighboring addresses at 543 and 547 Haight Street, was listed for sale in January for $1.75 million. In a separate report, the San Francisco Chronicle said it had confirmed that bars sale with a source. The reported sale of the famously cash-only bar to a crypto bro has been met with a mix of consternation and disbelief. April Fools is next week, said one poster in the Toronado Drinkers Facebook group. Please tell me this is satireif not, this is an absolute worst case scenario, said another. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KRON4.com has not independently confirmed the sale of the bar. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) Bryan Nicholas is looking forward to simple pleasures in life after he and his girlfriend, Crystal Britt, lost their Erwin, TN, home and nearly everything inside of it during Hurricane Helenes floods. Sitting on a couch, actually a comfortable couch and just relaxing, Nicholas said. After the floods, the couple initially lived in a tent before moving into a donated camper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My girlfriend says this camping trip has been too long. She doesnt want to go camping ever again, said Nicholas. Progress soaring on roadway repairs 6 months post-Helene Appalachia Service Project (ASP) is working to make that happen. The group has already repaired four houses and completed 12, and 31 more are currently under construction. Nicholas and Britt hope to be in their home this summer. Nobody foresaw what happened here with Hurricane Helene. In turn, though, the response to it from people, from friends, donors, and stakeholders has been equally unprecedented in our minds, said Chris Schroeder, ASP Vice-President of New Build and Recovery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ASP recently teamed up with Grace Fellowship Church in Johnson City for a mission called 5 in 25. The mission was to raise $250,000 to help build five homes. ASP quickly surpassed that goal; the list now stands at 18 houses and counting. Where we are at today is close to $900,000, but our church has always had a heart for people who are going through hardship, said Lead Pastor of Grace Fellowship Matt Murphy. And so clearly, this need and this opportunity have resonated with our church. Drew Folker is among the Purdue University students who spent their spring break in Carter County. The students teamed up with Meades Branch Baptist Church from Louisville, Kentucky, to rebuild homes near Hampton. New life rises but memories linger for woman widowed by Helene Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I just thought it would be a good use of our time rather than, you know, going, hanging out pretty much doing what we do all the time to, you know, go help out some people who really need it, said Folker. I think theyve enjoyed the learning process. But that sense of helping people in the community has made such a difference in their lives. They really enjoy it, said Roy May, Meades Branch Baptist Church member. In Johnson County, Tennessee, Kathy Church and her husband, Marion, are getting help from volunteers to rebuild their home. Its wonderful that we have people who really care about people, getting them back in their homes. Im just thankful. Im thankful to my Lord that he made that possible for us, Church said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the toughest times, the entire Tri-Cities community has shone brightly, with neighbors helping each other near and far, giving people like Bryan and Crystal hope for a new and better beginning. The community here has been amazing. I never expected this community or the surrounding communities, actually, something like this to happen to come together and help each other out, Nicholas 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. CALUMET CITY, Ill. (WGN) The death of 2-year-old Jaylin Branch Jr. is at the center of a lawsuit filed Thursday by his parents against the Calumet City day care he attended since he was 5 months old. On Feb. 20, the toddler was napping when he suffered a seizure and died. Jaylin Branch Sr. said that his sons death should serve as a wake-up call to the child care industry. Its not only about justice, its about prevention, he said. To prevent something like this from happening again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jaylin Branch Jr. had epilepsy, and according to the lawsuit, the school not only had an emergency plan in place, but also the medication that was supposed to be administered after a seizure. Jasmine Bailey and Jaylin Branch Sr. (Photo: WGN) According to the family, the child care facility, Grandma Jones Day Care Three, never followed the plan that day. Police bodycam video showed the moments after officers arrived, as workers tried CPR. Jasmine Bailey, the toddlers mother, accused the day care of hiring workers and not instructing them on what to do in case of an emergency. Everybody was completely confused, she said. Were more so mad that they left him unattended. But, with the directors, it was your job to make sure that every teacher knew his action plan and what to do, and how to give it to him and nobody knew that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The six-page lawsuit details 11 ways the day care failed to keep Jaylin Branch Jr. safe. Among the issues cited was the day care allegedly failing to provide the emergency medication and failing to provide life-saving measures. When the ambulance arrived, no seal on the medication was popped, nor had the action plan been looked at, Bailey said. In fact, it was in the same bag that I brought them when I brought the medication. According to the family, the day care remains open, and its website is still operating, as the family copes with the loss of their son. The death of 2-year-old Jaylin Branch Jr. is at the center of a lawsuit filed Thursday by his parents against the Calumet City day care he attended. (Photo provided by family) Attorney Cierra Norris said the toddlers death brings up an issue that so many parents deal with as they choose the place that will care for their children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are dealing in an economic climate where everything is three times the price, everything is skyrocketing, and we are just surviving to make ends meet, and it is forcing parents to make impossible decisions on who is going to be responsible for their children, Norris said. WGN Investigates: Investigating public corruption, crime & fraud WGN News contacted the attorney representing the daycare and awaits a response. The day care does have a Gold Circle of Quality rating, which means the facility meets or goes beyond the highest quality goal, under the Illinois Cares for Kids organization, which the Illinois Department of Early Childhood 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 WGN-TV. Pan Qian (C), a doctor from Shenzhen, hugs an elder in Wayaoben Village of Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) Duan Jing (L), a doctor from Shenzhen, takes the pulse of a villager during a home visit in Wayaoben Village of Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Xu Hongyan) An ambulance carrying doctors from Shenzhen heads for Kukexiluge Township in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) Liu Jinhuang (1st R), a doctor from Shenzhen, examines a villager at Kukexiluge health center in Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Xu Hongyan) An aerial drone photo taken on March 24, 2025 shows Kukexiluge health center and nearby villages in Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) Doctors from Shenzhen make a home visit to an elder in Wayaoben Village of Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) Duan Jing, a traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation doctor from Shenzhen, demonstrates acupuncture treatment to local doctors at a hospital in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 25, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Xu Hongyan) Zhang Qiang (R), a physician from Shenzhen, takes the pulse of a villager at Kukexiluge health center in Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) Pan Qian (C) and Xu Linsen (R), doctors from Shenzhen, examine a baby in Wayaoben Village of Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) Xu Linsen (L), a doctor from Shenzhen, analyzes a patient's condition with a local doctor at Kukexiluge health center in Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) Huang Weichao (2nd L), a physician from Shenzhen, measures the blood pressure for a villager at Kukexiluge health center in Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Xu Hongyan) Huang Weichao (C), a physician from Shenzhen, tells a doctor from Kukexiluge health center about the dosage of a patient's medication in Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) Pan Qian (1st L), a doctor from Shenzhen, talks with villagers and local medical staff at Kukexiluge health center in Kukexiluge Township, Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 24, 2025. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County is on the eastern slope of the Pamir Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The region has towering mountains, deep valleys, and scattered villages. To better meet the medical needs of farmers and herdsmen, medical staff from Shenzhen regularly visit the rural areas in Taxkorgan under a paired assistance program and provide healthcare services to local villagers. Early in the morning, seven doctors from Shenzhen set off from the county seat of Taxkorgan, navigating rugged and winding mountain roads for over two hours before arriving at Kukexiluge Township. The medical team, consisting of specialists in critical care, neonatology, internal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation, provided consultations, health check-ups, and health education to more than a hundred villagers. They exchanged expertise with local healthcare workers. To accommodate newborns, elderly patients, and those with limited mobility, the doctors also made home visits to deliver medical care. Since the launch of a new round of paired assistance programs in 2010, eleven batches of Shenzhen medical teams have been dispatched to Taxkorgan County. These efforts focus on technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and improving public healthcare services. A total of 135 million yuan (about 18.58 million U.S. dollars) in aid funds has been allocated to support local medical projects. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) CHICAGO (WGN) A Chicago woman alleges her husband was left with a broken nose and two black eyes following a traffic stop on the citys west side earlier this week, but an arrest report says the man declined to follow orders, fled from police, and injured one of the arresting officers. Patricia Emory shared video with WGN she says she took Tuesday after her husband, Marquis Emory, was pulled over near West Race and North Laramie avenues in the citys Austin neighborhood. According to the arrest report, Emory, whose license is revoked, was pulled over for a broken taillight. I was actually on the phone with him, he was going to get some cigarettes, Patricia Emory said. He said, They pulled me over, the taillight is, why you dont tell me the taillight was out? I said, Well I didnt know the taillight was out. He said, The police pulled me over, but I gave them my insurance.' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to an arrest report, officers asked Emory for his drivers license and insurance, to which he only produced an insurance company card with his name and address on it. Officers discovered he had a revoked license due to a previous case and asked him to step out of the vehicle. Marquis T. Emory According to the CPD report, Emory was asked repeatedly to exit his green GMC van but refused the verbal commands. Police alleged Emory drove off. Patricia Emory claims her husband was scared, which is why he took off and drove to their house, where officers located him. As I was trying to drive to meet him, because I have a license and insurance, Im coming and the police is coming head on, but Marquis is in the yard, Patricia Emory said. Two officers jumped out, saying put his hands, and I just started recording. They asked him to get out the car, and hes like get out the car for what, you know? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Patricia Emory shared a nearly two-and-a-half-minute video with WGN, which does not show the beginning of the interaction. She claims the 39-year-old was punched by officers after he was pulled out of the van and that he did not swing first or provoke officers response. The arrest report disputes the claim that Emory did not do anything to initiate the interaction from escalating. Driver refused multiple verbal commands to step out of the vehicle, the report reads. [Officer] reached into the vehicles driver side window in an attempt to open the door to which driver grabbed [officers] pinky and ring finger and bent them in the opposite direction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the arrest report, an officer opened the door of the unlocked vehicle, but Emory was still refusing to come out after being given several verbal commands. [Officer] attempted to place the offender into custody, at which time arrestee pulled his arms and legs away from [officer] flailing his arms away, the report says. Patricia Emory can be heard on the video yelling at police not to touch Emory and then telling him not to resist. Several family members were screaming as officers could be heard instructing Emory several times to stop resisting. The arrest report said that officers used an emergency takedown to control Emory and that while on the ground, Emory was pulling his body and arms away in an attempt to defeat the arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My kids in the background just screaming and hollering, telling them to stop punching their dad. It was traumatizing. It was unbelievably scary, Patricia Emory said. Theyre wondering why a traffic stop causes their daddy to be still incarcerated. Marquis Emory was hospitalized after the encounter and later booked into the Cook County Jail. Emory is charged with nine counts, including aggravated battery on a peace officer, four counts resisting or obstructing arrest, driving on a revoked license, fleeing and attempting to elude an officer, and one count of sale or possession of a deadly weapon. According to a police report, a white and black metal pocketknife measuring approximately 3.2 inches was found in the inner pocket of Emorys jacket. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It wasnt even as long as two of your fingers, Patricia Emory said. Patricia Emory said she wants justice for what happened. A simple thing as a traffic stop causes him to have a broken nose, two black eyes, wounded on his whole left side, she said. A judge on Thursday ordered Emory released on home confinement with electronic monitoring. WGN reached out to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), which confirms it received a complaint and is looking into it. Chicago police confirmed an arrest and charges against Emory, but did not comment further on the matter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Farmers and zoologists in Australia have been thrilled by the discovery of a rare snake species population. The critically endangered Masters' snake, which is just 30 centimeters long (less than 12 inches), has been on a downward trajectory because of the rising number of fires in Victoria's Big Desert Wilderness Park. Zoos Victoria senior biologist in herpetology Nick Clemann told ABC News Australia, "After a period of a few decades with no reports of that species, we were a bit worried." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also praised local farmers for supporting him and his team of surveyors in their search for the species. Clemann said an increase in planned burns, along with bushfires fueled by the climate crisis, has impacted the amount of land available for the Masters' snakes' habitat. Snakes are a crucial part of their respective ecosystems. As the University of Illinois detailed, they eat pests, such as rodents, and can be prey for larger animals. This helps to maintain biodiversity. But extreme weather events like wildfires aren't the only threat. Land clearing for agriculture and urban development is another issue, as the Queensland Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation detailed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clemann said farmers' investment in the survival of the Masters' snake has been refreshing. "There's this engagement with nature on the wild parts of their farms that is wonderful to see and we're hoping that will get passed on through the generations," he told ABC News Australia. The success of the surviving Masters' snakes is one of several instances of species surviving in spite of larger climate concerns. 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. In neighboring New Zealand, a farmer found a pocket of endangered Canterbury knobbled weevils, once thought to be extinct. And in Cambodia, the Siamese crocodile has made an impressive comeback after being reintroduced to their habitat in 2011. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But as Clemann noted, "We've got a lot of work to do to find where they are, protect those habitats, try and find more populations, and potentially in the future to reintroduce them to areas where they've been lost." 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. By Jana Choukeir DUBAI (Reuters) -The Red Sea, renowned for its coral reefs and marine life, is a major hub for Egypt's tourism industry, a pillar of the economy. However, a recent series of boating incidents and shark attacks on tourists have raised concerns, with several fatalities reported over the years. Attacks by Islamist militant groups on foreigners damaged tourism in Egypt in the past, with fewer arriving to see other attractions such as the Great Pyramids of Giza or take a Nile cruise in Luxor and Aswan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BOATING INCIDENTS "Sindbad" tourist submarine sinks On March 27, 2025, a tourist submarine named "Sindbad" sank near the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, killing six Russian tourists. The vessel was carrying 50 people, including 45 tourists from Russia, India, Norway, and Sweden, along with five Egyptian crew members. Authorities rescued 39 people and launched an investigation into the cause of the incident. "Sea Story" yacht capsizes On November 25, 2024, a tourist boat named "Sea Story" capsized off the Red Sea coast near Marsa Alam during a multi-day diving trip. Four people drowned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vessel was carrying 31 tourists and 13 crew members when it was struck by high waves, and it sank within minutes. Thirty-three survivors were rescued with minor injuries and seven individuals remained missing as rescue operations continued. "Hurricane" boat fire On June 11, 2023, a fire consumed a motorboat named "Hurricane" near the diving resort of Marsa Shagra, north of Marsa Alam. The vessel was carrying scuba divers on holiday, with 15 British tourists and 14 Egyptian crew and guides on board. Twelve tourists and all crew members were rescued, but three British tourists who were initially reported missing were later announced to have died. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sinking of tourist boat On August 20, 2015, 26 French tourists and 10 Egyptians were rescued after a boat transporting them hit coral reefs and sank off the Red Sea coast. SHARK ATTACKS Shark kills Italian tourist in waters off Marsa Alam resort On December 29, 2024, an Italian tourist was killed and another injured in a shark attack at Marsa Alam resort. The incident occurred in deep water outside the designated swimming zone near the jetties. Tiger shark kills Russian citizen near Hurghada beach On June 9, 2023, a Russian citizen was fatally injured by a tiger shark near a beach at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities then issued a ban on swimming, snorkelling and other water activities on several nearby beaches. Shark attacks kill two women south of Hurghada On July 3, 2022, two women were killed in separate shark attacks south of Hurghada. The victims, one Austrian and one Romanian, were attacked within 600 metres (2,000 feet) of each other near Sahl Hasheesh. Shark kills German woman swimming in Sharm el-Sheikh On December 5, 2010, a 70-year-old German tourist was killed by a shark while swimming near the shore at the major Sinai Peninsula resort Sharm el-Sheikh. This incident triggered a flurry of speculation as to what could have caused shark attacks, with one Egyptian official not ruling out that it could have been part of a secret plot by Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ISLAMIST MILITANT ATTACKS ON TOURISTS Russian Metrojet flight 9268 crash On October 31, 2015, a Russian airliner crashed in the Sinai Peninsula shortly after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board. Investigations revealed the aircraft broke up mid-air after a loud noise was heard in the cockpit. It was later determined that a bomb likely caused the explosion. Islamic States official magazine later claimed responsibility, publishing a photo of a Schweppes can, alleging it was used to make the bomb. Egypt's initial report stated the crash was not terrorism-related. However, nearly a year later, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi acknowledged that terrorists downed the plane to harm tourism and strain Cairo's relations with Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taba bus bombing On February 16, 2014, a suicide bomber targeted a tourist bus in Taba, near the Israeli border, resulting in the deaths of three South Korean tourists and the Egyptian bus driver. The attack was claimed by the Sinai-based jihadist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which stated it was part of their economic war against the Egyptian regime. Luxor massacre On November 17, 1997, six gunmen disguised as security forces killed 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians at the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor. The assailants were armed with automatic firearms and knives. The Islamist militant group al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya claimed responsibility, stating it was an attempt to undermine the government and damage the tourism industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Successive governments in Egypt have waged successful crackdowns on Islamist militant groups, launching campaigns that helped the tourism industry recover. (Editing by Michael Georgy and Mark Heinrich) WOLCOTT, CT. (WWLP) Wolcott police are investigating after a shooting that left a man, his ex-wife, and their son dead Thursday night. Mass. man arrested in Connecticut in connection with 2024 police pursuit The Wolcott Police Department states that a 59-year-old man was moving out of a home on Boundline Road with his 55-year-old ex-wife, their 34-year-old son, and a friend of the son at 6:27 p.m. The husband and ex-wife got into an argument, and the husband shot and killed her. Then, police say he shot and killed their son, who tried to step in to help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats when the friend of the son, who is a registered gun owner, then shot and killed the father. The police have not released their identities and an investigation remains ongoing. 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. CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) Chips and soda may not be the only food impacted by West Virginias new ban on certain food dyemost varieties of pepperoni and some other meats would also be considered adulterated due to their use of butylated hydroxyanisole, commonly referred to as BHA, which was one of the nine chemicals listed in the bill. What is BHA? Butylated hydroxyanisole, or BHA, is commonly used as a preservative to extend the shelf life of certain foods. Clay Marsh, the Chancellor and Executive Dean of West Virginia University Health Sciences, explained to 12 News in an interview that BHA acts as a food stabilizer, meaning it slows down the pace of food spoilage. However, Marsh said that in the medical community, a handful of studies have suggested BHA could be toxic in humans, similar to Red 3, and is commonly used in foods linked to obesity, pre-diabetes and high cholesterol. BHA is already banned in foods across Europe, and states like West Virginia and California adopting similar policies could foreshadow more bans here in the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I do think that this is something thats going to catch on more and more. California started but only had four on their list, we extended that to seven, Marsh said. [West Virginia has] now become I think the leading sort of state in the country that is spearheading this effort. Barneys Bakery Pepperoni Rolls (WBOY image) What foods use BHA? Because BHA is fat soluble, it is commonly used to preserve meats like pepperoni and salami, though 12 News also found it listed as an ingredient in Hungry Jack instant mashed potatoes. According to a National Toxicology Program (NTP) report on BHA, it is also sometimes used in animal feed, cosmetics, butter, cereals, vegetable oils and some snack foods, and is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in experimental animals. What might be of particular interest to West Virginians, however, is BHAs use in pepperoni rolls. 12 News visited two grocery stores, Kroger and Walmart, and found that BHA is used in nearly all varieties of pepperoni. Brands and varieties of pepperoni that contain BHA include: Armour pepperoni Chicos pepperoni Hormel Pepperoni Sugardale pepperoni Boars Head pepperoni Kroger brand pepperoni Great Value pepperoni Prima Della pre-sliced pepperoni Prime Fresh Delicatessen pepperoni Armour turkey pepperoni Hormel turkey pepperoni Kroger Pepperoni (WBOY image) Hormel Turkey Pepperoni (WBOY image) Armour Pepperoni (WBOY image) Boars Head Turkey Pepperoni (WBOY image) Boars Head Pepperoni (WBOY image) Armour Turkey Pepperoni (WBOY image) Sugardale Pepperoni (WBOY image) Are pepperoni rolls really illegal outside West Virginia? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By extension, many frozen pizza brands will also have to change the kind of pepperoni they use to top their pizza, including Digiorno Pizza and Red Baron. At the time of our visit, Walmart did not have any prepackaged pepperoni in stock that was BHA-free, though Kroger had a handful of options. If you want to find pepperoni or salami varieties that do not contain BHA, keep an eye out for words like uncured, natural, or organic. You can find a handful of BHA varieties listed below: Galileo pepperoni Hormel Natural Choice pepperoni Kroger Private Selection pepperoni Which pepperoni rolls are affected? Although pepperoni will not be illegal when House Bill 2354 goes into effect in 2028, it is worth noting that an overwhelming majority of pepperoni brands will have to change or be pulled from shelves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, some local pepperoni roll brands already use BHA-free pepperoni: Tomaros Bakery DAnnunzios At the same time, others do not, and will need to change the kind of pepperoni they use in their recipe to comply before the Jan 1, 2028 deadline: Barneys Bakery, the official pepperoni roll of the West Virginia Mountaineers Rogers and Mazzas Abruzzinos Peperoni Rolls Home Industry Bakery Chico Bakery (Julias Original Pepperoni Roll) House Bill 2354 also impacts what food schools can serve in their lunches; Kanawha County Schools has already said it will switch the pepperoni in its pepperoni rolls to comply with the school deadline of Aug. 1, 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 WBOY.com. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) After the Supreme Court upheld on March 26 a previous ruling on ghost guns, local police departments are looking to enforce the regulations. Sgt. Stephen Mauk with the Fayetteville Police Department says it will do everything it can to ensure streets remain safe. If someone is carrying a weapon that is illegal, defaced, one they arent allowed to possess, were always going to take efforts to enforce the laws that are on the books and operating within core precedent. So, it really wont have much of an effect on how day to day operations unfold, Mauk said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As incidents involving firearms continue to rise, Mauk says it is always a good idea to get training. I would say Get training. Get education on it. Its just like any other tool, in a vehicle or a power tool or anything else that can potentially be dangerous, you need to seek out good appropriate training, Mauk said. Not everyone trying to build guns is using them with the intent to cause harm. However, for some gun enthusiasts, the ability to purchase gun parts is going to require more paperwork. Mauk says gun owners can still buy gun parts, but the upholding of the ruling will cause some frustration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Obviously this will affect gun enthusiasts ability to create the version of the firearm that they are wanting to, Mauk said. This upholding of the law, clamping down or curtailing on some enthusiasts ability to get the components they need to produce the weapon they want. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO Authorities are asking for help in the search for a person who robbed a Loop bank on Thursday. According to Agents with the FBIs Chicago Field Office, a search is underway for a person who held up a Citibank located at the corner of West Washington Street and North Dearborn Street, just after 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Agents said the person walked into the bank and made a verbal demand for money while implying that he was armed. After he secured the cash, he fled the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Agents said they believed the individual responsible was a man who stood between 6-foot and 6-foot-3, with a heavy build. At the time of the robbery, agents said the perpetrator was spotted wearing a light hoodie, reflective sunglasses, a medical mask, a grey long-sleeved shirt, a blue polo shirt, denim pants and light sneakers. Photo provided by the FBIs Chicago Field Office shows a person wanted in connection with a bank robbery in Chicagos Loop on Thursday, March 27, 2024. Photo provided by the FBIs Chicago Field Office shows a person wanted in connection with a bank robbery in Chicagos Loop on Thursday, March 27, 2024. Photo provided by the FBIs Chicago Field Office shows a person wanted in connection with a bank robbery in Chicagos Loop on Thursday, March 27, 2024. In a news release announcing the search, agents provided photos of the individual, which were captured by surveillance cameras at the bank. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland Agents said no one was injured in the robbery and an investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call the FBIs Chicago Field Office at 312-421-6700. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those with information that could help agents in their investigation can also submit tips at tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The Federal Communications Commission has launched an investigation into Walt Disney Co. and its broadcast subsidiary ABC over the company's diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Chairman Brendan Carr said Friday. The investigation will "ensure that Disney and ABC have not been violating FCC equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination," Carr wrote in a letter posted on X and addressed to Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger. Though Carr noted that the company had recently softened some of its DEI efforts, including changing a performance standard titled "diversity and inclusion" that was used to calculate executive pay, he said "significant concerns remain." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: 'Politics is bad for business.' Why Disney's Bob Iger is trying to avoid hot buttons "I want to ensure that Disney ends any and all discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just name," he wrote. A Disney spokesperson said in a statement that the company was "reviewing the Federal Communications Commissions letter, and we look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions. The Disney investigation comes about a month after Carr opened an inquiry into Comcast Corp.s employee programs, stepping up the agency's efforts to root out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that it said may violate equal employment laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Comcast was the first media company to face such an inquiry. Disney appears to be the second. The Philadelphia-based Comcast previously said in a statement that it would be cooperating with the FCC to answer their questions. Under Carr, the FCC also reopened a news bias complaint against ABC News for its handling of the September debate between then-Vice President Kamala Harris and President Trump. Read more: Will Trump have a chilling effect on Hollywood? Insiders say it's already happening Trump and other conservatives cried foul because debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis pushed back against Trump's inaccurate statements, including that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating people's pets. Conservatives complained that the network only fact-checked Trump, thus giving preferential treatment to the Democrat nominee, Harris. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ABC News has defended its handling of the debate, which was the sole matchup between the two presidential candidates. Carr's predecessor, Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel, had dismissed four open news bias complaints in the waning days of her term. Carr promptly reopened three of the complaints against CBS News for its controversial "60 Minutes" interview with Harris, NBC for allowing Harris to appear on "Saturday Night Live" just days before the November election, and the complaint against ABC. Carr did not reopen a complaint against Fox that Rosenworcel had also dismissed. This is not Carr's first admonition of Disney. In December, Carr sent a letter to Iger, accusing ABC of contributing to an erosion in public trust. Conservatives, including Carr, say that liberal bias among the major news organizations, including ABC News, has caused viewers to lose faith in journalists. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In December, Disney settled a defamation suit that Trump had filed against ABC and its news anchor George Stephanopoulos. Trump had filed the lawsuit last spring against ABC News and Stephanopoulos, who incorrectly said on air that Trump had been found liable for rape in an encounter with author E. Jean Carroll. The civil court jury determined Trump was liable for sexual abuse. Disney agreed to pay $15 million to settle the lawsuit, money that will go to build a future presidential library for Trump. Disney also agreed to pick up $1 million of Trump's legal fees. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. FCC chair Brendan Carr, after publicly musing that he might go after Disney over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, made it official: The agency has opened a probe into DEI practices at Disney and ABC. Its the latest warning shot from Carr against media companies in the Trump administrations war against DEI. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have asked the @FCCs Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Disney & ABC, he wrote in a post on X Friday. While Disney started as an iconic American company, it recently went all in on DEI. I am concerned that their DEI practices may violate FCC prohibitions on invidious forms of discrimination. A Disney spokesperson said in a statement to Variety, We are reviewing the Federal Communications Commissions letter, and we look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions. Disney last month scaled back its DEI policies as other companies also have done in the wake of the Trump administrations aggressive push to eliminate DEI in government and the private sector. In Disneys case, the company announced that it was ending Reimagine Tomorrow, an initiative intended to promote stories from underrepresented communities. In the letter dated March 27 addressed to Disney CEO Bob Iger, Carr wrote, While I have seen reports that Disney recently walked back some of its DEI programs, significant concerns remain. For one, I want to ensure that Disney ends any and all discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just name. For another, I want to determine whether Disneys actions whether ongoing or recently ended complied at all times with applicable FCC regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carr, in his letter to Iger, cited a Variety report from 2020 that ABC Entertainment mandated inclusion standards that required, for example, that 50% of regular and recurring characters on TV shows come from underrepresented groups. Those standards may have forced racial and identity quotas into every level of production demanding that 50% or more of writers, directors, crew and vendors be selected based on group identity, Carr wrote. As I have made clear, promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law. Doing so only deprives Americans of their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law, the FCC chairman wrote, adding, I have been pleased to see that some regulated companies are already taking steps toward rooting out discriminatory DEI policies. In February, Carr instructed the FCCs Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into the DEI practices of Comcast and NBCUniversal. As with his comments about Disney and ABC, Carr said he was concerned that Comcast and NBCU are promoting invidious forms of DEI that do not comply with FCC regulations & civil rights laws. In response, Comcast said it would cooperate with the FCC probe and said, For decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers. And last week, Carr claimed he will block M&A deals for media companies that promote DEI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Donald Trump sued ABC News and George Stephanopoulos after the anchor inaccurately stated on-air that Trump had been found liable for rape. (Trump was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll by a New York jury.) In December 2024, Disney and ABC News agreed to pay $15 million toward a Trump presidential foundation and museum as part of settling Trumps defamation lawsuit. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. NAIROBI, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has strengthened cross-border digital collaborations with other African countries, a government official said on Friday. William Kabogo Gitau, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, said Kenya is striving to deploy the country's digital solutions like mobile money in other countries. "We must join forces and work together as Africa in the development and deployment of digital technology. A fragmented approach will slow our progress in adoption of digital technology," Kabogo said at a meeting in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. He said Kenya is pushing for digital connectivity across the continent and championing innovations that chart a new path in digital advancement. Kenya's leading mobile money platform M-Pesa is available in several African countries, including Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana, Egypt, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. John Tanui, principal secretary in the State Department for ICT and Digital Economy, said the country plays a key role in fostering internet connectivity in Africa. He noted that Kenya has eight submarine cables, which have enabled the country to connect with the rest of the world and improved internet access in Africa. The African Union Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030) seeks to harness digital technologies to drive innovative, inclusive, and sustainable growth across the continent, aiming to ensure universal broadband access and a single digital market in Africa by 2030. After previously warning that he planned to investigate Disney and ABC over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the FCC sent a letter to CEO Bob Iger inquiring about the matter on Thursday. While Disney started as an iconic American company, it recently went all in on DEI, chairman Brendan Carr wrote in a Friday post on X sharing the letter. I am concerned that their DEI practices may violate FCC prohibitions on invidious forms of discrimination. Though Carr acknowledged that Disney has recently walked back some of its DEI programs, his letter said that significant concerns remain due to public reports and whistleblower documents that paint a disturbing picture of the companys DEI practices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carr cited at least one account where a Disney employee described the companys decision to launch what would amount to racially segregated affinity groups and spaces. He also took aim at the companys Reimagine Tomorrow initiative, which he said was a mechanism for advancing its DEI mission, and ABCs inclusion standards, arguing that they may have forced racial and identity quotas into every level of production by requiring 50% of regular and recurring characters to be drawn from underrepresented groups and demanding 50% or more of writers, directors, crew and vendors be selected based on group identity. Additionally, he claimed executive bonuses may have been tied to DEI performance and that ABC utilized race-based hiring databases and restricted fellowships to select demographic groups. Disney recently said it would end its Reimagine Tomorrow initiative. However, the companys shareholders voted to reject a proposal that wouldve ended the companys involvement in the Human Rights Campaigns Corporate Equality Index, a survey that measures corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality, at its annual meeting. Disneys board recommended against the proposal and its shareholders overwhelmingly agreed, with only 1% voting in favor, according to a preliminary tally. I have asked the @FCCs Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Disney & ABC. While Disney started as an iconic American company, it recently went all in on DEI. I am concerned that their DEI practices may violate FCC prohibitions on invidious forms of discrimination. pic.twitter.com/E31QwwFcxA Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) March 28, 2025 Although your company recently made some changes to how it brands certain efforts, it is not clear that the underlying policies have changed in a fundamental manner nor that past practices complied with relevant FCC regulations, the letter continued. As I have made clear, promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law. Doing so only deprives Americans of their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carr has asked the FCCs Enforcement Bureau to obtain an accounting of Disney and ABCs DEI programs, policies and practices, noting in the letter that it would follow up with more specifics. We are reviewing the Federal Communications Commissions letter, and we look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions, a Disney spokesperson told TheWrap. Carrs latest shot at Disney comes after he penned a letter to Iger earlier this year, warning that he would be monitoring the companys carriage negotiations with local broadcast TV stations. At the time, he accused ABC of attempting to extract onerous financial and operational concessions from local broadcast TV stations under the threat of terminating long-held affiliations, which could result in blackouts and other harms to local consumers of broadcast news and content. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FCC also reinstated a news distortion complaint against ABC affiliate WPVI-TV over the networks fact-checking of Donald Trump during a presidential debate. Disney separately reached a $15 million settlement with Trump after he sued the network and its anchor George Stephanopoulos for defamation. In addition to its DEI investigation into Disney, Carr has launched separate probes into NBCUniversal parent Comcast and Verizon. He also threatened to block M&A by any company who embraces DEI. The post FCC Opens Investigation Into Disney for Going All In on DEI appeared first on TheWrap. KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) Tensions are rising in the oil-rich east African nation of South Sudan after Riek Machar, who serves as one of the countrys vice presidents, was arrested in the capital. Machars arrest in Juba on Wednesday followed detentions of his allies in the government and the army, including the army's deputy chief. Machars political group said Thursday that a 2018 agreement that's the basis for relative peace after a brutal civil is effectively over, raising fears of a return to warfare as government troops loyal to President Salva Kiir battle soldiers and armed militia loyal to Machar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres a look at the issues underpinning the conflict in South Sudan: Why is there friction between Kiir and Machar? Both Kiir and Machar are historical leaders of the rebel movement the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement, or SPLM that secured South Sudans independence from Sudan in 2011. But they are from rival ethnic groups: Kiir is from the Dinka, the largest, and Machar is from the Nuer, the second-largest. Their military rivalry began in the 1990s, when Machar led a breakaway unit that drew accusations of treachery against him. Amid the split, forces loyal to Machar carried out a massacre in the town of Bor that targeted the Dinka, angering rebel commander Kiir and John Garang, the movement's now-deceased political figurehead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fighting among southerners briefly undermined their struggle for independence, but it also planted lifelong distrust between Kiir and Machar. Analysts say Machar and Kiir dont see eye to eye even as they work together, and their feud has grown over the years as Machar waits his turn to become president and Kiir hangs on in the presidency. In 2013, citing a coup plot, Kiir fired Machar as his deputy, and later that year violence erupted in Juba as government soldiers loyal to Kiir fought those devoted to Machar in the start of a civil war that killed an estimated 400,000 people. What does Machar want? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Machar has served as South Sudans No. 2 official on and off since 2011. But there have been no elections since then, keeping him in the deputy's position and without real executive authority. Machars wish is to become president in fulfilment of a century-old prophecy by a seer from his tribe who predicted that a man with a gap between his front teeth and left-handed would one day lead the nation. Machar, who has three university degrees, believes himself to be that man. The superstition can seem odd, but many people see it as one factor fueling Machars ambitions. Tensions between Machar and Kiir have grown with the repeated postponement of elections in South Sudan. A vote is now scheduled for December 2026, security conditions allowing, and Machar is expected to be a candidate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He describes Kiir as a dictator, saying his unilateral political maneuvers, including firing officials, undermine the peace agreement that brought them together in a government of unity. What's in the 2018 peace agreement? The agreement, signed with the support of the U.S. and others, included security guarantees for Machar to be able to return to Juba as Kiirs deputy. Fighters loyal to him are located at different sites in the country, and a key element of the agreement was the envisaged creation of a unified army command that incorporates soldiers loyal to Machar. But efforts in this direction have been slow, and Kiir has been accused of undermining the process by making irregular military recruitments and purging army officers deemed not to be faithful to him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Machar is also at a disadvantage in the contest with Kiir because he doesn't control the internal security apparatus, much of which is informal. A major escalation of tensions happened in March when a Nuer militia, known as the White Army, seized an army garrison in Nasir, a town in Upper Nile state that's a stronghold of Machar. Later, when a U.N. helicopter went to rescue government troops stranded there, it was attacked. Dozens were killed, including a miliary general who was the top commander of government troops there. While the violence is still largely restricted to Upper Nile, the tinder is dangerously dry elsewhere," according to the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. How is Kiir able to stay in power? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is Kiirs key ally. In 2013, when the conflict first emerged, Museveni deployed Ugandan special forces who foiled attempts by Machars forces to take power in Juba. Museveni has deployed troops again this time, in defiance of a U.N. arms embargo on South Sudan, but potentially helping to avoid an escalation of fighting between the warring parties. The Ugandan military says the deployment was in fact an effort to keep the peace process intact by firming up Kiir over Machar. Kiir also controls the National Security Service, or NSS, the dreaded domestic spy agency whose agents are authorized to make arrests without warrants. The agency reports to the president, who routinely shuffles its leaders. The NSS is a vital tool in the governments campaign of silencing dissent, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch. The Sentry, a Washington-based watchdog, says of the NSS that it stands out as particularly ruthless, secretive, and well-funded. Fear of the NSS is pervasive in South Sudan, and for good reason. Gov. Tony Evers speaks at a round table discussion on the state budget in February. On Friday, Evers' office said the state will lose $210 million in federal funds for health care previously approved by Congress but part of $12 billion cut this week by the Trump administration. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner) Wisconsin will lose more than $210 million in federal funds that were to be used for mental health, substance abuse prevention and bolstering emergency medical services, state officials said Friday. The money involved is Wisconsins share of $12 billion to combat infectious disease and other serious health problems that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has summarily cut off, NBC News and the New York Times reported this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Wisconsin, the funds were to be used for suicide prevention; substance abuse prevention; public health departments, programs and laboratories, including EMS services; and the Wisconsin Immunization Registry, the office of Gov. Tony Evers said Friday. The governors office discussed the health funds cutback along with other programs targeted for reductions or considered vulnerable under the Trump administration, including education funding, farm programs and in the Department of Veterans Affairs. On Thursday, the Trump administration announced it will cut 10,000 employees from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reckless cuts by President Trump and Elon Musk to help pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires are causing devastating consequences for Wisconsins kids, families, and communities and services they depend on every day, Evers said in a statement released Friday. With threats to Medicaid and Medicare, cuts to researching cures for Alzheimers disease and cancer, efforts to undermine food and drug safety, and continued attacks on the Affordable Care Act, the Trump Administration is jeopardizing health and access to health care in Wisconsin and across our country, Evers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine), the Assembly minority leader, said Friday that the cuts will be devastating for Wisconsinites who rely on these essential programs. President Trump and Elon Musk are selling out Wisconsin families and communities, threatening our health and safety just to pay for unnecessary tax cuts for their billionaire friends, said state Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison), the ranking Democrat on the Assembly Health, Aging and Long-Term Care Committee and chair of the Assemblys Democratic caucus. This reckless move by the Trump Administration, coupled with cuts to vital medical research and threats to the future of Medicaid and Medicare, will have a devastating impact on the health of our state, Subeck said. Evers said his administration will explore every legal option available to us to fight the cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The $12 billion that HHS cut this week was authorized by Congress through COVID-19 relief bills enacted in the first two years of the pandemic. The funds were later allowed for public health needs outside the pandemic, the New York Times reported this week. The World Health Organization reports that COVID-19 continues to circulate widely . . . presenting significant challenges to health systems worldwide. Tens of thousands of people are infected or re-infected with SARS-CoV-2 each week. The UN-affiliated public health agency emphasizes continued surveillance of the viral pandemic. It is vital that countries sustain the public health response to COVID-19 amid ongoing illness and death and the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, adapting it to the requirements based on the current COVID-19 situation and risk, WHO says. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Free food is distributed to residents in need at a weekly food bank in February 2024 in New York City. The Trump administration has eliminated more than $1 billion for local foods programs, which has left food banks and school systems scrambling (Spencer Platt/Getty Images). For the Day Eagle Hope Project, federal money has helped volunteers deliver fresh produce and meat to families in need across the remote Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in northern Montana while putting cash into the hands of farmers, ranchers and meat processors. The nonprofit generally has less than $300,000 to spend per year. So the $200,000 from a U.S. Department of Agriculture local food buying program drastically raised both the quantity and quality of the food it could distribute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were a major, major contributor to our food, said Tescha Hawley, who directs the organization, which aims to improve physical, mental and spiritual health. The USDA recently nixed more than $1 billion from two programs that helped food banks and school meal programs buy local foods, including $660 million for schoolchildren. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently described the programs as nonessential. But the move has left hundreds of school systems and food banks reeling. They already face rising food prices and are struggling to help community members with growing food insecurity. Created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Local Food Purchase Assistance and the Local Food for Schools programs aimed to build more resilient supply chains of domestic food by connecting schools and food pantries with small ranches, farms and dairies. The program was initially funded by 2021s American Rescue Plan Act but later expanded by the Biden administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal programs stimulated the purchase of locally grown fruits, vegetables, dairy and meats benefiting both the smaller farmers who received fair market pay for their products and the organizations granted funds to buy high quality foods. The noncompetitive grants sent hundreds of millions of dollars to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 84 tribal governments, boosting business for more than 8,000 farmers and providing local food to almost as many food banks. The Trump administration is killing the programs, despite Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s campaign against processed food, which he says is poisoning Americans. Without ongoing funding, Hawley said, she would have to rely on cheaper, less nutritious food. Its simple, right? I can get a truck in here with all highly processed food, no problem, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schools are facing a similar challenge: While officials running breakfast and lunch programs would prefer to buy more local products, those are often expensive. And with underfunding, high food costs and labor struggles, school lunch programs are already stretched thin. In Milan, Tennessee, the federal funds allowed the local school system to buy minimally processed beef from a local stockyard, and broccoli, purple hull peas, tomatoes and melons from local growers. Vickie Dunaway, who supervises the school systems food services, told the Tennessee Lookout the federal cuts mean going backwards on purchasing healthier foods. That will obviously have to be cut out, because our budget will not withstand being able to purchase local, she said. Purchasing local, minimally processed food is way more expensive than buying from a distributor. A devastating cut to food banks Late last year, USDA said the programs had already spent more than $1 billion on local foods, and announced an expansion of the two programs with an additional $1.13 billion. USDA has killed that $1.13 billion expansion; it is still reimbursing the previously committed funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration, which has sought to dramatically slash the size of the federal government, told recipients earlier this month that the programs no longer effectuate the goals of the agency. In a statement to Stateline, the USDA said the current administration is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact. The COVID era is over USDAs approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward, the statement said. The nonpartisan National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, which represents the ag department leaders of all 50 states, last month lobbied the federal government to continue the local foods program with permanent funding and ease procurement regulations for school meal programs. Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward, president of the association, said in a statement that the local food programs aid both producers and consumers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investing in local and regional food systems not only strengthens the connections between farmers and their local communities, it bolsters supply chain resiliency as well, his statement read. In New Mexico, the program allowed food banks to buy some 900,000 pounds of locally grown food from more than 200 farmers since 2023. Before the program was terminated, the state was expecting close to $3 million in additional funding, Source New Mexico reported. Jill Dixon, executive director of The Food Depot in northern New Mexico, called the cuts devastating. In Texas, the San Antonio Food Bank counted on USDAs local food program to help round out the food boxes it provides to families in need. The food bank, which serves more than 100,000 people across 29 Texas counties, largely relies on donated foods from hotels, restaurants and grocery stores. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The challenge is I might get peanut butter donated, but I dont have the jelly, or I might have pasta donated, but I dont have the marinara, said Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the food bank. This program allowed us to purchase those items that we didnt get that then helped round out the food box, or really complement the food that was being donated to give families the ability to make meals. The program initially provided the food bank nearly $3 million in grant funding about 20% of what the organization spends each year on bulk food purchases. It expected a similar amount this year, before USDAs announcement. Cooper said cuts come even as the need for assistance rises. Food prices have squeezed families, and mass layoffs of federal workers portend more demand for food assistance in the coming months, he said. And well be caught in the middle. And you know, thats an incredibly uncomfortable place to be. The only thing well be able to do is just ration what little we have to spread it as thinly as possible over the number of households we provide food to. A boost for school lunches For years, school meal programs have struggled with tight margins. Not only do they have to meet strict nutritional guidelines, but schools also face lagging reimbursement from the federal government and spend millions covering the cost of students unpaid meal debt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the 1,600-student Monticello School District in Arkansas, that debt is approaching $60,000. So $50,000 from USDAs local food program was a significant boost to the bottom line. That was such a help, said Amanda West, the districts child nutrition director. The southeast Arkansas district used grant money to buy locally grown ground beef. The beef went into dishes including taco salad, meatloaf and spaghetti. West said staff and students immediately noticed a difference in taste from conventionally purchased meats. And though the local product cost more, West said it also yielded more because it was not full of additives that cause the meat to shrink when cooked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement West, who is the president of the Arkansas School Nutrition Association, noted that her state is home to the nations highest rates of food insecurity. West had hoped to see the local foods program help turn that tide by bringing more stability to school meal programs and growing the state economy by boosting local farmers, ranchers and distributors. Were all upset about it. I hate that were not receiving it because grocery prices are 30, 40% higher than what they were a few years ago, and it really hurts our budget, she said. It helped a lot of districts, including mine, and it would be amazing if we could get it back. On top of the local foods program cuts, congressional Republicans are considering billions in potential cuts to free and reduced-price school meal programs cuts the School Nutrition Association says could potentially affect millions of American students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal government partially subsidizes breakfast, lunch and after-school snack programs at rates calculated by the income level of students families. The School Nutrition Association, which represents 50,000 school meal providers across the country, said the school meals are the healthiest many American children receive. But that group says federal reimbursements are far from adequate, leaving members worried about the future of their meal programs. In a recent association survey of more than 1,390 school meal directors, more than 90% reported serious or moderate concern over the financial sustainability of their school meal programs three years from now. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Free food is distributed to residents in need at a weekly food bank in February 2024 in New York City. The Trump administration has eliminated more than $1 billion for local foods programs, which has left food banks and school systems scrambling. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images) For the Day Eagle Hope Project, federal money has helped volunteers deliver fresh produce and meat to families in need across the remote Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in northern Montana while putting cash into the hands of farmers, ranchers and meat processors. The nonprofit generally has less than $300,000 to spend per year. So the $200,000 from a U.S. Department of Agriculture local food buying program drastically raised both the quantity and quality of the food it could distribute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were a major, major contributor to our food, said Tescha Hawley, who directs the organization, which aims to improve physical, mental and spiritual health. The USDA recently nixed more than $1 billion from two programs that helped food banks and school meal programs buy local foods, including $660 million for schoolchildren. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently described the programs as nonessential. But the move has left hundreds of school systems and food banks reeling. They already face rising food prices and are struggling to help community members with growing food insecurity. Created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Local Food Purchase Assistance and the Local Food for Schools programs aimed to build more resilient supply chains of domestic food by connecting schools and food pantries with small ranches, farms and dairies. The program was initially funded by 2021s American Rescue Plan Act but later expanded by the Biden administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal programs stimulated the purchase of locally grown fruits, vegetables, dairy and meats benefiting both the smaller farmers who received fair market pay for their products and the organizations granted funds to buy high quality foods. The noncompetitive grants sent hundreds of millions of dollars to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 84 tribal governments, boosting business for more than 8,000 farmers and providing local food to almost as many food banks. The Trump administration is killing the programs, despite Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s campaign against processed food, which he says is poisoning Americans. Without ongoing funding, Hawley said, she would have to rely on cheaper, less nutritious food. Its simple, right? I can get a truck in here with all highly processed food, no problem, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schools are facing a similar challenge: While officials running breakfast and lunch programs would prefer to buy more local products, those are often expensive. And with underfunding, high food costs and labor struggles, school lunch programs are already stretched thin. In Milan, Tennessee, the federal funds allowed the local school system to buy minimally processed beef from a local stockyard, and broccoli, purple hull peas, tomatoes and melons from local growers. Vickie Dunaway, who supervises the school systems food services, told the Tennessee Lookout the federal cuts mean going backwards on purchasing healthier foods. That will obviously have to be cut out, because our budget will not withstand being able to purchase local, she said. Purchasing local, minimally processed food is way more expensive than buying from a distributor. A devastating cut to food banks Late last year, USDA said the programs had already spent more than $1 billion on local foods, and announced an expansion of the two programs with an additional $1.13 billion. USDA has killed that $1.13 billion expansion; it is still reimbursing the previously committed funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration, which has sought to dramatically slash the size of the federal government, told recipients earlier this month that the programs no longer effectuate the goals of the agency. In a statement to Stateline, the USDA said the current administration is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact. The COVID era is over USDAs approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward, the statement said. The only thing well be able to do is just ration what little we have to spread it as thinly as possible over the number of households we provide food to. Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank The nonpartisan National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, which represents the ag department leaders of all 50 states, last month lobbied the federal government to continue the local foods program with permanent funding and ease procurement regulations for school meal programs. Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward, president of the association, said in a statement that the local food programs aid both producers and consumers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investing in local and regional food systems not only strengthens the connections between farmers and their local communities, it bolsters supply chain resiliency as well, his statement read. In New Mexico, the program allowed food banks to buy some 900,000 pounds of locally grown food from more than 200 farmers since 2023. Before the program was terminated, the state was expecting close to $3 million in additional funding, Source New Mexico reported. Jill Dixon, executive director of The Food Depot in northern New Mexico, called the cuts devastating. In Texas, the San Antonio Food Bank counted on USDAs local food program to help round out the food boxes it provides to families in need. The food bank, which serves more than 100,000 people across 29 Texas counties, largely relies on donated foods from hotels, restaurants and grocery stores. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The challenge is I might get peanut butter donated, but I dont have the jelly, or I might have pasta donated, but I dont have the marinara, said Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the food bank. This program allowed us to purchase those items that we didnt get that then helped round out the food box, or really complement the food that was being donated to give families the ability to make meals. The program initially provided the food bank nearly $3 million in grant funding about 20% of what the organization spends each year on bulk food purchases. It expected a similar amount this year, before USDAs announcement. Cooper said cuts come even as the need for assistance rises. Food prices have squeezed families, and mass layoffs of federal workers portend more demand for food assistance in the coming months, he said. And well be caught in the middle. And you know, thats an incredibly uncomfortable place to be. The only thing well be able to do is just ration what little we have to spread it as thinly as possible over the number of households we provide food to. Micah Stewart, an employee of the San Antonio Food Bank, distributes produce in January in Comfort, Texas. The food bank is among those affected by the Trump administrations cut of more than $1 billion in local food programs. (Photo: Courtesy of San Antonio Food Bank) A boost for school lunches For years, school meal programs have struggled with tight margins. Not only do they have to meet strict nutritional guidelines, but schools also face lagging reimbursement from the federal government and spend millions covering the cost of students unpaid meal debt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the 1,600-student Monticello School District in Arkansas, that debt is approaching $60,000. So $50,000 from USDAs local food program was a significant boost to the bottom line. That was such a help, said Amanda West, the districts child nutrition director. The southeast Arkansas district used grant money to buy locally grown ground beef. The beef went into dishes including taco salad, meatloaf and spaghetti. West said staff and students immediately noticed a difference in taste from conventionally purchased meats. And though the local product cost more, West said it also yielded more because it was not full of additives that cause the meat to shrink when cooked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement West, who is the president of the Arkansas School Nutrition Association, noted that her state is home to the nations highest rates of food insecurity. West had hoped to see the local foods program help turn that tide by bringing more stability to school meal programs and growing the state economy by boosting local farmers, ranchers and distributors. Were all upset about it. I hate that were not receiving it because grocery prices are 30, 40% higher than what they were a few years ago, and it really hurts our budget, she said. It helped a lot of districts, including mine, and it would be amazing if we could get it back. On top of the local foods program cuts, congressional Republicans are considering billions in potential cuts to free and reduced-price school meal programs cuts the School Nutrition Association says could potentially affect millions of American students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal government partially subsidizes breakfast, lunch and after-school snack programs at rates calculated by the income level of students families. The School Nutrition Association, which represents 50,000 school meal providers across the country, said the school meals are the healthiest many American children receive. But that group says federal reimbursements are far from adequate, leaving members worried about the future of their meal programs. In a recent association survey of more than 1,390 school meal directors, more than 90% reported serious or moderate concern over the financial sustainability of their school meal programs three years from now. This report was first published by Stateline, which like NC Newsline, is part of the national States Newsroom network. Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at khardy@stateline.org. Long before the large-scale Earth Day protests on April 22, 1970 often credited with spurring significant environmental protection legislation Native Americans stewarded the environment. As sovereign nations, Native Americans have been able to protect land, water and air, including well beyond their own boundaries. Their actions laid the groundwork for modern federal law and policy, including national legislation aimed at reducing pollution. Now the Trump administration is seeking to weaken some of those limits and eliminate programs aimed at improving the environments in which marginalized people live and work. As an environmental historian, I study how Native Americans have shaped environmental management. Tribal nations are the longest stewards of the lands today known as the United States. My work indicates not only that tribal nations contributed to the origins and evolution of modern environmental management on tribal and nontribal lands, but also that they are well poised to continue environmental management and scientific research regardless of U.S. government actions. Environmental sovereignty Native peoples stewarded and studied their environments for millennia before European colonization. Today, Native nations continue to use science, technology and Indigenous knowledge to benefit their own people and the broader population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their stewardship continues despite repeated and ongoing efforts to dispossess Native peoples. In 1953, Congress reversed centuries of federally recognizing tribal authority, passing a law that terminated tribal nations legal and political status and federal obligations under treaties and legal precedents, including requirements to provide education and health care. This termination policy subjected tribal nations and reservation lands to state jurisdiction and relocated at least 200,000 Native people from tribal lands to urban centers. A groundswell of Native American resistance captured national attention, including protests and tactics such as fish-ins, which involved fishing at traditional grounds guaranteed by treaties but not honored by land use at the time. Their efforts led federal courts to affirm the very rights termination had sought to expunge. Native nations regained federally recognized rights and political power at the same time as the national environmental awakening. In fact, tribal nations exercised environmental sovereignty in ways that restored federal recognition and influenced broader U.S. environmental law and policy. Air quality In the 1960s, air pollution in America posed a serious health threat, with smog killing Americans on occasion and harming their long-term health. Under the 1970 Clean Air Act amendments, the federal government set national standards for air quality and penalties for polluters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As early as 1974, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in southeastern Montana began monitoring its own air quality. Finding that its air was substantially cleaner than other areas of the country, the tribe used a new approach to push the Environmental Protection Agency to approve enhanced protections beyond the minimum federal standards. The Northern Cheyenne wanted to prevent polluting industries from moving into locations with cleaner air that could be polluted without exceeding the federal limits. That protection was codified in the 1977 Clean Air Act amendments, which established legal protections and a process for communities to claim greater pollution protections nationwide. In 1978, the Northern Cheyenne used their higher standards to limit pollution sources on private land upwind of tribal lands, temporarily blocking the construction of two additional coal-fired power plants. Within a decade, the Assiniboine and Sioux nations at Fort Peck and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes also claimed enhanced air protection and developed air quality monitoring programs even before most state governments did. Dozens of tribal nations have taken control of their air quality in the years since. This September 1941 photo shows Native Americans fishing for salmon at Celilo Falls, Ore. Russell Lee/Library of Congress via AP Waterways Native nations also exercise sovereignty over waterways. In the Pacific Northwest, people whose ancestors have lived in the area for at least 16,000 years have moved to protect themselves and their lands from the effects of massive hydropower projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Columbia River Basin hydropower project, which began in the 1930s, now includes over 250 dams that together generate nearly half of the United States hydropower. Its dams and associated development stretch from the Canadian Rockies to Southern California, with effects crossing dozens of Native nations as well as international and state boundaries. The construction of the dams inundated multiple tribal nations lands and displaced thousands of Native people. When four dams were built on the lower Snake River in Idaho in the 1960s, they inundated ancestral lands and fishing grounds of Columbia River Native Americans, including the Nez Perce Tribe. The dams decimated fish populations many tribes have long relied upon for both sustenance and cultural practices and destroyed ancient and culturally significant fishing sites, including Celilo Falls near The Dalles, Oregon, which had been fished for at least 10,000 years. Nez Perce scientists and environmental managers, working alongside other Northwest tribes, have documented the near extinction of numerous species of salmon and steelhead fish, despite federal, state and tribal agencies investing billions of dollars in hatchery programs to boost fish populations. The Nez Perce Department of Fisheries Resources Management protects and restores aquatic ecosystems. In collaboration with nearby communities, the tribe also restores significant areas of habitat on nontribal lands. That includes decommissioning many miles of logging roads, removing mine tailings and sowing tens of thousands of native plants. The Nez Perce and other tribes advocate for the removal of those four dams to restore salmon populations. They cite, among other evidence, a 2002 Army Corps of Engineers study that found removal was the most effective way to meet the Endangered Species Acts requirements to restore decimated fish populations. As part of a collaboration between federal agencies and Native tribes, juvenile coho salmon are released into the Columbia River Basin. AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus Taking a long view Native Americans and tribal nations see environmental sovereignty as essential to their past, present and future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2015, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes became the first Native nation to take over a federal dam when they purchased the Selis Ksanka Qlispe dam, operating on the Flathead River in Montana. Managed by a tribal corporation, the dam produces enough hydropower to supply 100,000 homes, bringing millions of dollars to tribal coffers rather than enriching a corporation in Pennsylvania. Over the decades, Native nations have partnered with federal agencies and used federal laws and funds to manage their environments. They have also built connections between tribes and nations across the continent. For instance, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission coordinates and assists Columbia Basin tribes with environmental management and fishing rights. In northern New Mexico, the Indigenous women of Tewa Women United work against the legacy and ongoing effects of nuclear research affecting their homelands and communities from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Across the U.S., the Indian Land Tenure Foundation works with Native peoples to secure control of their homelands through land return and legal reforms, while Honor the Earth organizes Indigenous peoples in North America and globally to advance social change rooted in Indigenous sovereignty through treaty organizing and advocacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tribal governments have been hit hard by the shifts in federal priorities, including Trump administration funding cuts that have slowed scientific research, such as environmental monitoring and management on tribal lands. Tribal governance takes a long view based in Native peoples deep history with these lands. And their legal and political status as sovereign nations backed by the U.S. Constitution, treaties, more than 120 Supreme Court rulings and the plain text of federal laws puts Native nations in a strong position to continue their efforts, no matter which ways the federal winds blow. 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: Alyssa Kreikemeier, University of Idaho Read more: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have conducted research for the National Park Service as an employee of the University of New Mexico's School for Architecture and Planning. My research at the University of Idaho has been partially supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. NEW YORK (PIX11) New Yorks response to virus outbreaks could look different after the federal government cut funding to the states Department of Health, according to Governor Kathy Hochul. New Yorks health department is expected to lose more than $300 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Hochul announced on Friday. More Local News The governor warned that the cuts could impact programs that handle public health functioning, addiction treatment and prevention services, as well as state-run mental health services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal funding helped support public health responses to viruses through surveillance, outbreak response, electronic data exchange, and maintaining public dashboards. Funding also helped support infection prevention programs in hospitals and nursing homes as well as laboratory reporting. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Losing help from the federal government will also likely shutter the COVID-19 Health Disparities Grant, which contributed to funding 135 subcontractors who addressed disparities in mental health, maternal and infant health, and food security. Heres the sad truth: there is no State in the nation that has the resources to backfill these sweeping cuts. Its up to New Yorks elected officials who serve in the House majority to stand up and fight back, said Hochul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The move by the federal government comes as measles cases are jumping nationwide and infectious disease experts are working to identify possible measles exposure from an Amtrack passenger. 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DENVER (AP) A lawyer for a prominent immigration activist arrested this month told a judge Friday that authorities appear to be retaliating against Jeanette Vizguerra years after she took refuge in Denver churches to avoid deportation during the first Trump administration. Vizguerra was arrested in the parking lot of the Denver-area Target store where she worked on March 17. We finally got you, agents told Vizguerra, according to her attorney, Laura Lichter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lichter told U.S. District Judge Nina Wang that she suspects Vizguerra was being targeted because she was exercising her First Amendment right to speech. Lichter cited unspecified media and social media reports as evidence of retaliation. Lichter declined to elaborate on what speech she believed Vizguerra was being targeted for, but drew a connection between her detention and the detention of others, including protesters on college campuses, who have been detained by immigration authorities recently. I believe that the targeting here of Jeanette is in line with what we are seeing in other types of cases where people are being targeted for showing up at protests, for posting certain messages on social media, for having a particular opinion, Lichter said. Lawyers had been set to argue over whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could continue holding Vizguerra in detention in suburban Denver. Lawyers say she is being held on an invalid deportation order from 2013. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Wang delayed those arguments after Vizguerra's lawyers said they would change their legal challenge to also claim that her First Amendment rights were being violated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Jafek said the government did not object to the change but did not respond to the retaliation allegation in court. ICE says Vizguerra entered the U.S. from Mexico illegally in 1997 and is being held pending deportation. In a statement shortly after her arrest, ICE said the mother of four has a final deportation order and has received legal due process in U.S. immigration court. As they have done with other arrests recently, agency officials posted a photo on social media of Vizguerra being taken into custody with her hands behind her back and a chain around her waist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wang issued an order halting Vizguerra's deportation while the legal challenge plays out. She has noted the case raises complex issues about immigration law and she could not find a similar case. ICE began trying to deport Vizguerra in 2009 during the Obama administration after she was pulled over in suburban Denver and found to have a fraudulent Social Security card with her own name and birth date but someone elses number, according to a 2019 lawsuit she brought against ICE. Vizguerra did not know the number belonged to someone else at the time, the lawsuit said. While a judge issued an order of removal against her, she also was given the option to leave the country voluntarily, which she ultimately did to try to see her mother before she died in 2012, her lawyers said in the current petition before Wang. ICE wrongfully reissued a deportation order for her in 2013 and did not provide proper notice to Vizguerra, the petition says. While Vizguerra has received multiple deportation delays in the past, her last stay expired over a year ago in February 2024, lawyers for the government said in a response to her petition. Until now, they say Vizguerra has never challenged the deportation order with the federal appeals court, which they say is the court that should decide whether it is valid. Opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline gather Nov. 1, 2023, in Bismarck ahead of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public meeting on an environmental impact statement. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe opposes the pipeline, citing concerns for its water supply. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor) A federal judge dismissed the Standing Rock Sioux Tribes lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeking to shutter the Dakota Access Pipeline, finding that the tribe must wait until the Army Corps finishes a key environmental study to bring another legal challenge against the agency. No matter its frustration with Defendants sluggish pace, it is not yet entitled to a second bite at the apple, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote in a Friday order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Standing Rock filed the lawsuit in October, arguing that Corps is violating federal law by allowing the pipeline to operate without an easement. The tribe also claimed that the Corps failed to properly study the environmental impacts of the Dakota Access Pipeline or require its developer to prepare adequate spill response plans, among other alleged violations. The suit is a successor to a lawsuit the tribe filed against the same agency in 2016. More Dakota Access Pipeline coverage In that case, Boasberg in 2020 found the Army Corps had violated federal law by not conducting a full environmental impact study before granting an easement allowing the pipeline to cross underneath the Missouri River. He pulled the easement and ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline to be drained of oil pending the Army Corps completion of the study. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An appellate court in 2021 reversed Boasbergs decision to shut down the pipeline, but did not reinstate the easement. Boasberg wrote in a 2021 order following that decision that he could not shutter the pipeline because the tribe hadnt sufficiently demonstrated that it posed an immediate threat of irreparable harm. He noted in his Friday memo that remarkably little has changed in the four years since. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, Boasberg wrote at the beginning of the order, quoting Shakespeares Henry V. The Army Corps still has not finished the environmental impact study. It published a draft version of its report in late 2023. Once the study is complete, the Army Corps will use it to decide whether to grant the easement again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the main arguments the tribe made in its 2024 lawsuit is that the Army Corps yearslong inaction on the Dakota Access Pipeline is a violation of federal law. Boasberg wrote previously that, given the pipeline is operating on Army Corps land without proper authorization, the agency in the interim could have done something to enforce its property rights. The Corps has conspicuously declined to adopt a conclusive position regarding the pipelines continued operation, despite repeated prodding from this Court and the Court of Appeals to do so, he wrote in his 2021 order. But the Army Corps for now is not legally required to do anything but finish the environmental impact study, Boasberg stated in the Friday memo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that other arguments Standing Rock raised in its complaint seek to relitigate issues that were already decided in the 2016 case, and that the legal landscape is not likely to change until the study is completed. Boasberg noted that Standing Rock can file another lawsuit against the Corps once the study is published. The Army Corps of Engineers in legal filings also argued the tribe cannot sue the Corps over the easement when it had not yet made a final decision on the permit. The tribe indicated last fall that it had new evidence to present related to the pipelines safety. The pipeline company has indicated previously it does not consider that information credible. North Dakota, other states and pipeline owner Dakota Access intervened in the lawsuit on the side of the Corps. The intervenors called on the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the pipeline is important to the countrys economy, and that shutting it down would violate states rights and make road and rail transit less safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Dakota Access Pipeline has been operating safely for almost eight years now and is a critical piece of infrastructure for North Dakota and our nations energy security, North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong said in a statement regarding Boasbergs decision. A spokesperson for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Army Corps of Engineers declined to comment. The Corps has failed to act and failed to protect the tribe, Standing Rock Chairwoman Janet Alkire said in an October press conference announcing the lawsuit. The pipeline, which spans more than 1,000 miles, carries crude oil from northwest North Dakota to Illinois. Its pathway includes unceded land recognized as the Sioux Nations in 19th century treaties signed by the U.S. government. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney and over 60 other members of Congress did not receive an answer from the federal government to a letter demanding more details by Wednesday on why the Trump administration canceled trainings at the National Fire Academy and Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg. Several senators, including Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, and over 50 Congressional representatives signed a letter dated March 14 to Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, and Cameron Hamilton, the acting FEMA administrator. They requested a response from Noem and Hamilton by Wednesday. Sasha Galbreath, a spokesperson for McClain Delaney, said Thursday morning that no response came back other than a confirmation of receipt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McClain Delaney said in a statement Thursday that she "is disappointed in FEMAs lack of urgency to reinstate training to secure our communities public safety and support our first responders." The DHS and FEMA did not respond to requests for comment Thursday afternoon. On March 7, FEMA announced it was canceling all in-person first responder training courses for the National Fire Academy and the Emergency Management Institute, which are on the same campus. An email sent out to National Fire Academy instructors the day courses were canceled said that "FEMA is currently in the process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 11, in response to questions from The Frederick News-Post about cancellations at the National Fire Academy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said: "The bottom line is we are no longer paying for non-employee travel. We are only authorizing travel for mission critical programs, this isnt one." The National Fire Academy opened in 1974 and offers free specialized courses and advanced management programs to thousands of people across the country. It offered classes on its campus in Frederick County, as well as off-campus locations across the U.S. and online. The Emergency Management Institute offers training for thousands of local, state and federal emergency response professionals annually. It began as the Civil Defense Staff College in Olney in 1951. The letter includes several questions about the cancellations asking: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What criteria were used to determine the classes should be canceled What FEMA's reasoning was to justify canceling the courses to review the programs How long FEMA's review process will take and what criteria will be used to conduct the review If local fire departments and students would be reimbursed for lost expenses related to the canceled courses If a March 6 order from a Rhode Island federal judge that prohibits a federal spending freeze will impact the choice to cancel the classes "We call on the Administration to reverse course and reinstate these critical classes for first responders," the letter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislators' letter said this decision to cancel the courses "undermines first responder public safety and potentially poses an equal threat to public safety." "Without the services of the NFA and EMI, local departments will lose access to key tools and knowledge necessary to effectively respond to emergencies of all kinds and efficiently manage their agencies," the letter said. "Course offerings at the NFA and EMI are unique, supplementing, rather than duplicating, state-led certification and professional development programs." TEHRAN, March. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iranians took to the streets on Friday for mass rallies across the country to mark International Quds Day, an annual event expressing support for Palestinians and condemnation of Israeli actions. The event, established by Iran in 1979, is observed on the final Friday of Ramadan. This year, it fell on March 28. Demonstrators in various provinces began marching at 10:00 a.m. local time (0630 GMT), chanting slogans against Israel and in support of Palestinians. Protesters denounced Israeli actions in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories while criticizing the international community for inaction. Senior Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, attended the rally, according to state media. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) The U.S. Department of Agriculture is cutting back $1 billion in funding and that is hitting Kern. The USDA bonus loads that we get through our TEFAP program have been cancelled. said Susana Magana with CAPK, This equates to right around 3.5 million pounds and $4.5 million dollars. The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, is funded by USDA. The Community Action Partnership of Kern, known as CAPKs food bank, already has lost 13 scheduled USDA deliveries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hunger continues to grow in Kern. From 2023 to 2024 weve seen a 200% increase. said Susana Magana, So we were seeing right around 120,000 people a month, and now were at about 200,000. Those lines are just going to get longer, and longer. Food insecurity is going to increase. In 2024, that equated to 22.5 million pounds of food that were distributed. Distribution sites that are going to feel the losses. We have a network of about 250-300 partners that are churches and other organizations that do the distribution, so those organizations are going to be affected and obviously we serve the entire county, said Magana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CAPK asks the community to reach out to local, state, and federal representatives to bring awareness of how impactful these cuts can 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 KGET 17 News. CHICAGO (WGN) The loss of $125 million in previously awarded grant funds will mean the Chicago Department of Public Health will no longer have the resources to monitor and respond quickly to outbreaks of diseases like measles and influenza in schools and other local facilities, officials say. The health department on Friday said it had been notified that the Trump administration, through the Department of Health and Human Services, rescinded the COVID-era grants effective Monday. I am deeply concerned by this attack on funding that directly supports the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable communities, Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a written statement. As we learned through the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential for us to invest in preventative measures and monitoring to protect our communities from future outbreaks. This funding cut is counterproductive to our mission of keeping our communities safe and healthy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mayor strongly urged the federal government to reconsider and restore the investment, which the CDPH said affects 22 contracts and more than 100 staff positions. Chicago IRS specialists, engineers among those cut in federal workforce reduction Illinois Democrats vow to push back on Trump administration cuts to programs, staff How federal funding cuts are impacting Chicagoland food banks, farmers The COVID-era funding, first appropriated under the Trump administration from the CARES Act, aimed to equip public health agencies with the tools necessary to prevent Americans from being impacted by the lasting impact of a widespread pandemic like COVID-19. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CDPH said the cuts will mean fewer immunization clinics and vaccination events, a decreased ability to monitor and respond to outbreaks, and less training and testing and fewer supplies to prevent the spread of disease. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NORFOLK, Va. (KSNW) A fellow sailor has been arraigned in connection with the death of a Kansas sailor who died in 2024 during a training exercise. Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Lyndon Joel Cosgriff-Flax died April 28 during a training and area familiarization exercise on the York River in Virginia. He was part of a harbor security boat team when he reportedly fell overboard and sustained fatal injuries. His death was initially believed to be accidental. However, in December, the Navy announced that it had been ruled a negligent homicide, and a fellow sailor had been taken into custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Illegal drugs, guns, and four arrests in Dodge City The Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Public Affairs Office tells KSN News that Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Petty Officer Jackson Bower has been officially arraigned on charges of negligent homicide, making a false official statement, and two counts of dereliction of duty. A General Court Martial date has not been set. If convicted on all charges, Bower faces punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice that can include dishonorable discharge, reduction in rank, forfeiture of pay, and confinement to a military 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 KSN-TV. CHOCTAW, Okla. (KFOR) Oklahomans impacted by severe storms last November are sharing mixed reactions to learning the federal government denied individual disaster assistance to help with repairs and replacements. The decision came in a news release on March 20 from FEMA, stating that President Donald Trump had approved a major disaster declaration for Oklahoma counties impacted by Novembers storms: Adair, Garvin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Stephens, and Washita counties. The Oklahoma County Assessor reported in January that Oklahoma County alone saw nearly $44 million in damage, with the aforementioned counties also reeling from tornadoes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Questions surround resignation of state forester weeks after devastating wildfires FEMA announced last week that Public Assistance federal funding would be available to the state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and repairs/replacements of public buildings damaged by the storms. The announcement said the funding would be available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. We had the expectation that it was not going to happen, said Choctaw Mayor Chad Allcox. Its going to definitely help our community and the other communities that were impacted by the tornado that dont have the necessary funds to just be able to spend on disaster cleanup like this. However, FEMA didnt approve Individual Assistance. The difference between the two federal disaster funding methods is that eligible homeowners can use Individual Assistance to help rent temporary housing, repair uninsured homes, moving/storage, replacement of vehicles. Those potential options are not allowed under Public Assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It seemed like there was a lot of help and then a couple of weeks went by and it was kind of like we were forgotten out here, said Choctaw resident Michael Moore. Choctaw community still cleaning debris months after November tornadoes Moore said hes in the process of rebuilding his home, and expects to have work done in November, but it hasnt come without significant financial strains. Trying to get things cleaned up and rebuilt, its just one thing after another, it seems like, said Moore. Were all just kind of stuck and managing to do what our insurance allowed us or try to rebuild on our own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moore said hes disappointed the federal government doesnt see that strain, but is confident he and his neighbors will rebuild one step at a time. Its hard financially, trying to figure out how to do everything, said Moore. Allcox said he understands that its been an extremely frustrating situation, and is confident the community will get through their strains together. He said hes thankful for the aid the federal government is offering, but he wishes more could be done. I thank the president for doing that, said Allcox. Theres still a lot of work, and I hope that leadership can step it up a notch and help these smaller communities rebuild. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for Oklahoma Emergency Management told News 4 on Thursday that the state has also requested a Small Business Administration disaster declaration. If approved, it could provide low-interest loans for Oklahomans who need the extra help and qualify. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ST. LOUIS The Ferguson-Florissant School District Board of Education has officially launched its search for a new superintendent of schools. This survey invites input from students, staff, families and community members to help guide the selection process for the next superintendent. This initiative aims to ensure that the communitys voice is heard in choosing a leader who will shape the future of the district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The survey can be found here, and it will be open until 5 p.m. on April 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WASHINGTON (AP) Americans are less likely to see Canada and the U.S. as close allies than they were two years ago, the latest indication that President Donald Trump's tariff threats and talk of taking over a neighboring ally are souring a critical economic and military relationship. The U.S. shift in viewpoint comes primarily from Democrats, though Republicans are less likely to see Canada as Americas ally now too, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. While about 7 in 10 Democrats saw Canada and the U.S. as close allies before Trump returned to office, now that number is down to about half. For Republicans, the number dropped from 55% to 44%. Although most still see the countries relationship as at least friendly, just under half of U.S. adults now consider the U.S. to be close allies with its neighbor to the north. Thats down from about 6 in 10 in a Pearson Institute/AP-NORC poll conducted in September 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes turning everybody against us, bemoaned Lynn Huster, 73, a lifelong Democrat who lives in York, Pennsylvania. Huster says she has been dismayed by Trumps actions and how they have affected relationships with other allies, including the United Kingdom. Canada, she said, had been our friends, you know, they backed us. And some of the other countries, the U.K., they dont want any part of us anymore. And its sad that our countrys going to stand alone if anything happens. The poll comes as Trump has dramatically realigned U.S. foreign policy and America's relations since his return to office. He has slapped sweeping tariffs on goods made in Canada, Mexico and China, and this week added a 25% tax on imported autos. Next week, he says he will put in place reciprocal taxes mirroring the tariffs charged by other nations a move he is calling Liberation Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beyond the economic threats, Trump has repeatedly antagonized and belittled historic partners, notably the one with which the U.S. shares a 5,500-mile (8,900-kilometer) border. He has threatened Canada's sovereignty, saying it should become the countrys 51st state, and repeatedly labeled its prime minister governor." His moves have sparked deep feelings of betrayal across Canada, where the U.S.-Canada relationship had long been seen akin to family. The U.S. national anthem has been booed at Canadian arenas and American liquor has been stripped from Canadian shelves. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose party's fortunes have been revived by taking a hard line against Trump, said Thursday that the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner and that Canadians must now look out for ourselves. Shaya Scher, 35, a Republican who lives in New Jersey, argues that Trumps rhetoric toward Canada is largely bluster. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think hes just doing it to make them freak out so they can get a deal, Scher said. He believes a deal will eventually happen and tensions will ease. I think at the end of the day, theyre still allies, he said. Under the hood were still allies, and if anything comes up, well still be allies. Others, however, were more despondent. Hes sabotaging decades of goodwill by having tariffs on foreign steel and foreign cars and foreign flowers, said Scott Cunningham, 69, a Democrat who lives in South Bend, Indiana. Tariffs are really going to hurt relationships trading relationships, personal relationships after being allies for decades. You do something like that, Im going to remember that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 3 in 10 Americans see Canada as friendly but not a close ally, while about 2 in 10 say the two countries are not friendly but not enemies. Very few see them as outright enemies. Cunningham characterized the current U.S. relationship with Canada as not friendly but not enemies. Were not friends because of tariffs and him wanting to take over the country. Thats not going well, he said. Its very strained right now. When it comes to the rest of the world, the AP-NORC poll found about half of U.S. adults see the United Kingdom as a close U.S. ally, but only about 3 in 10 say the same about France and Germany. About 4 in 10 say the European Union is a close ally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Almost no Americans see either Russia or China as a close ally. About one-third say China is an enemy of the United States, and a similar share think this about Russia. Republicans are less likely to see Russia as a threat. Only about one-third of Republicans see Russia as an enemy of the U.S., compared to about 4 in 10 Democrats. Trent Ramsaran, 37, a freelancer who lives in Brooklyn, New York, said many European leaders of traditional U.S. allies clearly have conflicting views with Trump, particularly on immigration. I'm starting to see the pattern there where it seems like all these quote-unquote allies are in favor of having immigrants take over the country," he said. His vision is really not the same as these allies. So hes saying these allies are not on the same page. But Ramsaran said hes not at all worried about the U.S. someday needing allies it has alienated, given how much the country spends on defense and high-tech weapons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If America ended up being attacked, Im totally confident that we do not need the help of our allies to defend this country, he said. Weve got Tom Cruise. He can teach people how to dogfight in Top Gun. ___ Colvin reported from New York. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,229 adults was conducted Mar. 20-24, using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. The News For nearly two decades, Donald Trump traded on the phrase, youre fired. That sentiment is so far nowhere to be found in his White House. This year has already brought negative headlines that, during the presidents first term, could easily have led to sackings from Elon Musk paring back Social Security to a stock market that dipped into correction territory to the ongoing drama known as Signalgate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the heads arent rolling in his administration. Trump has, his first term adviser Steve Bannon said, learned the lesson of a term during which the president dismissed personnel quickly and often for controversies or missteps (including Bannon himself, famously fired in 2017). This time, Trump doesnt want to be seen as giving in to opponents. The lessons of Mike Flynn are resonating in this, Bannon told Semafor in describing what he called the presidents no scalps policy. Flynn, Trumps initial first-term national security adviser, got pushed out after just 23 days for giving incomplete information to then-Vice President Mike Pence about calls he made to Russias ambassador. Now Mike Waltz, Trumps first second-term pick for national security adviser, is facing harsh scrutiny inside and outside the White House for adding a journalist to a Signal conversation where sensitive military information was shared. Someconservatives are openly suggesting Waltz play the fall guy, but Trump is resisting making a move that some of his aides suspect would simply fuel outside criticism. If Trumps opponents taste blood in the water, its just a feeding frenzy, one administration official said, and the administration is not even interested in setting that off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a demonstration of what Bannon called the Trump White Houses fight club mentality. It also suggests that Trump doesnt need accountability from Waltz or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared sensitive military information in the group chat even though the president has attacked former President Joe Biden for not axing people who made mistakes. During last years lone debate with Biden, Trump cited his lack of firings after the deadly US withdrawal from Afghanistan to marvel that Biden doesnt fire people. Lately, however, theres an acknowledgment inside the administration that the more Democrats and Trump opponents call for someones firing, the more likely he is to resist doing just that. And it just so happens Democrats are clamoring for Hegseth, Waltz and others to face consequences for participating in the group chat, where Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was present. Know More The White House sees Signalgate as its first real crisis of a second term during which it has dominated the public narrative, even as it shrugs off any repercussions. Some Republicans would like to see more accountability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its the first strike. It seems like a big one. It could have been a small one, said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who is concerned about national security information being shared on Signal. They should have just owned it. I think it became a bigger deal the longer they didnt own it. Trumps showing no signs of conceding on that front, even as anxiety over the special election to fill Waltzs seat helped force UN ambassador pick Elise Stefanik to return to Congress. The president told reporters this week that Waltz is doing his best and doesnt need to apologize. Asked whether Hegseth should reconsider his position amid the flap, Trump called it a witch hunt and said he had nothing to do with it. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who met personally with Trump after the election, told Semafor that hes not surprised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I mean, theyve had the same MO: never apologize, never acknowledge and just move on, Fetterman said. The only surprise would be if they had any heads roll. He suggested that Trump might be right to assume Washington will move on: I think history has taught them, eventually were all going to move past that and were going to talk about something different. Theres another reason why this administration is more willing to stand by its people. The first time Trump won, Trump and his team were caught off-guard. That forced Trump, then new to Washington, to rely more heavily on those who had been in DC for years. But this time, Trump isnt being told what to do. Hes also surrounded by people who have either learned from his tumultuous first term or, like chief of staff Susie Wiles, are newer to his circle and notoriously operate with a bias against overreaction. Theyre more focused on picking loyalists to serve. Trump, one person close to him said, has more confidence in every hire because of this. Shelby and Burgess View Its still very early in Trumps second term. As his approval rating falls below 50% and his team faces an array of challenges, its possible that the president will revert back to his old ways. After all, less than a year into his first term he had canned his chief of staff, health secretary, Flynn, and several other officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump allies are hoping his new mentality is here to stay, especially as Democrats continue struggling to coalesce around their own attack strategy. The last thing that Trumps aides and allies want is to give their opponents a victory. Whats more, the Republican Party is now almost fully reshaped in his image, which means he has few internal critics to lob more bruising criticism of his hires. There are still a few around. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told Semafor on Thursday that if Hegseth acknowledged that it was wrong to put the mission data on the unclassified application and took responsibility, the issue would lose steam rather quickly. But denying it was wrong makes it worse. Room for Disagreement Some of Trumps allies on the Hill have not shown much concern about the Signal group chat, and they dont mind that the president isnt worried either. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You dont lose your job, a high-level job like that, over that, said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. You got to give them a little leeway. Its a little unusual what happened. Its the presidents call all the way. Notable The final batch of names of alleged sex buyers, including a prominent Boston doctor, have been released in connection with an interstate commercial sex ring that ran high-end brothels in two Massachusetts communities. During an hours-long session in Cambridge District Court on Friday, the names of 10 accused Johns were called to the session. A clerk magistrate found probable cause for each case, meaning the cases have moved forward for prosecution. All 10 men are charged with Sexual conduct for a fee. Prosecutors said the high-end brothel ring run out of buildings in Cambridge, Watertown, Dedham and Virginia catered to wealthy and well-connected men. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boston 25 has learned that one of the men identified Friday, Dr. Mitchell Rubenstein of Chestnut Hill, is on leave from his position as Executive Vice Chair for the Department of Dermatology at Brigham and Womens Hospital. The men identified Friday included Amrit Chaudhuri, 39, of Brookline; Mitchell Rubenstein, 74, of Chestnut Hill; Marshall Berenson, 62, of Cambridge; Harmanpreet Singh, 38, of Woburn; Kenneth Posco, 69, of Fitchburg; George Wu, 58, of Needham; Patrick C. Enright, 63, of Wakefield; Suren Chelian, 47, of Lexington; Sankara S. Asapu, 40, of Malden; and John Cascarano, 61, of Hingham. The probable cause hearing for an East Bridgewater man was continued until April 25. None of the accused sex buyers or their lawyers appeared in court for their hearings on Friday. None of the accused Johns or their lawyers appeared in Cambridge District Court for their hearings on Friday. The attorneys for the Boston-area John Does identified in the black books of the sophisticated interstate high-end brothel network have desperately tried to keep their identities private, arguing that revealing their names violates their privacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2023, then-acting Boston U.S. Attorney Josh Levy said the clientele of the brothels included politicians, big pharma executives, government contractors with security clearances, professors, lawyers, accountants, and scientists. The U.S. Attorney earlier said many of the accused sex buyers came from privilege, but their names were kept hidden. Now, after exhausting their legal appeals, a total of 34 names have been made public. Among them are Cambridge City Councilor Paul Toner and former Massachusetts General Hospital oncologist James Cusack Jr. Toner, former president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, communicated with the brothel phone a total of 432 times and paid for sex at least 13 times over roughly a seven-month period, police wrote in their report. On Monday night, during the Cambridge City Council meeting, Toner read an apology letter to his fellow councilors and to the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youve all heard the news concerning my personal legal matters, Toner said Monday night. First, Im ashamed to have my name associated with this case I would like to apologize to my fellow councilors, my supporters, and the community for taking up the time of the council and the public discourse on this matter. Rubenstein, the Boston dermatologist, allegedly paid for sex at least six times in 2023, including on April 5, April 12, April 26, May 9, July 9 and Sep. 23, Cambridge Police Detective Agrait Collazo wrote in his report. On Sept. 23, 2023, Rubenstein allegedly paid for sex with a woman with the stage name of Sera for 60 minutes for the price of $340 at the brothel location at 90 Fawcett St. in Cambridge, Collazo wrote. Last Friday, along with Cusack and Toner, Cambridge District Court Clerk Sharon Casey approved criminal complaints against the following nine other men: Nathaniel Welch of Concord; Frederick Rosenthal of Marblehead; Timothy Ackerson of Waltham; Matthew Fulton of Belmont; Howard Redmond of Tewksbury; Anurag Bajpayee of Cambridge; Paul Grant of Charlestown; Steven Riel of Laconia, N.H. and Jeffrey Henry, of Exeter, N.H. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 14, a dozen accused sex buyers, from communities including Winchester, Lincoln, Concord, Newton, and Waltham, were identified in court. They included: Jonathan Lanfear, 56, of Winchester; Patrick Walsh , 66, of Swampscott; Pinhao Chao of Newton; David LaCava, 47, of Waltham; Jason Han, 29, of Concord; John Doran, 75, of Wellesley; Pablo Domingo Maceira, 39, of Roslindale; Peter MacGillivray, 60, of Boston; Yihong Zou, 30, of Boston; Boya Zhou, 27, of West Roxbury; Kerry Wu, 54, of Natick; and Mark Zhu, 29, of Lincoln. Over the course of three hearings, Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral detailed the allegations against the men as he read from police reports. Cabral read text messages from the accused sex buyers, who range in age from men in their 20s to men in their 70s and include single and married men, fathers, doctors, CEOs, businessmen and a local politician. According to prosecutors, women were shuttled to private rooms in luxury apartment buildings for commercial sex, and high-powered clients then frequented those sites in a criminal enterprise designed to thrive in the shadows, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in an earlier statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When scheduling sex services, sex buyers were asked to make donations -- code to refer to a client paying for sex -- to the sex workers, according to the police reports. After making appointments, the men would again text the brothel phone while going to their appointment and when arriving to the brothel location for sex, court documents show. In November 2023, authorities arrested Han Lee, Junmyung Lee, and James Lee on charges of running a commercial sex network in Watertown, Cambridge, and Virginia, where buyers paid up to $600 per hour for a wide array of advertised sex acts. Han Lee, the 42-year-old leader interstate commercial sex ring, was sentenced earlier this week to four years in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Audra Doody of Safe Exit Initiative is a survivor who was trafficked. Doody, who attended Fridays hearings, said she hopes the prosecution of these cases will raise awareness of a serious problem that can be found in every community. This is showing that this state is not going to tolerate people buying people. And thats a message in itself. If that message gets out maybe traffickers and pimps wont sell young vulnerable girls, Doody said. 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 fourth gunman has been sentenced for his role in the gang slaying of a man who was shot while playing a video game in front of his bedroom window on St. Pauls West Side. DaiQuan Lamar Husten was the last of four men sentenced in the murder of Casanova Giovanni Carter, who was struck by three bullets fired through the window of his home in the 700 block of Winslow Avenue around 10:15 p.m. Feb. 1, 2022. Husten, 26, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty Thursday in Ramsey County District Court to second-degree aiding and abetting unintentional murder while committing a felony, a lesser charge added by the prosecution as part of a plea agreement. He was then given an agreed-upon prison sentence of nearly 15 years, which includes credit for just shy of three years already served in custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two other charges second-degree intentional murder and possession of a firearm by an ineligible person were dismissed. Carter and the four shooters were associated with gangs, according to police and prosecutors. The criminal complaints say Carter and one of Hustens accomplices, Kendall Dvontae Pruitt, began beefing after Carter called him a snitch in a social media post. Carter, a 26-year-old father of three children, was hit in the head, face and back and died at the scene. Investigators recovered 18 spent casings outside the home that ballistics testing showed came from four guns: three 9mm and a .45 caliber. Husten admitted in an August 2022 interview with police that he fired shots at Carters front door and then ran from the house. The other three men fired through Carters window. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In December, Husten and Montez Dalray Davis testified against their co-defendant, Delaquay Levius Williams. In exchange for testifying, the prosecution agreed to take first-degree murder charges off the table. Jurors convicted Williams, 30, of St. Paul, of first-degree murder and other charges, and hes serving the mandatory term of life in prison. Pruitt, 28, of Minneapolis, also spoke with the prosecution prior to pleading guilty to second-degree intentional murder in September 2023. Hes serving a 30-year prison term. Like Husten, Davis, 26, of Brooklyn Park, was given a plea deal. On Tuesday, he was given an agreed-upon prison sentence of 22 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carters funeral three weeks after his murder was the scene of more gunfire that claimed another mans life and injured three others. Agustin Martinez, 28, of Crystal, was shot to death and three other people were wounded by gunfire outside Simple Traditions by Bradshaw Funeral Home on the West Side. Murder charges have not been filed in Martinezs death, which police said was gang-related. Four men were sentenced to either prison or the county jail for their roles in the gun battle. Related Articles OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) One of the finalists for an open seat on the Oklahoma Supreme Court has drawn scrutiny for his ties to a conservative group whose leaders helped push for the removal of a justice last year, raising concerns from some, including a former Republican attorney general. The court vacancy was created in November, when Oklahoma voters narrowly chose to remove a long-serving justice. As News 4 reported on multiple occasions leading up to the November 2024 election, a dark money group, People for Opportunity, ran a TV ad urging voters to remove three justices from the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Familiar dark money group with Stitt ties behind pro-Stitt tax cuts ad Supreme Court Justices Gurich, Kauger, and Edmonson, all three are activist liberal judges, a narrator said in the ad, which began airing in October 2024. You have the power to remove all three. News 4 spoke with People for Opportunitys spokesperson, Dave Bond, in October. Were talking about one of the three major branches of our states government, Bond told News 4 in October. A lot of Oklahomans are interested to know that theres still four justices on the state Supreme Court who were appointed by Democrat governors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People for Opportunitys ad paid off. In November, Oklahoma voters chose to remove one of those justices, Yvonne Kauger. 14 people applied to fill Kaugers seat, and earlier this month, Oklahomas Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) handed Governor Kevin Stitt a list of three finalists he can choose from to fill the vacant seat. As News 4 has reported, the JNC is a nonpartisan group made up of lawyers appointed by the Oklahoma Bar Association, as well as people appointed by the governor, House Speaker and Senate President Pro Tem. Oklahomans voted to amend the state constitution and create the JNC after a bribery scandal plagued the state Supreme Court in the 1960s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prior to that, Oklahoma Supreme Court justices were elected by voters, running on the ballot as members of a political party. Now, rather than Supreme Court seats being elected, qualified candidates can apply with the JNC to be considered to fill a vacant seat. The JNC reviews applicants and narrows the pool down to a few finalists for the Governor to select from. Political analyst and occasional co-host of News 4s FlashPoint, Jeff Berrong, says Oklahoma modeled the JNC after a similar, highly-respected system in Missouri. [Now,] Oklahoma in general is regarded as having a very nonpartisan judiciary, Berrong said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the three finalists the JNC chose for Stitt to fill Kaugers seat are two judges who currently preside over lower courts in the state, one of whom was appointed to their current role by Stitt. The third finalist, however, is a private attorney who has never been a judge. I was surprised, said former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, a Republican. Its important for somebody to have worn a black robe, to have heard arguments, to have interacted with attorneys as a judge, in my opinion. The attorneys name is Travis Jett. Court records show Jett has represented the group Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) in multiple lawsuits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [OCPA is] a conservative think tank, Berrong said. Berrong said OCPA holds a decent influence over a certain faction of Oklahoma Republican legislators in deciding which policies they support. OCPA has openly advocated for reforming and/or eliminating the JNC in recent years. They have had a long-held opinion that the Judicial Nominating Commission they dont like it, Berrong said. If youre wanting judges that have an ideological bent, you dont like something like the JNC because it makes it hard. As News 4 reported in October, Bond and several other members of People for Opportunity work for OCPA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ad People for Opportunitywith Bondran in October, also criticized the JNC. All three appointed by the unelected, liberal Judicial Nominating Commission, a narrator said in the ad. Bond is OCPAs Vice President for Advocacy. Bill would limit initiative petition signatures by county, giving less-populated counties disproportionately larger influence State court records show Bond has helped OCPAs lobbying arm a non-profit 501(c)(4) called OCPA Impact, Inc. carry out lawsuits attempting to stop things like Medicaid expansion and teacher pay raises from appearing on Oklahoma ballots as state questions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of those lawsuits made it to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Court records show Travis Jett represented Bond and OCPA Impact during OCPAs Impacts lawsuits. Berrong said the connections between Jett, Bond, People for Opportunity and OCPAin light of Jett being named a finalist for the Supreme Court vacancycertainly leave him thinking. That was the whole point, Berrong said. I mean, the whole plan was, they singled out these three justices who they did not like, they wanted them to be more conservative activist judges. And they singled them out. They said, were going to run this campaign against them, so the governorthe hope would bethat he can appoint someone who will who will be more in line with what their views were. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past week, News 4 has made attempts to speak with both Jett and Bond, but neither responded to News 4. Its important to note, even though Jett is one of three finalists for the vacant seat, Governor Stitt could very well go choose one of the other two options. Stitt also did not have any direct say over who the three finalists would be. He has until May 12 to decide. For Hunter, a self-described lifelong Reagan conservative, any possibility of a more politically motivated Oklahoma Supreme Court makes him nervous. Ronald Reagan said, look, if Im in court before of a judge, I dont want a Republican, I dont want a Democrat, I dont want a conservative or a liberal, Hunter said. I want somebody whos going to follow the law. 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. BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday presided over a State Council executive meeting, which discussed measures to promote cross-border e-commerce and address payment arrears owed to enterprises. The meeting also mulled measures to support the high-quality development of agricultural machinery equipment, and approved a set of guidelines to optimize the layout for port opening-up. Highlighting cross-border e-commerce's key role in China's foreign trade, the meeting stressed the need to facilitate the next round of nationwide expansion of pilot zones dedicated to this sector. It noted that new regulatory approaches will be explored for clearance, taxation, foreign exchange and data flows. Relevant departments must fully leverage the country's policies to stabilize foreign trade, helping businesses to explore new markets, strengthen brand building and develop on a more solid footing, according to the meeting. During the meeting, an action plan to clear payment arrears owed to enterprises was reviewed and approved. The meeting emphasized the need for effective clearing of existing arrears and the prevention of new ones. Regarding the development of agricultural machinery equipment, the meeting urged efforts to accelerate the research on signature products and achieve breakthroughs in core technologies. It is important to facilitate market promotion for advanced agricultural machinery equipment, the meeting emphasized, also calling for faster upgrades of related products. The meeting also discussed plans to open up the country's ports, urging relevant departments to expedite the construction of major hubs and regional gateway ports while further improving clearance convenience. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Recent weather conditions are continuing to fuel fire danger concerns across KELOLAND. Meteorologist Jaelyn Borresen takes a look about what contributes to wildfires and how you can help prevent them from happening. Jewish comedian heckled at Sioux Falls comedy club Fire weather has been one of the top headlines across KELOLAND over the past few weeks. Recent weather conditions with well above average temperatures, strong winds, and low humidity have contributed to an increased risk of wildfires. The dry weather has continued to worsen drought conditions. The latest drought monitor shows that most of KELOLAND is in a moderate to severe drought, while southwestern South Dakota is struggling with extreme drought. One of the effects of drought is the lack of moisture in the soil, which leads to vegetation drying out and quickly becoming fuel for wildfires. If the risk for fire danger increases, a Red Flag Warning is usually issued for an area. The criteria for these warnings include frequent wind gusts above 25 mph, minimum relative humidity at or below 25 percent, and dry vegetation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the risk for fire danger increases, a Red Flag Warning is usually issued for an area. The criteria for these warnings include frequent wind gusts above 25 mph, minimum relative humidity at or below 25 percent, and dry vegetation. In these conditions, it is best to avoid outdoor activities that involve open flames, along with equipment that could spark, such as lawnmowers. There are times when a burn ban may be issued by officials and prohibit outdoor burning in certain areas. This occurred just this week in rural parts of Minnehaha County. Additional safety precautions include keeping vehicles off of dry vegetation and disposing of cigarettes properly. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions are likely as we head into Friday with record warmth possible in southeastern KELOLAND. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Los Angeles County property owners have until April 15 to enroll in the government-run debris clearance program for the Eaton and Palisades fires. The owners of more than 9,600 properties more than 70% of the properties eligible for debris clearance have submitted paperwork to opt in to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program, according to the latest data from L.A. County. The owners of another 1,031 properties said they were opting out and hiring private contractors. That leaves more than 2,900 homeowners who haven't signaled which option they will choose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Some of my clients have been riding the deadline," said Denise Sze, an attorney who is the president of the Pacific Coast Assn. of Public Insurance Adjusters, a trade organization for public adjusters. She said homeowners are still weighing which option would make more financial sense, in part because quotes for private debris removal have risen significantly. When in doubt, opt in Government officials and insurance experts agree: Anyone still weighing their options should submit a right-of-entry form and opt in. Opting in to the Army Corps program isn't binding. Homeowners can still change their minds and withdraw later if they want to hire a private contractor. But the Army Corps will not accept new enrollments after April 15, a two-week extension of the original deadline of March 31. "If I wasn't sure, I'd opt in and buy yourself some time," said Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart. What does the Army Corps remove? What is left behind? The Army Corps has said its engineers and contractors will walk through the property with the homeowner before starting the debris clearance, but that generally, crews remove almost everything in what's called the "ash footprint," or the area where burned debris settled after the fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That includes any structures left standing, such as walls and chimneys, as well as burned appliances and cars. Crews may also remove some hardscaping, such as sidewalk pavers and driveway segments, where ash and debris fell. Homeowners can ask the Army Corps to remove their foundations. Experts generally recommend having the foundation taken out because high temperatures can weaken concrete, and because older foundations may not be approved during the rebuilding process because building codes have changed. The corps will scrape off up to six inches of soil from the burn area, but will not provide soil testing. Army Corps crews will cut down trees that have died or are at risk of dying in the next five years, but will not remove the stumps. Homeowners can submit a waiver to keep trees, but must acknowledge that leaving them standing "may impact my ability to obtain a permit or rebuild." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Retaining walls that are needed to stabilize the property or the neighborhood also won't be removed, posing a financial problem for some homeowners whose insurance does not cover them. The Army Corps crews will not remove pools, most driveways, and patios or sidewalks that are outside the ash footprint. How much does the Army Corps cleanup cost? Homeowners are not supposed to pay out of pocket for the government cleanup. Those who submit a right-of-entry form must include their insurance information. Los Angeles County will eventually work to recoup any money left in a homeowner's insurance policy for debris removal. If the cost of cleaning up a property exceeds the policyholder's debris removal coverage, the owner would "not be liable for any further costs," Ricardo Lara, California's insurance commissioner, told insurers in a memo in January. Why go with private contractors? Many homeowners can't afford private debris clearance because they just don't have enough debris removal coverage in their insurance policies. But for those who have higher coverage limits, Sze said, private contractors can offer more flexibility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It will be a more precise experience," Sze said. "There's a certain modicum of control you're going to have if you do it yourself." Sze said homeowners are wavering on private options because quotes are rising rapidly. She said that's in part because private contractors are paying extra fees to dispose of fire debris that contain toxins. Private clearance also makes sense for some homeowners with more unusual requests. Sze said she had one client in the Palisades who is asking his contractors to search through the remains of his home for precious metals, which would still retain some value, even if melted. Which option is faster? Properties are already being cleared by the Army Corps and by private companies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Army Corps is tracking its progress online. As of Friday, 949 homes have been cleared, up from 906 on Thursday and 856 on Wednesday. That pace is expected to pick up as more crews join the cleanup effort. The Army Corps expects to clear 3,000 properties by the end of May. The Army Corps is not clearing properties in the order that homeowners sign up, but is instead trying to group nearby properties together. Officials have encouraged homeowners to work with their neighbors to sign everyone up together. Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath pointed to a stretch of 60 homes along the beach in Malibu, where every property owner notified the county about their plans to opt in or opt out. The Army Corps scheduled debris clearance for all the homes at the same time, and installed K rail to block off a lane of the Pacific Coast Highway, allowing debris trucks and heavy equipment to access the properties without blocking traffic. What if I live in a condo, duplex or apartment building? Some types of multifamily housing, including most condo buildings, are now eligible for the Army Corps cleanup. The Federal Emergency Management Administration broadened the eligibility requirements at the end of March. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any residential property with at least one owner-occupied unit is eligible for the federal cleanup, said Robert Fenton, FEMAs Region 9 administrator, in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsoms Office of Emergency Services. In order for duplexes, townhomes and condos to be considered, county officials must receive a right-of-entry form from every owner of a destroyed unit, as well as from the homeowners association, FEMA said. Buildings that are entirely rented out to tenants are generally not eligible for the federal debris cleanup program. FEMA said that those apartment building owners are expected to "use their insurance and hire a licensed contractor to conduct debris removal." Apartment building owners can still apply for the Army Corps cleanup, but their eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis, Fenton said. Those property owners would need to include a justification for using federal funds on their cleanup, Fenton said. That could include the debris on the property posing an immediate threat to public health and safety, or the removal of the debris having an economic impact on the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Los Angeles County Supervisor Linsdey Horvath, whose Westside district includes Malibu and the Palisades, said the county is continuing to advocate for the inclusion of nonprofits, churches, mobile home parks and commercial properties in the federal debris clearance program. Anyone who is not sure whether their property is eligible should submit a right-of-entry form, county officials say. 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. NANTICOKE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A fire department in Luzerne County just got some new wheels. The Nanticoke City Fire Department held a dedication ceremony this morning for its brand new fire truck and dozens from the community turned out to show their support. The new truck replaces a 24-year-old engine and comes equipped with the latest safety features, including airbags, side-roll protection, and a secondary emergency brake on the passenger side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nuclear plant sirens to stay active for six more months It carries 500 gallons of water and can pump out up to 15-hundred gallons per minute. Now with all the new technology thats out there, were able to work with city administration to secure funding for this new apparatus. It has a lot more safety features as opposed to our older one, said Mark Boncal, Chief, Nanticoke Fire Department. The truck was also blessed during todays ceremony. A new ladder truck is also expected to arrive this summer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) The Crockett County Fire and EMS battled a blaze that erupted at a truck stop, restaurant and store in Ozona on Friday, March 28. According to a social media post by Crockett County Fire and EMS, heavy smoke came from the roof of the second-story office area when first responders were dispatched at 9:57 a.m. It is reported that units are still on scene at Fuel America and Turbo Joes Restaurant as of 1:15 p.m. Fire ignites at Fuel America, Turbo Joes Resturant in Crockett County Fire ignites at Fuel America, Turbo Joes Resturant in Crockett County courtesy Crockett County Fire and EMS Fire ignites at Fuel America, Turbo Joes Resturant in Crockett County Fire ignites at Fuel America, Turbo Joes Resturant in Crockett County courtesy Crockett County Fire and EMS On scene workers stated all occupants were out of the structure, the post read. The hotel was evacuated as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roads that lead to the truck stop are closed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The Oklahoma City Fire Department has responded to over 600 wildfires this year and believe it or not, some of those started because of unattended grills. Fire officials are urging some caution following an early morning house fire Thursday that was sparked by a charcoal grill. We live in a distracted world, cell phones, kiddos, you name it, Capt. Scott Douglas said with the Oklahoma City Fire Dept. said. Its easy to leave your grill and 5 minutes turns to 10 and youve got some embers that has fallen in the grass and now its catching peoples backyards on fire. LOCAL NEWS: Fire crews respond after porch catches fire in NW Oklahoma City Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It really can happen that fast. In fact, it happened early Thursday morning near NW 10th Street and Villa Avenue when a house fire was sparked by a charcoal grill after the residents grilled out the evening before. Those coals, they remain hot, Douglas said. Fortunately, even without smoke alarms, no one was hurt when the fire spread to a pantry attached to the home. Douglas said grills are quite the common culprit for fires, even throughout the 600 wildfires theyve responded to this year. If youre going to use a grill, especially a charcoal grill, get it back away from your house, Douglas said. A lot of these porches and eaves are not very tall and that heat can extend into the porch and catch fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LOCAL NEWS: City of OKC reminds residents to be careful when throwing away garbage If youre using charcoal, make sure to monitor as it cools and never throw it in your trash can. Throw the coals away in a metal container instead. As for gas grills, check the connections on them, especially if theyve been just sitting over the winter. Keep an eye on it and make sure everythings turned off completely once youre through grilling, Douglas said. Also, always remember to keep your grill clean. You can reach out to the Oklahoma City Fire Dept. for a free smoke alarm installation if youre an OKC resident. You can find more on that at OKC.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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City. The United States will enhance its military alliance with the Philippines as it aims to reestablish deterrence to counter Chinas aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday during a trip to Manila. The efforts reflect the strength of the US-Philippines ironclad alliance, particularly in the face of Communist Chinas aggression in the region, Hegseth said during a joint press conference with his counterpart Gilbert Teodoro. The US will deploy additional advanced military capabilities for joint training, enhance interoperability for high end operations and prioritize defense industrial cooperation, Hegseth told reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth made the remarks as he opened his first visit to Asia as defense chief an important opportunity for US President Donald Trumps administration to set a tone for its engagement in the region, which comes as Hegseth is under a cloud of scrutiny for discussing American war plans on commercial messaging app Signal. The Philippines has been on the front lines of Chinas increasingly aggressive posture in Asia. Beijing seeks to assert its claim over the bulk of the South China Sea, despite an international ruling denying its sovereignty over the waterway. The Trump administration, Hegseth pledged, would truly prioritize a shift to the Indo-Pacific with the recognition that for the 21st century to be a free century, America needs to stand alongside our allies and partners shoulder to shoulder. Together, well encourage our other partners and allies in the region to step up their efforts and their cooperation to increase defense capabilities and strengthen deterrence, Hegseth said of the US-Philippine partnership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defense chiefs visit comes as American allies around the world have watched warily for how Trump, long a critic of the structure of US alliances, would manage these long-standing partnerships during his second term in office. His administration has already shaken up decades-old US alliances in Europe, a region on which Hegseth earlier this year warned that Washington could no longer be primarily focused as it looks to China its peer competitor in Asia and securing US borders as key security concerns. Hegseth will also visit US ally Japan during his tour, which comes as he seeks to tamp down controversy around his decision to share information about US military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on Signal. The defense secretary in particular has been under fire among the senior Trump administration officials who were part of the group, after The Atlantic magazine revealed the details that he shared in the Signal chat about the pending strike, including the timing and types of aircraft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth declined to accept he was at fault in the incident when asked by a reporter on Friday if he bore any responsibility for what others have called a mistake. Im responsible for ensuring that our department is prepared and ready to deter and defeat our enemies, he said. Im quite proud of what our forces in CENTCOM (United States Central Command) did on that initial series of very effective and devastating strikes and the ongoing campaign that were undertaking. Ironclad commitment Despite the shadow of the American furor over the leaked Signal chat, Hegseths visit and rhetoric on US alliances, however, is likely to be welcomed in Asia. The American military presence in Asia is seen by allies as a critical counterbalance in a fractious region where China has been rapidly expanding its military might and a belligerent North Korea has been empowered by closer ties with Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has repeatedly questioned the structure of US military alliances and whether the US was getting enough out of such partnerships and basing arrangements, including those in Asia where tens of thousands of troops are stationed in sprawling bases in Japan and Korea. Speaking alongside Hegseth, Teodoro, the Philippine defense secretary, said: What is at stake in our unilateral and bilateral activities is not merely the security of either the United States or the Philippines. We are facing a common threat, which now is the overreach of the Communist Party of China, he said. In the Philippines, the US defense commitment is seen as a key deterrent to Chinese aggression. Chinese and Philippine vessels have engaged in multiple collisions and face-offs over the past year as tensions elevated around hotspot areas of contention in the South China Sea. China maintains its right to defend its sovereignty and has characterized the Philippines as provocative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked about Hegseths Manila visit in a regular news briefing Friday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson accused the US of attempting to undermine regional peace and stability as it continuously strengthens its military deployments in the region. The US and the Philippines should not exaggerate the so-called threat, incite confrontation, or escalate regional tensions, spokesman Guo Jiakun said, while disputing that there was any issue with freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. We also advise the Philippines not to rely on the US to create chaos at sea and, even more importantly, not to attempt to provoke military confrontation, he said. Earlier Friday ahead of a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr., Hegseth expressed an ironclad commitment to the Philippines defense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That echoes language used by former President Joe Biden, who championed US alliances and sought to bring American partners in Asia closer together on security cooperation in the face of what the US sees as a growing security threat from Beijing. In response to a question about how the Trump naval posture in the South China Sea would be distinct from Bidens, Hegseth criticized years of weakness. Its not my job to determine where the Seventh Fleet goes. I defer to (Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel) Paparo and his war plans, real war plans, Hegseth replied. That command was prepared to prepared to work with those in the region to create dynamics and strategic dilemmas for the Communist Chinese that help them reconsider whether or not violence or action is something they want to undertake. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) The Columbus Honor Flight returned to John Glenn International Airport Thursday night after a busy day in Washington D.C. Honor Flight 139 was the first Honor Flight of the year; 67 veterans were on the flight, most of them Vietnam veterans while one World War II vet made the trip, too. Dozens of people gathered at John Glenn to welcome them all home with balloons and signs that read Welcome Home. Many of those waiting said they were excited to see their loved ones and hear how their day went there wasnt a dry eye in the room. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cant believe all these people put all this effort into this, thank you, Army veteran Ken Creekbaum said. It shouldve been this way years ago when Vietnam people got home, it shouldnt have been anything different. Its unbelievable, Navy veteran Scott Peecher said. I think all the men that were involved in this, we have a deep appreciation for, you know, for the duty that they have fulfilled, Mary Alice McFarland, the wife of a veteran, said. A few different veterans said that the whole day was amazing, but their favorite part was seeing the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. 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. Autocracy is on the move worldwide and becoming more resilient. One of the driving forces behind this phenomenon is something scholars call authoritarian learning, a process by which autocratic leaders study each other and adapt tactics based on what appears to work, and how to proceed when they encounter resistance. Take Georgia. The ruling Georgian Dream party has steered the Caucasus nation from a path toward democracy back to autocracy and it has done so by learning from Russia. In particular, it adopted a foreign agent law in May 2024 legislation that came straight from Vladimir Putins playbook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sold to the public as increasing transparency, the legislation has been utilized to persecute Georgias opposition and arrest dissidents with impunity. As researchers examining the structure and effects of autocratic regimes, we view Georgias first year of its foreign agent law as an example of how politicians are not only learning the tactics of Russian authoritarianism but improving on them in a shorter time frame. Bouncing from Europe to Russia Georgias current ruling party came to power after then-President Mikheil Saakashvili enacted a major series of reforms in the 2000s. Saakashvili, who was jailed in 2021 under highly contested charges, inherited a Georgia seen as a failing and corrupt state tethered to Russia. The reform-minded politicians of Saakashvilis government set the country on a pro-Western path. But after Russias invasion of Georgia in 2008, a socially conservative coalition under the banner Georgian Dream won the parliamentary elections in 2012. Georgian Dream was buoyed by the fortune of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a Russian citizen until 2011. The party capitalized on the publics fatigue after a decade of Saakashvilis necessary but intense reforms. The new coalition married a promise for continuing the pro-Western reforms, but with a more traditional, conservative approach to social issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This appeal to traditional Georgian values won support in rural communities and carried the coalition to an absolute majority in Parliament in 2016. Since then, Georgian Dream has adopted pro-Russian rhetoric, accusing a global war party of running the West. Increasing attacks on the European Union, in particular, have been a part of a broader strategy to bring Georgia back into Russias orbit. The Georgian Dream progression in power has mirrored that of Putin in Russia. In 2012, Putin signed a foreign agents law that originally targeted NGOs receiving foreign funding and alleged to be engaged in political activity. The Kremlin equated this law to the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, in the United States, and justified it as a means to increase transparency around foreign involvement in Russias internal affairs. Unlike FARA, however, Russias version of the law neither required establishing a connection between foreign funding and political activity nor provided a clear definition of political activity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This vagueness allowed for a wide range of NGOs deemed undesirable by the Kremlin to be labeled as foreign agents. The result was the suppression of NGO activities through financial, administrative and legal burdens that led to their liquidation or departure from the country. Over the years, this law has reduced Russian civil societys ability to independently voice and address issues that its population faces. Yearlong slide into autocracy Georgian Dream passed a very similar foreign agent law on May 28, 2024, after overcoming a presidential veto. It forced NGOs receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register with the Ministry of Justice as serving the interests of a foreign power. Activists opposing the law have been physically assaulted, and the law has been utilized against what the ruling party has described as LGBT propaganda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The law fits a wider political landscape in which the ruling party has moved to restrict freedom of the press, prosecuted political opponents and postponed Georgias European Union candidate status despite the overwhelming majority of Georgians being pro-EU. Protestors take part in a pro-European rally in Warsaw, Poland, on April 30, 2024. Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images Improving on Russian authoritarians Three critical factors played a role in allowing for the foreign agent law in Russia to expand its reach: the power imbalance between the Russian government and NGOs, limited action by international authorities, and delayed media attention to the issue. At the time the law was passed, civil society inside Russia itself was split. Some foresaw the dangers of the law and engaged in collective action to oppose it, while others chose to wait and see. As it happened, the law and the accompanying repressive apparatus spread to a broader range of targets. In 2015, Putin signed a law that designated an undesirable status to foreign organizations on national security grounds; in 2017, an amendment expanded the targets of the law from NGOs to mass media outlets; and at the end of 2019, the law allowed the classification of individuals and unregistered public associations that is, groups of individuals as mass media acting as foreign agents. By July 2022, the foreign funding criterion was excluded and a status of a foreign agent could be designated to anyone whom the Russian authorities deemed to be under foreign influence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russias experience highlights the process of early stages of authoritarian consolidation, when state power quashes independent sources of power, and political groups and citizens either rally around the government or go silent. The foreign agent law in Russia was passed only after the protests that accompanied the 2012 elections, which returned Putin to the presidency for the third term. In Georgia, the ruling government borrowed from Russias lead after backing down from its first attempt to pass a foreign agent law in the face of massive protests, it pushed it through before the elections. The law was then used to raid NGOs sympathetic to the opposition days before the October 2024 parliamentary election. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said before the elections that in the event of Georgian Dreams victory, it would look to outlaw the pro-Western opposition, naming them criminal political forces. In the wake of President Donald Trumps suspension of USAID assistance in February 2025, Georgian Dream has seized the opportunity to expand its war on civil society, echoing Russian, Chinese and American far-right conspiracy rhetoric that foreign-funded NGOs were fomenting revolution. To combat such phantoms, Georgian Dream has passed new legislation that criminalizes assembly and protest. A springboard for repression The foreign agent law has been a springboard for repressive activities in both Russia and Georgia, but while it took Russia a decade to effectively use the law to crush any opposition, Georgian Dream is working on an expedited timetable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the EU has suspended direct assistance and closed off visa-free travel for Georgian officials as a result of the law, Trumps turn toward pro-Russian policies has made it more difficult to obtain Western consensus in dislodging the Georgian government from its authoritarian drift. Georgias experience, following the Russian playbook, illustrates how authoritarians are learning from each other, utilizing the rule of law itself against democracy. 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: Anastasiya Zavyalova, Rice University and Christopher A. Hartwell, ZHAW School of Management and Law Read more: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christopher A. Hartwell has received funding from the Institute for Humane Studies and the Swiss National Science Foundation. Anastasiya Zavyalova 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. HENDERSONVILLE, NC (WSPA) Everything, everywhere all at once. Thats the title of a 2022 Academy Award winning movie, but those words can also describe what rescue crews faced in western North Carolina during Helene. There was water coming from everywhere. We were just staying ahead of it, Toby Linville, Henderson County Floodplain Administrator, recalled. He also serves on the county rescue squad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henderson County has a lot of resources in the individual fire departments, EMS, the rescue squad and were never taxed so that everyones active at once. He knew Helene would be an unprecedented storm, but Linville pointed out September 26, 2024 made the next day even more challenging. Neither one of these storms was devastating on their own, Linville said. But, ten inches of rain on Thursday, and ten more inches of rain or more on Friday with the wind, the earth couldnt handle it. Henderson County Emergency Services always sends a crew to Bat Cave when a powerful storm or tropical weather arrives in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They (residents) can get cut off. There are basically four roads there. One tree down or one power line down shuts the road down, he told 7NEWS. Photo Credit: HENDERSON COUNTY Photo Credit: HENDERSON COUNTY Photo Credit: HENDERSON COUNTY Photo Credit: HENDERSON COUNTY But he had never seen anything like Helene. It took out the Highway 64 bridge in Bat Cave. All the roads were gone. So, we couldnt even respond as a normal response. We had no communications to start with, but we couldnt have gone to anyone without just walking in. Linville and his team were alone in Bat Cave from Thursday night until Saturday. Other first responders were stuck in their homes or couldnt get there with that location cut off. The rescue squad relied on their training, but Helene also put them into problem-solving mode. That included building a bridge for people to walk over using a piece of construction board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You rely on those formal ways of doing things, even in these unusual situations, so that you dont hurt yourself or someone else, according to Linville. The textbook doesnt go out the window, but you do improvise. Linville said he didnt think Bat Cave would get power back until the holidays, but service was restored within about a month. Its still difficult to drive there because of the status of the roads. Since the early days of Helene, Linville has been back on his job as the floodplain administrator. His job is to evaluate properties to see if they suffered significant damage. If a property is more than 50% damaged by flooding, the owners must bring it into compliance. That could include elevation or another kind of flood-proofing as the owners rebuild. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those are hard decisions and (they) come with an expense for folks that are already damaged, Linville told 7NEWS. That part is difficult but, folks are understanding. They dont want to go through that again. Linville said they did around 500 property assessments for unincorporated parts of Henderson County after Helene. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MAHA conspiracy theorists rejoice: Utah has become the first state to ban fluoride from public drinking water. Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill late Thursday that will prevent local cities from choosing to add the mineral to their water. The orderwhich will go into effect on May 7is a culmination of a baseless premise that originated in the 1960s that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has pushed even further. Fluoride removal bills are also on the table in North Dakota, Montana, and Tennessee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This anti-fluoride movement is rooted in the conspiracy that early childhood exposure to fluoride could cause mental disability and low IQ. These studies have been thoroughly debunked. Utahs legislation made no mention of these worries in the text. The benefits of community water fluoridation are most pronounced in low income communitiescommunities that often have the least access to dental care and to other sources of fluoride, Dr. Scott Toma, a dentist, told The New York Times. Multiple studies suggest that fluoridation actually is good for dental and oral health. Its connected with a 27 percent decline in adult cavities and a 30 percent decline in child cavities. Sun Yiwei (3rd R), the 50 millionth passenger boarding the China-Laos Railway train, poses for photos with her parents, train attendants and other passengers on a train along the China-Laos Railway on March 28, 2025. The China-Laos Railway has safely handled over 50 million passenger trips since its launch on Dec. 3, 2021, according to the railway operator. The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. said that as of Friday, it had operated 71,000 passenger train trips on the railway, serving more than 480,000 international travelers from 112 countries and regions worldwide. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) KUNMING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The China-Laos Railway has safely handled over 50 million passenger trips since its launch on Dec. 3, 2021, according to the railway operator. A flagship project within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the 1,035-km railway links Kunming of southwest China's Yunnan Province and the Laotian capital of Vientiane. It has significantly enhanced regional connectivity, boosted regional economic growth, facilitated people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and demonstrated great development potential as a golden transport corridor. The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. said that as of Friday, it had operated 71,000 passenger train trips on the railway, serving more than 480,000 international travelers from 112 countries and regions worldwide. The railway operator has observed sustained growth in passenger traffic, with monthly ridership surging from 600,000 people during the initial operational phase to 1.6 million across the entire route. Railway authorities from China and Laos have partnered with tourism departments to promote international travel services along the railway, bringing vigor to tourism-related industries, including scenic spots, hotels, and restaurants near the route, according to the company. Moreover, the China-Laos railway's service upgrades now feature multilingual support, including Chinese, Lao and English, through translation devices at stations and onboard trains, alongside health-focused amenities such as portable blood pressure monitors. Sun Yiwei (front, 3rd R), the 50 millionth passenger boarding the China-Laos Railway train, poses for photos with her parents and a train attendant on a train along the China-Laos Railway on March 28, 2025. The China-Laos Railway has safely handled over 50 million passenger trips since its launch on Dec. 3, 2021, according to the railway operator. The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. said that as of Friday, it had operated 71,000 passenger train trips on the railway, serving more than 480,000 international travelers from 112 countries and regions worldwide. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) Passengers board a train at the Yuxi train station along the China-Laos Railway in southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 28, 2025. The China-Laos Railway has safely handled over 50 million passenger trips since its launch on Dec. 3, 2021, according to the railway operator. The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. said that as of Friday, it had operated 71,000 passenger train trips on the railway, serving more than 480,000 international travelers from 112 countries and regions worldwide. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) A train attendant arranges luggage on a train along the China-Laos Railway on March 28, 2025. The China-Laos Railway has safely handled over 50 million passenger trips since its launch on Dec. 3, 2021, according to the railway operator. The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. said that as of Friday, it had operated 71,000 passenger train trips on the railway, serving more than 480,000 international travelers from 112 countries and regions worldwide. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) Train attendants present souvenirs to Sun Yiwei (front, 3rd R), the 50 millionth passenger boarding the China-Laos Railway train, and her parents on a train along the China-Laos Railway on March 28, 2025. The China-Laos Railway has safely handled over 50 million passenger trips since its launch on Dec. 3, 2021, according to the railway operator. The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. said that as of Friday, it had operated 71,000 passenger train trips on the railway, serving more than 480,000 international travelers from 112 countries and regions worldwide. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) Passengers leave the Yuxi train station along the China-Laos Railway in southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 28, 2025. The China-Laos Railway has safely handled over 50 million passenger trips since its launch on Dec. 3, 2021, according to the railway operator. The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. said that as of Friday, it had operated 71,000 passenger train trips on the railway, serving more than 480,000 international travelers from 112 countries and regions worldwide. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) A train attendant serves coffee for a passenger on a train along the China-Laos Railway on March 28, 2025. The China-Laos Railway has safely handled over 50 million passenger trips since its launch on Dec. 3, 2021, according to the railway operator. The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. said that as of Friday, it had operated 71,000 passenger train trips on the railway, serving more than 480,000 international travelers from 112 countries and regions worldwide. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) Sun Yiwei (C), the 50 millionth passenger boarding the China-Laos Railway train, takes selfies with her parents at the Yuxi train station along the China-Laos Railway in southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 28, 2025. The China-Laos Railway has safely handled over 50 million passenger trips since its launch on Dec. 3, 2021, according to the railway operator. The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. said that as of Friday, it had operated 71,000 passenger train trips on the railway, serving more than 480,000 international travelers from 112 countries and regions worldwide. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) Strong thunderstorms and heavy rainfall brought severe weather to South Texas Thursday evening into Friday. Several towns in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexico border, including McAllen, Edinburg and Mission, saw flash floods. The fire and police departments in the city of Alamo responded to over 50 water rescues Thursday, officials confirmed to CNN affiliate KRGV. In one instance, flooding blocked an emergency vehicle from reaching a pregnant woman who was having contractions. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for "all of deep South Texas" until Friday afternoon. The Brownsville office reported some areas had already seen at least 10 inches of rainfall by 11 a.m. Friday, warning of an additional 2 to 4 inches throughout the day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NWS has also urged caution related to a high risk of rip currents and a small craft advisory along the South Texas coast. Flash Flood Warning continues for McAllen TX, Edinburg TX and Mission TX until 9:30 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/P1GOiGaFkj @NWSFlashFlood (@NWSFlashFlood) March 28, 2025 Here are some photos and videos of the South Texas floods. People are also reading: Heavy rain, thunderstorms coming to Central Texas Wednesday through Friday: See forecast Catastrophic flooding going on in Southern #Texas. If you are in a Flash Flood Warning, STAY OFF THE ROADS! This is a life threatening situation!#wx #txwx pic.twitter.com/DQr89Vw9ZF Hurricane Chaser Chase (@hurricane_chase) March 28, 2025 Vehicles submerged and flooded. Roads and highways flooded. The Rio Grande Valley is going through one of the worst, life threatening conditions of all time. #RioGrandeValley #flood #956rgv #texas pic.twitter.com/W9sMRWLizn Alondra Lazo (@AlondraLazo3) March 28, 2025 BREAKING Reynosa flooded (photo of overpass leading to the pond), Cortez without power and drinking water. McAllen also flooded (photo of La Plaza Mall). #RGV BE CAREFUL...MORE RAIN IS COMING - POTENTIAL FOR A SERIOUS DISASTER.#Texas#Flooding#flood#McAllen pic.twitter.com/skKBEEP4LS MOHAMMAD AHSAN (@MOHAMMAD_AARSH) March 28, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flash flood emergency for 213k 3-4ft of water getting into homes and businesses along I-2 corridor in south TX pic.twitter.com/wOFZtjUAUn Steve Bender (@weatherbender_) March 28, 2025 FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY: A catastrophic amount of rain is flooding the border towns of McAllen, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico. pic.twitter.com/dRAM2sZ6sD Ready Breaking (@Ready_Breaking) March 28, 2025 HAARP South Texas is reeling from extremely heavy overnight rain that caused numerous Flash Flood Emergencies, particularly along the Rio Grande Valley. pic.twitter.com/ADP4IpKYst ZeroSympathy (@ZeroProof45) March 28, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spring Firefighters deployed to the South Texas wildfires are diverted to Harlingen after 12 of rain floods the city and surrounding areas of the Rio Grande Valley. Multiple calls for service are being given to the TIFMAS Wildland Strike Teams and the city has set up evacuation pic.twitter.com/4aKdwcezGd Spring Fire Department (@Springfdtx) March 28, 2025 This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: South Texas floods: See photos, videos of Rio Grande Valley flooding It might once have caused scandal that a convicted paedophile had avoided deportation, not despite his uncontrollable alcoholism, but because of it. However, Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights can be invoked in any case where a deportee may find their human rights infringed, even when it is a consequence of their own terrible choices in life. And so it was in this case; the judge ruled that since alcohol consumption is forbidden to Muslims in Pakistan, deportation could likely result in the individuals persecution. This week, it also emerged that an Iranian sex offender had avoided deportation after a judge ruled that his distrust of authority, which was apparently the result of drug and alcohol abuse, was likely to make him react aggressively if he were to be questioned by police in Iran. Ideally, our migration policy would be geared toward filtering out paranoid drug addicts; in practice however, Article 3 means that the government must take into account the consequences they are likely to face for their behaviour back home. The most troubling cases of all are those in which serious crimes themselves have acted as reason not to deport an offender. Last month it was reported that a Zimbabwean paedophile who had been convicted of sexual offences against children and who had distributed indecent images of children, would avoid deportation due to the hostility that he would be likely to face in Zimbabwe. Similarly, another man convicted of preying on barely pubescent girls was spared deportation to Pakistan in 2024 because his family would take a dim view of his behaviour. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, a deportation order against an Afghan man was revoked after it was ruled that his conviction for indecent exposure might put him at risk of mob violence if he were returned to Afghanistan. This decision was largely academic given that Britain has not had a functioning extradition arrangement with Afghanistan since the Taliban took over, however the precedent it set is clear enough. Most societies around the world take a dim view of child abuse; so did Britain until pretty recently. And if we managed to avoid mob justice being meted out against those who outrage public decency, its because there was sufficient faith in the justice system and in the law itself to deal with the offender appropriately. However, in cases such as these, justice doesnt come into it. Whereas a judge can take into account the threat to the public when passing sentence, no such consideration is permitted when assessing an individuals ECHR rights. So far as the convention is understood in British courts, the state may under no circumstances take any decision that will infringe somebodys human rights. Whilst there is a temptation to blame individual judges and in some cases that is understandable given that plenty of them clearly agree with all of this these decisions are the logical end point of Article 3, and of the rights-based approach more broadly. According to this view of the world, a person may be punished according to the law for the crimes of which theyve been convicted, but beyond that the state retains the responsibility for ensuring that a convicts human rights are respected. This creates a problem for the Home Office because there is very little it can do to demonstrate that a persons rights wont be breached once they are outside the country. Whereas a prisoner can be protected to some extent from fellow inmates and from themselves, there is nothing the British authorities can or would do for a non-citizen in Pakistan or Iran. And much of the world is indeed chaotic, and unforgiving of sex offenders and drug addicts. Taken together, this means that Article 3 challenges are exceptionally difficult for the Home Office to fight off, especially for the most feckless and unsavoury claimants whom more traditional societies are likely to deal with in more traditional ways. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The perverse incentives this creates for those with insecure residence status in the UK does not need stating. Notwithstanding attempts at a legislative work-around, such as the admirable amendment tabled by Sir Edward Leigh to the Borders Bill, so long as a country remains a signatory to the ECHR, the rights of the individual, including serious criminals, will always trump the safety of the public. 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. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Democrats, with few electoral outlets for their outrage at President Donald Trump's dramatic restructuring of the federal government, are pouring millions of dollars into two special elections in Florida. That's where Democratic candidates are trying to accomplish the improbable by flipping a pair of Trump-friendly congressional seats and carving into Republicans narrow 218 to 213 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. While Democratic leaders aren't predicting outright wins in such Republican-leaning districts, they say they think they'll exceed expectations. And they sound especially hopeful about the 6th Congressional District, where a public school teacher has out raised a Trump-endorsed state senator by a nearly 10-to-1 margin in the race to replace Mike Waltz, who was tapped by Trump to be a national security adviser in what was widely seen as a move without much political risk. Democrats' challenge in both districts is formidable, but the money has been pouring in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The floodgates have really opened, said Aubrey Jewett, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida. Its like, wow. Republicans, including Trump, have noticed too, and are looking to head off an embarrassing outcome. The president joined both Republican candidates by telephone on separate tele-town halls Thursday to help get out the vote in the all-important" elections. Winning both races next Tuesday would be colossal for a Democratic Party that has struggled to settle on a way to push back during the early days of the second Trump administration. Winning either or even narrowing the margin in districts the president won by more than 30 points less than five months ago could help alleviate the panic that set in among party leaders after Republicans swept both houses of Congress and the presidency in November. An early test in Republican territory Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement National Democrats point to the fundraising hauls in some of the most conservative parts of Florida as a sign that voters are already fed up with the presidents aggressive second term, a message theyre hoping to parlay into grassroots support and more money ahead of the 2026 midterms. Voters in Floridas 1st and 6th Congressional Districts will be among the first to put the new administration to an electoral test in the April 1 special elections to fill seats once held by former Reps. Matt Gaetz and Waltz, who were both tapped to join the Trump administration. Gaetz withdrew from consideration to be attorney general amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied. Waltz currently finds himself at the center of controversy over the texting of sensitive military plans for an attack on Houthis in Yemen to a group that included a journalist. Democrats Gay Valimont in the 1st District and Josh Weil in the 6th District have both far outraised and outspent their Trump-backed Republican competitors, in districts the president won by 30 points or more in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, whos running in the 1st District, and state Sen. Randy Fine in the 6th District have both campaigned as staunch allies of the president, who endorsed them in the primary. But with donations for the Democrats flooding in from all 50 states, Republicans are funneling resources into the races in the hopes the GOP won't get embarrassed Tuesday by a better-than-expected showing by Democrats. I want it to be a landslide, said Doug Stauffer, chair of the GOP in Okaloosa County, which is part of the 1st District. And if its not, then we havent done the right thing for the constituents. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is already pushing the message that if Democrats overperform in the districts, resistance to Trumps second term could help them take back the House in 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These are races that should not under ordinary circumstances be on anyones political radar. They are safe Republican seats that Donald Trump won by more than 30 points, Jeffries told reporters this week. The American people are not buying what the Republicans are selling. That is why they are on the run. In the 6th District, which extends north of Orlando, Florida, Weil has pulled in an eye-popping $9 million, according to the most recent campaign finance reports. Thats nearly 10 times the fundraising reported by Fine, a self-described conservative firebrand and former gambling industry executive known for his anti-LGBTQ stances and combative approach to politics. In recent days, Fine has come under pressure from Republican leaders to raise more money, and has ponied up $600,000 of his own fortune for his campaign, he told The Associated Press. Plus, outside groups are spending more than $2 million to help Fine, according to data from AdImpact, narrowing the fundraising gap. North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, acknowledged that Fine should have stepped up his fundraising earlier, but said he'll be a strong member of Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im not concerned about margins, Hudson said. I mean, special elections are special. A call for help from a surprising source According to an email shared with the AP, even people in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis orbit are working to gin up support for Fine a notable development because of the venom the two Sunshine State Republicans hold for each other, after Fine publicly turned on DeSantis to endorse Trump during the 2024 presidential primary. In a message to voters this week, a DeSantis staffer urged grassroots warriors to knock on doors and make phone calls in the 6th District, saying the race is at a critical crossroads and the stakes couldnt be higher. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bryan Piligra, a spokesperson for the Fine campaign, said they appreciate the help. The only thing that matters is making sure Republicans are united to defeat radical Democrats like Josh Weil who will stop at nothing to destroy President Trump, Piligra said in a statement. Weil, in a statement of his own, said the tides are turning on the GOP as Trump pushes to fire federal workers and dismantle federal agencies. Weil said hes grateful to those who have invested in my campaign and made this a truly grassroots effort. Its because of them that we have Republicans scrambling. Still, the chair of the Republican Party of Florida, Evan Power, said hes confident the Republican candidates will win their races because we have the ground game. But he acknowledged that turnout tends to fall significantly during special elections, which could cut into the GOPs margin of victory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans havent done as great in special elections as they do in general elections, Power said. Some observers say the national attention being paid to Democrats in safe Republican districts is itself a victory for the minority party. But Jewett, the political scientist, said it would take a miracle for Democrats to win either seat. Money is important in elections, Jewett said. But it can only usually it can only take you so far. ___ Associated Press writers Leah Askarinam in Washington and Stephany Matat in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report. Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Law enforcement stormed a flooring manufacturer in Cartersville, Georgia in connection with what the FBI described as an active, ongoing labor trafficking investigation. According to a news release, agents from the FBI, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other law enforcement partners entered the Wellmade Industries building to execute federal search warrants, alleging the company of using fraud and coercion to persuade Chinese nationals and other immigrants to work. The agents also carried out search warrants at multiple residences in the area. Most Read on IEN: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams said the operation targeted allegations of labor trafficking and financial crimes related to Wellmades practices. Williams noted that the facilitys owner was arrested on state charges. Fox 5 Atlanta identified the owner as Zhu Chen and reported that Jiayi Chen, who authorities said is Chens nephew, was also arrested. Fox 5 cited an anonymous former company employee who described unsafe conditions, overcrowded housing and a rotating shift system that transported workers between their homes and work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Wellmades website, the 328,000-square-foot Cartersville facility produces over 100,000 square feet of flooring annually. FBI - Atlanta stated that it brought in a victim specialist and 20 linguists to assist the dozens of potential victims at the facility. The agency estimates that labor trafficking accounts for 6% of its human trafficking cases. Click here to subscribe to our daily newsletter featuring breaking manufacturing industry news. Will we see Confederate statues returned to Florida's parks? On Thursday, President Donald Trump ordered federal officials, including the Secretary of the Interior, to take steps to reinstate any public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties that were removed to "perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology." It is unclear how much power the Secretary of the Interior can exert over city- or county-controlled parks or public squares or state-controlled buildings. In 2020, then-Secretary David Bernhardt threatened to withhold funding from any state or local governments that did not adequately protect their monuments after Trump signed an order during his first term calling for lengthy prison terms for anyone vandalizing or destroying one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the move may enbolden opponents of recent removals to demand they be restored. In the last five years, around a dozen statues, monuments and plaques in Florida honoring Confederate leaders or soldiers have been removed or moved to a less prominent location, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center's "Whose Heritage?" map. Florida counties also have renamed numerous schools, parks and streets, often after contentious arguments among community leaders and residents. The movement to de-emphasize Confederate soldiers has been growing for years, especially since the 2015 mass shooting in a Black South Carolina church and the violent white nationalist rally protesting the removal of Confederate statues in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, but it kicked into high gear after the George Floyd murder in 2020, along with other high-profile killings of Black people by law enforcement, led to nationwide Black Lives Matter protests and demands for justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 90 Confederate monuments and 167 symbols were taken down across the country in 2020 after Floyd's death, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Congress passed a law over then-President Trump's veto to rename nine army posts and potentially hundreds of military bases named for Confederate heroes, something current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is gradually reversing. Not that Benning: Hegseth renames Fort Moore, but not for Confederate general, he says Trump's new executive order, named "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," specifies changes to monuments et al made after January 1, 2020. The order also puts Vice President JD Vance in charge of scouring the Smithsonian Institution and the National Zoo to "remove improper ideology," part of the Trump administration's war against DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs in the federal government that has resulted in the gutting of federal websites and the deletion of any mention of people of color or women who excelled despite oppression. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida has seen its own efforts to control the narrative of history. Gov. Ron DeSantis has made waging war against DEI initiatives a cornerstone of his legacy, and the state changed its standards on Black history in ways that critics say whitewashed history and Florida's role in the Civil War. A 2024 bill to store all removed Confederate monuments in Florida died in committee. What is the argument over Confederate memorials? Many people oppose removing Confederate memorials, arguing that history should not be denied, no matter how complicated; that they are an essential part of the Southern heritage; that it starts a slippery slope to the removal of monuments of any currently problematic person; and that Confederate memorials can be used as educational tools to fight racism. But opponents see the statues and building names as both glorification of the people who declared war on the United States for the right to keep enslaving Black people and as ongoing intimidation against people of color. Most of the statues went up between the 1890s and 1950s, long after the Civil War ended, during the era of Jim Crow segregation when white supremacists were creating a false narrative about the true motives of the Confederacy (the "Lost Cause"). Where previously Confederate monuments tended to be in cemeteries, these were put out in public squares and in front of state buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was another surge of Confederacy tribute years later as an outraged backlash to the civil rights movement and the Brown v. Board of Education decision: Some schools and streets were renamed to honor Confederate leaders, Georgia added the Confederate battle flag to its state flag, and South Carolina added it to their capitol building in Columbia. How many Confederate memorials are still in Florida? According to the third edition of the Southern Poverty Law Center's report "Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy," as of February 2022, there were 75 Confederate memorials still present in Florida. That's one building, two parks, six counties or cities, 14 schools, four school districts, 16 roads, 19 monuments and 13 others (such as notable plaques and cemeteries). Since 2015, when the first "Whose Heritage?" report was published, 30 different Confederate memorials in Florida have been removed or renamed. Whose Heritage? Map: Search this interactive map of Confederate monuments in the U.S. and their status How many Confederate monuments have been taken down in Florida? In 2020, the city of Jacksonville took down a Confederate soldier statue in the heart of downtown and renamed Confederate Park to Springfield Park in the Springfield neighborhood. However, the "Tribute to the Women of the Southern Confederacy" in Springfield Park remains as debates rage on over whether to remove it and what to do with it if they do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three years later, Mayor Donna Deegan ordered the removal of the last remaining piece of a 125-year-old Confederate monument in the heart of downtown Jacksonville across the street from the front entrance of Jacksonville City Hall. The city council is currently considering action over whether she had the legal authority to do so. The marker at the end of Stonewall Jackson Memorial Highway in St. Petersburg was removed. A bust of Robert E. Lee in Fort Myers was taken down and sent to a museum, although a group is fighting to bring it back. A Florida appeals court ruled that a Confederate statue in Madison County can be removed, but its immediate future is unknown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An Orlando-area attorney and Quincy native led the fight to bring down a Confederate monument in Gadsden County that had been in front of the county courthouse for 136 years. St. Augustine decided to remove the city's Confederate memorial from the Plaza, where it had stood for more than 140 years, and a memorial was removed from a park west of the Plaza. In 2017, Daytona Beach city officials stripped a riverfront war memorial of three plaques commemorating Confederate soldiers and moved them to a museum. After George Floyd's murder, the sign in front of the ancient live oak in Port Orange called the "Confederate Oak" was quietly removed. A Confederate monument in front of the Marion County Judicial Center in Ocala was moved to a veterans park in 2010. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A statue of former Tallahassee mayor Francis Eppes has been relocated multiple times on and off the Florida State University campus over controversies that he owned enslaved people. There have been efforts to rename FSU's B.K. Roberts College of Law over Roberts' role in denying a Black man's admittance to the University of Florida law school. In 2020, Pensacola officials took down the monument of an 8-foot statue of a Confederate soldier, along with the 50-foot granite pedestal that sat in Florida Square for 129 years. The city won a lawsuit challenging its removal. A Confederate statue called "Johnny Reb" was moved from an Orlando park near Lake Eola in 2017 to a historic cemetery where 37 Confederate soldiers are buried. A time capsule was discovered underneath, containing newspapers, a Confederate flag and Confederate States of America dollar bills, among other items. In Lakeland, a 109-year-old statue of a Confederate soldier was removed from the center of Munn Park in 2019 and moved to Veterans Park. A group advocating for preserving Confederate monuments sued the city. Nearby and two years later, a Confederate marker outside the old courthouse in downtown Bartow was moved to Oak Hill Cemetery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Confederate monument was removed from downtown Bradenton in 2017 after a great deal of controversy during the process. And while it's not in Florida, a historical milestone was reached when one of two statues representing the Sunshine State in the U.S. Capitol building's Statuary Hall in D.C., which honored Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, was replaced with one celebrating Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach and a prominent Black leader. The Bethune statue is the first representing a Black person, male or female, in the state collection inside Statuary Hall. How many Confederate school names in Florida have been changed? Until 2020, Roberto Clemente Middle School near Orlando was named for Stonewall Jackson, while Robert E. Lee Middle School was renamed College Park Middle. The Alachua County School Board voted unanimously to rename J.J. Finley Elementary School, named for a Confederate general, to honor a prominent Black physicist in World War II, Carolyn Beatrice Parker. The Kirby-Smith Center was quietly renamed in 2017, to be renamed the Alachua County Public Schools District Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lee Elementary in Tampa is now Tampa Heights Elementary. Robert E. Lee Middle in Miami was changed to Jose De Diego Middle. The Jacksonville area saw a wave of name changes in 2021 that moved sharply away from Confederate leaders: Springfield Academy was once known as Kirby-Smith Middle School, Westside Middle was previously J.E.B. Stuart Middle School, Charger Academy used to be Jefferson Davis Middle, Nathan B. Forrest High became Westside High, and Riverside High was once named for Robert E. Lee. The former Joseph Finegan Elementary School in Atlantic Beach became simply Anchor Academy, and Stonewall Jackson Elementary is now Hidden Oaks. Eighty-two public schools across the United States have chosen to drop their namesakes since 2020, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal data. How many Florida parks honoring Confederate leaders have been renamed? In 2020, the city of Jacksonville renamed Hemming Park, named after Charles C. Hemming, who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War and donated a statue of a Confederate soldier to the city. It's now James Weldon Johnson Park, after poet, diplomat, attorney and civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson. Johnson, with his brother, also composed "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which became known as the Black national anthem. In Pensacola, Lee Square became Florida Square. What other Confederate memorials in Florida have been removed? In 2023, the Pensacola Police Department unveiled a new design that removed the Confederate flag from police badges and patches. Four streets in the Hollywood/Pembroke Pines area Lee Street, Forrest Street, Forrest Drive and Hood Street were all renamed in 2017. In 2016 the Florida Senate chamber was renovated and a 10-foot-by-16-foot mural depicting a Confederate general and flag was removed and moved to a nearby bank. The year before, the Florida Senate agreed to strip the Confederate battle flag from its official seal. The Confederate flag flew at the Florida state Capitol from 1978 to 2001, when then-Gov. Jeb Bush had it removed. My position on how to address the Confederate flag issue is clear: In Florida, we acted, moving the flag from the state grounds to a museum where it belonged, Bush said in a statement at the time. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Confederate monuments in Florida: Will Trump's order bring them back? Tampa Democratic Rep. Dianne Hart speaking in the Capitol at a press conference for inmates' rights on March 25, 2025. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix) Starting in the 2010s, many of the countrys reddest states began enacting serious criminal justice reforms, culminating on the federal level when President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act in 2018, which reduced excessive federal prison sentences and encouraged rehabilitation. But despite those efforts in places like Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, the movement largely bypassed Florida, despite the best intentions by lawmakers like former Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That mood has changed in recent years, however. Homicides increased coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and crime was a major issue in Donald Trumps successful reelection campaign. Nevertheless, Tampa Democratic Rep. Dianne Hart is continuing her fight for reform of Floridas prison system a crusade shes been on since being elected in 2018. Joined by two fellow Democrats, family members of the incarcerated, and a former corrections worker, Hart led a press conference on the fourth floor Rotunda in the Capitol earlier this week to discuss her inmates bill of rights legislation (HB 185), which she has filed for the past five years in the Florida House. The legislation calls for each inmate in the Florida correctional system to be provided a written copy of their rights, including: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Proper ventilation either through an air-conditioning system or exhaust and air circulators sufficient to provide a safe and healthful environment for inmates. Sufficient meal time. Adequate food supply in case of an emergency. Health supplies such as PPE and products like sanitary napkins, soap, tampons, and toothpaste. The legislation says an inmate could file a grievance with the Department of Corrections if he or she believes a right guaranteed is denied by prison officials. At the press conference, Hart expressed her dissatisfaction with the quality of health care in the prison system, and despaired that the last public data available from the Department of Corrections came in 2019. She said thats a violation of state law, which requires the department report not less than annually to the governor and Legislature about the Department of Corrections health care delivery system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Citizens and elected officials like myself are given the run-around when we attempt to see the latest numbers or ask simple questions regarding the state of our prison system and our loved ones, she said, adding, Florida is the Sunshine State, yet the truth of our government is shrouded in darkness. The Florida Department of Corrections did not immediately return a request for comment. Broward County Democrat Mike Gottlieb is a co-sponsor on Harts bill. A criminal defense attorney for more than three decades, he said that prisoners are human beings and deserve human rights. Being incarcerated is a punishment, but it should not mean a loss of dignity, safety, or access to essentials like food, health care, or humane living conditions, such as air conditioning, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denying prisoners their rights does not make society safer. It makes us less just. When we mistreat those of our prisoners, we create the cycle of violence and dehumanization that extends beyond the prison walls. Studies have shown that humane treatment leads to lower recidivism rates, helping prisoners reintegrate into society as productive members, rather than returning to crime. The Senate version (SB 358) of Harts legislation is being sponsored by Broward County Democrat Rosalind Osgood. Once the state of Florida takes possession of a person as an inmate, we have a responsibility, she said. When we take away somebodys freedom because were holding them accountable for committing a crime, it doesnt mean that gives us the opportunity to strip them of their dignity. A just society doesnt abandon people once theyre behind bars. Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon said in October 2023 that 75% of all housing units in Floridas corrections system lack air-conditioning. A detailed report from the global consulting firm KPMG estimated that it would cost somewhere between $6 million and nearly $12 billion to repair buildings and construct new facilities, with hundreds of millions more needed to pay for staffing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While many of Harts proposals to reform Floridas prisons system havent reached fruition during her tenure in the House, a bill she is sponsoring this year that would allow more of the approximately 3,000 inmates who are eligible for parole to have a better chance of being released was passed in a House committee on Wednesday. Florida eliminated parole for most inmates in the early 1980s, making most of the 88,000 prisoners in the corrections system ineligible. Another legislative proposal filed this year by Orange County Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (SB 1786) would expand the pool of inmates still eligible for parole. That measure has not been heard in any committee so far this session. The issue of how criminal justice reform lost clout with conservatives in recent years was reflected during the race for the Republican nomination for president in 2023. Thats when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attacked Trump for supporting the First Step Act although DeSantis supported it initially when he served in Congress. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. (WFLA) A 12-year-old student was arrested Thursday after authorities in Lee County said they found his written manifesto with plans to make bombs and plant them around his school. The Lee County Sheriffs Office said detectives were alerted to the students activities after his peers at Veterans Park Academy for the Arts saw him creating concerning drawings. Rep. Kathy Castor says eliminating FEMA would be dangerous for Florida families Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of those drawings included a map of the school, depicting the exact spots where he would place bombs around the campus, according to officials. Investigators said the 12-year-old boy had also written a manifesto in which he declared his intention to commit violent acts. A review of his school-issued Chromebook also revealed concerning search activity. Detectives said the teen had looked up bomb-making videos and researched notable serial killers and terrorists. The 12-year-old was charged with written or electronic threats to conduct an act of terrorism and threats to throw, project, place or discharge any destructive device, the sheriffs office said. I am beyond proud of the students who spoke up when they learned their peer had made violent plans, said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. The School Threat Enforcement Team began investigating immediately and uncovered disturbing renderings to carry out a violent act inside the school. LCSO detectives will continue to investigate and leave no stone unturned to ensure the safety of Lee County students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation remained ongoing Thursday night, and no further details were immediately 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 WFLA. A Florida House panel intends to withhold the pay of a key state agency head until he answers a few things about how he's spending public tax dollars. "These are not overly complex questions," said Rep. Vicki Lopez, the Miami Republican who chairs the State Administration Committee, about Department of Management Services (DMS) Secretary Pedro Allende, who's paid $210,842 a year. "Not a dime (of his salary) will be released until he answers," Lopez said at a Thursday hearing of a proviso written into the House's proposed budget for DMS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That's easier said than done: What would amount to an effective furlough for the head of the department that serves as the states human resources and property manager wouldnt begin until July 1, when the next state budget goes into effect. And it assumes the entire Legislature agrees and Gov. Ron DeSantis, Allende's boss, signs the spending plan. Rep. Vicki Lopez, R-Miami tells the Administration Budget Committee to prepare for a deep data dive into the state payroll Lopez's committee writes the budget for DMS and 11 other executive agencies under DeSantis. She said her marching orders from House Speaker Daniel Perez were clear: Hold unelected state bureaucrats accountable and restore the Houses institutional role as a check on spending abuses. To that end, Lopez has led the committee on a deep dive into DMSs $1.1 billion budget unlike any performed on an executive branch agency since DeSantis election in 2018. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its part of a pattern that has emerged this session: Lawmakers overriding DeSantis' budget vetoes, rejecting his call for a special session, forcing a compromise on an immigration enforcement plan. For instance, as part of budget writing exercises, Lopez grilled Allende on the lack of transparency and accountability under his leadership. She criticized the departments use of out-of-state employees, its spending tens of thousands of dollars on travel and an inability to account for some 2,200 vehicles the department is supposed to have, according to an auditor generals report. "Its his job to know. Those cars are worth over $57 million and Secretary Allende has no plan to count the states vehicles and report back to the Legislature, Lopez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department shot back in a thread on the X platform Thursday night, saying in part, "Contrary to what was said today, the Department has worked diligently to address all concerns raised by the committee from the very beginning of Session." Setting the record straight on todays House State Administration Budget Subcommittee. Contrary to what was said today, the Department has worked diligently to address all concerns raised by the committee from the very beginning of Session. See for yourself below. pic.twitter.com/UERK5fzTpk Florida Department of Management Services (DMS) (@FloridaDMS) March 28, 2025 But Lopez said Allende has shown no interest in working with lawmakers on a host of financial issues, including how he plans to deal with a projected $237 million deficit in the state employees' health insurance trust fund, and why after $60 million in repairs the Capitols underground garages are still leaking. Construction continues at the Florida State Capitol as the site is being redesigned Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. Withholding Allendes salary is a message to other department heads, Lopez said: "And for those that didn't give answers, this is in fact how we are going to get answers." To underscore the committees lack of faith in DMS, it also OK'd a bill stripping the department of leasing authority at the Capitol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposal emerged after Allende last week could not explain why he cancelled the House's lease on a suite of offices on the Capitols 21st floor. It had been used by former Florida House Speaker and later U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, now the U.S. Secretary of State. After the meeting, Lopez said it appears that Allende who manages the Tallahassee-based department from Miami does not know whats actually going on. Politico has reported current U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, appointed by DeSantis to replace Rubio, had wanted to use Rubios former office but the House had other plans. DMS then cancelled the House lease. (Moody had happened to have sided with DeSantis in the recent DeSantis vs. the Legislature power tussle over immigration.) When asked why she pushed the bill, Lopez said DMS had cancelled the lease without any advance notice. When it comes to our office space, enough with you people. Youve demonstrated were not secure here. The budget recommendation passed unanimously. Members of the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee walk past newly installed reflective windows on the state capitol as part of their tour of Capitol Complex construction projects, Feb. 20, 2025. James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: House wants to limit DMS authority and freeze Secretary's salary In past storms, HomeServices Florida Property Group launched fundraisers and food drives in the name of distant victims living hours south. But last year, for the first time, the worst devastation hit agents and staff at the real estate company. You dont know until its in your backyard ... what all it really takes, said Olivia Crumbley-Hamilton, the companys events and brand coordinator. Some 14 agents lost everything to flooding from Hurricane Helene. They needed help within days if not hours. So, leadership scrambled over the weekend, putting together a Google form asking who in the company needed help and who could volunteer their time and money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Volunteers ripped drywall and flooring out of their co-workers homes and salvaged valuables. Others amassed a donation pool of around $30,000 enough for every devastated co-worker to get $2,000 for essentials like rental cars and emergency housing. Tampa Bays workplaces reeled in the wake of once-in-a-century storms. Emergency plans that had long remained theoretical were finally put to the test twice. Generators blew and trees collapsed atop power lines, complicating efforts to reach employees. Traumatized storm victims had to report back to the workplace that financially and professionally supports them. During times of personal stress and loss, an employers support is invaluable, said Deserie Valloreo, founder of Insight Wellness Works, which offers personal wellness classes and workshops to local companies. Tampa Bays top workplaces say theyre proud of what they could do for their staff in those urgent hours, days and weeks after hurricanes Helene and Milton. Here are a few examples of how workplaces stepped up amid devastation no one could plan for: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside, a nonprofit that builds affordable housing in Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties, sent the same employees who usually install Sheetrock to devastated co-workers, where they gutted homes before mold set in. Twenty-five generators were also available to staffers in need. Employees received texts in English and Spanish throughout the storms at Power Design , an electrical contractor. Those check-ins continued until employees responded, confirming their safety. A couple of days later, the contractor sent another mass text asking about the workers housing. Those who said they needed help had a Power Design volunteer arrive on their doorstep, ready to inspect electrical systems, remove fallen trees or install backup generators. At Tampa Bay Water, the regions drinking water utility company, maintenance technicians rode out the storm at headquarters before dispersing into the field to check for damage. Those responders got extra time off as thanks, said Michelle Stom, chief strategy officer. Managers offered extra flexibility with time off and work-from-home days for those who needed to repair their homes. Beyond urgent repairs, communication and flexibility, workplaces also emphasized the importance of looking out for employees financial and mental stability. Power Design handed out gift cards or cash for groceries, home repair supplies, temporary housing and rental cars to 150 employees, said Alex Fox, senior director of brand strategy. When things are really stressful and scary, (we were) just trying to provide some level of support, stability amongst all of that, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In its storm-related communications, Tampa Bay Water sent out a number for the mental health hotline employees can freely access, Stom said. While employers first instinct may be to focus on employees physical needs like housing, transportation and groceries helping them manage stress and anxiety as they contend with catastrophe is just as important, Valloreo said. That might mean simply reminding workers of the mental health programs they have access to. Ive met many employees who dont even realize if they flip over their insurance card theres a phone number for employment assistance and mental health counseling, she said. But not all employers in Florida are required to offer mental health coverage, and the quality of behavioral health benefits can vary widely, Valloreo said. Employers can offer stress management sessions or contract with mental health counselors if their employees need more resources, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Devastating storms like Helene and Milton could become a new normal, the Tampa Bay Times has reported. So what have local employers learned for next time? Stom of Tampa Bay Water asked her workers that question after Helene hit. For them, theres no such thing as too much text and email communication, particularly as they hunker down. Power Design is launching a preparedness program so employees have the right generators and battery packs on hand before they lose power. Employees peace of mind and personal safety affect the work they perform, said Mike Sutton, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside. Our staff is so important to carrying out our everyday mission, he said. We need to help them do just that. Smoke rises following an Israeli artillery shelling in Kfar Tebnit, Lebanon, on March 28, 2025. Lebanese health officials reported on Friday two dead and 21 wounded in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, including in Kfar Tebnit and Yahmar. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Israeli airstrikes hit a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, marking the first such attack since a ceasefire was agreed on Nov. 27. The Israeli military said it targeted a "drone storage facility" belonging to Hezbollah in Dahieh, a stronghold for the Shiite militant group near the Lebanese capital. There is no immediate report of casualties or damage. Before the strike, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation warning via social media, advising civilians to leave a 300-meter radius around the site. IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted a map marking the location and urged immediate evacuation. Witnesses described scenes of panic as families fled their homes, some evacuating schools in haste. Children were seen leaving in pajamas. The Lebanese Ministry of Education ordered the closure of all public and private schools, secondary institutions, vocational centers, and the Rafik Hariri University Complex near the affected area. Earlier in the day, rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel, including the town of Kiryat Shmona. The IDF said one was intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system while the other fell within Lebanese territory. A senior Hezbollah official told Lebanese broadcaster Al-Mayadeen that the group was not responsible for the rocket fire. The IDF confirmed retaliatory strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon following the attack. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that "if there is no peace in Kiryat Shmona, there will be no peace in Beirut," holding Lebanon's government accountable for hostilities from its territory. Lebanese health officials reported two dead and 21 wounded in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, including in Kfar Tebnit and Yahmar. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli warplanes carried out around 40 strikes, hitting areas from Jezzine to Nabatieh. The November 2024 ceasefire ended more than a year of border clashes linked to the Gaza war but has been punctuated by sporadic violence. Israel maintains forces at five border positions, missing a February 2025 withdrawal deadline, and continues strikes it says are aimed at countering "Hezbollah threats." Hezbollah maintains it adheres to the truce and accuses Israel of fabricating pretexts for attacks. Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was informed of an Israeli threat targeting Beirut's southern suburbs during a meeting in Paris with the leaders of France, Syria, Greece, and Cyprus, according to Lebanese media reports. Aoun relayed the information to the summit's participants and is closely monitoring developments as discussions continue. At a press conference following the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron, standing beside Aoun, stated that he would speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coming days. He emphasized that "at this stage, no activity can justify today's Israeli strikes," calling them a violation of the ceasefire. Smoke rises following an Israeli artillery shelling in Kfar Tebnit, Lebanon, on March 28, 2025. Lebanese health officials reported on Friday two dead and 21 wounded in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, including in Kfar Tebnit and Yahmar. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) Smoke rises following an Israeli artillery shelling in Kfar Tebnit, Lebanon, on March 28, 2025. Lebanese health officials reported on Friday two dead and 21 wounded in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, including in Kfar Tebnit and Yahmar. (Photo by Taher Abu Hamdan/Xinhua) FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) A man from Florida was arrested in Fond du Lac County after he was pulled over for speeding and was allegedly found with open intoxicants in his vehicle. A release from the Wisconsin State Patrol states that 56-year-old Kumar Singh of Orlando, Florida, was arrested late Thursday night on his fifth OWI offense. The incident began around 11:20 p.m. on March 27 when a State Trooper was northbound on I-41, south of State Highway 151, in Fond du Lac County when they conducted a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Very creative lane choices: Menasha Police urge safer riding after motorcyclist is seen falling into intersection During the traffic stop, the trooper reportedly spotted open intoxicants in Singhs vehicle and noticed signs of impairment. Singh was subsequently arrested and taken to the Fond du Lac County Jail. The results of an evidentiary blood draw are still pending. No additional 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. The big story: A Pasco County family whose son was severely injured in a school bus accident is hoping this year will be the one they get some financial relief from the Legislature. Theyve been waiting since winning a lawsuit 16 years ago. A jury awarded Marcus Button and his family $1.6 million toward his care after finding the school bus driver at fault in the 2006 crash. State sovereign immunity laws limited the districts responsibility to just $200,000, unless lawmakers authorized a higher amount. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Getting a claims bill to the governors desk has proved elusive ever since. The situation is such that some lawmakers are pushing additional legislation to increase the sovereign immunity cap so families like the Buttons dont have to endure such a lengthy process. Read more here. K-12 topics Book challenges: State lawmakers have worked over several years to make it easier to get books removed from school libraries. Theyre trying to revise the law again this spring. Child labor laws: House Speaker Danny Perez has raised concerns with legislation that would allow teens to work overnight shifts on school days. Extended days: Students at one Manatee County high school have the option of starting classes later in the day as the district explores options to keep teens attending, the Bradenton Herald reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Insurance benefits: Retired Martin County teachers urged the school board not to take away the health insurance supplement the district promised them, TC Palm reports. Officials say ending the benefit could save millions of dollars. School closures? Marion County school district officials are hearing from parents and teachers as they debate the future of four elementary schools, WCJB reports. Special education: Senators have approved two measures to expand school services for students with special needs, a key priority of chamber President Ben Albritton, Central Florida Public Media reports. Start times: The state Senate unanimously approved a bill reversing a mandate for later middle and high school start times, News Service of Florida reports. The bill next heads to the House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Teacher discipline: The Bay County school district has called for firing a teacher for taking too many unpaid sick days, the Panama City News Herald reports. Testing: The Senate is poised to eliminate two high school graduation testing requirements as part of a larger deregulation proposal that also would allow longer teacher contracts and give school districts more control over construction projects, Florida Politics reports. From the police blotter ... A Lee County student was arrested on allegations of having a plan to make bombs and place them around his school, WFLA reports. In higher ed University efficiency: Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated his call for auditing Floridas public universities with an eye toward eliminating excess spending and ideological instruction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement USF takeover: Faculty members at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee say fear is growing on campus over discussions that their campus might be taken over by nearby New College, WUSF reports. More from Florida Trident. Trustees: A Florida Senate committee rejected the appointment of a University of West Florida trustee with ties to the conservative Heritage Foundation, the Pensacola News-Journal reports. Escambia County leaders spoke in opposition to Adam Kissels confirmation. Dorm life: University of Florida trustees are discussing plans to revamp three residence halls into more modern freshman residential communities, the Gainesville Sun reports. Dont miss a story. Heres a link to yesterdays roundup. Before you go ... When rock meets jazz. COCONUT CREEK, Florida (WJW) It probably wasnt enough to buy a single thing. Police in Coconut Creek, Florida, said a woman walked into a Dairy Queen in February and pointed a gun at employees. Frito-Lay chips sold in 13 states, including Ohio, recalled Allison Fetting, Florida Department of Corrections According to police, Allison Fetting, 44, didnt get away with much. The cash register was not opened by employees. Police said thats when Fetting grabbed the tip jar and ran. It included a grand total of $1.50. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fetting was arrested the following day, police said, but is just now being brought back to Broward County to face charges. VIDEO: Flames engulf bus carrying local high school team She was booked into jail on Friday on robbery charges. Fetting has a criminal history that includes grand theft and aggravated battery, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Controversies over a flood basin at Heather Hills Elementary School and the firing of a former police chief are among the reasons Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson faces a challenge in Tuesdays election. Village Trustee Joni Bradley-Scott, a real estate agent, said as mayor she would be more inclusive and transparent than Nelson, who was first elected in 2021. Flossmoor is at a political juncture, Bradley-Scott said Wednesday. We can do things as theyve always been done, or we can make new inroads. And that is asking the community what they want in terms of businesses, in terms of events, in terms of support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bradley-Scott was elected village clerk in 2017 and appointed a trustee two years later. Police chief firing Bradley-Scott was outspoken in her criticism of decisions made by Nelsons administration, including firing former police Chief Jerel Jones last spring, less than a year after he was hired. The village settled a lawsuit in October where Jones, who is Black, claimed his firing resulted from a complaint he filed five months earlier about experiencing disparate treatment from Village Manager Bridgette Wachtel. Bradley-Scott said she stands with Jones, believing racial discrimination played a role in his dismissal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is bias within our organization, Bradley-Scott said. Meanwhile, Nelson, who is white, denies race played any role in her decision to fire Jones, who she said at the time oversaw serious operational and administrative lapses. I understand how it looks like bias, but it wasnt, Nelson said Friday. At the end of the day, when an employee tells their boss, me, three times that they dont want to talk about their job performance, that they dont want any help I had to make a painful decision to get rid of him. Nelson hired Carl Estelle, the former administrator for Country Club Hills, as director of police services. He was hired in July with the intention of transitioning into the police chief role once he becomes a sworn officer in Illinois. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amid Nelson and Bradley-Scotts face-off for the mayors seat, seven candidates are vying for three trustee spots. Gary Daggett and Brian Driscoll are seeking reelection, and face Phil Lee, Kevin Anthony Dorsey, Troy Holmes, Carolyn D. Rodgers and Belgee L. Falkner. Nelson and Bradley-Scott both said they are not part of a slate of candidates, though Bradley-Scott said she aligns with Rodgers and Dorsey in agreement that things need to be done differently. Heather Hills Though Nelson said she voted in favor of a flood basin constructed near Heather Hills Elementary School last year, Bradley-Scott has criticized the project. The basin, meant to collect stormwater and prevent flooding, drew opposition as it was positioned alongside the schools playground. A group of Flossmoor residents filed a lawsuit, though it failed to halt construction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such a large and deep structure poses significant safety hazards, especially for young children who may inadvertently come into contact with it, the lawsuit said. Nelson said she remains proud of the project, especially considering she worked to make concessions as residents expressed concerns, including installing a 6-feet-tall fence to prevent children or others from falling into the basin. My only regret I would have is that we werent able to bring everybody together, Nelson said. Nelson said in a second term she would continue building momentum toward economic development, including securing state and federal grants to reduce flooding and support businesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bradley-Scott said her priorities include creating more opportunities for residents to make their voices heard and promote businesses outside of the more well-known downtown area. I think it will take new leadership in order to get things back on track, Bradley-Scott said. Im hoping and praying that the residents will do their due diligence by showing up at the polls, expressing their concerns via their vote. ostevens@chicagotribune.com Mar. 27Presbyterian Healthcare Services' chief executive avoided directly addressing merger speculation at an Albuquerque business meeting Wednesday, following the collapse of a major deal two years ago. "No updates. ... Our focus is on us. Our focus is on New Mexico. Our focus is on 2025," Dr. Rishi Sikka, the Presbyterian CEO, told a group of business leaders at the Economic Forum of Albuquerque. Presbyterian officials later told the Journal there are no merger plans in the works. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The response follows a blown deal between Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Iowa-based UnityPoint Health which disintegrated in 2023 for reasons the state's largest health system has not disclosed. Presbyterian executives had promoted the deal as a cost-cutting and efficiency-improving move that would've created an $11 billion conglomerate. It also comes as hospital mergers have grown. A report from the health care consulting firm Kaufman Hall noted 72 U.S. hospital mergers took place in 2024 an increase from the previous two years, in part stimulated by a troubled medical industry. The report found that nearly one in three mergers involved a distressed party operating with negative budgets. The Legislature also approved a bill requiring a review of "proposed transactions that involve mergers, acquisitions or other actions that change control of a hospital or certain health care provider organizations," according to an analysis from the Health Care Authority. Its the second session in a row lawmakers have strengthened merger oversight. Sikka focused his hourlong speech on Presbyterian's future. In doing so, he acknowledged volatility at the federal level which has created uncertainty for all health systems, including Presbyterian. Sikka's speech did not specify any issues in particular like pending cuts to federal Medicaid dollars, threats to medical research funding or the U.S. Health and Human Services Department embrace of vaccine skeptics to head key positions but said the ever-changing shifts are a concern. "There's so many of those dynamics at the federal level that affect health care in states and in local communities," Sikka said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in looking to the future, Sikka described three goals for 2025: delivering safe, high-quality, compassionate and equitable care; keeping patients and members healthy; and engaging and retaining a talented team. To the first point, Sikka highlighted Presbyterian's Healthcare Advanced Learning Lab. The $6 million facility includes four inpatient rooms, an emergency room, a clinical room, an apartment meant to simulate how first responders would react to a home call and a post-operation room. "This is the kind of environment where you train folks to be able to deliver safe and high-quality care so they can perfect it," Sikka said. Sikka, who took over the leadership role at Presbyterian in October 2024, also highlighted Presbyterian's Food Farmacy, a referral-based food pantry for patients deemed food insecure. Based on a high demand for services, Sikka said that Presbyterian planned to expand the program, although he did not provide specifics on the plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We couldn't accomplish any of this without having an incredible, incredible workforce," Sikka said. "We have challenges in our state with recruitment, and it's not just a challenge for New Mexico, it's a challenge for the country." Sikka pointed out that the Health Resources and Services Administration, under the purview of the federal Department of Health, designates 32 of New Mexico's 33 counties as health care provider shortage areas. Moreover, federal data shows that New Mexico is short about 7,000 registered nurses and 150 primary care physicians. "The workforce shortage problem is not simply a New Mexico problem. We are competing with states all across the country for talent," Sikka said. At the audience's request, Sikka addressed some of the legislative proposals aimed at alleviating the shortage, including a failed bill that would've capped medical malpractice settlements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Supporters of the measure said it would help to improve New Mexico's provider deficit, while opponents said it would make it harder for patients to sue after botched procedures. "I've seen both sides. As an emergency medicine physician and how that experience kind of weighs on you, and I've also seen it as a son and as a husband, where I saw things happen in care that I didn't think were very cool," Sikka said. Sikka didn't take a side but added that Presbyterian is committed to hiring more physicians. He also said Presbyterian had granted an additional week of paid time off to all staff as a means of improving retention. In closing, Sikka repeated a mantra from Marion K. Van Devanter, one of Presbyterian's founders: If we can help, we should. "That is still her heartbeat," Sikka said. "It is still a part of the pulse of our organization, and that pulse is the pulse that we are going to raise up and have even louder and stronger in 2025 and as we go forward." A food delivery worker was stabbed by a screwdriver-wielding menace during an attempted bike robbery in Manhattan Wednesday night, cops said. The 34-year-old man spotted a pair of alleged thieves trying to steal his bike on West End Avenue between 61st Street and 62nd Street on the Upper West Side around 10:20 p.m., according to the NYPD. A 34-year-old food delivery worker was stabbed with a screwdriver during an attempted robbery. NurPhoto via Getty Images When the worker tried to stop them, one of the would-be robbers plunged a screwdriver into his back, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The wounded victim was taken by medics to Mount Sinai Morningside, where he was listed in stable condition. The perps fled southbound on West End Avenue, cops said. The victim was stabbed in the back on the Upper West Side. Google They were still in the wind Thursday night. MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) A former Australian police officer avoided a prison term when was sentenced Friday for killing a 95-year-old nursing home resident with a stun gun, in an outcome that disappointed the woman's family. Kristian White was sentenced to 450 hours of community service and placed under the supervision of a corrections officer for two years for manslaughter. Mr. White made by what any measure was a terrible mistake, Justice Ian Harrison said in the New South Wales state Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors had called for a prison term in the killing of Clare Nowland, a great-grandmother who suffered dementia, but the judge said such a punishment was disproportionate. It is ... at the lower end of seriousness of crimes amounting to wrongful death, Harrison said. A jury convicted White last year, and he was fired from the New South Wales police in December. He had faced a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for manslaughter. Staff called police to a nursing home in Cooma on May 17, 2023, because Nowland was wandering through the building with a walker and holding a steak knife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White fired his Taser at her within minutes of confronting her. She fell back and hit her head on the floor. She died in a hospital a week later from an inoperable brain bleed. The judge said: A frail and confused 95-year-old woman in fact posed nothing that could reasonably be described as a threat of any substance. Outside court, the victims son Michael Nowland expressed his familys disappointment that White had not been sent to prison. It was very disappointing for the family, because well, a slap on the wrist for someone thats killed our mother, the son said. Its very, very hard to process that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a letter to Nowlands family presented to the court, White gave his sincere apologies for my actions. I deeply regret my actions and the severe consequences it has caused to not only Mrs. Nowland but also to your family and the greater community, White wrote. I take full responsibility for my actions. I felt and still feel horrible about what happened, he added. White did not speak to the media as he walked from the Sydney court Friday. His lawyer Warwick Anderson told reporters outside court the couple was relieved that White had avoided jail. Theyre going to take their time and move on with their lives, Anderson said. EL PASO, Texas (EL PASO MATTERS) A former El Paso Zoo employee alleges in a lawsuit that she was sexually harassed by her direct supervisor while the zoo director and a human resources employee did nothing to stop it. The lawsuit alleges Anahi Chavez Villegas was sexually harassed by her then-supervisor John Kiseda and that zoo Director Joe Montisano and human resources employee Tracy Chavarria were aware that Kiseda sexually harassed others, knew or should have known that the conduct constituting sexual harassment against Villegas was occurring and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. The lawsuit, filed Dec. 2, 2024, alleges that shortly after Villegas was hired in October 2023 as a zoo registrar, Kiseda, her supervisor, almost immediately began sexually harassing her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kiseda constantly asked Plaintiff into his office, alone, with the lights off, and he would shut the door. He would pull Plaintiffs chair close to him and touch his legs to hers and she would pull away. When Plaintiff pulled away he would become frustrated and angry, the lawsuit states. The city declined to comment on the lawsuit. A response filed by the city Jan. 2 denies the allegations and claims governmental immunity, which shields government entities and officials from certain lawsuits. The law firm Blanco Ordonez, Mata & Wechler, P.C, representing the city, Montisano, Kiseda and Chavarria has not responded to a request for comment. Villegas attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Villegas is seeking monetary damages of more than $1 million, attorney fees, court costs, expert fees, and pre- and post-judgment damages, among others. The city, zoo and Montisano have been embroiled in controversy the past few months, including its contentious separation from a former nonprofit that supported the zoo and this weeks loss of its Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation. The lawsuit states that Villegas reported the sexual harassment to Montisano in November 2023, but said he did not do anything to address her concerns. Montisano told Villegas that Kiseda was a longtime employee and seemed happy with her so far and that they just needed time to get used to each other, the lawsuit states. In December 2023, Kiseda allegedly yelled at Villegas, reiterating that he is her boss, he has power over her, he has been there for 30 years, what he says goes, and that (Villegas) must do whatever he says whether she likes it or not. Later, he returned to Plaintiffs office, shut the door, somewhat apologized, and reiterated that he was her boss and asked her if she understood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He then approached her and motioned for a hug and Villegas said no but he insisted, the lawsuit alleges. (Villegas) was trying to shield herself saying no, no, no while he forced himself on her for an unwelcomed hug while rubbing her despite her protests, the lawsuit states. Montisano allegedly suggested that Villegas report the sexual harassment to human resources after another employee told him about the allegations after speaking to Villegas. Montisano expressed displeasure about the need for it to be reported and told (Villegas) to only go to him in the future so that he could handle it internally, the lawsuit states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Montisano allegedly minimized the sexual discrimination and sexual harassment and told Villegas not to provide details to the human resources department and required her to revise her statement several times before allowing her to submit the complaint Dec. 20, according to the lawsuit. Montisano and Kiseda subsequently created a hostile work environment for Villegas by retaliating against her, scrutinizing her work performance and interfering with her ability to do her job, the lawsuit alleges. Villegas allegedly reached out to Chavarria in human resources multiple times with additional concerns about ongoing retaliation and to check the status of her complaint, the lawsuit states Chavarria in March 2024 told Villegas that the complaint report was being finalized with findings to present to Montisano, according to the lawsuit. Villegas alleges the retaliation continued. She was fired on April 26, 2024, with the city telling her its just not working out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In May she received a letter from human resources that her complaint was investigated and the case was closed. The lawsuit was filed months after the city and zoo director came under scrutiny for a public battle between the city and its former nonprofit fundraiser the El Paso Zoological Society. The city opted not to renew the long-standing contract with the nonprofit amid a slew of allegations by both parties. The city alleged that the organization was not properly spending funds it raised to support the zoo. The Zoological Society alleged that Montisano was improperly using funds for personal expenses, and also accused him of sexual harassment, among other concerns. The zoo on Tuesday lost its Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation after not completing changes suggested in a January report. The accrediting commission also identified new issues in a follow-up report done in February. The city said the report did not raise any concerns regarding animal care and plans to appeal the decision. 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. PARIS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday condemned Israel's airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut earlier in the day, calling them "unacceptable" and a "violation of the ceasefire agreement." "These strikes represent unilateral actions that break a prior commitment," Macron said during a joint press briefing with visiting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Paris. He was referring to the four-month truce shattered by Friday's bombardment - Israel's first offensive on Beirut since the ceasefire took effect. The Israeli military stated the strikes were in response to rocket attacks launched from Lebanese territory toward Israel. The exchange marks a renewed spike in tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border amid ongoing regional instability. Reaffirming France's solidarity with Lebanon, Macron voiced strong support for President Aoun, who took office in January. He also noted that international partners are advancing preliminary efforts to provide "initial fiscal support for Lebanon's rebuilding process," though specific details have yet to be disclosed. The Nikola Corp. saga took a new turn Thursday night when Trevor Milton, founder and former executive chairman and CEO of Nikola, was issued a full and unconditional pardon by President Donald Trump. Milton founded Nikola in 2014 and later led a SPAC-backed initial public offering in June 2020. The electric truck maker was once valued at $30 billion and had a multibillion-dollar contract with General Motors in place. However, Nikolas and Miltons fortunes reversed following fraud allegations against Milton by short-seller Hindenburg Research in September 2020. Shortly after, Milton resigned from the company and was later convicted of securities and wire fraud in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milton was sentenced to four years in prison in December 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for making false and misleading statements to retail investors to drive demand for the stock. Milton appealed the conviction and was allowed to remain free on bail with no surrender date. In a post on the X platform, Milton said Trump personally called to inform him of the pardon. Milton added, This pardon is not just about me its about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, thats a lot of people. It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing . I saw firsthand the tactics they use to guarantee convictions. I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for his courage in standing up for what is right and for granting me this sacred pardon of innocence. Today I was issued a full and unconditional pardon by @realDonaldTrump himself. He called me personally to tell me. This pardon is not just about meits about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, thats a lot of people. It is no wonder pic.twitter.com/qpT0jjI6Fy Trevor Milton (@nikolatrevor) March 28, 2025 The pardon was part of a larger effort outlined in Trumps second inaugural address, where the president pledged to end what he saw as the political weaponization of the Justice Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Southern District of New York and its high conviction rate were cited as additional reasons, with 94.3% of cases tried in the court resulting in guilty pleas and only 5.7% going to trial, according to 2023 data. The release adds, The striking similarities between Miltons case and those brought against President Trump highlight systemic issues within the justice system, particularly within the Southern District of New York. The company Milton founded, Nikola Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection in February. The release notes that Milton is set to launch a documentary titled The Trevor Milton Saga: Conviction or Conspiracy. The post Former Nikola Corp. CEO Trevor Milton pardoned by President Trump appeared first on FreightWaves. KANSAS CITY, Mo. On Friday, March 28, a now-former Olathe North High School choir teacher was sentenced to more than five years in prison after he had sex with a student. The Johnson County district attorney said Micah Horton was sentenced to 68 months in prison for two counts of unlawful sexual relations, and he will be required to register as a sex offender for 25 years. WATCH: Satanic Grotto leader taken away in handcuffs at the Kansas Statehouse Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March 2024, Horton was charged with sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of unlawful sexual relations. A complaint accused Horton of unlawfully engaging in sodomy two separate times with a student under the age of 16 who was enrolled at Olathe North High School. It also accused him of persuading, enticing or coercing a child under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit conduct between Dec. 7, 2023 and Feb. 12, 2024. According to court records, students at Olathe North went to school authorities and told them that Horton had been messaging students on Snapchat and had persuaded one student to send him nude photos and videos. He also sent nude photos of himself to that student, according to court records. The student disclosed that the two had a sexual relationship. Court records also revealed that Horton allegedly had sex with another student while he was working for a different school district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the investigation, a student from a different school said the same thing happened when he was teaching there. Court records said Horton had sex with this student multiple times, including in his office. Truman High teacher arrested after child porn found on school computer The district attorneys office said Horton was only charged for the crimes committed while he was teaching at Olathe North High School. According to court records, he originally pleaded not guilty to the charges in July 2024. However, Horton ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual relations in January 2025; the judge dismissed the child exploitation charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Olathe Public Schools Board of Education terminated Horton in 2024 and banned him from Olathe North and all Olathe school district facilities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. A former police officer and the son of a former St. Louis County prosecutor appeared in court on Thursday to be sentenced for firing shots into the air at a trunk-or-treat event. McCulloch entered whats known as a blind plea in January, and pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, one count of first-degree making a terrorist threat, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. A county judge sentenced McCulloch to five years of probation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A blind plea is not a plea deal. The prosecution agreed to drop seven counts of armed criminal action and had recommended a sentence of three years. STL city leaders make bold steps to tackle downtown blight This guilty plea was negotiated under the previous administration in our office. It was a blind plea, meaning that the sentence imposed was left entirely to the discretion of the court. We respect the courts decision in this tragic and difficult matter, Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith said in a statement. We are so grateful that no one was physically harmed in this incident and pray that this sentence brings some closure for the many victims especially the many children impacted by the defendants actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, at North Kirkwood Middle School. Tillman Elementary School organized the event, but due to construction projects, the trunk-or-treat was moved to North Kirkwoods school parking lot in the 11200 block of Manchester Road. According to a police probable cause statement, McCulloch aggressively approached attendees and made statements like you are all going to die before one witness shoved him to the ground. After McCulloch fell, he pulled out a handgun and badge, began shooting in an upward direction, and shouted that attendees would die. At some point, several witnesses tackled McCulloch, authorities seized the weapon, and he was taken into custody. McCulloch was a St. Louis County police officer at the time. He lost his job shortly after 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 FOX 2. RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) A former Ruidoso private school teacher was arrested on 40 counts of child sexual abuse Thursday, New Mexico State Police announced Friday. State Police were contacted on Dec. 11, 2024, about alleged incidents of criminal sexual contact involving 23-year-old Devin Henderson at the Mountain View Christian Academy in Ruidoso. Albuquerque man caught trying to smuggle 242 lbs of bologna into the country Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Agents learned that eight children, ages 10 and under, reported that Henderson inappropriately touched them on more than one occasion while attending his computer class. NMSP said Henderson also showed them explicit photographs of himself on his cell phone. An arrest warrant was issued for Henderson Thursday, and he was taken into custody without incident. He is facing 22 counts of sexual exploitation of children, seven counts each of enticement of a child and criminal sexual contact of a minor, three counts of sexually oriented material harmful to minors, and one count of indecent exposure. Henderson began working at Mountain View Christian Academy in January 2023. NMSP said he was placed on administrative leave once the school learned of the allegations and was later terminated. 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. Mayor Eric Adams former first deputy Lorraine Grillo is now backing the campaign of Hizzoners biggest rival in the primary race: Andrew Cuomo. Grillo hosted a fundraiser Wednesday night for the former governors comeback bid for mayor. Shes the latest Adams ally or associate who has abandoned him for Cuomo, who leads the pack of candidates in the June Democratic primary. Lorraine Grillo, who served as first deputy at City Hall under Mayor Eric Adams, hosted a fundraiser Wednesday night for ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomos comeback bid for mayor, The Post has learned. BRIGITTE STELZER Meanwhile, in a blow to the mayoral campaign of City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, sources said Queens Democratic Party Chairman Gregory Meeks is expected to endorse Cuomo as early as this weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Eric Adams allies, Brooklyn Democratic chairman Rodneyse Bichotte and her predecessor, former party leader Frank Seddio, have also turned their support to Cuomo. Grillo previously served as a senior adviser to prior Mayor Bill de Blasio, overseeing pandemic recovery. She declined to comment, but her husband Stephen Aiello confirmed they hosted the Cuomo fundraiser at their United Nations Plaza pad. Thats all I can say, Aiello said. Cuomos camp was thrilled. Grillo is the latest ally of Mayor Adams to abandon him for Cuomo. AFP via Getty Images Lorraine was one of the most competent administrators in the de Blasio and Adams administrations, an attendee said. The mayors re-election campaign downplayed the fact that his former top deputy is backing Cuomo over her ex-boss. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are countless fundraisers happening across the city for candidates of all backgroundsthis is America, and everyone has the right to support whomever they choose, said Adams campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro. Cuomo is the favorite to become the next Mayor of New York City. Matthew McDermott Thats the beauty of our democracy. Mayor Adams respects the democratic process and the diverse voices that make our city so dynamic. He remains focused on delivering results for all New Yorkers. Meeks, also a congressman, represents some of the same predominantly black neighborhoods in Southeast Queens as Adrienne Adams. Meeks backing of Cuomo is the death knell for Adriennes campaign, one Democratic Party insider claimed. The blow to Mayor Adams is also a crushing blow to the mayoral campaign of City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, as sources say Queens Democratic Party Chairman Gregory Meeks plans to endorse Cuomo in the coming days. Gregory P. Mango Adrienne Adams campaign declined to comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But its been an open secret in Queens Democratic Party circles that Meeks was leaning towards Queens native Cuomo. Andrew never lets us forget that hes a Queens guy, and he remains liked in much of Queens, said state Sen. John Liu, who is second vice chairperson of the boroughs Democratic Party. June Bunch, the partys first vice chair, said she prefers Adrienne Adams. I like what she stands for and that she stands up for her constituents. I like Cuomo also. He would be my second choice, Bunch, of Hollis, said. But Bunch said she would follow the chairman if Meeks endorses Cuomo. FORT CAVAZOS, Texas (FOX 44) A sense of pride and excitement filled the air today as Fort Cavazos held an uncasing ceremony to mark the completion of the First Cavalry Divisions 10-month deployment to Europe. Despite the rain, the ceremony drew an enthusiastic crowd of friends, family, and military leaders from across Fort Cavazos, eager to welcome the soldiers back home. Commanding General of the First Cavalry Division, Major General Tom Feltey, emphasized the significance of the event, stating that the ceremony symbolized their return to their home station after an extensive rotation to Europe in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. It symbolizes our return back to our home station. So what happened when we left Europe is we actually cased our colors as we turned over responsibility to the First Armored Division, another Texas-based unit out in El Paso, Texas. So we cased our colors and then we carried them until we came back here, Feltey explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The four brigades and division heads deployed to Europe in the spring of 2024. Throughout the deployment, the division maintained combat readiness through various training exercises. General Feltey emphasized the importance of their mission and the strong bond the soldiers formed with their international allies. All of our soldiers, whether they were engaging with local communities in Eastern Europe or working alongside different militaries, were representing the United States. It was an incredibly important mission, not only for us but for our allies, Feltey said. Division Training Officer Jared Ray shared his reflections on the deployment, acknowledging both the challenges and rewarding experiences of serving in the European Command area of operations. EUCOM was an extraordinarily busy place. And once I gained an understanding of it, it was interesting to see how all the connections went, how we synchronized the rhythm of how the units in Europe work, Ray said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the deployment was undoubtedly tough, many soldiers, like Ray, expressed how staying in touch with family back home helped ease the strain of separation. Frequent FaceTime calls and phone conversations allowed service members and their families to maintain a sense of closeness despite the distance. This was our first deployment as a family What I really appreciated was the Lancers and Iron Horse and First Brigade, said Rays wife, Fern. They definitely were focusing on family and let us communicate and stay in contact with each other. So we got to do some face time and then phone calls almost daily. So that was really nice, As the First Cavalry Division soldiers return to Fort Cavazos, their families are looking forward to reunion celebrations. Many are planning welcome-home parties to commemorate the return of their loved ones. Fern Ray, along with other families, expressed their excitement and joy at the thought of reuniting. With the successful completion of their deployment, the First Cavalry Division is now back on U.S. soil, ready to continue its mission of protecting and defending the nations interests. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FORT DODGE, Iowa Police in Fort Dodge are investigating a shooting that injured one person Thursday afternoon. The Fort Dodge Police Department said its officers, along with deputies from the Webster County Sheriffs Office, responded to the 400 block of N 10th Street after a 911 call came in about shots fired in the area around 5:23 p.m. Fourth person charged with murder in Boone mans shooting death Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When law enforcement officers arrived, they found a male suffering a single gunshot wound to the leg. Treatment was provided on the scene until Fort Dodge Fire arrived and transported the shooting victim to Unity Point-Trinity Regional Medical Center. The FDPD said his injury is not believed to be life-threatening. Police interviewed witnesses and gathered physical evidence. The shooting victims name has not been released. The investigation continues, and the FDPD is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact them at 515-573-1424. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Webster County Crimestoppers by calling (515) 5731444 (STOP). 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. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) Parkland College has announced their next Associate Vice President for Development and Executive Director of the Parkland College Foundation. Danielle Wilberg will start her new role with the community college on April 1. She previously worked as the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences. Champaign County Clerk looking for election judges Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wilberg has also done major gift fundraising, alumni engagement, corporate relations, and strategic campaign planning at multiple places across Central Illinois including at Parkland College as the Associate Director of Annual Fund and Alumni Relations. Tracy Wahlfedlt, the current executive director, is retiring at the end of April. She started in 2018. Parkland College is so privileged to have had Tracy Wahlfeldt serve as the executive director of our Foundation, Parkland President Dr. Pam Lau said in a statement. Tracy centered her work on student success to further the mission of the college. We wish her the very best as she transitions into her next season of life. The college is very excited to have Danielle assume the leadership of the Foundation. We are confident that she will build upon Tracys strong legacy and take fundraising at Parkland to new levels. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will pay an official visit to Russia from March 31 to April 2, a foreign ministry spokesperson announced on Friday. At a regular news briefing on the same day, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that China and Russia are comprehensive strategic partners of coordination for a new era, and that under the strategic guidance of the heads of state of both countries, China and Russia adhere to permanent good-neighborly friendship, comprehensive strategic coordination and mutually beneficial cooperation. The two countries continue to deepen back-to-back strategic coordination and expand practical cooperation across various fields, making significant contributions to promoting each other's development and revitalization as well as to upholding the basic norms governing international relations, said the spokesperson. During his visit, Wang will meet with Russian leaders and hold talks with Lavrov, according to Guo. "The Chinese side is ready to take this visit as an opportunity to work with the Russian side to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and to engage in in-depth communication on the development of China-Russia relations and on international and regional issues of common concern," said the spokesperson. HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) A day after the families of six Bhutanese were notified they would be on flights to unconfirmed destinations within 72 hours, four of the men have already been deported, a community spokesperson confirmed Thursday. As of now, four out of the six individuals have already left the United States, said Tilak Niroula, chairperson of Harrisburgs Bhutanese community. This morning, I received a call from New Delhi [India] informing me that they are currently in transit there and have been told they will soon be departing for Paro, Bhutan. An ICE spokesperson couldnt be immediately reached for comment Thursday evening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Morning Weather Forecast A week earlier, Niroula joined local Democratic lawmakers alarmed at the detention of at that time five men, who they said were among tens of thousands of Bhutanese Nepali people in central Pennsylvania because they refugees unwelcome then and still now in Bhutan. A program introduced under former President George W. Bush, a Republican, and continued under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. All the men, Niroula said, were in the United States legally. The sister of one man detained said he had served prison time, beginning more than a decade ago, after getting into a fight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Recent statements made regarding the Bhutanese aliens detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] have incorrectly indicated they are lawful permanent residents, an ICE spokesman said at the time. Those claims are not true. Since late January, ICE under President Trump has been more aggressively pursuing deportation of not only undocumented immigrants, but in some cases people who were in the United States legally but had legal issues ICE has considered justification for deportation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) U.S. Border Patrol agents were spotted in Syracuses Wescott neighborhood in the Rise N Shine Diner parking lot on Thursday evening, March 27, around 6 p.m. Four undocumented immigrants from Mexico were arrested and will be processed by border patrol agents from the Oswego Border Patrol Station. Video of the agents can be seen below: 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 WSYR. By Fayaz Bukhari SRINAGAR (Reuters) - At least four police personnel and two militants were killed in a gun battle in India's restive territory of Jammu and Kashmir, an official said on Friday, as troops searched for heavily armed men who local residents had spotted in the area on Sunday. Militants have for decades fought security forces in the region, known for its scenic lakes, lush meadows, and snow-topped mountains, resulting in the death of thousands of people, though violence has tapered off in recent years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Government data show 14 security personnel were killed in such violence in the first half of 2024, and 30 died in 2023. Kashmir has also been at the heart of over 70 years of hostility between India and Pakistan, both of which claim it in full but rule it in part, and have fought two of their three wars over it. The encounter this week took place in a forested part of the Kathua area, near India's border with Pakistan, where the men were spotted last week. "We have recovered bodies of three police men and have also spotted the body of another cop and two militants lying in the forest," the official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arms and ammunition, including two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, empty shells and some magazines of assault rifles were also recovered from the area, the official said. Police and the army are yet to reveal the number of those killed in the operation, but the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, said in a post on X that "several terrorists" had been "neutralised" in the encounter. "I bow to the valorous martyrs of J&K (Jammu and Kashmir) Police, who laid down their lives for our motherland...Operation in progress," he added. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government had, in 2019, revoked the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir - India's only Muslim-majority region - and split it into two federally administered territories. "No power in the world" could restore the region's special status, Modi said in November. (Reporting by Fayaz Bukhari, writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Aidan Lewis) AMES, Iowa A fourth person has been charged with murder in connection to the January shooting death of a Boone man in Ames. On the evening of January 18, the Ames Police Department responded to a call to an apartment in the 200 block of South 5th Street. When first responders arrived at the apartment, they found 25-year-old Parker Stoneburner suffering from a gunshot wound. Stoneburner was transported to a hospital where he later died. DSM man receives 50-year prison sentence for fatally stabbing woman Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the shooting, three people have been charged with first-degree murder in connection to Stoneburners death Destiny Skurdal, 19, Zoe A. Anderson, 21, and Abraham M. Guhnics, 19. Skurdal is also facing a first-degree robbery charge. On Thursday, the police department announced the arrest of a fourth individual in the case Nashawn K. Green, 19, of Ankeny. The U.S. Marshals Service North Star Fugitive Task Force located Green in Minnesota on Wednesday. He is currently being held in the Dakota County Jail in Hastings, Minnesota while awaiting extradition. 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. BEIJING (AP) France's foreign affairs minister said Friday that France and China are making progress toward resolving a trade dispute over cognac imports. Jean-Noel Barrot said the conclusions of a Chinese investigation that could potentially lead to the permanent implementation of provisional customs duties on European cognac imports have been delayed by three months, until June. Well be really pleased when the problem is behind us. And its clear that, step by step, were moving towards a resolution," Barrot said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China announced last year provisional tariffs of 30.6% to 39% on Remy Martin and other European brandies after a majority of European Union countries approved duties on electric vehicles made in China. The brandy tariffs are provisional and require importers to make a deposit with the Chinese customs agency for the amount of the tariff. The move followed a preliminary finding by Chinas Commerce Ministry that European brandy was being dumped in China, threatening substantial damage to domestic producers. The risk faced by the industry until yesterday was that definitive application would be made at the end of the investigation period," Barrot said. "Following this visit, I received confirmation that the investigation has been postponed by three months, which rules out the scenario of a sudden application of definitive duties on this sector. According to the sector, China is the largest consumer market for cognac by value. Experts said the imposition of definitive duties would affect 70,000 direct and indirect jobs, 270 cognac houses, and 4,400 winegrowers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China has opened a series of anti-dumping investigations into European brandy, pork and dairy products. The brandy probe was the first and targeted mainly French makers of cognac and similar spirits such as Armagnac. Barrot said the investigation will be closed after three months, and that the Chinese authorities will make decisions based on the results. Everyone will continue to work together to put this dispute behind us so that we can move forward on a sound basis, he said. French President Emmanuel Macron presented Chinese leader Xi Jinping with two bottles of cognac when the two exchanged gifts during Xis state visit to France last year. The News French President Emmanuel Macron called for the release of an award-winning French Algerian writer jailed under controversial anti-terrorism laws. Boualem Sansal was imprisoned in Algeria for five years for undermining national unity after saying in an interview that France had drawn the borders between Algeria and Morocco in the formers favor. The subject is a vexed one in Algiers after France recognized Moroccos sovereignty over a disputed region of the Sahara Desert last summer: Relations between Algeria and its former colonial ruler worsened after Algeria refused to take deportees from France. The 76-year-old reportedly has cancer, and Macron called on authorities to have the good sense and humanity to give him back his freedom. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Before he went to Kauffman Stadium for Opening Day, Democratic Jackson County, Missouri Executive Frank White spoke Thursday afternoon about the City taking the lead with stadium negotiations. Last year, White didnt go to Opening Day, because he said he wasnt invited. That game was just five days before the April sales tax vote, when the Royals wanted to build their new ballpark in the East Crossroads. Despite Pasquantinos effort, Royals drop Opening Day game to Guardians Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Chiefs were on the ballot as well, agreeing to renovate GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, where the stadium currently is. White supported the Vote No side of that election. 58% of Jackson County residents voted no, while 42% voted yes. White was asked whether or not he would be against another vote, if the Royals decided to stay in the county. I was against the legislature putting this tax on the ballot without a signed agreement in place. Thats what I was against, White answered. I wasnt against the tax, and I wasnt against the vote. I was against the fact that billions of dollars were on the table with no agreement in place; that would have put Jackson County residents in a tough spot for 40 years. Thats what I was against. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Royals owner John Sherman gives update on new stadium FOX4 also asked about his relationship with Royals Chairman and CEO John Sherman. On Thursday, White said it turned out that he was invited to Opening Day in 2024. At the time that I made that statement, I hadnt seen an email from the Royalsbut they did send an invite, yes, he said. White said his relationship with Sherman has always been great, even before he bought the team. But he wasnt willing to talk about the discussions hes had with Sherman. I dont really negotiate in public, he told FOX4. I had told them that I wouldnt do thatweve had meetings with them, and hopefully we can stay engaged in those meetings as we move forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January, White said he respected the citys desire to take the lead with the Royals regarding stadium negotiations. If the city wants to take that on and relieve the Jackson County taxpayers of the debt that we have on that stadium, then Im going to support that, he said. White said he hasnt talked to Mayor Quinton Lucas about his efforts to get them to stay, adding that hes in the dark on that whole process. Chances are there will be a vote at some point, he said. But I think that my job is to make sure I get the best deal for the Jackson County taxpayers. When asked if Jackson County residents or residents of the city would take part in the public vote, White said he didnt know. The Royals would have to stay within the city and county limits for either to happen in the future. 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 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. The Frederick County government is hosting a celebration next week in honor of Deaf History Month. The National Association of the Deaf recognizes April 1 through 30 as Deaf History Month. The awareness month is also recognized by the state of Maryland, which is home to more than 1.2 million deaf and hard-of-hearing people, according to the Maryland Deaf Community Center (MDCC). The Frederick County governments celebration of Deaf History Month will be on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the C. Burr Artz Library. It is being held in partnership with the MDCC and the Maryland School for the Deaf. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The event will feature a proclamation from Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater and a panel discussion on the Deaf experience in Frederick County. People can RSVP for the event by emailing YBravo@FrederickCountyMD.gov. American Sign Language interpreters will be present at the event, but requests for other interpreters can be made by calling 301-600-1208. To request other accommodations, people can contact the countys Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator by emailing ADA@FrederickCountyMD.gov or calling 301-600-1100. For those who cannot attend in person, the event will be recorded for later viewing on FCG TV at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/FCGTV. Ceoli Jacoby Frederick County is joining other communities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and other regions worldwide in the 2025 City Nature Challenge in April, in which residents compete to observe and identify as many wildlife species as possible. The City Nature Challenge started in 2016 as a competition between two cities San Francisco and Los Angeles to see who could gather the most wildlife observations over a few days. This year, more than 600 cities in over 50 countries are expected to participate, according to a news release from the local nonprofit Mobilize Frederick. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The challenge will take place from April 25 to 28, and a schedule of events is available at www.mobilizefrederick.org/cnc-events. More information on the challenge can be viewed at www.mobilizefrederick.org/city-nature-challenge. The data collected on wild animals, plants and fungi anywhere in the county, from parks and porches to schools and backyards, will help inform scientists on wildlife and global biodiversity. To participate, residents have to create an account on the app iNaturalist, which is the main tool for the City Nature Challenge, and join the City Nature Challenge: Washington DC Metro Area 2025 project on the app. Team Frederick aims to include 200 observers, identify 600 species and make 2,000 observations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mobilize Frederick focuses on implementing recommendations in Frederick Countys Climate Response and Resilience Report. The data collected through this challenge will contribute Recommendation 26: enhancing and protecting regional biodiversity. Although the actual challenge is at the end of April, Team Frederick is hosting several events leading up to the challenge, including sessions on how to use iNaturalist and nature-related storytime events at Frederick County libraries. To kick off the inaugural challenge, Team Frederick will host an event on April 2 at 6 p.m. at the Bernard W. Brown Community Center featuring Sam Droege, a U.S. Geological Survey bee biologist and bioblitz pioneer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bioblitz is another term for a community effort to record as many species as possible in a designated location and time period. There will be an informational webinar on how to use iNaturalist on April 8 and an in-person iNaturalist app training on April 9 at the Frederick County University of Maryland Extension office on Montevue Avenue. A post-City Nature Challenge celebration will be held on May 13 at RAK Brewing Co. where Team Fredericks resulting observations will be shared. LOS ANGELES, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A Las Vegas resident has been arrested and charged in connection with a violent Tesla arson attack in the Nevada city earlier this month, authorities said on Thursday. Paul Hyon Kim, 36, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of arson, said the U.S. Department of Justice in a statement. Kim was arrested by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers on Wednesday and remains in federal custody. The Las Vegas resident made his initial appearance on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to face federal charges related to an arson at a Tesla collision business, according to the statement. "Today's federal charges demonstrate our strong partnerships and collaboration with law enforcement partners and the joint pursuit to end domestic terrorism," said Acting U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada in the statement. According to allegations in the complaint, on March 18, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department patrol officers responded to an emergency call about a person setting vehicles on fire and hearing gunshots at a Tesla collision business. During the investigation, it was determined that Molotov cocktails and a .30 caliber AR-style firearm were used to damage and destroy five Tesla vehicles, and graffiti was sprayed to write "Resist" on the front of the building. If convicted, Kim faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for the unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm charge, and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison up to a maximum of 20 years in prison for the arson charge, the statement added. Kim's attack at the Tesla service center in Las Vegas was the latest of its kind to target Tesla cars, dealerships and charging stations across the nation in protest of the company's CEO Elon Musk's role in the Department of Government Efficiency. "Has there ever been such a level of coordinated violence against a peaceful company?" Elon Musk wrote in a post on socia media X last week, adding that "I understand not wanting to buy a product, but this is extreme arson and destruction." Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke in a show of support for Musk, describing violence against Tesla as domestic terrorism. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also described attacks on Tesla as "nothing short of domestic terrorism" and announced charges against three individuals responsible for the violent destruction of Tesla properties. "Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars," Bondi noted in a statement. Frederick Gaudreau scored twice to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Jon Merrill got the Wild (41-27-5) on the scoreboard first with his goal 6 minutes into the opening period, but that quickly became a deficit as the Capitals (47-16-9) got first-period goals from Matt Roy and Brandon Duhaime, a former Wild winger. Gaudreau scored his first goal of the night on the power play 12 minutes, 25 seconds into the second period to knot it up, and Matt Boldy scored the go-ahead goal for the Wild with just 9 seconds remaining in the second period. There wasn't an equalizer. All tied up over here! pic.twitter.com/T7XyYmuQb2 Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 28, 2025 A BOLD move pic.twitter.com/eprkMYb0fe Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 28, 2025 It remained scoreless through the third period until Gaudreau scored an empty-netter for his second of the night with 1 minute, 21 seconds remaining. That one iced it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was yet another big effort from Filip Gustavsson, who made 28 saves on 30 shots. Charlie Lindgren made 17 saves on 20 shots for the Capitals. The Wild are back in action Saturday night when they host the New Jersey Devils for a 5 p.m. puck drop at the X. Muskogee County residents will have free ambulance service beginning Tuesday. The service is funded through the passage of a public sales tax vote in January. Voters approved a temporary sales tax of 0.849% of one cent to fund public safety facilities, projects and services including the free ambulance service. Muskogee County Emergency Medical Services Executive Director Laurel Havens said the response anticipating the new service has been very good. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was probably one of the leading factors in the vote, Havens said. Most everyone was very excited about that. All the personnel are ready for it. Havens said as long as a persons residence comes up as Muskogee County, the ambulance service is free. He said even if the patient needs to be transported out of the county to another medical facility, its still free. Anything that happens within the county, Havens said. Their address will be in their health record. If the service is provided outside Muskogee County, that would be between the patient and the providers of that county. After initial projects are funded, within seven to 10 years, the sales tax would drop to a half-cent to keep funding the no-cost ambulance service, building maintenance and ongoing departmental vehicle and equipment needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muskogee County EMS public information officer Trish German said they are not anticipating any problems. We havent added any staff or ambulances, German said. Were thinking its going to remain status quo. We arent foreseeing an increase in call volume. Havens said extra ambulances have been ordered for use within the county. He wasnt sure when the county would take possession but they are on order. A lawyer for the Tufts University student detained on a Massachusetts street by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers said she appeared to be targeted solely for exercising her right to free speech. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national working on her Ph.D., penned an opinion piece for The Tufts Daily last March with three others calling on the schools president to engage with pro-Palestinian protesters and divest from companies with ties to Israel, much like students nationwide have been encouraging their institutions to do. Ozturk was arrested Tuesday by plainclothes officers as she walked to meet friends to break her Ramadan fast, attorney Mahsa Khanbabai said Thursday. Her visa had been abruptly rescinded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This appears to be a pattern: ICE stalking Muslim students as they are heading to or from iftar to break their fast, Khanbabai said. Iftar is the fast-breaking meal eaten after sunset during Ramadan. Rumeysa Ozturk, seen here in a 2021 photo, was moved to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. via AP Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate detained earlier this month for his role in pro-Palestinian student protests, was arrested in a similar manner as the Trump administration continues its war against Palestine supporters who are not U.S. citizens. Both Ozturk and Khalil were swiftly flown to an ICE detention center in Louisiana, where government lawyers want challenges to their cases to be heard. District courts in Louisiana are appealed through the notoriously right-wing Fifth Circuit. Khanbabai said it took many hours for her to reach her client, who is also a Fulbright scholar. Lawyers for the government say they transferred her before a federal judges late Tuesday night order to provide written documentation if they moved her outside the state of Massachusetts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I had the opportunity to speak with Rumeysa late Wednesday night and she was grateful to finally get an explanation of what was happening to her and to learn of all the community support she has, she said. Video Ozturks arrest, from multiple perspectives, surfaced soon after she was taken. One video appears to have been filmed from a window overlooking the street where Ozturk was walking. A man quickly approaches her dressed in dark clothing with his hood pulled over his head and begins to restrain Ozturk, who seems to react with alarm as other officers surround her. She is then led away, into an unmarked vehicle, with her hands tied behind her back. This video should shake everyone to their core, Khanbabai said. Rumeysa, like all of us in America, is entitled to express her opinions freely. Now, she is being unlawfully targeted by the Trump administration simply because she co-authored an op-ed calling for Palestinians to have basic human rights, she added. Related... By Ryan Woo and Tassilo Hummel BEIJING (Reuters) -The Chinese investigation which led to hefty preliminary import tariffs on French-made cognac and armagnac will conclude later than initially planned, France's foreign minister said during a trip to the country. "Following this visit, I received confirmation that the investigation has been postponed by three months, which rules out the scenario of a sudden application of definitive law to this sector," Jean-Noel Barrot told journalists. The move will not lift existing tariffs, but it hands the embattled cognac industry some "breathing space" before any duties become definitive during which French state officials and industry players could further step up their lobbying efforts, Barrot said. Shares in French drinks companies Remy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard also rose sharply and were up by around 3% during Friday afternoon trading. China imposed temporary anti-dumping measures on imports of brandy from the EU after the 27-state bloc voted for tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), heavily hitting sales of cognac, a high-end brandy produced in western France. China has also essentially banned cognac duty free sales due to the tensions, industry officials said. France's BNIC cognac industry group issued a cautious response to Barrot's announcements. "We have taken note of this and are awaiting the French government's detailed debrief in the near future," BNIC said. The step heavily impacted the French cognac industry at a time when it is also grappling with similar trade tensions with the United States. China and the United States are the cognac industry's most important export markets. The Chinese commerce ministry could not be immediately reached for comment outside of business hours. (Reporting by Tassilo Hummel and Ryan Woo;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) This week, both the County of Fresno Board of Supervisors and the City of Fresno issued proclamations recognizing the contributions of Oliver Chukudi Ezenwugo to the area. A businessman, philanthropist, husband, father and community leader, Ezenwugo died on Feb. 21 at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. He was 65 years old. These recognitions tell the story of a man who started in Fresno with so little, but stayed true to himself, even after he had become very successful. I met Oliver shortly after moving to Fresno in 1992. He was young, unmarried, and because he comes from the same part of Nigeria as my husband and me, came to regard us as his older brother and sister, and his family was part of ours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His Odyssey mimics most immigrants. He came to the United States for an education and to better his life. Although from a middle class background in Nigeria both his parents were educators his country of birth offered him a very bleak future and held no promise for bright youngsters like Oliver. Opinion He arrived in the U.S. in 1981 and attended Fresno Pacific College before transferring to Fresno State, where he earned a bachelors degree in Criminal Justice. When we met Oliver, he was a porter at the Fresno Yosemite International airport, working the early morning shift, and every time I traveled, he was there to offer help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If he felt any discomfort when friends saw him in a menial job, he never showed it. Oliver proudly went about his work. He had his plans and would not let anything distract him from it. He affirmed this in many conversations and presentations to African youth forums and in community discussions; an immigrant did not have the leisure of saying no to a job opportunity and cannot be choosy. They must do whatever they need to survive, including doing work that others may consider beneath them. Most importantly, he stressed, an immigrant must stay true to their dreams and remain focused. Oliver was very focused, and in a few years, his path to the American dream was smoother. He got married to a woman who, like him, was an immigrant. He completed his masters degree and earned a doctorate in Psychology in 2018 from Northcentral University in Scottsdale, Arizona. Along the way, he and his wife had four sons all graduates of Edison High, a Fresno Unified magnet school. Two graduated from Fresno State like their parents; the middle two attended UCLA and UC Berkeley respectively. Like most immigrants, he set very high standards for his family and encouraged his kids to aim high, both academically and in their personal lives not just for their own personal benefits, but for whatever communities they were a part of. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To him, life is never just about personal success. Its about what we build, what we pass down, how we prepare the next generation to carry forward what we started, his second son Sidney, a second-year student at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, said. Oliver lived what he preached in his work as the manager of Universal Health Network and Systems in Fresno, where he provided behavioral health education and counseling to people living with addictions and other mental health issues. To him, it was about giving back. He worked around the clock, accepting the most difficult and complex cases from the countys probation department. He believed it was about securing the people he counseled second and third chances just like America had given him a chance at the start of his journey many years ago. In the Central Valleys African community, Oliver was an oddity a soft-spoken man who said very few words. No one can remember a time when he lost his temper or raised his voice or was rowdy, or spoke unkindly to or about anyone. He was a man of unwavering integrity and principle. Friends and family speak of his strong moral compass and how he never judged anyone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now as we huddle in our community, bewildered by his sudden death, everyone has a theory about the meaning of Olivers life. It is that good people go early, many have offered. A majority insist that It is about how he set an example of how immigrants must live exemplary lives. Oliver lived a life of purpose, and his legacy in Fresno will be long lasting. The County and City of Fresno agree. Dympa Ugwu-Oju is the K-12 editor at EdSource. She has lived in Fresno for 30 years. HONOLULU (KHON2) The Maui doctor accused of a violent attack on his wife faced a judge for the first time Thursday. Gerhardt Konig is facing attempted murder charges after court documents said he tried to kill his wife Arielle Konig while they were hiking along the Pali Puka trail Monday morning. Expert explains charges for Maui doctor accused of trying to push wife off the Pali Those who know the Konigs are trying to wrap their heads around what happened. Arielle Konigs friend and housekeeper, Christina Ferguson, still cant believe it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A peek at Hawaiis 2 most expensive estates Nobody could have imagined that this would ever happen. To me, its out of character, because I never, I never would have suspected this behavior of this magnitude from this family, Ferguson explained. When you walk into their home, you felt the happiness, you felt the love and that in the atmosphere and, like I said, its just, its just shocking. Hawaii ranks 6th for delinquencies She said she was at the couples Maui home last week and Gerhardt seemed normal. 10 things the uber wealthy do and dont do He was actually there last week when I was there and had a brief conversation, Hi, how are you? Hows it going. That kind of thing. And just he was bee bopping around the house, you know, doing family things. And didnt think anything of it, Ferguson said. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You She described Arielle as a soft spoken and generous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes the kind of person I would like to be. She was just, she ,not was, she is a very kind and endearing person, Ferguson explained. Between the two of them, they had two little ones, and he, I think, I know for sure he has an older son from his previous marriage. She said her last update on Arielles condition was two days ago. I heard that she had gotten some stitches, but she was not in a good state, she added. She was going to pull through, and so thats good. Ferguson had this message to share with her friend. There are a lot of people that love her and are praying for her, she said. And if she needs anything, just reach out. Were here for her, definitely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Ferguson started a GoFundMe to help Arielle and says all the donations will go directly to 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 KHON2. (Bloomberg) -- After decades of failed attempts, scientists were optimistic that a new generation of HIV vaccine candidates would finally succeed changing the course of a pandemic thats claimed more than 42 million lives since 1981. But that hope is now dimming as the US moves to pull vital funding. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A leaked document detailing the fate of more than 6,200 USAID programs lists two leading HIV vaccine efforts among 5,341 projects earmarked for termination. The 281-page file, reviewed by Bloomberg News and first reported by The New York Times, outlines the Trump administrations plan to cut almost $28 billion in support for a wide range of global health initiatives including Gavi, the vaccine alliance that immunizes hundreds of millions of children against deadly diseases such as measles and malaria. The speed, scale and inhumanity of this administrations approach to dismantling health programs is staggering, said Mitchell Warren, the executive director of AVAC, a New York-based organization that advocates for HIV prevention research. The targeted disruption of HIV vaccine development is particularly perverse its undoing decades of progress. The largest HIV vaccine program on the chopping block is a long-running effort led by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, IAVI, which had been promised more than $319 million in US support dating back to 2016. While nearly $238 million had already been disbursed, IAVI said it had expected an additional $22 million through mid-2026. A stop-work order last month forced the organization to wind down operations and lay off staff. Another major casualty is a $45 million award to the South African Medical Research Council, intended to fund HIV vaccine trials across multiple countries. Only about $9 million of that funding will ultimately be received. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We think it would be a tragedy not to continue the work, said Glenda Gray, the councils chief scientific officer. Researchers had proposed scaling back the study to include only South Africa excluding Kenya and Uganda in hopes of making it more attractive to funders, she said in an interview. With USAID support evaporating, scientists are now rushing to secure alternative funding, hoping the US National Institutes of Health will step in to prioritize the work. But its unclear whether NIH part of the Department of Health and Human Services will be spared from broader austerity. Job Cuts HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans Thursday to slash 10,000 jobs and shrink the agencys budget by $1.8 billion, part of the Trump administrations push to dramatically reduce the federal workforce and realign government with what it calls core priorities, including reversing the chronic disease epidemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These programs dont have on/off switches, AVACs Warren said. The science, infrastructure, and community relationships built over the last two decades are being erased in just weeks. Researchers estimate that hundreds of millions of dollars are still needed to bring an effective HIV vaccine to the finish line a sum unlikely to come from any single donor. For the first time, based on work thats come out over the past few years, we know what the goal is and we have a good idea about how to achieve that goal, said Mark Feinberg, IAVIs president and chief executive officer, in an interview before the proposed funding cuts came to light. We really need an HIV vaccine if were going to end this epidemic. In response to the wave of cuts, the activist group ACT UP is organizing a protest march in New York City on Saturday, targeting the sweeping healthcare freezes enacted by President Donald Trump, Kennedy, and Elon Musk the billionaire running Trumps federal cost-cutting drive. The demonstration aims to spotlight billions of dollars in halted funding for lifesaving medications and global health programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement --With assistance from Antony Sguazzin. (Adds comment from advocacy group in third paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) The city of Knoxville has nearly 100 parks and 125 miles of paved greenways and trails amid several other outdoor spaces and the city is seeking the publics help in guiding the future of recreation in the city. The public engagement phase for Play Knoxville, the citys parks and recreation master plan, is underway. The master plan will help guide investments in parks, greenways, community centers and programming over the next decade. A design anchored in reality Knoxville company one step closer to creating fusion power plant Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The planning process began in January with the formation of a steering committee of community leaders. Since then, city staff and consultants from Perez Planning Design have conducted dozens of focus groups, one-on-one meetings with city council and cabinet members, and site visits to nearly 70 parks across Knoxville. Over the next few weeks, community members will have multiple opportunities to voice their opinions. Several public meetings focused on the plan will begin in April, with the first set for April 10 at the Deane Hill Community Center. The city has also launched a mapping tool that allows residents to drop pins and give feedback about specific parks, greenways, and facilities. There is also a community survey. The city plans to use the responses to understand the communitys needs and priorities. New Rail-to-Trail project hopes to spur growth in South Knoxville To find out more information, visit www.PlayKnoxvilleTN.com. The City Council will be briefed on the master plans process in June and again in August. Then in November, the council will hold a hearing on whether or not to adopt 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 WATE 6 On Your Side. BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) Several state and federal agencies conducted a search warrant at Gulf World Marine Park on Thursday. Its easy to see deteriorating conditions at Gulf World Marine Park from the street; chipped paint, torn tarps, and more portray a facility thats unkept. Online videos show, the inside isnt any better. This woman expressed her frustrations at Thursday mornings Panama City Beach council meeting, hours before the search at the park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres lives at risk, and we already have lost four dolphin lives. Among the conditions that the rest of the animals are living in, we know of the penguins are being left in the closet, weve seen pictures. Weve seen the algae in person, and its worse in person than in the videos something needs to be done about it, Creator of Gulf World petition Sylvia Jones said. FDLE and FWC on scene conducting an investigation at Gulf World Marine Park This case began with the deaths of 4 dolphins in just 6 months. The 4th died earlier this month during a showin front of an audience. Floridas attorney general James Uthmeier ordered wildlife officers to serve the search warrant. The Florida Fish and Wildlife takes the health and welfare of all animals very seriously, including marine mammals and those in captivity. FWC has partnered with our partner agencies to conduct investigation due to growing concerns with the water quality and the sanitation of the aquatic enclosures, FWC Officer Christopher Boley said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sylvia Jones was the only person to speak at Thursdays council meeting but she says spreading awareness is still her priority. When I read the USDA investigation back in January, I saw several things that were wrong. They cited several issues. And then when this last dolphin death occurred, I knew something had to be done. The more people that are aware and the more people that are together the less chances the company has of continuing on, Jones said. Gulf World was open Thursday, right up until the time officers showed up for the search. Then guests were quickly escorted out. Panama City Beach police chief Jr. Talamentez was also on the property and was seen leaving the building. The FWC couldnt give a timeline on the investigation or when they will release more information. As of Thursday night, Gulf World was still selling tickets online for Friday, so it doesnt look like they plan to be closed. As for the protest that was scheduled for this Saturday, the organizer tells us they still plan to gather despite the 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 mypanhandle.com. MANILA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' total external trade in goods rose by 0.4 percent in February to 15.66 billion U.S. dollars from 15.59 billion dollars in the same period of 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Friday. Of the total external trade in February 2025, the agency said 60.1 percent were imported goods, while the remaining 39.9 percent were exported goods. The PSA said the balance of trade in goods, or the difference between export and import value, in February this year amounted to -3.16 billion dollars, indicating a trade deficit with an annual decline of 11.4 percent. China remains the Philippines' largest supplier of imported goods in February, while the United States comprised the highest export value amounting to 986.84 million dollars. Georgia lawmakers are giving up on creating a statewide database to collect information on students who might commit violence, even as they push forward other parts of a school safety bill aimed at preventing a school shooting like the one in September at Apalachee High School. House and Senate lawmakers unveiled a compromise version of House Bill 268 on Thursday, which then passed the Senate Judiciary committee unanimously. That sets it up for final passage in the closing days of Georgias 2025 legislative session. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The push to share information was driven by the belief among many that the Barrow County school system didnt have a full picture of the warning signs displayed by the 14-year-old accused in the fatal shootings of two students and two teachers. But there was loud opposition from both Democratic and Republican constituencies that the database would create a permanent blacklist with no due process that could treat racial and religious minorities unfairly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason it wasnt going to fly was pushback from all points of the political spectrum that worried about their child being stigmatized just for an accusation or an uncorroborated complaint, said Sen. Bill Cowsert, an Athens Republican representing parts of Barrow County. The compromise version also removed a requirement that all school systems set up formal threat management teams to evaluate whether students may commit violence. That approach is strongly recommended by many national experts, and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency already offers training. House Education Committee Chairman Chris Erwin, a Republican from Homer, said he was hopeful schools would voluntarily adopt the model. I think there is a knowledge out there of the importance of planning and preparing already in schools, Erwin said. So having a full model structure for the state isnt as important as maybe we once thought it was. RELATED STORIES Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure would still require police agencies to report to schools when officers learn that a child has threatened death or injury to someone at a school. But those reports arent mandated to become part of a students educational record and wouldnt travel with a student if they transfer to another district. That raises questions about whether the bill addresses one of the key criticisms that followed the Apalachee shooting. School officials never became aware that a sheriffs deputy in Jackson County had interviewed Colt Gray in May 2023 after the FBI passed along a tip that Gray might have posted a shooting threat online. That report would have been forwarded to middle school officials in Jackson County under the bill, but wouldnt have followed Gray when he enrolled as a freshman in nearby Barrow County after skipping eighth grade entirely. The 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 Georgias 180 school districts and sets up an anonymous reporting system statewide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers on Thursday added in features of separate Senate bills that had passed. They would mandate that all Georgia public schools provide wearable panic buttons to employees. Public schools would also be required to submit electronic maps of their campuses to local, state and federal agencies once a year. The amended bill would also make adult prosecution the default when children aged 13 to 16 are charged with terroristic acts at school, any aggravated assault with a gun, or attempted murder. The Senate had originally proposed a broader range of crimes when adult prosecution would be the default. House leaders had said they didnt want to submit any more juveniles to adult prosecution. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Earlier this month, Gabonese interim President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema announced that he would be a candidate in the countrys next presidential election, which is scheduled for April 12. That poll will be the first since the Bongo dynasty that ruled Gabon for 56 years was overthrown in a military coup in August 2023. Having deposed former President Ali Bongo, the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions, as the junta subsequently called itself, named Oliguithen a generalas the head of state and dissolved the constitution and all state institutions. After formally assuming presidential powers, Oligui pledged to implement wide-ranging reforms that he said would help to establish democratic rule in Gabon, including an overhaul of the constitution, electoral code and the countrys civil service rules. He also vowed to organize a general election that would return power to civilian leaders, initially scheduled for August, but now moved up to next month. Broadly speaking, Oligui upheld those pledges. He oversaw a reform of Gabons dysfunctional pension system, ratified the adoption by referendum of a new constitution in 2024 and pledged to sign a new electoral law passed in January by the transitional parliament. The Gabonese public generally approved of the reforms Oligui implemented, despite complaints by some opposition and civil society figures that the new constitution and electoral code favored his own political ambitions. It is through this prism that Oliguis announcement should be viewed. Most Gabonese citizens expected that he would run for president and some welcomed that possibility, partly due to the high regard many citizens have for the armed forces in a country that had previously never experienced a military coup. As I noted in a piece from January 2024, Oligui has also proven adept at influencing public sentiment and managing the expectations of domestic and international observers. Using the word restoration as a mantra of his regime, Oligui quickly launched a charm offensive intended to convey an affability that nonetheless did not dampen his sober determination to restore what he called the dignity of the Gabonese people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the 19 months since he seized power, Oligui has won the support of the public not only by implementing the measures he pledged, but also by releasing political prisoners detained by the former regime, permitting the return of exiles and launching an anti-graft drive that mainly targeted high-profile members of the reviled Bongo clan. Weeks after he was sworn in as Gabons interim president, Oligui declared that he would forego his presidential wages in favor of his much-lower salary as the commander of Gabons Republican Guard. And after announcing his decision to run for president, he publicly underwent examinations at a medical center in Libreville, Gabons capital, in compliance with a stipulation of the new constitution that requires presidential candidates to be in a state of complete physical and mental well-being. The measure was a nod to Ali Bongos final term in office, during which a stroke caused him to be absent from the country for treatment and recovery over an extended period of time, while also raising questions about his fitness for office. To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter. In foreign affairs, Oligui successfully convinced Gabons international partners, particularly Western powers like France and the United States, that there would be no major rupture of their relations with Libreville. Despite hiccups like Washingtons removal of Gabon from the African Growth and Opportunity Act because of the 2023 coup, Oliguis regime maintained cordial relations with the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden, including an invitation to Washington in October 2024 for bilateral talks and meetings with private sector executives. Some observers interpreted his surprising decision to move forward the initial schedule of Gabons 2025 general election by four months as an attempt to assure foreign observers of his commitment to reestablishing civilian-led democracy. Oligui is expected to win the April 12 presidential election. But he will likely find that to be the easiest part of his transition to civilian leadership compared with what lies ahead. Oligui evidently possesses a great deal of political acumen that exceeded most observers expectations when he initially assumed power. This perhaps should not have come as a surprise, considering his ability to navigate the intricacies of the memorably fractionalized Bongo clan for several decades. But that in turn underscores the fact that Oligui does not embody the clean break with the past that he has long claimed to represent and which many Gabonese yearn for. To the contrary, he is a card-carrying member of the extended Bongo clan. Reported to be a cousin of Ali Bongo, Oligui was educated at Meknes Royal Military Academy in Moroccoan elite institution that has trained generations of senior African military officersand served as an aide-de-camp to Omar Bongo, Ali Bongos father and predecessor. He was appointed by Ali Bongo as the commander of the Republican Guard in 2020 at a time when the then-president was still abroad recuperating from his stroke and a political crisis triggered by his absence led to an unsuccessful attempt by mutinous military officers to topple his government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, key members of Oliguis transitional council are themselves beneficiaries of the decades-long patrimonial rule of the Bongo dynasty. Others are elites who are considered to be part of the opposition only by virtue of having been disgruntled former acolytes or longtime rivals of the clan. Many holdovers from the Bongo era remain in vital state positions, while other Oligui appointees have either primary or secondary ties to the Bongo clan. The new electoral code barred serving military officers from running for office in the next general election, but carved out an exception for Oligui, who has refused to clarify rumors that he retired from the military. In other words, far from being a revolution to overthrow the old order, the ouster of Ali Bongo was a palace coup, and all that has followed it essentially amounted to ostensibly reshuffling an intricately stacked deck. Oligui is expected to win the April 12 presidential election. But he will likely find that to be the easiest part of his transition to civilian leadership compared with what lies beyond the polls. In nominal terms, Gabon is one of Africas richest nations, with a per capita income of approximately $8,000 that makes it an upper-middle-income country according to the World Bank. Its relative prosperity has long attracted migrants from neighboring countries like Cameroon, Central African Republic and the two Congos, as well as more distant West African states like Benin, Guinea, Mali and Senegal. But like many of its oil-rich peers on the continent, Gabons national wealth has not translated into inclusive growth and sustainable development for its population. To the contrary, the extent of its wealth inequality is staggering. An estimated one-third of Gabons citizens live in poverty. A majority of the population lives in or close to large cities like Libreville, Port-Gentil and Franceville, making Gabon the most urbanized country in Africa. Gabons excessive reliance on oil exports for its tax receipts and foreign exchange earnings has created enduring fiscal difficulties that are not easy to ameliorate. Despite fleeting attempts over the past two decades to diversify its economy, the allure of oil has proven too difficult for Gabonese political elites to resist. That trend has continued under Oligui, as the national oil company completed a $1.3 billion acquisition of the Carlyle Groups oil assets in the country, including its holdings in Assala Energy, which are said to produce up to 45,000 barrels of oil per day. Many industry experts have doubts about the deals financial viability and the state oil companys ability to keep production stable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those concerns are well-founded considering Gabons recent debt arrears of approximately $27 million owed to the World Bank, which caused the bank to suspend payments of loans and grants to Libreville last year. The government announced last week that it had fully repaid its debt, likely in hopes of regaining access to critical funds from the World Bank and other international partners. Nevertheless, last year, the International Monetary Fund expressed concerns about Gabons finances, forecasting that its public debt would likely exceed 80 percent of gross domestic product this year. A credit facility the IMF agreed to grant Gabon in 2021 was suspended after the 2023 coup, with negotiations over unblocking it now stalled. Many Gabonese citizens regularly say they recognize the scale of the challenges that lie ahead and are willing to give Oligui the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his ability to steer the country toward a better course than what they knew before. On the face of the prevailing evidence, the odds that Oligui will be a radical departure from the past are slim. And if conditions do not improve significantly, the extended honeymoon he has enjoyed since he seized power in 2023 may come to a halt. In that scenario, Gabonese citizens would hope that the restoration Oligui pledged to oversee does not include the unsavory parts of the long years under the Bongo dynasty. Chris Olaoluwa Ogunmodede is an editor, analyst and consultant who writes about African politics, security and foreign relations, with a focus on West Africa. He was formerly an associate editor at WPR. The post Gabons First Post-Coup Election Is No Break From the Past appeared first on World Politics Review. A New York City hip-hop artist who appeared next to President Donald Trump during a rally in the Bronx last year has been sentenced to five years in prison for gang-related activities, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Wednesday. Michael Williams, 26, known professionally as Sheff G, was among many who were accused of gang-related shootings and possessing guns, according to the release. He was charged alongside another popular rapper, Tegan Chambers, better known as Sleepy Hallow. Williams was vocal about his support for Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign and made a guest appearance on stage at a Trump rally in May. Rapper Sheff G, right, also known as Michael Williams, shakes hands with President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in the south Bronx on May. 23, 2024, in New York. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura They are always going to whisper your accomplishments and shout your failures, Williams told the crowd at the time. Trump is going to shout the wins for all of us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Williams took a plea deal on Wednesday, pleading guilty to multiple counts of second-degree attempted murder and second- and fourth-degree conspiracy. In exchange, he was sentenced to five years in prison and five years post-release supervision, according to the statement from the district attorneys office. The press release said Williams was a member of 8 Trey Crips and its affiliate, the 9 Ways gang. The rapper used the earnings from his music career to fuel gun violence in Brooklyn, by offering money and giving expensive jewelry to those who committed acts of violence, the statement continued. However, Williams involvement went beyond merely offering money to commit acts of violence, the statement said, adding that he was a getaway driver in one of the gang-related shootings. Many of Williams co-defendants acts of violence were also allegedly captured on surveillance videos. He and his alleged fellow gang members had even boasted about their criminal activities on social media and in text messages, discussing acts of violence and taking credit for shootings and an assault, according to the district attorneys office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In one instance, Williams was named as a co-conspirator in a 2020 mass shooting that killed an alleged member of a rival gang and injured five others, according to the release. He sent a text message an hour after the shooting saying that the 8 Trey Crips and 9 Ways had scored against their rivals, the statement said. Williams hosted a lavish dinner with his fellow gang members two days later along with Chambers, according to the release. Notoriety could not shield this defendant from justice, Gonzalez said. He used his fame to fund and direct violence, terrorizing our streets, and though we sought a much longer sentence, he will now be held to account. Williams attorney, Arthur Aidala, told The Associated Press that after careful review of the evidence and hard consideration, the two of them decided that the plea deal was in the best interest of everyone involved. Related... As per usual, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is accusing someone of grooming, but this time Decoratic congressman Robert Garcia cleverly used humor to refute her ridiculous claims. At Wednesdays Republican-led congressional hearing about alleged bias at PBS and NPR, titled Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable, Greene used her opening remarks to label the public broadcasters as radical, left-wing echo chambers and accused them of grooming and sexualizing children. Not one to miss an opportunity to be funny while calling out Republicans, Garcia asked satirical questions meant to roast the GOP when members of the House were questioning PBS CEO Paula Kerger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leaning into comparisons between MAGAs rhetoric and McCarthyism, the gay representative asked Kerger if is Elmo now, or has he ever been, a member of the Communist Party of the United States? before reminding everyone that hes obviously red and has a very dangerous message about sharing and helping each other. (@) x.com According to NBC 15 , Garcia named dropped other Sesame Street regulars when he asked if Cookie Monster is silencing pro-cookie voters, asked if Cookie Monsters job was in jeopardy because of Robert F Kennedy Jr.s hatred of fast food, and wondered if Big Bird should be canned in light of Elon Musk firing "USDA workers who have been working on the bird flu. But the highlight of the hearing was when Garcia showed a blown up picture of Bert and Ernie, and asked if they are part of the extreme homosexual agenda? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These two guys actually live together, he said. Theyre friends. Theyre supportive of each other. Now, that might be triggering to [MTG] and some on this committee Are Bert and Ernie part of an extreme homosexual agenda? Garcia finished by pointing out that attempting to defund public broadcasters is no laughing matter. The fact that were sitting here talking about defunding public television is actually not funny, he said while displaying an image of Musk. If were going to get rid of any puppeteers, we should get rid of the one thats actually controlling Donald Trump. Fire Elon Musk and save Elmo. An attorney representing the Niagara Gazette and Lockport Union-Sun & Journal has filed an appeal in response to Niagara Countys attempt to charge hundreds of dollars for providing copies of public employee timesheets the newspapers requested in electronic form as part of a Freedom of Information Law request. In a request dated Feb. 10, 2025, the newspapers sought copies of timesheets submitted by attorneys working for the Niagara County Public Defenders office between Jan. 1, 2023, and Feb. 10, 2025. The county responded on March 14, indicating that it had identified 1,129 pages as potentially responsive while suggesting it took extensive time to sort through the documents given the level and scope of the request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The countys response, signed by Human Resources Director Peter Lopes, contends that complying with the newspapers request would require the county to scan the timesheets so they can be redacted before they can be sent digitally. Lopes letter asserts the cost for the process would be 25 cents per page or a total of $282.25. However, the letter also indicates that the county intends to charge the newspapers a higher amount $356.83 in total due to the cost involved for the county employees assigned to do the work. According to Lopes, the added personnel cost involves charges for two and a half hours of work at a rate of $49.72 per hour that one county employee already put into the task as well as two hours of work from another county employee who earns $40.17 per hour. In addition, Lopes claims the records in question would have to be scanned and attached to an email for each pay period covered under the FOIL request, which equals 56 in total. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An additional three hours is expected to accomplish that, Lopes wrote in his letter. In its response, the county indicated that copies of the timesheets would not be made until payment was received and that the fees will not be waived. The letter does extend an offer to the newspapers to accept a less expensive option an in-person inspection of physical copies of the redacted timesheets by a reporter who would need to be accompanied by an assigned county employee. Lopes letter indicates that the cost for that option would be $282.25 while suggesting a reporter from the newspaper would not be able to take pictures of any documents during the in-person inspection and that any copies requested would cost 25 cents per page. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An employee will sit with you while you inspect the records, Lopes wrote. If time exceeds 120 minutes, you will be charged for that employees time at their hourly rate. The county confirmed, in response to a question from the newspapers, that the employee who would be assigned to oversee the inspection of the records would be Joseph Provino, a Niagara County labor relations manager who would witness and observe a reporters reviewing of the documents at an hourly rate of $49.79. This cost would, of course, be in addition to the previous costs mentioned to you in Mr. Lopes response to you, Lopes confidential assistant Carla Fatau said in an emailed response to the newspapers question. Municipal governments are allowed, under limited circumstances prescribed by law, to redact or black out pieces of sensitive information, such as employee Social Security numbers, before releasing public documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Yorks FOI Law allows public agencies to charge 25 cents per page for records up to 9 inches by 14 inches and the actual cost of reproduction for larger or color copies. Electronic formats are generally provided at no charge if available. If records are provided on CD, DVD, or other digital media, public agencies may attach a fee for the cost of the media itself, however, they cannot charge for the cost of employee time to prepare the records and cannot charge for employee time spent searching, reviewing, or redacting records, unless the request involves records larger than 9-inches by 14-inches. COSTS DISPUTED Paul Wolf, a Williamsville attorney who founded the New York Coalition for Open Government, a non-profit organization that advocates for transparency and openness in government statewide, summed up the countys response to the newspapers FOIL request for copies of public employee timesheets in one word: Absurd. Michael Higgins, an attorney with the law firm Ernstrom & Dreste in Rochester, filed the appeal on behalf of the newspapers. In the appeal, sent to Niagara County Legislature Chairwoman Rebecca Wydysh, R-Lewiston, Higgins noted that the county has no legal right under state law to charge by the page for copies of documents requested in electronic form, adding that the countys purported inability to scan documents without making physical copies stretches the bounds of credulity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every modern office, including Niagara County, has the ability to scan existing paper records, to convert electronic records into pdfs, and to electronically redact, Higgins wrote. Even if Niagara County has no licenses for the most common pdf software with this capability, there are several free tools available online that will redact pdfs including pdf-redaction.com, and smallpdf.com/redact-pdf. Higgins also asserts that the countys attempt to charge fees for administrative time to prepare photocopies of records is prohibited under New York State Public Officers Law. His letter asserts that it is improper to charge the newspapers to allow a reporter to inspect records and to have those records redacted. Niagara Countys attempts to charge for prohibited items and to unnecessarily copy documents to induce a charge is a transparent attempt to frustrate (the newspapers) FOIL request and avoid its obligations under the Freedom of Information Law, Higgins wrote. LAW FIRM PROBE Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The newspapers sought copies of the timesheets in the wake of the legislatures Jan. 22 decision to require the top two attorneys in the public defenders office Nick Robinson and Vince Sandonato to resign from their jobs as chief public defender and first deputy public defender, respectively. The decision followed a closed-door session of the legislature where county lawmakers were briefed on the findings of an investigation of the public defenders office by the private law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King. The county hired the firm to conduct the review in response to a complaint filed by a female attorney working for the public defenders office. Both attorneys were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. County officials have refused to disclose any details of the investigation or the findings of the law firms probe. The county has also denied the newspapers request for copies of any work product produced over the course of the roughly two-month investigation, which cost county taxpayers $23,192 in legal expenses. While Robinson complied with the legislatures mandate that he resign effective Feb. 3, Sandonato remains employed by the county, albeit in a different role. Weeks after requesting that he resign as a public defender, the legislature agreed to hire Sandonato as the countys Medicaid fraud specialist. The full-time job pays $115,000 per year, down from Sandonatos previous salary with the public defenders office of $150,000. Jonathan Kirn In this op-ed, Stacey Monroe, a co-lead with the Trans Empowerment Collective, reflects on experiencing anti-trans harassment, linking the policing of bodies with increased violence. While driving for Uber and Lyft earlier this year, I stopped at a QuikTrip in Texas to use the restroom. As I entered, I heard a voice from one of the stalls call out, Hello, I have a question for you. Then she asked, Are you a woman or a man? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The question hit me like a slap. I am a Latine woman of trans experience, and for much of my life, Ive known my identity could make me a target. But I also have the privilege of what some call passingappearing to fit societal norms for my gender. I had not faced in-person harassment for years. My initial reaction was confusion: Why does this stranger care about my gender? My body tensed for a moment as my mind scrambled for a response. Before I could find the words, she began to harass me, spewing hateful, transphobic remarks. As far as I knew, the woman had never seen me (she was in the stall the whole time), but her attacks were extremely personal. Perhaps, our paths had crossed in the QuikTrip before I entered the restroom? My instincts told me to document the interaction for evidence and for my safety. The political climate against trans people had never felt more hostile. Trump was about to take office for a second term with promises to target trans people, amid a surge in hate crimes against us. I had no way of knowing what might happen. But I was so close to peeing myself. I went into a stall, locked the door, and pulled out my phone to start recording. Her voice was laced with disgust as she said, I want to know if you had a sex change and youre actually a man. I kept asking her, Why are you asking? She doubled down on her bigotry. Im asking because that means youre stronger than I am and I want to know if youre a man or a woman, she said. My heart pounded. The sheer absurdity of her reasoning left me stunned. Did she really believe my right to be in the restroom hinged on whether or not I was physically stronger than her? Eventually, she walked out of the restroom and I could hear her yelling in the middle of the gas station where there were other customers, Theres a man in the womens restroom! It was humiliating, infuriating, and deeply unfair. Her transphobia wasnt just an attack on me; it was a reminder of how emboldened people feel to police others identities. The moment left me shaken and reflective. I had been singled out for simply existing. It also reaffirmed for me how policing bodies especially those of marginalized people makes everybody less safe. If this could happen to me in such an intimate space as a restroom, what other forms of violation might be normalized? This isnt just about restrooms. Its about control about policing bodies and stripping people of their right to privacy and peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) pointed out in November, the normalization of gender interrogation in public bathrooms doesnt make people more safe. In fact, it primes girls and women for assault. Its invasive and opens the door to inspection of peoples bodies. The policing of trans people in restrooms is part of a global pattern of policing bodies, borders, and identities. Undocumented people face dehumanization every dayfrom being labeled illegal to being detained and deported from home and permanently separated from family. Black and Brown communities face disproportionate police violence and systemic racism. Disabled people, too, are often excluded, neglected, or abused in public spaces. These struggles are deeply tied together, not just in theory, but in the lived realities of those most affected by systemic violence. That is why, as a community organizer, I dont just fight for trans rights. We cant fight for trans rights without also fighting for immigrant rights, racial justice, disability rights, economic justice, for human rights overall. Anti-trans legislation often overlaps with anti-immigrant policies, and disabled people of color face compounded systemic barriers. These struggles stem from the same systems of oppression that seek to divide and dehumanize us. A fight for one must be a fight for all. How You Can Make Bathrooms Safer for Trans and Nonbinary People As activists like Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Raquel Willis, and Angela Davis have long emphasized, our collective liberation is bound together. When one of us is not free, none of us are. Their work has consistently shown how interconnected struggles for gender justice, racial justice, and human rights fuel meaningful change.Just as trans people and other marginalized communities fight for their right to exist, Palestinians are fighting for their right to live with dignity, free from violence and discrimination. Immigrants in the U.S. are fighting to do the same. As are trans people, and all marginalized people. Its interconnected, and its why our collective liberation is so important. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The obstacles we face are enormous. They can leave us feeling powerless. But we are not powerless. Even the smallest gestures can make a difference. When I stepped out of the restroom, I saw the woman who had harassed me in her car. I knew it was her by the way she stared at me, her eyes full of disdain. I recorded her and her license plate. It gave me a sense of agency in an incident that otherwise made me feel helpless. In the video, you can see her backing up, her windows rolled up, but her mouth moving furiously. I couldnt hear her, but I could only imagine the hateful nonsense she was spewing. She flipped me off before driving away. My body was shaking. But what happened next gave me a glimmer of hope. A QuikTrip employee approached me and asked if I wanted her to call the police. I told her no; I dont trust the police to handle situations like this in a way that prioritizes my safety or that of others. Police officers have a long history of targeting marginalized peopleespecially trans women of color. Instead, I suggested they ban her from the store her so she legally wouldnt be allowed back on the property. Then, the employee shared something personal: she has a son of trans experience, and seeing this blatant transphobia deeply upset her. She even offered me a free coffeea small token, but one that felt like an act of solidarity in an otherwise awful moment. Whats particularly exhausting is how these moments stick with us. Theyre not just incidents of harassment; theyre reminders that to some my identity is still up for debate, that my safety often hinges on the goodwill of strangers, and that existing in public as a person of trans experience comes with a cost. Now, every time I enter a public restroom, my heart races. I scan the space for the possibility that my presence will once again be questioned, that my identity will be debated as if its something others have the right to decide. The fear lingers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, the QuikTrip employees kindness was a reminder of what solidarity looks like. She didnt just offer me a coffee; she shared her own connection to the trans community and expressed genuine empathy. Moments like these highlight how even little gestures of allyship can ripple outward, inspiring broader societal change. Her compassion reminded me that there are allies out there, and that we are not alone in this fight for trans liberation. She also set an example for those around herher coworkers, customers, and anyone watchingthat hate will not be tolerated, and that standing up for others matters. Stories like mine matter. These momentsbig or smallpaint a picture of what its like to live as a person of trans experience today. They show the challenges we face but also the allies who stand with us. To my trans siblings: You are valid. You are loved. And we will keep fightingtogetherfor a world where our existence isnt questioned, policed, or attacked. To allies and broader communities: Its not enough to be supportive in private. Speak up in public, disrupt hate, and challenge the systems that perpetuate violence. Businesses can take noteby adopting clear policies to prevent harassment of trans people in restrooms and training staff on how to support marginalized individuals, they can make public spaces safer for everyone. This fight needs all of usbecause silence is complicity, and real change demands action. Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue The bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have reportedly still not been claimed a month after their deaths. The partially mummified bodies of the Oscar winning actor, Arakawa and their dog were found in their New Mexico home on 26 February. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Denise Avila said deputies found the bodies while carrying out a welfare check. Arakawa was 65, while Hackman was 95. Even if no foul play was initially suspected, their deaths were suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation, according to a search warrant affidavit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On 7 March, investigators confirmed that the couple died of natural causes, but a week apart. Arakawa was said to have died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a serious respiratory illness caused by exposure to infected rodents. Data from Hackmans pacemaker suggests he died on 18 February, a week after the proposed date of Arakawas passing. Now, according to TMZ, the bodies of Hackman and Arakawa have still not been claimed by family members. TMZ believes that their family are still finalising funeral plans, having reached out to the Office of Medical Investigators to confirm that their names still appear on a list of unclaimed decedents as of 27 March. Hackman shared three children Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne with his ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017. However, Hackman left his kids out of his will and instead named Arakawa as the sole recipient of his fortune upon death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, Julia Peters, a representative for the estate of Hackman and Arakawa, stated she was seeking to block the public release of autopsy and investigative reports, especially photographs and police body-camera video. Peters urged a state district court in Santa Fe to seal records in the cases to protect the family's right to privacy in grief under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, emphasizing the possibly shocking nature of photographs and video and potential for their dissemination by media. After its return to the Georgia House of Representatives for final approval, a bill to protect in vitro fertilization in Georgia is on its way to Gov. Brian Kemp to sign. The bill passed the Georgia Senate on Thursday, sending it back to the House. The IVF bill, supported by Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, was supported overwhelmingly in the other chamber. Lorie Franklin, wife of Statesboro State Sen. Lehman Franklin, said their family is overjoyed. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Franklins used IVF to conceive, telling Channel 2s Richard Elliot that it gave them a personal stake in protecting IVF. Thats why Sen. Franklin sponsored the legislation. Definitely, the process will be there for them. There wont be that fear of them not having the IVF process. That was our goal for this bill, so were super happy about it, the senator said after the bill passed in the Senate. The bill was also a showing of bipartisanship in the chamber, with all of the states Democratic senators backing the protections and supporting their entry in the state code. Now passed in both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly, the bill heads to the governor for approval or veto. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Sen. Brandon Beach, recently appointed U.S. Treasurer by President Donald Trump, amended a bill by Rep. Katie Dempsey to allow for wrongful conviction compensation when district attorneys are subsequently disqualified. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder A bill that would grant compensation to wrongfully convicted Georgians was just given a second chance after lawmakers spliced it into a bill inspired by President Donald Trumps election interference case in Georgia. Senate Bill 244, which is aimed at allowing criminal defendants to recoup their legal costs if the prosecuting attorney in their case is disqualified for personal or professional misconduct, now includes the bulk of House Bill 533, which would establish a standardized process in Georgia state law for people who have been exonerated. It passed out of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee in a contentious vote Thursday afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have faced an uphill battle in their efforts to properly compensate those who have been wrongfully incarcerated. The process is currently done on a case-by-case basis through individual compensation resolutions that must pass through the full legislative process like any other bill. Legislation to standardize the process was initially introduced by Atlanta Democratic Rep. Scott Holcomb in 2022, and re-introduced in 2023, but his efforts have repeatedly been stalled in the Senate by Republican opposition. This year, HB 533, also known as the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act, was sponsored by Rome Republican Rep. Katie Dempsey. It passed through the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee unanimously ahead of Crossover Day but never made it to a vote on the House floor. House lawmakers did, however, overwhelmingly pass a measure that included individual compensation resolutions for five people who served time in prison after being wrongfully convicted. In contrast, SB 244 was sponsored by state Sen. Brandon Beach, an Alpharetta Republican and staunch Trump ally who was recently appointed by the president to serve as U.S. Treasurer. It was originally aimed solely at allowing criminal defendants to recoup their legal costs in the event that the prosecuting attorney in their case was disqualified as a result of improper conduct. The bill, Beach said, was inspired by Trumps election interference case in Georgia, in which Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified after an appeals court judge found that her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a significant appearance of impropriety. When you think about somebody getting indicted, its somewhat of a scarlet letter, Beach said at a committee hearing on the bill Tuesday. It is tough. It can ruin your life, and it can definitely cost you a lot in attorneys fees to defend yourself. And so I just am doing this so that people that have been wrongly accused and then the case goes away, they have some type of ability to recoup some of their fees and reasonable cost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic lawmakers on the committee objected to Beachs portion of the bill, pointing out that the bill would benefit Sen. Shawn Still, a Johns Creek Republican who was indicted in the Fulton County election interference case alongside Trump and 17 other codefendants. My concern is that we are specifically aiding one of our colleagues, not to mention the issue that Rep. Dempsey and Rep. Holcombs bill is essentially being used, essentially, as political extortion, said Rep. Esther Panitch, a Sandy Springs Democrat. Democrats also raised concerns about the disproportionate impact the law would have on smaller counties with more limited budgets, as well as fears that local district attorneys could be discouraged from prosecuting complicated cases out of fear of having to cover the cost of defendants attorney fees, but they ultimately failed to successfully amend the bill. Dempsey also made an effort to distance her language from Beachs proposal as she presented the substitute bill to the committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is truly quite separate from the measure that Senator Beach has on the front, Dempsey said. This is a completely different conversation. We are not trying to target anyone. We are trying to take a process and make it fair and remove it from the hands of the Legislature and put it into administrative law judges hands, who are much better skilled and equipped to handle those decisions. Though Dempsey said she was grateful that the language regarding wrongful convictions has a second chance to pass through the Legislature this year, she admitted that it may be an uphill battle to get the bill through both chambers before the 2025 legislative session ends on April 4. But in its new form, she has reason to be optimistic, she said. This bill is a priority for Senator Beach, Dempsey said, adding that he could be instrumental to the bills passage. ATLANTA (AP) Georgia lawmakers are giving up on creating a statewide database to collect information on students who might commit violence, even as they push forward other parts of a school safety bill aimed at preventing a school shooting like the one in September at Apalachee High School. House and Senate lawmakers unveiled a compromise version of House Bill 268 on Thursday, which then passed the Senate Judiciary committee unanimously. That sets it up for final passage in the closing days of Georgia's 2025 legislative session. The push to share information was driven by the belief among many that the Barrow County school system didnt have a full picture of the warning signs displayed by the 14-year-old accused in the fatal shootings of two students and two teachers. But there was loud opposition from both Democratic and Republican constituencies that the database would create a permanent blacklist with no due process that could treat racial and religious minorities unfairly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason it wasnt going to fly was pushback from all points of the political spectrum that worried about their child being stigmatized just for an accusation or an uncorroborated complaint, said Sen. Bill Cowsert, an Athens Republican representing parts of Barrow County. The compromise version also removed a requirement that all school systems set up formal threat management teams to evaluate whether students may commit violence. That approach is strongly recommended by many national experts, and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency already offers training. House Education Committee Chairman Chris Erwin, a Republican from Homer, said he was hopeful schools would voluntarily adopt the model. I think there is a knowledge out there of the importance of planning and preparing already in schools, Erwin said. So having a full model structure for the state isnt as important as maybe we once thought it was. The measure would still require police agencies to report to schools when officers learn that a child has threatened death or injury to someone at a school. But those reports aren't mandated to become part of a student's educational record and wouldn't travel with a student if they transfer to another district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That raises questions about whether the bill addresses one of the key criticisms that followed the Apalachee shooting. School officials never became aware that a sheriff's deputy in Jackson County had interviewed Colt Gray in May 2023 after the FBI passed along a tip that Gray might have posted a shooting threat online. That report would have been forwarded to middle school officials in Jackson County under the bill, but wouldn't have followed Gray when he enrolled as a freshman in nearby Barrow County after skipping eighth grade entirely. The 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 Georgias 180 school districts and sets up an anonymous reporting system statewide. Lawmakers on Thursday added in features of separate Senate bills that had passed. They would mandate that all Georgia public schools provide wearable panic buttons to employees. Public schools would also be required to submit electronic maps of their campuses to local, state and federal agencies once a year. The amended bill would also make adult prosecution the default when children aged 13 to 16 are charged with terroristic acts at school, any aggravated assault with a gun, or attempted murder. The Senate had originally proposed a broader range of crimes when adult prosecution would be the default. House leaders had said they didn't want to submit any more juveniles to adult prosecution. BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- China has voiced staunch opposition to the British government's "Six-monthly Report on Hong Kong," which it said interferes in China's internal affairs and smears human rights and the rule of law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said here Friday that the HKSAR has restored order and is set to thrive, noting its security, democracy and peoples freedom and rights are under better protection, and it enjoys more promising prospects for development. It has presented the world with a safer, freer, more open and more predictable business environment, with the total number of non-local companies registered in Hong Kong reaching a record high, Guo said at a daily news briefing. He urged certain people to respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law in the HKSAR, cease making irresponsible remarks on the trial of judicial cases in the HKSAR, and stop being a haven to the people seeking to destabilize Hong Kong. (Left to right) House Speaker Jon Burns, Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones could be in line for pay raises next year if a new compensation passes the Legislature in 2025. (File photo) Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder Legislation passed by the Senate on Thursday would place the Georgia governor at the top of the list of high-paid governors in the nation and significantly increase the salaries of the attorney general, House and Senate leaders, and several other key officials. The Senate voted 45-10 to approve a revised House Bill 86 that would increase the governors annual salary from $182,000 to $250,000 for next year. Several state court judges will receive higher salaries under the legislation, while the attorney general, state school superintendent, secretary of state, and agricultural, insurance, and labor commissioners will receive annual salaries of $200,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now that the bill has been amended by the Senate, the changes must be adopted by the House before the session concludes on April 4. According to data collected by the Council of State Governments on gubernatorial salaries for 2022, Republican Gov. Brian Kemps pay raise will move him from 10th highest earning to tied for first with Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York. Sen. John Albers, a Roswell Republican, said the new salaries will provide uniformity among several executive officers while also addressing disparities, such as the governor earning less than the Atlanta mayors $236,000 salary. The bill would set the other salaries at $200,000, based on 80% of the governors salary. This simply sets the governors salary at $250,000 which I believe is appropriate, but then it falls in line with our constitutional officers and the speaker of the House, Albers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think it actually will bring us up to where we need to be. If you look at constitutional officers like the speaker of the House, they sometimes make twice as much money as them, Albers said. According to the open.ga.gov database, the reported salaries in 2024 for six Georgia public officials who could get pay bumps through HB 86 were: Attorney General Chris Carr with $146,000; $131,000 for Insurance Commissioner John King and State School Superintendent Richard Woods; Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger made $125,637; $106,000 for House Speaker Jon Burns, and $98,000 for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. In comparison, the Council for State Governments reported that the average salary for secretary of states nationally was $121,628 in 2022, with Arizona paying the lowest salary at $70,000, while Tennessee had the highest at $222,252. The report also says that the 2022 national average salaries for state attorneys general was $139,000. New Yorks AG led the nation with $220,000 while Oregons $82,200 ranked last. Some lawmakers questioned the wisdom of giving such large raises to top Georgia executives at the same time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson said she supported the higher salaries but had reservations about the raises taking effect this summer instead of waiting until next year when Georgias next elections for state offices will be held. Isnt it true that we typically do salary increases to be effective for the next election cycle, not during the time when people want to see it as a decision, Jackson said. Albers said he understands why government officials may hold off from publicly requesting better pay in order to avoid being accused of supporting their own pay raises. There is also an added layer of scrutiny about elected officials raising pay during an election year, Albers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We can find a reason each and every year to not do this, he said. This is the right time, the right year to do this. Under the bill, the General Assembly would approve salaries for Supreme Court justices and judges for the Court of Appeals, state Business Court and Tax Court based on pay of judges for the United States District Court for Northern Georgia, who currently earn $247,400, according to U.S. Courts government website.. The justices could earn equal pay to the federal district court judges while the other state judges could earn 95-99% of the U.S. district court judges. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A leading German conservative has insisted that his party will not agree to tax rises as part of a coalition deal with the centre-left to form the country's next government. Markus Soder, the influential premier of the large southern state of Bavaria and the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), is one of the party leaders involved in the coalition talks on Friday. He will be joined by his fellow conservative and likely incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as the co-leaders of the Social Democrats (SPD), Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The party bosses and their teams are set to start negotiations on the biggest sticking points in the coalition talks. While SPD likes tax increases, Soder told public broadcaster ARD: "We will not do that. We need tax cuts." At the same time, the incoming coalition is facing the task of making savings to plug holes in the budget, meaning this is one of the most sensitive topics in the coalition talks. With an economy struggling to pull out of negative growth and poor company results and lay-offs being announced on an almost weekly basis, the incoming government is under pressure to turn the situation around. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soder was confident that the coalition partners would come together in the end. "Absolutely. Not only because we have to, but also because we want to," he said. Germany's conservative bloc, consisting of Soder's CSU and Merz's Christian Democrats, came first by a large margin in February's elections. They were followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (Afd) party in second, and in third, the Social Democrats. Germanys Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has announced an additional allocation of 7.27 million for the repair of Ukraines energy infrastructure. Source: a statement by Germanys Ministry of Economic Affairs, as reported by European Pravda Details: The funds will be directed to the Energy Communitys Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which has been joined by numerous other international donors since 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Russian attacks on Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure continue unabated. These attacks severely affect Ukrainian civilians. Germany is responding to the ongoing emergency situation by once again contributing to the Energy Community's Ukraine Energy Support Fund. In uncertain times, we firmly stand by our Ukrainian partners," said Robert Habeck, Germanys Minister for Economic Affairs, who is soon to leave office. Ukraine finances spare parts and equipment for its damaged energy infrastructure through the Energy Support Fund. With the help of an external procurement agency, the Energy Community conducts tenders for purchasing goods and oversees the use of funds. This enables Ukrainian energy companies to restore destroyed grid infrastructure and power plants. Germanys contributions are also aimed at strengthening the resilience of Ukraines energy system. Part of the funds is allocated to green energy transition projects, laying the foundation for further expansion of Ukraines decentralised energy system. Background: Norway is allocating an additional NOK 1 billion (nearly 90 million) to finance gas imports to Ukraine to ensure adequate gas supplies for the countrys population, businesses and industry. On 14 March, the Government of Canada contributed an additional 33.4 million (CAD$50 million) to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund following the US withdrawal from the Fund. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Germany has replaced the crew of the tanker Eventin, which was detained in mid-March, and taken control of the vessel, including its cargo. This information was officially confirmed by the German Ministry of Finance. Source: Bloomberg, as reported by European Pravda Details: A spokesperson for the German Finance Ministry confirmed that the Eventin vessel and its cargo were "seized by customs and subsequently confiscated". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "As a result of the confiscation, the federal government has acquired ownership of the ship and the cargo and, as a result of the crew change, has now also taken actual control of the ship and the cargo." Details: The spokesperson did not comment on the next steps regarding the Eventin and its cargo, citing "ongoing customs measures". Background: The Panama-flagged Eventin was transporting oil from the Russian port of Ust-Luga in January. The tanker experienced a malfunction, and it was towed to the German coast. Last week, the German news magazine Spiegel reported that the Eventin had been carrying 100,000 tons of oil. The confiscation of this vessel may be the first such case by an EU country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Germany, along with other EU countries, has imposed trade sanctions on Russian oil tankers belonging to the shadow fleet. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius signalled Germany's openness to partake in a peacekeeping force on March 27. Germany has previously sent mixed signals regarding its participation in a potential peacekeeping force. On Feb. 8, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was "premature and inappropriate" to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. Pistorius was accompanied by Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur in Berlin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I can't imagine any situation in which Germany would not be participating in whatever would be the result of negotiations of a ceasefire or even a peace," Pistorius said on March 27. Pistorius noted that many details regarding a peacekeeping force still need to be agreed upon. "(I)t has to be decided when the time has come and it depends on so many parameters, like: How many troops will be... accepted in the ceasefire? What could be the mandate? Who is taking part in it?" he said. Pistorius urged caution in making any public commitments while a potential ceasefire is still being negotiated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is nothing we should discuss publicly on the market places before it's even clear whether we will have a ceasefire or not," Pistorius said. The defense minister called for Europe to have a seat at peace negotiations, but noted he did not expect the U.S. to include Ukraine's European allies in the talks. "I would hope so, but I don't believe it for the moment. There is no signal visible or to hear about in Washington that they are willing to let us on the table. And I'm afraid that could remain like that," Pistorius said. On March 19, Pistorius criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's phone call to Russian President Vladimir on March 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So Putin is playing a game here, and I'm sure the American president won't be able to stand by and watch for long without reacting," Pistorius said. Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Germany is working on a secret plan to create an alliance of European countries that will turn back migrants at their borders. Friedrich Merz, the chancellor-in-waiting, has opened informal talks with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and France to seek a common position on cutting the number of refugee arrivals, the Bild newspaper reported. Details of the plan remain unclear. However, Mr Merz, 69, is understood to have been inspired by an initiative put forward by Warsaw as part of its presidency of the European Council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a paper presented to Brussels in January, Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, described illegal migration as a threat to the security and territorial integrity of the entire union and proposed using all available leverage to get countries outside the EU to take back their citizens. Mr Merz is under pressure to deliver on promises made before the German election, when he committed to stopping all illegal migration at Germanys land borders. After an Afghan refugee stabbed a toddler to death in the small town of Aschaffenburg in January, he said that he would block all asylum seekers from entering the country as one of his first acts in power. Friedrich Merz, Germanys chancellor-in-waiting, promised to stop all illegal migration at Germanys land borders - Ebrahim Noroozi/AP However, in talks to build a new German government with the Social Democrats, Mr Merzs centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has only agreed to turn back migrants in agreement with EU neighbours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He is now under pressure to get such an agreement in place before being named as chancellor. Recent polls show the anti-migrant AfD closing the gap on the CDU. A YouGov poll this week put them just two points behind Mr Merzs party. Berlin has complained that the EUs Dublin rules, which state that asylum seekers should stay in the country they arrived in, are no longer enforced by countries on the blocs external borders. Germany has already imposed spot checks at its borders, but Mr Merz has proposed much stronger controls. Doubts remain over whether Germanys EU neighbours would be prepared to accept Berlins plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A European diplomat said: This is a framing exercise by the CDU for core voters after having given in so much no real merit in it so far. If they do it, itll be fantastic news for the UK and everyone near Germany. They will be stopping everyone. The envoy joked: It will be bad news for Reform UK though because their main talking point will then be solved by the German chancellor. Austria has threatened to instruct its border police not to take in immigrants turned back at the German border, a situation which, if implemented, could trigger a new migration crisis inside the bloc. 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. Germany's presumptive next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said coalition negotiations between his conservative bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) were focused on resolving major points of contention but that progress was being made. "We have to paint a common picture of how we imagine the Federal Republic of Germany in the next 10 years, what this country should look like," Merz said at the SPD's headquarters in Berlin, where talks took place on Friday. Fiscal policy and migration are dominating the negotiations, the parties said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friday's discussions involved lead negotiators from Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the SPD of acting Chancellor Olaf Scholz. These top-level talks, which will continue for days, are based on the results of 16 working groups tried to hash out the details of a government programme, sometimes without success. The round table began with a discussion lasting about five and a half hours, followed by dinner. How to fund election promises remains a major question. The CDU/CSU and SPD are likely furthest apart on fiscal issues, including whether top earners should pay higher taxes, how inheritances should be taxed, and when a planned corporate tax reform should take effect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lower-level working group on finance, taxation and the budget failed to reach a consensus, leaving senior party leaders to settle the disputes. "Of course, the finances are being looked at," said SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil. "It is completely clear to us that we can only present a coalition agreement that is characterized by solid finances and fully funded projects that we consider important." While the SPD supports certain tax increases, the CSU remains firmly opposed. "We need tax cuts," said Markus Soder, the influential premier of Bavaria and the CSU leader, on Friday. Curbing irregular migration is another major sticking point. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both the conservatives and the SPD have said they want asylum seekers turned back at the German border but have not agreed on the specifics, including how involved neighbouring countries should be in the policy. Additionally, the CDU/CSU wants to enable asylum procedures outside the EU and tighten citizenship laws, but the SPD has pushed back on aspects of those plans. With the German economy struggling to emerge from negative growth and major companies announcing lay-offs almost weekly, pressure is mounting to install a new chancellor and government as soon as possible. The closed-door talks will continue on Saturday. The parties aim to reach a coalition deal by Easter in April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the February 23 election, the CDU/CSU alliance secured 28.5% of the vote, while the third-placed SPD managed just 16.4%. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) doubled its vote share to 20.8%, but mainstream parties refuse to cooperate with the AfD. BANGKOK, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Consulate General in Thailand's Chiang Mai Friday advised Chinese nationals in the country to stay on alert against possible aftershocks after a strong quake jolted Myanmar. The Chinese consulate general said in a statement that the strong earthquake struck Myanmar earlier in the day, with noticeable tremors felt in northern Thailand, including Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces. Some tourist attractions in Pai District of Mae Hong Son have collapsed as a result of the quake, it said. The Chinese consulate general urged Chinese nationals in Thailand to closely follow official early warning information to be released by Thai authorities, and avoid staying on higher floors. In the event of an earthquake, it asked Chinese nationals to remain calm and seek safe shelter as quickly as possible. The Myanmar Fire Service Department said a 7.7-magnitude earthquake jolted central Myanmar, with the epicenter at a depth of 10.0 km, on Friday. The tremor caused "considerable damage" in some parts of Myanmar. Germany's likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has been urged to take a clear position on the future of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, after it emerged that the controversial gas pipeline was the subject of talks between Moscow and Washington. The Greens - who are part of the outgoing government in Berlin, but are set to go into opposition - said on Friday that Merz should quickly clarify his position. "If [Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov is now talking about the US and Russia negotiating the commissioning of Nord Stream 2, the future chancellor must make it unmistakably clear that this is not in the German and European interest," Green party co-leader Franziska Brantner told dpa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lavrov confirmed on Wednesday that there had been talks with the US about the disused Nord Stream pipelines linking Russia with Germany under the Baltic Sea. Nord Stream 2 never went into operation and was halted by Berlin following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A mysterious explosion in September of the same year destroyed one of two completed pipelines. Lavrov said it would be interesting to see "whether the Americans will use their influence on Europe and force it to stop rejecting Russian gas," according to a report by the state-run TASS news agency. Lavrov's comments follow reports that bringing Nord Stream 2 back into operation could be part of a US-Russian agreement on ending the Ukraine war, possibly with the involvement of US investors. A still from Spirited Away, 2001. Credit - Walt Disney Pictures/Everett Collection If youre wondering why social media is filled with Studio Ghibli-style memes all of a sudden, there are several answers to that question. The most obvious one is that OpenAI dropped an update to ChatGPT on Tuesday that allows users to generate better images using the 4o version of the model. OpenAI has long proffered image generation tools, but this one felt like a significant evolution: users say it is far better than other AI image-generators at accurately following text prompts, and that it makes much higher fidelity images. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But thats not the only reason for the deluge of memes in the style of the Japanese animation house. Alongside the ChatGPT update, OpenAI also relaxed several of its rules on the types of images users can generate with its AI toolsa change CEO Sam Altman said represents a new high-water mark for us in allowing creative freedom. Among those changes: allowing users to generate images of adult public figures for the first time, and reducing the likelihood that ChatGPT would reject users prompts, even if they risked being offensive. People are going to create some really amazing stuff and some stuff that may offend people, Altman said in a post on X. What we'd like to aim for is that the tool doesn't create offensive stuff unless you want it to, in which case within reason it does. Users quickly began making the most of the policy change sharing Ghiblified images of 9/11, Adolf Hitler, and the murder of George Floyd. The official White House account on X even shared a Studio Ghibli-style image of an ICE officer detaining an alleged illegal immigrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In one sense, the pivot has been a long time coming. OpenAI began its decade-long life as a research lab that kept its tools under strict lock and key; when it did release early chatbots and image generation models, they had strict content filters that aimed to prevent misuse. But for years it has been widening the accessibility of its tools in an approach it calls iterative deployment. The release of ChatGPT in November 2022 was the most popular example of this strategy, which the company believes is necessary to help society adapt to the changes AI is bringing. Still, in another sense, the change to OpenAIs model behavior policies has a more recent proximate cause: the 2024 election of President Donald Trump, and the cultural shift that has accompanied the new administration. Trump and his allies have been highly critical of what they see as the censorship of free speech online by large tech companies. Many conservatives have drawn parallels between the longstanding practice of content moderation on social media and the more recent strategy, by AI companies including OpenAI, to limit the kinds of content that generative AI models are allowed to create. ChatGPT has woke programmed into its bones, Elon Musk posted on X in December. Like most big companies, OpenAI is trying hard to build ties with the Trump White House. The company scored an early win when, on the second day of his presidency, Trump stood beside Altman and announced a large investment into the datacenters that OpenAI believes will be necessary to train the next generation of AI systems. But OpenAI is still in a delicate position. Musk, Trumps billionaire backer and advisor, has a famous dislike of Altman. The pair cofounded OpenAI together back in 2015, but after a failed attempt to become CEO, Musk quit in a huff. He is now suing Altman and OpenAI, claiming that they reneged on OpenAIs founding mission to develop AI as a non-profit. With Musk operating from the White House and also leading a rival AI company, xAI, it is especially vital for OpenAIs business prospects to cultivate positive ties where possible with the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier in March, OpenAI submitted a document laying out recommendations for the new administrations tech policy. It was a shift in tone from earlier missives by the company. OpenAIs freedom-focused policy proposals, taken together, can strengthen Americas lead on AI and in so doing, unlock economic growth, lock in American competitiveness, and protect our national security, the document said. It called on the Trump administration to exempt OpenAI, and the rest of the private sector, from 781 state-level laws proposing to regulate AI, which it said risks bogging down innovation. In return, OpenAI said, industry could provide the U.S. government with learnings and access from AI companies, and would ensure the U.S. retained its leadership position ahead of China in the AI race. Alongside the release of this weeks new ChatGPT update, OpenAI doubled down on what it said were policies intended to give users more freedom, within bounds, to create whatever they want with its AI tools. Were shifting from blanket refusals in sensitive areas to a more precise approach focused on preventing real-world harm, Joanne Jang, OpenAIs head of model behavior, said in a blog post. The goal is to embrace humility: recognizing how much we don't know, and positioning ourselves to adapt as we learn. Jang gave several examples of things that were previously disallowed, but to which OpenAI was now opening its doors. Tools could now be used to generate images of public figures, Jang wrote, although OpenAI would create an opt-out list allowing people to decide for themselves whether they wanted ChatGPT to be able to generate images of them. Children, she wrote, would be subjected to stronger protections and tighter guardrails. Offensive content, Jang wroteusing quotation markswould also receive a rethink under OpenAIs new policies. Uses that might be seen as offensive by some, but which didnt cause real-world harm, would be increasingly permitted. Without clear guidelines, the model previously refused requests like make this persons eyes look more Asian or make this person heavier, unintentionally implying these attributes were inherently offensive, Jang wrote, suggesting that such prompts would be allowed in future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OpenAIs tools previously flat-out rejected attempts by users to generate hate symbols like swastikas. In the blog post, Jang said the company recognized, however, that these symbols could also sometimes appear in genuinely educational or cultural contexts. The company would move to a strategy of applying technical methods, she wrote, to better identify and refuse harmful misuse without completely banning them. AI lab employees, she wrote, should not be the arbiters of what people should and shouldnt be allowed to create. Write to Billy Perrigo at billy.perrigo@time.com. Studio Ghibli memes beaten to death: Bear with me as I attempt to explain something extremely online that nevertheless carries some political significance. You may be familiar with Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation studio helmed by Hayao Miyazaki, behind classics such as My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. Open AI, the creators of ChatGPT, recently released another higher-quality image generator that people have realized allows images to be rendered in the Studio Ghibli house style. Note that this is contra Miyazaki's own wishes ("I strongly feel this is an insult to life itself," the 84-year-old said of overly incorporating technology into art) and possibly a copyright violation, but that's sort of the least of our worries here. The main controversy now is that people have been putting all kinds of famous images into the meme generatorGeorge W. Bush being told about 9/11, Tony Montana in Scarface, etc.and that the White House has, uh, decided to throw some images of their recent deportations in there too. So here's a Studio Ghibli version of the deportation of Dominican woman Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, a 36-year-old fentanyl trafficker who illegally reentered the country and was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on March 12: Lots of art is political, and lots of political messaging is tasteless, but this type of move by the White House is worth opposing on two fronts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first, less serious front: This is horrible art. It's lazy and just jumping on a sort of boring and already played-out meme format. It's cruel, and there's no discernible deeper meaning. She's fat and crying and engaged in the illegal drug tradeof a very serious drug that has claimed many victimsand thus easy to make fun of on all counts. The second, more serious front: We're in the midst of a large-scale deportation effort by the federal government. If they want enduring public support for such a thing, they need to wholly change their demeanor as well as their practices. Deportation is not funny and light; it's using the power of the state to forcibly evict people from their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities. In some caseslike with Basora-Gonzalez or actual violent Tren de Aragua gang membersit is warranted, and the public supports it. In other cases, though it may be legally permissible, the wider public feels conflicted or opposes it: Think of those ICE raids at Mississippi chicken processing plants during Trump's first term and the havoc it wreaked on the industry and those communitiesall for what? And regardless of the morality/public sentiment side, the way this is happening is contra what Vice President J.D. Vance explicitly said would happen: "I think that if you deport a lot of violent criminals and frankly if you make it harder to hire illegal labor, which undercuts the wages of American workers, I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem," he told an ABC News anchor last August. He said the administration would start with deporting 1 million, and prioritize those who are violent criminals. Tell that to 24-year-old barber Francisco Javier Garcia Casique or to 34-year-old Rasha Alawieh, a physician and Brown University professor from Lebanon on an H-1B visa, or to 30-year-old Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk. Whether it's Salvadorans with tattoos getting swept up and assumed to be gang members or Middle Easterners being punished for their speech, the administration isn't just targeting violent criminals. Maybe you think that's fine or that this type of culling is welcome, but what is actually being done is very different than what the vice president claimed. And getting migration under control could have been kind of a layup for this administration: Toward the end of President Joe Biden's term, Pew Research Center found that about 80 percent of Americans (including a shocking 73 percent of Democrats!) believed the U.S. government was doing a poor job handling the migrant influx. It's possible that simply following Vance's stated plan would have resulted in decent public approval, unlike the inhumane, haphazard, unfocused scheme that has actually played out. Deportation is not Ghibli. Treating it as such is taking the easy way out. It is harder to carefully sift through evidence to determine who is actually a true threat. But it's important to be scrupulous and thorough because we're talking about the state upending people's livesthrowing them in holding facilities and, in some cases, sending them back to countries where they face punishment or danger, if they have a country to return to at all. Scenes from New York: New York state's budget assumes it will be receiving some $90ish billion from the federal government. It's increasingly looking like this won't happen, sending Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers scrambling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In the fiscal year ending this month, New York received an estimated $96 billion from the federal government, with roughly $57 billion going to the state's Medicaid program," reports The New York Times. "About $10 billion went to schools, about $4 billion to law enforcement and public safety and $2.5 billion to transportation programs." My question, as a New York state taxpayer: How was the $54 billion in income taxes not enough? And the roughly $21 billion in sales tax? And the nearly $26 billion in business tax? New York is the highest-taxing state and is the second-highest in spending (beat only by Alaska). "New York State and its localities spent 50 percent more per capita than the national average," reports the Citizens Budget Commission (using 2021 data). "Higher than California (7 percent), Massachusetts (24 percent), New Jersey (55 percent), Texas (71 percent), Connecticut (77 percent), and Florida (101 percent)." The state collected, on average, $10,331 in taxes per residentabout $4,000 more than the national average. Where is all this money going, exactly? Cry me a river, Kathy Hochul! QUICK HITS As promised yesterday, a thorough treatment of Trump's tariffs by us over at Just Asking Questions featuring special guest Phil Magness: "Is it safe to travel with your phone right now?" asks Gaby Del Valle at The Verge. "Recent high-profile deportations began with phone searches at airports. What are your rights? The answer: it depends." "When President [Donald] Trump convened CEOs of some of the country's top automakers for a call earlier this month, he issued a warning: They better not raise car prices because of tariffs," reports The Wall Street Journal. "Trump told the executives that the White House would look unfavorably on such a move, leaving some of them rattled and worried they would face punishment if they increased prices, people with knowledge of the call said." (It seems like we were getting price controls whether it was Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Dark.) Luigi Mangione thirst has reached new heights. And the headline means I can't get Nirvana out of my head. "Top Democrats tell us their party is in its deepest hole in nearly 50 yearsand they fear things could actually get worse," reports Axios. "The party has its lowest favorability ever; No popular national leader to help improve it; Insufficient numbers to stop most legislation in Congress; A durable minority on the Supreme Court; Dwindling influence over the media ecosystem, with right-leaning podcasters and social media accounts ascendant; Young voters are growing dramatically more conservative; A bad 2026 map for Senate races; Democratic Senate retirements could make it harder for the party to flip the House, with members tempted by statewide races." Since it's Lent, I'm gonna suppress this feeling of schadenfreude. (Also, it's not like the alternativea muscular perma-GOP in poweris better, really.) The post Ghiblifying the Fent Trafficker Deportation appeared first on Reason.com. Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann and his estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, have reached a divorce settlement, according to court records. Ellerup filed for divorce shortly after Heuermann was arrested in July 2023. The terms of the divorce settlement, filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court Thursday night, are not public. A judge will review the settlement and must sign off on the divorce to make it final. PHOTO: Nassau County police car is parked on First Avenue in Massapequa Park, outside the home of alleged killer of three sex workers in the Gilgo Beach case, Rex Heuermann, on July 26, 2023. (James Carbone/Newsday RM via Getty Images) MORE: Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann fights to invalidate certain DNA evidence Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the murders of seven women whose remains were found discarded on Long Island between 1993 and 2011. Prosecutors with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office have said Ellerup and the couple's children were out of town when the victims were killed. Heuermann is expected back in court Friday as his lawyers ask a judge to disqualify some of the DNA evidence pertaining to nuclear DNA results obtained from hairs recovered from six victims: Maureen Brainard Barnes, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack. PHOTO: Alleged Gilgo serial killer Rex Heuermann appears in Judge Timothy Mazzei's courtroom at Suffolk County Court for a status conference on February 25, 2025 in Riverhead, New York. (James Carbone/Pool/Getty Images) The new DNA technique is whole genome sequencing of the DNA within a hair; scientists take all the fragments of DNA and assemble them on the human genome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Traditional DNA sequencing looks at 15 to 24 points of comparison, while whole genome sequencing looks at 100,000 or more points and the methodology yields only one possible donor. Heuermann's defense argued the new DNA methodology has never been tested in New York courts, but prosecutors have said the technique is already used in the medical community and is consistent with what the court system has allowed. Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann and estranged wife reach divorce settlement originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A newly discovered species of feathered, bipedal dinosaur with "exceptionally preserved and atypical hands" had just two fingers, each one tipped with a gigantic, claw-like talon. A remarkable fossil specimen found in southeastern Mongolia gave researchers a clear idea of what the claws would have looked like in real life, with their keratin sheath still clearly visible, extending the bones into wicked talons. In their published study, a team led by paleontologist Yoshitsugu Kobayashi from Hokkaido University in Japan analyzed the fossils' appearance, similarities to relatives, and geological context to determine where to place this dinosaur in our records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They've named it Duonychus tsogtbaatari, with a genus that means 'two claws' in Greek, and a species name honoring Mongolian paleontologist Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar. The fossil was dug out of a Cretaceous sedimentary deposit in the Gobi Desert by a team of researchers from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in 2012. Known as the Bayanshiree Formation, this area is a hotspot for dinosaur fossils, thanks to its arid conditions and layers of lithified mud, clay, and sand. It's turned up giant footprints, plane-sized pterosaurs, and the famous 'fighting dinosaurs'. Reconstructed skeleton and selected elements of Duonychus tsogtbaatari. (Kobayashi et al., iScience, 2025) Uranium-lead dating of the mineral layers adjacent to the find suggests this newly discovered fossil could be around 90 to 95 million years old. Most of the bones are from its upper limbs and torso: There are some vertebrae, a bit of pelvis and ribs, part of one shoulder blade, and a whole lot of arm and hand bones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And, of course, a set of nails that would make Cardi B jealous. Duonychus's claws measure almost 30 centimeters (12 inches) long. It joins the therizinosaurs, a group of feathered, bipedal dinosaurs found in Cretaceous-era fossil deposits across Asia and North America. Until now, this clade was defined by its members' three-fingered hands, also studded with massive claws. Artist's impression of Duonychus. (Masato Hattori/Kobayashi et al., iScience, 2025) "The discovery of Duonychus tsogtbaatari is a big deal because it's the first known therizinosaur with only two fingers," Kobayashi told James Woodford of New Scientist. "Most theropods, including other therizinosaurs, kept three functional fingers, so finding one that lost a digit is pretty unexpected." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among theropods, of which Tyrannosaurus is the most notable, only five are known to have reduced or totally absent third fingers, all independently of each other, and seemingly for totally different reasons. We won't know why Duonychus settled with two fingers rather than three without extra specimens or analysis, but the researchers think it may be related to its method of feeding. The menacing curves and 90-degree range of motion suggest the dinosaur grasped onto vegetation, like a sloth or chameleon. This may have helped Duonychus pull leafy food towards its mouth, in true therizinosaur fashion. "As herbivorous or omnivorous theropods with long necks and small leaf-shaped teeth, the evolution of their unusual hands likely played an important role in the feeding ecology of this clade," the authors write in a paper describing the find. "Although claws usually have a dominant function, likely for hook-and-pull foraging in most derived therizinosaurs, these structures could also have been utilized for other purposes, such as territoriality, defense, courtship, play, etc." An artist's impression of the two-fingered hand, beside pictures of the fossilized evidence. (Kobayashi et al., iScience, 2025) The researchers say these are the largest three-dimensional dinosaur claws preserved with the sheath and underlying finger bone intact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Keratin usually doesn't fossilize. It decays long before bones do," Kobayashi told Woodford. "Most of the time, when we find dinosaur claws, we're only looking at the bony core. But in life, the actual claw would have been covered in a thick keratin sheath, making it longer and more curved." The research was published in iScience. Related News Girl, 13, found dead in Santa Cruz identified after three decades SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KRON) A 13-year-old girl who was found dead along a river in south Santa Cruz County three decades ago was recently identified through DNA testing, investigators said. The Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office partnered with a forensic DNA lab, Othram, to develop new leads in the cold case. As a result of this collaboration, we successfully identified the remains as those of 13-year-old Laura OMalley from Queens, New York, the sheriffs office wrote Tuesday. More Local News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OMalleys partial skeletal remains were found on March 22, 1995, along a river flowing next to Highway 129. Her estimated date of death was between 1977 and 1984. OMalley was reported missing in New York by her family in the summer of 1975. Her family never saw or heard from her again. Investigators said its still unknown how the teen girl traveled to California, nor what caused her death. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Laura OMalley (Photo via Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office) Othram and the Sheriffs Office utilized advanced genetic genealogy to identify potential family members in recent years. Marin County Jane Doe identified after six decades of mystery Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are deeply grateful for our partnership with Othram and the use of forensic advancements that have provided long-awaited answers to Lauras family. The circumstances surrounding her death are still under investigation, the sheriffs office 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 PIX11. Since President Donald Trump took office, the U.S. government has used its immigration enforcement powers to crack down on international students and scholars at several American universities who had participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations or criticized Israel over its military action in Gaza. Trump and other officials have accused protesters and others of being pro-Hamas, referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Many protesters have said they were speaking out against Israel's actions in the war. Trumps administration has cited a seldom-invoked statute authorizing the secretary of state to expel noncitizens from the country if their presence was a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests. Some people been taken into custody or deported. Others fled the U.S. after learning their visas had been revoked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rumeysa Ozturk Federal officers detained 30-year-old Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk on Tuesday as she walked along a street in suburban Boston. A senior Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said without providing evidence that an investigation found Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University, engaged in activities in support of Hamas," which is also a U.S.-designated terrorist group. Friends and colleagues of Ozturk said her only known activism was co-authoring an op-ed in a student newspaper that called on Tufts University to engage with student demands to cut ties with Israel. Ozturk has been taken to an ICE detention center in Louisiana. A U.S. District judge in Massachusetts on Friday said Ozturk cant be deported to Turkey without a court order and gave the government until Tuesday evening to respond to an updated complaint filed by Ozturks attorneys. Mahmoud Khalil Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This month, immigration enforcement agents arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, Palestinian activist and graduate student who was prominent in protests at Columbia last year. The administration has said it revoked Khalils green card because his role in the campus protests amounted to antisemitic support for Hamas. He is fighting deportation. Khalil served as a negotiator for Columbia students as they bargained with university officials over ending their campus encampment last spring. He was born in Syria and is married to an American citizen. His lawyers have asked a federal judge to free their client from a Louisiana immigration detention center. That legal challenge is still pending. Yunseo Chung Yunseo Chung is a Columbia student and lawful U.S. resident who moved to America from Korea as a child. Chung attended and was arrested at a sit-in this month at nearby Barnard College protesting the expulsion of students who participated in pro-Palestinian activism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Department of Homeland Security wants to deport Chung and has said she engaged in concerning conduct, including being arrested on a misdemeanor charge. A judge ordered immigration agents not to detain Chung while her legal challenge is pending. Badar Khan Suri Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown scholar from India, was arrested outside his Virginia home and detained by masked Homeland Security agents on allegations that he spread Hamas propaganda. Suris attorney wrote in a court filing that he was targeted because of his social media posts and his wifes identity as a Palestinian and her constitutionally protected speech. Suri holds a visa authorizing him to be in the U.S. as a visiting scholar, and his wife is a U.S. citizen, according to court documents. Suri was taken to a detention facility in Louisiana, according to a government website. His lawyers are seeking his immediate release and to halt deportation proceedings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leqaa Kordia Leqaa Kordia, a resident of Newark, New Jersey, was detained and accused of failing to leave the U.S. after her student visa expired. Federal authorities said Kordia is a Palestinian from the West Bank and that she was arrested at or near Columbia during pro-Palestinian protests. Columbia has said it has no record of her being a student there. Kordia is being held in an immigration detention center in Alvarado, Texas, according to a government database. Ranjani Srinivasan Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen and doctoral student at Columbia, fled the U.S. after immigration agents searched for her at her university residence. The Trump administration has said it revoked Srinivasan's visa for advocating for violence and terrorism. Srinivasan opted to self-deport. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials didnt say what evidence they have that Srinivasan advocated violence. Her lawyers deny the accusations, and she told The New York Times that she didn't help to organize protests at Columbia. Alireza Doroudi University of Alabama doctoral student Alireza Doroudi of Iran was detained by ICE on Tuesday. David Rozas, a lawyer representing Doroudi, says Douridi was studying mechanical engineering. His student visa was revoked in 2023, but his lawyer has said he was eligible to continue his studies as long as he maintained his student status and met other requirements of his entry into the United States. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Friday that the arrest was made over the revocation of Doroudis student visa, saying he posed significant national security concerns. A spokesperson said they could not share additional details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike some other students targeted by ICE, Dorudi's lawyer said there is no indication that his client was involved in any political protests. Doroudi told his lawyer he isnt aware of any suspected criminal activity or violations. He was detained in Alabama but will be moved to an immigration facility in Jena, Louisiana. Dr. Rasha Alawieh Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist from Lebanon who previously worked and lived in Rhode Island, was deported this month, even though a federal judge ordered that she not be removed until a hearing could be held. Homeland Security officials said Alawieh was deported as soon as she returned to the U.S. from Lebanon, despite having a U.S. visa, because she openly admitted supporting former Hezbollah leaderHassan Nasrallah. Alawieh told officers she followed him for his religious and spiritual teachings and not his politics, court documents said. She was to start work at Brown University as an assistant professor of medicine. Stephanie Marzouk, Alawiehs lawyer, has said she will fight to get the 34-year-old doctor back to the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Momodou Taal Momodou Taal was a doctoral student at Cornell University whose visa was revoked after he participated in campus demonstrations. Taal, a citizen of the United Kingdom and Gambia, said on April 1 that he had left the U.S. after a judge declined to halt his possible detention while he fought deportation in court. The government says it revoked Taals student visa because of his alleged involvement in disruptive protests. His attorneys say the 31-year-old doctoral student in Africana studies was exercising free speech rights. Taal said in a court declaration that I feel like a prisoner already, although all I have done is exercise my rights. The current situation with China, in our view, mirrors the situation in Korea in October 1950. The Chinese, prior to a vast human-wave invasion in October and early November that year, conducted a stealthy infiltration, followed by series of probes they called the First Phase Offensive. While Washington dithered and denied MacArthurs pleas to be allowed to bomb the Chinese buildup on the Yalu River, the Chinese measured the U.S. response and set a trap. As winter conditions set in, nearly a half-million Chinese soldiers swarmed across the mountains as U.S. air power was politically restricted from crossing the Chinese border to destroy rear area logistics or even bomb the essential Yalu River bridges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With vast human-wave assaults, the Chinese drove U.S. and U.N. forces all the way past the 38th parallel and overran the South Korean capital of Seoul. It took another two and a half years to regain the 38th parallel and conclude an armistice. And we are still there. Those probing attacks foreshadowed Communist Chinas decision to launch a war with the U.S. using all the military power at its disposal and doing it in the only place in which it could operate at the time the Korean Peninsula. Today, the U.S. may be in a similar situation, but the stakes are much greater: The relative power and strategic reach of China are orders of magnitude beyond what was available to them 75 years ago, allowing the country to now reach across the Pacific to our very shores. While President Donald Trump is making a high-intensity push to bolster U.S. national security with everything from the F-47 and the B-21 Raider to the promise of a Golden Dome aerospace defense system these systems are not yet operational. The fact remains that China has steadily been increasing its offensive power under President Xi Jinping. The Trump administration intends to establish a next-generation homeland missile defense shield the Just last week, the Chinese military released a propaganda video of its growing naval might. This followed last months large-scale jaunt into the Tasman Sea by the Peoples Liberation Army Navy, much to the discomfort of our allies Australia and New Zealand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, Chinas Coast Guard continued to challenge the Philippine Coast Guard, while last summer it blockaded a Philippine shoal outpost, detained a Taiwanese fishing boat and its crew, aggressively prowled an uninhabited Japanese island chain and flagrantly violated Taiwans air and sea space. Much like the Chinese of 1950 massing in the hills above the Yalu with Chinas probes ignored by Washington, so, too, are the contemporaneous, widespread actions of the Chinese across the breadth of the western Pacific being left partially unaddressed in the midst of the Trump administrations nascent DOGE reformation of the entirety of the U.S. government. Remember in 2013, Xi announced, Western constitutional government, universal values, civil societies and journalism are false ideological trends. Xi also asserted that China will be No. 1 in the world militarily and economically by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China. In other words, China will be the worlds new hegemon. Xi continues to strengthen his authoritarian rule and use Chinese military power to make his ideas stick. In 2023, Xi detailed the need for China to meet world-class military standards by 2027, the 100th anniversary of the pre-war founding of the Peoples Liberation Army. Xi also spoke of informatization (i.e., artificial intelligence) to accelerate building the worlds most powerful, ultra-modern military force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In light of the posture assumed by Xi, we believe that it could lead in the longer term to war directly against the homeland of the United States, as we have delineated in our website Winning Peer Wars. Xis longer-term objectives are clear, but that does not preclude a variety of opportunistic short-term moves. Such moves, just short of a war with the U.S., could include taking and holding parts of Pacific shoals and islands now under contention and vigorously supplying Russia with military hardware. Or, China could provide troops for non-combat duties to free Russian soldiers for the Ukrainian War. There is also the distant possibility of encouraging the estimated 50,000-plus Chinese males of military age illegally in the U.S. to participate in low-level attacks, such as throwing railway switches, disturbing pipelines and affecting electric transformers across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an effort to map U.S. weakness in the near term, while maintaining deniability, Xi could engage in nuisance cyber attacks at will. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party held a hearing earlier this month that exposed the depth of the current Chinese cybersecurity threat against the U.S. The overall outcome was alarming, not because of the obvious Chinese capabilities and long-running hacking operations, but because of the lackluster U.S. cyber defense worsened by government departments which are stovepiped, thus making it difficult for the U.S. to appreciate the broad systemic impact of the Chinese threat. The U.S. myopia in the understanding of the larger Chinese threat is complicated by the ongoing DOGE reformation, leaving the U.S. unprepared for the reality of 21st century warfare with a peer competitor bent on war by strategic paralysis the same strategic paralysis as put forth in the seminal work on Chinese strategic goals and methods, Unrestricted Warfare. The book was written in 1999 by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, then colonels in the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force. It laid out a decades-long plan of creeping, slow-motion warfare against U.S. diplomatic, informational, military and economic strengths until China would be strong enough to take on the country in a peer-to-peer conflict. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In retrospect, Unrestricted Warfare is exactly what China has been doing during the last quarter century, and what Xi intends to finish by 2049 or perhaps years or decades before that date. And while we have laid out plans at Winning Peer Wars to effectively counter Xis plans in the long term, heres what we recommend for the next few months: Increase reconnaissance efforts by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to maximum effort immediately. Immediately declassify sensitive intelligence of Chinese military operations and pass to open sources. Open U.S. ships, aircraft and bases to the world media to ensure massive coverage in the Indo-Pacific theater, whose vast distances preclude such coverage. Make significant U.S. Air Force and Navy visits to the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and other friendly countries. With luck, such actions might hold Xi in check and would tend to slow any Chinese march toward war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chuck de Caro was an IW researcher for the late Andrew W. Marshall, director OSD/Net Assessment; de Caro is the progenitor of the worlds first virtual military organization, the 1st Joint SOFTWAR Unit (Virtual). John Warden is a retired Air Force colonel who served from 1965 to 1995, with tours to Vietnam, Germany, Spain, Italy and Korea, among other CONUS-based assignments. Warden served a number of roles at the Pentagon, was special assistant for policy studies and national security affairs to the vice president and was commandant of the Air Command and Staff College. ** 2024 coverage of Esther Price above ** DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) If youre looking for an Easter treat, you might consider hopping down to your local Esther Price Candies retail store. Through April 6, golden eggs have been hidden across the different Esther Price locations. The eggs contain prizes. By the end of the hunt, 14 winners will be chosen, according to Esther Price. Click here 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 WDTN.com. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) The 2025 class of Goodfellows Honorary Commanders was taken on an immersion tour led by the 17th Security Forces Squadron. The 17th Security Forces Squadron showcased military-grade firearms and provided a military working dog demonstration. Lt. Col. Jeremy Berger said the dogs are trained to assist them in a variety of ways. They provide both explosive and narcotic detection. Theyre used throughout the 24/7 shifts we have. They also do building sweeps and vehicle searches and patrols across the base, Berger said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The security squadron is responsible for protecting members and resources on base. The 17th Security Forces Squadron provides security-based defense and law enforcement for Goodfellow Airforce Base and protection of its resources and its members, said Berger. Kelli Hanna, an Honorary Commander, said the tour helped her understand how dedicated our service members are to our nations security. Its overwhelming what our security and our military does for our country, Hanna said. JR Orlando, Goodfellows public affairs chief, said the immersion tours are organized to educate members of the Honorary Commanders program and the community about operations at Goodfellow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were really trying to educate people on our mission here, what we do here, and how important it is to our national security mission, Orlando said. Lt. Col. Berger said he hopes the tour allows members to better understand their dedication to the national mission. I hope that they just gained a better understanding of what we do here at Goodfellow and what the 17th mission support group provides to the overall wing mission, which leads up to the national mission, Berger 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 ConchoValleyHomepage.com. BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The People's Republic of China and the People's Republic of Bangladesh issued a joint press release on Friday in Beijing. Please see the attachment for the full text of the press release. Enditem Full text: Joint Press Release between the People's Republic of China and the People's Republic of Bangladesh Google has agreed to a record-breaking deal for "black gold," and its purchase will tackle two environmentally damaging issues at the same time. As detailed by TechCrunch, Google intends to buy 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal credits from Varaha, an Indian startup whose biochar is certified on leading crediting platform Puro.Earth. While there are different varieties of biochar, Varaha produces its black gold from a woody invasive species that has wreaked havoc on plant biodiversity. The startup estimates its industrial biochar could sequester carbon for up to 1,600 years, helping Google offset its growing production of planet-warming pollution, which is associated with its development of artificial intelligence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In its 2024 Environmental Report, the tech giant highlighted how "the positive impact of AI could grow as it contributes to breakthroughs that open new pathways for climate action." Indeed, AI-related research elsewhere is already leading to potentially life-saving breakthroughs in crop optimization and weather monitoring. However, even though Google is proactively working to reduce the environmental toll of its power-hungry AI operations, including by expanding its low-carbon and clean-energy portfolio, it says its pollution has climbed nearly 50% since 2019, with data-center energy consumption one of the primary factors. Carbon offsets can help mitigate that. The concept isn't without its critics, though. Some argue that the system needs more transparency to ensure programs are effective. Proponents of such initiatives point out companies will create some level of pollution and say it is wise for them to invest in eco-friendly projects. Varaha CEO Madhur Jain told TechCrunch that each ton of his company's biochar accounts for 2.5 carbon credits "linked to how long carbon can be permanently removed from the atmosphere by compensating for emissions with sustainable activities," per the report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Google's purchase of Varaha credits to be delivered by 2030 is "minuscule" compared to its carbon pollution, as TechCrunch highlights, the tech company has previously purchased biochar carbon removal credits from Senken and Exomad Green. This agreement suggests Google remains committed to its sustainability aims, and the purchase will support small farmers across India. According to Varaha, its nature-based solutions have removed more than 2.2 million tons of carbon to date, thanks to the assistance of more than 100,000 onboarded farmers. "Biochar is a promising approach to carbon removal because it has the ability to scale worldwide, using existing technology, with positive side effects for soil health," Google carbon removal lead Randy Spock said in a statement. 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 article was originally published in Tennessee Lookout. A bill giving public school districts the right to refuse enrollment to children without legal immigration status advanced in the Tennessee House Wednesday as a packed audience disrupted debate by standing and singing spiritual music in protest. The panel of lawmakers swiftly cast their votes 11-7 in favor of the measure and exited the room as people rose to sing Jesus Loves the Little Children, ending a contentious hour-and-a-half hearing. Three Republicans joined the committees four Democrats in casting a no vote. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The bill (HB793/SB836) by Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson and House Majority Leader William Lamberth of Portland both Republicans would give public school districts the option of verifying student immigration status and charging tuition of students who cannot prove they are legal residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related Early College Offers Students More Than Just Higher Ed Credits Alternatively, school districts could refuse to enroll children without proof of legal residency. The bill has drawn large protests for weeks as it has wound through the legislative process. It was significantly amended Wednesday, stripping an initial requirement that all Tennessee public schools must verify the immigration status of every student and, instead, making checks optional for public school districts. The amended version of the bill would also exempt students refused admission by their local public school as a result of their immigration status from the states truancy laws. House Majority Leader William Lamberth, sponsor of a bill to deny immigrant children lacking legal status the right to a public education in Tennessee (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Both of the bills sponsors have said they hope the measure could serve as a test case for the Supreme Court to revisit its 1982 Plyler v. Doe decision that established that all children in the United States have the right to a public education regardless of their immigration status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What were allowing (schools) to do is what Plyler prohibited them from doing, Lamberth said Wednesday. Citing increasing numbers of English language learners in Tennessee schools, Lamberth said the measure is necessary due to years of federal inaction in controlling the nations borders, leaving states to bear the burden of educating children whose parents skipped the line. The families that we are talking about, the parents we are talking about have absolutely gone around that process, he said. The bill drew fierce pushback from Democrats on the House Education panel. I think we all heard it here today, what this bill is really about, said Rep. Sam McKenzie, a Knoxville Democrat, who called the legislation a bully bill to try to undo the law of the land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have for over 40 years abided by this decision because its the right thing, he said. We should not put our children the least of us, those that cannot do for themselves in the middle of an adult battle. A fiscal analysis of the bill noted it could jeopardize over $1 billion in federal education funding to the state. The bill will next be heard April 1 in the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee. A separate bill that would have similarly required children without legal immigration status to pay public school tuition, and financial institutions to check immigration status of customers seeking to wire funds overseas, failed Wednesday in a House Banking and Consumer Affairs committee. Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the 91-year-old chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pushed back Thursday against calls by President Trump and some House Republicans to impeach federal judges who rule against Trumps agenda. You cant impeach a judge just because you disagree with their opinion, Grassley told Fox News when asked about calls to impeach lower-court judges who have blocked elements of Trumps agenda, such as the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. Grassley is working on legislation to restrict district-level federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions and plans to hold a hearing April 2 to explore legislative solutions to the bipartisan problem of universal injunctions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve got to be a legislative body. I know the president is irritated with some of these judges and I dont blame him, but you cant impeach a judge just because you disagree with an opinion, he said. Trump this month called for the impeachment of James Boasberg, the U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia, after he ordered a temporary stop to the deportation of alleged gang members. He slammed the judge as a Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) introduced an article of impeachment against Boasberg, charging him with abuse of power. The legislation has 22 House GOP cosponsors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grassley told local reporters in a call this week that Congress could pass legislation to limit a district judges ruling to the parties of a particular case. I doubt if any legislation should be passed that would stop all national injunctions, he said, according to The Des Moines Register. But the principle here is that in most cases, an injunction should only be against something in that judicial district and just for the people that are involved in the case. He said judges should not be policymakers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 growing number of Republican state lawmakers are introducing legislation that would treat abortion as murder in a push to give legal rights to fetuses. Since the beginning of this year, Republican lawmakers have introduced bills in at least 10 states, including Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho and North Dakota, that aim to charge pregnant women with homicide if they seek out or receive an abortion. While several of these bills have already failed to pass and the others are likely to meet the same fate, the influx of legislation shows more Republicans seeking to take a new step in restricting abortion rights: legally recognizing fetal personhood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is, of course, something that the movement had always wanted, but it hadnt really been achievable in the same way that it is now with Roe v. Wade gone, said Mary Ziegler, law professor at the University of California, Davis. In addition to abortion, some of the legislation calls for amending state law to classify the destruction of zygotes, embryos or fetuses as homicide. All of the states where they have been introduced, with the exception of North Dakota, allow the death penalty for homicide cases. The bills GOP sponsors have argued that fetuses are as human as we are and should be legally treated as such. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats, meanwhile, have sounded alarms about the legislation. We are seeing just how much theyre interested in controlling womens bodies in this bill, Iowa state Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D) said of Iowas H.B. 453. Democratic lawmakers told The Hill that the bills could threaten the future of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Konfrst added that there are also concerns among Iowa Democratic lawmakers about how H.B. 453, if passed, would impact certain forms of birth control such as intrauterine devices. They arent alone in opposing the push for the legal shift. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 2024 poll from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist found that the overwhelming majority of Americans 84 percent do not believe women who have had an abortion should face penalties, fines or jail time. A number of Republican lawmakers have also voted against the bills, contributing to their failure to pass even in deep-red states where other anti-abortion measures have succeeded. Abortion has been restricted in all 10 states where legislation has been introduced this year, since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Oklahoma state Rep. Cyndi Munson (D) observed that the Republicans introducing the legislation appear to be pushing a personal agenda versus a party or caucus one. I think there are Republicans that are growing more weary of these types of bills, because they starting to feel the consequences of their actions, because their polling has gone down, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think they are realizing that this is not a political issue anymore, and its not an issue that is bringing people to the polls even for them. The bills are contentious even within the anti-abortion movement, where the bigger, richer anti-abortion groups have been speaking out against legislation of this kind for as long as lawmakers have been introducing it, according to Ziegler. Students for Life of America, for instance, opposes such bills because they fail to address a predatory industry that exploits vulnerable women to make money and prosecute pregnant people who could have been coerced into abortion, a spokesperson said. Maybe instead of wasting our time on a circular firing squad and debating who can hand out the most prison sentences to prove that they are the most anti-abortion one out there, maybe get to work and elect 100 percent pro-life champions who will stand with us to pass substantial legislation, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, said in a recent episode on her podcast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many other anti-abortion organizations have taken a similar line. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America does not support legislation to criminalize women and qualify them for the death penalty, Kelsey Pritchard, the groups political affairs communications director, told The Hill. No state pro-life law criminalizes women and thats not changing as not a single one of these bills has passed out of committee. The bills introduced this year are far from the first that have sought to treat abortion as homicide: Similar legislation has been introduced in state legislatures for years, at least since the 2010s, according to Ziegler. Whats important about them is not that theyre new but they arent going away, and they seem to spreading, despite what looks sort of like pushback from some of the better funded anti-abortion [groups], Ziegler said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three of the bills in Indiana, Oklahoma and North Dakota have failed to pass this year. And Georgias H.B. 441, which would modify state law to allow women to be charged with homicide for receiving an abortion, appears poised to fail as well. Were already past the crossover point where one bill has to pass one chamber to go to the other, and it didnt get heard in committee, Georgia state Sen. Sally Harrell (D) said. She added that if the bill passed, it would likely interfere with IVF access in the state a procedure Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Brian Jones and the Speaker of the state House, all Republicans, have expressed support for. But while none of the legislation is likely to pass in the near future, the push to classify abortion as homicide also does not seem as if it will end any time soon. After Oklahomas S.B. 465 failed to pass the state Senate last month, an abortion abolitionist group hinted that lawmakers should expect to see a similar, if not identical, bill reintroduced in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We abolishioners will not rest until we have effected the abolishment of human abortion, Alan Marcicle, part of the Abolitionist Society of Tulsa, told Oklahoma Voice. Ziegler said the purpose of introducing and reintroducing these bills could be to build more support for granting fetal personhood and criminalizing abortion. This is more of long-term fight rather than something youre going to see yield immediate results, Ziegler 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. Republican senators are warning that any conversation taking place between senior Trump administration officials over the commercial app Signal needs to be preserved to determine whether classified information was compromised and to comply with the Federal Records Act. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) says hes working on a letter with Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the committee, instructing the Trump administration to preserve all the records related to a Signal chat among senior officials about a military strike on Houthi rebels. Were working on a different letter on preservation of documents, Wicker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A person familiar with the matter said the letter regarding document preservation was sent to the Trump administration Thursday. Wicker and Reed sent another letter Wednesday to the Pentagons office of inspector general asking the Defense Department to provide a detailed assessment of the facts and circumstances surrounding the Signal chat that involved Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz and other senior officials. This chat was alleged to have included classified information pertaining to sensitive military actions in Yemen, they wrote. If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know. They asked specifically for an assessment of whether any individuals transferred classified information, including operational details, from a classified system to an unclassified system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The request by the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee for the Trump administration to preserve all documents related to the chat could lay the groundwork for further congressional investigation. Wicker says his panel will hold a classified briefing on the matter but hasnt said yet whether he would agree to a public hearing something some Democrats on his panel are already demanding. Im on Armed Services so Id like to see the secretary of Defense come before our committee and take some questions and explain why he decided to do this, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said. I would like to understand his motivation. What does he understand about Signal? Can we get him some training? I think he should resign from the job because of this, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelly, a decorated naval combat pilot, called the leaking of operational details on Signal one of the biggest OPSEC blunders he could think of, including during his 25 years in the Navy. The biggest controversy over the Trump officials use of Signal is whether they compromised national security or even violated the Espionage Act by disclosing operational details of a military strike before it happened on a group chat that included the editor in chief of The Atlantic. But lawmakers are zeroing in on the question of whether senior Trump officials complied with federal record-keeping laws by discussing operational details of a military strike on a commercial app, which allows for messages to be automatically deleted after a period of time. Compliance with the Federal Records Act was at the center of the controversy of former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons use of a private email server during the 2016 presidential election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A State Department audit in 2016 found that Clinton failed to comply with the Federal Records Act because she did not turn over emails about State Department business before leaving government service. The Federal Records Act was enacted in 1950 to ensure vital records are preserved to provide the public with historical records of federal decisionmaking. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said its critical that the Trump administration complies with the federal recordkeeping law. We have to, he said. We could always point to lapses in the Biden administration, but I dont want to race to that bottom. I want to hold us to a higher standard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tillis applauded Wickers effort to investigate the scandal, which multiple Senate Republicans have called a major mistake and a screwup. I do agree with Sen. Wicker that we should examine it and let the facts speak for themselves. That makes sense, he said. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services panel, said Trumps national security team needs to up their game. Obviously they made a mistake. They got to up their game, he said. Sullivan, a former colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, said operational security, or OPSEC, is really important, and they should fix it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The subject of records retention came up at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday where Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, two officials who were part of the Signal chat about the Yemen strike, both testified. Ratcliffe told lawmakers that his agency has taken steps to preserve the records of official conversations. That came up actually in the Intelligence Committee hearing. John Ratcliffe brought it up, saying theyre using Signal in a way thats also consistent with federal law where they got to be able to keep records on it, said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Lankford noted Signal has a function that allows messages to be automatically deleted after a short while. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They do have to be able to keep that record for [recordkeeping] purposes, he said. A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to promptly make best efforts to preserve all communications over Signal related to the senior officials conversations about military planning. James Boasberg, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit by American Oversight, a group that advocates for government transparency. The group argued the discussion over Signal violated the Federal Records Act. The public has a right to know how decisions about war and national security are made and accountability doesnt disappear just because a message was set to auto-delete, Chioma Chukwu, the groups executive director, said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boasberg, the chief judge for the D.C. district court, issued an order earlier this month halting two flights deporting Venezuelan migrants suspected of being gang members to El Salvador. The flights continued to their destination after a stopover in Honduras, despite the ruling. The U.S. Court of Appeals on Wednesday by a 2-1 vote upheld Boasbergs order against the Trump administration invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport a group of Venezuelans without hearings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Jerry Ferrell is the first Black member of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission. (Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources photo) FRANKFORT The president of the GOP-controlled Kentucky Senate says a political Facebook post justifies removing the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissions only-ever Black member. But Jerry Ferrell, who in 2021 became the first Black Kentuckian named to the board overseeing wildlife management, told the Lantern that his political views shared on social media should not disqualify him from continuing to represent hunters and anglers in his Central Kentucky district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My social media are just that: mine, Ferrell said, suggesting Stivers was finding a reason not to reappoint him. Its none of his business. Senate Bill 245, which became law on Thursday after GOP supermajorities overrode Democratic Gov. Andy Beshears veto, changes what happens when a Fish and Wildlife Commission member reappointed by the governor is not confirmed by the Senate. Ferrell is the only member the change in law could apply to this year. Under the new law, sponsored by Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, a member not confirmed for reappointment must leave the board when the legislature adjourns Friday. In the past, members reappointed but not confirmed could serve until the end of the year. Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington (LRC Public Information) As the Senate considered whether to override the veto Thursday, Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, called the bill pure politics at its best, saying it targeted Ferrell because he made derogatory comments about Republican President Donald Trump. No board has been more politicized in this body than the Fish and Wildlife Commission, Thomas said. I think thats wrong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Lantern reported Wednesday that Ferrell believed SB 245 was intended to remove him because of social media posts hes shared critical of Trump. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, however, said more than a few derogatory statements prompted the bill. Stivers on the Senate floor then described an image purportedly on Ferrells Facebook page of the Supreme Court of the United States with the majority of them in KKK hoodies. If this individual were in this body or anywhere else, there would be a hue and cry for them to be impeached, removed or censured. I dont think putting Supreme Court justices in KKK hoodies is appropriate for anybody who sits on a board or commission of this state, Stivers said. President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, presides over the Kentucky Senate, March 28, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) A spokesperson for Senate Republicans shared screenshots with the Lantern that appear to show two separate posts made by Ferrell on his personal Facebook page visible only to his Facebook friends. One of the posts shared a profile picture from another Facebook account that featured conservative members of the U.S. Supreme Court in Ku Klux Klan hoods. Ferrell told the Lantern he doesnt remember sharing the post, which appears to have been shared in 2024 or earlier, but doesnt necessarily disagree with the sentiment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ferrell, who described himself as an anti-Trumper, said he believed recent decisions by the countrys highest court including a decision giving presidents criminal immunity from prosecution for some official acts were nuts. How Ferrell could be removed from the Fish and Wildlife Commission The commission is made up of nine unpaid members who oversee the KDFWRs budget consisting of tens of millions of dollars in hunting and fishing license fees, boat registration fees, and federal grants. State law directs the commission to keep a watchful eye over the department, and the commission controls the employment of the KDFWRs head executive, Commissioner Rich Storm. Each commission member represents a different geographic part of Kentucky. Fellow sportspeople vote for commission nominees in district meetings. A list of the top vote-getters is sent to the governor who selects someone from the list. The Senate then decides whether or not to confirm the governors appointments or reappointments. Commission members are allowed to serve two four-year terms. Ferrell was originally appointed by Beshear to the commission in 2021 and confirmed by the Senate in 2022. In January, Beshear reappointed Ferrell to a term ending in 2028. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stivers, when asked about Ferrells comments Thursday evening, said of the Facebook posts, you cant be putting things like that in the public domain when youre here to represent an entity or an agency of the commonwealth. The confirmation process for Fish and Wildlife Commission appointments by Democrat Beshear has been politically contentious before with the GOP-controlled Senate rejecting a number of them. Earlier nominees have been scrutinized for social media comments critical of the states fish and wildlife agency. One appointee was rejected by the Senate after being criticized because his wife was quoted saying complimentary things about Beshear in a Wall Street Journal article. Stivers said we have found many occasions that people have posted things on Facebook. He said talking about others in a derogatory, demeaning and inappropriate way is a reflection of your person and your thoughts. The commission, under state law, is designed as bipartisan in its makeup, and commission members arent identified by political party. Sportsmen have said the work of the commission is largely apolitical. In another purported Facebook post by Ferrell that the Senate spokesperson showed the Lantern, Ferrell shares a link to a TikTok. Above the link, Ferrell wrote he did not understand how or why people vote against their best interests in supporting Trump and that every veteran that voted for him needed to lose health care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ferrell, a veteran, told the Lantern he deleted the post with the TikTok link after he received a call from someone advising him to clean up his Facebook page. Theres rumors going around that I was a Trump hater on the Senate floor, so that was the reason for the deletion, Ferrell said. I didnt want to because how I feel is how I feel. Ferrell had previously told the Lantern he was proud of his work serving on the commission and helping represent Black Kentuckians who hunt and fish and that he wanted to continue that work which he views separate from his personal politics. He also told the Lantern he was worried his potential removal is part of a larger culture against diversity, an assertion that Stivers dismissed. The board would have all white representation if Ferrell is removed. I had no idea what his race was when this was brought to me, Stivers said. Now you can sit here and say, Wait, I should get a pass because of that? No. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Roughly two dozen people gathered at the State House on March 27, 2025 for the annual "Hands Around the Capitol lobbying effort. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/ Maine Morning Star) Republican legislators are proposing a number of changes to the states abortion laws, including a total ban, removing health insurance coverage and rolling back access to mifepristone. The Judiciary Committee is hearing public testimony starting at 9:30 a.m. on Friday on seven of these bills, which comes after about two dozen people gathered at the State House on Wednesday for the annual Hands Around the Capitol lobbying effort, during which organizers also called on young people to get involved in the anti-abortion movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Minority Leader Katrina Smith (R-Palermo) and Sen. Dick Bradstreet (R- Kennebec) spoke at the event, calling for federal intervention to provide resources for women facing unplanned pregnancies and the establishment of pregnancy resource centers. These centers, also called crisis pregnancy centers, often present themselves as a resource for pregnant people, but most are run by anti-abortion groups and do not provide or refer for abortion services. Smith and Bradstreet framed the event as supporting womens rights while providers say the legislation being advocated for would harm women. Mainers have made it clear that access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare is essential to their lives. Since the fall of Dobbs in 2022, they have twice elected a pro-reproductive rights majority to the statehouse, said Maine Family Planning President and CEO George Hill in a statement to Maine Morning Star. Hill said, on the other hand, the bills before the Legislature would harm patients health by limiting access to essential sexual and reproductive health care. Overturning existing laws The most extreme of the proposals comes from Rep. Abigail Griffin of Levant in LD 975, which would repeal the state laws authorizing abortion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would also change the definitions of human being and person within the Maine Criminal Code to include all human beings beginning at the moment of conception. These definitions would apply to the statutes prohibiting murder, assault, domestic violence assault and other offenses against a human being or a person. The bill would also repeal the crimes of elevated aggravated assault on a pregnant person and domestic violence elevated aggravated assault on a pregnant person. Other proposals take a more targeted approach by seeking to walk back abortion protections added in recent years. LD 682 would alter the 2023 law that allows abortions late in a pregnancy if a doctor deems the procedure to be necessary. The bill would change the statute to only when it is medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother, rather than when a licensed physician determines it is necessary, or when the fetus is diagnosed with a fetal anomaly that will, with a reasonable certainty, result in the death of the child within three months after birth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would also reestablish criminal penalties for performing an abortion without a license or after viability as well as require that the report of abortions made to the state include the race, marital status and level of education of the person on whom the abortion is performed. It is sponsored by Sen. David Haggan of Penobscot and nine Republican co-sponsors, including Assistant Senate Minority Leader Matthew Harrington of York and Assistant House Minority Leader Katrina Smith of Palermo. Lawmakers ongoing debates about MaineCare, the states Medicaid program, are also manifesting in abortion law. Rep. Reagan Paul of Winterport earlier attempted to remove coverage of abortion under MaineCare through a floor amendment in the two-year budget that failed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Maine started requiring MaineCare coverage of abortion in 2019 and has seen proposals to repeal the law every session since. This session, that proposal is in LD 253, sponsored by Rep. Kathy Javner of Chester and co-sponsored by Paul and others. Medication abortion Three bills directly discuss abortion by medication, but two specifically aim to restrict access to it. The vast majority of abortions in Maine last year used medication. Over 80% of Maine Family Planning patients, more than 60% of Mabel Wadsworth patients, and roughly 63% of Planned Parenthood of New Englands relied on medication abortion for procedures in 2024, according to the providers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LD 866 would prohibit purchasing or obtaining any abortion drugs online. It would also require a licensed health care professional to oversee medication abortions in person. Its sponsored by Griffin and seven Republican co-sponsors. LD 887 would make it a Class C crime a low level felony, punishable by up to five years in prison to provide or attempt to provide an abortion drug to a patient without physically examining the patient, being physically present for the abortion, scheduling a follow-up visit with the patient and providing them with a catch kit and medical waste bag. The bill also would also make manufacturers liable for the improper disposal of abortion drugs, with a civil penalty of $20,000. LD 887 is sponsored by Paul and five Republican co-sponsors, including Griffin and Haggan. Particularly since the overturn in 2022 of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that had established the right to abortion, there have been ongoing attempts to restrict medication abortion across the country, including efforts to reinterpret the dormant Comstock Act to criminalize the mailing of abortion-related drugs and legal challenges to the Food and Drug Administrations approval of mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected attempts to roll back access to mifepristone. While President Donald Trump has reinstated some of the anti-abortion policies from his first term, the president has yet to act on the FDAs loosening of restrictions to accessing abortion pills since then. On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Trumps pick for FDA commissioner, Marty Makary, who wouldnt commit to specific action on mifepristone during his confirmation hearing, though hes been public about his anti-abortion views. Informed consent Related to medication abortion, Paul proposed LD 1007, which would add to what health care professionals are required to inform a patient to obtain informed consent for such a procedure. Currently, medical professionals are required to inform the patient at least the following for all abortion procedures: that the person is pregnant, the number of weeks since the probable conception date, the risks associated with the pregnancy and abortion technique to be performed, and, at the patients request, alternatives to abortion such as adoption and information about economic assistance that can be accessed to help carry the fetus to term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would add to this list, solely for medication abortions, specific information about the potential ability of qualified health care professionals to reverse the effects of the abortion. Paul also proposed LD 1154, which would require that for all abortions, providers also inform patients about something called perinatal hospice services. As defined by the bill text, these services mean comprehensive support after a prenatal diagnosis indicating the fetus has a life-limiting condition and may die before or shortly after birth. The support would start from the time of diagnosis through the time of birth and death of the child, including counseling and medical care by maternal and fetal medical specialists or also a member of the clergy, social worker or specialty nurse focused on alleviating fear and ensuring that the woman and the womans family experience the life and death of the child in a comfortable and supportive environment. Eesha Pendharkar contributed reporting to this story. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) said Thursday that Elise Stefanik is putting the Trump administrations agenda above her own political ambitions hours after the president announced he would pull her as the nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Elise was perfect for the job, so for that reason, Im disappointed, but shes one of the best fighters that President Trump has in the Congress, and President Trump needs her vote to pass the Trump agenda, Banks told NewsNation. And I know Elise Stefanik, while shes more than anything else, above her own ambitions, shes putting the country first, putting the presidents agenda first, and thats what shes going to be committed to doing, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump formally announced his decision to withdraw Stefaniks name from consideration in a Thursday post on Truth Social. I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress to help me deliver Historic Tax Cuts, GREAT Jobs, Record Economic Growth, a Secure Border, Energy Dominance, Peace Through Strength, and much more, so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, the president posted. With a very tight Majority, I dont want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elises seat. The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations, he continued. Although Stefanik is not the first contentious nominee for the second Trump administration, she is the only candidate to be withdrawn from consideration by the White House. Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) notably removed himself as a nominee for the attorney general post after receiving scrutiny for reports of alleged misconduct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stefanik, a Republican lawmaker from Wyoming, held the number 4 spot in the House before agreeing to become an ambassador in the Trump administration. She underwent a Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 21 but saw no movement toward the United Nations role in the months following. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair James E. Risch (R-Idaho) said he was informed of Stefaniks withdrawal through a phone call. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he supports Trumps decision to keep Stefanik as a member of Congress noting she would help drive America First policies forward. It is well known Republicans have a razor-thin House majority, and Elises agreement to withdraw her nomination will allow us to keep one of the toughest, most resolute members of our Conference in place to help drive forward President Trumps America First policies, Johnson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Republicans in Congress are increasingly pressing the Trump administration for more answers about the leak of the militarys plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen, pressure that was highlighted by a call from the Senates Armed Services Committee chairman for the Defense Departments acting inspector general to conduct an investigation. The effects of The Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldbergs accidental inclusion in a group chat with senior members of President Donald Trumps national security team reverberated through the halls of Congress this week, and Republicans had to decide how far they wanted to go in publicly criticizing members of Trumps team. As more details emerged, and as two Capitol Hill hearings found some of the principals involved less than forthcoming, Republicans seemed less willing to downplay the controversy. Most notably, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker did not buy White House press secretary Karoline Leavitts argument that officials didnt send classified information in the Signal group chat that included Vice President J.D. Vance, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, among others members of Trumps Cabinet. Those in the chat deliberated about striking the Houthis to protect shipping lanes, and Hegseth shared details that included the timing of air strikes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The information, as published recently, appears to me to be of such a sensitive nature that, based on my knowledge, I would have wanted it classified, Wicker told reporters. He and Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, sent a joint letter Wednesday to the Defense Departments acting inspector general, requesting an inquiry into the creation of the group chat and answers about whether its members followed the departments policies surrounding classified information. Wicker told reporters he and Reed also wanted a classified meeting with an administration official in a secure location about the incident. Weve agreed to seek time relatively soon for a classified briefing to the Armed Services Committee in the SCIF, and I expect well be able to do that, he said, referencing a facility in which government officials can appropriately share classified and sensitive information. Were going to try to negotiate with the administration to make sure that we get a senior person to come and actually do that briefing. Asked if he wanted that senior person to be Hegseth, he did not go that far, but he said he wanted someone who actually has the facts and can speak on behalf of the administration. Other senators also have expressed skepticism about the claim that the information shared was not classified. That information should not have been shared on that platform, Sen. Mike Rounds, a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence committees, told reporters. Intelligence Committee member Sen. Todd Young said he was working to get more information from the White House. Theres some unanswered questions still about the whole episode, and well continue to work with the administration to get clarity on some of these unanswered questions, he told The Dispatch. The administration has insisted that there were no war plans accessible to Goldberg, which is how he originally described them. He called them attack plans in a follow-up story, a change that Hegseth seized on to criticize the journalist. For some Republicans on Capitol Hill, theres no real distinction. Rounds told reporters he did not know the difference between the two. Rep. Don Bacon, a former Air Force brigadier general who has been especially critical of the second Trump administrations foreign policy even before the group chat episode, said the administration was being silly on both the issue of war plans and that of classified information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre trying to parse words out, the Nebraska Republican told The Dispatch. They said its not classified. Well, its not classified now because weve already hit the targets. So, theyre playing word games. Theyre digging a hole, and theyre hurting their own credibility. They ought to just say, It was wrong. We learned from our mistake. And by the way, the mission was great. The big picturewe did good work, and the Houthis deserved to be dealt with. Amid the fallout, there has also been something of a blame game taking place not just in the Capitol and White House, but on the political right more broadly, and it has broken down along ideological lines. Those who favor a more isolationist foreign policy are blaming Waltz for the snafu, citing the fact that he created the group chat that included Goldberg. Waltz has claimed he does not know the journalist and has indicated that Goldberg somehow managed to add himself to the chat. Sean Davis of The Federalist is a pro-Trump commentator who has been immensely critical of aid to Ukraine, saying it could be inciting World War III. Trump may still trust Waltz, but I guarantee you very few others who have to work with Waltz trust him right now, and for good reason, he tweeted Tuesday. Even in direct personal conversations in SCIFs or the White House, I guarantee top officials will be far less open with their views given that they now know who Waltz talks to when nobody is looking. That attitude matches reports about White House aides being dissatisfied with Waltzs actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, GOP members of Congress who favor a more hawkish foreign policy are coming to the defense of Waltz, who once served as an adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney in the George W. Bush administration and has made arguments for a strong American posture on the world stage. I agree with President @realDonaldTrump that @MikeWaltz47is an invaluable member of his national security team and that he should continue to serve the President and our country, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina posted on X. Bacon offered perhaps the most explicit defense of the national security adviser. His mistake was adding on a journalist, he told The Dispatch of Waltz, whom Bacon referred to as a friend. Weve all made mistakes like that. The real mistake was putting classified information on an unclassified system. And so, to me, Mike didnt intentionally do that. He made a mistake, should have been more cautious. Hes actually owned up to it. Its putting the classified information on it thats the real error here. Does Bacon believe a Waltz departure would make the Trump administration less hawkish? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think we need Mike Waltzs voice, he said. I think he brings us an important voice, so we would lose something, not having them there. 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. SOUTH BEND Area Mennonites joined together late Wednesday afternoon at Jon Hunt Plaza, South Bend, calling on federal and state governments to extend love and compassion to immigrants and Palestinians. I call on our U.S. political leaders to support and take steps to implement a permanent ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel, said Norm Waggy, of Goshen. I further ask our elected officials to use their leverage to stand up against the Israeli governments ongoing genocidal policies in Gaza, as well as stop funding the ongoing occupation of Palestine. Approximately 125 participants sang hymns and songs and shared personal stories and connections to both Palestinians and undocumented immigrants. They came from groups including Mennonite Action Michiana, Michiana Voices for Middle East Peace, Michiana Friends of Palestine and Movimiento Cosecha. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jesus calls us to love our neighbor, and our neighbor is not defined by national borders, said Sandra King of Goshen. Jesus calls us to welcome the stranger, and that includes refugees and immigrants. Gods love doesnt stop at borders; it applies to everyone, regardless of where they were born or their immigration status. Mennonites in Michiana are part of a new movement, since late 2023, known as Mennonite Action, which has focused attention the past 16 months on the situation in Gaza. Thousands of Mennonites and friends have been conducting public actions across the United States and Canada, calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a U.S. arms embargo against Israel, a major increase in accessible humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and a political solution that includes an end to the occupation of Palestine. Mennonite Action continues to press these demands, while additionally calling for an end to frequently random and legally suspect deportations of immigrants. LHASA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Lawful religious activities are under effective protection, and every effort is made to satisfy the religious needs of believers in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, said a white paper issued by China's State Council Information Office Friday. The region has approximately 46,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, 12,000 native Muslims, and over 700 believers of Catholicism, according to the white paper titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era." Ordinary believers commonly have a scripture room or a Buddhist shrine at home. In Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, traditional religious activities such as learning scriptures, debate, initiation as a monk or nun, abhisheka (empowerment ceremony), and self-cultivation are regularly practiced, and examination on scriptures and subsequent promotion in academic degrees are also held in monasteries on a regular basis, the white paper said. Religious and folk activities, including the Shoton Festival, Butter Lamp Festival, Saga Dawa Festival, and religious walks around lakes and mountains, take place as customary, noted the document. The central government and governments at all levels in Xizang fully respect the tradition of reincarnation of living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism, it said, adding that they strictly follow the Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism and manage the process in accordance with the law. Over 98 percent of monasteries and temples now have access to roads, telecommunications, electricity, water, radio and television, noted the white paper, adding that the government allocates over 26 million yuan (about 3.6 million U.S. dollars) per annum to cover medical insurance, pension schemes, subsistence allowances, accident injury insurance, and health check expenses for all registered monks and nuns. Nine Tibetan Buddhism colleges, including the High-level Tibetan Buddhism College of China and Xizang Tibetan Buddhist Institute, have been constructed in China with an investment of 920 million yuan, it said. New ID rules go into effect nationwide in a little more than a month. If you need a Real ID, there's still time to get one before rules go into effect May 7. Here's a look at what's changing and what you need to do. What is Real ID? Real ID is a driver's license or state ID card marked with a star or other symbol depending on the state. If you already have a valid Indiana ID, check the upper-right corner for a star. Indiana has been issuing Real ID-compliant documentation to Hoosiers since 2010, so you might not need to act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congress passed the Real ID act in 2005 in response to the 9/11 Commission's recommendation that the Federal Government "set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver's licenses." The deadline for Real ID was initially summer 2008, but resistance from state governments, funding issues and the COVID-19 pandemic repeatedly delayed the deadline. All 50 states, all five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia will enforce Real ID requirements May 7, 2025. What does a Real ID look like? The Real ID will be required to fly starting Oct. 1, 2020. Do I need a Real ID to fly? Real ID is one of a handful of documents that allows people to board commercial flights. It is also necessary to access certain federal facilities like military bases as well as nuclear power plants. If you already have a valid passport or passport card, you do not need Real ID card to board a commercial flight. International flights still require a valid passport or acceptable alternative; a Real ID card alone will not suffice. You can learn more about the different forms of acceptable identification for air travel on the TSA's website. If you still aren't sure whether you'll need a Real ID by the May 2025 deadline, you can fill out the Department of Homeland Security's online questionnaire to find out. Do children need a Real ID? People under the age of 18 still do not need identification when traveling with a companion within the United States. Passports or accepted alternatives are still required for international travel. How do I get Real ID? You do not need to take a test to obtain a Real ID driver's license or card. You will need to visit an Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch in person with the following documents: 1. Proof of identity and lawful status Most documents proving identity also prove lawful status. You will need one of the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement United States birth certificate Unexpired United States passport Unexpired foreign passport with a visa and I-94 form Consular Report of Birth Abroad (only issued to citizens under 18) 2. Proof of Social Security Your full nine-digit Social Security number must be displayed on one of the following: Social Security card W-2 form SSA-1099 form Non-SSA-1099 form Pay stub with your name and Social Security number on it Social Security Administration document establishing that you are ineligible for a Social Security number. 3. Proof of Indiana residency You must bring printed copies of two documents proving your Indiana residency to receive an Indiana Real ID. Common documents include the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Computer-generated bill from a utility company, credit card company, doctor, or hospital, issued within 60 days of the date you visit a BMV branch, and containing your name and address of residence. Bank statement. Pre-printed pay stub. Medicaid or Medicare benefit statement. Indiana is a centralized issuance state, meaning you do not receive your new card over the counter at your local DMV. Cards typically arrive via mail within a week or two. You can find more information on necessary documentation including for people who have changed their name, gender or date of birth in the BMV's online documentation guide. What will happen if I don't have Real ID? Travelers without a REAL ID-compliant license or acceptable alternative beginning May 7, 2025 will not be allowed through TSA checkpoints. If you can't find one or more of your required documents, consult the BMV's online documentation guide. Acceptable alternatives to Real ID licenses include unexpired passports and passport cards. Non-Indiana residents a valid Enhanced Driver's License from Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont or Washington are considered Real ID-compliant when traveling domestically through Indiana as well. Find out more about Real ID If you still have questions about Real ID or how to obtain one, you can use the Indiana BMV's interactive document guide online or contact the BMV service line at (888) 692-6841. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Real ID deadline is coming. How to get yours in Indiana DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) Local restaurateurs who own a series of downtown Delaware eateries have closed their gourmet hot dog and craft cocktail joint after less than a year of business. Lazy Dawg Restaurant and Bar has permanently shuttered at 12 W. Williams St. in Delaware after opening last year at the end of June. The eatery was just around the corner from owners Xue Qin and Xue Gongs three other downtown Delaware restaurants, Typhoon Asian Fusion, Mashida Chicken and Yokai Ramen Bistro. Columbus to review 16-story student housing complex at corner of Lane and High Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We regret to inform you that our business will be closing permanently, Lazy Dawg announced on social media late last year. We want to express our deepest gratitude to all our customers for their support and loyalty. It has been a privilege to serve you, and we cherish the relationships we have built. Its unclear when exactly the Delaware hot dog restaurant welcomed patrons for the last time. Lazy Dawg Restaurant and Bar welcomed hot-dog enthusiasts at 12 W. Williams St. in Delaware. (Courtesy Photo/Delaware County Auditors Office) The menu featured a selection of favorite dawgs, from the Boston-Style wiener with baked beans and onion, to the Cheeto n Cheddar with corn relish and cheddar cheese Cheetos. Other dogs included the Cuban with ham and Swiss cheese, the Chili Mac with mac n cheese and chili green onion, the Wild Buffalo with coleslaw and blue cheese, and many more. Customers could also opt for Lazy Dawgs seafood brioche, like the Maine New England Roll served with lobster, mayo, celery, Masago and green onion. Craft cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages and a selection of sides rounded out the menu. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio lawmakers want to ban HOAs from prohibiting thin blue line flags The restaurant opened as several other hot dog eateries expanded in central Ohio, while some shuttered. Dirty Franks, the fan-favorite hot dog palace, opened another location in Worthington. The new joint marked Dirty Franks third brick-and-mortar location after the first opened in 2009 and the second opened in Hollywood Casino Columbus in 2021. Weenie Wonder, a fast-casual eatery serving hot dogs and milkshakes, closed its Dublin and Easton locations. The first restaurant opened at Bridge Park in 2022 and a second location followed at Easton in 2023. Both locations were adjacent to Pins Mechanical Co. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) The General Assembly has overturned the governors veto on House Bill 495. The Republican-led legislature just overrode my veto on House Bill 495, which will allow conversion therapy in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, on the afternoon of March 27. Gov. Beshear vetoes bill aimed at overturning conversion therapy ban and Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beshear banned conversion therapy in the Commonwealth with a September 2024 executive order. House Bill 495 saw a last-minute addition before the veto recess, moving forward with not only repealing a conversion therapy ban but also impacting transgender people on Medicaid. Medicaid coverage for cross-sex hormones or gender reassignment surgery will now be banned. The Family Foundation policy director, Nick Spencer, supports the bill. He told FOX 56 he believes the governors executive order banning conversion therapy in the Commonwealth limits free speech, and people should be able to choose the counseling that fits them. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Win for free speech, religious liberty, and for fiscal and moral sanity! Gov. Beshears veto on HB 495 has been overridden by both chambers. KY counselors and pastors can once again share the truth about Gods design for gender and sexuality. And our tax dollars will no longer pay for gender mutilation via Medicaid, The Family Foundation wrote on X Thursday afternoon. The Fairness Campaign called the override devastating. Its a sad day in Kentucky. Two anti-LGBTQ bills will become law with devastating consequences for our community. HB495 opens the door to conversion torture and denies Medicaid coverage for transgender healthcare. Likewise, SB2 denies healthcare to transgender inmates. Both are cruel and have no place in our Commonwealth, Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman said. Gov. Beshear vetoes 9 bills on education, healthcare, and more on Wednesday Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Bill 2 was passed into law without the governors signature. Beshear said that he doesnt believe that the state should pay for gender reassignment surgeries for convicted felons as this would mean those in prison would receive better access to medical care than a law-abiding citizen. Beshear shared a video explaining the reported dangers the bill poses. Listen to the experts and survivors who know how dangerous this torture is. These are the voices they didnt want you to hear. I hope youll listen, he said. Click here to view the governors 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 FOX 56 News. The Indiana Statehouse - adorned with scaffolding for a roofing project - on March 28, 2025. (Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Friday announced business-focused Indianapolis attorney Jennifer Ruby will take over the states vacant public access counselor role. Transparency for Hoosiers is important for a healthy state government, and Jennifer Ruby brings decades of legal expertise to serve Hoosiers as Public Access Counselor, Braun said in a news release. She will do a great job promoting public trust through transparency and accountability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ruby said she was honored to be chosen for the job and to uphold the values of government transparency and accountability. Public access is essential for effective governance, and I look forward to serving our state in this role, she added. Ruby is president, CEO and lead attorney at her Indianapolis-based firm, Ruby Law. She counsels clients on estate and succession planning; real estate issues; contracts and general business issues, according to her LinkedIn although her favorite areas of interest are identified as life sciences, information technology, education and business development. She also is a mediator. Ruby holds a law degree and a masters degree in planning from Indiana University, and an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Purdue University. The Office of the Public Access Counselor provides guidance on state public records and open meeting laws: it responds to informal inquiries on the laws, issues non-binding advisory opinions, recommends improvements to the Indiana General Assembly, educates officials and Hoosiers on rights and responsibilities, and more, according to the offices website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The General Assembly created the office in 1999. Until last year, the officeholder served four-year terms and could only be fired for cause. But lawmakers changed that during the last legislative session. Now, the governor can remove the public access counselor at any time leaving the appointee vulnerable to dismissal for opinions that powerful state leaders dislike. The officeholder is also now limited to using only the laws plain text and official court orders in writing those opinions. Indianas longest-serving public access counselor, Luke Britt, stepped down in February, several months after the changes went into effect. His resignation came after 12 years; he was first appointed in 2013 by Republican former Gov. Mike Pence and reappointed twice by former Gov. Eric Holcomb, also a Republican. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Britt told WFYI that his role was fundamentally changed. Id always said that if I found that my voice was getting ineffective, it was time to leave. And that might have been my sign with that legislation, he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Utah Gov. Spencer Cox allowed a bill banning the display of most flags by public school teachers and government entities to become law Thursday night without his signature due to concerns that it sought a culture-war win instead of consensus. Thursday marked the final day of the governors 20-day bill-review period following the legislative session which concluded on March 7. Cox vetoed a total of six bills this year, including one giving him power to select the states chief justice, and encouraged the Legislature to pursue wholesale reforms to criminal justice and taxes. Cox reserved his longest message to the Legislature for HB77, Flag Display Amendments, which passed mostly along party lines and sparked multiple protests at Capitol Hill over the course of lawmakers seven-week legislative work window. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement H.B. 77 has been one of the most divisive bills of the session, and I am deeply disappointed that it did not land in a better place, Cox wrote. Promoting political neutrality in the classroom is an important goal, according to Cox. But he said the new flag law fails to fully address the use of polarizing political symbols in public schools by only applying to flags and extends too much control over municipal leaders who wish to reflect certain values to their voters. I deeply believe that our classrooms need to be a place where everyone feels welcome free from the politics that are fracturing our country," Cox said. Unfortunately, this bill does not do that. Charlotte Weber displays a pride flag while speaking in opposition to HB77 Flag Display Amendments in a Senate Education Committee meeting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News What does the flag bill do? Utahs new law, which takes effect on May 7, will prohibit government entities and public school employees acting within their official duties from displaying a flag on government property unless the flag is one of a dozen exceptions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Teachers in their classrooms, and cities, counties or the state on government grounds, will only be allowed to place a flag in a prominent location ... where the flag is easily visible if the flag is one of the following: United States flag. Utah state flag. Municipal flag. Military flag. Tribal flag. Country flag. Officially licensed public university flag. Official public school flag. Olympic flag. The bill clarifies that historical state and national flags may be displayed and that flags temporarily displayed by an organization authorized to use public schools will be allowed. Altered versions of the permitted flags will not be allowed. The bill only applies to actual flags, not to depictions of flags, lapel pins or signs. An amendment to the bill reaffirmed that nothing in the bill removes a schools obligation to protect all students from discrimination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state auditor will be tasked with establishing a process to investigate alleged violations of the bill. The bill requires the auditor to notify government entities of each allegation and of each allegation the auditor considers substantive. A dangerous precedent? The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, originally applied only to classrooms and included a new cause of action for parents to sue schools that were out of compliance. This version was based on a similar proposal that failed in the final hours of the 2024 session after coming up for a Senate vote through a controversial procedural trick. In its second introduction to the Legislature, the bill was narrowed to the point that the states largest LGBTQ lobbying group, Equality Utah, declared themselves neutral. That flipped when Lee expanded the scope of the bill during its first committee hearing to include cities and counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It sets a dangerous precedent that the state can silence the speech rights of local governments and makes the bill constitutionally suspect, Equality Utah policy director Marina Lowe said Thursday in a statement to the Deseret News. The organization took credit for the amendment reaffirming schools obligation to protect children from discrimination and also lobbied to limit the law to just physical flags, excluding depictions of flags, such as pins, stickers or patches. While it is not mentioned in the law, opponents said they believed it targeted the rainbow, or pride, flag that represents LGBTQ social movements. Lee suggested on multiple occasions that this was his intent, including in a social media post where he said that Salt Lake City would only be allowed to fly a pride flag at city hall until May 7. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were happy, Lee told the Deseret News in response to Coxs letter. There isnt a good reason to veto it and he knows it. Hence why he doesnt want to go down that path. What were Coxs criticisms of the bill? But it wasnt the intention of the bill Cox said he took issue with, it was the process which he said did not align with the states previous efforts to balance LGBTQ inclusion with conservative values around religion and gender. The law will not eliminate the problem lawmakers aimed to solve, Cox argued, adding that the enforcement of political neutrality would be better addressed by the Utah State Board of Education. He said the bill might have the unintended consequence of increasing alternative political displays, like using rainbows lights on the side of a building. Cox said he shared the view that pride flags are not necessary to accommodate certain students. But more can be done to make every student feel welcome to exercise their own individual freedom of expression, Cox said, expressing his appreciation for the states LGBTQ community. (A)s tired as Utahns are of politically divisive symbols, I think they are also tired of culture war bills that dont solve the problems they intend to fix, Cox said. There are so many examples of the LGBTQ community and the conservative community coming together to find helpful and hopeful compromise. I hope we can retain this as our model and North Star. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Its official, Governor Spencer Cox has signed a bill banning water fluoridation in public water systems a nationwide first. H.B. 81 or Fluoride Amendments is a law that will prohibit fluoridation to public water systems. It would also allow pharmacists to prescribed fluoride tablets to those needing fluoride as an alternative delivery method for those wishing to take fluoride. Currently, there are two counties and several municipalities across the state that fluoride their water systems, those systems serve around 1.6 million people. With the bill being signed by the governor, public water managers will have until May 7 to cease fluoridation operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The process of fluoridation is the addition or removal of fluoride in order to meet the recommended levels beneficial to oral health, which is 0.7 milligrams per liter, or about three drops within a 55-gallon barrel of water. As fluoride is removed from Utahs public water, the new law allows pharmacists to prescribe fluoride tablets to those who which to continue receiving fluoride. Cox allows flag ban to go into effect without signature, acts on remaining bills Unlike other bills this session, the debate around fluoridation saw support and resistance from bi-partisan lawmakers as Utahs Republicans and Democrats either voiced support or opposition to the bill in the final vote in the legislature. The bill also garnered nationwide attention, as the Beehive State is the first in the nation to mandate a statewide ban on public water fluoridation. Although water providers will be removing their fluoridation systems, dont expect your water bill to be affected much. In previous statements to ABC4.com, water providers dont expect prices to change at all for customers. Water Pro INC said residents might see less than 90 cents per month in savings as a result of the ban. Other providers said that bills might go up as they get rid of standing supplies and equipment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dentists have issued warnings about what the ban could mean for Utahns, saying that without fluoride cavities will go up, especially among the less fortunate. It really only hurts the children whose families are not aware of the benefits of the program, or cannot afford to go to their dentist or physician to get fluoride supplements, Mark Fullner, local dentist in Utah County, told ABC4.com. It also puts the burden of compliance on adults in those families who care enough to follow the guidelines to administer proper doses. Chances of a mistake in those circumstances seems to be much higher than the associated risks with well monitored addition of fluoride to the water source. In a statement to ABC4.com, the Utah Dental Association expressed disappointment in the signing, saying that the governor had failed to put children and the vulnerable first. The Utah Dental Association (UDA) is disappointed in the Utah Legislature and Governor for failing to put Utahs children, vulnerable, and at-risk populations first by signing HB 81, the statement read. This decision disregards decades of scientific research demonstrating that community water fluoridation at optimal levels is a safe, effective, and cost-efficient way to prevent tooth decay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ABC4.com reached out to the governor for further comment on this, which his office declined. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at public colleges into law. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Senate Bill 1, otherwise known as the Advance Ohio Education Act, was signed by DeWine Friday. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to banning DEI, the bill also rescinds certain collective bargaining and tenure protections for faculty. It also prohibits universities from weighing in on controversial beliefs or policies, including issues such as climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, DEI programs, immigration policy, marriage, or abortion. The bill also requires each state college to develop a civics education course thats not fewer than three credit hours. Schools that violate the provisions of Senate Bill 1 run the risk of losing their state funding. The bill was first passed by the Senate in February. It entered the Ohio House for consideration last week and was passed by a vote of 58-34. An amendment was added, which caused the bill to get sent back to the Senate for a concurrence vote. It passed by a vote of 20 to 11. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry places his hand on his chest for playing of the National Anthem before the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome on Jan. 2, 2025. (Governor's office Facebook page) It has all the makings of history repeating itself and in the worst way imaginable. Youre hard pressed to find anyone whos endorsed Gov. Jeff Landrys recent moves to undo the layers of separation between himself and the body that oversees flood protection for most of the New Orleans area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre apparently at the behest of Shane Guidry, a prominent business owner in the offshore energy supply sector and generous donor to Landrys campaigns over the years. The governor has made Guidry, who describes the governor as his best friend, an unofficial adviser within his administration. Guidrys influence has become apparent within the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. The New Orleans-area levee boards on both sides of the Mississippi River were overhauled and rebranded after Hurricane Katrina once local and state leaders saw the need to remove political influence from resiliency infrastructure decisions. Their new structure placed an emphasis on subject matter expertise on flood protection rather than the political connections that had been in place for decades. The first instance of Guidry dabbling in inner workings of the Flood Protection Authority-East came when executive director Kelli Chandler resigned in January. She clashed with Guidry over the role of the levee boards 60-person police force, The Times-Picayune reported. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Chandler saw protection of the authorities flood protection assets in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard parishes as the departments top priority, Guidry wanted more emphasis placed on law enforcement in New Orleans levee-adjacent neighborhoods. Officers should be doing more than watching grass grow, he said. Thanks to approval from the GOP-dominated Louisiana Legislature, the governor now has authority to directly appoint the leaders of dozens of state boards and commissions that previously went through a formal vetting and state Senate approval process. For the Flood Protection Authority-East, Landry tapped Metairie civil engineer Roy Carubba to replace Chandler, who had no background related to flood protection. Carubbas firm has worked in the past for Guidry, according to reports. All signs point to Guidry continuing to exercise control over the levee board, and he says flood protection will continue to be its priority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But so far this month, four members resigned from the levee board, most of them citing Guidrys reversal of reforms made after Katrina, according to WVUE-TV Fox 8. Three of them, Roy Arrigo, Thomas Fierke and William Settoon addressed their resignation letter to Guidry, although he has no official status with the Landry administration or designated powers over the authority. Contrary to board appointed President Carubas (sic) often expressed opinions of the FPA, we have observed the morale, readiness and focus on flood protection have been diminished during his tenure, the letter reads. The fourth board member, Derek Rabb, has not explained his departure. When The Times-Picayune reached Carubba for comment, he said he first had to clear the interview with Guidry. Once cleared to speak, the engineers comments about his de facto boss were glowing, with Carubba describing Guidry as a brilliant business person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Guidry explained to the newspaper why hes provided guidance to the governor. Look at Elon Musk, right? Theres a reason why hes doing something free for Trump because he knows he can help him. And Trump wants that, Guidry said. Theres a reason why I do what I do free for Jeff because he knows I have nothing to gain. One local good government group has concerns over Landry and Guidry wading into flood infrastructure management. In a statement, the New Orleans-based Bureau of Government Research (BGR) challenged claims from the administration that the Flood Protection Authority, both its East and West offshoots, has been mismanaged. The governors advisers have alleged that the New Orleans areas vital flood protection infrastructure hasnt been kept in working order and that funding dedicated for this purpose has been wasted, the BGR statement reads. While blaming the leadership of the authorities tasked with managing the $14.5 billion levee system, they have not provided any details or evidence of the problems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BGR called on the governor to provide thorough explanations, not accusations before his administration puts forward any legislation to change the post-Katrina makeup of the flood protection authorities. The bureau was among supporters of the coalition of civic and business groups, along with elected leaders, who pushed for the new framework that received voter approval in the form of a state constitutional amendment. Chief among the coalitions aims was ensuring that the authorities boards of commissioners were selected for their expertise in flood protection-related and other relevant fields not their political connections or views, BGR wrote. Its been almost 20 years since the federally built levee system protecting New Orleans failed at multiple points, covering some 80% of the city with stormwater that destroyed homes and businesses that had otherwise survived Katrina. Two decades is not nearly long enough to erase the trauma from the minds of those who went through the storm and chose to rebuild. Its this still-fragile mindset that Landry and Guidry have stirred with their approach to the Flood Protection Authority. The exit of four board members, just weeks ahead of the 2025 hurricane season, has been disconcerting for many who have yet to have their trust in government restored. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This behind-the-scenes approach from the governor and his best bud does nothing to quell anxiety levels that increase every June 1. Greater transparency and a renewed adherence to post-Katrina flood protection principles from Landry and Guidry would go a long way toward engendering confidence in their decision-making. While leaders might come and go, what the levees protect is not as easily replaced. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Idaho Gov. Brad Little gives a press conference after delivering his annual State of the State address on Jan. 6, 2025, in the Lincoln Auditorium in the Idaho Capitol. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill to deregulate child care centers in hopes of addressing Idahos child care shortage crisis. House Bill 243 loosens state-set minimum child-to-staff ratio standards. The bill also preempts local governments from having more stringent child care regulations than issued by the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The law takes effect July 1. The Idaho Legislature widely passed the bill, with 80 votes in support and 17 votes against, mostly from Democratic lawmakers. Little signed the bill Thursday, according to the governors offices legislation tracker. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US Even after the Senate amended the bill to avoid fully repealing minimum child-to-staff ratios, many child care advocates remained opposed to the bill worrying that loosening regulations will risk harm to kids. Idahos existing child-to-staff ratios are the 41st loosest in the nation, compared to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, a report by Idaho Voices for Children found. In other words, Idahos existing state-set child care standards let individual staffers care for more children at a given time than most states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new law will leave Idaho with the 45th least stringent child-to-staff ratios in the nation, Idaho Voices for Children Executive Director Christine Tiddens previously told the Idaho Capital Sun. The bill was cosponsored by Republican lawmakers Reps. Barbara Ehardt, from Idaho Falls, and Rod Furniss, from Rigby, and Sen. Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur dAlene. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX How the bill will loosen Idahos child-to-staff child care ratio standards Idaho state Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, (right) talks with attendees after the House State Affairs Committee meeting on Jan. 7, 2025, at the State Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) The bill will retain the states points-based ratio that only allows up to 12-points, determined by kids ages, per each staff member. But the underlying points for kids would almost all be reduced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres how the bill will change Idahos child-to-staff ratio standards: Each child under 24 months old would remain at two points. Each child at least 24 months old but younger than 36 months would be 1.33 points. That is a decrease from the current 1.5 points in Idaho law. Each child at least 36 months old but younger than 5 years old would be 0.923 points. That is a decrease from 1 point in Idaho law. Each child at least 5 years old but younger than 13 years old would be 0.48 points. That is a decrease from 0.5 points in Idaho law. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) Following his joint press conference with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Friday, it seems bans on certain food dyes and preservatives are just the beginning of Gov. Patrick Morriseys health push in West Virginia. On Friday, the pair held a joint press conference at St. Joseph School in Martinsburg, where they outlined their plan to boost health quality in West Virginia as part of Kennedys nationwide Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. During the conference, Gov. Morrisey revealed his Four Pillars of a Healthy West Virginia, which are as follows: 1. Clean up the food Earlier this week, Gov. Morrisey signed House Bill 2354 into law, which bans the use of certain dyes and preservatives in foods sold in West Virginia. These ingredients are often found in junk food items, but are also found in most brands of pepperoni sold in grocery stores across West Virginia, raising questions about the future of the states iconic food, the pepperoni roll. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement West Virginia is the first state to pass a ban of this magnitude on these ingredients, and Gov. Morrisey said that hes hopeful that the Mountain State will lead the way to similar action from other states and the FDA. 2. Find purpose, find health Gov. Morrisey spoke about plans to implement work, training and education requirements for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients, given West Virginias position as the state with the lowest workforce participation in the country. He said that outside of limited exceptions, if someone has the ability to work, they should. WATCH: RFK Jr. talks food dye ban, SNAP changes in West Virginia 3. Move your body, change your life Gov. Morrisey also outlined the importance of West Virginians becoming more active. He joked that while hes not the prime example of physical fitness, he and all West Virginians need to begin exercising more immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the third pillar, Gov. Morrisey announced a new statewide initiative called The Mountaineer Mile, which challenges every West Virginian to walk a mile a day. He said that hell participate in this challenge himself, and that some may see him walking around the Capitol complex more. 4. Reward healthy food choices Gov. Morriseys fourth pillar outlines a specific change to the SNAP system to incentivize West Virginians to make healthier food choices. He said that hes aiming to encourage West Virginians to choose fresh produce and natural foods instead of ultra-processed crap that barely qualifies as food. As part of his fourth pillar, hes calling for realignment in legislation to push more healthy foods as part of the SNAP program, citing that the N in SNAP stands for nutrition, not nonsense. He announced that his first move in this direction will be to request a SNAP waiver from the federal government to remove soda from being eligible under the program. Kennedy later said in the press conference that his agency would approve this waiver request. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. An aerial drone photo taken on March 25, 2025 shows the Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) Jiangdu water administration law enforcement officers take a boat to patrol the water source of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 26, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) Staff members of Jiangdu ecological environment bureau take water samples on the upper reaches of the water source of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 25, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) An aerial drone photo taken on March 25, 2025 shows the Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) Volunteers collect rubbish along the water source of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 26, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) Staff members of the Jiangdu water control project patrol at a pumping station in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 25, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) An aerial drone photo taken on March 26, 2025 shows Jiangdu water administration law enforcement officers taking a boat to patrol the water source of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) An aerial drone photo taken on March 25, 2025 shows the Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) Staff members work at a control room of the Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 25, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) An aerial drone photo taken on March 25, 2025 shows the Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) An aerial drone photo taken on March 25, 2025 shows the Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Photo by Ren Fei/Xinhua) Staff members of the Jiangdu water control project patrol at a pumping station in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 25, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Photo by Ren Fei/Xinhua) This file photo taken in 1963 shows the inauguration of the first pumping station of the Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua) Volunteers collect rubbish along the water source of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 26, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Photo by Yu Xing/Xinhua) Staff members of Jiangdu ecological environment bureau take water samples on the upper reaches of the water source of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 25, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) An aerial drone photo taken on March 25, 2025 shows the Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) An aerial drone photo taken on March 26, 2025 shows Jiangdu water administration law enforcement officers taking a boat to patrol the water source of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Photo by Yu Xing/Xinhua) Staff members of the Jiangdu water control project patrol at a pumping station in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 25, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) Staff members work at a control room of the Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 25, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) Staff members of the Jiangdu water control project work at a pumping station in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 25, 2025. The Jiangdu water control project in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province is located at the source of the eastern route of China's gigantic South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which was launched in 2002, was officially put into use in 2013. Since then, the Jiangdu water control project has played a role in ensuring the safety of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, promoting the development of economies and societies along the route, and also making contributions for the improvement of ecological environment along the way. In recent years, local government of Yangzhou has taken measures to strengthen the management and protection of the water source, in an aim to guarantee water quality on the eastern route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a Republican bill that would have undone recent testing standards changes. Evers talks to reporters at a WisPolitics. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner. Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a Republican bill Friday that would have undone recent changes to Wisconsins state testing standards taking the state back to those used in 2019 and tying the standards to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Lawmakers introduced the bill after changes were approved by state Superintendent Jill Underly last year, who said the changes would better align tests with educational standards and were developed with the help of teachers and other stakeholders as a part of a standard process. However, lawmakers accused Underly of lowering standards for kids. Evers had criticized the process for the changes as well, saying that there should have been better communication between Underly and other stakeholders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Evers said in his veto message for AB 1 that while he has criticized the processes for the recent changes, he vetoed the bill because he objects to lawmakers attempts to undermine the constitutional authority and independence of the state superintendent. Evers noted that the state superintendent is responsible for supervising public schools under the Wisconsin State Constitution and the Legislature is overstepping, and lawmakers had opportunities to provide input to the review and revision. The bill, he said, would essentially strip control over school scoring and standard metrics away from the superintendent and give it to the Legislature. Underly said in a statement that she commends the veto. She said the bill was deeply flawed as it relied on the NAEP a federal assessment that is currently being cut by the federal government and is not aligned to Wisconsins rigorous standards to influence local school policies. Most importantly, it undermined the authority of the state superintendent as outlined in Wisconsins Constitution. Lawmakers used the veto as an opportunity to criticize Evers and incumbent Superintendent Jill Underly and to call on Wisconsinites to vote her out of office next week. Underly is running for her second term and faces education consultant and school choice advocate Brittany Kinser, who has cited the changes as a reason that she entered the race, on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said in a statement that Evers failed students by vetoing the legislation. In January, the governor slammed State Superintendent Underly for lowering standards, but when he had a chance to fix it he chose politics over students, LeMahieu said. If 2025 is going to be the Year of the Kid, Wisconsin voters will have to make changes at the Department of Public Instruction. Kinser said in a statement that the decision to restore high standards now rests in the hands of Wisconsin voters and she would restore high standards if elected. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill to overhaul Mississippis tax system one that many lawmakers inadvertently voted for because of typos into law on Thursday. This sets Mississippi on a path to become the first state to eliminate an existing income tax, when the tax is phased out in about 14 years. Reeves said the law marks a turning point in the states history and that it would make Mississippi a magnet for corporate investment and workers from other states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today is a day that will be remembered not just for the headlines, not just for the politics, but for the profound generational change it represents, Reeves said at a bill signing ceremony in front of the Governors Mansion. I must say, it feels like its been a long time coming, but after many, many, many years of hard work, we can all stand together and say that we have accomplished income tax elimination in the state of Mississippi. Mississippi is currently reducing its income tax rate to 4% from a previously passed tax cut being phased in. Beginning in 2027, the new law will reduce that rate by .25% over four years until it reaches 3%. In 2031, the tax will only be reduced if certain revenue growth triggers are met. The law also reduces the sales tax on groceries from 7% to 5%, raises the gasoline tax from 18.4 cents a gallon to 27.4 cents a gallon over three years to fund infrastructure and changes the contribution model of the public employee retirement system. House leaders have long pushed to eliminate the state personal income tax in relatively short order. The Senate had urged a longer-term approach, arguing it would be unwise to slash a third of the states revenue in uncertain economic times. Senators last week had conceded to eliminate the income tax, but only with economic growth triggers as safeguards the tax wouldnt phase out unless the state saw robust economic growth and controlled spending. It would have likely taken many years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Or so they thought. The Senate bill had typos that essentially nullified the growth triggers and would eliminate the income tax nearly as quickly as the House proposed. The House passed the flawed bill on to the governor, who signed it into law Thursday. Those typos In a social media post last week, Reeves, who did not mention the bizarre series of events that helped send the bill to his desk, said liberal activists were making claims of errors, omissions, mistakes, and changes. Since then, both House Speaker Jason White and Lt. Gov Delbert Hosemann, both Republicans, have acknowledged the legislation signed into law Thursday contained errors. Hosemann downplayed the typos at the ceremony. Some of yall are focused on a typo in the bill, and Id use the biblical analogy, let he who has not had a typo cast the first stone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reeves said the tax overhaul will lead to economic dynamism and attract new residents to Mississippi, but local officials and experts remain divided on whether eliminating the tax will actually benefit the states economy and whether citizens will reap many of the benefits that politicians claim they will. Neva Butkus, a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said her projections show that once Mississippi abolishes its income tax, it will likely result in a $2.6 billion reduction to the current $7 billion general fund budget, revenue that the poorest state in the nation could use to provide core government services. What the state is essentially committing to is a very extreme and dramatic loss of revenue during a very tumultuous time during which the state might be reckoning with large federal cuts to social programs that many Mississippians rely on, Butkus said. And theyre doing all of this while creating a windfall for the states wealthiest residents in the poorest state in the union. Mississippis decision to eliminate the tax without raising another tax to offset the general fund loss comes as President Donald Trumps administration and the GOP-controlled Congress are considering sweeping budget cuts and freezing federal grants that fund many state services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mississippis economy and budget are among the most reliant on federal spending in the nation. If the federal government significantly slashes any federal programs, the impact will almost certainly trickle down to the state level. The ITEPs data shows that Mississippians who make less than $19,300 a year, the poorest of the poor, already spend around 12.4% of their income on taxes. In comparison, Mississippians who make over $362,000 annually only contribute 6.9% of their income to taxes. Once the tax cuts take full effect, Butkus said that disparity is expected to widen even more, especially since the new law will raise the gasoline tax by 9 cents a gallon to fund road and bridge infrastructure. When youre replacing progressive income taxes with regressive revenue, that becomes a problem, Butkus said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conversely, Joe Bishop-Henchman, the executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, believes the laws growth triggers -- even with the errant decimal point typos defanging them -- mean the state can responsibly eliminate the tax without decimating its budget. Bishop-Henchman has previously testified before the state Legislature about tax policy and said it would be ideal for lawmakers to correct the typos in the trigger language, but having some type of guardrails in place is something multiple states have enacted. A value of triggers is that it still leaves room for budget growth, Bishop-Henchman said. What mayors think Mississippi Today spoke to mayors around the state, who were also divided on some elements of the overhaul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shari Veazey, executive director of the Mississippi Municipal League, a lobbying organization that represents cities and towns, said the entity did not oppose the bill signed by Reeves because it diverts more state money from the sale tax on groceries to localities, even though the overall sales tax rate on groceries was reduced. The number one priority was just making sure there was no loss of revenue when they reduced the grocery sales tax, Veazey said. And we dont believe there will be. Veazey said the impact on municipalities of shrinking the state general fund budget remains to be seen. Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said she had been assured by the areas state legislators that city budgets would be kept afloat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proof will be in the numbers we receive when it goes into effect, Spruill said. Im relying on our legislators being accurate. She said cuts to the general fund might not have a big impact on her citys ability to function, but individual taxpayers might have cause for concern. I would worry about it as a resident who pays taxes, as to what that will do to the basic services the state provides, Spruill added. But as it relates to a direct appropriation to the city, thats not something Im particularly concerned about. The gas tax increase could cause some financial hardship, Spruill said. But Starkville, home to Mississippi State University, has better public transportation than most cities in the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in a place such as Greenville, located in the rural, poverty-stricken Mississippi Delta, some worry a slashed general fund alongside gas tax increases could make it more expensive to drive and weaken local governments ability to provide basic services. The trickle-down negative effects of this tax overhaul will not actually trickle downit will be a huge take-away from this rural community, said Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons. When local governments lose the ability to fund police, fire, and other essential services, the safety and well-being of our residents are put at risk. In Greenwood, located at the eastern edge of the Delta, Mayor Carolyn McAdams, said she was concerned that the laws increased grocery sales tax diversion might not be enough to make up for revenue small towns might lose. The people in these small towns like Itta Bena, Sidon, Schlater only have these convenience stores and they dont even have grocery stores. What is that going to do to these small towns? McAdams said. I have to trust that theyre going to take all of that into consideration and not do anything that would be harmful to the cities and towns that make up Mississippi. Reeves said the benefits would outweigh the costs: We are saying to entrepreneurs, to workers, to dreamers: Mississippi is open for business, and we will not penalize your success. We are going to compete and we are going to win. Three months into the year, St. Pauls Grand Avenue has welcomed new businesses like cat cafe Catzen Coffee and bid farewell to others like clothing retailer Poppy. All the while, the building that was once home to Anthropologie and Salut Bar Americain sat mostly empty, save a Park Dental clinic. Formerly known as Milton Mall, the building on the northeast corner of Grand Avenue and Milton Street is undergoing a renovation to attract new tenants and support two restaurants instead of one. The renovation will transform the sprawling spaces Anthropologie was nearly 10,000 square feet and Salut around 8,500 square feet into smaller spaces in line with what retailers are looking for now, said Sara Martin, broker for the building and executive vice president for JLL. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once a car dealership, the 917 Grand Ave. building has an octagon-shaped skylight in the center that will be reclaimed as part of the design, Martin said. We are creating a central corridor that didnt exist before and a beautifully tiled octagon-shaped area with bench seating and greenery, said Martha Anderson, president of Anderson Property Management, which manages the building. The central corridor will run through the building, linking Grand Avenue to the parking lot in back. Now known as 917 Grand, the building is owned by the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, a Columbus-based pension fund that owns other buildings along the avenue. In recent years, STRS Ohio has caught flack for the number of vacancies in its buildings along the corridor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are investing a large chunk of money in keeping this building current and creating spaces that we think will be viable in the long term, Martin said of the pension fund, adding that the goal is for all four of STRS Ohios properties to be fully occupied within the next four years. New tenants Current floor plans show 917 Grand could be home to two restaurants, each with a 150-seat outdoor patio, Martin said. Salut, which closed January 2024, was known for its spacious 300-seat patio. In addition to restaurants, Martin said there are also two retail spaces for lease, one nearing 3,500 square feet and another at 2,200 square feet. The renovation will also see that each tenant is given their own set of restrooms, which Martin said is consistent with what retailers are looking for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We always look for local tenants whenever we can, thats always the preference, Martin said. But were open to talking to anyone with interest in Grand. Grand and Victoria Just one block east at Grand Avenue and Victoria Street, local developer Afton Park Development is planning a six-story apartment complex with street-level restaurants and retail. The $40 million project is to be built on the site of what is now Victoria Crossing East, which houses a Juut salon and the former Billys on Grand space, later known as the Gather Eatery and Watch Bar, among other businesses. The companys plans call for nearly 90 units of market-rate housing, indoor parking and two 4,000-square-foot restaurants on either side of a retail space. Irish goodbye Related Articles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another vacancy will be coming to the avenue soon as Irish on Grand bids farewell to its brick-and-mortar store on Sunday. After 35 years on Grand Avenue, owners Maeve OMara and Liam ONeill will retire and close up the beloved Irish gift shop to give themselves more freedom and be able to travel together. The online store will continue to run at irishongrand.com, where shoppers can buy clothing, gifts and jewelry. Irish on Grand will also continue its booth at the Minnesota State Fair, a tradition the couple adores. As for the building at 1124 Grand Ave., the for sale sign is officially up, OMara told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday. The couple hopes to sell the building to another independent retailer. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A Las Vegas grand jury will decide whether an officer who fatally shot a homeowner who called police for help should be charged, his attorney told the 8 News Now Investigators. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Alexander Bookman shot and killed Brandon Durham, 43, after Durham called 911 to report a home invasion on Nov. 12. Video showed Durham and Alejandra Boudreaux struggling over a knife when Bookman opened fire fourteen seconds after breaking down Durhams front door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Roger, who represents Bookman through the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, said Bookman will receive a Marcum Notice, which means prosecutors intend to present evidence to the grand jury, which could include video and witness testimony. The grand jury would then decide whether Bookman should be charged. While Mr. Durhams death is tragic, Officer Bookman was trying to eliminate a threat and did not commit a crime, Roger told 8 News Now Investigators. We have faith in the criminal justice system and look forward to a fair result. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the same department Bookman works for, investigated the shooting and presented the information to the Clark County District Attorneys office. Durhams family has repeatedly expressed that they believe Bookman should be criminally charged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Clark County grand jury indicted Boudreaux, 31, on four felony charges, including home invasion with a deadly weapon, in December. Boudreaux confessed to breaking into the home, saying she intended for police to kill her, according to court documents. Boudreaux remained in custody Wednesday on $1 million bail. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 YORK A new grand jury is reviewing the case of Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who is already facing influence peddling charges, as part of an ongoing investigation into the former chief adviser to the mayor and her associates, lawyers with the Manhattan District Attorneys office said Thursday. Prosecutors are pursuing the possibly of more charges, with ongoing probes that extend beyond the bribery charges Lewis-Martin, the former chief adviser to the mayor, her son and other associates were hit were in December. Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Moore said he doesnt expect the grand jury will be finished with anything in potential related matters involving Lewis-Martin and her co-defendants at least in the next two months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lewis-Martin, a longtime confidant to the mayor, was indicted late last year on charges she used her influence to speed up construction projects on behalf of the two businessmen, who in exchange for her efforts gave her professional DJ son, Glen Martin II, $100,000 for a Porsche and promised to invest in his business ventures, according to the indictment. She was charged with conspiracy, bribery, bribe receiving and money laundering. Lewis-Martin was charged along with her adult son, who is also known as Suave Luciano, Mayank Dwivedi, a hotelier, and Pinky Vaid, a business partner of Dwivedi. All pleaded not guilty. Lewis-Martin previously had her phone seized by agents with the DAs office immediately after she landed at JFK Airport from a trip to Japan. Jesse Hamilton, a top real estate official for the city, and Diana Boutross, an executive working on the citys leasing operations, were also on the trip and had their devices taken. The Daily News previously reported that investigators were looking at least in part into Hamiltons role in the citys leasing processes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court has continued to serve grand jury subpoenas, including to companies of the two real estate honcho co-defendants, Vaid and Dwivedi, and to American Express, Moore said a Thursday status conference before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Daniel Conviser. The attorney also outlined the troves of evidence related to ongoing investigations, including documents related to Ulrichs case for attorneys eyes only so as to prevent the defendants in the case from sharing the materials or information with others who might also be under investigation. Lewis-Martin was also referenced to in documents connected to ex-Buildings Department head Eric Ulrichs corruption case. She met with Ulrich and his co-defendants, according to his indictment. She was not accused of any wrongdoing in this case. Prosecutors have issued 55 subpoenas to date, Moore said, and they are going through evidence including phone and email records, Department of Investigation records, and 776,000 pages released from the mayors office in unreadable format. Moises Sandoval Mendoza is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in Texas next month finally, after 21 years. In 2004, he was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering a 20-year-old mother by the name of Rachelle ONeil Tolleson. Normally, I do not support the death penalty. But Mendoza has done some evil things. According to authorities, he met Tolleson at a party. After she showed no romantic interest in him, Mendoza told police that he kidnapped, sexually assaulted, stabbed and burned Tolleson before burying her disfigured body under a pile of brush. Police found Tollesons 5-month-old daughter alone after family reported the woman missing. In addition to his confession, Mendozas DNA and witness testimony linked him to the crime. I still do not support the death penalty. But details like the ones involving Mendoza challenge my position. The same is true for the case of Matthew Johnson, who is set to be executed in Texas on May 20. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On that same date in 2012, Johnson robbed a convenience store by pouring lighter fluid over the head of the clerk, 76-year-old Nancy Harris, and setting her on fire. According to court documents, the woman can be seen in the stores camera surveillance footage desperately trying to douse the flames after Johnson leaves. When police found him, he was still in possession of the cigarettes, lighters and $76 he had stolen from the store and the ring he forced off of the victims hand. More than 40% of her body was burned. Harris, a grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother of five, died five days after the attack. Johnsons execution wont bring Harris back to her grieving family, but it may change the meaning of May 20 for them. Perhaps in this, there is a measure of closure. That wont be the case for family members of the victims killed in a Walmart near the southern border in 2019. Patrick Crusius, 21, and a resident of an affluent Dallas suburb, drove more than 600 miles across Texas to El Paso on Aug. 3 to target Latinos, according to police. When he arrived, Crusius posted a manifesto expressing white supremacist ideology and admiration of racially motivated mass shooters. Then he started shooting. With an AK-47-type rifle, he committed one of the deadliest mass shootings in this countrys history, killing 23 people among them young parents like Tolleson and grandparents like Harris. In addition to the deaths, Crusius was responsible for injuring 22 others. However, this week, more than five years after Crusius confessed to authorities that he was responsible for the bloodshed, El Paso County Dist. Atty. James Montoya announced his office would not seek the death penalty , just as federal prosecutors chose not to pursue execution. In the federal case, Crusius pleaded guilty to hate crimes in 2023 and was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When you juxtapose the death totals among the three cases, the El Paso prosecutors decision makes little sense. Why execute killers of two individuals but not the killer of 23? When you juxtapose the demographics of the three Texas cases, the decision reflects a disturbing pattern. Mendoza, killer of the 20-year-old mother, is Latino. Johnson, killer of the 76-year-old cashier, is Black. These men are the last two people set to be executed this year in the Lone Star State, and they both killed white women. Two professors in the University of Denver's Department of Sociology and Criminology studied 40 years of Texas death sentences (1976-2016) and found defendants accused of killing white women are three times more likely to be put to death. Most of the victims at the Walmart were Latino. Crusius is white. So despite being convicted in the state that has executed the most people in the country since the reinstatement of the death penalty he gets to live. I'll say it again: Normally Im not a supporter of the death penalty. The details of Crusius' crimes challenge my position. What is it about his case that warranted extra leniency? The two men Texas plans to kill dont have nearly as much blood on their hands. @LZGranderson 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. Mar. 28A transient man originally from New Jersey who pleaded guilty to starting the Gravel Pit Fire south of Libby in 2023 is headed to Deer Lodge. Joseph Anthony Eutsler, 41, entered his plea Jan. 9 in Lincoln County District Court and was sentenced to 20 years, with 10 suspended by District Judge Matt Cuffe. He first pleaded not guilty to the charges in August 2023. Cuffe followed the terms of the plea deal that called for Eutsler to receive a 20-year sentence, with 10 suspended, in the Montana State Prison. He will receive credit for 602 days he has served in the county jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The public defender fee of $800 was waived and Cuffe determined Eutsler had no ability to pay restitution. It is expected there will be restitution due because the 300-acre fire burned trees on timberlands belonging to Green Diamond Resource Company. Eutsler was ruled fit to stand trial in the summer of 2024 after doctors from the Montana State Hospital, Dr. James P. Murphy and Dr. Daniel Bemporad, evaluated him and determined he was fit and able to proceed. Eutsler is being held on $250,000 bail in the county jail. According to charging documents, Eutsler previously lived in Williamstown, New Jersey. But he was described as living in his van at the time of the offense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the probable cause statement by county Sheriff's Office Deputy Anthony Jenson, Eutsler was arrested on the evening of Aug. 1 at the gravel pit located near Silver Butte Road after a woman called 911 at about 6:22 p.m. to report the fire near mile marker 60. Fisher River Valley Fire Rescue responded to the scene and found the man who started the fire at the scene. Captain Boyd White and Jenson responded and spoke with Eutsler. He told them his vehicle had broken down and he had been parked in the gravel pit for about two days. The defendant said a marked patrol car had driven past and he tried to wave for the officer to stop, but the car continued to drive, according to Jenson's statement. Eutsler allegedly said he was upset and started the fire to create a signal to force law enforcement to come. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jenson reported seeing singed hair on Eutsler's right arm and Capt. White found a bottle of lighter fluid next to an open door of the defendant's van. It was also reported that Eutsler had a lighter in his pocket. The officers also reported that when they arrived the fire had grown to an estimated five acres and damaged timber and property belonging to Green Diamond. Within two hours the fire grew to about 50 acres and was heading in a northeast direction where there are numerous residences along the highway. The 304-acre fire was contained later in August. The cost of the blaze was estimated between $1.5 and $2 million. Eutsler faced a sentence of up to 20 years in the Montana State Prison. (Bloomberg) -- Greenland formed a government that excludes the islands hardline independence group following elections shaped by Donald Trumps intensified campaign to bring the Danish territory under US control. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pro-business Demokraatit party, which won the election and backs a slow path to independence from Denmark, and three other parties signed an agreement to form a coalition. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the 33-year-old leader of Demokraatit, will become the islands new premier for the alliance which will have the backing of three-quarters of parliament. At this time, our population is under pressure, Nielsen said at the signing ceremony on Friday in Nuuk, according to a translation provided by local broadcaster KNR. We need to stick together. Together we are strongest. The ruling bloc will be tasked with defining Greenlands path to become its own nation and dealing with the US presidents escalating rhetoric on taking control over the island. Nielsen has been clear Greenland is not for sale and has expressed concern that Trump cant be trusted. Also on Friday, Vice President JD Vance visiting a US military base, Pituffik, in Greenlands far north. Nielsens party won a surprise victory in the March 11 election, securing just under 30% of the total tally more than tripling since four years ago after campaigning on a platform of support to the fishing, mining and tourism industries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The coalition will be joined by Inuit Ataqatigiit, the party of former Prime Minister Mute B. Egede, Siumut and Atassut, a more pro-Denmark force. Naleraq, parliaments second-largest party which advocates a fast breakup with Denmark, will alone be in opposition. The party said on March 24 it had exited coalition talks due failure to reach agreement on Greenlands path to independence. Trump first put forward the idea of buying Greenland in 2019, during his first term as president. Since returning to the White House, hes stepped up his rhetoric. We need it. We have to have it, Trump said on a conservative talk show on March 26, just weeks after vowing in a speech to Congress that he would get the semi-autonomous territory one way or the other. --With assistance from Christian Wienberg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (Updates with formal presentation of government coalition from second paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Greenlands political parties have united under a new political goal: opposing U.S. aggression. Four political parties in the self-governing territory formed a coalition government Friday to project unity against Donald Trumps efforts to take control of the island. Greenland has 56,000 residents and is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. The new coalition will hold 21 out of 31 parliamentary seats. The new majority government will be fronted by the islands pro-business, pro-independence, center-right Demokraatit Party, making its leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the new prime minister. Nielsen led the islands effort to set aside party differences in order to coalesce under heavy pressure from America, reported Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We dont want to be Americans. No, we dont want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders, and we want our own independence in the future, Nielsen, 33, told Sky News the night his party won a decisive majority in Parliament. And we want to build our own country by ourselves. The announcement came just hours before Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright were scheduled to visit a U.S. space base on the island. The vice presidents trip to Greenland was radically pared down this week after locals dissented to the Vance familys prospective tourism parade of Greenlands cities. American representatives were seen walking around Greenlands capital Nuuk earlier this week, canvassing residents to see if people would be interested in a visit from the vice presidents wife, Usha Vance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyve gotten no, no, no, no, no, every single time, reported TV 2 correspondent Jesper Steinmetz. Greenlands government said in a statement posted on Facebook Monday that it had not extended any invitations for any visits, neither private nor official. The territory has not taken kindly to what its officials have described as Trumps repeated aggression against Greenlands sovereignty. Over the last several months, the U.S. president has made odd jokes and eyebrow-raising militaristic threats about buying and annexing Greenland and shipped his son and MAGA allies to the island for a slapdash photo op with the islands homeless. In a statement posted to Facebook, Greenlands outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede urged islanders to toughen our rejection of Trump and the U.S. leaders repeated attacks on Greenlands political independence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Enough is enough, he wrote. People cannot continue to disrespect us. When asked earlier this month, during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, whether he believed that the U.S. would annex Greenland, Trump said: I think itll happen. Trump first became obsessed with the idea of owning Greenland in 2019, when he canceled a state visit to Denmark after it refused to sell the island to him. This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a building destroyed by wildfires at the Namhu Agricultural Industrial Complex in Andong City, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) SEOUL, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. Since March 21, infernos had broken out in 11 areas, mostly in the southeastern Gyeongsang province, and five of them were completely extinguished, according to the central disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters. In the remaining six areas, 83 percent of the fires were put out on average at 5:00 a.m. local time. The blazes affected at least 48,150.61 hectares of woodland, marking the country's worst-ever wildfire damage. The previous high was in 2000 when 23,794 hectares of land were ravaged. Of the wounded, nine people suffered serious injuries. Most of the victims were those aged 60 or higher, according to the headquarters. The number of affected buildings and structures, such as houses and agricultural facilities, advanced to 3,481, while 23 cultural assets were destroyed. Still displaced were 8,078 people of 2,407 households. Firefighters struggled to contain the rapidly spreading blazes, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipments were mobilized to combat the wildfires. This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a wildfire in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a wildfire in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a building destroyed by wildfires at the Namhu Agricultural Industrial Complex in Andong City, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) Evacuees of a wildfire rest at a community hall used as a shelter in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, March 27, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows a building destroyed by wildfires at the Namhu Agricultural Industrial Complex in Andong City, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) Evacuees of a wildfire rest at a community hall used as a shelter in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, March 27, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. (Xinhua/Jun Hyosang) A firefighter checks fire prevention facilities at the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) A firefighter checks fire prevention facilities at the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) Firefighters carry out fire prevention work at the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) Firefighters carry out fire prevention work around the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) Fire engines are on standby at the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) A firefighter carries out fire prevention work at the Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) A firefighter carries out fire prevention work at the Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Andong City, South Korea, March 28, 2025. The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday. The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday. More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipment were mobilized to combat the wildfires. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin) NEW YORK Rep. Greg Meeks, an influential Black Democrat and county party boss, is expected to endorse Andrew Cuomo for New York City mayor with a rally Sunday in Queens, five people familiar with the plans told POLITICO. The former governor who denies allegations of sexual harassment that forced him to resign from office is leading every poll in the race to oust Mayor Eric Adams. The support from Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and leader of the Queens County Democratic Party, comes after Cuomo got the backing last week of a slate of politicians in the Congress members backyard of Southeast Queens. The area of predominantly working- and middle-class Black Democrats routinely has high turnout in local races; Adams won it handily in 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pending endorsement is another blow to Adrienne Adams, whom Meeks supported in her successful bid to become City Council speaker four years ago. She recently entered the Democratic primary to oust Eric Adams. Meeks is planning to announce his support for Cuomo alongside other elected officials, in the borough where he and Cuomo grew up. Assemblymember Clyde Vanel, a Cuomo supporter, confirmed Meeks plans on the record to POLITICO. Several city Democratic leaders told POLITICO the endorsement comes as no surprise. It is also a disappointment for Eric Adams, who has an ever-diminishing path to victory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Cuomo campaign spokesperson did not immediately comment. A Meeks spokesperson did not return requests for comment. Adrienne Adams campaign spokesperson Lupe Todd-Medina said she couldnt comment on something that hasnt happened yet, but downplayed the importance of the House member and party leaders anticipated backing of Cuomo over the Council speaker, with whom he shares a district. Adrienne Adams has said from the very beginning that (the campaign) is going to be for the people, Todd-Medina said. And we are getting tremendous support on the ground from the people. Last weekend, state Sen. James Sanders announced his endorsement of Cuomo in a news release featuring seven other Black Democrats representing Southeast Queens. But, as POLITICO reported, three officials on his list revealed a split within the bloc by denouncing their purported endorsement of the former governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Sen. Leroy Comrie who was part of that group endorsed Adrienne Adams, as did Rev. Stephen Green, pastor of Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral where she and Meeks regularly attend church. In 2021, Meeks endorsed Black business leader Ray McGuire for mayor; he finished in seventh place. CORRECTION: This article was updated to reflect Meeks' title. A student is facing punishment after a gun was found in a backpack at a Preble County school. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Thursday, a student dropped a bullet during gym class at Bruce Elementary in Eaton, according to Eaton Community Schools Superintendent Jeff Parker. School staff found a gun in the students backpack. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We immediately notified law enforcement and immediately isolated the student from all other students. In addition to school consequences, the matter is now being pursued by law enforcement, a statement from Parker to district families reads. The district said that during questioning, the student indicated he had no intent to harm anyone. The backpack was never in a classroom. News Center 7 has reached out to the Eaton Police Department for any charges the student may be facing. The district was not able to specify the punishment the student may face. We will continue to follow this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] DES MOINES, Iowa Police are investigating after a man with a gunshot injury was dropped off at a Des Moines hospital Friday morning. Sgt. Paul Parizek, spokesperson for the Des Moines Police Department, said a private vehicle dropped off the shooting victim at Broadlawns Medical Center at 9:05 a.m. The vehicle then left the hospital. Fort Dodge police investiging shooting that injured 1 The victim had a gunshot injury to his torso. No information about his condition has been released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sgt. Parizek said police are investigating whether there is a connection to a shots fired call in the Prospect Park neighborhood. There isnt believed to be any ongoing danger to the neighborhood. The investigation is ongoing, and more details will be released as they become 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 who13.com. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sees no need for new elections in Ukraine under United Nations supervision, rejecting a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine has a legitimate government, and so obviously that must be respected, Guterres said on Friday in New York when asked about Putins suggestion. Putin had earlier proposed placing Ukraine under temporary UN administration while new elections are held. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He argued that wartime elections, which are prohibited by law in Ukraine, should be organized to establish a government capable of negotiating peace. However, Ukraine and its allies fear Moscow could exploit such elections to install a Kremlin-loyal puppet government, particularly in Russian-occupied areas. Putin reiterated that he believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's mandate is illegitimate. Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia's full-scale invasion, postponing presidential and parliamentary elections. Many in Ukraine believe that holding elections amid the ongoing conflict would be impractical and unfair, as it would be difficult to ensure the participation of soldiers and displaced civilians. Analysts say that Moscow is pushing the narrative of elections as a way to delegitimize Zelensky and sway the Trump administration into minimizing his role in peace negotiations. European defence hawks and African public health experts are not known for speaking the same language, but in recent weeks Donald Trump has forced them to take the same line. Just as Europe has realised it must stand on its own and pay up to defend itself without American muscle, African countries are realising they cannot rely on US generosity to provide health care to their people. Steep aid cuts from some of the worlds biggest donors, particularly America, are blowing holes in African health budgets as Washington, London, Paris and others slash their assistance spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Foreign money which has for years gone to pay doctors and nurses, buy drugs and deliver services has been halted, often overnight, and it seems unlikely it will be turned back on again. The response from many African leaders has been the same as the response from jilted European Nato leaders: This is a wake up call. We must step up to stand on our own and it might even be an opportunity. Whoever gives you aid controls your life The subject of how to deal with the sudden aid gaps and how to fill them has this week dominated a G20 health meeting held outside Durban, South Africa. In public at least, many are trying to put on a brave face. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [African nations] must stand on their own, South Africas health minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, told the Telegraph on the sidelines of the G20 health summit in Durban. This message is to say please stand on your own, because no country can depend forever on another country. Its a wake up call. I personally do not think it is humanly possible for a country to feed others for life. I think foreign aid was there to bridge the country over a particular period, I do not think it was meant to be permanent in any way. Similar sentiments have been voiced in other African capitals. I want to thank Mr Trump actually, I think hes slapped us not on one cheek but on both cheeks, we should have been hammered a long time ago, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said. His country was receiving 460m ($600m) in aid a year from the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paul Kagame, Rwandas president, has used the crisis to repeat his criticism of how aid undermines sovereignty. Whoever gives you aid controls your life, he said earlier this month. Meanwhile Nigeria has said it refuses to beg. We are a capable country and we are determined to own up to that responsibility. If others step in and support us, we appreciate it but we are not begging, said Nigerias health and social welfare minister, Muhammad Ali Pate. The subject of how to deal with the sudden aid gaps has dominated a G20 health meeting - Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP Such bravado might be expected from politicians. In private health officials are more candid about their worries. Plenty are reluctant to discuss the matter at all, in case complaints attract unwanted reaction from Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet even among these officials there has been a realisation that action is overdue, said Prof Nicholas Crisp, a deputy director general in South Africas health department. He said: I was impressed with ministers of state, permanent secretaries, saying this was a wake-up call. It wasnt like a rejection, it was like saying Jeez, we really need to get our act together. There was no aggressive kickback. We dont want to be dependent. You lose your sovereignty and you make yourself vulnerable when you are dependent on donors. Everyone has been mature and supportive about it. The question has rather been how fast you get out of that donor dependence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just how much money African health stands to lose is still unclear. The Trump administration has paused almost all foreign aid for a 90-day review, but it has already said it will cut 90 per cent of contracts overseen by Americas USAID agency, amounting to 46bn ($60bn). The UK, France, Germany and Netherlands have also said they will cut aid, as they try to rein in public spending and pivot to rearming in the face of Russian aggression. A defining moment in health financing An internal Kenyan government assessment seen by the Telegraph underlines the scale of what these cuts might mean to countries. Some 31 per cent of the money needed for Kenyas national health programmes comes directly from the US government. Other donor funding comes from organisations like Gavi, the vaccine alliance, which are themselves reliant on the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Large numbers of staff have already been laid off, supplies are running out and IT and management systems are faltering. The assessment says: The funding freeze poses an existential threat to Kenyas health infrastructure. With donor support halted, many health facilities face a grim future: without necessary financial backing, they risk falling into disrepair or even closure, severely limiting access to essential care. The pattern is likely to be repeated across the continent. Modelling published in the Lancet estimated that if gaps in HIV funding cannot be filled, rates of new global infections could soar and there could be millions more deaths. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has quickly become clear that there are no other similar donors big enough to fill the hole. No other country, including China, comes close to American largesse. China does not freely share data on aid, but a 2021 white paper from Beijing said it had spent around (5.4bn) $7bn a year between 2013 and 2018, over half given as loans. America spent 10 times that on foreign assistance in 2023. China may fill some of the gaps as it vies for geopolitical influence, but no one expects Beijing to come close to replacing America. Philanthropists and charitable organisations also lack Washingtons financial might. We are facing a defining moment in health financing, says Diane Stewart of the Global Fund. Protests outside USAID buildings shortly after Trump made the controversial announcement - Kent Nishimura/REUTERS Instead, in Durban, the focus was on how countries can raise money themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Magda Robalo, of Guinea Bissaus Institute for Global Health and Development, said: Currently we are in a situation where external aid is going to dramatically reduce. Of course we need to increase domestic public finance. But the lesson is never let external financing replace domestic financing in health. African countries had already decided that funding their own health was the only sustainable way forward. The Lusaka Agenda, agreed in late 2023 vowed to find a gradual transition toward sustainable, domestically-financed health services. The problem for them now is that any transition can no longer be gradual. The money has gone overnight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rob Yates, a political health economist at the London School of Economics, said: I think that what we are recognising is that the only alternative is domestic public financing. That could involve tax spending, re-prioritising government spending away from other areas and towards health, or setting up social health insurance contributions. Nigeria for example has added an additional 155m ($200m) in health-care spending in an attempt to make up for the 620m ($800m) in lost US funding. South Africas African National Congress (ANC) government says its solution is a long-touted national health insurance scheme, though that faces stiff resistance from opposition parties. Dr Motsoaledi said: We believe if that is done, we do not have to go around, scuttle around, asking for money. Thats our belief. Not that we dont appreciate being helped. We appreciate being helped, but I dont think we could encourage ourselves to be dependent forever. Others are thinking about how they can better involve the private sector in public-private partnerships. Some countries are in a far better place than others to deal with the deficit. South Africa is a middle income country and for them, they have options, says Matt Jowett, a health financing expert with the World Health Organization. They are much more likely to be able to absorb this compared with a country like Malawi or Sierra Leone for example. Huge debt means many African governments already have strained finances and many countries spend more on servicing debt than health. The continent has more than 0.93 trillion ($1.2 trillion) in external debt. The debt-to-gross domestic product ratio has risen by about two-fifths since 2008, according to the African Export-Import Bank. If countries do start to try to fill the gaps themselves, then they will have a bigger say on where the money goes. Indeed optimists say this could be a chance to get rid of some of the worst inefficiencies and distortions of the aid system. Tangled aid architecture is often accused of inflating salaries and costs, being too centralised and unwieldy, and maybe not even delivering what recipient countries want. There is a suspicion that some aid programmes are accepted, not because they are a domestic priority, but simply because they are being given away. When countries pay themselves, priorities could change. Mr Jowett said: Look, lets be clear theres a health financing emergency in terms of this massive departure of aid. The positive spin is that they can take back control of a lot of these programmes. The problem for countries is that while they may have been heading in that direction, or planning to at least, the immediate cuts in aid have left an immediate crisis. Prof Crisp said: The biggest challenge was not whether funding would be reduced, it was the rapidity of the reduction, that was the problem. The challenge for every country I have spoken to was: We needed warning. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security 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 New Hampshire House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would reduce the penalties for people 21 and older caught with psilocybin, the psychedelic drug commonly known as magic mushrooms or shrooms. The House approved House Bill 528 during Wednesdays voting session as part of the consent agenda through a voice vote. If enacted, the bill would reduce the penalty for people 21 and older who obtain, purchase, transport, possess, or use psilocybin in New Hampshire from a felony to a simple violation with a small fine and no jail time. On the first offense, someone caught with psilocybin could face a fine of up to $100 under this bill; on the second offense that rises to $500, and for third-time offenders it could be up to $1,000. Second or third offenses would also rise from a violation to a misdemeanor under this bill. The New Hampshire House of Representatives passed a bill that would reduce the penalties for people 21 and older caught with psilocybin, the psychedelic drug commonly known as magic mushrooms or shrooms. The drug is currently illegal in New Hampshire under the Controlled Drug Act. Originally, the bills proponents, including its sponsor Deerfield Republican Rep. Kevin Verville, called for psilocybin to be legalized entirely for people 21 and older. However, the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee ultimately amended the proposal to simply lessen the punishment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted unanimously in favor of the bill. The legislation still must be approved by both the Senate and the governor before it can become law. Not only is this not really a dangerous drug, but it also has medicinal benefits that people are unable to take advantage of currently because of its classification under the Controlled Drug Act, Rep. Alissandra Murray, a Manchester Democrat, said during the committees March 7 meeting. While entirely removing it might be too big a step for this Legislature to take right now, I think this is a good compromise to start with. In 2019, psilocybin was outlawed in all 50 U.S. states. However, Oregon became the first state to legalize the drug in 2020. Colorado also legalized it in 2022. It is still illegal in the remaining 48 states. Cannabis is another recreational drug that has seen even more growing acceptance as of late. Cannabis is now legal for medicinal purposes in 39 U.S. states and for recreational use in 24 after once being illegal across the entire country. In New Hampshire, it is still illegal for recreational use. However, it is decriminalized and legal for medicinal purposes. Verville has sponsored another bill, House Bill 75, that would legalize recreational cannabis. This story was originally published by the New Hampshire Bulletin. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH House moves to reduce criminal penalties for shrooms The Hawai i Tourism Authority is back in the hot seat with state legislators and the public as it undergoes more leadership shake-ups while dealing with allegations that procedural deficiencies allowed for inappropriate freebies at the Hawai i Convention Center. Mufi Hannemann resigned Thursday as chair of the Hawai i Tourism Authority board, saying he wants to end distractions after allegations surfaced during a discussion of a state financial audit that two of his nonprofits, the Hawai i Lodging and Tourism Association and the Pacific Century Fellows, received Hawai i Convention Center freebies. Hannemann, a former Hono lulu mayor who is also the longtime president and CEO of HLTA and founder of the Pacific Century Fellows, told the board Thursday, The best thing for me to do is to step down as chair, and then I will have to think whether I want to stay on the board, because the reputations of those incredible, important organizations have been put into question. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The allegations emerged Tuesday during a special HTA board meeting to discuss the findings of a financial audit of HTAs fiscal year 2024 by Accuity LLP, a firm contracted by the state auditors office. Accuitys audit determined that there were procedural deficiencies that allowed for free food and rent for events at the convention center, but did not issue a finding of fraud. The audit did not name the events in question, but they were the Hawai i Lodging & Tourism Associations public safety conference, which was held at the convention center on Dec. 6, 2023, and a meeting of the Pacific Century Fellows, which was held May 15 in an HTA boardroom at the convention center. The board did not take any action on the allegations about comps during the HTA special board meeting, which was continued until Thursday. At Thursdays meeting the HTA board discussed the issue for about an hour and a half, with many members expressing concerns about public perception and trust. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. Ultimately, the board voted to move further discussion to the next HTA Administrative & Audit Standing Committee Meeting. The committee is expected to make a recommendation to the boardwhich is likely to be well scrutinized by the public and could determine how well HTA fares as the state Legislature winds down. The timing of HTAs latest drama comes as the House Finance Committee is slated at 2 p.m. today in Room 308 to hear Senate Bill 1571, which would give the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism more power over HTA by downgrading the HTA board to an advisory board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Majority Leader Rep. Sean Quinlan (D, Waialua-Haleiwa-Punaluu ) said lawmakers have varying opinions on the bill. One argument is that if you make the board advisory, that would make people less likely to want to serve on the board because its a big-time commitment, especially for a neighbor islander. I really do love the board members. I think they are wonderful peoplesometimes they dont always get along, Quinlan said. You could make another argument that the board hasnt been able to quite figure things out lately. I think its a discussion that is going to involve a lot of people. They need to really think about what is the future of the board and what responsibilities should they have. State Rep. Adrian Tam (D, Waikiki ), current chair of the House Tourism Committee, said HTAs current issues also could determine how lawmakers weigh their budget requests. I think that the HTA board needs to sort itself out and focus more on tourism. All this infighting only hurts this industry and makes us dysfunctional, Tam said. We are going through a session right now and they have presented their budget. And this is not helping their case on whether or not they have have the confidence of Legislature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The job of convincing the state Legislature that HTA is up to the task now falls to former Honolulu City Council Chair Todd Apo, whom the board elected to replace Hannemann as HTA chair, and HTA Planning Director Caroline Anderson, who was recently appointed to serve as interim HTA president and CEO and interim HTA administrative officer after the March 21 resignation of Daniel Naho opi i. Gov. Josh Green appointed Apo to serve on the board in October. Apo is CEO of Iole, a nonprofit focused on sustainability and resilience. He also served in senior roles at the Hawai i Community Foundation and Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. HTA board member James McCully, chair of the HTA Administrative and Audit Standing Committee, said, I think this is a watershed movement for this board, and I enter into it with great optimism and I thank member Apo for being willing to serve. Hannemann, who was a Green appointee to the HTA board, was largely credited in 2024 with helping HTA to make a comeback in the state Legislature when it emerged from session with a recurring $60 million lump sum budgetno small feat for an agency that had endured cutbacks, organizational changes and the threat of repeal or defunding over several earlier sessions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, legislators showed that some lingering doubts about HTAs capabilities remained when they passed Senate Bill 3364, which went into effect July 1, and repealed HTAs exemption from the administrative supervision of boards and commissions. The exemption from the administrative supervision of boards and commissions was the last one HTA had since it was founded in 1998. The Legislature also took away its procurement exemption in 2021, and in 2022 the agency lost its special fund status. Since the exemptions removal, the Hannemann-led HTA board and James Kunane Tokioka, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, have had some very public disagreements over HTAs budget, HTAs use of its crisis funding and the top salary threshold for a new president and CEO. Tokioka said removal of the exemption, which was instituted by legislators who had lost confidence in HTA, makes it an attached agency that needs approval for expenditures, the budget and (spending categories ). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naho opi i, who had been HTAs 11th top leader since the state Legislature created the agency in 1998, indicated in a resignation letter seen by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the HTA /DBEDT leadership structure was hard to navigate. I have had the privilege of working alongside dedicated colleagues and passionate stakeholders who recognize the delicate balance between tourism, culture, and the well-being of our residents, Naho opi i said. However, my time in this position has also been marked by increasing discomfort due to the actions of some board members and the persistent political interference from external agents. Instead of fostering an environment where HTA can operate with the stability and strategic clarity needed to fulfill its mission, I have found myself endlessly navigating a landscape dominated by conflicting political agendas, inconsistent direction, and decisions that often appear driven by external pressures rather than the long-term interests of Hawaiis people and place. Tokioka said he wishes Naho opi i well, but added, There were things that I thought he should do and not do. Its still unclear whether Hannemann will have the option of choosing to remain on the HTA board, but if he does, Tokioka said he is confident that there will be a path forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I can work with everybody. Its never been personal for me. I have 10 other boards that fall under DBEDT, and not on one of them do I have any conflict with the chair or executive director, he said. The HTA Administrative Audit & Standing Committee has much to unpack from the meetings on Tuesday and Thursday, and there were some inconsistencies in how HTA applied its policies. Hannemann told the HTA board Thursday that it was only that morning that he had been presented with a bill from the convention center for $14, 000 in relation to the two events. Convention Center General Manager Teri Orton told the HTA board that Hanne manns organizations were not billed sooner for the events because they were reserved as HTA space. Hannemann said he did not expect a bill for the Pacific Century Fellows meeting since he had planned to hold it in another location and moved it there at Naho opi is request to make it more convenient for the HTA staff who were participating. He added that he believed the HTA space request for the HLTA Visitor Public Safety Conference was appropriate as it was an HTA-sponsored event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The forms reserving the events as HTA space were unsigned. Now the HTA board must try to determine who approved the events as HTA space and whether that approval was out of character or the result of undue influence. Tokioka said once the billing issue emerged in the financial audit, HTAs policy was tightened to require the signature of the HTA president and CEO and the HTA vice president of finance before any comps for HTA space are approved. State Auditor Leslie H. Kondo told the Star-Advertiser, We didnt find any evidence of fraud. If we had found evidence of fraud, we would have reported it immediately to the board and to management. Based upon the information that we were provided, it appeared that there were organizations that were receiving complimentary or discounted use of the facility that did not seem consistent with HTAs use policies, Kondo said. We didnt look at the records themselves, so I dont know the total. But I can tell you that there were more than the two organizations that Mr. Hannemann is associated with that appear that they were able to use the facility without having to pay or at a discounted rate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John Cole, state deputy attorney general, told the Star-Advertiser that the matter had been referred to the Attorney Generals Office, but it determined that there was not enough information to open an investigation. The State Ethics Commission told the Star-Advertiser that state ethics investigations are confidential, and it could not comment as to whether an investigation had been opened. 92 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? . GEORGE F. LEE / SEPT. 30 Mufi Hannemann resigned today as chairperson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board today amid a dispute over Hawaii Convention Center freebies. Hannemann is seen here attending an HTA event at the Convention Center in September. 1 /2 GEORGE F. LEE / SEPT. 30 Mufi Hannemann resigned today as chairperson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board today amid a dispute over Hawaii Convention Center freebies. Hannemann is seen here attending an HTA event at the Convention Center in September. GEORGE F. LEE / MARCH 14 Mufi Hannemann resigned today as chairperson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board today amid a dispute over Hawaii Convention Center freebies. Hannemann is seen here attending the fourth State of the City address by Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangairdi at the Mission Auditorium this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 /2 GEORGE F. LEE / MARCH 14 Mufi Hannemann resigned today as chairperson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board today amid a dispute over Hawaii Convention Center freebies. Hannemann is seen here attending the fourth State of the City address by Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangairdi at the Mission Auditorium this month. GEORGE F. LEE / SEPT. 30 Mufi Hannemann resigned today as chairperson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board today amid a dispute over Hawaii Convention Center freebies. Hannemann is seen here attending an HTA event at the Convention Center in September. GEORGE F. LEE / MARCH 14 Mufi Hannemann resigned today as chairperson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board today amid a dispute over Hawaii Convention Center freebies. Hannemann is seen here attending the fourth State of the City address by Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangairdi at the Mission Auditorium this month. Mufi Hannemann resigned as chairperson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board today saying he wants to end distractions after allegations surfaced during discussion of a state financial audit that two of his nonprofits received Hawaii Convention Center freebies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Allegations emerged Tuesday during a special HTA board meeting to discuss the findings of a financial audit of HTAs fiscal year 2024 by Accuity LLP, a firm contracted by the State Auditors Office. Accuitys audit determined that there were procedural deficiencies that allowed for free food and rental income for events at the Convention Center, but did not issue a finding of fraud. The audit did not name the events in question but they were the Hawai i Lodging & Tourism Associations public safety conference, which was held at the Convention Center on Dec. 6, 2023, and a meeting of the Pacific Century Fellows, which was held May 15 in an HTA boardroom at the convention center. Hannemann, the former Honolulu mayor who is also the longtime president and CEO of HLTA and the founder of the Pacific Century Fellows, told the board today, The best thing for me to do is to step down as chair, and then I will have to think whether I want to stay on the board, because the reputations of those incredible, important organizations have been put into question. Hannemann told the board that he was only today presented with a bill from the Convention Center for $14, 000 in relation to the two events. Convention Center General Manager Teri Orton told the HTA board that Hannemanns organizations were not billed sooner for the events because they were reserved as HTA space. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The forms reserving the events as HTA space were unsigned. Now, the HTA board must try to determine who approved the events as HTA space and whether that approval was out of character or the result of undue influence. 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. State Auditor Leslie H. Kondo told the Star-Advertiser, We didnt find any evidence of fraud. If we had found evidence of fraud, we would have reported it immediately to the board and to management. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based upon the information that we were provided, it appeared that there were organizations that were receiving complimentary or discounted use of the facility that did not seem consistent with HTAs use policies, Kondo said. We didnt look at the records themselves so I dont know the total. But I can tell you that there were more than the two organizations that Mr. Hannemann is associated with that appear that they were able to use the facility without having to pay or at a discounted rate. State Department of Business, Economic, Development & Tourism director James Kunane Tokioka told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that once the state audit brought up the issue, the policy was tightened to require the signature of the HTA president and CEO and the HTA vice president of finance before any comps for HTA space are approved. The board did not take any action on the allegations about comps during the HTA special board meeting, which was continued until today. At todays meeting, the HTA board discussed the issue for about an hour and a half, with many expressing concerns about public perception and trust. Ultimately, the board voted to move further discussion to the next Administrative & Audit Standing Committee Meeting. The committee is expected to make a recommendation to the board later. John Cole, state deputy attorney general, told the Star-Advertiser that the matter had been referred to the AGs office, but they determined that there was not enough information to open an investigation. The State Ethics Commission told the Star-Advertiser that state ethics investigations are confidential and it could not comment as to whether or not an investigation had been opened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Hannemanns resignation, the board elected former Honolulu City Council chairperson Todd Apo to serve as its new chair. Gov. Josh Green appointed Apo to serve on the board in October. Apo is CEO of Iole, a nonprofit focused on sustainability and resilience. He has also served in senior roles at the Hawaii Community Foundation and Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. 49 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? . HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) It all happened during a two-to-three hour period while Meteorologist Dan Tomaso was sleeping which, given the times he can appear delivering the weather morning, noon and night, can be literally any time of day. Im barely awake, and next thing I know, Im getting texts from friends and family saying, What is this post on Facebook? Is everything okay? Tomaso said. It was a post on a personal account he uses sporadically to keep in touch with close friends and family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My dads going into a long-term care facility, Tomaso said, characterizing the fake post. Were gonna start offloading some of his things including cars, dune buggies. Tomaso is not a dune buggy guy, he said, and thankfully, both of his parents are fine. But the post was so realistic that a friend sent $500 via Venmo to a scam artist, who had hacked Tomasos account and changed the credentials so Tomaso himself could no longer get in. Other friends he hadnt heard from in years contacted Tomaso to ask if items Tomaso said he tried to contact Facebook support, as any other user would do, but with little success. He managed to chat with a support agent through a different paid Meta Verified account; that ultimately led to help regaining control of his account after about a week, he said. Tomaso concedes he unknowingly made one mistake: The personal account was so old (from back when he was in high school) that multi-factor authentication (i.e., security requiring something other than just a password) didnt exist when he created it, and he never thought to enable it later, even though he says hes security conscious and has safeguards on his other accounts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jonathan S. Weissman, a principal lecturer in cybersecurity at Rochester Institute of Technology, recommends whats known as an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. If you do it with an authenticator app, the cyber criminals, in addition to your password, would physically need your phone, Weissman said. The time is always now to implement multi-factor authentication on any account you have. Or as Tomaso put it: Just do it. Tomasos other piece of advice is to be wary of uncharacteristic social media posts such as the one the hackers posted on his page. But Tomaso wonders: If the behavior (someone quickly changing his password and then posting something unlike anything he had ever posted on his page) is so obviously fraudulent to him, why didnt all the modern artificial intelligence available to a company like Facebook catch it? Why, for that matter, didnt Googles Gmail filters flag as spam or phishing these three messages with obvious red flags (from the unusual subject lines, to the personal email addresses for ostensible business mail, to the misspellings like State Farmm) sent to this reporter over the course of less than a day? Spokespeople for Google and Meta, Facebooks parent company, didnt respond to requests for comment. But Weissman described cybersecurity as a cat-and-mouse game between companies, whose systems really do have the best security theyve ever had, and hackers, who work tirelessly to catch up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cybercriminals are constantly changing their phishing methods changing words, changing spelling, Weissman said. In the case of what happened to Tomaso, there are many variations and permutations and combinations for Facebook to look for. Download the abc27 News+ app on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Apple TV devices Or Google, he said, has to strike a balance between flagging dangerous messages and not incorrectly blocking legitimate ones, which could be just as disruptive to a user who misses an important message. Weissman said its like a seesaw where on one side, you have security, and on the other side, you have convenience. When one side goes up, the other side goes down. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Photo credit: NIH) This story was originally reported by Shefali Luthra and Barbara Rodriguez of The 19th. Meet Shefali and Barbara and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. Daniella Fodera got an unusually early morning call from her research adviser this month: The doctoral students fellowship at Columbia University had been suddenly terminated. Fodera sobbed on phone calls with her parents. Between the fellowship application and scientific review process, she had spent a year of her life securing the funding, which helped pay for her study of the biomechanics of uterine fibroids tissue growths that can cause severe pain, bleeding and even infertility. Uterine fibroids, an underresearched condition, impact up to 77 percent of women as they age. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im afraid of what it means for womens health, Fodera said. Im just one puzzle piece in the larger scheme of what is happening. So me alone, canceling my funding will have a small impact but canceling the funding of many will have a much larger impact. It will stall research that has been stalled for decades already. For me, thats sad and an injustice. Foderas work was a casualty of new federal funding cuts at Columbia University, one of several schools targeted by the Trump administration. The administration is also reducing the workforce at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the agency that oversees public health research, while trying to slash NIH funding to universities. Researchers say threats to federal research funding and President Donald Trumps promise to eliminate any policy promoting diversity, equity and inclusion are threatening a decades-long effort to improve how the nation studies the health of women and queer people, or improve treatments for the medical conditions that affect them. Agency employees have been warned not to approve grants that include words such as women, trans or diversity. That could mean halting efforts to improve the nations understanding of conditions that predominantly affect women, including endometriosis, menopause, infectious diseases contracted in pregnancy and pregnancy-related death. It could also stall research meant to treat conditions such as asthma, heart disease, depression and substance abuse disorders, which have different health implications for women versus men, and also have outsized impacts on LGBTQ+ people and people of color often underresearched patients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want every generation to be healthier than the last, and Im worried we may have some real setbacks, said Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, a professor and clinician at Johns Hopkins University who studies the consequences of pregnancy-related infections and the causes of birth defects. The United States already lagged in promoting scientific inquiry that considered how sex and gender can influence health and has a recent history of focusing research on White men. Less than 50 years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) actively discouraged researchers from including women who could become pregnant in clinical trials for new medical products, leaving it often unclear if U.S.-based therapeutics were safe for them. It wasnt until 1993 that clinical trials were legally required to include women and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Around that same time, the federal government launched offices within the NIH, the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA that focused on womens health and research. Since then, efforts to consider gender in medical research have progressed, if unevenly. A report last fall from the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine found that in the past decade, the level of federal funding devoted to womens health had actually declined relative to the rest of the NIHs budget. The report, requested by Congress, also found that researchers still struggled to understand the implications of common conditions such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids, the long-term implications of pregnancy, or gender gaps in mental health conditions all areas where Black women in particular experience worse health outcomes or face heightened barriers to appropriate treatment. Investments had stalled in looking at how sex and gender interact with race or class in influencing peoples health outcomes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report ultimately called for an additional $15.8 billion over the next five years to address the gaps. Now, efforts to cut federal research funding and limit its acknowledgment of gender could thwart forward momentum. If we are banning this study of these issues, or deciding were not going to invest in that work, it freezes progress, said Alina Salganicoff, a lead author on the report and vice president for womens health at KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research organization. Already, researchers whose work touches on sex or gender are anticipating losses in federal funding, which they fear could imperil their work moving forward. Some have already had their grants terminated. Many specified that they were not speaking as representatives of their employers. Whitney Wharton, a cognitive neuroscientist at Emory University, learned on February 28 that she would no longer receive federal funding for her multi-year study looking at effective caregiving models for LGBTQ+ seniors at risk of developing Alzheimers. Research suggests that queer adults may be at greater risk of age-related cognitive decline, but they are far less likely to be the subject of research. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wharton is one of numerous scientists across the country whose work was terminated because it included trans people, per letters those researchers received from the NIH. Research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific, have little identifiable return on investment, and do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans, the letter said. Though Whartons work focused on queer adults, it proposed caregiving models that could apply to other people often without family support structures who are at heightened risk for Alzheimers as they age. The sexual and gender minority community is more likely to age alone in place. Were less likely to be married or have children, Wharton said. These additional roadblocks are not only unnecessary but they are unnecessarily cruel to a community thats already facing a lot of hardship. One of Whartons collaborators on the study is Jace Flatt, an associate professor of health and behavioral sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who also received separate notice from the NIH that their research beyond the study had been terminated. Flatt studies LGBTQ+ people and their risk for Alzheimers disease and related dementias, as well as thinking about their needs for care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flatt said NIH funding for three of their studies have been canceled in recent weeks, as well as a Department of Defense-funded grant looking at veterans health that included LGBTQ+ people. The defense letter stated the research did not align with Trumps executive order that recognizes only two sexes, male and female. Flatt estimates about $4.5 million in federal funding was cut from their research, requiring some staff layoffs. I made a personal commitment to do this work. Now Im being told, Your research doesnt benefit all Americans, and its unscientific, and basically that Im promoting inaccurate research and findings. The tone comes across as like its harmful to society, they said. Im a public health practitioner. Im about improving the health and quality of life of all people. Jill Becker, a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan, uses rodent studies to better understand how sex differences can affect peoples responses to drug addiction and treatment. Her work has helped suggest that some forms of support and treatment can be more effective for male rats and others for female ones a divide she hopes to interrogate to help develop appropriate treatments for people who are in recovery for substance use disorder, and, in particular, better treatment for cisgender men. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beckers studies were singled out in a Senate hearing by Rand Paul, a Republican, who characterized it as the type of wasteful research that shouldnt continue. Because she looks at sex differences, she anticipates that when her NIH funding finishes at the end of the year, the agency will no longer support her a development that could eventually force her lab and others doing similar work to shut down entirely. If we no longer include women or females in our research, were obviously going to go back to not having answers that are going to be applicable to both sexes, she said. And I think thats a big step backward. The NIH did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In interviews with The 19th, academics broadly described a sense of widespread uncertainty. Beyond federal funding, many are unsure if they will still be able to use the government-operated databases they have relied on to conduct comprehensive research. Others said the NIH representatives they typically work with have left the organization. Virtually all said their younger colleagues are reconsidering whether to continue health research, or whether a different career path could offer more stability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the Trump administration has remained steadfast. In his recent joint address to Congress, Trump praised efforts to cut appalling waste, singling out $8 million to make mice transgender a framing that misrepresented studies involving asthma and breast cancer. The governments rhetoric is now deterring some scholars from certain areas of study, even when they recognize a public health benefit. One North Carolina-based psychologist who studies perinatal mental health and hormone therapy for menopausal people said her team had considered expanding their research to look at that treatments mental health implications for trans people. Its important, and I dont have any way of doing that work at the moment, said the psychologist, who asked that her name be withheld from publication because she fears publicly criticizing the NIH could jeopardize research funding. There is potential for that line of research in the future, but not in this funding environment. The concerns spread beyond those who receive government funding. Katy Kozhimannil, a public health professor at the University of Minnesota, doesnt receive NIH support for her research on pregnancy-related health and access to obstetrics care in rural areas. Her work has looked at perinatal health care for Native Americans, including examining intimate partner violence as a risk factor for pregnancy-related death. The findings, she hopes, could be used to help develop policy addressing the fact that Native American and Alaska Native people are more likely to die during pregnancy than White people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But future studies may not be possible, she fears, because of an interruption in data collection to PRAMS, a comprehensive federal database with detailed information about Americans pregnancy-related health outcomes. Within the first weeks of the new administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reportedly told state health departments to stop collecting data to maintain the system, while saying that it will be brought back online once it is in compliance with the new government diversity policies. Kozhimannil and other scholars in her field are worried about what that means and whether PRAMS will continue to publish information showing outcomes by race or geography. Those would be tremendous omissions: A vast body of data shows that in the United States, Black and American Indian women are at elevated risk of dying because of pregnancy. People in rural areas face greater barriers to reproductive health care than those in urban ones. Without the information PRAMS is known for, Kozhimannil said, it will be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to conduct research that could address those divides. Its not clear if or when that information will be available, she added. One of her doctoral students requested access to PRAMS data in January and has still not heard back on whether it will be made available to her a delay that is not normal, Kozhimannil said. Its hard to imagine getting toward a future where fewer moms die giving birth in this country, because the tools we had to imagine that are not available, she said. Im a creative person and Ive been doing this a while, and I care a lot about it. But its pushing the boundaries of my creativity and my innovation as a researcher when some of the basic tools are not there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paul Prince, a spokesperson for the CDC, acknowledged some schedule adjustments to PRAMS to comply with Trumps executive orders, but claimed it does not affect the programs continuation. He added: PRAMS was not shut down. PRAMS remains operational and continues its mission identifying issues impacting high-risk mothers and infants, tracking health trends, and measuring progress toward improving maternal and infant health, he said in an email. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Its unclear the scope of long-term ramifications to health research, but Kathryn Katie Schubert is tracking it closely. She is the president and CEO of the Society for Womens Health Research, an organization that has advocated on decades of congressional policy. In 2005, the group released a report that found just 3 percent of grants awarded by NIH took sex differences into consideration. In February, her organization and other groups sent a letter to the administration highlighting the need to continue prioritizing womens health research. We have gotten to the point where we know what the problems are. We know where we would like to try to solve for so how are we going to find these solutions, and whats the action plan? she told The 19th. In the past, Trump has shown a willingness to address womens health inequity in at least in some arenas. A 2016 law, signed by former President Barack Obama, established a committee on how to better incorporate pregnant and lactating people into clinical trials. Trump continued that work under his first administration. Still, when pharmaceutical companies began developing vaccines against COVID-19 in 2020, they at first did not include pregnant or breastfeeding people in clinical trials, despite federal policy encouraging them to do so and data showing that pregnant people were at higher risk of complications from the virus. Those same vaccine trials also initially excluded people who were HIV positive a policy with particular ramifications for trans people, who are living with HIV at a higher rate than cisgender people and only changed their policy after public outcry. Trump returned to power on the heels of a renowned federal focus on womens health research and gender equity. In 2023, President Joe Biden announced the first-ever White House Initiative on Womens Health Research to address chronic underfunding. During his final State of the Union address, Biden called on Congress to invest $12 billion in new funding for womens health research. He followed that with an executive order directing federal agencies to expand and improve related research efforts. In December, former First Lady Jill Biden led a conference at the White House where she highlighted nearly $1 billion in funding committed over the past year toward womens health research. She told a room that included researchers: Today isnt the finish line; its the starting point. We all of us we have built the momentum. Now its up to us to make it unstoppable. The Trump administration rescinded the council that oversaw the research initiative. The press office for the Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Schubert said prioritizing womens health has bipartisan support, and she remains hopeful of its popularity across both sides of the aisle. She also recognizes it could mean a new era of investment sources. Well continue as an organization, of course, with our partners, to work to fulfill our mission and to advocate for that federal investment and to make sure that the workforce is there and make that policy change. Well do that under the best of times and the worst of times, she said. But I think when we think about sort of the broader community weve seen other philanthropic organizations come in and say, OK, were ready to partner and really make this investment on the private side. Womens health research has more visibility than ever, and not just because some high-profile celebrities and media personalities are investing time and money toward addressing it. Social media algorithms are also increasingly targeting messaging around womens health and wellness. Economists estimate that investing $350 million in research that focuses on women could yield $14 billion in economic returns. Yes, we are in a very difficult time when it comes to the federal budget, Schubert said. Even in spite of that, there will be opportunities to see this issue continue to rise to the top. The speed and scope of those opportunities may not extend to researchers like Flatt in Nevada. They plan to appeal their NIH funding cuts, but they dont feel optimistic in part because the letters state that no modifications of their projects will change the agencys decision. Flatt noted that in recent weeks, some people have suggested that they exclude transgender people from their studies. Flatt said excluding people of all genders is not pro-science. I refuse to do that, they said. The administration is saying that it needs to be for all Americans. They are Americans. Fodera, the Columbia doctoral student, will continue her research on uterine fibroids for now, due partly to timing and luck: The fellowship had already paid out her stipend for the semester, and her adviser pooled some money together from another source. But the future of her fellowship is in question, and such research opportunities are closing elsewhere. Fodera is expected to graduate in a few months, and plans to continue in academia with the goal of becoming a professor. Shes looking for a postdoctoral position, and is now considering opportunities outside of the United States. This is really going to hurt science overall, she said. There is going to be a brain drain from the U.S. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Municipal workers are seen at a communal Ramadan iftar in Damascus, Syria, on March 26, 2025. (Photo by Monsef Memari/Xinhua) DAMASCUS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Wearing orange safety vests, more than a thousand Syrian municipal workers from sanitation, electricity, water, and maintenance sectors sat shoulder-to-shoulder for a communal iftar under the soft glow of Ramadan lanterns, as young volunteers passed between rows of red-cushioned chairs, distributing foam dinner boxes and bottled water. The event in Damascus on Wednesday evening was part of a humanitarian initiative aimed at including some of the city's most affected residents in the spiritual atmosphere of the Muslim holy month. The boxed meals, complete with rice, meat, and dates, found their way to the tables amid smiles and thanks. Organized by a local charity, HAND, the gathering paid tribute to the efforts of Damascus's civil workers, those who often labor behind the scenes to keep essential services running, especially during the nation's transitional period. "This evening, we are hosting 1,700 heroes from Damascus province," said Saad Eddin Al-Mowaqet, director of HAND, as volunteers in neon-green vests bustled behind him. "These heroes come from various departments -- cleaning crews, electricity, water, maintenance, and more. We're thrilled to welcome them to our tables during Ramadan." Long rows of folding tables stretched across a lawn, each topped with neat stacks of takeaway containers. Amid the steady flow of conversation, many workers snapped photos of one another to capture the festive spirit. Some exchanged lighthearted jokes, while others closed their eyes in brief prayer before sipping water at sunset. Hussein Ammar, a volunteer for HAND, described the event as a gesture of gratitude for those who keep the city running. "The goal of this iftar is to appreciate the efforts of the workers who build our homeland," he said. "We wanted to gather them all at one table to celebrate their tremendous efforts and, God willing, create beautiful memories through this campaign." As evening deepened, participants voiced hope that this show of solidarity would extend well beyond Ramadan, reminding Syrians of the importance of unity in navigating the country's transitional challenges. Years of conflict and Western sanctions have devastated Syria's economy, pushing the majority of the population into alarming poverty. Families across the country struggle to put food on the table, with many relying on humanitarian aid or rationing meals to survive. Municipal workers are seen at a communal Ramadan iftar in Damascus, Syria, on March 26, 2025. (Photo by Monsef Memari/Xinhua) Researchers say federal agencies have been instructed not to approve grants that include the words women, trans, or diversity. (The 19th; Getty images) Daniella Fodera got an unusually early morning call from her research adviser this month: The doctoral students fellowship at Columbia University had been suddenly terminated. Fodera sobbed on phone calls with her parents. Between the fellowship application and scientific review process, she had spent a year of her life securing the funding, which helped pay for her study of the biomechanics of uterine fibroids tissue growths that can cause severe pain, bleeding and even infertility. Uterine fibroids, an underresearched condition, impact up to 77 percent of women as they age. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im afraid of what it means for womens health, Fodera said. Im just one puzzle piece in the larger scheme of what is happening. So me alone, canceling my funding will have a small impact but canceling the funding of many will have a much larger impact. It will stall research that has been stalled for decades already. For me, thats sad and an injustice. Foderas work was a casualty of new federal funding cuts at Columbia University, one of several schools targeted by the Trump administration. The administration is also reducing the workforce at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the agency that oversees public health research, while trying to slash NIH funding to universities. Researchers say threats to federal research funding and President Donald Trumps promise to eliminate any policy promoting diversity, equity and inclusion are threatening a decades-long effort to improve how the nation studies the health of women and queer people, or improve treatments for the medical conditions that affect them. Agency employees have been warned not to approve grants that include words such as women, trans or diversity. That could mean halting efforts to improve the nations understanding of conditions that predominantly affect women, including endometriosis, menopause, infectious diseases contracted in pregnancy and pregnancy-related death. It could also stall research meant to treat conditions such as asthma, heart disease, depression and substance abuse disorders, which have different health implications for women versus men, and also have outsized impacts on LGBTQ+ people and people of color often underresearched patients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want every generation to be healthier than the last, and Im worried we may have some real setbacks, said Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, a professor and clinician at Johns Hopkins University who studies the consequences of pregnancy-related infections and the causes of birth defects. If we no longer include women or females in our research, were obviously going to go back to not having answers that are going to be applicable to both sexes. And I think thats a big step backward. Jill Becker, University of Michigan neuroscientist The United States already lagged in promoting scientific inquiry that considered how sex and gender can influence health and has a recent history of focusing research on White men. Less than 50 years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) actively discouraged researchers from including women who could become pregnant in clinical trials for new medical products, leaving it often unclear if U.S.-based therapeutics were safe for them. It wasnt until 1993 that clinical trials were legally required to include women and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around that same time, the federal government launched offices within the NIH, the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA that focused on womens health and research. Since then, efforts to consider gender in medical research have progressed, if unevenly. A report last fall from the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine found that in the past decade, the level of federal funding devoted to womens health had actually declined relative to the rest of the NIHs budget. The report, requested by Congress, also found that researchers still struggled to understand the implications of common conditions such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids, the long-term implications of pregnancy, or gender gaps in mental health conditions all areas where Black women in particular experience worse health outcomes or face heightened barriers to appropriate treatment. Investments had stalled in looking at how sex and gender interact with race or class in influencing peoples health outcomes. The report ultimately called for an additional $15.8 billion over the next five years to address the gaps. Now, efforts to cut federal research funding and limit its acknowledgment of gender could thwart forward momentum. If we are banning this study of these issues, or deciding were not going to invest in that work, it freezes progress, said Alina Salganicoff, a lead author on the report and vice president for womens health at KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research organization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Already, researchers whose work touches on sex or gender are anticipating losses in federal funding, which they fear could imperil their work moving forward. Some have already had their grants terminated. Many specified that they were not speaking as representatives of their employers. Whitney Wharton, a cognitive neuroscientist at Emory University, learned on February 28 that she would no longer receive federal funding for her multi-year study looking at effective caregiving models for LGBTQ+ seniors at risk of developing Alzheimers. Research suggests that queer adults may be at greater risk of age-related cognitive decline, but they are far less likely to be the subject of research. Wharton is one of numerous scientists across the country whose work was terminated because it included trans people, per letters those researchers received from the NIH. Research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific, have little identifiable return on investment, and do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans, the letter said. Though Whartons work focused on queer adults, it proposed caregiving models that could apply to other people often without family support structures who are at heightened risk for Alzheimers as they age. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sexual and gender minority community is more likely to age alone in place. Were less likely to be married or have children, Wharton said. These additional roadblocks are not only unnecessary but they are unnecessarily cruel to a community thats already facing a lot of hardship. One of Whartons collaborators on the study is Jace Flatt, an associate professor of health and behavioral sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who also received separate notice from the NIH that their research beyond the study had been terminated. Flatt studies LGBTQ+ people and their risk for Alzheimers disease and related dementias, as well as thinking about their needs for care. Flatt said NIH funding for three of their studies have been canceled in recent weeks, as well as a Department of Defense-funded grant looking at veterans health that included LGBTQ+ people. The defense letter stated the research did not align with Trumps executive order that recognizes only two sexes, male and female. Flatt estimates about $4.5 million in federal funding was cut from their research, requiring some staff layoffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I made a personal commitment to do this work. Now Im being told, Your research doesnt benefit all Americans, and its unscientific, and basically that Im promoting inaccurate research and findings. The tone comes across as like its harmful to society, they said. Im a public health practitioner. Im about improving the health and quality of life of all people. Jill Becker, a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan, uses rodent studies to better understand how sex differences can affect peoples responses to drug addiction and treatment. Her work has helped suggest that some forms of support and treatment can be more effective for male rats and others for female ones a divide she hopes to interrogate to help develop appropriate treatments for people who are in recovery for substance use disorder, and, in particular, better treatment for cisgender men. Beckers studies were singled out in a Senate hearing by Rand Paul, a Republican, who characterized it as the type of wasteful research that shouldnt continue. Because she looks at sex differences, she anticipates that when her NIH funding finishes at the end of the year, the agency will no longer support her a development that could eventually force her lab and others doing similar work to shut down entirely. If we no longer include women or females in our research, were obviously going to go back to not having answers that are going to be applicable to both sexes, she said. And I think thats a big step backward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NIH did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In interviews with The 19th, academics broadly described a sense of widespread uncertainty. Beyond federal funding, many are unsure if they will still be able to use the government-operated databases they have relied on to conduct comprehensive research. Others said the NIH representatives they typically work with have left the organization. Virtually all said their younger colleagues are reconsidering whether to continue health research, or whether a different career path could offer more stability. But the Trump administration has remained steadfast. In his recent joint address to Congress, Trump praised efforts to cut appalling waste, singling out $8 million to make mice transgender a framing that misrepresented studies involving asthma and breast cancer. The governments rhetoric is now deterring some scholars from certain areas of study, even when they recognize a public health benefit. One North Carolina-based psychologist who studies perinatal mental health and hormone therapy for menopausal people said her team had considered expanding their research to look at that treatments mental health implications for trans people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its important, and I dont have any way of doing that work at the moment, said the psychologist, who asked that her name be withheld from publication because she fears publicly criticizing the NIH could jeopardize research funding. There is potential for that line of research in the future, but not in this funding environment. The concerns spread beyond those who receive government funding. Katy Kozhimannil, a public health professor at the University of Minnesota, doesnt receive NIH support for her research on pregnancy-related health and access to obstetrics care in rural areas. Her work has looked at perinatal health care for Native Americans, including examining intimate partner violence as a risk factor for pregnancy-related death. The findings, she hopes, could be used to help develop policy addressing the fact that Native American and Alaska Native people are more likely to die during pregnancy than White people. But future studies may not be possible, she fears, because of an interruption in data collection to PRAMS, a comprehensive federal database with detailed information about Americans pregnancy-related health outcomes. Within the first weeks of the new administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reportedly told state health departments to stop collecting data to maintain the system, while saying that it will be brought back online once it is in compliance with the new government diversity policies. Kozhimannil and other scholars in her field are worried about what that means and whether PRAMS will continue to publish information showing outcomes by race or geography. Those would be tremendous omissions: A vast body of data shows that in the United States, Black and American Indian women are at elevated risk of dying because of pregnancy. People in rural areas face greater barriers to reproductive health care than those in urban ones. Without the information PRAMS is known for, Kozhimannil said, it will be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to conduct research that could address those divides. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not clear if or when that information will be available, she added. One of her doctoral students requested access to PRAMS data in January and has still not heard back on whether it will be made available to her a delay that is not normal, Kozhimannil said. Its hard to imagine getting toward a future where fewer moms die giving birth in this country, because the tools we had to imagine that are not available, she said. Im a creative person and Ive been doing this a while, and I care a lot about it. But its pushing the boundaries of my creativity and my innovation as a researcher when some of the basic tools are not there. Paul Prince, a spokesperson for the CDC, acknowledged some schedule adjustments to PRAMS to comply with Trumps executive orders, but claimed it does not affect the programs continuation. He added: PRAMS was not shut down. PRAMS remains operational and continues its mission identifying issues impacting high-risk mothers and infants, tracking health trends, and measuring progress toward improving maternal and infant health, he said in an email. Its unclear the scope of long-term ramifications to health research, but Kathryn Katie Schubert is tracking it closely. She is the president and CEO of the Society for Womens Health Research, an organization that has advocated on decades of congressional policy. In 2005, the group released a report that found just 3 percent of grants awarded by NIH took sex differences into consideration. In February, her organization and other groups sent a letter to the administration highlighting the need to continue prioritizing womens health research. We have gotten to the point where we know what the problems are. We know where we would like to try to solve for so how are we going to find these solutions, and whats the action plan? she told The 19th. In the past, Trump has shown a willingness to address womens health inequity in at least in some arenas. A 2016 law, signed by former President Barack Obama, established a committee on how to better incorporate pregnant and lactating people into clinical trials. Trump continued that work under his first administration. Still, when pharmaceutical companies began developing vaccines against COVID-19 in 2020, they at first did not include pregnant or breastfeeding people in clinical trials, despite federal policy encouraging them to do so and data showing that pregnant people were at higher risk of complications from the virus. Those same vaccine trials also initially excluded people who were HIV positive a policy with particular ramifications for trans people, who are living with HIV at a higher rate than cisgender people and only changed their policy after public outcry. Trump returned to power on the heels of a renowned federal focus on womens health research and gender equity. In 2023, President Joe Biden announced the first-ever White House Initiative on Womens Health Research to address chronic underfunding. During his final State of the Union address, Biden called on Congress to invest $12 billion in new funding for womens health research. He followed that with an executive order directing federal agencies to expand and improve related research efforts. In December, former First Lady Jill Biden led a conference at the White House where she highlighted nearly $1 billion in funding committed over the past year toward womens health research. She told a room that included researchers: Today isnt the finish line; its the starting point. We all of us we have built the momentum. Now its up to us to make it unstoppable. The Trump administration rescinded the council that oversaw the research initiative. The press office for the Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Schubert said prioritizing womens health has bipartisan support, and she remains hopeful of its popularity across both sides of the aisle. She also recognizes it could mean a new era of investment sources. Well continue as an organization, of course, with our partners, to work to fulfill our mission and to advocate for that federal investment and to make sure that the workforce is there and make that policy change. Well do that under the best of times and the worst of times, she said. But I think when we think about sort of the broader community weve seen other philanthropic organizations come in and say, OK, were ready to partner and really make this investment on the private side. Womens health research has more visibility than ever, and not just because some high-profile celebrities and media personalities are investing time and money toward addressing it. Social media algorithms are also increasingly targeting messaging around womens health and wellness. Economists estimate that investing $350 million in research that focuses on women could yield $14 billion in economic returns. Yes, we are in a very difficult time when it comes to the federal budget, Schubert said. Even in spite of that, there will be opportunities to see this issue continue to rise to the top. The speed and scope of those opportunities may not extend to researchers like Flatt in Nevada. They plan to appeal their NIH funding cuts, but they dont feel optimistic in part because the letters state that no modifications of their projects will change the agencys decision. Flatt noted that in recent weeks, some people have suggested that they exclude transgender people from their studies. Flatt said excluding people of all genders is not pro-science. I refuse to do that, they said. The administration is saying that it needs to be for all Americans. They are Americans. Fodera, the Columbia doctoral student, will continue her research on uterine fibroids for now, due partly to timing and luck: The fellowship had already paid out her stipend for the semester, and her adviser pooled some money together from another source. But the future of her fellowship is in question, and such research opportunities are closing elsewhere. Fodera is expected to graduate in a few months, and plans to continue in academia with the goal of becoming a professor. Shes looking for a postdoctoral position, and is now considering opportunities outside of the United States. This is really going to hurt science overall, she said. There is going to be a brain drain from the U.S. This story was originally reported by Shefali Luthra and Barbara Rodriguez of The 19th. Meet Shefali and Barbara and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. CHEYENNE Volunteers of America Northern Rockies is putting the final touches on its new Harmony House facility in Cheyenne, which will serve as a residential treatment facility providing substance abuse treatment for men and women. Harmony House, I love that name, Volunteers of America Inc. CEO Mike King said Wednesday. I mean because of these services that are described so aptly in this mission: putting your body, mind and spirit in harmony with your faith and with love. King spoke to a group of supporters Wednesday during an open house of the new facilities hosted by VOA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harmony House will have 42 beds for addiction treatment 26 for men and 16 for women. The facilities also have 12 beds for crisis stabilization six for men and six for women and four beds for social detox two for men and two for women. In line with the faith-based mission of the program, the facilities also contain a chapel. VOA determined the bed numbers based on demand at existing treatment facilities, according to VOA Northern Rockies Chief Program Officer Aimee Foster. VOA Northern Rockies has a similar facility in Sheridan, but the new facility in Cheyenne will be the first VOA substance abuse residential care facility in southeast Wyoming to serve women. Its difficult for women to pursue treatment because of family responsibilities, Foster said. So we will also accept women with children in this facility so that they dont necessarily have to make that tough decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement VOA typically sees an 80-90% success rate, according to King. VOA Northern Rockies Director of Food Services Joe Niverson went through the program himself, and testified to its importance Wednesday at the open house. I can say Im a good dad, I can say that Im an associate pastor, that Im a good husband, that Im a pretty good cook, Niverson told the crowd. ... And the reason that I can say that is because I walked these halls. Its different halls, and its different drywall and paint, different everything. But its the same, right? Its the same program. Niverson led the crowd in prayer, thanking God for all those who had contributed to the project, and praying that God protects the building and the people within it. Niverson shared in his speech that he struggled with substance abuse from a young age. His father died when Niverson was 3 years old, and after that, his family really struggled. His mother turned to substance abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I had two older brothers, and they started smoking weed with me and drinking with me, Niverson said. They thought it was cool to see a little kindergartner running around drunk and stoned. From 7 to 9, I was molested by those two big brothers, and when I went to my mom about it when I was 9 years old, she laughed at me. About two weeks later, she started smoking meth with me. Niversons childhood was filled with group homes, juvenile halls, foster care and homelessness. At 18, he committed armed robbery in Washington State and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. When I got out of prison, I wanted to get clean and sober, he told the crowd. I wanted to change my life because I didnt want that lifestyle anymore. I didnt want to go back to prison. Niverson tried several treatment facilities, but he found that they didnt foster any kind of spiritual growth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They didnt really care, Niverson said. Im sure there were people there (who did), but they didnt really care if you recovered. They didnt care if you got what you needed. It was all about the money and heads and beds. In 2008, Niverson went to the VOA treatment facility in Sheridan. I hated God, Niverson said. Didnt want anything to do with God. One of the health techs was instrumental in really showing me who God was and showing me grace and mercy. And I was saved about my third weekend, and that changed my life. While the program is faith-based, a specific faith is not a requirement of the program, according to Foster. Rather, the program focuses on a three-legged stool model of a healthy mind, body and spirit, which encourages faith-based connection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If people have a faith background, we will encourage them to continue to pursue that while in treatment, whatever it may be, Christian, Native American, anything else, Foster said. Getting people connected to their faith community of choice. We know that the outcomes are stronger if theyre long term, and people are again connected to their faith or traditions. According to a news release from VOA Northern Rockies, This new facility will enhance the continuum of care and improve access to vital mental health and addiction treatment services in the region. The project received some state funds and support, as well, with Gov. Mark Gordon, the Office of State Lands and Investments and the Wyoming Department of Health being cited as key stakeholders and supporters. Wyoming Department of Health Director Stefan Johansson noted that some of the hardest people to serve are often the vulnerable people who may end up going through the court system, the correctional system or even the state psychiatric hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need services below those restrictive levels of care, incarceration, hospitalization, that can transition folks to a more independent, community-based life, Johansson said. ... Were just really excited to see, not only a building come out of the ground, but expand that capacity and that reach here in a local community like Cheyenne to, at the end of the day, do the best we can with the resources we have to help those people. The total project cost $7.5 million, with key financial support coming from a $3,487,926 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant and gifts totaling $3.5 million from John Evans, Capital for Compassion, Hughes Charitable Foundation and Daniels Fund. Pending the installation of blinds for privacy and a few final touches to the bedrooms, Harmony House should be open within the next few weeks, officials said. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Harrisonville Police Department is asking the public for help in attempting to locate a 43-year-old woman and her 18-month-old infant daughter. Police say on March 15, a family member reported Kristi Pollington and Rosemary Murphy missing. KCK woman arrested after chase through west Lawrence According to police, Pollington is not known to have transportation. Family and friends have not heard from her and her last known cell number is not accepting calls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said on March 20, a temporary custody order was granted to the infants father. On Wednesday, March 26, Harrisonville police officers were able to confirm that Pollington left a Harrisonville residence with Rosemary on Feb. 14 with an unknown means and direction of travel, according to police. Polliington is described as standing 510 with brown hair, green eyes and that she likes to wear thick framed reading glasses. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android Rosemary is described as having brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Harrisonville Police Department at (816) 380-8940 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 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. A Harvard scientist who fled Russia because she opposed the war in Ukraine is facing deportation from the U.S. after being detained over undeclared frog embryos. Kseniia Petrova, a bioinformatician at the Kirschner Lab at Harvard Medical School, was detained at the U.S. border on February 16 while returning from France and had her visa revoked, according to her friend Cora Anderson. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Petrovas detention in a statement to The Independent, alleging that she had knowingly broken the law by attempting to smuggle undeclared frog embryos and petri dishes through customs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Petrovas lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, acknowledged that it was her fault she did not declare the items and that she did not really think through the decision, but said such behavior would usually only warrant confiscation and a fine of about $500. He accused U.S. Customs and Border Protection of trying to punish her by revoking her visa, and said it was quite likely she would receive a long jail sentence if sent back to Russia. Its not clear where exactly Petrova would be deported, as she flew to the U.S. from France, but her friends and Romanovsky fear she could end up in Vladimir Putins clutches again if her bid to stay in the U.S. fails in court. Her detention was first reported by independent Russian media, including The Insider, Mediazone, and Agentsvo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Kseniia is a Russian woman that had to leave her home country and family because she was going to go to prison for opposing the war with Ukraine," said Anderson in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "Once hired, she worked hard and has been an absolute delight for all to work with and a loving and loyal friend, Anderson added. Her giggly and bubbly personality really brightened up the lab space and anywhere she may be. Not only is she kind, but incredibly intelligent and diligent... "Despite having lawyers and the fact she did not do anything illegal in the first place, she is still [in detention], and we have no idea when she will be paroled. I miss my friend and just want her home in Boston." A GoFundMe page set up by Anderson to cover Petrova's legal expenses raised nearly $29,000 of its $30,000 goal as of Thursday evening. Kseniia Petrova, right, sporting fancy dress alongside Anderson (Cora Anderson/Facebook) A DHS spokesperson said, The individual was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying biological substances into the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A subsequent K9 inspection uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits. Messages found on her phone revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them. She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it. Petrovas case is one of many recent similar situations since Donald Trump's return to power, in which legal immigrants in the U.S. have been imprisoned for weeks at a time after having their visas revoked, sometimes for unclear reasons. Trump promised while campaigning for president that he would target undocumented immigrants guilty of crimes, while his border czar Tom Homan has said his focus is on the worst of the worst. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tourists and international travelers have also been detained, and the Department of Homeland Security has revoked the legal status of more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, leaving them open to deportation in about a month. Trump, meanwhile, has abruptly reversed the nations stance on the war in Ukraine, suspending military aid and intelligence sharing while demanding control of the embattled countrys energy and mineral resources, and falsely claiming Ukraine started the war. Trump also called Putin a genius after he invaded Ukraine three years ago.. The Biden administration reportedly paused all deportation flights to Russia in early 2022 after the war began, but quietly restarted them one year later. In an interview with NBC News, Romanovsky, the lawyer, said Petrova had been carrying scientific samples of frog embryos that she was bringing back from a French lab at the request of her superior as part of a research project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was her fault. She was supposed to declare that item. She did not, he said. She had no previous experience with bringing samples. She didnt really think this through. She didnt she didnt look up the requirements. But he argued that in such circumstances, CBP is only meant to seize the item and impose a fine of about $500, and that it had no reason to merit cancelling her visa. Petrovas research supervisor, Leon Peshkin, told The Washington Post that the embryos were non-toxic and that he had made a huge mistake in asking her to bring them back. Romanovsky then said that his client was given two choices: withdraw her application to enter the U.S. voluntarily and reapply from an embassy abroad, or immediately be sent back to France and be banned from returning for at least five years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Petrova chose the first option, but when CBP offered to inform the Russian government of her situation, she got scared and told them she would be persecuted if forced to go back there. Indeed, The Harvard Crimson reported that Petrova was arrested in Russia in 2022 for protesting against the war. That allegedly triggered a CBP protocol known as credible fear, in which non-citizens who claim they will be persecuted abroad get to stay in the U.S. and make their claim to an immigration judge. Yet instead of being paroled until her court date, Romanovsky said, agents chose to keep her in detention. "Shes certainly a victim of the new policy where people are held indiscriminately, held and not released, regardless of whether theyre a threat to anybody or whether flight risk," he said. "Theres really no sense to continue to hold her. HONOLULU (KHON2) Hawaii has ambitious clean energy goals. Weve set a 100% renewable energy goal to be reached by 2045. A peek at Hawaiis 2 most expensive estates But recent changes at the federal level have some wondering if anything will change here in the islands. 10 things the uber wealthy do and dont do So what impact could policy changes on a federal level could have on Hawaiis energy projects? Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You And what can consumers expect with regard to clean energy projects and tax credits moving forward? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Joining KHONs Gina Mangieri to discuss are Mark Glick, Chief Energy Officer at the Hawaii State Energy Office, Jim Kelly, Vice President of Government & Community Relations for Hawaiian Electric, and Ted Peck, with the Hawaii Solar Energy 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 KHON2. HONOLULU (KHON2) The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) is warning residents to be cautious with their personal information following 23andMes bankruptcy filing. Mufi Hannemann resigns as Hawaii Tourism Authority Chair amid audit questions The states Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) is advising consumers to manage their genetic data carefully, offering steps to delete or limit access to the information stored with the company. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A peek at Hawaiis 2 most expensive estates On March 23, 23andMe, a direct-to-consumer genetic testing company, filed for bankruptcy. In a press release, the company said it plans to sell most of its assets while continuing to operate normally during the process. 10 things the uber wealthy do and dont do While 23andMe has assured customers that no changes are planned for how it stores or protects data, the bankruptcy raises concerns that the company may sell customers genetic data as part of the proceedings. Hawaii residents who want to delete or limit the use of their genetic data with 23andMe can follow these steps: Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You How to Delete Genetic Data: Sign in to your account at www.23andme.com. Go to the Settings section of your profile. Scroll to the 23andMe Data section and click View. Download your data if you want to keep a copy. Select Permanently Delete Data. Confirm deletion by following the email instructions. How to Destroy Your 23andMe Test Sample: If you want to opt-out of having your DNA sample stored, go to the Preferences section in your account settings. How to Revoke Research Consent: If you allowed 23andMe or third-party researchers to use your data, you can withdraw consent in the Research and Product Consents section. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OCP Executive Director Mana Moriarty stressed the importance of taking action: Consumers can demand the removal and destruction of their genetic data from 23andMe. We encourage all customers to protect their sensitive information from misuse or unauthorized access. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The DCCA is committed to safeguarding the privacy of Hawaii residents and will continue monitoring the situation. For more information on consumer protection in Hawaii, visit the DCCA website at https://hdcca.hawaii.gov/s/. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Sewage pollution isnt typically something that the outdoorsy think about when planning camping trips, except when it comes to San Diegos South Bay. Health concerns have arisen as the county moves forward with the reopening of the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park Campground, which is slated to, once again, welcome campers next week. The park is located south of Spooners Mesa, about a mile from the Tijuana River and just east of the Pacific Ocean. Though the campground offers stunning views of the valley and connects to over 20 trails that are perfect for hiking, biking and horseback riding, enjoying all that it has to offer could be risky due to the ongoing sewage problem that has continued to impact south county communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Travelers at San Diego International Airport to enjoy live poetry experience In fact, the mayor of Imperial Beach, Paloma Aguirre, and county park rangers are currently urging officials to delay the reopening of the Tijuana River Valley Campground. They say the ongoing cross-border sewage contamination makes it unsafe for workers and visitors. The rangers union even filed a cease-and-desist, claiming the county hasnt properly tested air or soil quality. Mayor Paloma Aguirre held a press conference on the matter Thursday, calling the decision to reopen the campground irresponsible. Shes now requesting more funding to fix the sewage crisis instead. Everybody is getting sick with headaches, nausea, respiratory illnesses and now the county wants to reopen the campground like everything is fine, Aguirre stated. Its not fine. We know the area isnt safe. The water isnt safe. The ground isnt safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Woman wins $1M on Scratchers game in National City Earlier this year, the results of the first-ever federal health survey on the impacts of the sewage crisis were released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after officials surveyed the local community. The study showed drastic results, with a majority of the households saying they have health concerns, symptoms and quality-of-life issues. The symptoms reported the most as a result of the sewage crisis, according to the results of the survey, were headaches, nausea or upset stomach, cough and an irritated throat. A whopping 69% of respondents reported one or more household members has health symptoms from the sewage issue, with 18% saying they sought medical care. The Tijuana River Valley Regional Park Campground shut down last year after flooding brought in sewage to the area, but the county still plans to reopen it next week. Tijuana River Valley Regional Park Campground is seen. (Photo: County of San Diego) The county is barreling forward with this reopening, ignoring basic health concerns and pretending this crisis doesnt exist, the Imperial Beach mayor asserted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tijuana River Valley is one of the few places in the county where the beach, sand dunes, salt marsh, river areas and land are all connected, making a great retreat for those looking to enjoy the outdoors locally. But at what cost? Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 call centers that Americas military veterans rely on to schedule appointments and arrange medical care may no longer have a live voice on the other end of the line because the agents who handle the calls are set to be laid off, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans for cutbacks at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Under the proposal, sources said the agency would move to automation, reducing the need for live agents. President Donald Trump ordered mass layoffs across the federal government in February, telling agency heads in an executive action to submit their proposals to the Office of Management and Budget. While many of those agency proposals remain under wraps, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins acknowledged in an interview with Fox News earlier this month that laying off 80,000 VA employees was a goal, our target. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such a reduction would represent nearly 20% of the VAs workforce. About 2,400 employees at the department have already been fired. The layoff plan at the VA would also affect medical and health care support staff, administrative roles including HR personnel, and regional and central office staff including those in strategic planning and procurement, according to sources in the agency and on Capitol Hill. The VA also is working with the Department of Government Efficiency to cut costs and identify contracts to cancel. VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said they are aiming to fix major problems at the agency, and he stressed that no final decisions have been made. As part of this process, weve asked career subject-matter expert employees and senior executives for recommendations on how to improve care and benefits for Veterans without cutting care and benefits for Veterans, he said in a statement. The end result of our reforms will be maintaining and expanding VAs mission-essential jobs like doctors, nurses and claims processors, while phasing out non-mission essential roles like interior designers and DEI officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following publication of this story, Kasperowicz said the layoff plan as described by sources amounted to disinformation and faulted CNN for creating unwarranted fears by reporting on it. This story is based on deliberately leaked false information that does not reflect VAs reform plan, which is still being developed, Kasperowicz said in a statement. The fact is almost everything in this story is false. A Democratic congressional staffer who had been briefed by multiple VA officials called the layoff plan at the call centers heartless and dangerous. Veterans in need of life-saving care and compassion should be met with a person who understands their needs and can provide them the information and resources they seek, not a lifeless machine, the staffer added. The staffer also noted that the veteran population in the U.S. is comprised of many disabled and elderly people who may be discouraged from reaching out for help without a live person on the other end of the line at VA call centers. A Vietnam Veteran, left, holds an upside down American flag as a sign of distress while United States military veterans and their supporters protest against the Trump administration's cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other changes affecting veterans and the military outside the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. - Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images Democrats have seized on the planned layoffs at the VA and any impact on services for veterans, who often enjoy widespread, bipartisan support. On Capitol Hill, Sen. Richard Blumenthal is planning a series of so-called shadow hearings, or unofficial hearings held by the minority party, on VA cuts starting next week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blumenthal, the ranking member on the Veterans Affairs Committee, took to the Senate floor Wednesday to decry real-life impacts to our nations heroes. The Connecticut Democrat said: It is a disgrace. It is shameful. According to Secretary Collins, the VA has four employees who act as liaisons to DOGE, which has been at the center of Elon Musk-led efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. They are working to streamline operations, improve management, and are also examining contracts, Collins wrote in a letter this week to Blumenthal. Blumenthal had raised concerns about DOGE gaining access to federal databases and systems and the vulnerability of veterans health records and other private information. Collins responded that the VA is committed to safeguarding veterans data. To be very clear: DOGE does not have access to Veterans personal records, Collins wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent weeks, the VA along with DOGE have moved to cancel hundreds of contracts, though some have since been put under review for possible reinstatement, according to congressional sources familiar with those efforts. Veterans advocates also have questions about the impact of changes at the VA. Weve expressed our concerns with the potential RIF both publicly and directly with VA Were now anticipating official word from VA on what it determines through its assessment and look forward to a plan that ensures VA can continue to deliver timely care and benefits, Randi K. Law, senior director of marketing communications for Veterans of Foreign Wars, said in a statement, adding that VFW members and veterans all agree there are places where VA needs to be more efficient. Among the medical and health care support staff targeted for layoffs at the VA are non-patient facing administrative roles, contract positions in VA medical centers and certain research positions, congressional sources said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Staffers on Capitol Hill who have been in contact with VA employees told CNN that the agency has already terminated some supply clerks at VA medical facilities. These are people who, among their other duties, handle re-stocking of surgical supplies for operating rooms. Their departure increases the burden on nurses and other staff to handle those duties, they said. The layoff plan as described by sources also includes a large scaling-back of Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). These are smaller, regional VA offices that provide oversight of the VAs medical facilities across the country and handle telehealth support and call centers. The VA employees being targeted for layoffs in administrative and support roles could include medical appointment schedulers, billing specialists, policy and program analysts and human resources personnel, sources said. They point out that the VAs Human Resources offices had already been severely under-staffed for many years and were just starting to build back up. This is exceptionally short-sighted, one congressional staffer told CNN. Not only does HR assist with hiring staff, but also processing firing, demotion, promotion, and disciplinary actions; assisting employees with benefits and retirement, and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The layoffs will come in waves over the next few months, the sources said. Specific employees at risk of being fired will start being identified in April and May. Impacted employees will be notified in June. The first round of layoffs will begin in July, and a second round will begin in September. Assessments will be taken after each round to evaluate disruptions. Some affected employees will transition into new roles, and the department plans to help some affected workers seek other federal employment. This story has been updated with additional reaction. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com CHEYENNE A military procession walked into the rotunda of the Wyoming State Capitol, carrying a casket with an American flag draped over it. The procession was led by tearful family members of former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson. A somber hush fell over the small crowd of elected officials, federal judges and supporters of the well-respected Cody Republican. Among those gathered were State Auditor Kristi Racines, State Treasurer Curt Meier and Secretary of State Chuck Gray. We gather today to honor the life and legacy of Al Simpson, said Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice Kate Fox, a man whose towering presence was felt across the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Simpson died in Cody on March 14 at age 93, surrounded by friends and family, after struggling to recover from a broken hip. Family members said his recovery was hindered by complications from frostbite to his left foot approximately five years ago. Fox said she knew Simpson when she was a lowly law student. He was just as kind and interested in me then as he was years later, when I became chief justice, Fox said. And I think that was Al Simpson. He treated you the same, whether you were important or not. Simpson was a proud member of the Wyoming State Bar for 67 years, Fox said. He held great respect for the Constitution, the law and the judiciary branch. U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that Simpson was an important person in his life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Johnson appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Sens. Malcolm Wallop and Simpson stood by him. Everywhere I went, people would ask me, Do you know Al Simpson? Johnson said. (Simpson) spoke to us. I mean with a big U and a big S, the United States. He made me proud to be from Wyoming. Shortly after Foxs speech, the Simpson family gathered around the casket. They wrapped their arms around each other and sang The More We Get Together. Colin Simpson, son of the late senator, thanked the crowd for attending the event. Everywhere you look, there are ghosts of the Simpsons, Colin said, making the crowd chuckle. What he did here, its an incredible legacy. And many of you shared in that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Something to learn Everyone who knew the towering, 6-foot-7 senator spoke openly of his infectious humor, approachable demeanor and uncanny ability to work across the aisle in Congress. Former Wyoming state Rep. Chris Boswell, who also served as former Gov. Dave Freudenthals chief of staff, told the WTE there were a few things todays lawmakers could learn from Simpson. Perseverance toward an end and working toward that end with limited concern for partisan politics, Boswell said. Al was not blind to partisan politics by any means, but at the same time, he understood how to get things done. Wyoming Equality Director Sarah Burlingame cried silently in the corner during the special event. Simpson meant a great deal to her, as he did to everyone who met him, Burlingame told the WTE. His humorous personality, even as a politician, is hard to come by these days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new batch (of Wyoming lawmakers) is a particularly humorless bunch of people. They test every joke to make sure they agree with everything in it before they laugh, Burlingame said. They could definitely learn from him how to have a robust sense of humor and laugh with whoevers sitting next to you. Went to heaven on a moonbeam When the full moon was out, Sue Simpson Gallagher often accompanied her father around Bobcat Ranch for a moonlit walk. Her dad had a special place in his heart for full moons, she told the WTE. He loved full moons, and he died on the full moon, the lunar eclipse, Simpson Gallagher said. We say he went to heaven on a moonbeam, at three in the morning, at the total lunar eclipse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of Simpsons grandsons, Aidan Gallagher, recalled waking up every morning to the smell of bacon and pancakes. Hed stumble into the kitchen and see his grandfather cooking at the grill in long johns and a Wyoming apron. Every morning he says, I made extra for you, Aidan, Gallagher said. I think thats my favorite recurring memory of Granddad. Simpson was close with his children and grandchildren. He always made jokes with them, and Nick Simpson recalled a couple of his grandfathers favorites. It was always nonstop, and hed trigger it at the most random times, Nick said. You drive past the graveyard and hed go, You know, people are dying to get in there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even when Al Simpson worked 10 hours a day, he was never more than a phone call away, family members told the WTE. He and his wife of 70 years, Ann, would host dinners twice a week at the family ranch, Fiona Gallagher said. During his final days in hospice care, the family had 16 dinners in a row. Weve been very, very lucky with how close-knit our family is, Nick said. I wouldnt trade that for the world. Funeral The flag-draped casket will remain in the Capitol rotunda until Friday afternoon. A military recession of the casket will take place at 2 p.m., with a short prayer service led by the Rev. Christian Paul Basel, rector of St. Marks Episcopal Church of Cheyenne. Gov Mark Gordon and Peter K. Simpson, Simpsons brother, will offer special remarks during this service. On Saturday, the Simpson family is hosting a free public celebration of the late senator at the University of Wyomings Arena-Auditorium starting at 11 a.m. VIENTIANE, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Laos' Ministry of Public Security will strengthen measures to ensure road safety and a peaceful, joyful celebration during the Lao New Year 2025. To enforce safety, the ministry will deploy over 1,170 traffic police officers to 143 checkpoints across Lao capital Vientiane, as well as provincial, district, and urban roads, to monitor and ensure safety throughout the celebration, head of the ministry's Traffic Police Department Khamsone Sidavong told a press conference on Friday. The traffic police will focus on speed checks, breathalyzer tests for alcohol consumption, and ensuring drivers and passengers wear helmets. Khamsone urged all drivers to strictly adhere to traffic rules, follow local notices, and avoid drinking and driving to help prevent accidents. During the Lao New Year 2024 celebration from April 11 to 17, there were 316 accidents, 567 vehicles damaged, 594 people injured, and 33 fatalities. The main causes of these accidents were speeding and drunk driving. Lao authorities aim to reduce accidents and minimize damage to health, life, and property. With over 1,600 new people calling Texas home every day, dealing with growth is a constant issue, Comptroller Glenn Hegar told Johnson County Republican Women on Tuesday. People frequently ask me, Why are people moving to Texas? Hegar said. I tell people the reason they move here is pretty much the same reason my family did in the 1840s for an economic opportunity for themselves and future generations. A sixth-generation Texan, Hegar was first elected in November 2014. He is in his last term, as he will soon serve as the next chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Texas chief financial officer, Hegar is the states treasurer, check writer, tax collector, procurement officer and revenue estimator. He spoke during the JCRWs monthly meeting at Meals on Wheels North Central Texas before heading back to Austin for the Legislature session. So the state economy continues to grow [as the population grows], Hegar said. The state legislature has a lot of issues that theyre trying to tackle as a result of that, whether thats road infrastructure, water infrastructure, broadband infrastructure, electrical infrastructure ... all these things are important. The states main concerns have not changed much since Hegars ancestors came to Texas. The top issues are and have always been transportation, education and property taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While eliminating property taxes sounds like a good idea, the math doesnt add up in favor of it, Hegar said. If we could eliminate it, I think that would be the best thing to do, because in one part, do you really own your property if you gotta pay taxes on it every year? he said. The math doesnt work out. So thats why the Legislature, several times, took big bites of the apple. And in fact, you can see, for the most part, homeowner wide property taxes arent going up. JCRW member Brenda Gammon asked Hegar about unclaimed property in Texas. Theres a whole lot of different things about unclaimed property, Hegar said. Last year, I think we returned $360 million back to people in Texas. I think in this administration, weve returned almost $4 billion back to people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unclaimed property can be found at claimittexas.gov. I would highly encourage you if you look and you dont see you have unclaimed property, nor do you see the window for someone else, put a calendar entry because its easy for next year because the company adds throughout the year, he said. And Ive had people say, You know, I literally came and searched a year ago and I didnt have anything, and I just looked and I did. Why wasnt it there? Because its constantly being turned in. I always tell people to put it on a calendar. (Bloomberg) -- Pete Hegseth pledged to deploy additional advanced capabilities to the Philippines amid threats from China as the Pentagon chief faces calls at home to resign for sharing attack plans with other US officials over the Signal app. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth told reporters Friday the US plans to send an anti-ship missile system and highly capable unmanned surface vehicles to the Southeast Asian country to be used during flagship military drills next month. The two nations also plan to launch a bilateral cyber campaign and conduct special operation forces training on islands located near Taiwan. It reflects the strength, as I said, of our ironclad alliance particularly in the face of communist Chinas aggression in the region, he said during a joint briefing with his Philippine counterpart in Manila. We will establish the deterrence necessary to prevent war, he later added. The Pentagon chief met President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier in the day as part of his first trip to Asia as defense secretary that will include a visit to Japan. He also made stops in Hawaii and Guam. The trip comes as US allies elsewhere raise concerns over Washingtons security commitments. President Donald Trump has called on some partners to pay more for hosting soldiers, while also clashing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy over continued American support in its war with Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administration is also facing criticism after the editor of the Atlantic magazine revealed he had inadvertently been included in a group chat among top Trump administration officials, where Hegseth texted about a US military attack in Yemen. A federal judge Thursday ordered Hegseth and other officials to preserve all Signal app communications from a five-day period earlier this month in a civil suit over the chat controversy. When asked about the matter, Hegseth said he was quite proud of what American forces did on that initial series of very effective and devastating strikes. He previously has said nobody was texting war plans. Chinese Ships The Philippines is looking to use the visit to build on gains made during the Biden administration, with Marcos seeking more support to counter Chinas expansive and competing claims in the disputed South China Sea. Hegseth pledged to protect the freedom of navigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Friday at a regular press briefing in Beijing that the US was responsible for provocations in the South China Sea and urged the Philippines not to start a conflict in the region just because it has the backing of Washington. Manila has granted the US additional military access over the years, while Washington has promised to spend more to boost its allys defense capacity. The US Army last year also deployed a mid-range capability missile system to the Philippines that Beijing has called for the removal of. Beijing has more recently been seen ramping up efforts to project power in the region as Trumps attention is taken up elsewhere. Thats included sending warships off Australias coast for unprecedented shooting drills, flying a record number of gray zone balloons around Taiwan and putting pressure on Thailand over human rights issues. Trump has been critical of a security treaty the US has with Japan. Hes highlighted the fact that the US is obliged to defend Japan under the agreement, but Tokyo does not offer the same security guarantees in return. The matter is expected to be addressed during the Pentagons chiefs visit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement --With assistance from Neil Jerome Morales and Philip Glamann. (Updates with comment from Chinas foreign ministry.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. STORY: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Philippines on Friday, where he reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad" commitment to a defense treaty between the two countries. His first stop on a trip through Asia comes amid growing threats from China. At a press conference with his Philippines counterpart, Hegseth vowed to help the country strengthen a deterrence against what he called "China's aggression in the region." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HEGSETH: "There's a long line of countries in the past who've attempted to test U.S. resolve. We are resolved at this time, at this moment, to work with our partners, to reestablish the warrior ethos, to rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence and come alongside our allies and partners, first and foremost in this region." Hegseths words came as Reuters exclusively obtained satellite images showing two long-range H-6 bombers around the Scarborough Shoal this week, deployed by China. It was Beijings latest move to assert sovereignty over the hotly disputed area in the South China Sea. China argued there were no issues with freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and urged the United States to stop "instigating ideological confrontation" and "sowing discord" in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun addressed the controversy at a press briefing on Friday. All along, it is the U.S. side that has been indulging its allies in provocations in the South China Sea, and it is the U.S. side that has repeatedly fabricated false propositions about China's threat to freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. China also advised the Philippines not to act in accordance with the United States, and not to try to provoke military confrontation. Meanwhile, Hegseth continues to be dogged by questions about his use of the Signal app to share highly sensitive attack plans against Houthi militants in Yemen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked about the controversy at the press conference in Manila, Hegseth sidestepped, saying only that he was responsible for ensuring the defense department was prepared and ready. HEGSETH: "Thank you for the question, I am responsible for ensuring that our department is prepared and ready to deter and defeat our enemies." U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at the "Fighting Oligarchy Tour" event he and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held on March 21, 2025, at Civic Center Park in Denver. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline) There has been a sense of suspended animation in the Denver area over the past two months. You can feel it walking in neighborhoods, shopping in grocery stores, talking with friends. We are far away from Washington, D.C., geographically, but the upheaval there and at an ostentatious country club in south Florida is seeping into the hearts and minds of those who live here. People may be going about their day-to-day lives, but they are also on edge. They cant help wondering what the vans holding the ICE agents look like. Hearing sirens, whether they are close by or in the distance, brings worries about what may be happening to individuals they may be close to or someone they have had a brief, friendly encounter with at a restaurant, at their childrens school, or at a sporting event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is not only the threat to those who could face deportation. There are many federal employees in Colorado. They do important work, whether it is weather forecasting, agricultural research, or simply helping those eligible for federal benefits. A lot of them have lost their jobs and those still working are walking on egg shells, wondering when their position might be eliminated. Meanwhile, everyone is losing access to the research they do and services they provide. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX There is also the disbelief that so much of what we have come to expect as normal friendly relations with other nations who share our values, opposition to authoritarian dictators, rejection of corruption and bribery in our elected officials has been turned on its head. How do you comfort the family of a member of the armed forces who supposedly died defending democracy when democracy itself appears to be dying? It all brings on feelings of anger and disgust, but also helplessness. What can you do? It is easy to send a message to your senators and representative in the U.S. House, but they are either sympathetic and powerless or dismissive of your concerns. The helplessness needed an outlet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And that is what the rally held by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders last week in Denver provided. Of course, the real goal of their visit to Colorado was to go to Rep. Gabe Evans district and goad him for his unwillingness to hear from his constituents who oppose the Trump/Musk regimes actions. The turnout to the event in Greeley set the stage for the challenge coming to Evans in 2026. But the rally in Denver was different. Walking amongst the crowd, there was a sense that the people there were finally exhaling after holding their breath for the past two months. Everyone was looking around, coming to the realization they were not the only ones frightened and dismayed by what is happening to the nation where they reside. There was comfort in the size of the turnout, comfort in knowing there is a willingness to challenge the darkness of the Trump administration. It really did not matter what Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders said when they spoke. The power of their message was not in their words. The power of their message was in the response to their invitation to gather together on a Friday afternoon in downtown Denver. They could not promise a quick or easy fix to the situation in which the United States finds itself as a result of the 2024 presidential election. But they did show there is a large contingent of those who live in the Denver area ready to turn out and make noise in order to bring back hope for a just and caring society. There will continue to be bad news for Coloradans over the coming weeks and months. Regular payments to Social Security beneficiaries could be threatened. Clean air and clean water will be under attack. Assistance for families needing help to make ends meet or to care for aging parents may be drastically reduced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rallies in Greeley and at Civic Center Park will not change that grim prognosis by themselves. But for those who were there, as well as those who could not go but share the feelings of the crowds in attendance, the knowledge there is a desire by many to oppose our current descent into authoritarianism can lift spirits and spur action. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Honolulu firefighters made several hike rescues on Prince Kuhio Day on Wednesday, including three in Aiea and one in Palolo. The Honolulu Fire Department received a 911 call at 12 :20 p.m. Wednesday for three hikers stuck in a precarious location near the summit above the Aiea Loop Trail. The three were reported to be in their teens and 20s, and unable to descend the trail on their own. HFD sent an Air 1 helicopter that airlifted the hikers to a nearby landing zone. The hikers were not injured, and declined medical care at 1 :20 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after 3 p.m., HFD received another 911 call for an injured female hiker on the Kaau Crater Loop Trail in Palolo. Firefighters located the hiker near the first waterfall. She reportedly sustained a lower leg injury while at the waterfall, and was unable to descend the trail on her own. 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. After a medical assessment, HFD airlifted her via the Air 1 helicopter to a landing zone at Palolo Valley District Park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medical care was transferred to Honolulu Emergency Medical Servies at 4 :17 p.m. HFD recommends that hikers compare their fitness level and hiking capabilities to the trail description before heading out. In case of an emergency, a cell phone can be a lifesaver. Cell phones should be fully charged prior to a hike. 3 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? . MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Thursday its plan to cut 10,000 employees from its workforce. The department says the move is in line with President Trumps executive order to make the government run more efficiently. Americans deserve a better Capital than todays Washington: Trump executive order forms task force on DC crime, beautification Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HHS says about 1,200 employees will be terminated from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Its kind of crazy because they already cut a lot of people already, NIH Employee Chris Carson said, and unemployed is not a great place to be. DC News Now talked to NIH employees Thursday who were shocked and said how unfortunate it is to see more people being let go. If you ask me, one NIH worker said, its evil. Im not going to lie because these are peoples jobs. The restructuring will decrease the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) workforce by about 3,500, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) will lose around 2,400, NIH will lose approximately 1,200 and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will lose about 300. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HHS says the dramatic restructuring will not impact critical services performed by those agencies. However, Montgomery County Council Vice President Will Jawando isnt buying it. Theyre just saying that, Jawando said. Theres no way you can cut 10,000 people and say thats not going to have an impact. HHS says the cuts will save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year, streamline the functions of the department, help implement their new priority of ending the countrys epidemic of chronic illness, and improve Americans experience with HHS by making it more responsive and efficient. DMV leaders react following announcement of HHS layoffs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carson doesnt see it that way. I dont think its efficient, he said. Theyre firing just random people. Its not like a group of people; its just random firings across the board. Two people in my department were let go just randomly. Now many federal workers are worried about their own job security. I try not to think about it because I dont want to be affected, one NIH employee explained. So, I dont try to put that juju on me. Carson emphasized, I got two kids, so I dont want to lose my job and not be able to feed my family. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says this overhaul will help their goal to Make America healthy again. 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. Headline-grabbing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests this week at Tufts University and the University of Alabama show growing momentum behind the Trump administrations battle against pro-Palestinian foreign students and faculty. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday at least 300 foreign students have seen their visas revoked under President Trump, a far-higher number than what was previously known. Trump has declared war on immigrants generally and international students specifically, and hes trying to exert his executive powers to the maximum extent he can, said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired professor of immigration law from the Cornell Law School. It will be up to the courts to see at what point he oversteps his authority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tuesday capture of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts student and Turkish national, was caught on video as plain-clothes officers arrested her on the street and took her away in an unmarked van. Ozturks lawyer said she was taken to a detention center in Louisiana after she wrote an op-ed last year in her schools newspaper in support of Palestine. The government has said she was involved in pro-Hamas activities but has not given any details on those actions. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campus. Weve given you a visa, and you decide to do that, were going to take it away, Rubio said in response to a question Thursday about Ozturks arrest. The administration has seen at least eight high-profile cases in its crusade against pro-Palestinian students and faculty, with most of them based on a rarely used law that says the secretary of State can deport a noncitizen who presents a threat to U.S. foreign policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of those swept up such as Columbia Universitys Mahmoud Khalil, who earlier this month became the first pro-Palestinian demonstrator known to be arrested over activism are legal permanent residents who havent been accused of any crime. Theres a tension between everyones right to First Amendment freedom of expression in the United States and this broad immigration ground that basically gives the secretary of State carte blanche to declare anyone a threat to our national security, and the courts will have to decide which wins out. And so, this could be going on for a long time, Yale-Loehr said. Deportation cases can take a while to work their way through the courts as millions of immigration cases are in the legal system with only several hundred judges to handle them, meaning students could be waiting months or even years for resolutions on this matter. In the meantime, fear is spreading on college campuses for foreign students, especially those who have participated in the pro-Palestinian protests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its an unfathomably scary time. I have seen notices telling students, If youre here on a student visa, dont travel, dont cross the border, because of how bad things are, said Diala Shamas, staff attorney at Center for Constitutional Rights. The scope of the policy is so broad. It doesnt give any guidance. It doesnt tell you how to comply. Its just, really fundamentally chilling, and people are afraid to leave their houses, Shamas added. I know of students who are locking themselves in their apartment. Theres a lot of fear happening right now. After a student visa is revoked, an individual has 14 days to get out of the country unless it is challenged in court and a judge rules to keep them in the U.S. In at least one case, however, an assistant professor from Brown Universitys medical school was deported despite a court order saying she was to remain in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a court filing the agents did not know about the judges order and at no time would CBP not take a court order seriously or fail to abide by a courts order. Federal officials have been taking the foreign students that were arrested sometimes thousands of miles away from their homes to a detention center in Louisiana, making it difficult for families or attorneys to contact them. ICE, as an agency, has demonstrated in these cases its desire to very quickly transfer these students to facilities far away from their communities, from their lives, from their lawyers, and I think we need to read into that what is the clear intent of trying to make any advocacy on their behalf as difficult as possible and to sort of stack the odds against those students and their advocates, said Golnaz Fakhimi, legal director for Muslim Advocates. I think there is gamesmanship. I think that there is abuse thats reflected in some of these dynamics. And I think the intentions are clear. Its to frustrate the advocacy, impede access to courts and the rule of law and gain access to lawyers and take as punitive approach as possible in separating people from their communities and their families, Fakhimi 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 The Hill. DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) Two principals in a Dauphin County school district experiencing financial burdens are on leave. For the rest of the school year, Steelton-Highspire Jr./Sr. High Schools principal and assistant principal will be on leave, district officials said. Two certified principals will take their place for the time being to help with a smooth transition. Current district teacher Mr. Steven Shuleski will provide coverage Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while retired former principal Mr. Dwight Forrester will cover Tuesdays and Thursdaysd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now abc27 Evening Newsletter The superintendent and assistant superintendent will also continue to oversee and provide support through the rest of the school year. The reason for the two principals to go on leave was not made known. A Chief Recovery Officer was appointed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education earlier this week to help the district that is currently in financial recovery. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 27 that it was premature to expect higher-level talks with Russia as the U.S. reviews Moscow's response to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, AFP reported. Asked if the time was right after U.S. negotiations with Russia and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia, Rubio said: "I think you have to make more progress on a technical level." The U.S., Russia, and Ukraine agreed to "eliminate the use of force" and prevent commercial vessels from being used for military purposes in the Black Sea following two-day talks in Saudi Arabia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There's a lot of work to be done with both sides, particularly with the Russian side, which we haven't talked to for years," Rubio said, adding the White House would hold consultations on the outcome of the meetings. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his intention to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin since taking office. On March 18, the two leaders held a 1.5-hour phone call. Rubio's comments follow Trump's March 25 statement that Russia may be "dragging their feet" on ending its war against Ukraine. Trump has reversed Washington's stance toward Moscow by engaging in talks with Russian officials, a move the Biden administration has avoided since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. has been mediating negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire, announcing on March 11 that it is ready to implement the measure if Russia reciprocates. Moscow has so far refused. Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. by Xinhua writers Zeng Yan, Miao Xiaojuan BOAO, China, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The American foreign policy is aiming for dominance, primacy and hegemony, a stance that does not help America seek security or prosperity, U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs has said. Sachs, a professor of economics at Columbia University, made the remarks to media on Wednesday at this year's Boao Forum for Asia annual conference in south China's Hainan Province. On the broader dynamics of U.S. foreign policy under recent administrations, Sachs attributed much of the dysfunction to a "win-lose" mentality. Advocating for a win-win approach to foreign relations, one that prioritizes mutual benefit over dominance, he called out the United States for continually missing the mark with its policies. Sachs lashed out at the U.S. attempt to annex Greenland, depicting the "vulgar" move as emblematic of America's wider geopolitical strategy of American supremacy. The whole world sees the country acting "like a bully," he made the remarks ahead of an unsolicited visit by a high-profile U.S. delegation to the autonomous Danish territory later this week. Sachs did not stop at diplomatic tactics but continued to address the economic fallout of the U.S. administration's tariffs. He said that tariffs, often viewed as a tool to rebuild U.S. industry, are ineffective and counterproductive. "You don't build a competitive industry through protectionism," he said. "The United States will produce some electric vehicles, but they won't be able to compete with (China's) BYD in third markets." Sachs said he believes the tariffs will fail to contain China's rise in the green and digital economies, ultimately isolating the United States from a global market that is rapidly shifting toward sustainability. He applauded China for its leadership in sustainable development and green energy. From its impressive strides in solar power to its innovation in electric vehicles and batteries, China is playing a pivotal role in the transition to a greener global economy, Sachs said. Dismissing narratives of China's overcapacity in those areas, the professor argued: "This is absolutely wrong. China has great capacity but not overcapacity." "China is the largest producer in areas like solar power, wind power and electric vehicles," Sachs said. "The world needs China's capacity to implement the energy transformation." He deemed the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative another example of how the country is contributing to global development, particularly in the Global South. Through the initiative, China provides financing and techniques for infrastructure projects, helping developing countries boost their economies while promoting sustainable growth, he said. Former secretary of State and one-time Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton blasted the Trump administrations Signal app leak as dangerous and just dumb in a New York Times opinion piece published Friday. In a dangerous and complex world, its not enough to be strong. You must also be smart, Clinton wrote in her op-ed on top-level Trump officials decision to use the encrypted messaging platform to discuss sensitive military details for an airstrike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. This is the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds by the new administration that are squandering Americas strength and threatening our national security, Clinton wrote. If this continues, a group chat foul will be the least of our concerns, and all the fist and flag emojis in the world wont save us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic and former foreign affairs correspondent, revealed Monday that he was mistakenly included in a Signal group chat where Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others discussed plans for the March 15 strike on Houthi targets in Yemen hours before it took place. Clintons immediate response Monday, posted on the social platform X shortly after news of the Trump security teams Signal breach started circulating, was short: Youve got to be kidding me, she wrote. Goldberg said he originally suspected the discussion he was invited to on Signal was an elaborate hoax but realized it was legitimate after strikes were carried out in Yemen. The White House later confirmed the authenticity of the Signal chain, while President Trump and other administration officials have conceded inviting Goldberg to the group chat was a mistake. Trump and his allies have spent the week in defense mode over the snafu, largely waving it off as insignificant because the strikes on Yemen were deemed a success. Bipartisan lawmakers have pushed for more investigation into the administrations use of Signal and for answers on how a journalist was included in a discussion about sensitive military planning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clinton herself faced widespread scrutiny over her own handling of sensitive information while serving as secretary of State during the Obama administration after it was revealed she used a private email server and some of the emails on it had markings of classified information. The Clinton email scandal a major issue during the 2016 presidential race and spawned Trumps frequent rally chant, lock her up. The Associated Press noted that members of the Trump administration group chat who have downplayed the breach reacted differently a decade ago to news of Clintons private server. Its not the hypocrisy that bothers me; its the stupidity, Clinton wrote in the Friday op-ed. 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. Writing for The New York Times, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton railed against the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds caused by President Donald Trumps administration this week, after The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed hed been added to a group Signal chat discussing plans to strike Yemen. Clintons reaction is notable because, about a decade ago, some of the same Republicans now playing down the Signal scandal relentlessly accused her of mishandling classified information as secretary of state because she had used a private email server to send official messages. Trumps administration not only used a private app, Signal, to coordinate war plans his national security adviser appears to have accidentally added a journalist to the group who then watched the planning take place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not the hypocrisy that bothers me; its the stupidity, Clinton wrote in an opinion piece published Friday titled, Hillary Clinton: How Much Dumber Will This Get? Its just dumb, she reiterated, adding later: In a dangerous and complex world, its not enough to be strong. You must also be smart. Among the dumb decisions Trumps administration has made thus far: Firing the people who maintain the nuclear weapon stockpile, cutting international aid to prevent future pandemics, and dismissing seasoned generals. The best approach to keeping America safe, Clinton wrote, is to combine the hard power of our military with the soft power of our diplomacy, development assistance, economic might and cultural influence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement None of those tools can do the job alone. Together, they make America a superpower. The Trump approach is dumb power. Instead of a strong America using all our strengths to lead the world and confront our adversaries, Mr. Trumps America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless, she said. As Trump continues to call for cutting supposed waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, Clinton argued that putting money behind Americas soft power saves money in the long run when the alternative is military action. Preventing wars is cheaper than fighting them, she said. Clinton also painted an alarming picture of the stakes at hand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Propagandists in Beijing and Moscow know we are in a global debate about competing systems of governance. People and leaders around the world are watching to see if democracy can still deliver peace and prosperity or even function, she wrote. If America is ruled like a banana republic, with flagrant corruption and a leader who puts himself above the law, we lose that argument. Read the whole piece at The New York Times. Related... Update: The lost child has been identified. View the original story below: HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) The Holyoke Police Department is seeking the publics help in locating the family of a non-verbal child on Friday. Four people without a home and one injured following Holyoke fire The Holyoke Police Department states that she was found in the area of Lyman and Elm Streets. Holyoke Police Department MAP: Lyman, Elm Street in Holyoke If anyone knows information on her or her family, call the Holyoke police non-emergency line at 413-322-6900. 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. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noems latest propaganda skit was not only barbaric, it may also have violated the Geneva Conventions, according to The Bulwark. Noem posted a short video on X Thursday that documented her visit to Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT, the notorious prison in El Salvador where Donald Trump has left 261 Venezuelan nationals to rot after he deported them earlier this month by invoking the Alien Enemies Act. Multiple judges have rebuked his invocation of the act. A freshly blown-out Noem stood in front of a large prison cell where more than a dozen prisoners, all with shaved heads, some with tattoos, were posed as Noems backdrop. They silently looked on as she delivered a short statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Noem thanked the prison for holding the alleged terrorists over the violence they have perpetuated in our communities. Do not come to our country illegally, Noem warned. You will be removed, and you will be prosecuted. But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people. Its worth noting the lies in Noems speech. An ICE official said in a sworn statement that many individuals deported under the AEA did not have a criminal record in the U.S. or Venezuela, so its not clear that they perpetuated anything in their communities. Also, several of the individuals deported were lawfully awaiting asylum determinations and were not in the U.S. illegally. The U.S. government claimed that all of the deportees were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, declared by Trump to be a terrorist group, and subjected them to a swift deportation without due process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In doing so, the government did not afford the detainees the right to challenge their designation as alleged TdA members under the AEA. Lawyers for several deportees alleged their clients were wrongly identified as gang members and tried to have the deportations stopped, but they were too late. Many of the deportees didnt even know where they were going, and neither did their families or their lawyers. But if Trump wants to declare a war against the TdA by invoking a wartime law, then he must play by wartime rulesspecifically, the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the public exploitation of prisoners of war. According to The Bulwark, the Trump administration and CECOT may have violated other aspects of the Geneva Conventions in their war on TdA by not quickly providing the names, serial numbers, and addresses of all prisoners so that the next of kin can be promptly advised; not allowing every prisoner to write directly to his family telling them about his situation, his health, and giving them his address within a week of capture; and then not allowing the prisoners to send and receive not less than two letters and four cards each month. In a filing on Monday, Judge James Boasberg said that by sending the prisoners to CECOT, which is notorious for human rights abuses, the Trump administration had likely violated the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, which states that it shall be the policy of the United States not to expel any person to a country in which there are substantial grounds for believing the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture. In early February, Tateona Williams suffered the unthinkable. Around 1a.m. on a freezing cold Monday, she parked her van in a Detroit parking garage and kept her vehicle running so that she and her four children, plus her mother and her mothers child, could stay warm. At some point in the night, the engine turned off. Her 9-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter stopped breathing and later died, apparently freezing to death. Williams and her children had been living with relatives, but in late November were told they had to find somewhere else to live. She called the citys homeless response team at least three times seeking help, but her situation wasnt deemed an emergency, and she never received assistance in finding somewhere to stay; in November she said she was told no family rooms were available. So they began living out of a van, frequently parking in the casino garage where her two children died. It was only after that tragedy that she was finally given a spot in a shelter. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Homelessness has seen a sharp uptick across the country in recent years, but the increase has been the most dramatic for families with children age 5 and younger, multiple data sources suggest. The most common age that someone is in shelter nationally is under the age of 5, said Henry Love, vice president for public policy & strategy at Win, the largest provider of family shelters in New York City. This trend means more and more families with young children are scrambling to find somewhere to live. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This housing instability can have a lasting impact on children, affecting their cognitive and social-emotional development and leading to learning delays and academic challenges. Those challenges are likely to follow them throughout their education and even later into their lives. In its most recent estimate of homelessness in America, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that the number of homeless people increased by 18% last year, reaching the highest level ever recorded. The problem is even more acute for families with children: They experienced the largest single-year increase, with a rate that climbed by 39% between 2023 and 2024. That came after a 16% increase in homelessness for families with children in 2023. Those numbers are alarming, said Donald H. Whitehead, Jr., executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, even as he noted that the departments data is an undercount due to challenges with identifying homeless people and how theyre classified. HUD doesnt break the data down further by childrens age. But other sources indicate that the youngest children are increasingly at risk of living in homelessness. What we know to be true is more young kids are experiencing homelessness, said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, a nonprofit focused on homelessness and education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to an estimate generated by SchoolHouse Connection and the Poverty Solutions initiative at the University of Michigan, there were 681,180 children nationally under age 6 experiencing homelessness in the 2022-2023 school year, the most recent data. That represents an approximately 23% increase over the 2021-2022 school year, twice the increase for school-aged children, Duffield said in an interview. The nonprofit expects to publish the data in April. In January, SchoolHouse Connection released data for the 2022-2023 school year, showing that 451,369 children ages 3 and younger were experiencing homelessness that year. That represents about a 24% increase over the 2021-2022 school year. The same trend appears in more recent data for children attending Head Start, which provides free early childhood education to low-income children below the age of 4. Homelessness among those children rose nearly 13% between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years, the largest increase since the start of the pandemic. Overall, the figure for children attending Head Start is up 28% since the 2021-2022 school year. The increases are unfortunately consistent across data sources, said Erin Patterson, director of education initiatives at SchoolHouse Connection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The higher numbers could reflect better efforts to locate children experiencing homelessness. The American Rescue Plan provided $800 million in pandemic-relief funding that allowed K-12 schools to identify more children in unstable housing. Head Starts former director, Khari Garvin, was particularly focused on increasing enrollment among homeless children. If its about finding and enrolling and identifying, thats a good thing, Duffield said. But the increases are also driven by troubling forces. Pandemic-era protections and funding that helped keep people housed have come to an end. Until it was struck down by the Supreme Court in August 2021, a federal eviction moratorium barred eligible tenants from being kicked out of their homes; state and local eviction moratoria lasted longer, with Oakland, Californias expiring in July 2023. Some cities converted empty hotels to housing for homeless people. States used funding from Congresss CARES Act to offer rental assistance, and then Congress passed two rounds of rental assistance totaling $46.5 billion. All of those measures have now expired. Related COVID Relief Funds Are an Overlooked Resource for Helping Homeless Students In the meantime, the cost of housing has climbed dramatically nationwide. Rents rose 29% between 2019 and 2023, far outpacing income growth, and last year a record number of American households spent more than 30% of their incomes on housing. Such increases often trigger evictions, and the people most at risk of eviction are families with babies and toddlers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Homelessness among young children may also have risen with the arrival of migrant families, many of whom had nowhere to stay except shelters. Domestic violence often forces victims and their children to flee their housing situations and enter shelter systems, and there was an increase in such incidents during the pandemic. Many families have also recently been pushed out of their housing by natural disasters, from the flooding in North Carolina to the fires in Los Angeles. Those have lingering effects, Duffield said. People dont get their feet right away and the more vulnerable you are the longer it takes. Related Domestic Violence Is Upending NYC Kids Lives, Housing and Education Having children is also expensive and can tip families into poverty. Research has suggested that a quarter of all poverty spells start with the birth of a child. People who are on the cusp can quickly slide into homelessness, Patterson said. Even as homelessness among young children and their families is on the rise, they often get left out of homeless counts and homeless services. The vast majority of these families dont live on streets or in shelters, but instead double up inside friends and families homes, which HUD doesnt count as technically homeless and may be harder to identify. Others live in motels and hotels, which again doesnt count for HUDs purposes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The homelessness system itself doesnt see families with young children and it doesnt prioritize them, Duffield said. Theyre often an afterthought. As Williamss story showed, they can get turned away if they technically have somewhere to sleep, like a car or a couch. By contrast, the federal McKinney-Vento Act, which provides school districts with money to support students experiencing homelessness, includes in its count those who are living with other families, in hotels and motels, or in substandard conditions. The difference shows up in the data. The U.S. Department of Educations estimate of the number of homeless students has mostly risen since 2004, with a spike during Hurricane Katrina and a dip during the pandemic. And yet the number of homeless families reported by HUD has remained relatively flat in comparison over all of those years. One thing is clear, though: Homelessness has huge ramifications for young children. It is a traumatic experience, Whitehead said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Research has found that children who experience homelessness are much more likely to have developmental delays. It can even interrupt such basics as potty training. Housing instability means many families move frequently between schools, disrupting a childs education. As a former teacher, if a child cant feel safe and is not stabilized, they cant learn, Love said. Children who experience homelessness are more likely to get sick and suffer from health conditions. Once they reach school age, homelessness is tied directly to higher absenteeism rates and lower test scores. Any experience of homelessness, even short-lived, can impact a childs development even after the family has been stably housed, Patterson said. But, she added, The younger and longer a child experiences homelessness, the greater the cumulative toll of negative outcomes. Enrolling children in safe, high-quality early education programs can mitigate those issues and help create a sense of normalcy and calm in otherwise tumultuous and toxic circumstances, Patterson said. But just 7.4% of Head Start eligible children who were homeless in 2023-2024 were actually enrolled in Head Start or Early Head Start. Young children in public pre-K classrooms or Head Start programs run by school districts can receive help through the McKinney-Vento Act with transportation, food and other priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other solutions range from the specific to the systematic. Prioritizing homeless families for services, including early childhood education, could help. More accurate counts would also give a clearer picture of who is homeless. Another solution would be to offer more housing vouchers targeted for this population, similar to those offered to veterans or unaccompanied youth, or simply to provide cash without strings attached. Give people money, Love said. Thats really the crux of it. People are under-resourced. ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL) Floods from Hurricane Helene dealt the Erwin Industrial Park a devastating blow six months ago. Now, the companies that employed 250 people here hope that theyre on the comeback trail. PREVIOUS: 250 employees: Six Erwin industries future in limbo amid wreckage Im optimistic that were going to get through the SBA process, get some funds to help us start out, get one line running, Foam Products Vice President Perry Muse said. He said the company suffered an estimated $7 million in damage and will need about $4 million from SBA to make its numbers work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Foam Products is one of six companies whose fortunes took that kind of turn as floodwaters from a surging Nolichucky River ripped through the park. Muse hopes that before the end of the year, he can bring back some of the 54 people who worked there pre-flood. Im one of the three board members, and so Im boots on the ground here and been with the company for over 22 years, Muse said of the partly employee-owned, Georgia-headquartered manufacturer. They have confidence that were doing the right things here, which we are. We all want this plant to be back up and running again. Foam Products Vice President Perry Muse is hopeful some operations can resume in the second half of 2025. (Photo: WJHL) Unicoi County Economic Development Director Austin Finch still hopes all six companies in the park will return. There is actively inventory in the building right over here, Finch told News Channel 11, pointing to Blue Linx, a building products distributor that employed 25 people prior to the flood. And that is the first signs of life returning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That return was in doubt after the Nolichucky River caused tens of millions of dollars in damage. Six employees of Impact Plastics, a business at the downstream end of the park, drowned as they attempted to escape the low-lying area. Watching this park get engulfed in those flood waters and just thinking about what those consequences mean and the type of damage, I didnt know if wed be able to bounce back, Finch said. The disaster helped push Unicoi Countys unemployment rate from 4.3% in September (about 20 counties had higher rates then) to the states highest a month later. It reached 6% in November and has stayed at 5.9% through January. As of now, Blue Linx, PolyPipe (54 employees) and Old Hickory Buildings (18 employees) all have said theyll reopen this year. The other three, which also include PlastiExports and Impact Plastics, had more expensive production equipment. They remain reliant on financing and, if it works out, Tennessee Economic and Community Development (ECD) grants to get over the hump. Finch said local leaders, including him, have been working with ECD officials to try and reach an approach to helping the companies that would fit within normal ECD grant parameters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His hope is that a package totaling well in the millions is in the offing. Under specific terms thatll help these businesses in ways that are within the existing guidelines and that are still going to have some direct impact, Finch said. Thats the puzzle were putting together. Muse said that would help but the potential $4 million SBA loan is the key, and has been delayed so far in a process thats been frustrating. I think that we can cover the other expense to get the other $3 million covered. But we need at least that $4 million. Its a make or break. An employee walks through a still-shut down Foam Products in the Erwin Industrial Park on March 25, 2025. (Photo: WJHL) Foam Products will need up to six months after a cash infusion to get that one line running. Full recovery, if it comes, is a three- to five-year prospect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wed have to have the revenue and over time get the other two lines back up, and then we need product to run on those lines, Muse said. One thing thats helped already? Public spending to bring in a temporary road and begin restoring utilities. ECD funded the road. That was huge, Muse said of the road. The huge dump trucks full of debris and stuff was just destroying the road and made it hard for us to get in and out of our property. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency recently announced a $2.1 million infusion to rebuild the CSX rail spur into the park. And Finch said utility restoration is costing a great deal more, partly because the countys water plant sits near the industrial park and was inundated with floodwater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TEMA/FEMA money has also helped offset debris removal costs for the companies, something Muse is grateful for. Its also keeping some of his workers gainfully employed in that task without straining Foam Products finances. Weve been blessed with a couple of really good months with some new business, Muse said, referring to Foam Products other locations. Some of the Erwin work was able to be picked up at a retrofitted partner plant. The outlook for the company looks way better than what it did the last time we applied, so were hoping thats going to heavily influence getting the loan approved, he said. I hope it doesnt take four months, but if it does take four months from June, July, that still puts us hopefully getting awarded the SBA loan before the peak business starts trending back down seasonally. Unicoi County Economic Development Director Austin Finch at the countys still-shuttered industrial park March 24, 2025. (Photo: WJHL) Finch said those are the kinds of considerations that make reopening a still-tenuous prospect for some of the companies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite optimism, despite everybodys intention and tenacity, there is no guarantee that this part comes back fully, he said. The ships not sinking, but were still taking on water. But were still solving those problems, and hopefully, in a few months were going to be in entirely just full sail. Unicoi County has proved that we have 18,000 very tenacious people who arent giving up on our community, and we dont plan to. Muse is operating under the assumption that Foam Products will get the loans it needs. Instead of waiting to get the money and then lets start working on it, were already working on it as though were going to get the money, he said. It will take us, Im saying six months from then. Of course, would want to beat that, but worst case scenario, six months, and wed be running product 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. KIEV, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has received a revised minerals agreement from the United States, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Friday. "This is a working version, which essentially reflects the position of American legal advisers. We are forming our position," Svyrydenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The Ukrainian government will submit the agreement for parliamentary consultation once a final consensus is reached with the U.S. partners, she added. Last month, the Ukrainian government approved a deal with the United States, which envisages a joint investment fund to be financed with future revenues from Ukraine's mineral resources. The deal was set to be inked on Feb. 28 in Washington. But its signing was postponed after a public spat between visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. A man is facing criminal charges in connection with a crash on a highway in western Massachusetts early Friday morning that left three workers dead, authorities said. The three victims, all men, were in an established worksite repairing damaged guardrails on Route 91 north in West Springfield when the driver of a 2021 Jeep Cherokee took Exit 10A at a very high rate of speed and fatally struck the workers, Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni announced during a Friday afternoon news conference. I want to express my condolences to the loved ones of the three victims of this horrible, horrible tragedy, Gulluni said. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this hour. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gulluni identified the victims, who all worked for Premier Fence in Canton, as Igor Costa of Marlboro, Ryan Almeida of Brockton, and Raul Bohorquez, also of Brockton. The Jeep Cherokee subsequently flipped over on its roof in the middle of the exit ramp, prompting a large emergency response, according to Gulluni. Law enforcement officials responding to the scene of the wreck learned that the driver, later identified as Bilal Griffith, had exited his vehicle and fled the scene on foot, Gulluni said. Massachusetts State Police troopers and West Springfield Police Department canvassed the area with the help of a state police helicopter and K9 teams in the hours after the crash. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Griffith, of West Springfield, was later surrounded and arrested in the area of Morgan Road in West Springfield, according to Gulluni. Griffith was arraigned in Springfield District Court Friday afternoon on three counts of manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of personal injury and death. He is being held on $1 million cash bail, the DA says. Advocates for my office have contacted the families of the three victims to express our sympathy and begin to engage with them around the criminal justice process, Gulluni said. Feerick described his employees at Premier Fence as a big family and said grief counselors were being made available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our employees love what they do. We are a family and work together to demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism, with job safety being priority #1. Today, we gathered as a team with the support of grief counselors to help us process this incredibly difficult news, Feerick said in the statement. State police detectives assigned to Gullunis office are leading an investigation into the crash. He will appear next appear in court on April 2 for a bail hearing. 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 HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt on Friday addressed how the department handles potential misconduct within its ranks in the aftermath of two recent resignations of a deputy chief and a detective. This month, the department has dealt with the resignations of Detective Jamel Davis after more than six years on the job and Deputy Chief Brandon Strickland after nearly 20 years with the agency. Leonhardt said in a statement that the department wants to hold its officers to the highest standard. Horry County Police Department is committed to holding officers and staff to the highest standards, he said. All officers and staff are advised and regularly reminded of the expected standards, and any violations can result in discplinary action of varying levels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Davis resigned on March 5 after allegedly lying to his supervisors about evidence collection, according to records from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. He had worked with Horry County police since Dec. 17, 2018. Strickland left the department nearly a week later in an agency-shaking move that has since been tied to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Divisions investigation of alleged misconduct in connection with the September 2023 road rage killing of Scott Spivey, 33. As cases come into the department, they are reviewed by multiple team members, Leonhardt said. If an employee has a personal connection with a case, they are commanded to report that information so they can be reassigned to another case. New Horry County deputy police chief named after resignation, ongoing SLED probe of predecessor Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HCPD is fortunate to be of such a size that divisions and units are large, and we can readily reassign cases to other officers who do not have involvement in or a connection with a given case, Leonhardt continued. If there is concern of potential conflicts, HCPD leadership takes such concerns seriously and has established systems in place to call upon outside agencies most often, SLED to review a case or conduct their own investigation. About two days after Stricklands March 11 resignation, Leonhardt asked the FBI and SLED to review evidence in Spiveys shooting death. SLED spokesperson Renee Wunderlich said they were not reopening the investigation into Spiveys death, while the FBI said its reviewing Stricklands alleged misconduct. An Horry County police report showed Spivey had allegedly initiated the Sept. 9 shooting before he was killed. However, about a week later, 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson asked the South Carolina Attorney Generals Office to review the shooting after Weldon Boyd, who owns Buoys on the Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach, posted a thank you message on Facebook shortly after the shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The South Carolina Attorney Generals Office in April 2024 declined to prosecute Boyd due to insufficient evidence. Spiveys family two months later sued Boyd. In line with this practice, the original Camp Swamp road rage shooting investigation was turned over to SLED in 2023, Leonhardt said. At that time, following their independent investigation, SLED and the SC Attorney Generals Office elected not to pursue charges in the incident. Leonhardt said after questions continued to arise about the case, Horry County police again requested that SLED and the FBI review it. Those requests were issued the week of March 10, 2025, he said. Through these actions, it is HCPDs aim to reassure community members that the agency holds its personnel to the highest standards. As evident in the recent employee separations, any infractions that call the agencys trustworthiness into question will be handled swiftly by HCPD Command. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stricklands resignation came after he was told about an internal investigation involving possible policy violations, according to a separation document provided to News13 by the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. Stricklands attorney, William Von Herrmann, disputes some of those claims. In a statement to News13, Von Herrmann said in part: It appears there has been some information to the effect that Brandon Strickland resigned as a result of being notified that he was under criminal investigation. This is simply untrue, the statement reads. Strickland was informed there was information that leadership wanted to discuss with him. He had been made aware through rumors and conversations early in the week that an internal investigation was ongoing and he should continue in his leadership position if nothing had occurred. HCPD personnel train hard to perfect their craft and provide the best possible service to the community members and visitors of Horry County, Leonhardt said. Unfortunately, not all cases result in the expected outcomes that citizens or others desire, but HCPD will continue to pursue every case to the full extent to provide justice for victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * * * Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. * * * 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 United States is in an energy quandary, positioning itself to be the global leader in the development of AI and data centers. While most of the country has cheap and reliable electricity, it will not be enough to stay competitive in the world market given the pace of energy development that is rapidly unfolding in Germany, and yes, China. Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, addressed a panel Thursday in Washington, D.C., on nuclear energy, demand and the grid at a summit hosted by Broadband Breakfast Community, stressing the need for the United States to get its game face on to be the most competitive and reliable place to grow more energy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Americas energy grid needs to be preeminent and prominent in every single way, fashion and form in our discussion because were in a race for time. Youre talking about big, huge data centers, youre talking about China building its military, youre talking about a race for space. Theres so much involved, Weber said. The rapid rise of AI, the data centers and other digital infrastructure means we are going to need more power than ever before. The need for horse sense Weber said the United States has enjoyed the luxury of having reliable energy, but that is at risk of being compromised. The nations largest power provider, PJM, warned that almost one-third of its generation could retire by 2030 while energy consumption is expected to rise by 40% by 2039, Weber said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Let that sink in. Two states with some of the largest increases in data centers Virginia and Ohio are in the PJM footprint. If we dont act now, well face an energy crisis that will cripple not only these facilities but our entire economy. PJM is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. America cannot afford to gamble with this energy future. Theres too much at stake, too many people in the world against us. If we want to remain a global leader in technology, in manufacturing and in innovation, we must embrace an energy expansion strategy that prioritizes reliability, affordability and most of all, security, Weber said. That means keeping fossil fuels in the mix, investing in nuclear power, expanding our pipeline and infrastructure and making sure that government policies dont get in the way of what my grandfather called good old fashioned horse sense or common sense. Water in a blender Brian Smith, director of nuclear reactor development at Idaho National Laboratory located about two hours of north of Salt Lake City, told the summit participants he carved out his nuclear engineering career with war toys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nuclear submarines. Nuclear-powered carriers. Nuclear weapons. Jokingly calling the experience a blast, he said he was inspired to branch out. I love subs and aircraft carriers. I love nuclear weapons. I made the move into commercial nuclear, and that roughly coincided with when ChatGPT came out. That was November of 2022 and suddenly everybodys power demand forecast just went up. You all know what the curve looks like, and the curve keeps getting steeper and steeper every time we revisit it. But Smith said the outlook for bringing advanced nuclear to commercial scale was such a fledgling proposal it was simply akin to an idea. I looked at commercial nuclear, and my apologies to those colleagues of mine, it is kind of like water in a blender, right? It spins around and theres a lot of noise, but at the end, you dont really make anything, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nuclear is important in this country in terms of base load power supply. It supplies almost a fifth of our nations energy, and about half, almost half of the nations clean energy. Its a big deal. But I didnt see new advancements in nuclear like what we were doing on the defense nuclear side, Smith continued. That is changing, however, with the increasing demand on the grid. Wre looking at electricity demand growth like weve never seen before, never in the history of electricity. The last 20 or 30 years in the United States, demand has been relatively flat. Its not that our economy hasnt grown, and its certainly not that the population hasnt grown. Its just that our brilliant engineers and scientists have made us more efficient, said Christopher Guith, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerces Global Energy Institute. We can produce that same dollar of GDP with fewer electrons every year. But then a funny thing happened about a year and a half, two years ago. Like I said, all of a sudden, enterprising companies started showing up at different power producers around the country, knocking on the door saying, hey, we want to build a manufacturing facility, hey, we want to build a data center, hey we want to build a bunch of charging stations for electric vehicles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reality is the country isnt prepared. Guith pointed to the New England region of the United States that still relies on fuel oil, producing among the most dirtiest type of energy. Costs are often triple that of other areas of the country and pipelines for cheaper, cleaner natural gas are not a reality because New Jersey and New York will not allow any new pipelines to be built, he added. Electrons dont grow on trees Chip Pickering, chief executive officer of INCOMPAS, said he has hope with the new administration that permitting will accelerate. If we can have shot clocks, and we can have date certainty, and if we can begin to have the possibility of national security waivers we are in a race with China, a global race, national security race, economic race with our rivals who are not doing the same type of permitting that we do. And its not going to take them, with a national imperative to build their infrastructure; while we have a have a process that can take sometimes 10 to 15 years for major projects. Now thats just a fiber route. Panelists all spoke of the important linkage of AI in deployment of these energy sources, with Smith, for example, working on that component at INL with nuclear energy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time as these big-scale users of energy come online such as data centers, they warned of the people in the middle of the provider and the huge load consumer the average ratepayer who should not be expected to bear the costs. Its a peculiar issue and I say peculiar because its becoming extremely bipartisan, and its because of the national security angle of it; theres a growing consensus amongst liberals, conservatives and everyone in between that we cannot allow this technology to be developed in China. Frankly, we cant allow it to be developed anywhere else, Guith said. I mean, this is a technology that is going to transform every aspect of our lives in a way that even you who are part of it probably dont fully appreciate. Certainly I dont and Im an energy wonk. As a matter of national security, this cant happen anywhere else. So thats the challenge. The other challenge is electrons dont grow on trees. A scandal-plagued MAGA congressman will be investigated for allegedly holding weapons contracts with the federal government while serving in Congress, the House Ethics Committee has announced. Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who was sworn into Congress in 2023, may have violated federal law by allegedly holding contracts with the federal government while in office. PACEM Solutions, a company he cofounded, was paid almost $1 million by the government for munition and weapons for prisons since January 2023, according to a report published by the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC), a nonpartisan entity that reviews misconduct allegations against House members. Mills next to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in May 2024. / Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images The OCCs board recommended the Ethics Committee subpoena Mills, who has refused to cooperate with the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The GOP-led committee in December released a report on another Florida Republican, Matt Gaetz, who was President Donald Trumps first choice for attorney general before he dropped out amid opposition. The committee found substantial evidence that Gaetz, who resigned from Congress in November, spent tens of thousands of dollars on sex and drugs, including paying a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017, allegations he denies. Matt Gaetz joined One America News Network (OAN) as an anchor after resigning from Congress in November. / Joe Raedle/Getty Images In the OCCs report, Mills, who once defended Gaetz against GOP criticism, was also found to have potentially misrepresented financial disclosures and accepted excessive campaign contributionsallegations the Federal Election Commission (FEC) had voted to dismiss in September 2024. In a statement to Politico, Millss spokesperson Jilian Anderson said, Congressman Mills is committed to complying with all laws and ethics rules and is pleased that the Federal Election Commission recently dismissed a complaint with similar allegations. We trust the House Ethics Committee will come to a similar conclusion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mills was under investigation by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for an alleged assault against a 27-year-old woman in D.C. last month. Mills has denied any wrongdoing and the woman later told CNN in a statement that there was no physical altercation and that she had made the call in a state of being severely jet-lagged and sleep deprived. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Washington D.C., headed by Trump appointee Ed Martin, declined to sign a warrant for the congressmans arrest sent by the police department. Rep. Alice Wade, a Dover Democrat and a transgender lawmaker, speaks against House Bill 148, which would roll back some anti-discrimination protections for transgender people, on Thursday, March 20, 2025. On March 27, Wade also spoke out against HB 377. (Photo by Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin) Transgender children and teenagers would be barred from receiving hormone therapy and puberty blockers under a bill that passed the New Hampshire House Thursday on nearly party lines. House Bill 377 would prohibit any medical procedures for people under 18 for the purpose of altering or attempting to alter the appearance of or affirm the minors perception of his or her gender or sex, if that perception is inconsistent with the minors biological sex. That prohibition includes puberty-blocking and hormone medication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats decried the bill as discriminatory against transgender children, and said parents should be able to decide whether their children should have the treatments. Opponents noted that the medications would be denied only to minors who are seeking to realize their gender identity but would still be available for certain physical conditions, which they said meant the bill is aimed at transgender people. The bill unfairly targets a very small number of minors from getting the care that their parents and their medical providers believe they need, said Rep. Jessica LaMontagne, a Dover Democrat. Despite what some proponents of this bill are telling you, these drugs are used safely and effectively for other reasons and their effects are reversible. A number of Democratic representatives read testimony from children who have received gender-affirming medication and have improved their lives. But Republicans argued the procedures are dangerous, are difficult to undo, and that too little is known about their side effects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These drugs are not perfectly safe, said Rep. Erica Layon, a Derry Republican. Anybody who says that is misleading parents, misleading kids, and misleading all of us. Much of the Republican caucus left the House chamber during Democrats speeches opposing the bill. The act specifically bans medical procedures enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minors biological sex and asserted identity. Medical professionals who violate the proposed law could be charged with a Class B felony, which can carry up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $4,000. The bill has exceptions for procedures for minors with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development. And it would allow medical professionals who had already started a minor on such treatment before the bill takes effect to continue the treatment if stopping it would cause harm to the minor, but requires the dosage to be tapered and reduced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2026. HB 377 would expand upon a bill that passed in 2024 and that banned gender transition bottom surgeries for people under 18 in New Hampshire. Research indicates that gender-affirming procedures are rare for minors; a 2025 study from Harvard analyzing insurance claims from 2018 to 2022 found that about 0.1 percent of adolescents between age 8 and 17 have received puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy. LaMontagne argued the bill prevented families from making the decision to support their child, and said the procedures usually follow years of therapy and discussion. This body just passed the parental bill of rights that includes the right to make health care decisions, she said. So I call on all of you that voted for the parental bill of rights: Do you believe that parents know best, or do you not? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Alice Wade, a Dover Democrat who is transgender, said the therapies helped her transition and saved her life during a period when she was suicidal. Wade transitioned after she turned 18 but argued that other teenagers benefit from the procedures. Imagine receiving life-saving care, then having someone with no understanding or experience try to rip that away from you because they think they know better, Wade said. She added: When people in this body say that we need nuanced discussions and compromise, I agree. The problem is that my position is Id like to have access to health care, equal treatment, and to mind my own business. But Rep. Lisa Mazur, a Goffstown Republican, argued that children and families did not know the risks of what they are choosing to adopt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Children cannot fully comprehend the lifelong consequences of altering their bodies with powerful medications, Mazur said. Gender dysphoria is real and its painful, and those struggling deserve compassion, but rushing minors into irreversible medical interventions is not the answer. Layon added: Parents cant give informed consent if they arent told of the risks of drugs and if they are told that the only alternative to treatment is as a dead child, because that is coercion and not consent. The bill passed 197-167, with two Democrats, Reps. Dale Girard of Claremont and Jonah Wheeler of Peterborough, joining Republicans in favor, and four Republicans, Reps. Nicholas Bridle of Hampton, David Nagel of Gilmanton, John Styek of Salem, and Susan Vandecasteele of Salem, joining Democrats opposed. It heads next to the Senate. Mar. 27WASHINGTON The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would impose stricter requirements on U.S. universities to disclose foreign sources of funding, the first bill introduced by Eastern Washington's new Republican congressman. The bill, which passed the GOP-majority House in 2023 before stalling in a Senate that was then controlled by Democrats, was reintroduced in February by Rep. Michael Baumgartner of Spokane, the vice chair of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. In an interview at the Capitol on Wednesday, Baumgartner said he cares deeply about the American university system, which he called "one of the gems of our society and culture." "In general, I think international collaboration between universities, it really has a lot of positive aspects to it," he said. "The concerning part is that foreign entities, some of them with nefarious intent, have been able to access and manipulate institutions of higher education for their own strategic goals." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colleges and universities are required to report foreign gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or higher. The DETERRENT Act would lower that threshold to $50,000 for most countries and to $0 for "countries and entities of concern" designated by the State Department, which include China, Russia, the Taliban and several terrorist groups. After the bill passed by a vote of 241-169, with the support of 31 Democrats and all but one Republican, Baumgartner told The Spokesman-Review that the DETERRENT Act was "a good fit" for him to take up because of his interest in both higher education and national security. In addition to the Education and Workforce Committee, the freshman lawmaker sits on the judiciary and foreign affairs panels. "Being a member of Congress is a lot more than just voting on any single bill, but it is very special, and it's been an incredible first three months," he said on the Capitol steps. "I was pleased to start with a very meaningful piece of legislation, and it was great that the committee chair and the rest of the conference and a good number of Democrats supported it and trusted me to carry this bill forward, and now it's on to the next step." The bill goes to the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster and pass most legislation. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who introduced the Senate version of the bill last Congress, told The Spokesman-Review on Wednesday that he hadn't secured any Democratic support for the legislation but intended to start trying to do so after the House passed it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baumgartner said he hadn't discussed the bill specifically with either of Washington's Democratic senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. Spokespeople for Murray and Cantwell didn't respond to questions about the two senators' positions on the DETERRENT Act. Democrats who oppose the bill have argued that it would create an unworkable burden for universities and would stifle international cooperation. Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Education and Workforce Committee, said on the House floor on Tuesday "Since faculty really don't know their colleagues' citizenship status, it is reasonable to believe that discrimination will follow, and institutions will be disincentivized from hiring talented international faculty," he said. "Present law already requires reporting of any gift large enough to exert any influence over a university. This bill, however, requires reporting of gifts of any value this could be a cup of coffee or a donut from people who are from so-called 'countries of concern,' and requires the Department of Education to process those reports." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics of Baumgartner's bill which was introduced last Congress by former Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif. also point out that it would rely on the Department of Education for its enforcement at a time when President Donald Trump is seeking to dismantle that agency. The president signed an executive order on March 20 directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to shut down the department she leads. Baumgartner said he supports Trump's vision of a diminished Education Department, but he thinks eliminating it altogether is unrealistic, since doing so would require Democratic support in the Senate. He suggested that his bill could be amended to assign enforcement duty to a different agency, such as the Justice Department. When the bill passed the House in 2023, it received the same number of Democratic votes 31 but had no Democratic cosponsors. Rep. Kim Schrier, a Democrat who represents a district that spans the Cascades from Wenatchee to the Seattle suburbs, voted for the bill in 2023 but opposed it on Thursday. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents a Republican-leaning district in southwest Washington and voted for the bill in 2023, was one of two Democrats who co-sponsored it this year. In an interview after the vote, the second-term congresswoman likened the disclosure requirements to labeling products with their country of origin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think that it's important that there's transparency and confidence in our public institutions," she said. "That the quality of research, the outcomes, are not being influenced without transparency." Gluesenkamp Perez, who has voted with Republicans more often than most Democrats since she was first elected in 2022, said she hoped that the legislation will help restore Americans' confidence in higher education institutions. While no study is completely free of bias, she said, increasing transparency is a logical move. "I evaluate legislation on its merits, not the party that proposes it," she said. "I think this is something that matters to folks in my community, and it's important to support the ideas, and not just the partisanship." Tillis has yet to introduce the bill in the Senate, and it's unclear when it could reach the floor in that chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would first need to be advanced by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, of which Murray is a member. Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. 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. Amanda Brewer, chief executive of Habitat for Humanity of Omaha introduces Habitat homeowner Autumn Austin during a "Homeownership Matters" rally at the State Capitol Thursday. (Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity) LINCOLN Habitat for Humanity of Omaha calls it the equity promise. Its new, and essentially a pay-it-forward pact in which the nonprofits homebuyer clients who receive downpayment and other assistance agree to certain resale restrictions designed to keep a house affordable for generations to come. Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln at a Habitat for Humanity event Wednesday night, where he received an award for his work on a law that Habitat expects will help preserve affordable homeownership opportunities for low-income Nebraskans. (Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity) A problem Habitat saw in crafting the promise last year, however, was that property taxes owed by the homeowner could be thrown out of whack. Enter 2024 legislation pushed by State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, which is now law and allows such sales-restricted houses a property tax break via a special method that stabilizes values in recognition of limited marketability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a huge huge deal for the people it fits, said Amanda Brewer, CEO of Omaha Habitat. This is ensuring that there are affordable places where people can own a home in Omaha for the next 50 years. Nebraska Habitat leaders see such potential in what the law can do to preserve homeownership accessibility for lower-income families that the organization honored Bostar this week with its 2025 Housing Champion Award. Rally in Rotunda Bostar received the award during two days of Habitat-led housing advocacy activities that wrapped up Thursday in Lincoln. He and a panel of state senators spoke Wednesday night to statewide Habitat affiliates and housing allies including Front Porch Investments and the Nebraska Housing Developers Association. Conversations with lawmakers continued the next day, capped by a Homeownership Matters rally in the State Capitol Rotunda. The rally drew about 75 housing advocates some carrying signs that read, A house shouldnt cost anywhere near half your paycheck and several state lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among them was Speaker John Arch of La Vista, a health care consultant, who underscored the role homeownership has in building a social network that helps mental and physical health. We as a society, as a state, need to focus on helping people get into homes so that those roots can be put down, community can be built, and society, as a result, benefits from that, said Arch. He said the Legislature should be mindful of how to help especially first-time homebuyers, though Arch said he was not focused on pushing any specific housing-related bill over the finish line this session. We can do a number of things with tax incentives and making it easier for people to get in, but its a challenge, he said. Every year we need to be constantly searching for those new ideas. Housing advocates give high fives as they enter the Capitol Thursday for a Homeownership Matters rally. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner) The Bostar-backed legislation last year, which began as Legislative Bill 1217 and became LB 1317, was multifaceted and included several elements advocates say should help preserve and create affordable housing opportunities in Nebraska. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indeed, the part of the law that captured the most attention had to do with renter-occupied housing for low-income residents and adjusting property valuation methods for those Section 42 apartments. That spotlight prompted Habitat to approach Bostar about pursuing the change related to its situation, representatives said. The provision applies to affiliates statewide, as well as NeighborWorks and other charitable organizations with a homeownership mission. The law took effect in July. Habitats Tracie McPherson said counterparts in other states worked several years to pass similar legislation, and she was grateful Nebraska lawmakers acted more quickly. We knew it was the right thing to do to keep affordable housing in our state, she said. Property tax relief Bostar said the law makes strides toward a couple of the Legislatures top priorities: property tax relief and preserving affordable housing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McPherson said the changes should also help keep houses in local hands and away from out-of-state investors that she said often turn them into costly rental property. Lacey Studnicka, program director for Habitat, called the Bostar-backed law transformational in supporting the nonprofits equity promise and goal to preserve affordable homeownership for working families. She said alarm bells had been going off as home prices spiked, putting houses out of the reach of nonprofits, such as Habitat, to sell to low-income residents. For context, she said, Habitat houses valued for tax purposes at $140,000 in 2019 in Omaha now are valued at $260,000. The Habitat Omaha board approved its equity promise approach at the start of 2024. McPherson said it is now the standard approach to the agencys local home sales. Among the first houses to which it applies, she said, are those at the 85-home Bluestem development underway in North Omaha. Heres how it works: Amanda Brewer, CEO Habitat for Humanity of Omaha (Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity) The homebuyer agrees to covenants guaranteeing that another low-income family can purchase the home at an affordable price, if the owner chooses to sell or move. Habitat would get the first shot at buying back the house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A seller still builds modest equity based on a formula and the time they stay in the house. In one scenario, the resale price for a buyer of a Habitat home whose mortgage is $200,000 (after downpayment and other assistance) and who owned the property for just under 3 years, would be $205,800. The Bostar legislation then allows for a stabilization of property taxes, based on that first mortgage and a slight annual increase, said Studnicka. She said the homeowner must apply annually for the special assessment, similar to those seeking a homestead exemption. The special valuation method is limited to properties first held by a nonprofit such as Habitat, NeighborWorks or a local community foundation that sells homes to individuals who are low income. The sales restrictions must run for at least 20 years and limit the sale of the property to another individual with a low income. Bostar said he was grateful and encouraged by Habitats reaction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Access to homeownership really represents access to the American dream, he said. So much of a familys wealth and their ability to hand wealth down to their children to ensure they have a better life than their parents had rests with homeownership. Priority bills Habitat for Humanity Nebraska affiliates have identified four 2025 legislative priorities: A tourist poses for photos with a fisherman on a bamboo raft on the Lijiang River in Yangshuo County of Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 25, 2022. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo taken on April 10, 2022 shows a view in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 25, 2022 shows a view of mountains along the Lijiang River in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo taken on April 10, 2022 shows a view in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 24, 2024 shows a view along the Lijiang River in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) Visitors take bamboo rafts on the Lijiang River in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nov. 25, 2021. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 17, 2018 shows a view in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 24, 2024 shows a view along the Lijiang River in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) A drone photo taken on April 11, 2022 shows a view of the Yulong River in Yangshuo County of Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo taken on Nov. 4, 2018 shows a view along the Lijiang River in Yangshuo County of Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo taken on April 18, 2024 shows tourists visiting the Elephant Trunk Hill scenic area in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 25, 2022 shows a view of mountains along the Lijiang River in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 17, 2018 shows a view in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) Tourists take a boat on the Ronghu Lake in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 12, 2025. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) An aerial drone photo taken on Nov. 24, 2021 shows a view along the Lijiang River in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 24, 2024 shows a view along the Lijiang River in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) Tourists take photos of rock carvings at the Duxiu Feng (Solitary Beauty Peak) scenic area in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 29, 2014. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) Tourists visit the Ronghu Lake in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 12, 2025. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) Tourists take a boat on the Shanhu Lake in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 12, 2025. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) Fishermen shows osprey fishing at the Elephant Trunk Hill scenic area in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Oct. 24, 2017. Guilin, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape, is one of China's most iconic destinations. Nestled in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty, with limestone peaks and serene rivers that attract visitors from around the world. Its unique topography and vibrant culture make it a cornerstone of Chinese tourism. Guilin's scenic wonders, including the famous Lijiang River and Elephant Trunk Hill, highlight the city's cultural significance and status as a must-visit location for nature lovers and travelers alike. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) After booting a HuffPost reporter out of the pool of journalists who follow the president last month, the White House reversed course on Friday. HuffPost White House reporter S.V. Date reported on President Donald Trumps public activities at the White House, which included a Friday afternoon swearing-in ceremony for Alina Habba as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, and Trumps departure for his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. The White House press pool is responsible for tracking the president throughout the day and sending updates to the broader group of reporters who cover the president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, the White House kicked out reporters from HuffPost, Reuters and The Associated Press from the pool, escalating a fight that began after Trump administration officials insisted The Associated Press comply with Trumps decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. HuffPost condemns this egregious violation of the First Amendment. Americans deserve fair and honest reporting on their president, HuffPost editor-in-chief Whitney Snyder said at the time. The White House must stop this cowardly behavior and restore HuffPosts place in the press pool immediately. Associated Press journalists testified in court on Friday as part of the storied news organizations effort to overturn a White House ban on being able to cover events on its grounds. The outlet has denounced the ban as a fundamental attack on freedom of speech. For anyone who thinks the Associated Presss lawsuit against President Trumps White House is about the name of a body of water, think bigger, AP executive editor Julie Pace wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. Its really about whether the government can control what you say. The White House is targeting foreign-born students for deportation. Donald Trump privately vents his frustration about Mike Waltz. And NBC News Home Buyer Index shows a thawing market with looming uncertainties. Heres what to know today. Trump admin takes aim at foreign-born college students The State Department has revoked 300 or more student visas, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, as the White House increasingly targets foreign-born students whose main transgression seems to be activism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around the country, scholars have been picked up and held in detention centers, sometimes far from their homes with little warning and often with few details about why they are being detained. The State Department has used an immigration provision that dates to the Cold War to justify some of the detentions. Federal officials can also revoke a student visa if they deem the student a threat. This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. It might be more than 300 at this point, Rubio said of the number of students whose visas have been revoked. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas. This week, Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national who was in the country with a valid student visa was pulled off the street. Ozturk co-authored an opinion essay in the Tufts student newspaper last year criticizing the university for how it responds to student demands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and Columbia University graduate student who was detained over his pro-Palestinian activism on campus, has sparked protests nationwide. Theyre just a couple of many whose detainments in recent weeks have made national headlines. Read the full story here. Huge earthquake causes destruction in Myanmar, collapses buildings in Bangkok Debris from a collapsed building in Bangkok, following a large earthquake in Myanmar on March 28, 2025. A 7.7-magnitude earthquake centered in Myanmar reverberated across Southeast Asia, killing at least three people in neighboring Thailand and leaving scores of others trapped under a collapsed high-rise in the countrys capital, Bangkok. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 6 miles near Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Bangkok, where many of its 17 million residents live in high-rise apartments, the quake sent buildings swaying and forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes and workplaces. The governor of Bangkok declared the city a disaster zone after a 33-story building under construction collapsed near the popular Chatuchak market, killing at least three people. More than 40 others remained trapped in the rubble, he said. Read more here. Trump privately vents his frustration about Mike Waltz Despite publicly expressing support for Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump privately fumed about his national security adviser during conversations he had about his decision to withdraw Rep. Elise Stefaniks nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, according to two Republican sources with knowledge of the conversation. Trumps frustration is two-fold. First, Waltz created the Signal group chat that included an editor of The Atlantic, prompting calls from his allies for him to be the fall guy. The president is also frustrated because the race to replace Waltz in the House is shaping up to be more competitive than it should be. While GOP leaders are confident that Randy Fine, the Republican candidate in the Florida special election, will pull off a win, Trump is worried that the optics of the last few days are fueling a negative narrative and making the party look bad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But as Trump and his allies take a critical look at Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared details of military plans over a commercial rather than traditional government channels, has gotten full-throated backing. More politics news: Simultaneous signs of ease and uncertainty in the housing market Buying a house in the U.S. is getting easier slightly according to new data from the NBC News Home Buyer Index, thanks to improving supply and less competition. However, prices remain high, and experts said any improvement could ride on policy decisions tariffs and trade wars chief among them. Charts that show how homebuying difficulty, measured on a scale of 0 to 100, has changed since 2013. Overall, difficulty has increased substantially, increasing from a score of 28 in 2013 to 86 in 2023. As of the latest data, its at 80. Februarys Home Buyer Index value came in at 80.1, down from pandemic highs in the upper 80s. The index is a scale of 0 to 100 that measures the difficulty a buyer would have trying to purchase a house, taking into account factors such as cost, competition, scarcity and economic instability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Data reporter Jasmine Cui explains that inventory is improving and homes are staying on the market for longer 40 days or more on average. But economic uncertainty registered at 91 on the Economic Instability sub-index, higher than this time last year. And any rapid policy changes could shake up the market. Read All About It King Charles III was briefly in the hospital after he experienced side effects of his cancer treatment. Yolanda Saldivar, the woman sentenced to life in prison for killing Tejano music icon Selena in 1995, was denied parole , and her next review will be in 2030. A Las Vegas man faces state and federal charges after his arrest in connection with an arson attack on a Tesla location. The Sundance Film Festival is moving to a new city after more than 40 years in Park City, Utah. Staff Pick: Greenlands residents give the Arctic cold shoulder Greenland has been placed in the middle of a tug of war between Trump and Denmark and ahead of a visit by JD Vance and his wife, NBC News correspondent Molly Hunter and producer Charlotte Gardiner travelled to Nuuk to hear from the Greenlanders who find themselves in the limelight. How do they feel about Trumps escalating rhetoric about taking over their home? Angry and over it. This cant be happening, this is not the America we knew, one local businessman said. Annie Hill, platforms editor NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified Amazons Big Spring Sale is here, and we found the best tech deals worth shopping so far, including discounts on Bose noise-cancelling headphones, Apple iPads, speakers and more. And are you curious about using beef tallow as a moisturizer? The NBC Select team investigates the skincare trend, which has people slathering beef fat on their faces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week. Thanks for reading todays Morning Rundown. Todays newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If youre a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com HUNTSVILLE, ALA (WHNT) Over the past five years, the City of Huntsville saw significant growth. City officials revealed the population increased 20% from 2019 to 2024, but how does all this growth affect our crime? History of pedestrians hit by vehicles on University Drive, how police say to avoid it The Huntsville Police Department said major crimes have decreased by 26%, and violent crimes have decreased by 39% since 2019. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our number one goal is just citizens, said Deputy Chief Charles Brooks. Thats our number one priority is the citizens, and as the gentleman up here has stated already, those relationships, that is why were enduring the success that we have. City officials explain these numbers reflect crime such as homicide, rape, burglary, theft, and aggravated assault. When it comes to drug-related issues, Captain Jeff Rice said the use and abuse of fentanyl and methamphetamine are the largest issues the city is facing. We are serious about drug crimes in our state, but without the citizens help, we wouldnt have that good information to be able to act upon some of these drug crimes, Captain Rice said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morgan County EMA holds severe weather awareness event HPD is attributing the lower crime rates to factors such as new technologies, officer response time, and collaboration with other agencies. However, they said the number one factor is the help from our community. The community is the key, Rice said. If you dont have a relationship with your community, none of this, none of this stuff happens at all. While the numbers are trending in a direction they like, Police Chief Kirk Giles said it doesnt stop here. Violent crime is down, crime is down, but well continue to work just as hard if not harder to make sure that it continues to stay that way, Giles said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department also released its 2024 annual report. It reflects numbers from this past year alone, and those can be found on the City of Huntsvilles 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 WHNT.com. This story has been updated with more information from the Butler County Sheriff's Office. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials working with an Ohio sheriff's office made their first workplace arrest on Wednesday at that Ohio jail. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said two contractors working on a construction site inside a secured part of the jail were arrested by ICE agents on Wednesday. Jones, in a video, said the two people arrested are a father and son, but did not release their names. The Enquirer has requested follow-up records from the jail. Advertisement Advertisement "They came to the wrong place," Jones said. "They got arrested." The sheriff, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and increased border security, said the two contractors showed identification, including a passport and Social Security card, in order to access the worksite. He says their ID documents were fake. "You wouldn't think two illegal aliens would show fake ID and go through the security to go to the Butler County Jail, but that's exactly what happened," Jones said, adding, "You can't make this up." A sub-contractor hired by the construction company working at the jail provided its employees' identification documents, the sheriff's office said in a statement Friday. An ICE agent was at the jail at the time, and it was discovered that some of the ID documents appeared to be fake. Advertisement Advertisement Two construction workers were interviewed by the ICE agent, and admitted they lacked legal immigration status, the statement said. The Butler County Sheriff's Office began working with ICE on March 5, becoming one of few jails in Ohio to assist the agency. The jail offered up 250 to 300 beds to ICE, around a third of its total beds, to detain arrestees facing immigration violations. Their contract with ICE gives qualified personnel sheriff's deputies who have undergone training and testing the authority to perform some duties of an immigration officer. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ICE arrests 2 construction workers at Ohio jail, sheriff says Mar. 28Federal authorities arrested an Indian national in San Joaquin County earlier this month as part of a targeted criminal enforcement operation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended 23-year-old Gurdev Singh in French Camp on March 12 after he was arrested by California Highway Patrol on weapons charges. Immigration officials said Singh illegally entered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Border Patrol officers encountered Singh near Lukeville, Ariz., on Sept. 2, 2023, and released him on his own recognizance with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. He was later determined to be associated with transnational criminal organizations, and further investigation revealed he was known to carry firearms illegally and was actively engaged in criminal activity in both the U.S. and abroad, officials said. Singh was arrested by CHP officers on March 6 on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in public, not being the registered owner of a loaded firearm, possession of a stolen vehicle and child endangerment. Seven guns were found at his Stockton residence and two more were found in a car located on his property during a search. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE learned Singh had been booked into the San Joaquin County Jail, and submitted a detainer request on March 12, which the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office denied, reports state. Singh was taken into custody without incident by ICE agents after his release from county jail. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. In January, Sheriff Pat Withrow announced his department would not act as immigration officials after President Donald Trump signed executive orders giving ICE greater ability to conduct enforcement actions and expand the pool of undocumented immigrants subject to fast-track deportations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Sheriff's Office deputies did not arrest Singh, the jail falls under Withrow's purview. Withrow assured residents in a social media post that they would not be turned over to federal authorities, regardless of their resident status, adding that his staff was not responsible for immigration enforcement. Many law enforcement officials in the region said their departments would follow the "California Values Act," which prohibits state and local enforcement agencies from using resources to investigate, detain or arrest individuals solely for immigration enforcement purposes, except in specific circumstances like cases involving serious crimes and judicial warrants. Officers can be charged with misdemeanors for violating the California Values Act. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested an eight-time deported undocumented immigrant, accusing him again of living in the country illegally. Sergio Morelos-Torres, 52, faces a charge of being a deported alien found in the United States, according to federal court records. Federal officials previously deported Morelos-Torres eight times, from 1997 to 2016. Morelos-Torres was previously convicted in California on a burglary charge, documents said. He also faced prior federal charges twice for remaining in the country illegally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 15, officials with the U.S. Forest Service arrested Morelos-Torres in Las Vegas, documents said. The exact reason for the arrest was not included in court documents and a spokesperson for the service directed questions to the Department of Justice. On March 18, ICE took Morelos-Torres into custody at the Clark County Detention Center. Morelos-Torres remained in custody Friday at the Henderson jail, which also serves as an ICE detention center. Earlier this month, 8 News Now asked an ICE spokesperson how many people the agency had arrested in southern Nevada since President Donald Trump took office. The spokesperson could not say, adding that a new tracking system was expected to come online in the future. Federal court records the 8 News Now Investigators have reviewed since Jan. 20 show a handful of cases involving illegal immigration. The department has since started posting information and photos of people in their custody, though Morelos-Torres was among them. 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. Prosecutors in the case against Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students, are seeking to introduce a college paper he wrote as evidence. The paper, according to a recent court filing, reveals Kohberger's understanding of crime scenes. Kohberger, 30, faces four counts of murder in the November 13, 2022, stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. The students were found dead in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho. Autopsies indicated the victims were likely asleep at the time of the attack, some had defensive wounds, and each was stabbed multiple times. Prosecutors have stated their intention to pursue the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. His trial is set to commence on August 11. Last year, when asked to enter a plea, Kohberger remained silent, leading the judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a court filing Monday, prosecutors said the paper Kohberger wrote in 2020 while he was a student at DeSales University in Pennsylvania would be introduced to show Defendants knowledge of crime scenes. The 12-page paper, entitled Crime-scene Scenario Final, uses the example of the killing of a woman in which a knife was apparently used. Maddie Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20 (Instagram) The paper discusses the many steps authorities should take to secure and investigate a crime scene, including keeping people away to avoid contamination, obtaining a search warrant, and calling a supervisor, a coroner and forensic services. The paper also details the equipment used for crime scene investigation, how to collect evidence, and how to enter a crime scene to avoid contamination, including wearing gloves and other protective equipment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anything that is fiber-free and covers the mouth, hair and overall body would be helpful in avoiding crime-scene contamination, the paper said. Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene. The college paper also describes how to preserve the chain of custody for evidence. It discusses the importance of gathering surveillance footage and questioning potential witnesses as part of the investigation. Anyone who normally passes by the scene, such as a mailman, should be questioned and an alibi established, the paper said. Where were the neighbors when this happened? Their alibis should be evident and supported. Kohberger, 30, faces four counts of murder The killings shook Moscow, a small farming community of about 25,000 people that hadnt had a homicide in about five years. The trial was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the defense expressed concerns that Kohberger couldnt get a fair trial in the county where the killings occurred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Steven Hippler has scheduled a hearing for April 9 to consider pretrial motions. Among those to be decided are arguments over whether an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis would preclude Kohberger from being eligible for the death penalty if convicted, and over whether jurors should hear audio of a 911 call made by two women in the house roughly eight hours after the killings, as they realized one of their roommates wasnt waking up. The court has issued a gag order for everyone involved in the trial and wont allow cameras in the courtroom. As a former Army major from Palm Beach, its a relief to see the Florida Legislature make a u-turn from last year on a controversial policy over who is authorized to assist veterans file claims for benefits with the federal government. When I learned early last year that Tallahassee lawmakers were drafting a law to make it even more difficult for veterans to process their claims, my view was that states should just stay out of federal issues. While I still generally feel that way, its a relief to know that at least this time around Florida is taking steps to make it easier for veterans to obtain their benefits, not harder. By way of background, there has been a major battle in the U.S. Congress, especially over the past six years, over who can help veterans in the claims process. A series of battling bills havent gone anywhere leading to gridlock. Thats why many states find themselves in the middle of this controversy as well, since the fight rolls downhill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a compromise effort to ensure veterans have more options available to them on seeking assistance with a Byzantine process in Washington, while also protecting them from potential scammers, both the Florida Senate and House of Representatives have similar bills entitled Veterans Benefits Assistance working through the system to do just that. Editorial: Palm Beach County's La Quinta Inn purchase is a good effort against homelessness Though nationwide it hasnt typically been a Democrat vs. Republican issue, one side has fought to restrict options in an effort to stop bad actors from taking advantage of veterans, while the other side wants to give veterans more options to successfully pursue their claims. Both sides make valid points. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Early last year, "Red state" Florida was following in the footsteps of "Blue state" New Jersey which passed a draconian law in 2023 to criminalize anyone from helping veterans with claims unless they were accredited by the Veterans Administration (VA). While that tough approach might make sense on paper, the reality is accreditation isnt easy to come by. In fact its practically closed apart from Veteran Services Organizations (VSO) like the VFW and American Legion, in addition to well-connected Washington, D.C.-area law firms. This flawed arrangement helps those entities with cash flow but not so much the veterans they serve. I was surprised that Florida was right behind a deep blue state on what seemed to be a clear attack on the small business community lumping in many people performing a valuable service for veterans with hucksters. While last years bill was fortunately withdrawn in Tallahassee, this year both the Florida House and Senate parallel bills tighten up the requirements and increase the formality on who can help veterans with claims. They also restrict certain fees that third-party actors can charge the veterans whom they assist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These compromise steps should help eliminate possible scammers while at the same time giving veterans a larger pool of qualified people available to help them. A common sense solution. Its a major issue in Florida, a state with over 1.4 million veterans which likely includes hundreds of thousands receiving and/or seeking federal disability benefits. Marcos De Jesus, the assistant director of South Florida National Cemetery, said the April 25, 2024, interment of the unclaimed ashes of 20 veterans gave them 'the dignified burial they deserve to honor their service to our country.' Moreover, according to the VA there are roughly 250,000 backlogged claims nationwide, a number likely to grow as job cuts are made across the federal government. Statistically speaking, it would appear that tens of thousands of backlogged claims are right here in Florida, languishing in the bureaucracy as veterans bide their time waiting for relief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Veterans in Florida need more help with claims these days, not less. While its our right to criticize state elected officials when we believe they get it wrong like I did last year, we should also say a word of thanks when they get it right like Im doing now. Thank you, Tallahassee. Joseph Meyer, Meyer Capital Group Joseph Meyer, founder of Meyer capital Group in Palm, is a former major in the U.S. Army. He wrote this for The Palm Beach Post. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FL's 1.4 million veterans need more help with benefit claims | Opinion The Central Community College campus in Grand Island. (Courtesy of Nebraska Community College Association) LINCOLN Tax credits to offset property taxes owed to local K-12 school districts are now automatically applied, but Nebraskans still need to file for income tax credits for community colleges for additional relief each year. State lawmakers opted to front-load the tax credits for property taxes paid to K-12 schools in August, beginning with tax statements that went out in December, lowering property tax obligations. But Nebraskans seeking similar relief on property taxes paid last year to community colleges before the state largely took over funding them still need to take the extra step of requesting a refund via their tax returns by April 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This includes the last round of general fund community college property taxes, as well as capital improvements or bonds assessed in December 2023 that most taxpayers paid throughout 2024. Under current law, the income tax credits for property taxes paid to community colleges are set to be available each year, but must be filed for one year after payment. The state replaced the majority of local community colleges property tax authority with state dollars, effective this fiscal year, which zeroed out the general fund property tax-funded part of the colleges general funds in December but left a narrow levy authority to the six colleges. This fiscal year, the state picked up more than $253 million, an amount that grows each year for each college. Community colleges requested $289 million in property taxes in 2023, and the replacement state revenue helped drop that amount to $69.4 million in 2024. College boards retain a 2-cent tax rate per $100 of taxable property valuations for paying off bonds or establishing a capital improvement and bond-sinking fund, which all six colleges requested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 2023 agreement also automatically locked in community colleges for annual increases in replacement state dollars. State lawmakers must give community colleges an increase in that bucket of funds by 3.5% or in reimbursable educational units for each community college. If not, community college boards could raise property taxes to make up the difference. The preliminary state budget proposals from both Gov. Jim Pillen and the Appropriations Committee fulfill those funding obligations. Nebraska taxpayers can use this online tool through the Nebraska Department of Revenue to determine the eligible community college refund they are entitled to before filing tax returns this year. Credits are rounded to the nearest whole dollar. More information on the property tax credit program is available here. The 2024 property tax credit form is available here. Community college property taxes levied in 2023 compared to 2024 Metropolitan Community College: $94.7 million (9.5-cent levy) $21.7 million (2-cent levy) Southeast Community College: $74.2 million (9.37-cent levy) $16.8 million (2-cent levy) Central Community College: $53.7 million (8.54-cent levy) $13.9 million (2-cent levy) Northeast Community College: $34.3 million (9-cent levy) $8.6 million (2-cent levy) Mid-Plains Community College: $17.4 million (7.46-cent levy) $5 million (2-cent levy) Western Community College: $14.7 million (9.89-cent levy) $3.4 million (2-cent levy) SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX PARIS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a range of initiatives to support Ukraine at a summit in Paris on Thursday, amid growing uncertainty over continued U.S. assistance. At a press conference following the summit of the "coalition of the willing," Macron announced a joint Franco-British plan to send a team to Ukraine to help shape the future structure of the Ukrainian army. Macron said that he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would "jointly lead" the coordination efforts of Ukraine's international coalition of allies. He also raised the idea of deploying "reassurance forces" from a few willing European Union member states to strategic locations in Ukraine should a peace agreement be reached with Russia. However, "There is no consensus on this point," Macron acknowledged. He underscored the importance of continued American support for any potential European deployment but said Europe must prepare for a scenario in which the United States is no longer involved. Following the summit, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed that British Defence Secretary John Healey will chair the next Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on April 11, where efforts will focus on coordinating additional military aid to support Ukraine's defense. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Moscow is "categorically against" the possible deployment of Western peacekeepers in Ukraine. Such a scenario could lead to a direct clash between Russia and NATO, Zakharova said, adding that London and Paris are hatching plans for "a military intervention in Ukraine" under the guise of a peacekeeping operation. Signalgate is turning off even the most loyal of President Donald Trumps supporters. A YouGov poll found that a whopping six in ten Republicans find the leaks of American war plans to be a serious issue. That's below the three-quarters of voters overall who take issue with the leaks, but it still marks a rare break with Trumpism for GOP voters. The count was taken a day after The Atlantics top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed that hed been added to a group chat of Trump officials by National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The polling company noted that Americans concern over the Signal scandal was larger than polled concern at any point over former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons private email server use. 48 percent of Americans told pollsters they believe the administration broke the law by discussing the military plans on Signal. And its not just voters who want Trump to own its mistake. Congressional Republicans have strengthened their rebukes after an initial collective shrug. Texas Sen. John Cornyn called it a huge screwup earlier this week and Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said the chamber must investigate the leaks. This is what happens when you dont really have your act together, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told The Hill, decrying the administration's lax attitude toward state secrets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even MAGA diehard Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said the administration shouldve been more careful. I think it was incredibly sloppy. But that being said, I think it was a mistake, Greene told reporters on Tuesday, sidestepping a question on whether Waltz should be forced out and adding that she feels confident that the White House would correct the error. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, himself a party to the Signal chat, said on Wednesday that someone made a big mistake when adding Goldberg without mentioning Waltz by name. Waltz contends that Goldbergs contact information was sucked into [the] group. The Trump administration has repeatedly defended officials who took part in the group chat, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the story a hoax in a Wednesday briefing. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Burn patients reunited with their care team Thursday evening for an emotional reunion at Research Medical Centers Grossman Burn Unit. Several patients who endured painful burns were there including Captain Michael Peacock who suffered burns searching a home and trying to rescue a man who was trapped. Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department still searching for good Samaritan Three days before Christmas, Independence responded mutual aid to a Sugar Creek house fire with a report of people trapped inside. Captain Michael Peacock and three other firefighters were part of the initial aggressive fire attack conducting search and rescue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One woman was helped out by police, but a disabled man was trapped in a back bedroom. Searched the building and probably 45 seconds in, the house flashed on us, and when that happens, basically everything catches fire at the same time, Peacock said. Firefighters rescued the homeowner, but all four firefighters in that flashover were injured, three were hospitalized with burns. Peacock and others on his crew ended up at Grossman Burn Center at Research Medical Center. Peacock underwent two surgeries and spent New Years Eve in the burn unit where he said hed spend the next five days. His biggest thing is he wanted to go back to being a firefighter and the sooner I could make that happen, the happier he was going to be. Dr. Megan Garcia said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month he did just that, as have all the other firefighters returned to work who were burned in the frightening ordeal. I can not thank them enough for how they treated me and my whole family and the rest of the crew that came through here, he said. Our firefighters do incredible things to pull people out of fires, enter fires when everybody else is trying to get out, Garcia said. Garcia says its a testament to the firefighters equipment and safety protocol that she doesnt see more firefighters as patients, and often when she does, it was during an active rescue. Just like in Sugar Creek where they were able to save Kenny Harter by laying themselves across him shielding him from the fire, while exterior crews made an exit through the bedroom wall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As emotional as Thursdays reunion with doctors was, so was another one at the fire station where the disabled man thanked them for saving his life. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri For him to come back even after his house was destroyed, his wall was destroyed and just say thank you to the firefighters. Its incredible, Peacock said. While understandably many patients have fears about scars or their appearance after being burned, Garcia said Peacocks main concern was how quickly she could get him back to work. He returned to full active duty last month as have all the other heroes from that day. 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 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Police officers in Independence are asking for help locating a 26-year-old man with autism whos been missing since February. Harrisonville police attempting to locate missing mother, infant daughter Drayton Fanning, 26, was last seen Wednesday, Feb. 12, according to police. Police said Fanning is known to frequent areas near 31st Street and Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as 71st Street in Shawnee, Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KCK woman arrested after chase through west Lawrence Fanning is 6 feet and 1 inch tall, weighs around 140 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes, according to IPD. Anyone with information on Draytons whereabouts is encouraged to contact Detective Winans at (816) 325-7347. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Secretary of State Diego Morales at the Indiana State Fair on Aug. 2, 2024. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle) The heat is on Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales. Questionable spending and missteps have, in recent weeks, captured the attention of lawmakers in charge of his budget for the next two years. Things are adding up, and Republicans known for fiscal conservatism are taking note. Morales office said Thursday he stands by all the financial decisions the office has made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be clear, some of the information isnt novel but seems to have gained new life recently. For instance, the Indianapolis Star broke the news in Feb. 2023 that Morales hired his brother-in-law for a position with a six-figure salary. It isnt illegal under nepotism laws because in-laws arent covered. But optics are another thing altogether. And in Oct. 2023, the Capital Chronicle first revealed Morales liberal use of spot bonuses. Indiana executive branch agencies adhere to guidance from the State Personnel Department when it comes to the bonuses, which dictates that awards range from $100 to $1,000 to recognize outstanding performance on the spot. That year, the Secretary of States office doled out 80 bonuses to 68 employees out of a staff of roughly 75. They ranged from $500 to $12,000, for an average of $4,540 per employee. Nearly a dozen employees received two bonuses from Morales within the 10 months scanned by the Capital Chronicle, and one got two in one month. Morales brother-in-law received a total $12,500 from two bonuses. Morales said the bonuses were needed due to promises made before his tenure for salary adjustments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Ed DeLaney seized on these things when questioning Morales during a House Ways and Means budget hearing on Jan. 15. The video has made the rounds on social media. The Indianapolis Democrat also focused on another Capital Chronicle story about no-bid technology contracts in which the winners then gave campaign contributions to Morales. No-bid contracts are not illegal. Morales indicated he thought DeLaneys questions were inappropriate for the setting, replying that we dont mix political and official business. Sen. Fady Qaddoura, another Indianapolis Democrat, continued the questions in Senate Appropriations on March 18. Only this time, Morales didnt show up sending his deputy instead. Lawmakers were told Morales was on economic development trip, according to State Affairs Indiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Qaddoura noted it was the second time Morales had missed a meeting before the panel, and that every other elected statewide official showed up. Its not the job of the secretary of state to be traveling for economic development, he said. Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales 2024 election security guide features a whistle. (Submitted photo) Morales was still on the trip Tuesday when he missed a prayer breakfast for which his office was a sponsor. But he sent his staff to take photos of his table for social media. Well, it turns out he was in India. Thats according to a post on X from the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, and a press release issued by Morales on Thursday. Republicans also took Morales office to task. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, started with questions on bonuses, leading to a promise that no new bonuses are planned. Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, then pointed to paper maps that Morales office printed with his name in large, bolded letters. Staff said less than $15,000 was spent on the maps, which were distributed at the Indiana State Fair and to county offices. Garten said maps should be printed by the Indiana Department of Transportation. I have no idea why weve spent any amount of taxpayer money on a road map that nobody knows is a road map because, quite frankly, to me, it looks like a campaign sign, Garten said. The biggest thing on here is a name. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He went on to say Morales budget should be decreased by whatever amount was spent on the maps, and dinged the office for overaggressive compliance fines. Thats not Morales only promotional spending, though. The office previously spent $35,000 to send glossy spiral-bound election security guides to hundreds of election administrators, lawmakers, law enforcement officers and others across the state. They were accompanied by a lanyard and card saying Blow the Whistle on Election Interference with Morales name. Federal election funds were used. Morales office sent a statement to me on Thursday saying, The Secretary of States Office is committed to its outreach efforts through the distribution of informational materials like papers, pamphlets, and brochures. Featuring the elected officials name on the materials fosters trust and accountability, much like the annual mail sent by members of the Indiana General Assembly to their constituents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It added that the office returned $400, 000 to the General Fund at the end of fiscal year 2024. The office is currently on track to return a similar amount to the state at the end of the current fiscal year. Its not unusual for questions to arise in legislative committee hearings that require research and follow up. We appreciate thoughtful questions from legislators about any aspect of our budget and operations and respond as promptly as possible, the statement said. It remains to be seen whether another Republican will step up to challenge Morales in 2026. He was chosen at a party nominating convention over sitting Secretary of State Holli Sullivan in 2022. GOP delegates voted against Sullivan, who then-Gov. Eric Holcomb had appointed into the role as a revolt against him and his pandemic-era policies. I wonder if they are now regretting that decision. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Online influencer Andrew Tate beat and choked his ex-girlfriend at the Beverly Hills Hotel, according to a civil lawsuit she filed in Los Angeles on Thursday. Model Brianna Stern, who has appeared in Maxim Australia Magazine and Playboy, accused Tate of sexual assault and battery, gender violence, negligence and other actions that allegedly took place during their 10-month relationship. Tate's attorney, Joseph McBride, called the allegations false, accusing Stern of filing the lawsuit for financial gain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is a blatant cash grab a desperate attempt by a sad individual to exploit Andrews success and reputation for personal gain," McBride said in an email response. The lawsuit asks for unspecified statutory and punitive damages. Tate, 38, a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who has amassed more than 10 million followers on X, is currently charged with human trafficking in Romania with his brother, Tristan Tate. The two were recently allowed to return to the U.S. after Romanian officials lifted a travel ban on them. Tate met Stern last summer in Romania. While the brothers were banned from leaving Romania, they invited models to meet with them to help promote their cryptocurrency coin. One of those models was Stern, who wanted to promote her own cryptocurrency coin, according to her lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She joined a group that landed in the Romanian capital of Bucharest in July 2024. But she says she was singled out from the other models and personally picked up by Tate in his car. The two drove for nearly three hours from her hotel to an Airbnb villa in Transylvania where the cryptocurrency photo shoots were set to take place. During the car ride, Tate won Stern over by saying that he provides for women he dates and that she would no longer have to work if they were together, according to the lawsuit. During their relationship, Tate was kind and loving, but he was also cold and dismissive, she said in the lawsuit. He called her derogatory names and stated she was his "property," according to the complaint. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He told her, "I'm punishing you for your behaviors" and "You have an attitude because you're not hit enough," according to Stern. Tate would follow up his insults with loving text messages, according to screenshots from text message exchanges included in the lawsuit. But Tate's behavior eventually became violent, according to Stern. On March 10, the two spent the night together at the Beverly Hills Hotel. He started to beat her while they were having sex, according to the complaint. "Initially, the sex was consensual, but things soon changed," Stern said in the suit. "Tate began verbally degrading Plaintiff as he routinely did but this time it was much worse, more aggressive, and more violent. Tate then began to choke Plaintiff." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She began to cry and begged him to stop, but he choked her until she nearly lost consciousness, the lawsuit alleges. Read more: Woman's lawsuit claims Motel 6 and other chains allowed her to be raped nearly 1,000 times He used one hand to choke her and the other to beat her repeatedly on the side of her face and top of her head, Stern said. "While doing so, Tate told her repeatedly that if she ever crossed him, he was going to kill her," the complaint said. "Plaintiff did the best she could to protect herself as she sobbed and pleaded until Tate climaxed and stopped beating and choking her." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He eventually fell asleep, according to the complaint. She wanted to leave right away but was too scared. The next morning, she pretended nothing happened and then left, according to the complaint. She sought help from friends and saw a physician, according to the lawsuit. Stern said she was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and the physician told her to report the choking and beating to police. But Stern said she was scared and didn't want to say anything. She included a screenshot of a text message exchange in which Tate allegedly wrote, "if you ever betray me you will regret it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stern wrote back, "ok crazy." "No I'm serious," he allegedly wrote back. Read more: Andrew Tate placed under house arrest as new human trafficking allegations emerge involving minors She was so afraid she said she waited to file a police report with the Beverly Hills Police Department until after Tate had left the country and until her sister could go with her to the police station, according to the complaint. In a statement posted to her Instagram account, Stern said she was still in love with Tate even though he hurt her. While they were together, Stern and Tate talked about starting a family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But after the beating, she said, she realized the gravity of her situation. "This was the reality of my boyfriend and my life, and I needed to take back control," she said in her statement. "'You are my property' echoed in my mind and I knew that was not the future I wanted for myself or for my future children." Stern said she is "an emotional wreck and am constantly looking over my shoulder." "This entire situation is very traumatic and extremely difficult," she said. "I considered many times just silently leaving Andrew and saying nothing, doing nothing, because I was scared and because it was honestly hard for me to accept that I was being abused. But I can now see that doing so would be the cowardly approach." 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. Attorneys for the family of the 25-year-old inmate who died while in custody of the Montgomery County Jail say theyre conducting an independent investigation into his death. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] As News Center 7 previously reported, Christian Black, 25, of Zanesville, died at a hospital on Wednesday, March 26. He had been booked into the Montgomery County Jail earlier this week after being arrested by Englewood Police. They said he crashed a car that had been reported stolen from Beavercreek and then jumped a fence and swam across a pond in an attempt to escape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Beavercreek police report indicated a 44-year-old woman had her car taken in a violent incident in the business parking lot across from The Greene. They were exploring robbery and attempted abduction charges. That brought Black to the jail at 6 a.m. on Sunday. TRENDING STORIES: While in custody on Monday, a spokesperson for the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office said correctional staff found Black face down in his cell. The staff asked him questions, but he wouldnt respond. They then called the jails medical staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the cell door opened, he allegedly tried to fight correction officers in an attempt to escape his cell. Staff used force, including a taser, to subdue him. Later they said he repeatedly banged his head against his cell door and again tried to fight staff, prompting them to tase and use pepper spray on him before putting him in a restraint chair. An ambulance was called for his head injury, but Black then went into cardiac arrest. He was taken to the hospital where he later died. As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, Blacks family strongly disagrees with that version of events and hired a Dayton law firm to represent them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael Wright and Robert Gresham, attorneys for Blacks family, released the following statement about his death on Friday: The family of Christian Black has hired Wright & Schulte to help them get answers to many important questions surrounding his in-custody death. We are conducting our own independent investigation into how Mr. Black died and who may ultimately be responsible. Mr. Blacks family is deeply concerned given the well-documented issues that have plagued the Montgomery County Jail previously. We will leave no stone unturned in our quest to find out what led to Christian Blacks death." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs office has asked Dayton Police to investigate Blacks death since it happened after correction officers used force to control him after he was booked. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] AUSTIN (KXAN) After decades of justices of the peace with minimal training handling death investigations across the state, Texas lawmakers are advancing a bill that would create a new system. This week on Inside the Investigation, Senior Investigative Producer David Barer explains the challenges that could come with reform. Related reading Bill to expand medical examiner access in Texas closer to law A Hanging on Backbone Creek: A Catalyst Project Join KXAN Investigative Reporter Kelly Wiley every Friday at 10:30 a.m. on YouTube, Facebook, or KXAN.com for a live recap of the latest headlines and in-depth reporting from the KXAN Investigates team. You can also listen to KXANs investigative podcast, highlighting some of our award-winning teams latest reports exposing corruption, safety concerns, and system failures across Texas. We also feature audio versions of our weekly Inside the Investigation discussion with the journalists working on those stories. 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. His party was founded by a convicted Holocaust denier and a former Nazi officer, but on Thursday evening Jordan Bardella posed for selfies amongst adoring followers in Jerusalem. Ascending the stage at the International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism, the young president of Marine Le Pens National Rally (RN) must have known already that he was the star attraction. Since Oct 7 in particular, we have witnessed the deadly honeymoon between Islamism and the extreme Left, he told the audience, an incongruous mix of Israeli politicians and other radical Right-wing Europeans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One provides the fanatics; the other institutionalises the evil, provides the excuse of victimisation and the appearance of good conscience. His appearance has triggered outrage in the Jewish world and boycotts of the conference. Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Britains Chief Rabbi, pulled out of the conference as a direct result of the presence of the hard Right leader, as did Baron Mann, the Labour peer and anti-Semitism campaigner, the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, Felix Klein, Germanys anti-Semitism tsar, and the Anti-Defamation League, a US and Israel-based racism watchdog. Marion Marechal, the niece of the National Rallys Marine Le Pen, was amongst those attending the anti-Semitism conference in Jerusalem - Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images The European Jewish Congress has also criticised the decision to invite him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions expressed the need for a critical distance towards RN, warning that the fight against anti-Semitism cannot be exploited politically. Hermann Tersch, of Spains Vox party, and Charlie Weimers from the Sweden Democrats, did not prompt quite the same levels of interest as Mr Bardella, but the fact of their being invited is no less significant. All three belong to parties which trace their lineage in some cases quite recent lineage to blatant anti-Semitism. Their invitation would arguably have been unthinkable even 15 years ago. Yet Israel in 2025 is a country where perceptions, alliances and taboos are shifting rapidly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All three parties were formally recognised last month. Gideon Saar, Israels foreign minister, said his governments re-evaluation of each organisation was based on their stance on Israel, their attitudes to local Jewish communities and the extent to which they had confronted their troubling legacies. Amichai Chikli, right, Israels minister for diaspora affairs gave the conferences opening address. - Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images The official normalisation is the result of several years of groundwork, led in the main by Amichai Chikli, the pugilistic minister for Diaspora Affairs, himself widely described as far Right in Israel. Listening to Mr Chikli give his opening address, it is quickly apparent that he and Mr Bardella share the same political obsessions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Having claimed that the Prophet Mohammed massacred nearly 900 Jews in 627 AD, he went on to call radical Islam a medieval ideology that glories in death and despises life, rejects freedom, democracy and basic human rights. The real Nazis, he said, were the Islamists, claiming that an Arabic translation of Mein Kampf was available almost at every book store in Ramallah, the Palestinian capital of the West Bank a difficult claim to verify. Mr Chikli described pro-Palestinian marches as simply another form of anti-Semitism and evidence of the Wests moral collapse. Mentioning Jeremy Corbyn and others who supported the marches, he said: I have nothing but contempt for them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aligning the age-old struggle against anti-Semitism with the current fight against radical Islam creates an obvious shared interest for Israel and the European Right (although relations with Germanys AFD and Freedom in Austria have not yet been normalised). Amichai Chikli and Jordan Bardella visit a memorial for victims of the Oct 7 attack - Jack Guez/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock However, some on the traditional wing of the combating anti-Semitism movement have warned against assuming that your enemys enemy is your friend. Abe Foxman, a former Anti-Defamation League chief, said recently: I dont think it is appropriate to have representatives of far-Right parties in Europe coming to Jerusalem to meet with the Jewish community and together develop a strategy to fight anti-Semitism when they are part and parcel of the problem of anti-Semitism. The worry, people on Mr Foxmans wing of the debate argue, as well as moderate politicians in Europe, is that by attending the Jerusalem conference, RN and the other parties can launder their reputations for racism. In other words, the invitation amounts to a free win for them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Certainly Mr Bardella appeared to recognise the opportunity for this party, speaking of the eminent symbolic significance of this invitation which confirms the importance of the patriot movement in France. But others argue that expressions of solidarity with the Jews should be taken seriously, pointing out that Mr Bardella cancelled a speech to CPAC, the US conservative grouping, after Steve Bannon, Donald Trumps former strategist, was accused of giving a Nazi salute. Pointing to the rise in anti-Semitic incidents following Oct 7, they also say that the traditional approach has demonstrably failed. Avi Abelow, chief executive of the 12Tribe Films Foundation, recently told Ynet news: The liberal democrat politicians of the West have failed us miserably because they dont call out the danger that exists with Islam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the parties are our allies in countering the rise of Muslim fundamentalism and anti-Semitism. However, on the evidence of Thursdays event in Jerusalem, the new alignment of anti-Semitism with anti-Islamist, involves a wider alignment with the Right. Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb president, talks with Jordan Bardella at the conference - Leo Correa/AP Consequently, the audience was told that Greta Thunberg, the climate protester, was an idiot and part of a cult; that Black Lives Matter was little better. According to Dr Eli David, one of the speakers, all are part of the tragedy of the West preparing the way for Islamism to take over. The result was a conference on anti-Semitism which, despite repeated mentions of Oct 7 and other outrages, lacked an overarching tone of Jewish victimhood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, the message was that of a warning to the non-Jewish West, to preserve their civilisation by fighting anti-Semitism now. Jewish people are on the front line of this, said Mr Saar in his address. What starts with Jews never ends with the Jews. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, described todays Israelis as modern Maccabees, humiliating their enemies one after the other, during his speech to the conference - Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images The conference, as is normal for such events, was attended by the heads of several major US Christian and political organisations, such as American Conservative Union and the Friends of Zion Heritage Centre. However, this year the links to President Donald Trumps Maga movement were multitudinous and unignorable. Karys Rhea, for example, a proud pro-Trump, Maga, America First Conservative warned from the stage of wokeism infiltrating her movement, as if it was a central problem for the worlds Jews. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, on the evidence of the audiences response, they obviously agreed that it was. Arriving at the end of the day to near-comprehensive applause, Benjamin Netanyahu put his seal of approval on the event. Thank you for coming to Jerusalem, Israels prime minister boomed, describing todays Israelis as modern Maccabees, humiliating their enemies one after the other. He praised the clarity of the attendees presumably in contrast to the confusion of those who stayed away. 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. This photo taken on March 28, 2025 shows a view of the square in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region. On March 28, 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform, freeing a million serfs. In 2009, the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of the one million serfs. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) People dance at a park to celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2025. Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region. On March 28, 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform, freeing a million serfs. In 2009, the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of the one million serfs. (Xinhua/Tenzing Nima Qadhup) People dance at a park to celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2025. Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region. On March 28, 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform, freeing a million serfs. In 2009, the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of the one million serfs. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida) A flag-raising ceremony is held to celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day at the square in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2025. Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region. On March 28, 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform, freeing a million serfs. In 2009, the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of the one million serfs. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan) People watch a performance at a park to celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2025. Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region. On March 28, 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform, freeing a million serfs. In 2009, the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of the one million serfs. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida) A woman dances at a park to celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2025. Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region. On March 28, 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform, freeing a million serfs. In 2009, the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of the one million serfs. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida) This photo taken on March 28, 2025 shows the square in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region. On March 28, 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform, freeing a million serfs. In 2009, the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of the one million serfs. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) People dance at a park to celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2025. Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region. On March 28, 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform, freeing a million serfs. In 2009, the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of the one million serfs. (Xinhua/Tenzing Nima Qadhup) People attend a flag-raising ceremony to celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day at the square in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 28, 2025. Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region. On March 28, 1959, people in Xizang launched the democratic reform, freeing a million serfs. In 2009, the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of the one million serfs. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) AUSTIN (KXAN) A health insurance company managing the care of sick and disabled children in Texas faces accusations of spying on state lawmakers and private citizens. On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into Superior HealthPlan, one day after a heated public hearing at the Capitol. Lawmakers on the House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, grilled the companys CEO over surveillance practices, they say, crossed a line. During Wednesdays hearing, committee chairman Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, revealed emails showing Superior hired private investigators to get information on lawmakers and customers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont think what any of us expected was for a health insurance company that is funded mostly by Texas taxpayer dollars, that they would use some of those monies to hire private investigators, that they would hire a private investigator to follow a mom whose child was being denied medical care, Capriglione said, referencing the emails. Appalled and disgusted KXAN investigators have been working to verify and gain context about copies of emails they obtained, which showed similar exchanges between Superior CEO Mark Sanders and a personnel group known for background investigations. The emails, sent in 2017 and 2019, revealed Sanders asking for in depth reports about certain lawmakers and various health care providers. Mr. Sanders, have you ever tasked a private investigator firm to dig into the background and financial or personal records of any state government official or their wife? Capriglione asked during the hearing. I have, Sanders replied. Weve done what I would call general research, anything thats publicly available, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why would you go and and run a background check, hire a private investigator to follow, to to dig into the records of people who are your customers? Capriglione asked. First of all, I will say we no longer use that practice, and havent for several years, Sanders answered. At the time, we really just wanted to have information on those individuals, and really nothing beyond that of what was publicly available to us. In another exchange, a representative for the group confirms they would not be able to obtain another specific lawmakers divorce proceeding documents. KXAN has reached out to Superior HealthPlan multiple times for comment and context about these exchanges since last year but has yet to receive a response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KXAN also reached out to lawmakers mentioned in the exchanges for context or response. Rep. Caprigliones office noted he was disappointed and dismayed about an apparent attempt to influence legislation. Many others refused to comment on the record until Wednesdays committee hearing, when Capriglione provided copies of the emails to other lawmakers on the dais. There was a time when I asked a lot of questions, Capriglione said, and I didnt know that you could be penalized for asking questions for trying to find out for the taxpayers and the constituents how their money was being spent. Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, told Sanders he was appalled and disgusted when he saw the emails. I had to lean over and ask him, Im like, Is this real? Im not joking. Ive been doing this 10 years, Representative Tinderholt said. Its emails with your name on it, and you investigated people that are on this dais for doing their job for Texans. What do you have to say for that? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanders replied, I think going back in time, I think it was just understanding what interests and information we could have knowledgeable of be knowledgeable of when were meeting with different individuals. Throughout the hearing, Sanders insisted the company only sought publicly accessible information on people they were dealing with in their work. Tinderholt fired back: I disagree. You wanted leverage and you thought that you were going to use it. He and other lawmakers expressed concern the company sought leverage to win future state contracts or to discredit their own customers seeking payment on legitimate insurance claims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im embarrassed that you would be sitting in front of us and that you would try to pretend like you were gathering information just to have it. You dont gather that kind of information to not use it, Tinderholt added. Constant daily battle Superior HealthPlan is one of several private companies that operate Texas various Medicaid programs, under a system known as managed care. The state funnels public dollars to the private sector to manage care for many low-income, elderly, or disabled Texans and foster children. One of those programs, known as STAR Kids, provides Medicaid benefits to young people with disabilities. The state turned it over to the managed care system in 2016. Since then, some families in the program say theyve noticed changes in the availability and quality of care, according to the founder of advocacy group Protect Texas Fragile Kids. Hannah Mehta, a mom-turned-advocate, has spent hours at the Capitol since then, on behalf of these families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a constant daily battle for families to try to maintain the care that their child needs, she said. A 2018 investigative series by the Dallas Morning News profiled Mehtas work. It also detailed the profits made by some companies operating the managed care system in the state, while denying or delaying vital medications and treatment to thousands of sick and disabled Texans. Dozens of bills were introduced in the legislative session that followed, aimed at addressing problems exposed in the series. In an interview last year, Mehta told KXAN she believes more oversight is necessary. I think that many policymakers would be extremely alarmed to see the extent of influence and the dirty tactics that go on behind the scenes that families experience on a daily basis. Get to the bottom of this KXAN also obtained and reviewed a copy of a fraud, waste and abuse report prepared for Superior HealthPlan in 2018. It detailed personal information of some healthcare workers and private citizens featured in the Dallas Morning News investigation including social security numbers, personal histories and even an aerial photos of the property of a mother featured in the series, whose foster child had been denied care and suffered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the DOGE hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Capriglione went on to accuse Sanders and the company of going after the journalists who worked on the series. Central Texas Rep. Ellen Troxclair joined in, accusing the company of misusing taxpayer dollars while potentially failing to provide the best care for Texas kids. Now were up here talking to a company who has received millions, billions of dollars in taxpayer funds through Medicaid contracts who have used that money to then hire private investigators to follow around patients and legislators that are asking questions about what the heck is going on, Troxclair said. She went on to say, We are all just trying to do our best to, you know, take care of our kids and pay the insurance and run the errands and do all the things that we have to do, and were paying into insurance, and we expect to see receive good medical care. And its a constant run around. Its a constant hamster wheel. Texans continue to be sick. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanders again stated that the emails reference investigations from several years ago. We have not used that practice since then, Sanders said in response to Troxclair. Why would we believe that? Troxclair asked. I dont know. Im just saying that, Sanders responded. In that interview last year, Mehta told KXAN she wanted to see an investigation into exactly how public dollars were being used by the companies managing the program and whether or not theyre going to the children who theyre intended for. In his announcement Thursday, Attorney General Paxton said the investigation into potentially unlawful actions would begin immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I will get to the bottom of this, uncover any illegal activity, and hold bad actors responsible. Justice will be served, the release read. KXANs John Thomas and Nabil Remadna 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 KXAN Austin. NEW IBERIA, La. (KLFY) There is officially a new era at the 16th Judicial District Attorneys Office as Morris Michael Haik III looks to fill in the shoes of the late Bo Duhe as DA. According to Haik, that will not be an easy task as he will take on these new responsibilities of his previous predecessor. You are never going to fill the shoes of Bo Duhe, who was in the office for 30 years, who, you know, was the acting D.A. Since 2001, 15 who was loved by many from on a view to a million, who, you know, championed the Acadiana crime lab being built thats going to be named after him, who is being inducted into the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame. Haik said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Haik initially held the position as first assistant district attorney but was sworn in as interim DA on March 17 following Duhes passing. Haik is stepping in to continue the work Duhe was doing as in his words, C.E.O. of the 16th. Having been previously heavily involved in every case, it is now his duty to make sure operations run smoothly. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest Im not handling those cases on a hands-on basis, but, you know, its my job to make sure that I have the right people doing those things correctly, said Haik. Having practiced law in Acadiana for 21 years, he said he is up for the challenge to uphold the law and continue the work for everyone in the district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is incumbent of me to do right by Bo and do right by our communities to take on this task and to move the office forward and to ensure that we are prosecuting cases in the way that needs to be prosecuted. A special election will take place on October 11. which will determine who will be the official District Attorney. There will be a regularly scheduled election in the fall of 2026. Haik plans on running in both elections. 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 KLFY.com. Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin has been having a rough go at things since President Donald Trump picked the former lawyer for Jan. 6 defendants who on the day of the attack tweeted that he was at the Capitol and relayed the love, faith and joy at the scene to serve as the top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. I wrote last month about Martins rage over media leaks apparently coming from staffers in his office. And this week, he received fierce backlash during an appearance in one of the Blackest communities in D.C. The Washingtonian magazine published a dispatch from Martins trip to Anacostia, a neighborhood that is nearly 90% Black, for a discussion with local leaders about crime. On its face, this appearance seemed ripe for controversy, given that Martin is a staunch supporter of the insurrectionists who waged a Ku Klux Klan-style attack on the Capitol, with gallows and all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And apparently, Martins disconnect from attendees was glaringly obvious. According to the Washingtonian, he made an attempt to drive a wedge between Anacostia residents and Africans who have benefited from foreign aid. And it didnt go over well. Per the Washingtonian: Clearly a back-slapping, friendly person by nature, he began his appearance with a somewhat conciliatory tone, telling the crowd youre the experts on whats happening in the community, and name-dropping the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site as commemorating one of the great historic folks. But he struggled to keep it relatable. By a few minutes in, he brought up the embattled USAID in what he clearly thought was a slam dunk: When USAID sent hundreds of millions of dollars to central Africa, didnt you ask, why didnt you send it to 7D? (the Seventh District), he asked. There was an immediate and resounding no from the crowd. You didnt?, Martin scoffed. Well you should. I did. This was a pretty disgusting attempt by Martin to sow division by invoking U.S. Agency for International Development cuts, which are inhibiting everything from HIV treatment to maternal health care in Africa. Martin appeared to be taking tips from his boss here: President Donald Trump peddled this same kind of foreigners are taking your money schlock, particularly to Black audiences, during last years campaign. And the Washingtonian noted that Martin was called out on this by Cora Masters Barry, the widow of former Washington Mayor Marion Barry: A few minutes later, Cora Masters Barry, Marion Barrys widow, took issue, giving Martin the most severe dressing down of the day. You need to learn your politics, she said. You need to learn geography, and world affairs. Theres a whole different pot of money that goes to Africa that stops diseases. You dont know what you talking about, so be careful about what you say when you go places, because you show that youre not well read. Ouch. She basically called Martin an ignoramus to his face. And Barry didnt stop there: Barry also pointed out that Martin, in his focus on crime, ignored the fact that DC had already made progress. You havent once mentioned Metropolitan [Police Department], she said. You havent talked about the chief of police, whos doing a great job of bringing crime down. So you cant sit there and talk about what you gonna do as if somethings not being done already. What you do is you walk in and you say: whats being done and how can I help? She reportedly received applause when she advised Martin to be careful how you talk to us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This seems to have been a pretty disastrous showing by Martin, whose MAGA messaging clearly goes over well with hardcore Trump supporters and far less so with residents of Anacostia. At least those residents appear to see him more as an occupying force in D.C., which Trump has said he wants to take over, than a helpful partner to its communities. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com The University of Louisiana Monroe library, photographed from Northeast Drive. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator) The University of Louisiana System has named an interim president at its Monroe campus to step in and deal with the universitys budget shortfall while a search for a permanent president plays out. The UL System Board of Supervisors Executive Committee met Friday to make the unusual move of installing former UL-Monroe leader Nick Bruno to fill the role and putting current President Ronald Berry on administrative leave during the search for his permanent replacement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UL System Board Chairman Mark Romero said an interim president was chosen to deal with the universitys budget shortfall. ULM has to find a way to fill a $5 million to $6 million hole by the end of the fiscal year in June, according to UL System President Rick Gallot. The gap could be addressed through a combination of cuts and transfers from the universitys foundation and other supporting organizations, Gallot said, but Bruno will ultimately determine the specifics. Berry was placed on administrative leave effective immediately, with Bruno taking over Monday. Bill Graves, ULM vice president for business affairs, was deputized to make any decisions for the university over the weekend. Berrys administrative leave is not punitive, Romero and Gallot said, and he will continue to be paid during the transition period. Berry receives an annual salary of $305,704, and he will return to the classroom as a professor at the university in the fall. Berry has served as university president since 2020, when Bruno retired after 10 years in charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Romero said Bruno, 73, is not likely to seek the permanent position, which the board hopes to fill in May. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A temporary government should be introduced in Ukraine to hold new elections, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address on March 27. Russian officials have repeatedly discredited the legitimacy of President Volodymyr Zelensky and have questioned Ukraine's sovereignty. Meanwhile, Russia is considered a consolidated authoritarian regime with manipulated elections by Freedom House. "It is still not clear with whom to sign certain documents, and it is still not clear what power they have, because tomorrow other leaders will come... through elections," Putin claimed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A temporary government under the supervision of the United Nations (U.N.), and several nations should be introduced in Ukraine to hold elections, Putin said. "This is only one of the options. I am not saying that there are no others... This is one of the options, and such practice exists in the work of the U.N.," Putin said. Elections could be held in Ukraine under outside supervision "to bring to power a capable government that enjoys the people's trust," Putin claimed. Putin claimed Ukraine's current authorities are illegal since elections were not held when Zelensky's term expired. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If he himself (Zelensky) is illegitimate, then all the others are too," Putin claimed. Ukraine's constitution prohibits elections under martial law, which has been in place since the onset of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow has shown signs it is unwilling to move forward on a peace deal with Ukraine. Russian authorities have listed maximalist demands in ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine and the U.S. Russia targeted energy infrastructure in Kherson on March 27, despite President Zelensky saying a temporary ceasefire on energy infrastructure has been in place since March 25, and Russia claiming its side of the deal has been in place since March 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. has been in talks with Ukraine and Russia to negotiate an end to Russia's war against Ukraine. Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is ready if Russia also agrees to the terms. So far, Moscow has refused. Read also: Trump looks at Putin as a friend Expert negotiator dissects Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. CLEVELAND (WJW) Alcohol is believed to be a factor in an early Thursday crash, in which a car crashed through a guardrail near the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and fell 200 feet down an embankment. The driver, a 34-year-old Cleveland man, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected, suffering life-threatening injuries, according to a Friday statement from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. It happened near the intersection of Fulton Road and Park Drive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement VIDEO: Flames engulf bus carrying local high school team Cleveland firefighters and EMS workers found the driver on the hillside, having come from the bottom of the cliff at Brookside Reservation. It took about 20 minutes to move the driver to the ambulance, according to a FOX 8 photographer at the scene. He was then transported to a hospital in critical condition. Credit: FOX 8 photo Credit: FOX 8 photo Credit: FOX 8 photo Credit: FOX 8 photo Credit: FOX 8 photo Credit: FOX 8 photo Credit: FOX 8 photo Plane hits the ground at air show; pilot injured The state patrol was called to the scene just before 4 a.m. to assist and is now handling the investigation. They said the vehicle, a black Mazda 3, was headed north on Fulton Road, drove off the left side of the road and hit a guardrail and tree before tumbling down the cliffside. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Online court records do not list any charges against the driver. 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 Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. RIVERSIDE, Ohio (WDTN) Crews were called out to investigate a reported stabbing Thursday night. According to Huber Heights Dispatch, a stabbing was reported around 9 p.m. at a home in the 2500 block of Valley Pike. Riverside Police and Fire crews responded to the scene. An official with Riverside Police told 2 NEWS that not much information is available currently while investigation is ongoing. One person was reportedly injured. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 NEWS is working 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 WDTN.com. ** 2024 Zaden McKnight coverage in video player above ** DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) For 11 years, the whereabouts of Zaden McKnight have remained unknown. Zaden McKnight and his mother Nichelle McKnight were last seen alive in March 2014. A few weeks after the disappearances, Nichelles body was recovered from the Stillwater River. Zaden has never been located. 2024 Coverage: What happened to Zaden McKnight? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dayton Police Major Brian Johns confirmed to WDTN.com that the investigation into Zadens disappearance is ongoing. The Dayton Police Department is continuing its investigation into the disappearance of Zaden McKnight, said Johns. While we are unable to get into the specifics of the investigation this case is extremely important to the detectives, department, and community. Zaden McKnight | Ohio Attorney Generals Office Several years ago, the Ohio Attorney Generals Office released an age-progressed photo of what Zaden could look similar to at 8-years-old. On May 26, Zaden would be 16-years-old. Although WDTN reached out to members of the McKnight family, we have not yet heard back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you know what happened to Zaden, call Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-7867. You can remain anonymous. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DES MOINES, Iowa On Wednesday, the Iowa House advanced legislation that would limit the food items that could be purchased for those using SNAP benefits. The bill passed by a vote of 56 to 40, with eight House Republicans voting against it. The bill requires that SNAP recipients purchase healthy food options and the bill lists what kinds of food will be allowed. To be able to restrict the types of food that can be purchased, there must be a waiver from the state department of health and human services accepted by the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iowa AG Bird sues Winneshiek County Sheriff over alleged violation of sanctuary county law When we are looking at the amount of benefits coming through SNAP, the bill does not reduce the amount of benefits, said Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley (R) District 57 from New Hartford. What it is trying to do is, here in Iowa we have a program that best fits Iowans. House Democrats urged this restriction to not be advanced because dollars would be spent outside of the state; although the Double Up Food Bucks program is something that the party can get behind. In the original bill we give $1 million to Double Up Food Bucks, which is good. On the other hand we will lose $1.5 million, said State Representative Rob Johnson (D) District 34 from Des Moines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill heads over to the Iowa Senate where a similar policy exists, but it does not have the SNAP waiver portion, just the Double Up Food Bucks appropriation. Iowa 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 who13.com. PARIS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A summit convened in Paris on Thursday brought together European leaders to bolster support for Ukraine. However, despite presenting themselves as a "coalition of the willing," not all states appeared to be on the same page, with some wary of moving too far without U.S. backing. FRANCO-BRITISH-LED COALITION French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a range of initiatives to support Ukraine at Thursday's summit, amid growing uncertainty over continued U.S. assistance. At a press conference following the summit of the "coalition of the willing," Macron announced a joint Franco-British plan to send a team to Ukraine to help shape the future structure of the Ukrainian army. Macron said that he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would "jointly lead" the coordination efforts of Ukraine's international coalition of allies. He also raised the idea of deploying "reassurance forces" from a few willing European Union member states to strategic locations in Ukraine should a peace agreement be reached with Russia. The potential deployment would serve as a deterrent and form part of long-term security guarantees for Ukraine. However, "there is no consensus on this point," Macron acknowledged. The summit followed Macron's announcement on Wednesday that France would provide an additional 2 billion euros (about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars) in aid to Ukraine. The package includes a range of weapons, such as anti-tank missiles, air defense systems and surface-to-air missiles. Sebastien Lignier, head of the political department at the weekly magazine Valeurs Actuelles, expressed reservations about continued aid to Ukraine: "We are approaching 30 billion euros in total support for Ukraine, and there remains a cloud of uncertainty -- where is this money going? What alarms me is that we don't know what this is all leading to." MANY INITIATIVES, FEW AGREEMENTS The Paris summit produced a wave of proposals but few firm commitments. While European leaders voiced strong support for Ukraine, consensus on key initiatives proved elusive. Aside from France's pledge of around 2 billion euros in new aid -- including warplanes and missiles -- no concrete funding commitments were announced on the financial front. On deploying "reassurance forces," many leaders voiced uncertainty. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz remained cautious about the proposal put forward by Macron and Starmer to send European troops to Ukraine following a future ceasefire. He said Germany was "concentrating on what is immediately at hand" by continuing military support for the Ukrainian army. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has consistently expressed reservations about additional troops, also reiterated Rome's refusal to send forces to enforce any peace deal. Starmer said the Paris meeting had made progress "in terms of numbers and intent" but admitted he could not yet say how many countries were willing to contribute troops or whether any progress had been made in securing U.S. backing for the initiative. Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that "there are many questions" and "so far, there are few answers" regarding the proposed force, particularly about who would lead it and its mandate. FURTHER DRIFT APART? Thursday's meeting followed reports from the White House that Russia and Ukraine had agreed on the contours of a possible Black Sea ceasefire during parallel talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia. European leaders, however, were united in their stance that sanctions against Russia should not be eased but intensified, marking a clear divergence from U.S. President Donald Trump's more conciliatory approach. Tensions have been building for months. In February, U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized Europe's approach to democracy and immigration during a speech in Munich. In a private Signal group chat, Vance reportedly showed disdain for Europe once again. Some European leaders still hope for a shift in the U.S. position on military involvement. Meloni said she hoped the United States would participate in the next European meeting on Ukraine. Macron also framed Thursday's summit as complementary to Washington's parallel efforts with Kiev and Moscow and underscored the importance of continued American support for any potential European deployment. However, Europe has growing concerns that the White House could ultimately sideline it in shaping any future settlement, according to POLITICO Europe. Mary Dejevsky, a commentator for the British online newspaper The Independent, remarked, "The 'Coalition of the Willing' summit in Paris proved that the US and Europe are an ocean apart." "What is becoming ever clearer," Dejevsky concluded, "is a deep rift between the two sides of the Atlantic -- one that may turn out to be unbridgeable." Magistrate David J. Hanson addresses the Iowa Supreme Court on March 27, 2025. (Video capture courtesy of the Iowa Supreme Court) An Iowa magistrate who questioned in court whether a defendant was a wetback is now facing potential sanctions from the Iowa Supreme Court. In a harsh, almost brutal, verbal exchange with the Iowa justices on Thursday, Magistrate David J. Hanson said he had not realized the term wetback was offensive a claim the chief justice immediately rejected before pivoting to a critique of the U.S. Senate hearings, years ago, on the nominations of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Iowa Judicial Qualifications Commission, which hears complaints about judges conduct, has recommended that the Iowa Supreme Court suspend Hanson, a part-time magistrate who is based in Fayette County and practiced law for more than 36 years. The recommendation is tied to comments made by Hanson in two separate criminal matters. Hanson was appointed to the position of magistrate in January 2022. On Aug. 5, 2022, he refused to sign an arrest warrant for a 17-year-old girl in a sexual abuse case in which the alleged victim was a male. According to court records, Hanson reviewed the matter and, with regard to the alleged victim, stated in writing, The boy will automatically think, Alright! Im gonna GET some! In denying the warrant application, the commission alleges, Hanson turned to the internet to conduct his own form of research and found information that supported his view of the victims innate physical advantage to conclude that if the victim had wanted to, he could have overpowered the defendant. The commission argues Hansons decision was based on stereotypical views and observations as to how a male victim of sexual assault should react when allegedly assaulted by a female offender, and that the order is unfitting of a judicial officer because it expressed bias (and) included unnecessary and inappropriate commentary about parties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hanson later described his refusal as a ruling in anger over what I thought was a specious request for an arrest warrant, and I own up to that. If I make a decision and somebody dont like it, well, Im sorry. In July 2023, Hanson was presiding over a case in which an individual was charged with driving without a license or insurance. A law-student intern who was prosecuting the case later complained that during the proceedings Hanson asked, Is this guy a wetback? An illegal? According to the commission, Hanson also asked whether the prosecutor was sure the defendant, who wasnt present at the time, hadnt stolen someones identification. The intern later complained that Hansons conduct made her extremely uncomfortable and raised concerns that Hanson, due to his use of a racist slur, was biased. Hanson later said he didnt recall the incident and told the commission it could make whatever decision it wants to make, and I will roll with the punch and take whatever you give me So just do what you think is right. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The commission recommended the Iowa Supreme Court impose a 90-day suspension without pay and require Hanson to submit to educational training on anger management and bias. Chief justice cites damage to victims At Thursdays hearing before the Iowa Supreme Court, Hanson told the justices that with regard to the allegations made by the victim in the sexual abuse case, I honestly thought, This is a lie. It reads like bad pornography. I hate pornography. Pornography is lies I still, to this day, am convinced that the arrest warrant request, the complaint, was resting on lies. Chief Justice Susan Christensen appeared to bristle at Hansons comment and questioned his equation of pornography with lies. Susan Christensen is the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. (Photo courtesy Iowa Judicial Branch) Sir, are you aware that things that happen to people are pornographic in nature? And sometimes, in order for there to be an arrest warrant, someone might have to give details that are really ugly to give (and) heartbreaking to hear? Just because youre giving the adjective porn what if those things actually happened to that person? Because it qualifies as porn in your mind and you hate porn, you think its a lie? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I seriously questioned it, Hanson replied. The other problem I had was the utter lack of interest, as far as I could tell, in the policeman attempting to corroborate what the young man said. Hanson then likened the decision he faced in that case with what he called the travesty of the testimony that was given during the U.S. Supreme Court nomination hearings for Justice Kavanaugh in 2018, and for Justice Thomas in 1991. Those were lies, Hanson said, pounding the podium as he addressed the Iowa justices. Televised lies! And I was appalled by that, and I thought, I will not be an instrument of anyone seeking to destroy someone without any backing up of what (the alleged victim) said here. Were talking about a couple of teenagers who I didnt encounter and who apparently did some illegal things while they were in the process of it because thats what the fact pattern indicated and I thought, I just dont see how this is, this is, happening. Christensen appeared to express frustration with Hanson, suggesting he didnt appear to recognize the issue wasnt whether he had the right to deny the request for an arrest warrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you understand the issue were dealing with is the light that you just put the entire Iowa Judicial Branch in? Christensen asked. And for you to say, I didnt say anything that was offensive I am just going to pick one thing out (of the written warrant denial): that any self-respecting young male in this situation would leave the situation and that he probably thought, Alright, Im gonna get it. Now, I am speaking as a former juvenile judge. The amount of damage you did to any juvenile, and especially a male juvenile, to ever be brave enough to step forward say something happened you may not have believed him. But the way you wrote it and denied it knocked him flat, no doubt. And anybody else who reads this now-public document, how can that not be offensive? Well, Hanson said, all I can say is that when this was first run past the Judicial Qualifications Commission, they didnt see fit to discipline me. I didnt know what was right or wrong. Chief justice: You really think we have to spoon-feed you? As to the second matter involving the case in which Hanson used the term wetback, Christensen asked Hanson, Do you think the term wetback is offensive? Ive learned since using it that it is, Hanson said. I grew up in west side, working class Waterloo, and it was fairly common. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christensen cut Hanson off, shaking her head and telling him, You definitely, that one, I am gonna call foul on that, that you didnt know it was offensive. Christensen also indicated that at some point during the disciplinary process Hanson appeared to have suggested that someone simply give him a list of words considered offensive so that he could avoid saying them in the future. Yeah, I think I said that, Hanson told Christensen. You really think we have to spoon-feed you how to say appropriate things in your capacity as a judicial officer? Christensen asked. Hanson argued that if he was going to be held to a certain standard, I need to know what the standard is, adding that he is perfectly prepared to meet that standard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christensen then asked Hanson whether hed ever read the Code of Judicial Conduct prior to beginning his work as a magistrate, indicating the code articulates the standards he must uphold. Christopher McDonald is a justice on the Iowa Supreme Court. (Photo courtesy Iowa Judicial Branch) Justice Christopher McDonald asked Hanson why, the sex-abuse case, he couldnt have denied the request for a warrant by simply citing a lack of evidence as opposed to going out of your way, in my view, to be offensive. Hanson said he didnt intend to be offensive and was simply trying to explain the rationale for his decision. Hanson told the justices he is agreeable to taking whatever educational courses the court might prescribe for him but asked that he not be removed from the bench due to the heavy caseloads in Fayette County. Christensen questioned that approach, noting that the magistrates who preside over the minor cases heard in associate court represent the only element of the Judicial Branch with which most Iowans will ever have contact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youre suggesting that you continue to work before any of this sensitivity training? she asked Hanson. If we put you back out there to continue to preside over cases, knowing what you have put in writing, and knowing what you have done with this black robe that comes with such a responsibility and (knowing) what you have already shown us youre capable of how can we do that? I suppose you could remove me entirely, Hanson said. Christensen said she was waiting to hear some indication from Hanson that he regretted his actions. In response, Hanson said was sorry from the depths of my soul that he had offended others. Justice David May noted that judges and magistrates are required to ensure that all attorneys and court personnel, in addition to themselves, dont use racial slurs in court. I dont know how to trust you with that responsibility, May said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You are a judge in a robe sittin on a bench, Christensen told Hanson. I cannot fathom the amount of courage it took for that young law student to rat you out (on behalf of) that 15-year-old student or, rather, that alleged victim who was looking for an arrest warrant. The court has yet to rule on the commissions recommendation of a 90-day suspension. (Bloomberg) -- Irans foreign minister said his country responded to a letter from US President Donald Trump on the prospect of new talks over Tehrans nuclear program, without giving detail on the contents. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abbas Araghchi told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency that the reply was sent Wednesday via Oman, a longtime mediator between Iran and the US, two weeks after a top diplomat from the United Arab Emirates handed Trumps letter to officials in Tehran. Araghchi reiterated that Tehran will reject direct negotiations with the US as long as the Trump administration maintains its military threats and maximum pressure campaign. However, he said talks remain a possibility under the right conditions. In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from an international accord that imposed restrictions on Irans nuclear-enrichment activities in return for sanctions relief. Since the start of his second term, hes revived the so-called maximum pressure strategy, ramped up sanctions and warned of military action against Iran if efforts for a new deal fail. The US is also leading a bombing campaign against the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group based in Yemen thats been attacking shipping in the Red Sea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Separately, Araghchi spoke with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday and urged Britain, France, and Germany who had endorsed the original deal to reconsider their approach toward Iran. Tehran has held multiple rounds of talks with the three countries on a range of issues in recent months, including its nuclear program, with discussions beginning before the start of Trumps second term. Tensions escalated this month after the three countries, known as the E3, urged Iran to roll back its nuclear program, calling it a threat to global security. In response, Tehran summoned their envoys and condemned the accusation as provocative. (Updates with Houthi campaign in fifth paragraph.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. (Reuters) - Tehran would strike U.S. bases in the region if Washington follows through on its warning of military consequences for Iran in the absence of a new nuclear deal, the speaker of the Iranian parliament said on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this month that he had sent a letter to Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning that "there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal." "If the Americans attack the sanctity of Iran, the entire region will blow up like a spark in an ammunition dump, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Their bases and those of their allies will not be safe, Qalibaf said in a live speech at the annual Al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, that marks the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. Khamenei has called Trump's message deceptive, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday talks were impossible unless Washington changed its "maximum pressure" policy. Iran had thoroughly examined Trump's letter and had sent "an appropriate response" through Oman, Araqchi said. On Friday, Araqchi was reported by state media as saying that while Trumps letter contained threats, it also left the door open to diplomacy. He did not elaborate. In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iran subsequently breached the deal by surpassing limits in its uranium enrichment, especially after Trump reimposed sweeping U.S. sanctions. Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability. Tehran says its programme is wholly for civilian energy purposes. (dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com, Editing by William Maclean) Annual anti-Israel demonstrations in Iran took place on Friday despite the country's dire economic crisis. Tens of thousands of people gathered at Asadi Square, chanting slogans against Iran's two arch enemies, Israel and the United States, on what Iran refers to as al-Quds day. Protesters swore to fight "without compromise until Palestine is freed from the Zionist occupation." According to local media reports, hundreds of thousands of people took part in demonstrations across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem. The state-organized rallies, introduced in 1979 by the Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini, take place each year on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The date marks the occupation of East Jerusalem by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. During the rallies, Iran's spiritual and political leaders call for the "conquest of al-Quds." This year's demonstrations are taking place against the backdrop of severe crises in the country. Iran's self-proclaimed "axis of resistance" - consisting of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and the Houthi rebels in Yemen - has been significantly weakened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result of international sanctions, Iran is also facing the worst economic crisis in its history, with the rial hitting new record lows almost daily. For many Iranians, existential concerns are currently more pressing than the liberation of al-Quds. Most recently, the Iranian government has shown openness to indirect negotiations with the United States in the nuclear dispute, which could lead to the lifting of sanctions. (Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to take thorough measures to protect local jobs from the Trump administrations 25% tariff on US car imports, which he said will have a very big impact on the nations economy. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ishiba emphasized the need to consider measures to help Japanese companies with financing while the government tries to grasp the entire scope of the impact on the nations key industry. I recognize that the impact that this will have on the economy will be very big, Ishiba said in parliament on Friday. We also need to consider cash-flow measures for companies. We will take all possible measures so that this wont affect domestic industries or employment. The prime minister spoke for two days in a row about the car tariffs. US President Donald Trump announced the fresh tariff will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Washington time on April 3, initially targeting fully assembled vehicles. By May 3, the scope will expand to include major automobile parts, according to the proclamation. Nations including Japan are also bracing for an even broader announcement of so-called reciprocal tariffs around the same time. Last year car and car parts accounted for a little over one-third of Japans exports to the US, its biggest export destination. Auto-related companies including material providers employ 5.58 million people in the country, or 8.3% of the total workforce, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Japanese government is considering easing non-tariff barriers in order to seek an exemption from the US tariffs, the Asahi newspaper reported citing unnamed government sources. Ministries are mulling relaxing industrial standards for automobiles and home appliances, as well as quarantine for agricultural products, it said. Japan upholds persistent non-tariff barriers against US businesses in a range of industries including cars, the digital economy and cosmetics, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, which submitted its thoughts on the matter in March to the United States Trade Representative. Japans car safety standards impose unnecessary costs and restricts access for American automakers, according to the ACCJ. Tokyos recent regulations on smartphone software also unfairly targets US firms over domestic and Chinese competitors, while Japanese rules on biopharmaceutical pricing undervalue US innovation, the business lobby said. Since his inauguration, Trump hasnt singled out any of these specific non-tariff barriers, as his focus appeared to be on bringing investments into the US rather than gaining greater access to other markets including Japans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement US carmakers have long complained about Japans stringent safety standards, as they struggle to make inroads into the Japanese market despite Tokyo imposing no tariffs on imported American cars. Analysts say that their limited advances in Japan has a lot more to do with their inability to adjust to the local market. For instance, American vehicles remain left-hand drive, the opposite to the local standard. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. Human Rights Office accused Israel on Friday of violating international law by forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza under "mandatory evacuation orders". The Israeli army has issued what the U.N. described as 10 mandatory evacuation orders, covering large areas across Gaza, since it resumed its war against Hamas on March 18, ending a two-month-old ceasefire amid rows over terms for extending it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "These evacuations fail to comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law," U.N. human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement on Friday. Israel's permanent mission to Geneva told Reuters that it was operating in accordance with international humanitarian law. "Israel is evacuating civilians to protect them from Hamas terrorists, who relentlessly use them as human shields in a blatant violation of international law," the mission said in a statement. It also accused Hamas of dragging on the war by refusing to release the remaining hostages held in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister have been indicted alongside Hamas leaders by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on war crimes charges, which Israel rejects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Israel is not taking any measures to provide accommodation for the evacuated population, nor ensure that these evacuations are conducted in satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition," Al-Kheetan's statement added. More than half of northern Gaza appeared to be under such orders, it said, while those who had been newly displaced from the south of the enclave in the Rafah area and forced to go to coastal Al Mawasi were not guaranteed safety there. "We are deeply concerned about the shrinking space for civilians in Gaza who are being forcibly displaced by the Israeli army from large swathes of territory," it added. Since Israeli airstrikes resumed on March 18, at least 855 Palestinians have been killed and 1,869 wounded, according to the U.N., which cited figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. (Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Alex Richardson) BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 28 (UPI) -- Israel carried out an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs Friday in a first such attack since the Nov. 27 cease-fire agreement that ended the war with Israel. The strike targeted a building in a densely populated residential and commercial area in which two schools are nearby. Residents and schoolchildren rushed to evacuate the area in panic, with cars clogging the streets, after Israeli Army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued a warning and a map showing the targeted building in red. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The building was flattened by a direct hit, while massive plumes of smoke billowed from the site. No casualties were reported. The Israeli Army said in a statement that it targeted a drone storage facility used by Hezbollah's aerial unit and warned that it will continue "to operate to remove any threat" to Israel. This was the first such attack on Beirut since a U.S.-France brokered cease-fire accord was reached, ending 14 months of destructive war between Israel and Hezbollah. The cease-fire went into effect Feb. 18 after Israel requested an extension. Although it pulled out its forces from south Lebanon on that day, Israel retained five strategic positions and continued to bomb Hezbollah suspected positions in the country's southern and eastern regions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friday's air and artillery strikes that also targeted several areas in southern Lebanon came in response to two rockets that were launched toward Kiryat Shmona and the surrounding area in northern Israel, one of which was intercepted, according to the Israeli Army. The Lebanese Health Ministry said three people, including a woman, were killed and 18 others wounded in an Israeli strike on the village of Kfar Tibneet in southern Lebanon. The injured included six children and eight women. A Hezbollah source denied any connection with the morning rockets launched into northern Israel and reiterated its commitment to the cease-fire agreement. The source quoted by the group's Al Manar website said these incidents were part of "a suspicious" scheme to justify the continuation of the "Israeli aggression" against Lebanon. The Lebanese army announced that the rocket launchers used in the morning attack against northern Israel were found near the village of Qaaqaait al-Jisr, north of the Litani River. The army said it started an investigation to determine who was behind the rocket fire and denounced the Israeli air strikes and "escalating aggressions" as a "blunt violation" of the cease-fire accord. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced the Israeli attacks that target civilians and residential areas as "a dangerous escalation," calling for stopping Israel's continued violations of the cease-fire and securing its complete withdrawal from the five sites it still occupies in southern Lebanon as soon as possible. French President Emmanuel Macron, who was meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Paris, said the Israeli airstrikes were "unacceptable" and "a violation of the cease-fire." "The strikes are unilateral actions that betray a given promise and play into the hands of Hezbollah," Macron said, adding that he would speak by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump "in the coming hours" and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within two days regarding the new Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon. Aoun condemned "any despicable attempt" to drag Lebanon into a spiral of violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that if the Lebanese government fails to enforce the cease-fire agreement with Hezbollah along the border, Israel will take action to do so itself, according to Israel's Ynet English website. "I am sending a clear message to the Lebanese government: If you do not enforce the ceasefire agreement, we will enforce it," he said in a statement after Israeli aircraft hit targets in Beirut. Katz's warning came as Asaf Lengelben, head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, said the morning's rocket fire into Kiryat Shmona was the second in less than a week and "is proof that even as residents return to the north [of Israel], the security challenge is still here." "We will not agree to accept any kind of 'drip fire,'" Lengelben said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was referring to some 60,000 Israelis who were displaced from northern Israel during the war with Hezbollah that started in support of Gaza in October 2023. U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert warned in a statement that "a return to wider conflict" in Lebanon would be devastating for civilians on both sides and "must be avoided at all costs." More than 20,000 people have been killed or wounded in Lebanon since October 2023, though most of the casualties were reported following Israel ramping up its military operations starting Sept. 23. Nearly 1.2 million people were displaced, mainly from the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as from southern and eastern Lebanon, because of the intensive Israeli air and ground bombardments. A great number of them could not return to their villages in southern Lebanon, especially along the border, because they were destroyed. By Laila Bassam and James Mackenzie BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel on Friday carried out its first major airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs in months, retaliating for an earlier rocket launch from Lebanon in the most serious test of a shaky ceasefire deal agreed in November. The strike targeted a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh, that Israel said was a drone storage facility belonging to the Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim militant group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ceasefire has looked increasingly flimsy in recent weeks. Israel delayed a promised troop withdrawal in January and said last week it had intercepted rockets fired on March 22, which led it to bombard targets in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the rocket firing. Israel is also renewing its military campaign in Gaza after the collapse of a January ceasefire with Hamas - a resumption of major warfare that has set the wider region back on edge. The south Beirut airstrike was heard across the Lebanese capital and produced a large column of black smoke. It followed an evacuation order by Israel's military for the neighbourhood, and three smaller targeted drone strikes on the building intended as warning shots, security sources told Reuters. The evacuation directive sent residents of the area into a panic. They rushed to escape on foot as traffic clogged the streets out of the area, Reuters reporters in the area said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beirut's southern suburbs were pounded last year by Israeli airstrikes that killed many of Hezbollah's top leaders, including its powerful long-time chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a September air attack. In south Lebanon, smoke rose from Israeli artillery strikes against targets in the hills just across the border. The truce in November halted the fighting and mandated that southern Lebanon be free of Hezbollah fighters and weapons, that Lebanese troops deploy to the area and that Israeli ground troops withdraw from the zone. But each side accuses the other of not entirely living up to those terms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday Israel would continue to attack anywhere in Lebanon to counter threats and enforce the ceasefire accord. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Whoever has not yet internalised the new situation in Lebanon, has (today) received an additional reminder of our determination," he said. "We will not allow firing at our communities, not even a trickle." No group has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. The Lebanese army said it was able to locate the launch site of Friday's rocket attacks and had begun an investigation to identify those responsible. CRITICISM Israeli ministers have vowed to ensure that the tens of thousands of Israelis who evacuated their homes in border areas when Hezbollah began bombarding the area in 2023 would be able to return safely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But with more Israeli military units deployed around Gaza, where 19 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Friday, according to local health authorities, it remained unclear whether Israel was prepared for any wider intervention. Hezbollah denied any role in the rocket fire on March 22 and on Friday. President Joseph Aoun said a Lebanese investigation into last week's attack did not point to Hezbollah and called Friday's strike on Beirut unjustified. French President Emmanuel Macron, whose government helped mediate the ceasefire in November, criticised Israel for what he called "unacceptable strikes on Beirut" that he said did not respect the ceasefire and played into Hezbollah's hands. "The Israeli army must withdraw as quickly as possible from the five positions it continues to occupy in Lebanese territory," he said, adding he would speak with both Israeli and U.S. leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel's statement confirming its air raid on Dahiyeh said that the Friday morning rocket fire amounted to "a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and a direct threat to the citizens of the State of Israel." It added that the Lebanese state bears responsibility for upholding the agreement. Israel has vowed a strong response to any threats to its security, stirring fears that last year's conflict - which displaced more than 1.3 million people in Lebanon and destroyed much of the country's south - could resume. The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said the firing across the southern border on Friday was "deeply concerning." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Any exchange of fire is one too many. A return to wider conflict in Lebanon would be devastating for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line and must be avoided at all costs," she said in a written statement. (Reporting by Tala Ramadan, Jana Choukeir in Dubai; Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam in Beirut, and James Mackenzie in Jerusalem; Writing by Tala Ramadan, Jana Choukeir and Angus McDowall; editing by Christian Schmollinger, Lincoln Feast, Timothy Heritage, William Maclean and Mark Heinrich) Friday marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. Kelsang Zinphel, an 80-year-old Xizang resident, shares his story of witnessing the region's transformation. The Israeli military on Friday said it is striking targets of the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon following the firing of two projectiles into northern Israel, which the army said it intercepted. "Two rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israel. One of the rockets was intercepted, while the second fell inside Lebanese territory," Avichay Adraee, the Arabic spokesman of the Israeli army said on X. Hezbollah has denied any links with the rocket firing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier, warning sirens were heard in areas of northern Israel which are close to the Lebanese border, Lebanese security sources said. The sources said two loud explosions were heard across southern Lebanon. The same sources told dpa the Israeli army retaliated by shelling a series of villages in southern Lebanon. Israeli shells fell on Qaqayet al Jisr, Khiyam and Kfar Kela. Israeli drones were also heard flying over villages in several areas of southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut. Israel issues warning to Lebanese residents Adraee, in a new statement, issued a warning to residents of the al Hadath neighbourhood on the outskirts of Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, to evacuate certain buildings in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after the warning came from the Israeli army, people were seen rushing out of buildings near the area where the Israeli army said they will hit. Lines of cars were seen leaving al Hadath area, according to an eye witness. People were panicking as parents rushed to pick their children up from school, a dpa reporter observed. This is the first warning by the Israeli army to residents in Beirut's southern suburbs since the ceasefire was implemented in November. A ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia since November. The deal paused more than a year of intense cross-border shelling, which intensified when Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in October. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conflict broke out following the October 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli troops are due to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon. However, they have remained at five strategic points, which the Lebanese government considers a violation of the ceasefire agreement. BEIRUT (AP) Israel on Friday launched an attack on Lebanon's capital for the first time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November. Associated Press reporters in Beirut heard a loud boom and witnessed smoke rising from an area in the city's southern suburbs that Israel's military had vowed to strike. It marked Israel's first strike on Beirut since a ceasefire took hold last November between it and the Hezbollah militant group, though Israel has attacked targets in southern Lebanon almost daily since then. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israels army said it hit a Hezbollah drone storage facility in Dahiyeh, which it called a militant stronghold. The strike came after Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields, warned residents to evacuate the area. The area struck is a residential and commercial area and is close to at least two schools. Israel sends a message to the Lebanese government Israeli officials said the attack was retaliation for rockets it said were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. They promised strikes on Beirut would continue unless Lebanon's government worked to ensure such attacks ceased. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will not allow firing at our communities, not even a trickle, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. We will attack everywhere in Lebanon, against any threat to the State of Israel." Hezbollah denied firing the rockets, and accused Israel of seeking a pretext to continue attacking Lebanon. Lebanons government ordered all schools and universities in Beiruts southern suburb of Hadath to close for the day. Residents were seen fleeing the area in cars and on foot ahead of the strike. Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by its Hamas allies ignited the war in Gaza. Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 in Israel and abducted 251 others during the 2023 attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Israel-Hezbollah conflict exploded into all-out war last September when Israel carried out waves of airstrikes and killed most of the militant groups senior leaders. The fighting killed over 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about 60,000 Israelis. Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January. The deadline was extended to Feb. 18, but Israel has remained in five border locations while carrying out dozens of strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon. Last week, Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Lebanon killed six people. France criticizes failure to observe ceasefire Speaking in Paris, Lebanons President, Joseph Aoun, said the Beirut area strike was a continuation of Israels violations of the agreement sponsored by France and the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a joint news conference with Aoun, French President Emmanuel Macron called the attack unacceptable, and promised to address it with Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump. Macron said that the U.S. can exert pressure on Israel. A U.S. State Department spokeswoman called on Lebanon's government to act. Israel is defending its people and interests by responding to rocket attacks from terrorists in Lebanon," the spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce, said Friday. We expect the Lebanese Armed Forces to disarm these terrorists to prevent further hostilities. The U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said the escalation had created "a critical period for Lebanon and the wider region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli strikes in other parts of Lebanon on Friday killed three people and wounded 18, including children and women, in the southern village of Kfar Tibnit, said Lebanon's health ministry. The strikes comes less than two weeks after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas with surprise strikes that killed hundreds of people in Gaza. Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns 59 hostages it still holds 24 of them believed to be alive. Israel is demanding that the group give up power, disarm and send its leaders into exile. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel's offensive in the Strip has killed over 50,000 people and wounded 114,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. The ministry said Friday that nearly 900 have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire ended in mid-March, including more than 40 over the past 24 hours. ___ Associated Press writers Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Samuel Petrequin in Paris and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war An Israeli airstrike hit a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday for the first time since the ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militia came into effect. Two explosions were heard and black smoke could be seen, dpa reporters at the scene confirmed. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the attack on Telegram. "A short while ago, the IDF struck a terrorist infrastructure site used to store UAVs by Hezbollah's Aerial Unit (127) in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut," it said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fighter jets were seen earlier, both in the capital and its suburbs. The Hezbollah-run al-Manar television station reported that there had been several limited warning drone strikes before the attack. The Israeli military had previously issued a warning to residents of the affected neighbourhood on X, saying they were close to Hezbollah facilities. A ceasefire has been in place between Israel and Hezbollah since November. The Iran-backed militia had been firing rockets at Israel for more than a year since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023 in support of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive. JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli parliament on Thursday approved final readings of a bill giving politicians a greater say in selecting judges, one of a series of issues that have fuelled a wave of protests against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The bill, changing the make-up of a nine-member Judges Selection Committee, removes members chosen by the Israel Bar Association and replaces them with representatives chosen by the government and opposition. Opposition parties, which have attacked the bill as a blow to one of the foundations of Israeli democracy, boycotted the final vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Justice Minister Yariv Levin said the new law, which will go into effect under the next parliament, would ensure a "balanced and representative" make up of the selection committee and ensure worthy candidates were not excluded because their views differed from the dominant consensus. But the measure was denounced by opposition politicians and by protesters already angry with the government over issues ranging from the return of the war in Gaza to the recent sacking of the head of the domestic intelligence service. "It's a very critical day because the government passed down a law today that is a cornerstone of democracy, and they have turned it around to become a political issue," said Roni Mamluk, attending a protest in Tel Aviv. The bill passed on Thursday was one element in a package of measures that prompted huge protests in Israel in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government said the measures, which would also have curbed the powers of the Supreme Court, were needed to prevent judicial overreach from intruding into the sphere of parliament. Critics attacked them as an attempt to undermine the authority of the justice system. (Reporting by James Mackenzie) The Israeli military on Friday struck Hezbollah militia targets in Lebanon following the firing of two projectiles into northern Israel, which the army said it intercepted. "A short while ago, the IDF struck a terrorist infrastructure site," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on its Telegram channel. It said the places hit were "in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two explosions were heard and black smoke could be seen, dpa reporters at the scene confirmed. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. The Hezbollah-run al-Manar television station reported three warning drone strikes before the big attack took place. Local media reports showed at least two buildings leveled to the ground following the attack. The IDF had previously issued a warning to residents of the affected neighbourhood on X, saying they were close to Hezbollah facilities. Earlier the army said "two rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israel. One of the rockets was intercepted, while the second fell inside Lebanese territory," Avichay Adraee, the Arabic spokesman of the Israeli army said on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hezbollah has denied any links with the rocket firing. Warning sirens were heard in areas of northern Israel which are close to the Lebanese border, Lebanese security sources said. The sources said two loud explosions were heard across southern Lebanon. The same sources told dpa the Israeli army retaliated by shelling a series of villages in southern Lebanon. Israeli shells fell on Qaqaait al-Jisr, Khiam and Kfar Kela. Israeli drones were also heard flying over villages in several areas of southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut. Adraee, shortly before the strike, issued a warning to residents of the al Hadath neighbourhood on the outskirts of Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, to evacuate certain buildings in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after the warning came from the Israeli army, people were seen rushing out of buildings near the area where the Israeli army said they will hit. Lines of cars were seen leaving al Hadath area, according to an eyewitness. People were panicking as parents rushed to pick their children up from school, a dpa reporter observed. This is the first warning by the Israeli army to residents in Beirut's southern suburbs since the ceasefire was implemented in November. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salan called on the Lebanese army commander to move quickly to conduct the necessary investigations to uncover the parties behind the irresponsible rocket fire, which threatens Lebanon's security and stability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He stressed the need to prevent the recurrence of such acts, while emphasizing the need to complete the measures taken by the Lebanese Army to restrict the possession of weapons to the state. Salam also made a series of calls to Arab and international officials to exert maximum pressure on Israel to halt its repeated attacks. He reiterated Lebanon's full commitment to implementing UN Resolution 1701 and the cessation of hostilities arrangements, and said the Lebanese Army alone is responsible for protecting the border, and "that the Lebanese state is the sole authority to decide on war and peace." A ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia since November. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The deal paused more than a year of intense cross-border shelling, which intensified when Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in October. The conflict broke out following the October 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli troops are due to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon. However, they have remained at five strategic points, which the Lebanese government considers a violation of the ceasefire agreement. The Israeli military on Friday struck Hezbollah militia targets in Lebanon following the firing of two projectiles into northern Israel, which the army said it intercepted. "A short while ago, the IDF struck a terrorist infrastructure site," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on its Telegram channel. It said the places hit were "in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two explosions were heard and black smoke could be seen, dpa reporters at the scene confirmed. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. Israel sends warning drones prior to strike The Hezbollah-run al-Manar television station reported three warning drone strikes before the big attack took place. Local media reports showed at least two buildings levelled to the ground following the attack. Avichay Adraee, the IDF's Arabic spokesman, issued a warning, shortly before the strike, to residents of the al Hadath neighbourhood on the outskirts of Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, to evacuate certain buildings in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was the first warning by the Israeli army to residents in Beirut's southern suburbs since the ceasefire was implemented in November. Shortly after the warning came, people were seen rushing out of buildings near the area the Israeli army said would be targeted. Lines of cars were seen leaving al Hadath area, according to an eyewitness. People were panicking as parents rushed to pick their children up from school, a dpa reporter observed. Earlier the IDF said "two rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israel. One of the rockets was intercepted, while the second fell inside Lebanese territory," Avichay Adraee, the Arabic spokesman of the Israeli army said on X. Hezbollah: It's not us Hezbollah has denied any links with the rocket firing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Warning sirens were heard in areas of northern Israel which are close to the Lebanese border, Lebanese security sources said. The sources said two loud explosions were heard across southern Lebanon. The same sources told dpa the Israeli army retaliated by shelling a series of villages in southern Lebanon. Israeli shells fell on Qaqaait al-Jisr, Khiam and Kfar Kela earlier on Friday. Israeli drones were also heard flying over villages in several areas of southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut. The Lebanese Civil Defence and Health Ministry said four people were killed and at least four others were wounded in the Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon. Lebanese, French officials condemn the strike Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salan, in a new statement after the strike in southern Beirut, warned of a "dangerous escalation." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salam condemned the attacks on "civilians and safe residential areas," the state news agency NNA reported. He added that schools and universities are also located there. Israel must stop its violations of the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah and withdraw remaining troops from Lebanon as soon as possible, he said. After a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli action. Writing on X, he deplored any attempt to plunge Lebanon back into a "spiral of violence." He called on the international community to act swiftly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attacks on the Beirut suburb and the "non-compliance with the ceasefire are unilateral actions that break a given promise and play into Hezbollah's hands," Macron said. "At this point, I can tell you that there have been no activities that would justify these strikes." A ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia since November. The deal paused more than a year of intense cross-border shelling, which intensified when Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in October. The conflict broke out following the October 7, 2023 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli troops are due to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon. However, they have remained at five strategic points, which the Lebanese government considers a violation of the ceasefire agreement. Lebanese soldiers gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut. Israel carried out its first air strikes in southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold, since November 19, after its defence minister threatened Beirut over renewed rocket fire, further straining a fragile truce that had largely halted more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. Marwan Naamani/dpa People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut. Israel carried out its first air strikes in southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold, since November 19, after its defence minister threatened Beirut over renewed rocket fire, further straining a fragile truce that had largely halted more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. Marwan Naamani/dpa PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said there had been no activity justifying Israel's strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon on Friday and that he would call U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the attacks. Israel's air force bombed a building in Beirut's southern suburbs, its first substantive strike on the Lebanese capital since a November ceasefire, brokered by France and the U.S., that ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah. "The framework agreed upon by Lebanon and Israel was not respected today by Israel, unilaterally, and without us having either information or proof of the triggering event," Macron said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Macron held a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Paris to discuss economic reforms and efforts to stabilise Lebanon. The French president said he would call Trump "in the coming hours" and Netanyahu in the "next 48 hours" aiming to "return to a full and complete observance of the ceasefire". The November truce required Hezbollah to remove weapons from southern Lebanon, Israeli forces to withdraw, and Lebanon to deploy its national army in the region. Since then, mutual accusations of violating the truce have been exchanged among Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel. (Reporting by John Irish and Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Dominique Vidalon and Kevin Liffey) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is sceptical about the idea of a "reassurance force", which French President Emmanuel Macron spoke about deploying in strategically important areas of Ukraine after the resolution of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Source: Meloni in an interview with the Financial Times, as reported by European Pravda Details: Meloni said that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin might perceive the deployment of the "reassurance force" in Ukraine as a provocation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have to be careful here. It can be seen more as a threat," she said. Meanwhile, the Italian PM reiterated that she supports extending NATO's Article 5 to Ukraine without the country actually joining the Alliance. Meloni is convinced that this would be "easier and more effective" than other proposals. Asked whether she considered Russia a long-term threat, Maloney said "I believe it could be, I think it could". "But in any case, I believe we have to find a way to be ready to defend ourselves from every kind of threat that we can have," she said. Background: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On 27 March in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a Franco-British mission would be sent to Ukraine to strengthen the Ukrainian army. He also added that work on the potential deployment of the so-called "reassurance force" to Ukraine was ongoing. The coalition of the willing, led by France and the UK, has been working for several weeks on a plan to send thousands of troops to Ukraine to guarantee a future ceasefire. France did not rule out the deployment of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine at a distance from the front line, with one option being deployment along the Dnipro River. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! By Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government tightened its citizenship laws on Friday, preventing people from delving deep back into their family history to try to claim a much sought-after Italian passport. Under existing rules, anyone who can prove they had an Italian ancestor who was alive after March 17, 1861, when the Kingdom of Italy was created, can seek citizenship. However, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the system was being abused, with would-be Italians swamping consulates abroad for requests for passports, which provide visa-free entry to more countries than almost any other nationality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result, in future only individuals with at least one parent or grandparent born in Italy, a European Union member state, will automatically qualify for citizenship by descent. "Being an Italian citizen is a serious thing. It's not a game to get a passport that allows you to go shopping in Miami," Tajani told a press conference. The foreign ministry said there had been a surge in people abroad being granted citizenship, particularly in South America, where millions of Italians emigrated in the 19th and 20th centuries, often to escape grinding poverty back home. Between 2014 and 2024, the number of Italians living abroad rose by 40%, from 4.6 million to 6.4 million, many registering thanks to their newfound nationality. In Argentina alone, citizenship recognitions jumped to 30,000 in 2024 from 20,000 in 2023, while Brazil saw a rise to 20,000 from 14,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tajani said companies were making a fortune by helping people track down their long-forgotten ancestors and seek birth certificates needed for applications - clogging up municipal offices with their demands for documentation. "We are striking down very hard against those who want to make money from the opportunity of becoming an Italian citizen," Tajani said, adding that in future, nationality requests would be handled directly in Rome to free up overburdened consulates. Italy has a population of around 59 million, which has been shrinking for the past decade. The foreign ministry has estimated that under the old rules, 60 to 80 million people worldwide were eligible for citizenship. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has previously suggested that Italy could overcome its demographic decline by seeking Christians of Italian ancestry from nations like Venezuela. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics of ancestry-based citizenship say it is grossly unfair, offering nationality to people who had no meaningful connection with Italy. By contrast, the children of migrants born and raised in Italy who speak Italian fluently, have to wait until they are 18 before being able to apply for a passport. (Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Crispian Balmer; editing by Mark Heinrich) by Xinhua writer Liao Lei BRUSSELS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Recent tensions between the United States and the European Union (EU) have once again laid bare a stark reality: for all its rhetoric about treaty alliance, Washington's actions make it clear that European interests are always ready to be sacrificed for its own. From geopolitical maneuvering to economic coercion, Washington has repeatedly demonstrated that its commitment to transatlantic cooperation is conditional and driven not by mutual respect but by self-interest. In an interview on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his belief that Washington should take control of Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory. America has "to let them know that we need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it," said Trump ahead of an upcoming controversial visit to Greenland by U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Claiming that Europe is ripping off the United States, Trump has slapped sweeping tariffs on European goods. Also, the administration has exerted pressure on the EU regarding energy policies, and sought to dictate the sovereignty of European territories under the pretext of strategic necessity. These actions expose the underlying logic of "America First," a doctrine that prioritizes U.S. dominance even at the expense of its closest allies. In its relentless pursuit of unilateral interests, Washington is undermining the very multilateral system that has long underpinned global governance. For Europe, the moment is sobering. Washington's hegemonic policies not only disrupt trade and economic stability but represent a deliberate assault on Europe's strategic autonomy. Amid mounting introspection and growing disquiet, increasing European voices have warned that if the continent continues to be relegated to a subordinate role, its ability to chart an independent course in global affairs will be severely weakened. For the past few decades, Europe's call for strategic autonomy has frequently been heard, with little substantive progress made. It now seems that the widening crack in transatlantic alliance is making Europe's pursuit of strategic autonomy inevitable. Leaders in Brussels and other major European capitals understand both pains and gains of this strategic pivot. Now is the time to choose wisely. Italy plans to deport rejected asylum seekers to its centres in Albania, after its initial plan to process asylum claims in the offshore camps suffered several setbacks in court. The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni passed a corresponding decree on Friday. Meloni's government opened two camps in Albania in October. The plan was to use the camps to process the asylum claims of migrants who were picked up in the Mediterranean by the Italian coastguard. If accepted, people would be allowed to travel on to Italy, while those who were rejected would be sent back to countries deemed safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the camps have remained empty due to a series of legal obstacles. Italian courts have blocked the government's plans three times, ruling that the migrants taken to Albania did not come from safe countries of origin - a prerequisite for being taken to the camps. This means all of the 66 men taken to the camps in Shengjin and Gjader had to be brought to Italy after just a few days. The European Court of Justice is currently examining whether the treatment of migrants is compatible with European law. A date for the ruling has not yet been set. The costs for the construction and operation of the camps are estimated at more than 650 million ($700 million). In theory, there is space for 1,200 migrants in the centres. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Italy is one of the countries most affected by the arrival of refugees across the Mediterranean. In 2024, the Italian Interior Ministry registered around 66,500 arrivals, less than half as many as in 2023. People regularly lose their lives during the dangerous crossing. Italy is the only country in the European Union to operate such camps outside the bloc. Other European governments are closely monitoring the scheme, some with a view to copying it. The News Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered to act as a bridge between Europe and the US, in a nod to the growing gulf threatening the transatlantic alliance. Meloni, the only European leader to attend US President Donald Trumps inauguration, said in an interview with the Financial Times that it was in the interests of everyone to patch up fraying ties. Her remarks come as relations have hit a post-war low, with Washington imposing trade curbs on EU goods and the US defense secretary bemoaning European free-loading, while European nations question their reliance on American military manufacturers. Meloni was more sanguine: I like to say that crisis always hides an opportunity, she told the FT. SIGNALS Melonis Ukraine shift reflects EU divisions over security guarantees to Kyiv Sources: Financial Times, The Conversation, Foreign Affairs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Melonis skepticism over France and UKs proposal to send a European reassurance force to Ukraine as part of a post-war deal, reflects the continents divisions over security guarantees to Kyiv. Meloni, who has previously clashed with Paris over the idea, told the Financial Times that Moscow could interpret such a move as a threat: We have to be careful here. Her pushback against the so-called coalition of the willing to defend Ukraine is a way for Italy to avoid facing the fact that NATO has weakened, a France-Italy relations expert argued in The Conversation. It also reflects her gradual shift away from centrist views and toward her far-right roots, Foreign Affairs wrote. Melonis reputation as the Trump whisperer may be at risk Sources: Reuters, The Telegraph, The Economist Melonis reputation as Europes Trump whisperer is complicated by the US president upending transatlantic relations, forcing Germany and France to take the lead in Europes response. The turmoil means that right now, Meloni does not have the leverage to play a mediating role with Trump, an Italian politics expert told Reuters. Trumps rapprochement with Russia is forcing Meloni a once vocal Ukraine supporter to walk a diplomatic tightrope in maintaining her status as a major EU power broker, while keeping an increasingly Moscow-friendly White House onside, The Telegraph wrote. She also has to contend with divisions within her coalition on how to respond to Trump, who is increasingly distrusted by Europeans: Trump could become a serious headache for Meloni, The Economist wrote. By Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) - Italy will transform a detention centre it built in Albania for sea migrants into a repatriation hub for failed asylum seekers, in a bid to overcome judicial hurdles that have prevented use of the facility, the Italian government said on Friday. The Albanian site is a key plank of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's policy of curbing immigration, but Italian judges have repeatedly annulled the transfer of sea migrants there, on the basis of a ruling by the European Union's Court of Justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, Meloni's cabinet adopted a decree making it possible to deport to Albania migrants who are in Italy with a pending expulsion order, in an attempt to find a new use for the centre, which has been idle for months. "That will allow us to immediately reactivate (it)," said Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, referring to the detention camp in the village of Gjader, built alongside another facility for identification purposes in the port of Shengjin. Italy has a poor record on the repatriation of illegal immigrants. In 2023, just over 4,000 were forcibly sent home, roughly a third of the number returned by France and Germany, official data show. Meloni built the camps in Albania hoping they would be able to process some 36,000 male asylum applicants per year from a government list of safe countries, with the idea of swiftly repatriating them after the likely rejection of their requests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ECJ dealt a blow to the plan saying last year that migrants could not be repatriated if any part of their home nation was considered unsafe, in a ruling that was not originally related to Italy. But Italian judges invoked it to state that it was enough to stop transfers to Albania, and referred the matter to the ECJ for further clarification. The Luxembourg-based court is expected to weigh on the matter in the coming weeks. Friday's decree is an attempt to salvage the scheme regardless of what EU judges may decide, analysts say, although some commentators say the change of use may require the agreement of Albania. "I believe they want to make it work and not give the impression that they wasted public money," Salvatore Curreri, a constitutional law professor at Enna Kore university, told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initial estimates said Italy's protocol with Albania would cost more than 600 million euros ($646 million). ($1 = 0.9283 euros) (Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Alvise Armellini and Alex Richardson) A bill designed to protect access to in-vitro fertilization in Georgia is now on the governor's desk. Getty image A proposal to protect access to in-vitro fertilization has been sent to the governor as Georgia lawmakers are proposing a similar measure to protect the right to contraception. Bipartisan calls to shore up access to IVF began in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling last year that declared frozen embryos children. The ruling temporarily closed clinics there and created uncertainty nationally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Georgias bill, House Bill 428, glided through the Legislature thanks to support from the states most powerful Republicans, including House Speaker Jon Burns, who made the bill one of his priorities for the year. Speaker Jon Burns talks to reporters after the House finalized a bill designed to protect access to in-vitro fertilization in Georgia. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder Were one step closer to codifying access to IVF and ensuring that every family in our state facing infertility will never have a question about their access to this life-changing treatment, Burns told reporters Friday. The House finalized the bill Friday after the Senate tweaked it this week. Both chambers overwhelmingly passed the measure, and Gov. Brian Kemp has said he supports adding protection for the fertilization treatment. The bill, sponsored by Statesboro Republican state Rep. Lehman Franklin, defines IVF in state code and says a person cannot be prevented from obtaining the treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Franklin has openly shared his personal story as he has shepherded the bill through the legislative process. He and his wife Lorie struggled to build their family but are now expecting their first child because of IVF. The bills final passage also happened days after House lawmakers held a more than two-hour hearing on House Bill 441, which would expand Georgias law to completely ban abortion and charge people with murder for terminating a pregnancy. Several doctors who spoke at the hearing warned lawmakers that the proposal would end IVF treatment in Georgia. When asked about the hearing and that bills prospects Friday, Burns told reporters that theres nothing that we cant talk about in the House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well continue conversations about a wide range of subjects over the remainder of this session and the years to come, Burns said. Like all Georgians and like all individuals, we dont necessarily agree 100% on everything, but I think weve worked towards a common good and a common goal, and thats to make sure we ensure and protect life in Georgia. New proposal would protect access to contraception A new House bill filed this week mirrors the IVF bill and extends protections to contraception. Rep. Sharon Cooper, a Marietta Republican who chairs the House Public and Community Health Committee, said Friday that she filed House Bill 872 because she thought contraception was being left out of the broader conversation about reproductive rights. She said she sees it as a proactive measure. Contraceptives are commonly used by girls and women throughout their lifetime and for a range of purposes, whether its for acne, managing pain, spacing out pregnancies or other reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They play a major role in a womans life, Cooper said. Coopers bill was filed Thursday with more than a dozen signatures of Republican women lawmakers, including Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones. With the last day of the 2025 legislative session set for next Friday, rushing it through this year would be a tall order, but it will remain in play for next year. Jones, a Milton Republican, said the bill is more about addressing the perception that access to contraception could be in jeopardy. This certainly makes it clear that contraception is not up for grabs, Jones said. Its very important to women all over Georgia, and we stand with them, and we are making it clear, whether it passes this year or next year, that the right to contraception is protected and honored in Georgia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic lawmakers and advocates began raising alarm bells about access to contraception after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. At the time, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion that the justices should reconsider all the precedents that rely on the substantive due process legal reasoning that kept abortion legal nationwide for nearly half a century. He specifically cited the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut ruling that recognized married couples right to use contraception. In Georgia, Democrats filed bills last year attempting to protect access to contraception and IVF in the wake of the Alabama ruling. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of Iwo Jima has been overshadowed by the removal of the battles most iconic image from the Pentagons website. The photograph, of six war-weary marines hoisting the US flag on Mount Suribachi, was deleted this month on the orders of Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, in an effort to erase all traces of the previous administrations policy of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The offending element was not the flag itself, but a description focusing on Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian and one of the six soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hayes became a symbol of the heroism of Native Americans during the war, which in the Battle of Iwo Jima was exemplified by Navajo code talkers. They are credited with securing strategic communications as 100,000 US troops stormed the positions of 22,000 Japanese imperial soldiers, who had built a complex system of tunnels and cave defences. Almost 7,000 Americans were killed, and only 1,000 Japanese soldiers survived. Ira Hayes was a Pima Indian and one of the six soldiers who hoisted the US flag after the Battle of Iwo Jima - Getty Images During the battle, the Navajo code talkers sent more than 800 messages, many of which were intercepted by Japanese intelligence. Before Pearl Harbour, Imperial Japan had in fact dispatched a team of agents to study Native American languages, well aware they had been used in the First World War to outwit Germanys high command. Navajo, however, due to its complexity and a code system based on some of its unique linguistic elements, proved impenetrable. Numerous articles dedicated to the service of the Navajo code talkers were also removed from the Pentagon website, along with the famous image which has even been used on postal stamps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John Ullyot, a Pentagon spokesman, has refused to backtrack, and praised his staff for their rapid compliance with the directive. Amid a media backlash, however, and ahead of the commemorations this weekend, Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation in support of the heroes of Iwo Jima. The commemorations, which Mr Hegseth will attend on the island this Saturday, will also provide the venue for tense security talks between the US and Japan, amid fears that Pax Americana, which has maintained order in the Asia Pacific for 80 years, is now unravelling. The Iwo Jima photo was erased from the Pentagon website on the orders of Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defence - AP/Jacquelyn Martin The sudden reversal in relations with Washington has surprised even Japans most seasoned diplomats. Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister, kept it simple during his high-stakes audience at the White House last month, when he pledged to invest $1 trillion to boost Trumps America First policy. The strategy appeared to pay off. A beaming president, well known for his love of big numbers, declared his full backing for existing US security guarantees, including for Japanese sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands. Those islands, also claimed by Beijing, are strategically located roughly 115 miles from Taiwan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week, Japan released plans to evacuate more than 100,000 civilians from its islands near Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. Over six days, warships and military aircraft would transport the islanders to the Japanese mainland, where they would be housed and provided with food and daily essentials. Shigeru Ishiba, Japans prime minister, appeared to get on well with Donald Trump when they met at the White House in February, but since then US-Japan relations have soured - Reuters/Kent Nishimura In addition to reaffirming security guarantees, Mr Trump also declined to threaten his guest with the same punitive tariffs that he targeted at the EU and other allies. The omission was considered another diplomatic coup for Tokyo, and Mr Ishiba was feted as an unlikely hero. But since then, relations have quickly soured, and the guarantees he received have begun to unravel. Following a similar playbook he used to attack Nato, the US president denounced the long-standing security treaty with Japan as unfair, and accused it of free-riding on US taxpayers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have an interesting deal with Japan that we have to protect them, but they dont have to protect us, Mr Trump said. Thats the way the deal reads, we have to protect Japan, and by the way, they make a fortune with us economically. In response to the attack on the treaty, China wasted no time dispatching four of its coastguard ships last week to contest the territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands. Japan has in fact been the top foreign investor to the US for five consecutive years, and has created tens of thousands of jobs in Mr Trumps electoral strongholds. Toyota and Nissan alone are expected to complete new manufacturing plants in the US this year, and Tokyo is set to increase imports of American LNG to offset its current trade surplus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in addition to tariffs on car imports which Mr Trump announced this week, Japan is facing a raft of additional measures targeting steel, aluminium, computer chips, the pharmaceutical sector, and even its small domestic rice growers. To take Trump at his word is naive Known for their inscrutable approach to diplomacy, officials in Tokyo are hoping that the US president is simply posturing for a better deal that will ultimately bolster Japans security. The fact is there is no trade win they can offer Trump, no matter how big, that will change the reality that the US is simply no longer committed to defending Japan or Taiwan, Robert Dujarric, co-director of Temple Universitys Institute of Asian Studies in Tokyo, told The Telegraph. For Japan to take Trump at his word on security is about as naive as believing hes a model husband and lifelong monogamist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leaks from the Pentagon have also revealed plans to scale back the much vaunted pivot to Asia. The geostrategic shift was cited by Mr Trump as a reason for downgrading US military commitments to Nato, but the strategy could be deceptive. [Sir Keir] Starmer and [Emmanuel] Macron need to understand that the old world order is being dismantled everywhere, said Mr Dujarric. Not just in their own backyard. Tokyo has also been rattled by reports that Elon Musk is pressuring for military downgrade. A self-proclaimed friend of China, it is Mr Musks department of government efficiency that is demanding $50 billion in cuts annually from the US defence budget. Efforts to restore good relations will go into overdrive The Pentagons change of tack could even affect the UK, as reforms planned under former president Biden would have enabled Japanese collaboration with Aukus. The trilateral agreement between UK, US, and Australia to build a fleet of nuclear attack submarines is being challenged by J D Vance, the US vice-president. Some form of Japanese participation could help secure the projects viability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese ships finally left the waters around the Senkaku Islands this week after a record-breaking stand-off with the Japanese coastguard lasting almost four days. There is now a growing realisation in Tokyo that it needs to hedge not only against the risks of US isolationism but Mr Trumps unpredictability. As if to highlight this point, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, an anti-US firebrand and member of the Brics group, was welcomed on a state visit to Tokyo for security talks ahead of Mr Hegseths arrival. Another option for Japan which is still taboo to talk about, said Mr Dujarric, is that if theres a risk Trump will cut a bad deal with [China president] Xi Jinping, and sell out your strategic sovereignty, you might as well get in there first, sell out Taiwan, and cut your own deal. On the island of Iwo Jima this Saturday, diplomatic efforts to restore good relations will go into overdrive. The US defence secretary will meet veterans for a photo opportunity, and visit Mount Suribachi, where the victory flag was raised and famous photo taken. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The battle itself has remained fresh in popular US memory thanks to two films directed by Clint Eastwood. The second film was shot entirely in Japanese, and from the perspective of the enemy. Japanese diplomats will be hoping that Mr Hegseth, an outspoken champion of Mr Trumps America First policy, will also prove capable of viewing Asia-Pacific security from their perspective. 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. Istanbul (dpa) Jailed Turkish opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu has accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of turning Turkey into a republic of fear by dismantling democratic institutions and suppressing critics. For years, Mr Erdogans regime has gnawed away at democratic checks and balances - silencing the media, replacing elected mayors with bureaucrats, sidelining the legislature, controlling the judiciary and manipulating elections, Imamoglu wrote in a guest op-ed for The New York Times on Friday. Imamoglu, 53, is being held in Istanbul's high-security Marmara prison following his arrest last week on corruption charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He separately faces terrorism allegations and has denied all wrongdoing. The detention of the Istanbul mayor sparked nationwide protests, with tens of thousands taking to the streets and hundreds, including journalists, briefly detained. The large-scale arrests of protesters and journalists in recent months have sent a chilling message: No one is safe, Imamoglu warned. Imamoglu also criticized what he called international "silence". "But central governments around the world? Their silence is deafening," he wrote, citing a weak response from US and European leaders. HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) A Jamaica, N.Y. man was arrested at Hartford business Wednesday on charges of possession of controlled substances. Alejandro Cervantes, 20, was arrested after a search warrant was executed at Union Spot Exotics, a smoke shop located at 270 Sisson Avenue. Cervantes is alleged to be in possession of 10 pounds of marijuana, 100 various THC items which included edibles and vapes, and $5,136. Police could not confirm if Cervantes worked for Union Spot Exotics, nor if the business was shut down as a result of the arrest. 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. Japan is planning to limit the amount of money that older people can withdraw or transfer at cashpoints in an effort to halt a spike in fraud cases targeting the elderly. The National Police Agency has proposed a law change to limit the amount that anyone aged 75 or older can withdraw or transfer to Y300,000 (1,537) a day. A parallel plan is for the banking industry to automatically suspend the bank card of anyone who is over the age of 65 and who has not used the card to access their account for more than a year. The local government in the city of Osaka is going one step further in its campaign against the scammers by banning on old people using an ATM and a phone to take instructions from the confidence tricksters at the same time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Phone and online fraud have been a problem in Japan for several decades, despite a series of campaigns to educate people to the danger. Some of the most frequent scams involve phone calls to a random number with the perpetrator pretending to be a bank employee, claiming that the persons account is in overdraft and that a transfer must be completed immediately to avoid a large charge. Another approach is known as the ore, ore scam, meaning hey, hey. The caller dials a random number and convinces the person on the other end that they are a relative or friend who is in trouble, with one common tactic to say they have been in a minor traffic accident and need to pay the other driver so the police do not get involved. Fast-talking con men Romance and investment scams are also prevalent, while a new approach being tried out by fast-talking con men sees targets informed that an arrest warrant has been issued in their name but that it can be dismissed in return for a payment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And while many people are wise to the approaches and hang up, elderly people who are less aware of the scammers methods are easier targets. In some cases, the con men have called back several times and convinced the target to make repeated payments. Japanese police announced in February that 20,987 cases were reported to the authorities in 2024, up more than 10 per cent from the previous year. Of the total, 80 per cent of the victims were contacted by phone and given instructions. Investment scams accounted for the majority of reports, followed by romance scams and criminals posing as police officers requesting payment. The con men managed to talk people out of a record Y126.8 billion (649.4 million) over the course of the year. On Tuesday, police in Ichihara City arrested Hiroaki Taguchi, 29, on suspicion of trying to defraud an 80-year-old woman out of Y3 million (15,361) by pretending to be her son on the phone and claiming that he had got his girlfriend pregnant and urgently needed money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taguchi, a fireman, was caught after the woman called her son to confirm the information. Taguchi was arrested when he arrived at a pre-arranged location, posing as a lawyer, to collect the money. National broadcaster NHK reported that he told investigators that he had run up debts that he could not pay off. 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. A group of EU staff gather for a silent protest demanding peace and justice in Gaza in front of the Berlaymont building in Brussels, Belgium, on March 27, 2025. Sunlight bathed the Schuman roundabout in Brussels, the symbolic heart of the European Union, at noon on Thursday. Surrounded by the European Commission and the Council of the EU, a group of EU staff quietly gathered in front of the Berlaymont building for a silent protest demanding peace and justice in Gaza. (Xinhua/Liao Lei) BRUSSELS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Sunlight bathed the Schuman roundabout in Brussels, the symbolic heart of the European Union, at noon on Thursday. Surrounded by the European Commission and the Council of the EU, a group of EU staff quietly gathered in front of the Berlaymont building for a silent protest demanding peace and justice in Gaza. Dozens of participants stood in solemn silence, holding a half-hour lunchtime demonstration. Among them was a woman in a deep red coat, wrapped in a pink keffiyeh. In her hands, she held a large poster bearing the image of a young man in a blue bulletproof vest labeled "PRESS." The man was Hossam Shabat, a 23-year-old Al Jazeera journalist from Gaza. The text on the poster recounted the trajectory of his life: he witnessed Israel's incursion into Gaza at the age of seven. On Monday, he was killed in an Israeli airstrike. After a short-lived ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in January, Israel resumed large-scale airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza on March 18. According to reports, at least 830 people have been killed and over 142,000 displaced since then. "We have been asking for an immediate ceasefire since day one, for the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza to go uninterrupted by Israel, but Israel is stopping everything. They are committing every violation of human rights, and we (EU) still have disagreements," the woman said, pointing toward the Commission building. This was not an isolated event. Since December, similar actions have been taking place for months, initially every two weeks, and now weekly, every Thursday during the lunch break. What began with just a handful of staff members has grown into a movement of nearly 100. Organizers have also circulated an open letter addressed to EU leadership, calling for urgent action toward peace in Gaza. It has gathered nearly 3,000 signatures to date. Still, not everyone watching the protest agreed with its message. "They say they want peace, but they're really supporting Hamas," a man in a suit muttered to a colleague as he walked past. When asked whether these protests make any real difference for peace in Gaza, the woman in red answered with a weary tone: "Every week, there are new horrors, and we think this is the red line they have crossed, and that would be too much for so-called leaders. But so far, they are ignoring human rights." Demonstrators held a large white banner that read, "EU STAFF FOR PEACE & JUSTICE." At the center was a stylized symbol of a raised hand with a red heart -- an emblem of nonviolence. Behind the banner, participants stood shoulder to shoulder, many holding black-and-white portraits or red placards, their expressions resolute. "We are staff from various EU institutions. During work hours, we're expected to stay neutral. But outside the buildings where we work, during our lunch break, we have to speak out," said one woman from France, her voice steady but firm. Despite their courage, most participants declined to be named. "Several colleagues have already been questioned for participating in these actions. One colleague from Gaza had her contract terminated while working in Brussels," the woman in red in her 30s quietly confided. Many people are afraid, because the pressure from internal is real. "I've been questioned myself. I'm afraid, I'm concerned, but I still want to make myself heard about Palestine," said the Belgian protester who has worked for the European Parliament as a consultant for over four years. In recent days, thousands of Palestinians have taken to the rubble-strewn streets of Gaza, calling for an end to Israeli military operations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that unless hostages held by Hamas are returned, Israel will intensify its offensive. "I'm really, really concerned that we see images of their children, women and men, and journalists, and they want to impose this as a new normal. And it will never be normal for me," said the woman in dark red, tears in her eyes. A group of EU staff gather for a silent protest demanding peace and justice in Gaza in front of the Berlaymont building in Brussels, Belgium, on March 27, 2025. Sunlight bathed the Schuman roundabout in Brussels, the symbolic heart of the European Union, at noon on Thursday. Surrounded by the European Commission and the Council of the EU, a group of EU staff quietly gathered in front of the Berlaymont building for a silent protest demanding peace and justice in Gaza. (Xinhua/Liao Lei) During a visit to Greenland on Friday, JD Vance did his best to woo residents of the arctic territory who dont want him there and the vice president also aimed to antagonize Denmark. Vance began the trip with a visit to the mess hall of Pituffik Space Base, where, striding in during what appeared to be lunchtime, he exclaimed, Its cold as shit here! Nobody told me! He and his entourage, which included national security adviser Mike Waltz, then proceeded to address the U.S. troops, and Greenlanders more broadly, about the Trump administrations unrequited interest in the territory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our argument is very simple, said Vance, wearing a pin featuring the intertwined flags of America and Greenland. It is not with the people of Greenland, who I think are incredible and have an incredible opportunity here. Our argument is with the leadership of Denmark, which has under-invested in Greenland and under-invested in its security architecture. And argue he did. Vance repeatedly accused Denmark of failing the people of Greenland, though he offered no specifics as to how, other than to hint at what he called aggressive incursions from Russia and China. Greenland, he said, would fare better under the United States security umbrella than you have been under Denmarks security umbrella. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its the policy of the United States that that will change, he added. Asked if he could clarify President Donald Trumps statements that the U.S. wouldnt rule out using military force to take the island, Vance tempered the sentiment but only slightly. We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary, he said. We think Greenlanders are going to choose, through self-determination, to become independent of Denmark, and then were going to have conversations with the people of Greenland from there. Vance predicted the next step would be to cut a deal, Donald Trump-style to ensure the security of both Greenland and the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Polling suggests Greenlanders dont share that interest. One poll, conducted by Verian Group in January, found 85% of Greenlanders have no interest in becoming part of the United States, but that a majority (55%) would vote yes to Greenlandic independence from Denmark. Related... Vice President JD Vance jetted to Greenland on Friday as President Donald Trump continues to push for a U.S. takeover of the strategically important overseas Arctic territory of Denmark. Vance and his wife Usha visited an American military base in Greenlands remote icy hinterland after the second lady scaled back plans for a more public-facing trip that sparked outrage among local officials and ordinary people. Its cold as s--t here, the veep quipped to soldiers after arriving at the base. Im the first vice president to ever visit Greenland so thats a pretty cool thing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Underlining the seriousness of the matter, the second couple was accompanied by national security adviser Mike Waltz for their chilly day trip to a U.S. Space Force outpost almost 1,000 miles from the capital of Nuuk, above the Arctic Circle on the northwest coast of Greenland. The Vances scaled back Usha Vances planned three-day solo visit and tweaked the itinerary that was initially included attending a popular dog sledding race in one of Greenlands main towns. The officials apparently wanted to avoid crossing paths with Greenland citizens angered by Trumps fixation on taking over their homeland. Ahead of the American visit, four of the five parties elected to Greenlands parliament agreed to set aside differences and form a broad-based coalition government to push back against Trumps plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trip comes as Denmark, a U.S. ally and fellow NATO member, increasingly seems to be taking at face value Trumps threats to gobble up the vast island with untold mineral wealth. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources. Polls show Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose becoming part of the U.S. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen Thursday bluntly stated: Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. Trump has repeatedly claimed the U.S. will seek to take over Greenland, which he described as a strategic imperative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well go as far as we have to go, Trump said this week. We need Greenland. And the world needs us to have Greenland. Trump idea of purchasing Greenland, or somehow trading it for the U.S.-ruled territory of Puerto Rico, is just one of several plans he has pushed for American takeovers of independent nations or territories. He has also floated the idea of annexing Canada as the 51st state and taking back the Panama Canal, which the U.S. irrevocably returned to Panama decades ago. Trump says the U.S. should take over Gaza and turn the Palestinian enclave into a luxe real estate development, a plan rejected by the 2 million Palestinians who live there. Danish opponents of Trumps proposed takeover of Greenland planned a Saturday rally in front of the American embassy in the capital of Copenhagen. Vice President JD Vance jetted to Greenland on Friday as President Donald Trump continues to push for a U.S. takeover of the strategically important overseas Arctic territory of Denmark. Vance and his wife Usha visited an American military base in Greenlands remote icy hinterland after the Second Lady scaled back plans for a more public-facing trip that sparked outrage among local officials and ordinary people. Its cold as s--t here, the veep quipped to soldiers after arriving at the base. Im the first vice president to ever visit Greenland so thats a pretty cool thing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cant just bury our head in the sand or in Greenland, bury our heads in the snow and ignore Russian and Chinese encroachment, Vance said. This island is not safe. Underlining the seriousness of the matter, the second couple was accompanied by national security adviser Mike Waltz for their chilly day trip to a U.S. Space Force outpost almost 1,000 miles from the capital of Nuuk, above the Arctic Circle on the northwest coast of Greenland. Trump hailed the visit as a step forward to his effort to win control over the resource-rich territory. We need Greenland, Trump told reporters at a unrelated White House event. We have to have Greenland (and) we cant do without it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Vances scaled back Usha Vances planned three-day solo visit and tweaked the itinerary that was initially included attending a popular dog sledding race in one of Greenlands main towns. The officials apparently wanted to avoid crossing paths with Greenland citizens angered by Trumps fixation on taking over their homeland. Ahead of the American visit, four of the five parties elected to Greenlands parliament agreed to set aside differences and form a broad-based coalition government to push back against Trumps plan. The trip comes as Denmark, a U.S. ally and fellow NATO member, increasingly seems to be taking at face value Trumps threats to gobble up the vast island with untold mineral wealth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources. Polls show Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose becoming part of the U.S. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen Thursday bluntly stated: Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. Trump idea of purchasing Greenland, or somehow trading it for the U.S.-ruled territory of Puerto Rico, is just one of several plans he has pushed for American takeovers of independent nations or territories. He has also floated the idea of annexing Canada as the 51st state and taking back the Panama Canal, which the U.S. irrevocably returned to Panama decades ago. Trump says the U.S. should take over Gaza and turn the Palestinian enclave into a luxe real estate development, a plan rejected by the 2 million Palestinians who live there. Danish opponents of Trumps proposed takeover of Greenland planned a Saturday rally in front of the American embassy in the capital of Copenhagen. Vice President JD Vance attacked the medias obsession with Signalgate after being asked about an internal investigation into the security leak. The Atlantic reporter, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally included in a Signal app group chat by senior Trump administration officials discussing the planned bombing of Houthi targets in Yemen. During a visit to a US military base in Greenland on March 28th 2025, Vance was questioned by a reporter asking for an update on any findings from the internal investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance immediately responded that he finds "American media's obsession with this issue very, very interesting". The Vice President became even more passionate in his argument, accusing the media of covering for the Biden Administration during the Afghanistan conflict. March 28 (UPI) -- Vice President JD Vance on Friday visited a U.S. military base In Greenland, describing the importance of the island to U.S. security and how Denmark is "not doing a good job at keeping Greenland safe." Vance arrived with his wife, Usha Vance, as well as National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Sen. Michael Lee, R-Utah. They toured the Pituffik Space Base, at which Vance received briefings and spoke at a news conference. The Vances were greeted by Col. Susan Meyers and Chief Master Sgt. Holly Vaught. .@VP: "Yes, the people of Greenland are going to have self-determination. We hope that they choose to partner with the United States because we're the only nation on Earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security because their security is very much our... pic.twitter.com/PREoVdiGIy Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 28, 2025 Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, which acquired the land from Norway in 1814. Greenland's 840,000 square miles is more than 80% covered by the ice cap or smaller glaciers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Yes, the people of Greenland are going to have self-determination," Vance said. "We hope that they choose to partner with the United States because we're the only nation on Earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security because their security is very much our security." Vance said Denmark "hasn't done a good job at keeping Greenland safe" and backs President Donald Trump's desire to annex the nation of around 57,000 people. "We want to have good relationships with everybody ... but part of having good relations is showing your strength when you have to," Vance said. " And unfortunately, the story of Greenland over the past 20 years when it comes to security is that we've underinvested. That has to change. Former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford, expressed shock over Vance's comments lately, saying Denmark has given unwavering support in various global conflicts, often at significant personal costs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The vice president of the United States is saying that they are not a good ally when they have lost more people per capita, young men and women in Afghanistan than any country other than the United States of America. It is just shameful. I have been to these funerals," Gifford, who served as ambassador under Barack Obama, posted on Facebook. "And look Americans we need to show a little outrage here. Our partners and allies expect it from us and they deserve better." Vance said specifically the air base is "less secure than 30 to 40 years ago because some of our allies haven't kept up." Pituffik, which is the Defense Department's northernmost installation, is operated by the 821st Space Base Group and part of Space Base Delta. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary," Vance told reporters. "We think this makes sense and because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think we're going to be able to cut a deal Donald Trump-style to ensure the security of this territory, but also the United States of America." Greenland is equally about 3,100 miles from the United States and Russia. "Why does Greenland matter so much?" Vance asked rhetorically. "We know that Russia and China and other nations are taking an extraordinary interest in Arctic passageways, Arctic naval routes, and in the minerals of the Arctic territories. We need to ensure America is leading in the Arctic." Trump on Friday again pushed to control Greenland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We need Greenland," Trump said at the White House. "Very importantly, for international security, we have to have Greenland. It's not a question of, you think we can do without it. We can't." Trump said control is a matter of peace "for the entire world," not just the United States. "Look at it, you have warships all over the place going through right along Greenland. We're not going to let that happen," Trump said. Denmark, like the United States, is part of NATO. Scheduled for one day, the visit originally was to include an appearance at a dogsled race by the second lady, but that portion of the itinerary was canceled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has been some pushback from Greenlanders in regard to the United States after Trump said on numerous occasions that he would like the United States to take control of Greenland. Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said on Facebook Sunday that "the upcoming and subsequent private visit of the wife of the United States Vice President and the United States President's highest security [adviser] cannot be seen only as a private visit," and that "We can already see now how big a mess it's caused." The Tupilak Travel company, based in Greenland capital city of Nuuk, had at first offered to receive Usha Vance, but has since withdrawn that offer. "When the U.S. Consulate called [Monday] and asked if the U.S. Vice President's wife Usha Vance could visit our store on Friday, we replied that [we] would be happy to," the company said in a social media post Tuesday. "After closer consideration, however, we have now informed the consulate that we do not want her visit." Vice President JD Vance spent his time in Greenland doubling down on the Trump administrations threats to take the territory from Denmark. Our message to Denmark is very simple, Vance said at a press conference in Greenland on Friday. You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland, you have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful land mass filled with incredible people. That has to change. The president said we have to have Greenland, and I think that we do have to be more serious about the security of Greenland, Vance continued. We respect the self-determination of the people of Greenland, but my argument to them is: I think that youd be a lot better coming under the United States security umbrella than you have been under Denmarks security umbrella. Because what Denmarks security umbrella has meant is effectively theyve passed it all off to brave Americans and hoped that we would pick up the tab. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance traveled to Greenlanda Danish-controlled territorywith his wife, Usha, and national security adviser and Signalgate catalyst Mike Waltz, among others. No one in Greenland wanted to meet the group, forcing them to cancel all their events with locals, including a historic tour and a dogsled race. Vances animosity highlights the Trump administrations policy of What have you done for me lately? toward European allies, abandoning them on issues like Ukraine and challenging them on issues like Greenland, on the grounds that they have not committed equally to stopping the perceived threats of Russia and China. Vice President J.D. Vance and second lady Usha Vance are slated to make a historic trip to Greenlands northwest coast and visit Pituffik Space Base, where theyll meet our nations guardians and airmen on base, tour the facility, and discuss the growing importance of Arctic security in American foreign policy. The trip is historic - the first time a sitting vice president has seen Pituffik and the farthest north one has ever traveled, by a long shot. It also demonstrates the Trump-Vance administrations clear commitment to strengthening Americas presence in the Arctic, which is integral to our militarys anti-ballistic missile and satellite defense efforts. Unfortunately, the visit also comes on the heels of an ugly, dishonest spat initiated by Denmark, which - after receiving bad press following decades of mistreating the Greenlandic people - is deflecting with attacks on the second lady. Every year, the people of Greenland host the Avannaata Qimussersua, a national dogsled race that allows islanders to compete for top musher status. However, the prestigious race has faced significant financial challenges in recent years. To help foot the bill, the U.S. Consulate in Nuuk, which President Trump reopened in 2020 after it lay dormant for seven decades, provided a multi-year grant to the dogsledding association that organizes the event, which will help Greenlanders transport their dogsled teams across the island in advance of the race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When several of the organizers and sponsors of the Avannaata Qimussersua extended invitations to UshaVance to attend - with the chairman of the association even asking her to wave the flag to kick off the race - it appeared to be a moment of genuine warmth between the Greenlandic and American peoples. The trip presented an opportunity to deepen our bonds and allow the second lady to learn more about Greenlands culture by visiting Sisimiut and participating in one of the islands greatest annual rituals. However, after word got out that UshaVance had agreed to join, Copenhagen became apoplectic. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen attacked the trip as "unacceptable" and warned that she would "stand against" it - a shockingly undiplomatic, hostile reaction to someone attending a dogsledding race in your former colony. The Danish governments attacks ended up snowballing into a much larger smear campaign. Why all the touchiness from Copenhagen? Perhaps its because of the recent attention that Denmark has received for its mistreatment of the Greenlandic people over the centuries theyve ruled over them. Last year, a group of Greenlanders launched a historic lawsuit against the Danish government for the mass IUD birth control campaign that it allegedly waged in the 1960s and 1970s against thousands of women on the island, many without their knowledge. And in 2020, Prime Minister Frederiksen was forced to apologize to Greenlandic children who had been removed from the island to be reeducated in Denmark as part of a failed social experiment. More generally, the Danish government faces increasing discontent from the Greenlandic people over what islanders view as neglect and underinvestment from Copenhagen, which has resulted in the decay of what limited infrastructure does exist across the island. So it follows that the Danes may be on edge as President Trump calls for Greenlanders right to self-determination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Regardless, the Trump-Vance administration looks magnanimous in the face of Denmarks diplomatic slights. Vice President Vance is doing the right thing by joining his wife on the trip, and Americans should applaud the White Houses forward-looking goal of boosting U.S. leadership in the Arctic. As Russia and China ramp up their own investments in the region, never has it been more important for America to step up and ensure that our military presence in Greenland - an integral part of the anti-ballistic missile shield that protects the North American continent - grows even stronger. And as Americans, we should celebrate the important lesson itsends to the Danish government: The U.S., Greenland, and Europe all benefit from stronger American ties with Greenland, and our nation will not be cowed or intimidated by those who fail to recognize this basic reality. Ned Ryun is the founder and CEO of American Majority. An undated photo of Denver immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra. (Courtesy of Vizguerra family) Lawyers for Jeanette Vizguerra intend to amend her habeas corpus petition, alleging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained her in retaliation for speech thats protected under the First Amendment. The amendment would set off new administrative deadlines and could delay the oral arguments in her case for up to a month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vizguerra, a nationally known immigration rights activist who lives in Denver, has been in ICE custody at an Aurora facility since March 17, when she was arrested outside her job at Target. Her attorney, Laura Lichter, said in federal court in Denver Friday that public statements and media reports since then make it seem like Vizguerras arrest and detention are in response to her activism and public criticism of the countrys immigration policies. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Lichter alluded to an ICE agent telling Vizguerra We finally got you during the arrest, as reported by the New York Times. That leads her to believe there is a valid claim on First Amendment grounds, Lichter said. In the context of whats going on in immigration enforcement, as weve seen over the past several weeks, speech, conduct, being involved in protests, saying things that might not be popular seem to be the kinds of things that gets the attention of the authorities, she said at a press conference later in the day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two international university students from Columbia University and Tufts University who spoke against Israels war in Gaza have recently been arrested by ICE. You can find plenty of (social media) comments from people who are clearly showing that the reason to target this individual had to do with her being an activist, Lichter said. Why else would you show pictures from an official ICE account of a middle-aged mother of four shackled and being detained in a parking lot? ICE Denver two days after Vizguerras arrest posted an announcement of her arrest on X with a photo of her shackled. Lichter has until April 8 to amend the petition against Vizguerras detention to reflect the First Amendment claim. The government then has 21 days to respond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A previous order from U.S. District Court Judge Nina Wang blocks attempts by the federal government to deport Vizguerra until oral arguments can be considered. Those arguments were originally set for Friday afternoon. What were looking for here is that she is entitled to that very small due process that is allowed to any other non-citizen going through the process, that shes allowed to bring her case in front of the immigration court, Lichter said. Vizguerra, 53, has lived in the United States since 1997 after her husband was threatened at gunpoint in Mexico, her home country. Her immigration case stems from a 2009 charge for having a false Social Security number. She was granted an offer of voluntary removal in 2011, left the country in 2012 and came back in 2013, when she was arrested for crossing the border without proper documentation. She has since been granted several stays of removal, and she took sanctuary in two Denver churches during the first Trump administration to avoid deportation, which made her a high-profile figure in the immigration rights movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal prosecutors claim that a reinstated order of removal for Vizguerra from 2013 is valid and grounds for her deportation. Vizguerra has argued the order was not properly executed. This is a developing story and will be updated. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE By Nate Raymond, Mike Scarcella and Andrew Goudsward (Reuters) -Two U.S. judges temporarily blocked key parts of Donald Trump's executive orders targeting Jenner & Block and WilmerHale on Friday as the prominent law firms challenged the Republican president in court while another one, Skadden Arps, cut a deal with the White House to avoid a similar directive. Calling parts of Trump's order targeting Jenner & Block reprehensible and disturbing, Washington-based U.S. District Judge John Bates blocked portions of it that sought to cancel federal contracts held by the firm's clients and to restrict its access by its lawyers to federal buildings and officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bates also said Trump's order appeared to bar lawyers at the firm from entering federal courthouses, which are managed by the U.S. government's executive branch. "Considering the firm-wide effects of the executive order, it threatens the existence of the firm," Bates added. Separately, Washington-based U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, handling the WilmerHale case, called Trump's order retaliatory and granted the firm's request to block parts of the directive intended to restrict its access to U.S. government buildings and officials. Leon denied WilmerHale's request to block a section that suspended security clearances held by any lawyers at the firm. Jenner & Block and WilmerHale sued Trump's administration earlier on Friday, escalating a clash between the president and a large swath of the legal profession. The firms said Trump's orders violated the U.S. Constitution's protections for free expression and due process and were meant to punish opposition to the president and his administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jenner & Block said in a statement after the judge ruled: "Consistent with the law, the court has agreed that this is an unconstitutional executive order holding no legal weight." Bates called Trump's Jenner & Block order "disturbing" in how it targeted the firm in part based on its pro bono representation of transgender individuals and immigrants. The judge also called much of the opening section of Trump's order - the part in which he accused the firm of various misdeeds - "reprehensible." "Our legal system relies on our lawyers who advocate zealously for all clients," Bates said. In the WilmerHale case, Leon wrote in his order, "The injuries to plaintiff here would be severe and would spill over to its clients and the justice system at large. The public interest demands protecting against harms of this magnitude." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WilmerHale said in a statement afterward: "We appreciate the court's swift action to preserve our clients' right to counsel and acknowledgement of the unconstitutional nature of the executive order and its chilling effect on the legal system." 'CERTAINLY MAY BE MORE' Trump to date has signed executive orders targeting five firms, with three of the firms suing Trump in response. "We should expect that more are going to come, shouldn't we?" Bates asked before he ruled. "There certainly may be more," Justice Department attorney Richard Lawson responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell on March 12 temporarily blocked most of an earlier executive order Trump issued against the firm Perkins Coie, finding Trump's actions were unconstitutional. At a White House event earlier on Friday, Trump said Skadden Arps agreed to dedicate $100 million in free legal services to mutually agreed projects benefiting veterans and other groups. The firm also committed to what Trump called merit-based hiring and retention of employees. Skadden Executive Partner Jeremy London said in a statement that it had engaged proactively with Trump in the interests of clients, employees and the firm. Both WilmerHale and Jenner have ties to lawyers who were involved in former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation during Trump's first term in office that detailed contacts between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russians as well as Moscow's interference in that year's election. Trump called that investigation, and several others that have targeted him, a "witch hunt." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House said in a statement on Friday that law firms had "weaponized the legal process to try to punish and jail their political opponents." Trump's executive orders are "lawful directives to ensure that the President's agenda is implemented and that law firms comply with the law," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said. PAUL WEISS DEAL The lawsuits brought on Friday referred to a deal Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss struck with the White House to rescind a similar executive order. Paul Weiss agreed to dedicate $40 million in free legal services to "mutually agreed" causes supported by the administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judge in the Perkins Coie suit noted that Trump's order cited its work for the campaign of his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Trump's orders against WilmerHale and Jenner & Block also focused on the 2016 race, citing WilmerHale's ties to Mueller. The executive order against Jenner & Block cited its past employment of Andrew Weissmann, a top federal prosecutor involved in Mueller's investigation. WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie are among more than a dozen large firms representing clients in pending lawsuits against the administration. Jenner's cases include one seeking to protect transgender rights. WilmerHale represents a group of inspectors general who allege the administration illegally ousted them. The firm also played a key role in lawsuits against the prior Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump's executive orders sought to terminate federal contracts held by the law firms' clients if the firms had any role in them. Jenner's lawsuit said more than 40% of its revenue over the last five years comes from government contractors, subcontractors or affiliates. The firm said several of its clients were worried their work with Jenner could affect their relationship with the federal government. WilmerHale in its lawsuit said Trump's order "will inevitably cause extensive, lasting damage to WilmerHale's current and future business prospects." (Reporting by Nate Raymond, Mike Scarcella and Andrew Goudsward; Additional reporting by Sara Merken and Jonathan Stempel in New York and David Thomas in Chicago and Mike Scarcella; Editing by Will Dunham, David Bario, Bill Berkrot, Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller) JUBA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said Friday that it requires 281 million U.S. dollars to provide humanitarian assistance to South Sudanese who are facing a food crisis. The WFP said in a statement that the funds will be used to provide food and nutrition assistance to 2.3 million people escaping war, climate extremes and an economic disaster, which are plunging them into a severe hunger crisis. "New funding for the WFP's crisis response activities in South Sudan is needed now to preposition life-saving food ahead of the rainy season," the WFP said. Despite the generosity of many governments and individual donors, the UN agency revealed that it is experiencing a steep decline in funding across its major donors. According to the WFP, the severity of these cuts, combined with record levels of people in need, have also led to a record crisis for tens of millions across the globe reliant on food aid. South Sudan has seen the arrival of more than one million people, fleeing from the war in Sudan and who need assistance. Nearly two-thirds of the people in the African country are acutely food insecure, said the WFP. In November last year, the WFP called on donors to provide early funding for South Sudan operations so that it can preposition food to prevent spiraling operational costs and hunger through 2025. BRIDGETON, N.J. (AP) A former New Jersey school custodian who admitted putting bodily fluids and cleaning products in food meant for children and staff to eat as well as putting cooking utensils on his genitals was sentenced Friday to eight years in state prison. Giovanni Impellizzeri, 27, of Vineland, apologized for his actions before the sentence was handed down, saying he had no excuses for his behavior. Impellizzeri was working as a custodian for the Upper Deerfield Township School District in 2023 when authorities became aware of videos that he recorded himself contaminating the food and utensils, the Cumberland County Prosecutors Office said. He then shared the videos online, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When county health officials first became aware of the allegations in 2023, they said the fluids were unlikely to cause health problems and have said no illnesses related to the incidents have been reported. Impellizzeri had pleaded guilty in January to an official misconduct charge and an unrelated count of possessing child sexual abuse material. Authorities have said they discovered the material as they were investigating the videos. CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) A New Jersey woman has been sentenced after being found guilty of scamming multiple people with a fake investment scheme, including a Marion County resident. According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Diana Mae Fernandez, 38, of Bergenfield, New Jersey, will spend 33 months (2.75 years) in federal prison after victims from West Virginia and elsewhere lost a total of $300,000 from her scheme. Fernandez was indicted in July 2023 and pleaded guilty a year later. WVSP: Children found living in simply put, disgusting conditions in Preston County, couple charged Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents and statements made in court said Fernandez operated purported investment firms known as The Self Made Success and Diana Mae K., LLC, which she would promote on social media under the guise of being no risk or offering guaranteed profit returns. Court documents said Fernandez also operated under the aliases of Diana Fernandez Koporan, Dana Fernandez, and Dajana Ko, and she used the money for her own benefit. As a result, she was ordered to pay $330,144.00 in restitution. She will also serve three years of supervised release. The FBI investigated this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas prosecuted on behalf of the 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 WBOY.com. Jimmy Kimmel said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths pals at his former workplace, Fox News, are trying their best to defend him amid the Signal group messaging scandal. But theyre not exactly doing a very good job of it. You know how sometimes your friends defend you and you wish they wouldnt? Kimmel said. Kimmel rolled footage of the hosts of Fox & Friends talking about the scandal, in which national security adviser Michael Waltz reportedly added a journalist by accident to a highly sensitive group chat discussion in which Hegseth revealed details of a planned military action in Yemen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kimmel said the nature of the flub has led to a vicious rumor that Hegseth was drinking on the job given his alleged previous issues with alcohol, which he has denied. The Fox & Friends team said Hegseth told them he doesnt drink at all anymore and it wasnt an issue anyway. He never had a drinking problem, Brian Kilmeade insisted in the footage Kimmel played. Kilmeade also analyzed Hegseths messages in the Signal app: There were no misspellings in that exchange. There was nothing that was bizarre. It was extremely official. Kimmel chuckled at the odd defense, then mockingly summarized it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the old days, when Pete would get hammered in texts, he had everything spelled wrong, his thoughts were bizarre. This had none of that, Kimmel said. There wasnt even a dick pic! Then Kimmel offered a defense of his own. I believe that Pete Hegseth wasnt drunk, Kimmel said. I believe he was perfectly sober when he made this idiotic mistake. He said President Donald Trump might not be very happy with his national security and defense picks. Pete Hegseth and Mike Waltz have said and done so many stupid things this week, Trump might have to start calling them Eric and Don Jr., Kimmel said. See more in his Thursday night monologue: Trumps escalating trade fight with Canada is sparking backlash in an unlikely place: his own fanbase. Joe Rogan, a high-profile Trump voter and supporter, slammed the economic standoff as stupid. 'Why are we upset at Canada? he asked fellow comedian Michael Kosta on a recent episode of his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, This is stupid, this over tariffs We got to become friends with Canada again, this is so ridiculous. I can't believe there is anti-American, anti-Canadian sentiment going on. It's the dumbest f feud. Don't miss Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And its not just tariffs rubbing him the wrong way. The 57-year-old also took a shot at Trumps wild talk of annexing Canada, quipping, I don't think they should be our 51st state. Recent surveys seem to indicate that most Americans and Canadians share Rogans sense of frustration with the ongoing economic battle. Dumbest trade war in history At the time of writing, aluminum and steel imported from Canada face 25% tariffs while potash and energy imports face 10%, according to the Conference Boards live tracker. Goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement are exempt until April 2, which covers about 38% of imports from Canada. On April 3, 25% tariffs will also be imposed on cars imported from Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administrations justifications for these tariffs have varied widely, but the president has repeatedly insisted that Canada could avoid the trade war by simply joining the U.S. The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State, the president wrote on Truth Social. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear. Few people on either side of the border support this idea. Read more: Are you rich enough to join the top 1%? Here's the net worth you need to rank among Americas wealthiest plus 2 ways to build that first-class portfolio Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Angus Reid polled Canadians and found 90% of Canadians would vote no to joining the U.S. Meanwhile, 60% of Americans are against the idea, and 32% would only consider it if Canadians are onboard. The trade war is just as unpopular, with only 28% of Americans in favor of tariffs on Canadian imports, according to a survey by Public First. These economic moves are so unpopular and unjustified that the Wall Street Journal labeled it The Dumbest Trade War in History. Whether this growing chorus of criticism convinces the Trump administration to dial back trade tensions remains to be seen. For now, consumers and investors must prepare for a volatile economy. How to prepare With plenty of uncertainty on the horizon, its probably a good idea to make strategic moves to protect your budget and investments for the foreseeable future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The stock market has been just as volatile as the administrations trade policy, prompting some investors to seek a safe haven. The price of gold is up 14.5% over the past six months as more investors add exposure to this hard asset. Meanwhile, consumer behavior is shifting in response to tariff threats. If tariffs push prices up, nearly half of shoppers say theyll buy less often. Another 40% are ready to swap for cheaper brands, and half are open to secondhand or local alternatives, according to a poll by Smarty, a shopping rewards app. The survey also found that many consumers are adopting a buy now before prices spike approach to major purchases, such as cars and home appliances. Moving up big purchases and buying essentials in bulk could be a great way to avoid or minimize the costs of this trade war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the long term, if this economic battle persists you may need to add a margin of safety to your annual household budget. If you assume auto parts, clothes and food will cost roughly 25% more in the future, you can bolster your personal finances even if this trade conflict is resolved and the price hikes dont materialize. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. WACO, Texas (FOX 44) If youre looking for some family fun this Saturday, be sure to visit the Waco Mammoth National Monument! The annual Mammoths on the March event is back, and will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 6220 Steinbeck Bend Drive. Visitors can enjoy a variety of family-friendly activities including a petting zoo, flower plantings, egg scramble, crafts, sandbox excavations for kids, special exhibits, fossil fun and more! The excitement kicks off early with egg hunts at 10:15 a.m. for children ages 1-7, and at 10:30 a.m. for children ages 8 and up. Admission is free for this unforgettable journey through time! 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 KWKT - FOX 44. (This March 27 story has been refiled to remove a broken hyperlink in paragraph 8) By Luc Cohen (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday temporarily allowed Labor Department grant recipients to continue their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, but the judge allowed the Trump administration to bar most "equity-related grants." The order by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago will prevent the Labor Department from requiring grantees to certify that they do not operate DEI programs that violate anti-discrimination laws for two weeks, while he considers a longer-lasting injunction against the measure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision by Kennelly, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, was a partial win for Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT), a nonprofit organization that receives federal funds to train women for jobs like carpentry, welding and plumbing. The judge agreed with CWIT's argument that the requirement that grant recipients certify they do not operate any DEI programs, even if those programs are unrelated to their federal contracts, violated their free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. "The impact of this provision on CWIT and other grantees is likely to result in self-censorship," Kennelly wrote. Kennelly also barred the Labor Department from cutting off any grants to CWIT on the basis of Republican President Donald Trump's January 21 executive order instructing federal agencies to terminate "equity-related grants." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That portion of Kennelly's order was limited to CWIT. The judge said nationwide orders are appropriate only in rare circumstances because they can encourage plaintiffs to seek out favorable jurisdictions to bring their cases. The Trump administration and other Republican officials have said that nationwide orders from judges improperly limit the president's powers. Neither the Labor Department nor the Justice Department immediately responded to requests for comment. The case is one of several challenges to Trump's larger efforts to eradicate DEI initiatives, which he and other critics say are discriminatory, from the government and the private sector. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, a federal appeals court said the Trump administration could temporarily ban DEI programs at federal agencies and businesses with government contracts, which had been blocked by a lower court. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler) Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Chinese and foreign business leaders in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) BOAO, Hainan, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang met with members of the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) and representatives of the board's corporate members on Thursday, calling for upholding true multilateralism and inclusive economic globalization. Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the world is undergoing profound changes, with challenges such as slowing growth, development imbalances and governance issues. Ding called for upholding true multilateralism and promoting inclusive economic globalization and strengthening cooperation for scientific and technological innovations. He also urged the forum to continue to expand its global influence and inject more positive energy into regional and global peace, stability and prosperity. BFA Chairman Ban Ki-moon and other attendees praised China's commitment to multilateralism and opening-up, pledging to contribute more to regional and global growth. In a separate meeting with Chinese and foreign business leaders, Ding thanked companies for their long-term participation in China's reform and modernization efforts. He said that the conditions and fundamentals in China for sustaining long-term economic growth remain unchanged, with broad prospects for high-quality development. "Investing in China means investing in the future," Ding said, pledging continued improvements to the business environment and welcoming foreign investment. Business leaders expressed confidence in China's growth prospects and their commitment to further expansion in the Chinese market. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with members of the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) and representatives of the board's corporate members in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) CHEYENNE The states motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the final agency action in a Laramie County School District 1 Most Cost-Effective Remedy (MCER) study has been denied. Laramie County District Court Judge Peter Froelicher denied the motion to dismiss the lawsuit Tuesday, based on the courts determination that the state did not establish any procedural defect or lack of timeliness on the part of the petitioners. On Nov. 7, 2024, the School Facilities Commission (SFC) ruled in favor of remedy 4 of the MCER study, which will effectively close eight elementary schools in LCSD1. The SFC decision was supported by a similar vote in favor of remedy 4 by the LCSD1 Board of Trustees in October. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to district officials, the closures will free up funding for essential maintenance for several of the remaining schools and allow the district to build two new schools, including a new Arp Elementary, whose students have been displaced since the fall of 2023. The eight schools that would be closed are Miller (2025), Deming (2026) and Jessup (2027) elementary schools in the Central triad; Hebard, Bain, Fairview and Lebhart (all in 2029) elementary schools in the South triad; and Henderson Elementary School (2033) in the East triad, according to the report. The decision sparked heated debate among the local community, as many parents and teachers opposed the studys conclusions due to the lack of community input. Within a month of the SFCs final decision, Katie Dijkstal, a Jessup parent, and Franz Fuchs, a soon-to-be Deming parent, filed a petition to review the final agency action against the SFC, the Wyoming State Construction Department and the state of Wyoming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Petitioners generally argue that the SFCs decision to adopt Remedy 4 was: (1) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and/or not in accordance with law; (2) contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege or immunity; (3) in excess of statutory jurisdiction; and (4) unsupported by substantial evidence, according to court documents. In response to the petition, the defendants, referred to as the State in court documents, filed a motion to dismiss on Feb. 7. This led to petitioners filing a response opposing the motion, which prompted another response from the state. Once the court determined the parties did not want a hearing on the motion to dismiss, Froelicher took the motion under advisement. He found that the case law the state had cited in its motion was irrelevant to the petition for review. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state argued that the petition should be dismissed because Dijkstal and Fuchs lack standing, the petition is untimely, and the petitioners failed to include a necessary party, referring to LCSD1. The state argued that Rule 12(b), W.R.C.P. (Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedures), is applicable to petitions for judicial review of agency action and cited two cases, Moose Hollow Holdings LLC v. Teton County Board of CCounty Commissioners and Miller v. Wyoming Department of Health, according to court documents. Neither of those cases expressly holds that Rule 12(b), W.R.C.P, is applicable to petitions for judicial review of final agency action, Froelicher wrote in his decision. Neither of those cases even address the question of the applicability of Rule 12(b), W.R.C.P. to petitions for judicial review of final agency action filed in a district court. Due to several similar flaws in the states motion to dismiss, the motion was ultimately denied. A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to preserve all Signal communications over the span of several days as a lawsuit proceeds following revelations that officials discussed a military strike in a group chat on the encrypted messaging app and unintentionally included a journalist. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who was randomly assigned to the case but has drawn President Trumps ire overseeing another lawsuit, called his decision a compromise order, since the administration had said it would preserve any messages agencies find. We are still in the process of working with the agencies to determine what records they have, but we are also working with the agencies to preserve whatever records they have, Justice Department trial attorney Amber Richer told the judge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ruling orders five Trump officials who participated in the group chat that discussed a strike on the Houthis in Yemen and unintentionally included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic to promptly make best efforts to preserve all Signal messages from March 11 to 15. Goldberg revealed some details from the group chat, which included more than a dozen top officials like Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in his publication Monday. Days later, after administration officials rejected the notion that the material was classified, he published the actual message chain in another story. Hegseth in the messages shared details of an imminent U.S. attack against Houthi rebels in Yemen, including specific information about weapons and the timing of the attack. National security adviser Mike Waltz apparently invited Goldberg to the group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement American Oversight, a group that regularly files records lawsuits against the federal government, claims the group chat violated the Federal Records Act. This order marks an important step toward accountability, Chioma Chukwu, the groups executive director, said in a statement. We are grateful for the judges ruling to halt any further destruction of these critical records. The public has a right to know how decisions about war and national security are made and accountability doesnt disappear just because a message was set to auto-delete. Boasberg, an appointee of former President Obama, convened Thursdays hearing after the group demanded a temporary restraining order immediately ordering the messages be preserved as the litigation continues. The judge began the hearing by walking through the courts random assignment process for assigning judges to new lawsuits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He did not name Trump, but Boasbergs explanation came after the president without evidence contested the randomness of the system. Trump has repeatedly chastised Boasberg in recent days after he was randomly assigned to a high-profile lawsuit challenging the administrations deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act. Ive come to understand that some questions have been raised regarding this Courts random assignment system, the judge said. So given the public interest thats involved in cases that have been filed in this court, I thought it might be useful to briefly explain it on the record. Boasberg went on to explain that all judges are randomly assigned cases in order for them to be relatively spread out evenly across multiple categories such as antitrust, federal records acts and employment matters. Thats how it works, and thats how all cases continue to be assigned in this court, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At one point during the hearing, the judge appeared to take aim at the governments assertion in that case that only Boasbergs written order is binding, not his verbal one from the bench. Dont worry, itll be in writing, Boasberg said just before issuing his ruling. Updated at 5:24 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 federal judge has ordered the immediate release of a Washington-area Venezuelan couple who contend theyve been unfairly swept up in President Donald Trumps crackdown on the Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua. Luddis Sanchez Garcia, 33, and Julio Sanchez Puentes, 27, walked out of the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, Friday morning surrounded by supporters after U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema declared there was no legal basis for their detention. Both have work permits and hold temporary legal status in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official Erik Weiss claimed in a court filing that Sanchez Garcia is a senior member of the Magdaleno band of TDA. Weiss said Sanchez Puentes is associated with the TDA terrorist organization, but the only specifics officials offered about his alleged connection to the gang is that he lives with Sanchez Garcia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brinkema, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, found the evidence in the case sorely lacking, according to a lawyer for the couple, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. She said if [officials] had come to her chambers seeking an arrest warrant she would have thrown them out, he said. The judge ordered the couple immediately released so they could walk out of the courtroom, attorneys said. The legal actions against the couple are unusual in several respects. Both hold temporary protected status, which allows them to work legally in the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has ordered an end to TPS status for Venezuelans as of April 7, cutting short a Biden administration extension that would have continued through 2026. Soon after Noem announced that move, Sanchez Garcia and Sanchez Puentes filed for asylum in the U.S. According to court papers, both of the Venezuelans admitted they crossed into the U.S. illegally in Texas in 2022. The government waited until last month to file misdemeanor charges against the pair over the crossing. That led to their arrest last month near their Capitol Heights, Maryland, home where they live with their three children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors at a court hearing on March 12 asked for the couple to be detained pending trial on the misdemeanors. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey called the case odd, noting the couples work permits, work history as cleaners and what appeared to be a diligent effort to pursue their cases in the immigration system. When the pair moved to a new residence, they updated their addresses in their immigration files, which may have helped authorities locate them. The prosecutor assigned to handle the case in Washington said she was unaware that the couple had TPS status. I dont find theyre a serious risk of flight. I dont find that theyre even a vague risk of flight, the judge said at the March 12 hearing. He turned down the detention request, saying that under any interpretation the government hadnt proved their detention was necessary. However, the couple appear to have spent another day in detention because of holds immigration officials placed on them. The couple did go free for about a week. Then, as they drove in Northern Virginia last week with their three children, masked Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested the couple and took them to nearby detention facilities, according to court filings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This time, lawyers for the couple filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court in Alexandria and got an order from Brinkema to bring them to court for the Friday hearing. Sanchez Garcia is a native of Aragua, the home base of the TdA gang, immigration officials said in court filings. Weiss said she acknowledged she knows members of the group and that she separated from her former husband about a decade ago, who she said was later killed by the Venezuelan government due to his affiliation with TdA. Weiss said the couple is ineligible for temporary protected status because they pose a danger to the security of the United States as a result of their ties to TdA. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys office in Alexandria declined to comment. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated the couple's ages. A judge has upheld the decision to revoke the license of a Forsyth County childcare center. The Department of Early Care and Learning revoked the license of Cornerstone Schools in Cumming after the owner was accused of failing to report an alleged sexual assault of a toddler. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] After a hearing last month, a judge had 30 days to decide whether or not to uphold the license revocation. On Friday, Judge Stephanie Howells decided the center would not be getting its license back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cornerstone Schools will have to close the doors of its early childcare center in 30 days. Channel 2s Candace McCowan has been following the story since the president of Cornerstone Schools, Angela Martin, was charged with failing to report alleged sexual abuse at the center in August 2024. Tulsi Patel, the worker accused in that incident, was later charged with sexually and physically abusing more than a dozen children at another daycare center. RELATED STORIES: DECAL shared a statement with Channel 2 Action News about Fridays ruling. Judge Stephanie Howells has affirmed DECALs decision to revoke the license of Cornerstone Schools, located at 4888 Browns Bridge Road, Cumming, Georgia, 30041. This decision underscores the importance of adherence to laws that protect our children and ensures their safety. The revocation was necessary following the centers failure to report an allegation of sexual abuse to the Department of Family and Children Services, as mandated by law. This omission led to the arrest of one of its staff members, highlighting a grave lapse in the duty of care owed to the children. DECAL Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) Two Zachary men convicted of stealing guns from a sporting goods store for arms dealing in June 2023 were sentenced to federal prison. Keyshawn Newman, 24, and Ransom Parker, 27, pleaded guilty to stealing guns from Thompson Creek Sporting Goods in Jackson to sell the weapons. According to the Department of Justice, police officers arrived at the business to find four suspects carrying guns running from the store, dropping firearms as they fled. Twelve guns were reportedly taken. Newman was sentenced to 39 months in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parker was sentenced to 70 months in prison. Baton Rouge man sentenced to 25 years in connection to deadly 2023 shooting 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. COURTESY HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT Gerhardt Konig of Maui. COURTESY HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT Gerhardt Konig of Maui. The Maui doctor made his initial appearance in Honolulu District Court this morning after he was charged Wednesday with second-degree attempted murder for allegedly trying to kill his 36-year-old wife. District Judge Kristine Yoo confirmed bail for Gerhard Konig at $5 million. Konig, 46, was allegedly spotted Monday morning beating a woman in the head with a rock at the Pali Puka hiking trail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The defendant was ordered to appear in person for a preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday at district court. Konig is represented by private attorneys Thomas Otake and Manta Dircks, who objected to media presence in the courtroom. 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. 1 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? . The former leader of the Trotskyist group Militant was told by a judge not to chew in court during a bribery hearing. Derek Hatton, who was deputy leader of Liverpool city council in the 1980s, was charged with bribery after a police investigation into the awarding of commercial and business contracts from Liverpool city council between 2010 and 2020. The 77-year-old was also a well-known figure of Militant, a Left-wing group that infiltrated Labour from the 1960s through to the late 1980s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Hatton, of Aigburth, Liverpool, denied one count of bribery and one count of counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office at Preston magistrates court. Before he confirmed his name, age and address, District Judge Wendy Lloyd asked Mr Hatton not to chew in court. Former mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, 67, also appeared in court accused of involvement in council corruption. On Friday, he indicated not guilty pleas to charges of bribery, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office. On the misconduct charge, he is said to have sent and/or arranged to have sent threatening letters to himself. Innocent of all charges The ex-social worker, of Knotty Ash in Liverpool, was elected mayor of the city from the time the role was created in 2012 until 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previously in a statement posted on social media site X, formerly Twitter, he said: I am innocent of charges and will fight to clear my name. His son David Anderson, 37, of Wavertree, faces a charge with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, which he denies. Hattons wife, Sonjia Hatton, 49, of Aigburth, indicated a not guilty plea to one count of misconduct in a public office by providing and seeking confidential council information over matters of commercial and business use to Mr Hattons contacts and to his business dealings. Andrew Barr, formerly the councils assistant director of highways and planning, 51, of Ainsdale, Merseyside, is charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and also faced a charge of bribery for which he indicated a not guilty plea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adam McClean, 54, of Woolton, also entered the dock on a charge of conspiracy to bribery, to which he entered no plea. Appeared via video link Other defendants appeared at court remotely via video link. The councils former head of regeneration Nick Kavanagh, 56, of Mossley Hill, Liverpool, indicated not guilty pleas to two counts of bribery. Phillipa Cook, 49, of the same address, also indicated not guilty pleas to two counts of bribery. Alexander Croft, 30, of Aughton, Lancashire, indicated a not guilty plea to one count of bribery. Julian Flanagan, 53, of Knowsley; Paul Flanagan, 71, of Knowsley; and James Shalliker, 38, of Downholland, Lancashire, are all charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and entered no pleas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Flanagan brothers founded construction business the Flanagan Group. All 12 defendants were granted unconditional bail ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at Preston Crown Court on April 25. 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. A Los Angeles County judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the union for rank-and-file police officers against an LAPD commander accused of accessing emails, surveys and materials intended only for lower-ranking cops. In a ruling Monday, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Bruce Iwasaki sided with Cmdr. Lillian Carranza and her co-defendant, Deputy Chief Marc Reina, who argued that the Los Angeles Police Protective League failed to prove the allegations of unlawful computer data access and fraud. Read more: Lawsuit claims LAPD commander tried to 'discredit' police union. Is it part of a broader rift? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iwasaki wrote that the league failed to make a clear allegation of the damage or loss it incurred as a result of Carranza's actions, which centered on her accessing a union survey of its members, who are all below the rank of captain. Carranza and other command officers have their own separate union. Among other legal technicalities, Iwasaki wrote that the company Survey Monkey owned the survey in question not the league. The suit was dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled. Carranza declined to discuss the ruling when reached this week, saying she wanted to explore her legal options first. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reina, who runs the department bureau that oversees training and recruitment, did not respond to a request for comment. Until recently, he also served as president of the Los Angeles Police Command Officers Assn., the union for department leadership. The league's suit, filed last year, accused Carranza of accessing the union's website by passing herself off as a lower-ranking officer and filling out a survey meant to grade supervisors. Carranza argued in court filings that she used her name when logging in, and pointed out that she and other command staff routinely used the league's system to access their agency benefits. In a letter to the command officers union last December, league President Craig Lally said command officers' access to the "benefits portal" would be cut off by the end of the year. A voicemail left for Lally went unreturned on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement League officials have said a digital forensics firm hired to investigate the matter found that Carranza had opened approximately 49 confidential emails the union had sent to its members from 2016 to 2024, allegedly to undermine the unions credibility. The suit came amid an intensifying dispute between the league and Carranza, an outspoken commander from LAPDs Central Bureau, who in the past has repeatedly sued the department over its treatment of female officers and alleged underreporting of crime statistics. The league made a show of going after Carranza, calling a news conference, releasing YouTube videos and taking subtle shots at her in the pages of its monthly magazine, Thin Blue Line. Carranza further drew the league's ire when she came to the defense of a female captain who insisted on conducting a use-of-force investigation into an incident involving two of her officers. The union whose members include most LAPD officers, detectives, sergeants and lieutenants has argued that department morale is low because Carranza and other commanders lack accountability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: LAPD cops shot 21 bystanders in 10 years. How does it keep happening? In addition to publicly criticizing Carranza, the union has also singled out other high-ranking officials namely, Reina and Michael Rimkunas, another deputy chief who oversees internal investigations. Carranza, who was promoted to captain in 2012 and made commander in 2023, applied for the LAPD chiefs job, which was vacated when Michel Moore retired in February 2024. Sources previously told The Times that Carranza was among a number of candidates who were invited for a second round of interviews. 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. LHASA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Boarding schools play a vital role in providing education to children from remote farming and pastoral areas in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, said a white paper released on Friday. In these areas, accessing schools can be challenging due to high altitude, harsh natural environments, extremely low population density and long distances, said the white paper titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era." To address this problem, Xizang has followed the same practice as the rest of the country in accordance with the Compulsory Education Law, providing accommodation service and covering all the boarding, lodging, and basic study expenses for the pupils in some schools, said the white paper, which was released by the State Council Information Office. Students and parents can choose if they wish to board at schools, and students can go home during weekends and holidays, it added. The measures aim to protect the equal rights of students from all ethnic groups to high-quality education, said the white paper. Between 2014 and 2024, Xizang invested around 302.3 billion yuan (around 42.1 billion U.S. dollars) as government budgetary spending on education, according to the white paper. In 2012, Xizang led the entire country in providing 15 years of publicly-funded education from kindergarten to senior high school, said the white paper. By 2024, the gross enrollment rate of preschool education reached 91.33 percent in the region, the completion rate of nine-year compulsory education was 97.86 percent, the gross enrollment rate in senior high schools reached 91.56 percent, and the gross enrollment rate of higher education was 57.81 percent, according to the white paper. The major educational indicators in Xizang have reached or exceeded the national average, it said. Judges have rejected demands by the Justice Secretary to drop their two-tier sentencing rules in an escalating row between the judiciary and the Government. Shabana Mahmood, set out her concerns over the councils two-tier justice proposals in a hard-hitting letter published for the first time on Friday, warning that they were corrosive and eroded public confidence. But Lord Justice William Davis, the head of the council, rebuffed her demands to change its two-tier guidelines in his response, which was also published on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It means the guidance giving special treatment to criminals from ethnic, religious and gender minorities will now be introduced on Tuesday April 1, largely unamended apart from some clarification of the language by the sentencing council. Lord Justice William Davis has rebuffed demands to change two-tier guidelines The row is the biggest clash between the state and the judiciary since Brexit, when judges came under fire for compromising their independence by their judgments over government legislation. Both Labour and Tory front benches have criticised the guidance as two-tier justice as there are no requirements for similar reports on offenders of any other ethnicity. It has raised concerns of more lenient sentences for ethnic minorities. Ms Mahmood said she was extremely disappointed by the councils response and warned she was prepared to introduce new laws to overrule. All options are on the table and I will legislate if necessary, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In her letter, Ms Mahmood said it was for the Government, not judges, to develop policies to tackle the differential outcomes in the criminal justice system between ethnic minorities. She warned that differential treatment based on ethnicity could be dangerous and stir racial antipathy from people who saw it as unfair. The appearance of differential treatment before the law is particularly corrosive, and its impact could easily be counterproductive, she said. A Muslim woman, like me, is safer in this country when she is treated no differently to her fellow citizens, regardless of the colour of her skin or the nature of her faith. Risks eroding public confidence She said that encouraging a judge to request a pre-sentencing report for one named cohort but not another amounted to differential treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pursuing this path also risks eroding public confidence in our justice system, she wrote. The recent response to the publication of these new guidelines has already shown the considerable depth of feeling this elicits. She requested that the council should ditch the list of cohorts of people, including ethnic minorities for whom a pre-sentence report would normally be considered necessary. If they refused to do that, she asked that they should reopen the consultation on the guidelines in light of the public outcry over their plans. However, in his letter, published at the same time on Friday, Lord Justice Davis refused to do so, saying only that the council would provide some clarification of the language of the relevant part of the guideline should be included in the hope that this would correct the widespread misunderstanding which has emerged in the last few weeks. He rejected Ms Mahmoods claims that judges were intervening on policy. Any judge or magistrate required to sentence an offender must do all that they can to avoid a difference in outcome based on ethnicity. The judge will be better equipped to do that if they have as much information as possible about the offender, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cohort of ethnic, cultural and faith minority groups may be a cohort about which judges and magistrates are less well informed. In our view, providing the sentencing court with information about that cohort could not impinge on whatever policy might be introduced to deal with the underlying problem. Provision of a pre-sentence report in an individual case cannot have damaging consequences for wider policy making. Courts need guidance Lord Justice Davis also maintained that courts needed the guidance because there were cases where they had failed to order pre-sentence reports for ethnic minorities when they should have done so. He has previously warned that any attempt by the Government to dictate its rules for sentencing would breach the longstanding constitutional independence of judges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Mahmood said: I have been clear in my view that these guidelines represent differential treatment, under which someones outcomes may be influenced by their race, culture or religion. This is unacceptable, and I formally set out my objections to this in a letter to the Sentencing Council last week. I am extremely disappointed by the councils response. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, who first raised the two justice concerns, said: Shabana Mahmood has been humiliated by the Sentencing Council. In three days time we will have two-tier sentencing because of her and two-tier Keir. It is shameful they sat on their hands and chose not to legislate to prevent two-tier justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added: The promise to legislate down the line is too little too late. From Tuesday the Justice Secretary will preside over a sentencing system she conceded is two-tier because of her sheer incompetence. 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. This article was first published in the On the Trail newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox on Friday mornings here. Hello, friends. Another fun, and slightly dramatic, week on Capitol Hill. Between pulled nominations, internal battles over changing procedural rules, leaked group chats, and heated debates over the future of public broadcasting its been a colorful week. Its also been colorful outside the halls of Congress, with cherry blossoms finally blooming here in D.C. and warm spring weather defrosting the air. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oh, and happy opening weekend for all you MLB fans out there. Lets get into the news of the week. The Big Idea Mike Lee leads efforts to crack down on judges thwarting Trumps agenda Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is spearheading efforts in the Senate to crack down on judges blocking President Donald Trumps agenda, filing a bill earlier this week that would change how judges can issue rulings related to a presidential order. Lee introduced the Restraining Judicial Insurrectionists Act of 2025 that would establish a three-judge panel to swiftly review injunctions against the president and allow for quick appeal to the Supreme Court. The bill comes after a handful of judges have come under fire by Trumps allies in Congress for temporarily halting a number of his executive orders to be reviewed by the courts. Were going to stop delusional judges who think they are the president. Watch as @IngrahamAngle and I talk about whats coming pic.twitter.com/qA6w7CO1ld Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) March 27, 2025 Americas government cannot function if the legitimate orders of our Commander in Chief can be overridden at the whim of a single district court judge, Lee said in a statement. They have presumed to run the military, the civil service, foreign aid, and HR departments across the Executive Branch blatantly unconstitutional overreach. This legislation will create a judicial panel to expedite Supreme Court review of these blanket injunctions, preventing unelected radicals in robes from sabotaging the separation of powers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lee has been promising to go after these judges for months, telling me earlier this year that he was drafting legislation to restrict the ability to halt Trumps orders. The federal judiciary must uphold the system of checks and balances, including restraining the Executive Branch when it violates the Constitution, he told me in February. At the same time, separation of powers required by the Constitution is potentially implicated whenever a single district court judge issues an injunction against the entire U.S. government, with nationwide application. As we went through in last weeks edition of On The Trail, House Republicans are homing in on these judges with several of them facing impeachment threats. Of course, its not clear if those efforts would be successful in removing judges, as they would need significant support from Democrats in the Senate. And I dont see that happening. What to watch for: The House Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing on activist judges on Tuesday. Its not yet clear who they will call for witnesses. The Senate Judiciary Committee will follow suit on Wednesday. Stories driving the week Cabinet cut off : The White House abruptly announced on Thursday it would pull the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations after months of waiting for a confirmation hearing. A senior White House official tells me a major factor in that decision was that debt ceiling and reconciliation are going to be tough already due to Democrats and slim margins and we cant make it tougher on ourselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision is no doubt a disappointment to Stefanik, who has waited months for a final confirmation hearing. And the decision certainly came as a surprise the New York congresswoman joined Trumps joint address last month as part of his Cabinet rather than as a member of Congress. Senate fast-tracks reconciliation: The Senate is preparing to vote on Trumps massive budget resolution as early as next week as Republicans push to quickly advance the presidents agenda. A remaining sticking point in the resolution, which has already passed the House is a provision to increase the debt ceiling something some GOP senators are not too keen on. Rebellious Republicans: An intraparty battle is forming as some Republicans prepare to buck leadership on a proposal to allow new mothers and fathers to vote remotely for the first three months after their baby is born. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., are behind the movement and are preparing to use a procedural loophole to bypass GOP leadership to do so. Im not going to just simply fall in line because (leadership) say this is a tool of the minority, Luna says, before later adding: I think (Speaker Johnsons) wrong. He thinks Im wrong. Im right. Hes wrong. Congress erupts over leaked group chat detailing attack plans. Heres what lawmakers are doing about it. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are still reeling from an apparent blunder by national security adviser Mike Waltz, who inadvertently added The Atlantics editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat discussing attack plans on Houthis in Yemen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mistake has left several lawmakers confounded on how the mistake was made and why top national security officials were discussing such sensitive material on an unsecure messaging platform. Both Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who were included in the chat, were grilled by lawmakers during unrelated hearings on Capitol Hill this week. The White House has maintained that no classified information was shared in the group chat nor was classified material sent to the thread. That prompted The Atlantic to publish the text chain in full, which further angered some lawmakers who argue if the information had fallen in the wrong hands, the mission could have been compromised. While the Trump administration has declined to take any action against its own officials, several lawmakers in Congress are pressing for further action. Heres a breakdown of some of those efforts. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jack Reed , D-R.I., sent a letter to the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Defense requesting an inquiry into the matter, specifically on DOD policies surrounding classification and declassification policies and whether they were followed; facts and circumstances on the matter; and recommendations to address potential issues, among other things. Its so far the only bipartisan request. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House, has called on Trump to fire Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth . Rep. Jared Moskowitz , D-Fla., wrote a letter to GOP House leadership requesting the creation of a select committee to investigate the group chat, arguing that putting war plans on an unsecure platform and failing to come clean about it put American lives at risk and undermined national security. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, is calling on the Trump administration to release the full text chain including everything communicated after the journalist prudently removed himself. Quick hits From the Hill: Democrats are looking for a new leader for 2028, but who? U.S. could default on loans in next few months. Utah Sen. John Curtis ranked one of the most effective lawmakers in Congress. Public broadcasting at center of partisan war. Mike Lee introduces bill to abolish the TSA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the White House: Trumps Cabinet appointments have a diverse education background. Second lady Usha Vance set to visit Greenland. Trump overhauls voting via executive order. HHS to cut 10,000 health-related jobs and close half of regional offices. From the courts: Supreme Court preserves Biden-era gun control measure on gun kits. The first-of-its-kind case putting Utahs new religious freedom law to the test. The Supreme Court showdown between Utah, Oklahoma and the EPA. Whats next Thanks for sticking through to the end of this edition. As Im getting used to the newsletter life, Im experimenting with different ways to present information and telling stories as I see them from up here on the Hill. Like what you see? Have thoughts on how to make it better? Have burning questions or interesting story ideas you want to see in the next issue? Let me know! As always, feel free to reach out to me by email with story ideas or questions you have for lawmakers. And follow me on X for breaking news and timely developments from the Hill. Junior lawyers are in open revolt against their employers after accusing bosses of failing to stand up to Donald Trump. More than 1,600 associates have signed an open letter to condemn the worlds biggest law firms, which they claim have not done enough to combat the US presidents bullying. The protest is gaining momentum after Mr Trump signed a string of executive orders targeting American law firms over their work for political opponents and their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The orders have effectively banned the firms from carrying out government work as their lawyers are not allowed to enter federal buildings. The open letter says: Over the past several weeks, the Executive Branch has launched an all-out attack aimed at dismantling rule-of-law norms, including by censuring individual law firms by name because of past representation. Signatories to the letter include hundreds of lawyers from some of the firms affected, including Covington & Burling, Perkins Coie, Paul Weiss and Wilmer Hale. The letter says: Our system is predicated on the idea that everyone is entitled to zealous representation. Our duty as lawyers to conscientiously pursue our clients interests, regardless of whether we personally agree with those interests, is a bedrock principle within the legal profession. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we are united, we cannot be intimidated. These tactics only work if the majority does not speak up. Our hope was that our employers, some of the most profitable law firms in the world, would lead the way. That has not yet been the case. Leading law firms have been criticised for kowtowing to Washington in the face of Donald Trumps intimidation tactics - Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Despite Mr Trumps attack on the legal industry, the vast majority of firms have chosen to stay silent. This has prompted some industry experts to warn of a chilling effect. Criticism has also intensified after Paul Weiss agreed to carry out $40m (31m) worth of pro bono work for the Trump administration in exchange for the presidents executive order being overturned. Brad Karp, Paul Weisss chairman, later accused rival firms of seeking to exploit our vulnerabilities by aggressively soliciting our clients and recruiting our attorneys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details of the open letter have emerged after Mr Trump signed an executive order against WilmerHale on Thursday, as he claimed the firm is bent on employing lawyers who weaponise the law. The executive order cited WilmerHales decision to hire Robert Mueller, who previously led an investigation into claims Russia interfered in the 2016 election. As for the other firms targeted, Mr Trump signed an order against Covington & Burling over work its lawyers carried out on regarding the Jan 6 2021 riots at the Capitol. He also punished Perkins Coie over its work for Hillary Clintons 2016 electoral campaign. 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. There is new legal blowback after top Trump officials texted about military plans in a group chat that inadvertently included a journalist. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also criticizing Trump over the chat. NBC News Aaron Gilchrist reports more from the White House. Former federal prosecutor Berit Berger and former Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh join Ana Cabrera to share their analysis. (NewsNation) Trump administration officials are seeking intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a judges decision that blocks the deportation of five Venezuelan nationals that President Donald Trump is seeking to remove from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act. The Justice Department is seeking an emergency order that would allow the Venezuelans to be deported, claiming that they are members of the prison gang Tren de Aragua. This week, Chief U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg paused the scheduled flights, saying that the detainees deserve a hearing in which they plan to deny that they are gang members. Boasberg is also seeking more details about two flights on March 15 to decide if the administration defied his oral and written orders to block the flights. A panel of appellate court judges then ruled in a 2-1 decision upholding a previous order that temporarily blocks the deportations of the migrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance embarks on shortened Greenland trip amid backlash Boasberg previously ordered planeloads of Venezulean detainees to return to the United States after they had taken off. That did not take place, however, and since then, Boasberg has asked the administration for further details about the timing of the planes departures. Administration officials have refused, claiming state secret privilege in declining to provide the judge with more specifics. Trump, along with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other federal officials were named in the filing, which is asking the Supreme Court to vacate Boasbergs order to halt the flights. Trump administration officials are arguing that because Trump declared Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization in an executive order shortly after taking office, officials have the right to deport the immigrants without them appearing in court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has asked attorneys for the five Venezuelans who are challenging the administrations efforts to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to respond to the Justice Department by Tuesday morning. Trumps invoking the war-time act, which was passed in 1798, is the first time it has been used since World War II. This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country the President, through Article II, or the Judiciary, through (temporary restraining orders), Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in the 44-page filing. The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President. The republic cannot afford a different choice. Justice Department officials argued in the filing that federal courts should not interfere with diplomatic negotiations. They said that attorneys for the Venezuelan nationals brought their argument to the wrong court, claiming that their motion should have been filed in Texas, where the five migrants are being detained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here, the district courts orders have rebuffed the Presidents judgments as to how to protect the Nation against foreign terrorist organizations and risk debilitating effects for delicate foreign negotiations, Harris wrote in the court filing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. March 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation into the admission policies of four California universities to see if any still employ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices. Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced Thursday that her department's Civil Rights Division had started compliance review checks at UCLA, UC Irvine, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley. She explained that her actions follow the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision that stops universities and colleges from using DEI, and that she and President Donald Trump are "dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bondi alleged that the "elite" schools have "prioritized racial quotas over equality of opportunity, dividing Americans and discriminating against entire groups of applicants, all in the name of DEI." "The Department of Justice will put an end to a shameful system in which someone's race matters more than their ability," said Acting Associate Attorney General Chad Mizelle. "Every college and university should know that illegal discrimination in admissions will be investigated and eliminated." Meanwhile, the University of Southern California, while not announced to be under investigation, said in a press release Thursday that it is "broadening" DEI into "Community." The school said that the term DEI "has evolved to encompass so many interpretations as it has increasingly become embroiled in broader cultural and political disagreements," and that "recent evolving federal legal guidance further reinforces that our language and actions must be both precise and unambiguous." Editor's Note: This story was updated to note that the number of universities facing investigation was four and not five. Archbishop of Kansas City Joseph Naumann performs a Catholic mass on March 28, 2025, in Topeka as religious protesters clashed on the Capitol grounds across the street. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA During moments of near silence among the Catholic archbishop of Kansas City and hundreds of people gathered in prayer inside the Assumption Church in Topeka, chants, shouts and sometimes sirens penetrated the church doors. While competing religious protests clashed on the Capitol grounds across the street, as many as 400 people convened in the church to participate in prayer, ceremony and a mass that was meant to be an antidote to the unbelieving secular society. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The services were part of a series of counterefforts planned in response to a black mass. The black mass, planned by a nonprofit organization not affiliated with the Satanist Temple, the Satanic Grotto. After the events announcement on Facebook in February, outrage ensued. Leading up to Fridays satanic protest, Christian counterprotests and Catholic services, the archbishop, Joseph Naumann, sued the grottos president, Michael Stewart, who was arrested Friday around 11:30 a.m. after entering the Statehouse. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and legislative leadership tried in advance to limit the protest through modifications to Stewarts permit to gather and new restrictions on Capitol building rules. A handful of Republican legislators attended the mass. Archbishop of Kansas City Joseph Naumann leads a eucharistic adoration, which includes ceremonial prayer before a consecrated host, on March 28, 2025, at Assumption Church in Topeka. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector) Naumann gave a sermon condemning the protests that were meant to cause confusion and chaos, he said. The efforts fostered confrontation and conflict, he said, and were designed to be provocative. What I do not understand is why we are giving our Capitol as a venue for what truly is hate speech, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He drew a connection between satanists and atheists after dissecting Stewarts previous claims of religiosity, calling him a so-called satanic worshiper but really an atheist. The group who is really pro-choice, pro-abortion and atheist present their abortion advocacy as part of their fake religion so that they can claim religious rights are being violated by any efforts to provide protection to the unborn and their mothers, Naumann said. The antidote to the religious conflict unfolding in Topeka, Naumann said, was allowing people to see their faith. Archbishop of Kansas City Joseph Naumann gives a sermon during a Catholic mass on March 28, 2025, in Topeka. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector) Its sad, those who are trying to desecrate the Capitol today, desecrate symbols of faith Bibles and crucifixes. Thank God, we dont believe they have a consecrated host, but this is a sad state of life for them to be in. We need to pray for them, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naumanns lawsuit, which was dropped soon after it was filed, revolved around false claims that Stewart had obtained a consecrated host. Inside and outside the church, law enforcement officers stood on watch as throngs of people gathered and moved on the Capitol grounds while those inside the church stayed mostly still. Natalie Rowe, a 68-year-old lifelong Catholic, said she traveled Friday morning to Topeka from Wichita to be part of a strong showing. Before the mass began, she attended the archbishops eucharistic adoration, which involves praying before a consecrated host. The universe is very important to me, she said. My faith is very important to me. Then she crossed the street to join the demonstrations. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department is still looking for the good Samaritan who helped an injured firefighter two months ago. The fire was at a KCK Subway, with the cause being determined as arson. Court documents show that 29-year-old Gabriel Taylor is charged with aggravated arson in the case. Taylor was also convicted and sentenced to four years in prison for an arson case in Missouri from 2020. During the January 13 Subway fire, a firefighter was hurt after a car drove over a supply hose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harrisonville police attempting to locate missing mother, infant daughter That morning, KCKFD crews were working to put out a fire at the Subway near Southwest and Rainbow Boulevard when a driver ran over the supply hoses. As that person drove away, it pulled a hose off the hydrant with such force and velocity that it struck the firefighter in the lower leg, causing an open tibia fibula fracture, said Assistant Fire Chief Scott Schaunaman. Schaunaman says the firefighter laid in the busy street, severely hurt. A good Samaritan stopped, used his truck to block oncoming traffic, checked on the status of the firefighter and actually helped him get off the road to a safe area until firefighters could get there to render further care, he explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than two months later, all they know about the man is that he was wearing an orange hoodie and driving a white truck. Theyre hoping a little information goes a long way. I just talked to him this afternoon, the firefighter, and he is literally dying to meet this person and shake that persons hand because he truly believes that he was instrumental in helping save his life, Schaunaman continued. Racist, antisemitic graffiti left at metro park leaves patrons upset The firefighter wasnt named, but Schaunaman says hes been with the department for almost 14 years. Hes had two surgeries following the injury and wont be returning to work anytime soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What we do know is he is going to physical therapy twice a week, hes still using a walker, he cant put weight on that leg yet, explained Shaunaman. While the driver didnt intentionally run over the hose, Shaunaman explained that its important that people remember to slow down, stay alert and keep a safe distance around emergency scenes. If you know, or are, the good Samaritan who helped the firefighter, call 913-573-5311. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TOPEKA (KSNT) Prescribed burns are a common practice for farmers, but firefighters say it gets dangerous as weather conditions fluctuate each day. Firefighters say communication is essential to keep residents safe, which is why they have new technology to make a difference. Ping pong size hail possible in parts of NE Kansas Recently, all of the departments in Shawnee County switched to ops channels, Soldier Township Fire Chief Chad Lady said. Once we get dispatch out on a call, then were assigned an ops channel and then all units that are going to that call are going to that ops channel. So, communication is a little bit better. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In northeast Kansas, grassfires can differ greatly. Terrain is a big one, Shawnee County Fire District #4 chief Nathan Rewerts said. Out here in western Shawnee County, we dont have flat ground at the edge of the Flint Hills. So, we have prairie hay and we have deep ravines. While local fire crews are on top of it, there are things you can do to make their jobs easier. Make sure that you have plenty of help and plenty of water, Lady said. Call us as soon as possible, that way its not extremely out of control by the time we get there. 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 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TOPEKA (KSNT) Kansas Governor Laura Kelly approved multiple bills this week which will now become new laws in the Sunflower State. Kelly announced on Friday, March 28 that she has approved eight new laws this past week. These new laws include the following: House Bill 2092 updates reporting and audit requirements for Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) with the Kansas Secretary of State. House Bill 2117 modifies certain business filing and fee requirements for business trusts, foreign corporations and limited partnerships; and makes other technical changes. Substitute for House Bill 2145 reorganizes the Butler County Fair Board. Senate Bill 166 creates the Fostering Competitive Career Opportunities Act. Senate Bill 194 voids a restrictive covenant that limits the use of real property and includes discriminatory provisions, enabling an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) project at Wichita State University to move forward. Senate Bill 78 requires postsecondary educational institutions to review and update accreditation policies regularly. House Bill 2185 provides more educational supports for Kansas National Guard members and their families by updating the Educational Assistance Act to allow family of guard members to participate. Substitute for House Bill 2102 provides for the advance enrollment of a military student whose parent will be stationed in Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WATCH: Satanic Grotto leader taken away in handcuffs at the Kansas Statehouse There are a multitude of factors that go into employment consideration, and a postsecondary degree should not always be the deciding factor, Kelly said on Senate Bill 166. While this principal has already been implemented for agencies under my jurisdiction, I am pleased to sign this bill to codify this practice. Many of the above bills will become new laws on July 1, 2025. Others will be come effective once they are published in the Kansas Register. For more Capitol Bureau 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. TEHRAN, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that holding direct negotiations with the United States under maximum pressure and military threats from Washington is "meaningless." He made the remarks in a phone call with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Araghchi, however, voiced Tehran's readiness to pursue a diplomatic approach to the nuclear issue. Iran has responded through Oman to a letter sent by U.S. President Donald Trump seeking negotiations with Tehran on its nuclear program, Araghchi said. Trump told Fox Business Network in early March that he had sent a letter to Iran's leadership proposing negotiations for a new nuclear deal. The Iranian foreign minister said Thursday that the official response from his country included a letter that "thoroughly" explained Iran's viewpoints on the ongoing situation and on Trump's letter. Araghchi and Lammy exchanged views on Tehran's nuclear program, bilateral issues, as well as the latest developments in West Asia and the world, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Referring to the four rounds of talks held in recent months between Iran and the E3 group of France, Britain and Germany on various issues, including Tehran's nuclear program, Araghchi expressed disappointment over certain "unconstructive" actions and positions of some European states and the European Union, including the imposition and continuation of various sanctions against Iran under false pretexts. He called on the three European countries to reconsider their approaches toward Iran and the West Asia region. Lammy, for his part, underscored the commitment of Britain and other European countries to pursuing a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, adding that he would soon pursue the issue again through contacts with his European and U.S. counterparts. Iran signed a nuclear deal with six world major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States -- in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. During Trump's first term of office, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Rep. Henry Helgerson, seen during a March 11, 2025, session of the House, warned the state is in "a financial mess." (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA The Legislature adopted a spending plan Thursday that fully funds public schools, provides pay raises for state employees, eliminates DEI initiatives, polices pronouns in emails, and puts the state on a course to blow through billions in reserves and face a budget shortfall within three years. Senate Bill 125 finalizes $27.08 billion in spending for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, and provides the blueprint for how the state will spend $25.6 billion next year. Those figures include $10.85 billion from the State General Fund in the current year and $10.64 billion next year, a $210 million decrease in spending of state revenues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When coupled with the five-year, $2 billion slash to income taxes from last years special session, and assorted new legislation that would deliver tax cuts, the state would be an estimate $461 million in the red in fiscal year 2028. That would be a stark departure from the $3.2 billion surplus from a year ago, which is already projected to decline to $2.1 billion as expenses for the current fiscal year exceed revenues. Rep. Henry Helgerson, an Eastborough Democrat, said the state was in a financial mess. He warned House members they were going to come to loggerheads with a new governor as a result of last years tax cuts and an appetite for spending created by federal COVID-19 aid. The chickens are coming home to roost, and we are in a hole, Helgerson said. Rep. Troy Waymaster, a Bunker Hill Republican who chairs the budget committee, acknowledged a tough road ahead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats the reason why we had the new legislative budget process, Waymaster said, referencing the decision by lawmakers to ignore the governors budget proposal and make their own. The House adopted the budget on an 89-36 vote, followed by the Senates approval on a 24-16 vote. Theres things that people will like, theres a few things people do not like, and I can find that in any budget weve ever done, said Sen. Rick Billinger, a Goodland Republican who chairs the Senate budget committee. Senate Democrats expressed concerns in a caucus meeting about adopting a budget during an abbreviated legislative session. A revenue forecast in late April will show the full impact of last years income tax cuts, but lawmakers were set to adjourn late Thursday and wrap up business April 10-11. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is deliberate that we pass things without having knowledge, said Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes. Republicans who crafted the budget attached numerous policy strings to the money allocated to state agencies, universities, boards and other government entities. The provisos include directives to ban the use of gender-identifying pronouns in state employee email signatures and to stamp out any diversity, equity and inclusion positions, mandates, policies, programs, activities and training. Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Shawnee Democrat, said it was troubling that the state would hold Department of Administration funding hostage until the agency showed it had implemented the directives. I dont know what its satisfying or who its satisfying, Ruiz said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other provisos will end continuous eligibility for Medicaid recipients, ban purchases of candy and soda with money for food assistance, allow the state treasurer to invest rainy day funds, authorize the Kansas Developmental Finance Authority to issue STAR bonds, and prohibit Larned State Hospital from using contract agency nursing staff in 2027. Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat, took issue with the decision to raise the rent of journalists who work from the Statehouse, a move spearheaded by Sen. Virgil Peck, a Havana Republican who said it was unfair that the six news outlets that have a Statehouse office could pay just $100 per year in rent while writing inaccurate stories. He successfully inserted language that will charge the news outlets, which do not include Kansas Reflector, $1 per square foot per month a combined annual cost of about $16,000. When Holscher asked for an example of a factual error in a news story, Senate President Ty Masterson told her she was a little far afield. Billinger, who presented the budget to the Senate, said he didnt hear of any stories that were inaccurate or anything else. Holscher said the decision to raise the rent for news outlets feels extremely punitive, kind of small of us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just because we dont like something the press has published doesnt mean we can seek to punish them, Holscher said. This is concerning to me, the action thats been taken in this regard. Lawmakers got rid of a proposed mandate that all executive branch employees work from the office, opting instead for a requirement that state agencies report how many employees are working from home. The budget would fully fund public schools but eliminate funding for training and other items not required under the school finance legal settlement. It also provides just $10 million in new funding for special education services, short of the $73 million commitment made a year ago. Spending items include the allocation of $106.3 million for state employees, mostly for 2.5% wage increases, $5.8 million for a top-secret military weapons project in Wichita, $24.9 million for a new Kansas Highway Patrol dispatch center in Salina, $19.3 million to complete renovation of the Docking Building, $10 million for firearm detection software in public schools, $179 million for local bridge construction, $71.2 million for a Wichita Biomedical Campus, $41.3 million for an Ag Innovation Initiative at Kansas State University, and $30 million for a Health Science Education Center at Wichita State University. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Chase Blasi, a Wichita Republican, said he planned to go home this weekend and tell constituents he voted for a budget that fully funds public schools, adds funding for special education services, and rewards state employees with a salary increase that they deserve. We can sit here all day and point out a few things that are just not perfect, but we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good, Blasi said. The budget eliminates funding for the Blueprint for Literacy, an initiative the Legislature adopted last year to train teachers and improve reading levels. The program is a collaboration among the Kansas Board of Regents, Kansas State Board of Education, state universities and K-12 teachers. Rep. Nikki McDonald, an Olathe Democrat who serves on the Blueprint for Literacy advisory committee, said she was ashamed the Legislature would defund the initiative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its insulting to the work that weve done in good faith, and the more I talk about it, the more mad I get, McDonald said. So I think Im just going to leave by saying a budget is a reflection of our priorities, and I had hoped that we would prioritize our children more. The budget also calls for the state to take on $128 million in debt for a veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Manhattan and $80 million in debt for a new Kansas Bureau of Investigation headquarters in downtown Topeka. Adam Proffitt, the state budget director, told Senate Democrats that Republicans had taken an across-the-board shotgun approach to trimming the budget that lacks strategic planning. And he said he was concerned about adding debt after spending the past few years trying to pay it down. Now were going in the wrong direction, Proffitt said. The attached video from 2023 explains the water battle in central Kansas. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) As a legal battle continues over water rights in central Kansas, two communities involved are celebrating a $15.8 million grant that could help them. Hays and Russell are getting the Build Kansas Grant to help pipe water 70 miles from a ranch in Edwards County. This investment is crucial for ensuring our communitys long-term sustainability and resilience against drought conditions that have historically challenged our region, Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two towns bought the R9 Ranch in the 1990s. The ranch includes billions of gallons of irrigation water rights that could supply Hays and Russell for up to 75 years. In 2016, the towns applied for the right to transfer the water. Monster under bed in Kansas town leads to arrest However, Edwards County and the Water Protection Association of Central Kansas (Water PACK), a trade association whose members hold water rights surrounding the R9 Ranch, are fighting the transfer. They are concerned that losing that much water could dry up the local economy. The lawyers representing Edwards County and Water PACK say the battle is far from over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The application to change the use of R9 water resources from irrigation to municipal remains pending in the (Kansas) Supreme Court, Charles Lee, Lee Schwalb LLC, said. The Water Transfer Act proceeding remains pending before the Hearing Panel. Edwards County and the cities are also involved in litigation in Edwards County District Court over county regulations that affect the proposed water transfer. That is not stopping Hays and Russell from making plans. Hays says getting the $15.8 million strengthens their application for a federal grant of $50 million. This combined funding approach is vital to ensuring we can successfully implement and complete this critical infrastructure, John Braun, R9 project manager, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Water is the lifeblood of any community, Dougherty said. We cannot overstate the importance of this project to the future prosperity and stability of our region. Our ability to provide residents and businesses with a reliable water supply not only protects our cities but also positions the region for continued economic growth and development. MORE Continuing Coverage Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Karen Read is due back in court Friday morning for one final pre-retrial hearing before her second murder trial starts next week. Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting John OKeefe, her Boston police officer, with her Lexus SUV in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die 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 at 34 Fairview Road in Canton and then dragged outside and left for dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death. Fridays hearing comes after a U.S. Court of Appeals judge denied Reads appeal to dismiss charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly crash. Reads lawyers wanted to delay the start of her retrial, arguing that it would help them show that jurors unanimously found Read not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a crash. They have also argued that Reads double jeopardy interests havent been taken into consideration. Read can now appeal to the Supreme Court, however, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone denied another motion earlier this week to dismiss the case entirely on the basis of extraordinary government misconduct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cannone has yet to rule on recent requests from the prosecution that seeks access to records related to Investigation Discoverys documentary series A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read, which debuted last week on HBO. Prosecutors also want to introduce evidence from two cellphones belonging to Aidan Kearney, the Worcester-based blogger known as Turtleboy, claiming texts between him and Read will show Reads consciousness of guilt. Dedham, MA - April 12: Karen Read at her pre-trial hearing at Norfolk Superior Court. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) Karen Read watches attorney Robert Alessi make a point during her trial at Norfolk Superior Court at Dedham, Mass., on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge approves joint motion to delay start of Karen Reads 2nd murder trial Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dedham, MA - July 1: Karen Read looks toward the jurors, as they are greeted by Judge Beverly J. Cannone (not pictured) in Norfolk Superior Court. (Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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) 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) Karen Read 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 Karen Read 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) Cannone is also expected to issue a ruling on whether third-party culprit evidence should be allowed during the second trial after Reads lawyers claimed Brian Albert, Brian Higgins, and Colin Albert each had the motive, intent, and opportunity to commit the crime that resulted in OKeefes death. Reads lawyers have also asked the court to grant her audio access to sidebar bench conferences throughout all critical stages of the proceedings, including individual juror voir dire, to protect her right to a trial by an impartial jury. Jury selection in Reads second trial is slated to begin on Tuesday, April 1. Reads first trial ended with a hung jury in July 2024. RELATED: Karen Reads defense files to add former juror to defense team Judge extends buffer zone outside Dedham courthouse for retrial of Karen Read Prosecutors say data from Turtleboys phones will show Karen Reads consciousness of guilt Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Kate Bolduan has seen-and covered-a lot during her nearly two decade tenure at CNN. But the anchor and host still finds herself doing some things for the first time. Bolduan experienced two notable firsts during the two-year process of making Fentanyl in America: A Way Out, a one-hour Whole Story report from the front lines of Americas opioid crisis. Premiering Sunday night at 8 p.m., the episode features the voices of addicts and their families, as well as the doctors and first responders that treat them. Bolduan watches and listens to their frequently-wrenching stories, allowing them to shape the storys narrative rather than the other way around. Its the first time Ive done something in true documentary style, she tells TVNewser. I did not have a thesis statement going in-it only came to us at the end. That was a spectacular learning experience as a journalist and as a person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bolduan also made the difficult decision to get personal in the midst of reporting out the episode, speaking on-camera for the first time about her mothers longtime struggle with alcoholism. I did not intend to do that, and Im still not comfortable or ready to talk about it too much, she says now. But as the episode evolved, it felt very natural for me to talk about it in the way that I do. Certainly, having seen addiction firsthand put Bolduan on common ground with many of her subjects. And she believes that the process of interviewing other family members of addicts over the course of two years helped her better understand her mother, who passed away in 2023. I would have loved for her to have seen this, Bolduan says wistfully. Ive gained new insight and understanding into some of what she fought through so courageously for a very long time. Watch an exclusive clip from Fentanyl in America: One family you wont hear mentioned in Fentanyl in America are the Sacklers, the former owners of Purdue Pharma. That company created and marketed OxyContin, the painkiller thats frequently identified as one of the contributing factors to the ongoing opioid crisis. The Sackler family has been at the center of numerous lawsuits over the years. In January, they reached a $7.4 billion settlement with 15 states that prevents them from selling opioids and ends their control of Purdue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bolduan says that the decision to leave the Sacklers out of the narrative was rooted in her desire to look at the present and future rather than back to the past. For most of the people we spoke with, their path towards addiction began with some sort of accident or injury and then being prescribed opioids, she explains. When they became addicted, they sought out heroin and then fentanyl started flooding the supply because it was cheaper. My singular goal with this report was to look at fentanyl in a way that it hasnt been looked at or talked about, Bolduan adds. Its not because we wanted to shy away from [the Sacklers], but it was more about [emphasizing] the fentanyl piece of the crisis. One of Bolduans key takeaways from her two years observing the fallout of fentanyls destructive rise is that there are no easy solutions to the current stage of the opioid crisis. Even as deaths decline and supply chains are cut off, medically-assisted treatments-aided by medications like narcan and buprenorphine-require extensive commitments of time and money. It has evolved into a crisis of recovery, Bolduan notes. Most addicts cant just kick this, and that means access, that means education-and that means money. Its not what they want, its what they need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interestingly, the recovery crisis is an area where the Donald Trump administration could choose to have a positive impact. Since taking office, President Trump and other officials in his orbit have focused on the supply side of the fentanyl question through controversial means, such as levying tariffs against countries like Canada and Mexico and pursuing widespread deportations by invoking centuries-old laws. During the 2024 presidential campaign, though, Trump had a memorable interview with podcaster Theo Von where he discussed how addiction impacted his own family. (Trumps brother, Fred Trump Jr., battled alcoholism, which contributed to his death in 1981.) Based on her experience with her mother, Bolduan remembers being struck by those interviews at the time. That really resonated, she says. If you have seen addiction personally, you are inherently more invested in trying to find a solution, because the person you love is in there and you want to help them be them again. Supply is part of the problem, but the other side of it that we really explore in the report is the demand problem, Bolduan adds. They have to work in tandem for a long-term solution. Tackling a piece of [the opioid crisis] can be a good thing-but its not the whole story. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) For more than two decades, staff at the Grand Rapids Red Project have been working to reduce the negative consequences associated with illegal drug use. We like to center our program in really based in human rights, said the organizations executive director, Stephen Alsum. Watch Fentanyls Lethal Dose: The West Michigan Connection Two years ago, the Red Project became the first in the state to offer real-time drug checking with a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, or an FTIR machine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People bring in a small sample of whatever illicit substance theyre using, and the machine shows whats in it. Michigan researchers identify gaps in grief services for kids whose parents overdose The drug checking program rises out of the concept that people have a right to know what theyre putting into their body. And really in terms of people protecting their health and staying alive, we all need to know what were putting in our body, Alsum explained. Herman DeVries, a technician with the Grand Rapids Red Project, uses the FTIR machine on March 20, 2025. The testing showcases the complexity of the opioid supply in West Michigan. Its highly dangerous and its highly variable, Alsum said. When we started doing drug checking out here, you know, we expected samples of opioids to maybe contain two, three, four major components, maybe some heroin, some fentanyl, maybe two different types of cut. But what were seeing is that the samples were testing from here in Grand Rapids and Muskegon are a lot more complicated than that. A lot of times they contain seven, eight, nine different substances in them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added that over 90% of what people are bringing in as heroin contains fentanyl, one of the deadliest synthetic opioids. Were trying to advance harm reduction services in Michigan, really provide people with access to the knowledge, information, tools and support that they need to stay healthy and stay alive, Alsum said. Grand Rapids nonprofit advocates to legalize drug testing The success of the Red Projects drug checking program allowed the organization to expand its services into Muskegon in its second year. This year, Alsum said theyre taking it even further, providing support to three additional programs in Flint, Ypsilanti and Kalamazoo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Id really like to see drug checking programs be available in more areas of the state of Michigan. Grand Rapids is not the only area of the state where people are using drugs, Alsum said. But, he added, theres a challenge. In our country and here in Michigan, a lot of times those tools that people need to stay healthy and stay alive are criminalized, he said. Its something state Rep. Carrie Rheingans, D-Ann Arbor, has been working to change. In 2023, she introduced two bills that would decriminalize drug testing reagents and sterile syringes from the drug paraphernalia law for the purposes of harm reduction programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the problems were facing in trying to help people get in recovery and keep people safe is that there are different local ordinances, and sometimes you dont even realize youve passed from one township to another or a city to another city. So, we would like to standardize this exemption for syringes and fentanyl test strips, and even naloxone is necessary across the state, Rheingans told News 8. Both bills passed the House last term but stalled out in lame duck. Rheingans plans to reintroduce them sometime this spring. She also highlighted the work of organizations like the Red Project. Ive always admired their work from across the state and the southeast side, even 20 years ago when I started working in the field, she said. And I think its really fortunate that we have such fierce advocates and compassionate workers in our state. It saves lives, new program detects danger in GRs illicit drug supply Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the other side of the aisle, though, state Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, believes theres a different solution. We have to focus more on, what is the message that we are communicating? Posthumus told News 8. For example, House Republicans put forward a bill package led by Representative Sarah Lightner that focuses on ensuring that we are increasing the penalties for those that are distributing fentanyl, and I think we have to really focus on that side of the issue. And then if something like free test strips is paired with that, Id be open to that conversation, but we have to look more at the distribution side, rather than enabling users. Posthumus touched on his struggle with addiction. Im a person that has dealt with an alcohol problem in my past, and I dont know that enabling that is going to be helpful. And so we need to be focusing on ensuring that the drugs arent making it to our communities, first and foremost, he said. If harm reduction is giving out free needles to people that are addicted to fentanyl, thats a problem. That shouldnt be the route that were talking. I dont view that as harm reduction, I view that as enabling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harm reduction advocates, however, dont see it that way, arguing that drug users are going to use regardless. A lot of people who dont have experience with addiction, they dont understand that it takes many times for a lot of people with addiction, it takes many times for them to try to get in recovery before it sticks, Rheingans said. Thats one thing that I think is so important about these kinds of programs. You treat people like people, and they know somebody cares about them and is not judging them for their drug use. And that way, they can get into treatment, should they want to, and they know that theres somebody there cheering for them. Seeing the decline of fentanyl deaths over the last several years, Rheingans and Alsum agree that theyd like to see an increase in support for harm reduction services and programs. Syringe access, drug checking isnt the end-all be-all for harm reduction services. If you go out of the United States where the environment is more conducive to harm reduction services and they havent focused so much on a criminal response to substance use, youll see a lot more services being available, services that keep people alive, Alsum said. So Id really like to see us progress on what weve built 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 WOODTV.com. HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) Kentucky House Bill 15 has taken effect allowing 15-year-olds to earn their drivers permits. Now the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is working to implement the change. A release obtained by Eyewitness News says the cabinet is making system upgrades so a credential can be issued. The release goes on to say as early as April 2, applicants can start making appointments. Officials are asking individuals who have made an appointment prior to that date to reschedule with Kentucky State Police to prevent delays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new law only allows more time for eligible drivers to hold a permit. State law still requires you to be 16 to obtain a license. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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). HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) Drivers can likely expect to pay a toll on a the new I-69 bridge between Indiana and Kentucky, after the Kentucky General Assembly overrode Governor Andy Beshears veto of the toll. Governor Beshear vetoed portions of House Bill 546 that required drivers to pay a toll when crossing the Brent Spence Bridge. I think we have the finances to build it without tolling it, and IU dont think we should toll our people when we have such a large budget reserve trust fund, thats when we should do big projects, we are going to build a bridge in northern Kentucky and it wont have a toll, I think the people of western Kentucky deserve the same, said Beshear. 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). FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) Lawmakers returned to Frankfort Thursday for the last two days of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly. However, the day was spent not necessarily making new policy but overriding the executive opposition to it. Veto of the governor notwithstanding was a phrase that was heard many times on Thursday. Its a routine all too familiar to the current General Assembly. The first day back from the veto recess is typically spent overturning most if not all the vetoes just decided in the past 10 calendar days, excluding Sundays, by Gov. Andy Beshear. Thursday was no exception, with override votes held throughout much of the day, with both chambers later concurring on those votes. So, this is a bill that will do damage to thousands of people in my district and overturning the veto is a terrible idea, Rep. Adrielle Camuel said against HB 695, a Medicaid reform bill that could also introduce work reporting requirements. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats spoke frequently to offer a last word against the overrides. The Republican majority took a different tone, rarely commenting on the vetoes being overridden. However, House floor leader Rep. Steven Rudy (R-Paducah) could be seen tossing veto messages in the trash as votes were being taken, which Kentucky Republicans lauded on social media. Beshear vetoed 29 pieces of legislation, five of which were line items. At Thursdays Team Kentucky, he said he was pleased with early bills like House Bill 1, which will cut the state income tax next year, but he criticized how committee substitutes were used in some instances to speed along bills with little public input. By the end of the session, it turned into nasty bills that make people feel unwelcome, Beshear said. Beshear pointed to bills like House Bill 495, a bill rolling back last years executive order banning conversion therapy, something Republicans have argued was an overstep in authority. A Senate substitute now also ends coverage for transgender care through Medicaid. A visibility rally was held ahead of the vote overturning the veto. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Beshear vetoes 9 bills on education, healthcare, and more on Wednesday I found myself comforting friends and neighbors who are going to lose access to the medicine that keeps them alive. I found myself comforting trans Kentuckians and their families who love this Commonwealth but have been consistently told by this extremist super majority that their Commonwealth does not love them back, LFUCG Councilmember Emma Curtis, a transgender Kentuckian, said at the rally. I wish the Governor would take note of that, that he overreached his boundaries in terms of setting policy, where this body has the obligation and the responsibility of doing that, Rep. Ken Fleming (R-Louisville) said later that afternoon when lawmakers voted to override the veto of HB 495. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BUDAPEST, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday warned against the political escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine. Speaking on local public radio, Orban referred to recent recommendations from European Union (EU) officials advising households to stockpile food for 72 hours. "At first, this might sound funny, but if you look deeper, it's rather alarming," he said. Orban said that the EU had already become involved in the conflict through its support for Ukraine. "Hungary stayed out. We are on the side of peace; we don't send weapons or soldiers," he said. "But there are countries within the Union, and Brussels appears to be their spokesperson, that want to go deeper into the war." He argued that Europe had failed to enforce the Minsk agreements and lacked the strength to guarantee peace in Ukraine. The Hungarian prime minister also noted a growing divide between the U.S. and the EU on the Ukraine conflict, adding that some EU countries, such as Slovakia and Italy, were increasingly hesitant to support the escalation of the conflict. CHIPPEWA FALLS A former Jim Falls man was sentenced Thursday to serve eight years in prison for sexually touching an 11-year-old girl. A Chippewa County jury convicted Dana R. Belcher, 56, of Stanford, Kent., in January of four counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before reaching a guilty verdict on all four counts. Belcher opted not to testify. He entered a not guilty plea last June. He was taken into custody upon being convicted but he posted a $10,000 cash bond days later. According to the criminal complaint, the 11-year-old girl told police that Belcher had sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions at a residence in the town of Anson between summer 2021 and fall 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Steve Gibbs ordered the prison sentence, along with five years of extended supervision, saying probation was not proper in this matter. Each conviction is concurrent, and Belcher must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Belcher was given credit for five days already served. These are very serious offenses, Gibbs said. Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell asked Gibbs to impose a 13-year prison sentence and three years of extended supervision, saying the victim has been given a lifetime punishment of having to deal with the assault. Newell also asked for restitution to cover the cost of the victims therapy sessions, and Gibbs agreed to that requirement. He still continues to take zero responsibility for what occurred here, Newell noted. So, its hard to understand his rehabilitative needs when he says nothing has occurred. The harm to her is more than Ill ever be able to articulate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newell added: It doesnt get any worse than this, severity-wise. We as a society cannot tolerate our children to be sexually assaulted. Defense attorney Brian Severson said Belchers family speaks highly of him. However, none of them addressed the court to testify on his behalf. Severson said that while his client maintains his innocence, he cooperated with all court matters and a pre-sentence investigation, and he made all of his court appearances. He said if prison time was ordered, he would ask for it to be between three and five years of confinement. Newell did speak briefly where he reiterated that he maintains his innocence. The victims mother addressed the court before sentencing about how the assault has impacted her daughter. She asked for an 11-year prison sentence as a reminder of her age when (Belcher) stole her innocence from her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I will never forget the evening I came home from work and (she) told me what had been happening to her, the mother told Gibbs. During the trial, I learned a lot more about the horrific things that happened to her that she had never shared with me. It has forever changed both of our lives. This has been very challenging to us, both financially and emotionally. The mother said her daughter is now afraid to be left alone with men, even people she has known and trusted her whole life, and she wondered how it will affect her future relationships. She said her daughter opted not to attend the sentencing because the trial was so hard on her. Prior to being charged in this matter, Belcher had no prior criminal record in Wisconsin, online state records show. LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) Kentuckians watching Friday nights episode of Jeopardy! are in for a treat just over a week after getting a final category clue dedicated to Lexington. According to the trivia game shows website, Professor Revell Carr will face off with Mike Budzinksi and reigning five-day champion Josh Weikert. The University of Kentucky posted on X the afternoon of Friday, March 28, asking viewers to cheer Carr on as he puts his knowledge to the test. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout Weikerts winning streak, he has gathered over $80,200. On Thursdays episode, he defeated his two opponents in a runaway with over $20,000 by the final category. Professor Carr will face off against Weikert as well as fellow newcomer Budzinski, a portfolio manager from Chicago. For more information about the show, contestants, and more, visit the Jeopardy! 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 FOX 56 News. It is a brave man who takes on Vladimir Putin, and Christo Grozev must surely be wondering if it has been worth it. An investigative journalist for Bellingcat, Grozev is the subject of Kill List: Hunted by Putins Spies (Channel 4). To begin, we see an example of Grozevs work. He is helping to facilitate the escape of a whistleblower who was part of a secret Russian programme to create variations of Novichok. These scenes have the feel of a thriller, as the man his face digitally altered to protect his identity flees through the countryside to a rendezvous point, desperate to reach a new life in the West. Grozev also investigated the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, and of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. This, as you can imagine, has not made him popular with the Kremlin. And so there is a bounty on his head, which means he cant return home to his family in Vienna. In 2023, the security services told him that there was an imminent threat to his life if he was to land in any European country. He is currently living in the US. Its a nervy existence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Recently, his name came up in an Old Bailey trial of some Bulgarians caught spying for Russia. Their job was to conduct surveillance on Grozev. Bizarrely, they were hired by the former Wirecard boss Jan Marsalek, who wondered about paying a suicide bomber to behead Grozev in the street then blow themselves up. Another idea was to release poison gas into Grozevs apartment. This, like so many other elements of the story (including Grozevs fears that his father has been visited by assassins trying to ascertain his whereabouts), sounds like fiction. Or, as Grozev put it: This is the realm of a really, really crazy novel. It doesnt happen. Until it does. There are other journalists and activists in this two-part film, but Grozevs personal story is the most riveting. Until he was specifically told that his life was under threat, he had considered the general threat to be almost like a fun thing to know, which seems an oddly cavalier way to look at it. Did he get caught up in the excitement of the job, appearing at public events and being introduced as the rock star of investigative journalism? A doctor told him he had never seen a patient whose system was under such a constant level of stress. The Russians surely know exactly where he is. Grozev has done admirable and vital work, and he is paying a very high price for it. 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. Kim Kardashian's attorney dream gets more apparent by the day! The prison reform advocate has taken one more exam required to let her practice law as a duly certified attorney in the United States. In 2017, Kim Kardashian started her journey in criminal justice reform after discovering the case of Alice Marie Johnson. By December 2021, she achieved a significant milestone by passing the baby bar exam. Kim Kardashian Took The Exam Like Every Other Student Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / MEGA On Wednesday, March 27, Kim sat for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), a critical test focused on legal ethics and professional conduct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the MPRE is not a part of the bar exam, it is a necessary step for anyone seeking admission to the bar. Sources indicate that Kim took the exam at a testing center in Alhambra, California. This demonstrated her commitment to pursuing her legal ambitions like any aspiring attorney. Kim's bodyguard had to wait for her outside the building since no guests were allowed inside the testing facility. While Kim may not be an attorney yet, it has not deterred her from being at the forefront of criminal justice reform. Per TMZ, the entrepreneur successfully campaigned for Alice Marie Johnson's clemency and advocated for others behind bars. The Mother-Of-Four Flunked Her Baby Bar Exam Twice Kim's dream to follow in the footsteps of her father, Robert Kardashian, faced some obstacles at the take-off stage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As shared by The Blast in 2023 in the series finale of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," Kim discussed her struggles with the bar exam. The reality star revealed that she could not obtain her law license in California if she did not pass the test. During the episode, she also spoke with her attorneys, Erin Haney and Jessica Jackson, who assisted her in preparing for the exam when she learned that she had failed her second attempt. This was incredibly disappointing as she had flunked the test several months earlier. Kim scored lower on her second test compared to her first. She revealed that she earned a score of 463 on the second exam, slightly below her initial score of 474. To put things into perspective, a passing score is 560. The SKIMS Founder Hoped To Make A Difference With Her Passion For Criminal Justice Reform During the TIME 100 Summit in 2023, Kim expressed her commitment to criminal justice reform, emphasizing her desire to make it a central focus of her career. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As reported by The Blast, Kim shared her perspective on potentially stepping away from the spotlight, stating that she would be content as a full-time attorney. The billionaire reflected on how her experiences in criminal justice have significantly broadened her understanding of societal issues. She referenced a visit to a prison with her sister, Khloe Kardashian, which she described as an eye-opening experience for them both. Although she is not yet a licensed attorney, Kim aspired for her work in the criminal justice reform sector to be her most meaningful contribution to humanity. In her conversation with moderator Poppy Harlow, she humorously mentioned to her mom and manager that she might "retire" Kim K. to pursue a full-time legal career. The Hulu Star Secured Alice's Release After Over Two Decades Behind Bars After hearing Alice's heartfelt story, Kim was drawn into criminal justice reform eight years ago. Alice has been in prison since 1996 for her involvement in facilitating communications in a drug trafficking case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2016, she held out hope for clemency under then-President Obama, but ultimately, she was not among the 231 individuals pardoned. The reality star became aware of Alice's situation through a video report by Mic, prompting her to retweet the clip with the comment, "This is so unfair," as she began advocating for Alice's pardon. Luck finally smiled on Kim and Alice in August 2020 when Alice was released from prison. Kim continued her efforts to support other wrongfully convicted individuals. Among these cases was that of a father who was imprisoned after the tragic elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which claimed the life of his daughter. Kim Kardashian Finally Aced Her Baby Bar Exam MEGA In May 2019, Kim announced her ambition to pursue a legal career, inspired by her late father, who famously represented O.J. Simpson during the 1995 murder trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After dedicating two years of intense study, she finally passed the first-year law students' examination in December 2021. Celebrating her achievement, the 42-year-old shared her excitement on social media, acknowledging the challenges she faced throughout her law school journey. The reality star expressed pride in herself, noting that top legal experts warned her about the baby bar's low pass rate, calling it a nearly impossible challenge. More grease to Kim Kardashian's elbow! London Britain's King Charles had a setback in his cancer treatment on Thursday and he was taken to a hospital in London for observation. Coming more than a year after Charles revealed that he had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer and begun treatment, the incident renewed concern about the 76-year-old monarch's health. Buckingham Palace said that after a scheduled cancer treatment on Thursday morning, "the king experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital." The palace has never said what type of cancer the king has, nor what type of treatment he is receiving. King Charles III leaves Somerset House in London, England, March 26, 2025. / Credit: Tayfun Salci/Anadolu/Getty The king was seen in public in London just a day before his visit on Thursday to a private clinic in central London, seemingly healthy and smiling at a farm exhibition. He reappeared Friday morning, leaving his London residence Clarence House and waving to well-wishers from inside a black Audi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tourist Julian Mati told The Associated Press he was relieved to see Charles looking well as he left Clarence House. "We were horrified when we heard the news yesterday," Mati told the AP. "We had come down to the palace today to take pictures but we never imagined we would see the king. To see him smiling and waving, it's such a relief." Britain's King Charles III is driven from Clarence House, his London home, along The Mall toward Buckingham Palace in London, March 28, 2025. / Credit: Yui Mok/AP Charles returned to Clarence House on Thursday night, but his events for Friday, which included a trip to Birmingham, about two hours north of London, were all canceled. The king has maintained a busy schedule of official events in recent weeks, having steadily ramped up his work after returning to public duties in April last year, just several months after beginning his treatment. He made his first foreign trip during the treatment in July 2024, to Australia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, Charles was in Northern Ireland with Queen Camilla, and he met with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month. His next scheduled overseas trip, to Italy with the queen next week, was still planned as of Friday. Cancer has hit several members of the royal family in recent years, with the king's daughter-in-law Catherine, the Princess of Wales, announcing only two months ago that she was in remission after about 10 months of treatment. The princess had announced last March that cancer was discovered following an abdominal surgery and she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy. While the palace has never provided details of her diagnosis, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed in his memoir that Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles' mother, was diagnosed with bone cancer before her death in September 2022 at the age of 96. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth reacts to Atlantic releasing his Signal texts to Trump team detailing Yemen bombing Hegseth doubles down on Signal chat texts not being "war plans" Former National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster reacts to Trump administration leak King Charles III experienced unspecified side effects of his cancer treatment and was briefly in the hospital on Thursday, Buckingham Palace said. "Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, The King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital," Buckingham Palace said in a statement. No details were provided on the length of the observation period nor what the king's side effects entailed. He has since returned to Clarence House, one of the royal residences in London. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The monarch's engagements for Friday have been postponed as a result. Charles was scheduled to have four events in Birmingham that he is "greatly disappointed" to have to miss, according to the palace. "He very much hopes that they can rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible," the palace said. Buckingham Palace revealed that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer in February 2024, but information on the British royal's condition has been sparse. The announcement came weeks ahead of news that Princess Kate was undergoing "preventative chemotherapy." Britain's King Charles III in Limavady, on March 20, during a three-day trip to Northern Ireland. The palace has not publicized what type of cancer either royal was diagnosed with nor the stage of the disease. Kate announced her cancer was in remission earlier this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A source told NBC News in December that Charles' treatment is "moving in a positive direction." The source said there's been progress in his condition but that treatment would continue into 2025 as the cancer is in a managed condition." Charles became king on Sept. 8, 2022, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the longest serving monarch in the United Kingdom's history and, subsequently, Charles was the longest-serving heir to the throne before becoming the sovereign. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Signage and flowers are placed on a tree next to where ICE agents apprehended Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk on March 27, 2025, in Somerville, Massachusetts. Ozturk was arrested for purported activities related to terrorist organizations amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images) Nearly 20 years ago, my wife and I were lucky enough to study abroad in England. We had been awarded graduate scholarships and obtained our student visas from the British government. At the time, there was a heartbreaking genocide happening in Darfur. As concerned students invested in the moral standing of our university, we joined peaceful protests calling on Oxford to divest from companies that profited from the genocide and urged the British Parliament to intervene. I never feared that my exercise of free speech would get me arrested and kicked out of what I took to be the second freest nation on earth, after my own. And I certainly could not have imagined a swarm of British agents abducting me on the street and deporting me without cause. Perhaps in the time of King George III but not the age of constitutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University in Boston, was walking peacefully to the universitys Interfaith Center to break her Ramadan fast when six government agents in masks and hoodies surrounded her and took her away screaming in an unmarked SUV. For a day or more, according to Fox News, Rumeysas family and lawyers had no idea where she was and were unable to contact her. No charges were filed against her. A federal district judge even ordered the government not to move her out of state. But she was moved anyway to a detention center in Louisiana, awaiting deportation. Rumeysa had a valid student visa, as Fox News also reported. She was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to complete her Ph.D. at Tufts Department of Child Study and Human Development, where she researches children and media. No charges were filed against her and there was no warrant for her arrest; warrants are issued by judges who require the government to show cause. The best guess for why she has been detained is that her name appeared with several others on an article in the student newspaper last year calling on Tufts University to acknowledge the Palestinian genocide and divest from companies with ties to Israel. The op-ed never mentioned Hamas, which the U.S. government rightly considers a terrorist organization. There is no evidence that she harbored any sympathy for, much less aided and abetted, Hamas or other organizations opposed to the United States. It seems her only crime was to peacefully speak out, as a concerned student, in a manner disfavored by the current administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Americans may freely disagree about the heartbreaking conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, which has left thousands of innocent Israelis and hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians dead or injured in recent years. For my part, having traveled to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, and believing in the state of Israel as a necessary response to the evils of the Holocaust (in which Jewish family members of mine were killed), I take seriously the conclusions of the International Criminal Court and Amnesty International that Israels war in Gaza is a plausible genocide. But regardless of what we believe about Israel and Palestine, there is one thing on which Americans overwhelmingly agree: our constitutional right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment is sacred and immigrants who lawfully reside among us are not without rights of their own. As you uphold my right to call the war in Gaza genocidal, I defend your right to call Hamas an evil terrorist organization. In fact, Ill join in that because it is also true. Freedom of speech is as American as apple pie. Its what has attracted many of the brightest minds from foreign lands to come here legally as students and help make America the richest, most innovative nation on earth including Elon Musk. Sadly, Rumeysa is not alone. She is one of hundreds of lawful immigrants so far who have been targeted for deportation by the Trump administration in recent weeks, without any pretense of due process. Their abductions on American streets by unmarked and unidentified law enforcement agents are being funded by our tax dollars to the tune of untold millions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far we have seen at least seven other students detained for showing sympathy for Palestinians; hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported to a Salvadoran prison camp against the orders of a federal judge, and extended detentions and physical abuse of lawful migrants at the American border. These and countless other acts represent an unprecedented abuse of federal power against individuals whose lack of citizenship gives them limited legal recourse, in spite of their legal status in this country. Given the choice, I still believe my fellow Americans would choose the Constitution over a man who would be king. Its time we make that choice not just for Rumeysa but for this country we love. CANBERRA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese has called a general election, putting the country's democratic system in the spotlight. Albanese on Friday visited Governor-General Sam Mostyn to ask her to dissolve the lower house of the federal parliament and command the Electoral Commissioner to conduct a general election for the 48th Parliament of Australia on May 3. By issuing writs specifying the date of the election and the cut-off date for candidate nominations, Mostyn has formally started a five-week election campaign. During the campaign, Albanese and Peter Dutton, the respective leaders of the governing Labor Party and opposition Coalition of the Liberal and National parties, will travel around the country aiming to secure the support of voters. In order to form government, either major party must win at least 76 out of the 150 seats that make up the lower house, known as the House of Representatives. The constitution dictates that electorates are appointed among the six states, namely New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania, in proportion to their population on the provision that each state has at least five Members of Parliament (MPs) in the lower house. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has three MPs and the Northern Territory (NT) two. According to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), there were an average of 117,163 enrolled voters in each electorate at the 2022 election. The 47th parliament consisted of 151 seats in the lower house but the independent AEC has reduced the number by one to reflect changes in the distribution of the national population. If neither Labor nor the Coalition wins a majority of the 150 lower house seats, an eventuality known as a "hung parliament", they will negotiate with minor parties and independent MPs for their support to form a minority government. It is mandatory for every Australian citizen aged 18 and over to vote either in person on election day, by mail or at early voting centers. Eligible voter turnout was 89.8 percent in 2022. Once polls close at 6 p.m. local time on May 3, AEC staff will begin counting and reporting votes, with the majority of results usually known on election night. A candidate is deemed the winner of an electorate if they receive over 50 percent of votes. If one party wins a clear majority of the 150 seats, the leader will visit Mostyn who will formally commission the leader as PM. Labor enters the election holding 77 seats in the lower house and the Coalition 53. In the case of a hung parliament, re-counting votes and subsequent negotiations with minor parties and independents could take days or weeks. Once a leader has secured the support of enough minor party and independent MPs to reach at least 76 in their favor, Mostyn will invite the leader to form a minority government. In addition to the 150 lower house electorates, 40 out of the 76 seats in the upper house, the Senate, will also be filled at the election. The composition of the Senate has no influence on which party forms government and is typically more fragmented than the lower house. However, a government requires a majority of MPs and Senators to vote in favor of legislation in order for it to become law. Labor currently holds 25 seats in the Senate and the Coalition 30, with minor parties and independents holding the remaining 21. President Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Mar. 6, 2025. Credit - Allison RobbertThe Washington Post/Getty Images President Donald Trump was expected to go after his enemies when he returned to the White House. But few predicted he would target Big Law the way he has. Lawyers and law firms that engage in actions that violate the laws of the United States or rules governing attorney conduct must be efficiently and effectively held accountable, Trump wrote in a March 22 memorandum. But the American Bar Association, which oversees academic standards for law schools and ethical codes for lawyers in the U.S., has pushed back at the idea that his actions taken against specific firms is about professional conduct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawyers must be free to represent clients and perform their ethical duty without fear of retribution, ABA President William R. Bay said in a statement on March 3, after reports that the government decided to punish a prominent Washington, D.C., law firm because it represents a party that the administration does not like and that actions may be taken against more law firms in the weeks to come. We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not, Bays statement, which also addressed efforts by the Trump Administration to undermine the courts or punish judges who rule certain ways. But that didnt stop Trump. Over the past couple of weeks, the President has, through a series of executive actions, sought to punish several specific law firms that have been involved in any capacity in working against him, primarily by cancelling their national security clearances, which can impede the firms work. Heres what to know about the law firms that Trump has issued orders against so far, why hes done so, and how each firm has responded. WilmerHale On March 27, Trump ordered the federal government to stop working with Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (WilmerHale)suspending the law firms security clearances, directing federal agencies to terminate contracts they have with the firm, and limiting WilmerHale employees access to government buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump lambasted the firm for employing former special counsel Robert Muellerwho led the special investigation into the 2016 Trump campaigns ties with Russia. Trump said WilmerHale rewarded Mueller and his colleagues by welcoming them to the firm after they wielded the power of the Federal Government to lead one of the most partisan investigations in American history. The Presidents order also criticized WilmerHales diversity efforts, and claimed it worked against American interests as it engages in obvious partisan representations and backs the obstruction of efforts against illegal immigrants and drug trafficking. In a statement to the media, a spokesperson for WilmerHale called the order unlawful and said the firm will pursue all appropriate remedies to countermand it. The spokesperson added that Mueller retired from our firm in 2021. Our firm has a longstanding tradition of representing a wide range of clients, including in matters against administrations of both parties, the WilmerHale spokesperson said. On March 28, WilmerHale filed a suit challenging Trumps order. Jenner & Block On March 25, Trump issued an executive order against Chicago-headquartered firm Jenner & Block. Trump suspended security clearances for the firms employees and restricted the firms access to federal buildings and contracting work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his order, Trump singled out Andrew Weissmann a longtime deputy of Mueller and a top prosecutor in the Russia investigationwhom he says Jenner & Block was thrilled to re-hire. Weissmann worked for the firm from 2006 to 2011 and then again from 2020 to 2021 between stints in government. A spokesperson for Jenner & Block responded to the order: We remain focused on serving and safeguarding our clients interests with the dedication, integrity, and expertise that has defined our firm for more than one hundred years and will pursue all appropriate remedies. The firm added in its statement that the executive order resembled one that has already been declared unconstitutional by a federal judge. On March 28, Jenner & Block filed a suit challenging Trumps order, and a federal judge froze parts of the order targeting the firm later in the evening. Paul, Weiss On March 14, Trump extended similar revocations of security clearances and government building access to Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (Paul, Weiss), which is headquartered in New York. In the order, Trump cited Paul, Weiss former lawyer Mark Pomerantz, who investigated Trump for the Manhattan District Attorneys Office from 2021. Pomerantz looked into Trumps finances and his links to adult film star Stormy Daniels but resigned from the DA Office in 2022, despite believing he had sufficient evidence against Trump, after DA Alvin Bragg opted not to pursue charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a surprise move, Trump rescinded the order against Paul, Weiss on March 21 after Paul, Weiss acknowledged the wrongdoing of former partner Pomerantz and vowed to some policy changes, including the dedication of $40 million worth of pro bono legal services to support causes of the Trump Administration like anti-Semitism efforts and fairness in the justice system. Other law firms and lawyers described Paul, Weiss response as cowing to Trump. Former associates wrote a letter calling the deal a permanent stain on the face of a great firm that sought to gain a profit by forfeiting its soul. But the firms chairman Brad Karp defended the agreement with Trump in an internal email to its employees, the New York Times reported, arguing the firm would not be able to survive a protracted dispute with the administration. Column: Appeasing President Donald Trump Wont Work Perkins Coie On March 6, Trump targeted Perkins Coie LLP, similarly suspending security clearances for the Seattle-headquartered law firm and ordering federal agencies to stop business with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the order, the President criticized the firms dishonest and dangerous activity. The firm is known in Washington for working with the Democratic Party, including commissioning a research and intelligence firm to look into Trumps ties to Russia for Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign. Trump also criticized the firm for its diversity initiatives and for taking on clients that work against the Administrations agenda. Perkins filed a suit on March 11 challenging the constitutionality of Trumps order, claiming that its plain purpose is to bully those who advocate points of view that the president perceives as adverse to the views of his administration, whether those views are presented on behalf of paying or pro bono clients. A day later, a federal judge temporarily blocked part of Trumps order. Covington & Burling On February 25, Trump signed an executive action reviewing all work the federal government has with Covington & Burling LLP, the largest law firm in D.C., and ordering the stripping of security clearances of at least one of its employees. In the memorandum, Trump named Peter Koskia partner at the firm who represented former special counsel Jack Smith. Smith brought two criminal cases against the President, though they were dropped after Trumps election victory last November. Trumps memo ordered the suspension of the security clearances of Koski and all members, partners, and employees of Covington who assisted Smith during his time as special counsel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More: How Trump Got Away With It, According to Jack Smith Politico reported that Smith received $140,000 in pro bono legal services from Covington before he resigned in January. A spokesperson for Covington said in a statement to ABC News that the firm agreed to represent Smith when it became apparent that he would become a subject of a government investigation and that the firm serves as defense counsel to Smith in his personal, individual capacity. The spokesperson added: "We look forward to defending Mr. Smith's interests and appreciate the trust he has placed in us to do so. Contact us at letters@time.com. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) Here are the top headlines from this morning. Iowa House lawmakers unanimously passed a bill aimed at expanding cancer coverage for the states firefighters. Des Moines Professional Firefighters react to Iowa House passing cancer coverage expansion Fire crews in Sioux City battled a grass fire yesterday afternoon. Sioux City Fire Rescue reminds residents to avoid burning Students in Sioux City have built another house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sioux City Career Academy builds second home in two years Last night KCAU 9 was live in Sheldon, Iowa to celebrate the towns unique history and stories. Click here to watch Hometown Proud: Sheldon! Check out these headlines and more in the video 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. State Superintendent Jill Underly accuses opponent Brittany Kinser of cutting corners in television ads featuring the case of a teacher charged with sexually assaulting a child at a Milwaukee charter school Kinser ran. The national charter school network for the Milwaukee school at the center of the case said the teacher's hiring process began after Kinser left the school, though it declined to provide documentation to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Underly, a Democrat, and Kinser face off in the April 1 election. Kinser calls herself a moderate who is largely backed by Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Everything you need to know about the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction superintendent race Kinser has condemned the ad and called for it to be taken down, even saying she sent a cease-and-desist letter to the political nonprofit that paid for a version of the ad to be aired. The Underly campaign paid for a similar ad to air, though it said it did not receive a cease-and-desist letter. "It's an outright lie to voters to suggest that I had anything to do with what Jill says in the vicious attack ad," Kinser told reporters Friday. "It is so sad that Superintendent Underly is deceiving voters in hopes of winning reelection by making false statements about a fellow educator." Underly's campaign said it stood by every word in the ad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve never claimed Brittany Kinser personally hired this individual," campaign manager Jorna Taylor said. "What we are holding her accountable for is the school model she helped build and promote one that relied on unlicensed, underqualified staff and minimal oversight. ... Whether this individual was hired two months after her exit or not, the fact is: he was hired into a system Kinser designed." Rocketship teacher case featured in TV ad attacking Brittany Kinser dismissed last summer The ad focuses on Rocketship Transformation Prep, a charter school on the city's north side. Kinser led Wisconsin Rocketship schools from 2013 through mid-2022. A Rocketship teacher was accused of inappropriately touching a 5-year-old girl in a classroom in October 2022, according to a criminal complaint. The girl told police the teacher said she wouldn't get candy if she told her mom about what he did to her. The teacher denied touching the victim and said the two were never alone in the classroom. "Brittany Kinser's cost-cutting policy to hire unlicensed teachers led to tragedy," the ad paid by the Underly campaign said. "Brittany Kinser's longstanding policies put this kindergarten predator in the classroom." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case was dismissed without prejudice last summer, meaning it could be retried at a later date. The strength of the case was not sufficient to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, Milwaukee Deputy District Attorney Jeff Altenburg said. Court records show the teacher previously pleaded guilty in May 2022 for leaving or storing a loaded gun near a child. He was sentenced to 18 months probation for the misdemeanor. Chris Murphy, a spokesperson for the California-based Rocketship charter network, said the teacher was hired in August 2022. The Journal Sentinel submitted a public records request Friday for a copy of the teacher's offer letter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kinser's campaign said she notified Rocketship leadership of her intent to resign in February 2022. Her hiring responsibilities ended at that time, the campaign said. Her last day was June 30, 2022, according to an email she sent in May 2022 informing the school community about her departure that was shared with the Journal Sentinel. The teacher, whom the Journal Sentinel is not naming because he was not convicted, did not return a voicemail and a message left with an intermediary. The teacher's attorney, Matt Last, also did not return a message left with his law firm. Licensing comes up again in Wisconsin schools superintendent race Rocketship Transformation Prep said the teacher was immediately placed on leave as soon as the school became aware of the allegation, according to a letter to parents and obtained by WITI-TV (Channel 6). The letter said the teacher's previous misdemeanor conviction should have disqualified him from employment. An audit of staff found no other cases. The teacher had a license from 2000 through 2005, according to the DPI. After news outlets reported on the teaching being charged in 2022, the DPI changed the expired license's status to under investigation, license expired." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Murphy, the Rocketship spokesperson, said the teacher had more than 10 years of experience before joining Rocketship. He said the teacher's application for a one-year emergency license was in process at the time of his employment. The one-year license allows employees to teach while simultaneously working toward their license. Kinser said Rocketship under her leadership, like many other schools across the state, hired some teachers with emergency licenses. She has suggested creating more alternative teacher license pathways as a way to address Wisconsin's teacher shortage. Underly's campaign said if the teacher had applied for a DPI teaching license, he would not have passed the background check. "Her system failed and a child paid the price," said Taylor, the Underly campaign manager. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kinser herself has faced questions about her teaching license. She had an administrator's license when she led Rocketship. The license expired last summer while she worked as a consultant. Kinser has never had a Wisconsin teacher's license, though she held teaching licenses in other states where she taught. State superintendents are not required to hold an educator's license, though Underly's campaign criticized Kinser for lacking one. Kinser renewed her five-year license this month, according to DPI records. It's good through 2029. Ad is part of big outside spending campaign backing Underly and attacking Kinser A Better Wisconsin, the political nonprofit that paid for the ad, has spent $1.4 million on TV and online ads backing Underly, according to WisPolitics. Altogether, outside group spending in the race backing Underly and opposing Kinser totals $1.7 million. Outside group spending supporting Kinser and opposing Underly is about $116,000. With candidates' fundraising included, spending for Underly totals about $3 million and spending for Kinser stands at about $2.5 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (This story was updated to add new information and because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.) Kelly Meyerhofer covers higher education in Wisconsin. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: WI superintendent TV ad focuses on teacher charged with sexual assault NUUK, Greenland (AP) The remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, which Vice President JD Vance is visiting on Friday, is the U.S. Department of Defense's northernmost installation. The base was built following a 1951 defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. It supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO. The Pituffik base is located on the northwestern coast of Greenland, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) north of the the Arctic Circle and 1,524 kilometers (947 miles) south of the North Pole. It is about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) north of Greenland's capital, Nuuk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was known as the Thule Air Base until 2023, when it was renamed to recognize Greenlandic cultural heritage and reflect its role in the relatively new U.S. Space Force. The base is locked in by ice for nine months of the year, but its airfield remains open all year round. It is in constant darkness from November to February and constant daylight from May to August. It is operated by the 821st Space Base Group and is also home to the world's northernmost deepwater sea port. The nearest town is Qaanaaq, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) to the northwest. CUMBERLAND The best way to reduce stigma is to put yourself in someone elses shoes, Leadership Allegany Class of 2025 member Kimberly Folk said. We continue to see this as an issue with our community, and, you know, knowledge is power, Folk said as she and her classmates held an Addiction Recovery Simulation with the help of Maryland Area Health Education Center WestWednesday morning. Many local professionals and leaders attended, including Emily Keller, the special secretary for Overdose Response for the state of Maryland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement See them as a person Jeff Hay, a peer recovery specialist at AHEC West and leader of the simulation, has been in recovery for more than 20 years. The simulation is a way for people with addiction and recovery challenges to be seen as humans rather than problems, he said. Well see them as more than their past mistakes, Hay said. Well look them in the eyes and well see them as a person. The simulation, which was conducted at the Allegany County Department of Social Services on Frederick Street, displayed how difficult it can be for someone to crawl out of the hole of addiction and get the help they need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hay said that his first idea to get back on his feet after being released from prison wasnt to get help from social services, it was to sell drugs. My rationale for the whole thing was, I only need to (sell drugs) a couple times, just enough to get back on my feet, he said. Fortunately for me, I had more than a voice of doubt in my head. Instead of continuing down the road of the easy way out, Hay said his mother was there to support him and get him back on track. For others, its not that easy. Not everyone has a place to live when they get out of jail, he said. Not everybody has the opportunity or equity that I had. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Allegany County, there has been a devastating increase in overdose deaths since 2020, according to Hay. In 2024, however, the 22 overdose deaths in the county was a 54% decrease compared to the 48 fatal overdoses in 2023, according to state figures. To continue the downward trend, Melissa Clark, AHECs associate director, said simulations like the one held Wednesday can help to improve recovery programs. This is just a way to continue to bring awareness and help us make systems better, she said. Eye-opening experience During the simulation, participants were each given a hypothetical character, each with a unique set of circumstances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From there, participants guided the characters through four weeks of their lives. Each week entailed a series of tasks attending vocational rehabilitation, meeting with a probation officer or paying restitution. Each week was represented by a 10-minute timer in which all tasks were to be completed. Its designed to be chaotic, Hay said before the simulation started. You will experience a lot of different feelings. Participants had at least five tasks to complete each week, with limited access to transportation and money that were required to complete many of the objectives. Participant Justin Davis said the exercise was eye-opening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its very stressful, and its very overwhelming, he said. A lot of requirements. Daviss hypothetical character had a child, and was recently homeless. Getting connected to the resources because theyre not all side by side is difficult, Davis said of the real-world situations that many people find themselves in. Shanna Clark, who also participated, is the program coordinator at the Hope Station recovery center in Cumberland. She said that the simulation showed her what other people experience on the other side of her desk every day. Im the one that is trying to help them navigate this kind of thing, Clark said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But its another thing entirely to be looking at it and being like, I only have two minutes to do this. Access to resources Keller said the biggest issue the state is facing is getting those in recovery in contact with the resources they need. It is hands down in the state of Maryland the biggest issue for people getting connected to resources, Keller said. It takes advocating and things like this for (local officials) to see how big of an issue it is. To further improve the addiction and drug abuse issues in the Cumberland area, Keller said contacting local officials and county commissioners is key to seeing changes made in areas that are lacking, such as public transportation. I challenge everyone to reach out. Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, has stated that Moscow reserves the right to disregard the moratorium on strikes against energy facilities, claiming that Ukraine is making "attempts to strike". Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency Interfax Details: Peskov remarked that if Kyiv fails to comply with the moratorium, Moscow "reserves the right" to "of course, disregard it as well". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also argued that it would be illogical to comply with the moratorium "and face attempted attacks on our energy infrastructure every night". Background: On Friday 28 March, Naftogaz, Ukraine's largest national oil and gas company, reported that Russia had launched a combined strike on its infrastructure, damaging gas production facilities. Ukraine's General Staff has repeatedly stated that the Russian Ministry of Defence is falsely claiming that Ukraine has targeted energy facilities. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The News One womans streak of four luxury car wins in Kuwaiti televised raffles was too good to be true. Videos show a government official running the draws with an approach we will charitably call unorthodox. He allegedly slipped the winning tickets from his sleeve after clumsily shaking off a pile of others. The Ya Hala Kuwait Shopping Festival, which organized the raffle, has paused draws while authorities investigate a three-year scam allegedly involving up to 20 people. The raffle should have been beyond reproach: It was overseen by the so-called Permanent Committee for Celebrating National Holidays and Occasions and staffed by Kuwaits Ministry of Commerce and Trade officials. A deputy minister offered his resignation. A small group holds a mock funeral for university education on the steps of the Capitol Thursday morning to protest two bills that received final approval from the legislature Thursday evening. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) FRANKFORT With a veto-proof supermajority, Republican lawmakers overturned Democratic Gov. Andy Beshears vetoes on two notable higher education bills Thursday. House Bill 4 eliminates diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI) at Kentuckys public universities and was at the center of heated debates in the General Assembly this session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some Kentucky professors have warned that House Bill 424 erodes academic tenure at the states public universities and colleges, although its sponsor has said it is about employment contracts at universities. The House and Senate quickly gave both final passage by largely party-line votes. In his veto messages on the bills, Beshear argued they could both hinder higher education in Kentucky. Some advocates agreed with him. Four people college students Jillian Gabhart, Savannah Dowell and Alice Harkins and Eastern Kentucky University lecturer Carl Root read eulogies for university education on the steps of the Capitol Thursday morning. Dressed in black, they held a funeral as lawmakers convened for business. A small coffin is surrounded by flowers during a funeral for higher education in Kentucky on the Capitol steps, March 27, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) We may have lost a battle here in Frankfort, and we should absolutely mourn what weve lost here today, Root said. But we must also organize, agitate, educate and fight back against those who would use all the power of government in attempts to force uniformity, inequity and exclusion on all our universities, classrooms and curriculum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some House Democrats met with the funeral-goers outside. When HB 424 was called to the floor, Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington, said she feared passing the bill would upend recruiting faculty to the states public universities. She added that protecting tenure gives faculty the ability to explore complex, and sometimes controversial topics. Tenure protects the core mission of higher education, she said. It is the fearless pursuit of knowledge and critical thinking. Democrats in the Senate raised similar concerns in their chamber. Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, and a law professor at the University of Louisville, said HB 424 has produced confusion and fear among facultyi. She said she was supportive of Beshears reasoning for the veto, adding that these sorts of policies that take away faculty self-governance and put in place these programs with no guardrails undermine the security tenure establishes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Republicans easily had the votes to enact their policies. Rep. Vanessa Grossl, R-Georgetown, said she supported the veto override of HB 4 because she believes in equality and equal opportunity. Our greatest divide as a commonwealth and as a nation is not based in race, but is rural and urban, she said. Im voting no today because DEI on our college campuses is not helping poor kids in Kentucky who are seeking to further their educational goals, regardless of their immutable characteristics. In speaking in support of HBl 4, Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, looked back to the Civil Rights Movement and said activist Martin Luther King Jr. gave us a great start and what happened? Douglas then asked, Should we continue to blame others and hold others accountable for our own personal decisions? This legislation is only a message to those who are unwilling or unable to love others deep enough to allow them to seek their own way or their own level of success, the senator said. We have to love them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kentucky bills are reflective of actions Republicans have taken elsewhere to exert their influence over higher education. On the issue of tenure, Florida recently passed a law requiring post-tenure reviews of professors at public universities and termination should they fail them. This year, a Nebraska Republican lawmaker introduced a bill that would replace academic tenure with annual performance evaluations of faculty members. Though an anti-DEI bill failed to pass in Kentucky last year, the passage of the current law comes as Republican President Donald Trump has made DEI a target of his administration. In addition to issuing an executive order aimed at curbing DEI in the private sector early on in his second term, Trump is facing a lawsuit from fired federal workers who were tasked with implementing DEI policies. Speaking at the Capitol, Ridhi Penmecha, a high school student and member of the Kentucky Student Voice Team, urged lawmakers to open the process to the public including young people. Were not just being excluded from the present, but we are being cut out of shaping the future, she said. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) FRANKFORT On the last day of the legislative session, the League of Women Voters of Kentucky renewed its calls for more transparency in how the General Assembly makes laws and sets policies. Gathered in the Capitol Rotunda Friday, speakers highlighted the Democracy Principle, or the idea that citizens have a right to be involved in the legislative process and have their voices heard and considered. Citizens are being shut out of the process, the League contends, because the General Assembly uses fast-track maneuvers to speed bills into law, often counter to its own rules, and with little public notice or participation. The League of Women Voters of Kentucky highlighted the Democracy Principle during a Capitol rally. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) The Kentucky chapter of the national organization has been tracking what it says are legislative maneuvers that undermine democracy and in 2023 issued a report, How Can They Do That? Transparency and Citizen Participation in Kentuckys Legislative Process. It analyzed seven 60-day legislative sessions between 1998 and 2022 and found many instances when the General Assembly did not follow its established process to give Kentuckians time to review and comment on proposed legislation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of the 2025 session, the League updated its report and found Kentuckians are still regularly shut out of legislative decisions that affect them. On Friday, the League pointed to six bills in the 2025 session as examples of fast-tracking, including House Bill 4, which eliminates diversity, equity and inclusion at Kentuckys public universities. The League said Senate Bill 202 began as an innocuous, five-page shell bill that quickly became a ban on the sale of hemp-derived beverages until 2026. The bill then was changed into its final 60-page form which places a 5 milligram limit on intoxicating adult-use cannabinoids in a 12 ounce beverage. The League also cited: House Bill 90, originally focused on free-standing birthing centers, but last-minute additions included abortion-related provisions. House Bill 241, a two-page bill allowing school districts to adjust calendars due to weather-related emergencies had multiple provisions about virtual education programs added on the Senate floor. House Bill 695, included last-minute changes to the state Medicaid program by adding mandatory work requirements for able-bodied adults. House Bill 775, a four-page bill on development districts that transformed to a 108-page bill making substantive taxation changes beyond development districts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the fast-track maneuvers used to move legislation, the League said, included giving bills floor readings before they were heard in committee, introducing a committee substitute at the last minute, having an irregularly scheduled committee hearing, and giving a bill a floor vote the same day it was heard in committee. Ridhi Penmecha, a high school student and member of the Kentucky Student Voice Team (KSVT), said during the Friday rally that students advocating in Frankfort have encountered obstacles that make it nearly impossible for them to engage in the legislative process, despite their eagerness to be heard. Shortly after this legislative session began, KSVT filed a lawsuit alleging the state and General Assembly have failed to maintain the level of commitment to education required by Kentuckys Constitution and past court decisions. Were not just being excluded from the present, but we are being cut out of shaping the future, she said. Becky Jones, the first vice president of the League of Women Voters of Kentucky, speaks to reporters in the Capitol rotunda. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) In her closing thoughts Friday, Becky Jones, the LWVKYs first vice president, responded to a comment Republican Senate President Robert Stivers made Thursday on the Senate floor. He said if people want to change the policy in this state, then they will change the makeup of this body. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On that we agree, Jones told the crowd, who then applauded. In recent months, the League has faced gripes from Kentucky Republicans who question whether it is truly nonpartisan and who say the group is made up largely of liberal Democrats. The GOP holds a veto-proof supermajority in the House and Senate. When asked if shes concerned the conversation about legislative transparency is becoming hyper-partisan, Jones told reporters it could and said that would be an unfortunate circumstance. She emphasized that the League does not endorse political parties or candidates. Its unfortunate when being political gets misconstrued with being partisan, Jones said. There is nothing partisan about protecting the process. That is political, just like fighting for the right to vote was a very political action, and thats the foundation that we stand on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The national League of Women Voters was founded after the 19th Amendment was ratified to help women navigate their new access to the ballot. In a Thursday press conference, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear echoed complaints by Democratic lawmakers about a lack of transparency in how Republican leaders moved legislation in this session. Republicans have rebuked the notion, saying that time is limited in a short 30-day legislative session, such as the one that adjourned sine die on Friday. During the rally, the League of Women Voters of Kentucky pointed to six different bills as an example of fast-tracking in the 2025 legislative session. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE ISLAMABAD, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani security forces killed 11 terrorists in four separate operations over the past two days in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Thursday night. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said in a statement that security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district, killing five terrorists. In the second operation, also conducted in Mir Ali, three more terrorists were eliminated by the troops, said the ISPR. According to the military, another encounter took place in the Miran Shah area of North Waziristan, leading to the killing of two terrorists. In the fourth operation, conducted by security forces in the Daraban area of Dera Ismail Khan district, another terrorist was killed, the ISPR added. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the slain terrorists, who were actively involved in numerous terrorist activities, the military said. The statement added that Pakistan's security forces remain determined to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the country. Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, has proposed establishing a UN interim administration in Russia, beginning with the impoverished Siberian city of Vorkuta. Source: Tykhyi on (Twitter) Details: Tykhyi proposed establishing a temporary UN administration in Russia, starting with Vorkuta. His remarks followed a suggestion by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on 27 March to discuss the establishment of an interim administration in Ukraine, under UN and international oversight, to organise elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The spokesperson believes that the locals would benefit significantly from any form of governance other than Putins, who is spending billions of dollars on his illegal war against Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Levels of lead and other heavy metals spiked in the coastal waters off Los Angeles after Januarys fires, raising serious concerns for the long-term health of fish, marine mammals and the marine food chain, according to test results released Thursday by the nonprofit environmental group Heal the Bay. For human surfers and swimmers, the results were somewhat encouraging. Contaminant levels from sampled water werent high enough to pose likely health risks to recreational beachgoers. But tests of seawater collected before and after the heavy rains that came in late January, after the fires abated, identified five heavy metals beryllium, copper, chromium, nickel and lead at levels significantly above established safety thresholds for marine life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even at relatively low concentrations, these metals can damage cells and disrupt reproduction and other biological processes in sea animals. The metals also accumulate in the tissues of animals exposed to them, and then make their way up the food chain as those organisms are eaten by larger ones. "Most of these metals are easy to transfer through the food web and impact humans directly or indirectly, via food or drinking water," said Dimitri Deheyn, a marine biologist at UC San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography. All are found in dust and rocks, and aren't harmful in the context of those minute, naturally-occurring exposures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That is why these elements are dangerous," Deheyn said. "Our body is designed to take them up, but we are usually exposed to only a small amount of it." On Jan. 24 and Jan. 25 before the rain that came the following week Heal the Bay staff collected seawater samples from eight locations along the coastline in or near the Palisades burn scar, in addition to control samples well outside the burn zone at Paradise Cove in Malibu and Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes Estates. They took additional samples on Jan. 28, after the first major storm in months dropped half an inch of rain on the L.A. Basin and flushed debris into the sea. They tested for 116 pollutants. The vast majority were either not present or detected in only minuscule amounts in almost all the samples collected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But levels of beryllium, copper, chromium, nickel and lead were two to four times higher than the maximum allowed under California state law at Big Rock Beach in Malibu, where the wreckage of several destroyed houses still lie on the sand . That's not surprising as thats where we have burned debris within the high tide line , [where] every minute of every day the ocean is lapping more and more contaminants into the sea, said Heal the Bay Chief Executive Tracy Quinn. At the Santa Monica Pier and Dockweiler Beach, both of which are south of the burn scar, levels of both lead and chromium were roughly triple California's safety threshold for marine life. At the Santa Monica test location after the rains, the level of beryllium a metal that is toxic to fish and corals and causes respiratory distress in humans was more than 10 times the maximum limit allowed. Further study is needed to determine whether fire-related contaminants are pooling in those areas or if the high levels are coming from another source of pollution, Quinn said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We don't recommend that people consume fish that are caught in the Santa Monica Bay right now, Quinn said. The levels in these first results suggest that more testing is warranted, said Susanne Brander, an associate professor and ecotoxicologist at Oregon State University. "Anytime there's a large residential wildfire, this is the kind of contamination you're going to see," she said. "I would look at these results and say, OK, we need to test soils, we need to test drinking water,." Quinn noted several limitations in Heal the Bay's data. The samples were collected in late January, and may not be representative of current ocean conditions. There are also no baseline data showing prefire conditions in the same area to which they could compare their samples, because there are no regular testing programs for these contaminants, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The organization also sampled 25 different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organic compounds that form when oil, wood or garbage burns. The organization expects results in the coming weeks, Quinn said. Januarys fires and the heavy rains that followed sent unprecedented amounts of ash, debris and chemical residue coursing into the sea via the L.A. regions massive network of storm drains and concrete-lined rivers. The Palisades and Eaton fires burned more than 40,000 acres and destroyed at least 12,000 buildings. In the months since they erupted, the remnants of cars, plastics, batteries, household chemicals and other potentially toxic material have continued to wash into the sea and up onto beaches . I dont think theres a precedent for this kind of input into the ocean ecosystem, marine biologist Noelle Bowlin said in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to fire contamination, Californias sea life is also under threat from an outbreak of domoic acid, a neurotoxin released by some marine algae species. Hundreds of animals have washed up sick or dead along Californias southern and central coasts in recent weeks, in the fourth domoic acid event in as many years. While nutrients such as sulfate and phosphorous that feed harmful algae were among the substances the fires released into the sea, Heal the Bay said it has not found a correlation between fire-related pollution and the outbreak now sickening marine animals. Understanding all of the effects that heavy metals, chemicals, bacteria and other pollutants released by the fire will have on the marine ecosystem "will take a huge, collaborative effort," said Jenn Cossaboon, a fourth-year student at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine who recently finished a doctorate on endocrine disruption in fish. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Species at each level of the food chain, from invertebrates to fish, birds, marine mammals and humans, can be affected differently based on their physiology and feeding strategies," she said. "It will be very important to connect each of these pieces of the puzzle to really understand the impacts on the food web." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Zhoie Perez slouched against the holding cell wall in Mens Central Jail and closed her eyes, hoping a guard would jolt her awake with the words shed been waiting for: The bus is here! Time for court! The 51-year-old just needed to make it back to court one more time so she could be sentenced and, she hoped, released. Shed been jailed months earlier, but since then had repeatedly missed hearings usually, she was told, because the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department didnt have enough buses. Sometime after noon, another transgender woman in the holding tank asked a deputy whether a bus would come for them. The deputy told her no. Irate, the woman shrieked, shoved something in the holding cell toilet and started frantically flushing to flood the cell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perez stood up but slipped on the slick floor. Her head bounced off a bench. Everything went black. She didnt make it to court. Over the last seven years, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department has routinely struggled to fulfill a core task of its eight jails: making sure inmates show up for their court dates. But that seemingly simple task has grown harder and harder, as the departments bus fleet has steadily dwindled. Mechanics work on Los Angeles County Sheriff's buses outside the Men's Central Jail. On any given day, less than half of the department's 82 buses are functional. Last year, that figure dipped below a dozen nowhere near enough to handle the roughly 3,000 inmate transports the department needs to do each day . At one point, county supervisors said roughly a third of the people detained in the county jails were missing their court dates. Sometimes well start the day and every single person is a miss-out, Jorgie Zimring, a public defender in Glendale, told The Times. And some days, the only way were getting two or three people to court is because the sheriffs at our branch are physically going to the jail and picking people up themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys worry that missed court dates can delay screenings for rehabilitation programs, lead to longer jail stays and leave defendants in the dark about the status of their cases, adding another layer of anxiety and stress to an already trying legal process. At some courthouses, defense lawyers have started asking judges for extraction orders, which give deputies the power to violently drag inmates from their cells. It's a potentially dangerous procedure typically reserved for recalcitrant inmates, but the signed orders mean those inmates often get top priority for transport. This year the lack of buses became an even clearer safety issue when the Hughes fire broke out near the Castaic jail complex, spurring questions about whether the Sheriffs Department was even capable of evacuating the facilities' 4,700 inmates with so few working buses. Read more: A 'brush with catastrophe': Close call with Hughes fire stirs concerns about jail safety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of the problem is that the existing buses are tough to repair, since many are so old that the parts are hard to find. But county data show the bigger issue is that, from 2018 until the end of 2024, the Sheriffs Department didnt get any new buses. Every year for five budget cycles, the Sheriffs Department asked the L.A. County Board of Supervisors for several million dollars to buy new buses. But when county leaders repeatedly approved far smaller vehicle budgets than the department requested, sheriffs officials chose to spend that money on other needs such as patrol cars and specialized transport vans. The Department continues to strive to provide the best possible transportation services despite these challenges, the Sheriffs Department told The Times in an emailed statement. "Both the Board and the CEO are very supportive and we will continue to collaborate closely until this transportation issue is fully resolved." Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva, whose tenure stretched through four of those bus-less budget cycles, blamed county supervisors who he said blocked his administrations ability to replace the aging vehicles. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy directs an inmate bus outside the Men's Central Jail. We are supposed to purchase 5 new buses every year in order to maintain a functioning fleet of 82 buses for court transportation, interjail movement, statewide transportation, and the occasional special event involving mass arrests, he told The Times in an email. It dwindled down to 16 functioning buses, and the rest were being cannibalized in order to maintain a minimum level of functioning buses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In last years budget, supervisors finally greenlighted funding for 20 new buses, a little over half of which have been delivered. This year the department said it secured enough funding for at least 14 new buses, and next year's budget includes a request for 11 more. Supervisor Janice Hahn said she would support that $11.3-million ask for next year. New buses have to be a priority both for our Board and for the Sheriff, she said. The other supervisors either did not comment or did not respond to an emailed series of questions. ***** Before the pandemic, deputies transported roughly 1.1 million people more than 2.8 million miles each year, according to data the department sent to county supervisors last year . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those numbers dipped when COVID-19 hit, and the jail population plummeted. But by 2023 the department was back up to 700,000 transports a year, half a million of which took inmates to court. Yet, by last summer, 39 of the departments 82 high-security buses were well past the Federal Transportation Administrations recommended lifespan 12 years or 500,000 miles. And, as the aging vehicles broke down more often, they became harder to repair. Experienced large-bus mechanics were tough to find, and so were the antiquated parts they needed. The recurrent issue that continues to plague our fleet is the scarcity of the most basic maintenance components that are no longer mass-manufactured and need to be sourced nationwide or fabricated in-house, Sheriff Robert Luna wrote county supervisors in July. Regardless of who is repairing the Departments bus fleet, they can only do so much because of the bus fleets age, mileage and scarce parts availability, evidenced by at least seven buses being inoperable for well over 12 months while awaiting components. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's inmate bus outside the Men's Central Jail. But replacing the buses proved even more difficult and expensive than fixing them. Jails cant just buy buses off the lot; they need to include the spending in their budget request, go through the bidding process, wait for the vehicles to be delivered and add security features needed to transport inmates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Between 2000 and 2018, sheriffs officials bought an average of 4.5 new buses per year, according to department data. Then in 2018, the departments requested budget included a line asking for $3.4 million to buy three eco-friendly buses and four other specialized vehicles. That ask was part of a larger request for vehicles and transportation equipment purchases. The department's vehicle and transportation request topped $23.6 million that year, but the final budget supervisors approved included only an estimated $11.7 million. The department did not use any of that money to buy new buses. And officials only spent a small fraction $2.35 million on vehicles and transportation equipment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The following year, the department asked for two buses. The final budget included only an estimated $8.3 million for vehicles and transportation equipment far less than the department's $57-million ask. Again, the department did not use any of that money to buy new buses. That pattern continued for several more years. According to Villaneuva, the problem was that county supervisors blocked bus purchases by unlawfully meddling with funds theyd already appropriated. Read more: In a sharp rebuke, L.A. County supervisors vote to freeze sheriff's spending State law and case law both state the board has no say in the budget once it's allocated to the LASD, he told The Times in an email, but the board simply ignored the law to sabotage my operations and now the chickens have come home to roost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is not clear whether that was a reference to the board's 2019 vote to freeze some spending after the department racked up a $63-million net deficit, and Villanueva did not respond to an emailed request for clarification. Hahn said she couldnt make sense of the former sheriff's accusation. I have no comment, as I am not even sure what that means, she told The Times in an email. Los Angeles County Sheriff's buses are lined up at the Men's Central Jail. It wasnt until after Villanueva left office that the department once again began receiving new buses, when the board approved using special funds to buy 20 as part of the 2023-24 budget cycle. The first arrived last year, a couple of weeks before Christmas. The last is expected to arrive in July. Then in December, the next 14 buses are expected to begin arriving, at a pace of one every two weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement *** Until she was charged with two felonies in 2024, Perez said shed never been in jail for more than a few hours. A self-described 1st Amendment auditor," Perez was filming outside the Van Nuys Courthouse when she got into a dispute with a district attorney's investigator. She was ultimately charged with battery against an officer and criminal threats. Though she maintains her innocence, she was convicted at trial. The first time she expected to go in for sentencing, Perez said, she got up at 3:30 a.m. to wait in a holding cell for more than 8 hours before learning there would be no bus. Not having enough working buses is a county problem, NOT an inmate issue, she wrote afterward on an inmate grievance form, a copy of which she shared with The Times. Preventing me from adjudicating my case is cruel and unusual punishment. The Sheriff's Department said it is investigating her allegations. A couple of weeks later Perez found herself back in the same holding tank, surrounded by inmates desperate to get to court. *** The bus shortage has become exasperating for everyone involved. Several inmates recounted the frustration of repeatedly missing court dates, sometimes more than half a dozen times. Its a nightmare, said Christopher Simpson, who was in jail with Perez last year. Every time they canceled, it was a month before I got rescheduled to go back. Erica Lewis, a long-haul truck driver in Texas, said she spent hundreds of dollars to drive to Los Angeles for her sons sentencing, only to learn the Sheriffs Department didnt have enough buses to take him to court. I came from across the country, and they didnt have transportation to get him there, she said. It makes you feel powerless. Several defense lawyers and one veteran L.A. County judge who spoke on the condition of anonymity because court conduct rules generally bar judges from granting interviews said they've seen attorneys take the extraordinary step of requesting an "extraction order" to ensure their clients are brought to court on time. Read more: How L.A.'s jail system became America's largest The lawyers are doing that routinely. The lawyers ask the court to sign an extraction order and they indicate that it will facilitate the presence of the clients, the judge said. Theyre saying it with a wink and a nod; theyre trying anything necessary to get the client into court. The Sheriff's Department confirmed it had seen a "slight uptick" in extraction orders over the last year but said that trend is beginning to reverse course. In addition to the legal ramifications, the lack of buses could have safety implications for incarcerated people. When the Hughes fire broke out on Jan. 22 roughly five miles from the Castaic jails, attorneys, advocates and inmates families questioned whether the Sheriffs Department could move everyone to safety with its dwindling fleet. They dont have enough buses to take people to court, Melissa Camacho, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said at the time . They certainly dont have enough buses to move them all at once for an evacuation. Ultimately sheriffs officials decided not to evacuate though they borrowed several dozen buses just in case. The flames stopped less than a mile from the jails. Two months later, Camacho said she still worries about how things might have turned out if the winds had been a little stronger. Its just luck that the fire started after the hurricane-force winds had passed, she said. We can hope that the wind doesnt blow like that again but someday it might and were still not prepared for that day. As the department waits for its new buses to arrive, officials are looking for other solutions. Last year, county supervisors raised the possibility of using Metro buses, and court officials tried exploring the idea of doing remote video arraignments from inside the jails but neither plan worked out. Read more: Castaic jail complex in wildfire evacuation zone; officials plan to shelter in place Early this year, court officials ordered all early disposition hearings to be moved from the main criminal courthouse to the Bauchet Street courtroom near the downtown jails, according to court spokesman Rob Oftring Jr. "The move is designed to alleviate transportation issues by ensuring these cases are heard adjacent to Mens Central Jail, not requiring bus transportation," Oftring said in an email. The department has also sought to ease its transport woes by buying more Ford E350 vans. Nine of the 14-passenger vehicles are expected to arrive next month, and the department said it has secured funding for 23 more after that. ***** A few minutes after she blacked out, Perez woke up face-down in a pool of blood-streaked toilet water. It looked like a shark attack, said Alexander Halvorson, who was in the same holding tank waiting to go to court that day. Other inmates yelled for help, and eventually Perez was taken to a hospital where medical records show she got two staples in her head. It wasnt until mid-November she finally made it back to court. After a short hearing, she was sentenced to eight months, with time served. She was released the next day. 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. For the record: 1:58 p.m. March 28, 2025: A previous version of this article misspelled U.S. District Judge James E. Boasbergs surname as Basberg. The Los Angeles Times filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city of L.A., accusing officials of unlawfully withholding and deleting the mayor's text messages and other public records from January's firestorm. The city has already turned over many of the exchanges between Mayor Karen Bass and other officials sought by Times reporters. But officials have argued they are not compelled to do so under state public records laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Times disagreed. Empowering public officials to scrub their records or to decide which are subject to the law sets a dangerous precedent, Thursday's suit argued. "It's bigger than these text messages," said Kelly Aviles, outside counsel for The Times. "The city seems to believe they can destroy whatever they want whenever they want, and that they dont have a duty to the public to retain public records." Read more: L.A. mayor's text messages provide vivid window into early fire response Politics reporter Julia Wick and investigative reporter Matt Hamilton joined the action as L.A. residents, aiming to block city officials from destroying protected material. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bass was in Ghana when the fires broke out on Jan. 7. She joined a Biden administration delegation feting the country's new president, despite warnings about the explosive potential of incoming Santa Ana winds. That choice may well decide her political future. Exchanges published by The Times this week gave the first clear picture into the mayor's early actions as the city caught fire and burned. Yet those exchanges with her staff and senior government officials could have remained secret, since Bass' messages had been set to auto-delete after 30 days far shorter than the two-year retention period outlined in the city's administrative code. Officials initially told Wick those texts did not exist, and then said that they had been deleted. After months of back and forth with the paper, the mayor's office ultimately said it was able to recover the deleted texts, and last week provided about 125 messages, noting that an unspecified number of others were redacted and/or withheld based on exemptions to the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Mayor's office has responded to hundreds of public records requests since she was elected and we will continue to do so," said David Michaelson, counsel to the mayor. "The Mayor's office released responsive texts to a PRA request from the Times last week and the Office will continue to respond to public record requests." Read more: LAFD actions in Palisades fire shrouded in secrecy as city refuses to release records Still, Michaelson told Wick the texts were beyond the reach of the California Public Records Act. The mayor's texts were "ephemeral," Michaelson told Wick in a March 7 email, and thus protected from public scrutiny. He cited a 1981 Supreme Court decision that cast "fleeting thoughts and random bits of information" as exempt from records requests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But that ruling does not apply to officials' text messages and other electronic communication, Times attorneys argued. In an era of life-or-death decisions made on 6-inch screens, the paper's suit makes the case that what politicians type with two thumbs is as durable as what they pen by hand. Under California law, any writing about public business, regardless of format, is covered by the records act and must be turned over. "The Citys apparent position that an official may delete a text communication at any time as 'ephemeral' until a public records request is received would destroy the presumption of access to public records," The Times' lawsuit said. "All a public official would have to do to avoid public scrutiny is destroy the texts immediately after creating them." The mayor's texts are not the only records City Hall appears to have destroyed, the lawsuit alleged. Nor are they the only ones the paper's journalists are still seeking as part of their ongoing investigation of the fires. On Jan. 9, investigative reporter Alene Tchekmedyian sought "emails, text messages, reports, planning documents and memos about fire planning and predeployment resources" from then-L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and her subordinates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Feb. 19, City Hall reporter David Zahniser petitioned copies of correspondence regarding emergency preparations, high winds, wildfire conditions and the National Weather Service" involving City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson while he served as acting mayor in Bass' absence. Zahniser received some records, but not the text messages he'd asked for. Tchekmedyian's request was closed without any communications provided. Questions about how American leaders communicate and what happens to those exchanges gained new urgency this week after senior White House officials were revealed to have mistakenly added a journalist to their Signal group chat while planning an air raid in Yemen. Read more: With billions at stake, lawyers pour into Altadena and race to courthouse Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg ordered the participants of that chat to save the exchange in its entirety and to turn over their records of it. Shading such material from public records laws now on the argument they're fleeting and inconsequential defies reality, The Times' attorney said. "What you have to retain and what you have to turn over is based on the content of the communication, not based on the form or manner of the communication that you choose to use," Aviles said. The suit seeks to ensure important records "are not just destroyed at the citys whim." 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 month after at least 40 newsroom employees accepted buyouts, the Los Angeles Times has been hit by another wave of brutal layoffs, this time on the outlets business side. While the full count isnt known, Oliver Darcy reported Thursday that dozens of employees across the companys operations and communications sections were let go this week, including Vice President of Communications Hillary Manning. Representatives for the Los Angeles Times didnt immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Manning also did not respond to a request for comment; as of this writing, her LA Times email address has not been deactivated. The report of more cuts comes a month after more than 40 newsroom employees accepted buyouts offered by the papers billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong. The exact number of affected employees in that round of cuts is unknown but at least 17 were reporters. And as TheWrap exclusively reported, this included 23-year veteran senior writer Jeffrey Fleishman, staff writer Tracy Wilkinson and national and foreign editor Alan Zarembo, who were the first confirmed staffers to take the buyout. At the time of those buyouts, an employee who was still at the the Times told TheWrap that six veteran copyeditors were also among those taking a buyout. This employee had particularly harsh criticism of Soon-Shiong, saying in part, thats a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge lost. Perhaps we should put out a missing flyer in search of the man who bought our paper and made promises about its future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January 2024, following the resignation of executive editor Kevin Merida, the Times laid off 115 journalists, with more editors resigning in the following months. But the latest cuts also follow what critics charge is Soon-Shiong imposing a decidedly right wing tilt on the paper that began when he axed the papers planned endorsement of Kamala Harris for president. Editorial Editor Mariel Garza resigned in protest over that decision, and as TheWrap reported at that time, editorial writer Karin Klein and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Greene both quit the day after. The post LA Times Hit by More Layoffs as Dozens Cut From Operations, Communications Divisions | Report appeared first on TheWrap. The Los Angeles Times is suing the city of LA, claiming text messages sent by Mayor Karen Bass while the city battled devastating wildfires earlier this year have been illegally deleted and withheld. The Times lawsuit was filed on Thursday and reported by the paper on Friday. Bass messages had been set to auto-delete after 30 days, falling well short of the two-year retention period the citys administrative code calls for, the Times said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement City officials had told LA Times reporter Julia Wick that Bass messages in the days surrounding the Jan. wildfires had been deleted, before later telling her some of those messages were able to be recovered; city officials shared 125 of those deleted messages with Wick last week, but noted a number of other texts were redacted and/or withheld due to exemptions to the law. This week, on Wednesday, the Times ran a story showing some of Bass texts during the wildfires. David Michaelson, counsel to Mayor Bass, had told Wick in an email earlier this month that Bass texts were ephemeral and did not have to be shared, according to the California Public Records Act. He also pointed to a 1981 Supreme Court case that said fleeting thoughts and random bits of information do not have to be turned over as part of public records requests. The Mayors office has responded to hundreds of public records requests since she was elected and we will continue to do so, Michaelson commented to the Times on Friday. The Mayors office released responsive texts to a PRA request from the Times last week and the Office will continue to respond to public record requests. The Times disagreed with Michaelson and the citys assessment, arguing what Bass types on her phone especially during an emergency must be shared as part of a records request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Citys apparent position that an official may delete a text communication at any time as ephemeral until a public records request is received would destroy the presumption of access to public records, The Times lawsuit said. All a public official would have to do to avoid public scrutiny is destroy the texts immediately after creating them. Mayor Bass was in Ghana when the fires first hit LA on Jan. 7. She has been heavily criticized since then for leaving the city, despite being warned LA was facing increased risk of wildfires in early Jan. Bass has also been criticized for the citys handling of the fires, which devastated communities like Pacific Palisades and Malibu near the coast to inland suburbs like Pasadena. LA Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has been one of Bass more vocal critics in the aftermath, saying her leadership during the emergency raised serious questions. Soon-Shiong also said his paper made a mistake when it endorsed Bass during the 2022 election. The post LA Times Sues City Over Mayor Karen Bass Deleted Wildfire Texts appeared first on TheWrap. The upcoming election in the Town of Lac du Flambeau could have an impact in the ongoing dispute over the use of roads by non-tribal residents in a northern Wisconsin reservation. A Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe tribal member, Stephanie Thompson, 37, is running for chairperson for the non-tribal town of Lac du Flambeau against incumbent Matt Gaulke. Lac du Flambeau tribal member Stephanie Thompson is running for chairperson for the non-tribal town of Lac du Flambeau, located within the tribe's reservation in northern Wisconsin, in the April 1, 2025, election. The town is located within the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Tribes reservation boundaries and is currently in a legal dispute with the tribe over four roads that provide access to dozens of non-tribal properties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conflict started in January 2023 when tribal officials barricaded the four roads. Tribal President John Johnson, Sr., stated that the roads were built illegally decades ago and leases for non-tribal citizens to use them had expired long ago. He said tribal requests to renegotiate the leases were ignored. Tribal officials removed the barricades later that year after an agreement was reached with the town to pay a fee to keep them open while a more permanent solution was negotiated. The tribe threatened to barricade the roads again this year when those payments from the town stopped. However, a federal judge ordered the roads to remain open during pending litigation. The issue has made national news and prompted top elected officials in the state to call for some kind of resolution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thompson said not much is known to the public about where negotiations are because theyre held behind closed doors. She said Gaulke wasnt being truthful when he said he didnt know about the issue when the roads were first barricaded in 2023. Gaulke did not return requests for comment. Thompson said resolving the roads dispute will be one of her top priorities if elected. During her campaign, she has been trying to convince tribal members who are also members of the town that they are allowed to vote in town elections. Thompson said many tribal members just assumed they can only vote for tribal officials, and are surprised when she explains they are allowed to vote for both. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If town residents are concerned whether she will work for the best interests of the town, she tells them the welfare of the town and the tribe are intertwined. Thompson said there are many mixed households. Dave Kievet, who is one of the homeowners affected by the roads dispute, has his doubts about whether the April 1 election will help the situation. I am not sure how either of the individuals that are up for election would be able to impact that road situation, he said. I think that Stephanie may be able to improve the relationship between the Tribe and the Town, but I think that the only way that we get a lasting resolution is through the federal courts. Kievet, who organized a Facebook group to discuss the issue, has argued that Congress created the situation with the Dawes Allotment Act in 1887, and Congress and the federal government should help resolve it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Dawes Act opened reservation land across the U.S. to be taken by non-tribal companies and individuals. Congress later reversed course and tribal nations have been trying to reclaim lost reservation land ever since. Besides the roads issue, Thompson said she would address public safety and infrastructure issues, which she believes Gaulke has ignored. More: As Lac du Flambeau road dispute drags on, latest threat is to ticket non-tribal drivers Sign up for the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter Click here to get all of our Indigenous news coverage right in your inbox Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lac du Flambeau member runs to lead non-tribal town in road dispute QUEENS (PIX11) Did you know Mayor Rudy Giuliani once dressed in drag to perform in a New York City Charity show and that legendary boxer Muhammad Ali gifted a giant autographed golden glove to Mayor Abe Beame? Theres also the wooden box made to look like a briefcase that Beames assistant would carry to public events to make the 5-foot, 2-inch mayor look taller. More Local News Its all part of the now expanded LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Archives held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning to celebrate the official opening of the Inner Circle Show Collection. The collection contains memorabilia from the 102-year-old tradition of reporters roasting the New York City Mayor and other politicians. We have programs for I believe every year dating back to 1941, Molly McBride-Jacobson, an archivist at LaGuardia, said. So, 1941 up to the present, as well as cast lists, seating arrangements of who attended the show, where they were seated. We have audio recordings of some shows before 1983. We have a wealth of photos, scores, scripts. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who previously performed the traditional mayoral rebuttal at the Inner Circle Show, returned for Thursdays ribbon-cutting. He said, The spirit of the show is we better make fun of ourselves. We better realize that in this beautiful, amazing city that were all trying to do something good for, weve got to keep our sense of humor, and I would say, perhaps in 2025, that message is more pertinent than ever. Students enrolled in LaGuardia College helped categorize and document the material. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Molly Rosner, the Director of Education Programs at LaGuardia, said, Students are really excited to get these behind-the-scenes peaks at history, the things you cant find on Wikipedia by googling. They get to look at real hand-written sources. They get to look at humor, cartooning, and satire, things they might think were invented pretty recently with the Daily Show but are actually long-standing pieces of political history in New York City. More Local News The LaGuardia and Wagner archives are open to all CUNY students, and members of the public can request a tour here. This years annual Inner Circle show is on Saturday, April 5th, at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Midtown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several PIX11 News reporters sing and dance on stage as part of the cast, including James Ford, Eileen Lehpamer, Magee Hickey, Marvin Scott, Kirstin Cole, Dan Mannarino, and Hazel Sanchez. James Ford is currently the Inner Circle Chairman. Eileen Lehpamer is the Inner Circle Vice President. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAKEWOOD, Ohio (WJW) Leaders from the city of Lakewood and concerned citizens are uniting to increase pedestrian safety throughout the city limits. Multiple pedestrians have been hit in crosswalks in the past year, one of whom was killed. Akron tax preparers guilty of $1.2M pandemic relief fraud face decades in prison Lakewood is well-known for being Ohios most walkable city. But over the past several months, pedestrians are being run over in crosswalks, including a former TV reporter who was killed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Four Lakewood City Council members gathered to share some steps they plan to input, starting at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Hillard Road a five-point intersection they said is very confusing for drivers. In the short term, the bicycle lanes will be painted bright green once the weather breaks. They also plan to repaint crosswalks with highly reflective paint, also planters, for added protection. In the long term, there is a complete streets ordinance in the works that takes pedestrians, bicyclists, the differently abled and the environment into account, according to a Friday news release. Council is also considering creating an adult driver education course teaching proper passing distance and lane use like Safety Town for adults, said councilwoman Cindy Strebig, Ward 3. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need to do better as a community at looking out for each other, and that starts with all of us, especially people driving, understanding and obeying the rules of the road, councilman Bryan Evans, Ward 2, said Friday. These streets belong to all of us and we all have a right to safely use them. They are simply not the domain of cars alone. Angelos Pizza in Lakewood vandalized; front windows shattered Bike Lakewood, Friends of Madison Park and other concerned residents were in attendance at Fridays event. They want the city to act now. They said too many accidents are happening. Just last week, a parent biking his two young children were hit in the intersection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They said this cannot wait. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DENVER (KDVR) A 29-year-old has been arrested and cited by the Lakewood Police Department after a video circulated online that appeared to show someone keying the side of a Tesla Cybertruck. On March 15, police said they were aware and opened an active investigation, but the Lakewood Police Department would not release any details at this time. The video was not linked nor provided by the agency but was reportedly taken in a parking lot at the Colorado Mills Mall. It appears to be taken from a camera that is part of Cybertrucks manufacturing. FBI launches Tesla vandalism task force Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, the agency announced the arrest of Shaydan Hessner, 29. She was cited for criminal tampering. Under Colorado law, criminal mischief is when someone knowingly damages the real or personal property of one or more persons in the course of a single criminal episode. Criminal tampering can either be first- or second-degree. Second-degree criminal tampering is when someone tampers with property of another with intent to cause injury, inconvenience, or annoyance to that person, while first-degree criminal tampering is the same crime, but the tampering is with the property of a utility or institution. Protests of Tesla due to its CEO, billionaire Elon Musk, have grown increasingly common since the presidential inauguration and President Donald Trump naming Musk the head of the new Department of Government Efficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several protests have been held in Colorado and around the country as part of the Tesla Takedown movement, which also encourages divestment from the company with the goal of hurting Musks wallet. Earlier this month, a person was federally charged for allegedly attempting to light a Molotov cocktail at a Loveland Tesla dealership in February. There have been at least two arrests for incidents at the dealership. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. U.S. President Donald Trump boards Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 28, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump said he held an "extremely productive call" with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) WASHINGTON, March 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said he held an "extremely productive call" with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. "I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada's upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada." Carney was sworn in as Canada's new prime minister on March 14, replacing Justin Trudeau who led Canada for nearly a decade. This was the first call between Trump and Carney since Carney took office. U.S. President Donald Trump walks toward the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 28, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump said he held an "extremely productive call" with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) U.S. President Donald Trump waves to the press while walking on the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 28, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump said he held an "extremely productive call" with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) U.S. President Donald Trump walks toward the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 28, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump said he held an "extremely productive call" with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 28, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump said he held an "extremely productive call" with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) It was a day of dueling press conferences as the governor and his top public health officials railed against the Trump administrations decision to pull $150 million in federal grant money from the states Department of Public Health. Speaking at the headquarters of UConn Health in Farmington, Gov. Lamont and his public health commissioner outlined how the cuts would reduce or outright eliminate certain programs providing newborn health screenings, childhood vaccinations, and disease outbreak monitoring. This is a dark day for public health, Dr. Manisha Juthani, the commissioner of the Department of Public Health, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Governor Lamont advocates for more funding for gun violence prevention These implications for public health are real, they affect every single person in this room and will every day, Juthani added. The grants originated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement, The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago. Back at the state Capitol in Hartford, Republicans gathered for a press conference of their own. They stood next to a large, poster board affixed with a picture of the governor surrounded by references to various scandals and controversial events from throughout Lamonts six years in office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The poster was titled, Gov. Lamont & CT Democrats Culture of Corruption. A picture of Kosta Diamantis, Lamonts former deputy budget director, was accompanied by the recent headline, Kosa Diamantis and Chris Ziogas charged in corruption scheme. Diamantis is facing numerous federal charges in relation to two alleged bribery schemes prosecutors say he engaged in while serving as a high-ranking official in the Lamont administration. He has pleaded not guilty in court. The GOP poster also included a picture of Terrence Cheng, the head of the Connecticut State College and University (CSCU) system, with the caption p-card problems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CSCU to launch new P-Card policy after audit revealed systematic misuse of funds A report from State Comptroller Sean Scanlon found that Cheng had charged more than $19,000 worth of food to his state credit card, informally referred to as a p-card. Scanlon said spending by Cheng and other CSCU officials, in some cases, a shocking and tone-deaf display. Yet another photo on the poster showed Wanda Geter-Pataky, the vice chair of the Bridgeport Democratic party, who faces dozens of charges of ballot crimes related to alleged activity in the two most recent mayoral elections in the states largest city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a whole, Republicans argued the slew of incidents they cited paint a picture of an irresponsible administration one that is unwilling to confront its own missteps. They dont want to talk about anything that goes on in this building, State Sen. Stephen Harding, the Republican leader in the State Senate, said. And when you see what is going on in this building with the waste, fraud, and corruption and abuse I wouldnt want to talk about it either if I owned it. But Lamont fired back, noting that several of the incidents the GOP referenced are being actively investigated and prosecuted by authorities. Talk about corruption, look where we were twenty years ago, look who was involved then, Lamont said. Now, youre talking about DMV and somebody over at OPM. Look, were gonna get to the bottom of everything. I dont mean to be dismissive of it. Im trying to do everything I can to give you confidence that the states headed in the right direction. And I dont need these guys badmouthing the state every day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Rep. Vincent Candelora, the Republican leader in the state House, suggested the timing of the parallel press conferences was not a mistake and that Lamont had deliberately assembled his public health event to take attention away from the GOP. We have existing holes right now in the state of Connecticut and no one is minding the store, they are all acting with Trump Derangement Syndrome and attacking the federal government when they need to be focusing on whats going on at home, Candelora said. Again, Lamont countered. I am minding the shop, Lamont said. This is $150 million thats being yanked from public health. You saw what happened to all our environmental initiatives the other day. Look whats happening in terms of ending the Department of Education. This is minding the shop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 8 asked the Republicans about the pull back of federal grants to Connecticut. How will Trumps executive order shutting down the Department of Education impact Connecticut schools? I understand that there may or may not be cuts coming from the federal government, Candelora said. I did hear this morning, most of this isnt going to happen until September when Congress reconvenes to vote on a resolution. The governors office said the $150 million public health grants were immediately terminated and the federal Department of Health and Human services said it expects to recover the grant money within the next 30 days. As for Congress autumn budget deliberations that Candelora referenced, Lamont said the state cannot afford to backstop any further cuts from Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We do not have the ability to fill in all the money that the feds are yanking away, Lamont said. Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this 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 WTNH.com. LANCASTER, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Lancaster County school officials are considering higher residential impact fees on new home construction as they deal with the areas continued growth. Many parents support the proposal but they want to make sure the entire county benefits. We currently are around $9,000 for the single-family residential units and about $9,900 for the multi-family residential unit. We are collecting those fees, said Lancaster County School Board Chair Melvin Stroble. I think to date we have collected about $900K. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement York County leaders propose increasing impact fee on new home developments In 2021, Lancaster County Council members approved a residential school impact fee on each new home or apartment in development. Stroble says thats not enough for new or expanded schools. As many of are aware, neighboring counties with impact fees are a lot higher than Lancaster County, Stroble said. So we just want to verify that the maximum amount that was approved in 21 is still valid. The previous impact fee was only for the areas north of S.C. Highway 5, but now officials are wondering if its enough to meet needs south of that road, including the city of Lancaster. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 600 people are still petitioning for a county-wide housing moratorium until leaders address infrastructure needs not to mention new schools. It doesnt matter how far south youre going, said parent and petitioner Angela Davis. This is Lancaster County, were as a whole, we are getting overwhelmed with development, and impact fees is going to be just a way to kind of start putting Band-Aids on the things of infrastructure that we need to do in order to start getting ahead. Voters rejected the school districts $588 million bond measure in November. It would have included $93 million for a new Indian Land elementary school. Council member Brian Carnes is not a supporter of impact fees even though similar charges are helping neighboring communities like Fort Mill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They built the schools because they bought the land with their impact, the money, Carnes said. But they have passed multiple bond referendums to build those schools. They did not build their schools with impact fees. So, again, its going to help, but its not going to help a lot. Other county council members also opposed the fees believing it would make their districts unaffordable. Davis feels otherwise. The fact that they think impact fees are going to slow down growth is a complete mistake, she argued. They need to actually learn from that, learn from what happened here and get ahead of it rather than, again, falling short and falling behind. Those impact fees need to go up and even our neighboring neighbors of Fort Mill, theyre even going higher and theyre trying to go higher. And the fact that it has not slowed their growth down really proves our point of the impact fees need to be raised and they need to be extended. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Davis wants neighbors to know that impact fees dont just affect the EMS and the other infrastructure but it impacts schools as well. We know schools are having a hard time getting funds for the needs that the capital needs that are needed around the entire county, Davis said. And that does go all the way down into Lancaster and Kershaw and Buford. And thats something that they can get ahead of as well. The county and district will meet again in about six months after the impact study. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The police sergeant accused of abusing his power while on the job and also possessing child pornography faces new accusations of installing cameras inside bathrooms, prosecutors said. A Clark County grand jury voted Thursday to indict LVMPD Sgt. Kevin Menon on 28 counts of capturing the image of the private area of another person, prosecutor Christopher Hamner announced during a grand jury return hearing Friday. Menon allegedly began recording from the two cameras in his home in September, Hamner said. During the hearing, Hamner played video from one camera, showing Menon installing a camera and positioning it in a vent, which pointed downward toward a toilet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police made the discovery in November, Hamner said. In March, they found 96 recordings of women using the restroom. Hamner also noted Menon was out of custody on bond at the time on his two ongoing criminal cases. Prosecutors said Menon repeatedly searched for images of teenagers urinating, which Hamner called a fetish and a sickness. The 8 News Now Investigators obtained a series of videos at the center of a criminal case against a police sergeant accused of orchestrating fake arrests on the Las Vegas Strip. (KLAS) There is no way the state, the court and Metro can monitor him to keep the community safe, Hamner said, asking Clark County District Court Chief Judge Jerry Wiese to set bail at $1 million. Menon was not in court on Friday, and Wiese issued a warrant for his arrest on $56,000 bail, adding the district court judge handling the other cases would better address that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his first case, the Clark County District Attorneys Office alleges Menon abused his power by creating fake scenarios that resulted in citizens, mainly Black men, being detained on the Las Vegas Strip. Menon had been leading a team of officers on the Las Vegas Strip. Body camera and surveillance videos showed Menon dressed in plain clothes while officers were dressed in uniform. Detectives said when they seized Menons electronic devices for the investigation, they found child sexual abuse material, also known as child pornography. This resulted in a second criminal case against Menon for child pornography-related charges. Police arrested Menon on Aug. 30. A Clark County grand jury later indicted him for 13 charges related to the alleged abuse of power and then four felony sex crimes charges in the second case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In court documents, Menon claims he tried to expose racism within the police department and is being retaliated against. Menon remains out of custody after posting bond in his two ongoing cases. After his arrest, the department placed Menon on leave with pay and suspended his police powers pending an investigation. The department has since stopped paying him. Menons legal team has tried to disqualify the judge handling his criminal cases due to allegations of abuse from his daughter. The judge responded that he is unaware of any active investigations regarding his daughters claims. Menon was scheduled to go on trial on March 31 in the first criminal case he faces. A hearing is scheduled about the motion to disqualify the judge on April 3. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vanessa Murphy can be reached at vmurphy@8newsnow.com. David Charns can be reached at dcharns@8newsnow.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 KLAS. By Maria Paula Laguna and Sarah Morland MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A growing number of Latin American women are choosing not to give birth in a radical departure from the traditional family roles that have long dominated in the region. Latin America and the Caribbean has experienced the most dramatic decline in birth rates of any region globally since 1950, according to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As in South Korea, this has raised fears of an ageing population that burdens the taxpayer. But it also reflects how women are turning away from deeply-ingrained expectations of motherhood, in part because of a lack of state support and in part because they are prioritizing their own careers and livelihoods. Mexican property manager Iran Sosa founded the Nunca Madres (Never Mothers) global online community for Spanish-speaking women in 2021 with Isabel Cortes, a Colombian commodities trader, to address a lack of space where Latinas could discuss social issues and cultural taboos regarding decisions about motherhood. "When I was a little girl, the only representation I had of women who were not mothers were bitter, single, Disney stereotypes, the childless witch with no family who is abandoned and thrown away," Sosa said. "Representation is always important, so we can imagine different futures and different choices." She said many of the group's members say they feel pressured into motherhood, with relatives warning them they would regret the decision not to have children and would have no one to look after them as they grow old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "People come with many fears," she said. "But how else can you make this decision, but from a place of love?" As well as an online space, Nunca Madres runs workshops where people - including mothers - share information and advice on how their decisions have affected their lives, from societal stigma to workplace discrimination to personal finance. "There is still a lot of taboo around that decision," said Cortes. "It depends on your social circle but generally it is very deeply rooted in our culture that woman equals mother." There is little global data on why women choose not to have children, but a Pew Research survey of U.S. adults last year found 57% of respondents under 50 who said they were unlikely to have children gave as a reason that they just didn't want to, 38% were concerned about the state of the world and 36% couldn't afford it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Nunca Madres, Sosa said economic concerns were the top reason women gave, including the risk of losing their jobs or freezing career prospects, alongside the massive and often heavily lopsided unpaid labor of raising a child. Climate change, which is contributing to worsening natural disasters in the region, came next. Women questioned the wisdom of raising children in places where water is being rationed. Lucero Sanchez, a Mexican doctor who had decided when she was 16 that she did not want children, told Reuters that adult women seeking sterilization are routinely told by medical practitioners they are too young and will regret it, while teens who get pregnant are rarely told they are too young to have babies. "The biggest challenge is society," she said. "You are constantly being invited to make a different decision or your decision is being questioned as invalid." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 'AGAINST GOD, AGAINST THE FAMILY' Activists have warned that a political pushback in the United States against many hard-won rights - including abortion, access to contraception, and sex education in schools - is spilling over across the region. Argentina's President Javier Milei has cut funding for sex education, contraception and abortion pills - just a few years after the procedure was made legal. He told the United Nations in September that policies around reproductive rights were "ridiculous" given shrinking birth rates in Western countries. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele has cracked down on a broad-ranging set of "gender ideology" policies that he has described as "against God and against the family." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those include sex education and access to contraception, say women's rights groups. El Salvador, which is overwhelmingly Catholic, already has a total ban and severe penalties for abortion. Andressa Cavalcante, a Brazilian family medic, said joining a group like Nunca Madres helped her feel "less like an alien." "Living in a country with a largely Christian-based culture that values the traditional family and considers the concept of having children as an act of faith, I often refrain from expressing my decision or opinion on the subject," she said. Cavalcante is now donating her eggs to women and LGBTQ+ couples who cannot have children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While birth rates have shrunk globally since contraceptives became widely available in the 1960s, experts at CEPAL and UN Women have attributed the steeper Latin American decline to a failure by authorities to tackle domestic violence and provide support for prospective mothers. In Europe policies such as free early childcare and paternity leave have had some success in boosting birth rates, but there are few such policies across Latin America, according to Martina Yopo, a sociologist at Chile's Pontifical Catholic University. Meanwhile, more women have been joining the workforce. The percentage of women in Latin America and the Caribbean in the labor force rose 8.8 percentage points to 51.3% between 1990 and 2023, according to the World Bank, even as they continue to shoulder the bulk of unpaid domestic and care work. More support from governments in terms of social and healthcare security would help Latin American women as their roles shift, said Sosa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's about autonomy," she said. "They need to recognize that we exist, and not only that, but many more generations of girls are growing up and making the same decisions." (Reporting by Sarah Morland and Maria Paula Laguna, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) Officials are warning California residents to be vigilant against a post-disaster scam that could cost them thousands of dollars. What's happening? As detailed by the Press Democrat, multiple residents received notice that their vehicles had been towed as the Eaton fire, which destroyed more than 9,400 structures, was blazing. One Altadena resident received a call in the middle of the night that the city approved the towing of his family car, but that didn't appear to be the case for him or other impacted residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They did it before there was any perimeter set up, before the [highway patrol] got there, while the fire was still going. A lot of people have filed stolen car claims; tow companies just took them," said Sgt. Regina Garay, supervisor of the Inland Empire Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force. Weeks later, he and his wife heard the operators had moved their vehicle more than 30 miles away. They would need to pay $3,000 to retrieve it. As of early March, some wildfire survivors were still trying to reunite with their vehicles. "I find it disgusting that these fraudulent tow operators exploited fire survivors during their time of distress," Los Angeles County supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement. "Those behind this abhorrent scheme must be held accountable and brought to justice." Why is this important? The situation came to Barger's attention after she stumbled across a Facebook post titled, "Eaton Fire Hall of Shame." After investigating the matter, Barger learned from the Inland task force that the Eaton fire wasn't the first instance of "bandit" tow truck operators moving vehicles and holding them for thousands of dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the report, a task force discovered an auto fraud ring making false insurance claims for towed vehicles starting in 2022. The force, led in part by the Department of Insurance, California Highway Patrol, and Riverside and San Bernardino County district attorneys, alleged they found more than $216,932 in false insurance claims. They charged 16 tow truck operators with stealing money, property, or personal information by pretending to be drivers' insurance companies. It is unclear if the Eaton Fire towings are related to the auto fraud ring investigation. Nonetheless, the situation raises the alarm, as an uptick in supercharged extreme weather events may provide further opportunities for scammers to take advantage of residents. In the Golden State, a warming climate driven by the burning of dirty fuels has increased the severity and frequency of wildfires, with the area burned by blazes expanding every year since 1950, according to the California Air Resources Board. What can I do to protect myself against a towing scam? As the task force continues its investigation, the state's insurance department is warning drivers to be on their guard against potential towing scams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the event of a crash, it says drivers should contact their insurance companies before signing papers. Drivers should also look out for red flags, such as a tow truck driver failing to request their preferred shop. 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 Trump announced on Friday that the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP preemptively cut a deal with the administration to ward off the potential threat of an executive order targeting the firm. The deal requires the firm to provide $100 million in pro bono services to the Trump administration, Trump said during a White House appearance. A spokesperson for Skadden did not immediately respond to a request for comment or confirmation on the deal. Skadden joins the New York powerhouse firm Paul Weiss in choosing to surrender to the Trump administration amid threats to their ability to access government contracts and maintain clients with such contracts. Unlike the situation with Paul Weiss, Trump did not even need to issue an executive order to get the firm to bend the knee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three other firms targeted by Trump Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block have filed lawsuits challenging the orders targeting them. A federal district court judge already placed a temporary restraining order blocking Trumps actions against Perkins Coie, saying that it sent little chills down my spine. It isnt clear why Skadden chose to seek out a deal with Trump, which The New York Times reported about on Thursday. There was no public indication that the firm would be targeted by an executive order. Billionaire White House adviser Elon Musk had singled out the firm on social media on Sunday for previously working on a case against conservative commentator Dinesh DSouza. But thats it. The firms decision to voluntarily submit to Trump comes amid rising attacks from his administration on the legal profession. He has targeted five law firms with executive orders seeking to cripple their businesses, retracted security clearances from other lawyers, and issued an executive order that purports to allow the Department of Justice to disqualify individual lawyers or firms from cases challenging the administration. This new deal also seems to up the stakes for other firms facing Trumps threats. Paul Weiss agreed to provide $40 million in pro bono services when it surrendered. Now, Skadden has promised $100 million in services. The tribute price has gone up 150%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The other firms that have chosen to fight back have not minced words in their legal filings about the illegality of the executive orders. The order targeting Jenner & Block is an unconstitutional abuse of power against lawyers, their clients, and the legal system, according to the lawsuit filed by the firm. The Order is an affront to the Constitution and our adversarial system of justice, the lawsuit filed by Perkins Coie states. Its plain purpose is to bully those who advocate points of view that the President perceives as adverse to the views of his Administration, whether those views are presented on behalf of paying or pro bono clients. The Houses top Democrat for veterans policy supports finding ways to save money at the Department of Veterans Affairs. But he worries the White Houses current approach to that goal will end up costing veterans access to care and benefits as it looks for savings. [This administration] wants to hold up some sort of pelt and say, Look, we cut this many jobs, were saving you all this money, House Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano, D-Calif., said in an interview with Military Times this week. But caring for our veterans really shouldnt be rooted in how much money were saving. We are taking care of veterans whose bodies have been mangled by war, or who are suffering from PTSD, or who need extra mental health care. This is going to take spending of money, and the taxpayer doesnt begrudge that. The [Department of Government Efficiency] mentality of only finding savings should not be whats driving policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the last few months, Takano has been among the most prominent critics of President Donald Trumps reform efforts at the department, which include plans to cut the workforce by more than 80,000 staffers, eliminate thousands of contract agreements and scale back services deemed extraneous by administration leaders. VA leaders announce end to all transgender-related care for vets Takano said the department does need to find ways to improve efficiency and best use its funding, but he believes cutting workers and scaling back its budget wont ultimately improve the agency. I dont think theyre thinking about veterans first, Takano said, referencing VA Secretary Doug Collins often-used leadership mantra to put veterans first in department decisions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the White House and both chambers of Congress under Republican control, the six-term congressman acknowledged there are limits to what his party can do to oppose any cuts or reforms to VA programs. He said his chief responsibility now is to highlight the dangers the plans could pose to department services, even as VA leaders insist that changes wont disrupt any benefits. Republicans are deluding themselves if they think that the American people want to see some kind of Hunger Games fight [over funding] created between veterans and things like school lunches programs, Takano said. Democrats on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee have scheduled shadow hearings starting next week to focus on issues they say Republican leaders are refusing to feature in regular committee schedules. Takano said he is considering similar actions on the House side, as well as other efforts to keep attention on VA policy moves. FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) Kentucky lawmakers have voted to override Gov. Andy Beshears veto of House Bill 90. The bills supporters said it is meant to bring clarity to doctors now fearful of breaking Kentucky law for terminating pregnancies while treating expectant mothers experiencing complications. Kentucky governor vetoes GOP abortion bill, says it undermines doctors and endangers pregnant women Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although supporters of House Bill 90 claim it protects pregnant women and clarifies abortion law in Kentucky, it actually does the opposite, Beshear said in his veto message. Beshear said the bill would restrict health care and put the lives of women with high-risk pregnancies on the line. House Bill 90 addresses the critical need to improve maternal health and access to maternal health care within our Commonwealth, including establishing a framework for the introduction of freestanding birthing centers, as well as clarifying existing abortion laws by providing clearer guidelines for doctors treating complex pregnancies. It was crafted with the participation of multiple stakeholdersincluding physicians who provide obstetric and gynecological care to Kentucky women each and every day, Representative Jason Nemes, the sponsor of HB 90 said. The bill saw a last-minute addition before heading to the governors desk. It initially aimed to create a framework for freestanding birthing centers in the Commonwealth, something many patients have crossed the Ohio River to obtain. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, at the 11th hour, lawmakers attached HB 414 to the bill, Angela Cooper, ACLU Kentucky, wrote. Specifically, the bill noted that termination of a pregnancy complicated by a fetal anomaly or the result of rape or incest doesnt constitute an unlawful abortion. However, it will ensure pregnant women experiencing a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, or other life-threatening complications can receive care. Its also a continuing process, and we are committed to having those continued conversations, but I dont want to mislead anybody. Kentucky is a pro-life state, and it will stay such. But if we have to do things to continue to improve the lives of pregnant women in danger and to help doctors, we are committed to doing that, Rep. Nemes said. Im proud of this. Some people say Im more devastated than this than theyve ever been. Im prouder now, in this moment when Im standing out here than Ive ever been, because this will save lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more of the latest news in politics The bill passed in the House 7417 before being sent to the governors desk. Beshears veto is now nullified, paving the way for HB 90 to become Kentucky 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 FOX 56 News. Recently released bodycam footage showing a Lawrence Police Department officer firing a rifle through his front windshield during a police pursuit has raised questions about safety and protocol. Lawrence police Lt. David Gordon, a 15-year veteran, is seen on the video steering with his left knee and pulling the rifle up with his right hand to fire at a dark-colored Chevrolet car that, moments earlier, he'd attempted to stop for a license plate issue. The car initially pulled over and a woman got out. Before the car speeds away, Gordon yells, "Put the car in park right f*cking now unless you want to have a bad day." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They're the first words heard by Gordon in an edited video released by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police because of their involvement in the pursuit that started with the traffic stop just after 4 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2024, in the 6900 block of Pendleton Pike. The 11-minute video contains footage from bodycams, squad car dashcams, and public safety traffic cameras of the pursuit and shooting that led to 48-year-old Kenneth T. Roberts Jr.'s death. Man dead after traffic stop: Pursuit leads to shots fired by Indianapolis and Lawrence police The other officers who discharged their weapons in the shooting were 7-year Lawrence police Sgt. Mateo Argresta and Indianapolis officer Owen Duckett, who's been with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department for one year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The chase lasted almost 2.5 miles and resulted in over 50 gunshots audible on video as both Roberts and police fired rounds, according to investigators. The footage also shows Roberts' vehicle weaving between vehicles and sometimes driving into oncoming traffic before eventually being fatally shot in the 6500 block of East 30th Street. No one else was hurt during the shooting, but multiple cars were struck by gunfire. The video was shared across social media platforms with one post amassing over 31,000 views and nearly 300 comments from people with concerns and questions about how police handled the pursuit and whether it was warranted. Lawrence Police Department's pursuit policy The Lawrence Police Department's policy on vehicle pursuits states all officers will act in a manner that minimizes the risks associated with emergency driving and high-speed vehicle pursuits. This policy was effective Jan. 1, 2023. Indiana's statewide police pursuit policy adopted in 2022 states officers should use their discretion when initiating a pursuit and should not pursue if the risk to public safety greatly outweighs the need for immediate apprehension. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawrence Police Deputy Chief, Travis Cline, told IndyStar the department is trained to abandon a pursuit if someone evading a traffic stop starts driving recklessly since that could put others in danger. Before Gordon could approach Roberts' vehicle, he sped off. Gordon followed the vehicle from a strip mall parking lot, weaving through nearby U-Haul storage units and then turning west onto East 38th Street and speeding down the bus only lane to pass other cars. Gordon had to avoid hitting a red SUV to follow. Footage showed Roberts driving for nearly half a mile before police say he shot at Gordon. "Once he fired a round at police that takes it to a whole other level," Cline said. "That is a very dangerous person so we don't terminate the pursuit." Here's what happened during the pursuit Video footage shows15-year Lawrence police Lieutenant David Gordon always staying in the right lane while pursuing Kenneth T. Roberts Jr., 48, on Dec. 30, 2024. Law enforcement officials said Roberts shot at least twice before Indianapolis officer Owen Duckett joined the pursuit near East 38th Street and North Arlington Avenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A public safety camera then captures Roberts driving into oncoming traffic and avoiding a pickup. The footage also depicts the back windshield of the Chevy being shot out. Police said the rear window was broken from Roberts firing at officers. As Roberts kept driving south on North Arlington Avenue, Gordon told dispatch that Roberts fired more shots. That's when video footage shows Gordon using a rifle to shoot four rounds out of the front windshield of his police vehicle while steering with his knee. "(Gordon) is also a SWAT officer for the Lawrence Police Department, so he has more training," Cline explained to IndyStar. "(He) also never had traffic coming the opposite direction toward him so he was not firing into oncoming traffic." Based on the video footage, Gordon always stayed in the right lane while pursuing Roberts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roberts turned left on East 30th Street. Video depicting the back windshield of the Chevy Kenneth T. Roberts Jr. was driving being shot out. Police alleged the rear window was broken from Roberts firing at officers on Dec. 30, 2024. The video shows Roberts driving into the wrong lane again into oncoming traffic. He avoids hitting three vehicles before shots ring out and the Chevy is seen slowing near an IndyGo bus stop. Audio depicts Gordon firing at least 12 more rounds during the pursuit before pulling over his police vehicle. While Gordon was shooting at Roberts' vehicle, another Lawrence Police officer told dispatch that Roberts was continuously firing at them. Body cam footage from Gordon shows him firing an additional eight rounds before exiting his police vehicle and firing 13 more times, reloading and firing again twice before he's heard saying, "I can't see him." Bodycam footage from Lawrence police Sgt. Mateo Argresta shows him firing off 10 rounds at Roberts from a different angle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bodycam footage from IMPD officer Owen Duckett shows a clear view of the Chevy. Duckett's firearm is heard and it appears gunshots are coming from Roberts' vehicle. Duckett then shoots another 10 times before reloading his Glock. Officers gave verbal commands for several minutes for Roberts to get out of the vehicle and show his hands. A SWAT vehicle was then used to approach the Chevy where officers found him unresponsive. Roberts was removed from the car and pronounced dead at the scene. A firearm was found near him. 'Based on what I'm seeing, he's timing his fire..' IndyStar asked Brian Baxter, who spent 30 years in law enforcement with the Texas Department of Public Safety to examine the critical incident video. The retired assistant chief is a use-of-force analyst and police practices specialist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Shooting through his [Gordon] windshield at the car is historically unconventional, but it's been occurring more and more as patrol rifles become more prevalent," Baxter said. "Sometimes it's done responsibly and sometimes it's not. Based on what I see he is timing his fire and there's no traffic in the backstop. He appears to be doing a good job managing the risk of bystanders but I'd have to see every angle unedited to really make that determination." Baxter said just because a shot is risky, doesn't make it less necessary, but it requires officers to take extra steps in their decision-making. Distance, angles, elevation, and accurate fire should always be used to mitigate the risk of bystanders getting hurt. "I'm not familiar with Lawrence or these agencies, so I'm watching this assuming that the audio is synced correctly to the video," Baxter said. "I'd have to see their policies and officer training records to make a fair assessment, but based on what I see in front of me the immediacy of this threat was high." In a tweet shared to social media, IMPD Fraternal Order of Police president, Rick Snyder, highlighted officers' "stellar work," while sharing clips from the critical incident video. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said it demonstrates the value of "superior" police training, equipment, and skills while also showing there are times when officers must shoot at or from a moving vehicle. STELLAR POLICE WORK by Lawrence and Indy Police Officers Demonstrates Value of Superior Training, Equipment + Skills Also shows there are times when Officers must shoot at/from a moving vehicle Risking their Lives to Protect Communities #NotToday #StandingTheLine pic.twitter.com/OzE0UbK31O Rick Snyder (@RickFOP86) March 22, 2025 What dash & body cams show happened: Heated clash between man, Lawrence police goes viral Chase video revives discussion about Lawrence police conduct Last month, Lawrence Police Officer Robert Santiago was placed on administrative leave after a viral video from a bystander captured two officers wrestling a man to the ground in the Walmart parking lot on Pendleton Pike. One of the officers is seen kicking the man and stepping on his legs before using a Taser on him. The other officer appears to punch the man in the head several times while he attempts to detain him. A police report claims the man instigated the violence by punching officers before bystanders started recording. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man was arrested but later released after the Marion County Prosecutor's Office declined to charge him pending further investigation. Court records: Body cam footage didn't capture key moment in Lawrence police shooting Three days before Roberts shooting death by police, Lawrence PD had another traffic-stop-turned-shooting. According to court documents, Lawrence Police officers Khalid Brooks and Benjamin Thomas conducted an initial traffic stop on Dec. 27, 2024, near 52nd Street and Kercheval Drive when a driver did not obey a stop sign. Body-worn camera footage showed one of the officers asking for a mans license and registration before he rolled up his window and revved his engine. What it doesn't capture is the man reaching toward the passenger side where investigators later found a rifle, but that's what police say happened when the officer stepped away from the car for his safety. "However, (the officer) would have a different point of view than what his bodycam shows, the affidavit for the driver's arrest said. Court records also revealed the second officer's body camera went dark due to a technical malfunction." As the officers moved from the car, they drew their guns and fired at the man, who drove away and was arrested after abandoning his vehicle and seeking medical attention at a hospital. "I understand that recent events have raised questions and concerns about the actions of our police officers," Lawrence Mayor Deb Whitfield told IndyStar. "It is important to acknowledge that critical incidents of this nature can happen, but it is equally important to address these issues with transparency, accountability, and a commitment to continuous improvement." Whitfield said with any use of force involving Lawrence officers, several internal policies and procedures should be followed. "We must trust the process, and Im confident in our process," Whitfield said. The actions of officers resulting in Roberts' death are being investigated by Indianapolis Police's critical response team and internal affairs as well as Lawrence's Use of Force Board and internal affairs. "If there's something that our officers, speaking for IMPD, need to be held accountable for you'll hear me talk about that," Chief Chris Bailey said at the time of the shooting. All Lawrence officers involved in these cases have returned to full duty and were reviewed by their Use of Force Board except Robert Santiago, who remains on administrative leave. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer Owen Duckett also returned to full duty but hasn't yet gone before the department's Use of Force Board. Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana officer drove with knee while shooting at fleeing suspect's car LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) A Michigan couple remains behind bars in a Mexican prison, accused of breaching a timeshare contract but their lawyer said the resort that filed the criminal complaint against them breached the contract first. Paul and Christy Akeo have reportedly been charged with defrauding Palace Elite, a subsidiary of the Palace Company, out of more than $110,000. They signed a timeshare contract with the resort in Nov. 2021 to purchase a membership with the hotel, but are accused of breaching its terms by cancelling the charges, leading to their arrest at a Cancun airport on March 4. The Akeos. (Lindsey Hull) The Akeos. (Lindsey Hull) Their children, Lindsey Hull and Michael Lemke, have repeatedly denied these accusations, telling Nexstars WLNS that American Express sided with the couple in the dispute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every second of every day, we are concerned for their safety, especially with the lack of communication, said Hull. The idea that theyre sitting in a maximum-security prison over a time-share dispute at best is unacceptable. Judge: High heat in Texas prisons unconstitutional John Manly, the familys attorney, provided some further insight into the situation, alleging that the Akeos did indeed sign up for a timeshare, but were taken advantage of. What happened was they got lured into this timeshare, and initially it was some reasonable amount a month, and then they, according to what weve been told, they took away their benefits and essentially made them increase their monthly contribution to $6,200 a month, said Manly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Manly, it was the resort company that actually breached the contract. They were supposed to be able to sell weeks of their timeshare so people could use them, and that interests Palace because they get to sell to more people, said Manly. What began to occur is Palace just began to cancel the reservations. So essentially, theyre paying $6,200 a month for which anybody whos middle-class or retired is a lot of money, not allowing them to sell their weeks that they have promised and essentially defaulted or breached, rather, the contract. Earlier this week, the Palace Company issued a statement which further alleged that the Akeos not only canceled their credit card payments fraudulently, but encouraged others to do so, as well. The company did not go into detail about its accusations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Palace Company subsidiary, Palace Elite, filed a criminal complaint with Mexican authorities after Paul and Christy Akeo fraudulently disputed legitimate credit card charges and publicly encouraged others to do the same, reads the statement. Mexican prosecutors reviewed the evidence and, following failed attempts to serve notice, obtained a court-approved arrest warrant. INTERPOL validated the case and issued a red notice, leading to the Akeos detention at Cancun Airport on March 4, 2025. A judge has since ruled there is sufficient cause for the case to proceed to trial and ordered the preventive detention of the Akeos. Former executive of Mars candy subsidiary charged with stealing $28 million from company The couples son, Michael Lemke, told WLNS that a Mexican judge has given Palace Resorts six months to gather evidence. Hes concerned this could mean that the Akeos might be detained in Mexico for a long time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The situation is incredibly unfortunate over something that is a contract dispute that we felt, I should say it seemed like was done and over with, said Lemke. The big thing for us is just bringing them home. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DAMASCUS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Syria's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday reinstated the post of Grand Mufti and established a new Supreme Fatwa Council, according to a decree released by the Syrian presidency. Under Presidential Decree No. 8 of 2025, prominent cleric Sheikh Osama al-Rifa'i was appointed as Grand Mufti of Syria and named head of the newly-created council, which includes 15 senior scholars mostly from Damascus. The council will be tasked with issuing religious edicts, advising on Islamic law, appointing provincial muftis, and guiding religious institutions nationwide. In a statement published by the presidency, al-Sharaa said the reform is part of broader efforts to rebuild Syria's religious and civic institutions, noting that the role of religious leadership should be rooted in collective scholarship. The new council, he said, will promote a balanced and unified religious discourse that preserves Syria's Islamic heritage while addressing contemporary challenges. It is also expected to play a role in resolving sectarian tensions and ensuring national cohesion. The Grand Mufti position, long considered a symbol of religious authority in Syria, had been dissolved under the previous government in 2021. OpenAI's extremely popular AI chatbot tool ChatGPT caught a huge wave this week when untold numbers of users started using it to generate images evoking the style of animation legend Hayao Miyazaki's work at Studio Ghibli. The trend quickly took on a life of its own. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took to X-formerly-Twitter to joke about being turned into a "twink ghibli style." OpenAI has since started cracking down on the trend, implementing a confusing range of changes that now often refuse requests to generate images in Ghibli's style. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The viral trend, and OpenAI's chaotic response, reignited a heated debate surrounding copyright and the use of generative AI directly undermining the work of human artists and publishers including the extremely talented animators at Ghibli. And according to former general counsel at the TV channel Showtime and AI expert Rob Rosenberg, Ghibli may actually be able to take legal action against OpenAI over the situation. While it's a "complex question" whether the Japanese animation studio would have enough grounds, the company "might have the ability to claim OpenAI has violated the Lanham Act which provides the basis for claims related to false advertising, trademark infringement and unfair competition," Rosenberg, now the founder of Telluride Legal Strategies, told Futurism. The Lanham Act, which was enacted in 1946, is the primary federal statute governing trademark law in the US, and establishes a national system of trademark registration that allows owners to pursue infringement lawsuits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Ghibli could argue that by converting user photos to 'Ghibli-style,' OpenAI is trading off the goodwill of Ghiblis trademarks, using Ghiblis identifiable style and leading to a likelihood of confusion among consumers that this function is endorsed or licensed by Studio Ghibli," Rosenberg argued. OpenAI could also be sued for "training its large language models on Studio Ghiblis copyrighted works," he added. OpenAI is already facing several lawsuits over its approach to scouring the internet for training data for its models, including plenty of copyrighted material. Just this week, a federal judge rejected OpenAI's request to throw out a copyright lawsuit filed by the New York Times. The newspaper alleged in late 2023 that the Altman-led company infringed its copyright by using its material without permission to train its AI models. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has also been accused of illegally downloading pirated books to train its AI models. But so far, there isn't any legal precedent to determine whether OpenAI broke US copyright law. The company has maintained that "training their models is a fair use under copyright law," Rosenberg explained, "and therefore an exception to infringement." The "fair use doctrine" has been core to the ongoing debate surrounding whether AI companies like OpenAI are breaking copyright law. It's a legal framework allowing limited access to copyrighted materials without prior permission for quotations and other non-infringing usages. Whether Ghibli will actually make any legal moves is anyone's guess. On Friday, the company told Japanese news outlet NHK that a viral legal document, which claimed to be a cease and desist letter sent by the studio, was fake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "As most courts have not yet ruled on the strength of similar copyright claims, it is unclear whether they would prove successful or not," Rosenberg told Futurism. "If OpenAI were marketing its platform as a place where consumers could go to turn their photos into 'Ghibli-style' anime, that fact would weigh more strongly in favor of a court finding that OpenAIs conduct violated the Lanham Act." Unless courts were to unanimously rule in favor of OpenAI, determining that training AI models on copyrighted material does indeed fall under fair use, we could be heading "toward a system where the AI developers will need to compensate copyright holders, and credit them where their content is used in producing output," Rosenberg said. Aside from questions regarding the possible infringement of copyright, OpenAI could be robbing Ghibli of other ways to monetize. "If Studio Ghibli ever wanted to launch its own tool allowing fans to transform photos into its signature style, OpenAIs update has essentially taken that business opportunity away," Rosenberg said. "Worse, this technology could lead to people generating entire animated projects in the Ghibli style and falsely presenting them as authentic." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Its similar to asking AI to rewrite a short story in the style of JK Rowling and then posting it online as a lost Rowling work," he added, "blurring the line between homage and outright misrepresentation." More on AI copyright: Cool Site Shows Exactly Which Books Zuckerberg's Minions Illegally Downloaded to Train Meta's AI Lawyers for Long Island serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann sparred with prosecutors Friday over the admissibility of DNA evidence that could put him away for life for the murders of seven women whose remains were found on a stretch of beach in Suffolk County. Heuermanns lawyers asked a judge to disqualify much of the DNA evidence obtained from the bodies of the victims, saying that the new DNA methodology employed by prosecutors has never been tested in New York courts. Prosecutors, meanwhile, insisted that the DNA evidence was consistent with new technology accepted within the scientific community, and used in our everyday lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To make that case, Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Santomartino relied on witness testimony from Kelley Harris, a computational biologist and an associate professor in the Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. According to her website, she uses large datasets of genetic variation to study the evolutionary history of humans and other species. She said she had been compensated for her time and transportation costs, a standard procedure for expert witnesses. Harris explained the procedure of taking rootless hairs and using them to help develop a DNA profile. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So they observed no false positives or false negatives, she said of a study on the subject. They never got it wrong, saying that it was not a match when it was a match or that it was a match when it was not a match. Harris had even written a review on the study. To be frank, its embarrassing for our criminal justice system that a method like this wasnt the state of the art years ago, Harris wrote, according to court documents. But better late than never. Heuermann, 62, was charged with a seventh count of murder in December after prosecutors said they connected him to the death of Valerie Mack, 24, who was killed, dismembered and mutilated some time between Sept. 1 and Nov. 19, 2000, according to a superseding indictment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heuermann, an architect who lived with his family in Massapequa Park on Long Island, was arrested on July 13, 2023 and charged in the murders of three of the so-called Gilgo Four women: Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27. And in January 2024, he was charged with killing the fourth, 42-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Heuermann has since been charged with murdering another three women Jessica Taylor, 20; Sandra Costilla, 28; and Mack, 24. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. Earlier in the day, lawyers for Heurermanns estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, said the two have reached a divorce settlement. The paperwork, signed by both Heuermann and Ellerup, was filed Thursday night in Suffolk County Supreme Court. A judge must review the settlement and must sign off on the divorce before it is final. Lawyers for a Florida murderer on death row are trying to halt his scheduled execution, saying his weight and health conditions could lead to a botched lethal injection. In court documents, lawyers for Michael Tanzi, 48, say he is morbidly obese and suffers from sciatica, a condition that causes pain along the back's sciatic nerve. Tanzi's lawyers argued that Florida's lethal injection procedure might not work because of his weight, highlighting that a sedation drug might not fully take effect and leave him "paralyzed but aware" during the process. "The existing protocols for lethal injection do not contemplate the execution of someone with obesity and uncontrolled medical conditions, like Mr. Tanzi's, that are likely to complicate the lethal injection process," Tanzi's lawyers said in their brief. "Executing Mr. Tanzi using the existing protocols is likely to cause serious illness and needless suffering." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawyers also noted that there might be difficulty placing the IV lines that carry the three-drug lethal injection cocktail, and said his sciatica and other health conditions might cause him to experience pain while lying on the table at Florida State Prison. Clouds hover over the entrance of Florida State Prison in Starke, Florida, Aug. 3, 2023. / Credit: AP Photo/Curt Anderson The Florida attorney general's office said in a response that Tanzi's legal team has not shown that the state's lethal injection protocol would violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment outlined in the U.S. Constitution. "Tanzi fails to offer any support for his groundless assertion that the massive dose of etomidate, that has been repeatedly and successfully used in Florida's lethal injection protocol, will not work for him," the state said. The court documents also noted that Tanzi waited until the week before his execution to raise the issue. Under Florida law, executions must be carried out via either lethal injection or the electric chair, according to CBS affiliate WKMG-TV. The state is also moving to allow executions by "a method not deemed unconstitutional," WKMG-TV reported which could allow executions by firing squad or nitrogen gas, both methods that have been recently used in other states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tanzi was convicted of kidnapping Janet Acosta in April 2000 and killing her. According to the Associated Press, Acosta was seated inside her parked van when Tanzi attacked her and threatened her with a razor blade. He then bound and gagged her and began to drive the van toward the Florida Keys. While on the drive, he sexually assaulted Acosta and used her bank card to withdraw money. Eventually, he strangled Acosta and left her body in the Keys, then continued driving south to visit friends. He was arrested after a missing persons report was filed and he was seen driving Acosta's vehicle. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant to execute Tanzi on March 10. His execution is set for April 8. It would be the third execution in Florida this year, according to the AP. James Dennis Ford was executed in February for murdering two people in 1997, and Edward James was executed in mid-March for murdering a woman and her granddaughter. Hegseth reacts to Atlantic releasing his Signal texts to Trump team detailing Yemen bombing Hegseth doubles down on Signal chat texts not being "war plans" Former National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster reacts to Trump administration leak EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Leaders in career and technical education (CTE) encourage local school districts to seek their support amid funding issues and to continue providing students ample access and resources for CTE training. Canutillo Independent School District recently approved a move to make district-wide staff and program cuts to address a nearly $6 million shortfall. One of those cuts will involve the districts CTE Department. Canutillo ISD moves forward with staff layoffs, program cuts Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gustavo Reveles, CISDs communications director, said they will be able to continue providing all of their CTE courses, but they had to significantly reduce the departments administration to make it work. Our CTE funding has been reduced by the state. CTE courses which includes engineering, health care, law enforcement and other career preparation classes are an important part of our offerings. To offset the reduction in funding and retain all course offerings, we have made the decision to eliminate a Central Office position in the CTE Department, Reveles said. Additionally, the remaining CTE administrator will be moved to Canutillo High School, where he will be better able to serve the majority of the students in CTE courses, Reveles added. The chief executive officer for Western Technical College, Brad Kuykendall, said they already have a partnership with Anthony, Tornillo, and Socorro school districts. The three districts send their students under a dual-enrollment program to Western Tech to learn under their instructors in different trades programs, while also obtaining credit for high school and college. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know the school districts are in difficult positions where theyre having to make cuts in areas where they may not want to, but theyre being forced to. I would say we have to think outside the box, Kuykendall said. Students that come to us from a variety of school districts get experience with the wide array of equipment we have, whether its automotive, HVAC & refrigeration, physical therapist assistants, nursing, welding. All of these trades programs that we have can go to support that. We have an excess capacity of resources in the afternoon. And so, if we can set up an agreement with the school district where students can come in the afternoon, we already have teachers as resources. We have equipment as resources. I think that can help to solve some of the budget shortfalls that the school districts are working on. Data from the Texas Workforce Commission shows that many CTE occupations are projected to be in high demand in the Borderplex through 2032, namely registered nurses and software developers. Borderplex-WDA-CTEDownload Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trade jobs in particular and technical jobs that we go with, theyre middle-skill trade jobs that go to support the entire industry. When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, the essential jobs that were crucial for continuing the economy and supporting us that were working from home were the trade and skill jobs, Kuykendall said. Scott Herndon, director and owner of Sun City Welding Academy, agreed with Kuykendall that the trades workforce is essential to the Borderland, and is a vital alternate career path for many students who dont want to pursue the traditional university route. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of our graduates are graduating debt-free because of the payment plans that we offer. They graduate, they get out there, and they find a job. We cant graduate them fast enough. Skilled tradesmen are essential to this region, Herndon said. Herndon said that while there are many opportunities out in El Paso for students to seek a CTE education, he said it is crucial for local public schools to continue to offer that first experience and to spur interest for students who are still unsure of what career to pursue. High school is where it starts, getting them young, where they have that open mind. Capturing them early, getting them intrigued and showing them that theres a future in welding, where they can actually start researching and exploring what welding can do for them, and thats where we come in, Herndon said. Meanwhile, Kuykendall urged state legislators to reconsider how their decisions affect regions like the Borderland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a time when theres a significant amount of budget shortfalls, I think there needs to be a balance of accountability for those budgets, but also ensuring that we have the support. Were already in a socio-economically disadvantaged area, Kuykendall said. Ample consideration needs to be given to properly fund and budget many of these initiatives that we have. Otherwise, our region is going to continue to fall behind in terms of funding, in terms of education, in terms of training, and in terms of overall opportunity. We need to provide the opportunity, and we need to make sure that those opportunities are kept here within the Borderplex region to support us. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A passionate discussion about the future of public education in Ohio took place Thursday night in Youngstown. The Community Leadership Coalition on Education held the town hall meeting. Education leaders and state lawmakers were in attendance, including Representative Lauren McNally and Senator Al Cutrona. They addressed growing concerns over state takeovers of public schools and called for stronger support and investment in public education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I hope that through our discussion tonight we can get a clear understanding of what your priorities are and where your values stand and we can take that back to Columbus and use that during these budget discussions that are happening right now and the fair school funding plan is at the top of those budget discussions, McNally said. You have my commitment here tonight that I will do everything that I can in my power in the state senate to be your ally, to be your voice, to work to get out of that state takeover and give it back to local control, said Cutrona. Cutrona urged those with concerns to reach out to their local representatives and lawmakers to get their voices heard. TJ Renninger 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. A steadily climbing list of academics have committed to boycott Columbia University and Barnard College over the schools decisions to punish students and faculty who speak against Israels U.S.-backed destruction of Gaza, and collaborate with the Trump administration while federal immigration officials detain their students. As of Thursday evening, more than 1,400 academics signed onto a statement condemning Columbias participation in what they called an authoritarian assault on universities aimed at destroying their role as sites of teaching, research, learning and activism essential to building a free and fair world. Universities cannot pretend to hold higher education sacred while repressing students and faculty, undermining free speech and academic freedom, and prohibiting dissent, the statement read. Every such act of craven suppression and compliance only further undermines the university and emboldens the reactionary forces intent on destroying it. A man holds a poster of detained student Mahmoud Khalil during a protest outside Columbia University on March 24 in New York City. Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images The statement comes just days after Columbia leadership announced it will implement multiple alarming policies demanded by the Trump administration so it can receive the $400 million in grantsinitially withdrawn by the government earlier this month something constitutional law scholars warnedcreates a dangerous precedent for every recipient of federal financial assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for Columbia declined HuffPosts request for comment. On Tuesday, interim president Katrina Armstrong defended her decision to implement the Trump administrations demands, which she said include immediately strengthening enforcement rules on demonstrations, identification and masking to help combat antisemitism. These attacks are fueled by anti-Palestinian racism and enabled by the dangerous weaponization of antisemitism, the signatories said. They expose classrooms, dorms, labs and other common spaces to the surveillance predation of a federal government that has declared war on higher education. The boycott includes refusing to participate in academic or other cultural events that are either held at or sponsored by Columbia or Barnard, such as workshops and conferences. Boycotters will also stop working with faculty who hold positions within university administration, including co-authorship of papers and collaboration on new grants. Some participants may boycott individual faculty based on their complicity with Columbia and Barnards actions. Pro-Palestinian Jewish Americans gather outside the ICE headquarters on March 20 at Foley Square, New York City, at an emergency rally to release Palestinian green card holder and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil and reject the Trump administration's mass deportations. Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images The boycott terms were originally drafted in April 2024 a year before the Trump administrations demands when Columbia instigated the anti-war student protests on campus by calling New York policeto violently clear the solidarity encampment and arrest participants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The school and administration came under fire for targeting pro-Palestinian students and faculty with suspensions, expulsions and degree revocations, and faced renewed backlash earlier this year when immigration agents took graduate student Mahmoud Khalil for peacefully protesting on campus. Despite the public calling Khalils detention an effort to crush free speech, Columbia gave the federal government his and other students disciplinary records. His legal case is ongoing, and Khalil has described himself as a political prisoner. Bullies are never stopped by acquiescence. Never has it been more urgent to dissent and stand with our students, for our profession and for democracy and social justice, the boycotters said, calling on the school to reinstate the students and faculty it punished, and reverse all changes made in compliance with the Trump administrations harmful and illegitimate demands. Signage and flowers are placed on a tree next to where ICE agents apprehended Tuft University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk on March 27 in Somerville, Massachusetts. Scott Eisen via Getty Images Khalils unlawful arrest and Columbias lack of protection for him launched a precedent that has since resulted in ICE arresting more mostly brown students, both at Columbia and other college campuses. Many of those students are foreign nationals whose visas and green cards were proudly revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In addition to Khalil, ICE has taken Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian national studying at Columbia; Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national studying and teaching at Georgetown University; Romeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national studying at Tufts University; and Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian national studying at the University of Alabama. ICE agents unsuccessfully tried to take Yunseo Chung, a Columbia student and Korean green card holder who has lived in the U.S. since she was 7. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We unequivocally condemn the snatching of students from anywhere, especially their campus, and call on all colleges and universities across the country to do better to protect their students, the organizers of Thursdays statement told HuffPost. We are committed to standing with students everywhere, and this boycott is the beginning, not the end, of faculty action on this matter in the wake of these new horrors. Flyers of Georgetown University professor Badar Khan Suri demand his release after ICE agents detained him without charge, in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Jose Luis Magana via Associated Press The American Association of University Professors and the Middle East Studies Association filed a lawsuit earlier this week arguing that the Trump administrations policy encouraging ideology-based deportations violates the First Amendment and creates a climate of fear on campus. The Trump administration is going after international scholars and students who speak their minds about Palestine, but make no mistake: they wont stop there, AAUP president Todd Wolfson said. Theyll come next for those who teach the history of slavery or who provide gender-affirming health care or who research climate change or who counsel students about their reproductive choices. We all have to draw a line together, he continued. As the old labor movement slogan says: an injury to one is an injury to all. SRINAGAR, India (AP) At least four police officials and three suspected militants were killed in a protracted gunbattle in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Friday. The fighting began on Thursday after police counterinsurgency officials and soldiers cordoned off a forested area in Jammu regions southern Kathua district on a tip that anti-India insurgents were hiding there, police said. In the fierce fighting in which combatants used guns, grenades and rockets, three police officials and three suspected rebels were killed while at least six police and two soldiers were injured on Thursday, police said. The body of another policeman was spotted on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said the bodies of the fallen combatants were yet to be retrieved as the fighting raged in the area. Security officials believe the group engaged in the fighting is likely the one that escaped a security cordon after a brief exchange of gunfire some 30 kilometers (19 miles) away from the area on Sunday. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhis rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict. But since 2019, the territory has simmered in anger when New Delhi ended the regions semi-autonomy and drastically curbed dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms while intensifying counterinsurgency operations. While Kashmir Valley, the heart of the anti-India rebellion, has witnessed many militants killed in counter-rebel operations, remote areas of Jammu region including Rajouri, Poonch and Kathua have seen deadly attacks against Indian troops in the past few years. At least 60 soldiers have been killed in such attacks. The Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon has injured at least six people, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Friday. "The Israeli enemy's raid on the town of Kfar Tebnit resulted, according to a preliminary toll, in the injury of six people, including three children," the health ministry said. Israel said earlier that it is striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon following the interception of two rockets fired from Lebanon at Israel. The Iran-backed Hezbollah has denied any links with the rocket firing. By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun began talks in Paris on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss economic reforms and efforts to stabilise the country, as a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah increasingly comes under pressure. Making his first trip to a Western nation, Aoun was seeking to shore up support from Paris after the new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, succeeded in putting together a government after two years of stalemate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under a ceasefire deal brokered by France and the United States in November, armed group Hezbollah was to remove its weapons from southern Lebanon, Israeli ground forces were to withdraw, and the Lebanese army was to deploy in the area. Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel have all accused each other of violating the accords. The Israeli military said on Friday it was striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, hours after missiles were fired from Lebanese territory into Israel. "It seems to us today that we have to move forward on the possibility of a complete respect of the ceasefire," a French presidency official told reporters ahead of the visit, whose country, along with the U.S., is a guarantor of the accord. The official said Paris was in contact with President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his deputy Morgan Ortagus on the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will join Aoun and Macron by video call to also discuss the broader situation in Lebanon's neighbour and ties between the two after 10 people were killed in cross-border clashes earlier in March. "The contacts we were able to have with the Syrian authorities ... aim to underline the need for Damascus to confirm its commitment not to interfere in the affairs of its neighbours, but also work to keep their neighbour's security regarding threats that could come from their territory," the French official said. The Cypriot president and the Greek prime minister will also join the talks in person. The two countries have been cautious about lifting EU sanctions on Syria, in part due to objections to maritime boundary talks between Syria and Turkey that could affect waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Alex Richardson) Two encounters with a pair of socialists have proved instructive for assessing why Britain is broken and how it can be fixed. The first was a Politics Live punch-up with the hard-Left Labour MP Nadia Whittome, whose views could fill a bingo card of pseudo-communist virtue-signalling. You know the drill: Israel is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people and must be subject to an arms embargo, even though they have raping, murdering Hamas terrorists living next door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are far Right, even though the latter was a Soviet KGB agent. No one should ever be denied benefits, even if they are claiming them for acne, constipation and food intolerance. Official data shows that there were 5,282 people receiving the maximum amount of Personal Independence Payments for alcohol misuse as of October 2024. When I pointed out that my late alcoholic mother would have taken that 9,500 worth of PIP straight down to the off-licence and spent it on gin, she appeared confused. In Nadias junior common room thinking, only poor people grow up in dysfunctional families. She had a similarly student politics approach to immigration, insisting that we should have safe and legal routes without a cap on numbers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I suggested that this open borders policy would push working-class people down the housing ladder (almost half of social housing in London is now occupied by someone foreign born), she stared blankly at me. A population rise of more than eight million since Tony Blair came to power in 1997 has apparently had no bearing on where we now find ourselves, with young people unable to a afford a home of their own and Britains infrastructure at breaking point. No mention, either, of the fact that we have imported a degree of poverty with the huge influx of non-skilled migrants. Its all the fault of the rich, apparently, despite the 10 per cent of taxpayers with the largest incomes contributing over 60 per cent of income tax receipts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tax burden will reach a 75-year high of 37.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of this Parliament. Yet Whittome still wants a wealth tax, citing the fabled statistic that a 2 per cent tax on assets over 10million would raise 24 billion a year. One of the many figures strangely absent from her crib sheet was the one about a millionaire leaving Britain every 45 minutes in the year Labour came to power. Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already decamped to Monaco. We have now got steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, worth 14.9 billion, planning to leave the UK because of the governments crackdown on non-domiciled residents, and still these pinkos cannot comprehend the notion of capital flight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These disgraceful moneybags dont pay tax in the UK on their worldwide income, they argue, forgetting the many millions they pay in tax on their UK income, plough into the local economy, on property levies, on philanthropy and luxury spending. Or that their departure can result in loss of revenue and a reduction in investment. The hard Left loves immigrants unless they make successes of their lives and employ hundreds if not thousands of people. Then they can sod off to a tax haven. Who is going to pay the VAT on private school fees if no one can afford to send their children to one? Presumably, thats the point: to penalise the hard-working and well-off while saddling state school children with the burden of low expectations. Do you want to know one thing this vindictive 20 per cent levy has achieved? It has lined the pockets of four barristers from highly expensive legal chambers who are leading the Governments defence against a High Court challenge that has been brought on behalf of more than 1,000 private schools and a group that represents parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit alleges that the controversial policy breaches the human rights of children. But the Left only worries about human rights and indeed the mental health of children if they arent too posh. They are against school closures and teacher redundancy unless they are in the private sector; then its okay. And guess what? Each and every member of that quartet of taxpayer-funded KCs is privately educated, natch. Lefty encounter number two, again on the BBC, was rather more pleasant but no less economically illiterate. On Thursday, I was joined on the Question Time panel by Gary Stevenson, a YouTuber who describes himself as City Banks number one trader in the world in 2011. Long story, cut short he made many millions on the markets, but now campaigns to raise awareness of wealth inequality. Like Nadia, he advocates a wealth tax, arguing variously that filthy rich people (like him) own our debts, our mortgages, our pensions and even, seemingly, our souls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Host Fiona Bruce pointed out that wealth taxes have been tried in a number of countries and had all failed. Stevenson replied that we had done it here and could do it again. Except, we didnt. Harold Wilson tried to bring in a wealth tax in 1974 but it was deemed unworkable and swiftly abandoned. When he later came to reflect on the failure, the then-chancellor Denis Healey, hardly a capitalist, concluded a wealth tax could not yield enough revenue to be worth the administrative cost or political hassle. Tax rates continued to be eye wateringly high in the 1970s, a period defined by not one but two significant economic recessions. The 1980s boom came after Margaret Thatcher appointed Geoffrey Howe as chancellor, who dropped the top rate of tax from 83 per cent to 60 per cent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nigel Lawson then delivered a Budget in 1988 which abolished various intermediate tax rates, leaving just a basic income tax rate of 25 per cent and a higher rate of 40 per cent. In Mrs Thatchers day, working-class people could afford to buy their council houses. Stevenson overlooked this Tory policy when he told the audience things were better when his father, a Post Office worker, was able to buy his own gaff. Childrens mental health was suffering, he argued, because unlike 50 years ago, young people are facing a hostile economic future. Notwithstanding that there has been an explosion in mental health problems among affluent children over the past decade, were the 1970s really the land of milk and honey? The state has never been able to solve our economic ills; only the private sector can. And yet Labour is clobbering businesses. The simple truth is that despising the rich doesnt make anyone wealthier. 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. BAGHDAD, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Two Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Friday in an airstrike in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, the Iraqi military said. Acting on intelligence reports, Iraqi forces conducted an airstrike, targeting an IS hideout in a desert area in Anbar province, according to a statement from the Security Media Cell, a media outlet affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command. According to initial reports, the airstrike resulted in the killing of two IS militants, in addition to the destruction of weapons, ammunition, equipment and logistical supplies, the statement said. While Iraq declared victory over IS in 2017, remnants of the group continue to carry out attacks against security forces and civilians in urban areas, deserts, and remote regions. BALTIMORE Offices, courthouses, a jail and a psychiatric facility throughout Maryland most in downtown Baltimore all found Legionella bacteria in their water systems last year, but state law doesnt have any regulations to address it on a large scale. One group hopes to change that next legislative session. Legionella is the bacteria which causes Legionnaires disease, a severe pneumonia that can be fatal. Nationally, Legionella largely remains unregulated, though a handful of states, including New York and New Jersey, have laws governing it. A water quality expert told The Baltimore Sun that Maryland should be next in line to implement a Legionella management policy to avoid potential outbreaks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since July 2024, 15 government buildings across Maryland have tested positive for high levels of Legionella, with the bacteria showing up in July, November, December, January and February at times recurring in the same buildings despite treatment. It is a serious and demonstrated public health concern, said Baltimore City Councilman Zachary Blanchard, whose district includes several downtown buildings that saw repeated outbreaks of the bacteria during that six-month period. And workers groups worry that their members could be sickened by the bacteria and even die if the state does not address the problem lurking in its plumbing. One union protested statewide worker safety issues like Legionella, caused by what they believe to be deferred maintenance. Todd Reynolds, a political coordinator for the American Federation of Teachers Maryland, another union that represents some state workers in affected buildings, attributed the lack of Legionnaires cases or deaths among workers or the public to luck, rather than preparedness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We can see the future, were just powerless to stop it, Reynolds said. We know unless we get more proactive about worker safety, theres gonna be more tragedies. Calls for better regulation Bob Bowcock, a former municipal water manager and member of nonprofit expert coalition and lobbying group The Alliance to Prevent Legionnaires disease, has advised state officials on water quality and outbreaks of Legionnaires disease in Ocean City for two years. While he told The Baltimore Sun Maryland was not an outlier in terms of Legionella occurrences, he said the state is more aware than others and could benefit from writing its own law on mitigating and treating the bacteria. Bowcock ranked New Jersey as the state with the best Legionella law as it regulates elements that can lead to Legionella growth throughout the entire water system. Bowcock helped the state develop said law, and said it was comprehensive, regulating water as it moved from the water source to the tap. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Jersey took it from the lake, to the water treatment plant, to the reservoir, to the transmission main, to the distribution main, to the building, he said. Bowcock said Maryland should look to New Jersey as an example. The Alliance plans to bring a similar law to Maryland, according to Marcy Savage, Director of Policy and Government Relations. That effort is still in the very early stages, with no state lawmakers yet attached, she said. We appreciate the fact that Maryland is a unique jurisdiction in many ways, and we look forward to working with the stakeholders over the coming months, she said, with the goal to have legislation ready for the next session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate President Bill Ferguson, who represents Baltimore City, did not respond to a request to comment by publication. Multiple buildings register Legionella In July 2024, the Social Security Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Spring Grove Hospital Center in Catonsville all registered potentially dangerous levels of Legionella. In November and December, all four buildings in the State Center office complex in downtown Baltimore tested positive for the bacteria, alongside City Hall, the Abel Wolman building, three district court houses (501 E. Fayette, 5800 Wabash, 700 E. Patapsco) and the citys two circuit court houses. In January, Dorsey Run Correctional Facility reported a case of Legionnaires disease potentially stemming from showers there. Another building at Spring Grove had shower restrictions following the discovery of elevated Legionella levels Jan. 30 through Feb. 5. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And in late February, Baltimores circuit courthouses and district court at 501 E. Fayette all tested positive for elevated levels of Legionella for the second time. Results for the three courthouses received March 5 cleared them again, city Department of General Services spokesman John Riggin wrote in an email to The Sun. Voluntary standards like those produced by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the American Water Works Association and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials have taken the place of traditional regulation or policy in many places. On the federal level, the EPAs safe drinking water regulations has a maximum contaminant level goal of zero Legionella, but its not explicitly regulated in surface water. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration doesnt have an exclusive Legionella standard, saying it falls under employers general duty to keep workers safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everybodys got an oar in the water, but were spinning, said Bowcock. Michael Patton is the chair of the ASHRAE committee working on its guideline to manage legionellosis risk in buildings, Standard 188. ASHRAE has several standards regarding Legionella, which Patton said sometimes are incorporated into official regulatory codes. Standard 188, which Bowcock said is already utilized by Marylands building managers, governs Legionella risk management inside a building as opposed to the whole water system. It doesnt outright mandate testing at certain intervals, but says water quality managers should decide whether and when to test depending on the holistic risk management plan they create for each building. Patton, however, was skeptical that top-down federal regulations would necessarily help control Legionella. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The market is pretty much taking care of itself, he said, using an example of hotels that might be required by insurance companies to enact water management plans to mitigate infection risk. He pointed out that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said hospitals that receive funding from Medicare and Medicaid should have a water management plan to control Legionella and other pathogens, suggesting they follow ASHRAE standard 188. But Bowman felt legislation would provide better protection. New Jerseys law far exceeds ASHRAEs standard 188, Bowcock said. Though its now too late to introduce legislation in the Maryland General Assembly to address water quality concerns, Blanchard, who represents the 11th district, said he would be open to the idea of citywide Legionella management policies. I need to learn more about this entire system [and] what exactly the risk is, Blanchard said. He said Wednesday he had reached out to the Department of General Services to learn more. _____ The door to the old Supreme Court Chamber at the Montana Capitol. (Micah Drew/Daily Montanan) Bruce Spencer, a lobbyist representing the State Bar of Montana, did not need to elaborate on his organizations position on a bill before the House Judiciary Committee on Friday hes said it all before. Im trying to think of something new to say, Spencer told the committee. Ive got to be honest, I dont have much. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spencer was testifying for at least the seventh time against a bill that seeks to make Montanas judiciary more aligned with partisan politics. Another bill in the same vein was introduced earlier this week. Fridays hearing was on House Bill 838, introduced by Speaker of the House Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage. The legislation would allow candidates for the Montana Supreme Court to run under a party affiliation, or under a nonpartisan label. The bill would also create a new primary system for Supreme Court candidates, putting all candidates on a primary ballot regardless of which party primary a voter participates in. The top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, would proceed to the general election. Its my personal opinion that (judges) have already chosen a party to run under, Ler said. We see that time and time again with the way that the Montana Supreme Court operates, whether its them meddling in our rules, them pre-determining the outcome on the bench of different legislation we have, or the decisions that they make, which seem to be completely against the will of the majority of Montana voters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill had no proponents, but drew a dozen opponents during the hearing. Many of the arguments put forth have been hashed out repeatedly in both the House and Senate so far this legislative session. Three other pieces of legislation have sought to specifically make judicial races partisan. House Bill 295 failed to clear a House vote before transmittal, as did HB 751, which would have required Supreme Court candidates to declare a party affiliation. Senate Bill 42, however, has had more momentum, sailing through the Senate albeit on partisan lines. SB 42 requires judges at any level to attach a partisan affiliation to their candidacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those bills proponents called them voter education bills, seeking to add transparency to elections that are conducted with seemingly less knowledge of candidates than other partisan races. Ler said since he believes the judiciary is already partisan, voters should be made aware of that before they reach the bench. But opponents pushed back against that characterization, saying judges make rulings based on the Constitution and the law, and should not be beholden to a party platform. Judges dont make decisions on the basis of a constituency, and thats what political parties are. Theyre setting out values for a constituency, said Al Smith with the Montana Trial Lawyers Association. Thats not what judges do. They look at the Constitution, the law, the facts of the case. They should be free from political pressure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking specifically to the characterization of partisan elections as voter education bills, Anne Sherwood, with Friends of the Third Branch, an educational organization focused on the states judiciary, said the claim voters cant find information about candidates is disingenuous. This bill is also not going to increase voter education. It strains credulity that in todays digital age, somebody cannot find information on these candidates, Sherwood said. We have the internet. Now we have Twitter. Now we have Facebook. Now we have independent campaign spending. Spencer added the State Bar holds forums for Supreme Court candidates every election cycle another way voters could learn about the candidates. The House Judiciary Committee passed HB 838 out of committee on a 12-8 party-line vote. Two additional bills related to a partisan judiciary met opposing fates in the Legislature. House Bill 39, which allows political parties to spend money on judicial races, was signed by the governor earlier this month, while House BIll 169, which would have let judges and judicial candidates take part in partisan activities, died in the Senate. MALVERN, Ala (WDHN) A looming project in across southeast Alabama is taking shape to connect one of the only counties lacking four lane access to Dothan, and state leaders say it is ahead of schedule. The biggest infrastructure project in Geneva County within the last 50 years is in full effect as the state department of transportation has made major strides in the first phase of a 23 million dollar highway 52 expansion project, a project connecting rural areas to the bigger cities. Hartford welcomes new chief after months long struggle Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yeah they have been working hard on it lately and I think it will be good for the eastern part of Geneva County to get a four lane in here, said Van Johnston, owner of Johnstons Meats in Malvern. Eventually the project will pick up on highway 52 at the fork that splits off to Malvern and expand from Malvern all the way to Hartford. But this first phase focuses on east of Malvern to Slocomb ending around county road 73. The contractor has cleared the wooded area and completed 90 percent of the roadbed construction that goes by some homes on county road 49 and Scott road area. The four lane highway would run behind existing businesses like Johnston meats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will bring in more industry and all but for the smaller businesses its going to cut Malvern out a little bit, said Johnston. I hope we will be good enough for people to still see us here and get off but it may hurt some of the other smaller businesses here on the old highway. Major construction project changing busy Highway 84 intersection Not only on the economic development side of it but for traffic flow in general access to the four lane for safety and Dothan is the economic hub of the Wiregrass, said Senator Donnie Chesteen, Alabama District 29 (R-Geneva). With the project speeding up, phase two of the project has started which will pickup from slcomb to hartford that part will go to bid later this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They almost completed all of the right of way acquisitions which is about 80 tracks had to be settled and almost 80 percent are completed so that shouldnt take long, said Senator Chesteen. Senator Chesteen says the project wouldnt be completed until 2028 early 2029. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) More than $120 million was taken from the disabled, but the Pinellas County businessman responsible for that missing money remains on the street. While Leo Govoni still has his freedom, he no longer has the freedom to do business as he once did. A federal bankruptcy judge has now ordered Govoni to steer clear of his many businesses as investigators search for all that missing money. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 8 on Your Side The bankruptcy court is trying to help the families, whose money has disappeared, recover some of those missing funds. Officers of the court started their search of Govonis businesses Thursday morning. Florida super speeders could lose their cars under new bill Video obtained by 8 On Your Side showed equipment being hauled off at Govonis Clearwater-based business, Big Storm Brewing, on 49th Street Wednesday evening while brewery employees were still serving customers inside. It wasnt until Thursday morning that officers arrived to start the court-ordered search of the facility in search of missing millions connected to Govonis now bankrupt non-profit, the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration. Leo Govoni decided to steal from her now in this year, said Theresa Schlosser, the mother of one of Govonis previous special needs clients. he has made our struggle more than it ever should have been. A federal judge found Govoni liable for $120 million that disappeared from the Center for Special Needs. One thousand five hundred families relied on the center to safeguard money meant to help care for their disabled loved ones. Many have since found their accounts drained down to the last dollar. Thursdays search comes after a motion was filed earlier this week by Michael Goldberg, the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Trustee appointed to help find the missing millions. Until he is stopped and made to comply with Court orders, Mr. Govoni will continue to fleece the most vulnerable members of society, Goldberg wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the judges approval, Goldberg has now appointed people to take control of Govonis Big Storm Brewing, Global Litigation Consultants, Boston Asset Management, and his associated businesses everything from managing the books to changing the locks on the doors. Govoni is also currently under investigation by the FBI. So far, he has not been charged with any crime. In January, after months of trying to get his side of the story, we caught up with Govoni as he was leaving a Pinellas County bank. Investigative Reporter Brittany Muller asked Govoni: Where is the money? Have you heard from the FBI? What would you say to the disabled people who relied on you? Govoni drove off without answering any of our questions. He has since hired a new attorney, and while we have reached out to them as well, we are still waiting to hear back. It might not be today, but tomorrow, sometime, youre going to have to answer for what you did, and I hope its soon, said Nicalea Gonzalez, the mother of another affected client. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A judge has ordered Sheriffs Offices across Florida to seize properties and goods belonging to Govoni to help repay those missing millions. If Govoni opposes this order or fails to produce the documents a judge has also ordered him to provide, he could be held in contempt of court So far, Govoni hasnt made any statements in court, letting his attorneys do the talking instead, but that could change as an emergency motion is calling on the federal judge overseeing this case to order that Govoni appear in court and explain his refusal to cooperate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WACO, Texas (FOX 44) The Waco community can once again look forward to a series of ten free outdoor concerts in 2025! The Levitt AMP Waco Music Series is starting its Spring series on Wednesday, April 2. Bridge Street will come alive with music, art, food, and free fun for all! Concerts will take place at the Bridge Street Plaza every other Wednesday in the Spring and every Wednesday in the Fall with the Waco Downtown Farmers market for a diverse lineup of musical acts, local vendors, food trucks and a family fun zone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The schedule for the Spring series is pictured below, and will take place every other Wednesday from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. (Courtesy: Levitt AMP Waco Music Series) In addition, the Levitt AMP Waco Fall series concerts will take place on the nights of September 3, 10, 17, 24 and October 1. This years series features over 20 bands from Waco, Texas, and even across the U.S. The spring series will host talents King Cabbage Brass Band, Waco Community Choir, Pirscription, Sami Brown, Blue Cactus, and Classical-Hip Hop artist Marion DuBose. The 2025 Levitt AMP Waco Music is made possible with the support of H-E-B, Baylor University, City Center Waco, TFNB Your Bank for Life, Cambria, Wahoo Sports, Creative Waco and The Levitt Foundation. For more information about the Levitt AMP Waco Music Series, you can visit https://creativewaco.org/levitt. 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 KWKT - FOX 44. ULYSSES, Kan. (KSNW) Crews battled a large fire in Ulysses Thursday evening. According to the Grant County Fire Department, the fire began around 4:30 p.m. near East Hampton Road between South Road L and South Road M. The fire was brought under control before 9 p.m., and crews will continue to monitor the area. Fire near Ulysses on March 27, 2025 (Courtesy: Johnathon Smith) Fire near Ulysses on March 27, 2025 (Courtesy: Johnathon Smith) Fire near Ulysses on March 27, 2025 (Courtesy: Johnathon Smith) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Grant County Fire Department says that no homes were damaged in the fire, but a couple of sheds were. No injuries were reported. Fire near Ulysses on March 27, 2025 (Courtesy: Susan Torres) Three fires were detected in Grant County following the thunderstorm on Thursday. District Fire Management Officer, Aaron Williams and KFS contracted Single Engine Air Tankers assisted with fires in Grant County today, said the Kansas Forest Service on Facebook. Departments from five surrounding counties also assisted with the fires. The wind has diminished, and the forward progression has been stopped. Acreages have not been determined but they are expected to be significant. Fire resources remain engaged on fires near homes patrolling for embers and spot fires. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is believed that lightning caused this fire. 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. Eighteen years ago I moved from Australia to the UK and built a life for myself there. My parents are still in Australia and caring for them as they age from afar has been difficult. I love my life in the UK and don't plan to uproot my family. I grew up in a small sugarcane farming community in rural northern Australia. It's the kind of place where there are more cane toads and crocodiles than people. My teenage years were spent fantasizing about escaping the quiet humdrum town where nothing happened, for an exciting life in a big city where you could go out every night of the week. World travel was also high on my agenda. True to my word, I was out the door and on the first flight to the UK once my savings allowed. London was an ideal base with its cheap flights to Europe allowing for frequent trips to my dream destinations of Italy, Spain and France, and an easy to secure working holiday visa for young Australians, which also meant a strong Australian expat community in the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I had no idea that the handsome English stranger I met in a bar in central London would be my future husband. It's the reason that, 18 years later, I am now a permanent resident of the UK, raising two young boys who speak with British accents and have no idea what Vegemite is. I have so much to be grateful for in this life I've built on the other side of the world, but the price I am paying for that is becoming more painful as the years roll on: not being there for my parents as they get older. The distance helped me fulfill my dreams In the last two decades, I've ticked off many of my life goals, mainly thanks to my big move. With my husband, I've traveled to more than 60 countries, even quitting our jobs for six months to visit far-away places like Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, Oman and Georgia. Together, we've trekked the Himalayas, surfed in the Philippines, and motorbiked through Vietnam. We own our own house, and I've built a rewarding media career, cutting my teeth on business magazines as a young journalist in London. Things are getting complicated While I wouldn't change any of it, this life I've built on the other side of the world has started to feel bittersweet. My mom and dad are now 71 and 80 respectively, and while we make the long, expensive journey to Australia to see them each year, it's becoming more apparent with each trip how fragile their health is. With my father in particular, I've become painfully aware that we may only have a few years left to spend time with him. I knew when I married my husband that this would be something I eventually would have to deal with if I chose to settle in the UK with him, but I put it to the back of my mind, and focused on how happy we were to be building a life together. We still are, but as my parents' vulnerability increases, so too does my guilt for not being there to support them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For example, both my parents have regular doctor appointments, and need to travel to the nearest city which is a 90-minute drive away. This used to be no issue for my dad, who until recently, was a very dependable long-distance driver. But his mobility has been severely impacted in recent months, and he can no longer drive that far. My mom has not driven long distances for some time, so now they both rely on favors from friends to drive them to and from their appointments. It's not a small ask, as it's a whole day commitment for that person. Medical issues aren't the only thing I worry about Their town also recently experienced severe flooding, which saw my parents' whole backyard and downstairs area inundated with water. Going through the damaged items and cleaning up after the water receded was hard for them, both physically and mentally, and again, they had to rely on the kindness of others, this time neighbors. I did what I could from nearly 10,000 miles away. I completed their online government financial assistance applications for them, and I managed to find a volunteer delivery service to drop them off fresh, hot meals. All of this was helpful, but I still wasn't there to physically help them, and that made me feel like I'd abandoned them when they really needed me. I don't know what the future will bring, but I do know I'll be in the UK My husband, boys, and I are going to stay with them for three weeks this summer, but I will have to regroup with my sister to work out what support they now need, and how we will facilitate that, as while she lives in the same state as them, though she's still a half day of travel away. Organizing outsourced services is the only way I can realistically help, as I can't cut myself into two. So while I realize that the years are passing quickly and that time with my parents is precious, I won't be moving back home. Our boys are settled into school and daycare here in the UK, and I also have my husband to think about, as he recently lost his dad and needs to support his mom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If I had known 18 years ago how this would feel, would I have canceled that first date with my husband? Not a chance. The life we have together is precious too, and that is something to feel proud of, not guilty. Read the original article on Business Insider Former librarian Suzette Baker will receive $225,000 in a settlement of her wrongful termination lawsuit against Llano County, according to an agreement shared with the American-Statesman. The settlement, which will be paid by the Texas Association of Counties, marks the end of a yearlong legal battle between Baker and Llano County officials. The 58-year-old accused them of firing her in 2022 because she refused to pull library materials that a group of conservative activists had deemed inappropriate for children. Several of the books focused on race and LGBTQ+ experiences, including "They Called Us the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group" and "Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen." The targeted titles were chosen from a list compiled in 2021 by former state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth. Baker also accused county officials of suppressing her First Amendment rights by barring her and other librarians from attending public Library Advisory Board meetings during their personal and vacation time. Suzette Baker, former head librarian at the Kingsland Branch of Llano County's libraries, talks about some books with attorney Jeff Edwards in Austin last year. Baker fought the removal of books that a group of conservative activists had deemed inappropriate for children. and she was fired March 9, 2022. Baker, a veteran and mom of five adult kids, has worked as a cashier at a hardware store for more than a year. While relieved the lawsuit is over, she isn't celebrating. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's saddening that it had to come to this," she said in a phone interview with the Statesman. "But I hope it's enough to make the county stop and pay attention to the citizens and their rights and the people who know what they're doing in the libraries." Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham said the county "wholly denies" Baker's claims and was "prepared to prove it in court," he told the Statesman in a statement Friday. The Texas Association of Counties resolved the case to avoid the expense of a trial or other continuing litigation, which would have exceeded the settlement amount, he added. Cunningham also said the suit's resolution will allow the county to concentrate on everyday business, including "emergency services, maintaining our county road system, and offering vital rural health care to our citizens. Under the terms of the agreement, Baker will never again work as a librarian in the Texas Hill Country county of Llano, roughly 80 miles northwest of Austin. She also cannot apply to or work in any other Llano County job. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I would love to be a librarian again. I wanted to be a librarian, and (the county) took that away from me," Baker said. But "that's not to say that I couldn't go someplace else and do it." More: Texas county challenges First Amendment ruling on library book bans in 5th Circuit hearing "I hope it's enough to make the county stop and pay attention to the citizens and their rights and the people who know what they're doing in the libraries," Baker says of the $225,000 settlement of her wrongful termination lawsuit against Llano County. The $225,000 lump sum includes Baker's attorney's fees and all other damages, fees and costs. It could account for the expected gap between the $35,500 annual salary Baker earned as a librarian and what she has made and can expect to make in other jobs. It sends the "loud and clear" message that if government officials are going to trample all over their communitys constitutional and civil rights, there will be financial consequences," said Iris Halpern, Baker's attorney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the settlement, Baker agreed to drop all claims against the defendants in the lawsuit, who include Cunningham, county Commissioner Jerry Don Moss, Library Director Amber Milum and four women who pushed for the book removals and were later appointed to the county's Library Advisory Board. News of the book removal campaign and the resulting litigation have drawn national attention to Llano. Outside of Baker's lawsuit, the county is still waiting on a decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a First Amendment lawsuit over the book removals. Ousted librarian Suzette Baker prepares to load her belongings into her car. After being fired from Llano County's libraries, she has worked as a cashier at a hardware store in Kingsland. A group of Llano County library patrons sued the county in April 2022, arguing that it violated a precedent barring government officials and librarians in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana from removing books simply because they dislike the ideas within them. An Austin federal district judge partly ruled in their favor before the county appealed that decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Led by attorney Jonathan Mitchell, the county has argued that the precedent lets federal courts meddle too much in local public libraries' book purchases and removals. Mitchell has also argued that those county curation decisions are government speech, immune from First Amendment scrutiny. While the case is pending, officials have frozen book purchases for the county's three public libraries. According to Mitchell, a former Texas solicitor general who represented President Donald Trump in a case over Colorado ballot eligibility, the dispute could eventually make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. More: How a national dispute over library books is fracturing a small Texas town History of Baker's lawsuit In August, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman found that Baker had plausible claims for First Amendment retaliation, wrongful termination and employment discrimination in an order denying the county's motion to dismiss the case. The ruling made clear that officials would have to settle or take the matter to trial. Baker was formerly a librarian at the Kingsland Branch Library. Under the terms of the settlement, she can never again work as a librarian or in any other county job in Llano County. Baker's lawsuit was seeking back pay, attorney's fees and an injunction ordering the county to cease behavior that discriminates against minorities and suppresses residents' First Amendment rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As their defense against the lawsuit, the county's lawyers argued that Baker was fired for setting up a display about the "highly charged and emotional issue" of censorship in the library and posting on the library's social media account against orders from higher-ups, according to court filings. They also argued Baker did not have sufficient evidence to prove Llano County officials had unconstitutional or discriminatory motivations for their actions. The settlement was first announced in early March, days before a documentary film about Baker's story was featured at the South by Southwest festival in Austin. Cunningham said county officials are "glad to put this behind us and focus our energy on the important government services that Llano County provides." Baker, for her part, said the payout proves "there is legal recourse if we stand up for the rights of the citizens in this state. There is protection for the librarians in this state." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, she sees a long road ahead for those who oppose restrictions on library books. "The war is on," she said. "But we won this battle." More: A conservative nonprofit got $80k for a Texas book-ban battle. Llano County hasnt seen it This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas county settles fired librarian's lawsuit for $225,000 ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. Leftys Bagels, alongside Jewish Family Services (JFS), has partnered to help those impacted by food insecurity. The New York-styled bagel shop shared the announcement in early March that they donated 41,000 bagels to the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry in 2024. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Located at 13359 Olive Blvd. in Chesterfield, Missouri, founders Doug Goldenberg and Scott Lefty Lefton, who are brothers-in-law, felt compelled to offer their supplies to those in need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Therefore, they kickstarted their food initiative with JFSs Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry (HKJFP). The food pantry has been a staple of our community and has always led the way in feeding people in need. Were two years old now and are continuing to grow, but we want to make sure we continue to give back, Goldenberg explained. JFS CEO Miriam Seidenfeld expressed thankfulness in collaborating with Leftys Bagels. STL city leaders make bold steps to tackle downtown blight (Leftys Bagels) dedication to fighting hunger exemplifies the power of local businesses in strengthening the community, Seidenfeld said. Their contributions not only reduce food waste but also provide essential nourishment to those who rely on the food pantrys services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry, about 6,000 adolescents, adults and seniors receive food for 710 days. The pantry also serves up to 15,000 people in St. Louis County. More information about HKJFP can be found 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 2. An injured man is seen in a hospital after U.S. airstrikes in Saada, northern Yemen, March 28, 2025. (Xinhua) SANAA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military launched 26 fresh airstrikes on Yemen's capital Sanaa and other provinces on Friday evening, killing at least one and injuring three others, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported. Eight airstrikes were launched on the Al-Sawad area in southern Sanaa, and 18 airstrikes targeted several parts of the provinces of Saada and al-Jawf, al-Masirah TV said. The U.S. side has yet to comment on the incident. Earlier in the day, al-Masirah TV reported that the U.S. military launched more than 40 airstrikes on Yemen on Friday before dawn, targeting Sanaa International Airport, the Command Camp, the Sarif area and the Jarban site in the Sanhan area, as well as several other places in northern provinces. One person was wounded, it said. The strikes before dawn occurred a few hours after the Houthis claimed responsibility for launching two ballistic missile attacks at Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel and a military target south of Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon. Tensions between the Houthis and the U.S. military have escalated since Washington began its air attack on the Houthi-held areas in northern Yemen on March 15. The attack followed Houthi threats to resume attacks on Israeli targets unless humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis would continue. People shout slogans as they take part in a demonstration to protest the U.S. airstrikes on Yemen, in Sanaa, Yemen, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua) STRUTHERS, Ohio (WKBN) Struthers Municipal Court was busy Friday with some special visitors and excitement over a future renovations project. Judge James Melone would like to modernize the court, improve its functionality. The current courtroom lacks jury boxes, witness stands and adequate audio and video connectivity to hold many functions. The renovation project will be paid for out of the Struthers Court Special Projects fund. Melone says the project will benefit both the court and Struthers City Council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know he wants to include us in on the decisions, which is huge because it is not only the court but it is also city council chambers. And just that open line of communication to us means everything. Being able to have input on whats going on, but we trust his vision and trust what he needs to do. Weve had a couple of jury trials and it just doesnt fit what our needs are, said Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller. Some Struthers High School students were there Friday to learn and meet face to face with local leaders and learn about local government. They met President of Council Mike Patrick, Struthers Mayor Cercone Miller, Campbell Mayor Bryan Tedesco and Jenn Johnson from Aqua Ohio. Students were given the chance to ask their local leaders questions and see behind the scenes of city government. Its very important that our young people understand what we do here and understand the different relationships that we have built with other entities within the city, Mayor Cercone Miller said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Students toured the village offices before getting a peek at how the court works. The full-day field trip included a stop at the local board of elections and Eastgate Regional Council of 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 WKBN.com. RANDOLPH COUNTY Two local firefighters with a firetruck are helping battle one of the large wildfires in western North Carolina this week. Guil-Rand Fire Department Lt. Tyler Myers and firefighter Bryan Roberts went to Polk County on Tuesday to help crews counter the Black Cove wildfire. The two men are among firefighters from across the state who have volunteered to provide mutual aid requested by North Carolina fire officials. We try to help out whenever we can, Guil-Rand Fire Chief Luke Richardson said. The folks out west are our neighbors and its a time when they are in need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Collectively, the Black Cove Fire, Deep Woods Fire and Fish Hook Fire in Polk County have burned more than 6,200 acres, destroyed 22 structures, prompted evacuations and put one firefighter in the hospital, the county and N.C. Forest Service said. A new fire was reported Thursday in Swain County that already had grown to more than 900 acres. The fires are rapidly growing due to a glut of fuel created in late September by Hurricane Helene that rapidly dried in the unusually low humidity that has prevailed in the region through March, fire officials said. The fires have more than doubled in size since first being reported March 21. Smoke plumes and red flames from the fires were intense enough to be recorded by infrared imaging onboard the NOAA/NASA Suomi-NPP satellite, NOAA reported. Myers and Roberts are working an overnight 7 p.m. to 7 a.m shift, Richardson told The High Point Enterprise. Their duties include patrolling the perimeter of the fire zone to look for flames flaring along fire lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are also doing structural protection, Richardson said. They would sit by homes and keep the fire away from the homes. The two firefighters are using a Guil-Rand Fire Department brush truck, which is a vehicle that has off-road capability. Myers and Roberts are serving through Monday. Richardson said the Guil-Rand Fire Department may send additional crews this weekend or early next week to western North Carolina. This is the second time in six months that the department has helped in western North Carolina. Crews went in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene. pjohnson@hpenews.com | 336-888-3528 | @HPEpaul LIVERPOOL Twp., Ohio (WKBN) A local cemetery and police department are working to find out who broke into a shed and stole anywhere from 12 to 24 bronze grave markers that were meant for military veterans. Carly Brock was shocked when she discovered that the placards were stolen from Spring Grove Cemetery in East Liverpool/Liverpool Twp.. Brock is the sexton of the cemetery, along with her husband Wayne. She does not know why anyone would do this. Nobody should have to have their loved ones marker stolen. I mean, its bad enough that we lose loved ones, but to feel that much violated, to have somebody come in and take them is its indescribable, Brock said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Liverpool Township Police Department said the incident happened late, around 11 p.m., sometime between Friday, March 21, and Wednesday, March 26. Here is a picture of the shed where the markers were stored: WKBN Brock said the placards are unnamed, and they do not have a list of names for them. The government provides military markers and drops them off at a cemetery, funeral home, or monument distributor. From there, the family of the veteran has to let the company know how they want the marker to be installed. The family is reimbursed for the installation fee. There are different avenues that they can use that military marker. They can use it as a headstone. They can use it as a footstone. Multiple people mount it on the back of their current headstone. So we have to have the information from the family as to what to do with that marker, Carly said. Courtesy: Carly Brock Brock said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will work with them to replace the lost markers. WKBN reached out to Jennifer Kelly of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for a statement on Friday, March 28. As of this writing, WKBN has not received a response. WKBN A suspect has not been identified by police. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Liverpool Township Police Department at 330-385-1630. 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 WKBN.com. About 160 students from school across Berks County got a chance to show off their science, technology, engineering and math skills this week. The students, making up 40 teams, competed in the 11th annual STEM Design Challenge at the Berks County Intermediate Unit. Azariah Ongwae, left, and Adalynn Woodward, both 11 and both fifth graders at Greenwich Elementary in the Kutztown School District work on a pollution separator during the Berks County Intermediate Units 11th annual STEM Design Challenge on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at the BCIU Main Office, 1111 Commons Blvd., Muhlenberg Township. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The contest was broken into two age groups, with students in fourth and fifth grades competing Tuesday and sixth- and eighth-graders competing Thursday. The challenge was a hands-on event, with students designing and using KNex or Engino pieces to build a prototype that addresses a real-world problem related to infrastructure, transportation or urban development. Elementary school students participate in the Berks County Intermediate Units 11th annual STEM Design Challenge on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at the BCIU Main Office, 1111 Commons Blvd., Muhlenberg Township. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) The contest focused on industry, innovation and industry, and the students sought to develop innovative solutions for more efficient, sustainable and accessible cities, roads and systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The purpose of the competition is to expand STEM-related educational opportunities for students at the regional and state levels while highlighting the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. As the Sweet Read City Transportation Authority, students create a simulated city during the Berks County Intermediate Units 11th annual STEM Design Challenge on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at the BCIU Main Office, 1111 Commons Blvd., Muhlenberg Township. From left are Maddy Hall, 10; Hailey Winslow, 9; Patrick Hannigan, 9; and Eva Weaver, 10, all fourth graders from Brecknock Elementary in the Gov. Mifflin School District. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) The winners of the competition were: Grades 4 and 5 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First Sweet Read City Transportation Authority, Brecknock Elementary School. Second KNex Creators of Cumru, Cumru Elementary School. Third (tie) STEM Gems, Oley Valley Elementary School. Third (tie) Artistic Architects, Oley Valley Elementary School. Fan Favorite Beauty & Brains, Whitfield Elementary School. Grades 6-8 First Wind-Assisted Vehicle Engineering, Twin Valley Middle School Second Infrastructure Initiators, Oley Valley Middle School Third Flood Fighters, St. Catharines School, Mount Penn Fan Favorite Adventure Bay Inventors, Wilson Southern Middle School. Eagle Lake, a picturesque body of water located in Lassen County in Northern California, showed an encouraging increase in water levels in March 2025. Over the course of a month, the lake rose an impressive .75 feet. Don Willis, the County Surveyor for the Lassen County Department of Planning and Business Services wrote on SierraDailyNews.com that "this puts the lake level at an elevation of 5094.53 ft. as measured at the low water ramp at Gallatin, which is currently 0.53 ft. (6.36 in.) above where it was one year ago at this time." He added, "Definitely nice to see!!" He included an eye-catching photo of a boat ramp on the edge of the lake surrounded by snow-covered rocks and pine trees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is especially promising since Eagle Lake has seen major decreases in its water levels for many years. ABC10 reports, "Evaporation and winds drop lake levels at Eagle Lake several feet every year." In the 1920s, the Bly Tunnel was built, which diverted water from Eagle Lake and to farms and ranches, but the alkalinity of the water made it unsuitable for these uses. As water levels dropped in the lake, a concrete plug with a valve was installed. Stan Bales, of the Bureau of Land Management, explained that "it became a hot topic in the last six to eight years because people felt like that plug was allowing the water to drain and lower the lake. Eventually our BLM manager agreed to shut the valve on that plug," Algae has begun growing in shallower parts of the lake, affecting recreational fishing and fish populations. And some of the algae is considered a Harmful Algal Bloom, which is unhealthy for people and animals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So any growth in water levels is good news for people who live near or fish in Eagle Lake. Other California lakes saw fortuitous increases in water levels in 2024, too. Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta both saw record-breaking increases after a particularly stormy fall in Northern California in November. Water conservation efforts have also seen success in other places like Lake Powell. People are excited and optimistic about the water rise at Eagle Lake. On Susanvillestuff.com's Facebook page, a commenter wrote, "Great news!" And on the Spalding Community Services District's post, another wrote, "Hopefully, this summer we can do some sailing!" 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 longtime, family-owned department store is coming to The Mall at Greece Ridge. How old-fashioned? The store, Boscov's, will have a full-service candy counter where fudge in a variety of flavors is made daily. The Greece location will be the company's fifth in New York state and its 51st overall across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Ohio, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Advertisement Advertisement At 175,000 square feet, it will be the largest department store in our region, mall owner Wilmorite noted in a statement. The Rochester market is one that Boscov's has been trying to enter for a long time, CEO Jim Boscov said during a press conference at the mall on Friday. "Albert Boscov, my uncle, came up here in 1990 to look at the Sibley's Building and thought he had a deal at that time," he said. "I know he came back here about 11 years later and tried to find a way to fit into the mall, and I'm grateful we finally found a way to do it." Here's what else to know. What is Boscov's? Jim Boscov, CEO of Boscov's department store, speaks at a press conference at The Mall at Greece Ridge, where the company will open a store. Headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania, and referred to on the company's website as "America's largest family-owned department store," Boscov's first opened its doors in Reading in 1918. Advertisement Advertisement The business prides itself on offering goods in a broad range of categories apparel, housewares, furniture and beauty, to name just a few at competitive prices. "It's a lot of selection, and a vast range of prices," Jim Boscov said after the press conference. "Our pricing is going to be better than the competition, and we know that it is. ... We shop our competition all the time." Equally important is customer service, he said. "I think (our) most important difference is having people on the sales floor," he said. "I don't know about you, but I've been to other stores where you pick out something you want to buy and you have to chase somebody down to take your money. It shouldn't be that way. We hire knowledgeable, empowered people to serve, and people who like serving and know how to say 'yes.'" What to expect at the Greece Boscov's Much of this wing in Greece Ridge Mall will be renovated in the new Boscovs department store. Boscov's isn't moving into a single existing mall vacancy. Part of it will occupy the old Burlington space near Entrance 6. (Burlington moved into the former Bed Bath & Beyond last year.) But Boscov's will stretch all the way to Entrance 6, and to the left and right of it, taking out a number of spaces where stores are closed or will close, including Rue21. A couple of businesses that remain open will be relocated. Advertisement Advertisement "This is a massive project," Boscov said, and will take until September to complete. When will Boscov's open? Boscov's will open in the fall. "I'm not going to tell you the opening date," he said, "but we don't miss openings. We'll be hiring people in August, and the trucks will start rolling in September." What will Boscov's look like? "We look like a first-class department store," Boscov said. "We really have wonderful fixturing and appointments and decor. We're very proud of it. It's interesting. We offer incredibly low pricing, but we're not a discount-looking store." How many people will Boscov's employ? Boscov said the Greece location will have about 250 employees. For several weeks before the opening, "We'll bring another 150 of our experienced co-workers from other stores, and they'll work side by side with their new co-workers. I'm really a believer that you don't hand somebody a handbook and say, 'Here, this is what Boscov's is.' You work side by side with people, and then you learn the culture of the company." Where are other the Boscov's locations in New York? There are four other Boscov stores in New York state: Advertisement Advertisement Binghamton : 11 Court St. New Hartford : 8555 Seneca Turnpike Clifton Park : 22 Clifton Country Road Albany: 131 Colonie Center The Binghamton location was the first Boscov's to open in New York back in 1984, according to the company's website. Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments and has an interest in retail news. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on X @MarciaGreenwood. Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Networks New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on X and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Boscov's department store coming to Greece Ridge mall in Greece NY NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) Longtime Newport News treasurer Marty Eubank will not seek reelection this year. Eubank told 10 On Your Side in an exclusive interview he started working at the treasurers office in May 1984. After several years with the office, Eubank was elected as the treasurer in November 1997, winning the last six general elections with no opponent. Im just proud of everything Ive done over my 41 years [with the treasurers office] 28 years as a Newport News citizens treasurer, Eubank said. I have great pride in everything that weve accomplished. Ive raised the bar in this office in the 28 years [Ive been in this role] over and over again with all the technology innovation I put into place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For nearly three decades, he has worked to ensure that funds are collected, invested and spent properly. I created the easy pay program, he said. That allowed taxpayers to sign up, pay and budget their taxes, and pay in advance. It would allow them to get on a monthly payment program. I wrote that database. I remember staying up, working on my computer in my kitchen until four in the morning for two weeks to write that program. Its been 28 years, and we just now replaced that database. Another one, it seems like yesterday, it was 27 years ago that I stood beside the late great Mayor [Joe] Frank and our former commissioner Charles Crowson. We cut the ribbon opening the Denbigh satellite office. That has been such a huge blessing and service opportunity for our Denbigh residents. In March 2015, WAVY reported that Eubank partnered with the Newport News Sheriffs Office to use cameras to catch people who havent paid their property taxes. At the time, $3.9 million was owed to the city of Newport News from people who were not paying their personal property taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The camera alerts the deputy, then we put a big sticker on the windshield, a big orange sticker, and we seize the license plate, Eubank said. All they have to do now is come to me, pay the taxes, Ill return the plates. That was a big story several years ago. Now I realize it was the first time any treasurer had used law enforcement to help enforce the payment of taxes. In recent years, the treasurer established the COVID-19 payment arrangements and now there is an artificial intelligence virtual assistant on the website. Im the first government office in Virginia, whether its treasurer or any other government office, that hired a generative AI employee, Eubank said. I have Kailani, whos my website assistant. We went live with Kailani Feb. 5, 2024. She has answered over 3,300 questions off our website from the taxpayers. She works 24/7. If you cant get to or call the office by 5 p.m., you can go to our website and you can talk to Kailani. Shes bilingual. She speaks Spanish for our Hispanic community. Its been very successful. Its technology advancements like this that he is looking forward to in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our workload has tripled over the years, tripled, Eubank said. Were still have been able to maintain the same staffing level and keep our costs down for the taxpayers through innovation and technology. Im very proud of that. But now its time for a new face, new energy and new leadership to come into the treasurers office. Ive done my job. Eubank will likely pursue a consulting career after serving as treasurer. Eubank went on to endorse Sanu Dieng-Cooper, one of three people running to replace him as Newport News treasurer. Im happy to announce to Newport News that I am proud to endorse this Sanu Cooper as our next treasurer of Newport News, Eubank said. She has the qualifications. She has the integrity. She has what it takes the background. She is solid. Im backing her 110%. Im fully behind her. Shes going to do a great job for the citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Newport News Department of Voter Registration confirms the Democratic candidates for treasurer are Sanu Dieng-Cooper and Derek Reason. There are no Republican candidates for treasurer. An Independent candidate for treasurer is Justin Kennedy. The Democratic primary for the Treasurer race will take place June 17. The general election will be held Nov. 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 WAVY.com. ORLANDO, Fla. Like so many others, the Northern transplant flew to Florida for warmer temperatures, landed in Osceola County and stayed over 20 years. Now hes moved on. This particular snowbird, however, was an actual bird one of the last two whooping cranes in the region and one of just five in the state. His departure leaves Central Florida without a local celebrity, at least among those in the know, while underscoring a failed, decades-long effort to establish a population of one of the worlds rarest birds in the Sunshine State. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes a very handsome bird, said Diane Gates, who traveled to see the crane after learning of him from posts on eBird, a website where bird-watchers post sightings. It was kind of overwhelming because its so different and the guy is so huge. Only about 830 whooping cranes exist in the world but they used to number in the tens of thousands in North America alone, though they were not native to Florida. The whooping crane was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as threatened in 1967 and endangered in 1970. The agency said the birds name probably originated from the loud, single-note vocalization it makes repeatedly when alarmed. The 25-year-old Osceola bird, known as 1018 for the number on the metal band encircling his leg, had hatched in a Maryland facility. But he became a fixture of the Buena Lago neighborhood under construction just outside St. Cloud off the shore of Alligator Lake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State wildlife officials relocated him to Louisiana earlier this month to live in a colony of dozens of his kind. He left behind his ex-wife, who is also his sister. She is shier and not often seen. In contrast, 1018s height of 5 feet and stark white feathers made him a star in the community. He caught the attention of bird-watchers near and far. I was just really amazed by his size, said Ashley Hill, 23, a resident whod seen the crane on walks with her dog, Zen. I Googled him because I have never seen a bird like that so he is really cool. Gates drove over an hour from her Merritt Island home to Osceola for a chance to see a whooping crane in real life for the first time in over 15 years of bird-watching. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I watched him fly in with two sandhill cranes and he was making some sounds so he was pretty vocal, she said. I parked my Jeep and he like walked right next to my Jeep looking for food. Those entering Buena Lago are greeted by rows of townhomes with dark blue doors and a clubhouse pool. Roughly 50 homes are occupied, mainly by families, but hundreds of lots sit empty with weeds and pipes for water connections rising up from the grass. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on March 6 captured 1018 from this subdivision and relocated him to Louisiana where a population of 73 cranes live. He was wandering Buena Lago alongside much-smaller sandhill cranes mating with them and begging for food, a behavior researchers said was problematic. Tim Dellinger, an avian researcher for FWC and part of the team which captured 1018, said with only two females left in the state its highly unlikely hed find a mate. He said moving him was his best bet to find one he can reproduce even after age 25, but not for much longer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We just didnt feel like he would survive much longer [in Buena Lago] as theyve already put in the roads for the new development, Dellinger said. Theyre starting to build houses and so he may walk up and get hit by a car. Experts also grew concerned hed lost the fear of human interaction just as his habitat was shrinking with the community planned for over 300 homes starting to rise up around him. Larry Rosen, with Audubon of Osceola County, said every time a piece of land is developed it takes away habitat from many species of birds. Birds cant breed on a driveway or parking lot, Rosen said. Development definitely has an impact thats one of our biggest problems with wildlife here in Osceola County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some bird species adapt better to living in subdivisions, like meadowlarks or sandhill cranes, he said, but whooping cranes stand out due to their height they are the tallest birds in North America. He said the fearless nature of 1018 around people was an indication they were feeding him, which is illegal. Theyve done very well coming into subdivisions and foraging on peoples lawns, Rosen said. But their natural habitat is out on the prairie and in wetlands so they get hit by cars a lot. Dellinger said 1018 was part of the states experimental effort to create a self-sustaining population of cranes 289 were released into the wild between 1993 and 2005. The effort failed largely due to high mortality and low reproductive success. Their survival was difficult mainly because of predation from bobcats and then we had a number of birds hit by power lines and more areas are being developed so youre kind of losing the marshes too, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After hatching in 2000, 1018 was brought to Florida and released alongside seven others in 2001 near headwaters to the Everglades. But he flew north to just outside the St. Cloud city limits where hed been since 2004. The birds are generally monogamous but will divorce if they repeatedly fail to successfully raise chicks with their mates. Dellinger said 1018s first mate died in 2010 after an alligator bite. An alligator actually came up and took the leg off the female and we had a fake egg in the nest that was recording information and it chomped that too, he said. In December he divorced his second mate the last remaining crane in Osceola. Hes had multiple chicks but only one survived a daughter hatched in 2006 who now lives in the Gainesville area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Florida relocation effort officially ended in 2012 but Louisianas experimental self-sustaining population has been successful. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has reintroduced captive-reared whooping cranes to the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area in the southwestern part of the state since 2011 and thats 1018s new home. The area of about 72,000 acres provides cranes ample space to roam. But 1018 isnt the only whooping crane to move from Florida to Louisiana. Since 2019, five have been relocated and three have found mates and nested. Dellinger said 1018 will be released into the wild with other whooping cranes but needs to gain weight and get healthier first. As far as the other two cranes in Florida, one hatched in 2000 is in the Lake Wales area and another hatched in 2003 lives in Sumter County. ------------- Editors note: Details in this story may be distressing for some readers. If you or someone you know is suffering, call 988 for the National Mental Health Crisis Hotline. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A Longview teacher who was under investigation for alleged misconduct with a former student was found dead inside his home earlier Thursday, authorities said. According to Longview police, on March 10, they received allegations of inappropriate conduct between Monticello Middle School teacher Eric Zander and a former student. The school immediately placed Zander on leave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, officers said they arrived at Zanders house to conduct an interview when they heard a gunshot from inside the home. Old Town residents furious that outreach group is blocking roads, parking lots SWAT responded to the scene and used a drone to survey the scene when officials said they found a man, later identified as Zander, dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The incident is still under investigation, and authorities are urging anyone struggling to reach out and seek support. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Heres a look at some of the events scheduled at the state Capitol for Monday, March 31, the 38th and final scheduled day of the 2025 session of the South Dakota Legislature. TenHaken unsure when mayoral term ends due to new law Joint Committee on Appropriations, 10 a.m. CT in room 362. House of Representatives, 1 p.m. CT, consideration of governors veto of House Bill 1169, an attempt to modify the signature requirement for a petition to initiate a constitutional amendment, so that signatures would need to be gathered from every county. The veto letter from Gov. Larry Rhoden can be found here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate, 1 p.m. CT, possible consideration of HB 1169 veto, but only if House votes to override. A two-thirds majority in each legislative chamber is necessary to override a governors veto. His office announced Friday afternoon that Gov. Larry Rhoden had signed the final 13 bills. Executive Board, 3 p.m. CT, room 414. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 42-year-old resident of Ajax, Ontario, was arrested and charged with impaired drivingat the Durham Regional police station, where he had driven to complain ... about his arrest for public intoxication from earlier that morning. The man asked to speak with a supervisor when he arrived at the station, but officers noticed he seemed to be intoxicated, and, after confirming he had driven himself, issued a breathalyzer test, which the man failed. His license was suspended and his vehicle was impounded. [DurhamRegion.com, 2/20/24] * A white paper, titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era," was released by the State Council Information Office at a press conference held in Lhasa, capital city of the region. * The white paper expounded in details on remarkable human rights progress in Xizang in various fields. Xizang enjoys political stability, ethnic unity, economic development, social harmony, and amity among different religions, the document said. LHASA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- All-round and historic progress has been made in the human rights cause in China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to a white paper released on Friday. The document, titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era," was released by the State Council Information Office at a press conference held in Lhasa, capital city of the region. The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government have implemented effective measures to develop the economy, improve living standards and people's well-being, promote ethnic unity and progress, and protect the basic rights of all the people in the region, it said. Students have lunch at the Central Primary School in Nyangpo Township of Gongbo'Gyamda County, Nyingchi City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Sept. 3, 2024. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje) The year 2025 marks the 60th founding anniversary of Xizang Autonomous Region. Reflecting on the development of human rights in the region over the past six decades, especially since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, Gama Cedain, chairman of the regional government, said on Friday that the Party's leadership has provided a fundamental guarantee for lasting stability and high-quality development in the region. He noted at the press conference that people of all ethnic groups in Xizang have made historic achievements in their rights to subsistence and development. The white paper expounded in details on remarkable human rights progress in Xizang in fields such as whole-process people's democracy, the protection of economic and social rights, cultural rights and environmental rights, effective safeguards for the freedom of religious belief, equal protection of the rights of specific groups, and steady improvement in the legal protection of human rights. The document showed that by the end of 2019, all 628,000 registered impoverished people in the region had been lifted out of poverty, and in 2024, the per capita net income of those lifted out of poverty in Xizang increased by over 12.5 percent. The region's road length had nearly doubled in 12 years and every town or township is covered by the 5G wireless network, with 2.14 million 5G mobile phone users, or 60.5 percent of the total in the region. The average life expectancy in Xizang rose from 68.17 years in 2010 to 72.19 years in 2020, according to the document. An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 8, 2024 shows the Qinghai-Xizang Expressway (R), Beijing-Xizang Expressway (C) and Qinghai-Xizang Railway in Damxung County of Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Jiang Fan) Respecting and protecting human rights has been made an important part of the Party Central Committee's guidelines for the governance of the region, it said. The CPC has maintained a people-centered approach to human rights and a commitment to ensuring human rights through development, and has vigorously promoted whole-process people's democracy, it said. The Party has strengthened legal protection of human rights, and coordinated efforts to increase people's civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights, to achieve well-rounded development and common prosperity for all people from all ethnic groups, according to the white paper. Today, Xizang enjoys political stability, ethnic unity, economic development, social harmony, and amity among different religions, the document said. Its environment is sound, and local people are content with their work and daily lives. This progress represents a remarkable achievement in protecting human rights on the snowy plateau, it said. Villagers pick tea leaves in a valley in Cona of Shannan City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, July 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Tenzing Nima Qadhup) The white paper pointed out that over the years, lies about the "worsening human rights situation" in Xizang were spread outside China with ulterior political motives and the goal to destabilize Xizang and separate it from China. The human rights progress in Xizang will not be undermined or wiped out by lies, nor will the advancements being made in the new era by the people of all ethnic groups in the region be halted by deceit, it said. LOS ALAMOS COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) A long-awaited project that could help fight wildfires faster is taking shape in northern New Mexico, with the construction of a major water pipeline. The pipeline will carry water to the top of Pajarito Mountain, and could be used to battle wildfires within a 50-mile radius. In April, shovels will hit the ground at Pajarito Mountain to begin the first two phases of a 4 phase project building a water pipeline up to the ski hill. So, with this addition of the water line, itll just be a faster attack. Well be able to just make progress much faster, said Los Alamos Fire Marshall Colorado Cordova. The Jemez Mountain Fire Protection Project is set to break ground on a major addition to the water supply system in Los Alamos County. Its a big project, involves over three and a half miles of pipe. It is four booster stations, and so its all on the premise of providing additional fire protection, emphasized James Alarid, Deputy Utility Manager of Los Alamos. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Los Alamos officials said this connection is necessary for fire suppression capabilities at Pajarito and surrounding National Forest Service lands, which have seen three major wildfires in the last 20 years. The key things are right now theres not a steady water supply in there, so we are going to have fire hydrants that have full coverage 24/7, continued Alarid. The new system is designed to ensure an immediately available water supply for firefighting crews, including aircraft performing water drops. Once complete, the pipeline will be able to circulate half a million gallons of water a day for fire protection, cutting down on firefighter response time. It will also be used for snowmaking at the ski area in the winter months and drinking water at the ski lodge and surrounding areas. The project is being funded by a $7.9 million grant from the New Mexico Legislature. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, State Sen. Leo Jaramillo (D-Los Alamos), and NM State Representative Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) offered crucial support in securing the grant funding. The remainder of the project costs (up to $18 million) are being split by Los Alamos County and Pajarito Mountain. 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. Law enforcement officers inside the Kansas Capitol rotunda tackle and detain Michael Stewart, president of the Satanic Grotto organization, for violating a permit that limited protests to the exterior of the building. Hundreds of Catholics conducted a counter-protest in opposition of Satanic Grotto's presence in Topeka. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA The bullhorn-powered war of words between satanists and Catholics boiled over into brawling and a handful of arrests Friday during an extraordinary event at the Kansas Capitol that pushed boundaries of free speech and the separation of church and state. After about two hours of speeches, prayers and sign waving among hundreds of people mostly segregated by barricades staffed by law enforcement officers, Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart, with supporters and reporters in tow, entering the Statehouse to conduct what he had described as a black mass. He was warned at the door to the visitors center that any formal protest inside the building that violated a permit limiting his religious expression to the lawn or steps of the Capitol would result in his arrest for trespassing. In the rotunda, Stewart began delivering the rebellious alternative mass and was interrupted by three people intent on stopping what could be interpreted as a mockery of their faith. An unidentified man and woman, with young kids at their side, physically intervened to interrupt Stewart. He spun away from them. Counter-protester Marcus Schroeder joined the fray and twice reached to rip papers from Stewarts hand. Stewart responded by punching Schroeder in the face twice. More than half a dozen Capitol Police wrestled Stewart to the floor to make the arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im not resisting. Im not resisting. Im not resisting, Stewart repeatedly yelled. Schroeder, who wore a shirt declaring death is not welcome here, was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct. He defended his intervention to thwart Stewart during an interview. He was trying to give a satanic chant. I tried to take his paper out of his hand and he punched me twice in the face, Schroeder said. After the area cleared, two other satanists tried to pick up where Stewart left off and were taken into custody. One other person was cuffed and led away by law enforcement outside the Capitol. An individual had grabbed Stewart by the legs in a bid to stop Stewart from stomping on crackers intended to represent those used in a Catholic mass. In that brief exchange, Stewart also punched the guy before law enforcement ended the fracas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was was trying to tackle me to get to the cracker underneath, Stewart said. I was able to kind of fend him off. I do think he may have picked up the crumbled cracker and ate it. Did I get physical with him? Yes. Hundreds of Christians upset with an organizations plan to conduct a satanic black mass at the Capitol delivered a robust counter-protest to emphasize their disdain for followers of Satanic Grotto. Both sides of the debate used bullhorns to punctuate their messages, creating a blended sound that was difficult for anybody to hear clearly. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) The opposition The colorful display of affection and affliction for organized religion culminated attempts by Gov. Laura Kelly, Attorney General Kris Kobach, leaders of the Kansas Legislature and Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, to restrain or derail the demonstration planned by Satanic Grotto. Kelly had the groups permit amended so no protest could transpire inside the Capitol. Legislative leaders modified policy regarding use of the Capitol to target Satanic Grotto. Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Wichita, said the First Amendment didnt protect offensive speech or violations of law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Francis Slobodnik, a Topeka representative of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, told hundreds of Catholics gathered on the south side of the Capitol that public officials shouldnt have allowed satanists to assemble on public property. He said the process showed a misguided understanding of freedom of speech and religion and a lack of appreciation for how a black mass represented worship of Satan. Todays horrific event, the first of its kind in the history of Kansas, is a sacrilege, said Slobodnik, who urged people to engage in a peaceful rally. Of course, there have been terrible crimes and injustices that have happened in our state over the years. However, nothing in our past compares with what is happening today where God is being directly challenged on the state Capitol grounds. The state Capitol represents all of us. He praised people at the rally who were standing in opposition to Satanic Grotto, and referred to them as the Navy Seals of the Catholic faith. He said these activists were willing to confront Gods enemies head-on as if on a field of battle. He said the great sin perpetrated by Stewart and other worshipers of Satan meant that others had to step into the void. Satanists do not realize that Satan hates all of Gods creation, including them, Slobodnik said. Their reward for worshiping and serving him will be eternal fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cure Church member Daniel Casteel, center with megaphone, was among Christians who used amplified equipment Friday at the Kansas Capitol to broadcast invitations for people to renounce Satan and welcome Jesus into their lives. He proclaimed to his target audience across a law enforcement barrier: Any time youre ready, you can step this way. We will make sure you get saved. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) And, an exorcist Former U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who served in the Kansas Senate before elected to Congress, said he consulted with a priest with experience in exorcism when considering whether to participate in a television interview with Stewart. Father had a simple question: Why would you do this? What do you hope to gain? I stumbled around in my answer, Huelskamp said. I wanted to share the truth about Christ. The truth about the Eucharist. His summary response was quite stunning to me. He said, There is no good that could come from being in the same room with a satanist.' Huelskamp said it was suggested his participation in the interview with Stewart might advance the interests of Satan. The former Republican congressman woke ill the next day, and cancelled the interview. In the end, Huelskamp said he decided it was important to run to the fire created by Satan rather than shrink from it. He said it was the same as making his views known about the evil of abortion or defending the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am quite stubborn and hardheaded, he said. We cannot be silent. We are required, if we call ourselves Christians, if we call ourselves Catholic, we are publicly required to defend the faith and to stand up for the truth. In an interview amid calm before the storm of his arrest, Stewart said he was convinced Catholics assembled around him didnt understand why Satanic Grotto was at the Capitol to talk about religious oppression. What we only want is the rights that every American has, Stewart said. Ive heard people say were setting a precedent. Well, if the precedent is freedom of religion for everyone in public spaces, yes, thats what were trying to establish. We are dragging this issue out in the light and well let the people look at it. The issue is that were not all being treated the same here. Mike Trapp, of Leavenworth, said he took part in rallies outside the Kansas Capitol on Friday to express his view that government needed to respect the constitutional mandate of a formal separation between church and state. He said the rise of Christian nationalists represented the greatest threat to democracy. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) Other voices in crowd Eudora resident John More, a Christian who carried a call-to-heaven New England pine tree flag, said he was motivated to attend because he viewed the satanists criticism of Catholics as an assault on religion in general. He joined with Julie Britschge of Burlingame for a Jericho Walk, or prayer walk, by circling the statehouse grounds seven times. Britschge said the walk was patterned after the biblical story of the Israelites march aimed at bringing about spiritual change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were hoping that whatever evil there is today, that He will take care of it, More said. I was just planning to add a measure of divine protection. Daniel Casteel and Shawn Velasquez, both with the Cure Church, made their views heard with the aid of megaphones. They prowled the security-line perimeter sharing perspectives on religion before taking part in back-and-forth exchanges across the barrier with supporters of Satanic Grotto. Jesus loves you, Casteel bellowed. Any time youre ready, you can step this way. We will make sure you get saved. Come give your life to Jesus, please. Break the stronghold. In an interview, Velasquez and Casteel said their intent was to convince one or two satanic worshipers to find solace in God. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre just misguided and uninformed, Velasquez said. Theyre worshiping a false god. On the other side of that line, Mike Trapp of Leavenworth quietly held a sign that emphasized his belief the United States was best served by adhering to the constitutional principle of a formal separation between church and state. We wouldnt be standing here today if there werent Christians flaunting their religion in the Capitol, said Trapp, who considered the rise of Christian nationalism to be the biggest threat to democracy. Wichita residents Kyle Francis and Sam McCrory, who were armed with a flag and collection of religious symbols, said they were present to stand up for Christ. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any time that people who oppose Christ show their head, you know, they should be opposed publicly, McCrory said. He said separation of church and state was originally the product of a homogenous Christian population. Satanists and others who diluted that national unity often used constitutional freedoms as a weapon against well-meaning people, he said. These sorts of things need to be brutally tamped down, McCrory said. Lets set an example. I think that the United States should be an explicitly Christian nation. If you want to be something other than Christian, I think thats fine, to an extent. I think they (non-Christians) should have to pay an extra tax. Law enforcement officers inside the Kansas Capitol rotunda tackle and detain Michael Stewart, president of the Satanic Grotto organization, for violating a permit that limited protests to the exterior of the building. Hundreds of Catholics conducted a counter-protest in opposition of Satanic Grotto's presence in Topeka. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Archbishop of Kansas City Joseph Naumann leads a eucharistic adoration, which includes ceremonial prayer before a consecrated host, on March 28, 2024, at Assumption Church in Topeka. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector) Catholics carried a statute of Mother Mary in a processional to the center of a rally Friday in response to the presence of a smaller group of Satanic Grotto adherents calling attention to lack of religious freedom in Kansas. Hundreds of people at the Catholics' event prayed for people to disavow Satan. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) An unidentified woman in dark clothing and a man in the cowboy hat attempted to stop Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart, with arms held up, from conducting a black mass in the rotunda of the Kansas Capitol. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) Officers tackle and detain Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart on March 28, 2025, at the Kansas Statehouse while Stewart yells, "I am not resisting arrest." (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) A large contingent of Christians lined up next to a police barrier outside the Kansas Capitol to engage in lengthy chanting in opposition to Satanic Grotto adherents who were conducting their own rally in opposition to religious persecution. Several people were arrested when the two sides clashed. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) Archbishop of Kansas City Joseph Naumann performs a Catholic mass on March 28, 2025, in Topeka as religious protesters clashed on the Capitol grounds across the street. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector) Kansas state Rep. Angela Stirns, R-Shawnee, shouted the "Hail Mary Prayer" on the ground floor of the Capitol as Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart passed by on his way to the rotunda on the first floor. In the rotunda, Stewart was arrested for trespassing after launching into a black mass service. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) John More, of Eudora, said he attended a Kansas Capitol rally Friday to carry a pine-tree flag created during the Revolutionary War to bring a "measure of divine protection" to people of religious faith who objected to satanists conducting a gathering in Topeka. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart punches counter-protester Marcus Schroeder after Schroeder attempted to take Stewart's prayer materials during a black mass inside the Kansas Capitol. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) Hundreds of people from Kansas and other states took part in a rally Friday on steps of the state Capitol to register objections to an appearance by supporters of Satanic Grotto, who said they were intent on conduct a black mass to irritate Catholics. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) Sam McCrory, left, and Kyle Francis, both of Wichita, took part in Friday's rallies at the Kansas Capitol. Both said they were there to stand up for Christ. McCrory said the United States should be an "explicitly Christian nation," and that nonbelievers should be compelled to pay a special tax. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) Mike Trapp of Leavenworth said he took part in combative rallies outside the Kansas Capitol to express his view that government needed to respect the constitutional mandate to maintain separation of church and state. He said the rise of Christian nationalists was the greatest threat to democracy. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) Archbishop of Kansas City Joseph Naumann gives a sermon during a Catholic mass on March 28, 2025, in Topeka. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector) Hundreds of Catholics upset with an organization planning a satanic black mass at the Capitol offered a robust counter-protest to emphasize their disdain for organizers of the Satanic Grotto organization. Both sides used bullhorns to punctuate their messages, creating a blended sound that was difficult to hear clearly. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart begins praying during a black mass ceremony that statehouse officials had forbidden inside the building. Christians opposing presence of the Satanic Grotto tried to physically stop Stewart, which led to punches being thrown and Stewart's arrest. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) The Cure Church member Daniel Casteel, center with megaphone, was among Christians who used amplified equipment Friday outside the Kansas Capitol to broadcast their invitation for people to renounce Satan and welcome Jesus into their lives. He bellowed to his target audience a law enforcement barrier: "Any time you're ready, you can step this way. We will make sure you get saved. Come give your life to Jesus." (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) Law enforcement officers inside the Kansas Capitol rotunda tackle and detain Michael Stewart, president of the Satanic Grotto organization, for violating a permit that limited protests to the exterior of the building. Hundreds of Catholics conducted a counter-protest in opposition of Satanic Grotto's presence in Topeka. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) Law enforcement officers inside the Kansas Capitol rotunda tackle and detain Michael Stewart, president of the Satanic Grotto organization, for violating a permit that limited protests to the exterior of the building. Hundreds of Catholics conducted a counter-protest in opposition of Satanic Grottos presence in Topeka. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA The bullhorn-powered war of words between satanists and Catholics boiled over into brawling and a handful of arrests Friday during an extraordinary event at the Kansas Capitol that pushed boundaries of free speech and the separation of church and state. After about two hours of speeches, prayers and sign waving among hundreds of people mostly segregated by barricades staffed by law enforcement officers, Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart, with supporters and reporters in tow, entering the Statehouse to conduct what he had described as a black mass. He was warned at the door to the visitors center that any formal protest inside the building that violated a permit limiting his religious expression to the lawn or steps of the Capitol would result in his arrest for trespassing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the rotunda, Stewart began the rebellious form of a mass and was interrupted by three people intent on stopping was could be interpreted as a mockery of their faith. An unidentified man and woman, with young kids at their side, physically intervened to stop Stewart. He turned away from them. Counter-protester Marcus Schroeder joined the fray and twice reached to take papers from Stewarts hand. Stewart responded by punching Schroeder in the face twice. More than half a dozen Capitol Police wrestled Stewart to the floor to make the arrest. Im not resisting. Im not resisting. Im not resisting, Stewart repeatedly yelled. Schroeder, who wore a shirt declaring Death is not welcome here, wasnt arrested by Capitol Police. In an interview, he defended his maneuvering to thwart Stewart. I tried to take his papers. He punched me in the face, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the area cleared, two other satanists tried to pick up where Stewart left off and were taken into custody. One other person was cuffed and taken away by law enforcement outside the Capitol on Friday. An individual grabbed Stewart by the legs in a bid to stop Stewart from stomping on crackers intended to represent those used in a Catholic mass to represent the consecrated body and soul of Christ. In that brief exchange, Stewart also punched the guy before law enforcement stepped in. Hundreds of Christians upset with an organizations plan to conduct a satanic black mass at the Capitol delivered a robust counter-protest to emphasize their disdain for followers of Satanic Grotto. Both sides of the debate used bullhorns to punctuate their messages, creating a blended sound that was difficult for anybody to hear clearly. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) He was was trying to tackle me to get to the cracker underneath, Stewart said. I was able to kind of fend him off. I do think he may have picked up the crumbled cracker and ate it. Did I get physical with him? Yes. The opposition The colorful display of affection and affliction for organized religion culminated attempts by Gov. Laura Kelly, Attorney General Kris Kobach, leaders of the Kansas Legislature and Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, to derail the demonstration planned by Satanic Grotto. Kelly had the groups permit amended so no protest could transpire inside the Capitol. Legislative leaders modified policy regarding use of the Capitol to specifically target Satanic Grotto. Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Wichita, said the First Amendment didnt protect offensive speech or violations of law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Francis Slobodnik, a Topeka representative of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, told hundreds of Catholics gathered on the south side of the Capitol that state public officials shouldnt have allowed satanists to assemble on public property. He said the event reflected a misguided understanding of freedom of speech and religion and a lack of appreciation for how a black mass represented worship of Satan. Todays horrific event, the first of its kind in the history of Kansas, is a sacrilege, Slobodnik said. Of course, there have been terrible crimes and injustices that have happened in our state over the years. However, nothing in our past compares with what is happening today where God is being directly challenged on the state Capitol grounds. The state Capitol represents all of us. He praised the people present at the rally to stand in opposition to Satanic Grotto, referring to them as the Navy Seals of the Catholic faith. He said these activists were willing to confront Gods enemies head-on as if on a field of battle. He said the great sin perpetrated by Stewart and other worshipers of Satan meant that others had to step into the void. Satanists do not realize that Satan hates all of Gods creation, including them, Slobodnik said. Their reward for worshiping and serving him will be eternal fire. And, an exorcist Former U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who served in the Kansas Senate before elected to Congress, said he consulted with a priest with experience in exorcism to figure whether he should participate in a television interview with Stewart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Father had a simple question: Why would you do this? What do you hope to gain? I stumbled around in my answer, Huelskamp said. I wanted to share the truth about Christ. The truth about the Eucharist. His summary response was quite stunning to me. He said, There is no good that could come from being in the same room with a Satanist. Huelskamp said it was suggested his participation in the interview with Stewart might serve interests of Satan. The former Republican congressman woke ill the next day, and cancelled the interview. In the end, Huelskamp said he decided it was important to run to the fire created by Satan rather than shrink from it. He said it was the same as making his views known about the evil of abortion and defending the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman. I am quite stubborn and hardheaded, he said. We cannot be silent. We are required, if we call ourselves Christians, if we call ourselves Catholic, we are publicly required to defend the faith and to stand up for the truth. In an interview amid calm before the storm of his arrest, Stewart said he was convinced Catholics assembled around him didnt understand why Satanic Grotto was at the Capitol to talk about religious oppression. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What we only want is the rights that every American has, Stewart said. Ive heard people say were setting a precedent. Well, if the precedent is freedom of religion for everyone in public spaces, yes, thats what were trying to establish. We are dragging this issue out in the light and well let the people look at it. The issue is that were not all being treated the same here. This story was produced by the Kansas Reflector which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network, including the Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NEW ORLEANS (AP) Louisianians are set to vote Saturday on several constitutional amendments dealing with crime, courts and finances. During a special legislative session focused on Gov. Jeff Landry's tax reform overhaul last fall, lawmakers approved four proposed changes to the state's constitution. Here's an overview of the main issues going before voters: Making it easier to charge minors as adults Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Louisiana's GOP-dominated Legislature voted to treat 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system, as part of Landry's broad tough-on-crime agenda. Prosecutors can also charge anyone under 17 as an adult for offenses including rape, murder and armed robbery, according to a list in the state's constitution. Changes to this list require a statewide vote. Voters are being asked to remove the list from the constitution so lawmakers can more easily expand the kinds of crimes that can lead to juveniles being charged as adults. Supporters say this provides lawmakers with more flexibility to respond to the wishes of prosecutors. Opponents say this is a draconian approach that doesn't address the systemic causes of youth crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Liquidate education trust funds to support permanent teacher pay raise The largest and most complicated proposed amendment exceeds 100 pages and concerns the notoriously convoluted revenue and finance section of the Louisiana Constitution. The sweeping changes are condensed for voters as a ballot question that is less than 100 words. One of the key changes proposed in the amendment is to liquidate several education trust funds to pay off around $2 billion in public school system debt. They would then use the savings on interest payments to the funds to boost teacher salaries by $2,000 a year. The amendment would also tighten restrictions on increasing state spending for ongoing programs and merge two state savings accounts that would give lawmakers more money to spend but potentially reduce long-term rainy day funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the proposed changes received bipartisan support from lawmakers who say it would streamline government efficiency and improve fiscal planning, critics have argued the changes lack transparency and destabilize savings and education funds. Changes to the court system Louisiana's Legislature is asking voters to give them broader power to establish specialty courts. The state already has dozens of specialty courts handling cases on issues including veteran's affairs and drug abuse, but they are bound to specific parishes and judicial districts. Under the proposed constitutional change, lawmakers would have the ability to create statewide or regional courts. Supporters say this could allow for more latitude to handle complex cases such as business litigations, while critics have said this could be a way for conservative lawmakers to undermine the power of judges in more liberal New Orleans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another amendment would give the state more flexibility in filling judicial vacancies on its Supreme Court. Instead of being mandated to fill an opening within 12 months as the constitution stipulates potentially requiring a costly special election these judicial elections would be part of the next scheduled regular election. The potential issue emerged after Louisiana lawmakers voted last year to end the tradition of jungle primaries for the state's Supreme Court. ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96. MIDWAY, Ky. (FOX 56) A highway stop in Midway on Tuesday led to Kentucky State Police (KSP) troopers finding over four pounds of suspected methamphetamine and two hydrocodone pills during a search. According to a news release, just before 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, troopers with KSP Post 12 pulled over a blue 2016 Chevrolet Impala on I-64 East in Midway after noticing the driver, 33-year-old Andrew Billingslea of Louisville, allegedly following another vehicle too closely. Owingsville woman accused of speeding in school zone, DUI with 6 kids in car Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents show troopers talked with Billingslea during the stop and said he allegedly furnished a story that led law enforcement to ask to search his vehicle. KSP said Billingslea let troopers look through his vehicle, where they reportedly found three vacuum-sealed bags containing over four pounds of suspected methamphetamine, per a news release. An arrest citation shows that state police also found two white oval pills, which authorities confirmed to be a drug containing hydrocodone. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents show that Billingslea was arrested and charged with: Excessive windshield and/or window tinting Following another vehicle too closely First-degree trafficking in more than two grams of methamphetamine first offense First-degree possession of hydrocodone first offense He was lodged in the Woodford County Detention Center on a $50,000 cash bond, according to arrest records. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LSUs Memorial Tower displays the time on Monday, March 20, 2023, on Tower Drive in Baton Rouge, La. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator) LSU released a list of budget belt-tightening measures Friday in response to the uncertainty of federal funding as President Donald Trumps administration slashes research spending. The university will implement a hiring freeze, eliminate duplicative jobs and centralize some positions. It will also withhold 2% of each departments budget starting July 1 and will convene a committee to explore using artificial intelligence to reduce administrative burdens and enhance productivity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Uncertainty in federal funding and future support should not hinder our growth or momentum. Instead, we must transform challenges into opportunities, LSU President William Tate wrote in a campus wide email sent Friday morning. Universities, particularly research institutions such as LSU, are bracing for tough times as the Trump administration makes dramatic reductions to agencies that fund research on college campuses, medical schools and affiliated research institutions. Many of these cuts are on pause, pending the outcome of litigation. LSU spent $488 million on research in fiscal year 2023, the most recent period for which data is available. Most of that money came from federal grants. LSU could lose $12 million if the Trump administrations proposed cut to indirect costs for National Institutes of Health grants are allowed to go into effect, and it would lose tens of millions more if other agencies followed suit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The research universities conduct has an economic impact as well as an academic one. Federal research grants directly support hundreds of graduate assistants and other employees at universities. LSU estimates the economic impact of NIH funding alone is around $550 million. Departments can earn back 0.5% of the 2% being withheld if they meet certain benchmarks, Tate wrote, including the removal of student hurdles to progression, though he did not provide any specific details on what that will entail. The other 1.5% will go to a fund to support academic and research initiatives. In addition to the budget restrictions, Tate said the university is looking to expand LSU Online enrollment. LSU Online is distinct from the university, which does offer some online courses as part of its on-campus degree programs. Tate said this expansion will support the universitys growth. Tates email also announced initiatives for student success and growing research spending. LSU is seeking to gain entry into the prestigious Association of American Universities. To do so, it has to expand its research spending significantly, which will be difficult as the Trump administration puts university funding in its crosshairs. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) LSU President William Tate IV announced a hiring freeze effective immediately in a Friday letter to faculty and staff as the university faces federal funding uncertainty. The letter outlines initiatives to increase retention and graduation rates, grow research and funding realignment. Tate said the strategic actions will help LSU navigate financial challenges while making advancements. Among its actions, the university has plans to conduct a review to eliminate redundant positions. Effective immediately, we are freezing hiring across the university, with limited exceptions. Faculty positions with offers extended prior to todays date will proceed. An appeals process will be available for critical hires in research, academics, or operations, with details forthcoming, Tate wrote regarding a hiring freeze. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LSU Vice President of Marketing and Communications Todd Woodward clarified that the hiring freeze is temporary, saying that freezes are currently the norm for public and private schools in higher education. LSU continues on a strong trajectory, breaking records on all campuses. This is not cost-cutting, it is aligning our resources around our core strategies for LSU, Woodward said. Some universities are freezing hiring and laying off staff as Trump cuts federal funding Future of federal funding for US colleges questionable Universities across the nation are facing potential federal funding cuts as the Trump administration has cut off funding for Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. The countrys scientific and medical research capabilities are closely tied with universities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An Associated Press analysis found that schools accepted over $33 billion in federal funding in the 2022-2023 academic year before taking into account federal student aid. Actions LSU plans to take Student Success Amplification Initiative Student Success Working Group: A workgroup with multiple subcommittees at campus and system levels to develop strategies to improve student retention, performance and educational outcomes. Classroom Excellence Study: A study gathering best practices from faculty leaders to identify areas for additional training or guidance. Faculty Senate to lead this effort. Advising and Counseling Alignment: Collaborating with Enrollment and Student Success and each college to optimize advising and counseling resources. Curriculum Mapping for Degree Paths: Project to evaluate every degree path with the goals of identifying and resolving problematic areas. Research Acceleration Initiative Surge to Top 50: LSU plans to follow the research optimization plan outlined by Huron and Urban Advisors to leverage system-wide research efforts to get the university to Top 50 status. Faculty and Staff Excellence Incentive Program: This program would reward faculty and staff performance. Saving Lives through Health Education & Research : The university aims to develop new health programs across the LSU system to address the shortage of health care professionals in the state. Strategic Funding Realignment AI-Driven Administrative Efficiences : A committee will be created to explore AI solutions to reduce administrative burdens and enhance productivity. Enterprise Solutions and Procurement Policies : Tate said LSU is currently partnered with procurement to establish policies guiding enterprise solutions and enhancing cost savings and operational efficiency. Expand LSU Online to Support LSUs Growth : The goal is to enroll 10,000 students by 2030. Targeted Hiring Freeze : A hiring freeze is effective immediately with limited exceptions. An appeals process will be available for critical hires in research, academics or operations. Eliminate Redundant Positions and Centralize Key Roles : LSU will conduct a review to streamline roles. Precision Reinvestment : LSU will withhold 2% of departmental budgets as a safeguard starting in the fiscal year 2026. Tate said this ensures operational excellence and positions LSU to withstand possible funding cuts and challenges. He said .5% can be regained through hitting certain metrics and goals, and the remaining 1.5% would go into a strategic fund to allow for a competitive process to complete for awards and research initiatives. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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 Louisiana First News. The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson won a small victory Thursday. A NY state judge said he would not oppose the suspect, Luigi Mangione, having a laptop in jail. The DA fought laptop access after heart-shaped notes were nearly passed to him in a pair of socks. UnitedHealthcare murder suspect Luigi Mangione still can't have two heart-shaped notes that were nearly smuggled to him inside a pair of argyle socks but he's well on his way to getting a hotly debated laptop for his federal jail cell. On Thursday, a state judge said he would not oppose Mangione having a secure laptop he could use to review thousands of hours of video and photo evidence, something federal prison officials are also not opposing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro ruled in favor of Mangione receiving such a laptop in a written decision that followed a closed-door conference held Thursday morning without the presence of Mangione, the media, or a stenographer. "As stated at the conference, the court has no objection to the defendant being provided with a laptop computer to view discovery if the federal authorities permit it," Carro wrote, without divulging his reasoning. State prosecutors had fought hard to keep defense lawyers from giving Mangione a laptop as he awaits trial in a federal jail in Brooklyn, even if the device is not connected to the internet. Prosecutors with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued that a laptop would be loaded with images of potential civilian witnesses from the manhunt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would pose a security risk, given how out-of-control his fans can be, said lead state prosecutor Joel Seidemann, citing ongoing "concern for the safety of individuals who cooperate" with investigators. "Defendant's conduct has directly led to several instances of harassment, backlash, and death threats against both individuals who have cooperated with the investigation as well as prospective witnesses, including employees of the Altoona McDonald's where defendant was arrested," Seidemann wrote on Wednesday. Also threatened have been "members of the Altoona Police Department who simply did their duty, and healthcare professionals both associated with UnitedHealthcare and others in the industry generally," Seidemann added, laying blame on "those who sympathize with Defendant." Mangione is charged in parallel state and federal indictments with the December ambush-shooting murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prosecutor alleged that unnamed sympathizers struck yet again on Mangione's behalf on February 21, his most recent state court date. On the morning before the court date, as Mangione was being allowed to change out of jail garb and into civilian clothes before facing Carro, state court officers intercepted two pink, heart-shaped notes while searching a bag of clothing that had been given to him by members of the defense team, he said. "Among the items of clothing was a new pair of argyle socks wrapped around cardboard," Seidemann wrote. The two notes were "secreted in the cardboard." Manhattan prosecutors say these heart-shaped notes were "secreted" into court inside a new pair of argyle socks being delivered to UnitedHealthcare murder suspect Luigi Mangione. New York Supreme Court/Business Insider One note was signed r/FreeLuigi, in an apparent reference to a 37,000-member Reddit community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It read "Luigi, We are all rooting for you! Know there are thousands of people wishing you luck," defense attorneys revealed in a filing Wednesday night. The other note was addressed to "Joan," who was thanked for her help in navigating the "online discourse." Lead defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said in the filing that "in the haste of the situation, the defense inadvertently did not see that there were two heart-shaped notes contained within the socks." She added, "If this "incident" is the basis for the danger the prosecution is referencing, we submit that this does not meet the standard to allow them to deny our reasonable requests." Mangione is next due in federal court on April 18, and in state court on June 26. Read the original article on Business Insider Mar. 27DEMING A Luna County commissioner who is also a contractor for the county agreed last week to pay a civil fine to settle violations investigated by the New Mexico State Ethics Commission. Christie Ann Harvey was hired as the county's community and economic development director, a staff position, in 2021. The following year, she resigned and founded the Luna County Economic Opportunity Council, a nonprofit for which she serves as executive director. She then continued working for the county under a no-bid contract. That violated the state's procurement code, the SEC alleges. Its investigation found that Harvey participated "directly or indirectly" in the bidding for her services while she was an employee. Moreover, working for the county through the council within one year of her departure as an employee, including contract negotiations, violated the state Governmental Conduct Act, the complaint alleges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harvey told the Journal the noncompliance was "a horrible mistake and a learning experience." In the settlement, she agreed to pay a $500 penalty to the state without admitting any wrongdoing, and for the council to pay $1,000 to Luna County. The county agreed to cancel the council's current $125,000 contract and launch a bidding process, with county officials to undergo training in the state procurement code. The ethics commission found that the county awarded four contracts to Harvey's organization, totaling $412,328, without issuing a request for proposals or reviewing competitive bids. Procurement code requires contracts for such services to go out for bid if they exceed $20,000. The most recent of these contract awards was on July 1, 2024, four months before Harvey, a Republican, was elected to Luna County's three-member board of commissioners last November. Harvey is also a board member of the New Mexico Border Authority, appointed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement County Manager Chris Brice told the Journal his office cooperated fully with the SEC investigation: "We went in with the attitude, 'If we screwed up, you tell us where, and we'll fix it.' We're not hiding anything." Brice said the prospect of working with Harvey as a contractor for economic development initiatives came about after she resigned as a county employee. The arrangement made sense, he said, because "she does a lot of stuff outside the realm of what a normal employee would do." Now that Harvey is an elected commissioner, Brice said she must recuse herself from votes having to do with the council and its contract. This potentially presents an obstacle, because the county has just three commissioners and no provision for breaking a tie vote. Harvey said she enjoyed serving on the county board and the Border Authority, and that she "may or may not" bid for a new contract. UNITED NATIONS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- "We can't stress enough how deeply worried we are about the risk of the situation" in South Sudan, a UN spokesman said on Friday, amid fears that the country is on the brink of civil war. "This humanitarian crisis is being driven by violence, by food insecurity, by political instability, by climate shocks, by disease outbreaks as well as the spillover from the conflict in neighboring Sudan," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a daily briefing. Dujarric said dozens of casualties were reported due to violence in recent weeks, with up to 120,000 people forced to flee their homes. The levels of acute hunger remain high, with some 7.7 million people who are severely food insecure and 650,000 children under the age of 5 at risk of severe acute malnutrition. He said a cholera outbreak in South Sudan is yet to be contained, with more than 42,000 cases reported and nearly 800 deaths. "Once again, we call on the parties to put their weapons down and put all the people of South Sudan first," said Dujarric. "At this critical juncture, we also appeal to (UN) member states to swiftly supply the resources we need to stem the growing humanitarian crisis in the country, particularly in the face of funding cuts." According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are 2.22 million internally displaced and 1 million refugees from the nearly 2-year civil war in neighboring Sudan, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. Marco Rubio said the federal government is ramping up its efforts to deport college and university students who engage in pro-Palestinian activism. In a press conference on Thursday, Rubio claimed his office has torn up more than 300 student visas on his watch. The secretary of state called student activists "lunatics" and claimed that his department will continue to revoke visas "every day." Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa, Rubio told reporters in Guyana. "Go back and do it in your country." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rubio's comments came in response to the abduction of Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk by plainclothes immigration officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Video of the encounter went viral on Wednesday. Ozturk, a Turkish national, helped author an op-ed denouncing Israel's actions in Gaza. That act seemed to be enough to trigger Rubio's regime. Though he failed to provide specifics, Rubio said Ozturk's actions went beyond sternly worded articles. "If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why youre coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, were not going to give you a visa, Rubio shared. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Rubios State Department, alleged on X that Ozturk was engaged in activities in support of Hamas. Ozturk is one of several high-profile student deportation cases across the country. Like Columbia University activist and legal permanent resident Khalil Mahmoud, Ozturk was quickly sent to a detention center in Louisiana. The PhD candidate was moved from Massachusetts to the southern state despite a judge's order forbidding her rendition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you come into the US as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we don't want it," Rubio said, by way of explanation. The crackdown comes as other Trump administration officials turn up the temperature on their own mass deportation efforts. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem shared a social media video earlier this week from inside an El Salvador detention camp where hundreds of Venezuelans living inside the U.S. were sent on her office's allegations of gang affiliation. Tech billionaire Elon Musk is facing criticism for a claim about President Donald Trump that many people are finding more than a little over-the-top. Whats something that people wouldnt know about the president? Fox News host Bret Baier asked during an interview that aired on Thursday. Youre pretty close to him now, you spend a lot of time with him. Whats something that people wouldnt know? I think the president is a good man, Musk said. I think he is an honest man, and I have yet to see him do anything mean or anything that is wrong, that I would say morally wrong. Not even once. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump lies so often that fact-checkers often struggle to keep track during his speeches and other events. During Trumps first term, The Washington Post documented 30,573 false or misleading claims. His morals have also come under question repeatedly, from his constant grifts such as hawking $60 Bibles, pushing personal meme coins, and NFTs to his lies about the 2020 election, culminating in a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Dalai Lama has said Trump lacks moral principle, and Pope Francis condemned his family separation policy for undocumented immigrants during his first term as immoral. The Right Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, also called out Trumps lack of morals in 2020. We need moral leadership, and hes done everything to divide us, she told the Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this year, during a sermon Trump attended, she called on him to have mercy on those who are scared because of his policies. He later demanded that she apologize. Trump was also convicted last year on 34 felony charges in his hush money trial, and found liable for sexual abuse in another case, among the many legal proceedings against him over the years. Given all that and more critics were quick to call Musk out on his own social media website: This has set a new world record for lying and gaslighting in one statement. Amazing. https://t.co/17x6FvkqFv Spiros Ghost (@AntiToxicPeople) March 27, 2025 Wanna hear something funny? https://t.co/NpN5BeXZxI Gabe Sanchez (@iamgabesanchez) March 28, 2025 Pretty damn hard to find something "morally wrong" with someone when one's own moral compass does not exist. AJ Punk (@OilyFella18) March 28, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What an absolutely absurd thing to say. It's so ridiculous that it's meant to overwhelm a person's brain into shorting out. https://t.co/FGyE0c1uz2 Sir Humphrey (@bdquinn) March 28, 2025 Why would anyone ever choose I have yet to see him do anything mean as a way to describe someone 6ixty (@0x6ixty) March 28, 2025 if someone asked my friend to divulge something "people would not know" about me and the first thing they said was "he's a good man"...lol https://t.co/QiN8Q4fWlB Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) March 27, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I'm surprised lighting didn't strike https://t.co/VWRkLGXDre Auntie Smartassy (@AuntSassyAss) March 27, 2025 Elon Musk says hes never seen Trump do anything morally wrong. That tells us everything we need to know about Elon Musks morality. If coups, porn payoffs, racism, mocking POWs, & 30,000+ lies dont register as wrong then the man building AI, rockets, and social media Dane DeValcourt (@danedevalcourt) March 28, 2025 Lynchburg, Va. (WFXR) In partnership with the Central Virginia Drug and Gang Task Force (CVDGTF), the Lynchburg Police Department (LPD) has announced the arrest of a man wanted in an ongoing 2023 drug investigation on March 27. According to LPD, Cory Anton Johnson Jr., was arrested on Thursday in connection with multiple outstanding felony warrants. Detectives then served a search warrant at Johnsons home and allegedly seized a significant amount of narcotics, firearms, and other contraband. The Items allegedly seized from Johnsons residence include: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement $6,019 in U.S. Currency One Taurus 9mm Handgun 144.9g of Suspected Powder Fentanyl 20.08g of Suspected Pressed Fentanyl Ammunition The Items allegedly seized from Johnsons vehicle include: Two Handguns Two Vials of Blue Liquid Digital Scales 5.29g of Suspected Pressed Fentanyl 7.70g of Suspected Powder Fentanyl Approximately 150g of Suspected Marijuana Lynchburg Police investigating the death of infant found unresponsive Cory Anton Johnson Jr. has been charged with the following in connection with Operation Royal Flush that was carried out on May 4th, 2023. Breaking and Entering Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony Grand larceny of a firearm Grand larceny of property Criminal Street Gang Participation Felony Property Damage Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the search of his property on March 27, Johnson received the following additional charges: Possession of a Weapon of Terrorism (fentanyl) Possession with Intent to Distribute (PWID) Fentanyl PWID Marijuana Possession of a Firearm While Distributing a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance Possession of Trigger Activators, Auto Sears, etc. Johnson is currently being held at the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority (BRRJA) without bond. The Lynchburg Police Department remains committed to collaborating with local, state, and federal partners to disrupt violent crime, gang activity, and the trafficking of illegal drugs in our 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 WFXRtv. During Joe Bidens presidency, the Democratic campaign against junk fees never really caught on as a major national issue, but there can be no doubt that helping consumers with these unnecessary costs was a major policy priority for the then-president. Indeed, with about a month remaining in Bidens term, the Democratic administration finalized a policy limiting the overdraft fees banks can charge which the then-president condemned as exploitative discarding the lobbying efforts from the banking industry. The Biden-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concluded that the nations biggest banks took in roughly $8 billion via these charges every year, which meant many consumers were poised to receive a significant boost. Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, meanwhile, has invested as much time and energy as any member of Congress defending these fees. Indeed, as the new Congress got underway, the former GOP presidential candidate announced that hed take a leading role in trying to undo the Biden-era consumer protections related to overdraft fees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week, the Republican senator and lobbyists representing the banking industry took a big step toward success. The New York Times reported: The Senate voted Thursday to strike down a rule capping most bank overdraft fees at $5, a measure adopted late last year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that had been expected to save Americans billions of dollars per year. ... [I]t passed on a nearly party-line vote, 52-48. At issue are penalties financial institutions impose on customers when they spend more than they have in their accounts. The Biden-era policy intended to limit the fees and save consumers billions of dollars a year. The GOP majority in the Senate voted to scrap the policy before it even took effect. At this point, some readers are probably wondering why Senate Democrats didnt block the effort. They would have, but as a procedural matter, they didnt have the opportunity: Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress can undo recently adopted regulations by majority rule and filibusters arent an option. And 52 Republicans every GOP senator except Missouris Josh Hawley advanced Scotts measure, despite unanimous opposition from every Senate Democrat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why would we help the big banks at the expense of working people? Hawley said after the vote. I just dont understand it. Around the same time, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee and the person responsible for helping create the CFPB, wrote online, Senate Republicans would rather you didnt find out they just voted to give the biggest banks billions in profits from overdraft fees that kick working people when theyre down. She went on to call the move disgraceful. The measure now heads to the Republican-led House, where it will likely receive overwhelming GOP support, though it would only take a handful of GOP members to vote the way Hawley did and derail the effort. Watch this space. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com House Republican leaders really didnt need another controversy surrounding one of their members, but they apparently have one anyway. It was last month when Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida first generated national headlines when NBC News reported that the local police department in Washington, D.C., had begun an investigation into the congressman, following a report of an alleged assault. NBC News went on to report soon after that the Metropolitan Police Department in the nations capital sent an arrest warrant on Mills to interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martins office, but the warrant went unsigned by the hyper-partisan Trump-appointed prosecutor. The GOP congressman issued a statement vehemently denying any wrongdoing, claiming that law enforcement was asked to resolve a private matter at Mills residence. The story soon faded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately for the Florida Republican, however, hes now confronting an entirely different controversy. Roll Call reported: In one of its first actions of the new Congress, the House Ethics Committee announced Thursday it would conduct a further review of allegations against Rep. Cory Mills. It comes after an August 2024 referral from the Office of Congressional Conduct, which found the Florida Republican may have omitted or misrepresented information in financial disclosure reports and kept contracts with the federal government. While congressional ethics are often nuanced and complex, the basic elements of this story are rather straightforward: To avoid conflicts of interest, lawmakers cannot personally benefit from government contracts. Mills, according to investigators, is directly tied to two businesses that did, in fact, receive contracts for munition and weapons for prisons, sparking the controversy. There is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Mills may have entered into, held, or enjoyed contracts with federal agencies while he was a Member of Congress, the Office of Congressional Conduct report concluded. A Politico report added that the OCC also found some evidence that Mills may have omitted or misrepresented information on his financial disclosure forms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Republican lawmaker chose not to cooperate with the investigation, though his office issued a statement insisting that Mills is committed to complying with all laws and ethics rules. The statement noted that the Federal Election Commission recently dismissed a related complaint, and Mills and his team trust the House Ethics Committee will come to a similar conclusion. Mills has reportedly expressed an interest in running for statewide office in the 2026 election cycle. Whether his recent controversies would help or hurt his ambitions is unclear. 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. * With just days remaining before Wisconsins closely watched state Supreme Court race, Elon Musk will hold a campaign event in the Badger State on Sunday. While early voting is underway, Election Day is Tuesday, April 1. * Speaking of next weeks closely watched contests, President Donald Trump held online events yesterday in support of the Republican candidates in Floridas congressional special elections. The races are being held in GOP strongholds, and this level of intervention wasnt supposed to be necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * With the White House giving up on Republican Rep. Elise Stefaniks nomination to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, House Speaker Mike Johnson has a new challenge: Axios noted that he now has to reassure GOP lawmakers after Trump said hes nervous about a district that Republicans won easily last fall. * In Arizona, there was some scuttlebutt that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes would launch a Democratic congressional campaign and try to fill the vacancy left by the late Rep. Raul Grijalva, but Fontes announced that hell remain in his current position. * Former Rep. Colin Allred ran a relatively strong U.S. Senate campaign last year, and the Texas Democrat told The Dallas Morning News this week that hes seriously considering trying again next year. Sen. John Cornyn is expected to seek re-election in 2026, though the Republican incumbent appears likely to face a primary rival. * Speaking of the Lone Star State, the latest Texas Public Opinion Research poll found Cornyn struggling, with nearly three times as many voters wanting to replace the senator (36%) as those who want to re-elect him (13%). (Click the link for more information on the polls methodology and margin of error.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * And speaking of surveys, the latest national Gallup poll found Trump with a 45% approval rating, which is slightly better than the presidents standing at this point in his first term, but relatively low by historical standards. (Click the link for more information on the polls methodology and margin of error.) This article was originally published on MSNBC.com As Donald Trump prepared to leave the White House after his 2020 election defeat, the Republican issued some of the most controversial pardons in American history. As the 10th week of his second term nears its end, its clear that the president is picking up where he left off. On the first day of his second term, Trump issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 Jan. 6 criminals, including violent felons who were in prison for assaulting police officers. A few days later, he kept going, pardoning 23 anti-abortion-rights activists, seemingly unconcerned with their guilt. That was soon followed by a pardon for former Gov. Rob Blagojevich, a man synonymous with corruption in Illinois politics, whom Trump saw as any ally. Earlier this month, he pardoned a Tennessee Republican who was just two weeks into a 21-month sentence for his role in a campaign finance fraud scheme. This week, as CNBC reported, the list grew a little longer. President Donald Trump pardoned Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton for his October 2022 conviction of federal crimes related to defrauding investors with false claims about the success of the electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker. Milton, 42, was sentenced in December 2023 to four years in prison, but he has been free since then pending an appeal of the former CEOs criminal conviction on securities and wire fraud charges in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The report added that the pardon came just two weeks after federal prosecutors urged U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos to order Milton to pay restitution of $680 million to Nikola shareholders as well as $15.2 million to Peter Hicks, a victim of his wire fraud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milton apparently received a personal phone call from Trump the day before the White House formally confirmed that the president had signed the pardon. As for why Trump took this step, a reporter asked the president to explain his reasoning, and it didnt go especially well. The Republican seemed to know very little about the circumstances surrounding Miltons crimes, saying that they told him that Milton and his family were treated unfairly for political reasons. (Trump also repeatedly referred to himself in third person for reasons that werent altogether clear.) What the president neglected to mention were some relevant details about Milton and his case. For example, as CNBCs report noted, following his criminal sentencing, the former Nikola CEO made significant political donations to Trump and his allies. This included $920,000 to the Trump 47 Committee in October of 2024, and $750,000 in September to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s MAHA Alliance political action committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before his conviction, Milton had never before made a campaign contribution, but for some reason, he became quite generous in late 2024. It also seems worth emphasizing that Miltons defense attorney was a man named Brad Bondi and if his last name sounds familiar, its because Brad Bondi is Attorney General Pam Bondis brother. Of course, the larger story isnt just about Milton. On the contrary, it has become apparent to others that the president has created an entirely new legal/political dynamic, without precedent in the American tradition, in which pardons are available to perceived political allies with whom Trump sympathizes. Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly angling for a pardon. So is former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. The New York Times reported a few weeks ago that theres a White House team in place focusing on clemency grants that underscore the presidents own grievances, and well-connected lawyers and lobbyists have scrambled to take advantage. They have collected large fees from clemency seekers who would not be eligible for second chances under apolitical criteria that are intended to guide a Justice Department system for recommending mercy for those who have served their time or demonstrated remorse and a lower likelihood of recidivism. Instead, clemency petitioners are mostly circumventing that system, tailoring their pitches to the president by emphasizing their loyalty to him and echoing his claims of political persecution. The Times report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added that among the many eager to take advantage of the new pardon landscape are a rapper convicted in connection with a Malaysian embezzlement scheme, a reality-television-star couple found guilty of defrauding banks and evading taxes, and two Washington, D.C., police officers convicted after a chase that killed a young man. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Times quoted Rachel Barkow, a professor at the New York University School of Law who has studied the use of presidential clemency. She said that while Trumps first-term pardons were all about cronyism and partisanship, the potential for corruption is higher now because theyre starting early, they have figured out how they want to set it up so that people have a pipeline to get to them. Barkow added, Like any sequel, its going to be worse. Did I mention that Team Trump recently ousted the Justice Departments pardon attorney, as part of a broader political purge of federal law enforcement? Because that happened, too. The next time you hear presidential chest-thumping about law and order and tough on crime, keep this in mind. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com As this week got underway, the public learned about an executive order from Donald Trump that targeted a series of government agencies to be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law. Included on the list was the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent agency described by The New York Times as the federal governments main source of support for the nations libraries, museums and archives. As the week neared its end, one specific museum by some measures, the nations most famous was apparently on the presidents mind. NBC News reported: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday taking aim at the Smithsonian and its museums, education and research centers. Trump directed Vice President JD Vance to eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology from programs at the Smithsonian Institution, which receives federal funding. The same order accused the Biden administration of, among other things, using the Smithsonian to advance what the Republican president described as a corrosive ideology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How does the White House define words such as improper, divisive, anti-American and corrosive in an ideological context? The order didnt say. Presumably, Trump knows it when he sees it. He went on to characterize the Smithsonian as an institution that was once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement before it fell victim to a nefarious ideology that Trump considers divisive. As part of the same directive, Vance a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents will be responsible for identifying and appointing Smithsonian board members who will commit to advancing the celebration of Americas extraordinary heritage and progress. It was around this time two years ago when The Washington Post reported that the Smithsonians National Portrait Gallery accepted a $650,000 contribution from the Republicans Save America PAC to fund the official portraits of Donald and Melania Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the institution hoped that the arrangement might generate some goodwill, those hopes have apparently been dashed. As part of the new executive order, the president also directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to overhaul federal parks and monuments that perpetuate a version of history that the White House considers false. Wholl decide which historical claims are deemed accurate? The order didnt say that, either, though its difficult to be optimistic. It comes on the heels of Trumps recent takeover of the Kennedy Center, part of which included his desire to see the arts institution put on productions in line with his cultural vision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps the president can expedite matters by creating some kind committee to examine content he considers un-American? The title on the White Houses order said the directive is intended to restore sanity to American history. Given the circumstances, sanity is not the word that comes to mind. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com About a month ago, the White House took an unprecedented step, punishing a prominent private law firm because Donald Trump disapproved of its clients. The New York Times described the move as a breathtaking escalation, and that description was more than fair. The move, however, was simply an opening salvo. A week later, the Republican nevertheless did it again, targeting a different firm. A third firm was punished soon after, followed by a fourth. (Trump also signed an executive order last week that effectively threatened to punish any law firms that, from his perspective, challenge his administration in ways he considers unreasonable.) The list is still growing. NBC News reported: Trump signed an executive order today suspending the security clearances for employees at the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP which previously employed Robert Mueller, a special counsel who led the Russia investigation after the 2016 presidential election. The presidents directive accused the firm of, among other things, engaging in obvious partisan representations. Just as notably, the White House said in a statement that WilmerHale rewarded the former special counsel, whose investigation, in Trumps estimation, epitomizes the weaponization of government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Right off the bat, its important to emphasize just how utterly bonkers these circumstances are. There is no precedent in the American tradition of a White House punishing a private law firm because it hired a lawyer the sitting president does not like. This is not the sort of thing that is supposed to happen in a healthy and free democratic country. Complicating matters, the idea that Mueller is some kind of super villain is so preposterous that its unsettling to see the White House put such a claim in writing. Mueller is, after all, a decorated Marine combat veteran, a lifelong Republican and the former director of the FBI. Yes, he also oversaw an investigation into the Russia scandal, but (a) the scandal was real and serious, even if Trump pretends otherwise; (b) Mueller did nothing wrong before, during or after the probe; (c) serving as a special counsel does not mean a lawyer should be blacklisted for life; (d) Mueller was appointed by the Trump administration, which makes it hilarious to see Trump characterize his work as an example of weaponization; and (e) the president has spent the last several years claiming that Mueller cleared him of any wrongdoing in the scandal. To be sure, Trump has obviously lied repeatedly about Muellers findings, but taken at face value, the president has told the public that the former special counsel exonerated him in the Russia scandal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If thats the case, why punish the firm that employed him? As for the larger context, not every major law firm is responding to the White Houses offensive the same way. One has already caved, and another appears prepared to caved preemptively to avoid a presidential attack. That said, one of the targeted firms is challenging a Trump order in court, and just hours ago, two more firms filed separate lawsuits seeking to block enforcement of the presidents directive. Trump boasted publicly earlier this week about law firms caving to his demands and giving the White House what it wants, but as things stand, not every firm is bending the knee. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com KHARTOUM, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese army said on Thursday it had seized the last remaining areas held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum locality, marking a significant development in the nearly year-long conflict. Khartoum locality is part of the Sudanese capital, which also includes Omdurman and Bahri. "Our forces forcibly and decisively cleared the last pockets of the militia in Khartoum locality," Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) spokesman Nabil Abdalla said in a statement. The army also rejected RSF's claims that its withdrawal from strategic areas in Khartoum was part of an agreement. Sudan's civil war, nearing its two-year mark, has killed tens of thousands, displaced more than 15 million, and triggered one of the world's worst hunger and displacement crises. With Sudan's healthcare system collapsing, casualty figures remain difficult to verify. MADISON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) The Madison County Sheriffs Office said they are investigating after a two-year-old child drowned in New Hope on Thursday. According to the sheriffs office, deputies responded to a call about a missing child around 6 p.m. in the area of Ed Spears Road. MCSO said that first responders found the child unresponsive in a body of water. They attempted life-saving measures, however, the child was pronounced dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives with the Major Crimes Unit investigated the scene. MCSO said there is no indication of foul play. The body has been sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A self-confessed MAGA junkie from a red-voting city devastated by Department of Government Efficiency firings has said she regrets voting for Donald Trump. In the lead-up to the election in November last year, Jennifer Piggott, from Parkersburg, West Virginia, flew a Trump flag outside her house. She was not the only one; her community in Wood County voted overwhelmingly for the Republican candidate, who scooped 70 percent of the votes in the area. Jennifer Piggott, from Parkersburg, West Virginia, flew a Trump flag outside her house in the lead up to the election. / CNN But just weeks into Trump 2.0, the president let Piggott and others like her down by firing 125 probationary civil service workers. The Treasury Departments Bureau of Fiscal Servicewhich effectively acts as the governments day-to-day bankwas gutted, and so was Piggott. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to CNN Live in a broadcast shown Thursday, Pigott said she cried after she was axed. I was a MAGA junkie, a MAGA junkie who thought her government job would be safe with Donald Trump in office. I cried. Its scary, you know, its a really scary thing, and I was embarrassed, she said. Piggott and her colleagues were let go based on alleged poor performance. But in her final review just 21 days before she was axed, Pigott, who has voted for Trump in the last three elections, got the highest rating you can get on review, she told CNN. She added that she now regrets voting for Trump. To cut the knees out of the working-class Americans just doesnt make sense to me. I expected more from President Donald Trump, she said. Her woes have not stopped. Pigott, who has spoken to the national press about the issue before, has been targeted by vandals and has even received death threats since speaking out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I expected better from you. I really did, Pigott said, when asked what she would say to Trump if she got the chance. I expected that you would do what was right and cut waste and fraud and all of those things that you promised us before we elected you in office, but youre not doing thatyoure creating a disaster and I dont know what America is gonna look like if this continues. Elon Musk's DOGE cuts have affected agencies, including the Bureau of Fiscal Service. / Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images CNN spoke to a second woman, afraid to reveal her identity for fear of retribution, who retired from the Bureau of Fiscal Service because she feared losing her health insurance if she was axed. Im not sure that I would have [voted for Trump], and the way that its been done... Im for balancing the budget, that type of thing, but not, not in this context, its just not right, she said. The Bureau employs some 2,000 people in the city of 29,000. Earlier this month, a federal judge stood in the way of the spate of firingsordering agencies, including the Bureau of Fiscal Service, to give fired probationary employees their jobs back. However, the Trump administration took the matter to the Supreme Court this week, asking it to overrule the federal decision. The 125 fired individuals, like thousands of other federal workers, are now in limbo, on paid leave. A self-described MAGA junkie says she regrets voting for Donald Trump after she was fired from her job in the federal government. Jennifer Piggott of West Virginia told CNN she was one of 125 probationary employees fired from the Treasury Departments Bureau of Fiscal Service last month as part of Trumps efforts to downsize the federal government. Piggott is a self-described MAGA junkie who voted for Trump three times but has since lost faith in the Republican. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cried. Its scary, its a really scary thing, she said. I was embarrassed. When CNN asked if she regretted voting for the president, Piggott responded: Yes, I do. Jennifer Piggott was a MAGA junkie. Now, she regrets voting for President Donald Trump after losing her federal job (REUTERS) To cut the knees off the working-class Americans just doesn't make sense to me, she continued. I expected more from President Donald Trump. According to recent court filings, Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency has fired at least 24,000 federal probationary employees. A federal judge has ruled that DOGE fired at least 16,000 of these employees illegally, but the Trump administration is appealing the decision to the Supreme Court. Piggott is a self-described MAGA junkie who voted for Trump three times but has since lost faith in the Republican (REUTERS) Piggott said she was fired over poor performance, despite getting the highest rating on a performance review less than three weeks before she was let go. She told Reuters that other voters she knows also didnt expect this level of devastation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Nobody that I've talked to understood the devastation that having this administration in office would do to our lives," Piggott said. "As much as I think that President Trump is doing wonderful things for the country in some regards, I don't understand this at all. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields defended the firings to Reuters, claiming Trump has been given a popular mandate to carry out the mass layoffs. "The personal financial situation of every American is top of mind for the president, which is why he's working to cut regulations, reshore jobs, lower taxes, and make government more efficient," Fields said. Piggott holds a Trump flag. She says she was fired despite receiving the highest rating possible on her performance review (REUTERS) CNN spoke to another Bureau of Fiscal Service employee who recently retired over fears she would lose her benefits if she were fired as part of the Trump administrations downsizing efforts. The unnamed employee also voted for the president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When CNN asked if she would have supported Trump knowing what he would do, she responded: Im not sure I would have. The way that it's been done I'm for balancing the budget, that type of thing, but not in this context, she said. It's just not right. Piggott says Trump is creating a disaster, and she doesnt know what America is going to look like if this continues. I expected that you would do what was right and cut waste and fraud and all of those things that you promised us before we elected you in office, she told CNN. But youre not doing that. The Independent has contacted the Bureau of Fiscal Service for comment. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Rhode Island Congressman Seth Magaziner revealed Friday he wont be moving into his own congressional district after all, reneging on a campaign promise that hed relocate his family there after getting elected in 2022. The 41-year-old Democrat said he no longer plans to move to Cranston and out of his longtime home on the East Side of Providence. Magaziner represents the 2nd Congressional District, which cuts through Providence but doesnt include the area where Magaziner lives with his wife and children. Frankly, our familys circumstances have changed, Magaziner said during a taping of WPRI 12s Newsmakers. My wife got a new job that requires her to commute to Cambridge, about a two-hour commute. We had a new baby, and as you noted, the house in Cranston ended up needing a lot more work than we expected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The residency issue first came up when Magaziner ran in 2022 to fill the congressional seat that opened after then-Congressman Jim Langevin decided not to run for reelection. While its not a requirement that members of Congress live in the districts they represent, Magaziner nonetheless pledged hed move into a home his family purchased in Cranston after the election. He doubled down on the pledge last October when a Target 12 investigation revealed he was still living in Providence, which meant his name didnt even appear on the ballot where he cast his vote. At the time, Magaziner told Target 12, We bought a house in Cranston that we intend to move into once weve renovated it. But on Friday, he said his plans have changed since then. Weve decided that at this point, it makes sense for us to stay in our house in Providence, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats the right thing for our family, he said. But I do want to emphasize, and this is important, living one mile from the district line has in no way impeded my ability to do my job and deliver for my constituents. I brought back millions of dollars of federal funding for every community in my district. I continue to fight for the working people of the 2nd Congressional District with legislation in Washington, and Ill continue to show up and deliver, just as I have for the last two and a half years, he added. Following the interview, Magaziner aides highlighted that the congressman isnt alone in living outside his district. They shared a 2023 YouTube video that counted 50 people, serving at the time, who didnt live in the district they represented. The revelation Friday evoked sharp criticism from Rhode Island GOP Chairman Joe Powers, who described it as a not-so-unbelievable turn of events. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one is shocked, of course, Powers said in a statement. After all, this is the same song and dance weve seen time and again from RI Democrats say one thing to get elected, then quietly do the exact opposite. Its not leadership, its lip service. Rhode Islanders have grown sadly accustomed to this political bait-and-switch routine. Powers said people will take note of the broken promise, adding, Rhode Islanders deserve better than political operatives parachuting into communities, making empty promises, and assuming no one will hold them accountable. Seth may not be required to live in District 2 but its clear he never really intended to, Powers said. And that, more than anything, shows exactly where his priorities lie: not with the people he represents, but with his own political convenience. Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tim White (twhite@wpri.com) is Target 12 managing editor and chief investigative reporter and host of Newsmakers for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook. Ted Nesi 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: 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. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman on Thursday revealed how President Donald Trump has been very clear as to why he doesnt want to fire officials linked to the group chat used to detail U.S. strikes in Yemen. Haberman, citing sources familiar with Trump, told CNNs Kaitlan Collins that the president would see such terminations as giving in to the media. People around him see that as weak and I think you will hear that for a while, said Haberman, a CNN political analyst. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether this is sustainable for them is another story, she added. Haberman made the comments on the same day that U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg who the president recently said should be impeached after he blocked Trump officials from carrying out deportation flights ordered the Trump administration to preserve records of the Signal chat. Collins said the judges recent order is keeping this story very much on the front page to the White Houses displeasure. Trump officials reactions have kept the story going, too, she said. Haberman pointed to Trump pushing a number of other issues as he looks to distract from the story with increased tariffs, executive orders targeting law firms, and executive orders aimed at restoring monuments and cultural institutions impacted by the racial reckoning movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not going away, she said of the Signal scandal. Haberman noted that theres been a slow drip, drip of questions primarily focused on national security adviser Mike Waltz who invited The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat and acknowledged creating it along with other Trump officials tied to the texts on national security matters. Later in the interview, she argued that the story exposes the limits of Trumps political playbook, one where the laws of political gravity dont apply to him. That is not true for everybody around him and a lot of them still continue to act as if that playbook works for them because that is what he wants them to do, Haberman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It doesnt really work for them the same way. H/T Mediaite Related... Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher compared his upcoming dinner with long-standing foe President Trump to then-President Nixons historic trip to China in 1972, though Maher said hes heading to the White House with lower expectations. I dont have some sort of complex where I think I can heal America; I cant, Maher told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo on Fridays episode of The Chris Cuomo Project podcast. OK, lets get that clear. Im not going to be healing America. If two guys whove been at each other for so long. I mean, its kind of a Nixon to China thing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time of Nixons trip, the U.S. and Beijing had not had diplomatic relations for 25 years, and it was seen as a sign of thawing relations. Nixon, a World War II veteran and staunch opponent of communism, met with Chinese Communist Party leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai during the visit a meeting widely seen as opening a new era in Chinas economic engagement with the West. Maher and Trump have been adversaries for decades, as well. There was nobody who was harder on Trump or more prescient about the fact that he wasnt going to leave office voluntarily than I was, Maher said. Trump sued Maher in 2013 for $5 million after Maher made a crass joke about Trumps mother and an orangutan. The suit was later dropped. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maher first revealed during his podcast over the weekend that musician Kid Rock, who is Trumps friend and supporter, arranged for the two to break bread at the White House. Its unclear when the dinner will take place, but Maher said he sees it as an opportunity to have an open dialogue, if not clear the air. Lets talk to each other face to face. Lets not stop shouting from 3,000 miles away, you know? he said. If they expect me to be leaving in a MAGA hat, theyre going to be very disappointed, but I know they dont, Maher continued. Look, it probably will accomplish very little, but you got to try, man, you got to try. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he already has faced backlash from some who expected him to reject Trumps dinner invite. First of all, its an honor to be invited to the White House, he said. The idea that little Bill Maher from River Vale, N.J. just a humble kid from the suburb was invited for a private dinner at the White House. Beyond being a vocal Trump critic, Maher said he thinks that they share a mutual dislike of woke efforts from the left. Im honest about the woke train to crazy town, and I dont shrink from that, Maher told Cuomo, the host of NewsNations CUOMO. Ive also lost a lot of fans for that it does give you a certain credibility. 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. NEWARK, New Jersey Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist and legal U.S. resident whom the Trump administration is seeking to deport, fought Friday to keep his case in New Jersey and prevent it from being transferred to Louisiana, where he is currently being held. During a hearing before a federal judge, a lawyer for Khalil said the Trump administration was taking a radical position on his case. Everyone knows about this case and is wondering whether theyre going to be picked up off the street, his lawyer, Baher Azmy, told U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Khalil is a recent Columbia University graduate student with a green card, a form of permanent legal status. He says the administration is illegally trying to deport him as retaliation for his role in organizing campus protests of the Israel-Hamas war. His wife, a U.S. citizen who is eight months pregnant with the couples first child, sat in the front row of the hearing. Farbiarz said he wouldnt rule immediately on Khalils request to be released; first, the judge said he would decide whether the case is in the proper court. Khalils case has already been transferred once from a New York federal court to the federal court in New Jersey. But the Justice Department argues Khalils claim should be moved again to federal court in Louisiana, where any appeal would be heard by the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Khalil was detained by immigration authorities on March 8 in New York. He was briefly moved to a detention facility in New Jersey before being transported to Louisiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Azmy argued that the case belongs in New Jersey because Khalils original petition challenging his detention was filed while he was detained in that state. Khalils lawyers also pleaded with Michael Farbiarz to allow them to argue Friday for his release on bail, but the judge said he first wanted to determine the proper venue for the case. The judge said he intends to rule soon on that issue. He did not indicate which way he is leaning. Typically, the government can revoke a green card in only limited circumstances, such as if the person is convicted of a crime. In Khalil's case, the Trump administration invoked a rarely used statute that allows the deportation of any noncitizen if the secretary of State determined the the person's "presence or activities" in the U.S. would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Manhattan transferred Khalils case to New Jersey over the objections of the government, which wanted it moved to Louisiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It really made no good sense to transfer the case to this court, where Mr. Khalil is not detained, August Flentje, a lawyer for the government, said in court on Friday. Khalils case is one of several attempts by the Trump administration to detain and deport pro-Palestinian activists who were lawfully in the United States until the administration purported to revoke their legal status. During the hearing, Azmy invoked two other ongoing cases in which the Trump administration is seeking to deport visa holders: Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University; and Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University doctoral student and Fulbright scholar from Turkey. Azmy suggested that in both of those cases, the government has strategically moved the defendants between facilities to gain a jurisdictional advantage or retaliate against them. NEW YORK Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student who the Trump administration is seeking to deport for protesting against Israels bombing of Gaza, are set to go up against the government in New Jersey on Friday. Its been almost three weeks since Khalil, 30, a lawful U.S. resident, was taken into custody by Homeland Security agents after returning home to his Columbia-owned apartment from dinner with his heavily pregnant wife on March 8. The Trump administration has targeted the student from Columbias School of International and Public Affairs for his participation in campus protests last year against Israeli military activity and the universitys investment ties to the Israeli regime, in which he primarily acted as a negotiator between students and university staff. The green card holder who had been set to graduate in May grew up in a refugee camp for Palestinians in Syria and has been legally living in the U.S. since December 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Khalil, whose arrest has set off widespread protests and concern from free speech advocates on both sides of the political aisle, hasnt been charged with a crime. Instead, in an unprecedented use of an obscure provision in the law granting sweeping deportation powers to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the government alleges his advocacy for Palestinian civilians could have unfavorable foreign policy consequences. Fridays hearing is expected to address the governments renewed effort to get Khalils habeas corpus case which challenges the legality of his detention moved to Louisiana. Within hours of his arrest, agents brought Khalil from lower Manhattan to a private detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The following day, a Sunday, they put him on a plane to the Jena, Louisiana detention center more than 1,000 miles away. The government has claimed that agents took Khalil from New Jersey to Louisiana because there were bed bugs at the former facility. Khalils lawyers say it was an effort to confine any challenges to his detention to one of the most conservative districts in the U.S. and that agents were providing real-time updates to the White House, signaling the orders came from the top. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They have two motions pending, one seeking his immediate release so he can be with his wife when she gives birth, which shes expected to do imminently, and another requesting that he be transported back to a facility in the tristate area. Last week, Manhattan federal judge Jesse Furman transferred Khalils case from New York to New Jersey, finding it was the correct jurisdiction as that was where Khalil was when his lawyers filed it. After initially getting the case, Furman also prohibited the government from removing Khalil from the country while his legal matters played out, which was reaffirmed by the New Jersey judge now handling it, Michael Farbiarz. Khalil has an immigration case separately playing out in Louisiana. The Trump administration has continued arguing that Louisiana is the only district with jurisdiction. In recent filings, the government injected more allegations into its legal arguments in furtherance of Khalils deportation, including claims hed withheld information on his green card application about working for the British embassy in Lebanon, which the students lawyers say are untrue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Khalils legal team told The New York Daily News on Thursday that the arguments were desperate. The government is grasping at straws to try and recast what it did, when its absolutely clear that this entire endeavor is simply retaliation against him for speaking on an issue of public concern and an attempt to try and silence other people in the same position, said Bobby Hodgson, Assistant Legal Director of the NYCLU. The Trump administration has targeted several more students since Khalil, accusing them without evidence of being antisemitic and supporting Hamas by advocating for Palestinians trapped in the war-torn region. ICE agents took Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, off the street without warning on Wednesday. Ozturk was seemingly targeted for writing an op-ed criticizing her school for refusing to recognize support for Palestinians from students and faculty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a news conference Thursday, Rubio appeared to suggest that noncitizens in the U.S. dont have a right to free speech. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses, Rubio said Thursday. You decide to go and do that, were going to take it away. _____ Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student facing deportation because of his pro-Palestinian activism on campus, appeared in court on Friday. A federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, heard arguments on the governments request to dismiss a petition without prejudice or move the case to Louisiana, where Khalil has been held in a detention center since his March 8 arrest. Khalil filed a lawsuit, also known as a habeas petition, protesting his detention in New York. A New York judge previously ordered the case to continue in New Jersey because Khalils attorneys filed the petition while he was detained there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judge did not rule on Friday, but he said he would issue his order as "quickly as I can." Baher Azmy, an attorney for Khalil, said the government's request to move the case was "radical." He said the government is "infringing on Khalil's right to free speech" and expressed concerns that the longer the case drags out in court, the more fear it could trigger in others. "Everyone knows this case [and] is afraid that they will be taken off the street next," Azmy said. He added that they want to focus on getting a judge to reduce Khalil's bail because "hes obviously not a flight risk." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The basis of his detention is unconstitutional, and most fundamentally, hes been separated 1400 miles away from his wife, whos due to give birth in weeks," the attorney said. August Flentje, acting director of the Justice Departments civil division, argued on behalf of the government and said Khalil was only in New Jersey for a few hours." Flentje said the "safest way to go about this" would be to move the case to Louisiana. A rally was held outside the courthouse, and several Columbia University students attended the hearing. Mahmoud Khalil at a pro-Palestinian protest on the Columbia University campus in New York, April 29, 2024. The Trump administration has cited a provision within immigration law to justify Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arresting Khalil at his university-owned apartment in New York. The provision allows the secretary of state to deport noncitizens deemed a threat to U.S. foreign policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following his arrest, Khalil was transported briefly to a facility in New Jersey and then taken to an ICE facility in Jena, Louisiana. His attorney has said that Khalil, a native of Syria, is a permanent resident with a green card. On Sunday, the Trump administration filed new allegations accusing Khalil of withholding information about his membership in certain organizations in his permanent residency application and failing to disclose his employment at the Syria Office in the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Khalil's lawyers denied the allegations and said he was targeted for free speech for supporting the Palestinian cause after he helped organize rallies at the university last year. In the last few weeks, other students have been detained by immigration agents. Georgetown University graduate student Badar Khan Suri was arrested last week by masked agents outside his Arlington, Virginia, home. Columbia student Leqaa Kordia was also detained, while Columbia student Ranjani Srinivasan allegedly fled to Canada after her student visa was revoked. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com JUIBA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Foreign diplomats have called on South Sudanese President Salva Kiir to reverse action on the reported house arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar to prevent further escalation of the country's political tensions. In a joint statement issued in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on Thursday evening, the diplomats from Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, France, Germany, the United States, and the European Union delegation also called on Kiir and other leaders with control or influence over armed groups to order an immediate cease-fire. The diplomats said they are gravely concerned about the reports that Machar has been detained at his residence. "We call on President Kiir to reverse this action and to prevent further escalation. We note that First Vice President Machar's position in the government is established under Article 1.7.2 of the 2018 Peace Agreement (the R-ARCSS)," the foreign envoys said. "We impress upon leaders of all parties the urgent need to engage without delay in direct dialogue and demonstrate the sincerity of their assertions that they are working for peace." South Sudan's international peace partners, including the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, have expressed concerns about the unfolding political situation in the country and appealed to the leaders to embrace dialogue to resolve the current standoff. "The current trajectory, if unchecked, could lead to a collapse of the transitional process and a relapse into full-scale war, with devastating consequences for the people of South Sudan and the region at large," IGAD said on Thursday. The statement came after Machar was placed under house arrest on Wednesday night after an armed convoy led by top security officials, including the defense minister, entered his residence in Juba and disarmed his bodyguards. The standoff has raised concerns that the world's newest country could slide back into conflict over six years after emerging from a civil war that left thousands of people dead and others displaced. Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday appointed former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as a special envoy to South Sudan to help de-escalate the political tensions. Odinga was due to travel to South Sudan on Friday as part of regional efforts to defuse tensions. Ruto said he called Kiir on Thursday about the situation leading to Machar's arrest and detention in South Sudan and later held consultations with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali before appointing Odinga. The African Union (AU) Commission said the pan-African body would deploy the AU Panel of the Wise, chaired by Kenyan retired judge Effie Owuor, to support mediation efforts. South Sudan gained independence in July 2011. However, war erupted in December 2013 between troops loyal to Kiir and opposition forces led by Machar, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. The 2018 peace deal ended the fighting and established a unity government. However, the relations between Kiir and Machar, who have dominated South Sudan's politics for decades, remain strained. The latest political tensions between the two leaders have unsettled many citizens and the international community. POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. (WBOY) A driver was flown to the hospital Friday morning after a mail truck crash in Mason County. The crash happened on the Sixteenmile Creek Bridge on US 35 in Mason County around 5 a.m. and involved a tractor trailer carrying mail, according to a press release from the West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH). Officials said the truck jumped the parapet wall, plummeted to the ground below and burst into flames. The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital by helicopter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Your favorite pepperoni roll could be illegal under new food dye ban The release said that the bridges superstructure was not damaged, but a 30-foot section of the parapet wall was damaged and fuel was spilled on the bridge. The southbound lanes on the bridge were closed, and traffic was being detoured onto W.Va. 817, but according to sister station WOWK 13News, the bridge has since reopened. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) A Sioux Falls man is behind bars accused of stealing a mail van. Police say a postal worker was parked just a block from McKennan Park when a man approached her and asked for the keys. As years pass, withdrawn bills list grows and grows He took off in the van and crashed into some bushes on Duluth Avenue. Police say the man then tried to get into a car on Minnesota Avenue driven by a 17-year-old girl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So he actually opened the car door and was trying to get her out. She ended up shutting the door and locking it. Then he took off, said Officer Sam Clemens. 28-year-old Joshua Ducey was arrested for Grand Theft and Tampering with a Motor Vehicle. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Mar. 27Maine officials are assessing the impact on state programs after the federal government slashed more than $11 billion nationwide in public health initiatives funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. An additional $1 billion is being cut from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It was unclear on Thursday exactly how the cutbacks would affect Maine, but Lindsay Hammes, spokesperson for the Maine DHHS and the Maine CDC, said $91 million in grants supporting dozens of contracts statewide were impacted by the cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "On March 24, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began notifying Maine DHHS that certain federally funded grants supporting important public and behavioral health work have been terminated without notice, effective immediately," Hammes said in a written statement Thursday. "Maine DHHS continues to review contracts impacted by the termination of these federal grants and assess the broader implications of the funding cuts." Matt Wellington, associate director of the Maine Public Health Association, called the cuts "shortsighted" and argued that they "will have serious impacts for Mainers' health and safety." "At a time when we're experiencing an intense flu season in Maine, a measles outbreak in multiple states across the country, and the looming threat of bird flu, we should be investing in systems and programs that protect people from infectious diseases, not dismantling them," Wellington said in a prepared statement. The funding was approved during the pandemic but supports broader disease prevention and public health programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew Nixon, spokesperson for the U.S. DHHS, said in a statement that the "pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a nonexistent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago." The U.S. DHHS also announced 10,000 layoffs within the federal health agency on Thursday, including more than 1,000 layoffs at the National Institutes of Health. Including early retirements, the overall federal health workforce would shrink from 82,000 to 62,000, with cuts also coming to the U.S. CDC and the Food and Drug Administration. Wellington said "public health professionals are used to operating on a shoestring budget. These cuts just pulled out the laces. People across Maine and the U.S. are going to be more vulnerable as a result." Wellington said in an interview that the funding that's now being taken way was "mostly about shoring up our public health infrastructure so we could better protect people in Maine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We will see a lot of impacts on our ability to track and manage disease outbreaks," Wellington said. The New York Times reported that state health departments began receiving notices this week that funds allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic were being axed. "No additional activities can be conducted, and no additional costs may be incurred, as it relates to these funds," according to the notices sent to states. THOUSANDS OF LAYOFFS EXPECTED Some states prepared to lay off epidemiologists and data scientists, the Times reported. Thousands of layoffs at state and local health agencies are expected across the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cuts also could have trickle down effects on local health agencies. In Portland, which has one of the two city-run health departments in Maine, "it is likely we will be affected, as most of the funding we receive from the Maine CDC is federal pass-through," city spokesperson Jessica Grondin said. In February, a U.S. CDC worker who had been working for Portland's health department, was laid off by the Trump administration. Copy the Story Link A voter deposits a ballot in a drop box at Portland's City Hall. (Photo by Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) The Maine Secretary of State said she is concerned by a sweeping executive order issued earlier this week to overhaul the administration of U.S. elections, including requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. I have serious concerns about the policies proposed in the Executive Order that would make it harder to vote for women, military and overseas voters and rural citizens, said Secretary Shenna Bellows, in a statement Friday. I am also deeply concerned about the data sharing requirements listed in the Executive Order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order from President Donald Trump directs the federal Election Assistance Commission, which distributes grants to states, within 30 days to start requiring people registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport or state-issued identification that indicates citizenship. The order also prohibits the counting of absentee or mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day. States set their own rules for ballot counting and many allow those that arrive after Election Day but are postmarked before. The order also instructs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, along with Trump megadonor Elon Musks U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, to gain access to state voter rolls in order to reportedly ensure the voter lists are up to date. DOGE entities will also have access to immigration databases and states will be allowed to ask Homeland Security to verify if any noncitizen is on the states list of voters. While the order mirrors the presidents rhetoric on the campaign trail about noncitizens voting in federal elections and his crackdown on immigration since returning to office, it is likely to face legal challenges from voting rights groups and Democratic state attorneys general. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mainers should be able to trust that their voter registration and drivers license data will be protected by their government, Bellows said. Previous and ongoing actions by this administration have shown a disregard for information security and data privacy, so I will work with my colleagues in Maine and around the country to protect the rights of Maine voters and the security of our elections. Bellows, who announced she will run for Maine governor in 2026, also chairs a partnership of election officials from various levels of government focused on election security and cybersecurity called the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center. However, given that the partnership was recently defunded by Homeland Security, Bellows said it is ironic for Trump to assert that this executive order will protect election integrity. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Norwegian multinational energy company Equinor has rolled back its previous commitments to renewable energy while also increasing oil and gas production. What's happening? The company announced in February that it would make hefty changes to its investments in renewable energy, cutting them in half over the next two years. Anders Opedal, the chief executive of Equinor, told the BBC, "We are scaling down our investments in renewables and low carbon solutions because we don't see the necessary profitability in the future." These decisions by Equinor to not only roll back renewables but to push gas and oil further forward have left the public disappointed and worried about the future. While the massive company sees a clear potential for a rise in profits, these profits are at the expense of our environment. Why are these cuts important? According to an article in Reuters, Equinor is following the lead of fellow massive companies, like BP and Shell, which have also cut down renewable energy plans, especially offshore winds. The Reuters article reports that the company is revoking a prior 2030 target to "allocate 50% of gross capital expenditures to renewables and low-carbon solutions." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Equinor press release on these changes follows the typical rules of greenwashing, hiding the environmental damage in strenuous details about profit gain. The overlying premise of their statement is that sustainability is not as profitable to them as natural gas and oil. By increasing the production of these expensive, polluting fuels, the negative effects on the planet continue, including overheating the planet, leading to heat waves, droughts, and food shortages. Furthermore, their production infiltrates our air quality, directly leading to health concerns for humans, such as premature deaths and asthma exacerbations. Meanwhile, many other diversified energy companies have continued to invest in renewables and nuclear, such as NextEra and Constellation Energy. What can I do to help reverse the effects of these cuts? Renewable energy forms such as solar or wind are the future of power, as their fossil fuel alternatives like coal, oil, and gas release toxic pollutants upon being burned, which gradually damage the Earth and its atmosphere. Furthermore, renewable energy sources are more affordable for consumers once built. Not only do these options make for a cleaner world, but they actually cost less, with no need to ship fuel around and risk spills or explosions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On top of actually integrating renewable energy into your life, being aware of changes like Equinor's recent ones can help the public hold these major companies accountable. 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. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) A man has pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of a woman over four decades ago. According to court documents, Thomas Popp, 62, submitted his plea of not guilty for one count of first-degree murder on Thursday, March 27. He is accused of killing Terri McCauley, 18, in Sioux City in Sept. 1983. Teenager charged in Morningside neighborhood shooting pleads not guilty McCauley disappeared from a Sioux City parking lot on Sept. 26, 1983. Her body was then found days later near 33rd and Pavonia Streets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Jan. 10, 2025, a grand jury in Woodbury County District Court indicted Popp for first-degree murder. He was arrested the next day by police officers in Longview, Washington. He would then be transported to the Woodbury County Jail in early March, where he is currently being held on a $3 million bond. Sioux City council to approve new manager of Sioux City Marina McCauley, who was Native American, left behind two children. Since then, her nephew Josh Taylor has advocated for her case and the cases of other Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women to be solved. Terri could have been a very successful Native American woman in our community, Taylor said at the time of Popps arrest. That, unfortunately, was stolen from her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Popps jury trial is set to begin June 3, 2025 in Sioux City. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. VALPARAISO, Ind. A man was arrested after allegedly exposing his penis inside a McDonalds PlayPlace in Northwest Indiana. Valparaiso police responded at around 10:50 a.m. to a McDonalds, located in the 2100 block of West Morthland Drive, on the report of a lewd act. Police at the scene were advised that Thomas Ehrsam, 73, of Porter Township, allegedly exposed his penis while inside the PlayPlace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ehrsam left prior to officers arriving, but was arrested after being seen walking in the area. Police did not say if children were inside the PlayPlace at the time, but Ehrsam was charged with sexual conduct in the presence of a minor and two counts of public indecency, according to court records. Police are offering any members of the community affected the services of their social worker. They can be reached at 219-462-2135 ext. 2345. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A man accused of kidnapping a woman and her one-year-old child from a parking lot in Horn Lake, Mississippi, Wednesday morning was arrested in Tupelo. The victims were found safe in Memphis. Thursday, Izaya Kutschinski was charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of simple domestic assault. Horn Lake Police said just before noon Wednesday, officers responded to a call about a disturbance between a man and woman at Fortuna Grocery on Highway 51. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Driver charged with murder after AR police chase that ended in deadly crash Police said that witnesses told officers that the female attempted to escape from a white Lexus when a Kutschinski physically restrained her. Officers obtained video confirming that a woman was being held against her will by Kutschinski, who prevented her from escaping multiple times. According to police, the woman could be heard by witnesses screaming for help before he threw her into the vehicle, drove off, and headed north toward Memphis. Police determined that the womans one-year-old child was in the vehicle with them at the time of the kidnapping. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drug trafficking ring busted in Whitehaven; three arrested The Horn Lake Police Department said they identified the vehicle and observed the Lexus headed east on Highway 28 on I-22. HLPD reached out to several agencies in an attempt to locate the suspect. Tupelo Police located the white Lexus and tried to stop the vehicle. Kutschinski attempted to flee, but police took him into custody without incident. Kutschinski was extradited to Horn Lake and is being held in the DeSoto 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 WREG.com. Joseph Ross is accused of putting Gorilla Super Glue inside his coworker's soda while working at Wisconsin State Fair Park Ross was allegedly filmed committing the offense after his coworker suspected he had been contaminating her drinks The police say the defendant admitted to putting a supplement in his colleagues Coca-Cola drink A man is being accused of putting superglue in his coworkers soda while working at Wisconsin State Fair Park. According to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office on Friday, March 28, Joseph Ross placed a substance in liquid edibles with the intent to cause bodily harm to another person on March 20. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Per the complaint, the victim, whose name is listed as JH, reported the incident to police during a foot patrol at Wisconsin State Fair Park Exhibition Center on that same day. "During the conversation, JH told the Officers that approximately 2 to 3 weeks ago, JH suspected that her beverages on her desk had been contaminated by a chemical substance. She realized there had been contamination due to the strong chemical smell and taste. JH stated that upon consumption of those beverages, she became ill, according to the complaint, which claimed that the victim did not consent to anyone putting anything in her drink. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's office The gloves and Gorilla Super Glue found by police officers The gloves and Gorilla Super Glue found by police officers 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. Because of her suspicion about the drink, the complaint claims that on March 20 JH set up a surveillance camera concealed below her computer monitor to see if anyone was putting substances into her beverage. The complaint adds that JHs camera captured Ross, who shares an office with her, at around 9:52 a.m. putting a foreign substance into her drink. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result, the Officers started their investigation, the complaint claims. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's office The gloves containing the blue plastic cap and a Gorilla Super Glue container The gloves containing the blue plastic cap and a Gorilla Super Glue container In surveillance footage, Ross was allegedly captured squeezing a liquid substance from a small tube with a white nozzle into a Coke can while wearing latex gloves. Per the complaint, the defendant was then seen leaving the office. On March 20 at around 5:20 p.m, Ross admitted, during an interview with Lt. Rehbein, to putting a supplement in his colleagues Coca Cola. While searching for the latex gloves and substance container in Ross' office, officers were able to find clear protective gloves that were wrapped around a blue plastic cap and a Gorilla Super Glue container. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's office Joseph Ross putting super glue in his coworker's drink Joseph Ross putting super glue in his coworker's drink Soon after, Ross was placed under arrest and taken to the Criminal Justice Facility for processing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If convicted for this Class I Felony offense, the defendant could be fined up to $10,000 and/or be sentenced to up to three years and six months in prison. In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson from Wisconsin State Fair Park said the individuals involved were employed by a vendor and were not State Fair Park employees, therefore, we cannot comment on employment status. However, since this incident occurred while at State Fair Park, our police department responded, conducted a thorough investigation, and submitted the report to the District Attorney, they continued. Additionally, our police department has issued a 'No Trespass Order' to the individual being charged. They added, While this incident did not happen between State Fair Park employees and did not involve any patrons, we want to reiterate that safety is top priority at State Fair Park, and we take these matters very seriously. Read the original article on People MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) Police arrested a man accused of stealing from a car on Thursday. The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) said officers responded to reports of a car theft around 11 p.m. in the 10800 block of Georgia Ave. Investigators were quickly able to identify 35-year-old Bengaly Camara as the suspect. Teen hospitalized after stabbing near shopping center in Prince Georges County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Responding officers found him near Ramsey Avenue and Wayne Avenue. Police took him into custody without incident. During his arrest, police recovered several items of evidentiary value. Camara is facing auto and weapons-related 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. NAIROBI, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese automotive brand Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC) has entered the Kenyan market and will be distributed by motor dealer Caetano Kenya. Aurelien Glay, managing director of Caetano Kenya, said that the Vigus line of vehicles, consisting of a single cab, double cab and a light commercial truck, will be available locally. "These vehicles have been designed with reliability, durability and optimized operating costs at their core in a market with a rapidly growing demand for quality commercial vehicles," Glay said during the launch on Thursday evening in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Completely knocked down kits imported from China will be assembled locally, he said, adding that the company is committed to both affordability for Kenyan customers and the development of Kenya's automotive sector. Sylvia Agani, commercial and marketing director of Caetano Kenya, said she anticipates strong interest in the JMC brand, with expected sales of at least 100 units in 2025, driven by the growth of local industries and the proven quality of Chinese products in the country. Agani said that a single cab truck will retail for 4.5 million Kenyan shillings (about 34,800 U.S. dollars), while the double cab will sell for 38,500 U.S. dollars. MENOMONIE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) A decades-long mystery has ended. 84-year-old Jon Miller is now sentenced to life in prison for the stabbing death of 25-year-old University of Minnesota student, Mary Schlais. Miller appeared in Dunn County Court to change his plea from not guilty to no contest for 1st-degree intentional homicide. DNA from a stocking cap found at the scene in Dunn County in 1974 led investigators to Miller late last year. The prosecution played a video of the interaction between investigators and Miller. In that video, Miller says he asked for sex, got rejected, stabbed Schlais and left her in a snowbank. Judge JM Peterson, You dont have to say anything at all if you dont want to. It cant be held against you. I dont know if that makes much difference in terms of what the sentence would be Is there anything, sir, that you would like to say? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Miller: No, sir. The court ordered Miller to pay more than $2 thousand in restitution to the Schlais family. The family says it plans to donate money and whatever other restitution they get to Ramapo College in New Jersey. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX2548 & WIProud. HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) A Mount Vernon, Indiana man was arrested after an alleged incident of sexual misconduct involving a minor. According to the Mount Vernon Police Department, the agency was notified in late February 2025 that a possible sex offense happened involving a minor. A detective attended a forensic interview at Hollys House with an alleged 14-year-old victim. The detective reportedly learned that a 19-year-old, later identified as Jose Delcid Melgar, had been soliciting nude photos and had sexual contact with the victim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials say a phone translator was used when the two communicated due to a language barrier. A search warrant was granted for Delcid Melgars social media account while also retrieving information from the victims phone. He was able to translate the messages and allegedly found sexually explicit messages between Delcid Melgar and the victim. Officials also state there were messages from Delcid Melgar telling the victim to delete all messages between them, expressing concern that he was going to be in trouble for the relationship. Officials say Delcid Melgar admitted to the relationship, sending inappropriate messages and having sexual contact with the victim. 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). The Honduran national arrested by ICE may soon face deportation. Jose Napoleon-Serrano pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday morning to illegal reentry as a felon. PAST COVERAGE: Feds charge Honduran national arrested by ICE with illegal reentry In court, he told the judge he was worried about his children in Honduras, and he wanted to be released soon. In addition to deportation, Serrano faces a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced at a future date. VIDEO: Only on 9: ICE arrests Honduras national accused of violent crimes Police have accused an Irvine man of child endangerment after a 14-year-old boy fatally shot himself in a home earlier this week, authorities said. Christian Yeager, 56, was arrested by Irvine police Thursday night, according to Orange County jail records. Earlier that day, around 2:42 p.m., Irvine police responded to a report of a child suffering from a gunshot wound at a house on Heathergreen and Weepingwood, according to a police news release. They attempted life-saving measures to the injured boy but he died shortly thereafter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives determined the injury was self-inflicted and are investigating if it was intentional or accidental. The boy did not live at the home. The boy attended Southlake Middle School in the Irvine Unified School District. His identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Law enforcement is working with the school district to offer support services for students and staff, officials said. Yeager was booked by police on suspicion of child endangerment and criminal storage of a firearm, police 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The man accused of setting fires at a Tesla collision center in Las Vegas reported his car stolen less than three hours after what police call a targeted attack, documents said. Officers arrested Paul Kim, 36, on Wednesday night on charges including arson and possessing an explosive device, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported. Kim made his first appearance in federal court on firearm and arson charges Thursday afternoon. Police found Kim by tracking his car with license plate readers and cell phone data, documents said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fires happened Tuesday, March 18, around 2:45 a.m. at 6260 West Badura Avenue near Jones Boulevard and Warm Springs Road. Around 5:30 a.m., Kim reported to his insurance company that his tires were slashed and his vehicle stolen, documents said. Kim did not report the vehicle stolen to police, documents said. Kim purchased an AR-style weapon on March 6 at a Las Vegas gun shop, prosecutors said. The caliber of the firearm matched bullet fragments from the fire scene. Kim follows the Socialist Rifle Association on Instagram, police said. A photo from 2018 shows him training with firearms. Police said the person in this surveillance video is Paul Kim. (LVMPD) Police arrested Kim at the Venetian hotel during a cybersecurity convention. He was scheduled to fly out of Las Vegas on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kim did not appear for a probable cause hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court on state charges as he was in custody for his federal charges. In federal court Thursday afternoon, Kims federal public defender requested a one-day continuance so Kim could hire his own attorney. Kim remained in custody of the U.S. Marshals 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 KLAS. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman March 22 in Fresno, police said in an update Thursday. Emergency personnel responded to a medical emergency at 5:23 a.m. last Saturday on Hedges Avenue near Peach Avenue. The 911 caller said a woman was in medical distress. EMS gave aid, but 32-year-old Kristina Meza died later at the hospital, police said. Homicide detectives identified 42-year-old Timothy Goodloe as a suspect in the death. Fresno Police Lt. Paul Cervantes on Thursday said Goodloe was the caller who called 911. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, detectives served a search warrant near Peach and Olive avenues, where Goodloe was taken into custody and booked into Fresno County jail, police said. Cervantes said Meza is from Ohio and was dating Goodloe for two months. Police said he was wanted for an alleged prior domestic violence-related charge, but Cervantes said Goodloe avoided capture before a warrant was issued for his arrest. In addition to the murder allegation, police in a news release said Goodloe could face additional charges related to additional special circumstances. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 559-621-7000. For the first time, a person has been convicted in Williamson County of a fentanyl-related murder, officials said Friday. Marek Dillard pleaded guilty on March 3 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the fentanyl overdose death of 40-year-old Remington Allison of Leander in 2023, according to a news release from the district attorney's office. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that sometimes is prescribed legally for pain management but can be fatal when used illegally because even small amounts can kill a person. Two milligrams, equal to about 10 to 15 grains of table salt, is enough to kill somebody, according to Texas Health and Human Services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: First person charged with murder in Williamson County because of fentanyl overdose death Allison was one of 35 people in Williamson County, including in the cities, who died of fentanyl overdoses in 2023, officials said. Twenty-four people died from fentanyl overdoses in the county in 2024, said sheriff's Sgt. Heather Vargas. Eight people have died from fentanyl overdoses this year in Williamson County, she said. Marek Dillard is the first person in Williamson County to be convicted of a fentanyl-related murder, officials said. Dillard, of Lockhart, was 40 when he became the first person charged with a fentanyl-related murder in Williamson County in February 2024. Under a state law that became effective in September 2023, a person can be charged with murder if through their drug distribution or dealing of fentanyl someone else dies. If they are convicted, the minimum sentence is 15 years. More: Thrall woman dies of suspected fentanyl overdose, Williamson County Sheriff says Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A sheriff's detective was notified Sept. 21, 2023, about the possible overdose death of Allison that day at his home in the 14000 block of Snelling Drive in Leander, an arrest affidavit said. A video showed him in a "drug-induced haze" that day before he fell on the kitchen floor and died, the affidavit said. A detective found a text message from Dillard on Allison's phone offering to sell him 25 pills containing fentanyl, the affidavit said. It said videos showed Allison meeting Dillard at a motel where, according to a cash app, Dillard sold Allison 25 pills. The detective later searched Allison's phone and found a text message exchange on Sept. 20 with a man later identified as Dillard, according to the document. It said Dillard told Allison he had 25 "blues" for sale. Blues are a term for pills containing fentanyl, the affidavit said. Investigators later found 13 pills that contained fentanyl in Allison's bathroom cabinet, according to the affidavit. It said Allison's autopsy report showed he died from a fentanyl overdose. "The Williamson County Sheriffs Office remains committed to holding fentanyl distributors accountable and protecting our communities from the tragic impact of this deadly drug," officials said in the news release. "By sharing this outcome, we hope it sends a clear message to dealers in our area if you distribute fentanyl and it costs someone their life you will be held responsible." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Man convicted of murder in 2023 fentanyl-related death in Leander LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A man has been charged in a fatal crash involving a motorcycle that occurred in July 2024. Officers from the Susquehanna Regional Police Department responded to the intersection of Anderson Ferry Road and Ore Mine Road in East Donegal Township for a vehicle crash on July 7, 2024, police said. The driver of an Oldsmobile Ciera, Gabriel Sullivan, was traveling westbound on Anderson Ferry Road when he crossed into the Eastbound lane while turning onto Ore Mine Road, police said. While turning, Sullivan collided with a motorcycle traveling eastbound and a Ford Bronco as he continued onto Ore Mine Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania The driver of the motorcycle, identified as Kyle Costrello, died after being ejected from his motorcycle, according to police. Sullivan and the other driver were unharmed. Sullivan was charged with careless driving resulting in unintentional death after an investigation by the police and the Northwest Lancaster County Crash Team, per 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 ABC27. EDGEFIELD COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has charged a 39-year-old man with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in Edgefield County. Brandon Kyle Brown was booked into the Edgefield County Detention Center for the charges issued Wednesday, March 26. Arrest warrants allege Brown was in possession of explicit material of a victim who 4 years old at the time of the offense in North Augusta on March 17. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Edgefield County Sheriffs Office requested the assistance of SLED in the investigation. Aiken County Sheriffs Office and the Aiken Department of Public Safety also assisted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WINDHOEK, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Friday pledged to tackle the challenges of high youth unemployment, housing shortages, and climate change as her administration begins. Speaking in Windhoek, the country's capital, Nandi-Ndaitwah said these issues remain key barriers to national development and social stability, stressing effective policy implementation as a priority. "We are committed to addressing the high unemployment rate, especially among the youth, which threatens social progress and national cohesion," she said. Nandi-Ndaitwah also highlighted the need to reduce disparities in access to basic services, particularly in informal settlements and rural areas. She said her administration would work to implement the ruling party's 2025-2030 manifesto alongside national development programs. On climate change, she noted that Namibia faces increasing risks from droughts, water scarcity, and extreme weather events, which are affecting agricultural output and food security. "Climate change has negative impacts on the livelihoods of our people. We must act to mitigate these effects," she said. The president also called for improved governance, warning that unethical behavior and lack of accountability would not be tolerated. She urged government officials to collaborate with communities and other stakeholders to ensure effective service delivery. Nandi-Ndaitwah's remarks came as Namibia's new administration focuses on developing the economy and restoring public trust in government institutions. SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) A man was charged with stealing thousands of dollars from a vulnerable adult, along with the victims car. The Office of Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit (VAMPF) and the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) arrested and charged 77-year-old Lewis Hyder of Landrum with exploitation of a vulnerable adult, insurance fraud, and forgery. Authorities say that from March 1 to June 7, 2023 Hyder, listed as the victims power of attorney, converted the victims funds and assets for personal use, as well as naming himself as the primary beneficiary for the victims life insurance policy. In addition, Hyder also allegedly forged the victims signature on a certificate to transfer the ownership of the victims 2001 Chevrolet Camaro to himself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney Generals 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 WSPA 7NEWS. CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A man convicted of killing a New Cumberland Police Officer in 1994 is no longer on death row after a jury reconsidering his death penalty deadlocked. Seifullah Abdul-Salaam was sentenced to death for the 1994 killing of New Cumberland Police Officer Willis Cole. Cole was shot while responding to a robbery at a coin shop. A higher court ruled that Salaams abusive childhood was not properly addressed at his first trial and could have swayed the jury. A new jury heard testimony in Carlisle over the past week but could not come to a decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Due to the jury not being able to come to a decision, Salaam will instead serve life in prison without the chance of parole. He will be back in court in one week for his official sentencing, where Officer Coles family will make a 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 ABC27. CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan (PIX11) Police are searching for the suspects accused of critically injuring a man in Central Park back on Oct. 16. It happened near West 82nd Street and Central Park West around 6 p.m. The 45-year-old victim was walking when he was approached by the suspects, who were on bicycles, according to the NYPD. More Local News One of the suspects is accused of smacking the victim multiple times in the head with his bicycle, police said. The suspects then fled on their bicycles, heading south on Central Park West, according to authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside for cuts to his head and face, police said. 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). Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See 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 PIX11. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) A San Angelo man indicted for evading law enforcement in an incident that involved him dousing himself with gasoline and for escaping jail days after being apprehended has pled guilty to related charges in Tom Green County. According to the 51st Judicial District Attorneys Office, Delfino Hill Jr., 38, pled guilty to one charge of escaping while arrested or confined for a felony and one charge of evading arrest or detention with a previous conviction following a trial that occurred from March 27 to March 28. After electing to have a judge assess his punishment, Hill was sentenced to 15 years in prison for each case. Violent outbursts that put our community members and law enforcement officers at risk will not be tolerated, the district attorneys office said. Our office is committed to working closely with all of our law enforcement agencies to keep our community safe and hold defendants accountable for their actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement RELATED: Suspect douses self with gasoline while holding lighter, SAPD officer saves life Hill was initially arrested on March 15, 2023, after he led San Angelo Police Department officers on a chase following an incident at the El Patio Inn in which he reportedly grabbed his mother around the neck and pulled her into a motel room. It was stated that, while at the motel, Hill would not comply with the demands of law enforcement and could be heard asking Wheres my gun.' Hill was observed to be holding a suspected firearm in his hand during the chase. The chase concluded at Harrison Roofing, where Hill initiated a standoff that lasted approximately one hour. Hill was stated to have found a gas can and a lighter during the standoff. He was said to have dumped gasoline on his body and threatened to light himself and officers on fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was eventually struck with a bean bag round and was taken into custody. RELATED: Man who threatened to set himself on fire captured after escaping Tom Green County Detention Center Hill temporarily escaped from the Tom Green County Detention Center on March 22, 2023. The district attorneys office stated that emergency dispatch was notified of a male subject in an orange jump suit running through traffic on north US Highway 277. Tom Green County Sheriffs Office deputies responded to the call and located the suspect, identified later as Hill, at a construction site near Morgan Trail. Hill had barricaded himself inside a vehicle at the site and refused to comply with law enforcement orders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resultant standoff lasted approximately one hour and required response from the Tom Green County Sheriffs Office Special Response Team, the San Angelo Police Department, and Tom Green County detention center officers. Hill would be removed from the vehicle, concluding the standoff. It was discovered later that Hill escaped because he had been sent to a medical appointment within the jail and had bypassed two doors, exited the facility, and climbed the 10 foot gate before he was spotted on Highway 277. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com. (FOX40.COM) A 29-year-old man was arrested and extradited as he is facing multiple sexual abuse charges against a child under the age of 14-year-old, according to the Placer County Sheriffs Office. Video Above: Efforts by law enforcement to stop AI-generated child sex abuse images PCSO said the investigation began in late 2024 when detectives from the sheriffs office crimes against persons unit discovered a predator was targeting a child through an online gaming platform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives discovered the suspect, 29-year-old Adrian Viguri was sending sexually explicit videos and photos to the child, and requesting them from the child as well. An arrest warrant was obtained for Viguri in October 2024, but detectives were unable to find him. Repeat offender charged with felony credit card fraud and theft Detectives were notified last week that the suspect was possibly in the Anaheim area, and arrested Viguri with the help of the Anaheim Police Departments Crime Task Force. The suspect was extradited back to Placer County on Monday where he will be arraigned on charges committed against the victim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Placer County Sheriffs Office encourage parents to stay informed about risks associated with social media. More information about warning signs and protective measures can be found here: dhs.gov/know2portect. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A man is facing an assault charge in connection with a fight over a shopping cart in a Market Basket parking lot last month, authorities announced Thursday. Michael M. Mbwana, of Northwood, New Hampshire, was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of second-degree assault in connection with an altercation at the Market Basket on Lafayette Road in Portsmouth on the morning of Feb. 27, according to the Portsmouth Police Department. A disturbance between multiple parties began over a shopping cart in the supermarkets parking lot and ended with an alleged assault that resulted in one person being transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A subsequent investigation developed probable cause to charge Mbwana, according to police. Mbwana surrendered to the police on Tuesday and was transported to the Rockingham County Jail. He has since been released on personal recognizance. 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 BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A man accused of a 2021 Memorial Day shooting that left three people dead, including a baby, was found guilty of murder. David Williams, 23, and LaDarius Coleman, 19, were arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of Dewayne Dunn, Jr.,16, Reginald Thomas, 20, and JaTyri Brown, 1, after detectives got a Crime Stoppers tip. East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore confirmed that Williams was found guilty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Williams and Coleman pleaded not guilty in February 2022. Coleman rejected a plea deal in July 2024, where he would face manslaughter charges and serve 33 years in prison. He was found guilty on three counts of second-degree murder by a jury in August 2024 and sentenced to life in December 2024. Court records show he will be eligible for parole after 25 years. 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. Man found guilty on lesser charges 2 years after deadly Hillsborough carjacking TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A jury returned a guilty verdict Thursday in a 2023 case where Hillsborough County deputies said the suspect killed one person and injured another before stealing their vehicle. Paul Wayne Williams, who initially faced a first-degree murder charge, was found guilty of the lesser charges of manslaughter, assault and carjacking, according to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Hillsborough County. Manatee County man accused of battering pregnant girlfriend Investigators said Williams approached the two victims shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2023, at a Shell gas station on East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. He then shot the passenger and attacked the driver with his weapon before taking off in their car. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sheriff Chad Chronister later revealed that Williams and the two victims were recent acquaintances. The passenger was taken to a hospital where officials said he died from a gunshot wound; while the driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at the gas station. The stolen vehicle was eventually found not far from the crime scene, detectives said. Williams remained at large for a little over a week before investigators tracked him down and took him into custody. His sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 10. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. JUBA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The South Sudan opposition party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), said Friday that it remains committed to implementing the 2018 revitalized peace agreement despite the detention of several senior party officials. Stephen Par Kuol, a member of the SPLM-IO political bureau and minister of peacebuilding in the transitional unity government, said the opposition will continue participating in key security mechanisms outlined in the peace agreement. "We urge all signatory parties and stakeholders to recommit themselves to the full implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement in both letter and spirit," Kuol told journalists in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. The statement follows First Vice President Riek Machar's announcement last week regarding SPLM-IO's withdrawal from mechanisms such as the Joint Defense Board, the High-Level Political Committee, the Joint Military Ceasefire Committee, and the Joint Transitional Security Committee. Kuol called for calm, assuring both local civilians and the international community that dialogue is underway among the parties to resolve the political crisis amicably. His remarks came as Kenya's former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who was appointed by President William Ruto as a special envoy to South Sudan, expressed optimism about finding a resolution to the escalating crisis. Odinga, who arrived in Juba on Friday, said he had detailed and fruitful discussions with South Sudan President Salva Kiir regarding the volatile political situation in the country. "I am encouraged by the possibility of a resolution to the conflict. I will be briefing regional leaders and President William Ruto on my mission and a possible roadmap to sustainable peace and stability," Odinga posted on the social media platform X. Meanwhile, the South Sudan government said on Friday that Machar's house arrest was aimed at restoring calm and preventing full-blown conflict following clashes between government and opposition forces. Kuol called for Machar's immediate release and urged regional blocs to facilitate dialogue between Kiir and Machar. "One of the reasons we are calling for calm is to restore peace of mind. The government has assured us that those of us in Juba are safe. As for those who have fled, joined other factions, or are calling for war, we have distanced ourselves from such statements," Kuol said. Michael Makuei Lueth, minister of information, communication technology and postal services, accused Machar of ordering his forces, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), to attack the South Sudan People's Defense Forces in several parts of the country since early March. As a result, Kiir ordered Machar's house arrest pending an investigation, Makuei said. "The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, who is responsible for the safety and security of all citizens and their property, directed that Machar be placed under house arrest pending investigation," Makuei told journalists in Juba, adding that following the clashes, several opposition members have gone missing from the capital. Machar was placed under house arrest on Wednesday night after an armed convoy led by top security officials, including the defense minister, entered his residence in Juba and disarmed his bodyguards. The standoff has raised concerns that South Sudan could slide back into conflict, more than six years after emerging from a civil war that left thousands dead and displaced millions. South Sudan gained independence in July 2011, but war erupted in December 2013 between forces loyal to Kiir and opposition troops led by Machar, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. The 2018 peace agreement ended the fighting and established a unity government. However, relations between Kiir and Machar, who have dominated South Sudan's politics for decades, remain strained. Mar. 27An Albuquerque man who repeatedly robbed Ross Dress for Less clothing stores using his 12-year-old nephew as an accomplice was sentenced to two decades in prison. U.S. District Judge William P. Johnson sentenced Jason Roper, 46, to 20 years in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of three counts of robbery in November. Roper will serve three years of supervised release afterward. Richelle Anderson, Roper's attorney, said her client "maintains his innocence" in the case and plans to appeal the guilty verdict. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico, in a news release, said the employees who were robbed during the incidents, mostly teenagers, "testified to the fear and emotional distress they continue to suffer, with some forced to leave their jobs and withdraw from school due to the psychological impact." Albuquerque police arrested Roper and his nephew Jeriah Salas, a seventh grader at the time, within months of five robberies of Ross stores and other businesses, with Roper robbing the first three and Salas allegedly robbing two more. Prior to his arrest, Roper had already spent the better part of 20 years behind bars, and Salas' mother told authorities he was a bad influence on her son. In a deal offered by prosecutors, Salas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery in the case and was put on probation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salas, now 15, has found himself in more trouble. The teen was arrested in January after he and a friend tried to carjack a couple at gunpoint, leading to a shootout that left Salas' 14-year-old friend dead and a woman injured, according to police. Salas is in custody at the juvenile detention center. WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) A Connecticut man who told authorities his stepmother held him captive in their home for two decades since he was a boy has asked why his she is not behind bars while awaiting trial, a state prosecutor said Friday. Don Therkildsen Jr., a supervisory assistant state's attorney, made the remark during a court hearing in Waterbury for Kimberly Sullivan, who pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that included kidnapping and felony assault. Sullivan was ordered to be placed on electronic monitoring, and Therkildsen also asked for house arrest over concerns she could flee. This victim is afraid. This victim lives in fear, Therkildsen said in court. I introduced myself to the victim, explained who I was. His first question in this fear is, Why is she out walking around when I was locked up in a room for 20 years? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sullivan, 57, posted $300,000 bail after she was arrested March 12. She has denied allegations that she kept her stepson locked in a small room in their Waterbury home and limited his food and liquids so much that he weighed only 69 pounds (31 kilograms) when he was rescued. He is 5-feet-9-inches tall (1.75 meters tall). Sullivan's lawyer, Ioannis Kaloidis, objected to the house arrest request and said Sullivan has complied with all conditions since she posted bail. He also said threats have been made against Sullivan and confining her to house arrest at one location would put her in danger. The 32-year-old man set a fire in the house on Feb. 17 in an effort to be free, police said. He was rescued by firefighters and taken to a hospital, where staff said he was emaciated from malnutrition. He told police that he was locked in the small room with no heat or air conditioning for most of every day since he was about 11 years old, allowed out only briefly to do chores. His father, Kregg Sullivan, let him out of the room for longer periods, but he died last year, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he was hungry all the time. He was unenrolled from Waterburys public school system in 2004 after educators contacted state child welfare officials with concerns about his well-being, police said. He apparently was going to be home-schooled. State and local authorities have been looking into how this could have happened, and some are calling for stricter oversight of home-schooling. Waterbury police have said they visited Sullivan's home twice in 2005 and there were nothing to warrant concern. A former principal at the elementary school the man attended as a child, Tom Pannone, told WVIT-TV that school officials repeatedly called Sullivan and the state Department of Children and Families, or DCF, over concerns that he was too thin and was stealing food and eating things out of the garbage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said DCF workers visited the home, but it's not clear what the agency did. The man told police that Sullivan made him tell authorities everything was OK under the threat of his food being reduced. DCF previously said it could not immediately find any records involving the family. On Friday the agency announced that it found some records in its archives and was reviewing them. Officials did not immediately share details of the records and said they would be providing them to police and state investigators after completing a search and review. A man who suffered burns on 90% of his body as a result of a Russian attack on the city of Kropyvnytskyi on 19 March has died in hospital. Source: Andrii Raikovych, Head of Kirovohrad Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Quote: "Unfortunately, a man who sustained burns on nearly 90% of his body due to the enemy attack on Kropyvnytskyi has died in hospital." Details: Raikovych stated that doctors fought for his life for days, but the man had suffered fatal injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: On the evening of 19 March, the Russians launched a large-scale attack on Kropyvnytskyi. It was reported that 14 people were injured, including 7 children. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) San Francisco police said they arrested a man and juvenile suspected in a series of organized retail crime incidents throughout 2024 totaling more than $6,500 in stolen merchandise. Woman killed in Oakley pedestrian-vehicle crash mere feet from home: PD Police said Harry Wong, 44, of San Francisco, was taken into custody on March 17. Police said that Wong and a juvenile were suspects in all three of the incidents, which occurred from May to October 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement San Francisco PD summarized the following incidents: On May 14, 2024, Wong and two juvenile suspects entered a business of the 300 block of Post Street in San Francisco. More than $1,100 worth of merchandise was stolen in this incident. On October 15, 2024, Wong and two additional suspects entered a business on the 2400 block of San Bruno Avenue in San Francisco. The suspects ransacked the store and stole over $4,500 in merchandise. On October 21, 2024, Wong and four other suspects entered a business on the 1600 block of Ocean Avenue in San Francisco. The suspects ransacked the store and stole more than $1,200 in merchandise. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Police Department. San Francisco police confirmed Wong was booked at San Francisco County Jail. He faces several charges, including three counts of commercial burglary, three counts of grand theft, three counts of organized retail theft, and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Police said the juvenile was booked at the Juvenile Justice Center, and that they have notified Child Protective Services and Juvenile Probation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite arrests in the case, these incidents are open and active investigations. Anyone with information is urged to call the San Francisco Police Department at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411, starting the message with SFPD. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO Police are searching for answers after a man was killed in a drive-by shooting on the citys West Side on Thursday afternoon. According to Chicago police, the shooting unfolded just before 4:30 p.m. in the 4700 block of West Monroe Street in Austin. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Officers said the victim, a 47-year-old man, was sitting inside a car in the area when a truck with two people inside approached. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vehicle pulled up alongside the victim and officers said that is when the two people opened fire on the man before fleeing the scene in an unknown direction. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his head and his body and was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Currently, it is unclear what led to the shooting and police said no arrests have been made. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland An investigation is now underway and authorities have not yet identified the victim killed. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the CPD Area Four Detectives at 312-746-8251 or dial 911. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those with information that could help authorities in their investigation can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A man has pleaded guilty to using drugs on a Portland Streetcar after a law banned doing so on public transit after Jan. 1, 2025. This outcome marks the first guilty plea since the Oregon Legislature passed a revision to Senate Bill 1553, making it a Class A misdemeanor to use illicit drugs on public transit in the state. Old Town residents furious that outreach group is blocking roads, parking lots Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement District Attorney Nathan Vasquez says the man was caught smoking most likely fentanyl on a Portland streetcar in February, more than a month after court documents show he was temporarily banned for not paying the fare in January. He was later arrested in March after violating the ban again, Vasquez added. The man was originally charged with three counts of interfering with public transportation but eventually pleaded guilty to two counts that involved trespassing on a public vehicle on Jan. 19 and knowingly ingesting and inhaling a controlled substance on the streetcar on Feb. 24. The third count was dismissed as part of his plea deal, according to the DAs office. He received 12 months probation and 10 days of jail credit for time already served. He also received a mandatory drug evaluation and an order to follow the recommended treatment, which officials note is separate from the deflection program currently in place in Multnomah County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike deflection, theres no opportunity for this individual to just walk away. He is required to do this, DA Vasquez said. His community wants to see progress in this area, and we want to see that progress for this individual, because just like you say, we dont want to see this situation where we have a person kind of coming back over and over again. We want to put an end to that cycle. Portlands imminent return-to-office order faces backlash from city workers It is not clear whether he will be permanently banned from Portland Streetcar. Meanwhile, riders like Daniel King tell KOIN 6 News they are starting to see a difference while riding in the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It used to be a lot. I mean, youd see a lot of people smoking their fentanyl on the back of the trains and people shooting dope up on the buses, King said. But I could say, in the last maybe three, four months, its actually gotten a lot better. But every once and a while you still see someone sparking 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 KOIN.com. Waco, Tx (FOX 44) A man whose wife has already been sentenced to life in prison for child abuse has now been sentenced to 20 years for not preventing that abuse. Juan Velazquez was given the maximum possible sentence after entering a guilty plea to injury to a child by omission. He was charged with failing to protect his daughter from severe abuse at the hands of Marisela Garcia, the childs stepmother. Garcia was tried in January, accused of physically and psychologically abusing her stepdaughter over the course of many years. Prosecutors said that while the abuse did not cause serious bodily injury it did cause serious mental injury, This made Garcias charge a first-degree felony carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison. Marisela Garcia. Garcias abuse included acts such as denying the child food, forcing her to sleep outside in cold or inclement weather, torturing her by puncturing her palms with push pins, and repeatedly telling the child that she should commit suicide. Garcia also took photos of the child naked and threatened to share them with men who, according to Garcia, would then rape the girl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors said that under Texas law, the failure to protect the child from harm at the hands of her stepmother constituted the crime of injury to a child by omission, which is a second degree felony. Velazquez was also charged with a separate count of Injury to a Child stemming from one inci-dent when Velazquez struck his daughter. Velazquez pled guilty to that charge as well and was sentenced to the maximum possible punishment of 10 years. The child now lives with a new family and is reported to be thriving. Waco serial rapist sentenced to 99 years in prison The case was investigated by the McLennan County Sheriffs Office, Child Protective Services, the China Spring ISD Police, and the McLennan County District Attorneys Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Will Hix and Jessica Washington who issued the following statement: Fathers are supposed to be protectors. This childs father willingly ignored his wife severely abusing his daughter for years. Texas law rightly makes that failure a crime. We are grateful that this plea closes an awful chapter in this childs life, and we hope it brings her some measure of peace. At the time of Garcias conviction and sentencing McLennan County District Attorney Josh Tetens said, Devine intervention lead us to today where a child who suffered horrific trauma and torture watched as a jury sentenced her abuser to life in prison four years to the day of when she was rescued. Nothing compares to the wholly unnecessary abuse of innocent children and our office will continue to seek maximum sentences to those who do such harm. We are grateful for the jury sending this message to abusers throughout the county, you will be held responsible and face the consequences. DA Tetens credited several people with helping make Garcias conviction possible, saying, Our team is grateful to be among the dedicated professionals who stood between a truly evil perpetrator and this courageous child. That group of professionals includes teachers, counselors, law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses, prosecutors, and victim advocates. To any child who is secretly suffering, these heroes are waiting to listen, and to protect. 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 KWKT - FOX 44. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Authorities arrested a 31-year-old man suspected of at least 19 burglaries spanning the county from Chula Vista and Mira Mesa to Escondido and Oceanside. On Wednesday, Eugene Mendiola was arraigned in downtown San Diego for charges stemming from cases in Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa and Rancho Bernardo. Mendiola, who faced a judge Thursday in Vista for his accused involvement in North County crimes, pleaded not guilty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am very happy just to be able to tell these neighbors and victims of this that we no longer have to worry about him coming around and doing this again to us, said Fays Diner owner Joshua Anderson. Fays Diner in Scripps Ranch was one of three businesses targeted March 15 and one of seven that week alone. Authorities say Andersons video shows the masked burglar smashing the front door then calmly walking into his restaurant and forcing the register open before running out and doing the same to two restaurants next door. Its horrible. What are you supposed to do when you see this and you realize you cant clean up the glass and you realize, I have 15 employees that cant go to work, Anderson said. We have 300 to 400 people a weekend, what do I do? Then you have to just sit in it. The cases being investigated by San Diego police include: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement March 15: Fay Diner March 15: Isabellas Mexican Food March 15: Pizza at the Ranch March 16: Pho Hoang Express March 16: Fine Indian Cuisine March 16: Pailin Thai Cafe March 18: Best Pizza and Brew Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A man was taken to the hospital after a reported stabbing in Riverside Thursday night. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Around 10 p.m., Riverside police and medics were called to a home in the 2500 block of Valley Pike for reports of a stabbing. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A man was taken to the hospital with stab injuries, according to Sgt. James Vance with Riverside police. Police said blood inside the home made them believe more than one person was hurt. Vance described the events that led up to the stabbing as domestic in nature but said the victim was not cooperative. We will continue to follow this story and update as new information becomes available. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] SYDNEY, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A man has been arrested after two people were stabbed on a bus in Melbourne's southeast. Emergency services were called to reports of an argument involving two men and a woman on a bus in the suburb of Rowville, 28 km southeast of central Melbourne, in the early hours of Friday morning. Police said in a statement that one of the men pulled out a knife and "slashed" a 59-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman in the face and upper body area. The man was critically injured, and the woman sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Officers attended the scene and began a search for the alleged attacker with the assistance of the dog squad, but he could not be located. A police vehicle conducting a nearby routine patrol several hours later spotted a man matching the description of the attacker and took him into custody. Police said that the 36-year-old man would be interviewed by investigators. Investigators allege that none of the three people involved was known to each other. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) A 26-year-old man remains in jail after allegedly trying to choke his girlfriend and stab a Myrtle Beach resorts security officer, according to a police report. Police arrested James Waller, 26, on Sunday after officers were called Sunday evening to the Compass Cove resort in the 2300 block of S. Ocean Boulevard. He was charged with first-degree assault and battery and remains in the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on a $150,000 bond, online jail records show. The woman told officers the incident began when she and Waller had an altercation and he tried to choke her and throw her on a bed, the report said. As she tried to get up, Waller allegedly got a knife out of a cabinet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, the report said the security guard came into the room to try to de-escalate the situation, the report said. Thats when Waller allegedly lunged at him with the knife. As the officer radioed for help, the report said that Waller ran out of the room and fled, throwing the knife in an unknown location. Police found him a short time later at the intersection of 28th Avenue N. and Ocean Boulevard. * * * 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. A 26-year-old man has been arrested for pretending to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in order to target a local Ukrainian grocery store in Pierce County last week. Ilya P. Kukhar was charged in the Fife Municipal Court for second-degree criminal impersonation. He is scheduled to be arraigned on April 11, according to the Fife Police Department in a news release. Kukhar is accused of staking out the Emish Market on 70th Avenue East inside a Ford SUV that was decorated with false ICE decals and symbols, The News Tribune previously reported. Emish Market is a Ukrainian grocery store that imports much of its products from that country and other parts of Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers were dispatched at 5 p.m. Sunday after a 911 caller reported a suspicious vehicle at the market. The SUV did not have any license plates, according to the news release. The vehicles appearance suggested it was an official ICE unit. The vehicles presence appeared intentional, targeting a Ukrainian grocery store; indicating a deliberate effort to intimidate and draw attention to itself, the release said. Witnesses told police the people in the SUV recorded employees and customers, causing alarm and concern. Its just a little bit uncomfortable because we dont know what to expect, but we definitely dont want someone to come and pretend to be authorities and scaring people, the stores manager, Olena Ray, told The News Tribune last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The SUV blocked the driveway of the market until a security guard confronted the people inside. The SUV then drove away, according to Fife police. The vehicle was not from the Department of Homeland Security, as confirmed by the agency, the release said. An investigation began by the police departments Criminal Investigations Division in coordination with the FBI and HSI Seattle field offices. Tukwila police recognized the vehicle as a former patrol car and confirmed it was removed from service after it was involved in a crash. That departments insurance considered the SUV a total loss, the release said. It is common for used police vehicles to be sold after all law enforcement equipment is removed, the release said. The insurance company resold the SUV to a private buyer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kukhar was identified as a suspect from several tips and information that Tukwila police provided, the release said. Kukhar is not an employee with any law enforcement agency. Police say Kukhar was not physically placed in custody, but officers informed him that he was being charged. He was then issued a summons for his arraignment. The Fife Police Department would like to thank the Tukwila Police Department, the FBI and HSI Seattle field offices, the management of the Emish Market, and the greater community for their assistance in this case, the release said. BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) A man wanted on multiple felony charges, including burglary and kidnapping, was arrested Friday morning in Bristol, Virginia. According to a news release from the Bluff City Police Department, Ricky Hatfield was arrested at a gas station on Euclid Avenue in Bristol, Virginia. PREVIOUS: Man wanted after high-speed chase in Sullivan County We appreciate the assistance of the Bristol, Virginia Police Department, the release stated. Ricky Hatfield has been transported to the Abingdon Regional Jail, where he awaits full extradition to Tennessee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hatfield previously led Bluff City and Sullivan County authorities on a high-speed chase in February. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. (MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo.) The City of Manitou Springs has been awarded a $577,726 grant to rehabilitate the citys original 2 million-gallon Mesa Water Storage Tank, which has served the community since 1965. According to the City of Manitou Springs, the grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) is funded through the Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Fund and will be matched with $622,274 from the citys Drinking Water Revolving Loan proceeds. The funds will help extend the life of the water tank. According to the City, the 2 million-gallon steel tank has never undergone a full coating replacement since it was put into service. Recent inspections revealed advanced corrosion, prompting the need for structural repairs and updated safety features. Once drained, the tank will undergo a comprehensive evaluation before rehabilitation begins. Courtesy: City of Colorado Springs Rehabilitation work is scheduled to begin in August 2025. The City said exterior coatings will be replaced by mid-October, with interior rehabilitation, including piping repairs and the application of new protective coatings, resuming in spring 2026. The project is expected to be completed by June 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To support continued service during the rehabilitation, the City said it is preparing to bring a new 1.1 million-gallon Mesa Water Tank online in May 2025. The construction of the new tank has been made possible through grant funding from both DOLA and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, allowing the project to move forward at no cost to Manitou Springs residents. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Over the past several weeks, a handful of student visa holders and other legal residents have faced deportation for nebulous allegations that they supported terrorismoften being detained and taken away by immigration officials with seemingly no due process, or even an allegation of criminal wrongdoing. Shockingly, the number of affected individuals has reached into the hundreds. On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed that he has personally intervened to cancel the visas of around 300 students. "It might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa." Rubio said during a Thursday press conference. "At some point, I hope we run out because we've gotten rid of all of them, but, we're looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up." "We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. And if we've given you a visa and you decide to do that, we're going to take it away," Rubio added. "We don't want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country. But you're not going to do it in our country." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rubio's move to personally revoke the visas of legal residents is part of a broader plan to "catch and revoke" the legal statuses of student activists and other individuals who engage in pro-Palestine or otherwise vaguely "pro-terrorism" speech. The effort involves "AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts," according to Axios. Earlier this month, immigration officials seized Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and the leader of student protests at Columbia University. Khalil was taken to Louisiana and is currently legally challenging the Trump administration's attempt to deport him. However, the Trump administration hasn't just gone after protest leaders. So far, students who merely attended protests or co-authored relatively milquetoast pro-Palestine op-edsas in the case of Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturkhave been targeted by immigration officials. "Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide," reads the most strongly worded portion of the op-ed Ozturk co-wrote. The op-ed also later calls on the "University to end its complicity with Israel insofar as it is oppressing the Palestinian people and denying their right to self-determination." While the op-ed condemns Israel's war in Gaza decisively, no one in good faith could argue it expresses support for Hamas (though even if it did, it would still undoubtedly be First Amendment-protected speech.) On Thursday, Rubio did not directly state why Ozturk was detained when asked. Instead, he made general comments about student protestors. For an administration that has vowed to "restore freedom of speech," so quickly moving to remove legal residents for disfavored political speech is bitterly ironicif not exactly surprising. The post Marco Rubio Says He's Revoked 300 Student Visas Over Campus Activism appeared first on Reason.com. The Marine Corps announced "significant updates and additions" to its child care program in an administrative message last week that clarifies training requirements for staff, outlines the program's responsibilities for children with disabilities, and delineates the process for reporting serious incidents such as suspected child abuse, among others. The Marine Corps' Child and Youth Program is intended to provide "high-quality and affordable" child care to support families with children between 6 weeks and 18 years old, according to the update. Military parents often rely on these services to take care of their children amid busy schedules, deployments and frequent moves. While the announcement of the changes came last week, the order is dated December 2024 and outlines procedures for quality-assurance inspections of service facilities and practices, as well as the establishment of written policies as they relate to child abuse prevention, accreditation and overall safety procedures, for example. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read Next: Ranger School Is Getting a New Fitness Assessment Maj. Jacoby Getty, a spokesperson for the service's Manpower and Reserve Affairs, told Military.com that some of the points listed in the updated policy are not necessarily "new to the fleet," such as the assignment of leader responsibilities for overseeing the program or periodic family feedback, but that it clarified policies as they relate to staff training or incident reporting, for example, as part of a regular service review of policy. Getty said that Marine Corps orders are reviewed and revised every six years after their publication "to provide affordable, quality child and youth care in a safe, healthy and nurturing environment." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One notable part of the update was the description of the Marine Corps SharePoint Serious Incident Report feature, which replaced the service's old reporting function called Gear Locker "several years ago," Getty said. According to the updated policy, the SharePoint is meant to document, track and store instances of serious medical incidents, "suspected institutional child abuse/neglect," unattended child issues, and "problematic sexual behavior in children and youth" reporting. In April 2024, Military.com published an investigation into the military's Child Development Centers, which fall under the umbrella of service child care programs and provide care for children up to five years old. The investigation found CDCs lacked safeguards to ensure alleged abuse is reported and prevented parents from accessing information about incidents. The report generated an immediate investigation by the Pentagon's inspector general. The publication also reported that in December 2024 -- the date on the recent Marine Corps policy update -- that five Marine families had filed federal claims against the government alleging that a day care at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, engaged in negligent hiring practices, training and supervision that led to child abuse and neglect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for the base told Military.com at the time that the service was aware of the legal action and was working with authorities amid their investigation. When asked whether the SharePoint addresses the concerns alleged by the Yuma families and if they can use it to monitor progress on the reports, Yvonne Carlock, another spokesperson for the Manpower and Reserve Affairs division, said that "the SIRs are for internal Marine Corps reporting, it isn't an open site for families or the public. The installation provides updates to the families regarding their specific situation." One struggle that parents of children who were allegedly abused outlined in Military.com's investigation of CDCs last year revolved around having to request information -- including video of abuse -- through Freedom of Information Act requests. One family Military.com spoke to last year said that they were told to pay $200 per editing hour for the videos, costing them roughly $15,000 total to view footage of their daughter being abused. According to the Marine Corps update from last week, parents looking to obtain a copy of videos at the service's Child and Youth Program, or CYP, sites must go through the FOIA process, though it was unclear whether or what costs may be associated. Closed-circuit television, or CCTV, is meant to provide parents a means to observe their children and staff and "deters child abuse and neglect," the update said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "CYP must not make release determinations nor respond directly to a parent requesting to either view, or obtain a copy of, a CCTV video recording except to direct the parent to the installation FOIA coordinator," according to the update. However, the update also said that, "in the spirit of providing 'unrestricted access' to children where CCTV is available, parents must be allowed to view their children in real time interacting with other children" and staff "by viewing their children through CCTV monitors on the premises." Those videos must be maintained for a minimum of 90 days, though "should management become aware of a claim against the government; foresee litigation as a direct result of events occurring at the CYP facility that may have been recorded by the CCTV system; or required retention of a recording pending investigation into allegations of misconduct depicted in the video, the responsive permanent recording must not be destroyed until released for destruction by" legal counsel. The Marine Corps update of its child care program also references several supporting Navy documents that outline background check protocols for employees charged with caring for service members' children at the facilities, though the recent document was implemented under "a Marine Corps initiative," Getty said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The program also "must embrace inclusion as an attitude and philosophy that welcomes and supports the participation of children with and without disabilities and supports reasonable accommodations," according to the update, adding that "no child who meets basic age and eligibility requirements must, solely based on disability or identified needs, be excluded from participation in" the program. On Monday, Military.com reported that Hill Air Force Base, Utah, the service's second-largest base by population and size, would be shuttering one of its two day care centers amid hiring freezes ordered by President Donald Trump's administration. "CDCs traditionally face high turnover, and several recent departures in conjunction with the hiring freeze have reduced the number of supervisors and trainers available," said Kendahl Johnson, a Hill Air Force Base spokesperson. "Maintaining two open CDCs at current personnel levels would pose an unacceptable risk to the 200 children who remain in care at Hill AFB." Thirty-one families were first notified March 12 that they would be disenrolled from one of the bases's facilities, nearly a week before the Department of Defense issued a memo that it would exempt certain positions from the hiring freeze, including "child and youth programs staff" and instructors at DoD schools or child care centers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the Marine Corps, Getty said the service has resumed hiring in support of the child care program following the initial freeze and that it was "not aware of any families being disenrolled or any personnel being released from the program. Additionally, no CYP centers were shut down." "Our commitment remains steadfast in providing consistent, high-quality child care and youth services to support our Marines and their families," he added. Related: Marine Corps Day Care Hit with Legal Allegations of Widespread Child Abuse Mark Carney has been accused of plagiarising his University of Oxford thesis. On Friday, the Canadian prime minister and former governor of the Bank of England was forced to deny allegations he copied 10 passages of text for his 1995 doctorate. The allegations are a blow to his election campaign. He faces a knife-edge vote on April 28 after calling a snap election against the backdrop of an aggressive trade war with Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Passages of his thesis from his doctorate in economics from Nuffield College were published appearing to show verbatim quotes, paragraphs or lightly amended excerpts from previous works without proper attribution. Geoffrey Sigalet, from the University of British Columbia said: Hes just directly repeating without quotations. Thats what we call plagiarism. The examples of plagiarism were sent to Mr Carneys campaign team, who described the allegations as an irresponsible mischaracterisation of his work. Mr Carney is accused of presenting sentences from the economist Michael E Porter as his own in his thesis. Mr Carney does cite Mr Porters 1990 book The Competitive Advantage of Nations at different points, but is accused of failing to do so in others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In one paragraph, Mr Carney wrote: There are three reasons why domestic profitability is not a good indicator of true international competitive advantage. The original sentence in Mr Porters book read: Domestic profitability is not a good indication of true international competitive advantage for three important reasons. Margaret Meyer, his doctoral supervisor at Oxford, previously claimed in an interview that Mr Carney finished his thesis remarkably quickly, in less than two years. However, she defended the Liberal Party leader on Friday, saying she saw no evidence of plagiarism in the passages published by Canadian newspaper The National Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Meyer told the National Post: It is typical that overlapping language appears when sources were frequently referenced in an academic text. For example, over the course of this more than 300-page thesis, the Michael Porter book is cited dozens of times. Within his thesis, Mark acknowledged, cited, scrutinised and expanded on this piece, she said. Later in his thesis, Mr Carney is accused of virtually duplicating an excerpt from Jeremy C Steins 1989 article Efficient Capital Markets, Inefficient Firms: A Model of Myopic Corporate Behaviour. In his article, Mr Stein said: In a steady state signal-jamming equilibrium, managers will borrow a constant amount each period from the next periods earnings, and the market will correctly anticipate this borrowing. Mr Carney appears to have made little amendments to the wording other than shortening the sentence: In the steady state equilibrium, the managers will borrow a constant amount each period, and the market will correctly anticipate this borrowing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In another case, Mr Carney duplicates another authors sentence with minor changes by replacing for example with e.g. In a recent interview with a CBC radio programme in Toronto, Ms Meyer said: The fact that he could get to grips with much more material than most students typically do in a shorter time and produce a longer thesis pretty much set him apart. Mr Carneys Liberal Party has enjoyed an unexpected bounce in opinion polls after he and his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, stood up to Mr Trump over tariffs and trade. The anti-America message landed with voters who are increasingly offended by Mr Trumps threats to turn Canada into Americas 51st state. Mr Carneys party trailed the conservative opposition by some 25 points but is now leading polls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Carney shared his first call with Mr Trump on Friday, with Mr Trump appearing to praise his counterpart for extremely productive trade negotiations and thanking him for his attention. During the call, they agreed to meet after Canadas upcoming snap election. Mr Carney has repeatedly stood up to the US president, telling voters on Thursday that Canadas close relationship with its neighbour was over and throwing into doubt an order of a fleet of US-manufactured F-35 fighter jets. Mr Carney began an illustrious banking career after completing his PhD, eventually becoming governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He previously held a British passport but said he would renounce his citizenship after becoming prime minister. 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 News Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that the countrys old alliance with the US is over amid an escalating trade war and US threats to annex Canada. Carney told reporters that there would be a broad renegotiation of Canadas trade relationship with the US, appearing to refer to the USMCA free trade deal negotiated with Mexico and the US during President Donald Trumps first term. The two leaders appeared to strike a more conciliatory tone in a phone call Friday morning: It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The call comes two days after Trump declared new 25% tariffs on foreign car imports, which are set to significantly impact the Canadian automaking industry, as well as US car makers with manufacturing facilities abroad. It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that, with comprehensive negotiations, we will be able to restore some trust, but there will be no turning back, Carney said in comments before his call with Trump, vowing to impose retaliatory tariffs. Canadas Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the old economic relationship between the U.S. and Canada is over, vowing that Ottawa will respond forcefully and that nothing is off the table over President Trumps plan to impose additional tariffs on its northern neighbor and other countries around the world. The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over, Carney said during a press conference Thursday. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States, can ever take away. We can deal with this crisis best by building our strength right here at home. It will take hard work. It will take steady and focused determination from governments, from businesses, from labor, from Canadians, we will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States, the prime minister said, a day after Trump announced that he will impose a 25 percent tariff on foreign car imports set to take effect April 2. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump said Wednesday that car parts not produced in the United States would be subject to a tariff, arguing it will lead cars to be made in one location. The president contended that the new tariff would boost job growth and inspire foreign vehicle manufacturers to move production to the U.S. In the short-term, the new tariff could cause car prices to go up. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere, and we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we havent seen in generations, Carney said Thursday. Carney responded to Trumps new tariff announcement in a similar fashion Wednesday, characterizing it as a direct attack on Canadian workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a direct attack, to be clear, a direct attack on the very workers that I stood in front of, Unifor workers I stood in front of this morning at the Ambassador Bridge, a bridge that is a symbol and a reality up until now, of the tight ties between our two countries ties of kinship, ties of commerce, ties that are in the process of being broken, Carney said. Trump shot back in the early morning on Truth Social, warning that if the European Union works with Canada to harm the U.S. economy, the president argued large scale tariffs could be placed in response. If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had, Trump wrote Thursday morning. The Canadian prime minister said Thursday that Ottawa will respond in the ongoing trade war with measures that will have a maximum impact on the U.S. and minimum implications on its northern neighbor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada, Carney stated. We will protect our workers and our industries during this difficult period, but above all, we will build a new Canadian economy. We will build Canada strong. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) slammed what he called senior Trump adviser Elon Musks loyalties to billionaires Thursday after Musk accused the Arizona senator and decorated combat veteran of putting other countries ahead of the United States, the latest salvo in their rancorous feud. I mean, who is Elon standing with at this point? A bunch of billionaires, Kelly said on CNN when asked about Musks latest attack against his character. Musk had called Kelly a traitor on his social platform X earlier this month, after Kelly visited Ukraine to determine how fluctuating U.S. support for the country was affecting the morale of Ukrainians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, Musk, who was born in South Africa and became a citizen of Canada and then the United States, doubled down in an interview with Fox Newss Bret Baier on his accusation that Kelly is not loyal to the United States. I think somebody should care about the interests of the United States above the interests of another country. If they dont, theyre a traitor, Musk said. When Baier noted Kelly is a decorated veteran, former astronaut and sitting senator, Musk didnt budge. That doesnt mean its OK for him to put the interests of another country above America, he said. When asked about Musks latest attack, Kelly told CNNs Erin Burnett that he wasnt sure whether it deserved a response but then ticked off his long list of service to the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive spent an entire career standing up for our country, defending our country, flying in combat over Iraq, flying in space, on the space shuttle, serving in the United States Senate, he said. My entire life has been about serving this country. He then contrasted his record to Musks efforts as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency to push federal workers out of their jobs and shutter long-standing federal agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development. Democrats have also jumped on Musks comment that Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time, accusing him of wanting to cut the program to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. I mean, who is Elon standing with at this point? A bunch of billionaires. It seems to me that some folks in this administration sort of switched, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelly then implicitly questioned Musks loyalty to the nation by pointing out that his stance on the Ukraine-Russia war aligns with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a longtime adversary of the United States. I would put Elon at this point in the category of being much closer to Russia on this issue, the senator said. I want this thing to end as much as anybody, he continued of the war. But he throws this traitor word around, at least with regards to me, fairly freely. I dont think hes a serious guy, and he hasnt given this a lot of thought. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Passengers transfer at Padalarang Station of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Padalarang, Indonesia, March 29, 2025. (Photo by Septianjar Muharam/Xinhua) JAKARTA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (Whoosh) in Indonesia has seen a surge in passengers as the country enters the Eid al-Fitr holiday season, PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (PT KCIC), a joint venture consortium between Indonesian and Chinese firms that constructs and runs the HSR, said on Friday. "It is estimated that the number of passengers today has reached between 18,000 and 20,000. We project that the number of Whoosh passengers during the Eid al-Fitr holiday will peak at up to 24,000 per day," said Eva Chairunisa, general manager and corporate secretary of PT KCIC, in a press release. For comparison, she noted that the number of Whoosh passengers on normal weekdays ranges from 16,000 to 18,000 per day, while on weekends it usually reaches around 21,000 per day. Hundreds of millions of Indonesians are expected to travel to their hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which falls on March 31. Chairunisa said that the peak surge of passengers departing from Halim Station in Jakarta to Bandung in West Java province is expected on April 2. During the Eid al-Fitr holiday season, which runs from March 21 to April 11, Whoosh is operating 1,346 trains with a total capacity of 808,000 seats, Chairunisa added. "KCIC reminds all passengers to book tickets in advance through online channels or purchase them offline at station counters and vending machines," she said. Passengers are seen at Padalarang Station of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Padalarang, Indonesia, March 29, 2025. (Photo by Septianjar Muharam/Xinhua) People are pictured at Padalarang Station of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Padalarang, Indonesia, March 29, 2025. (Photo by Septianjar Muharam/Xinhua) Passengers are seen at Padalarang Station of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Padalarang, Indonesia, March 29, 2025. (Photo by Septianjar Muharam/Xinhua) A high-speed electrical multiple unit train leaves Padalarang Station of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Padalarang, Indonesia, March 29, 2025. (Photo by Septianjar Muharam/Xinhua) MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) A hair salon owner right outside of The Market Common is voicing her concerns on the new commercial rates starting April 1 with Santee Cooper Electric. Carolyn Tafts salon is next to the neighborhood Walmart off of Farrow Parkway. She worries about her bill jumping significantly due to salon equipment using large amounts of electricity as demand charge rates increase next month. I cant put out a tip jar and ask people to give me electric bill money, she said. Im not quite sure what to do about it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taft says with the new, roughly $12 demand charge applied to the highest half-hour of use for the month, she says its almost impossible to avoid and uses the most electricity during peak hours between 3 and 7 p.m., with a hair dyer using about 1.6 kilowatts, according to Santee Cooper officials. Come summer, Taft says almost every chair is full throughout the day. She said with perms, the odor requires an exhaust fan for a minimum of three hours which also uses a lot of electricity which is unavoidable whenever a customer were to have an appointment. Her business uses Santee Cooper as their electricity provider. Santee Cooper official Tracy Vreeland says the demand charge for commercial rate is a separate component. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It doesnt have to take place during those peak hours, Vreeland said. It can just be your highest half-hour of demand throughout the entire month. But its not necessarily during those hours like it is for a residential customer. The energy charge for the rest of the day has gone down, so itll be 6 cents most of the day, but during peak hours itll be 7 cents. But Taft says being a mom-and-pop, turning away business due to the changes isnt an option. I cant blow dry you after 3, she said. You know, I cant stay here after 7 and wash 17 loads. I really am stuck between a rock and a hard place. Being regulated by the state board, Taft says she has to have hot settings on her hair dryers, water for her washing machine and hair wash areas, making it difficult to avoid a higher bill even outside of peak hours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * * * Gabby Jonas joined the News13 team as a multimedia journalist in April 2024. She is from Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University in May 2023. Follow Gabby on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, 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. BALTIMORE Maryland Gov. Wes Moore raised some eyebrows this week by saying the states $5.5 billion budget surplus wasnt real, after describing the states fortunate financial position at the beginning of his term. Speaking to reporters in Annapolis as the current legislative session winds down, Moore pointed to the evaporation of temporary federal COVID-19 funding to explain Marylands transformation from surplus to $3.3 billion structural deficit. When you have a one-time infusion of cash, that is not structural surplus, the Democratic governor said. That is not math. Its politics, its not math. Its dark-money gaslighting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moores first budget proposal showed the state expected to end fiscal year 2023 with more than $5 billion in general cash reserves while acknowledging that COVID aid would be drying up. If the States current revenue projections hold through June, we anticipate ending the current Fiscal Year 2023 with a more than $2 billion General Fund balance and an additional $2.9 billion in the Rainy Day Fund $5 billion in combined General Fund cash reserves, Moores proposal reads. At the same time, Maryland, like many other states, sees a surplus created by a series of rare financial tailwinds unlikely to continue. While the governors office did not specify how much of this $5 billion was directly related to COVID-19 funds, a Maryland Department of Legislative Services report estimates the state received about $4.9 billion in pandemic aid from the federal government. In Moores fiscal year 2024 budget, on page 14, he described proposing a budget with a robust surplus balance and was also aware of economic risks, revenue risks and state retirement contributions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carter Elliott, Moores senior press secretary, says the deficit has been predicted since 2017 and exacerbated by slow economic growth across multiple administrations. During that time the states economy also significantly underperformed the nation, growing at just 3% while the nation grew at 11% between 2017 and 2022, Elliott said in an emailed statement. Moores Republican predecessor, Gov. Larry Hogan, criticized the BS and finger-pointing surrounding budget issues in a series of X posts Thursday. Hogans posts balked at the Moore administration characterizing Marylands economy as weak. Even after managing a global pandemic, we left office in January 2023 with the largest surplus in state history $5.5 billion, Hogan wrote. Maryland had never been in a stronger economic position. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hogan continued by referencing a recent University of Maryland, Baltimore County, poll he interpreted as the state being on the wrong track. The poll showed that 52% of Marylanders approve of Moores job performance, 53% also said they have considered moving out of state in the coming years. Its a damn shame, and it breaks my heart, Hogan said of the poll and overall budget situation. ------------ BALTIMORE Maryland state senators have amended an energy bill to ease the burden on ratepayers struggling with pricey utility bills during the hottest and coldest months of the year. The Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee amended the Next Generation Energy Act to provide utility bill rebate payments based on usage by residential electrical customers during peak months. Average payments are anticipated to be around $42, which will be applied directly to utility bills. Customers will be able to see the reduction as a line item on their bills during one of the peak months in the summer and winter. These will be immediate relief for ratepayers, who we know are feeling it harder than ever, Senate President Bill Ferguson said at an Annapolis news conference Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The relief will be provided through the Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Fund. The bill, sponsored by Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, both Democrats, allocates $200 million from the fund to be split between the summer and winter months. Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Vice Chair Cheryl Kagan, a Montgomery County Democrat, expressed frustration Friday that the measure is based on usage rather than income. She said she would prefer to have lower income customers provided more money, noting that $200 million is a lot given away with no litmus test when the state is facing tough times fiscally. My concern is that someone with a mega mansion is going to get a whole lot of money, and someone whos trying to pinch their pennies will get a paltry amount but have a greater need, Kagan said. Utility companies do not have access to enough customer data to be able to dole the funds out based on income. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans said they dont think the policy will move the needle on high utility bills. This legislative rate relief proposal is not a rebate or relief, it is a return of over-payments made by Marylanders, Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey said in a statement. Ratepayers have been forced to underwrite the Democratic policies that have driven their rates up by requiring utility companies to purchase more expensive power. If passed, the bill would only allow utility companies to file multi-year rate plans if the Public Service Commission determines they benefit ratepayers. If utility companies overspend on materials and labor, they could not return to the commission to raise rates until the contract is up, potentially saving millions of dollars for Baltimore Gas and Electric customers. That portion of the bill would go into effect immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislation is one of three multi-faceted bills that intend to reduce Marylands reliance on the 13-state energy grid by investigating new, cleaner energy generation mechanisms. This energy package gives Marylanders more control in the short term, in the midterm and in the long term to lower utility bills and address the threat of climate change at the same time, Ferguson said. The bill package is expected to be debated on the Senate floor Monday. ------------ Plans to replace the Sagamore Bridge, a major access point to Cape Cod, have recently sparked controversy as several homeowners face losing their properties to eminent domain. While many local drivers welcome the infrastructure improvements, affected residents are struggling with uncertainty about compensation, relocation and the impact on property values. Don't miss Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marc and Joan Hendel, who recently moved to Sagamores Round Hill community, were devastated to learn that their home could be taken as part of the project. This is heartbreaking to us that theyre just coldly giving us a letter that says we're going to destroy your home, Marc told CBS Boston. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) plans to replace the aging Sagamore Bridge as part of a broader effort to improve Cape Cods infrastructure. The project, which also includes replacing the Bourne Bridge, is expected to take years to complete. A total of $1.72 billion in federal funding has been secured for the Sagamore Bridge. In a statement released in July 2024, coinciding with the announcement of a major funding award. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a game-changing award for Massachusetts, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy proclaimed. Weve never been closer to rebuilding the Cape Cod Bridges than we are right now. This funding will be critical for getting shovels in the ground. Additional funding is needed for the Bourne Bridge. The construction will involve twin bridge structures to separate traffic flow, improving long-term safety and efficiency. The government may acquire nearby homes as part of the project, leaving some residents uncertain about their future. The final list of affected properties has yet to be released, but the uncertainty has already disrupted the local real estate market. Many are now weighing their options, deciding whether to sell, hold out for a buyout or challenge the process. How eminent domain affects home values and market stability Eminent domain, the government's legal right to seize private property for public use, can significantly influence home values. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When a government entity signals its intent to take properties for a project, the uncertainty can cause hesitation among buyers, leading to decreased property demand and, ultimately, lower home values in affected communities. Read more: Are you rich enough to join the top 1%? Here's the net worth you need to rank among Americas wealthiest plus 2 ways to build that first-class portfolio In some cases, properties near eminent domain projects lose value even if they are not directly taken. The potential for construction disruptions, increased traffic and changes in the area may make potential buyers think twice. Since the Sagamore Bridge project is part of a multi-phase project that could take years to complete, market instability in the area may persist. What homeowners can do about eminent domain For homeowners who may be impacted by eminent domain, there are steps to take to ensure fair treatment and compensation: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consult an eminent domain attorney: A real estate lawyer specializing in eminent domain can help homeowners understand their rights and negotiate a fair settlement. Get an independent appraisal: The government is required to offer just compensation, but independent property valuations can help ensure you receive an appropriate offer. Eminent domain valuation can be complex, and you may not have a second chance if you don't like the results of your appraisal. Work with an eminent domain lawyer to ensure you get the right type of appraisal. Negotiate for better terms: Homeowners may be able to contest the initial compensation offer or request relocation assistance depending on state laws and project funding. Stay informed: Attend community meetings to stay updated on project timelines so you can make informed decisions about your property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Sagamore Bridge project highlights the complexities of eminent domain, a process that affects homeowners nationwide. Whether facing a bridge replacement or another public development, property owners must navigate legal and financial challenges. If you find yourself in a situation similar to these Cape Cod homeowners, stay informed and seek expert guidance to help navigate the process and protect your interests. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. MEMPHIS, Tenn. The Memphis Area Transit Authority has fired Deputy CEO Bacarra Mauldin after an internal investigation, the transit agency said Friday. Mauldins termination by Acting CEO John Lewis, with support from the MATA board, was effective Thursday. MATA said the investigation concluded Mauldin violated the agencys procurement and travel policy and did not take steps to ensure compliance among her direct reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MATA Deputy CEO on leave over $800K in misspent funds These findings represent a serious breach of the standards and expectations we uphold for all MATA leadership and staff, MATA said in a statement. Our focus moving forward is to ensure stability, restore trust, and continue providing safe, reliable, and equitable transit services for the people of Memphis. Mauldin was placed on leave by the agency earlier this month after MATA said it discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in misspent funds. MATA said the questionable expenses included a $603,000 Memphis Grizzlies sponsorship, $144,000 in American Express charges, and $56,000 for food and catering services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE REPORTING ON MATA Mauldins attorney, Vanecia Belser Kimbrow has previously called the investigation a witch hunt after years of mismanagement and said Mauldin was actually the whistleblower on the misspent funds. Mauldin served as interim CEO for MATA before the agencys board was replaced by the mayor, and Lewis, an employee of transit consulting group Transpro, was installed as acting CEO. Kimbrow said Mauldin took the interim position without any increase in her salary because her time as interim CEO was described as short-term. MATA board to vote on $5.5M land purchase for relocation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her attorney said Mauldins prior role as deputy did not afford her any standing to engage in the fiscal management of MATA, nor did it allow her to create any policies or procedures. Her attorney also said she was told by her board to simply man the ship while the agency conducted a national search for its next CEO. She was the whistleblower that came forward immediately upon gaining access to the fiscal records of MATA, only after becoming interim, said Kimbrow. MATAs proposed interim CEO would make $486 an hour Mauldins attorney said it was impossible for Mauldin to be the origin of these issues when she was the one who notified the board of MATAs issues while she was out on family medical leave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proof will bear out that Baccara Mauldin is the administrations villainized scapegoat to keep the public blind to the long-known truth about the woes of The Memphis Transit Authority which Mrs. Mauldin discovered and disclosed, said Kimbrow. Kimbrow said the timeline of the issues presented by John Lewis does not add up. She said she would address Lewis libelous and slanderous statements, wrongful termination, and violation of federal rights against Mauldin under the FMLA Act and the Whistleblower statute. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HONOLULU (KHON2) As tax season enters its final stretch, residents of Maui are facing an additional hurdle: the temporary closure of the IRS office in Wailuku. Hawaii fentanyl deaths quadrupled in 4 years, experts warn of more potent version The closure comes as the federal government slashes spending and services, including cuts to travel expenses, which are impacting the ability to provide in-person assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IRS confirmed that its Maui office is currently closed due to staffing shortages, with no timeline for reopening. 10 things the uber wealthy do and dont do The closure follows a broader issue of frozen or canceled federal expense spending cards, known as P-cards, which are essential for interisland travel. Hawaii lawmakers and advocates argue that this cutback is hitting at the worst possible time, as residents rely on these services to navigate tax season. Which, for Hawaii, means you cant travel to the neighbor islands. You cant provide services on each island, said Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii). In many states, it might be fine, they have full-time employees and communities that people can get to. You cant drive from Oahu to Maui. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IRS has pointed out that most services can be done online, but for many, especially older residents, thats not a feasible option. Advocates for seniors, like Audrey Suga-Nakagawa, director of advocacy for AARP, say the lack of in-person assistance is a significant barrier. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You I can imagine that would be quite a big concern, said Suga-Nakagawa. AARP has tax aid centers on Maui as well, but theyre already packed with individuals who had made their appointments well in advance. The shutdown of the Wailuku office is just one of many challenges facing residents. A major overhaul of Social Security will also end phone identity verification in mid-April, which could complicate matters further for those unable to navigate online systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats going to be a big difference for those individuals, Suga-Nakagawa said. Its really difficult for those who have transportation barriers and trying to get out to the office, or even get an appointment. The cuts dont stop with tax services. Federal health and human services programs, including Medicare, SNAP, and Meals on Wheels, are also facing significant budget reductions. While the impact on Hawaii is still unclear, these cuts could affect essential services for residents across the state. Do we even know the Hawaii impact yet? Not yet. We do not at this time, said Suga-Nakagawa. We are closely monitoring what this means. In response, Rep. Tokuda and other members of Hawaiis congressional delegation are pushing to restore services and are urging constituents to reach out for help navigating the federal agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news If its about a federal agency, reach out to our offices and let our people help navigate you through the situation, Tokuda said. At the very least, well connect you with folks who can assist 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 KHON2. Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Thursday hit back at U.S. President Donald Trumps newly announced 25% auto tariffs with a promise to inflict as much pain as possible to the American people without inflicting pain on the Canadian population. Trump is mistaken in his belief that the move will drive down auto prices in the U.S., Ford told reporters. The costs are going to go skyrocketing and hes just hurting the American people, Ford added, vowing that the country will retaliate with tariffs designed to hit Americans. I can tell you we just arent going to roll over, he said. Were going to retaliate and hes going to feel the pain from the American people. The $65 billion of tariffs that we have on the table that we can launch towards the U.S., we have to run through every tariff and minimize the pain for Canadians, maximize the pain for Americans, said Ford. I feel terrible for the Americans, but its one person, its President Trump, thats creating this chaos. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On X, formerly Twitter, meanwhile, Ford slammed Trump who has repeatedly talked up the idea of turning Canada into the 51st U.S. state for being at it again. Trump will do nothing more than increase costs for hard-working American families, Ford warned. U.S. markets are already on the decline as the president causes more chaos and uncertainty. Hes putting American jobs at risk. Ive spoken with Prime Minister [Mark] Carney. We agree Canada needs to stand firm, strong and united, he added. I fully support the federal government preparing retaliatory tariffs to show that well never back down. Ford has previously threatened to cut off electricity exports to America. President Trump is at it again. His 25 per cent tariffs on cars and light trucks will do nothing more than increase costs for hard-working American families. U.S. markets are already on the decline as the president causes more chaos and uncertainty. Hes putting American jobs at Doug Ford (@fordnation) March 26, 2025 Related... Weeks after tapping a former Chicago alderman to help lobby for the city in the state capitol, Mayor Brandon Johnson is adding a Springfield alderwoman to his once-skeletal state team. Johnsons office confirmed Thursday it intends to hire Lakeisha Purchase, a current Springfield alderwoman and registered state lobbyist, on a contract basis, saying she came highly recommended from lawmakers in Springfield. Before she became a lobbyist, Purchase was employed as a support services specialist for the Illinois Department of Transportation, where she was once faulted for abusing government time. She left the IDOT job in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Purchases hiring is part of a broader shift in Johnsons intergovernmental affairs efforts in Springfield, where since taking office nearly two years ago hes had minimal success working with Gov. JB Pritzker and some lawmakers. Johnson this month hired former Ald. John Arena, 45th, full time as one of his intergovernmental affairs deputies over the objections of some of Arenas former colleagues who clashed with Arena on the City Council. Among the teams biggest priorities: securing additional funding for the Chicago Transit Authority, covering additional costs at Chicago Public Schools and finding fiscal help with the citys overall budget. Purchase, who does business through her firm, LKP Consulting, has been a registered lobbyist since 2023, according to state records. Thats the same year she won her first full term as a Springfield alderwoman. Her current client list includes Springfield Clinic and Touchette Regional Hospital, and her prior lobbying roster included several clients in the Metro East area of Illinois outside of St. Louis, records show. Before her 2023 election, Purchase was appointed an alderwoman in Springfield in 2021 and prior to that she was a local township trustee. She also was a coordinator for Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencias secretary of state primary bid in 2022. In addition to being a state lobbyist, Purchase also runs a residential real estate development and management company, according to her LinkedIn account. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although state lawmakers are prohibited from lobbying other units of local government, local elected officials are not barred from lobbying in Springfield. State lobbyists are, however, required to declare they hold a local elected office on their lobbying registration forms with the Illinois secretary of state, which Purchases form shows she has done. Kent Redfield, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield, said Purchases lobbying and aldermanic work raises two potential conflicts a conflict of interest and a conflict of commitment. Could you have a piece of legislation that would benefit the city of Chicago to the detriment of the city of Springfield? Sure, Redfield said. How do you deal with that potential? In addition, her work for the city of Chicago might take away from time she could be spending on constituent issues in Springfield, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Does it get to the point where youre not giving complete attention to your duties and responsibilities and the time that you ought to be putting in as an alderman? In 2024, the states Office of Executive Inspector General, which investigates potential ethics violations in agencies under the governor, released a report stating that Purchases aldermanic job crept into her work for the state during an 18-month period between 2021 and 2022 when Purchase still worked for IDOT. The inspector generals redacted report last May concluded investigators found reasonable cause to believe Purchase violated IDOT policies related to outside employment, including working an outside job during state time and conducting prohibited political activity at work. The OEIG received complaints in October 2021 and again in January 2023 about Purchase potentially performing aldermanic duties on state time. Investigators reviewed her personal phone records and found that out of 301 workdays they examined, Purchase had made personal calls longer than an hour on 279 of them, and that on 179 of those days, personal calls exceeded 3 hours. Though Purchase told investigators her IDOT job didnt necessitate her speaking with local Springfield officials, 39 hours of those calls were with fellow aldermen, the mayor, and the clerk of the Capital Township board where she also served as trustee. She also called into Capital Township meetings during work hours, investigators found, which she said she did during benefit time allotted by IDOT, according to the report. Investigators also found she had called and texted fellow campaign workers ahead of Valencias 2022 primary election bid during her IDOT work hours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report said Purchase also failed to disclose other outside work to the state, including her trustee position and work for her real estate company, Kashmir DST. The inspector general recommended she be disciplined up to and including discharge, but Purchase left IDOT before the report was concluded and made public. Johnsons office did not comment on those findings, but said, We expect all of our employees and contractors to abide by all city, state, and federal laws, without exception. Purchase, who is originally from Maywood, also confirmed to the Tribune that she was being hired to join Johnsons lobbying team. She referred all other questions to the Johnson administration. Cass Countys Habitat for Humanity got a shoutout at the Logansport Board of Works meeting on Wednesday. Just before adjoining the meeting, Mayor Chris Martin read a proclamation to the audience the entirety of April will celebrate the local nonprofit organization that builds homes for families that make 40-80% of the citys median income. The nonprofit started work locally in 1991 and has built more than 10 homes since then, Martin explained. Its now trying to increase the rate at which it builds homes, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Home ownership strengthens families, builds communities and promotes personal wellbeing, Martin said, reading off his proclamation. Concluding the proclamation, the mayor encouraged Logansport residents to support the organization and recognize its contribution to the community. Were very excited about the partnership with the city, Scott Jewell, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Cass County, said after the meeting. Its just been incredible. Jewell noted the City donated the first $25,000 for this years Community Habitat Build, where the nonprofit will invite community members to help construct a house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the house is finished, a family that makes 40-80% of Logansports median income will receive an interest free loan from Habitat for Humanity and make a monthly mortgage payment to the organization. That money will then go toward building another house in the community. The United Way of Cass County also donated a $10,000 grant to the local Habitat for Humanity via United Ways Impact Fund. Last December, the nonprofit announced the Indiana Department of Revenue granted a 50% Indiana State Tax Credit for anyone who makes a donation to the home building organization. Essentially, a $1,000 donation to the local Habitat for Humanity would put $500 toward the donors state tax liability. They can still count the donation toward a federal tax deduction as well. The tax credit allowance will be in place until 2030. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) State Representative Tonya Pfaff and Mayor Brandon Sakbun hosted a joint town hall meeting for Vigo County. This meeting gave those who attended the opportunity to hear about the work being done for the community at the statehouse and the mayors office. It also gave residents the chance to share any thoughts, concerns, or questions about key issues that impact the city and the state. Some of the topics discussed included road funding, Medicaid, LGBTQ concerns, and property taxes. You cant say youre transparent if youre not letting people approach you with their concerns, said Vigo County Mayor Brandon Sakbun. Whether you agree or disagree with their concerns, it is our job to listen and represent all of our constituents, which is what our goal was to do today. Is hey what can we affect and change here locally and what do we need to pass on to the federal or state level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They plan to host one again, that date is to be determined. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) Buffalo mayoral candidate Sean Ryan raised questions in a news conference on Friday about the former employer of the citys current deputy mayor Brian Gould, claiming that he was a lobbyist prior to his involvement in government. Gould, who has been the deputy mayor under Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon since last October, used to work for e3 Communications, a public relations and lobbying firm that has several clients in and around Western New York, most notably the Erie County Water Authority. Gould, a longtime friend of Scanlon, is still listed on e3 Communications website, although it is unclear how much involvement he still has with the company. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It smells, looks bad, and it is bad, Ryan said at Fridays news conference. Thats against the law. You cannot be an active lobbyist. You work for state government. You cant have lobbying contracts that you have a fiduciary responsibility to and still come to work for state government. In a statement to WIVB News 4, Earl Wells, president of e3communications said: Brian was inadvertently listed on the report to the lobbying commission. Arcadis has been a client for E3 for years and Brian was point person for years. He has performed no lobbying services on behalf of Arcadis or any other E3 client since moving over to City Hall. The (Chris) Scanlon for Mayor Campaign described the proposal of an integrity plan by Ryan as ironic. Senator Sean Ryan apparently thinks it it is ethical and transparent to use the money from 55 contributors (38 of whom are located outside of Buffalo and WNY), in his attempt to buy the Mayors Office in City Hall because he has no record of delivering for the City of Buffalo from Albany, the campaign said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to WIVB News 4, the Ryan campaign responded: The Scanlon campaign is grasping at straws to distract from Acting Mayor Scanlons ethical violations at City Hall Senator Ryan is in total compliance with campaign finance laws, and these allegations are only to obfuscate the fact that Scanlons campaign has no plan for a better Buffalo, and has accepted endless support from the MAGA Paladino family. The shuffling of people between lobbying, working at policy firms and working in official government positions is common across the country. This is commonly referred to as the revolving door. New York State has taken steps to prevent this, though. According to the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, there are restrictions on former state employees lobbying for their former agency after leaving state service. There are two-year bans as well as lifetime bans, depending on the situation. Thats just done to ensure that your previous ties are broken, a time to cool off Ryan said. Its designed to make sure that nobody has undue influence and can use their public authority to benefit their private clients. The Scanlon campaign claimed Ryan has accepted millions of dollars as State legislator from special interests with legislation pending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ryan said that under his mayorship, top city officials, including deputy mayors, will not be allowed to have significant outside employment while working in city government. He added that he will not hire any family members to positions funded by the city, and will not allow department heads to hire family members to work under them. Ryans news conference also unveiled his plan to make sure there is transparency within the government, including expanding the citys open data online portal, and ensure that there is no political influence in contracting. You can view Ryans full news conference from Friday in the video player above. Latest Local News Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see 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 News 4 Buffalo. The space on South Carroll Street in Frederick doesnt look like much right now. Plaster and debris cover parts of the dirt and rock floor. Light shines in dimly through the windows. But Braeden Bumpers and Tyler Hegamyer of McClintock Distilling are hoping that the space will become a go-to dining spot in downtown Frederick. McClintock is partnering with the city of Frederick and the Downtown Frederick Partnership to create a food hall at the distillerys location along Carroll Creek. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The facility will feature four food stalls of between 200 and 350 square feet each, as well as a bar with McClintocks offerings and a market stall in a 6,000-square-foot space within a lower-level space within a historic building owned by McClintock. The building initially housed the service center and paint shop for a car dealership in the early 1900s, then was a series of shops and other businesses, said Alison Hegamyer, a co-owner of the building. The project will create a cool venue to showcase new restaurateurs and new styles of food for downtown, said Bumpers, one of McClintocks owners. Hes hoping the location along the creek will help draw in visitors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bumpers said they hope to have most of the construction done by the end of the year. The distillery has had the space, and has been talking to various people and groups about adding a food component to it, he said. Bumpers said he thinks the space will be conducive to entrepreneurs, especially younger ones or ones without the capital to open full restaurants. The shared space will allow businesses to have lower overhead and rent, he said. The hall will provide a spot for start-up culinary entrepreneurs, and expand the business and food offerings available downtown, said Kara Norman, executive director of the Downtown Frederick Partnership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project will not be set up as an incubator, with businesses housed for a set amount of time, she said. Instead, businesses will be able to stay as long as they choose, she said. Strategically positioned near East Patrick Street, Carroll Creek Linear Park, the future Downtown Hotel and Conference Center, the Police Headquarters and newly planned housing developments, the food hall is set to become a key attraction for both locals and visitors in the area, the Partnership wrote in a press release about the project. Bumpers hopes the location along the creek will help draw in visitors. The creek, every year, its more and more people, Bumpers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project is supported by a $300,000 grant from Project Restore 2.0, a program by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development that seeks to revitalize vacant buildings and improve commercial corridors in the state. Tyler Hegamyer said architectural drawings are being finished up now. Applying for permits from the city will be the next step in the process, he said. Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) warned in a speech Thursday that U.S. negotiators trying to end the war in Ukraine are headed for a Russia wins, America loses headline if they agree to a deal that achieves only illusory peace. McConnell made his comments in reaction to recent events, notably President Trumps public scolding of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House and a Kremlin statement that the Trump administrations foreign policy pivot on the war largely coincides with our vision. When American officials court the favor of an adversary at the expense of allies When they mock our friends to impress an enemy They reveal their embarrassing naivete, McConnell said in remarks Thursday while accepting the Star of Ukraine Award, the U.S.-Ukraine Foundations highest honor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unless we change course, the outcome were headed for today is the one we can least afford: a headline that reads Russia wins, America loses,' he said. An illusory peace that shreds Americas credibility, leaves Ukraine under threat, weakens our alliances, and emboldens our enemies, he said. McConnell invoked failed efforts to appease Nazi Germany before World War II, quoting President Franklin Delano Roosevelts warning that no man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it. He reiterated that sending military aid to Ukraine is far less costly than becoming embroiled in a war in Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And he questioned whether Trumps advisers are fully committed to military deterrence and the principle of peace through strength. Too many of those who use it particularly among the presidents advisers dont seem ready to summon the resources and national will it requires, he said. We have a lot of work to do on this front. The resolve of the West will require that we actually stand with the West. Instead of mocking European allies and partners, itll mean building a stronger trans-Atlantic alliance, he argued. Trump has repeatedly criticized other member countries of NATO for not spending more on their defense budgets, and members of the presidents national security team disparaged the military capabilities of European allies on a group chat on Signal, which included a journalist for The Atlantic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed Europe for free-loading on the United Statess military strength in the Red Sea, calling it PATHETIC. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell sharply criticized the Trump administrations Ukraine policy and pivot toward isolationism Thursday night, accusing President Donald Trumps advisers of showing their embarrassing naivete in dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. McConnell, a staunch supporter of Ukraine who delivered remarks while being awarded the US-Ukraine Foundations highest honor, warned that some of the presidents advisers are urging Trump to pull back from supporting the war-torn nation, and argued that such a move would be a sign of weakness. This war is a reminder that what happens in one region has implications in another. That weakness in the face of one adversary would invite aggression from another even closer to home. That our credibility was not divisible, McConnell said. Allies half a world away in Asia have told us the same that Ukraines defense against Russian aggression matters to those who live in Chinas shadow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement America cant afford to ignore these lessons. But thats exactly what some of the presidents advisers are urging him to do. The pointed remarks from McConnell come as Trump has spoken with Putin twice since taking office breaking a sustained period of silence between the White House and the Kremlin and follow the presidents fiery Oval Office meeting with Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky late last month. McConnells desire for an active US role in deterring aggression from Russia in Ukraine has put him at odds with a growing share of the Republican electorate, which has embraced Trumps more isolationist view. And while the Kentucky Republican has largely voted with Trump during his tenure, he recently put himself at odds with nearly all Senate Republicans when he cast a trio of votes against Trumps Cabinet nominees including for the critical defense secretary and director of national intelligence roles. In turn, McConnell, the longest-serving leader in Senate history when he stepped down from the role in November, has drawn Trumps ire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McConnell on Thursday noted that the US allies and adversaries are watching closely as the administration praises Putin. When the presidents envoys trumpet the magnanimity of a thuggish autocrat, they do so under the watchful eyes of his friends in Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang. When his representatives in negotiations masquerade as neutral arbiters, or legitimize sham elections, or treat aggressor and victim as morally equivalent, they do so in full view of longtime partners across the globe some who know the taste of aggression, and some who have good reason to fear its imminent arrival, McConnell said. When American officials court the favor of an adversary at the expense of allies. When they mock our friends to impress an enemy. They reveal their embarrassing naivete. The former GOP leader pointed to former President Ronald Reagans military buildup and the end of the Cold War, and specifically what he said is the most popular phrase in Washington today: peace through strength. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But too many of those who use it particularly among the presidents advisers dont seem ready to summon the resources and national will it requires, he argued. McConnell ended with a stark warning: To cut off Ukraine is to stab ourselves in the back. So is the denigration of allies who have fought and died alongside us. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The News Sen. Mitch McConnell received the Star of Ukraine Award from the US-Ukraine Foundation last night and let loose on Trump and his team. He said when it comes to deterring adversaries, some of the presidents advisers dont seem ready to summon the resources and national will it requires, and warned the outcome were headed for today is the one we can least afford: a headline that reads, Russia wins, America loses. McConnell has been a steadfast backer of Ukraine but is choosing when to shoot his shots now that Trump is president. The former Senate GOP leader felt the need to respond last night, though, amid nervousness in Europe over Trumps approach: When American officials court the favor of an adversary at the expense of allies [and] when they mock our friends to impress an enemy they reveal their embarrassing naivete. SIGNALS Republicans in Congress remain divided over Ukraine Source: Just Security Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps clashes with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and overtures to Russia have made some congressional Republicans uncomfortable. I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and US values around the world, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said, following last months heated Oval Office showdown between Zelenskyy and Trump. Within the administration, views also appear split, Daniel Fried, a former US Ambassador to Ukraine said: More traditional Republicans still believe the US should stick by its traditional allies to counter its adversaries, while the new guard would likely prefer that the US cut deals with rivals to lower the geopolitical temperature. McConnell abandoned by Trumps GOP Sources: CNN, Vanity Fair With two years left on the job, McConnell has become one of the lone GOP holdouts voting against Trumps agenda. He opposed the confirmation of Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and has criticized the GOPs drift away from its traditional, hawkish foreign policy. He is eager to demonstrate he has an independent streak and some deep convictions, Indiana Sen. Todd Young told CNN. Hes liberated. The attitude has earned him Trumps ire, with the president saying McConnell is not equipped mentally after the Kentucky senator voted against confirming Kennedy Jr. as health secretary. The former Republican leader has found himself abandoned by his own party, which is heading in a radically different direction under Trump, according to a Vanity Fair profile. McConnells foreign policy vision outdated in Trumps Washington Sources: Politico, Foreign Affairs, Responsible Statecraft McConnells warnings about the danger of isolationism and his steadfast support for Ukraine and NATO stand in contrast to many Republicans embrace of Trumps America first foreign policy approach. This is the defining, final battle of his career, keeping the party away from this new flirtation with isolationism, McConnells close adviser told Politico. McConnell criticized the right-wing flirtation with isolation and decline, in a Foreign Affairs piece in December, making a case for Trump to build his foreign policy on the US hard power. But McConnells muscular internationalism appears to have a limited appeal to a new generation of conservative foreign policy experts, many of whom hope to prioritize American interests over maintaining the hegemony of liberal values worldwide. MCLEAN COUNTY, Ill. (WMBD) The McLean County Sheriffs Office is asking the public for help locating a missing man, Scott Ford, according to a Facebook post from the sheriffs office. Ford is described as 57 with blue eyes and black hair. He has tattoos on both of his arms, which include a woman holding a welder, flames and a skull. He drives a silver/gray Jeep with Illinois truck plate 3397284. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No information on his last known location or when he was last seen has been released. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 911 immediately. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said President Trump is dead serious about wanting her to dismantle the department and put herself out of a job in the administration. When he asked me to serve as the secretary of Education I knew exactly what his mandate was, which is to close the Department of Education, McMahon said during a Thursday interview on WABC 770 AMs Cats & Cosby. McMahon nodded to Trumps comment at the White House last month when he noted he had told her, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has joked, but hes dead serious about the fact that he wants me to fire myself, McMahon said during the interview on the radio program hosted by John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby. Trump signed an executive order last week seeking to spearhead efforts to eliminate the Department of Education during an event with GOP governors in the White House East Room. Beyond these core necessities, my administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the department. Were going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible, Trump said. McMahon suggested Thursday that Title I funding for schools with low-income students and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs for special needs scholars could be housed under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which has also undertaken mass firings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Title 1 funding and the funding under IDEA, which is for our special needs and handicap children, could very well go under HHS Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy [Jr.] and I have already had discussions about that. He fully believes that they would be very properly managed and funded through HHS. The Education Department laid off 1,315 staffers earlier this month in an effort to comply with the presidents mandate to dismantle the department while officials push for congressional approval to completely eliminate the agency. One of the things Ive asked to have provided to me is a list of those actions that I can take without Congress, and those that I will need Congresss approval for. Clearly, shutting down the agency would be an act of Congress. It was set up by an act of Congress, McMahon said. The president said in his executive order that we would be abiding by the law and in cooperation with Congress to get this done. My goal is to be completely transparent with Congress as we look to how to move these programs into different agencies, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Education advocates have filed a series of lawsuits over the Trump administrations push to close the department. The White House argues states should take a bigger role in education matters. The Department of Education, and the laws it is supposed to execute, has one major purpose: to level the playing field and fill opportunity gaps to help every child in America succeed, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers union, said in a statement. Trying to abolish itwhich, by the way, only Congress can dosends a message that the president doesnt care about opportunity for all kids. Maybe he cares about it for his own kids or his friends kids or his donors kidsbut not all kids, she added. No one likes bureaucracy, and everyones in favor of more efficiency, so lets find ways to accomplish that. 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. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Monroe County Sheriffs deputies have recovered several firearms across two separate arrests in Parma. The first arrest stems from a traffic stop on March 19 around 2:44 p.m. on Hilton Parma Corners Road in the Town of Parma. According to MCSO, 38-year-old Justin Hutchings was driving a Chevy Tahoe that was not properly insured or registered in New York State. During the investigation deputies discovered a ghost gun and two loaded high-capacity magazines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hutchings has been charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon (2nd and 3rd) and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. MCSO did not provide specifics regarding the Endangering the Welfare of a Child charge. Hutchings was arraigned in Parma Town Court and remanded to the Monroe County Jail on $7,500 cash or $15,000 bond. The second arrest on March 21 also followed a traffic stop at the intersection of Route 104 and Route 259 around 5:14 p.m. in the Town of Parma. MCSO said Joshua Cliff, 28 was pulled over for Vehicle and Traffic Law violations when deputies discovered his drivers license was suspended. During the traffic stop deputies discovered a semi-automatic pistol with the serial number scratched off, a sawed-off shotgun, a disassembled handgun and narcotics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cliff was charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon (2nd and 3rd) and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance (7th). Cliff was arraigned in Parma Town Court and was remanded to the Monroe County Jail on $7,500 cash or $15,000 bond. MCSO has not implied that these arrests are related. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. Just a few months after Georgia mom Brittany Patterson was arrested for the crime of not knowing that her then-10-year-old son had walked to the store on his own, her state has passed a Reasonable Childhood Independence law, making it the ninth state to do so. It now goes to the governor for signing. The bill clarifies that "neglect" is only when you put your child in serious, obvious danger not anytime you take your eyes off them. This protects against the modern-day helicopter parenting norms that have made passersby and, sometimes, cops and bureaucrats insist that children of almost any age need constant adult supervision. When Patterson was arrested, bodycam footage shows, she asked the law enforcement agents, "What am I under arrest for?" "For reckless endangerment," one deputy said. "And how was I recklessly endangering my child?" Replied the second deputy, "Turn around. We're not we're not talking about it." At which point Patterson told her son who'd witnessed the arrest, as had two of his three siblings to go tell their grandma, "They're taking me to jail because you decided to walk down the street." When Georgia lobbyist Jesse Weathington heard this story which ricocheted around an outraged world he contacted Let Grow, the nonprofit I helm, to volunteer his services. Let Grow's mission is to make childhood independence easy, normal and legal which is why we promote this law. As Weathington says, it lets "kids today have the freedom and independence we enjoyed growing up." David DeLugas, executive director of the National Association of Parents, is the lawyer representing Patterson. He said, "Let's hope that, from now on, law enforcement and (child and family services) take no action unless a child appears to be hurt or in distress or in imminent danger from an identifiable source." Said Patterson herself, "Some people think that this is not one of those things that's super important until you're affected by it." Georgia state Sens. Jason Anavitarte, Randy Robertson, Kay Kirkpatrick, Jason Esteves and Eddie Lumsden sponsored the bill, which garnered bipartisan support, as it has in every state. That's because no matter what your politics, nobody wants their everyday parenting decisions second-guessed by the state. Previously, two Georgia cases besides Patterson's had made headlines: In one, mom of five Melissa Henderson was arrested after she had her daughter, 14, babysit the four younger siblings. This was early in the pandemic when Henderson needed to work but COVID-19 had suddenly shuttered the day care center and schools. Her 4-year-old wandered outside to play with a neighbor, and the neighbor's mom called the cops. Henderson was handcuffed and thrown in jail. The cops said that the child, outside for a couple of minutes, could have been bitten by a "venomous snake." Henderson, too, was represented by DeLugas. Three years later, the court ruled in her favor. Meanwhile, in 2018, mom of four Beth Widner was visited by the cops and child protective services after her 7-year-old, riding his bike home from swimming practice, stopped at the local grocery for a free cookie. Someone saw him unsupervised and called 911. He actually stopped for cookies another time, the little recidivist. The first caseworker sent to investigate the Widners told them she wished her own kids were that independent. But the second one told the Widners that they had "a problem with child supervision." When the parents asked what specific law they had broken, the caseworker said she didn't have it written down. Well, now the law IS written down: Georgia S.B. 110 says it is NOT neglect to trust your child with some reasonable childhood independence. Once signed by the governor, the new law will "protect families from misunderstanding what is and isn't neglect," says Let Grow's legal consultant, Diane Redleaf. It will also let child protective services concentrate on REAL abuse and neglect. In the meantime, kids: Celebrate by going outside RIGHT NOW! And stay out till the streetlights come on! CANBERRA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has announced additional humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Pat Conroy, the minister for International Development and the Pacific, on Friday committed an extra 11 million Australian dollars (6.9 million U.S. dollars) in "lifesaving" humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza. Additionally, they said the Australian government would provide an extra 15 million AUD (9.4 million USD) for people affected by "humanitarian crises" in Myanmar and Afghanistan. Wong and Conroy said in a joint statement that the additional funding for Gaza will address urgent needs, including healthcare, food and water. "Australia is engaging diplomatically as part of the international call for all parties to return to the ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. We continue to press for the protection of civilians, the release of hostages and unimpeded and sustained humanitarian aid," Wong said. Wong and Conroy described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "dire" and reiterated Australia's call for sustained and unimpeded aid for people who desperately need it. They said the five million AUD (3.1 million USD) in new funding for Afghanistan will go towards United Nations partners delivering services for Afghan women and girls. BROWN COUNTY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) A case of the measles has been confirmed in Brown County. Brown County Health Department officials released information on the case Friday, saying the patients identifying information will be withheld. Measles, an airborne virus that is spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes, is especially dangerous for babies and young children. High fever, runny nose, cough, red-watery eyes, sore throat, and a characteristic rash are common symptoms of measles. The rash often shows up 3-5 days after other symptoms begin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Texas measles outbreak expected to last for months, though vaccinations are up from last year A press release from the Brown County Health Department explains, measles is highly contagious, and if one person has it, 9 out of 10 people around that person will also become infected if theyre not yet vaccinated. Health officials recommend immunization as the top prevention measure against measles. Texas has been experiencing a measles outbreak in 2025, with more than 400 cases being identified in the Panhandle and far West Texas since January. This case is the first confirmed to have reached the Big Country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with questions about the measles is asked to contact Brownwood-Brown County Health Department at (325)646-0554. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. When the first measles cases were confirmed in western Texas, health officials said the infections primarily affected the Mennonite community. Mennonites, who are part of the Anabaptist Christian church, have a small presence in the United States -- and Texas in general -- but they have a large presence in the South Plains region of the state, and in Gaines County, which is the epicenter of the outbreak. Many Mennonite communities are close-knit and under-vaccinated, which may have contributed to the spread of measles among members of the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Measles vaccinations are increasing in some areas hit hard by cases: Officials But health officials are starting to see cases spread beyond the Mennonite population. It is spreading beyond this community, "unfortunately," Katherine Wells, director of public health for the city of Lubbock -- which is located in western Texas -- told ABC News. "West Texas is where the spread of these cases are right now, and we need to make sure that everybody in West Texas is getting vaccinated and is aware of measles and understands the precautions that we need to take." PHOTO: A sign is seen outside a clinic with the South Plains Public Health District, on Feb. 23, 2025, in Brownfield, Texas. (Julio Cortez/AP, FILE) The outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with a total of 327 cases in at least 15 counties, according to new data published Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. At least 40 people have been hospitalized so far. Just two cases have occurred in people fully vaccinated with the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, according to the data. Wells acknowledged that it may be easy for people to assume measles is only affecting a small and insular group like Mennonites and that nobody else is at risk. "West Texas, you might say we're small and insular compared to Dallas and some other areas," she said. "But no, this has, unfortunately, moved into many, many different populations." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So unfortunately, it is growing and continues to grow," she continued. Marlen Ramirez, a community health worker and program coordinator at Vaccinate Your Family, a national non-partisan organization, shared a statement with ABC News, saying, "As a Community Health Worker living and working in a rural border town, I see firsthand how quickly diseases like measles can spread when vaccination rates are low and access to care is limited." "While the initial measles outbreak in western Texas affected members of the Mennonite community, the virus easily spreads wherever communities are under-vaccinatedand right now, were seeing cases reach into rural parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Kansas," Ramirez, who is based in Eagle Pass, Texas, added. "In many of these areas, vaccination rates are below 90%, well below the 92-94% needed for community or herd immunity. Thats what has allowed this outbreak to grow to over 300 cases so quickly. We fear the number of actual cases may be much higher than reported due to confusion and delays in the outbreak response," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: As measles cases rise across the US, who may need another vaccine 'booster'? A spokesperson for DSHS confirmed to ABC News that the first cases in the outbreak were among Mennonite community members, but this is no longer the case. "Since 90% of unvaccinated people exposed to the measles virus will become ill, there are many cases in people who are not part of the Mennonite community," the spokesperson said. "We do not ask a person's religious affiliation as part of our case investigation process, so we have no way of counting how many cases are part of the Mennonite community and how many are not." Why the Mennonite population was hit hard by measles cases Steven Nolt, professor of history and Anabaptist studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, told ABC News that culturally conservative and Old Order Mennonites have traditionally been under-immunized or partially immunized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said there are no religious teachings or bodies of religious writings that prevent Mennonites from being vaccinated. The DSHS spokesperson also added that that Mennonite religion is not "widely against vaccination." "Reasons are not religious but reflect everything from less frequent engagement with health care systems (for those who are more rural) to a traditional outlook that replicates practices of parents and grandparents more than the most current practices," Nolt said via email. PHOTO: Signs point the way to measles testing in the parking lot of the Seminole Hospital District across from Wigwam Stadium, on Feb. 27, 2025, in Seminole, Texas. (Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images, FILE) For example, culturally traditional Mennonites may have participated in mid-20th century vaccination campaigns against diseases like smallpox, leading to their children and grandchildren trusting those vaccines compared to more recent additions to the immunization schedule, Nolt said. He added that Mennonites may also be influenced by the opinions of their neighbors, which may play a role in lack of vaccination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nolt also explained that the Mennonites who live in Seminole, Texas, a city at the center of Gaines County -- a community known as Low German Mennonites, due to the language they speak -- "lived in relative isolation in Mexico from the 1920s to the 1980s." "They missed out on the mid-century public health immunization campaigns in the U.S., be they polio or smallpox or whatever (the Mexican government had a reputation for not engaging with the Low German Mennonites at all)," he wrote. "Thus, they are starting from a different place than other culturally conservative Mennonites whose ancestors have been here since the 1700s." Nolt went on, "My point is, the so-called Low German Mennonites from Mexico, now in west Texas, don't have that minimum baseline of mid-20th century vaccine acceptance that we see among Old Order Mennonites and Amish in the U.S. because the folks in Seminole missed the whole mid-century immunization push, as they weren't in the U.S. at that time." Measles outbreak in Texas is spreading beyond the Mennonite community: Officials originally appeared on abcnews.go.com WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) The measles outbreak in Kansas has prompted several health departments to hold vaccine clinics. The Stevens County Health Department held a measles vaccine clinic on Friday morning. If you missed it, you can schedule an appointment by calling 620-544-7177. Measles cases more than double in Kansas In Sedgwick County, the next vaccine clinic will be held on Saturday, April 5, at the Sedgwick County Health Departments office at 1900 East 9th. It will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and there will be no out-of-pocket cost. Call 316-660-7300 with questions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. Older adults participate in a falls prevention awareness day of action in Fort Worth, Texas, in September. Around the nation, doctors, lawmakers, advocates and patients are ringing alarm bells over congressional Republicans proposals to slash billions of dollars from federal Medicaid funding, which could especially hurt older Americans. (Rick Kern/Getty Images for National Council on Aging) Dr. Fred Levin has been watching with growing alarm the national debate around federal cuts to Medicaid. Hes responsible for the medical care of about 100 older adults at the Community PACE center in rural Newaygo, Michigan. For his patients, Medicaid isnt just a safety net its a matter of life or death. If left to see to their own needs, a lot of them would stay in their homes and would slowly die, he said. They wouldnt be able to get to their doctors appointments unless they had a family member to help. They wouldnt get social care. They wouldnt have people coming into their homes and seeing the bed bugs or the lice in their hair. They wouldnt get their medications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The care at Community PACE is paid for by Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or certain disabilities, and Medicare, the federal insurance program for people 65 and older. The center is a one-stop shop that provides medical and social services to older adults during the day, allowing them to continue living safely in their homes. If Congress cuts funding to Medicaid, Levin expects his center would probably close. Unlike traditional nursing home care, which state Medicaid programs are required by federal law to cover, the services at PACE centers like his are an optional benefit that 33 states have opted to cover. Around the nation, doctors, lawmakers, advocates and patients are watching anxiously as Republicans in Congress consider proposals to slash billions of dollars from federal Medicaid funding as they look to offset trillions in proposed tax cuts. The specific nature of the funding cuts are still being hammered out. But any reductions to federal Medicaid spending would shift those costs to states. If you have an older adult in your life who has been in a nursing home or received help at home with cooking, bathing, dressing, chances are Medicaid was involved. Natalie Kean, director of federal health advocacy, Justice in Aging The additional financial burden could blow billion-dollar holes in state budgets, forcing state lawmakers to slash health benefits or restrict whos eligible for them. Nearly a fifth of Americans rely on Medicaid, and the percentage is even higher in some states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are a lot of people who dont pay attention to this because they think it doesnt affect them personally, Levin said. But 1 in 4 people in Michigan are on Medicaid. Its very likely you have friends or family on Medicaid. Nearly all Americans over age 65 are covered by Medicare, which Republicans have pledged not to touch. Medicare doesnt cover most nursing home or other long-term care, however. Neither does most private insurance. But Medicaid does. If you have an older adult in your life who has been in a nursing home or received help at home with cooking, bathing, dressing, chances are Medicaid was involved, said Natalie Kean, director of federal health advocacy for Justice in Aging, an advocacy group focused on addressing poverty among older people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of us have a connection to the program or will one day, she said. A divided front Conservatives have long argued for reducing the reach of Medicaid. They say the program is too expensive and that its expansion under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, diverts too much money toward able-bodied adults and away from the more vulnerable populations it was originally intended to help. But policy experts say that reducing coverage for some Medicaid recipients, such as the working adults who got coverage under expansion programs, will have ripple effects on vulnerable groups such as children and older adults. Republicans arent united in a desire to see massive cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican governor in a purple state, publicly called on Congress not to slash Medicaid funding. Earlier this week, Washington Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier wrote a letter to Trump asking him to reconsider cuts to Medicaid and expressing her concern about the large number of military retirees and senior citizens in her district. Caldier, a dentist who has worked with nursing home patients, told Stateline she believes the most likely cuts would be a reduction in the amount the federal government matches state spending for working adults who are covered under Medicaid expansion. That, she said, would have little impact on older adults. The only caveat is that I am very worried that the leadership in our state does not have a good relationship with our president, Caldier said. Democrats control the offices of governor and both legislative chambers in Washington state. Caldier worries that if Washington lawmakers defy the president over issues such as gender-affirming care for transgender youth, the feds could retaliate by slashing their Medicaid payments to the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we got into a political match with the president, we would lose, no matter how you slice or dice it, she said. In Idaho, Republican state lawmakers shot down a bill that likely would have repealed Medicaid expansion, before passing one that will introduce sweeping policy changes in an effort to control costs. Even in Congress, some Republicans are balking, publicly defending Medicaid and warning about the consequences of deep cuts. Some who have high percentages of Medicaid recipients in their districts have urged party leaders not to cut funding for the program and have vowed to vote against any budget plan that does so. Medicaid covers 72 million Americans. A majority of American adults, including two-thirds of Republicans, say they want Congress to either maintain current Medicaid spending or increase it, according to a February 2025 poll from KFF, a health policy research group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has said in recent months that he wont touch Medicaid. But last month, U.S. House Republicans pushed through a budget plan, now under consideration in the Senate, that calls for about $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade to help counterbalance the Trump administrations desired $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Facing cuts that large, states would have to figure out which benefits to chop in order to keep their budgets balanced, which is a constitutional requirement in most states. Older adults and people with disabilities already account for more than half of states Medicaid spending, on average. In some states, including Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi and North Dakota, those groups account for two-thirds of state Medicaid spending. Idaho state Sen. Melissa Wintrow, a Democrat on the state Senate Health & Welfare committee, said her biggest concern is Congress reducing the federal match rate. This is the amount of money the federal government chips in to help states pay for Medicaid. How much a state receives mainly depends on how wealthy its residents are. Richer states such as California and Connecticut get less help, while poorer states get more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Idaho, on the poorer end of the spectrum, the feds pay about 67% of traditional Medicaid costs and 90% of Medicaid expansion costs. It is all a domino effect, Wintrow said. The federal government covers about $3 billion of Idahos $4.2 billion Medicaid budget. If the feds start chopping that off, its going to impact everything. Cutting care at home All state Medicaid programs have opted to cover at least some home-based and community care, such as home health aides who assist people with bathing, toileting and other daily living activities, transportation and adult day care. Kean and other experts worry that because federal law doesnt require state Medicaid programs to cover home-based care, state lawmakers might sharply reduce spending on those services or even eliminate coverage. When states have budget shortfalls, they start to tighten eligibility for the home-based programs, said Kean. Were certain those would be the first to go if federal funding is cut for Medicaid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paying for home-based services out of pocket would exhaust the median Medicare recipients savings in less than two years, according to KFF. The median cost of a year of a full-time aide to help is about $62,400, far above the median income for Americans over 65, which is about $36,000. The median life savings for Medicare beneficiaries was $103,800 in 2023. Home-based services are a popular benefit for state Medicaid programs, because most enrollees prefer to remain in their homes. And despite the expense, home care can be more cost effective than nursing homes about $38,000 vs. nearly $54,000 per year in 2021, according to a KFF analysis. Cutting Medicaid also could make it harder to recruit and keep a workforce of nursing home and home health employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past two years, most states even those led by Republicans increased their Medicaid payment rates for those services, in an effort to combat the nationwide shortage of long-term care workers. But federal funding cuts could jeopardize what states are able to pay those workers. Theres already a direct-care workforce crisis, Kean said. Even if eligibility isnt directly cut or programs arent cut, there wouldnt be enough workers to provide that care. At home and in nursing facilities, the quality of care will go down. In rural Michigan, Levin said the PACE center where he works employs about 100 people. Its closure would impact not only those workers, but also would mean his patients would be left to find transportation and other health services on their own, even if those services are still covered by Medicaid. Without access in rural areas, how are these individuals going to get to the bigger cities where they can get to their health care? Its going to overwhelm other parts of the health care system, Levin said. Everybodys going to be responsible for taking care of the people who dont have health insurance, in some indirect way or another. Its going to affect us all. Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at avollers@stateline.org. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Older adults participate in a falls prevention awareness day of action in Fort Worth, Texas, in September. Around the nation, doctors, lawmakers, advocates and patients are ringing alarm bells over congressional Republicans proposals to slash billions of dollars from federal Medicaid funding, which could especially hurt older Americans. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for National Council on Aging) Dr. Fred Levin has been watching with growing alarm the national debate around federal cuts to Medicaid. Hes responsible for the medical care of about 100 older adults at the Community PACE center in rural Newaygo, Michigan. For his patients, Medicaid isnt just a safety net its a matter of life or death. If left to see to their own needs, a lot of them would stay in their homes and would slowly die, he said. They wouldnt be able to get to their doctors appointments unless they had a family member to help. They wouldnt get social care. They wouldnt have people coming into their homes and seeing the bed bugs or the lice in their hair. They wouldnt get their medications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The care at Community PACE is paid for by Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or certain disabilities, and Medicare, the federal insurance program for people 65 and older. The center is a one-stop shop that provides medical and social services to older adults during the day, allowing them to continue living safely in their homes. If Congress cuts funding to Medicaid, Levin expects his center would probably close. Unlike traditional nursing home care, which state Medicaid programs are required by federal law to cover, the services at PACE centers like his are an optional benefit that 33 states have opted to cover. Around the nation, doctors, lawmakers, advocates and patients are watching anxiously as Republicans in Congress consider proposals to slash billions of dollars from federal Medicaid funding as they look to offset trillions in proposed tax cuts. The specific nature of the funding cuts are still being hammered out. But any reductions to federal Medicaid spending would shift those costs to states. If you have an older adult in your life who has been in a nursing home or received help at home with cooking, bathing, dressing, chances are Medicaid was involved. Natalie Kean, director of federal health advocacy, Justice in Aging The additional financial burden could blow billion-dollar holes in state budgets, forcing state lawmakers to slash health benefits or restrict whos eligible for them. Nearly a fifth of Americans rely on Medicaid, and the percentage is even higher in some states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are a lot of people who dont pay attention to this because they think it doesnt affect them personally, Levin said. But 1 in 4 people in Michigan are on Medicaid. Its very likely you have friends or family on Medicaid. Nearly all Americans over age 65 are covered by Medicare, which Republicans have pledged not to touch. Medicare doesnt cover most nursing home or other long-term care, however. Neither does most private insurance. But Medicaid does. If you have an older adult in your life who has been in a nursing home or received help at home with cooking, bathing, dressing, chances are Medicaid was involved, said Natalie Kean, director of federal health advocacy for Justice in Aging, an advocacy group focused on addressing poverty among older people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of us have a connection to the program or will one day, she said. A divided front Conservatives have long argued for reducing the reach of Medicaid. They say the program is too expensive and that its expansion under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, diverts too much money toward able-bodied adults and away from the more vulnerable populations it was originally intended to help. But policy experts say that reducing coverage for some Medicaid recipients, such as the working adults who got coverage under expansion programs, will have ripple effects on vulnerable groups such as children and older adults. Republicans arent united in a desire to see massive cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican governor in a purple state, publicly called on Congress not to slash Medicaid funding. Earlier this week, Washington Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier wrote a letter to Trump asking him to reconsider cuts to Medicaid and expressing her concern about the large number of military retirees and senior citizens in her district. Caldier, a dentist who has worked with nursing home patients, told Stateline she believes the most likely cuts would be a reduction in the amount the federal government matches state spending for working adults who are covered under Medicaid expansion. That, she said, would have little impact on older adults. The only caveat is that I am very worried that the leadership in our state does not have a good relationship with our president, Caldier said. Democrats control the offices of governor and both legislative chambers in Washington state. Caldier worries that if Washington lawmakers defy the president over issues such as gender-affirming care for transgender youth, the feds could retaliate by slashing their Medicaid payments to the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we got into a political match with the president, we would lose, no matter how you slice or dice it, she said. In Idaho, Republican state lawmakers shot down a bill that likely would have repealed Medicaid expansion, before passing one that will introduce sweeping policy changes in an effort to control costs. Even in Congress, some Republicans are balking, publicly defending Medicaid and warning about the consequences of deep cuts. Some who have high percentages of Medicaid recipients in their districts have urged party leaders not to cut funding for the program and have vowed to vote against any budget plan that does so. Medicaid covers 72 million Americans. A majority of American adults, including two-thirds of Republicans, say they want Congress to either maintain current Medicaid spending or increase it, according to a February 2025 poll from KFF, a health policy research group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has said in recent months that he wont touch Medicaid. But last month, U.S. House Republicans pushed through a budget plan, now under consideration in the Senate, that calls for about $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade to help counterbalance the Trump administrations desired $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Facing cuts that large, states would have to figure out which benefits to chop in order to keep their budgets balanced, which is a constitutional requirement in most states. Older adults and people with disabilities already account for more than half of states Medicaid spending, on average. In some states, including Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi and North Dakota, those groups account for two-thirds of state Medicaid spending. Idaho state Sen. Melissa Wintrow, a Democrat on the state Senate Health & Welfare committee, said her biggest concern is Congress reducing the federal match rate. This is the amount of money the federal government chips in to help states pay for Medicaid. How much a state receives mainly depends on how wealthy its residents are. Richer states such as California and Connecticut get less help, while poorer states get more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Idaho, on the poorer end of the spectrum, the feds pay about 67% of traditional Medicaid costs and 90% of Medicaid expansion costs. It is all a domino effect, Wintrow said. The federal government covers about $3 billion of Idahos $4.2 billion Medicaid budget. If the feds start chopping that off, its going to impact everything. Cutting care at home All state Medicaid programs have opted to cover at least some home-based and community care, such as home health aides who assist people with bathing, toileting and other daily living activities, transportation and adult day care. Kean and other experts worry that because federal law doesnt require state Medicaid programs to cover home-based care, state lawmakers might sharply reduce spending on those services or even eliminate coverage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When states have budget shortfalls, they start to tighten eligibility for the home-based programs, said Kean. Were certain those would be the first to go if federal funding is cut for Medicaid. Paying for home-based services out of pocket would exhaust the median Medicare recipients savings in less than two years, according to KFF. The median cost of a year of a full-time aide to help is about $62,400, far above the median income for Americans over 65, which is about $36,000. The median life savings for Medicare beneficiaries was $103,800 in 2023. Home-based services are a popular benefit for state Medicaid programs, because most enrollees prefer to remain in their homes. And despite the expense, home care can be more cost effective than nursing homes about $38,000 vs. nearly $54,000 per year in 2021, according to a KFF analysis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cutting Medicaid also could make it harder to recruit and keep a workforce of nursing home and home health employees. Over the past two years, most states even those led by Republicans increased their Medicaid payment rates for those services, in an effort to combat the nationwide shortage of long-term care workers. But federal funding cuts could jeopardize what states are able to pay those workers. Theres already a direct-care workforce crisis, Kean said. Even if eligibility isnt directly cut or programs arent cut, there wouldnt be enough workers to provide that care. At home and in nursing facilities, the quality of care will go down. In rural Michigan, Levin said the PACE center where he works employs about 100 people. Its closure would impact not only those workers, but also would mean his patients would be left to find transportation and other health services on their own, even if those services are still covered by Medicaid. Without access in rural areas, how are these individuals going to get to the bigger cities where they can get to their health care? Its going to overwhelm other parts of the health care system, Levin said. Everybodys going to be responsible for taking care of the people who dont have health insurance, in some indirect way or another. Its going to affect us all. Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at avollers@stateline.org. This story was originally published by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Older adults participate in a falls prevention awareness day of action in Fort Worth, Texas, in September. Around the nation, doctors, lawmakers, advocates and patients are ringing alarm bells over congressional Republicans proposals to slash billions of dollars from federal Medicaid funding, which could especially hurt older Americans. (Rick Kern/Getty Images for National Council on Aging) Dr. Fred Levin has been watching with growing alarm the national debate around federal cuts to Medicaid. Hes responsible for the medical care of about 100 older adults at the Community PACE center in rural Newaygo, Michigan. For his patients, Medicaid isnt just a safety net its a matter of life or death. If left to see to their own needs, a lot of them would stay in their homes and would slowly die, he said. They wouldnt be able to get to their doctors appointments unless they had a family member to help. They wouldnt get social care. They wouldnt have people coming into their homes and seeing the bed bugs or the lice in their hair. They wouldnt get their medications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The care at Community PACE is paid for by Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or certain disabilities, and Medicare, the federal insurance program for people 65 and older. The center is a one-stop shop that provides medical and social services to older adults during the day, allowing them to continue living safely in their homes. If Congress cuts funding to Medicaid, Levin expects his center would probably close. Unlike traditional nursing home care, which state Medicaid programs are required by federal law to cover, the services at PACE centers like his are an optional benefit that 33 states have opted to cover. Around the nation, doctors, lawmakers, advocates and patients are watching anxiously as Republicans in Congress consider proposals to slash billions of dollars from federal Medicaid funding as they look to offset trillions in proposed tax cuts. The specific nature of the funding cuts are still being hammered out. But any reductions to federal Medicaid spending would shift those costs to states. If you have an older adult in your life who has been in a nursing home or received help at home with cooking, bathing, dressing, chances are Medicaid was involved. Natalie Kean, director of federal health advocacy, Justice in Aging The additional financial burden could blow billion-dollar holes in state budgets, forcing state lawmakers to slash health benefits or restrict whos eligible for them. Nearly a fifth of Americans rely on Medicaid, and the percentage is even higher in some states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are a lot of people who dont pay attention to this because they think it doesnt affect them personally, Levin said. But 1 in 4 people in Michigan are on Medicaid. Its very likely you have friends or family on Medicaid. Nearly all Americans over age 65 are covered by Medicare, which Republicans have pledged not to touch. Medicare doesnt cover most nursing home or other long-term care, however. Neither does most private insurance. But Medicaid does. If you have an older adult in your life who has been in a nursing home or received help at home with cooking, bathing, dressing, chances are Medicaid was involved, said Natalie Kean, director of federal health advocacy for Justice in Aging, an advocacy group focused on addressing poverty among older people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of us have a connection to the program or will one day, she said. A divided front Conservatives have long argued for reducing the reach of Medicaid. They say the program is too expensive and that its expansion under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, diverts too much money toward able-bodied adults and away from the more vulnerable populations it was originally intended to help. But policy experts say that reducing coverage for some Medicaid recipients, such as the working adults who got coverage under expansion programs, will have ripple effects on vulnerable groups such as children and older adults. Republicans arent united in a desire to see massive cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican governor in a purple state, publicly called on Congress not to slash Medicaid funding. Earlier this week, Washington Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier wrote a letter to Trump asking him to reconsider cuts to Medicaid and expressing her concern about the large number of military retirees and senior citizens in her district. Caldier, a dentist who has worked with nursing home patients, told Stateline she believes the most likely cuts would be a reduction in the amount the federal government matches state spending for working adults who are covered under Medicaid expansion. That, she said, would have little impact on older adults. The only caveat is that I am very worried that the leadership in our state does not have a good relationship with our president, Caldier said. Democrats control the offices of governor and both legislative chambers in Washington state. Caldier worries that if Washington lawmakers defy the president over issues such as gender-affirming care for transgender youth, the feds could retaliate by slashing their Medicaid payments to the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we got into a political match with the president, we would lose, no matter how you slice or dice it, she said. In Idaho, Republican state lawmakers shot down a bill that likely would have repealed Medicaid expansion, before passing one that will introduce sweeping policy changes in an effort to control costs. Even in Congress, some Republicans are balking, publicly defending Medicaid and warning about the consequences of deep cuts. Some who have high percentages of Medicaid recipients in their districts have urged party leaders not to cut funding for the program and have vowed to vote against any budget plan that does so. Medicaid covers 72 million Americans. A majority of American adults, including two-thirds of Republicans, say they want Congress to either maintain current Medicaid spending or increase it, according to a February 2025 poll from KFF, a health policy research group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has said in recent months that he wont touch Medicaid. But last month, U.S. House Republicans pushed through a budget plan, now under consideration in the Senate, that calls for about $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade to help counterbalance the Trump administrations desired $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Facing cuts that large, states would have to figure out which benefits to chop in order to keep their budgets balanced, which is a constitutional requirement in most states. Older adults and people with disabilities already account for more than half of states Medicaid spending, on average. In some states, including Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi and North Dakota, those groups account for two-thirds of state Medicaid spending. Idaho state Sen. Melissa Wintrow, a Democrat on the state Senate Health & Welfare committee, said her biggest concern is Congress reducing the federal match rate. This is the amount of money the federal government chips in to help states pay for Medicaid. How much a state receives mainly depends on how wealthy its residents are. Richer states such as California and Connecticut get less help, while poorer states get more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Idaho, on the poorer end of the spectrum, the feds pay about 67% of traditional Medicaid costs and 90% of Medicaid expansion costs. It is all a domino effect, Wintrow said. The federal government covers about $3 billion of Idahos $4.2 billion Medicaid budget. If the feds start chopping that off, its going to impact everything. Cutting care at home All state Medicaid programs have opted to cover at least some home-based and community care, such as home health aides who assist people with bathing, toileting and other daily living activities, transportation and adult day care. Kean and other experts worry that because federal law doesnt require state Medicaid programs to cover home-based care, state lawmakers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When states have budget shortfalls, they start to tighten eligibility for the home-based programs, said Kean. Were certain those would be the first to go if federal funding is cut for Medicaid. Paying for home-based services out of pocket would exhaust the median Medicare recipients savings in less than two years, according to KFF. The median cost of a year of full-time aide to help is about $62,400, far above the median income for Americans over 65, which is about $36,000. The median life savings for Medicare beneficiaries was $103,800 in 2023. Home-based services are a popular benefit for state Medicaid programs, because most enrollees prefer to remain in their homes. And despite the expense, home care can be more cost effective than nursing homes about $38,000 vs. nearly $54,000 per year in 2021, according to a KFF analysis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cutting Medicaid also could make it harder to recruit and keep a workforce of nursing home and home health employees. Over the past two years, most states even those led by Republicans increased their Medicaid payment rates for those services, in an effort to combat the nationwide shortage of long-term care workers. But federal funding cuts could jeopardize what states are able to pay those workers. Theres already a direct-care workforce crisis, Kean said. Even if eligibility isnt directly cut or programs arent cut, there wouldnt be enough workers to provide that care. At home and in nursing facilities, the quality of care will go down. In rural Michigan, Levin said the PACE center where he works employs about 100 people. Its closure would impact not only those workers, but also would mean his patients would be left to find transportation and other health services on their own, even if those services are still covered by Medicaid. Without access in rural areas, how are these individuals going to get to the bigger cities where they can get to their health care? Its going to overwhelm other parts of the health care system, Levin said. Everybodys going to be responsible for taking care of the people who dont have health insurance, in some indirect way or another. Its going to affect us all. Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at avollers@stateline.org. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Mar. 28Dr. Fred Levin has been watching with growing alarm the national debate around federal cuts to Medicaid. He's responsible for the medical care of about 100 older adults at the Community PACE center in rural Newaygo, Michigan. For his patients, Medicaid isn't just a safety net it's a matter of life or death. "If left to see to their own needs, a lot of them would stay in their homes and would slowly die," he said. "They wouldn't be able to get to their doctors' appointments unless they had a family member to help. They wouldn't get social care. They wouldn't have people coming into their homes and seeing the bed bugs or the lice in their hair. They wouldn't get their medications." The care at Community PACE is paid for by Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or certain disabilities, and Medicare, the federal insurance program for people 65 and older. The center is a one-stop shop that provides medical and social services to older adults during the day, allowing them to continue living safely in their homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Congress cuts funding to Medicaid, Levin expects his center would probably close. Unlike traditional nursing home care, which state Medicaid programs are required by federal law to cover, the services at PACE centers like his are an optional benefit that 33 states have opted to cover. Around the nation, doctors, lawmakers, advocates and patients are watching anxiously as Republicans in Congress consider proposals to slash billions of dollars from federal Medicaid funding as they look to offset trillions in proposed tax cuts. The specific nature of the funding cuts are still being hammered out. But any reductions to federal Medicaid spending would shift those costs to states. If you have an older adult in your life who has been in a nursing home or received help at home with cooking, bathing, dressing, chances are Medicaid was involved. Natalie Kean, director of federal health advocacy, Justice in Aging The additional financial burden could blow billion-dollar holes in state budgets, forcing state lawmakers to slash health benefits or restrict who's eligible for them. Nearly a fifth of Americans rely on Medicaid, and the percentage is even higher in some states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There are a lot of people who don't pay attention to this because they think it doesn't affect them personally," Levin said. "But 1 in 4 people in Michigan are on Medicaid. It's very likely you have friends or family on Medicaid." Nearly all Americans over age 65 are covered by Medicare, which Republicans have pledged not to touch. Medicare doesn't cover most nursing home or other long-term care, however. Neither does most private insurance. But Medicaid does. "If you have an older adult in your life who has been in a nursing home or received help at home with cooking, bathing, dressing, chances are Medicaid was involved," said Natalie Kean, director of federal health advocacy for Justice in Aging, an advocacy group focused on addressing poverty among older people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Many of us have a connection to the program or will one day," she said. A divided front Conservatives have long argued for reducing the reach of Medicaid. They say the program is too expensive and that its expansion under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, diverts too much money toward able-bodied adults and away from the more vulnerable populations it was originally intended to help. But policy experts say that reducing coverage for some Medicaid recipients, such as the working adults who got coverage under expansion programs, will have ripple effects on vulnerable groups such as children and older adults. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans aren't united in a desire to see massive cuts. Last month, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican governor in a purple state, publicly called on Congress not to slash Medicaid funding. Earlier this week, Washington Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier wrote a letter to Trump asking him to reconsider cuts to Medicaid and expressing her concern about the large number of military retirees and senior citizens in her district. Caldier, a dentist who has worked with nursing home patients, told Stateline she believes the most likely cuts would be a reduction in the amount the federal government matches state spending for working adults who are covered under Medicaid expansion. That, she said, would have little impact on older adults. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The only caveat is that I am very worried that the leadership in our state does not have a good relationship with our president," Caldier said. Democrats control the offices of governor and both legislative chambers in Washington state. Caldier worries that if Washington lawmakers defy the president over issues such as gender-affirming care for transgender youth, the feds could retaliate by slashing their Medicaid payments to the state. "If we got into a political match with the president, we would lose, no matter how you slice or dice it," she said. In Idaho, Republican state lawmakers shot down a bill that likely would have repealed Medicaid expansion, before passing one that will introduce sweeping policy changes in an effort to control costs. Even in Congress, some Republicans are balking, publicly defending Medicaid and warning about the consequences of deep cuts. Some who have high percentages of Medicaid recipients in their districts have urged party leaders not to cut funding for the program and have vowed to vote against any budget plan that does so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medicaid covers 72 million Americans. A majority of American adults, including two-thirds of Republicans, say they want Congress to either maintain current Medicaid spending or increase it, according to a February 2025 poll from KFF, a health policy research group. President Donald Trump has said in recent months that he won't touch Medicaid. But last month, U.S. House Republicans pushed through a budget plan, now under consideration in the Senate, that calls for about $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade to help counterbalance the Trump administration's desired $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Facing cuts that large, states would have to figure out which benefits to chop in order to keep their budgets balanced, which is a constitutional requirement in most states. Older adults and people with disabilities already account for more than half of states' Medicaid spending, on average. In some states, including Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi and North Dakota, those groups account for two-thirds of state Medicaid spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Idaho state Sen. Melissa Wintrow, a Democrat on the state Senate Health & Welfare committee, said her biggest concern is Congress reducing the federal match rate. This is the amount of money the federal government chips in to help states pay for Medicaid. How much a state receives mainly depends on how wealthy its residents are. Richer states such as California and Connecticut get less help, while poorer states get more. In Idaho, on the poorer end of the spectrum, the feds pay about 67% of traditional Medicaid costs and 90% of Medicaid expansion costs. "It is all a domino effect," Wintrow said. The federal government covers about $3 billion of Idaho's $4.2 billion Medicaid budget. "If the feds start chopping that off, it's going to impact everything." Cutting care at home Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All state Medicaid programs have opted to cover at least some home-based and community care, such as home health aides who assist people with bathing, toileting and other daily living activities, transportation and adult day care. Kean and other experts worry that because federal law doesn't require state Medicaid programs to cover home-based care, state lawmakers might sharply reduce spending on those services or even eliminate coverage. "When states have budget shortfalls, they start to tighten eligibility for the home-based programs," said Kean. "We're certain those would be the first to go if federal funding is cut for Medicaid." Paying for home-based services out of pocket would exhaust the median Medicare recipient's savings in less than two years, according to KFF. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The median cost of a year of a full-time aide to help is about $62,400, far above the median income for Americans over 65, which is about $36,000. The median life savings for Medicare beneficiaries was $103,800 in 2023. Home-based services are a popular benefit for state Medicaid programs, because most enrollees prefer to remain in their homes. And despite the expense, home care can be more cost effective than nursing homes about $38,000 vs. nearly $54,000 per year in 2021, according to a KFF analysis. Cutting Medicaid also could make it harder to recruit and keep a workforce of nursing home and home health employees. Over the past two years, most states even those led by Republicans increased their Medicaid payment rates for those services, in an effort to combat the nationwide shortage of long-term care workers. But federal funding cuts could jeopardize what states are able to pay those workers. "There's already a direct-care workforce crisis," Kean said. "Even if eligibility isn't directly cut or programs aren't cut, there wouldn't be enough workers to provide that care. At home and in nursing facilities, the quality of care will go down." In rural Michigan, Levin said the PACE center where he works employs about 100 people. Its closure would impact not only those workers, but also would mean his patients would be left to find transportation and other health services on their own, even if those services are still covered by Medicaid. "Without access in rural areas, how are these individuals going to get to the bigger cities where they can get to their health care? It's going to overwhelm other parts of the health care system," Levin said. "Everybody's going to be responsible for taking care of the people who don't have health insurance, in some indirect way or another. It's going to affect us all." Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at [email protected]. YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE. 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 30 years, but Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka still remembers the first time she ever saw a mountain gorilla. It was the summer of 1994. Deep in the jungle of Ugandas Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the then-24-year-old student was hundreds of miles from her home in the countrys capital, Kampala. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bwindi is one of only two places in the world where mountain gorillas live, and after graduating from the Royal Veterinary College in London, Kalema-Zikusoka had her heart set on seeing the great apes. For the first week of her month-long placement, shed been stuck at base camp with a terrible cold, unable to join the jungle treks, with her frustration and anticipation rising every day. Finally, after what felt like endless waiting, Kalema-Zikusoka was cleared to hike. Pushing through tangled vines and roots in the thick forest, she could hear bubbling waterfalls, birds squawking, and chimpanzees hooting. But gorillas, she says, are silent. You dont hear them, but you see their trails as youre walking, says Kalema-Zikusoka. You can be looking for them, thinking will I ever see them? Then suddenly theyre there. Its such a magical feeling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sitting in a forest clearing was a silverback gorilla, called Kacupira. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka took this photo of Kacupira on her first gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in 1994. - Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka When I got to see Kacupira, having wanted to see gorillas for so long suddenly this gorilla was sitting there chewing on a piece of bark, and I was like, wow, recalls Kalema-Zikusoka, now 55. I looked into his very intelligent brown eyes, and I felt a really deep connection. He was just willing to let us into his presence, and not at all threatening. After this encounter, Kalema-Zikusoka decided to stay at Bwindi. Her one-month summer placement turned into three decades of conservation work at the park, where she became the nations first wildlife veterinarian in 1996. With her help, Bwindis gorilla population grew from less than 300 to 459, and the subspecies is no longer critically endangered, according to the IUCN Red List. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mountain gorillas have really shaped my life, says Kalema-Zikusoka. And in turn, the gorillas have really transformed Uganda, and brought Ugandan conservation and tourism back on the map. A violent history For millennia, mountain gorillas roamed across the forests of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. But in the last 100 years, rampant deforestation, poaching, and conflicts have left them on the brink of extinction, clinging to just two surviving habitats: Bwindi and the Virungas. In the 1970s, Ugandas gorillas faced another existential threat. The eight-year dictatorship of Idi Amin who was known as the Butcher of Uganda for his brutality devastated the country, killing up to 300,000 people, destroying land and resources, and slaughtering much of the nations wildlife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kalema-Zikusoka was just two years old at the time of the military coup, and her father was a minister in the government that was overthrown by Amin. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka (the baby in the center) surrounded by her family. Her father, second from the left, went missing in 1972 when she was just two years old. - The Kalema Family Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka studied veterinary medicine at the Royal Veterinary College in UK, pictured here in 1991. - Courtesy of Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka When Amin came into power, my dad was one of the first victims, she recalls. He was abducted when he was taking a relative back home; he was followed by a vehicle, and never seen again. Growing up in political turmoil, Kalema-Zikusoka found solace with her many household pets: her older siblings often rescued stray cats and dogs, who became her companions, and she decided at a very young age that she wanted to be a veterinarian. It was her neighbors pet monkey, Poncho, that sparked her interest in primates: the mischievous creature would sneak in through the window and pull the dogs tail, steal food, and even plunk keys on the piano. As a teenager, Kalema-Zikusoka joined her schools wildlife club, and on a field trip to Queen Elizabeth National Park she saw firsthand how little wildlife remained, even in conservation areas. I started thinking to myself, why cant I become a vet who brings back the wildlife to Uganda? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Kalema-Zikusokas veterinarian studies took her to the UK, she always planned to return to Uganda and build on the work of her father. When I was old enough to understand what had happened to him, I felt like I wanted to continue his dream, his legacy, of a prosperous Uganda, through my passion for wildlife. Health for all Less than a year after Kalema-Zikusoka began working at Bwindi, there was an outbreak of an unknown skin disease among the gorillas: they were losing hair and developing white, scaly skin. Kalema-Zikusoka consulted with a doctor friend, who told her about the human disease scabies, common at the time among low-income communities in rural Uganda. After chimpanzees and bonobos, gorillas are our closest genetic relatives, sharing around 98.4% of their DNA with humans. This genetic similarity also makes gorillas vulnerable to many of the same diseases as humans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kalema-Zikusoka and the team tracked down the afflicted gorilla family: it was Kacupiras group, the gentle giant she had met on her first trek. Many of the apes were extremely unwell, including a baby gorilla that, despite medical interventions, died. This made me realize that you couldnt protect the gorillas without improving the health of their human neighbors, she says. Bwindi is located in one of Ugandas most densely populated rural regions, leaving limited space for a buffer zone. Instead, farmland and villages are pressed up against its borders. The park is also relatively small at just 321 square kilometers (123 square miles), it is just 2% of the size of the 14,700-square-kilometer (5,600-square-mile) Serengeti in Tanzania which puts further pressure on its borders and resources and increases the likelihood of human-gorilla interactions. To help remedy the situation Kalema-Zikusoka founded Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) in 2003, a non-profit that has worked with around 10,000 households around the national park to improve the communitys health and well-being. Tourism is one of the area's main sources of income, with visitors flocking to Bwindi to see habituated gorilla families, like this mother and her baby. - Nick Migwi & Isaac Obooth/CNN Kalema-Zikusoka has spent 30 years working in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. - Nick Migwi & Isaac Obooth/CNN Local farmers are trained to safely herd gorillas back to the forest when they venture onto community land, and a network of village health teams educates families on ways to improve hygiene and reduce the spread of disease. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And now that the gorilla population is growing, so is tourism in the area: 27 gorilla families are now habituated to people, and the number of gorilla tourists in Uganda has risen from around 1,300 in 1993 to almost 39,000 in 2023. Its improved the well-being of villagers living near the park, says Joshua Masereka, the community conservation warden at Uganda Wildlife Authority. When tourists come to this place, theres more money and therefore more benefits, more jobs, more opportunities, more developments, he says, adding that the park allocates 20% of its revenue to community projects, such as building schools and roads. CTPH is one of the wildlife authoritys prime partners and has been pivotal to the conservation work at the park, says Masereka. Gladys, I think shes born with conservation in her blood. If you go through the life of her family, how she was brought up, she was brought up in that life of being a conservationist and I think shell die a conservationist. Kalema-Zikusokas dedication has inspired others in the community into action. Born and raised around Bwindi, Alex Ngabirano worked for CTPH for 15 years, before starting his own non-profit organization, Mubare Biodiversity, which focuses on reforming poachers around the park. Gorillas are rarely poached intentionally, but subsistence hunters looking to put food on the table sometimes go after pigs or antelope in the forest, and accidentally snare or spear gorillas in the process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By educating the local community on the benefits of gorilla tourism, Ngabirano and his team have convinced more than 300 former poachers to give up their tools, and are now retraining them as rangers, guides, and farmers. Dr. Gladys has done amazing work in Bwindi community. Shes the first person to introduce the one health approach in this area, says Ngabirano. The (community) started understanding that in the future, their children will become rangers and guides, all those jobs associated with conservation and tourism activities. Kalema-Zikusokas conservation efforts have been recognized internationally, too: she is a National Geographic explorer, and her many accolades include the Whitley Gold Award in 2009, the Leopold Award in 2020, and the Tallberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize in 2022. And her hard work continues to show in the expanding gorilla population: in the last two months alone, three baby gorillas were born in the forest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I always get very excited when I hear that a baby mountain gorilla has been born, says Kalema-Zikusoka. It gives me hope that the numbers are continuing to grow. It means that were bringing the gorillas back from the brink of extinction. This story has been updated to correct Kalema-Zikusokas age when she first saw a mountain gorilla, and the year her father went missing. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) Williamson County Commissioners have appointed the next county judge. On Thursday night, in a three-to-one vote, commissioners approved Steven Snell. Russ Boles, commissioner for Precinct 4, voted against Snells appointment. Steven Snell is currently the superintendent for the Liberty Hill Independent School District and has served the district for the past six years. A press release from Williamson County noted that the district has grown by 126% in enrollment in the last five years. It said Snell led the community through two successful bond elections with construction projects totaling more than $1 billion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the incoming judge, Snell will help lead Williamson County and its budget. We are excited to work alongside Steven in setting the priorities for Williamson County through our budget and our strategic plan, Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said in the release. Back in August 2024, commissioners approved a $635,129,938 budget for October 2024 through September 2025. That includes the general fund, road and bridge fund and debt service fund. Details on the new Williamson County budget, tax rate Precinct 1 Commissioner Terry Cook said Thursday that Snell was chosen from four candidates, which made for a tough decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The choice has got to carry us into the future, and its coming at us hard and fast, and I think Steven Snell is ready to take us there, she said. Steven Snell (Courtesy: Williamson County) Before leading Liberty Hill, Snell served as Spring Hill ISD superintendent and Hutto ISD assistant superintendent. He is a Leander resident and active community member, according to the countys release. He has a bachelors and masters degree from Texas Tech University. He takes over after former County Judge Bill Gravell resigned in early March to take a job with President Donald Trumps administration. Williamson Co. commissioners accept resignation of judge Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gravell is taking on the role as Region 6 advocate for the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA is a federal agency dedicated to helping small businesses by providing counseling, capital, and contracting expertise. During Gravells absence, Commissioner Covey, the most tenured court member, served as the presiding officer of the court. Snell will serve as county judge until the next general election on November 3, 2026. I am truly honored to be appointed to this position to serve the citizens of Williamson County, said Snell in the 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 KXAN Austin. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) Megan Boswell, the Sullivan County mother convicted of killing her toddler Evelyn, has been transferred to the West Tennessee State Penitentiary. According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, Boswell was transferred from the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville. DA: TBI probe of JCPD showed no evidence of corruption The West Tennessee State Penitentiary is located about 40 miles North of Memphis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, a jury sentenced Boswell to life in prison with the possibility of parole. She was found guilty of all charges against her, including three murder 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. ASHGABAT, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The 20th Central Asia-European Union ministerial meeting took place in Ashgabat, local media reported on Friday. The event was attended by the foreign ministers of Central Asian countries and a delegation from the European Union (EU), led by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. The participants discussed a wide range of issues related to cooperation in the political, trade-economic, and cultural-humanitarian spheres. Particular attention was paid to preparations for the first EU-Central Asia summit, scheduled for April in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The sides exchanged views on key regional and international issues and discussed the development of trade, economic and investment cooperation, particularly the expansion of transport and digital connectivity within the framework of the Global Gateway initiative. Global Gateway is an EU initiative aimed at supporting the development of emerging markets and developing countries that are EU partners, particularly in the fields of digital technology, energy, and environmental sustainability, with backing from the private sector. On the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov, met with the EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas. They discussed the current state of and priorities for cooperation between Turkmenistan and the EU. Cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, environmental protection, and renewable energy development was also addressed. EAU CLAIREThere is a contested race on for the Ward 9 Menomonie City Council race with Sydney Brennan running against incumbent Chad Schlough. The two took out some time to answer questions about their candidacy in the April 1 election. Q. How does your background inform your perspective and give you a unique angle as to how you will approach your term on the City Council? Brennan: Through my work and studies in cybersecurity, Ive developed a strong understanding of how to maintain security, ensure transparency, and implement innovative, practical solutions. My education in political science complements this by equipping me with the tools to turn those solutions into meaningful policy. As a first-time candidate and a member of a younger generation, I bring fresh ideas and new energysomething our city sorely needs after years of seeing the same problems go unaddressed by the current City Council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schlough: My approach for this two year term will be the same as previous: to keep the spending to needs instead of wants. My opinion of the ARPA funds is that it forced municipalities to spend money based on wants with the use it or lose it mandate. Q. What is your approach to listening to new needs and concerns the public might bring up to you during your term? What influences you the most: your values, public opinion, something else? Brennan: Becoming involved in the community and asking people rather than waiting for them to come up and talk. As a public servant, it is your duty to know the publics needs and concerns and to act accordingly. Having already made those connections with the community and voters is essential. Its become normal today that our representatives and government officials arent listening to peoples needs and concerns and are rather telling us what they should be. There is no excuse for that disconnect. When I talk to people here in Menomonie and they arent sure who their alderperson is, thats not on them. Thats on the councilman who hasnt gone and introduced themself and asked them face to face what their needs and concerns are. I am changing that. My campaign isnt about just winning City Council. Its about creating a Menomonie where every voice is heard, where leadership is about service, and where our citys future is shaped by those who call it home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schlough: I have been the council representative for Ward 9 for the past six years. In that time, I have taken phone calls and e-mails and that will continue. My values have come from growing up on a farm in Menomonie. Public opinion is needed on large scale projects but not on the day-to-day items. There are sometimes calls that you have to use your common sense on if its something that needs to be chased. I did have one call during COVID of a complaint that his roommate wasnt wearing his mask correctly. Q. What do you see as the citys top needs today and what would be your approach to supporting, improving, or helping solve todays problems? Brennan: Our housing and infrastructure. Menomonie has deteriorating and rotting residential units, not enough residential properties, unfixed roads, unsafe intersections, and overall neglected infrastructure. Therefore, the first thing I will do is help pass housing ordinances that reinstate rental inspections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, I will set aside room in our budget to get our roads and intersections cleaned up and fixed. Lastly, I will update our zoning to allow Menomonie to be developer friendly. Schlough: Specific needs are that our Police Department rents their space from Dunn County. The county has notified us that they need that space for their growing needs, so we need to come up with a solution for our Police Department. PFAS continues to be an ever growing problem. We need to continue to monitor and partner with the DNR to stay on top of this. Several locations in Wisconsin have contaminated drinking water and are scrambling to install PFAS removal systems. According to a recently published analysis, Menomonie will be experiencing a 30 year run of declining population. We need to attract good paying jobs to try and reverse that prediction. We need to keep property tax increases and city utility rate increases at a minimum. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are concerned about cuts to mental health programs under the Department of Health and Human Services. Its devastating, Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.) said. Oregon Congresswoman Andrea Salinas was touring a 988-suicide lifeline call center in Portland earlier this year when she heard about staffing cuts to the federal agency that oversees the program. Its known as SAMHSA, or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They said they were really worried that they were not going to be able to serve the number of patients that normally call in, Salinas said. This week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to lay off 10,000 employees to streamline the department. We need to consolidate them and give them a sense of mission to invite them to participate in making our country health again, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on NewsNation Thursday. Secretary Kennedy says the cuts wont impact critical services. The restructuring would also put SAMHSA and other agencies under a new department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were consolidating the agency to make it more efficient, Kennedy said. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) is skeptical. I dont believe it, Bonamici said. Its not efficient to lay people off who are doing this critical work. SAMHSA also helps administer grants to states to fight addiction. Mental health advocates say thats helped reduce overdose deaths, which decreased nationally last year. This is not the time to slow down. We need to make these investments now more than ever, National Alliance on Mental Illness Chief Advocacy Officer Hannah Wesolowski said. Wesolowski says staff cuts dont necessarily mean that funding goes away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But what SAMHSA staff do is they make sure that money is spent as intended. Theyre really working against abuse and waste of those dollars, Wesolowski said. HHS says the cuts will save taxpayers about $1.8 billion a 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) Bon Secours Mercy Health has responded to a lawsuit filed by a former patient who had a miscarriage and was later criminally charged, denying her accusations that she did not receive proper medical care. Read next: Local hospital pauses all operations, including ER Mercy Healths answer to the complaint was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohios Eastern Division. Mercy Health denies many of the allegations in Brittany Watts lawsuit and states that the hospital should not be liable as Watts left the hospital against medical advice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watts had been charged with abuse of a corpse following an investigation by the Warren Police Department after she had a miscarriage in September 2023. Investigators said they found a baby stuck in a toilet at her home on Sept. 22 and that she was trying to plunge the toilet, but Watts lawsuit contends that the fetus was under 1 pound already deceased and contained in a mess of tissue and blood. A Trumbull County grand jury chose not to indict her on the charge. Watts lawsuit alleged that at 21 weeks pregnant, doctors at St. Joseph Warren Hospital told her that she developed a condition called placental abruption, which endangered her pregnancy. The lawsuit contends that Watts received no meaningful treatment or guidance, so she returned home. The next morning, she returned to the hospital after her water broke prematurely, her cervix was dilated and infection set in. Though the lawsuit alleges that Watts was at risk of hemorrhaging, she did not receive treatment for over 10 hours, so she again returned home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She ended up miscarrying in the toilet of her bathroom. Confronted with this bloody mess, Ms. Watts did what was reasonable: she flushed the toilet. The toilet began overflowing. Ms. Watts did her best to clear the toilet, removing some of the bloody mess with a bucket, the lawsuit reads. Watts ended up returning to St. Joseph Warren Hospital again, where a nurse reported that Watts had committed a crime. The lawsuit alleges that a detective at the Warren Police Department, along with two nurses, worked together to implicate Watts in criminal conduct alleging that reports and hospital notes contained blatantly false information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mercy Health denied much of the allegations in Watts suit but noted that she came to St. Joseph Warren Hospital seeking care when she started experiencing pain and bleeding at 21 weeks pregnant. Doctors told her that she developed a condition called placental abruption, which endangered her pregnancy. Watts had returned to the hospital three times during those complications, and the response from the hospital admitted that Watts was told the baby was too early from a gestational age for any reasonable chance of survival. The response states that Watts was not offered a dilation and evacuation procedure but that a doctor recommended induction of labor. The response states that treatment was not started because Watts left the hospital a second time against medical advice. After Watts returned to the hospital following the miscarriage, a nurse documented that Watts told her that the baby was not moving or making any noise so she placed it in a bucket behind the trash can, according to the response. Mercy Health contends that it should not be liable as Watts left the hospital and says Watts failed to issue a letter to the defendants advising them of anticipated litigation. The company also contends that defendants are entitled to the protection granted to individuals reporting crimes to police and that probable cause existed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The City of Warren entered its response to the lawsuit earlier this month. A telephone case management conference in the case is scheduled 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 WKBN.com. Mar. 27A New Mexico congressman is partnering with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker on legislation to force the U.S. Department of Agriculture to honor its contracts with farmers and farming organizations. Booker, a Democrat, introduced the Honor Farmer Contracts Act on Thursday in the Senate, and Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., introduced a companion bill in the House to release withheld funding for signed contracts and agreements with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The legislation comes after the USDA paused payments for some programs and canceled others over the last two months. Vasquez's office pointed specifically to a Community Food Project grant frozen for Frontier Food Hub in Silver City and Santa Fe-based Quivira Coalition's Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities funding getting frozen. "When farmers sign contracts, they expect the government to follow through. It's that simple. This bill will immediately unfreeze critical funding, ensure farmers are paid for their work, and reopen essential USDA offices that were shuttered without notice," Vasquez said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill is one of several recently introduced that draw attention to the ways the Trump administration has upset government norms, including a bill Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., introduced Thursday with Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif., to ensure that special government employees like tech billionaire Elon Musk are subject to transparency and accountability requirements. The Honor Farmer Contracts Act would require USDA to pay farmers all past-due payments as quickly as possible and prohibit the agency from canceling contracts with farmers or organizations that assist farmers unless they fail to meet the conditions of the contract. It would also prohibit USDA from closing Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service offices and Rural Development Service Centers without 60 days notice and justification to Congress. Two county Farm Service Agency offices in New Mexico have lease terminations listed on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) website in Clovis and Roswell, but the Curry County Farm Service Agency in Clovis and the Chaves County Farm Service Agency in Roswell are still operating. USDA did not immediately provide an explanation for the offices' inclusion on the DOGE site. The legislation has support from at least 352 farm and food groups, including more than a dozen based in New Mexico, such as Agri-Cultura Cooperative Network, New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association, Shiprock Traditional Farmers Cooperative and New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council. "As the most productive season of the year approaches, farmers and rural communities cannot afford further delays without urgent action to reinstate these contracts, farms and organizations risk laying off workers, missing the planting season, or shutting down entirely," a letter from the hundreds of farming organizations reads. The Albuquerque Police Department has indicated that its 885 sworn officers are 74% of the budgeted capacity, according to the Department of Workforce Solutions analysis of SB364. (Photo by Shelby Kleinhans for Source NM) State lawmakers sent Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham a bill that would, if enacted, allow immigrants authorized to work by the federal government to become police officers in New Mexico. Currently, New Mexico law limits policing jobs to people with U.S. citizenship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Bill 364 would open these jobs up to applicants who have work authorization from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, part of the federal Department of Homeland Security. According to a spokesperson for the governor, she has not yet decided whether to sign SB364. The governor is going through each bill that made it to the 4th floor and there is a process where she evaluates each one. She has until April 11 to decide, Deputy Director of Communications Jodi McGinnis Porter told Source NM on Friday. SB364 co-sponsor Sen. Cindy Nava (D-Bernalillo) told the Senate Judiciary Committee the bill would remove outdated restrictions in state law and allow immigrants with federal work authorization to be police officers and sheriffs deputies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill, if enacted, would allow legal permanent residents and beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to become police officers, if they meet all the standards and qualifications, Nava said. She told the House Judiciary Committee it would open the door to more than 51,000 New Mexicans to apply for police jobs. These are individuals who are desperately needed by our police departments and sheriffs offices, said Nava, who is a DACA recipient herself. The Albuquerque Police Department has indicated that its 885 sworn officers are 74% of the budgeted capacity, according to the Department of Workforce Solutions analysis of the bill. Using national survey data from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the department estimates New Mexico has between 749 and 1,947 empty but funded positions for patrol officers, supervisors and detectives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SB364 was sponsored by Nava, House Speaker Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque), Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla (D-Albuquerque), Senate Judiciary Chair Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces), and Sen. Craig Brandt (R-Rio Rancho). SB364 passed the Senate on March 13 and the House of Representatives on March 21. It passed unanimously through the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, and passed with bipartisan support through the House Judiciary Committee. Jessica Inez Martinez, director of policy and coalition building at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, was an expert witness on SB364 and told the House Judiciary Committee that legal permanent residents must go through a lengthy process to achieve that status and then in order to maintain it, must not commit specific crimes. DACA recipients, to maintain their status, cant commit any crimes, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They would go through the process to do the background checks like every other candidate that is going through the law enforcement process, she said. She also noted people who achieve legal permanent residence can also become citizens within three to five years. DACA recipients cannot achieve citizenship but can get work authorization, she said. Rep. Nicole Chavez (R-Albuquerque) said she had thought that noncitizens cant carry firearms and asked how that would work under the bill. Sen. Brandt responded by reading from a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice that outlines exceptions to that prohibition, including DACA recipients who are certified police officers, who may possess firearms and ammunition issued to them by the police department for official use. If an officers job requires them to be armed 24/7, then they are allowed to take the gun home, but if their job only allows them to carry while on shift, then they lock the gun up in the departments armory every day, Brandt said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In her presentations to legislative committees about the bill, Nava spoke in detail about her brother, who is a DACA recipient like her and moved away from New Mexico to work for the police department in Blue Island, Illinois. Jeffrey Farr, chief of police in Blue Island, told the House Judiciary Committee via Zoom that his department employs seven DACA recipients and started hiring them about two years ago because they found it increasingly difficult to communicate with the community that we are supposed to serve. Each of them have played a vital role in the success of our police department, Farr said. I highly encourage you to pass this law. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Previously, New Mexico law excluded from Silver Alerts people with general cognitive decline or impairment, limiting their access to emergency response resources for missing people without a formal Alzheimers or dementia diagnosis. (Photo by Getty Images) Starting on June 20, police in New Mexico will no longer have the authority to determine whether to issue a public alert for a missing person suffering from Alzheimers, dementia or other cognitive decline. Instead, the decision to issue a Silver Alert will be up to whoever is reporting the person missing, and the missing person will not require a formal diagnosis, under a new state law signed on March 21 by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 197, which expands the eligibility for local police departments or the New Mexico State Police to issue the alerts, received unanimous approval by all three legislative committees that heard it, along with both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Previously, state law excluded from Silver Alerts people with general cognitive decline or impairment, limiting their access to emergency response resources for missing people without a formal Alzheimers or dementia diagnosis. Anastasia Martin, general counsel for the New Mexico Aging and Long Term Services Department, which houses the Adult Protective Services division, told the House Judiciary Committee on March 10 that her agency had run into challenges with the current law in having silver alerts issued. HB197 co-sponsor Rep. Joseph Sanchez (D-Alcalde) told the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Feb. 13 that when a friends relative from Albuquerque went missing, the friend asked police to issue a Silver Alert but they would not because the person wasnt medically diagnosed with a cognitive issue like dementia or Alzheimers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HB197 relaxes the criteria for the alerts so that the reporting party only needs to indicate they believe the missing person shows signs or symptoms of Alzheimers disease or other forms of dementia, cognitive decline or impairment, regardless of age. The law previously gave the police the final say on whether or not an alert was issued, based on whether they found clear indication that the individual suffers from Alzheimers. Almost all people who have gone missing in the last three years were found after Silver Alerts were issued, according to data compiled by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. DPS reported in its analysis of the bill that between 2022 and Jan. 31, 2025, nearly 95% of people who went missing were found after police issued a Silver Alert. The revised criteria may enhance the responsiveness of law enforcement agencies to missing persons cases involving cognitive decline, the DPS analyst wrote. This could lead to quicker recoveries, reducing risks to vulnerable individuals and improving public safety. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX NEW MEXICO (KRQE) A Dona Ana County womans convictions in a murder-for-hire plot have been overturned. In 2022 Cristal Cardenas was found guilty for the 2018 shooting deaths of her ex boyfriend Mario Cabral and his girlfriend Vanessa Mora. A jury had sentenced her to life and an additional 24 years. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators in the case say Cardenas paid a $3,000 retainer to a man named Edward Alonso to kill Cabral and Mora, who were found shot to death in their home. The New Mexico Supreme Court has now reversed Cardenas convictions. They say the state made errors during the trial by allowing prosecutors to question Cardenas about her then 6-month-old daughter testing positive for meth. The supreme court says that questioning was inadmissible in the case and likely impacted they jurys verdict and that evidence in the case was circumstantial. According to the courts decision, Cardenas will be re-tried on all 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 KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. In her public appearances and on social media, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has become a symbol of fearless resistance to the Trump administrations bullying. She has delivered defiant speeches before huge crowds. When Trump trolled her nation with his Gulf of America stunt, she trolled right back: At a press conference, she displayed an antique map that labeled most of the present-day United States as Mexican America. Her methods have appeared to gain a measure of respect. Almost alone among U.S. allies and partners, Mexico has been spared Donald Trumps barrage of insults and threats. Canada is mocked almost daily. The administration expresses intentions to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal Zone. The administration has also doomed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers by shutting off vital assistance. By contrast, Trump has lavished praise on Sheinbaum, calling her tough and a wonderful woman. Vice President J. D. Vance, who urged military action against Mexico during his service in the Senate, has gone quiet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other American allies must be impressed and envious. Whats Sheinbaums secret? How is she saving her country from the Trump-Vance flex? The answer is straightforward, but not the one that the Palacio Nacionals social-media operation is trying to project. Contrary to appearances, the Sheinbaum secret is appeasement. The reason Mexicos president has not been called out for her Trump-complaisance is that the countrys political opposition and independent media are too crushed to name the policy for what it is. But the evidence is in. [David Frum: The Gulf of America is an admission of defeat] President Trump has made six big demands of Mexico. Sheinbaum has granted them all. Lets proceed, one by one: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He wants much more active Mexican cooperation on immigration enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border. He wants Mexico to receive people deported from the United States, including people who are not Mexican nationals. He wants Mexico to adopt a more militarized approach to drug interdiction. He wants a new tariff regime to shift more North American manufacturing from Mexico to the United States. He wants Mexico to join U.S. trade actions against China. He wants Mexico to submit politely to this shakedown, and not make too much fuss. First, Mexico has helped Trump seal the border. In February, apprehensions at the border dropped below 9,000 for the month, the lowest level since the 1960s. Meanwhile, the Center for Immigration Studies, an immigration-skeptic group, estimates that U.S. border authorities are catching close to 95 percent of would-be crossers; if so, this means that successful crossings have trickled down to likely the lowest level since the Great Depression. Mexican cooperation has been indispensable to slowing the flow. From Sheinbaums entry into office on October 1, 2024, to the end of that year, Mexico detained almost 500,000 migrants en route to the United States. Conditions in Mexican detention centers are notoriously harsh: They are densely crowded, with insufficient food and water and scant toilet facilities; ordinary migrants are mingled with violent gang members. Mexicos national human-rights commission has difficulty gaining access to such sites. The high likelihood of ending a thousand-mile journey in a Mexican prison exerts a powerful deterrent effect on would-be immigrants. So do the intense military operations on the Mexico-Guatemala border. During the Mexican presidential campaign of 2024, immigrants and their advocates expressed hope for a more permissive attitude from Sheinbaum. Instead, Sheinbaum has aligned Mexican policy with Trumps edicts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sheinbaum has also acceded to Trumps second wish, creating a new program to ease the return of Mexicans deported by the United States. Deportees will be met on arrival, provided with Mexican identity documents, and enrolled in Mexicos health-care programs. Sheinbaum has indicated willingness to accept non-Mexican deportees and share responsibility for returning them to their home countries, in Central America or elsewhere. Trumps third wishthe militarization of drug interdictionmust have been even more difficult for Sheinbaum to grant. For a generation, opposition to a militarized approach to drugs has been a defining issue for the Mexican left, which regarded the countrys deadly drug war as a futile effort to protect Americans from their own countrys social ills. Hugs, not bullets was the slogan of Sheinbaums predecessor and mentor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. As president, however, Sheinbaum has yielded to American pressure. In February, she delivered 29 cartel figures from Mexican custody to U.S. authorities. Extradition was another historical pain point for the Mexican left, with its implied premise that American justice superseded Mexican sovereignty. Sheinbaum dramatically departed from past Mexican practice to surrender the wanted men. Beyond the symbolism of that surrender, bigger things are happening. Sheinbaum has granted permission for U.S. drone surveillance inside Mexico. CNN has reported that the U.S. is even flying Reapers, UAV systems that can carry a missile. For now, apparently, the Reapers fly unarmed, but the instruments for an American air war against cartels are already in place over Mexico. Sheinbaum has also yielded to U.S. pressure on Trumps fourth wish: Acquiescence to his tariffs. Unlike Canada, which has countered U.S. tariffs with a retaliatory regime of its own, Mexico has not yet responded in kind, even after Trumps March 26 tariffs on Mexican auto exports. On Wednesday night, Mexicos economy minister, Marcelo Ebrard, did hint in a social-media post that Mexican forbearance may at last be coming to an endor it may not, because Mexican reaction to Trump tariffs has been impelled by considerations very different from Canadas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the U.S.-Canada-Mexico relationship is in theory a trilateral one, in practice its a pair of bilateral deals: U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico. Canada and Mexico have each often sacrificed free-trade ideals to gain national advantage at the expense of the other U.S. trading partner. In the 2020 trade round, Canada tried to score off Mexico by writing a $16-an-hour minimum wage into the regulation of North American trade in automobiles and auto parts. The Canadian scheme backfired, however, when Mexican manufacturers opted out of the free-trade structure designed to keep wages low, correctly calculating that they could out-compete Canada even without tariff-free access to the U.S. marketplace: In 2020, Mexican auto exports to the United States overtook Canadian exports. Sheinbaum seems willing to stay neutral in the U.S.-Canada trade war in hope of collecting an additional share of the U.S. spoils. On wish five, Sheinbaum is again complying. At the end of February, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that Mexico had offered to match U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports. Canada, struggling to preserve the remnants of a global free-trade system, has so far opposed this carve-up of the world into trading blocs. Finally, Mexico has also granted Trumps sixth wish. Trump cares enormously about deference to his power. Canadian politicians have retorted to Trumps demeaning comments, most famously in thenPrime Minister Justin Trudeaus televised March 4 words: 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. Trudeau called Trump by his first name and condemned his decision as dumb. Trump and his vice president use rhetoric like that all the time, but they intensely resent its being returned upon them. Sheinbaum, by contrast, never mentions Trump by name when she replies to U.S. actions against Mexico, not even with her jibe about America Mexicana. She is careful not to contradict him in public, and her tight-mouthed restraint earned compliments from Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [David Frum: The failing state next door] Sheinbaums Trump wish fulfillment, especially on immigration, may be good neighborliness that ought to be expected from any Mexican government. But have her methods succeeded in defending Mexico from Trumps protectionism and aggression? Can they be emulated by others? The answers are not really, and no. Mexico has not been exempted from Trumps economic warfare against former partners, culminating in yesterdays tariff attack on imports of cars, trucks, and auto components. Mexico is accepting an intrusive and growing U.S. military presence in its airspace that may yet trigger open warfare between the United States and Mexican cartels on Mexican soil. Although Mexico has gained auto-manufacturing share at Canadas expense since the first Trump administration, Mexican hopes of nearshoring industrial capacity at Chinas expense have not come to pass and may now be dashed utterly by Trumps latest moves to reduce or stop international trade. Trump wants any nearshoring to occur in the United States itself, to benefit his voters in red states. Things could certainly be worse for Mexico than they are. Lopez Obrador bequeathed a great many vulnerabilities to his successor. He left Mexico with its biggest budget deficit since the catastrophic debt crisis of the early 1980s, exposing the country to exactly the kind of international financial pressure he himself so constantly denounced in speeches. But things could be worse is a very limited sort of success. Sheinbaums strategy seems to be to succeed only in the sense that others are losing even more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even if Sheinbaums appeasement approach were Mexicos best option, her model cannot be emulated by other states, especially democratic ones. A prerequisite for her strategy is that she leads a society that is consolidating into a one-party state, with a media subject to ever more stringent restrictions and government control. A major reason for Trudeaus snarky comments to Trump is that Canada is confronting the Trump tariffs at a time of intense political competition. In the federal election scheduled for April 28, Conservatives and Liberals are battling to position themselves as the tougher anti-Trump alternative. Sheinbaum can afford to submit to Trumps coercion because she commands overwhelming majorities in Congress, doesnt face the next round of congressional elections until 2027, and has put in place mechanisms to manipulate those elections when they finally come. Sheinbaums political biography is that of a cadre of the left. But today, the most important political cleft is not the fading distinction between right and left, but the rising conflict between liberal and illiberal, democratic and autocratic. As Mexico follows America into illiberality, Mexicos leadership finds itself surprisingly favored by Trumps Washington, along with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and El Salvador. In contrast, the formerly close U.S. ally Canada is consigned to join Ukraine, Denmark, Panama, and the democracies of Europe and East Asia on the Trump enemies list. Sheinbaums policy of Trump appeasement may well be the least-bad course open to Mexico. But it should be seen for what it is, not misunderstood as the brave resistance it most definitely is not. Article originally published at The Atlantic Mar. 28A Miami County man who pleaded guilty to killing his father will serve more than 30 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Miami County Common Pleas Court Judge Stacy Wall sentenced Daniel H. Davis Jr. to 33 years to life in prison, according to court records. He received 30 years to life for an aggravated murder conviction and a mandatory three-year sentence for a firearm specification. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The three-year sentence is to be served before the murder conviction, according to court records. In February, Davis pleaded guilty to shooting and killing his father, 54-year-old Daniel H. Davis Sr. Around 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 30, Miami County sheriff's deputies responded to a home in the 5000 block of Monroe Concord Road in Union Twp. for a shooting. Davis Jr. shot his father twice in the head, according to court records. "(Davis Jr.) came home, retrieved his firearm and said let's talk," read the sentencing. "Four minutes later, the victim was shot and believed to be dead." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Davis Jr.'s stepmother and half brothers were home at the time of the shooting. He reportedly called 911 after the shooting and confessed. "The defendant was interviewed and testified that his anger for his father turned into hate, and he convinced himself the only way to relieve (the defendant's) misery was to kill his father," the judge wrote. Wall noted Davis Jr. was unlikely to reoffend, adding there were other people in his life he had been angry with but handled each situation appropriately. As a result, she determined life without parole would not be appropriate. "However, the seriousness of the murder, the relationship of the victim and the serious psychological harm to the stepmom requires the court to impose a serious sentence," Wall concluded. by Xinhua writer Sun Nan DHAKA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- "It's very important that we see China as our good friend," said Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, adding, "Our relationship has been very strong over the years. Our business is very strong and we benefit from our collaboration with China." In a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua, Yunus said he expected bilateral relations to enter a new stage. "Everybody in Bangladesh is inspired by what China has achieved," Yunus said, adding that the interim government's task is to rebuild a new Bangladesh, and the Bangladeshi people hope they can learn from China's experience in developing their own country. Regarding China's poverty reduction achievement, Yunus said that most countries focus on GDP growth rather than addressing the needs of ordinary people, but China focused on the low-income group. "That's why the Chinese are very successful in reducing poverty very quickly." Trade and economic cooperation between Bangladesh and China witnessed high-level development in recent years. China has been Bangladesh's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. At present, there are nearly 1,000 Chinese enterprises operating in Bangladesh, which have created more than 550,000 jobs in total. Yunus noted that the two countries have established ties of extensive cooperation, which have produced many positive outcomes. "Bangladesh's imports from China are increasing. The bulk of our industrial-use products come from China." Looking ahead, Yunus emphasized the economic complementarities between the two countries and their huge cooperation potential, saying that he hopes more Chinese investors will come to Bangladesh and open up a broader market together with local partners. Recently, the first group of Bangladeshi patients, doctors, and travel agencies went to Kunming in China's Yunnan Province for medical check-ups and treatment, exploring the potential for the medical tourism market. Yunus said Bangladesh could learn from China and build a better health care system to benefit the people. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bangladesh and is also designated as the China-Bangladesh Year of People-to-People Exchanges. Referring to the stories of Monk Xuanzang leaving his footprints in Bangladesh and Buddhist scholar Atisha Dipankar contributing to the spread of Buddhism in China, Yunus highlighted the long history of friendly exchanges between Bangladesh and China, which laid a solid foundation for the fast and sustained development of bilateral relations. "Bangladesh benefits from its cooperation with China. We can create not only a fast-developing economy, but a new kind of economy where everybody participates," Yunus said. "We can take it to the next stage where our collaboration is not limited to the economy only. It will be cultural," he said. Stressing the past 50 years of Bangladesh-China ties were exciting, the chief adviser said "the next 50 years would be more exciting." He said he looks forward to bilateral cooperation in broader areas. "That's what we're looking forward to. (We will discuss) how to make sure that we share things together and make a journey together to achieve the things we collectively felt very strongly about." A Michigan couple was arrested for allegedly disputing credit card charges at a resort after touching down in Mexico. Legal analyst Misty Marris discusses why the couple will likely face detainment for at least six months. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The Michigan Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Heres a look at March 27, 2025, results for each game: Winning Daily 3 numbers from March 27 drawing Midday: 6-7-9 Evening: 9-7-2 Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Daily 4 numbers from March 27 drawing Midday: 6-7-7-3 Evening: 1-0-2-6 Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Lucky For Life numbers from March 27 drawing 07-20-27-35-46, Lucky Ball: 05 Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Poker Lotto numbers from March 27 drawing JD-KD-2D-6D-10D Check Poker Lotto payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from March 27 drawing 10-18-19-24-39 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 14-17-28-33-36 Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Daily Keno numbers from March 27 drawing 03-04-10-11-13-14-15-16-18-28-38-43-45-46-49-54-56-59-64-66-75-79 Check Daily Keno payouts and previous drawings here. Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results Are you a winner? Heres how to claim your lottery prize All Michigan Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes up to $99,999.99, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Michigan Lotterys Regional Offices. To claim by mail, complete a ticket receipt form, sign your winning ticket, and send it along with original copies of your government-issued photo ID and Social Security card to the address below. Ensure the names on your ID and Social Security card match exactly. Claims should be mailed to: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michigan Lottery Attn: Claim Center 101 E. Hillsdale P.O. Box 30023 Lansing, MI 48909 For prizes over $100,000, winners must claim their prize in person at the Michigan Lottery Headquarters in Lansing located at 101 E. Hillsdale in downtown Lansing. Each winner must present original versions of a valid government-issued photo ID (typically a drivers license or state ID) and a Social Security card, ensuring that the names on both documents match exactly. To schedule an appointment, please call the Lottery Player Relations office at 844-887-6836, option 2. If you prefer to claim in person at one of the Michigan Lottery Regional Offices for prizes under $100,000, appointments are required. Until further notice, please call 1-844-917-6325 to schedule an appointment. Regional office locations are as follows: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lansing: 101 E. Hillsdale St. Lansing; Phone: 844-917-6325 Livonia: 33231 Plymouth Road, Livonia; Phone: 844-917-6325 Sterling Heights: 34700 Dequindre Road, Sterling Heights; Phone: 844-917-6325 Detroit: Cadillac Place, 3060 W. Grand Blvd., Suite L-600, Detroit; Phone: 844-917-6325 Grand Rapids: 3391-B Plainfield Ave. NE, Grand Rapids; Phone: 844-917-6325 Saginaw: Jerome T. Hart State Office Building, 411 E. Genesee Ave., Saginaw; Phone: 844-917-6325 For additional information, downloadable forms, and instructions, visit the Michigan Lottery's prize claim page. When are Michigan Lottery drawings held? Daily 3 & Daily 4: Midday at 12:59 p.m., Evening at 7:29 p.m. Fantasy 5: 7:29 p.m. daily Poker Lotto: 7:29 p.m. daily Lotto 47: 7:29 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily Daily Keno: 7:29 p.m. daily This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Michigan editor. You can send feedback using this form. Our News Automation and AI team would love to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Lottery Daily 3, Daily 4 results for March 27, 2025 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) A child in Kent County had nightmares after losing her parent to a drug overdose because she didnt know how the parent died and imagined someone must have broken into the house and killed them. Karen Ketterer, the program director for Eles Place in Grand Rapids, recalled that situation as a common scenario for children of deadly overdose victims. Watch Fentanyls Lethal Dose: The West Michigan Connection Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It can be a really difficult conversation for parents to have with kids, and that can cause more anxiety and uncertainty for kids as far as not understanding why their person is dead, Ketterer said. Eles Place is a nonprofit, community-based organization dedicated to creating awareness about and support for grieving children, teens and their families. It offers a number of programs, including support groups. Fentanyl overdose deaths declining in Michigan The death of a parent can be an isolating experience in and of itself, but especially when that death was due to overdose. Due to the prevalence of substance use deaths, theyre very likely to have another child within their group that have experienced that as well, Ketterer said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Researchers at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan are getting a better understanding of how many children in Michigan could use these types of services and whether they have access to them. Luisa Kcomt, Ph.D., a professor at Wayne State, and researchers at U-M formed a nonprofit called HopeHQ to identify what they call child bereavement service deserts in the state. Really, our mission is to ensure that no child who has experienced a parental drug overdose death grieves alone, Kcomt said, and to explain to people that the unique dynamics related to this type of loss, the stigma that these families often experience and try to break down the barrier so that they can feel more open to asking for help. HopeHQ data (PDF) shows more than 10,000 children in Michigan have lost a parent to an overdose death, including more than 1,600 children in West Michigan. The West Michigan counties with the highest rate of parental loss due to overdose are Muskegon and Calhoun, though Calhoun and Kent counties have the worst ratios of children experiencing this type of loss compared to bereavement services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not all agencies that offer bereavement services tailor them to children and families, especially those dealing with an overdose death. Michigan has a higher than national average of children who have experienced this type of loss, Kcomt pointed out. GRPD seizes a pound of fentanyl, its largest such bust Understanding the data about overdose deaths and the impact on children can help service providers know where to focus their efforts and create options for people who are within reach. We need to work harder to get services right where kids are. Thats why (Eles Place is) in schools, Ketterer said. But there are other partnerships that need to be made with community centers, with identity-based centers that will offer help for people to get grief support in the places where they are most comfortable, because sometimes it doesnt feel comfortable to come outside of your community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What happens in silence is people suffer in silence, and they dont get the support that they need. And then those kids dont know what to do with all of those feelings, she continued. Eles Place opens doors to show resources for grieving children In addition to support groups for children, Eles Place has groups for caregivers and space for the whole family to come together and learn the language of grief. In the case of the child having nightmares, Ketterer said the imagined scenario of someone breaking into the house came out during one of the support group sessions. We were able to work with the family so that they felt comfortable talking to their child about what happened. We gave them the language to talk to a 6-year-old about what it means, that their parent took a substance and that substance made their body stop working, and thats actually a lot less scary to hear than to have all the questions in their mind, Ketterer said. That family is doing remarkably well. Weve gone past childhood into the teen years and shes doing great. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HopeHQ researchers have submitted several research papers for peer review and expect to have them published by the end of the year. They are also working with researchers in other states, sharing their process of working with the State of Michigan Vital Statistics Department to mine data on overdose deaths and connect those names to birth certificates, effectively mapping out where there are children who could be in dire need of support 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 WOODTV.com. LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) A Michigan resident died from rabies earlier this year after an organ transplant at an Ohio hospital, health officials confirmed. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the resident underwent the transplant in December 2024. The patient died in January, health officials said. Frito-Lay chips sold in 13 states, including Ohio, recalled Through an investigation, Michigan health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the patient contracted rabies from the transplanted organ, a spokesperson told FOX 8 on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department said in a statement that the recipient received care in Lucas County, where they died. A multi-state public health investigation was conducted to determine the risk of exposure to the recipient and found no risk to the general public, the statement said, in part. The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department added that, since the patient was a Michigan resident, the case wont reflect as an Ohio human rabies case. No Lucas County residents have contracted or died of rabies, the statement continued. Health officials said the organ donor wasnt an Ohio or Michigan resident, but no additional information about them or the patient was released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health officials worked together to ensure that people, including health care providers, who were in contact with the Michigan individual were assessed for possible exposure to rabies, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. Post exposure preventive care, if appropriate, has been provided. According to the CDC, this is believed to be Michigans first human rabies case since 2009. As reported by Fox News, although organs are regularly screened for infectious diseases and cancers, they are normally not tested for rabies. Ohio Department of Health sounds alarm as measles outbreak grows in Ashtabula County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ohio Department of Health describes rabies as a, preventable viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal or, less commonly, when saliva from an infected animal gets into an open wound or onto a mucous membrane. Symptoms include seizures, hallucinations and paralysis, the Cleveland Clinic reported. The disease is preventable if youre vaccinated quickly after exposure, but according to the Cleveland Clinic, once symptoms start, rabies is fatal. Learn more about the disease 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 8 Cleveland WJW. Mar. 27dbeard @dominionpost.com MORGANTOWN A bill to exempt micro-hospitals from the Certificate of Need process died in the House Health Committee on Thursday. The original HB 3487 aimed to eliminate CON requirements for construction or acquisition of a small format or micro-hospital owned by a system with one or more existing licensed hospitals in the state. The version the committee took up and killed opened it up to anyone wishing to build a micro-hospital. The new facility would have to be located to increase care capacity without jeopardizing any nearby critical access hospitals. It could include up to 25 inpatient beds, up to 25 emergency room beds, a CT scanner, an MRI scanner and other services. The cost could not exceed $100 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Committee counsel pointed out micro-hospitals are not defined in current code the bill would set aside a new exception for small-format hospitals that are subject to CON. Lead sponsor Wayne Clark, R-Jefferson, said again that the Eastern Panhandle lacks access to care. He added that micro-hospitals tend to be built in high-density suburban areas like the panhandle, rather than rural areas. "We're going to give our citizens more access to healthcare, " he said. Delegate Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, opposed the bill, agreeing that all West Virginians need better access to healthcare. But Mon Health System built a small-format hospital in Marion and is breaking ground on one in Harrison, and went through CON for both. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A major problem, she said, is inability to recruit staff. But there is a process in place and noting hinders a health system from applying. As we reported following the initial committee hearing on the bill, Mon Health System /Vandalia North and the West Virginia Hospital Association both opposed the bill. A voice vote followed the debate, with a few votes for the bill and the louder majority against it. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Eighth-grade girls from various Memphis Shelby County Schools went to the University of Memphis on Friday to learn more about STEM fields. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The event was hosted by the American Heart Association, with dozens of middle school girls getting the chance to see what could be their future. Learning more about STEM and engineering and technology and how it works and stuff, said OKera Williams of Mt. Pisgah Middle School. (Photo by WREG) (Photo by WREG) The favorite thing about this event is to hear one of the girls say I didnt know that, I could do this. That I could help the environment. That I could become an EMT and save someones life,' said Amy Curry, Associate Dean at the University of Memphis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The American Heart Associations Go Red for Women movement was presenting what could be the best move for these middle schoolers as they continue on their educational expedition. I want to work with technology, but if I dont, I want to be a cardiologist or work in the medical field, said Kelsey Peeler, 8th grader of Mt. Pisgah Middle School. Peeler said she may become a future doctor following the footsteps of her mother. As part of todays event, the middle schoolers were connected with mentors and other females in STEM. Whats happening right now is more important than ever organizers say considering women of color are shockingly under-represented in STEM fields overall. 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 WREG.com. This story has been updated to include new information from the National Weather Service. Severe weather is set to return this weekend to the entire Middle Tennessee region, and the National Weather Service is warning of damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes. The threat for severe weather is greatest from 9 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday, signaling an overnight event. People are encouraged to set up weather alerts, have several ways to be woken up and to have a weather plan in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It could be a busy night Sunday and into Monday morning," National Weather Service Meteorologist Ryan Husted said in a Friday weather briefing. What time will severe weather move into the Nashville area? What to know ahead of storm system As of Friday afternoon, Nashville and surrounding areas are at an enhanced risk of severe weather. Thunderstorms capable of producing all modes of severe weather will move through the region Sunday night and through the early hours on Monday morning. At the earliest, the weather service anticipates severe storms to reach the Nashville area by 9 p.m. Sunday, however, they are most likely to move in by 10 p.m., the service said. Storms are expected to move out of the area by 3 a.m. There is an Enhanced Risk for severe weather across the western two-thirds of the area this Sunday, and a Slight Risk on the Plateau. Don't get caught up in colors; just know severe weather is possible Sunday night in Middle TN. Hail, tornadoes, and strong winds are all possible. pic.twitter.com/nPDIt5uRLk NWS Nashville (@NWSNashville) March 28, 2025 The greatest threat area is west of Interstate 65, where there will be more instability, but the entire region still has the potential for severe weather, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Paige Baggett. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The weather is expected to remain active through most of next week with multiple days of shower and thunderstorm chances, the weather service added. Beginning Wednesday, the area is likely to experience periods of heavy rainfall, increasing flooding potential. Nashville-area radar Nashville 7-day forecast Friday: A high near 81 and a low around 63. Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78 and a 50% chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m. Then mostly cloudy, with a low of around 63 and a 60% chance of showers. Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a high near 77 and a 60% chance of showers. Thunderstorms are likely after 1 p.m. Then a low of around 58 and a 90% chance of showers and possible thunderstorms. Some storms could be severe and produce heavy rainfall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 65 and a 40% chance of showers before 10 a.m. Showers and thunderstorms are likely to continue between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Then partly cloudy with a low of around 41. Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Then partly cloudy with a low of around 53 and a 20% chance of showers after 1 a.m. Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 80 and a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Then mostly cloudy with a low of around 61 and a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 79 and a 50% chance of showers. Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee weather threat includes wind, hail, tornadoes: What to know Editors Note: The video above shows police activity near the airport last March as Job Jasso led police on a manhunt. MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- A Midland man was sentenced in federal court to 30 years in prison for child pornography production and drug and firearm offenses. On March 13, 2024, Job Jasso Jr., 27, led a Midland County Sheriffs Office deputy on a high-speed chase following an attempted traffic stop. Jasso crashed the vehicle off Highway 80 near the airport and ran. Though Jasso ran, he left a 17-year-old girl in the passenger seat, a search of her phone revealed multiple sexually explicit photos of Jasso and the minor girl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 25, 2024, the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and other partnered agencies executed an arrest warrant at a hotel where Jasso was staying. Inside the room, Jasso and the minor victim from the March 13 incident were found naked and taken into custody. Two firearms were seized during the arrest, and an executed search warrant also revealed additional firearms, along with firearm accessories and ammunition, drug paraphernalia, 63.2 grams of fentanyl pills, and other related items. A review of a recovered smartphone found approximately 44 images and two videos of child sexual abuse material, and child exploitative material depicting the minor victim. A search warrant return for a cloud storage account also uncovered 12 sexually explicit videos of the minor victim. Jasso had previously been convicted in the 142nd District Court in Midland for aggravated kidnapping and received a sentence of five years confinement. On August 28, 2024, Jasso was indicted for one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; one count of possession with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl; one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime; and one count of possession of stolen firearms. A federal jury found him guilty of all four counts November 6, 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second indictment was filed September 25, 2024, for two counts of production of child pornography. Jasso was also found guilty on both of those counts in a federal trial December 10, 2024. U.S. District Judge David Counts sentenced Jasso to 360 months in prison for both child pornography charges, as well as a concurrent 300 months in prison for the other four counts. Judge Counts also ordered Jasso pay $55,000 in restitution. Jasso has amassed a troubling criminal record over the years, carelessly placing othersincluding minorsin grave danger through his illicit actions, said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. The 30-year sentence that he will now serve in federal prison is a significant penalty that appropriately fits the multiple offenses for which he was found guilty by a jury. This sentence serves as a reminder to all predators. We will not allow crimes against children to go unpunished, said John Morales, FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge. While this significant sentence cannot repair the damage done, it is a warning to those who engage in this behavior: FBI and our law enforcement partners will be relentless in our pursuit of child predators. The FBI, Texas Department of Public Safety, Odessa Police Department, and Midland County Sheriffs Office investigated 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 Yourbasin. By Thomas Escritt BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's would-be Chancellor Friedrich Merz identified on Friday migration, economic competitiveness and spending cuts as major areas needing agreement with intended coalition partners to form a government. Exploratory talks between the conservative bloc - his Christian Democrats and their Bavarian CSU partners - and the Social Democrats (SPD) concluded earlier this week with a 162-page draft. Party leaders must now craft a government programme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We need to come up with a common vision of how we imagine Germany over the next 10 years," Merz said in the lobby of SPD headquarters, a building he was entering for the first time. With Germany in its deepest economic and diplomatic crisis in decades, the next government's challenges include compensating for the U.S.'s dwindling commitment to European defence under Donald Trump and restructuring the economy for an environment less conducive to global trade. Merz conceded that in parts the proposals thrashed out by the 16 specialist working parties were contradictory. "Some of the working parties clearly interpreted that job as 'make a wish'," he said. "But our personal trust in each other has been growing over the past few days, so I'm optimistic." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KEEPING OUT AFD The conservatives, who won the February 23 election, have no alternative to a coalition with the SPD if they are to cut out the second-placed Alternative for Germany, a far-right party. But the SPD's views are often far from Merz's, especially on welfare, migration and tax. Drafts show the SPD is more focussed on integrating migrants already in Germany, while the conservatives' focus is on securing borders. "We have a common goal: The number of migrants coming to Germany must come down quickly and sustainably," he said. "The second topic will be the competitiveness of our economy ... And then we will have to discuss the budget ... We will have to save comprehensively." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merz's focus on cuts may also prove hard to reconcile with the SPD's desire to shift the tax burden away from lower earners towards the rich. "This is a collection of very different ideas and desires," said SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken of the draft. "Our means are limited." The conservatives are under pressure not to concede too much to the SPD, who came third in the election. Polls already show a shift away from the conservatives towards the AfD. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) WASHINGTON Utah Sen. Mike Lee is traveling with Vice President JD Vance to Greenland on Friday, joining a small delegation of U.S. officials amid suggestions from President Donald Trump to acquire the territory. The group heading to Greenland consists of Lee, Vance, second lady Usha Vance, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and national security adviser Michael Waltz. While there, the delegation is expected to visit the Pituffik Space Base, and they are expected to return by the end of the day. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee for Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's choice to be director of the FBI, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. | Ben Curtis Im glad for the opportunity to accompany the Vice President and Usha Vance to Greenland, where well visit with the excellent men and women of the Space Force at Pituffik and forge a new future for this historic and strategically vital land, Lee told the Deseret News in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lee referenced his trip in multiple posts on X, noting its his first trip to Greenland and asking for suggestions on what to see. Going with @JDVance to Greenland tomorrow Never been there Any suggestions? https://t.co/03vunq3X5a Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 28, 2025 If Greenland isnt green, Ill feel like I felt when I learned (t)hat antitrust isnt the antonym of trust, Lee wrote in another post. While there, JD Vance is expected to receive briefings from service members on the base, although its not clear the extent to which Lee will be involved. The vice president will also give remarks at the military base before departing. The trip was initially planned as a cultural experience for only second lady Usha Vance, but those plans were changed earlier this week amid contentions about Trumps public musings about annexing the territory, according to CNN. As tensions rose, the vice president decided earlier this week to join her, a White House official told the outlet. If Greenland isnt green Ill feel like I felt when I learned That antitrust isnt the antonym of trust Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 28, 2025 It was a combination of a little bit of commotion from Danish leaders combined with (JD) Vance wanting to go for a while, the official said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I decided I didnt want her to have all that fun by herself and so Im going to join her, JD Vance said with a smile in a video announcing his participation in the trip. JD Vances presence makes him the highest-ranking official to visit Greenland, and it is the farthest north any senior U.S. leader has ever gone for an official visit. But it doesnt come without controversy. Trump has continually proposed the United States taking over Greenland for strategic and economic purposes. The territory has been controlled by Denmark since 1721. Several Republicans in Congress have backed those plans, with some members going so far as to introduce legislation that would authorize Trump to enter into negotiations with Denmark to acquire the island. Some legislation even proposes changing the name of Greenland to Red, White, and Blueland. Well go as far as we have to go, Trump told reporters on Wednesday about efforts to take over. We need Greenland. And the world needs us to have Greenland. ANKARA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed and three others injured on Friday in a head-on collision between two cars in the Haymana district of Ankara Province, local Ihlas News Agency reported. The accident occurred in the Karahoca area, the report said. Emergency teams, including police, gendarmerie, medical personnel, and firefighters, were dispatched to the scene. Among the dead were a 6-year-old child and a 9-month-old baby. Authorities have identified all victims. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals. Traffic accidents have claimed 2,713 lives across Turkiye in 2024, according to the General Directorate of Security. The highest number of accidents occurred in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, with Istanbul alone recording 97,354 incidents. Speeding was identified as the leading cause of fatal crashes last year. A group of nearly 200 current and former residents of Naval Air Station Key West has filed a lawsuit claiming that the contractor the Navy used to maintain family houses on base has committed fraud and negligence for at least a decade and exposed them to dangers ranging from toxic mold to asbestos. The lawsuit, filed in Florida state court, alleges that Balfour Beatty, a massive company that manages more than 40,000 military homes across more than 50 bases, "concealed the horrific conditions from unsuspecting service men and women and their families" and then, "when these conditions were discovered and reported, Balfour systematically failed to properly repair and remediate significant problems." Balfour Beatty has a long history of perpetuating fraud and mismanagement against military families, having been repeatedly sued and forced to pay millions in restitution and fines just in the last several years alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read Next: Tricare Again Extends Deadlines for Beneficiaries in Western US After Contract Change The lawsuit is also yet another blow for service members stationed in Key West. The Navy base has struggled with housing issues for years. In 2022, Military.com reported that the service booted all its junior sailors from barracks on base in order to conduct renovations, but since the installation is located in a small island community, those sailors struggled to find housing and some had to resort to camping. A year later, sailors told Military.com that the problem hadn't improved and that the base was struggling to attract service members for key jobs like air traffic controllers. Balfour Beatty told Military.com in a statement Friday that they were "aware of the complaint and intend to defend ourselves vigorously." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the complaint, which was filed Thursday afternoon, "Balfour systematically failed to properly repair and remediate significant problems in the homes, including water damage, mold, structural defects, HVAC, plumbing issues, electrical problems, and the presence of lead paint and asbestos." Not only that, the suit alleges that Balfour then misled the numerous families into "believing that repairs were made, knowing that families living in the homes would likely suffer serious health problems as a result of the conditions." The lawsuit features testimonials from numerous families who describe terrible conditions, including dozens of ceilings that caved in from water damage and homes with extremely elevated levels of toxic mold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of the initial problems like water damage and mold allegedly were compounded by either Balfour's shoddy efforts at repair or the fact that they would reveal further dangers in the homes. When service members called Balfour to try and get the problems fixed, the lawsuit alleges that the company's technicians and contractors provided "grossly subpar maintenance, and often made matters much worse." "At times, Balfour employees opened up walls or ceilings to remove mold, in the process exposing the residents to asbestos," the complaint said, later noting that the company would also fail to follow "critically important asbestos abatement procedures." The lawsuit also alleges that multiple families "were exposed to lead from chipping and peeling paint," which was sometimes caused by water leaks and mold infestation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Defendants' 'maintenance' was often worse than subpar -- it was dangerous," the lawsuit claims. However, this is far from the first time that Balfour Beatty has faced these types of allegations or even been sued over them. Balfour Beatty was caught up in a nationwide scandal over squalid family housing in 2019 and pleaded guilty in 2021 to falsifying maintenance records going back to 2013. The company was ordered to pay $65.4 million in fines and restitution for misconduct relating to its military housing practices in federal contracts. Despite that, in 2022 an eight-month investigation by a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs panel found the poor living conditions were still present. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Richard Taylor, a top executive for the company, was hauled before Congress in 2022, he argued that most residents were happy with their service but did concede that "things go wrong. We don't always get it right the first time. We're not perfect. We've never testified that we are a perfect organization." The Pentagon and the services have known about the problem for years but seemed to be unable or unwilling to fully grapple with the situation. In 2019, ahead of yet another congressional hearing on poor living conditions, the Pentagon rolled out a "Tenant Bill of Rights" that was designed to "ensure that service members and their families have safe, quality homes and communities." The document was "intended to increase the accountability of privatized housing companies" by giving local military leaders more oversight authority over base housing. It included 18 provisions that were aimed at giving military families leverage when they found themselves in a toxic living environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the response has been mixed at best, and surveys showed that many families don't know about the policy and even fewer tried using it. The lawsuit cites several instances in which Balfour either blocked Navy officials from viewing homes for themselves or dismissed their concerns. In one instance, a family member affected by shoddy housing in Key West had also worked for Balfour in 2022 and, according to the lawsuit, "witnessed them engage in fraudulent and deceptive practices." "Employees were instructed to lie to Navy housing inspectors, block visible damage, and select only "perfect" files for audits," the lawsuit alleges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case against Balfour includes claims of fraud, breach of contract, gross negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. If the plaintiffs prevail, they are asking a jury to award the families an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages. Editors note: This story was updated with a statement from Balfour Beatty. Related: Private Base Housing Firm Tried to Get All Communications Records from a Military Family Advocacy Group Some military spouses who work in the federal government were notified by their respective agencies this week their remote work exceptions were being rescinded, despite them being granted just days or weeks earlier, several military spouses told CNN. The guidance from the Office of Personnel Management, the federal governments Human Resources department, that would have forced them to return to the office was changed Thursday after a CNN inquiry into the matter. Military spouses now expect orders from their agencies will ultimately reflect change again, after weeks of whiplash that left military spouses in the federal workforce deeply worried about their jobs. Many of these spouses were hired specifically for remote work positions, a lifesaver for spouses of active-duty military personnel. Even after the Trump administration issued a return to offices order, a February 12 memo from OPM explicitly exempted military spouses from the order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But then the Office of Personnel Management sent out a FAQ document last week on return to in-person work that said military spouses who live within a 50-mile radius of an agency worksite were not exempt from the return to office mandate. Military spouses working remotely within 50 miles of an agency worksite are expected to return to the office unless covered by exceptions based on disability, qualifying medical condition, and/or other compelling reason, the guidance read. The guidance allowed for an agency head to provide exemptions on a case-by-case determination. This new guidance, OPM said at the time, superseded the guidance sent on February 12 which explicitly exempted military spouses. Military spouses then began receiving emails from their agencies that their previous exemptions were rescinded, as a result of the updated OPM guidance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One military spouse, whose husband is an active-duty pilot, told CNN she had just received her exemption one week ago. Like others in this article, she spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. But on Tuesday night, she was told that when they find her any office within 50 miles the approval will be rescinded. This despite the fact her coworkers would likely not be at that site and are spread out across the Southeast. My husband is on Temporary Duty Assignment at least once a month and is a pilot who flies very early mornings and late evenings many days. There is no way I could deal with a morning/evening commute when our childcares hours start at 8am, she told CNN. I will have to quit if they force me into an office. Another federal employee and military spouse told CNN she also had her exemption rescinded on Tuesday because she is within the commuting area of a regional office building for her agency. That commute would be two hours each way, she told CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her team is still geographically separated, which means she will continue to hold most if not all meetings on virtual platforms, just from an office building. I turned down two jobs last week because [my agency] had originally approved [my remote work arrangement,] she said. Its a nightmare. OPM changes its guidance On Thursday afternoon just before 2:00 p.m., CNN reached out to both OPM and the White House for comment. At 2:15 p.m. an OPM spokeswoman said Our guidance was always that military spouses were exempt. We are currently working to revise our FAQs to correct any impression that they were not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FAQ guidance was soon updated to remove the mention of military spouses within a 50-mile radius of an agency office. According to the document properties, the update was made at 2:27 p.m. When reached for comment, a White House spokesperson initially insisted the story was false, but when asked for comment after OPM changed its guidance, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields replied with a screen grab of OPMs FAQ document, saying, this is the updated guidance. One of the military spouses told CNN they were shaking and crying after being notified of the updated guidance, saying the careers of many military spouses were being saved. Maria Donnelly, an active-duty Army spouse and military family advocate, celebrated the update but said the disorganization and whiplash is really harming the military community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The military life is already really challenging, and we do all of these things without asking for a lot in return, she said. What we really need is clear direction from the top that supporting military families is a priority, she added. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Eric Klotz, a combat-disabled U.S. Navy veteran with nearly two decades of service in special operations, is seeking the Democratic nomination in the GOP-leaning 39th House of Delegates District. (Photo courtesy of Eric Klotz) Eric Klotz, a combat-disabled U.S. Navy veteran with nearly two decades of service in special operations, was sitting at his home in Hardy, a quiet community near Smith Mountain Lake, when the phone rang. On the other end was Eric Mosley, a fellow veteran and Democratic organizer, asking Klotz if he would once again serve this time by running for the 39th House of Delegates District. A longtime Republican who switched parties when Donald Trump first assumed office in 2017, Klotz, 53, had watched the political landscape shift dramatically during the first few months of Trumps second presidency. The erosion of the countrys foundational principles, especially after his years of military service, troubled him deeply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I did a lot of deployments overseas, and I have experience living in countries controlled by authoritarian governments. I witnessed the suppression of individual rights and liberties, something we used to believe was protected by the U.S. Constitution, Klotz said in a phone interview. I cant stand idly by while that birthright is under attack here at home. I took an oath to defend the Constitution, and its not just for some, its for all. On Wednesday, Klotz filed the paperwork to run as a Democrat in a historically conservative seat, currently represented by Del. Will Davis, R-Franklin. Despite the districts strong Republican leanings, Klotzs military background and willingness to cross party lines to fight for the principles he believes in have made him a unique contender. Klotz is among a growing number of veterans stepping up to run for office as Democrats in traditionally conservative districts. They hope that their stories and experience in military service will resonate with moderate Republicans and independents, especially amid growing concerns over Trumps military leadership decisions, including recent firings of military leadership and the controversial national security leaks surrounding classified war plans. This is a very strong military area, Klotz said of the 39th District. People here take pride in their service, and thats something I respect deeply. My military background allows me to relate to a lot of people, and it bridges across party lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The push to field more candidates in conservative districts, particularly those with military backgrounds, is part of a broader strategy by several grassroots organizers to increase voter turnout in hopes of flipping key districts. At the same time, Democrats aim to bolster support for former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a retired CIA officer who is expected to be the partys gubernatorial nominee, and her bid to claim the governors office this November. One of these organizers is Mosley, a retired naval aviator and Republican-turned-Democrat from Bedford County, who earlier this month received a call from Dr. Fergie Reid of the 90 for 90 Voter Registration Project, about finding a veteran willing to run in District 39. Without hesitation, Mosley thought of Klotz. Ive seen an attack on democracy from Republicans, and thats what pushed me to get involved. Eric Klotz is a proven leader with the courage to stand up for whats right, regardless of fear, Mosley said. I believe veterans like Eric, who have devoted their lives to defending the Constitution, can speak to Republicans who may be disillusioned with the direction the current administration is taking. At least eight House Democrats are veterans And while Klotz is focusing on District 39, he is not alone in his mission. Veterans are running for other conservative-leaning districts across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In District 67, Mario Haggerty, a former U.S. Navy officer and veteran of overseas service in Europe and Japan, is one of two Democrats seeking the partys nomination. Haggerty, who now manages defense projects and works with the Missile Defense Agency, is hoping to bring his expertise and perspective to the General Assembly. Stacey Carroll, a National Guard non-commissioned officer with 19 years of service, is running in District 64. She will be facing Del. Paul Milde, R-Stafford, in November. Shane Boswell, a former Navy chief petty officer, is challenging Republican Del. Delores Oates, R-Warren, in District 31, which includes parts of Clarke, Frederick, and Warren Counties. Meanwhile, in District 75, a once conservative district south of Richmond, U.S. Army combat veteran Steven Miller-Pitts is vying for the seat held by Republican Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield. Additionally, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jasmine Lipscomb is once again seeking the Democratic nomination in District 49, which includes Danville and parts of Halifax and Pittsylvania counties, hoping to build on her previous campaign. At least eight Democratic veterans are already serving in the House of Delegates, including Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, a Navy vet who has served on the USS John Hancock, Del. Jackie Glass, D-Norfolk, also a Navy veteran, and Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, a West Point graduate with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others include Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach, Del. Marty Martinez, D-Loudoun, Del. David Reid, D-Loudoun, Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, and Del. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William. Helmer, who serves as the House Democrats campaigns chair, on Thursday took on a new role as co-chair of The Next Mission, a national recruitment committee for veterans. This effort, part of the New Politics organization, aims to support candidates from military service backgrounds and is backed by $20 million in funding. Helmer sees this initiative as critical, especially given the current state of the nations political landscape. This is a national phenomenon, not just a Virginia phenomenon, Helmer said in a phone interview. This effort comes at an unprecedented time of risk to our democracy. To have those whove sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution step forward to serve again in a new way is essential right now. Helmer emphasized that veterans, having fought to protect democratic ideals, are uniquely positioned to lead during these turbulent times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Time and again, those who have stood up for democracy, served side by side with those willing to put their lives on the line for it, and sworn an oath to defend our constitution, are stunned by what we are seeing today. And many of them have stepped forward to serve again. Trump policies leave many veterans terrified Herb Rubenstein, chairman of the Lex-Rock-BV Democratic Committee, a coalition of party committees from Lexington, Rockingham County, and Buena Vista, said efforts are underway to recruit veterans for political office at all levels, from Congress to local positions. Were not just reacting; were rejecting the people who are bombastic and dangerous, Rubenstein said, referencing current Republican leaders in Congress, including seven Navy SEALs. He voiced concerns over the Trump administrations handling of national security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many veterans are terrified. This guy (Trump) is selling us out to adversaries, using unsecure encrypted systems to communicate, and hes been doing it for a long time. The military has a lot at stake. We need adults in the room for political governance especially when it comes to the civilian leadership of our military. Former military personnel represent those adults, and they bring a high level of integrity. Rubenstein pointed to the significant financial backing of VoteVets, a Democratic group supporting veterans in politics, which recently donated $500,000 to Spanbergers gubernatorial campaign the largest donation in the groups 20-year history, according to the New York Times. Rubenstein sees Spanberger as the type of candidate capable of leading the Democratic Party back to power in Virginia. Weve got to activate our veterans, not just have them run for state office, Rubenstein emphasized. We need them on city councils, planning commissions, and economic development boards. Thats the evolution of this effort, and seeing veterans run in House districts is the result of years of hard work, particularly in the wake of a really destructive president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reid, of the 90 for 90 Voter Registration Project, noted that the push to recruit military veterans as Democratic candidates in conservative districts is part of a broader strategy to increase Democratic turnout, not just flip seats. He emphasized the importance of offering voters a real choice, especially in areas traditionally dominated by Republicans. Given whats going on in the national political world, its important for every Virginian to have a choice on the ballot, Reid said. Whether they want to vote for the Republican or the Democrat, thats on them, but they should have the option to vote for either, especially when the party in control of the country right now is messing up so badly. There should be the option to send a message to the other party. Reid noted that in super-Republican districts, where Democrats often face significant challenges, some remarkable candidates are ready to take on the challenge. Its really interesting who will step up in these districts, where people have a really good reason to be fearful to run if theyre a Democrat. So who do we see stepping up in these districts? We see women stepping up. We see Black people stepping up, and we see military people stepping up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reid believes these candidates can play a critical role in not just flipping seats but also in bolstering Democratic chances up and down the ballot. But David Richards, a political science professor at the University of Lynchburg, remains cautious about the potential impact of veterans running as Democratic candidates in deeply Republican districts, such as the 39th. I am hesitant to say that anything will help Democrats in a district like that, where more than two-thirds of the voters are Republicans, Richards said. However, he acknowledged the strategic significance of candidates like Klotz, the special operations veteran. Richards pointed to the success Democrats had with Eugene Vindman, a U.S. Army veteran, in the 7th Congressional District, though he noted that Vindmans national profile made his candidacy an exceptional case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we start to see more moderate, former military folks run, that could spell trouble for Republicans in Virginia, Richards explained. He added that with Trump losing the state by less than 6%, Virginias political landscape is still competitive, particularly in local races. While District 39 may seem like an unlikely battleground, Klotz is gearing up for a different kind of fight. I have been in combat, and I did this for our country, and it feels like it needs to be done here too, he said. This time, I will be fighting for the rights of all Virginians. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE President Donald Trumps moves in Washington are being felt in the milking barns of an upstate New York dairy farm. There, AJ Wormuth said hes already seeing costs go up from Trumps tariffs while the threat of a wider trade war is driving down the price he gets paid for his cows milk. Were getting a double whammy were getting lower prices and higher costs, said Wormuth, who has 3,600 dairy cattle at his farm, Half Full Dairy. While none of Trumps policies have specifically targeted the milk industry, dairy farmers say they have been caught in the fray on a number of fronts. Their stories illustrate the fast pace of change across the federal government at the beginning of the second Trump administration, as well as the intersection of two policy areas immigration and the economy where voters are giving Trump markedly different grades so far. Cows at Half Full Dairy in Elbridge, N.Y. Tariffs are increasing costs for farmers while market jitters over falling U.S. dairy sales overseas are driving down milk prices. Meanwhile, Trumps moves to step up deportations could affect the industrys workforce, since immigrants are estimated to make up about half of dairy workers. And concerns are growing about the risk of bird flu, which has been spreading among dairy cattle for the past year.Theres just so much uncertainty about everything right now, said Annie Watson, who has 70 cattle on an organic dairy farm in Maine. As dairy farmers, we work in three-year cycles from when a calf is born on our farms until it becomes a milking cow. Nothing happens quickly on our dairy farms. So to have policies put forth that take effect very, very quickly, it can often be challenging for those of us that work in this sort of cycle. Trade war tensions Trump has said he plans to announce sweeping tariffs on goods from across the globe on April 2, and he has already put additional 20% tariffs on imports from China along with a 25% tariff on all imports of automobiles, steel and aluminum. The president has threatened, but so far delayed, a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to Trumps tariff moves, other countries have vowed to retaliate with their own tariffs on American-made products. China and the European Union have already announced tariffs on certain U.S. goods, including dairy products. Those retaliatory tariffs could drive down global demand for U.S. dairy, leading to an oversupply of milk in the U.S. That would create a supply and demand imbalance, driving down the price farmers get for their milk, though the price American shoppers pay for dairy products in the grocery store might not budge much. Thats because a number of factors go into setting the price of finished dairy products, such as transportation, marketing and labor costs. Anything that is disrupting the flow of trade is obviously concerning, said Jaime Castaneda, the executive vice president for policy and strategy at the National Milk Producers Federation. I think that the farm community is very concerned about broad tariff applications, as opposed to more targeted and more focused tariffs. Concern over the tariffs has already contributed to a significant drop in the price farmers are paid for their milk since Trump came into office, Castaneda said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But there are potential upsides for dairy farmers if Trumps trade war is ultimately able to reduce trade barriers to other countries like Canada and European Union nations, which have placed restrictions on American dairy products, said Castaneda. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said last week that her department was looking into ways to potentially mitigate any economic catastrophes that could happen to some of our farmers as a result of Trumps tariffs. During Trumps first term, the federal government made direct payments to farmers who lost sales from retaliatory tariffs China put on American agriculture products. Cows cast shadows at dairy farm in Pixley, Calif. In Maine, Watson said she is worried about the cost of her feed increasing if Trump goes through with a threat to put a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports. Being relatively close to the Canadian border, most of her feed comes from Canada, and she said the tariffs could add $1,200 a month to her grain bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would be easier to bear if we were not in a situation where many of our organic dairy farmers have been financially underwater for many years due to market factors, said Watson, who is also president of the Maine Dairy Association. Many farmers, I think, will just try to put their heads down and bear it without accruing too much more debt, but so many of us are behind on our bills already. Higher costs are also a concern for Wormuth. He said he started a barn renovation sooner than planned after he was told the price for the new metal stalls would be going up, from $85,000 to $106,000, once Trumps 25% tariff on steel and aluminum went into effect earlier this month. We cant just go to the market and raise our prices because all of our costs are higher, so we are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, he said. At the same time, dairy farmers have been impacted by cuts and funding freezes at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The agency cut funding for a program that helps schools and food banks buy products from local farmers, like lunch milk from nearby dairy farms. Other farmers have been left waiting to get reimbursed for millions of dollars in grant funding previously awarded to them for conservation projects on their farms, like installing solar panels on barn rooftops. Immigration fears Dairy farms are heavily reliant on labor from immigrants, who work at dairies that produce 79% of Americas milk, according to the National Milk Producers Federation. Work on dairy farms can involve early hours, long days and weekend shifts year-round in harsh weather. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is very labor-intensive, hands-on work. Its not glamorous. Its hard work, its valuable work, but it is absolutely something that we as a society have moved away from valuing, said Watson. So we rely on immigrant labor. They come ready to work and they do tremendous work on our farms. The idea of losing that workforce, it could be devastating for the dairy industry. For dairy workers who arent born in the U.S., it can be difficult to get the proper work authorization because there isnt a specific visa available for dairy workers, unlike other agricultural industries in which employers can bring workers to the U.S. on temporary visas during the harvest season. Dairy workers dont qualify for those temporary agriculture worker visas because they work year-round. Members of Congress and the dairy industry have tried and failed multiple times over the past two decades to create a visa program for dairy workers. Thats left dairy farmers worried their workers could get swept up in the Trump administrations stepped-up deportation efforts. The National Milk Producers Federation estimates that if the U.S. dairy industry lost its foreign-born workforce, it would nearly double retail milk prices and cost the total U.S. economy more than $32 billion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One dairy farmer, who didnt want to publicly share his name for fear of retaliation against his workforce, said they are hearing a lot of fear among their workers, who are trying to avoid going out into public and preparing their families for the possibility that they get deported. They see the ads on TV saying if youre not here legally, you should leave, and those types of things just creates a lot of fear and anxiety, the farmer said. Our guys are like family. Theyve been here with us a long time, theyre important to us, but you can tell that theyre scared and just unsure whats going to happen. Bird flu spread The uncertainty around tariffs and immigration comes as the industry is also closely watching the spread of avian flu in dairy cattle over the past year. So far, the fatality rate of infected cows has been low and most are able to recover in a few weeks. But the infections do lead to a temporary decrease in milk production that can reduce farmers income. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The last thing we need right now, on top of all the volatility from the tariffs and the immigration threat and those things, would be to lose a drop in production for bird flu, said Wormuth, who worries that bird flu could start to spread among New York dairy cattle when birds start migrating back north in the spring. The Trump administration has yet to make any significant changes to the federal response to avian flu in dairy cattle. Under the Biden administration, the USDA provided funding to dairy farms to help reduce the spread of the virus, cover veterinary costs and compensate farmers who lost milk because of sick cows. The USDA started a voluntary milk-testing program in December, during the final days of the Biden administration, but some states have been slow to put the system in place. Public and animal health experts have said widespread testing is critical to containing virus cases that might otherwise go undetected, giving the variants more opportunities to spread to animals and humans. The dairy industry is encouraging the Trump administration to continue the development of a vaccine against avian flu for dairy cattle, said Castaneda. But he is concerned some countries may not accept milk from vaccinated cows, even though pasteurization has been shown to kill the virus creating one more element of uncertainty about whats ahead for dairy farmers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont think that a vaccine should be mandatory, but having a vaccine available, thats something that we are certainly looking to have as another tool to deal with this issue, said Castaneda. This is our first time we have encountered this. We dont know if its going to be a recurring issue or a one-time thing. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com While New York state has not had a case of avian influenza in dairy cows, veterinary experts say milk testing underway at dairy processing plants is the key to early detection. According to Friday numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no person-to-person spread of avian flu H5N1 virus has occurred, however 70 people in the US have become infected from live poultry, cattle, or milk directly from the milking process with one known death. With dairy farms expanding into larger numbers of cows, Kaitlyn Lutz, VMD, bilingual dairy specialist for Cornell Cooperative Northwest Dairy Livestock and Field Crops Team, said milk testing is able to keep pace. She said pasteurizing milk with heat at processing plants has been demonstrated to kill the H5N1 virus before milk is sold for human consumption. Its actually kind of a wimpy virus when it comes to heat treatment, said Michael Capel, DVM, DABVP, a bovine veterinarian and partner in Perry Veterinary Clinic in Wyoming County. Pasteurization is 100% effective. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While dabbling ducks like mallards introduced avian flu to cows, the virus has changed to a new strain that moves within cattle, and occasionally to people. Eliminating contact between cows and birds is not a prevention priority. The original spillover event was from wild birds to dairy cattle, but now that its been in cattle, its thought that it is spread from other infected cattle or fomites (secretions), Lutz said. Milk has the highest viral load compared to any other body secretion. People who drink unprocessed milk should be vigilant, Lutz said. We do have raw milk consumption in our state, she said. There are multiple farms that have raw milk permits. We do not know if raw milk is safe to drink for humans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Farm workers who are exposed to unpasteurized milk in the milking process have some risk of contracting avian flu, Lutz said. She works to educate workers in Western New York about the illness and its prevention. Routine testing at New Yorks regional dairy processing plants has not detected avian influenza, but if a milk sample tested positive it could be immediately linked to the farm where it originated, said Capel, past president of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. Thats because processors are required to test milk from incoming trucks, and they store a sample from each farm, Capel said. Nearly every state in the country has implemented the National Milk Testing Strategy which assures that milk is screened for the live H5N1 virus by farm or processor level, he said. Milk testing is key because there is no vaccine licensed in the United States to prevent avian flu in cattle, Capel said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other avian flu precautions are taken when shipping cattle. Lutz said many dairy farms outsource the rearing of heifer calves to facilities in western states. Once grown, the heifers are returned to the farm of origin. "Because we have transport of young stock across state lines, its something we have to be mindful of," Lutz said. New York requires young animals coming from out-of-state to receive a nasal swab test, Capel said, but flu risk among heifers is much smaller than among lactating cattle. Capel advises farmers to ask for milk testing results on any individual cows they are considering purchasing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If I were purchasing from a farm, I would go to the farm and ask for milk testing for a couple of weeks. He said any new animals should be kept separately from the herd and monitored. David McCollum, co-owner of McCollum Farms in Gasport with 1,500 dairy cows, joked that you cant post a sign - Avian flu keep out. All you can do is keep things tightened up, he said. Infected cows recover with treatment, Capel said, but often do not resume full milk production. If they are culled, they can not be sold for human consumption. Capel's veterinary practice works with dairy farms on biosecurity plans to address avian flu and other disease risks. I think these individual plans are really critical, he said. Every farm is a little bit different, and risk factors on farms are a little bit different. Grant funding has been available from the USDA to cover veterinarians consulting time, equipment, and protective gear. For millions of permanent residents in the U.S., a green card is more than just identification. Its proof of legal permanent status, the result of an immigration process, a step toward naturalization. But many are unaware that they are legally required to carry it at all times. The rule is simple and clear, but often forgotten: green card holders aged 18 or older must keep it with them, as required by Section 264(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The requirement has become more important in recent weeks, with increased immigration enforcement, more raids under a zero-tolerance policy and executive orders from the state and federal government aimed at cracking down on unauthorized immigration and an influx of migrants across the southern border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advocates and immigration attorneys say many green card holders dont know about the rule and could unknowingly put themselves at risk. Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of the law could face legal issues, such as fines of up to $100, up to 30 days in jail, or both. We are living in historical times here in the United States under this administration, Tampa immigration attorney Milton Toro said. Now more than ever all parties should carry all documentation showing their current status. Toro said the situation highlights the importance of following the rules due to the uncertainty and fear among many communities and immigrants, even those with permanent legal status. If you are a resident, you should carry your residency card at all times, he said. Always remember your right to remain silent and your right to have counsel of your choice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green card holders are immigrants who have been granted lawful permanent residence, but who have not yet become U.S. citizens. The Office of Homeland Security Statistics estimates there were 12.8 million permanent residents living in the United States last year. Ana Lamb, who advocates for immigrant rights in Hillsborough County, said carrying a green card at all times is not just a way to identify oneself, but also a way to stay protected. Were seeing people questioned by authorities, even facing arrests we never imagined could happen, she said. Its important to have everything in order and to carry these types of IDs with us to stay safe. Miguel Angel, a permanent resident from Cuba, said he had never heard about the requirement to carry the green card at all times. He usually keeps it stored safely at home to avoid losing it and having to pay for a new one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone who has lost or needs to replace a green card must file an application for a replacement, either online or by mail. The cost to replace a green card is $465 by mail and $415 when filing online. Lisette Sanchez, an immigration attorney in Tampa, said a photocopy or digital image isnt enough. Only the original green card counts. Most lawful permanent residents are surprised to learn that under federal law, theyre required to carry their original unexpired green card with them at all times, Sanchez said. Its important to be aware, now more than ever. FAIRVIEW, N.C. (WSPA) Thursday, March 27 marked six months since Hurricane Helene dropped historic rainfall, caused catastrophic flooding, and contributed to more than 2,000 landslides. The grim milestone came amid an outbreak of wildfires that continued to burn in areas severely damaged by the storm. Amid the growing wildfire emergency across the Carolinas, Helenes destruction was still fresh for families like Donald Craig and his daughter, Jamie Quimby. In our community, we lost 13, said Donald Craig, a longtime Buncombe County resident. Most of them were cousins, aunts, uncles. Were a very close-knit family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of those 13 lives that were lost by the storm in the Fairview community, Craig said 11 were family members, including his wife Angela. We were married 46 years. She was the love of my life, said Craig. Craig and his daughter shared a video Angela took outside their home moments before a powerful mudslide raged down the mountain. It took down everything in its path, including Donald and his wife. We was out on our porch taking pictures and just out of nowhere the thick slide came in, said Craig. Craigs daughter, Jamie Quimby, said fear shuddered through her body as she watched a river of debris and mud rush past their homes. She was just feet away from her parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It happened so fast. I just kept thinking, oh my God, I hope they got in the house, said Quimby. Quimby said her father was found pinned underneath a vehicle. It took nearly 12 hours for crews to clear a path and extract him. Craig said he suffered several broken ribs, a broken sternum, wrist, and broke both of his legs. His wife, Angela, didnt make it. They found her about two days later about a mile away, said Craig. Stories like this are ones that hundreds of western North Carolina residents live another day to tell. Six months after the storm, Governor Josh Stein stood in solidarity with the community to remember the more than 100 lives that were lost in the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their stories are painful. Theyre hard. Its hard to move on from when you are carrying that kind of weight, said Governor Josh Stein. Helene was named the deadliest U.S. hurricane since Katrina in 2005, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was responsible for at least 248 deaths, including at least 105 in North Carolina, 50 in South Carolina, and 37 in Georgia. Amid the ongoing recovery, a state of emergency was renewed in North Carolina as wildfires continued to rage across the state. Stein spoke with a sense of urgency as he called on the federal government for additional support. It is our duty to give people a hand up when theyve been knocked down, said Stein. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stein said Helene left behind more than $60 billion worth of damage in North Carolina and the wildfires were fueling the cost. We know that western North Carolina has so much work to do to rebuild, but there have been moments of progress, said Stein. Progress could be seen Thursday as roads and bridges that were once washed away were repaired, and homes began to rise out of the destruction. People need to get back in their homes. Roads and bridges need to be fixed. Businesses need to keep their doors open and their employees hired. Communities need clean drinking water, said Stein. Little by little, western North Carolina communities are rebuilding, finding glimmers of hope in a time of darkness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well make it, said Craig. With Gods help, we will make it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO A search is underway on Friday for a child who Chicago police said went missing on Thursday. According to Chicago police, officers are searching for 12-year-old Jahmere Marshall, who was last seen in the 1500 block of North Mason Avenue in Austin, on the citys West Side. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Officers said the missing child, who stands 5-foot-5 and weighs around 120 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes. Photo provided by Chicago police shows 12-year-old Jahmere Marshall, who was last seen in the 1500 block of North Mason Avenue in Austin, on the citys West Side, on March 27, 2025. Chicago police notified the police about the childs disappearance in a news release sent out on Friday morning but did not provide a description of what he was last seen wearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 12-year-old Jahmere Marshall is asked to contact the CPD Area One Detectives at 312-747-8380 or dial 911. Those with information that could help authorities in their investigation can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 search for a missing 5-year-old Gwinnett County boy has ended in heartbreak. Divers found the body of Indi Bullock a non-verbal child in a retention pond behind his Gwinnett county apartment complex. I was hoping for a better outcome, but unfortunately, its not that, Cpl. Ryan Winderweedle with the Gwinnett County Police Department said. Crime scene and detectives were already here searching, so itll be determined by the medical examiner if there was any foul play, but at this time, none is suspected. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Gwinnett police started looking for Indi on Thursday at around 4:30 p.m. after his family said he climbed over a first-floor balcony railing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police focused on the woods and the pond near the reflections on Sweetwater Apartments on Sweetwater Road. Multiple agencies worked through the night using K-9s, drones, and even an underwater submarine to find him. Its hard for everyone to deal with when you have an innocent child that just walked away, Winderweedle said. TRENDING STORIES: But it wasnt just law enforcement searching. Neighbors like Amani Pitts spent the day helping, hoping for a miracle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was out here all day just to make sure that they actually found that baby safe, Pitts said. I just hope theyre able to find a way to get through this. Resources from neighboring Hall County and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources also helped in the search for Indi, which lasted about 20 hours. The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to go directly toward honoring Indis memory and ensuring he receives a proper farewell. Click here to donate. ANKARA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that cooperation between Turkiye and Russia is crucial for ensuring peace and stability in Syria, according to a statement from Erdogan's office. In a phone call with Putin, Erdogan underscored the importance of Ankara and Moscow working together to achieve lasting stability in Syria while upholding the country's territorial integrity, the statement said. He said Turkiye and Russia could jointly counter efforts to destabilize Syria by fueling ethnic and sectarian divisions and called for the complete lifting of sanctions imposed on the country. Erdogan also advocated for returning Syria's resources to its central government and reiterated Turkiye's support for integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the national administration. He emphasized the need to eliminate "terrorist threats" to secure long-term regional stability. The Turkish president described Turkiye-Russia cooperation as a key factor in addressing regional challenges and reaffirmed Turkiye's active role in monitoring the conflict. He expressed Ankara's readiness to host peace negotiations for a just and lasting resolution. Erdogan also highlighted the importance of ensuring security in the Black Sea, particularly for commercial navigation, and said Turkiye remains committed to preventing the region from becoming a conflict zone. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Putin and Erdogan discussed the outcomes of recent consultations between Russian and U.S. groups in Riyadh, according to Russian media reports. Putin also shared his assessment with the Turkish leader of ongoing dialogue with Washington on resolving the conflict in Ukraine and discussed renewing the Black Sea initiative on safe navigation. A 50-year-old paraplegic woman was found dead in a marsh a day after she vanished following a shopping trip, police said. Her body was discovered March 26 at about 7:20 a.m., the Algona Police Department said in a news release. She signed herself out of her care facility in Pacific at about noon the previous day, Police Chief James Schrimpsher told McClatchy News by phone March 28. While in Algona, she went to a shopping mall, got a coffee and made some other purchases, Schrimpsher said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then she decided to ride her motorized wheelchair back to the facility instead of taking the bus because of the nice weather, he said. Algona is about a 1-mile drive north of Pacific. She texted the facility at about 3 p.m., saying she was on her way back, but never returned, Schrimpsher said. The facility reported her missing at 9 p.m. Schrimpsher said at least two people stopped her and asked if she needed help, but she told them she was enjoying the day. An autopsy determined she died from drowning, Schrimpsher said. The investigation has not been completed, but Schrimpsher said it does not appear there are any signs of foul play; it was just an unfortunate accident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Algona is about a 15-mile drive northeast from Tacoma. Remains found in riverbed 3 decades ago now IDd as missing teen, California cops say Trapped 82-year-old fisherman slowly sank in mud for hours until help came, cops say Remains of legendary German outlaw on display for 220 years. It was the wrong body House Budget Committee Chairman Dirk Deaton, a Republican from Noel, speaks March 3 during debate on the fiscal 2025 supplemental appropriations bill. (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications) As Missouri lawmakers debate the $47.9 billion state budget, they are also deciding how to spend an unexpectedly large chunk of cash from sales taxes collected from marijuana dispensaries. The nearly $86 million paid by recreational cannabis users is constitutionally required to be divided up evenly between funds benefiting veterans, public defenders and programs that prevent substance use disorders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Due to a strong cannabis market and effective, efficient regulation of that market, said Amy Moore, director of the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation told The Independent this week, the funds available for the ultimate beneficiaries of the cannabis regulatory program continue to outpace expectations. In February, Moore told the House budget committee that each fund could receive $28.6 million in the various budget bills debated this spring. So far, the full $28.6 million has made it into budget legislation for both veterans and substance use disorder programs. Part of it will help fund new partnerships with the state courts, public schools and other providers to support childrens mental health and to expand substance use prevention and treatment programs. The Missouri Veterans Commission will receive an additional $13 million from medical marijuana money as well, and its total $41.6 million will go towards the operational needs and potential repairs for the states seven veterans homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the House has approved only $15.3 million for the public defenders system so far. State lawmakers have the authority to decide whether to withhold the money, even though they cant spend it anywhere else. The public defenders office, for example, had hoped to use some of the cannabis money to increase their attorneys starting pay from $65,000 per year to $70,000. That would align the salary with the attorney generals office entry-level pay. Theres a huge cost to employee turnover, said Mary Fox, director of the Office of Public Defender, during a budget committee hearing last month, and where we see that employee turnover is in years one through three, which is why that is where I would like to bring them in line with the attorney general salary. Mary Fox, left testifies alongside Annie Legomsky during a February hearing of the House Health and Mental Health Committee (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications). That $2.5 million request was shot down in the House, despite the funds being available. During a budget committee hearing, she also asked for $4 million to hire 45 full-time social workers to expand the agencys holistic defense program, which employs social workers to connect clients with community resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For several years, the system suffered from having long waitlists to get legal representation, which resulted in a successful lawsuit against the state. State Rep. John Voss, a Republican from Cape Girardeau and a budget committee member, pushed to add $1.6 million for pay raises and $1.2 million to hire 20 social workers. The $1.2 million was added, but the pay raises were not. These attorneys represent the poor in our state, and they deserve the best representation that we can provide to them, said Voss, during a budget committee meeting last month. In terms of the holistic defense mitigation specialists, I believe that were actually investing in ways to prevent people from becoming incarcerated again, and we will wind up saving money across the entire state budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Overall, Voss said part of the reason the public defenders total allocation is less than the two other funds is because about $11.7 million was included in budget legislation that required the funds to be spent by June and the public defenders werent poised to do that. That money goes back to a fund in the Missouri Treasury to be appropriated to the public defenders in pending legislation, Senate Committee on Appropriations Chair Lincoln Hough told Independent last month. The money isnt reallocated, he said. It stays dedicated to the public defender. The money is still sitting there and will be allocated in the operating bills. After the House votes to approve the bills, likely next week, Houghs committee will debate them. While the House may not have included the public defenders requests for salary raises, the Senate has the ability to add more money back in before May. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The public defender will be taken care of in the operating bills, Hough said. It generally takes right up until the constitutional deadline to get these things done. And so well have plenty of discussion on this. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE OAK GROVE, Ky. (FOX 56) A Missouri man was charged on Wednesday after reportedly setting up a hidden camera in his exs Kentucky home. The Oak Grove Police Department said officers were called on March 26 to a home on Arkansas Avenue where Courtney Baker said she found a camera hidden behind her headboard and bed. An arrest citation noted that Baker and Manuel Alvarez, 34, had been in a relationship and had a kid together before breaking up. She said that Alvarez had access to her home cameras several months back, but she cut off his access after they broke up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baker told the police that Alvarez reportedly learned the passwords after she changed them, forcing her to change them again. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Alvarez came to do a job at an area Oak Grove Walmart, and Baker said she allowed their 7-year-old son to see Alvarez, according to the citation. Citing the need to travel back to Missouri and wanting to spend more time with his son, Alvarez was granted permission to stay the night at Bakers home. The police said that, according to Baker, it was then that he reportedly installed the camera without her consent, and she was afraid for her safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said Alvarez admitted to installing the camera, claiming there were problems with someone stealing, and he was trying to protect his family. He believed the camera was visible and not hidden. Alvarez told the police that he thought it was okay because they had previously lived together and he still had items at the home. Records show that Alvarez was arrested and charged with installing an eavesdropping device. Read more of the latest Lexington & central Kentucky news Court documents noted that Alvarez was released ahead of his scheduled arraignment at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 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 FOX 56 News. Hayao Miyazaki during a press conference at his studio on July 13, 2015, in Tokyo, Japan. - Credit: KATSUMI KASAHARA/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images In a bitter irony, people around the world are using OpenAIs GPT4o model to generate images in the style of legendary Japanese animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, who for his entire career has prized values of humanism, painstaking artistry, and the sanctity of nature versus the horrors of exploitative industry. And while neither he nor Studio Ghibli, the Tokyo animation studio he founded, has publicly commented on the meme trend (the company did not immediately return a request for comment from Rolling Stone, either) fans are in an uproar. Its been 24 hours since OpenAI unexpectedly shook the AI image world with 4o image generation, wrote a tech newsletter columnist in an X post on Wednesday, referring to the Silicon Valley companys new paid text-to-image model, available only through the paid version of ChatGPT, which costs $20 monthly. Among the examples of what 4o could do, he shared what he called Studio Ghibli style memes that is to say, recognizable memes such as Distracted Boyfriend and Disaster Girl rendered as anime-like illustrations somewhat reminiscent of Miyazakis for beloved classics such as Spirited Away and Howls Moving Castle. More from Rolling Stone Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While some were impressed, many of the responses were brutal. I saw the beautiful 4K IMAX version of Princess Mononoke last night then got out and saw this shit, wrote one critic, naming a 1997 Miyazaki film that is currently enjoying a limited theatrical run (and certainly has points to make about the environmental destruction wrought by technology). Do you morons truly value art so little that its just a filter for your profile pic? Pay a fucking artist and make something real you gremlins. Another complained, People act like this is a good thing but all the soul has been sucked out of society, we really are at the peak, nothing really matters anymore. A third detractor simply replied: Hope Studio Ghibli sues everyone involved. Indeed, the copyright question became a pressing concern as soon as ChatGPT subscribers began churning out the Ghibli-inspired content and filtering their own photos through the aesthetic. Although OpenAI CEO Sam Altman himself encouraged the craze by changing his X profile pic to a Ghiblified version of himself and joked about receiving hundreds of messages from people who had sent him similar images the company had by Wednesday evening implemented a guardrail that made it hard to generate such content. We added a refusal which triggers when a user attempts to generate an image in the style of a living artist, OpenAI said in a statement, though a spokesperson told Business Insider that 4o would still be able to imitate broader studio styles. Of course, it wasnt difficult for ChatGPT enthusiasts to figure out prompts that produced Ghibli memes without using the name of the studio. Another problem is that users were able to generate Ghibli-ish images depicting 9/11, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. Miyazaki, 84, is certainly a living artist, and its not hard to guess what hed make of 4o. Known for his intensive, perfectionist labor over hand-drawn frames, he is a figure of existing memes already. In a 2016 documentary about his career, he visits with a team that shows him a demo of their AI-generated computer animation of a disfigured zombie character. Miyazaki calmly expressed his withering contempt: Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever, he said. I am utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself. He also observed, We humans are losing faith in ourselves. Screenshots of the devastating exchange and Miyazakis final verdict have circulated on social media ever since. One telling indicator of exactly who is interested in pumping out AI slop with ChatGPT: On Thursday, the White Houses government X account mocked the deportation of an alleged fentanyl dealer by Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier in the month by rendering her as a crying Ghibli character being arrested by an agent. Meanwhile, Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador and self-proclaimed worlds coolest dictator who in President Donald Trumps second term has accepted migrants deported from the U.S. to be held in the countrys notorious mega-prison, CECOT shared a Ghibli version of himself on X. Writer and critic Gareth Watkins, among others, has convincingly argued that AI provides the new aesthetics of fascism, with right-wing extremists eager to leverage it for lightning-fast propaganda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the backlash this time around, even to the apolitical content, has been intense. Look, call me the fun police or whatever but Hayao Miyazaki didnt spend his entire life cultivating a distinct artistic identity so that AI could reduce decades of his discipline and integrity to meme fodder, wrote one X user. Its a shame how easily yall abandon principle just to feel included. Someone else was more pointed on the subject, responding to a person who had generated a famous 2018 photo of Trump, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and other G7 leaders at the time in the Ghibli style: hayao miyazaki should start killing people. I think. The post has more than 270,000 likes. On Thursday, Altman acknowledged that the 4o craze was putting a strain on OpenAIs resources, noting on X: its super fun seeing people love images in chatgpt. but our GPUs are melting. we are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. hopefully wont be long! He also announced that the free version of ChatGPT would soon allow for up to three image generations a day. The day before, he appeared to defend the use of AI tech for this purpose, posting, one mans slop is another mans treasure. Says the CEO of Big Slop, replied a film artist and illustrator. Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) A mob in southern Nigeria killed 16 people, at least some them when tires were forced over their heads and shoulders and set on fire because they were believed to be kidnappers, officials said Friday. The victims from the country's north were killed in the Uromi area of Edo State after being stopped by local security personnel. During a search of their vehicle, officers discovered locally made weapons and that triggered the attack by the mob, Edo police spokesperson Moses Yamu said in a statement. Videos shared on social media showed the victims being brutalized before they were eventually set on fire with worn-out vehicle tires. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mob violence in Nigeria has surged over the past decade. While attacks in the south are often linked to accusations of theft and witchcraft, the north has seen a rise in mob attacks over alleged blasphemy, according to a 2024 Amnesty International report. In 2022, SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research group, said there have been at least 391 mob killings in Africas most populous country since 2019. Ten from the group of travelers were rescued from the Thursday attack, which also left two people hospitalized with injuries, Yamu said. The police spokesperson said 14 suspects were arrested in connection with the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On a visit to the scene, Edo state Gov. Monday Okpebholo said the perpetrators would face the full wrath of the law. Nobody has the right to take another mans life, Solomon Osaghale, a representative of the governor, said in a statement. The attack sparked outrage on social media, with politicians from the north condemning the killings. In 2012, four students from the University of Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State and one of Nigerias oil producing areas, were lynched after they were wrongly suspected of being armed robbers. At the time, the attacks sparked nationwide outrage, igniting protests and debates about the countrys judicial system. Many believe the victims never received justice. MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) A Mobile County father is questioning a policy that prevents graduating seniors from wearing their earned honor cords during their commencement ceremony, and he hopes his petition can spark a change in the Mobile County Public School System. Nikeland Nichols daughter, Nikaiya, is graduating from Mary G. Montgomery High School with several academic and honors cords at 17 years old. Mobile County sheriff calls for stricter consequences after Semmes man violates parole Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Excited from all of her achievements, she was ready to walk across the stage with the pride that comes with collecting all of the cords, but a policy listed on the website said graduates can only wear cords issued by the schools National Honors Society during the ceremony. Upset with the policy, Nichols created an online petition to get the Mobile County Public School System to reconsider their policy. According to a spokesperson, the decision about the wearing of the cords is decided by the schools. Nicholas believes MGMs policy sends the wrong message and undermines the students hard work. The students are the ones who do the hard work, you know? Nichols said. They have to not only make the grades but also be leaders in the school and out the school and in the community. They have to do community service. Its not them giving them something, so why take that away from them? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nikaiya is ready to embark on her next journey as a kinesiology major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She believes she and her classmates worked hard to receive her extra cords but is disappointed that she wont be able to display them at all. WATCH: Orange Beach Police Marine Division on high alert for spring break reckless boaters Were working hard, and were in these upper-level classes, and were told were getting these cords, but we cant wear them? she questioned. It was like, wow. Thats a slap in the face. MGMs graduation is set for May 12. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) Mobile police are investigating after a man was assaulted inside a home. Mobile police seek missing man last seen walking his dog According to a Mobile Police Department news release, officers responded to an assault report Tuesday around 6:30 p.m. on the 7500 block of Murray Heights Drive. LOCATION: Police said they found a man on the scene with minor non-life-threatening injuries due to a physical altercation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center set for auction what to know The man told officers that a man, whom he did not know, came to the home and began assaulting him, according to the release. Mobile police said the man fled before they arrived on the scene, and the investigation remains active. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The mother of a Black teen targeted in a bias attack at the Coney Island-Stillwell Ave. subway station spoke out Friday, demanding that all the teens involved be arrested for gang assault and a hate crime. They chose the wrong Black boy because I want something done, said irate mom Monique Whyte at a press conference held at the same station where her son was attacked. A mob of boys hurled a banana and racial slurs at the 16-year-old victim Monday morning as he headed to school, mocking him with the N-word and striking him in the head. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The hateful group then repeatedly began punching and kicking him, police said. They also stole one of his sneakers, cops said, then ran off. The sneaker was later found in the station. Whyte said she usually drives her son to school, but the morning of the incident, he took the train. She later got a call from her son, who said Mommy, I was jumped, said the mom. He feels embarrassed, ashamed, he doesnt understand why this happened to him, said Whyte. He has head injuries, he has some swelling to his face. Its a hate crime, they threw bananas, Whyte said. These thugs are terrorizing Black children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 16-year-old was arrested for the attack and charged Thursday with robbery and assault as a hate crime, as well as gang assault, police said. A 14-year-old was also taken into custody but later released. The NYPD did not disclose the name of the 16-year-old suspect because of his age. The departments Hate Crime Task Force is still looking for the teens accomplices. Video of the attack was posted on Instagram but was later taken down, a police source said. Civil rights activist Rev. Kevin McCall blamed the police and what he describes as insufficient patrol. Where were they on Monday morning when this kid gets brutally beaten? asked McCall. Were they worried about fare evasion? They should have been worried about protecting New Yorkers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McCall said members of the clergy would begin to patrol the Stillwell station. If the police wont do it, we will, said McCall. We have joined together, the clergy, [and] have announced today, the Clergy Community Patrol. We have to do this for our own people, McCall said, adding that the patrol would spread out to other subway stations as well. McCall described the video, which he had seen before it was removed from Instagram, which involved a good Samaritan coming to the victims aid. Theres a banana thats randomly being thrown at him. He asks why the bananas being thrown at him? They come, said McCall. They beat him up first. He gets up. He runs again. They throw another banana at him. They throw him to the ground, as you see in the video, they take his sneakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victims sister told the Daily News Thursday there were five or more kids who attacked her brother. He doesnt know nothing about these kids, said the sister, who asked not to be named. Hes fine physically, but hes messed up mentally. Thank God he wasnt seriously hurt. Mayor Adams addressed the incident Friday, writing on X: I have been clear that hate, racism, and violence have no place in our city. We must continue to take a stand against hate crimes, hold offenders accountable, and keep New Yorkers safe. I want justice for my son, said Whyte. No other arrests were made as of Friday afternoon, said police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked for comment on the claims about inadequate policing made at the press conference, a police spokesperson said on Friday night that it took only minutes after receiving the 911 call for an officer to reach the victim and render assistance, noting that the Stillwell Ave. subway station is one of the largest terminal stations in New York City. Additional officers were conducting enforcement on another platform contained in the station and raced to the assault, the spokesperson said. In total, two sergeants and six officers responded to the location. 'Which shall rule wealth or man; which shall lead money or intellect?' asked a former Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice | Getty Images Creative Does it matter to Wisconsin voters that Elon Musk is trying to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court? Maybe not to Scott A. as Musk called him, the Green Bay voter to whom Musk gave $1 million as part of his campaign to reward Wisconsinites who sign a petition against activist judges, while at the same time handing over their personal data to Musk. Scott A.s haul is one-fifth the size of Musks $20 million investment in campaign ads and door-knocking to support his preferred candidate, Brad Schimel. And Musks $20 million spending spree accounts for about one-fifth of the total, record-breaking $100 million that makes the April 1 contest the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The race is a test of many things: Whether Musk, serving as unelected and unpopular co-president to Donald Trump, is a political asset or a liability; whether the new liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court will endure; whether the highest bidder is destined to win state court races even as the ad war becomes a blitzkrieg; whether three months into the Trump administration, amid mass firings, the dismantling of federal agencies and voter unease about the destruction of their health care and retirement security, Wisconsin might be the place where things begin to turn around. The money pouring into the Supreme Court race is obscene and a bad sign for the health of democracy regardless of next weeks outcome. But the sickness didnt flare up overnight. It has been getting steadily worse for almost two decades. Schimel makes the claim that he is running to restore the Courts impartiality, motivated by his disgust at how political the Courts new liberal majority has become. In truth, the politicization of the Court goes back almost two decades and Schimel, a highly partisan Republican, is an unlikely candidate to take us back to pre-partisan times. On the other side, Susan Crawford is backed by the Democrats and big out of state donors including George Soros. In a recent debate she conceded that the public has an interest in ethics rules that would require judges to recuse themselves from cases involving their donors, but the current rules dont require that. Neither candidate has promised to recuse from such cases. The turning point that led us to the current moment came in 2008. That was the year disgraced former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman defeated incumbent Justice Louis Butler in a dirty campaign that broke all previous spending records. The race cost $6 million at the time, an astounding sum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Gablemans biggest-spending supporter, paid for ads calling Butler Loophole Louie and accusing him of being soft on crime. Gableman himself ran a disgusting ad that placed Butlers face next to the mugshot of a convicted rapist. Both men were Black. The ad misleadingly claimed that Butler found a loophole and let the man out of prison to molest another child. In fact, Butler was not the judge in the case. As a public defender assigned to defend his client, he lost in court and his client was imprisoned, then later reoffended after he was released, having served his full sentence. Gableman went on to help destroy ethics rules on the Court, refusing to recuse himself from cases involving WMC, which had spent more than $2 million to help elect him. He played a key role in passing the current ethics rule allowing justices to decide for themselves whether to recuse in cases involving their big-money campaign contributors. Gableman embarrassed supporters, including Dodge County District Attorney Steven Bauer, who publicly withdrew his support during the campaign because of the attack ad. Tellingly, after he left the Court, Gableman disappeared, never landing a job at a law firm or in public service. His brief return to the limelight, as Assembly Speaker Robin Voss chief investigator of nonexistent voter fraud, featured Gableman threatening to jail the mayors of Democratic cities and wasting more than a million taxpayer dollars on a farcical investigation that ended when Vos fired him. But the damage done by Gableman and the people who poured money into electing him endures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 2025 Supreme Court race, which is on track to double the cost of the last record-breaking election in 2023, is 15 times as costly as Gablemans expensive and shamefully politicized campaign. Ads featuring scary crime stories are still a major feature of Supreme Court races, sponsored by people who know and dont care that tough-on-crime issues arent coming before the Court. Instead, the ads are paid for by ideological groups, political parties and corporations interested in favorable treatment like Musk, who has a current lawsuit in Wisconsin seeking to overturn a state law blocking him from opening Tesla dealerships here. Back in 1873, Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Ryan worried about the rise of the robber barons, their accumulation of vast personal wealth and with it political power. Speaking at the University of Wisconsin Law School, he posed the question: Which shall rule wealth or man; which shall lead money or intellect; who shall fill public stations educated and patriotic free men, or the feudal serfs of corporate capital? We are well on our way to becoming a nation of feudal serfs to Elon Musk. The liquidation of government agencies and institutions that serve the public interest are a giant step in that direction. The Wisconsin Supreme Court election will take us further down that road, or move us in the opposite direction. But until we do something about the arms race in campaign spending, Ryans vision of government by educated and patriotic free men (and women) will be increasingly out of reach. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX MADRID, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Former FC Barcelona and Brazil defender Dani Alves had his conviction for sexual assault overturned on appeal by the High Court in the Catalan region of north-east Spain on Friday. Alves was originally sentenced to four and a half years in jail in February 2024 after being found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub. He also had to pay the alleged victim 150,000 euros (161,000 US dollars) in compensation. He was released a month later on appeal, with the former player asking for the verdict to be quashed, while prosecutors asked for a tougher sentence. Friday's verdict saw the judges overturn the original guilty verdict, saying the testimony of Alves' supposed victim contained "inconsistencies and contradictions," and didn't coincide with evidence provided by video cameras in the establishment where the offense was alleged to have taken place. "The divergence between what has been said by the accuser and what actually happened compromises the trustworthiness of the account," considered the panel of judges, made up of three women and a man. The 41-year-old Alves played 126 times for the Brazilian national team, as well as making 408 appearances for Barcelona in two spells. He also played for Sevilla, Paris Saint Germain and Juventus and was playing in Mexico when detained in early 2023. ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) A quiet neighborhood on Holmes Street is still reeling from the stabbing spree that left multiple people dead a year ago today. It crosses my mind pretty often, said Mario Rivera. Those who still live in the neighborhood said it is a tragedy that will never leave their minds. I couldnt believe it. I knew the guy personally, said Lawrence Kisseih, who lived two doors down from Jacob Schupbach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When it happens so close, its one of those things that you never forget, said Rivera. One year later: Rockford stabbing spree suspect, Christian Soto, awaits trial On March 27th, 2024, Christian Soto went on a deadly 30-minute rampage, authorities reported. He used knives, a softball bat and a pickup truck at multiple locations during the incident. Soto is accused of killing his friend Jacob Schupbach, Jacobs mother Ramona, USPS Mail Carrier Jay Larson all with a knife and 15-year-old Jenna Newcomb with a softball bat. Officers described him as a monster on the move. Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Carauana explained the pain is still fresh a year later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This changed the life of a lot of people and moving forward always will be, said the sheriff. For many who knew and loved the victims, as well as those who survived, the healing process takes time. One USPS Mail Carrier said Larson will forever be remembered. Ive said it, and I will continue to say it he was the best of us, said USPS Letter Carrier Lawrence Steward. We will never let his memory die. Soto is still being held in the Winnebago County Jail, awaiting his next court date on April 4th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The State Department said Friday it was officially shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development, in what could deal a final blow to the beleaguered foreign aid agency. The move came several hours before a federal appeals court overruled a lower court's order that blocked Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency from dismantling USAID. In a memo distributed Friday to USAID employees and obtained by ABC News, Jeremy Lewin, the agency's new deputy director and a former Department of Government Efficiency official, wrote that the State Department "intends to assume responsibility for many of USAID's functions and its ongoing programming." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Top Trump official tasked with dismantling USAID is out The State Department "will seek to retire USAID's independent operation" immediately and "assess" whether to rehire some unknown number of officials to "assume the responsible administration of USAID's remaining life-saving and strategic aid programming," the memo said. "This transfer will significantly enhance efficiency, accountability, uniformity, and strategic impact in delivering foreign assistance programs -- allowing our nation and President to speak with one voice in foreign affairs," according to the memo. "It will also obviate the need for USAID to continue operating as an independent establishment," the memo said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the move, the memo said, "all non-statutory positions at USAID will be eliminated." PHOTO: Tributes are placed beneath the covered seal of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 7, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Two weeks after a court ruled that attempts to unilaterally dismantle USAID were likely unconstitutional, a panel of three judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit stayed that ruling on Friday, finding that the Trump administration is likely to prove that the DOGE's effort to dismantle USAID did not violate the Constitution. "While defendants' role and actions related to USAID are not conventional, unconventional does not necessarily equal unconstitutional," Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. wrote in a concurring opinion. Trump administration officials, including Musk's DOGE group, have leading a widespread effort to dismantle the agency by laying off thousands of employees, revoking funding for more than 80% of its programs, and shedding its Washington, D.C., headquarters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision to completely dissolve a federal agency is expected to prompt legal scrutiny, according to experts who said such a move would typically require congressional approval. In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the administration was officially moving to sunset USAID and that foreign aid would now officially be administered by the State Department. "Thanks to President Trump, this misguided and fiscally irresponsible era is now over," Rubio said in his statement. "We are reorienting our foreign assistance programs to align directly with what is best for the United States and our citizens." MORE: 'Radical change': Inside Trump's State Department takeover of USAID Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are continuing essential lifesaving programs and making strategic investments that strengthen our partners and our own country," Rubio said in his statement. Critics of the Trump administration say its efforts to nullify the agency will cripple American influence overseas and carry devastating effects for some of the most vulnerable populations in the world, which relied on U.S. funding for health care, food, and other basic needs. The State Department also said that its leadership, along with USAID leadership in place, had notified Congress of their intent to reorganize some USAID functions within the State Department by July 1 of this year. The overall push to eliminate USAID and the reduction of the agency's staff is being challenged in multiple court cases. After months of cuts, State Department says it's officially shuttering USAID originally appeared on abcnews.go.com More than a dozen aid workers have been killed or gone missing in Gaza over the past few days, several groups say, as Israels complete blockade of humanitarian aid neared the one-month mark amid its renewed military assault on the Palestinian enclave. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Thursday eight of its staff had been killed in Gaza over the past week, while the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said nine of its emergency medical technicians (EMTs) have been missing since Sunday following an incident in which Israeli forces fired on ambulances and fire trucks in the southern Gaza governorate of Rafah. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said that it fired on the ambulances and fire trucks in Rafah because they were being used as cover by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a separate incident, Israeli strikes near a community kitchen in Gaza on Thursday killed a World Central Kitchen (WCK) volunteer and injured six others as meals were being distributed, according to the US-based non-profit. In response, the IDF told CNN that the WCK incident is under review. The IDF is in contact with the organization to verify the details thoroughly, it added in a statement. The attacks came after Israel renewed attacks across the strip on March 18, breaking a weeks-long ceasefire with Hamas. Since then, at least 921 Palestinians have been killed and 2,054 others injured, Gazas Ministry of Health reported Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The news also follows Israels decision before the ceasefire collapsed to block humanitarian aid from entering the enclave, in what it described as a move to pressure Hamas into accepting new terms for an extension of the ceasefire rather than proceed with phase two of the truce. The UN and aid groups accuse Israel of violating international law by blocking the flow of aid into Gaza and of using starvation as a weapon of war. The same organizations have accused Israel of restricting or creating hurdles to the entry of aid throughout the war. Noting the deaths of the UNRWA staff, the agencys Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called Thursday for the ceasefire to resume and for Israel to lift its blockade on aid. No humanitarian aid has entered Gaza for more than three weeks now, Lazzarini said, noting that before the ceasefire collapsed between 500 and 600 aid trucks had been entering the strip on a daily basis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is longest that Gaza has been without any supplies since the war began, Lazzarini said. Israel launched its war in Gaza following Hamas October 2023 attack in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage. Since then, Israels military campaign has killed more than 50,200 Palestinians and injured more than 114,000 people, the health ministry in Gaza says. With the return to hostilities, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are once again at risk of severe hunger and malnutrition, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned in a statement on Thursday, stressing that its food stocks are enough to support its operations for a maximum of two weeks. About 10 community kitchens were forced to close in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed due to hostilities and energy shortages, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday. The office also warned that supplies of cooking gas were available only in extremely limited quantities at exorbitant prices, leaving families with few options aside from the community kitchens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UNRWAs Lazzarini said parents are unable to find food for their children, hunger is increasing and the risk of disease is spreading. The siege must be lifted and crossings must re-open for a standard flow of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies, Lazzarini said. About 400 aid workers, including teachers, doctors and nurses, have been killed in Israeli attacks in the enclave since October 7, 2023, OCHA said in an update earlier this week. The death toll includes 289 UN staff and 34 PRCS workers as well as 76 from other NGOs. Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 26, 2025. - Stringer/Reuters EMTs and Civil Defense workers missing According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, its EMTs went missing in the Tel Sultan area of Rafah after being besieged and targeted by Israeli forces on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It said its teams were only able to start searching for the missing staff on Thursday as it had previously been denied access to the area. Gazas Civil Defense said that six of its staff also went missing after being dispatched to the same area last weekend following what it described as a sudden incursion by the Israeli occupation forces, the killing and injuring of dozens, and the besieging of PRCS vehicles. The PRCS said they had recovered the body of one of the Civil Defense team members on Thursday. The Gaza Civil Defense said it had encountered scenes of devastation in Rafah while searching for a team of missing emergency workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said Friday that the body of one emergency worker who was among a nine-strong team that went to Rafah on Sunday had been found. Basal said that when Civil Defense and Red Crescent teams were finally granted access to the area they found massive destruction and widespread bulldozing. We found our vehicles and the Red Crescent vehicles destroyed, and subsequently the body of one worker that had been buried by bulldozers was retrieved, Basal said. The Israeli military told CNN its forces had opened fire at suspicious vehicles advancing toward troops without prior coordination, headlights or emergency signals during an operation against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants in southern Gaza last Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It said that it had eliminated a number of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists by firing on the vehicles and condemned what it claimed was the repeated use of civilian infrastructure by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including the use of medical facilities and ambulances for terrorist purposes. Since the start of Israels war in Gaza in October 2023, 19 PRCS members have been killed while on duty, according to the society. We cannot bear to add more names to this tragic list, a spokesperson for the society said Thursday. (We call) on the international community to take serious measures to protect our medical teams. The society said the search and rescue operation would resume Friday. Trucks carrying aid wait in front of the Rafah border crossing on March 2, 2025 in Rafah, Egypt. - Ali Moustafa/Getty Images Volunteer killed as meals handed out The World Central Kitchen said Israeli strikes near a community kitchen in Gaza on Thursday killed one of its volunteers and injured six others as meals were being distributed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the loss of one of our volunteers in Gaza, WCK said in a statement. In April 2024, a series of Israeli military strikes killed seven WCK staffers in Gaza, drawing international condemnation and prompting a rare public acknowledgment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a promise to investigate the tragic incident. The US-based non-profit that focuses on fighting hunger around the world vowed Thursday to continue its work in the strip. We will continue to support community kitchens throughout the region and operate our field kitchens where possible, based on daily assessments, it said in a statement. We hope for peace for all and a lasting ceasefire. This story has been updated with additional information. CNNs Ibrahim Dahman contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com AUSTIN (KXAN) In East Austin, crime survivors gathered to tell their stories, or those of their loved ones, in order to bring awareness to the Texas Crime Victim Compensation Program (CVC) on Thursday. The CVC is a financial support program that helps pay for medical bills, lost earnings, therapy, relocation, funerals for crime victims or dependents of victims. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Crime victims payment woes among worsening wait in Texas Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aswad Thomas was one of those at the event. Thomas is a gun violence victim himself, shot in back. The one thing that I remember is fleeing those individuals and waking up not being able to feel my legs, Thomas said. Two gunshot wounds were inch away from my spinal cord. Jill Henderson has dealt with trauma of losing her son. Bakari Henderson, was killed at a night club while on a trip in Greece. He was a recent graduate of the University of Arizona, went to Greece in order to start a clothes line, which was his passion and his dream, and unfortunately, was murdered, Henderson said. According to national poll conducted by the Alliance for Safety and Justice, 96% of victims of violent crime did not receive victim compensation to help aid their recovery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thomas says he didnt know about the CVC during the initial periods of his recovery process. I would have loved to get, you know, access to counseling and therapy to help me deal with the panic attacks, the nightmare, the anxiety, the PTSD that I still live with today, Thomas said. Requirements to be eligible for CVC as victim or claimant include: The crime happened in Texas to a U.S. resident (or the victim is a Texas resident and the crime happened in a country without victim compensation). Youre applying within 3 years of the crime (unless good cause can be shown for the delay). To read more about eligibility, click here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a perfect world that we prevent all crime from happening, but I believe that if we cant prevent all crime from happening, the least we can do is make sure that every victim get access to support and healing that they need, Thomas 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. ALEXANDRIA If residents of Monroe Township were looking for answers to their sewer problem, they were left with more questions Thursday night. Madison County Councilwoman Bethany Keller held a town hall meeting at the Monroe Township Trustee's office. The Madison County Council last month tabled a resolution previously adopted by the county commissioners to begin the process of establishing a regional utility district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2023, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management fined Madison County $1,700 over raw sewage flowing into Pipe Creek. The county entered into an agreement order with the state agency to remedy the problem in the Scotts Addition. One resident said raw sewage is flowing into Pipe Creek. I started asking questions, calling people and not getting answers, Keller said. This is a lengthy process that will take about a year. Keller said she has not received a copy of a study that was done using American Rescue Plan funds for stormwater issues in Madison County. She said during the process, there will be an official public meeting that will be advertised with proper notice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keller said she wanted to know if there were other options available to the 171 households in the Phillips and Scotts additions. John Widner said the process started in 2022, and if the regional utility district is approved, residents and businesses would be charged a monthly fee. This is a multi-million-dollar project, he said. Its possible to tap into the Alexandria system without being annexed into the city. Alexandria Mayor Todd Naselroad said there have been discussions between the city and county about extending sewer lines. Naselroad said the Alexandria sewage treatment plant would be able to accept the flow from the two additions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keller said residences within 300 feet of a sewer line could be required to connect to the system. There would be a board that establishes policies, she said. It would decide if there would be exceptions from the hook-up requirement. On the topic of forming a regional utility district, Keller said its hoped that would be the least expensive undertaking because grant funding could be available. She said in the future, the regional utility district could cover all of Monroe Township. State Sen. Mike Gaskill, a former member of the Madison County Council, said it was the responsibility of the commissioners to present information to the council. We need to slow this process down, he said. Residents should hear all the possible solutions and the potential costs. We need to come up with the best solution for residents. By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) -Just as Ukrainian forces are losing their grip on the pocket of Russia's Kursk region they captured last year, they have staged a little-publicised incursion into the adjacent Belgorod region, according to Russian military bloggers. Several Russian military correspondents said on Friday that Ukrainian troops were inside Belgorod and fighting battles with Russian forces there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed the reports, though Russia's Defence Ministry said 10 days ago its forces had thwarted five Ukrainian attempts to push across the border in Belgorod. Ukraine's military has not commented on any thrust into Belgorod region, though that could be for operational security reasons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, addressing reporters in Kyiv, said Ukrainian forces had taken "certain steps" in Russia outside the Kursk region to ease pressure on Ukrainian troops in the area. Zelenskiy said the action was intended to "reduce the accumulation" of Russian troops and had occurred "a little below the Kursk region." He did not elaborate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine's National Defence and Security Council, suggested in a March 18 statement that Ukrainian forces could act in the Belgorod region, "neutralising threats" from Russian forces that might mass near the border. Rybar, a Russian military blog with 1.3 million subscribers, said there had been heavy clashes in a settlement called Popovka and each side was hitting the other with drones. Another Telegram account, Two Majors, said Russian forces were conducting "defensive operations." "There are constant strikes on concentrations of Ukrainian Armed Forces, but the enemy still has serious offensive potential for this direction and has not abandoned plans for further breakthroughs, including in new areas of the front," it said. A third military blog, Arkhangel Spetsnaza, reported fighting in a village called Demidovka and said some Ukrainian soldiers were surrounded there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuters could not independently confirm the accounts. The Ukrainian operation may be an attempt to distract Russian forces as they try to drive out the last Ukrainian forces from neighbouring Kursk. One of the Russian blogs, Rybar, said Russia had moved reinforcements to Belgorod from Goptarovka in the Kursk region. Emil Kastehelmi, a military analyst with the Finnish-based Black Bird Group, said Ukrainian forces had penetrated the first Russian defences and advanced most likely to a depth of three to four km (1.9 to 2.5 miles). But he said it was unlikely they could stage a serious breakthrough and threaten any important Russian logistical routes or cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Ukrainians can, in theory, take some more villages from the border area, but that's not what a breakthrough means - it'd be a small tactical success, but there's very little to be achieved in the Demidovka direction at operational or strategic level," he told Reuters. "There's no proper element of surprise, and the Russian presence in the area is strong enough to at least conduct mostly successful defensive operations." In Kursk, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday its forces had recaptured the village of Gogolevka, one of only a handful of settlements still held by Ukraine out of around 100 that it seized last August. Ukraine's General Staff said its military had stopped 18 Russian assaults in Kursk region over the past day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Open source mapping from Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian military blogging resource, showed Russian forces in control of some but not all of Gogolevka, and indicated Kyiv's troops still controlled just under 80 sq km (31 sq miles) of Kursk. President Vladimir Putin visited Kursk this month in a sign of increasing confidence that Russia will shortly win it back, depriving Ukraine of a bargaining chip in future peace talks. (Additional reporting by Anastasiia Malenko and Tom Balmforth in KyivEditing by Peter Graff and Rod Nickel) Russia and Ukraine have once again accused each other of breaking an agreement to refrain from attacking energy facilities. The Russian Defence Ministry on Friday said Kiev fired at several objects with drones and HIMARS missiles, including a gas measuring station in Sudzha, "causing a severe fire and effectively destroying the energy facility." In addition, 19 drones targeting the infrastructure of a refinery were intercepted over the Saratov region in southern Russia, the statement continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The information cannot be verified independently. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Ukrainian forces "are not carrying out orders to refrain from strikes against energy infrastructure objects." He alleged that Russia is honouring the agreement despite daily attempts by the Ukrainian side to fire on Russian facilities. In return, the Ukrainian state-owned company Naftogaz accused Russia of another attack on gas production facilities. The latest shelling "is not just an attack on our infrastructure, but an attempt to undermine the stability of the energy supply," said chief executive Roman Chumak in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There were no casualties and work is under way to eliminate the consequences. He did not provide any details on the type of weapon used or the time and place of the attack. Ukrainian authorities had previously reported massive Russian drone attacks, particularly in the Poltava region. The accusations came amid attempts by the United States to mediate in the conflict, which has lasted more than three years. Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a 30-day ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump unless his conditions are met, but the warring parties have agreed to exempt energy supply objects from attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the agreement, however, both sides have repeatedly accused each other of breaking the deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday in Paris that the Russian military has damaged Kherson's energy supply infrastructure during an artillery attack of the southern Ukrainian city. Kiev is set to send corresponding evidence to Washington and then wait for a response from the White House. Ukraine receives 900 corpses Separately on Friday, Ukraine said it has received the remains of more than 900 soldiers killed in combat. The 909 soldiers were killed in fighting in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya regions in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian agency responsible for prisoners of war said in Kiev. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the corpses were from mortuaries on Russian territory, the body said. The exchange was organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross. According to Russian media reports, Moscow received the bodies of 35 soldiers and eight Russian civilians from the Kursk border region in return. Kiev has received some 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers' bodies in exchanges with Moscow, while Russia is believed to have received fewer due to its advances along the front since the autumn of 2023. There have been more than 500 reported measles cases in the United States so far in 2025, more than almost any other full year since the start of the 21st century. But despite those numbers, and the nations first measles-related deaths in a decade, most Americans are not concerned about the disease, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll. In a new survey of 1,677 U.S. adults, which was conducted from March 20 to 24, more than half of the respondents said they are either not very worried or not worried at all about measles. Just 9% said they are very worried. Only 15% of respondents have taken any action in response to the outbreak, such as talking to a doctor or wearing a mask in public. The overwhelming majority of measles cases in the U.S., and both measles deaths, have been part of an ongoing outbreak in West Texas and eastern New Mexico. But there has been at least one reported case in 17 other states, including 23 in Kansas, nine in Oklahoma and eight in California. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to science. Before a vaccine became available in the early 1960s, nearly all children in the U.S. became infected by the time they were 15 and between 400 and 500 people died every year. The vaccine has been so effective that measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, meaning that it no longer spreads continuously within the country. See also: Measles outbreak FAQ: Do I need a vaccine booster? What do I do if I've been exposed? And what are the symptoms? There have been a growing number of outbreaks in recent years, however, largely driven by an increase in vaccine skepticism. Thats true of the current outbreak as well. Of the 400 cases so far in Texas this year, only two were in people who had received both recommended doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The epicenter of the Texas outbreak is Gaines County, which has one of the lowest childhood vaccination rates in the state. Despite the growth of the anti-vaccine movement, the survey shows that only a small minority of Americans hold strong views against vaccinating their children. When asked about several topics of vaccine misinformation including that the measles vaccine can cause autism and that it is more dangerous than the disease itself fewer than 15% of respondents said they agreed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles is especially dangerous to children, particularly young children. Its no surprise, then, that parents are much more likely to be concerned about the disease than the general public. In the poll, half of respondents with children said they were either somewhat (31%) or very (19%) worried about their kids contracting the virus. The survey also asked parents about the vaccination status of their children. The sample sizes are too small to draw any broad conclusions, but the results suggest that the highest level of concern is among parents who plan to vaccinate their kids, but have not yet done so. There is also a significant political divide guiding views on measles. More than four times as many Democrats than Republicans say they are very worried about the disease (18% to 4%). The partisan gap is much smaller among parents, however. Republicans are only slightly less likely to say they are very worried about their kids catching measles and nearly half of all GOP voters are at least somewhat worried. Self-identified independents are the least worried about the virus among parents, by a significant margin. Some of the relatively low levels of concern may be tied to a general lack of awareness about the current state of measles in the U.S. Nearly 80% of respondents said they have only heard a little (57%) or had heard nothing at all (21%) about the ongoing outbreak. That may change as case numbers continue to rise and spread to more parts of the country. But for now, measles is not a major concern for most Americans. NUUK, Greenland, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Thursday reaffirmed that Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, rejecting recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the United States would "go as far as they have to" to acquire the island. "Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. That is not going to change," Frederiksen told Danish media. "Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people," she added. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen also criticized what he called a "false narrative" in U.S. political circles suggesting Greenland is eager to become American. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen described Trump's rhetoric as a "veiled threat" and "deeply inappropriate," warning that the United States was escalating tensions. "It is the people of Greenland who determine Greenland's future," he said. Meanwhile, a demonstration has been planned in front of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen on Saturday to protest what organizers call "unwanted pressure" from Washington. The White House announced Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, will visit Pituffik Space Base on Friday to meet U.S. troops and review the security situation. Earlier plans for Usha Vance to attend cultural events in Nuuk and Sisimiut, including a dog sled race, have been canceled. Greenland had been a Danish colony until 1953 when it became an integral part of Denmark. In 1979, Greenland achieved home rule, gaining greater self-governance while Denmark retained authority over its foreign and defense policy. On Friday, President Trump asked the Supreme Court to uphold his controversial decision earlier this month to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 a wartime law that hasnt been used since World War II in order to deport 238 Venezuelan migrants without due process. A federal judge had previously ordered the administration to turn its planes around so Trumps actions could be reviewed. The administration did not comply with the judges order. Yet according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, just 32% of Americans agree with a version of the argument the administration plans to put to the Supreme Court: that Trump was right not to comply with the judges order because judges should not be able to stop the president from deporting people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In contrast, a full 54% of Americans say that it was wrong for Trump not to comply with the judges order because this issue should be resolved in court. The survey of 1,677 U.S. adults, which was conducted from March 20 to 24, finds some openness to Trumps initial removals depending on what kind of information is provided about the deportees. But it also reveals widespread opposition to the way the president has handled subsequent pushback from the courts. To test how certain details affect public opinion on deportation, Yahoo News and YouGov asked half of respondents to weigh in on Trumps decision to remove "more than 200 Venezuelan migrants with no additional description of who those migrants might be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More Americans oppose (41%) than favor (36%) Trumps deportations when theyre characterized that way. Meanwhile, the other half of respondents received an additional piece of information: that the migrants were accused of being gang members." More of these Americans favor (45%) than oppose (36%) Trumps deportations. Such results suggest that support for the presidents actions may hinge less on their legality than on the status of the people hes deporting. Defense lawyers and relatives have insisted that many deportees are not gang members something they didnt have a chance to prove in immigration court before the administration suddenly sent them to a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador. So far, the administration has provided limited evidence to support gang connections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But while feelings about Trumps initial deportations may be mixed, public sentiment about what he did next is not and it is much more negative toward the president. In addition to the 54% of Americans who say Trump was wrong not to comply with the judges order to turn the planes around, most also reject the presidents argument that the same judge is a "lunatic" who should be "impeached" by Congress. A full 55% of U.S. adults say that particular judge should remain on the bench; just 26% say he should be impeached. Even fewer (21%) favor removing the judge in question when told that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts a Republican appointee reacted to Trump with a rare statement saying, "impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new Yahoo News/YouGov poll does have some good news for the president on immigration in general. Near the end of Trumps first term in 2020, a series of Yahoo News/YouGov surveys found that, on average, more Americans disapproved (52%) than approved (42%) of the way he was handling the issue. But today, more approve (48%) than disapprove (44%). Pro-Trump sentiment is especially strong among the 11% of Americans who say immigration is their most important issue: 70% of them voted for him in 2024, 85% of them rate him favorably and 87% of them approve of his job performance overall. The risk for Trump is that four times as many Americans (46%) name either the cost of living (23%) or the economy (23%) as their most important issue and Trumps ratings in those areas are far more negative than positive. __________________ The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,677 U.S. adults interviewed online from March 20 to 24, 2025. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 election turnout and presidential vote, party identification and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Party identification is weighted to the estimated distribution at the time of the election (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). Respondents were selected from YouGovs opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 2.6%. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) The attorneys representing the Tops mass shooter have asked a judge to delay his federal trial by a year. Payton Gendrons legal team filed a motion this week requesting an adjournment of the current trial start date Sept. 8 and asked for it to be pushed back exactly one year. Gendrons defense team laid out its proposed trial schedule, which would start next Monday with a motion to change venue. If filed, that motion requests that the trial take place outside of Western New York. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The motion argues that the requested adjournment is necessary to comport with the sixth amendments requirement for effective assistance of counsel. Attorney John Elmore represents some of the victims loved ones. He said that while many are hoping for this case to be finished, there is concern that this request could lead to an appeal of a verdict. If there is a guilty verdict, the defense would argue in appeal that they didnt have enough time and that there was an inadequate assistance to counsel, Elmore said. And a lot of capital cases do get turned over or appealed, successful appeals, because of ineffective assistance to counsel. So I dont know what the judge is going to do. Gendron shot and killed 10 people and injured three others in a racist attack at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue on May 14, 2022. He could face the death penalty if convicted. Gendron is currently serving life in prison after pleading guilty to state charges. Latest Local News Marlee Tuskes is an award-winning anchor and reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2019. See more of her work here and follow her 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. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Police in D.C. arrested three people accused of involvement in a robbery that happened Wednesday. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said that the victim was riding a scooter in the 4900 block of Jay St. NE around 8:10 p.m. when the suspects walked up to them armed with guns. Police say the suspects demanded the victim hand over their belongings. After the victims complied, the suspects escaped on the victims scooter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man identified in Southeast DC shooting MPD officers found the suspects while canvassing the area and arrested them. 18-year-old Kasone Pimble and 19-year-old Mark Hudgens are facing charges for armed robbery. 22-year-old Daymonte Jones is facing charges for carrying a pistol without a license and receiving stolen property. Police said that the victims items, including their scooter, were recovered. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. For Milwaukee Public Schools, the past year has included financial audits, a new superintendent, a high-profile lawsuit over policing, reports of serious academic achievement gaps, schools temporarily closed due to lead hazards, President Donald Trump's orders affecting K-12 education and more. In the April 1 election, four of nine seats on the school board responsible for managing the district's policies, finances and more will appear on voters' ballots. Of those four races, only one has multiple candidates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That race is for the Board of School Directors seat representing District 7, with Molly Kuether-Steele and Kate Vannoy competing to represent the southwestern Milwaukee area. Both candidates have long careers in public service Kuether-Steele in Milwaukee city government, and Vannoy in K-12 education and high-profile recommendations. Their campaigns both reference the need to address issues with academic achievement, lead-based paint hazards, district-level transparency and accountability, financial management and more. Kuether-Steele and Vannoy are competing for the school board spot currently held by Henry Leonard, a former district teacher and administrator who was elected in 2021. Leonard is not seeking reelection. Board members Jilly Gokalgandhi and Marcela "Xela" Garcia are also choosing not to run again for their seats on the board following 2021 elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christopher Fons is running for the District 5 seat, currently held by Gokalgandhi, and Mimi Reza is running for Garcia's District 6 seat. The lone incumbent seeking reelection is James Ferguson, who is running unchallenged for his District 4 seat. He joined the board in November 2024 after the abrupt resignation of Aisha Carr, who is facing felony charges accusing her of misconduct in office and theft by false representation related to her school board service. Here are the basics about the candidates in the contested District 7 race, and their answers to detailed questions from the Journal Sentinel. Their responses were lightly edited. More: Wisconsin state superintendent voter guide for spring 2025 election: What candidates say about vouchers, MPS and more Molly Kuether-Steele Background: Kuether-Steele is the staffing services manager for the city of Milwaukee's Fire and Police Commission, an oversight body for the citys police and fire departments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Endorsements: Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee fire chief Aaron Lipski; retired Milwaukee Ald. Mark Borowski; current board members James Ferguson and Marcela "Xela" Garcia, according to Kuether-Steele's website. Website: www.molly4mps.com More: In the Milwaukee area, who can you expect to see on the ballot for school board this spring? Kate Vannoy Background: A former art teacher at Audubon Middle School, Vannoy is now a differentiated supports specialist in the Greenfield School District. She has worked in education for 27 years, according to her website. Endorsements: Milwaukee Area Teachers' Education Association union; Voces de la Frontera; County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez; County Supervisor Justin Belinski; former MPS administrator and Lauren Baker; current MPS board members Missy Zombor and Henry Leonard, according to Vannoy's website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Website: www.kateformps.com/about-5 Tell us about your professional career, education, relevant career experience, and whether you have ever run for or held public office. Kuether-Steele: I have worked for the city of Milwaukee for 16 years, six years with the City Clerks Office and 10 with the Fire and Police Commission. Through my work with the city clerk I worked with the Common Council, so I have a deep understanding of how committees and boards work. I also understand legislation and setting policies. At the Fire and Police Commission, I hire firefighters, police officers, and 911 operators. I understand hiring in the public sector and the rules, standards and procedures that must be followed to ensure the process is fair, and only qualified candidates are hired. In my 16 years, I have learned how to work within a bureaucracy to improve it. I have never run for public office, I am doing this because enough is enough, and our children deserve better. I will work to deliver the change MPS needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vannoy: I have been a licensed teacher for 26 years and have a doctorate in instructional technology. I started my career as an art teacher at Audubon Technology and Communication Center. After some time, I became the technology coordinator at Audubon. In this role, I helped ensure our students had state-of-the-art technology tools, managed student and staff technology training and more. I was also a part of the team that successfully planned for and fundraised to start Audubon High School. I later discovered that my passion is in alternative education, teaching students who are at risk of dropping out of school gain the knowledge and credits required to graduate on time. In the 2017-18 school year, I developed a highly successful alternative education program at Audubon ... Unfortunately, the alternative education program that I developed was cut at the end of that same year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wanting to pursue my passions, I accepted a position at Greenfield High School to develop an Alternative Education program that has yielded similar student success. I have never run for public office before and hope to utilize my extensive background in increasing student achievement to improve student success in MPS. Milwaukee Public Schools has been in the public eye for months in response to financial reporting issues. What should the school board's role be in ensuring the district gets back on track with its finances? What could it do differently to ensure this doesn't recur? Kuether-Steele: I have confidence that the new (chief financial officer) can get things on the right track. The board should receive financial reports at every board meeting to ensure transparency. The district needs to get on the same (Department of Public Instruction) reporting system that every other school district in the state uses. If MPS uses that platform, reporting errors can be caught earlier and DPI submissions should be more timely, resulting in no penalties and/or bills to the tune of $42 million. Vannoy: The school board needs to follow the advice of Gov. Tony Evers recent financial audit by streamlining administration, updating and consolidating reporting systems, and filling the vacancies at our school with highly qualified, licensed educators and support staff. As a school board director, I will do what is necessary to hold MPS administration accountable for making these necessary changes. MPS has thousands more classroom seats than kids to fill them. How should the district address its capacity issues, while taking into account the impact of school closures or mergers on Milwaukee communities? Kuether-Steele: I understand the school closures and/or mergers are not a popular option. We need to involve the school community, particularly parents, in these larger discussions about right-sizing the district. As a parent, I was unaware that services are linked to enrollment. The district needs to improve to attract students and their families, and that will increase enrollment. We are currently failing our children, especially our children of color, which is why parents are choosing to send their kids out of the district through open enrollment or the choice program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vannoy: MPS must have a comprehensive plan to increase student enrollment. We can do this by investing in and expanding programs we know are effective and popular, such as vocational, International Baccalaureate and arts education programs. We also need to spend our money more wisely and in ways that improve student achievement, not unaccountable bureaucracy. This means investing in what I know as a lifelong teacher works to improve student achievement, such as reducing class sizes; retaining and attracting highly qualified, licensed educators; and increasing after school and extracurricular offerings. Examples from cities like Chicago show the destruction that school closures can have on communities especially communities of color that are already underserved. Creating and executing a comprehensive plan to increase student enrollment will help fill empty seats and increase funding for the district, which will allow MPS to continue to expand popular educational programs and have a healthier school system as a whole. How should MPS address safety issues in its buildings, while balancing the need to ensure students are not becoming overly involved with law enforcement for behaviors that could otherwise be handled by school staff? Kuether-Steele: I do not believe our children should be policed; however the law requires that 25 school resource officers be placed in the district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I believe that SROs should be assigned to schools they have attended or have a community connection to. I think if carried out in the right way, with the right officers, SROs can foster a positive student-police relationship. I also understand that teachers want officers in their schools because they are concerned about their own safety. There are also other behavior interventions that can be used by school staff before resorting to law enforcement. School staff should be properly trained and supported in their efforts to manage student behavior. Vannoy: Ensuring safe and healthy school environments is a top priority of mine. I am an advocate for using restorative practices in our schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I was at Audubon, we implemented a transition from traditional punitive behavior management tools like suspensions to a restorative practices model that resulted in little to no suspensions with fewer behavior problems. With staff support, students took leadership in creating and maintaining a peaceful school environment. I believe this model needs to be expanded in MPS. It is not only effective at managing student behaviors but it also creates a healthier learning environment for all students. I am concerned about the presence of law enforcement being required in our schools. The Milwaukee community especially students organized to get school resource officers removed from MPS several years ago due to their fear of law enforcement and safety concerns. A recent Brookings Institute report shows the harms that SROs can cause, such as increasing the reported number of gun-related offenses and disciplinary punishments like expulsions, in-school suspensions and out-of-school suspensions. It is upsetting that the Legislature and other lawmakers cut a deal without involving the MPS community that forces us to have SROs, because I know that there are more effective alternatives to improving student and staff safety. What do you see as the three main issues facing MPS today? Kuether-Steele: The three main issues facing MPS are accountability/fiscal mismanagement, student success and student safety, including lead hazards. Vannoy: Accountability and earning community trust: District funding must prioritize student achievement, not unaccountable bureaucracy. The hardworking residents of District 7 deserve to know that their tax dollars are being spent wisely. Increase student achievement: As a lifelong educator, I have a deep understanding of what is required to meet every students unique learning needs. Safe and healthy schools: Parents must feel confident that their child is receiving the best possible education in safe, healthy learning environments. Related to those three main issues, how should the board take action to address them? Kuether-Steele: The board needs to hold staff/employees accountable for their actions/inaction. The fact that people are not doing their jobs or being hired without the proper licenses and certifications is unacceptable. The board needs to ensure that they are reviewing hires prior to approval and holding staff accountable when they fail to do their jobs. The board needs to ensure every student has what they need to succeed and every school has the resources its staff needs to help students be successful. The board needs to ensure that there is enough staff that is properly training to manage student behavior, prior to involving the school resource officers. The board also needs to test all schools for lead and other safety hazards, and address those issues immediately and in order of highest priority first. The time for deferred maintenance has passed, and we need to act to protect our kids. Vannoy: On accountability: I will do what it takes to get MPS administration back on track. All spending will be reported and aligned with local, state and national guidelines and requirements. I will also engage MPS families in more meaningful ways to rebuild trust and community. On student achievement: I will advocate for student-centered policies that allow students to succeed in the classroom, graduate on time and thrive as future leaders in our community. This means doing more to retain and attract highly qualified, licensed educators; reduce class sizes; and expand after school and extracurricular offerings. On healthy schools: I will work to ensure all MPS buildings are appropriately assessed for lead and other contaminants, and that necessary steps are promptly taken to remediate anything that could cause harm. Safe learning environments also mean that every student feels welcomed and supported in the classroom. I will advocate for expanded student access to mental health supports, school nurses, counselors and other professionals that support student health and wellness. According to 2024 national standardized testing results, MPS' academic performance is worse than other large urban school districts. What does the board need to do differently to improve its academic standards? Kuether-Steele: The board needs to figure out what other factors are at play and affecting students' academic performance. There are many resources within the city that MPS can partner with to offer additional support to our students. The board also needs to listen to the teachers and staff about what they are seeing in their buildings that is affecting their students. The board needs to be responsive to the needs of the students and their families, because everyone needs to be a partner in academic success. Vannoy: It is absolutely unacceptable that MPS students are so far behind. As a lifelong educator, I know that the key to student success is providing children with the individualized support they need by reducing class sizes. There are a number of actions that the board can take to do this. First, MPS must do more to retain the highly qualified, licensed educators we currently have. We must also have a comprehensive plan to fill all vacancies with more highly qualified, licensed workers. Second, with such limited resources due to the Legislatures underfunding of public education for MPS and districts across the state for decades, the board must take action to divert resources from central office to classrooms. If we are able to do both of these things, I believe student achievement will improve, student enrollment will increase and well be a more successful community as a whole. Of the four seats on the MPS board that are up for grabs this April election, only Seat 7 is a competitive race. What makes you want to run for the board at a time when MPS is struggling with several public-facing issues? Kuether-Steele: I have a unique skill set that qualifies me to be of service at this current time. I am a mother of a neurodivergent kindergartner in the district and an MPS graduate. I am the daughter of a retired MPS teacher, and I have seen firsthand the classroom environment and the struggles teachers face. I understand the student side and the parent side. I am also a homeowner, so I understand the reality of increased taxes directly related to the referendum. I am also a city employee of 16 years, and I hire public safety personnel. My human resources experience in the public sectors mean I understand the correct processes for hiring employees. I have also streamlined some of our hiring processes to make them candidate focused, but also have saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Vannoy: I am a lifelong teacher, MPS graduate, parent, grandparent and taxpayer. Just like you, I want my grandchildren and all MPS students to receive the best education possible. We have to make sure that MPS succeeds. With a long, successful professional career in public education and many years of advocating for student-centered priorities, I feel uniquely qualified to lead MPS to a stronger place. Anything else you want voters to know about you? Kuether-Steele: I dont want to be a politician, and Im not doing this for attention. I am doing this because I am a parent, graduate, resident and taxpayer who wants the best for my child and all of the children in the district. MPS should be the first choice, not the last resort or default option. I will fight for real change for our kids and hold the administration accountable. I will end the fiscal mismanagement and build a stronger MPS. I am the best choice to deliver the change MPS needs. Vannoy: Vannoy did not provide anything further. Cleo Krejci covers K-12 education and workforce development as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. For more information about Report for America, visit jsonline.com/rfa. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Who are the candidates for the MPS school board election on April 1? The state Capitol. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury) Sweeping COVID program cuts hit Virginia Department of Health. VPM News MS-13 gang leader arrested in Virginia. Reuters Virginia commerce secretary quits amid Youngkin department reshuffle. The Washington Post Virginia Beach scraps lofty $100M plan for Atlantic Avenue in favor of less costly options. The Virginian-Pilot Tostitos chips sold in 13 states including Virginia recalled over undeclared allergen. DC News Now SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX (NewsNation) A former FBI agent and training specialist says the apprehension of a top MS-13 leader near Washington, D.C., this week may send a chilling message to others within the Salvadoran gang. Trump administration officials say authorities in Virginia arrested one of the top three leaders of MS-13. A source identified the individual as Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, a 24-year-old migrant from El Salvador, who allegedly was the East Coast leader for the organization. Rob Chadwick, director of education and training for Delta Defense and the USCCA, said the arrest could be tremendously impactful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Accused Tren de Aragua, MS-13 gang members get harsh welcome in El Salvador One, it sends the clear message that no one is untouchable in that organization, he told NewsNation Now on Thursday. And two, it really serves to send a chilling effect to those members in the organization underneath that person. Because now theyre wondering, is that person cooperating with authorities? What access do authorities have to their social networks, their electronics? The arrest also demonstrates how law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal levels were able to cooperate, Chadwick said. Something like this really takes a lot of trust, a lot of phone calls, a lot of meetings, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. State Department earlier this year designated MS-13 as a terrorist organization. Also known as Mara Salvatrucha, the gang was created by Salvadoran immigrants in America before it gained a foothold in Central America, officials 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 NewsNation. MSNBC foreign correspondent Molly Hunter delivered a blunt reality check Thursday about the Trump administrations overtures toward Greenland, as Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance prepared to visit the country Friday. Reporting live from the capital city of Nuuk, Hunter said, We have met no one in the 18 hours that weve been on the ground who has been enthusiastic about this trip. Originally planned as a cultural tour led by Usha Vance, the visit has been scaled back and reframed as a national security trip, with a stop at a U.S. Space Force base, and now includes the vice president himself, said Hunter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one was particularly enthusiastic about being part of Usha Vances trip, she said. Speaking with locals, Hunter said, the revised itinerary was now seen as more appropriate. No one felt particularly angry that they [the Vances] were going to meet with U.S. military personnel, she said. Her analysis of local feeling was echoed by Danish broadcaster TV 2s Jesper Steinmetz, who reported that U.S. representatives informally polling Greenlanders about a potential visit from Usha Vance were met with no, no, no, no, no, every single time. Mineral-rich Greenland has long been cited by Trump as key to U.S. national security, an idea that has been firmly rejected by Danish and Greenlandic officials. Many Greenlanders are more focused on gaining independence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.), a vocal critic of Trump, skewered the awkwardness of the trip during the segment, joking that the White House shouldve sent actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus instead: And play a little Veep soundtrack for this trip because thats what this is shaping up to be. Related... Mar. 28OREGON A Mt. Morris man pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of possessing images of child sexual abuse on his cellphone. Christopher J. Kaepplinger, 54, was sentenced to four years probation with a long list of special conditions through a plea agreement approved by Ogle County Associate Circuit Judge Anthony Peska. Kaepplinger was taken into custody Oct. 31, 2024, after Ogle County sheriff's detectives and officers with the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigations searched his apartment in Mt. Morris and found images of children younger than 13 in sexual poses on his cellphone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was charged Nov. 1 with six counts of possessing images of child sexual abuse, all Class 2 felonies that carry a maximum jail term of three to seven years. On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to three of those charges two photos of nude girls ages 5-6 and one video of a 5-year-old engaged in a sex act. Three counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. "The defendant did admit that those images on his phone were his," Assistant State's Attorney Heather Kruse told Peska. She said police were led to Kaepplinger after receiving "cyber tips" from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A phone registered to Kaepplinger had been used to upload images of children being sexually abused. And, she said, Kaepplinger had used an internet search to find images of children being sexually exploited Kruse said Kaepplinger had little criminal history: a battery charge in 1991 and an alcohol violation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Assistant Public Defender Michael O'Brien agreed that the charges levied against Kaepplinger were "very serious", but argued his client was a good candidate for rehabilitation. "These are very serious offenses, but the evaluator thought he [Kaepplinger] is a good candidate for restorative character," O'Brien said. "He [Kaepplinger] has been addressing difficult issues and that needs to be part of his rehabilitation." In December, O'Brien requested Kaepplinger undergo a sex offender evaluation. During a November hearing, Kruse said Kaepplinger had been battling his addiction "since he was little" and told police "he knew the day would come" when they searched his home and arrested him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Peska said he had reviewed Kaepplinger's psychological/sexual assessment and noted that recommendations from that evaluation were incorporated into the plea agreement. Peska said the evaluator had indicated Kaepplinger had a low risk of recidivism offending again. "There are a lot of specific recommendations that I think you should do because they will help you as a human being. ... and I am ordering you to do that," Peska told Kaepplinger, referring to the conditions of his probation. Peska told Kaepplinger that if he violated any conditions of his probation he could be sentenced to at least three years in prison for each offense. "I read your evaluation, and it seems like you had a pretty rough upbringing. And quite a few things that you really wouldn't wish on anybody to have to go through," Peska told Kaepplinger. "You have been very forthcoming about everything, ... admitting that you did something and have a problem. That is a first step to recovery." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peska said he believed Kaepplinger's abstinence from consuming alcohol would benefit his recovery efforts. "After the lessons I've learned about my past, I will not be drinking alcohol by my choice," Kaepplinger replied. Peska asked Kaepplinger if he wanted to speak before his sentence was levied. "No your honor I wouldn't. Thank you," Kaepplinger replied. Peska said Kaepplinger told the evaluator that viewing "proper" adult pornography led to viewing and possessing child pornography. "There seems to be a slippery slope of that, too. You even talk to the evaluator about how it started at one thing and just kept getting worse and worse," Peska said. "You are not the first person to say that. You are not the first person to feel that way. You start walking down a path and then all of the sudden things get more degrading, more violent, more risky, more taboo and then finally it's just plain out illegal. And then it becomes more and more dangerous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In situations like this when it involves children, if there is not a demand I really like to think the supply dries up. Kids are getting hurt in situations like this. And even though you may not be the person posing these children, or hurting them directly, because of the demand is why there is still a supply," Peska said, urging Kaepplinger to avoid any pornography "at all costs". In addition, Kaepplinger was sentenced to 180 days in jail, but was given credit of time served (147 days), satisfying that aspect of the sentence. Kaepplinger also was ordered to pay $1,200 in fines and costs over the course of his probation sentence. Supplemental conditions of Kaepplinger's probation include completing treatment for sex offenders approved by the Sex Offender Management Board through the Sex Offender Management Board Act, and not residing at the same address, condominium or apartment complex with any person known to be a convicted sex offender or who has been placed on supervision for a sex offense. That condition does not apply to a person who is placed in a Department of Corrections-licensed transitional facility for sex offenders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kaepplinger was ordered to have no contact, directly or indirectly, with children younger than 18 without a previous order of the court or prior written approval from his probation officer. He also must be available for all evaluations and treatment programs required by the court or probation office. Another condition forbids Kaepplinger from accessing a computer or any other device with internet capability without prior written approval of his probation officer, except in connection with his employment or search for employment, again with prior approval. He also must submit to periodic, unannounced examinations of his computer or any other device with internet capability by his probation officer, a law enforcement officer or an assigned computer or information technology specialist, including retrieval and copying of all data from the computer or device and any internal or external peripherals and removal of such information, equipment, or device to conduct a more thorough investigation. He must also pay for the installation of any hardware or software systems on any device with internet capability in order to monitor his internet use. Kaepplinger cannot knowingly use any "computer scrub software" on any computer he uses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, he cannot participate in a holiday event involving children younger than 18, "such as distributing candy or other items on Halloween, wearing a Santa Claus costume ... or wearing an Easter bunny costume." And he cannot be employed or volunteer for any work that gives him access to or authority or control over children younger than 18. He is also responsible for all fees and costs for treatment, assessment, evaluation for risk and treatment as well as any monitoring "based on his ability to pay" as they occur or under a payment plan. Kaepplinger had been held in the Ogle County Jail since his arrest. SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) A multi-agency sweep that involved four Lowcountry agencies led to 13 arrests, the Summerville Police Department announced Thursday. Thirty-five officers from the Summerville Police Department, Dorchester County Sheriffs Office, Berkeley County Sheriffs Office, and the Summerville-Dorchester Metro Units served ten warrants during the operation. The overall goal was to improve public safety, reduce crime, and promote cooperation between agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the sweep, officials apprehended Johnny Johnson for a warrant that included charges for possession of more than 2 grams of fentanyl, failure to stop for blue lights, and driving under suspension in Dorchester County. When apprehended, Johnson had failed to stop when officers initiated a traffic stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued before Johnson fled on foot. He was captured shortly after. In addition, Johnson was wanted on over 11 outstanding warrants, including 8 felony and misdemeanor charges from the Summerville Police Department, one violent aggravated assault charge with the Dorchester County Sheriffs Office (DCSO), and other warrants from the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD), South Carolina Port Police (SCPPP), and the state of Georgia. Officials said warrants for incidents at Best Buy are also being reviewed and may result in additional charges against Johnson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chief Douglas Wright stated, We are all stronger when we work together for the greater good. If you know you are wanted by law enforcement, it would be in your best interest to turn yourself in to prevent us from showing up at your home, place of business, or stopping you in transit, and arresting you. It is most advantageous for wanted people to cooperate with the authorities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. AUSTIN (Nexstar) In a follow-up to a story we ran earlier in the month, we asked many of Texass biggest agencies if they plan to return remote workers to the office. We found at least eight agencies have already returned at least some of their remote workers, or plan to return at least some of their remote workers on Monday, March 31. Legislative Budget Board A spokesperson with the agency said on Wednesday, No guidance has recently been provided to our staff regarding telework policies. All of our employees are currently required to work full-time in office. The statement was identical to one sent to Nexstar earlier this month. Sunset Advisory Commission Waiting to hear back from the agency. State Bar of Texas Waiting to hear back from the agency. Attorney General Waiting to hear back from the agency. Comptroller of Public Accounts Waiting to hear back from the agency. General Land Office The Texas General Land Office (GLO) has had one of the strongest return-to-work policies in the State of Texas since Commissioner (Dawn) Buckingham assumed office and will immediately be transitioning to a five-day in-office work schedule, Bary Hunt, the press secretary for the department, wrote. This decision aligns with our goal to foster a collaborative and dynamic workplace that directly supports our shared mission of serving Texans. In-person interactions and teamwork are crucial in meeting the diverse needs of our agency and the citizens we serve. Secretary of State Waiting to hear back from the agency. State Auditor Waiting to hear back from the agency. Department of Information Resources Waiting to hear back from the agency. Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Waiting to hear back from the agency. Texas Lottery Commission Waiting to hear back from the agency. Texas Military Department TMD federal employees have returned to in-office work in compliance with a DoD directive, ending our remote work pilot, a representative with the Texas Military Department said. Texas Veterans Commission The Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) began return to in-office work in March, Public Affairs Officer Jim Halbrook said in a statement to Nexstar. TVC informed all its employees across the state of a phased-in return plan, which does still allow for telework on an approved case-by-case basis. This phasing in will be completed in April. Our return to in-office work full-time aligns with our federal partners, including the VA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TVC is committed to providing veterans and their families the best customer service to access the benefits they have earned and connect them with the resources to meet their needs. We do that by being available in-person or on the phone five days a week, including with after-hours availability and attendance at veteran resource fairs on the weekend, he continued. Department of Public Safety Waiting to hear back from the agency. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Employees in our North Austin office on Clayton Lane will return to office on Monday, March 31, a spokesperson for the department said in an email. Employees in our downtown office will return to office on Monday, April 14. Texas Department of Insurance Waiting to hear back from the agency. Railroad Commission of Texas A representative with the Railroad Commission said, We have not sent anything to employees. The agency currently has a telework program. This matches a statement provided to Nexstar in our initial reporting. Public Utility Commission of Texas Waiting to hear back from the agency. Texas Medical Board Spencer Miller-Payne, the communications officer for the Texas Medical Board, told Nexstar on Wednesday, at this time, we do not have any updates on potential return-to-work procedures and/or timelines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In our initial reporting, an employee anonymously shared an internal email from executive director Brint Carlton. The email reads, We know some of you have heard from other agencies that changes to telework policies are coming. We have heard this as well, but have not yet received official guidance. As of today, there are no changes at TMB. We will update you when we have more information. The email continues, In the meantime, we all might want to think through different scenarios, needs, or plans if changes are made. We understand such changes will be challenging for some staff. We will do our best to provide as much support as we can. Health and Human Services Commission HHSC is implementing return-to-work in our offices and leased spaces by March 31, HHS Press Officer Jennifer Ruffcorn told Nexstar Texas. Department of State Health Services The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) didnt respond to our inquiry for this story, but in our previous reporting, a representative with DSHS forwarded a bulletin from Commissioner Dr. Jennifer Shuford. The update confirmed the agency had felt pressure to make telework employees return to the office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, we also know that things like space constraints need to be taken into consideration. So in the coming days and weeks, we will need to determine what a practical DSHS return-to-office plan might look like, Shuford wrote earlier this month. In the meantime, I ask you to please keep doing the excellent work youre doing. Texas Department of Agriculture Since TDAs previous telework authorization was very limited in scope and our return-to-work order has mostly been implemented, there will be no noticeable change in our workforce presence in Austin in the coming days or beyond, Maddison Jaureguito, the departments director of communications, wrote to Nexstar. Teacher Retirement System of Texas Certain staff groups within TRS are planning to return to the office in person full time as of Monday, March 31, Media Relations Program Manager Rob Maxwell wrote. As TRS thoughtfully revisits its remote work policies for the entire agency over the next few months, we are maintaining our focus on the most effective and efficient ways to meet the needs of our members statewide. We will continue to keep our employees informed. Texas Division of Emergency Management Waiting to hear back from the agency. Texas A&M Forest Service Texas A&M Forest Service employees maintain an on-site operational presence due to the nature of our emergency response mission, a representative with the agency said. We do not have a remote work policy. Texas Water Development Board Waiting to hear back from the agency. Texas Commission on Environment Quality Waiting to hear back from the agency for this story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In our previous reporting, an employee with the agency anonymously shared an email that was sent to TCEQ workers from executive director Kelly Keel. The email said, TCEQ will transition to a return to office posture over the next several months. Texas Department of Transportation TxDOT is increasing in-office work starting Monday, March 31, Adam Hammons, media relations director with the department, said. Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Waiting to hear back from the agency for this story. In our previous reporting, a spokesperson with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed they are working to return staff to the office after a verbal notification from the Office of the Governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Executive Director Daniel Avitia told employees in an email earlier this month, I realize we are temporarily restricted in the space available at regional offices, and both space and parking availability at the Austin headquarters, with construction of new facilities underway. Because of these restrictions and operational considerations, we plan to be strategic with how we return to our available office environments. We do plan to continue leveraging telework options in some form and will be reviewing other flexible schedule options where appropriate. Texas Department of Criminal Justice Waiting to hear back from the agency for this story. In our previous reporting, a spokesperson for the agency said, TDCJ is reviewing its remote work policy. It is worth noting, however, because of the nature of our work (correctional officers, support staff for the units), the majority of TDCJs workforce does not work remotely. Texas Education Agency Waiting to hear back from the agency. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department A spokesperson for the agency said, We are currently reviewing and revising our telework plan and communicating changes with TPWD employees. 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. SOFIA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The recent wave of rearmament in Europe presents new opportunities for boosting Bulgaria's defense industry, speakers of the Sofia Security Conference said Friday. Held for the first time in the Bulgarian capital, the one-day event brought together politicians, officials of the Bulgarian Defense Ministry, and representatives of the country's defense industry. Organized at Sofia Tech Park by Andrey Novakov, a Bulgarian member of the European Parliament (EP), the conference also held an exhibition of Bulgarian-made armored vehicles, drones, and anti-drone systems. "We have companies in Bulgaria that can (contribute) to Europe's defense," said Novakov, who is a member of the EP's Committee on Security and Defense. Bulgaria's defense industry employs about 100,000 people and in 2023, the country exported defense products worth over 4.2 billion Bulgarian lev (BGN) (2.32 billion U.S. dollars), according to Novakov. "Europe has finally started to emerge from the role of Sleeping Beauty ... while events are happening in the world," Novakov said. Europe has realized that it has to take care of itself and for the first time in the EU's history, funding has been earmarked for the rearmament and defense of the continent, he said. This presents a historic chance for Bulgaria to boost its defense industry and be at the forefront of these new trends, Novakov said. Bulgaria's Deputy Defense Minister Radostin Iliev said his ministry supported the full involvement of the country's defense industry in Europe's rearmament, and it made targeted efforts to raise the awareness of the sector about the opportunities in Bulgaria and at the EU level. Hristo Gadzhev, a member of the Bulgarian Parliament and chairperson of its Committee on Defense, said it was important to position Bulgarian defense products as a quality benchmark in Europe. (1 BGN = 0.55 U.S. dollar) A measles outbreak spanning Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma reached at least 453 cases Friday and might be linked to cases in other states and across borders. Texas has reported 400 outbreak-associated cases, New Mexico reported 44, and Oklahoma reported nine seven confirmed and two probable as of Friday. Fridays updates are 74 cases higher than the last update Tuesday, but experts say these numbers are a severe undercount because many cases are going unreported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The World Health Organization said in an update Thursday that the US outbreak is an unusual event with potential significant public health impact and had spread to Mexico. Additionally, cases linked to the outbreak in the State of Texas, United States, have been reported in Mexico. Measles is a highly contagious, airborne viral disease that can lead to severe complications and death, the agency said. Viruses dont need a passport, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. People can become infected and then travel and spread illness among heavily unvaccinated communities which are essentially pockets of susceptible people, he said. Twenty-three measles cases have been reported in Kansas, and the state health department said they could also be linked to the outbreak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The confirmed cases in Kansas have a possible link to the outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico. While genetic sequencing of the first Kansas case reported is consistent with an epidemiological link to the Texas and New Mexico outbreaks, the source of exposure is still unknown, Jill Bronaugh, communications director for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said in an email Wednesday. According to the state, children account for 21 of the Kansas cases, and 20 of the cases are in people who are unvaccinated. The Kansas measles cases are concentrated in the southwestern part of the state and have spread to six counties. A resident of a Bucks County, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, also tested positive for measles after traveling to Texas, the state health department said Thursday. It is unclear exactly what part of Texas the person visited and whether there is a direct link to the outbreak. The person was a vaccinated adult and had a relatively mild infection. Although breakthrough cases can happen in those who are vaccinated, they are uncommon, and the person will shed less virus, meaning they are less likely to pass it on to others, said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Philadelphia Childrens Hospital. Their infection will also result in more mild symptoms with a lower risk of complications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youve gotten the vaccine, it would be very unlikely you get severely infected. And that was true in the Bucks County case. It was a mild case, he said. Experts attribute these rising measles cases to undervaccination, especially in specific locations and communities. One dose of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is 93% effective against measles, and two doses are 97% effective. Experts say this is the best way to prevent infection with the measles virus. Theres often a source of measles. There are all these little sparks that often happen in this country, and when immunization rates were high and community immunity was high, you wouldnt see that spark being lit to become fire, Offit said. But now, those little sparks are becoming lit to become a fire, because theres a critical percentage of people who arent vaccinated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some states have reported individual cases related to international travel. Even single cases evoke intense public health responses. And of course, that is an important commitment of public health resources wherever that occurs, Schaffner said. The multistate outbreak has put 43 people in the hospital. Children under age 4 account for 139 of the cases, and 177 are in young people 5 to 17. One death has been reported in Texas, and a death in New Mexico is under investigation. Cases have been identified in 17 Texas counties and two New Mexico counties. Although most of the cases are in people who were not vaccinated or who had unknown vaccination status, six cases have been reported in people who said they have received at least one dose: two in Texas and four in New Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given the contagious nature of the illness, officials expect more spread. Even though New Mexico reported only two additional cases this week, the state health department says this may continue to grow. Were also realistic that theres enough of the population whos unvaccinated that we may see cases continuing for quite some time, said Dr. Chad Smelser, deputy state epidemiologist for the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Bureau of the New Mexico Department of Health. There have been at least 530 measles cases reported in the US since the start of 2025, according to a CNN tally. Twenty states have reported at least one case. One of these states is Ohio, which reported an outbreak of 10 cases this week. None of the affected individuals was vaccinated, and state officials say there is no known link to the Texas outbreak. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com GILMER COUNTY, Ga. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Human remains found by hunters nearly four decades ago have been identified as a Charlotte man, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). On Saturday, Aug. 9, 1986, hunters in a wooded area south of Elijay, Georgia, in Gilmer County found the remains. After an autopsy by the GBIs medical examiner, it was discovered that this person was murdered. OFFICER DOWN: McBee cop who survived 62 shots fired at him says town threw him out like garbage Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The GBI and Gilmer County Sheriffs Office investigated numerous leads to no avail. In February 2024, multiple organizations partnered to conduct DNA testing on the remains. Using the DNA, investigators did a genealogical search, leading to the murder victim being identified as David Clary. His family was notified in February 2025. Clary grew up in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area. Around the time he died, he often traveled to the Metro Atlanta and North Georgia areas. What led up to Clarys murder and who is responsible is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call GBI Regional Investigative Office in Cleveland, Ga., at 706-348-4866, the GBI Cold Case Unit at 404-239-2106 or the Gilmer County Sheriffs Office at 706-635-4646. Anonymous tips can be sent by calling the GBI Tip Line at 1-800-597-TIPS (8477) or online at gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The York County Sheriffs Office, Lancaster County Sheriffs Office, Alexander County Sheriffs Office and Charlotte Mecklenburg 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. Murfreesboro government celebrated the groundbreaking for Veterans Park Friday in the Blackman community. The $16.5 million park is on the northwest side of Veterans Parkway about a mile south of Interstate 840. Recreation and education plans: 200 acres win council approval for three new parks, new school in Murfreesboro Veterans Park is expected to open in about 18 months on the city's west side. The project came in under budget from previous estimates of over $20 million, said Nate Williams, the executive director of recreation for the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The future park will offer a network of walking trails, four picnic pavilions, restrooms, eight pickleball courts, outdoor event greenspace area where a stage can be set up and a unique "destination playground," Williams said. 'People expected a park': Commercial rezoning of former Blackman Park land still resonates City swaps land with utility for Veterans Park project The future Veterans Park in west Murfreesboro will include walking trails, picnic pavilions, bathrooms, pickleball courts and a unique "destination playground." The city is building the park on a large part of 150 acres previously owned by Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE). The city got the property by giving MTE about 117 acres previously planned for a never-built Blackman Park. The utility plans to sell the former Blackman Park land for corporate headquarter developers off I-840 and Veterans Parkway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland advocated for the land swap because the Veterans Park property is closer to city neighborhoods. Economic development: Middle TN Electric hopes to attract corporate HQ to settle on 117-acres of undeveloped land Veterans Park land includes space for elementary school The future Veterans Park in west Murfreesboro will include walking trails, picnic pavilions, bathrooms, pickleball courts and a unique "destination playground." The park land also includes about 30 acres for a future west-side Murfreesboro elementary school and outparcel spaces along Veterans Parkway for other public uses, such as a possible public library, fire station and police precinct. The mayor announced the groundbreaking for Veterans Park during Thursday's Murfreesboro City Council meeting. McFarland told The Daily News Journal after the meeting that everyone is ready to see the project get underway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This has been a long time coming, and I know it will be something everyone is going to be excited to use," he said. Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign upfor a digital subscription. Recreation proposal: Murfreesboro mayor pitches 10 baseball/softball fields & aquatics center on westside The future Veterans Park in west Murfreesboro will include walking trails, picnic pavilions, bathrooms, pickleball courts and a unique "destination playground." The future Veterans Park in west Murfreesboro will include walking trails, picnic pavilions, bathrooms, pickleball courts and a unique "destination playground." This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Murfreesboro breaks ground for new Veterans Park. What to know MURRAY, Utah (ABC4) A man was taken to the hospital on Thursday after being injured in an Officer Involved Critical Incident in Murray. According to Murray City Police Department, officers responded to the 100 Block of West Fireclay Avenue at noon to help assist constables in removing a person for a court ordered eviction When officers arrived, the suspect barricaded themselves in an apartment bedroom and refused to leave. The suspect then allegedly used an aerosol spray and lighter to propel flames to toward officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During this MPD believed the suspect was attempting to light the bedroom on fire. Officers evacuated the apartment building, and the fire department was called to the scene. Officers broke a window and used pepper balls to get the suspect to comply. The suspect allegedly attacked officers, leading to an officer to fire their weapon and strike the suspect in the hand. They then surrender to police and were taken into custody, later being transported to the hospital for their hand injury. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave and the investigation has been taken over by the Salt Lake City OICI Protocol team. This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available. 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. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a top adviser to President Trump, doubled down on accusing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) of being a traitor because he visited Ukraine and insisted the United States support the country earlier this month. Fox Newss Bret Baier asked Musk on his show Special Report why he would call the senator a traitor, as he did in a post on the social platform X, in reaction to his trip to Ukraine and his argument that the U.S. should not give up on Ukraine amid its war against Russia. I think somebody should care about the interests of the United States above the interests of another country. If they dont, theyre a traitor, Musk responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baier noted Kelly is a decorated veteran, former astronaut and sitting senator. That doesnt mean its OK for him to put the interests of another country above America, Musk replied. Kelly, a former U.S. Navy combat pilot, toured a military hospital and interacted with Red Cross personnel during his visit to Ukraine. He responded to Musk calling him a traitor, sharing on X, Elon, if you dont understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do. Musk doubling down on his argument against Kelly comes as the Trump administration has been working to strike a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House in February, a meeting that turned into a heated spat in the Oval Office when Trump called the Ukrainian president disrespectful and Vice President Vance accused him of not being grateful enough for the presidents help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk and Kelly argued on social media earlier this year, too. Kelly and his brother Scott Kelly, also a retired astronaut, called out Musk over his attacks on another astronaut on X. Hey @ElonMusk, when you finally get the nerve to climb into a rocket ship, come talk to the three of us, the senator wrote on X in response to Musks post calling Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen an idiot. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Reuters) - Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday that a great wrong was being done to Tesla employees and customers when asked on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" about incidents at dealerships that include arson attacks. Tesla has become a target of activists opposed to the political agenda of President Donald Trump and the role of his adviser, Musk, who is leading a drive to slash the federal payroll through the Department of Government Efficiency. (This story has been corrected to fix Bret Baier's name in paragraph 1) (Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Sandra Maler) Tech billionaire Elon Musk clarified a previous post he made on social media Friday about a trip hes making to Wisconsin ahead of a high-stakes state Supreme Court race next week. In his original post, Musk announced that he would be heading to Wisconsin to give a talk Sunday night to people who had voted in the election. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important, he wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That post was later deleted after experts suggested he would be violating Wisconsin state law, which says that that anyone who Offers, gives, lends or promises to give or lend, or endeavors to procure, anything of value, or any office or employment or any privilege or immunity to, or for, any elector, or to or for any other person, in order to induce any elector to go or not go to the polls, or vote or not vote, is illegal. Musk later clarified his plan in a new post on his social platform X. On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges. I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition. Musks super PAC, America PAC, circulated a petition last week that reads: Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas. By signing below, Im rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its roleinterpreting, not legislating. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The super PAC pays Wisconsin voters who sign it $100 and appears to implicitly knock liberal candidate Susan Crawford, whos running against conservative candidate Brad Schimel to fill a vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Tuesdays election will determine whether the high court remains a 4-3 liberal majority or flips to a conservative majority. Musk and President Trump have endorsed Schimel, and America PAC has spent millions of dollars in support of Schimel. Various local and national Democratic groups are backing Crawford in the race, with donors including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and George Soros getting involved. Musks involvement underscores the Tesla CEOs growing influence within the GOP and is particularly noteworthy given Republicans have often struggled to make up the fundraising deficit against Democrats in elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk is also getting involved in a pair of House elections in Florida next week to support the two GOP candidates running in the 1st and 6th congressional districts. Those districts are expected to remain within the GOP fold, though the 6th Congressional District could be closer than expected. Updated at 2:18 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Tech billionaire Elon Musk suggested Thursday that the Trump administration will crack down on vehicle vandalization, expressing his concerns about protesters targeting Tesla dealerships across the U.S. and abroad. The presidents made it clear: Were going to go after them, Musk said during a Thursday appearance on Fox Newss Special Report. The ones providing the money, the ones pushing the lies and propaganda, were going after them, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His comments come days after Attorney General Pam Bondi said attacks on Tesla property would be considered domestic terrorism, while urging Democratic leaders to apologize for remarks about Musks electric vehicle company. Several people have already been charged for the vandalism. Its really unfortunate, Musk told Foxs Bret Baier. The real problem is not the people its not like the crazy guy that firebombs a Tesla dealership. Its the people pushing the propaganda that cause that guy to do it. Those are the real villains here and were gonna go after them, the Tesla CEO added. In addition to backlash from lawmakers, the Tesla Takedown movement has encouraged individuals across the world to divest in stock and sell their cars to stop Musk from working with President Trump to organize major funding cuts, mass layoffs and reductions in government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group has spearheaded protests internationally and has slated Saturday as a Global Day of Action against the company. Their efforts have also led to the companys removal from an auto show in Vancouver, British Columbia, amid safety concerns from demonstrations. Teslas a peaceful company that has made great cars, great products. Thats all its done, Musk told Fox News. It hasnt harmed anyone. And yet people are committing violence. They are firebombing Tesla dealerships, he said. They are shooting guns into stores. Theyre threatening people. Trump, who publicly purchased a Tesla earlier this month in support of his key ally as the companys stocks dipped, compared the vandalism to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the Capitol, suggesting the Tesla attacks were worse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I view these people as terrorists, just like others, the president told reporters from the White House last week. When I looked at those showrooms burning and those cars not one or two, like seven, eight, 10 burning, exploding all over the place. These are terrorists. You didnt have that on Jan. 6, I can tell you, 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. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) A West Michigan woman visiting Thailand is safe after a powerful earthquake shook the region, though she has had to walk for miles to get back to where she was staying. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar and neighboring Thailand early Friday morning. The Associated Press reports at least 144 people were killed in Myanmar and at least eight in Thailand. In the Thai capital of Bangkok, a high-rise building that was under construction crumbled to the ground. Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn) Sid Simone, who grew up in Muskegon Heights, is in Bangkok to film a cooking show for her YouTube channel. She was an hour outside the city when the earthquake hit. She was on the subway and said she heard panic in the announcers voice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of us were trying to figure out, how do we get to our destinations? Because they had to shut down all of the metro rails, she said. Powerful earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar, causing high-rise collapse She got off the train and found a taxi, but stopped traffic on the highway forced her to get out and walk. Wed been sitting in the same place for the past 45 minutes, and so at some point, I saw people getting out on the highway, walking. I saw people jogging and running. So it took me approximately 25 minutes to walk from where I was to this location, and Im still probably another 45-minute walk home, Simone explained as she took a break from her walk to share what the experience was like. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The language barrier has also been a challenge. Its scary to be here today and rely on Google Translate in order for me to get home and then rely on Google Translate to communicate with my taxi driver and other people to ask what is happening, Simone said. She is safe now and hoping to continue her work in the city in the coming days. She said she is staying in a high-rise not far from the building that collapsed. The only thing I can think about is that could have been me, she 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 WOODTV.com. by Wen Tsui SACRAMENTO, the United States, March 28 (Xinhua) -- As Chinese students face increasing scrutiny in the United States, an education expert in California has called for "redoubled commitment" to educational exchanges and research collaboration with China. "It's vitally important that U.S. students and Chinese students better understand one another and have the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships," said Eddie West, assistant vice president for international affairs at California State University, Fresno (CSU Fresno). "The best way to foster these relationships is by encouraging, not discouraging, opportunities for Chinese students to study in the United States and U.S. students to study in China," he told Xinhua in a recent interview. West believes that current scrutiny of Chinese students studying in the United States threatens to undermine crucial collaborative potential between the world's two largest economies. "The U.S. and China are far and away the largest economies in the world, and very arguably also the most technologically advanced. Scientific breakthroughs and their applications as technology tools, of course, have enormous potential to address the globe's most pressing problems. And those tend to know no borders. Think climate change, global health crises, or poverty and inequality, to name a few," he said. Politicians tend to play "zero-sum politics" by fighting "the other," said West, "But if the world's most urgent problems are to be addressed effectively, citizens of the two largest and most impactful economies in the world need to work together, not against one another." "Transaction-oriented politicians may not care about this imperative, but we underestimate its importance at our own collective peril," West cautioned. His comments come as a U.S. House committee last week requested information on Chinese students enrolled in advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs from six U.S. universities, prompting concerns from the Chinese government about potential discrimination against the students. "It's only natural that the Chinese government expressed concerns about discrimination. It's unfortunate, to say the least, that these students could now be the objects of unnecessary suspicion through no fault of their own," he said. The educational landscape has already seen significant shifts. Chinese student enrollment in U.S. institutions has decreased dramatically from approximately 370,000 in 2019 to around 277,398 in the 2023-24 academic year, a 25 percent drop, according to data from the Institute of International Education's Open Doors report. As talented Chinese students face increasing barriers to U.S. education, many are turning to alternative destinations, including Britain, Canada, Australia, and universities within China. "The U.S. rightly prides itself on its many excellent and also accessible colleges and universities. But we are not the only game in town," West noted, highlighting the competitive global education marketplace. Despite current challenges, West remains optimistic about the future of international education. At CSU Fresno, substantial numbers of international students continue to apply, suggesting ongoing interest in U.S. higher education despite political headwinds. West also called on American universities to view recent restrictive measures as "a motivation to redouble our commitment to not just hosting Chinese students but also helping U.S. students to study in China." While the United States talked military assistance and minerals with Ukraine, Russia did the same with one of its few remaining allies: Myanmar. On March 4, 2025, the commander in chief and leader of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing, visited Russia. It was his fourth official visit since a coup in 2021 saw the military seize power. That coup ended a decade-long power-sharing arrangement between the army and the democratically elected government in Myanmar, sparking peaceful protests that soon developed into a nationwide armed resistance known as the Spring Revolution and an ensuing government crackdown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resulting civil war now into its fourth year has seen 6,000-plus people killed, 29,000 arrested and more than 3.3 million displaced, according to estimates from the human rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The conflict pits the countrys military, which has had a stranglehold on Myanmars politics for much of the past six decades, against a broad-based opposition that includes ethnic minority groups like the Karen National Union, Kachin Independence Army, Arakan Army, Ta'ang National Liberation Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Peoples Defense Force and Bamar Peoples Liberation Army. With seemingly no immediate end to the fighting in sight, all sides are becoming increasingly reliant on foreign suppliers of weapons and fuel. And this prompts an important question: Could the shifting policies and alignments of global powers notably China, Russia and the U.S. tip the balance of Myanmars civil war? Russia: Myanmars forever friend Throughout the civil war, Myanmars generals have turned to Russia for support. Both nations are heavily sanctioned and seen as pariah states, so it is, in many ways, a convenient alignment. Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Myanmar Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing on March 4, 2025, in Moscow, Russia. Getty Images In his latest visit to Moscow, Min Aung Hlaing granted Russia rights to extract minerals in Myanmars conflict zones and build an oil refinery and a port in the coastal city Dawei. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia has exported oil to Myanmar for many decades. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has been using the Southeast Asian country as a route to transport oil to China in an attempt to mitigate the impact of Western sanctions on energy exports. Myanmar has also agreed to supply skilled workers to Russia in a deal to alleviate the countrys labor shortages. This mutual arrangement also extends to defense and security matters. Myanmar and Russia engage in joint naval exercises, and Moscow is a top supplier of weapons to Myanmars generals and trains personnel for the military government. But any diplomatic benefit from having Russia as a sponsor has been blunted due to Moscows loss of international support over the war in Ukraine. Should that change, as the new U.S. administration seems keen on, then it could benefit Myanmars military by giving the generals a stronger ally on the international stage. As such, warming relations between Russia and the U.S. could be to the detriment of Myanmars myriad opposition groups. Already, the Trump administrations policies mean that the resistance can no longer rely on the same level of support from Washington, and its no guarantee that European Union countries already facing the prospect of withdrawn U.S. support for Ukraine would step in to fill the gap. US pivots away from Myanmar Washington has nominally supported the Spring Revolution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. provides shelter to Myanmar dissidents, including exiled leaders of the National Unity Government, or NUG, and has pushed for sanctions against the army. But that support has been largely symbolic. The U.S. still has not officially recognized the NUG as the legitimate government of Myanmar a decision that prevents Washington from releasing US$1 billion held at the Federal Reserve to the democratic representatives. That money could be used both to bolster the resistance and deliver much-needed aid to the countrys people. U.S. foreign policy as it evolves under the Trump administration is having further ripples in Myanmar. The Trump White House has gutted the U.S. Agency for International Development, the department tasked with funding Myanmar through 2023s Burma Act, which authorized sanctions on the military, support for those opposing the junta and assistance for Myanmars people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Services such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia have been suspended amid the recent U.S. cutbacks. As a result, people in Myanmar have more-limited access to reliable information and, more importantly, fewer media to represent and amplify their voices. Whether the U.S. chooses to continue to support the opposition or engage with the military government and endorse Myanmar elections expected for later this year could have wide implications for the future of democracy in the country. U.S. President Barack Obama encouraged Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to take part in elections. Soe Than Win/AFP via Getty Images Myanmar has witnessed such a U.S. reversal before. For a long period, Washington supported the oppositions boycott of elections that guaranteed the power to the military. But in 2009, the U.S. administration under Barack Obama sent a message to the National League for Democracy (NLD), which at the time was under the leadership of now-imprisoned Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, that Washington would recognize the militarys elections as part of a policy of pragmatic engagement with the then-ruling junta. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It forced the recalcitrant NLD to cooperate by entering the 2012 by-elections the first time it had taken part in elections since 1990. Although the NLD won a sweeping victory and went on to win the 2015 national vote it meant giving legitimacy to a system rigged in favor of the military, with a quarter of parliamentary seats reserved for officers. Given that 75% approval was needed for any constitutional reform, it meant that the NLD could form a government but could only make decisions with the consent of the still-powerful generals. The political situation now is different from 2012. The yearslong resistance has weakened the military significantly. And even if the NUG, which consists of member of the NLD and other political parties, does feel compelled to participate in elections, the various other resistance groups and ethnic armies will likely choose otherwise. Regional autonomy has become a reality as a result of the decentralized nature of the resistance movement; elections will not satisfy the various demands for autonomy. Chinese push for stability The U.S. administrations reduction in aid and, potentially, support for Myanmars opposition could lead the way to China taking a greater role in shaping the course of the civil war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beijing, like Washington, had traditionally had a close relationship with the opposition NLD. President Xi Jinping visited Myanmar in 2020 and signed a series of infrastructure deals as part of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. After the 2021 coup, China initially drew back from supporting Myanmar. But Beijing has since attempted to revive stalled or canceled bilateral projects while supporting reconciliation efforts and positioning itself as a neutral mediator. Chinas main concern is spillover from the war. For that reason, Beijing became concerned when an alliance of armed ethnic groups launched a major anti-military push in October 2023, fearing the spread of instability across the China-Myanmar border. Since the civil war broke out, Chinese investments in Myanmar have stalled. Meanwhile, lawlessness inside Myanmar has led to the growth of mostly Chinese-run online scam centers victims of which include Chinese citizens who have been kidnapped, trafficked and forced to work as scammers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What China wants most is a stable Myanmar. Yet its chosen strategy to try to bring this about forcing warring parties to sign ceasefire agreements hasnt worked so far. This could change. The reduction of U.S. aid in Myanmar places an additional burden on ethnic resistance groups they now have to shoulder more of the burden of providing for the people while fighting for autonomy. As such, resistance groups might be under greater urgency to accept Chinas role as a mediator. And with that changed calculus, the imperative to find a negotiated solution may increase. But a rushed ceasefire born of necessity does not equate to a lasting solution. As such, the shifting geopolitics of Russia, the U.S. and China may impact Myanmars civil war but it will do little to encourage democracy in the country, nor put it on a path to lasting peace. 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: Tharaphi Than, Northern Illinois University Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Tharaphi Than 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. A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake rattled much of Southeast Asia on Friday, resulting in mounting casualties and flattened skyscrapers from Myanmar to Thailand. The epicenter was in Mandalay, Myanmar, the country's second-largest city. Even Bangkok, some 600 miles away, felt widespread shaking and saw significant damage from the quake -- including the total collapse of a skyscraper under construction. PHOTO: Map locator where earthquake hit in Myanmar, Mar. 28, 2025. (AP) Latest Developments Mar 29, 2:14 PM Myanmar resistance group announces partial ceasefire Myanmar's National Unity Government has announced it will implement a "two-week pause in offensive military operations" in areas affected by the earthquake starting March 30. PHOTO: This frame grab taken from state-run Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) video footage released on March 28, 2025 shows Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing making a speech in Naypyidaw. (Myanmar Radio and Television/AFP via Getty Images) The National Unity Government is the representative body of the ousted civilian government that was overthrown in the 2021 military coup, which led to the ongoing civil war. The military government in Myanmar has not made a similar announcement. Mar 29, 11:28 AM American couple talks about surviving quake Garret Briere and his wife told ABC News they never could have imagined that their first vacation to Thailand ended up being one of the most terrifying experiences of their lives. The couple from Washington state were in the mall across the street from the 34-story building when they saw it implode and crash to the ground. PHOTO: Rescue personnel work at the site of a building that collapsed, following a strong earthquake, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 29, 2025. (Patipat Janthong/Reuters) "We ran out of the building because it started shaking," Garret said. "I grabbed my wifes hand and I said, 'Dont let go.' Immediately, we were just covered in dust and debris, and we couldnt see, and there were thousands of people just in a panic." It took just several seconds for the entire building to be reduced to a 7-story high pile of rubble, the couple said. -ABC News' Brit Clennett, Karson Yiu, Gamay Palacios and Preechaya Rassadanukul Mar 29, 11:09 AM Death toll rises to 1,002 in Myanmar, 9 in Thailand The death toll in Thailand from Fridays earthquake has increased to nine, according to the countrys Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Another 1,002 have died in Myanmar. Another nine people remain injured and 101 others are still missing. The earthquake and its aftershocks caused damage across 13 Thai provinces as well as in Bangkok, the agency said. A 30-story building that was under construction collapsed in the Thai capital on Friday when the powerful quake struck the region. PHOTO: Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Mar. 28, 2025. (Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Search and rescue efforts were ongoing at the scene, with crews detecting 15 signs of life beneath the rubble on Saturday, according to Thailands National Institute of Emergency Medicine. -ABC News' Morgan Windsor Mar 28, 3:53 PM Rubio says US willing to help, but not actively assisting yet Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted about the potential U.S. response to the earthquake, and seemed to suggest the president meant the U.S. was willing to help rather than actively assisting. "My prayers go out to the people of Burma and Thailand who are impacted by the earthquake," he wrote. "We've been in contact with these countries and, as @POTUS said, stand ready to provide assistance." My prayers go out to the people of Burma and Thailand who are impacted by the earthquake. Grateful to confirm our teams on the ground are safe and secure amidst reports of severe damage and casualties. We've been in contact with these countries and, as @POTUS said, stand ready Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 28, 2025 Rubio also confirmed the State Departments teams in the impacted countries were safe and accounted for. The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has suspended nonemergency consular services for the time being. The U.S. mission to Thailand has not reported any disruption in services. -ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston Mar 28, 3:51 PM State Department 'evaluating the need' for earthquake response State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said despite the tumult at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. has maintained "a team of disaster experts with the capacity to respond if disaster strikes," which are commonly referred to as DART teams. "These expert teams provide immediate assistance, including food and safe drinking water needed aftermath of a disaster. The United States is evaluating the need for assistance based on requests and dynamic reporting, she said. [14:47:29] PHOTO: Rescue workers are seen working at the collapsed construction building in Chatuchak area on March 28, 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand. (Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images) But despite President Donald Trump's assertion that the U.S. is going to be helping, Bruce suggested the State Department was still in standby mode. "What I can tell you is that we wait for formal requests," she said. "We are ready. Obviously, we are watching what is transpiring." Bruce insisted that despite the funding flip-flops and reorganization of USAID, "there has been no impact on our ability to perform those duties, those requests for aid, if and when they come in." -ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston Mar 28, 4:09 PM American recounts being stranded after earthquake An American who was on a subway train in Bangkok when the earthquake struck recounted being stranded as transportation in the city ground to a halt. When her train stopped, Sid Simone said she went on Facebook to find out what was going on. "I saw 'earthquake in Bangkok,' and so at that point, I knew that the entire city was going to start to diminish," the Michigan native told ABC Grand Rapids affiliate WZZM in an interview earlier Friday. "I have been trying to get home for five hours now." PHOTO: American Sid Simone speaks with WZZM from Bangkok following the earthquake, March 28, 2025. (WZZM) With no train service, Simone, who is in Bangkok to make a documentary on vegan food, said she got into a taxi but abandoned it when traffic came to a standstill and the vehicle was low on gas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WZZM spoke to her as she was walking along a highway, still about an hour from home. "It's unfortunate because there's so many people that, we're all fighting trying to get home, but some people are trying to fight to get home because their family member is under that building, you know. Somebody didn't make it home," she told WZZM. She told the station that her apartment complex was just down the street from where the under-construction high-rise collapsed. "I was so blessed that I was not there today," she said. I could have been shopping in that area." PHOTO: Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Mar. 28, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters) Mar 28, 1:30 PM Trump: 'We're going to be helping' Asked about the Myanmar earthquake during a press event at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said, "We're going to be helping." "It's terrible what's happened," he said. "We've already spoken with the country." Trump did not elaborate on how the U.S. plans to send foreign aid. PHOTO: President Donald Trump participates in a swearing-in ceremony for Alina Habba as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, March 28, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Mar 28, 1:30 PM State Department 'not aware' of any US casualties at this time The U.S. State Department is "not aware of any U.S. citizens injured or killed" in the earthquake at this time, a State Department official said. "We continue to monitor the situation closely and are in touch with local authorities," the official added. The State Department said in a statement it extends "our deepest condolences to all affected in Burma and Thailand by the earthquake that struck near Mandalay earlier this morning." PHOTO: People inspect the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake. (Str/AFP via Getty Images) -ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston Click here to read the rest of the blog. By Devjyot Ghoshal and Panu Wongcha-um BANGKOK (Reuters) -Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will join a regional leaders' summit in Thailand next week where he is seeking high-level bilateral meetings, three sources with direct knowledge told Reuters, in a rare visit to a Southeast Asian country since seizing power in coup that led to a civil war. Min Aung Hlaing is the subject of widespread western sanctions and is barred from attending summits of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN due to the Myanmar military's failure to implement an agreed peace plan with the bloc. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He will join the April 3-4 summit in Bangkok of the BIMSTEC grouping of mostly South Asian countries, where the Myanmar delegation is seeking bilateral meetings with leaders and top officials, according to the sources, who declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to media. The meetings being sought include ones with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief adviser of Bangladeshs interim government, Muhammed Yunus, the sources said. "They have been reaching out asking for meetings," one of the sources said, referring to Myanmar officials. An Indian government source said Myanmar officials had made "overtures" to New Delhi seeking a bilateral meeting between the junta chief and Modi, but added that India had not taken a decision so far. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Myanmar's military government could not immediately be reached for comment. Asked by Reuters if the Myanmar general was attending, Thailand's foreign ministry said all leaders of BIMSTEC member countries have confirmed their attendance. ESCALATING CRISIS Myanmar has been in crisis since the military overthrew the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking mass protests that escalated into an armed rebellion against the junta. More than a third of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trip to Thailand to join other leaders would be significant for Min Aung Hlaing, who has sought to gain legitimacy at home and abroad for his plans to return the country to democracy via an election that has been derided by critics as a sham to perpetuate army rule. The junta chief on Thursday said the election would be held in December, promising a free and fair vote and to transfer state power to the winning party. Min Aung Hlaing is regarded by many countries as a pariah as head of a military accused of committing widespread atrocities as it battles to hold power and contain a widening rebellion. The military denies wrongdoing. His trips overseas have been rare, mostly to Russia, which he visited this month, and to China late last year for a sub-regional summit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His travel could be limited further following an announcement in November by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court that a warrant for his arrest would be sought for crimes against humanity in the alleged persecution of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority. Myanmar has denied the allegations. BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, includes Thailand, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. (Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Devjyot Ghoshal; Additional reporting by Shoon Naing, and Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Editing by Martin Petty) By Devjyot Ghoshal, Poppy McPherson, Amy Lv, Neha Arora BANGKOK (Reuters) -When armed rebels seized northern Myanmar's rare-earths mining belt in October, they dealt a blow to the country's embattled military junta - and wrested control of a key global resource. By capturing sites that produce roughly half of the world's heavy rare earths, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) rebels have been able to throttle the supply of minerals used in wind turbines and electric vehicles, sending prices of one key element skyward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The KIA is seeking leverage against neighbouring China, which supports the junta and has invested heavily in rare earths mining in Myanmar's Kachin state, according to two people familiar with the matter. Chinese imports of rare earth oxides and compounds from Myanmar dropped to 311 metric tons in February, down 89% compared to the year-ago period, according to Chinese customs data that hasn't been previously reported. Most of the fall came after October. Reuters spoke to nine people with knowledge of Myanmar's rare earths industry and its four-year civil war about turmoil in the mining belt. One of them described the move by the KIA, which is part of a patchwork of armed groups fighting military rule, as an attempt to drive a wedge between the junta and China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They want to use rare earth reserves as a leverage in their negotiation with China," said Dan Seng Lawn, executive director of the non-profit Kachinland Research Centre, which studies Kachin socio-political issues. Three of the people also detailed previously unreported interest in the sector by India, China's regional rival, which they said in late 2024 sent officials from a state-owned rare earths mining and refining firm to Kachin. The KIA is one of the largest and oldest ethnic militias in Myanmar. It fights for the autonomy of the Kachin minority, a mostly Christian group who have long held grievances against the Bamar Buddhist majority. The group has imposed a hefty tax on the mostly Chinese-operated rare-earth miners working around Panwa and Chipwe towns in Kachin, according Dan Seng Lawn, whose institute is based in the state, and a Chinese mining analyst. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China has been one of the staunchest international backers of Myanmar's military since it deposed a civilian-led government in 2021 and ignited a bloody civil war. Beijing continues to see the junta as a guarantor of stability along its frontier, though the military has been ejected from most of the borderlands since a major rebel offensive in 2023. A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said the department was not aware of the specifics of the situation in the mining belt but it continues to "actively promote peace talks and provide all possible support and assistance for the peace process in northern Myanmar." India's external affairs ministry, the KIA and a junta spokesperson did not return requests for comment. Bawn Myang Co Ltd, which the U.S. government previously identified as an operator of mines in the area, couldn't be reached. PRICE SPIKE Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese spot prices of terbium oxide, whose supply is concentrated in Kachin, jumped 21.9% to 6,550 yuan per kg between late September and March 24, data from Shanghai Metals Market show. Prices of dysprosium oxide, which is also largely mined in Kachin but was in lower demand over the last six months, eased 3.2% to 1,665 yuan per kg during the same period. Most rare earths from Kachin are processed in China, so a protracted stalemate would have global implications. "A prolonged shutdown would likely lead to higher, potentially more volatile rare earth prices in China, and a reshaping of market dynamics in the near term," research firm Adamas Intelligence said in a February note. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EXPORT PLUNGE Chinese miners started building up major operations in Kachin in the 2010s, after Beijing tightened regulations on domestic mines. Kachin's often unregulated mines steadily expanded after the 2021 coup with the tacit approval of the junta, according to the U.K-.based Global Witness non-profit. But the growth came at a heavy cost, ravaging the environment and leaving Kachin's hills pock-marked with leeching pools, according to witness accounts and satellite imagery. Since the KIA's takeover, a 20% tax imposed by the rebels has made it effectively impossible for local operators to run profitable mines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The KIA wants China to stop pushing it to set down arms against the junta and to recognise the rebels' de facto control of the border, said Dan Seng Lawn, adding that the parties had met at least twice in recent months. The KIA has full control of the border in areas where it operates and anti-junta groups rule most of the rest of Myanmar's frontier with China. Beijing appeared reluctant to accept the KIA's demands, though it risked its monopoly on Myanmar's rare earth reserves if it doesn't position itself pragmatically, Dan Seng Lawn said. Reopening the minerals sector would be a major financial lifeline to the rebels: Myanmar's heavy rare earths trade stood at around $1.4 billion in 2023, according to Global Witness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The KIA has told miners in Kachin it will now allow shipments of existing rare earth inventories to China, Reuters reported Thursday. But to resume operations at full capacity, the KIA needs an agreement with China, home to thousands of workers with the know-how, said Singapore-based rare-earths expert Thomas Kruemmer. "Without them, this won't work, full stop," he said. INDIA ALTERNATIVE? Amid the ongoing tussle, India has attempted to deepen its influence in Kachin, with which it also shares a border, according to Dan Seng Lawn and two people familiar with Indian official thinking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement India's state-run mining and refining firm IREL in December sent a team to Kachin to study resources there, according to one of the Indian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Indian authorities have reservations about operating in an area with armed non-state actors, but the Kachin desire to diversify away from China and New Delhi's need for resources have pushed the two parties to talk, the Indian source said. IREL did not return requests for comment. An Indian delegation that included IREL also held an online meeting with the Kachins in December to discuss their interest in reopening the rare-earths sector, said Dan Seng Lawn, who attended the discussion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were willing to pay higher prices than China, he said. Any India deal faces multiple obstacles, said Kruemmer and Dan Seng Lawn. There is only skeletal infrastructure along the mountainous and sparsely populated Kachin-India frontier, making it challenging for commodities to be moved from Myanmar to the neighbouring northeastern states of India. Those states are also far removed from India's manufacturing belts in the south and west. India also doesn't have the ability to commercially process the heavy rare earths and transform them into magnets used by industry, according to Kruemmer and the Indian source. Some 90% of the world's rare earths magnets are produced in China, which has brought the sector under tighter state control, followed by Japan. Nevertheless, if Beijing does not recognise the "changing power dynamics," Dan Seng Lawn said, the KIA "will have to open alternative options." (Additional reporting by Shoon Naing; Editing by Katerina Ang) (Bloomberg) -- Myanmars government has agreed to release four Thai fishermen, who were detained by its navy in November, according to Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The men were detained off the coast of southern Ranong province, when a group of 15 Thai fishing vessels were fired upon as they allegedly operated in Myanmar waters. The two Southeast Asian nations share a border of about 2,400 kilometers (1,491 miles). The amnesty for the fishermen is the result of resolute negotiations and good relations between Myanmar and Thailand, Paetongtarn said in a post on X Friday. She thanked Myanmars military government for the decision. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate with other agencies and Myanmar to bring back the fishermen, the premier said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2025 Bloomberg L.P. CLARENCE, La (KTAL/KMSS) It is the seven-year mark of a missing child case that has haunted Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. We are looking back at the case that still remains open and unsolved, with many unanswered questions. The mysterious disappearance of Rondreiz Phillips at just four years old. His family called 911 around 1130 a.m. April 5, 2018, telling officers Rondreiz was last seen playing outside in front of their home in the 100 block of Howard Road in Lisbon. His mother, Sheila Phillips, was inside, and her boyfriend, Nicholas Gilbert, was working on his truck nearby. They told police they thought Rondriez was at his aunts house next door, but when they went next door, he was not there, and he has not been seen since. KTAL/KMSS interviewed his aunt, Joann Cole, soon after his disappearance, who showed us a makeshift memorial they had made outside where he had left his toys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More Louisiana News I just want to see the baby. Is he alright or what? Somebody have to know where the baby is at. If he was missing round here, somebody would have been saw something. A boot a shirt or something, Joann Cole said The story soon became complicated for Rondreizs family. His mother was arrested on meth charges a month later. She initially pleaded not guilty and was out of jail for the first anniversary of his disappearance. I want to let him know I have not gave up on him. That I miss him, I love him, said Shelia Phillips, Rondriezs mom. The tragedy took a toll on his sister, Shaquntal Phillips, whom we interviewed after her moms court appearance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Barely sleeping, barely eating. You cant think right. Its not a normal life, she said. They continue to ask for someone to come forward with information. The Claiborne Parish Sheriffs Office joined volunteers from the community to search Rondreiz for countless hours and offered a $10,000 reward for new information. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created an age progression photo in 2021 of what Rondreiz would look like at age seven. People from his community continue to hold hope that his case will be solved. He will not be forgotten. That somebody somewhere will give some information, and for the community to know that its still hope that Junior will be found, said Chaplain Terry Willis, volunteer search participant. Any information can be given to the Claiborne Parish Sheriffs Office at (318) 927-2011. 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 KTALnews.com. (Reuters) - NASA said on Thursday it was moving toward certifying Boeing's CST-100 Starliner for crewed flights later this year or by early 2026 after its inaugural mission to the International Space Station was marred by a system fault, forcing an extended stay. The agency is working with Boeing to resolve the Starliner's faulty propulsion system, which caused its debut eight-day crewed mission to stretch into a nine-month stay in space for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Williams and Wilmore returned earlier this month in SpaceX's Dragon capsule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joint teams are working to finalize the scope and timelines for various propulsion system test campaigns and analyses, targeted throughout the spring and summer, as NASA prepares for the Starliner's next flight. Steve Stich, manager of NASAs Commercial Crew Program, said the flight was likely to be in the timeframe of late this calendar year or early next year. Boeing's effort to fix the Starliner's faulty propulsion system has added to the aerospace giant's thorny development of a spacecraft that has cost it more than $2 billion. (Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta and Joey Roulette; Editing by Pooja Desai) The inadvertent inclusion of a journalist on a Signal group chat discussing attack plans means officials likely violated the Espionage Act and public records laws while flouting guidance on how to discuss sensitive information. The contents of the discussion, shared by The Atlantic, show the group chat started by national security adviser Mike Waltz included discussions about the timelines and targets of an impending airstrike on Houthi rebels in Yemen as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave the 19 members on the chat a rundown of operations. I cant fathom it doesnt violate the Espionage Act, Mark Zaid, a national security law expert, told The Hill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You should also think of whether it violates the Federal Records Act by the fact that they had the messages set to destroy, with no indication, as far as we know, that they were preserving them, which is required. The administration has denied the chat contained classified information a claim congressional Democrats have called laughable. I mean, it is very clearly classified under the executive order that governs such information, Zaid said. I couldnt think of something more obvious. However, the Espionage Act the law the Trump administration would most likely turn to as it vows to ramp up its own prosecution of leakers writ large doesnt rely on classification. Instead, it allows prosecution of those who share national defense information, whether intentionally or inadvertently. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While you can argue that it wasnt classified probably in bad faith you cannot argue that it was not national defense information, said Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Counselors, a nonprofit law firm. McClanahan said members of the group chat may have violated different sections of the law, even as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth contributed the bulk of the information about the impending attack. Waltz plainly violated [Section] 793(f) of the Espionage Act, the gross negligence [law], he said. Thats the dont be a dumba law. But he noted that the law also requires reporting from those aware classified information was leaked, something the group may have been alerted to when Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg left the chat March 16 and reached out for comment from the administration Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ill be curious to find out if any of them reported that, McClanahan said. Government watchdogs are also focused on the group chats sidestepping of records retention laws another potential violation, and a broader sign officials may be using such platforms to avoid review of their communications under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Both Zaid and McClanahan said the group chats disappearing message function for some of its content likely violated the Federal Records Act. American Oversight filed a suit Tuesday to block any destruction of the records of the chat, which have since been shared by The Atlantic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This isnt just reckless, its illegal. And its part of a disturbing pattern from this administration, a calculated effort to hide the truth, erase paper trails, and govern from the shadows, far from the reach of Congress, the courts and the American people, Chioma Chukwu, the interim executive director of the group, told reporters Thursday. McClanahan said he requested the records of the chat almost immediately, explaining that a denial would require FOIA officials to say whether the information was classified, has been deleted, or was discussed on a personal device violating policy while using less secure devices to discuss the highly sensitive mission. You know, every argument they can throw at it is a win for us, he said. Because if they say its a personal device, then, ha-ha, hello! If they say its classified, then they lied in the hearing, and if they say, Its already been deleted, we cant recover it, then they did not back it up the way that even [CIA Director] John Ratcliffe said in testimony they are required to do. And McClanahan said the use of Signal at all confirms a suspicion that officials are routinely turning to unofficial channels to discuss government business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think this is indicative of a bigger problem. Until yesterday, there were lots of people saying the Trump administration is using Signal. Theyre using all these nonofficial channels to conduct business because theyre trying to avoid recordkeeping, theyre trying to avoid FOIA, theyre trying to avoid all the things that make them accountable. But we could never prove it, he said. This is proof that theyre using Signal. Because not only did they use it, but every single person added to that signal chat, not a single one of them said, This is strange I am surprised were using Signal. The news about the Signal group chat came the day before Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Ratcliffe appeared before Congress for the annual worldwide threats hearings, during which both consistently denied that the chat had any classified information. At one point, House Intelligence ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.) pulled up the Office of the Director of National Intelligences own classification guidance, which says advance warning of an attack should be labeled as top secret. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said the two officials lied in implying such information wouldnt be classified. The idea that this information, if it was presented to our committee, would not be classified yall know it was a lie, he said. Gabbard ceded Wednesday that including a journalist on the group chat was a mistake, but she did not directly address the wisdom of using the encrypted and commercially available Signal app, saying only that employees should apply best practices. It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added to a Signal chat with high-level national security principles, having a policy discussion about imminent strikes against the Houthis and the effects of the strike, she told House lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ideally, these conversations occur in person. However, at times fast-moving and coordination of an unclassified nature is necessary where in-person conversation is not an option, she said. But lawmakers and other national security experts have called use of the app cavalier, noting that intelligence agencies have warned it is a target of foreign governments, and that at least two participants in the group were overseas while it was active. There are all sorts of operational security policies concerning the use of electronics overseas, Zaid said, noting use abroad can make it easier for adversaries to obtain information. So to have Cabinet-level officials using a publicly available encrypted app for likely classified communications, when the system is not created for that use, about war plans where recipients were in foreign countries its got to be one of the most blatant operational security failures that we have seen in recent years, Zaid said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. government should issue a thank you note to Jeff Goldberg for not saying anything until after the operation had concluded, Zaid said, noting that if anyone else posted the information immediately, they would have had to scuttle the entire operation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. China and Vietnam have announced a new partnership which aims to protect wildlife while also preserving both countries' traditions in medicine. These two countries make up the largest markets for traditional medicine, which utilizes plant and animal ingredients. As reported by Mongabay, the agreement is between the top traditional medicine associations from both countries: Vietnam Oriental Traditional Medicine Association and the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Traffic, an NGO that fights against illegal wildlife trade, facilitated this agreement with the help of other experts, including researchers and pharmaceutical executives. Jessica Bell Rizzolo from the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement to Mongabay, "Traditional Chinese medicine has a sustainability problem. There's still a lot of animals included in the pharmacopeia." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some ingredients from threatened and endangered species have included tiger bones, pangolin scales, bear bile, and rhino horns. It is still legal to trade many of these ingredients within China's borders, but hunting for them outside China and then selling them in the country is illegal. Traffic Vietnam director Trinh Nguyen told Mongabay the partnership aims to encourage conversations about "sustainable practices to make traditional medicine more conservation-friendly." China and Vietnam have agreed to share knowledge on cultivation programs, promoting safety and efficacy while transitioning to plant sources. Raising awareness about traditional medicine's role in conservation in the region will also be a priority In a statement shared with Traffic, Vietnam Oriental Traditional Medicine Association vice president Dr. Do The Loc said "This partnership marks a new chapter in traditional medicine one that honors our ancestral wisdom while actively protecting the natural world that sustains it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This policy joins other wildlife and environmental initiatives around the world, including enforcing a pause on kangaroo harvesting, reducing the use of toxic chemicals, and instating laws against gray wolf abuse. 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. 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. Adrinda Kelly watched from New York as Hurricane Katrina swallowed her hometown of New Orleans in 2005. Floodwaters rose, neighborhoods disappeared underwater, and she felt a familiar ache deepen. Her family was safe, but devastation quickly compounded a painful realization: Black children were portrayed as disposable, and New Orleans education system was almost completely privatized. Black students test scores faltered. Almost two decades later and nearly 2,000 miles away, similar echoes reverberated in Altadena, California, as wildfires swept through Los Angeles County in January. Flames consumed buildings and homes, but also something less tangible: the future of hundreds of thousands of students. More than 700,000 California children, mainly Black and Latino, missed school, some for weeks, and many still havent fully returned. Adding injury to insult, more than 100 local teachers were laid off in the month after the blaze. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just as Katrinas chaos reshaped New Orleans, wildfires in Altadena underscore how climate disasters deepen educational inequities, disproportionately harming students already grappling with systemic neglect. With every disaster, students lose not just classroom hours, but opportunities, confidence, and stability. In a nation increasingly battered by severe weather, the question Kelly first grappled with after Katrina now confronts communities nationwide: Will these disasters become catalysts for deeper injustice, or opportunities for lasting change? Natural disasters have an outsized impact on Black and vulnerable communities, said Kelly, executive director of BE NOLA, an organization focused on improving the education system for Black children in New Orleans. In places like New Orleans, disasters have been leveraged to break up concentrated Black political and educational power, deepening inequities. With climate change fueling more frequent and severe disasters, the number of school days lost is growing, and so are the consequences. This school year, students in Florida and Louisiana have lost more than a week of school due to hurricanes and snowstorms. In North Carolina, some students went more than a month without in-person instruction due to Hurricane Helene. Research found that academic performance drops with every school closure, and so does the likelihood of a student pursuing higher education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In communities still recovering from the disruption of pandemic-era education, this is yet another devastating blow. COVID was this monster of a disaster that showed us how unprepared we are, and we are seeing the same things with these climate-induced disasters, said Cassandra Davis, a University of North Carolina professor who has spent years studying how American schools are and arent preparing for the onslaught of severe weather. Across the world, 400 million children lose school days each year due to climate-related disasters. In 2023, millions of students lost school time due to floods, fires, and extreme heat across 40 U.S. states. Without coordinated action from mental health support to infrastructure planning the cost to students, particularly those already marginalized, will keep rising. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even after schools reopen, educators fear the upheaval will leave lasting scars on students learning and mental health. Research shows that children who live through natural disasters are more likely to face acute illnesses, anxiety, and depression. Missed days add up, and the stress of trauma can disrupt brain function and development, making it even harder for students to keep up in the classroom. With Black Americans exposed to more extreme weather events than the average American, the crisis is uniquely impactful. Yet, support for recovery is uneven at best. While state and local officials have promised aid, families often experience it as slow and fragmented. Some school districts have rushed to provide temporary classrooms and counseling, but in historically underfunded Black and Latino areas, resources remain limited. FEMA may reimburse rebuilding costs, but it doesnt cover lost learning time or the ongoing support students need to heal emotionally and academically. Davis also pointed out that FEMA often requires schools to prove that damage was caused by the disaster and not by preexisting conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you were a school that had mildew, doors that didnt work things we, unfortunately, see in low-income communities then a hurricane comes through, FEMA could argue, Hey, we dont know if the damage here was caused because of the storm, or was here all along, she said. So schools already under-resourced get punished again. Wildfires gutted this Head Start early education center in Altadena, California. More than 700,000 children, mainly Black and Latino, missed school because of the fires, and many still havent fully returned.(Grace Mahoney) As a result, lower-income school districts often go into debt rebuilding, which can lead to mass closures of public schools or states appointing an emergency business and financial manager to take control of a school districts finances. Typically, when that happens, making school districts financially secure overweighs the best interests of students, experts said. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina provides a stark warning: Black students endured the longest school closures, the highest rates of displacement, and some never returned to school at all. Twenty years later, the school district has still not recovered. Using Hurricane Katrina as a blueprint After Katrina, Kellys mission became clear: to push back against education reforms that often marginalized Black educators under the guise of progress. So much of the educational transformations post-Katrina were on the backs of a false narrative of Black educators failing Black children, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a narrative that dismissed an experienced workforce primarily Black women who had formed the backbone of the citys educational and political power structures. Overnight, over 7,500 educators lost their jobs, leaving the city with a much younger, less experienced teaching force. Not only was it economically painful, Kelly explains, but we pushed out assets: educators who understood the culture, communities, and families. Adrinda Kelly is the executive director of BE NOLA. Having witnessed the dismantling of Black educational power and the displacement of experienced Black educators in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, she now leads efforts to support and amplify Black educational voices, ensuring that disaster recovery centers community wisdom, resilience, and justice. (Adam Mahoney/Capital B) Twenty years after Katrina, despite claims of reform success, she notes that only about 30% of Black children in New Orleans currently read at grade level after the Civil War, literacy rates for Black people here were around 67%, she said. She describes the post-Katrina era as having produced quality outcomes for some children, but not for the majority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For other cities facing natural disasters, Kelly emphasizes vigilance: Disaster policy can be leveraged to reshape entire education systems, often sidelining local communities in the process. She urges communities to safeguard local educators and community voices, ensuring that rebuilding efforts reflect local needs and priorities rather than external agendas. To protect Black children, her hope is rooted in her advocacy. BE NOLAs work supports Black educators, providing professional development and advocating for policies centering their expertise and needs. She insists on a holistic approach: mental health support for students and teachers, equitable funding, and intentional policy interventions. Advocates said solutions to climate-related school disruptions must be as varied as the disasters themselves. A wildfire that burns down a campus requires a different response than extreme heat or persistent poor air quality. Experts say districts should be thinking not only about rebuilding but also about readiness. That means upgrading ventilation systems so buildings are safer during smoke events, mapping out which community centers or gyms could serve as temporary classrooms, and planning for hybrid or remote learning when in-person instruction isnt possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the financial side, groups like UndauntedK12 are urging schools to make their buildings more resilient by installing solar panels, electric bus fleets, and heat pumps. These upgrades reduce emissions and save districts money in the long run. Meanwhile, some school systems are getting more flexible, shifting school start dates to avoid peak fire or hurricane seasons or adding extra learning hours after closures. But resilience isnt just about infrastructure, and the burden extends beyond students. After disasters, school staff act as first responders. As Davis wrote in 2022, it is the custodians who remove debris and damaged supplies, the principals who stay in the building for 24 hours while their schools operate as shelters, and the teachers who run to the local pharmacy to retrieve students life-saving medicine when communication is limited. Davis study looked at states like Texas and North Carolina, where educators have faced mounting stress and burnout with the demands of disaster response. Educators interviewed in the study emphasized the need for proactive disaster preparedness plans that clearly define roles, streamline communication, and incorporate mental health support. Schools, the research concluded, must establish comprehensive emergency strategies that acknowledge and address the toll these crises take on teachers and staff. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, more than 7,000 public school teachers in metro New Orleans were fired and dozens of schools were left abandoned, including this one located in New Orleans Upper Ninth Ward. (Adam Mahoney/Capital B) Meanwhile, the mental health support students and educators need remains out of reach for many. According to the Society for Research in Child Development, up to 50% of children report post-traumatic stress symptoms after disasters. But culturally competent care is hard to find. Only 3% of psychologists in the U.S. are Black, despite the unique systemic and cultural factors shaping Black families mental health experiences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the end of the day, Davis said at the core of recovery work is the need for basic dignity. People dont want to be treated like statistics. They dont want to feel as though they are animals, and sometimes animals are even treated better, she said. You can rebuild a building, she added. But if you dont rebuild trust, safety, and support for the people inside it, you havent rebuilt a school. The post Natural Disasters Are Driving a School Crisis. Black Children Are Hit the Hardest appeared first on Capital B News. WASHINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to retain messages sent on a Signal group chat between March 11 and March 15, in which high-level national security officials discussed attack plans on the Houthi group in Yemen. Judge James Boasberg, from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, made the ruling in a preservation lawsuit after the revelation by the Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg that cabinet officials were discussing war plans on Signal, a commercial message app, and inadvertently shared with the journalist. In an article titled "The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans" published on Monday, Goldberg detailed how senior U.S. national security officials recently added him to a Signal group chat discussing a military strike on Houthi forces in Yemen. Goldberg said that on March 11, he received a connection request on the Signal messaging app from a user named Michael Waltz, which is the name of the U.S. national security advisor. But at the time, it was unclear to Goldberg whether this was the official's actual account. Two days later, Goldberg received a notification that he would be added to a group chat called "Houthi PC Small Group." Goldberg said that on March 15, the account labeled "Pete Hegseth," matching the name of the U.S. secretary of defense, sent a message in the chat with operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, scheduled to take place in two hours. The message included information about "targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing." Goldberg did not release the specific details of the message at that time, saying that "information contained in them, if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel." In another article on Wednesday, Goldberg and his colleague Shane Harris fully disclosed the details after President Donald Trump and several high-ranking officials claimed the group chat did not contain classified information. In an update to the group chat at 11:44 a.m. Eastern Time on March 15, Hegseth said, "Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch." Centcom, or Central Command, is the military's combatant command for the Middle East. The Hegseth text also outlined the timeline of the military operation, detailing the launch and strike schedule: "1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)," "1345: 'Trigger Based' F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME - also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)." "Experts have repeatedly told us that use of a Signal chat for such sensitive discussions poses a threat to national security," Goldberg and his colleague said. "If this information, particularly the exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen, had fallen into the wrong hands in that crucial two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face," they argued. After releasing the full text, the defense secretary continued to stand by the statement that there was no classified information in the group chat. "No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. No classified information," Hegseth said in a post on X. Democrat lawmakers have called for the resignation of Hegseth and Waltz. Some Republican lawmakers have even called for an investigation. A specialized U.S. Navy dive crew and a unit of Polish Armed Forces engineers were traveling Friday to a training site in Lithuania to help with the recovery of four U.S. soldiers who were first reported missing Tuesday. U.S. and Lithuanian personnel were still working Friday to access the site where the soldiers M88 Hercules armored vehicle was found 15 feet underwater Wednesday in a swamp on a training site near Pabrade, Lithuania. Thick mud and soft ground were keeping emergency personnel from accessing the vehicle and complicating the multiday recovery effort. Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division, said in a statement Friday it would be a long and difficult recovery operation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The area around the site is incredibly wet and marshy and doesnt support the weight of the equipment needed for the recovery of the 70-ton vehicle without significant engineering improvements, U.S. Army Europe and Africa said in the statement. Draining the area has been slow and difficult due to groundwater seepage. By Friday, the second full day of the recovery mission, subject matter experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had arrived on site. Authorities also brought in a large-capacity slurry pump, cranes and more than 30 tons of gravel. The Polish Armed Forces volunteered a unit of military engineers to help in the recovery. Its 150 personnel, water pump and tracked recovery vehicles were on their way to the site Friday, as was a Navy dive crew from Commander Task Force 68, headquartered in Rota, Spain. The crew was expected to join the recovery efforts within the next 24 hours. Soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, along with Lithuanian Army and emergency services personnel, discuss their plan to recover the four U.S. soldiers. (Trevor Wilson/U.S. Army via AP) Before being reported missing, the soldiers, all part of 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, had been conducting a maintenance mission to recover another Army vehicle. The initial search included military helicopters, Lithuanian diving teams and hundreds of U.S. and Lithuanian soldiers and law enforcement officers looking through thick forests and swampy terrain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since Wednesday, personnel have focused on the area where their armored vehicle was found. Around the clock, theyve been working to drain water and dredge mud from the site to better stabilize the ground, the Army said. The service has held off confirming the fates of the four soldiers, and their names had not yet been released Friday. The Army said it was keeping the families of the soldiers updated on the situation. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Kara C. McDonald, the U.S. ambassador to Lithuania, joined Taylor at the site Friday to gain a better understanding of the complexity of the operation, an Army release said. We are absolutely committed to bringing our soldiers home, Taylor said in the release. I remain incredibly impressed by the discipline, commitment and camaraderie in this unit as they attempt to recover their missing comrades. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) North Carolina Judge Jefferson Griffin says he has grown and learned in the 20-plus years since he posed with fraternity brothers for a photo showing all of them wearing Confederate uniforms. The photo surfaced on Friday and was widely circulated. Judge Griffin, who is challenging more than 60,000 votes from the November election for a seat on the State Supreme Court, released a statement saying: Over twenty years ago, I attended a college fraternity event that, in hindsight, was inappropriate and does not reflect the person I am today. At that time, like many college students, I did not fully grasp the broader historical and social implications. Since then, I have grown, learned, and dedicated myself to values that promote unity, inclusivity, and respect for all people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His campaign also released a statement saying Democrats are using the photo against Griffin. It said: It is clear that the Riggs campaign knows the facts of the pending litigation are not on their side and that they continue their personal smear campaign. Judge Griffin has served the people of this state and our country with great honor and duty; sadly, the radical left fails to share that same sense of duty, Paul Shumaker said, on behalf of the campaign. Judge Griffin is in the middle of lawsuits right now to challenge the November election results, where he lost a state Supreme Court seat to incumbent Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs. Griffin has said more than 60,000 votes should not count because theyre invalid or were cast by ineligible voters. 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 CBS17.com. NEW MEXICO (KRQE) A total of 18 organizations have submitted 66 applications for $675 million in grants through the federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) of New Mexico, according to the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE). Those entities include 10 internet providers, five co-ops, and three Tribal communities. Youth leaders in northern New Mexico work to issue grants to community organizations Applications were aimed towards 144 unserved areas in 31 New Mexico counties. BEAD funding expects to provide high-speed broadband to over 31,000 homes, businesses, farms, and other places in New Mexico. The requested amount from this round of applications is over $719 million. OBAE will award grants out of the $675 million provided by the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are very excited by the number of applications and qualified candidates for this massive broadband infrastructure program, said Acting Director of OBAE Drew Lovelace in a press release. This monumental program will help close the digital divide in our state, providing high-speed connectivity for broadband-dry households and communities. These projects will change lives. By the end of July, OBAE will recommend grand awards to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Construction, which must be completed in four years, begins upon government approval of those projects. The 18 organizations applied for 53 full-fiber projects, 12 fixed wireless projects, and one low-earth orbit satellite project. The 66 applications included a total of $719,075,257 in funding requested, $258,179,539 matching funds proposed, and $976,167,932 in proposed budgeting. Local governments, Tribal communities, nonprofits, internet service providers, cooperatives, and others were eligible to apply for funding. Applicants were required to submit prequalification applications to apply for funding. The results helped OBAE determine if they had the technical capability and financial stability to deploy broadband and meet federal/state requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mexico was one of the first states to accept BEAD applications. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A student walks by the headquarters building of the Nebraska State Historical Society in Lincoln. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN For a second time, an effort by the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office to prosecute the former director of the state historical society has been rebuffed. On Monday, the Nebraska Court of Appeals approved a request by attorneys for Trevor Jones to dismiss a felony theft by deception charge that had been filed by the Attorney Generals Office. Summary dismissal Trevor Jones served as director and CEO of History Nebraska from 2016 to 2022. (courtesy of History Nebraska) Court filings show the dismissal was approved without taking formal arguments from the AGs office a summary dismissal. The appeals court ruled that state prosecutors failed to follow proper procedure in appealing an earlier dismissal of the case by a Lancaster County District Court judge based on the states failure to afford Jones a speedy trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case could be appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court. A spokeswoman for the Attorney Generals Office, Suzanne Gage, said Friday that the office disagreed with the ruling, entered before our office had a chance to respond. She said the office would file an appropriate motion laying out prosecutors arguments. Jones lead attorney, Mallory Hughes of Omaha, said she had been very confident that the Court of Appeals would dismiss the case and said she would be just as confident if the state filed an appeal to the Supreme Court. We agree with the rules and case law relied upon by the Court of Appeals in reaching its dismissal decision, and we will be prepared to argue the same should this matter proceed to the Nebraska Supreme Court, Hughes wrote in an email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jones, 52, had headed the agency he renamed History Nebraska for six years before abruptly resigning in 2022, just prior to the release of a critical state audit. The audit accused Jones of misusing $270,000 in donations from the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation. Instead of using it to cover operational losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Jones deposited the funds in a rival private foundation he had set up after clashing with the older, more established Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation. Slow-moving case Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, center, announces a new antitrust lawsuit on Nov. 19, 2024, against four major semitruck manufacturers. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Jones, who was paid $164,800-a-year in his state job, was charged with a felony in July 2023, a theft charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The case moved slowly through Lancaster County Court after Jones lawyers challenged the evidence. His case was eventually bound over to District Court. But Jones attorneys argued that the state failed to bring him to trial by September, when the speedy trial clock tolled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement District Judge Susan Strong agreed, dismissing the charge. The AGs office then appealed. The failed prosecution was mentioned on the floor of the Nebraska Legislature recently, with State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln an attorney charging that the AGs office appeared too preoccupied with other matters, including investigating ballot measures seeking to legalize medical cannabis, to properly monitor the Jones case. Conrad urged the Attorney General with whom she has frequently differed to get the offices priorities in order. While our attorney general is waging war on the Legislature, on the peoples right to initiative, running around all over the country, bringing politically charged litigation to further a radical political agenda, right here at home his agency couldnt even prosecute this case to protect public funds, the senator said. The AGs office declined to comment on Conrads criticism. Nebraska Examiner reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen. Sept. 13, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen calls President Donald Trumps sweeping executive order overhauling the administration of U.S. elections a new and hopeful chapter. Evnen said state election officials have long faced federal roadblocks to using databases that could help confirm the citizenship status of those on the voter rolls. He pointed to a joint letter from him and 19 other secretaries of state last month that requested more access to federal immigration data to help verify voter registrations. Evnens statement and recent actions echo national Republican framing that election experts warn could undermine trust in elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump signed the executive order Tuesday, aligning with a House Republican priority to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. The SAVE Act would require proof of citizenship in federal elections. Nebraskans passed a state constitutional amendment in 2022 requiring the Legislature to implement voter ID in Nebraska. Fewer voters were turned away under the law than in other states with similar laws. If the SAVE Act was signed into law, it would codify parts of the executive order. While Evnen said he welcomes the executive order, his office has defended Nebraska elections in the past. A Lancaster County voter returns her request card for an early voting ballot. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) The joint secretaries of state letter from last month outlined several enhancements the group wants in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, which is different from the SAVE Act. Among their requests is the ability to search multiple voters at once, clearer guidance on how and when state election officials may use the database, and free use of the system. This is not just a letter from certain states requesting a sort of seemingly bureaucratic access to a database, Eliza Sweren-Becker, a voting watchdog, said of the joint letter. This is a part of a broader effort to restrict voting access for all Americans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She and other election watchdogs said the framing from Republicans is based on the myth of widespread non-citizen voters. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, analyzed election conduct from 2003 to 2023 and found only 29 instances of noncitizens voting. With this action, President Trump is moving the rocks out of the road so that states can access the data they need and should have, Evnen said in a statement praising Trumps executive order. When the Nebraska Examiner asked how many non-citizens have been removed from voter rolls or voted in past elections, a spokesperson for the secretary of state said earlier this month that the agency has not removed anyone due to their status as a non-citizen, nor do we believe that there are many such people registered to vote. Evnen told KETV earlier this month that the secretary of state would like to investigate whether 46 Nebraskans who have voted over the last several elections are U.S. citizens. The agency spokesperson told the Examiner it is developing a process with the Attorney General to request confirmation of citizenship status from a small number of registrants whose citizenship status is unclear. According to Evnens office, 13,550 voters were removed from the voter rolls after the November 2024 election they were removed due to death or relocation from the state. Such removals are routine and required by federal and state law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue introduced a bill in the Nebraska statehouse to eliminate online voter registration, restrict absentee voting, provide more security for ballot boxes, and require hand-counting of election results, citing election integrity concerns. Evnen agrees with some provisions of Legislative Bill 541, such as tightening security around ballot boxes. But a spokesperson said he has practical concerns about hand counting and legal concerns about voter registration during its hearing. Trumps Executive order will likely face legal challenges from voting rights groups and Democratic state attorneys general. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Long ago and far away, there was a store. The Store, as it was known then, and still is, at least among those of us lucky enough to have grown up in and around it. It was ours, it was magic, and in two days it will be gone. At the corner of Main Street and Ervay in downtown Dallas, Neiman Marcus rose like a crenellated confection, nine stories of retail romance and aesthetic allure. Having occupied that site since 1914, The Store survived no shortage of challenges in the years since thenamong them the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, a few blocks away; a crippling fire in December 1964, days before Christmas; and, beginning in 1969, a slew of different owners who expanded the brand to national and then global prominence before, in recent years, whittling it down to a shadow of its former self. Never has that shadow seemed smaller. Saks Global, the current parent company of Neiman Marcus (and of Saks Fifth Avenue), has decreed the closure of the iconic downtown store, the capital of a retail empire that once seemed invincible, a synonym for postwar American elegance, with outposts from Coral Gables to Beverly Hills. But to Dallasites, this is a blow that strikes at the heart. There is no question that Neiman Marcus was the best of usand not just Neiman Marcus the concept or Neiman Marcus the brand, which will continue, but Neiman Marcus the original, literal store, with its marble, its carpets, and, most of all, its history. It is impossible to conceive of Dallas without it, and yet we will have to. Neiman Marcus In recent years major development projects have changed the landscape of downtown Dallas, whose skyline used to resemble an outcropping of weeds on an endless expanse of plains. These days an area that was once strictly commercialand a ghost town after 6 p.m.is now proudly residential, home to glassy condominiums, soaring skyscrapers, and world class art museums. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The closure doesnt necessarily undercut the continued development of downtown, but in a city that was always, in the classic way of the American west, deeply hostile to history, The Store shutting its doors takes away one of the few landmarks that made Dallas distinct and that gave it its personality. Now downtown Dallas might as well be downtown anywhere, another improbable American explosion of concrete and chrome ruled only by Resy and Range Rovers. Dallas native Karen Katz was CEO of Neiman Marcus for more than a decade after joining the company as an assistant general manager in 1985. When I grew up in Dallas, the Neiman Marcus downtown store was a beacon of fashion and style, she said. I eagerly awaited the annual Fortnight celebrations held there. Sandy Marple started at The Store in 1969 and retired in 2019, ending her half-century of service as VP of Special Events. The news that the downtown Neimans would soon close was gutting. I was heartbroken, she said. Its hard to divorce the place from the people that were in it. Neiman Marcus When the news was announced, city officials sprang into action to try to prevent the loss of the beloved landmark, even securing the deed from a landowner who controlled a small portion of the ground underneath the legendary emporium. Not having that lease was the reason Saks Global had given for why the legendary building had to close, and then, almost overnight, the problem was solved. But Saks Global then insisted that the downtown store would shut its doors anyway. Our decision to close the Neiman Marcus Downtown Dallas store is final, and we are moving forward as such, the conglomerate said in a statement. Barring some unforeseen divine intervention, The Store is set to close on March 31. That building is so much more than just a piece of architecture, said Ken Downing, who was fashion director of Neiman Marcus for years. It is a little bit like Queen Elizabethshe was always there, and Neiman Marcus was always there. When downtown Dallas flourished, when downtown Dallas was less favorable, you could always count on that beautiful moment when you walked in and Chanel No. 5 wafted through the doorways. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The story of Neiman Marcus is ultimately the story of a family, and really the story of one member of that family in particularthe inimitable Stanley Marcus, the so-called merchant prince of retail and an aesthete for the ages. Mr. Stanley, as he was known by virtually the entire city of Dallas, built Neiman Marcus into the sui generis retail establishment it became. The downtown store was his canvas, his laboratory, his Xanadu. Neiman Marcus In 1907 Stanleys father Herbert Marcus, alongside his aunt Carrie Marcus Neiman and Carries husband Al Neiman, founded what became Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas, albeit in a different location. The Store, as Stanley was fond of saying, was founded on pure bad judgment. The familys first foray into business, in sales promotion in Atlanta, had been so successful that it landed them with two offers: $25,000 in cash or a statewide franchise for a strange new product called Coca-Cola. The Marcuses took the cash, came home to Dallas, and opened their store. They were Jews in the segregated South, and they dreamed of a better, more beautiful world. So they built one. It was quite a gamblefor one thing, Dallas was not yet oil rich in 1907, and the average customer did not have the bottomless resources from black gold that would later define the Texan caricature. This was a city of cotton and cattle, with not so obvious a clientele. Besides, Dallas at the time was dominated by other retailers, such as Sanger Brothers, Titche-Goettinger, and A. Harris & Co. Neiman Marcus On September 8, 1907, the Dallas Morning News ran a full-page advertisement announcing the opening of a New and Exclusive Shopping Place for Fashionable Women. The young founders promised, We will be known as the Store of Quality and Superior Values. We shall be hypercritical in our selections. Only the finest productions of the best garment makers are good enough for us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of course, the rise of Neiman Marcus was not without its struggles, including within the family. Carrie Neiman, the founding matriarch, divorced her philandering husband Al in 1928, which was nothing less than a scandal at that time. Al left the firm, and it was Carrie, who never remarried, who was truly responsible for establishing The Stores particular reputation for refinement. Almost always in a simple black frock and a single strand of pearls, Carrie was a rare character, an independent woman and business owner at a time when she had hardly any peers. Whats more, she became the stores first buyer, traveling alone to New York, Paris, and London, which she scoured for the finest creations of silk, taffeta, and cashmere, all of which she brought back to Dallas, where they sold out almost instantly. When the original 50-foot storefront on the corner of Elm and Murphy streets burned to the ground in 1913, the Marcuses needed a new, bigger store, so they moved to Main and Ervay. It was there that Stanley built what can only be described as a total work of art. Yes, it sold suits, wedding dresses, and silver tea sets, like any number of department stores across the country, but to describe Neiman Marcus as a department store would be to miss the point: This was a place one came to not only to shop but also to dream about what life could be, what fanciful flights it might take, what spectacular joy it might one day bring. Zodiac Room Neiman Marcus was one of the first retail establishments to invest in a serious art collection, an endeavor that began in 1951 when Stanley bought Mariposa, a mobile by Alexander Calder. The Neiman Marcus Art Collection eventually included canvases by Fernand Leger and Georges Braque, which were displayed on the walls behind merchandise that Texas, and even the United States, had never before seen. Neiman Marcus was the first American retailer to carry Missoni and Elsa Schiaparelli and one of the first to carry Emilio Pucci. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1957, from his office on the executive floor of the downtown store, Mr. Stanley planned and painstakingly orchestrated the first of his legendary Fortnights, carnivals of art and fashion that were typically themed as love letters to foreign cultures. The first was dedicated to his beloved France, and the guest of honor was none other than Coco Chanel, who famously scraped her baked beans onto the red satin slippers of Elizabeth Arden at Stanleys ranch outside Dallas. Although full of stars and celebrities, the Fortnights also had another purpose. Ive always believed there was a bit of Walt Disney in Stanley, Downing said. Were the Fortnights a business-generating idea? Absolutely. But they were also a gift back to the city, a way of bringing culture to those who didnt necessarily have the means to get to it themselves. Cant get to France? No problem, well bring France to them. Neiman Marcus These days terms like innovation, authenticity, and customer engagement are thrown around in the retail business so frequently that they mean nothing. But Stanley Marcuss store truly was a font of innovation, and he perfected many of the things that today define experiential retail. Chief among these was the in-store fashion show, which he promoted as early as the 1940s. Then there was the restaurant, the famed Zodiac, a fine dining establishment headed by Helen Corbitt, arguably the countrys first celebrity chef. He was building a community when no one used that language, Downing said. The store was a community wherever it opened its doors. It was always filled with beautiful products from around the world, Katz said. But the real source of the stores magic and inspiration were the relationships between our hardworking sales team and their wonderful customers, the dedication of the buyers and suppliers who worked there, and the glamour of world famous designers who visited. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A particularly memorable moment was the 2013 visit of Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour, and Andre Leon Talley to the downtown store, where Lagerfeld received the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion, which Stanley and Carrie had established in 1938. The same prize has, over the years, gone to Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and Miuccia Prada. All of them came to the downtown store to claim their award, some of them long before Dallas became the sprawling city it is today. Neiman Marcus Loyal customers too cling to relationships they made at Neiman Marcus, which played an important social role in the city. The Zodiac, in particular, was a meeting ground for families, often across generations, even for those who wanted only the famous consomme and popovers with strawberry butter. Our family cherishes the memories weve madesavoring meals in the Zodiac Room, shopping for special moments, and, most importantly, building quality and lasting friendships at the store, said Jennifer Dix, the elected chair of the Crystal Charity Ball, a major event on the Dallas social calendar. The thing about being from Dallas is that no matter who you are or what your family did, you remember going to Neimans with your grandmother. Mine loved the Pucci and the strawberry soft-serve. In the old days everyone, truly everyone, came into The Store during Christmastimeto take a photo with Santa or to admire the decorations. For years Neiman Marcus even sponsored the Dallas Holiday Parade, the citys largest single-day outdoor event. Patrick McMullan - Getty Images But more than the temple of a bygone era, The Store was a pillar of the community, the closest thing to a piazza that Dallas ever had. In a city of highways and suburban sprawl, it was one of the few places where the different factions of society actually came into contact with one another. It should come as no surprise that, in the 1950s and 60s, Mr. Stanley was an early advocate for desegregation, far earlier than the rest of the Dallas elite. Neiman Marcus opened its doors to all customers before they were welcome at most other places. The legacy of The Store is that story, too. To close it down is to close a window not only into what Dallas once was but into what it might still be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether it becomes offices or condos, the downtown store is destined to become a relic of a glorious past. As Katz put it, Ultimately, the Neiman Marcus Downtown store will continue to live in the memories of generations of customers, employees, and visitors. They really were beautiful memories while they lasted. You Might Also Like EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha didnt hold back when criticizing Gov. Dan McKee for rejecting his proposal to give his office more funding and staff amid legal battles with the Trump administration. Neronha also gave his thoughts on pushing back against Trump and the proposal being denied on 12 News at 4 Tuesday. Ed Fitzpatrick, a reporter for Boston Globe RI, joined 12 News at 4 Thursday to talk about a discussion he had with Neronha on the Rhode Island Report podcast about the proposal and his plans for 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read the full story in The Boston Globe Rhode Island: R.I. AG Neronha blasts Governor McKee for denying additional funding as his office battles Trump MORE: Globe RI & 12 News Stories 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. March has been a month of boycotts for consumers around the United States. Shoppers have boycotted Nestle over the past week while a 40-day "fast" of Target continues through mid-April. The two are the latest actions in a series of recent spending protests aimed at companies that have rolled back DEI initiatives. In recent months, major corporations across the U.S., including retailers like Walmart and Target, have reversed such policies several of which began shifting prior to President Donald Trump returning to office and taking action to eliminate federal DEI programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though there have been various actions, The People's Union USA organized the 24-hour economic spending blackout on Feb. 28 and are also behind recent week-long boycotts. The group, led by John Schwarz, has scheduled more for the coming months. More: Kohl's no longer using 'DEI' term in its annual report. 'Inclusion and Belonging' replaces it As the Nestle boycott comes to an end, here's what to know about ongoing and upcoming actions: When does the Nestle boycott end? The week-long Nestle boycott concludes Friday, March 28. More: A Nestle DEI boycott begins this week. What Wisconsinites should know about latest spending freeze When does the 40-day Target boycott end? The 40-day Target boycott, organized by Atlanta Pastor Jamal Bryant and other faith leaders, coincides with the duration of Lent. It ends on Thursday, April 17. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Organizers created targetfast.org for more information on the protest. More: A 40-day boycott of Target begins this week. Here's what Wisconsinites should know about it What consumer boycotts are upcoming? The People's Union USA has more consumer boycotts through July, including a newly announced three-day economic blackout scheduled for Easter weekend. Here's the schedule: Nestle : March 21-28 Walmart : April 7-14 and May 20-26 Second economic blackout : April 18-20 General Mills : April 21-28 Amazon : May 6-12 Target : June 3-9 McDonald's : June 24-30 Independence Day boycott: July 4 Moreover, the Latino Freeze Movement is urging the Latino community to be selective in where they shop in response to the rollback on DEI policies, NIH funding cuts and immigration actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The movement is urging shoppers to hold and save spending money, shopping only for essentials and supporting Latino American, Black American and Allied American Businesses that are supportive to this movement. The National Action Network, founded by Rev. Al Sharpton, said in a Feb. 25 news release that it will announce an authorized boycott at the NAN Convention in early April. More: Supporting DEI and maintaining services. Takeaways from David Crowley's State of the County speech This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: DEI boycotts: What to know about upcoming boycotts in Wisconsin On Oct. 13, 1869, Ewing Israel Thrapp was born in Newark to lumber bookkeeper Marcus Thrapp and his wife, Hannah Ewing-Thrapp. In addition to Ewing, the couple had four sons and two daughters. The family lived on South Fourth Street near Walnut Street. In June 1886, Ewing enlisted with Company G of the Newark Guard as a private. A few months later, on Sept. 25, 1886, he enlisted in the United States Navy, just a few months shy of turning 18. In Coasters Harbor, Rhode Island, he received training on board the USS New Hampshire. Upon transfer to the USS Portsmouth, he sailed for Europe and the West Indies. The death of his father took place while he was at sea in August 1887. Ewing was then assigned to the U.S. steamer Minnesota in New York Harbor. His next duty station was aboard the armored cruiser USS Boston. When the Haitian government seized the American schooner, William Jones and the United States steamer Haytian Republic in November 1888, the Boston was ordered to Haiti. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A letter from Ewing dated Nov. 9, 1888, was published Nov. 24 in the Newark Daily Advocate. The letter was sent to his family from Port-au-Prince: We were ordered here to release a steamer and schooner that the Haitian government had captured. We have had considerable trouble in regard to the matter. The Haitians released the schooner but say they will fight before they release the steamer. Mr. Ramsey the commander of the Boston, endeavored to go on board the steamer this morning to consult with the captain of her, but the guard over her swore that they would shoot him if he did. This made him pretty angry, and he said if he did not get word from Washington in a day or two, he would steam right up to her, give her a line and tow her out to sea. He also said if their ship fired at us, he will blow every ship Haiti has to hades. We can do it too, for Haiti has only four men of war and they are quite small. We do not know how long we will remain here. Give my regards to all Newark friends. It was only two days later that The Advocate published the sad news that Boston had arrived at the port in New York carrying a dreadful yellow flag signifying yellow fever aboard the vessel. As a result of the disease, four men had died, including Ewing, who died four days before the publication of his letter. A letter from Captain Ramsey of the USS Boston informed Ewing's mother that her son had died of yellow fever and was buried at sea, as reported Dec. 1 in The Advocate. Moreover, the captain stated that her son's "dearest hope was to return home and provide some assistance to his widowed mother. He looked forward to his return with the keenest delight and never tired of talking about the comforts of home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was later reported that 19-year-old Ewing Israel Thrapp had been buried at sea 30 miles off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. However, if you are walking in Section 6 at Cedar Hill Cemetery, you may notice his memorial tombstone, which has the inscription, "Buried at Sea, USS Boston." Doug Stout is the local history coordinator for the Licking County Library. You may contact him at 740-349-5571 or dstout@lickingcountylibrary.org. His book "Never Forgotten: The Stories of Licking County Veterans" is available for purchase at the library or online at bookbaby.com. This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: 'Buried at sea,' Newark native Ewing Thrapp served aboard USS Boston NUUK, Greenland, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Greenland announced the formation of a new autonomous government on Friday in Nuuk, the capital, just hours ahead of a visit by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance to the Arctic island. At a ceremony held at the Katuaq Cultural Center, four political parties, representing 23 of the 31 seats in Greenland's parliament, signed a coalition agreement to establish the new autonomous government. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, chairman of the Demokraatit (Democratic Party), will serve as prime minister. Following the announcement, the venue erupted in prolonged applause from local residents. "I hope the new government can speak out on behalf of the people of Greenland," said Aviaja Martinsen, a local citizen, in an interview with Xinhua. Vance is expected to arrive later in the day, amid heightened sensitivity surrounding U.S. interest in the region. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to acquire Greenland, a strategically located and resource-rich autonomous territory of Denmark. Vance and his wife Usha, accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and other senior officials, are scheduled to tour a U.S. military base on the island, a visit viewed by officials in both Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation amid Trump's ongoing efforts to assert greater U.S. influence in the Arctic. Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it became an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1979, it gained home rule, expanding its autonomy, while Denmark retained control over foreign affairs and defense policy. EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) This week on Newsmakers: Rhode Island Congressman Seth Magaziner discusses President Trumps first two months in office, the Signal chat scandal, divides among Democrats, his change of plans on moving to his district and more. Prefer your Newsmakers on the go? Subscribe to our podcast! Apple | Spotify Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Olumide Olorunfunmi, a Nigerian national, appeared in federal court in Charlotte Friday, March 28, and pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy for laundering millions in criminal proceeds linked to romance scams and business email compromise schemes. According to documents filed with the court and Fridays plea hearing, the scheme caused more than 125 victims to transfer over $4.5 million in proceeds stemming from illegal activities. Two of Olorunfunmis co-conspirators, both Nigerian nationals, have also pleaded guilty to federal charges and are awaiting sentences. Samson Amos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Emmanuel Unuigbe pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Olorunfunmi admitted in court, from 2020 through 2023, Olorunfunmi conspired with Amos, Unuigbe and others to launder the criminal proceeds of various illegal activities, including romance scams that typically targeted elderly victims and business email compromise schemes. Court records show that the victims of the schemes were directed to transfer funds into domestic and international bank accounts controlled by Olorunfunmi and his co-conspirators. Upon receiving the fraud proceeds, Olorunfunmi and his co-conspirators transferred the funds to other bank accounts, in the U.S. and overseas. Olorunfunmi, Amos and Unuigbe profited by keeping a portion of the criminal proceeds obtained through the schemes. They also profited by agreeing to pay for the domestic deposits received by others by transferring Nigerian Naira from accounts the co-conspirators controlled in Nigeria to other accounts in Nigeria, based upon a black market exchange rate for United States Dollars to Naira. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The charge of money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Mar. 27Key Takeaways The National Institutes of Health will stop funding new research on climate change and its effects on healthThe move is part of a broader plan to pull funding for topics like LGBTQ+ and diversity, equity and inclusionExperts warn the cuts could harm public health THURSDAY, March 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will no longer fund new research on how climate change affects people's health, according to records reviewed by ProPublica. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new directive was shared internally with staff last week. It follows other action to stop NIH support for studies related to gender identity, LGBTQ+ health, vaccine hesitancy and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). While it's unclear if current climate-health studies will lose their funding, the guidance appears to block any new research opportunities on the issue. Dr. Lisa Patel, executive director of The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, called the move "catastrophic" and said its impact on needed research would be "devastating," according to the ProPublica report. "This is an administration where industry voices rule and prevail," Patel said. "This is an agenda item for the fossil fuel industry, and this administration is doing what the fossil fuel industry wants." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As extreme weather events from hurricanes and heat waves to wildfires and floods have become more frequent, the NIH has funded hundreds of projects looking at the effects of climate on health. The agency launched a Climate Change and Health Initiative in 2021, which received $40 million in funding in both 2023 and 2024. That program and two others focused on climate and health were quietly shuttered last month. The new guidance halts all future climate-health research funding across NIH, regardless of its link to previous programs. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the agency is cutting research that doesn't align with its new priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "At HHS, we are dedicated to restoring our agencies to their tradition of upholding gold-standard, evidence-based science," the spokesperson said. "As we begin to Make America Healthy Again, it's important to prioritize research that directly affects the health of Americans. We will leave no stone unturned in identifying the root causes of the chronic disease epidemic as part of our mission to Make America Healthy Again." Former NIH scientist Linda Birnbaum said this isn't the first time politics has shaped science funding. During Trump's first term, researchers removed the term "climate change," referring instead to "climate and health." "If NIH doesn't study the health impacts of climate, we are not going to be able to prevent some of those health impacts, and we aren't going to be able to find ways to deal with them," Birnbaum said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A December NIH report listed ongoing climate-related research on wildfire smoke, heat and fertility, and mosquito-borne diseases like dengue. That report has since been taken offline. "We can see with our own eyes how extreme heat and extreme weather are harming people's health," Veena Singla, an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, told ProPublica. The NIH decision is part of a larger agenda under President Donald Trump to slash federal spending on climate issues and boost fossil fuel production. His administration is also considering closing the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) scientific research office, which could affect more than 1,000 jobs, according to a report from The New York Times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he believes in climate change. But experts such as Patel said he has not taken action to support that belief. "What we can readily see, from the things that RFK Jr. is allowing to happen and unwilling to weigh in on, he is not going to be an anti-industry voice," Patel said. "He is not there to follow the best science." More information The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has more on climate change and human health. SOURCE: ProPublica, March 24, 2025 What This Means For You If new climate/health studies are blocked, experts say chances to protect people from future health threats tied to extreme weather may be missed. Nikola founder Trevor Milton said Thursday that President Trump pardoned him for his 2022 conviction of misleading investors about the electric vehicle makers technology. I just got a call from the president of the United States on my phone, and he signed my full and unconditional pardon of innocence. I am free, Milton said in a video posted Thursday to social platform X. The prosecutors can no longer hurt me; they cant destroy my family; they cant rip everything away from me; they cant ruin my life. Milton was convicted of securities and wire fraud charges in 2022 for overstating claims about Nikolas production of zero-emission 18-wheel trucks. Investors lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was sentenced to four years in prison but had not yet been incarcerated while appealing the case. A White House official confirmed Miltons pardoning but did not provide further details. No official pardon notice was posted to the Justice Department or White House websites as of Friday morning. Milton celebrated the pardon Thursday, writing it is not just about me but every American who has been railroaded by the government. Unfortunately, thats a lot of people, he said. It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing. I saw firsthand the tactics they use to guarantee convictions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump cared enough to call me personally to tell me how much of an injustice this all was done by the same offices that harassed and prosecuted him, Milton said, referring to the numerous criminal cases against the president. The announcement comes about a month after Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after losing hundreds of millions amid the scandal surrounding Milton. The Arizona company also filed a motion seeking permission to pursue an auction and sale of the business, The Associated Press reported. During Miltons trial, prosecutors focused on a company video of a prototype truck appearing to be going down a desert highway, but said it was actually a video of a nonworking Nikola rolling down a hill, the newswire added. Prosecutors alleged Milton falsely claimed to build a truck that was, in reality, a General Motors product with a Nikola logo stamp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The founder resigned in 2020 amid the fraud allegations and plummeting stock prices. One of Miltons attorneys is Bradley Bondi, the brother of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. The U.S. attorneys office for the Southern District of New York, which prosecuted Milton, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump was also convicted by this office in a criminal hush money trial last year. Trump has pardoned various other individuals in his first two months in office, including nearly all of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection defendants on his first day in office. Earlier this week, Trump pardoned Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, who was convicted on federal fraud charges in 2018. Former Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey, who was imprisoned for a campaign finance scheme, was pardoned by the president earlier this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On his second day in office, Trump signed a full pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the controversial online marketplace Silk Road. 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 The Hill. (Bloomberg) -- Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton, who was convicted of fraud over misrepresentations about the electric-truck makers financial progress, was pardoned by President Donald Trump. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milton, who said on social media Thursday that he spoke with Trump over the phone, was facing four years in prison for securities and wire fraud. A jury in 2022 found him guilty of falsifying key details about the development of Nikolas products and technology. Robert Frenchman, a lawyer for Miltons trial team, said in a text that his client is just delighted. A White House official on Friday confirmed the pardon. Milton maintained his innocence throughout the trial, saying that his communications were driven by his true belief in the company. His prison sentence was put on hold while he appeals his conviction. Miltons pardon is the latest Trump has granted since he returned to the White House in January. Earlier this year, he announced a mass clemency for more than 1,500 people convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a social media post on X on Thursday, Milton said Trump called me personally to tell me about the pardon. In a statement, Milton said the pardon marks a step towards fulfilling Trumps promise to end the political weaponization of the Justice Department. Speaking to reporters in the oval office Friday, Trump said Milton was taken advantage of and alleged that he was targeted by prosecutors because of his support for the president. When I heard about it, I said, nope, not going to happen, Trump said. They destroyed five years of his life, and added that Milton did nothing wrong and that he is a good person. Milton made more than $2 million in political donations late last year, much of which went to Republican causes, Federal Election Commission records show. His largest donation was $920,000 to Trump 47 Committee Inc in October. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milton had amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune off the startup he launched in 2014 and took public six years later. The companys market value soared as investors piled into prospective EV stocks, so much that Nikolas market capitalization briefly exceeded that of Ford Motor Co. despite not having sold a single truck. But soon after Nikola began trading, Bloomberg News reported that Milton had greatly exaggerated the capabilities of one of its first prototypes, the Nikola One, describing it as a fully functioning vehicle even though the truck couldnt be driven at the time because of missing parts. Milton stepped down as executive chairman in September 2020. He was charged by federal prosecutors the following July. The US this month asked the court to order Milton to pay $660.8 million in restitution to individual investors. Its unclear how Trumps pardon will affect restitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nikola filed for bankruptcy last month, saying it was exploring a sale of its assets after entering Chapter 11 in Delaware. In court documents, it listed total funded debt and lease obligations of $98 million. The company has since won court permission to auction its Arizona manufacturing facility. --With assistance from Ava Benny-Morrison, Bill Allison, Richard Clough and Ryan Beene. (Updates with comments from Trump in the oval office in paragraph seven.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Electric vehicle company Nikola's founder, Trevor Milton, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. Milton said in an Instagram video that Trump called and gave him a "full and unconditional" pardon. He was sentenced to prison in 2023 for misleading investors about the capabilities of Nikola's trucks. The founder and former CEO of bankrupt EV startup Nikola Motors has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. Trevor Milton was sentenced to four years in prison in 2023 for fraud after misleading investors about Nikola's hydrogen and electric trucks. He had been free pending appeal of his conviction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a video posted on Instagram on Thursday, he said that Trump had personally called to say he would receive a "full and unconditional" pardon. The White House confirmed the pardon to Business Insider. Milton founded Nikola in 2014 and oversaw the company's rapid rise. At one point, the truckmaker was worth more than Ford. However, he stepped down in 2020 after a damning report from short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged that Nikola had exaggerated the capabilities of its trucks and faked publicity videos including by rolling a truck down a hill to make it look like it was driving. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A BI investigation previously found the Milton had a history of bending the truth, falsely stating the Nikola One zero-emissions truck showcased at a splashy unveiling in 2016 was fully functional. People who had worked with Milton told BI at the time the Nikola founder had exaggerated the success of previous ventures, and painted an overly rosy picture of Nikola's technology and achievements. Despite recovering somewhat after Milton's departure, Nikola ultimately filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month after facing a cash crunch. Earlier this month, a judge ordered Milton to pay $680 million in restitution to Nikola shareholders and $15 million to investor Peter Hicks. Those payments may now be in doubt following the pardon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milton, who praised Trump in his video, made a series of political donations to Republicans late last year. Federal records show that Milton's donations included $920,000 to a Trump fundraising committee. "The greatest comeback story in America is about to happen," he said in the video. Representatives for Milton did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider (Conceptual image/Getty Photos) Billions in recently eliminated federal grants to state health agencies wont impact New Mexicos efforts to combat the measles outbreak, according to Health Department Communications Director Robert Nott. Nott told Source on Friday the agency had identified $60 million in lost grants, and was still evaluating the impact on its programs. But none of it is touching measles, he said, noting that the state would use federal and state funds to keep all positions. We did lose 37 temporary contract staff, he noted, but nothing is going to touch the measles battle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Friday, the state had a total of 44 cases, with one new report since Tuesday in Lea County, which now reports 42 cases. Eddy County has the remaining two cases. While only two new cases were reported in total this week, Nott cautioned against complacency about the outbreak. We dont want to be at all overconfident about this, he said. We want people to be aware, we want them to seek out MMR vaccines if they want them. This could be a lull, but this is an incredibly contagious disease and we are not taking for granted that its over or close to over. Of New Mexicos cases, 23 afflicted people over the age of 18; 13 were among the ages of 5 and 17; and eight cases included children 4 years old and younger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The quirk of New Mexicos nearly even split between children and adults with measles infections is due in part to the small number of reports, New Mexico Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Chad Smelser told Source, particularly compared to Texas. Texas health officials on Friday reported 400 cases since the outbreak began in late January: a 22% increase since Tuesday. Health officials have found identical strains in measles cases in both Kansas and New Mexico that match genetic samples from Texas, the World Health Organization reported on Thursday. While the genetic data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remains preliminary, Smelser said, it shows a link to the outbreak which started in neighboring Gaines County, Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are comfortable linking the measles cases in Texas as having the same virus we see circulating in New Mexico, he told Source. The other reasons for the age spread here, Smelser said, may include factors like hesitancy to see a doctor and the challenge for NMDOH to count all the measles cases. We dont have lab testing on everybody and so sometimes that can make it a little difficult to count all the cases, Smelser said. Also, we know in this outbreak that we have folks who are hesitant to seek medical care and get tested, some of those are likely to be kids. The agency has a team of nurses and epidemiologists trying to trace the spread of the virus by contacting patients currently with measles or suspected cases, and hospitals treating them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Working with us is the most helpful thing for us all to protect our communities and our loved ones, as well as being fully vaccinated, Smelser said. The Department of Health is ready to help people if they need to test as well as if theyre in need of getting caught up on their vaccinations. According to Nott, between Feb. 1 and March 25, more than 14,100 New Mexicans received the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine across the state, more than double from last year, so we remain really encouraged, he said. Vaccines remain available to walk-in patients at numerous public health patients, and at vaccination clinics scheduled throughout the state. NMDOH directs any questions about measles tests, symptoms or vaccines to the Helpline at 1-833-796-8773. The helpline is staffed by nurses who can answer questions in English or Spanish. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles, an extremely contagious respiratory virus, spreads via contact with droplets in the air, which can linger for hours. People can spread the virus several days before symptoms including fever, spotty red rash, cough, runny nose or red eyes appear. About one in five cases is serious enough to warrant hospitalization, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Complications from measles include brain swelling, blindness, pneumonia and death. The deaths earlier this year of a 6-year old Texas child, and a Lea County adult, both unvaccinated, are the first measles deaths in the U.S. in 10 years. Vaccine records can be found at the Vax View website or by calling the NMDOH immunization program at 1-833-882-6454, available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Julia Goldberg contributed reporting to this story. BIDDEFORD, Maine Jeremiah Godfrey was ordered held without bail Friday as he appeared in court to face a murder charge alleging he shot his girlfriend, Sherri Sweet, 37, in their South Berwick home last weekend. Justice James Martemucci asked Godfrey if he understood the charge against him. Godfrey replied, Yes, your honor. The judge asked defense attorney Justin Leary if he had informed his client about his rights and the complaint. Leary said yes. Godfrey, 43, admitted in two interviews with police he had pulled the trigger on a pistol Saturday, March 22 inside the 48 Brattle St. residence, according to a Maine State Police affidavit. He told police he takes full (expletive) responsibility for the fatal shot. Murder suspect Jeremiah Godfrey sits in court with his lawyer at York Judicial Center in Biddeford Friday, March 28, 2025. On Friday in court, the judge explained it was Godfrey's initial appearance with no plea to be entered at this time. He explained to Godfrey the grand jury process and said, if convicted, Godfrey would received a prison sentence ranging from 25 years to life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maine Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue was in court for the prosecution. Godfrey was to be returned to York County jail in Alfred following the court appearance. While in court, he waved to three friends in attendance. What led to Sherri Sweet's death Murder suspect Jeremiah Godfrey is led out of the York Judicial Center in Biddeford Friday, March 28, 2025. Godfrey allegedly admitted hed had a couple of drinks before arguing with Sweet about Godfreys lack of communication with Sherri throughout the day on Saturday. Godfrey allegedly said he expressed his intent to leave the residence during the course of the fight. Godfrey allegedly admitted to then grabbing a pistol and told police Sweet faced him as they walked down a staircase during the reported struggle over the gun. He stated the shooting was a bad mishap on his behalf, the affidavit states. He said Sweet faced him on a staircase and described a struggle over the gun before it fired, stating he had pulled the trigger, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Details from murder suspect Jeremiah Godfrey's interview with police Sweet died Sunday, March 23 at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in New Hampshire. An autopsy by the New Hampshire medical examiner states the bullet entered the back of her head and exited her body above her left eye. The medical examiner ruled her death was a homicide. Murder suspect Jeremiah Godfrey is led into the York Judicial Center in Biddeford Friday, March 28, 2025. Godfrey was arrested Wednesday in South Berwick by Maine State Police. Maine State Police homicide detective Justin Huntley, who interviewed Godfrey, wrote the affidavit on the investigation following the fatal incident. Domestic violence rising in Maine, advocates say Fifteen of the 35 homicides recorded in Maine last year were linked to domestic violence, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finding Our Voices, a domestic abuse and violence survivor support organization, has counted 20 domestic violence deaths in Maine since February 2024. Including Sweets death, the victims include 10 women, seven children and three men, according to the nonprofit. If you need help As a community service, the following information is published with stories in which domestic and/or sexual violence is alleged. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, reach out to Caring Unlimited at 1-800-239-7298 for support. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: No bail for Jeremiah Godfrey, suspect in South Berwick murder In late March 2025, social media users began spreading a rumor that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has an account on Grindr, the gay dating app. People posted screenshots of an alleged conversation between Johnson and another Grindr user on platforms including Threads, Bluesky and TikTok, where the claim appears to be most popular. Some users also spread the rumor without showing the screenshots. These rumors originated from TikTok user @cjbakerfitness, who posted two TikTok videos on March 23, 2025, purporting to show Johnson on Grindr. In another March 23 video, @cjbakerfitness claimed the FBI asked him to take the screenshots down and that the images were sent to him by "someone on Instagram" who "said that this was true and had taken place in D.C. and that if I wouldn't mind sharing it, he would really appreciate that." This claim is unsubstantiated as of this writing, as @cjbakerfitness did not provide the name or any identifying details regarding the supposed person on Instagram who sent him the screenshots, nor did he return a request for comment as of this writing. Screenshots such as the ones posted are easy to fake and cannot be considered legitimate evidence without further proof; the image used of Johnson is publicly available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson's office did not provide a statement for publication; the FBI did not immediately return a request for comment. In the supposed Grindr messages between Johnson and another user, Johnson allegedly offered to take the user to "the Dabney," presumably a reference to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Washington, D.C., and one of the most popular restaurants in the district, according to Washingtonian Magazine. Johnson has a wife and often expresses anti-LGBTQ+ views; it seems unlikely he would go on a Grindr date in a setting as public as The Dabney. The screenshots also show the purported Johnson saying he is trying to be "very discreet" and then sending a picture of Johnson. These comments are inherently contradictory, as Johnson is one of the most recognizable faces on Capitol Hill due to his status and power. Finally, the picture of Johnson in the screenshots is available (archived) in a March 4, 2025, post on Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser's X account weeks before @cjbakerfitness initially posted the purported screenshots meaning it would be easy for someone to make fake screenshots using a cropped version of this photo. President @realDonaldTrump returns to Capitol Hill tonight for his joint session address to Congress. This morning, @HouseGOP members gathered to discuss the Renewal of the American Dream, hearing powerful remarks from the Miracle on Ice team, including Captain Mike Eruzione, pic.twitter.com/uK3yMvVX6H Congressman Dan Meuser (@RepMeuser) March 4, 2025 Snopes has previously debunked claims connected to Johnson's socially conservative views, including that he "did extensive studies of homosexual relationships" in college and that he had a business relationship with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Sources: Johnson, Mike. " 'Kelly and I Celebrate 25 Years of Marriage Today & I Have Never Been More Grateful for This Extraordinary Woman with Whom I Have Been Blessed to Build a Life and an Amazing Family. A Quarter Century Has Gone by so Fast. I'm so Thankful for Every Moment of It. "an Excellent Wife Is the Crown of Her Husband." (Prov. 12:4).'" Instagram, 1 May 2024, www.instagram.com/speakermjohnson/p/C6bQ4SAOqe3/?hl=en&img_index=1. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lavietes, Matt. "New House Speaker's Views on LGBTQ Issues Come under Fresh Scrutiny." NBC News, 26 Oct. 2023, www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/mike-johnson-house-speaker-lgbtq-views-scrutiny-rcna122317. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Meuser, Dan. "President @RealDonaldTrump Returns to Capitol Hill Tonight for His Joint Session Address to Congress. This Morning, @HouseGOP Members Gathered to Discuss the 'Renewal of the American Dream,' Hearing Powerful Remarks from the Miracle on Ice Team, Including Captain Mike Eruzione, @SecDef Hegseth, @SpeakerJohnson , and Others. Their Words Served as a Reminder of American Resilience and Determination. I Look Forward to Hearing President Trump's Vision for the Future and His Administration's Continued Efforts to Build a Safer, Stronger, and More Competitive America." X (Formerly Twitter), 4 Mar. 2025, x.com/repmeuser/status/1896948736741212350?s=46&t=caUW0ZMJ7FbNPdHxw9lEYw. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. "ROUNDUP: Speaker Mike Johnson's Extreme Record Dominates Coverage." Human Rights Campaign, 1 Nov. 2023, www.hrc.org/press-releases/roundup-speaker-mike-johnsons-extreme-record-dominates-coverage. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Sidman, Jessica. "The Dabney Aims to Amp up the Elegance with Renovation and New Tasting Menu." Washingtonian - the Website That Washington Lives By., 20 July 2022, www.washingtonian.com/2022/07/20/the-dabney-aims-to-amp-up-the-elegance-with-renovation-and-new-tasting-menu/. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. "The Dabney." Thedabney.com, thedabney.com/. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Greek National Day is celebrated on March 25. (Kat Nickola) Greek National Day on March 25th is one of the most significant events in Greeces calendar. On this day, the country celebrates its independence from Ottoman rule, which began with the Greek uprising in 1821. The holiday is not only a symbol of freedom and self-determination but is also deeply rooted in Greeces traditions and cultural heritage. Historical Background March 25, 1821, marks the beginning of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. The struggle for freedom lasted nearly a decade and was supported by many international allies, including Philhellenes from Europe. One of the most famous moments of the revolution was the proclamation by Bishop Germanos of Patras at the Monastery of Agia Lavra, where he raised the flag of the uprising. This event later became a powerful symbol of the Greek fight for freedom. Greek National Day is celebrated on March 25. (MMag. Alexander G Grill) Celebrations in Greece The National Day is celebrated throughout Greece with various events. One of the most notable is the grand military parade in Athens, where the Greek armed forces, veterans, and student groups march through the streets. This parade is attended by the President of the Republic and high-ranking government officials. On the eve of the holiday, schools hold celebrations where students recite poems, sing songs, and perform plays reenacting the events of the independence movement. This tradition aims to strengthen historical awareness among younger generations. In smaller towns and villages, local parades and commemorations also take place, often featuring traditional dances and music. A solemn church service is also held to honor those who sacrificed their lives for Greeces freedom. A special aspect of the National Day is the traditional food. Since March 25 falls during the Orthodox fasting period, the meal of the day is usually Bakaliaros Skordalia fried cod with a garlic-potato puree. This dish has a long history in Greece and combines both religious and national traditions. Greek National Day is celebrated on March 25. (MMag. Alexander G Grill) Importance for the Diaspora The day is not only celebrated in Greece but also among Greek communities worldwide. In cities with large Greek populations, such as New York, Melbourne and Toronto, parades and commemorative events take place. These celebrations help preserve cultural identity and maintain a strong connection to the homeland. Greek National Day is more than just a historical commemoration. It is a display of national pride, cultural heritage and the identity of a people who fought for their freedom. The combination of tradition, religion and a sense of community makes this day one of the most important celebrations in Greece and beyond. Smoke from the Table Rock wildfire in northern Pickens County near the North Carolina border can be seen on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Wildfires in the Upstate have grown exponentially over the past week, forcing mandatory evacuations as weather conditions and debris from Hurricane Helene impede efforts to stop the flames spreading. No structures have been damaged, and no injuries or deaths have been reported, officials said during a Friday media briefing, one week after the first of the two fires started. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Together, the fires in Greenville and Pickens counties had burned more than 10,600 total acres as of Friday morning, officials said. Both fires, which officials said were manmade, remained 0% contained. A statewide burn ban remains in effect. Four teenage hikers have been questioned by police about the Table Rock fire, and charges are pending, according to the Pickens County Sheriffs Office. For more information Call (864) 467-3428 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. for more information on evacuations and shelters. Source: SC Forestry Commission The fires prompted mandatory evacuations for people nearest the flames. About 1,400 homes were evacuated as of Thursday morning, according to Greenville County Emergency Management. A shelter set up at Marietta First Baptist Church had about 20 people staying there Friday morning, said Kim Stenson, director of the state Emergency Management Division. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fire is the largest mountain wildfire in state history, surpassing a 2016 fire in the same area that burned 10,000 acres. Weve never had a fire quite like this, Gov. Henry McMaster said. Downed trees and other debris knocked loose when Hurricane Helene hit the state as a tropical storm in September are complicating matters, said Scott Phillips, head of the state Forestry Commission. Firefighters are struggling to get equipment onto paths blocked by the storm. Some trees fell across established fire breaks, meaning crews have to saw through logs to keep the fire from spreading even further. Dried-out timber also created more fuel for the fire. While that hasnt been the primary concern yet, it could become a much bigger issue of the flames reach areas where timber cleared from roads still sits in stacks, Phillips said. Table Rock in northern Pickens County is obscured by smoke from a wildfire on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) The debris is going to change the way we have to attack fires in the mountains of South Carolina and in the Hurricane Helene-impacted areas, Phillips said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement High winds combined with recent dry conditions have made the fires particularly difficult to contain. Crews have been working to create perimeters cleared of debris that the fire cant cross, but the wind has carried embers from the Table Rock over barriers as wide as 40 feet, Phillips said. With these fires and the conditions were facing in the state right now, the dryness of the fuel, the extreme low humidities, the high winds that were having, containment is very, very difficult to achieve, Phillips said. Embers ignited parts of Table Rock State Park earlier this week, Phillips said. Table Rock, Caesars Head and Jones Gap state parks remained closed Friday, according to the state parks department. State Law Enforcement Division and National Guard teams had dropped more than 700,000 gallons of water on the fire by Friday, agency directors said. Air tankers dropped thousands of gallons of fire retardant along the northern edge of the fires Thursday, according to the Forestry Commission. Among them was a very large air tanker, which the commission used for the first time in the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SLED has also been helping police monitor evacuated neighborhoods to prevent looting and keep roads clear of spectators who have been congregating, said SLED Chief Mark Keel. Much of the firefighters focus has been on protecting nearby structures, officials said. One way of doing that is through burnout operations, in which crews intentionally light fires they can closely monitor to reduce the fuel leading up to buildings, slowing the uncontrolled wildfire. The fires are visible from miles around, said House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, who lives about 7 miles from the blaze in Pickens. His home isnt within the current evacuation zone, but he can see the glow of the fire on the side of the mountain from his front porch, he said. Theres smoke everywhere, Hiott said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The high winds died down slightly Friday, helping matters somewhat, officials said. The National Weather Service is predicting rain Sunday and Monday, which could help firefighters control the blaze. Pray for the men and women out here, and pray for rain, Hiott said. A fire near Myrtle Beach that ignited last month continues to burn. At about 2,000 acres, that fire is about 85% contained and has damaged no structures or killed any people, Phillips said. This month, the Forestry Commission has responded to more than 370 fires that burned more than 18,000 acres total, Phillips said. Thats orders of magnitude more than the commission usually sees in a month, and more than it has seen in some years, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement April is typically the busiest month for forest fires, Phillips said. This is going to be a long season for us as we move forward, he said. Smoke from the Table Rock wildfire envelops Saluda Hill Baptist Church in Cleveland, S.C., on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Smoke from a wildfire obscures Table Rock in northern Pickens County on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Smoke from the Table Rock wildfire in northern Pickens County obscures the sun on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smoke from the Table Rock wildfire fills the skies in northern Pickens County near sundown on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Sun shines through smoke from the Table Rock wildfire in northern Pickens County on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Smoke from the Table Rock wildfire in northern Pickens County near the North Carolina border can be seen on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Pickens County Sheriff's deputies block traffic on S.C. Highway 11, also known as Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway, due to the Table Rock wildfire on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smoke from the Table Rock wildfire envelops the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway (S.C. Highway 11) in northern Pickens County on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Table Rock in northern Pickens County is obscured by smoke from a wildfire on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Smoke from the Table Rock wildfire in northern Pickens County near the North Carolina border can be seen on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) A sign alerts traffic to a road closure due to the Table Rock wildfire in northern Pickens County on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sun shines through smoke from the Table Rock wildfire along a river near S.C. Highway 11 on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) Table Rock in northern Pickens County is obscured by smoke from a wildfire on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) A sign alerts traffic to a road closure due to the Table Rock wildfire in northern Pickens County on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) A norovirus outbreak on the Queen Mary 2, a luxury cruise ship, affected 183 passengers and 14 crew. About 7% of passengers on board reported symptoms during the voyage, per the CDC. Norovirus is highly contagious, with outbreaks especially common in hospitals and schools. A norovirus outbreak on a luxury Cunard cruise ship left almost 200 people sick, causing symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vessel Sanitation Program released details on Monday about the norovirus outbreak on the Queen Mary 2. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It said about 183 of the 2,538 passengers on board about 7% fell ill during the voyage. It also said that 14 of the 1,232 crew members also reported being sick during the journey. The ship departed England on March 8, according to CruiseMapper, sailing first to New York before continuing to the eastern Caribbean, with stops in Barbados, St Lucia, and Grenada. In an email statement to Business Insider, a Cunard spokesperson said a "small number of guests" reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness on the Queen Mary 2. "We are continuing to closely monitor the guests and, as a precaution, completed a comprehensive deep clean of the ship and immediately activated our enhanced health and safety protocols, which are proving to be effective," they added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Queen Mary 2, Cunard's flagship vessel, was the largest passenger ship ever built at the time of its construction. It has 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, and the first-ever planetarium at sea. The ship frequently makes transatlantic crossings, with ticket prices starting at around $1,400 per person, and luxury duplex suites upwards of $35,000. Although norovirus is sometimes referred to as the "cruise ship virus," outbreaks on cruise ships only account for about 1% of all reported cases in the US, according to the CDC. More common outbreak locations included healthcare facilities, restaurants, and schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's an extremely contagious virus, and is the leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea in the US. According to the CDC, there are about 2,500 reported norovirus outbreaks in the US each year. Norovirus can be spread through direct contact, eating food or drinking liquid contaminated with the virus, or touching contaminated surfaces. The CDC said that Cunard responded to the outbreak by increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures, isolating sick passengers and crew, collecting stool specimens for testing, and consulting with the Vessel Sanitation Program. A few days after Cunard reported the outbreak, a smaller norovirus outbreak was reported on a different cruise ship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the CDC, 7 of the 461 passengers and 22 of the 405 crew members reported being ill during a voyage on the Seabourn Encore, which belongs to Seabourn Cruise Line. Last week, BI reported on how passengers aboard Cunard's Queen Anne were advised to take precautions as the vessel navigated a piracy-prone area in Southeast Asia during its maiden world voyage. Passengers were told that promenade decks would be closed and only essential open-deck lights would remain on, to minimize the ship's visibility, and that they should keep their curtains drawn. The Queen Anne is Cunard's fourth luxury cruise ship and can accommodate 2,996 guests, in addition to 1,225 crew. Read the original article on Business Insider WASHINGTON (AP) A judge challenging the outcome of his North Carolina Supreme Court race was photographed wearing Confederate military garb and posing before a Confederate battle flag when he was a member of a college fraternity that glorified the pre-Civil War South. The emergence of the photographs comes at a delicate time for Jefferson Griffin, a Republican appellate judge who is seeking a spot on North Carolina's highest court. Griffin, 44, is facing mounting criticism including from some Republicans as he seeks to invalidate over 60,000 votes cast in last Novembers election, a still undecided contest in which he is trailing the Democratic incumbent by over 700 votes. The photographs, which were obtained by The Associated Press, are from when Griffin was a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1999-2003 and a member of the Kappa Alpha Order, one of the oldest and largest fraternities in the U.S., with tens of thousands of alumni. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Griffin said he regretted donning the Confederate uniform, which was customary during the fraternity's annual Old South ball. I attended a college fraternity event that, in hindsight, was inappropriate and does not reflect the person I am today, Griffin said in a statement. At that time, like many college students, I did not fully grasp such participations broader historical and social implications. Since then, I have grown, learned, and dedicated myself to values that promote unity, inclusivity, and respect for all people. One of the pictures, taken during the 2001 ball, shows Griffin and roughly two-dozen other fraternity members clad in Confederate uniforms. Another photograph from the spring of 2000 shows Griffin and other Kappa Alpha brothers in front of a large Confederate flag. He served in 2002 as his chapters president. Controversial fraternity Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kappa Alpha has proven to be a lightning rod for controversy over the decades, often due to the racist or insensitive actions of some of its members. A number of politicians have been forced to apologize for having worn Confederate costumes at the fraternity's functions or for being photographed in front of a Confederate flag. Griffin said Friday he voted in favor of a resolution prohibiting Kappa Alpha members from displaying the rebel battle flag at the groups national convention in 2001. The fraternity didnt ban the wearing of the Confederate uniforms until nearly a decade later, long after Griffin graduated. We believe in cultural humility, we respect the best parts of our organizations history, and through education we challenge our members to work for a better future. These things are not mutually exclusive, said Jesse Lyons, a spokesman for Kappa Alphas national office in Lexington, Virginia. The fraternity claims Robert E. Lee as its spiritual founder and long championed the Southern Lost Cause," a revisionist view of history that romanticizes the Confederacy and portrays the Civil War as a valiant struggle for states rights unrelated to the enslavement of Black people. In decades past, some Kappa Alpha chapters referred to themselves as a klan, a term that many viewed as an unsubtle wink to the Ku Klux Klan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The photographs featuring Griffin were taken at a time when many other Kappa Alpha chapters were reevaluating their celebration of the Confederacy. During Griffins time in the fraternity, some in his chapter questioned the appropriateness of dressing up in Confederate uniforms for the ball. Griffin opposed abandoning the tradition, according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal. The uniforms stayed. Griffin said he would not respond to unsubstantiated comments based on memories of 20-plus years past. In high school Griffin also expressed an affinity for Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general who led southern forces during the Civil War. In a 1998 feature on high school scholars of the week in The News & Observer of Raleigh newspaper, Griffin said Lee was his No. 1 choice to include on an ideal guest list for a party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clinging to traditions The Kappa Alpha Order was founded in 1865, not long after Lee surrendered to the Union Army, at a Virginia college where Lee served as president. At least one of the first members was a former rebel soldier who had served under Lee, who is revered by the fraternity as the ideal of gentlemanly Southern chivalry. For more than a century, Kappa Alpha threw Old South parties. They were formal affairs where the Confederate battle flag was flown and fraternity brothers dressed in replica Confederate gray uniforms and their dates wore antebellum-style hoop skirts. Sometimes they would ride through campus on horseback. Some Kappa Alpha chapters, particularly in the South, clung to their traditions, including the wearing of blackface, even as they drew protests and public sentiment shifted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Kappa Alpha Old South parade at Alabamas Auburn University in 1992 drew supporters waving Confederate battle flags, as well as counter protesters who burned them. In 1995, a group of Kappa Alpha members at the University of Memphis hurled racial slurs while beating a Black student who caused a disturbance outside a frat party, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported at the time. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was no exception to the turmoil. Under pressure from student groups, the school's Kappa Alpha chapter in 1985 canceled its annual Sharecroppers Ball," which some attended in blackface. Fraternity members said blackface was worn because the event needed both Black and white attendees, but promised to discontinue the practice, according to a news story in the Daily Tar Heel student newspaper. The Kappa Alpha chapter at North Carolinas Wake Forest University stopped allowing members to wear Confederate uniform and display the Confederate flag in 1987. But other chapters held on longer. It wasn't until Kappa Alpha members at the University of Alabama wore Confederate uniforms during a parade that paused in front of a Black sorority, which elicited intense blowback, that the national headquarters forbade them. Its unclear if the chapter at UNC banned the uniforms before the national organization did. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public officials face criticism over ties to fraternity Griffin is not the first public official to draw unwanted attention for their college-age embrace of symbols drawn from the darker chapters of the South's past. Virginia's then-governor, Democrat Ralph Northam, came under intense criticism in 2019 over a racist photo that appeared on his yearbook page of his medical school. The incident led reporters to scour the college histories of other Southern leaders, forcing a number of politicians to publicly address their time as Kappa Alpha brothers. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, then the states Republican lieutenant governor, dodged questions in 2019 about photos showing him wearing a Confederate uniform while he was a Kappa Alpha member at Millsaps College in the early 1990s. While Reeves was enrolled there in October 1994, other members of the fraternity were disciplined for wearing afro wigs and Confederate battle flags and shouting racial slurs at Black students, the AP reported at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declined to comment after yearbooks listed him as the leader of the fraternity's chapter at the University of South Carolina in 1969, along with photos of members wearing Confederate uniforms and posing with a rebel flag. And Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, also a Republican, expressed regret for participating in Old South parties as a student at Auburn University in the 1970s. ___ Contact APs global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/ Federal prosecutors in Vermont have charged two people from the North Country for allegedly bringing three undocumented citizens of India into the United States. Tyler Kenneth George Leavine, 34, of Dannemora, and Jody Lynn McGuire, 52, of Plattsburgh, were arrested Wednesday after the U.S. Border Patrol was tipped off to a smuggling attempt in Alburgh. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, Border Patrol agents in the area spotted a vehicle with a New York registration driving slowly up Hunter Road North. A Border Patrol camera caught several people running to the vehicle, which had stopped in a gas station parking lot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Border Patrol agents stopped the vehicle and found McGuire and Leavine in the front seat. The three Indians in the backseat were identified as Sandeep Chawla, 34, Jay Sisodiya Kumar, 27, and Chintan Patel, 29. They pleaded guilty to illegally entering the United States and were sentenced to time served. Prosecutors say McGuire and Leavine told Border Patrol agents that they had been paid to pick up and drive the undocumented immigrants. They face up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, if convicted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The city of North Las Vegas held its State of the City address on Thursday. The event focused on the citys accomplishments, upcoming projects, the mayors vision for the future, and her plan for North Las Vegas to be a complete city. A city that provides every opportunity our residents need to prosper and achieve their dreams without ever needing to leave home, Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown said. City leaders said their goal is to revitalize the city and keep up with the growth and demand of residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Revitalization in terms of community investment in some of the older parts of our community, in our parks, in law enforcement, in public safety. Were making strategic investments in all those areas, Mayor Pro Tempore and Councilman for Ward 3 Scott Black said. In her address, Mayor Goynes-Brown said the city is laying out six strategic goals: innovative, efficient, and stable government; infrastructure enhancement; community safety; economic growth; community health and well-being; and community identity and engagement. Each goal is intended to further invest in the community, including new developments, amenities, and services. Lots of downtown redevelopment projects of our VA hospital, of our Tule Springs area, Mayor Goynes-Brown said. Just revitalizing the whole core of the city. Lots more amenities that our residents need and want. With the residents, services they can see, feel, and participate in. Recreation opportunities, investments in parks, Councilman Black added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city also plans to invest in affordable housing for residents and grow safety partnerships across the city to protect the quality of life. We want people to feel safe in their neighborhoods so that people are comfortable and theyre proud to call North Las Vegas home, Mayor Goynes-Brown said. A home where residents and businesses have opportunities to thrive. Just a city where people love to come home, and I just want them to come on home, but they have to have the amenities that they need focusing on living, working, and playing right here in this community so that they never have to leave, Mayor Goynes-Brown said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Las Vegas is home to nearly 300,000 residents. It is the largest minority-majority city in Nevada and the fastest-growing city in the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Norway will allocate 3 billion Norwegian krone ($285.6 million) for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in neighboring Moldova in 2025, the Norwegian government announced on March 27. "Russias attacks on civilian infrastructure, electricity supplies, hospitals, schools and homes have continued with full force, and more and more Ukrainians are being forced to evacuate or flee their homes every day," Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement. "At a time when international humanitarian financing for Ukraine is declining, Norway will continue to be a reliable donor to efforts to protect the civilian population and save lives," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia is continuing its strikes against Ukraine's civilian targets, launching hundreds of drones every day and inflicting civilian casualties. More than 12,654 civilians have been killed and over 29,392 injured since 24 February 2022, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU). The numbers are an underestimate, as the total number of civilians killed in Russian-occupied territories is not known. The humanitarian funds allocated by Norway will be distributed among the UN response in Ukraine and Moldova, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ukraine, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Ukraine and Moldova, and Norwegian and international humanitarian organizations for medical evacuations and aid. The remaining funds will go to a humanitarian reserve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eide and Norwegian Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion Tonje Brenna visited Ukraine on March 2627. During the trip to Kyiv and Kharkiv, they provided Kharkiv Municipal Clinical Hospital No. 8 with a hybrid solar power plant. "We're proud to support Ukraine's efforts in creating resilient and equitable energy access for all. It is vital to have an alternative energy supply for operating theatres and intensive care departments during power outages," Eide said. Norway has been one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters in Europe since the outbreak of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Earlier this month, Norwegian parliamentary leaders agreed to increase aid for Ukraine by 50 billion Norwegian krone ($4.6 billion) to a total of 85 billion Norwegian krone ($7.8 billion) in 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. New London Police have arrested a 24-year-old Norwich man in connection with a shooting inside a Bank Street bar earlier this year that left a man with multiple gunshot wounds. Anderson Fleurymond-Amy, with a last known address on Golden Street in Norwich, was one of two men who police say walked into the Favorites Bistro Bar at 90 Bank St. on the evening of Jan. 30 and attacked and shot a patron there. Police said it was a targeted attack. Fleurymond-Amy, identified by police as the one who fired at least three shots at the 27-year-old male victim, is charged with first-degree assault, illegal discharge of a firearm and four counts of reckless endangerment. He remains held on a $375,000 bond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shooting occurred at 8:55 p.m. Jan. 30 when, police said, Fleurymond-Amy and another, unidentified man entered the bar and confronted the victim. A fight ensued and police said surveillance footage from inside the bar shows the victim fought back and overtook Fleurymond-Amy, falling with him into one of the booths in the restaurants dining area. Patrons in the restaurant, meanwhile, ran and ducked for cover as shots rang out. At one point, police said, Fleurymond-Amy can be seen racking the slide on his handgun and firing at least three times at the victim, who ran out the back of the restaurant after being shot. Police arrived to find the victim had been shot multiple times and had suffered gunshot wounds in both legs. Police found three empty 9 mm bullet casings and another live round on the floor. In the application for the arrest warrant, New London police Detective Heriberto Rivera, the lead investigator in the case, detailed the investigation that led to Fleurymond-Amys March 17 arrest. Police, using city surveillance camera footage, immediately identified the getaway vehicle as a black 2005 Infiniti FX35. They used software to zoom in on the face of the driver as the car was stopped at a stoplight on Bank Street, police reports show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police issued an alert to area departments to be on the lookout for the car. On Jan. 31, Montville police contacted New London police with a possible location of the suspects car. One of Montvilles police license plate reader cameras had identified the vehicles owner as 61-year-old Bernadin Amy, a resident of 49 Sandy Lane in Norwich. The information was relayed to Norwich police, who stopped the vehicle on Boswell Avenue and spoke to Amy. Amy, police said, revealed his son had borrowed his car on the night of the shooting. Police said Amy was also able to identify his son in photographs as the man driving the vehicle on the night of the shooting. Police said they tried to locate Fleurymond-Amy at 46 Golden St. in Norwich but were told by his sister that he no longer lived there. It is unclear from police reports where Fleurymond-Amy was found. Police declined to comment on the case. The second suspect has not been publicly identified by police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police have not identified the victim of the shooting, who was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Police said the victim said he did not know who shot him and told police, I dont want to talk to any detective, the arrest warrant states. The case remains under investigation. Fleurymond-Amy is due back in New London Superior Court on April 22. Police said Fleurymond-Amy has been arrested in the past on charges that include third-degree robbery, third-degree assault and conspiracy to commit fourth-degree larceny. g.smith@theday.com Despite some recent momentum over the past few days, Nvidia NVDA is still battling negative market conditions. Halfway through this week, the artificial intelligence (AI) leader is back to struggling and isnt showing signs of a rebound. Right now, Nvidia is facing new complications, as new environmental curbs from the Chinese government threaten its sales in a booming AI chip market. But even after the company unveiled multiple new innovations at Nvidia GTC (Global Technology Conference) 2025 last week, shares remain in the red for the month. Get expert insights and actionable trade alerts from veteran investing experts and hedge fund managers. Join TheStreet Pro today and get the first month FREE Granted, the market is highly volatile right now, as high economic uncertainty, spurred by recent tariffs, continues to fuel talk of a bear market. Wall Street optimism towards Nvidia remains generally high. However, one expert predicts that things are about to get worse. An AI expert recently predicted that Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang may be headed in a concerning direction.Getty AI CEO makes a grim prediction that doesnt flatter Nvidia Even in a period of high volatility, its typically hard to find too many experts who arent optimistic about Nvidias future. After all, the company has ridden the AI boom to unprecedented heights, helping usher in a new era for the tech sector. In addition to its broad share of the AI chip market, Nvidia is expanding into quantum computing at a time when the technology is making notable strides. IonQ (IONQ) chairman Peter Chapman recently stated that he believes Nvidias quantum exposure is a reason not to bet against it, given the potential for a profitable intersection of quantum and AI. Related: Quantum computing leader has blunt 9-word take on Nvidia stock Another tech leader isnt so convinced, though. Tory Green is CEO of GPU (graphics processing unit)- power aggregator io.net, and he has some strong concerns about Nvidias future, as he illustrates in an unflattering analogy. Green shared his contrarian take on Nvidia with TheStreet, noting that while Nvidias flashy performance at last weeks conference might have reassured some investors, the company is still facing much bigger challenges and is likely to become the (IBM) of this market cycle, a highly negative aspect in the tech world. CHICAGO Dozens of veterans gathered downtown on Thursday for a rally calling for members of the Trump Administration to be held accountable after the Atlantics editor-in-chief was mistakenly added to a Signal chat among senior national security officials who were discussing attack plans against the Houthis. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) was among several local leaders and former military members who attended the rally at Daley Plaza as they called for accountability for what they were calling a major breach of security. Leaking classified information, endangering the lives of military men and women overseas this very second, is not patriotic, Veterans for Change President Jessie Rojo said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines On Wednesday, The Atlantic published a string of messages from the encrypted app Signal, that included its Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was mistakenly added to the chat. The conversation discussed a bombing operation in Yemen earlier this month, revealing time-stamped details about weapons systems and a sequence of air strikes. He has needlessly endangered American service members in a war zone. We are here to say what Hegseth refuses to hear. You are not above the law, Krishnamoorthi said. Krishnamoorthi joined the group at Daley Plaza after a house intelligence committee hearing on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Krishnamoorthi said he believes Hegseth and other top security officials have not taken accountability for the security breach. During the hearing, Krishnamoorthi grilled the heads of the FBI, CIA and Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and called for a full investigation into the incident, turning the tables on Democrats. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland But on Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi signaled that a probe into the incident is unlikely. It was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released and what we should be talking about is it was a very successful mission our world is now safer because of that mission, Bondi said during an exchange with reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Krishnamoorthi said he believes Bondi is covering up for the officials. I think that Pam Bondi is essentially covering up for a gross lapse that occurred with regard to our security an investigation must occur, Krishnamoorthi said. According to Krishnamoorthi, Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker has called for an investigation that he says will happen in the Department of Defense. The watchdog group American Oversight has also filed a federal lawsuit saying the Signal messaging app violates several records-keeping laws. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Emphasizing the global reach of the U.S. Navy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stark warning Thursday to Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, cautioning against any military aggression toward Guyana. Speaking alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali at a press conference in the capital of Georgetown, Rubio made it clear that Washington stands firmly behind its regional ally. It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil, Rubio stated. We have a large navy, and it can reach almost anywhere in the world. And we have ongoing commitments to Guyana. Rubios visit to Georgetown on Thursday was part of a broader Caribbean tour aimed at strengthening U.S. ties in the region. He reaffirmed Washingtons support for Guyanas sovereignty over the Essequibo region, a Florida-sized resource-rich territory that has been under Guyanese control since 1899 but is claimed by Venezuela. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reacting from Venezuela, Maduros vice president, Delcy Rodriguez said that it is Guyana and the United States who are paving the way to an armed conflict in the region. The Caribbean Zelensky, a term used by the regime to describe Guayan President Ali, disdains holding talks relying on warlike actions, Rodriguez said through her Telegram account while accusing the president of Guyana of seeking Rubio out so they could threaten peace in the region. It must be made very clear, Venezuela will never give up its rights to Guyana Esequiba nor will it be intimidated by those enacting despicable acts against international law, she added. The Venezuelan regime, which blames Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for causing the war in Ukraine, has been accusing Ali of behaving like him in its propaganda against Guyana. The reference appears to be aimed at the United States, following the tense meeting between the Ukrainian president and President Donald Trump earlier this month at the White House. Experts suspect that the Caracas regime deliberately moved towards escalating tensions with Guyana to trigger a shift in U.S. policy towards Venezuela. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela dates back more than 180 years but has sharply escalated in recent months. In December 2023, Maduro held a referendum seeking public approval to use military force to seize the Essequibo. His government claimed a 98% approval rate, despite widespread allegations of electoral fraud. Since then, Maduro has repeatedly vowed on state television that Venezuela will not abandon its claim. His regime has since declared Essequibo as Venezuelas newest state despite international objections, increased his countrys military presence near the border and announced plans to hold elections in the Essequibo region to install a governor. Tensions reached a boiling point four weeks ago when a Venezuelan warship entered disputed waters, threatening ExxonMobils offshore operations in Guyanas exclusive economic zone. The incursion triggered an immediate response from Washington. Venezuelan naval vessels threatening ExxonMobils floating production, storage, and offloading unit is unacceptable and a clear violation of Guyanas internationally recognized maritime territory, the U.S. State Departments Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs posted on X. Further provocation will result in consequences for the Maduro regime. The United States reaffirms its support for Guyanas territorial integrity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rubio reinforced the message in Georgetown, dismissing Venezuelas claims as illegitimate territorial ambitions of a drug-trafficking regime. He warned that aggressive actions would carry serious repercussions. I want to be frank, he said. There will be consequences. WASHINGTON (AP) Noted economist Arthur Laffer warns in a new analysis that President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on auto imports could add $4,711 to the cost of a vehicle and says the proposed taxes could weaken the ability of U.S. automakers to compete with their foreign counterparts. In the 21-page analysis obtained by The Associated Press, Laffer, whom Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019 for his contributions to economics, says the auto industry would be in a better position if the Republican president preserved the supply chain rules with Canada and Mexico from his own 2019 USMCA trade pact. The White House has temporarily exempted auto and parts imports under the USMCA from the tariffs starting on April 3 so that the Trump administration can put together a process for taxing non-U.S. content in vehicles and parts that fall under the agreement. Without this exemption, the proposed tariff risks causing irreparable damage to the industry, contradicting the administrations goals of strengthening U.S. manufacturing and economic stability, Laffer writes in the analysis. A 25% tariff would not only shrink, or possibly eliminate, profit margins for U.S. manufacturers but also weaken their ability to compete with international rivals. In a Friday interview with The Associated Press, Laffer said the report had caused a kerfuffle and cautioned that it only applied to the economics, rather than Trump's negotiating skills and strategic approach to trade. The report shows the economics of what would happen were the tariffs to be put in place," he said. "This is about facts, not how we feel. The economist was quick to also praise Trump as a negotiator who has deep knowledge of trade issues, indicating that the tariff threats could be used as they had during Trump's first term to ultimately lower barriers to trade and improve outcomes for the U.S. economy. Donald Trump is more familiar with the gains from trade than any politician Ive ever talked to in my life, Laffer said. Do not take this paper in any way, shape or form as criticizing Donald Trump and what his strategies are." He added that he trusts the president and sees him as exceptionally competent. While Trumps tariff plans have frightened the stock market and U.S. consumers, Laffer's analysis and other reports show the possible economic risks if the threat of import taxes is unable to produce a durable set of deals with other countries. The paper reminds Trump that its not too late to change course, specifically complimenting the USMCA negotiated in his first term as a significant achievement. NEW YORK (PIX11)The city has launched a new pilot program to combat illegal truck parking. It focuses on three areas in the city where parking issues are rampant. More Local News But now some community members and elected officials are upset their neighborhoods are not included in the pilot. Councill member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers is part of the 31st district and the committee chair on transportation and infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She says, Idling engines polluting our air and oversize vehicles creating safety hazards for pedestrians and drivers alike. Elected officials and community members say illegal truck parking is common in Southeast Queens. At a press conference Thursday, they demanded the area be included in the Department of Transportations new Overnight Truck Parking pilot program. Council Member Dr. Nantasha Williams is especially frustrated because she introduced a bill last year that specifically creates overnight parking areas in industrial business zones (IBZs). The bill is set to have a hearing in April. Williams says, This is actually a persistent issue where we come up with these ideas, and they take them and run with them and dont even execute or implement them in the way in which we intended them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOTs pilot program creates a metered parking option for commercial vehicles like large tractor-trailers in Flatlands/Fairfield in Brooklyn, Hunts Point in the Bronx, and Maspeth in Queens. More Local News But community members say southeast Queens needs help now. Bryan J. Block is the chair of Queens Community Board 13. He says, The neighbors have been inundated. Its a quality of life issue. Its a safety issue. James Johnson is the Executive Director Of the GatewayJFK Business Improvement District. This stops the economic development of the area; if we have trucks here, we have trucks here seven months six months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOT says the programs goal is to give drivers a safe parking option during legally mandated rest periods while preventing overnight truck parking in residential areas. In a statement, the DOT says, NYC DOT selected an initial set of locations in close proximity to industrial areas to avoid legalizing the parking of large trucks in front of New Yorkers homes and small businesses. We are aware and working on the freight challenges in Southeast Queensincluding supporting a dramatic expansion of truck parking at JFKand will review and proposed locations from local officials for a pilot expansion. Tucking officials are reacting. Zach Miller, president of Trucking Association of NY. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The nationwide shortage of safe overnight truck parking has reached a crisis point. For the drivers who are doing everything right, it forces them in an uncomfortable situation: either risk losing their hours of service and being put in noncompliant or parking in a place they absolutely should not be. That is unsafe and unfair to residences and communities. This is a no-win scenario, and we have to fix it. The DOTs pilot program will run for a year, but this group wants it expanded to southeast Queens immediately. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEW YORK Mayor Eric Adams quarterbillion-dollar public safety academy in Queens may not be so safe after all. Seven candidates running to replace him say theyd cancel it. Last year, the mayor announced a $225 million-plus plan to consolidate all city agencies public safety training into a new facility at the citys police academy campus in Queens. Adams, a former NYPD captain whos made public safety the cornerstone of his policy agenda, calls it a Public Safety Academy. Left-leaning police reform advocates call it Cop City. Others, like mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, are saying it looks like a waste of money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This appears to be an unnecessary expenditure at this point when the issue is not training capacity but recruitment and retention, Cuomos campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said, referring to a staffing crisis in the Department of Correction and Police Department. Adams ran on public safety in 2021, but opponents are making the case he hasnt delivered, citing a crime rate thats still higher than it was before the Covid pre-pandemic, a decrease in the police force due to attrition and a persistent feeling of disorder on the subways. Polling shows voters are still particularly concerned about public safety, and ending Cop City is just one more critique of how Adams has managed the issue. The term Cop City is borrowed from the movement to stop construction of a police training facility in a forest outside of Atlanta. The political battle there has lasted more than three years and earned international attention after state troopers shot and killed an environmental activist occupying the land. The campaign to block the plan in New York City has been much more low key, but mayoral challengers have been listening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Comptroller Brad Lander and his predecessor Scott Stringer said they didnt support Adams plan when asked about it at a January mayoral forum on the Upper West Side. State Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos, former Assemblymember Michael Blake and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani also panned it. We can put that money to better use, Mamdani said. His campaign declined to share examples of where to spend, but said Mamdani planned to put out a comprehensive public safety plan. Lander felt the same way, suggesting the $225 million allocated for the public safety academy should instead be budgeted for repairs at NYPD precinct houses. Use it to put air conditioning in the police dressing rooms and make that a place that officers would actually feel respected, Lander said, arguing that improving cops job experience would also improve their response to accountability measures for abuse. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams negotiated with Eric Adams on the 2025 budget, which included the funding for the public safety academy. Now a mayoral candidate, her campaign said she would build a new academy, but take a different approach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The capital funding Eric Adams is tapping into was first allocated by Mayor Bill de Blasios administration, but it covered only a new training facility for the Department of Correction as part of the plan to close Rikers Island. The mayor politicizing this facility doesn't make New York safer, Adrienne Adams spokesperson Lupe Todd-Medina said. Speaker Adams believes the mayor should have used this funding for its initial purpose and would return it to that original intent." Eric Adams administration is standing by the plan, saying its an example of government efficiency. Instead of just correction, the administration changed the proposal last year to include training for the police arms of 16 agencies, where they can coordinate instruction in areas like approaching the severely mentally ill. Its no surprise that career bureaucrats, who have made no meaningful impact on improving services for New Yorkers, are criticizing this move, mayoral spokesperson Amaris Cockfield said, referring to the other candidates. Were looking forward to creating this campus, which is fiscally responsible, will foster interagency training through information sharing, and will continue to keep New York City safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cockfield said the plans for the public safety academy are still being finalized, but it could open as soon as 2030. Eric Adams path to reelection is increasingly narrow. Hes historically unpopular, has little visible campaign presence and his opponents have harshly criticized him for cozying up to President Donald Trump, whose administration is seeking to dismiss the mayors corruption charges. Even within Eric Adams administration, the public safety academy faces potential headwinds. The main driver of the plan, former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, resigned under pressure in October after his home was raided as part of a federal investigation. His successor in the role, Chauncey Parker, resigned this month over concerns about how Eric Adams was handling immigration enforcement with the Trump administration. After ascending to City Hall in 2022, Eric Adams revivedthe deputy mayor for public safety position, last filled under Mayor David Dinkins in the 1990s. Some of his challengers would emulate that if elected even though theyre critical of the incumbent mayors management. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Landers public safety plan, for example, notes that hed keep the office and expand the role to work more closely with the citys health and social safety agencies. Mamdanis campaign said he would replace the deputy mayor for public safety with a new commissioner-level position coordinating a range of public safety, mental health response, and gun violence prevention initiatives. Stringer said he would create a similar job the deputy mayor for quality of life to address crime, quality-of-life issues, and systemic inefficiencies, creating a safer, more cohesive city. Stringer suggested the post would be different in at least one other respect and couldnt resist taking a dig at the current occupant of City Hall. It's not about a single office one mayor created for his buddy, Stringer said, referencing Banks longtime friendship with Eric Adams. As Mayor, Ill prioritize comprehensive operational reforms with effective governance to coordinate, streamline, and hold agencies accountable. A real estate agent facing dozens of rape accusations duped a building owner into renting a pricey pad to a deadbeat who never paid a dime, a new lawsuit claims. Tal Alexander one of the notorious lux real-estate Alexander Brothers allegedly coaxed the owner of a flashy Soho property to lease his swanky, $45,00-a-month penthouse to a buddy who used falsified bank documents, according to the lawsuit. The owners of a $12 million Thompson Street duplex filed the lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday against Alexander, broker Nicholas Lounsbury and tenant Daniel Fine but the alleged bad tenant fired back against the claims and called the huge space unlivable. The suit claims that a tenant at a 7,500-square-foot penthouse palace lied to enter a lease, never paid rent, then sublet the unit for his own gain. NYSCEF But the tenant says the $45,000-a-month rental at 54 Thompson Street was unlivable, and riddled with issues that were never fixed. NYSCEF The lease was and continues to be a con-job disaster, claims the lawsuit, which accuses Fine, an entrepreneur, of never paying his rent, and instead illegally subletting the unit to generate income for themselves without paying Plaintiff its justly-due rent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fine also allegedly failed to pay his remarkable electric bills which regularly exceeded $2,500 per month, the suit states. Entrepreneur Daniel Fine said he has been trying to address issues with the unit out of court, and called the latest litigation fraudulent. LinkedIn Fine, through his company, FineCo, allegedly produced a fraudulent bank statement showing FineCo held over $4 million in cash, court papers state. Tal and brother Oren, both former high-rolling luxury real estate agents who were hired to help lease out the penthouse at 54 Thompson St., are now in federal lockup awaiting trial on charges they raped at least 60 women. Former luxury realtor Tal Alexander is currently in federal lockup with brother Oren awaiting trial over rape charges where 60 women have made accusations against them. Helayne Seidman The brazenness of Mr. Fines forgery of his companys financial records is appalling to our client, said Christopher Milito, attorney for the owners. Worse still is that Official Partners our clients own broker appears to be complicit in this fraud. Forthcoming subpoenas will show FineCos true financial situation at the time which we expect will be dismal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the tenant told The Post that the penthouse was riddled with issues including no AC at all, and no heat in the winter, he said, calling the new lawsuit fraudulent. I have been trying to reach an agreement once we discovered that the unit was being misrepresented, Fine said in a phone interview, adding that he has kept the owed rent in a segregated account. When Fine was last at the unit on Jan. 22, the thermostat read 48 degrees, he said. Over the summer, the unit often recorded temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, court documents show. 54 Thompson Street was purchased in 2021 for $12.3 million. NYSCEF Cant deal and so utterly unfair, Fine wrote last summer in an extensive text message chain filed in an earlier lawsuit, which documents a lengthy back and forth between Fine and the property managers about the broken AC, and a myriad of other issues, in the 7,500-square-foot penthouse palace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is costing me in every facet of my life, he wrote, and the worst part is that its completely within the control of the owners/building owners. Prior to moving in, Fine sent a lengthy punch-list to the owners of 54 Thompson, court records reveal. They were supposed to fix certain things prior to moving in, Fine said of the list, which includes issues like a collapsing ceiling, a broken dishwasher, peeling paint and wallpaper, holes in the wall, broken electrical outlets and cracked countertops. Fine, in a court filing, claims he had intended to reside in the pricey pad, but he has faced persistent, severe, and ongoing habitability issues that have made the unit unlivable and unfit for occupancy, only living there on an intermittent basis since the least began in June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do the owners realize the insanity of what were dealing with? he wrote in another text. The Alexander brothers have been charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape. via REUTERS Fine estimated that only 10% of the original punch-list has been addressed. This, now third, lawsuit is nothing more than an amateur litigation stunt, said Fines attorney, Maya Petrocelli. Given the conditions of the apartment, FineCo withheld rent, as it is entitled to do. Fine sent The Post an email from a JP Morgan Private Bank analyst allegedly confirming his $4.3 million account balance from when the lease was signed. The penthouse at 54 Thompson St. David McGlynn Milito declined to elaborate how his clients came to believe Fines bank statement was phoney and was unwilling to comment on the prior lawsuits and counterclaims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The owners, Hugh Nygen and Tri Nyguen CEO of Miami-based Network Capital purchased the prime spot in 2021 for $12.3 million with the Alexander brothers acting as their brokers, property records show. Court documents show the building is also being sued by the city for owing nearly $230,000 in water charges. Lounsbury declined to comment when reached by The Post. Tal had no knowledge of any fraud, nor was he responsible for vetting this tenant, said Jason Goldman, an attorney for Alexander. This lawsuit is nothing more than a baseless and transparent attempt to capitalize on Tal Alexanders name to manufacture publicity. Abby Taylor didn't like the choices her doctors gave her on her newborn son's medical condition. He would probably be fine they would just have to wait and see. Miles, Taylor's third child, was born prematurely and was diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Miles had received a new, specialized treatment at birth called therapeutic hypothermia meant to reduce the likelihood and severity of brain damage. HIE, as it's often abbreviated, affects one to six of every 1,000 births, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and its lasting impacts range from hearing or vision loss to developmental delays and cognitive impairment. Or, the baby would mostly recover. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If you Google HIE, which I do not recommend as a new parent, the chances of him developing cerebral palsy or developmental delays and other stuff are really high," Taylor said. "The doctors didn't talk about that at all. They almost were like, 'Just go out into the world and see what happens.' As a parent, you just don't know what to expect, even when you think you have the information." The uncertainty of what Miles' future might look like concerned Taylor. All she wanted was the best for her baby. Abby Taylor uses an iPad with augmentative and alternative communication software to help communicate with her 3-year-old son Miles. He was born premature and developed hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and is autistic. Even with a doctorate in special education, Taylor found it a challenge to connect him with the resources he needs. They are shown at their home in DeForest. Navigating the ins and outs of early developmental care for newborns and toddlers is overwhelming for everyone, even Taylor, who has a doctorate in early childhood special education. Questions swirl over what should be done when you observe behaviors in your little one that may indicate a challenge: Is that habit normal? Shouldn't he have started talking? Shouldn't he be smiling? Shouldn't he respond to his own name by now? And then there's the problem of timing. Tim Peerenboom, a school psychology consultant with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, said a child's early years present the widest range of learning outcomes. Once a child reaches school age, the opportunity for growth narrows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That's because our brains develop the most rapidly between birth and age 5, Peerenboom said, so a parent or caregiver's ability to observe and be proactive about developmental delays can help change the trajectory for young children. But finding programs focused on monitoring developmental milestones on the front end, as opposed to reacting after milestones are missed, can be difficult. Miles, for example, qualified for an early intervention program from birth, but even with that support, the family had to wait 10 months for an autism evaluation, a diagnosis that would, eventually, open doors to other services through the family's health insurance, like applied behavior analysis, or ABA, therapy. Developmental delays and behavioral health conditions in early childhood aren't uncommon. According to the Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health, or WI-AIMH, 10% to 16% of young children experience mental health conditions ranging from anxiety to PTSD. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that one in six children between ages 3 and 17 has developmental delays, including autism. Without intervention, some of these delays and behaviors can have consequences for children in preschool and beyond. Since 2020, early care educators have reported a 60% increase in challenging behaviors, which has led to 6.5 per 1,000 children being expelled from Wisconsins Early Care and Education. Black children are five times likelier to be expelled than children of other races or ethnicities, a consequence, in part, of implicit bias among early care educators, according to a 2016 study by the Yale Child Study Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Child care expulsions are more common than you'd think, and they might be rising. Here's what a Kimberly nonprofit is doing about it Gone unaddressed, those behaviors may worsen over time, said Ashley Bowers, assistant executive director of WI-AIMH. She offered the example of anger, often seen in children as tantrums, hitting and biting. Being punished for those behaviors doesn't necessarily resolve feelings of anger. Kids just learn not to express their anger because they don't want to get in trouble, she said. But that doesn't stop someone from internalizing their anger, even young children, said Bowers, who is a licensed marriage and family therapist. As a child grows, that anger might start emerging as avoidant behaviors, anxiety and depression. Coping becomes a means of stuffing feelings away, ushering in other unhealthy behaviors later, like drinking and drug use, Bowers said. "When we don't work on alternative strategies, the child not only continues to develop using those behaviors, but they also get a lot of different reinforcement that can compound the things that might have been contributing to the behaviors in the first place," Bowers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related: Wisconsin preschoolers are 5 times more likely to be expelled than K-12 students, but why? Related: Pandemic, aftermath add more stress to Wisconsin early childhood teachers' mental health Early signs provide clues to what's going on with a child When we talk about milestones in early childhood, we're talking about five developmental domains: physical, including fine and gross motor skills; cognition; communication, including receptive and expressive language; social and emotional; and adaptive skills. Those domains can give parents, caregivers and educators expectations of what's developmentally appropriate, said Jenny Bibler, early childhood special education consultant at DPI. For example, how a 3-year-old constructs and uses two- to three-word sentences, said Bibler, can illustrate whether they're developing at a typical, age-appropriate pace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How a child behaves with their peers can offer further insights, said Peerenboom. It's normal for kids between 3 and 5 to have big emotions expressed as temper tantrums, but it's important for caregivers and educators to observe those behaviors. How often are they happening? How intense are they? How long do they last? Biting is an example Bibler likes to use to explain developmental delays. Many young children bite before they're able to use language to express themselves. But if they're still biting at 3 to 4 years old, that can be a sign that their communication and language skills may be delayed, which could then have a negative effect on their social and emotional development. But just because a child has some developmental delays doesn't mean you should run to the teacher for an individualized education plan. Schools have multiple levels of support available, Peerenboom said. A child who bites in kindergarten may need some level of intervention within the school's continuum of supports. As children get older, when biting is less developmentally normal, more specialized services may be needed. Acting early can give a child the appropriate learning tools and set them on a good developmental trajectory, Peerenboom said. More: IEPs aren't just for learning, physical disabilities. Students with behavioral issues benefit too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finding balance as a caregiver is also critical, Bowers said. As a parent, attuning yourself to your child's behaviors is important, but jumping to worst-case scenarios by prescribing too narrowly to those early milestones can be a disservice to both baby and caregiver. These milestones offer only a range time works differently in childhood. Children can achieve these developments slightly sooner or slightly later, which is normal. "Yes, children have their developmental milestones, but there's a whole range behind those skills. Babies and toddlers may hit them at different points, or concurrently," Bowers said. "We always encourage parents to talk with their pediatrician if they have any concerns or wonderings." One resource Bowers encouraged parents and caregivers to use is the Healthy Minds Healthy Children program that connects families to infant and early childhood mental health consultants at WI-AIMH. Infant and early childhood mental health consultation pairs clinically trained consultants with professionals who work with children between birth and age 5. Currently, they are serving the Early Care Education sector. The goal, Bowers said, is to promote early development, screen for developmental delays and support early interventions. Learning from Miles Miles Taylor, 3, plays a video game after lunch while the family dog, Violet, hangs out with him. Miles was born prematurely and developed hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and is autistic. Even with a doctorate in special education, his mother, Abby, found it a challenge to connect him with the resources he needs. Bubbles, eat, play, animal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Miles was beginning to acquire and use language as a baby, he primarily communicated through a combination of sign language and, as a toddler, an augmentative alternative communication app on a tablet. Miles loved bubbles, so naturally, he would tap on the bubbles icon often. If hungry, he would tap "food," "more" or a combination. During a singalong of "Old McDonald" in his community-based preschool class, Miles would tap an animal. His taps got more sophisticated with use. Recently, he used the AAC to express an ancient 3-year-old truth: "I want pizza." At 3, he started using the AAC to configure full two- to three-word phrases with relative ease. Miles was introduced to sign language by his nanny when he was 8 weeks old and expressed himself through signing well before he started verbalizing language. After a continuous series of ear infections that started when he was 6 months old, Miles still communicated through gestures, vocalizations and sign language by the time he was almost 2. Common developmental milestones at age 2 include the use of two- to three-word phrases and using verbal words to achieve basic needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taylor noticed Miles' efforts to communicate in other ways, which appeared to frustrate him, especially when he wanted to talk to his big brothers or ask for what he wanted or needed. Taylor sought out a discarded iPad and AAC app from a colleague at Vanderbilt, which Miles started using immediately. Abby Taylor uses an iPad with augmentative and alternative communication software to help communicate with her 3-year-old son, Miles. The AAC was such an effective language-supporting device that Taylor wonders why more parents aren't given this option as an aid to learning language. When he's exploring his AAC, he's not experiencing the pressure of practicing his language with another human. The stakes aren't as high, which is especially helpful for Miles, who has autism. He can make connections by identifying words, symbols and sounds, and now, by constructing sentences. "What we want for Miles is for him to be able to have access to communication in a way that feels comfortable and safe, regardless of where he is," Taylor said. Miles doesn't need to use the AAC as much at home, but he brings it to school to work on vocabulary skills and to participate in classroom activities. He also has a special education team to help ensure he's progressing on goals like communication and developing social connections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But getting Miles these tools required a level of advocacy Taylor hadn't expected. And it conjured up many confusing feelings. Even when receiving developmental services in Nashville, she still questioned whether he needed support because of how difficult it was to access. "There's a tendency to wait until many milestones are missed," Taylor said. "Usually the problem has to be pretty significant before you can even get a referral." Miles Taylor, 3, uses an iPad with augmentative and alternative communication software to help him communicate. Sometimes a parent or caregiver will decide it's too soon to respond to delayed developmental milestones, in hopes that those issues will resolve once the child integrates with peers at school. That method is often referred to as the "wait-and-see method," Bibler said, and can complicate their development and learning. "With the wait-and-see method, there is a risk that the learning gap becomes larger, there's more to tackle, more to teach, more to break down, and all the while, your peers are moving along faster and faster," Bibler said. Early intervention not only gets kids at pace with their peers, but can give them even greater advantages. Bowers, from WI-AIMH, said when she was in kindergarten and first grade, she struggled with reading. She'd go to a special reading class before school started and had extra supports during the school day. By the time she was in second grade, she was reading several grades above her peers. A parent gaining clarity over a child's diagnosis goes beyond confirming their gut response. It's about setting up the child for success by using accommodations like speech devices and additional time to advance learning, Bowers said. The hope, then, is to move away from the notion that something is wrong with a child who needs special education. "We all want our children to be doing well and thriving, and, naturally, for any parent, it can bring up vulnerability for you, because you wonder what it says about you or your family if your child is struggling," Bowers said. "We don't want our kid to be singled out, especially as they get older, which is why early interventions can be so important." IDEA unaffected by mass firings at federal Department of Education On March 3, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm billionaire GOP donor and former wrestling industry executive Linda McMahon as the next secretary of the federal Department of Education. McMahon, nominated by President Donald Trump, has a limited background in education. In one of her first acts as secretary, McMahon laid off half of the department's workers nationwide, a majority of whom handle financial aid and discrimination protections. Although the branch that handles special education, the Office of Special Education Programs, was spared in the slashes, Trump told reporters in February he wants McMahon "to put herself out of a job." Then, on March 20, Trump followed through on his campaign promise, signing an executive order seeking to dismantle the Department of Education. But because the department was created by an act of Congress, it will take an act of Congress to eliminate it. Chris Bucher, a spokesperson for Wisconsin's DPI, told the Journal Sentinel on March 14 that staff reductions have not yet directly affected the support networks geared toward student mental health or special education programs that are part of DPI's Student Services/Prevention and Wellness branch. Even if the Department of Education were to shut down, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, commonly referred to as IDEA, would remain intact. But for the roughly 7.5 million students who receive special education under IDEA, there would be no federal oversight to monitor gaps or delays in ensuring students' rights to an education are protected, according to Parent Alliance for Students with Exceptional Needs. Meanwhile, Bowers said, one of WI-AIMH's goals is to to scale up Healthy Minds Healthy Children to a universal program for the state. That would allow professionals who work with children from birth to age 5 in any sector to work with infant and early childhood mental health consultants for free, and funded by the state. In its first full year, Healthy Minds Healthy Children received 41 referrals and served 34 programs, which have affected more than 2,000 children, according to the 2024 executive report. Resources "Guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in action", from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, offers parents, caregivers and early childcare professionals guidance on learning outcomes and child development. Learn more from NAEYC about developmentally appropriate practices. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction developed the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards, which sets standards for what children should know and be able to do in the classroom. To learn more about Wisconsin's special education programs and to contact special education, visit the Early Childhood Special Education portal. Wisconsin's Birth-to-3 is an early intervention special education program available in every county in the state. Families are set up with an individualized family service plan team, akin to school-based Individual Education Programs. The Power of Connection, powered by WI-AIMH, is a digital exhibit for families and community members to deepen understanding of the complex and rich emotional worlds of babies and young children, and the important role adults play in supporting early development. WI-AIMH has a series of "micro-learning" videos to help parents and caregivers learn more core concepts and practices in infant and early childhood mental health. Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at neilbert@gannett.com or view her X (Twitter) profile at @natalie_eilbert. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Observing and monitoring behaviors early can set kids up for success This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter. The leading eye-care company Alcon on Wednesday said it has acquired a majority stake in Aurion Biotech, capping months of legal wrangling over the future of the cell therapy developer. As part of the takeover, Aurions board appointed Chief Scientific Officer Arnaud Lacoste as the companys new CEO, immediately replacing Greg Kunst. Aurion will continue as a separate company, with full support from Alcon, according to Wednesdays press release. Aurion is focused on diseases that affect the endothelium, the layer of cells on the posterior surface of the cornea. Using cell therapy, the company aims to reverse vision loss and offer patients an easier recovery than treatments that involve corneal endothelial transplant procedures. Aurion has an approved product in Japan and is advancing another, AURN001, in Phase 1/2 research in the U.S. The company had generated interest among investors, raising $120 million in a 2022 financing led by Deerfield Management that included participation from Alcon. As Aurion looked for further funding, Alcon expressed interest in buying the company, but its offer was rejected, according to court documents. Aurion then made plans to go public. Alcon, however, was already a top shareholder and sued to block Aurions IPO, losing in court in January. Deerfield also sued Alcon, saying Alcon was trying to thwart the IPO so it could buy Aurion itself at a discount. Independent analyses placed a multibillion-dollar value on Aurion even before it launched its first product in Japan and completed a clinical trial in the U.S., Deerfield said. For more than two years, Alcon has waged an unrelenting campaign to take over Aurion at a highly discounted valuation, Deerfield alleged. Alcon has sought to cut off Aurions ability to obtain financing from sources other than Alcon. As of February, Alcon held about 40.5% of Aurion and Deerfield held about 34%, according to Deerfields lawsuit. Alcons statement on Wednesday made no mention of the planned IPO. An Aurion spokesperson declined to comment to BioPharma Dive. Officials at Alcon and Deerfield didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. In Alcons release, new Aurion CEO Lacoste said his company looks forward to leveraging Alcons global resources and commercial expertise to move AURN001 into Phase 3 development later this year. The Phase 1/2 study included 97 patients with corneal edema secondary to corneal endothelial dysfunction. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A judge Friday granted a motion for a change of venue for three former police officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols. That means that, while the trial will be held in Memphis, the jury wont be local and will be brought in from elsewhere. Shelby County criminal court Judge James Jones is not saying where the jurors will come from. The motion filed by the defense claimed that pretrial publicity has infected potential jurors within the county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taddarius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith were in court for a motions hearing Friday. They are facing state charges of second-degree murder. Their trial date is set for April 28. TYRE NICHOLS COMPLETE COVERAGE Attorneys for Bean, Haley and Smith did not make a comment after court. Haley remains in custody until is his federal sentencing is affirmed, but Bean and Smith were in the courtroom, across the aisle from Nichols parents. Haleys attorney attempted to get the second degree murder and aggravated kidnapping charges thrown out. The judge denied that motion, claiming that it would create a minitrial before the trial. He also denied Smiths attorneys attempt to get charges thrown out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January 2023, Tyre Nichols was fatally injured by five police officers following a traffic stop. He died three days 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 WREG.com. A New Jersey resident speaks to the Union County Board of Commissioners on March 27, 2025, about their plan to sell the county's jail. (Sophie Nieto-Munoz | New Jersey Monitor) ELIZABETH The Union County Board of Commissioners took an initial step toward selling the county jail on Thursday, with critics who fear the facility will become a privately run migrant detention center chanting, Shame, shame! after the boards vote. The nine-member board approved by a 6-3 vote two resolutions one that allows the county to subdivide public property that includes the jail and another that allows the county to consider proposals to sell the unused jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I sit alongside our immigrant community, work alongside each one of you, said Commissioner Sergio Granados. With the possibility of a detention center being there, I must vote no on these two items. Commissioner Michele Delisfort and Chairwoman Lourdes Leon also voted against the measures after immigrant activists and other members of the public spent nearly two hours urging the board to either oppose selling the jail or commit to not turning it into a migrant detention center. Thursdays vote comes as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. Brian Lozano of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey told commissioners that soliciting bids for the jail without meaningful input from residents undermines the fundamental principle that governments must answer to their constituents and operate transparently. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Institutions that detain and deport immigrants only serve to terrorize these communities, and ultimately under this administration, to hold their family members, everyday people, and increasingly political protestors in violation of the United States Constitution, he said. Elizabeth resident Giovanna Castaneda said she used to sit in school fearing that shed come home to her mom being deported. Castaneda told commissioners to pay attention to other problems plaguing the city homelessness, a lack of affordable housing, food scarcity rather than adding another one. This could be one of the largest detention centers in the northeast, along with Delaney Hall in Newark, along with Elizabeth Detention Center, which is only two miles away from where we are right now. These sites are designed to deliver profit, not justice, said Viri Martinez of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. Its a system that has no regard for the lives it destroys. The meeting turned tense at several moments. The police approached people who went past their allotted speaking time, while audience members shouted from the crowd when the board cut the microphone. The room also quickly filled to capacity, leaving nearly 100 people including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka outside the county administration building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our fight here is a fight for humanity, a fight for all people, a fight for dignity and respect, a fight for all human beings, whether youre documented or not, Baraka said. The county did not commit to selling the jail to a private prison company, though immigrant advocates fear that is what will happen. Commissioner Rebecca Williams said she hopes the county will get bids from entities hoping to use the former jail for mental health facilities, workforce development, or college classes. As the very first stage to see what interest there is, I am in favor of that, William said. But again, as I said, everyone who knows me and who follows me knows exactly how I feel about whats happening broadly in terms of people being disappeared, people being detained without due process. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX After announcing it would be closing at the end of this school year, a struggling Cincinnati charter school will instead shut down next week. The Dohn Community High School Board of Directors released a statement Friday, saying the school will close on Monday due to "insurmountable financial challenges stemming from the previous school year." The charter school serves mostly Black students who have behavioral problems, were expelled from other public schools or are otherwise on their last chance to get a high school diploma. The board agreed during an emergency meeting March 7 to sell its two buildings to Performance Academies, a Columbus-based charter school with a location in Mount Healthy, Dohn's lawyer, Adam Brown, previously told The Enquirer. The idea was to use that money to cover the rest of the school year, before shuttering Dohn. Advertisement Advertisement "Upon assuming leadership, the current administration took all measures to attempt to stabilize finances, restructure operations, and maintain the highest quality of education for our students," Friday's statement reads. "Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the financial burdens from the prior school year have proven too great to sustain operations." More: 'This is ridiculous. We need answers.' Ohio charter school under investigation Interim Superintendent Bill Geraghty added in the release: Despite our best efforts to overcome financial challenges, we have exhausted all viable options to keep the school open. Dohn Community High School on Fourth Street in downtown Cincinnati Wednesday October 2, 2024. School leadership is working to assist students and families in transitioning to new schools and to provide support for staff, the statement said. As for seniors who are set to graduate this spring, they will receive special attention to ensure they have opportunities to complete their education. Advertisement Advertisement Further details regarding student placement and closure logistics will be shared in the coming days, according to the statement. Dohn Community High School was founded in 2001 by local educator Kate Bower as a recovery-focused high school for students struggling with addiction, according to the statement. It was named after her sponsor, Blanche Dohn. "The school grew into a vital resource for the Cincinnati community," and eventually began serving teen mothers, adult learners, and career and technical education students. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio charter school in financial trouble announces abrupt shutdown Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gives the State of the State address in the Ohio House chambers at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. (Pool photo by Samantha Madar, Columbus Dispatch.) Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday signed into law a massive higher education overhaul to ban diversity efforts, regulate classroom discussion, and prohibit faculty strikes, among other things. The law will take effect in 90 days. S.B. 1 will set rules around classroom discussion, create post-tenure reviews, put diversity scholarships at risk, create a retrenchment provision that block unions from negotiating on tenure, shorten university board of trustees terms from nine years down to six years, and require students take an American history course, among other things. For classroom discussion, the bill will set rules around topics involving controversial beliefs such as climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, diversity and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage, or abortion. S.B. 1 would only affect Ohios public universities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill moved quickly through the Statehouse. State Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, introduced S.B. 1, which passed the Ohio Senate in February and the Ohio House in March. Cirino introduced a nearly identical bill during the last General Assembly that went through several revisions, but the bill never made it the House floor and ultimately died. The bill received overwhelming opposition from college students and professors. More than 1,500 people have submitted opponent testimony against the bill. Hundreds of students around the state have protested against the bill. Students and faculty have said they would leave Ohio if the bill becomes law. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Ohio lawmakers are looking to eliminate the states highest income tax rate and instead switch to a flat tax of 2.75%. Supporters of the bill said the change would help Ohio compete with neighboring states. Opponents said the bill would mostly benefit the states wealthiest residents and could lead to higher costs for low- and middle-income residents. Ohio has three tax rates: 0%, 2.75%, and 3.5% for tax year 2024. House Bill 30 would phase out the 3.5% rate and tax all income levels at a flat 2.75% beginning in tax year 2026. For tax year 2025, the highest income tax rate would be reduced from 3.5% to 3.125%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio Given Name Act proposes strict rules for names, pronouns in schools Beginning in tax year 2026, the highest tax rate would be eliminated and all income over $27,350 would be taxed at a rate of $378.69 plus 2.75% of excess over $27,350. Tax rates for TY 2024 Taxable Income Tax Rate $0 $26,050 0% of nonbusiness income $26,051 $100,000 $360.69 + 2.75% of excess over $26,050 $100,001+ $2,394.32 + 3.50% of excess over $100,000 Proposed tax rates for TY 2025 Taxable Income Tax Rate $0 $26,700 0% of nonbusiness income $26,701 $102,400 $369.69 + 2.75% of excess over $26,700 $102,401+ $2,451.44 + 3.125% of excess over $102,400 Proposed tax rates beginning in TY 2026 Taxable Income Tax Rate $0 $27,350 0% $27,351+ $378.69 + 2.75% of excess over $27,350 The House Ways and Means Committee had its first hearing on the bill on Wednesday. In sponsor testimony, Reps. Adam Matthews (R-Lebanon) and Brian Lampton (R-Beavercreek) wrote that getting rid of the highest tax rate and switching to a flat tax of 2.75% would help Ohio compete with neighboring states for growth and investment. Burger, hot dog chain to open first Ohio locations in Columbus area Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bills sponsors said that neighboring states like Pennsylvania and Indiana have flat taxes that are lower than Ohios highest rate. House Bill 30 and its implementation of a 2.75% flat tax rate will put Ohio in a position to lead the Midwest with a lower tax than our neighbors, thereby making us an economic model for the region, the sponsors wrote. Matthews and Lampton said Ohios population has declined every census since 1971 when the state had nine tax brackets with a top rate of 9.5%. This legislation is another important step that continues to build on the work we have already done to reduce the burden of taxation on the people, Lampton said in an statement to NBC4. By leaving more money in the hands of those who have earned it, we empower Ohioans to pursue their own ends and create more opportunities for economic growth in our great state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio is ready to reclaim our role as the economic engine of the Midwest. In just two years, we could have the lowest income tax in the region, thereby becoming a beacon of economic freedom and encouraging new investment in our state, Matthews said. Bodycam shows shooting of teenage murder suspect in northeast Columbus Policy Matters Ohio, which opposes the bill, said the proposal would not provide any benefits to households with incomes less than six figures while gutting the states budget. Bailey Williams, a tax policy researcher with Policy Matters Ohio, said that if the bill passed, it would mean libraries and school teachers would pay the same tax rate as corporate CEOs and professional athletes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A flat tax is a handout to the most well-off among us and it will devastate Ohios ability to provide services that benefit everyone, Williams said in a statement. Citing the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the organization said the bill would cost more than $1 billion equal to about 11% of the states income tax revenue for fiscal year 2024s General Revenue Fund. Ohio is already struggling to constitutionally fund our public schools, stabilize our failing childcare market, and provide meaningful property tax relief, Williams said. Instead of addressing those issues, lawmakers would rather continue to shift Ohios taxes onto low- and middle-income families. Williams said that local governments would have to either cut back on services or ask citizens to pay more, usually through property tax levies, as more public service costs would be passed on to local communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbus residents cautioned about brake checking and staged accident risks The historic rise in property values since the pandemic has shown the problem with overreliance on property taxes, he said. HB 30 will make things worse for those who can afford it least. Policy Matters Ohio called on lawmakers to reject HB 30 and instead close wasteful loopholes, tax corporations and target tax credits where theyre most effective. Matthews expressed optimism about getting the bill passed. Previous General Assemblies have included tax cuts in our recent state budgets, and I would expect we can get one done now as well, 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. Drinking water photo from the Ohio Governor's Office. A group of Ohio Republican lawmakers is moving to ban the state and public water systems from adding fluoride, which prevents tooth decay and cavities, to water. The Buckeye State is known for its water benefits, dentist Dr. Matthew Messina said. Weve had that kind of a profound increase in public health that comes from modern dentistry and fluoride is a part of that, Messina said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naturally occurring in water, fluoride is a mineral that years of research has shown strengthens teeth and prevents cavities and tooth decay. As the four-decade-long serving dentist explains, most public water systems add fluoride. Its hailed as one of the top public health measures in the last century, because really, for a very low cost and very low amount of effort, the massive benefit that this produces for the community is tremendous, he said. He has worked in communities that didnt have fluoride, he said, and the difference between children from cities and ones from rural areas that didnt have public water fluoridation was night and day. We got a chance to see rampant dental decay in children, he said. It was like going back to the dark ages, so I really hope wed never go back there again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has always been a back-and-forth for decades on fluoride, much like vaccines. In recent years, there has been a campaign to push back on the mineral in water. Although U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not a doctor, he has claimed that the mineral is toxic. Fluoride is an industrial waste, he wrote on X. The effort has trickled down to Ohio. State Rep. Levi Dean, R-Xenia, has proposed House Bill 182, which would ban public water systems from adding fluoride. It just says that individuals can then choose whether they want to ingest it or not its not forced on them, Dean told me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Current law requires water systems to fluoridate water if the natural content is less than .8 milligrams per liter. Its just for some people for health reasons or just even for individual freedom reasons, they dont want the local governments to force this into their drinking water, he said. Dean and his GOP cosponsors want to prohibit this. He argued that fluoride is bad for you. We asked him where he got this idea from since dozens upon dozens of research papers for decades disagree. He cited a recent research study sharing that fluoride may be linked to lower IQ in children. A study published by JAMA Pediatrics in January did a review and meta-analysis of whether exposure to fluoride was associated with kids IQ scores. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The authors found that there is a link between slightly lower IQ in children that have more exposure to the mineral. But Messina explained that this research article is being taken out of context. It brings up a study of parts of the world where naturally occurring fluoride levels are much higher than in most of the United States, and theyre higher than the target levels that we have set, the dentist said. Looking into the paper, the authors acknowledged that a majority of the studies they looked at were considered highly biased, none of the data is from the United States, and that there was uncertainty in the dose-response association. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the fluoride in the water was less than 1.5 mg/L, the link wasnt apparent. As mentioned, Ohio has a cap of .8 mg/L. Now, theres disagreement on the concentration of where that starts and how, but thats why I think it should be up to the individual to choose what levels they engage with fluoride at, Dean said. The lawmaker argued that if people really want fluoride, they can buy toothpaste, tablets, or drops. Im not arguing with the fact that it could be beneficial to some people for dental health, he said. Im arguing with the fact that should we be ingesting it, if the benefit is for your teeth, shouldnt you be applying it just to the teeth and not consuming it? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Toothpaste has significantly more fluoride than water does, which is why you are told to spit it out, according to the CDC. The Republican continued that this is about Ohioans having a choice just like he does, as he uses fluoride-free toothpaste. What kind of concerns do you have with Ohio considering to remove fluoride from all public water? we asked Messina. Well, if Ohio did that, we would be stepping back in time, he responded. We have a known beneficial, preventative part of our tool kit, and for us to continue to go forward without that were really leaving one of our best weapons behind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, seemed interested in the proposal because when asked if the state should keep fluoride in public water, he acknowledged that he didnt know. Fluoride naturally occurs in water, I just found that out this week, he said. They started adding it. He said that people over the past few years have been dismissed. Now there appears to be some science that says too much fluoride, including adding fluoride, is bad for folks, he said. Im not a scientist, Im not a chemist Were going to sort of litigate that question in the legislature here over the next couple of months. I dont know the answer to your question. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, whose background is in public health, was not thrilled to hear about the bill. I entirely support fluoride in water, she said, noting that the benefits are clear in dental health. We asked her if she saw this as an effort to privatize water. I see this as a basic human right, she continued. I think the expectation of every household in this country is that you have access to clean tap water in your households. Gov. Mike DeWine, who is routinely against non-doctors making health decisions, is not commenting on this bill yet. Knowing the governor, this would not be out of the realm of a possible veto. He consistently states that he supports science, vaccines, best practices of doctors in gender-affirming care, prevention of tobacco for kids and the stopping of medical misinformation. 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 Twitter and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Ohio now has its very own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Kind of. DOGE cuts hitting Ohio farmers, food banks Ohio Republican House members created an Ohio House DOGE caucus earlier this month. It is not a new department, unlike Elon Musks efforts in Washington, DC; instead, it is a group of lawmakers who will meet minimum monthly, according to Rep. Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville), the caucus vice chairman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio House Republicans were invited to be part of the caucus via email. The email reads, The goal of this caucus is not to capture headlines and score political points; we intent to create a working group of like-minded, principled members to exchange ideas and produce good legislation. Members who wanted to join were able to under the condition that they will pledge to introduce at least one bill each year that: Reduces the size and scope of state government Eliminates or reduces reckless or excessive spending Streamlines compliance time with regulatory agencies Reduces the tax burden on Ohioans. Ferguson said the goal is to make effective legislative fixes to bugs in state government. He said fixes by rules and regulations from the executive branch are great but can too easily be undone by a new administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOGE cancels $699K OSU research grant examining cannabis use in LGBTQ+ women Federally, Elon Musk has no authority to do anything by law, Ferguson said. He can only do so much as whats in the executive branch. We are looking to actually make legislative changes in the spirit of DOGE, and thats the real difference, is to take legislative action, laws to better operate, not purely executive decisions. There are about two dozen members in the caucus, which has met three times. Once in person, once virtually, and once with Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber, at his request, according to Ferguson. Our role is really to be a support of the DOGE caucus, Faber said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Faber said his office does two main things. First, he and his team find things that are waste, fraud and abuse, similar to Musk in D.C. he said. The waste, fraud and abuse side of our operation is where we find people who are lying, stealing and cheating or doing things that is not in a proper public purpose, he said. Second, his office helps other government departments and entities run more smoothly. Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty addresses DOGE, Department of Education The other thing we do that DOGE in D.C. has not yet got to, but hopefully they will, is we find ways to do government jobs, things that government should be doing better, faster, cheaper, Faber said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So given his job description, does he think the new DOGE caucus is redundant? Absolutely not, Faber said. I think the legislature needs to frankly strengthen their oversight role and, candidly, one of the benefits that the state legislature has over Congress is theyre not as dysfunctional as DC. Faber said his team will continue to work with state lawmakers, not just the DOGE caucus, as they have for generations. He said in some instances, he may still go straight to the source, for example, the House or Senate finance chair, with proposals and questions, instead of DOGE caucus members. [DOGE caucus members] are going to deploy and educate members across the platform, Faber said. I dont think theyre going to necessarily be making decisions. Theyre trying to formulate a policy to talk about how decisions could be made in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Faber added that most legislative caucuses like the DOGE one are for sharing ideas. He said the more legislation that helps things run smoother, the better. Sweeping Ohio higher education bill up for governors signature As far as the effectiveness of the caucus goes, Faber said he thinks, The process of empowering the legislature to have meaningful oversight is priceless. He said this is something that a lot of people have been asking for, as far back as 2012. I think it magnifies our role, Faber said. I think it enhances our role. We certainly want to work with them cooperatively. We will meet with them at their request as they need. We will continue to be a resource. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How do other leaders feel about the caucus? Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said, We can always do better, we can always find efficiencies and said he welcomes those who want to try. When asked if he thinks it is a good use of time, DeWine said, I think its always something that we can, you know, find thingswell see. The Ohio Senate does not have any involvement in this caucus, but Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said he welcomes the idea. Ohio lawmakers want to ban HOAs from prohibiting thin blue line flags I believe we can always look for more efficiencies in government, he said. And certainly, if members of the House and/or the Senate want to take a deeper look at how we can become more efficient and how we can increase cost savings in government, I think theres nothing but good that can come from that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said she fully supports being more efficient and effective with our dollars. Thats our duty as elected officials, to be good stewards of the taxpayer dollar, she said. Republicans have had control of the state for three decades and the sudden interest in efficiency, in cutting government waste, this has been a Republican-controlled state. So, my only question is what took them so long to care about this issue? Caucuses typically meet behind closed doors to discuss ideas and legislation; they do not take any votes on bills in those closed-door meetings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Ohio State Bar Association is warning of a legal service crisis in rural counties. In 82 of the states 88 counties, there are not enough attorneys for the population. When there arent attorneys around or available to help folks sort of protect their rights or help folks navigate through some of the difficult bureaucracies to get public benefits and things like that, then people just dont get those things, said Sondra Bryson, Senior Attorney with Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio. Ross County inmate charged in deadly beating of corrections officer Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Ohio Bar, the ideal ratio is one attorney for every 700 residents. Franklin County is the only one in central Ohio that meets this criterion. Some of the other attorney to population ratios include: Delaware County: 1/1,148 Fairfield County: 1/1,731 Licking County: 1/1,680 Pickaway County: 1/2,097 Union County: 1/1,781 Bryson said this leaves attorneys stretched thin. We just cant help everybody, she said Theres a larger need for our services than what were able to meet. Bryson said this causes attorneys and clients to have to travel further for legal services. Folks would have to travel outside of the community where they may not feel as comfortable, where they may not understand the cultures, where the attorneys may not understand the people that are coming to them to be represented, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio lawmakers want to ban HOAs from prohibiting thin blue line flags The Ohio Bar said many current attorneys are nearing retirement. They said the median age of private practice lawyers in Ohio is 54.5 years old. In some rural areas, its up to 60 or 70 years old. Theres just not newer people coming in to replace that, Bryson said. The Ohio Bar said they are working on several different initiatives to get attorneys in these rural counties including expanding the Rural Practice Incentive Program. It provides loan repayment assistance to attorneys who practice in underserved areas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. 28The Ohio Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a Warren County child sex abuse case on whether a Franklin Twp. man was denied the right to a fair trial. At issue is whether a juror was biased based on his responses during voir dire, the process of questioning jurors to ensure impartiality, ahead of the July 2023 trial for Todd Jeffrey Rogers in Warren County Common Pleas Court. The jury ultimately convicted Rogers, 44, of one count each of rape of a child younger than 10, attempted rape of a child younger than 10 and six counts of gross sexual imposition, all felony charges. Judge Robert Peeler sentenced him to 15 years to life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rogers is incarcerated in the London Correctional Institution and will be eligible for parole in 2038, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction website. Rogers appealed his conviction to the 12th District Court of Appeals, based in Middletown, claiming that the juror showed bias against him and tainted the jury, requiring a new trial. He also said his attorney was ineffective by not challenging the prospective juror for cause and eliminating him from the panel. The Warren County Prosecutor's Office responded that a prospective juror's preconceived thoughts about a case do not mean a person can't be impartial, and that in group answers the juror also said he could fairly decide the case, according to court records. Appellate judges in April 2024 upheld Rogers' conviction, agreeing with the prosecution that the full jury, including the juror in question, answered in the affirmative when asked whether they could apply the law as explained to them, along with other similar questions. The record as a whole shows that the juror was not biased, the appeals court concluded in its ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rogers then appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, which agreed to review the issues: When prospective jurors confirm as a group that they will apply the law, does that overcome one prospective juror's expressions of partiality? After expressing partiality, must a prospective juror individually affirm that he or she can be impartial to be seated on the jury? A Warren County grand jury indicted Rogers in September 2022 on charges of rape, attempted rape and gross sexual imposition involving an 8-year-old girl known to Rogers who said she had been abused since she was 5, according to court records. Prospective jurors were asked questions by the judge, prosecutor and defense counsel during voir dire, with some questions directed individually and others to the group as a whole. The judge explained the nature of the case, that it involved a child and that jurors would hear from a child witness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judge said to the group of prospective jurors: "You can't apply sympathy and you can't apply prejudice. It has to be fair when you're evaluating this case. Is there anyone who thinks they would have trouble doing that with a child witness?" One prospective juror, who was identified in the briefs by the fictitious name "McCarthy," said, "I might have a hard time with it." The judge asked McCarthy: "Do you think you can follow the instructions I give to you in this case ... Can you put that aside and listen to the evidence and, and be fair?" McCarthy responded: "It's a good question. I don't have an answer for you." The judge said the attorneys could explore McCarthy's responses further. Defense counsel asked the group, "So if you had to give us a verdict right now, guilty or not guilty, knowing that there's a presumption of innocence, that he's innocent as he sits here right now, what would your verdict be?" McCarthy responded, "I'd say it'd be hard for me to say that's he's not guilty," he said. "... there's someone from the police department that's gonna talk. So, yeah, people don't wind up here from not doing anything." Defense counsel did not seek to remove McCarthy as a juror. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rogers argues that McCarthy expressed bias against him throughout voir dire. McCarthy said that he did not know whether he could fairly evaluate a case involving a child. He also said he would have difficulty presuming Rogers was innocent until proven otherwise. "It is hard to imagine a more explicit admission of bias," Rogers' brief stated, and also noted that the juror never individually said he would set aside his opinions, which Rogers said resulted in a jury that was not impartial. Warren County prosecutors said a juror's preconceived notion about a defendant's guilt or innocence does not mean a prospective juror is not capable of being impartial and that McCarthy's responses showed his internal struggle rather than an actual bias. Smart energy meter. (Stock photo via Getty Images) This story was originally published by Canary Media. Another proposed energy-saving program is on the chopping block in Ohio. Duke Energy Ohio quietly dropped plans late last year to roll out a broad portfolio of programs that would have boosted energy efficiency and encouraged customers to use less electricity during times of peak demand. The plans, which would have saved ratepayers nearly $126 million over three years after deductions for costs, were part of a regulatory filing last April that sought to increase charges on customers electric bills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The move came after settlement talks with other stakeholders, including the states consumer advocate, which opposes collecting ratepayer money to provide the programs to people who arent in low-income groups. State regulators are now weighing whether to approve the settlement with a much smaller efficiency program focused on low-income neighborhoods. The case is the latest chapter in a struggle to restore utility-run programs for energy efficiency after House Bill 6, the 2019 nuclear and coal bailout law that also gutted the states renewable energy standards and eliminated requirements for utilities to help customers save energy. Studies show that utility-run energy-efficiency programs are among the cheapest ways to meet growing electricity needs and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Lower demand means fossil-fuel power plants can run less often. Less wasted energy translates into lower bills for customers who take advantage of efficiency programs. Even customers who dont directly participate benefit because the programs lower peak demand when power costs the most. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Energy efficiency can also put downward pressure on capacity prices amounts paid by grid operators to electricity producers to make sure enough generation will be available for future needs. Due to high projected demand compared to available generation, capacity prices for most of the PJM region, including Ohio, will jump ninefold in June to about $270 per megawatt-day. At a time when PJM is saying were facing capacity shortages, we should be doing everything we can to reduce demand, said Rob Kelter, a senior attorney for the Environmental Law & Policy Center. Since 2019, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has generally rejected utility efforts to offer widely available, ratepayer-funded programs for energy efficiency. Legislative efforts to clarify that such programs are allowed under Ohio law have been introduced but failed to pass. In the current case, Duke Energy Ohio, which serves about 750,000 customers in southwestern Ohio, proposed a portfolio of efficiency offerings that would have cost ratepayers about $75 million over the course of three years but created net savings of nearly $126 million over the same period. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The package included energy-efficient appliance rebates, incentives for off-peak energy use, education programs for schools, and home energy assessments. The company also proposed incentives for customers who let it curtail air conditioning on hot days through smart thermostats. In November, Duke Energy Ohio filed a proposed settlement with the PUCO staff, the Office of the Ohio Consumers Counsel, industry groups, and others. The terms drop all the programs for energy efficiency, except for one geared toward low-income consumers at a cost of up to $2.4 million per year. The Environmental Law & Policy Center and Ohio Environmental Council objected, as did a consumer group, the Citizens Utility Board of Ohio. The PUCO will decide whether to approve the settlement plan by evaluating whether it benefits ratepayers and the public interest, whether it is the result of serious bargaining among knowledgable parties, and whether it violates any important regulatory principles or practices. Witnesses testified for and against the settlement at a hearing in January. Parties filed briefs in February and March. Duke Energy Ohio argued in its brief that the settlement will still benefit customers and serve the public interest, even without the energy-efficiency programs for consumers who arent low-income. It also suggested that cutting out most of the energy-efficiency measures was needed to reach a deal with other stakeholders and the PUCO. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Staff at the PUCO said the settlement would benefit customers by cutting some projects and limiting how high other charges could go. They dismissed objections about dropping broadly available programs for energy efficiency. [T]he standard is whether ratepayers benefit, not whether they could have benefitted more, state lawyers wrote in their brief. The Environmental Law & Policy Center, Ohio Environmental Council, and Citizens Utility Board of Ohio all argued there is no evidence to support dropping the energy-efficiency programs. They questioned the approach by a Consumers Counsel witness of counting only avoided rider costs as benefits, without considering the projected savings from energy efficiency. The Consumers Counsel defended its perspective in an email to Canary Media. We oppose subsidizing energy efficiency programs through utility rates when those products and services are already available in the competitive marketplace, the offices statement said. And when the programs are run by the utility, there are added charges to consumers, such as shared savings and lost distribution revenue. The statement also noted that other PUCO decisions have refused to allow energy-efficiency programs that would serve groups other than low-income households. Last year, for example, the PUCO allowed FirstEnergy to run a low-income energy-efficiency program but turned down its proposal to include generally available rebates in a rider package. Those are better suited for the competitive market, where both residential and non-residential customers will be able to obtain products and services to meet their individual needs, the commissions opinion said. The commission did, however, say the company should develop a rebate program for smart thermostats to help customers manage their energy use. FirstEnergy included that in its latest rider plan filed on Jan. 31. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio has been particularly devoid of programs like those dropped in Dukes settlement since HB 6 took effect, said Trent Dougherty, a lawyer for the Citizens Utility Board of Ohio. Calculations as of 2019 estimated the laws gutting of the states energy-efficiency standard costs each consumer savings of nearly $10 per month. Continuing a pattern of wish-casting, that the market will provide the savings that HB 6 took away, is not a solution, Dougherty said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The Oklahoma National Guard is preparing a deployment ceremony for the 145th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment on March 30. Military officials say approximately 10 Oklahoma Army National Guardsmen will deploy overseas to conduct public affairs activities in support of Special Operations Command Europe. Fire officials urging caution during grilling season with recent fires DATE: Sunday, March 30 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TIME: 10:00 a.m. LOCATION: Multi-Unit Readiness Center located at 6800 N. Kelley Ave., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Following the ceremony, the deploying soldiers will move on to Fort Cavazos, Texas, for post-mobilization training. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Mar. 28MIDLAND An Oklahoma man was sentenced in a federal court in Midland to 540 months in prison for charges related to sexual exploitation of children. According to court documents, on Jan. 30, 2024, Jonathon Chase Russell, 36, of Elk City, posted in a messaging app 15 images that depicted two minor females engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The next day, Russell sent three of the images to an undercover federal investigator, stating that the two minors were three and 11 years old. Further investigation led FBI agents to identify Russell's IP addresses and locate him at a hotel in Midland. On Feb. 8, 2024, agents executed a warrant on his hotel room, where they discovered pairs of children's underwear and a green tactical backpack that contained sexual devices. Agents also discovered a smartphone, which had been hidden underneath a refrigerator and which forensic examination revealed contained a substantial collection of images depicting sexual abuse of minor children. The Western District of Texas filed a three-count indictment on Feb. 28, 2024, charging Russell with possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Russell was also indicted in the Western District of Oklahoma on April 3, 2024, for one count of production of visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. His Oklahoma case was transferred to Midland, and on Aug. 19, 2024, Russell pleaded guilty to the count charged in the Western District of Oklahoma indictment and to all three counts charged in the Western District of Texas via a superseding indictment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The lengthy sentence imposed in this case reflects the immense damage this individual inflicted on multiple children, who will be plagued by these experiences for the rest of their lives," said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. "Along with our law enforcement partners and, when necessary, across districts, we will continue to hold accountable the predators who harm the lives of children through illicit sexual crimes." "This defendant's abhorrent behavior has been put to an end thanks to cooperation between federal prosecutors and law enforcement across the country," said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma. "The lengthy sentence imposed is yet another example of the Department's focus on protecting children and serving justice to those who seek to target the most vulnerable in our communities." "The significant sentence imposed on Jonathan Chase Russell sends a clear message that there are serious consequences for those individuals who exploit children. Russell will serve the next 45 years in federal prison for his incomprehensible acts," said John Morales, FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge. "We remain committed in working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who victimize the most vulnerable members of our society, our children, from infants to toddlers to young children to teenagers, we will hunt you down and serve justice for these horrendous crimes." The FBI investigated the case with assistance of the Elk City Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Haywood prosecuted the case for the Western District of Texas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ganz prosecuted the Western District of Oklahoma's case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. MIDLAND, Texas An Oklahoma man was sentenced in a federal court in Midland to 45 years in prison for charges related to sexual exploitation of children. According to court documents, on January 30, 2024, Jonathon Chase Russell, 36, of Elk City, posted 15 images in a messaging app that depicted two minor girls engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The next day, Russell sent three of the images to an undercover federal investigator, stating that the two minors were three and 11 years old. Further investigation led Federal Bureau of Investigation agents to Russells IP addresses, and he was found at a hotel in Midland. On February 8, 2024, agents executed a warrant on his hotel room, where they discovered pairs of childrens underwear and a green tactical backpack that contained sexual devices. Agents also discovered a smartphone, which had been hidden underneath a refrigerator and which forensic examination revealed contained a substantial collection of images depicting sexual abuse of minor children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Western District of Texas filed a three-count indictment on February 28, 2024, and charged Russell with possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Russell was also indicted in the Western District of Oklahoma on April 3, 2024, for one count of production of visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. His Oklahoma case was transferred to Midland and August and Russell pleaded guilty to the count charged in the Western District of Oklahoma indictment and to all three counts charged in the Western District of Texas via a superseding indictment. The lengthy sentence imposed in this case reflects the immense damage this individual inflicted on multiple children, who will be plagued by these experiences for the rest of their lives, said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. Along with our law enforcement partners and, when necessary, across districts, we will continue to hold accountable the predators who harm the lives of children through illicit sexual crimes. This defendants abhorrent behavior has been put to an end thanks to cooperation between federal prosecutors and law enforcement across the country, said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma. The lengthy sentence imposed is yet another example of the Departments focus on protecting children and serving justice to those who seek to target the most vulnerable in our communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The significant sentence imposed on Jonathan Chase Russell sends a clear message that there are serious consequences for those individuals who exploit children. Russell will serve the next 45 years in federal prison for his incomprehensible acts, said John Morales, FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge. We remain committed in working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who victimize the most vulnerable members of our society, our children, from infants to toddlers to young children to teenagers, we will hunt you down and serve justice for these horrendous crimes. The FBI investigated the case with assistance of the Elk City 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 Yourbasin. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Businesses and residents in Old Town are growing frustrated with a local outreach group, claiming they block roadways and take over parking lots without permits. Community Free Store PDX is a group that sets up in Old Town weekly to hand out things like clothes and snacks to homeless in the area. People in the neighborhood say the group blocks access to roads and sidewalks. Jessie Burke is a chair on the Old Town Community Association, and she said she has been fielding complains about the group for months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 12K+ Oregon taxpayers impacted by Employment Department tax form error People are furious, she said. Thats how residents feel for places like the cultural institutions. People cant get in or out of parking areas. They cant get down streets that they need to get home. At one point, they took over across the Portland owned parking lot, and people couldnt get out of the parking lot. The Portland Police Bureau said that over the past several months theyve responded to a number of concerns about the group. In a statement, Brian Hughes with PPB said, While we recognize and appreciate the intentions behind this outreach, PPBs primary role has been to respond when their gatherings obstruct public rights of way, including sidewalks, roadways, and access to private property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amtrak Cascades now down to one train after Horizon fleet taken out of service Scott Kerman, executive director of non-profit Blanchet House, said they have not had too many problems with the Community Free Store group. But because there are so many people doing outreach in Old Town already, he said they might have more of an impact going somewhere else. Next time you might want to try to explore some areas in town where theres not already services located, he said. And you can help people who dont have easy access to Blanches house or another service provider. And thats were just trying to be helpful. PPB said they are focused on protecting peoples rights to assemble and share resources, but they also need to protect the communitys rights to access roads and sidewalks. KOIN 6 reached out to Community Free Store but did not receive a response. 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. GREENVILLE, N.C (WNCT) The Greenville Police Department arrested a suspect connected to a double homicide. Jaywon Demario Everett, 19, is charged with one open count of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery and one count of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. On Mar. 21, 2025, Greenville Police officers arrived at a home on Caldwell Court around 4:30 p.m. There, they found Tiheen Bell, 18, with gunshot wounds. During investigation, they also found Jamere Ravelle, 19, in a parking lot near Kristin Drive with gunshot wounds. Both died from their injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Greenville Police Department and the Pitt County District Attorneys Office conducted a joint investigation where it was revealed that Everett and Bell had arranged to meet Ravelle at Caldwell Court with intent to rob him. It is believed that Bell shot and killed Ravelle during this meeting. A fourth person whose identity will not be released, is believed to have returned fire in self-defense, killing Bell. This person will not be facing any charges. Everett has been charged under North Carolinas felony murder rule, which holds people accountable for a death that occurs during the commission or attempted commission of certain felonies, including robbery. The investigation remains ongoing and no further information is available at this time. 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. State Senator Randy Fine made no apologies Thursday after using the term terrorist rag when referring to a keffiyeh, a Middle Eastern headdress, worn by a person speaking in committee earlier this week. Fine said in an interview with Channel 9 that anyone who wears a keffiyeh supports terrorism. Robert Lee spoke only on 9. Hes the person Fine made that comment to. Lee says he wears the Middle Eastern garment to show solidarity with Palestine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He says he was taken back by Fines comment, adding that he was upset and frustrated. I feel like that its just furthering the, you know, the, the propaganda against the people of Palestine trying to paint an entire people, you know, as terrorists, you know, and its you know, its just not a fair comment to make, Lee said. Before Fine made comment, Fine spoke out against a bill that would prohibit the use of preferred pronouns in government workplaces. Lee also spoke against Fine cutting the allotted time of a speaker because she required a translator to 15 seconds. Then, Fine told Lee his 30 seconds to speak was up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But youre done too, next, 30 seconds, Fine said interrupting. Yeah, 30 seconds is disgusting, Lee replied. Fine says that people in the committee meeting were disrespectful to him, making comments like Madam Chair to Fine who serves as chair of the committee. Fine said people intentionally wore the garment in the committee because hes Jewish. And that the act of someone wearing one is offensive. It is the symbol of Hamas. It is the symbol of Hezbollah. And call it whatever they want. But the truth is, thats like saying the swastika on an on an armband is just a symbol of German, Fine said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fines opponent in the congressional race, Josh Weil, released a statement to Channel 9 saying, Randy Fine has no respect for Floridians and people who disagree with him. His comments are always intended to fearmonger - he is not the type of leader who will be looking out for FL-06 voters, only for himself. Fine responded to the statement, calling his opponent Jihad Josh. And so, of course, he wants to legitimize the use of this terrorist rag, just like the Nazis wanted to legitimize the use of the swastika. It is no different. He believes in Muslim terror. Hes not afraid to say it. And voters have to decide, do they want jihad Josh Weil? Or do they want someone like me whos willing to fight for American values?, Fine said. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. OpenAI released a new image generator this week, sparking a meme frenzy and controversy. Users flooded social media with images in the style of the Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli. The trend has fueled a debate on copyright, with some accusing OpenAI of exploiting artists' work. From meme madness to copyright concerns, the release of OpenAI's new image generator this week has been nothing short of dramatic. Soon after "Images for ChatGPT" was unveiled on Tuesday, an X user said OpenAI's 4o tool generated a "sexy man" but wouldn't create "sexy women." That caught the attention of OpenAI's chief, Sam Altman, who blamed a "bug" and promised a fix. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then came the tsunami of images generated in the distinctive style of the renowned Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli. X users flooded the platform with Ghibli-fied versions of their own photos, popular memes, public figures such as President Donald Trump, and scenes from films including "The Wolf of Wall Street." Im having way too much fun with these. Any ideas? pic.twitter.com/WMncbpxodE Adam Wren (@G0ADM) March 26, 2025 Even Altman joined in on the hype and swapped out his profile picture with a Ghibli-style photo of himself. The White House's official X account jumped on the bandwagon, too, and shared a Ghibli-fied photo of a woman arrested by ICE for illegally entering the US. Ghibli tsunami At first it seemed like a lighthearted moment of things being reimagined through a Ghibli lens, until things took a darker turn. OpenAI users Ghibli-fied images of historic events including JFK's assassination, the 9/11 attacks, and World War II. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OpenAI said Wednesday that it had started blocking requests for Ghibli-style images and that it was taking a "conservative approach" by refusing user attempts to create images in the likeness of a living artist. An OpenAI spokesperson told Business Insider on Wednesday night that it still allowed users to generate images in "broader studio styles." Savvy users found workarounds. BI's Pranav Dixit tried out the tool on Thursday using the paid-for version and found it would still generate several images in the Ghibli style. OpenAI then decided to limit the number of images users of its free tier model could generate a day. Altman joked on X that OpenAI's servers were "melting" from the surge in demand. It now appears the free version of ChatGPT is refusing image requests entirely, citing copyright rules. Copyright questions While the internet had its fun, a fierce debate about whether OpenAI was unfairly using the work of artists including Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki has begun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some X users criticized those Ghibli-fying images, arguing that Miyazaki, a famed Japanese artist renowned for his meticulous hand-drawn animations that can take years to create, poured his heart and soul into his work. Ghibli is known for its animated features, which include "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away." "Spirited Away" is one of Studio Ghibli's animated features. Studio Ghibli Ed Newton-Rex, the CEO of the nonprofit Fairly Trained, which certifies AI companies with fair training practices, described the controversy as a "takeoff moment for AI protests." It's reminiscent of the Scarlett Johansson saga last year, when the actor threatened to sue OpenAI over a voice chatbot feature that many said sounded like her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It raises the question of whether Ghibli-gate will be the latest copyright headache for OpenAI following a barrage of lawsuits from news outlets, authors, and musicians who say their work was used to train its models without consent. Newton-Rex wrote in X post on Thursday that "obvious and egregious IP theft by AI companies has united authors and artists in outrage." "Suspect protests will only grow as the effects are felt by more & more professions," he added. There's also growing concern about what the new tool means for graphic designers and AI image-generator startups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said on X that he was "not as amused as many others" as OpenAI's latest offering had "wiped out" some companies and had "serious implications for countless jobs." Read the original article on Business Insider The recent transfer of migrant gang members from Tren de Aragua to El Salvadors Terrorism Confinement Center highlights widespread agreement on the need to deport migrant criminals. However, this obscures a much larger, unresolved issue: the millions of other migrants many of whom have built lives and families in the U.S. now caught in a web of uncertainty. This uncertainty has left many living in fear of arbitrary detention. Exaggerated stories about individuals being swept up in the immigration net regardless of their situation circulate widely. Although most of these tales are untrue, the fear is genuine. Migrants now question whether they will receive due process or face detention in everyday situations, like at Walmart, at social gatherings or even at church on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the migrant perspective, their arrival was not only expected by the prior administration but, for many, facilitated. Asylum seekers were invited in. Transportation, food and lodging eased the journey to the southern border for many, along with promises they believed offered a chance at a better life. Now, what once seemed like an opportunity to live the American dream is threatened by shifting policies and the looming fear of deportation. Adding to this anxiety, 500,000 of the 1.5 million migrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela who were granted work permits now face the looming expiration of those permits and their deportation protections by April 24 of this year. What once seemed like a saving grace now feels like an impending crisis. On the other side, many Americans have grown frustrated with the crime, cost and disorder associated with the ongoing wave of migration, and what they perceive as negligence by the Biden administration. While the intent to help people might have been there, insufficient safeguards allowed criminal networks to exploit migrants, including the surge of minor children lost in the chaos of human trafficking and abuse. These policies have strained public resources, costing billions and overwhelming social services such as education and healthcare. Many Americans feel these services, funded by their taxes, should prioritize citizens over migrants without legal standing. This growing frustration stems not from resentment but from concern about the continuing financial burden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many also believe migrants should be more self-sufficient, contributing to society by working and paying taxes rather than relying on public assistance. This dissatisfaction grows when people perceive migrants as committing crimes or draining the system economically. At the same time, it is critical to recognize that many migrants have contributed positively to society. Law-abiding individuals who follow the rules, work, pay taxes and raise families should have a clear path to some kind of legal status. Pathways to citizenship for those who have built lives here such as Dreamers and those who contribute meaningfully to society should be considered as part of any immigration reform package. This approach would not only address the human side of the issue but also create a more productive and sustainable immigration system. Equally important, there is a perception, fueled by anecdotal reports and attention-grabbing headlines, that some migrants are gaming U.S. assistance programs. These stories often involve individuals allegedly working off the books, avoiding taxes, receiving benefits like food stamps, or engaging in green card marriages of convenience. While the full extent of such fraud remains unclear, anyone who takes advantage of public services or commits fraud should be subject to deportation. These actions undermine the integrity of the system and divert resources from those who genuinely need help. There should be zero tolerance for individuals who exploit public programs for personal gain. The situation demands clarity and due process. Migrants who follow the law should be allowed to live and work without fear of arbitrary deportation. And the American public needs assurance that public services are not abused. A transparent immigration system that distinguishes law-abiding migrants from those who break the law is essential. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Polling consistently shows strong support for deporting those involved in violent crimes or nonviolent offenses, but there is a sharp drop in support for deporting migrants who have only violated immigration laws, particularly those who have lived in the U.S. for over a decade or have U.S. citizen children. This highlights the need for a nuanced, fair approach one that balances public safety with the human impact on families. The Trump administration must outline clear, transparent guidelines for deportation priorities now. An immigration judge should review every case, ensuring deportations are based on facts, not political whim. Public understanding of the reasoning behind each decision is crucial. To reinforce this transparency, border czar Tom Homan or another official should hold regularly public briefings not in soundbites or quick takes but thorough, in-depth discussions that offer clear explanations of immigration policies and deportation priorities. The public deserves a full, transparent explanation, not just managed talking points. Its time for the executive branch and Congress to work together to create a clear and effective immigration reform framework. Both sides must move beyond partisan divides and focus on practical, actionable solutions. The executive branch must clarify deportation priorities, and Congress must pass legislation that balances national security with compassion. Congress is responsible for ensuring a fair and efficient system. It is time for them to act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the 2026 elections fast approaching, immigration will remain a pivotal issue. The party that presents a clear, well-articulated plan will not only secure the backing of key voting blocs but also play a critical role in shaping the future direction of Congress and solidifying the legacy of the Trump administration. Ron MacCammon, Ed.D, is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel and former political officer with the Department of State. He has written extensively on security, governance, and international affairs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Michael Waltz must be the first national security advisor to express foreign policy through emojis. In the now-infamous group on encrypted messaging platform Signal, the former Green Beret colonel and Florida congressman characterized air strikes in Yemen with a trio of icons: a clenched fist, an American flag and a fire. It is certainly not a traditional vernacular for the Principals Committee of the National Security Council. It is hard to predict what the fall out will be from the astonishing breach of security that included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, in a conversation about impending military action. In a situation in which there is not much credit to go around, Waltz has at least taken responsibility for the embarrassing failure. However, it is worth looking beyond its compromising nature and examining the underlying context. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those involved in the Signal leak and supporters of the administration have fumbled for responses and thrown the net wide. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth swung wildly at Goldberg himself. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe denied to a Senate committee that the messages had included any classified information. President Trump himself was magisterially dismissive, remarking that they used an app a lot of people in government use. The line taken by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was more interesting. Once a bitter opponent of Trump, Cruz has trimmed to accommodate new realities. While admitting that the security breach was embarrassing, Cruz focused his attention elsewhere: If you look at the underlying substance of what they were discussing, I think we actually should be very encouraged When you go to the department store, youre paying more because of this terrorism. What the entire text thread is about is President Trump directed his national security team take out the terrorists and open up the shipping lanes. Thats terrific. The Trump administration has certainly increased the tempo of military operations against the Houthis over the past two months. Two days after his inauguration, Trump redesignated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization after President Joe Biden had delisted it in 2021. In February, he and Hegseth granted senior military commanders greater freedom to authorize air strikes and special forces operations and widened the range of enemy personnel who could be targeted. On March 15, U.S. forces launched attacks against the Houthis with at least 40 air strikes carried out across Yemen. These have continued daily. The Pentagon recently announced that the USS Harry S. Truman and its carrier strike group would remain in the Middle East for an additional month, while Carrier Strike Group One, with its flagship USS Carl Vinson, arrives in Central Commands area of operations. This means the U.S. will have two carrier groups in the region for a period. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, U.S. forces in Africa Command have been attacking targets in Somalia since the beginning of February to degrade Islamic State-Somalia Province, mainly in the Golis Mountains in Puntland, a semi-autonomous area in northern Somalia. There are several factors at work. As Cruz identified, the strikes against the Houthis are intended to reduce the threat to commercial shipping through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal which began in late 2023 after the Houthis started their attacks, ostensibly in solidarity with Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel. The Houthis are one of the armed proxy groups of Iran, and Trump made it clear earlier in March on Truth Social that every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN. At the same time, the threat from Islamic State in Somalia, while it is not sponsored by Iran, is part of a regional threat to U.S. interests and to global commerce. If America seeks to use its military power to face these challenges, it needs a coherent regional strategy that encompasses the Arabian Peninsula, the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. There have been suggestions that Trump might recognize Somaliland as an independent state, a policy I proposed the U.S. explore over a year ago. This would be a major change of direction, but Somalia continues to be a fragile, only semi-functional polity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Devising and executing an overarching strategy to diminish the threat of terrorism, curtail Iranian influence and avoid letting China establish its dominance by default would be enormously demanding. Saudi Arabia first intervened in the civil war in Yemen in 2015 and, after a huge expenditure of effort and resources, has little to show for it save a badly tarnished reputation. The recent dismissals of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of Naval Operations and the vice chief of staff of the Air Force have created turbulence within the Pentagon, and the reckless abolition of the Office of Net Assessment will not make planning any easier. Nevertheless, there is a significant strategic prize here for Trump if he can apply the focus, discipline and consistency necessary to take it. 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carneys recent visit to Iqaluit in Canadas High North, supposedly about Arctic security, was nothing more than a carefully staged photo-op. Carney has spent his career obsessing over carbon credits and ESG scores, not national defense. His sudden interest in the Arctic is about politics, not security. While the new prime minster posed for cameras and lectured on climate resilience and sustainable investment, Russia was expanding its Arctic military infrastructure and China was pressing forward with its bid to entrench itself in Arctic governance. Carneys worldview, built on the belief that global finance and regulation are the ultimate levers of power, ignores the hard reality that sovereignty is upheld by military strength. Carneys proposed Arctic strategy reflects his fixation on green policies rather than concrete security needs. He envisions a future where Canada asserts sovereignty not through military presence or strategic infrastructure, but through climate-friendly economic development. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His plan prioritizes clean energy projects, international environmental cooperation and increased investment in sustainable industries. He argues that by positioning Canada as a leader in Arctic climate policy, the country will gain influence and legitimacy in shaping the regions governance. But this vision ignores the fact that the Arctic is not merely an environmental frontier it is a contested geopolitical space where adversaries are not waiting for Canadas green investments to dictate the rules of engagement. Carney has always put ideological commitments ahead of national interests. As governor of the Bank of England, he pushed financial institutions to abandon fossil fuel investments, dismissing energy security as a secondary concern. As a U.N. climate envoy, he promoted carbon reduction targets while ignoring the economic and geopolitical consequences for Western countries. Now, with his political future in mind, hes repackaging his green agenda as an Arctic strategy. But no amount of renewable energy projects will deter Russian bombers from testing Canadian airspace or stop China from mapping Arctic waters for its own strategic use. Operation Nanook, Canadas annual Arctic military exercise, was supposed to reassure Canadians that the government is serious about northern defense. Instead, it highlighted just how unprepared Canada really is. While Canadian troops trained alongside their NATO counterparts, Russia continued its Arctic military buildup, deploying hypersonic missiles and running war games along NATOs northern flank. Meanwhile, China quietly expanded its Arctic presence under the guise of scientific research and economic partnerships. The U.S. has strengthened its military posture in Alaska, recognizing the Arctic as a growing theater of competition. Canada remains an afterthought. Canadian Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievres proposed Arctic strategy is a long-overdue correction. The Arctic is no longer a frozen frontier it is a contested space where hard power matters. Russia has spent decades fortifying its Arctic holdings, building military bases, expanding its nuclear submarine fleet and developing a new class of icebreakers designed for strategic dominance. China, though geographically distant, has declared itself a near-Arctic state and is embedding itself in Arctic governance institutions to shape the regions future. Canada cannot safeguard its Arctic sovereignty through diplomatic gestures and economic initiatives alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Poilievres focus on military presence is an acknowledgment of reality: Canadas Arctic defense is threadbare. The Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessels, while an improvement, are too few in number and lack the endurance for sustained Arctic operations. The Canadian Rangers, invaluable as they are, are not a substitute for a modern defense force. Poilievres plan to establish a permanent military base in Iqaluit would provide logistics support for Arctic patrols, ensure rapid response to security threats and send a clear message that Canadas Arctic is not up for grabs. Carneys fixation on carbon reduction treats the Arctic as a symbolic battleground for environmental policy rather than a region of strategic importance. While climate change is undeniably reshaping the Arctic, his framework ignores national security realities. Carneys Arctic vision assumes that diplomatic engagement, green investment and international cooperation will be enough to protect Canadas interests. Yet history provides no example of a nation securing contested territory through diplomacy alone. A good international reputation cannot substitute for actual deterrence. The stakes in the Arctic directly affect the U.S. and NATO. The Northwest Passage, once locked in ice, is becoming a viable shipping route. Control over this passage remains contested. Canada asserts it as internal waters, while the U.S. argues it should be treated as an international strait. China has suggested that the Arctic should be governed as a global commons, which would strip Canada of much of its authority over its own waters. Poilievres plan strengthens Arctic defenses and ensures that Canada, not external powers, will dictate the governance of its northern waters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics argue that Poilievres emphasis on military infrastructure risks alienating Arctic communities, particularly Indigenous populations. This concern is important but is overstated. A serious Arctic strategy must be built in partnership with Indigenous communities, not at their expense. Indigenous peoples have long been central to Arctic sovereignty, and many serve in the Canadian Rangers. A well-planned military base in Iqaluit could provide economic benefits, improved infrastructure and enhanced security for northern communities. Security and Indigenous engagement must go hand in hand. Canada must also address its long-standing failure to develop Arctic infrastructure. Decades of government inaction have left the North with inadequate roads, ports and airstrips. If Ottawa is committed to Arctic sovereignty, it must invest in infrastructure that serves both military and civilian needs, strengthening Canadas strategic position and its partnership with the U.S. Climate change complicates Arctic security, but it does not replace it. As ice recedes, new economic opportunities emerge but so do new vulnerabilities. The loss of natural ice barriers makes Canadian waters more accessible to foreign submarines and military incursions. It also raises the risk of ecological disasters, from oil spills to illegal dumping by foreign vessels taking advantage of Canadas weak enforcement. A serious Arctic strategy must include environmental protection alongside military investment, ensuring that Canada remains both a responsible steward and a sovereign power capable of defending its territory. Canada can no longer afford the complacency of past governments. Carneys approach, like that of successive Liberal administrations, rests on the outdated assumption that Arctic security can be outsourced to allies, that economic development alone will cement sovereignty and that diplomacy can substitute for deterrence. Poilievres strategy, by contrast, recognizes that sovereignty is meaningless without the capacity to enforce it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Canada does not act now, it risks becoming a bystander in a region where it should be a leader. Poilievres plan is a step in the right direction, but if Ottawa hesitates, future governments will not be debating how to assert sovereignty they will be debating how it was lost. And for the U.S., a weak Canadian Arctic presence is not just Canadas problem but a growing liability for North American security as a whole. Andrew Latham is a professor of international relations at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minn., a senior fellow at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy, and a non-resident fellow at Defense Priorities in Washington, D.C. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Andersen Global has broadened its presence in Canada through a collaboration agreement with MMCA & Associates, a full-service accounting firm. MMCA & Associates is headquartered in Calgary, with offices in Edmonton and Banff. MMCA & Associates offers a wide range of services, including corporate and personal tax filings, estate and succession planning, and assurance and accounting work, and specialises in tax advisory and compliance services. Andersen global chairman and CEO Mark Vorsatz said: MMCA & Associates LLP enhances our ability to provide integrated tax and advisory solutions across the region. Their close relationship with our member firm in Vancouver deepens our collaborative approach, enabling us to meet the evolving needs of businesses in Canadas market. MMCA & Associates partner Dorin Bogdan Mihalache said: We pride ourselves on delivering tax services while helping clients efficiently navigate their financial performance to achieve their business goals. Our collaboration with Andersen Global allows us to broaden our resources and capabilities, enabling us to better serve clients locally and internationally with the same high standard of excellence. Founded in 2013 by Andersen Tax, a US member firm, Andersen Global has expanded to a network of more than 19,000 professionals operating in more than 500 locations worldwide. This expansion into Canada follows a series of strategic moves by Andersen Global to enhance its global footprint. Earlier in March 2025, Andersen Global expanded into Bangladesh by collaborating with Edge Research, a valuation and research firm. Edge Research, founded in 2017 and based in Dhaka, focuses on corporate valuation, due diligence, transaction advisory, and financial analysis for both public and private sectors. In addition to its expansion in South Asia, Andersen Global has strengthened its Asia Pacific platform. Bellingham Wallace, which has been a collaborating firm since 2022, recently became a member firm and introduced the Andersen brand into New Zealand in March 2025. Based in Auckland, Andersen in New Zealand specialises in corporate finance, business and tax advisory services, and works closely with small to medium-sized enterprises. In November 2024, Andersen Global formed a similar partnership with Consilium Chartered Accountants, marking its entry into Scotland. Established in 2013 and headquartered in Glasgow, Consilium Chartered Accountants offers tax and accounting services, primarily catering to owner-managed businesses and shareholders in Scotland and the UK. Rep. Elise Stefanik gave up so much to be Donald Trumps ambassador to the United Nations. She departed her position in the House Republican leadership. She said goodbye to much of her staff and a congressional seat that she surely would hold far longer than an ambassadorial post. She lost friendship after friendship over her unwavering loyalty to the president. On Thursday, Trump repaid Stefaniks loyalty as only he could: by kicking her nomination to the curb notably, not because of anything she did, but because of his own mistakes. Stefanik has completely recast her public persona since 2014, when she became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. In 2016, she voted for John Kasich in the Republican primary, skipped that years GOP convention and criticized Trumps language on the Access Hollywood tape. Early in Trumps first term, she opposed his tax cut plan and even backed Robert Muellers investigation into Russian influence and the 2016 election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But after the 2018 midterms, as The New York Times Nicholas Confessore wrote, Stefanik embarked on one of the most brazen political transformations of the Trump era. Perhaps the Democrats first impeachment of Trump radicalized her, as multiple aides told The Washington Posts Ruby Cramer. Perhaps the proceedings were a convenient excuse for an ambitious politician who recognized Trumps tightening grip on her party. Whatever the motivation, Stefanik became one of the presidents most loyal soldiers. Nothing Trump said or did was indefensible; every Democrat and media outlet was vicious or radical. The president noticed: This young woman from upstate New York she has become a star, he gushed to Fox News. The old moderate still pokes through occasionally: In late 2022, Stefanik broke with most House Republicans to back the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified protections for same-sex marriage in federal law. But, by and large, Stefanik is ultra MAGA and proud of it. Joining the MAGA White House was supposed to be the culmination of a political makeover years in the making. But in the midst of Stefanik posting a retrospective of her congressional career on Instagram, Trump announced he was withdrawing her nomination. It is essential that we maintain EVERY Republican seat in Congress, he wrote on his Truth Social platform. With a very tight Majority, I dont want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elises seat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president may have bankrupted multiple casinos, but for once he is right about the odds. In the 14 special elections held this year, former FiveThirtyEight editor G. Elliot Morris calculates that Democrats beat Harriss margin vs Trump with the same voters last November by 10 percentage points on average. That swing is almost exactly the same as it was at this point in the 2018 election cycle, which ended with House Republicans being routed in the midterms. Just this week, Pennsylvania Democrats flipped a state Senate district that just five months ago went for Trump by 15 points. House Republicans hold only a 218-213 majority in the chamber, with four empty seats. On paper, those vacancies are evenly split: two heavily Democratic districts and two heavily Republican districts. But the GOP pair, Floridas 1st and 6th Congressional districts, suddenly look a lot less red ahead of their special elections next week. In the latter district, which Republicans won by 30 percentage points in November, a recent internal GOP poll shows Democrat Josh Weil up 3%. As Trump himself implied in his Truth Social post, plowing ahead with Stefaniks nomination risked losing her seat as well. This fiasco, as is so often the case with Trump, is entirely self-inflicted. Just as in his first term, a disastrous start to his term has boosted Democratic voters enthusiasm for even low-turnout special elections. And whereas the Democratic-leaning vacancies came about because the representatives died while in office, Trump himself created the Florida vacancies by choosing those two representatives for his Cabinet. The first was Mike Waltz, now best known for his struggles with Signal. The second was Matt Gaetz, whose nomination as attorney general lasted just eight days. The president tried to soften the blow by noting that Stefanik would rejoin the House Leadership Team. But Stefaniks old position as Republican Conference chair was filled weeks ago, and its not clear how Speaker Mike Johnson could give her a position that isnt entirely ceremonial. I will invite her to return to the leadership table immediately, Johnson said, without specifying what her seat would be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She must be so disappointed, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said of Stefanik after news broke of the withdrawn nomination. If thats true, Stefanik isnt showing it. I have been proud to be a team player, she told Fox News. This is about stepping up as a team. But it is fitting that this most devoted team player has so little to show for her fealty. Because, while for Trump, there is no quality in a subordinate more important than loyalty, that loyalty runs only one way. Just ask Mike Pence or John Kelly or the countless other former Trump allies and staffers whom the president has callously thrown under the proverbial bus. For Trump, only his own interests matter. Everyone and everything else, whether its Elise Stefanik or the entire country, is expendable. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com By now, we all know that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and 18 other officials well, 17 other officials and one journalist participated in a highly classified discussion about an attack against Yemens Houthi rebels on Signal, a commercial messaging app. But the big story here isnt the mistake itself. Its the administrations panicked reaction to having made a mistake. When things like this happen, the mature response is to take responsibility and get the facts out lying will only make things worse, and your experience and expertise should far outweigh the error you made. Thats not whats happening. Instead, everyone involved has been engaged in a public meltdown ever since the story broke. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike Waltz, Trumps national security adviser, was the one responsible for using Signal to start the chat and for adding Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief at The Atlantic. But the use of this app to share classified information was the least of his problems, at least in MAGA world. As far as Waltz is concerned, the big security breach here is everyone finding out that he has Goldbergs contact info on his phone. Waltz even took the time to call Goldberg a bottom scum journalist on Laura Ingrams FOX show, and to suggest that Goldberg had somehow hacked his phone. Some people, like Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, decided to just deny reality. During her congressional testimony on Wednesday, she asserted repeatedly that there was no classified material that was shared in the chat. Heres one example of the information that Hegseth shared on Signal describing when and how the attack on the Houthis would take place: 1345: Trigger Based F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME) also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s). That sounds pretty classified to me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth apparently thought his best defense was a hysterical attack on Goldberg, calling him a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist whos made a profession of pedaling hoaxes time and time again this is the guy that pedals in garbage. Putting aside whether his claims are true (theyre not), this is a bizarre way for Hegseth to defend himself against verified claims that he used an unsecure app to share highly sensitive, classified information. Not only did Goldberg have the receipts in the form of screenshots, but even the White House had already admitted that the conversation was genuine. This goes double since the Pentagon the organization that Hegseth is supposed to be running issued an OPSEC Special Bulletin warning employees that Signal is subject to hacking and reminding them that using it to share this kind of information is forbidden. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitts defense has been even more unhinged. In her press conference on Wednesday, she claimed that no classified material was in the chat something we can all see is simply false. Her big argument, though, was that Goldberg admitted he lied when he claimed that the chat discussed war plans because the headline over the Atlantic story that published screenshots of the chat referred to attack plans. Things went downhill from there. At one point Leavitt admonished, We are not going to be lectured about national security by Democrats and the mainstream media who turned the other cheek when the Biden administration because of their incompetence left service members dead in Afghanistan. She went on to ask, Do you trust the secretary of Defense or do you trust Jeffrey Goldberg, who is a registered Democrat and an anti-Trump sensationalist reporter? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We dont have to trust Goldberg we can read the chat for ourselves. Every member of President Trumps inner circle has been selected for loyalty rather than competence or experience. They are panicking now because they know they are amateurs completely out of their depth, and that they are making it up as they go along. There were 18 Trump appointees, including the most powerful national security officials in the government, on that group chat, and not one of them had the presence of mind to point out that they should not be having such a conversation on a private messaging app. This is one of the most flagrant security breaches in American history. We happen to know about this national security failure because of a fluke. How many other, equally amateurish, security breaches are taking place? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well never know, but Im sure that Russia and China do. And because of the administrations inability to admit there is a problem, nothing will be done to fix it. Thats the real scandal here. Chris Truax is an appellate attorney who served as Southern California chair for John McCains primary campaign in 2008. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Germany jails people for tweets. France fines them for hateful posts 1,500 last month for a man who insulted a politician online. Europes censorship wave is surging, echoing decrees from Nazi Germanys past. But CBSs Margaret Brennan doesnt think so. Last month on Face the Nation, she claimed that free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide in Nazi Germany. She is dead wrong. Hitlers regime didnt thrive on open debate. When the Nazis took power in 1933, they didnt exploit free speech they torched it. Decrees banned criticism, shuttered dissenting newspapers, and turned journalists into propaganda puppets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brennans gaffe wasnt just a historical fumble. Its a symptom of a deeper misreading: the idea that silencing speech protects the marginalized. My recent research shows the opposite: Free speech is a lifeline for tolerance and minority rights. Nazis did not rise by debating in an open forum. They thrived where counter-voices were crushed. Contrast that with what global data show us. According to Afrobarometer survey data of 33 African nations, people who value media free from government chokeholds are far more likely to embrace ethnic diversity. The Integrated Values Survey, which tracks changes in values and attitudes across 116 countries over four decades, also shows that valuing free speech correlates with racial tolerance. This isnt a fluke. Open discourse lets prejudices be challenged rather than fester in silence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zoom to the national stage, and the story holds. According to data, countries with robust free speech laws like Denmark or Japan consistently protect minority rights better and curb government discrimination. Shift from a speech-stifled nation like Russia in 1950 to a free one like Japan in 2017, and political access for marginalized groups greatly increases. Where speech flows, accountability follows. Nazi Germany proves the reverse: State-controlled media, not free voices, unleashed hate speech and violence. And there was no option for counter-speech to stop it. Brennans claim echoes a growing chorus on campuses, in Congress, online that free speech threatens safety. In fact, a majority of U.S. teens now prioritize online safety over free expression, per Pew polling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And this sentiment is turning into legal restrictions. Germanys online censorship law law fines platforms millions for hate left online past 24 hours. Hate speech laws are designed with the intention of protecting marginalized groups. History shows they do not work. In Rwanda, genocide surged not due to open debate, but from state-controlled radio spewing unchallenged lies. My research backs this up: Free speech reduces government exclusion, not the other way around. A rise in speech freedom cuts government-based discrimination. In other words, silence is the real weapon of hate. Yes, words can wound. Studies on Nazi radio show how propaganda sways the prejudiced. But censorship? Its a boomerang. Who decides whats too dangerous? The Nazis did, and they didnt stop at hate. They banned truth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Todays calls for limits on speech risk the same trap. There is a better path: More speech, not less. Its what the United Nations urged in 2001 fight racism with ideas, not gag orders. Counter lies with facts. Amplify marginalized voices. Germanys Twitter jail is a warning, not a model. The policy fix is clear: We must scrap laws that choke debate. We must protect independent media and teach children to challenge, not conform. Free speech is messy raw, loud, imperfect. But as research shows, its not tolerances enemy. Its the ground where it grows. Hate doesnt win when we speak freely it wins when we cant speak at all. Claudia Williamson Kramer is the Probasco Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise and Professor of Economics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. 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. A critical electoral battle in Wisconsin on April 1 could have major political repercussions and is seen as a barometer for the state of the national mood. Over $100 million will likely be spent on the race, including from big-name funders such as Elon Musk and George Soros. What is odd about this contest is that it is not for the Senate or the House, nor even for governor. Instead, the battle is for one of seven seats on Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Electing judges has long been controversial. In the early days of the republic, appellate-level judges were appointed. The Constitutional Convention adopted this model, and to this day all federal judges are appointed for life and can only be removed via congressional impeachment, which has only occurred 15 times (with eight convictions and three resignations). Most other countries also follow an appointment model. But in the U.S. in the mid-19th century, as the voting franchise was expanded, newly empowered citizens wanted to directly choose their own judges, and elections for state and local judges became popular. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over time, this led to significant pushback. In 1911, President William Howard Taft controversially vetoed the Arizona and New Mexico constitutions because Arizona had a provision allowing for recalls of judges an unpopular decision that did nothing to help Tafts failed reelection run. Arizona removed that recall law and then, following the states admission to the union, promptly added it back in. Today, most state court judges in the U.S. run for some form of election. In some states, they are appointed by a governor and then later must face the voters in mandatory retention elections. In the past, the retention elections were more of a pro forma event, but in recent years judges have been ousted by voters. In California in 1986, three Supreme Court justices were kicked out due to complaints that their decisions were too liberal the first time that happened in the states history. In Iowa in 2010, three Supreme Court judges failed to win their retention race because they ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. In 2018, a California judge was kicked out in a recall due to his controversially lenient ruling in a rape case, the first recall and removal of a judge anywhere in the country since 1977. These hard-fought, policy-based retention elections and recalls may be examples of how judicial elections are gaining importance, but they are still different from what is happening in the Badger State. The Wisconsin race, an ostensibly nonpartisan battle between incumbent Susan Crawford, a Democrat, and former Attorney General Brad Schimel, a Republican, will decide which party controls the Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The race is easily the most expensive judicial election in history, and not because of potential rulings that will only affect Wisconsin. Instead, both sides are expecting decisions in the battleground state that will affect future presidential and congressional races. The last Wisconsin judicial race led the chamber to flip from Republican to Democratic control. The result was the ending of an extreme state legislative gerrymander and rulings in favor of absentee ballots and elections drop-boxes that Democrats hoped would benefit the party in 2024. Other states have seen similar battles. North Carolinas judicial elections won by Democrats led first to a ruling that overturned a gerrymander, leading to the election of several more Democrats to Congress. Follow-on elections led to Republicans regaining control of the court and allowing the gerrymander to be put back in place. The resulting loss of three Democratic seats in 2024 is the difference in the power of the House of Representatives. The North Carolina court is currently tied up with a lawsuit by the defeated Republican candidate, who lost by a mere 734 votes in November. He seeks to throw out 60,000 ballots. We can expect these fights, and the nationalization of judicial elections, to continue. Federal judges have become central players in the political sphere and prominent Republicans, including the president, are calling for impeachments after recent rulings against the administration. The role of the judiciary is such that former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saw federal judicial appointments as his greatest accomplishment a statement that would certainly have shocked famous senators from the past. It makes sense that this fight continues to trickle down to the state level. Kansas, a red state that has a history of electing Democratic governors, is looking to move to electing State Supreme Court judges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only a few years ago, it would have seemed odd that the race for a Wisconsin Supreme Court judgeship would take center stage. But changes in politics and the increasing focus on judicial battles has turned this into a $100 million affair. Joshua Spivak is a senior research fellow at Berkeley Laws California Constitution Center and a senior fellow at Hugh L. Carey Institute of Government Reform at Wagner College. He is the author of Recall Elections: From Alexander Hamilton to Gavin Newsom. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 recent months, many American leaders have questioned the value of U.S. foreign aid. My decades of service in the military taught me that foreign assistance and diplomacy are, in fact, profoundly important. Lets start with the obvious: International aid saves lives. Whether it goes to humanitarian operations in Ukraine, malnourished children in Ethiopia or projects stopping the spread of deadly diseases, international aid can mean the difference between life and death for vulnerable people worldwide. However, that reasoning alone doesnt tell the whole story of international aid. Foreign aid is not philanthropy, nor is it wasteful spending on handouts. Done correctly, it is a well-planned and executed element of national power that complements other efforts in support of a broader strategy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I served in the military for 28 years. During my tenure, I saw firsthand how international engagement and assistance complement military might to protect American interests abroad. Providing foreign assistance and diplomacy helps address the root causes of global conflict and instability. And it does so using around just 1% of the federal budget. Extremism thrives in environments plagued by poverty, instability or a general lack of resources. Economic development and global health programs can strengthen societies, helping to stop the cycle of violent extremism and preventing deadly conflicts before they occur. Enhancing stability in these areas is critical for the global community because it contributes to regional security and economic development. In the long term, this helps us avoid deploying American troops to conflict areas abroad. It saves service members lives and taxpayer dollars. War is always more expensive than diplomacy, in terms of human capital and money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here in the U.S., we are lucky to have shared values such as democracy, liberty and freedom of religion. We cannot take these rights for granted. American leadership is essential to create a world in which American values are respected and protected. Our enemies stand ready to undermine these values and increase their power should America vacate its position as global leader. Authoritarian countries like China and Russia are already using economic coercion and diplomacy to expand their influence and gain advantage over the West. Russia continues to push the boundaries of its power, as demonstrated by its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and military strikes against Ukraines civilians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the invasion, Ukraine has become the biggest recipient of U.S. foreign aid funds, which provide humanitarian aid to civilians and help society function during wartime. My organization, August Mission, has helped provide vital resources to civilians who have been harmed by the Russian invasion. We have delivered supplies to medical facilities, orphanages, shelters and more. Through this work, I have been grateful to speak to many Ukrainians about Russias lawless war, and Ive had the opportunity to visit Ukraine many times to see the situation on the ground. I can tell you firsthand that we deliver more than critical aid; we deliver hope. The Americans are here and they believe in our cause. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this sentiment. I hate to think what the loss of humanitarian aid and the hope that we bring will mean for these innocent people. Russias war on Ukraine is an attack on freedom and democracy at large. We cannot stand idly by and allow it to happen. Ignoring this attack on democracy is counter to the core values we believe every human being should be free to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. must continue to safeguard our country against the foreign adversaries plotting our demise. To do so, we must utilize every resource at our disposal, including strategic diplomacy and foreign aid. During these times, we have to ask ourselves hard questions: Do we believe in American exceptionalism? Is it our duty to step forward and lead as a democratic superpower? If we do, we must accept the costs associated with the burden of leadership. If we choose not to, the alternatives are frightening. At the end of the day, foreign assistance saves lives both at home and abroad. By continuing to supply smart foreign aid to countries in need, we can protect American values and security for decades to come. As part of President Trumps immigration crackdown, the Internal Revenue Service is nearing an agreement to let immigration officials use taxpayer information to find undocumented immigrants. Under the terms of the deal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement would submit names and addresses of people suspected of being in the country illegally, for the tax agency to run through its database. This reportedly follows weeks of negotiations between the agencies over how the tax system could be used to support mass deportations. Such an arrangement, if implemented, would be harmful to American taxpayers and the IRS. It seems to rest on shaky legal grounds, and it will incentivize undocumented people to not pay their taxes. Sadly, it will probably also lead to greater mistrust of our government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It might surprise people to know that many undocumented immigrants pay taxes just like other people, at the state, local and federal levels. Because they cannot legally get a Social Security number, undocumented people often use an Individual Taxpayer ID number, which they obtain from the IRS. In 2023, the Treasury Department estimated that there were more than 5.8 million of these numbers in active use. The money that undocumented people pay to the U.S. government is significant. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports that in 2022, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in taxes. Most of that amount, $59.4 billion, went to the federal government. But once it is known that the IRS is cooperating with immigration authorities, its logical to envision a drop-off in taxes submitted by immigrants. This will harm American citizens because the money collected by the government from undocumented people goes to fund public schools, roads, and social service programs. Consider that in 2022, undocumented immigrants paid more than $25 billion into Social Security, and over $6 billion into Medicare, two programs they are barred from accessing. Tax compliance will fall once immigrants realize that paying their taxes could lead to deportation. And this comes at a time when IRS officials are already predicting a 10 percent drop in tax revenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because the IRS is part of the executive branch, it operates at the direction of the Trump administration. Yet it would be a serious policy mistake for the countrys least-liked federal agency to become entangled with immigration enforcement. If limited resources are devoted to rooting out undocumented people, more serious tax crimes will go unpunished. Plus, tasking the IRS to help carry out the presidents immigration policies would damage the agencys integrity. The last thing this underfunded agency needs is to be seen as a partisan arm of any administration. No wonder, according to the Washington Post, news of this agreement has alarmed career IRS officials. The legality of cooperation between the IRS and immigration authorities is unclear. Under federal law, taxpayer information is confidential except in very limited circumstances. Thats why the IRS rejected Homeland Securitys request last month for the names and addresses of 700,000 suspected undocumented people. The acting IRS commissioner and agency attorneys concluded that such data-sharing would be unlawful. The acting IRS director then resigned, and the Trump administration has since replaced the agencys top attorney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is easy to deduce that political motives are driving this unprecedented shift in IRS policy. True, people in the U.S. without authorization are subject to detention and removal by the government. That is the law. However, targeting taxpaying immigrants will not fix our immigration woes; it will only drive people further into the underground economy while depriving the IRS of funds. Meanwhile, it sets a dangerous precedent for Americans to have one government agency sharing private data with another in support of a partisan agenda. It opens the door for the government to potentially use confidential tax information to go after its political enemies. For decades, the IRS encouraged undocumented people to pay their taxes, and many did so as a way of demonstrating that they are law-abiding and contributing to the country. If it goes into effect, this new arrangement would amount to a betrayal of undocumented people who have been trying to do the right thing while they have been in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Having tax agents cooperate with immigration enforcement efforts will be costly, wasteful and possibly illegal. The administration has myriad, powerful ways to go after undocumented immigrants, so it should keep its hands off the IRS. Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and contributor to NBC Latino and CNN Opinion. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 MAHA or Make America Healthy Again movement has taken center stage across the U.S. It is successfully pressuring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban food-dyes and trying to ban the use of food stamps (that is, SNAP benefits) for sugary sodas and junk food. But what no one is talking about is how these proposed food-dye bans could cost American families thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars a year. At least 20 other states are looking to follow the example of West Virginia, which just enacted a bill banning foods containing most artificial food-dyes and two preservatives. Starting this fall, products containing the dyes and preservatives will not be allowed to be served in schools, and shortly after that, products containing these dyes and preservative wont be sold in the state at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im all for healthier food and the ethos of the MAHA movement, but I am afraid its good intentions are being hijacked by people who do not care about the average American. There is no free lunch, so what we need to ask is, what are the costs of this ban? Its effects on food flavor is the least of our worries. To start, schools may end up paying significantly more for food a cost that will be passed on to taxpayers. When the full ban comes into effect, the poorest among us and frankly, also not the poorest will have grocery bills that double, triple or even quadruple. To be clear, this legislation means most cereal, potato chips, vegetable oil, bread, chewing gum, grocery store baked goods, trail mix, granola bars, salad dressings, candy, flavored yogurt, condiments, pickles, soft drinks and really everything else that tastes good will be banned for purchase. And again, this is the least of our worries. There will be much larger unintended consequences. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the average cost of a school lunch is $3.81. With about 50 million kids in the U.S. enrolled in public school, and assuming 180 school days per year, the total cost per year would be about $34 billion. If the food served has to be free of not just dyes but also preservatives that extend foods shelf-life, the food purchased will easily be three to four times greater, leading to an extra $650 in expenses per taxpayer per year. True, these costs are bound to go down as more states adopt these policies, but it could take years of significantly more expensive food to get there, and we will likely never get back down to current levels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A much bigger issue will be the grocery bills once the law fully takes effect. Those in the lowest income bracket spend, on average, $5,300 on food per year. Households in the middle income bracket spend about $9,000 per year. Although most people assume that the lowest income bracket buys the most junk food, it is pretty clear that middle-income brackets buy quite a bit themselves. If you assume a mere doubling of food costs (and that is a very conservative estimate), that implies a $5,000 to $9,000 increase in food costs for families each year. An immediate increase in cost will stem from the need to buy food with natural source colors that may also not last as long for lack of preservatives. For example, a dye-free snack bar from Truvani the health food company of one of MAHAs most vocal proponents runs $42 for 12 bars, compared to $5 for 12 Nutri-grain bars that do have artificial food-dyes. Thats 8.5 times more. Healthy food companies will be making an absolute killing when these bans take effect. To be fair, proponents of the bans will argue that these major companies will eventually re-formulate using natural dyes and costs will come down. Id agree with that, and many of the major companies have already done so for certain products and have pledged to do more in the future. However, given that artificial dyes are about 90 percent pigment compared to natural source colors, which contain about 2 percent of color or pigment, this will make production costs and therefore consumer prices skyrocket. Whats more, those supporting these bans have no good answer on the preservative issue at this point, except just to use different preservatives which may or may not be safer than the ones being banned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I love the idea of getting rid of artificial food-dyes and preservatives for our health more power to the proponents of this. But will no one be honest about the trade-offs? There will be a real financial cost to this, and for what benefit? To consume enough red dye number 3 to potentially have any of the side effects for which it was banned (cancer in particular), youd have to eat 100 cups of candy corn every day for an entire lifetime. I love candy corn, but even I cant do that. While I believe in the ethos of MAHA, I am very afraid of the unintended consequences and potentially devastating effects that these food-dye bans will have on the pocketbooks of Americans who, frankly, cannot afford it. Liberty Vittert is a professor of data science at Washington University in St. Louis and the resident on-air statistician for NewsNation, a sister company of The Hill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. When youre using the Signal app, you can set your chats to automatically disappear after a few days. The Donald Trump administration is hoping that a scandal over top officials use of Signal to discuss impending military plans will similarly disappear, as so many other controversies already have. Its up to Democrats and responsible Republicans in Congress to make sure that doesnt happen. This is no ordinary offense. The conduct here raises questions about the handling of Americas secrets, the safety of our troops and the accuracy of our public records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the Trump administration has already shown that it cant be trusted to police this matter itself, while a Republican call for the Defense Departments inspector general to investigate is insufficient. Only Congress can do this job. The scandal came to light when The Atlantics editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to a group chat on the encrypted messaging service Signal, where he was privy to messages from Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, national security adviser Michael Waltz and a host of others all discussing with alarming detail planned strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. It brought to mind the old World War II posters admonishing GIs against sharing information on troop movements: Loose lips sink ships. But these werent privates getting overly chatty in a bar; these were some of the highest officials in the government deciding on the plans and sharing details of the timing and location on a commercially available app. Make no mistake: It is only due to Goldbergs integrity and sheer dumb luck that this recklessness didnt result in dead Americans, yet the Trump administration is repeatedly making the conscious choice to lie to the American people, downplaying the shocking ineptitude these messages reveal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the White House briefing room, press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that the text messages which included specific strike times and weapons systems did not contain classified information but was rather a sensationalized story. Hegseth promised that no one was texting war plans, a claim thats hard to reconcile with what Hegseth wrote in the chat: THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP. Waltz even shockingly suggested without a shred of evidence that Goldberg somehow surreptitiously infiltrated the chat. For his part, Trump claimed not to know anything about the story before resorting to his cliched attacks on the press, calling it a witch hunt. Its clear this administration is hoping the colossal failure blows over and Americans move on. We as a nation cannot allow that to happen. Now is not the time for lawmakers to sit idly by. Every member of Congress whos ever claimed to care about the lives of American service members needs to step in and exercise the bodys power as a co-equal branch of government. This goes far beyond a group chat, an encrypted app, or even a single military strike. This is about the very machinery of national security how this administration makes decisions that can ripple across the globe in an instant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At stake is whether our allies continue to trust us with their most sensitive intelligence. Whether an enemy spots a covert operation before its complete. Whether a soldier makes it home to see their child grow up. This isnt just about policy. Its about life and death, trust and betrayal, and the fragile line between order and chaos. It must be Congress that leads an investigation because the uncomfortable truth is this: The administration cannot be trusted to investigate itself. On Wednesday, Leavitt claimed that billionaire Elon Musks team would look into how Goldberg ended up in that explosive chat. Lets be clear: Thats not oversight, thats gaslighting. We know how Goldberg was added Waltz brought him in. The receipts are right there in black and white in the texts published by The Atlantic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So ask yourself: Why would a tech billionaire with no jurisdiction and plenty of conflicts of interest be tasked with uncovering the truth? Why not the FBI? Why not the Department of Justice? Why not anyone with actual authority and accountability? Especially when Musks own office, the Department of Government Efficiency, is already under scrutiny for attempting to access sensitive government information. This isnt just a distraction; its a smoke screen. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Roger Wicker has called on the Department of Defenses inspector general to probe the scandal, but that wont work either. Acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins has acting in front of his title because Trump fired his predecessor. Hes in no position to hold the administrations feet to the fire. Only Congress can actively pursue a full-scale investigation to answer the questions raised by this scandal. It is up to the public to demand real accountability from their representatives. For more thought-provoking insights from Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, watch The Weekend every Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. ET on MSNBC. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com As an infectious diseases physician and emergency physician, we have been trained to think objectively, remain level-headed and stay calm amid uncertainty. But watching the Trump administrations dismantling of the U.S. research and public health infrastructure which will allow infectious diseases to spread like wildfire and disrupt progress to combat all other conditions has made us angry. Anger is usually looked down upon, even pathologized. It is a codable diagnosis in the International Classification of Diseases, and there are evidence-based treatments to mitigate or cope with it. However, in this moment, we dont feel apologetic or ashamed about our anger; wed argue that anger isnt as widespread in the U.S. as it ought to be. There is so much for scientists and health professionals to be really, truly angry about right now. Successful health-advancing institutions and initiatives that have taken decades to build are being derailed or discarded without a second thought. Clinical trials that serve as the last hope for dying patients are being abruptly halted. Disruptions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration and uncertainty in research funding at universities are putting our patients, children and friends at risk, from both old diseases that they should never have to worry about and new diseases that they could be protected against if we were to maintain a robust scientific and public health response system. This should make us angry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles should have been completely eradicated long ago, but because of anti-vaccine conspiracies, 2025 cases have already far surpassed those of 2024. Such destructive views and malicious lies have been propagated by our new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Funding has been ripped from the U.S. Agency for International Development, housing programs, and scientific research on HIV prevention and cancer and Alzheimers disease. There are plans to gut Medicaid, which finances vital health care services for 84 million Americans, including women, children and older adults. Ebola has broken out in Uganda, but because President Donald Trump ended our relationship with the World Health Organization, we will likely not know when it gets here and, once we do know, it may be too late to respond effectively, especially with recent large cuts to health departments and programs that respond to outbreaks and perform pandemic-related community outreach and education. Then there are the arbitrary firings of federal employees at health agencies and slashing of scientist training programs including those focused on preventing overdose deaths. Though the onslaughts keep coming daily, Trumps approval rating has averaged about 45%, which, in our mind, means not enough Americans are angry enough or do not know that they should be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be sure, anger can manifest in harmful and destructive behaviors, which we obviously dont endorse. But recognizing and unleashing ones anger in constructive ways can be beneficial. It can fuel productive action. Evidence shows it may lead to better mental health outcomes than other emotions we are prone to feeling in this time, including depression or anxiety. Some research shows that naming emotions, especially unpleasant ones, can help regulate the nervous system and lead to a sense of calm. As Dr. Christina Girgis, associate professor of psychiatry at Loyola University Medical Center, told us, Basically, anger is something that we (as society) have attributed to negative descriptions, so people are afraid to feel it, but it is actually healthy and freeing to acknowledge and feel your anger. Even the Christian Bible gives people permission to feel what they feel when it says Be angry, but sin not. We shouldnt forget that anger can reflect ideal qualities, such as love and a sense of justice. It is a normal part of being a caring person and of seeing what and who we care about be threatened. When anger reflects compassion for those who are directly and indirectly affected by todays assault on medicine and science, it begins to seem not only acceptable and appropriate, but necessary. It validates an investment in our communities, an appreciation of the real harms threatening their health, safety, longevity and well-being. In this frame, failing to be angry is a more concerning symptom, one that signals indifference, complacency or lack of awareness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So perhaps the question right now is not whether we should be angry (yes), but rather, how best we should focus and deploy our anger. Psychologist Juli Fraga has written about how to validate and release our anger: It involves honoring what your anger wants you to do, and figuring out how to make good use of the anger. We know that many people are expressing their anger and translating it to action. People have been marching and protesting and speaking up at town hall meetings, calling and writing their legislators, starting petitions, posting on social media. But it doesnt feel sufficient yet. We need more visible and constructive anger from everyone from ordinary individuals to institutional and elected leaders around the fact that this administration is dismantling the infrastructure that keeps us physically healthy and economically stable. Within the scientific community, we need to make sure we translate what is happening to science and health care clearly and loudly to the public and show strong support for actions that will ensure the survival of the scientific process and of the institutions that do vital work to make our communities healthy. Are you feeling angry about what youre seeing happen around you? Good. Our prescription is that you keep getting angry and use that anger well. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Public education needs positive stories. Those of us who work in the field are fortunate to hear these stories daily: about students developing meaningful, real-world skills, about educators preparing engaged, motivated citizens, about school districts equipping young people for life beyond the classroom. We see up close the acts of compassion and care, the innovations supporting students and families and even in tumultuous times the countless reasons to hope. But hope doesnt make headlines. Cognitive scientists have long known that people are drawn far more to the negative than to the positive. For most of our history as a species, this negativity bias led humans to avoid enemies and predators. In 2025, it leads people to click on catastrophic news stories and absorb the doom-and-gloom narratives with which were so frequently bombarded. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Thats not to say bad news is unjustified. There are plenty of problems, particularly in education, that demand urgent attention, from declining reading scores to the crisis of chronic absenteeism. But bad news alone has colored too much of the perception of public education. Despite the positive momentum found in so many school districts, more than half of adults say education is heading in the wrong direction, and satisfaction with K-12 schools has hit an all-time low. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now more than ever, the nations school systems need beacons of hope people and places whose work should be studied, replicated and celebrated amid the challenges facing the field. And those beacons can be fostered only when leaders who are willing to think and do things differently are at the helm. Fortunately, they are all around. Youll find them, for example, from coast to coast in more than 150 districts that comprise the League of Innovative Schools. A national network organized by Digital Promise, the league has member districts in 34 states that work to co-create solutions to public educations challenges. Together, theyre collectively compiling guidance around the safe and ethical use of artificial intelligence in classrooms, reimagining the traditional high school experience to better prepare students for tomorrows workforce and collaboratively finding ways to address chronic absenteeism. In western Pennsylvania, home to more than a dozen league districts, schools are remaking learning. For those unfamiliar with the area, Pittsburghs legacy as a steel town might overshadow its evolution as a hub of educational innovation. But the region boasts the leagues largest local cluster of innovative school districts in the country. To tour western Pennsylvania schools is to find K-12 students 3D printing violins to make an orchestra, growing produce in repurposed shipping containers, learning to read with help from baby lambs using computational thinking a problem-solving approach that involves analyzing, organizing and modeling data to make and test predictions in a fast-changing world. This is the future of public education and the kind of story that needs to be told. Thats why, this week, we brought more than 350 of Americas most forward-thinking superintendents, administrators, researchers and others to western Pennsylvania for the League of Innovative Schools Spring Convening. Featuring two full days of classroom visits to all 13 host districts, the convening shone a national spotlight on a region thats proving what public education can do: where students learn math by taking off in flight simulators, become licensed drone pilots and work with robotics and biotech startups in a once-abandoned hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It wasnt the first time the Steel City offered a beacon of hope. In 1968, another tumultuous time, a young Pittsburgher named Fred Rogers debuted his television program, Mister Rogers Neighborhood. For more than 30 years, the show demonstrated what a neighborhood, at its best, could be. It wasnt perfect: There was conflict and grief alongside wonder and joy. Actress Mary Rawson, who appeared often on the show, wrote in the book Mister Rogers Neighborhood: Children, Television and Fred Rogers that in Fred Rogers television world, violence and war, hatred and intolerance [were] not painted out of the picture, but neither [were] they allowed to destroy the canvas. He gave America hope that despite so much bad news, the canvas was worth defending. The same can be said for public education. Thats why, taking a page from Mister Rogers playbook, the Pittsburgh-based Grable Foundation and the League of Innovative Schools are launching Learning Neighbor Grants designed to expand and enhance the fields beacons of hope. Our organizations have granted each league member district in western Pennsylvania $10,143 (echoing Rogerss use of the numbers 1-4-3 to say I love you) to develop innovations that prepare students for college, career and real life. Working with other league members from around the country, as well as museums, libraries and other partner organizations, they will create a broadcasting program for young children; develop new workforce pathways (and combat the national shortage of bus drivers) by training high schoolers to earn a commercial drivers license; and establish a competitive robotics team for neurodiverse students; and more. Each team will share its innovation at next years convening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The goal is to seed beacons of hope in every community and to keep telling the positive stories that deserve to be told. Good, more communicated, more abundant grows, wrote the poet John Milton. Those of us who work in public education know goodness is abundant already. So, its time to change the narrative and seek out, amplify and invest in the schools and educators that are proving whats possible. The future of education isnt just something to debate its something to build. And the work begins with the stories about what public education can do. Adobe Firefly, Tyler Le/BI HSBC is the latest big bank to cut its outlook for stocks in 2025. Strategists said the risk of a potential recession and weak economic data are weighing on the outlook. Citi also downgraded its view of US stocks earlier this month on growth concerns. HSBC is the latest banking giant to sour on the outlook for US stocks this year. In a note to clients, strategists at HSBC Securities downgraded their rating of US stocks from "overweight" to "neutral." It follows a similar move by Citi, which cut its rating of US stocks to "neutral" earlier this month. "It is important to stress that we are not turning negative on US equities but tactically, we see better opportunities elsewhere for now. Prevailing uncertainty around tariffs could see US equities remain challenged in the next few weeks, but we are hesitant to turn too cautious on the medium-term outlook," HSBC said wrote. Max Kettner, chief multi-asset strategist at the bank, told Bloomberg Television that he believes that the economy is going through a "confidence and a sentiment shock." Kettner pointed to the growing risk of a looming economic slowdown, given recent weakness in economic survey data. For one, manufacturing looks to be on weak footing. Activity in the sector and expectations for future activity dropped for the second month in a row in March, while expectations for new orders and shipments also took a hit, according to the Philadelphia Fed's latest Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia/March 2025 Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey Expectations for the job market are also falling. The Conference Board's Present Situation Index, which measures how consumers feel about the outlook for their income, business activity, and the labor market, fell to a level of 65.2, the lowest in 12 years, the Conference Board said. The Conference Board/NBER Levels for the index are well below the key threshold of 80, which has typically been consistent with recessions. "But I do fear that we've seen too much damage, and especially too much broad-based damage in the survey and the broad-based data in order to dismiss it as a one-off," Kettner told Bloomberg on Wednesday. "I don't think this will take three, four, five months. I don't think this is going to be a recession that is basically coming sometime in the second half. I do fear that we might get a pretty sharp slowdown in the data very early on, and very very soon," he added. In a note downgrading its outlook for US stocks earlier in March, Citi also cited growth concerns in their outlook for the market. Strategists, meanwhile, upgraded their rating on Chinese stocks from "neutral" to "overweight," pointing to stronger growth expectations in the nation. As he sized up a U.S. plan to strike Houthi militants in Yemen in March, Vice President JD Vance didnt think such an aggressive move was a good idea at least not now. The vice presidents initial comment in the Signal chat that has gotten so much attention this week was that such a strike would be a mistake. Among other things, he didnt think the American public would understand why we were doing it and worried that it might cause oil prices to spike. In that message, he wrote: 3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesnt understand this or why its necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message. I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. Theres a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth responded by arguing that the strike wouldnt even be about the militants the U.S. sought to kill. Instead, it was about signaling American power to the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though most of the commentary about the Signal group chat this past week has focused on the accidental inclusion of journalist Jeffrey Goldberg an outrageous breach of national security protocols the scandal has also provided us an extraordinary window into Trumps inner circles thinking about foreign policy strategy. What it reveals is a cavalier attitude toward new open-ended bombardment campaigns. And it underscores how farcical Trumps pledge to be president of peace and focus narrowly on American interests has already turned out to be. Trump didnt need to drop bombs on scores of sites across the poorest country in the Middle East now or with such intensity and his whole team admitted it. Vance was not wholly opposed to the strikes, but saw them as a deviation from a narrow focus on American interests. In some ways, he seemed to be holding the strictest interpretation of America First" principles in the chat. His thinking was why attack Houthi militants if doing so wasnt that important for the U.S. economically, but could hurt U.S. consumers and politically hurt Trump? Multiple principals in the chat pushed Vance to adopt an expansive vision of U.S. national interests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth argued, This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And national security adviser Michael Waltz contended: Whether its now or several weeks from now, it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes. In a later exchange Vance says he defers to the group but that he hates the idea of bailing Europe out again. Hegseth replies, I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. Its PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. In the discussion, Hegseth and Waltz represent a more traditional view of America as the worlds police officer. Theyre saying this isnt about defending the U.S. against the militants who are being targeted, and it isnt about the U.S.s own economic interests. Rather, its an intervention on behalf of U.S. allies and a pre-emptive signal to the U.S.s nemesis in the region, Iran. It functions as a way to send a message about American geopolitical supremacy. It is the kind of argument that could easily be advanced by a Democratic liberal internationalist or a Republican neoconservative both factions that some MAGA types have correctly lambasted as war hungry. Weeks after Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and Israel began its retaliation, Houthi rebels began launching missiles and drone attacks at Israel and commercial ships in the Red Sea, citing Israel's bombing of Gaza and stating it wouldn't stop until Israeli aggression stops." The Biden administration launched airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024, but that did not stop them. Rather, the Houthis announced a pause when Israel and Hamas struck a ceasefire deal. (In the meantime, many shipping companies have taken up routes avoiding the Red Sea, and after an initial rise in the price of shipping, those companies adapted and prices came down again this year.) Now, in light of Israels decision to torpedo the ceasefire deal and impose a starvation blockade on the entire population of Gaza with Trump's blessing the Houthis had warned that they would resume missile attacks. But they hadnt yet. Multiple Pentagon officials told Military.com that the Houthis last launched an attack in December. In other words, Trump approved a pre-emptive strike, not a protective one; as Hegseth put it, the U.S. got to "start this on our own terms." The U.S. has been carrying out such attacks on a daily basis since March 15 and released few details about them, and its unclear when theyll stop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These attacks have serious consequences for the civilian population of Yemen. Yemeni officials say the strikes have hit residential areas. Indeed, in the chat discussion in the aftermath of the strikes, Waltz appears to admit that the U.S. targeted civilian infrastructure. The first target their top missile guy we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriends building and its now collapsed, Waltz wrote on Signal. Excellent, Vance replied. The Yemen Data Project, an independent nonprofit that monitors attacks in the country, reports that it recorded 53 civilian casualties in 38 U.S.-led strikes from 15 to 21 March. And according to Military.com, citing two defense officials, the Trump administration is striking a broader range of targets than President Joe Biden did and harbors less reluctance to hold off striking targets based on the casualties that may result. All this is all happening in a war-torn, destitute country where most of the population is food insecure. There's reason to be doubtful that these attacks will deter the Houthis. The group withstood seven years of Saudi-led airstrikes and a year of U.S. strikes under the Biden administration, which yielded little effect, Luca Nevola, a senior analyst for Yemen and the Gulf at Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a crisis monitoring group, told The New York Times. Given that resilience, theres not a lot of reason to believe that Trumps apparently open-ended campaign will in fact make a huge dent using air power alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement America First, as were coming to see in Trumps second term, is not fundamentally about reducing conflict in the world; nor does it reflect a serious commitment to restraint. Since news of the Signal chat broke, Democrats and liberal commentators have slammed Trumps national security team for discussing military plans on a chat that included a journalist. Theyve laughed at the misspelling of principals in the group chat, and derided those officials hokey use of prayer emojis in anticipation of the strikes. Granted, it was an idiotic and concerning lapse in security protocol. However an important part of the story isnt just the lapse itself, but what it teaches us about how Trumps inner circle sees the United States role in the world, and how that vision is contiguous with that of previous stewards of American empire. That this seems to have largely gone unnoticed speaks to how numb Americans have become to dropping bombs in the Middle East. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Not surprisingly, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing an extremely difficult political landscape in which he must manage a deeply complex balancing act. His backing of more EU defense expenditures demonstrates his commitment to European defense yet his cautious stance toward President Trumps mercurial strategy reveals the problems in Britains transatlantic relationships. From one perspective, he acknowledges the requirement to strengthen NATO deterrence because Europe remains at risk from Russian aggression. At the same time, he must realize that Trumps transactional foreign policy focuses more on economic leverage than on military commitments which could leave Europe vulnerable when it needs protection the most. The choice for Starmer is not merely which side to take Europe or the U.S. but rather how to position Britain in the security architecture of the world after Brexit. Starmer knows that Ukraine cannot be defended by Europe on its own, especially with the deep fissures in the EU over how to share the financial and military burden. Yet, the Trump administrations plan to prevent Russian aggression in Ukraine through corporate interests fails to qualify as serious defense policy because it is corporate pragmatism and economic opportunism pretending to be strategic thinking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmers situation is aggravated by the fact that he must work in an environment where his domestic agenda, including restoring the United Kingdoms economy and tackling post-Brexit trade issues, is in competition with foreign policy imperatives. It appears that Trumps unpredictability and his disdain for multilateralism has forced Starmer into a defensive diplomatic stance, where he is more of a reactor than a shaper of events. His interaction with Trump reveals an effort at pragmatism, but pragmatism alone is not a strategy. If Trump continues to push forward with isolationist tendencies, Britain will be left scrambling for security arrangements that do not yet exist. This is why French and German leaders, among others, are growing increasingly uncomfortable with U.S. disengagement from NATO, which is why the recent EU move to relax deficit rules and increase military spending is significant. Starmer supports this shift, though he has to accept that Britain is outside the EUs defense structures. Brexit has put the U.K. in an awkward position: still part of Europes security framework, but without a seat at the table in EU defense policy. While NATO remains the main platform of transatlantic defense, a hesitant and divided U.S. leaves Europe wondering if it can rely on Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administrations policy toward Ukraine forcing Kyiv into economic concessions while eschewing military commitments has made it difficult for Starmer to craft a coherent policy. The objective of forming a European-led security force is logical, but without U.S. support, it will be viewed as more declaratory than operational. Starmer correctly stated that any European military intervention in Ukraine requires reliable protection assurance yet Trump continues to undermine this goal. European leaders including Starmer need to tread carefully through an uncertain environment that Trump created by delivering vague promises alongside erratic policy actions. Starmer is also under considerable domestic strain. There is still a division within the Conservative Party over the extent to which the U.K. should be reintegrated with European defense structures, not least because of post-Brexit sensitivities. Within Labor, some advocate for closer military ties with the EU, while others are against any measures that may be seen as a threat to the U.K.s sovereignty. The Labor leader needs to unite his internal forces while establishing a clear security plan which maintains domestic and global support. The broader question remains: Can Europe create a sustainable security system that does not need to rely on the United States? The EUs recent commitments suggest an awareness that relying on Washington is no longer viable. The efforts to increase military spending might stay fragmented because Europe lacks a unified defense policy. The challenge for Starmer is to make Britain a central force in European security without being seen as a client state of either Brussels or Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The central problem of Starmers dilemma emerges from changing global power equation. The post-Cold War system that had the United States offering security protection to Europe while Europe concentrated on economic unification has started to disappear. The transactional nature of Trumps foreign policy has marked a departure from the longstanding bipartisan American support for NATO. European leaders including Starmer must now face difficult truths since they need to plan for an era where U.S. backing will be unreliable or non-existent. Starmers efforts to maintain close ties with both Trump and the EU expose the contradictions of Britains strategic position. His attempt to be a bridge between Europe and America is complicated by the fact that the two sides are drifting apart. Trumps skepticism of NATO and his focus on economic deals over security commitments clash with Europes growing sense of strategic autonomy. Starmers challenge is not just to manage these tensions but to define a clear and realistic British foreign policy that acknowledges the changing nature of transatlantic relations. The stakes are high. If Starmer fails to secure a credible defense arrangement, Britain risks being caught in a security vacuum, neither fully integrated with European defense efforts nor assured of U.S. support. His efforts to balance competing interests Trumps America First doctrine and Europes push for greater military independence and strategic autonomy underscore the precarious nature of Britains geopolitical position. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, Starmers diplomatic balancing act reflects the broader uncertainty facing Europe. With an unpredictable U.S. partner and a Europe still struggling to define its own security role, Britain must make hard choices. Straddling both sides may no longer be feasible. The question is whether Starmer will acknowledge this reality before circumstances force his hand. British foreign policy under Starmer needs to establish both a precise direction and practical approach to understand the evolving nature of transatlantic relationships. Imran Khalid is a physician and has a masters degree in international relations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Since the founding of the United Nations eight decades ago, the U.S. has been the largest financier of the organization and its affiliated agencies, funds and programs. Year after year, American taxpayer dollars are sent virtually on autopilot, largely based on prior payments, with little scrutiny as to whether those payments serve American interests. That is about to change. President Trump has a record of skepticism when it comes to international organizations. He called the U.N. a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time in 2016; a few months later, he chided it as an underperformer with huge potential. In 2017, Trump told the U.N. that no nation should have to bear a disproportionate share of the burden, militarily or financially. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But that criticism was balanced by a willingness to work with other governments to address U.S. concerns. For instance, Trump withdrew from the U.N. Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization after other governments rejected his calls for reforms. But he was happy to engage with the Universal Postal Union after it addressed his complaints about Chinas abuse of shipping rules. This treatment was meaningful but intermittent in Trumps first term. In a Feb. 4 executive order, he has made clear that he will be far more systematic in his second term. That order instructs the secretary of State, in coordination with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to conduct a review of all international intergovernmental organizations of which the United States is a member and provides any type of funding or other support to determine which organizations are contrary to the interests of the United States and provide recommendations on whether the U.S. should withdraw. This review is long overdue. The last time the U.S. conducted a similar exercise, albeit in a far less rigorous manner, was under the Clinton administration, and led the U.S. to withdraw from the U.N. Industrial Development Organization and a few other small organizations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a disservice to American taxpayers. The U.S. provides funding to more than 140 international organizations. In fiscal 2023, the U.S. paid over $16 billion to those organizations, of which approximately three-quarters went to the U.N. and its affiliated organizations. Elected officials have a duty to be good stewards of tax dollars. The failure to scrutinize how billions of dollars support U.S. interests is gross negligence because, in some cases, that money is not supporting American interests. In fact, in some cases it undermines them. An egregious example is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA. Created as a temporary initiative to assist Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Israeli-Arab war, UNRWA has become a permanent institution perpetuating the conflict. It incites hatred, antisemitism and terrorism through the curricula in UNRWA schools. It has been infiltrated by Hamas and other terror groups, which use UNRWA schools and hospitals to shield weapons and fighters. Shockingly, UNRWA employees have been accused of participating in the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack that resulted in 1,200 murdered Israelis and 250 hostages. Trump rightly cut U.S. funding to UNRWA it does not deserve American support, and it should be eliminated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are other examples. The Human Rights Council has been found to be deeply biased against Israel and routinely ignores serious human rights violations by China, Cuba, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and other governments. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, is likewise biased against Israel, and granted the State of Palestine full membership in 2011. This action triggered a U.S. law prohibiting American funding for bodies that recognize Palestine, which is intended to encourage peace negotiations and Palestinian recognition of Israel. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which focuses on climate change issues like the Paris Agreement that Trump pulled out of on Jan. 20, likewise granted membership to the Palestinians, which should lead the U.S. to withdraw and withhold funding as it did with UNESCO. Then there is the World Health Organization and its inept response to the COVID pandemic. But some parts of the U.N. system perform valuable tasks and deserve continued U.S. participation and funding. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors nuclear programs, is very useful. Technical agencies like the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Telecommunication Union help set rules and standards that benefit the U.S. and ordinary Americans. And the U.N., especially the U.N. Security Council where the U.S. can veto objectionable actions, occasionally supports U.S. priorities like sanctioning North Korea and Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.N. system is ripe for a top to bottom assessment. The review ordered by Trump will find duplication, inefficiency and instances where an organization contributes little to U.S. interests or even undermines them. The review will also find that specific U.N. organizations serve vital U.S. interests. If this examination leads the U.S. to shift participation and support to reflect U.S. interests and enhance American influence over their policies, it will undoubtedly benefit the nation. However, the executive order directing that review does not freeze U.S. funding. It makes little sense to fund organizations that the review might conclude are contrary to the interests of the United States. The administration should make clear its intent to halt such funding, unless it supports a vital U.S. short-term interest, until the conclusion of the review so American funding can be aligned with U.S. interests. Brett D. Schaefer is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 White House, the Republican Party and their MAGA media mouthpieces think the American people are idiots. Thats the only explanation for the Trump administrations ludicrous, insulting, borderline Orwellian response to the revelation that top national security officials were discussing a military strike in Yemen and revealing what was very likely classified information about it on the Signal messaging app with the unbeknownst presence of Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic. And its the only explanation for Trumps enablers in Congress and right-wing media going straight into deny-at-all-costs mode. Over the past four days, the White Houses response to the emerging scandal has followed a familiar playbook denial, obfuscation, attacks on critics, gaslighting and whataboutism. The sad part is, considering that many of the presidents supporters will believe every word he says, combined with the cowardice of Trumps GOP congressional allies, itll likely work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Goldberg first broke the story in The Atlantic on Monday, it sent jaws to the floor across Washington and beyond. The Trump team adopted a familiar strategy denial. In congressional hearings the next day, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe said no classified material had been discussed on the Signal chat. Nobody was texting war plans, said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, even though Goldbergs article about the incident showed that Hegseth had done precisely that and White House officials had already confirmed that his reporting was correct. However, as is often the case with Trump and his acolytes, they quickly shifted gears into attack mode. Youre talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist whos made a profession of peddling hoaxes, Hegseth said of Goldberg. This is a guy who peddles in garbage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House press secretary Katherine Leavitt claimed that the crux of the Signal story was not the White Houses disregard of security safeguards but rather proof that Democrats and their propagandists in the mainstream media know how to fabricate, orchestrate and disseminate a misinformation campaign quite well. And theres arguably no one in the media who loves manufacturing and pushing hoaxes more than Jeffrey Goldberg. National security adviser Mike Waltz labeled Goldberg a loser and speculated, without evidence, that the magazine editor had snuck his way onto the group chat. Others in the MAGA-sphere picked up Waltzs line of attack, with Fox News Jesse Watters claiming that journalists like Goldberg, who he called the lowest of the low... sometimes send out fake names with a contact with their cells to deceive politicians. (In fact, there is no evidence Goldberg did anything like this, which would be an egregious breach of journalistic norms.) Keep in mind that Waltz directly added Goldberg to the group chat. If Goldberg is as awful as the White House claims, what was he doing in the chat? And if a reporter of allegedly such low character somehow snuck onto the chat, what does that say about Waltzs decision to initiate a discussion about U.S. war plans on a third-party messaging app? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The drumbeat of attacks on The Atlantic and Goldberg were, in effect, daring the magazine to release the chat logs and prove they were lying which it did on Wednesday. Those logs showed that Gabbard and Ratcliffe arguably perjured themselves and that Hegseths denial that he had texted out war plans was a lie. Now, faced with the truth, the Trump team switched to its perhaps most favored tactic gaslighting. These werent war plans, the White House huffily argued they were attack plans. According to Hegseth, since there were No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information in his texts, they werent war plans or even attack plans. It was just 18 good friends getting on a group chat and shooting the breeze about a military attack. Nothing to see here. Only in the Trump administrations alternate universe is information about a pending military attack not classified. Moreover, Hegseth didnt just say an attack was coming he listed the specific times theyd be occurring and the types of weapons systems that would be used. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is no world in which such operational plans if they became available before an attack wouldnt be helpful to the enemy and potentially put U.S. fighter pilots in harms way. Imagine, for example, if on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, U.S. intelligence officials intercepted a Japanese cable that said their planes were bombing targets in Hawaii in two hours. Would U.S. officials ignore it because, as Hegseth claims, no locations, routes, or units were identified? And yet, Republicans are still trying to defend this mess. According to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, The messages The Atlantic released only prove that America is STRONG again. President Trumps national security leaders are patriots who collaborate and then act decisively to take out terrorists. A welcomed, needed change after four years of weakness from President Biden. Never mind that Biden, as president, ordered multiple attacks on the Houthis in Yemen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, when all else fails, there is always the GOPs favorite strategy whataboutism. Asked on Thursday about whether there would be an FBI investigation of the release of classified material in the Signal scandal, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, If you want to talk about classified information, talk about what was at Hillary Clintons home that she was trying to BleachBit. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin took a similar tack, arguing that Hillary Clintons use of a private email server was far worse than anything on the Signal chat. Unless Mullin has previously unknown evidence that Clinton leaked military attack plans hours before the attack commenced, this is not remotely true. Others tried to divert calls for accountability for those involved in the unclassified group chat by pointing to the supposed lack of accountability for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan during the Biden administration. Children are frequently reminded that two wrongs dont make a right. Apparently, that lesson has failed to penetrate the upper echelons of the Trump administration, the Republican Party, or its slavish media cheerleaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sad part of all this lying, distraction and gaslighting is that it will almost certainly work. A poll today from YouGov showed that 60% of Republicans viewed the scandal as a very or somewhat serious problem, with 28% saying its a very serious problem and 16% said they werent sure. Its rare these days to see that kind of disapproval of the Trump administration from Republicans, but, give it a week, and those numbers will likely come crashing back to Earth. If there is one consistent political reality in the last 10 years, it is that no matter what Donald Trump does, no matter how badly his minions screw up, his supporters will always come around. Try to steal an election, incite an insurrection, get convicted of 34 felonies, screw up the handling of a global pandemic, share classified information on an insecure unclassified messaging app all is eventually forgiven. After all, how can anyone get angry with Donald Trump? In their thinking, whatever he might have done, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or Joe Biden almost certainly did something worse. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Whoever is nominated in place of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations will encounter an institution that is decadent and badly in need of strong American leadership. Any new ambassador will encounter smug and ideologically myopic individuals and institutions that have had their way for years. It is no secret that a double standard against Israel has pervaded the U.N. for many decades. Much of the pattern of the ritualistic Israel-bashing we have come to know all too well took shape in the 1970s. Under the rubric of the non-aligned movement or the third world, the assault on Israel and its legitimacy took hold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In actuality, the attempt to turn Israel into a pariah state was part of a major propaganda and disinformation campaign promoted by the Soviet Union and aimed at undermining the West. It was enabled and implemented by a coalition of communist and Muslim countries. In 1974, Yasser Arafat, arch-terrorist who ordered the murder of an American ambassador and was responsible for the deaths of countless innocent civilians, was warmly welcomed at the U.N. General Assembly. In 1975, Ugandan dictator and mass murderer Idi Amin, received a standing ovation there. And that same year, the U.N., by a vote of 72-35 with 32 abstentions, passed the infamous Zionism equals racism resolution. In one of the most eloquent speeches ever delivered at the UN, U.S. Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) called the resolution obscene and declared that the United States does not acknowledge, it will not abide by, it will never acquiesce in this infamous act. Incredibly, although the actual Zionism is Racism resolution was later repealed under U.S. pressure in 1991, this slander has been incorporated deep within the U.N. system and continues to dominate U.N. culture to this very day. There are a myriad of U.N. offices with no parallel whatsoever, dedicated solely and uniquely to undermining Israel. At the end of the day, U.S. taxpayers foot the bill for them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The parallel universe that exists at the U.N. when it comes to Israel is boundless in its absurdity. Tragically, since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks, Israels enemies have only doubled down. In September, before the annual General Assembly session even had time to settle in, a resolution was passed accepting the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the illegality of Israels occupation of Palestinian lands, and calling on countries to take harsh measures against Israel. None other than Syria still led at the time by Bashar Assad no less sponsored the resolution against Israel. The pathetic irony of this was barely noticed, which tells us everything we need to know. This is the upside-down world that the new U.S. ambassador (whenever she or he is named) like all predecessors will encounter upon arrival at the U.S. Mission. In its complete dedication to the false, extremist and dangerous Palestinian narrative, the U.N. plays only a negative role as far as Israel and the Palestinians are concerned. As such, Oct. 7 was only a blip on the screen of its pre-conceived anti-Israel agenda. Even 17 months later it is hard to fathom the depths of depravity that Hamas unleashed on Israel. It seems that every day, more details emerge about the unimaginable horror of that day, or about the conditions that Israeli hostages are still suffering. Yet at the U.N., it is Israel that is judged, Israel that is condemned, Israel that is placed under a microscope. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fortunately, there are a few countries that do resist the anti-Israel tide countries like the Czech Republic, Argentina, Micronesia, Malawi, and most of all, since the very founding of Israel, the United States of America. That is no accident, since the U.S. and Israel share bedrock values that earn the contempt and resentment of the tyrannies and corrupt dictatorships around the world. It is that special bond that Moynihan understood when he spoke with such eloquence and indignation against the despicable libel aimed at Zionism and the state of Israel. He understood that taking a moral and principled stand made the U.S. unpopular. In fact, he entitled a landmark essay he authored The United States in Opposition. Our next ambassador should seek to widen the circle of support for Israel and the U.S. Many countries hide behind allegiance to their regional blocs or ideological caucuses when excusing their votes in favor of resolutions unfairly targeting Israel. It is time those countries that consider themselves friends of America start to worry about offending the United States when they vote against us. The new ambassador should also advocate seriously for making support for the U.S. and Israel at the U.N. a litmus test for U.S. assistance to countries that are used to receiving aid with no strings attached and should insist that strong messages are delivered to capitals of these countries by U.S. ambassadors who will convey that the U.S. expects their support. This is firmly in our national interest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although Stefanik will not be our ambassador at the UN, she said something very significant at her Senate confirmation hearing: Our tax dollars should not be complicit in propping up entities that are counter to American interests, anti-Semitic, or engaging in fraud, corruption or terrorism. That is precisely the right attitude and standard, and hopefully, it will be applied to the U.N. itself, its constituent institutions and the countries that support them. Daniel S. Mariaschin is CEO of Bnai Brith International. Richard P. Schifter is chair of AJIRI-BBI Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Vice President JD Vances visit to Greenland this week is historic. No sitting American vice president has ever visited the nation. Yet the visit comes with controversy and follows a string of provocative statements by President Trump about Greenland that have unsettled many in Nuuk. What was originally expected to include Second Lady Usha Vances attendance at a well-known dog sled race has now been narrowed to a visit to the U.S. military base in the far north of the country. The Trump administration is absolutely right to highlight Greenlands strategic importance. This is not just a matter of politics in the context of American national defense, its a matter of geography and physics. Greenland, like Iceland, plays a vital role in continental defense, particularly against airborne threats, due to its location. In simple terms, Greenland and Iceland serve as the forward operating bases of the North American continent. Greenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark. It was granted home rule in 1979 and expanded self-government in 2009. Today, it exercises authority over most domestic policy areas, with the key exceptions being foreign affairs, defense and monetary policy, all of which remain under Danish control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Luckily for the U.S., every American policy goal in Greenland can be pursued through our close and long-standing relationships with both the Greenlandic and Danish governments. In addition to the security cooperation, there is mutual interest in deepening economic ties, which would be a welcome development. This might include cooperation on rare earth minerals, for example, although it should be noted that many of Greenlands assumed mineral resources remain out of reach due to an extreme lack of infrastructure, harsh environmental conditions and the presence of an ice sheet three times the size of Texas and over two miles thick at its deepest. Improving transportation links between the U.S. and Greenland should also be a priority. While discussions about enhancing shipping routes have stalled for years due to commercial constraints, there has been modest progress in air travel. This June will mark the launch of the first seasonal direct flight from the U.S. to Greenland since the 1990s. More can and should be done. There is no question that Greenland remains under Danish sovereignty. This has been the case since 1721 and has been reaffirmed by successive American administrations for more than a century most notably in 1917, when the U.S. purchased the Danish West Indies, now the U.S. Virgin Islands. As part of that agreement, the U.S. explicitly reaffirmed Denmarks sovereignty over Greenland. I have written, spoken and testified extensively about the growing Chinese threat to U.S. interests in the Arctic. This was one of the primary motivations for my first visit to Greenland several years ago. While Greenland maintains a trading relationship with China, primarily around seafood exports, there is virtually no meaningful Chinese investment on the island. The Chinese do not operate a single mine there. Attempts by China to fund airport construction and purchase a former U.S. and Danish military installation have all been blocked. This demonstrates that current safeguards against malign Chinese influence in Greenland are working and deserve continued American support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Greenland is clearly on a long-term trajectory toward independence, something Denmark has publicly supported. The U.S. should recognize, support and respect the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination and to decide how and by whom they are governed. Following recent elections, all five parties represented in Greenlands parliament issued a joint statement rejecting American annexation proposals. At present, its clear that joining the U.S. is not part of Greenlands vision. Until public attitudes change, America should accept this as the reality. Despite what some senior U.S. officials have suggested, Denmark is one of NATOs most effective and reliable members and has proven it on the battlefield. When I served with the British Defense Secretary in 2010 and 2011, I saw firsthand how Danish forces operated in central Helmand province in Afghanistan a region that accounted for less than 1 percent of the countrys population but over 20 percent of its violence. Denmark had more than 700 soldiers under British command, operating with no caveats or restrictions, while many other European allies were confined to safer areas in the north. On a per capita basis, Denmark suffered among the highest casualty rates of the entire war. Denmark is a capable and committed ally, and America needs more allies like it. In the Arctic, sovereignty equals stability. That means respecting the sovereignty of others while also maintaining the capabilities to defend our own. The U.S. should enhance its military presence in the region, in full alignment with existing agreements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During this pivotal moment for Ukraine and the transatlantic alliance, we must prioritize unity. It shouldnt have to be said, but the idea of using U.S. military force to secure American interests in Greenland must be categorically ruled out. Statements suggesting that the U.S. has a special right to Greenland because it is in our backyard, necessary for our security, or that the locals are unhappy and Denmark doesnt really have a right to it echo the same justifications the Kremlin uses to defend its invasion of Ukraine. This rhetoric is irresponsible and, frankly, unbecoming of the U.S. Ideally, Vances visit will lead to a stronger understanding of the U.S.-Greenlandic relationship and help chart a responsible, forward-looking approach. A visit by a sitting vice president to Greenland is indeed historic. Lets hope it is historic for the right reasons. Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Border security is national security, but Americas borders are more expansive than the Rio Grande, ocean coasts or the frontier with Canada. In todays world, protecting our borders demands that we fully secure American interests in space. Achieving that goal demands investments to build a balanced Space Force capable of deterring aggressors and, if necessary, defeating them. Whether they realize it or not, every American has a stake in how the Space Force performs and succeeds. Our nations prosperity depends on assured use of space. Financial transactions, critical utilities like water and power, the navigation built into phones, broadband internet on the go, and many more key facets of daily life depend on satellites. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nor can our nation be safe and secure without fail-safe access to space and the freedom to operate there. U.S. and allied militaries rely on space for communications, remote sensing, early detection of missile launches, weapons guidance and more. Space is the ultimate high ground and the stakes are immense. Todays U.S. Space Force was initially designed and resourced to protect and defend these critical space capabilities. In the five years since activation, Americas Space Force has delivered resilient satellite constellations that are hardened against attack, employed cutting edge technology from our defense industrial base like the X-37 spaceplane, and made prudent investments to avoid surprise from our adversaries. Those investments are paying off, but the Chinese Communist Party is already adapting. The threat they pose is real. I watch outer space for a living. My job with the U.S. Space Force is to ensure we avoid surprise, and that work is only getting harder as space becomes more crowded and adversarial. Today, space is a war fighting domain because our adversaries have made it so. Chinas leader, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made space a priority and his Chinese PLA aerospace force is actively conducting confrontational training that sends an unmistakable signal. Last year, for example, Chinas military practiced advanced tactical maneuvers that brought their satellites within a few meters of other Chinese satellites serving as targets. They repeated the maneuver with simultaneous passes on multiple targets. In 2021, the SJ-21 orbital debris removal vehicle grappled a defunct non-cooperative Chinese satellite and dragged it to a graveyard orbit. This is exactly the kind of technology needed to attack our satellites such as those monitoring severe weather, providing persistent communications, or warning of missile launches. These close proximity operations conducted with little transparency also risk collisions in the increasingly crowded space environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These operations demonstrate advanced orbital proficiency and are in addition to previously fielded ground-based missiles and lasers designed to attack satellites. We cannot ignore these developments for many reasons. History, for one, offers lessons. In the 1930s, Germany developed innovative blitzkrieg tactics to exploit cutting edge technologies like armored vehicles and warplanes to penetrate, overfly, and outmaneuver fixed fortifications. Imperial Japan perfected techniques to launch lightning carrier raids across the Pacific. Today we are watching the PLA develop the skills needed for offensive operations in the space domain. Americas assured use of space is at risk unless we evolve from a reactive protect and defend posture to instead build a Space Force capable of maneuvering and fighting in space. Border fences may slow down an aggressor, but history shows that defenders need their own maneuver forces to deter attack in the first place, counterattack, and if necessary, take the fight to the enemy. Peace through strength matters on Earth, and it also matters in space. The U.S. and especially the Space Force must meet this challenge its about deterrence. Just like our capabilities in the air, land, and sea, a strong presence in space discourages adversaries from attacking in the first place. We must protect our frontier in space with the same diligence and determination that we are directing to borders closer to home. This requires investment in a balanced Space Force capable of a full range of operations. Maj. Gen. Gregory Gagnon is the Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence and serves as the Senior Intelligence Officer for the U.S. Space Force. 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. Second lady Usha Vance and one of her sons were supposed to attend Greenlands big dogsled race this weekend in what some called a charm offensive to further President Donald Trumps ambition to pry the territory from Denmark. But charm turned to smarm when the White House announced that she would instead be joining her husband in visiting an American military facility there on Friday. The Vice President and Second Lady are embarking on a historic expedition with their visit to Greenland, where the Vice President will emphasize the importance of bolstering [Arctic] security in places like Pituffik Space Base, a senior White House official told the New York Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The official added, Unfortunately, Danish leaders have spent decades mistreating the Greenlandic people, treating them like second class citizens and allowing infrastructure on the island to fall into disrepair. Expect the Vice President to emphasize these points as well. However true or false that may be, a recent poll commissioned by the Danish newspaper Berlingske and Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq, according to Reuters, showed that 85 percent of Greenlanders do not wish their semi-autonomous territory to become part of the United States. Only 6 percent did. Just under half said they view Trump as a threat, an opinion that could only have been reinforced by something Vance said two months ago on Fox News Sunday regarding the same facility he is visiting Friday. We dont have to use military force, he said. The thing that people always ignore is we already have troops in Greenland. He added, Greenland is really important for America strategically. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On top of that, Vance arrives with Usha at the U.S. Space Force Base in Pituffik on Friday having recently called Denmark a bad ally. He has also complained that our European friends are mooching off America. And he further affirmed that view in the Signal chat that famously included Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic. I just hate bailing Europe out again, Vance messaged to the group discussing a pending attack on the Houthis to secure shipping lanes. I fully share your loathing of European freeloading. Its PATHETIC, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth replied. The now-infamous chat was started by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who is expected to also join what started out as just a trip to Greenland for Usha and her child. Danish Crown Princess Mary speaks to soldiers during her visit to the Danish troops in Helmand, Afghanistan. / - / Danish Ministry Of Defence/AFP v Whoever goes, there is another woman who should be remembered when it comes to anything involving the U.S. and Denmark, most particularly when it comes to questions of who is a good ally and which country is in the others debt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Private Sophia Bellis Bruun was one of 18,000 Danish soldiers deployed to Afghanistan between 2002 and 2021, arriving shortly after the Americans went in and leaving shortly before they withdrew. She was 12 on 9/11 and 22 in 2010, when she arrived in Afghanistan. She and her fellow Danes asked nothing of America other than to join 32 other nations in what they viewed as a fight against terrorism and for freedom. Her former commanding officer, Roni Holm Hansen, later posted in Danish that Bruun had a big smile, a twinkle in her eye and a will to make a difference. Thats what made her go to Afghanistanwhat made her train hard and fight bravely, Hansen wrote. She gave of herself to help others. Hansen added, She had the principle of respect and truth in her heart Everyone who knew her or met her could feel that she was a strong woman, and for us a dedicated soldier. He recalled that she was quick with a cheeky remark but also with empathy, a soothing hand on the shoulder and an invitation for deeper conversation. Sophia Bruun / Tina Bruun Marnfeld /Facebook Bruun volunteered to serve with a battle-battered unit at Patrol Base Clifton in Helmand Province. She proved her mettle in May of that year, simultaneously holding off an attack with a machine gun and delivering first aid to the wounded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 1, she offered to help out on a patrol that needed an extra hand. At midday, she was serving as a gunner on a Piranha armored patrol vehicle four miles north-east of Girishk, the site of a major battle between the British and local tribesmen in 1841. Her vehicle was hit by a massive roadside IED and she became the first female Danish soldier ever killed in combat. That day, a small part of her many soldier comrades died, Hansen later wrote. She had already written what she wanted inscribed on her tombstone in the event of her death. Sophia - wanted to make the world a better place, it read in Danish. Sophia Bruun's grave / Freddy Fabricius Nielsen/Facebook All told, 43 Danish soldiers died in Afghanistan, 37 in actual combat. At 7.82 deaths per million, it was the highest casualty rate compared to population in the coalition other than the 7.96 per million of the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eight Danish soldiers died in Iraq after the US. invaded there on the pretext of securing non-existent weapons of mass destruction. JD Vance served in Iraq as a U.S. Marine, as did Hegseth with the U.S. Army. Hegseth also served in Afghanistan in 2011, but in relative safety as an instructor at the Counter-insurgency Training Center in Kabul rather than in Helmand Province, where Bruun died the year before. Waltz served multiple tours with the U.S. Army Special Forces in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. He was awarded four Bronze Star, including two for valor. The coffins of two Danish soldiers killed in the Helmand province in Afghanistan are carried out of a military tranport plane upon its arrival in Jutland, Denmark. / CLAUS FISKER / AFP via Getty Images You would think that their roles in what was called the War on Terror would leave Vance, Waltz, and Hegseth some respect for the ally that sacrificed quite nearly as much as America in Afghanistan. The Danes suffered only .14 deaths per million fewer deaths than the U.S. did when they could have just sat it out. But in return, the U.S. vice president has called them a bad ally and part of a group of free-loaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In flying into Greenland with Usha and Waltz on Friday, JD Vance is treating Denmark as a foe to be pressured into giving up Greenland. He would do better to honor the sacrifice that Denmark made without asking anything in return. The U.S. and Denmark might then be able to join together in the way of good allies and make an agreement that Greenland can welcome. On the remote chance that could happen, Private Sophia Bunn will have continued to make the world a better place. The Vances are expected to have departed Greenland by Saturday, when three dozen entrants and more than 400 pups commence the annual Avannaata Qimussersua (The Great Race of the North). Maybe next year Usha and one of the kiddos can attend the start with no smarm, just genuine charm, absent of agenda. But the way things are going, dont count on it. Blurring the distinction between substance and process is a tactic of disinformation. The Trump administration is using the technique in its efforts to deport immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act, but the courts are seeing through it. On Wednesday, an appeals court upheld an order to block President Donald Trumps administration from using the 1798 statute to deport people it says are members of a violent Venezuelan gang known as Tren De Aragua. The substance of Trumps policy has broad appeal. The administration knows that most Americans support the removal of transnational criminal members of a gang it recently designated a foreign terrorist organization. And Trump frequently invokes his strong mandate to engage in aggressive immigration enforcement, which was a major theme of his campaign. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When district court Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order blocking the deportations on March 15, Attorney General Pam Bondi blasted the judge for supporting the Tren de Aragua terrorists over the safety of Americans. In fact, Judge Boasberg is not supporting either party. He is supporting the law. The legal problem isnt with what the administration is doing; it is how the administration is doing it. In a 2-1 decision Wednesday, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also ruled against the administration, rejecting an emergency motion to overturn District Court Boasbergs decision to stop the program temporarily. Two judges, one appointed by a Republican president and one by a Democrat, wrote concurring opinions noting problems with the application of the statute and the apparent denial of due process. In her concurring opinion, Judge Karen L. Henderson explained that the Alien Enemies Act applies only in wartime. At the moment, of course, the United States is not at war. As Judge Henderson wrote, the Alien Enemies Act was enacted during a time when our fledging nation was consumed with fear of a war with France and internal strife from her sympathizers. As a result, Congress passed a package of bills known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien Enemies Act would permit the president to expel enemies during times of war. The problem with using that statute now, of course, is that none of those conditions are currently being met. A counterpart to the statute known as the Alien Friends Act was passed for use in times of peace. That statute permitted the removal of any immigrant the president deemed dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States. Why, you might ask, did the Trump administration not simply use the Alien Friends Act to deport this group? Thats because, as the court noted, the statute was immediately seen as unconstitutional and allowed to lapse in 1800. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But thats where the how becomes a problem. As Judge Henderson explained, the language of the Alien Enemies Act requires a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government or an invasion or predatory incursion ... against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation of government. Happily, we are not at war, which, under the Constitution, may be declared only by Congress. Nor have we experienced any invasion or predatory incursion by a foreign nation or government. Despite the governments argument that unwanted migrants who cross the border unlawfully have invaded our country, the court said that those terms as used in the statute instead must be considered in their military sense. Indeed, the court noted that James Madison had called the statute an exercise of the power of war. The court concluded that the words invasion and predatory incursion in the statute must be read to mean a hostile encroachment by a nation state. Because these conditions do not exist, the plaintiffs in this case have shown a substantial likelihood of succeeding on the merits of their lawsuit against the administration. In another concurring opinion, Judge Patricia Millet explained her concerns with how the administration is deporting the plaintiffs, noting the apparent denial of due process. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees due process to anyone within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States before they can be denied life, liberty or property. Courts have long held that due process rights apply to immigrants, legal or not, in deportation proceedings. The basic requirements of due process are fair notice, an opportunity to be heard and an impartial decision-maker. The individuals in this case received none of these procedural safeguards to determine whether they are, in fact, noncitizens who are members of Tren de Aragua. The judge noted that some of the men were designated as gang members based on tattoos matching those found in a Google search. The case now goes back to Judge Boasbergs courtroom for further proceedings, including the courts order that the government show that it did not violate his initial order to halt the departure of planes and their return, as well as its refusal to answer his questions about those issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration no doubt handpicked members of a transnational criminal gang to test the waters for aggressive immigration enforcement, gambling that most members of the public would be happy to see them go. But by focusing only on the substantive goal of ridding our country of individuals it deems dangerous criminals, the administration steamrolls over the lawful process that protects any of us from getting ensnared in a net by mistake or abuse. Under the law, sound process is required to yield effective substance. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Among my friends and family, Ive developed a reputation as a closet Republican. Were at dinner or in the coffee shop or on a hike, the conversation steers toward wailing and lamentation about Trump and I walk away or get up and leave or change the subject. I can imagine the whispers. Her? But thats impossible. She was always such a bleeding-heart liberal, always among the left of the left. What happened to her? Something must have changed. Something did change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive always had a strong political identity, but I was seldom an advocate. To me, my nation was, metaphorically, like parents. Sure, there were missteps and foolishness and sometimes outright madness, but I took for granted that, ultimately, like good parents, my government was sensible and had good intentions. Of course, not everyone had the same version of America that I did, but like being born to benevolent parents, I held a version of my government and its people that was essentially well-meaning. When Trump was elected for the second time, I saw a different reality. The government wasnt sensible. In fact, it might be dangerous. My fellow Americans sometimes did not have everyone elses best interests at heart. In fact, in the voting booth, they could be venal and superficial, uninformed and narcissistic. Its one thing to grow up in an abusive household. Its quite another to believe your family will keep you from harm and then find out late in life that theyre a nest of predators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I realize how trusting I have been, and Im sorrowed to watch that trust dissipate. Im no stranger to mourning. Both of my parents are gone. Ive been through a divorce. As a Baby Boomer, Ive lost too many friends to AIDS, combat, suicide, addiction and violence. So, I know the course of grief. While its not the lock-step process of Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance there are elements of all these emotions as we make our way through the demands of healing. Kubler-Ross herself expressed frustration with the popular mangling of her theory. She knew that mourning is not a rigid formula but a process; it fluctuates and morphs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we mourn, if were to survive psychologically, we slowly piece our way to a new normal. Our grief evolves and we regain stability and maybe even realize wisdom and maturity. At first, we may long for resurrection, but ultimately, we know we cant recover what has been lost. When each of my parents died, I grieved profoundly. And I still miss them, but in time, I could acknowledge the loss without repeatedly returning to grieving. So it is with my belief in my countrys sanity and sensibility. Its gone. Adding my voice to the chorus of Trump transgressions would be like returning to the day when I saw the depth of my fathers dementia or when I learned that my mother had stage 4 colon cancer. Some November day, after some other election, I might join my friends and family in celebrating another, better new normal, but it wont mean a return to life before the loss. That life is over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, if I get up and walk away from the Trump-trashing, its not because Im offended. Im just trying to grow up. Marsh Rose is an author and psychotherapist based in California. Her most recent book, Escape Routes, was published in 2021 by Sunbury Press. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. AtkinsRealis and Arcadis have been selected by Network Rail to support the design of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), an initiative aimed at enhancing rail connectivity in Northern England. The 50:50 joint venture is one of four suppliers chosen to work on the five-year, 300m ($387.9m) development and design partnership framework, which may extend for an additional three years. The DDPF will provide multi-disciplinary design and engineering services across various disciplines, from preliminary feasibility studies to detailed construction designs. It will utilise advanced modelling and benchmarking tools to ensure efficient decision-making. The collaboration between AtkinsRealis and Arcadis will draw on their transport planning, technical advisory, and data-driven design expertise to deliver sustainable solutions to support long-term growth. Arcadis Mobility UK and Ireland managing director Paul Dennett said: We know that delivering an efficient, well-managed rail service is critical for Network Rail, but investment must also support broader economic growth and social mobility. Our role in early-stage project development will help define service patterns, requirements, and outputs that shape the railway of tomorrow, ensuring that every investment decision maximises value. The DDPF is set to facilitate the delivery of NPR, which is a key component of the Integrated Rail Plan and Network North. The IRP outlines the planned rail infrastructure investments in the Midlands and the North over the next 30 years, while Network North envisions an extended NPR, with its scope currently under development. AtkinsRealis Transportation UK & Ireland managing director Colette Carroll said: Designing transformative rail is a significant opportunity to lay the groundwork for new economic growth and prosperity. These major rail programmes across the North of England will improve connections between businesses and people with faster journeys and more reliable services. Arcadis has been part of the NPR team since 2019, offering cost planning and stakeholder management services. AtkinsRealis has been working with Transport for the North since 2020 as an infrastructure delivery partner to develop strategic plans for NPR. Last month, AtkinsRealis was selected by Network Rail to manage its Property Digital Programme, overseeing the digital infrastructure for one of the UK's largest property portfolios. "AtkinsRealis, Arcadis join forces for Northern Powerhouse Rail design" was originally created and published by Railway Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. For the record: 9:39 p.m. March 27, 2025: An earlier version of this story said SB 54 was passed by voters. The bill was approved by California legislators and signed into law by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017. Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes blasted a state sanctuary law that bars local law enforcement from contacting immigration officials when an undocumented immigrant is held in county jail, but he said he won't direct his deputies to enforce immigration laws. "We have no desire to enforce immigration law we never have, and we never will," Barnes said during a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. "But we must have the ability to communicate and share threats and removal of criminal offenders who prey upon our community, often within the immigrant communities in which they reside." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the same meeting, Barnes called for the repeal of Senate Bill 54, a law introduced by then-state Senate President Kevin de Leon and approved by legislators in 2017. The law was drafted in part as a response to the first Trump administration's policies to ramp up deportations and immigrant detentions. Now, Trump has called for massive deportations during his second term, including targeting some visa holders and immigrants with no criminal history, prompting new scrutiny on the state law as local law enforcement agencies try to determine how, if at all, they will cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Trump's latest push for deportations, and California's defiance, puts local law enforcement officials in a precarious spot. Read more: Arellano: Orange County once was an anti-immigrant hotbed. What changed? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under SB 54, local law enforcement officials are barred from spending money or resources on federal immigration enforcement. However, the law allows local enforcement officials to screen inmates, when asked by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, if they have been convicted of certain violent felonies and misdemeanors, such as assault, battery, child abuse or sexual abuse among other crimes. If the inmates have not been convicted of such crimes, the law prohibits local law enforcement from notifying ICE when they will be released from custody. In Orange County last year, county jail officials were asked by ICE officials to screen 633 inmates detained at the county jail. Of those inmates, 226 were referred over to ICE as being in the country illegally. The federal agency detained 186 of those inmates, according to state-mandated disclosures released Tuesday. Some immigration rights advocates spoke out during the Tuesday meeting and criticized supervisors and the sheriff for continuing to do immigrant screenings in the jails, and urged county officials to stop cooperating with federal immigration officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although deputies and local law enforcement are barred from routinely asking about immigration status when speaking to a suspect or witness, advocates said the cooperation of local law enforcement with immigration officials could undermine public trust and deter people from reaching out to police. "It undermines public safety and it undermines our local economy," said Carlos Perea, executive director of the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice. Barnes stressed that deputies in the state's third-largest county were focused on enforcing state and local laws, not immigration laws. But he also made it clear he supports greater cooperation with immigration officials when it comes to undocumented immigrants detained in the county jail, although he said his agency would continue to follow state law. Speaking to supervisors Tuesday, Barnes criticized the so-called sanctuary law, and offered examples of immigrants who were arrested in Orange County, released and re-arrested for other crimes, including kidnapping, narcotics sales and child abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Those not picked up by ICE continue to victimize our community and consume law enforcement resources," he said. Of the 633 inmates whom ICE asked to be screened in Orange County, 407 of them did not meet the state's criteria for notifying federal officials, Barnes said. Read more: 'Scare tactic': Bonta slams Trump move targeting local officials over immigration Notifying federal officials of those who do meet the criteria, however, is left to the discretion of law enforcement. That option has also already caused confrontations between local officials who disagree as to how much, if any, law enforcement should be involved in immigration enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said his deputies would not be involved in immigration enforcement. The statement, shared in a video posted on social media, was shared partly to address rumors that Riverside deputies had been involved in immigration raids, Bianco said. Bianco, an outspoken supporter of President Trump, has criticized California's sanctuary law. But Bianco told Fox 11 LA he would be "working somehow around SB 54 with ICE." San Diego County supervisors adopted a policy in December that would stop jail staff from working with federal officials at all, regardless of the inmate's previous convictions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez, who oversees the jails, pushed back against the Board of Supervisors, and has said she won't comply with the county policy. Martinez argued that, as an elected official and overseer of the jails, only she could set policies for the Sheriff's Department, and vowed to continue to notify ICE when someone not authorized to be in the country was released from county jail. In Orange County, supervisors seemed mostly in support of the sheriff's policies. Supervisor Don Wagner pointed out that the 226 inmates who were referred to ICE constituted a small part of the more than 48,000 bookings that occurred in the jail last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The sheriff is to be saluted," Wagner said, "not condemned for the very judicious use of his power that he's outlined today." 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 Melanie Henshaw InvestigateWest When the victim of a crime calls for help on tribal lands, who will respond isnt so straightforward. Some crimes are the responsibility of state police. Others are the tribal police or FBI. It all depends on the severity of the crime and the Indian status of the parties involved. Civil matters on tribal lands are caught in a similar web. Jurisdiction over everything from labor suits to probate law depends on the Indian status of the people involved and the nature of the dispute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tribal leaders say these complexities undermine tribal sovereignty and harm public safety. A new bill that advanced out of committee in the Oregon Legislature aims to create a formal process for tribes to request the reversal of a 1953 federal law called Public Law 83-280, or PL-280, that tribal leaders say complicates jurisdiction on tribal lands. These reversals known as retrocession would simplify the jurisdictional patchwork on tribal lands, removing the state from some tribal affairs. The federal law mandates that Oregon exercise criminal and civil jurisdiction over tribal lands within its borders. Passed at the height of an era of federal policies weakening tribal sovereignty in the 1950s, the law has long been criticized by tribal nations as interfering with their sovereignty by giving states concurrent criminal and civil jurisdiction previously held by the federal government over tribal lands. The new Oregon bill, Senate Bill 1011, would create a formal process for a tribe to petition for the repeal of the law on their lands, returning jurisdiction to the federal government. While many tribal governments hope for full criminal and civil restoration over their lands eventually, they say removing state jurisdiction is an important step toward respecting Native American nations as self-governing sovereign states. The return of state-assumed jurisdiction under PL-280 to the federal government is essential to improving tribal self-governance and is further acknowledgment by the state of Oregon of tribal sovereignty, Corrine Sams, one of the nine trustees of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, testified at a March 6 public hearing on the bill before the state Senate Committee on Veterans, Emergency Management, Federal and World Affairs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oregon state Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, the bills sponsor, said the 1953 law comes from an era when the U.S. sought to do away with tribes. Its a stain on our countrys history, on Oregons history, he testified. A fundamental tenet of sovereignty is the power to apply the law, but tribal governments ability to do that is limited. Federally recognized tribes are sovereign states with rights guaranteed by treaties between them and the U.S. government, but a series of laws have stripped them of jurisdiction over their lands. Tribal officials and legal experts say state jurisdiction hurts tribal communities in Oregon, harming tribal sovereignty and leaving Indigenous communities disproportionately vulnerable to violence. They contend that the formal structure to petition for the reversal of the law is an important step to affirm tribal sovereignty and improve public safety on tribal lands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What Ive always heard from Oregon tribes is a desire to be a great partner in public safety and exercise the sovereignty that they know better than anybody that they have, to keep Indian country safe, and protect their people and their lands, Broadman testified. The overlapping jurisdictions of state, tribal and federal agencies can lead to a host of problems, including a lack of enforcement of laws on tribal land, and delayed investigations and prosecutions. You get three different jurisdictions that might assume that some other jurisdiction is doing it when they're not, and they're not communicating with each other, and they don't know who has jurisdiction, said Brent Leonhard, staff attorney for the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation. Native Americans face disproportionate risks of crime, particularly violent crime; nearly 90% of Native American women report experiencing violence in their lifetime, and the vast majority of violence against Native Americans is committed by non-Native American offenders who more easily evade prosecution due to jurisdictional failures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are gaps and theres overlap, and anytime thats the case, you know, I think it's incumbent upon us as legislators to think about the real life impacts on Oregonians public safety, Broadman said. Legal experts say the disproportionate victimization is in part a result of issues related to various agencies with overlapping authority failing to properly investigate and prosecute crimes, at times due to confusion, something cited in the Oregon State Polices first-ever report researching the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the state. Making referrals to the proper organization is equally confusing for state, local and county law enforcement especially if the organization does not regularly interact with tribal policing agencies or commonly handle concerns involving tribal members, the report said. Congress began allowing tribes to petition for the reversal of PL-280 on their lands in 1968. Since then, a number of tribes have undertaken the existing process with varying success. Tribal leaders say the framework and timelines for retrocession provided under the new bill allow for more transparency and accountability. From left to right are Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Judges Matthew Johnson, Doug Nash, William Johnson, David Gallaher, Louisa Allman and Naomi Stacy. Matthew Johnson, Allman and Stacy received a ceremonial oath of office and presentation of robes in April 2024 in the reservations Tribal Court. Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation SB 1011 would allow those tribes that have not yet done so to decide when or if they would like to begin that process. The Umatilla Tribe is prepared to begin seeking civil retrocession, which unlike criminal retrocession, would not return power to the federal government. Instead, it would effectively close state courts to suits against Indians for affairs on tribal lands, like in a majority of states, where PL-280 doesnt apply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Umatilla Tribe has been at the forefront of efforts to increase tribal sovereignty and to push for full tribal jurisdiction on tribal lands. Native nations with a less-developed judicial system may choose to wait until they have developed additional infrastructure to pursue the retrocession process. State jurisdiction not serving tribes State jurisdiction over tribal lands has hurt tribal communities, officials say. State police overwhelmingly have no ties to the tribal communities theyre tasked with policing, response times are slow, and tribal citizens feel theyve often been treated unfairly. Distrust of law enforcement in tribal communities is a well-known problem. Officials say tribal citizens are more receptive to tribal police officers from within their communities, and view state jurisdiction as an unwanted imposition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, the power of tribal governments to apply law is seriously limited by the federal government. With some exceptions for domestic violence against tribal citizens, tribes generally cannot prosecute non-Indians for crimes on tribal lands. Laws give wide-ranging criminal jurisdiction to the federal government, while tribal courts remain subject to sentencing limitations. Leonhard said that going through criminal jurisdictional retrocession had profound effects on the Umatilla tribe and its legal system. Under state jurisdiction, citizens sometimes felt harassed now, state police generally cant operate there. Tribal members felt like the state would come on for reservation to basically harass tribal members and not do anything to non-Indians who were committing crimes, Leonhard said. So it was really a problem, you know, they weren't creating a safer community. Remnant of a dark time The origins of PL-280 are rooted in the Termination Era of federal Indian policy, when the federal government sought to limit its role in tribal governance. Congress passed it a year before passing the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act of 1954, which unilaterally terminated the federally recognized status of almost all tribes within the geographic bounds of Oregon to force assimilation. With the stroke of a pen, the federal government ceased its relationship with the affected tribes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a time in the United States when the government was trying to do away with tribes, Broadman testified. The law applies mandatorily in six states, including Oregon, with the exception of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Indian Reservation. The tribes always wanted full, full sovereignty, really and by giving the state jurisdiction under PL-280, first of all, its been a disaster everywhere where they did it, Leonhard said. When Congress passed the law in 1953, it fundamentally altered the legal landscape of Indian Country by compelling the included states to exercise complete criminal and civil jurisdiction over tribal lands, without the consent of tribes, regardless of Indian status. The law passed despite the protest of tribal governments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PL-280, plain and simple, hurt tribes, Broadman said. It took jurisdiction away from the United States and gave it to states. And that in itself philosophically, allowing states to exercise jurisdiction in Indian Country that really is inconsistent, again, with centuries of federal law when it came to how states and tribes are going to act toward one another. It was also an unfunded mandate that provided no additional resources to state law enforcement to adequately police tribal lands, leaving growing gaps in enforcement, especially as tribes took significantly more land into trust in the past 30 years. During the 1970s and 80s, Congress restored some of the previously terminated tribes, but the policies left lasting damage on tribal communities. Tribal land had been sold to non-Indians; and it took decades for tribes to begin rebuilding their land bases. Remnant laws from that era, like this one, carry forward the harm of that dark time, tribal officials say. Some tribes within the geographic bounds of Oregon have already undertaken the informal process to go through retrocession, but six tribes still remain under Oregon state civil jurisdiction and five tribes remain under state criminal jurisdiction. Creating a framework Tribal officials who support SB 1011 say it creates clarity and consistency in the ad-hoc system currently governing retrocession requests, improving efficiency and promoting transparency in the process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, a tribe that wishes to begin the retrocession process must rely on the governors discretion and political goodwill, which creates uncertainty for tribes, according to a report submitted to the Legislature by the Umatilla Tribe, a primary backer of the bill. The Umatilla Tribe testified in support of the legislation in a public hearing before the Legislature on March 6. The tribe intends to move for civil retrocession if SB 1011 passes. There are lots of problems that come from multiple jurisdictions exercising authority over the same incident, Leonhard said. InvestigateWest (investigatewest.org) is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Reporter Melanie Henshaw covers Indigenous affairs and communities in the region. Reach her directly at melanie@investigatewest.org or at (971) 258-0891. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Amid the Trump administrations efforts to slash the federal workforce, a group of Oregon lawmakers are calling for terminated agricultural researchers in Oregon to be reinstated. On Thursday, members of Oregons Democratic delegation led by Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) sent a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins with concerns over the administrations decision to terminate USDA Agricultural Research Service workers across Oregon including in Corvallis, Newport, Burns, Pendleton and Hood River. The United States is already falling behind other countries in research and agricultural development, and the loss of these researchers will significantly stunt our competitive capabilities in agricultural science and technology, the lawmakers wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DONT MISS: Oregon USDA scientist fears chilling effect after Trump admin layoffs hit Hood River research facility According to the lawmakers, the terminations undermine agreements between research institutions, USDA-ARS, and stakeholders from Oregons vital crop industries including greenhouse and nursery crops (valued at $1.2 billion), grass seed ($639 million), wine grapes ($330 million) and hazelnuts (valued at $100 million). Because of unexpected and unpredictable staff terminations, these crop industries cannot holistically benefit from such cooperative agreements and are at risk of losing valuable research progress, which otherwise would have helped stakeholders be more productive and financially successful, the letter continues. Amid the terminations, ongoing projects are being hampered, including research to improve crop yields, ways to manage pests and developments for resilient farming practices, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 12K+ Oregon taxpayers impacted by Employment Department tax form error According to the lawmakers, these developments are being stalled in some cases where the terminated workers were the only or one of a handful of people in the country with those research specialties. As Members whose constituents are greatly impacted by these research cuts and personnel firings, we urge you to reconsider these staff terminations and permanently reinstate those who have been let go. Permanent reinstatement will ensure that agricultural operations in Oregon are competitive, data-based, competitive with foreign markets, and stable for generations to come, the lawmakers concluded. The letter was signed by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Val Hoyle (OR-04), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05), along with Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Eye on Northwest Politics KOIN 6 News reached out to the United States Department of Agriculture. This story will be updated if we receive a response. When terminations started within the USDA in February, a spokesperson said the department was optimizing operations, eliminating inefficiencies, and strengthening its ability to serve farmers, ranchers, and the agriculture community, as reported by Reuters, noting it was not immediately clear how many USDA workers were terminated. The USDA is among several federal agencies seeing staff cuts directed by the Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk. Other agencies seeing job terminations include the Department of Education, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USAID and the Department of Energy, which impacted some employees at the Bonneville Power Administration. 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Just as Oregon lawmakers consider more lax restrictions in medical aid for those who are dying, a report has revealed that prescriptions for life-ending prescriptions have risen while the deaths have dropped. The Oregon Health Authority uncovered 2024 data on the Death With Dignity Act on Thursday. In its 27th year, the act led to 607 prescriptions for lethal medications and 376 aid-in-dying deaths an 8.2% increase and a 2.6% decrease from the year prior, respectively. Commission finds serious threat to patient health, safety at Oregon State Hospital Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure has allowed in-state, terminally ill patients to self-administer lethal doses to end their lives since 1987. It expanded to include eligible out-of-state patients in 2023. OHAs Deputy State Health Officer and Epidemiologist Tom Jeanne suspects that the new data reflects the ebb and flow of the recently repealed act. What were seeing is, perhaps, a cooling of the heightened interest and participation in the DWDA that occurred when patients were no longer required to be Oregon residents to receive medical aid in dying, Jeanne said in a statement. Health officials found that 23 out-of-state patients requested prescriptions from physicians last year, compared to 29 in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 12K+ Oregon taxpayers impacted by Employment Department tax form error Even with the in-state requirement being waived, the DWDA act still requires participants to be at least 18 years old, capable of discussing their healthcare decisions with professionals and diagnosed with a terminal illness that will result in their death within at least six months. If eligible, the patient then enters a 15-day waiting period before the medication can be administered. However, Oregon lawmakers have proposed a bill that would remove some of this criteria. Senate Bill 1003 would make it so physician assistants and nurse practitioners can prescribe the lethal drugs, rather than just physicians. It would also reduce the waiting period to 48 hours instead of 15 days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Proponents of the bill have noted that it would help Oregon patients in rural communities who have less access to physicians than a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Opponents have argued the shorter wait time would hinder already-vulnerable individuals. Trump executive order will make Oregon elections less safe, Secretary of State says We must reject policies that pressure people into thinking their lives are worth less because of a medical diagnosis, Oregon Right to Life Political Director Sharolyn Smith wrote in her testimony. Instead of expanding assisted suicide, we should focus on real support better palliative care, mental health resources, and a health care system that values every life. The Senate Committee on Judiciary has scheduled a work session for the bill on March 31. 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. A cosmetic procedure gone wrong led an Orlando woman to help uncover a fake doctor in Miami. Deputies say 60-year-old Wilson Munoz Suarez was operating without a medical license, despite calling himself Dr. Wilson Munoz online. The woman recorded a conversation where he admitted to doing her surgery. When deputies tried to arrest him, they said he used his own mother as a human shield. Munoz faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor has found that New Orleans is not regularly inspecting homeless shelters to ensure minimum health and safety standards. (Derek Miles for Colorado Newsline) New Orleans is not regularly inspecting its homeless shelters to ensure minimum health and safety standards, according to a review from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. Family access to shelters is also not always reliable, according to the audit report that was published and sent to legislative leaders last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Providers we surveyed indicated that the City and Unity need to improve communication, including better availability and responsiveness to providers, clarity regarding policies and procedures, and more timely reimbursements, Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack wrote in the report. In addition, information about available resources is difficult to find and may be out of date. The audit period stretched from January 2019 to June 2024. Over that stretch, the city and Unity of Greater New Orleans, a nonprofit organization that coordinates homeless initiatives, spent $216.3 million on homelessness initiatives. Most of the money came from federal funds, and over half of it went to permanent housing programs for people with disabilities. During the review period, 275 people in homeless encampments were provided housing, the audit said. From January 2019 to January 2024, the number of unhoused individuals in New Orleans increased 22.4% from 1,188 to 1,454. However, unsheltered homeless decreased 18.5% from 594 to 484 during the same timespan. The audit report included 19 recommendations total for the Louisiana Housing Corp., Unity and the city agencies that address homelessness in New Orleans. The respective entities agreed with nearly all of them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New Orleans Office of Homeless and Services disagreed with the auditors suggestion that it develop official policies for removing homeless encampments. In October, city officials took issue with Gov. Jeff Landrys directive to have Louisiana State Police clear out a large tent community near downtown ahead of Taylor Swifts concerts at the Superdome. Waguespack wrote that several factors drive homelessness in New Orleans, including a lack of affordable housing and a need for employment opportunities that provide a living wage. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The monthly Oklahoma Board of Education meeting was suddenly postponed Thursday after The Oklahoman reported that they were about to violate the law. Theyve always tried to get right up close to that line and see how far they can get to the line without getting in trouble, Senator Mary Boren said after hearing the news. The Oklahoman published an article Wednesday, not long after the Oklahoma State Department of Education posted its agenda for the next days meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The article pointed out that the online agenda was posted 20 minutes less than 24 hours before the meeting was to be held. According to their reporting, OSDE responded by saying that the laws requirements had been met. Most comments submitted opposed to OSBE Social Studies standards It hadnt. When asked on Thursday, the Attorney Generals Office told News 4 that a recent law requires the agendas to be posted at least 24 hours before both online and on the door. On Thursday, another article published by The Oklahoman announced the sudden postponement of the meeting. They reported email exchanges where board members and the board attorney were concerned about the possible violation of the Open Meetings Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That article also reported on emails where board members wanted to discuss the Social Studies Standards again, but Superintendent Ryan Walters rejected that request. Those standards are expected to be decided on next week by lawmakers. News 4 reached out to OSDE spokesperson Grace Kim to ask for a response to the postponement. Their department sent a statement that said in part, Due to a technical issue the OSBE agenda for March was posted on the internet 19 minutes late. Then it read, The agenda was sent to OMES (Office of Management and Enterprise Services) for posting ahead of the deadline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a video on Facebook, around 1 p.m. on Thursday, Superintendent Ryan Walters is seen staring at what looks to be notes and repeating the same response. The video was just over one minute long. News 4 asked OMES if they were to blame for the agenda being posted online later than the law allows, and their reaction to OSDE seemingly blamed them. OMES stated that, The employee referenced in these remarks is a technology employee embedded within OSDE and is managed by OSDE daily. The agency explained that six minutes before the deadline on Wednesday, OSDE staff emailed that employee. They stated that the employee posted the agenda by 1:20 p.m., less than 30 minutes after it was received. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its important to note, that OSDE is responsible for the development of its meetings and agendas and allowing enough reasonable time to post those agendas so that the public may receive notice and attend the open meeting. To characterize this as an OMES error is dishonest and misleading. We also did not receive any media inquiries related to this error before publication, stated OMES. Dozens of people showed up at the Oliver Hodge building ready to participate in the meeting. They told News 4 that they were the ones to let staff at the building know that the meeting had been postponed. I walked in, I asked staff if they knew and they were very shocked and told me that absolutely the meeting had not been postponed. But it had. I spoke to the troopers that were out here. They also had no idea, said Preston Bobo of Defense of Democracy. There are parents here who drove from northeast of Tulsa to attend this meeting and that just feels offensive to me. The meeting was said to have been carried over to next months April 24 meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 4 reached out to OSDE for a response to OMESs statement that OSDE didnt have the agenda posted in time but we didnt hear 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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City. A sign made by an attendee at a rally in support of public lands at the Arizona Capitol on March 27, 2025. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror Hunters, anglers, birders and more showed up at the Arizona Capitol on Thursday afternoon to rally in support of public lands in the face of a push by President Donald Trump and Arizona GOP lawmakers to fundamentally change how public lands are managed and used. We are all on the same footing. There is nothing more democratic than our public lands, the appropriately named Land Tawney, who co-chairs the Montana-based conservation group American Hunters and Anglers Action Network, said to the gathered crowd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tawney, a veteran conservation advocate, joined with local organizations to rally support for the use of public lands as the federal agencies that oversee them have been the target of drastic cuts under Trump and Elon Musk. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In February, at least 1,000 park service employees were laid off as the Department of Government Efficiency the name of Musks effort to slash federal agencies, though its not an official government department ordered the layoffs of tens of thousands of federal workers. The result was Arizona visitor centers having reduced hours, tours of attractions being cancelled, habitat restoration being ceased and much more. These places mean something to people because this is where they find their solace, Tawney said, sharing his experience fishing in the Salt River. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arizona gets a considerable amount of tourism money from its public lands. A 2022 report found that more than 10 million people visited the states national parks and spent over $1 billion, helping support over 16,000 jobs. Signs made by an attendee at a rally in support of public lands at the Arizona Capitol on March 27, 2025. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror Under the administration of President Joe Biden, land near the Grand Canyon was designated as the Baaj Nwaavjo Itah Kukveni Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The area, which is sacred to multiple Native American tribes, has also been the subject of intense debate as groups have sought to use it for uranium mining and other uses. A federal judge recently dismissed a lawsuit brought by Arizona GOP lawmakers aiming to remove the designation, though those lawmakers are now betting on Trump to reverse Bidens designation. We still try to live the ancient life I was taught when I was young, Carletta Tilousi, a Havasupai tribal leader who has worked and lived in the Havasupai village at the bottom of the Grand Canyon her whole life, told the crowd. The threat of water contamination seems inevitable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tilousi, like many of the other speakers at the rally Thursday, brought up the late Congressman Raul Grijalva, who had introduced legislation multiple times to try to protect areas like the Supai Village and Oak Flats. We are in a time where our public lands are going to be attacked, Tilousi said. It is a very scary time right now, but I have faith. Speakers also stressed that public lands are non-partisan, bringing up the history of Arizona politicians on both sides of the aisle that have supported conservation efforts. A sign made by an attendee at a rally in support of public lands at the Arizona Capitol on March 27, 2025. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror Jason Costello, the CEO and founder of Canyon Coolers, said he has been labeled both a Trumper and a libtard, but has been a registered independent and doesnt see the outdoor spaces as a left or right issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the greatest champions of public lands come from across the political spectrum, Costello said, mentioning Arizona politicians like Barry Goldwater, John McCain and Mo Udall as examples. These leaders understood that public lands are not a Republican or Democrat issue, they are an American issue, he said. Costello also brought up local legislation by Sen. Mark Finchem, R-Prescott, that would make any private sale of land to the federal government require the consent of legislature and governor beforehand, remarking that private land owners can sell their property to oil, gas and anyone else at their leisure. That legislation appears to have stalled in committee and has not moved to the full Senate for consideration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tawney ended the rally with a call to those in attendance to spend time in their public lands and to get in touch with their elected officials to urge them to protect them. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE BUDAPEST (Reuters) -A group of embassies in Budapest, including European powers but not the United States, have expressed their concern in a joint statement over a law passed by Hungary's ruling party that bans the Pride march by the LGBTQ+ community. Hungary's parliament passed a law proposed by ruling Fidesz party lawmakers last week to ban the Pride march on the grounds that it could be harmful to children. Critics say the law effectively restricts the freedom of assembly. The legislation has triggered protests. The statement issued by 22 embassies including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, said: "We, the undersigned Embassies, are deeply concerned about the legislation...that results in restrictions on the right of peaceful assembly and the freedom of expression." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The embassies cited the European Convention on Human Rights and said they were "committed to respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender indentity and sex characteristics." The United States was not listed among the signatories. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto dismissed the embassies' statement when asked about it at a briefing. "We are a sovereign state. We have never accepted, and will not accept in the future either, that anyone from outside should try to tell us how we should live here," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Hungarian parliament...will decide which laws it adopts and which it does not," Szijjarto said. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and who faces an unprecedented challenge from a new surging opposition party ahead of 2026 elections, has criticised the LGBTQ+ community and pledged to crack down on foreign funding of independent media and NGOs in Hungary in recent weeks as part of his campaign. The law says police can use face recognition cameras to identify people who attend the event, and impose fines on participants. Michael O'Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, an independent institution promoting human rights in Europe, has said he was "very concerned" about the new law. Organisers said they planned to go ahead with this year's Pride march - scheduled for June 28 - despite the ban. (Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves; Editing by Angus MacSwan) More than 600 members have signed an open letter criticizing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences lack of support for Hamdan Ballal, the Oscar-winning documentarian who was arrested Monday by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. The letter noted that Academy president Janet Yang and CEO Bill Kramer fell far short with their statement Wednesday, which was apparently emailed to members under the subject line, Our Global Film Community. The statement didnt mention Ballal or his film by name. His 2024 documentary No Other Land chronicled the ongoing eviction of Palestinians from their West Bank homes and was co-directed with Basel Adra, a fellow Palestinian, and Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary earlier this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We stand in condemnation of the brutal assault and unlawful detention of Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank, the letter opened. As artists, we depend on our ability to tell stories without reprisals. Documentary filmmakers often expose themselves to extreme risks to enlighten the world, it continued. It is indefensible for an organization to recognize a film with an award in the first week of March, and then fail to defend its filmmakers just a few weeks later. Signatories include actors Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, John Cusack and Susan Sarandon, as well as award-winning directors Alfonso Cuaron and Jonathan Glazer, who condemned Israels ongoing military offensive in Gaza during his own Oscars speech in 2024. Ballal, seen here, was released Tuesday from a police station in the West Bank. Leo Correa/Associated Press Ballal was beaten Monday by Israeli settlers before the military detained him, two of his fellow directors and other witnesses told The Associated Press. Ballal told the outlet following his release Tuesday that he was beaten by Israeli soldiers during his captivity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The targeting of Ballal is not just an attack on one filmmaker it is an attack on all those who dare to bear witness and tell inconvenient truths, the open letter stated. We will continue to watch over this film team and we will not mince words when the safety of a fellow artist is at stake. Wednesdays statement from Kramer and Yang suggested that Ballals detainment is something Academy members will have many unique viewpoints on, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Related... By Lananh Nguyen, Pete Schroeder and Tatiana Bautzer NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. banking giants are pushing for a swath of lighter regulations from President Donald Trump's administration, and say they are heartened by signals that regulators are listening. Bank bosses want to cut reporting requirements on some transactions, limit regulators' enforcement powers, speed up deal approvals and overhaul capital rules, four industry executives told Reuters. Those asks would include raising the bar on an anti-money-laundering rule requiring reporting of $10,000 cash transactions and limiting the use of confidential regulatory warnings, known as Matters Requiring Attention, two of those sources said. Another major change could be watering down annual stress tests, one of those sources said. The industry has gotten encouraging signs from public statements from the administration, even as bankers wait for head regulators to be installed. "There has been receptivity to our concerns," said Kevin Fromer, head of the Financial Services Forum, which represents the largest global banks and has been pushing for lighter capital and supervisory controls. "Were at the early stages of that conversation." Public statements by regulators have indicated a change of focus. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Economic Club of New York this month that the financial regulatory agenda needed "a fundamental refocusing of supervisors' priorities," while Travis Hill, acting FDIC head, said at a bankers conference in Washington that regulators need to be "more focused on the real fundamental financial risks and less on the administration around that." REGULATORY CHANGE The changes being pushed could amount to some of the most significant bank deregulation in years. Most recently, some larger banks saw rule relief in 2019 under a tailoring project undertaken in the first Trump administration. The wishlist for sweeping regulatory changes comes after the industry fought Biden-era regulators who sought to implement stricter capital rules known as Basel endgame last year. The proposal was effectively scrapped in a major victory for banks, and now the industry is seeking further relief. Some bankers contend that regulators in recent years have been unfairly heavy-handed even as large institutions report robust earnings and show resilience through the pandemic and 2023 industry turmoil, when three regional lenders failed. Still, proponents of tougher rules argue they provide critical guardrails for the financial system, protecting consumers and the broader economy. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Democrats are asking the inspectors general at national security agencies whose leaders discussed a pending airstrike in a Signal chat to investigate the matter, including what laws were violated in the process. This incident raises grave concerns about a potential pattern of misuse of unsecured communication platforms for sensitive discussions and the possibility that American military and intelligence professionals may have been compromised by the reckless dissemination of such highly sensitive national security information, Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.), the top Democrat on the panel, wrote in a letter. It is critical that your offices investigate this matter and any other incidents in which senior national security leaders in the Trump Administration have, either through incompetence or neglect, compromised highly sensitive or classified national security information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter was sent to the inspectors general of the Department of Defense, the State Department, the CIA and the Treasury Department as well as White House counsel David Warrington. Eighteen national security leaders were on a Signal group chat initiated by national security adviser Mike Waltz, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sharing timelines and targets of planned airstrikes against Houthi rebels. The letter notes that the discussion inadvertently shared sensitive information with Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg a likely violation of the Espionage Act while the use of Signal and its deleting messages feature would likely violate public records laws that require preservation of such discussions. While the Trump administration has claimed the chat did not include any classified information, the Espionage Act can be used to prosecute the sharing of national defense information, whether intentional or inadvertent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The use of Signal to communicate this information jeopardized the lives of men and women of the military and embarrassingly advertised to our adversaries the careless attitude of our nations senior leaders, the letter stated, noting the repeated use of emojis to respond to information relayed in the chat. The request asks the inspectors general to undertake a sweeping investigation of the matter, from whether the participants used their personal phones for the discussion devices that would be less secure than government-issued phones to whether participants have previously used Signal to discuss sensitive information. It also asks whether any of the devices used in the Signal chat were compromised by foreign, malign, or unintended actors. Several national security experts have articulated the likelihood that these messages were monitored or intercepted by foreign governments, Connolly wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He pointed to an interview with Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) who said, I will guarantee you, 99.99 percent with confidence, Russia and China are monitoring those two phones. So I just think its a security violation, and theres no doubt that Russia and China saw this stuff within hours of the actual attacks on Yemen or the Houthis. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said during an appearance before Congress Wednesday that including a journalist on the group chat was a mistake, but she did not directly address the wisdom of using an encrypted app, saying only that employees should apply best practices. It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added to a Signal chat with high-level national security principles, having a policy discussion about imminent strikes against the Houthis and the effects of the strike, she told House lawmakers. Ideally, these conversations occur in person. However, at times fast-moving and coordination of an unclassified nature is necessary where in-person conversation is not an option, she 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. OWINGSVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) A Bath County woman is facing a list of charges after she was allegedly seen speeding through a school zone with six kids in the vehicle Thursday afternoon. An arrest citation showed that around 3:40 p.m., Kentucky State Police saw a vehicle going 40 mph in a 25 mph school zone. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After being pulled over, KSP said the driver, identified as Misty Moon, 34, allegedly didnt have her drivers license or valid proof of insurance. Troopers noted that there were six children in the vehicle with her. She reportedly had bloodshot eyes, constricted pupils, and slurred speech. The citation noted that she allegedly failed numerous field sobriety tests. She was arrested and charged with: Speeding 15 mph over limit in a school zone Failure to produce insurance card Driving without a license in her possession Driving a vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance First-degree wanton endangerment Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more of the latest Kentucky news She was booked into the Rowan County Detention Center and is being held on a $5,000 cash bond, according to arrest records. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The owner of a Danbury tow truck company faces charges for allegedly failing to provide the required workers compensation insurance for his employees. Rahamat Hydar, 55, of Danbury was arrested Tuesday by inspectors from the Workers Compensation Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief States Attorney, according to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. He faces charges of criminal liability and noncompliance with insurance requirements. DCJ officials said Hydar is the owner of Meagans Auto, Truck & Equipment Specialist, LLC, which is commonly referred to as just Meagans Auto. Citing the arrest warrant affidavit supporting the charges, DCJ officials said Hydar failed to carry workers compensation insurance coverage for his workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Information found through the database of the National Council on Compensation Insurance revealed that Meagans Auto has previously maintained workers compensation insurance policies that have been canceled and renewed multiple times for either nonpayment of the premium for the policy, a failure to comply with terms and conditions, or the result of a failed audit, officials said. In November of 2023, an employee of Meagans Auto was involved in a serious work-related accident while assisting a customer at a tow truck scene, according to officials. At the time, there was no workers compensation insurance policy in effect to cover the employee. According to the DCJ, state law requires businesses to demonstrate to the Workers Compensation Commission their solvency and financial ability to compensate injured employees or beneficiaries. Otherwise, the business must carry workers compensation insurance to cover the full liability, DCJ officials wrote in a statement. Hydar was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond following his arrest and is scheduled to appear in Danbury Superior Court on April 2. Superior Dairy, a beloved ice cream spot in the Central Valley since 1929, has new owners: the Zonneveld family, a local dairy family with deep roots in Kings County. When news of the sale of the Hanford ice cream shop broke this week, many residents hoped the new owners would have local ties and carry on the tradition of an ice cream institution beloved by generations of Hanford residents. Such good news. I cant wait to see if the new owners are able to restore it back into the best spot to get an egg salad sandwich and the best ice cream, said Hanford resident Mary Ann Sanchez. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sale became public after local real estate agent Ryan Portugal broke the news on social media. Portugal initially didnt disclose who bought the iconic family business, but said the community will undoubtedly be thrilled with whats in store for Superior Dairy. Its not just a business, its a beloved institution that holds a special place in the hearts of so many. I am truly grateful to have found the best people to carry this legacy forward, ensuring that it continues to thrive and evolve within our community, Portugal said on social media. The city of Hanford disclosed the Zonnevelds as Superior Dairys new owners Thursday afternoon. According to the city, the new owners had been interested in buying the Superior Dairy building, which is adjacent to Hanford City Hall, even before the 95-year-old family-owned business was put up for sale last October. It was listed for sale for $2.5 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were going to invest in the facility and its history to make something thats special for the community, the Zonneveld family said in a press release. We grew up going to Superior, and over time we recognized it not only aligned with our larger business plans, but also our love of dairy products, great food, and connecting with a wonderful community that our family has called home for four generations. While the new owners didnt share specifics of their vision, an employee said this week that the dining room, which had been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic and only took take-away orders, would reopen in the near future. Superior Dairys dining room, which closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and only took take-away orders, would reopen in the future. Superior Dairys dining room, which closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and only took take-away orders, would reopen in the future. Pamela Hernandez, of Armona west of Hanford, was relieved that someone local bought Superior Dairy. She used to come once a week to get ice cream with her late husband and share a big banana split. Eva Gonzales, of Fresno celebrated her birthday in Hanford with a banana split on Wednesday with her boyfriend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its my birthday tradition to come here to Superior Dairy. I used to come with my grandma, because she was from Hanford, so she passed away since then, but still, I try to come every year when I can, said Gonzales. Gonzales said she hopes the new owners will bring back indoor seating, adding that she would love to see the S.O.S (Superior Oversize Sundae), a seven scoop sundae, back on the menu. Eva Gonzalez, of Fresno with a banana split and Julio Torres with a scoop of coffee ice cream outside of Superior Dairy in Hanford, California on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. The beloved ice cream spot, a landmark in the Central Valley since 1929, has new owners - the Zonneveld family, a local dairy family with deep roots in Kings County. The beloved ice cream spot Superior Dairy, a landmark in the Central Valley since 1929, has new owners - the Zonneveld family, a local dairy family with deep roots in Kings County. Superior Dairys dining room, which closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and only took take-away orders, would reopen in the future. Superior Dairy menu in Hanford, California on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. The beloved ice cream spot, a landmark in the Central Valley since 1929, has new owners - the Zonneveld family, a local dairy family with deep roots in Kings County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CLEAR LAKE, Wis. (WFRV) An international farm machinery and equipment manufacturer has announced that it will be permanently closing one of its facilities in western Wisconsin, resulting in 68 employees being laid off. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retention Notification (WARN) letter submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Oxbo International Corporation is closing its Polk County manufacturing facility on Bean Street in the Village of Clear Lake. Higher tariffs on auto parts may raise repair costs for local Wisconsin car owners Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The corporations letter notes that after years of extensive study and careful consideration, it has made the difficult decision to close its Clear Lake facility. The decision aims to consolidate all of its production activities to a new facility in Bergen, New York. The closure will lead to the termination of 68 employees, and officials stated in the letter that the impact on its employees made the decision difficult. A key driver of the consolidation strategy and of the investment in one new, modern, highly efficient plant was to reduce the risks from significant year-to-year market fluctuation. Choosing this strategy was difficult because of the impact on employees. But it was the strategy that will position Oxbo to continue to be the world leader in providing specialty crops harvesting solutions well into the future. Oxbo International Corporation The initial terminations will reportedly begin on or around June 6 and continue through roughly June 27. Groundbreaking for new Drop Forge Facility in Green Bay followed by celebratory food & drinks Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oxbo has established a plan to provide employees with further information regarding their employee benefits and other information to assist them during this difficult time, the letter reads. No additional information was 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. Advocates for a minimum degree of paid sick leave for Nebraska workers brought boxes of petition signatures to downtown Lincoln before bringing them to the Nebraska Secretary of State's Office on June 27, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN Nebraska state lawmakers advanced a bill Friday that seeks additional carveouts to the language of the new paid sick leave law voters approved in 2024 before it takes effect this fall. Lawmakers voted 34-14 to advance Legislative Bill 415, with all Republicans and one Democratic senator voting to advance the bill in the officially nonpartisan body. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The split vote came largely because of the folding in of LB 698, from freshman State Sen. Paul Strommen of Sidney, which opponents said would undercut the recently passed law. The amended LB 415 would not require paid sick leave to be given to 14 or 15 year olds, temporary or seasonal agricultural workers or workers in businesses with 10 or fewer employees. Businesses could still choose to offer such leave to these employees. State Sens. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, Paul Strommen of Sidney, Beau Ballard of Lincoln and Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, from left, meet with Clerk of the Legislature Brandon Metzler, front right, during debate on legislative changes to a voter-approved paid sick leave law. March 26, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha did not vote for or against advancing the amended bill in part because he viewed the underlying LB 415, as introduced, as an important bill. He said his present, not voting position was a show of good faith that Strommen might listen to some concerns raised during debate in future rounds of debate on the bill. Beginning Oct. 1, under the currently approved law, businesses with fewer than 20 weekly employees would allow employees a process to accrue up to five days worth of paid sick leave a year (40 hours), or seven days for larger businesses (56 hours). An hour of leave could be earned for every 30 hours worked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Employees can use paid sick leave for themselves or a family member for mental or physical illness, injury or a health condition or for a medical diagnosis or preventive medical care. Paid sick time could also be used during a public health emergency that closes a business or school. Voters adopted the paid sick leave ballot measure with nearly 75% of the vote in November, including majority support across all 49 legislative districts. The measure was heavily supported by Nebraska labor groups. Strommen said he believed it was the Legislatures duty to iron out details and make the laws make sense for everyone, workers and businesses alike. It is incumbent upon the legislature to ensure it is workable, he said. Advocates to enshrine a minimum level of paid sick leave for Nebraska workers in state law celebrate the announcement they gathered more than 138,000 signatures in hopes to qualify for the November ballot on June 27, 2024, in Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) The Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans coalition said Friday that voters were clear in November about providing earned paid sick leave to all Nebraskans, regardless of age, sector, workforce status or business size. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are extremely disappointed by the Nebraska Legislatures egregious disregard of the will of Nebraska voters, the coalition said in a statement. An initial cleanup bill LB 415 was originally introduced by State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln as a cleanup bill that he worked on with the Nebraska Chambers of Commerce and advocates for paid sick leave. The campaign manager of last years paid sick leave measure told the Nebraska Examiner in January they were not concerned with the changes but would oppose any more expansive amendments. Ballards bill would clarify that businesses that meet or exceed the new law would not need to change their existing leave policies, including accrual or carryover components. It would also clarify how leave can be requested and when employees could begin to accrue sick leave. LB 415 is a cleanup bill meant to clarify some of the concerns of members in the business community, Ballard said of his introduced bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiple senators had spoken in favor of Ballards bill but withdrew their support after Strommens bill was attached. Avoiding a few serious detriments While well-intentioned, Strommen said, he argued the new mandate his word for what voters passed could raise costs or lead to lost jobs or wages, or some small businesses shutting down altogether. State Sen. Paul Strommen of Sidney meets with his staff on the floor of the Nebraska Legislature. March 26, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) He said his bill recognized the will of voters while avoiding a few serious detriments. While the idea of paid sick leave is appealing, government mandates on businesses can create unintended negative consequences for employees, specifically those who work for small businesses, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Strommens additions would also give the Nebraska Department of Labor sole authority to enforce the act, rather than private lawsuits. The bill will likely need to be amended in the future to maintain at least 33 votes, the minimum amount needed to change the voter-approved measure, under the Nebraska Constitution. Strommen has filed to add back in the private lawsuits enforcement, as has State Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont. Other supporters said they wanted that change to be added back in. Two other amendments lawmakers could consider would keep the paid sick leave requirements for minors and ag workers and the right to sue if the paid sick leave is not granted. Both would continue to exempt the smallest businesses from the new requirement, as Strommen proposed. State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln proposed keeping the 10 or fewer employee level, while State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha has proposed lowering that to three or fewer employees, which is the cut-off for minimum wage. You should resign Across a full week of debate, opponents sought to frame the measure as one in a string of emerging bills that they said would hurt working families and roll back or sidestep recently approved ballot measures. State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, center, leads a news conference unveiling a working families agenda with nine of her colleagues and other advocates at the Nebraska State Capitol Rotunda. Jan. 23, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) In a heated exchange with Strommen, for example, Conrad asked why he would honor election elections for your race, but not for ballot initiatives? Strommen said he voted against the measure in November. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you do not trust the election results, you should resign your position, Conrad told Strommen. Strommen, who was visibly taken aback, scoffed and told her, Thats fantastic. He immediately put the question back on Conrad, asking if she was comfortable telling her constituents she opposed his changes that had the opportunity to ensure that they [her constituents] were going to have their jobs. Conrad interrupted and said that wasnt her question, nor was it the question before voters. Take it or leave it Whether lawmakers should amend any ballot measure shortly after its passage was another theme of the debate, teeing up an expected fight next week on whether to create exceptions or cap annual increases to the state minimum wage, which passed in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, the Democratic lawmaker who supported the Strommen and Ballard bills, is leading the minimum wage changes in her 2025 priority bill: LB 258. Rayboulds family created and owns B&R Stores, the parent company of Super Saver, Russs Market and more. The company announced this week that she will step down as vice president of the company Monday. State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln. Dec. 7, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Raybould and State Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse pointed to the Nebraska Constitution allowing lawmakers to change ballot measures with a 33-vote supermajority. Raybould described that higher threshold as a balance that is necessary when voters have a take it or leave it option at the polls. To suggest that it is wrong for the Legislature to deliberate and bring thoughtful changes to legislation passed by initiative is like youre saying it is wrong for the people to have the right to a referendum, Raybould said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If a ballot measure fails, supporters are prohibited under state law from advancing a similar measure at a future election for at least two years. The petition process must also be repeated. State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area said that if lawmakers truly didnt want to touch initiatives and consider them settled, he expected pro choice lawmakers to never push to expand abortion in the state. Im just following up on your ideas, Sorrentino said. I have a feeling that probably wont happen, but I think you have to hear both sides of the logic. Veto power over the people State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Wendy DeBoer, both of Omaha, argued there was no binary option and that voters had the right to vote as they wanted to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeBoer said if senators disagreed with voters, thats OK, but that it is the people who get to decide what government looks like. She said lawmakers do not have veto power over the people. In every election as long as I can remember, there has been at least one result that I did not like, that I thought was foolish, that I thought was the wrong decision, DeBoer said. She continued: If someone can say, No, we veto what the people say, then we are no longer a government where the people choose. State Sens. Ashlei Spivey of Omaha, John Cavanaugh of Omaha, Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, Terrell McKinney of Omaha, Victor Rountree of Bellevue, Danielle Conrad of Lincoln and George Dungan of Lincoln, from left, meet off the floor of the Legislature. March 26, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Hallstrom described that as a false narrative and said he didnt think anyone was saying voters were wrong or misinformed. Multiple senators said during the debate or off the floor that voters couldnt have possibly envisioned the full implications of the law. Some senators said they believed voters were likely more focused on abortion, school choice or marijuana last fall, not paid sick leave. No campaign was waged against the paid sick leave campaign, which Conrad said was because they knew they couldnt win and that opponents wanted to sneak into the Legislature to undermine the will of the voters. They did not do so with their fingers crossed behind their backs, Conrad said. The election results were not notched with an asterisk saying, Oh, yes, it received 70% support, but we in leadership think Nebraska voters were not smart enough to understand what they were voting for. Conrad challenged those opposing the current law to run a ballot initiative themselves. Sorrentino, Conrad and McKinney are among those who brought measures this year related to recently approved ballot measures. In Sorrentinos case, he is seeking to revive a defeated school choice program via tax credits for scholarships, or vouchers, to private schools. Conrad and McKinney were among four senators to bring measures to clarify or change how medical cannabis should be implemented. Not bottomless wishing wells State Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus. Oct. 28, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) State Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus said being told to offer increased minimum wage to all employees, no matter their work ethic, is one thing, while the addition of another mandate like paid sick leave, again, without merit, he said, is not an economic benefit to the employer. Business owners are not bottomless wishing wells full of money for the benefit of their employees, Moser said. Hallstrom said some businesses would face a double whammy in paying someone out sick and paying a temporary worker. State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward noted her children have done detasseling for several weeks in the summer, and she said they didnt need sick leave during that time. If they were sick, they stayed home and didnt get paid, she said. Supporters of the paid sick leave law have said businesses are better off offering paid sick leave by being able to retain employees and avoiding workforce churn. Theyve also argued workers benefit from the paid time off because it gives them the flexibility to attend to their families and recover from illness without financial loss. McKinney and other opponents repeatedly read district-by-district election margins on the issue, which ranged from 60% in ruby-red north-central Nebraska for freshman State Sen. Tanya Storer all the way up to 92% support in McKinneys North Omaha district. State Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha. March 26, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Supporting family values means supporting families, and that starts with letting people take care of sick kids or elderly parents without losing their income or taking care of themselves in time of sickness, McKinney said. State Sens. Dunixi Guereca and Margo Juarez, both of Omaha whose districts were among those with the highest support for the measure, said they trusted voters to make the right choice. Guereca said the changes seek to exclude the very people that some voters had in mind, such as a single mother who is a waitress or a worker in a small fabrication shop, who just need a little help. Sorrentino said Strommens bill was an extremely friendly amendment. He noted the federal Family Medical Leave Act, to preserve employees jobs up to 12 weeks of unpaid labor, applies to businesses with 50 or more employees in a 75-mile radius. It was administratively and financially a huge burden on them. Theres no reason to burden 10 lives or less with this law, he said. I think [LB] 415 was a good law. I think as amended, its a better law. Nebraska Examiner senior reporter Cindy Gonzalez, political reporter Juan Salinas II and editor-in-chief Aaron Sanderford contributed to this report. Paid sick leave campaign filings The Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans campaign raised a total of $3.4 million, the vast majority in 2023, and spent $3.3 million on the campaign, according to most recent filings with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. Nearly all funds came from organizations; $460 came from individuals. By December 2023, the D.C.-based Sixteen Thirty Fund had donated $1.92 million. The fund is managed by Arabella Advisors, which was founded by a former administration appointee by former President Bill Clinton. It oversees a hub of other left-leaning nonprofits that have received donations from billionaire George Soros in the past. It doesnt disclose its donors. The campaign has also received $350,000 from the Open Society Policy Center, a principal financial arm founded by Soros, and about $280,000 from the D.C.-based The Fairness Project. The Fairness Project donated to various ballot measure campaigns in Nebraskas past three statewide elections to increase Nebraskas minimum wage, curb predatory payday lending and expand Medicaid. The largest local donating group to the sick leave campaign was Nebraska Appleseed a local nonprofit focused on child welfare, immigration, health care and poverty. It gave about $555,520. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) Two people who were involved in a robbery gone wrong, leading to a man being murdered, were sentenced for their crimes Thursday afternoon. Samantha Shull and Jeffrey Contreras showed up at Mario Delgado Jr.s trailer near Wyoming Blvd. and Zuni Rd. in February 2021. Albuquerque Crime Stoppers searches for duo who removed electronic monitoring devices They demanded money, and then Contreras shot him three times, killing him. This was a case where they took advantage of an innocent person who, by all accounts, was just being a good friend to Ms. Shull, said Jolanna Macaias, prosecutor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contreras was found guilty of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and conspiracy by a jury earlier this month. Last month, Shull pled guilty to armed robbery, conspiracy, and tampering with evidence. The mother of Delgados son laid into both of them during her victim impact statement. Because of your selfishness to get high, Mario is gone. Because you needed money that bad, you contacted him and preyed on him. You took a person you knew and committed a horrific crime, said Valerie Martinez. Shull was sentenced to ten years for her crimes. Judge Brit Baca gave her a light sentence for testifying against Contreras. He was sentenced to life for Delgados murder with an additional 15 years for the other crimes. Contreras is awaiting another murder trial in Roswell. Thats scheduled for May. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPMs Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. A Permanent Coverup Mechanism In highly unusual public statements about an unprecedented breach of national security at the highest levels of the U.S. government, Attorney General Pam Bondi not only shut the door on investigating whether criminal laws were broken in the Signal group chat fiasco but actively engaged in political attacks and rhetorical spin to defend the Trump administration and assail its critics. The attorney general, who wears dual hats as the nations chief law enforcement officer and as a member of the intelligence community, categorically dismissed the prospect of even investigating the matter during public remarks Thursday morning. Bondi quickly pivoted to regurgitating right-wing talking points about the prior mishandling of classified information by Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton: By last evening, in a friendly appearance on Fox News, Bondi was lambasting U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who is overseeing a civil lawsuit seeking to preserve the Signal chat as official government records. In an extraordinary move, Bondi attacked three DC federal judges by name as unable to be impartial or objective before singling out Boasberg for his role in the Signal case: Bondi has now made public statements assessing the facts and the law of the Signal case while resisting calls for an investigation. These are simply astounding actions by a sitting attorney general. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Departments approach thus far stands in contrast with its customary role of examining serious national-security breaches, the WSJ reported in the most understated possible way. The abiding concern all along has been that Trump would place loyalists at the Justice Department in part to protect himself and his administration from legal consequences for their wrongdoing a permanent coverup mechanism to ignore, bury, and disregard executive branch lawlessness. Pam Bondi is eagerly filling the role of a loyalist attorney general. This is what it looks like. Signal Group Chat Fiasco: Dont Delete Your Messages U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe to preserve all Signal communications between March 11 and March 15. President Trump is unwilling to fire officials involved in the Signal group chat because doing so would be a tacit admission of fault and seen as handing a victory to the Atlantic magazine, The Guardian reports. Israel complained privately after HUMINT it provided for the anti-Houthi airstrike was included in the Signal group chat among U.S. officials. CORRECTION The original version of yesterdays Morning Memo incorrectly described the prisoners who appeared behind DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in her propaganda video as Venezuelan detainees deported under the Alien Enemies Act. They were in fact El Salvadoran prisoners held in the same prison. The mistake was mine. Tufts Student Whisked To Louisiana Despite Court Order A federal judges order barring the transfer of detained Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk out of Massachusetts came too late, the Trump administration said. Ozturk is now at a detention facility in Louisiana. Ozturks student visa was unilaterally revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who revealed that he has revoked some 300 visas for participating in pro-Palestinian activities on campus: The Latest On Trumps Attack On Higher Ed The University of Michigan, a national leader in diversity efforts in higher ed, is shuttering its DEI offices. Case Western Reserve University, Ohios largest private university, has shut down its DEI office under pressure from the Trump administration. The Trump DOJ has launched an anti-DEI investigation into admissions policies at Stanford, UC-Berkely, UCLA, and UC-Irvine. Trump Targets WilmerHale In New EO President Trumps retribution spree continued with an executive order targeting law firm WilmerHale, which at one point employed former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who led the investigation into Trumps relationship with Russia in the 2016 campaign and its aftermath. In a statement, WilmerHale indicated it will challenge the executive order, which is similar in form and substance to the other Trump executive orders targeting the legal profession. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In other developments: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is in talks with the Trump White House to avoid being targeted by an executive order of its own. The WSJ looks at the Perkins Coies decision to fight back against the Trump executive order targeting it. Former Perkins Coie Bab Bauer partner examines the deal that the Paul Weiss firm struck with the Trump White House to get the president to rescind the executive order against it: Paul Weiss disregarded the lawlessness of Trumps actions, which is lawlessness of a particularly pernicious kind: punishing lawyers for representing clients or causes personally offensive to this president. Perhaps a different kind of business might sensibly conclude that it should do what it could to placate a hostile administration. But a law firm, in this instance a leading one, is not any kind of business: It is a professional association with obligations not only to its clients, but to the legal system itself. Trump Takes Aim At Other Targets In Fresh Batch Of EOs In addition to the Wilmer Hale executive order, President Trump issued new executive orders targeting federal worker unions and whitewashing U.S. history. Trump Bids To Wield Power Over Elections Election law expert Rick Hasen digs into Trumps executive order on elections. DOGE Watch A federal judge in Maryland admonished the Trump administration for trying to rush her into lifting restrictions on an Elon Musk team seeking access to the private Social Security Administration information of millions of Americans, Bloomberg reports. Rather than mounting a concerted legislative effort to block DOGEs rampage, Republican lawmakers are scrambling to make personal appeals to head off DOGE cuts, the NYT reports. In a Fox News interview, Elon Musk made the preposterous claim that DOGEs $1 trillion in spending cuts wont harm federal services The Purges Govt wide : Internal White House document shows the Trump administration is preparing to cut between 8 and 50 percent of the workforces of federal agencies, the WaPo reports. DHS : Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he is axing 10,000 workers in his department. NWS: The union that represents workers at the chronically understaffed National Weather Service warns that the Trump administration could shed as much as one-quarter of the agencys workforce. Ban On Trans In Military On Shaky Ground The Trump administrations ban on trans service members has been blocked for the second time, when a federal judge in Washington state intervened yesterday shortly after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on an earlier court ruling that blocked the ban. Notably, even though the appeals court was siding with the Trump administration, it used unusual language to suggest the Pentagon should not take any adverse action against trans personnel while they sorted things out. Chris Geidner has the play by play in real time from yesterday (scroll down past the first section). Vances Visit U.S. Base In Greenland After widespread local revulsion over their planned visit to Greenland today, Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha will now only stop at a U.S. military base. The cultural exchanges that were originally part of the trip have been jettisoned. So Damn Sad To Witness Canada is reorienting itself to the fact that its southern neighbor is no longer a benign presence: Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know! (Stock photo via Getty Images) Private school enrollment in Nevada has dipped for the first time in four years, according to updated data released by the Nevada Department of Education. The current academic years 1.61% dip in enrollment follows one year of modest 1.83% growth and two years of more significant 7% growth, which mirrored a nationwide trend of parents opting for private schools because they were better able to reopen physical classrooms and adapt to the COVID-19 restrictions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the six years preceding the start of the pandemic, private school enrollment only recorded one year of enrollment growth. The other five years, enrollment remained flat or dipped. As of October, 22,442 students were enrolled in private schools in Nevada 368 students fewer than the prior year. The Nevada DOE compiles a separate report on K-12 enrollment within public schools. When data from the reports are combined, private school students make up 4.4% of students enrolled in Nevada schools. (The state does not aggregate the number of homeschooled students statewide.) The total number of private school students remains higher than pre-pandemic. In October 2019, there were 19,325 students enrolled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, the Nevada DOE noted the modest 1.83% increase might indicate a leveling off of private school enrollment. This years report, dated January 2025 but only recently released by the department, does not ponder potential reasons for the dip. The report also does not provide disaggregated data showing enrollment at each of the 131 private schools in the state. The report does note that most grade levels saw a decrease in enrollment. Only fourth, eighth, seventh and ninth grade level totals increased. When enrollment data is looked at by county, Washoe saw the biggest decline in private school enrollment 10.7% or 339 students. One school, St. Nicholas Orthodox Academy in Reno, permanently closed its doors after the 2023-24 academic year, but it enrolled fewer than a dozen students, so its closure does not account for the drop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Nevada DOE, through its public information officer, said it had no data or additional information regarding the overall drop in Washoe County. Washoe County now has 3,402 students enrolled in private schools. In Clark County, private school enrollment dropped by 76 students, or less than half a percent of its total private school enrollment. Clark County now has 17,869 students enrolled in private schools. Two private institutions in Las Vegas St. Annes Catholic School and Spring Valley Christian School shuttered after the 2023-24 academic year. When it announced its closure in April 2024, St. Annes cited continued diminishing enrollment and tremendous financial challenges, according to KLAS. The school also blamed a 60% enrollment decline over a decade and the 2019 scaling back of funding to the states voucher program, known as Opportunity Scholarships. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement St. Annes had been open for 70 years. One school leader told the Las Vegas Sun enrollment at the school began sliding in 2007 when Bishop Gorman High School moved from a property adjacent to St. Annes to its current Summerlin complex. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo held a press conference at St. Annes in 2023 to talk about his education agenda, which included massive expansion of Opportunity Scholarships. Democrats, who control both chambers of the state legislature, have drawn a hard line on the issue and have said they are not open to expanding the program, which was established a decade ago when Republicans were in charge of the Legislature and governorship. Advocates of school voucher programs blamed Democrats for St. Annes closure. Teacher licensure In Nevada, there are two classifications of private schools: exempt, which means the school is affiliated with a religious institution, and non-exempt, meaning it is not affiliated with a religious institution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The majority of private schools are exempt. Nevada requires secular schools to report the number of full- or part-time teachers and their qualifications. According to the annual report, of the 606 teachers at those private schools: 266 are licensed by the State of Nevada, 77 are licensed by another state, 21 have a masters degree plus 1 year of experience, and 28 have a bachelors degree plus 3 years of experience. Religious-affiliated schools are required to report the number of full- or part-time teachers but not their qualifications. According to the report, there are 1,371 teachers in those schools. A show known for food throwing, a bit of yelling and making bar owners cry on the path to redemption is set to feature a Michigan business this weekend. The show Bar Rescue is expected to run a new episode Sunday night featuring a watering hole in Holly that was formerly known as Backroads Bar & Grill and is currently operating under the name Taylors Tavern. The name change was part of the rescue, confirmed one member of the family behind the Oakland County business. The episode was filmed in May 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Bar Rescue" is on the Paramount network and the Holly episode is called Backroads to Ruin, according to a network listing. In it, Jon Taffer sends mixologist Phil Wills to Holly, MI to help rescue a bar whose failure has impacted an entire family and threatens to break them apart. Owner Tina Helton, using her married family name, laughed when asked if her family is looking forward to watching the episode. The Helton family Gary, Tina, and their daughter, Taylor had a great experience on the show and the crew was fantastic. But it was also an emotional ride, she said. It brings out a lot of emotions, she said. Youre digging down deep into problems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Business has been going OK since the rescue, and Taylors Tavern will host a viewing party Sunday night, she said. Those interested in attending are asked to call 248-328-9175 to make reservations. The episode is expected to air at 10 p.m. The business is located at 15217 Apollo Drive in Holly. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Paramount's 'Bar Rescue' to feature Taylor's Tavern in Holly on Sunday PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) Police said two people are in custody after they were accused of hitting a child with a bamboo stick and fracturing her arm in Manassas, according to police. The Prince William County Police Department said detectives began investigating after an incident took place at a home on March 15. Their investigation revealed that a girl, under the age of 12, was disciplined by her father with a bamboo stick. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the encounter, the girl tried to block a hit, which injured her arm. Police issue over 9,000 citations during first wave of Fairfax Countys Road Shark campaign Prince William County police said that for several days, she told both of her parents that she had severe pain in her arm. However, the girl was not seen at a medical facility until nine days later, and staff determined that her arm was fractured. Prince William County police arrested Dong Shin and Michelle Shin. Dong was charged with felony child neglect and domestic assault and battery. Michelle was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their court dates are still pending as of Friday afternoon. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Artificial intelligence is making its way to the Dayton International Airport, by helping you navigate parking without the need for a paper slip. Its a situation many have stumbled into youre running late, trying to catch a flight, and you dont have time to figure out the parking situation. Now, a new system aims to streamline the process for Dayton travelers. Its a real easy, simple solution that will enhance the customer experience, said Daniel Zenk, Dayton deputy director of aviation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Dayton International Airport will soon begin using the app, Metropolis, as a way to make parking more efficient and more technologically advanced. To use the new system, download the app to your phone and input your vehicle details and payment information. Its designed to save time as you head to your destination, said Zenk. Its as simple as registering your cars information on an app and then simply pulling up where a camera can read your car information and then check you in. Zenk says you can input your information at anytime if youre running late, you can do it once youre through security or even on your way back to the garage. You can download the app any time, either before or during or after your flight in order to make that payment, said Zenk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Metropolis Vice President of Revenue Owen Sanford says what makes this system different is the use of artificial intelligence. There will be multiple cameras installed at the airport to identify your vehicle quickly. There is a camera dedicated to every single access point, said Sanford. So every entry and every exit has our computer vision technology enabled. Dayton is only the second location to use this system in the U.S., with the other being San Antonio. Sanford says the decision to bring the app to the Gem City was an easy one. Dayton is really right next to the crossroads of America. We found that this would be an exciting opportunity to modernize the outdated parking technology that was here, said Sanford. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new parking system began rolling out on Wednesday, March 27. For those looking to save a bit of time as they embark on their travels. download the Metropolis app ahead of 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 WDTN.com. A newly enacted law will rename parts of Ohio 161 as Licking County Veterans Memorial Highway, and a commemoration ceremony will be held on Memorial Day, state Rep. Thad Claggett announced. In social media posts, Claggett said he will officially announce the renaming at 11 a.m. May 26 at Cedar Hill Cemetery, 275 N. Cedar St., Newark. New signs will be installed the following day. The change, originally part of a standalone bill Claggett, was later included in an omnibus bill that went into effect March 20. Claggett said he worked with Doug Stout, local history coordinator for the Licking County Library and contributor to The Advocate, on the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In committee testimony, Claggett called the bill an endeavor to celebrate the many veterans who hail from Licking County and their stories. In 2014, the library began documenting veterans who lived in Licking County in an online database. Stout has shared some of their stories in his regular veterans column in The Advocate. In December of last year, the Governor signed a road-naming omnibus bill which had been worked on by both House and Senate. One part of the omnibus was a road-naming bill I had worked on, which designates portions of SR 161 as Licking County Veterans Memorial Highway. pic.twitter.com/eHDnKqycxS Thad Claggett (@ThadClaggettOH) March 25, 2025 We have now added over 9,000 men and women who served from the American Revolution to the present day that at one time in their lives called Licking County home, Claggett said in his testimony. There are more yet to be counted, but these veterans we have collected have left us an amazing heritage that needs to be remembered and celebrated. If you visit a battlefield across the globe, nearly without exception there was someone who called Licking County home who fought, and perhaps gave their lives, upon that hallowed ground. The highway is the latest roadway in Licking County to receive a memorial designation, joining US 40 and Interstate 70, among others. Advocate reporter Josue Perez can be reached at jhperez@newarkadvocate.com. This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Ohio 161 in Licking County being renamed to honor local veterans WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) A rough situation for Insight employees got even tougher Friday with a delay in paychecks. Its not sitting well with workers who are also wondering about the status of their jobs. Friday means pay day. But for the workers at Insight, including registered nurse Pamela Byers, theyre still waiting for a paycheck. We cant get groceries, cant pay the rent. I mean, all the things that we have to do, that I have to do, Byers said. Byers works in the behavioral health unit. Shes the only person in her house who earns money. She needs her paycheck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Insight workers were greeted Friday morning with letters from the company saying there wil be a delay in this weeks payroll The communication added, we are working diligently to resolve the issue and we expect the payment to be processed soon. A tough situation, in addition to the Insight facilities ceasing operations. When you have a nice job and youre getting money, and then all of a sudden you realize youre not going to have a job for a while and youre not going to have any money. How would it be? Byers said. The timeline for fixing the situation is unknown, and waiting for a reliable solution is difficult. Unions representing workers have demanded that the company follow their collective bargaining agreements. We have a contract thats enforced. It tells them what to do when they lay us off, and thats what we want them to do. Thats the fair thing to do. I want my people to get money, said Tom Connelly, president of the nurses union at Insight Trumbull. Margaret Hall has worked for 28 years in the hospital, calling it her dream job. She recognizes the community value lost with Insight Trumbull ceasing operations. We need this hospital. I mean, St Josephs cant handle all this volume like this. They overworked, you know, Hall said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Byers wonders when the paycheck will come. She wonders if her job will return. Two worries she never imagined she would have. I hope and pray we get this hospital open back up as soon as possible, and I do hope and pray that we get our paycheck. I hope we get paid, Byers said. The other part of the situation is that the Insight letter claims some people received a check in the mail, but says it was voided. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TOPEKA (KSNT) Lawmakers are sending a bill to Kansas governor that would force people to pay child support before a baby is born. Lawmakers in the Kansas House and Senate passed House Bill 2062 with veto-proof majorities earlier this week. If passed into law, this legislation would require unborn children to be given a taxpayer ID number, giving families a tax break. Supporters of the legislation say the bill provides critical support for pregnant single mothers. Opponents say the bill sets a dangerous precedent. Providing for child support orders for unborn children from the date of conception, including the direct medical and pregnancy-related expenses of the mother as a factor in child support orders and providing for an income tax exemption for unborn children. House Bill 2062 short title description. HB 2062 would require child support to be calculated from the date of conception of the mothers child with accruing interest being determined by the current statutory rate. The bill would limit the maximum amount of child support to the direct medical and pregnancy-related expenses of the mom, excluding any costs related to an elective abortion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New blackout style license plates may be coming to Kansas Governor Kelly may choose to veto the bill, sending it back to the Legislature for re-approval with a two-thirds majority in both chamber, or sign it into law. She may also choose to allow the bill to become a new law without her signature. For more Capitol Bureau 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. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) In support of Palestine during the war in Gaza, the West Virginia University Muslim Students Association organized a peaceful demonstration on Thursday outside the Mountainlair on the downtown campus in Morgantown. During the protest, association members voiced their concern over the ongoing violence in Gaza, saying that innocent civilians are being massacred while much of the world remains silent. Many of the protesters also condemned increasing crackdowns by the Trump administration, which they claim have led to the arrests of individuals, including green card holders, for exercising their First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Elkins man helps advocate for autism police training Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think theres definitely anxiety in that people, some people have family in Gaza and theres anxiety because they already had people die and theres always anxiety: is the rest of their family gonna die? is the rest of their uncles gonna die? is the rest of their aunts gonna die? And we have the same concern how many more people are gonna die, thats our main concern right now, and of course people that are international students, people on green cards, theyre scared that theyre gonna be the ones next. Theyre scared that theyre gonna be the ones punished for all of this, WVU Muslim Student Association President Omar Sabbagh said. Protesters maintained their commitment to hold peaceful protests despite political challenges, affirming that they will continue to make their voices heard while remaining within the bounds of the law. The people supporting Palestine are not militants. They are not carrying up arms. They have their voice right here and thats it, and thats the thing that theyre trying to prevent. Were peaceful protesters. We follow the law, but theyre trying to stop us, Sabbagh 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 WBOY.com. UPDATE: According to FHP, a 5-year-old boy and a 35-year-old female from Demotte, Indiana were crossing Thomas Drive near Raven Street with no marked crosswalk in the area. The child broke free from the mother and crossed in front of a motorcycle that was traveling west on Thomas Drive in the inside lane. The 5-year-old suffered serious injuries, FHP said. BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) Florida Highway Patrol state troopers are investigating a traffic crash involving a pedestrian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It happened a few minutes before 8:00 tonight on Thomas Drive. Witnesses say a motorcycle was heading east on Thomas Drive near Raven Street. Apparently, a young boy was either by the road or in the road when the biker hit him. Paramedics arrived, put the child in an ambulance, and administered some treatment on the scene. They eventually took him to the hospital with what was described as non-life-threatening injuries. The biker was not hurt. The Highway Patrol is handling the 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 mypanhandle.com. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Getty; Rebecca Zisser/BI Barclays cut its S&P 500 year-end target to 5,900. It's the lowest target for the benchmark index among major banks. Tariffs could slash earnings per share by over 2%, Barclays said. Barclays slashed its S&P 500 target to the lowest among the major banks, predicting that the index will end the year at 5,900. Before Wednesday, the firm held a 6,600 target but cut its outlook amid deteriorating economic data and tariff disruptions, which have paralyzed markets so far this year. RBC and Goldman Sachs have also downgraded their price targets this month, they expect the S&P to reach 6,200 implying a record high by year-end. Meanwhile, Citi and HSBC this month downgraded their outlooks of US stocks to "neutral" without slashing price targets. Barclays' outlook suggests that the index has already peaked this year. The 5,900 target would deliver a meager 0.3% gain for the year. "Our base case assumes that earnings take a hit as tariffs (higher China tariffs stick but do not escalate, reciprocal tariffs amount to 5% on RoW) contribute to material slowing in US activity that nonetheless stops short of outright recession, allowing valuations to gradually recover (60% probability)," Barclays analysts wrote on Wednesday. Barclays Research The Trump administration has made tariffs the centerpiece of its trade policy. Since taking office, duties on imports have kicked in on good from China, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. President Donald Trump has said reciprocal tariffs will begin on April 2, and the president announced new auto tariffs would be unveiled on Wednesday. Barclays expects Chinese and reciprocal tariffs to drag S&P 500 earnings per share down 1.6%. If countries retaliate with their own duties as has already happened earnings would fall another 0.7%. Earnings growth is the biggest driver of stock market gains. Barclays has repeatedly warned about a drag on EPS from escalating tariffs and warned in December that a full-blown trade war would slash EPS by 2.8%. But the scope and severity of the White House tariffs will matter. If Trump walks back tariffs, S&P 500 valuations could surge. "However, in our bear case, the full impact of Canada and Mexico tariffs, in tandem with reciprocal and China tariffs, creates a much larger direct drag on SPX EPS growth, with second-order effects likely pushing US GDP into contraction and the S&P 500 into a bear market down to 4400," Barlays said, citing 15% odds of this outcome. Read the original article on Business Insider PEKIN, Ill. (WMBD) Its a tremendous opportunity, officials said that a Singapore-based medical company chose to come to Pekin and invest in the community. Epic Medical, which will do business in Illinois as Epic Pharma Solutions, will pay the city $500,000 for 66.5 acres in the Riverway Business Park north of Hanna Drive to build an indoor facility. For Epic Medical, this is a real epic moment, said the companys CEO Freddie Lee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With much fanfare refreshments and all Pekin officials celebrated the moment that brought the company here, a choice its owner said wasnt a hard decision. Epic Medical to open U.S. facility in Pekin, creating 100+ jobs The company creates medical equipment for IVs such as stands, tubes, and bags. This has been identified as a need since Hurricane Helene destroyed an IV manufacturer in North Carolina. Itll bring 100 jobs and also development such as restaurants and shopping. Also, it could create the need for more housing. Earlier this week, the Pekin City Council members unanimously approved the move. After a nationwide search, the company decided to set up shop in Pekin due to the shovel-ready site and the citys willingness to make the land deal happen rather quickly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Mary Burress was enthusiastic about the move, saying it was a major event for the city. They could have went anywhere, but they did their homework and they knew they wanted to come to Pekin, Burress said. Gov. JB Pritzker hailed the development. In an emailed statement, the governor said the company was putting $25 million into the Riverway Business Park in Pekin with some support from state grants. With the $25 million investment, the Central Illinois facility will create good-paying jobs for working families in the region while strengthening the medical device supply chain to increase the availability of important medical products, Pritzker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Construction on the facility is expected to start this year, with Epic Medical hoping to have it up and running by the end of 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Shirley Gooding, a physical Therapy Aid, helps William Rexroat, a WWII Navy veteran exercise during a physical therapy session at the Quincy Veterans Home February 17, 2005 in Quincy, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) When COVID-19 first tore through our nursing homes five years ago, Ill never forget seeing the photo Shanrika Nelson, a certified nursing assistant and union member from Philadelphia, posted online. She wanted the public to see the makeshift PPE that she and her coworkers wore every day to protect their residents and themselves the best they could: a trash bag over her body. Led by caregivers hard work and advocacy, we have made progress since the pandemic to fix and transform Pennsylvanias nursing home system. But now we are facing a new existential threat potential Medicaid cuts that will topple nursing homes still hanging by a thread. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A new study shows that any cuts to Medicaid could lead to double the number of Pennsylvanians without health insurance. Not only does Medicaid provide comprehensive health and long-term care to 3 million residents in our Commonwealth, it funds over 60% of our nursing homes. I do not want to think about the future of our nursing homes without Medicaid. They likely wont have one. Our system is already unprepared for the number of Pennsylvanians growing older quickly. Talk to any nursing home worker: residents are arriving at facilities younger and with more demanding needs. High acuity, higher severity, and more psychiatric conditions. People are coming to our nursing homes sicker. Its often because they did not have access to high-quality, affordable health insurance and have had undiagnosed conditions for years. Rated one of the deadliest jobs in 2020, nursing homes saw caregivers leave for better-paying, less-dangerous, and less-stressful jobs. Those who stayed often work overtime or second jobs to pay the bills and cover their own medical debt. We fought for and won staffing ratios to ensure every resident receives quality care, but operators are still struggling to retain and recruit the skilled workforce needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Simply put: we do not have the beds, workers, and training needed to care for Pennsylvanians in the immediate future. And proposed Medicaid cuts are putting nursing homes in danger now. April Chirdon, a CNA whos worked at the same facility in Cambria County for 17 years, is especially worried about rural nursing homes like hers. Much like in other rural communities, an overwhelming majority of her residents depend on Medicaid. It covers the cost of their care, from their caregivers wages and benefits to the food they eat and lifesaving equipment like nebulizers and oxygen tanks. They dont have an alternative to this care: their families cannot afford to take care of them at home, or they dont have any family. If homes like Aprils are forced to shut down, where will all of the residents go? We need more funding, not less. We need more accountability, reforms, and teamwork to make every nursing home a fully staffed, safe, and dignified one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This system already relies on caregivers to buy supplies like toilet paper, shampoo, hand sanitizer, and favorite food items for residents out of their own pockets. Because the people in these homes are like family to them. This year, 7,000 nursing home workers have committed to use the power of their union negotiations for new contracts to show the public how much our communities rely on Medicaid, ensure public funding goes to care, and work with responsible operators to defend the resources we need to elevate care for all Pennsylvanians. Healthcare workers will never forget the pandemic and neither should we. Covid-19 showed us how important it is to listen to frontline caregivers sounding the alarm and protecting our loved ones. We need to listen to healthcare workers who are calling on Congress to defend Medicaid. We must stand up to these brutal cuts to our communities and our most vulnerable. Medicaid is a lifeline for so many Pennsylvanians and we legislators, providers, community members, and workers must protect it. Matthew Yarnell. (Courtesy SEIU) Matthew Yarnell is President of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the largest and fastest-growing union of healthcare workers in Pennsylvania, including over 8,000 nursing home workers. Yarnell was a certified nursing assistant in a long-term care facility and lives in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Mar. 28WILKES-BARRE Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was unchanged over the month at 3.8% in February. The Commonwealth's rate remained below the U.S. unemployment rate, which rose one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 4.1%. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) on Friday released its preliminary employment situation report for February 2025. The Commonwealth's unemployment rate was two-tenths of a percentage point above the February 2024 level of 3.6%, while the national rate was up four-tenths of a percentage point over the year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pennsylvania's civilian labor force the estimated number of residents working or looking for work was down 3,000 over the month to 6,539,000 in February. Resident employment (-5,000) drove the decline, while unemployment (+2,000) rose over the month. Pennsylvania's total non-farm jobs were down 1,000 over the month from January's record high to 6,190,800 in February. Jobs increased from January in five of the 11 industry super-sectors. The largest gain was an increase of 4,700 in education & health services which rose to a record high level in February. Over the year, jobs were up 69,700 with gains in eight of the 11 super-sectors. Education & health services (+41,800) had the largest volume increase since last February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison. February 2025 data are preliminary and subject to revision. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle. Voters gather March 27, 2025, at the Sanctuary Events Center in Fargo for a peoples town hall focused on federal policy changes. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) Air Force veteran David Kelsen stood on a stage and decried Trump administration plans to privatize health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA should never be about making a profit any more than the active military force is, Kelsen said to applause. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelsen was among a group of speakers who listed off complaints about the Trump administration and occasionally the North Dakota Legislature at a town hall meeting organized by the Democratic-NPL Party. Over the course of an hour, speakers covered topics such as potential impacts to Medicaid, the possibility of family members being deported and cuts to Social Security staff. Moderators then gave people an opportunity to voice their concerns. Organizers left empty chairs for members of North Dakotas congressional delegation Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and Rep. Julie Fedorchak all Republican supporters of President Donald Trump. Speaker Kylie Oversen did give Fedorchak some credit for taking questions during a livestream town hall, but criticized the congresswoman for downplaying the concerns of constituents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oversen is a former Democratic legislator and an attorney who deals with Social Security claims. She said the Trump administrations goal is to make veterans benefits and Social Security so unworkable and so inefficient that they have to find a way to privatize them. Erika Rheault of Fargo speaks March 27, 2025, at the Sanctuary Events Center in Fargo during a peoples town hall. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) Several audience members addressed frustration with cuts to Social Security staff, long lines and long waits times when calling the Social Security Administration. Larry Schwartz of Fargo said he considers himself an independent but came to the event in part for a catharsis and to be with like-minded people. These are troubling times, he said. Some people are afraid. Some people are angry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paul Meyers, who spent 16 years on the Fargo School Board, said he was concerned about actions of the state Legislature on several issues, but especially education. The whole business of giving public tax dollars to private schools is not what the constitution intended, he said. The Legislature is considering bills that would establish Education Savings Accounts, which families could spend on private school tuition. He also said the congressional delegation has not been listening to constituents. Wed like to see someone stand up to Donald Trump. And so far, our congresspeople are kneeling down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The event was held in conjunction with peoples town halls organized by Democrats being held across the country. The crowd exceeded the seating area in the Sanctuary Event Center in downtown Fargo. The crowd also exceeded the expectations of Cheryl Biller, executive director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. Clearly people have a lot to say, Biller said. We have to keep the energy going to make a productive difference. She said a similar event is planned for April 19 and a virtual town hall is in the works. Indivisible is another group that is protesting cuts in federal services. The group is planning a rally April 5 on the Veterans Memorial Bridge between Fargo and Moorhead, Minnesota. That event is part of a national day of action organized through Handsoff2025.com. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX According to a new report from Pew Research Center, Christianitys long-documented decline has leveled off. Interestingly, the data seems to point to an unlikely contributor to this stabilization: young adults. Specifically, young adults born from 2000 to 2006 have turned out to be about as religious as adults born in the 1990s, Kelsey Dallas wrote in a Deseret article about the study. Researchers had been expecting a notable religious decline from one birth cohort to the next. Similar trends among young adults have been documented outside of the United States. In Western Europe, Gen Z is more likely to attend church than their parents or grandparents. In the United Kingdom, they are half as likely as their parents to identify as atheists. At the 2024 Lausanne Global Congress arguably the largest global gathering of Evangelicals ever to congregate leaders focused on Gen Z as the next generation to advance the gospel and faithfully address the challenges confronting the global church. A similar focus on Gen Z was evident at Gather25, a day-long broadcast service that attracted approximately 7 million participants across the globe. In matters of religion broadly and Christianity specifically, the focus on our younger generation is warranted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February 2023, a routine 50-minute chapel service at Asbury University in Kentucky did not stop for 16 days. This unplanned outpouring hosted approximately 50,000 guests, many of whom were young adults. We documented visitors from approximately 280 other colleges and universities representing 39 states. As they came to the altar, the prayers of students predictably fell into one of four categories: anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation or addiction. Referring to their raw and desperate prayers, a colleague said, If we had the spiritual eyes to see it, we would see an altar covered with loosened chains. The event came to be known as the Asbury Revival. Why Gen Z? After all, this generation has been described as skeptical of institutions, discipled by phones and social media, and characterized by depression and anxiety. On the surface, they seem an unlikely cohort for spiritual revival. The answer might be found in the ideas of 20th-century Scottish pastor James Stewart, who suggested that awakenings begin with desperation. And young adults are desperate. I believe there is a soul-starved meaning vacuum across the U.S., even the world. And this meaning vacuum is acutely felt by younger generations. As the most marketed-to generation in history, students are not interested in yet another opinion. Rather, they are pulled toward what they perceive as genuine. It is little surprise that this is a generation that elevates and prioritizes authenticity. They want something steadfast and real to which they can anchor themselves amidst the dynamism of this moment. [Y]oung people are craving some kind of structure of how to orient themselves and their lives, says British author Freya India. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reflecting on outbreaks of spiritual fire, Kyle Richter and Patrick Miller of the Gospel Coalition write: Gen Z is spiritually starved. The disorienting circumstances of the last three years [have] created a famine of identity, purpose, and belonging. Gen Z is hungry for the very things the empty, desiccated temples of secularism, consumerism, and global digital media cannot provide, but which Jesus can. Commenting on some of the commitments we have seen among students over these past few years and a general wave of student spiritual interest documented across U.S. college campuses, my wife remarked that Gen Z may be more willing to die to themselves because, in some ways, they are already half-dead. In other words, the spiritual diseases of modern life are slowly eroding the souls of our up-and-coming generation. We are dying from mind-numbing addictions to technology, the binary grid of partisan politics, a proliferation of pornography, the empty promises of consumerism, reality-escaping drugs, a want of community, crumbling social bonds, loneliness, mistrust and paranoia, and tribal contempt. This is a desperate generation, desirous of hope and change. This is why Robert Cunningham, founder and director of Christ for Kentucky, said Gen Z is ready to follow the Jesus whose following is changing the world. As president of the university, I am frequently asked about Asburys campus in the wake of February 2023. What are things like now? Are students more spiritual? Have we seen change? The answer is yes there is a blessed and encouraging spiritual residue evident throughout our campus. However, I am always quick to encourage people to broaden their outlook. Across the United States and across the world, and entirely consistent with the Religious Landscape Survey, I believe the next generation is poised for something different. Political scientist and religious statistician Ryan Burge has long covered Americas religious decline and the rise of those claiming no religious affiliation over the past 30 years. But things are changing, he says. We are stepping into a new room. I think hes right. And Gen Z teens and young adults are leading the way. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is being slammed for a recently spotted Arabic tattoo on his right bicep, which critics argue is Islamophobic. Observers noticed the tattoo when Hegseth worked out alongside service members at a military base in Hawaii this week. The design features the Arabic word kafir, a religious term for a non-believer or someone who knowingly conceals or denies fundamental, divine truths, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which previously advocated against Hegseths nomination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The advocacy group argued that the tattoo, located next to Hegseths tattoo of Deus Vult, a slogan once used by Christian crusaders and now sometimes associated with white supremacist groups, is a sign of both anti-Muslim hostility and personal insecurity. Leadership demands respect for all, not divisive gestures, the groups national executive director, Nihad Awad, wrote on X. Mocking beliefs, especially as a public figure, is not strengthit's immaturity. We deserve better. Pro-Palestine activist Nerdeen Kiswani took a similar tack, arguing the tattoo was a clear symbol of Islamophobia from the man overseeing U.S. wars. Critics argue Defense Secretarys tattoo could be read as insult to Muslims in- and outside the military. (Defense Department) Its not about his personal beliefs, she wrote on X. Its about how these beliefs translate into policy how they shape military decisions, surveillance programs, and foreign interventions targeting Muslim countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Independent has contacted the Defense Department for comment. Hegseth appears to have had the tattoo since at least 2024. During his confirmation process, Hegseth faced criticism over the Deus Vult tattoo, which the administration has described as a benign Christian motto. Hegseth has previously claimed that another of his tattoos a Jerusalem Cross on his chest, prevented him from being included involved in security arrangements for Joe Bidens inauguration in 2021 (Pete Hegseth/ Instagram) Hegesth has previously dismissed the existence of extremism within the military, and slammed what his lawyer called outlandish claims in a New Yorker story that he drunkenly yelled Kill all Muslims! at a bar in 2015 Prior to Hegseth being nominated, the former national guardsmen was kept off duty at Joe Bidens inauguration over concerns about his tattoos, some of which feature symbols that have been used by far-right groups. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quietly debuted a new tattoo this week while posting a set of workout photos, sparking fierce backlash among critics who claim it holds a distinctly anti-Muslim message. Eagle-eyed social media users spotted the ink on the underside of Hegseths bicep after he posted photos of himself exercising with soldiers at a military base in Hawaii. The tattoo is the Arabic word kafir, which translates to disbeliever or infidel. Critics say that it clearly brands Hegseth, who is a devout Christian, as an enemy of Islam. It remains unclear when he got the new inkbut the symbol does not appear in photos of Hegseth as recently as several months ago. Kicked off the day alongside the warriors of SDVT-1 at @JointBasePHH. These SEALs are the tip of the spear, masters of stealth, endurance, and lethality. Americas enemies fear themour allies trust them. Proud to spend time with Americas best. pic.twitter.com/a7nenKpCuY Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 25, 2025 Hegseth just got a kafir () tattoo under his Deus Vult tattooa Crusader slogan, wrote pro-Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani, who is Muslim. It isnt just a personal choice; its a clear symbol of Islamophobia from the man overseeing U.S. wars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latin phrase Deus Vult, which also appears on Hegseths bicep, means God wills it. It is associated with the First Crusade, which saw 11th-century European Christians try to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslims. Many of Hegseths tattoos relate to Christianity and American patriotism. To the Muslim world the tattoo will be seen as an open declaration of Hegseths enmity towards them, wrote journalist Tam Hussein. British journalist Dilly Hussain, meanwhile, wrote, Muslims should not be offended or shocked at Pete Hegseths new kafir tattoo or his crusader Deus Vult tattoo. Hes merely displaying Americas foreign policy and mindset to Islam and Muslims. Muslims should not be offended or shocked at Pete Hegseths new kafir tattoo or his crusader Deus Vult tattoo. Hes merely displaying Americas foreign policy and mindset to Islam and Muslims. Where have you been for the last 25 years? https://t.co/mBgWV8q32b pic.twitter.com/KlfIChejit Dilly Hussain (@DillyHussain88) March 26, 2025 However, user @BrotherRasheed defended Hegseths tattoo as a common symbol of defiance against Islamic terrorists among U.S. veterans who have served in the Middle East. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its commonly seen on stickers, the backs of trucks, T-shirts, and mugs, the account wrote. Personally, I had it on a hat, a mug, and even on the door of my office. Hegseth did tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He has made killing terroristslargely in Muslim countriesa key goal in the early days of his tenure as defense secretary. The Pentagon did not answer the Daily Beasts request for comment on Hegseths tattoo. Pete Hegseth celebrates Independence Day on 'Fox & Friends Weekend' on July 4, 2021 in New York City. / James Devaney/GC Images The controversy comes on the heels of another scandal involving Hegseth. The defense secretary shared operational details about an imminent strike targeting terrorists in Yemen on a group chat which inadvertently included a prominent journalist: Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth has insisted that no classified details or war plans were shared, despite accounts to the contrary. Hegseth has more than a dozen tattoos, the most notorious of which is the Jerusalem Cross on his chest. The symbol is associated with Christian nationalists, and it got Hegseth, who was part of the National Guard, kicked off duty at Joe Bidens inauguration in 2021. Pete Hegseth, shows his tattoos, including the Crusader cross on his chest. / Pete Hegseth/Instagram Members of my unit in leadership deemed that I was an extremist or a white nationalist because of a tattoo I have, which is a religious tattoo, Hegseth told Fox News last June, explaining how he felt it was misconstrued. His body also features a cross with a sword through it, which is an allusion to a bible verse, and We the peoplethe words that begin the preamble to the Constitutionamong others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth explained in a 2020 interview that he got his first tattoo when he was around 37 or 38. He had always wanted one, but his father had stopped him when he was younger. Pete Hegesth's tattoos are visible during a medal ceremony photo posted on March 25, 2025. / @SecDef/X Since then, Hegseth, who is 44, has been on a roll, adding one after the other. I knew inside my soul this was something I wanted to do and Ive finally hit the chapter in my life that Im able to do it, he said. Hegseth added that an upside of the ink is that people know were I stand. I wear my views on my sleeve anyway. QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) The NYPD released photos of the suspect who allegedly shot and killed a 16-year-old boy after he exited a bus in New York City Wednesday, police said. The shooting happened around 2:20 p.m. in Jamaica, Queens, according to the NYPD. More Local News Sincere Jazmin, 16, exited a Q83 bus on Liberty Avenue and was ambushed by a masked gunman who shot the teen in the chest near Detective Keith L. Williams Park, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the shooting, surveillance video showed Jazmin calmly walking down the street. The wounded teen crossed Liberty Avenue and sat down on the steps of a nearby deli. He then collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. The delis owner called police, who quickly arrived to the scene. Medics transported Jazmin to a hospital, but he was later pronounced dead, authorities said. The NYPD on Thursday released surveillance images of the suspect, who hasnt been arrested. The NYPD released photos of the suspect who allegedly shot and killed 16-year-old Sincere Jazmin after he exited a bus in Queens on March 26, 2025, police said. (Courtesy of NYPD) In an emotional Facebook live video, the victims father said its a pain he doesnt wish on any parent. My son was only 16 years old, said Miguel Jazmin. He was a good boy My son will be always loved, always be missed, forever, forever be in my heart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sincere Jazmin is at least the fourth person under 18 years old to be fatally shot this year, according to NYPD data. Im just grateful I got to give my son a hug and kiss before he left out the house, Miguel Jazmin said in a Facebook post. 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). Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than six years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See 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 PIX11. STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) The Stafford County Sheriffs Office said no one was hurt after an SUV drove into a bank on Friday morning. In a post on X, around 9:20 a.m., the sheriffs office said deputies responded to the Bank of America on Stafford Market Place after an SUV drove into the building. Two Silver Spring men charged in string of tire thefts dating back to 2023 The sheriffs office shared pictures on social media showing the front of the SUV damaged and a bank window smashed. SUV drives into Bank of America on March 28 in Stafford County. (X/staffcosheriff) SUV drives into Bank of America on March 28 in Stafford County. (X/staffcosheriff) Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. Bitcoin miners wont just mine Bitcoin theyll become full-blown energy companies. Thats the future, says Evan Owens, VP of Business Development at Kadena. Bitcoin miners today are obviously mining Bitcoin, but in 10 years, theyll be energy companies, and Bitcoin mining will be a small part of that, Owens told TheStreet Roundtables Jackson Hinkle. He believes critics have misunderstood how mining will evolve and that the industry will end up helping to rebuild Americas energy infrastructure and power up undeveloped nations. Making proof of work sustainable Built by ex-J.P. Morgan developers, Kadena is a layer 1 that doubles down on proof-of-work (PoW) but manages to be significantly more efficient than Bitcoin and other PoW protocols. There are architectural changes [our founders] thought about when they built Kadena The way they architected Chainweb mitigates that, Owens explained. Chainweb is Kadenas multi-chain architecture that allows multiple PoW chains to run in parallel. Transactions are spread out, making the system far more scalable and efficient without sacrificing the core security of PoW. Our miners use far less energy than even Bitcoin proof-of-work miners, he noted. While PoW remains energy-intensive by nature, Kadena argues that it doesnt have to be the villain its often made out to be. As crypto matures, sustainability may hinge less on abandoning PoW and more on reimagining it. How Bitcoin miners help the energy grid Owens pointed to real-world examples of innovation in mining. He highlighted Crusoe Energy, a startup using flared gas from oil fields in North Dakota to power mining rigs. When mining natural gas, theres usually offshoot gas that goes to wastethey use that to power mining rigs. This model turning what would be wasted energy into usable power for mining could be the key to reshaping the image of crypto. Instead of being energy hogs, miners could become key players in renewable and decentralized power systems. I think people have completely mistaken what the impact of miners is gonna be, Owens said. WESTPORT, Conn. (WTNH) Minor injuries were reported in a crash on 1-95 in Westport on Thursday where a tractor-trailer severely damaged a pickup truck, according to state police. The crash took place around 1:07 p.m. on I-95 south near Exit 18. Officials say that a pickup truck and a tractor-trailer were involved in the crash, where both vehicles ended up off the road in an embankment. Groton man faces new charges in deadly wrong-way crash on Interstate 95 in Westbrook A tractor-trailer severely damaged a pickup truck on I-95 on Thursday A tractor-trailer severely damaged a pickup truck on I-95 on Thursday A tractor-trailer severely damaged a pickup truck on I-95 on Thursday A tractor-trailer severely damaged a pickup truck on I-95 on Thursday A tractor-trailer severely damaged a pickup truck on I-95 on Thursday The pickup was severely damaged and partially trapped. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Firefighters from Westport and Fairfield Fire Departments safely removed all the occupants of the vehicles. DEEP was notified about fluid spillage near the crash site. The scene was cleared at 1:49 p.m. Connecticut State Police are investigating the cause of the crash, and cleanup is still active. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey will retire June 23 after a career of more than 30 years in law enforcement, the city of Gig Harbor announced in a news release Thursday. Overseeing a department of 24 commissioned officers and three administrative staff, Busey stepped into the role of chief in 2014. He started out as an entry-level police officer for the Gig Harbor Police Department in 1991 after working for the Coast Guard, according to the release. Chief Busey has been an exemplary leader, providing steadfast service and commitment to the safety of our residents, Mayor Mary Barber said in the release. His leadership has strengthened our Police Department and built lasting trust within the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the release, Buseys contributed his expertise in investigations, marine-services operations and communications to the department. The city also thanked him for his leadership, operational planning, management, technical writing, and crisis communications. Under Buseys leadership, the Gig Harbor Police Department became accredited by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs on March 18 after an 18-month process, according to a city department update. According to the WASPC website, accreditation is an optional distinction that shows an agency is following industry best practices and standards, focusing on 18 different areas, including use of force, personnel management, records management, information technology, health and safety, fiscal management and more. The process culminates with an on-site inspection. Our department learned about ourselves and improved in certain areas, Busey wrote in the city newsletter March 19. It was also good to know that we have largely been doing things the proper way even before the process started ... Most importantly, our residents and businesses can be assured that we are doing our job in an efficient, legal, and transparent manner. The department will receive an accreditation certificate in May, according to the city newsletter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Busey also oversaw the launch of the departments Business Check program in 2021 to help curb retail theft in Gig Harbor, The News Tribune reported. Larceny-theft offenses were the citys top crime incident in 2023, at 26.8 incidents per 1,000 people, according to the most recent statewide crime report from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. The program gave retail store employees a way to call police for a Business Check if they noticed suspicious activity, without having to confirm whether someone was shoplifting and risk making a false accusation. More recently, Busey explored the option of contracting with Flock Safety to install 10 automated license-plate readers in Gig Harbor after he learned a City Council member was interested in what technologies the department could leverage. He also led the department in securing a grant from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority to pay for the cameras installation and one year of operation. The cameras dont issue speeding tickets but help law enforcement agencies more easily track stolen vehicles, locate missing people and solve other crimes. Busey made a formal presentation to the council Monday, but the council voted against a contract with Flock following several residents public comments opposing it, The News Tribune reported. The city is planning a retirement reception for Busey near the end of June and will release the date and other details soon, the release said. GOWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) The way one resident protests against the Village of Gowanda government and its police department is by placing signs that call and portray them as pigs. Depending on who you ask in the village, David Yezek is either a pest or a champion of constitutional rights that protect free speech and people from unreasonable search and seizures. After a questionable search of his home in 2018, Yezek filed a civil rights complaint against the village and police, arguing the officers had no right to enter his home, where they discovered packaged cannabis and a grow operation upstairs. The entire event was captured by home security cameras installed in and outside of his home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By then, Yezek already had signs on his lawn and home calling police officers and politicians pigs. Two years ago, the village and Yezek settled the case for $775,000, but the pig signs didnt disappear. In fact, he has added a toilet seat and several tin garbage cans on his front lawn. His friend made him three pigs out of propane tanks, welding the ears, eyes and tails. Yezeks neighbors hoped his protest would end after the settlement. They said his actions are reducing property values, causing strife in the neighborhood and making people uncomfortable. Thats where the moniker Pigman comes from someone in his neighborhood started referring to him that way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Would you want to live next to that? neighbor Tim Bobsein said. When someone hung a banner from the Town of Persia government buildings over the weekend that depicted Yezek as Pigman, some believed he got a dose of his own medicine. Yezek had a different take. I was just shocked that someone would go this far, Yezek said. The supervisor in the Town of Persia said he had no idea who hung the banner with a rope from the top of town hall. Gowandas police chief said he asked New York State Police to poke around so the village could avoid allegations of being biased against Yezek. The incident highlighted a community divide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yezek believes him exercising his right to free speech could persuade someone to ask why he has the signs and dig deeper into learning how to defend themselves in similar situations he found himself in more than six years ago. But the neighbors are fed up. Some of them pointed to what they described as erratic behavior by Yezek, and his aggressive responses whenever someone tries to convince him to clean up his yard. He doesnt have a lot of respect for his neighbors, either, who shouldnt have to put up with this, Bobsein said. Yezek said his protest is targeting government officials and hes not harming anyone by having the signs and other items on his property. His neighbors can ignore it, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yezek argued he actually faces the risk and wrath by exercising his rights. He said one man who drives by his house gives him the finger, another yells out Pigman and he said his property has been vandalized. Im not their friend, Yezek said about Gowandas police department and other government officials. Im protesting against the police officer. They should have done something a long time ago. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEW YORK (PIX11) Welcome to PIX on Politics Daily with Dan Mannarino, where we break down the days political news, headlines, and issues that matter most to you through in-depth conversation. Join us daily on PIX11+ streaming at 12:30 p.m. as we invite the newsmakers, lawmakers, and key players shaping policies that impact local communities. On Friday, Dan joined Nick Smith, Executive Director of Communities Resist, to discuss housing affordability in New York City. 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. VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) A man charged in the fatal shooting of a local teen has pleaded guilty. Montez Ellington Jr. had a change of plea hearing today in the murder of Chloe Carroll in 2021. She was among a group of teens, sitting in a vehicle parked at a local gas station when the shooting occured. Ellington, who was a teen at the time of the shooting, was charged with murder in adult court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This afternoon, at Vigo County Courthouse, the guilty plea was entered. Vigo County Prosecutor, Terry Modesitt, said, in this case, the prosecution would not accept a guilty plea to anything other than murder. Modesitt said he worked closely with the victims family before making a decision. Its my policy that whenever someone is killed or injured severely as a result of a crime, that we meet with the families, Modesitt said. I want their input, and I want their consent to whatever we are going to do. It brings closure, without re-living the whole thing. Ellington agreed to a sentence of 45 years in the plea agreement. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 1st. 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 MyWabashValley.com. Mar. 27LIMA A man accused of inflicting serious injuries upon his wife in December and then holding SWAT team members at bay for hours and allegedly threatening to kill those officers was granted a reduction in bond Thursday during an appearance in Allen County Common Pleas Court. James Bailey, 48, of Lima, was escorted into the courtroom of Judge Terri Kohlrieser wearing leg chains and a belt to which handcuffs were attached. During a hearing earlier this month, Bailey had expressed a desire to retain private counsel following a ruling from a clinical psychologist that he was competent to stand trial. A scheduled April 14 jury trial was subsequently vacated. Bailey told the judge during his appearance Thursday that his attempts to hire a lawyer have been virtually impossible because he has been unable to post bond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I can't do nothing sitting in jail. With a half-million dollar bond, it's just impossible," Bailey said. Assistant Allen County Public Defender Tony Miller asked that Bailey's bond be reduced to $75,000 cash or surety. Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Colleen Limerick objected strenuously. "This defendant has a lengthy prior history dating back to 1994 in Missouri. He is alleged to have caused his wife to suffer a fractured rib and other injuries in this incident, and then engaged in an extensive standoff with police and threatened to shoot the officers at the end of the incident," Limerick told the judge. "The state believes he is a danger to himself and others and asks that his bond be continued as is." Kohlrieser said a "significant" reduction in Bailey's bond to an unspecified amount will be granted once the court is assured that he and his wife will reside at separate locations as the case is resolved. If bond is posted, Bailey will be on house arrest "and you are still ordered to have no contact with her (his wife) whatsoever." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bailey is charged with a second-degree felony count of felonious assault and fourth-degree felony domestic violence. Limerick extended a plea offer that called for Bailey to plead guilty to the felonious assault charge as well as an amended misdemeanor count of domestic violence. She said the offer would remain in effect until a scheduled April 14 pre-trial hearing. According to court documents, deputies with the Allen County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 13 responded to a domestic violence situation with the victim at a local hospital with a swollen right ear and eye and at least one possible rib fracture. The woman said Bailey caused the injuries. When deputies arrived at the scene of the incident Bailey barricaded himself in the residence, refused to exit and stated he would "shoot any officer that approached his residence," according to a report from the sheriff's office. Bailey was believed to be in possession of a .22 caliber rifle. The SWAT and hostage negotiation teams responded to the scene, and a search warrant was issued. Several hours later, Bailey was taken into custody. Featured Local Savings A Thai restaurant and a plumbing company in Indiana are facing off after a plumber returned to re-clog a pipe over a disputed bill. Jesse Sanders, Thai Bistro & Bar operations manager, told local news outlet WFIE that their Evansville restaurant recently called Heavrin Plumbing to un-clog a blocked grease trap. That first bill was $235. But the clog returned three days later, and Sanders called Heavrin Plumbing again. After the second job, the new bill was $390 because the plumber returned on overtime, WFIE reports. The restaurant didnt pay the bill immediately because they wanted clarity on why they were charged twice for the same issue, Sanders said in a statement to The Independent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The next day, Heavrin Plumbing returned and re-clogged the grease trap with a balloon, telling the restaurant they wouldnt remove it until the bill was paid, WFIE reported. "We were never refusing to pay we were asking for clarity. The same issue returned shortly after the initial service, and we felt it was fair to question whether the return was due to the quality of the work, especially since this was our first clog in nearly a year, Sanders told The Independent. Im confident that if we had been given ample time to think it through and discuss the invoice, we would have come to an agreement especially since weve always paid him in the past, he added. Surveillance footage shows a plumber re-clogging a grease trap amid a dispute with Thai Bistro & Bar in Evansville, Indiana (WFIE) Heavrin Plumbing owner Joel Heavrin told WFIE the company doesnt offer warranties on drain cleaning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont have a magic wand I can wave and remove all the garbage and debris the drain line, Heavrin said. What we can do is, we can snake it; we can make sure that its open and working correctly. Which is what we did. Still, the restaurant was baffled when the pipe was re-clogged. The following day we received a text message saying that hes on our property, Sanders told WFIE. He put a balloon into our grease trap, and hes not going to remove it until we pay. The plumber told Sanders he would be leaving for the weekend in one hour, WFIE reports. If we were to leave the balloon in there, it would overflow the restaurant with water, dirty water from the grease trap, Sanders added. Basically, we wouldve had to shut down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heavrin told WFIE the restaurant had a history of paying late in the past. The restaurant disputed this claim in a statement on Facebook. A Google Earth image shows the location of Thai Bistro & Bar in July 2023, several months before the restaurant opened (Google Maps) We have paid all of our bills. We operate on NET 15 or NET 30 terms, meaning invoices are paid by their due datesincluding the plumbing invoice (which is on a Net 15), the restaurants statement reads. Nothing is outstanding or past due. Nothing is overdue, and Im more than willing to share proof if needed. Sanders called the police, asking them to mediate the situation, WFIE reports. The Evansville Police Department said similar matters are typically decided in small claims court, but Heavrin said he didnt want to go that far. Frankly it was not worth me pursuing it in court, he says. It was not worth my time, just wasnt worth it for me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, the plumber removed the blockage and the restaurant paid the bill, but marked it as paid under protest. As a small business owner, I believe we had every right to question a charge that felt unnecessary, the restaurant stated. We werent trying to cause conflictwe were simply asking for fairness. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police announced they had arrested a 36-year-old Nevada man and charged him with 15 felony counts including arson, use of explosives, and discharging a firearm after he allegedly vandalized a Tesla collision center by shooting out cameras and setting five cars on fire. The arrest comes a week after Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced charges against three others for allegedly using molotov cocktails on Teslas in Colorado, Oregon, and South Carolina. Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill on Thursday announced the arrest of Paul Hyon Kim, 36, of Nevada for allegedly shooting a .30 caliber rifle into the back of five Teslas and hurling molotov cocktails into the cars to set them on fire. Tesla is helmed by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk. President Donald Trump has said anti-Musk actions against Tesla would be treated as domestic terrorism and floated the idea of sending three other individuals who have been charged with attacks to prison in El Salvador, which might not be legal. Kim has been taken into federal custody, according to the Department of Justice, and he faces federal charges for arson and having an unregistered firearm, in addition to 15 felony counts he faces in Nevada. Kim could be sentenced 20 years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Department of Justice has been clear: anyone who participates in the wave of domestic terrorism targeting Tesla properties will suffer severe legal consequences, said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement. We will continue to find, arrest, and prosecute these attackers until the lesson is learned. Police said Kim dressed in a black facemask and gloves and allegedly drove his black Hyundai Elantra onto a Tesla collision center lot, parked the car, and shot out two surveillance cameras with his rifle. Then he tagged the word, Resist across the glass double doors in pink spray paint, assistant sheriff Dori Koren said during a press conference in Las Vegas on Thursday. Afterward, Kim allegedly walked over to where the Teslas were parked and started shooting into the cars before pulling what police say were molotov cocktails out of his backpack to firebomb them. Authorities claim he set five cars on fire and completely burned the insides out of three, destroying them completely. Koren said police searched two vehicles linked to Kim as well as his apartment and matched DNA taken from the inside of Kims cheek with DNA left at the Tesla collision center. Koren said the searches turned up multiple rifles, a shotgun, handgun, gun parts and ammunition that matched the caliber found at the Tesla center. Police said Kim's gun belt and backpack had traces of pink paint residue. The DOJ said the search also found a handwritten note with what seemed to be an escape plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Koren, a Las Vegas swat team arrested Kim in his apartment on Thursday morning after authorities matched his buccal-swab DNA with a sample from the crime scene. As promised, acts of violence and vandalism will not be tolerated, and today law enforcement personnel acted quickly to arrest an individual on charges including arson, said FBI Director Kash Patel in a statement. Under Attorney General Bondi's leadership, we will continue to pursue these investigations with the full force of law and will bring to justice anyone responsible for these attacks. Dozens of protests have broken out among Tesla dealerships and properties across the country, in response to vast government cuts engineered by Musks DOGE team. In response, Trump has issued statements in support of Musk and DOGE and reportedly bought a Tesla Model S. Last week, Bondi announced the arrests of three others charged with using molotov cocktails and setting cars and charging stations on fire, saying all three would face the full force of the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOJ said a woman in Loveland, Colorado was arrested for trying to light Teslas on fire with molotov cocktails, while a South Carolina man spray painted anti-Trump graffiti before lighting a charging station on fire in Charleston. A woman in Oregon was arrested after she allegedly threw eight molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership in Salem. Authorities said she was armed with an AR-15 rifle. Each face up to 20 years in prison, according to the DOJ. The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended, Bondi said. Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Las Vegas Metropolitan police arrested a 36-year-old Las Vegas resident on Wednesday in connection to Tesla vandalism. Kim faces charges including arson and unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm after five Teslas were damaged. The DOJ said anyone involved in "domestic terrorism targeting Tesla" will face "severe legal consequences." The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrested a suspect on Wednesday on suspicion of being involved in a recent Tesla vandalism incident involving five damaged vehicles at a dealership. The 36-year-old suspect, named Paul Hyon Kim, is facing state and federal charges including arson, unlawful possession of incendiary devices and a firearm, property destruction, and discharging a firearm into a vehicle, according to reports from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Department of Justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Las Vegas resident made his first appearance in a US District Court on Thursday, the US Department of Justice said in a press release. The court docket had not yet identified a lawyer for Kim as of Friday morning. The arrest comes after the word "resist" was spray-painted across the storefront of a Las Vegas Tesla on Badura Avenue last week, and five Teslas were damaged. Police said the suspect was seen on camera shooting the vehicles and placing a Molotov cocktail inside them to start a fire. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said in a press conference on Thursday that the suspect was not able to ignite one of the incendiary devices, which the police were able to recover. Three of the vehicles were destroyed by fire, the assistant sheriff said. Police identified the suspect's vehicle, which they said he drove away from the scene in, as a black Hyundai Elantra. A screenshot of one of the damaged Teslas from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department press conference. screenshot/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Koren said "a preliminary assessment" of Kim's social media "indicates some very loose but self-proclaimed ties" to some communist and pro-Palestine groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That is part of our investigations to dig further into it and to be able to determine additional motive and other potential concerns," Koren said in the press conference. Koren said searches of Kim's property revealed multiple rifles, a shotgun, a handgun, and miscellaneous gun parts. They also discovered ammunition, a backpack, and other items "consistent with the suspect's description," and other "key pieces of evidence" still being evaluated. He said the DNA taken from Kim also matches the DNA collected from the scene. In response to a post about the incident last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on X "This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong. Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks." The Department of Justice previously called attacks on Tesla "nothing short of domestic terrorism," as a number of vandalism incidents have taken place across the country and several arrests have been made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated that sentiment in the Thursday press release from the Department of Justice. "The Department of Justice has been clear: anyone who participates in the wave of domestic terrorism targeting Tesla properties will suffer severe legal consequences," Bondi said in the statement. "We will continue to find, arrest, and prosecute these attackers until the lesson is learned." Do you work for Tesla? Contact the reporter via a non-work email at aaltchek@businessinsider.com or on Signal at aalt.19. Read the original article on Business Insider Boeing (NYSE: BA) has become a battleground among investors and Wall Street analysts. That point hit home recently when a Wells Fargo analyst maintained an underweight rating on the stock and slapped it with a $113 price target, while a Citi analyst reiterated a buy and a $210 target. Such widely diverging views deserve some analysis to help investors decide about the stock. The bears' case for Boeing stock As the Wells Fargo analyst notes, Boeing is nowhere near the outlook given on its investor day in 2025. The outlook's cornerstone was that Boeing would hit $10 billion in free cash flow (FCF) in the 2025/2026 time frame. Boeing won't get anywhere close. In fact, the Wall Street analyst consensus is for an outflow of $4.9 billion in 2025 and then an FCF generation of $5.7 billion. It gets worse. It's important to note the difference between FCF and FCF per share here. At the end of 2022, Boeing had around 600 million shares in issue, and an FCF of $10 billion equates to $16.66 per share. However, due to rising debt levels, Boeing was forced to shore up its balance sheet by selling 112.5 million shares last year, diluting existing shareholders' claims on FCF in the process. Let's put it this way: If Boeing hits Wall Street expectations for FCF of $5.7 billion in 2026 and has a share count similar to 739.3 million today, it will generate just $7.7 billion in FCF per share -- nowhere near the $16.66 calculated above. Moreover, it's not just about the numbers; it's about why they went wrong. Quality, supply chain issues, and strikes mean Boeing is aiming to hit production of 38 planes per month on the 737 MAX in 2025, a far cry from the 50 planes per month in 2025/2026 expected in 2022. Charges on the program have damaged confidence among investors and airlines alike. As for the defense business, Boeing defense, space & security (BDS) was expected to generate $2 billion in segment operating cash in the 2025/2026 time frame. Fast forward to the last earnings call in January, and CFO Brian West confirmed that BDS could be cash-flow breakeven in 2026 or 2027. The main issue is the ongoing charges, delays, and issues with BDS's fixed-price development programs, which have caused multibillion-dollar losses. Data source: Boeing presentations. Chart by author. Returning to the Wells Fargo update, the analyst believes Boeing will miss the Wall Street consensus for FCF of about $9 billion in 2027 by at least a billion, and that's reason enough to sell the stock. The bulls' case for Boeing On the other hand, a Citi analyst points out the business's long-term potential and argues that much of the bad news is already priced into the stock. As such, Boeing's bar is set so low that all it has to do is generate long-term FCF in the low single-digit range, and its shares could appreciate significantly. For reference, Boeing's commercial outlook for 2024 to 2043 calls for the global airplane fleet to grow at an annual rate of 3.2%. EAST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) An East Haven man was taken into custody after allegedly bringing a hunting knife to his childs day care center Thursday. At approximately 3:29 p.m., officers responded to a weapons complaint at Overbrook Early Learning Center at 54 Gerrish Avenue. They discovered that Carlos Alberto Diaz, 32, had a large knife sticking out of his back pocket, causing several teachers to become concerned. West Hartford man arrested following narcotics, firearms investigation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Diaz was asked by the school director to exit the building, which Diaz did immediately. Officers later met Diaz at his residence, where he claimed he had forgotten he was in possession of the knife. Officers seized the knife, which was a hunting/utility knife with a fixed blade measuring approximately four inches. Per Connecticut state statute, weapons of this nature are prohibited on school grounds, even though there was no indication Diaz had criminal intent. Diaz was taken into custody and transported to the East Haven Police Department where he was charged with second degree breach of peace, and possession of a weapon on school grounds. He was released on a $25,000 bond and is due to appear in State Superior Court in New Haven on April 9. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The suspect accused of a deadly shooting at Aliante casino on Thursday and then allegedly carjacking three vehicles as he attempted to flee police has been identified. LVMPD uses a PIT maneuver to stop a murder and carjacking suspect during a high-speed chase across the Las Vegas valley on March 27, 2025. Aerion Warmsley, 19, is facing charges of murder and robbery with the use of a deadly weapon. He was taken into custody Thursday following a car chase that reached speeds in excess of 100 mph, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan police. Murder suspect carjacks several drivers across Las Vegas; police chase ends in crash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Warmsley is accused of killing a person at the Aliante casino around 4:30 a.m. When North Las Vegas police arrived at the scene, the suspect had already left. Las Vegas police became involved after responding to a report of a stolen car about three hours later. Warmsley is accused of leading police on a chase and carjacking at least three drivers before crashing into a bus stop on Boulder Highway and Tropicana. Two people at a bus stop were injured. Warmsley is being held at the North Las Vegas Detention center. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Arizona School Superintendent Tom Horne called for stronger law enforcement responses to student absences, as chronic absenteeism in the state remains far higher than it was pre-pandemic. "Solving this problem requires an all-out effort by parents, school administrators, law enforcement and city attorneys," Horne said during a news conference on March 26. Arizona's chronic absenteeism rate among first through eighth graders, meaning the percentage of students who missed more than 10% of school days, spiked after the onset of COVID-19 but has been declining since the 2021-22 school year. In the 2023-24 school year, about 24% of Arizonas elementary and middle public school students were chronically absent, according to state data. Thats down from 32% in the 2021-22 school year and about 28% in the 2022-23 school year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 2023-24 school year chronic absenteeism rate, however, remains much higher than before COVID-19. In the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years, chronic absenteeism in the state was about 12% and 12.68%, respectively. In response, school districts in Arizona have implemented strategies such as tracking student absence data to enable staff to reach out parents as soon as children miss a certain number of school days, emphasizing the importance of school to parents, making sure kids have advocates at school checking in on them and rewarding students for attendance. Horne said he thought police "have a very important role to play" in addressing the issue. In a news release, he said that any certified law enforcement officer is empowered to cite parents under a state statute that says a parent of a child between 6 and 16 who fails to ensure their child attends school is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, with some exceptions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Horne said he urged city attorneys to give high priority to truancy citations. Unlike chronic absenteeism, which measures all absences, including those that are excused or the result of a suspension, truancy refers to unexcused absences. Children in Arizona can be referred to court if they are habitually truant, meaning they have missed at least five days in a school year. During the news conference, Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said he saw police citations as a last-ditch effort to get the attention of the kids and of the parents. These are the cases that linger on the kids dont respond to counseling, to guidance, to their parents, Sheridan said. Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan speaks at a news conference regarding chronic absenteeism at the Arizona Department of Education building on March 26, 2025, in Phoenix. The Maricopa County Superior Court's juvenile probation department operates a truancy diversion program for first and second truancy offenses called Court Unified Truancy Suppression. Students referred to the program by police are given consequences like community service, education and counseling, and they risk having their drivers license suspended if they fail to complete a consequence or appear at a hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There have been relatively few truancy citations through the CUTS program in recent years. During the 2019 fiscal year, there were 259 citations, which decreased to 92 in fiscal year 2020, 30 in fiscal year 2021, 49 in fiscal year 2022 and 58 in fiscal year 2023. Those numbers, however, only include referrals to juvenile court in which truancy was the most serious offense, so they may not include truancy citations that were a lesser offense on a referral, or truancy matters that were handled by a lower court or alternative resolution. Janice Palmer, the senior vice president of government affairs at the Helios Education Foundation, which in January released a report on chronic absenteeism in the state, said in a statement that the organization was "encouraged that Superintendent Horne recognizes the severity of this issue and is bringing attention to it." Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne speaks at a news conference regarding chronic absenteeism at the Arizona Department of Education building on March 26, 2025, in Phoenix. Horne is flanked by Dysart Unified School District Assistant Superintendent for Support Craig Mussi (left) and Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan. "Our research shows that the most effective way to improve student attendance is by building strong relationships with families and identifying and addressing the barriers that prevent students from attending school," Palmer said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legal intervention for truancy was listed as a "last resort" for students missing 20% of the school year under chronic absenteeism guidance created last year by a statewide task force led by Read On Arizona, an organization focused on improving literacy. Course credit should be revoked after 9 absences, Horne says Horne also recommended that school districts not allow high school students to receive credit for a course after they have accumulated nine absences. Exceeding the number of absences under such a policy could prevent high school students from completing the credits necessary for graduation, or K-8 students from moving up a grade level. Arizona schools already formally withdraw students who have ten consecutive unexcused absences. Horne said his suggestion would go beyond soft solutions, such as simply notifying parents of their childrens absences, and instead, would deal more with the motivation of parents because parents are the ones who have the most influence" on students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Parents want their kids to graduate on time; they don't want them to flunk courses," Horne said. "This would be a great motivator for parents." This lost credit policy is currently in place in the West Valley's Dysart Unified School District. At the news conference, Superintendent John Croteau and Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Craig Mussi said several new practices have helped increase the district's average attendance rate to 93%. Dysart's lost credit policy impacts students whether or not an absence is excused. Mussi said both can lead to students falling behind. So once you hit that tenth absence, you're going to lose credit, said Mussi. The district does offer a process to appeal lost credit, but stricter rules against absenteeism, he said, are the only way we're going to get the attention of the families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dysart Unified has continued to notify parents about student absences through phone calls, letters and the ParentSquare mobile app, where parents can keep track of attendance. School officials also formulate plans with parents to get children into school and inform parents of the effects of missing classes, Mussi said. The district also incentivizes students to maintain high attendance rates through competitions within the district, with some schools even hosting an Attendance Competition Spirit Week to encourage participation. Mussi said the district has a close relationship with the Surprise and El Mirage police departments, which help issue citations to parents who fail to send their kids to school. Coverage of education solutions on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is partially supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundations Arizona Community Collaborative Fund. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Police have 'important role' in reducing absences, Tom Horne says An increased police presence will be at the Rostraver Elementary School on Friday. Belle Vernorn Area School District Dr. Timothy Glasspool said school administrators learned that students in grades 2-5 were talking about weapons and fighting in their neighborhood. Glasspool said one student mentioned bringing a gun to school. The Rostraver Township Police Department has been notified and is investigating. An officer will be at the bus stop and the school. A school representative will also ride the bus for further supervision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The safety of our students is our highest priority. We take all potential threats seriously and will continue to maintain open communication with families and law enforcement, provide a secure learning environment for all students, and respond promptly and throughout to all safety concerns. We encourage parents and guardians to talk openly with [their] children about school safety and remind students to report any concerning conversations or behaviors to a trusted adult, Glasspool said in a statement. The parent of the student who was the target of the threats has been notified. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) Police in Prince Georges County are investigating after a man was found dead in Clinton on Friday morning. The Prince Georges County Police Department said that just minutes after 7 a.m. on March 28, officers received a report for an unresponsive person in the 4900 block of Plata Street. There, police located a man who had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prince Georges County community mourns loss of 19-year-old custodian killed in shooting Currently, detectives are still working to learn what led up to the shooting and establish a motive. Prince Georges County detectives are urging anyone with additional details to call Crime Solvers at 866-411-8477 or enter a tip 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 | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. FORT DODGE, Iowa An investigation into a stabbing is underway in Fort Dodge on Friday. A 911 call came in at 6:00 a.m. about a male with multiple stab wounds at 414 South 16th Street, according to the Fort Dodge Police Department. When FDPD officers arrived at the scene, they found a responsive male who had multiple stab wounds to his waistline. Gunshot victim dropped off at hospital, Des Moines police investigating Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim received initial medical care on the scene and was taken by ambulance to Unity Point-Trinity Health for further treatment. FDPD said the victims injuries are non-life-threatening. Investigators dont believe the stabbing happened where the victim was found. They are unsure of the location of the assault. FDPD said it does not believe the stabbing is linked to two recent shootings, one on Thursday and one Friday morning. Police are continuing to investigate. If you have information about the stabbing, contact police at 515-573-1424. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Webster County Crimestoppers by calling 515-5731444 (STOP). 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. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) Albuquerque Police and Crime Stoppers are searching for a man accused of pointing a gun at a Parking Enforcement officer downtown. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crime Stoppers said the officer was in the area of 601 Central Ave. NW, when a man approached him, grabbed his phone and threw it. The man then walked to a Chevrolet pickup truck, got a gun inside, and waved it around before pointing it at the officer, according to Crime Stoppers. The suspect is described as a white man, approximately 35 years old, 59 tall, with red hair. Police said he was wearing a muscle shirt and dark blue pants. A picture of the suspects vehicle shows a Chevrolet pickup truck with an Indiana license plate TK8450QF. (Credit: Albuquerque Metro Crime Stoppers) After the incident, he got into the pickup truck, drove over a curb, and sped away. Officials said the truck had an Indiana license plate TK8450QF. If you have any information on an offender, you can report anonymously to Crime Stoppers by calling 505-843-7867, or by submitting a tip online. 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. DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) Police are searching for a teen who fired shots near Steele Elementary School in Harrisburg on March 18. Police said officers responded to the 2500 block of North 5th Street for a report of shots fired near the elementary school at 6 p.m. on March 18. No one was injured at the scene. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Nittany Insiders An investigation identified 17-year-old Nyshaun Crankfield as the alleged shooter, police said. Police added that children were playing on the playground of the school during the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police charged Crankfield with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, possession of a firearm by a minor, and firearms not to be carried without a license. A warrant has been issued for Crankfields arrest, according to police. Anyone with additional information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Harrisburg police at 717-558-6900 or submit a tip 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 ABC27. The Tewksbury Police Department has announced the arrest of two Lawrence men who are being charged in connection with distributing drugs. Jose Colon, 21, and Josue Guzman, 23, of Lawrence, are both being charged with Distribution of a Class B Drug. According to Tewksbury police, on Wednesday, March 26, officers of the narcotics unit noticed what appeared to be a drug transaction between a black Jeep Cherokee and another individual. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers then carried out a traffic stop on the Jeep, where they observed the driver, Guzman, and the passenger, Colon. An initial investigation determined that the two sold $60 worth of crack cocaine on Andover Street. Colon and Guzman were both arrested without incident and arraigned in Lowell District Court on Thursday. 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 In the 1990s and 2000s, as industrial poultry production grew in eastern Oklahoma, chicken litter became increasingly used as fertilizer on area crop farms, leading to complaints that key water systems were being polluted by poultry litter. The waste leached into nearby waterways, elevating phosphorus levels that then depleted oxygen, caused algae growth, damaged the fish population and strained the nearly 20 utility systems that rely on the Illinois River Watershed for drinking water, according to news outlet Investigate Midwest. To remediate this now chronic problem, then-Attorney General Drew Edmondson sued several large agricultural producers in 2005, including Tyson, Cargill, and Simmons Foods, that commonly contract with Oklahomas poultry farms. A trial was held in 2009, but it took 14 more years before U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell ruled for the state, agreeing that the poultry companies and more specifically, the litter on poultry farms or litter removed and used for fertilizer on nearby crop farms, were to blame for the high contaminate levels. He also criticized Oklahoma lawmakers for not doing enough to protect rivers and lakes from poultry litter pollution. Subsequently, a court-ordered mediation failed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Influential factory farm industry presents safety challenge to Oklahomans, animals A hearing was held in December to assess whether the environmental conditions in the watershed have changed since the original trial and whether the companies practices continue to contribute to pollution. At that hearing multiple witnesses testified that water pollution from chicken litter remains a problem. To help reverse the phosphorus pollution in the waters of the (Illinois River Watershed), we have to stop making the problem worse. That means we need to stop the land application of poultry waste, wrote Gregory Scott, a scientist with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, in testimony presented to Frizzell. A final order from the judge is still pending. Chickens gather at a poultry farm. Oklahoma now allows large poultry farms to avoid a more restrictive registration process and construct buildings that house thousands of chickens closer to homes and neighborhoods. But instead of taking steps to reign in the clout of the growing poultry industry and protect the public, Oklahoma lawmakers have chosen to further deregulate and shield it from legal attacks. The state now allows large poultry farms to avoid a more restrictive registration process and construct buildings that house thousands of chickens closer to homes and neighborhoods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2023, Oklahomas Republican-majority Legislature and governor passed House Bill 2053, which would dismiss a protest against a water-use permit for a farm if the protest is based solely on the industry or entity applying to use the water. The legislations clear intent, to which even the bills author, Republican state Sen. Brent Howard admitted, was to make it harder for people to oppose large poultry operations. Senate Bill 136, which was introduced in the 2025 session and called for a moratorium on these mega factory farms, was killed in committee. Senate Bill 1424, which was signed into law in 2024, has been the most significant step toward protecting poultry corporations. That legislation now forbids property owners in the Illinois River Watershed, whose lands and surface waterways have been polluted by runoff from poultry litter, from pursuing legal action against contracted poultry growers unless an enforcement action has been taken by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry. The law also provides legal immunity to poultry corporations the same ones targeted in the 2005 suit from future lawsuits over pollution caused by chicken waste. The measure gives Big Ag and its corporate lobbyists license to despoil our natural resources and wreak havoc on our regions air and waterways. This has the potential to threaten the public health of our communities and the safety of their drinking water. Where water has been contaminated it will require cities and towns that use it to spend more on treatments or seek other water sources. Critics of this legislation have noted that it only benefits out-of-state companies who profit at the expense of Oklahomas rivers and lakes and does not protect Oklahoma farmers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly all chickens raised in the United States are under production contracts between poultry processors and farmers. Big Ag contracts with farmers can be problematic, potentially leading to unfair terms, reduced farmer autonomy, and increased financial risk for farmers. Over the length of a contract, the buying power of a contract farmers wages may shrink by more than 20%. Lax regulations against industrial poultry farms are a gift to big agribusiness. Since our state lawmakers seem unwilling to serve as a bulwark for our environment and the economic and public health of our rural communities, we may have to depend on the courts. Judge Frizzell has said he is weighing pollution-control requirements. Since our legislators seem loath to hold Big Ag to account, lets hope the judge comes through. Mike Altshuler Mike Altshuler is a retired educator and environmental activist who lives in Edmond. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Profits before people's health, say Oklahoma legislators | Opinion (Reuters) -PAI Partners and Bain Capital are among the buyout firms considering bidding for Swiss food giant Nestle's water business, which could be valued at about 5 billion euros ($5.38 billion) or more in a deal, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. Clayton Dubilier & Rice and KKR have also been studying the business, Bloomberg News said, citing people familiar with the matter. Nestle may retain a stake in the unit in any transaction, the report added. Bain Capital, Nestle, PAI Partners and CD&R declined to comment, while KKR did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. In November last year, the consumer product giant said it would carve out its 3.3 billion Swiss franc water business into a standalone global unit starting January 1, 2025, and is open to partnerships and deals. Nestle's water business has had interest for decades, including from private equity and strategic buyers, Sanjay Bahadur, head of group strategy and business development, told Reuters last year. The company also plans to boost advertising and marketing while reducing costs by at least $2.8 billion by 2027. This comes as shoppers are shifting towards cheaper, better-advertised or more innovative brands, eating into Nestle's market share. Rival Unilever, which has also fielded criticism for having too many brands, announced in March it planned to spin off its ice cream business and has signalled its willingness to sell weaker brands. ($1 = 0.9301 euros) (Reporting by Kritika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona) More than three-quarters of scientists in the U.S are weighing leaving the country and are looking at Europe and Canada as their top relocation spots, according to a survey released Thursday. The scientific journal Nature poll found that 75.3 percent of scientists are considering leaving the U.S. after the administration cut funding for research. Nearly a quarter of respondents, 24.7 percent, disagreed. The highest contingent of researchers who are looking to move out of the country were those who are early in their careers. Nearly 550, out of 690 who responded to the survey, said they are considering leaving the U.S. Out of the 340 Ph.D. students, 255 shared the same inclination, the poll found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administration, along with tech billionaire and close Trump adviser Elon Musk, with the help of the Department of Government Efficiency, has terminated entire agencies and made cuts in the last two months in an effort to shrink the size and scope of the federal government. Some of those reductions were felt at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where all grants for equity issues, which encompass studying Black maternal health and HIV, were canceled. The cap on indirect costs of NIH grants was capped at 15 percent. The NIH was also ordered recently to halt efforts to terminate the funding for grants intended for hospitals, universities and other institutions by a federal judge after numerous lawsuits. Former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she was concerned about the recent cuts to grants flowing through the NIH. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im worried on a lot of fronts, Sebelius said Wednesday. The kinds of cuts that were just announced are devastating and will set science back and set research back. These cuts have also affected the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which has been hit with layoffs. More than three-quarters of Americans, 76 percent, said they have a great or fair amount of confidence in scientists to do what is best for the public, according to a Pew Research Center survey that was published in mid-November last year. The figure was a minor uptick from October 2023, when 73 percent of respondents said the same. Around 1,650 people responded to Natures survey. The margin of error and the dates the survey was conducted were not available to The Hill. 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. AUSTIN (KXAN) As state legislators continue debating bills at the Capitol, a new poll is highlighting which issues are most important to Texans. The poll, conducted by a new initiative called Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR), asked 700 registered voters which two issues they felt were most important for the states elected officials to focus on. The highest response was for affordability and the cost of living 37% of those surveyed said that should be one of the two main priorities for legislators. Education and public schools was second at 28%, as lawmakers continue to discuss education savings accounts (ESAs) to subsidize private education for eligible students. Immigration and border security was also a top priority for voters, as well as Social Security and Medicare. More than 20% of poll respondents said each of those topics should be top of mind for lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Less important were public safety, climate change and cultural issues. The poll showed less than 5% of Texans think those topics should be a top priority for elected officials. With the 2025 legislative session in Austin in full swing, this new data sheds light on the top issues Texans want their elected representatives to tackle, said Luke Warford, director of TPOR. State lawmakers should focus on voters priorities and recognize that Texans want them to address bread-and-butter issues like affordability, healthcare, border security and Social Security and Medicare not hotly-contested culture war issues like displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools and banning DEI. While TPOR itself is a non-partisan initiative, Warford himself is a Democrat who formerly ran for Railroad Commissioner in 2022. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made Senate Bill 12 one of his priorities this legislative session. The bill, dubbed the Texas Parental Bill of Rights in Education would eliminate DEI politics at K-12 public schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I prioritized SB 12 because parents must be empowered to have an even greater role in their childrens education, Patrick said after the bill passed the Texas Senate last week. With more parental input and empowerment, Texas students will be better served by the public education system. The poll also asked people whether they had a favorable or unfavorable view of several prominent politicians. Former Rep. Colin Allred was the only one to have a net favorable rating. The Democrat, who lost to Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2024 U.S. Senate election in Texas, is seriously considering challenging Sen. John Cornyn in 2026, according to the Dallas Morning News. Cornyn himself was found to be the least popular politician, with a net favorability rating of -22%, suggesting he could be vulnerable in next years election. Attorney General Ken Paxton, a fellow Republican, is being watched as a potential primary challenger to Cornyn. Paxtons favorability rating is -5%, according to the poll. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Patrick both had favorability ratings below -10%, while approval for President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance was -3% each. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TPOR says it plans to conduct research each quarter, providing clear, digestible and actionable insights into voter sentiment on the states most pressing issues, adding it hopes to serve as the go-to neutral source of reliable information about the Texas population and electorate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. POOLER, Ga. (WSAV) Pooler city leaders continue to move forward with new developments and improvement projects, particularly on some of the busiest streets and intersections. WSAV sat down with Pooler Mayor, Karen Williams, a huge advocate for Poolers first high school, and she shared her excitement after the approval of ESPLOST last Tuesday. I want it to be a zoned school, she said. That means it doesnt matter what the school board districts are. If youre a high school student living in the city of Pooler, you will go to that school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She continued, I asked them to make it a STEAM school, science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Thats huge for our high school, for our high school students. The educational complex will be located on Pine Barren Road, a busy road, that has been on the citys priority list. Williams told WSAV that engineers are conducting an updated traffic study to assess the number of students and potential cars that could travel the road. We want to make sure that that intersection is completely functional for all the directions going in and off of Pooler Parkway and Pine Barren [Road], she said. We added into that plan, adding sidewalks down the same side as WaWa all the way down to the school Roads are not the only focus. They are also updating the drainage system, which is a part of their $40 million infrastructure improvement project budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are working on the last stage of Pipemakers Canal, said Williams. It is being enlarged. Weve already spent several million dollars on the first stage, which was from Bloomingdale to Pooler Parkway. It was enlarged, it was deepened, and a maintenance road was put on it. Now, the second part is from Pooler Parkway to I-95 She also told WSAV that city leaders are working on a new public library equipped for voting. According to Williams, it is an upgrade from the current one. The city has offered $8M, however Live Oak Public Libraries is requesting another $3M. The project is still in the early planning stages. We are told by an official that WaWa is also slated to open sometime during second quarter of 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 WSAV-TV. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Portland City Council is set to consider a resolution exploring how the city could use social housing to address the homelessness and housing affordability crises. The resolution introduced Tuesday by Portland City Councilors Mitch Green (District 4) and Candace Avalos (District 1) would direct the city to study social housing models in places such as Seattle, Washington, Montgomery County, Maryland and Vienna, Austria and submit a report on the findings in May 2026. The way that we have been housing our humans is just not working. We have to try something new, Avalos said. This is an opportunity to actually bring to the people an affordable model for housing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump executive order will make Oregon elections less safe, Secretary of State says Under the social housing model, housing is owned and managed by the public or nonprofits with a focus on affordability opposed to traditional public housing in the United States, which is reserved for low-income tenants in spaces managed by federally granted housing agencies. To put it simply, it is housing that is non-market, and is permanently affordable, Portland Housing Bureau Director Helmi Hisserich testified during Tuesdays Homelessness and Housing Committee hearing. Under the resolution, Hisserich would lead the study bringing her near-two-year experience studying Viennas social housing model. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In-N-Out Burgers Gresham drive-thru proposal progresses with pre-application summary The resolution comes amid Portlands ongoing housing emergency, which the city declared in 2015. Another 20,000 housing units are needed in Portland, where more than half of renters are rent burdened meaning more than 30% of their income goes toward housing costs, Hisserich said. The rapid escalation in housing costs in Portland is driven by a combination of many different factors, but the lack of sufficient affordable housing is a major problem that we need to address and the reason we are exploring alternatives to the current system, Hisserich said. To put it simply, its non-market and permanently affordable. Social housing is owned by the community or the public. It can be owned by mission-driven nonprofit agencies, it can be owned by a public agency, and it can be collectively owned by a land trust or by a housing cooperative, Hisserich explained. Often, it is described or developed as mixed-income communities, where people of all incomes live together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Eye on Northwest Politics According to Hisserich, Viennas social housing model has been successful for the city and could be replicated in Portland. People often ask why I focus on Vienna, and its a pretty simple reason. In 1918, Vienna had a significant unhoused population of about 30,000 people. The reasons relate to World War I and the extreme poverty that was occurring at that time. But it was considered at the turn of the century to be the worst place to live in Europe, with rampant disease, eviction and poverty, with a large number of people unhoused, Hisserich said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, Vienna, Austria is ranked the number one most livable city in the world consistently for the last 15 years, the Housing Bureau director explained. And it has a remarkably sustainable housing system. It is now considered the most affordable major city in Europe. DOE says Oregon universities cant use federally-funded waivers for undocumented immigrants According to Hisserich, Portland and Vienna are similar in size. However, Viennas population is three times greater than Portlands population 650,000 people in Portland compared to Viennas two million. Vienna shares Portlands strong orientation towards maintaining parks and open space, so they live in a lot higher density neighborhoods than we do, Hisserich said. So, how can a dense city, such as Vienna, rank so high in livability is one of the questions Ive asked myself many times. Vienna is simply very pro-housing. They understand how much housing is needed, they forecast very effectively how much housing is needed and they take very strong goals in delivering that housing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Hisserich, Vienna provides over 60% of the citys housing through municipally built and nonprofit housing. The European city also has more housing per capita at around one housing unit for every two people, whereas Portland has about one unit for every three people. Bend-founded brewery will close Portland pub after less than two years Pointing to Viennas pro-housing approach, Hisserich noted Viennas unhoused population is around 2,200, but is functionally zero because they are able to rapidly shelter and provide housing to their unhoused population. Citing a 2023 Multnomah County Point in Time Count, Portlands unhoused population stood at 6,300 people, Hisserich said. The system in Vienna that is different, is that theres and actually in the Montgomery County, Maryland model these are all predicated on more of the mixed income model that are open to a large majority of people rather than saying, Were only going to have the public intervene in the very deepest low-income housing. They have a model that says, No, we need to provide stable-priced housing for a large number of people. What theyll do is put a mixed income housing in place and then take it out of the market, Hisserich said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the resolution heads to the full City Council for consideration, Councilors Green and Avalos emphasized the need to incorporate a different approach to housing to quell the homelessness and housing crises. Killer whale pod makes rare appearance in Depoe Bay during Whale Watch Week I also want to acknowledge that Portlanders are weary of the study, plan, study, plan cycle that generates reports that may sit on a shelf and never be used and that too many Portlanders are suffering from a housing crisis that burdens their household budgets, or worse, leaves them out in the cold, Green testified during the resolutions hearing. But make no mistake, it is my intention that this City Council will be remembered as the body that looked at the dire state of housing affordability and said, Enough. No more. The scale of the problem is too great for us to rely on passive, market-based solutions, Green continued. Its time for Portland to go big and tackle our housing shortage head on. Social housing offers a real, sustainable solution by prioritizing people over profits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My goal is to pass a social housing policy that will be the envy of the West Coast, Green said. And to do that, its important to get the institutional design right. Im excited to work directly with the Portland Housing Bureau to craft the program that works best for Portland. Green and Avalos have requested Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney to add the resolution to the Council Meeting agenda for Wednesday, April 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Portland leaders and workers have once again weighed in on the looming return-to-office mandate for city employees. Soon after Mayor Keith Wilson took office in January, he urged 700 city managers and supervisors to return to in-person work full-time by April 7. Portland City Councils Labor & Workforce Development Committee discussed the upcoming change, a controversial one for the many workers who pivoted to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a meeting on Thursday. Oregon records rise in Death With Dignity prescriptions as senate considers more lax bill Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the mayors testimony, the push would help city leaders address certain matters like their $93 million budget crisis more effectively. Weve seen how technology and new practices can give us increasing flexibility to help us navigate complex lives, Wilson said. That said, it has also shown us there is no replacement for the creative energy, team-building leadership and learning that comes from in-person managers and supervisors, this is especially important when it comes to the role of managers and nurturing our next generation of city employees. He noted that 60% of the city workers employed from fiscal year 2019 through 2024 were hired as new staff or promoted to new roles. In the five years beforehand, the share of new or promoted employees was just 36%. Former Mayor Ted Wheeler also pushed for a return to the office during his term. In 2023, he urged employers in the private sector, government, educational institutions and community-based organizations to enforce an in-person workweek of at least 20 hours for their remote and hybrid staff starting the following year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UnitedHealthcare, OHSU reach agreement that ensures patient access to care Wheeler argued that the mandate would boost foot traffic in the downtown area, therefore supporting local businesses and revitalizing public spaces. However, several employees who testified on Thursday argued that the push for office work is discriminatory toward people with disabilities. Anna Shook, a certifying officer for Portlands Housing Bureau, added that remote work was not a privilege or choice for the employees who were sent home in March 2020. We helped thousands of fellow Portlanders in a time of deep crisis, Shook said. Now, we are told at every single employee town hall that we do not show up, unlike field employees. I love this city and I am proud to work for it. This is the first time in my 18 years as a city employee that I have been disrespected by elected leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man pleads guilty to using drugs on Portland Streetcar following ban A presentation from the City of Portlands Human Resources Director Tracy Warren shows that about 54% of the city employees work fully in-person, while about 38% have a hybrid schedule and 8% are fully remote. Under the new mandate, officials expect a 10% increase in those that work fully in-person and a 10% decline in hybrid workers. The share of fully-remote workers would remain the same. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. At least 144 people have been killed and more than 700 are injured in Myanmar after powerful earthquakes struck South-East Asia on Friday, the countrys military leadership said on state television. Tremors from the quakes were also felt in several neighbouring countries, including Thailand, where images shared online showed workers fleeing as a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Thai officials reported three deaths and 68 injuries, while media reports said dozens of workers remained missing hours after the quakes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit at around 12:50 pm (0620 GMT). Readings from other services have varied. USGS said the epicentre was about 16 kilometres from the city of Sagaing in north-western Myanmar. A few minutes later, the USGS registered another earthquake a little to the south with a magnitude of 6.4. Myanmar junta declares state of emergency In Myanmar, media reports citing rescue workers and witnesses said that buildings have collapsed, trapping people beneath the rubble. A rescue worker told dpa that hospitals in Mandalay, a city near the epicentre, were overwhelmed by the number of injured. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He reported scenes of chaos and that there were too few volunteers to help free the number of people trapped beneath the debris. Getting information from the situation in Myanmar has been difficult as the country has been in political turmoil since a military junta seized power in a 2021 coup. Millions of people have been displaced by the ongoing fighting. Military junta leader Min Aung Hlaing announced on television that he had requested assistance from the international community and various organizations. He added that India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been authorized to support volunteer efforts in the affected regions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The military junta has also declared a state of emergency in several parts of Myanmar. A spokesman for the junta said hospitals are in urgent need of blood supplies. Red Cross reports devastating damage The Red Cross in Myanmar has reported devastating damage and has spoken to staff in the affected region, according to Marie Manrique, the organization's programme manager on the ground. There is great concern that dams on the Irrawaddy River may have been damaged and could break. Manrique said that 18.5 million people live in the affected area near the city of Sagaing. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 1.6 million of the 3.5 million people displaced in Myanmar live in the region hit by the earthquake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are very concerned about the possible humanitarian consequences," said Manrique. "We expect a lot of people to be injured." Tremors felt in Thailand and neighbouring regions The quake also rattled Thailand's capital Bangkok, where the earth shook for several minutes and people left their homes in panic, according to a dpa reporter. Sirens could be heard hours after the quake struck. In the Silom district in the centre of the capital, thousands of people were on the streets, many running. Volunteers were immediately deployed, instructing people to get out into the open and leave the buildings. Patients were brought out of the hospitals onto the streets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shell of a high-rise building in Bangkok collapsed, as shown in videos circulating online. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra convened an emergency meeting during her visit to Phuket Island. Earthquake felt in Vietnam, India, China, Bangladesh The tremors were also felt in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, as well as in parts of India, China and Bangladesh. In China, tremors were reported in Yunnan province, where damage and injuries were confirmed. In India's Manipur state and Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, the quake caused panic, but no damage was initially reported. India has offered to help earthquake victims in Myanmar and Thailand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "India stands ready to offer all possible assistance," Modi wrote on X. He said he has asked "our authorities to be on standby." Asia is regularly affected by earthquakes, which sometimes kill thousands of people and cause devastating destruction. An earthquake off the eastern coast of Japan in March 2011 claimed almost 16,000 lives and caused the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant. More recently, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Nepal have experienced disasters with thousands of deaths. EU offers satellite help Commenting on X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the scenes from Myanmar and Thailand are "heartbreaking." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The European Union's Copernicus satellites "are already helping first responders," she wrote and added that the EU is "ready to provide more support." Copernicus is the EU's space observation programme. It has an open source policy in line with international data sharing principles, its website states, and can provide detailed maps of affected areas. Cracks and broken walls seen on a condominium facade in Chiang Mai following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake. Guillaume Payen/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Cracks and broken walls seen on a condominium facade in Chiang Mai following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake. Guillaume Payen/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared on a public call with conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel to urge voters to cast their ballots for him in Tuesday's election. Trump framed the race that will decide the ideological balance of the state Supreme Court in national terms, saying it would have an "outsized impact on the future of the country." "I know you feel it's local, but it's not. It's really much more than local," Trump said in the 10-minute call. "The whole country's watching." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: All our reporting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Susan Crawford, Brad Schimel He praised Schimel and wished him luck next week while calling Schimel's opponent, liberal Susan Crawford, a "hand-picked candidate of the Communists and Marxists." Trump's comments come after he posted last week on his social media platform Truth Social urging the state's voters to come out for Schimel an announcement his campaign has heavily featured in ads across most of the state in the final days of the race. Days later former President Barack Obama threw his support to Crawford, marking two political titans from opposite parties entering the fray in the highly nationalized race. More: Elon Musk gives $1 million to a Green Bay voter ahead of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schimel on Tuesday will go head-to-head with Crawford in the high-stakes race that has drawn attention and money from across the nation. In a statement, Crawford's campaign spokesman called Schimel a "corrupt politician," referencing Trump and his close ally, billionaire Elon Musk, who along with his groups has thrown about $20 million into the race. "Schimel has spent his entire career on bent knee to right-wing special interests, and now he's just Musk and Trump's lackey," spokesman Derrick Honeyman said. In the call, Schimel said to win he would need 60% of the Wisconsin voters who turned out for Trump in November, handing him a victory in the key swing state and helping propel him to a second term in the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "But we should shoot much higher than 60%," Schimel said. "We should be shooting for all of President Trump's voters to get out and vote for me in this election because if we don't the movement that is restoring America to its greatness will bypass our state." Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: President Trump in call urges support for Schimel for WI Supreme Court Mar. 27Priceville police officers arrested a man wanted for second-degree rape by the Mobile Police Department following a traffic stop on Interstate 65 on Wednesday night and later charged him with attempting to elude after he fled from officers at the jail, according to the Priceville Police Department. Travis Hill Jr., 21, of Mobile, had a felony extradition arrest warrant for probation revocation for the rape charge, according to Priceville police. Police said Hill was pulled over for minor traffic violations as he was traveling southbound on I-65 at approximately 10 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once they took Hill into custody and arrived at the Morgan County Jail, Priceville police said they removed him from the patrol vehicle and he made "a break for freedom and struck out running." Because Hill was not familiar with his surroundings, he ran straight to the Decatur Police Department where he was apprehended, Priceville police said. He was then additionally charged with third-degree escape and attempting to elude and a Morgan County Circuit Judge set his bond at $83,000 with a required ankle monitor as a condition of release. A hold was placed on Hill for the Mobile Police Department, according to Priceville Police. wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. There will be bounce houses and face painting for children. And drag queens doing shows and participating in a panel about their lives. Also on hand will be security guards for the Community Carnival hosted by Cedar Park and Leander Pride groups at a church Saturday. The LBGTQ+ nonprofit groups want to make sure that anyone who comes to the event from noon to 5 p.m. at the Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church, 3315 El Salido Parkway in Cedar Park, feels safe and secure, the organizers said. "We are letting people know there are safe spaces and safe groups and safe places you can go especially in this climate," said Virginia Shrader, president of Cedar Park Pride. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hundreds of people rallied Monday outside the Capitol to protest what they said were bills harmful to queer Texans. Equality Texas, the state's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization that led the advocacy day event, has identified 205 "anti-LGBTQ" bills proposed in Texas this year. "There's a big push to marginalize this group of individuals," said Mike Eddelman, a board member of Leander Pride. Eddelman said he's not a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but he has a lot of friends who are. "I think everybody deserves to be included and respected," he said. More: Here's why hundreds of LGBTQ Texans rallied against anti-trans bills: 'We have to show up' Nadine Hughes and Alysha Pretty are two drag queens who will speak and perform Saturday at the Community Carnival in Cedar Park. He said the Leander Pride group met after the November presidential election and decided to continue to be vocal and to be involved in the community instead of retreating in fear over what could happen. After President Donald Trump was elected, he banned transgender people from serving in the military, but a judge has blocked the ban. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Texas A&M University System also banned drag shows, but that ban was temporarily blocked Monday by a federal judge. The Leander Pride group wants to let people who might be concerned, scared or hesitant know that "everything is not about somebody who doesn't like you or tells you that you can't be who you are," Eddelman said. "There are just as many of us that believe you do have a voice and you do have a community that cares about you." More: Federal judge temporarily blocks Texas A&M University System's drag ban The family-friendly carnival Saturday is the second one that the pride groups have hosted together at the church. About 400 to 600 people attended last year's event, said Schrader. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mayors of Cedar Park and Leander will be part of the welcoming ceremony at the celebration. "Everyone deserves to feel like they are welcome in Cedar Park, no matter who they are or where they come from, Mayor Jim Penniman-Morin said in a text message to the American-Statesman this week. Leander Mayor Christine DeLisle also said in a text message to the Statesman this week that the carnival is about "affirming that every individual in our community deserves respect, dignity and a sense of belonging." "By supporting these events," she said, "we remind our LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors that they are seen, valued and appreciated." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's important to have the carnival because it also provides a safe space for young people, said James Dean, the president of Leander Pride. "We are paying for security to be there to make sure the event is safe and secure," he said. There have been two suicides in the LBGTQ+ local community in the past few years, including a student who was bullied at school, he said. A gay woman, 24-year-old Akira Ross, was shot and killed outside a Cedar Park gas station in 2023. Her father and her partner have said she was targeted because she was gay. The carnival will provide a chance for participants to hear other people's stories, the organizers said. A lesbian teenager will talk about her experience attending schools in the Leander school district, and a transgender person will talk about surgery, Dean said. Drag queens on a panel will discuss how participating in drag shows has affected their lives onstage and off, and "the importance of self-expression in our community," Shrader said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There will also be live music and food trucks. "We are excited about this event," said Shrader. "We are providing a space where love is love and hate won't be welcome." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Pride carnival in Cedar Park to provide 'safe place' to celebrate Canada Life Reinsurance has appointed Eamon Loughnane as the new leader of its global property and casualty (P&C) business unit. Loughnane will succeed Gabriel Kelly, who is set to retire after a 33-year tenure with the company. Kelly oversaw the P&C sector since the early 2000s. Loughnane has a background in the company's life reinsurance business in Europe and worked on a framework for developing, assessing, and executing new structures. His transition into the role will be supported by Kelly, who will continue to oversee the P&C business until 30 March 2025, the company said. Following this, Kelly will dedicate three months to assist with a transition. Canada Life Reinsurance CEO Jeff Poulin said: "We are immensely grateful for Gabriel's unwavering commitment, dedication and loyalty. His leadership has been a driving force behind our success, and we look forward to celebrating his extraordinary career as he approaches retirement." "I couldn't be more pleased to have Eamon take on this new role. I have every confidence he will continue to build on our success and capitalise on the opportunities we have before us." Canada Life Reinsurance global COO Reinsurance Derek Popkes stated: "It is an honour to have worked with Gabriel over the past 25 years. I could not be more excited about the prospects for the P&C business and team he has built." Canada Life Reinsurance offers a range of risk and capital management solutions covering mortality, longevity, health and lapse risks for insurers, reinsurers and pension funds globally. The division operates under the Canada Life Assurance Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, serving clients across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. "Canada Life Reinsurance names new P&C unit leader " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are the proud parents of two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Since stepping away from their royal roles in 2020, Harry, fifth in line to the throne, and Meghan have worked to protect their children's privacy, including shielding their faces from the public eye. As the children have gotten older, Harry and Meghan have shared glimpses of their own lives as parents, as well as their kids' milestones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In celebration of Mother's Day on May 11, Meghan shared a photo on Instagram of herself holding both Lili and Archie. PHOTO: Meghan Markle shared a photo on Instagram of herself holding her two children in honor of Mothers Day 2025. (@meghan/Instagram) "Happy Mothers Day! Cheers to juggling it all with joy!," Meghan captioned the photo. "And to these two gems - who still attempt to climb 'mama mountain', smother me with kisses, and make every day the most memorable adventure.being your mom is the greatest privilege of my life I, too, 'love you more than all the stars in all the sky, all the raindrops, and all the salt on all the french fries in all the world.' On international Women's Day, Meghan shared a photo on Instagram of Lilibet, who goes by Lili, cuddled up on a boat with Harry. PHOTO: Meghan Markle shared a new photo of daughter Princess Lilibet. (@meghan/Instagram) In an Instagram post in April, Meghan shared photos of her kids picking roses from a garden. The photos don't show the faces of Lili and Archie, but show that each child has red hair, like their dad. Harry has previously described his kids as funny and said he's "very grateful" to have a role as important as fatherhood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They both have got an incredible sense of humor and make us laugh and keep us grounded every single day, like most kids do," Harry told ABC News' Will Reeve in February 2024. "I'm just very grateful to be a dad." Meghan opened up about the family's life out of the public eye at home in Montecito, California, on her Netflix show "With Love, Meghan," which debuted March 4. Though Archie and Lili are not seen on the show, they are referenced by Meghan throughout the first season's eight episodes, with Meghan noting that Lili sways when she's eating something she likes and that the whole family loves a good breakfast. PHOTO: Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, shared a photo on Instagram on March 24, 2025, of herself with her two children, Archie and Lilibet. (@meghan/Instagram) In another episode, Meghan reveals that Archie is a budding fisherman, having caught two trout on a family vacation, and that Lili likes to join her in making preserves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Lili and I actually made this batch [of preserves] together," she tells friends on the show. "She picked all those berries with me, and 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,'" she said, adding that Lili feels "proud" helping her. When Meghan's show debuted on Netflix, the duchess took to Instagram to share a photo of a bouquet of flowers and a handwritten note from her loved ones which read: "Congratulations mumma! We love your show, and we love you!" The note was signed by "Lili, Archie and Papa." PHOTO: A photo Meghan Markle shared to Instagram on March 3, 2025. (Meghan Markle/Instagram) As the grandchildren of King Charles III, Archie and Lili carry the royal titles of prince and princess, respectively, just as their parents are known officially as Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here is what to know about Meghan and Harry's two kids, Lili and Archie. Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor PHOTO: Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during a photocall with their newborn son, in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, May 8, 2019. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP) Harry and Meghan's eldest child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was born May 6, 2019. Archie was born at Portland Hospital in London, becoming the king's fourth grandchild after his three older grandchildren, the children of Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales. Archie is sixth in line to the British throne, falling behind William and his three kids -- Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis -- and Harry. Archie is his maternal grandmother Doria Ragland's first grandchild. Ragland traveled from her home in California to the U.K. for Archie's birth and helped Harry and Meghan with Archie when they brought him home to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, England. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just a few months after he was born, Archie traveled with his parents on an official royal trip to South Africa. While Archie was mostly kept out of the public eye on the trip, the then-4-month-old accompanied his parents to meet Desmond Tutu in Cape Town. PHOTO: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, holds their son Archie with Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex during a visit at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa, Sept. 25, 2019. (Toby Melville/EPA via Shutterstock) In December of that year, Archie was featured prominently on the family's Christmas card, according to a photo shared on social media by The Queen's Commonwealth Trust. Just sharing the sweetest Christmas Card from our President and Vice-President, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Very Merry Christmas, everyone! pic.twitter.com/McOcHALoGl The Queen's Commonwealth Trust (@queenscomtrust) December 23, 2019 In early 2020, Archie joined his parents as they moved to Canada and then California after stepping away from their senior royal roles. PHOTO: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is pictured playing on the beach with her son Archie in an image from an interview with Oprah Winfrey, that aired March 7, 2021. (Harpo Productions/CBS) When Harry and Meghan spoke to Oprah Winfrey in 2021 about their new lives in California, they shared what they loved about seeing Archie thrive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meghan Markle's daughter Lilibet featured alongside her in launch of new brand "I guess the highlight for me is sticking him on the back of the bicycle in his little baby seat and taking him on these bike rides, something which I never was able to do when I was young," Harry said. "I can see him on the back, and he's got his arms out, and he's like, 'Wooh,' chatting, chatting, chatting, going, 'palm tree,' 'house,' all this sort of stuff,' and ... I think to myself, 'Wow.'" Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor PHOTO: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrate Lilibet's 1st birthday. (Photo by Misan Harriman, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, 2022.) Harry and Meghan's youngest child, Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, was born June 4, 2021. On Lili's fourth birthday in 2025, Meghan shared photos of her daughter on Instagram, writing, "Happy birthday to our beautiful girl! Four years ago today she came into our lives - and each day is brighter and better because of it. Thanks to all of those sending love and celebrating her special day!" Lili's name is a tribute to her late grandmother, Princess Diana, and late great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harry and Meghan explained their daughter's name in a statement on their Archewell organization website at the time of her birth, writing, "Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales." Meghan gave birth to Lili at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California, making Lili the first senior royal baby born in the United States, and the first great-grandchild of the queen to be born outside of the United Kingdom. Lili, the fifth grandchild of Charles, is seventh in line to the British throne, falling behind her uncle and cousins, her father and her older brother. The first photo of Lili to be released publicly came in December 2021, when Harry and Meghan shared a photo of themselves with Lili and Archie on their family Christmas card. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This year, 2021, we welcomed our daughter, Lilibet, to the world," the card's message read. "Archie made us a 'Mama' and a 'Papa,' and Lili made us a family." Prince Harry and Meghan Markle share holiday card featuring kids Archie and Lilibet Though Lili was born in the U.S., she celebrated her first birthday in the U.K., where the Sussex family traveled to mark Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne. Around the time of her first birthday, Harry shared that Lili was learning to walk, telling People magazine, "Her current priorities are trying to keep up with her brother; she took her first step just a few days ago! Proud papa, here." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Lili's fourth birthday, Meghan described her daughter's bond with Harry, writing on Instagram, "The sweetest bond to watch unfold Daddys little girl and favorite adventurer. Happy birthday Lili!" On "With Love, Meghan," the duchess revealed that Lili loves the color pink. While looking around a flower market in the show's fifth episode, Meghan says, "[There's] a lot of pink. Lili would love it." Prince Harry, Meghan Markle are parents of 2: What to know about their kids originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com The New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association has been trying for years to repeal HALT, a state law that restricts the use of solitary confinement in prisons and jails. After thousands of correctional officers walked off the job in an illegal wildcat strike, the state agreed to suspend parts of the reform bill. Spencer Platt via Getty Images A three-weeklong wildcat strike by thousands of New York state correctional officers across more than 40 prisons ended earlier this month, during which time 12 incarcerated people died, and many more struggled from weeks of being deprived of adequate food, medical care, time out of their cell, and access to their lawyers and loved ones. Striking prison guards cited staffing shortages, mandatory overtime and dangerous working conditions as their reasons for walking off the job. But the strike was also the result of a years-long effort by correctional officers to overturn a state law limiting the use of solitary confinement in New York state prisons and jails. Passed in 2021 and implemented the following year, the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT), capped the number of consecutive days a person could be kept in solitary confinement to 15 days after which point the United Nations considers it a form of torture. HALT also banned solitary for people with disabilities. The bill was passed in recognition of overwhelming evidence of the harmful physical and mental health effects of solitary confinement. But shortly after it passed, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), the union that represents prison guards, sued state officials in an effort to repeal HALT, claiming the reform bill violated their constitutional rights by putting them at risk of injury or death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The harm to life and limb of Correction Officers and Correction Sergeants that has been and will continue to occur constitutes irreparable harm and shocks the contemporary conscience, they alleged in a complaint. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2022 as speculative, but the correctional officers union vowed to keep fighting to overturn the law. Starting in mid-February, approximately 15,000correctional officers at nearly every New York state prison walked off their jobs. The strike was unsanctioned by the union and violated a state ban on public employees striking. Still, the union succeeded in one of their long-held goals. Earlier this month, the strike ended with state officials agreeing to, among other provisions, suspending parts of HALT for 90 days and agreeing to form a committee to recommend changes to the law. The strike was clearly a frontal assault on HALT and its protections, Antony Gemmell, a supervising attorney for the Prisoners Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society, told HuffPost. It was unlikely New York state lawmakers would repeal HALT, James Miller, NYSCOPBAs director of public relations said in an interview, so at least getting some temporary amendments to limit how its implemented is a success. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the strike, lawyers at the Legal Aid Society received hundreds of calls from their clients, describing a flood of human desperation, Kayla Simpson, a staff attorney at Legal Aids Prisoners Rights Project said. Its hard to imagine as people who havent been incarcerated what its like to depend on people for your basic needs and then to have those people walk away. This is not an acceptable way to meet labor demands. People died, far more have suffered, Simpson said. We wouldnt accept these conditions for animals. Simpson and her colleagues compiled some of the accounts shared by Legal Aid clients into a report released on Friday, which documents the human cost of the illegal strike. Legal Aid did not disclose the identities of those quoted in the report because of fears of retaliation, and HuffPost could not independently confirm their accounts. Multiple people told Legal Aid that their facilities had shut down sick call, leaving them unable to get medical care. One person incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility told Legal Aid he was unable to get supplies to clean and dress chronic ulcers related to a blood clot in his leg, causing his leg to swell and the wound to produce foul-smelling pus. Another person at Attica, who has epilepsy, reported being ignored after reporting symptoms that typically lead to a seizure. A third person at Attica, who had open-heart surgery in 2020 and has atrial fibrillation, said their weekly medical visits stopped during the strike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I havent gotten the medications Im supposed to have in two weeks. I have one I can administer to myself, but Im running out so Im rationing it and it is not good. I dont know what Im going to do, a person incarcerated at Marcy Correctional Facility said. I also am supposed to have physical therapy to help me relearn to walk, but thats deemed non-essential so its canceled. An individual at Five Points Correctional Facility told Legal Aid they experienced seizures and COVID symptoms during the strike but still couldnt get medical care. Theyre playing with our lives in here, the person said. The other day I must have been laying there for 20-30 minutes and no one saw me. I woke up in a lot of pain, and no one even realized anything was happening until I yelled out after the fact. When I told a nurse about it, she told me to yell louder next time. Nicole Whitaker, the deputy director of public information at New Yorks Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said in an email, The Department remains focused on keeping everyone inside the correctional facilities safe and secure, as well as providing essential services including but not limited to meals, showers, telephones, commissary and delivery of packages, along with medical and mental health care, including medication. Allegations of mistreatment have been referred to the Office of Special Investigations, she wrote. There were 12 incarcerated individual deaths during the strike, as compared to 13 deaths in the same period last year, Whitaker wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even after the strike ended earlier this month,incarcerated people told Legal Aid attorneys that they continued to experience neglectful conditions and hostility from returning officers. Several said they feared being injured or even killed by guards, citing the murder of Robert Brooks, who was fatally beaten by correctional officers in December at the prison in Marcy. One person incarcerated at Mid-State Correctional Facility told Legal Aid he overheard a correction officer who had recently returned to work say he wanted to kill all the inmates and that we all deserved to die because of our criminal history, according to the report. Whatever the COs are going through, theyre taking their anger out on us and bringing it back to us, another person, who is incarcerated at Coxsackle Correctional Facility, told Legal Aid. I understand that most of us made wrong turns in life, but I want to go home. I dont want to get killed in here. I have kids and family to get home to, and a lot of us are starting to feel like our lives are in real danger here. Asked about these fears, Whitaker wrote, While the strike has ended, we are not out of the crisis. Each facility is developing a gradual re-opening plan. In terms of the allegations, those that have been reported by an incarcerated individual claiming mistreatment have been referred to OSI for further investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although DOCCS tracks assaults by incarcerated people against staff, it does not publicly share statistics about staff assaults against the incarcerated. DOCCS data does show an increase in assaults on staff after HALT went into effect, although the overwhelming majority are described as resulting in no injury. The department considers actions by prisoners like throwing a small object at a staffer to be a form of assault. Last year, the Legal Aid Society, Disability Rights Advocates, and Winston & Strawn LLP filed a class action lawsuit against DOCCS, accusing the department of violating HALT by holding people with disabilities in solitary confinement. DOCCS declined to comment on the pending litigation. DOCCS has never complied with HALT from the beginning, said Gemmell, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the suit. A huge part of what HALT intended to do is take people who would otherwise be placed in extended segregated confinement and offer them rehabilitation and therapy. That is not happening. You cant look at HALT and say its a failure when the reality is DOCCS has never given HALT a real chance to work, said Gemmell. Related... Mar. 27LIMA Nakoshan Bouyer sobbed uncontrollably during his sentencing hearing Thursday while referencing his mother, whom he cared for during her battle against cancer until he was arrested last fall in connection with a shooting outside a Lima bar. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, Mom," Bouyer said tearfully before Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser sentenced him to two years in prison on charges of felonious assault and carrying a concealed weapon, felonies of the first- and third-degree, respectively. Bouyer pleaded guilty in February to the charges after shooting at another individual at a Lima bar in October. Two other charges were dismissed: illegal possession of a firearm in a liquor permit premises and having weapons while under disability, both third-degree felonies. A three-year firearm specification was also dropped, but Bouyer was ordered to forfeit a Colt .45 revolver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents, at around 11:30 p.m. Oct. 24, officers from the Lima Police Department were dispatched to Sheryl's bar, 200 W. Grand Ave., in response to a shooting. The victim and suspect both left the area before officers arrived, but officers looked at a surveillance video and spoke to a witness and determined a bald Black male had a firearm and pushed the victim outside. Multiple people reportedly heard gunshots afterward. Officers found Bouyer, 51, walking in the 200 block of South Kenilworth Avenue matching the description. He was in possession of a revolver, and officers could smell alcohol on his breath, documents show. In a document for a previous suppression hearing, Assistant Prosecutor Colleen Limerick wrote that Bouyer fired two shots at the victim, but they didn't strike him. Bouyer apologized for his actions and said he was "blessed" to learn no one was injured in the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Thursday's hearing, Assistant Allen County Public Defender Megan McLean said Bouyer has exhibited a pattern of alcohol abuse that was tied to the shooting. "Voluntary intoxication is not a defense, but I also believe Nakoshan was not in his right mind that night mental health-wise," McLean said. Featured Local Savings CHICAGO, Ill. (WCIA) Governor JB Pritzker and a few Illinois departments are leading a trade mission to Mexico this weekend. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA), Intersect Illinois and a number of public and private sector leaders from across the state will be joining Pritzker in this mission. The trade mission will last from March 30 to April 2. Tostitos chips sold in Illinois recalled over undeclared allergen Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The focus of this mission will be on the importance of deepening economic ties and fostering better cooperation between Illinois and Mexico, according to a release. These representatives will communicate with Mexican counterparts to increase collaboration in areas including agriculture and food processing, finance and manufacturing. There will be a total of 72 delegation members in this trade mission. Illinois is a prime destination for businesses seeking to invest and grow in the U.S. market, Pritzker said. Our states forward-thinking policies, coupled with our rich natural resources, skilled workforce, and world-class infrastructure, make it an ideal place for companies to thrive. In 1989, the state opened an office in Mexico to show Illinois commitment to boosting business relations with Mexico, including promoting the states assets, boosting government relations and bringing in foreign investment. Initiatives such as the Illinois State Trade and Export Promotion (ISTEP) program, managed by DCEOs Office of Trade and Investment, have tried to expand the states trade with Mexico over the years. This specific program organizes yearly trade missions to Mexico, often times alongside major trade events including Expo Pack and Expo Manufactura. Illinois and Mexico also share a strong cultural and economic connection, with the state maintaining a Sister State Agreement with Mexico since 1990. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over 10,000 Coca-Cola cans recalled for plastic exposure in Illinois, Wisconsin On top of the government relationships, there is a large bilateral trade between Illinois and Mexico, which was greater than $32 billion in 2024, making Mexico Illinois second biggest export market. Some of the export items include chemicals, agricultural products and machinery. Additionally, Mexico is the states third largest import market, with Illinois importing more than $19 million in goods, including beverages, transportation equipment and electronics. The rising number of Mexico-based companies in the state further illustrates the economic ties between the country and Illinois. Pritzkers Office also says he has stayed in contact with the Consul General of Mexico in Chicago to emphasize the strong economic and cultural relationships between Mexico and Illinois and need to preserve trade in key sectors, protect jobs and keep costs down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are excited to strengthen the vital economic ties between Illinois and Mexico, as our state has long been a hub for international trade and Mexico continues to be a key partner in driving growth and innovation, said DCEO Director Kristin Richards. With shared goals of fostering economic development and creating new opportunities, this mission will deepen our trade relationship and expand the pathways for businesses in both regions to thrive. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) Gov. JB Pritzker will lead an Illinois trade expedition to Mexico in an effort to strengthen economic ties. Illinois is a prime destination for businesses seeking to invest and grow in the U.S. market. Our states forward-thinking policies, coupled with our rich natural resources, skilled workforce, and world-class infrastructure, make it an ideal place for companies to thrive, said Pritzker. As we embark on this trade mission to Mexico, we are excited to further strengthen our economic ties and showcase the many advantages that Illinois offers to businesses in North America and around the world. The trip will focus on areas such as agriculture, food processing, finance and manufacturing, the Governors Office said Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Illinois opened an office in Mexico in 1989 and passed initiatives such as the Illinois State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) program. Mexico is Illinois second largest export market, with chemicals, agricultural products, and machinery among the top trade products. Additionally, Mexico is Illinois third largest import market, for beverages, transportation equipment, and electronics. ComEd president Gill Quiniones, Nicor Gas president Wendell Dallas, and Northern Illinois University President Lisa Freeman, are among the dozens of Illinois representatives accompanying Pritzker on the trip. Last year, Pritzker made trips to Canada and Japan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This comes as President Donald Trump has signaled he would put a 25% tariff on goods made outside the U.S., including Mexico. Trump has said the tariffs are to force the U.S. neighbor to step up its fight against fentanyl trafficking and stop illegal immigration. But Trump has also indicated that he wants to eliminate the Americas trade imbalances as well and push more factories to relocate to the United States. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TRI-CITIES, Tenn. (WJHL) The impacts of Hurricane Helene and the devastation it caused will be seen and felt for years to come. But, state and local highway departments are working to fix the damage to roadways and bridges so people can get around. Weve been working on all these routes since Hurricane Helene occurred; were trying to reconnect communities, people need to get to and from work, school, worship, whatever it may be, said the Tennessee Department of Transportations Region 1 spokesman Mark Nagi. And our crews and our contractors continue to work a lot of hours to make that a reality. Whether its clearing debris, repaving, repairing or completely rebuilding, the crews have been in overdrive to complete the projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At its peak, we had 49 sections of roadway that were closed, said Nagi. So certainly a lot of progress has been made, but theres still a lot more work to do. Nagi says there has been $510 million in Helene damage to state roads and bridges. As of Wednesday, 44 of TDOTs Helene-related projects had been completed. This was so widespread. I look back to the Gatlinburg wildfires of 2016 and the devastation that brought forth that was in one specific area in Gatlinburg. Hurricane Helene has had an effect on state routes and interstates in six to eight counties in East Tennessee, said Nagi. There are seven separate sections between mile marker 446 [near the Tennessee Welcome Center in Cocke County] and the state line, thats about five miles where part of the roadway on I-40 East had washed away to varying degrees of devastation. There are also certain routes in local communities that are TDOT roadwayslike the Kinser Bridge in Greene County. It was completely wiped out, cutting off a large portion of the county and causing issues with response times for first responders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beams were put up last week and the decking is going in this week with the goal of it being ready for traffic in late June. Crews working on the Kinser Bridge in Greene Co. (Photo: WJHL) State Route 81- [The Taylor Bridge] in Washington County and State Route 107- the Kinser Bridge in Greene County. Those are two bridges tied into the same contractor, Progressive Design Build, which allowed us to really get moving on that to get those bridges reopened, said Nagi. Crews working on the Taylor Bridge in Washington Co. (Photo: WJHL) Just a few weeks ago, the one-mile stretch of State Route 81 at the Washington and Unicoi county lines was reopened. About 5400 vehicles per day use that roadway, which may not sound like a lot, but certainly for the folks that use that roadway every day, they needed to have that back open because you could have a detour that lasted up to an hour, said Nagi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TDOT expects the Broad Street Bridge to be finished in late May or early June. While it seems that state projects are moving along at a much faster pace, county highway departments say a lot of work is going on behind the scenes to make their repairs. Theres stuff going on even with us every day that people dont even see the paperwork side of it is the main thing. Its constantly youre working on stuff to get to FEMA to try to get some of the reimbursement back and its an ongoing process, said Gary Rector, the Assistant Superintendent and Coordinator of the Greene Co. Highway Department. At the county level, the biggest hurdle is getting the permits to do the work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation have] to come look at the sites to see what all is going to be done, what you plan on doing. Theyll measure and see what the depth is and whats going on with that, said Shannon Burchett, the Superintendent for the Carter Co. Highway Department. And they apply for the permit for us. Then once it goes through the paperwork in Nashville and all that stuff, then it comes back. Crews are working on repairing the Long Hollow Bridge and repaving parts of Shell Creek, Heaton Creek, and Hampton Creek roads- a few of the hardest hit in Carter County. The roads are still in rough shape. Theyre passable. Weve had to do some work on some of them to kind of safe them back up to where the wear and tear since the storm. As far as really going and starting 100% rebuild, weve not done that yet. Weve just kind of maintained what weve got. going now until we get all our permits, said Burchett. Id say we should be maybe a couple of months starting to really see progress starting. Roadwork underway in Carter Co. (Photo: WJHL) Burchett gave News Channel 11 a rough estimate of $33 million to make the repairs in his county. Over in Greene County, Rector expects the costs to be somewhere around $15 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Birds Bridge comes in at $3.4 million a little better than $3.4, have no idea on Poplar Springs yet. Weve got an estimate of $6.2 (million) but I think it will be higher than that, Rector said. The stabilization on the riverbanks that were going to do is another $900,000. Rector says hes happy with the progress so far. Were waiting on permits as far as storm stabilization projects, weve got everything in place- the designs have been done, everything all were waiting on is the Army Corps of Engineers to give us the permits to go ahead with that project, said Rector. Hopefully well get started on the stabilization- like Pates Hill, Browns Bridge Road, hopefully theyll see them projects staring and hopefully a bid at least the engineering done on Poplar Springs. Crews working on a Greene Co. Bridge (Photo: WJHL) With the weather warming up, Nagi, Rector and Burchett say people will see even more progress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can keep up with TDOTs road closures and projects related to Helene 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. DES MOINES, Iowa One of Des Moines most visible buildings is in line for a whole new life. It came on our radar in September, says Emily Osweiler of Greater Des Moines Supportive Housing, and so we went for a tour and it seemed like perfect fit. Shes talking about the downtown Holiday Inn. It has sat perched over I-235 for decades, but has long since fallen out of favor as an upscale hotel. In fact, its underground parking area is in such disrepair it cant be used. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But this week, the Des Moines City Council agreed to contribute up to $5 million in HUD grants toward the purchase of the property, and housing advocates see it as a small but desperately-needed step toward addressing one of the citys biggest needs. Metro marathon man joins elusive 50/50/50 club Matt Hauge of the Polk County Housing Trust Fund says the buildings size will allow it to provide tenants with more than just affordable shelter. Its not every day that we have the opportunity to combine housing, plus the opportunity for needed support services all in one venue and check off 160 units that we know are really needed here in Greater Des Moines, he says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Osweiler says services located in the lobby will be aimed at helping all tenants from those who are just off the streets, to those who simply need to build enough savings to move into market-rate housing. Case management, rental assistance, food pantry, groups and classes, she says, so all kinds of ways to support people kind of in different aspects of their lives. While Osweilers group has secured the necessary $8.75 million to purchase the property, it will need to locate another $25 million in public and private funds for building renovations before any work might actually begin. Metro 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. The new Pierce County sheriff said he will refuse to hire any non-U.S. citizen after a new WA bill passed, which would allow law enforcement to hire anyone who can legally work in the United States. Senate Bill 5068 was backed by the entire State Senate 30 Democrats and 19 Republicans in early February. I have a problem with non-citizens being cops and arresting our citizens in Pierce County. Therefore, were not going to hire non-citizens for the Pierce County Sheriffs Office, said Keith Swank, sheriff of the Pierce County Sheriffs Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sheriff Swank told KIRO 7 News that he supports non-U.S. citizens working in the country, including in the military, but just not within law enforcement. Theres a difference between law enforcement and the military. In law enforcement, we arrest people. We take away their constitutional rights. We lock them up in jail. We dont use our military to do that. Theyre defending America, hopefully, in foreign countries and foreign places, right, and here if we need to. So, theres a big difference, he said. But his main concern is how non-citizens would be vetted, he added. We check everything out from the childhood, the whole way to the present day, whenever you apply to be here. If youre from a foreign country, we dont have that ability to check anything out about you, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senator John Lovick, who sponsored the bill, disagreed and shared the following statement: SB 5068 is a good bill, allowing those legally authorized to work in the country, such as DACA recipients, the opportunity to serve and protect their communities. This will help ease Washingtons peace officer shortage and get officers into the communities that need them. That is why the Washington State Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs, the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, and every member of the Washington State Senate support this legislation. The U.S. government conducts an extensive background check before authorizing a legal immigrant to work in the country. A police officers job is to keep people safe and make them feel safe. People legally authorized to work in Washington, who love their neighborhood and neighbors enough to risk their life to protect them, deserve the chance to do so. However, Swank said he believes the bill would not truly address the shortage of officers across the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The real problem is the reason its hard to hire people in Washington State. The state legislature has passed laws in Washington administrative codes that make it very difficult to be an officer here, he said. Cops dont want to work here when theyre afraid to do something they might be put in prison for it. Thats a big deal. The bill passed the House Committee on Community Safety last week with a 6-3 vote. By Christina Amann and Victoria Waldersee BERLIN (Reuters) - European carmakers are trying to work out how much their prices might have to rise in response to looming U.S. import tariffs, industry sources said, fearing any first-movers could risk a backlash from U.S. President Donald Trump. The United States late on Wednesday announced 25% duties on imports of finished cars and certain components from April 3, dashing hopes for lower rates or exemptions after several short-term policy changes suggested there might be wiggle room. Export-oriented car companies in Europe, most notably Germany's major automakers, are heavily exposed, with few options on how to respond in the near-term other than smaller discounts and price increases. "Nobody can afford not to pass on the tariffs," said a source at a European automaker, adding there was a waiting game around who would be the first to raise prices. "Nobody will take a stand in the coming months for fear of Trump's revenge." These deliberations add to the challenges facing carmakers already struggling with lacklustre demand, high labour costs and stiff competition from Chinese rivals. Ferrari was the first brand to declare that it would raise prices by up to 10% on cars imported into the U.S. after April 2. French supplier Valeo also said it would have no choice but to raise prices if tariffs on autos parts - looming from May 3 - came into effect. But most auto industry executives are reluctant to reveal their plans, fearing retribution from the U.S. president who has made clear that his aim is for carmakers not to raise prices, but to move production to the United States, three auto industry sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said. Volkswagen, Porsche AG, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz all declined to comment when asked about price increases as a result of tariffs. Among the German automakers, Porsche and Volkswagen's Audi - two brands with no U.S. production - have both said recently they would assess the option of price increases to mitigate tariff risks. BMW has previously said it would keep the price of its 3 Series, one of its most popular U.S. models which is being built in Mexico and Germany, unchanged until May. UBS analysts see a risk of at least a 10-20% hit to earnings per share at Germany's carmakers due to the U.S. tariffs on EU imports, an analysis which already factors in some mitigating price action where possible. Carmakers like Porsche and Ferrari will have an easier time passing through some of the tariff costs for more unique models like the Porsche 911, analyst Daniel Schwarz of Stifel Research said. BOSTON (WWLP) Thursday is Prostate Cancer Awareness Day at the State House, and lawmakers are speaking out about the importance of early and frequent screening. In the United States, 1 in every 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and in Massachusetts, about 133 in every 100,000 men will be diagnosed in their lifetimes. This means about 6,420 men will be diagnosed this year in Massachusetts, and about 700 will die. Black men are over 2 times more likely to die from this cancer, and it is primarily due to lack of early detection. The speaker of the House gave remarks at the event, speaking about House efforts to combat racial inequities in other healthcare scenarios, like during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, many of these same inequities can also be found in the fight against prostate cancer, said Speaker Ron Mariano. Racial inequities in prostate cancer are especially pronounced in western Massachusetts. Springfield Representative Williams says prostate cancer death rates are much higher than average in the western part of the state for all groups of men but are especially dire for men of color. Hampden County leads the state in prostate cancer mortality in black and Hispanic men. Unacceptable, said Representative Bud Williams. Thursdays awareness day and event are focused on making sure Massachusetts men are aware of their chances of getting prostate cancer and encouraging early and frequent screening. When it is caught early, and when the cancer is confined to just the prostate gland, prostate cancer is almost always curable. 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. BOSTON (WWLP) A man from Providence was sentenced in Boston Federal Court for leading a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. New York man charged for defrauding elderly woman out of $480,000 Estarlin Ortiz-Alcantara, 38, was arrested after police in Fall River conducted a search found a stash house with over 12-kilos of fentanyl between February 2021 and July 2022, according to the Department of Justice. The house was used to store, process and distribute fentanyl and employ numerous individuals who assisted with mixing, packaging and distributing fentanyl. Police also found blenders, a hydraulic press and baggies inside the house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In December of 2023, Ortiz-Alcantara pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. He was charged in July 2022 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2022. He was sentenced on Thursday to 10-years in prison, followed by five-years of supervised release and is subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. I 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. 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. President Donald Trump speaks at the Justice Department March 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Denial is not just a river in Egypt. For those who are still in it, cutting through the chaos is one way out, even though the chaos is confusing, on purpose. In Topeka or D.C., just following bills is, well, debilitating. Near-daily executive orders are in reality executive disorders. But we can wake to this truth. Its not conservatism its corruption. On steroids. Remember the frog in first lukewarm, then boiling water? The heat is coming up, less gradually every day. Will we jump out in time? Every day reduces the chance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through the fog, we must fully grasp and admit where we are. Unfortunately, President Trumps mindset is easy to discern. As felon-in-chief, he continues to purge the Justice Department. In the nouveau regime, crimes are not crimes if they say theyre not. Theyll first get rid of the people who once said they were. Removing truth-tellers salary, pension and security detail should do it. In short, theyll make opponents lives as miserable and insecure as possible. They are not stopping there. No more wasting money on the little people. Theyre on their way to cut our Social Security and Medicaid, and perhaps Medicare. The co-president of Public Citizen, weighing in on Trumps Social Security lies in his address to Congress, said these are the prelude to vicious cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) summed it up: This is their core agenda. (Its) reverse Roosevelt. They are no longer even hiding it. Farmers, consumers and the entire economy are terrorized with tariffs, at the whim of Trumps on/off button. (Pick your news source.) National Republicans lockstep mentality is echoed by the Kansas monopoly party. Kansas legislative leadership seeks to dilute the vote by deluding the people. They and their docile (or worse, complicit) gang of enabler-legislators seek to block troublesome votes by removing the three-day mail ballot grace period, shutting out thousands of votes. They would make our Supreme Court selection by election, with justices bought by the same mega-donor dollars that installed them. This would chill rights to education and womens reproductive freedom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How does this get a pass from the public? By misinformation. By appealing to collective (mostly white) prejudice. And by assaulting and defunding education, especially higher ed. Universities are called universities for a reason. Designed to promote universal understanding and values in education, too often they have suffered at the whim of moneyed interests. Public financing is key to even private college funding. Nonetheless, the Trump Administration just cut $400 million from Columbia Universitys budget, drastically affecting research and other critical functions, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care because students took a stand for Palestine. This is a blow. More than a quarter of Columbias $6.6 billion in annual operating revenue comes from federal sources, according to its 2024 financial statements. Call it what it is. Mafia thuggery and bullying, until universities knuckle under. The Kansas Legislature monopoly party marches in lockstep with their congressional colleagues. Salinas Republican Rep Steven Howe got off on a good foot with his appeal for Republicans to re-examine their votes for Donald Trump come the 2024 election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, he was shortly back on the bandwagon. Howes crusade and investigation against universities diversity, equity and inclusion policies put him firmly in the Trump camp and resulted in that witch-hunt becoming state law. This year, Howe introduced a bill aimed at weakening tenure protections at Kansas universities. His action was at the behest of Steven Lovett, general counsel at Emporia State University, where 30 tenured or tenure-track professors were fired in 2022. ESU is embroiled in state and federal court battles as a result. Lovetts seeming conflict of interest in this action was questioned, even by an ESU spokeswoman. There is little doubt whose side Howe is on. He even moved in his House committee to add $2.2 million to the ESU budget for legal expenses in (Lovetts) faculty firing case. Spreading chaos and retribution is also blatantly obvious in Trumps complete board replacement of the Kennedy Center. He named himself board chair for the countrys premier performing arts center, now to become the Trump Center for the Conforming Arts. In that action, he decried DEI and the centers leadership and performances. It might feature WWE wrestling next. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Nietzsche said, Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful. Once we get past denial, this bullying culture must be faced up to, to face them down. It can be as simple as no. As a legal immigrant friend of mine said yesterday, The more nos they get, the smaller they become. May it be so. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of communications/English, specializing in media. Through its opinion section, the 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. Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 26 attended the launch of a new nuclear-powered submarine named Perm, various Russian news outlets reported. The submarine is the first of its kind to be equipped with hypersonic Zircon missiles as a standard feature. Speaking via video link from the Arctic port of Murmansk, Putin claimed that the vessel would strengthen Russias maritime security and safeguard its national interests, particularly in regions like the Arctic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zircon missiles, capable of flying at several times the speed of sound and with a range of nearly 1,000 kilometers, are considered highly difficult to intercept. "I hereby authorize, Putin stated as he officially commissioned the vessel, named after the city Perm in the Urals. The Zircon hypersonic missile, designed as an anti-ship missile, entered the arsenal of the Russian military in early 2023. The speed of the Zircon missile is approximately 8-9 Mach or about 10,000 kilometers per hour, and its warheads weigh about 300-400 kilograms. Russia has used these missiles to attack Ukrainian cities, with the first recorded case being in February 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Ukraines Engels drone strike destroyed 96 Russian cruise missiles, General Staff claims Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. President Donald Trumps repeated interest in taking control of Greenland has not gone unnoticed in Russia. During a Thursday speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he considered the U.S. interest in Greenland to be serious, pointing to past efforts to acquire the territory. Greenland has massive deposits of rare minerals that are critical to global supply chains, which the Trump administration sees as vital to U.S. interests. Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned against taking the Trump administrations newly declared push for taking over Greenland lightly. In a speech in the Arctic Circle city of Murmansk, which lies in the northwestern corner of Russia, 110 miles from the Finnish border, Putin said he was taking President Donald Trumps efforts to claim Greenland for the U.S. seriously. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It can surprise someone only at first glance, Putin said, according to an English translation of the speech by state-owned media. It is a profound mistake to treat it as some preposterous talk by the new U.S. administration. Nothing of the sort. Since taking office two months ago, Trump has made clear he is eyeing U.S. territorial expansion by annexing Greenland. Trump pointed to Greenlands rich but untapped mineral deposits as a reason why controlling the territory was vital to U.S. national interest. The government of Greenland, which is an autonomous region of Denmark, has adamantly rejected any notion that it would become part of the U.S. Both political leaders and citizens have said they have no intention of joining the U.S., while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the island was not for sale, and that Trumps interest in Greenland was not a joke. Greenland has 25 of 34 critical raw materials, according to a 2023 report from the European Commission. Among those deposits are rare earths and graphite, which are critical for the production of EVs. Other rare and highly coveted raw materials include titanium, tungsten, and uranium, which are used in everything from medical devices to light bulb filaments to nuclear fuel. Currently, the global market for these materials is dominated by China, which has deep reserves of them within its borders. If the U.S. were to control Greenlands critical resources, it would have its own access to them, thus breaking its reliance on Chinese mining. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Greenland also has unmined supplies of valuable commodities like gold and diamonds. On Thursday, ahead of Vice President JD Vances visit to Greenland, Trump reiterated his desire to take the island. Well go as far as we have to go, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. We need Greenland. Greenlands geographic positioning between North America and Europe also makes it a crucial trade route between the western and eastern hemispheres. Shipping routes to Asia and Europe through the Arctic are about 40% shorter than others, such as via the Suez and Panama canals, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, though it cautions shorter shipping routes does not necessarily equate to faster or cheaper transport. Traveling through the Arctic is more cumbersome because cargo ships need icebreakers and crews need to be specially trained for the frigid climate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia, which controls more territory in the Arctic Circle than any other country, sees that part of the world as critical to its own national interests for the same reasons. In his speech, Putin referenced Russias need for trade routes through the Arctic and its role as a critical hub of oil and natural gas production. In recent years, Putin has grown increasingly concerned about what he considers to be the Wests encroachment on Russias influence in the Arctic. He was particularly frustrated when Finland and Sweden joined NATO in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Russia, which shares an 800-mile border with Finland, called the countrys admittance to NATO a mistake. The role and importance of the Arctic for Russia and for the entire world are obviously growing, Putin said. Regrettably, the geopolitical competition and fighting for positions in this region are also escalating. Owing to the Arctic Circles growing importance in global geopolitics, Putin was unsurprised the U.S. was angling for more influence in the region. The United States has serious plans regarding Greenland, Putin said in his speech. These plans have long historical roots and it is obvious that the United States will continue to consistently advance its geo-strategic, military-political, and economic interests in the Arctic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. first took an interest in acquiring Greenland in 1867. Shortly after completing the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire, thenSecretary of State William Seward set his sights on acquiring Greenland from Denmark. The two countries never reached an agreement. Later, after World War II, President Harry Truman offered Denmark $100 million in gold and a portion of Alaskan oil. That offer was rebuffed. During World War II, the U.S. had several military bases in Greenland that surveilled the Axis powers and were meant to be a first line of defense against any potential westward expansion on their behalf. The U.S. continues to maintain bases in Greenland. Putin alluded to the possibility that if the U.S. were to take control of Greenland, it would escalate tensions with Russia. He accused NATO countries of using the Arctic as a springboard for possible conflicts. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com By Pavel Polityuk, Yuliia Dysa and Tom Balmforth KYIV (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine would not accept any mineral rights deal that threatened its integration with the EU but said it was too early to pass judgment on a dramatically expanded minerals deal proposed by Washington. The Ukrainian leader told reporters that Kyiv's lawyers needed to review the draft before he could say more about the U.S. offer, a summary of which suggested the U.S. was demanding all Ukraine's natural resources income for years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also said Kyiv would not recognise billions of dollars of past U.S. aid as loans, though he did not say whether such a demand featured in the latest draft version received by a top government official. Zelenskiy did say, however, that the text was "entirely different" from an earlier framework agreement that he had been set to sign with Donald Trump before their talks descended into acrimony last month. "The framework has been changed. Let us study this framework and then we can talk," he told a news conference in Kyiv. The latest U.S. proposal would require Kyiv to send Washington all profit from a fund controlling Ukrainian resources until Ukraine had repaid all American wartime aid, plus interest, according to a summary reviewed by Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelenskiy, who has repeatedly emphasised the need for strong relations with the White House, appeared to be alluding to this last element when he said Kyiv did not view past assistance as something that now needed to be repaid. Navigating an acceptable path forward on issues like this is a major challenge for Zelenskiy whose rift with Trump last month saw Washington cut off flows of previously agreed military assistance and stop intelligence sharing. It is also a highly sensitive diplomatic juncture with Trump trying to rapidly end the fighting with Russia, while reorienting Washington's policy towards endorsing Moscow's narrative about its three-year-old war in Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told lawmakers that Kyiv would issue its position on the new draft only once there was consensus. Until then, public discussion would be harmful, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another Ukrainian source described the full document presented by the Americans as "huge". REVISED DRAFT Zelenskiy has repeatedly said he accepts the idea of signing a mutually-beneficial minerals deal with the United States, although he would not sign an agreement that would impoverish his country. On Thursday he said Washington was constantly changing the terms but that he did not want the U.S. to think he was opposed in principle. Three people familiar with the ongoing negotiations said Washington had revised its proposals. The latest draft gives Ukraine no future security guarantees and requires it to contribute to a joint investment fund all income from the use of natural resources managed by state and private enterprises. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the summary, it stipulates that Washington is given first rights to purchase extracted resources and recoup all the money it has given Ukraine since 2022, plus interest at a 4% annual rate, before Ukraine begins to gain access to the fund's profits. Ukraine's 2024 budget revenues included, among other things, $1.2 billion of rent payments for the use of subsurface resources, $1.8 billion in dividends and other payments from the state share in state-owned companies, and $19.4 billion from profits at state-owned companies, finance ministry data showed. The joint investment fund would be managed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and have a board of five people, three appointed by the U.S. and two by Ukraine. Funds would be converted into foreign currency and transferred abroad. An earlier version of the deal, which Ukraine agreed to in principle before Zelenskiy visited the White House last month, had terms that appeared more favourable to Ukraine. It proposed a joint investment fund with Ukraine contributing 50% of proceeds from future profits of state-owned natural resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kyiv said that previous version had been only a framework deal that would lay the ground for a more detailed deal that would have to be agreed later. Zelenskiy's visit on February 28 ended with Trump berating him in the Oval Office, later followed by several days during which Washington suspended all intelligence support and military aid to Ukraine. Since then, Zelenskiy has trodden carefully, repeatedly thanking the United States for support. Earlier this month Ukraine agreed to a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, even though this was rejected by Russia. Last week, Ukraine and Russia both agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure and at sea, but Moscow demanded international sanctions be eased before it accepted the maritime truce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been spearheading negotiations on the mineral deal. In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, he said the U.S. had "passed along a completed document for the economic partnership" and Washington hoped to "perhaps even get signatures next week." (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv and Gram Slattery, Erin Bano and Andrea Shalal in Washington; writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Jon Boyle and Andrew Heavens) (Bloomberg) -- The Kremlin has a deliberate strategy to test how far US President Donald Trump is willing to go in pressing Europe to ease sanctions, according to people familiar with the situation. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia is demanding the reconnection of one of its largest state banks to the SWIFT international messaging system as a condition for accepting a US-brokered truce in the Black Sea. The purpose in picking Russian Agricultural Bank was to see if Trump would firstly engage with the idea and then whether he could bring the European Union on board, said two people close to the Kremlin. The EU has jurisdiction over SWIFT which is headquartered in Belgium. Russian President Vladimir Putin is checking what its possible to achieve with Trump and success with SWIFT may lead to a gradual weakening of the sanctions regime as a whole, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing sensitive issues. The EU ordered RSHB, as the bank is also known, and other major Russian lenders cut off from SWIFT in 2022 as part of sweeping economic sanctions in response to Putins invasion of Ukraine. A coalition of European leaders ruled out the possibility of easing restrictions on Russia at a summit in Paris on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they had instead discussed ways to intensify sanctions to bring further pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table. Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that leaders were already working on a new package of measures. Putin agreed to President Trumps proposal to revive the Black Sea Initiative, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, referring to the 2022-2023 grain-export deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that broke down when Russia quit the agreement. As for SWIFT, it is an integral part of the Black Sea Initiative, which both the Europeans and the Americans went along with at that time, Peskov said. Now it feels like everyone has switched roles and the Europeans are no longer going for it. But this is not Russias business. After three days of negotiations in Saudi Arabia this week, the US announced on Tuesday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to the Black Sea truce as the next stage in Trumps efforts to end the war, following their acceptance of a 30-day halt to strikes on energy infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Ukraine said it would immediately observe the ceasefire, the Kremlin appeared to catch the White House off guard by declaring that its participation was dependent on removing sanctions on RSHB and other financial institutions involved in foreign trade in food and fertilizers. That included being reconnected to SWIFT, it said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that some of the Russian conditions include sanctions that are not ours. They belong to the European Union. Officials would consider what the Russian position is or what their ask is in exchange and then Trump would decide on the next step, he said. This is a test for Trump, said Pavel Danilin, a political analyst who works with Kremlin officials. The Kremlin wants to see how Trump will cope with his promises. Russia raised the issue of reconnecting its banks to SWIFT at the talks with US officials in the Saudi capital Riyadh and the Americans took it calmly, Grigory Karasin, one of the heads of the Russian delegation at the negotiations, told state television on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The current US administration is interested in dialog with us, in finding joint approaches and solutions, said Karasin, a former Russian deputy foreign minister. Then, youll see, Europe will slowly start to return to common sense, to some kind of realism. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -The biotechnology company Cassava Sciences failed on Wednesday to end a malicious prosecution lawsuit by doctors and short-sellers who expressed doubts about its experimental, soon-to-be-discontinued Alzheimer's drug simufilam. U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon in Manhattan said Adrian Heilbut, Jesse Brodkin, Enea Milioris, David Bredt and Geoffrey Pitt could try to prove that Cassava knew or should have known that it could not win its defamation lawsuit against them, which it dismissed in August. Cassava accused the plaintiffs of trying to hurt its share price by claiming on social media and the cassavafraud.com website that a City University of New York medical professor who consulted for the company fabricated research for simufilam. The professor, Hoau-Yan Wang, pleaded not guilty in July to federal fraud charges he submitted false data to the National Institutes of Health to obtain public grants. A Maryland judge refused to dismiss the indictment in January. Short-sellers borrow stock and sell it, hoping that the price will fall so they can repurchase it and replenish lenders. Rochon found sufficient allegations that Cassava filed the defamation lawsuit with actual malice to "harass and intimidate plaintiffs and to suppress criticism from the scientific community." The judge also found plausible allegations that the Austin, Texas-based company knew the challenged scientific claims were uncorroborated, and was aware of alleged research misconduct. Other defendants include former Cassava Chief Executive Remi Barbier and neuroscience chief Lindsay Burns, whose resignations were announced in July. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages. Isaac Zaur, a lawyer for Heilbut, Brodkin and Milioris, said the decision lets them seek accountability for the defendants' efforts to "suppress public and scientific dialogue." A lawyer for Cassava had no immediate comment. Lawyers for the other parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Cassava shares soared more than 20-fold to above $146 between January and July 2021 on hope for an Alzheimer's breakthrough. The shares now trade below $2 per share. Cassava said on Tuesday that it will end its Alzheimer's program with simufilam by June 30, following disappointing clinical trial results. The case is Heilbut et al v Cassava Sciences Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-05948. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mark Porter) Russian President Vladimir Putin said President Trumps desire to take Greenland has nothing to do with the Kremlin. As for Greenland, this is a matter that concerns two specific states and has nothing to do with us, Putin said to the crowd at the International Arctic Forum hosted in Russia. Trump reiterated his intent to take over the autonomous Danish territory this week in the Oval Office. We need Greenland. And the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark. Denmark has to have us have Greenland, Trump told reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And, you know, well see what happens. But if we dont have Greenland, we cant have great international security. During his remarks, Putin acknowledged that the United Statess plan to purchase the Arctic territory has long historical roots dating back to World War II. After the end of the war, the United States offered Denmark to buy these islands quite recently by the standards of world history, Putin said. In short, we are talking about serious plans on the American side with regard to Greenland, he added. The Russian leader has vowed not to interfere with the tensions in the Northern Hemisphere but continues to note the uptick in Western alliances in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would like to emphasize that Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we are closely monitoring the development of the situation, building an adequate response line, increasing the combat capabilities of the armed forces and modernizing military facilities, the Kremlin leader 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. Putnam Local police arrested a man on sexual assault charges Thursday. Juan R. Vargas, 45, who is serving a time at Corrigan Correctional Center on an unrelated drunk driving conviction, was charged with first-degree sexual assault and second-degree risk of injury to a minor in connection with a 2023 report. Police did not release any other details. He was served with a warrant issued by the Windham County States Attorneys Office and arraigned in Danielson Superior Court. His bond was set at $200,000, and he was returned to Corrigan. Vargas was serving a 32-day sentence for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and driving without an ignition interlock device. Prior to his new arrest, Vargas was scheduled for release on April 3, according to the Department of Correction's inmate information website. A quantum state of light was successfully teleported through more than 30 kilometers (around 18 miles) of fiber optic cable amid a torrent of internet traffic a feat of engineering once considered impossible. The impressive demonstration by researchers in the US in 2024 may not help you beam to work to beat the morning traffic, or download your favourite cat videos faster. However, the ability to teleport quantum states through existing infrastructure represents a monumental step towards achieving a quantum-connected computing network, enhanced encryption, or powerful new methods of sensing. Quantum nature of particles allows for states to be 'teleported', opening up new avenues of technology. (Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library/Getty Images) "This is incredibly exciting because nobody thought it was possible," says Prem Kumar, a Northwestern University computing engineer who led the study. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our work shows a path towards next-generation quantum and classical networks sharing a unified fiber optic infrastructure. Basically, it opens the door to pushing quantum communications to the next level." Bearing a passing resemblance to Star Trek transport systems that ghost passengers across time and space in the blink of an eye, teleportation takes the quantum possibilities of an object in one location and, by carefully destroying it, forces the same balance of possibilities onto a similar object in another location. Though acts of measuring the two objects seal their fates in the same instant, the process of entangling their quantum identities still requires sending a single wave of information between points in space. Like fairy floss in a spring shower, the quantum state of any object is a hazy smear of possibility at risk of melting into reality moments after creation. Electromagnetic waves of radiation and the thermal bumping-and-grinding of moving particles quickly reduces the quantum significance into decoherence if it isn't protected in some way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shielding quantum states inside computers is one thing. Sending a single photon through optical fibers humming with bank transactions, cat videos, and text messages while protecting its quantum state is far more daunting. You might as well cast your quantum fairy floss into the Mississippi and hope it tastes as good at the end. Optical fibers are used to transmit internet communication. ( alphaspirit it/Canva To preserve their lonely photon's precious state against a 400 gigabit-per-second current of internet traffic, the team of researchers applied a variety of techniques that restricted the photon's channel and reduced the chances it might scatter and mix with other waves. "We carefully studied how light is scattered and placed our photons at a judicial point where that scattering mechanism is minimized," says Kumar. "We found we could perform quantum communication without interference from the classical channels that are simultaneously present." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While other research groups have successfully transmitted quantum information alongside classical data streams in simulations of the internet, Kumar's team is the first to teleport a quantum state alongside an actual internet stream. Each test further suggests the quantum internet is inevitable, giving computing engineers a whole new toolkit for measuring, monitoring, encrypting, and calculating our world like never before, without needing to reinvent the internet to do it. "Quantum teleportation has the ability to provide quantum connectivity securely between geographically distant nodes," says Kumar. "But many people have long assumed that nobody would build specialized infrastructure to send particles of light. If we choose the wavelengths properly, we won't have to build new infrastructure. Classical communications and quantum communications can coexist." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This research was published in Optica. An earlier version of this article was published in December 2024. Related News OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Nearly two weeks after devastating wildfires tore through Oklahoma, the man in charge of the states forest management is out of a job. Mark Goeller was appointed as the state forester and director of the Oklahoma Forestry Service in 2018 and has over 40 years of experience leading the front lines. Governor Kevin Stitt says he was not happy with the states wildfire response. Hes the head of the forestry department and we had a horrible, horrible wildfire in the state of Oklahoma and, you know, didnt think they did a really good job, said Stitt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The March 14 wildfires were a historic event with record-breaking winds and low humidity. We havent seen conditions come together like that in some cases in many decades, said Rick Smith, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service, Norman Forecast Office. Over 170,000 acres burned and hundreds of homes were destroyed, including one owned by Stitt. The National Weather Service in Norman says its team started coordinating with the Oklahoma Forestry Service over a week in advance. Equipment was pre-positioned and extra resources were brought in like the super scooper planes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While it was well forecast, theres only so much you can do to prepare for an event like this, said Smith. Fire officials urging caution during grilling season with recent fires Smith says there wasnt much more a person could have done In some cases, you just have to wait until the weather changes before you can really do much to to put a dent in the fires, unfortunately, said Smith. Its unclear what part of the wildfire response the governor didnt like. News 4 asked for clarification, but didnt hear back. We also asked why the office didnt issue a statewide burn ban. Senate Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton was acting governor during part of the wildfire response since Stitt was out of state on non-work-related travel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I stayed in contact with the governor. This is the governors decision, whether he wants to keep people in certain positions or not, that one is under his purview and Ive not talked to the governor about it and I did not have any interaction with the forestry department, said Paxton. A spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry says Goellers official resignation will be effective Monday. Mark Goeller has been a dedicated public servant for over 40 years. His commitment and leadership in wildland fire response in our state and to Oklahomas forestry industry is greatly appreciated, and I wish him the very best in the future. Blayne Arthur, Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture There is no word yet on who may replace him. The firing is causing a stir on social media among the firefighter community, and some argue this is about politics. They urge the public to call the governors office and demand accountability. 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. St. Johns County voters will head to the polls Tuesday to cast their votes in the Special Election for Floridas 6th Congressional District. The race in the heavily Republican-leaning district is heating up and Florida Democrats are hoping the result will signal waning support for the Trump Administration. Democratic candidate Josh Weil has out-raised his Trump-endorsed Republican opponent Randy Fine by a margin of nine to one in his bid to flip CD 6 blue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also just won the endorsement of former presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders. Recent polls have suggested an incredibly tight race, despite the fact Republicans won the seat by a whopping 33 points less than six months ago. The needs here in this district have been made very clear, said Weil. Weil said he believes his message is resonating with voters in the district who are unhappy with the Trump Administrations slashing of government departments and programs. They have deep, present concerns about social security, Medicaid, Medicare and veterans benefits, said Weil. Fine acknowledged the lopsided money dynamic, and argued the race will come down to turnout. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If people who support President Trump turn out because theyre concerned about the Trump agenda, then Im gonna win, said Fine. Read: Senate committee may soon open investigation into Stacey Abrams ties to voting rights group Florida Republican Party Chair Evan Power told Action News Jax despite the fundraising gap, hes confident Republicans will hold the seat. If our Republican voters turn out, were going to win. And I think were putting the resources into the field to make sure that we turn out every Republican voter and were confident well have a great result come Tuesday, said Power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried told Action News Jax she believes CD 6 presents an opportunity for Democrats to send a message that could reverberate across the country. The race is being viewed by many as a litmus test to gauge how the Trump Administrations work is being received by voters. Republicans and the Trump Administration believe that they won in a landslide, they have completely overplayed their hand, said Fried. It was a very close election across the entire country and now this is an opportunity for people to sit back and say this is not what we wanted. Read: This is not discretionary: Florida AG issues warning as Jacksonville Mayor weighs immigration bill Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UNF political science professor Dr. Michael Binder argued even if Democrats dont flip the seat, they could still send a strong message if theyre able to make it close. Even if Fine wins by, lets say he wins by 10 or 12 points, thats still an enormous shift, said Binder. For Republicans the stakes are incredibly high, given they only currently hold a narrow five-member majority in the US House. Donald Trumps agenda would be at risk, and thats what the Democrats are campaigning on, said Fine. On Thursday, President Donald Trump recalled his nomination for Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY 21st District) to become the next UN Ambassador. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many political observers view the move as an insurance plan, in the event Democrats manage to flip CD 6. Early voting is already underway. To view a detailed guide on how to vote early in Putnam, St. Johns, and Flagler counties, click here. [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. The White House is eager to replace Rep. Elise Stefanik as its nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and at least two ex-Trump administration officials with diplomatic experience are in the mix. Some prominent potential candidates, meanwhile, are taking a pass. Top contenders at the moment according to a Republican involved in the discussions include David Friedman, Trumps first-term ambassador to Israel, and Ellie Cohanim, who served as deputy special envoy focused on fighting antisemitism during Trumps first term. (Both Cohanim and Friedman declined to comment.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One outside possibility is GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, who was Trumps first-term ambassador to Japan. The slim margins Republicans have in Congress may, however, affect his chances, especially because not all Republican senators can be counted on to vote with the president. Trump, after all, pulled Stefaniks nomination because of growing GOP concerns about keeping the House majority. Shell keep representing a New York district and will return to a position in House leadership. Hagertys office did not respond to a request for comment. Richard Grenell, a special envoy for President Donald Trump with diplomatic and U.N. experience, told Newsmax Thursday night that hes a hard no on the U.N. ambassador role. Another name that has been floated is Morgan Ortagus, a former State Department spokesperson who now works on Middle East issues for Trump. But a person familiar with her situation said shes also not interested. A White House spokesperson declined to comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration largely scorns the United Nations and has moved to withdraw from some multilateral institutions under its umbrella, such as the World Health Organization. The reasons for the strained ties with the U.N. range from Trumps general suspicion of any global institution that might detract from U.S. sovereignty to unhappiness with how some U.N. member states have treated Israel. Still, the U.N. ambassadorship is a high-profile position with an important platform. Leaving it unoccupied risks weakening Americas position at a global institution that many countries turn to for everything from financial assistance to airing grievances. The U.S. currently has acting representatives in place at its U.N. mission in New York, and they retain the ability to cast a veto at U.N. Security Council meetings. But a Trump-blessed, Senate-confirmed appointee would carry more gravitas in the building. As noisome and ineffectual as the U.N. is, it remains an important forum for the United States to make its positions clear, said a person who served as a State Department appointee during Trumps first term, and the administration needs someone committed to its agenda there to do it rather than leaving it to career placeholders who may not be completely onboard with President Trumps America First vision. The person was granted anonymity because they did not have permission to speak on behalf of the administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision to pull Stefaniks nomination came abruptly, blindsiding some of her staff who planned to follow her to the State Department and depriving the New York Republican of a coveted job. It also represented a setback for a White House that has taken pride in its ability to push through nearly all of its nominees so far. As a result, White House officials are expected to move quickly to settle on a replacement for Stefanik, aware that they already let the job sit vacant for two months only to now have to start the process anew, according to the first Republican involved in the discussions and one other, both of whom were granted anonymity to share private deliberations. Within GOP circles, one of the Republicans familiar with the discussions said, Cohanim has won praise for her work battling antisemitism an issue that has gained greater attention amid Trumps focus on deporting students and targeting universities for criticizing Israels actions in the war in Gaza. Cohanim is a Jewish American of Iranian descent. She was born in Iran and fled the country amid its 1979 Islamist revolution. Shes also a vocal supporter of Israel. By choosing her, Trump would send a strong pro-Israel signal as well as one that undercuts Irans regime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friedman is a staunch Trump ally who played a key role in crafting Trumps first-term Middle East policies, which heavily favored Israel and led to the Abraham Accords that established diplomatic ties between Israel and some Arab countries. Trump often falls back on longtime friends and allies when looking for candidates to fill vacancies, a tendency that could help Friedman or other close advisers move up the list of U.N. contenders. The two Republicans involved in the discussions cautioned that the search is still in early stages, and it remains unclear in what direction the president will move as advisers and allies around him float a variety of candidates. Grenell, who previously served as a spokesperson for the U.S. mission at the United Nations, ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence, gave few reasons for not wanting the role other than to say he already has plenty to do. He added: President Trump has me doing different things." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Grenell is viewed as a polarizing figure in Trumps orbit, his loyalty to the president has been rewarded. He is currently a special envoy for special missions, a role that has involved him taking initial charge of efforts to restore U.S. deportation flights to Venezuela. Trump also has named him acting director of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. Grenell did not offer additional explanation when reached by text, instead sending a POLITICO reporter a link to the Newsmax interview. Ortagus works on Middle East issues for another close Trump adviser and special envoy, Steve Witkoff. As deputy Middle East envoy, shes been the Trump administrations point person for managing the U.S. and French-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The person familiar with Ortagus situation, granted anonymity because the issue is sensitive, said Ortagus enjoys her current role and its behind-the-scenes nature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even if the White House moves quickly to choose a new nominee, the person could face some hurdles in the Senate. Democrats are furious with the Trump administration over its efforts to dismantle large parts of the government, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, and some may try to find procedural and other ways to delay, if not outright derail, the nomination. Rachel Maddow took a wrecking ball Thursday night to the Trump administration over its response to the Signal text leak that looped Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg into a private attack plan chat with multiple high-level federal officials. The MSNBC anchor specifically took a hard look at the administrations insistence that the snafu in question was not a serious security breach or emblematic of any larger problems. Many Americans disagree. The proportion of Americans who say this is a very serious or somewhat serious problem is nearly three quarters of respondents 74% of the country. The percentage of people who say its no big deal is only 13%, The Rachel Maddow Show host said, referencing a recent YouGov poll about the issue. This scandal is a serious problem, even according to 60% of Republicans. On the long list of things that are dumb and bad and potentially illegal about sharing imminent military attack plans on a messaging app with a large group where you dont know whos even on there, there is the matter of Trumps National Security Advisor [Mike Waltz] setting those group chat messages to disappear, Maddow continued. The reason thats a problem is that there are real laws that get enforced about preserving federal records, which belong to the American people. The Vice President and cabinet secretaries in the White House discussing imminent military strikes definitely counts as a federal record. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can watch the full segment yourself below. Maddow did not stop poking holes in the Trump administrations nonchalant attitude toward its attack plan leak with Waltzs message settings. [U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff] sort of accidentally confirmed publicly that he participated in this group chat on his personal cell phone, not on a government-issued device, Maddow noted. That matters because personal devices generally have much less robust cyber protections against things like spyware, which raises a whole new level of security concerns about this. If these guys are doing sensitive, potentially classified government business on their personal devices, if their personal devices have been compromised, then it does not matter what the encryption level is of the app that they are using, Maddow explained. If their personal devices have been compromised, its possible that any sort of bad actor might have access to every single thing they type or see on their phone. Now we know that at least one of them was participating in this Signal chat about imminent military attack plans on his personal phone. How many of the rest of you were doing that? Despite the Trump administrations insistence that the text chat itself did not contain any truly classified or sensitive information, Maddow pointed to a Thursday report from The Wall Street Journal that says the conversation Goldberg was included in has accidentally revealed the presence of an Israeli intelligence source on the ground in Yemen. These guys may not get it, but the American people seem to, the MSNBC anchor concluded. I mean, three quarters of Americans say this seems like a really serious problem. Anybody can see that this is not stuff you should be texting about with a large group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can watch the full segment in the video above. The post Rachel Maddow Demolishes Trump Administrations Handling of Signal Leak: This Is Not Stuff You Should Be Texting About | Video appeared first on TheWrap. IN THE 1965 MOVIE DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, based on Boris Pasternaks novel, a musical enthusiast and an ever-so-knowing medical professor exchange opinions on a piano piece being played at a swank Christmas party. But Boris, this is genius, the lady swoons. Her companion, who cant take any more, replies, Really? I thought it was Rachmaninoff. Im going for a smoke.1 Already in the last sweet days that Russias haute bourgeoisie enjoyed before the Great War and the Revolution ended civilized life there, Sergei Rachmaninoff was an equivocal figure, whose stunning popularity made his accomplishment suspect among the cognoscenti. The seismic transformation of the musical landscape in the intervening century has left his reputation all the more vexed and uncertainalthough perhaps, with his popularity no longer clouding our vision, we can now better judge his musical achievements on their merits. In her 2023 book Goodbye Russia: Rachmaninoff in Exile, English music critic Fiona Maddocks leaves no doubt that Rachmaninoff (18731943) belongs to the ranks of the excellentnot only as a composer, but also as a pianist, and most impressively as a courageous, generous, and warm-hearted man. She suggests how much was lost when Rachmaninoff, in his prime at 44, left Russia behind for good in December 1917 and struck out for the West and freedomfirst Sweden and Denmark for nearly a year, then America, where he arrived just as the Armistice did and in the midst of the influenza pandemic. His personal material losses receive Maddockss compassionate attentiveness: He left behind many members of his family, his fortune, his apartment in Moscow, the estate of Ivanovka, his land, his horses, the trees he had planted, the lilacs he loved, his pianos, his personal belongings, the world he knew and loved. Such sorrows, if mostly on a smaller scale, were the lot of multitudes who were fortunate enough to depart Russia and the various colonies of the twentieth-century Soviet empire while they still had the chance. Some of those whom Rachmaninoff left behind registered their displeasure: You abandoned Russia, wrote Anton Chekhovs widow, the actress and musician Olga Knipper-Chekhova, in a 1918 New Years letter, barely able to contain her anger and dismay, hoping there was still a chance hed come back where he belonged when things settled down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Share THERE WOULD BE NO GOING BACK. The Revolution had befouled Russian life beyond all hope of cleansing. Rachmaninoff would recollect, I saw with terrible clearness that here was the beginning of the endan end full of horrors the occurrence of which was merely a matter of time. The anarchy around me, the brutal uprooting of all the foundations of art, the senseless destruction of all means for its encouragement, left no hope of a normal life in Russia. The homeland held no refuge from this witches Sabbath, although for a time Rachmaninoff was so absorbed in the work of revising his First Piano Concerto that even tuning out the ever-present revolutionary street violence, which turned the existence of a non-proletarian into hell on earth, was comparatively easy for me. I sat at the writing table or the piano all day without troubling about the rattle of machine guns and rifle-shots. I would have greeted any intruder with the answer that Archimedes gave the conquerors of Syracuse. (According to legend, the Syracusan polymath, deep in geometric speculation, oblivious to the Roman conquest of his city then underway, told the soldier who had come to present him before the invaders commander, Do not disturb my circles. The soldier, understandably annoyed, struck the uncooperative genius dead on the spot.) Clearly Rachmaninoff did well to get out of Russia while the getting was good. Aesthetic raptures were a dangerous proposition in the heyday of Soviet Man. The list of those artists murdered outright, driven to suicide, or gradually frightened to death by Lenin or Stalin and their apparatchiks is a roll of honorpoets such as Osip Mandelstam, Nikolai Gumilev, and Daniil Kharms, and writer Isaac Babel, Marina Tsvetayeva, and theater director Vsevolod Meyerhold. The extraordinary defiant poet Anna Akhmatova and the great composers Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich managed to survive Stalinism, but she was forbidden publication for much of her life and the two musicians were harried into at least the appearance of conformity with socialist artistic prescriptions. Share Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rachmaninoffs parents lacked the means to establish him in a military career like his fathers; when at age 10 he won a scholarship to the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the way was prepared for an assault upon all available musical glory. There would, however, be delays on the glory road: his inclination to laziness and truancy, exacerbated by grief over the deaths of his two sisters and the separation of his parents, led to his academic failure at St. Petersburg. A second chance, in Moscow, had a happier result. On his final exams Tchaikovsky himself added a plus sign to the highest mark available, 5. Surviving intermittent periods of depression, self-doubt, and creative barrenness, Rachmaninoff established his musical reputation in Russia with works such as his Second Piano Concerto and his Prelude in C# minor (the latter written when he was 19 and still a student) gaining him widespread acclaim and entree into rarefied social circles. He was also in demand as a conductor, leading the forces at the Bolshoi Theater and other grand venues, in music that ranged from Borodin and Mussorgsky to Berlioz, Bizet, Haydn, Debussy, and Richard Strauss; and he performed his own works and others at the piano. In leaving Russia permanently in 1918, Rachmaninoff deliberately cut himself off from the most splendid and most enduring part of his musical vocation: no longer primarily a composer, he would stake his and his familys future on his talents as a pianist. Fortunately, these were superb; many who know about such matters think him the foremost keyboard virtuoso of the century. Like most every immigrant fresh off the boat, he needed to make a living in the new world in a hurry, and accustomed as he was to the comforts of prosperity, that meant earning enough to afford lots of the best of everything. Rachmaninoff was already acquainted somewhat with the life of an itinerant performing artist. For the 190910 musical season, he had ventured to the United States, where among many engagements he had played his Third Piano Concerto in New York with Gustav Mahler conducting. Before long he commanded top dollar. In 1920 he signed up with the Victor Talking Machine Company, agreeing to record twenty-five pieces over five years, for an ironclad annual advance against royalties of $15,000, or some $225,000 in todays money. RCA Victor would supplement his income from performing, teaching, and composing for many years, though he had to fight off nerves in the recording studio that he did not feel in the concert hall. The unsettling thought of permanenceperforming for the agesbedeviled this most fastidious of artists, who could not stand the possibility that some imperfection might ruin his performance for all to hear, world without end. Join now Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For live performance Rachmaninoff would assume an air of mandarin imperturbability. He earned that formidable demeanor. The slothful practice habits of his youth were laid to rest, as he prepared with the utmost diligence, worked to expand his repertoire, and played in public every chance he had. For his first season following his return to America in late 1918, he agreed to twenty-five recitals as a solo pianist. In addition, the temporary absence of the Polish master Ignacy Paderewski, who took a break from performing from 1919 to 1921 to serve as the prime minister and foreign minister of the Polish republic, newly restored from foreign dominion, left Rachmaninoff in command of the concert stage. During that spell he composed only a cadenza for the Second Rhapsody by Liszt. At first the change in activity invigorated him for the work at hand. In an interview for a music magazine he declared that he was in the right place at the right time. I am in America at present for the reason that nowhere else in the world is there such music as there is here now. You have the finest orchestras, the most musically appreciative people, and I have more opportunity to hear fine orchestral works, and more opportunity to play. This great opportunity got to be too much of a good thing, and rather quickly at that. His breakneck scheduleover sixty concerts in 192122 and over seventy the following seasonground him down; he required daily electrical therapy for headaches and pains in his hands, and above all he missed composing. To an intimate friend he confessed his unhappiness in 1922: I dislike my occupation intensely. For this whole time I have not composed one line. I only play the piano and give a great many concerts. For four years now I practice, practice. I make some progress but actually the more I play, the more clearly do I see my inadequacies. If I ever learn this business thoroughly, it may be on the eve of my death. Materially I am quite secure. Bourgeois! Two years later, as Rachmaninoff was vacationing in Europe, his friend the emigre composer Nikolai Medtner asked him why he didnt compose anymore, and he answered with a question of his own: How can I compose without melody? America suited his business needs but the creative spontaneity of his soul was balked there. Losing Russia, he had surrendered the essence of his musical gift. The authorities in the motherland treated the fugitive master with open contempt; his semi-serious self-castigating outcry Bourgeois! parodied the boilerplate animadversions of the cultural commissars. Dismissed as a reactionary, he was becoming a musical non-person in the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, in the United States, his refined artistry was being subjected to the blandishments of popular culture at its most piercingly vulgar. Tin Pan Alley hacks, as well as some more respected composers, latched onto his C# minor Prelude and made it peculiarly their own: ragtime, foxtrot, and jazz versions tickled American ears. Maddocks writes, After Duke Ellingtons jam session was broadcast live from New Yorks Cotton Club in 1938, the press reported that he had played a swing version of the immortal Prelude in C sharp minor, an old piece written by Rachmaninoff in the eighteenth Century. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Share The Bulwark RACHMANINOFFS MUSICAL TASTE was rather old-fashioned, if not as antique as that unwitting journalistic gibe suggests. As Maddocks writes, Liszt, Chopin, and Schumann made up his basic repertoire, while he left the emergingand increasingly establishedmodernist composers, from Stravinsky to Bartok to Copland, to the ministrations of other pianists. He happened to share this preference for the great Romantics with the leading Russian pianists, as became clear when a tentative political thaw enabled some Soviet artists to appear in the United States. In due course, with the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, as the traditional monuments of Russian culture were invoked as sources of militant uplift for the masses, Rachmaninoff became respectable in the Soviet Union. At the same time, American critics and certain waspish colleagues were ever more severe in their appraisal of what Maddocks calls, without meaning to cast aspersions, Rachmaninoffs retrograde style. Stravinsky, who was Rachmaninoffs neighbor in Beverly Hills, believed that in his latest works his colleague had sold out to the sound of Hollywood, in Maddockss words. For Rachmaninoff had broken his long silence and begun writing music againintermittently but in earnest, and in his familiar Romantic mode. The six works that he wrote in exile between 1926 and 1940 are worthy of the Russian artist who gave us such prerevolutionary masterpieces of high Romanticism as his Second Symphony, Second and Third Piano Concertos, All-Night Vigil, and the one-act opera Francesca da Rimini. Of the six later pieces, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934), Symphony no. 3 in A minor (1936), and Symphonic Dances (1940) are especially strong. His early successes and his final ones are of a piece. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rachmaninoffs sound world was ever the arena of extravagant extremes, where intense feeling is everything; and that means exploiting the full resources of his melodic gift is his principal concern. Striking dynamic contrasts and sudden variability in tempo shape his emotional highs and lows. Orchestral storms of hectic magnificence all but disappear into silence as flamboyant crescendos give way to equally histrionic diminuendos, songful flights accelerating almost wildly yield to languorous rallentandos, and these lovely long phrases in turn diminish in length and volume to collapse into weary resignation, from which ardent hopes are slowly built once more, the volatile suffering Russian soul passing through all the Stations of the Cross on the way to Resurrection time and again. Maddocks cites the composers fondness for upward-sweeping passages, while the critic Michael Steinberg has the same passages in mind when he praises Rachmaninoffs expansive music. One might further call such melodic genius magniloquent: the gift of sheer beauty unabashed by accusations of wretched excess from those who do not want to understand. The power of beautiful melody is at the heart of Rachmaninoffs music, which he sets in defiant opposition to the modernist preference for provoking aural uneasiness and even inducing pain. He is unique in his time. Gustav Mahler shares Rachmaninoffs penchant for the gorgeous and ravishing, but Mahler also turns grotesquerie or ugliness to his own purposes, inserting bits of klezmer music or popular tunes such as Frere Jacques hard by the most exquisite or sublime melodies. Mahler wants to create music that takes in everything, while Rachmaninoffs reach is shorter by comparison, his exorbitance of feeling constrained by the vocabulary and syntax of his illustrious Romantic predecessors, which do not admit the twentieth centurys expressionist grimacing, scratching the itch to expose the most tormented and disturbing aspects of the modern psychic underside. Rachmaninoff wanted to recreate the world as it once was. He was the last of the great Romantic composers. Fortunately, there are still pianists and conductors and listeners and critics such as Fiona Maddocks who partake of the same nature and who ensure that this stupendous throwback remains vital and vigorous. Share 1 In Goodbye Russia, Fiona Maddocks retails this Zhivago bit and adds a kicker: Pasternak, a musician himself, was more of a Scriabin man. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) In just six days, the executive order for 25% tariffs on auto imports will take effect. Brad McAreavy the President of the Rochester Automobile Dealers Association told News 8 on Thursday that right now there are obvious concerns, but they wont have an immediate impact. McAreavy said dealers usually have 60 to 70% of supply on their lots at any given point, so they probably have a couple of months worth of inventory. Not likely to have an immediate impact on the dealers or the consumers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, he adds Once they turn that inventory and the tariffs go into effect and stay in, dealers will then start replenishing their inventorying and thats when we can see a price increase. Right now, new cars average around $50,000. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. In a significant victory for the outlets, the Trump administration on Thursday ordered that funding for Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty be restored, sidestepping the lawsuit filed by both outlets that the administration looked likely to lose. The order also restored funding to the Open Technology Fund, but Voice of America and Radio Free Asia remain off air. The move stems from a ruling on Tuesday from a federal judge that blocked the Trump administrations efforts to shut down RFE and RL. Judge Royce C. Lamberth said that the Trump administration cannot unilaterally shut down RFE/RL, even if the president has ordered the closure, but the ruling did not extend to Voice of America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz filed a similar lawsuit on Wednesday, so the next step for VoA is to see how that suit is handled. Arizona Republican Kari Lake, the Trump-appointed Special Adviser to USAGM, issued the order to restore funding on Wednesday night. But it did not become public until Thursday morning, when Justice Department lawyers informed Lamberth in a court filing. In the filing, DoJ asked that the lawsuit be tossed because, now that Plaintiff has received that relief, Defendants position is that this matter is now moot. Lamberth will hold a hearing on Monday if the agreement to restore funding is not upheld. This is an encouraging sign that RFE/RLs operations will be able to continue, as Congress intended. We await official confirmation from USAGM that grant funding will promptly resume based on the intention expressed in last nights letter. We are eager to speak directly with USAGM leadership about the extraordinary and cost-effective work that RFE/RL performs for the American people, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not the time for RFE/RL to go silent. Millions of people rely on us for factual information in places where censorship is widespread. We must not cede ground to our adversaries at a time when threats to America are on the rise, he added. RFE and RL, alongside Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and the Open Technology fund were taken down on March 14 when the Trump administration announced plans to gut U.S. Agency for Global media, the organization that oversees them. Several Voice of America staffers filed a lawsuit on March 21, asking the courts to rule that the Trump administration had acted illegally and unconstitutionally. The post Radio Free Europe Funding Restored as Trump Administration Sidesteps Lawsuit, but Voice of America Remains Silent appeared first on TheWrap. This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: A federal court agreed to halt proceedings in a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Agency for 30 days after agency lawyers said theyre optimistic of reaching an agreement with plaintiffs over the CFPBs late fee cap rule. Plaintiffs include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Consumer Bankers Association. U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas issued the stay March 13 in response to the CFPBs request a day earlier, noting the bureaus acting director, Russell Vought, had joined only on Feb. 7. The CFPB said its reviewing and considering its positions on various agency actions, including the rule capping credit card late fees at $8, which the agency adopted in March 2024. The Trump Administrations CFPB has been contemplating ways to roll back rules and policies that were implemented during the tenure of former Director Rohit Chopra, who favored a strict regulatory regime, Ballard Spahr attorneys wrote Monday on the firms Consumer Finance Monitor blog. Dive Insight: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, three Texas business groups, and two large bank associations sued in March 2024 to block the late fee rule. Two months later, Pittman issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the rule from taking effect, arguing that the CFPB had exceeded its statutory authority. The plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment last month, asking Pittman to vacate the rule, declare it unlawful and impose a permanent injunction. Since the change in administrations in Washington, the parties have begun discussing ways to resolve the litigation and will present Pittman a status report in April, if they have not reached a resolution by then, Mark Paoletta, the CFPBs chief legal officer, and Deputy General Counsel Steven Bressler said in the filing. Based on those conversations, the Bureau is optimistic that an agreement can be reached within 30 days, but the parties require additional time to see if an agreed resolution is feasible, the bureau said. The CFPBs late-fee rule on credit cards was part of the Biden administrations regulatory campaign against junk fees that bedevil consumers, including efforts to combat airline seating fees for families, how hotels display their charges, and live concert fees. Late fees represent an important income source for large card issuers, the CFPB said last year. A lenders average late fee increased steadily between 2010 and 2022, from $23 to $32, yielding issuers around $14.5 billion for 2022, the agency said. The $8 cap would effectively cut by more than two-thirds the fee that can be imposed on credit card users who pay their credit card bills late, typically on a monthly basis. FREETOWN, Mass. (WPRI) Just one day after the South Coast Rail service started, there was a close call between a commuter train and a school bus in Freetown. The bus driver followed protocol Tuesday afternoon by stopping at the railroad crossing on Braley Road and looking both ways for trains, according to the school district. SEE ALSO: All aboard! South Coast Rail now in service Determining it was clear, the driver started across the tracks when the warning lights and bells activated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the driver backed the bus up, one of the safety arms at the crossing landed on its hood, and a short time later, the train came through. The bus was well outside the dynamic envelope of the crossing, and at no time were any students in danger, and the crossing operated as designed, MBTA Chief Safety Officer Tim Lesniak said at Thursdays board meeting. There were children on the bus, but no one was hurt. The school district said its in contact with the MBTA and reviewing safety protocols with First Student. 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. SHELDON, Iowa (KCAU) Sheldon was founded in 1872, coinciding with the arrival of the Sioux City and St. Paul now Union Pacific Railway. The town was named after Israel Sheldon, a stockholder in the railroad. Though Isreal Sheldon never lived in Sheldon, growth was immediate. The community sits at the intersection of two major highways, Highways 18 and 60, making it easy to get to. But it was the railroad that played major part in towns growth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Israel Sheldon] was a big deal in New York. He was in the railroad industry. He had lots of things he was into, but the railrolad was a big deal, local historian Millie Voss told KCAU 9. Sheldon community continues to see growth Sheldon was a commercial hub. eighteen trains came through Sheldon a day. We even had a train that took people to Sioux City to go shopping and return the same day, historian Tom Whorley said. Sheldons first industry, Prairie Queen Flour Mill, played a part in the growth. It was built in 1879. It would process 150 to 200 barrels of flour every 24 hours and required 25 to 30 employees. The mills monthly payroll was about $2,000. For more of KCAU 9s Hometown Proud stories, 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) Raleigh County Board of Education members honored the winners of the 2025 West Virginia Young Writers Contest during a regular meeting on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Dr. Serena Starcher, superintendent of Raleigh County Schools, awarded the medals, with assistance from BOE members. Ryan Johns, an Independence High School student, was present to read his own entry, which took the statewide honor of first place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement West Virginia coal industry could see severe negative impacts from China tariff: report Johns teacher, Milena Belcher, had prompted students to imagine their upcoming high school graduation and to write about six people they would present with roses, in honor of how each person had inspired them. Johns wrote about his late grandmother, Sheila Mayhew, who took custody of him after Child Protective Services intervened. Mountain State Destinations: Pinnacle Rock State Park Board members and other present wiped tears from their eyes as Johns read the piece, which follows: Six Roses for Graduation by Ryan Johns Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In lieu of walking the stage at graduation for you, I walked the cracked cobblestone sidewalk at Sunset Memorial. The ground, still squishy with every step from the fallen rain, caked a thick layer of mud across the bottom of my silky white gown. Through a glimpse of sunlight that barely peeked through the grey clouds, a twinkle caught my eye and led me straight to you. Before me, you sat. I looked at you with a smile. The graduation coordinator gave every member of our class six fresh roses to gift to special figures in our lives; I kept all six for you. As I lay them beside you, I recall what each one stands for. Rose number one is for MacArthur Skating Rink, 2010- one of my earliest memories. I was only three years old. It was a cold winters day when you decided that you wanted to get me out of the house for a few hours. We left and stopped at our favorite restaurant to kill time. We have to wait for the lights, youd say every time Id ask when we were going to get there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What lights? What lights?? Upon our arrival, you helped me fasten my tiny ankles into a pair of oversized roller skates. I could never muster the courage to leave the rail, but you stood and walked right beside me the whole time, just in case I did. Once 8PM came around, the lights across the rink dimmed, and a large disco ball lowered from the ceiling. A strobe of pink, green, and yellow lights began to dance around the walls as you led me out to the center of the rink. I was too terrified to let go of your arm on the floor. We stood and laughed and joked and danced for what felt like hours. Before leaving, I glanced around one time. Everyone seemed to disappear momentarily; it was just you and me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rose number two is for Myrtle Beach, 2013. I was six years old. For the weeks prior, I had heard you talking about a trip to Myrtle Beach with my cousins; I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that I was coming too. We spent the night at my cousins house and left at 4AM the next morning. The drive to South Carolina was a nightmare. The air conditioning unit in the car gave out against the early July heat. To make matters worse, my uncle couldnt find our condo and drove us in circles for hours, refusing to listen to your directions. Hes always been this hardheaded, youd say, rolling your eyes, giggling, and glancing at my cousins and me in the back seat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was the only one awake to hear it. That night, we settled in just quick enough to step out onto the patio to watch the Fourth of July fireworks show above the ocean. I had never seen fireworks before. You boosted me up onto a chair, and I was immediately immersed in the mosaic of reds, blues, greens, and oranges. Rose number three is for Sabine, 2014. I was seven. I had only left your house to return to my own mere hours before a social worker loaded my siblings and I into the back of her car and removed us from our mothers custody. My siblings went to live with a distant relative. Because you had priorly tried to get custody of me, I came to live with you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the social worker knocked on the door, you opened it. She asked if you still wanted me. You said yes and welcomed me back inside. I sat down in your office chair and sobbed silently while you scrambled on the phone with Child Protective Services trying to get everything in order. The next few years are a blacked-out blur of court dates postponed, inconclusive, postponed, and inconclusive again. Rose number four is for Twin Falls, 2016. I was nine years old. For the last two years, I had lived as a ward of the state whatever that meant. You had several health scares during this time, but finally, on a beautiful spring day, you woke up and felt like yourself again. My aunt had recently purchased a professional camera and offered to take you to the Twin Falls State Park for a photoshoot. I came along. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You put on a gorgeous floral print sundress with a floppy sunhat and even did your makeup. You hated makeup. When we got to the park, we first had a picnic before searching for the perfect photo opportunity. We came across several nature shots that you enjoyed, but it wasnt until we saw a gazebo in a meadow clearing that you fully burst to life. Bathed in golden sunlight, you sat atop a railing and smiled at the camera. In that moment, you looked like the closest thing to an angel I had ever seen. Rose number five is for Ole Jose in Pineville, West Virginia, 2017. After three long years of a custody battle, you had finally won. You cried as you shook the judges hand for a photo and then took me out to celebrate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We had never tried this new Mexican restaurant that had opened right beside a gorgeous creek bed. Upon being seated, we ordered our food and filled our stomachs. When I thought the meal was over, you told the waiter what we were celebrating. He then brought us a complimentary fried ice cream, and the entire restaurant- customers and staff- cheered for us. That was the last good memory we got to make together. On January 4th, 2018, we lost you to a long fight in the hospital. I was spending the weekend with my great grandmother, your mother-in-law, when my aunt and uncle came to pick me up. They sat me down on my great grandmothers scratchy couch and broke the news to me. I did not cry in front of them; I went to the bathroom and sobbed in secret. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My entire life then changed. I moved to Raleigh County, switched schools, and essentially started life back over. Rose number six is for graduation, May 31st, 2025. Our graduation coordinator requested that we reserve seats for our family members so that she could ensure that there was enough room in the venue. I only booked three seats: two for my aunt and uncle (who became my legal guardians after we lost you), and one for you. Prior to the commencement ceremony, I did not get to look into the parent seating area. It wasnt until I was standing in line next to the stage that I glanced over and saw my parents. In the empty seat I had reserved for you, there was a picture frame holding a printed copy of you in your floral dress at Twin Falls. My angel had come to watch me one last time. I feel the tears on my cheeks as I lay the sixth rose beside your glossy headstone. In lieu of turning my tassels for you, I simply remove my cap and place it beside your headstone along with the roses. I love 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 WVNS. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCT) On Thursday, Mar. 27, 2025, Christopher Ivan White, 58, was sentenced to 90 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, White shot another man in front of Renegade Motors, located at 2621 S. Wilmington Street in Raleigh on April 8, 2024. When the Raleigh Police Department arrived at the scene, White attempted to flee and toss the firearm. White was soon located by officials and was also found in possession of cocaine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White was a felon that was prohibited to own or possess a firearm. He also had other felony convictions that included breaking and entering, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and embezzlement. The Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Daniel P. Bubar, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Raleigh Police. The case was also prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Nokes and Evelyn S. Yarborough. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) A vote to eliminate positions in Randolph County has been postponed following more Reduction in Force (RIF) hearings Thursday night in Elkins, and more drastic moves could be on the horizon. The last set of school employees who requested a hearing stated their cases to the Randolph County Board of Education against proposed transfers and terminations. Superintendent Shawn Dilly said the final vote on those moves will happen by April 22 at the latest. Dilly told 12 News the decision was made to wait until the school board gets needed information about state and federal funding. On top of that, the issue of consolidation has resurfaced, as Dilly said the measure is back on the table for the 2026-27 school year in an effort to balance the countys budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consolidation was an option the county explored a few months ago, with proposals to close the rural Harman and Pickens schools. However, the measure to close Harman was voted down by the board, and the one to close Pickens was withdrawn the next day. Dilly said the proposed terminations and transfers are only a temporary fix, reiterating a point he made last November, where he said that school consolidation in Randolph County is inevitable. Discussions on consolidations are set to start as early as May. Elkins man helps advocate for autism police training Of the 11 hearings Thursday night, three were transfers, with those staff members making the argument that teacher turnover and transfers have a negative impact on students lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For some teachers facing these unknowns, a vote to terminate or transfer them may lead them to step away from education altogether. Even if this transfer goes through, I will not accept it because third ward is where I belong. I moved here from Virginia with no blood relatives and I took a pay decrease to go here, but this is where I wanted to go and I might not have blood relatives here, but I have family in there at third ward, so if I dont teach there, I will simply have to find a new job, First-grade teacher Tina Wulin said. I mean, I have two children of my own. My husband is a federal employee, which that is up in the air right now. And so it would be very foolish of me to not be seeking employment in somewhere where I could find stable income. I need to provide benefits and income for my family, Kindergarten Teacher Erica Roth said. 12 News will bring you a more detailed breakdown of the results of this meeting on Friday, March 28. Stay tuned for 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 WBOY.com. A Central Florida congressional race that seemed like an easy win for the GOP a few months ago now has Republicans sweating as polls and early voting tallies show a closer-than-expected contest. The special election Tuesday between Republican state Sen. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne, and Orlando teacher Josh Weil, a Democrat, is getting national attention from Democrats, who see an opportunity to leverage Fines incendiary reputation and the growing blowback against President Donald Trump in their partys favor. Weil has outraised Fine by more than 10-to-1 in the race to fill Mike Waltzs former congressional seat, and the head of the national Democratic Party is jetting in to rally voters on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis says Fine a fellow Republican with whom he has clashed recently will underperform in a seat Republicans won by 33 points in November. A win in this district for the Democrat would be as big a deal as when Doug Jones won the Senate seat in Alabama, said Volusia Democratic chair Nick Sakhnovsky, referring to the huge Democratic upset in a special U.S. Senate race in 2017 that foreshadowed the 2018 blue wave in Congress. It would definitely create a lot of reverberations. Democrats should not get their hopes up too much, said Matt Isbell, a Democratic elections analyst. Republicans are still the favorite to come out on top when their voters head to the polls on Election Day. The more attention it gets, the more likely turnouts going to favor Republicans, Isbell said. Randy Fines a blowhard, but he generates attention. Which means its not a quiet race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But even a close loss could give the party headwinds going into future special elections and the 2026 midterms, said J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia. On Tuesday, a Democrat won a special state Senate election in Pennsylvania that had a similar GOP partisan advantage to congressional District 6. When it comes to these special elections in these kinds of lopsided districts, a lot of times its about beating the spread, Coleman said. Republicans currently have a slim 5-vote margin the House and are eager to keep the Florida district for teh GOP. Thursday, Trump pulled the nomination of New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik to become the ambassador to the United Nations. Its essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress, he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The special election in District 6, which stretches through Lake, Volusia, St Johns, Flagler, Putnam and Marion counties, was triggered when Waltz was tapped by Trump to serve as his national security advisor. A second special election for Congress is taking place Tuesday in the Panhandle between Republican state CFO Jimmy Patronis and Democrat Gay Valimont. They are vying for the seat once held by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. Trump endorsed Fine, a controversial conservative firebrand who served eight years in the Florida House and was recently elected to the state Senate. He faces Weil, who works at Kissimmee Middle School. Weils campaign raised an eye-popping $9.5 million as of the last Federal Election Commission filing deadline of March 12, most of it via smaller donations of less than $50 at fundraising events. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That haul helped the Weil campaign put on events such as a town hall in DeLand with rapper and activist Killer Mike, who said he unequivocally endorsed Weil. Fine, meanwhile, raised less than $1 million as of the same period. NBC News reported that Fine, a casino industry millionaire, has since given $600,000 to his campaign to help stem the tide. The Trump White House was also reportedly concerned and hyper-focused on Fines race, the TV station said. The early voting and vote-by-mail returns may be contributing to GOP worries. As of Friday, Democrats were ahead of Republicans in the vote-by-mail turnout by more than 3 percentage points. Early, in-person voting numbers trended Republican, but the overall GOP turnout lead was about 6 points as of Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That number jibes with a new St. Pete Polls survey released Wednesday that showed Fine leading by 4, within the 4.9-point margin of error. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report says Republicans have a 14-point advantage in the district. Weil says he is confident he will win. Absolutely, we are pulling off a major upset victory here, Weil said. All of our data shows that we are strongly and commandingly in the lead, and Im pretty confident that Randy Fines data shows that too. Fine did not respond to requests for an interview. His campaign website states he wants to lower insurance rates, secure the border, and defend the right to life and the ability to defend it via the Second Amendment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neither Weil nor Fine lives in the district, which is allowed by federal law. But Weil said he and his campaign staff have been based in Flagler County which is in the district since late December and have been holding forums and public events in all six counties that are part of District 6. Weil said he would have voted with the rest of the Democrats in the House against the GOP spending bill to avert a shutdown. His major issues are expanding access to education and protecting Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare from Republicans and Elon Musks DOGE. These are not entitlements, Weil said. These are programs that people have been paying into their entire life. Now theyre having the rug pulled out after them. Fine has ramped up his attacks on Weil over the past few weeks. He slammed Weil for employing a violent felon after a campaign staffer was arrested for stealing a bicycle and also brought up an incident in 2015 in which Weil was suspended for three days for an altercation with a student at the Orange Youth Academy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The student said Weil grabbed his neck and forced him down to the ground, according to a school report, while Weil said he was attempting to stop the student from repeatedly hitting him. Fine also called his opponent Jihad Josh Weil for his past embrace of Islam after marrying his now ex-wife, a Muslim woman. Weil, who said hes wrestled with my faith over the course of my life, called Fines attacks disgusting. Hes scared and hes desperate, and hes just throwing stuff out there and making baseless claims and accusations, Weil said. This is why dirty politics exist, right? If you cant get the people to like you, then your only other option is to try to get them to dislike your opponent. And nobody likes Randy Fine. During his time in the House, Fine became as notorious for his social media provocations and bitter local rivalries as he has for the controversial bills hes introduced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fine, who is Jewish, twice called a Jewish Facebook commenter a Judenrat, a term used to describe Nazi collaborators. He threatened in a text to pull funding for Special Olympics over a feud with a Brevard County school board member he called a whore. In 2019, he floated the idea of a potential shutdown of the University of Central Florida. Last year, he was held in contempt last year after flipping off a judge. While he was once at the forefront of promoting DeSantis anti-woke politics, including his war with Disney over the so-called dont say gay bill, hes since split with the governor and become one of his biggest GOP critics. DeSantis said this week that any GOP underperformance in District 6 would be a reflection of the candidate thats running in that race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coleman, the Virginia expert, said aping the president and courting controversy may not work in Fines favor. There are a lot of candidates who fashion themselves in the image of Trump, but its hard to replicate the original, Coleman said. Just because you run in a Trumpy way doesnt mean youre going to automatically get all of his enthusiasm. But Isbell said a Trump endorsement in a heavily red district at a time when local politics are increasingly nationalized may be all that Fine needs. If he wins, Democrats and Republicans should prepare for drama, Isbell said. Because I dont think anyones really prepared for Randy Fine to be in Congress. Its going to be a goddamn nightmare. Libertarian Andrew Parrott of Ocala and independent anti-abortion activist Randall Terry are also on the ballot. ST. LOUIS A St. Louis Circuit Court judge signed an arrest warrant Wednesday for an accused rapist already facing the same charge in neighboring St. Louis County. Law enforcement and prosecutors in both the city and county confirmed Thursday that Jherrit M. Stansberry, 24, was not in custody. According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Departments probable cause statement, the incident in the city unfolded on June 12, 2024, when officers were called to Christian Hospital for a reported rape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim told police shed been to several parties and had become highly intoxicated. At some point, she was separated from her friends. She later woke up at an unknown home with a man having intercourse with her. She described having blood in her swimsuit and feeling a great deal of pain. The victim told investigators she had no memory of meeting the man that evening but was aware of who he was. STL city leaders make bold steps to tackle downtown blight Police sought out the suspect, identified as Stansberry, for an interview. After being read his Miranda rights, police said Stansberry denied having intercourse with the victim and voluntarily provided a mouth swab to law enforcement. Investigators discovered Stansberrys DNA on numerous swabs provided by the victim during a sexual assault forensic exam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the investigation, detectives learned of a similar incident involving a different victim who lived on the same street and reported a possible sexual assault after attending a party and becoming intoxicated. This victim reported her neighbor, Stansberry, was at the party and inside her residence that evening. DNA test results from that case are still pending. City detectives then learned Stansberry had an active warrant in St. Louis County for rape and met with investigators on that case. According to the St. Louis County Police Departments probable cause statement, that incident happened on Jan. 17, 2023. Officers were dispatched to Christian Northwest Hospital for a reported sexual assault. As in the city case, the victim told police she woke up in her bed to discover to Stansberry having nonconsensual intercourse with her. Stansberrys DNA appeared in the victims rape kit. At present, Stansberry is facing one count of first-degree rape in St. Louis City and St. Louis County. The county arrest warrant carries a $250,000 cash-only bond, while the city warrant does not allow any bond. 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 2. (NewsNation) The deadliest animal in the world is the pesky blood sucking mosquito, killing an estimated 700,000 people a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But a new study published Wednesday suggests that a rare medication has the potential to make human blood deadly to mosquitoes, offering a new way to treat deadly diseases like malaria, West Nile virus, yellow fever and Dengue fever. Dr. Omer Awan, a physician and a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, joined Morning in America to discuss nitisinone, an FDA-approved drug used to treat rare metabolic diseases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the drug could be used to treat malaria. Trump administration to end funding for vaccinating children in poor countries The way it works is that it prevents a mosquitos ability to digest its blood meal, and that will kill a mosquito very quickly, so it could potentially be a game changer when you consider just how common malaria is, Awan said. An estimated 263 million malaria cases were reported worldwide in 2023, according to the World Health Organization, and 597,000 people died from the disease caused by mosquitoes. This is really starving the mosquito. Thats literally what its doing, so they will die within hours, Awan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The researchers in the study compared mosquitoes that were given human blood that had nitisinone versus blood that did not. Even at low therapeutic doses, nitisinone remained deadly to mosquitoes, the study said. These findings warrant further investigation of nitisinone for vector control and the prevention of malaria transmission. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CLEVELAND, Ohio (WKBN) A Ravenna man was found guilty in a federal trial of defrauding the government of funding through the COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program. Mustafa Ayoub Diab, 41, was found guilty following a weeklong trial in Cleveland federal court on 43 counts, including theft of government funds, bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud and to launder monetary instruments. Investigators say Diab ran a tax return preparation business in Akron with co-conspirator Elizabeth Lorraine Robinson, 33, of Ravenna. According to a release, the couple developed a scheme to take advantage of government programs that expanded unemployment and small business benefits available during the pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From around June 2020 to August 2021, investigators say that Diab submitted fraudulent applications for pandemic relief unemployment and small business benefits, and had the money deposited into accounts he opened in the names of his clients without their knowledge, as well as into the account of a family member and Robinson. Investigators say Diab used the money for his personal expenses, including the purchase of real estate, cars and trips. In all, claims were made in the names of 80 victims, totaling $1.2 million. Sentencing is scheduled for July 28, 2025. Robinson pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and theft of government funds in February. She is currently awaiting sentencing. She also faces up to 30 years in prison. 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 WKBN.com. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) The countdown is on. Beginning May 7, travelers will be required to present a REAL ID-compliant drivers license or identification card to board domestic flights or enter certain federal and Department of Defense facilities, including McConnell Air Force Base. Without one, youll need to show another form of acceptable identification, like a valid U.S. passport. Rubio says at least 300 foreign students visas have been revoked Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, established minimum security standards for state-issued IDs. Once in effect, federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), will no longer accept IDs from non-compliant states for air travel and access to secure federal buildings. Patricia Mancha, TSA media spokesperson for Kansas, said it will be required at all of our checkpoints. If you dont have a compliant ID when you get to the airport, you may not be allowed access to the checkpoint which means you may not be allowed to fly, she said. How to Tell If Youre REAL ID Ready REAL ID-compliant cards typically feature a star in the upper portion of the card. The design varies by state Kansas IDs may have a simple star, while Californias may include a bear and star combination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the enhanced IDs actually dont have a star but have a hologram image, Mancha explained. Just check your ID, and if youre not sure, contact your state DMV. What Youll Need to Apply for a REAL ID To obtain a REAL ID, residents must provide documents that verify: Full legal name Date of birth Lawful status Social Security number Two documents proving current address Requirements can vary, so officials urge residents to visit tsa.gov/real-id and select their state to view exact documentation and DMV procedures. Dont Wait Until the Last Minute DMV offices across the country expect a spike in applications as the deadline nears especially in larger metro areas like Wichita. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most DMV offices do not take walk-ins anymore, Mancha noted. In some cases, theres a wait of days, weeks, or even months to get an appointment. She recommends beginning the application process as soon as possible, particularly if you have travel plans on or after May 7. What If You Dont Have a REAL ID? Alternative IDs, such as passports, Department of Defense IDs, tribal documents, or a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), are also accepted at TSA checkpoints. However, relying on these without a REAL ID can cause delays. Every day, we see travelers who forgot their ID or had it stolen, Mancha said. We work with them to try to verify their identity, but thats not a fast process. There are no guarantees we can get you through in time for your flight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We recommend arriving at least four hours early if you dont have a valid ID and even then, we cant guarantee youll be able to fly. For more information on REAL ID and TSA travel requirements, visit tsa.gov/real-id. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A Memphis couple said they had no idea that it would be next to impossible when they went to the DMV to get state IDs for their teenage sons for their summer jobs. Anthony Bell and Tondalaya Kirby took time off from work, arrived hours early, and still left empty-handed. They said lines were wrapped around the building at three different locations. Bell said they were turned away twice and told the driver services center was at capacity. Lines at Shelby Drive DMV. Courtesy: Anthony Bell They opened up at 8:30 a.m. and by 10:05 a.m. they were saying they were done for the day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kirby said they were told no appointment could be made until June. Its March, said Kirby. Every DMV line is wrapped around three times, which is crazy because your staff should be able to know how to do this process, or at least have a system on getting people in and out. Everyones not here for the same thing. The long lines at the DMV are being blamed on the last-minute surge of people trying to get a REAL ID. Long lines at DMV due to Real ID deadline Starting May 7th, Americans will need the enhanced drivers license or a passport to board a domestic flight or enter some federal buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WREG asked the Shelby County Clerks office if some DMV locations were being forced to close early but we have not have heard back. Millington location. Courtesy: Anthony Bell At the Summer Avenue location Thursday, some customers said they had been waiting for nearly seven hours. Bell and Kirby said their sons are getting their jobs through a program at Westwood High School. They had a Monday deadline to turn in their paperwork and show their IDs. We are going to have to convince their counselors to give them more time or try to find them another opportunity until we can figure something out because we dont know what else to do, said Kirby. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kirby doesnt want her boys to miss opportunities due to circumstances beyond their control. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President Donald Trump on Thursday threw Congress for a loop and potentially a lifeline to Speaker Mike Johnson when he announced he would pull New York Rep. Elise Stefaniks nomination to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. The move came so abruptly that The Independent informed Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who sits on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, about the sudden change of plans. The switch was also somewhat poetic, given that Stefanik made a dramatic shift from being a moderate New York Republican who in 2014 became the youngest woman elected to Congress, to becoming a pro-Trump Republican who vigorously defended him during his first impeachment in the House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stefanik would later say on Fox News that she was proud to be a team player, the president knows that. Trump specifically thanked Stefanik, but noted: I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat. For someone as self-confident as Trump, who has regularly said that his return to the White House ushered in a new Golden Age of America, it was a surprising admission, especially given the fact that Stefanik overwhelmingly won re-election in her seat in 2024. But the GOP got a big shock earlier this week when a Democrat won a special election for a state senate seat in a Pennsylvania district that voted for Trump by 15 points. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And next week, Florida will hold two special elections: One in Floridas 1st congressional district to replace Matt Gaetz, who resigned to become attorney general before his nomination flamed out; and another in Floridas 6th congressional district to replace National Security Adviser Michael Waltz. Republicans face no real danger of losing the race in the first district, given how bright red it is. But polling has shown a tighter race between Republican Randy Fine and Democrat Josh Weil in the 6th district. For context, Waltz won the seat when Ron DeSantis, the states arch-conservative governor, resigned to run for higher office. Elise Stefanik will return to the House, given Republicans thin margin. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) As of right now, the GOP only has 218 seats, the exact magic number to have a majority in the body of 435, while Democrats have 213 seats due to the death of two members of their caucus. This comes as Republicans begin the hard work of trying to pass Trumps big domestic agenda spending bill, which would include extending the 2017 tax cuts he signed, ramping up spending at the border with Mexico, increasing military spending and drilling more for oil. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans on Capitol Hill plan to accomplish this through a process called budget reconciliation, which allows them to avoid a filibuster from the Democrats and pass the bill with only 51 votes in the Senate. But with such disparate parts within the GOP, both between the House and the Senate as well as internal disputes among Republicans in both chambers, they need almost complete uniformity. Trump proved to be an effective whip this month when he got Republicans almost unanimously behind the stopgap spending bill that jammed the Democrats in the Senate and forced Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to accept steep cuts. He did it again a few weeks earlier when House Republicans looked like they would not be able to pass the budget resolution to begin the process of crafting their major domestic agenda package. Then, after some work, enough Republicans flipped less than half an hour before it looked like they needed to pack it in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the ideological differences within reconciliation might be more difficult to overcome. Republicans in the Senate primarily want to focus on cutting taxes while Republicans in the House want to be serious about spending cuts in the bill. Specifically, the resolution requires the House Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion in savings, which likely means Medicaid would be on the chopping block. Some Republicans like Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri are resisting potential cuts to Medicaid given that they hail from states where a high number of their constituents use the health care program meant for low-income families, children and people with disabilities. Then there are Republicans like Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, who want the cuts to go even further. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This inevitably will create a policy Rubiks Cube that Trump, Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune will have to navigate. With the clock running out until the midterms, they have a limited amount of time to do so. If it meant denying Stefanik who, like Vice President JD Vance, underwent a drastic change to have a future in the GOP a cushy gig at the United Nations to succeed so be it. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The historic Britton District unveiled its new streetscape and safety improvements after years of work. Businesses told News 4, its helping more local businesses set up shop and thrive. This place has just exploded and its really coming back to life, said Nicholas Hampson, co-owner of Orange Peel Vintage. LOCAL NEWS: Local students use STEAM project to adapt toys for kids with disabilities Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hampson grew up in the area. It was completely boarded up. My parents and great grandparents would tell me stories of the 50s and 60s through the 80s how this town was thriving, said Hampson. Now, the area has evolved after a $6.6 million investment, paid for through the 2017 Better Streets, Safer City Bond election. Persistence and patience is how you get things done, said Mayor David Holt during the ribbon cutting ceremony. The improvements include improved ADA access, new striping, street resurfacing, increased parking, benches, trash cans, bike racks, shade trees, and new lighting. Residents told News 4, they love the new sidewalks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You dont have to be afraid when youre walking thinking that the cars are going to hit you because youre away from them, said Shasta, who lives nearby. Hampson said, the new crosswalks and streetscape are his favorites. Its probably going to save a life, said Hampson. He said drivers used to drive through painted parking spots. LOCAL NEWS: OKC to offer nonstop flights to Cancun this fall They treated this like a four lane road, said Hampson. Paul Little, of Paul Little Construction, said the traffic is still there, but has found it actually helps business. People are looking at the new options while sitting bumper to bumper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It brings focus down here, said Little. Its more inviting and welcoming. There are plenty of new businesses to choose from, like retail, restaurants, desert and coffee shops, as well as breweries and distilleries with product made in the back of the shop. Its just a fresh look on an old place, said Little. Learn more at brittondistrictokc.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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Stakeholders in the Ohio housing crisis launched a new online resource this week to help local governments, developers and homeowners overcome housing development barriers. The Housing Ohio: Tools For Development toolkit stemmed from a partnership between Ohio Realtors and the Greater Ohio Policy Center. The free online resource offers zoning recommendations, building plans and a legislative guide for municipalities. Ohio Realtors and the Greater Ohio Policy Center debuted the resource on March 25 at the Statehouse. Representatives said they created the toolkit to help promote new housing developments at a time when Ohio desperately needs more homes. The guidebook examines Ohios slowing housing production and rising home prices and offers accessible resources to combat some of the states most common development roadblocks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbus to review 16-story housing complex at the corner of Lane and High There are thousands of vacant lots across the state, especially in Ohios legacy neighborhoods and cities, Alison Goebel, Greater Ohio Policy Centers executive director, said. We are thrilled to offer practical tools that will accelerate infill development and provide quality housing options. We are grateful for Ohio Realtors leadership on this issue. The guidebook recommends reducing barriers to infill development, or housing construction on vacant lots that already exist in neighborhoods, rather than razing an area for an entirely new development. Infill development uses existing sidewalks, roads and sewer systems, so Ohio Realtors suggest it is less expensive and disruptive to build and helps revitalize neighborhoods. To promote infill development, the guidebook offers zoning adjustment recommendations for local governments. Dubbed a la carte adjustments, these suggestions include embracing smaller minimum requirements and reconsidering laws that may get in the way of development. It also recommends allowing up to four mixed home types on the same lot to provide more opportunities for housing construction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The groups said many neighborhoods already have smaller, older lots that do not comply with modern zoning laws. By allowing lot sizes to mirror the smaller lots that were grandfathered in, developers will have a lot more flexibility in building homes. Bill would ban HOAs from prohibiting thin blue line flags The guide even includes a checklist for implementing development policies that local governments can use to optimize their housing opportunities. The resource explains what local governments can do in detail, and walks leaders through a timeline of development optimization policies. It also recommends pre-approving standard housing plans to minimize repetitive zoning review procedures. One challenge that many legacy cities face is a lack of developers willing to build modest-sized units on the small, infill lots available. Many home builders today often prefer large sites to achieve efficiency of scale, the resource said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To help further, the resource includes free floorplans for narrow, single-family homes or duplexes. Rather than the typical duplex design with two adjacent units, the resource offers front and rear units in three different sizes: one single-family home and two two-family units with a three-bedroom home a piece, and either a one- or two-bedroom home in the rear. The narrow one-family homes begin as a two-bedroom, two-story home with optional additions of a third, first-floor bedroom or an upstairs sleeper porch. The narrow homes are designed for alleys or driveways to help with parking, and are just 16.5 feet wide to accommodate almost any lot. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. GOMA, Congo (AP) The M23 rebels in control of key areas of eastern Congo agreed Friday to a ceasefire with African coalition peacekeepers who have announced their withdrawal even as the conflict between the insurgents and Congo 's government continues. The rebels and troops from the South African Development Community, or SADC, said in a joint news release that they would work together to rebuild the airport in the eastern hub of Goma, which was damaged when rebels took over, so that the SADC troops could depart the country in an orderly way. The force of several thousand peacekeeping troops from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania had been sent to eastern Congo by the SADC in 2023 to help the Congolese government pacify a mineral-rich region plagued by various insurgencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The troops failed to stop the lightning assaults starting in January by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels that have claimed several key cities and that left several peacekeepers dead, eroding support for the mission in the donor countries. The SADC leadership announced their withdrawal earlier this month. The rebels and SADC troops gave no timetable for the withdrawal under their accord. The SADC troops "will be leaving via Goma airport, but it has to be repaired before they can leave, M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said in an interview with The Associated Press. Kanyuka called it a historic day," and said that the agreement with the SADC mission reflected an awareness that the conflict must be resolved politically not through fighting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We thank SADC today for understanding that there is no military solution to this conflict. They came today, and we talked about dialogue, Kanyuka said, adding that their withdrawal was one of the prerequisites for dialogue. Kanyuka accused Congolese troops of violating ongoing ceasefire negotiations and said that M23 had requested that the SADC talk to Kinshasa to get them to stop and adhere to this ceasefire, which we have respected until now. .The SADC mission was part of a myriad of forces operating in the mineral-rich region plagued by decades of armed violence. They include Congolese government soldiers, foreign mercenaries, a United Nations peacekeeping force and more than 100 groups that are fighting for power, land and valuable mineral resources. Others try to defend their communities. Some armed groups have been accused of mass killings targeting ethnic groups The M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congos capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rwanda has rejected charges, including by the Congolese government and U.N experts, that it backs M23 in eastern Congo, a region that is now one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced. The withdrawal of SADC troops comes after the M23 took control of eastern Congos main city of Goma and seized the second largest city, Bukavu, in offensives over the past two months. Fourteen South African soldiers, and at least three from Malawi were killed in January in the fighting. The United Nations later evacuated a group of critically injured South African DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The U.S. Supreme Court decided Wednesday to uphold a Biden-era executive order that regulates ghost gun kits. 2 NEWS talked to local experts to learn more about how this decision was made and how this could impact the Miami Valley. The Supreme Court decision came down Wednesday afternoon in a 7-2 ruling, upholding a 2022 executive order requiring all firearms including ones you can download and print in your own home to be regulated like any other firearm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ghost guns are products of these little kits you could buy, where what you were buying was a box full of parts, but you could put together and have an effective firearm with no serial numbers on it, said Tom Hagel, University of Dayton School of Law professor of law emeritus. The decision made by SCOTUS was three years in the making after President Bidens order in April of 2022, gun manufacturers filed a lawsuit against it, leading to Wednesdays 7-2 ruling. Justices Thomas and Alito were the two dissenters. As a lawyer and someone with some expertise in criminal law as well as a gun owner, Im not shocked by this Supreme Court decision, said Hagel. In fact, it makes sense. I think it helps protect the public from firearms getting into the wrong hands. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion, saying the law embraces and thus permits the ATF to regulate some weapons parts kits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, saying the majority blesses the governments overreach. Bidens original 2022 order was centered around making it easier on law enforcement to trace firearms, as ghost gun kits could be sold online without including a serial number and without conducting a background check effectively making the firearm untraceable. 2 NEWS spoke with a member of Creek Safe, an organization dedicated to keeping Beavercreek students in schools safe from gun violence. Its just sad to me that weve somehow developed this technology to skirt around the rules again, said Jennifer Beck, Creek Safe treasurer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While guns used in mass shootings are not predominantly ghost guns, between 2016 and 2022, law enforcement across the country recovered around 71,000 ghost guns from crime scenes. Hagel says this is likely the final word on the issue of the executive order, unless the people who originally sues want to file another motion to continue. But, Hagel says the likelihood of the court changing its mind on the issue is very unlikely. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Workers paint a new apartment complex near Old Town Albuquerque in December 2022. The most housing-related legislation in years was introduced in the recent 60-day session, but there is little to show for it, according to an advocate who paid close attention. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM) At the beginning of the 60-day legislative session, housing advocate Winter Torres remembers feeling like the issue of housing affordability and homelessness had reached such a crescendo that lawmakers were jumping over each other to introduce bills. By the sessions midpoint, housing advocates watching the session closely said they were tracking more than 60 bills, a huge increase over previous years. Lawmakers introduced nearly 200 bills mentioning the word housing this session. Thats the most since at least 2005. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres never been bills like this, said Torres, who runs an eviction diversion program in Santa Fe and also tracks housing-related legislation on her website during the session. People just came out of the woodwork with them. But now that the session is over, Torres said she cant help but feel like the Legislature missed a chance to catch up to other states efforts to reform housing policies and address the crisis here before it gets worse. The state lacks more than 32,000 housing units, homelessness is on the rise and federal cuts threaten to deprive housing aid to thousands of New Mexicans. I feel disappointed, she said. Some of the other advocates may have a different view, but I feel like, you know, we had our shot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legislative leaders have touted this years session as building on recent record investments in making housing more affordable and building more of it. Lawmakers last year appropriated nearly $200 million for various housing projects and programs. This year, lawmakers have earmarked at least $140 million for housing programs, including up to $80 million of that for Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. Outside of the budget, both chambers of the Legislature also passed 21 bills mentioning housing, including Senate Bill 267, which caps late and application fees for renters, and House Bill 571, which creates incentives for municipalities that reform their zoning codes in ways that expands the construction of affordable housing. Another bill creates a new governing subdivision to oversee the New Mexico State Fair grounds and empowers it to study the feasibility of building new housing there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Torres said she doesnt want to minimize those significant bills, but the way other bills were moving early on in the session made their eventual deaths more frustrating. For example, a House bill that would have prohibited landlords from turning away tenants who carry Section 8 vouchers failed early in committees in at least the last two previous sessions, but this year made it all the way to its final Senate committee, Senate Judiciary, where it never received a hearing. Other House bills she tracked also died in Senate Judiciary, their final hurdle before the Senate floor, including ones that would have expunged old eviction records or given mobile home park tenants a chance to buy their park if it goes up for sale. Fundamentally, I think the way we do sessions is an extremely irresponsible way to make law, when we are so far behind the rest of the nation on so many things, and the rest of the world just keeps speeding up, she said. Well never catch up. Rep. Kathleen Cates (D-Rio Rancho) sponsored several housing bills and joined a working group with other lawmakers to discuss and propose housing-related legislation. She said the Legislature was abuzz with housing-related energy at the beginning and is proud to have supported another year of significant investments in housing and homelessness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, Cates also said significant legislation she supported languished without hearings, primarily in Senate Judiciary Thats where everything dies, Senate Judiciary, she said. Its ridiculous. Sen. Joseph Cervantes, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, did not respond to a request for comment on Friday afternoon from Source New Mexico. Other prominent housing-related bills that died this session include one that would have created a new Office of Housing, Planning and Production in the executive branch. Advocates say the office is necessary to collect better data and coordinate various government agencies into a unified statewide strategy. That bill also made it to its final committee hurdle, Senate Finance, without being heard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our priority bill SB205had amazing support, compelling testimony, and endorsements from diverse organizations around the state. We won bipartisan support in four committee hearings and passed the House 49-17, Daniel Werwath, housing policy adviser to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, wrote in an email to supporters on the last day of the session. Sadly, in the last few days of the session, the Senate Finance Committee chose not to hear our bill and denied us a vote on the Senate floor. Werwath declined an interview request with Source New Mexico until after the governor decides which bills to sign, but his same email pointed to the money in the budget for housing and also HB571 as reason to call the session a success. While we failed to win statutory authority for the Office, this doesnt change our work, Werwath wrote. With record funding and mandates to work on statewide housing regulatory frameworks through HB571 we will continue to work to ensure that state investments in housing are delivered quickly, efficiently and with a focus on innovation and outcomes. PULASKI COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) Pulaski County wants to Sound the Alarm and raise awareness on home fire safety prevention. The Sound the Alarm, Save a Life campaign is a day-long event being hosted by the American Red Cross to install free smoke alarms across the country. At 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 29, volunteers with the Pulaski County Emergency Management, Pulaski County Fire and Rescue, Pulaski Fire Department, VDH, and partners with the American Red Cross and other community organizations with be at the Central Gym. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Be prepared! Have and practice an escape plan and practice! Download the Red Cross Escape Plan Worksheet. Roanoke Fire and EMS shares important burning safety guidelines Test your smoke alarms monthly by pressing the test button You should hear three beeps, letting you know the alarm is working. Dont hear the beeps? Then its time to change the batteries, if your model requires them. If your smoke alarm is 10 years old, its time to get a new alarm because the sensor becomes less sensitive over time. Fire Extinguisher Safety Consider having one or more working fire extinguishers in your home. An extinguisher rated A-B-C is recommended for home use. Many fire extinguisher models are designed for one-time use and cannot be recharged. Get training from the fire department or a fire extinguisher manufacturer. Fire extinguishers from various manufacturers operate in different ways, and there is no time to read directions during an emergency. Only adults should handle and use extinguishers. Install extinguishers high on the wall, near an exit, and away from heat sources. Extinguishers should be easily accessible to adults trained to use them and kept away from childrens curious hands. Heat may make the contents less effective or cause the extinguisher to lose its charge more quickly. If you try to use a fire extinguisher on a fire and the fire does not immediately die down, drop the extinguisher and get out. Most portable extinguishers empty in 8 seconds. Look at your fire extinguisher to ensure that it is properly charged. Fire extinguishers will not work properly if they are not properly charged. Use the gauge or test button to check that there is proper pressure. Follow the manufacturers instructions for replacing or recharging fire extinguishers. If the unit is low on pressure, damaged, or corroded, replace it or have it professionally serviced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roanoke Fire & EMS share tips on fire escape plans & safety: Learn more Before you begin to fight a fire with a fire extinguisher, be sure that: Everyone has left or is leaving the home. The fire department has been called. The fire is small and not spreading. Your back is to an exit you can use quickly. There is not much smoke in the room. Cooking Fires: Cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home fire injuries. Home fires are more likely to start in the kitchen than any other room in your home. Unattended cooking causes nearly 90 percent of all kitchen fires. Cooking was the cause of 36% of all structure fires in 2002 The number of home fires the American Red Cross has responded to has risen 10% since 000. Every two and a half hours, someone is killed in a home fire. In a typical year, 20,000 people are injured in home fires. Having a working smoke alarm reduces ones chances of dying in a fire by nearly half. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign up for your free fire alarm installation today by visiting redcross.org, by calling 540-987-6355, dialing 711, or by scanning the QR Code below. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The global heads of German automakers BMW and Mercedes, (MBGAF) as well as chip giant Qualcomm are among foreign business leaders due to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, two sources said on Thursday. The meeting in Beijing planned for Friday comes as Chinese authorities seek to bolster ties with foreign companies amid a drop in investment and in the face of U.S. tariffs targeting the world's second-biggest economy. The meeting follows on from last weekend's China Development Forum (CDF), a flagship business event that this year saw Premier Li Qiang urge countries to open their markets and combat "rising instability and uncertainty". Li also pledged that China would deliver more active macroeconomic policies. Executives from Apple (AAPL), Pfizer (PFE), Mastercard (MA), Cargill and others met with Chinese commerce ministry officials over the course of CDF. The sources, who have direct knowledge of the planned meeting between Xi and the Mercedes, BMW and Qualcomm executives, asked not to be named as they are not authorized to speak with media. They gave no details regarding the expected substance of the talks. The companies did not immediately reply to Reuters' requests for comment. The Chinese foreign ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The frequency of meetings between foreign executives and high-level Chinese authorities has picked up over the past month after official data showed foreign direct investment (FDI) plummeted 27.1% year-on-year in local currency terms in 2024. That marked the biggest drop in FDI since the 2008 global financial crisis. Global firms have been moving manufacturing away from China in an effort to diversify their supply chains and derisk their operations among escalating geopolitical tensions. China's slowing economy has also played a role in the decline in investment, while a sweeping crackdown on consultancy and due diligence firms has rattled some foreign executives. Beijing is also eager to mend relations with global business leaders to help fend off disruptions sparked by tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping China remains one of the biggest markets for German automakers, including BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen, in spite of market share leakage to Tesla and Chinese rivals including BYD and Xiaomi. It may become even more important after Trump's announcement of a new 25% tariff on imported autos to the U.S. due to go into effect on April 3. German automakers have recently ramped up efforts to seek technology partnerships with Chinese companies to enhance their product competitiveness there. (Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Joe Bavier) COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) The American Red Cross is kicking off its Sound the Alarm campaign to help reduce the number of deaths and injuries in home fires. Seven people die each day in a home fire in the U.S., according to the Red Cross. Thats why the campaign is in full force, providing fire safety tips and installing free smoke alarms in central Ohio. Columbus to review 16-story student housing complex at corner of Lane and High Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the help of the organization and its prevention efforts, more than 36,000 families in central and southern Ohio are prepared if a disaster occurs. The agency is teaming up with local fire departments hosting several installation events throughout the area, and providing free smoke alarms to homes that need them. The event will also provide educational resources on fire safety instruction and disaster preparedness as well. Below is a schedule of installation events in central Ohio: Columbus Division of Fire: March 29 Linden Community Center at 1350 Briarwood Avenue 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Clinton Township Division of Fire: April 5 Clinton Township Division of Fire at 3820 Cleveland Avenue 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone who needs a free smoke alarm can also call the Red Cross hotline at 844-207-4509. For additional information on the Sound the Alarm campaign or if you would like to volunteer at the events above, visit the American Red Cross 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. (WBRE/WYOU) Tariffs, Medicaid, Social Security. We hear from Pennsylvania Congressman Rob Bresnahan (R) on the hottest and most controversial topics coming out of Washington. Bresnahan discussed key issues surrounding the Trump administration that could affect people here in northeastern Pennsylvania. He says he recognizes the accountability Congress has in taking action to help protect Pennsylvanians, but is making sure his constituents concerns are heard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What would Trumps Voting Executive Order mean? Theres a lot of speculation right now. A lot of ifs, ands, buts, said Rep. Bresnahan. Thats how Bresnahan, who represents Pennsylvanias 8th District, describes recent executive orders from the white house. He admits theres some uncertainty, but is confident many programs Pennsylvanians rely on will stay exactly where they are. There has been absolutely nothing different from last months Social Security check to this months Social Security check, stated Rep. Bresnahan. A core focus of President Trumps administration has been getting rid of waste in the federal government, prompting large cuts to federal programs, laying off workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has also been talk of cuts to Medicaid and Medicare benefits. The congressman says hes fully in support of getting rid of fraud and waste inside of the system. But he stands firm. Health benefits to elderly Pennsylvanians are staying intact. Ive been clear since the beginning we are not going to gut Medicaid or Medicare benefits. If you are lawfully entitled or deserving of those benefits and our neighbors that rely on those services they will be here to stay, voiced Rep. Bresnahan. Mr. Trump has also imposed a variety of tariffs that can have an affect on more than 1 trillion imported goods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest: auto imports. Some feel those tariffs could hit working class Pennsylvanians, farmers, and small business owners in NEPA. Theres some legislative priority that we need to do. We need to preserve the tax cuts and job act so that businesses can have plans for continuity to know what to expect and that is something that Congress is accountable for, said Rep. Bresnahan. Concern also this week about a journalists account of being added to a group chat with U.S. national security officials. I think it was a blunder that cannot happen ever again. There was a mistake and it was exposed and there should absolutely be accountability, voiced Rep. Bresnahan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The congressman admits changes from the executive office are coming fast but wants his constituents to know he and his fellow lawmakers are ready for anything and keeping an eye toward the future. The American people gave us a mandate and that is something we need to fulfill on. Im also a big believer in the separation of powers, but I think Congress is ready for the challenge and I think well continue to roll up our sleeves and make a difference, added Rep. Bresnahan. Above all, Congressman Bresnahan says his loyalty lies with northeastern Pennsylvania and has future efforts planned in making sure his constituents are protected. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik reportedly was shocked by Donald Trumps decision to withdraw his nomination for her to become the country's UN Ambassador, according to people familiar with the issue. Trump announced on Thursday that he wants Stefanik to remain in Congress to keep her district in Republican control following the 2026 midterm elections. According to a report in Axios, the decision caught the congresswoman completely off guard, and she scrambled unsuccessfully to change his mind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress to help me deliver Historic Tax Cuts, GREAT Jobs, Record Economic Growth, a Secure Border, Energy Dominance, Peace Through Strength, and much more, so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "With a very tight Majority, I dont want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elises seat. The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations." Republicans control 218 House seats, while Democrats control 213 seats. Four seats are vacant. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik was reportedly scrambling to change Donald Trumps mind before he dropped her as his nominee for UN Ambassador (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Trumps decision leaves Stefanik in a difficult situation as she was preparing to leave her congressional seat to serve in his administration. According to Axios, most of her congressional staff have resigned, and she has already given up her slot on the House Intelligence Committee. Now she'll have to reintegrate back into the House and prepare for any electoral challengers in 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite Trump's insistence that Stefanik is needed to maintain Republican control of her district, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Maureen O'Toole said that the GOP would win the seat whether Stefanik was running or not. "We'd win this seat in a special election and we'll win it in a general election," she said. In the meantime, Stefanik's allies in Congress are doing what they can to pad her fall back into the House. Florida Congresswoman Kat Cammack called Stefanik a "rock star" who will be welcomed back without issue into the House GOP's leadership, according to The Hill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said she texted Stefanik the message this sucks, but we all understand" after the news broke. But my hope is that President Trump can find a way after midterms to really elevate her profile and really put her in a place where she can continue to do a great service to our nation, Cammack said. House Speaker Mike Johnson also offered praise for Stefanik and echoed Trump's sentiments about maintaining control of Congress. Elise Stefanik is truly a great leader and a devoted patriot. Todays selfless decision shows America what those of us who work with her already know. She is deeply devoted to her country and fully committed to see President Trumps agenda succeed in Congress. It is well known Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 27, 2025 "It is well known Republicans have a razor-thin House majority, and Elise's agreement to withdraw her nomination will allow us to keep one of the toughest, most resolute members of our Conference in place to help drive forward President Trump's America First policies," he said in a post on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said Stefanik was a "great leader and a devoted patriot." At the same time, Democrats leapt at the chance to paint Trump's move as a sign of fear and weakness. "Donald Trump won the Elise Stefanik district by 21 points in November 2024. He withdrew her nomination to be U.N. Ambassador because the extremists are afraid they will lose the special election to replace her," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement. "The Republican agenda is extremely unpopular, they are crashing the economy in real time and House Republicans are running scared. What happened to their so-called mandate?" TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) During a televised cabinet meeting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she plans to eliminate FEMA but didnt go further into how that could play out. Rep. Kathy Castor, who represents people in Tampa and St. Petersburg, wants the Trump Administration to rethink those plans, especially since FEMA is still assisting families after back-to-back hurricanes. Sierra Club warns of pollution causing murky water in Kings Bay Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eliminating FEMA would be dangerous and costly for Florida families and businesses, Castor said. FEMA is a federal agency that helps states prepare and respond after disasters, like hurricanes. The agency not only helps families with individual assistance, but it also reimburses municipalities for debris removal. Theres no way that a community facing catastrophe has the ability to keep a search-and-rescue team on task all year long or have a medical assistant team on task all year long, Castor said. To think youre asking the state to maintain and carry those costs for months, and months, and months. That just doesnt make sense. Thats not financially wise. While at the Florida State Fair last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his support for overhauling FEMA and allowing states to take more control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youve got folks with Milton and Helene who are still battling FEMA, DeSantis said. Rep. Castor says thats not a good idea based on years of complaints from Floridians who are seeking jobless benefits. We know from the experience of Floridas unemployment compensation system that they have never been able to deliver aide in a timely basis, Castor said. The latest numbers from Thursday show that FEMA has distributed $1.5 billion for individual assistance in Florida from Debby, Helene, and Milton. $1.6 billion has been approved in public assistance under those same storms. President Trump has floated the idea for a major overhaul on how FEMA operates. He even created a FEMA review council through an executive order. As for changes, Castor would like to see at least one difference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They really should improve their customer service, especially on the individual emergency aid where they often tell people theyre denied when theyre not denied, Castor said. In a statement, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, who represents coastal areas from Holiday up to Homosassa said: FEMAs response to our recent hurricanes has been abysmal, with too many of my constituents still waiting for help and answers coming painfully slow. I agree with President Trump and Secretary Noem that we need to take a serious look at shifting federal funding and decision-making back to the states. I believe in local control because local leaders are more accountable to those they serve. For example, weve seen that the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) has been much more effective in meeting the unique needs of Floridians than FEMA. With more flexibility and funding, I believe FDEM could do an even better job meeting the needs of those who are suffering and that is a concept worth exploring. Rep. Gus Bilirakis Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 new bill filed in the Texas Legislature seeks to transfer management of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (PPHM) in Canyon from West Texas A&M University to the Texas Historical Commission (THC), aiming to strengthen preservation and operation of one of the states key cultural institutions. Filed as an amendment to the Texas Government Code, HB 5554, introduced by State Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo), would authorize the THC to contract with the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, which owns the museums collection, for day-to-day management. The bill also allows the THC to enter into agreements with West Texas A&M University or The Texas A&M University System for the maintenance, renovation, and expansion of the museum facilities on the universitys campus. One of the many exhibits is seen inside of Pioneer Hall of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon in this September 2024 file photo. A key provision of the bill is the establishment of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum Fund, a dedicated source of funding outside the state treasury. This fund would be supported through admissions, gift shop sales, and donations, allowing the THC to use the funds for operational expenses, repairs, and growth without the need for legislative approval. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the bill is passed, museum staff currently employed by West Texas A&M would transition to the THC by Sept. 1, 2025. For the bill to take effect immediately, it must pass with a two-thirds majority vote in both the Texas House and Senate. Otherwise, it would go into effect on the specified date. WT President Walter Wendler addresses media in September 2024 about proposals to modernize the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon. The bill is aimed at securing the future of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, ensuring it remains a vital part of Texas' cultural heritage. Supporters of the measure argue that transferring management to the Texas Historical Commission would provide the focused expertise needed to preserve the museums collection and address its long-term operational needs. This legislative effort follows the recent closure of the museum after a State Fire Marshal report highlighted critical fire and life safety concerns. According to West Texas A&M, the museum shut its doors indefinitely to address issues such as sprinkler system deficiencies, dead-end hallways, and inadequate exits. The total cost of the required renovations is estimated at nearly $100 million. An exhibit of cowboy gear is seen inside of Pioneer Hall of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon in this September 2024 file photo. State Sen. Kevin Sparks (R-Midland) has filed an identical companion bill in the Senate, and both bills will be reviewed in the coming months. This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Texas bills filed on Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum Management (FOX40.COM) Woodland Police Department received a report of credit card fraud from a local resident on February 26, 2024. Video above: New bill seeks to help implement Prop. 36 changes in California WPD said that an investigation led them to Kenneth Matthews, who had unlawfully obtained the victims credit and bank cards. Police said Matthews also used the cards several times charging them to around $1,000 on their cards in just one day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Matthews also had a prior conviction for unlawful use of personal identifying information and the charges were filed in 2024 on March, stated WPD. Shooting suspect in Marysville police officers death identified Even though those cases were pending and Matthews was out on bail, California voters passed Prop 36 which was aimed at addressing the retail theft crisis by increasing penalties for repeat thieves, said WPD. The law went into effect on Dec. 18 and after two days, Matthews was arrested during a retail theft blitz operation that was conducted by the California Highway Patrols Valley Division at Target in Woodland. Matthews was observed ticket-switching and paying only around $2 for around $200 worth of merchandise. He was stopped by CHP as he left the store with unpaid merchandise and was arrested after a record check revealed that he had numerous qualifying convictions making the conduct a felony charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement District Attorney Jeff Reisig said, California voters have spoken by an overwhelming majority, passing Prop 36 by nearly 70%, calling for change and accountability for repeat theft offenders. This case is just one example that demonstrates the need for the changes that voters have rightfully demanded. The Yolo County District Attorneys Office will continue to fight to ensure that the voters will is done by holding serial thieves accountable in a meaningful way to combat the retail theft crisis. These convictions stem from Matthews repeated thefts in Yolo County from The Home Depot, and Target, and the unauthorized use of credit cards that belonged to residents in Woodland, said WPD. At many Home Depot stores from July to December 2023, police said he was caught on camera ticket-switching, as he would scan a lower-priced item in place of the expensive item he had chosen. Home Depot Loss Prevention team caught Matthews scheme who then submitted their reports directly to the Yolo County District Attorneys Office through the FastPass program and charges were filed in 2024. On March 25, WPD stated that Matthews pled no-contest to retail theft with two or more prior convictions, grand thefts, and unlawful use of personal identity information. Additionally, he admitted to eight prior qualifying convictions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WPD said per the terms of the plea, Matthews will be sentenced on May 20 at around 9 a.m. at Yolo Superiors Court to three years and four months in local 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 FOX40 News. REPORT: Expanding medical residency programs could add $465M to Arkansas BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A new study by Heartland Forward indicates that expanding medical residency programs in Arkansas could generate $465 million in economic activity. The report estimates that adding 275 new medical residents over six years would have a significant financial impact, with each resident contributing approximately $482,000 annually to the states economy. Arkansas ranks 49th in the nation for active physicians per 100,000 people, and the study suggests that increasing graduate medical education (GME) slots could help address this gap while also contributing to economic growth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. judge aims for April in decision on Pope County casinos future Historically, more than 50% of medical residents remain within 100 miles of their training location, suggesting that investments in residency programs could help retain physicians in Arkansas. Medical residency programs are primarily funded by the federal government through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at a rate of $115,000 per resident per year. The report estimates that each resident generates more than four times that amount in economic activity. Additionally, increased healthcare access from additional physicians could raise Arkansas labor productivity by an average of $54 per worker annually, according to the report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To read the full report, 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 KNWA FOX24. GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) One person was taken to the hospital after a reported shooting on Interstate-85 South, according to a Greensboro Police Department news release. Around 1:44 p.m. on Friday, Greensboro officers, Greensboro firefighters and Guilford County EMS were sent to a reported shooting on I-85 South near mile marker 131. The incident involved drivers of two tractor-trailers, police say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 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 FOX8 WGHP. Turkish authorities have detained at least three journalists and an Istanbul district official amid an ongoing crackdown on protests against the jailing of key opposition politician Ekrem Imamoglu, media reported on Friday. Two Turkish journalists were detained over their coverage of the protests, the daily Evrensel newspaper reported. Press freedom groups, including Reporters Without Borders, condemned the detentions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Swedish journalist Joakim Medin from the daily Dagens ETC newspaper was detained shortly after he landed in Istanbul on Thursday and has not been heard from since, the newspaper reported. Meanwhile, authorities have expanded their crackdown on municipal officials. Ebru Ozdemir, deputy mayor of Istanbul's Sisli district, was arrested on Friday as part of an ongoing terrorism-related investigation into Imamoglu and aides, state news agency Anadolu reported. Also on Friday, Imamoglu's lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was briefly detained, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said. Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and CHP's presidential candidate, was arrested last week on corruption charges, triggering nationwide protests. The 53-year-old politician separately faces terrorism charges. He denies all the accusations against him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tens of thousands of people have since taken to the streets, accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of using the case to eliminate a political rival. It remains unclear if Imamoglu can actually run in the presidential race, scheduled for 2028. Police have cracked down on the demonstrators, with nearly 1,900 people - including journalists - temporarily detained, according to the Interior Ministry. In a guest op-ed for The New York Times on Friday, Imamoglu accused Erdogan of turning Turkey into a "republic of fear" by silencing the press, sidelining elected officials and controlling the judiciary. Student groups have called for fresh protests for later on Friday. The CHP separately called for a major rally in Istanbul for Saturday. Turkish authorities have detained at least three journalists and an Istanbul district official amid an ongoing crackdown on protests against the jailing of key opposition politician Ekrem Imamoglu, media reported on Friday. Two Turkish journalists were detained over their coverage of the protests, the daily Evrensel newspaper reported. Press freedom groups, including Reporters Without Borders, condemned the detentions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Swedish journalist Joakim Medin from the daily Dagens ETC newspaper was detained shortly after he landed in Istanbul on Thursday and has not been heard from since, the newspaper reported. "It has now been more than 24 hours," wrote Andreas Gustavsson, editor-in-chief of Dagens ETC, on Friday. "Silence. I don't know where he is. I don't know how he's doing." Meanwhile, authorities have expanded their crackdown on municipal officials. Ebru Ozdemir, deputy mayor of Istanbul's Sisli district, was arrested on Friday as part of an ongoing terrorism-related investigation into Imamoglu and aides, state news agency Anadolu reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BBC reporter Mark Lowen was detained and deported earlier this week after covering the protests. Also on Friday, Imamoglu's lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was briefly detained, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said. Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and CHP's presidential candidate, was arrested last week on corruption charges, triggering nationwide protests. The 53-year-old politician separately faces terrorism charges. He denies all the accusations against him. Tens of thousands of people have since taken to the streets, accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of using the case to eliminate a political rival. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It remains unclear if Imamoglu can actually run in the presidential race, scheduled for 2028. Police have cracked down on the demonstrators, with nearly 1,900 people - including journalists - temporarily detained, according to the Interior Ministry. In a guest op-ed for The New York Times on Friday, Imamoglu accused Erdogan of turning Turkey into a "republic of fear" by silencing the press, sidelining elected officials and controlling the judiciary. Student groups have called for fresh protests for later on Friday. The CHP separately called for a major rally in Istanbul for Saturday. Demonstrators gather in Ankara's Kizilay Square, to protest against the imprisonment of leading Turkish opposition politician and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP). Tunahan Turhan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Demonstrators chant slogans and light flares during a protest in Ankara's Kizilay Square, against the imprisonment of leading Turkish opposition politician and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP). Tunahan Turhan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa By Kritika Lamba (Reuters) - Wolfspeed's shares lost half their value on Friday, hitting their lowest level since 1998, as funding through a Joe Biden-era legislation that promised subsidies for chip making in the United States remains uncertain. Wolfspeed is waiting on about $750 million in federal funding under the U.S. CHIPS Act, the 2022 bipartisan law which promised $52.7 billion in subsidies for domestic semiconductor chips manufacturing and production. But earlier this month, President Donald Trump said U.S. lawmakers should get rid of the law and use the proceeds to pay debt. "Wolfspeed's CHIPS Act grant ended up being the highest-dollar CHIPS grant to not be officially awarded before Biden's exit, leaving it particularly vulnerable to being pulled under the new administration," said Brooks Idlet, senior analyst at CFRA Research. Without the grant, Wolfspeed would face devastating consequences requiring major restructuring to preserve cash, Idlet said. Wolfspeed hopes to accelerate the manufacturing of silicon carbide chips used in electric vehicles and renewable energy industries with the federal funding. The company said on Friday it is maintaining "constructive" communication with the White House and the U.S. Commerce Department to secure the funding. Shares of Wolfspeed were last trading at $2.72. Including the session's losses so far, the stock has lost more than 59% of its value this year. The company on Thursday named chip industry veteran Robert Feurle as its chief executive effective May 1, after it ousted top boss Gregg Lowe without cause in November. The chipmaker said on Friday that it accrued $865 million in tax credits, using which it intends to strengthen its capital structure. According to estimates by Ortex, about 32.5% of Wolfspeed's free float was in short position as of March 27, indicating that the market expects a drop in the stock price. (Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed) ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Meet Warren and Whinny 6-week-old puppies, they have had their first round of shots and are looking for forever homes. Not much is known about their breed as they litter was separated from the mother very early on and father is unknown. However, it has been guessed they are Heeler or German Sheppherd mixes. Fix West Texas offers low-cost spay and neuter, vaccinations as well as surrenders for families who can no longer care for their furry friend. They also offer a food pantry for pets that offers little to no cost food options for dogs and cats as well as the various pet tools. If you are interested in adopting one of these puppies or simply volunteering, you can do so 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 Yourbasin. Four staff members of the SPCA Monterey County Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center rescued a male coyote that was stuck in a water retention pond in Salinas, California, as Bay City News Foundation reported. They were contacted when someone noticed the coyote could not escape the pond's steep, slippery sides. The team of rescuers used nets to corral the wet, tired animal and took it to the wildlife center to recover. He was checked for injuries and was doing well, so he was released back into the wild the next day. During times of drought, coyotes and other animals often have to look for water wherever they can find it, sometimes meeting peril as a result. This coyote was fortunate to have been found by a kind person willing to help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thankfully, the Salinas area received some rain. "Hopefully more rain will allow them to find more natural water sources," SPCA Monterey County spokesperson Beth Brookhouser told Bay City News. Wild animals rely on natural water sources, and during drought conditions, their usual drinking spots can become scarce, forcing them to travel long distances to find drinking water. This increases their vulnerability to predators and other dangers in unfamiliar environments. Drought conditions can also deplete the vegetation that animals rely on for food, which throws the ecosystem further out of balance. This can threaten biodiversity if species cannot adapt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brookhouser was optimistic about the forecast for more precipitation in Salinas, hoping that it would help keep animals from getting into further predicaments in their search for water. Conserving water and protecting natural habitats ensures wildlife have the needed resources to thrive. By donating money to climate action causes and taking local action in your community, you can help raise awareness about the warming of the planet that contributes to drought conditions. 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. The rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence is exposing a glaring disconnect in teacher preparation. While forward-thinking superintendents are rolling up their sleeves to build AI literacy among teachers, college programs tasked with preparing the next generation of educators are largely absent from the conversation. This isnt just a missed opportunity; it is an existential crisis for teacher prep programs. From hundreds of surveys and in dozens of interviews of school leaders conducted over the last year, researchers from the Centers on Reinventing Public Education have heard a consistent message: Teachers urgently need help shifting their mindset on AI, moving from reflexive fear and resistance to curiosity and hands-on engagement with the technology. Many still see AI primarily as a tool for cheating rather than as a transformative force in education. However, AI is not going away, and teachers must understand both its potential and its risks. Thoughtful educators are already wrestling with questions of plagiarism, bias and privacy, but they are also finding AI invaluable for reducing paperwork, tailoring instruction for different student skill levels and creating accessible documents for English learners and their families. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Beyond the classroom, teachers must also prepare students for a future workforce shaped by AI, helping them navigate a world of hallucinating chatbots and algorithm-driven decision-making. AI literacy is quickly becoming as fundamental as reading and math, yet higher education is nowhere near ready to meet this challenge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CRPEs latest research paints a sobering picture: Few education schools are making serious moves to incorporate AI training into teacher preparation. Faculty resistance, the inability to change longstanding institutional policies and lack of expertise about teaching with generative AI y are major barriers. Where AI is mentioned, it is usually in the context of student plagiarism rather than as a tool that could reshape teaching and learning. The result is that future K-12 teachers are entering classrooms unprepared for the AI-driven realities they will inevitably face. Perhaps the most telling sign that colleges of education are becoming irrelevant to the work of preparing teachers for AI is the silence from district leaders. When we asked 15 district administrators about higher educations role in AI training, none of them even thought to mention teacher prep programs. Some districts maintain longstanding partnerships with education schools, but not one superintendent we spoke with considered higher education a resource for AI-related professional learning. That is a damning indictment. If teacher prep programs want to remain relevant, they need to start listening to what schools actually need. Related How Artificial Intelligence Could Change Schools & Change How We Test Students Superintendents are not waiting for support or direction from higher ed institutions to tackle AI. Many are taking a hands-on approach, leading AI workshops themselves, offering opt-in training for teachers and prioritizing practical, immediate applications over abstract concerns. This is the kind of leadership teacher prep programs should be providing, yet we are seeing the opposite: inertia, skepticism and a frustratingly slow pace of change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Education schools could start by mirroring what innovative districts (and a few colleges of education) are already doing: Meet faculty where they are. Districts do not force AI training. Instead, they hold optional information sessions and give teachers multiple opportunities to learn about and experiment with AI tools designed to, for example, assist in completing administrative tasks or generating individualized assignments for students. Education schools should do the same, starting with faculty workshops on using AI for research, grading and lesson planning before moving into pedagogy. Build AI leadership teams. Just as some districts are identifying AI champions among teachers, education schools should form internal task forces to experiment with tools, train colleagues and develop curricula. Forge real partnerships with K-12. Teacher prep programs should work directly with districts to co-develop AI coursework that aligns with what schools actually need rather than making assumptions from the ivory tower. Higher education has a choice: adapt or risk irrelevance. If colleges and universities cannot step up to equip future teachers with the skills, tools and mindsets needed for an AI-infused education landscape, districts will find other ways to fill the gap. Once that happens, teacher prep programs may find themselves permanently sidelined. State legislators should consider policy action, including assessing and updating accreditation requirements for education schools. During a focus group with ed school faculty gathered to discuss preparing teachers for AI in the classroom, one dean told us, Ultimately, we do what the state tells us. States also might consider bolder action, such as allowing leading districts to offer AI courses to ed school students and other aspiring teachers as a potential income stream. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Philanthropy, nonprofits and alternative teacher preparation programs should take note as well. They have an opportunity, and arguably a responsibility, to step in where higher education is falling short. Googles professional certification programs might be extended to teachers in training, for example. Related New Survey Says U.S. Teachers Colleges Lag on AI Training. Here are 4 Takeaways Generative AI is the canary in the coal mine for teacher preparation. It is revealing, in real-time, the ways in which higher educations slow-moving shifts in programs and policies are failing to keep up with the world their graduates will enter. The colleges that recognize this moment for what it is a chance to lead, innovate and evolve will shape the future of teaching. Those that do not may soon find themselves obsolete. MUHLENBERG COUNTY, KY. (WEHT) As work continues to bring a proposed solar farm to Muhlenberg County, residents who say it could be in their backyards voice concerns. It affects our lives and our homes, one concerned resident says. Lost City Renewables says it wants to put a 250 megawatt solar farm east of Penrod. Some residents say it could bring down property values. We picked Muhlenberg County and Dunmor for our retirement home. We have family up there and spend time with family. We like to sit on the front porch and the back porch. We have deer that come to our land and up to the fruit trees. We will not be able to see them because of it [the solar plant] surrounding us on three different sides, one resident says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposed site is between Dunmor and Penrod. Farmers in the area say it could change the ecosystem and impact crops. Right now, it is empty land, with fields and trees, and farmers say they want to keep it that way. If you are replacing trees with large solar panels and concrete it will impact the ecosystem and microecosystem. The bugs in the ground that help us produce fruits and vegetables will be nonexistent. We also have a lot of endangered species, says Keria Elitzer, who owns land near the proposed site. Others say it could bring more business to the county and give the economy a financial boost. I urge the PRC to approve this project. From a tax revenue standpoint, bringing more power to the grid and putting local people from the local 1392 in the surrounding counties, it is a win-win for this community, says a man who came on behalf of the Laborers International Union of North America, the Kentucky Labors District Council and the Local 1392. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nothing is set in stone yet. A formal hearing is scheduled for 9 am EST on June 11th at the Public Service Commission in Franfort. The public is invited 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 Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). Somers Beach State Park on Flathead Lake. (Provided by Montana FWP for the Daily Montanan) Senate President Matt Regier grew up learning to water ski on Flathead Lake the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi as did many of his constituents. I have friends that live there. Hopefully someday I can afford to live on it, too, Regier told reporters during a press availability this week. But Flathead Lake is not just for the people around it. Tourism is a big draw for the Flathead Valley. And when you have a problem like we did two years ago with lake levels and not being able to put boats in, I mean, thats just the start of it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Regier presented Joint Resolution 18 to the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, which requests that water managers consider recreation to be as important as other priorities when making decisions about Flathead Lake. In late June 2023, water levels on Flathead Lake were historically low nine inches below the lakes full-pool mark and a foot below the 23-year median, according to U.S. Geological Survey data and causing problems for businesses and recreational users. Requests to raise the lake level, made to the inter-agency team that coordinates dams across the Columbia River Basin, were denied, as water managers had to balance multiple uses including flood control, wildlife management and irrigation not just recreation. I needed to do something to stand up for my constituents, especially back home, (to show) how vital having water in Flathead Lake is, Regier told reporters. I always speak for my constituents, but this is special to them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Regier cited comments from Gov. Greg Gianforte made that year about the importance of the lake to the regions economic vitality roughly $600 million is spent from anglers, boaters and other tourists in Flathead County alone, according to a University of Montana study. During a normal year, the dam-controlled lake fills up during the spring runoff by mid-June and tends to stay level throughout the summer months. In 2023, however, low snowpack and regional drought conditions prevented the lake from reaching full-pool levels. According to the University of Montanas Flathead Lake Biological Station which operates from a campus on the east side of the lake snowpack the previous winter was just 80% of the long-term average, and an unusually warm May led to a rapid meltout. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flathead Lake Biological Station Director Jim Elser said inflows from the main stem Flathead River, which is the primary source for the lake, was between 34% and 60% throughout the year. With so little water entering the lake, levels continued to drop, ultimately reaching a full two feet below full pool, which is 2,893. Low water levels affected boat and business owners around the lake, according to the Flathead Beacon, as many public and private boat access sites couldnt operate. Rental companies lost customers, too. Farmers upstream of the lake saw irrigation issues, as lake water often backs up the river to an elevation high enough to divert into sloughs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crops were jeopardized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Efforts to address the problem ran up the ladder from county officials, to the governor and Montanas Congressional delegation. One avenue considered was a plan to release water from Hungry Horse Reservoir located upstream. Hungry Horse Dam. In a rare scene, water is released through the outlet works due to heavy precipitation over the winter and spring. Courtesy Bureau of Reclamation Hungry Horse Dam, along with Selis Ksanka Qlispe (SKQ) Dam, operated by Energy Keepers Inc., on behalf of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, are part of a network of 60 dams throughout the the Columbia River Basin. Many of the dams are operated by the Army Corps of Engineers or Bureau of Reclamation, but all of them are jointly coordinated to regulate flood control, energy generation, irrigation, streamflow for fish migration and recreation. An inter-agency Technical Management Team comprising representatives from four states, five federal agencies and six tribal nations, coordinates operations across the Columbia River Basin. A proposal by Gov. Greg Gianforte to fill Flathead Lake using water from Hungry Horse was considered, but ultimately found to be an inadequate solution, due to the risk of draining too much water from the reservoir during drought conditions. During the fall, water released from Hungry Horse augments the Flathead River to aid endangered Bull Trout. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many elected officials, including U.S. Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke lambasted the decision, accusing the Technical Management Team of prioritizing fish over people. Zinke later introduced legislation to Congress that would require Flathead Lake to be held at full-pool capacity through Labor Day each year, but the legislation never got out of committee. Regier said during the committee hearing on Wednesday that he had considered similar legislation with a lot more teeth than just a resolution until he researched the intricacies involved in coordinating the water system of the Pacific Northwest. Once we started digging into that, there were a lot more players than I realized that were involved in water levels in Flathead Lake, Regier said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resolution put forward instead requests that all decision-making bodies with an influence on the usability of Flathead Lake ensure that recreation needs be measured fairly compared to hydropower, fish, and irrigation demands, and also requests that Flathead Lake Recreation be expressly reflected in the next iteration of the Columbia River Treaty. Negotiations to update the 61-year old treaty between the U.S. and Canada are currently paused due to President Donald Trumps threats to Canadas sovereignty. The committee did not take immediate action on Regiers resolution. A chart showing snow water equivalent in the Flathead River basin. Courtesy USDA State of the lake Management of Flathead Lake primarily rests with Energy Keepers Inc, the company that operates SKQ Dam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the dams federal license, the lake is dropped to its lowest level during the winter, and has specific flood-risk limitation on how quickly the water level can be brought up during the spring runoff. In a February news release, Energy Keepers said that streamflow conditions in the Flathead Basin were similar to 2023 and 2024 and the dam was being operated to increase the likelihood of meeting refill requirements. In both 2023 and 2024, the dam operators requested waivers from the Army Corps of Engineers to deviate from the normal process and begin filling the lake early in order to maximize capacity. The first water level benchmark to be released wont come until mid-April, and Energy Keepers has not updated its forecast for the lake since Feb. 2. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Data from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service show that snowpack in northwest Montana is significantly better than in recent years. As of March 27, NRCS data indicated that snow water equivalent the amount of moisture contained within the snowpack across the Flathead Basin is at 96% of the 30-year median. Rain and snow are forecast during the next week in the area. A view of the Ten Lakes Wilderness Study Area in northwest Montana. (Micah Drew/ Daily Montanan) A Senate joint resolution urging Congress to release over a million acres of wilderness study area in Montana from consideration of inclusion into the National Wilderness Preservation System brought significant opposition this week. Montana lawmakers can only urge federal action on these parcels of land since only Congress has the authority to classify the land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Wilderness Preservation System protects about 111 million acres of land across the country. No action has been taken yet on the measure, Senate Resolution 14, which was brought by Sen. Tony Tezak, R-Ennis. Proponents of the resolution said it would open up the areas to more uses, like ranching and logging. Opponents argued the resolution was a full-fledged assault on public lands. The resolution would involve a little more than a million acres. The Wilderness Study Area Act was passed in 1977, and none of the land under consideration has been formally designated as wilderness. Tezak believes the land should be, returned into public lands management decisions of our local forest service and Bureau of Land Management districts, rather than their current state of being managed as a wilderness study area dictated by Washington, D.C. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 1977 law requires a review of potential wilderness areas within five years. The resolution addresses this specifically, as well as a 2000 law that created more study areas on Bureau of Land Management land. The vast majority of Montana lands identified in the Montana Wilderness Study Act have never been formally recommended by the Secretary of Agriculture for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System and no law has been signed by the President to designate these lands as wilderness, the bill reads. Opponents of the bill included Wild Montana, Montana Chapter of Back Country Hunters and Anglers, Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund, Montana Audubon, Trout Unlimited, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and many individual residents. The Blackfeet Tribe, Fort Belknap Indian Community and the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy also opposed the resolution. We see this as a destructive attempt to undermine the hard work the localized community, including the Blackfeet Tribe, has done to protect these areas, said Patrick Yawakie, who was representing multiple tribal communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Proponents for the bill included the Montana Stock Growers Association as well as several ranchers. We are supporters of multiple use of public lands, and know that management of WSAs can curtail livestock grazing, something our organization cares deeply about, said Ellie Brighton, who was representing the Montana Stock Growers Association. Many existing WSAs did not have substantial support from livestock producers, and we support a collaborative approach. Opponents of the bill pointed to the slow pace of the federal government for not resolving the issue. The problem with creating lasting solutions for WSAs is not with the locally developed collaboratives or the balanced proposals that theyve developed, said Noah Marion, representing Wild Montana. The problem is with Washington, D.C., and their inability to pass legislation in a timely manner. There have been many bills in DC to resolve the status of WSAs, including one in the late 80s that resolved many of them. That was pocket vetoed. The Burkittsville Town Council will soon consider a draft report aimed at addressing problems with how the town documents finances, hires employees, handles purchases and more. A committee that drafted the report cited missing financial documentation, problems with employees and the improper use of town funds as an impetus for the report. The Town Council and Mayor Michael Robinson formed the Citizens Review Committee in December to review how town business is conducted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The committee met once in December 2024 and once in January 2025, according to the report. The full report was first discussed in the towns Feb. 13 meeting. The 11-page report calls for more training for town officials, a new procedure around potential conflicts of interest for elected officials, and better policies governing documentation, among its 14 major points. The recommendations are considered guidelines, Robinson said. If they are passed, he said, he plans to write them on a document and post it physically around the town, as well as on the town website. The town has already worked to address some of the issues cited in the report and is implementing the recommendations, Robinson said in an interview March 12. Robinson has been mayor since 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The town is in much better shape than it was six months ago, and in six months, it should be even better, he wrote in an email on March 13. The committee outlines better practices around finances. Town officials have struggled to find records for over $100,000 across several town accounts. Robinson said the town has resolved some of the confusion, which emerged during the fiscal year 2025 budget process. The report also aims to address the policies around purchasing following an instance when the Town Council was not consulted on the purchase of a phone that cost about $600 for a town employee in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The town has already recovered the cost, Robinson said. However, the report outlines new procedures around purchasing to prevent situations like this in the future. The report also outlined how the hiring process should be handled, after a now-former town employee was hired without full Town Council consent. The Town Council, which consists of three members, will consider the full recommendations in a meeting in April, Robinson said. The Town Council has a workshop meeting scheduled for April 7. The committee has four members: former Mayor Paul Gilligan, former Council Member Chuck Rounds, current Council Member Jim Hauver and Mark Carroll, the president of the organization that manages the cemetery in the town. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NOTICING A PROBLEM Hauver, who chaired the review committee, said the issues cited in the report arose soon after he took office in January 2024. Before joining the Town Council, Hauver worked for the federal government as a facility management specialist at the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center in Virginia. He said he oversaw budgets of millions of dollars. Hauver said he originally started to see problems when the towns fiscal year 2025 budget process started in May 2024. Around $33,000 that was not included in the budget should have been carried over from the previous years budget, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The towns overall budget is usually around $70,000, Robinson said. The town resolved the issue and carried over the $33,000, Hauver said. However, it set him on a track of looking for additional problems. Hauver took over as council member for Rounds, a former Burkittsville town clerk, who was elected to the council in 2022 for a three-year term. Rounds stepped down before his term ended. Hauvers current term ends after town elections are held in June. Newly elected officials take office in July. He said he has not yet decided his election plans. GRANT ISSUES Hauver said $147,000, later found to be a reimbursement from a grant, was transferred from one town account to another without express council approval, a violation of the towns charter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We had no idea what that money was for, and there was no documentation for it, he said. Robinson said he has since worked to gather documentation for the money. The town previously received a grant for its playground on East Main Street, he said. The grant worked on a reimbursement basis, meaning the town had to spend the money and then would be reimbursed. He said the town received the grant before his time in office, so he could not speak about the specifics of how the money was originally spent or how the reimbursement was received. He is also looking into the possibility of finding a grant manager for the town. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robinson said he has asked about potentially sharing services with other municipalities, so the town would not have to hire more employees itself. The report outlines procedures the town can follow to better manage its grants, which Gilligan, who also served on the committee, said were especially critical considering the towns small budget. There is a lack of accountability and documentation and the appearance of misappropriations, the draft report says of the towns handling of grants. However, Gilligan said the committee is not currently accusing anyone of any wrongdoing. Hauver said it did not seem like previous mayor and town clerk Deborah Burgoyne properly documented the towns finances during her mayoral terms lasting from 2007 to 2022 or while she was town clerk from 2022 to 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Someone sits around long enough without what you call oversight, and they get lazy, Gilligan said. Burgoyne said the towns uniform financial reports during her time as mayor never resulted in problems. The accountants have never had a problem with anything, at least not that I have heard, she said in an interview on Wednesday. Burgoyne declined to comment further, citing her retirement and ongoing family health issues. She also said she was unaware of the committees existence or its recommendations. The report recommends that the town adopt internal controls for the management of grants. It also outlines how the town should expand its documentation around grants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The town has not done a full audit in years, Hauver said. Recently, it has only done uniform financial reports, which are not as comprehensive and do not look into internal financial documentation as much, he said. That could affect future opportunities for funding from Frederick County, he said. Tricia Reaver, the Frederick County Internal Audit Division director, said in an interview on March 13 that town officials contacted her about the towns financial standing. She said she could not say if the town would have problems getting money from the county. However, the county has a policy on granting money only to entities that are in good financial standing. Because the county is not currently providing money to the town, it does not assess the towns financial standing, Reaver said. We have to do an audit by the United States auditing standards government standards and get us above board, so that we can get these monies from Frederick County, Hauver said. Though the county is not currently providing money to the town, it is a possibility in the future, he said. Robinson said the town is prepared to do an audit for its current finances,as well as for years when one was not performed. CONTRACTING, COUNCIL ETHICS The committee cited a purported conflict of interest with Drake as an active council member receiving payment from the town for his services. Drake has mowed and plowed the towns property since he was first contracted during Gilligans term of 1995 to 1998, Gilligan said in an interview on March 12. Drake was not a council member when he originally bid on and won the contract. However, he eventually ran for Town Council, and has served since 2016. He continued mowing even as a council member. Robinson said in a March 19 interview that the towns attorney, Lawrence Heffner, advised him that it can be fine for Town Council members to work for the town, so long as proper contracting procedures are followed. The contract for mowing never went out to bid again until this year, Gilligan said. In the towns meeting on March 10, Drakes bid won the mowing contract over a second bid. Drakes bid was $285 per mow, compared to Frederick-based Keyser Services bid of $405 per mow, Robinson said. The contract for mowing around 3.5 acres of town property will last for one year, though the town has the option to extend it for four additional one-year terms. Drake recused himself from the councils vote on the contract. Several residents in attendance at the meeting said Drake should continue mowing, as he has always done a good job in the past. No contractor has ever been more efficient, cost effective, or loyal to his customers, Burkittsville residents Catherine Cox and Charles Murray wrote in a letter to the Town Council that Robinson read aloud during the meeting. The committees report said the town should always consult its attorney to see what decisions council members should recuse themselves from. The towns contract for Drakes services was further complicated by a duplicated payment the town sent to him paying him $1,420 twice for the same service. Drake returned the second payment back to the town in February. The Frederick News-Post reached Drake for comment March 12. He said he would consider whether he wanted to comment, but he did not respond to further requests for comment, including on Tuesday. PURCHASING POWERS In regards to a purported lack of adherence to purchasing and contracting rules laid out in the towns charter, the report recommends the town clerk email all requests to purchase items to the Town Council for approval. This came up, Hauver said, when in 2024, a town employee bought a phone that cost about $600 without giving notice to the Town Council. Robinson declined to name the employee, but said the person no longer works for the town. Though the former employee kept the phone, the town managed to recoup the cost, Robinson said. This is one of the items that were implementing controls for and weve worked to get the purchase refunded, Robinson wrote in an email. The report also recommends the town clerk keep physical copies of the email and receipts for item purchases. CHARTER CONFUSION When I became mayor I was advised that there were two charters, Robinson wrote in an email to the News-Post. One is listed on the Maryland General Assembly website and was passed in 1957, while the other is on the town website and is listed as last being revised in 1991. The version from 1991 is what the town has been following, he said. Im working with [the state] to get their records updated since its been 34 years at this point since we sent them the current charter, Robinson wrote in an email. The committee recommended that current and future council members should read the charter and sign a signature page saying they have done so and understand the charter. TOWN HIRING PROCEDURE A town administrative official paid under a Maryland state grant, called a circuit rider, recommended a new temporary administrative position for the town in 2024, Robinson said. The purpose of the new administrative official was to help organize town records, Robinson said. However, the hiring process was not conducted with full council approval, Hauver said. The Town Council never approved the job description for the official, he said. Both the circuit rider and the administrative official no longer work with the town, Robinson said. The committee recommendations call for council members to have the opportunity to review potential employees. The town had also not sent employment tax forms to its mayor, council members, town clerk or contractors until 2024, Hauver said. The recommendations call for tax forms to be sent out every year to people who are paid by the town. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS The report also recommended town officials improve their timeliness in posting documents to the town website and providing them for council member review. Town officials need to be more prompt in answering emails was another recommendation. The mayor and council members cannot be heard during meetings, the report said, referring to the public trying to hear business at a town meeting. Robinson said during the March 10 meeting that he was actively looking into finding a microphone and speaker system for the towns meetings. The report also recommends that town officials receive training in municipal governance and draft an annual calendar. MOVING FORWARD Burkittsville has a small population, Robinson said in an interview March 12. The town had a population of 142 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census. It is hard to attract volunteers to town committees and to participate in the towns business, he said. However, he said the town is working on adopting the recommendations and improving its documentation. Town Council Member Matt Morris wrote in a March 13 email that the committee has come up with some great ideas and protocols to modernize the towns standard operating procedures. Overall, the procedures should help the town fall in line with modern municipal procedure, Gilligan said. The fact that were small is not an excuse, Gilligan said. We have to do very much what the big boys do, because were dealing with public money. From left, U.S. Sen. John Thune, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, all Republicans of South Dakota, talk about agriculture policy at Dakotafest in Mitchell on Aug. 21, 2024. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) It only stands to reason that a bunch of elected officials who are term-limited would believe that terms limits are good for everyone. Thats the case in the South Dakota Legislature, where both chambers endorsed House Joint Resolution 5002. It calls for a national constitutional convention to create an amendment that imposes term limits on members of the U.S. Congress. HJR 5002 was approved by votes of 42-24 in the House and 25-10 in the Senate. Joint resolutions dont require the signature of the governor. The Legislatures action did earn praise from U.S. Term Limits, an organization pushing for a constitutional amendment determining how long members of Congress can serve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It takes 34 states to call for a constitutional convention. Now South Dakota is one of 10 states that has endorsed USTLs version of the amendment. Nineteen other states have endorsed congressional term limits, but their language has to be made to conform with USTLs or the entire effort will just become a jobs program for lawyers. Let us know what you think... USTL would like to see members of the U.S. House limited to three two-year terms and members of the U.S. Senate limited to two six-year terms. Thats quite a change for an institution that has some members who make a career out of getting reelected. Term limits provide fresh faces with fresh ideas to elected office, USTL says on its website. They reduce lobbyist and special interest influence and make room in Congress for the citizen legislator. The citizen legislators in South Dakotas Legislature are limited to four two-year terms in each house, though they are allowed to try to jump to the other chamber after eight years. Legislators here became subject to term limits with the passage of an initiated constitutional amendment in 1992. Many of the faces in both chambers have changed due to term limits. However, many of the same lobbyists are still hanging in there, ready to offer their brand of guidance, expertise and institutional memory to each group of newbie lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chances are that congressional term limits would make lobbyists more important rather than less powerful, as claimed by USTL. Term limits would also place more emphasis on the expertise of government bureaucrats. After all, co-President Musk and DOGE cant fire them all. The prospect of congressional term limits is worrisome for a small state like South Dakota. This is particularly true in the U.S. Senate, where longevity leads to power. If term limits were already the law of the land in Washington, D.C., theres likely no way that Sen. John Thune would rise to be the Senate majority leader. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Granted, Thunes tenure so far hasnt exactly been a profile in courage as the Senate confirmed a group of Fox News has-beens and conspiracy theorists to serve in President Trumps Cabinet. Still, it will be good to have someone from South Dakota in a position of authority to look out for the states interests when Congress tackles the next farm bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The battle cry for term limits is usually based on the power of incumbents and how tough it is to kick the bums out of office. Some of the same South Dakota legislators who embraced HJR 5002 proved last year that incumbency is not all that its cracked up to be. The ditches of South Dakota roads are littered with Republican incumbents, tossed aside by voters in last years GOP primary. All the new faces in this years Legislature prove that, as they always have, voters hold the true key to term limits. By design, amending the U.S. Constitution takes time. With just 10 states signed on for its version of the term limits amendments, USTL has a long way to go. For small states it may be best if USTL never reaches its goal. Through the years, South Dakota has enjoyed the Senate leadership of Tom Daschle and now John Thune. Its hard to see how our small state could be in that position of power if the U.S. Capitol were to install a revolving door. REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (WCMH) A major development is making its way to Reynoldsburg as Mayor Joe Begeny announced three new warehouses are coming to Taylor Road. Real estate developer Core5 Industrial Partners will build the warehouses on the east side of Taylor Road, just south of Broad Street and east of the L Brands complex in the Licking County part of the city. The development will be built on a 54-acre site thats currently being rented out as farmland the developer has already acquired the parcel. LifeWise Academy reports it has surpassed its growth goals for the school year Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A number of people have been interested in it because its right there on that Taylor Road corridor with Victorias Secret and Bath and Body Works distribution in itself, Begeny said. Begeny said the project will bring in more than 400 new jobs, making it one of the citys top five biggest employers behind Bath and Body Works, Victorias Secret, Dynalab Test Systems, Central Ohio Primary Care and Reynoldsburg City Schools. The three buildings will total about 850,000 square feet. Begeny said its still too early to tell what businesses will occupy them, but they will be required to stick to the projected job numbers. He said its a huge step in securing the financial future of the city. Its a relief because in uncertain economic times, you never know exactly what the future is going to hold, Begeny said. And my primary responsibility is to try and bring in as many jobs as possible because I cant do anything else if we dont have that revenue to actually to fix our streets, to offer parks and recreation programming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The site is located within the Licking Heights Local Schools District, which Begeny said will benefit greatly from the project. Columbus to review 16-story student housing complex at corner of Lane and High Its going to bring in revenue, he said. So, theyll get a percentage of the property tax increase with it because right now the property tax value is around $1,400 a year. So, at 25% of what the total building project is going to be, which well find out probably sometime after the planning and zoning, theyll get that percentage of property tax as well as an income share without the additional need to service additional students. According to Begeny, a traffic study is currently being conducted, though he doesnt anticipate any major changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres two entrances to the L Brands facility right next to it, Begeny said. So, they know what the traffic is like based on those type of trucks. So, the question is, what do they need to do? Do they need to adjust where one existing traffic light is to make sure its a shared entrance, or do they just go to a right-in, right-out type of situation? Begeny said any time that you can bring 400 jobs to the community is a good thing. Based on the zoning code the city established in 2020, the area the site is located in has been identified as what they call an innovation, or job-creating, zone. Ohio Republicans form own version of DOGE Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its very exciting, Begeny said. Were not shell shocked, because obviously, weve been working on this for a little bit of time, but its nice to bring something because this is going to be one of the top five job centers in the Reynoldsburg area. The development is expected to go before Reynoldsburgs Planning and Zoning Board on April 17. Begeny said if all goes well, the city hopes for a groundbreaking in July or August. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Experts say Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s claims about vitamin A as a measles treatment are misleading. Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images More and more people are becoming infected in the ongoing measles outbreak in West Texas, New Mexico and beyond.More than 500 people have tested positive for the illness in Texas and there are hundreds more cases reported in other states. The disease has killed two unvaccinated children in Texas and is suspected in the death of an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently said in a Fox News interview that the government is delivering vitamin A to West Texas to battle the outbreak, and theyre getting very, very good results from budesonide, which is a steroid ... and clarithromycin [an antibiotic], and also cod liver oil, which has high concentrations of vitamin A and vitamin D. He also promoted the use of vitamin A for measles treatment in a recent Fox News opinion piece. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While his statements refer to the treatment of measles in a medical setting, medical experts told HuffPost that they worry Kennedys focus on vitamin A and cod liver oil could encourage parents of unvaccinated children, or unvaccinated people themselves, to try supplementation as prevention or treatment at home which is exactly whats now happening in West Texas. At a Texas childrens hospital, unvaccinated kids with severe cases of measles are also being treated for vitamin A toxicity, which suggests that the children were given the vitamin before hospitalization. Theres also increased demand for cod liver oil at local stores, according to Texas Public Radio. Medical professionals are concerned that this vitamin A misinformation could continue to spread and result in people not understanding whats actually best for measles treatment and prevention. Heres what medical experts want everyone to know: Vitamin A is not an at-home treatment or prevention tool for measles, but RFK Jr.s vitamin A thoughts do come from somewhere. Like much of what RFK says, theres always a kernel of truth, which he sort of manipulates to legitimize the things hes saying, which I know is a strong statement, but at this point I think its very important to say strong statements about it because if we are not clear in our responses, they easily get manipulated, said Dr. Anita Patel, a pediatric critical care doctor in Washington, D.C. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is evident in Kennedys claims about vitamin A, according to Patel. The kernel of truth is that hes right. Vitamin A at very high doses high doses that you would never administer by yourself at home but high-dose vitamin A administered in the hospital has shown to reduce both mortality and duration and severity of [measles] illness, Patel said. The lack of truth in the statement he made is that giving vitamin A in the form of cod liver oil as like a panacea for all the people in Texas ... is unequivocally wrong, Patel added. Cod liver oil as a measles treatment has not been studied, said Joel Bervell, a recent medical graduate and medical myth-buster on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not the same as vitamin A supplementation, Bervell explained. I think the reason why he was talking about cod oil in the first place was it has high levels of vitamin A, but the amount of vitamin A thats in cod oil can vary widely, and relying on that instead of vaccines can be risky. Supplementation for children just generally can also be an issue. As a blanket statement, I would never give my kids cod liver oil because we know the supplement industry is not very well regulated, Patel explained. I dont like giving my kids any supplements, because the truth is, you have no idea whats in them. More, taking too much of any vitamin, including vitamin A, can lead to complications and toxicity, Bervell said. It can cause ... liver damage to fatigue to hair loss and headaches. According to Texas Public Radio, the hospitalized children who are now being treated for vitamin A toxicity have abnormal liver function. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vitamin A also can interact with other medications, which can lead to more problems, Patel said. Bottom line: Vitamin A isnt going to prevent someone from getting the measles, and its also not proven to help with symptoms for patients who arent hospitalized, according to Patel. Ingesting high amounts of vitamin A or cod liver oil can lead to real health issues. I hope RFK knows that what he says is what parents are going to do, Bervell said. If theyre believing that either vitamin A or cod oil is a replacement for vaccines, thats going to do their children, and the rest of communities in these areas, more harm than good. Getting the measles vaccine is the best way to protect yourself from infection. Westend61 via Getty Images Here is what actually works when it comes to protecting yourself from the measles. To protect yourself and your loved ones from measles, your best bet is to get the MMR vaccine if you havent already, Patel stressed. The typical guidance is for children to get the first dose of the two-dose shot at 12 months, but children as young as 6 months can get the vaccine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre in any pocket of the country that has had a measles case, I would 100% get my child vaccinated early if they were over 6 months, Patel said, adding that she also encourages people to get their kids the shots early if they are traveling internationally somewhere with measles cases. While the second dose of the measles vaccine is typically given to children between 4 and 6 years old, you can also get their second dose early as long as its been at least 28 days since their first dose, Patel said. After the first dose, youre 93% protected against the measles. After the second dose, youre 97% protected, she explained. For adults who dont know their vaccination status or older adults who could have waning measles protection, Patel recommended that you get your titers drawn. This is done via a blood test that measures antibody levels in your blood. You can talk to your primary care doctor about this option to get set up with a test. If your measles antibody levels are low, you can get another MMR shot for protection. Medical experts think there needs to be a larger focus on vaccination by the current administration. In previous years when we see measles outbreaks, health officials have said we need to have an increase in public health information out there about why people need vaccinations, Bervell said. I havent seen that to the same degree with this administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement RFK Jr. continues to call vaccination a personal decision. We need to be making sure that we understand the importance of vaccines right now, Bervell said, and added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Food and Drug Administration need to be more focused on putting accurate information out about why the measles vaccine, specifically, is important. The reality is, though, RFK Jr. is historically skeptical of vaccines. The Trump administration also just announced plans for a large study that looks into the potential links between vaccines and autism, even though heaps of research have shown there is no link between the two. They are preying upon parents fears and concerns about protecting their children, and instead of giving them evidence-based guidance, theyre just saying things, and theyre going to have real consequences to the children, Patel said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This story has been updated to reflect new reports of vitamin A toxicity in children in West Texas. Related... The Trump administration announced plans Thursday to get rid of roughly a quarter of staffers at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), prompting a flurry of warnings from Democrats, former officials and policy experts over the potential consequences for the health of Americans. In a press release Thursday morning, the HHS said it would be reorganizing the department and cutting about 10,000 jobs in the process through layoffs. The department will seek to cut an additional 10,000 employees through buyouts, early retirement and the administrations Fork in the Road offer. Removing 20,000 employees from the 82,000 HHS workforce represents a reduction of about 24 percent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an email to the American Federation of Government Employees union seen by The Hill, a representative from the human resources office said the workforce reduction would primarily affect employees in administrative positions including human resources, information technology, procurement, and finance. We arent just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. On social platform X, Kennedy acknowledged this will be a painful period for HHS. Democratic lawmakers in both the House and Senate were swift in their condemnation of the announcement. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) held a press briefing Thursday afternoon along with fellow Democratic Sens. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Ed Markey (Mass.) responding to the planned layoffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Todays announcement is not just a restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services. It is a catastrophe for the health care of every American, Markey said. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) called on Republicans to prevent the devastating cuts. Its beyond time for Republicans in Congress to hold this Administration accountable for the consequences of these short-sighted actions. Republicans have a responsibility to help us stop these catastrophic cuts from going into effect, they said in a joint statement. We call on Chairman [Brett] Guthrie [R-Ky.] to hold a hearing on these cuts immediately. There is zero sense in having a routine hearing on user fees next week before understanding the Trump administrations plan to gut the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] by cutting 3,500 public servants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Guthrie and Buddy Carter (Ga.), chair of the Health subcommittee, welcomed the news in a joint statement. For decades, HHS and its sub-agencies have grown significantly, creating redundancies andin some casesconflicting objectives. It is critical that the department is in a position to accomplish its core and essential mission to support all Americans, they said. We look forward to working with Secretary Kennedy to protect patients, support innovations, and improve the health and wellbeing of the American people. Murray, who sits on the Senate Health Committee, called it a great day for snake oil. Do you know what Trump and RFK Jr. are doing about the measles outbreak? They are ripping away funding Congress already provided to respond to the outbreaks. Theyre stopping public health work in its tracks, even as this outbreak is threatening to spiral out of control. What are they doing about the opioid crisis or maternal death rates or bird flu for that matter? More cuts and dont forget mass firings, Murray said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baldwin warned of the impact these mass firings would have on the U.S.s research capability, recounting a recent meeting she had with the son of a man who has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. Dewey begged us to protect the lifesaving research being done at the NIH so his dad could see him walk across that stage and get his diploma, Baldwin said. I say this because when we talk about staffing cuts at our nations health department, we arent just talking about some imaginary person sitting around pushing papers. We are talking about people who support lifesaving research to find cures to ALS or Alzheimers disease or cancer. Former Biden administration health officials also spoke out forcefully against the cuts. Its hard to make sense of the HHS cuts announced this morning, former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement on X. Whos going to inspect our nursing homes? Whos going to inspect for lead those imported toys that our kids put in their mouths? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has the makings of a manmade disaster, he added. Downgrading services for our elderly and our disabled, downgrading services for our mental health, downgrading our strategic preparedness and response capabilities how can that be good for the health of any American? Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, former administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), cautioned that any cuts to health agencies should be done with incredible care and consideration. When you take a wrecking ball to an agency like CMS, youre taking a wrecking ball to the people who are out across the country ensuring our parents and grandparents can get safe, affordable care as they age. Youre taking a wrecking ball to cancer patients who need a new, innovative treatment to be covered. Youre taking a wrecking ball to mothers and newborns who are both at the most critical points of their lives, Brooks-LaSure said in a statement. Tom Frieden, who served as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under former President Obama, wrote on X, Infectious diseases dont occur in a vacuum, and chronic diseases play critical roles in how infectious diseases spread and how to control them. Thats why CDCs mission is protecting Americans from health threats of ALL kinds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its hard for many people to see the importance of what CDC does because when it succeeds, there isnt an outbreak. Your neighbor doesnt overdose. Your cousin stops smoking or your child doesnt start. Your grandmother doesnt develop cancer, Frieden wrote. Cuts to this work would put us all at greater risk. Health care organizations and policy think tanks recognized the potential benefits of an organizational review but were wary of the cuts. Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the major health policy group KFF, said on X that this move was not just a reorganization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its also a slashing of the federal workforce, which will ultimately affect government services and lead to delays in getting help for both the pubic and health care providers, Levitt said. Large government agencies like HHS tend to sprawl over time, as offices and staff get added to respond to new priorities. There is a benefit to occasional reorganizations of HHS. But, this is also about big staff and program reductions, he added. A lot of what HHS employees do is behind the scenes oversight, to prevent fraud and abuse and ensure health care programs provide the services promised. Reductions in the federal workforce could result in more wasteful spending down the road. Wayne A. I. Frederick, interim CEO of the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, acknowledged the Trump administrations desire for improved efficiency but echoed calls for careful and considerate cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the changes would touch all points of the cancer continuum, from prevention to research, to treatment access and survivorship care, and could disrupt our nations ability to develop early detection tests and treatments for the more than 200 diseases we know as cancer. Stephen C. Jameson, president of the American Association of Immunologists, warned a major reduction at the HHS would endanger the U.S.s dominance in biomedical research. Diminishing NIHs workforce undermines Americas leadership in science and technology and will have negative consequences for the economy, Jameson said in a statement, adding that every U.S. state benefits from NIH funding, which supported more than 400,000 jobs and generated close to $95 billion in economic activity across the nation in fiscal 2024. This is not the time to decrease our support for research. As other countries ramp up investment, we risk falling behind. 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. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing for major changes to school meals and federal food assistance programs, backing efforts to eliminate synthetic food dyes linked to health concerns. In West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey is leading a new initiative to ban artificial food dyes from school meals, making his state one of the first to take such action. Kids deserve better. And now theyre going to get it, Morrisey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy joined Morrisey on Friday in supporting the measure, which targets additives such as Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 1, commonly found in processed foods. Food is medicine. It treats us in different ways, and it treats our health, Kennedy said. The move is part of a broader effort by HHS to encourage states to remove artificial additives from school meals. Kennedy cited studies linking synthetic dyes to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and certain cancers. The impact could extend beyond schools. HHS is considering updates to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to promote healthier food options for low-income families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, voiced support for the initiative. These sodas are laden with sugar and other additives that lead to obesity issues, not just in adults, but in our children, Capito said. However, some lawmakers remain skeptical. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Connecticut Democrat, criticized the proposed changes to SNAP, arguing they do not address real concerns. It is yet another attempt to further demonize people and devalue their humanity because they rely on SNAP benefits, Hayes said. Critics also warn that restricting food options could drive up costs and limit choices for families. 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. (NewsNation) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is defending his plan to lay off 10,000 employees in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, telling NewsNations Chris Cuomo the sprawling agency can be streamlined while maintaining its core mission. HHS, which oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, already expects to shed 10,000 employees through a Trump administration buyout plan. If Kennedy has his way, the headcount will drop to 62,000. He noted that HHS has 100 communications departments, 40 procurement departments and dozens of IT and human resources units. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump picks RFK Jr. to lead Department of Health and Human Services None of them talk to each other, Kennedy said during a live interview on CUOMO Thursday. And what were trying to do now is to streamline the agency, to eliminate the redundancies and to focus the mission so that everybody at HHS is going to wake up every morning and say, What am I going to do today to make America healthy again? He said administrators will be targeted for the job cut:. Were not cutting scientists. Were not cutting frontline workers. The announced layoffs at HHS, which administers Medicaid and Medicare, drew warnings from Democrats and policy experts. At a news conference, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said Kennedys plan goes beyond restructuring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a catastrophe for the health care of every American, he said. Kennedy was considered a controversial choice to lead HHS because of his past comments questioning the efficacy of vaccines. He was criticized for initially downplaying recent measles outbreaks in the U.S. But some of his ideas, such as urging U.S. food manufacturers to discontinue using artificial dyes, have met with wider acceptance. What is DOGE, and whats it doing? The planned HHS job cuts are part of a wider effort within the Trump administration to reduce the size of government. These efforts have been spearheaded by the controversial Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, under Elon Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy praised DOGEs efforts to help reorganize HHS but conceded the job cuts will be tough for some. I think, in the long run, were going to have much greater morale in a demoralized agency, he said. Also Thursday, Kennedy declined to comment about the highly publicized Signal chat leak that has embroiled the U.S. Department of Defense. Chris Cuomo hosts CUOMO, a no-nonsense show featuring the days most important news from all perspectives. CUOMO airs weeknights at 8 p.m./7C on NewsNation. Click here to see the latest videos from Cuomo. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) Linda DaLombas whereabouts were unknown for four days before she was discovered curled up in the backseat of a parked car. The 45-year-old woman, whos autistic and nonverbal, vanished last Wednesday while her caregiver was visiting a nail salon, according to police. Investigators believe DaLomba got out of the car in the nail salon parking lot and walked down the street to the unlocked vehicle, where she remained until she was found Sunday afternoon. DaLombas disappearance triggered an extensive citywide search, and detectives began fearing the worst as her caregiver continued to provide them with conflicting statements regarding her potential whereabouts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement RELATED: Caregiver was at nail salon when autistic woman went missing Thankfully, a mechanic with the Cranston Fire Department went outside to jumpstart his family friends car and found DaLomba laying down in the backseat. He decided to call the police after hearing about DaLombas disappearance on the news. At first I thought, Theres no way its that missing lady,' Savong Sam recalled. But it ended up actually being her. Now that DaLomba is safe and sound, Rep. Christopher Paplauskas, R-Cranston, is calling for the creation of a notification system that would assist officers in future searches for missing individuals with intellectual disabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have AMBER Alerts for children and we have Silver Alerts for seniors, Paplauskas said. This would close that gap in public safety, which we seemed to realize exists over the course of the last week here in Cranston. Paplauskas said the idea originally came from Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins, who mentioned it while honoring Sam for his heroic efforts earlier this week. I think this is an opportunity, and I learned a long time ago that out of tragedies come opportunities, Hopkins said, adding that he actually got the idea from Cranston Police Col. Michael Winquist. I think its something that the state needs, and I think its a great idea. Paplauskas said the notification system would be called the Linda Alert, and would be activated for missing individuals who have disabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SEE ALSO: Cranston honors man who found missing autistic woman He added that other states have already implemented similar notification systems, including Florida, Georgia, New York and Texas. Hopefully we can do that here in Rhode Island too, he said. Though Paplauskas has not yet introduced legislation to create the new notification system, he said the idea already has bipartisan support. He has also proactively reached out to the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, which would be responsible for creating and maintaining the proposed notification system. I want to act fast on this, he said. Once the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed, Im going to submit it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DaLombas caregiver, 43-year-old Roberta Gerard, has since been arrested and charged with abuse, neglect or exploitation of an adult with severe impairments, as well as falsely reporting a crime and obstruction of an officer in the execution of duty. Gerard faced a judge Monday and was released on $5,000 surety bail pending her next court date, which is slated for June. NEXT: Caretaker charged with lying to police after woman went missing 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. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) After weeks of uncertainty over federal funding for the Washington Bridge project, Gov. Dan McKee announced Thursday that Rhode Island will be getting that much-needed money. The state has signed a federal grant agreement for roughly $220 million, according to McKee. This agreement locks in the United States Department of Transportation funding for the project, he said. With this signing, the full funding for the new Washington Bridge has been assured. The state has already begun drawing down money, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McKee sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy earlier this month stressing the importance and urgency of releasing the funding. We are tremendously grateful to Secretary Duffy and the Trump administration for following through with this commitment to Rhode Islanders, and we want to commend Senators [Jack] Reed and [Sheldon] Whitehouse, Congressman [Seth] Magaziner, Congressman [Gabe] Amo for their successful advocacy on this matter, McKee added. RELATED: Excavator leaks hydraulic fluid into water near Washington Bridge demolition site It remains unclear how much of the final cost of the bridge reconstruction project will be covered by the federal grants. McKee has repeatedly said the actual price tag wont be known until June, when the state announces the winning bidder selected to build the span. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The expected timeline for completing the new westbound bridge also wont be known until June, the administration has said. The federal grants for the bridge were awarded by the Biden administration in its closing months last year, but the Trump administrations efforts to freeze federal funding had raised questions about whether all the money would come through. I appreciate Secretary Duffys and Governor McKees contributions to this process and will continue working with them, RIDOT, FHWA, and other transportation officials to see the project through and ensure it is done right, said Reed, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a statement. Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, said he had worked with the panels Republican chair to help unstick this funding ahead of a hearing next week where Duffy is scheduled to testify. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This relieves needless uncertainty in an urgent situation with this bridge, he said. Ted Nesi 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: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking 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 WPRI.com. The bike path through the Yakima River Delta reopened Thursday after inspections by Richland officials. The path between Columbia Point and the Ben Franklin Transit Center closed after a fire erupted in the delta east of Highway 240. City parks and public facilities staff assessed the area on Thursday morning and didnt find any trees that would be hazardous to people on the path. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the land, also inspected the area and determined it was safe to open the trail, the city said in a release Thursday afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our team has just completed the removal of barricades and the trail is now accessible to the public once again, the city said. We appreciate the patience of the community as we ensured the safety of the area before reopening. Firefighters were called to the delta about 4:15 a.m. Sunday after someone spotted the fire brush in the dense bush and trees. The fire flared up again on Tuesday and on Wednesday crews cleared fire-break areas around the fire with guidance from U.S. Fish and Wildlife experts. The fire that scorched about 20 acres was considered fully contained on Wednesday. PROVIDENCE The empty lawn between Providence Place mall and the train station has become a leading site for a proposed Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus hub, but the project's viability is in doubt because of the agency's fiscal woes. A consortium RIPTA hired at the start of last year to identify where a new state bus hub should go, what it should look like and how it should be paid for released its findings Thursday and named the Francis Street lot one of two targeted sites. The other is a short walk on the opposite side of the Providence Train Station on Park Row West. Where does the new RIPTA bus hub stand? State officials have been working to move the state's central bus hub somewhere possibly anywhere other than its current home for more than a decade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And for much of that time, supporters of a new bus hub have hoped that building it inside of a larger private development will help provide a way to finance it. But RIPTA faces a projected $32 million budget deficit for the year starting July 1, and the report from the Next Wave Partners consortium acknowledges that multifamily construction is "challenging in any market" even before factoring in Trump administration tariffs and uncertainty around federal spending. The RIPTA Board of Directors discussed the Next Wave report Thursday afternoon but did not take a vote on it. RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand said the fate of a new bus hub hinges on the agency resolving its money troubles. RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand said the agency still supports the new hub but needs to sort out its money issues and do some hard thinking about the best way to proceed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think that there's obviously a lot of value to a new transit center, especially co-located with rail, but it's got to be the right project, the right way," Durand said. "I think we've explored the idea of a transit-oriented development that could help offset the cost, maybe be a revenue source for RIPTA, help the operating budget. And I think as we worked with Next Wave, we exhausted those options, and I just don't think, there's not a model that's materializing that would do what we need." How did we get here? Voters approved $35 million for a new bus hub in 2014 even though state officials at the time had not agreed on a location for one. Since then more than a dozen sites have been studied and several different detailed plans proposed ranging from a mixed-use building on Dorrance Street to a tunnel under Kennedy Plaza before being scrapped. RIPTA entered into a public-private partnership with Next Wave, which is lead by Gilbane Development and Marsella Development, that involves the consortium potentially planning, promoting, designing, financing and ultimately building the transit center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amount of money the private group is paid depends on how far the project goes. A contract signed last year would pay Next Wave $16.9 million if all six phases up to 60% design of a new hub were completed. Through two phases, RIPTA has paid Next Wave $2.5 million so far, spokeswoman Cristy Raposo Perry said. Over the past year we have solicited feedback from thousands of Rhode Islanders and completed an analysis of several possible sites for a new transit center," Durand said in an email. "While we are confident that a modern transit center can improve ridership, the downtown area and the rider experience, we are going to take our time to analyze the most viable options and the cost associated given the agencys current budget gap." Next Wave held public listening sessions on the bus hub last year that tested the popularity of different hub locations excluding Kennedy Plaza. After the sessions the group began focusing their work on land around the train station, specifically the Park Row parcel owned by Capital Properties to the east of the station. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In exploring ways to route buses into a hub there, the group was intrigued by the land west of the train station, beneath which the Northeast Corridor tracks now pass. The land between the station and mall has been eyed for development before, but the complications associated with building over the tracks and dealing with the federal government have scared most plans off. The Next Wave report recommends RIPTA seeking a number of potential public funding sources to finance the bus hub, including a federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan program. If the project includes apartments, Next Wave recommends making 30% of them below market rent to qualify for public affordable housing financing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many transit advocates and riders want the state's central bus hub to remain at Kennedy Plaza. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RIPTA eyes new site near Providence Place mall for bus hub By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Coca Cola bottlers were raided by EU antitrust regulators earlier this month, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. The European Commission announced the raids on non-alcoholic drinks companies in several EU countries on March 10 but did not name them. It cited concerns about possible curbs on the trade of goods across Europe and carving up markets, both illegal under EU rules against cartels and abuse of market power. The raids targeted Coca Cola bottlers, the person said, declining to provide details because of the sensitivity of the matter. The Commission declined to comment. The Coca Cola Co and bottler Coca Cola HBC in which the former holds a 21% stake, did not respond to repeated emailed requests for comment. The EU competition enforcer had in 2023 scrapped an investigation into potential anti-competitive practices by The Coca-Cola Co and its bottlers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Cola Hellenic due to insufficient grounds for the case. Companies risk fines as much as 10% of their global annual revenues if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules. Bloomberg first reported the raids on Coca Cola's business. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by David Evans) Stock photo from Getty Images. Health clinics that provide abortion services are already battling against threats to funds and the work they do. But services like contraception, STI testing, and preventative health screenings are also at risk with Trump administration plans to freeze family planning grants in Ohio and across the country. At risk is funding through Title X, a federal pot of money that goes to clinics that have played a critical role in ensuring access to a broad range of family planning and preventive health services, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 2023 annual report from HHS Office on Population Affairs on the Title X program lists services provided under the grants, including FDA-approved contraception, pregnancy testing and counseling, assistance to achieve pregnancy, infertility services, sexually transmitted infection services and other preconception health services. Title X services are client-centered, culturally and linguistically appropriate, inclusive, trauma-informed and provided in a manner that ensures equitable and quality service delivery consistent with nationally recognized standards of care, the annual report stated. As part of a whirlwind of efforts to cut government spending, the Trump administration reportedly wants to freeze more than $27 million in grants from the program. That cut would have the largest impact on Planned Parenthoods across the country, which receive $20 million of that funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In a March memo, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America underscored the importance of Title X funding, saying its clinics were the largest Title X provider in 2018, the year before the first Trump administration, serving 40% of patients under the program. The group left the program in 2019, but came back in 2021 after former President Joe Biden rolled back some Trump-era policies. If Planned Parenthood patients cant get quality, affordable health services there would be grave nationwide consequences, the memo stated. Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio was one of the recipients of Title X grants in 2024, when it was awarded $1.98 million. The Ohio Department of Health also received a Title X grant that year of nearly $7 million, about the same amount as it received in both 2023 and 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any insinuation to take away critical family planning services from people with lower incomes to afford Trumps tax cuts to billionaires is dangerous and unprecedented, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio said in a statement to the Capital Journal. The group said they served 600 fewer patients than the Ohio Department of Health in 2023, but did it for $5 million less in Title X funds. Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio will continue to fight for our right to be a trusted, safety net provider in reproductive health care services like birth control, cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, among other Title X-eligible services. In their most recent annual report, the organization reported more than 66,700 visits to their health and surgical centers, providing care for 47,480 patients between 2022 and 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of those visits, the group provided 86,346 tests for sexually transmitted diseases, administered 16,817 pregnancy tests, served 11,803 patients for contraception-related care and conducted 9,340 HIV tests. The facilities also had 7,734 preventive care visits, 7,136 telehealth visits and 3,255 visits regarding gender-affirming care. At the greater Ohio arm of Planned Parenthood, 56% of the patient base lives at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. Thats $62,400 for a family of four. Seventy four percent are between ages 18 and 34, 85% identify as female and 46% of patients rely on Medicaid for care, according to the annual report. The Ohio-based group receives 12.4% of its revenue through state and federal grants, with Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements making up 17.7% of revenue and 14.5% of funds coming from private or commercial insurance payments. The main source of revenue for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio in 2022-2023 was individual, institutional and legacy giving. It made up 35.3% of the agencys revenue stream. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for spending that money, the annual report stated that 80% of the expenses are for program services, including the health services at clinics, education and outreach, and government and community relations. Another 14% went to management and general expenses, with 6% going to fundraising over that period. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A man working as a night custodian at a Riverside County school district has been arrested on suspicion of committing sex crimes against a child, as well as possessing child sexual assault material. According to the Riverside County District Attorneys Office, 36-year-old David Robledo Jr. was arrested on March 20 at his residence in Homeland. He was formally charged with three felonies on March 23 on two counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14 and one count of possession of child sexual assault material. Robledo was also charged with a misdemeanor for destroying evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He worked as a custodian for the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, visiting many schools throughout the district. The DAs Office said the alleged crimes did not take place at the schools, but rather his home. Robledo pleaded not guilty to all charges. 36-year-old David Robledo Jr., a custodian for the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, was charged with three felonies connected to sex crimes against minors. (Riverside County Sheriffs Department) A message to LEUSD families from Superintendent Ryan Lewis, obtained by RivCo News, disciplinary actions have been taken against Robdelo though the specifics werent made clear. The victims of the alleged crimes were not LEUSD students, the message says. No additional details were immediately made 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 KTLA. ST. LOUIS The U.S. Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., agreed to visit areas affected by nuclear waste in St. Louis. According to Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, RKF Jr. accepted Hawleys invitation to come to Missouri to see the sites firsthand where the government dumped nuclear waste in St. Louis and the lives that have been ruined because of it, his announcement said on X. It is time to compensate these good people NOW. Hawley said on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Illinois to defy Trump voter order for April election For over 80 years, environmental advocates have fought to clean up Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County, known as a radioactive area. Back in February, the Army Corps of Engineers reviewed cleanup efforts to remove the nuclear waste. It is currently unknown when RFK Jr. will visit the St. Louis areas affected by nuclear waste. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. That rogue scientist who created HIV-resistant designer babies is apparently gearing up for more human gene-editing research. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, He Jiankui said he wants to conduct human trials on his next big project: encoding genetics to prevent Alzheimer's disease, a heritable illness, in future generations. He identified South Africa, where the government declared in 2024 that it's open to the "significant potential" of genetic editing, as a good place for those trials to take place. Before that, He wants to send two Chinese colleagues to the US to conduct trials on mice and monkeys. As the controversial researcher told the WSJ, he can't go himself because his home country, which imprisoned him in 2019 for scientific misconduct and fraud over his gene-hacking experiments on human fetuses that were subsequently born, won't renew his passport. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aside from the broad strokes of a comeback, which seem to be more logistical in nature than anything else, we don't know almost anything else about how He plans to start up again. The self-styled "Chinese Darwin" has declined to identify his financial backers and doesn't, as the WSJ notes, have any affiliations with any academic institution. When the newspaper tried to figure out who he may be working with in the US, it was unable to do so, and South Africa's health department didn't respond to requests for comment from WSJ reporters. Lofty promises and opaque funding are, of course, nothing new to science. But He is no normal scientist, and as the newspaper notes, his reputation as "China's Frankenstein" has followed the 41-year-old gene-hacking pioneer even after his release from prison last year. It's no wonder he doesn't want to reveal who's funding him: they could, conceivably, be ostracized for doing so. It also probably doesn't help that He regularly posts photos of himself in his mysterious lab which the Chinese government would not, the scientist insisted to the WSJ, allow foreign visitors to enter without permission alongside cryptic declarations, including his claim that ethics are "holding back" science. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For all that creepiness, however, He clearly has heart. Peppered between self-aggrandizing posts are a number of shockingly egalitarian claims, including an insistence that "health is the universal human right" and that "'Survival of the fittest' is unfair for the people born with genetic disadvantages." "No one," He wrote in the latter post, "should be left behind." That ethos in particular seems to be related to the seemingly personal inspiration behind the scientist's latest avenue of research: his mother, who is in her late 60s, has Alzheimer's that has progressed far enough that she no longer recognizes her infamous son. If he can get human trials up and running, He wants to see if he can mimic a genetic mutation found in Icelanders who appear to have a protein that protects them against the debilitating cognitive disease. That's a far cry from the admittedly reckless experiments he conducted on embryos and it seems far less ethically dubious, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And what of the children born of those experiments? Their real identities aren't know, but according to He, they're healthy now. "I will apologize only if the children have any health issues," the scientist said. "So far, I dont need to apologize to anyone." More on genetics: 23andMe Is Crumbling, and That Means Your Genetic Data Is Blowing in the Breeze As Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance make their way to Greenland amid the Trump administrations attempts to take over the territory, The Daily Shows Ronny Chieng said Usha is more than equipped for the visit as her husband is just as icy as the islands climate. Now in some ways Usha Vance is a great person for this trip. I mean, Greenland is pretty cold and lifeless, so being married to JD Vance has left her very prepared, Chieng said Thursday as he commented on the reports that the Second Lady would part of the U.S. delegation visiting the island. However, The Daily Show host noted that if Usha had any plans to enjoy her time away from Vance, she should let her hopes go out the window as he has announced this week that he would be flying out along with her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If she was hoping a trip to Greenland would at least be a few days away from her boring husband, well, he had some bad news for her, Chieng said urging Vance to give his spouse some space. If you want to know what shes up to, dont worry, shes going with Mike Waltz, so the whole world is going to know every move she makes. President Donald Trump has been talking about his desires to buy Greenland, the largest island in the world, since before he walked into the Oval Office for his second term. And ever since Greenlanders, who are predominately indigenous peoples, learned of the presidents goal, they have opposed it. Chieng noted that many have held up signs that point out the lineage, but the host said America could care less given its history with colonization and slavery. Wow, theyre holding up signs that say Greenland belongs to Indigenous people, Chieng said. America is like, Oh, you have no idea how much we dont care about that. Heres some measles!' The people of Greenland really hate JD Vance in particular, which means, as always, Donald Trump is right, they really are ready to be American, Chieng added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Vances landed on the island on Friday, arriving at an American air base in Arctic Greenland. This is the Trump administrations latest attempt to annex Greenland for what Vance says is an effort to boost international security. We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security, Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, per CBS News. We have to have Greenland. Its not a question of, Do you think we can do without it? We cant. The post Ronny Chieng Says JD Vances Wife Is Prepared to Visit Greenland Because the VP Is Cold and Lifeless | Video appeared first on TheWrap. MOUNT ULLA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) A former Rowan County teacher was arrested Thursday, March 27, after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student for the last three months. According to the Rowan County Sheriffs Office, 25-year-old Christyan Alfonso Cabrera taught world history at West Rowan High School when a school resource officer was notified of an alleged inappropriate relationship between an employee and student. Rowan County teacher charged with performing sex acts with 15-year-old student in classroom Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies say Cabrera was reported to have had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old student in his classroom while it was empty. Further, authorities accuse him of committing other sexual acts with the student while inside the school, all occurring between Jan. 9 and March 19, 2025. Rowan-Salisbury Schools confirmed that Cabrera is no longer employed with the district. Investigators obtained arrest warrants for: Committing a Crime Against Nature, Statutory Rape of a Child, Statutory Sex Offense with a Child, and Performing a Sex Act with a Student. Cabrera was arrested on Thursday just after 3 p.m. and was placed in the Rowan County Detention Center. In his initial court appearance Friday, the judge ordered a secured bond of $250,000 with the following conditions: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Must stay away from alleged victim and witnesses Must stay away from all Rowan-Salisbury Schools campuses Must stay in North Carolina RSS provided the following statement: We are grateful for our partnership with local law enforcement and will continue to cooperate with them regarding this matter. We are deeply troubled by this news and understand that it may be upsetting to students and families. Our school counseling staff is available to students who need support. We encourage anyone with information to contact law enforcement. Rowan-Salisbury Schools Cabreras first probable cause court date is April 16. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Secretary of State Marco Rubio boasted Thursday that at least 300 student visas have been revoked since President Donald Trump took office and that theyre looking every day for more. It might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa, he said at a press conference in Guyana when asked about the number of visas revoked in relation to student protests. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses, he said. So well revoke your visa, and once your visa is revoked, youre in the country illegally and you have to leave. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seen during a press conference Thursday, stood by the deportation of foreign student protesters in the U.S. via Associated Press The Trump administration has targeted students who participated in anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses last year, notably at Columbia University where a campus building was briefly taken over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbia last week agreed to implement a number of policy changes, including to its disciplinary, protest and mask rules, after Trump threatened to revoke all of its federal funding if it didnt make major changes to how it handles student protests. Among the latest detentions is a Tufts University graduate student from Turkey, who was seen on Tuesday being detained on the streets of Boston by U.S. immigration officials wearing plain clothes and masks. Rumeysa Ozturk, who was in the U.S. on an F1 visa, had co-authored an op-ed last year that urged Tufts president to acknowledge the Palestinian genocide and divest from companies with ties to Israel. Her legal team called her detainment by the Department of Human Services unlawful, in a statement Thursday. We should all be horrified at the way DHS abducted Rumeysa in broad daylight. No person, regardless of their citizenship status, should be targeted over their views, especially in support of human rights, said a spokesperson with Khanbabai Immigration Law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rumeysa has not been accused of committing any crime and DHS has not produced any evidence that she was engaged in any unlawful activities. Meanwhile, there is plenty of evidence of U.S. supplied bombs being dropped on Gaza killing over 1,000 people, including over 250 children in the last week. It appears the only thing Rumeysa is being targeted for is her right to free speech. Rubio stood by Ozturks visa being revoked when asked about her detention on Thursday. If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why youre coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, were not going to give you a visa. If you lie to us and get a visa and then enter the United States, and with that visa, participate in that sort of activity, were going to take away your visa, he said. Were looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up and, by the way, were looking for gang members as well. Related... LA CROSSE, Kan. (KSNW) A report of a stolen gun led to the rescue of 54 animals from a home in Rush County and the arrest of two people. On Wednesday, the Rush County Sheriffs Office responded to the 500 block of East 11th Street in La Crosse. Sheriff Mark Knowles says that when his deputies arrived on the scene, they saw several dogs outside the home in visibly questionable health. We were able to see this from over 80 feet away, including being able to see their ribs through their skin, Knowles said. We have received reports of them, the owners, of having numerous dogs that were in violation of city ordinance, but we were not aware of the extent that the residents had. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats when the sheriffs office obtained a search warrant and called for the assistance of Hutchinson Animal Services. We provided skilled manpower and equipment and transportation in the removal of animals from this case, Michaela Schommer, director of Hutchinson Animal Services, said. Schommer says she is fortunate her agency can support other communities in need. Illegal drugs, guns, and four arrests in Dodge City Some counties are rural and dont have animal control departments, or they might not have an animal shelter, and in Reno County, in Hutchinson, we have a wonderful shelter, an animal control agency, and we all think it is out of our jurisdiction. Its not our responsibility to serve and work in Rush County or any other county, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hutchinson Animal Services mission is to serve and protect people from dangerous animals. And with this case, we were able to protect the animals from individuals, Schommer said. For Schommer, its very relatable work. Im an individual who has dealt with a lot of neglect and trauma in my own early childhood, and I went through the adoption process myself as a human, she said. Working to better the lives of both animal and man. I kind of have the mindset that somebody has to do it and that somebody is going to be me, Schommer said. The director says all 54 animals are safe in six separate facilities and receiving medical care. However, they are unavailable for adoption because they are on a custody hold pending a criminal trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies did find the stolen firearm. 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. Coca-Colas (KO) European business was among unidentified targets of EU antitrust raids that occurred earlier in March, Bloombergs Samuel Stolton reports, citing people familiar with the probe. On March 10, the European Commission said it was carrying out inspections at the premises of businesses active in the non-alcoholic beverages space in several member states, though declined to mention the names of the companies examined, the author notes. Light Up your Portfolio with Spark: Easily identify stocks' risks and opportunities. Discover stocks' market position with detailed competitor analyses. Published first on TheFly the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See todays best-performing stocks on TipRanks >> Read More on KO: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue About 150 people remain in the village of Krasnopillia in Sumy Oblast which is suffering from Russian attacks, and all children from the village and the hromada have been evacuated. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.] Source: Iryna Yukhta, secretary of Krasnopillia Village Council, on Radio Liberty Quote from Iryna Yukhta: "Almost all people have left. Very few people remain in the village of Krasnopillia now, mostly elderly people who either do not want to leave now or say they will leave a little later. About 150 people [remain in the village]. This is just Krasnopillia. Then we have settlements where evacuation has been announced, mostly in the 5-kilometre zone, which are practically empty, but there are also those where people remain. There are settlements where there are 18 people, 15 in another. There are settlements where there are more people, where there are 90 people, where there are 200, but they are there." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: The secretary of the Krasnopillia village council confirms that the number of attacks has increased over the past week. She also said that the local authorities have evacuated but continue to work in an on-call format. Quote from Iryna Yukhta: "The village council has also been damaged more than once. Our village council's administrative building has no windows or doors, and it is impossible to work there. We have our staff on call there. Of course, we have to have a presence there, but we moved the administrative building to another settlement in order to continue providing services." More details: The official added that as a result of intense Russian attacks, the settlement is facing large-scale destruction. Quote from Iryna Yukhta: "Of course, we had some destruction before, but the intensity of the attacks was not that high. It has increased significantly lately A lot of buildings have been damaged. Some are destroyed, and some are damaged, we count them not even in dozens, but in hundreds There isnt a single shop open in Krasnopillia, pharmacies are not open, almost nothing works, we had no electricity, and our utility company supplied water there in the morning through an emergency power supply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is also no gas supply, but were in talks and want to restore it. But we don't know how this will work out in connection with the security situation, because the attacks keep coming; it will be very difficult, of course." Background: The number of airstrikes on the border in Sumy Oblast has increased in recent days. Russian subversive reconnaissance groups are also actively entering the oblast. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, noted that Russia is using assault units made up of airborne troops and special operations forces to break through Ukrainian defences, drive the Armed Forces out of Russias Kursk Oblast and move the fighting to Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts. Syrskyi also emphasised that the defence forces are holding a "sanitary zone" in Kursk Oblast, blocking the Russian advance on the northern border of Sumy Oblast. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Russia has accused European countries of blocking peace efforts in Ukraine by keeping sanctions in force. Moscow and Kiev agreed on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea on Tuesday after talks between US, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Riyadh. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the terms of the deal include the lifting of sanctions on the Russian Agricultural Bank, or Rosselkhoz. "If the European states do not want to take this path, it means that they do not want to take the path of peace," Peskov said, according to the state news agency TASS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moscow is demanding renewed access to the Swift international financial system for Russia's state-owned agricultural bank a move only the European Union can authorize, as the system is headquartered in Belgium. The sanctions complicate international transactions for Russian grain and fertilizer exports. However, Brussels has indicated it will maintain the sanctions until Moscow ends its war in Ukraine. Despite the sanctions, Russia is expecting high total exports of 49.5 million tons of grain for the current year, as reported by the Interfax agency. Russia and China to discuss Ukraine war at meeting next week Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers plan to meet next week to discuss the war in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among other international issues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Li will discuss the "prospects for a settlement of the Ukraine crisis," the ministry said in a statement. Bilateral issues are also on the agenda for their meeting in Moscow, according to the statement. China is a close ally of Russia. However, Beijing is critical of the fact that Russia's war against Ukraine is causing major international upheaval. A peace plan proposed by the Chinese leadership was rejected by Ukraine because it was close to Russia's positions. If the United Nations were to play a role in a settlement, China would have veto power as a member of the UN Security Council. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that Ukraine should be put under UN administration while it holds new elections. Russia has intensified assault operations in the Zaporizhzhia sector, increasing pressure on Ukraine's southern positions, Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn said on March 28 during Ukraine's state-run telethon. The Ukrainian military reported escalating hostilities and a rise in attacks on key areas. Zaporizhzhia Oblast holds strategic importance for Russia, underscoring its efforts to advance in the region. Voloshyn said Russia seeks to strengthen its position ahead of potential truce or ceasefire negotiations. "The Russians want to get as much of a head start or advance as much as possible in Zaporizhzhia Oblast," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the spokesperson, Russian forces have massed troops for assault operations using small infantry groups. This tactic, deployed in other sectors, has yielded some results in Zaporizhzhia, particularly near Orikhiv and Hulyaypole. The number of such attacks has risen significantly since the beginning of spring, Voloshyn said. Zaporizhzhia Oblast, in southeastern Ukraine, borders Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the north, Donetsk Oblast to the east, and Kherson Oblast to the south. It is also home to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, one of Europe's largest. Russian forces partially control the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Moscow claims to have annexed the entire territory of these regions in 2022, despite failing to control the regional capitals of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Kremlin-linked official told the Moscow Times that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot afford to lose these territories politically, making their retention a priority at any cost. While a ceasefire and peace deal could freeze the war along current front lines, Ukraine is unlikely to recognize Russian-occupied territories as legally part of Russia. Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Im a little concerned that I may have unwittingly chosen to live in Spain. Ay, caramba! When I bought a house in Boca Raton, I thought it was well within the United States, but I guess I hadnt planned on a language-based determination of national borders. Silly me. Boca Raton. The city name itself is in Spanish. Alarm bells should have been ringing. But at the time, who knew that America would be foolish enough to elect Donald Trump as president (twice!), or that the U.S. would suddenly become the most treasured ally of Russia, and its war-criminal, killer of political rivals, kidnapper of children, Vladimir Putin? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inconceivable, right? But thats where we are today. Firmly on Team Bad Guys. And now, one of our big foreign policy objectives is to normalize Putins invasion of his sovereign neighbor. Specifically, were making sure that Putin gets the spoils of his invasion made under clearly false pretenses while we get to plunder the natural resources of the attacked country we abandoned. Trump team using 'Olympic levels of rhetorical gymnastics' To do this, our position in so-called peace talks is to parrot the Russian talking points. One of them is that Russia has the right to the invaded areas of Ukraine because Russian is the dominant language there. The U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff a billionaire real estate investor whose father made womens coats is Trumps representative at the talks to make sure that the United States supports the aims of the attacking country over the attacked one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont regard Putin as a bad guy. That is a complicated situation, that war and all the ingredients that led up to it, Witkoff said. By complicated, I think Witkoff means that seizing large swaths of territory in a neighboring country by a military invasion that indiscriminately slaughters civilians is hard to justify unless you employ Olympic levels of rhetorical gymnastics. And Witkoff is apparently up to the task, because he is repeating the Russian line that an invading army has the right to seize territory where the Russian language is dominant. "They are Russian-speaking, and there have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule," Witkoff told noted Kremlin asset and American journalist Tucker Carlson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The referendums Witkoff is speaking about and their 98% approval of the Russian invasion are widely dismissed by international observers as shams orchestrated by Russia to cover its crimes. It is absurd that the Russian authorities would think these so-called votes, which took place at gunpoint in the presence of Russian soldiers and their proxies, are in any way credible, Amnesty International found. The whole exercise, which is illegal under international law, is nothing more than another deplorable act in Russias strategy of aggression against Ukraine. If you throw the referendums out, the only argument for Russia seizing the territory of a sovereign nation is that the people in these areas of Ukraine are comfortable speaking Russian. And thats the argument that the U.S. is taking to help its new ally, Russia. So I guess that I'm living in Spain after all? This has me worried I may be unwittingly living in Spain. Thats because the same logic that makes the Donbas region of Ukraine part of Russia, could be used to return much of Florida to Spain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After all, Florida has been a territory of Spain far longer than it has been part of the United States. It was Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon who gave the state its name, and first claimed it for that European country in 1513. Florida was under Spanish rule for most of the next three hundred years. It wasnt formally transferred by Spain to the United States until 1821, when it was part of a deal that settled foreign debts. Uh-oh, somebody warn Miami-Dade ... Broward and Palm Beach too! Considering our position on Ukraine, were opening ourselves up to an envoy from Spain declaring that parts of Florida where Spanish is the dominant language should be returned to its rightful historical mother country of Spain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hasta la vista, Miami-Dade County, where an estimated 70% of the population speaks Spanish, which is the language spoken at home by a majority of county residents. And its not only Miami. The percentages of residents who speak Spanish in Broward and Palm Beach counties have been trending upwards. While not as high as Miami-Dade, the other areas of South Florida have seen bilingual residents grow while fluency in English remains a challenge. In Palm Beach County about one in five households speak Spanish at home. Opinion: Trump delivers a piece de resistance in defense of the English language. Bravo! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Representatives from Spain could persuasively argue that despite chronic efforts to make English the official language in Florida, state residents, particularly in South Florida, have resisted these calls, while stubbornly clinging to the musical language of their historical mother country. Go to any construction site, restaurant kitchen, nursing home or other place of employment where essential, hard work is being done in South Florida, and the language youll hear in the air is Spanish. If we keep on insisting that Russia gets to keep invaded areas of Ukraine based on the language spoken there, were setting ourselves up to losing South Florida to Spain. Dios mio! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I may need to move to Canada to keep my U.S. citizenship. Frank Cerabino is a news columnist with The Palm Beach Post, which is part of the USA Today Network-Florida. He can be reached at fcerabino@pbpost.com. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: US backing Russia in Ukraine talks affects my Florida home | Opinion Moscow on March 28 insisted it was adhering to a ceasefire on striking energy infrastructure, whilst simultaneously laying the groundwork for breaking it. Ukraine and Russia had announced a halt on energy strikes after consultations with the U.S. in Riyadh earlier this week. There have been no reported Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure since but Russia has accused Kyiv of targeting the Sudzha gas metering station, which used to be critical transit point for Russian gas exports to Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's General Staff denied the allegations, saying: "Ukraine's Defense Forces strictly adhere to the agreements reached with partners to stop attacks on energy facilities. "Fire is carried out exclusively on military targets." Ukraine had previously accused Russia of deliberately striking the Sudzha gas station in Kursk Oblast on March 21 to frame Kyiv. Speaking on March 28, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia "reserves the right, in case the Kyiv regime does not comply with this moratorium, of course, not to comply with it either." "It would be illogical for us to comply and face attempts to strike our energy infrastructure facilities every night," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia has a long history of making false statements about everything. Footage of an alleged fire at the Sudzha gas metering station in Russias Kursk Oblast, published on March 28, 2025. (Screenshot / Russia's Defense Ministry) Despite the supposed ceasefire, Russia has continued large-scale attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, with Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-owned energy company, reporting that Moscow struck its infrastructure on March 28. Peskov's remarks also come after President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of violating the U.S.-brokered partial ceasefire by attacking Kherson's energy infrastructure on March 27. "The city of Kherson is a civilian city; it is not a battlefield. I believe there should be a reaction from the United States in (the form of) actions," Zelensky said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moscow maintains it has upheld the ceasefire since March 18, following a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. "The date, March 18, is purely invented by the Russian side, as Russian propaganda," Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said on March 27. Russia has conducted large-scale attacks on Ukraine's power grid throughout the war, while Ukraine has targeted Russian oil and gas facilities with long-range drones. Kyiv had agreed to a full 30-day ceasefire in U.S.-mediated talks in Jeddah on March 11, but Russia refused unless it included conditions limiting Ukraine's military capabilities, including an end to foreign military aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russia may propose supplying a nuclear power plant for tech billionaire Elon Musk's Mars mission, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said on March 27. "Russia can offer a small-sized nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars and other advanced technological capabilities," he said at the Arctic Forum in Murmansk, in comments reported by Reuters. Dmitriev, whom the Kremlin appointed for negotiations with the U.S. on the war in Ukraine, claimed Russia's nuclear technology could be useful for space exploration. He praised Musk as a "great visionary" and suggested Russia could contribute to a potential Mars mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dmitriev told Russian media on March 18 that he expects Russia to hold talks with Musk in the near future and that Russia seeks cooperation with Musk's SpaceX company in developing Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, and state-run nuclear energy company Rosatom. The proposal comes following renewed U.S.-Russia talks initiated by President Donald Trump to improve ties strained by Russia's war in Ukraine. Moscow and Washington continue to cooperate on space despite the severing of most economic ties after Moscow launched the war against Ukraine. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and a close ally of Trump, has previously said human landings on Mars could happen as early as 2029, but that 2031 was more likely. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian Presidential Envoy for International Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev has said that Russia is ready to supply a small nuclear power plant for the SpaceX mission to Mars. Source: Reuters Quote from Dmitriev: "Russia can offer a small-sized nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars and other advanced technological capabilities." Details: He added that the country has a number of nuclear technologies that could be useful for Mars exploration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the second statement by a Russian official in a month about possible cooperation with Musk. Dmitriev called the businessman a "great visionary" and stressed the importance of the partnership. Russia's request coincided with talks between Moscow and Washington to restore bilateral relations despite the US sanctions. Elon Musk has previously said that his Starship rocket could go to Mars as early as the end of next year, with the first human landing taking place between 2029 and 2031. Russia also plans to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon together with China by the mid-2030s, and in 2022 announced its intention to work on a Mars mission on its own after ending cooperation with the European Space Agency. Background: Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said he was planning a meeting with Elon Musk. He stated that the main topic of the talks will be "the future of humanity". Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the country's armed forces estimate that Russia views the West as a systemic enemy, is building up its military power and preparing for a large-scale confrontation with NATO. Source: European Pravda with reference to Bild Details: It has been argued that Putin's empire is ready to use military force to realise its imperialist goals. The assessment, which is also reported by the Suddeutsche Zeitung, WDR and NDR, suggests that Putin will not be satisfied with Ukraine alone. By the end of the decade, Russia is likely to have created all the necessary conditions to be able to wage a "large-scale conventional war". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Lithuanian Intelligence Service (VSD) believes that Russia is not yet in a position to wage a large-scale conventional war against NATO in the medium term. However, limited military action against one or more NATO countries is possible. Putin is allegedly planning to test how seriously NATO countries actually take the obligation to provide assistance under Article 5 of the NATO Treaty in case of emergency. The BND report indicates that while three-quarters of Russian soldiers and equipment from the Baltic border regions are currently in Ukraine, the air force and navy are on full alert. If the war in Ukraine ends, Russian units will be redeployed back to the region. Despite heavy losses and Western sanctions, Putin continues to arm himself. The Bundeswehr and the BND report that Russia's military economy produces more than it needs for the war in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By 2026, the size of the Russian Armed Forces should be increased to 1.5 million soldiers. According to the plans for 2022, the number of personnel, weapons and military equipment of the Russian Federation on the border with NATO should be increased by 30-50%. It is noted that the Kremlin is increasing military spending at a dizzying pace. By 2025, they will amount to about 120 billion, which corresponds to more than 6% of GDP. Thus, Russia has almost quadrupled its military budget compared to 2021. Background: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently promised a devastating response to Putin for an attack on Poland or any other NATO country. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for Defence Forces of Ukraine's South, has reported that Russian troops have escalated small-group assaults on the Zaporizhzhia front, aiming to advance to the region's administrative borders. The attacks have escalated since early spring. Source: Voloshyn on the national joint 24/7 newscast Quote: "The military and political leadership of the Russian Federation has never made any secret of the fact that Zaporizhzhia Oblast is in the sphere of their geopolitical interests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Therefore, we can say that before the commencement of any negotiations on a truce, on the establishment of different regimes, a ceasefire, the Russians want to get as much ground as possible, to advance as far as possible in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, if they can, even to reach the administrative borders of the region. This is one of the reasons why the situation in Ukraine's south, particularly on the Zaporizhzhia front, is beginning to deteriorate." Details: Voloshyn noted that Russian forces have amassed some troops and assets on the Zaporizhzhia front but are using them for small-group infantry assaults rather than a large-scale offensive. Quote: "The tactic of using these small groups yields certain results for Russia on other fronts, so they will try to employ this tactic of a creeping offensive, assaults by small infantry groups on the Zaporizhzhia front. I'm talking about the Orikhiv and Huliaipole fronts. The number of such assaults has surged since the beginning of spring." Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Russian troops in Kursk are close to reaching the Ukrainian border after recapturing a village four miles away, Moscow has claimed. Moscows defence ministry said its forces retook the village of Gogolevka, closing in on the last sliver of land Ukraine holds in the region. Ukrainian open-source analysts said Russian forces had taken control of some of Gogolevka, but not all. According to maps published by Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian war-tracking blog, Kyiv now controls just under 30 square miles of territory inside Russia, down from over 500 square miles it held at the peak of its incursion in August. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Geo-located footage, supplied by The Institute of the Study of War, a US-based think-tank, confirmed the loss of Gogolevka and the checkpoint late on Thursday, but intense fighting continues around the village. A Ukrainian soldier fires a rocket during a training exercise - 24TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Pro-Kremlin war bloggers claimed on Thursday that Russian paratroopers were completing a clean-up of the area and had captured the Sudzha border checkpoint with Ukraine. The gains form the latest in Russias rapid advance to retake swathes of territory in Kursk, pushing Ukrainian troops into a strip of high ground along the border, west of Sudzha. Ukraine had hoped to hold onto its salient in Kursk and potentially use it as a bargaining chip in any negotiations over territory with Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Russia cannot boast the same success in its neighbouring region of Belgorod, where Ukrainian forces have captured ground with an apparent plan to establish a bridge-head in the region. Ukraines general staff said its military had stopped 18 Russian assaults in Kursk over the past day, but did not comment on the situation in Belgorod. Its military command appears to be keeping quiet on its intentions, although Voloydmyr Zelensky admitted last week that Ukraine is taking strategic steps to counter a potential Russian offensive from Sumy, which borders Belgorod. It comes as both sides accused one another of attacking a key piece of Russian gas infrastructure in western Kursk, despite a moratorium on such strikes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kremlin claimed Ukraine had practically destroyed the gas transit point in Sudzha, saying it reserves the right to withdraw from the deal if attacks continue. But a Ukrainian official said it was Russia that attacked the major facility, which until last year, was used to pump gas into Europe. Kyiv and Moscow have repeatedly accused the other of breaking the energy truce, underscoring the fragility of the US-brokered agreements. 02:19 PM GMT Thats all for today Thank you for following The Telegraphs live coverage of the war in Ukraine today. 01:05 PM GMT North Korea could join Ukraine peace talks, Putin says Vladimir Putin has said North Korea could join peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to sailors from the Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine, the Russian president said countries friendly to Russia could be invited to participate. He said North Korea was a partner who could be considered, along with China, India, Brazil and South Africa. 12:39 PM GMT In pictures: Ukrainian soldiers treated on frontline A wounded soldier receives medical attention near the frontline city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk - SERGEY SHESTAK/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock A soldier with a facial injury in Pokrovsk, Donetsk - SERGEY SHESTAK/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 12:08 PM GMT Russia suggests it may pull out of energy strike truce Russia has suggested it may pull out of the US-backed moratorium blocking strikes on energy infrastructure. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesmna, said: Of course, the Russian side reserves the right, in the event that the Kyiv regime fails to observe this moratorium, not to observe it either. It would be illogical for us to comply and every night face attempts to strike at our energy infrastructure facilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It comes aftet the Kremlin accused Ukraine of firing rockets at the Sudzha gas metering station in the Kursk region, which had already been damaged in an earlier attack. Ukraine has said Russia was responsible. 11:48 AM GMT Russia accuses EU of not wanting peace in Ukraine Russia has accused the European Union of not wanting peace in Ukraine because the bloc has not eased sanctions. An integral part of the Black Sea deal is the lifting of sanctions on a Russian bank, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to the possible resumption of a 2022 grain-shipping deal. If European countries dont want to go down this path, it means they dont want to go down the path of peace. 11:27 AM GMT Replace Zelensky with UN government, Putin demands Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine should be placed under a transitional government to allow for peace negotiations and democratic elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Russian president suggested that the temporary administration could be introduced in Ukraine under the auspices of the UN, the United States, European countries and our partners. He added: This would be in order to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks with them about a peace treaty. Putin has long claimed that Ukraines current government is illegitimate, as Volodymyr Zelensky has remained in power past his May 2024 mandate. Ukraines constitution however bans elections during martial law, which has been in effect since Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022. The White House dismissed Putins proposal, with a security council spokesman saying Ukraines governance was determined by its people and its constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sir Keir Starmer yesterday accused Putin of playing games and playing for time over a ceasefire, demanding the Russian president be given a strict deadline to agree to a lasting truce. 11:15 AM GMT Pictured: Putin launches nuclear-powered submarine Vladimir Putin speaks at a ceremony launching nuclear-powered submarine Perm in Murmansk, Russia - GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 11:01 AM GMT Russia intensifying offensives in Zaporizhzhia Russia is intensifying its offensives in Zaporizhzhia, a spokesman for Ukraines southern armed forces has said. Vladyslav Voloshyn, said: The Russians want to get as much of a head start or advance as much as possible in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He added that since the start of spring Russian forces had increasingly concentrated troops for assault operations using small infantry groups. 10:27 AM GMT Ukraine-US minerals deal not yet finalised, says Kyiv The terms of the minerals deal between Ukraine and the United States is not yet finalised, Kyivs officials said on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest US proposal would require Ukraine to hand over all profits from a fund controlling the countrys resources until Ukraine had repaid all American wartime aid, plus interest, according to a summary reviewed by Reuters. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior official in Volodymyr Zelenskys office, said the deal was still to be finalised. Consultations are still happening at the level of the various ministries, he said. 09:58 AM GMT Ukraine accuses Russia of striking own gas plant Ukraine has accused Russia of striking its own gas site. Russia earlier accused Ukraine of firing rockets at the Sudzha gas metering station in the Kursk region, which had already been damaged in an earlier attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But a Ukrainian national security official has now said Russia was responsible. Russia has again attacked the Sudzha gas transmission system in the Kursk region, which they do not control, said Andriy Kovalenko, an official who is responsible for countering disinformation. The Sudzha gas metering station ablaze in Kursk on Friday - RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 09:46 AM GMT Russia reaches Ukraine border area in battle for Kursk Russian troops fighting in Kursk have reached the Ukraine border area, Moscow claimed on Friday. The Kremlins defence ministry said its forces recaptured the village of Gogolevka, which is just four miles from the Ukrainian border. Pro-Putin warbloggers yesterday claimed that Russian paratroopers were completing a clean-up of the area, and that they had captured a border checkpoint. Russia has retaken swathes of territory in its Kursk region this month, pushing Ukrainian troops into a small strip of land west of Sudzha. Kyiv invaded Kursk last summer, and had been hoping to hold onto its gains to use as leverage in any peace negotiations. 09:25 AM GMT Russia accuses Ukraine of striking energy sites Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of firing rockets and more than a dozen drones at its energy infrastructure, violating what Moscow says were pledges by Ukraine to halt such strikes. Moscow insists a 30-day truce on energy infrastructure has been in effect since March 18, but the monitoring of it is unclear and both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of repeatedly breaking it. Over the past 24 hours, the Kyiv regime continued its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure using various types of drones and HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, the Russian defence ministry said. It said Ukraine fired rockets at the Sudzha gas metering station in the Kursk region, already damaged in an earlier attack, as well as 19 drones at the Saratov oil refinery in central Russia. 09:25 AM GMT Erdogan says Turkey trying to end war in Ukraine President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Russian leader on a call that Turkey is following efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Mr Erdogan has offered to host peace talks between the two nations. 08:34 AM GMT Pictured: Vladimir Putin meets with submariners Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched a nuclear-powered submarine equipped with hypersonic Zircon missiles capable of travelling at several times the speed of sound. Putin launched the vessel, named Perm after a city in the Urals, with the order: I hereby authorise! The Russian president met with submariners after the launch. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks with crew members of the nuclear-powered submarine Arkhangelsk - Kirill Zykov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP 08:22 AM GMT Putin says Russian forces have strategic initiative Russian forces have the strategic initiative along the entire frontline in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said Friday. Along the entire frontline, our forces have the strategic initiative... There are reasons to believe that we will finish them off, the Russian President said during a trip to the northwestern city of Murmansk. He added that the Ukrainian people themselves should understand what is happening. 08:04 AM GMT Russia launched 163 drones overnight The Ukrainian air force said on Friday that Russia had launched 163 drones during overnight attacks. The air force shot down 89 drones with another 51 not reaching their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, it added. It did not specify what happened to the remaining 23 drones. 08:03 AM GMT Starmer says Russia filibustering progress on Ukraine deal Yesterday Keir Starmer said Russia was stalling progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine, after a meeting with Western allies in Paris, adding that now was not the right time to lift sanctions against Moscow. Sir Keir met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing, a group of nations which are working to formulate a plan of support for Ukraine in the event of a a peace deal with Russia. We agreed here in Paris today that its clear the Russians are filibustering, Starmer told a press conference. They are playing games and playing for time, he said. I dont want to put a hard deadline on this, but we need to see this developing in days and weeks, not months and months. 08:02 AM GMT Watch: Putin demands new Ukrainian government 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. Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ), best known for brands like Corona, Modelo, and Robert Mondavi, is a newer Warren Buffett position that has seen better days. Its stock has slumped 19% over the past three months and lost a third of its value since this time last year. The leading beverage alcohol company is standing at a crossroads of shifting preferences among its consumers as younger, health-conscious generations opt for choices other than traditional alcoholic beverages like wine and beer. Light Up your Portfolio with Spark: Easily identify stocks' risks and opportunities. Discover stocks' market position with detailed competitor analyses. Additionally, trade wars and tariffs have dampened the market sentiment surrounding Constellations stock. However, despite these challenges, investors may find a safe haven in Constellation. The company appears to be taking the necessary steps to maintain its leadership position during these trying times. As a result, I am bullish on Constellations stock at its current price. The past years declines have only made the stock a better value-for-money option for investors seeking to enter the alcoholic beverage space. Trump Trade War Concerns Impact Bottom Line While President Donald Trump has recently softened his retaliatory tariffs, they are still clouding STZs market sentiment and, once implemented, figure to have an impact on the companys bottom line. While based in the U.S., Constellation imports beers like Corona and Modelo from Mexico. A potential 25% tariff on Mexican imports could increase Constellations cost of goods significantly and eat into the companys hard-fought margins. Robert Moskow, a TD Cowen analyst, believes that tariffs could create a 20% headwind to EPS. While some of these price increases could be offset by customers, higher prices may decrease sales volume, especially if customers opt for cheaper alternatives like domestic brands. Chart showing STZs revenue by segment Unfortunately for Constellation, beer makes up most of its overall net sales (over 80% in its fiscal third quarter) and is its top-growing segment. During its Q3 fiscal year 2025 earnings report, Constellation revised its forward revenue outlook from 6%-8% year-over-year growth to 4%-7%. Wine & Spirits Segment in Decline Constellations wine and spirits segment is vanishing. In the three months ending November 30, 2024, net sales totaled $431.4 million, a 14% cut from last year. Much of this is attributed to a shift away from traditional alcohol consumption. Generation Z is drinking less alcohol than their predecessors. Younger folks who do drink are shooting for quality over quantity, preferring champagne and hard seltzer over traditional wine and beer. Russia has accused European countries of blocking peace efforts by keeping sanctions in force. Moscow and Kiev agreed a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea on Tuesday after talks between US, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Riyadh. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the terms of the deal include the lifting of sanctions on the Russian Agricultural Bank, or Rosselkhoz. "If the European states do not want to take this path, it means that they do not want to take the path of peace," said Peskov, according to the state news agency TASS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moscow is demanding renewed access to the Swift international financial system for Russia's state-owned agricultural bank a move only the EU can authorize, as the system is headquartered in Belgium. The sanctions complicate international transactions for Russian grain and fertilizer exports. But Brussels has indicated it will maintain the sanctions until Moscow ends its war in Ukraine. Despite the sanctions, Russia is expecting high total exports of 49.5 million tons of grain for the current year, as reported by the Interfax agency. The number of Russian assaults has exceeded 200 per day over the past three days since 25 March, matching the intensity seen in the second half of January. Source: DeepState, a Ukrainian group of military analysts; General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 16:00 on 28 March Quote: "This is the highest three-day intensity of the year. As usual, the enemy is conducting active offensive efforts on the Kupiansk, Lyman, Toretsk, Vremivka and Kursk fronts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Pokrovsk front remains the most critical hotspot, with enemy attack intensity nearing the levels of the second half of January. Between 16 and 31 January, territory losses in this area were about seven times greater than those recorded throughout March." Details: Ukraine's General Staff reported that as of 16:00 on 28 March, there had been 116 combat engagements across the entire war zone since the start of the day. On the Pokrovsk front, Russian forces launched 50 attacks on Ukrainian positions. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Harvard Medical School researcher Kseniia Petrova was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after she failed to disclose frog embryos she brought into the country. Petrovas attorney is fighting for her release from a Louisiana detention center after Customs and Border Protection stopped her at Boston Logan International Airport on Feb. 16 when she was coming back from France, according to the filing. Her J-1 nonimmigrant visa was revoked for failing to declare frog embryos she brought back, and agents told her she could return to France and reapply, but when she said she feared for her safety in Russia they detained her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Petrova, a Russian citizen, was previously arrested in her home country for protesting the war against Ukraine. Gregory Romanovsky, her lawyer, argues forgetting to declare an item is a $500 fine and the officers had no authority to revoke her visa. They definitely overstepped their authority by punishing Kseniia through the immigration penalties, as opposed to what they were supposed to do, Romanovsky said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson. A Harvard spokesperson confirmed Petrova is a research associate at the medical school and the university is monitoring this situation. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the arrest to The Hill, saying that she was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A subsequent K9 inspection uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits, a DHS spokesperson said in the statement. Messages found on her phone revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them. She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it, they added. Petrovas detention comes as the Trump administration has been cracking down on pro-Palestinian foreign students, revoking visas and attempting to deport individuals. It is not clear if she was involved in any of the pro-Palestinian activities on campus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced at least 300 foreign students have had their visas revoked in the past two months including staff and students at Georgetown University, the University of Alabama and Tufts University. Updated at 12:35 p.m. EDT. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Russian medical researcher at Harvard University is being detained at a Louisiana immigration facility after her visa was revoked last month over undeclared frog embryo samples found in her luggage, her lawyer told NBC News. Kseniia Petrova has been in the U.S. on a J-1 scholar visa since May 2023, working at Harvard University. Her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, said Petrova is fighting the possible deportation back to Russia for fear of persecution and jail time over her protests decrying the Ukraine war. On Feb. 16, Petrova returned from France to Boston's Logan Airport from a work trip and passed through immigration without issue. But while awaiting her luggage, two Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers took her into a room to inspect her luggage and searched her phone, her lawyer said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inside, officers found a sample of frog embryos from her research. Kseniia Petrova. "They find a sample, scientific sample of frog embryos that she was bringing at the request of her principal investigator, her professor at Harvard, from the lab in France that they are collaborating with," Romanovsky said. "She had that in her luggage, and she did not declare it. She had no previous experience with bringing samples. She didnt really think this through. She didnt she didnt look up the requirements. It was her fault. She was supposed to declare that item. She did not." Romanovsky said CBP is supposed to impose two penalties for typical customs violations: forfeiture of the item and a fine of usually about $500. "They did not do that. Instead, they decided to punish her by canceling her visa," Romanovsky said. "This is when all hell broke loose They said, 'Kseniia, were canceling your visa. Were going to put you back on the plane to Paris. You flew from Paris to Logan.'" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the Immigration and Nationality Act Section 212, several reasons can be given for denying entry into the U.S., including health-related issues, a criminal record, and terrorism. Romanovsky said that while CBP can cancel visas, they need a reason to merit it, and in Petrova's case, they did not. Instead, CBP gave Petrova two choices. The first was to withdraw her application for admission to the U.S. and leave voluntarily, with the opportunity to go to an embassy in another country and apply for a visa to re-enter the U.S. The second was that CBP would issue an order of expedited removal, and shed be put on a plane back to Paris. However, due to a ban on re-entry under an order of deportation, she wouldn't be able to return to the U.S. for at least five years. Romanovsky said she chose to withdraw her application for admission. "Please put me back on the plane to France, Im going to do what you tell me to do. Im going to apply for a visa. I want to do the right thing," Petrova said at the time, according to her lawyer. "And they said, 'Okay, thats fine. Would you like us to notify the Russian government of what happened today, or the Russian Consulate?'" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her lawyer said Petrova told them not to notify the Russian consulate, saying, I cannot go to Russia. I will be persecuted there. Kseniia Petrova. Petrova has a history of persecution there over her political activity, Romanovsky said. She was arrested in Russia in 2022 for protesting the Ukraine war, The Harvard Crimson reported. "She has been detained there, and her detention and her social media activity will almost certainly ensure a nice, hefty jail sentence for her, so at that point when she said, I cant go back to Russia," he said. Her arrest comes amid a Trump administration crackdown on immigration, including revoking hundreds of student visas and appearing to target scholars for activism. Many of those individuals had been involved in free speech protests on campuses decrying human rights violations in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war. Petrova's case appears unique, however, as her activism is not related to the Israel-Hamas war, but opposing the Russian war in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Romanovsky said CBP then followed what's called a credible fear process where noncitizens can claim they have a credible fear of persecution or torture and request asylum in the U.S. In that case, the individual is asked to present their case before an immigration judge. "This is where shes at right now, she has established credible fear," the lawyer added. Shes now waiting for a hearing before an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, set for May 7. However, even if the immigration judge grants asylum, the government can appeal and they can continue to keep her in detention. "I would love to say that shes going to know where she stands in a couple of months, and shell be out if she gets approved, but we dont know that," Romanovsky said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, Romanovsky said, they have a pending lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security and CBP in the District of Vermont where she was detained before being transferred to Louisiana. The hearing for the lawsuit, which alleges improper visa revocation and her initial detention, is scheduled for June 9. A DHS spokesperson told NBC News on Friday that Petrova was "lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying biological substances into the country." "A subsequent K9 inspection uncovered undeclared Petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits," the spokesperson said. "Messages found on her phone revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them. She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it." Romanovsky advocating for Petrova's release from ICE as she awaits her immigration court hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Shes certainly a victim of the new policy where people are held indiscriminately, held and not released, regardless of whether theyre a threat to anybody or whether flight risk," Romanovsky said. "Theres really no sense to continue to hold her shes just taking up bed space. Shes not a danger to the community. Shes not a flight risk." He described Petrova as a "brilliant scientist" and a "very, very sweet person. Shes a very good friend, and shes a very trustworthy, reliable, and kind individual." Romanovsky said her principal investigator at Harvard asked the attorney to give letters from Nobel Prize winners in support of Kseniia. Harvard confirmed in a statement Friday that she is a research associate at Harvard Medical School, saying, "We are monitoring this situation." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com A Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, her lawyer told Boston 25 News Friday. Kseniia Petrova was stopped at Logan Airport on February 16 by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer because she did not have the proper paperwork for a non-hazardous scientific sample she was bringing back from France, her lawyer Greg Romanovsky told Boston 25. Instead of just seizing the item and issuing the normal fine, Petrovas visa was canceled and she was taken to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana, 1,500 miles away from the Boston area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Department of Homeland Security claims that Petrova had petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and vials of embryonic frog cells without obtaining the proper permits. Messages on her phone also proved that she was purposely planning on smuggling the items into the country, according to a DHS spokesperson. She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it, the DHA said. Petrova had been conducting vital biomedical research at Harvard since May 2023 under her J-1 visa status, according to her lawyer. We have challenged CBPs actions in federal court because the agency clearly overstepped its authority. Ms. Petrovas immigration paperwork was in order, and the customs violation did not render her inadmissible to the U.S. Rather than imposing the appropriate monetary penalties for the customs violation, CBP improperly invoked their extensive immigration authority to impose a punishment grossly disproportionate to the situation. This overreach reflects broader concerns about the treatment of international scholars by U.S. immigration authorities, Romanovsky detailed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Romanovsky also claims that government officials are attempting to export her to Russia, putting her in danger due to her political activism and outspoken opposition to Russias invasion of Ukraine. Ms. Petrovas 1.5-month-long detention has caused significant disruption to both her professional and personal life. As a dedicated and highly respected researcher, her work is critical to scientific progress. We strongly urge ICE to release Ms. Petrova while her legal proceedings are ongoing. ICE is required to detain individuals awaiting their immigration court hearings only if they are a flight risk or a danger to the community. Ms. Petrova is neither a flight risk nor a threat to the community and her continued detention serves no purpose and wastes limited government resources, said Romanovsky. Harvard said they are aware of Petrovas detention and that they are monitoring the situation. 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 Russian forces have attacked civilian infrastructure, residential buildings and oil and gas company office buildings in Poltava Oblast. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Quote: "The Russian occupiers have committed yet another war crime, conducting a large-scale attack on Poltava using Shahed UAVs. They deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure, residential buildings and oil and gas company office buildings." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: The General Staff noted that the Russians are lying about their "aspirations for peace" while continuing to deliberately attack civilian facilities. Background: The Russians attacked Poltava with drones on the evening of 27 March, causing power outages in some districts of the city. Warehouse facilities belonging to a business within the Poltava hromada were damaged. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.] Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on March 27 that countries "friendly" to Russia could take part in the peace process and negoatiations to end Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Speaking with sailors from the Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine, Putin listed China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and North Korea among those he sees as potential participants. Putin described North Korea as a "partner" and noted that a treaty on military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, signed last year, had come into force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the agreement, each country is obligated to assist the other "with all available means" in the event of an attack. Putin said cooperation with North Korea is ongoing in both "military-technical and military spheres." Putin also accused Western countries of trying to deceive Russia in negotiations and claimed that European states were "constantly trying" to mislead the Kremlin. While reiterating that Moscow "welcomes the resolution of any conflicts by peaceful means," the Russian president added: "Just not at our expense." Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is ready to take such a step if Russia also agrees to the terms. So far, Russia has refused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Korea has become a key military supplier for Russia, providing artillery shells, missiles, and troops in exchange for oil products and advanced rocket technology. Up to 12,000 North Korean troops were deployed to Russia's Kursk Oblast last fall, reinforcing Moscow's units against Ukraine's cross-border incursion. Ukrainian forces initially seized 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory before Russian troops, bolstered by North Korean reinforcements, launched a counteroffensive earlier this month, retaking key areas, including the town of Sudzha. North Korea sent around 3,000 additional troops to Russia in January and February to compensate for battlefield losses, AP reported on March 27. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russias natural gas production saw a significant decline in February, dropping 11.3% year-on-year to 57.2 billion cubic meters (bcm), according to Russian media outlet Kommersant, which cited sources familiar with Energy Ministry data. The sharp decline is primarily attributed to Ukraine halting Russian gas transit through its territory on Jan. 1 after the expiration of a 2019 transit agreement. The move has severely impacted Gazprom, Russias state-owned gas giant, whose production fell 13.2% year-on-year to 38.2 bcm in February. With the loss of Ukrainian transit routes, Kommersant reports that Gazprom now relies almost entirely on the TurkStream pipeline, which has an annual capacity of just under 16 bcmsignificantly restricting Russias ability to export gas to Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beyond Gazprom, other major Russian energy companies also reported declines in production. Novatek reduced its output by 1.5%, producing 6.4 bcm in February. Lukoils gas production fell by 13.3% to 1.3 bcm, while Rosneft recorded a 14% drop, bringing its total production to 5.5 bcm. Gazprom Neft also reported a decline of 8.3%, producing 2.2 bcm during the month. The downturn extended beyond Russias borders. Kommersant reported that Gazprom Nefts gas production in the NIS (Serbian oil and gas company), Badra (Badra oil field located in eastern Iraq), and Kurdistan (Iraq) fell by 20.5%, while Rosnefts output at Egypts Zohr field declined by 21.3% compared to the previous year. The only projects that maintained their 2024 levels were Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2, which produced 0.7 bcm and 1.4 bcm in February, respectively. Despite the slump, Russian price agencies told Kommersant that gas production in 2025 is expected to remain at 2024 levels as Moscow shifts its focus toward expanding pipeline exports to China and increasing LNG shipments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Ukraines list of energy facilities banned from attacks differs from Russian version, Energy Ministry says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ruth Beitchman Gavis, an Action in Maturity seniors program official who also taught writing, died of a stroke March 21 at Sinai Hospital. The former Village of Cross Keys resident was 92. Born in New York City and raised in Boston, she was the daughter of Frieda Romascan Beitchman, a New York and Boston librarian, and Louis Beitchman, a drug store owner. She earned a degree at Boston Teachers College and became an elementary school teacher in the Arlington, Massachusetts, school system. Mrs. Gavis met her future husband Jerome Jerry Gavis, a chemical engineer, through friends in Boston. She moved to the Aberdeen area to marry him while he was serving in the Army at Edgewood Arsenal. During that time she taught in a one-room school near Perryman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both our parents were pioneers in advancing the cultural and scientific interests of the United States by participating in a scientific exchange program with the USSR during the Cold War years 1965-1966, her daughter, Elizabeth Gavis, said. Our parents lived in the USSR for six months and met with the Russian scientific community and other scientists from around the world. It was quite an experience with my brother and me living in Moscow. Mrs. Gavis later earned a masters degree at Johns Hopkins University and taught creative and technical writing and English at Catonsville Community College and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Along the way, she became fluent in Russian and French and was an active member of two different French clubs and the Johns Hopkins Womans Club. She and her husband enjoyed square dancing and sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My mother sought new challenges and became an accomplished administrator and leader at Goodwill Industries and the Maryland Association of Dyslexic Adults and Youths, her daughter, Elizabeth, said. She was also proud to be development director of Action in Maturity in Hampden, a non-profit that helped seniors to stay mobile and active through shuttle bus and other services. Related Articles She had a can-do disposition when she set out her mind to accomplish a task or goal she was unstoppable. She had a wonderful gift of conversation and could talk to anyone, said her son, Alexander Gavis. She got satisfaction at seeing people succeed. She loved her time at Goodwill and its workers. She even used her mother to test the bus service at Action in Maturity. Her children said their mother was an accomplished grant writer and had the ability to raise funds by tactfully requesting donations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Survivors include her daughter, Elizabeth Gavis, of Princeton, New Jersey; a son, Alexander Gavis, of Wellesley, Massachusetts; and five grandchildren. Her husband, Jerome Jerry Gavis, a Hopkins chemical engineering professor who conducted early research on the Chesapeake Bays environmental health, died in 2011. Services were held March 23 at Sol Levinson & Brothers. Have a news tip? Contact Jacques Kelly at jacques.kelly@baltsun.com and 410-332-6570. UNITED NATIONS (AP) Rwandan-backed rebels now control large parts of eastern Congo and threaten to expand their offensive west into two neighboring provinces, the top U.N. official in the conflict-torn country said Thursday. In a briefing to the U.N. Security Council on what she called the alarming situation in Congo, Bintou Keita pointed to the M23 rebels installation of an administration in South Kivu, and a mining delegate in North Kivu another link between decades-old conflicts in eastern Congo and the illegal exploitation of its mineral riches. The U.N. special representative for Congo also cited the dire situation of tens of thousands of Congolese fleeing the M23 offensive, and massive human rights violations against civilians from more than 100 summary executions to rapes and forced recruitment of children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite regional and international efforts, including a recent agreement between the presidents of Congo and Rwanda in Qatar, Keita said the immediate and unconditional ceasefire they called for has not taken place. She called for swift appointment of an African Union mediator to spearhead ceasefire efforts. Keita told the council that M23 controls large parts of North Kivu and South Kivu and threatens to expand into Tshopo and Maniema provinces, which are larger and across the Kivus' western borders. M23 and its allies have vowed to march as far as Congos capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the east, and moving into Tshopo and Maniema would be a first major step. Keita, who heads the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo known as MONUSCO, told reporters that an analysis by professionals on the ground determined that the two provinces could be next. M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises and has displaced more than 7 million people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the root of the current crisis is the 1994 Rwanda genocide which saw bands of ethnic Hutu extremists kill minority ethnic Tutsis they blamed for the downing of a plane that killed the countrys Hutu president. Rwandas current president, Paul Kagame, a Tutsi and former opposition military commander, is widely credited with stopping the genocide which killed more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus who tried to protect them. Thousands of Hutus fled Rwanda to neighboring eastern Congo. The M23 rebels are largely Congolese ethnic Tutsis, whose fighters seized Goma, eastern Congos largest city on the border with Rwanda, in November 2012 but pulled back under international pressure. Last July, U.N. experts reported that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwanda government forces were operating alongside M23 in eastern Congo. And in January, M23 launched a major offensive against Congolese government forces that led to its takeover of most of the Kivus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Thursdays council meeting, Congos Ambassador Zenon Mukongo Ngay blamed Rwanda for not adhering to a ceasefire and said his government remains fully committed and reiterates its trust in any and all peace processes supported by the African Union to bring about a political solution to the conflict. He said Rwanda and M23 continue to respond to calls for the withdrawal of all uninvited foreign forces from Congo with violence, with terror." And he thanked the countries that have imposed sanctions against Rwanda including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and the European Union. Rwandas Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe wouldnt confirm the presence of Rwandan troops in Congo. But he said the countrys defensive measures will remain in place until there is a credible framework for long-term security guarantees along the border with Congo. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) When Patricia Royal was considering in 2023 whether to apply for the superintendent position at Pawtucket School Department, she said a colleague told her to be careful. Royal, a Black woman, was going for a job that had only been held by white people. And while the majority of Pawtucket students are people of color, Royal said the majority of administrators are white. Despite the warning, Royal applied and was hired to the districts top job accomplishing a goal she said shed been working toward throughout her more than three decades in education in both Rhode Island and Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But after getting hired, Royal said she was immediately met with external headwinds, which fueled an overall experience she said was shrouded in racism, hatred and sabotage. Ultimately, she said the working environment forced her to go out on medical leave in late February due to anxiety caused by the job. I have experienced racism throughout my life, Royal told Target 12 during an exclusive interview. Ive never in my life experienced it in this capacity. Royals interview with Target 12 marks the first time shes spoke publicly since taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act a month ago. The district has since appointed an interim superintendent, Randy Buck. Royals contract doesnt expire until June 2026, but her future at the district is uncertain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cant even stomach walking back into this, she said. On Thursday, Royal filed a 100-page federal lawsuit against Pawtucket, the School Committee and several city leaders individually, including Mayor Donald Grebien and School Committee Chairman Omar Reyes. She accused them of defamation, retaliation, negligence, inflecting emotional distress and interfering with her contract, among other things. Royal has also filed claims of race and gender discrimination with the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is required before the issues can be litigated in federal court. Once the claims clear with those agencies, Royal said she plans to add those claims to the lawsuit, according to her complaint. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive never seen so much hatred in one place, Royal said. Royal said shes been publicly berated by School Committee members, targeted by leaders of the Pawtucket Teachers Alliance, lied to and lied about by city leaders, and repeatedly blamed for issues that predated her leadership. Grebien, Reyes and others named in the lawsuit declined to be interviewed for this story. In a statement, Grebien said, the city vigorously disagrees with the claim made in the lawsuit. This may be an attempt to shift attention away from the challenges the administration has faced, Grebien said. Im not going to sacrifice my reputation Theres been no love lost between the Grebien administration and the School Department over the past year, as both sides have fought over funding, school building projects and control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Royal said she had a target on her back from the moment she took the job in 2023 and was immediately criticized for attending an out-of-state conference on her first day of employment. She said she had cleared the trip first with the chair of the School Committee. But she said the animosity shes felt from Grebien and other members of city leadership escalated in 2024 when the city failed to submit its annual financial audit to the state on time. Royal said city leaders wanted to blame the schools for the tardiness, which she disputed. They tried to paint a picture as if it was the School Departments issue, but its not, she said. Royal was adamant her department had its financial reports in order on time, and she said city leadership targeted her in part because shed fought them publicly over $3.2 million in state education aid that she said the city illegally withheld from the schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The complaint alleged city leaders retaliated against her for being a whistleblower about the money. I highlighted those things with the finance issues, and then I had to pull in my legal team to help me identify those issues and then correct those issues, Royal said. Prior to the end of the fiscal year last spring, Royal said the city took the unusual step of forcing her department to close out its books early, which resulted in an array of problems. Royal said it requisitions were deleted, school officials were blocked from payment systems and in some cases they couldnt pay vendors exposing the department to legal liability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city Finance Department even canceled outgoing checks that the PSD needed to pay expenses, despite PSD having allocated the money to make those payments, Royals attorney Paige Muro-Delotto wrote in the complaint. Royal said city leaders then lied about what was happening behind the scenes in public comments made to local media. Royal who described herself as a rule follower said she did everything she could to keep operations moving smoothly, even as she felt attacked from all sides. Im a hardworking, dedicated leader, she said. I will not ever put my morals, values aside and Im not going to sacrifice my reputation, so when I was asked to do things that go against my core values Im not going to do that. OK, this is sabotage Royal said she still cant understand why she became the target of so much animosity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her goal with the district was to improve education for students and families, she said, and the lawsuit outlines a long list of her accomplishments that she bills as achievements for Pawtucket schools. Ive reached out and asked point blank, What do you want me to do? What can I do to make this a better working relationship?' she said. When you dont get an answer, and then you often hear negativity about things that arent true, then its like OK, this is sabotage. Much of the back-channeling of negativity, she said, came from Grebien himself. Royal said she was once reprimanded by his staff for taking a photo with a political rival of the mayor at a school event. When she asked the mayor about it, she said Grebien said he didnt know anything about it, and it must be a misunderstanding of some sort. Shed then hear from multiple people who said the mayor was telling people Royal was difficult to work with. But Royal said any time she tried to talk to the mayor about these comments, hed tell her everything was OK. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That all changed, however, once there was an overhaul of School Committee members in last Novembers election, Royal said. Grebien stopped taking her phone calls, according to the lawsuit, and Reyes was appointed chairman as a first-term member. Royal said Reyes quickly made life hectic for her and her staff. Hed criticize their work ethic, and hed repeatedly request large volumes of information, only to complain about the results and not even take the information with him, according to the complaint. Royal said she was reprimanded when she tried sharing certain information with other School Committee members, and when she went on leave in February for a medical procedure, Reyes went after her staff for her paid time off and medical records, according to the complaint. Royal said that was her breaking point when she decided she needed to go on medical leave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be working in an environment that way in such a hostile working environment I dont wish that environment for anyone, Royal said. Reyes said he was advised by lawyers not to comment on the lawsuit until it was reviewed. Grebien disagreed with the characterization of the lawsuit, saying in a statement, As a lifelong Pawtucket resident, father, and mayor of this great city, I always want to see our schools succeed and our students thrive. The city will work collaboratively to support the most diverse School Committee in Pawtuckets history and acting superintendent as they work to pull the pieces together and change the trajectory of the district, he said. We remain committed to prioritizing the education of our students and the well-being of our teachers. As this is ongoing litigation, we are unable to comment further at this time. Royal said shes distraught that her entire career as an educator could be derailed by her time at Pawtucket, where she feels like he reputation has been tarnished. And she became emotional when talking about the toll it has all taken taken on her, her children and her grandchildren. To me, it just kind of boils down to the idea that maybe they were not ready for a Black female superintendent, she said. Maybe they had different expectations. I dont know because I cant get an answer. Thats the frustrating part. Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook. Alexandra Leslie (aleslie@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook. 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. (FOX40.COM) A 32-year-old Sacramento man was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison for possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, according to the United States Department of Justice. Video Above: What is Fentanyl? Court documents state that a multi-agency operation targeting cocaine and heroin traffickers resulted in Manuel Greenhalgh and eight other federal defendants being charged with drug trafficking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOJ said Greenhalgh was heard during a wiretap discussion in May 2020, talking about getting heroin from Mexico and the difficulties getting drugs and people across the border. Greenhalgh, the solo occupant of the car, was pulled over after meeting with the co-defendant, said the DOJ. Man sentenced for domestic violence and sexual assault Law enforcement discovered he possessed 1,986.6 grams of heroin that he intended to distribute. The co-defendant was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of possession of heroin with intention to distribute as well. The DOJ said that five other co-defendants are scheduled to be sentenced at a later time after pleading guilty to various drug trafficking crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charges are pending for the last co-defendant for multiple drug charges as the DOJ said they are allegations as of this moment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Sacramento State, Elk Grove Unified School District and Los Rios Community College District signed a data sharing agreement Thursday that educators say will help route students toward success in college and career programs. The Sacramento Regional K-16 Collaborative agreement allows K-12 districts and colleges to share unaggregated, student-specific data with one another. Education leaders say that sharing data across institutions will connect the entire educational ecosystem in the Sacramento region and help each school tailor their academic programming to ensure that students advance through college. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For too long, schools have operated in silos, Sacramento County Office of Education Superintendent David Gordon said. Today we break down those barriers and create a truly seamless education system. The insight goes both ways local colleges will be able to assess current high school students eligibility and readiness for college and K-12 districts will be able to see how their students are doing after graduation, which could help them tailor their high school curriculum and academic support. An earlier data sharing partnership between Elk Grove Unified and Sac State allowed the college to provide eligible high school students with automatic acceptance upon graduation. Sac State President Luke Wood and Elk Grove Unified Superintendent Christopher Hoffman emphasized the early success of this program since it was announced in 2024. Were creating opportunities for our students, were working together to change lives, to change directory trajectories, and making sure that every single student knows that theres a pathway for them into and through educational systems in our region, Wood said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members of the collaborative also said that sharing data between the institutions will help improve and expand dual enrollment so that students are able to earn college credit while still in high school. The program is a part of a statewide initiative to reduce educational and employment disparities, funded by an $18.1 million investment from a state grant. This isnt just about access, its about equity, Sacramento County Office of Education Superintendent David Gordon said. If we dont use real time data to understand where our students struggle, we cannot close the opportunity gaps that hold too many of them back. Consumnes River College President Edward Bush emphasized the ways adult learners looking to earn a certificate or degree could benefit from the targeted support made possible by data sharing, especially for those who have completed some classes but had to stop due to life circumstances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This pilot is about removing barriers and building clear, more flexible pathways for students, especially those navigating lifes complexities who are trying to pursue an education whether its earning a degree or certificate, he said. Lead attorney for the K-16 Collaborative Thuy Thi Nguyen addressed potential data security concerns, given that local school districts like Elk Grove and Natomas Unified have been affected by a nationwide uptick in threat actors targeting educational institutions. She said that they have formed a security coordination action team to monitor and train each institution on data security. A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday (28 March), with tremors reaching as far as Thailands capital Bangkok, causing high-rise buildings to collapse and filling streets with rubble, leaving the loss of thousands of lives in its wake. The death toll after the catastrophic earthquake has risen to over 2,700, with thousands more injured and many others still missing. Collapsed buildings now line the streets with debris in the city of Mandalay, with buildings destroyed and palaces damaged in Myanmar. Aid groups arriving in the worst-hit areas in Myanmar said there is an urgent need for food, shelter and water, with the UN saying the earthquake has compounded an already dire crisis with the country embroiled in civil war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Bangkok, fatalities were confirmed at three construction sites amid the quake, including the collapse of a high-rise building under construction near Bangkoks Chatuchak Market. Thailands death toll has reached around 20, while over 70 people remain missing and are feared to still be trapped beneath the debris of the high-rise. Rescue efforts are ongoing. Elsewhere, witnesses in Bangkok said people ran out onto the streets amid last weeks earthquake, many of them hotel guests in bathrobes and swimming costumes as water poured from an elevated pool at a luxury hotel. Residents in Chiang Mai also reported hearing the quake. The Thai Department of Disaster Prevention said the quake was felt in almost all parts of the country. Cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai attract huge numbers of tourists every year to its breathtaking landscapes, cultural landmarks and luxury hotels, while its coast and islands are often touted as home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here is what to know about the recent earthquake, its impacts and the latest travel advice. Where has the earthquake hit? The powerful earthquake struck about 17.2km from Myanmar's second-largest city of Mandala (The Independent/ Datawrapper) The earthquake struck at a depth of 10km, about 17.2km from Myanmar's second-largest city of Mandalay, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The midday temblor was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock, and people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more. Impacted area of the massive 7.7 earthquake (USGS) Will my flight be cancelled? Thailands major airports are operational, inbound and outbound flights have largely not been disrupted. Thailands airport group, Airports of Thailand (AOT) said on Friday, 28 March: AOT has completed inspections of 6 airports, confirming that the structural integrity of their buildings and aviation infrastructure meets safety standards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All airports have resumed normal operations as of 2.30pm. Damaged sky bridge walkways connecting high rise buildings of a luxury residential condominium in Bangkok, Thailand, 31 March (EPA) The six airports include Suvarnabhumi Airport, Don Mueang Airport, Chiang Mai Airport, Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai Airport, Phuket Airport and Hat Yai Airport. Over in Myanmar, the UKs Foreign Office said: Mandalay and Naypyitaw airports are significantly damaged with no indication of when they may reopen. Is other transport affected? After temporary closure, services on the BTS Skytrain in Bangkok and long-distance routes resumed by the evening of 28 March. Thailands Mass Rapid Transit Authority has also said its lines have largely resumed normal operations, while road travel in Bangkok is now operating as usual. What is the UK government travel advice? Thailand The UKs Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel advice for Thailand after the earthquake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FCDO said that there has been a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, with strong tremors reported across Thailand and some damage reported to buildings in Bangkok. There may be aftershocks. If youre in the area or planning to travel there, follow the advice of the local authorities or your tour operator and monitor local media, its advice states. People who evacuated from buildings following earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) It has also directed travellers to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has advice about what to do before, during and after an earthquake. If youre in Thailand and need urgent help, call the British Embassy in Bangkok on +66 23058333 or contact the following emergency hotlines provided by the local authorities: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement General Emergency: 191 Tourist Police Hotline: 1155 Fire and Rescue Department: 199 Myanmar The FCDO has also issued new advice for travellers in Myanmar, stating that the epicentre is in the Sagaing region near Mandalay City, affecting large parts of the country. Mandalay and Naypyitaw airports are significantly damaged with no indication of when they may reopen, the Foreign Office says. There may be several strong aftershocks. The military regime announced a State of Emergency in six states and regions: Naypyitaw, Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Magway Region, northeast Shan State and Bago Region, in addition to the nationwide State of Emergency in place since the coup of 1 February 2021. We advise against travelling to all affected areas at present. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre in the area, follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local media. The FCDO is offering support to British nationals in both Myanmar and Thailand following the earthquake. British nationals in Myanmar who require consular assistance can call British Embassy Yangon on +95 (01) 370 863/4/5/7. British Nationals who require consular assistance in Thailand can call British Embassy Bangkok on +66 (0) 2 305 8333. Anyone in the UK concerned about a British national in Myanmar or Thailand can contact the FCDO on +44 (0)20 7008 5000. Can I cancel my holiday or flight and get a refund? The conditions for cancelling your trip will be dependent on your holiday provider, so its best to contact them if youre looking to postpone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. Rooftop pool spills over side of skyscraper as Bangkok hit by earthquake tremors (AP) For those planning a trip to the Thai capital, the Foreign Office has not warned against non-essential travel to Bangkok, there will be no special circumstances in place to be able to cancel a trip for a full refund. 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. For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calders podcast A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar at midday local time on 28 March, sending violent tremors across Thailand and as far as China. The jolt caused a skyscraper to crumble in the Thai capital Bangkok, causing 17 deaths and leaving 78 people still missing under the rubble. European governments have updated their travel advice for tourists in Thailand and with upcoming trips. Heres what you need to know about safety and travel insurance. State of emergency declared in six regions in Myanmar The earthquake, whose epicentre was near the city of Mandalay in Myanmar, has caused dozens of buildings to collapse. Its shallow depth of 10 kilometres amplified the ground-level impact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 6.4 magnitude aftershock was also felt 12 minutes later near the city, the US Geological Survey reported, with tremors being felt as far away as Laos, Bangladesh and China. Footage reportedly filmed inside Mandalay airport shows people running through dust-filled hallways and huddled on the floor outside the building for safety. Myanmar's state media is reporting that at least 1,600 have died and thousands more are injured. A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by authorities. - Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. There are likely many more casualties across the country, but its volatile political situation under a military-run government means journalists have restricted access and reports from the ground are difficult to verify. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by authorities. In Bangkok, the tower block that came down was under construction. A rescue worker said seven people had been found alive but 78 people are still missing. Authorities have reportedly received 169 calls about damage to buildings in the Thai capital. It has been declared a disaster area. Hundreds of residents and tourists have been evacuated to the streets from high-rise buildings and hotels, while there are reports of water sloshing out of swimming pools in several parts of the city. Is it safe to travel to Thailand? Thailand is a tourism hotspot which is seeing a spike in visitors after the HBO series The White Lotus was set in a resort in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the earthquake rocked the capital Bangkok, urban rail and metro systems were temporarily closed but resumed services on Saturday. Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi airport was briefly shut down in the immediate aftermath but has now reopened, with flights operating normally. Thailands other major airports have not experienced disruption. Local authorities have advised the public to avoid high-rise buildings, which crowd the densely populated city. The UKs Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel advice for Thailand. Hundreds of residents and tourists have been evacuated to the streets from high-rise buildings and hotels - Associated Press If youre in the area or planning to travel there, follow the advice of the local authorities or your tour operator and monitor local media, it urges travellers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Irelands Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has updated its security status for Thailand to high degree of caution. We encourage citizens to follow the instructions of local authorities in the event of an emergency, it has said. Thailand's authorities have been quick to reassure tourists that it is still safe to travel to the country. "Travel, hotels, and events proceed normally. Inspections are ongoing for safety assurance. Tourist police monitor key sites," Thailand's Tourism Minister Sorawong was quoted as saying in a government post on X. There is ongoing advice (unrelated to the earthquake) from the FCDO against all but essential travel to parts of south Thailand near the Thailand-Malaysia border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This includes the Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat Provinces and the southern Songkhla Province south of the A43 road between Hat Yai and Sakom and south of the train line which runs between Hat Yai and Padang Besar. FCDO also advises against all but essential travel on the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line that runs through these provinces. This is due to regular attacks in these areas by the border with Malaysia. Is it safe to travel to Myanmar? The FCDO has also issued updated advice for travellers in Myanmar, stating that the epicentre is in the Sagaing region near Mandalay, but other areas may also be affected. Mandalay and Naypyitaw airports are significantly damaged with no indication of when they may reopen. There may be several strong after-shocks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre in the area or planning to travel there, follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local media. Am I covered by travel insurance if I go ahead with my trip to Thailand? The UK foreign office warns that your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against its advice. This means going to areas where it advises against all but essential travel. As it has not issued a no-go warning for earthquake-affected zones, you are not automatically entitled to a refund if you cancel your trip - referred to as disinclination to travel. Related Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reimbursement is only likely if your flight is cancelled by the airline or your accommodation is closed due to the earthquake. If you have booked with a travel agent or tour operator, contact the company directly to understand your options. If you are travelling to Thailand over the next few days, speak to your airline or travel operator in the first instance. It may be that some regions of Thailand will be deemed unsafe to travel, in which case airlines will cancel flights, but disruption is likely to be localised so it will depend on which region you are travelling to," says Ernesto Suarez, CEO of travel insurance providers Gigasure. When disruption is caused by natural disasters or circumstances outside of an airline's control, passengers are normally allowed to change their booking, but you may not be entitled to any additional compensation. Some insurance policies include natural disaster cover for an event that prevents travellers from reaching their holiday destination. You should read the terms and conditions carefully and talk to your provider for advice. An 8.2-magnitude earthquake has struck Myanmar, causing widespread damage across the region including 800 miles (1,300km) away in Bangkok, where an unfinished 30-storey skyscraper collapsed after the tremor. The earthquake was initially registered as 7.7 magnitude but was later upgraded to 8.2, making it the worst earthquake to hit Myanmar since 1946. State television confirmed the deaths of 144 people, with a further 732 injured. The earthquake was so powerful that footage shows water tipping out of swimming pools atop high-rise buildings in the Thai capital. Both the Thai Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, and Myanmars military junta have declared a state of emergency after the quake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An air traffic control tower collapsed at Naypyidaw International Airport, killing all staff who were on duty, Burmese media said. The US Geological Survey estimates that thousands of deaths are likely. It has issued a red alert for deaths and damage, warning: High casualties and extensive damage are probable, with the disaster likely widespread. Here is everything you need to know about whether it is safe to visit Thailand after the earthquake. Where was the epicentre of the earthquake? The 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, around 10 miles (16km) from Mandalay, on Friday at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km). The quake was followed by a powerful 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Widespread destruction has been reported across Myanmar. Mandalays Ava Bridge collapsed into the Irrawaddy River after the quake, and buildings and temples lie in ruins. Sam Cook, lecturer in Crisis and Disaster Management at Aston University, said: My main concern is the scale of impact on the 5.3 million people living in rural areas of this geopolitically isolated country particularly in the historically significant and densely populated former northern capital. Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect Where else has the earthquake been felt? The earthquake was felt across Myanmar including in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, and in Bangkok, 800 miles from the epicentre, where an unfinished high-rise building collapsed. Thailands Department of Disaster Prevention said the tremors were felt in almost all regions of the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The earthquake caused alarms to go off in cars and buildings in Bangkok and residents evacuated high-rise apartments after the quake. The governor of Bangkok said that many high-rise buildings have been damaged in the earthquake. A Scottish tourist, Fraser Morton, was in Bangkok when the earthquake struck. He told the Associated Press news agency there was a lot of screaming, a lot of panic. The earthquake was also reportedly felt in Bangladesh, India, Laos and China. The quake caused damage to houses and injuries in the Chinese city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect Are there any Foreign Office advisories in place? The Foreign Office has updated its advice on visiting Thailand. It says: There has been a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, with strong tremors reported across Thailand and some damage reported to buildings in Bangkok. There may be aftershocks. If youre in the area or planning to travel there, follow the advice of the local authorities or your tour operator and monitor local media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FCDO has also updated its pages for Myanmar and Laos with similar advice. Separately, the FCDO warns against all but essential travel to the Pattani Province, Yala Province, Narathiwat Province and the southern Songkhla Province in the south of Thailand. The FCDO advises against all travel to the majority of Myanmar, and all but essential travel to other parts of the country, which has been embroiled in a civil war since 2021. Does Thailand often have earthquakes? The Foreign Office says: Earthquakes and tremors are a risk in northern Thailand. Earthquake Track lists recent activity. What should I do in an earthquake? The Foreign Office advises following UNICEF advice on how to stay safe in an earthquake. This includes advice such as: Drop, cover and hold on, to avoid using elevators, and to stay outdoors if you are already outdoors (but to try to find an open area, away from trees and telephone poles). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The US Federal Emergency Management Agency also has advice about what to do before, during and after an earthquake. I am in Thailand and I need urgent help: what should I do? The Foreign Office says: If youre in Thailand and need urgent help, call the British Embassy in Bangkok on +66 23058333 or contact the following emergency hotlines provided by the local authorities: General Emergency: 191; Tourist Police Hotline: 1155; Fire and Rescue Department: 199. Are flights to Bangkok cancelled? Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport is open and running as normal. A flight from Heathrow to Bangkok airport departing on Friday morning was showing as on time at the time of writing. Mandalay Airport in Myanmar has suspended flights after suffering damage. Where can I find the latest information about Thailand? The Telegraphs live blog on the Thai earthquake has up-to-date information about the event. What if I want to cancel my trip to Thailand or Laos? If you have booked a package holiday to Thailand or Laos and want to cancel your trip, contact your tour operator and they might offer flexibility with alternative dates. But bear in mind that, because the Foreign Office has not issued any formal advice against travel to the region following the recent earthquake, there is no guarantee you will receive a refund, nor will you be able to claim money back with your travel insurance company. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you have booked flights and accommodation independently, and wish to cancel your holiday, contact your travel providers as soon as possible to see if you can rearrange your plans. Note, however, that given the circumstances, it is unlikely you will receive a full refund. 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. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) San Angelo ISD has made plans to migrate students and staff involved with three programs operating across the city to the former Central freshman campus building, according to the district. An SAISD representative told Concho Valley Homepage that Special Education staff from the former Sam Houston Elementary campus, PAYS students housed at the Blackshear Learning Center campus and Carver Learning Center students would be moved to the former CHS freshman campus, located at 218 N. Oakes St. Special Programs staff will be moved to the freshman buildings second floor, PAYS students will be relocated to its first floor and Carver Learning Center students will be moved to the campuss annex building. The Career & Technical Education courses currently being held at the campus will continue as usual. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coopers Bar-B-Q warns of scammers as 2025 Concert Series nears During the SAISD School Boards March 24 regular meeting, Superintendent Dr. Christopher Moran stated that the migration will free up maintenance at the campuses. That will free up Sam Houston and a lot of maintenance on those other three campuses, so it should be a good move long-term for us, Moran said. An SAISD representative stated that the districts Special Programs staff has already begun transitioning to the campus and will complete the move by the middle of May. Relocations for PAYS and the Carver Learning Center will start the week after graduation. The district calendar states that graduation will occur on Saturday, May 24. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All moves will be finished by July 1, according to the SAISD representative. To listen to the SAISD School Boards deliberation during the March 24 meeting regarding the relocation, 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 ConchoValleyHomepage.com. Sam Bankman-Fried the disgraced crypto bro convicted for playing ringmaster to a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme no longer shares a prison block with Sean "Diddy" Combs. Instead, he's being relegated to the flat lands of Oklahoma, at least for the time being, after appearing in an unapproved video interview with Tucker Carlson. The 33-year-old SBF famously went from trading billions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency to peddling commissary ramen packs after a massive federal investigation uncovered rampant fraud perpetuated by his blockchain company, FTX. His sentence is 25 years followed by three years of supervised release, which began in March of 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Wall Street Journal reports that SBF was awakened at 3 am from his cot in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Correctional Center and carted off to a facility in Oklahoma City, which typically serves as a holding place for incarcerated people in transit to their long-term destination. Whether the change of scenery was a punishment for the Carlson appearance or a coincidence isn't yet known. Prior to SBF's arrest, he had scrawled a fallout plan with contingencies like "come out as extremely pro crypto, pro freedom," and "go on Tucker Carlsen [sic], come out as [R]epublican." He seems to be pushing that latter vision hard lately, in a possible bid to get the attention of president Donald Trump, whose second term is coming with a slew of crypto-friendly policies and pardons. In the Carlson interview, SBF pushed a narrative familiar to the second Trump administration, claiming he was punished harshly because of his donations and growing ties to the GOP in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. "One fact that might be relevant is, in 2020 I was center-left, and I gave to Biden's campaign," SBF told Tucker. "I spent the next few years in DC a lot. I made dozens of trips there, and was really, really shocked by what I saw there, and not in a good direction. By late 2022 I was giving privately to Republicans privately, as much as Democrats, and that started becoming known right around FTX's collapse." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SBF had previously used his social media account via posts "shared with a friend" to send his sympathies to Elon Musk's DOGE as it rips through the federal government to the widespread ire of taxpayers. "Firing people is one of the hardest things to do in the world," he wrote. "It sucks for everyone involved... but theres no point in keeping them around, doing nothing." Where SBF ends up now is anyone's guess. People close to him have previously told CNN they believe he's being sent to Mendota, California, a close drive to his parent's home in Stanford, where Bankman-Fried grew up. Until then, he'll have plenty of time to reflect on his crimes from within the sixth-poorest state in the country. If nothing else, maybe they can school him on some of that middle-American work ethic. More on crypto tycoons: Jack Dorsey's Flailing Crypto Business Is Laying Off More Than 900 Employees The former CEO of failed crypto exchange FTX is on the move. Sam Bankman-Fried is now in a federal transfer center in Oklahoma City, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The facility is often used for inmates moved across the country. The onetime crypto mogul has asked to be in a prison in California, closer to where his parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, live. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bankman-Fried was previously on the fourth floor of Brooklyns Metropolitan Detention Center in a section reserved for high-profile inmates like Sean Diddy Combs and Luigi Mangione. He had been in the facility since August 2023, when a judge revoked his bail after he allegedly tampered with a government witness. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024 for defrauding FTX customers and investors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bankman-Frieds move across the country follows a recent media blitz in which he spoke with a reporter from the New York Sun; had someone from his inner circle post his musings from prison to his X account; and was interviewed by Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host who now has his own online show. The Carlson interview wasnt authorized by prison officials, and Bankman-Fried misused a video platform, meant for inmates to confer with their lawyers, to chat with the former Fox host. The latter stunt landed Bankman-Fried one day in solitary confinement, but thats likely only the beginning of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which would ultimately result in sanctions, or punishments, according to three federal prison consultants who spoke with Fortune. These range from the loss of phone privileges to more severe penalties like increased time in prison. Bankman-Frieds media blitz comes as the former FTX CEO is apparently lobbying, with the help of his parents and friends, for a pardon from President Donald Trump. The former FTX CEO wouldnt be the first white-collar criminal the White House has set free. Ross Ulbricht, the founder of dark web marketplace Silk Road, was granted a pardon in January. And, on Thursday, Trump pardoned Trevor Milton, the founder of bankrupt trucking startup Nikola, who was serving prison time for securities fraud. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) Concho Valley Homepage spoke with San Angelo mayoral candidate Juan Acevedo to learn more about who he is, what made him decide to run for mayor and what he will do if he is elected. Acevedo shared that he is from Del Rio, Texas, and when he used to live there, he was a part of the school board when he was there. He and his family have lived in San Angelo for about six years now he says. When asked why he wants to run for mayor Acevedo said that he wants to help his community. He mentioned how even though he is from Del Rio that he considers San Angelo his hometown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The changes Acevedo said he would make if he was elected is attack more business. He mentioned trying to get a tech company to move down here. He mentioned how we have Angelo State University students leaving town because there arent jobs for them. Acevedo thinks a tech company in San Angelo would help fix this problem. Thats what we need for them to grow and stay with us, said Acevedo. When asked what his first steps as mayor would look like and he said he would sit down with the City Manager and other local leaders and discuss things so they can get things done as a group. He wants to bring positive change where everyone is welcomed. When asked if there anything else youd like the public to know, Acevedo mentioned he is ready to go if the voters let him and that he stands on his slogan No new taxes. He also brought up voting no to the new Coliseum bond because the people of San Angelo need another tax break. 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 ConchoValleyHomepage.com. This story was originally published on Healthcare Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Healthcare Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: The Department of Justice agrees that Claritev, formerly known as MultiPlan, conspired with health insurers to underpay doctors for medical care, according to a statement of interest filed by antitrust regulators on Wednesday in the consolidated lawsuit from providers against the cost management firm. Lawyers for the providers said the DOJs position affirms the validity of their case, while Claritev reiterated that it believes the lawsuits are without merit. The DOJs interest in the case signals antitrust regulators, including in the Trump administration, are still closely scrutinizing exchanges of potentially sensitive information between companies, along with their use of pricing algorithms. Dive Insight: More than two dozen lawsuits have been filed against Claritev to date, including from the American Medical Association, Florida-based system AdventHealth, Louisiana-based system Allegiance Health Management and Community Health Systems, one of the largest hospital operators in the country. The suits, which were centralized in the Northern District of Illinois last year, accuse Claritev of working with the nations largest health insurers, including UnitedHealth and Cigna, to create a multifaceted conspiracy that stifled competition for out-of-network services and caused provider reimbursement to flatline. Claritev did so by using an algorithm-based tool to recommend out-of-network payment rates for insurers, structured in a way that incentivized Claritev to recommend lower payments, according to the suits. The AMA called the arrangement a smokescreen for traditional price-fixing in its complaint. The DOJ agrees. Competitors use of algorithmic technologies to coordinate their decision-making poses a growing threat to the free market competition on which our economic system is premised, the DOJ wrote in its statement of interest. According to antitrust regulators, Claritevs actions violated antitrust law because despite Claritevs arguments to the contrary using a common pricing algorithm does qualify as concerted action, even if payers used that algorithm in different ways to determine pricing. In addition, competitors exchanging sensitive information still violates the law even if that information was exchanged through a third party, the DOJ said. Jaime Peluffo - Univision 41 Univision 41 San Antonio journalist Jaime Peluffo has died after a battle with cancer on Thursday, March 27. He was 53. The bilingual journalists career spanned two decades and earned him 10 Emmy awards. Peluffo worked in San Antonio, Laredo, and the San Francisco Bay Area. MySA said many of his colleagues took expressed their condolences on social media. Jaime was not only an exceptional journalist, but also a human being of integrity, passionate and always committed to the needs of our community! We unite in prayer with his family and loved ones in this time of sorrow. We will always remember you, Jaime. Rest in Peace, said chief meteorologist Gabriel Torres. Univision 41 said the community is invited to a memorial service to remember Peluffo on Saturday, March 29. The service will be held at the Puerta de Restauracion Church at 11 a.m. A memorial honoring San Carlos Apache teen Emily Pike can be seen at the intersection of Mesa Drive and McKellips Road in Mesa, the location where she was last seen in January. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror The San Carlos Apache tribe wants state leaders to launch an investigation and implement stricter regulations for state-licensed residential group homes that serve children after a tribal teen ran away from a facility in January and was brutally murdered. At the time of her disappearance, Emily Pike, 14, lived in a group home in Mesa. The San Carlos Tribes Social Services Department placed her at Sacred Journey, Inc., a residential child care center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This crime must not go unsolved, San Carlos Apache Chairman Terry Rambler said in a press release. Emily was murdered in a cruel, depraved and heinous act and the perpetrator(s) must be held accountable. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Emily ran away from the group home and was last seen on the evening of Jan. 27 near Mesa Drive and McKellips Road, according to the Mesa Police Department. Two days later, the police issued a poster for Emily, labeling her as missing or a runaway juvenile. A month after she went missing, the Gila County Sheriffs Office reported that Emilys remains were found on Feb. 14 in a remote area off of U.S. Route 60 outside of Globe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It remains an active homicide investigation, and GCSO is collaborating with several agencies, including the San Carlos Apache Tribal Police Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Our Council has offered a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Emilys murder, Rambler said, and the tribe is requesting the public to supplement the reward to generate more interest and leads. The San Carlos Apache Tribal Council sent a letter to Gov. Katie Hobbs, Attorney General Kris Mayes and members of the Arizona Legislature requesting an investigation into the group home and calling for legislative reform on the regulations of state-licensed youth group homes. The council cited Emilys death and reports about other children who have run away from the group home in Mesa. The tribe said that Emily is not the first child reported as a runaway from the Sacred Journey, noting that the Mesa Police Department reported that about 30 children have run away from the group home over the past three years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What happened to these other children? Rambler said. Are they all safe and accounted for? Why has this clear failure to protect these children been allowed to continue unabated for years? The tribe said that is ample reason for the state to require a comprehensive review that goes beyond the ongoing police investigation into Emilys murder. Ramber said the tribe is requesting Hobbs, with her background in social work, to take all steps necessary to implement reforms in group homes across the state that will ensure the safety of children. And the tribe wants Mayes to launch an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Emilys unauthorized departure from Sacred Journey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rambler said the investigation should carefully review the safety, security, monitoring, licensing and operational standards for group homes and determine ways to strengthen these to prevent children from leaving their care without permission. We ask that your recommendations be presented to the Legislature to be considered in appropriate legislation that is named in honor of Emily Pike, he added. The council also called for support on House Bill 2281, which, if passed, will establish a Missing Indigenous Person Alert System. The tribes request to investigate the Arizona Department of Child Services group home regulations is not the only one brought forward following Emilys death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Health & Human Services Committee Chair Carine Werner is also calling for a probe into the group home regulations. My heart goes out to those who are grieving the senseless and horrific murder of Emily Pike, she said. Senate Republicans are currently gathering information on what can be done to prevent future tragedies such as this. Werner said that she intends to convene a bipartisan hearing for the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the Department of Child Safety, which will include officials from DCS, law enforcement, lawmakers, tribal councils, and their social services departments. She said the goal will be to examine the procedures, protocols and policies in place to ensure the safety and security of children in these group homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arizonas licensed group homes have repeatedly made headlines for egregious mistakes that have cost lives of the children within their care and have threatened the safety of staff, she said. Werner said that there may be underlying systemic issues requiring immediate reforms within these government-funded entities, and there should be an opportunity to assess where mistakes are occurring and determine the next steps moving forward. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) On Thursday, a San Francisco Lyft driver was convicted by a jury of driving under the influence of alcohol. Fernando Capeletti, 44, was arrested in 2024 after good Samaritans stepped in to stop him from driving, prosecutors said. Assistant District Attorney Donovan Campos-Coolbaugh said, It is unacceptable that a Lyft driver, responsible for transporting members of the San Francisco community, was driving under the influence of alcohol with a Blood Alcohol Level over 2.5 times the legal limit. According to prosecutors, on the afternoon of September 4, 2024, multiple 911 callers reported a drunk Lyft driver around 16th and Valencia Street. Callers told dispatchers that Capeletti was fighting with people on the sidewalk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witnesses said Capeletti had parked his silver Lexus SUV on a red curb line, and when he tried driving away, he crashed into a parked motorcycle, according to the District Attorneys Office. Witnesses on scene watched as a bottle of alcohol rolled underneath his car. People began yelling at him that he was a drunk driver and had just knocked over a motorcycle. He then drove his vehicle for a short distance and parked it in the middle of the street. He exited the Lexus and got into a verbal altercation that turned physical with people who were yelling at him on the sidewalk. Capeletti then got back into the Lexus to try and leave but his keys were removed from the vehicle by a passerby, the DAs office wrote. Lyft to roll out driverless rides in 2026 Officers found Capeletti standing in the middle of the street next to his Lexus near Roxie Theatre. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Capeletti told police officers that he was picking up a Lyft passenger, he didnt drink any alcohol that day, and his SUV didnt strike the motorcycle. After he was taken to a police station, a chemical breath test that showed his Blood Alcohol Content was a 0.20%, prosecutors said. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said, Driving under the influence is illegal, dangerous and deadly. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Rochester leaders scolded local cops for violating their sanctuary city policies after they responded to a request for backup from Border Patrol agents conducting a traffic stop. Border Patrol asked for emergency police assistance on Monday after pulling over a van with an estimated eight people inside. Rochester cops responded to the scene with lights and sirens, ordered the suspects out of the vehicle and helped put them in handcuffs, according to local WABC affiliate WHAM. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was not immediately known why the van was stopped. Rochester officials, including Mayor Malik Evans and Police Chief David Smith, scolded cops for responding to an emergency request by Border Patrol agents, who were attempting to initiate a traffic stop. WHAM But the completely routine police response was enough to raise the ire of Democratic Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, who held a press conference on the incident Wednesday. The officers on the scene verbally directed the occupants to get out of the vehicle, and this is against our policy, he said. Our policy is crystal clear. City police officers do not help or participate in federal immigration activities, he added, noting he personally instructed Police Chief David Smith to remind every member of the force about the directive. Border agents made the traffic stop on a work van with an estimated eight occupants on Whitney Street near Lyell Avenue in Rochester Monday night. WHAM Smith, who also spoke at the press conference, threw his officers under the bus for responding to the call as well as the Border Patrol agents who initiated the stop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From watching the body-worn camera footage, what is concerning to me is despite the fact that we were called, we went lights and sirens, he said. I see in the video a total lack of urgency on the part of multiple Border Patrol officers at the scene. Rochester Police Chief David Smith denounced the officers actions and reaffirmed his commitment to nonenforcement of federal immigration law at the Wednesday press conference. WHAM Smith then continued admonishing officers for following standard police procedure. We are not to be handcuffing subjects, he said. We are not to be doing pat frisks on subjects, and we are absolutely not going to be detaining them or putting them into our cars. The Rochester Police Locust Club union issued a press release defending the officers actions and calling Evans statements a complete overreaction to what happened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As with any law enforcement agency that indicates it has a critical situation in progress within the City of Rochester, officers responded under lights and sirens expecting their fellow law enforcement officers to be in distress when they got there. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, center, speaks with border patrol agents during a tour along the Nogales border wall at the Mariposa Port of Entry, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Nogales, Ariz. AP The union said the occupants of the van were not complying with agents request to exit the vehicle, which they eventually did without resistance when the local cops stepped in to help. The officers on scene asked no questions of the occupants about their immigration status or relevant documents. No force was used Once the scene was secured, that ended RPDs involvement in the matter, the statement read. The Mayors statements today about this incident represent a complete overreaction to what did (and did not) happen on Monday. The Locust Club members who responded did absolutely nothing wrong, other than to answer a call for help from another agency. Rochesters sanctuary city resolution was first adopted in 1986 and reaffirmed in 2017, according to the outlet. The Rochester Police Department is prohibited under General Order 501 from enforcing federal immigration laws. April Fools Day is fast approaching, and Donald Trump hopes that his scandal twins, Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz, wont give him another major headache in the special congressional elections to replace them next Tuesday. Gaetz was the only Trump pick to fall by the wayside when he bailed out as attorney general nominee after he was dogged by scandals involving drugs and underage sex, allegations he denies. Waltz probably thought he was quietly home and dry as national security adviser until he became the f---ing idiot who inadvertently included The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg on his Signal war plans group chat. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz both left their Florida seats open after being picked for White House jobs by Donald Trump. / Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images But now Matt and Mike, the scandal twins, present the president with a problem thats not really their fault. Not directly, anyway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The MAGA loyalists both won their Florida House seats quite comfortably in November in a state where Trump is king. But their White House departureseven though Gaetz never completed the journeyleft their seats open with their successors fighting special elections on Tuesday, April Fools Day. No problem. Trump and his advisers were comfortable about replacing like for like when the president plucked Gaetz and Waltz for higher things. But the decision to pull Rep. Elise Stefaniks nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has revealed how nervy the president has become over the slim GOP majority in the House, where he needs to push through his big, beautiful spending bill and advance his agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And suddenly, the prospects for two easy wins in deep red districts arent looking quite so rosy. The Republicans hold a 218 to 213 advantage in the Houseone of the slimmest margins in modern U.S. history. With four vacant seats, the chamber is on a knife edge at a time when Trump needs congressional backing for his federal revolution. Stefaniks UN sacrifice was deemed necessary because of the new uncertainty in Waltzs old seat in Floridas 6th Congressional District, in particular. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz admitted he was to blame for the Signalgate debacle. / Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Trump carried the district by 30 points in November but the presidents own pollster, Tony Fabrizio, has shown the seat is now in jeopardy, according to Politico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The internal Republican poll has Democrat Josh Weil three points up on Waltzs replacement, Randy Fine. Alarm bells are sounding so loudly that Trump himself agreed to do a tele-town hall to try and bail him out. Elon Musk also stepped in with some serious cash help after Weil raised $10 million to take the fight to the Republicans on their home turf while Fine was lagging with less than $1 million. Trump won that district by 30 points in November... We have a candidate that I dont think is winning. Thats an issue, Steve Bannon, Trumps outspoken former adviser, said on his War Room podcast. Waltzs involvement in this weeks Signalgate scandal cant have helped. The national security adviser was the fall guyalthough he is still in his jobafter admitting to adding a journalist to the chat group that received details of an imminent U.S. strike from Pentagon boss Pete Hegseth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Referring to the presidents about-face on Stefanik, who won re-election to her New York seat by 24 points, Democrat pollster Zac McCrary told Politico: You dont have to take anyones word for it, just see how Republicans are acting. They were very blase about opening up the seat and now on a full retreat. There are also some nerves in Gaetz old 1st Congressional District in northwest Florida. Jimmy Patronis, the states CFO, is expected, to win but his long shot challenger Gay Valimont isnt looking like such a long shot anymore. The district is home to more veterans than any other in the country, and not all of them are happy about Musks DOGE cuts. Congressional investigators accused Gaetz of paying women for sexincluding a 17-year-old girland using illegal drugs. The former congressman, who now hosts a show on One America News Network, has consistently denied any improper conduct and claimed he was the victim of a smear campaign. Even if the Republicans win both seats, they will undoubtedly be seen as a litmus test for the Trump administrations tumultuous first few months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If they lose one or both, the slim GOP majority in the House will be damaged, perhaps fatally, and House Speaker Mike Johnson will face a harder task to drive through Trumps change agenda. And the president will be left ruing his decisions to choose the scandal twins for higher office. Recent research out of the University of British Columbia led by Dr. Clayton Lamb tracked the migration patterns of certain threatened herds of caribou across Canada. The conclusion? The patterns were more different than any of them could have imagined. What's happening? Analyzing over three decades of data encompassing more than 1.7 million relocations of over 800 caribou across 27 subpopulations, researchers at UBC found a significant reduction in the duration and extent of caribou migrations. "The data shows that most of these subpopulations remain migratory to some degree," said Dr. Lamb. "But seasonal migrations appear to be shrinking in both duration and extent." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What this data points to is not that weather-based factors are influencing this change in migration patterns, but it is human disturbance that is at play. Why is this change in migration important? Because of human-linked damage done to the caribou's natural migration paths, the herds are susceptible to dangers, such as a lack of seasonally available food and exposure to predators while staying in one place. "Southern mountain caribou migration, including the distance and elevation change, has declined significantly over the past 40 years," said Dr. Adam Ford, the Director of UBC's Wildlife Restoration Ecology "We believe these changes are correlated with human-caused disturbances, including change and loss to habitat," The decreased migration of these caribou has a larger effect on delaying a greener, more sustainable future for us all. The effect on the caribou population signals a broader ecological instability that could lead to long-term disruptions. What can be done about this development? Already, the declining populations of other species especially pollinators, who are directly connected to our food supply has piqued the interest of experts in discovering ways to address these challenges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the case of the caribou herds, the researchers suggest creating a new landscape that would suitably replace the now-downridden migration paths the herds take, saving them from dense predator populations and toward a sustainable food source. "Sustaining caribou populations and their migratory behavior into the future will require a rapid change in managing the landscape that facilitates extensive habitat conservation, restoration and a reduction in ongoing human-caused disturbance," said Dr. Lamb. 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. Addressing this issue will require a concentrated effort to balance our modern development alongside ecological sustainability. 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. The Newsweek headline looked like satire: Florida May Replace Immigrant Workers With Child Labor. Savvy Floridians know, though, that you cant fictionalize stories more absurd than this states reality. And Florida lawmakers are, in fact, trying to roll back the states child-labor laws. Basically, if employers in this state cant exploit immigrants, the governor and Legislature want them to be able to legally exploit your children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest proposal would allow teens to work longer hours, without breaks and even overnight shifts on school nights. Take that, Myanmar. Up next, maybe we can emulate Burkina Faso where more than half the kids are in the labor force, some as young as 7. Now theres a country with values. What youre witnessing is a real-life version of the dog that chased cars without thinking about what hed do if he actually caught one. In this case, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the states GOP legislators have fumed for years about undocumented workers without having the slightest clue about how theyd respond if those workers actually walked off Florida job sites. So now theyre panicking and want your kids to fill the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeSantis favors replacing dirt cheap labor from illegal migrants with teens 14 and older Normally, in a free-market economy, if an employer cant find workers, it would just raise wages until people start applying. Thats how supply and demand works. But Floridas GOP politicians dont want to ask their campaign donors to raise wages. Theyd rather flood the market with another class of exploitable workers teenagers. Maybe you used to dream of your teen becoming an engineer or architect. Well, forget that Ivy League, ivory-tower fiddle-faddle. Floridas economy needs them harvesting tomatoes and cleaning motel rooms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In some ways, it makes sense to put our kids to work. Were sure not educating them. Floridas SAT scores have dropped to 47th in America. And our states eighth-graders just posted the lowest math and reading scores in 20 years. So, if were not preparing them for higher education or high-paying jobs, we might as well get them primed for the low-wage tourism and agriculture jobs that make this state hum. Florida test scores drop again, and all we get are excuses | Commentary Senate Bill 918, would eliminate restrictions on how many hours 16- and 17-year-olds can work. It would end guaranteed meal breaks and also lift restrictions for kids as young as 14 who are home schooled or enrolled in virtual school. (So if you want your rugrat pulling down a paycheck, just yank em out of traditional school.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Florida Policy Institute summarized the bill by saying it would allow Florida to work teens for unlimited hours, any time day or night, seven days per week and without breaks. Welcome to childhood in Florida. Not all Republicans think this is a boffo idea. Sen. Joe Gruters, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, joined Democrats in opposing the bill, saying: I think we need to let kids be kids. Gruters chose his words carefully: Let kids be kids is a line DeSantis uses a lot, usually when hes pushing censorship laws. Apparently, in DeSantis worldview, teens arent mature enough to see certain drag performers, even alongside their parents but are mature enough to work right through the night until school starts at 7 am. Thats just kids being kids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Ive said before, Im a fan of teens having jobs. I had a paper route in middle school and landed my first real job at a drugstore when I was 14 old enough to legally sell condoms and tampons, but still immature enough to giggle about it. (Basically, if you ever entered a Revco in the 1980s, nervous about making a purchase, I was your worst nightmare.) But heres the thing: I believe teens should get jobs when they and their parents want them to get jobs not because we need to plug labor holes in our low-wage economy. Keep in mind: DeSantis didnt promote his roll-back-child-labor-laws ideas at a panel discussion on building teen character. He did it at panel discussion on immigration. After noting that undocumented workers provided dirt cheap labor, DeSantis asked: Why do we say why we need to import foreigners, even import them illegally, when you know teenagers used to work at these resorts? This is just about swapping one exploitable labor class for another in a state that already turns a blind eye to companies that break labor laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Remember Floridas mandatory E-Verify law? It explicitly said that the state couldnt even fine companies caught breaking the law until theyre caught three times. And that law-breaking employers must be given 30 days to stop breaking the law before theyre punished. What other laws work like that? This is a state that gives companies a pass on labor-law violations and now wants to give them a younger workforce. What a dangerous combo. Even moreso when you consider GOP lawmakers also want to let businesses subvert minimum wage laws for some workers younger than 18 years of age. Amnesty-for-employers still part of Floridas immigration crackdown | Commentary Kids in Florida who say they have financial hardships can surrender even more workplace protections. Basically, the poorer you are, the more you can be exploited. So it aint gonna be the private, prep-school kids working farm fields and cleaning motel rooms at 3 in the morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeSantis seemed particularly interested in using kids to fill the theme parks job needs. But the proposed rollbacks would also allow teens to work longer hours waxing floors, painting houses, stocking shelves, doing landscaping and working in fast food. Kids would still be banned from doing particularly dangerous jobs like mining or tarring roofs higher than six feet. So teens could be asked to work overnight shifts right up until the start of a school day. Thats just kids being kids. But wed draw the line at boiler rooms and phosphate mines. A state has to have standards, after all. smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com On Tuesday, prominent Queensland, Australia police officer, Jay Notaro, went surfing at Broken Head Beach near Byron Bay. When he didnt show up for work, suspicions were raised. A search commenced, with only Notaros surfboard with the leash still intact, along with his car parked in the lot, being found. And now, according to local officials, they have called off the search for Notaro. Per Tweed-Byron Detective Inspector, Matt Zimmer, Notaro's disappearance was "extremely out-of-character. Speaking with 9News, Zimmer added: "He's a very strong swimmer, a very experienced surfer, the conditions that presented over the last few days were quite calm, so he would be extremely capable of managing those conditions due to his experience. The inspector is a very highly regarded, and a very well-respected member of the Queensland Police Service." Amidst the search and rescue efforts, Notaros surf buddy, Byron Bay resident and A-list actor Chris Hemsworth, was also spotted talking to officers, appearing to assist in the investigation. As for Hemsworth an avid surf himself local news reported on his relation to Notaro: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It comes after Detective Inspector Notaro, who was surfing at Hemsworths local break at Broken Head, which sits just below the stars hilltop compound when he was last seen on Tuesday. But it was also revealed that Notaro was one of Hemsworths surfing mates. The Courier Mail reported Notaro, who lives on the Gold Coast, would travel down from his home on the Gold Coast to surf alongside the likes of Hemsworth and pro surfer Luke Munro. Related: Aussie Cop Goes Missing, Surfboard Washes Ashore Notaro, according to Queensland Police Union President, Ian Leavers, via Sky News, called was a slated to be a future leader of the police. He continued: Jay is one of the most competent and capable coppers I know. I just hope he is found safely and we have a really good outcome. He is not only a friend, he is one of the future leaders of the organization. If we had more coppers like that we would be a better organization. Related: Hundreds of Aussie Surfers Sick from Mysterious Sea Foam The Seattle Police Department (SPD) arrested a 39-year-old man suspected of a hate crime attack in the University District on Thursday, according to a social media post. It happened on University Way Northeast at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Seattle police arrest suspect in violent transgender hate crime attack in University District:https://t.co/tuvAsF9ZmY Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) March 28, 2025 SPD says they received a 911 call from the victim reporting they were attacked by a group of men on the street using anti-transgender slurs. The victim was able to get away and sought help and shelter in a nearby business. When SPD arrived, the suspects were gone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) treated the victim for major injuries to their face and stomach. SPD says they interviewed the victim and several witnesses on the scene. They say SPD patrol officers were able to connect a suspect vehicle to a suspect involved in a recent incident, who matched the physical characteristics of one of the attackers. Officers were able to track down the suspect and arrest him. SPD says the case is now being investigated by the SPD Bias Crimes detective. SPD says there are still outstanding suspects. Anyone with information, photos, or video of the incident is asked to contact SPD immediately at the SPD Tip Line at (206) 233-5000 or email SPD_hatecrimes@seattle.gov. A federal judge in Washington state on Thursday blocked enforcement of President Trumps order to bar transgender troops from serving openly in the military, the second judge to halt the policy from taking effect nationwide. In a 65-page ruling, Judge Benjamin Hale Settle of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington said the Trump administration had offered no evidence to support removing transgender service members, who served without issue under the Biden administration, from the military. The governments arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record, Settle, an appointee of former President George W. Bush and a retired captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals Corps, wrote in his decision. The governments unrelenting reliance on deference to military judgment is unjustified in the absence of any evidence supporting the militarys new judgment reflected in the Military Banin its equally considered and unquestionable judgment, that very same military had only the week before permitted active-duty plaintiffs (and some thousands of others) to serve openly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any evidence that such service over the past four years harmed any of the militarys inarguably critical aims would be front and center. Settle wrote. But there is none. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., similarly blocked implementation of Trumps order last week, ruling the policy is soaked in animus. The Pentagon is appealing that decision. On Monday, a third federal judge in New Jersey temporarily blocked the military from separating two transgender Air Force members in a more limited ruling. Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the groups representing the plaintiffs in each case, said Thursday in a statement that the harms associated with Trumps ban on trans military service are gut wrenching. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In each of these cases, the government did not even attempt to claim that any evidence supported its position. There is no reason to discharge individuals who are serving capably and honorably, Minter 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 above shows the execution chamber in the Department of Corrections' Columbia prisons complex, as seen from the witness room. The firing squad chair (left) was added following a 2021 state law that made death by firing squad an option. The electric chair is under the cover. (Provided by the S.C. Department of Corrections) COLUMBIA Death row inmate Mikal Mahdi chose to die by firing squad, making him the second person in the state to do so since executions resumed, his attorneys said Friday. Mahdi, 42, was sentenced to death in 2006 for shooting and killing off-duty police officer James Myers with his own rifle as part of a multi-state crime spree. The only remaining man on death row with no remaining appeals, Mahdi is scheduled to die at 6 p.m. April 11. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brad Sigmon, executed March 7, was the first inmate in the state to die by firing squad, which legislators made an option in 2021. The three other inmates executed since September selected lethal injection. By law, death row inmates have until two weeks before their execution date to choose whether they will die by firing squad, lethal injection or electrocution, which legislators made the default method in 2021. Mahdi chose the lesser of three evils, his attorney, David Weiss, said in a statement Friday. Mikal chose the firing squad instead of being burned and mutilated in the electric chair, or suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney, Weiss said. Legislators added firing squad as an option after years of struggling to get the drugs used for lethal injection. Inmates challenged the method, as well as electrocution, arguing it violated the constitutional right to avoid cruel and unusual punishment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state Supreme Court ruled last year that firing squad and electrocution were constitutional methods of execution, allowing the process to resume after a 13-year hiatus. By that point, lethal injection was again an option, after Department of Corrections officials were able to restock their supply thanks to a law keeping everything about the drugs and the companies selling them a secret. Inmates have challenged that secrecy law, arguing inmates have a right to know more about the drugs that would kill them. But the state Supreme Court and a federal judge have both turned down those arguments, ruling officials have disclosed everything the law requires for an inmate to make his choice. Barring intervention from a court or the governor, Mahdi would become the fifth in the nation to be executed by firing squad, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Other than Sigmon, the remaining three took place in Utah, which last conducted a firing squad execution in 2010. Mahdi will be strapped to a chair, facing three rectangular openings 15 feet away. Three firing squad members will shoot through those openings, using .308 Winchester bullets, which expand and fragment on impact, causing a more instantaneous death, corrections officials have said previously. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before Mikal committed these tragic murders, he was a child in desperate need of care and support, Weiss said in a statement. We will continue to fight for the child Mikal was and the man he is today. Executing Mikal on this record would ignore the many ways we failed him in favor of one final injustice. Mikal Mahdi On July 14, 2004, in his hometown of Lawrenceville, Virginia, Mahdi stole a car and a gun before fleeing south. Stopping in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Mahdi shot gas station clerk Christopher Boggs point-blank in the head while Boggs was verifying his ID to buy a beer, according to court documents. Mahdi continued on to South Carolina, where he carjacked a man in Columbia and drove to Calhoun County. He stopped at a gas station, where a clerk seemed to grow suspicious after the gas pump declined his card. Mahdi fled on foot to a nearby farmhouse, where he hid out in Myers workshop. When Myers, a captain for the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety, returned home at the end of the day, Mahdi shot him nine times with one of the rifles Myers kept there, according to court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mahdi lit Myers body on fire and stole his police truck, which he continued driving south. Police arrested Mahdi in Satellite Beach, Florida, on July 21, 2004, a week after he stole the first car. Mahdi pleaded guilty to the crimes in 2006, at which point Judge Clifton Newman sentenced him to death. Mahdis attorneys have asked the state Supreme Court to halt his execution, claiming a traumatic childhood influenced his development and led him to a life of crime. Mahdis original defense attorneys hardly touched on his past, which could have convinced Newman to sentence him to life in prison instead of death, Mahdis current attorneys argued in court filings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a child, Mahdi struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts, his attorneys claimed. He entered the juvenile justice system at age 14 for committing property crimes and spent most of his life in jails after that point, often in solitary confinement, his attorneys said. Mahdi had been out of jail for about two months when he committed the crimes that landed him on death row. When we think of Mikal choosing his method of execution, were reminded of the tormented child who, at nine years old, told his teacher that he wanted to shoot himself. Or, on another occasion, to electrocute himself. Or, another time, to hang himself, Weiss said in a statement Friday. But Mahdis attorneys didnt show anything the court hasnt already considered and dismissed during the appeals process, the Attorney Generals Office responded in a filing this week. Mahdis difficult childhood and the impact it may have had on him have no legal bearing on his crime, the attorneys continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state Supreme Court has not yet given a decision on the arguments. The states highest court, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, has yet to rule in favor of stopping a South Carolina inmates execution in the past six months. Mahdi can also appeal to Gov. Henry McMaster for clemency, which no governor has granted in the modern era. Police on Thursday found the bodies of two dogs believed to have been fatally shot at a northern Boone County farm. Two chocolate colored Labrador retrievers named Ruby and Nellie escaped their rural Kirklin yard the weekend of March 15 and visited a northern Boone County farm a short distance away, according to Boone County Communications Center records. The farmer shot at least one of them, and its unclear if he or a relative shot the second, according to the dispatch records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The farmer told police one of the dogs behaved aggressively toward him and he believes they were responsible for chickens that previously went missing, according to dispatch records. Property owners may not hurt loose dogs just passing through their yard. They may kill stray animals that threaten or hurt people or livestock, although firearm use is prohibited within towns and cities. Carpenter suggests that everyone look into the law before pointing a gun at an animal. The Boone County Sheriffs Office served its first search warrant at the farm March 21 and found evidence that suggested a dog or dogs had been shot but did not find the bodies, BCSO Detective Morganne Carpenter said. A search team that included the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and use of a drone returned with a second search warrant Thursday and found what they believe to be Ruby's and Nellie's bodies. They were taken to Purdue University Veterinary Hospital for examination and evidence collection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The dogs' bodies will then be returned to their owners, Joe and Donna Powell. The Powells own Rustic Ridge Labradors in rural Kirklin, where they breed American Kennel Club registered dogs. News of Ruby's and Nellie's deaths spread on social media, and commenters threatened the farmer, his family, and their livestock. The sheriffs office is investigating the threats and has submitted information to the Boone County Prosecutors Office, seeking an arrest of at least one person accused of threatening the family. Carpenter said she expects to submit information on the dogs deaths to the prosecutors office when the investigation is complete. The prosecutorial team will decide if criminal charges are warranted or if the shootings were justified. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) The second of two sisters convicted in a shooting incident from a year ago received her sentence Friday. Read next: Home improvement company faces lawsuit in Ellsworth home explosion Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anthony DApolito sentenced Andrea Springs to seven to nine years in prison. She will also have to make restitution in the case. Andrea had previously pleaded guilty to six counts of felonious assault with firearm specifications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors identified Andrea as the shooter who opened fire on the occupants of another car outside of a Tyrell Avenue apartment complex last March. One woman was wounded during the incident. There were four children in the victims vehicle at the time of the shooting, but the children were not injured. Andrea spoke and apologized for the shooting. She said she hurt not just the victim of the shooting but herself and her family members. I never meant for any of this to happen. I never in a million years thought I would ever do anything like this in my life. Its not in my character. Its not in my nature, she said. Im a loving and caring person, and I never would do anything like this. The circumstances and the situation caused me to do something that I would never do. Andreas attorney Tom Zena said there was a sequence of events that led up to the shooting, including instances where Andrea had been attacked. He said Andrea did not see the children in the car at the time of the shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrea told Judge DApolito that her fear of being attacked again is what led to the shooting. DApolito responded by asking why she didnt just leave the area. This is the problem because what youre asking me to do is to concede that at some point, its OK to take the law into your own hands and to use a gun as a solution to a problem, and I will never concede that. I cant, DApolito said. He said he believes that Andrea didnt see the children in the vehicle, but he said he shuddered to think what would have happened if one of the kids were hit by the gunfire. If one of those bullets would have hit one of those little kids, as so many stray bullets hit so many innocent people in this town far too often, you wouldnt be talking about years. Youd be talking about the rest of your life being in prison, DApolito said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andreas sister, Lisa, was sentenced Thursday to two years behind bars for driving the car used during the incident. Lisas attorney told Judge DApolito his client didnt even know her sister had a gun until the shooting started, but the judge said he could not allow Lisa to go without punishment. Police had said previously that the shooting was the result of an argument over a man. Brian Oehlbeck, Gerry Ricciutti and Joe Gorman 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. Secret military papers have been found scattered on a street in Newcastle. The documents contained sensitive information including soldiers ranks, email addresses, mobile phone numbers and shift patterns. They were discovered spilling out of a black bin bag and onto the surrounding pavement by a passer-by in the Scotswood area of the North East city. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is conducting an internal investigation to urgently look into the security breach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike Gibbard, from Gateshead, spotted the papers on his way to a fanzone to watch Newcastle Uniteds Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool on March 16. He said it was crazy to find the documents, which had spilled from the bin bag and spread all down the road underneath several cars. Papers found on a Newcastle street included soldiers ranks, emails and weapon issue details They appear to relate to British Army regiments and barracks at Catterick Garrison. The documents were headed with Official - Sensitive meaning they are not meant for the general public. Government guidance states their unintended disclosure or compromise can lead to moderate damage and in exceptional circumstances could lead to a threat to life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I peered down and started to see names on bits of papers and numbers, and I thought, whats that?, Mr Gibbard told the BBC. I found a lot more on the other side of the road that wasnt in a bag. He said he saw details of high ranking officers, the perimeter, patrol, history of weapons being checked in and out, requests for leave and even mobile phone numbers. Mr Gibbard said he asked his wife: Why is it here? This shouldnt be here, anyone could pick it up. The misplaced documents posed a significant threat to the individuals named, according to information security consultant Gary Hibberd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Gibbard reported the find to Northumbria Police, which confirmed the potentially confidential documents had been handed to the MoD. The documents posed a significant threat to individuals named in them, according to an expert An MoD spokesman said: We are looking into this urgently and the matter is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation. Downing Street said appropriate action would be taken. A Number 10 spokesman said: The Ministry of Defence is currently looking at documents handed to the police, but the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Army. As you will appreciate, I wont be able to comment on any specifics while that takes place, but you can expect that appropriate action will be taken in response to any potential information breach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its obviously important that that investigation is allowed to take its course. It comes in the same week as a major security leak in the US, where plans for air strikes were discussed by senior officials in a secret chat that was accidentally shared with a reporter. It is also not the first time classified documents have been misplaced on British soil. In 2021, Angus Lapsley left a 50-page secret dossier at a bus stop in Kent. The documents, some of which were marked Secret UK Eyes Only, discussed the likely Russian reaction to HMS Defenders passage through Ukrainian waters as part of the Carrier Strike Groups maiden operational voyage. 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. CLEVELAND (WJW) Anti-tariff billboards are popping up all over the country, including here in Northeast Ohio. Canada is paying for them as they try to persuade Americans to speak out against President Trumps trade war. But President Trump stands by his decision and said its whats best for the country. These digital advertisements can be found in Cleveland on Prospect Avenue and East 4th Street. We also found them in Rocky River on Center Ridge Road. They switch between advertisements but say things like Tariffs are a tax on your grocery bill. And Tariffs are a tax at the gas pump. They also say Paid for by the Government of Canada. Frito-Lay chips sold in 13 states, including Ohio, recalled Credit: FOX 8 photo Credit: FOX 8 photo Credit: FOX 8 photo Canadas foreign affairs minister said last week that their government started rolling out digital ads and placing billboards along key highways in states such as Ohio, Florida, Georgia, and others. They are focusing on 12 red-leaning states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Canada changes rules for traveling to United States This week President Trump said he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House said would foster domestic manufacturing but one that Canadas Prime Minister said is unjustified and said Canada will retaliate. President Trump is expected to announce his new round of tariffs next week. Not only is Canada trying to reach Americans with these billboards but the Canadian government is also creating commercials on social media, specifically on X. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The Technological Republic Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West by Alexander C. Karp and Nicholas W. Zamiska Crown Currency, 320 pp., $30 ON FEBRUARY 18, WHILE PROMOTING his new book on television, Palantir CEO Alex Karp proclaimed: The West . . . is obviously superior. Ten days later, in a squalid Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance threw that superiorityand the very idea of the Westinto doubt. Have you said thank you once? Vance demanded. You dont have the cards right now, Trump sneered. Before the meeting, one might have said the West stood for liberty and democracy and against tyranny. Afterward, one could be forgiven for thinking the United States, the Wests nominal leader, is starting to resemble the gangster regime led by Zelenskys foe, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Palantir makes advanced data analytics software, including, controversially, for the U.S. military. The central argument of Karps book, The Technological Republic, which he wrote with Palantir executive Nicholas Zamiska, is that Silicon Valley must rebuild its relationship with government, participate in the defense of the nation, and help preserve the geopolitical advantage of the United States and its allies in Europe and elsewhere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Had it been released a year agobefore Trump and Vance made a spectacle of their contempt for Americas alliesthe book might have read as a self-serving but not unreasonable plea for national pride and civic education. Did Karp and Zamiska wish upon a monkeys paw ahead of publication? (Please, make our volume notable!) Because today, the book reads as a vivid lesson on the perils of narrowminded hubris. The authors urge the left to unwind its skepticism of the American project just as the right trashes the machinery by which that project functions. EVEN ON ITS OWN TERMS, The Technological Republic fails. While chastising their tech industry peers for a lack of intellectual heftfor clinging to a thin and meager secular ideology that masquerades as thoughtKarp and Zamiska engage with ideas and culture in the breezy style of a forgettable airport book. Chapters are stitched together with anecdotes about bee colonies and eccentric naval officers. Superficial musings about psychology, philosophy, aesthetics, and anthropology are palmed off as precious heterodox revelations. The default mode is a formless cultural criticism (many observers think wrong thing x; far too many accept falsehood y) festooned with self-help slogans (successful people scuttle the ships and venture toward the flame). Karp and Zamiska complain that society lacks authentic beliefs. They might be right about university presidents. But convictions are not in short supply; this pair simply ignore or belittle the ones they dont like. They say, for instance, that the ACLU opposes police use of facial recognition software not because it cares deeply about civil liberties but because it fails to understand the issues. This dismissiveness comes from two men whose own views are hard to pin down. Were not hard to pin downThe Bulwark is a pro-democracy publication. But that doesnt mean our coverage of books, culture, and the arts is predictable. See for yourself: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karp and Zamiska want a national project, a collective identity and purpose, a reassertion of national culture, a thriving and raucously creative communal experiment. But what does this mean? Its something to do with setting our differences aside and agreeing to think like Alex Karp. Needless to say, no roadmap is offered. These guys prescriptions are a mix of weird (giving politicians more money and privacy would be a marginal, if not detrimental, move), historically obtuse (weve never had a shared religion or uniform school curriculum), and dangerous (more veneration for leaders!?). All we know for sure about the destination is that its inhabitants are very self-confident and took Western Civ. For a moment, you wonder if the authors evasiveness is strategicsome kind of Straussian wink? Then you realize its just bad composition. THE POLITICAL SCIENTIST PHILIP TETLOCK has shown that thinkers with grand ideas are terrible at predicting the future. The wise fox knows many things, in Tetlocks (borrowed) summation, while the misguided hedgehog knows only one big thing. Karp and Zamiska praise Tetlocks workoddly enough. They may run Palantir like foxes, but they write like hedgehogs. Their book rests on two large claims: that artificial intelligence is the defining issue of our time, and that the lefts waning faith in the national project is the definitive threat to our future. About the former claim, well have to seeeven hedgehogs arent always wrong. But the latter claim has already become ridiculous. The authors criticize those who treat security as a background fact or feature of existence so foundational that it merits no explanation. And yet they themselves launch a quest for a new national vision off of an uncontroversial commitment to liberalism and its values. Fate has a way of slapping people in the face. Karp and Zamiska hoped to warn us against taking security for granted (fair enough). But where theyve truly succeededas tragic figuresis in illustrating the dangers of taking liberalism for granted. Faith in liberal values is, Karp and Zamiska object, too thin and meager, too narrow, to sustain the human soul and psyche. This is a common sentiment among intellectuals who worry about decadence, as Karp and Zamiska do. But there is nothing more decadent than announcing youre bored with freedom, and nothing more shallow than denigrating liberty because you dont know what to do with it. Karp and Zamiska are unmoved by what they consider a mundane articulation of the lines that one will not cross. But where are we now, just five weeks after their books release? Europe fears us. Canada hates us. Our defense industry has been undermined, our economy weakened. The separation of powers is being assaulted, the justice system politicized, due process barbarously flouted. Opposition to woke excess has jerked straight into naked hostility toward minorities. These days, for those of us who believe in liberal democracyin the American project, as it werethe lines we will not cross are everything. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most charitable verdict is that The Technological Republic was written in anticipation of one president, but published under another. The authors lacked the foresight, the judgment, or the fortitude to spike their polemic when the world changed. In this sad timeline, it never should have seen the light of day. Share We recently published a list of 12 AI News and Analyst Ratings You Probably Missed. In this article, we are going to take a look at where DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (NYSE:DD) stands against other AI news and analyst ratings you probably missed. The fast-paced advancement and adoption of AI raises questions about its regulation, impact on human capabilities, and global competition. While some fear AI may reduce critical thinking, others, like Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and partner at Greylock, see it as a tool for improving human potential when used thoughtfully. In a March 24 interview with Bloomberg, he emphasized the importance of responsible development, advocating for safeguards against major risks while allowing AI to evolve through real-world applications. Hoffman also highlighted the role of significant industry leaders in shaping AIs future and acknowledged the economic competition between the West and China, stressing the need for continued innovation and strategic leadership. The Role of AI in Expanding Human Potential Hoffman believes that AI serves as a powerful tool for expanding human capabilities rather than replacing critical thinking. He described it as one of the most advanced educational technologies ever created, allowing users to explore a vast range of topics interactively. While concerns exist that AI might discourage independent thought, he argued that it can instead improve problem-solving skills when used as a complement to human intelligence. Hoffman also acknowledged AI bias and agreed that complete neutrality is difficult, as human perspectives constantly evolve. However, he pointed out that leading AI labs are actively working to reduce biases in their models. He compared AIs transformative impact to the Industrial Revolution, emphasizing that while such advancements bring challenges, they also lead to widespread progress. He believes AI should be designed to boost human agency and be broadly accessible, similar to how smartphones are used by people from all walks of life. He said: So your Uber driver has the same iPhone that Tim Cook has, thats the kind of inclusion that were targeting. AI Governance and Leadership In a Shifting Global Landscape On the regulation side, Hoffman advocates for a cautious approach, recommending that initial restrictions focus on preventing serious threats like cybercrime and terrorism rather than minor inaccuracies or biases. He supports an iterative regulatory model, where adjustments are made based on real-world applications, much like how car safety regulations evolved. GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) The Pitt County Coalition on Substance Use had a NARCAN seminar at ECUs Student Center to educate others on the importance and uses of NARCAN. Awareness, prevention and community were topics touched on by the council to describe what substance use is about. Theyre working to teach people about how NARCAN can save lives. They said its important to know especially with opioids being an issue in Eastern North Carolina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its something we really try and do to prevent opioid overdoses and thats something really is really big happening in our community, so we are really excited we can come out, talk to people, demonstrate how to use naloxone safely and get people really comfortable with it, PCCSU Executive Director Lillie Malpass said. PCCSU has resources for people all over the county and a place on the website where people can sign up to get free NARCAN. We actually, on our website, have a supply request thing so you can go in, fill it out, fill out how much you want, whatever you need and we will see that and we can either drop off the supplies to where whatever building or organization needs it or community members can come to our office and pick it up as well, PCCSU Special Projects Coordinator Kaylynn Bui said. NARCAN has a stigma behind it but it can be used in other situations also. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We really try and educate and break the stigma. That it is not just people using drugs illicitly, it can be someone like a loved one or an elderly person who is using it as prescribed or even forgets that they have taken it and it can lead to an accidental overdose, Malpass said. So, we just want to make sure everyone is aware how to use it. People can reach out to PCCSU if they need NARCAN or want to learn more about the resources. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, March 27, 2025, advanced a bill meant to target out of state providers or entities who send medications meant to cause abortion to West Virginia. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography) A bill advancing in the Senate would make it a felony to prescribe or distribute medications used for abortion to people in West Virginia except for the narrow circumstances when the procedure is legal in the state. The Senate Judiciary Committee referred Senate Bill 85 to the full Senate on Thursday. Senators are expected to vote on the bill next week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With few exceptions, abortion has been illegal in West Virginia since 2022. Abortion by telehealth is also illegal in the state. Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, one of the bills sponsors, said the intent of Senate Bill 85 is to stop the flow of abortifacients into the state for the purpose of illegal abortions. The bill attempts to enforce the states abortion ban on out-of-state entities or physicians who would send the medication to West Virginia residents. The penalty for violating the law would be three to 10 years in prison for a person who is not a licensed medical professional. Licensed medical professionals would face the revocation of their license, according to the bill. While the legislation is an attempt to stop out-of-state providers from breaking West Virginia law, federal courts are likely to decide the issue of enforcement, an attorney for the judiciary committee said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Louisiana last month charged a New York doctor with a felony for allegedly sending abortion pills to a pregnant minor in the state, according to reporting by the Associated Press. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul refused to extradite the doctor to face the charges. New York has a shield law to protect abortion providers who prescribe the medication to patients in states where abortion is outlawed. Kelly Lemon, a nurse midwife, testified that some medications labeled as abortifacients have a lot of other uses in health care. Lemon said the states existing abortion laws have already led to some of her patients not being able to get misoprostol for managing a hemorrhage and delays in care for treating a miscarriage. My biggest concern with this bill is that its going to further create barriers to how we can get these medications to people when they need it, she said. The bill, should it become law, would cause delays in care and drive health providers out of the state, she said. Rucker responded that the bill indicates that pharmacists filling a valid prescription issued by a licensed medical professional or a physician performing a procedure for a legitimate reason are not breaking the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kristin Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, testified that the bill would close a lot of loopholes for charging physicians and entities that send abortion medication to states where the procedure is not legal. Hawkins said there are websites where people can get abortion pills sent to them, seemingly without a doctors review. Emily Womeldorff, director of policy and campaigns for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said the bill is part of an ongoing effort to create fear and stigma around reproductive health care. This bill is a gross overreach of state authority, Womeldorff said. Its threatening enforcement against health care providers that are located outside of the borders of West Virginia, and our government does not have jurisdiction over health care providers that provide care outside of our state borders. Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, was the only lawmaker to speak against the bill, calling it bad policy that would harm a womans ability to get medical care. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Georgia lawmakers could approve an investigation into former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. They would be looking into ties to a voting rights group the State Ethics Commission fined Republicans say its about tracking dark money, while Democrats say its just politics. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< The Senate Special Investigative Committee continues to look into allegations of misconduct by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the Senate is ready to expand that committees investigative powers so it can also look into Abrams and her ties with the New Georgia Project. Athens republican State Sen. Bill Cowsert said hes just trying to follow the alleged dark money. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Not saying that she did anything inappropriate at all. Just, she was connected with those organizations and thats where the money was being funneled, dark money essentially, Cowsert told Action News Jaxs Atlanta state WSB-TV. In January, the New Georgia Project admitted to 16 violations of Georgias campaign finance laws and the state ethics commission hit it with a record $300,000 fine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abrams founded that group but left it 12 years ago. This is what happens in Congress. Congress wastes a lot of time on investigations that dont wind up with anything productive, state Sen. Jason Esteves said. That led Democrats like Esteves to accuse that committee of conducting a politically motivated witch hunt. Its election year politics. These are folks who are preparing to run for statewide office next year and they see this as a way to make headlines, Esteves told Elliot. Cowsert insists this isnt about Abrams, its about campaign money. Allegedly, the New Georgia Project was opening campaign field offices, doing social media advocating, had literature advocating for Stacey Abrams and other candidates, and that is not permissible, Cowsert said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement *WSB-TV Atlanta contributed to this report Read: Georgia teen accepted to 155 colleges in all 50 states totaling $6 million in scholarships Read: Florida attorney general issues warning to Jacksonville mayor regard support on city new Immigration policy Read: Popular Fleming Island restaurant gets in trouble with Clay County after customer dines with dog [SIGN UP: click here] 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. State Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City, attends special session on Oct. 3, 2023, at the Oklahoma Capitol. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY A state lawmaker wants to create a process to allow voters to recall elected state officials. The Senate on Thursday passed Senate Bill 990, which is expected to be the vehicle to set up the process that Oklahomans can use to remove someone from office independent of the involvement from the Legislature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We all got to this room here by the will of the people, and currently, the only way a person can be removed from office is not by the will of the people, said Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City. Its by our friends across the rotunda, and its on this body to remove somebody from statewide elective office. In Oklahoma, impeachment proceedings start in the House. If the House votes to impeach, a trial is held in the Senate and requires two-third of the senators, who serve as jurors, to vote to remove a state official from office. Grounds for impeachment include willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, habitual drunkenness, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude committed while in office. What I want to do is change that to where the people, the people that elect somebody, decide whether or not somebody should be recalled, Coleman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he envisions an initiative petition-like process requiring those seeking a recall election to collect signatures from 25% of the voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election. It needs to be a high bar because overturning the will of the people is a big deal, he said. In order for citizens to qualify an initiative petition for the ballot, they must collect signatures from 8% of voters in the last gubernatorial election. To get a constitutional amendment on the ballot requires signatures from 15%. Coleman said the final bill will have some guardrails so a person cant be removed just because they are unpopular. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The current version of the bill only applies to statewide officers. Coleman said it will apply to state lawmakers. Coleman said he has had a request to have it include county officers. The current version creates a procedure for the Legislature to start the process, but Coleman wants to alter the measure so it can be done by members of the public. This is about a process, a process that the people of Oklahoma are locked out of, Coleman said. Sen. Dana Prieto, R-Tulsa, voted against the measure. This has the potential to be greatly abused, Prieto said. We have a process for it already and that is called elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some Democratic lawmakers have called for the impeachment of state Superintendent Ryan Walters, a Republican. But former House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said the House would not pursue it unless Walters committed a crime. In 2004, the Oklahoma House impeached Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher, a Democrat who had been convicted of embezzlement and perjury. Fisher resigned before the Senate could hear the matter. Senate Bill 990 passed by a vote of 31-15 and is available for consideration in the House. Editors note: This story was updated at 2:35 p.m. to reflect the recall measure will include state lawmakers. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) wants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to look into foreign-made active pharmaceutical ingredients he says are being included in online weight loss drugs. In a letter to acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner, Banks warned that the nation is seeing a spike in drugs with the foreign-made ingredients that could post health risks for Americans purchasing them online. Booming online gray and black markets are flooding the country with knock-off and counterfeit GLP-1s contaminated with foreign-made APIs [active pharmaceutical ingredients], and few Americans purchasing these drugs are aware of the risks they pose, Banks wrote in the Wednesday letter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I request detailed information about how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will prevent unlawful APIs from entering the country and potentially harming Americans, he added. GLP-1s refer to compounded glucagon-like peptide 1 agonist medications injectable weight-loss drugs. Banks in the letter said the FDAs Adverse Event Reporting System database at the end of last year had recorded more than 900 cases of adverse health events associated with the matter, which he said was four times the number seen in fiscal 2022. Seventeen of those cases involved deaths, Banks wrote. Banks wrote that faulty medications were entering the country due to a lack of FDA assessment at points of entry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These drugs come in formulations that the FDA has never approved, have inconsistent doses, misrepresent injectable insulin as semaglutide, contain contaminants, or are in reality completely different drugs, the Indiana senator said. Those selling such drugs must be shut down he added. Bankss letter to Brenner asks how the FDA will work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to prevent counterfeit drugs from entering the United States while educating communities about the difference between authentic and knockoff drugs. The Hill has reached out to the FDA for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly has responded again to Elon Musk after the tech billionaire doubled down on an insult branding the Arizona senator a decorated war hero a traitor because he traveled to Ukraine to support wounded soldiers. Kelly, who is also a former astronaut, told CNN that Musk was aligning himself with a bunch of billionaires with values that were much closer to Russia. The worlds wealthiest man previously sparked criticism on both sides of the political aisle after describing Kelly as a traitor earlier this month, following the senators trip to Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Fox News Special Report on Thursday night he defended his remarks. I think somebody should care about the interests of the United States above another country, and if they dont theyre a traitor, Musk told Fox News host Brett Baier. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly has previously slammed Elon Musk for calling him a traitor over his trip to Ukraine. He responded again after the billionaire doubled down on his insults (MSNBC) Even Baier paused to remind Musk of Kellys accolades. That doesnt mean its OK for him to put the interests of another country above America, Musk replied. Kelly said a short time later on CNN: I dont even know if he deserves a response. He added: What I will say is that Ive spent an entire career standing up for our country, defending our country, flying in combat over Iraq, flying in space on the space shuttle, serving in the United States Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelly noted: My entire life has been about serving this country, and I always stand with the best interests of our nation. And I will tell you this standing with our allies and standing up for democracy is in the best interest of the United States. Elon Musk doubled down on his remarks about Kelly in an interview on Fox News on Thursday. I think somebody should care about the interests of the United States above another country, and if they dont theyre a traitor, he said (AP) Musks original remarks came after Kelly posted to X about his trip to Ukraine, pushing for continuing support for the nation amid its ongoing war with Russia and in pursuit of peace in the region. Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraines security and cant be a giveaway to Putin, Kelly posted. You are a traitor, Musk wrote in reply. In the CNN interview on Thursday, Kelly questioned the Tesla CEOs motivations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I mean, who is Elon standing with at this point? A bunch of billionaires? he asked, adding that he views Musk as being much closer to Russia on this issue than the U.S. regarding the ongoing conflict. He added: I want this thing to end as much as anybody. But he throws this traitor word around at least with regards to me fairly freely. I dont think hes a serious guy, and he hasnt given this a lot of thought. Arizona waits to speak at the state capitol in 2022. (AP) Kelly ditched his Tesla earlier this month to protest Musks initial insult and because the DOGE hatchet man is taking a wrecking ball to the nation. Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me just how much damage Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing to our country, talking about slashing Social Security, cutting health care benefits for poor people, for seniors [and] firing veterans. Its one bad thing after the next, he emphasized in a videotaped statement on social media. He traded the Tesla for a new 2025 Chevy Tahoe Z71. Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) brings the puck up the ice against Detroit Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson (20) and right wing Patrick Kane (88) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson (77) square off for a fight during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond, left, scores against Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) loses the puck while trying to take a shot on Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle, center, celebrates with left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) and defenseman Jake Sanderson (85) after scoring against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) takes a shot against Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot (39) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Detroit Red Wings right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, left, celebrates with left wing J.T. Compher (37) after scoring as Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle (18) skates away during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) tries to score against Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson (85) during the final minute of the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto (12) celebrates with goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) after a win over the Detroit Red Wings in an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto (12) celebrates with goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) after a win over the Detroit Red Wings in an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) brings the puck up the ice against Detroit Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson (20) and right wing Patrick Kane (88) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson (77) square off for a fight during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond, left, scores against Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) loses the puck while trying to take a shot on Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle, center, celebrates with left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) and defenseman Jake Sanderson (85) after scoring against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) takes a shot against Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot (39) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Detroit Red Wings right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, left, celebrates with left wing J.T. Compher (37) after scoring as Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle (18) skates away during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) tries to score against Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson (85) during the final minute of the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto (12) celebrates with goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) after a win over the Detroit Red Wings in an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) DETROIT (AP) Thomas Chabot and Tim Stutzle scored in the first period for Ottawa and the Senators held off the Detroit Red Wings in a 4-3 victory Thursday night. Linus Ullmark made 31 saves and David Perron and Michael Amadio also had goals for the Senators, who have won eight of their last 11 while holding the first wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings, who scored three times in the third period but lost for the fourth time in five games. Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for Detroit. Alex Lyon allowed three goals on 10 shots and was replaced by Cam Talbot, who made 21 saves. Takeaways Senators: Ottawa is 7-3-0 over its last 10 games and is six points ahead of Montreal, which holds the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Red Wings: Detroit failed to make some ground in the playoff hunt and remain three points behind the Canadiens. Key moment After Kane cut the Senators' lead to 3-1 at 5:25 of the third period, Amadio restored Ottawa's three-goal lead when he finished off a breakaway with 11:16 remaining. Key stat Detroit went just 1 for 6 on the power play. Up next Senators: Host Columbus on Saturday night. Red Wings: Host Boston on Saturday night. AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) A top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee is calling for a formal investigation into SignalGate, the growing controversy surrounding a text message exchange about sensitive military plans between top Trump officials. Top Trump officials used Signal, an open-source encrypted messaging app that is not authorized by the federal government for classified communications, to discuss imminent military strikes on the Houthis in Yemen. Among those involved in the Signal group chat were Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. One message, sent by Hegseth, contained sensitive military details, including timestamps, weaponry, and targeted locations. National security experts warn such information is typically classified, as its release could compromise operations and give adversaries an advance warning of an attack. U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, a Peoria Republican, is demanding a full National Security Council investigation into the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What happened was a serious mistake, and under no circumstances can something like this happen again I am confident that the National Security Council will conduct a thorough investigation to prevent something similar from occurring and harming our national security, LaHood said in a statement to WMBD. The scandal erupted after Waltz inadvertently added The Atlantics Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat, exposing the conversation. Goldberg later published the messages after top intelligence officials testified that the contents were not classified. Three in four Americans called SignalGate a serious problem in a new poll from Axios, including 60% of Republicans. That view is also shared by 72% of Independents and 89% of Democrats. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The University of Central Florida is actively investigating several overnight burglaries of unlocked vehicles that were reported at the Knights Circle apartment complex, located near the main campus. According to the UCF Police Department, There are no reported signs of forced entry in any case. Most victims said their car was rummaged through, but nothing was taken. In one case, a laptop, a pair of shoes and a phone were stolen from another vehicle but later recovered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The UCFPD is still reviewing surveillance footage of the area and will continue its 24/7 patrol of UCFs campuses and affiliated properties. The Department posted an official statement on social media addressing the reported incidents and reminding the UCF community to stay vigilant. There were no signs of forced entry in any of the cases, and most victims said their car was rummaged through, but nothing was taken. UCFPD encourages the community to always lock your vehicle and never leave valuables in your car. If you see something, say something immediately Anyone with information should call 407-823-5555 or 911 for an active emergency. You can also report information anonymously by calling CRIMELINE at 800-423-TIPS (8477) or leaving a tip online at crimeline.org. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. TOPEKA (KSNT) The National Weather Service has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for some counties in Northeast Kansas Thursday evening. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for a few Northeast Kansas counties on Thursday, March 27. This warning comes with the possibility of ping pong ball sized hail and wind gusts of 60 miles per hour. The severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for the following counties: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Northwestern Riley County. Central Clay County. According to the NWS, the warning is in effect until 7:45 p.m. According to 27 News Meteorologist Ely Millard, If the timing of the ingredients line up right, then well see thunderstorms develop that could produce gusty winds and hail. If not, then no storms develop in our area and wait to develop northeast of us as the warm front lifts north. 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 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Wait Elon Musk just sold X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, to himself? Well, kind of. Musk, in a post on X Friday, said that his artificial-intelligence company, xAI, has acquired X in an all-stock transaction that values X at $33 billion ($45 billion minus $12 billion in debt). The deal gives xAI a valuation of $80 billion, Musk claimed. Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion and took the company private. More from Variety Whats going on here? With the sale of X to xAI, Musk is exchanging the investor base of the social network with that of his AI company (some of which they share). Equity owners in X included Musk himself, along with Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, investor Bill Ackmans Pershing Square Foundation, Fidelity Investments, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and Sean Diddy Combs. The investors in xAI, meanwhile, include Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, BlackRock, Alwaleeds Kingdom Holdings Ltd., Lightspeed Venture Partners, MGX, Morgan Stanley, Oman Investment Authority, the Qatar Investment Authority, Sequoia, Valor and Vy Capital. Musk, in his post, said that X has more than 600 million active users. xAI and Xs futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. Musk claimed that the combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAIs advanced AI capability and expertise with Xs massive reach. The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge. This will allow us to build a platform that doesnt just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) A prominent San Francisco legal firm has hit out at President Donald Trumps efforts to sanction lawyers and law firms handling cases that oppose the administration. Keker, Van Nest & Peters issued a statement earlier this week slamming a White House memo issued on Saturday as inexcusable and despicable. The memo is titled, Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court. Among other things, it threatens reassessment of security clearances and termination of any Federal contract for attorneys or lawyers hired to handle cases involving election integrity, immigration or litigation against the federal government. Stanford, Cal investigated in Trumps anti-DEI campaign Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps new Executive Order underscores how far removed this President, Attorney General and Administration are from our nations Constitution and bedrock values, reads a statement from the law firms founders, John Keker, Robert Van Nest, Elliott Peters, and managing partner, Laurie Carr Mims. Our liberties depend on lawyers willingness to represent unpopular people and causes, including in matters adverse to the Federal Government, the statement continues. An attack on lawyers who perform this work is inexcusable and despicable. Our profession owes every client zealous legal representation without fear of retribution, regardless of their political affiliation or ability to pay. The lawyers encouraged other law firms to sign on to an amicus effort to support Perkins Coies challenge to the Trump administrations executive order targeting the firm, and to resist the Administrations erosion of the rule of law. Perkins Coie, another San Francisco law firm, filed a lawsuit challenging an executive order from Trump restricting attorneys security clearances and access to federal facilities. In the past, Trump has clashed with the firm over its work advising Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign and for its involvement in the controversial, discredited Steele dossier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WilmerHale, a prominent Washington D.C. law firm, also filed suit against the Trump administration Friday, over the executive order targeting law firms. One of the lawyers at WilmerHale is Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who investigated allegations of collusion between Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. When a co-worker allegedly grabbed her hair, threw her to the ground and hit her in the face, Veronica Ramirez Verduzco did what most people would do: She went to the police. But asking the Van Buren Township Police Department for help likely ensures her removal from Michigan and the United States. Federal officers arrested Ramirez Verduzco last week on immigration-related charges. They argue the native of Mexico does not have authorization to be in the U.S., and returned despite previous deportations. Immigration officials did not know she lived in Michigan until February when she went to local police to report the assault allegation, records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lisa Dwyer, Ramirez Verduzco's court appointed lawyer, said during her client's arrest, people in unmarked clothes swarmed her car. They busted her window and dragged the 4-foot-10, 49-year-old mother of two out of her driver's seat, scratching her arm in the process. She has been detained ever since. "This is just awful," Dwyer said this week after a hearing for Ramirez Verduzco at the federal courthouse in Detroit for the U.S. Eastern District of Michigan. This is not the first time something like this happened in Michigan. Last week, the Detroit Police Department confirmed an officer working on the case of a woman earlier this year who said she was the victim of a crime informed federal officials about her immigration status. In Ramirez Verduzco's case, a leader of the Van Buren Township Police Department said they did not intentionally alert federal officials to her status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But now she is caught up in the increased push from the Trump administration to ramp up deportations. Since Trumps inauguration in late January, federal officials arrested more than 32,000 people accused of living in the U.S. without legal authorization, among other crimes, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Local police and advocacy groups agree tipping off federal officials about the immigration status of potential crime victims is a situation that can lead to safety problems in communities down the road. "Events like this definitely have a chilling effect on communities and individuals in considering: does it make sense for me to report a crime?" said Ruby Robinson, a senior managing attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Clinic. In a statement, Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck committed to deporting anyone they learn might be in the country without authorization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our office encourages all people including crime victims to report criminal activity. However, being an alleged victim of a crime does not absolve that person from responsibility for earlier crimes they may have committed themselves, Beck said in a statement. That rule applies to citizens and noncitizens alike. The two matters are distinct: reporting a crime is separate from reentering the country illegally. ICE did not respond to questions about whether it had any policy on pursuing the deportation of crime victims, or if a potential policy changed under the Trump administration. Ramirez Verduzco told Dwyer she knew the risk of going to police. But after her co-worker allegedly beat her badly enough to require a visit to the hospital, Dwyer said she felt she had no choice but to seek help. From alleged assault to arrest Until recently, Ramirez Verduzco worked at an assisted living facility near Belleville. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Feb. 14, a police report shows she said she had an altercation at work with a colleague. After allegedly throwing Ramirez Verduzco to the ground, the woman climbed on top of her and repeatedly hit her on the left side of her head, according to Ramirez Verduzco's statement to police. Co-workers eventually pulled the woman off of her, but Ramirez Verduzco said the woman continued to threaten her. Dwyer said Ramirez Verduzco's son took her to the hospital. She had bruising and swelling on her face after the reported attack, Dwyer said. The Van Buren Township police report does not provide specific details about the result of the alleged attack, other than, "apparent minor injury." In the process of taking her information, a Van Buren Township officer asked Ramirez Verduzco for her address. It's a standard request in creating a report, said Van Buren Township Police Deputy Chief Joshua Monte. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The officer did not get her address, Monte said, noting she presented a passport but no documentation with a Michigan address. So, the officer ran Ramirez Verduzco's name through the Michigan Law Enforcement Information Network. That system is frequently reserved for tracking down information on people accused of a crime. The search triggered an alert for ICE officials, who contacted a Van Buren Township detective two days after the initial report, records show. About two weeks after going to police, Ramirez Verduzco withdrew her complaint. A detective went to her work a few days after the initial report; both Ramirez Verduzco and a manager said she no longer wanted to pursue charges. Dwyer said Ramirez Verduzco told her that her boss made her withdraw her complaint. This week, a man at the facility who told the Free Press he is a manager but declined to confirm his name denied that allegation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within two weeks of Van Buren Township police closing their case, federal prosecutors issued a warrant for her arrest. Later, Ramirez Verduzco sat in her car preparing to drive somewhere, Dwyer said. Before Ramirez Verduzco could move, multiple people prevented her from leaving. They demanded Ramirez-Verduzco get out of her car, but before she could, Dwyer said the agents shattered her driver's-side window. In a statement, an ICE spokesman said officers told Ramirez Verduzco they had a warrant and warned they might break her car window. "She refused to open her door and had only slightly opened the window. The officer broke the driver side front window after she failed to heed officer warnings, at which time she opened the door but still refused to comply. This resisting arrest resulted in her being removed from the vehicle by officers," said the ICE statement, in part. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers removed her from the car so quickly it was not placed in park, resulting in it hitting an ICE vehicle, according to ICE. Frequently, federal officials house people detained on immigration allegations at the Sanilac County Jail. Jail records show Ramirez Verduzco arrived the evening of March 21. On Wednesday, Ramirez Verduzco appeared before a federal judge in Detroit. She wore an orange jail short-sleeved shirt and pants, with a white long-sleeve shirt underneath. She was handcuffed, her wrists shackled to a belly chain. Dwyer waived her right to a detention hearing. She's set to appear in federal court again next week. 'We had no idea we were alerting ICE' Monte acknowledged the departments actions alerted federal officials, but stressed that was not their intent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats I think the fear of a lot of local agencies. We dont want to discourage someone who is a crime victim of reporting crimes, Monte said in a phone interview. In this situation, we had no idea we were alerting ICE. Ramirez Verduzco has a felony on her record for returning to the U.S. years ago following a previous deportation. The federal criminal complaint shows she was removed from the country three times; on two occasions, she attempted to enter through a standard border crossing. In 2000, her first removal, she allegedly presented false identification materials, leading to an expedited removal, according to the recent criminal complaint. And records show Van Buren Township police gave her two driving tickets in late 2024 from a traffic stop that apparently did not trigger an ICE investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Estimates suggest there are roughly 10 million to 12 million people in the U.S. who lack proper authorization. Many were previously deported; an initial offense of entering the country without authorization is a misdemeanor. Returning after a deportation without proper documentation is a felony. Federal court records from Texas show in 2013, Ramirez Verduzco climbed over a border fence near El Paso. A security guard saw her, informed border patrol and she was quickly apprehended, according to records. She tried to enter the country again in 2016 but was turned away at the border, records show. In the Detroit police case, Director of Media Relations Vic Pratt said the woman who came to the department readily provided her immigration status. Still, the officer did not follow policy and the department took some kind of punitive action, he said. "Our internal review determined that the officers actions did not align with departmental policy. The officer has received corrective feedback," Pratt said in an emailed statement; Outlier first reported on this case. "DPD has a clear policy that our officers do not enforce federal laws, including federal immigration laws. Our officers also are not to question residents about their immigration status." Pratt could not immediately say whether other officers also reported potential crime victims to federal immigration officials this year. It's unclear if the woman in this case faces deportation proceedings. 'There is an emboldening' Robinson, the immigration lawyer, said while these cases occasionally cropped up before, in general, Michigan police alerting ICE to the immigration status of a potential crime victim was "abnormal." Now that's changing though: He thinks these cases are evidence of the Trump-inspired crackdown. These tactics make it harder for police and immigrant communities to keep everyone safe. He expects it could happen more though, given the rhetoric from Washington, D.C. I think there is an emboldening or an enabling occurring in certain law enforcement communities around the country where this type of activity previously may have been frowned upon or may not have occurred. Now its being normalized. That is very worrisome, Robinson said. Recently, Beck and other federal officials championed prosecutors' robust pursuit of those in the state without legal status. Keeping dangerous people and illicit drugs and weapons from infecting our communities is at the core of our comprehensive border security mandate, said Detroit Director of Field Operations Marty Raybon, in a news release. Some of the people recently detained in metro Detroit and set for deportation have previous convictions for crimes related to drugs, guns or other violent felonies. Others have been deported many times before. But that's not every case. Just recently, federal agents detained a father while he dropped off his child at a middle school in Trenton. The mans family says he has lived in the U.S. for decades and has legal authorization. Federal officers disagree, suggesting he was ordered back to Mexico in 2014. Robinson has questions about Ramirez Verduzco's interaction with Van Buren Township police. He said as a white man, he suspects if he came to report a crime that officers would treat him differently. If I went to the police department to report a crime, my information would probably not be run through the same database, he said, noting language issues may have also been a barrier for police. I worry when that is the default. That is going to have severe effects on community safety. The focus of local law enforcement is to keep local communities safe. Monte said the department is reviewing its procedures, noting there are a lot of stakeholders involved. As Monte said, for years, some law enforcement agencies noted the perils of local officers tackling federal enforcement. In communities where people fear the police, very little information is shared with officers, undermining the police capacity for crime control and quality service delivery. As a result, these areas become breeding grounds for drug trafficking, human smuggling, terrorist activity, and other serious crimes, wrote Hubert Williams, former president of the Police Foundation, in a 2009 paper examining local law enforcement grappling with immigration laws. Earlier this year, many local law enforcement agencies around Detroit and across the state said they are prepared to assist federal officials on immigration cases. But they lamented the lack of time and resources needed to conduct such work on their own. Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised to create the largest deportation effort in U.S. history. Since winning the election, he and his allies argue they are focused on criminals. Yet immigration advocacy groups across the country note anyone in the U.S. could lose their status, pointing to efforts to revoke temporary protected status for Haitians and Ukrainians who fled their own counties amid war. That means living in the U.S. as an immigrant especially one without citizenship requires risk evaluation. Robinson said he tries to help his clients understand this every day: sure, they might get pulled over while driving, but if they are headed to a crucial doctor's appointment, that could be worth the risk. Local police helping deport people who report crimes changes a person's risk assessment, Robinson said. "We are still encouraging people to call local police, to call 911 when they need assistance. And know: We are living in a different climate today than we were eight weeks ago," Robinson said. Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on X @Dave_Boucher1. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: She told Michigan cops she was attacked. Now she faces deportation SHELDON, Iowa (KCAU) Much has changed since Sheldons first days. The town has continued to grow and develop. Economic Development Director Tania Herrera joined KCAU 9 Anchor Tim Seaman to discuss the opportunities and growth happening in Sheldon. Herrera said there are great opportunities for growth in commercial and industrial areas. She also spoke about housing, an issue facing many small communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As like many other small rural communities, housing is a big topic of discussion and how to expand on that. So, that is one of our priorities. After strategic planning is working on expansion and the growth of residential. Sheldons Hall of Fame includes three winning Olympians, multinational law firm CEO Part of the growth comes from the foundation the town provides. Former Mayor Patricia Meendering spoke about how Main Street showcases the towns history, adding that the town is the roots where many have grown. We need to hang on to our history and grow from it because weve learned a lot, Meendering said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She added that they are working to maintain their old buildings as many young people coming back to town to start up business. She was even one to come back. I grew up here. I moved away in my teens, and in my young adult [life], I came back to raise my family knowing that we have [a] great foundation. We have great roots and great things happening. For more of KCAU 9s Hometown Proud stories, 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. SHELDON, Iowa (KCAU) In 1961, Sheldon was featured on national TV and in newspapers across the country for a case of large-scale criminal activity. William Iverson was president of the Sheldon National Bank for 40 years, but in Jan. 1961, his married daughter Burnice Geiger was arrested and charged with the embezzlement of more than $2.1 million from her fathers bank. It was later determined that Geiger had her own private staircase to her office that only she had a key to. She confessed without incident when confronted by FDIC examiners. Last Iowa Ben Franklin store found in Sheldon Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The embezzlement was of $2,126,859, Sheldon historian and author Tom Whorley said. At the time, it was the largest embezzlement of a bank in the United States. In fact, Walter Cronkite had it as his lead story in his newscast in 1961 Her dad never went an checked on her at all. Like, someone said the sun would rise and set in her as far as he was concerned. Geiger was sentenced to 15 years in prison but paroled out after five years. It was never discovered where the money went. The museum still has the night deposit box from the bank. Geiger came back to Sheldon and made her home with her aging parents. She landed a job in Sanborn, keeping a low profile in Sheldon, where she is buried today. For more of KCAU 9s Hometown Proud stories, 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins testifies against a bill that would force his agency to cancel an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement allowing the local department to enforce federal immigration law. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) Supporters of a bill that would force sheriffs departments to cancel agreements with federal immigration officials said deputies could still enforce the law just as effectively they would just not be doing so as an extension of federal authorities. There are counties that do not have these formal agreements that still cooperate with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], still honor judicial warrants, still honor detainers when they are presented to them, Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince Georges) said Thursday during testimony for her bill, House Bill 1222. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would prohibit local law enforcement agencies from entering into so-called 287(g) agreements that allow ICE to delegate some federal enforcement authorities to local officers, including the authority to arrest and check a persons immigration status through a federal database. The bill also requires those departments that have 287(g) agreements to cancel them by July 1. Six counties Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford and Washington currently have 287(g) agreements with ICE. Frederick and Harford sheriffs turned up at Thursdays Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing to defend the program. Please allow the local counties to provide public safety as they see fit, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said his jurisdiction has been part of the 287(g) program since 2008 and removed 1,795 criminals, the majority of whom he described as dangerous and violent. Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince Georges) testifies on her bill to prohibit agreements between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local police. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) Gahler noted that since his department signed a 287(g) agreement in 2014, ICE has chosen not to initiate action in 35% of cases there. He also pointed to the popularity of the agreements, citing a January poll by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research & Media that found 76% of people surveyed said they would support requiring local governments to cooperate with federal efforts to enforce immigration laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But opponents of the agreements say 287(g) agreements significantly undermined any trust in law enforcement in immigrant communities. 287(g) agreements literally turn local law enforcement into ICE agents, said Nicholas Katz, general counsel for the nonprofit immigrant-rights organization CASA, based in Prince Georges County. In this moment, Black and brown families dont know if its safe to go to work, if its safe to walk their kids to school, if its safe to go to the hospital, Katz said. Currently, jail staff in a jurisdiction can check for any immigration enforcement actions against inmates. If there is a detainer, local officials will notify the agency thats under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under Williams bill, which passed the House 98-38 last week, if federal authorities identify an immigrant whos been convicted and is being held in a local jail, the local officials would have to give ICE at least 48 hours notice before release of the inmate. They would have to turn the immigrant over when federal authorities arrived. At Thursdays hearing, Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore County) said the sheriffs would continue to do their job protecting the public, but asked if not having the 287(g) program would decrease their public safety work. It would, Gahler said. If we lose the ability to have these agreements with ICE, we lose what comes along with it, Gahler said. Which is finding out whether these people are indeed in the country illegally, and recommendations from ICE in relation to national security. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), chair of the committee, said he understood the perspectives from supporters and opponents of the bill. But he acknowledged there is a distinct fear under the administration of President Donald Trump (R), who has made an immigration crackdown a key element of his tenure. The 287(g) program began under former President Bill Clinton (D) in the 1990s. I guess our policy debate here is centered on the federal prerogatives and their implementation of deportation policy and the existence of 287(g) in Maryland, Smith said. Is that creating such an atmosphere that people are not going to want to cooperate with law enforcement? Live life? he asked. Is that something that is beneficial to keeping the 287(g) program or getting rid of it? Channel 9 is learning more about the criminal history of a man accused of trying to kill someone and then leading police on a multicounty chase that ended after deputies rammed into the suspects car in Winter Park. Kissimmee police identified the suspect as 24-year-old Jordan Bailey. Investigators said he had a warrant out for attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon stemming from a shooting on March 13th. Kissimmee police said they were called out to the shooting then at 3307 Pershing Street. According to police, the victim from that shooting is in stable condition and expected to survive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sources said the shooting was domestic violence related, and neighbors told Channel 9 they witnessed as a man who lived in the apartment complex was shot at least twice in the head. One neighbor told Channel 9 she heard a womans panicked screams before law enforcement arrived at the apartment complex on March 13th. I saw somebody running past and then later on, maybe five minutes later I heard, No! No! No! said one neighbor. After Bailey fled the shooting scene earlier this month, Kissimmee Police said multiple agencies, including the US Marshals Task Force, Osceola County Sheriffs Office, Orange County Sheriffs Office, and FHP, assisted in arresting Bailey on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Channel 9 uncovered the suspect had an extensive criminal history with charges dating back multiple years. His prior charges include Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Burglary, and Grand Theft. Court records show that one month before the Pershing Street shooting, Bailey had posted a bond for running from law enforcement while driving with a suspended license. On Thursday, an Orange County judge revoked that bond and ordered Bailey be held for pre-trial detention on the Attempted 1st Degree Murder with a Firearm and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon charges. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) Three suspects were arrested in Rankin County after shots were fired at the direction of multiple people, investigators said. Deputies responded to the area of Cedar Brook Drive near Pearl for a disturbance just before 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Two men arrested for mass shooting in downtown Jackson Investigator Tyler Burnell, with the Rankin County Sheriffs Office, said deputies discovered that no one had been injured. While conducting interviews, investigators learned that two parties had been in an argument, which escalated to a fight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As one party was leaving the area in a white Jeep Cherokee, Burnell said the back seat passenger, who was identified as Lamarquis Trevail Green, leaned out of the back window and fired multiple shots at people. The vehicle was later located off of Greenwood Avenue in Jackson. Burnell said the firearm used in the shooting was recovered. After the suspects were arrested, it was discovered that Green has a prior felony conviction in Mississippi. Lamarquis Trevail Green (Courtesy: Rankin Co. Sheriffs Office) Raekya Fashay Mitchell (Courtesy: Rankin Co. Sheriffs Office) Green has been charged with drive-by shooting and possession of firearm by convicted felon. Raekya Fashay Mitchell was charged with accessory after the fact to drive-by shooting. An unidentified juvenile was also charged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green is being without bond at the Rankin County Detention. Both Green and Mitchell will have their initial appearances in Rankin County Court next week. 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. A message that appeared on the online portal for the Social Security Administration on Thursday. It surely isnt rare to hear people gripe about the government. Ronald Reagan, infamously claimed the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: Im from the government and Im here to help. Strange thing for a guy who wanted to run government to say, but nothing compared to where we are now with the Trump/Musk/GOP wholesale dismantling of the federal government. But the federal government is not as simple as those Republican presidents or their latest hatchetmen claim. Truth is its much more like a web intricately interwoven with state and local governments. So when you start whacking the strands, the entire structure becomes unstable, ceases to function, and might well collapse quite the opposite of the make government more efficient or get government out of the way lines government-hating politicians love to spew. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the St. Marys Milk River pipeline catastrophically failed last year, leaving Montanas entire Hi-Line facing a growing season with no irrigation water, those farmers and ranchers surely werent howling to getting government out of the way. Simply put, the irrigators who use that water to make their living can not and will not come up with the $80 million or more the repairs will cost. So who did they turn to, and who actually has the ability to provide the considerable funding necessary to repair the blowout? Yep, the federal government. And of course the same goes for natural disasters and infrastructure failures nationwide. When youre standing in the rubble of your flooded, blown apart, or burned down home, somehow hating the federal government isnt the first thing that likely comes to mind. Out of the entire nation, Montana is number two in the recipient of federal funds as part of the state budget a whopping 43 percent of the states total government expenditures. Back in February this column raised the very real question of how the Legislature is going to meet Montanas constitutional mandate to produce a balanced budget if the amount of federal funds the state will receive cannot be guaranteed. That question has not been answered as the Legislature heads into its last month in session. The general expectation is that there will likely be a series of special legislative sessions called to somehow deal with the federal funds that have been cut. Our all-Republican Congressional delegation doesnt seem to have any answers on how this is all going to shake out eithernot that anyone would know since theyre mighty gun shy of town halls these days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fact is: Special legislative sessions are no way to run a state. Why? Because much like our benighted Congressional delegation, special sessions basically leave the public out of the discussion. They are generally very short, a couple days or a week and they move quickly. So by the time the public might even get an idea of whats going on its too late to voice our opinion to those who are supposed to be representing we, the people. The government haters might hail the tens of thousands of federal employees, 2,000 of which are in Montana, that have been or expected to be cut. But if youve tried to contact a federal government agency for something you want or need since the hatchet job began, you might have a different opinion. Please holdfor eternity. You dont miss the water til the well runs dry seems a particularly apt warning these days as more federal taps go dry every week. The good news? People are increasingly fighting back as the vast interconnected web of federal, state, and local government continues to unravel and the personal impacts increase. Columnist Teri Carter silently comments on the new crime of interfering with a legislative proceeding. In this unfortunate legislative session, it was clear our Republican supermajority mostly older white men just wanted everyone who did not look like them and/or disagreed with them to shut up. And they had the power to make it happen. During the first week, the House and Senate minority argued that the Republican supermajoritys rules for both chambers would stifle debate and limit their constituents voices. The GOP side of the aisle did not want to hear it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then Senate President Robert Stivers publicly lamented right there in the sacred well of the Senate that reporters might not write the stories he, personally, would most like to see. They want to write about division, Stivers said of the press. They want to write about dissension. Every day, I want to look at the people who write the stories, who speak the language, who go on the TVs and the radio to talk about all the positives that this body leans on, not the negatives that they want to sell advertising and get advertising dollars for. Listening to his speech, it was hard not to hear echoes of President Trump who regularly calls the press enemy of the people when they report straight news (which is their job) in lieu of flattering puff pieces. The elimination of DEI because who needs other voices, equal opportunities or inclusiveness? was the driving force this year in Frankfort. When a Black woman approached committee chair James Tipton following adjournment of an anti-DEI hearing on video you can hear her say, I study race. I teach students about critical race theory. Like, how am I supposed to explain that? Tipton called for state troopers to remove her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not to be outdone in the shut up-department, Rep. John Blanton championed House Bill 399 to make loudly interfering with legislative proceedings a crime, a bill that allows lawmakers, in addition to law enforcement, direct authority to decide who should be arrested. Democrats in the minority argued House Bill 399 could stifle the voices of citizens who want to make their opposition to legislation known in Frankfort, but their arguments fell on deaf ears. HB 399 was easily passed. So much for free speech. In a Senate committee during the final full week to discuss House Bill 495 cancelling Gov. Andy Beshears restrictions on conversion therapy and prohibiting Medicaid from paying for some forms of gender-affirming care committee chair Stephen Meredith got all up in a lather as he repeatedly interrupted and shouted down Fairness Campaign executive director Chris Hartman. And when Hartman said softly, as he finished testifying, I am disappointed, Mr. Chairman, Merediths flip, snarky response was, Wouldnt be the first time, thank you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everyone in the committee room sat quietly, in shock I think, obeying the rules of decorum with mouths agape at the blatant disrespect theyd just witnessed from Meredith. And yet what we all know is this: a woman or a Black person would not get away with such behavior in a thousand years, and they would certainly not be chairing a committee with manners like that. But so it goes. During a heated Senate debate over House Bill 4, Democrats tried to show their Republican counterparts how prohibiting DEI programs would harm college students who are members of minority groups, but Republicans did not care to listen. They were on a mission to get the bill (which failed to cross the finish line last year) to the governors desk so they would have time to override his expected veto. In the final hours of the HB 4 debate, Minority Floor Leader Gerald Neal, who is Black, argued that historically not everyone has had the same level of playing field before discussing slavery in America, which was followed by Reconstruction in the South, Jim Crow laws and legal segregation. What then ensued was a dustup between Neal, a man known as the soft-spoken gentleman of the Senate, and Floor Leader Max Wise, who is white, even as HB 4 would pass with ease. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And in that final, busiest full week of this session, House Speaker David Osborne found time to pen a 600-plus word response to the Kentucky Lantern (which does not publish pieces by elected officials) to one of my columns, titled Pattern of commentary driven by ideology rather than facts, Speaker responds to false and misleading commentary. Ah well. To paraphrase the oft-repeated words of beloved writer Anne Lamott: If this supermajority wanted folks to write more warmly about them, they should have behaved better. I did correct a detail in the column that the speaker pointed out and that I had gotten wrong. I apologize for the error. Contrary to the speakers assertions, I care about the facts; I want to know and write the truth. What I wont do is shut up. I am a woman with a voice that refuses to be stifled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I refuse to kowtow to those who would silence dissent. I will continue to bear witness and tell my fellow citizens exactly what I witness in an arrogant Frankfort supermajority that bristles when everyone doesnt stand up and applaud. If their ideas are so good, should they not welcome robust discussion? It seems this GOP supermajority of mostly older white men would rather all of us pesky women and minority groups just shut up and go away and let them have their good ol boy fun. The inability of our Republican supermajority to hear, or even acknowledge, that other life experiences and views exist is what I witnessed throughout the 2025 Kentucky General Assembly. It was not democratic. It was racist, sexist, embarrassing and unprofessional. It was shameful. A spacecraft used to bring food, fuel and other supplies to the International Space Station has been damaged, putting future trips on hold. NASA and Northrop Grumman had planned to launch a Cygnus cargo mission in June before finding that the pressurized cargo module for the vehicle was damaged. The next mission is planned for no earlier than this fall. The pressurized cargo module for Northrop Grummans NG-22 Cygnus cargo resupply mission was damaged while in transit from the supplier to Northrop Grumman, a Northrop Grumman spokesman told The Independent in an emailed statement on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Possible effects to the NG-22 mission timeline are being evaluated. Meanwhile, we are working to expedite the hardware for NG-23 to support a launch as early as fall 2025. Our highest priority is to safely deliver cargo and supplies to the International Space Station crew as planned, they said. A Northrop Grumman mission to resupply the space station has been put on hold through the fall. The announcement comes after its spacecraft was damaged (NASA) NASA and its international partners work closely and deliberately on International Space Station manifest scheduling to ensure the orbital complex is stocked with food and critical hardware to maintain [the] station and to protect for any needed flight changes, a NASA spokesperson told The Independent. Mission planners are reviewing the early 2025 flight manifest to ensure the needed food reserves are available for the crew aboard the space station. In March, Northrop Grumman had informed NASA of damage to the container carrying the module. After assessing the impacts, they determined there had also been damage to the module. NASA announced plans to adjust the cargo manifest for the agencys next resupply mission on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in April, adding more supplies and food to ensure there are sufficient reserves on board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Right now, there is enough food on the space station to continue at normal rates of consumption for approximately four to five months without adjustments to meal planning, assuming the April resupply flight goes off without a hitch and normal crew rotation flights. The space station stocks about 3.8 pounds of food per astronaut per day, according to The Economic Times. The space station team previously decided to accept a reduced food reserves margin due to an expanded crew size over the past summer and other flight planning changes. A previous Cygnus mission launched to the space station last August. It just left the space station and will safely burn up in the Earths atmosphere (NASA) In April, Dragon will carry an experiment of a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots, an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could protect crew members on exploration missions to the moon and Mars and two atomic clocks. It is not clear how much research would be removed from that craft to accommodate more consumables. A previous Cygnus mission that launched to the space station last year to deliver 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware and other cargo, just left to safely burn up in Earths atmosphere. It had technical issues that delayed maneuvers to reach the orbiting laboratory. Fidelity says it is actively testing a stablecoin, but has no plans to launch the product at this time, a company spokesperson told Fortune on Wednesday. The traditional investment companys experimentation with a stablecoina type of cryptocurrency designed to fluctuate in line with fiat currencies like the U.S. dollarcomes as President Donald Trump ushers in an era of crypto-friendly policy in Washington, marking a major break with the previous administration. Trump has specifically pushed for Congress to pass stablecoin Bitcoin, according to its website. It was also one of the first asset managers permitted to list its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the stock market, which launched early last year. The company has also joined a growing chorus of financial service companies seeking to digitize traditional assets like stocks and bonds using blockchain technology. Earlier this week, the company filed to register a blockchain-based digital version of its U.S. dollar money market funda type of mutual fund that invests in low-risk, short-term debt securitieswith the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This story was originally featured on Fortune.com The drama this week over the Trump administration Signal group chat about a strike on Houthis in Yemen in which The Atlantic Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included has been popcorn-worthy, if you're into that sort of thing. But beyond the resultant posturing between screw-up bureaucrats and pompous politicians, we learned something of value from the incident: Government officials use the popular encrypted messaging app because the intelligence community considers it secure. While the political class argues over the details, the rest of us should consider that an endorsement of this technology. Is It Snoop-Resistant? Encryption software is widely used by businesspeople, journalists, and regular folks who don't want to share the details of their lives and their finances with the world. But there's always been speculation about how secure apps like Signal and Telegram are from government snoops who have the resources of surveillance agencies behind them. Are we just amusing the geeks at the NSA when we say nasty things about them to our colleagues via ProtonMail or WhatsApp? One indication that private encryption software really is resistant to even sophisticated eavesdropping is the degree to which governments hate it. U.S. federal officials have long pushed for backdoor access to encrypted communications. Apple is currently battling British officials over that government's requirements that the company compromise the encryption offered to users so that law enforcement can paw through private data. The Signal Foundationcreator of the open-source software at the center of the current controversythreatened to leave the U.K. in 2023 during an earlier anti-encryption frenzy while Germany-based Tutanota said it would refuse to comply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But then we got news of a group chat on Signal including such officials as Vice President J.D. Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and, of course, Goldberg as a plus-one. If administration officials including several from the intelligence community are willing to hold a conversation on the app, that's important added testimony to the security of the software. Endorsed by the CIA Even more evidence came courtesy of the March 25 Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing on Worldwide Threats, during which attendees were understandably pressed to explain the incident and the use of Signal. "One of the first things that happened when I was confirmed as CIA director was Signal was loaded onto my computer at the CIA, as it is for most CIA officers," Ratcliffe told Sen. Mark Warner (DVa.). "One of the things that I was briefed on very early, Senator, was by the CIA records management folks about the use of Signal as a permissible work use. It is. That is a practice that preceded the current administration, to the Biden administration." Later, in response to Sen. Martin Heinrich (DN.M.), Ratcliffe added: "Signal is a permissible use, being used by the CIA. It has been approved by the White House for senior officials and recommended by CISA [the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] for high level officials who would be targeted by foreign adversaries to use end-to-end encrypted apps whenever possible, like Signal." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether all popular encryption software is equally secure isn't clear. But Ratcliffe's mention that officials are encouraged to use apps "like Signal" suggests it's not the only one that's reliable. Nothing Will Save You From Your Own Carelessness Of course, Jeffrey Goldberg got access to the hush-hush meeting anyway, but that wasn't a failure of the software's encryption. Goldberg was apparently included in the chat accidentally, by the invitation of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, according to his own embarrassed admission. "A staffer wasn't responsible, and I take full responsibility," Waltz told Fox News's Laura Ingraham. "I built the group. My job is to make sure everything is coordinated." Waltz claimed he had Goldberg's phone number in his contacts under the name of a government official who he intended to add to the meeting. Basically, the fault lies with Waltz' mastery of contact lists and how to make sure you share confidential info only with those you want to have it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There's no encryption software in the world that is going to prevent you from making a blunder if you directly send classified information to a journalist accidentally," Northeastern University professor Ryan Ellis, who researches cybersecurity among other topics, commented on the matter. Ellis and his Northeastern colleagues emphasize that Signal and government-developed communications platforms don't differ regarding the security they offer for data but in "safeguards to prevent the sharing of information with individuals without the proper clearance." Presumably, government software doesn't draw on generic contact lists. That means there's less opportunity for officials to unintentionally share secretsor dick picswith journalists and foreign operatives. Popular With Everybody (Just Watch That Contact List) That said, commercial encryption software is as popular among government officials as it is with the public. "The AP found accounts for state, local and federal officials in nearly every state, including many legislators and their staff, but also staff for governors, state attorneys general, education departments and school board members," the news service reported last week in a piece that emphasized transparency concerns around the use of encryption by government officials. Like Ratcliffe, the A.P. noted that CISA "has recommended that 'highly valued targets'senior officials who handle sensitive informationuse encryption apps for confidential communications." After news of the administration group-chat breach broke, Frederick Scholl, a professor of cybersecurity at Quinnipiac University, discussed several apps that people can use to keep their communications secure "including Briar, Session, Signal, SimpleX, Telegram, Threema, Viber and Wire." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That's in addition to others including Meta's WhatsApp. And encrypted RCS is replacing old-school SMS for basic text messages, though the transition isn't complete. Even better, the new standard is supported by both Apple and Google so that encryption will work in conversations between Android and iPhone platforms. Nothing is completely safe, of course. People developing security are in a constant race with those trying to compromise it. And, like Mike Waltz has discovered, nothing can save you from embarrassment if you invite the wrong person to the chat. The post Signal Chat Controversy Is an Endorsement of Encryption Software appeared first on Reason.com. (NewsNation) The Trump administration is facing backlash after a journalist from The Atlantic was added to a group chat on Signal where officials were discussing an attack on Yemens Houthis. If the Trump team is using Signal for sensitive conversations involving government business, it begs the question if something like this could happen again, Sean Savett, a former National Security Council spokesperson under President Joe Biden, said on NewsNation Now. The Atlantic releases full Signal text chain Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is incredibly serious, Savett said. Not only could they have endangered United States troops but also the mission itself, Savett added. Not only could those targets have gone to ground and escaped justice, but we also could have seen the Houthis try to use their very capable anti-aircraft systems to try to shoot down U.S. fighter pilots, and that would have been a horrific, horrific scenario, Savett 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 NewsNation. The News Since war plans leaked this week, global downloads for Signal have roughly doubled, app tracking firm Appfigures told Semafor. (TechCrunch first reported on the boost). In the US, daily downloads tripled to more than 60,000. In Yemen, where the app is less popular, downloads increased by five times to more than 1,000 per day, bringing the platform from No. 50 in the iOS social media app rankings to No. 9 in the country today. Know More While the news resurfaced privacy concerns that may drive users to encrypted apps, the boost could also suggest growing adoption from bad actors. Many terrorist groups operate in Yemen, according to the US State Department, including the Houthis, who were the target of the airstrikes discussed in the leaked Signal communications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Terrorist organizations have been known to use encrypted chat platforms in the past, making it difficult for law enforcement to track their communications and movements. ISIS reportedly used Telegram and WhatsApp to plan the 2015 attack in Paris, and the companies faced pressure in the following years to remove extremist content and turn over account details to governments. Signal has yet to come under public scrutiny for that reason, though its likely to spur deeper discussions on digital privacy in the US as Democrats cried foul and a lawsuit was filed this week. This week, we sawthe first real scandalof President Trumps second term. It came quickly - a mere two months in - but this conforms to the zeitgeist of Trump 2.0. This crowd is doing everything, good and bad, at a dizzying pace. "Signal-gate" came to light from a seemingly innocent, if exceedingly embarrassing, goof-up: National Security Adviser Mike Waltz (or someone on his staff) added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, to a group chat of high-level Trump administration national security officials. The subject? A pending U.S. airstrike in Yemen. Lets acknowledge at the outset that we all make mistakes in life. That said, Atlantic writer Mark Leibovich had fun with this Inspector Clouseau-level blunder. "But really," Leibovich wrote, "who among us hasnt inadvertently shared secret plans about an imminent military strike on Yemen with the editor in chief of The Atlantic." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Was it inadvertent? National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes conceded so publicly. (There is one other possibility, which is that a subversive NSC aide seeking to embarrass the administration included Goldberg on the chat deliberately. This is veteran political observer Mark Penns guess - he thinks its a 90% probability - and only 10% that it was carelessness.) Id reverse those odds myself. Either way, the most disturbing part of the story is how the Trump administration responded after the cat was out of the bag. Americans tend to be a forgiving sort. But Trump and his people didnt give anyone a chance to be gracious. Their reaction to this astonishing breach of national security was: First, to simply lie about what happened. Second, to insult the intelligence of the American people about whether these communications were classified. Third, to attack the messenger, repeatedly demeaning Jeffrey Goldberg and his publication. This is apparently the second-term MAGA playbook. Although it may work in the short term, I suspect this strategy wont be taught in future crisis management seminars. I could be wrong. Mendacity The initial response of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was simply to deny the plain facts. "Nobody was texting war plans," Hegseth told reporters on a trip to the Asia Pacific, "and thats all I have to say about that." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He did have more to say, of course. "So, let me get this straight," he subsequently tweeted. "The Atlantic released the so-called war plans and those plans include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information. Those are some really shitty war plans." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who was not on the Signal chat, repeated this fiction, telling the media that "no war plans were discussed." What they were doing here was two things: For starters, they were playing semantic games over the phrase "war plans" (which The Atlantic used in its first story about the screw-up), while distinguishing it from "attack plans," a phrase the magazine also used. Leavitt seized upon these word choices to say that the magazine had somehow backtracked from its original reporting. This was absurd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Attack plans" is more precise - the United States is not technically at war with Yemen - but its a distinction without a difference. If one contemplates this for even a minute, revealing "attack plans" is a much greater breach of national security. Think about it this way. As the United States entered World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt regularly spoke to the American people about the progress of the war effort. In a "fireside chat" five months after Pearl Harbor was attacked,FDR said this: American warships are now in combat in the North and South Atlantic, in the Arctic, in the Mediterranean, in the Indian Ocean, and in the North and South Pacific. American troops have taken stations in South America, Greenland, Iceland, the British Isles, the Near East, the Middle East and the Far East, the Continent of Australia, and many islands of the Pacific. American war planes, manned by Americans, are flying in actual combat over all the continents and all the oceans. Thoseare war plans. Attack plans? That would be "Operation Overlord" (known now as "D-Day"). The details of the Allies landing in France were a closely guarded secret. It would be as if Secretary of War Henry Stimson (Hegseths counterpart in 1944) inadvertently blabbed the exact timing and approximate location of the Normandy invasion. Unclassified information Inadvertently mishandling classified material is normally a fireable offense in government. Doing it deliberately is a crime. So you can see why the high-ranking officials on that Signal chat want to split hairs. But they are doing so in a singularly unconvincing way. This includes people with reputations for candor, such as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The conversation was candid and sensitive, but no classified information was shared," Gabbard told the House Intelligence Committee. "There were no sources, methods, locations, or war plans that were shared. This was a standard update to the national security cabinet that was provided alongside updates that were given to foreign partners in the region." Really? To recap, the discussion involved a bombing mission meant to decapitate the leadership of the Houthis, an Iran-supplied militia that has taken control of most of Yemen, bombed Israel, attacked U.S. Navy ships, and unleashed devastating attacks on international shipping in the region. And just for a bit of background, the Houthi motto is, "God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam." Despite Hegseths protestations, heres what he revealed in that unsecured conversation to the "Houthi PC small group" over a publicly available commercial app: candid conversations that included Vice President J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio over the rationale for the attack, how the airstrike might impact negotiations in Gaza and Ukraine, its effect on global trade, and why European allies cant do this themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Hegseth and the others essentially accused Goldberg of making it all up, The Atlantic released screenshots of the defense secretarys texts. Whether you call them "war plans" or "attack plans," the details - shown below courtesy of The Atlantic - included the types of aircraft and missiles dropping the bombs, obvious clues tothe identity of the target, and the precise timing of the sorties: "1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)" "1345: Trigger Based F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME - also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)" "1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)" "1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier Trigger Based targets)" "1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts - also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched." While its true that no names or addresses were included, the danger was that if the information fell into the wrong hands, the Houthi leaders could take mitigating steps ranging from remaining safely in their bunkers to scrambling their sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons, putting American pilots at risk. In other words, the Signal chat contained information that isalwayssupposed to be kept confidential and is invariably classified as top secret - as it should be. Character assassination In his initial response, Hegseth called Goldberg "a deceitful and highly discredited, so-called journalist whos made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again So this guy is garbage." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This became the default tactic of the administration. Reading prepared remarks from the podium in the White House briefing room, Karoline Leavitt launched into personal attacks on Goldberg as a "discredited anti-Trump reporter" who "infamously lied about weapons of mass destruction to get us into the Iraq War " There was more of this. Leavitt attacked Goldbergs wife, who worked in the State Department when Hillary Clinton ran the department, assailed Goldbergs previous reporting on Donald Trumps interactions with the military, and dismissed the entire scandal as "the Signal hoax." She tossed a stink bomb at Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner for good measure. "Democrat Senator Mark Warner is hysterical over the use of Signal, which is an approved decrypted app, in the killing of Houthi terrorists," she said. "But Sen. Warner himself used Signal to work with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch to connect [with the operative] who started the Russia hoax." Asked about this in a television interview, Warner shrugged and said that the fact that these old communications had come to light proved his very point - that the commercial app wasnt secure and that U.S. national security officials had no business using it to plan a surprise attack against another country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most disingenuous smear came from the national security adviser - the government official who actually committed the baffling original screw-up by bringing Goldberg into the chat. "I can tell you for 100 percent I dont know this guy," Mike Waltz told Laura Ingraham of Fox News. "I know him by his horrible reputation, and he really is the bottom scum of journalists." Taking his cue, Fox News host Jesse Watters called Goldberg "the lowest of the low" and "a scumbag" while floating the theory - which ran contrary to what the administration already admitted - that Goldberg had "sneaked his way in." Watters would have been better served by watching his own network, specifically when Bret Baier asked Foxeminence griseBrit Hume for his take. "They attacked the journalist!"Hume saidwith amazement. "Look, Im not a particular fan of Goldberg or his magazine but he didnt do anything wrong here." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ill make several points of order myself. The first is that under Jeff Goldberg, The Atlantic has positioned itself against Donald Trump. Ive found much of the magazines coverage on Trump over-the-top, and said so to Goldberg personally. I particularly loathe the Hitler comparisons. Yet, that point cuts two ways. On the one hand, it shows the perils of oppositional journalism: You make it too easy for those on the other side to dismiss your work. On the other hand, as my colleaguePeder Zane noted in his Wednesday column, The Atlantics fiercely anti-Trump stance doesnt mitigate the Signal chat blunder - it makes it worse. How do you invite that guy, of all people, into the chat? Another point of order: Mike Waltz says he doesnt know Jeff Goldberg, but I do - and have for a long time. In an acquaintance that goes back more than two decades, Ive never known Jeff to lie about anything. I think hes a dogged and honest reporter and a thoroughly decent person. Finally, Id note that attacking the messenger has become a bipartisan practice. This is not solely the fault of politicians. The media itself has become polarized and partisan, and we live in an age ofad hominemargumentation. To show how unhealthy this is, Id mention that in his word choices slurring Jeff Goldberg, Pete Hegseth was channeling two infamous examples of Democratic Party demagoguery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Garbage" was the same word used by President Biden to describe Trump voters. The former president was widely castigated for this, as he should have been. Likewise, the "so-called reporter" dig was nearly identical to the ugly little term-of-art employed by Rep. Stacey Plaskett and other Democrats on the House committee delving into the Twitter Files revelations by Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger. She and others called them "so-called journalists." Leaving aside theclueless nature of the snark (as a non-voting member of the House from the Virgin Islands, Plaskett could be labeled a "so-called congresswoman"), the Democrats were engaged in character assassination in theservice of government censorship. Its a cause I find so abhorrent that it put me in mind of Ulysses Grants description of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. "I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause," Grant wrote, "though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse." Carl M. Cannon is the Washington bureau chief for RealClearPolitics and executive editor of RealClearMedia Group. Reach him on X @CarlCannon. News that discussions among the U.S. governments top decisions makers about a looming attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen took place on the commercially available Signal messaging app raised a lot of concerns and burning questions. Among these were why was Signal used to talk about such a sensitive matter when there were other more secure, government-provided options available? What were these options and what reasons could possibly exist as to why they were not used? After the news broke, we set out to at least try to get the answer to these questions and more. Heres what we found out. Several experts we contacted, including a former acting defense secretary, a retired special operations forces officer and a government secrecy reform advocate, attempted to answer the question of why Signal became the go-to platform for a discussion that included operational details before the mission was launched. Their responses dont condone the actions, nor do they paint a complete picture of what transpired, because this remains a developing story with a lot of unknowns. However, they offer insights into the technology available to Americas often on-the-go leadership and some perspective on features Signal provides that no government system can by law. The actions and the controversy The mission against the Houthis, launched on March 15, turned out to be successful, according to the Pentagon and the White House. However, the use of Signal, brought to light by The Atlantic after its editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was somehow added to the group chat called Houthi PC small group, sparked widespread concerns about how the Trump administrations most senior leaders handle sensitive information. The messages included deliberations about whether to attack and when. Later in the text chain, they also featured a play-by-play summary of when the strikes would be launched and by what platforms, which was posted by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. They also mentioned at least one targeted individual. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beyond these details, the chat, which was setup by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, also contained several disparaging remarks about allies made by Hegseth and Vice President J.D. Vance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and other top leaders were also included in the chat. The Atlantic revelation spurred several investigations into the matter. New Heres the Wicker-Reed letter asking the DoD IG to investigate the Signal chat First (and likely only) bipartisan congressional inquiry on the matter pic.twitter.com/jx7bwGPfl2 Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) March 27, 2025 After all, those officials could have used a government desktop terminal in a secure facility to share information over hardened networks like the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communication System (JWICS) and the Secret Internet Protocol Router (SIPR). Another option could have been a government-issued laptop, tablet or mobile phone designed to access portions of those systems while on the go, depending on the sensitivity of the information. Secure video conferencing is also available in facilities with the proper infrastructure. So why use a messaging app not meant for classified communications and one that the Defense Department (DoD), NSA and Google had issued security alerts about weeks ago, and in the case of the DoD, a day earlier? The NSA warned that even information not categorized as classified should not be shared on Signal, according to a memo obtained by CBS News advising users not to share unclassified, nonpublic information on the messaging platform. #BREAKING @CBSNews obtained an internal NSA bulletin from Feb. 2025a month before the Houthi chatwhich warns NSA employees of using Signal, adding, that that the app should NOT be used for communicating CUI, unclassified, protected information. https://t.co/1pcMZFSa2C Jim LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) March 25, 2025 While offering relatively secure encrypted end-to-end communications, the Signal app is not approved for the transmission of classified or even sensitive information, nor does it meet the legally required standards for retention of such data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During previously scheduled congressional hearings about the U.S. intelligence community, Ratcliffe and Gabbard argued that there was no discussion of classified information. Signal is a permissible use application that has been approved by the White House for use by senior officials, Ratcliffe testified, adding that he was given a CIA laptop pre-loaded with the app. The group chat, he acknowledged, was a mechanism for communicating between senior level officials but not a substitute for using high side or classified communications. The Pentagon issued a statement on Hegseths behalf asserting that there was no exchange of classified information. He made the same argument in an interview, saying he was merely sharing an update. One more time I see war plans every single day. No one is texting war plans. pic.twitter.com/ujU7IvHGmL Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 26, 2025 Several national security experts, however, suggested that by including the timetable, method, means and targets of the attack against the Houthis, Hegseth did inject clearly classified information into the Signal chat. There is a debate about whether the operational details Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared in the Signal Group Chat were "classified" or not. So I surveyed a range of current and former US defense officials who agreed "war plans" is not the right term but what was shared may Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) March 26, 2025 The information Secretary of Defense Hegseth disclosed in the Signal chat was classified at the time he wrote it, especially because the operation had not even started yet, according to a US defense official and another source who was briefed on the operation. It is safe to say https://t.co/y7gArrI6ca Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) March 26, 2025 Even the ODNIs guidelines seem to back up that contention. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence Classification Guide disagrees. https://t.co/YTaRgtwMYq pic.twitter.com/vjgwyVnjXz Oliver Alexander (@OAlexanderDK) March 26, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump called the matter a witch hunt and said Hegseth is doing a great job. Trump on Signal-Gate: Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this. Hegseth? How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do with it. pic.twitter.com/pEe46PQI4T Acyn (@Acyn) March 26, 2025 Meanwhile, Democrats accused the administration of lying about the classified nature of information in the chat. Trumps Director of National Intelligence and CIA Director werent straight with us yesterday. The full Signal conversation proves it. pic.twitter.com/O9Sljkxhxu Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) March 26, 2025 The Atlantic changed its headline from War Plans to Attack Plans on the follow-up article in which Goldberg provided the full transcript of the chat after Tuesdays brutal Senate hearing with Gabbard and Ratcliffe. After the additional details were released, it became clearer that the leak did not contain highly detailed war plans as originally insinuated, even though what was being discussed was still of an extremely sensitive nature. Unclear Signal The major concerns about Signal are security and records retention. Being end-to-end encrypted, its messages are relatively protected when sent over networks. That level of security is so high that the Swedish military last month urged troops to use it for non-classified messaging to make it more difficult to intercept calls and messages sent via the telephone network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, should the phone itself be compromised by being lost and unlocked or hit by a certain phishing attack or hack for instance, those messages would be available to unwanted individuals. Just being on Signal enabled Goldberg, a journalist, to inadvertently get access to the chat, one he would otherwise not have been part of on a government system. In addition, using Signal in a public location exposes chat content to anyone trying to sneak a peak if there is a clear line of sight to the device. Moreover, the fact that Signal messages can be set up to disappear forever after a prescribed amount of time makes it wholly unsuitable under federal data retention laws. Convenience was likely a big factor in the choice to use Signal despite these security risks and prohibitions, several sources told us. It is far easier to whip out a cell phone wherever you are than to have to go into a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), a secure and electromagnetically hardened room or area used to store, process, and discuss highly classified information. Phones and electronic devices are not even allowed inside. Meanwhile, government-issued mobile devices, as former Biden administration Chief Information Officer Theresa Payton noted, are difficult to navigate by design. Classified channels are difficult to navigate by design. Despite the fact that Signal use was approved and encouraged under the Biden administration and inherited by this administration, Signal is NOT one of the channels meant to be used for classified communications. pic.twitter.com/GabDjf4k1v Theresa Payton (@TrackerPayton) March 27, 2025 Cabinet secretaries should be provided with integrated, compatible secure [communications systems], former Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, who served at the end of Trumps first term, told us. Its ridiculous. Make the White House [communications office] responsible for issuing and managing. Its like we are in the 1990s. An Army veteran and cybersecurity expert agreed that apps like Signal are faster and easier to use, especially for a chat involving 19 members from numerous agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The old days of carrying a PC with you everywhere you go, and having an encrypted tunnel and having hardware that protects all that are kind of largely behind us, said Jared Shepard, who after leaving the Army helped the DoD create a secure network infrastructure in Iraq. He later founded Hypori, a company that provides secure mobile network solutions to several DoD entities. Now, everybody operates from phones and tablets, and the technology is beginning to catch up. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Nathan Juarez, left, an Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) systems engineer, and Cpl. Kealey Dent, an aviation intelligence specialist, both with Marine Aircraft Group 12, set up camouflage netting in preparation of building a temporary sensitive compartmented information (SCIF) facility at Gwangju Air Base, Republic of Korea, during the Fiscal Year 2023 Korea Flying Training, April 19, 2023. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tyler Harmon) One of the challenges, he added, always is how do you successfully share sensitive information across multiple departments. And you know, in the government that is always a challenge. The more secure you make it, the more complex you make it on the user, Shepard noted. And so you always have this natural human balance of it has to actually be easy to use, or relatively intuitive to use, if you want users to actually use it. And, from a technology standpoint, if you make it so secure that its just too hard to use, then users will find a way around it. Its just, its a human nature thing. A government secrecy reform advocate concurred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In my experience, dealing with classified records is always a little bit more cumbersome, explained Lauren Harper, Freedom of the Press Foundations first Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy. I think those systems are probably a little bit less intuitive in terms of how many people were involved. A retired special operations forces (SOF) officer questioned the exchange of security for the convenience offered by an app like Signal. I went to a number of different countries in support of SOF-type training or for exercises or whatever, and I had a secret or a secure phone, said the retired SOF officer. I never had an issue communicating in a timely manner with my secure phone. Now, I wasnt coordinating national-level strikes or anything, but Im just saying I dont know that its prudent to sacrifice operational security for maybe a little bit more speed. Perhaps a bigger concern than security is that those on the Signal chat may have been trying to avoid records retention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I wouldnt buy the convenience argument as much as I think they were avoiding archiving laws, Harper told us. One of Signals key features is that messages disappear, she explained. Would Signal be as popular if it didnt have the disappearing messaging feature? Theres no way to tell. There are also already policies across the government that allow officials to use third-party applications to communicate when they must, provided they forward those records to officials systems within 20 working days, she added. A big reason Signal is discouraged as a third-party method is because thats impossible to guarantee that it is happening when messages can disappear. The government watchdog group American Oversight filed a civil lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that those on the chat violated federal records laws by discussing Houthi attack plans on Signal. In response, a federal judge in Washington on Thursday ordered several Trump administration officials who participated in the Signal chat to preserve all of the messages they exchanged on the app from March 11 to March 15, The New York Times reported Thursday evening. Breaking News: A federal judge ordered top Trump administration officials to preserve their Signal chat messages discussing plans for an attack in Yemen. https://t.co/WfkUztzvI5 The New York Times (@nytimes) March 27, 2025 The government does issue mobile devices designed to handle secure information. In 2017, for example, the Pentagons Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) launched a pilot program expanding its Department of Defense Mobility Classified Capability-Secret (DMCC-S) program to 8-inch tablets, DefenseScoop reported at the time. The objective was to give senior military leaders greater flexibility and the improved user experience they typically would get in the office. The DMCC-S program offers Pentagon officials mobile access to the SIPRNet. Traditionally, the agency issued Samsung Galaxy smartphones to run the DMCC-S program. Details about how the DMCC program operates. (DISA PowerPoint) It remains unclear how widely distributed this option has been or whether Hegseth and others on the chat had access to it. DISA declined comment, deferring us to the Pentagon. Officials there have yet to respond to questions about this issue, including whether Hegseth used a government or personal device to access Signal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We also reached out to the CIA, White House and National Security Council to find out what kinds of devices they issue for secure, mobile communications and which of the cabinet members involved in the chat used personal devices to do so. We will update this story with any pertinent information provided. The Signal encrypted messaging application is seen on a mobile device with the Department of Defence logo in the background in this illustration photo taken in Warsaw, Poland on 25 March, 2025. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto) Jaap Arriens Signaling Change All this begs the question why isnt there a government-issued app like Signal, especially if its being used by those handling sensitive information anyway? The government could develop a secure app or incorporate Signal and its use on secure mediums however, Signal is open source and independently audited, the retired SOF officer posited. This may raise suspicion about backdoors or surveillance of government employees raising concerns among stakeholders. Also, since Signal is a commercial app right now and commercial apps usually update frequently in order to better the user experience and incorporate security patches, the government tends to be slow and bureaucratic in incorporating these changes. Harper suggested that the question about why there is no government-issued app like Signal is hard to directly answer because it also depends on agency rules around handling classified information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You cant separate the two issues of convenience and secrecy when trying to discuss whether or not the government should have applications like [Signal], she suggested. Its not just a question of what technical capabilities an agency may have, she added, but how it comports with classification guidelines that have to be improved by the Information Security Oversight Office and in compliance with the executive order on classified national security information, 13526, issued in 2019 under then-President Barack Obama. Then-President Barack Obamas executive order on classified national security information. (White House) Shepard, the Hypori CEO, said his company provides a secure mobile communications system being used by the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Space Force and DISA. We meet the right guidance under the NSA, he said. We do have the ability to do classified communications in a mobile environment on government-issued devices. Could the members of that Signal chat have had a classified version of Hypori instead and then done everything within the requirements to have a classified conversation? he asked rhetorically. The answer is yes, they could have done that. Even if the Signal controversy now consuming Washington blows over as newer issues come to the forefront, the underlying issues will remain. The need for highly secure, mobile and easy-to-use communications that retains its messages for those handling sensitive matters will only increase as the world moves faster with each passing day. And apparently, some in the highest reaches of power have moved ahead with the convenience an app like Signal provides, whether the governments security apparatus likes it or not. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com It's been quite the week for President Donald Trump and his administration. From exposed group chats to more job cuts, Trump's administration is continuing to make changes and progress toward campaign promises, which could impact his current presidential approval rating. Earlier this week, The Atlantic published an article about how its top editor was added to a group chat about war plans, which also included two figures from Florida National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Waltz mistakingly added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat on Signal, an encrypted messaging app, with 18 top officials discussing plans for a March 15 airstrike in Yemen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following its release, Trump officials insisted Tuesday that no classified material was shared in the chat and downplayed the breach. Trump himself has said he doesn't think it is a big deal, calling it a "witch hunt" on Wednesday. In response to the White House, The Atlantic published the full text chain, including messages they originally redacted due to sensitive information. Additionally, more federal job cuts have been announced by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Health and Human Services. Kennedy announced this week that HHS will cut about 10,000 full-time jobs from the Cabinet department. According to USA TODAY, more than 100,000 federal employees lost their jobs in the past two months through layoffs of probationary employees, and another about 75,000 federal employees accepted the original buyout offer Trump extended shortly after he took office. Additional layoffs are coming for other federal agencies, courtesy of DOGE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Have these recent events impacted Trump's approval rating? Here's what to know. What is Donald Trump's approval rating? Here are the latest approval ratings released about Trump's administration, as of March 28: Rasmussen Daily poll shows a 51% approval rating (39% strongly approve) and 48% disapprove (38% strongly disapprove) as of March 27. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 1,500 Likely Voters is 2.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence, the website writes. YouGov/TheEconomist: Poll shows 48% of Americans approve of Trump while 49% disapprove. (poll conducted March 22-25; 1,600 adults; margin of error 3.4 percentage points). 97% of respondents said jobs and the economy were the most important issues to them. Reuters/Ipsos Showed a higher disapproval rating of 51%, compared to a 45% approval rating (Poll conducted March 20-23; 1,030 adults sampled; margin of error of 3 percentage points.) 76% of Republicans agreed with the statement the Trump Administration should continue to deport people they view as a risk despite the court order, compared to 8% of Democrats who agreed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morning Consult: The majority of voters now view Trump unfavorably, with 51%, compared with 47% with a favorable view. (poll conducted March 20-23; 2,210 registered voters; margin of error 2 percentage points). For the first time in his presidency, voters are more likely to disapprove than approve of Trump's handling of the issue, 47% to 46%, as Republicans in Congress hold a razor-thin trust advantage over Democrats on the matter. NBC News Poll shows Trump's approval rating at 47%. (Poll conducted March 7 - 11; 1,000 registered voters; margin of error 3.1 percentage points) While this survey shows a mixed result for Donald Trump, Democrats are the ones in the wilderness right now, said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies. Emerson College: A national survey of voters finds President Trump with a 47% job approval and 45% disapproval rating. (Poll conducted March 8-10; 1,000 adults; margin of error 3 percentage points) They found that Trump's disapproval increased by two points since last weeks national poll, while his approval rating decreased by one percentage point. What do Florida polls say about Donald Trump's approval rating? The Sunshine State went red again for Trump during the 2024 General Election, securing 30 electoral votes for the now-president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Civiqs polls, last updated on March 19, state that the president has a 52% favorability among Floridians. A 45% unfavourability counters this. What goes into a president's approval rating? When did they start? According to data agency Gallup, a presidential approval rating is a "simple measure, yet a very powerful one that has played a key role in politics for over 70 years." A presidents approval rating reflects the percentage of Americans polled who approve of the presidents performance. Anything can impact a president's rating, such as legislation passed, actions, and elections. According to ABC News, an approval rating doesn't just represent how well the administration is doing for the general public but could determine the outcome of an upcoming election for a politician or how much they get done during their time in office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Presidential approval ratings were first conducted by the founder of the American Institute of Public Opinion, George Gallup, around 1935 to gauge public support for the president of the United States during their term. While Gallup has tracked presidential approval for 70 years, other organizations release their own polls as well, including Ipsos and Morning Consult. How does Trump's approval rating compare with his first term? Trump ended his first term in 2021 with a final approval rating of 34%, the same as former presidents George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter. His approval average was 41%. USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump approval rating: See what national, Florida polls are saying Opponents of Senate Bill 89 gather by the Kentucky River to voice their concerns, March 4, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) A controversial bill that would significantly roll back Kentuckys ability to regulate water pollution will become law after the GOP-controlled legislature on Thursday overrode its veto by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. Senate Bill 89, sponsored by Sen. Scott Madon, R-Pineville, would considerably narrow the definition of state waters that are regulated by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. Madon, with the backing of the Kentucky Coal Association, has touted the bill as a move to relieve industries from housing construction to coal mining of bureaucratic barriers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Environmental groups have lambasted the bill as potentially opening the states water resources to pollution, threatening the groundwater of hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians who rely on rural public water utilities and private wells. Rebecca Goodman, the secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet, had previously said she had grave concerns with the bill. Beshear in his veto message wrote SB 89 by failing to protect all water sources would result in pollution, sickness and more dangerous flooding. Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, on the Senate floor said he believed changes to the bill made as it advanced through the legislature, after hearing concerns about groundwater pollution, helped improve the legislation. We protected our (coal) operators from overreach of the agency, and after listening to constituents, after listening to comments on this floor, provisions to protect groundwater were put back in, West said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Environmental groups and the cabinet have said the changes made to SB 89 dont go nearly far enough to protect groundwater resources across the state. Democrats opposing the bill referenced a letter from Goodman, the cabinet secretary, who wrote Kentucky would be the only state in the country to cede its authority to regulate water to the federal government. Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, who voted against overriding the veto, said the compromise made to change the bill did not go far enough. The origination of this measure arose from agency overreach, but the pendulum now has swung far to the other end, said Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, who voted. I have utilities in my district that rely on groundwater sources. I represent sportsmen and women across this country in the state that have reached out. Kentucky Waterways Alliance executive director Michael Washburn in a statement also representing leaders from the Kentucky chapter of the Sierra Club, the Kentucky Resources Council and the Kentucky Conservation Committee said the legislature sided with polluters over Kentuckys people and the industries that rely on clean, safe water. This decision gives coal companies greater freedom to pollute our headwater streams, at the expense of the tens of thousands of homes, farms and businesses that depend on groundwater from private wells in rural Kentucky, Washburn said. To the polluters who championed this bill: we are watching. We have built a resilient, determined coalition and we are ready to act. (NewsNation) Former National Security Adviser John Bolton said he would have never used an app like Signal to discuss sensitive topics when he held Mike Waltzs position during the first Trump administration. Ill just say, I can only speak for myself. It never would have occurred to me to discuss anything sensitive, whether classified or not on any system other the governments own secure telecommunication system, Bolton said. The Atlantic releases full Signal text chain Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bolton, who was the White Houses top national security adviser from 2018 to 2019, said theres simply no excuse to turn to Signal. Instead, he believes the conversation about attacks in Yemen shouldve happened in the situation room in the basement of the White House. If somebody cant attend for whatever reason, we have secure video telecommunication systems that can put their faces in the situation room, Bolton said. Thats how you do it. Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat, on Monday published an account of administration officials accidentally leaking what he first called war plans to him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bombshell article has lit a flame under members of the chat, which include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel. Trump administration officials have continually maintained that no classified information was shared in the message thread, an assertion some national security experts disagree with. Bolton told NewsNation his major concern is how frequently Signal or other apps like it have been used previously. It looks, you know, from an outsiders perspective, like this was not their first rodeo, that theyve been doing this a lot, Bolton said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most Americans think Signal chat is a serious problem: Poll Bolton hopes a Congressional committee or top Defense officials can look further into the administrations communication methods. Id like to know that, because that then tells you what the potential damage is. That tells you how many other secrets have potentially been put at risk, how much other damage has been done, Bolton said. Vance heads to Greenland as Noem visits Mexico Vice President JD Vance, his wife Usha, Waltz and other top Trump officials will be in Greenland on Friday, kicking off a controversial trip to the self-governing Danish territory. Bolton admonished the administrations calls to annex Greenland, telling NewsNation the visits outcome will greatly depend on what Vance says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every time Donald Trump says we need to take Greenland, he is ripping apart decades of trust, good faith, reliance, good will toward the United States, Bolton said. RFK says 10,000 job cuts necessary at sprawling HHS agency Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem traveled to meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday. The pair are expected to discuss immigration, deportation agreements and trade tensions. I think closing the border is correct and important, and if this trip contributes to it, great, Bolton 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 NewsNation. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) Sioux City has released a Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report for the year of 2024. The report is required by the Environmental Protection Agency and serves to show how well the water treatment and supply system is providing to water customers. The report can be seen by clicking here. Residents can also get a copy of the report by mail, by calling the Water Treatment Plant at 712-279-6156. You can also view the last three years of water quality reports on the city 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Gold futures (GC=F) rose to a fresh record on Friday as tariff threats sparked fears of an escalating trade war. Futures surpassed $3,110 ahead of the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs, expected to be announced next week as 25% levies are put on foreign autos. A weaker US dollar (DX-Y.NYB) has also supported higher gold prices. The yellow metal is up more than 17% over the past quarter, on pace for its best year-to-date performance in nearly four decades. Wall Street analysts have been upping their price target on gold in recent days. Bank of America predicts the precious metal will reach $3,500 per ounce over the coming 18 months under the assumption that investments will increase 10% through more buying from China and central banks, along with investors purchasing physically backed ETFs. In a note earlier this week, Goldman Sachs analysts said they expect gold to rise, "reflecting upside surprises in ETF inflows and in continued strong central bank gold demand." The firm has a year-end price target of $3,300 per troy ounce. Gold inventories in New York skyrocketed this year as institutional investors shipped elevated amounts of physical bars to vaults in Manhattan. Gold inventories for the futures exchange Comex have spiked since November, reaching their highest level since the pandemic in 2021, according to Bloomberg data. Follow all the action throughout the day on our live blog. "What they [institutional investors] started doing in response is stockpiling. ... When you have conditions like that, and you throw in some safe-haven demands on top of it, you're going to see the price of gold start to creep up," Brett Elliott, director of marketing at American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX), told Yahoo Finance earlier this month. The same phenomenon has been happening with copper, which is up 30% year to date as elevated amounts of the metal have been shipped to the US amid fears that it will be hit with Trump's tariffs. Earlier this week, copper (HG=F) futures accelerated to a new record in New York following a report that Trump is considering implementing levies on the commodity in a matter of weeks rather than months. Futures on New York's Comex hovered around $5.13 per pound on Friday. "Assuming tariffs are implemented in May, we think shipments to the US will likely be fast tracked," wrote Goldman Sachs' Eoin Dinsmore in a note to clients on Wednesday. Demand from China is expected to keep prices high. Europe's moves to build up its defense infrastructure are also a tailwind for copper demand. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) Six female students at Dutchtown High School were arrested after multiple fights on Thursday. According to the Ascension Parish Sheriffs Office, deputies responded to the school regarding two fights. None of the students were seriously injured, officials say. All six students were charged with disturbing the peace. Louisiana law states that anyone who commits the crime of disturbing the peace cannot be fined more than a hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or both. 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 Louisiana First News. Family members of a 22-year-old man killed by a hit-and-run motorist in Koreatown are heartbroken and furious someone would simply drive away after such a tragic incident. The deadly collision occurred at around 6 a.m. Thursday morning near the intersection of 6th and Catalina streets as the victim was riding his skateboard, officials said. In surveillance footage captured by a nearby business, the driver of a gray four-door sedan is seen traveling westbound on Catalina Street when they collided with the skateboarder who was approaching 6th Street, killing him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The grainy footage of the crash did not, however, provide investigators with any additional information about who was behind the wheel of the car. A 22-year-old man riding a skateboard was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Koreatown on March 27, 2025. (KTLA) A 22-year-old man riding a skateboard was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Koreatown on March 27, 2025. (KTLA) A 22-year-old man riding a skateboard was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Koreatown on March 27, 2025. (KTLA) A 22-year-old man riding a skateboard was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Koreatown on March 27, 2025. (KTLA) A 22-year-old man riding a skateboard was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Koreatown on March 27, 2025. (KTLA) It is unclear if authorities were able to find footage of the crash from other surrounding businesses that provided a clearer view of the incident. While police scoured the scene for evidence, closing 6th Street between Berendo Street and Kenmore Avenue for more than two hours, a white canopy covering the remains of the 22-year-old could be seen, as well as one of his shoes knocked loose from the impact and broken pieces of his skateboard. 2 sisters, an infant killed in violent wrong-way crash in Southern California Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said the impact of the crash was so severe that it also left a trail of vehicle parts in the area, which might aid detectives in locating the driver. So far, the coroner has not released the identity of the young man. Distraught family members who gathered at the scene and did not want to speak with the press only said they hope the hit-and-run suspect does the right thing and comes forward. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. "Please pay us back." Not an unusual request ... but when it comes from the Social Security Administration you better take note, especially since the agency is getting serious about recovering overpayments it sent out. How serious? Starting Thursday, March 27, the Social Security Administration will begin withholding 100% of benefits from people who were overpaid until those overpayments are recovered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 47 Social Security offices are targeted for closure this year. What about in Florida? Here's what you should know. Has Social Security Administration really overpaid people? Between fiscal years 2015 through 2022, "SSA estimates it made nearly $72 billion in improper payments, most of which were overpayments," according to Social Security's Office of the Inspector General. Improper payments were defined as those when SSA paid someone more than they were due or when the agency paid someone less than they were due. SSA to increase overpayment withholding rate from 10% to 100% starting March 27 "As of March 27, the agency will begin mailing notices about the new 100 percent withholding rate, rather than the recent adjustment of just 10 percent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The withholding rate change applies to new overpayments related to Social Security benefits. The withholding rate for current beneficiaries with an overpayment before March 27 will not change and no action is required." Social Security Income overpayments remain at 10% The withholding rate for Supplemental Security Income overpayments remains 10 percent, the agency said. How do you know if you've been overpaid by Social Security Administration? You should have gotten a letter in the mail saying you got more money than you should have. The agency said in the letter, "please pay us back within 30 days." "We will wait at least 30 days (plus 5 mail days) from the date of the overpayment notice before we start collection of the overpayment. If you submit a request for waiver or reconsideration before 30 days has passed, we will not begin collection of the overpayment until a decision is made on your request." What happens after March 27? "People who are overpaid after March 27 will automatically be placed in full recovery at a rate of 100 percent of the Social Security payment." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Office of the Chief Actuary estimated this would increase overpayment recoveries to about $7 billion over the next decade. Can you appeal the Social Security 100% overpayment plan? Yes. "People have the right to appeal the overpayment decision or the amount. They can ask Social Security to waive collection of the overpayment, if they believe it was not their fault and cant afford to pay it back. "If you can't afford 100% of your Social Security benefits to be used for an overpayment, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or your local office to request a lower rate of recovery." How do you re-pay Social Security for overpayments? Automated phone assistance in English and Spanish 24-7. Call 1-855-807-8807 and follow the prompts to set up payments for the amount you owe. Repay online if eligible. If your overpayment letter includes online payment instructions and a Remittance ID, you can also repay online at pay.gov. Call 1-800-772-1213 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tell the representative you want to pay for overpaid benefits. Call TTY +1 800-325-0778 if you're deaf or hard of hearing. Request to make smaller payments in monthly installments. Fill out the Request for Change in Overpayment Recovery Rate (Form SSA-634) and fax or mail the form to your local Social Security office. Can't afford to pay Social Security back for overpayments? "If you can't afford to pay us back, and if you feel the error wasn't your fault or is unfair for some other reason, ask us to waive repayment." File an appeal. "If you dont agree that youve been overpaid, or you believe the overpayment amount is incorrect, you can request a reconsideration." What if you're already making payments to Social Security? Nothing changes for those who are currently reimbursing Social Security for overpayments. The existing withholding rate will continue. SSA has 'significant responsibility' to 'safeguard taxpayer funds' We have the significant responsibility to be good stewards of the trust funds for the American people, said Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is our duty to revise the overpayment repayment policy back to full withholding, as it was during the Obama administration and first Trump administration, to properly safeguard taxpayer funds. SSA had overpayment balance of $23 billion at end of fiscal year 2023 "At the end of FY 2023, SSA had an uncollected overpayment balance of $23 billion," said the Social Security's Office of the Inspector General. How did the Social Security Administration make 'improper payments' to people? Two reasons for improper payments by the Social Security Administration highlighted by the Inspector General's Office were: beneficiary self reporting information insufficient controls in SSAs automated and manual processes Improper payments have been a longstanding challenge for SSA. While the Agency has taken actions to address this challenge, it needs to do more, and OIGs recommendations can guide the Agency as it determines those corrective actions, said Michelle L. Anderson, assistant inspector general for Audit and Acting Inspector General. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Without better access to data, increased automation, systems modernization, and policy or legislative changes, improper payments will continue to be a major challenge for SSA into the future. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Social Security withholding all benefits to recover overpayments Skywatchers around the country will be able to see a partial solar eclipse this weekend. While not as rare as a total solar eclipse, the celestial spectacle only occurs twice a year. Those who miss this years fanfare will have to wait until the fall to catch the next one. Heres what you should know... When and where can you see the eclipse in the US? Major cities across the East Coast will need to wake up early on Saturday morning. In Portland, Maine, it starts the earliest, at 6:27 a.m. local time, reaching its maximum phase at 6:59 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boston has just four more minutes to sleep in, and New York City is next on the list. Residents of the nations capital and Buffalo, New York, can sleep in the latest. The partial begins at 7:02 a.m. in Buffalo. Residents of Washington, D.C., and the Northeast can catch a partial solar eclipse on Saturday. On average, they occur about twice a year (NASA via Getty Images) What is a partial solar eclipse? A partial solar eclipse occurs when the moon partially blocks the sun when passing between the sun and the Earth, resulting in a shadow on parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Only a part of the sun appear to be covered, giving it a crescent shape. On average, they occur about twice a year. It will feel like a particularly cloudy day, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, of the European Southern Observatory, told The Associated Press. How can you view it safely? Viewers must use proper eye protection at all times while watching the eclipse. It is never safe to look directly at it without proper protection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is proper protection? Special eclipse glasses or a safe handheld solar viewer. Regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the sun no matter how dark they are. Do NOT look at the Sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury, NASA advises. New Yorkers saw a partial solar eclipse nearly a year ago. Proper eye protection is necessary when watching the eclipse (Getty Images) Who else gets to see it? North America, Europe, Africa, northern Asia, small parts of South America, Greenland, and Iceland will all see the partial solar eclipse. While the U.S Northeast sees it during sunrise, the eclipse will begin in the mid-to-later morning in western Europe and northwestern Africa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In eastern Europe and northern Asia, most or even all of the eclipse will occur in the afternoon or early evening. What if you miss this one? If you miss this one, dont fear! The next partial solar eclipse is slated for September 21, 2025. But, seeing that one may require some travel. People in Australia, Antarctica, and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are in its geographic range. The Scoop Somalias government has offered the US exclusive operational control over strategic ports on the Gulf of Aden in a bid to derail any recognition by Washington of breakaway regions in the troubled Horn of Africa nation. It made the offer despite not being in control of the sites. In a Mar. 16 letter seen by Semafor, Somalias President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud offers US President Donald Trump strategically positioned assets. These could bolster American engagement in the region, ensuring uninterrupted military and logistical access while preventing external competitors from establishing a presence in this critical corridor, the letter said. But the assets in question the Berbera port and airbase, located in Somaliland, and the Bosaso port and airbase, in Puntland are not under the control of Somalia. Mogadishu considers all of these locations part of its sovereign territory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter concludes with the Somali government welcoming the opportunity to initiate conversations on next steps. Somalias minister of information did not respond to requests for an interview, and the Somali Embassy in the US did not immediately provide comment. Know More The letter comes as Somalia battles to hold onto critical breakaway coastal regions amid concerns that the US could end its support for the nations state-building. Who are they to offer that access? said Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. They are offering this as a way of getting the US to recognize the legitimacy of the Somali state over these breakaway regions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Somaliland, a self-governing region within Somalia, has been seeking recognition as an independent state for more than three decades, and it sees in the Trump administration, a renewed opportunity. As Semafor first reported in December, members of the US presidents new team have expressed interest in recognizing Somaliland: The move could enable US intelligence to set up long term operations to monitor the movement of weapons in a volatile region as well as keep an eye on Chinese activity. And in January an influential US-China subcommittee in the US House of Representatives called for the State Department to open a representative office in Somaliland. Step Back Somalilands Berbera port and airbase are crucial spots that could be leveraged to monitor and counter Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In 2022 Somaliland itself offered the US access to the port in exchange for recognition. Earlier this month Somalilands Foreign Minister Abdirahman Dahir Adan told an Israeli public broadcast that it was open to absorbing Gazan citizens in exchange for recognition. Puntland severed ties with Mogadishu last March following years of political disputes. Its Bosaso port is also strategically situated on the Gulf of Aden and is a commercial port. The Islamic State has established a stronghold in the mountainous region in Puntland, and has been the focus of Emirati and American airstrikes. Bosaso has been a staging ground for the Puntland Defense Forces fight against the militants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, the main operator at the ports of both Berbera and Bosaso is DP World, a multinational logistics company based in the United Arab Emirates, whose government has been a key backer of Somalilands quest for independence and also maintains ties with Israel. Amandas view Recognition of any kind for Somaliland could make for potential conflict in a volatile region. Tensions heightened last year when the self-autonomous territory said that it reached an agreement to lease land to landlocked Ethiopia to build a naval facility on the Berbera coast in exchange for recognition. Somalia managed to rally international support against the deal, and with Turkey acting as a mediator, the move was quashed. According to Hudson, the Somali government is concerned that the US is going to cut ties with the federal Government and end its decade-long state building project to instead focus on counter-terrorism from key bases. The idea among Republicans is this is not a state. It is not in our interest to try to build a functioning state in Somalia. We can carry out counter-terror operations without that, he explained. Room for Disagreement It reeks of desperation,said Mohamed Mubarak, head of the Puntland Security Coordinator Office, of the letter Mogadishu sent to the White House. Rhe Federal Government does not control any territory beyond Mogadishu and its environs and its a desperate attempt at projecting its influence beyond that region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bashe Omar, a former representative of Somaliland to the UAE and Kenya, told Semafor the strategic importance of Berbera cannot be underestimated. He added that the new Trump administration appears more open to reviewing longstanding US foreign policy and so there may be more openness to assign relationships based on strategic interests and on-the-ground realities rather than legacy policies. Notable Somalia pushed back aggressively at Somalilands claims for a pathway to independence. NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somalia is prepared to offer the United States exclusive control of strategic air bases and ports, its president said in a letter to President Donald Trump seen by Reuters on Friday. In the March 16 letter, authenticated by a regional diplomat with knowledge of the matter, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said the assets included air bases in Balidogle and Berbera as well as the ports of Berbera and Bosaso. Somalia's foreign affairs and information ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The offer could give the United States a firmer military presence in the Horn of Africa region as it looks to counter the threat from Islamist militants in Somalia and across the region. "These strategically positioned assets provide an opportunity to bolster American engagement in the region, ensuring uninterrupted military and logistical access while preventing external competitors from establishing a presence in this critical corridor," the letter said. Berbera is in the breakaway Somaliland region, meaning the offer for the port and air base there would put the government there and Somalia on a collision course. "What cooperation? The USA gave up this corrupted regime called Somalia. The USA is now ready to deal with Somaliland, who has shown the world to be a peaceful, stable, and democratic nation," Abdirahman Dahir Aden, Somaliland's foreign minister, told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The USA is not stupid. They know who they need to deal with when it comes to Berbera port," he added. Somalia opposes any move for Somaliland to be recognized as an independent nation. Balidogle is about 90 km (55 miles) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, while Bosaso is in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland. (Reporting by Ammu Kannampilly in Nairobi and Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu; writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Bate Felix and Sandra Maler) DECATUR, Ga. (WFLA) A Georgia man died in a scuba diving accident merely days before the skeletal remains of his son, who had been missing for four years, were found in his backyard. According to NBC, Henry Frantz, 74, was scuba diving in Hawaii on March 10 when he died due to unspecified causes. Six days later, police said that they had found human remains in a backyard tree house at Frantzs home in Georgia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An investigation revealed that the remains belonged to Frantzs son Henry Hank Frantz, 32. Police told reporters that Henry Frantz had never been reported missing and there was no record of him in the Department of Justices National Missing and Unidentified Persons system. The director of operations for the Dekalb County Medical Examiners Office, Beoncia M. Loveless, told reporters that there was still tissue present in the remains found but the cause of the 32-year-olds death was unknown. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Bloomberg) -- South Africas Democratic Alliance criticized the African National Congresss reluctance to share control of economic policy, escalating an impasse over the budget thats strained relations between the two biggest parties in the nations coalition government. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ANC on Friday balked at a proposal by the DA to share management of economic policy, Cape Town-based news website News24 reported. The rejection of that plan risks leading to the collapse of the so-called government of national unity, it said, citing an unidentified DA negotiator. The rand fell as much as 1.1% against the US currency and traded 0.8% weaker at 18.38 per dollar by 6:26 p.m. in Johannesburg. The DA entered a coalition with the ANC to grow the economy and create jobs, DA leader John Steenhuisen said by text message from Paris when Bloomberg News sought comment. If we are unable to do so and the ANC want to lock us out of key decisions we have no way to influence economic policy, he said. ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri wasnt immediately available when Bloomberg sought comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A business-friendly coalition was established after last years elections failed to produce an outright winner, but the ANC has angered the DA and some of its smaller rivals by unilaterally pushing through new education, health-insurance and land-expropriation laws. Tension between the ANC and the DA flared last month over a proposal by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to raise value-added tax by two percentage points. Objections to that plan by the DA and others, including within the ANC, led the minister to propose increasing VAT by a single percentage point by mid-2026, though hes yet to secure lawmaker support for the revenue-raising measure. The first of a series of budget bills is scheduled to be presented to parliament next week, when lawmakers will begin debating its fiscal framework. The process of approving other budget bills is expected to continue through May. Enlist Support Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Godongwana has said hell enlist support from a range of political parties to get the budget approved. Local media including the Johannesburg-based Business Day have speculated that the ANC may seek to bring the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters into the coalition government to secure passage of the budget. If they want to do a deal with the EFF then they must reap the consequences both for governance and the economy, Steenhuisen said. Asked whether the existing coalition government could collapse, he said: If the ANC bring the EFF in then I assume it will. --With assistance from S'thembile Cele, Alister Bull and Monique Vanek. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (Updates rand in third paragraph, adds Godongwanas prior comment on budget approval in third-from-last paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WWTI) A 43-year-old South African man residing in Sackets Harbor is facing charges for allegedly distributing child pornography. According to the United States Attorneys Office, Marcell Meyer, a South African citizen, was arraigned today in federal court on charges of distribution of child pornography. Boonville man charged with alleged stalking, luring juveniles in Lewis County According to the criminal complaint, Meyer allegedly used an internet-based social networking app installed on his cell phone to distribute child pornography to other users of the platform, including some who identified as children. In one such instance, Meyer allegedly distributed child pornography to an undercover HSI agent who Meyer believed to be a 13-year-old female. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Attorneys Office reminds the public that the charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Meyer could get a prison term of five to 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release between five years and life if convicted. He would also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and would likely face immigration consequences as a result of his conviction. A defendants sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. The case was investigated by HSI Syracuse and HSI Portland, Maine with the assistance from the New York State Police and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Maine. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle as a part of Project Safe Childhood. 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 WWTI - InformNNY.com. Goldman Sachs analyst John Mackay reiterated a Buy rating on Thursday on the shares of Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) with a price forecast of $31.00. The analyst anticipates first-quarter EBITDA of $2.18 billion, slightly above consensus estimates of $2.14 billion and company guidance of $2.17 billion. Analysts project EBDA of $1.54 billion in the first-quarter, up from $1.43 billion in fourth-quarter FY24, driven by contributions from the Outrigger acquisition, higher natural gas prices, and seasonal marketing benefits. Given stronger LNG demand and an improving gas macro environment, this quarter marks a shift where market fundamentals support execution, unlike 2024, when lower commodity prices posed challenges. Also Read: Rocket Lab Joins US Space Forces $5.6 Billion Launch Program; Stock Soars Kinder Morgan anticipates the first-quarter to benefit from higher commodity prices, marking a shift after four consecutive quarters of weaker-than-expected pricing in FY24. While only 5% of KMIs business is directly impacted by commodity fluctuations, improved gas and crude pricing could provide a $50 million tailwind, partially offset by weaker D3 RIN prices, which may result in a $25 million headwind if trends persist. Kinder sees substantial natural gas demand growth between 2024 and 2030, with LNG exports accounting for most of the projected increase. While power sector growth and coal-to-gas switching contribute, LNG remains the dominant driver. KMIs 45-50% market share in LNG exports and power plant connections position it to capitalize on expansion, particularly in Texas, Louisiana, and the southern U.S. The company is expected to shift its focus from large-scale projects to smaller sized developments in the coming months. While 2024 saw billion-dollar projects like SSE4, MSX, and Trident, future announcements will likely range from hundreds of millions to $500 million. Larger expansions, such as scaling up Tridents capacity, remain possibilities, with updates expected throughout 2025, noted the analyst. Price Action: KMI shares traded lower by 0.30% at $28.15 at last check Friday. Read Next: Image via Shutterstock. Latest Ratings for KMI Date Firm Action From To Jan 2022 Wolfe Research Upgrades Underperform Peer Perform Jun 2021 Stifel Downgrades Buy Hold Jun 2021 Goldman Sachs Downgrades Neutral Sell View More Analyst Ratings for KMI View the Latest Analyst Ratings UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) A South Carolina death row inmate on Friday chose execution by firing squad, just five weeks after the state carried out its first death by bullets. Mikal Mahdi, who pleaded guilty to murder for killing a police officer in 2004, is scheduled to be executed April 11. Mahdi, 41, had the choice of dying by firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair. He will be the first inmate to be executed in the state since Brad Sigmon chose to be shot to death on March 7. A doctor pronounced Sigmon dead less than three minutes after three bullets tore into his heart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils," one of his lawyers, David Weiss, said in a statement. "Mikal chose the firing squad instead of being burned and mutilated in the electric chair, or suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney. Mahdi ambushed Orangeburg public safety officer James Myers at the officer's shed in Calhoun County in July 2004. Myers had just returned from an out-of-town birthday celebration for his wife, sister and daughter, prosecutors said. Myers wife found his burned body, shot at least eight times including twice in the head, in the shed that had been the backdrop for their wedding less than 15 months earlier, authorities said. Mahdi will be strapped to a chair 15 feet (4.6 meters) from three prison employees who volunteered to be on the firing squad. A target will be placed on his chest. Their rifles will all be loaded with a live round that shatters when it hits his rib cage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aside from Sigmon, only three other U.S. inmates all in Utah have been killed by a firing squad in the past 50 years. Sigmon was the first inmate killed by bullets in the U.S. since 2010. Mahdis lawyers have filed a final appeal with the states highest court, saying Mahdis case for a life sentence at his original trial took only 30 minutes and that his lawyers failed to call anyone who could testify on his behalf. It didnt even span the length of a Law & Order episode, and was just as superficial, they said. Several defense lawyer organizations have filed briefs saying no one should be executed after such little effort to defend them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mahdis lawyers said that as a juvenile Mahdi spent months in isolation in prison and that this altered his developing brain and affected his judgement. After Mahdi pleaded guilty to murder, Judge Clifton Newman said he sentenced the young man to death because a sense of humanity he tried to find in every defendant seemed not to exist in Mahdi. Prosecutors responded to the claim of a poor defense by saying Mahdi was able to present much more evidence during a 2011 appeal that had to be heard inside a prison because Mahdi had stabbed a death row guard during in an escape attempt. A judge rejected the appeal. In Mahdis vernacular, if his mitigation presentation before Judge Newman didnt even span the length of a Law & Order episode, the review of any potential error is in its 24th season, the state Attorney Generals Office wrote in court papers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors said a lot of the new evidence would help Mahdi's case, including a string of attacks and threats on prison employees; his guilty plea to killing a convenience store clerk in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, before the South Carolina killing; and two other deaths that authorities in Virginia think he may be connected to. The nature of the man is violence, prosecutors wrote. Mahdi has one more opportunity to live he can ask Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to reduce his sentence to life in prison without parole just minutes before his scheduled execution at 6 p.m. on April 11 at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. But no South Carolina governor has offered clemency in the 47 executions in the state since the death penalty resumed in the U.S. in 1976. In the past seven months, South Carolina has executed Freddie Owens on Sept. 20; Richard Moore on Nov. 1; Marion Bowman Jr. on Jan. 31; and Sigmon. March 27 (UPI) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law in December was a wake-up call for Korean citizens, especially the younger generation, to the dire and dangerous state of the country's politics. Koreans are realizing that the Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a controlling majority in the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, is exercising a form of legislative dictatorship that is eroding freedom and the rule of law. This has triggered mass rallies across the country in support of a freedom-based Korea with a strong alliance with the United States, as reflected by people waving both ROK and U.S. flags. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More specifically, the demonstrators want the return of the president, investigation of alleged election fraud, restoration of the rule of law, the institution of checks and balances, and elimination of the Chinese Communist Party's extensive influence in the ROK. In his public speech, Yoon stated that he declared martial law "to defend a free Republic of Korea from the threat of communist forces" while highlighting that "[t]he National Assembly ... has become a monster that will destroy the free democratic system." Weaponizing legislative authority With its dominant majority, the DPK has weaponized the legislative authority of the National Assembly and repeatedly impeached executive branch officials. Even before the martial law declaration, the DPK introduced impeachment charges 22 times against Yoon administration officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Yoon's impeachment, the National Assembly quickly impeached Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, then serving as the acting president. DPK followed with the 30th impeachment proceeding, this time against the next acting president, Choi Sang-mok. Since then, the Constitutional Court has overturned the impeachment against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating him as the acting leader of the country on March 24. The impeachment charges against the acting presidents includes their refusal to appoint Ma Eun-hyeok as chief justice of the Constitutional Court, which will rule on Yoon's impeachment. Ma was the founder of Inmin Noryeon -- the Worker's League of the Inmin, meaning the proletariat, tenant farmers and the propertyless -- in 1987, along with Song Young-gil --the former leader of the DPK -- and others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This organization blamed the United States for starting the Korean War, contrary to the well-established fact, confirmed from communist bloc diplomatic sources, that North Korea started the Korean War by invading South Korea. Firmly anti-ROK and anti-United States, the organization advocated socialist revolution, and organized massive labor unrest. It also created a political party with Marxist-Leninist leanings, the Minjung Party (Party of the Masses), which became the Justice Party. The Justice Party, which still exists today, voted with the DPK to impeach Yoon. The DPK has pressured both acting presidents as well as the Constitutional Court to appoint Ma, who has not renounced the Marxist ideology that opposes the very constitution that the court is supposed to uphold. Selective slashing of the budget The DPK also has unilaterally and drastically cut the budget for the executive branch, especially the Special Activity Fund, which is distributed to various government entities, including the National Assembly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DPK cut the Special Activity Fund for the president's office, the prosecutors, inspectors and the police to zero. Additionally, the DPK cut the budget in other areas, including countering drugs, such as fentanyl from China. However, the DPK gave themselves and the other lawmakers a raise and increased the budget for pet projects, such as the promotion of solar panels from China. DPK's Pro-CCP stance Another reason for the impeachment of Acting President Han was his refusal to sign the DPK's bill that would have effectively given South Korean companies' technology and trade secrets to the CCP. Yoon already highlighted the DPK's pro-CCP stance, when he exposed its adamant opposition to an amendment that would allow South Korea to prosecute Chinese spies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, there is no such law. As such, the Chinese who were conducting intelligence activities by flying drones around a U.S. Navy carrier at Busan, military bases and the National Intelligence Service could not be prosecuted and had to be released from custody. The DPK openly demands the abolition of the National Security Act, the only law that allows investigation and prosecution of spies, even though only North Korean spies. The DPK's pursuit of abolishing the National Security Act and National Intelligence Service matches North Korea's stance, which demands the dismantlement of both. North Korea's "trash balloons" sent into the South also include leaflets, one of which stated, "The Only Way for the Masses to Survive Is to Impeach Yoon Suk-yeol." As if on cue, the DPK quickly moved to impeach Yoon in the wake of his martial law declaration, accusing him of a "coup d'etat" and naeran (rebellion, insurrection, civil war). Its first attempt to impeach Yoon, on Dec. 7, included the charge that he pursued a "foreign policy hostile to North Korea, China and Russia and bizarre diplomacy centered on Japan." It did not pass and was heavily criticized, both domestically and internationally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the DPK's second attempt at impeaching Yoon, it dropped the controversial clause about his foreign policy toward China, Russia and North Korea and passed the impeachment resolution. Impeachment chief with a terrorist background Assemblyman Jung Chung-rae, of the DPK is in charge of the impeachment committee at the National Assembly. Concerning, however, is his history. Jung Chung-rae committed terrorist attacks on the U.S. ambassador's residence on Oct. 9, 1989, by scaling the perimeter wall, throwing explosives at the residence and setting it on fire. He was a then-member of a radical and violent anti-U.S. student group at Konkuk University and received a two-year prison sentence for his actions. In 2013, when he tried to enter the United States with other lawmakers, Jung was denied an entry visa due to his anti-U.S. terrorism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This background apparently was not a barrier to entry into the South Korean National Assembly, where he serves as a lawmaker. Today, he leads the impeachment committee and has zealously pursued the impeachment of Yoon, even making a comment about executing the president. Jung also heads the Legislative and Judiciary Committee, although he has no legal background and is neither a lawyer nor a prosecutor. Constitutional Court to rule on impeachment Increasing public awareness of serious problems with the majority in the legislature has now extended to the Constitutional Court, which will rule on Yoon's impeachment. A growing number of voices say that several of the constitutional court judges should recuse themselves due to conflicts of interest. Moon Hyung-bae, the acting chief justice, is close to Lee Jae-myung, the DPK leader who faces a number of criminal charges, including allegations that he persuaded a witness to lie in court to understate Lee's past criminal conviction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though this election law conviction was overturned in the appeals court, he still faces several trials over alleged corruption, bribery and illegally sending money to North Korea. Moon was the president of the far-left Woori Beob Yeongu-hoe (Our Law Society). Constitutional Court Judge Lee Mi-son was a member of the International Society of Human Rights Law, the successor to the "Our Law Society." Her younger sister, Lee Sang-hee, is a lawyer and the deputy chair of the "Special Committee to Topple Yoon Suk-yeol" under the far-left lawyer's group, Min Byun. This, at the very least, creates an appearance of partiality. Also hailing from the Society of Human Rights Law is another Constitutional Court judge, Chung Kye-seon. Chung's husband works at the same law firm as lawyer Kim I-su, a former judge who is representing the National Assembly in the impeachment process. Thus, Kim is Chung's husband's senior. Furthermore, Kim was Chung's professor/mentor when she was a student at the Judicial Research & Training Institute. In other words, if Chung does not rule in a way that Kim wants, Chung's husband could face consequences in his law practice. Kim has the appearance of holding undue influence over both Chung and her husband. Public expectation Koreans are increasingly aware of these problems. A growing number see them as a threat to Korean democracy and are vocal about their fears. This is reflected in the massive nationwide rallies taking place across Korea and also in the unprecedented swing in Yoon's approval rating, from around 10% right after his martial law declaration to more than 40%. They expect the Constitutional Court to uphold the constitution and prove that the rule of law is not dead in South Korea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tara O is the author of The Collapse of North Korea: Challenges, Planning and Geopolitics of Unification. Her research areas include South Korea's politics and history, the Korean contingency and unification, U.S. alliances in Asia, human rights in North Korea and the social integration of North Korean defectors. As a career U.S. Air Force officer, Tara O worked on national security, intelligence, alliance and political-military issues at the Pentagon and the United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/U.S. Forces Korea. She holds a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. A Southern California man pleaded guilty to murdering his ex-wife and dumping her body down a steep embankment. Josefino Cayetano Maldonado, 45, of Salinas, murdered his ex-wife, Eudelia Gonzalez, in July 2021, according to the Ventura County District Attorneys Office. On the night of July 10, 2021, Gonzalez left a party and met up with Maldonado. They had been separated for eight years at the time. They traveled up Potrero Road near Newbury Park, where they stopped at a park before heading toward Oxnard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the drive, Maldonado asked if they could reconcile their relationship, but Gonzalez refused. Later that night at around 12:30 a.m., Maldonado pulled over near East Hueneme Road. After they both stepped out of the car, he struck Gonzalez in the head multiple times with a rock, leaving her incapacitated, authorities said. He then placed Gonzalez in his car and drove north of Santa Barbara near Gaviota. He placed a plastic bag over her head, then wrapped her head in a sweatshirt before dumping her body down a steep embankment along the 101 Freeway, court documents said. Josefino Cayetano Maldonado, 45, of Salinas, is seen in a booking photo provided by the Ventura County District Attorneys Office. After Gonzalez did not return home, her 17-year-old daughter reported her missing. When Oxnard police questioned Maldonado, he allegedly denied seeing Gonzalez and claimed he had not been in Ventura County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives later found phone records that revealed Maldonado was in the area at the time of the crime. Confronted with this evidence, Maldonado ultimately admitted to the killing and later led detectives to the location of her body in Santa Barbara County, prosecutors said. On March 25, Maldonado pled guilty to second-degree murder along with the special allegation that he used a deadly weapon (rock). Southern California mother found stabbed to death in her apartment My hope is this plea and eventual sentence will help the victims family find the long-awaited closure they have been patiently waiting for, said Tom Steele, a senior deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maldonado is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22 at Ventura County Superior Court where he is expected to face 16 years to life in prison. Under California law, a conviction for second-degree murder carries a sentence of 15 years to life, the DAs office explained. Additionally, the special allegation of personally using a deadly weapon increases the sentence by one year. He remains in custody without bail. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Santa Clarita mother said she and her children are living in fear after being repeatedly harassed and threatened by their next-door neighbor. Alejandra Feliciano lives at a condominium in the Canyon Country area where she said her neighbor terrorizes her family almost daily. Many of the hostile interactions were captured by her front door camera. She said the harassment, which remains unprovoked, has been ongoing for years, but in the last several months, the hostility had escalated. Doorbell camera footage captured the man holding a belt while reportedly intimidating Alejandra Feliciano and her children. (Alejandra Feliciano) Doorbell camera footage captured the man waiting at the front door with his Doberman before harassing Alejandra Feliciano and her family as they come and go. (Alejandra Feliciano) The man has waited outside Alejandra Felicianos front door and garage door with his Doberman to harass them. (Alejandra Feliciano) Im terrified, Feliciano told KTLAs John Fenoglio. Hell come out with a belt and antagonize the camera as if hes going to hit us. He has used sticks before. Hell use his Doberman dog without a leash. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Footage shows the man aggressively walking towards the door and flipping off the camera. Feliciano said he constantly shouts racial slurs at her and her children. He has this thing where he feels very strongly about us because were Hispanic, she said. She said the man waits for her family to exit their front door when timing his harassment. He has even reportedly waited outside her garage door with his dog by his side. One video clip captured him threatening to pistol whip her and her son. Feliciano has filed a police report against the man and said she is in the process of obtaining a restraining order. But outside of the man physically harming her or her kids, she said authorities cant do much about the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although she said the easiest solution would be to move, Feliciano said she cant afford to do so and at this point, feels trapped and helpless. She has tried speaking with him but said she was unsuccessful as the threats and racial slurs continue every day. I want peace, she said. I just want him to leave us alone. Feliciano said she saved all her recordings of the neighbor out of fear for her safety and as evidence to present to authorities. So far, the man has not been charged with a crime, however, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department said they are investigating the matter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Southern California woman was arrested and charged after police seized over $350,000 worth of stolen merchandise in a massive retail theft bust. Police were investigating a retail theft case when a search warrant was served at a store on 6th and Alvarado Streets, across from MacArthur Park in L.A.s Westlake neighborhood, on March 5. The shop allegedly belonged to Blanca Escobar, 65, of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inside the store, police discovered a large stockroom lined with shelves that were filled with stolen merchandise. Photos of the bust showed a massive collection of beauty and healthcare products, skincare items, sneakers, clothing, tumblers, accessories and more. The merchandise had been stolen from retailers including Ross, TJ Maxx, Macys, Target, CVS, Walgreens and Kroger. Authorities said the estimated retail value of the stolen goods was over $350,000. Police discovered around $300,000 worth of stolen merchandise in a massive retail theft bust at a store in L.A.s Westlake neighborhood on March 5, 2025. (Los Angeles Police Department) Police discovered around $300,000 worth of stolen merchandise in a massive retail theft bust at a store in L.A.s Westlake neighborhood on March 5, 2025. (Los Angeles Police Department) Police discovered around $300,000 worth of stolen merchandise in a massive retail theft bust at a store in L.A.s Westlake neighborhood on March 5, 2025. (Los Angeles Police Department) Officers also found illegal slot machines at the business. Police said the number of items was so overwhelming that they needed to rent a U-Haul truck to remove the merchandise. Escobar was arrested at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 27, she was charged with eight felony counts of receiving stolen property over $950 in value and one misdemeanor count of conducting gaming, the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office announced. She also faces allegations that the crimes indicated planning, sophistication and professionalism. This case is an important step toward cleaning up MacArthur Park, a community that has long struggled with crime and safety concerns, said L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. Combating organized retail theft in close partnership with LAPD and other law enforcement is a priority for my administration. My office will vigorously prosecute this case and send an unmistakable message to criminals: Retail theft will not be tolerated under my watch. An arraignment hearing is set for May 22. If convicted as charged, Escobar faces eight years and six months in prison. She remains out of custody and was ordered to return for the next court date. 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 KTLA. Residents of Newton, Barry, Lawrence and McDonald counties are invited to attend a public meeting about CAFOs concentrated animal feeding operations in the area. The meeting will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 30, at the Scott Regional Technology Center, 2 David Sippy Drive in Monett. The public is invited to attend, as are local representatives, community leaders, media and area producers. Leah Heidlage is a Newton County resident and community member of Farms Not Factories, which is organizing the public meeting. The meeting will offer a chance for people to get more information and to respectfully share their concerns, and she hopes it can also start a dialogue about legislation as well as what it looks like to live in an environmentally responsible way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Heidlage, she and her neighbors in the Newton County area found out last year that five limited liability corporations applied to establish 35 chicken houses in the area, which would house more than 1.7 million chickens. There are various CAFOs already in the area, however, "the sheer number (of chickens) was shocking" when it came to the applications. "We're a farming community. We're not against CAFOs whatsoever, but we ask for a responsible number," Heidlage said. More: MO Supreme Court ruling against Cedar County spurs worries about Springfield water supply Of the five applications, one was withdrawn and one has been approved. Como Poultry LLC, which had planned to bring 370,280 chickens to Pierce City, withdrew its application. Waggoner's Rolling Hills Farm LLC wants to bring 339,500 birds to Pierce City, according to its permit, which was approved Dec. 1, 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other applications are by Shome Broilers, which 370,280 chickens on its permit; Than Uk Cung, which lists 324,000 chickens; and DNB Family Farm, which lists 324,000 chickens. What is the concern over CAFOs? In 2023, the Missouri Supreme Court handed down an opinion that upheld a state law prohibiting counties and health center board from enacting stricter regulations on CAFOs than the state. However, state regulations aren't necessarily one-size-fits-all, said Roddy Rogers, executive director of SWMO Water and former head of drinking water operations for Springfield City Utilities, at the time of the ruling. Unlike the rest of the state, southwest Missouri has what is known as karst topography: a landscape characterized by caves, fissures, sinkholes and underground streams. If agriculture organizations dispose of more manure than plants can absorb, the contaminants can wash into streams and groundwater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In order to safely build things, there need to be proper environmental controls and monitoring, Rogers said in 2023. However, due to Senate Bill 391, and the Supreme Court decision keeping it in place, local governments in Missouri can't enact their own rules or regulations if they would be stricter than the state. This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Public meeting on southwest Missouri CAFOs set for March 30 in Monett Meta's CTO said the push toward advanced AI is the modern equivalent of the space race. In a podcast interview, Andrew Bosworth said the biggest risk associated with the tech is being outpaced by competitors. He said the US should engage in the race "seriously as a nation." One of Meta's top execs believes that the international push to reach advanced AI systems is the current equivalent of the moonshot. "The people we're discussing, especially China, are highly capable," Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said on a recent episode of the podcast Possible. "They have a tremendously talented pool of engineers. They're looking at the same thing we're looking at." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You got to engage in the race. It is the race," he added. "It is, you know, this is our space race. This is what it looks like in our era." Rather than slow down and take a step back to mitigate the risks associated with AI, Bosworth suggests pouring "as much fuel on it as we can." Far greater than any of the potential problems associated with the technology, he said, is the risk of being eclipsed by competitors. "You have to try to handcuff yourself to slow the progress of your enemies," Bosworth said on the podcast. "The far bigger risk is that you just get lapped by your enemies." Part of the concern with artificial intelligence is access to information that could enable malicious actors to cause large-scale harm. Bosworth said that current AI presents no greater risk than a standard search engine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You know, the ones that come up most often are bio, cyber, and nuclear," Bosworth said. With biology in particular, he added "the knowledge exists, and a lot of times, the threats that I hear ascribed to AI fail 'the Google test.' Can I Google for this thing? And very often I can, in which case the AI isn't really the threat." The real danger lies, he added, not in the availability of knowledge but the ability to physically obtain hazardous products. The information itself, Bosworth said, "isn't the threat." "You can mail order these things," Bosworth said. "And I have some friends and family who work in bio who are pretty consistently alarmed at what they're able to acquire for their labs without any kind of control. So, I think there are regulatory solutions in the bio space." In the realm of cybersecurity, despite concerns that it could help bolster attacks, Bosworth believes AI could serve as a powerful defensive tool. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think on the cyberspace, I actually feel way more optimistic about AI's ability to detect cyber attacks than to generate them," he said. "Of course, it will generate more, but I actually think we have been struggling on the detection side." Bosworth said that the US as a whole should truly home in on AI and "race this one to the top." "It's a thing that we've got to engage in seriously as a nation," he said. "I think the CHIPS Act is a good start, but we need a lot more of that to bring domestic manufacturing to the forefront, to reduce the tension that we're all feeling in the South China Sea." For Bosworth, there's "no way out" of the AI race "but through." Read the original article on Business Insider March 28 (UPI) -- NASA on Friday announced the four crew members of Crew-11 who will be part of Space X's next trip to the International Space Station no earlier than July from Florida. The crew will include NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, the commander, and pilot Mike Fincke, as well as two mission specialists: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. Cardman was one of two astronauts reassigned from Crew-9 after their seats were used to bring Boeing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth on March 18 along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wilmore and Williams were aboard the initial Boeing Starliner that launched in June 2024. Because of problems with the capsule after docking at ISS, it went back to Earth uncrewed and they were assigned to a SpaceX return flight. Crew-10 launched on March 14 with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to relieve the Crew-9 members. The latest mission will be the 11th crew rotation with SpaceX to the station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The missions launch from Kennedy Space Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future missions to the Moon, as well as benefit people on Earth," NASA said in a news release. The space station has been in operation since November 2000 and is scheduled to be deorbited at the end of 2030. Aside from SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, space shuttles and Russia's Soyuz took crew members to the space station. Cardman, 37, was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017, and will participate in her first spaceflight, including her initial spacewalk. At the time of selection, she had begun pursuing a doctorate in geosciences at Penn State. Fincke, 58, originally was scheduled to fly aboard Boeing's Starliner-1 in March 2024. He has logged 382 days in space and nine spacewalks during ISS Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2008 and Space Transportation System 134 in 2011, which was the final flight of space shuttle Endeavour. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fincke, who became an astronaut in 1996, is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. Yui, 54, will participate in his second trip to the space station after 142 days in space. He was selected as a JAXA astronaut in 2009. Platonov, 38, will be on his first spaceflight since his selection in 2018 by Roscosmos He became a test cosmonaut in 2021. WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (WWLP)The Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) announced on Friday that Spirit Airlines will add a new nonstop service from Bradley International Airport (BDL) to Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) and Nashville International Airport (BNA). Father, mother, son dead in triple shooting at Connecticut home The CAA states that the new flights will operate on Spirits Airbus aircraft as follows: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detroit: Beginning June 12, operates daily Nashville: Beginning August 15, operates on Fridays and Mondays Spirit Airlines currently flies nonstop from BDL to Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL), Myrtle Beach, SC (MYR), and Orlando, FL (MCO). Spirit made its Connecticut debut when it launched operations from BDL in April 2017. We greatly appreciate Spirits continued partnership as the airline offers more, low-fare options from Bradley International Airport, said Michael W. Shea, Executive Director of the Connecticut Airport Authority. The nonstop flights to Detroit and Nashville will offer travelers greater convenience as Spirit strengthens its footprint in our region. Were always looking for new ways to deliver a great value to our Hartford Guests, and soon theyll be able to fly to Detroit and Nashville in style with Spirits newly enhanced Guest experience, said John Kirby, Vice President of Network Planning at Spirit Airlines. Our new, high-value flights will also make it easier for more travelers to explore Connecticuts capital city this summer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bradley International Airport is New Englands second-largest airport and is recognized nationally for its ease of travel. It is operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, and its operations are entirely self-funded. 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. Ireland-based food supplier Greencore has reportedly made an improved offer in its attempt to take over UK peer Bakkavor. News agency Bloomberg, quoting people with knowledge of the matter was unable to provide details of the improved bid but its sources said Bakkavor has been considering the new proposal. Neither Greencore or Bakkavor, both suppliers to major UK supermarket groups, would comment on the story when their representatives were contacted by Just Food today (26 March). On 14 March, Greencore, like Bakkavor listed in London, revealed it had tabled two offers for its rival in the previous fortnight. The most recent rejected bid, put forward on 7 March, was a mix of cash and shares and valued Bakkavor at 1.14bn ($1.47bn at the time). Under the terms of the offer, Greencore shareholders would own around 59.8% of the new company, with Bakkavor investors holding the remainder. Greencore said at the time that bringing the two own-label suppliers together would create a leading UK convenience-food business. But Bakkavor described the offers as unsolicited, conditional, cash-and-share proposals. It added: The board of Bakkavor, together with its financial advisers, carefully evaluated the latest proposal and concluded that it significantly undervalued the company and its future prospects. Greencore said after the last rejection that it would continue to evaluate all strategic opportunities, including a potential move for Bakkavor. Asked by Just Food at the time if it would make a third bid, the company declined to comment but pointed to its belief that a combination of the businesses is a highly compelling value creation opportunity for both Bakkavor and Greencore shareholders. In its report of another bid materialising, Bloomberg pointed out that the company is required to announce by 5pm. local time on 11 April whether it is going to make a firm offer or walk away. Bakkavor makes products including ready meals and desserts for customers including Tesco. In 2024, the company generated more than 80% of its 2.29bn underlying revenue in the UK but it also does business - and has factories - in the US and China. Greencore supplies chilled, frozen and ambient food from 16 factories in the UK. The companys customers include major UK grocers including Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda. In the groups last full financial year, it took in 1.81bn in revenue. "Greencore back with improved bid for Bakkavor" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (WTNH) Come this summer, travelers will have the option to fly to two new destinations with Spirit Airlines. According to officials with the Connecticut Airport Authority, the airline is expected to launch nonstop service from Bradley International Airport to Detroit and Nashville. Spirit Airlines updates dress code, tattoo policy for passengers Flights to Detroit Metro Airport are expected to start operating daily on June 12. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Service to Nashville International Airport is scheduled to begin August 15 and operate on Fridays and Mondays. Spirit currently flies to Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Orlando, Florida. Were always looking for new ways to deliver a great value to our Hartford Guests, and soon theyll be able to fly to Detroit and Nashville in style with Spirits newly enhanced Guest experience, John Kirby, vice president of Network Planning at Spirit Airlines said in a 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 WTNH.com. A Springfield man died from injuries sustained in a car crash on North Second Street and Calhoun Avenue that happened on March 24. Just before the crash, a Jeep fled from a Sheriff's deputy that tried to pull it over. Desmond Walls, 19, was pronounced dead by staff at Springfield Memorial Hospital on March 25 around 5 p.m., while the crash took place early in the morning of the day prior. Police investigate a collision between two vehicles at the 900 block of North Second Street Monday, March 24, 2025. Walls and another 19-year-old man from Springfield were in the white, 2016 Jeep that crashed, said Illinois State Police Trooper Shafer McKune in an email. Both faced life-threatening injuries. Trooper McKune did not disclose the condition of the other man. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the deputy found the men around 4:30 a.m., one of them was trapped inside the Jeep and another was trapped underneath it, according to a news release from Sheriff Paula Crouch. Authorities have not said which of the men was Walls. More: Accessing local journalism is even easier with the State Journal-Register app What led to the crash A Sangamon County Sheriff's Office deputy tried to pull over the Jeep in the area of Second Street and Edwards Street, but the deputy chose to not chase as it sped away. "The deputy lost sight of the vehicle but continued on the last known path the vehicle was traveling," Sheriff Crouch wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Sheriff's Office also released footage of the attempted traffic stop. In the video, the Jeep appears to begin speeding away before the deputy turned on his emergency lights. The vehicle had no registration, Sheriff Crouch said. The crash The deputy ultimately finds clouds of smoke at the 900 block of North Second Street before seeing the Jeep with a wrecked front. The Jeep was also on fire. The deputy tried to put the fire out and check on the man inside the Jeep, the release said, though the video that was released ended before this could be shown. Once fire fighters and medical personnel arrived, the men from the Jeep were transported to the hospital for treatment. The Jeep had crashed into a 2012 Toyota Camry that was parked and unoccupied, Trooper McKune said. The Jeep also crashed into two power poles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Springfield woman identified as victim in fatal car fire Walls died from multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the crash, preliminary findings from an autopsy show, said Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon. Illinois State Police were requested to respond to handle the crash, Sheriff Crouch wrote. The death remains under investigation by the Sangamon County Coroner and the Illinois State Police. Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield man dies after fleeing from deputy, crashing Action News Jax is getting answers from the St. Johns County School District after hearing claims from parents that all social studies and science classes in middle schools will be advanced this year, a move the district has not announced. Tamara Haleem, a parent living in Nocatee, posted about it in a local Facebook group this week for parents with students in St. Johns County schools. Parent's Facebook claim about some classes in St. Johns County schools Haleem tells Action News Jax she heard about it from teachers in local K-8 schools. The thought doesnt give her any comfort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This would not be good for anyone, Haleem said. Somewhere, there needs to be a line drawn, and I think this is one of those places. Read: Popular Fleming Island restaurant gets in trouble with Clay County after customer dines with dog Action News Jaxs Finn Carlin took these claims straight to the school district. In response to our question of whether the claims were valid, the district replied: This practice is based on providing an advanced opportunity for all students. The claim that schools do this so that classes can be bigger is not valid. All of our schools operate within the guidelines of the state class size requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read: Florida Gov. praises Jacksonville immigration bill passage, mayor said she will not rush signing it We then asked the district if making these classes advanced could affect class sizes anyway, despite the intention or reasoning of doing so. This is what the district told us: Class size is flexible for schools that the state acknowledges as a School of Excellence. The school is still required to meet a school-wide average, but the requirement that every class meets class size is lifted. Therefore, some classes will be larger than the middle grades cap of 22 students per class, and some will be smaller. Overall, the school must still meet the school-wide average requirement. Our schools that are designated as a School of Excellence do use this flexibility granted by the state. Florida law, as the district mentioned, does give schools designated as a School of Excellence flexibility so that the instructional personnel and administrative staff at such schools can continue to serve their communities and increase student learning to the best of their professional ability. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] These are the current class size maximums in Florida for core classes, as laid out by the Florida Department of Education: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 18 students in pre-K-3rd grade 22 students in grades 4th-8th 25 students in grades 9th-12th The district made a video back in 2022 after approving larger class sizes and receiving similar concerns about the move being done to fight growth. But the district said it makes these decisions every year because of the flexibility through state law. We also asked the district if middle schools could have up to 30 students using the advanced class label. This is what the district said: We have a few schools who are already doing this. A few more schools are exploring a shift for next year. The decision on the progression of courses at a school is always made in the best interest of the students. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Parents like Haleem dont believe advanced classes should be for everyone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not serving our learners well, its not serving our teachers well, and, therefore, its not serving our school district well, Haleem said. Action News Jax reached out to the district asking which schools are considering a shift to all science and social studies classes being advanced next year. We are still waiting for a response. 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. Trucks deliver harvested grain in western Iowa. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch) A St. Louis-based company with an Iowa grain dealer license has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Iowa farmers with unpaid grain sold to Benson Hill Holdings, Inc. prior to March 20, can file a claim for indemnity, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Don McDowell, communications director for IDALS, said the department is not immediately aware of any affected farmers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The grain indemnity fund will pay farmers 90% of their loss, up to $300,000, though claims related to Benson Hill must be mailed or personally delivered to IDALSs Grain Warehouse Bureau by July 18. The fund was established by the Iowa Legislature in 1986 and accrues via a per-bushel fee on purchased grain and fees on licensed warehouses and grain dealers. According to minutes from the Iowa Grain Indemnity Fund Board, the balance of the fund as of Feb. 19 was $8.4 million. Benson Hill filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy March 20 and has up to $11 million in debtor-in-possession financing to continue its day-to-day operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christi Dixon, a spokesperson for the seed innovation company, said it is restructuring its finances. We will continue to meet our contractual commitments and support key farmers without interruption, Dixon said in an email. Dixon said the company maintains a seed processing facility in Bondurant and employs seven people in Iowa. Benson Hill previously owned a soy processing facility in Creston, but sold the facility in February 2024 to White River Nutrition. McDowell said the grain license for Benson Hill included locations in Cherokee and Galva. Changes to the fund In 2023, the grain indemnity fund fell below its minimum threshold, which triggered the farmer-paid fees to support the fund, after nearly 30 years without needing to fill the fund. It also triggered legislative efforts to reform the grain indemnity fund to reflect modern farming practices and pricing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The efforts have stalled out in the past due to disagreements on including credit-sale contracts, which are currently excluded from the fund. House legislation introduced this year, would increase the funds minimum from from $3 million to $8 million, and its maximum from $8 million to $16 million. It would also extend protections to farmers with credit-sale contracts, but would only reimburse these contracts at 70%. The bill is not yet eligible for floor debate in the House and could be killed by the upcoming April 4 funnel deadline if it does not advance to the Senate and through committee. The Senate version of the bill would increase the minimum and maximum to $5 million and $12 million, respectively, and would include credit-sale contracts as transactions covered by the fund. The Senate bill is eligible for floor debate. This article was originally published by Iowa Capital Dispatch, a States Newsroom affiliate. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ST. LOUIS Two people have died after an apparent shooting Friday morning on Laclede Avenue in St. Louis Central West End neighborhood. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department says one man and one woman died in connection with a shooting incident in the 4000 block of Laclede Avenue. Its unclear if there were any other injuries in the shooting. Police say they are not looking for any suspects. The medical examiner is still investigating. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOX 2 observed multiple police cars and St. Louis fire vehicles at the scene Friday morning early into the investigation. This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes 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 FOX 2. ST. LOUIS St. Simon School, a private institution in the South County area of St. Louis, announced that it is closing its doors. Happening at the end of the 24-25 session, the school shared that it faced challenges to declining enrollment, with only 70 students registered for the 25-26 year. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News This ongoing trend means that continuing to provide quality education at St. Simon School would require financial support that would negatively impact the parishs finances and impede other crucial ministries, said Reverend Mitchell T. Rozanski, Archbishop of St. Louis. After consultation with archdiocesan leaders to explore possible cost-reducing options, we have determined that such changes would take away key services and resources from students and teachers and still require a growing and unsustainable parish subsidy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rozanski said that the St. Louis Archdiocese will provide placement assistance to the staff and faculty of St. Simon School. Families who wish to place their children in other Catholic elementary schools will also be assisted, according to Rozanski. Despite the schools closure, Rozanski expressed gratitude for the institutions members. I am profoundly grateful to them, to all the administrators, teachers and staff who share their gifts to help raise children in our Catholic faith, and to the parents who make a commitment to Catholic education. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The Trump administration has opened investigations into the admissions policies at Stanford University and three campuses within the University of California system, including UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine, the Department of Justice said Thursday. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed the departments Civil Rights Division to investigate whether the schools policies comply with the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action in college admissions, the department said in a statement. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has attempted to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs that his administration says exclude white and Asian American students. The administration has warned schools and colleges they could lose federal money over race-based preferences in admissions, hiring, scholarships and all aspects of campus life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest action comes after the U.S. Department of Education said it was investigating 52 universities for alleged racial discrimination earlier this month. Most of those schools were told those investigations were due to a partnership with a nonprofit organization that aimed to help students of color get doctoral degrees. President Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country, Bondi said in the statement. Every student in America deserves to be judged solely based on their hard work, intellect, and character, not the color of their skin. Stanford said in a statement Thursday that after the Supreme Court ruling, it took immediate steps to ensure its admissions process complied with the law. We continue to be committed to fulfilling our obligations under the law, the statement said. The school said it had not been told specifically why it was being investigated. We do not have details about todays announcement, but we look forward to learning more about their concerns and responding to the departments questions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The University of California did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Separately, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was investigating a major medical school in California for alleged racial discrimination in admissions. The statement did not name the school. It said the action was in response to information the Office for Civil Rights had received. It did not give specifics. The Trump administration also launched an investigation Thursday into the California Department of Education. At issue is a law that says districts cant force teachers and staff to notify parents if a student changes their gender identity at school. ___ The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. (Bloomberg) -- Keir Starmers director of communications, Matthew Doyle, quit his post, marking the second senior departure from the UK prime ministers political team in nine months. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doyles role will now be split between former journalist and ex-TikTok spinner James Lyons, who will be responsible for communications strategy, and longstanding aide Steph Driver, who will be in charge of delivery, Starmers spokesman, Tom Wells, told reporters in London, confirming an earlier Guardian report. Matthew brought his considerable experience to my team in summer 2021 and has worked tirelessly by my side every day since, the prime minister said in a statement, adding that Doyle had played a leading role in Labours landslide general election win last year. The upheaval in Starmers team comes after Sue Gray dramatically resigned as chief of staff last year following a period of turbulence that marked the early months of Labours return to power in July. Simon Case, the head of the UKs politically neutral civil service, also resigned in that period, citing health reasons. The governments communications were criticized in Labours early months in office, in particular for a damaging string of stories about freebies accepted by members of Starmers cabinet, mostly while in opposition. Many of the gifts, including clothing and accommodation, came from the Labour peer and donor Lord Alli. The administration was also accused of lacking an overarching domestic narrative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doyle leaves in a calmer period, though questions have remained within the governing party about its direction and its failure to properly lay the ground for recent unpopular decisions around cuts to welfare, public spending and development aid. (Updates with confirmation from second paragraph, Starmer comment in third.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) State Auditor Shad White has opened an investigation into Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey. This follows reports that jail inmates worked on his family farm, using taxpayer-funded equipment. The Auditors Office confirmed on March 28 that White ordered the investigation after a New York Times and Mississippi Today investigation alleged Bailey used trustees to staff his mothers chicken farm in Puckett. The report said the inmates cleaned chicken houses, cleared land and used county-owned equipment. Justice Department opens civil rights probe into Mississippi sheriffs office after torture of 2 Black men Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Rankin County Deputy Christian Dedmon admitted to participating in the work as he serves a federal sentenced linked to the Goon Squad scandal. Christian Dedmon, a former Rankin County Sheriffs Deputy and one of six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to a long list of state and federal charges, enters the Rankin County Circuit Court to listen to the victims impact statements, prior to the state sentencing for his involvement in the 2023 racially motivated torture of two Black men, Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Brandon, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Bailey has not responded, but his attorney, Jason Dare, issued a statement defending the trustee program. He said inmates receive wages and claimed the chicken supplies were for a jail coop. The State Auditors Office issued the following statement to WJTV 12 News: The office and Auditor White are aware of the reporting and Auditor White has ordered an investigation to begin. We cannot prosecute anyone, but we will be contacting federal prosecutors to discuss how to proceed in coordination with their previous work on the sheriffs office. State Auditors Office 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. Australian minerals exploration company Helix Resources has entered conditional binding agreements with Centric Minerals Management and White Hills Exploration (vendors) to acquire the White Hills copper-gold project in Arizona, US. The project, which spans 23km, is located close to the Mineral Park porphyry copper-molybdenum-silver mine and is considered highly prospective for both porphyry and iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) deposits. The project comprises seven adjoining tenements including five private mining sublease claims under a farm-in agreement by Centric with Newmont and two state leases held by White Hills Exploration in northern Arizona. Helix can acquire 100% of the project through a series of payments and share issuances to the vendors under the Newmont Agreement. The company has to make an initial payment of A$100,000 ($63,055), a further A$100,000 upon signing formal agreements and raise capital of at least A$1m. Helix will also issue shares to the value of A$1.3m within 30 days of meeting the farm-in requirements set by Newmont. Furthermore, the company must spend $500,000 on exploration by 5 January 2026. A positive feasibility study will trigger an additional $500,000 payment to Newmont. If the project advances to a pre-feasibility study, Newmont can opt to buy back into the project by reimbursing 1.5-times the exploration expenditure and forming a 51:49 joint venture. Additionally, Newmont will retain a 2.5% net smelter return royalty on production from the property. Helix executive chairman Mike Povey said: The addition of the White Hills project in Northern Arizona provides the company with an exciting opportunity in a part of the world renowned for producing world-class copper/gold deposits. The results of geochemical exploration to date has provided compelling evidence of a copper/gold system that is the best candidate that I have seen in many years for more intensive exploration efforts. Our intention is to move as quickly as possible in our evaluation of White Hills and the vendors, two highly experienced geologists with an intimate knowledge of working in the western US, will be of great help in our exploration efforts. In November 2024, Helix Resources, via its subsidiary Leichhardt Resources, signed conditional binding agreements with OD4 Tom Price and Omni GeoX to acquire a 51% stake in a portfolio of copper projects in the Bryah Basin in Western Australia. "Helix Resources to acquire copper-gold tenements in Arizona, US" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. March 28 (UPI) -- The State Department on Friday formally notified Congress of the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development with the remaining operations and programs now run by the diplomatic agency. Later Friday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., allowed Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to resume efforts to dismantle the agency. The three-panel decision unanimously lifted an order two weeks ago by a federal district judge that the shutdown would deprive Congress of its constitutional authority on whether to close an agency. President John F. Kennedy signed the legislation creating the agency in 1961. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "While defendants' role and actions related to USAID are not conventional, unconventional does not necessarily equal unconstitutional," U.S. Circuit Judge Marvin Quattlebaum, appointed by Donald Trump, during his first term, wrote. "And none of this is to say that plaintiffs will not be able to develop evidence of unconstitutional conduct as the case progresses. Time will tell." Trump on Feb. 4 named Secretary of State Marco Rubio to serve as acting administrator of the organization, which initially had 5,200 employees. On Friday, Rubio said the remaining 900 employees will be terminated. Laid-off staff exit the USAID offices as people rally in support in Washington on February 28. File photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI "Today, the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have notified Congress on their intent to undertake a reorganization that would involve realigning certain USAID functions to the Department by July 1, 2025, and discontinuing the remaining USAID functions that do not align with Administration priorities," Rubio said in a statement. On his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze of all U.S. foreign aid and a review of whether aid programs were aligned with his administration's policy. People rally in support of USAID outside the headquarters on February 28. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI On March 10, Rubio terminated some 5,200 contracts. The remaining 18% of the programs were to be taken over by the State Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some programs to be canceled provided for nutrition assistance for infants in developing countries and for treatments and prevention of diseases such as polio, malaria, tuberculosis, Ebola and HIV. USAID distributed nearly $43.8 billion in aid in 2023. In all, the U.S. government disbursed $71.9 billion in foreign assistance, about 1.2% of the total budget according to ForeignAssistance.gov. Jeremy Lewin, a Department of Government Efficiency employee, took over running the day-to-day operations at USAID from Pete Marocco on March 20. In an email to staff Friday, he said terminations would go into effect on July 1 or Sept. 2. Although workers may be asked to work in some capacity, the email obtained by NPR said they were ordered to leave "the front office" by 1 p.m. Friday without a reason given. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "As you can imagine, there will be lots of work to responsibly migrate operations and responsibility to the State Department," Lewin wrote in the email to staff. He noted overseas staff "will be offered safe and fully compensated return travel." Lewin explained the process of some workers moving to the State Department will be provided in detail most likely in April or May. There is a separate process "for hiring personnel into available roles at the State Department," he wrote. "In the next three months, we will work closely with the State Department to build their capacities to assume the responsible administration of USAID's remaining life-saving and strategic aid programming." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rubio said he expects aid to be better handled. "Foreign assistance done right can advance our national interests, protect our borders and strengthen our partnerships with key allies," Rubio said. "Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high." He added: "Thanks to President Trump, this misguided and fiscally irresponsible era is now over. We are reorienting our foreign assistance programs to align directly with what is best for the United States and our citizens. "We are continuing essential lifesaving programs and making strategic investments that strengthen our partners and our own country. This is yet another promise made and delivered to the American people." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 18, a federal judge ruled that efforts Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to shut down USAID "likely violated the U.S. Constitution in multiple ways." U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, who was appointed by Barack Obama, ordered DOGE to reinstate USAID employee and contractors' access to email, payment and other electronic systems, according to the 68-page ruling. "The court will require defendants, within 14 days, to secure and submit a written agreement among all necessary parties that ensures that USAID will be able to reoccupy USAID headquarters at its original location, in the event of a final ruling in favor of plaintiffs," the ruling from Cuang, who served in Maryland, said. But on Friday, two of the appeals court justices said Musk was acting constitutionally, Quattlebaum and Paul Niemeyer, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Roger Gregory, who was appointed by President Bill Clintom, said he sided with the other two because the USAID workers hadn't sued the right defendants, instead of naming USAID and its leadership. "We may never know how many lives will be lost or cut short by the Defendants' decision to abruptly cancel billions of dollars in congressionally appropriated foreign aid," Gregory wrote. "We may never know the lasting effect of Defendants' actions on our national aspirations and goals. But those are not the questions before the Court today." On Feb. 14, District Court Judge Amir Ali, an appointee of President Joe Biden in the District of Columbia, ruled that almost $2 billion in unpaid fees for related humanitarian work must be paid out despite a freeze on foreign aid. The order was paused on Feb. 26 by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, but the full court by a 5-4 vote March 5 denied the Trump administration's request to block the order. Democratic state attorneys also have sued the Musk must be confirmed by the Senate for his wide-ranging authority to shut the agency. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) The State of California is looking to improve its streets, highways, bicycle lanes, sidewalks and transit facilities. On Friday, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) issued $1 billion for infrastructure projects across the state, the California Department of Transportation said in a news release Thursday. Of that $1 billion, over $24 million of that will be used in San Diego County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are the following areas that will receive the funding locally, according to Caltrans: Interstate 15 in Rainbow: $398,000 will go to installing a high-tension cable barrier and guardrail to improve safety. State Route 56 in the San Diego: $2.1 million will go to rehabilitating pavement, installing Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting, and upgrading facilities to American with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards from Route 5 to west of Carmel Valley Road. State Route 78 near Ramona: $3.2 million will go to rehabilitating pavement and drainage systems, replacing roadside sign panels and upgrading facilities to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards from east of Magnolia Avenue to west of Wynola Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interstate 5 in San Diego at Old Town Viaduct Bridge No. 57 -0549: $7.2 million will go to repairing the concrete barrier, longitudinal joint and installing slope paving for a sinkhole. Routes 15, 52, 94, 163, and 805 at various locations: $5 million will go to repairing and/or replacing Transportation Management System elements and equipment for vandalized communication hubs and stolen fiber optic and copper cables. 8th Street and Roosevelt Ave Active Transportation Corridor in National City: $5.2 million will go to constructing cycle track, multi-use path and various intersection adjustments for safety improvements. Sorrento to Miramar, Phase 2 Intermodal Improvements: $1.7 million will go to adding 1.9 miles of double-track, curve straightening and new signals along the LOSSAN rail corridor from Mile Post (MP) 250.9 near I-805 to MP 253 near Miramar Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As California continues adapting to evolving transportation realities, it is important that we invest in emergent technologies to enhance system-wide safety for the public, said Caltrans Director Tony Tavares. Todays action dedicates vital funding for upgrades that will protect our infrastructure now and well into the future. The rest of the funding will assist with projects in Tehama, Los Angeles and Humboldt counties. Learn more about infrastructure projects happening in California on the states website. Watch the report by KUSIs Ed Lenderman 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Nevada Republicans are saying Sigal Chattah has been nominated to serve as interim U.S. Attorney overseeing Nevada. Chattah ran against Democrat Aaron Ford in 2022, but Ford was re-elected as Nevada Attorney General. Sue Fahimi is currently serving as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, a position vacated by Democrat Jason Frierson on Dec. 30, 2024, before President Donald Trump took office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chattah is a civil and criminal defense attorney who previously served on the Las Vegas Planning Commission. She has also served as a member of the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of Nevada. The U.S. Senate is tasked with confirming U.S. Attorney nominations. Today, we congratulate our own National Committeewoman Sigal Chattah, who is nominated to join the Department of Justice as the interim US Attorney overseeing Nevada, according to an announcement from the Nevada Republican Party. NOV. 7 REPORT: Nevada Republican committeewoman dismisses meritless conspiracy theories amid split election results Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They described her as a fierce defender of personal liberties, best known for her work reopening churches in Nevada after their unconstitutional shutdown. The state placed limits on church services during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are thrilled that President Trump and Attorney General Bondi have the warrior they need in Nevada, Nevada GOP Chairman Michael J. McDonald said. Sigal will rigorously advocate for the Presidents priorities and investigate corruption throughout the Silver State. Under Sigals leadership, it will be a bad day to be a bad guy justice will be served. U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement strongly opposing the appointment of Chattah: Sigal Chattah said our Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford should be hanged from a crane. She is an election denier who has advocated for political violence, suggested she would target her political enemies, and offered full support to many of President Trumps blatantly illegal actions in office. U.S. Attorneys should be professionals who stand against corruption, serve as agents for justice, and understand that no one is above the law, Cortez Masto said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trump is abusing his power and bypassing Congress to insert a partisan political operative into this position because he knows Nevadas Senators will not support her. U.S. Attorneys work for the American people, and it has been a tradition for every new administration including during President Trumps first term to work with Nevada Senators to nominate and appoint a qualified candidate. By law, this appointment can only last 120 days. To all the dedicated public servants working in the District of Nevada, I will continue to support you and will fight to make sure we confirm a U.S. Attorney with integrity and a commitment to the rule of law, Cortez Masto 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 KLAS. The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission approved some of Rhode Island Energy's proposed rate changes while making cuts to others. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current) In the end, neither Rhode Island Energy nor its frustrated customers got exactly what they asked of state regulators. Instead, the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission attempted to strike a balance, approving some of the companys proposed changes to customers gas and electric bills, while significantly slashing its capital spending plan under a series of motions approved Friday afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The various changes to bills for both gas and electric customers take effect April 1. Soaring utility bills brought a standing room-only crowd of residents, advocates and lawmakers to the commissions Warwick offices earlier this month, with many urging the commission to reject rate increases and to offer more relief to vulnerable residents. But the regulatory panel is powerless to influence at least some of the components of customers bills, including the supply rate. State law prevents regulators from denying seasonal usage rates as long as they reflect the prices Rhode Island Energy pays to third-party suppliers. Seasonal fluctuations in electric prices, dictated by regional demand and global conflict, have been particularly volatile in the last few years, peaking in the winter of 2022. But summer savings are again in store, with the price per kilowatt-hour set to drop nearly 39% over current winter rates. For the average residential customer using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, this translates to a $31 monthly savings on supply-side charges. However, lower supply charges will be partially offset by higher customer fees relating to transmission fees, renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, which are set based on federal and state laws. And, customers will pay more to support the companys capital investments in the electric and gas infrastructure though far less than what Rhode Island Energy wanted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State regulators spent nearly all of the three-and-a-half hour hearing Friday picking apart the companys fiscal 2026 gas and electric capital budgets, which pay for maintenance and repairs meant to ensure reliability and safety. Chairman Ronald Gerwatowski criticized PPL Corp., Rhode Island Energys parent company, for substantially increasing yearly capital spending, far above the annual hikes proposed under former utility operator National Grid. Indeed, the companys proposed electric fiscal 2026 capital budget which starts April 1 is more than double what National Grid spent in fiscal 2022, the last year before the utility business was sold. And Rhode Island Energys proposed fiscal 2026 gas capital investments are $16 million more than what was spent under National Grid in fiscal 2022. PPL in a call with its investors earlier this year said it hopes to invest more than $1.3 billion into Rhode Islands electric grid over the next four years, and nearly as much on the natural gas side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While it is positive that PPL and RI Energy wish to invest in Rhode Island, there are significant rate implications in the future tied to these ambitious investment goals, Gerwatowski said. Rhode Island Public Commission Chairman Ronald Gerwatowski (left) and Commissioner Abigail Anthony, discuss proposed rate changes during a meeting Friday at the commissions Warwick offices. (Screenshot) Flattening the pancake tower He likened the various charges built into customers bills as individual pancakes, which must be considered not only on their own, but as a plate. It is the cumulative effect of the entire pancake tower that strains affordability, he said. Unfortunately, many of the pancake costs, we have no control over. But the company does have control over the pace of its investments. The proposed $247.9 million in electric investments includes $88 million in fiscal 2026 spending on smart meters, which was approved separately in 2023.The remaining $160 million would pay for repairs to electric poles and wires, substations, and tree-trimming, among other costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commissioners shaved $29 million off the proposed electric budget, including $24 million from general soft costs associated with electric grid repairs, and $5 million from the budget for major projects. The final $131 million electric fiscal 2026 budget marks an 18% cut to what Rhode Island Energy proposed, excluding the fixed smart meter costs. The proposed $223 million in fiscal 2026 gas capital spending rankled commissioners more. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that number, Gerwatowski said of the gas spending plan, noting that it was more than the $221 million in federal grants helping pay for the Washington Bridge rebuild. Commissioner Abigail Anthony said the companys witnesses failed to provide compelling evidence that the spending hikes were necessary, rather than discretionary. Especially as the state contemplates shifting away from reliance on natural gas to meet its decarbonization mandates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The final $179.5 million gas capital budget authorized by commissioners marks a nearly 20% cut over what Rhode Island Energy proposed, with cuts scaling back the scope of gas main replacement to only those lines in immediate need of an upgrade. The original fiscal 2026 electric capital spending plan would have translated to $1.01 average monthly increase for electric customers, while the $223 million gas capital budget was set to bring a $78.58 average annual increase for gas customers. Bill charges under the reduced spending plans approved by utility regulators Friday have not yet been calculated. Greg Cornett, president of Rhode Island Energy, expressed disappointment in the cuts to capital budgets in an emailed response Friday. Our focus remains on delivering safe, reliable service and maintaining the strength of our energy infrastructure, Cornett said. While we are disappointed that the public utility commission has reduced our requested investments, which we developed in consultation with the Division of Public Utilities & Carriers, we will continue to remain focused on safety and reliability to meet the needs of our customers. Ongoing investment is essential as the energy landscape evolves, and we remain committed to working within the approved framework to maintain our infrastructure for the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Customers in seven municipalities Barrington, Central Falls, Narragansett, Newport, Portsmouth, Providence, and South Kingstown can opt out of Rhode Island Energy electric prices and participate instead in a community aggregation plan that leverages bulk buying power to secure lower-priced electricity for residents. The default community summer electric rate of 10.014 cents per kilowatt-hour is 0.5% less than Rhode Island Energys base residential electricity supply rate. Community aggregation electric rates take effect May 1. About 25% of the 780,000 Rhode Island Energy customers already opt out of the companys default electric prices. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX President Donald Trump's decision to keep Rep. Elise Stefanik in Congress is the clearest sign yet that the political environment has become so challenging for Republicans that they don't want to risk a special election even in safe, red seats. A pair of April elections in deep-red swaths of Florida next week was supposed to improve the GOPs cushion in the House and clear the path for Stefaniks departure, until Trump said he didn't "want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elises seat. The decision to pull Stefaniks nomination came as Republicans grew increasingly anxious about the race to fill the seat of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on April 1. Polling in the district, which Trump carried by 30 points, had tightened, and the president himself is hosting a tele-town hall there to try and bail out Republican Randy Fine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An internal GOP poll from late March showed Democrat Josh Weil up 3 points over Fine, 44 to 41 percent, with 10 percent undecided, according to a person familiar with the poll and granted anonymity to discuss it. Tony Fabrizio, Trumps pollster, conducted the survey. That result spooked Republicans and spurred them to redouble efforts to ensure a comfortable win in the district, according to two people familiar with internal conversations. Some Republican strategists said its not worth taking the risk of losing Stefaniks sprawling northern New York seat, which Trump won by 20 points in 2024. "Can they defend her seat? Absolutely. But why do you do that right now?" asked Charlie Harper, who was a top aide to former Rep. Karen Handel on her successful 2017 bid in a special election in Georgia. Harper is not the only Republican making that calculation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If were far underperforming in seats Trump won by 30 then theres obvious concern about having to chance special elections in seats Trump won by a lot less, said one top GOP operative granted anonymity to speak candidly. The juice is not worth the squeeze sweating them out. Republicans insist they would prevail in any race for Stefaniks seat. National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Maureen OToole said the party would win this seat in a special election and well win it in a general election. In an appearance on Fox News on Thursday evening, Stefanik said the withdrawal of her nomination was about stepping up as a team, and I am doing that as a leader." I look forward to continue serving in different ways, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Florida, Weil, the Democratic candidate, has raised $10 million, which has led to Elon Musks America PAC putting forward some last-minute cash for Fine, as well as Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis. But that hasnt stopped Democrats from saying Republicans are panicking, not just playing it safe. Zac McCrary, a Democratic pollster who was working for Blake Gendebien in the now-canceled special election in Stefaniks seat, said this is a Jamaal Bowman-style five alarm fire bell. Again, you dont have to take anyones word for it, just see how Republicans are acting, McCrary said. They were very blase about opening up the seat and now on a full retreat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats have been on a streak of success down ballot, narrowly winning a special election on Tuesday for state Senate in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in a district that Trump had won by 15 points in 2024. It included the more conservative parts of a county that only one Democratic presidential candidate, Lyndon Johnson in 1964, had won since the Civil War. But any chance for Democrats to flip Stefaniks seat would be an uphill battle. A poll in the district conducted last week, obtained by POLITICO, showed a Republican candidate up 16 points. Stefanik carried the district by 24 points in 2024 a higher margin than Trumps 20-point victory and Republicans have 80,000 more registered voters than Democrats. One veteran Republican consultant, granted anonymity to speak candidly, pointed to Republicans changing coalition of voters many of whom Trump attracted as a reason for recent struggles in special elections. Republicans have traditionally done well in off-year elections and special elections because our voter coalition is more traditionally engaged voters, the consultant said. And now we depend more on less engaged voters and we need our folks to turn out, and it is a good wake up call that we need to engage more. Brakkton Booker and Seb Starcevic contributed to this report. A Cajun restaurant that featured on a popular Guy Fieri food show has sparked outrage for offering a meal special only for the real kind of couple that can produce a child. Darwell Yeager and his wife Nettie, who run Darwells Happiness Cafe in Long Beach, Mississippi, shared a special offer with customers in a Facebook video Wednesday to celebrate Couples Day which is typically observed annually on August 18. Darwells, the owner sings at the beginning of the video while his wife dances beside him. If you come in and youre a couple no longer, how long have you been together dating, married if youre a couple? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Husband, wife. Boyfriend, girlfriend. Guy and girl couple. The real kind of the couple, he continued, gesturing air quotes. Nettie Yeager jumped in, sporting a pair of oversized sunglasses. Oh, cuz we dont do the trans or the lesbians or gays, she said. Im sorry, thats out on the street. Can produce a child couple, Darwell Yeager added. Well give you something free. How do you like that, folks? Real food for real people, made for real couples, he signed off as he pointed down the camera lens. The video has since gone viral after a nearby restaurant, the Trax Bar and Grill, posted a screen recording when it was taken down from the Darwells Happiness Cafe Facebook page. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am almost speechless. Almost. His weird antics were tolerable at best until this video but not anymore, Trax Bar and Grills owner Jessica Notter wrote. The disgust I feel for statements made in this video is immeasurable. The restaurant, which was featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and named one of Forbes restaurants of the year in 2016, has sparked a backlash from other local businesses, LGBTQ+ communities, and social media users. The Gulf Coast Equality Council, a non-profit organization that supports LGBTQ+ communities and their allies, voiced its disapproval in a video statement released Thursday. The press release stated that no one should be made to feel unwelcome simply for being who they are. Angela Singletary, president of the anti-bullying organization The Society, said a peaceful protest outside the restaurant is expected on Friday. Darwells Happiness Cafe was featured in an episode of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (Getty Images) It's important that we don't allow this kind of discrimination and these kinds of comments to... just go. We can't just let them go, Singletary said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After a swathe of backlash, Nettie Yeager issued an apology on her personal Facebook account and cited her religious views. Mississippi's Religious Liberty Accommodations Act was passed into law in 2016. It gives organizations the right to refuse service to members of the LGTBQ+ communitywhich makes up 3.5 percent of the states populationbased on religious views. Im not perfect and I get my feelings hurt too, she wrote. Not always right. But I'm human too... I'm truly sorry if you got offended or misunderstood something not meant to hurt anyone. According to NOLA, Darwell reposted the apology on his Facebook page six times, but the posts were removed by Friday morning. He added that in his own statement that he was tired of being bullied by the left. A strong earthquake with its epicentre in Myanmar shook several countries in south-east Asia on Friday. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit at around 12:50 pm (0620 GMT). Readings from other services have varied. USGS said the epicentre was about 16 kilometres from the city of Sagaing in north-western Myanmar. A few minutes later, the USGS also registered another earthquake a little to the south with a magnitude of 6.4. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least 10 people died when a mosque collapsed during a service in the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar, the Khit Thit Media news agency reported, citing rescue workers. The news agency also reported that a monastery housing displaced people collapsed in the southern city of Taungoo, killing five people, including children. Several people are said to still be trapped, according to eyewitnesses. Rescue teams reported on social media that several people were also trapped in a collapsed hotel in Aung Ban, a town near the earthquake's epicentre. Quake shakes Thailand The quake also rattled Thailand's capital Bangkok, where the earth shook for several minutes and people left their homes in panic, according to a dpa reporter. Sirens could be heard hours after the quake struck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Silom district in the centre of the capital, thousands of people were on the streets, many running. Volunteers were immediately deployed, instructing people to get out into the open and leave the buildings. Patients were brought out of the hospitals onto the streets. The shell of a high-rise building in Bangkok collapsed, as shown in videos circulating online. More than 40 workers are believed to have been trapped, local media reported, citing rescue workers. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra convened an emergency meeting during her visit to Phuket Island. Earthquake felt in Vietnam, India, China, Bangladesh The tremors were also felt in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, as well as in parts of India, China and Bangladesh. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese television reported that the quake was felt in the south-western province of Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, including in the major city of Kunming and the popular tourist resorts of Lijiang and Dali. The disaster control centre in the city of Ruili spoke of damage to houses and injuries, Chinese media reported, citing the authorities. A video on the Chinese online platform Weibo, China's equivalent of X, showed debris on a street in Ruili and damage to a house roof. The earth tremors were also felt in the Chinese provinces of Guizhou and Guangxi. In the Indian state of Manipur, which borders Myanmar, The Economic Times newspaper reported that panic broke out among residents of the western district of the regional capital Imphal. However, there were no initial reports of any damage. The tremors were also felt in Kolkata. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Daily Star and other Bangladeshi newspapers reported that tremors were felt in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. There have so far been no reports of damage there. India offers to help quake victims India has offered to help earthquake victims in Myanmar and Thailand. "India stands ready to offer all possible assistance," Modi wrote on X. He said he has asked "our authorities to be on standby." Asia is repeatedly affected by earthquakes, which sometimes kill thousands of people and cause devastating destruction. An earthquake off the eastern coast of Japan in March 2011 claimed almost 16,000 lives and caused the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More recently, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Nepal have experienced disasters with thousands of deaths. EU offers satellite help Commenting on X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the scenes from Myanmar and Thailand are "heartbreaking." The European Union's Copernicus satellites "are already helping first responders," she wrote and added that the EU is "ready to provide more support." Copernicus is the EU's space observation programme. It has an open source policy in line with international data sharing principles, its website states, and can provide detailed maps of affected areas. SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian restaurant franchise operator IMC said on Wednesday it has signed a binding agreement to create a joint venture with Kentucky Foods Chile Limitada regarding IMC's operations of KFC restaurants in Brazil. According to the deal, IMC will sell a 58.3% stake of its KFC operations in Brazil to the Chilean group for $35 million, IMC said in a securities filing. IMC said it will use the proceeds from the deal to reduce its debt, adding the agreement will allow further expansion of the KFC brand in the country without direct investments from the company. There are some 230 KFC restaurants in Brazil, said IMC, which also operates Pizza Hut, among other brands, in the Latin American country. According to IMC, the deal grants the joint venture exclusive rights to operate the KFC brand in Brazil. Despite owning all KFC outlets in Brazil, IMC did not previously possess nationwide exclusive rights to the brand. The deal values IMC's KFC operations in Brazil at $60 million, which is more than IMC full market-value of near $55 million. (Reporting by Paula Arend Laier; Writing by Andre Romani; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle) A criminology student stabbed a personal trainer to death on Bournemouth beach because he hated women, a court heard. Nasen Saadi, 21, murdered personal trainer Amie Gray, 34, and wounded her friend Leanne Miles in an attack on May 24 last year as the two women chatted by a fire. The killer had collected knives and researched locations to carry out the killing, and had even asked his course lecturers at the University of Greenwich questions on how to get away with murder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saadi, of Croydon, south London, was jailed at Winchester Crown Court for life with a minimum term of 39 years for murder and attempted murder. He was also sentenced for failing to give his mobile phone pin code to the police. The judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, said Saadi felt humiliated after being rejected by girls and women, which has led over time to a deeply suppressed rage towards society and women in particular. She added that Saadi had chosen to deny his guilt because he wanted the notoriety of a trial and had a complete lack of remorse. The clear evidence is you planned to kill and went to Bournemouth to do so, the judge said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judge added: You chose Amie Gray and Leanne Miles because you had a grievance of society as a whole, and of women. Nasen Saadi, 21, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 39 years for murder and attempted murder - Dorset Police In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mrs Grays wife, Sian Gray, said that her wifes death would haunt her forever. She said: At the age of 36, I should not have to hold my deceased wifes cold hand, nor should my daughter have to say goodbye and grieve over a coffin. Our tragedy has been a public display for all to see. In such a small town, we have no privacy so cannot hide our grief. That has been taken away from us. Amies beautiful life has now been reduced to forever being remembered as the murder victim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mrs Grays mother, Sharon Macklin, said in a statement: Amie was an amazing, funny, kind and energetic soul. She had a big smile and a loud laugh and when she entered the room it was filled with laughter and her presence couldnt be ignored. She was beautiful inside and out, even if life wasnt great for her she would always find the time to help others. She added that she now struggled to sleep and was taking medication and receiving counselling after her daughters death. Mrs Grays aunt, Joy Lawrence, said: I see the impact it has had on my husband, daughters and grandchildren, the younger ones only 11 and eight, coping with everyones grief. They are so distraught that they will never have fun with her again. CCTV footage shows Nasen Saadi walking along Bournemouth seafront doing a recce - CPS/Solent The trial heard that Saadi was fascinated with knives and had bought six blades from websites, with several found at his aunts house, where he was living, and at his parents home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saadi used the name Ninja Killer for his Snapchat account and also used the username NSkills on his computer. He had also carried out searches about the Milly Dowler and Brianna Ghey killings. The court was told Saadi had booked two hotels for a four-night stay in Bournemouth starting May 21 and was shown on CCTV carrying out recces of the seafront and the scene of the murder, which happened at about 11.40pm on May 24. During his stay at the Dorset resort, the defendant went to the cinema to see slasher film The Strangers: Chapter 1. His trial was told Ms Gray had tried to distract Saadi while he was attacking Ms Miles, shouting get away, allowing her friend to flee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saadis tutors told the nine-day trial that he had shown a degree of specific interest in matters not related to the subject of his lectures and plied them with questions relating to forensics, DNA, self-defence and policing. One academic, Lisa-Maria Reiss, described Saadi asking her questions on how to get away with murder before asking her how often a self-defence argument would go through if a person was attacked first. His questions prompted her to ask him Youre not planning a murder are you?, to which Saadi did not respond. Saadi, who chose not to give evidence, denied carrying out the attacks, saying it was a case of mistaken identity and adding that he must have blacked out when they happened. Tributes were left on Bournemouth beach in memory of Amie Gray and Leanne Miles, who survived the attack - BNPS Benjamin May, a senior crown prosecutor, said: Amies courageous final act to protect her friend truly defines who she was, and her life will forever be remembered for the love and protection she gave to her loved ones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our thoughts continue to remain with her friends and family, as well as with Leanne Miles, whose bravery through this ordeal helped us to deliver justice. Saadis perverse fascination with murder and violence morphed into vile, real-world consequences, for which he has faced justice. Det Insp Mark Jenkins, of Dorset Police, added: We were able to show how carefully the defendant planned his attack, intending to kill, choosing Bournemouth somewhere he had never been before as the location seemingly purely because it had a sandy beach and how he travelled down several days before with the intention of committing this horrific act. It appears that he targeted Amie and Leanne, whom he had never met and were simply enjoying a peaceful evening on the beach, just because he saw an opportunity to surprise and overpower them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to again thank Amies family and Leanne for the support they have provided throughout the investigation and court process and the dignified way they have conducted themselves during this extremely difficult period for them all. Infamy became a goal Charles Sherrard KC, defending, said that Saadi had recognised his guilt after his conviction and demonstrated a willingness to receive therapy. He added: He is a social misfit, someone who had hardly any friends at school, never had a girlfriend and seemed to be somebody who was avoided rather than somebodys mate. The fact of that was to provide him with significantly low esteem and general sense of inadequacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that Saadi compensated by obsessing over horror films and was fascinated by the mind of a psychopath and had a growing sense of rage against society for the rejection. Mr Sherrard continued: Infamy became a valid goal in itself. Without using the words of a psychologist, without anything from a thesaurus, what it comes down to, in the words of the defendant I never got noticed when I did a good thing, people have only noticed when I did a bad thing and thats perhaps the nearest one can get to an explanation. 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. Boston Globe/Getty Images College campuses have become ground zero for President Trumps anti-immigrant agenda. Under his and Secretary of State Marco Rubios guidance, federal agents have detained multiple international students under threat of deportation. Starting with the March 8 arrest of Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil in the lobby of his Columbia University housing, multiple students and faculty have been targeted, including Cornell grad student Momodou Taal, whose student visa was revoked by the State Department earlier this month; and 21-year-old Yunseo Chung, a Columbia student and permanent resident, who a judge recently ruled could not be held in Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention as the deportation case against her continues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week, footage spread online of plainclothes ICE agents snatching Tufts grad student Rumeysa Ozturk off the street in Somerville, Massachusetts, spurring local protests. Like Khalil, Ozturk is being held in a Louisiana ICE facility, allegedly for signing onto an op-ed in the college newspaper calling for university divestment and for Tufts to acknowledge the Palestinian genocide. The government has not specified what she is supposed to have done, beyond activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans. On Friday morning, Ozturk, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Massachusetts, filed a petition arguing that Ozturks detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process and asks that she be immediately returned to Massachusetts and released from custody, per the press release. On the same day Ozturk was detained, Alireza Doroudi, a grad student at the University of Alabama, was reportedly arrested at around 5 a.m. at his home, according to the college paper. Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take All were seemingly targeted for pro-Palestine speech or attending related protests; Georgetown postdoctoral fellow Badar Khan Suri was also detained by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents, though theres no evidence that he participated in the pro-Palestine movement directly. Instead, Suris lawyer is arguing that he was targeted because his wife is Palestinian-American and her father previously had ties to Hamas. Columbia specifically continues to be a hotbed for these issues. After the Trump administration threatened to pull $400 million in federal funding over the universitys handling of pro-Palestine protests, Columbia agreed to the governments terms. Last Friday, the university announced that it would overhaul its student disciplinary process, ban protesters from wearing masks, bar demonstrations from academic buildings, adopt a new definition of antisemitism and put its Middle Eastern studies program under the supervision of a vice provost who would have a say over curriculum and hiring, per the Associated Press. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legality of these detentions, and the targeting of students and faculty over protests, is being challenged in the courts, including with a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Middle East Studies Association, represented in part by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia. The press release reads in part, Todays filing argues that the ideological-deportation policy has created a climate of repression and intense fear on university campuses, terrorizing students and faculty for their exercise of First Amendment rights in the past, intimidating them from exercising those rights now, and silencing political viewpoints that the government disfavors. They're abducting people off the streets. They're forcing Columbia to pass rules that say students can't protest wearing masks, yet when they abduct people, [the agents are] all wearing masks. It's crazy what's going on here. There's a sense of fear. In the meantime, university members from professors to students to campus workers are unsure how to respond. Teen Vogue spoke to the elected president of the AAUP, Todd Wolfson, professor of media studies at Rutgers University, about the unions approach to surviving the Trump administration; right-wing attacks on higher education; and what those on campuses can do to protect each other and fight back. The legal mechanisms are one level, but courts are not going to be our savior here, so we must organize and build collective power at the campus level, and then build it out from there, Wolfson tells Teen Vogue. Then we need to build mass militancy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. Teen Vogue: Can you share about the AAUPs broader approach to the current attacks on higher education, which significantly predate the second Trump administration? Todd Wolfson: We feel there needs to be a union-slash-organization that's devoted to higher ed, that brings an organizing, militant, fighting energy to the sector. We felt that before Donald Trump was elected, that this was really necessary because of the 70 years of divestment that have taken place on our campuses and all the outcomes, which have frankly queued up the attack from these right-wing ideologues that we've seen more recently. The long divestment has both hollowed out the core of higher ed, and also created mission drift, where higher ed forgets what its purpose is. And so that's made it much easier for this radical right-wing attack to take place. We wanted to build alliances that didn't hew to the traditional trade or job category alliances, where faculty align with faculty, grad workers align with grad workers, professional staff align with professional staff. We feel that it's necessary to break down those barriers and build a movement for higher education at the campus and national level[s] that includes all of us and organizes for all of us, including our students and the communities where we work and live. We also wanted to build a coalition so that we could start to express the sector's will at the national level in many ways politically, electorally. At the most fundamental level, it means organizing, organizing, organizing: Training people on how to do one-on-ones; training chapters on how to build membership, run meetings, build campaigns, build power; and then scaling that up at the national level because there are so many unions that represent higher ed workers by building a national coalition of higher ed unions, which we've done, called Labor for Higher Ed. I think the approach has been to really transform the sector and make it a sector that can stand up for itself and fight both around state and federal divestment, which has taken place, and put out a proactive vision of a fully-funded public higher education. [That includes] an end to student debt, an end to contingency on our campuses, work with dignity on our campuses, and yes, academic freedom, freedom of speech, etcetera; and also, respond[ing] to these much more recent right-wing radical incursions. TV: How does the lawsuit filed this week against the Trump administration fit into this? TW: Like everyone, when the news dropped about the Trump administration's coercion or extortion of Columbia, threatening $400 million in essentially all biomedical research to force pretty radical academic changes that are [a] massive political intrusion onto the autonomy of the university, we were dismayed. We wanted and expected and hoped that Columbia itself would stand up and use legal and other mechanisms to fight back. They made a different decision, so we decided somewhere in the process that we felt like it was critical for AAUP and AFT to work together; we also were in a lot of dialogue with United Auto Workers (UAW), which has members at Columbia; and we decided to launch this lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The biggest goal is to say it's illegal. You can't use federal funds that have nothing to do with speech to try to control speech on campus. If the federal government thinks that there's rampant anti-Semitism on campus and they offered no evidence [of that], but if you think that then there's a process, and that process is not to go after pediatric cancer research to get them to toe some line around making campus safer for Jewish students. We sued both to take this on at Columbia, but also to draw a line, because we know that their goal is going to be to roll Columbia and then roll the rest of that sector because Columbia had chosen not to [draw a line]. In this way, this is where labor fills the breach. It has to fill the breach. And this is why labor organizations in higher ed and in every sector are critical to the future of this country, particularly with the rise of fascism. [Ed. note: In a statement provided to the New York Times, Columbia interim president Katrina A. Armstrong said the agreement was part of an effort to make every student, faculty and staff member safe and welcome on our campus. Teen Vogue reached out to Columbia for comment on the lawsuit.] TV: Youre a professor at Rutgers, a public research university which has seen its fair share of protests, free speech concerns, and austerity measures over the last several years, not just with the current iteration of the Palestine movement. Can you speak to these dynamics on Rutgers campus right now? TW: How we're approaching [AAUPs] national work comes out of lessons learned at Rutgers. I became president of the Rutgers faculty union right as COVID hit, and Rutgers is one of the biggest universities in the country. It's got 70,000 students and 30,000 employees, so 100,000 people; it touches the life of probably everyone in Jersey. As soon as the pandemic hit, they started saying to me, as the president of the Faculty Union, there's gonna be some drastic cuts and layoffs here. So we coalesce[d] this coalition of workers unions and organized together. It wasn't perfect, but [we] did this thing called a work share program, which is sort of like furloughs, but you're kept whole through federal and state unemployment. We offered it to the university. I think when we first offered it, we saw savings of well over $100 million. They rejected it, did some stuff, laid some people off. But we kept fighting. We ended up winning it and getting job security first, staff and adjuncts got rehired, etcetera. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But importantly, the lesson that came out of it for me was that it's hard, hard, hard to organize across job category because of difference difference in power at the institution; racialized, gendered differences that often adhere to those differences in structural power, right? It was really hard work, and we failed in many ways, but it was the way we were going to have the most power in responding to the institution and the institution's anti-human decisions. Thats how we've been operating at Rutgers since then, not always with all the unions, but we went on strike in 23 and [then] we went on strike with all the three academic unions. Ten thousand workers went out together, and we had much more power when we did that than we would have if any singular union went out alone. (In response to a request for comment, a representative for Rutgers told Teen Vogue, Rutgers deeply values its students, faculty, and staff and is committed to providing an environment where every member of our community can be supported and thrive. Through the efforts of our community, we are proud to be among the leading public universities in the country and rank among the best places to work in New Jersey.) TV: There is a lot of fear on campuses about the threat of ICE and DHS. Are you hearing that at Rutgers? TW: The grads and even faculty that are foreign born workers are scared as hell as they should be. We just saw what happened to the grad student at Tufts yesterday. They're abducting people off the streets. They're forcing Columbia to pass rules that say students can't protest wearing masks, yet when they abduct people, [the agents are] all wearing masks. It's crazy what's going on here. There's a sense of fear. We're thinking through, how do we respond to this? It was one thing when there was an encampment and the universities threatened to bring in the police on the encampment on Rutgers campus[es], and faculty and I was one of them, through the union put a ring around the encampment and said, you're gonna have to come through us to get to the students. That is easy, because there was one place, one time, right? But the way they're approaching these abductions and deportations is it can happen on any street at any moment, and it can happen to any person. They're going after people who aren't necessarily the leaders of these encampment movements. I think the woman at Tufts, she had written like one op-ed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is a much more difficult problem to respond to, because you're going to be on a street corner. We can't respond in time to those things. We're thinking about what to do at Rutgers, but I can't tell you that we have a solution. This is a big problem where we have ICE on our streets abducting people because Donald Trump or Marco Rubio don't like their speech. That's crazy, and we have to figure out how to respond to it. But it does present a logistics problem, if nothing else. TV: So at the national level, what does the AAUP see as the necessary response? TW: Organizing, joining whatever organization exists on your campus that represents students, faculty or staff. Maybe it's a union, maybe you don't have a union, maybe it's an AAUP chapter. You should be joining those things right away. If no organization exists, I think it makes sense to build something new. And if organizations exist but they're not meeting the moment at the local level, then it maybe makes sense to build something new as well. But what we're also finding is people starting new things where things exist, and that's not always helpful. So where things exist, whether it's your local UAW or your local AAUP or AFT, or your local student organization that's fighting over these issues, you should join it. Alongside that and we want to launch something like this, but we haven't done it yet there should be a process where faculty, students and staff are signing letters at the campus level, writing and then signing petitions at the campus level, calling on our institutions not to obey the administration. You need to get a critical mass of signatures on those letters for them to have meaning for the administration of the campus. Then at the national level, we're trying to build out a network of lawyers that can defend and support people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We also have to figure out a way to scale up the militancy in our sector. We have a day of action on April 8 that's called Kill the Cuts killthecuts.org and that is us building towards something where we would be ready for a much more militant approach, because we think we can make a more militant response at scale, which we think we need to do. Then there also needs to be a political strategy. People need to be talking to their elected leaders and putting a lot of pressure on them, particularly in red and purple districts, where the cuts to higher ed are actually devastating. Those elected leaders need to be called out because their own constituencies are getting really hurt by Trump's reckless moves. TV: What else would you say to those maybe shocked by whats happening in higher education? The overarching reason we're in such a bad state right now is because the radical right has been the only part of society that's been talking about and defining higher education, and they've been doing it for a couple years, from Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida through the last election and now post-election; and also with those Education Workforce [Committee] meetings last year. They've done a really good job at completely targeting and undermining higher education. Some of it we played into, because tuition is ridiculous, and families shouldn't have to pay that kind of tuition, and students shouldn't have to go into debt to get a college degree. Those are things that need to end. American higher education has always been flawed. Our public land grant institutions often were developed on stolen land. Obviously it's been an institution that's favored white people and left people of color out for a long time. That said, it's also been the best higher ed system in the world in terms of innovation in research and technology. It's been a real engine of this country's economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For us, we want the opposite of what the Republicans and maybe even what the Democrats want. We want a fully-funded sector. We want a sector where any kid can go and get a college degree without going into debt, and then figure out what kind of world they want to build and become a critical thinker and become part of this democracy, if that's what we can call it at this point. The Republican attack on higher ed undermines everybody in this country, and they're doing it not because of high tuition rates. They're doing it because an educated populace is a problem for fascism, and they want to kill it. It's just important to reset that and say that this sector, though not perfect, has a really important role to play. It's the reason we have the internet. It's the reason we have any healthcare breakthroughs we get in this country. They all get built out of our labs in our research, and attacking it is something that hurts all of us, and it's crazy. We're going to come out of this stronger, no doubt about that But I say that recognizing that so many of us are going to suffer along the way, and it's going to fall on vulnerable communities, people of color, transgender people, foreigners, and so I say it not washing out what's in front of us, because I'm scared to death too. Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Want more U.S. government coverage? The Trump administration continues to amp up their targeted attacks on international student visa-holders as part of Secretary of State Marco Rubios Catch and Revoke program targeting pro-Palestine activists. Several foreign students have been arrested and detained, pulled off the sidewalk by plainclothes agents, and driven away in unmarked vehicles, while others are hiding as their court cases play out. Rubio said Thursday he may have revoked more than 300 visas at this point. We do it every day, Rubio said, as reported by The Washington Posts John Hudson. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas. Axios reports that the Trump administration is discussing plans to prohibit certain colleges from enrolling foreign students if they think that university has too many pro-Hamas students. The administration has been focusing on students who have protested or spoken out against Israels war in Gaza. Rubio has declared that these students presence or activities in the United States would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to Trumps executive order to combat antisemitism, the education department has sent letters to 60 universities about their concerns of anti-Jewish racism. The administration is also proposing having immigrants applying for green cards or citizenship disclose their social media handles. To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: Come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you, Trump said in a statement after taking office in January. I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before. Civil rights groups have adamantly protested the Trump administrations efforts to deport student activists, saying the efforts are unconstitutional and a grave infringement on free speech. Jewish Voices for Peace has been actively protesting the multiple detainments, and nearly hundred people were arrested at a Trump Tower protest in New York on March 13. The ACLU and Democracy Forward are among the organizations suing the Trump administration. The presidents anticipated invocation of wartime authority which is not needed to conduct lawful immigration enforcement operations is the latest step in an accelerating authoritarian playbook, Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement. From improperly apprehending American citizens, to violating the ability of communities to peacefully worship, to now improperly trying to invoke a law that is responsible for some of our nations most shameful actions, this administrations immigration agenda is as lawless as it is harmful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres a look at the students whom the Trump administration has detained or sought to detain, their current immigration status, where they are now, and what will happen to them next. Mahmoud Khalil Plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested Mahmoud Khalil on March 8 at his New York City apartment as his wife, who is eight months pregnant, recorded the incident on her phone. Khalil, 30, was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and finished his graduate degree at Columbia University in December 2024. While there, he acted as the lead negotiator in discussions with university administrators and student protestors during pro-Palestine protests and encampments last year. Khalil, whose wife is American, was a permanent resident with a green card at the time of his arrest. Agents told his lawyer his green card and student visa were revoked by the State Department, and they placed him in an unmarked car and drove away. After his arrest, Khalil was moved to an ICE detention facility in Jena, Louisiana, where he is currently still in custody. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman has temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting Khalil, and said his case should be transferred to New Jersey. Trump claimed on Truth Social that Khalil is a radical foreign pro-Hamas student but has not released any evidence to back up his claim. Free speech protests have erupted across the country in response to Khalils detention. The Trump administration is targeting me as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent, Khalil wrote in a letter dictated over the phone from ICE detention in Louisiana. Visa-holders, green-card carriers, and citizens alike will all be targeted for their political beliefs. In the weeks ahead, students, advocates, and elected officials must unite to defend the right to protest for Palestine. At stake are not just our voices, but the fundamental civil liberties of all. Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances, I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child. Ranjani Srinivasan The day before Khalil was detained, federal immigration agents went to the apartment of Columbia University student Ranjani Srinivasan. Srinivasan, a graduate student studying architecture, had moved to the U.S. from India as a Fulbright scholar in 2016. She did not answer the door when agents arrived, as she spoke with someone from the schools international student office about the notice shed received that her student visa had been revoked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A fearful Srinivasan fled to Canada, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted security footage of her with her suitcase at LaGuardia airport. It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live & study in the United States of America, Noem wrote on X. When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked and you should not be in this country. The State Department has not provided evidence backing Noems claims that Srinivasan, 37, was involved in activities supporting Hamas. Im fearful that even the most low-level political speech or just doing what we all do like shout into the abyss that is social media can turn into this dystopian nightmare, Srinivasan told The New York Times, where somebody is calling you a terrorist sympathizer and making you, literally, fear for your life and your safety. Yunseo Chung Yunseo Chung is a permanent resident of the U.S. who has lived here since she was 7 years old, when her family emigrated here from South Korea. The high school valedictorian and Barnard College student was one of nine pro-Palestine protestors arrested on Columbias campus during a sit-in on March 5. Following the arrest, ICE agents searched Chungs dorm room and her parents home and informed her lawyer that Rubio had revoked her permanent resident status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, Chung responded by filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration, citing a breach of her First Amendment rights. ICEs shocking actions against Ms. Chung form part of a larger pattern of attempted U.S. government repression of constitutionally protected protest activity and other forms of speech, reads the lawsuit. Ms. Chung is now at active risk of being put in immigration detention and deported from the only country she has ever known. This past Tuesday, a judge granted the 21-year-old a temporary restraining order against the government, stopping the Trump administration from deporting her. After the constant dread in the back of my mind over the past few weeks, this decision feels like a million pounds off of my chest, Chung said in a statement to The Guardian. She remains in an undisclosed location. Momodou Taal Cornell University Ph.D student and pro-Palestine activist Momodou Taals F-1 student visa was revoked on March 14 and he is facing deportation. Taal, a 31-year-old dual U.K. and Gambian citizen, is among three Cornell plaintiffs suing the Trump administration for government retaliation against the executive orders they say violate their First and Fifth Amendment rights. Taal is currently in hiding as his case plays out in federal court. You dont repress to this level when youre in a position of strength, Taal said in an interview with The Intercept. When you have to quell speech, it means that you are realizing that the outside world or public opinion is swaying in one direction. So I think now would not be the time to be afraid. I know its a very frightening moment, but for me, this is the time to double down. Badar Khan Suri On March 17, Badar Khan Suri was detained by masked ICE agents outside his home in Arlington, Virginia. The Indian national and Georgetown University postdoctoral fellow was told the government was revoking his visa for foreign policy reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted on X that Suri was actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media and claimed that he had close connections to a known or suspected terrorist. Suri has no criminal record and has not been charged with any crime. His wife is a U.S. citizen of Palestinian heritage. His deportation has been halted while his case is reviewed in court, and hes currently being held in Texas. Dr. Suri was granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan at the Center for Muslim Christian Understanding, the dean of Georgetowns Walsh School of Foreign Service wrote in a statement. During his time on campus, I am not aware that Dr. Suri has engaged in any illegal activity, nor has he posed a threat to the security of our campus. He has been focused on completing his research. As Dean, I am deeply troubled by the chilling effect such events could have on freedom of expression on this campus, which is, of course, at the very core of our mission. Rumeysa Ozturk Tufts University student and Fulbright Scholar Rumeysa Ozturk was alone and on her way to meet friends to break her Ramadan fast at an Iftar dinner when she was approached by six plainclothes officers, some of whom were partially masked. Security camera footage shows the agents apprehending the 30-year-old Turkish national outside of her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, on March 25, and placing her in a black SUV. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite a federal judge ordering the government not to move her out of Massachusetts without 48 hour notice, Ozturk was moved to a processing facility in Louisiana. In March of last year, Ozturk co-wrote an op-ed for the Tufts student newspaper demanding that the university acknowledge the Palestinian genocide and divest from companies with ties to Israel. McLaughlin went on X to, once again, claim without evidence that Ozturk has engaged in activities supporting Hamas. A visa is a privilege not a right, she wrote. Alireza Doroudi ICE has also detained Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian Ph.D. student researching mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama. The universitys paper broke the news that the doctoral student was arrested at his home early Tuesday morning. Doroudi is currently being held in a rural Alabama jail and has retained Louisiana immigration attorney David Rozas as his counsel. Rozas told ABC News Doroudi has not been arrested for any crime, nor has he participated in any anti-government protests. The University of Alabama recently learned that a doctoral student has been detained off campus by federal immigration authorities, Doroudis university said in a statement. Federal privacy laws limit what can be shared about an individual student. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Climate change is directly affecting the cost-of-living crisis, and average people often pay the price for bad environmental decisions made by corporations. What happened? A new report from The Australia Institute revealed that the climate crisis is responsible for driving up costs for Australians, particularly in the areas of insurance, food, and energy. "Insurance premiums have soared due to an increase in natural disasters, with some households now spending over seven weeks of gross income just to cover home insurance," the institute said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Food prices are up by 20% since 2020 thanks in part to climate-related events disrupting harvests and growth periods. Energy prices are high because of a continued reliance on fossil fuels and an underinvestment in renewable energy sources. Why does it matter? Rising global temperatures are causing extreme weather around the world, including wildfires, floods, hurricanes, tornados, and heat waves. These natural disasters can have lasting effects on people who don't have significant savings or adequate insurance coverage. "The impacts of the climate crisis are disproportionately affecting lower-income and regional households, who are already feeling the financial strain more severely," the institute said. Australia is the world's second-largest fossil fuel exporter and fifth-largest producer. More frequent and severe natural disasters have led to higher payouts from insurance companies and rising premiums for homeowners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The only way to keep insurance costs down is to keep fossil fuel emissions down. The more we heat the climate, the more expensive storms, floods and fires will be and, in turn, the more insurance will cost. It's time we started to tax the fossil fuel companies to fund the damage that their previous emissions are already causing," said Richard Dennis, executive director of The Australia Institute. What can I do to help? Extreme weather events have always existed, but the scientific consensus is that human-induced climate change supercharges these events, making them more powerful and dangerous to our communities. Addressing climate change and investing in renewable energy sources is expensive, but not doing so will be far costlier. Everyone can do their part by living a more sustainable life. Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Try walking, biking, or taking public transportation when you can. Install solar panels to slash your carbon footprint and energy bills. Replace your biggest-ticket items with more energy-efficient alternatives, such as a heat pump or electric vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For more tips on how to be a part of the solution, check out our guide on exploring critical climate issues. 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. STORY: :: UN chief Guterres says the situation in South Sudan is 'darkly reminiscent' of civil wars :: United Nations :: March 28, 2025 :: Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General Let's not mince words. What we are seeing is darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 civil wars, which killed 400,000 people. All the dark clouds of a perfect storm have descended upon the people of the world's newest country and one of the poorest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The peace agreement is in shambles. A humanitarian nightmare with about three out of four South Sudanese needing assistance, half the population severely food insecure and cholera breaking out. Our U.N. Mission in South Sudan is working around the clock to ease tensions, engaging all parties and boosting protection of civilians. First Vice President Riek Machar was put under house arrest in the capital Juba on Wednesday, in effect voiding a 2018 peace deal that ended a five-year civil war and brought Machar and President Salva Kiir into a fragile power-sharing government. On Friday, the information minister accused Machar of seeking to launch a rebellion against the government. "Meanwhile, ethnic and political targeting by security forces coupled with the spread of misinformation on social media is lighting the fuse for even worse," Guterres added. A pride flag flies at the Salt Lake City & County Building on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch) Saying Utahns are tired of culture war bills that dont solve the problems they intend to fix, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox will allow a bill aimed at banning many flags including pride or LGBTQ+ flags from schools and all government buildings to become law without his signature. Cox explained his reasoning in a letter to legislative leaders issued with just over an hour to spare before his midnight deadline Thursday to sign or veto bills passed by the 2025 Utah Legislature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX HB77 has been one of the most divisive bills of the session, and I am deeply disappointed that it did not land in a better place, wrote Cox, who also explained he agreed with the intent behind the legislation. My understanding is that there was a deal on a compromise that would have removed problematic portions of the bill while retaining others that would support political neutrality in the classroom. Sadly the sponsors did not move that deal forward. Supporters of HB77, sponsored by Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, argued it was meant to promote political neutrality in government spaces. But critics argued a broad ban that extended to all government properties would invite free speech litigation while also leaving some Utahns, especially the LGBTQ+ community, feeling unwelcome and erased. Now slated to take effect on May 7, HB77 will ban almost all flags from being displayed on or in public buildings, except for flags explicitly allowed in a prescriptive list included in the bill, such as the U.S. flag, the state flag, military flags, Olympic flags, college or university flags, or others. Pride flags or other LGBTQ+ flags which Utah lawmakers in recent years have repeatedly tried to bar from schools in various ways would be prohibited. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its slated to make Utah the first state in the nation to enact such sweeping flag restrictions in government-owned buildings. The Idaho Legislature recently passed a similar bill, HB41, which Gov. Brad Little signed last week, but that legislation wont take effect until July 1 and it only applies to schools. Idaho lawmakers are also advancing a separate bill to restrict government entities from displaying certain types of flags. Utahs largest LGBTQ+ rights group, Equality Utah, had negotiated with lawmakers on the bill, which originally focused the flag ban on school classrooms. However, in a House committee last month, Lee changed the legislation to broaden the flag ban to all government property, leading Equality Utah to oppose the bill even though it was prepared to take a neutral position on its earlier version. Cox faced numerous calls to veto HB77 from advocacy groups including Equality Utah and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, as well as from Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, whose city hosts the annual Utah Pride Festival. He could have vetoed the bill but he indicated in his letter that it would likely just be overridden by the GOP-supermajority Utah Legislature. Instead, hes urging lawmakers to work to fix it. I continue to have serious concerns with this bill, Cox said. However, because a veto would be overridden, I have decided to allow the bill to go into law without my signature, and urge lawmakers to consider commonsense solutions that address the bills numerous flaws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cox encouraged lawmakers to consider allowing the Utah State Board of Education to go further in ensuring the political neutrality of our classrooms, while also considering repealing the local government piece of this legislation and allowing elected representatives to answer to their own constituents. If you are willing to pursue this kind of solution, you will have an open door in the executive branch, Cox wrote. Coxs comments on the flag ban came after the bill cast final-hour drama over Utahs multimillion-dollar bid to entice the Sundance Film Festival to stay, with some saying it could impact Utahs chances. Earlier Thursday, festival organizers announced theyd opted to move the event to Colorado to help the festival grow. By the time theyd reached their decision, Cox had not yet acted on HB77, but a veto was looking unlikely. While Cox told reporters last week Sundance organizers had told state leaders very clearly that political issues have nothing to do with the decision, others, including Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, worried that HB77 could indeed be harmful to our effort to retain Sundance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the end, Utah lost its bid. Cox who earlier Thursday called Sundances decision a mistake also included a note in his letter that hell be calling a special session to address, among other issues, what the Legislature should instead do with the $3.5 million it had set aside as part of Utahs bid to keep Sundance. Lets reappropriate that money to efforts in Utah to create a new festival and a world-class film economy right here in our state, he said. Cox says he agrees with underlying intent, but HB77 has flaws Cox, in his letter, dove deeper into why he had misgivings with HB77 but said he agreed with the underlying intent of the bill. I deeply believe that our classrooms need to be a place where everyone feels welcome free from the politics that are fracturing our country, Cox wrote. Parents are rightly upset when they bring their kids to publicly funded schools and see culture-war symbols in a place that should be apolitical. In an attempt to make some kids feel more welcome, other kids feel less welcome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cox also said he appreciated that the bill is neutral on the types of flags in question, while adding that I find it strange that no headline reads MAGA flags banned from classrooms. I agree with the underlying intent of those legislators who supported this bill in an attempt to bring political neutrality to the classroom, he said, though he added, Unfortunately, this bill does not do that. He said because its aimed at only flags, there is little preventing countless other displays posters, signs, drawings, furniture from entering the classroom. To those legislators who supported this bill, Im sure it will not fix what you are trying to fix, Cox said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He noted that many schools have already enacted their own political neutrality policies in classrooms, and he argued we have a better place to make regulations: the Utah State Board of Education. While he said the board has already set expectations for political neutrality in teacher code of conduct, I believe more needs to be done by USBE to provide direction in this regard. I have asked the Board of Education to continue their work to find ways to make our classrooms both more politically neutral and more welcoming to every student to exercise their own individual freedom of expression, Cox said. The idea that kids can only feel welcome in a school if a teacher puts up a rainbow flag is just wrong. Lets do everything possible to make our classrooms one of the last remaining politically neutral places in our state. Cox says bill goes too far The governor added that the flag ban goes too far by extending the ban to local governments. While I think its wrong for city and county officials to fly divisive flags, I believe that election have consequences and the best way to stop that behavior is to elect people who believe differently, Cox said. All this bill does is add more fuel to the fire, and I suspect it will only ratchet up the creative use of political symbolism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, Cox urged legislators to focus on solutions rather than legislation that deepens divides. Let us know what you think... As tired as Utahns are of politically divisive symbols, I think they are also tired of culture war bills that dont solve the problems they intend to fix, he said. The governor urged lawmakers to work with the LGBTQ+ community, as they have in the past, to find common ground. Utah has always had a reputation of trying to find a way to work together and solve issues between sides that have strongly-held, opposing points of view, Cox said. There are so many examples of the LGBTQ community and the conservative community coming together to find helpful and hopeful compromise. I hope we can retain this as our model and North Star. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governor also shared a message directly to LGBTQ+ Utahns, acknowledging that recent legislation has been difficult. Politics can be a bit of a blood sport at times and I know we have had our disagreements, he said. I want you to know that I love and appreciate you and I am grateful that you are part of our state. I know these words may ring hollow to many of you, but please know that I mean them sincerely. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) BREC Superintendent Corey Wilson announced he will not be seeking a renewal of his contract with the agency at a Thursday commission meeting. Wilson was unanimously voted in as the superintendent for BREC in January 2019. He previously served as the agencys in-house attorney and administrative executive. His contract will expire on Jan. 31, 2026. According to Chief Operating Officer Andrea Roberts, Wilson will answer staff questions at a Monday town hall meeting. Roberts said the commission would hold off on discussing hiring a new superintendent until after the town hall meeting. Bills filed could restructure BRECs leadership Two bills filed by State Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, for the upcoming legislative session could significantly change the agencys operations. In a statement issued by Chief Operating Officer Andrea Roberts, the agency said it is unaware of McMakins goal in filing the bills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Transitioning BREC under City-Parish could potentially jeopardize the funding that citizens have endorsed. We see no compelling reason to restructure, as our existing format effectively channels investments throughout East Baton Rouge Parish, resulting in significant initiatives in varied communities across the parish, Roberts said. House Bill 86 HB 86 would reduce the number of BREC commission members from nine to five. The proposed bill would replace the current structure with a commission made up of mayors. Currently, the commission consists of nine members, including: Six appointed members chosen by the Metro Council. Three ex officio members: the mayor-president or a designee, an East Baton Rouge Parish school board member, and a planning commission member. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If passed, this change would terminate the terms of all current commissioners and replace them with the mayors of the specified municipalities. Three members would constitute a quorum, making decisions easier to reach with fewer participants. House Bill 87 The second bill, HB 87, would repeal all existing statutes governing BREC, effectively eliminating the agency as an independent political subdivision of the state. Instead, the bill would transfer all obligations, property, records, and employees of BREC to the city-parish government. Background on BREC audit The push for restructuring BRECs leadership and transferring control to the city-parish government comes just weeks after a 2022 audit revealed significant financial and operational concerns within the agency. The audit found: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Payroll errors: Three employees were paid twice for their final termination payments, resulting in overpayments totaling approximately $42,000. Untimely reconciliations: The agency failed to reconcile bank accounts, payroll benefit liabilities, and inventory accounts in a timely manner, increasing the risk of financial mismanagement. Equipment theft: Multiple instances of theft totaling approximately $29,000 were reported, including stolen catalytic converters, power tools, and electronic equipment from various BREC facilities. BREC management responded to the findings by hiring additional accounting staff and improving financial oversight. The agency also said it is reviewing internal controls and enhancing security measures to prevent further thefts. 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. KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) A television cameraman was among two people who died on Friday when supporters of Nepal 's former king clashed with police during a rally in the capital to demand restoration of the Himalayan nation's abolished monarchy. Several protesters and police officers were injured in the clashes. The Home Ministry said an injured protester died while getting treatment at a hospital, while a local TV station said one of its staff was killed when a building he was filming from was set on fire. The government imposed a curfew in the areas where the clashes happened in Kathmandu after the police in riot gear used tear gas, batons and water canon against the protesters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thousands of supporters of former king Gyanendra Shah had gathered at the eastern edge of Kathmandu for the rally organized by an alliance of groups supporting the ex-monarch. The gathering near the airport had been planned as a peaceful rally, but trouble began when some protesters in a white pickup drove at a police barricade, colliding with several officers. Police responded by shooting tear gas shells and spraying the crowd with water canon. On the other side of the capital, thousands of people who support the present republican system of government gathered Friday for a counter rally. The rally participants were from the opposition parties led by the Maoists, a group that fought an armed rebellion from 1996-2006 to oust the monarchy. It is impossible for the monarchy to come back. It is ridiculous to even think that something that is already dead and cremated could come back to life, said Ram Kumar Shrestha, a Maoist supporter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has been growing demand in recent months for Shah to be reinstated as king and Hinduism to be brought back as a state religion. Royalist groups accuse the countrys major political parties of corruption and failed governance and say people are frustrated with politicians. We need the country to return to monarchy and the king to come back, because the political parties and system have failed in the country," said Rajendra Bahadur Khati, one of the participants at the pro-monarchy rally. When the source is so polluted the entire system has gotten rotten. Massive street protests in 2006 forced Gyanendra to give up his authoritarian rule, and two years later the parliament voted to abolish the monarchy. Gyanendra, who left the Royal Palace to live as commoner, has not commented on the calls for the return of monarchy. Despite growing support, the former king has little chance of immediately returning to power. Two decades ago, the Bush administration said its "war on terror" prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay were off-limits to the federal courts, but the Supreme Court disagreed. "A state of war is not a blank check for the President," said Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2004. "Whatever power the U.S. Constitution envisions for the Executive in its exchanges with other nations or with enemy organizations..., it most assuredly envisions a role for all three branches when individual liberties are at stake." Only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That issue is now back before the Supreme Court. Although the nation is not at war, President Trump has invoked his war powers under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to round up and deport to El Salvador about 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan crime gang. Two legal questions arose immediately. How can Trump rely on the 1798 law, which applies only when Congress has "declared war" or a "foreign government" has launched an "invasion"? Read more: Appeals court won't halt order barring Trump administration from deportations under wartime law And how does the government know all these men are gang members? Their families said they have no criminal records, and in some instances, fled Venezuela and sought asylum to escape the gangs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far, however, the legal fight has focused on the same big question from the Guantanamo era: Do federal judges have the authority to limit the power of the president who says he is protecting the nation from "dangerous aliens"? On Friday, Trump's acting solicitor general, Sarah Harris, urged the Supreme Court to set aside the judge's order that put a temporary pause on further deportations. "This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country the President...or the Judiciary," she wrote in her appeal. "The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President. The republic cannot afford a different choice." The justices asked for a response from the American Civil Liberties Union by Tuesday. The fast-moving case poses an early test of whether the high court will uphold the president's power to swiftly deport migrants without interference from judges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two weeks ago, Trump signed a proclamation that Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan crime gang, was "perpetrating...an invasion" of the United States and ordering the "prompt removal" of all those who were held. On the afternoon of Saturday, March 15, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg convened a hastily arranged hearing in response to an emergency lawsuit brought on behalf of five Venezuelan men who feared they would be deported to El Salvador. At the same hour, administration officials were arranging for three planes to take off from Texas. The judge questioned how the 1798 law could authorize such deportations, and "to preserve the status quo," he ordered a temporary pause on all the deportations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the five named plaintiffs stayed in Texas, the administration essentially ignored the broader order and allowed the three flights to proceed as planned. Although the judge said he was troubled his orders were ignored, Trump's lawyers were troubled by his intervention. "These orders are an affront to the President's broad constitutional and statutory authority to protect the United States from dangerous aliens who pose grave threats to the American people," they said on behalf of Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi. "The presidential actions they challenge are not subject to judicial review," they said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Constitution simply provides no basis for ... second-guessing the policy judgment by the Executive that such an 'invasion' is occurring," they said. The president "has an inherent authority to conduct foreign affairs and address national security risks." They took a hard line and refused to even disclose the flight times for airplanes that flew to El Salvador. That's a "state secret," they said in a brief filed on Monday. Veterans of the legal battles over Guantanamo see some similarities but differences as well. UC Berkeley Law professor John Yoo, a former Bush administration attorney, said the Guantanamo prisoners were not brought into the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Here, there is no doubt that the Venezuelans sent to El Salvador were detained within the United States," he said. In the past, the Supreme Court has said people who are being held in this country, including noncitizens, have a right to due process of law. Yoo said, "Trump is invoking the same arguments we made after 9/11 that the capture and detention of enemy prisoners during wartime fell exclusively within the Presidents authority as Commander-in-Chief to conduct war." He is also "making similar arguments as to why federal judges today should defer to the decisions of the executive branch during what he has determined is an invasion." But Yoo said he doubts the courts will uphold Trump's reliance on the 1798 law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Roberts criticizes Trump's call for impeaching judge who ruled against his deportation plans Earlier this week, Boasberg explained his order was narrow in scope as well as temporary. It would not lead to the release any of the Venezuelans that are being held, and it does not prevent the government from deporting those who have a "final order of removal" under the U.S. immigration laws, he said. It prevents only deportations to El Salvador that are based on the disputed Alien Enemies Act. It also resolved nothing about the plight of those who are now held in El Salvador. On Monday, Trump's lawyers asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out Boasberg's order but lost in a 2-1 decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each of the judges wrote a lengthy opinion making a separate point. Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, disputed the use of the Alien Enemies Act. "An invasion is a military act, not one of migration," she said. Judge Patricia Millett, an appointee of President Obama, said the detained men deserve a hearing to challenge the claim they were gang members. Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, dissented but said the detained men could file a habeas corpus claim in Texas where they are held. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, who brought the lawsuit, said the decision preserving the judge's order "means that hundreds of individuals remain protected from being sent to a notorious black-hole prison in a foreign country, without any due process whatsoever perhaps for the rest of their lives." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, called the D.C. Circuit's decision "an important step for due process and the protection of the American people. President Trump is bound by the laws of this nation, and those laws do not permit him to use wartime powers when the United States is not at war and has not been invaded." In her appeal on Friday, Harris, the acting solicitor general, agreed with Walker that the Venezuelans held in Texas could file a writ of habeas corpus there. ACLU attorneys and Millett dismissed that option as impractical. The hundreds of men who were held had no lawyers, they said, and no way to know they must file an individual legal claim in federal court. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's Axis Bank has partnered with J.P. Morgan to offer real-time U.S. dollar payment capabilities to commercial clients in the country, facilitated by Kinexys, the U.S-based lender's blockchain and digital assets unit. This is the first instance where an Indian company will have the flexibility to make or receive dollar payments at any time, J.P. Morgan said in a statement on Thursday. Axis Bank will deliver the 24/7 dollar clearing capability for clients out of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT city, an international financial services center. The collaboration with Kinexys will offer "significant value" to clients by streamlining payments, unlocking liquidity and adding further optionality on cross-border payments, Neeraj Gambhir, group executive & head - treasury, markets & wholesale banking products, at Axis Bank said. Currently, companies can make cross-border payments that are settled on the same day. Naveen Mallela, global co-head at Kinexys, illustrated the anytime payment capability by saying that Indian companies can now make dollar payments to Middle Eastern clients on Sundays, which are standard working days in that region. "The ability to move money 24X7 without cutoffs essentially reduces the cost of liquidity for processing of payments. Furthermore, the payment rails are designed to be completely no-deduct which will ensure full preservation of payment amount until it reaches the final beneficiary," Mallela said. (Reporting by Nimesh Vora; Editing by Sonia Cheema) EAU CLAIRE With the spring election less than a week away, Supreme Court Justice candidate Brad Schimel made a stop in Eau Claire on Wednesday night to encourage voters in the final days before April 1. The former Attorney General and Waukesha Circuit Court Judge Schimel, a Republican-backed candidate, currently faces off against Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, a Democrat-backed candidate. The race is officially nonpartisan, but many partisan issues have become a major talking point with each candidates campaign. As the Associated Press and many others are calling this one of the most expensive state judicial races in US history, the election for Wisconsins open Supreme Court Justice seat seems to have gathered a lot of national attention. This is coupled with donors for Crawford like George Soros and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Schimels endorsement from Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I got in this race 16 months ago, if you told me this was going to be the most important race in America in 2025, I would have said, I dont really see that coming, said Schimel. But things have changed. At Wednesday nights rally, Schimel met with voters to talk about the significance of the upcoming election. This is what we see from this court going through a political agenda, he said. We are not done with that. We are going to see cases that involve huge questions about the balance of power between the executive and legislative branch. That decision needs to be made objectively by a court that is not putting their thumb on the scale, for one side or the other. Schimel was joined by former Governor Scott Walker who spoke to his thoughts on why there is such a national interest in the race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walker said, Why have they nationalized a State Supreme Court race? Well, it is simple: they want to stop the Trump agenda dead in their tracks. The good news is we can do something about it, but we have to go beyond what we normally do for spring elections. There were about 200,000 voters who voted for Donald Trump last fall it was close as it is always here in Wisconsin, but we won. But, there are about 200,000 of those voters who voted for Donald Trump and JD Vance last November who dont typically vote in April. In the remaining five days following the rally, Schimel said their plans are to knock on doors and follow it through until Election Day. We are bouncing and storming around the whole state, running laps We are going from six to eight different communities every single day doing rallies like this and doing tours of places where people work, from farms and manufacturing plants to bank administrations, he said. [Were] going to all these places and meeting as many voters as I can, talking about the importance of getting out the vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in opposition to the Republican-backed candidate, Democrats gathered in downtown Eau Claire saying our courts are not for sale. Democrats and Crawfords campaign criticize Elon Musks involvement in Schimels election, with one instance of this being Musk himself giving $3 million to the Wisconsin Republican Party as reported by the AP. I think this is sending a message that the richest man in the world is not going to be able to buy our votes here in Western Wisconsin, said Rebecca Cooke, a Democrat who recently announced a campaign to try and run again for congress and attended the downtown rally. People are going to be motivated to go to the polls to vote for somebody like Judge Susan Crawford who is fair and impartial, and is going to keep our community safe. The Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, alongside other contested races this spring, will be determined on election day on April 1. The state Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from the man convicted of murder in the stabbing death of a 63-year-old New London man. Christopher Petteway, 48, is serving a 65-year prison sentence for killing his former boyfriend Robert Parise in 2018. He argued in his appeal that he was entitled to a new trial based on the courts refusal to let him represent himself. In a decision released Wednesday, the court ruled that the trial court did not violate Petteways right to self-representation. Petteways decision not to show up in court at jury selection or during his own trial, along with his intolerable pattern of obstructionist and disruptive behavior, led to a forfeiture of his right to represent himself, the court wrote in its decision. The opinion released Wednesday was written by Justice Joan K. Alexander. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Petteway was convicted at trial of murder and violation of a protective order in the Oct. 4, 2018, death of Parise, a salon owner whom friends and family remembered as a gentle soul with a giving heart. Police said Petteway stabbed Parise at Parises Brainard Street home not long after Petteway was release from a 30-day prison stint stemming from a prior domestic-related arrest. Joseph Parise, of Waterford, Robert Parises brother, said he and other family members are breathing a sigh of relief, at the high courts ruling. Were relieved. Its been a very long and difficult journey for myself and family. Im hoping its finally over and we wont have to keep looking over our shoulder wondering if hes going to get set free, Joseph Parise said. Joseph Parise said that with all of the disruptions and delays caused by Petteway while the case was pending, he didnt always understand the courts decisions at the time. Looking back, however, Joseph Parise said Superior Court Judge Shari Murphy was brilliant in making sure that Mr. Petteway got all of his due process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Petteway was responsible for significant delays in getting the case to trial, first firing his public defenders and later, after being appointed new counsel, opting to represent himself at trial. Petteway, on the third day of jury selection, decided not to return to the courtroom after the lunch break. Murphy considered Petteways refusal to return to court an implied waiver of his right to represent himself. She appointed special public defender Christopher Duby to handle his defense at trial, which Petteway did not attend. The trial courts determination was based on its finding that the defendant had engaged in dilatory, disruptive, and manipulative conduct. It was not a premature or quick reaction but, rather, was made in an effort to regain control of the courtroom and the trial schedule. the Supreme Court ruling states. Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Stephen Carney, who prosecuted the case, said he thought the Supreme Court correctly addressed all of the issues claimed in the appeal, which was argued by attorney Naomi Fetterman. Carney credited the states appellate unit for work in defending the conviction. The states case was argued by attorney Laurie Feldman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr. Petteway, by not coming to court, often made it difficult. Theres no question Judge Murphy worked hard to protect his rights and make sure he was always represented by defense counsel, Carney said. Joseph Parise said that while he understands there are multiple appeals available to those convicted of crimes, Im hoping we dont have to go through this again. g.smith@theday.com ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas (KETK) An East Texas man has been charged with murder in connection to a missing persons case. Officials said he admitted to killing one of the men by striking the victim in the head and then strangling him. Mabank man accused of killing sister over $1,500, 4 grams of marijuana According to an affidavit obtained from the Angelina County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1s Office, the Angelina County Sheriffs Office and the Lufkin Police Department began working on the missing persons case on Jan. 31. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials began the search for Robert Saxton, 79, and Michael Allen, 44. In the next two months, an extensive investigation led to the Texas Rangers being called in to assist. John Wayne McCroskey, became a person of interest after officials learned he lived on the property at Saxton Auto Sales, where both victims had been reported missing. Witnesses placed McCroskey with Saxton on Jan. 27 at around 9:30 a.m. in Saxtons lime green vehicle. Surveillance video from a Lufkin motel confirmed that Saxton and McCroskey were together earlier that morning. In early February, the Lufkin Police Department issued credit card abuse warrants for McCroskey after surveillance video from Lufkin and Nacogdoches businesses caught McCroskey using Saxtons credit card without Saxton being present. A few days later, cell phone data retrieved from Jan. 27, led law enforcement to Many, La., where records show, they found a body underneath a brush pile in a remote area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AFFIDAVIT: Longview nursing home employee arrested after tying resident to bed for hours More surveillance video was ascertained from businesses along the route taken, and it showed that McCroskey was in the same lime green car, the affidavit said. The evidence video located along the route taken to LA was approximately two hours after McCroskey was seen with Saxton in Rivercrest. Mugshot of John Wayne McCroskey, courtesy of the Angelina County Jail. While McCroskey was in the Angelina County Jail for credit card abuse, the investigation continued to try and locate Allen. On Tuesday, McCroskey told investigators he wanted to cooperate with the missing persons case. McCroskey, the affidavit stated, admitted to being involved in the disappearance case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McCroskey confessed to killing Robert Saxton with his hands and stated he chocked him until he was dead, documents said. McCroskey confirmed that he killed Mr. Saxton on the morning of Jan. 27 while they were in Rivercrest. The suspect reportedly told officials after he killed Saxton, he used the victims vehicle, and drove to Louisiana where he dumped his body and covered the body with the brush. McCroskey has since been arrested on three counts of credit card abuse, theft of property, tampering or fabricating physical evidence and murder. He is being held at the Angelina County Jail on a $120,000 bond for the credit card abuse charges. A bond has not been set for the other 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 KETK.com | FOX51.com. Micah Laureano with his mother, Phyllis, who filed a lawsuit after Micah's death | Photo courtesy Phyllis Laureno Jackson Vogel allegedly told a corrections officer that he killed his cellmate, Micah Laureano, because Laureano was Black and gay. A case report the Examiner received from the Brown County Sheriffs Office shows Vogel had a history of racist and threatening behavior. After Laureano died in late August at Green Bay Correctional Institution (GBCI), Vogel was charged with homicide with hate crime and repeat offender penalties, the Examiner reported. The Wisconsin Examiners Criminal Justice Reporting Project shines a light on incarceration, law enforcement and criminal justice issues with support from the Public Welfare Foundation. Micah Laureanos mother, Phyllis Laureano, has sued Secretary Jared Hoy and GBCI warden Christopher Stevens of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. The federal civil rights lawsuit alleges defendants willful and deliberate indifference to Mr. Laureanos safety resulted in the murder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs office said the suspect and victim had occupied the same cell for only hours before the incident. The statement said the medical examiners findings confirmed Laureano died of strangulation/suffocation by manner of homicide. Beth Hardtke, communications director for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, said both individuals involved in the incident were in temporary lockup status. Before Laureanos death, Vogel, 25, had been found guilty of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, the Examiner reported in late August. Laureano, 19, had been found guilty of taking and driving a vehicle without consent and as party to a crime for substantial battery intending bodily harm, robbery with use of force and first-degree recklessly endangering safety. Conduct reports A narrative in a Brown County Sheriffs Office case report described information from a few conduct reports Vogel received. The Examiner received the report last year through an open records request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sergeant Justin Raska reviewed conduct reports for Laureano and Vogel, according to the case report. He found nothing relevant in Laureanos reports but wrote about three of Vogels infractions. The first report Raska described was dated March 5, 2024, and was completed by a staff member at the Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility (RYOCF). The staff had received inmate complaint forms filed by Vogel that contained obscene, profane, abusive and threatening language, some of which was written in German, according to the description of the incident. The complaints included swastika symbols. According to the report, Vogels writing included the words you all need and deserve Death! and White Power (WLM). He voiced support for Adolf Hitler and the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang. A second conduct report was dated March 6, 2024, according to Raska. A lieutenant received interview request forms from Vogel, which were written to several staff members at RYOCF and made numerous disrespectful racial remarks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The request forms included several inappropriate remarks and symbols, such as SS Bolts and das Endlosung. This referenced Hitlers Final Solution of mass murder of Jewish people, according to the report. The third conduct report described by Raska was completed by a sergeant at GBCI and dated August 27, 2024, the day of Laureanos death. Incarcerated people were removed from a cell so that maintenance could fix a clogged sink, according to the report. Unit staff discovered the wooden bulletin board was broken, and the sergeant heard from unit staff that Vogel admitted to breaking the board because he was bored. The bulletin board had jagged edges and it was unsafe to house incarcerated people in the cell, according to the report. This might have led to Vogel being housed in a different cell, with Laureano. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Laureano and Vogels cell was in a segregated Treatment Center area, according to a narrative in the case report by Raska. Raska said he was told the Treatment Center block serves as a step unit to bridge the gap between restricted housing and general population housing. Restricted housing includes disciplinary separation which occurs when an incarcerated person commits a violation. Raska said the treatment center serves as an alternative to single cell segregation in the restricted housing unit. He said incarcerated people could be housed in the treatment center due to clinical observation or because of a pending investigation. Lawsuit alleges deliberate indifference Phyllis and Micah Laureno | Photo courtesy of Phyllis Laureno Laureanos lawsuit contains three Eighth Amendment counts. It alleges deliberate indifference to Laureanos safety, failure to protect Laureano and failure to train subordinates. The lawsuit does not mention Vogels conduct reports or the racist statements mentioned in them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit alleges that the defendants didnt consider and/or willfully ignored Vogels substantial history of violent assault, mental health issues, and multi-decade length of sentence when assessing his compatibility with Mr. Laureano, who was serving a lesser sentence of three years. It also alleges that defendants failed to adequately train, monitor and supervise GBCI staff to make sure administrative requirements and protocols were being followed during housing decisions. Phyllis Laureano is represented by attorney Lonnie Story, who said he has spoken to incarcerated people who might be deposed prior to a trial. It was very apparent to the inmates, as well as what from what they communicate to me about staff, it would be kind of hard to deny by anyone to say there was no knowledge of Mr. Vogel being a racist, and expressing other very negative opinions and ideas outside of just the race factor, Story said, adding that this applied to sexual orientation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Sept. 10, the Examiner made an open records request to the DOC, requesting reports regarding incidents involving Vogel and/or Laureano. The requests status is in progress in the DOCs open records request portal. Beth Hardtke, the communications director for the DOC, said its the DOCs practice not to comment on cases where there is ongoing litigation. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A young man accused of brutally attacking, and ultimately killing, a 65-year-old woman at a Tampa park will remain behind bars until his trial, the State Attorneys Office said Thursday. While in court Thursday, Assistant State Attorney Sheri Maxim argued that no conditions of pre-trial release for 18-year-old Antonio Gueits would ensure the communitys safety, and the judge agreed, deciding that Gueits should be held without bond. Manatee County man accused of battering pregnant girlfriend Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators said Gueits is believed to have attacked the victim, Cerida Charon, on Dec. 26, 2024, at Tampas University Area Community Park over nothing more than a purse. According to officials, surveillance video showed Gueits knocking Charon to the ground, then stomping on her head as she laid unconscious. He then ran from the area after grabbing her purse, detectives said. Deputies found Charon at the park with multiple broken bones and a brain bleed. She was hospitalized for months after the incident but ultimately succumbed to her injuries on March 16. The Medical Examiners Office ruled her death a homicide. Gueits was taken into custody back in December, but his charge was elevated to first-degree murder after Charons death. In a statement announcing the upgraded charges, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister called the incident a completely senseless and inhumane attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A trial date has not been set yet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. GOSHEN A Cromwell man has admitted to stealing a firearm at gunpoint during a would-be sale in July. Anthony Amaya Jr., 29, pleaded guilty to armed robbery as a Level 3 felony Thursday in Elkhart County Circuit Court. He admitted that he robbed a man at gunpoint on July 7 in Middlebury. Police said Amaya met a man at a pizza restaurant after arranging a deal to buy a handgun and some .45 caliber ammunition. The victim said he retrieved a bag containing the gun when Amaya came into the store, but instead of paying Amaya took a handgun from his waistband, pointed it at him and demanded he hand it over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Security footage from cameras inside and outside the restaurant showed a man arriving in a red Ford passenger car and entering the restaurant as the victim retrieved a shopping bag, according to police. The suspect could be seen tucking a black handgun into his waistband seconds later and leaving the store with the bag in his hand before running back to his car and driving away. Two hours later, police spotted a red Ford Fusion on Elkhart Citys Flock camera system that was registered to a man thought to be a friend of Amayas. Police arrested Amaya days later during a traffic stop. He allegedly told them that he was threatened into committing the robbery by other people and that the gun he used wasnt loaded. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Amaya will be sentenced to 14 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections. Six years will be spent in prison, four years will be served on a community corrections program and four years will be suspended and served on probation. Judge Michael Christofeno accepted the plea and set sentencing for May 15. UPDATE: At 6:15 p.m. on Friday, Bothell PD shared that utility work had been completed, and that Bothell Way NE would reopen as soon as City of Bothell Public Works crews finished road cleanup. Utility work is now completed. Bothell Way NE will reopen as soon as @CityofBothell Public Works crews finish road cleanup. pic.twitter.com/VAPnmZhA8t Bothell Police (@BothellPolice) March 29, 2025 Over 900 residents were without power overnight after police say a car crashed into two power poles in downtown Bothell. According to Bothell PD, a man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of DUI around 7 p.m. on Thursday. The silver sedan he was driving was left crushed along Bothell Way Northeast, shutting down the roadway from 185th to 191st Street in both directions as crews worked to clear the scene. Driver treated at scene and arrested on suspicion of DUI. No passengers, no other vehicles or injuries. pic.twitter.com/4JRCjTL7JP Bothell Police (@BothellPolice) March 28, 2025 Police say the sedan was the only car involved in the crash, but they did not say what led up to it. The driver was able to get himself out before being taken into custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was pretty surprised because I thought that big of damage wouldve blown up the car and got him, said witness Jonathan Rojas. I heard a big thump, l looked to my left, and I saw the lights going down... and then there was a big zap and it started smoking. I looked and was like, Oh my goodness, then I ran out of the building outside. According to the Puget Sound Energy outage map, 920 residents are without power in the area. The estimated time for restoration is 10 a.m. Friday. PSE is at the scene right now, so were expecting this closure to remain through the night, and were expecting this closure between 191st and 185th on Bothell-Everett Highway, said Erin Gowenlock, PIO for the Bothell Fire Dept. Advertisement Advertisement (Reuters) -Automaker stocks around the world slumped on Thursday after the latest round of U.S. tariffs were targeted at the sector. U.S. President Donald Trump said late on Wednesday the United States will effectively charge a 25% tariff on all cars not made in the country and that the new duties on cars and light trucks imported into the United States will be permanent. Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Continental lost 4.5 billion euros ($4.84 billion) in combined market value on Thursday. HOWARD WOODWARD, BOND PORTFOLIO MANAGER, T. ROWE PRICE, LONDON: "While the market was somewhat prepared for additional tariffs, the timing and magnitude were unexpected. This exacerbates already weak European consumer sentiment for high-ticket cars. We anticipate European auto margins will remain under pressure throughout this year and likely into 2026. "Not all European auto bonds will be equally affected. German manufacturers, with their significant reliance on U.S. exports, are expected to face more scrutiny from traders. Conversely, companies with less exposure to the U.S. market may present investment opportunities. We foresee increased divergence in the performance of individual European auto bonds." MORITZ KRONENBERGER, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, UNION INVESTMENT, FRANKFURT: "The announced tariffs on vehicles imported to the USA are a disaster for the entire sector. The belief that prices could be passed on and would be unconditionally accepted by consumers is naive." "Car prices in the USA will rise - only cars manufactured in the USA can be kept somewhat stable - but the entire supply chain will be affected by the tariff disruption. "Ultimately, this will lead to declining volumes of new cars, inefficiencies in factory utilization, and significantly lower margins, free cash flows, and ultimately earnings." KYLE RODDA, SENIOR FINANCIAL MARKET ANALYST, CAPITAL.COM, MELBOURNE: "There are a lot of layers here. However, I think the big concern is that not only will these tariffs be disruptive and economically harmful, but it indicates that the Trump administration's shake-up of global trade won't necessarily end with next week's April 2nd announcement of reciprocal tariffs, as previously hoped. This potentially drags out trade uncertainty even longer and raises the question of how radical a change to the global trade order is Trump trying to bring about." JASON CHAN, SENIOR INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, BANK OF EAST ASIA, HONG KONG: "Trump's auto tariff probably has a bigger impact on the EU compared with Chinese carmakers. The levies on Chinese autos have been hiked up already, and they have relatively limited exposure to the U.S. market anyway. Also, his comments about the TikTok deal are giving people hope that there's room for negotiations. The Swedish government has instructed the Swiss Armed Forces to make payments to coalitions of forces and assets in the areas of demining and unmanned aerial vehicles under the Ramstein format. Source: A statement by the Swedish government, as reported by European Pravda Details: This support in the amount of SEK 80 million (7.2 million) is part of the 18th military assistance package to Ukraine. The Swedish government has repeatedly instructed the Swedish Armed Forces to support coalitions of forces and assets within the framework of the Contact Group for the Defence of Ukraine. The Armed Forces will now receive a similar task and will provide SEK 40 million (3.6 million) to support the Mine Action Coalition and the same amount to support the Drone Coalition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This support ensures that Ukraine can develop its drone technology and mine clearance capabilities. It will help the Ukrainian army and the Ukrainian society," Defence Minister Pal Jonson said. Background: On 24 March, it became known that the drone coalition had allocated 20 million from a joint fund to purchase tactical-level intelligence drones for the Ukrainian defence forces. In July 2024, the countries participating in the drone coalition signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which they created a joint fund worth 45 million. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! JARAMANA, Syria (AP) Rana Al-Ahmad opens her fridge after breaking fast at sundown with her husband and four children during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Apart from eggs, potatoes and some bread, its empty because state electricity in Syria only comes two hours a day. We cant leave our food in the fridge because it will spoil, she said. Her husband, a taxi driver in Damascus, is struggling to make ends meet, so the family cant afford to install a solar panel in their two-room apartment in Jaramana on the outskirts of the capital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Months after a lightning insurgency ended over half a century of the Assad dynastys rule in Syria, the Islamist interim government has been struggling to fix battered infrastructure after a 14-year conflict decimated much of the country. Severe electricity shortages continue to plague the war-torn country. The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrians live in poverty and the Syrian government has only been able to provide about two hours of electricity every day. Millions of Syrians, like Al-Ahmad and her family, cant afford to pay hefty fees for private generator services or install solar panels. Syria's new authorities under interim leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa have tried to ease the country's electricity crisis, but have been unable to stop the outages with patchwork solutions. Even with a recent gas deal with Qatar and an agreement with Kurdish-led authorities that will give them access to Syria's oil fields, the country spends most of its days with virtually no power. Reports of oil shipments coming from Russia, a key military and political ally of Assad, shows the desperation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pitch black At Al-Ahmads home, she and her husband were only able to get a small battery that could power some lights. The battery we have is small and its charge runs out quickly, said Al-Ahmad, 37. Its just enough that her children can huddle in the living room to finish their homework after school. And the family is not alone. Everywhere in Syria, from Damascus to Daraa in the south, neighborhoods turn pitch black once the sun sets, lit only from street lamps, mosque minarets and car headlights. The downfall of Assad in December brought rare hope to Syrians. But the new interim authorities have scrambled to establish control across the country and convince Western nations to lift economic sanctions to make its economy viable again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The United States in January eased some restrictions for six months, authorizing some energy-related transactions. But it doesnt appear to have made a significant difference on the ground just yet. Battered and bruised fields Washington and other Western governments face a delicate balance with Syrias new authorities, and appear to be keen on lifting restrictions only if the war-torn countrys political transition is democratic and inclusive of Syrian civil society, women and non-Sunni Muslim communities. Some minority groups have been concerned about the new authorities, especially incidents of revenge attacks targeting the Alawite community during a counter-offensive against an insurgency of Assad loyalists. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fixing Syrias damaged power plants and oil fields takes time, so Damascus is racing to get as much fuel as it can to produce more energy. Damascus is now looking towards the northeastern provinces, where its oil fields under Kurdish-led authorities are to boost its capacity, especially after reaching a landmark ceasefire deal with them. Political economist Karam Shaar said 85% of the countrys oil production is based in those areas, and Syria once exported crude oil in exchange for refined oil to boost local production, though the fields are battered and bruised from years of conflict. These crucial oil fields fell into the hands of the extremist Islamic State group, which carved out a so-called caliphate across large swaths of Syria and Iraq from 2014 to 2017. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its during that period where much of the damage to the (oil) sector happened, said Shaar, highlighting intense airstrikes and fighting against the group by a U.S.-led international coalition. After IS fell, the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces took control of key fields, leaving them away from the central government in Damascus. The new authorities hope to resolve this in a landmark deal with the SDF signed earlier this month. Kamran Omar, who oversees oil production in the Rmeilan oil fields in the northeastern city of Hassakeh, says shortages in equipment and supplies and clashes that persisted with Turkey and Turkish-backed forces have slowed down production, but told the AP that some of that production will eventually go to households and factories in other parts of Syria. The fields only produce a fraction of what they once did. The Rmeilan field sends just 15,000 of the approximately 100,000 barrels they produce to other parts of Syria to ease some of the burden on the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The authorities in Damascus also hope that a recent deal with Qatar that would supply them with gas through Jordan to a major plant south of the capital will be the first of more agreements. The cornerstone of recovery Syria's authorities have not acknowledged reports of Russia sending oil shipments to the country. Moscow once aided Assad in the conflict against armed Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that toppled the former president, but this shows that they are willing to stock up on fuel from whoever is offering. Interim Electricity Minister Omar Shaqrouq admitted in a news conference that bringing back electricity to Syrian homes 24 hours a day is not on the horizon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will soon be four hours, but maybe some more in the coming days. Increasing that supply will be critical for the battered country, which hopes to ease the economic woes of millions and bring about calm and stability. Shaar, who has visited and met with Syrias new authorities, says that the focus on trying to bring fuel in the absence of funding for major infrastructural overhauls is the best Damascus can do given how critical the situation is. Electricity is the cornerstone of economic recovery, said Shaar. Without electricity you cant have a productive sector, (or any) meaningful industries. ___ Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press journalist Hogir El Abdo reported from Hassakeh, Syria. The Art of Crunch, which supplied Tacoma-area coffee shops and restaurants with homemade biscotti, brownies, bars, crackers and more, has closed after 13 years. Owner Rhonda Hamlin delivered her last batch of goodies to customers, including Curran Coffee in Old Town and Two Fox Winery in Lakebay, this week. They wanted to stock up, she said, and that commitment means so much, because you know its just supporting each other locally. Informing her wholesale clients was, she added, one of the most challenging parts of shutting down the business she started as a single mom to two now-grown kids in 2012. It also elongated the process of shutting down, as she began thinking about it seriously last fall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Id get frustrated and tried to think of what in the world I would even want to do, she reflected in a phone call with The News Tribune. Outside of juggling prior jobs through the first couple of years, she was baking full-time by 2014, growing to employ four people. After struggling to find the right space to have her own brick-and-mortar with an equipped commercial kitchen, she found The Gourmet Niche at 7104 6th Ave., a commissary owned by chef and caterer Bette Anne Curry. Rhonda Hamlins The Art of Crunch has supplied Tacoma-area coffee shops and restaurants biscotti, brownies, bars, crackers and more since 2012. Peter Haley/phaley@thenewstribune.com That part has been great, said Hamlin, noting its flexibility, cost, mentorship and access to advice from fellow food entrepreneurs. She went into business after perfecting a biscotti recipe that, years prior, earned her a blue-ribbon in a baking contest at the Washington State Fair. The winner: cranberry biscotti dipped in white chocolate. Flavors have touched on the likes of lavender-caramel, ginger-lemon and tiramisu, according to a 2017 feature in The News Tribune. At the time, she had a tent at the Proctor Farmers Market, too. She also made specialties hard to find locally such as Nanaimo bars, a Canadian chocolate and custard wafer of sorts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lately, other vendors have included Coffeezaun on Pearl in the North End, Wide Awake Cafe (which recently opened a third location on Ruston Way), Delightful Neighborhood Market, Happy Belly and Sandwich Starr. As the pandemic impacted her clients, she tried her hand at her own retail storefront at The Gourmet Niche, with a boost from neighbor Wildside Wine. That helped alleviate some of the residual financial struggles, but she was careful not to undercut her loyal clients and hesitated to raise prices. They were already paying a premium to support a small brand over a processed good from Costco or other commercial suppliers, she noted. Its hard being a small wholesaler, she explained, adding that the profit margin is smaller than selling direct-to-consumer. I didnt have the cash flow to buy a lot in bulk nor anywhere to store it. I go all over the place for certain things. She felt OK coming out of 2020 and 2021, but lately, everything was just adding up or rather, not so much. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It just wasnt enough, she continued. The cost of ingredients and minimum wage, taxes, licensing you just name it, everythings going up. What was for more than a decade a way to make a living felt increasingly impractical, she said, especially as she headed into her early 60s. I just got tired of fighting it, thats all, Hamlin said. The Art of Crunch gained a following at the Proctor Farmers Market in the mid-to-late 2010s. Peter Haley/phaley@thenewstribune.com Before starting The Art of Crunch, she worked at Nordstrom and will, in a sense, return to retail this time at Metropolitan Market. Serving Tacoma for 13 years has been an awesome ride, she said, but she hopes locals take a closer look at the small businesses that surround them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are so many hats to wear behind the scenes, she said. I just think it would challenge people to really pay attention to small businesses you really like but maybe dont go to a lot. Ive had people come to me and say, Oh my gosh, I should have come to you more often. That little place over there? You need more people to go that place instead of Walmart or Target or whatever. Just a few extra pennies at the small place would certainly help a lot. The Tacoma Police Department responded Wednesday to the federal immigration detention center on the Tideflats after the facility reported that someone in custody escaped, according to a police spokesperson. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not confirmed whether a person detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center escaped. A spokesperson did not immediately respond Friday morning to a request for information. A representative for the GEO Group, the federal contractor that runs the facility, also has not responded to questions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sgt. John Correa with Tacoma police said in a phone call that South Sound 911 received a call from the facility Wednesday at about 7:30 p.m. reporting that someone in custody had escaped. He said officers responded to assist in conducting an area check, but no one was located. Officers got to the area around 8 p.m., and about 20 minutes later they were told that the facilitys resources would be taking over the matter, Correa said. About an hour later, Correa said, someone from the facility called again asking Tacoma police to check the area of a Pilot Express gas station on Puyallup Avenue. According to Correa, no one was located. TPD isnt coordinating anything with the Northwest detention center into this matter, Correa added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reports surfaced on social media Thursday about an escape. Katie Daviscourt, a reporter with the Canadian news website The Post Millennial, posted on X that federal law enforcement sources told her there had been an escape at the ICE detention center in Tacoma and that the escapee was on the loose. The Post Millennial has been described as a far right website by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Media Matters for America, which describes itself on its website as a nonprofit dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation. La Resistencia, a group that advocates for closing the ICE facility and ending deportations, posted Thursday to Instagram that it had received several messages informing the group that phone lines were shut down inside the facility and there was an unscheduled call for an emergency count. The group keeps in close contact with detainees inside. The facility at 1623 E. J St. has a capacity for 1,575 detainees. It holds people who are suspected of being in the country illegally or awaiting deportation. Lawyers who work in the facility and La Resistencia said this week that the population of people detained there is nearing capacity. A Tacoma woman has been charged with assault in Pierce County for driving into a group of people Wednesday after an altercation outside a smoke shop. Prosecutors charged the 49-year-old woman with two counts of first-degree assault for the incident that injured two people outside the War Pony XPress on Portland Avenue, charging documents show. She is in custody at the Pierce County Jail, records show. A plea of not guilty was entered on her behalf during an arraignment Thursday afternoon. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille ordered the woman held on a $100,000 bail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Puyallup Tribal officers were dispatched at 12:02 p.m. to the War Pony XPress for a hit and run. A woman was lying on the ground near the store with injuries to her lower legs. She was reportedly crying from the pain and going into shock, according to charging documents. Documents show the womans boyfriend was at the scene and told officers there was an argument between him and a woman, identified as the 49-year-old woman. His girlfriend was with him during the argument. Just prior to the incident, the man went inside the store while his girlfriend remained outside. The 49-year-old woman went to a drive-thru to buy cigarettes, drove back around in her red sedan and parked in front of the mans vehicle, prosecutors wrote. An argument began between the woman and the girlfriend. The woman then entered the store to argue with him and they were both asked to go outside. The woman was also asked to leave. According to the report, witnesses said the suspect was acting erratically and refused to leave the property. It was reported that the suspect was getting in peoples faces and yelling profanities at them and making threats, prosecutors wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The girlfriend told the woman her baby was in the car. Witnesses said the woman allegedly made an open threat to harm the baby too. The woman got into her car after several people told her to leave, documents show. She then allegedly purposefully drove her vehicle into the group of people asking her to leave. The girlfriend fell to the ground after she was struck, and the woman allegedly drove over the lower half of her body. The extent of the girlfriends injuries are not known, prosecutors wrote. The man told police that there was no way that the driver did not know that she hit [the victim]. The man tried to chase the woman as she drove off. A maintenance worker also was injured after his left knee was struck by the sedan, prosecutors wrote. There was reportedly redness in the knee area. The worker also told authorities the woman purposefully drove the car in their direction. Video footage from the scene reportedly showed that the woman approaching the group time and again to instigate an altercation, prosecutors wrote. No one assaulted the woman, according to surveillance. By Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan's defence minister dismissed on Friday China's complaints about a collision between a Taiwan navy ship and a Chinese trawler in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, vowing that Taipei would carry on military exercises undeterred. China's Taiwan Affairs Office condemned the actions of the Taiwanese landing ship as "wicked" following Thursday's collision off Taiwan's central city of Taichung. Taiwan, however, said it did not take place in "restricted" waters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Taiwan Affairs Office always says things like this," Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo told reporters on the sidelines of parliament. "I can only say that we will carry out the drills we should be carrying out." Asked if the Chinese fishing boat was spying on the activities of Taiwan's navy, Koo said it was "not really possible" for such a vessel to get any kind of detailed information on military activity. China said it is also investigating the collision, which happened on the Taiwan side of the Strait's median line which used to unofficially demarcate the two sides' air and maritime border, but which Beijing says it does not recognise. Taiwan's coast guard is leading an investigation into what happened, Koo said of the incident, in which there were no casualties, declining to speculate on the reason or where to attribute blame. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Taiwan Strait is the site of daily Chinese and Taiwanese military activities, though both sides normally maintain a respectful distance and there have been no exchanges of fire for decades. Chieh Chung, a researcher at Taipei-based think tank the Association of Strategic Foresight, said China could use the incident as a further pretext to cross the median line and send its own coast guard vessels to protect its fishermen. That would mean Beijing trying to further assert its legal claims to jurisdiction over the waterway, Chieh said, adding, "National security units should not take this matter lightly." China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up its military drills around the island in recent years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims and routinely denounces what it says are Beijing's efforts to pressure Taipei. This week, China's Taiwan Affairs Office published a list of alleged "separatists" whose activities had been reported to a special email address, though it did not say if the reports came from people in China or Taiwan. Taiwan Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang, whose name headed the list, told reporters on Friday she had been busy this week and had not paid much attention to it. "I think our friends at the Taiwan Affairs Office have been very rude about our officials," she said. China has previously encouraged people to email tip-offs about what it calls Taiwan "separatist" activity. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Clarence Fernandez) (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan is investigating whether Chinas leading chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. illegally poached local engineers as part of an effort to access the islands cutting-edge chip technology. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SMIC set up a branch in Taiwan posing as a Samoa-based company and tried to hire local talent, prosecutors from Taiwans Investigation Bureau said Friday in a statement. Local investigators raided 34 locations and conducted 90 interrogations this month as part of a large-scale probe into 11 Chinese tech companies including SMIC, according to the bureau, which is part of the justice ministry. A SMIC representative did not respond to requests for comment. SMIC rose to global fame in 2023 when it worked with Huawei Technologies Co. to produce an advanced 7-nanometer chip despite facing a myriad of US-led curbs that continue to prevent China from securing the most advanced chipmaking equipment. However, the two companies now have hit a snag with technology development as they cannot secure ASML Holding NVs extreme ultraviolet lithography systems required to make the most cutting-edge chips. As China faces growing restrictions on its access to advanced foreign technologies, it has aggressively tried to obtain know-how in cutting-edge segments including semiconductors by ramping up efforts to recruit engineers from Taiwan and elsewhere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taiwan has become a favorite talent farm for China as the two sides share the same language while the island boasts of the best chipmaking technologies in the world. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the go-to chipmaker for Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp., producing the majority of the worlds AI accelerators. Taiwan does not allow Chinese companies to conduct business activities including hiring locally without formal government approval. However, there have been many cases of Chinese tech companies setting up operations in Taiwan and posing as foreign or local firms. The high pay offered by Chinese companies to lure away Taiwanese engineers has been a perennial story in local media. The investigation bureau said it has opened over 100 investigations into Chinese companies illegally hiring Taiwanese engineers since it formed a task force for such probes in 2020. --With assistance from Gao Yuan, Cindy Wang and Miaojung Lin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. TAMPA, Fla (WFLA) A judge ordered the Signal group chat members who discussed military strikes before and during their execution to keep those messages. Thats due to a lawsuit filed claiming some federal officials are not complying with the law. Some Republican leaders said there was no classified information in the released messages. Many Democrats are calling for resignations. And local veterans are reacting to the situation. Rep. Kathy Castor says eliminating FEMA would be dangerous for Florida families Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That sounds like a war plan to me, said Jay Alexander, the vice president of the Pinellas County Veterans Democratic Caucus. I didnt see anything there that would suggest that it required classification, said Gary Clark, a retired Air Force Colonel. The messages, published by a journalist mistakenly added to a group chat with senior officials, discussed plans to strike Houthi rebels. Some read in part more F-18s launch, strike drones on target, and just confirmed with CENTCOM, we are a go for mission launch. Gary Clarks last assignment was with CENTCOM at MacDill Airforce Base. He said military action is far more detailed, down to exact coordinates and routes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Would anybody in Washington know that? No, they wouldnt know that. That would all take place either between this headquarters and the folks out there just like it did in Desert Storm, Clark said. Jay Alexander served in Operation Just Cause and said the messages showed a classified conversation being had by people too high up in the ranks. I was a private in the army, I would never, if I heard that I would go, Oh (expletive). Pardon my French, Alexander said. There was an old saying in World War 2, loose lips sinks ships. Clark said this was a succession mission, and said this mistake will never happen again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How many shortstops have sat on the bench all season, never made an error, and they were named most valuable player? The thing is if youre not doing anything then youre not going to make a mistake. But if youre doing something, youre going to make a mistake, he said. Alexander said he wants leaders to be held accountable, and to pay more attention because he said it couldve been worse. I think we compromised ourselves, the integrity we have is not looking good to the world, Alexander said. Senators are pushing for formal reviews by the Department of Defense. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the messages were sensitive information, but not classified, and said we should be talking about how it was a very successful operation. 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. CHICAGO (NewsNation) While Noted economist Arthur Laffer warns that President Donald Trumps 25% tariffs on auto imports could add $4,711 to the cost of a vehicle, some in the used car industry tell NewsNation it could mean a spike in sales but not likely before a spike in prices. Manny Gonzalez, owner of Manny Trucks in Chicago, said the market is similar to what was happening during the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues. Gonzalez said that during that period, he had to raise prices by about $1,500 to $2,000. Trump tells automakers not to raise prices over tariff: Official Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He, however, cautioned customers not to panic. First people go a little bit crazy and they start to rush to buy a used car, and that boosts the price for used cars for us buying them, he said. People, lets not be scared. Whatever goes up is going to come down; that always happens. Trump maintains the 25% tariffs will cause more foreign and domestic automakers to expand production and open new factories in the U.S. On Monday, he celebrated a planned $5.8 billion investment by South Korean automaker Hyundai to build a steel plant in Louisiana as evidence that his strategy would succeed. How will Trumps auto tariffs affect car prices? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump said the 25% auto tariffs would help to reduce the federal budget deficit while moving more production into the United States. For the most part, I think its going to lead cars to be made in one location, Trump told reporters on Wednesday. For right now, the car would be made here, sent to Canada, sent to Mexico, sent to all over the place. Its ridiculous. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WASHINGTON (AP) As the nature of financial crime changes, with technology and AI increasingly used to perpetrate illegal acts, the IRS' crime fighting arm IRS Criminal Investigation is announcing a new program intended to improve how it interacts with financial institutions. Called Feedback in Response to Strategic Threat or CI-FIRST the program unveiled Friday is intended to speed up subpoena requests, give banks better data on how to detect criminal activity and build out investigations faster and more efficiently. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks and financial institutions are required to send over a variety of suspicious activity reports to the federal government after detecting potential money laundering or terrorist financing. The goal for CI-FIRST is to help financial institutions more easily detect and report financial crimes tied to fentanyl trafficking, drug trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes by streamlining subpoena requests and improving data-sharing with banks. IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco said in a statement that public-private partnerships thrive when everyone mutually benefits." Also on Friday, IRS Criminal Investigation released new statistics highlighting how the agency has investigated financial crimes using Bank Secrecy Act data. The agency found $21.1 billion in fraud tied to tax and financial crimes from 2022 to 2024, seized $8.2 billion in assets tied to criminal activity in the same period, and recouped $1.4 billion in restitution for crime victims, according to the agency. Behind all of these metrics are real crimes with real victims, said Lauren Kohr, IRS-CIs strategic engagement adviser. A lot of times people look at BSA data or the Bank Secrecy Act as a regulatory requirement, but its really one of the sharpest tools law enforcement as a whole has to trace fraud illicit money and dismantle these criminal networks." "And when illicit money moves, its these BSA reports," she said "that tell us the story. IRS-CI special agents ran an average of 966,900 searches annually against currency transaction reports. A currency transaction report, or CTR, is a financial document that banks are required to file with Treasury for any cash transaction exceeding $10,000 in a single day. In the past three years, roughly 67% of cases opened by IRS-CI involved one or more currency transaction reports below $40,000, with half of currency transaction reports involving amounts less than $22,230. Despite the majority of reports coming in below $40,000, a group of Republican lawmakers is pursing raising the threshold. Spring has sprung, and you can tell by looking at Digs online menu. The fast-casual chain known for its bountiful salads and bowls is promoting a new sandwich for the spring the avo smash, wherein a hearty piece of chicken or tofu is embraced by a brioche bun, pesto aioli, and plenty of bright-green avocado. The lunch spots seasonal menus are planned at least three months in advance, said Andrew Torrens, Digs director of supply, meaning the avo smash has been in the works for a while. However, if the United States decides to escalate a global trade war next month, Dig will have to come up with a backup plan fast. If avocado prices explode, whats our backup? How do we pivot? said Torrens on a recent phone call. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since his inauguration in January, President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada creating confusion for restaurant owners, food distributors, grocers, and consumers who rely on the United States neighbor to the south for fruits and vegetables year-round. On February 1, the president signed an executive order levying a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico. However, he has twice pushed back the start date; earlier this month, he paused tariffs on most goods coming in from Mexico and Canada until April 2. What will actually happen on that date which Trump has dubbed Liberation Day is still largely unclear. A tariff on goods from Mexico, the single largest supplier of horticultural imports to the U.S., would almost certainly mean higher prices at the grocery store. It could also, according to experts, increase food waste along the supply chain. Dig sources most of its avocados from Mexico, where the warm climate is ideal for growing these fruits. This is common in fact, about 90 percent of avocados consumed in the U.S. come from Mexico, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We rely on imports, from Mexico in particular, on things like fresh fruit and vegetables in order to meet year-round consumer demand, said David Ortega, a professor focused on agricultural economics and policy at Michigan State University. Tariffs have the potential to send those prices soaring by raising the cost of production. But the lack of clarity around U.S. trade relations is already impacting operations in the food and beverage industry. avocaods and lemons on a grocery store shelf Theres so much uncertainty, you dont know how to operate your business and you dont know how to plan for it, said Torrens. If you knew what the new reality was, youd adapt to it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other food chains are reeling from the Trump administrations policies. In an annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the salad chain Sweetgreen listed international trade barriers as one factor that could spike the cost of ingredients like avocados; it also mentioned the threat of mass deportation of undocumented workers as a supply chain disruption. Asked about tariffs, Scott Boatwright, the CEO of the Mexican-inspired burrito giant Chipotle, told reporters that the company would not pass on higher costs to the customer. It is our intent as we sit here today to absorb those costs, Boatwright told NBC Nightly News on March 2, just days before Trump announced a one-month pause in tariffs for goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the trade agreement he negotiated during his first term. Much has been written and said about the economic impacts of tariffs. One lesser-known side effect which could also have environmental consequences is the potential for more food loss and waste. This can happen at various points along the food supply chain, from the farm to the U.S.-Mexico border to grocery store shelves. I think tariffs are a bit of a supply chain disruption, not unlike the ones felt during the pandemic, said Brenna Ellison, professor of agribusiness management at Purdue University. The trouble stems from the fact that fruit and vegetables are highly perishable. If were having trouble getting them in the country because it costs more, if that creates more hesitation among U.S. buyers to get those products into the country, the clock is ticking really fast, said Ellison. Items that normally would make their way to U.S. consumers will go to waste quickly unless we can find some alternate use for them. Food loss and waste are measured by looking at how much edible food grown for human consumption doesnt end up feeding people whether thats at the harvesting and processing stage or further along the way to the consumer, like in stores or kitchens. When organic matter, like fruits and vegetables, is thrown out, it often winds up in landfills where it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, as it rots. In the U.S., a majority of wasted food about 60 percent goes to landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA also found that every year, 55 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents are emitted from food waste in landfills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the pandemic, there were reports of farmers leaving food to rot in the fields, as restaurants shut down and growers lost access to their regular customers. Ellison states this could happen again, if tariffs raise the price of agricultural goods to the point that growers are not confident theyll be able to sell as much product as theyre used to and recoup the cost of harvesting. limes at the grocery store But she noted that it does not necessarily mean those crops are sent to a landfill. In some cases, depending on the crop, it can be tilled back into the soil, sending plant nutrients back to the earth, said Ellison. However, more waste can happen further along the supply chain on the way to market or in grocery stores. If tariffs lead to delays in processing at the border, that could lead to more produce spoiling before or as it meets the consumer, said Ortega. He also mentioned that when the Trump administration first announced tariffs, a lot of importers started to do what we call front-loading; they started to get as much product over the border in an effort to beat the tariff. Ordering fresh produce in excess means you have to sell it. Multiple Whole Foods Market stores in New York City in mid-March had a promotion on Mexican produce, including avocados and mangos. Whole Foods did not respond to a request for comment about whether the sale was related to tariff announcements. United Natural Foods Inc. the importer for Whole Foods had no comment, said Kristin Jimenez, the corporations vice president of corporate communications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When food is left on grocery store shelves, it can also lead to food waste, said Ellison at Purdue. That can happen when retailers over-order produce and cant sell all of it or when prices go up and people just cant afford to buy it, Ellison added. Theres also a chance that consumers could end up seeing more limited availability of goods as retailers try to switch up their sourcing to avoid tariffs. While Trump campaigned on lowering the cost of goods at the grocery store, a 25 percent tariff on goods from Mexico could make basics like fruits and vegetables even more expensive. That has hunger relief organizations worried, too. Were obviously concerned that anytime theres a potential disruption in the supply chain, particularly with fruits and vegetables, it could impact our ability to feed those in need, said Jen Cox, the chief development officer at Food Forward, a food rescue operation focused on redistributing fresh produce to food banks, after-school programs, and more. She added that tariffs could exacerbate an already challenging cost-of-living situation for many people in the U.S., leading to an increase in hunger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. set a goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030 were nowhere near that. Should tariffs drive an increase in food sent to landfills, it will be one of multiple knock-on effects that trade barriers will have on consumers. Its sort of a conflation of all of these situations, said Cox. Those compounding crises economic, social, and environmental mean that organizations like hers could have their hands full in the coming months, working to fill the gaps that America First trade policies will likely create. Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Brenna Ellisons place of work. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Tariffs wont just hit your wallet. They could also increase food waste. on Mar 28, 2025. Tarpon Springs police were investigating a fatal shooting Friday. Officers responded about 9:40 a.m. to a 911 call reporting shots fired at 1208 N. Pinellas Ave. and found a man with a gunshot wound in his abdomen, according to the Tarpon Springs Police Department. Paramedics took the man to HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital, where he died from his injuries. The police department has not released the mans name or age. Investigators were working to notify his family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The address is the location of the Eagles Nest Lounge, but police did not release more specific information about where the shooting happened. No other information has been released. Police said the shooting is an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public. TDOT: Northbound I-81 reopened after multi-vehicle crash UPDATE: As of 5:30 a.m. on Friday, TDOTs SmartWay map shows no closures in the area. SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) The northbound lanes of Interstate-81 are closed in Sullivan County after a multi-vehicle crash, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). The crash was reported at 9:55 p.m. near the Interstate 26 interchange at mile marker 56.8 in Sullivan County. Photo TDOT Traffic has backed up for a couple of miles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News Channel 11 has reached out to authorities for more information on the crash. This is a 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. AUSTIN (KXAN) The Austin Independent School District said a teacher arrested on child pornography charges taught as a substitute at 20 schools in the district. On March 11, the Texas Department of Public Safety alerted the Austin Independent School District Police Department that Carl Innmon, 50, was under investigation for possession of child pornography, a first-degree felony, according to AISD. Police documents from March 14 show the teacher at Baranoff Elementary School now faces charges of possession of child pornography with intent to promote, a second-degree felony, and possession or promotion of lewd visual material depicting a child, a state jail felony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KXAN reached out to AISD to find out if Innmon had taught at any other schools. AISD told KXAN they sent letters to 20 campuses where Inmon had substituted. Police say Austin ISD teacher allegedly used AI to create child pornography of students The campuses where AISD said he subbed include: Eastside ECHS, Travis ECHS, LBJ ECHS, LASA, Andrew ES, Doss ES, Pickle ES, Reilly ES, Jordan ES, Northeast ECHS, Dobie MS, Akins ECHS, Crockett ECHS, International HS, Sadler Means YWLA, Bedicheck MS, Lively MS, Kealing MS, Anderson HS and Navarro ECHS. Innmon started as a substitute teacher in August 2023 and then started at Baranoff full-time in August 2024. AISD said it immediately placed Innmon on administrative leave once it was notified of the investigation, according to a letter from the district. This was Innmons first year of teaching at the elementary school and he was last seen on the campus on March 10, the district said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to police affidavits, a search of his devices revealed more than 365,000 images of child sexual abuse. Among them were AI-generated images of two AISD students from the elementary school. Police said Innmon used an AI generator to alter photos of students, making them sexually explicit. In a letter to families, the district said DPS and Austin ISD police are working to identify and notify those affected. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Austin ISD 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 KXAN Austin. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) New Mexico State Police have arrested a man, who has been identified as a teacher, on multiple charges of child sexual abuse, the agency said on Friday, March 28. Devin Henderson, 23, of Ruidoso, has been charged with 22 counts of sexual exploitation of children, seven counts of enticement of a child, seven counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor, three counts of sexually oriented material harmful to minors and one count of indecent exposure, State Police said. The investigation began last year, New Mexico State Police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Dec. 11, 2024, NMSP agents were contacted about multiple alleged incidents of criminal sexual contact at the Mountain View Christian Academy in Ruidoso. State Police said they learned that eight children, ages 10 and under, reported that Henderson had inappropriately touched them on more than one occasion while attending his computer class. Investigation Bureau agents attended forensic interviews of the children and said they learned Henderson would also show them explicit photographs of himself on his cell phone, State Police said. During this extensive investigation, Investigations Bureau agents executed multiple search warrants with the assistance of the New Mexico Attorney Generals Office-Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit Office and New Mexico State Police Uniform Bureau. An arrest warrant was issued for Henderson on March 27, and he was taken into custody the same day by New Mexico State Police Investigation Bureau agents and officers without incident in Ruidoso. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henderson had been an employee at Mountain View Christian Academy since January of 2023 and was placed on administrative leave once the school learned of these allegations, but was later terminated, State Police said. This case remains under investigation and will be prosecuted by the Twelfth Judicial District Attorneys Office, State Police 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 KTSM 9 News. Mar. 27For years, the mantra of attracting people to the Mountain State for work went along the following lines. It's a script, as it turns out, hasn't really changed much even over years of stereotypes, stagnant economy, and other particulars of perception. Just come here. Pay us a visit. Check us out. Once you actually meet us, you'll love us (trust us). In Monongalia County Schools these days, all of the above is currently playing out this school year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiplied by five. During its regular meeting of the Board of Education on Tuesday, the district formally introduced a quintet of teachers who have decided to live in the Mountain State and work in Mon's school district. Say hello to Andrew Calandrelli, Andrea Mulligan, Nicole Radick, Maria Vito and Jessica Willis. The five are participants in "Teachers Ascend into West Virginia, " a program created in 2022 by WVU, the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative and the West Virginia Department of Education as a way to answer teacher shortages across the state. Across the Mountain State's 55 public school districts that year, there were 1, 200 job openings in classrooms that weren't filled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When it came time for the pilot program, the collaborative's executive director Donna Hoylman Peduto, who grew up in neighboring Marion County and began her career in education as a teacher and reading specialist in her native Fairmont, knew right where to look, she said. That would be north-central West Virginia, she said. With one county and one district, in particular, she said. "This is a program that was taking a chance, " she told the BOE. "Mon County is the home of innovation. Whenever there's something innovative, a little risk-taking, always go to Mon County first." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The program offers a $6, 000 stipend and additional support of up to $4, 050 in additional tuition opportunities through WVU's College of Applied Human Sciences, the university reported earlier. There's also a wealth of outdoor recreation opportunities, Peduto said, and the program will even line up summer employment to help beginning teachers with young families to support. Peduto appreciates the geography encompassed by the program so far, she added. Calandrelli, who is on the math faculty at Morgantown High School, moved from St. Louis for his position. Mulligan hails from Ebensburg, Pa., and landed at South Middle, to teach music. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Radick got to her fifth-grade classroom at Skyview Elementary by way of Richmond, Va. Vito motored down Interstate 79 from Bentleyville, Pa., to Morgantown for her physical education teaching appointment at North Elementary. Willis left a teaching job in the Pittsburgh area to join the special education faculty at Cheat Lake Elementary. There's also the boomerang, ex-pat factor. Calandrelli and Radick are WVU graduates. Eddie Campbell Jr., the Mon Schools superintendent, knows all about that. Campbell, who came back to his native West Virginia after teaching and serving in administrative posts in northern Virginia, Alaska and China, gave the five As for initiative and advancement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You've chosen a wonderful district and a wonderful state to teach in, and we'll work real hard to make sure you stay here, " he said. Mulligan, the South Middle music teacher, quickly picked up on West Virginia's welcoming song, she told board members. Her kids were grown and out of the house, she said. Her husband had a job opportunity, and they moved here not really knowing anyone, she said. "Everything was new, " she said. "My school has been very welcoming, and it has been a wonderful way to get to know the people." Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and First Gentleman Bryan Sanders survey storm damage in Cave City on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Photo by Becca Paschal/Arkansas Governor's Office) Meteorologists predicted the volatile weather that hit Arkansas on March 14 at least five days in advance by using sophisticated equipment and advanced forecasting techniques, surpassing their normal two-day warning of potential tornadic activity. Those advancements may soon be throttled, however, as budget cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could strip National Weather Service stations of needed meteorologists, cut funding for research and upgrades in equipment and eliminate educational outreach programs such as storm spotter training classes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under President Donald Trumps administration, his Department of Government Efficiency has called for slashing NOAAs $6.8 billion budget by up to 20 percent and either laying off employees or not filling positions vacated by transfers or retirement. Already, 1,300 were laid off at the countrys 122 National Weather Service stations in February. Another 1,000 people may soon lose jobs in the near future. Five stations in North Little Rock; Memphis; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Vicksburg, Mississippi, monitor weather conditions in Arkansas. We consider ourselves a public safety institution, said Dennis Cavanaugh, the warning coordinator for the National Weather Services North Little Rock station. We provide a place for the public to go for information about the weather. Dennis Cavanaugh, warning coordinator, National Weather Service North Little Rock office. (Source: LinkedIn profile) Cavanaugh wouldnt comment much further, saying his office doesnt get into politics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I can say if we have more cuts, it will make it tougher to cover events like the [March 14] one, he said. Just recently, stations in Omaha, and Rapid City, South Dakota, suspended the launching of weather balloons because of cost, according to The Associated Press. Stations in Albany, New York, and Gray, Maine, recently quit sending their balloons skyward also. Weather Service balloons, which contain GPS tracking and a radio for transmitting data, cost about $350 each. Weather balloons launched by the North Little Rock station are what alerted meteorologists to increase the March 14 warnings in Arkansas. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, a division of NOAA, predicted on March 9 that meteorological elements would combine cold air from the north, desert winds from the west and humid Gulf moisture to create the potential for storms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Normally, the center issues its daily convective outlook report and indicates anything more than two days in advance is difficult to forecast. This time, though, the outlook gave a weeks warning, placing northeast Arkansas in the moderate level. The center rates potential storm chances on a five-level scale. The first, the least dangerous, is marginal. The highest ranking is high. The pre-March 14 ranking of moderate was the fourth highest level for storm potential. For most of the week, Jonesboro and Memphis were in the areas bulls-eye for the worst possibility for storms. Early on March 14, though, the area was moved slightly northeast into eastern Missouri and west central Illinois. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a really big storm system that we had been tracking by satellite all week, Cavanaugh said. Most of the models showed it was packing incredibly strong winds. We knew this one had extreme wind energy, he said. A preliminary map showing location and strength of tornadoes that struck Arkansas the weekend of March 14, 2025. (Source: National Weather Service, Little Rock) Meteorologists continued monitoring the system as it trekked through Nebraska and dipped down into Oklahoma and then Arkansas that afternoon. Cavanaugh said his stations meteorologists launched several weather balloons that day to record air temperatures aloft. He wanted to determine if the cap was breaking, referring to an upper level of warm air that forms and saps energy from any potential storms. If the cap breaks, cold air rushes in and creates the turbulent supercells that could spawn tornadoes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At 1:30 p.m. on March 14, Cavanaugh saw the cap had broken over Arkansas. He immediately issued a tornado watch for much of the state. When I saw what was happening, I told our meteorologist on duty that night that this had the potential to be a career-defining night, he said. In Jonesboro, county officials prepared to open its safe room in the recently finished new courthouse annex in downtown. The building, which houses additional courtrooms and a quorum court chambers, officially opened earlier in the month. The safe room the only one in the state maintained by a county government can withstand winds of up to 250 miles per hour and can hold nearly 600 people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Craighead County administrator Brandon Shrader said the county opened the safe room at 7:30 p.m. well before storms began rolling in. About 75 came in, he said. Then when storms began hitting around, we started seeing more. By the time an EF-4 tornado hit Diaz, a Jackson County town about 5 miles southwest of Jonesboro, there were 207 inside the Craighead County safe room. The people crowded in and waited for the storms, watching storm coverage on KAIT, the local ABC-television affiliate, on three large screens mounted on the rooms walls. The more violent storms hit Jonesboro at about 11:30 p.m. There were no tornadoes, though the weather service did report there were at least four twisters within about 20 miles of the city that night. Torrential rains, 60 mph winds and hail peppered the area for a while. Radar did indicate rotation, indicative of the formation of a tornado, over the NEA Baptist Hospital and near Brookland to the northeast of Jonesboro. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We knew it was coming, said Craighead County Office of Emergency Management director Anthony Coy. We had a four-hour advance warning, but we didnt expect that many people to come to the safe room though. Anthony Coy, director, Craighead County Office of Emergency Management (Courtesy photo) Shrader said people called his office the following week to thank the county for providing the shelter. He said one person suffering from storm anxiety after riding out a devastating tornado in Jonesboro in 1968 was appreciative of the shelter. Coy added that a March 2020 tornado that hit Jonesboro also created a higher level of awareness among residents. We know what to do, Coy said. Our safe room will provide more safety than what we had before. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also credited the advance warning meteorologists gave. Three people did die in a tornado in Cushman just north of Batesville, but he thought more people were aware of the impending storms than had been in previous storms. The National Weather Service was even able to rate the tornado that hit Cave City as an EF-3 twister with winds of up to 165 miles per hour before survey teams inspected damage. Cavanaugh said advances in radar mainly in the dual-polarization Doppler radar were able to determine how high debris was lifted into the air in the tornados path and how large the debris was to get an idea of the twisters wind speeds. Storm survey teams still went out in the week after March 14 and determined 15 tornadoes hit the state that evening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Four days after a twister hit The Enclave, a high-end subdivision in southwestern Paragould, a man pushed a baby stroller along South 30th Street. He didnt give his name, but said he knew a tornado was headed toward his neighborhood. We had plenty of time to get ready, he said. We knew bad weather was coming and we watched the coverage on [KAIT] as it came in. His family hunkered down in their storm shelter and waited. The winds spared their home, but scores of others just west of his were damaged. He said he was thankful for the advance warning. The potential for cuts has weather officials worried those warnings may not be as advanced in the future. Coy, who still second-guesses decisions he made in the wake of the sudden March 2020 tornado that hit Jonesboro, said he was anticipating even earlier storm detection methods in the future. Advances in artificial intelligence could help forecasters, he said. They are incorporating AI in storm models now, he said. It can learn from data fed into it and could eventually provide even more lead time. But the National Weather Service was a strapped agency to begin with, Coy added. I dont think the cuts will totally impact safety, but it could cut SkyWarn classes to teach spotters how to detect possible tornadoes, and it will cut the public services they produce. Under the Trump administrations plans, the National Weather Service would function more as a data-gathering agency while private companies such as AccuWeather would issue public notices such as storm warnings. During his previous administration, Trump nominated Barry Myers, the former CEO of AccuWeather, to lead NOAA. After two years of failed confirmation hearings, Myers withdrew from consideration in 2019. Meteorologists also remember in 2019 the Sharpiegate, episode when Trump ignored Weather Service warnings for a hurricane headed for the Gulf coast. Trump used a Sharpie pen to draw on a map of the country an area for potential damage from Hurricane Dorian and included Alabama. Weather service meteorologists said that was not true and issued a public statement refuting Trumps predictions after receiving scores of calls. You cant totally replace the National Weather Service, Coy said. But these cuts will hurt the things that you dont see. It will impact infrastructural upgrades that could even better improve radar and give us even more warnings. Cavanaugh said the March 14 storms were the first of the spring season in Arkansas. While forecasters shun away from long-range weather predictions because of the ever-constant atmospheric changes, he said early models do indicate this spring and summer could see a higher than average potential for more bad storms. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) An 18-year-old man was turned over to Border Patrol after he provided invalid identification to Monroe County Sheriffs deputies at Mendon Ponds Park on March 25. News 8 has learned the teen is currently a senior a Rush-Henrietta Senior High School. According to MCSO, deputies were conducting a routine patrol of the park to prevent larcenies and other criminal activity. During their patrol, deputies found a suspicious vehicle parked in the back corner of a parking lot with a jacket covering the drivers side window. MCSO said deputies observed a male asleep in the drivers seat with a woman also in the car. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MCSO said when asked for identification, the driver, Marco Antonio Cela Mayancela, 18, showed deputies a photo on his phone of an Ecuadorian ID card with a picture of a child. They say Mayancela also provided a passport and with a different name and photo. According to MCSO, Mayancela later admitted that the passport provided was his fathers. He also allegedly told deputies that he was driving the vehicle, but he did not possess a drivers license, and the owner of the vehicle was unaware he was driving it. MCSO said after nearly 20 minutes of attempting to identify the man and verify the authenticity of the documents provided, deputies contacted Border Patrol. After Mayancela was cited for driving without a license, deputies said he provided a valid NYS Learner Permit. Mayancela was charged with Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle. As the investigation concluded, Border Patrol arrived and identified Mayancela based on previous contacts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After CBP agents interviewed Mayancela they detained him. The woman in the vehicle was released and called family for a ride home. The Rush-Henrietta Central School District confirmed Monday that Mayancela is a student at R-H Senior High, though they could not offer any additional details. For more information on MCSOs best Immigration Practice, you can visit this website here. Border Patrol told News 8 that they are unable to share details of an individuals inspection, arrest, or immigration status when asked about the current location of Mayancela. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CLEVELAND (WJW) Chilling video released to the FOX 8 I-Team shows a 77-year-old pizza delivery driver attacked and robbed by teens. The incident happened outside a Cuyahoga County office building where the I-Team has exposed trouble for years. The Jane Edna Hunter building houses some troubled teens while they wait for foster homes. Local nurse indicted after patient went missing and later died: I-Team Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I came out, I wasnt expecting nobody to come up behind me, Ken Beatty told the I-Team. When I got to my car, I opened the door to get in, and she come up, she held my door open, said, Were going to take your car. Beatty said there were three suspects, two girls and one boy. I was kind of scared, Beatty said. I sure wasnt expecting that to happen. Beatty said he was returning to his vehicle when he was roughed up and robbed by teenagers. Video captured the attack that happened in the parking lot of the county building. I-Team: Explosive complaint filed by parents of fallen Cleveland police officer Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beatty was knocked to the ground, and his cars key fob was stolen. I figured itd be safe, you know, but it, sure, wasnt, Beatty said. The tall guy, he squirted something in my face. I didnt know what it was. It was all over my face, and the girl says, I got a gun. The I-Team has shown you, some of the countys most troubled kids live in the Jane Edna Hunter building, located on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. The kids stay there, sometimes, for days or even weeks. We revealed some of the teens have become violent inside the building. Additionally, a social worker was attacked outside of the building. Then, last year, we found a teen girl in foster care left that building and ended up in a human trafficking investigation. Cleveland Police also had to track down an 11-year-old who walked out of the building multiple times. In the latest case, law enforcement officials arrested kids 15 and 16 years old. Two girls and a boy. All three now face charges in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. Social workers have begged for something to be done about keeping kids in the building. And, the county has talked for a long time about opening a new center to hold and help the kinds of kids so often causing problems there. So, we asked whats going on with that? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Manhunt suspended for James Douglas Meadows, suspect in Lorain County police officer assault who remains at-large The county says it has reduced the number of kids staying at the building while already starting to help some kids at the new center. There are also plans to expand that. The county released a statement. It said, Cuyahoga County and The Centers remain dedicated to providing the highest quality services for kids in need. The H.O.P.E. Campus project remains on target, with the goal of accommodating around 50 specialized treatment and placement options for youth in need. Currently the Campus has capacity to serve approximately 20 youth, with continued expansion efforts underway. The Centers has raised most of the necessary funding for the project, and a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the start of major renovations of the overall campus will be held in April. We are confident that, with the help of community donors and partner agencies, the remaining funding needed to complete all renovations at H.O.P.E. Campus will be raised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Popular Cleveland bar and restaurant permanently closed Beatty said, get it done. They got to get a better place for these kids to grow up at, Beatty said. This shouldnt happen to nobody. Records show the teens in the latest case are being held in the juvenile detention center. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A Republican-sponsored bill to require public schools to teach students the positive outcomes associated with following a success sequence, which includes first getting married, then having children, passed the Tennessee Senate Thursday, but not everyone agreed that life follows a perfect checklist. The bill, called the Success Sequence Act, would require schools to teach students the positive outcomes associated with completing the following in the following order: graduate high school, enter the workforce or go to college, get married, and then have children. Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), the bills sponsor, argued in most cases, those who follow the success sequence statistically experience better outcomes than those who dont. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts Children raised by married parents are twice as likely to graduate from college than children who are not, children not raised in a home with married parents are twice as likely to end up in jail or prison before reaching 30 years of age. Children raised by a single parent are three times as likely to live in poverty than married parents, Sen. Bowling said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Bowling told lawmakers on the Senate floor Thursday she is fully aware that not everyone gets married, and the bill wouldnt create that requirement. I know people that are very dear that went to college, got their degree, never married, and they live very successful, happy lives, but if its in your purview to get married, then you need to get married and then have children, Sen. Bowling said. However, the bill defines the success sequence as a method by which a person completes the following, in the following sequence, according to the bills language, meaning a person would need to complete all four steps to complete the success sequence. Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats called the bill indoctrination. With all due respect to the sponsor, its not personal, its strictly about the bill, but I think this bill is misguided, its very offensive, and I am living proof that this bill has no merit, Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis), who is also a single mother, said. I know plenty of children born in two-parent households who are in jail, who are not doing anything, who dont have jobs; theyre not sustainable. Its not a for sure indicator of a childs success. Its about the mentality of the parents, not the status of their relationship when it comes to marriage. The bill passed the Senate 25 to 5 in a vote along party lines. If we havent learned anything, this is America, and success is defined in many different ways, Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) told News 2 after the bill passed the Senate. Success for a lot of people in this country does not come linearly like that. People have to grind and grit to get what they have, especially the folks that [Republicans] consider [diversity, equity, and inclusion] DEI hires. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Republicans argued Democrats misunderstand the bill. They said it doesnt claim the success sequence is the end-all be-all to success, but that its been proven effective in the vast majority of cases. They were trying to tie marriage to children, and somehow they were saying that everybody should get married, everybody should have children. Thats not what its saying, Sen. Bo Watson (R-Hixson) told News 2. Its saying that delaying some of these behaviors until later in life has been proven in social science to help people be much more successful. I was surprised to see the Democrats arguing against that. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com The success sequence would be added to the already existing family life curriculum in TN public schools. Parents could opt their children out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The House version of the bill is set to be debated in the House Education Committee April 1. If it passes the House floor, it would go into effect during the 2026-27 school 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 WKRN News 2. ISN Software, a compliance tech firm, is exploring a potential sale that could value the company at $6bn or more, including debt, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. Backed by American alternative investment management company Blackstone, the Dallas-based company is said to be in discussions with investment banks about selling all or part of the business. People familiar with the development told the publication that the transaction is anticipated to occur some time in 2025. Deliberations are said to be still in the preliminary stages with no certainty that ISN will proceed with a deal. ISN was valued at $2bn during Blackstone's minority investment in 2020. Founded in 2001, ISN specialises in contractor and supplier management on a global scale. The company is controlled by William Addy, executive chair Joseph Eastin, and CEO Brian Callahan. ISN provides a software platform, ISNetworld, designed to assist businesses in managing third-party contractor and supplier relationships. The subscription-based platform offers data-driven insights and tools to help companies address risks related to supply chain continuity, regulatory compliance, sustainability, and training requirements. ISNetworld is utilised by companies such as Exxon Mobil, Honeywell, and Cisco Systems, to assess contractors against various standards. ISN has offices in Los Angeles, Midland, New York, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Mexico City, London, Perth, Sydney, and Auckland, providing support and training to customers in more than 85 countries. In October 2024, Blackstone announced plans to channel a 7.5bn ($8.2bn) investment into the development of data centres in Aragon, Spain. "ISN Software reportedly exploring $6bn sale" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. The Tennessee State Attorney General has asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to set execution dates for the following five men I read that statement, took a deep breath, and read the names of the five men. My heart sank. I know all five of them. I regularly talk with three of the men. One of the men is a dear friend. Our church ordained him while he was on death row and then helped him start a church, The Church of Life, on Tennessees death row. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fifth gentleman, I knew, but not very well. Once I caught my breath, I asked myself, Why, after a five-year hiatus, has the state of Tennessee decided to resume state sanctioned killings? Let's examine the biblical argument around the death penalty Proponents of capital punishment will tell you executions are necessary and just and reserved for the worst of the worst criminals. Some will add a Bible verse to their reasoning. Whoever sheds innocent blood, by humans shall their blood be shed (Genesis 9:6). In the words of old-fashioned Baptist preachers, God said it. I believe it. That settles it. However, if God said it, and capital punishment was meant to be an immutable law, God did not believe it because God did not follow it with absolute commitment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cain killed his brother, Abel, and God did not require Cain to pay for it with his life. King David had Uriah killed, but God did not make him pay with his life. Saul, before he became Paul, killed several people. Yet, God never required him to be executed. Apparently, there is something else going on in Genesis 9:6 besides an absolute law that cannot be changed or altered. There is no doubt in my mind the God of the Bible is a God of justice who requires us to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly (Micah 6:8). This leads me to believe the universal principle behind Genesis 9:6 is to make justice the top priority in any legal system and in any penalty for violating a law. Justice is the goal, but does justice require a person who takes a life to give his life? Apparently not! Opinion: Kevin Burns should be out of Tennessee death row. Our new book tells his story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If so, God would have violated a divine standard. Something God could never do. But I repeat, God does require justice in all circumstances. The writer of Proverbs states, To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice (Proverbs 21:3). The question is not, Should justice be done? The question is, If there is another way for justice to be done without taking another life, should we not do that? Tennessee should mete out restorative, not punitive, justice Another question is, What type of justice does God require? Considering the Bible in its entirety, the type of justice flowing from an all merciful and all loving God, is restorative justice. Opinion: Sign up for the Tennessee Voices newsletter showcasing opinion across the Volunteer State Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement God is a God of reconciliation. Restorative justice seeks reconciliation for the victim, for the victims families, for the communities in which the crime occurred, and for the perpetrator of the crime. Restorative justice is holistic and upholds the Imago Dei in all of us. Capital punishment if purely punitive, absent of any restorative virtue. Punitive justice is not divine justice. Restorative justice is. God is a God of restoration and reconciliation, and God requires us to be a people of restoration and reconciliation. Kevin Riggs, the preacher at Franklin Community Church, who has been visiting Tennessee's death row for years at Franklin Community Church office in Franklin, Tenn., Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Riggs ordained Kevin Burns a man on death row. The Apostle Paul writes, All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting peoples sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As moral people. As people desiring To do what is right and just, lets encourage our state not to resume executions. Lets fight for justice in all situations. But lets fight for restorative justice, not punitive justice which isnt really justice at all. We dont need more execution dates. We need more restorative justice practices in our legal system. Rev. Dr. Kevin Riggs is pastor of Franklin Community Church. Reach him at kevin@franklincommunitychurch.org. Submit a letter to the editor at this link. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Capital punishment is punitive, not restorative, justice | Opinion Tennessee public schools may soon be required to teach students that a key to success is following a traditional sequence of life events, including marriage before children, as part of a new bill that passed the state Senate. If passed in the state House, the Success Sequence Act would teach students about the positive personal and societal outcomes of completing a specific sequence of life events: obtaining a high school diploma or equivalent credential, entering the workforce or pursuing college, getting married and having children. The bill, sponsored by state Senator Janice Bowling, asserts that evidence shows those who follow the sequence of life events experience rates of higher family income, grade point averages and graduation. Tennessee Senators advanced a Republican-sponsored bill that would teach students to follow a specific sequence of life events in order to be successful (Getty Images) Bowling said children raised by single parents are three times as likely to live in poverty than those raised with married parents and children raised in a home without married parents are twice as likely to end up in jail or prison before the age of 30. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Democrats in the Tennessee legislature have pushed back on the bill calling it a form of indoctrination. This is a step too far, state Senator Raumesh Akbari said. Because I graduated from high school, obtained my degree, entered the workforce, did not complete the last two steps, marriage or children, and I still think Im a success. So I dont understand why it is important to incorporate this level of indoctrination into our schools. State Senator London Lamar said the bill would teach a curriculum that people are less than if they are a single parent. That doesnt make my mother less than because she raised a current sitting senator when she became a single parent, Lamar said. She argued that it was not the legislators job to dictate how children should view marriage or parenthood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you are not married, it does not mean that you are less than anybody else. I think this bill is misguided, its very offensive and Im living proof that this bill has no merit, Lamar said. But Republicans have pushed back, pointing to evidence that shows delaying certain life events, such as having children, can set people up for a more successful financial future. I know people that are very dear that went to college, got their degree, never married, and they live very successful, happy lives, Bowling said. But if its in your purview to get married, then you need to get married and then have children. The bill passed the Tennessee Senate Thursday and is now headed to the House. If approved it would head to the governors desk for signing and start in the 2025-2026 school year. Similar bills have been introduced in Texas, Kentucky, Ohio and Mississippi. Tennessee lawmakers are considering a bill that would roll back regulations for "isolated" wetlands that don't have surface connections to waters of the United States. (Photo: John Partipilo) A representative from the legal firm that fought for deregulation of American wetlands at the U.S. Supreme Court spoke Wednesday in support of a Tennessee bill that would roll back protections for up to 80% of the states isolated wetlands. Tennessee lawmakers are considering a bill that would significantly reduce requirements for development on wetlands, swampy lands that support diverse ecosystems, soak up floodwaters and recharge groundwater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The states current regulations predate the federal Clean Water Act, which imposed the first federal protections for wetlands in the 1970s, requiring developers to compensate for destroying wetlands by preserving or restoring them elsewhere. But the erosion of federal regulations in the last two years has given states more power to decide how they will define and protect wetlands. The Supreme Courts 2023 ruling in Sackett v. EPA stripped federal protection from isolated wetlands that lack surface connection to water bodies deemed waters of the United States. And the EPA recently announced its intent to scale back federal wetlands regulation to reduce permitting costs for landowners and businesses, according to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who was appointed in January by President Donald Trump. The Pacific Legal Foundation represented plaintiffs Chantell and Mike Sackett in the case that constricted the scope of the Clean Water Act to only wetlands with continuous surface connections to waters of the U.S. Kileen Lindgren, a legal policy manager at the nonprofit constitutional litigation firm, told Tennessee lawmakers Wednesday that the bill they are considering is about property rights and regulatory accountability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When governments restrict use, theyre devaluing property and violating owners rights under the Fifth Amendment, she testified before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee. Lindgren was the sole supporter to speak to the subcommittee, though a representative for the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Home Builders of Tennessee testified in favor of the bill at a previous Senate committee meeting. Six representatives from environmental groups and the mitigation banking industry urged lawmakers to reconsider the bill, warning it would largely remove incentives for developers to design around wetlands rather than destroying them. Lindgren said she preferred the bills first iteration, which would have stripped all state regulation back to the level of the Sackett decision. The bills current version preserves the ability to impose mitigation requirements for high-quality isolated wetlands and moderate- and low-quality isolated wetlands larger than two acres. This bill as introduced recognized that to regulate land for having water on it amounted to the government devaluing that land, and when the government devaluates land, it takes away property rights and should justly compensate owners pursuant to the Fifth Amendments promise that individuals will not be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation, Lindgren said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said the amended bill is only a first step toward protecting private property rights. As amended, the bill assumes the state has the authority to limit use of private property, and if the state wants to regulate isolated wetlands, it should justly compensate owners, recognizing that the people who are the state of Tennessee must bear the burden of this type of government interference, Lindgren said. Memphis Republican Rep. Kevin Vaughan, the bills House sponsor, brushed off scientists warnings that deregulation spurs increased flooding and decreased water quality as hyperbole and speculation. Vaughan said his main issue is the current rules seem to rely on a persons intended use for the land, not solely the action of disrupting a wetland agricultural uses are exempt from mitigation requirements. All this comes down to humans determining where (wetlands) are, and its a game deregulation needs to come, but it needs to be simplified through plainer regulation so people will know whats expected of them when they encounter it, Vaughan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nashville Democratic Rep. Justin Jones questioned Lindgrens motive for testifying. The thing that Im seeing with this is that this is not about property rights or conservation, Jones said. This is about everyday Tennesseans versus the power of special interest lobbyists on this hill. Every email we received from all across the state and I literally printed every single email and went through each one was against this bill. The subcommittee voted 7-2 to advance the bill to the full House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, where it will be heard on April 1. BLUFF, Utah Malcolm Lehi, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council, couldn't believe it when he heard the news that the Navajo Nation had struck a deal with a mine operator to resume uranium transportation to White Mesa Mill near the tribes lands. I was terrified, Lehi told The Arizona Republic, recalling his reaction when he first heard Navajo President Buu Nygren had struck an agreement with Energy Fuels. I said I cant believe it, said Lehi. And just recently he was saying No, we arent going to have any transport, and that sounded good. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Community members like Lehi and other organizers gathered March 25 for a forum at the Mexican Water Chapter in Utah, more than a month after Energy Fuels resumed transporting uranium ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine near the Grand Canyon to White Mesa Mill near Bluff. The route runs along U.S. Highways 89, 90 and 191, crossing a wide stretch of the Navajo Nation. The event provided information and allowed residents to share their concerns and ask questions. Tribal leaders from the Ute Mountain Ute and Hopi tribes were also in attendance. Although Nygren was adamant in the beginning about preventing Energy Fuels from moving truckloads of uranium ore through the Navajo Nation, he began to change his position after Energy Fuels Inc. agreed to a six-month voluntary pause on shipments, leading to negotiations that ultimately resulted in an agreement with the tribe. The Navajo Nation stands out from the surrounding tribes due to its size. Both the Hopi and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes are significantly smaller in population and land area. As a result, decisions made by the Navajo Nation often have a noticeable impact on neighboring tribes, such as allowing the uranium shipments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What we are looking at is starting a coalition for this initiative so that we have that voice from tribal government that hasnt happened to this day, said Alfred Lomahquahu Jr., former Hopi vice chairman. We want to be able to speak to our people and have that transparency, which we havent had from the Navajo tribal government. They havent had the courtesy to speak to all the tribes that are impacted by this. The Havasupai Tribe had quickly expressed its dismay in a news release over the agreement between Navajo Nation and Energy Fuels Inc., when news first broke in February. The Navajo Nation is not the only Tribe or community affected by this activity, said the release. This was a blatant disregard for others impacted by the hauling activity, which could have been avoided by allowing our voice to be heard. Although no Navajo leaders attended the forum, Navajo Environmental Protection Agency Director Stephan Etsitty was present to answer community members' questions. He noted that in the first month and a half, Energy Fuels shipped uranium ore with two trucks per day along the route. The number recently increased to three and will soon rise to four, with a future maximum of 8-12 trucks per day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests: Navajo president tries to halt uranium shipments, says company failed to notify tribe Agreement includes payments to Navajo Nation Etsitty reiterated key stipulations from the agreement between the Navajo Nation and Energy Fuels, including a $1.2 million payment from the mining company to a Navajo Nation compensation fund to support NNEPA's oversight of the uranium transport program. Community members raised concerns that these funds would not go directly to the chapters or other tribes affected by the transportation of uranium. I understand the criticism that a lot of this money may not come all the way to the chapter, said Etsitty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the $1.2 million has been received by the Navajo Nation and that the funds are in an account called the Hazardous Substance Fund, which was created in 2008 and supports the work of the Navajo Nation Superfund Program. The only reason it is only $1.2 million is because it's not a fund that is to compensate anybody for any damages. The only reason we asked for the money is for the regulation of this activity, and it has to be a reasonable amount, said Etsitty. This coming fiscal year 2026, I am making a request ... primarily to make sure we inspect every truck and we have the personnel and equipment to do it. Thats the primary use of the fund. Another provision of the agreement states that Energy Fuels will pay five cents per pound of processed uranium produced at the White Mesa Mill. As part of the agreement, Energy Fuels committed to accepting and transporting up to 10,000 tons of uranium-bearing cleanup materials from abandoned uranium mines within the Navajo Nation, at no cost to the Nation. Energy Fuels said the abandoned mines are relics of past U.S. government uranium programs, "in which Energy Fuels had no involvement." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The company has also committed to make further contributions to support the Nation's transportation safety programs, education, the environment, public health and welfare, and local economic development on the Navajo Nation relating to uranium matters," said the company. Lingering problems: 'We are all forgotten': Residents await long-delayed cleanup of uranium waste near Cameron Advocates ask why leaders aren't keeping people informed Leona Morgan, co-founder of Haul No! and one of the forums presenters and organizers, argued that despite being labeled as a "cleanup," it is not truly cleaning up. Instead, she said, it is another way to process the waste for rare earth elements, which she finds scary and will allow for Energy Fuels Inc. to gain financially from it. Our tribe is in business with that company Energy Fuels and theyre not telling the people what's going on, said Leona Morgan. (Navajo Nation) wants to sell our uranium waste to (Energy Fuels), then theyll process and try to get out these (rare earth elements). I tell them (Navajo leaders) this is not cleanup, this is called production." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another concern for Morgan is the potential expansion of the mill, which ties into a long-standing fear she has had since she began working to stop uranium mining the possibility of mining near the sacred mountain of Mount Taylor near Grants, N.M. The world is pushing for more nuclear weapons, said Morgan. That mill theyre trying to grow. The negotiation that Navajo Environmental Protection Agency and DOJ made with Energy Fuels theres some limitations, they tried to do some stuff to regulate it, but this is just getting ready for more hauling. Energy Fuels plans to haul from Tsoodi (Mount Taylor). The agreement would pertain to Roca Honda Mine near Mount Taylor, and would include two additional benefits to the Navajo Nation: another $1.2 million payment to the tribe and a 50-cents per pound payment for any processed uranium. Energy Fuels would also cover the cost of an inspection station if necessary and accept and dispose of an additional 30,000 tons of abandoned uranium mine waste, raising the question from organizers of what roads would be used to ship the waste. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Curtis Moore, senior vice president for marketing and corporate development at Energy Fuels, said in a previous email to The Republic that Roca Honda is a uranium deposit located in New Mexico and is not licensed, permitted or developed, a process that will likely take at least five years to complete. "So, it is not close to going into production or for ore to be transported," said Moore. "The financial terms in the agreement with the Navajo Nation could apply to Roca Honda, but that is all. The Navajo Nation has not taken a position on that mine or on transport across the Navajo Nation." Wendy Atcitty, from the Southwest Research and Information Center, said there have been inquiries about uranium mine permits located at the base of Mount Taylor, indicating that the zombie mines, as she referred to them, will possibly be resurrected. She also expressed concerns about the lack of transparency from Navajo Nation leadership regarding technologies like ablation, which Morgan also mentioned. Ablation is a mining process that uses high-pressure water or air to separate uranium from surrounding rock. While promoted as more efficient, it raises concerns about groundwater contamination and radioactive dust exposure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a recent meeting, Atcitty noted that some Navajo leaders indicated their intent to propose a position statement in support of this technology without really talking to the Navajo people about it. She encouraged members of the community to start asking questions about the issue and what leaders are doing to address it. They need to do a lot more studies on this and look at the economic picture and the bigger picture of the future, meaning we cant put all our eggs in one basket and say it's just this, said Atcitty. Again, (Navajo leadership) is sharing this information without really speaking to the people to make the understanding of what this is and how it's going to affect our communities. The Navajo Resource and Development Committee had recently met with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to discuss uranium mine cleanup on the Navajo Nation, addressing contamination concerns, cleanup effectiveness, and the Navajo EPA's role. Etsitty criticized poor communication between the U.S. EPA and Navajo EPA on uranium waste sites, urging meaningful community consultation and a long-term water monitoring plan to address potential contamination risks to the Little Colorado River and other vital water sources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tensions arose over uranium waste consolidation, with Delegate Danny Simpson criticizing Navajo leaderships exclusion. He urged the U.S. EPA to prioritize Dine perspectives. Resource committee members called for complete waste removal, citing health risks and community opposition. Uranium fallout: EPA officials pledge to clean up old uranium mines at the first Navajo Superfund site They remember that: A poisoned legacy Mark Maryboy, a former council delegate and San Juan County commissioner, said hes gotten involved with water projects, which included developing the watermaster study for the Utah side of the Navajo Nation, and has seen what decades of drilling in the area has done to the water. When we were working on the water project, we noticed that theres a lot of toxic material, Maryboy told The Republic. Theres manganese, arsenic and uranium because a lot of these water were drilled in the '60s the water table has dropped way down into the ground you have to force it out of the ground bringing out a lot of toxic material. Originally from Bluff, Maryboy recalled that during World War II, companies rushed to the area to mine uranium. With the promise of jobs, many men worked in hazardous conditions, only to later suffer from cancer. He emphasized that this history is why many locals strongly oppose uranium mining and the transportation of it today. There was no safety apparatus, said Maryboy. There was no ventilation in these mines, and they drank water in there, and 20-30 years later, people came down with cancers. Almost all of the elders from that time passed on, theyre no longer here, no one told them it was dangerous. Thats why there is so much opposition here. The people in here, they remember that. The Mexican Water Chapter House sits just off Highway 191, where uranium ore trucks pass. Maryboy noted that he has seen the trucks, and anyone sitting at the picnic table outside the chapter house can watch them go by. People are afraid there could be a spill or droplets of uranium, and theyre afraid theyre going to get cancer from that, said Maryboy. That is the underlying issue right now. White Mesa Mill is south of Blanding and the Ute tribe are south theres a lot of seepage into the water and the Utes are concerned about it. Maryboy said that while the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe has been vocal about concerns, it has made little progress. Energy Fuels Inc. has the backing of politicians, he said, making it a difficult battle, but the best course of action for the tribe may be to continue protesting and possibly file a lawsuit with the ACLU. In our tradition, we believe in protecting the plant, animals, water, said Lehi. "We've been fighting this since the '70s and still have not accomplished anything." The community-led forum was the first time Lehi said they were invited to discuss their concerns with the Navajo Nation in any capacity. Ute Mountain Ute Chairman Manuel Heart has tried for years to meet with at least five different Navajo presidents on the issue, but it has never happened. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe has endured significant losses over the decades due to uranium mining and now the White Mesa Mill, he said. Springs that once provided water have been sealed off, and ancestral burial sites were bulldozed. Lehi questioned why past leaders agreed to these deals, especially since many did not speak much English at the time. "We got burial sites and that is what we always bring to the table," said Lehi. "They don't like that. They don't want to move. I tell them, well, put it on the other side of Blanding, in between Blanding and Monticello, and see how you like it. Our people are dying from cancer." Arlyssa D. Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Send ideas and tips to arlyssa.becenti@arizonarepublic.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Navajo, Ute tribal members raise concerns about uranium ore shipments Tesla has announced plans to build a factory to manufacture its energy storage units in a place where clean energy is booming. According to Teslarati, the electric vehicle and energy storage manufacturer will build its new plant in Waller County, Texas. The 1 million-square-foot facility will allow Tesla to build more Megapack battery storage units. It will be the third manufacturing plant that produces them. The first two are in Lathrop, California, and Shanghai. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tesla CEO Elon Musk discussed the decision to build the factory on a quarterly earnings call with investors. "We're trying to ramp output of the stationary battery storage as quickly as possible," Musk said. As Tesla has faced declining sales and brand affinity amid protests at Tesla locations, the Megapack has become increasingly popular in recent years as regions look to move away from planet-warming dirty energy made by coal, oil, and natural gas and toward solar and wind energy. Governments, grids, and big businesses need ways to store excess power generated by clean energy sources until it's needed and to help prevent grid failure during severe heat or cold, as well as during storms and other extreme weather. Tesla's battery packs are versatile, customizable, and modular, allowing them to be easily deployed in a variety of ways and places. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Texas is a logical place for the new plant to go, as well; clean energy has been booming in the state. It has 80% more renewable energy capacity than any other state, and in San Antonio, a massive battery and energy storage project is in the works to help stabilize the local power grid. On top of that, a 468-megawatt solar farm is under construction to help bolster Texas' power grid with even more clean energy. Vince Yokom of the Waller County Economic Development Partnership praised Tesla's decision to build there. If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you? Cost Battery range Power and speed The way it looks Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "I want to thank Tesla for investing in Waller County and Brookshire," Yokom said. "This will be a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for their Megapack product. It is a powerful battery unit that provides energy storage and support to help stabilize the grid and prevent outages." 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. Police in New York are searching for two individuals who were caught on video surveillance vandalizing a Tesla Cybertruck in Brooklyn. At approximately 1 a.m. on Thursday, two unidentified suspects "carved the word 'Nazis' and a swastika on the doors of a parked unoccupied Tesla," the New York Police Department said. The incident, which occurred in front of 730 Monroe Street in Brooklyn, was captured on video surveillance. After vandalizing the vehicle, the suspects "fled on foot in an unknown direction," police said. PHOTO: The New York Police Department released a video of suspects who allegedly carved a swastika on a parked Tesla in Brooklyn, March 27, 2025. (NYPD) The incident is being investigated by the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force, police said. Officials said anyone with more information regarding the vandalism is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Recent attacks aimed at Tesla dealerships, vehicles and charging stations have been reported in Seattle; Kansas City, Missouri; and Charleston, South Carolina, as well as other cities across the United States since Tesla CEO Elon Musk began his role with the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. A man was arrested this week for allegedly setting Tesla vehicles on fire in Las Vegas earlier this month and is facing federal charges in the alleged Molotov cocktail attack. MORE: FBI investigating after multiple incendiary devices found at Tesla dealership in Texas On Monday, the FBI announced the establishment of a task force to address the incidents targeting Teslas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The FBI will be relentless in its mission to protect the American people. Acts of violence, vandalism, and domestic terrorism like the recent Tesla attacks will be pursued with the full force of the law," the FBI said in a statement to ABC News. Lone offenders appear to be the ones carrying out these attacks, according to an FBI and Department of Homeland Security assessment obtained by ABC News on March 21. "While they may perceive these attacks as victimless property crimes, these tactics can cause accidental or intentional bodily harm," the assessment said. "Some individuals with political or social goals are likely to view the publicity surrounding these past incidents as validation that these tactics are successful in drawing public attention, and they may be galvanized to engage in similar violence." ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report. Tesla Cybertruck vandalized with swastika in NYC: Police originally appeared on abcnews.go.com GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) A restaurant in Eastown Grand Rapids is shifting gears in a challenging landscape that has seen several closures over the last few months. Basalt opened at the corner of Wealthy Street and Ethel Avenue in April 2021 after getting its start at the Fulton Street Farmers Market in 2020. The Tex-Mex breakfast and brunch spot offers items like breakfast burritos and breakfast tacos. On Monday, it announced it was set to close up shop to make way for a new concept. Basalt wont be going away for good, owner and head chef Steven Martinez told News 8 hinting at more things to come but its last day open as a brick and mortar restaurant will be April 13. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After that, the crew will make changes to the dining area and flow of service and will introduce a new menu and branding. The goal is to reopen the restaurant space on April 18 as the new concept, Asada. Basalt is closing to make way for a new concept, Asada. (March 28, 2025) GR staple Creston Brewery joins growing list of 2025 closures While Martinez said he isnt ready to share menu details, he explained that asada is a Mexican-style cookout. Were taking a lot of inspiration from that idea of a community gathering family, friends, that kind of thing centered around great food and grilled meat, he said. Well have some grilled and smoked meats, well have a lot of great sides, and well also have burgers on the menu. So itll be kind of like cookout-theme, celebratory and really just focusing on great flavors and accessibility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will continue Basalts mission to build community through food, Martinez said, noting that thats the first thing he wrote down back when he was working to open Basalt. Were seeing a lot of comments now that weve made this announcement, (about) how many people consider this kind of a third space or a home away from home, because its given them a safe and comfortable place to be fully themselves, to be fully welcomed and fully cared for, he said. Basalt is closing to make way for a new concept, Asada. (March 28, 2025) Metro Grand Rapids restaurant owners turn to community for support He said he was able to build that space by treating everyone as people first, starting with the way he treats his employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That really permeates the space, he said. When people come in, my staff are in good spirits, they have good morale, they feel good even when theyre working really hard. Theyre happy to be here and people can sense that. They get to start these relationships with all of us where we know their names, they know our names, we know their orders, we know whats going on in their lives. We know their kids and all these things. And all those small things, just from a mindset, create an environment and a culture that is people-oriented and thats really I think exciting and inviting for people. The goal of Asada to offer a menu at a better price point that has a broader appeal than a niche spot like Basalt, he said. While the team has been able to build a core audience who enjoys the restaurants bold flavors and a menu with a different selection than a typical West Michigan breakfast and brunch spot, he said Basalts price point has made it more of a treat for guests in recent months. Basalt is closing to make way for a new concept, Asada. (March 28, 2025) I feel really confident in why were at that price point, because we pay our staff well. We make so much stuff from scratch. We have a history of shopping locally. We work with a lot of local nonprofits, and those things are really important, Martinez said. But it means that were also at a much higher price point, and what Im seeing and hearing from our community is: Were worried about our finances. We want to spend a little bit less. If I want to encourage those folks to come support us, I need to make sure that Im giving them something that they can feel good about spending the money on. Whats on the menu at Lost Art as Walker brewery adds kitchen Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martinez said while the restaurant industry has always been tough, recent months have been particularly challenging. In the video announcement he posted to social media, Martinez noted several businesses in the food and beverage industry have recently closed their doors. Recent Grand Rapids-area closures include Creston Brewery, Rockwell Republic, The Pubb (which has transitioned into an event space), GRNoir, Beacon Corner Bar, Fat Boy Burger and Wise Men Distillery. Many of those restaurants and bars cited rising costs and changing consumer habits as the reasons for their closures. While theres also been new restaurants that have opened their doors, existing restaurants are asking the community for support. Restaurants are a fun expenditure, Martinez told News 8, adding that if people need to cut down on their spending, going out to eat will be on the top of the list. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the way our government is being kind of torn apart from the inside out, theres a lot of uncertainty in the air, he said. I think most people are really worried about what things are going to look like, both politically and economically and socially, over the next year. And the response to that, I think, is a very natural sort of withdrawal as far as discretionary spending and really prioritizing things as best as people can. Because you just dont know, Am I going to have my job later this year? Am I going to be able to afford my house later this year?' Basalt is closing to make way for a new concept, Asada. (March 28, 2025) Inside WOODTV.com: Building West Michigan He noted that while chain restaurants can hit lower price points, Were seeing a string of local places that are really struggling to stay solvent. While he hopes residents will shop local as much as possible, he noted that he doesnt want people to feel the need to give up things that are part of American society as a whole, joking that he loves spots like Taco Bell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think its about being a little bit more conscientious about how were spending our money. Maybe instead of (visiting) that chain restaurant regularly or those places out on 28th Street regularly maybe that becomes more of the treat so that you can prioritize spending at local restaurants, local businesses, he said. But the flip side of that is local places need to be tuned into what the community is looking for, he said, which is why hes introducing the new Asada concept. Shop local, support local, he said. Were here for you and we love 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 WOODTV.com. Abortion-rights supporters rally for reproductive rights at the Texas Capitol on May 14, 2022 in Austin. Credit - Montinique MonroeGetty Images Texas has one of the strictest abortion restrictions in the country, banning abortion in nearly all situations with very limited exceptions. Since the near-total ban went into effect, several women in the state have shared stories and filed lawsuits, saying that they were denied critical care while experiencing pregnancy complications. On March 14, one of the lawmakers behind the states restrictive abortion laws introduced a bill seeking to clarify medical exceptions. But some abortion-rights advocates and legal experts say the bill wont do what it claims to, and even worry that it could open the door to prosecuting pregnant people and people who help patients access abortions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres what to know. What is current Texas law? The only exception to Texas abortion ban is if a person is experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency that places the female at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function. But the current version of the law does not get more specific than that. Doctors have said that the near-total ban causes confusion over when they can provide treatment in urgent situations, leading to care delays or denials. However, there is specificity over the potential severe penalties for doctors who are found to have violated the states ban: up to $100,000 in fines, 99 years in prison, and losing their medical license. In the fall of 2024, ProPublica reported that three Texas women died after they didnt receive appropriate care while experiencing miscarriages. What is the new proposed bill, SB 31? Republican state Sen. Bryan Hugheswho has previously said that exceptions to the states near-total ban are plenty clearsaid during a Senate committee hearing on March 27 that there have been reports that some doctors and some hospitals are not following the law, meaning that they have denied necessary medical care. He said he recently introduced a bill, SB 31, in order to remove any excuse from a doctor or a hospital from treating a patient experiencing medical emergencies. Republican Texas Rep. Charlie Geren has filed the same bill in the House. (Neither Hughess nor Gerens office responded to a request for comment on this story.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More: What Are Abortion Shield Laws? The bill doesnt expand abortion access in the state, but removes language from the states laws that requires a pregnant person to be experiencing a life-threatening condition for a doctor to provide care. The bill adds that it does not require a physician to delay, alter or withhold medical treatment provided to a pregnant female if doing so would create a greater risk of the pregnant females death; or substantial impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant female. It says that a patients emergency need not be imminent or irreversible for a doctor to provide care. It specifies that ectopic pregnancies are considered exceptions to the states near-total abortion ban, but doesnt include exceptions for fetal anomalies, rape, or incest. The bill also includes language that instructs the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Medical Board to hold education sessions for lawyers and doctors about the medical exceptions to the states ban. Why is it controversial? The bill has received some rare bipartisan support, as well as support from both anti-abortion groups and some medical organizations, including the Texas Medical Association. Dr. Julie Ayala, an ob-gyn who practices in Texas, testified during the Senate committee hearing on March 27 on behalf of the Texas Medical Association that she believes this bill will clear up confusion and save womens lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But other abortion rights advocates, doctors, and legal experts say the bill wont do what it claims. Its an attempt to add some clarity, but I think the underlying reasons that were seeing what were seeing with denials to care arent really changed in the bill, says Mary Ziegler, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law with expertise in abortion. While the bill specifies some situations in which abortion is permitted, pregnancy is complicated, so there are a lot of other scenarios that arent going to be enumerated in the bill where physicians arent going to know what to do, Ziegler says. The bill also doesnt remove the severe penalties for doctors who are found to have violated the states near-total banone of the reasons were seeing physicians refuse to provide care, Ziegler says. Read More: IVF Patients Say a Test Caused Them to Discard Embryos. Now Theyre Suing Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Samantha Casiano, an advocate for the reproductive rights advocacy nonprofit Free & Just, also criticized the bill. Casiano, who lives in Texas, was forced to carry her baby to term even after doctors told her at 20 weeks of pregnancy that her baby had anencephaly, a fatal birth defect, and wouldnt survive. Her baby died four hours after being born. Casiano was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit Zurawski v. State of Texas that was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights and made national headlines for challenging Texas abortion ban. The Texas Supreme Court ruled against the women at the heart of the lawsuit in May 2024, refusing to clarify the exceptions to the states abortion ban. Nothing in [SB 31] wouldve helped my situation at all, Casiano says. Im just so upset that I felt like from 20 weeks to 32 weeks, I was basically a walking coffin for my daughter until I had to give birth, and then she had to suffer and be in agony. So where in that [bill] does that help my situation, or families and mothers like me? It was really upsetting and disappointing to read it. Samantha Casiano (C) speaks during a press conference outside the Travis County Courthouse on July 19, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Suzanne CordeiroAFP/Getty Images Dr. Austin Dennard is an ob-gyn practicing in Texas who joined the Zurawski v. State of Texas lawsuit after she was forced to travel out of state to receive care when she learned that her baby had anencephaly. Dennard says that while she believes some of the people behind the bill had good intentions, she doesnt think the bill is going to make a lick of difference in the real practicality of practicing medicine. She says the bills language is still very confusing, even to reproductive rights lawyers shes spoken with, adding that exceptions dont work to ensure access to care. As for the education sessions about the medical exceptions, Dennard questions who would be creating that guidance, and if it would be coming from anti-abortion sources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its extremely disappointing to me, and if anyone is celebrating, I think that they are extremely naive to think that these individuals actually really want to make a change, says Dennard, who is an advocate for Free & Just. It feels like a political publicity movement rather than [a] true desire to help people. A cracked-open door to further restrictions Advocates and experts also point out that SB 31 amends a 1925 law predating Roe v. Wade. The 1925 law bans abortion and penalizes anyone who furnishes the means for procuring an abortion, with the possibility of up to five years in prison. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had previously tried to enforce the 1925 law after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe, but a federal judge blocked the move in 2023. Now, advocates and experts worry that the bill could open the door to the 1925 law being used to prosecute abortion patients, as well as people and groups who help patients access care, such as through abortion funds. If there is even a sliver of [a] chance that that bill could open the door to that 1925 criminalization of women and people that help you get an abortion, we have to be concerned, says Kaitlyn Kash, a Free & Just advocate. Kash was forced to travel out of Texas to receive an abortion after learning that her baby had severe skeletal dysplasia, which impacts bone and cartilage growth, and that her baby likely wouldnt survive. Texas is also considering a separate bill that would allow authorities to charge people who obtain abortions with homicide, making it one of at least 10 states that have introduced bills for the 2025 legislative session that open the door for penalizing patientsa growing trend since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More: Some States Consider Bills That Would Punish People Seeking Abortions According to Ziegler, SB 31 carves out some situations that wouldnt be considered aiding and abetting an abortion, but in doing so, leaves open the possibility that other situations would be. Its sort of a similar dynamic to what you see with the exceptions, Ziegler says. Theres some clarity in a few narrow situations, and then a lot of gray area and threat of prosecution in most others. She adds that Hughes has also introduced another bill, SB 2880, whichamong other attempts to crack down on abortionwould expand who could be penalized for aiding and abetting abortions, including people who pay for or reimburse the costs associated with obtaining an abortion. Amanda Zurawski, the lead plaintiff in the Zurawski v. State of Texas lawsuit, was denied an abortion after experiencing a complication called preterm pre-labor rupture of membranes (PPROM) because doctors said they detected fetal cardiac activity. A few days later, she developed sepsis, a life-threatening condition. Doctors performed an emergency induction abortion, and she had to spend several days in the ICU. Zurawski, now a Free & Just advocate, criticized SB 31 for attempting to create blanket rules over every single pregnancy in the state of Texas, because no two are the same. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I like to believeI think I have to believethat the intent of this bill is not malicious, she says, but she adds that Texas officials have attempted to penalize people providing access to abortion care. The Texas Attorney Generals office recently announced that it had filed criminal charges against a midwife and medical assistant, accusing them of illegally providing abortions in Texas. Dennard says she has received pressure from some people behind the bill and other physicians who disagree with her to support it. While some doctors and legal experts have said that the clarity would make modest but not meaningless changes and could save some lives, advocates say they dont believe it will work. We shouldnt be begging for scraps, Kash says.You dont legislate medicine. Contact us at letters@time.com. Two prominent Texas lawmakers have filed bills that would require local prosecutors to report to the state how often defendants are released from jail because they were not formally charged by a state-mandated deadline. State Sen. Joan Huffman, a Republican from Houston and longtime member of the Senate criminal justice committee, and Rep. Jeff Leach, a North Texas Republican and chair of the House judiciary and civil jurisprudence committee, filed identical bills in their respective chambers. Huffman's Senate Bill 2146 and Leach's House Bill 5354 would require the Texas Judicial Council, the policymaking body for the states judiciary, to establish procedures for how prosecutors must disclose to the council when people are released because prosecutors did not bring charges against them by state-mandated deadlines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislation comes a month after the American-Statesman revealed that lawyers for two murder suspects had been able to free their clients from the Travis County Jail on dramatically reduced bonds when District Attorney Jose Garza missed a 90-day deadline to indict. The publication also has identified dozens of cases in which defendants remained behind bars well past the deadline for prosecutors to bring charges an issue that experts and advocates say could be seen as a violation of their civil rights. The Huffman-Leach legislation seeks to address the problem of suspects being set free. It also would require prosecutors to report categories of criminal cases handled by their offices, the number of crimes in each category and the number of people employed by each prosecuting agency. Huffman said her bill's goal is to enhance the transparency of prosecutorial operations and facilitate the collection of standardized data related to criminal prosecution across the state of Texas." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This increased transparency in the criminal justice system will provide Texans with vital information about prosecutorial performance to make informed decisions when voting for their county or district attorney, she said in a statement. Leach said in a statement that "for too long, the operations of district and county attorneys have lacked the standardized reporting necessary to evaluate case management and resource allocation effectively. We absolutely must take steps to improve oversight and ensure that our justice system operates fairly and efficiently." Garza did not answer written questions from the Statesman about the proposed legislation, but he rather repeated an assertion that he has taken steps to make sure that prosecutors seek timely indictments. Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, said that "for too long, the operations of district and county attorneys have lacked the standardized reporting necessary to evaluate case management and resource allocation effectively." Shannon Edmonds, executive director of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, said he is still reviewing the bills and was not prepared to discuss them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under Texas law, prosecutors have 90 days in felony cases to bring an indictment against a defendant or a judge must release them on an affordable bond. Arrestees jailed for misdemeanors must be charged within 30, 15 or five days, depending on the seriousness of their alleged crime, or they are eligible for release. Garza's office, which only handles felony cases, came under fire in February after the Statesman identified two murder cases in 10 weeks in which defendants were released on dramatically reduced bonds because prosecutors missed the 90-day deadline. Initially, Garza argued that the judge overstepped in both cases and did not have to lower the bonds to the amount that she did. Then he blamed the misstep on a veteran prosecutor he said is no longer with the office. He next argued that prosecutors have no deadline to indict and that the law is intended to provide a path for defense attorneys to get their clients out of jail. Prosecutors in Garza's office took steps to return 18-year-old Stephon Morson to jail after his release on a $100 bond, citing his possible dangerousness. Morson was charged in the October 2024 shooting death of a man. The other defendant, Juan Antonio Ramirez, remains free on a $1 bond in a 2023 fatal shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Huffman-Leach legislation does not provide penalties for a prosecutor failing to report the required data, but Huffmans statement said the judicial council could introduce compliance mechanisms in its rules." Additionally, prosecuting attorneys, as public officials and licensed attorneys, are subject to certain professional rules of conduct, Huffman wrote. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas bill would require DAs to report releases of unindicted inmates (NewsNation) Children in West Texas are being treated for toxic levels of vitamin A amid misinformation spreading about its ability to treat measles. Covenant Childrens Hospital in Lubbock confirmed to Texas Public Radio that it admitted fewer than 10 pediatric patients who were all initially hospitalized because of measles complications and now have elevated levels of vitamin A. The outlet reports that this is resulting in abnormal liver function. Taking too much vitamin A can pose various adverse effects, disrupting the bodys equilibrium and overall well-being, the National Institutes of Health states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Social Security requirements call for in-person checks The vitamin A toxicity cases come as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a Fox News digital op-ed that vitamin A can dramatically reduce measles mortality. On March 4, Kennedy suggested in a Fox interview that therapies using cod liver oil, which contains vitamins A and D, were working to treat measles patients. According to Texas Public Radio, there are reports that cod liver oil is in high demand in West Texas, and its a big seller at local pharmacies. I did not hear anything about vitamin A until he said it on television, Katherine Wells, the director of public health in Lubbock, said in The New York Times. Vitamin A not substitute for vaccine: Doctors Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its measles guidance to say vitamin A may be administered to infants and children in the United States with measles as part of supportive management and that children with a severe case should be managed with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CDC notes that it is not a substitute for vaccination and warns that overusing vitamin A can lead to toxicity as well as liver, bone, central nervous system and skin damage. Vance attends shortened Greenland trip amid backlash Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, told NewsNation hes worried Kennedys advice could distract from what he believes is the real solution for this preventable disease. Some people will do some of these alternative practices instead of getting the vaccine, Huang said in an interview earlier this month. And we really want to make sure the vaccine is the primary message. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Huang added that the measles vaccine is safe and effective and millions of people have had it. While the World Health Organization recommends a daily dose of vitamin A for children with measles in areas where vitamin A deficiencies are common, the supplement is meant to reduce eye damage and blindness from the disease not prevent it altogether. Yes, vitamin A is important in places like Africa, but this isnt Africa, Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said to NewsNation. (America doesnt) have vitamin A deficiency. In response to recent media reports, The Council for Responsible Nutrition put out a statement saying that research has not established vitamin A is effective in preventing measles infection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles is a serious and highly contagious viral disease that can lead to severe health complications, said Andrea Wong, Ph.D., senior vice president of scientific and regulatory Affairs, CRN. Treatment and care for measles should always be conducted under the guidance of a qualified healthcare practitioner. As of March 7, 378 confirmed measles cases were reported by 18 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Washington, per the CDC. NewsNation digital producer Anna Kutz 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. At the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to Russia from March 31 to April 2. Beijing Youth Daily: French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot is visiting China upon invitation from March 27 to 28. Could you share more details, including the important understandings and outcomes reached by the two sides during the visit? Guo Jiakun: China and France are two permanent members of the UN Security Council and major countries with a spirit of independence. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two presidents, bilateral relations have maintained a positive and steady momentum of development. In the current international landscape brimming with changes and turbulence, the two countries maintain close communication and cooperation, which is in the interest of the two countries and conducive to the sound development of China-EU relations and world peace and stability. China attaches great importance to this visit as this is Foreign Minister Barrots first visit to China after he took office and this year opens up the second 60 years of China-France ties. Premier Li Qiang met with him. Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Barrot had talks and jointly met the press. The two sides had in-depth communication on China-France and China-EU relations as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest. Various mutual understandings were reached. Both sides shared the view that facing profound changes in the international landscape, as comprehensive strategic partners, China and France need to display a sense of mission, stay committed to multilateralism, dialogue, coordination and mutual benefit, oppose unilateralism, bloc confrontation, decoupling and supply chains disruption, and demonstrate a new sense of commitment in the next 60 years of bilateral relations. Both sides agreed that they will make the high-level dialogues on strategy, economy and fiance, and cultural and people-to-people exchange a success; deepen cooperation in traditional fields such as agriculture, tap potential for cooperation in innovative industries, including artificial intelligence, encourage two-way investment, and settle trade disputes and open up cooperation prospects through friendly consultation and dialogue; implement the initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping during his visit to France last year, namely bringing the total number of French students in China to more than 10,000, and doubling the number of young Europeans on exchange programs to China in the next three years, further facilitate cross-border travel, and have closer exchanges in culture and other fields; strengthen multilateral coordination, firmly support the UNs central role, and safeguard the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. The two countries issued a joint statement on climate change. They said that the two sides commit to implementing the Paris Agreement in a comprehensive, complete and effective manner, and strengthening green and low-carbon cooperation. When the global climate governance comes under headwinds, the statement sends a positive message of the joint and firm response by China and France to climate change, which matters a lot to lifting confidence in global climate cooperation and promoting the multilateral process on climate change. During the visit, the French side reaffirmed their firm commitment to the one-China policy, which China appreciates. AFP: U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth is in the Philippines, and today he said that the two countries must stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of the threat represented by China. Does the Foreign Ministry have a comment on this? Guo Jiakun: Whatever cooperation the U.S. and the Philippines have, it should not target or harm any third party, still less spread accusations about phantom threats to incite confrontation and heighten tensions in the region. Let me stress that freedom of navigation and overflight has never had any problem in the South China Sea. Throughout the years its always been the U.S. who has abetted its allies provocations, falsely called China a threat and claimed that theres an issue with freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and kept deploying more and more military resource to the region and undermining its peace and stability. The U.S. needs to get rid of its Cold War mentality, stop creating ideological confrontation, stop sowing tension in the region and discord between its countries, and stop being the disrupter and provocateur in the South China Sea. We also call on the Philippines to stop creating instability with U.S. backing, still less seek military confrontation. China Review News: On March 27, the UK government released the so-called six-monthly report on Hong Kong: 1 July to 31 December 2024. Whats Chinas comment? Guo Jiakun: The UK fabricates the so-called six-monthly report to interfere in Chinas internal affairs and vilify the human rights conditions and the rule of law in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. China firmly opposes this. Whats going on is that Hong Kong has entered a new stage in which it has restored order and is set to thrive. Its security, democracy and peoples freedoms and rights are under better protection, and it enjoys more promising prospects for development. Hong Kong shows to the world a safer, freer, and more open and predictable business environment, and sees all-time high figures for the registration of non-Hong Kong firms. Some people should get rid of its deeply entrenched colonial mindset as early as possible, respect Chinas sovereignty and Hong Kongs rule of law, stop pointing fingers at the handling of judicial cases in the Hong Kong, and stop being a haven to the people who sought to destabilize Hong Kong. Reuters: Is the Foreign Ministry able to provide an update on the safety of Chinese citizens and businesses in Myanmar, Thailand and Bangladesh following the Mandalay earthquake? Guo Jiakun: We noted relevant reports on the earthquake. We are following and checking the situation, and will release information in a timely manner. Xinhua News Agency: To follow up on Foreign Minister Wang Yis official visit to Russia, can you brief us on the purpose and agenda of the visit? Guo Jiakun: China and Russia are comprehensive strategic partners of coordination in the new era. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the presidents of the two countries, China and Russia have upheld lasting good-neighborliness, comprehensive strategic coordination and the spirit of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. We have deepened back-to-back strategic coordination, expanded practical cooperation across the board and made important contribution to the development and revitalization of the two countries and efforts of safeguarding basic norms governing international relations. During the visit, Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet with the leader of Russia and hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. China hopes to work with Russia through this visit to implement the important common understandings between the two heads of state and have in-depth communication on the future development of China-Russia relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest. BBC: Just a follow-up on this question about the U.S. Defense Secretary in the Philippines. When he spoke about the perceived threat from China, his words was the threat was from the communist Chinese. What do you think of that language? Does it sound appropriate to the Chinese government? Guo Jiakun: Let me stress that the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the choice of history and the choice of the people. The CPCs leadership is explicitly stipulated in Chinas Constitution and enjoys the wholehearted support of the Chinese people, and this will not be shaken by any force. RIA Novosti: Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that the possibility of introducing temporary governance in Ukraine under the auspices of the UN could be discussed with the United States, European countries, and Russian partners. I wonder whats Chinas comment on this proposal. Guo Jiakun: Chinas position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. AFP: A South Korean government source on Friday said that top trade officials from South Korea, Japan and China will meet this weekend in South Korea to discuss economic cooperation. Can the Foreign Ministry confirm this? Guo Jiakun: Id refer you to competent authorities for anything specific. China supports the three countries in strengthening trilateral cooperation. Global Times: We noted that the Cyberspace Administration of China and other authorities jointly issued the measures for identifying AI-generated synthetic content recently. Can you share more information on that and Chinas position on the governance of AI? Guo Jiakun: Id like to refer you to the competent authorities for anything specific. Let me stress that China puts forward and follows the Global AI Governance Initiative and actively supports the joint efforts from all countries in promoting AI governance. We uphold the principles of a people-centered approach and the development of AI for the good of humanity, put equal emphasis on development and security, advance AI application and governance in a balanced manner and ensure that AI is safe, reliable, controllable and fair. We are committed to implementing risk-oriented and agile governance, gradually establishing and improving laws and regulations and vigorously advancing the sound development and well-regulated application of AI. We will continue to work with all parties to engage in dialogue and cooperation, share the best practices and work to build broader consensus in the global governance of AI. (Reuters) -India's Tata Motors and the country's auto parts makers that supply Tesla, among others, dropped on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for 25% tariffs on all imported cars and auto parts. Tata Motors slid 5%, while Tesla's biggest Indian supplier, Sona Comstar, dropped over 4%, leading to a 1.2% drop in the auto sector in the world's third-largest auto market. The 25% tariffs on cars and light trucks imported into the U.S. will start on April 2, while tariffs on auto parts will take effect from May 3. The news rocked the auto sector globally, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk saying the impact on the EV maker is "significant." The U.S. is a top destination for Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) luxury cars, which are imported from plants in the UK and Slovakia. Among other stocks, Samvardhana Motherson, India's biggest auto parts supplier, fell over 2%, while Bharat Forge, which also supplies Tesla, was down 0.4%. The U.S., Samvardhana's top market along with India, accounts for 20% of its total revenue. North America, led by the U.S., forms a steeper 40% of Sona Comstar's revenue. The day's decline also mirrors share moves of larger global carmakers, from Toyota and Hyundai, to Stellantis and Ford, all of which fell after Trump's announcement. (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza) The number of cases in the West Texas measles outbreak spiked again Friday, as experts call for the U.S. to take action and prevent the possibility of an epidemic. State health officials said the number of cases of the highly infectious virus that had been identified since late January has risen from 327 on Tuesday to 400 on Friday. The number of hospitalizations only ticked up by one. The update comes as physicians worry about the potential for spread among humans and increased transmission in unvaccinated communities, and as concerns swirl regarding multiple infections across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By Friday, measles had spread across 20 communities, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 483 confirmed cases. Theres a reason why measles was targeted for the vaccine, Dr. Jeffrey Griffiths, a professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, recently recalled. People were pretty sick. Younger generations who werent alive during earlier measles epidemics dont know just how harmful the disease can be, he noted. Experts say the U.S. needs to act now to prevent additional spread and a potential epidemic of measles. There are now 400 cases identified in the West Texas outbreak (Getty Images) You want to prevent any of your loved ones or the people in your community from getting this, Griffiths said. And prevention of measles is really all about the vaccine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While many changes are being implemented at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the agency is also working to respond to the outbreak and has deployed experts to assist with the response. In a Thursday risk assessment on Thursday, the World Health Organization issued recommendations for how U.S. health leaders should proceed going forward amid the high risk. No. 1 on the list is maintaining coverage with the highly effective measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and a stock of supplies. All but two of the cases in Texas were individuals who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. Two doses of the vaccine are 97 percent effective at preventing measles cases. The World Health Organization has issued recommendations for the U.S. amid the spread of the highly contagious measles virus. Two doses of the vaccine are 97 percent effective at preventing measles (AFP via Getty Images) The organization is also recommending strengthening epidemiological surveillance and response capacities in high-traffic border areas to respond to suspected cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several cases have been tied to major transportation hubs, such as Los Angeles International Airport and Union Station in Washington, D.C. WHO advises international travelers to check and update their vaccination status against measles prior to departure, including when planning to travel to the United States, it said. Health authorities say these steps and even stricter measures need to be put in place to address the risk of a national epidemic. This demonstrates that this (vaccine exemption) policy puts the community, the county, and surrounding states at risk because of how contagious this disease is, Glenn Fennelly, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases and assistant vice president of global health at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, told The Texas Tribune. We are running the risk of threatening global stability. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., staring down his first major health crisis as the head of Health and Human Services, had a plan. After Texas experienced the first measles death in the United States in a decade, Kennedy told Fox earlier this month that the federal government was delivering vitamin Aan unproven treatment that Kennedy has promoted as an alternative to vaccinesto measles-stricken communities in West Texas right now. But a Texas official told me this week that no doses of vitamin A have arrived at the state health departmentnot because RFK Jr. broke his promise, but because Texas doctors didnt ask for them. The doses are available if we need them, Lara Anton, the senior press officer for the state public-health department, told me in a statement. But her office, she said, has not requested any, because healthcare providers have not requested it from us. Anton had no records of any shipments of vitamin A, budesonide, clarithromycin, or cod-liver oilall of which Kennedy has said can help with measleseven though the state has received 1,760 additional vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella from the federal government since the middle of February. When I asked Anton if Texas officials thought vitamin A treatment was useless, she referred me to a state website, which reads, Vitamin A cannot prevent measles. Vitamin A may be useful as a supplemental treatment once someone has a measles infection, especially if they have a severe case of measles or low vitamin A levels and are under the care of a doctor. The local health department for Gaines County, the epicenter of the deadly outbreak, told me that it has not received any of the alternative treatments either. (HHS did not respond to a request for comment.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In just a few short weeks on the job, Kennedy has broken with decades of public-health precedent in responding to measles. In a March 2 op-ed for Fox, he acknowledged that vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunityonly after emphasizing that the decision to vaccinate is a personal one. He has also endorsed vitamin A, which is not FDA-approved to treat measles, as a way to substantially decrease deaths from the disease. Vitamin A can reduce the risk of death among children under 2 who are infected, according to a 2005 meta-analysis. However, it has not been shown to effectively prevent the disease, contrary to Kennedys claim in his Fox interview. Its hardly surprising that a health department wouldnt want shipments of unproven treatments. But Texass decision to deny an offer of help from the top federal health official during a deadly measles outbreak suggests that not everyone in the nations public-health apparatus is ready to fall in line behind Kennedys unfounded claims. That apparently includes some staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which falls under Kennedys purview. On Tuesday, the CDCs top communications officer announced his resignation in an op-ed lambasting Kennedys embrace of alternative measles treatments. Public records Ive gathered from Texas show that CDC staff are aiding at least one local health department in spreading pro-vaccine messages to the local community. In a series of emails with Texas health workers, for instance, CDC officials workshopped multiple pro-vaccine public-service announcements and helped translate them into Low German and Spanish. The best way to protect against measles is with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, one flyer read. And a letter from the local health-department executive director, Zachary Holbrooks, that was distributed to parents of unvaccinated schoolchildren stated: I strongly encourage you to have your child vaccinated as soon as possible. None of the materials I obtained made any mention of vitamin A. Its unclear if those pro-vaccine messages are convincing locals, particularly the Mennonite population at the center of Texass outbreak. Last school year, just under 82 percent of kindergartners in Gaines County were vaccinated against measles. Data from the states vaccine registry suggest that immunizations are up roughly 10 percent this year compared with the same period in 2024, although Texas has limited visibility on vaccine administration. Holbrooks recently told The Atlantic that three local Mennonite churches had refused the district health departments request to place a measles-testing site on their property. Meanwhile, residents are clearing out local drugstores supplies of vitamin A and cod-liver oil, and showing up to a makeshift clinic that is giving out cod-liver oil. This week, The New York Times reported that some children in the area are taking such high doses of vitamin A that they are showing signs of liver damage. After casting a key vote to confirm Kennedy as health secretary, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a Republican, told his colleagues that Kennedy would help with restoring trust in our public-health institutions. But Kennedy has already made that laudable goal even less achievable. So long as the nations top public-health official is propping up purported miracle cures, families in West Texas will be encouraged to believe that not vaccinating their children is a responsible choice. Public-health leaders cant fix that problem on their own, even if they refuse to play along with Kennedys pseudoscientific routine. Article originally published at The Atlantic A Texas pastor thinks a county superintendent candidate should repent over her immoral lifestyle, despite admitting she is perfectly qualified for the job. Central Baptist Church Pastor Doug Harris made the controversial comments during a Sunday sermon on March 16 in Harris County. According to Houston Public Media, Dr Tiffany Regan has been named as the only candidate for the superintendent position at Deer Park Independent School District, in the Houston metropolitan area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite her 30 years of experience with the district, most recently as an assistant superintendent, Harris said Regan lives a lifestyle that is ungodly and immoral. Truth be told, she has a lot of great experience and she is well-educated. The difficulty is in her morality, he said, adding she would be a phenomenal superintendent if she repents. Harris didnt offer examples of what he considered immoral and what exactly Regan should repent for. A Change.org petition calling on the pastor to apologize states he targeted her based on her sexual orientation. The petition has over 1,800 signatures. The board nominated Regan on March 14, but she cant assume the position until the end of a public comment period, which expires on April 4. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jason Cable, Deer Park ISD school board president, told the outlet the boards decision to name Regan the lone finalist was based on her proven leadership, experience in education and dedication to student success. "I recognize that there are differing perspectives within our community, and the engagement and passion of those invested in our schools is appreciated. However, the Board will remain steadfast in our commitment to making decisions rooted in qualifications, integrity, and what is best for our students and district, Cable said. CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A Texas woman received a prison sentence after making fraudulent claims about being the owner and operator of a Crossville cattle farm, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. Shelby Lynn Hill, 54, of Crystal Beach, Texas allegedly fraudulently obtained a $220,645 Paycheck Protection Program Loan for Plateau Angus Farms in 2020 but the farm did not exist. Hill reportedly told the PPP lender the fictitious farm employed 14 people and had monthly payroll expenses exceeding $88,000. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, she received another $42,700 loan for a second fake company: Premium Persians of the Plateau. The U.S. Attorneys Office said she also misused PPP loan proceeds awarded to a third company Shelby Lynn Hill, MD PLLC to begin installing a personal swimming pool. At the time she applied for the PPP loans, Hill was employed as a health insurance broker. Some of the people listed as employees with Plateau Angus Farms loan application were potential health insurance customers, the U.S. Attorneys Office added. Reportedly, Hill later admitted she was not authorized to use their names or personal identifiers to obtain PPP loans. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Hill pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in June 2024. In addition to a sentence of one year and one day in prison, the U.S. Attorneys Office said Hill was ordered to repay $246,645 in restitution and a forfeiture money judgment. She will be on supervised release for a year after serving her sentence. 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. As Mayor Karen Bass attended a reception at the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, her phone began to ping with urgent messages from home. A notification from Deputy Chief of Staff Celine Cordero arrived at 6:48 p.m. Ghana time on January 7. "On the phone with Chief [Kristin] Crowley," Cordero messaged in a group chat with Deputy Mayor of Communications Zach Seidl and Chief of Staff Carolyn Webb de Macias. The Palisades fire had just erupted, with smoke and flames beginning to rage through the community. The blaze would later become the third most destructive wildfire on record in California, destroying more than five thousand structures. The series of messages obtained by the Los Angeles Times sheds light on the first few hours of Bass's response during what became a defining moment of her tenure. According to the mayor's office, Bass's messages were set to auto-delete every 30 days, but they recovered about 125 messages through "specialized technology." The Times also utilized an itinerary, flight records from FlightAware, and Flightradar24 in their reporting. Bass has faced criticism for being away from L.A. during the start of the fires. She stated she "was not informed" about the "severe conditions" before her departure. Some critics have begun a recall effort against the mayor. Cordero warned of potential evacuations. Bass reportedly spent much of the event making separate calls in different rooms. She then received another urgent text message in a group with senior mayoral aides warning that the Palisades fire had reached 200 acres. With Deputy Mayor Brian Williams on leave, Bass took on overseeing public safety. Her next message stated, "Crowley said homes will be lost soon." Twenty minutes later, Bass sent a message saying, "Call me Zach immediately." She informed her staff she'd be able to make calls from her military flight. Minutes after, Cordero asked Bass in their group chat to call a meeting with the city's general managers. Bass appeared to join a Zoom call with staffers. Meanwhile, in L.A., then-Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, Governor Gavin Newsom, and other local leaders assembled for a news conference at Will Rogers State Beach. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson served as acting mayor with Bass out of the country. L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger later alerted Bass about the Eaton fire in Altadena, texting: "Fire is now in Altadena so requesting one press conference located downtown. Please have safe travels." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bass's plane stopped for a 40-minute refuel in Cape Verde before continuing an eight-hour journey to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. At 5 p.m. Los Angeles time, Bass joined a general manager's meeting from the plane. The link came from her director of scheduling, Yvette Rojas. "Mayor, not sure if you were able to land," wrote Rojas. "Sending this in the event you're still able to join." Five minutes later, Bass's Executive Assistant, Pamela Brown, texted that she had CNN working and could stream the program. The lady's not for talking... but it didn't stop us trying when we spotted LA Mayor Karen Bass on our flight. #wildfires @SkyNews pic.twitter.com/kgtpbBnGSG David Blevins (@skydavidblevins) January 8, 2025 U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff texted at 2:30 a.m. Ghana time, "The fires are just awful. Please let me know whatever I can do to help." Bass responded 30 minutes later thanking him and letting him know she was on her way back. The text records show exchanges with other California political figures including Sen. Alex Padilla, Former President Biden's Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Dan Koh, L.A. Department of Water and Power Chief Executive Janisse Quinones, and Biden's Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini. By 11:24 a.m. on January 8, Bass's plane arrived at Los Angeles International Airport after nearly 24 hours of travel. Upon landing, she was approached by Sky News reporter David Blevins, who happened to be on her flight. In the video, she stared blankly as Blevins proposed cutting questions, to which she did not respond. Frantic text messages reveal the communication between U.S.-based staffers and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass who was in Ghana as wildfires began to tear through Southern California. The mayor, who was heavily criticized at the time from both sides of the political spectrum, was blighted by technical problems while trying to communicate with her team on the other side of the world, the messages obtained by ABC7 Eyewitness News show. The mayor was informed of the severity of the wildfires at 11:48 a.m. PT on January 7, while she was seven hours ahead in the African nation. The Palisades fire started on January 7 and tore through nearly 24,000 acres. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On phone with Chief Crowley now. 2 significant fires in the city now. She will call you mayor, a message from her deputy chief of staff Celine Cordero said. After updating Bass that evacuations were taking place as winds hit 40mph, the mayor held a video call with staff late afternoon in Los Angeles and 11:23 p.m. in Ghana. Messages from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, pictured speaking at a press conference in January, to her staffers on the ground in the U.S. have been revealed. Communications were hit with some technical issues while the mayor was anxious to get back to L.A. (County of Los Angeles/YouTube) I am listening don't know why you can't tell me, she said, before correcting herself to Hear me! Her team replied saying that they still couldnt hear the mayor. California Sen. Adam Schiff text Bass hours later offering support. The fires are just awful. Please let me know whatever I can do to help, Schiff messaged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks so much I'm actually in the air headed home from Ghana...I know disaster aid will be needed...I land in the AM and would like to be in touch by late afternoon after I've had a chance to see what is happening, Bass replied. After the news outlet got hold of the messages, the mayor said she was glad they were in the public domain. I am glad that they're now out there, and I hope that people can see exactly what I was doing, Bass said at a press conference this week. Bass initially told the outlet that her messages were set to auto-delete when they originally requested them in the days following the outbreak of the fires. The mayor was criticized for being out of the country as the Los Angeles fires, among the worst ever, raged. Bass said she was glad her messages were out in the open. (AFP via Getty Images) The outlet noted that public records, including texts from public officials, should be kept for at least two years, according to Los Angeles Administrative Code. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bass, a former physician and congresswoman, was hit with heavy criticism after it emerged she was on a different continent when the fires broke out earlier this year. She was selected by former President Joe Biden as one of his four-member presidential delegation to attend the inauguration of Ghanas incoming president, John Dramani Mahama. Elon Musk called her utterly incompetent and Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told Fox 11 Los Angeles that the city had failed them after recent cuts to the departments budget. Despite being away on diplomatic duties, Bass was consistently posting updates on social media about fire, evacuation orders and emergency shelters. SPRINGFIELD Gov. JB Pritzker, in a text exchange with Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, expressed concerns about Mayor Brandon Johnsons ability to keep United Airlines headquarters in Chicago, another stark shot from the governor amid his ongoing friction with the mayor. The back-and-forth between the two statewide public officials occurred last month as rumors were reignited that the prominent airline company might move to Denver because of a recent property purchase near that citys airport. Pritzker stressed the importance of ensuring Johnson did not do anything to push them out in the text conversation, which the Tribune obtained through a Freedom of Information request. The governor was responding to earlier concerns raised by Mendoza over the potential exit of United, which is one of Chicagos most recognizable companies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Susana. You should already know that I am on top of this as well as anyone, Pritzker texted Mendoza on Feb. 12 after she reached out to him to raise concerns about a United move. I have been in constant conversation with United for more than two years, and their CEO and their lobbyist have assured me that they do not intend (anytime in the foreseeable future) to leave Chicago. Then the governor remarked: Meanwhile, as you know the state has almost nothing to do with OHare so you (redacted) should make sure the Mayor doesnt do anything to push them out. I know youre on top of it, Mendoza replied, as she implored Pritzker to continue his dialogue with the airline. Right now you have the loudest adult voice in the room to reassure these important businesses that we value them as strategic partners. In absence of any semblance of competency coming out of the 5th floor, Mendoza wrote, referring to the location of Johnsons office in City Hall, I dont blame them for positioning themselves as potentially looking at other opportunities, even if thats not the case. I do believe theyre committed to Chicago and that youve had these conversations with them. Im just reaching out to you to ask you to keep that up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She ended that message with a thumbs-up emoji. While ego matches between Chicago mayors and Illinois governors are nothing new, they can at times be a political liability for the two leaders occupying those seats. Johnson allies have warned of repercussions for Pritzker, suggesting the Democratic governor who is mulling a possible run for president in 2028 could be vulnerable in a presidential primary if he doesnt repair his rocky relationship with Chicagos Black mayor. Meanwhile Johnson, a progressive freshman chief executive, has repeatedly noted he needs cooperation from Springfield to achieve his agenda more Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Transit Authority funding, additional revenue streams and a new taxpayer-funded Bears stadium. City finances remain fraught thanks to a longtime structural deficit that portends difficult budget cycles ahead. A Pritzker spokesman declined to comment Wednesday about the governors exchange with Mendoza or whether he had discussed the United Airlines issue with Johnson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement on Wednesday, Johnson said the governors office has not mentioned any concerns to him about the airline leaving the city. We welcome conversations with the Governor around how to best maintain our relationship with United Airlines, the mayors statement said. We have had productive conversations with the Governors team on a number of critical issues facing Chicago and our state, but they have not expressed any substantive concerns on this particular issue in those talks. The mayors response concluded with a pointed request for Pritzker and other counterparts in Springfield: Particularly in this moment, with ongoing threats from the federal government, our city and state need to focus on being united in defense of working people. The relationship between Pritzker and Johnson has been defined by highly publicized disputes over the recent efforts to regulate the sale of hemp products, as well as previous debates about whether the state needs to boost its funding for public education and strategies to house tens of thousands of migrants sent to the city from the southern U.S. border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest sign of a lack of confidence in Johnson between the two state leaders followed new plans submitted by United over a swath of land it recently purchased near Denver International Airport. Though far from a confirmation that the company would move its headquarters, it raised anxieties that another major corporation would abandon Chicago. Several large companies, such as Boeing, Citadel and Caterpillar, announced they planned to leave Chicago before Johnson was elected mayor while the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and McDonalds have since raised the prospect of following suit. But Johnson has challenged the narrative the city is anti-business, noting PsiQuantum Center is moving into the city a project Pritzker also played a major role in and that United and American airlines have agreed to the citys proposed changes to a massive, delayed rebuild at OHare International Airport. United, which has a key hub at OHare in addition to its office headquarters in Willis Tower, has focused on expanding its hub in Denver. The airline company acquired 113 acres of undeveloped land outside the Denver airport in 2023, with spokesperson Patrick Mullane saying at the time it would be used for a pilot training center. But that facility isnt taking up the entire parcel, and United last December also submitted plans to the city of Denver saying it was exploring adding office space that would accommodate about 5,000 employees, the Denver Post reported. At the same time, the airline has continued to expand its footprint in Chicago, with its vice president for OHare announcing in February that United plans to add six more gates at its hometown hub by October. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mullane on Wednesday reiterated in a statement that Uniteds new site near the Denver airport is reserved for future options, of which there are no set plans beyond using the land to expand our Flight Training Center capabilities. Mendoza has been an ardent critic of the Johnson administration on social media and is considering a run for Chicago mayor. In an interview Wednesday, she said that even if the speculation over United leaving was unfounded, they point to the citys governance problems. Mendoza said those problems include the ticking time bomb that is the city budgets structural deficit and how that could spell an adverse effect on Pritzker and the rest of state government. They cant make (Pritzkers) job easier, Ill tell you that, Mendoza said. Whenever you make decisions that are bad for the city, theyre also bad for that state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said its crucial for the mayor and the governor to work together, especially in matters concerning Chicago in its role as the states economic engine. Everyones always going to have disagreements. But in order to even have a disagreement, that means there should be some level of communication, and I just dont think that that level of communication exists, Mendoza said. In the absence of that leadership, the governor has to play an even bigger role in filling that vacuum, or people like myself or other elected officials who have an understanding of whats going on. In January, Pritzker publicly indicated there were problems between him and the mayor. In a news conference, Pritzker said several issues, including poor communication, was partly responsible for Johnsons opposition to a hemp regulation bill that capped the amount of THC that hemp-derived products could contain and cracked down on hemp advertising aimed at kids. He doesnt call very often, Pritzker said of Johnson after the vote got pulled. Maybe in the time that hes been mayor, hes called me, perhaps, five times? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defeat of the hemp legislation, which Johnson opposed because he thought it would hobble smaller stores that sell hemp-derived products and make an end-run around Chicagos authority to tax the product itself, was a rare loss for Pritzker. It was also a unique moment in which the usually mild-mannered governor directly criticized Johnson after tensions between the two had simmered behind the scenes. Pritzker had sought to downplay the discord. But the Tribune recently reported that hours before the governor suffered the hemp-bill defeat, Pritzkers chief of staff withdrew from a short-lived effort to convene with Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to plan for President Donald Trumps second term. On Jan. 6, Anne Caprara sent a curt email informing the chiefs of staff to the mayor and Cook County Board president that she was opting out of their scenario planning meetings organized shortly after Trumps November win. I wont be participating in these meetings going forward, Caprara wrote in the exchange obtained by the Tribune via an open records request, adding that she intended to later catch up separately with Preckwinkles chief of staff. Yin reported from Chicago. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker, in a text exchange with Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, expressed concerns about Mayor Brandon Johnsons ability to keep United Airlines headquarters in Chicago, another stark shot from the governor amid his ongoing friction with the mayor. The back-and-forth between the two statewide public officials occurred last month as rumors were reignited that the prominent airline company might move to Denver because of a recent property purchase near that citys airport. Pritzker stressed the importance of ensuring Johnson did not do anything to push them out in the text conversation, which the Tribune obtained through a Freedom of Information request. The governor was responding to earlier concerns raised by Mendoza over the potential exit of United, which is one of Chicagos most recognizable companies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Susana. You should already know that I am on top of this as well as anyone, Pritzker texted Mendoza on Feb. 12 after she reached out to him to raise concerns about a United move. I have been in constant conversation with United for more than two years, and their CEO and their lobbyist have assured me that they do not intend (anytime in the foreseeable future) to leave Chicago. Then the governor remarked: Meanwhile, as you know the state has almost nothing to do with OHare so you (redacted) should make sure the Mayor doesnt do anything to push them out. I know youre on top of it, Mendoza replied, as she implored Pritzker to continue his dialogue with the airline. Right now you have the loudest adult voice in the room to reassure these important businesses that we value them as strategic partners. In absence of any semblance of competency coming out of the 5th floor, Mendoza wrote, referring to the location of Johnsons office in City Hall, I dont blame them for positioning themselves as potentially looking at other opportunities, even if thats not the case. I do believe theyre committed to Chicago and that youve had these conversations with them. Im just reaching out to you to ask you to keep that up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She ended that message with a thumbs-up emoji. While ego matches between Chicago mayors and Illinois governors are nothing new, they can at times be a political liability for the two leaders occupying those seats. Johnson allies have warned of repercussions for Pritzker, suggesting the Democratic governor who is mulling a possible run for president in 2028 could be vulnerable in a presidential primary if he doesnt repair his rocky relationship with Chicagos Black mayor. Meanwhile Johnson, a progressive freshman chief executive, has repeatedly noted he needs cooperation from Springfield to achieve his agenda more Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Transit Authority funding, additional revenue streams and a new taxpayer-funded Bears stadium. City finances remain fraught thanks to a longtime structural deficit that portends difficult budget cycles ahead. A Pritzker spokesman declined to comment Wednesday about the governors exchange with Mendoza or whether he had discussed the United Airlines issue with Johnson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement on Wednesday, Johnson said the governors office has not mentioned any concerns to him about the airline leaving the city. We welcome conversations with the Governor around how to best maintain our relationship with United Airlines, the mayors statement said. We have had productive conversations with the Governors team on a number of critical issues facing Chicago and our state, but they have not expressed any substantive concerns on this particular issue in those talks. The mayors response concluded with a pointed request for Pritzker and other counterparts in Springfield: Particularly in this moment, with ongoing threats from the federal government, our city and state need to focus on being united in defense of working people. The relationship between Pritzker and Johnson has been defined by highly publicized disputes over the recent efforts to regulate the sale of hemp products, as well as previous debates about whether the state needs to boost its funding for public education and strategies to house tens of thousands of migrants sent to the city from the southern U.S. border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest sign of a lack of confidence in Johnson between the two state leaders followed new plans submitted by United over a swath of land it recently purchased near Denver International Airport. Though far from a confirmation that the company would move its headquarters, it raised anxieties that another major corporation would abandon Chicago. Several large companies, such as Boeing, Citadel and Caterpillar, announced they planned to leave Chicago before Johnson was elected mayor while the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and McDonalds have since raised the prospect of following suit. But Johnson has challenged the narrative the city is anti-business, noting PsiQuantum Center is moving into the city a project Pritzker also played a major role in and that United and American airlines have agreed to the citys proposed changes to a massive, delayed rebuild at OHare International Airport. United, which has a key hub at OHare in addition to its office headquarters in Willis Tower, has focused on expanding its hub in Denver. The airline company acquired 113 acres of undeveloped land outside the Denver airport in 2023, with spokesperson Patrick Mullane saying at the time it would be used for a pilot training center. But that facility isnt taking up the entire parcel, and United last December also submitted plans to the city of Denver saying it was exploring adding office space that would accommodate about 5,000 employees, the Denver Post reported. At the same time, the airline has continued to expand its footprint in Chicago, with its vice president for OHare announcing in February that United plans to add six more gates at its hometown hub by October. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mullane on Wednesday reiterated in a statement that Uniteds new site near the Denver airport is reserved for future options, of which there are no set plans beyond using the land to expand our Flight Training Center capabilities. Mendoza has been an ardent critic of the Johnson administration on social media and is considering a run for Chicago mayor. In an interview Wednesday, she said that even if the speculation over United leaving was unfounded, they point to the citys governance problems. Mendoza said those problems include the ticking time bomb that is the city budgets structural deficit and how that could spell an adverse effect on Pritzker and the rest of state government. They cant make (Pritzkers) job easier, Ill tell you that, Mendoza said. Whenever you make decisions that are bad for the city, theyre also bad for that state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said its crucial for the mayor and the governor to work together, especially in matters concerning Chicago in its role as the states economic engine. Everyones always going to have disagreements. But in order to even have a disagreement, that means there should be some level of communication, and I just dont think that that level of communication exists, Mendoza said. In the absence of that leadership, the governor has to play an even bigger role in filling that vacuum, or people like myself or other elected officials who have an understanding of whats going on. In January, Pritzker publicly indicated there were problems between him and the mayor. In a news conference, Pritzker said several issues, including poor communication, was partly responsible for Johnsons opposition to a hemp regulation bill that capped the amount of THC that hemp-derived products could contain and cracked down on hemp advertising aimed at kids. He doesnt call very often, Pritzker said of Johnson after the vote got pulled. Maybe in the time that hes been mayor, hes called me, perhaps, five times? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defeat of the hemp legislation, which Johnson opposed because he thought it would hobble smaller stores that sell hemp-derived products and make an end-run around Chicagos authority to tax the product itself, was a rare loss for Pritzker. It was also a unique moment in which the usually mild-mannered governor directly criticized Johnson after tensions between the two had simmered behind the scenes. Pritzker had sought to downplay the discord. But the Tribune recently reported that hours before the governor suffered the hemp-bill defeat, Pritzkers chief of staff withdrew from a short-lived effort to convene with Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to plan for President Donald Trumps second term. On Jan. 6, Anne Caprara sent a curt email informing the chiefs of staff to the mayor and Cook County Board president that she was opting out of their scenario planning meetings organized shortly after Trumps November win. I wont be participating in these meetings going forward, Caprara wrote in the exchange obtained by the Tribune via an open records request, adding that she intended to later catch up separately with Preckwinkles chief of staff. ------------- Yin reported from Chicago. ____ The Sundance Film Festival will relocate to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027, ending months of speculation about its future. The Sundance Institute announced the decision Thursday after evaluating proposals from multiple cities since revealing the top contenders last September. Boulder beat out Utah's unified bid and Cincinnati, Ohio. The college town's expansion possibilities proved decisive. "Part of the decision-making process was around opportunity for growth," acting Sundance Institute CEO Amanda Kelso told Deadline. "Knowing that we can be in a town that has 100,000 people means that it has more venues, more spaces, and more opportunities." The move comes as Sundance's contract with Park City approaches its 2026 expiration. Deadline first reported in June 2023 that the Institute had formed a task force to scout potential new locations. The change follows years of challenges, including pandemic-related cancellations, tensions with Park City locals, and leadership changes at the Institute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The festival's relationship with Park City has deteriorated over time. Locals have expressed frustration with the influx of attendees, while industry executives have balked at the rising costs. The festival's timing during ski seasonPark City's economic driverhas also created strain for local businesses. Boulder's winning bid included $34 million in tax incentives over the next decade. The Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau emphasized the city's variety of venues and lodging options, promising a more accessible, affordable experience. Colorado Governor Jared Polis welcomed the announcement: "Colorado is thrilled to welcome the Sundance Film Festival to its new home in Boulder starting in 2027. Here in our state we celebrate the arts and film industry as a key economic driver, job creator, and important contributor to our thriving culture." Downtown Boulder will serve as the festival's central hub, with Pearl Streeta permanent pedestrian-only areabecoming a focal point. The festival will also utilize select locations on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, festival founder Robert Redford's alma mater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelso noted Boulder's natural setting as another advantage: "From a sense of space perspective, it's this really vibrant town that's surrounded by nature. You can imagine walking from venue to venue, metabolizing the film you just watched and communing with nature which is something Robert Redford felt so strongly about." She added, "Boulder is a cool town, it's an arts town. There are poets, musicians and filmmakers who live here. It's a tech town. It's also a college town38,000 students attend University of Colorado Boulder, and that creates an opportunity for us to think about audience development in a more expansive way." Get the latest news delivered to your inbox daily! Sign up for Los Angeles Magazines The Daily Brief below or click here. By Sam Nussey and Miho Uranaka TOKYO (Reuters) - The incoming CEO of Japanese chip materials maker JSR plans to focus on restoring the company's business performance, shifting away from previous ambitions to drive consolidation in the sector. JSR's financial performance is not good, and the company is not ready to make acquisitions, Tetsuro Hori, who will assume the CEO role on April 1, said in an interview on Wednesday. "We need to recover the life science business. This is the first priority," he said. The company's business performance has deteriorated, affected by losses in its life sciences unit, sparking industry speculation that JSR may attempt to sell the division. "JSR might not be the best owner of the life science (business), that's what I'm thinking right now," said Hori, adding that nothing has been decided and the business' performance would need to improve before any potential sale. Under outgoing CEO Eric Johnson, JSR was taken private by the state-backed Japan Investment Corp (JIC) last year in a $6 billion deal. Johnson had argued that the buyout would free JSR, a leading maker of photoresists for chipmaking, from the challenge of managing its foreign investor base, enabling the company to pursue sector deals. However, the transaction has been controversial, with some in the industry questioning whether JSR could successfully make deals that would significantly reshape the sector. Hori said that M&A must be supported by customers, and they must also create value. Hori joined JSR as chief financial officer in January, and had previously served as an executive at chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron. Hidehito Takahashi, the CEO of chip materials maker Resonac, said last month that he would like his company to be involved when JIC exits JSR. "If we can find some good synergy probably those deals could be on the table," Hori said, adding that he hasn't had discussions with Resonac. JSR booked a net loss of 22.2 billion yen ($148 million) in the six-month period ended September 30. Hori hopes to return the business to profitability by the next financial year, which ends in March 2026. ($1 = 150.3800 yen) (Reporting by Sam Nussey and Miho Uranaka; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) ST. LOUIS Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe paid a visit to St. Louis on Thursday morning for a ceremonial signing of a sweeping crime bill that shifts control of the citys police force from local oversight to the state. While Kehoe formally signed House Bill 495 on Wednesday in Jefferson City, he wanted to do a signing with the St. Louis Police Officers Association present. Many in the association are supportive of the bill. Now signed into law, the bill allows for a five-person board to take control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department in August. The board would consist of the St. Louis mayor and four commissioners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement St. Lukes staff holds benefit concert for coworker after stroke Kehoe, who spoke to St. Louis media members Thursday for the first time since approving the bill, emphasized the historical precedent of the move and claimed it was effective in the past. We dont have to imagine what this would look like, said Kehoe. It was under this control for 120 years. Kansas City is still under the same model. This is not some new thing that somebody just thought of. This is a proven process that has worked in the past and we want to give it a shot again. We think it can only get better. For more than a century, control of the St. Louis Police operated under a similar oversight structure with a Board of Police Commissioners that consisted of the mayor and gubernatorial appointees. That Civil War-era arrangement remained in place until voters overturned it during the 2012 election, and the City of St. Louis has retained exclusive authority over the department since 2013. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The move to state takeover will return the department to a previous model. To qualify, commissioners must have lived in the City of St. Louis for at least three years and cannot hold any other public office. The governor would have sole discretion over one appointment, while the remaining three would be selected based on recommendations from the mayors office, St. Louis Police Officers Association and Ethical Society of Police. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News A recent comprehensive poll from Saint Louis University and YouGov PLC found that around 47% of respondents would favor local control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (the current system set to change in August), while 39% favor state control and 14% are unsure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While speaking to media Thursday, Kehoe was asked why he strongly pushed for a measure that has received mixed reactions from the public. Because its needed, said Kehoe. Sometimes you got to make decisions in leadership to do what you think is best for the people that you serve. The new crime bill signed into law also increases penalties for burglary, retail theft and sex trafficking of minors, while requiring Missouri law enforcement agencies to report immigration status of suspects. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A short video of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the normally unremarkable act of climbing a set of stairs launched a wave of internet speculation this week when it also captured two armed guards who looked like they might be assigned to him. Both wore Air Force flight suits, carried M-4-style rifles with tactical vests a rarely-seen level of firepower on civilian VIP flights and both were women. Speculation on the pair ranged from incorrect to ridiculously incorrect. Posters on social media immediately labeled the pair as everything from secret Delta Force operators to undeserving DEI recruits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One internet outlet even called them Hegseths Heavily-Armed Female Bodyguards. Some even compared the two to the ornamental Amazon guards once favored by Muammar Gaddafi. A few internet sleuths got closer to the truth, assuming they were Phoenix-Raven troops, the Air Forces specially-trained security forces squads that fly on large transport aircraft like C-17s and C-130s when they travel to unsecure airbases (Ravens were aboard nearly every flight out of Kabul during the 2021 airlift). It will shock you to learn that in each of those cases, someone on the internet was wrong. .@SecDef@PeteHegseth departs DC for his Indo-Pacific tour Hawaii Guam Philippines Japan pic.twitter.com/njBDWDBzhE Kingsley Wilson (@DepPressSecDOD) March 24, 2025 In fact, the two women were members of a small team from the 55th Security Forces Squadron, which is assigned to guard not Hegseth, but the plane he was flying on, the Air Forces secret E-4B Doomsday plane, otherwise known as the National Airborne Operations Center, or NAOC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The security detail, which is specially selected from Air Force security forces at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, flies with the plane everywhere it goes. The rifles and combat gear, an Offutt spokesperson told Task & Purpose, are standard protocol for the team. They were not, the spokesperson said, assigned to guard Hegseth but rather flew with the plane to Andrews to pick him up for the trip. Flying Doomsday machine The E-4B is not one of the Air Forces normal VIP transport planes flown by the 89th Airlift Wing, which are based at Andrews and are generally painted light blue and white. The 89th planes which include the converted 747s that serve as Air Force One appear on television regularly carrying a wide range of government VIPs, with very few, if any obvious security guards around them. Not so for the E-4B Nightwatch, which is an all-business warplane, built for the President and Secretary of Defense to carry out war plans during major attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plane is not based at Andrews but at Offutt, which is also home to U.S. Strategic Command the militarys nuclear war planners and the 55th Wing, which flies a roster of secret spy planes from the base. And though based in Nebraska, the E-4B actually operates under the Eighth Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, the operational command that oversees all of Americas nuclear and strategic bombers. In other words, the NAOC is nobodys VIP shuttle (though to unfamiliar eyes, its white paint job, blue stripe, and similar-scripted United States of America on its fuselage might hold a passing resemblance to Air Force One). Not surprisingly, where the NAOC goes, so goes the 55ths security team, according to Kris Pierce, the Chief of Public Affairs at Offutt. The two individuals shown in the photo and video are full-time members assigned specifically to the NAOC Security team, Pierce told Task & Purpose in an email response to questions on the guards. Pierce declined to identify the two women, but said both held the rank of senior airman. They serve as fly-away security and are officially designated as part of the aircrew. When supporting an overseas mission involving the Secretary of Defense, they closely coordinate with the SecDefs security team. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, this week, with Air Force NOAC security guards. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Madelyn Keech, and screenshot from YouTube. The weapons and kit the two carried may have looked excessive on the ceremony-heavy Andrews flightline, but are about what you might expect for guarding a plane at the heart of Americas nuclear arsenal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carrying the M4 and M18 is standard protocol, said Pierce. This is part of their authorized lethal loadout and aligns with standing orders for personnel, especially when operating in official capacities such as deployments or movements during missions. There has been no recent change in policy or procedure regarding their weapons posture. The 55ths NAOC team is full-time at Offutt, and members must both volunteer and undergo a selection process. The team is not a formal Phoenix-Raven security team, though some members have Raven experience or attend the Air Forces Raven qualification course at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey while assigned to NAOC. Becoming a member of NAOC Security is a highly selective and competitive process, said Pierce. Once selected, their training intensifies with aircraft-specific instruction designed to build and sustain the specialized skills required for the mission. In subsequent stops on his trip in Asia, Hegseth met reporters within a few yards of the E-4B several times to address his use last month of Signal to distribute strike plans against Yemen on a chat group. During those press conferences, several different sets of NAOC guards are visible in the background, flanking the planes steps, as the two guards did at Andrews. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to Task & Purpose, the 55th squadron commander confirmed it was his troops that had set the internet off. The two Senior Airmen [seen Monday] are among the best of the best from 55 SFS Recon Raiders, Air Combat Command, and across USAF Security Forces, said Lt. Col. Andrew Ferguson. Only the most professional, most competent, and most lethal members from my squadron get the opportunity to serve on the NAOC Security team. Ive personally flown with most, if not all our NAOC Security team members on several overseas missions, including one of the two pictured. I vouch for my NAOC Security team. The latest on Task & Purpose Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect Thousands of people are feared dead after powerful earthquakes shook large areas of war-torn Myanmar and left a path of destruction as far afield as Bangkok. The quakes brought down a 30-storey skyscraper in the Thai capital, killing at least eight people and trapping ninety more under the rubble. The skyscraper was still under construction but collapsed dramatically as the quake jolted through the ground in the early afternoon in Southeast Asia on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Myanmars military junta confirmed that at least 144 people had died there, with the epicentre being located close to Mandalay, the reclusive countrys second largest city. While quakes are common in Myanmar, which lies on the fault line between the Indian and Eurasian plates, this quake is being described as the most devastating since the 1950s. Video that has emerged from Myanmar shows people screaming as the 7.7-magnitude tremor pulled down buildings and tore holes in the street. The countrys junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, appealed to any country, any organisation to help with relief and said he had opened routes for international assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Footage from cities near the epicentre shows buildings keeled over or collapsed in a heap of rubble. According to locals, the destruction is even worse in the nearby countryside. One rescue worker told the BBC that a hundred casualties had been counted in a single village. An air traffic control tower at the countrys main international airport also collapsed, killing all staff who were on duty, Burmese media said. The US Geological Survey issued a red alert for deaths and damage, estimating that thousands of people are likely to have been killed. In Bangkok, as night fell in the Thai capital, rescue workers were working against the clock to save people caught under the ruins of a collapsed sky scraper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight dead bodies have been recovered and, with between 90 and 110 people unaccounted for, the toll is expected to rise. We see several dead bodies under the rubble. We will take time to bring the bodies out to avoid any further collapses, he told reporters. I heard people calling for help, saying help me, Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. The WHO, which has done an assessment in recent weeks of the best ways to get supplies into Myanmar, said on Friday it was ready to move. We have to know exactly where, what and why. Its information from the ground thats really critical right now, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In China, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to local media reports. 05:14 PM GMT This blog is now closed Thanks for reading along. 04:33 PM GMT WHO ready to move in to Myanmar By chance, the WHO had done an assessment in recent weeks of the best ways to get supplies into Myanmar, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing. We are ready to move in - but now we have to know exactly where, what and why. Its information from the ground thats really critical right now, she said . Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called for rapid access to affected areas and the timely approval of supplies and personnel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MSF medical and humanitarian staff in Myanmar and neighbouring countries are ready to respond at scale to the urgent needs of affected communities, once authorities facilitate swift and unhindered access for teams to do assessments and provide medical care, it said in a statement. The ability to deploy assessment teams - and ideally, surgical teams - is crucial in the first hours and days after an earthquake to deliver life-saving surgical care for the injured. 04:21 PM GMT Video shows destruction in Sagaing, Myanmar 2. This is Myanmar, devastated by the 7.7 earthquake. Many are missing.pic.twitter.com/0WkRumpFUg Vertigo_Warrior (@VertigoWarrior) March 28, 2025 03:33 PM GMT Weeks before we understand full extent of destruction The impact of the earthquake in Myanmar is likely to be severe, with possibly thousands of displaced people in need of urgent shelter, food and medical aid, said Mohammed Riyas, regional director of the International Rescue Committee. We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake, as communication network lines are down and transport is disrupted, he said. The damage to infrastructure and homes, loss of life, and injuries sustained by communities affected should not be underestimated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Riyas said the IRC and its partners are working to understand how communities have been affected with the aim of launching an emergency response. He said in a statement that search and rescue operations are underway. 03:30 PM GMT UN fully mobilising resources The United Nations is mobilising in Southeast Asia to help those in need, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday. The government of Myanmar has asked for international support and our team in Myanmar is already in contact in order to fully mobilise our resources in the region to support the people of Myanmar, Guterres said. But of course there are other countries impacted. The epicentre is in Myanmar, and Myanmar is the weakest country in this present situation, he added. 03:15 PM GMT Bangkok death toll rises to nine At least nine people have died in Bangkok as a result of Fridays earthquake, an official told Reuters, with the death toll steadily rising in Thailand as well as in neighbouring Myanmar, where the quake was centred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of the confirmed casualties in the Thai capital, eight died when a building under construction collapsed, while the ninth person died in a different location, said Bangkoks Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej. 02:59 PM GMT Junta asks for any country, any organisation to help with relief At least 144 people have been killed in Myanmar by the massive earthquake, the countrys junta chief said, inviting any country, any organisation to help with relief. The quake caused widespread destruction across the country and the death toll is expected to rise, ruler Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech aired on state media. He said he had opened routes for international assistance and had accepted offers of help from India and the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN. 02:47 PM GMT Childrens hospital badly damaged in Myanmar In Taungoo, 15 amputee children who had been rushed out of a rehabilitation centre were still sheltering in the shade under bushes on Friday afternoon, unsure what to do next, writes The Telegraphs Sarah Newey from Bangkok. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doctors told The Telegraph they did not want to return into the four-story facility, which caters to children with disabilities and war injuries in the region. Completed in 2023, the building now has gaping cracks in the walls and lines growing across the ceiling. We asked them to wait and will check, waiting [for] some statement from experts whether its safe or not, the doctor, who asked not to be named, said. People everywhere are still so scared to enter their home. He added that news of fatalities is mounting across Taungoo, a town roughly 130 miles from Myanmars main commercial hub, Yangon. We heard around 15 people have already died - most were victims at the mosque, as today is Friday, he said. Were waiting for the picture to get clearer. 02:42 PM GMT At least 144 people killed in Myanmar quake, state TV says At least 144 people in Myanmar have been killed and 732 injured by the earthquake, state-run MRTV said on the Telegram messaging app on Friday. 02:30 PM GMT The Telegraphs Sarah Newey reports from Bangkok 02:02 PM GMT Monks watch on as living quarters collapse In Mandalay, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery, one of the largest in the city, and damaged the former royal palace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A video posted online showed robed monks in the street shooting video of the multistory monastery before it suddenly fell into the ground. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed. Newly built MaSoeYane monastery living quarters crumbled down as the second quake hit Mandalay. The natural disaster happened days before the Buddhist monks are to take their exams. #myanmarearthquake #MyanmarFactCheck pic.twitter.com/WArJTcsRwA Thet Zaw (@msthetzaw) March 28, 2025 01:50 PM GMT Injuries reported in China The earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north-east of Ruili, was so strong that people couldnt stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. 01:48 PM GMT Historic Mahamuni Pagoda Damaged in Myanmar Earthquake 01:34 PM GMT Air control tower collapses at Myanmars main airport An air control tower at the Naypyidaw International Airport near the capital in Myanmar has collapsed. All five members of staff on duty in the tower reportedly died due to the collapse. BREAKING Severe damage reported at Naypyidaw International Airport near Myanmar's capitalair traffic control tower collapsed, killing at least 5. Runway also hit. pic.twitter.com/h9roPZA3nL Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 28, 2025 01:24 PM GMT 81 trapped inside collapsed skyscraper, say Thai authorities The Thai defence ministry says that rescuers are searching for 81 people trapped in the rubble of a skyscraper that was under construction and collapsed into a pile of rubble. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said there had been three deaths at the building site. He warned of possible aftershocks but urged people to be calm and said the situation was largely under control. 01:16 PM GMT Rescue workers near a collapsed building in Bangkok Rescue personnel work near a building that collapsed. - Reuters Rescue personnel work near a building that collapsed. - Getty Images AsiaPac 01:12 PM GMT WHO readying medical supplies for huge Myanmar quake The WHO has triggered its emergency management system in response to Fridays huge earthquake in Myanmar and is mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies. The World Health Organization is coordinating its earthquake response from its Geneva headquarters because we see this as a huge event with clearly a very, very big threat to life and health, spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing. Weve activated our logistics hub to look particularly for trauma supplies and things like external fixators because we expect that there will be many, many injuries that need to be dealt with, Harris said. 12:58 PM GMT Thailands PM arrives at site of building collapse Thailands Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives at a construction site where a building collapsed in Bangkok. - LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP 12:24 PM GMT Pictured: Chaos in eastern Myanmar The Inle Lake in eastern Myanmar suffered damage 12:11 PM GMT Earthquake could not have come at a worse time The earthquake could not have come at a worse time for Myanmar, Amnesty International has warned, with a third of the countrys population already in need of humanitarian assistance after four brutal years of civil war. At the same time, the impacts of US aid cuts on humanitarian services in the country are just starting to bite, said Joe Freeman, Amnestys Myanmar researcher. The US is one of the largest donors to Myanmar, spending roughly $200 million a year. A significant chunk of that looks set to be cut by the Trump administration. Mr Freeman added that all parties involved in the conflict should be prioritising the needs of civilians ... and ensuring that they have unfettered access to aid. He said: Central Myanmar, which is believed to be the epicentre of the earthquake, has been ravaged by military air strikes and clashes between resistance groups and the military. Myanmars military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active. It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organisations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments. 12:01 PM GMT At least 20 dead in Myanmars capital At least 20 people have died at a major hospital in Myanmars capital, according to AFP. About 20 people died after they arrived at our hospital so far. Many people were injured, said the doctor at the 1,000-bed general hospital in Naypyidaw, who requested anonymity. 11:47 AM GMT Human Rights Watch urges junta to allow access Human Rights Watch has urged Myanmars military junta to grant humanitarian access. The Myanmar junta should immediately facilitate humanitarian access to areas affected by the earthquake, said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The military has an appalling history of blocking aid following natural disasters, depriving people of assistance and increasing the suffering of communities affected. 11:41 AM GMT Pictured: Water falls from high-rise pool A hotel infinity pool during the earthquake 11:39 AM GMT Mandalay locals die from doctor shortages A woman was killed in Mandalay because there were not enough doctors to treat her injuries, her daughter told The Telegraph. Thiri San rushed her mother to Mandalays main hospital after bricks fell onto her head. When my mother arrived at the Mandalay General hospital, she was still alive, she said. But there werent enough doctors to treat her, and she lost too much blood from her head injury and passed away. The 39-year-old said she was still waiting to receive treatment for her own injuries and that she was in pain inside out. Her 89-year-old father said that this is the worst earthquake he had ever seen. 11:22 AM GMT Where the earthquake was felt This map shows how far the intensity of the quake could be felt. 11:17 AM GMT Pictured: Earthquake survivor Blood is seen on the face of an earthquake survivor as she rests in a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. Blood is seen on the face of an earthquake survivor - Sai Aung MAIN / AFP 11:13 AM GMT France ready to provide support France said on Friday it stood ready to provide support, adding that its diplomatic premises in the Thai capital had been evacuated. We are ready to provide support as soon as the need has been expressed and we have evacuated our premises in Bangkok to guard against any form of risk, said Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who was in Shanghai on Friday, referring to the French embassy, schools, and other buildings. 11:07 AM GMT At least 200 patients at Mandalay Hospital At least 200 people have already arrived at the main hospital Mandalay, The Telegraphs Nandi Theint reports from the site. Dr Yan Naing told The Telegraph that 19 people have died so far due to the earthquake. There arent enough doctors and space, he said. Patients are scattered inside the hospital. So far, 19 people have died here due to the earthquake. Across Myanmar, I believe the death toll will be in the hundreds. 10:53 AM GMT Pictured: Patients evacuated from Rajavithi Hospital Patients are being evacuated from Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok. Pictures show chaos at the hospital, with patients overflowing from the wards to outside. Patients are evacuated from Rajavithi Hospital after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar - REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa 10:41 AM GMT At least 90 missing in Bangkok At least 90 people are missing at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok, according to Thailands defence minister. Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai provided no additional details on the rescue efforts, though first responders earlier reported rescuing seven people from the area outside the collapsed building. 10:39 AM GMT Our correspondent live from Bangkok reports of shocked locals Workers caked in a thick white dust are outside the collapsed building in Bangkok, shocked at the scale of destruction and their close escape. Sompon, who has worked in construction for 16 years, works for one of the construction companies here, and had been on site for a month. When he first felt the tremors, he shouted to those around him to get out immediately. He struggled to describe how hes feeling now. Its indescribable. Im speechless, he told the Telegraph. Because all the dust is coming everywhere, we could see only dust. I run out as fast as I could, to be safe. He added: This is the scariest experience Ive ever had. 10:34 AM GMT What we know so far Weve been providing live coverage of the earthquake in Myanmar and its aftermath in Thailand. A 7.7 magnitude tremor struck north-east of Mandalay at a depth of 10km just before 6.30am UK time. If youre just joining us, here is what we know so far: The US Geological Survey has estimated that thousands of deaths are likely. At least 10 worshippers are reported to have been killed in a mosque in Mandalay. More than 20 children are feared to be trapped in a destroyed school in the city of Taungoo. Three people have died in Bangkok, while around 90 are missing. 10:21 AM GMT Earthquakes impact could be disastrous Initial reports from Myanmar suggest the earthquakes impact could be disastrous, experts told The Telegraph. Dr Brian Baptie, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, noted that the population live in buildings vulnerable to natural disasters, worsening the situation. When a large earthquake strikes an area with over a million people, many of whom live in vulnerable buildings, the consequences are often disastrous, he said. From initial reports, that seems likely to be the case here. Dr Baptie added that Myanmar is often exposed to large earthquakes, having experienced 14 with a magnitude of six or higher in the past 100 years. This toll includes a magnitude 6.8 quake near Mandalay in 1956 and a 7.6 quake further north in 1946. 10:14 AM GMT Downed power lines hinder rescue efforts Downed power lines are complicating rescue efforts in Myanmar. The Red Cross said that is it adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state. Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage, the Red Cross said. Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered. 10:08 AM GMT Thailands death toll rises to three The death toll in Thailand has risen to three after a building collapsed in Bangkok. Chadchart Sittipunt, the citys governor, warned of possible aftershocks but urged people to be calm and said the situation was largely under control. Authorities had received 169 calls about damage to buildings in Bangkok, he said. Urban rail systems in Bangkok were temporarily closed but expected to resume services on Saturday. 10:01 AM GMT Naypyidaw hospital treating hundreds of patients A large hospital in Myanmars capital is treating hundreds of patients, according to officials on site. Hundreds of injured people are arriving... but the emergency building here also collapsed, security officials at the hospital in Naypyidaw told AFP. Some have arrived in cars, others in pickups, and others carried on stretchers, their bodies bloody and covered in dust. An earthquake survivor lies on a bed in the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw - Sai Aung MAIN / AFP An earthquake survivor is carried as she waits to receive medical attention at a hospital in Naypyidaw - Sai Aung MAIN / AFP 09:56 AM GMT Trapped people heard screaming in Bangkok People could be heard screaming while trapped in the debris of a 30 storey building block collapsed in Bangkok. Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bangkoks Bang Sue district, said the capital had never experienced an earthquake like it before. I heard people calling for help, saying help me, he told AFP. We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties. I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before. 09:49 AM GMT Myanmar hospital declares mass casualty area A hospital in Myanmar has been described as a mass casualty area by officials. Rows of injured people are being treated outside of the hospital in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. The hospital has 1,000 beds, the official added, describing people writhing in pain as relatives sought to comfort them. The emergency department was also severely damaged, with a car crushed beneath the heavy concrete of its collapsed entrance. Many injured people have been arriving, I havent seen anything like this before, a doctor at the hospital told AFP. We are trying to handle the situation. Im so exhausted. 09:47 AM GMT Pictured: Chaos hits Bangkok Women react in Bangkok - LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images Injured people receive medical attention near the site of a collapsed building - REUTERS/Ann Wang A worker reacts near a site of a collapsed building - REUTERS/Ann Wang 09:39 AM GMT Myanmar issues plea for international humanitarian aid Myanmars ruling junta has issued a rare request for international humanitarian aid. Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing visiting a hospital in Naypyidaw, where victims of the 7.7-magnitude quake were being treated, according to AFP. We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP at the hospital. 09:36 AM GMT Watch: Chaos filmed from rooftop pool Credit: X/@msuhcoff 09:33 AM GMT Myanmar hit by two earthquakes, according to reports It is now being reported that a second earthquake hit Myanmar just minutes after the first. The agency said that 12 minutes after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, another 6.4 magnitude one hit. The epicentre was 18km (11.1 miles) south of Sagaing. 09:24 AM GMT US Geological Survey estimates thousands of deaths likely The US Geological Survey has issued a red alert for deaths and damage, estimating that thousands of deaths are likely. The agency warned that high casualties and extensive damage are probable, with the disaster likely widespread. 09:23 AM GMT Pictured: Bangkok building collapses Rescue teams are seen at a construction site where a building collapsed in Bangkok - Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP 09:18 AM GMT Myanmar declares state of emergency A state of emergency has been declared in Myanmar after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The countrys national disaster management committee added that it had declared a state of emergency in the Sagaing region, Mandalay region, Magway region, northeastern Shan State, Naypyitaw Council Area, and Bago region. 09:11 AM GMT Two confirmed dead from Bangkok building collapse Bangkok emergency responders have reported two deaths inside a high-rise building that collapsed during the earthquake. They added that seven people had been rescued from the rubble. 09:10 AM GMT Bangkok building collapse sounded like jet plane Iana, 40, a piano teacher from Russia in Bangkok on holiday, was in a nearby shopping centre when she heard the building collapse. It was in the Chatuchak area, I hear the sound - its like a jet. The building was shaking, shaking, shaking. We went down to the first floor and then we saw all the smoke (from the collapsed building). She added: People were afraid. 50 people maybe, 60 people there. We go down on the first floor and we see smoke. We dont know what is it. Iana, who goes home tomorrow, thought there might be aftershocks and wasnt sure where to go next. 09:05 AM GMT At least 20 children trapped in Myanmar More than 20 children are reported trapped in a school in Myanmar after the building collapsed, according to reports. Charitable organisations are working to rescue them from the school in Taungoo, central Myanmar, the Yangon Times reported. 09:01 AM GMT Thai locals share shock and fear People are sitting on the side of the streets with their pet cats and dogs - theyre not sure if the high rise buildings they live inside are safe to go into. Boom, 23, a student who was working from home today, told The Telegraph shes still freaked out after the earthquake - mainly because shes concerned about aftershocks. Shes sitting in the 37 degree heat on the side of a busy main road with her two cats in a cat bag - Fuku, a ginger and a white two month old kitten. It was scary.. Its my first time (in an earthquake) , I was really nervous and I wasnt sure what to do, she said. She was on the 10th floor of a 23 floor apartment block. Then it started shaking more, there was a crack in the wall, so I grabbed my cat and sat under the table. Afterwards, I just went down the emergency ladder. She added: No I dont feel safe. I think I will wait outside in case theres an aftershock. Im waiting until someone like the government tells me its safe. 09:00 AM GMT Mandalay airport suspends flights It is thought that Mandalay airport has suspended flights after suffering significant damage. Videos shared online show dozens of panicked passengers fleeing the airport as alarm bells ring loudly. Inside Mandalay International Airport - @heungburma on X 08:55 AM GMT Thai PM interrupts official visit Thai prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has interrupted an official visit to Phuket, an island to the countrys south, to hold an urgent meeting. Ms Paetongtarn was in Phuket for a meeting when the earthquake occurred. 08:47 AM GMT At least ten killed in Myanmar mosque Local media reports say at least 10 people have been killed in Myanmar after an earthquake struck the Shwe Phone Shein Mosque in Mandalay. It collapsed while we were worshipping. About three mosques collapsed. There were people trapped, so at least 10 people have died now. The death toll could be higher, a rescue worker told the Yangon Times. 08:40 AM GMT Myanmar reports widespread damage Myanmar was at the epicentre of the earthquake, which the US Geological Survey said was a shallow 10 kilometres (6.2 miles). In Mandalay, the countrys second-largest city and close to the epicentre, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on social media. A 90-year-old bridge in the Sagaing region, south-west of Mandalay, collapsed, and several sections of the highway connecting Mandalay to Yangon were damaged. Breaking: A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake has struck Myanmar and the surrounding region. The iconic Ava Bridge in Mandalay has collapsed into the Irrawaddy River. pic.twitter.com/aKEl96x9DZ Heung Min Son (@heungburma) March 28, 2025 In Yangon, residents rushed out of their homes as the quake hit, though no injuries or fatalities were immediately reported. In the capital, Naypyitaw, the quake caused damage to religious shrines and some homes, with parts of the structures falling to the ground. 08:32 AM GMT Quake shakes water free from rooftop pool in Thailand Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect 08:28 AM GMT Pictured: Devastation after 7.7 earthquake Rescuers assemble at the site of a collapsed building - Ann Wang A motorcyclist drives around a rupture in the road in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar - Sai Aung Main/AFP 08:23 AM GMT 43 people trapped in collapsed skyscraper, authorities say A 30-storey building under construction in Bangkok has collapsed, trapping 43 workers, according to local police and medics. The building was reduced to rubble and twisted metal in a matter of seconds, footage shared on social media shows. Worapat Sukthai, the deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told local media: When I arrived to inspect the site, I heard people calling for help, saying help me. We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties, he added. 08:16 AM GMT Thailand declares state of emergency A state of emergency has been declared in Bangkok after the earthquake, Thailands prime minister said. Meanwhile, Thailands stock exchange has suspended all trading activities after a powerful earthquake triggered evacuations in Bangkok. Footage posted on social media showed building collapses and water cascading out of rooftop pools in the Thai capital. The earthquake registered 7.7 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre in the city of Mandalay in neighbouring Myanmar. 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. Thousands of Israeli protesters gathered in Tel Aviv on Thursday night to demonstrate as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moves to oust top security and legal officials. (AP Video: Ami Bentov) WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Three D.C. men were federally indicted Thursday on gun charges as part of the Make D.C. Safe Again initiative, according to the United States Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia (USADC). The USADC states Wesley Hilliard, 32, and Sequan Collier, 27, are both charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Naseer Green, 19, is charged with carrying a pistol without a license and unlawful possession of a machine gun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Metro moves to expand on system to ban violent offenders from using bus, Metro system According to court documents, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) conducted a traffic stop on March 16 at 2 a.m. for a vehicle parked illegally in front of a fire hydrant on 7th Street NW. Court documents allege the three men were found sitting in the car with open containers of alcohol and multiple firearms. Police then detained the three men and seized a handgun from Hillards seat, a loaded firearm in Colliuers waistband, and a loaded modified firearm that converts it to fully automatic belonging to Green. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of the firearms were allegedly found loaded with the rounds chambered and are assumed to be from other states. Court documents add that the modified firearm belonging to Green was reported stolen from Georgia. Police noted that Green did not possess a license to carry a firearm in D.C. The incident remains under investigation by MPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. Three teenagers have been arrested in connection with a violent robbery in Brooklyn Park earlier this week. Brooklyn Park PD says the robbery was reported on the 8400 block of Zane Avenue North on Monday, with the victim assaulted by three males, who stole their belongings. On Thursday, police announced that an 18-year-old man and two juvenile males were arrested following the execution of multiple search warrants in the city by members of the department's SWAT team. The trio were taken into custody and are now being held on aggravated robbery charges. Police said that evidence from the robbery was found during the search by detectives. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Its been three years since Columbus City Schools teachers went on strike after contract negotiations fell apart and now the agreement that ended the 2022 strike is about to expire. The Columbus Education Association and the Columbus Board of Education are starting negotiations on a new contract. The 2022 strike was a tough time for parents, teachers and the administration. John Coneglio, the president of the Columbus Education Association, said things are going well so far. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Right now, I think were in a place where weve made some pretty good movement and so its exciting. Im excited about that, Coneglio said. Every school district in Ohio goes through contract negotiations, typically every three years. Ohio Education Association president Scott DiMauro said its a necessary process. Everything from planning time to class size to, you know, health insurance, a whole range of issues that really help schools attract and retain good people into the profession can be the subject of negotiations, DiMauro said. During negotiations, every little thing has to be written down, reviewed and accepted by both the union and the school board, resulting in a lengthy process. The goal on both sides is to come to a fair agreement and to avoid a strike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nobody wants a strike, Coneglio said. The best strike is no strike, right? The best thing you can do is to try to work together collaboratively. We always hope that an agreement can be reached without a strike, but that is an important way of ensuring a level playing field between labor and management, DiMauro said. Though its only been a few days since negotiations began, Coneglio said its been smooth sailing this time around. If you were to ask me three years ago at this point, is this where were heading? I kind of had an idea, Coneglio said. I dont get that impression now. Hopefully, we remain collaborative and work together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Strikes are rare. Before 2022, the district hadnt experienced a strike for almost 50 years. Coneglio said the goal is to reach an agreement before the start of the 2025-2026 school 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. Remember the TikTok ban? The deadline for Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the wildly popular social media app to an American company is a week away. President Donald Trump, who delayed the original deadline, said this week he would consider lowering tariff rates on China to sweeten the deal. Maybe Id give them a reduction in tariffs, Trump told reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office. If ByteDance doesn't spin off U.S. operations and/or sell at least 80% of the company to a U.S. owner, TikTok will be banned in the U.S. on April 5. Trump said he could nail down an outline for a deal by next week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were going to have a form of a deal, but if its not finished, its not a big deal. Well just extend it, Trump said. Here's what to know. Why was TikTok banned? Last year, Congress passed and then-President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance to sell its TikTok assets on national security grounds the Justice Department had concerns that TikTok could share data with the Chinese government or use the service to influence American opinions as part of a $95.3 billion foreign aid package. The company argued before the Supreme Court that the ban was a violation of the First Amendment and the government had no evidence they had ever done what the Justice Department was accusing them of, but the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TikTok went dark the next day and disappeared from app stores, although it came back up for users who already had the app downloaded. The law imposes a $5,000 fine on companies for each user who accesses TikTok through their services. More than 170 million Americans were using the app on a monthly basis. Trump, who tried unsuccessfully to ban TikTok himself during his first term, promised in December to save it. He asked SCOTUS to pause the ban so he could pursue a deal after he became president and Biden said he wouldn't enforce it, passing it on to his successor. Trump invited TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to his inauguration with a prime seating location. TikTok fans jump to RedNote Some lawmakers expressed alarm that a flood of defiant TikTok "refugees," rather than going to Facebook, Threads or X, jumped to another, even more explicitly Chinese-owned and moderated app, Xiaohongshu, or RedNote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many said they joined the platform to send a message to the U.S. government and to Meta, which had announced it was ending its fact-checking program and easing content moderation rules, especially concerning LGBTQ criticism. Trump orders delay of TikTok ban One of Trump's many day-one executive orders aimed to halt enforcement of the ban for 75 days to give his new administration "an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok." The law remains in effect and cannot be overturned by an executive order, but national security adviser and former Florida lawmaker Mike Waltz said on "Fox and Friends" that the law allowed for an extension "as long as a viable deal is on the table. The app returned to app stores in February. What happens if TikTok is banned? Will the TikTok app still work? If you have the app on your phone it won't go away, but services may be limited or unavailable and you won't get any more software updates. It's unclear if you'd be able to add new content. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some users have discussed using a VPN, a service that allows your device to simulate being in a different location, to get around the regional ban but it's unclear how well that will work. Who wants to buy TikTok? Several names were floated in Feburary as potential TikTok buyers. Frank McCourt and Kevin O'Leary: Billionaire McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has made a formal offer to ByteDance. O'Leary, one of the hosts of the ABC reality series "Shark Tank," joined it. MrBeast (James Donaldson): Donaldson, a popular YouTube creator known as MrBeast and host of "Beast Games," joked on X about buying TikTok but later said, "Unironically Ive had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, lets see if we can pull this off." Bobby Kotick: Kotick, former CEO of video game company Activision, has spoken to ByteDance about it, according to the Wall Street Journal. Doug McMillon: The Walmart CEO has tried before, joining different bids with Microsoft and Oracle. Can Trump save TikTok? Trump, who has more than 15 million followers on TikTok, told reporters in December that the app "has a 'warm spot in my heart' and credited the app for growing his relationship with young voters. He also posted his support for the app on Truth Social, writing, "Why would I want to ban TikTok?" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But he was against it before he was for it. Trump issued the first TikTok ban by executive order in 2020. His ban, which also gave ByteDance a deadline to sell to a U.S. company, coincidentally came a month after TikTokkers gleefully trolled him by organizing a campaign through the app to sign up for attendance at his rallies, causing Trump to brag about the number of RSVPs received, only to be left facing empty seats. While ByteDance was in negotiations to sell to Microsoft and Oracle, the company filed a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the app from being banned and got it, so Trump's ban never went into effect. Biden later revoked the order and ordered the Secretary of Commerce to investigate the app. In 2022, Biden signed a bill prohibiting the app on government devices. Is TikTok already banned in Florida? Sort of While the app is not completely banned in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has blocked it on government devices and school networks. Back in 2023, he signed two bills to restrict TikTok The Florida Digital Bill of Rights and HB 379. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal agencies were already required to remove the app from any government-issued devices. In an interview with Piers Morgan for Fox Nation the same year, he voiced his thoughts on TikTok and confirmed he would completely ban the app if he could. "I would. I think so. I think it's a security risk. They are harvesting so much data on our citizens," DeSantis said when asked about it. "There's a whole bunch of other apps and stuff that are out there and, honestly, I've got young kids and I don't want our kids on some of this stuff." This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: TikTok ban: Trump suggests lowered tariffs might help China decide New Yorkers could again be cut off from TikTok in just over a week as the deadline for Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the social media app to an American company is quickly approaching. If ByteDance doesn't spin off U.S. operations and/or sell at least 80% of the company to a U.S. owner, TikTok will be banned in the U.S. on April 5. President Donald Trump, who delayed the original deadline, told reporters in the Oval Office earlier this week he would consider lowering tariff rates on China to sweeten the deal and said he could nail down an outline for a deal by next week. Were going to have a form of a deal, but if its not finished, its not a big deal. Well just extend it, Trump said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's what to know. Why was TikTok banned? New Yorkers could again be cut off from TikTok in just over a week as the April 5 deadline for Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the social media app to an American company is quickly approaching. Last spring, Congress passed and then-President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance to sell its TikTok assets on national security grounds the Justice Department had concerns that TikTok could share data with the Chinese government or use the service to influence American opinions as part of a $95.3 billion foreign aid package. The company argued before the Supreme Court that the ban was a violation of the First Amendment and the government had no evidence they had ever done what the Justice Department was accusing them of, but the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law. TikTok went dark on Jan. 19 in the U.S. for around 12 hours and disappeared from app stores, although it came back up for users who already had the app downloaded. The law imposes a $5,000 fine on companies for each user who accesses TikTok through their services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 170 million Americans were using the app on a monthly basis. Trump, who tried unsuccessfully to ban TikTok himself during his first term, promised in December to save it. He asked SCOTUS to pause the ban so he could pursue a deal after he became president and Biden said he wouldn't enforce it, passing it on to his successor. Trump invited TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to his inauguration with a prime seating location. Trump orders delay of TikTok ban One of Trump's many day-one executive orders aimed to halt enforcement of the ban for 75 days to give his new administration "an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok." The law remains in effect and cannot be overturned by an executive order, but national security adviser and former Florida lawmaker Mike Waltz said on "Fox and Friends" that the law allowed for an extension "as long as a viable deal is on the table. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The app returned to app stores in February. Schumer: Proposed Social Security cuts could make access harder for NY beneficiaries What happens if TikTok is banned? Will the TikTok app still work? If you have the app on your phone it won't go away, but services may be limited or unavailable and you won't get any more software updates. It's unclear if you'd be able to add new content. Some users have discussed using a VPN, a service that allows your device to simulate being in a different location, to get around the regional ban but it's unclear how well that will work. Is TikTok already banned in New York? In some places, yes. New York state banned TikTok on state-issued mobile devices back in 2020, Times Union reported in April of last year, and New York City banned the social media app from government-owned devices last August, the New York Times reported. Who wants to buy TikTok? Several names have been floated as potential TikTok buyers, according to USA TODAY. Here's the list: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Project Liberty: An organization led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, submitted a bid to ByteDance earlier this year. In addition to McCourt, "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian have committed to the bid. MrBeast: A consortium of investors, led by Employer.com founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley also submitted a bid to ByteDance earlier this year. According to a news release from law firm Paul Hastings, which is providing counsel to the group of investors, James "Jimmy" Donaldson, more commonly known as MrBeast, is a part of the consortium. Donaldson, a popular YouTube creator known as MrBeast and host of "Beast Games," joked on X about buying TikTok but later said, "Unironically Ive had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, lets see if we can pull this off." Perplexity AI: The U.S.-based search engine also placed a bid in January, proposing a merge, according to Reuters. Rather than a sale, the merger would result in a new entity a culmination of Perplexity AI and TikTok. Bobby Kotick, Doug McMillion, Microsoft and Rumble: Others who have expressed purchasing the platform over the years, but have not made bids include: Bobby Kotick, former CEO of video game company Activision; Doug McMillion, Walmart CEO; Microsoft, which expressed purchasing the platform with Walmart in 2020; and video streaming platform Rumble. Which NY schools could be affected?: Millions of kids could lose access to free school meals Can Trump save TikTok? Trump, who has more than 15 million followers on TikTok, told reporters in December that the app "has a 'warm spot in my heart' and credited the app for growing his relationship with young voters. He also posted his support for the app on Truth Social, writing, "Why would I want to ban TikTok?" But he was against it before he was for it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump issued the first TikTok ban by executive order in 2020. His ban, which also gave ByteDance a deadline to sell to a U.S. company, coincidentally came a month after TikTokkers gleefully trolled him by organizing a campaign through the app to sign up for attendance at his rallies, causing Trump to brag about the number of RSVPs received, only to be left facing empty seats. While ByteDance was in negotiations to sell to Microsoft and Oracle, the company filed a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the app from being banned and got it, so Trump's ban never went into effect. Biden later revoked the order and ordered the Secretary of Commerce to investigate the app. In 2022, Biden signed a bill prohibiting the app on government devices. What about Elon Musk? After Trump said he would be open to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchasing TikTok in January, the billionaire said he's not interested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I have not put in a bid for TikTok," Musk said during a German media summit last month. "I don't have any plans for what I would do if I had TikTok." The billionaire added that he doesn't use the platform and is unfamiliar with its format. Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Networks New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on X and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Is TikTok getting banned, or will Trump intervene like last time? Buckingham Palace confirmed King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer in January 2024. The announcement came after the British monarch sought treatment for an enlarged prostate. The monarch was briefly hospitalized on Thursday due to side effects from his cancer treatment. King Charles III had a bit of a setback in his cancer treatment. The king, who was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of 2024 following a procedure to treat an enlarged prostate, took a trip to the hospital on Thursday due to side effects from his treatment, Buckingham Palace shared. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When his diagnosis was announced in February 2024, the palace said the king would briefly step back from public-facing duties to undergo a "schedule of regular treatments," though the palace never provided details to the public about what those treatments entailed. When Charles was out of the spotlight and his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton was also undergoing cancer treatment other members of the royal inner circle, like Prince William, faced pressure to step up. Here's a timeline of Charles' health struggles, from his diagnosis and return to the public eye to his latest health scare. Buckingham Palace announced Charles was undergoing a "corrective procedure" on his prostate in January 2024. King Charles III with Queen Camilla after he received treatment for an enlarged prostate at The London Clinic on January 29, 2024. Chris Jackson/Getty Images On January 17, 2024, the palace shared in a statement with Business Insider that Charles would be heading to the hospital to receive treatment for an enlarged prostate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time, the palace described Charles' condition as "benign" and said the procedure he was having was "common with thousands of men each year." When asked to provide further details about the condition and the procedure, the palace said it would not "for privacy reasons" and that more information about his coming engagements would be confirmed "in due course." The announcement came the same day Kensington Palace announced Kate was in recovery after a "planned abdominal surgery." Weeks later, Buckingham Palace confirmed Charles had been diagnosed with cancer. Buckingham Palace announced King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer on February 5, 2024. Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images On February 5, 2024, less than a month after the king's prostate procedure, the palace made yet another unprecedented announcement: Charles has cancer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The palace didn't specify the form of cancer Charles was diagnosed with in the statement shared with BI. However, it said the monarch's medical team discovered the cancer while he was undergoing his prostate procedure. It added that Charles had already begun a "schedule of regular treatments" and was under advice to step back from "public-facing duties," though he would also be continuing "State business and official paperwork as usual." The statement concluded with the palace saying Charles was "grateful" for his medical team's "swift intervention" and was looking forward to returning to "full public duty as soon as possible." "His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer," it added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charles kept working behind the scenes, praised the public for its well-wishes, and received support from his royal relatives near and far. King Charles III reading cards and messages sent by well-wishers following his cancer diagnosis in Buckingham Palace on February 21, 2024. Jonathan Brady/Pool/AFP via Getty Images In the months after Charles' diagnosis, the royal kept busy behind the scenes. Shortly after his condition was made public, a representative of Prince Harry told BI that he was scheduled to fly to the UK from California to see his father. Weeks later, he was pictured meeting with then-British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and opening get-well-soon cards sent to the palace by members of the public. In the interim, Charles also received treatment at the same clinic as Kate, whom he remained in the "closest contact with," a palace spokesperson told the BBC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 28, 2024, Charles made his first public remarks post-diagnosis. In a pre-recorded audio clip shared at the Royal Maundy Service before Easter Sunday, he said it was "a great sadness" that he was unable to attend in person due to his condition and stressed the importance of extending "friendship" in times of need, Royal Central reported. On Easter Sunday 2024, Charles was spotted alongside Camilla attending a service at St George's Chapel in Windsor. The service was smaller to reduce Charles' contact with others while undergoing treatment. On April 26, 2024, the palace said Charles would return to public-facing duties. King Charles III attends the Easter Service at Windsor Castle on March 31, 2024. Samir Hussein/WireImage After a "period of treatment and recuperation" following his cancer diagnosis, the palace said on April 26, 2024, that Charles was gearing up to return to public-facing duties "shortly." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The statement added that one of the first of several public events he was set to appear at was a visit to a cancer treatment center with Queen Camilla on April 30, 2024. "In addition, The King and Queen will host Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan for a State Visit in June," the statement read. As Charles approached the one-year mark following his coronation on May 6, 2023, the statement concluded by saying he and Camilla are "deeply grateful for the many kindnesses and good wishes they have received from around the world throughout the joys and challenges of the past year." Charles opened up about experiencing side effects from cancer treatment while speaking to a British army veteran in May 2024. King Charles III during a visit to the Army Aviation Centre at Middle Wallop, Hampshire. Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images On May 13, 2024, the king visited the Army Flying Museum in Hampshire, where LBC reported he spoke with a British military veteran who had undergone chemotherapy after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the interaction, the individual, whom the UK news outlet identified as Aaron Mapplebeck, told Charles he lost his ability to taste as a result of the cancer treatment, a side effect that the king said he'd also experienced. On the same day, Charles took part in a ceremony handing over his title as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps a role he has held for over 30 years to William. The BBC reported that it was "unusual" for both the king and William to be present for the occasion, but Charles told attendees they were in good hands with his eldest son, who used to be a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot. "I do hope you'll go from strength to strength in the future with the Prince of Wales as your new colonel-in-chief," Charles said. "The great thing is he's a very good pilot indeed. So that's encouraging." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The king briefly paused his cancer treatment in October 2024 for a trip to Australia and Samoa. King Charles III in Samoa in October 2024. Victoria Jones-Pool/Getty Images In October 2024, Charles and Camilla took an 11-day royal tour to Australia and Samoa. Ahead of the trip, the Daily Mail reported that the king would pause cancer treatments during the overseas visit and restart his treatment course upon his return. As the visit ended, a senior spokesperson for the palace told outlets like The Guardian and Town & Country that they were planning for Charles to take on normal travel in 2025. "We're now working on a pretty normal-looking full overseas tour programme for next year," the spokesperson said. "Which is a high for us to end on, to know that we can be thinking in those terms, subject to signoff by doctors." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump said Prince William gave him an update on King Charles' health on December 9, 2024. President Donald Trump and Prince William in December 2024. Aaron Chown - Pool/Getty Images Trump and William met in Paris during the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in December 2024. After their visit, Trump told the New York Post he spoke to William about Kate and Charles' health. "I asked him about his wife, and he said she's doing well," Trump told the outlet. "And I asked him about his father, and his father is fighting very hard, and he loves his father and he loves his wife, so it was sad." In December 2024, a royal source said Charles would continue treatment for his cancer in 2025. King Charles III during his December 2024 Christmas address. Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty Images On December 20, a royal source shared with ABC News that the king's treatment was ongoing. The unnamed source described Charles' cancer as a "managed condition" to the outlet and said that "the treatment is heading in a positive direction, and King Charles will continue with his busy schedule." The king was briefly hospitalized because of side effects from his cancer treatment on Thursday. King Charles III in March 2025. Carl Court/Getty Images On Thursday, Buckingham Palace said in a statement that King Charles briefly went to the hospital as a result of side effects from his cancer treatment. "Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, The King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital," the statement said. "His Majesty's afternoon engagements were therefore postponed." "His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow's diary programme will also be rescheduled," the statement continued. The statement did not specify the king's temporary side effects. While recovering at Clarence House, he missed three visits with ambassadors on Thursday and a trip to Birmingham on Friday. "His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result," the statement also said. King Charles was also photographed leaving Clarence House in a car on Friday, as shown above. He waved to members of the public from the vehicle. Read the original article on Business Insider Editor's note: Letters to the editor reflect the views of individual readers. Scroll to see how you can add your voice, whether you agree or disagree, or click on this link to fill out the form. We welcome diverse viewpoints. Dear friends and fellow Tennesseans: I am proud to endorse U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn for governor of Tennessee. As former GOP Nashville chairman, Ive worked with many leaders, but few match Senator Blackburns steadfast resolve and commitment to Tennessee values. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marsha has spent her career fighting for us opposing a state income tax as a state senator, serving in the U.S. House, and now as our U.S. senator. She consistently defends our freedoms, small businesses, borders, and conservative principles that make Tennessee thrive. U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn R-Tennessee listens as Gov. Bill Lee speaks during Agriculture Day on the Hill at Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville , Tenn., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Her record and character set her apart. She listens to constituents, stands against Washington elites, and fiercely protects our Second Amendment rights and way of life. Tennessee needs her tenacity and integrity in the statehouse. Opinion survey: Should Sen. Marsha Blackburn run for Tennessee governor? Tell us what you think. As governor, Marsha will prioritize Tennesseans needs ensuring strong schools, safe communities, and a thriving economy. Her proven results and deep understanding of our states challenges make her the clear choice to lead us into a prosperous future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I urge Tennesseans who value principled leadership to join me in supporting Senator Marsha Blackburn for Governor. Together, we can build on Tennessees excellence and keep it the best state to call home. Lonnie Spivak, former Former GOP Nashville Chairman Agree or disagree? Or have a view on another topic entirely? Send a letter of 250 words or fewer to letters@tennessean.com. Include your full name, city/town, ZIP and contact information for verification. Thanks for adding to the public conversation. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Marsha Blackburn should be elected to be Tennessee governor | Letters Heres a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on March 28, according to the Tribunes archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 79 degrees (1986) Low temperature: 9 degrees (1887) Precipitation: 1.48 inches (2020) Snowfall: 5.3 inches (1894) 1918: Grace Wilson became the first Black woman to join the Chicago police. She remained on the force for almost 25 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 1920: The Palm Sunday tornadoes: Around noon, with temperatures rising through the 60s, Chicago-area skies turned dark as waves of thunderstorms swept into the area. By 1:15 p.m., wide portions of the metropolitan area from DeKalb east to Joliet and north to Wauconda and Wilmette were in shambles; 28 people had perished and more than 400 had been injured. These twisters were just the opening act of a tragic Palm Sunday tornadic outbreak that affected not only the Midwest but also portions of Alabama and Georgia. In all, at least 31 twisters on that Palm Sunday killed more than 150 and injured more than 900. 1929: Chicago Stadium the largest indoor sporting venue in the world at the time opened with 15,000 people (10,000 fewer than capacity) who watched boxer Tommy Loughran defeat Mickey Walker. The original Madhouse on Madison was demolished in 1995, one year after the United Center opened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 1957: Just one year before he entered the U.S. Army, Heartbreak Hotel crooner Elvis Presley wowed a crowd of 12,000 fans at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. Kids, however, werent the only ones moved by Elvis. A mother, seated with her three children, reached out and touched Presley. Tears of joy rolled down her face, the Trib said. 1980: Wisconsin Steel abruptly closed its Southeast Side plant and more than 3,000 workers lost their jobs. Wisconsin Steel was owned for 75 years by International Harvester. After years of losing money, Harvester sold it in 1977 to Envirodine, a small California firm with no experience in steelmaking. Three years later, after a strike at Harvester destroyed its best market, Wisconsin Steel went bankrupt and closed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The old 265-acre mill at 106th Street and Torrence Avenue in South Deering long stood vacant. Want more vintage Chicago? 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. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com Workers at Tonys Fresh Market, the Chicago grocery chain sold to private equity three years ago, voted overwhelmingly against forming a union this week. Workers at 21 Tonys locations throughout the city and suburbs cast their votes in grocery store break rooms and pricing offices Tuesday through Thursday. When the ballots were counted Friday, the workers had voted 1,115-605 against unionization, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Voter turnout was about 94%. The vote is a crushing loss for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881, the grocery workers union that had sought to represent the Tonys employees. The union already represents thousands of Jewel-Osco and Marianos workers throughout the Chicago area. In the lead-up to the election, the union accused Tonys of using illegal anti-union tactics to discourage yes votes, which the company denies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a news release Friday, the union attributed the loss to the alleged union-busting campaign, saying as a result of Tonys unlawful activities, a majority of the workers voted not to join Local 881. Tonys maintained that it has followed the law, saying the vote reflects the strong relationships weve built with our employees and our ongoing commitment to fostering a workplace where they can thrive with competitive wages, strong benefits packages, professional growth opportunities, and direct and open communication. The election was among the largest held in the American private sector so far this year: had the Tonys workers voted to unionize, their bargaining unit would have numbered around 2,000, according to labor board records. The union had estimated the size of the company at around 2,400 employees in initial filings with the agency; the labor board ultimately determined that 1,995 workers were eligible to vote. The parties agreed ahead of time that some managers would be permitted to vote but that their ballots would be challenged and their eligibility resolved afterward, according to agency records. About 160 such ballots were cast in the election, nowhere near enough to affect the results. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before the election, pro-union workers said they hoped forming a union could help them secure higher wages and better benefits, such as more affordable health insurance. Ahead of the election, UFCW accused Tonys of interrogating workers about their union loyalties, firing a pro-union worker and telling employees that the union would check their immigration documents. The workers have reported being pulled into one-on-one meetings, being questioned if they are working with the union, and being unlawfully told not to vote in the upcoming election, the union said in a pre-election news release. The union filed charges alleging violations of federal labor law with the NLRB. Those charges remain open, according to agency records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tonys has pushed back on the allegations, saying the company follows the law and that it had not fired any workers because of their organizing efforts. Tonys Fresh Market values its team members and respects their right to consider union representation, and any claims suggesting otherwise are false, the company said in a statement prior to the election. On Friday, the company added, we appreciate the trust our team members place in us, and we are dedicated to continuing to serve the communities in which we operate and making Tonys Fresh Market a great place to work through collaboration with our team members. In a statement, UFCW Local 881 president Steven Powell said the union would continue to help [workers] fight for a fair and safe workplace and will stand with them for as long as it takes to win the dignity and justice they deserve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parties have five business days following the election to file any objections. If no objections are filed, the labor board will certify the election results. Tonys was founded by Italian immigrants in Logan Square in 1979. In 2022, the company was acquired by funds managed by affiliates of private equity giant Apollo Global Management. CHICAGO Workers at Tonys Fresh Market, the Chicago grocery chain sold to private equity three years ago, voted overwhelmingly against forming a union this week. Workers at 21 Tonys locations throughout the city and suburbs cast their votes in grocery store break rooms and pricing offices Tuesday through Thursday. When the ballots were counted Friday, the workers had voted 1,115-605 against unionization, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Voter turnout was about 94%. The vote is a crushing loss for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881, the grocery workers union that had sought to represent the Tonys employees. The union already represents thousands of Jewel-Osco and Marianos workers throughout the Chicago area. In the lead-up to the election, the union accused Tonys of using illegal anti-union tactics to discourage yes votes, which the company denies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The election was among the largest held in the American private sector so far this year: had the Tonys workers voted to unionize, their bargaining unit would have numbered around 2,000, according to labor board records. The union had estimated the size of the company at around 2,400 employees in initial filings with the agency; the labor board ultimately determined that 1,995 workers were eligible to vote. The parties agreed ahead of time that some managers would be permitted to vote but that their ballots would be challenged and their eligibility resolved afterward, according to agency records. About 160 such ballots were cast in the election, nowhere near enough to affect the results. Before the election, pro-union workers said they hoped forming a union could help them secure higher wages and better benefits, such as more affordable health insurance. In a statement after the election, Tonys said the vote reflects the strong relationships weve built with our employees and our ongoing commitment to fostering a workplace where they can thrive with competitive wages, strong benefits packages, professional growth opportunities, and direct and open communication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We appreciate the trust our team members place in us, and we are dedicated to continuing to serve the communities in which we operate and making Tonys Fresh Market a great place to work through collaboration with our team members, the company said. UFCW did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon. Ahead of the election, UFCW accused Tonys of interrogating workers about their union loyalties, firing a pro-union worker and telling employees that the union would check their immigration documents. The workers have reported being pulled into one-on-one meetings, being questioned if they are working with the union, and being unlawfully told not to vote in the upcoming election, the union said in a pre-eledction news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The union filed charges alleging violations of federal labor law with the NLRB. Those charges remain open, according to agency records. Tonys has pushed back on the allegations, saying the company follows the law and that it had not fired any workers because of their organizing efforts. Tonys Fresh Market values its team members and respects their right to consider union representation, and any claims suggesting otherwise are false, the company said in a statement prior to the election. Parties have five business days following the election to file any objections. If no objections are filed, the labor board will certify the election results. Tonys was founded by Italian immigrants in Logan Square in 1979. In 2022, the company was acquired by funds managed by affiliates of private equity giant Apollo Global Management. _____ US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that progress must first be made at the technical level before high-level talks can occur between Moscow and Washington. Source: US Department of State, citing Rubio during a conversation with journalists on his way to Myanmar, as reported by European Pravda Details: Rubio was responding to a question about the potential shift from technical discussions to high-level negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Well, I think you have to make more progress on a technical level at this point, but we'll see. We're going to analyse it," he said. Rubio added that he intends to speak with the team of negotiators who participated in the talks in Saudi Arabia. "So I need to hear from them directly a little bit more about how it went, and then we'll present that. We'll meet with the team and we'll present that to the President, and then decide on a path of what the next steps are," Rubio said. The US secretary of state added that Washington is "committed to trying to achieve peace as long as it takes". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That doesn't mean that I can guarantee you that there's going to be an agreement in a week or a month. I just can't put a timeframe on it because it doesn't depend on us. It depends on the Russians and it depends on the Ukrainians. It also depends on our partners in Europe who have sanctions that will have to be taken into account, I believe, as part of any final deal," Rubio said. Background: Following the talks in Saudi Arabia on 23-25 March, the US, Russia and Ukraine agreed to "ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea". However, Russia has since rolled out a list of demands, including the easing of a number of sanctions against its agricultural sector. US President Donald Trump said Washington would consider Russia's demands regarding a ceasefire in the Black Sea. The European Commission has stated that ending Moscow's aggression against Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian troops are key conditions for altering or lifting EU sanctions against Russia. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Congressional Republicans are grappling with how to respond to senior Trump administration officials use of a Signal group chat to discuss a military strike, with a key Senate committee requesting a watchdog probe of the matter as some in the GOP say theres no need for further investigation. On Thursday morning, the Senate Armed Services Committees Republican chair and top Democrat formally requested an inquiry and assessment by the Pentagons acting inspector general into the incident. This chat was alleged to have included classified information pertaining to sensitive military actions in Yemen. If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know, GOP Sen. Roger Wicker and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed wrote in a letter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wicker and Reed had also requested a briefing for the committee. But several GOP senators also on the Armed Services Committee insisted that its time to move on, arguing that such an incident wont happen again and that the Trump officials involved in the Signal chat have learned from their mistakes. Its time to move on. The facts are not going to change. I dont know that there are any more that could be revealed, Sen. Kevin Cramer told reporters Thursday at the Capitol. Cramer has been critical of the Signal chat incident, telling CNN on Tuesday, this has got to be the last time something this big and dumb happens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Signal is an inappropriate platform to discuss highly sensitive information. They did that, and Im quite confident its never going to happen again, the North Dakota Republican added on Thursday. Some Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee insisted that no congressional investigation is needed at this time into the chat, which included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. I think that the secretary of defense has done a great job. If he wants to come and brief the committee, I think thatd be helpful. But I dont see where an investigation is needed at this time, GOP Rep. Cory Mills of Florida told CNN on Thursday. Senate Republican Leader John Thune did not explicitly call for a stand-alone Senate investigation on Tuesday, but told CNNs Manu Raju that he anticipates the Senate Armed Services Committee may want those involved to testify before the panel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think everybody has acknowledged, including the White House, that yeah, mistakes were made. And what we want to do is make sure that something like that doesnt happen again, Thune said. Senate Republicans are working to strike a careful balance over the issue. Some have said that mistakes were made, but have also been cautious not to be too heavy-handed in their criticism or confrontational toward the administration. Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday that the Signal chat was a mistake but that the incident has been overblown by the media. Its been overblown, I think, by the media. I think this is a mistake. It was acknowledged as such. Im certain it will not happen again. We move forward, Johnson told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats have been calling for accountability and pushing for an investigation into the incident, which they argue endangered national security and US troops. A number of congressional Democrats have called for Hegseth to resign. Hegseth has said that that there was no classified information discussed in the group chat. But CNN has reported that the information that Hegseth disclosed in the Signal chat was highly classified at the time he wrote it, especially because the operation had not even started yet, according to a US defense official familiar with the operation and another source who was briefed on it afterward. Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Thursday said she supports an investigation into the Signal group chat and that shes still seeking clarification from top intelligence officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I definitely support an IG investigation on how all of these high-ranking members used a platform that is not appropriate for what they were discussing, she told reporters, later adding, Most of all we need to know how someone who should not have been on the call was able to be added to it. Collins said while Signal messages are encrypted and safer than other forms of communication, the use in this case by officials is still very problematic. There are a lot of issues that need follow-up, and I think that the IG is the one to do it. Later Thursday, Wicker declined to comment to CNN on a timeline for the inspector general investigation or if hed consider holding open hearings. CNNs Lauren Fox, Alison Main and Haley Talbot contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com TOPEKA (KSNT) All Hands on Deck hosted its final community engagement session Thursday, March 28 in Topeka. The group is lead by the United Way of Kaw Valley and Compassion Strategies. This community session was aimed to help give people a better understanding of how to tackle the homeless issue and support systems. Kansas agencies team up in effort to stop deadly crashes The campaign wants to end chronic homelessness by the year 2030 through three starting areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have really three pillars that we are starting with, Brett Martin, United Way said. We see the importance of a one stop shop homeless resource center. We see the importance of building a low barrier shelter and we see the importance of building some sort of permanent tiny home village. With that said, thats just the start for us. The group said they plan on having more sessions in the future. 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. "Key Takeaways:" Frito-Lay is recalling some bags of Tostitos Cantina Traditional Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips. These chips may contain milk, an undeclared allergen. The recalled chips were sold in 13-ounce bags across at least 13 states. There is an active recall on some bags of Tostitos tortilla chips sold in at least 13 states, according to a bulletin from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The recall is due to an undeclared allergen in the product. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chips included in the recall are 13-ounce bags of Tostitos Cantina Traditional Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips with a UPC of 28400 52848. The bags also have a guaranteed fresh date of May 20, 2025, and one of the following manufacturing codes, which you can find below the freshness date and price printed on the front of the bag. In the below codes, the numbers represented by XX may be any figure from 30 to 55. 471106504 18 13:XX 471106505 85 13:XX 471106506 85 13:XX 471106507 85 13:XX The chips were sold in grocery stores, convenience markets and drug stores in the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The chips may have been sold online as well. Shoppers may have purchased these chips as early as March 7, 2025. No other Tostitos products are part of the recall at this time. Related: Costco Just Recalled a Popular Snack Due to ContaminationHeres What to Know Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frito-Lay issued this recall because the bags may include undeclared milk, which is a common allergen. While these chips do not typically contain milk, its possible that these bags include some nacho cheese-flavored chips that do contain milk. No allergic reactions connected to this recall have been reported. If an individual with a milk allergy consumes these chips, they could be at risk of an allergic reaction such as anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction, and symptoms may include hives, difficulty breathing or speaking, dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea and cardiac arrest. If you have these chips on hand and you have a dairy allergy or sensitivity, Frito-Lay encourages you to discard them immediately to avoid potential allergic reactions. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this recall, visit Frito-Lays contact page or call them at 1-800-352-4477 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT, Monday through Friday. Related: Coca-Cola Just Recalled Over 10,000 Cans of SodaHeres What to Know Read the original article on EATINGWELL Copper miner Freeport-McMoRan's (NYSE: FCX) stock is down 37% from its all-time high, yet the price of copper is almost at an all-time high. While the company's news hasn't been entirely positive over the last year, the share price performance and valuation disparity suggest that the stock looks great and is worth picking up in the general market downturn. Here's why. Why Freeport stock declined Let's start by understanding why there might be such a fundamental disconnect between the price of copper and the stock's performance and the price of copper; after all, the metal's price is the key driver of its earnings. There are two reasons, and both of them look unjustified. First, Freeport suffered a fire at a recently opened smelter in Indonesia. This is problematic for the company because the country has imposed an export ban on copper concentrate (effective Jan. 1, 2025) to encourage domestic processing. As such, Freeport will now need a permit to export copper concentrate, and given that its smelter isn't running at full capacity due to the fire, it's likely to run out of storage capability. That said, the good and recent news is the government will issue a six-month permit to export concentrates while Freeport repairs the smelter, according to Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia. Second, the stock might be sold off on fear that the recent rise in the U.S. price of copper is mainly due to importers and speculators buying ahead of a potential tariff on copper imports. That may be true, but it's challenging to predict where the price of copper is heading. In any case, the global price of copper (as represented by the London Metal Exchange price) is also up significantly in 2025. Freeport-McMoRan is well-placed in the modern economy I've discussed elsewhere why the miner is ideally placed to deal in an environment of tariff conflict and also benefit from a concerted, and likely, determination by the current U.S. administration to encourage the production of a crucial metal like copper. Freeport produces for the U.S. in the U.S. and neither imports significantly into the U.S. nor exports its U.S. production. Its international production is sold internationally, with Indonesian production earmarked for Asia. As for encouraging U.S. production, Freeport already has plans for brownfield expansions to existing mines in Arizona, which management believes could add up to an incremental increase of 650 million pounds of copper per annum in the future. Similarly, management estimates its U.S.-focused leaching initiative (recovering copper from existing stockpiles) will result in 800 million pounds of copper recovered annually by 2030. These figures are significant for a miner set to produce 4 billion pounds of copper in 2025. Former district court judge Russell Fagg, seen in a blue jacket at the counter of Anderson Towing on Feb. 10, 2025 (Screenshot as part of the federal lawsuit). A lawsuit filed in federal court accuses the Billings chief of police with using a close friendship with a former state judge, representative and candidate for U.S. Senate to illegally blacklist a towing company from doing business with the city. The lawsuit accuses longtime Billings Police Chief Rich St. John, both in his personal and professional capacity, of robbing Anderson Towing Company of due process, and helping former District Court Judge Russ Fagg in a vendetta against the company, which recorded several interactions and has presented them as exhibits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fagg, an institution in Billings along with his family, is at the heart of the lawsuit, having had a Mercedes sedan registered to his father towed after a traffic accident. That led to a profanity-dotted encounter with several employees of Anderson Towing, allegations of price gouging, and playing the judge card. According to the lawsuit, that situation has led the states largest police department to ban a company from ever working for the city again. A former police officer has also filed depositions in the case alleging Fagg and high-ranking members of the approximately 150-person department are close friends, going on annual horseback riding trips, and that Fagg has used those connections to conspire against the company, based on the premise that towing company was price gouging, something the company denies in the lawsuit. The current controversy began on Feb. 8, but some of the allegations stretch back into November 2024, when the city suspended the towing company for two weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anderson Towing received a call from the Billings Police Department in the middle of the day for a traffic accident at the intersection of 6th Avenue North and North 27th Street in Billings, and the pictures show a Mercedes sedan and a good amount of snow. The company towed the vehicle, and two days later Fagg came to retrieve the car on Feb. 11. That led to a dispute that started when the company informed the former judge that it only accepted cash or a cashiers check, and he insisted on paying by credit card or personal check. Thats the kind of bullshit that you didnt tell me a half-hour ago, Fagg said. Sir, I didnt speak to you, so please dont cuss at me, an employee told him. The general manager shortly intervened and told Fagg the companys policy was a result of being burned too many times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the conversation, the towing company officials also told Fagg the vehicles registration was expired and that the car was registered to someone else, later identified as Faggs father, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court. The towing company said it couldnt release the vehicle without the proper paperwork to prevent vehicle theft or releasing a vehicle to the wrong person. The towing company said it could retrieve an updated registration from the Montana Motor Vehicle Department, but would carry an additional $100 fee. Fagg then insisted on speaking with the towing companys owner, according to the lawsuit, and made the following statement: I hate to play this card I was a district court judge for 22 years. Im a lawyer in this town. Theres no damn way I am going to skip out on this bill. Eventually, Fagg paid the bill for $1,737.47. The next day, Fagg, a former state legislator and unsuccessful candidate for federal office, filed a formal complaint against the company with the Montana Office of Consumer Protection in Helena. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Faggs complaint did not mention his credit card and personal check being rejected. Instead, he solely complained about the charges, the lawsuit said. The day after, Fagg wrote the City of Billings Police Department on his law firms letterhead, requesting Anderson Towing be removed permanently from the Billings Police Departments towing rotation list. In the letter, he referenced conversations he had with Assistant Police Chief Shawn Mayo, and also his status as a 22-year state judge. On Feb. 14, the general manager of Anderson Towing reviewed the bill and agreed to refund $500 as a traffic control fee that was not necessary during the work on the accident. However, when he offered to refund the money, Fagg refused. On Feb. 25, St. John notified Anderson Towing it had been permanently removed from the towing rotation, due in part to the complaints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit said that the chief of police has violated the companys due process rights and state law, and seeks compensatory damages, reinstatement, attorneys fees and possible punitive fees for depriving the company of its constitutional rights. Bad blood in the world of towing According to state law and the lawsuit filed on Thursday in federal court in Billings, the state mandates qualified towing companies formally ask (in writing) to be placed on a city, county or state towing list and must be placed on an equitable rotation. Those companies are overseen by a state board, the Tow Truck Complaint Resolution Committee. In November, Anderson Towing was the subject of a complaint involving work the company had done in Gallatin County. In that decision heard by the resolution committee, it gave the state, county or local companies permission to suspend Anderson Towing for as long as six months due to the committees decision that it had engaged in price gouging. Anderson Towing says in the lawsuit and told the committee it disputes that finding . The lawsuit claims the committee sanctioned Anderson Towing, in part because Joanne Blyton, the manager and owner of Billings Towing and Recovery, was a competitor of Anderson and a comparable towing bill from her company was higher than the bill at issue for Anderson. Nonetheless, a decision or sanction from the committee allows cities, counties and the state to sanction the company, although it doesnt mandate any entity to necessarily enforce the sanction. It is a discretionary punishment. Still, the City of Billings Police Department suspended the towing company from its rotation from Nov. 1 through Nov. 14 for the sanction, but then reinstated the company. Permanently suspended In a four-page letter to Anderson Towing after the incident with Fagg, St. John said the company would be permanently removed from the list and city officials were not going to reconsider the decision. However, the company said it was already sanctioned for the previous incident, and was back to working for the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement St. John told the Daily Montanan on Friday he had not seen the court filing, but that Anderson Towing was removed because of both formal and informal complaints. In general Anderson Towing was removed from the BPD wrecker rotation list for similar complaints referenced by the MHP, St. John said via email. The letter from St. John, sent certified mail to Anderson Towing and submitted as an exhibit to the federal court, said the city had completed an investigation of the company on its own. The City of Billings cannot allow Anderson Towing to unnecessarily and unreasonably charge Billings citizens for tow services, the letter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Using the decision by the towing committee and the complaint by Fagg, St. John said the City of Billings sought the input of two other tow truck operators to come to its conclusions. This decision is permanent and will not be reconsidered, St. John said, claiming the company had engaged in willful and consistent failure by Anderson Towing to treat Billings citizens in a fair and equitable manner consistent with recognized tow truck standards. The lawsuit claims a city cannot decide to remove the company and sanction it without due process and without going through the state committee, set up to work through complaints and avoid favoritism. 250326 Complaint What started as a group chat has turned into a circular firing squad. Trump administration officials who participated in the now infamous leaked Signal chat are scrambling to minimize the political stain on themselves. Many are blaming the media, or Democrats, for making such a big deal about it. Some are subtly pointing fingers at each other. Others are finding ways to reframe the conversation so they become minor players, otherwise deflecting, or staying silent and hoping the storm passes over. Nineteen people were on the chat in which top officials discussed sensitive details of an attack against the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen, all in view of a journalist who was accidentally added to the group. Debates continue about how big of a security breach this was, but its clearly not a good look for those involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While President Donald Trump has so far stood behind the officials in the group chat (in public at least), the scandal could balloon big enough that someone loses their job. Administration officials have defended themselves by saying no classified information was shared in the chat and, regardless, the strike on the Houthis was a success. None of those in the chat have expressed regret about discussing the sensitive material, which some former and current officials do believe may have been classified at the time it was sent. Signal has an unclear security reputation within the U.S. government and has previously been barred from use on government devices. One common villain has emerged: The Atlantics top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, the journalist who was added to the chat. Administration officials accuse him of over-torquing the story and sensationalizing what was discussed in the chat. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the differing strategies administration officials are taking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here is POLITICOs review of how the main characters from the chat are tailoring their responses to the Signalgate scandal. HEGSETH Quibbling about war plans Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared some of the most specific information about the attack in the chat, has mostly faulted The Atlantic for the way it described the operational details he posted. He came out swinging on Monday after The Atlantic published a story with a headline saying the administration texted Goldberg war plans. Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Hawaii that nobody was texting war plans, and that's all I have to say about that. Hegseth reiterated his response after The Atlantic published more messages from the exchange showing that Hegseth had shared the timetable for the attack and the weapons systems the Pentagon planned to use in the strike. The headline on that story used the phrase attack plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an attack plan, Hegseth posted Wednesday on X. We will continue to do our job, while the media does what it does best: peddle hoaxes. But former and current officials familiar with the kind of information Hegseth shared told POLITICO thatit was highly sensitive and could have compromised the safety of servicemembers had it fallen in the wrong hands. They also said details of the strike were likely classified at the time he posted them in the chat. Hegseth has also reposted other Trump administration officials jabs at Goldberg. RATCLIFFE Shifting focus to CIA policies and Hegseth CIA Director John Ratcliffe was forced to address the chat this week in previously scheduled congressional hearings on threats to the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In those hearings, Ratcliffe was defiant and at times combative. He sought to put the responsibility for secure use of devices on his agency, stressing that Signal had been deemed suitable for use in certain instances by the CIA. According to the text chain published by The Atlantic, Ratcliffe was the first to post highly sensitive information when he said that the agency was mobilizing assets to support the mission against the Houthis and that a delay to the operation would give them additional time to identify better starting points for coverage on Houthi leadership. Ratcliffe tread cautiously on the question of whether any classified information was shared in the chats. He was careful to say that he didnt post any classified information. When pressed by senators, he punted the ball to Hegseths court as to whether his message detailing strike plans could be considered classified. The secretary of Defense is the original classification authority for determining whether something is classified or not, Ratcliffe said. The secretary of Defense has said that the information was not classified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ratcliffe also took a swipe at Goldberg, describing his characterization of the chat as deliberately false and misleading. GABBARD Convenient forgetting Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was one of the less-active officials in the chat itself, but she also found herself having to justify the conversation alongside Ratcliffe at hearings this week. Gabbard sought to say as little as possible about the matter, blaming her inability to remember parts of the chat as she sidestepped questions. In the first hearing, on Tuesday, Gabbard said she didnt recall any specific weapons systems or timing being mentioned. When she was pressed on this the next day after the full texts of the chats were released, Gabbard said her answer had been based on my recollection, or the lack thereof on the details that were posted there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gabbard struggled to stick to a singular narrative, initially declining to confirm her participation in the chat before later stating on multiple occasions that it contained no classified information. On at least two occasions, she redirected senators questions towards the secretary of Defense. She also repeatedly referred to an ongoing National Security Council investigation, putting it back in national security adviser Mike Waltzs court. VANCE Full blame on the journalist, silence on his own posts Vice President JD Vance has been going on the attack, focusing most of his comments on Goldberg. Vance also went out of his way to defend Ratcliffe over accusations he breached policy by disclosing the name of a career CIA officer who serves as his chief of staff, issuing a post where he accused Goldberg of having oversold what he had about the nations spy chief. He has not reposted any defenses of Hegseth or national security adviser Mike Waltz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Vance hasnt personally addressed his own potential misstep dissenting from Trumps view about the benefits of striking the Houthis and the apparent help it would provide free-loading European allies. At one point, Vance also questioned whether the strike should go forward that week. Vances spokesperson, William Martin, did do some damage control, telling POLITICO when reports emerged about the chat that the vice president unequivocally supports this administrations foreign policy. The vice presidents first priority is always making sure that the presidents advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations, Martin said, adding that Vance and Trump had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement. Waltz Taking his knocks and fighting for his life Waltz is taking a different approach as he fights for his political survival. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Waltz, who created the Signal chat and mistakenly added Goldberg, told Fox News he took full responsibility for the lapse, making him one of the only Trump administration officials to admit to a mistake. But Waltz also deflected questions about how he even had Goldbergs number in his phone. Have you ever had somebodys contact that shows their name and then you have somebody elses number? Waltz asked Fox host Laura Ingraham. When she asked again how he ended up on Waltzs phone, Waltz suggested that Goldberg used dirty tactics and somehow got on somebodys contact and was then sucked into this group. Waltz also implied that some of the security issues raised by using Signal were the fault of the bad technology options with which the incoming Trump administration had been saddled. He has also focused his ire on Goldberg and The Atlantic, accusing them of sensationalism. Waltz has called Goldberg the bottom scum and on Wednesday joined the chorus of Trump officials lambasting The Atlantic for changing its description of the conversation from war plans to attack plans. RUBIO Staying (mostly) above the fray Secretary of State Marco Rubio has largely avoided the food fight in Washington, and has weighed his words carefully when asked about the chat by reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rubio barely posted in the chat, only voicing praise that the strike was successful and noting that State Department chief of staff and counselor Michael Needham would represent the department as part of the tiger team being assembled by deputy national security adviser Alex Wong. While on a trip to visit Caribbean allies this week, Rubio was asked by a reporter whether the administration should own up to the snafu. Rubio didnt attack Goldberg or point the finger at any member of the Trump team. Instead, he framed the whole situation as a misunderstanding about the intent of the chat. He said the original purpose of the chat was for coordination of communication about the attack. This thing was set up for purposes of coordinating how everyone was going to call. You know, when these things happen, I need to call foreign ministers, especially of our close allies. We need to notify members of Congress. Other members of the team have different people they need to notify as well. And that was the purpose why it was set up, Rubio said. Obviously, someone made a mistake. Someone made a big mistake and added a journalist. Nothing against journalists, but you ain't supposed to be on that thing. So they got on there, and this happens." Kent Defending Gabbard and broadening the media critique Trumps nominee to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, also reposted some criticism of Goldberg. But notably, he has also posted clips of Gabbard, who he is working for as an adviser while he awaits Senate confirmation, in which she insisted there was no classified information. He has also posted video clips of lawmakers standing behind Hegseth and Waltz. Kent spoke very minimally in the chat, simply telling the group that if they wished to delay the strikes that there would be another window to proceed in the next month. He has not limited his anger at the media to attacks on Goldberg. On Wednesday, Kent also reposted criticisms of a CNN reporter who has long been pilloried by figures on the right for her coverage of an incident involving a laptop which belonged to Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. That reporter wrote a piece Wednesday quoting former officials saying the contents of Hegseths messages detailing the strike were likely classified. Witkoff Complaining about the Wall Street Journal Special envoy Steve Witkoff has largely avoided commenting on the debacle. After all, he only texted once in the chat, sending some emojis to celebrate the successful completion of the strike. But theres one exception: He responded to an editorial in The Wall Street Journal that accused him of participating in the Signal chat on a personal device while he was in Russia. He argued he was only using government devices in Russia and did not engage with the chat until he left Russia that same day, pointing to CBS reports about his presence in Russia at the time of the conversation. Maybe it is time for media outlets like the Journal to acknowledge when some of their people make serious reporting mistakes like this, Witkoff wrote on X. Miller Lashing back at Democrats Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has also largely avoided commenting on the scandal. Most of his recent posts of X over the past week have been about immigration. Miller only posted a few times in the chat, mainly to restate the presidents desire to see the strike through. He also offered praise of the strikes success. On Wednesday, Miller did repost a conservative commentator accusing Democrats of hypocrisy for turning a blind eye to the Biden administrations failures of Afghanistan while unfairly calling for Hegseths resignation. BESSENT Playing the age card Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent only posted once in the chat, identifying that his chief of staff Dan Katz would be a part of Wongs tiger team. But he was asked about the chat in a Fox News interview Wednesday. Bessent played it by the book, saying that hell leave all of that to the legal experts. That statement tracks with his proactive approach to pending litigation about the chat NOTUS reported Thursday that Bessent already moved to preserve his phone data in the face of a lawsuit filed this week. He also sprinkled some humor in to dodge the question, playing on the fact that many of his colleagues in Trumps Cabinet are younger than him. I will say one of the few advantages of being one of the older people in the cabinet is that I still like to pick up the phone and call people," Bessent said, prompting a laugh from the Fox host. Goldberg Blaming the administration writ large Goldberg has not laid low since the first article was published on Monday. In media interviews, he has pushed back on the White Houses efforts to downplay the significance of the information shared in the Signal chat. If Karoline Leavitt is arguing that it's not a war because Congress didn't declare war on Yemen. OK, fine. She wants to play a semantic game, Goldberg said Wednesday on MSNBC, referring to the White House press secretary. But this is operational details about a forthcoming attack on an enemy that has anti-aircraft capabilities. They've allegedly shot down our drones before. So why you would tell anyone in the world on a messaging app that American pilots are about to fly into a sorry for the expression warzone? That's an interesting question, he said. Staying radio silent A number of the Signal group chat members have stayed relatively quiet about the incident. Those include Wong, Needham, Katz, National Security Council senior director Walker Barrett, National Security Council Chief of Staff Brian McCormick and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Many of them either lack personal X accounts or seldom post on their accounts, and a number of them didnt post at all in the chat. Many also havent been in situations where theyd be peppered with questions from reporters and lawmakers. Wiles was the only one of this group who messaged in the chat about the strike itself, and it was to offer praise after the fact. Only Wong has faced criticism for his presence in the chat. That criticism has largely centered around far-right conspiracy theories that Wong, whose parents emigrated from China, is a secret agent of the Chinese government. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the unsubstantiated allegations, although prominent White House allies have come to Wongs defense. Robbie Gramer contributed to this report. PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) Meet Harpy Daniels, also known as Yeoman Second Class Joshua Kelley. Three years ago, the sailor and drag queen was the Navys digital ambassador to represent diversity. The Navy has taught me to never give up, and attitude is a decision, Kelley said. I do intend to continue serving. I am a great sailor not because of being queer, but because I work hard and step up to make a positive difference for my sailors, peers and colleagues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Kelley does not identify as trans and intends to keep his job as a sailor, his transgender peers faced a Friday deadline to voluntarily separate from the service. Following the deadline, transgender troops will be forced out. I will continue being my authentic self as a visibly queer person, along with breaking stereotypes, bias and stigmas, Kelley said. By doing this, I will continue to be ambitious with leading and having good order and discipline. I will continue encouraging my sailors to be the best they can be, leading as an example of excellence and working hard with my crew towards the mission and to our country. Being the change we deserve is not overnight, and one person cant do it alone. With teamwork and a positive outlook, we can make this change together. Just like we have all through the history of the Navy. And with that deadline having passed, the seas are turbulent for transgender sailors as they face an uncertain future. Its a very tough day, said Julie Snell, director of housing at the LGBT Life Center in Norfolk. A lot of big emotions from folks and just figuring out what is that next step. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the center, collective arms are wrapped around those who took an oath to serve. One of the conversations we had earlier with someone is somebody whos been serving for 16 years 16 years is four years away from retirement, but theyre separating because you know, no one wants to be somewhere where theyre not wanted, Snell said. Signed Jan. 27, the executive order states that trans military members identities conflict with a soldiers commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle. It also states that a mans assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member. As the executive order makes its way through the courts, Wednesday night, a court struck down the presidents effort to reverse a court order that blocks the transgender ban. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal judge temporarily blocks an order to ban trans military troops Judge questions motives for Trumps order banning transgender troops Thursday, a second federal judge issued an injunction that blocks the presidents order to ban transgender troops the governments arguments are not persuasive, Judge Benjamin Settle said. In Talbott vs. USA Thursday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Thursday, attorneys representing transgender troops filed a response to the Defense Departments motion for an administrative stay, saying that granting an administrative stay would trigger an explosive and harmful trip wire, causing reputational, professional, and constitutional harm that can never be fully undone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement opposition-to-motion-for-administrative-stayDownload Attorneys for the plaintiffs said that if the administrative stay is granted, that could block a nationwide preliminary injunction that put the brakes on plans to rid the military of transgender troops. Reuters reported Thursday that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled it would not block the ban, but it might reconsider if the military starts taking action against transgender troops. Rep. Bobby Scott said the executive order equals a step back in time. Well, we need a military thats inclusive, not exclusive, Scott said. Weve had a lot of progress since the 1940s when African Americans could not fill certain positions and have made a lot of progress. Everybodys included, and I think thats a better policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Enforcement of the transgender ban remains fluid in the courts. Attorney Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, is representing transgender sailors in two lawsuits challenging the presidents executive order to ban transgender troops. I mean, this is really shameful, Minter said. This is a shameful way to treat people who are serving our country. The instructions for sailors to self-report are complicated. Minter said just a fraction of the nations lawyers have expertise in military law. We and other organizations have asked attorneys to come forward and offer pro-bono help, Minter said. And they are they are doing that. We do have a cadre now of attorneys willing to do that. Now, part of the challenge is that it is a very specialized area of law. And so theres a lot of attorneys out there that would love to help, but theyre simply not qualified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Minter said his heart goes out to transgender military members. Theres very little time left, frankly, to make an informed decision, Minter said. But if you possibly can, consult with an attorney, and theres organizations SPARTA is one modern military association that is trying very hard to match people up with individual pro bono attorneys to help give you some counsel and advice about what makes sense for you. Its chaos, Minter said. Its been 100% created needlessly by the military, putting their own people into this untenable situation. So I feel terrible here. I wish I were able to offer some more clear guidance for people. But the truth is, theres not a lot of clarity in this moment. The Navy has promised to double the separation funds for transgender sailors who volunteer to leave by Friday. Minter urged sailors to contact SPARTA, which has attorneys on standby to offer free advice to trans troops. Theres just so much we dont know, including: we dont know for sure whether the military will honor the terms of this voluntary separation agreement, Minter said. You know, other federal employees were given similar offers outside the military. And those have not always been actually honored. So there are many questions here, and then there are pending court challenges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 10 On Your Side will continue to monitor new developments concerning the executive order that bans trans troops makes its way through the nations courts. Note: 10 On Your Side reached out to Kelley to learn the Pennsylvania natives status with the Navy. The story will be updated when we receive 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 WAVY.com. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Friends and family of San Francisco drag queen Heklina will be gathering in London Monday to protest what they consider to be a lack of transparency from police concerning her death. Its been nearly two years since she was found dead in a London apartment by her friend Peaches Christ. Peaches Christ, the drag alter ego of filmmaker Joshua Grannell, is in the UK organizing the protest. Officers with the Metropolitan Police in London traveled to San Francsico last week to meet with Grannell. Police believe drugs were involved the night Heklina was found dead. Her friends, however, want more definite answers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Niantic lays off dozens at SF Ferry building office Next week will mark two years since Heklinas death. She and her friend Grannell were in London at the time getting ready to open their drag parody show, Mommy Queerest. Grannell is back in London this week to organize a protest in memory of his friend. Supporters will gather beneath Big Ben Monday at 10 a.m. local time. We are protesting the London Metropolitan Police because of their ineptitude surrounding our dear friend Heklinas death and the case surrounding it, Grannell said, and its been two years since that occurred and we still dont have satisfactory answers at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grannell said police didnt start to take Heklinas death seriously until they learned of her large fan base. Eventually, the Metropolitan Police released videos showing three men leaving Heklinas London apartment the night she was found dead. Theres a camera trained at your apartment building, we were able to see when you left and when you came back, Grannell said. Which means theyve been sitting on that footage of those three guys for two years. Grannell met with officers from London last week who traveled to California to update him that there was a lethal amount of drugs in Heklinas system. They wouldnt specify what type of drugs and when KRON 4 reached out to police, they responded saying the investigation is ongoing and it would be, inappropriate to more widely share further details. Its details that Heklinas friends and family want, having already waited 24 months for answers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Very quickly revealed to me by my friends in the UK that there is a really negative relationship between the police and the queer community due to mistreatment of queer people, said Grannell. Events for Heklina arent just happening in London. There will also be a march Monday in San Francisco starting at 7:30 p.m. at 1123 Folsom Street to protest the Metropolitan Police in London. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Mar. 27LIMA An August trial date has been scheduled for a Lima man charged in a a 58-count indictment with a variety of sex-related charges. Sonny Cobb, 45, appeared in Allen County Common Pleas Court on Thursday and waived his constitutional right to a speedy trial after lawyers with the Allen County Public Defenders Office said they needed additional time to wade through the voluminous evidence in the case. Cobb was inducted by a grand jury earlier this month on charges that include 39 counts of first-degree felony rape, 18 counts of sexual battery and one count of gross sexual imposition, felonies of the third- and fourth-degree. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the indictment, the alleged incidents occurred from July 2011 through December 2024 and reportedly involved a victim who was 5 years old when the attacks began. Cobb will stand trial beginning Aug. 4. A final pre-trial hearing was set for June 30. He is being held in the Allen County jail under a $500,000 bond. Featured Local Savings RELATED VIDEO: Mercy Hospital Fort Smith lockdown suspect deemed fit to stand trial (Oct. 2024) FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) The trial for a Fort Smith man charged in connection with a July 2024 lockdown at Mercy Hospital has been moved to July. Originally scheduled for April 14, the delay was granted due to the cases complexity and the number of potential witnesses. John K. West, 34, faces charges of commercial burglary, theft over $1,000 and impairing a public facility. He remains in the Sebastian County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond for theft, with no bond set for the other charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bentonville rape suspect accused of attempting to have alleged victim deported On July 22, 2024, Mercy Hospital was placed on lockdown due to reports of a possibly armed intruder. The Fort Smith Police Department and other law enforcement agencies responded, arresting West after he was found hiding behind poster boards in a Mercy educational classroom. On July 22, Mercy Hospital was placed on lockdown due to reports of a possibly armed intruder. The Fort Smith Police Department and other law enforcement agencies responded, arresting West after he was found hiding behind poster boards in a Mercy educational classroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time of the Mercy incident, West was out on bond from his July 10 arrest for criminal trespassing. Two forensic mental health examinations have been conducted for West to assess his mental fitness for trial, according to court documents. The first, in August, focused on his understanding of court proceedings and ability to assist his attorney. Dr. Jason Beaman determined that West was competent to proceed and diagnosed him with unspecified intellectual disability, alcohol, opioid and methamphetamine use disorders. The second exam, conducted in December and reported in January, assessed Wests understanding of criminal responsibility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is my opinion that at the time of the alleged crime, Mr. West had the capacity to: appreciate the criminality of his conduct, conform his conduct to the requirements of the law and form the culpable mental state, Beaman said in court documents. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PARIS (AP) The monthslong trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign is shedding light on France's back-channel talks with the government of then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Family members of terrorist attacks sponsored by Gadhafi's regime have told the court they suspect that Sarkozy was willing to sacrifice the memories of their loved ones in order to normalize ties with Libya almost two decades ago. French prosecutors on Thursday requested a seven-year prison sentence for the 70-year-old former leader. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, has denied all wrongdoing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trial, which started in January, is to continue until April 8, with Sarkozy's lawyers to plead on the last day. The verdict is expected at a later date. Some key moments in the trial have focused on talks between France and Libya in the 2000s, when Gadhafi was seeking to restore diplomatic ties with the West. Before that, Libya was considered a pariah state for having sponsored attacks. French families of victims of a 1989 plane bombing told the court about their shock and sense of betrayal as the trial questioned whether promises possibly made to Gadhafis government were part of the alleged corruption deal. The Lockerbie and UTA flight bombings Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1988, a bomb planted aboard a Pam Am flight exploded while the plane was over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people from 21 countries, including 190 Americans. The following year, on Sept. 19, 1989, the bombing of UTA flight 772 over Niger killed 170 people, including 54 French nationals on board, after an in-flight explosion caused by a suitcase bomb. Both French and U.S. investigations have tied both bombings to Libya, whose government had engaged in long-running hostilities with the U.S. and other Western governments. Now, families of victims are wondering whether French government officials close to Sarkozy promised to forget about the bombings in exchange for business opportunities with the oil-rich nation and possibly, an alleged corruption deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What did they do with our dead? Nicoletta Diasio, the daughter of a man who died in the bombing, has told the court, saying she wondered if the memories of the victims could have been used for bartering in talks between France and Libya. During the trial, Sarkozy has said he has never ever betrayed families of victims. I have never traded their fate for any compromise, nor pact of realpolitik, he said. Libyas push to restore ties with the West Libya was long a pariah state for its involvement in the 1980s bombings. In 2003, it took responsibility for both the 1988 and 1989 plane bombings and agreed to pay billions in compensation to the victims families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gadhafi also announced he was dismantling his nuclear weapons program, which led to the lifting of international sanctions against the country. Britain, France and other Western countries sought to restore a relationship with Libya for security, diplomatic and business purposes. In 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to Paris with honors for a five-day official visit, allowing him to set up a bedouin tent near the Elysee presidential palace. Many French people still remember that gesture, feeling Sarkozy went too far to please a dictator. Sarkozy said during the trial he would have preferred to do without Gadhafis visit at the time but it came as a diplomatic gesture after Libyas release of Bulgarian nurses who were imprisoned and facing death sentences for a crime they said they did not commit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bulgarian nurses On July 24, 2007, under an accord partially brokered by first lady Cecilia Sarkozy and EU officials, Libya released the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. The medics, who had spent over eight years in prison, faced death sentence on charges they deliberately infected hundreds of children with the AIDS virus in the late 1990s an allegation they denied. The release of the medics removed the last major obstacle to Libyas rejoining the international community. Sarkozy travelled to the capital, Tripoli, for talks with Gadhafi the day after the medics were returned to Bulgaria on a French presidential plane. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In court has spoken of his pride to have saved those six persons. If you did not discuss with Gadhafi, youd not get the release of the nurses, he said. Libyas spy chief at heart of questions Accused of masterminding the attack on UTA Flight 772, Gadhafis brother-in-law and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi was convicted in absentia to a life sentence by a Paris court in 1999 for the attack. An international arrest warrant was issued for him and five other suspects. Financial prosecutors have accused Sarkozy of having promised to lift the arrest warrant targeting al-Senoussi in exchange for alleged campaign financing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2005, people close to Sarkozy, who was at the time the interior minister, including his chief of staff Claude Gueant and junior minister Brice Hortefeux, travelled to Tripoli, where they met with al-Senoussi. Both Gueant and Hortefeux have told the court that it was a surprise meeting they were not aware of beforehand. Al-Senoussi told investigative judges that millions of dollars were provided to support Sarkozys campaign. Accused of war crimes, he is now imprisoned in Libya. Sarkozy has strongly denied that. Gadhafis son accusations Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, told the French news network RFI in January that he was personally involved in giving Sarkozy 5 million dollars in cash. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seif al-Islam sent RFI radio a two-page statement on his version of events. It was the first time he talked to the media about the case since 2011. He said Sarkozy initially received $2.5 million from Libya to finance his electoral campaign during the 2007 presidential election, in return for which Sarkozy would conclude agreements and carry out projects in favour of Libya. He said a second payment of $2.5 million in cash was handed over without specifying when it was given. According to him, Libyan authorities expected that in return, Sarkozy would end a legal case about the 1989 UTA Flight 771 attack including removing his name from an international warrant notice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sarkozy strongly denied those allegations. Youll never find one Libyan euro, one Libyan cent in my campaign," he said at the opening of the trial in January. Theres no corruption money because there was no corruption." Sarkozy turning his back to Gadhafi The Libyan civil war started in February 2011, with army units and militiamen loyal to Gadhafi opposing rebels. Sarkozy was the first Western leader to take a public stance to support the rebellion. On Feb. 25, 2011, he said the violence by pro-Gadhafi forces was unacceptable and should not go unpunished. Gadhafi must go, he said at the time. On March 10 that year, France was the first country in the world to recognize the National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of Libya. That was the Arab Spring, Sarkozy told the court. Gadhafi was the only dictator who had sent (military) aircrafts against his people. He had promised rivers of blood, thats his expression. Moammar Gadhafi was killed by opposition fighters in Oct. 2011, ending his four-decade rule of the North African country. Stephanie Russo Carroll, an associate professor of public health at the University of Arizona, co-founded the U.S. Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network and directs the Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance. American Indian and Alaska Native tribes are fighting for equal governance and sovereignty over their own health data. (Kris Hanning/University of Arizona) When Stephanie Russo Carroll, a citizen of the Native Village of Kluti-Kaah in Alaska, set out to earn her doctorate in tribal health 15 years ago, she focused her research on tribal cultural and health programs within six tribes. She needed vital statistics data, such as birth and death rates, for each of them. But getting that data from the state, which houses vital statistics, was difficult and in some cases, the data she needed was missing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health outcomes data were unobtainable, Carroll recalled. In one case, her team had to try using breastfeeding rates as a proxy to estimate birth rates. But even getting those for all six tribes was impossible. For the next two decades, Carroll would continue to push for U.S. tribes which are sovereign nations to own and maintain control over their data, including health statistics. The concept, known as data sovereignty, is important amid the harrowing health disparities seen in tribal people, rooted in forced assimilation dating back more than a century. Often, data gathered by and about tribes has been shared with state and federal agencies; but those same agencies havent always shared their tribal-related statistics in return. The reasons vary, from systemic issues within the health care system to mistaken assumptions by some federal officials about what data be securely sent to tribes without risking privacy violations. The lack of tribe-specific data has hindered tribes from fully taking care of their members and clouded their work on public health responses to disease outbreaks such as syphilis and COVID-19, on maternal and infant health outcomes, and on chronic issues such as diabetes, heart disease and substance use. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Data sovereignty is especially relevant now, as the Trump administration scrubs federal health websites of data that recognizes and tracks metrics among the countrys various racial and ethnic groups, including what little data there is on tribal members. States govern their own health data systems. But the same isnt true for the nations 574 federally recognized tribes. Now an associate professor of public health at the University of Arizona, Carroll co-founded the U.S. Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network and directs the Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance. Both are groups that work to research and strengthen Indigenous data governance, accuracy and data-driven policy. If you dont know who has been sick or hospitalized, Carroll said, how can you make sure you have the right care systems for your community? Withholding tribes data As part of its slashing of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the Trump administration removed numerous racial, ethnic, adolescent and maternal health datasets from the websites of several federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While some of the data has been reinstated, the swift deletions raised alarms in tribal communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abigail Echo-Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and director of the Urban Indian Health Institute, said the youth behavioral risk surveys were reinstated, but were missing key race and ethnicity search features that tribes use to track mental health conditions in American Indian and Alaska Native teens. Now, we cant search, disaggregate by Native youth, she said. That information is about our children, and it is the legal right of both now the tribal epidemiology centers and the tribes to have access to that previously gathered information. Abigail Echo-Hawk, of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and director of the Urban Indian Health Institute, poses for a photo at a maternal mental health forum in Washington, D.C., this month. (Nada Hassanein/Stateline) Despite their public health authority, tribes and tribal epidemiology centers, which support tribes with health data tracking, say federal and state health officials have long withheld or denied requests to direct access of health data related to their tribes, including coronavirus data during the pandemic. Such data is tied to treaty rights obligations and shouldnt be lumped together with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives currently under attack by the Trump administration, Echo-Hawk said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our treaty rights are tied to having information around tribal people. So, if youre going to uphold our treaty rights, you need to say: This number of Native people are experiencing this issue, or This number of Native people exist, she said. It wasnt until 2021 that the CDC conducted its first comprehensive life expectancy profile of American Indians and Alaska Natives; it showed that in 2019, their life expectancy was seven years lower than that of white people. All of the data is a story. Its a grandmother, its a son, its a story of a communitys well-being, Echo-Hawk said. When tribes receive federal grants whether for transportation, housing or education initiatives there are grant reporting requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of data is a story. It's a grandmother, it's a son, it's a story of a community's well-being. Abigail Echo-Hawk, director of the Urban Indian Public Health Institute Under those rules, tribes send raw data to federal agencies, but they often dont get that data back, said social demographer Desi Small-Rodriguez, an assistant professor of sociology and American Indian studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, who co-founded the data sovereignty network with Carroll. Its a one-way data highway coming from tribal governments leaving tribal governments and going into the feds and its not coming back, said Small-Rodriguez. She also directs the Data Warriors Lab, working with tribes including her own Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana to develop legal mechanisms to ensure data ownership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said the federal government should provide funding, as part of its treaty obligations, to pay for expensive data support such as secure storage systems, high-performance computers and analytics staff. As part of our treaty rights, we have a right to health care and education. We have a right to clean water and air and data form the basis for all of that, she said. State data agreements In January, the Tulalip Tribes in northwest Washington state secured a data-sharing agreement with the state department of health. It gives the tribes access to the states disease reporting system, allowing them to extract some data directly. Tulalip plans to eventually secure access to more datasets. Its the first agreement of its kind in the state, said Summer Hammons, legislative policy analyst in the Treaty Rights and Governmental Affairs Department of the Tulalip Tribes, which has at least 5,000 members. Hammons grew up on the reservation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She hopes it will help the tribe direct resources and funds where theyre needed whether its more cancer screenings or vaccinations against diseases such as measles, as other states grapple with outbreaks of the virus. It allows us to collaborate and lead on outbreak investigations related to tribal members, Hammons said. Its a clear outline that tribes own their data in partnership with the state, because the states the one thats collecting it. But we want to tell our story, and we want to be able to work with DOH [department of health] to be mindful of our stories and to also get better access to the statistics. A few other states Alaska, Arizona, Oregon and South Dakota also have limited-scope agreements with tribes. Gary Ferguson, Unangax (Aleut), is the director of integrative medicine at Tulalip Health Clinic. He said he hopes the data will help the tribe track health care interventions over time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We dont know whats working. We dont know whats not working, he said. We want to celebrate our wins. Tracking disease In recent years, the nation has seen alarming surges in congenital syphilis, a preventable infection passed through pregnancy to newborns. Nearly 40% can be stillborn or die as a newborn. Babies can also suffer lifelong blindness or deafness. Tribal babies suffer the highest rate. Officials at the Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center, which tracks tribal public health across four states, were denied syphilis data from local public health departments for years until the group leaned on the CDC for assistance. It wasnt until then that, finally, last year, one state South Dakota agreed to share American Indian and Alaska Native syphilis cases as soon as theyre reported, said Sarah Shewbrooks, the groups lead tribal epidemiologist. Shewbrooks hopes the new South Dakota access will pave the way for more agreements in the other Great Plains states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shewbrooks hopes the access in South Dakota will pave the way for more agreements in the other Great Plains states. We needed this yesterday During COVID-19, American Indian and Alaska Native people were more likely to be infected and compared with white people, had double the risk of in-hospital death and three times the rate of severe infection, research shows. Yet even then, data werent telling the whole story. Echo-Hawks organization published a report card in 2021 that scored each states collection of Natives COVID-19 cases. In total, the nation averaged a D+. This year, she published a follow-up for epidemiologists on addressing the misclassification of Native people, who often are listed as white or Hispanic in health settings and death certificates. Many states also inconsistently or dont report tribal affiliation on death certificates, which can make tribe-specific death rates elusive. A report in 2021 from the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office found that some officials from the CDC and the Indian Health Services agency didnt recognize that they were required by law to share data with tribal epidemiology centers, the centers told investigators. In the GAO report, investigators detailed logistical barriers, including federal agencies reluctance to share COVID-19 data because of concerns around privacy and security in data transmission. This is one of the best examples of what structural racism looks like, said Shewbrooks. Because when you look at the infrastructure for public health systems and public health data, tribes and [tribal epidemiology centers] were never included in that infrastructure. COVID really put it up there as: No, we needed this yesterday. Shewbrooks said that as part of her work shed go to funeral directors, who may fill out death certificates, throughout the region to educate them on proper classification of American Indian people. I even had one say to me once, I just always code them by how they look. I never ask what their race is. A lot of them didnt know that this is data that gets really used, she said. Vital records data is just super important, foundational work in a lot of epidemiological work. Cheryl Ellenwood, right, is pictured with her students at an Indigenous data governance conference. (Courtesy of Cheryl Ellenwood) There is no national standard for tribal health data, explained Cheryl Ellenwood, who is a citizen of the Nez Perce Nation and also Dine (Navajo). Ellenwood, an assistant professor in Washington State Universitys School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, experienced firsthand the data disconnect when both her parents died of COVID-19. Four years ago this month, her mother, Annie Benally Ellenwood, an enrolled Navajo tribal member from New Mexico, died at age 71 in a hospital in Idaho. Annie Ellenwoods death, however, wouldnt show up in primary statistics of COVID-19 deaths in Navajo people her tribe isnt listed on her death certificate. I was very hurt by this, because my mother died because of COVID-19, and I wanted her death to count and mean something, Ellenwood said. It still feels very life and death, like we are fighting to demonstrate the impact of so many things on our people, she said. Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX President Donald Trump regularly boasted about the stock markets performance during his first term in office, but hes recently brushed off concerns about his on-again, off-again tariff threats rattling investors. Still, BofA credit strategists say recent developments signal the administration and the Federal Reserve are both primed to react if equity prices plummet. The stock market selloff earlier this month appeared to disabuse investors of the notion President Donald Trump would intervene to support equity prices if his policies spooked markets. However, Bank of America strategists say the so-called Trump put, a play on options terminology, remains alive and well following reports the administration has significantly narrowed a batch of tariffs set to be announced April 2, which the president has referred to as Liberation Day. Trump regularly bragged about the markets performance during his first term in office. Stocks initially soared after his election victory amid enthusiasm his administration would focus on business-friendly priorities like renewed tax cuts and deregulation, rather than aspects of his agenda deemed less appealing to investors. However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected that notion as the presidents on-again, off-again tariff threats rattled markets, with Trump himself refusing to rule out a recession. Theres no put, Bessent told CNBC earlier this month. The Trump call on the upside is, if we have good policies, then the markets will go up. Purchasing a put option contract gives an investor the right to sell an underlying security at a predetermined price, known as the strike price, and, therefore, can be used as an instrument to hedge against downside risk. Meanwhile, simply buying a call option, or the right to purchase the asset at the strike price, is a bullish bet on the securitys value increasing. To be clear, the idea of a Trump put refers to a general commitment from the president to step in if share prices fall dramatically, not any mechanical trading action. The White House has pushed back on that idea and disputed reports that the Apr. 2 tariffs are being narrowed. The only special interest that President Trump cares about is the interest of the American people, White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to Fortune. Every member of this administration is committed to delivering on President Trumps mandate to restore American Greatness by implementing an America First economic agenda of tariffs, deregulation, and the unleashing of American energy. A triple shooting at a home in southern New England on Thursday night left a father, mother, and son dead, authorities said. Officers responding to a report of a shooting at 634 Boundline Road in Wolcott, Connecticut, just before 6:30 p.m. were greeted outside by the man who called 911, according to the Wolcott Police Department. Upon entering the home, police said officers found three victims dead on a bedroom floor. Wolcott Police Chief Ed Stephens identified the victims as 59-year-old David Cote, of Wolcott, 55-year-old Michelle Cote, of Colchester, and their 34-year-old son, David Cote, Jr., of Colchester. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Cote was in the process of moving out and his son and friend were helping when he got into an argument with his estranged wife, who had been living in a different town but showed up at the home, according to Stephens. He was getting evicted. I believe April 1, he had to be gone, Stephens said of David Cote. An argument ensued between the mother and father, and the son and friend tried to intervene, Stephens said. The father, who was armed, then fatally shot both his estranged wife and son. The father had a gun pointing at the mother. The son tried to intervene to protect his mother. The father had knocked her down, Stephens explained. The father broke free, shot the mother...Then he turned and shot the son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The friend of the son, who has a legal firearms permit, took out his registered weapon and shot the father to the death, Stephens said. He then called the police to report what had happened. Boundline Road from Wolcott Road to Bilby Drive was closed for hours as detectives processed the crime scene. An investigation remains ongoing. 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 LAKE COUNTY, Ind. Two cows were injured after a truck hauling dairy cattle overturned in northwest Indiana during rush hour on Friday morning. According to Officials from the Gary Fire Department, the crash unfolded just before 8 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-65, on the interchange to westbound I-80 WGN Traffic Map: Get the latest real time traffic updates Fire officials said the truck was hauling 126 cows at the time of the crash. Two of them suffered injuries, though the extent of the injuries is unclear. The driver of the truck was not injured in the crash, but authorities said two cows died. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crews from the Gary Fire Department, District 1 Large Animal Rescue and Heins Farms Inc. were eventually able to safely remove the other 124 cows, which were then transferred to Heins Farms livestock transport units. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines SkyCam9 over the scene following the crash when several cows could be seen huddled in a pen behind the truck. Courtesy Indiana State Police Courtesy Indiana State Police Courtesy Indiana State Police The crash caused some backups during Friday Rush hours, and authorities had to shut down all lanes of the road. ISP said it would likely be an all-day detail to get the interstate back open. In the afternoon, ISP said crews hope to have the area back open at around 4 p.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. Donald Trump's 25% tariff on auto imports could increase the price of vehicles by 8%, according to Auto Drive America CEO Jennifer Safavian. (Getty Images) U.S. House members in two of Alabamas three districts with major automotive plants Thursday criticized President Donald Trumps plans to impose 25% tariffs on automobiles and automobile parts. The tariffs could hit Alabamas car plants hard. Most of Alabamas leading imports in 2023 including oil, engines, transmissions and ignition sets went toward building automobiles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, whose district includes the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, wrote on social media Thursday that she has not supported tariffs on automobile parts since Trump proposed them in his first term in 2019. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In 2019, Sewell and 160 other lawmakers sent a letter to the National Economic Council Director opposing the tariffs citing increased prices on consumers and the possibility of loss of jobs. We agreed that they would raise prices, hurt consumers and manufacturers, and weaken our economy, she wrote on Thursday. Its still true today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, whose district includes the Hyundai plant outside Montgomery, echoed the concern of increased prices and lost jobs in a statement Thursday. The reality is that the companies are not going to absorb those expenses; theyre going to pass them off to people who purchase vehicles in my district, in the state, and across the country, he said. Figures also noted that the tariffs are another policy by the Trump administration that will hurt everyday Americans. These tariffs are yet another example of this administration acting without considering how it will impact everyday people, and most certainly not considering how it will affect people in industries in the state of Alabama, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Messages seeking comment from U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, whose district includes a Honda plant outside Lincoln, were left Thursday morning. Trump signed the executive order Wednesday. The tariffs will go into effect on April 2. Representatives of the states automobile industry were much more cautious about the tariffs on Thursday. Jennifer Safavian, CEO of Auto Drive America (ADA), said the tariffs will definitely lead to higher vehicle prices across the country in a phone interview Thursday. The organization represents five automotive manufacturers in Alabama: Honda in Lincoln, Hyundai in Montgomery, Mazda Toyota in Huntsville and two Mercedes-Benz U.S. International plants outside Tuscaloosa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No question, there ill be higher costs because of the tariffs, which will in turn increase prices for vehicles, Safavian said. Safavian said the company had a consulting firm model what the tariffs will impact. Under the 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and previously announced 10% tariffs on all imported goods, Safavian said the price of vehicles would increase about 8%, or $4,000. The model was done considering the entire automotive industry, not just Alabama. According to ADAs 2023 economic impact report, Alabama auto manufacturers have 19 models that are built with parts from 42 countries and territories. Statewide, Alabama auto manufacturers employ 90,000 people. Safavian said those jobs could be at risk due to a projected decrease in sales and production. If theres less production, whether its because theres less sales in the United States or theres fewer sales abroad, I dont know what that ultimately means, but thats why its a concern that it certainly could threaten jobs, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Edith Muller-Callsen, manager of corporate affairs communications for Mercedes-Benz, wrote in a statement that the company employs 163,000 jobs across its manufacturing plants and dealerships across the country. She said the company is still assessing the effect of the tariffs. As a global company, we rely on constructive cooperation and policies that promote mutually beneficial trade across international markets, she said. Mercedes-Benz supports free and fair trade that underpins prosperity, growth and innovation. Requests for comment from Honda and Hyundai were sent Thursday. Ron Davis, the president of the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association, said Thursday he was not free to speak on this topic. Messages seeking comment from the Business Council of Alabama were left Thursday morning. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Trump signed an executive order Thursday targeting law firm WilmerHale. WilmerHale is linked to Trump's adversaries and past efforts to investigate his election campaigns. The firm, like others named in Trump's orders, has worked on lawsuits that challenged key administration policies. In continuation of an ongoing campaign against Big Law, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday taking aim at WilmerHale, a law firm linked to his political adversaries that led past investigations into his administration. The order suspends security clearances for WilmerHale employees, limits their access to federal buildings, and revokes the firm's government contracts for what Trump described in his order as engaging in "partisan representations to achieve political ends" and "efforts to discriminate on the basis of race." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WilmerHale has a team of over 1,100 lawyers across 12 offices in the US and Europe. In 2023, it was ranked as the 45th largest law firm in the country which generated nearly $1.5 billion in revenue, according to The American Lawyer. A White House fact sheet about the order accused WilmerHale of "rewarding" former FBI Director Robert Mueller and two colleagues with positions at the firm for what it called "a partisan 'investigation' against the President and others." Muller, a former Marine Corps officer in Vietnam and the FBI Director in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, had spearheaded a special counsel investigation into Russian interference in Trump's 2016 election. The investigation ultimately found insufficient evidence of a link. Muller was a WilmerHale partner before the probe and rejoined it after. He is not listed on the firm's website. The executive order follows similar actions of varying magnitudes against legal powerhouses such as Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, and Covington & Burling. Trump previously rescinded an order targeting Paul Weiss after the firm agreed to allocate $40 million in pro bono legal work aligned with his administration's priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A memo from Trump issued on March 22 titled "Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court" also authorized Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to sanction law firms that file lawsuits they deem "frivolous" or "vexatious." On Friday afternoon, Judge Richard J. Leon of the Court of the District of Columbia approved a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order to halt executive actions against WilmerHale. Another judge has also approved a restraining order for similar executive actions against Jenner & Block. "There is no doubt this retaliatory action chills speech and legal advocacy, or that it qualifies as a constitutional harm," Leon wrote in the order. "The public interest demands protecting against harms of this magnitude." A spokesperson of WilmerHale told Business Insider that the firm was grateful for the court's "swift action" to preserve the right to counsel and its "acknowledgment of the unconstitutional nature of the executive order and its chilling effect on the legal system." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WilmerHale is among the prominent law firms representing clients in lawsuits that challenge key Trump administration policies. The firm had also filed an amicus brief in January 2024 that called Trump's attempt to gain immunity in connection to his criminal prosecution for alleged election interference "inconsistent with our Constitution." Chris Mattei, an attorney at Connecticut-based law firm Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder and a former federal prosecutor, said the spree of orders is a constitutional threat. "If lawyers abandon our duty to protect the rights of those who are targeted by the Government, our democracy will fall," Mattei told BI in an email. The White House did not respond to a request for comment from BI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at katherineli@insider.com or Signal at katherineli.21 or WhatsApp at 510-365-6496 . Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely . March 28, 2025 This story has been updated to include WilmerHale's response to the order. Read the original article on Business Insider A federal judge in New York City granted a temporary restraining order on Friday to several Voice of America journalists attempting to stop the Trump administration from shutting down the international broadcaster on the grounds that the move is unlawful and unconstitutional. Meanwhile, as the judge issued his order blocking the administration from dismantling VOA, the networks employees suddenly received an email from the Office of Human Resources customer service team offering an opportunity to reapply to the administrations Fork in the Road deferred resignation program. The deadline for the program, which was supposed to entice federal workers to voluntarily quit and accept a buyout as part of DOGEs efforts to slash spending, had initially been February 12. US District Court Judge J. Paul Oetken issued the temporary restraining order to prevent any further administration efforts to terminate VOA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew G. Celli Jr., an attorney for the VOA journalists who filed suit, said This is a decisive victory for press freedom and the First Amendment, and a sharp rebuke to an Administration that has shown utter disregard for the principles that define our democracy. As part of the broader workforce reforms initiated by President Trump, the federal government is undergoing significant restructuring to enhance efficiency, accountability, and performance. These changes are designed to build a more effective, high-performing federal workforce, the email, which was sent at 2:27 pm ET on Friday, read. In alignment with these reforms, the agency is offering another opportunity for employees to voluntarily transition out of federal service through the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP). This program will be available from March 28 through April 9, 2025, the email, which The Independent reviewed, continued. Employees who choose to participate in the DRP will retain full pay and benefits and will be exempt from in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025, unless they choose to depart earlier. Trump Voice of America (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) The judges order temporarily prevents the administration from moving forward with firing hundreds of VOA contractors who were set to be terminated on Monday. Additionally, the block would stop the 900 employees placed on indefinite leave from being targeted for a reduction in force for the time being. The restraining order would likely be in effect for three weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After a hearing on Friday, VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara said the judge had indicated he would rule in the networks favor. At the same time, she told The Independent she wasnt quite sure what the renewed buyout offer meant for the future of the network. I dont know what the Fork in the Road email today means, or Kari Lakes intention with VOA moving forward, she said. My colleagues and I are focused on fighting for our legal rights to report and broadcast as mandated by Congress, and in defense of our editorial independence under the VOA charter. Voice of Americas chief national correspondent Steve Herman, who was sidelined last month by the administration for social media posts that were supposedly anti-Trump, also tweeted that Lake had urged staffers to check their emails for another one of those fork in the road offers that would give employees 12 days to take a buyout through September. Just a day earlier, the Trump administration backed down in a suit filed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, agreeing to withdraw a grant termination and allowing the broadcaster to continue to receive federal funds. RFE/RL and Voice of America are both overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A similar lawsuit filed by VOA director Michael Abramowitz against the administration is still pending. A representative for the USAGM and Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the USAGM to be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law. Kari Lake, his senior adviser to the agency, immediately suspended the entire VOA workforce and stated that contractors would be fired effective at the end of the month. She also pulled the funding from the nonprofit international broadcasters backed by the USAGM, including RFE/RL and Radio Free Asia. The US Agency for Global media will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agencys purview and shed everything that is not statutorily required, Lake wrote at the time. I fully support the Presidents executive order. Waste, fraud, and abuse run rampant in this agency and American taxpayers shouldnt have to fund it. In their lawsuit against Lake and the Trump administration, six VOA journalists which include VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara and Press Freedom editor Jessica Jerreat said the wholesale dismantling of USAGM was a direct violation of the law and violated the agencys independence and integrity. In addition to the Voice of America staffers, the suit was joined by several employee unions and press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. Notably, just days before Trump ordered USAGM to be dismantled, he bristled at a question asked by Widakuswara about his proposal to clear out Gaza of all Palestinians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defendants have also acted contrary to Congresss express statutory requirement that USAGM exist as an independent news agency to present a reliable and objective news source to the world, the complaint added. Defendants have violated all of these laws by closing USAGM and ceasing altogether the business of gathering and disseminating news and opinion via VOA and its sister service Radio y Television Marti, as well as its grantee-affiliates RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN. Defendants actions are unconstitutional and unlawful; they must cease immediately. More than 900 full-time network employees were indefinitely suspended earlier this month, while 550 contractors were told their jobs would be terminated on March 31. In addition, the majority of staff at USAGM were placed on indefinite leave. Since Lakes sweeping order that essentially shut down VOA on March 15, the radio network which boasted a global audience of 360 million has been off the air, and no new stories have been published on its website. The silencing of the 80-year-old broadcaster has been celebrated by authoritarian regimes across the globe, which the VOA lawsuit noted. In the world at large, the vacuum left by Defendants pulling the plug on USAGMs news networks is being filled by propagandists whose messages will monopolize global airwaves, while VOA and other USAGM entities are silenced, the complaint stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plaintiffs also pointed out that the president who has long been critical of Voice of America had previously tried to force the network to push a pro-Trump message during his first administration. Sadly, if history teaches lessons, these latest abuses come as little surprise. In 2020, the first Trump Administrationunhappy with the news coverage being disseminated by USAGM networks worldwidesought to chill journalists in their newsgathering and expression and tear down the firewall insulating USAGM and its networks from partisan overreach, the complaint noted. That effort was stopped by a federal District Judges grant of a preliminary injunction. Today, the second Trump Administration has taken a chainsaw to the agency as a whole in an attempt to shutter it completely. The same judicial responseswift and definitiveis required. Supporters of Mahmoud Khalil rally outside the federal courthouse in Newark on March 28, 2025. (Reena Rose Sibayan for New Jersey Monitor) NEWARK An activist facing deportation after leading pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia Universitys campus will remain in custody as a federal judge decides whether New Jerseys federal court system is the proper venue for his case. Judge Michael Farbiarz said after a Friday hearing that he would decide as quickly as he can on whether Mahmoud Khalils plea to be freed from detention should be heard in New Jersey or moved to Louisiana, where hes currently being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Trump administration wants the case heard in Louisiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys for Khalil and the federal government appeared before Farbiarz Friday for nearly 90 minutes to argue over which court has jurisdiction over the case. Khalils wife, Noor, who is eight months pregnant, sat in the first row of the crowded courtroom that was filled with media, attorneys, and Khalils friends. The judges decision on jurisdiction will come before any hearing on Khalils petition to be released from detention. Khalil, a Syrian native, is a green card holder who has not been charged with a crime. After immigration officers arrested Khalil in New York City March 8, he was transferred to the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey. Thats where he filed his bid to be released known as a writ of habeas corpus with a federal court in Manhattan. Khalil was then taken to a detention center in Louisiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, Judge Jesse Furman in the Southern District of New York said he doesnt have jurisdiction over the case because Khalil filed his petition for release while he was in New Jersey, so Furman transferred the case here. The Trump administration opposed moving Khalils case to New Jersey. Khalil has been held in Louisiana for roughly three weeks, and is set to appear before an immigration judge April 8. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baher Azmy, one of Khalils lawyers, told Farbiarz that Khalils arrest is rooted in the governments aim to retaliate against his free speech. Khalil was an outspoken leader of anti-Israel protests on Columbias campus last spring. Azmy accused federal prosecutors of forum shopping to get the case before a more sympathetic judge. Azmy noted that Rumeysa Ozturk, a student at Tufts University who was taken into custody by immigration officials this week, was sent to a Louisiana detention center despite a court order barring the transfer. A ruling in the governments favor in Khalils case could have a chilling effect as more university students are picked up by immigration enforcement officials who would feel free to send them far from their families and legal teams, he said. August Flentje, an attorney representing the Trump administration, noted that Khalil was only in New Jersey for a few hours before moving to Louisiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flentje told the judge there is no intention to move Khalil again right now, and that it made no good sense to transfer the case to this court, where Mr. Khalil is not detained. Our view is, for jurisdictional certainty, this case belongs in Louisiana, said Flentje, who declined to speak to reporters outside the courthouse. The Trump administration has said that Khalil and other students involved in pro-Palestinian campus protests should have their visas or residency statuses revoked because they showed support for terrorist organization Hamas. Azmy told reporters after the hearing that argument has dangerous implications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a case where the United States government has created a policy targeting Palestinian activists, and specifically for Mahmoud Khalil, for arrest, detention and potential removal because the United States government disagrees with his constitutionally protected right to dissent from U.S. foreign policy, he said. During the hearing, hundreds of protestors rallied outside the courthouse in support of Khalil, waving Palestine flags and holding signs reading, ICE off our campuses and Release Mahmoud Khalil! Khalils legal team praised the judge for his smart questions and said they believe the ruling will be in their favor. One of his attorneys, Ramzi Kassem, said the goal is to get Khalil released in time to witness the birth of his first child. Every day matters, and thats why were leaving no stone unturned, he said. We have a number of motions pending with the court, and we hope the court will agree with us on jurisdiction so that we can move forward on those motions. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Trump administration has temporarily restored funding to an initiative that tracks alleged Russian war crimes after cutting its assistance, according to a congressional source familiar with the matter. Funding for the Ukraine Conflict Observatory has been restored for six weeks, the source told CNN. This will allow the repository of evidence on the alleged Russian war crimes, including the locations of more than 30,000 abducted Ukrainian children, to be sent to the European Unions law enforcement agency, Europol. CNN reported last week the funding had been terminated and that researchers had lost access to the major database of evidence. The State Department said last week it had cut funding to the program based on the assessments that weve been making what was in Americas interests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The temporary policy reversal, first reported by the Washington Post, comes after congressional concern about the administrations decision to end funding to the initiative. The contract supporting the Ukraine Conflict Observatory was among thousands of foreign aid awards that the administration has terminated. Critics have argued that terminations have been done with no clear criteria and little regard for the consequences. Funding is being provided for a short period while the Conflict Observatory implementers ensure the proper transfer of the critical data on the children to the appropriate authorities, a State Department spokesperson said in statement Thursday. It is part of the standard close out procedures for terminated programs. MITRE, a non-profit organization involved in the Ukraine Conflict Observatory, said in a statement Thursday that their group, the Department of State, and related partners have initiated a plan that enables data preservation and transfer. While MITRE continues to work in the public interest and remains focused on our federal sponsors most critical missions, our efforts related to this important topic will conclude once the data is with the U.S. government, the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The evidence collected by the Ukraine Conflict Observatory had been used in efforts to prosecute Russian officials for their alleged involvement in war crimes, including the International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to a letter from House lawmakers last week, Yales Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) which had been conducting research for the Ukraine Conflict Observatory compiled three reports, sourced from satellite imagery and biometric data, tracking identities and locations of over 30,000 children from Ukraine at dozens of locations. This data is absolutely crucial to Ukraines efforts to return their children home, the lawmakers said in the letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The importance of returning the forcibly transferred Ukrainian children was a key topic in the meeting between top US and Ukrainian officials in Jeddah earlier this month, according to a joint statement after the meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, President Donald Trump asked about the children who had gone missing from Ukraine during the war, including the ones that had been abducted, according to a statement about the call. President Trump promised to work closely with both parties to help make sure those children were returned home. Last weeks letter, led by Ohio Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman, noted that the evidence was being preserved to be shared with Europol and the government of Ukraine to secure their return. Yale HRLs funding has been terminated, and the status of the secure evidence repository is unknown. This vital resource cannot be lost, it said. This story has been updated with additional information. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court block on its deportations of Venezuelan detainees Friday, taking unusually gratuitous shots in its application at the district and appellate-level judges who had already ruled in the case. A district court quickly handed down a temporary restraining order to stop the expulsions earlier this month, after the Trump administration announced in a presidential proclamation that it was resurrecting long-dormant war powers to immediately deport alleged gang members without any hearing or process. A three-judge panel at the D.C. Circuit Court upheld that lower-court order in a 2-1 ruling on Wednesday. The district court then extended the restraining order until at least April 12 in a Friday order. With the Alien Enemies Act deportations, President Trump is attempting to exercise significant new powers, granting himself the authority to expel detainees under the thinnest claims that they might be associated with Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, which the administration has attempted to liken to a hostile government invading the U.S. Should the courts bless the effort, itll be a massive appropriation of power to the executive, who already enjoys wide latitude in the immigration arena. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has portrayed the lower court orders as a threat to national security, as the district and appellate court judges have expressed skepticism that government officials suffer harm from simply having to keep the detainees in U.S. custody for now, rather than deporting them. The administration has already sent more than one hundred detainees to an El Salvador prison infamous for its human rights abuses. That order is forcing the United States to harbor individuals whom national-security officials have identified as members of a foreign terrorist organization bent upon grievously harming Americans, the Trump Justice Department wrote in its application. Those orders which are likely to extend additional weeks now jeopardize sensitive diplomatic negotiations and delicate national-security operations, which were designed to extirpate [Tren de Araguas] presence in our country before it gains a greater foothold. The circuit court majority found that the detainees, many of whom vigorously contest that they are members of Tren de Aragua, risked much greater harm in being removed without due process to a foreign prison where they may be tortured. The administrations Friday filing paints the lower court judges as out-of-control activists tyrannically hamstringing the President from their courtrooms. In an ironic twist, many pages are devoted to excoriating the practice of district court judges handing down universal injunctions rulings that bind the entire country rather than just the named plaintiff though such injunctions were, during the Biden administration, a prominent feature of right-wing litigation challenging federal policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only this Court can stop rule-by-TRO from further upending the separation of powers the sooner, the better, the filing said. Elsewhere, the application accused D.C. Circuit Court Judge Karen Henderson, a Bush appointee who authored Wednesdays ruling, of making an inexplicable finding and of having ducked a key procedural question. It charged D.C. District Court Judge James Boasberg with furthering a disturbing innovation in the widespread efforts of district judges to govern [] the whole Nation from their courtrooms. The administration in its Friday application largely echoes D.C. Circuit Judge Justin Walkers dissent from Wednesdays ruling. The Trump appointee argued that the detainees should be lodging individual habeas petitions rather than acting as a class under the Administrative Procedure Act. As the detainees lawyer pointed out during Mondays Circuit Court oral arguments, the lawyers still do not know where all of the roughly 300 people targeted by Trumps proclamation are being held, making it impossible to know where to file habeas petitions. Some of them were deported so quickly that their lawyers didnt know theyd been taken from the country. The Trump filing doesnt linger on the protestations to the administrations brutality in enforcing the proclamation: namely, that the detainees are being expelled without being given a chance to prove that theyre not gang members, and that theyre being sent into a particularly deadly incarceration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aliens are often not entitled to drawn-out procedures to attack immediate removals, the application handwaves. On the deadliness of the El Salvador megaprison, it shrugs that penalizing the United States for failing to reveal representations by a foreign government regarding how removed TdA members may be treated puts the government to the untenable choice of potentially losing its foreign partners trust or having courts treat the removals as unconscionable. The administration, in its efforts to show that the alleged gang members were identified and expelled through a rigorous process, seemingly confirmed TPMs reporting on the weeks of quiet planning and orchestration that were involved to put the detainees in place to be expelled before a court could intervene. The filing described the March 15 deportations as the culmination of weeks of work by President Trump and his Cabinet. The administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow it to move forward with its deportations under the Alien Enemies Act or, at least, to continue deporting all detainees but the few plaintiffs named on the lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, at the district level, Judge Boasberg is still sifting through one of the most alarming pieces in the administrations startling power grab: the question of whether the government ignored his orders to halt deportations soon after the first plane took off for El Salvador the better to expel more detainees at lightning speed. Read the application here: (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. has walked away from new data center projects in the US and Europe that would have amounted to a capacity of about 2 gigawatts of electricity, according to TD Cowen analysts, who attributed the pullback to an oversupply of the clusters of computers that power artificial intelligence. Most Read from Bloomberg The analysts, who rattled investors with a February note highlighting leases Microsoft had abandoned in the US, said the latest move also reflected the companys choice to forgo some new business from ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which it has backed with some $13 billion. Microsoft and the startup earlier this year said they had altered their multiyear agreement, letting OpenAI use cloud-computing services from other companies, provided Microsoft didnt want the business itself. Follow The Big Take daily podcast wherever you listen. Microsofts retrenchment in the last six months included lease cancellations and deferrals, the TD Cowen analysts said in their latest research note, dated Wednesday. Alphabet Inc.s Google had stepped in to grab some leases Microsoft abandoned in Europe, the analysts wrote, while Meta Platforms Inc. had scooped up some of the freed capacity in Europe. Thanks to the significant investments we have made up to this point, we are well positioned to meet our current and increasing customer demand, a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the company last year added more capacity than in any other year in its history. While we may strategically pace or adjust our infrastructure in some areas, we will continue to grow strongly in all regions, the spokesperson said. This allows us to invest and allocate resources to growth areas for our future. Microsoft says it remains on track to spend about $80 billion building out AI data centers in its fiscal year that ends in June. Executives have said the pace of growth should slow in the companys next fiscal year. After a frantic expansion to support OpenAI and other artificial intelligence projects, the company expects spending to shift from new construction to fitting out data centers with servers and other equipment. Spokespeople for Meta and Google didnt immediately comment Wednesday on the research note. Earlier this week, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Joe Tsai warned of a potential bubble in data center construction, saying new projects may exceed demand for AI services. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) The administration of President Donald Trump is investigating Maine with a claim that dozens of school districts in the state violate federal law by withholding information about students' gender transitioning from parents. The U.S. Department of Education said it launched the investigation on Friday, the day after it began a similar investigation into the California Department of Education. In both cases, the federal education department said the states might be violating the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act. The federal department said in a letter to the Maine Department of Education that it is investigating to determine if the agency played a role, either directly or indirectly" in districts' adoption of policies that withhold student records from parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's the latest round in an ongoing dispute between Maine and the Trump administration about the role of transgender students in school and in high school sports. A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Education declined to comment on Friday. The federal Education Department said in a statement it has heard reports that some Maine districts have policies that allow schools to create gender plans supporting a student's transgender identity, and then claim those plans are not education records and not accessible to parents. Parents and guardians have the right to access their childs education records to guide and safeguard their childs mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Any policy to the contrary is both illegal and immoral, said U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who heads a department Trump hopes to dismantle. The Trump administration began investigating Maine's handling of the issue of transgender students in school after a public dispute between Trump and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in February. During a meeting of governors at the White House, Trump threatened to pull funding from Maine if the state doesn't comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from sports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mills, who was in attendance, responded: We'll see you in court. The federal government then began investigating Maine's compliance with the Title IX antidiscrimination law. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said earlier this month that the Maine Department of Education as well as the Maine Principals' Association and a Portland-area high school are in violation of Title IX. A spokesperson for the federal department said Friday it is has referred Maine's noncompliance to the U.S. Department of Justice for enforcement in court. The principals' association and high school said this week they won't comply with a proposed agreement to bar transgender athletes from girls' sports. The Maine education department declined to comment on the proposal on Thursday. The U.S. Education Department said Friday it also sent broader guidance to chief state school officers and superintendents at institutions that receive federal funding about their obligation to comply with the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act. The agency said in a statement that compliance means "schools must allow parents to review all education records of their student, including any document related to a students gender identity. The Trump administration is moving to formally end the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), notifying the remaining employees they will be terminated and the agency will be merged with the State Department. The move will fully absorb all remaining USAID functions into the State Department effective July 1, and according to a reduction in force notice to remaining staff, will obviate the need for an independent USAID. By Sept. 2, USAIDs operations will have been substantially transferred to State or otherwise wound down, the notice stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeremy Lewin, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer who joined USAID last week, said the State Department will seek to retire USAIDs independent operation, consistent with applicable law. As Secretary Rubio has said, following congressional consultations, the State Department intends to assume responsibility for many of USAIDs functions and its ongoing programming, Lewin wrote. It will also obviate the need for USAID to continue operating as an independent establishment. Accordingly, the Department will seek to retire USAIDs independent operation, consistent with applicable law. Lewin wrote that the State Department will administer USAIDs remaining lifesaving and strategic aid programming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not clear which specific USAID programs would survive the transfer. The unilateral closing of an agency established by Congress is likely to draw immediate legal challenges. According to a memo to Congress obtained by CNN , just 900 employees remain at an agency that once employed 10,000. USAID employees will be terminated either on July 1 or Sept. 2, with those in the later group responsible for winding down the agency. The remaining USAID personnel will then supervise the responsible decommissioning of USAID assets and the wind-down of the Agencys independent operations, Lewin wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a separate move late Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order directing a number of agencies to suspend union bargain rights. Included on the list was USAID as the administration classified it as a national security agency. The Trump administration has characterized USAID as an agency rife with fraud and worked to quickly dismantle it in his first few weeks in office. Thousands of employees have already been fired or placed on indefinite administrative leave. Trump also sought to freeze almost all foreign assistance programs pending an administrative review, including lifesaving health and medical assistance. Staff and supporters of the agency, however, contend that while it may have needed some reforms, it served a critical function. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It provided food assistance and medical care, while also investing in education and economic programs to stabilize countries, reduce migration and combat the influence of terrorist organizations. USAIDs medical help included grants for HIV treatments and prevention. It also funded nutrition assistance programs for infants in developing countries. Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high, Rubio wrote in a Friday statement. Thanks to President Trump, this misguided and fiscally irresponsible era is now over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, before becoming part of the administration, Rubio routinely praised USAID . Anybody who tells you that we can slash foreign aid and that will bring us to balance is lying to you. Foreign aid is less than one percent of our budget. Its just not true, Rubio said in 2019 while speaking to the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches. That same year he posted a photo from a USAID facility in Colombia preparing to dole out food assistance in Venezuela, calling President Nicolas Maduro pure evil for trying to prevent the food from reaching the country. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, praised USAIDs work Wednesday as a vital national security tool, questioning whether regions abandoned by the agency would feature in next years threat assessment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were no longer helping struggling nations in Africa. China, or worse, terrorists are filling the vacuum. I wonder how many of those African countries will be named in next years threat assessment. Thanks to DOGE, the men we paid to guard the most vicious ISIS terrorists in the world in Syria walked off the job, he said. The notice ends with a thank you to staff saying that they will not be forgotten a sentiment not well taken by fired staff. Secretary Rubio, myself, and the rest of the front office are grateful for your continued service to our great nation. I would like to offer a special thank you to those of you who, even amid considerable personal and professional uncertainty, have remained steadfastly committed to serving the Agency and its important mission, Lewin wrote. You exemplify the very best ideals for public service and will not be forgotten or overlooked in this transition process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This story was updated at 7:40 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Undocumented students at Oregon and California higher education institutions will no longer be able to receive services through a federally funded program following a revocation from the Donald Trump administration. The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday it is revoking waivers that allowed California and Oregon colleges and universities to use federal funds to provide services to undocumented immigrant students through Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3). The P3 Program, which was established in 2014, pools funding across multiple federal agencies to improve the educational systems and systems serving youth. These P3 waivers for undocumented immigrants were approved in 2023 during Joe Biden's presidency. P3 funds come out of Federal TRIO Programs, which are student support services that are intended to aid low-income students, first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission stated it is actively assessing the potential impact of recent federal directives on Oregonians served by the postsecondary education and training system. "As we work with the Governor, institutions and partners to make these assessments, we remain committed to our mission to advance equitable access and success in postsecondary education and training for Oregonians," stated HECC Communications Director Endi Hartigan. The U.S. Department of Education has revoked waivers that allowed colleges and universities in Oregon and California to provide services to undocumented students through federal funds. The HECC stated the Oregon TRIO Association is working with state institutions to ensure they understand their obligations regarding TRIO funds. The revocation of this waiver will not impact students at UO. According to UO, the university was in the planning stages to extend services to undocumented students through TRIO, but had not begun doing so. Currently, UO uses TRIO funds to help facilitate its Student Support Services, which provides advising, support, financial aid and more to students who "may experience challenges at the UO." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "American taxpayer dollars will no longer be used to subsidize illegal immigrants through Department of Education programs," stated DOE Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron in a press release. "The TRIO Program was designed to provide support and guidance to disadvantaged Americans as they navigate the road to and through postsecondary education. The Department will not allow the true purpose of the program to be corrupted to advance an American-last agenda." Oregons waiver began in October 2023 and was set to expire in September 2027. This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Trump administration pulls waiver that supported undocumented college students The White House on Thursday dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's suggestion that peace talks in Ukraine should depend on the country being governed by the United Nations while new elections are held. Speaking to reporters during a visit to a Russian nuclear submarine in Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle, Putin reiterated his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's mandate is illegitimate. With the United Nations, the United States and European nations, "we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine, Putin said, while Ukraine holds democratic elections, to bring to power a capable government that enjoys the trust of the people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But a White House national security spokesperson dismissed Putins proposal, saying that Ukraines government was determined by its constitution and citizens, Reuters reported. Damaged buildings in Kostyantynivka, eastern Ukraine, on March 17. While Zelenskyy's term expired last year, Ukrainian Constitution states that elections cannot be held during wartime. Still, Putin, who has ruled Russia for all but four of the past 25 years via elections widely considered illegitimate, has repeatedly questioned Zelenskyy's mandate. A recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 69% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyys leadership. Putin pointed to several cases of what is called external government, in East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and parts of the former Yugoslavia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His comments follow attempts by U.S. officials to re-establish relations with Moscow and broker a 30-day ceasefire with Kyiv that Moscow has rebuffed amid accusations from European leaders that Putin is stalling without any serious intent to pause fighting. With an American delegation negotiating separately with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, the White House said Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with both parties for a truce over the Black Sea, a strategic body of water bordering Ukraine, Russia and four other countries, including Turkey, a major U.S. ally and NATO member. Ukrainian officials had yet to respond to Putin's suggestion on its governance, although Zelenskyy has repeatedly accused the Kremlin of setting terms that amount to a surrender by Kyiv. While the Russian news agency Tass said Thursday that another round of Russian-American talks on Ukraine may take place in Riyadh in mid-April, Zelenskyy cast doubt over the integrity of future peace talks this week, suggesting in an interview with Time magazine that Russia had unduly influenced U.S. officials on the negotiating team. Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Arctic Circle port city of Murmansk on Thursday. Zelenskyy on Wednesday also accused the Trump administration of "constantly changing" the terms of a minerals deal it is negotiating with Ukraine, which would see the U.S. get a 50% stake in Ukraine's mineral wealth and oil and gas reserves in exchange for military aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, European leaders convened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, met in Paris on Thursday to bolster military support for Ukraine. The Ukrainian president said during the meeting that Russia doesnt want any kind of peace and was dragging out the war. Putin on Thursday said Russia would be willing to work with Europe, but added the region conducts itself in inconsistent fashion. Zelenskyy also accused Russia on Thursday of striking energy targets in the front-line Ukrainian city of Kherson, despite an informal ceasefire on energy infrastructure that came into effect March 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's military said Friday that it shot down 89 drones launched overnight by Russia, while Moscow accused Kyiv of launching missiles that resulted in a fire which almost destroyed the Sudzha gas metering station in the western region of Kursk. A Ukrainian official said Russia attacked the station, but NBC News was unable to verify the claims of either side. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Peter Navarro, Donald Trumps top trade adviser, baffled CNNs Kasie Hunt on Thursday after he suggested that the media previously covered Trump officials use of the third-party messaging app Signal on the campaign trail. Navarro threw up his hands and smiled before fumbling his answer to the CNN hosts question on whether he had Signal the app Trump officials used to discuss war plans on his phone. You guys beat that story to death, Im just watching I remember during the campaign there was like certain stories , Navarro began. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hunt interjected, Would you ever use Signal for government business? Navarro swiftly hit back, I dont use Signal. I, I look I, I you beat that story to death on the campaign trail. On Monday, The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg first reported that he was added to the group chat, several months after the presidents election win. Trump has downplayed the scandal this week as Republicans have deflected and dodged questions on the group chat as national security experts expressed alarm over officials use of the app. On Thursday, Hunt tilted her head to the side, placed her finger to her head and appeared puzzled by Navarros comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wait, wait this story wasnt on the campaign trail, Hunt cut in as Navarro continued to talk while she fought back laughter. This story started on Monday. Navarro concluded his remarks by claiming that Americans dont care about the group chat story. A majority of Americans 74% view the Signal scandal as a somewhat serious problem, per a newly released YouGov poll. HUNT: Do you have Signal on your phone? NAVARRO: You guys beat that story to death on the campaign trail HUNT: Wait, this story wasn't on the campaign trail. It started on Monday. pic.twitter.com/tPmakoVeks Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 27, 2025 Related... President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to allow him to resume his use of wartime powers to deport alleged gang members. In an emergency appeal filed Friday, the Justice Department argued that a lower court judge unconstitutionally intruded on the presidents national security powers by barring Trump from using the two-century-old Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport Venezuelans the administration says are members of Tren de Aragua. This case raises paramount questions about the Presidents constitutional and statutory authority to protect the Nation against elements of a designated foreign terrorist organization that the President has determined has been conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Almost two weeks ago, the Trump administration flew more than 200 alleged Tren de Aragua members from the U.S. to El Salvador, where they were put in an anti-terrorism prison known for its brutal conditions. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered further deportations under the Alien Enemies Act temporarily halted while litigation over the issue continues. The judge raised concerns about due process, particularly because some of the deportees claimed they were misidentified as members of the gang. And he emphasized that his order did not bar any arrests, detentions or prosecutions only deportations. He has also pledged to determine whether U.S. officials deliberately violated his order to turn around planes carrying the initial groups of deportees. Trump subsequently called for Boasbergs impeachment, prompting an unusual statement from Chief Justice John Roberts warning against impeaching judges on the basis of their rulings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this week, a divided panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Boasbergs order to remain in place, leading to Trumps emergency appeal at the Supreme Court. The panel splintered, with one judge raising concerns about due process, another suggesting Trump had misused the 1798 law by claiming Tren de Aragua had mounted an invasion against the United States, and a third siding with the administration, arguing that the deportees should have filed their claims in Texas rather than Washington. Harris, in her filing, pushed back against concerns raised by one of the appeals court judges, Patricia Millett, an appointee of President Barack Obama, who worried that El Salvadors prisons had been known for human rights abuses. Harris said the administration would not confirm whether El Salvador had made commitments about how to treat U.S. deportees including whether the country had agreed to abide by the Convention Against Torture because doing so would divulge sensitive negotiations and could result in the United States losing its foreign partners trust. (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court to let his administration resume deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members without hearings, escalating a high-profile showdown that is testing the ability of federal judges to enforce limits on the presidents power. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The request seeks to toss out a temporary halt imposed by a federal trial judge on deportations under a wartime statute Trump invoked in a March 15 proclamation. A federal appeals court in Washington ruled against the administration on a 2-1 vote Wednesday. If granted, the request would open at least a temporary window for Trump under the statute, the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. That would let the administration again ship people out of the country, potentially without giving them a chance to ask a judge to consider their contentions that they arent gang members. This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country, the president or the courts, acting US Solicitor General Sarah Harris said in the filing. The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the president. The emergency request to the Supreme Court is the administrations third this week, amid a barrage of far-reaching executive actions since Trump took office Jan. 20. More than 175 lawsuits have been filed challenging his agenda. The Supreme Court so far has taken a careful approach and largely steered clear of intervening in the early stages of the litigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Response Sought Chief Justice John Roberts asked the migrants who sued the administration to file a response by Tuesday, indicating the Supreme Court might move quickly on the request. US District Judge James Boasberg on Friday extended his order so that it will apply until April 12 unless the Supreme Court intervenes. Boasberg is considering a request for a longer-term halt that potentially would apply until the litigation is resolved. In a concurring opinion that accompanied the appeals court decision, Judge Patricia Millett blasted the administration for saying the government could immediately resume mass deportation if Boasbergs order were lifted. The Constitutions demand of due process cannot be so easily thrown aside, she wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawyers challenging the move say many of those deported havent committed any crimes and arent gang members. The new filing doesnt directly involve one of the most explosive aspects of the case: charges that the administration defied Boasbergs oral order to turn around two planes that were carrying migrants to a prison in El Salvador. That aspect of the case, including the administrations refusal to provide information about the flights on grounds that it would put state secrets at risk, remains before Boasberg. Harris, the administrations top Supreme Court lawyer, argues in the 40-page filing that Boasberg and the appeals court overstepped their authority by blocking deportations across the country. She contends that people seeking to avoid being deported need to file a so-called habeas corpus petition, which generally involves only a single person. The government also says the five alleged gang members who sued must press their case in Texas, where they are being held. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The dispute stems from Trumps invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to target alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The law lets the president bypass the nations immigration laws to deport people when the US is involved in a declared war or a foreign nation has started or threatened an invasion or predatory incursion. The 227-year-old law previously had been invoked only in the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. The administration says Boasberg improperly intruded on the presidents authority to declare an invasion, deport dangerous immigrants and conduct foreign affairs and national security. The groups challenging the declaration the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward say Trump is misusing a law that was designed for use during war with a foreign country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Supreme Court case is Trump v. J.G.G., 24A931. The district court case is J.G.G. v. Trump, 25-cv-766, US District Court, District of Columbia (Washington). --With assistance from David Voreacos. (Updates with Boasberg extension in seventh paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. On Friday, Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to overturn a temporary court order and let him deport migrants without a hearing after he sent almost 300 Venezuelan migrants to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador. The filing argues that the president has the ultimate authority to remove people based on their nationality. This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country the President or the Judiciary, Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in the filing. The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President. The republic cannot afford a different choice. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court upheld the temporary restraining order blocking the deportations put in place by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on March 15. The Trump administration has cited the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that was also used to justify Japanese internment during WWII, to justify the deportations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two flights were already in the air at the time of Boasbergs initial ruling earlier this month, and he ordered that the migrants be returned to the United States. They did not return. The migrants who supposedly had ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were sent to El Salvador without any due process. Relatives and friends of some of the migrants have denied they have any ties to gangs, and have suggested they were targeted based on their unrelated tattoos. For example, a 24-year-old Venezuelan seems to have been deported based on a tattoo of a ribbon representing the autism acceptance movement. The deportations have been widely condemned by human rights activists. The administration did not refuse to comply with a court order, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA [Tren de Aragua gang] aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory. Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News Laura Ingraham on Thursday that judges have no authority to block Trumps deportations, suggesting the matter would soon be before the Supreme Court. These judges across the country they think they have authority, but its going to be short-lived because these cases are going to get to the Supreme Court very fast, she said. Were doing everything we can. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Supreme Court is controlled by conservatives justices, three of which Trump appointed during his first term. The extent to which they will accommodate Trumps apparent lawlessness is unclear. Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to rebuke Trump earlier this month after Trump wrote that Boasberg should be impeached for trying to stop the administrations deportation agenda. The Alien Enemies Act lets the president detain or deport people based on their birth country or citizenship if the U.S. is at war with their country. The idea that the U.S. is at war with Venezuela is dubious, to say the least. Although the law was enacted to prevent foreign espionage and sabotage in wartime, it can be and has been wielded against immigrants who have done nothing wrong, have evinced no signs of disloyalty, and are lawfully present in the United States, writes Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel in the nonprofit Brennan Centers Liberty and National Security Program. El Salvadors president, Nayib Bukele, who calls himself the worlds coolest dictator, created the mega-prison, known as CECOT, in 2022. It can hold up to 40,000 prisoners; Salvadorans have been incarcerated there without due process as part of the countrys own gang crackdown. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. President Donald Trumps administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to wade into the fraught legal battle over enforcing the Alien Enemies Act, the wartime authority he used to rapidly deport alleged members of a Venezuelan gang. The emergency appeal, which asks the justices to overturn an order from US District Judge James Boasberg blocking further deportations under the act, further thrusts the Supreme Court into Trumps whirlwind. It is perhaps the most significant matter now pending on the courts docket dealing with his second term and it sits at the center of an explosive confrontation between the White House and the judiciary. This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country the President, through Article II, or the judiciary, Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the Supreme Court. The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President. The republic cannot afford a different choice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like other recent appeals, the Trump administrations argument was heavy on complaints about lower courts standing in his way, handing down temporary orders that while not resolving the challenges over the presidents power have at least put some of his agenda on hold temporarily. Only this Court can stop rule-by-TRO from further upending the separation of powers the sooner, the better, Harris wrote. Here, the district courts orders have rebuffed the Presidents judgments as to how to protect the Nation against foreign terrorist organizations and risk debilitating effects for delicate foreign negotiations. The Department of Justice also asked the Supreme Court for a temporary administrative stay, that would put Boasbergs order on hold for a few days to give the justices time to review the case. Such a stay, if granted, would allow the administration to immediately restart deportations. The court has asked the individuals challenging Trumps use of the Alien Enemies Act to respond to the emergency request by Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At issue in the case is Trumps invocation on March 15 of a wartime authority, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which gives him broad power to target and remove undocumented immigrants. The law grants that authority in times of war or when an enemy attempts an invasion or predatory incursion. Soon after Trump invoked the law, officials loaded up three planes with more than 200 Venezuelan nationals and flew them to El Salvador, where they are being housed in a maximum security prison. The administration has since said that some of those people were deported under authorities other than the 18th Century act. The Trump administration has said the men were affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The case lands at the high court days after Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare rebuke of Trumps suggestion that Boasberg be impeached over his handling of the case. For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision, Roberts said in a statement released by the Supreme Court. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose. Who sued and why Five Venezuelans still in the country who are being held by the Department of Homeland Security sued the administration, challenging its use of the law. Boasberg, nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, temporarily blocked the administration from any more deportations under the act while he considers the case either against the five who sued, or anyone else in their situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Notably, Boasbergs order didnt block the administration from deporting those same people under other laws, nor did it stop the administration from apprehending immigrants under the act. Trump nevertheless quickly appealed. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Wednesday that Boasbergs orders blocking Trumps use of the sweeping wartime authority could stand while the legal challenge plays out. The majority included one judge nominated by President George H.W. Bush and another by Obama. It is that decision that Trump is appealing to the Supreme Court. US Circuit Judge Karen Henderson, in a lengthy concurrence, offered the kind of textualist analysis that may find resonance with many of the courts conservatives. She tore through Trumps arguments that courts could not review the laws enforcement and the notion that the flow of migrants over the US-Mexico border represents an invasion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The term invasion was well known to the Fifth Congress and the American public circa 1798, she wrote. The phrase echoes throughout the Constitution ratified by the people just nine years before. And in every instance, it is used in a military sense. Boasberg on Friday extended his temporary block on Trumps ability to use the Alien Enemies Act for the deportations through April 12. That extension gives him additional time to hear arguments over whether to issue a preliminary injunction a more fulsome ruling on Trumps use of the AEA that would help speed up the larger legal fight over his invocation of the law. Attorneys representing the Venezuelans who brought the lawsuit vowed later Friday to vigorously oppose the administrations request before the Supreme Court. This was never about immigration policy. This is about the presidents flagrant violation of the law, and his Justice Departments search for a court that will rubber stamp it, said Skye Perryman, an attorney with Democracy Forward. We will continue to meet this administration in court to protect people and our democratic values. Trump misreads precedent? When the Supreme Court last considered the Alien Enemies Act, in 1948, it gave President Harry Truman broad deference to decide when the law could be invoked. Truman had sought to remove a German national and the appeal arrived at the Supreme Court three years after the end of World War II. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement War, the court reasoned at that time, isnt necessarily over when the shooting stops. It was the president, the Supreme Court said, that determined when a war was over. Stephen Miller, who is Trumps deputy chief of staff for policy, and others in the administration appear to have interpreted that decision as disallowing any court review of how a president implements the law. But Henderson shot down that reading in her concurrence on Wednesday. The elected branches not the unelected bench decide when a war has terminated. That is a question of fact for elected leaders, she wrote. That does not mean that courts cannot pass on the legal meaning of statutory terms. The emergency appeal is the third pending on the high courts emergency docket from the second Trump administration. The Department of Justice has also asked the court to limit the scope of an order temporarily barring Trump from enforcing his effort to end birthright citizenship. And, more recently, administration asked the court to allow it to freeze millions of dollars in grants to states for addressing teacher shortages. This story has been updated with additional developments. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Global hotel owner and operator Minor Hotels has revealed plans to bring a new NH Collection hotel to Asuncion in Paraguay, expanding its footprint in South America. A part of a mixed-use development project, the NH Collection Asuncion will be integrated into an imposing complex surpassing 70 floors, making it the tallest structure in the city and the fourth highest in South America, noted Minor. Minor Hotels Europe and Americas CEO Gonzalo Aguilar said: We are confident that, together with Grupo Petra, we will make this hotel a benchmark in Asuncion, a city with great dynamism and growth potential. The arrival of NH Collection represents a strategic commitment to grow our footprint in Paraguay with a distinctive product that elevates the hospitality offering in the country. This hotel will not only be an architectural icon but will also mark a turning point in the tourism experience in the city. The new hotel will encompass residential units, office spaces, retail areas, and parking facilities. Catering to both business and leisure travellers, the new establishment will feature 80 guest rooms. The development will feature amenities such as a restaurant and bar, a spa, a swimming pool, a terrace, a heliport, and meeting rooms designed for corporate events. The project is a collaborative effort with Paraguayan real estate company Grupo Petra. The investment for the hotel ranges between $8m and $12m and is anticipated to create approximately 35 to 40 direct employment opportunities. Grupo Petra director Carlos Guasti said: We are excited to start this project together with Minor Hotels, a company that shares our passion for excellence and quality. With their support, we know that this will be the beginning of something extraordinary. Minor Hotels continues to pursue its growth strategy across Latin America, targeting key markets such as Chile, Argentina, and Peru, as well as other established destinations in the region. The company's expansion focuses on hotel management and franchise models, aiming to consolidate its presence in burgeoning markets. Construction of the NH Collection Asuncion is set to begin shortly, with its inauguration slated for 2029. In addition to the debut, the company is assessing further prospects in Paraguay's secondary cities. Minor Hotels boasts a portfolio of more than 560 hotels and resorts across 58 countries, spanning the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Indian Ocean. In April 2023, Minor Hotels announced plans to inaugurate the NH Feira de Santana hotel in Bahia, Brazil. By John Kruzel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to allow his use of a 1798 law to swiftly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members as part of his hardline approach to immigration, arguing that courts must not encroach on the president's national security authority. The Justice Department in a filing asked the court to lift Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's March 15 order calling for a temporary halt to the removals of the Venezuelans while a legal challenge to Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to justify the deportations plays out. The 18th century law historically has been used only in wartime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Department said in its filing that the case presents the question of who decides how to conduct sensitive national security-related operations, the president or the judiciary. "The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President," the department wrote. "The republic cannot afford a different choice." The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the Republican president's use of the act to rapidly deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador, where they were subsequently imprisoned. The ACLU argues that the law denies the migrants the due process promised by the U.S. Constitution to contest the basis for their removal. In Friday's filing, the Justice Department said the administration designated members of the gang "through a rigorous process," though it did not offer details. It alleged that many of the deportees had committed serious crimes in the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Supreme Court asked for a response from the plaintiffs to the administration's filing by Tuesday. "We will urge the Supreme Court to preserve the status quo to give the courts time to hear this case, so that more individuals are not sent off to a notorious foreign prison without any process, based on an unprecedented and unlawful use of a wartime authority," said Lee Gelernt, the ACLU's lead lawyer on the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the judge's temporary block on Wednesday as proceedings continue in the case. The dispute has elicited Trump's grievances toward federal courts, which have issued dozens of rulings impeding parts of Trump's agenda since he took office on January 20. CHALLENGE TO ALIEN ENEMIES ACT Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act on March 15 to swiftly deport the alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, attempting to speed up removals with a law best known for its use to intern Japanese, Italian and German immigrants during World War Two. A group of Venezuelan men in the custody of U.S. immigration authorities on the same day sued on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, seeking to block the deportations. Represented by the ACLU and others, they argued, among other things, that Trump's order exceeded his powers because the Alien Enemies Act authorizes removals only when war has been declared or the United States has been invaded. The Alien Enemies Act authorizes the president to deport, detain or place restrictions on individuals whose primary allegiance is to a foreign power and who might pose a national security risk in wartime. Family members of many of the deported Venezuelans deny the alleged gang ties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boasberg, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, temporarily blocked the deportations. But Trump's administration allowed two planes already in the air to continue to El Salvador, where American officials handed 238 Venezuelan men over to Salvadoran authorities to be placed in the Central American country's "Terrorism Confinement Center." The judge also has scrutinized whether the Trump administration violated his order by failing to return the deportation flights after his order was issued. Justice Department lawyers said the flights had left U.S. airspace by the time Boasberg issued a written order and thus were not required to return. They dismissed the weight of Boasberg's spoken order during a hearing two hours earlier calling for any planes carrying deportees to be turned around. On March 18, Trump called for Boasberg's impeachment by Congress - a process that could remove him from the bench - drawing a rebuke from the U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump on social media called Boasberg, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2011 in a bipartisan 96-0 vote, a "Radical Left Lunatic" and a "troublemaker and agitator." The D.C. Circuit upheld Boasberg's order after holding a contentious hearing that involved heated language. Judge Patricia Millett told Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign that "Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act than has happened here." Ensign responded, "We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy." (Reporting by John Kruzel in Washington and Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Howard Goller) AUSTIN (KXAN) Roberto Jaimes of South Austins Javis Auto Sales said the last few years in the automobile industry have been a bumpy ride. It has been tough, Jaimes said. Car values have gone through the roof because there was a shortage for a while, and they havent gone back down, he added. It has been a tough business up and down. READ MORE: Trump places 25% tariff on imported autos, expecting to raise $100 billion in tax revenues Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he would place a 25% tariff on automobile and auto part imports. His administration says this will encourage auto companies to move their operations to the U.S. or expand the ones already here. Its just another thing, another wave we have to ride, pretty much, Jaimes said. Former chief economist of the first Trump White Houses Office of Management and Budget, Vance Ginn, said the tariffs, which are supposed to go into effect on April 3, will negatively impact U.S. dealerships and consumers. Tariffs are nothing more than a tax on Americans when you purchase that good or service; in this case, its on vehicles, Ginn said. If you have a 25% tariff, youre bound to raise the price of cars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think there will be a big hit on dealerships, he continued. In 2024, the U.S. imported around 8 million automobiles worth $244 billion. Nearly 200 billion worth of auto parts also came to the U.S. that year, according to the Commerce Department. The majority of foreign vehicles in 2024 came from Mexico, Japan and South Korea. The countries sending the U.S. the most auto parts were Mexico, Canada and China, according to the Associated Press. Companies sending products from Canada and Mexico that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be exempt from the tariffs for the time being, according to NBC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One reason we import a lot of the parts that go into vehicles is because its cheaper to purchase from other countries, Ginn said. Whenever you think about American tariffs on vehicles, its a tax on Americans on all of us. Its bound to raise the price of cars at the end of the day. Ginn said the tariffs will adversely impact people of lower socioeconomic status. The ones that are hurt the most are actually the ones that can least afford it, the lower income folks, he said. Theyre the ones likely to see a higher price and not have an increase in income. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The News Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shings company, CK Hutchison, is delaying next weeks sale of its Panama Canal port operations to a BlackRock-led consortium, amid Beijings scrutiny of the $19 billion deal, according to multiple reports. The deal was expected to be signed on April 2, but has been postponed due to the complexities of the transaction, a source told the South China Morning Post, which first reported the news. A Chinese market regulator said Friday it is set to vet the deal. The deal was backed by US President Donald Trump who has complained about the presence of Chinese companies in the canal through which 40% of US container traffic passes annually. However, the deal reportedly angered Chinese leader Xi Jinping who had been planning to use the Panama ports as a bargaining chip with Washington. Beijing has told state-owned companies to hold off new collaborations with businesses linked to Li Ka-Shing. (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trumps administration moved to invalidate contracts between a swath of US government agencies and the largest federal union representing their employees, marking a sweeping attack on collective bargaining rights as the president aims to lay off government workers. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a lawsuit by the Justice Department, the Defense Department and other US agencies, the administration said that collective bargaining agreements reached with local chapters of the American Federation of Government Employees before Trump took office are impeding his efforts to reform the government and pose a threat to national security. The legal move late Thursday came shortly after Trump signed an executive order directing agencies across the executive branch to cease collective bargaining with federal unions. Other components of the government that filed the complaint in federal court in Texas include the Homeland Security Department, Agriculture Department, Housing and Urban Development Department, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. According to AFGEs website, the union represents represents over 820,000 workers in nearly every agency of the federal and DC governments, spread across over 900 local unions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public servants, appointees, and officials come to work every day advancing the public interest, serving the American people, and furthering the Presidents agenda with energy, Justice Department lawyers said in the complaint. When inflexible CBAs obstruct presidential and agency head capacity to ensure accountability and improve performance, all citizens pay the price. Bullying Tactics AFGE issued a statement denouncing what it called bullying tactics by the administration. President Trumps latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants nearly one-third of whom are veterans simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies, according to the statement from AFGE National President Everett Kelley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The presidents executive order encompasses agencies not known for their national security portfolios, including the Environmental Protection Agency and units of the Interior Department that govern energy production. A fact sheet issued by the White House justified their inclusion citing Congress declaration that energy insecurity threatens national security. The presidents directive also bars negotiations with unions by the Department of Veterans Affairs since it serves as the backstop healthcare provider for wounded troops in wartime and for the National Science Foundation, since NSF-funded research supports military and cybersecurity breakthroughs, according to the fact sheet. The move coincides with efforts in Congress to limit union rights. It also comes as Trump is moving to remake the government, by cutting its workforce and abolishing some agencies. Senate Legislation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans in the Senate have advanced legislation that would bar federal employees from organizing or joining labor unions. Collective bargaining also would be precluded under that legislation. Trump said his action was rooted in authority under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. In the fact sheet, the White House decried the work of hostile federal unions it claimed were enabled to obstruct agency management, which is dangerous in agencies with national security responsibilities. For instance, according to the fact sheet, agencies cant modify policies in collective bargaining agreements until they expire and President Joe Bidens administration negotiated many of the pacts so they extend until the end of Trumps second term in office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case is United States Department of Defense v. American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, District 10, 25-cv-00119, US District Court, Western District of Texas (Waco). --With assistance from Josh Eidelson. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and that the two would meet after Canadas election, amid an intensifying tariff war between the neighboring allies and major trading partners. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canadas upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada, Trump said in a post to his social-media platform on Friday. Trumps post called the Canadian leader Prime Minister Carney a break from his practice of the past few months, when he repeatedly mocked Carneys predecessor, Justin Trudeau, as Governor Trudeau. Carney released a statement saying the two men agreed to start comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship after Canadas April 28 national election. But the Canadian leader also reiterated that his government plans to put retaliatory tariffs in place after the US administration unveils its new import taxes on April 2, which Trump has billed Liberation Day. In the meantime, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will intensify their talks to address immediate concerns, the prime ministers office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Canadian dollar immediately jumped after Trumps comments, rising as high as C$1.4277 per US dollar. Later, it gave back those gains when the president told reporters that he will absolutely follow through on tariffs against Canada. The loonie was trading at C$1.4319 per US dollar as of 3:13 p.m. New York time right around where it was trading before Trumps social media post. The call between the two leaders was their first since Carney assumed Canadas top political office on March 14. It came days after Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported automobiles and auto parts, which Carney called a direct attack on Canadian auto workers and a violation of the US-Mexico-Canada trade accord known as USMCA, which Trump negotiated during his first term in the White House. Trumps trade war against Canada and Mexico, along with repeated suggestions that Canada should become the 51st US state, have cratered ties between the two North American neighbors. The Canadian election campaign has turned into a contest in which US threats against Canadas economy and sovereignty have become the dominant issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carney told reporters that Trump respected Canadas sovereignty during the call, which he characterized as constructive and cordial. But the president did not suggest that he would pull back on tariffs against Canadian products, Carney said. We have other trading options, which were going to continue to build, to be absolutely clear, Carney said, speaking at a Montreal port where he promised to create a new trade diversification fund to build infrastructure to reach new export markets. He said Canadas preference is for Mexico to be included in trade negotiations with the US. In our opinion, there has to be a new agreement, Carney said. There are too many changes, too many tariffs, too many threats coming at us, which have created economic uncertainty. Carneys Liberal Party has a slight edge over the Conservative Party in a number of recent polls, but its still a tight race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prime minister said Thursday the US is no longer a reliable partner and that the US-Canada relationship will be different in the future because of Trumps actions. The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over, he said. Carneys main political opponent, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, is running on what he calls a Canada First agenda and said Canada needs to stand strong on our own two feet against the American threat. The Liberals under Trudeau have made Canada more vulnerable to US aggression by weakening the economy, Poilievre has said. Trumps auto tariffs, announced Wednesday and slated to take effect next week, would be a major blow to Canadian manufacturing. Canada shipped nearly C$50 billion ($35 billion) of vehicles into the US market last year, making autos one of its most important exports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has already announced broad 25% tariffs on imported goods from Canada with a lower 10% levy on energy though he gave a short-term exemption for items shipped under USMCA. And Trump has threatened further sectoral tariffs covering products for which Canada is a top exporter, including lumber. He also plans unspecified global reciprocal tariffs, which are set to be unveiled April 2. Canada has already implemented retaliatory import taxes of 25% on about C$60 billion ($41.9 billion) worth of US goods so far, and has threatened tariffs on another C$95 billion, if necessary. Canadians are also increasingly boycotting US goods, prompting warnings from several US firms on rising anti-American consumer sentiment. Vice President JD Vance, speaking from Greenland on Friday, warned against trade retaliation from Canada. We love the Canadian people, but the Canadian leadership threatening retaliatory tariffs against the United States as President Trump often says, they just dont have the cards, Vance said. There is no way that Canada can win a trade war with the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement --With assistance from Derek Decloet, Laura Dhillon Kane and Brian Platt. (Adds comment from Carney news conference in paragraphs 10 to 13.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. President Donald Trump eliminated legal rights to collective bargaining from hundreds of thousands of federal workers in a late Thursday night edict, marking the greatest setback for unionized federal workers so far in his second term. The White House says the executive order comes as certain federal unions have declared war on President Trumps agenda, singling out labor organizations legal fights against the Department of Government Efficiencys potentially illegal mass firings. It relies on a national security exemption in the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, a law meant to protect workers rights to organize. The president fired members of the National Labor Relations Board to deny a quorum and prevent any nationwide labor enforcement earlier this year, ended the TSAs collective bargaining power and said he would break a strike by firing union workers on the campaign trail. But the Thursday decree is the single biggest union-busting order in American history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roughly 700,000 union workers at the Departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and more are targetted by the order, Eric Blanc, a professor of labor studies at Rutgers University, said in a post on Bluesky. The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal government labor union, condemned the move and promised to fight the administrations threat to unions and working people in a Thursday statement. These threats will not work. Americans will not be intimidated or silenced. AFGE isn't going anywhere, AFGE President Everett Kelley said. AFGE is preparing immediate legal action and will fight relentlessly to protect our rights, our members, and all working Americans from these unprecedented attacks. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, another massive labor union representing federal workers, called the attempt illegal in its own statement. This attack is meant to silence [federal workers] voices, so Elon Musk and his minions can shred the services that working people depend on the federal government to do, AFSCME President Lee Saunders said in the statement. The billionaires running this administration have proven that they are willing to bulldoze anything that stands in their way to enact their anti-worker, extremist agenda. The Trump administrations abrupt cancellation of tens of billions of dollars in grants has state and local health departments reeling. State and local officials said the move will make it even harder for them to continue to fight infectious disease outbreaks, fund substance use disorder support programs and address other concerns. Departments are already operating on thin margins and need to balance sometimes competing public health priorities. Due to the loss, some health departments are already starting to cancel contracts and lay off scientists, epidemiologists and community health workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is going to stop work in its tracks that was really important for their communities, said Adriane Casalotti, chief of government and public affairs at the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Work to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in nursing homes, for example, or to be able to track measles cases the work has to stop, and yet the needs in the community remain, Casalotti said. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the funds, totaling $11.4 billion, were primarily used for COVID-19 response, including testing, vaccination and hiring community health workers. The federal government said it expects to recover the money starting 30 days after the termination notices were sent out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago, the HHS said in a statement. The administration also canceled about $1 billion in grants awarded by COVID-19 relief legislation and allocated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. But state and local health department leaders said the money was already in their hands. Even though the grants were initially authorized by COVID relief legislation, they were allowed to be used for non-COVID priorities, including responding to the measles outbreak in Texas. The stop-work notices began arriving late Monday night or early Tuesday morning and were effective immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The end of the pandemic provides cause to terminate COVID related grants and cooperative agreements, one of the notices described to The Hill said. These grants and cooperative agreements were issued for a limited purpose; to ameliorate the effects of the pandemic. Now that the pandemic is over, the grants and cooperative agreements are no longer necessary as their limited purpose has run out. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, said the state stands to lose nearly $150 million for disease outbreak surveillance, newborn screenings and childhood immunizations. The ripple effects are profound, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Juthani said the state was using some of the funding to modernize their information systems to allow for electronic, real-time reporting of test results. Due to the cuts, providers will now have to fax results to the department. This is going to be a major dent in our ability to be prepared for whatever new threat might come, Juthani said. The health grants were authorized and appropriated by Congress, and its not clear the administration has the authority to unilaterally take the money back. Similar cancellations of grants across other parts of the government have led to lawsuits, and states said they were looking at their options. Donald Trump was elected and promised to make life cheaper, healthier and easier for people, but hes taking us backwards on all of those fronts, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will continue to assess the full impacts and are in touch with the Attorney Generals Office and the 49 other states facing similar challenges. The grants were expected to bring nearly $100 million to Massachusetts over the next year, Healey said, which would have been distributed among local agencies and departments. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said the impact to cash-strapped smaller health departments will be even more devastating. It may not be in the millions, but these are really small health departments that have very few staff, very little capacity. And then if you hit those, then it starts to really impact their ability to respond, Huang said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dallas is in the process of building a new public health laboratory, Huang said, and had earmarked the grants to purchase testing equipment In Congress, Democrats slammed the move as political and destructive. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Washington state lost $160 million that had already been awarded to the states health department, tribes and other organizations. The sudden termination will put at least 200 jobs at risk, she said. Senselessly ripping away this funding Congress provided will undermine our states ability to protect families from infectious diseases like measles and bird flu and to help people get the mental health care and substance use treatment they needcausing immediate harm for millions of real people and communities across America, Murray said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is another destructive move by an administration intent on breaking government with no discernible strategy or planmaking our communities less safe in the processand it should be immediately reversed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee Investors will be fixated on European auto stocks on Thursday after Trump's announcement of duties on imported cars and light trucks, which hit Asian car makers' shares and drew a strong rebuke from the auto industry. German automakers Mercedes Benz, BMW and Porsche are all likely to come under heavy pressure. The European automobiles and parts index hit a seven-week low on Wednesday and is poised to fall further. The region's top carmaker, Volkswagen, is particularly exposed, with 43% of its U.S. sales sourced from Mexico, according S&P Global Mobility. Europe's carmakers exported around 800,000 vehicles to the United States last year, according to official U.S. trade data, about four times the number of cars exported by the U.S. to Europe. Chrysler parent Stellantis and Volvo Cars will also be in focus. Automakers aside, market moves during Asian hours were muted as investors take a wait-and-see approach, although futures point to a lower open in Europe. The euro hit a three-week low in early Asian hours but has since inched back up. The Canadian dollar was steady and the Mexican peso was 0.5% weaker. The yen was a tad stronger. Still, the spectre of a wide-ranging trade war looms large, leaving investors skittish and risk-averse. The European Commission said it would assess Trump's tariffs and continue to seek negotiated solutions, while safeguarding its economic interests. The auto tariffs, if left in place for an extended period, could add thousands of dollars to the cost of an average U.S. vehicle purchase. Nearly half of all cars sold in the U.S. last year were imported, according to research firm GlobalData. Investor attention will also focus on reciprocal tariffs due to be announced next week. Trump indicated the measures may not be the like-for-like levies he has been saying he would impose. Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday: Possible responses to Trump's auto tariffs (By Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Edmund Klamann) The Trump administration has reintroduced a clause into a proposed agreement on Ukrainian subsoil resources that obliges Ukraine to repay the full amount of US aid provided since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion in 2022. Source: European Pravda, citing the draft agreement text Details: The agreement states that Ukraine must reimburse the US for all assistance including budgetary, military and humanitarian aid provided since the start of Russias full-scale war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This total amount would be designated as the "initial DFC contribution" to the Fund. The Kiel Institute reports the total aid to be repaid is estimated at US$123 billion. The majority of this amount was allocated to military support, including weapons orders from US manufacturers, the transfer of surplus weapons and replenishment of Pentagon stockpiles. The draft stipulates that Ukraine must convert Fund revenues into US dollars and transfer them to American accounts upon request, without any commission. If any such costs arise, Ukraine would also be required to compensate them. Sources of revenue for the Fund include: 50% of the value of all new licences and royalties from the development of Ukraines mineral resources; 50% of revenues from infrastructure facilities (specifics on this clause are not disclosed in the agreement). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agreement also allows the Fund to reinvest part of its revenues into projects in Ukraine, receiving 50% of Ukraines future profits from these investments. Additionally, the agreement requires Ukraine to repay this "debt" on schedule. It stipulates an annual 4% increase, meaning the longer repayment is delayed, the more Ukraine would owe. Ukrainian authorities, including President Zelenskyy, have previously emphasised that US aid was granted as non-repayable and must not be converted into debt. European Pravda notes that this issue had been one of Kyivs key red lines. Background: On 28 February, the minerals deal was reportedly ready for signing. After tense negotiations, Ukraine and the US reached a compromise, and the document was supposed to be signed in Washington with both presidents present. However, the meeting in the Oval Office began with a public clash between Zelenskyy and Trump. As a result, the presidential negotiations were cancelled. Zelenskyy later stated that the US had proposed a new version of the agreement on mineral resources which would require parliamentary ratification beyond the framework of the initial document. On 27 March, Zelenskyy said there was still no finalised version of the deal on mineral resource use, though the Trump administration is expecting it to be signed soon. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Trump has been hyping up "Liberation Day," when he said he'll impose a round of new tariffs. His plans include reciprocal tariffs, tariffs on agricultural products, and goods from Mexico and Canada. Trump said that there's still "flexibility" with his plans, and he may not impose them all on April 2. President Donald Trump has been clear: his big tariff day isn't an April Fool's joke. For weeks, Trump has said that April 2 a date intentionally set so as not to fall on April 1 will be "Liberation Day" for America, during which he intends to impose new tariffs on a range of different countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!! For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "Now it is finally time for the Good Ol' USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!" With that date fast approaching, Trump's administration and Trump himself have suggested that new tariffs on April 2 might not be as expansive as originally planned. Trump told reporters on March 23 that tariffs on autos, semiconductors, and lumber will be announced "down the road," and while reciprocal tariffs are planned for April 2, he "may give a lot of countries a break." "I don't change. But the word flexibility is an important word," Trump said. Here's what we know about the tariffs Trump has planned for April 2. Tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico In early March, Trump paused until April 2 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico that are covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The USMCA covers a wide range of imports from both Canada and Mexico, including agricultural products, clothing, fruits, vegetables, and dairy. Trump said the tariffs on Mexican goods are intended to crack down on drug and border policy. Canada's Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a post on X on March 6 that Canada will delay retaliatory tariffs until April 2 "while we continue to work for the removal of all tariffs." Reciprocal tariffs Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on March 18 that Trump is planning to retaliate against countries that have imposed tariffs on US goods. "On April 2, we are going to produce a list of other country's tariffs," Bessent said, and the Trump administration will tell those countries why it disagrees with their tariff levels. If countries roll back their tariffs, Bessent said, "we will not put up the tariff wall." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, if they maintain current policy, "then we will put up the tariff wall to protect our economy, protect our workers, and protect our industries," Bessent said. He didn't provide details other than saying, "for some countries, it could be quite low, for some countries, it could be quite high." As Trump already said, depending on how the countries respond, his administration may not enact the proposed tariffs on April 2. Tariffs on agricultural goods Trump wrote on Truth Social on March 3 that tariffs on "external" agricultural products will begin on April 2. "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," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's unclear which products will be affected and if these tariffs are a part of Trump's broader reciprocal tariffs. Secondary tariff on goods from Venezuela Trump said he'll impose a "secondary tariff" on oil and gas from Venezuela in a Truth Social post on March 24, saying that Venezuela has sent "criminals" into the US. "Any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country. All documentation will be signed and registered, and the Tariff will take place on April 2nd, 2025, LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA," he said. Tariffs on cars Trump signed an executive order on March 26 that would place a 25% tariff on all cars and car parts imported into the US. The order said that the tariff will go into effect on or after April 3 and no later than May 3. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This will continue to spur growth like you haven't seen before," Trump said in the Oval Office before signing the order. "We'll effectively be charging a 25% tariff. But if you build your car in the United States, there is no tariff." The order said that cars and car parts are being imported into the US "in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States." Have a tip or story to share? Contact this reporter via Signal at asheffey.97 or via email at asheffey@businessinsider.com . Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely . Read the original article on Business Insider Donald Trump explained why he pardoned Trevor Milton, a campaign donor who was convicted of defrauding investors by making false claims about his electric truck company, in comments at the Oval Office on Friday, telling reporters that Miltons treatment was very unfair and that the thing that he did wrong was supporting Trumps presidency. He supported Trump, Trump told reporters. He liked Trump. I didnt know him, but he liked him. They went after him, they went after his family, they went after his business, and he was I believe exonerated and then they went after him again and they brought him this time into Manhattan and he had nothing to do with Manhattan. They got him and I said, Thats unfair. There are many people like that. They support Trump and they went after him. Milton was the founder and CEO of Nikola, an electric- and hydrogen-powered truck company that went bankrupt. In 2023, a federal judge sentenced him to four years in prison and fined him $1 million after he was convicted on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud. Prosecutors argued that he made false claims about his company, including that he had billions of dollars in binding orders. He had been free on bail at the time of the pardon. Now, Milton no longer needs to pay restitution to shareholders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Milton made false claims regarding nearly all aspects of Nikolas business, the Justice Department said when he was sentenced. Milton celebrated the pardon in a video posted to Instagram. This pardon is not just about me its about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, thats a lot of people, he wrote. It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing I saw firsthand the tactics they use to guarantee convictions. Miltons lawyer is Brad Bondi, whose sister is Attorney General Pam Bondi. In October 2024, the former CEO gave more than $900,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, a joint fundraising committee benefiting Trump and the Republican National Committee, according to FEC filings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump criticized former President Joe Biden and his Justice Department for prosecuting Milton while discussing the pardon on Friday.. You dont realize this is a vicious group of people that were in this office before us, Trump said, adding, Theyre violent they destroyed five years of his life and he did nothing wrong. And hes a good person. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Donald Trump isnt seeking any off ramp in his battle with the courts. The president and his allies are still demanding the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg, who has enraged Trump by sharply questioning the legality of the administrations deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. The administration is also getting more defiant on the case; this week, the Justice Department invoked the state secrets privilege and told Boasberg that it will not provide him with further information about the flights despite his concern that the administration may have deliberately flouted an order from the bench. Behind the particulars of this dispute, one question has loomed large: Does the Trump administration plan to ignore or defy future court orders that it disagrees with perhaps even an order from the Supreme Court? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That would mark the sort of unambiguous constitutional crisis that has worried Democrats and other Trump critics since the president began his series of stunning moves to upend the federal government. Its not an idle notion; Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and conservative activists have floated the prospect of defying the courts. Trump, however, has told reporters on multiple occasions including just last week that his administration will comply with the courts despite their disagreements. Trumps position may seem surprising given his typically combative posture, but its not that hes doing the country a favor. Instead, it suggests he is acutely aware of his own self-interests. The question should not be a live one in the first place, but the reasons that Trump will probably abide by the courts or would be foolish to explicitly disobey them have nothing to do with his commitment to the countrys traditional constitutional order (which is questionable at best). They concern his own political standing and his broader ability to enact his and his allies agenda. For starters, there is extraordinarily little support for the idea that the president could simply disregard orders from the courts. That is true across the public, according to recent polls, with more than 80 percent of Americans rejecting the idea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I also found similar responses from an informal survey of conservative legal thinkers, including from those generally sympathetic or otherwise open to the administrations legal positions. The Constitution implicitly requires the executive branch to comply with judicial judgments when the executive is part of the case, Saikrishna Prakash, a law professor at the University of Virginia and onetime clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told me. Its never permissible for a president to defy a court order, said Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow and legal analyst at the Manhattan Institute. Josh Blackman, a law professor at the South Texas College of Law and a well-known conservative legal scholar, said that there might be an exception in rare circumstances when the executive branch cannot immediately comply but otherwise echoed Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts comments that the way for the government to handle a loss in the lower court is to appeal it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One notable variant came from Ilan Wurman, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, who argued that the government should not have to comply with an order if the court lacks jurisdiction. He added, however, that a deceptively simple question follows: Who gets final say over whether the court had jurisdiction over a matter and was properly exercising judicial power? The courts themselves or the executive department? The only person among my small sample who came down firmly on the side of defiance was Mike Davis, an outspoken and reliable supporter of Trumps legal agenda. The President, Davis told me, has a constitutional duty to ignore any clearly unlawful court order that imminently endangers American lives. All of this suggests that in a true standoff with the courts, Trump would struggle to rally support beyond a relatively small number of diehard supporters. That would in turn threaten his public approval, his political standing and his legacy all of which are important to him. There are other practical reasons for the Trump administration to stay on the right side of the courts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats laying in the background is that they probably perceive, rightly or wrongly, that theyre going to win 70, 60 percent of the time in the Supreme Court, Prakash told me, referring to the array of ongoing disputes that may wind up before the justices. So why would you want to trash the judiciary if you think youre ultimately going to win most of the time? Just as important, if not more so, is that a confrontation between Trump and the courts would imperil the successful, decades-long project by Republicans and conservatives to shift the Supreme Court to the right. In just the last few years, the six GOP appointees have revamped constitutional law in a host of areas from abortion to affirmative action to the administrative state but there are plenty of issues that are still on conservatives wish list and facing action at the Supreme Court. Those include access to medication abortions and the availability of gender-affirming care for transgender minors, as well as the law on gerrymandering. The Supreme Court, for better or worse, now resolves many of the countrys most contentious social and political issues, and a court that is sympathetic to Republican and conservative political priorities is a huge boon to the right. Even more personal to Trump is his attempted expansion of presidential power under the unitary executive theory, including the push to fire members of independent agencies despite legal constraints imposed by Congress. That is one area in particular where Trump may get some traction at the court, and where a victory would advance a longstanding effort by conservative lawyers to centralize executive power at the White House and limit the power of the administrative state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement None of this works particularly well if Trump ends up antagonizing potential swing-vote justices like Roberts or Amy Coney Barrett. As former Gov. Chris Christie recently noted to ABC News, Hes going to tick off the Supreme Court so much that they may not give him everything he wants. And then there is the matter of not just losing cases but damaging the publics perception of the Supreme Court. If Trump were to ultimately defy the Supreme Court, and not just the lower courts, it would obviously be even more explosive, and also more risky. That is because the political legitimacy of the court the idea that everyone should accept the courts rulings, even if they strongly disagree with them is essential to the long-term conservative legal project, which Trump has largely adopted. There are Republican lawyers and operatives that have been waiting and working for decades for a dynamic precisely like this one a friendly Supreme Court comprised mostly of Republican appointees, and a president willing to push, if not trample, the boundaries of settled law, particularly in the area of executive power. Purely as a matter of self-interest, it would be a bad idea for Trump and the Republican Party to rock this boat and lose their best opportunity in decades to fundamentally reshape the law for generations to come. Trump may not know all of those details, but it would be hard for him to miss the big picture that the Supreme Court is not his enemy. After all, the Republican appointees bailed him out last summer in the case over his Jan. 6 indictment, which threatened to imperil both his political career and his liberty. If Trump knows anything about the Supreme Court, he knows that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To top it all off, the long-term effects particularly in a head-to-head clash with the Supreme Court would be unpredictable and bad for everyone, including Trump. Set aside any concerns over the future of Americas nearly 250-year experiment in democracy and its independent judiciary. If Trump can defy court orders, what would prevent a future president from ignoring the Supreme Courts presidential immunity ruling and sending Trump to prison? Could a Democratic president direct his administration to ignore the courts rulings on abortion, race-based preferences or other priorities? The next time the Supreme Court tries to rein in a Democratic president as the justices did with the Biden administrations student loan forgiveness plan why would they comply? The MAGA right has been jubilant in the wake of Trumps inauguration, and it is not hard to understand why. The Trump administration is moving aggressively on many legal fronts to change the law and push the boundaries of executive power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump is likely to get some of what he wants from the Supreme Court when all is said and done maybe even a lot of it. But it is always useful to remember that when a president manages to devise new and more powerful tools for himself whether legal or political in nature he leaves them for his successors too. And there is no telling what will happen and how those tools will be used over the long haul. This is a pandoras box that the Trump administration and Republicans and conservatives more broadly should not want to open, for their own sakes as much as anyones. Donald Trump plans to ramp up his purge of the federal workforce and end union rights for many government employees at the same time. The Washington Post on Thursday obtained an internal White House document outlining plans for 22 federal agencies to cut between 8 and 50 percent of their employees. According to the Posts sources, the plan is a draft and doesnt contain final numbers. But it is a worrying sign that heavy cuts are on the horizon that will severely impact government services. For example, according to the document, the Department of Housing and Urban Development may cut half of its 8,300-person-odd staff, while the IRS could cut a third of its workforce, and the Interior Department could cut a quarter. This could affect the availability of affordable housing, tax refunds, and audits, and even National Park staffing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also on Thursday, Trump signed an executive order concerning government agencies, aimed at ending collective bargaining rights and placing limits on which federal employees can unionize. The memo cites a fact sheet from the White House arguing that the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which allowed government workers to unionize, enables hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management. President Trump is taking action to ensure that agencies vital to national security can execute their missions without delay and protect the American people, the document states. The memo states that 18 government departments and numerous agencies are covered in the executive order, and orders the agencies to terminate their collective bargaining agreements. The American Federation of Government Employees has already responded, accusing the Trump administration of illegally strip[ping] collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of federal workers, in an email to its members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lets be clear. National security is not the reason for this action. This is retaliation because our union is standing up for AFGE membersand a warning to every union: fall in line, or else, the email states. AFGE is not going anywhere. We are fighting back. We are preparing legal action. Trump is already attempting to eliminate federal agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of Education. By firing federal workers across the government and removing many of their unions, he is not only rendering the government less effective but tightening his control of it. President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance divisive narratives and improper ideology, the latest step in a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. Trump claimed there has been a concerted and widespread effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth, adding that it casts the founding principles of the United States in a negative light. The order he signed behind closed doors puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institutions Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to remove improper ideology from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It marks the Republican presidents latest salvo against cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump recently had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming, including the annual Kennedy Center Honors awards show. The administration also recently forced Columbia University to make a series of policy changes by threatening the Ivy League school with the loss of several hundred million dollars in federal funding. The executive order also hints at the return of statues and monuments of Confederate figures, many of which were taken down or replaced around the country after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is detested by Trump and other conservatives. The order also calls for improvements to Independence Hall in Philadelphia by July 4, 2026, in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Trump singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 near the White House, the Womens History Museum, which is in development, and the American Art Museum for criticism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Museums in our Nations capital should be places where individuals go to learn not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history, he said. Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian Institutions chief spokesperson, said in an email late Thursday, We have no comment for now. Under Trumps order, Vance will also work with the White House budget office to make sure future funding for the Smithsonian Institution isnt spent on programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy. Trump also wants to ensure that the womens history museum celebrates women and not recognize men as women in any respect. It also requires the interior secretary to reinstate monuments, memorials, statues and similar properties that have been removed or changed since Jan. 1, 2020, to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Smithsonian Institution is the worlds largest museum, education and research complex. It consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington. The institution was established by Congress with money from James Smithson, a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance divisive narratives and improper ideology," the latest step in a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. Trump claimed there has been a concerted and widespread effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth," adding that it casts the founding principles of the United States in a negative light. The order he signed behind closed doors puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to remove improper ideology from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It marks the Republican president's latest salvo against cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump recently had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming, including the annual Kennedy Center Honors awards show. The administration also recently forced Columbia University to make a series of policy changes by threatening the Ivy League school with the loss of several hundred million dollars in federal funding. The executive order also hints at the return of statues and monuments of Confederate figures, many of which were taken down or replaced around the country after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is detested by Trump and other conservatives. The order also calls for improvements to Independence Hall in Philadelphia by July 4, 2026, in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Trump singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 near the White House, the Women's History Museum, which is in development, and the American Art Museum for criticism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history, he said. Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian Institutions chief spokesperson, said in an email late Thursday, We have no comment for now. Under Trumps order, Vance will also work with the White House budget office to make sure future funding for the Smithsonian Institution isnt spent on programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy. Trump also wants to ensure that the womens history museum celebrates women and not recognize men as women in any respect. It also requires the interior secretary to reinstate monuments, memorials, statues and similar properties that have been removed or changed since Jan. 1, 2020, to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Smithsonian Institution is the worlds largest museum, education and research complex. It consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington. The institution was established by Congress with money from James Smithson, a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Donald Trumps new pick for the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, disclosed on Thursday that she didnt even want her plum new job in the first place. In a Thursday interview with Real Americas Voice, she revealed that she initially tried to turn down the offertelling Trump that she did not want to leave the White House, where she had been serving as the presidents counselor. However, after much pushing on his part, she realized that she seemingly had no choice. Trump made the announcement of her appointment in a Truth Social post on Monday morning, writing: It is with great pleasure that I am announcing Alina Habba, Esq., who is currently serving as Counselor to the President, and has represented me for a long time, will be our interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, her Home State, effective immediately! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Habba, 41, took to X to thank the president for what she described as an honor. I am honored to serve my home state of New Jersey as Interim U.S. Attorney and I am grateful to President Trump for entrusting me with this tremendous responsibility. Just like I did during my time as President Trumps personal attorney, I will continue to fight for truth and Alina Habba (@AlinaHabba) March 24, 2025 However, she seemed to sing a very different tune during the candid appearance on Real Americas Voice. I was so happy here, and it was surprising, the presidents former lawyer said about her White House role. I spoke to the president, and I just asked a lot of questions. It was his idea. Hes like, I think you should do this. And hes like, youre a Jersey girl, like you better do it, Alina Habba said. And I said, I dont want to leave the White House. It makes me sad. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 06: Alina Habba, Attorney for Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower on September 06, 2024 in New York City. / Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Sad or not, the president apparently persisted, saying that Habba wasnt leaving, really, and that she could return whenever she pleased. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After relenting, she said she set a new goal for herself helping Republicans win New Jersey. We could turn New Jersey red, she insisted. And I think New Jersey is absolutely close to getting there. So hopefully while Im there, I can help that cause. Habba, who is a staunch Trump loyalist, first met the 78-year-old in 2019 and soon joined as his legal team. After proving herself on the cable news circuit, the fire-breathing attorney joined Trumps campaign prior to the 2024 election, and was appointed as counselor when he won back the White House. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 27: Alina Habba, Senior Advisor to President Donald J. Trump, places a MAGA jacket on the podium as she speaks prior to Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump taking the stage at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2024 in New York City. / Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Alina will lead with the same diligence and conviction that has defined her career, and she will fight tirelessly to secure a Legal System that is both Fair and Just for the wonderful people of New Jersey, Trump said of his appointment. At the time, Habba also celebrated her new appointment with another post on X, sharing a screenshot of the announcement and writing: Time to make New Jersey great again! LETS ROLL, adding the American flag emoji to her caption. President Donald Trump fired Michelle Moore from the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors on March 27, according to a March 28 filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The termination came exactly one week after Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty wrote a scathing op-ed targeting the TVA board and calling for the Trump administration to replace them. The firing of a Biden nominee who leads a nonprofit organization that champions solar energy was more transparently partisan than Trump's termination of two TVA board members during his first term over outsourcing of IT jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has diverged sharply from the Biden administration on energy policy, prioritizing the unleashing of U.S. fossil fuel production and combustion over a dedicated focus on clean energy technologies like solar and wind power. Though board members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the board is nonpartisan and its members typically serve under multiple presidents. Moore, an energy nonprofit executive initially nominated by President Joe Biden in 2021, was set to stay on the board until May 18, 2026. "I have been a business and energy executive for more than 25 years, and in that time, serving the TVA, its people, and all the people of the Tennessee Valley as a member of the TVA Board has been among my most fulfilling work, Moore said in an emailed statement to Knox News. As I look ahead, I see that the importance of the public power model and TVAs leadership will only grow as the region continues to lead the nation in economic development and quality of life and towards a nuclear renaissance and a flourishing future." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The termination was the first time the Trump administration aimed its efforts to reshape the federal government directly at the Knoxville-based federal utility, which generates electricity for 10 million people in seven states across the Southeast. TVA Board, all Biden nominees, set to select new CEO Biden nominated Moore alongside Beth Geer and Bobby Klein in spring 2021 and renominated them in January 2022. The U.S. Senate confirmed all six Biden nominees in December 2022, and their membership on the board became official in January 2023. Those five board members a group that also includes Chair Joe Ritch, Bill Renick and Wade White are the only members left after the terms of three Trump nominees expired. The TVA board needs five of its nine members to have a quorum and conduct the business of guiding the federal utility. It is the board's responsibility to select a new CEO after Jeff Lyash announced in January he would leave the position by the end of the year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before Moore was fired, the board hired a "tiny headhunting firm" to help select a new CEO from inside the utility, according to Blackburn and Hagertys op-ed in POWER Magazine on March 20. The pair suggested that an inside job for the next CEO would lead TVA to miss the chance to select a top-quality leader from the outside. They called on the Trump administration to help appoint an interim CEO. Blackburn and Hagerty wrote the board was moving too slowly to develop small modular reactors, a new nuclear technology that would be the first of its kind in the U.S. The senators said TVA, with the only early site permit for the reactors, could cement Trump's legacy as "America's Nuclear President" if they moved faster on the complex technology. The board has approved $350 million for the project at the Clinch River Site in Oak Ridge and its members have repeatedly supported the effort. TVA plans to submit a construction permit for the 300-megawatt reactors to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this year. President Trump fired Michelle Moore, left, from the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors on March 27. A Biden nominee to the board, Moore championed clean energy sources like solar power. Moore, from Midlothian, Virginia, was the only board member from outside the Tennessee Valley. She is the author of Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing Americas Hometowns Through Clean Power and CEO of Groundswell, a nonprofit aimed at expanding community solar energy projects, reducing energy costs and increasing economic opportunity in five states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She previously led sustainability and infrastructure projects for the Obama administration, according to a press release announcing her term on the TVA board. At the utilitys quarterly board meetings, she often voiced support for speeding up the pace of solar energy expansion and other clean energy technologies. Gaby Sarri-Tobar, senior energy justice campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, said Moore's termination is "ludicrous and leaves our country's largest federal utility in a precarious position." Ten million people rely on TVA to keep the lights on, utility bills low, and for good-paying jobs. Trumps reckless and politically targeted move will cripple the utilitys chances to secure a safe, resilient and affordable energy future for families and workers in the Valley," Sarri-Tobar said. Trump previously fired two TVA board members TVA board members serve at the pleasure of the president and the president can terminate them. Trump took this opportunity in 2020 when TVA outsourced hundreds of IT jobs to companies with foreign workforces. He fired board chair James "Skip" Thompson and board member Richard Howorth and signed an executive order prohibiting federal agencies from outsourcing jobs. TVA reversed course on the outsourcings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TVA is not a typical federal agency. Its operations are funded by billions of dollars in revenue from sales of electricity and it has its own CEO, who has been classified as the highest paid federal employee, with a total annual compensation of $10.5 million in 2024. The offices of Blackburn and Hagerty have either not responded to or declined Knox News multiple requests for comment by phone and email. Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Email: daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com. Signal: @danieldassow.24. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Trump fires TVA board member after Blackburn, Hagerty op-ed National Highways, a UK government company, has undertaken a significant step in the 23m ($29.6m) Manchester motorway bridge replacement project. The company has installed four pairs of steel beams, with each pair weighing up to 65 tonnes, to support the new bridge deck on the M67 motorway in Denton, Greater Manchester. The St Annes Road bridge is being replaced due to long-term safety concerns. The new bridge, designed to provide unrestricted access for all road users, including eastbound access to the M67, also carries essential utility services. The rerouting of these services across Greater Manchester has been completed. National Highways programme delivery manager Mangat Bansal said: This final weekend closure will allow our teams to safely install the eight steel beams which will carry the new bridge across the motorway. It is imperative we keep the travelling public and our workforce safe. To achieve this, we need to close the motorway for the weekend to allow for the heavy machinery needed to undertake this work to be brought in. We always strive to minimise disruption, although regretfully delays to journeys are expected. We therefore advise everyone to plan before they travel and allow extra time. We apologise for any inconvenience this work will cause and thank people for their support and patience while we continue our work. Following the demolition of the old bridge and modification of the abutment walls, the 34m-long, 3m-wide, and 1.5m-high beams will be lifted into place using two cranes. For the installation, a section of the M67 will be closed in both directions temporarily. The project's next phase will focus on constructing the new bridge deck, necessitating some overnight motorway closures. Earlier this month, National Highways announced a 9m refurbishment of the M6 bridge over the River Lowther in Cumbria, to commence on 31 March 2025. "National Highways carries out M67 bridge beams installation" was originally created and published by World Construction Network, a GlobalData owned brand. A top law firm sued the Trump administration on Friday to block an executive order targeting the company over its ties to Robert Mueller, who led the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. In a statement shared with HuffPost, the firm said President Donald Trumps order against Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, known as WilmerHale, is a plainly unlawful attack on the bedrock principles of our nations legal systemour clients right to counsel and the First Amendment. We are bringing the dedication, expertise, and values that have served a wide range of clients in matters against administrations of both parties for decades to ensure their and our rights are upheld, a WilmerHale spokesperson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WilmerHales lawsuit follows complaints against the Trump administration by law firms Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie. Trump on Thursday signed an executive order targeting WilmerHale, adding that Muellers probe epitomizes the weaponization of government. The White House said WilmerHale is yet another law firm that has abandoned the professions highest ideals and abused its pro bono practice to engage in activities that undermine justice and the interests of the United States. Trumps order takes issues with the firms decision to hire Mueller and two of his colleagues following their work on the Russian election interference probe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muellers investigation upended the lives of public servants in my Administration who were summoned before prosecutors with the effect of interfering in their ability to fulfill the mandates of my first term agenda, Trump said. This weaponization of the justice system must not be rewarded, let alone condoned. Trumps order states that the attorney general, the director of national intelligence and other department heads must revoke the security clearances of any WilmerHale employees pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest. The president also restricted their access to federal buildings and ordered the end of all government contracts with the law firm. WilmerHale previously had said it would pursue all appropriate remedies to this unlawful order, adding that Mueller retired from the firm in 2021, noting his long, distinguished career in public service, from his time as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam to his leadership of the FBI in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Wall Street Journal reported that while WilmerHale had tried to convince the administration not to take such action against it, the punishment became inevitable given Trumps disdain for Mueller. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mueller, a former director of the FBI, left WilmerHale in 2017 after being appointed as special counsel to oversee the Russia investigation and returned to the law firm in 2019. The Journal added that a 2019 announcement welcoming Mueller back into the firm has been scrapped from WilmerHales website. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison struck a controversial deal with Trump to rescind an executive order against the company in exchange for the firm committing to align its diversity policies with the administration and providing $40 million in pro bono services to the mutually agreed upon priorities with the White House. Related... U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (left) speaks with leaders of community resource centers in New Hampshire about the effects of the federal governments funding cuts. At right is Michelle Lennon, president and CEO of Archways. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) The federal government, under President Donald Trump, announced Tuesday it was revoking $11.4 billion of unspent, leftover, post-pandemic COVID-19 relief funding from state and local governments, $80 million of which is coming from New Hampshire. The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago, Andrew Nixon, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services director of communications, said in a statement. HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trumps mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Kelly Ayotte told WMUR and others Wednesday that shes asked the Trump administration to reconsider the decision but was told it is irreversible. State officials believed they would have until the end of 2026 to spend the funding. As I understand it, at the federal level, theyre just saying these were pandemic funds and they were only meant to be temporary, Ayotte, a Republican, said. And the pandemics concluded and were gonna claw them back. This worsens what was already an extremely difficult budget year for New Hampshire. The state has dealt with years of lagging business tax revenues, is set to be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in settlement money to victims of a yearslong child abuse scandal in its juvenile detention centers, and was already running out of pandemic-era federal funding. Amid these challenges, Ayotte unveiled her $16 billion two-year budget proposal in February. Since then, legislators have been proposing further cuts to that proposal after the House Ways and Means Committee decided her revenue projections were too optimistic by hundreds of millions of dollars. This weeks cut from the federal government creates a new hole in the state budget that lawmakers will have to figure out how to address. Ayotte said she disagrees with the federal governments decision to revoke this funding so abruptly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of course I think it is much easier for states if resources have been appropriated for a period that at least we fulfill that period, Ayotte said. Effects felt in Tilton On Friday, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan met with leaders of community organizations from across the state in Tilton at Archways Community Resource Center to discuss how this will affect their programming, which also relies on the funding that was cut. This is about the administration taking away critical things from the American people who need them to give more tax cuts for billionaires who are already billionaires, Hassan, a Democrat, said. Archways, as well as several other organizations at the event Friday, were using the federal funding that was revoked to provide a number of services, including those aimed at treating substance use disorder as well as helping people get the Medicaid and SNAP benefits they qualify for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These are not just nice things you do for the community, Michelle Lennon, president and CEO of Archways, said. Theres evidence that it saves money and it saves lives. Lennon said a lot of people dont realize how difficult it is for those who need welfare services to obtain those services. Her organization relies heavily on federal funding to help people receive their services. The assumption is that the resources are readily available, and I can tell you, 99% of the time, they are not, Lennon said. The assumption is that, Oh, you can go to town welfare when youre in trouble and youre good. And it doesnt work that way. It is so complicated. Rejections come fast and furious, sometimes to the point where we have to engage with legal aid to get people the help they are entitled to as American citizens. Among the specific programs being cut is the Health Disparities Grant, which funds employees at Archways who help impoverished people navigate the states health care system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have to train our workers in terms of navigating that (system), Mark Watman, vice president and COO of Archways, said. These are people who are trained, and its still difficult. To have individuals out there trying to navigate this on their own, this is going to be disastrous. Watman said the programs that have been supported by this funding help families survive. The lack of these resources is going to have very practical implications on the health and survivability of New Hampshire families, he said. Several leaders of community organizations present Friday said these cuts will devastate their operations at the same time that need in their communities is rising. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now that theyve done this, its like, Oh my god, they can do anything to just wreck us overnight, Joelyn Drennan, assistant vice president of impact at Granite United Way, said. And that is super concerning to me, because we are seeing the needs rise, and were having such a hard time keeping up with the capacity now. It is one thing to plan for budget cuts in future budgets, Hassan said. We go through that at the state level, at the local level, at the federal level all the time. This is different. This is the administration cutting already committed funds, laying off people in the middle of a budget, doing things that really are going to harm the people of this state and make our communities less able, less resilient to deal with the challenges that theyre facing. Hassan said shes fighting back by spotlighting the importance of the services being cut in New Hampshire, and shes trying to persuade her Republican colleagues to help the Democrats oppose these actions. She pointed out that theyd need only four Republicans in the Senate and a few more in the House to overcome the GOP majority. She wouldnt say whether the onus is on Ayotte as a Republican to appeal to the Trump administration to stop this funding cut. This clawback of money, this taking away of money that was already promised to New Hampshire and that New Hampshire has already planned to use, will really harm families, people in mental health crisis, people with chronic illness, young children whose disabilities are just being identified and need that bit of extra help so that they wont need special education later on, she said. Those are all services at risk. President Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday for the first time since Carney was elected earlier in the month amid tensions between the two nations. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canadas upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada, Trump posted on Truth Social. The conversation came a day after Carney, who replaced former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, delivered a speech declaring the U.S. was no longer a reliable partner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is possible that with comprehensive negotiations, we could reestablish an element of confidence, but there will be no going backwards, Carney said. Trump has for months taunted Canada by suggesting it should be annexed and join the United States as the 51st state, which Canadian leaders have rebuffed. The president has also imposed sweeping tariffs on Canada, complaining about the trade imbalance between the two nations. That has prompted talk of retaliatory measures from Canada, raising the prospect of a broader trade war. Trump earlier in the month imposed a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Canada, a move he later walked back with exemptions for goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement signed in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump on Thursday had warned Canada and the European Union against working to do economic harm to the U.S. in response to the presidents widespread tariffs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President Donald Trump has revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution - the worlds largest museum, education and research complex - with an executive order targeting funding for programs that advance divisive narratives and improper ideology." The order, titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History", targets any ideology that he considers "anti-American", in what is his latest attack on culture he deems too liberal, woke, and out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump claimed there has been a concerted and widespread effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth," adding that it casts the founding principles of the United States in a negative light. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order he signed behind closed doors puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to remove improper ideology from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo. The Smithsonian museums offer free entry to up to 30 million visitors each year. People wait in line to enter the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Cultural on the National Mall in Washington - AP Photo Under Trumps order, Vance will also work with the White House budget office to make sure future funding for the Smithsonian Institution isnt spent on programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy. Trump also singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Women's History Museum and the American Art Museum for criticism. Regarding the Womens History Museum, Trump said he wants to ensure that it celebrates women and not recognize men as women in any respect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history, he said. The executive order also hints at the return of statues and monuments of Confederate figures, many of which were taken down or replaced around the country after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is detested by Trump and other conservatives. This new executive order comes after Trump recently had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming. Donald Trumps administration is moving to formally shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, and has notified the remaining employees that their positions could soon be eliminated. After weeks of bashing the foreign aid agency, attempting to freeze its funding and initiating mass layoffs, the administration notified Congress around noon Friday that it intends to move all of the agencys remaining responsibilities, effectively shutting it down. The remaining functions would be transferred to the Department of State. Foreign assistance done right can advance our national interests, protect our borders, and strengthen our partnerships with key allies, Secretary of State Marc Rubio said in a statement. Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high. The Trump administration notified Congress Friday of its intent to effectively close down the U.S. Agency for International Development (Getty Images) Later that afternoon, a federal appeals court cleared the way for Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency team to resume their efforts to gut the agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Washington, D.C. appeals court blocked a lower-court ruling, which had stopped Musk and DOGE from any work as it likely violated the Constitution in multiple ways. But a three-judge appellate panel argued that the government is likely to show that DOGEs involvement doesnt violate the Constitution because most of the cuts at USAID were approved by administration officials. Beginning July 1, the State Department will be responsible for administering whats left of USAIDs programs, though it remains unclear which ones. Any of the agencys functions that do not align with Administration priorities would be discontinued, according to Rubio. USAID cannot be dissolved without congressional approval, teeing up yet another battle between the Trump administration and the judiciary as he faces an avalanche of lawsuits alleging unconstitutional and illegal maneuvers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, a federal judge determined that his administration likely violated the Constitution's appointments clause and the separation of powers by effectively granting Musk unprecedented authority even though he holds no official role, without Senate confirmation or appointment to an existing office, to be able to make such sweeping decisions. Since taking office, the president and his allies have accused USAID of improperly spending taxpayer dollars on unnecessary programs overseas. But they have consistently misrepresented those projects. The agency is one of the largest aid agencies in the world and has provided essential humanitarian relief in dozens of life-saving missions in more than 100 countries. Musk, meanwhile, has said he wants the agency to be fed into a wood chipper. Employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development left their offices on Friday after receiving an email telling them they could go home (REUTERS) A USAID official who received a termination notice told The Washington Post that the administrations latest attempt to close the agency is now stating openly what they have been doing overtly for the past two months: shutting down an agency statutorily established by Congress and usurping the legislative branchs authority as the only ones who can shut it down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats and foreign aid advocates have criticized the administration for trying to use executive authority to dismantle the independent federal agency. Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the administrations decision a reckless assault on U.S. foreign assistance and a violation of law. The consequences of this reckless decision are already evident; China and Russia are already filling in the gaps created by this administrations reckless assault on U.S. foreign assistance, Meeks said in a statement. While the administration claims it will retain some global health and humanitarian assistance functions, it is jettisoning critical work USAID has been doing at Congress direction for decades in sectors such as education, good governance, crisis stabilization, agriculture, and economic growth, he added. Furthermore, these plans violate the law, which requires that USAID exist as a separate entity, said Meeks. Presidents are not kings, and if the administration wishes to change the law, the GOP, which controls both the House and Senate, should pass one. President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: Trump moves to strip federal workers of union rights; Minnesota public unions vow to fight part-time return-to-office order; U of M resident physicians file for union; child labor violations on the rise; and 80 nursing home workers strike in Minneapolis. Trump signs order rescinding union rights of federal workers Citing his national security authority, President Trump signed an executive order Thursday rescinding the collective bargaining rights of a massive swath of the federal workforce in a historic attack on public unions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order strips workers from the right to union representation across the federal enterprise, including at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Land Management. While the order also includes the Department of Homeland Security, law enforcement officers including U.S. Border Patrol are exempted, as are firefighters, in a transparent gift to his political coalition. Trumps order cites the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which grants the president the power to terminate the union rights of workers in agencies with intelligence, counterintelligence or national security work as a primary function. Certain federal unions have declared war on President Trumps agenda, the White House said in announcing the order. President Trump supports constructive partnerships with unions who work with him; he will not tolerate mass obstruction that jeopardizes his ability to manage agencies with vital national security missions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the order, the affected agencies filed a lawsuit against federal employee unions in Texas federal court seeking to terminate their union contracts. The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal union representing more than 800,000 workers, promised immediate legal action to challenge what it called a blatant attempt at political punishment. The union estimates it affects more than 1 million employees about a third of whom are veterans. This administrations bullying tactics represent a clear threat not just to federal employees and their unions, but to every American who values democracy and the freedoms of speech and association. Trumps threat to unions and working people across America is clear: fall in line or else, AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement. AFGE and other public unions have filed numerous lawsuits against Trumps executive orders, including the indiscriminate purge of federal probationary workers, which was reversed by a federal judge. The union also sued the Trump administration for terminating the governments union contract covering tens of thousands of security agents and other employees at the Transportation Security Administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House said the unions representing Veterans Affairs workers have filed 70 national and local grievances over Trumps policies since the inauguration, which will be terminated under the executive order. Federal workers have also relied on their union protections to speak out publicly against what they believe are harmful policies to the workforce. The move to strip workers of their union protections comes as the Trump administration pursues massive cuts to the federal workforce including dismantling the Department of Education, cutting the Department of Veterans Affairs by upwards of 80,000 workers and laying off 10,000 employees in the Department of Health and Human Services. The order seems to go further than Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a second Trump term, which proposed renegotiating public union contracts to further limit their power while Congress consider whether public-sector unions are appropriate in the first place. Federal employee unions already have far more limited powers than private sector unions, and are barred from negotiating over wages, benefits and hiring decisions. Unionized federal employees are also prohibited from striking. Unionized state employees vow to fight return to office order Megan Dayton, president of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, the union representing some 18,000 state workers, speaks at a news conference with state Democratic lawmakers on March 28, 2025. Dayton called on Gov. Tim Walz to rescind his order for state employees to return to the office part-time. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer. The unions representing nearly 40,000 Minnesota state employees vowed to fight Gov. Tim Walzs order for most workers to return to the office 50% of the time beginning on June 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our members are so fired up, said Megan Dayton, president of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. A lot of them are saying this is the thing to strike over. Union leaders say many employees have organized their lives around working from home some were hired as fully remote and are now scrambling to find child care or buy a second car in order to make it into the office two or three times a week. Dayton said there may not even be enough office space or parking spots available, as agencies have downsized to adjust for remote work at a considerable savings. The Department of Revenue, for example, reduced its leased office space by 35% since 2021, saving $2.45 million annually. The agency also reported greater efficiency since 2019 and higher retention and recruitment. The order may be particularly galvanizing for state employees as they watch the Trump administration attack the federal workforce while the governor has frequently been traveling out-of-state for speaking engagements, setting up a potential presidential run. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walz said mandatory hybrid work, with an exception for those living more than 75 miles from the office, promotes collaboration and follows the trend in both the private and public sectors of bringing workers back to the office. St. Paul city employees will be required to return to the office three days a week starting April 1, while major employers including General Mills, 3M and U.S. Bank have also required workers to return to the office. I think theres a power in teams when theyre together, Walz said at an unrelated news conference on Wednesday. Walz also said calling workers back could help revive downtown St. Paul, which is succumbing to a vicious doom loop as visitors disappear, businesses shutter and the commercial tax base evaporates. There is nowhere to buy groceries downtown after Lunds and Byerleys closed its doors for good on Wednesday. Walz said he told the grocery chains leaders that a return to office could be on the horizon, but it wasnt enough for them to reconsider. (That came as a shock to union leaders, who said they were blindsided by the announcement, finding out at the same time as the public.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DFL lawmakers stood alongside union leaders at a news conference on Thursday blasting the governors order as an assault on workers; House legislative staff are required to work full-time in office during the Legislative session and two days a week out of session. Legislative staff are also prohibited from unionizing. Walz said around 60% of state employees already work in-person and did so through the entire COVID-19 pandemic. He said he was confident there would be enough space to accommodate a return to the office. Walz also rejected the suggestion that the return-to-work order could be a way to thin the state workforce in the face of a souring budget outlook. He said he was more concerned about the high attrition of employees in their first six months, which he thinks could be improved with hybrid work fostering more connection and mentorship opportunities. A strike couldnt happen until late in the summer after the states contracts with MAPE and AFSCME expire on June 30 and the unions have participated in mediation and such an extreme action may not win broad public sympathy given many other office workers transitioned to hybrid schedules years ago, while frontline workers like bus drivers, nurses and servers never worked from home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The unions may not have much recourse. Though they said they are considering possible litigation, their contracts only entitle workers to have meetings to discuss changes to remote work and the ability to appeal those decisions. Changes to remote work arent subject to a formal grievance process, however. U of M resident physicians file for union A supermajority of the nearly 1,000 resident physicians and fellows at the University of Minnesota filed to unionize in one of the largest union drives in the state in recent years, SEIUs Committee of Interns and Residents union announced on Monday. The move comes on the heels of more than 200 resident physicians at Hennepin Healthcare becoming the first to file to unionize in Minnesota earlier this month as part of a surge in organizing among young doctors in their final years of training. Resident physicians complain of unsustainable working conditions, often putting in grueling 80-hour weeks and taking home what amounts to about the city of Minneapolis minimum hourly wage of $15.97. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under state law, the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services will certify the union without an election if the agency is able to verify a majority of the bargaining unit has signed in support of the union. Child labor violations on the rise in Minnesota Packers Sanitations Services Inc. faced $1.5 million in fines for employing teenage workers at meatpacking plants in eight states. (Department of Labor) Child labor violations have increased significantly in Minnesota and across the country in recent years as a tight labor market has coincided with a surge in unaccompanied migrant children. The number of underage workers found to be employed in violation of child labor laws increased nearly fivefold in the United States and more than twofold in Minnesota from 2015 to 2023, according to a new report from the left-leaning think tank North Star Policy Action. One-third of the minors counted in 2022 came from just one case where investigators found children employed by Packers Sanitation Services cleaning hazardous equipment during overnight shifts at the JBS plant in Worthington, the Turkey Valley Farms plant in Marshall and the Buckhead Meat plant in St. Cloud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its difficult to determine if the uptick is caused simply by more enforcement, but the researchers say theres reason to believe illegal child labor has increased with the rise of migrant children arriving from Latin America. One study cited in the report found a states child labor violations increase 10% for every 1% increase in unaccompanied minors. North Star Policy Action recommends that Minnesota lawmakers bolster labor protections for children by aligning state and federal law, which they say is particularly important now given the potential for the Trump administration to roll back child labor laws. Project 2025 calls for the Department of Labor to permit teenagers to work in hazardous jobs with parental consent. 80 nursing home workers struck for two days Around 80 nursing assistants, cooks, housekeepers and other workers at Providence Place nursing home in Minneapolis struck on Tuesday and Wednesday as they seek higher wages and staffing levels. The two sides remain very far apart on raises and dont have more negotiations planned yet, said Rasha Ahmad Sharif, executive vice president of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, the union representing the workers. The union is seeking 17.5% raises over three years, while the company has offered 5% over two years, Sharif said. SEIU had also called strikes at three other facilities but reached tentative agreements last week to avert a work stoppage. Workers at The Villas at St. Louis Park will receive a 4.5% increase and will negotiate raises in the following two years of the contract. Wages for all nursing home workers in Minnesota are set to increase to $22 per hour on average across job duties in 2026 and $23.49 per hour in 2027, contingent upon funding from the state, under rules passed by the states Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board. The board also voted to guarantee workers 11 paid holidays, which nursing home industry groups are currently suing to block. By James Davey LONDON (Reuters) - British clothing retailer Next joined the one billion-pound profit club on Thursday, but while investors celebrate, they are also starting to worry about the lack of a clear succession plan for its star CEO of 24 years Simon Wolfson. His stellar track record has made Next one of only a handful of big British companies closely associated with their boss. The 57-year-old, who joined Next in 1991 on the shop floor when his father David chaired the business, has helped steer it through Britain's many economic ups and downs, building a vast online business, handsomely rewarding investors via a 12-fold increase in the share price, and priming the group for a new era of international expansion. But after such a long and successful tenure - Wolfson is by far the longest-serving head of a FTSE 100 business - investors are getting nervous about what will happen should the CEO, who personally writes Next's 60-page results statements, decide at some stage to step down. "Simon's arguably the most successful CEO or strongest CEO in the FTSE 100 over the very long term. The flip side of that coin is a natural level of concern if at some point for any reason he wasn't in the business," said James Goldstone, fund manager at Invesco, a top five Next investor. Several major investors in Next told Reuters their anxiety was compounded by a lack of shareholder and media engagement by Next executives below Wolfson, making it difficult for them to assess the depth and level of leadership readiness, or bench-strength. Wolfson's sale of more than 29 million pounds ($37 million) of Next shares last September even prompted some fears of a managed exit and rumblings persist about potential political ambitions. Wolfson has sat as a Conservative Party peer in Britain's House of Lords since 2010. "There is a reasonable amount of key man risk with Simon," said Will McIntosh-Whyte, a multi-assets fund manager at Rathbones Asset Management which has Next shares in its higher risk portfolios. When asked about succession plans, Wolfson would not be drawn on the issue: "I think it's really unhelpful for companies to discuss these things in public," he said. He added: "I am only 57". BENCH STRENGTH The most senior executives below Wolfson are Richard Papp, group merchandise and operations director, Jane Shields, group sales, marketing and HR director, and Jeremy Stakol, group investments, acquisitions and third party brands director. Finance chief Jonathan Blanchard has been in his job for just nine months. President Donald Trump is trying to revoke collective bargaining rights from most federal employees the latest move in his aggressive campaign to weaken the federal workforce. Trump issued an executive order late Thursday night relying on a rarely used provision of the federal labor laws that authorizes the president to exclude agencies from long-standing unionization rights if he determines that those agencies are primarily engaged in national security work. The order purports to end collective bargaining with federal unions at numerous federal agencies and subdivisions, including the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, State and Veterans Affairs, as well as the EPA and USAID. It also authorizes the Transportation secretary to exclude the Federal Aviation Administration and any other subdivision from labor rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order would eliminate collective bargaining rights from roughly 67 percent of the entire federal workforce and for 75 percent of workers who are already in a union, according to a report by Government Executive, a publication that covers the business of government primarily for an audience of senior bureaucrats. The anti-unionization move comes amid a series of other efforts to drastically deplete the federal workforce and bring the bureaucracy under the strict control of the White House. The Trump administration is trying to fire tens of thousands of probationary federal employees, despite initial court rulings blocking the terminations. And many agencies are implementing massive reductions in force. Federal employees unions have been at the forefront of legal challenges to many of Trumps actions in the first two months of his term. They have filed lawsuits seeking to halt billionaire Elon Musks government-efficiency operation from accessing sensitive federal data; to block policies making it easier to fire government officials; and to reinstate thousands of fired federal workers, among others. One major union for federal employees pledged to swiftly challenge Trumps new executive order in court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trump's latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants nearly one-third of whom are veterans simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies, American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley said in a statement. AFGE is preparing immediate legal action. Federal employees rights to join a union and bargain collectively over their employment terms were established in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Trumps executive order, published after 10 p.m. Thursday, was accompanied by guidance from the Office of Personnel Management informing agencies that they are no longer required to collectively bargain with Federal unions and to stop participating in grievance procedures the formal complaint mechanism used by unionized workers. OPM also advised agencies that they no longer have to comply with laws that require advance notice and other procedures when implementing layoffs. Donald Trump is now looking to punish the WilmerHale law firm, which is the same company where Robert Mueller worked before he took on the role of special counsel to investigate the president's ties to Russia. As he has done to other law firms that have acted against him, Trump's latest executive order kills all of the contracts WilmerHale held with the government and suspends the security clearances of its employees, according to the New York Times. His order also prohibits WilmerHale employees from entering federal buildings, communicating with federal workers, and being hired at government agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other law firms Trump has targeted with executive order punishments like Paul, Weiss, Wharton, Rifkind & Garrison have opted to cut a deal with the president to do unpaid work for him to avoid the restrictions. Trump's order makes clear that it was issued in part as a response to Mueller's investigation, which it calls "one of the most partisan investigations in American history." Donald Trump has issued an executive order punishing WilmerHale, the law firm where Robert Mueller worked prior to his time serving as the special counsel investigating the presidents ties to Russia (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Muller resigned from his position at WilmerHale to lead the investigation after Trump's deputy attorney general appointed him as special counsel in the investigation. He retired from the law firm in 2021. "WilmerHale rewarded Robert Mueller and his colleagues," the order says, and adds that "Mueller's investigation epitomizes the weaponization of government, yet WilmerHale claimed he 'embodies the highest value of our firm and profession.'" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to taking issue with Mueller's history at the firm, Trump's order also complains about the firm's diversity efforts and its representation of clients who are suing the Trump administration over transgender rights and immigration issues, among others. WilmerHale said in a statement that it planned to pursue "all appropriate remedies to this unlawful order." On Friday, WilmerHale and Jenner & Bock another law firm Trump targeted in his executive order with ties to Mueller filed lawsuits opposing Trump's order. They are the second and third law firms to sue Trump over his punishing executive order. Perkins Cole was the first, and its lawsuit resulted in a temporary block of Trump's order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawyers representing Jenner & Bock argued in their lawsuit that Trump's order is unconstitutional and was meant to chill their work. These efforts to single out those who sue the government, to undermine the attorney-client relationship, to deter protected speech adverse to the Administrations policy agenda, and to punish citizens for their associations are irreconcilable with the Constitution, attorneys representing the firm said in its court filing. WilmerHale's lawsuit alleges that Trump's order will "inevitably cause extensive, lasting damage to WilmerHale's current and future business prospects" and its ability to represent clients that want its services, according to the filing. It also notes that Trump's order is solely a punishment for the firm's ties to Mueller. While most litigation requires discovery to unearth retaliatory motive, the Order makes no secret of its intent to punish WilmerHale for its past and current representations of clients before the Nations courts and for its perceived connection to the views that Mr. Mueller expressed as Special Counsel, the filing said. TORONTO (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his first call with new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was extremely productive and Carney said Trump respected Canadas sovereignty both in private and public but added that the relationship has changed. The call came as Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and has threatened to use economic coercion to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, a position that has infuriated Canadians. Trump avoided any mention of that in his social media post and in public remarks later. We had a very good conversation. Mark called me, Trump said. We had a very very good talk. He's going through an election. We'll see what happens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump didnt refer to the prime minister as governor as he did with Carneys predecessor Justin Trudeau. The U.S. president, in his social media post, said the two sides agree on many things and will be meeting immediately after Canadas upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada. But Trump said more tariffs are coming. And Carney said Trump didn't say he would pull back on tariffs on steel and aluminum, autos and other products. It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. It is probable now that by negotiating we will able to restore an element of trust but we cannot go back," Carney said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carney previously said he would talk to Trump if he respected Canadas sovereignty. The president respected Canadas sovereignty today both in his private and public comments, Carney said. He described the call as positive, cordial and constructive. Exactly what we want, Carney said. Carney said he will begin comprehensive negotiations for a new economic and security relationship immediately after the Canadian election on April 28. Carney, who replaced Trudeau as Canadas leader and the head of the Liberal Party, is at the start of a five-week campaign. What we need is a new agreement and a new partnership with the United States because there are too many changes, to many tariffs and too many threats coming at us, Carney said. There is too much uncertainty in that relationship. We made progress but we will see. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former central banker was sworn in as Canadas new prime minister on March 14. Its unusual for a U.S. president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office. Trump ramped up his trade war this week by announcing a 25% tariff on automobile imports. Autos are Canadas second largest export. Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canadas steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products as well as on all of Americas trading partners on April 2. Carney said the significant transformation that Trump is seeking in repatriating manufacturing in the U.S. could lead to inflation and slowing growth. But he said reaching a deal with America's most important trading partner will help Americans and Canadians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are going to end up with a very good relationship with Canada, Trump said. Canada has previously said it would retaliate with counter tariffs, and Carney reiterated that in his call with Trump. U.S. Vice President JD Vance took a harder line with Canada on Friday, noting the country is threatening retaliatory tariffs. As President Trump always says they just dont have the cards, Vance said in Greenland. There is no way that Canada can win a trade war with the United States." Vance claimed that for decades Canada has forced American farmers and manufacturers to play by an unfair set of rules. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump renegotiated the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico in his first term. At the time Trump called it the most modern, up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement in the history of our country, with the most advanced protections for workers ever developed." Trump and Carney agreed that Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister of international trade, and United States Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, will intensify talks to address the coming tariffs in the interim. The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war and challenged Canadas sovereignty. The crisis has created a surge in patriotism among Canadians, with many in the country feeling that Carney is the best person to lead the country at the moment. Trump previously acknowledged that he has upended Canadian politics. ___ Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report. Sigal Chattah speaking at a Donald Trump rally in Minden in 2022. (C-SPAN screengrab) Nevada Republican National Committeewoman and former political candidate Sigal Chattah has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as interim U.S. Attorney in Nevada, her office confirmed Friday. The interim status will be removed if she is confirmed by the Senate. In a post on X, Nevada Republican Party chairman Michael McDonald said Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have the warrior they need in Nevada. Sigal will rigorously advocate for the Presidents priorities and investigate corruption throughout the Silver State. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chattah did not respond to phone calls or texts seeking comment on her nomination. Sigal is a fierce defender of personal liberties, best known for her work reopening churches in Nevada after their unconstitutional shutdown, the Nevada Republican Party said on X. During her unsuccessful run in 2022 for Nevada attorney general, Chattah declared her Democratic opponent, incumbent Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Black man, should be hanging from a fking crane; longed for fewer pronoun badges and transgender individuals in America, while describing them with an offensive slur; and invited comparisons with Sen. Joe McCarthy and former Pres. Donald Trump by calling for the imprisonment of political foes. Chattah insists she never considered apologizing to Ford for what was widely viewed as a racist comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think hes a corrupt public official and I think hes betrayed Nevadans. Im not going to apologize for that, she said. While campaigning in the AG race, Chattah told the Current that if elected, shed be a bipartisan nightmare for anyone engaged in public corruption, adding shed absolutely investigate Trump as well as Nevadas fake electors. I dont care whether you have an R or a D by your name. If youre in a criminal enterprise, public corruption, youre getting investigated. As a candidate, Chattah pledged to protect Nevadans lawful right to keep and bear arms and uphold the Constitutional rights to peaceable assembly and petition the government for a redress of grievances. In an opinion column in January, Chattah blamed President Barack Obama for gross abuses of the Patriot Act, resulting in the proliferation of domestic terrorism rooted in Islam. At best, this encore administration has four years to correct the course of the last 15 years of homegrown Islamic threats to America. Chattah was born in Israel and moved to the U.S. at the age of 14. U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a Signal group chat in which Trump administration officials discussed details related to U.S. drone strikes on Yemen on March 15, 2025. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent exact times, weapons and other details related to the strikes to the group chat, but he, the White House and other officials argue that this was not classified information. Executive orders going back to 1982 dictate that agency heads, such as Hegseth, have the authority to classify information meaning Hegseth may have the power to determine whether he shared classified information. It is unclear whether Hegseth sourced this information from a classified document and if so, whether he went through the proper channels of declassification. These orders also state that "information shall not be considered for classification unless its unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause identifiable or describable damage to the national security" and pertains to one or more items on a list of eligible information, including "military plans, weapons systems, or operations." Top officials in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat in which officials shared what the White House has described as "sensitive" information. Shortly after noon on March 24, 2025, The Atlantic published a story (archived) by Goldberg titled "The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans." In the story, Goldberg claimed he knew the U.S. was going to strike Houthi targets in Yemen two hours before the airstrikes happened because a top government official added him accidentally, it appeared to a group chat in which Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others discussed critical information about the strikes such as exact times, weapons used and other details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When pressed by reporters, Hegseth first denied texting war plans and Trump said he didn't know anything about the situation. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard denied that the group chat contained classified information. Then, on March 26, The Atlantic published what it said was classified information from the group chat that the magazine had previously withheld out of its concern for national security. Below, we break down what was in that group chat, how we know the group chat was real and what we know about whether the information top officials shared was classified at the time: What, exactly, happened? On March 11, 2025, Goldberg reportedly received a Signal connection request from a contact labeled "Michael Waltz," who Goldberg assumed was Trump's national security adviser. Signal is an open-source, encrypted messaging app that government officials often use for everyday communication. Two days later, Goldberg received a notification indicating he was a part of a group chat named "Houthi PC small group." One of the participants, the contact labeled "Michael Waltz," said he was establishing a principals committee meeting for "coordination on Houthis" and asked the group to give the name of a representative from each of their offices to help coordinate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Houthis are a Yemeni rebel group backed by Iran that has attacked Israel and maritime trade in the region. A slew of responses followed in which contacts labeled "JD Vance," "MAR" (presumably Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio), "TG" (presumably Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard), "Scott B" (presumably Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent), "Pete Hegseth," "Brian" (likely Brian McCormack from the National Security Council) and "John Ratcliffe" (presumably the head of the CIA) submitted their representatives' names. Other participants in the group chat included "Steve Witkoff" (Middle East and Ukraine negotiator), "Susie Wiles" (the White House chief of staff), "S M" (presumably Stephen Miller, homeland security adviser), "Joe Kent" (presumably Trump's nominee to run the National Counterterrorism Center) and various National Security Council officials. Goldberg wrote in his article that he had doubts about the group chat's authenticity because he couldn't believe national security leadership would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans, and that he initially thought the chat might be part of a disinformation campaign meant to publicly embarrass him as a journalist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The next day, the "Michael Waltz" participant addressed the group about next steps. "JD Vance" responded, saying, "I think we are making a mistake" and "there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.," given how "inconsistent this is with [Trump's] message on Europe right now" and the risk of a "moderate to severe spike in oil prices." "Joe Kent" agreed that the group would have "the exact same options in a month." "Pete Hegseth" then responded to "JD Vance," saying he supported him raising the concerns with Trump and that messaging would be "tough no matter what nobody knows who the Houthis are which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded." He went on to indicate he was in favor of the operation. "Michael Waltz" then shared a long text with data related to European trade figures and stated that no matter when the airstrikes happened, the U.S. would have to be the one to "reopen these shipping lanes." The following exchange then commenced: (The Atlantic) (The Atlantic) Goldberg wrote that at this point he remained skeptical, still believing the chat could be a disinformation campaign by someone with access to an adept AI text generator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The next day, March 15, "Pete Hegseth" shared "operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing." Goldberg chose to redact this information in his original article, but according to the uncensored transcript he later released, the messages indicated the U.S. was going to strike Yemen two hours later, at 1:45 p.m. EDT. "JD Vance" responded, "I will say a prayer for victory," to which two others responded with prayer hands emoji. At 1:55 p.m., Goldberg searched "Yemen" on X and saw that bombs had exploded across Sanaa. According to the Houthi-run health ministry, the strikes killed at least two people and wounded more than a dozen others. The group reported at least 53 killed in earlier U.S. strikes, and on March 17, 2025, UNICEF independently verified that U.S. strikes had killed at least two children. Members of the group chat subsequently sent celebratory messages: (The Atlantic) Goldberg then removed himself from the group chat, having concluded it was real. He received no subsequent questions as to who he was or why he left. What was the initial response of those involved? Hegseth initially denied wrongdoing when a reporter asked him about the group chat upon his arrival in Hawaii on the day Goldberg's article went live. Hegseth disparaged Goldberg's credibility and then said, "Nobody was texting war plans. And that's all I have to say about that." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Goldberg responded to this claim on CNN, saying, "He was texting war plans, he was texting attack plans." When a reporter asked Trump for his response to the story during a news conference with the governor of Louisiana, Trump claimed he didn't know anything about it (at 13:12): Early on March 25, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied in an X post that the group chat included war plans: Jeffrey Goldberg is well-known for his sensationalist spin. Here are the facts about his latest story: 1. No war plans were discussed. 2. No classified material was sent to the thread. 3. The White House Counsels Office has provided guidance on a number of different Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 25, 2025 During a committee hearing with Gabbard and Ratcliffe on March 25, Gabbard declined to say whether she was in a group chat and said the matter was "currently under review" (at 42:27). Both Gabbard and Ratcliffe denied that anyone shared classified information on the Signal group (at 45:40 and 44:22, respectively), although Ratcliffe confirmed he was on the group chat (at 42:50). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are looking into and reviewing how the heck he got into this room," Waltz said on March 25. He also claimed "full responsibility" during a Fox News interview. How do we know the group chat was authentic? Goldberg wrote that Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the National Security Council, confirmed the Signal group chat was real. "This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain," Hughes wrote to Goldberg. "The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security." A spokesperson for Vance also responded to Goldberg, saying, "Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration's foreign policy." In the aftermath of The Atlantic's story breaking, the White House chose a strategy of communication that confirmed the group chat was real but denied that the material shared was classified. During a meeting at the White House on March 25, Trump said "from what I understand, it took place during and it wasn't classified information, so this was not classified. Now if it's classified information, it's probably a little bit different, but I always say you have to learn from every experience." Did Hegseth share classified information? Early on March 26, The Atlantic published a second story (archived) with the complete contents of the Signal chat including the information the magazine previously considered a security risk if published, such as exact times, weapons and other details. "THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP," Hegseth wrote at one point: (The Atlantic) There was a critical window in the two-hour period between when Hegseth sent this text and when the U.S. struck targets in Yemen during which American pilots and military personnel could have faced severe danger if any bad actor had access to the group chat, according to multiple former intelligence officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Typically, discussion of sensitive military information occurs in a secure location, either at the White House or in sensitive compartmented information facilities (SCIFs) installed in high-level security officials' homes. On March 26, 2025, top security officials including Gabbard, Ratcliffe and others testified at a Senate hearing. Gabbard doubled down on her previous assertion that parties on the group chat shared no classified information. "The conversation was candid and sensitive, but as the president and the national security adviser stated, no classified information was shared," Gabbard said (at 0:40). "There were no sources, methods, locations or war plans that were shared." We looked into what makes information classified, and found that according to former President Barack Obama's Executive Order 13526: Classified National Security Information (archived), agency heads have the power to classify information. This means that as the defense secretary, Hegseth has the authority to classify information and possibly to declassify information, depending on who classified it in the first place. As of this writing, Hegseth maintains he did not share classified information (archived). So, lets me get this straight. The Atlantic released the so-called war plans and those plans include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information. Those are some really shitty war plans. This only proves Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) March 26, 2025 Executive Order 13526, from 2009, states that "information shall not be considered for classification unless its unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause identifiable or describable damage to the national security" and pertains to one or more items on a list of eligible information, including "military plans, weapons systems, or operations." A Reagan-era order from 1982 contains the same language. (Executive Order 13526) According to Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official, the information Hegseth posted also likely came from a "highly classified and protected" document. "Disclosure would compromise the operation and put lives at risk. Next to nuclear and covert operations, this information is the most protected," he told The New York Times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the information was classified before Hegseth shared it in the Signal chat, that means he possibly went through the proper channels of declassification before sharing it. According to Section 3.1 of Executive Order 13526, a select few may declassify or downgrade classified information: The official who authorized the original classification, as long as they are still in the same position and has the original classification authority; The originator's current successor in function, if that individual has original classification authority; A supervisory official of either the originator or his or her successor in function, if the supervisory official has original classification authority; or Officials delegated declassification authority in writing by the agency head of the senior agency official of the originating agency In sum Waltz inadvertently added Goldberg to an authentic Signal group chat with some of the highest-ranking members of Trump's administration. In that chat, officials discussed military intelligence including exact times, weapon types and other details pertaining to a March 15, 2025 drone strike on Yemen two hours before the strike happened. Hegseth's and the White House's insistence that he did not share any classified information may have merit, given that Hegseth has the power as an agency head to classify information although he would have to meet certain conditions to declassify information if he was not the original official to authorize its classification. Therefore, it is not clear based on the available evidence whether Hegseth inadvertently sent classified information to Goldberg. Sources: Chappell, Bill. 'U.S. Intel Leaders Are Grilled Again about the Leaked Signal Chat as More Details Emerge'. NPR, 26 Mar. 2025. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/nx-s1-5341359/intelligence-leaders-signal-house-hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deng, Grace. "Yes, Biden Admin Authorized Use of Signal but Not for Sensitive Military Intel." Snopes, 27 Mar. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/03/27/biden-authorized-signal/. 'Executive Orders'. National Archives, 15 Aug. 2016, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12356.html. 'Executive Order 13526- Classified National Security Information'. Whitehouse.Gov, 29 Dec. 2009, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-classified-national-security-information. Goldberg, Jeffrey. 'The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans'. The Atlantic, 24 Mar. 2025, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/. Goldberg, Jeffrey, and Shane Harris. 'Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared on Signal'. The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2025, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-group-chat-attack-plans-hegseth-goldberg/682176/. Koplowitz, Howard |. 'GOP Senator Claims Biden Approved Signal App Used in Mike Waltz, Pete Hegseth Group Chat: Is It True?' Al, 25 Mar. 2025, https://www.al.com/politics/2025/03/gop-senator-claims-biden-approved-signal-app-used-in-mike-waltz-pete-hegseth-group-chat-is-it-true.html. Legal Resources | Intelligence Committee. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/laws/national-security-information. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. News, A. B. C. 'Former Intel Officials: Signal Chat Did Put Troops at Risk'. ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/former-intel-officials-buying-white-house-dismissals-signal/story?id=120198058. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. 'The White House Says Nothing Classified Was Shared on Signal. Democrats Say That Strains Credulity'. AP News, 26 Mar. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-signal-classified-information-308e7a81d70d6233c06a1f7330ae3004. 'White House Suddenly Does a 180 on Confirming War Plans Group Chat'. The New Republic. The New Republic, https://newrepublic.com/post/193132/white-house-leavitt-deny-war-plans-group-chat. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koLl1uKcVzc. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEDOcpsVNuc. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqgmQUbuGrg. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXOlQtOZhhY. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6wnliPbXv8. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJQwmGEcwmU. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMqX0_ih9TU. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmEH2PLNVhc. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025. - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OeF8BZ083s. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025. The past few months have been grueling for Americas art and music institutions, which have come under threat as President Donald Trump takes aim at dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the country. Following Trumps takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and its subsequent cascade of program and artist cancellations following the news of the president appointing himself chairman Trump announced his executive order to eliminate anti-American ideology from the Smithsonian Institution. He directed that Vice President JD Vance lead the purge within the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo. Trump targeted the National Museum of African American History, which he claimed promoted the idea that hard work, individualism, and the nuclear family are facets of White culture, while also criticizing the Womens History Museum, which is in development, for its plans on celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in womens sports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president seems hellbent on the erasure of anything remotely DEI-related and drew widespread backlash earlier this month after the removal of numerous Black, Latino, and women webpage memorials from the Pentagons Arlington National Cemetery website. Some of the pages were later restored and artificial intelligence was blamed for the accidental takedowns. Trumps Department of Education has also launched a new portal for Americans to snitch on the DEI efforts at their local public schools. Per his order on Thursday, spending will be prohibited on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy. He stated that Vance and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget will work with Congress to overlook future appropriations to the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian spans 21 museums and, per its website, is the worlds largest museum, education and research complex, encompassing 14 education and research centers, and the National Zoo shaping the future by preserving heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world. As the Trump administration tightens its grip on Americas history, which parts of the countrys heritage will be preserved remains to be seen. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Donald Trump has threatened to cut off funding to the prestigious Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC if its displays are influenced by divisive, race-centred ideology. At-risk pieces include an exhibition which suggests race is a social construct and a directive to a national park to dismantle its Western foundations and interrogate institutional racism. Signage that refers to Confederate military leaders at dozens of civil war battlefields, which was ripped out under the Biden administration in the aftermath of George Floyds murder, could also be reinstated under a presidential executive order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his order Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, Mr Trump rounded on the prestigious Smithsonian, claiming it had promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive. The order adds: Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our nations history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth. A raft of exhibitions have been cited in the presidents planned purge, including a sculpture show which described race as a social construct rather than a biological reality. According to the publicity for the show, sculpture has been a powerful tool in promoting scientific racism. The sculpture DNA Study Revisited by artist Roberto Lugo, part of the exhibition The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture - Mark Schiefelbein/Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved Attention may also be turned to a graphic on the website for The National Museum of African American History and Culture, which argued that hard work, individualism, and the nuclear family were aspects of White culture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also rounded on the Smithsonian American Womens History Museum demanding that it should remove any reference to transgender women and not recognise men as women in any respect in the museum. In 2019, the Smithsonian American Womens History Museum held a show celebrating LGBTQ+ women who made history, honouring among others, 1920s vaudeville star Josephine Baker who fled to Paris and later found fame as a spy working for the Allies in the Second World War. Symone Sanders Townsend, who acted as communications chief for Kamala Harris in the White House, said an invitation she received to host an event at one of the Smithsonian museums had been withdrawn in the wake of the order. I got a call from the museum uninviting me to host because they got cold feet and frankly were concerned about their funding. By Thursday, the president put a target on the back of the whole Smithsonian Institution, she wrote. Symone Sanders Townsend says an invitation she had received to host an event at one of the Smithsonian museums has been withdrawn - NBC Mr Trumps plans to exert control over the museum will be spearheaded by JD Vance, the vice-president, who is a member of the Smithsonians governing Board of Regents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House Office of Management and Budget will stop spending on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law. Other institutions caught up in the latest chapter of the culture war include the National Zoo, which forms part of the Smithsonian and the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. There, Mr Trump claimed, the Biden administration had introduced training for rangers which advocated dismantling Western foundations and interrogating institutional racism. The order also calls for the Department of the Interior, which oversees civil war battlefields, to reinstate monuments and signs which were changed under the Biden administration to inappropriately minimise the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology. Toppling of statues In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests signs were re-written and several military bases, previously named after Confederate generals, were relabelled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Across the country, Confederate statues were toppled, either by protesters or municipal authorities. A handful on federal land, like the Confederate Reconciliation Monument at Arlington National Cemetery, are likely to be reinstated. The backlash has extended to South Carolina, which has drawn up laws to protect Confederate statues including outlawing installing plaques which give them a more modern context. In Florida, groups have launched a campaign to restore Confederate statues such as that of Robert E Lee in Fort Myers. Jonathan Butcher of the conservative Heritage Foundation claimed the rewriting of history had extended to historical monuments which were not under Smithsonian control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was true at the homes of George Washington and James Madison, the first and fourth American presidents, where considerable emphasis was placed on them as slave owners, he told The Telegraph. The charities which run them had been swept up in the same kind of, self-loathing, that has turned the focus from Americas past and Americas history to this focus on racial division and on slavery, he said. 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. President Trump on Thursday pardoned Trevor Milton, the founder of the bankrupt electric truck company Nikola who was sentenced to four years in prison for securities and wire fraud charges in 2023right before he had to pay millions in restitution. Milton famously exaggerated the green tech of his hydrogen trucking start-up, defrauding investors. Oh my gosh, oh, you wont believe just what happened, Milton said in a video he posted on Instagram. I just got a call from the president of the United States, on my phone, and he signed my full and unconditional pardon of innocence. I am free, he said. The prosecutors can no longer hurt me, he said. They cant destroy my family, they cant rip everything away from me, they cant ruin my life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Milton was first indicted in 2021, the Manhattan U.S. Attorneys Office noted that his investors suffered tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, including, in certain cases, the loss of their retirement savings or funds that they had borrowed to invest in Nikola. This pardon conveniently nullifies the $680 million Milton owed to Nikola shareholders and the $15.2 million to Peter Hicks, one of his wire fraud victims. Milton emphasized what he saw as striking similarities between his case and the four criminal cases against President Donald Trump, who also maintains his victimhood. Milton has been an ardent supporter of Trump and donated $920,000 to the Trump 47 Committee and $750,000 in September to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s MAHA Alliance political action committee after his sentencing. President Donald Trump expressed frustration with national security adviser Michael Waltz on Thursday in conversations about his decision to withdraw Rep. Elise Stefaniks nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, according to two Republican sources with knowledge of the conversations. Trumps frustration is twofold, the sources said. The president is angry that Waltz fumbled a Signal group chat created to coordinate among senior national security officials. According to screenshots published by The Atlantic, a Signal user with Waltz's name added Jeffrey Goldberg, the magazine's editor-in-chief, to the group chat. The episode has created a multiday controversy for the White House. But Trump is also annoyed that the race to replace Waltz in Congress is shaping up to be more competitive than it should be for Republicans and next week's special election in Florida only opened up because Trump selected Waltz for his post in the administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even though GOP leaders are confident the Republican candidate in that special election, Randy Fine, will pull off a win, Trump is still worried that the optics are fueling a negative narrative and making the party look bad, the sources said. Trump is holding tele-town halls Thursday night for Fine and another Republican candidate in a second Florida special election. Had Stefanik been confirmed as U.N. ambassador, it would have created another special election and removed a Republican from the tightly divided House amid efforts to pass Trump's legislative agenda. The White House did not comment on questions about Trump's conversations Thursday. Trump's frustration with Waltz comes as a chorus of allies have called for Trump to fire the national security adviser as a fall guy for the group chat fiasco. But while Waltz came in for criticism because Goldberg's inclusion in the chat ultimately resulted in its publication, others have scrutinized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth more closely, because he shared details of military plans over a commercial app instead of using traditional government channels for sensitive information.Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Thursday asked the Defense Department's inspector general to open an investigation into the Signal chat and, specifically, whether department policies on classification and sharing sensitive information were broken. Wicker and the ranking member on the panel, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., sent the letter to the inspector general together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The information as published recently appears to me to be of such a sensitive nature that, based on my knowledge, I would have wanted it classified, Wicker told reporters on Wednesday. Yet Hegseth has gotten full-throated backing from Trump and others. "Hegseth is doing a great job. He had nothing to do with this. Hegseth? How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do," Trump said Wednesday in response to questions from reporters. In the same media availability, Trump said of Waltz, "Mike Waltz, I guess he said he claimed responsibility," before adding: "But again, the attacks were unbelievably successful, and thats ultimately what you should be talking about." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Trump "continues to have confidence in his national security team." Hegseth has defended himself by telling reporters there was "no classified information" in the chat, a refrain the administration and many other Republicans have adopted as well. "Theres no units, no locations, no routes, no flight paths, no sources, no methods, no classified information," Hegseth said Wednesday. Other MAGA allies have come to Hegseth's defense, too. "We dare the media and these radical Democrats to come after Pete Hegseth," said Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally and aide in his first administration. "We have his back." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, one House Republican with experience in national security matters told NBC News on Thursday that Hegseth should resign, saying that if Biden-era Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had done what Hegseth did, "we would have already drawn up, you know, impeachment and asked for his resignation." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Q: On March 28, Myanmar was hit by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake. Are there any Chinese casualties? Will China assist in Myanmars disaster relief and rescue efforts? A: Myanmar is Chinas friendly neighbor. China is closely following the situation after the earthquake and extends our sincere sympathies to Myanmar. We hope and believe that the government and people of Myanmar will overcome difficulties and rebuild their home at an early date. After the earthquake, the Chinese Embassy and Consulate-General in Myanmar immediately activated the emergency response mechanism and released relevant consular notice. They fully gathered and verified information to find out if any Chinese institutions, companies or nationals have been affected. So far, no deaths have been reported among Chinese nationals there. The people of China and Myanmar enjoy a profound pauk-phaw friendship. We feel for the people of Myanmar over the disaster. China stands ready to do its best to provide emergency humanitarian assistance and support to the affected area in Myanmar in light of their need so as to help people there carry out disaster relief and rescue and pull through this trying time. In his presidential campaign last year, Donald Trump vowed to supercharge U.S. scientific research efforts, pledging to unleash the power of American innovation to combat cancer, Alzheimers and other diseases. But Trump has instead unleashed cuts and chaos that are paralyzing ongoing research, prompting layoffs and threatening Americas perch as a global scientific leader, researchers and scientists warn. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The brunt of the pain stems from changes at the National Institutes of Health, which provides the bulk of biomedical research funding in the United States and supports more than 300,000 researchers across the country. Since Trumps inauguration on Jan. 20, NIH funding has dropped by more than $3 billion compared with grants issued during the same period last year, according to a review of publicly available grant data. The slowdown represents an almost 60 percent decline in NIH funding, touching all corners of the American science establishment - and going far beyond areas that the White House has focused on for cuts, such as transgender health. In interviews, more than a dozen scientists in fields ranging from cancer research to mental health described canceling planned studies, furloughing staff and rescinding job offers. All said that the U.S. research community has been hit with a bigger shock than the Great Recession in 2008 or the coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020, and that the resulting damage could linger for years. Its already pretty dire, said Dino Di Carlo, a UCLA bioengineering professor and entrepreneur, warning that the research pipeline and talent pool is drying up as laboratories shrink and students are turned away. He pointed to his own lab: Di Carlo said that for the first time in almost 20 years, he is not recruiting PhD students to work with him, given the funding uncertainty, and he knows other researchers making similar decisions. I talked to our industry advisory board, and I told them, five years from now, youre going to have 50 percent less PhD students from bioengineering that you can potentially recruit to your companies, Di Carlo said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The blame rests squarely on the Trump administration, which has disrupted a federal funding model for U.S. scientists that dates to World War II, said Stuart Buck, the executive director of the Good Science Project, a nonpartisan initiative to improve federal science policy. More than 2,500 universities, medical schools and other research organizations in every state receive NIH funds. There are many opportunities for reform. But everything that they have done with regard to science - its just approaching it from the wrong way and doing things that are counterproductive, Buck said. Most of the actions today seem to be more in the vein of punishing scientists, punishing universities. The White House has countered that too much federal funding has propped up left-leaning college professors and their initiatives, and that its moves are part of an initiative overseen by Elon Musk and his U.S. DOGE Service to rein in wasteful government spending. The administration has terminated at least 300 grants, including many focused on LGBTQ+ health issues, coronavirus vaccines and other research areas that leaders say are not priorities. In interviews, Trump officials said the funding slowdown reflects the time needed to transition to a new leadership team and to review grants issued under the Biden administration. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford researcher who was Trumps pick to lead NIH, was confirmed Tuesday night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not a researcher entitlement program, said a White House policy adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss federal funding decisions. This is a program to make sure that the best science is funded. And to just expect us to continue to rubber stamp what was coming down the pike before we even get our people in, I think thats a little unreasonable. Trump officials also said they were in the process of streamlining NIH systems to improve data sharing. It will make science better, not worse, Brad Smith, a top DOGE deputy, said in a Fox News interview Thursday. The administrations initiatives include an effort in February to abruptly redirect about $4 billion in NIH funding for universities, arguing that the schools were using the funds to inflate their overhead expenses; while a federal judge blocked the order, NIH funding has remained largely frozen, and some affected universities have paused hiring or cut staff. Trump officials this month also halted hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds for Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania on grounds that the schools did too little to combat antisemitism and too much to support transgender athletes, respectively. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the administration has canceled studies and initiatives that officials say run afoul of executive orders, such as research into minority populations use of coronavirus vaccines, and postponed decisions on funding new research. NIH officials this week were directed to also review grants for studies that could be used to manipulate the public, such as research into coronavirus vaccines, masks and social distancing, according to internal emails shared with The Washington Post. Researchers say the news of their canceled studies often arrives with a five-word justification: The grant no longer effectuates agency priorities. The decisions to pause funding, cancel studies and take other actions affecting research have been made collectively, Trump officials said. Were a team that is very interested in improving the way that government functions and has been disappointed with how the NIH has functioned for some time, the White House policy adviser said. NIH didnt respond to requests for comment. The Trump administration on Thursday also announced a restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services that is intended to cut NIHs workforce by 1,200. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Musk and his DOGE allies have touted short-term cost savings from some of the moves, scientists say theyre haunted by the long-term implications: clinical trials that could be interrupted, research projects that dont take root and young scientists whose careers might not begin. Rachael Sirianni, a bioengineer at U-Mass. Chan Medical School working on treatments for pediatric brain cancer, said her lab is among the many teams that have been effectively paralyzed as funding has dried up. In an interview, she listed the ramifications: no new supplies; no new experiments; no guarantee that she can retain her staff, let alone recruit new team members. Its unbearable, she said, adding that the consequences of the research slowdown will eventually affect all Americans. Sirianni pointed to paused studies and clinical trials that she said offered hope to cancer patients and their families. Right now, whats happening is that hope is being yanked away, she said. Officials inside the federal government described their own painful reckonings, with several describing heartbreaking decisions as they were ordered to cancel research projects that their teams had decided to fund. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Imagine if this were happening during the breast cancer research boom 30 years ago, where we were finding better ways to identify subtypes of breast cancer and targeted treatments, said a senior NIH official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. More women would be dying now of breast cancer, left and right. Same thing with prostate cancer. You stop the pipeline, you pay with access to fewer cures later. The NIH official said they had put in paperwork to leave the agency. I dont want to be part of the dismantling of American science, the official said. The consequences go beyond biomedical research and affect broader U.S. competitiveness and innovation, said Mark Horowitz, a Stanford University engineering professor. He pointed to a programming language called CUDA that he said grew out of research conducted by a Stanford student and is now key to the success of Nvidia, one of Americas hottest technology companies, in AI computing platforms. That process took many years, Horowitz said. Im very worried that if you kill those kinds of small investments now, the ramifications of it will be very visible in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some outside observers ask whether anyone in the Trump administration is contemplating the lasting implications of disrupting the decades-long relationship between federal funding and U.S. scientific organizations. Its shock and awe. Its punching the bureaucracy in their mouth, so to speak, said Caleb Watney, co-founder of the Institute for Progress, a nonpartisan think tank focused on innovation. But the big uncertainty is, does the dust clear? - - - A federally funded research model in peril Many U.S. scientists concede that the current federal funding model is imperfect, with researchers required to submit reams of paperwork to win and retain grants. Some share the Trump administrations skepticism of whether universities budgets are bloated by high overhead costs. Experts also say that existing incentives can reward caution, not courage; Bhattacharya, the incoming NIH director, has called for the agency to fund more cutting-edge science. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But few saw the Trump administrations crackdown coming, with many researchers now issuing pleas to their personal networks in increasingly desperate emails, videos and presentations. You can call, not write, your elected representatives. Tell them that every day we halt scientific progress in biomedical research, American lives are at risk, Leslie Phillips, a Seattle-based epidemiologist, said in a video posted this month. The model that underpins NIH and other federal agencies was conceived by Vannevar Bush, a scientist who helped oversee efforts to develop an atomic bomb during World War II. As he turned his gaze to a postwar environment in 1945, Bush urged President Harry S. Truman to spur innovation by funneling grants to universities and research institutions, calling for an endless frontier. The strategy positioned the U.S. to achieve breakthroughs in drug development, computer technologies and numerous other fields; the nations ample resources also helped lure scientists from around the world to work in its laboratories. The approach also had staunch bipartisan support, with Republicans arguing that scientific innovation was an economic and national security imperative. A half-dozen buildings on the NIH campus bear the name of GOP lawmakers who helped secure federal funding for the research institutes, including former senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, who retired in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But backlash to the U.S. scientific community increased during the pandemic, with some Americans blaming federal officials for what they saw as an overly harsh response to the public health crisis. And as Musks team has questioned whether federal funds can be better spent, researchers have struggled to explain that their process can be slow, tedious - and uncertain. These products dont come fully formed, said Di Carlo, the UCLA professor. You have to do basic research that lays the foundation. Then you have iterative developments as youre pushing the boundaries of understanding. And then you have commercialization processes, where universities play a big role founding start-up companies and training students to lead these companies. And then finally, over many years, you get the products that end up helping folks. Other scientists pointed to the unexpected beneficial consequences of some studies. Federally funded research into Gila monster venom in the 1980s and 1990s laid the eventual groundwork for weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic. Scientists also rejected the Trump administrations suggestions that universities could turn to private foundations or dip into their endowments to fund research efforts. Officials at private research foundations have said that they have been deluged with requests and cannot replace the funding that the government has historically provided. University leaders have said that their endowments would be quickly sapped and that donors often restrict their gifts to specific purposes. Some researchers said they are still waiting on funding decisions that were supposed to be made in January but were canceled amid a broad freeze in external communications. Theres a huge cash flow problem that is affecting things here and now, said Jeremy Berg, a scientist who led one of the NIH institutes before stepping down in 2011. In an interview, he compared universities precarious position to a landlord who suddenly stops getting rent checks. That obviously is going to throw off the books and cause some panic as you try to figure out how to make things work, he said. In-progress studies have also been interrupted, such as a decades-long initiative to study patients with diabetes that Columbia is helping manage, and researchers are warning that such work cannot easily be resumed. The whole value of these longitudinal studies is the fact that theyre happening over the course of 30 years, Watney said. Unless you can pick them back up quickly, its going to be a really major source of lost value. Scientists said they hope that funding freezes will soon be lifted and that NIH will resume its traditional operations now that Bhattacharya has been confirmed. But many said theyre pessimistic about a quick fix. One researcher whose team studies human gut bacteria - with implications for treating obesity, inflammatory bowel disease and depression - described how some of her labs research has been in limbo because of months-long NIH delays on funding decisions and other uncertainty sparked by the Trump administration. The amount of chaos that has been created, you cant snap your fingers and make it all right in a day, a week or a month, said the researcher, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of fear of retribution. She compared the current NIH cuts and funding delays across the research community to how covid shutdowns led to long-term learning loss across Americas educational system. Even if by some small miracle, the NIH gets back up and running again by July, that six-month delay has real long-term consequences, the researcher said. - - - Graphics: https://washingtonpost.com/documents/25a22bc6-c344-4fe9-9ba3-7d20829baff1.pdf https://washingtonpost.com/documents/9ba8b572-ba7b-4875-887d-aa0d3579fdb0.pdf Related Content VIP bettors say sportsbooks keep them playing, no matter the cost Every year, they picnic under the cherry blossoms. This is their story. Two veteran coaches moved with the times and kept winning big (Bloomberg) -- A key Republican lawmaker called on President Donald Trump to renegotiate the US-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement in order to provide an off-ramp to new tariffs on automobiles announced this week. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, speaking on Bloomberg Televisions Surveillance, said that House Republicans and American businesses want the White House to develop a strategic plan on tariffs, which can provide certainty to the economy. Lets renegotiate USMCA, Hill said, of the North American trade agreement signed in 2018. The lawmaker highlighted that some 30% of the goods made in his home state of Arkansas are shipped to Mexico or Canada. The best way to tackle Chinese dumping of auto parts is to change the requirements for American content laid out in the USMCA agreement which Trump inked in his first term Hill argued. The congressman said that he is hearing from Arkansas-based Walmart Inc. that the trade levies will raise prices for consumers. He also expressed concern about the uncertainty about the presidents tariffs. Trump is planning a fresh set of duties to be announced April 2. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Strategy Question I dont know what the strategy is, Hill said. As for Walmart, they can live with certain things if they know what the plan is. Separately, the congressman said hes confident the House and Senate can separately come to an agreement on a package of tax and spending cuts. This week, Senate Republicans revealed that they are planning to require fewer reductions to Medicaid and other entitlement programs as part of their budget. They are also eyeing much deeper tax cuts than a plan already passed by the House would allow. Hill said that Republicans will look to wring cost savings from Medicaid and focus the program on the needy without cutting benefits. On the tax side, he said choices will have to be made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to put an emphasis on what can grow the economy, he said. Hill said lawmakers arent planning to include tariff revenue in their plan something that would require enacting new import duties into law. Hill also said that Trumps decision to withdraw the nomination of New York Representative Elise Stefanik to be ambassador to the United Nations reflected concerns about the vote count on the tax package in the House and the possibility that in her red district she could be replaced by a Democrat. --With assistance from Jonathan Ferro, Lisa Abramowicz and Annmarie Hordern. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Since being sworn in, President Donald Trump has made fossil fuels a central component of his energy agenda. The administration has taken steps to expedite oil production on federal lands, reverse regulations imposed by the Biden administration, and slow down renewable energy projects. "We have more liquid gold under our feet than any nation on Earth and by far. And now I've fully authorized the most talented team ever assembled to go and get it. It's called drill, baby, drill," the president told a joint session of Congress this month. Trump's affinity for fossil fuels has been met with opposition from a surprising group: American energy producers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released its quarterly survey of 130 energy firms in the 11th Federal Reserve District, which includes Texas, northern Louisiana, and southern New Mexico. While the report says that production in the region has increased slightly, it also found that companies are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the year ahead. "I have never felt more uncertainty about our business in my entire 40-plus-year career," said one survey respondent. Another respondent called "uncertainty" the "key word to describe 2025," adding, "There cannot be 'U.S. energy dominance' and $50 per barrel oil," a stated goal of the Trump administration. (The current cost of oil is about $70 per barrel.) At that price, "We will see U.S. oil production start to decline immediately and likely significantly (1 million barrels per day plus within a couple quarters). This is not 'energy dominance.'" "The administration's chaos is a disaster for the commodity markets. 'Drill, baby, drill' is nothing short of a myth and populist rallying cry," one comment succinctly said. It's not just Trump's rhetoric that has the energy industry on edge; it's his trade policies, too. One respondent noted that tariffs "immediately increased the cost of our casing and tubing by 25 percent." Another said, "Washington's tariff policy is injecting uncertainty into the supply chain." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By taking a heavy-handed approach to energy policy, Trump is repeating the mistakes of past presidents, including Joe Biden, who gave green energy projects billions of dollars in federal loans and halted oil and gas drilling on federal lands. And while record gas prices during the Biden administration were a result of global supply chains, the president's rhetoric toward domestic oil producers discouraged investment and didn't help to alleviate costs. This mistake isn't just made at the federal level. States have also imposed laws mandating that a certain level of energy come from renewable sources or outlawing certain energy technologies outright. In California, renewable energy mandates and a ban on building new nuclear power plants, which are carbon-free, have hurt grid reliability and raised costs for consumers. The state has turned to natural gas peaker plants and electricity imports from other states to supplement its renewable-heavy grid. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Trump's energy favoritism is going away soon. The president is eyeing a revival of coal-fired power plants. "I am authorizing my Administration to immediately begin producing Energy with BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN COAL," he said on Truth Social. Coal has been declining for years primarily because of economics and the flood of cheaper natural gas to the market (regulations are also responsible). While the U.S. will need to increase power generation to keep up with growing demand, interfering with market forces and keeping energy sources online when they are no longer economically viable will be costly. No matter the technology, when the government picks energy winners, consumers lose. The post Trump Is Sabotaging His 'Drill, Baby, Drill' Agenda appeared first on Reason.com. A student goes through his locker in a hallway at an elementary school in Louisville, Ky. More than a dozen states in the past two years have launched or expanded programs that allow families to use taxpayer dollars to send their students to private schools (Jon Cherry/Getty Images). More than a dozen states in the past two years have launched or expanded programs that allow families to use taxpayer dollars to send their students to private schools. Now, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress want to supercharge those efforts. Trump in January issued an executive order directing several federal agencies to allow states, tribes and military families to tap into federal money for so-called school choice opportunities. Those can come in the form of education savings accounts, voucher programs, tax credits or scholarships. Trumps order also aims to expand access to public charter schools, which are free from some of the rules that apply to traditional public schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile in Congress, 24 Republican senators have signed on to legislation that would provide $10 billion in annual tax credits to individuals and corporations who make charitable contributions to organizations that provide private-school scholarships. A Nebraska Republican introduced a companion measure in the House. Already this year, Idaho, Tennessee and Wyoming have approved school choice programs, and bills are advancing in Kansas, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. A bill in Mississippi died before advancing. Most of the measures still in play would open programs to all families regardless of income, though some states would cap the total amount of money available. Supporters of school choice say it gives parents control of their kids education and an escape hatch if they are dissatisfied with their local public school. Many conservatives, religious institutions and private schools are in favor of school choice, along with some people of color who live in districts with underperforming public schools. Every child is different. They learn in different environments. There are just so many factors, that I believe that parents should be the ones that make the decision on where their child is going to do the best and have the most success, said Indiana Republican state Sen. Linda Rogers. A former educator, Rogers has sponsored a bill in her state that would provide additional money to charter schools, which are considered to be a form of school choice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opponents, including teachers unions, public school professionals and many rural lawmakers of both parties, say such measures undermine traditional public schools by shifting money away from them. When we start to take from public schools, were hurting our kids, our lower-income kids. They will not prosper from this legislation, Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Ronnie Glynn said during the floor debate on a far-reaching voucher bill in his state. Joshua Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, said vouchers are a budget-buster for states. Vouchers dont shift costs they add costs, Cowen said in a phone interview. Most voucher recipients were already in private schools, meaning states are paying for education they previously didnt have to fund. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The switch to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave parents a front-row seat to watch what their children were or were not learning in their classes, contributed to the recent school choice momentum. So did parent frustration over prolonged public school closures. Parents got a good look into sort of what was happening in schools, said Bella DiMarco, a senior K-12 education policy analyst at FutureEd, an independent think tank at Georgetown University. There was a lot of talk during the pandemic around school choice of what public schools arent doing for their kids. The first modern school voucher program, created in Milwaukee in 1990, was a bipartisan effort to help lower-income families afford private schools. In recent years, more states have moved from school choice programs focused on certain groups, such as low-income students or students with disabilities, to universal programs open to students of all backgrounds. Historically, the programs were always sort of targeted to students in need, DiMarco said. But in the last couple of years, the new push has been for these universal programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, more than 30 states and Washington, D.C., have at least one school choice program. More than a dozen states now offer universal or near-universal access, allowing K12 students to participate in school choice regardless of income. EdChoice, a nonprofit that advocates for school choice, estimates that 1.2 million students are attending private schools this school year with the help of public tax credits, scholarships or vouchers. Different strategies States that enacted school choice programs this year have pursued different strategies. The program Idaho enacted last month, for example, will provide an annual tax credit of $5,000 per child ($7,500 for students with disabilities) to help cover private education expenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tennessees new program will provide 20,000 scholarships of roughly $7,000 each. During its first year, half of the Tennessee scholarships will be reserved for households earning less than $173,000 for a family of four, but that restriction will be removed in subsequent years. About 65% of the Tennessee vouchers are expected to be awarded to students who already attend private schools, according to a legislative analysis. Critics say the cost of the program will grow quickly, creating a hole in the states budget. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who pushed hard for the proposal, suggested that Trumps executive order might provide additional resources. Lee told reporters he hasnt yet analyzed the order, but I think theres opportunity there. The president wants to support states like ours who are advocating for school choice, Lee said in a news conference after lawmakers approved the measure. Lee was at the White House on Thursday when Trump signed an order calling for the U.S. Department of Education to be dismantled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Texas lawmakers also are actively debating a voucher program, a longtime priority for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who worked to defeat resistant rural Republicans in last years state legislative elections and who also attended the White House event. The Senate passed a bill that would provide $10,000 per student ($11,500 for students with disabilities) annually through education savings accounts. A similar House proposal is under review. Kansas is considering a universal refundable tax credit $8,000 per child for accredited private school tuition and $4,000 for non-accredited private schools. The program starts with a $125 million cap, increasing annually if participation hits certain thresholds. Ballot box defeats School choice opponents question the wisdom of sending taxpayer dollars to schools that may lack certified teachers, follow nonstandardized curricula or discriminate in admissions. Many private schools have testing standards, maintain religious requirements or exclude LGBTQ+ students or those with certain disabilities, for example. In some Republican-led states that have expanded school choice, Democrats have filed bills to increase oversight and place restrictions on these programs. A bill in Tennessee would require background checks for teachers at private schools that receive voucher money. And an Iowa bill would require that property tax statements include information on how much money education savings accounts subtracted from local public schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As voucher programs have grown, they have attracted greater scrutiny. ProPublica, an investigative journalism outlet, last year found that Arizonas universal voucher program has mostly benefited wealthier families. Some Arizona parents have tried to use voucher money to pay for dune buggies and expensive Lego sets, according to press reports. Critics also note that despite recent legislative successes, school ballot initiatives fared poorly at the ballot box last fall. Voters in Colorado rejected a measure that sought to enshrine school choice rights in the state constitution. In Nebraska, voters partially repealed a state-funded private school scholarship program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And in Kentucky, voters overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the use of public money to support private schools, with 65% of voters and a majority in every county opposed. Theres a handful of these billionaires that have been pushing vouchers for 30 years, said Cowen, the Michigan State University professor. The school choice movement is not necessarily driven by public demand, but rather by wealthy donors and political maneuvering. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. New York Times political correspondent Maggie Haberman weighed in on why she believes President Trump is defending national security adviser Mike Waltz over the Signal group chat breach, suggesting the rhetoric is an effort to stiff media outlets and their portrayal of the controversy. Trump is very clear that, according to a number of people Ive spoken to, he does not want to fire someone, because he sees that as giving in to the media, Haberman said Thursday during an appearance on CNNs The Source with Kaitlan Collins. People around him see that as weak, she added. And I think you will hear that for a while. Whether this is sustainable for them is another story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Waltz admitted to adding The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the message thread where attack plans about strikes in Yemen were being discussed among senior Trump administration officials, including Waltz, Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Goldberg released the full messages of the war plans to the public Wednesday. I didnt see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else, Waltz told Fox Newss Laura Ingraham earlier this week, referring to Goldberg. Now, whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean, is something were trying to figure out. Despite concerns from former defense officials, Trump has reiterated that he maintains full confidence in Waltz and, like others in the administration has seemingly brushed off the incident as a mistake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and hes a good man, Trump told NBC, adding that the security breach was the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has similarly argued that Waltz and Hegseth, who has also taken heat over the incident, should not be punished. As the White House scrambles to contain the criticism, Waltz has pressed ahead on his duties full force. The national security adviser is slated to accompany Vance and second lady Usha Vance during a trip to Greenland on Friday, when they are set to visit an American military base. 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. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) With TikToks deadline to sell to an American buyer approaching, President Donald Trump says he may once again step in to prevent a nationwide ban on the popular social media app. Under a law passed earlier this year, TikToks Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has until April 5 to sell the platform to a U.S.-based buyer. However, a deal has yet to materialize. Were going to have a form of a deal, but if its not finished, its not a big deal, well just extend it, Trump told reporters Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several American tech executives have expressed interest in acquiring TikTok, but negotiations remain stalled. In a last-minute attempt to gain Chinas cooperation, Trump suggested he might consider easing newly imposed tariffs. Sounds like something Id do, he said. China, however, has pushed back against the U.S. mandate. Its foreign ministry reiterated opposition to what it calls economic coercion and bullying. TikTok has repeatedly refused to divest from ByteDance, arguing that U.S. user data is not at risk. The company has not commented on Trumps latest remarks. Lawmakers, including those who overwhelmingly supported the law requiring TikToks sale, have criticized the possibility of an extension. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was deemed by our national security experts that this Chinese-held company was a risk That has not changed, said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) questioned Trumps motives, saying, I dont know what hes trying to do I think hes trying to cut a deal with some of his friends. The law allows for a one-time, 90-day extension. Trump previously granted a 70-day extension on his first day back in office, but it remains unclear how long another delay might last. Meanwhile, public support for a TikTok ban appears to be waning. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 34% of U.S. adults favor banning the app, down from 50% in 2023. 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. The White House ramped up its attacks on federal labor unions Thursday by trying to strip away collective bargaining rights from a large chunk of the government workforce. President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a slew of agencies ineligible for negotiating union contracts because they have intelligence or national security work as a primary function. The order claims the exemption covers the State, Defense, Treasury, Justice and Veterans Affairs departments, along with large portions of the Interior, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services departments, and several other federal agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the policy survives a likely legal challenge, employees at the relevant agencies would no longer be covered by union contracts, losing a key barrier against unfair firings. The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal union, said the order covers more than a million workers. HuffPost reported back in December that Trump was likely to use a national security exemption to try to end collective bargaining rights at several departments. The president has already revoked union rights at the Transportation Security Administration, where its easier to do so due to the law that created the agency. AFGE said it was preparing immediate legal action to fight the policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trumps latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants nearly one-third of whom are veterans simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies, said Everett Kelley, the unions president. Although they can offer strong job security, federal unions do not wield the same powers as their private-sector counterparts. They cant bargain over wages or benefits or call work stoppages, for instance. And all federal workplaces are open shops, meaning no worker can be required to pay union dues under the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act. Nonetheless, the Trump administration sees federal unions as a major obstacle to its goals of shrinking the government and shuttering agencies it doesnt like. AFGE and other unions have led a number of lawsuits aimed at blocking legally dubious White House policies, including its Fork in the Road deferred resignation offer and its sweeping layoffs of more than 20,000 probationary employees. Kelley said Trumps efforts to weaken unions amount to a threat to all workers: Fall in line or else. (Reuters) - OpenAI is not expecting its cash flow to turn positive until 2029, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence bellwether is grappling with significant costs from chips, data centers and talent needed to develop cutting-edge AI systems, according to the report. By 2029, OpenAI expects its revenue will surpass $125 billion. Fueled by the strength of its paid AI software, OpenAI forecast to more than triple its revenue to $12.7 billion in 2025, the report said. In September last year, Reuters reported that OpenAI was anticipating its revenue would surpass $11.6 billion in 2025, citing sources who were privy to the matter, adding that its revenue in 2024 would touch $3.7 billion, a figure corroborated by the Bloomberg report. In more than two years since OpenAI rolled out its ChatGPT chatbot, it has introduced a bevvy of subscription offerings for consumers and businesses. In February, its paying business users crossed 2 million, more than double the number from its last update in September. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona) President Donald Trump is seeking to restore truth and sanity to American history by removing improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology from the Smithsonian Institution. On Thursday, as part of the White Houses ongoing effort to reshape American culture and eliminate references to diversity, equity and inclusion from public life, the president signed an executive order aimed at reversing what he calls a corrosive ideology that he claims was advanced by the previous administration. The order Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History is designed to overhaul the Smithsonian, the worlds largest museum, education and research complex, which is visited by approximately 17 million people every year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Founded nearly 180 years ago, the prestigious institution operates 17 museums and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. as well as two museums in New York: the National Museum of the American Indian and the Cooper Hewitt, the nations only museum devoted exclusively to historical and contemporary design. In his latest executive order, Trump directed Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Board of Regents, to work with Congress to deny funding to exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values. Vance, who serves as one of the Smithsonians 17 board members as part of his official duties, will also oversee the removal of improper ideology from the institutions properties. According to the president, examples of improper ideology include an exhibition currently on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture and an upcoming exhibition at the Smithsonian American Womens History Museum, which plans on celebrating transgender athletes. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at undoing many of the changes made during the racial reckoning movement, including the restoration of monuments, and the removal of so-called anti-American ideology from national museums and other federal properties. The White House said the order was part of restoring truth and sanity to American history by revitalizing key cultural institutions and reversing the spread of divisive ideology. The executive order calls for the removal of improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology from the Smithsonian and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo, pointing to exhibits that address the United States history of racism and celebrate the transgender rights movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prior administration pushed a divisive ideology that reconstrued Americas promotion of liberty as fundamentally flawed, infecting revered institutions like the Smithsonian and national parks with false narratives, the order reads. Trumps directive also calls on the Secretary of the Interior to restore statues and other monuments that have been improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events. Many monuments to racist figures in American history were vandalized and ultimately removed during the 2020 uprising in response to the murder of George Floyd. In the capital, those include memorials honoring Confederate generals and a pro-slavery Supreme Court justice who said Black people were not American citizens. While in office, former President Joe Biden supported the removal of racist statues from public squares and advocated for moving them to museums focused on that aspect of American history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has signed more than 100 executive orders directives that do not require Congressional approval just two months into his term, far outpacing the number of orders signed by at least the past 14 presidents. Related... President Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation targeting WilmerHale, a law firm with ties to former special counsel Robert Mueller, making it the latest law firm to be a target for retribution. The presidential action directs the government to suspend any security clearances held by WilmerHale employees, review the firms access to government buildings and terminate any contracts with WilmerHale. The proclamation specifically cites WilmerHale employing Mueller, the former special counsel who oversaw the investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign coordinated with Russia, as well as two of Muellers aides, Aaron Zebley and James Quarles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This weaponization of the justice system must not be rewarded, let alone condoned, the proclamation states. A WilmerHale spokesperson said it was aware of Trumps order, and they noted a similar order targeting another firm had been enjoined by a federal judge. Our firm has a longstanding tradition of representing a wide range of clients, including in matters against administrations of both parties, the spokesperson said in a statement. The Executive Order references Robert Mueller, who retired from our firm in 2021, and had a long, distinguished career in public service, from his time as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam to his leadership of the FBI in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. We remain committed to providing the expert representation that our clients are entitled to and rely upon, the spokesperson added. We look forward to pursuing all appropriate remedies to this unlawful order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muellers investigation ultimately did not find that Trump or his aides coordinated with Russia during the 2016 election, and the special counsels report did not draw a conclusion as to whether Trump obstructed justice. Trump has in recent weeks targeted numerous law firms with ties to Democrats or individuals involved in cases against him. A federal judge temporarily blocked the portion of Trumps order denying Perkins Coie attorneys entry to federal buildings. Trump also targeted the Paul Weiss law firm, but it later reached a deal with the administration to have the order rescinded. As part of the agreement, the law firm must provide the equivalent of $40 million in pro bono legal services to support the Trump administrations initiatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Updated at 8:40 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President Donald Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday, a day after Carney signaled that Canadas traditional relationship with the United States is over. It marks the first conversation between Trump and the new Canadian prime minister, who succeeded former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as Trump continues to threaten and impose tariffs on Americas neighbor and repeats his desire to make Canada the 51st state. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, Trump posted Friday on Truth Social. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump referred to Carney as prime minister, ditching the governor title that he had repeatedly mocked Trudeau with. His post also made no reference to Canada becoming part of the U.S. Carney said on Thursday that he would emphasize mutual respect of Canadas sovereignty in his conversation with Trump. I reject any attempts to weaken Canada, to wear us down, to break us to that America can own us, Carney said, speaking Thursday on Parliament Hill. That will never happen. Canadas readout of the call said that Trump and Carney had a constructive conversation about the relationship between the U.S. and Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump announced on Wednesday that he would impose 25 percent tariffs next week on auto imports from Canada and other countries. Carney has said Canada will fight the tariffs with retaliatory trade actions. Conversations between Canadas Minister of International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will intensify following the announcement of new tariffs, the Canadian government said in a readout of the call. Trump has also repeatedly declared April 2 as liberation day, when new tariffs are set to take effect. Carney told Trump that Canada will impose additional retaliatory tariffs after April 2, according to the readout. The Justice Departments decision to invoke the rarely used state secrets privilege in a bid to avoid giving a federal judge details on two deportation flights has opened a complicated new front in the governments ongoing resistance to turning over the information. The departments invocation of the privilege earlier this week is the latest dramatic turn in the legal saga over Presidents Donald Trumps contested use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to quickly deport migrants the US has accused of being affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. It comes as US District Judge James Boasberg, who is overseeing a challenge to the legality of Trumps use of the sweeping wartime authority, moves closer to deciding whether the government violated his command to immediately halt deportation flights carrying some of the alleged gang members when it allowed two such planes to continue earlier this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the administration has repeatedly stymied the judges fact-finding efforts, with the state secrets invocation representing its most audacious move yet to avoid giving Boasberg any more information. This is a bolder assertion than what the Executive Branch normally takes, said Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer who has litigated state secrets privilege cases and whose security clearance was recently pulled by Trump. I see this as an effort to use the privilege as a sword instead of a shield, because they have run out of options. Heres what to know about the state secrets privilege: What is the doctrine? Courts have long recognized the ability of the federal government to block secret information from being used as evidence and they have often been deferential to those requests, giving past presidents wide leeway to put information off limits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Invoking the state secrets privilege often shuts a court case down entirely. But those demands from presidents have often been met with external skepticism because it works against foundational principles of the president having to follow the law, just like everyone else. How can a court, or the public, assess whether the administration has followed the law if the president shields that evidence from legal review? That tension between the branches when state secrets might be in play is nearly as old as the nation itself. When the federal government prosecuted Aaron Burr in 1807, the former vice president sought to compel President Thomas Jefferson to produce a letter accusing him of treason. Jeffersons attorneys argued for the presidents right to withhold information that might contain state secrets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then-Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that courts must pay all proper respect to a presidents reasons for invoking the privilege but also suggested that courts must decide for themselves whether to uphold the claims. The modern debate over the privilege was established by a 1953 Supreme Court decision, US v. Reynolds, in which the widows of civilians killed in the crash of an Air Force plane sought the governments accident report. The Supreme Court ruled for the government, finding that there was a reasonable danger that the investigation report would contain information about secret electronic equipment on board. But it turns out that the seminal modern case on the state secrets privilege bolsters the very question critics raise: When are presidents invoking state secrets because of actual secret information versus trying to keep from public view embarrassing details? Fifty-two years after the Supreme Court decided Reynolds, blocking the widows case, the accident report from the incident was declassified. It contained no state secrets but rather pointed to negligence on the part of the Air Force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Presidents of both parties have stepped up use of the privilege, particularly in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks when the federal government vastly increased its surveillance apparatus. The privilege was asserted two times between 1961 and 1970, according to a brief filed at the Supreme Court by Public Citizen in 2021. Between 2001 and 2006 not even a full decade it was claimed 20 times. After 2006, the executive branch asserted the privilege in at least an additional 29 cases, according to the brief. Why the Trump administration is invoking it The Trump administration has resisted giving Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, information on the two deportation flights that took place on March 15 the same day he ordered the government during a court hearing to immediately turn around any planes carrying migrants being deported under the Alien Enemies Act. As part of his fact-finding mission to get more details about the flights, Boasberg demanded the Justice Department answer a series of questions concerning operational details about the flights, including about the exact timing of when the two planes took off from US soil and left US airspace, as well as the specific times individuals deported under Trumps proclamation were transferred out of US custody that day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Attorney General Pam Bondi and other top DOJ officials told the judge on Monday that they were invoking the privilege because they believed that disclosing the information would pose reasonable danger to national security and foreign affairs. Leaning into the administrations designation of Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, the officials argued that turning over the information would undermine or impede future counterterrorism operations by the United States. Disclosing any information that assists in the tracking of the flights would both endanger the government personnel operating those flights and aid efforts by our adversaries to draw inferences about diplomatic negotiations and coordination relating to operations by the Executive Branch to remove terrorists and other criminal aliens from the country, the officials told Boasberg. More broadly, the administration appears to be using the state secrets privilege as an attempt to bring a swift end to Boasbergs compliance inquiry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is sort of like their Hail Mary pass, Zaid said. Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, described the invocation of the privilege in this case as bogus given the fact that much of this information about the timing of the flights is publicly available, and (Trump administration officials) even boasted about it. So its very questionable that theres any genuine state secrets here, he added. Experts noted that past presidents have invoked the privilege to shield high-level communications with foreign leaders and Trump aides have said the rapid deportations required exactly those kinds of tightwire negotiations. On the other hand, the invocations are usually made to protect intelligence operations, not flight times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of the more recent cases involve really sensitive issues around the CIA and its capabilities or the NSA and surveillance, said Ashley Deeks, a professor at the University of Virginia law school and a former deputy legal adviser to the National Security Council. The information that judge is seeking here seems, on its face, less significant than those other cases. What happens next Boasberg has given attorneys representing the individuals challenging Trumps use of the Alien Enemies Act a chance to respond to the governments decision to invoke the state secrets privilege. That filing is due Monday. The judge has previously said that if the administration decides to shield the information from him through an invocation of the doctrine, he is obligated to determine whether the circumstances are appropriate for the claim of privilege. That is exactly what the Supreme Court required lower court judges to do in the Reynolds decision. In an order last week, Boasberg also signaled his skepticism over how the information he is seeking is too sensitive to be disclosed even under seal. He pointed to the fact that the government had made no claim that the information at issue is even classified, and went on to point out that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had revealed many operational details of the flights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Court is therefore unsure at this time how compliance with its (request for the flight information) would jeopardize state secrets, Boasberg wrote. The judge could also order the government to give him an in camera, or confidential, review of the information at issue so he can better decide whether the invocation of privilege is justified. If the judge is not satisfied, (the government) is required to persuade the judge that the privilege has been properly invoked, Zaid explained. So this is solely in the hands of Boasberg for him to decide whether this 10-page filing is sufficient to give him the answers. Its possible that Boasberg may not need the flight information hes seeking at all to determine whether the government violated his oral order that it halt deportations flights earlier this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However the state secrets question is resolved, it appears there is sufficient uncontested evidence (the administration) chose not to comply with the oral order and therefore the questions before Judge Boasberg are whether that order is binding and, if so, what he should do about the fact that the defendants violated it, said Marty Lederman a professor at Georgetown Law who worked in the Justice Department under Democratic and Republican presidents. Attorneys with Trumps DOJ are arguing that the statements Boasberg made from the bench during the March 15 hearing did not amount to a binding injunction and that a written order he issued shortly after the proceedings is the controlling ruling in the matter. That written order contained no such language about the planes and instead just said the administration was enjoined from removing the migrants subject to Trumps proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act while his temporary restraining order remained in effect. Supreme Court defers to government Like other federal courts, the Supreme Court has often been deferential to the governments invocation of state secrets, regardless of which party controls the White House. Most recently, in 2022, a majority of the court denied a Guantanamo Bay detainee access to testimony he was seeking after the Trump administration invoked the privilege in his case. In that case, involving Abu Zubaydah, the information at issue was no longer a secret. An international court and the former president of Poland had acknowledged the existence of a CIA black site in that country. But the Supreme Court nevertheless held that the information Zubaydah sought was a state secret even though it was no longer actually a secret. We agree with the government that sometimes information that has entered the public domain may nonetheless fall within the scope of the state secrets privilege, Justice Stephen Breyer, who has since retired, wrote for a heavily fractured court. The courts decision prompted a sharply worded dissent from an unusual pairing: Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a member of the liberal wing. In this country, no one stands above the law; not even the president may deflect evidentiary inquiries just because they may prove inconvenient or embarrassing, Gorsuch wrote. This courts duty is to the rule of law and the search for truth, he wrote. We should not let shame obscure our vision. This story has been updated. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Washington (dpa) US President Donald Trump has spoken for the first time with Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, announcing plans to meet immediately after the country's federal election next month. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump referred to Carney by his official title a departure from his habit of calling Carneys predecessor, Justin Trudeau, "governor." The US president has also frequently belittled Canada as "the 51st state." But after his conversation with Carney who was appointed prime minister two weeks ago amid a particularly low point in US-Canada relations Trump struck a more positive tone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canadas upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada, Trump wrote on Truth Social. The Canadian federal election is set for April 28. Carney took office after Trudeau stepped aside, with the governing centre-left Liberal Party selecting him as its new leader. Since then, the Liberals have overtaken the Conservatives in several opinion polls, buoyed by Carneys tough rhetoric on Trump. Carney has pledged to redefine Canadas relationship with the US, a stance reinforced Thursday when he declared that the "old relationship" between the two countries was "over." His remarks followed Trump's decision to impose a 25% tariff on car imports, set to take effect on April 3. US President Donald Trump has spoken for the first time with Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, announcing plans to meet immediately after the country's federal election next month. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump referred to Carney by his official title a departure from his habit of calling Carneys predecessor, Justin Trudeau, "governor." The US president has also frequently belittled Canada as "the 51st state." But after his conversation with Carney who was appointed prime minister two weeks ago amid a particularly low point in US-Canada relations Trump struck a more positive tone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canadas upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada," Trump wrote on Truth Social. The Canadian federal election is set for April 28. Carney took office after Trudeau stepped aside, with the governing centre-left Liberal Party selecting him as its new leader. Since then, the Liberals have overtaken the Conservatives in several opinion polls, buoyed by Carneys tough rhetoric on Trump. In a statement after the call, the prime minister's office said the discussion about the relationship between the two countries was "very constructive." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, he also made it clear that Canada would respond to the new 25% tariff on car imports, set to take effect on April 3, which Trump announced earlier this week. Carney's government "will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy," the statement said. When asked by a journalist later on Friday in the White House whether he would then respond with further tariffs, Trump said: "Well, absolutely." However, Trump then added: "I think things are going to work out very well between Canada and the United States." The new prime minister has pledged to redefine Canadas relationship with the US, a stance reinforced Thursday when he declared that the "old relationship" between the two countries was "over." Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday the State Department has revoked 300 or more student visas, as the White House increasingly targets foreign-born students whose main transgression seems to be activism. Rubio warned that the administration was looking out for these lunatics. Around the country, scholars have been picked up, in some cases by masked immigration agents, and held in detention centers, sometimes a thousand miles from their homes with little warning and often with few details about why they were being detained. It might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas, Rubio said at a news conference in Guyana, where he was meeting with leaders. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national with a valid student visa, is arrested Tuesday in Somerville, Mass. Many of those rounded up by Trump officials attended or were part of the pro-Palestinian movement that swept college campuses last year, and while the administration hasnt said publicly why these students are being singled out over others, at least one sought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appeared on lists made by far-right pro-Israel groups as targets for deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And Trump allies, many in government again, telegraphed for months before he took office that theyd seek to deport students who openly advocated for Hamas or other U.S.-designated terrorist groups or after they participated in an unauthorized campus protest and were suspended, expelled or jailed. The detentions are a signal of a broader effort by President Donald Trump to clamp down on the actions of legal permanent residents, student visa holders and others who live and work legally in the United States, one that threatens to undermine a fundamental American right to free speech and to assemble, experts and advocates said. Theres something uniquely disturbing about sending a message to the best and the brightest around the world, who traditionally have flocked to U.S. universities because of their openness, because of their freedom, because of their intellectual vigor, and now say, We dont want you here, said Ben Wizner, the director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, has repeatedly said the administrations deportation policy is worst first, meaning it is prioritizing removing people with criminal records or people suspected of being national security threats. According to the Department of Homeland Security data, there are at least 400,000 noncitizens convicted of crimes in the United States. The administration has sent more than 200 Venezuelans to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, alleging that the migrants have gang ties, claims that families and attorneys of some of those deported have strongly denied. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Targeting students is a shift from their stated goal of going after criminals, said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst with the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. Bush-Joseph said that for noncitizens, the government has so much discretion when it comes to granting or taking away immigration benefits, and that can be done based on a number of reasons. The State Department has used as justification for some student deportation proceedings an immigration provision that dates to the Cold War and gives Rubio the authority to deport noncitizens if their activities pose potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences. And U.S. officials can revoke a student visa if they deem the student a threat. Some scholars have already been deported. And arrests continue. Just this week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested two students near their homes. One was Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student from Iran studying at the University of Alabama. ICE didnt immediately respond to a request for comment about Doroudis immigration status or why he was arrested. The University said a doctoral student had been detained but gave no other details. Alireza Doroudi on the campus of the University of Alabama. Another was Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national who was in the United States with a valid student visa and pulled off the street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ozturk co-authored an opinion essay in the Tufts student newspaper last year criticizing the university for how it responded to student demands, calling for the school to acknowledge the Palestinian genocide and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel. The essay, which was authored by four students and endorsed by 32 others, does not mention Hamas. In response to questions about Ozturks arrest, Rubio questioned why any country in the world would allow people to come into their countries and disrupt college campuses. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to be a social activist that comes in and tears up our university campuses, he said. If you invite me into your home because I say, Oh, I want to go to your house for dinner, and I come into your house and I start putting mud on your couch and spray-painting your kitchen, I bet you youre going to kick me out, Rubio said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ozturk is being held at a Louisiana detention facility. Its not clear where Doroudi has been sent, and little is known about his case. The National Iranian American Council demanded information on Doroudis whereabouts and whether hed been charged with a crime and called for those unjustly detained to be released. Doroudis arrest comes on the heels of the baseless arrest of students and a green card holder as apparent retaliation against their speech and activism against war, the group said. Meanwhile, one far-right group has compiled names and other identifying information of students and professionals both noncitizens and U.S. citizens who are alleged to be promoting hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on college campuses, saying its goal is to combat antisemitism on campuses. Another group says it handed the Trump administration a list of hundreds of names for deportation; at least one of the students listed on both sites, Momodou Taal, has been targeted by the Trump administration for deportation and asked to surrender to ICE. Taal, a Ph.D. student who is a U.S. visa holder, participated in protests at Cornell University expressing support for Palestinians in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the other students targeted by the Trump administration: Yunseo Chung, 21, a Columbia University student who took part in the protests. She is a legal permanent resident and doesnt need a student visa; she moved to the United States as a child from South Korea. She is fighting deportation in court, and last week, a federal judge ruled that she cant be detained as the legal case continues. Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian student who participated in the protests at Columbia last spring. Immigration officials say she had overstayed her student visa and was arrested by ICE. Badar Khan Suri. Badar Khan Suri, a graduate student from India who was teaching at Georgetown University on a student visa when he was arrested this month. Suri filed a court petition in Alexandria, Virginia, in hope of being released from detention. He is being held at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, according to the ICE detainee locator. Homeland Security officials said on X he was actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media. Mahmoud Khalil by the gates of Columbia University on April 30. Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and Columbia University graduate student who was detained over his pro-Palestinian activism on campus, immigration officials said. Hes being held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Facility in Jena. A federal judge in New York recently ruled that a challenge to his arrest and detention should be heard in New Jersey. The judge issued an order blocking the government from deporting Khalil as his case proceeds. He also faces a separate deportation case in immigration court in Louisiana, with his next hearing set for early April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Samah Sisay, one of Khalils lawyers, said lawyers and advocates are concerned that more students will be targeted and that many may also face criminal charges for their activism if government officials cite potential terrorism concerns. None of them have criminal records, Sisay said. This is an attack on speech, and I think any sort of criminal allegations that may be brought in the future would still be attached to this desire to chill free speech and to really say that certain speech is not welcomed under this administration and can lead to you being criminalized, detained, and deported. And its increasingly unclear whether colleges will support students in the face of growing efforts to deport students who speak out. Just last week, Columbia University bowed to Trumps demands after he threatened to cancel $400 million in federal research grants for inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students. The university agreed to sweeping changes. Ranjani Srinavasan, a Columbia University doctoral student from India, isnt detained by ICE, because she left for Canada, instead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She told NBC News she got a message on March 5 from the U.S. consulate in Chennai, India, that her student visa had been revoked. She said she had participated in some protests. On the night of a large demonstration where students occupied Hamilton Hall, she had been trying to get to her dorm and was among the dozens swept up by police, but the charges were late dropped, her lawyer said. Two days later, ICE agents turned up at her apartment, but another person in the apartment with her didnt let them in because they didnt have a warrant, Srinavasan said. The agents returned the next day, and again were not let inside. Then, Srinavasan got a message from the international student office saying that her visa had been revoked and that she had to leave the United States and the school. Until then, she had been grading papers as a teaching assistant and finishing out the last six months in her five-year Ph.D. program. If I had opened the door, Srinivasan said. I would be in a detention center now. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing agencies to suspend the security clearances and access to federal buildings of lawyers for the law firm WilmerHale, the former firm of one time-special counsel Robert Mueller. The order also directs agencies to refrain from hiring employees of the firm without a waiver from an agency head, and it directs agencies to review any contracts they may have with the firm and make efforts to terminate them. The executive order on Thursday is the fifth restricting a major Washington law firms ability to do business with the federal government. The White House has made clear these firms are being punished because of their partners or clients political work and ties to criminal investigations that probed Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WilmerHale is one of the largest law firms in Washington and former professional home to Mueller, who oversaw the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In the executive order, Trump claims that WilmerHale has abandoned the professions highest ideals and abused its pro bono practice to engage in activities that undermine justice and the interests of the United States. The order specifically notes Muellers ties to the firm. WilmerHale responded to the executive order Thursday, citing its history of representing a range of clients including in matters against administrations from both parties. We remain committed to providing the expert representation that our clients are entitled to and rely upon, a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement. We look forward to pursuing all appropriate remedies to this unlawful order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite widespread shock in the legal community about Trump going after firms, many of the major firms in Washington are refusing to take a stand against Trump publicly, out of fear they could become targets themselves. One firm of the five so far, Perkins Coie, has sued and initially won some court orders telling the administration it would be unconstitutional to block the firms lawyers from federal buildings and potentially punish its corporate clients that contract with the government. That type of far-reaching order is still in place on another firm, Jenner & Block. Yet another large firm, Paul Weiss, cut a deal with Trump, promising pro bono legal work over the next four years. Wilmers partnership delivered several people to the Mueller investigation in 2017. The team found Trump likely obstructed justice during his first term in office but could not be charged with a crime and documented several connections between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mueller, who also previously led the FBI, is now retired. Wilmer is often at the heart of politically charged disputes, especially related to congressional probes, Justice Department enforcement and in the tech industry. In recent years, lawyers from Wilmer represented Twitter now Elon Musks X when special counsel Jack Smith sought and obtained some of Trumps private social media data. The firm is also frequently behind liberal-leaning political causes that make their way into court, and former Clinton-era solicitor general Seth Waxman from Wilmer is representing a group of inspectors general Trump fired. That court case had a hearing on Thursday. CNNs Kara Scannell contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to create a task force for Washington, DC, aimed at tackling crime and illegal immigration a sweeping action targeting a city he has long derided as violent, rundown and disorderly. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order says its goal is to make the District of Columbia safe, beautiful, and prosperous by preventing crime, punishing criminals, preserving order, protecting our revered American monuments, and promoting beautification and the preservation of our history and heritage. The DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force will include members of Trumps administration and coordinate efforts with local law enforcement agencies to ensure that municipal officials carry out the presidents priorities on crime and immigration. According to the order, the task force will monitor the citys sanctuary-city status and see to it that Washington enforces federal immigration laws, including redirecting resources to apprehend and deport undocumented migrants. It will also work to deploy a more robust federal law enforcement presence in the city. It also seeks to target fare evasion and other crimes on the local public transit system. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump cast US cities as beset by crime, and his criticism often signaled out the nations capital, which he painted as dangerous and marred by graffiti, vandalism and homelessness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has vowed to beautify the city during his second term, even as his administration moves to slash the federal governments workforce and examines moving some agencies out of the capital initiatives that risk undercutting the regions economy. The citys mayor, Muriel Bowser, had sought to defuse Trumps threats to take over Washington, moving during his second term to clear homeless encampments and removing a memorial to the Black Lives Matter movement near the White House. Bowser had met with Trump after the election and expressed optimism that she could work with the president. DC is a heavily Democratic city that voted for Trumps opponents in all three of his presidential runs and has regularly been a target of Republicans over its liberal policies. The order signed Thursday also aims to provide assistance to facilitate the prompt accreditation of the citys forensic crime laboratory, help the Metropolitan Police Department with recruitment and retention of officers and review policies on seeking pretrial detention of criminal defendants to ensure that individuals who pose a genuine threat to public safety are detained to the maximum extent permitted by law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The text also says the task force will aim to provide help to more quickly process and lower the cost of concealed carry license requests in the city. That move runs counter to many of the citys own efforts to reduce firearm possession and prevent gun violence, a key priority for Washingtons Democratic leaders. Trumps order also calls for members of his Cabinet to coordinate with local officials to implement a a program to beautify the city, which would include a coordinated plan for monuments, facilities, land, parks and roadways in and around the district. It would also seek to restore public monuments, memorials and other such landmarks that have been damaged or defaced, or inappropriately removed or changed in recent years. It also calls for the Interior secretary to issue a directive for the National Park Service to remove and clean up homeless encampments and graffiti on lands within their jurisdiction. (Updates with additional details throughout) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. President Donald Trump is extending his efforts to influence American cultural and artistic institutions to the Smithsonian Institution a sprawling organization that encompasses the National Zoo and a collection of museums that anchor tourism in the nations capital. In an executive order signed Thursday night, Trump put Vice President JD Vance in charge of stopping government spending on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy. Vance serves on the Smithsonians Board of Regents. Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology, the order reads. This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Smithsonian Institution is the worlds largest museum complex, including 21 museums and the National Zoo. Nearly 17 million people visited Smithsonian properties last year, according to the museums website. Admission at nearly all the museums is free. CNN has reached out to the Smithsonian Institution for comment. The order appears crafted in part to direct the museums to soften or distort forthright discussions about the history and impact of racism in the United States and follows similar orders that seek to exert the presidents will over law firms and educational institutions. It also follows his aggressive push to take over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, where last month he gutted the board of trustees and was then elected chairman of a newly constituted board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump promised to make the center great and eliminate programs he doesnt support, including drag shows. Earlier this month, the president also signed an order directing the Institution of Museum and Library Services, among several other government entities, to be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law. The IMLS supports museums and libraries in all 50 states. Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas spoke out against the order on Thursday, saying in an X post, First Trump removes any reference of diversity from the present now hes trying to remove it from our history. Let me be PERFECTLY clear you cannot erase our past and you cannot stop us from fulfilling our future. In his order, Trump specifically targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian American Art Museum as carrying exhibits and promoting language he deemed inappropriate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Museum of African American History and Culture, the order said, has proclaimed that hard work, individualism, and the nuclear family are aspects of White culture. That portion of the order appears to refer to an educational resource for discussing race released by the museum in 2020, which the museum almost immediately removed and apologized for. Trump visited the museum during his first term in 2017, just months after it opened to the public, where he vowed to unite a divided country and pledged to do everything I can to continue that promise of freedom for African Americans and for every American. Its unclear how the order may affect the museums sprawling exhibits which includes frank discussion about the history of slavery in the Americas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order also criticizes a sculpture exhibit of the Smithsonian American Art Museum examining the ways in which sculpture has shaped and reflected attitudes and understandings about race in the United States and a planned exhibit at the forthcoming American Womens History Museum which the order said celebrated the contributions of transgender athletes. The order further directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to provide sufficient funding to revitalize Independence Hall National Historic Park in Philadelphia, which briefly served as the seat of the federal government and is where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were debated, in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the declarations adoption next July 4. It also directs Burgum to determine whether any statues or memorials in the Department of the Interiors jurisdiction have been removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history since Jan. 1, 2020. Though that time period includes the last year of Trumps first term, it also encompasses the period where several monuments celebrating Confederate officers, conquistadors and colonialists were removed throughout the United States as part of the racial reckoning and public outcry against George Floyds murder in the summer of 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burgum is also directed to ensure memorials do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times), an edict that could be interpreted to direct the removal of references to slave-owning among Americas earliest Founding Fathers. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to cut ties with law firm WilmerHale in an executive order Thursday, the latest salvo in his war on major U.S. law firms. Washington-based WilmerHale is the latest firm Trump has taken aim at following separate actions targeting Perkins Coie, Covington and Burling, and Paul, Weiss for what he views as efforts to undermine his agenda. The order suspends the firms security clearances, instructs government agencies to terminate their contracts with WilmerHale and blocks its employees from accessing federal buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He called WilmerHale yet another law firm that has abandoned the profession's highest ideals and abused its pro bono practice, accusing it of obvious partisan representations to achieve political ends. Trump singled out the firm for hiring political foe Robert Mueller, who led the probe into whether Trumps campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. The president said WilmerHale rewarded Mueller for abusing his prosecutorial power to upend the democratic process and distort justice. Mueller, who formerly headed the FBI, worked at WilmerHale in the 1990s and rejoined as a partner in 2014, before taking up the post of special counsel. A spokesperson for WilmerHale told POLITICO the executive order was unlawful and it would seek all appropriate remedies to overturn it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our firm has a longstanding tradition of representing a wide range of clients, including in matters against administrations of both parties, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that Mueller retired from our firm in 2021 after a long, distinguished career in public service. The White House has taken an increasingly adversarial stance toward lawyers and firms that Trump claims have worked against him and his administration, as well as judges who have issued rulings curtailing his executive power. The American Bar Association and dozens of other bar groups this week slammed the presidents crackdown on the legal system as an attack on the rule of law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump rescinded his order targeting Paul, Weiss after the firm agreed to do pro bono work for conservative causes and end its pro-diversity programs. A source at WilmerHale pointed out to POLITICO that the firm has previously represented members of the Trump family, including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Arthur Laffer, a prominent economist, warns in a new report that President Trumps looming 25 percent tariffs on foreign-made vehicle imports could lead to a dramatic increase in sticker prices and threaten the U.S. auto industry. Laffer penned a 21-page analysis concluding that automakers would be in a better position if Trump were to stick to policies with Canada and Mexico outlined under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The agreement was signed by the president in his first term. He estimates that Trumps latest tariff plan could, on average, add $4,711 to the cost to buy a vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The research comes just days after Trump announced the U.S. will levy 25 percent tariffs on all passenger vehicles, light trucks and some automobile parts including engines, transmissions and electrical components starting April 3. Without this exemption, the proposed tariff risks causing irreparable damage to the industry, contradicting the administrations goals of strengthening U.S. manufacturing and economic stability, Laffer, whom Trump has lauded in the past, wrote in his analysis. A 25 percent tariff would not only shrink, or possibly eliminate, profit margins for U.S. manufacturers but also weaken their ability to compete with international rivals, he added. The White House has described the move as a potential boon to American auto manufacturers, even though many vehicles made in the U.S. are built with parts from other countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the most part, I think its going to lead cars to be made in one location, Trump said Wednesday of the impact. The United Auto Workers union said it supported the administrations tariff agenda, offering a full backing for the aggressive push to boost production in the U.S. The Hill has reached out to Laffer for comment. Updated at 1:26 p.m. EDT. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump dismissed the disclosure of Houthi attack plans in a Signal chat as a glitch with no impact on national security. Intelligence experts argue that it gave foreign adversaries priceless insight into US spycraft far beyond the obvious. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths message detailing the impending operation against the Houthis, a militant group in Yemen, has faced the most scrutiny, experts point to other messages in the chat that got little attention but were also revealing. Among them is a message in which National Security Advisor Michael Waltz elaborates on the success of the strike. The first target their top missile guy we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriends building and its now collapsed, Waltz wrote. On its surface, that line is a vague recitation of fact. Yet under the surface, the text is more revealing. It suggests the US was tracking the Houthis top missile guy in real time either via a human source or airborne platform. American intelligence also knew the identity of the woman he was dating, as well as where she lived. All of that will give valuable clues to adversaries looking for insight into American spycraft. Details like those disclosed in the chat are the kinds of things that intelligence agencies salivate over, said John Sipher, an Atlantic Council fellow and retired CIA officer. He said the conversations disclosed in the texts could help foreign leaders know how to engage with and potentially manipulate the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, adversaries like Russia and China, which have formidable hacking capabilities, would have been eager to know that US officials might have been using personal phones and were willing to share information in an insecure way. The string of messages among Trumps top national security officials was published in full this week by The Atlantic after the magazines top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to the group chat. The National Security Council is investigating, but so far officials have suggested its only to figure out how Goldberg was included. It was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. What we should be talking about is it was a very successful mission. James Hewitt, a National Security Council spokesman, said in a statement that as has been said many times by those on the message thread, including NSA Waltz, Secretary Hegseth and Director Gabbard, no classified information was included in the thread. And as NSA Waltz said yesterday, the messages have no locations, no sources and methods, and no war plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tulsi Gabbard is the director of National Intelligence. When asked about the matter at a press conference in the Philippines, Hegseth said he was quite proud of what American forces did on that initial series of very effective and devastating strikes. He previously has said nobody was texting war plans. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Israel had provided sensitive intelligence from a human source in Yemen on a Houthi target for the strike, which, according to the Houthi health ministry, killed 53 people, including five children. Israeli officials complained privately to the US over the disclosures, according to the Journal. In its article revealing the texts, The Atlantic said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt objected to the release because it was a private conversation and sensitive information was discussed. But the biggest disclosure of all may have been the most obvious that the national security advisor, the vice president and other top officials all use Signal for such conversations in the first place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was classified, not just sensitive, retired General Michael Hayden, a former director of the CIA, said in an interview. Of the groups Signal use, he said, Im afraid they did it a lot and we just dont know about it. Other elements of the chat that might strike readers as mundane were similarly revealing, experts said. They pointed to the back-and-forth between Trumps cabinet members including Vice President JD Vance and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. In the chat, Miller reiterated that Trump had given the green light for the attack but stressed the need to levy the costs on Europe and Egypt, who might benefit from increased commercial shipping through the Red Sea, which the Houthis have disrupted with missile and drone assaults. A comment by the vice president of the United States and the national security advisor on that text about whether this is good for the Europeans and what the relative pluses and minuses are of helping the Europeans or not, is exactly the sort of views and comments about our foreign policy by our nations most senior officials that would always be considered classified, according to Glenn Gerstell, a former general counsel at the National Security Agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And while Hegseth has claimed his message did not contain classified information, the timing and the weapons including F-18 Hornet fighter jets and MQ-9 Reaper attack drones that were going to be used in an attack that had yet to take place would have most certainly involved top secret classified information, analysts said. Earlier: US Vows Unrelenting Strikes on Houthis Over Ship Attacks The kind of material Hegseth shared is usually held on secure classified devices, which tend to have multiple firewalls to avoid the spread of the information, especially to officials outside of a strict need-to-know circle. That type of information is typically difficult to remove from classified computers, unless its been officially downgraded. Given that Hegseth was able to share the information on a nongovernmental app, it may have first been manually transcribed onto a piece of paper or another unclassified device, which are not allowed into secure classified areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sequence of military operations is never something you want your adversaries to have access to, Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman under former President Joe Bidens Defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in an interview. --With assistance from Jake Bleiberg and Phil Kuntz. (Updates with Hegseth comment in 11th paragraph. A previous version of this story corrected the name of the National Security Council in the 7th paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. President Donald Trump hosted a Ramadan iftar dinner Thursday evening at the White House, thanking Muslims in Michigan for supporting his candidacy and praising two mayors in metro Detroit. Trump spoke about his experiences meeting Muslims in Michigan last year during his presidential campaign, saying it was "a very inspirational period of time for me." And he promised to be there for the Muslim community while president, saying he loves them. His positive remarks toward Muslims are a significant change from his campaign in 2016 when he once said: "I think Islam hates us." Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib and Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi, who endorsed Trump last year and were picked by the president to be ambassadors to Kuwait and Tunisia, attended the dinner, along with several other Muslims, evangelical leader and Trump adviser Paula White, and some officials, including U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Muslim community was there for us in November, and while I'm president, I will be there for you," Trump said at the White House dinner which was broadcast on Facebook and X. "I'm going to be there for you. And I think you know that, and our two great mayors (Ghalib and Bazzi) understand that." Iftar is the dinner Muslims often hold together in evenings during the holy month of Ramadan when they break their fasting during daylight hours. Previous presidents have held iftar dinners at the White House. "Let me begin by saying to our Muslim friends, of which I have many tonight, and I think we have many all over the world based on the results in Michigan, other places," Trump said, referring to his November victory in Michigan, which has the highest percentage of Arab Americans among states, many of them Muslim. "I just want to say hello to all of the people that supported us so strongly." Trump said his views on transgender issues are in sync with the Muslim community. Over the past three years, there has been a backlash among conservatives in Dearborn and Hamtramck against LGBTQ+ books and symbols. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We're stopping schools from indoctrinating children with transgender ideology, something which people of this room are not happy about," Trump said at the Ramadan dinner. "I know that for a fact, and it's a shame what's happened, but we're turning it around and turning it around at levels that nobody can even believe. I signed an order and I think very importantly, also in particular for people in this room we're keeping men out of women's sports." Trump singled out Ghalib and Bazzi for praise, saying they played a key role in helping him win in Michigan. Trump won in Dearborn and other areas with sizable numbers of Middle Eastern voters amid outrage over Gaza and some social issues; both Dearborn and Hamtramck were easily won by Biden in 2020. "I also want to extend a very special thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Muslim Americans who supported us in record numbers in the 2024 presidential election," Trump said. "It was incredible. We started a little slow with you, but we came along, and by the time that the election was finished ... we went up like a rocket ship." Trump campaigned hard in Michigan among Muslims, holding rallies in Dearborn and Hamtramck, and standing on stage with Muslim faith leaders at a big rally in Novi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In particular, I want to thank two great gentlemen, the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan," Trump said. "And he's done a great job as mayor, and he's done a great job with his support of us. You were such a tremendous endorsement right at the right time. Your timing was excellent." He said Ghalib and Bazzi will both be great ambassadors. The mayors first need to be confirmed by the Senate. "You're going to have a tremendous time, both great countries, and enjoy it every day," Trump said. "We're keeping our promises to the Muslim community." Trump then reflected on his time in Michigan last year when he met personally with several imams and other Muslim leaders. He said he learned that Muslims want peace and value life, not death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When I was in Michigan, I met with so many leaders of faith, and I said, 'What about your attitude here?' ... They said, 'Sir, all we want is peace.' Right, remember Mr. Mayor (motioning toward Ghalib)? I said, 'but I understand you don't mind death.' They said, 'No, sir, we want to live. We want to live and we want to be happy. We want to love everybody.' ... It was a very inspirational period of time for me, and I want to thank you also for introducing me to so many of your friends. It was absolutely incredible." Trump added: "To our Muslim friends. I look forward to working with each of you to achieve a brighter and more hopeful future, and I think together, we're going to do great. You're going to make strides like you've never made. You have somebody in the White House that loves you." Trump won praise earlier this year from some Muslims in Michigan for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, but strikes by Israel earlier this month have brought some criticism. Trump's attacks in Yemen against Houthi rebels who have attacked merchant and military ships in the Red Sea have also drawn criticism from some Muslims, but others in metro Detroit's Yemeni American Muslim communities are opposed to Houthis and have not publicly criticized Trump's recent attacks in Yemen. Trump said the tradition of Ramadan iftar dinners "exemplifies the beautiful spirit of all three Abrahamic faiths," referring to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, "the spirit that inspires us to seek happiness and prosperity at home and peace for the entire world. We're all looking for peace for the entire world." Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or X @nwarikoo This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump hosts Ramadan iftar dinner, thanks 'Muslim friends' in Michigan The Justice Department has submitted multiple filings with the Supreme Court that accuse federal judges of abusing their constitutional powers, while lower courts criticized the Trump administrations expansive view of presidential power. The administration asked the high court to intervene in three cases it argues are hampering President Donald Trumps agenda, including one where its been ordered to rehire thousands of dismissed federal workers. The latest filing, on Friday, focuses on the administration's complaints about a judge who temporarily halted deportations under Trumps invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used 18th-century wartime law. Attorneys argued that the judge overstepped his authority, and complained about the overall number of temporary restraining orders imposed by federal judges as a result of legal challenges to Trumps sweeping agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The third case where the administration sought Supreme Court intervention involves millions of dollars in education grants that were abruptly canceled by Trump officials. After a federal judge in Massachusetts ordered the Education Department to temporarily make the payments while the plaintiffs lawsuit proceeds, the administration petitioned the Supreme Court in a filing that argued the justices should put a swift end to federal district courts unconstitutional reign as self-appointed managers of Executive Branch funding and grant-disbursement decisions. Trump setbacks extend to appeals courts After numerous rulings against the Trump administration at the district court level, the Justice Department hasnt had much success with the appeals courts either. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. rejected Trumps assertion that judges dont have the power to review his use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan immigrants whom officials allege are members of a gang. The three-judge panel ruled that a judges ban temporarily barring such deportations could remain in place. At a hearing in the case on Monday, one of the appeals court judges, Patricia Millett, also raised due process concerns, noting that the administration hadnt allowed deportees to challenge accusations that theyre affiliated with the gang before being shipped off to a prison in El Salvador. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemy Act the last time it was invoked, which was during World War II, Millett said. At the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, judges declined to block a preliminary injunction ordering thousands of fired probationary workers to be reinstated. Both rulings were 2-1 decisions, and the dissenting judge in each case was a Trump appointee from his first term. Meanwhile, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the administrations bid to block a court order halting a partial federal funding freeze it had tried to implement. The ruling was unanimous, 3-0. The administration had sought to block a preliminary injunction barring the freeze from going into effect during the appeals process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The week did end with a win for the administration. The D.C. appeals court temporarily paused two lower court rulings that had reinstated Cathy Harris to the Merit Systems Protection Board and Gwynne Wilcox to the National Labor Relations Board. Trump had directed that both should be fired. Transgender military ban blocked twice Federal judges in two different states issued rulings preventing the Defense Department from implementing new guidance that would effectively bar transgender service members from serving in the military. In a stinging ruling, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes denied the administrations request to vacate her earlier preliminary injunction. It contended that guidance from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth barred people with gender dysphoria a medical condition and does not discriminate against trans-identifying persons as a class. The judge said she didnt buy that argument. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defendants cannot evade discriminating against transgender people simply by labeling the policy as addressing gender dysphoria, she wrote. A medical condition has not given its country decades of military service. Or deployed into combat zones throughout the globe. Or earned countless commendations. People have. A medical condition has not fought terrorism. Or analyzed intelligence. Or commanded platoons. People have. A medical condition has not been accused of lacking warrior ethos. Or been branded dishonorable, dishonest, and undisciplined. Or been threatened with the loss of livelihood. People have, she writes. Transgender people. Reyes sentiments were echoed in a preliminary injunction issued in Washington state in another case brought on behalf of transgender service members who are facing the possibility of being discharged. The newly issued Hegseth Policy scrupulously avoids using the word transgender the word does not appear in the Hegseth Policy. But common sense and binding authority defeat the governments claim that it does not discriminate against transgender people, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administration is appealing both decisions. Signal chat debacle enters the courts U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who has been presiding over the Alien Enemies Act case, heard arguments in another hot-button case this week: the administrations use of the messaging app Signal to discuss the details of a U.S. military strike in Yemen before it occurred. The group chat came to light when the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic was accidentally included in the chat, which appeared to include Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Boasberg issued an order directing the federal agencies involved in the chat to preserve all Signal communications between March 11 and March 15, around the time of the strike. The order came in response to a lawsuit filed by the watchdog group American Oversight, which said its seeking to ensure the communications are preserved in compliance with the Federal Records Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Treasury Department said it already located some of the messages, and the Defense Department indicated it was already working on complying. The judge directed the administration to file a status report by Monday. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com In its first abortion case since President Donald Trumps reelection, the Supreme Court will hear arguments next week about whether states can bar Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds which could further the administrations goal of defunding the nations largest family planning provider. Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic concerns an order from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who in 2018 said any clinic that provided abortions could not participate in the states Medicaid program. Lower courts have blocked McMasters order from taking effect. But if implemented, the state policy could seriously undercut South Carolinians access to reproductive health care and create a template for other states to emulate. Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans disproportionately serves Black and Latinx people. It does not cover abortions in most states, including in South Carolina, where just under 60 percent of beneficiaries are not White. Federal law dictates that people who receive Medicaid more than a million in South Carolina, and about 400,000 of whom are women between the ages of 15 and 44 are allowed to use it at any qualified health care provider that accepts the insurance plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cutting Planned Parenthood from Medicaid could have big impacts: Planned Parenthood clinics provide other forms of medical care, such as testing for sexually transmitted infections, cancer screenings and birth control services, all of which Medicaid is supposed to cover. Medicaid is the most common source of insurance for patients who seek health care at Planned Parenthood clinics. Without Medicaid reimbursement, the clinics which operate with thin financial margins would likely either have to turn patients away or charge them. The oral arguments in which the federal government has joined the case as a friend of the court to argue alongside the state in defense of the policy in this case come at a complex moment for the future of reproductive health care more broadly. Backed by anti-abortion activists, Trump has pushed an agenda of ending federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the vast majority of which comes from Medicaid. Abortion opponents have called this policy defunding, even though it would not affect private money given to Planned Parenthood, and it would cut revenue sources that dont actually pay for abortion. Still, it could inject new financial instability for Planned Parenthood and other similar health centers. A report this week from The Wall Street Journal suggested that the Trump administration is considering freezing all funding to Title X, another federal program that supports family planning clinics services for low-income people. Planned Parenthood is the largest single Title X provider. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the exception of medical emergencies, health facilities arent required to accept Medicaid, meaning that people covered through the program can struggle to find health care providers who take their insurance. Research from George Washington University suggests that almost 40 percent of all counties in South Carolina are contraceptive deserts where there arent enough providers to serve all people in need. But the impact would likely extend even beyond areas where reproductive health care is hard to attain, denying people in all parts of the country the right to choose who provides an intimate, essential form of health care, said Sara Rosenbaum, a professor emerita of health law and policy at George Washington University who co-authored a brief arguing that the Supreme Court should reject South Carolinas policy. I dont care if youre in rural South Carolina or downtown St. Louis, Missouri. There are certain services where if its a good quality provider, and this is the provider you prefer, its very important to be able to see a trusted provider, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public health professionals have warned that upholding South Carolinas policy could open the door to states discriminating against other qualified medical providers, deciding arbitrarily that patients cannot use their Medicaid coverage at certain health clinics. That could include refusing to let Medicaid cover a certain home care provider because of its stance on unionization, Rosenbaum suggested, or because of employees participating in protests. And it could influence other states with anti-abortion government leaders. Already, three other states Arkansas, Missouri and Texas are enforcing laws that disqualify Planned Parenthood from participating in Medicaid, even though abortion is illegal in two of those. If the Supreme Court decides that Medicaid recipients cannot fight back in court when the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services prevents them from freely choosing their health care provider, the effects could ripple far beyond South Carolina, said Amy Friedrich-Karnik, director of federal policy for the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights but whose research is cited across the political spectrum. A 2015 analysis from the Congressional Budget Office estimated that eliminating all federal funding for Planned Parenthood would mean fewer Americans receiving family planning care and more people having unplanned pregnancies even if other health care providers tried to step in. The government analysis, conducted before the overturning of Roe v. Wade allowed states to ban abortion, found that eliminating federal funding would increase federal spending by $130 million over nine years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you pull back Medicaid funding then they become nonviable, which is the whole point, Rosenbaum said. The public health effects of all this are horrendous. The post Trump wants to defund Planned Parenthood. The Supreme Court will hear a case aimed at that. appeared first on The 19th. News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday. Subscribe to our free, daily newsletter. In a pair of back-to-back rallies held over the phone on Thursday night, President Donald Trump praised the two Republican candidates in the upcoming special elections for Florida's 6th and 1st Congressional districts, amid recent concerns among Republicans over whether their candidate in the 6th Congressional District, State Sen. Randy Fine, can keep the seat in Republican hands. Fine has lagged behind his Democratic opponent, Josh Weil, in fundraising, and Republicans have expressed concerns about his campaign, although many still believe he will be able to hold the seat in the ruby-red district. The special election in Florida's 6th Congressional District, which is on the state's eastern coast and includes the city of Daytona Beach, is being held on Tuesday, April 1, to fill the vacancy created by former Rep. Mike Waltz when he resigned to become Trump's national security adviser. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: 'Proud to be a team player,' Stefanik says after Trump pulls UN nomination PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, March 26, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) The tele-rallies also came amid broader concerns among Republicans about maintaining their razor-thin majority in the U.S. House, and on the same day that Trump asked Rep. Elise Stefanik to withdraw her nomination to be United Nations ambassador, citing "a very tight Majority" in the U.S. House. House Republicans currently hold a narrow majority with 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats. Speaker Mike Johnson has a two-vote cushion for his majority. Fine, at the start of the telephone rally for him, emphatically praised Trump and said he would serve in Congress as one of the president's strongest allies. PHOTO: Florida State Rep. Randy Fine, answers a question about his House Bill 3-C: Independent Special Districts in the House of Representatives, April 20, 2022, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. (Phil Sears/AP, Files) "Mr. President, I'm immensely grateful for your unwavering support, trust and confidence in me. I believe that God saved your life in Butler, Pennsylvania, so that you could save the world," Fine said, referencing the July assassination attempt Trump survived. "And it will be one of the most profound honors of my life to be one of your foot soldiers as you make America great again." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump praised Fine's early endorsement of him during the 2024 election cycle, adding, "that's why Randy will always have a very open door to the Oval Office. He will be there whenever I need him, and he wants to be there whenever we need him. He wants to be there for you." MORE: Republicans raise concerns about Florida special election as candidates vie to replace Mike Waltz "I've gotten to know him under pressure situations, and he can react well under pressure. So go vote for Randy," Trump said later. Fine reiterated he would work to carry out Trump's agenda in Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's not overstating things to say that your agenda is at stake in this election, and this district can't let you down. Your agenda is on the ballot on April 1," he said. MORE: Democrats push to emphasize 'fight' post-Signal scandal, but is that enough?: ANALYSIS During the earlier telephone rally supporting the Republican candidate in the 1st Congressional District, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, Trump praised Patronis' work in Florida and framed the special election as important for his own agenda. That special election, which will determine who takes the seat vacated by now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz, has gotten less concern from Republicans. PHOTO: Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis speaks during a meeting between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state cabinet at the Florida capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., Mar. 5, 2025. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP, Files) "The 1st Congressional District is special, and I won it by a lot, and Jimmy is going to win it by a lot. And remember, you're five days away from this all important special election taking place in your district on Tuesday, April 1, so April Fool's Day. So it's going to be the fool for the Democrat candidate, who happens to be terrible," Trump said of Patronis' Democratic opponent Gay Valimont, a gun violence prevention activist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Praising Patronis, Trump said, "Jimmy's done an outstanding job as the chief financial officer of the state of Florida, helping to guide your state to tremendous economic success. And now he wants to keep on fighting for Florida in Congress." Patronis, speaking after Trump, told listeners, "Look, if you're not fired up to hearing the president right now, then you need to get your pulse checked with President Trump and the White House. A Republican majority in Congress -- we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform this country." Trump weighs in on House special election races in Florida as GOP fights to keep majority originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The emergency management chief in Texas is under consideration to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, two people told POLITICO. Nim Kidd, head of the state Division of Emergency Management, interviewed for the job last month at the White House and is a top contender to become FEMA administrator, according to the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. White House officials also interviewed Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, one of the people said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both men are highly regarded in the disaster management world and were considered potential FEMA nominees following President Donald Trump's election victory. Kidd and Guthrie appear to meet a requirement in federal law that states the administrator must have a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security. The job requires Senate confirmation. The interviews came at a period of upheaval for FEMA. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressed support for dramatically shrinking the agency, or even abolishing it, during a private meeting last week with FEMA acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton and Corey Lewandowski, a close Trump adviser. The move sent shock waves through state emergency management agencies, which face the prospect of dealing with growing damage from disasters with fewer federal resources. The Trump administration is also looking at moving FEMA from its headquarters in Washington to another jurisdiction, according to one of the people. But moving FEMA out of the nation's capital would make it "very problematic to coordinate with other federal agencies," the person said. "FEMA itself is a small agency with the role of [overseeing] coordination" among emergency managers during major disasters "to make sure everyone is helping survivors as quickly and efficiently as possible." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump made Hamilton acting administrator shortly after taking office. A former Navy SEAL, he had worked in nonpolitical supervisory positions in the departments of Homeland Security and State from 2015 to 2023. He also lost a Republican primary race for a Virginia congressional seat in 2024. As acting administrator, Hamilton does not face Senate confirmation. The Government Accountability Office is reviewing whether Trump's appointment of Hamilton violated federal law, based on his lack of experience. Chris Currie, director of GAO's homeland security and justice team, told a House panel Tuesday that the inquiry is ongoing. Guthrie spoke Saturday at a conference of emergency managers in Washington, telling hundreds of state and local officials how Florida dealt with four major hurricanes in 2024. He urged attendees to safeguard homes against damage by elevating them above flood levels. "We've got to get people off the ground," Guthrie said. In one county hit by hurricanes in October, "elevated houses didn't have a drop of water in them." The project envisions development of a roughly 800-mile pipeline delivering natural gas from the North Slope. The gas would be processed at a treatment plant on the North Slope and liquefied in Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula, then exported to Asian markets in oceangoing tankers. Trump said in his speech to Congress this month that his administration is working on a "gigantic" natural gas pipeline, referring to Alaska LNG. The project's gas exports to Asia could be so large that they could help alleviate trade imbalances. The project has seen renewed interest from Asian companies that might serve as investors or gas buyers, and President Donald Trump has touted the pipeline as a key project he'd like to see built. "Today is a historic day for Alaska," Gov. Mike Dunleavy said. "Alaska LNG will strengthen the U.S. geostrategic position in the North Pacific, provide vital energy security for our residents, our military bases, our businesses, and our Asian allies, and unlock billions in economic benefit at home and abroad." "Alaska LNG will ensure a brighter future for generations of Alaskans and I look forward to working with Glenfarne as they lead Alaska LNG forward," said Frank Richards, president of the AGDC. Glenfarne, founded in 2011, is a New York company that develops, owns and operates energy and infrastructure projects. The company is the developer, owner and operator of Texas LNG, the most recent U.S. LNG project to fully sell its LNG volumes with a total market value over $60 billion, its founder Brendan Duval said in February. The change in ownership is significant in part because the state corporation has run the project on its own for nearly a decade, after the major oil companies that were its original partners backed out in 2016. "Glenfarne's financial, project management, and commercial expertise is well matched to lead this vital project forward," said Brendan Duval, Glenfarne's founder. "Alaska LNG will provide desperately needed energy security and natural gas cost savings for Alaskans and give Glenfarne unmatched flexibility to simultaneously serve LNG markets in both Asia and Europe through our three LNG projects." The Glenfarne Group will also lead development of the project to construction and operation after the board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. on Thursday agreed to a binding deal with the company, according to a statement from AGDC, a state agency. Mar. 28The long-struggling, $44 billion Alaska LNG project has landed a private partner that will take over majority ownership of the company that seeks to deliver natural gas from the North Slope to Alaskans and the world. Story Continues Richards told the gasline board on Thursday that the deal calls for Glenfarne to assume 75% equity of 8 Star Alaska, the state agency's project development company. The state gas line agency will hold the remaining ownership. The state has the option to invest in individual facilities such as the gas treatment plant, he said. "We've reserved the right for investment, for the state, of up to 25% in any of the subprojects or all," Richards said. "And that will be an ongoing discussion with the Legislature and the administration on if that is an opportunity they would like to take or not." Glenfarne will cover the costs of the engineering and design work that needs to be completed before a final decision to build the project is made. Duval said the money will come from a consortium of private investors, but a federal loan guarantee could help support that effort, he said. "They will fund and resource the Alaskan LNG project to final investment decision," Richards said. "This covers the entire Alaska LNG project, and not just the initial phase of the pipeline." Duval said it's possible a final investment decision could be made by the end of this year. LNG deliveries could begin in 2030 or 2031, he said. It is unclear what investors, if any, would provide the large sums of money for construction of the project. It's also unclear where the natural gas would come from. The agency has signed a deal with a small oil and gas explorer in Alaska in an effort to provide gas for the first phase. Great Bear Pantheon, however, currently does not produce oil or gas. There's no guarantee it will produce gas in Alaska. Richards said the gas line agency is working on securing gas sales precedent agreements with other producers, including for gas at the Point Thomson and Prudhoe Bay fields. Richards said the agreement with Glenfarne covers the entire Alaska LNG project, and not just the initial phase of the pipeline. "So gas treatment, pipeline and liquefaction (plant). But the priority is going to be the phase-one pipeline and gas for Alaskans," Richards said. The first phase of the project has been estimated to cost $11 billion. It calls for the construction of a 750-mile pipeline to deliver the gas from the North Slope to the Interior and Southcentral Alaska, where electric utilities are looking at importing natural gas as Cook Inlet gas dwindles. After the first-phase construction, the larger project to export the gas can be built, according to the plan. That portion of the project includes the construction of a liquefaction facility. Richards said he was calling into the meeting from Asia. He said he was on a trade mission with Glenfarne and Gov. Dunleavy to Asian countries, looking for companies that might commit to buying Alaska's gas or investing in the project. Other suitors? The deal has raised concerns and questions among some lawmakers, including whether the board has fully weighed other potential suitors with interest in taking on the project. Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, spoke to the gas line corporation board after it opened up the meeting to public comments. The board had already emerged from executive session and voted, with no discussion, to authorize the gas line agency to enter the deal with Glenfarne. Bjorkman said he would have liked to have addressed the board before it made a decision that could have consequences for generations of Alaskans. He said he other Alaskans have many questions about the deal. He wants to make sure Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula, and the U.S., are in a position to get the most benefit from the project, he said. "People may wonder now for decades or generations about what other opportunities might be or may have been foregone by decisions made here today," he said. Bjorkman said the board should "take some time to consider all options that are on the table." "Certainly you all had received communication that there were others who would like to present the board with offers and opportunities, but that has not not happened as of yet, and I think it's prudent to do that, considering the generational impacts that the decisions made are going to have on on all of Alaskans," Bjorkman said. The gas line agency "conducted a public, exhaustive, and multi-year market search for an experienced lead developer," said Tim Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson for the agency, in a statement on Friday. "We engaged with numerous parties and evaluated every written and documented proposal submitted during that time, independently and in consultation with advisors such as Goldman Sachs, in a thorough due diligence process," Fitzpatrick said. "Glenfarne presented a comprehensive project development plan and engaged with AGDC in hundreds of hours of information sharing which culminated in an exclusive development negotiation and term sheet agreement. Once the AGDC-Glenfarne agreement was finalized, numerous other parties stepped forward with new or renewed interest in Alaska LNG. A project of Alaska LNG's scale will offer numerous opportunities for additional investors and developers to participate." Fitpatrick said Glenfarne is not "making a payment to (the gasline corporation) as part of this transaction" to acquire the 75% equity in the project. But Glenfarne is funding project costs entirely to reach a final investment decision, he said. The gas line corporation has estimated those costs, for the full project, at up to $150 million. "A completed project will benefit Alaskans in numerous and significant economic, environmental, and other ways," Fitzpatrick said. "The state economy will benefit from the creation of up to 12,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent operations jobs, and the procurement of local goods, services, and materials needed during construction. The state will receive direct benefits including royalties, corporate income taxes, property taxes, and production taxes, as well as indirect benefits through expanded economic activity generated by lower residential, industrial, and government energy costs." Sen. Kelly Merrick, R-Chugiak/Eagle River, posted on her office Facebook page that Richards had signed a deal with Glenfarne "BEFORE examining all proposals on the table." "This is a complete abdication of his duty to Alaska," Merrick wrote. Merrick, in an interview Friday, said she met with an investor who was not with Glenfarne who said they had capital to invest in the project. The investor could cover the gas line corporation's budget without any use of state dollars, while Alaska would retain 25% ownership of the project, Merrick said. Merrick declined to name the investor. Merrick also posted to social media a video of Richards speaking at a legislative hearing in February. In the hearing, Merrick questions Richards about the level of risk Glenfarne is taking on for the project. Merrick said that the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority in December had moved to provide a $50 million "backstop," essentially an insurance policy that the state agency could pay to Glenfarne, if the Phase 1 portion of the project is not built. The state development agency said its backstop commitment could help the project complete the first phase of the project to deliver gas to Alaskans. Fitpatrick said in an interview on Friday that the gas line corporation at this point has not finalized the negotiations with the development agency over the potential backstop funding. Duval, with Glenfarne, said in a press conference with reporters late Thursday that the company is moving forward without that agreement in place. A reporter asked if the agreement is an expectation for the project. Duval's answer addressed only a short-term window. "There's documents available," Duval said. "We don't need it to get going. There's no need for us to slow down waiting for it." Donald Trump is calling on the Supreme Court to allow his administration to resume removing immigrants from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act, a centuries-old wartime law invoked for the fourth time in U.S. history to target Venezuelans. This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country, according to the administrations filing with the nations highest court on Friday. The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President. The republic cannot afford a different choice, the petition states. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited El Salvadors notorious Terrorist Confinement Center on March 26 as she defended the administrations removal of dozens of Venezuelans from the United States to the prison (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) The request follows a federal appeals courts rejection of the presidents attempt to throw out a lower-court ruling that is temporarily blocking the administration from deporting immigrants under the act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act earlier this month as three planes with dozens of Venezuelans were sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador, where they do not have access to legal counsel and face the prospect of indefinite detention. The presidents order states that all Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of [Tren de Aragua], are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies. But administration officials have admitted in court filings that many of those detainees do not have criminal records, and attorneys and family members say their clients and relatives some of whom were in the country with legal permission and have upcoming court hearings on their asylum claims have nothing to do with Tren de Aragua. Court documents suggest Venezuelans were wrongly targeted for their tattoos as a pretext to swiftly remove hundreds of people all at once to a jail that human rights groups have labeled a tropical gulag. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday conceded that the Venezuelans sent to El Salvador were not all necessarily members of Tren de Aragua. He called them a combination of people whose presence is not productive to the United States and who were removable by law. Prisoners inside El Salvadors Terrorist Confinement Center look out from their cell as Noem tours the facility on March 26 (AP) The flights were in the air on March 15 when District Judge James Boasberg ordered the administration to turn the planes around. Judge Boasberg has pressed officials to answer a series of questions about the operation to determine whether they intentionally defied his court orders, teeing up what legal experts fear is a mounting constitutional crisis in which the president ignores the judiciary and possibly the Supreme Court as he cites inherent authority to summarily remove immigrants from the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, appellate Judge Karen Henderson wrote that the Alien Enemies Act gives the president near-blanket authority to detain and deport any noncitizen whose affiliation traces to the belligerent state. But a central limit to this power is the acts conditional clause that the United States be at war or under invasion or predatory incursion, she wrote. Trump plucks the third-order usage of the word invasion to justify summary deportations, and immigration alone also does not constitute a predatory incursion, the ruling states. In a concurring opinion, appellate Judge Patricia Millett rebuked the governments argument that immigrants, on allegations alone, can be removed immediately with no notice, no hearing, no opportunity zero process to show that they are not members of the gang, to contest their eligibility for removal under the law, or to invoke legal protections against being sent to a place where it appears likely they will be tortured and their lives endangered. The Constitutions demand of due process cannot be so easily thrown aside, she wrote. The federal Department of Justice says it has launched an investigation into whether the L.A. County Sheriff's Department is violating people's gun rights with excessive fees and wait times for concealed carry permits. The DOJ announced Thursday afternoon that it was opening an investigation into the Sheriff's Department's possible abuse of 2nd Amendment rights, part of a broader review of "restrictive firearms-related laws" in California and other states. The federal authorities cited a lawsuit that challenged the 18-month delay plaintiffs faced in receiving concealed carry licenses from LASD as a reason for the probe. A DOJ news release stated that it is likely others are "experiencing similarly long delays that are unduly burdening, or effectively denying, the Second Amendment rights of the people of Los Angeles." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Department called California a "particularly egregious offender" that has resisted the Supreme Court's recent pro-2nd Amendment rulings and enacted new legislation to further restrict the right to bear arms. Last month, Trump directed Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi to launch a review of 2nd Amendment law and infringements nationwide. Read more: Trump-appointed judge dissents in California ammo case with gun-filled YouTube video This Department of Justice will not stand idly by while States and localities infringe on the Second Amendment rights of ordinary, law-abiding Americans, said Bondi in a statement about the LASD investigation. The Second Amendment is not a second-class right, and under my watch, the Department will actively enforce the Second Amendment just like it actively enforces other fundamental constitutional rights. The Sheriff's Department issued a statement Thursday saying it respects and upholds the 2nd Amendment. The department said limited staff and a backlog of applications are to blame for the delays in permit approvals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are committed to processing all Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) applications in compliance with state and local laws to promote responsible gun ownership," the statement said. "The Department is facing a significant staffing crisis, with only 14 personnel in our CCW Unit, yet we have successfully approved 15,000 CCW applications. Currently, we are diligently working through approximately 4,000 active cases, striving to meet this unfunded mandate." Data from the department show that it has dramatically increased the number of permits it issues since 2022. That year, the Supreme Court found that the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms overrides laws in New York and California that restricted who may legally carry guns outside of the home. Still, critics have alleged the process for issuing those permits takes too long and costs too much. Jacob Charles, an associate professor of law at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law who studies the 2nd Amendment, said he had not seen a similar investigation before. This type of DOJ probe, which is classified as a pattern-or-practice investigation, typically focuses on police misconduct such as excessive use of force or racial bias. The investigation struck him as "another culture war issue pitting red versus blue" amid a broader flurry of "partisan targeting" by the Trump administration of liberal jurisdictions and groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This has to be seen in the context of Trump attacking law firms, universities, and cities, counties and states who dont profess fealty to him personally and to his vision," Charles said. "Hes not even pretending to be a president for all of America." Another expert on 2nd Amendment law, University of Chicago law professor Darrell A.H. Miller, called the investigation an example of the Trump administration "delivering red meat to their supporters through every channel of power that they currently possess." "The fact that it [the investigation] hasn't been done before doesn't mean that it can't be done, but clearly it just highlights the fact that, for the Trump administration, 2nd Amendment rights are really important rights, especially to the Trump base," Miller said, "and so they are going to use the power of the Department of Justice to advance those priorities." Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle and Pistol Assn., celebrated the investigation and told The Times it "is one result" of his group's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of LASD's concealed carry permitting process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the reason the DOJ is getting involved in this particular jurisdiction is because of the things we uncovered in this lawsuit, he said. Read more: 9th Circuit upholds California ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines Michel said he would not be surprised if the investigation expanded beyond the county because, he said, other jurisdictions and police agencies in California, including the Los Angeles Police Department, are also guilty of long wait times and exorbitant costs for permits. "The primary issues that we are now facing from somewhat recalcitrant jurisdictions is excessive fees to go through an application process and excessive wait times to try to get a license and wait times that exceed the state 120-day limit, some going out to 18 months or two years," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bondi said she hoped Thursday's announcement would prompt other localities to "voluntarily embrace their duty to protect Second Amendment rights." If not, this investigation will be the first of many similar ones in California and across the country, she added. Pattern-or-practice investigations are conducted by civil rights attorneys at the Justice Department to search for patterns of misconduct within a given law enforcement agency. Miller, the University of Chicago professor, said the investigation marked a sharp reversal for Republicans, who in the past have spoken out against other pattern-and-practice investigations, including into problematic police departments. Recent probes have followed civilian deaths such as the killing of Breonna Taylor by a Louisville, Ky., police officer and the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. "Republicans in particular extolled a lot of belief in local control and states' rights," he said. Now, for the 2nd Amendment, "those priorities get reversed." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Miller said the investigation is limited by existing law, which will restrict what the Justice Department can find problematic with L.A. County's wait times and fees. Although the Supreme Court has suggested that particularly "onerous" gun permit processes may go too far, it has not defined what amount of time is too long to wait for a permit or what licensing fee is too high, he said. And because the courts have yet to set a standard, the Justice Department will have a hard time declaring that a certain length of time or fee associated with the county's permitting process constitutes unconstitutional behavior, he said. The county could defend itself by showing that its permitting process is functioning as best as it can with limited resources and funding, he said. However, should the Justice Department find something more nefarious such as proof that the Sheriff's Department was intentionally and systematically slow-walking permits there would be a case for declaring a pattern or practice of unconstitutional behavior. 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. Car buyers looking to snag new wheels will likely be confronted with sticker shock after President Trump's 25% tax on imported vehicles and auto parts kicks in. Trump's tariff on cars and light trucks is set to take effect on April 3, and tariffs on certain auto parts, including engines and transmissions, will take effect no later than May 3. The tariffs will have a sweeping impact on an industry that runs deep into the economy, upending the supply chains of businesses that consumers heavily depend on, economists said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Cars, avocados and tequila could cost more under Trumps proposed tariffs Roughly half of the 16 million cars, SUVs and light trucks Americans bought in 2024 were imports, the White House said in a fact sheet about the tariffs. Vehicles in the United States are imported from Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Germany and other countries. "If there's a tariff, there's no way to avoid what it means," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. "Either the vehicle manufacturer raises the price or they suffer in the form of lower profits. Pick your poison." Here's what you need to know: Why is Trump imposing tariffs on automakers? The Trump administration says it's imposing tariffs to strengthen national security and spur the growth of American jobs because automakers would face more pressure to build plants in the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "America cannot just be an assembler of foreign-made parts we must become a manufacturing powerhouse that dominates every step of the supply chain of industries that are critical for our national security and economic interests," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. The White House noted that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the automotive supply chain, forcing carmakers to cut or delay production of vehicles. "You will see prices going down but specifically because they will buy what we are doing, incentivizing companies and even countries to come to America and build," Trump said Wednesday when he announced the tariffs. But building more plants in the United States takes automakers years, and some businesses could also be wary of shifting their supply chain to the United States because of regulatory uncertainty, economists said. Some speculate that Trump, who has backtracked on imposing tariffs before, could use tariffs as a bargaining tool to negotiate with other countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Nobody's going to win from the tariffs. Everybody's going to lose, but some companies will lose more than others," said Ilhan Geckil, an economist and managing director at Anderson Economic Group. How much will car prices increase because of the tariffs? Estimates vary depending on the vehicle, but most industry experts predict new cars will cost several thousands more. Even if a car is manufactured in the United States, the tariffs also apply to certain auto parts imported from other countries. Automakers also have to strike a delicate balance because pricing a car too high could prompt consumers to delay buying a new vehicle. Erin Keating, an executive analyst at Cox Automotive, said consumers can expect a 15% to 20% price hike on new vehicles affected by the tariffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even if they're not affected, the prices of vehicles are expected to increase by 5%, he added. "As more people come into the market and start looking for vehicles, and there's competition with vehicles that are having to be priced higher, then the market will potentially bear higher costs, and so therefore you'll see other vehicles rising in price as well as used car vehicles," she said. Zandi said consumers could see car prices increase between $5,000 and $10,000. Anderson Economic Group estimated in February after Trump announced a tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico that consumers could see a price increase of between $4,000 and $10,000 for most new vehicles and $12,000 or more for electric vehicles. Which car brands will be hit hardest by the tariffs? European and Asian-manufactured cars could be hit harder than vehicles produced in the United States, but it also depends on how much the automaker relies on parts imported from other countries, according to Anderson Economic Group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tesla, for example, makes its cars in the United States, but the company also relies on foreign parts to build its vehicles. Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant, Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted this week. Read more: 'I've been betrayed.' Tesla drivers are pushing back on Elon Musk Other automakers such as Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai and General Motors make their cars both in the United States and other countries. General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra said during the company's quarterly earnings call in January the company builds trucks in Mexico, Canada and the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "With respect to possible tariffs, we are working across our supply chain, logistics network, and assembly plants so that we are prepared to mitigate near-term impacts," she said during the call. Hyundai Motor Group said that it's been expanding U.S. production to 1.2 million vehicles across Alabama and Georgia. What about car dealers. How will they be affected? If consumers delay buying a new vehicle because of the higher prices, that could dampen sales at dealerships. Juri Klaric, a sales manager for a Volvo dealership in Torrance, said the tariffs are so new that their business will have to wait to see what happens. Its a little unknown, in all honesty, Klaric said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the nearby Martin Chevrolet dealership, sales teams are preparing and hoping for a busy weekend as buyers rush to secure lower prices, sales manager Stuart Monterroso said. But it's also too early to guess how much the tariffs will hit auto sales at dealers. Parts come from everywhere the logistics are massive, he said. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. As President Trump governs from a melange of conservative principles, many are wondering whether classical liberalism can find a home alongside the New Right. International relations scholar Francis Fukuyama believes that President Trumps November win drove classical liberalism into decline. Others suggest that Trump now leads the only major party that champions constitutional liberties. With a second-term agenda in effect, Trump wields conservatism as a means to execute classically liberal tenets - and he is doing well thus far. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps domestic policies are a seismic shift towards the individual, giving them more autonomy and association in their daily lives. When applied internationally, that may isolate classical liberals who prefer global integration. On this topic, legal scholar John O. McGinnis wrote that "[p]olitical movements cannot stand still; they must adjust to new circumstances while remaining rooted in enduring principles." Indeed, Trumps synthesis of classical liberalism and conservatism is complementary and a dynamic blend that mostly enhances Americans quality of life. In "On Liberty," philosopher John Stuart Mill conceived the "harm principle," in which "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." This set clear boundaries on government intervention and gave citizens flexibility in their social and economic behavior. However, this is not a utilitarian solution; it respects the separateness of people and gives them room to create, innovate, and thrive. President Trump understands the harm principle and has aptly applied it to todays national challenges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Responding to previous federal free speech crackdowns, Trump curbed government interference in constitutionally protected speech, ending federal censorship. The President also delayed the social media platform TikTok from a domestic ban, letting more Americans consume news, engage with virtual communities, and produce various content. The president even launched a massive deregulation campaign with the Office of Management and Budget to delete 10 existing regulations for every new one imposed. With regulatory reform and free speech, Trump brought choice back to the people, imbuing Americans with renewed responsibility for self-governance. These actions uphold negative liberty - the freedom from external constraints - to create a more favorable environment for ingenuity and expression. If American conservatism means upholding a classically liberal order, then Trumps emphasis on negative liberty preserves institutional integrity. Limiting government bias, as Mill would suggest, caps the harm it can do. McGinnis would agree: "The political New Rightsees structural reform as the key to restraining a bureaucracy that increasingly leans ideologically left." Trumps policies are offensive to challenge what he sees as a politically unprincipled domestic sphere. He holds the international order to that same standard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far, Trump has withdrawn America from the Paris Climate Accord, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the World Health Organization. Amid a public diplomatic scuffle with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the U.S. paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Trump also halted aid to South Africa and looks to dismantle USAID. Trump sees all these actions as negative liberties conducive to homeland prosperity: less outside noise and more focus on internal affairs. However, the world orders emphasis on rules-based systems aligns with the values of predictability and protection of individual rights. Its why there are massive pushbacks against Trumps tariff policies and his rhetoric on Canada - critics, including some classical liberals, worry it will undermine cooperation, weaken global stability and free trade, and increase isolationism. A more unilateralist, nationalist, and realist approach to foreign policy rejects the liberal emphasis on multilateral diplomacy and international law. But can you be both a nationalist and a classical liberal? In "A Treatise of Human Nature," Scottish philosopher David Hume argued that ones country is the largest social group that can receive their citizens pride and shame. For Hume, humans have more sympathy for people to whom they are close than with foreigners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even Ludwig von Mises, one of classical liberalisms most revered thinkers, slammed multinational institutions in "Human Action": "What is needed to make peace durable is neither international treaties and covenants nor international tribunals and organizations like the defunct League of Nations or its successor, the United Nations. If the principle of the market economy is universally accepted, such makeshifts are unnecessary." With international relations, the classical liberal debate goes both ways - and Trump is selectively deciding which pieces to put into play. America can be improved with a balanced ideological approach: Prioritize free trade, support national self-determination, and understand that some transnational problems require multilateral solutions. The U.S. needs allies and strength at home, so it must uphold the rule of law in both arenas. Balancing domestic freedom with greater public safety is delicate and should not require compromise. Trump is proving the two can coexist. Alex Rosado is a professional programs assistant at the Alexander Hamilton Society. Follow him on Twitter/X at @Alexprosado. The Trump-ordered airstrikes are an intensified campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The ramped-up campaign goes beyond the Biden administration's "defensive posture," an expert said. It's likely to take months to see whether airstrikes without other forces deter the Houthis. The Trump administration's airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen discussed by top officials in the unclassified Signal chat group are a dramatic escalation of the US's confrontation with the group for its attacks on commercial ships and naval vessels, regional experts told Business Insider. "The Trump-era strikes are broader in scale and formed as part of a sustained campaign targeting not only Houthi infrastructure such as hideouts, stockpiles, and military assets but also the group's leadership," Freddy Khoueiry, a global security analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at the risk intelligence company RANE, told Business Insider. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This mirrors Israel's approach during its conflict with Hezbollah, where efforts to degrade military capabilities were accompanied by systematic strikes on field commanders, eventually reaching senior leadership figures and the upper echelon." This focus bears out from the Atlantic's bombshell reporting on the Signal group: "The first target - their top missile guy - we had a positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed," National Security Adviser Michael Waltz texted. "Excellent," Vice President JD Vance replied. Regional experts cautioned it is likely to take months to see whether more airstrikes and targeting the Houthi movement's leaders will end its attacks on Israel and merchant ships. The Houthis may also end these attacks with a new Gaza ceasefire or an Israeli return to the existing one. The Houthis began a campaign targeting and hijacking commercial ships transiting the Red Sea shortly after the October 2023 Gaza war began; Hamas, like the Houthis, are armed and trained by Iran. The Yemeni militants also launched intermittent drone and missile strikes against Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Biden administration responded by dispatching the US Navy to protect commercial shipping near the Bab al-Mandab strait and repeatedly struck military targets in Yemen like missile launchers, underground storage facilities, radars, and air defenses. These efforts failed to end the attacks. The State Department redesignated the Houthis a foreign terrorist group in March. The Houthis halted attacks targeting Israel and commercial shipping following the January ceasefire in Gaza. On March 12, the group announced they would resume attacks if Israel did not stop blocking aid to the coastal Palestinian enclave. Three days later, the Trump administration ordered the intensified campaign. In the private group chat on Signal that, in an extraordinary turn, accidentally included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pressed for the strikes over Vance's qualms, in part by arguing that only a tougher air campaign would deter the Iran-backed rebel group. "I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablishing deterrence, which Biden cratered," Hegseth texted Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with ABC's "This Week" show, Hegseth contrasted Biden's "pinprick, back-and-forth what ultimately proved to be feckless attacks" with Trump's "overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out." The US is only the latest force to confront the Houthis. Saudi Arabia led a multinational coalition against the Houthis in a war that began in 2014 after the Houthis captured Yemen's capital, Sanaa, from the internationally recognized government and ended with a ceasefire in 2022 that's still in place. The new US campaign bears similarities to the Israeli approach. After the Houthis successfully hit Tel Aviv in a drone attack last July, Israel also launched several long-range airstrikes against the group and threatened to hunt down its leadership. Since beginning its current campaign on March 15, the US has asked Israel not to respond to the latest Houthi missile attacks, which Israeli air defenses successfully intercepted, by stating: "Leave it to us." Aviators from the carrier Abraham Lincoln took part in airstrikes on Houthi weapons storage facilities in November. SA Daniel Kimmelman/US Navy Compared to Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel has relatively little intelligence on the more distant Houthis, a deficiency it has recently sought to rectify. This is in stark contrast with how deeply it infiltrated Hezbollah. In addition to injuring over 3,000 Hezbollah members with booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies in September, Israel also assassinated the group's long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel's strikes sought to inflict economic damage on the Houthis through strikes on energy facilities and ports controlled by the group. "The Biden administration largely adopted a defensive posture, engaging in reactive, tit-for-tat operations," Mohammed Al-Basha of the Basha Report, a Virginia-based Risk Advisory, told BI. "The Trump administration, however, is not pursuing regime change or aiming to topple the Houthis. It has deliberately avoided targeting infrastructure that would harm the civilian population." "It is an offensive posture designed to reestablish deterrence," Al-Basha said. "President Trump has made it clear that continued Houthi attacks on US naval vessels in the Arabian and Red Seas will no longer be tolerated." "While it is still too early to fully assess the campaign's effectiveness, even the Houthis have acknowledged that they are suffering losses and casualties from the ongoing airstrikes." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The airstrike campaign faces similar problems to those that came before. The Houthis are "deeply entrenched in Yemen's challenging terrain" and may have prepared for a protracted campaign, said RANE's Khoueiry, who thinks only a long-term air campaign could deter the Houthis. Independent Middle East analyst Kyle Orton believes it's "too early to tell" if Trump's overall approach will ultimately yield any more than the Biden administration achieved. "The strikes in themselves have done little to damage the Houthis, and it remains to be seen if this was, as some administration rhetoric has suggested, the opening volley in a sustained campaign," Orton told BI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A significant shift in US policy towards Yemen, in Orton's view, would entail a sustained air campaign that coordinated action with Arab allies and the recognized Yemeni government to recapture territory held by the Houthis. "There is, however, little indication Trump is willing to get 'entangled' in the Middle East so seriously," Orton said. Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region. Read the original article on Business Insider Five years after the global shortages of toilet paper at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trumps proposed tariffs on Canadian lumber could leave U.S. stores struggling to stock it once again. The Trump administration had threatened to hike tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber to 27% as soon as April 2, and possibly to as high as 50% by an unspecified date, Bloomberg reported. That could have a big impact on the availability of northern bleached softwood kraft pulp (NBSK), a material derived from wood chips that is used to make toilet paper and paper towels. Last year, the U.S. imported 2 million tons of Canadian NBSK, Brian McClay, chairman of Trusted Providers of Global Pulp Market Information, told Bloomberg, noting that Canadian pulp is prized for toilet paper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of these mills in the United States, some of the big branded products, not only want softwood pulp from Canada, they want softwood pulp from this particular mill theyve been using it for 30 years and they will not change, McClay said. Earlier this month, Jean-Francois Samray, CEO of the Quebec Forest Industry Council, told Global News that the United States is far from being self-sufficient when it comes to softwood lumber. Trumps proposed tariffs, he added, could result in Americans panic-buying toilet paper as they did when the pandemic broke out. Well, he said, weve seen it before. Even the threat of steep new tariffs could have an impact on the supply of goods like toilet paper, experts say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If you start getting really nervous and start stockpiling goods, and a lot of other people do that too, you can actually create high prices and shortages where there isn't even a tariff effect. So I wouldn't really recommend doing that," Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics and trade at the Cato Institute, told NPR. If Trumps tariffs do go into effect, the cost of lumber will rise, fewer trees will be harvested and the supply of wood chips used to make pulp will diminish. That, McClay told Bloomberg, will affect both the supply of toilet paper and its price. Because we dont really cut trees for making pulp in Canada, we depend on residual chips from sawmills. It would certainly boost the cost and probably reduce output, he said. On Friday, however, Trump said in a social media post that he had an extremely productive call with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Without specifying a final decision on how he will implement new lumber tariffs, Trump said he would meet with Carney after Canadas elections on April 28 to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A day earlier, Carney had declared that the U.S. was no longer a reliable trading partner to Canada. He has also hit back at the U.S. over Trumps tariffs on Canadian goods. "The Prime Minister informed the President that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy, following the announcement of additional U.S. trade actions on April 2, 2025," a statement issued Friday from Carneys office read. Are you an educator? What do you think about Trump's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education? Yahoo News is asking teachers, administrators and other school staff around the country for their reactions to President Trumps order and how closing the Department of Education would affect their schools and students. Let us know what you think in our form, here. Donald Trumps impending United States tariffs against Mexico imports and on auto industry imports in particular hung heavily over a manufacturing trade show that wrapped up late this week in El Paso. Theres a lot of uncertainty because of the tariffs cloud, Margarita Licon, El Paso district sales manager for Expeditors, a large international warehouse operator and logistics company with 11 El Paso warehouses, said at the companys booth at the El Paso convention center. A lot of companies are waiting to make decisions about expansions and other projects, she said a sentiment echoed by suppliers and others tied to Mexico factories at Mexicos Manufacturing Supply Chain Summit. The annual trade show is organized by Mexico Now, a trade publication for Mexicos manufacturing industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alan Russell, CEO of El Paso's Tecma Group of Companies, during a trade-show discussion, said he advises his clients to not wait "on the politicians to make your decisions, or you are going to be left behind." An attendee walks past informational displays about Mexicos supply chain and exports during Mexico's Supply Chain Nearshoring Summit and trade show on March 27, 2025, at the El Paso Convention Center. Mexico's workforce may trump U.S. tariffs Tecma establishes maquiladoras, or factories, in Mexico for companies in the U.S., and elsewhere. U.S. manufacturers continue moving factories to Juarez because they cant find workers in their hometowns, Russell said. Oscar Dominguez, president of Lear Mexico Operations, said Mexicos automotive industry has a large, experienced workforce that cant be overlooked in companies' location decisions, even if U.S. tariffs are implemented. Lear is a global supplier of automotive seats and automotive electrical and electronic systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That workforce has helped Mexico become a large auto-manufacturing center, Dominguez said. He and three other experts on the Mexico automotive industry took part in a panel discussion at the trade show. More: Trump's tariffs: What does it mean to be made in America? Oscar Dominguez, president of Lear Mexico Operations, speaks during a panel discussion about the Mexican auto industry at Mexico's Supply Chain Nearshoring Summit and trade show on March 27, 2025, at the El Paso Convention Center. Juarez: Mexico's 2nd-largest auto-parts maker Mexico is the seventh-largest auto producer in the world, with most of the vehicles exported to the United States, said Thomas Karig, an independent manufacturing consultant and former Volkswagen of Mexico executive. It also is a large producer of components put into motor vehicles. Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, is the second-largest auto-parts producer in Mexico, according to data the city of Juarez reported at the trade show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Juarez has about 400 companies in the automotive manufacturing industry with about 180,000 employees, the Juarez data show. Impending tariffs may hurt auto industry, experts say If Trumps announced 25% tariffs on auto imports takes effect April 2 as now scheduled, it definitely will impact companies in Mexico's automotive industry, Dominguez said. "I don't think companies (auto manufacturers) will be able to absorb all that cost," and that will result in negotiations between suppliers and the auto manufacturers, and result in suppliers and consumers having to pay higher prices, he said. Attendees walk around and stop to talk at booths during Mexico's Supply Chain Nearshoring Summit and trade show on March 27, 2025, at the El Paso Convention Center. Even if some auto components covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, or USMCA, are exempted from tariffs, as has been indicated by the Trump administration, many parts will still be subject to the tariffs, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Luis Gonzalez, vice president of Textape Inc., an El Paso company that produces tape used to cover automotive wiring made in Mexico, said one of his concerns is that Textape will have to absorb the tariffs' costs because, he said, automotive manufacturers don't like to accept price increases. Other tariffs also may be implemented by the U.S. against Mexico. Trump on March delayed implementing a 25% tariff on a broad array of Mexican imports. And steel imports from around the world, including from Mexico, are subject to 25% tariffs by the U.S. Trump also has said the U.S. will impose reciprocal tariffs April 2 on imports from countries that charge tariffs on U.S. exports. Salomon Noble, CEO of Intermex Industrial Parks, right, and Alan Russell, CEO of El Paso Tecma Group, discuss the maquila industry at Mexico's Supply Chain Nearshoring Summit and trade show on March 27, 2025, at the El Paso Convention Center. Tariffs may be aimed at USMCA renegotiations Lear's Dominguez said the tariffs against Mexico appear to be the Trump adminstration's way to set the stage for negotiations of a new USMCA. The trade agreement is scheduled to go under renegotiation in 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salomon Noble, CEO of Intermex Industrial Parks, said he's certain Trump is using tariffs as a negotiating strategy to make what he called, USMCA 2.0, "more strigent and stronger," which he foresees will make the U.S. and Mexico better allies. Intermex is a large industrial park developer in Mexico and also helps companies establish factories in Mexico El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson, in a short speech to the trade show, said geopolitical shifts, tariffs, disruptions in logistics, and other factors have brought a transformative moment in global trade, including for this binational manufacturing region. "Rethinking supply chain is no longer an option, its imperative," Johnson said. Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter, now known as X. More: Austin firm plans $5B high-tech campus in Santa Teresa, NM, create 1,000 jobs This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Trump's tariffs weigh heavily at El Paso manufacturing trade show A doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a Hawaii hiking trail allegedly hit her in the head with a rock about 10 times and tried to inject her with syringes before a witness intervened, according to court documents. Arielle Konig said she was on the Pali Puka Trail in Honolulu with her husband, Gerhardt Konig, on Monday when he stood near the edge and asked her to take a selfie with him, according to court documents filed Thursday. She said she didnt feel comfortable being that close to the edge, "so she declined and began to walk back," the documents said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gerhardt Konig allegedly "yelled at her to come back, and when she refused, he pushed her into the bushes," the documents said. PHOTO: An undated photo of Gerhardt Konig. (Honolulu Police Department) MORE: Tufts student's visa was revoked due to activism, Rubio says Arielle Konig said he hit her in the head with a rock about 10 times while grabbing the back of her head and smashing her face into the ground, the documents said. She said she then saw her husband remove two syringes from his bag and "attempt to use them on her, but she was able to get them away from him," the documents said. A witness, Amanda, said she heard a woman repeatedly yelling "Help! Help me!" the documents said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amanda said she ran to the top of the trail where she saw Arielle Konig lying on her back with a man on top of her, hitting her on the head, the documents said. The witness said the man stopped the attack when he saw her. Another witness called 911. MORE: Son of former Yankees player Brett Gardner honored at opening day after his mysterious death in Costa Rica Arielle Konig identified her attacker as her husband and said, "He is trying to kill me. He is hitting me in the head with a rock," Amanda later relayed to police, according to the court documents. Arielle Konig suffered multiple lacerations to her face and head and was hospitalized in serious but stable condition, according to the court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gerhardt Konig, 46, who lives on Maui, was arrested Monday night and has been charged with second-degree attempted murder. MORE: Doctor allegedly tries to kill wife at Hawaii hiking trail: Police He made an initial court appearance on Thursday but did not enter a plea. His preliminary hearing is set for March 31. Gerhardt Konig's ex-wife and her current husband said in a statement, "We are shocked and saddened by this news, and our hearts are with Ari." The suspect works for "an independent entity contracted to provide medical services at various medical facilities on Maui," Maui Health said in a statement. He previously worked in Pittsburgh, where he was an attending anesthesiologist at a women's hospital and an assistant professor of anesthesiology and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Medicine and Engineering, according to his biography. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ABC News' Jennifer Watts contributed to this report. 'He is trying to kill me': Woman says doctor husband hit her 10 times with a rock on Hawaii hiking trail originally appeared on abcnews.go.com WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is stepping up its efforts at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) following a spike in the number of firearms detected at security checkpoints. Fred Person, TSAs Federal Security Director for Kansas, says the increase is alarming. Last year, we had a total of 17 [firearms] for the year. This year, weve already found 9 and seven of those were loaded, he said. That creates a significant hazard for both our passengers that are flying out as well as our screening officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Person, the TSA is launching an educational campaign to help travelers better understand how to travel with firearms legally and safely. We wanted to show individuals the proper way to declare these and to properly package them so that we can avoid having any issues at the checkpoint, he said. The consequences for not properly declaring a firearm can be steep. Passengers can face a fine of up to $17,000 and may lose TSA PreCheck privileges for up to five years. There are some significant problems that can occur if you do not declare your firearm, Person said. So why are so many firearms showing up at the airport? Person says theres no definitive answer, but forgetfulness is the most common explanation given. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wanted felon captured after chase in Park City The main answer that we get here is, when somebody has a firearm, the typical answer is I forgot it was in my bag, he said. The TSA urges travelers to start with an empty bag before packing, double-check for ammunition or firearm components, and follow all guidelines. The agencys website, tsa.gov, provides detailed instructions for how to declare and pack a firearm for air travel. While the guidelines are consistent across airports, each state has its own gun laws. Person emphasized that travelers should know the laws of their destination. Just because Kansas allows open carry doesnt mean other states do, he said. If you take a firearm to New York, for example, youre always going to get arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though repeat offenders are rare, they are tracked in the TSA system. Once you receive an investigation by TSA for having a firearm, its logged, Person said. If you come back through the airport, that fine could be increased, you could lose PreCheck permanently, and there could be other penalties. Beyond firearms, TSA agents at ICT have intercepted unusual and dangerous items, including hatchets and swords. TSA encourages travelers to use its website to check which items are allowed in carry-on and checked baggage to avoid issues at the checkpoint. Flying is already a stressful situation for a lot of people, said Person. We want to ensure that the process is as smooth as possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. While the administrations motivations are sound, we must remain alert to any unforeseen outcomes of this tax shift namely, what it could mean for the private equity sector. If youre not already aware, the carried interest tax loophole reduces the tax levied on investment profits from up to 37% to 20% -- with the catch that firms hold the investment for at least three years. In laymans terms, the loophole incentivises investors to hold assets for the longer term and deters them from exiting too early. It rewards GPs for investing mindfully with a lower CGT rate. Thats at least in part because Trump has been somewhat of a standard bearer of best practice across private equity. As part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, he changed the holding period required to be eligible for this tax benefit from one to three years. This was a sorely needed and undeniably positive move. Extending the holding period motivated firms to take a more holistic, supportive approach to their portfolio companies. Rather than seeing them as little more than a money-making exercise and jeopardising their future success, they were encouraged to drive genuine, sustainable growth. Trump bolstered US businesses and the wider economy, as a result. Now, though, President Trump is expected to close the loophole. In many ways, I can completely understand why. We are all aware of the US budget deficit and that the President has made it his mission to slash government spending. But there is one unintended consequence of removing the loophole that needs addressing. Namely, that it could unintentionally encourage predatory practices across private equity. Predatory is a term that has followed PE since the beginning. Asset-stripping, premature exits, and the like are all qualities that have dogged the industry for years and are practices and methods already far too prevalent across the sector. There was a record number of PE-backed bankruptcies last year. No one wants that to increase. Private equity should be a force for good. It should give businesses the firepower, expertise, oversight, and collaboration needed to realise their potential and see exponential growth. It should not be careless, thoughtless, distant, or emotionless. Without the right incentives and deterrents, however, these could hypothetically become commonplace. M&A activity is expected to increase this year, and in this more favourable monetary environment, I know funds are itching to unleash all the dry powder at their disposal. High-growth, high-potential businesses all across the US will be looking for that boost of capital to take them to the next level. Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk experienced an asthma attack while federal agents were moving her from Massachusetts to a detention facility in Louisiana, according to her attorneys. Mask-wearing plain-clothes agents grabbed Ozturk off the street near her apartment in Somerville on March 25, sending shockwaves through the university community, student activists and civil rights groups as Donald Trumps administration targets international students who spoke out in support of Palestine. Ozturks attorneys, friends and the Turkish consulate could not find her until nearly 24 hours after she was arrested, according to attorney Mahsa Khanbabai. Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, pictured in 2021, was arrested by plain-clothes ICE agents on March 25 and is threatened with removal from the country after co-authoring a student newspaper op-ed against Israels war in Gaza (AP) After her arrest, a representative from the Turkish consulate went personally to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office and was told that ICE could not provide further information about her whereabouts, according to Ozturks attorneys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Department of Justice counsel on this matter also informed counsel for Rumeysa that they could not locate her, they wrote. A federal judge in Massachusetts had blocked her removal from the state without a court order, but agents had already sent her to Louisiana, more than 1,000 miles away, to a facility that processes immigrants for removal from the country. Ozturks attorneys were finally able to speak to her late in the evening on March 26, when they learned she had an asthma attack while en route to Louisiana. Her ordeal is shocking, cruel, and unconstitutional, Khanbabai said Friday. Ozturks arrest and detention are designed to punish her speech and chill the speech of others, her attorneys wrote in court filings on Friday demanding her release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indeed, her arrest and detention are part of a concerted and systemic effort by Trump administration officials to punish students and others identified with pro-Palestine activism, they added. Ozturk a Fulbright scholar working towards a PhD in child study and human development from Tufts after receiving a masters degree from Columbia University has not been charged with any crime. The Trump administration has revoked her visa, and the Department of Homeland Security has accused her of engaging in activities in support of Hamas. But administration officials appear to admit she was solely targeted for what her attorneys say is constitutionally protected speech. Last year, in response to Israels ongoing devastation of Gaza, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed with four other students in The Tufts Daily newspaper calling on the university to divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel in an effort to hold Israel accountable for clear violations of international law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide, the op-ed says. Asked about her arrest and the allegations against her, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters we revoked her visa. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses, he said during a press conference Thursday. Protesters in Massachusetts have demanded the Trump administration release Rumeysa Ozturk and other international student activists targeted for removal from the United States for their activism in support of Palestine (EPA) Ozturks attorneys argue the administration is violating her First Amendment rights and her Fifth Amendment right to due process. Rumeysas arrest and detention are not a necessary or usual consequence of the revocation of a visa, attorneys wrote. But like the revocation of her visa, her arrest and detention are designed to silence her, punish her for her speech, and ensure that other students will be chilled from expressing pro-Palestinian viewpoints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No person, regardless of their immigration status, can be arrested, detained, or deported as punishment for their political views, according to Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. Ideas and certainly op-eds are not illegal. The First Amendment protects all of us. Ozturks arrest follows a series of similar incidents targeting international students for speaking out against Israels war in Gaza, which sparked demonstrations at college campuses across the country. Trumps anti-immigration agenda is dovetailing with his administrations efforts to suppress protests against Israels war in Gaza at prestigious universities, which administration officials have accused of harboring antisemitic pro-Hamas activities. Several doctoral candidates and graduate students including lawful permanent residents have been arrested and threatened with removal from the country within the last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who is expected to graduate from Columbias masters program in May, is currently detained in Louisiana after his arrest in front of his pregnant wife, a U.S. citizen, earlier this month. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Ozturk and Khalil are detained under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that the secretary of state can deport any noncitizen whose presence in the United States is considered a threat to the nations foreign policy interests. Administration officials have accused Khalil of antisemitic activities and supporting Hamas, which he has denied. Officials concede he has not committed any crime, but claim he can be removed over what they characterize as potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences. A federal judge has agreed to move Khalils case to New Jersey, where another judge is weighing whether to grant his release while his legal challenge plays out. March 28 (UPI) -- Turkey arrested the lawyer for jailed political opposition leader and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in what Imamoglu Thursday called a legal coup against democracy. "My lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was detained on fictitious grounds," a post on Imamoglu's X account said. "As if the coup against democracy was not enough, they cannot tolerate the victims of this coup defending themselves." The post said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government wants "to add a legal coup to the coup against democracy." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The evil that a handful of incompetent people are inflicting on our country is growing. Release my lawyer immediately," Imamoglu's post added. Politico, citing Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, said Pehlivan was taken to a police station but no criminal charges were immediately announced. A protester wearing a whirling dervish costume performs in front of Turkish riot police barricades as he tries to march to Taksim Square from the Istanbul Municipality headquarters during a protest against the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday. Photo by Erdem Sahin/ EPA-EFE Imamoglu is Erdogan's main political rival. He was arrested March 19 and charged March 23 with corruption charges. Imamoglu denies the charges and the arrest triggered huge protests nationwide in Turkey. BBC reporter Mark Lowen was grabbed by Istanbul police while covering the protests Wednesday, held for 17 hours and then deported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an X post Lowen said he was told he was "a threat to public order." BBC News CEO said in a statement, "This is an extremely troubling incident and we will be making representations to the Turkish authorities." Hundreds of protesters who believe Imamoglu because he is a political threat to Erdogan have been arrested while demanding that Imamoglu be released. Turkey denies the arrest is political. Imamoglu and protesters supporting him believe his arrest is anti-democratic political repression, essentially a coup against democracy. The Guardian reported that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said "Turkey must protect democratic values, especially the rights of elected officials." (Bloomberg) -- Ekrem Imamoglu, the Turkish opposition figure whose detention this month triggered mass protests and a market selloff, criticized Western leaders for their muted response to his arrest. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a piece published in The New York Times on Friday morning, President Recep Tayyip Erdogans main political rival accused the US and Europe of prioritizing geopolitical interests over democratic values. Their silence is deafening, Imamoglu wrote of world governments. Washington merely expressed concerns regarding recent arrests and protests in Turkey. With few exceptions, European leaders have failed to offer a strong response. Erdogan, who has led the country of 85 million people for more than two decades, has positioned himself as a key power broker from Ukraine to the Middle East and Africa. As commander of NATOs second-biggest army and at a time Europe is fretting about the US potentially reducing its footprint on the continent, Erdogan doubts leaders in places such as France and Germany want a dispute over Turkeys democracy. US President Donald Trump, for his part, called Erdogan a good leader this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, said the lack of international condemnation of Erdogan is helping ensure Turkeys shift toward authoritarianism. Democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental freedoms cannot survive in silence, nor be sacrificed for diplomatic convenience disguised as realpolitik, he said. A country with a long democratic tradition now faces the serious risk of passing the point of no return. Turkish police detained Imamoglu on March 19 and he was later formally arrested on corruption charges, which he denies. Erdogans administration says the courts are independent and dont act on instructions from the presidency. Imamoglus detention led to hundreds of thousands of Turks taking to the streets and a plunge in the countrys stocks and bonds. The central banks interventions to stem the liras drop totaled around $27 billion in three days alone, according to calculations by Bloomberg Economics, significantly reducing Turkeys foreign-exchange reserves. Turkish stocks are on track for a partial recovery this week, while the lira and bonds stabilized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Germanys outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last week that Imamoglus detention was depressing, but other European leaders have largely refrained from issuing similar statements. The UK government hasnt commented on the deportation of a BBC journalist on Thursday. Since Imamoglus arrest, Turkish authorities have detained nearly 1,900 people, including students and activists, and have cracked down on media coverage. Local news channels, online broadcasters, and YouTubers are the target of penalties and investigations. Imamoglus lawyer was also detained, state-run Anadolu reported on Friday. (Update with markets in the ninth paragraph. A previous version of this story corrected the date of detention.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Turkish authorities detained a lawyer representing imprisoned and ousted Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a member of parliament from Imamoglu's main opposition party said on Friday. Lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan has been detained on "fabricated" charges, Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Turan Taskn Ozer wrote on the social media platform X. According to local broadcaster Halk TV, the lawyer is accused of money laundering. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Release my lawyer immediately, read a statement on Imamoglus X account, denouncing the arrest as unjustified. Imamoglu, a leading opposition figure, was arrested last week on corruption and terrorism-related charges, leading to nationwide protests. Demonstrators accuse President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of using the case to sideline his political rival. Imamoglu denies all allegations. Police have cracked down on protesters, using heavy force in some cases. Turkish Interior Ministry reported nearly 1,900 temporary detentions since the demonstrations began on March 19, including journalists. The CHP and student groups separately called for protests in Istanbul and elsewhere for Friday and Saturday. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a call on Friday that steps toward achieving navigational safety in the Black Sea would contribute to peace efforts with Ukraine, the Turkish presidency said, adding that Ankara was ready to contribute to these efforts. In a statement, the presidency said Erdogan told Putin that Turkey was closely following peace efforts between Ukraine and Russia and repeated an offer to host talks. Erdogan also told Putin that Turkey valued cooperation with Russia in Syria, where the countries backed opposing sides for years, and said Ankara and Moscow should work together to end acts fuelling sectarian violence in Syria, lift sanctions, and achieve lasting stability. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Kevin Liffey) SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) One person was injured in San Franciscos Union Square neighborhood after a gas line was ruptured Friday afternoon, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. Fire crews responded at 12:30 p.m. to Fourth and Geary streets on the reports of a ruptured gas line. Two buildings in the area were evacuated as a precautionary measure, SFFD said. Businesses evacuated include The Salvation Army and Abraham Farmers Market. One person was found to have a minor injury, fire officials said, and declined transportation to a hospital. (Photo: SFFD) (Photo: SFFD) Pacific Gas and Electric Company crews responded to secure the line. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While initial reports said the incident was a gas line rupture, a PG&G spokesperson reached out to KRON4 to clarify that the line was damaged by a third party. SFFD is advising people to avoid the area and find alternative routes as traffic is being diverted. This is a developing story. Check back 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 KRON4. By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepali riot police lobbed tear gas, fired water cannon and used rattan sticks on Friday to break up a protest rally demanding the restoration of constitutional monarchy, and at least two people were killed in the violence, police said. Authorities said they had to use force to stop thousands of protesters breaking into an area where demonstrations and protest rallies are banned, and they later imposed a curfew in the affected area to stem further escalation of the violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two people killed included one of the protesters and a journalist who was covering the rally, a police spokesman, Dinesh Kumar Acharya, told Reuters. Avenues TV said one of its journalists had died when a house he was in was set ablaze. Another Nepal police spokesman, Shekhar Khanal, said protesters had set fire to a private house and a vehicle, adding that 17 people including three police personnel were injured. Three protesters are in police custody, he said. A separate anti-monarchy rally also took place in the Nepali capital on Friday but passed peacefully. A specially elected assembly scrapped the 239-year-old monarchy in 2008, under an accord that ended a Maoist insurgency which had killed 17,000 people in 1996-2006 and turned Nepal into a secular, federal republic from a Hindu kingdom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The last king of the Himalayan nation, 77-year-old Gyanendra, has lived with his family in a private house in Kathmandu as a commoner since being toppled. 'UNRULY' CROWD Friday's trouble erupted when thousands of demonstrators, some carrying Nepal's national flag, hurled stones and tried to break a barricade in order to march towards parliament building in central Kathmandu. One police official, Kumar Neupane, said police fired in the air to drive away the "unruly" crowd. A Ministry of Home statement said protesters had vandalised private property, hospital, a political party office, vehicles, a media house and a shopping mall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ashok Kumar Bhandari, a spokesman for the Kathmandu district administration, said the curfew declared in the affected area was "for a short period of time, till 10 pm (1615 GMT) but can be extended depending on what turn the situation takes". Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries, has seen the formation of 14 governments in the 16 years since the abolition of the monarchy. The political instability has stymied economic growth, prompting millions of young people to seek work abroad, mainly in the oil-rich Middle East, South Korea and Malaysia. Public frustration has been rising over the failure of successive governments to deliver on commitments to develop the economy, which remains reliant on aid and tourism. Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 highest peaks, including Mount Everest. (Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Gareth Jones) STORY: :: Riot police use tear gas and sticks to break up a pro-monarchy protest in Nepal :: Police have imposed a curfew and said two people had been killed in the violence :: Kathmandu, Nepal :: March 28, 2025 Authorities said they had to use force to stop thousands of protesters breaking into an area where demonstrations and protest rallies are banned, and they later imposed a curfew in the affected area to stem further escalation of the violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two people killed included one of the protesters and a journalist who was covering the rally, a police spokesman, Dinesh Kumar Acharya, told Reuters. Avenues TV said one of its journalists had died when a house he was in was set ablaze. Another Nepal police spokesman, Shekhar Khanal, said protesters had set fire to a private house and a vehicle, adding that 17 people including three police personnel were injured. Three protesters are in police custody, he said. Two people were killed and several others injured in a shooting in a residential area of a southern Dutch town, police said on Friday. The motive remains unclear and no suspect has been arrested, police in Oosterhout said. Shots were fired at two locations in the neighbourhood around 4 pm (1500 GMT), police said. Emergency services, including a police helicopter, were quickly deployed. Witnesses reported a heavy police presence, with many officers wearing bullet proof vests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local media said two cars collided at the scene, with visible bullet holes in one vehicle and bloodstains on the driver's door. Residents described the neighbourhood atmosphere as tense and unsettled, according to broadcaster Omroep Brabant. JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) Two men have been arrested in connection to the mass shooting in downtown Jackson that occurred hours after the Hals St. Paddys Parade. Bailey Martin, press secretary for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS), said Michael McLeod, 22, who was a law enforcement officer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), and Marquavius McLeod, 21, were both arrested in connection to the case. Man accused of kidnapping of woman and her child in Mississippi Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two men have both been charged with one count of murder and seven counts of aggravated assault. Martin said additional arrests are expected in the case. Michael McLeod (Courtesy: Hinds Co. Detention Center) Marquavius McLeod (Courtesy: Hinds Co. Detention Center) The shooting occurred around 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 22 after police said two groups got into a fight. One person was killed and seven others were injured. The deceased victim was identified as Cortez George, 21, of Jackson, by the interim Hinds County coroner. George was shot multiple times. The shooting occurred around 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 22 after police said two groups got into a fight. One person was killed and seven others were injured. (WJTV) UMMC officials said McLeod, who served as a police officer with UMMC Police and Public Safety Department for about a year, was fired on March 27. McLeod was arrested by Capitol Police Thursday as a part of the investigation of a March 22 shooting in downtown Jackson. He was not on duty at the time of the shooting and his UMMC-issued firearm was not used. Before becoming an officer with UMMC Police, McLeod held another position with the department for about six months. Prior to UMMC employment, he cleared all regular background checks and has had no disciplinary actions against him or performance issues. Our condolences go out to the victims and their families. We continue to cooperate with Capitol Police in its investigation. Patrice Guilfoyle, APR Director of Communications Office of Communications and Marketing University of Mississippi Medical Center Anyone with additional information about the shooting can contact Capitol police at 601-359-3125. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. Welcome back, Deadline: Legal Newsletter readers. We left off last week with open compliance questions in the deportation flights litigation, Paul Weiss caving to Donald Trumps order targeting the law firm, and Elon Musks continued quest to dominate American life while backed by Trumps Justice Department. All three stories encapsulating the power consolidation of Trump 2.0 advanced this week, with the government seeking the Supreme Courts help on deportations, firms that arent Paul Weiss fighting back and Musk trying to sway an important election for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat. Did Trump officials violate court orders to halt certain deportations this month? U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is still examining the issue. The government invoked the state secrets privilege this week to try to avoid giving Washington, D.C.s chief federal trial judge more information, while insisting it didnt violate his temporary restraining orders. Lawyers representing alleged (but unproven) Venezuelan gang members who Trump wants summarily removed under the wartime Alien Enemies Act have until Monday to respond to the compliance and state secrets claims. So well have to wait until next week to see what the judge says about the governments conduct. The compliance issue is separate from the underlying question of whether Boasbergs orders are legally valid. A divided appeals court panel in D.C. bolstered the orders this week by rejecting the Trump DOJs bid to upend them. The DOJ then lodged an urgent Supreme Court appeal on Friday, voicing its latest frustration with lower court judges thwarting the president's agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement April is set to be a big month for the justices deciding emergency litigation not only on deportations but also on birthright citizenship, federal worker firings and education grants targeted by the administrations anti-DEI push. Meanwhile, Trumps push to punish law firms he doesnt like met resistance this week, following Paul Weiss historic capitulation. While another big firm (Skadden Arps) struck a deal with the administration before facing a similar executive order, two firms facing revenge orders WilmerHale and Jenner & Block filed lawsuits against the attempts to crush their businesses based on their affiliations with lawyers who investigated Trump. The two firms are joining the fight already waged by Perkins Coie, which previously won a temporary pause of the presidents bid to cripple its business. Litigation continues in the Perkins Coie case in front of U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who slammed the DOJs motion to force her recusal this week. The D.C.-based judge called the governments claim rife with innuendo but not com[ing] close to meeting the standard for disqualification. Turning away from Washington, the future of Wisconsins top court is in play for a seat thatll go to a conservative or a liberal jurist. Musk has taken interest in Tuesdays race, backing conservative Brad Schimel over liberal Susan Crawford. The tech billionaire said that he would give a talk Sunday in the state, with entrance limited to voters, and that hed give away two million-dollar checks in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said he intended to take legal action to halt the payouts, whose legality was quickly questioned by a prominent election law expert. Well be tracking any legal fallout from Musks election payments as well as the results of the race itself. Turning back to Washington, in nonemergency high court action, the justices split 7-2 to approve Biden-era regulation of so-called ghost gun kits for making untraceable weapons. They also heard arguments in important appeals involving racial gerrymandering and other issues ahead of next weeks hearings, which will include one over a law intended to help terrorism victims sue Palestinian groups. The terms final arguments are set for late April, followed by the traditional end-of-term wait for opinions that typically wraps up by July. There might be fewer blockbuster cases this term one of the bigger rulings were awaiting affects transgender rights but the Trump 2.0 emergency litigation referenced above will also be keeping the court busy, and the results of that litigation could be just as important as the outcome of the regularly scheduled cases. Have any questions or comments for me? Id love to hear from you! Please email deadlinelegal@nbcuni.com for a chance to be featured in a future newsletter. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Jessica Brady Reader (left) and Lauren Petit share the experiences and hardships as mothers of stillborn children, in testimony for a bill promising a one-time $1,000 tax credit for a parent of a stillborn child. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters). Lawmakers are considering a bill that would offer a tax credit to help ease the burden of the unexpected costs associated with one of the hardest days a parent could experience the stillbirth of a child. For two Maryland mothers who still mourn, years after the trauma of stillbirth, the bill sends a bigger message that the children they lost mattered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the hardest parts about being stillbirth parents is that you feel this love for your child, but nobody can see that because theyre not here, Jessica Brady Reader, a Kensington resident, said after a hearing Thursday on Senate Bill 414. And so from a symbolic standpoint, this bill is very important, I think, for giving families that satisfaction that their child counted, she said. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery), would create a one-time $1,000 tax credit for families of a stillborn child to help offset the unexpected medical and funeral costs that families endure. Those financial burdens add to the costs invested in preparing their home for the arrival of their newborn a day that, for those families, did not come. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Giving birth to a stillborn baby is one of the most traumatic things a mother can go through. And of course it impacts the entire family as well, Waldstreicher told the Ways and Means Committee Thursday. Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher testifies on his bill to provide tax credits to families of stillborn children to ease the financial toll on grieving families. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters). SB414 received unanimous support in the Senate earlier this month. With a fiscal note of some $360,000 annually a drop in the states $67 billion budget bucket Waldstreicher hopes the House will move the legislation as well. That trauma is compounded by financial impacts, he testified. In preparing for a live birth, they prepare the nursery buy the crib, buy a car seat, stock up on clothing and diapers. And of course, the financial costs dont end there. Suddenly, there are funeral costs the service, the casket and the burial plot. Thats what Reader experienced in 2021. She was nearly 38-weeks pregnant when she lost her daughter, Francesca. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nothing could prepare us for the devastation of coming home from the hospital without our baby, or that year of firsts as we grieved our precious daughter, she told the committee. We needed to make arrangements in a matter of days, while I was postpartum and recovering from birth. A thousand dollars of unexpected expenses is crushing. So when Tax Day came, and it felt like nothing about Francesca counted, I felt yet another low point, she said. Lauren Petit, who lives just outside Annapolis, shared a similar story in her testimony. She and her husband were bombarded with information and forced to make rapid, heartbreaking decisions about funeral arrangements after losing their daughter when Petit was 20-weeks pregnant in 2020. We had to decide what to do with Avas remains, she said. Could we afford a funeral? Would we want one? Would we need grief counseling? These were unimaginable choices for grieving parents to make in such a short time. Fortunately, may husband and I had the resources but not every family is as fortunate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Petit has testified for the legislation before. In 2022, she came before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee with then-Sen. Sarah Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel), who was sponsoring the bill at the time. Petit relayed the same story then, with the pain of her stillbirth just two years old. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX It was the same year the General Assembly was considering what would ultimately become a ballot question to add reproductive rights to the Maryland Constitution. Waldstreicher believes that the political climate then may have contributed to why the stillbirth tax credit bill stalled in 2022. That year was a complicated year, because we were dealing with unrelated issues that could accidentally be conflated with this bill, he said. And I think some people conflated issues perhaps some people wanted to conflate issues but we dont have that issue this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think this bill is now standing on its own and people understand, from both the Republican and Democratic perspectives, that it should move forward, Waldstreicher said. If it becomes law, Petit and Reader hope the measure inspires more attention, funding and research into the issue of stillbirth in the state. According to 2021 data from the Star Legacy Foundation, about half of stillborn cases in Maryland do not cite a cause of death. That was the case for Reader, who said its deeply painful for the parents who want to understand why there was this loss. And its quite frustrating because we could and should dedicate more research into the prevention side, which includes doing research as to what causes stillbirth, what are some of the co-occurring conditions that can arise, and how can we treat those better. she said. This tax credit is an important moment to recognize that there is so much work that still needs to be done about stillbirth, Reader said. It is so important that this issue is receiving attention through our legislation. The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP) has condemned the results of the international 2025 World Press Photo contest, in which two Russians, a Belarusian and a group of German photographers were among the regional winners some of them with projects focused on Ukraine and the war. Source: an official statement by the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP) Details: UAPP said it was surprised by the jurys selection and demanded adherence to ethical standards, impartiality and transparency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "By rewarding Russian photographers who serve as expressors of the state ideology of the Russian Federation, the competition makes the position of the aggressor visible, and thus contributes to the substitution of concepts: instead of condemning the aggressor, it emphasises sympathy for him. In our opinion, such an award does not meet the stated goal of the competition, which is to connect the world with important stories, especially in the situation of the war of aggression that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for 11 years." Underground Field Hospital. Photo: Nanna Heitmann Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: The UAPP Board stated that fair voting is only possible if it is impartial, as attention should be paid to photographers who "reflect the truth and give a voice to those who are often silenced". Which works won awards This is the first time a photojournalist from Russia has won an award in the contest since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion. Mikhail Tereshchenko, a photo correspondent for the Russian state news agency TASS, received an award in the Stories category for his series Protests in Georgia, which documented anti-Russian protests in Tbilisi against the suspension of Georgias EU accession talks. Another Russian, Aliona Kardash, won in the Long-Term Projects category with her project It Smells of Smoke at Home. Although she lives in Germany, her main focus was the "psychological detachment of modern Russia from reality, where the war is called a special operation." It Smells of Smoke at Home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photo: Aliona Kardash In the Singles category for Europe, the jury selected two works depicting the war in Ukraine. They were described as a "visual pair" showing two reflections of the regions reality. German photographer Florian Bachmeier captured six-year-old Anhelina from Kharkiv Oblast, who suffers from panic attacks after fleeing shelling in her hometown of Kupiansk. The work is titled Beyond the Trenches and, according to the photographer, "became the emotional center of the European bloc". In contrast, German photographer Nanna Heitmanns photo, Underground Field Hospital, shows a wounded militant from the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic who fought on the side of the Russian Armed Forces. Protests in Georgia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photo: Mikhail Tereshchenko An award in the Southeast Asia and Oceania category went to Belarusian photographer Tatsiana Chypsanova for her project about the ancestors of the Maori Ngai Tahu tribe in New Zealand. "Winning photos are those that make us stop, or at least pause and think, not just scroll on. Many of these images transcend the moment in which they were taken they have become symbols of something significant from a social, political or historical point of view," said European jury chair Finbarr OReilly, justifying the selection. Reactions from photographers The announcement of the winners immediately sparked heated debate within the photography community, including among Ukrainian photojournalists. Photojournalist Serhii Korovainyi shared his reaction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "From my perspective, this is an unempathic, shallow manipulation driven by visual resemblance that removes responsibility for Russias war of aggression in Ukraine from ordinary Russians both military and civilians. It encourages Russian guiltwashing. It is entirely inappropriate during a war of choice waged by the Russian Federation. One of the winning stories by a photographer of Russian origin, Aliona Kardash, is about Russian society during the war, its struggles and suffering. It is titled It Smells of Smoke at Home. Ukrainian cities also smell of smoke. From the Russian missiles and drones that kill our civilians and soldiers many of whom were civilians just yesterday. Every day. Russian cities will stop smelling of smoke the moment Russian troops leave Ukraine. At that moment, Russian boys will stop dying in basements in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, and Anhelina will return home to Kupiansk." Screenshot: Yulia Kochetova on Instagram Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Yulia Kochetova, who won a World Press Photo award last year, was also critical of the jurys decision. Quote: "Obviously, I am surprised to see so much attention to the narrative of the Russian soul among this year's regional winners. I can't imagine how Georgian photographers feel because their protests against Russian influence were shown through the images of a photographer from a Russian state agency. This is a personal responsibility how this war will be told in years to come. It is important to continue to testify and document." Screenshot: Vlada Liberova on Instagram Screenshot: Vlada Liberova on Instagram More details: Documentary photographer Vlada Liberova also joined the discussion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "So you really think that calling a photo of a young Ukrainian girl who suffered from Russian aggression and a photo of a wounded occupier in occupied territory a visual pair is a good idea?" Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Officers arrested two teenagers Wednesday after a police helicopter spotted the vehicle they had carjacked driving in Southeast, officials said. According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), just before midnight on Tuesday, March 25, the two suspects, identified as 18-year-old Jamari Robinson, of Southeast and a 16-year-old boy, of Northwest, tried to carjack a person in the 900 block of 7th St. NE. One of the suspects allegedly brandished a handgun and demanded the victim exit their car. They took property but were unsuccessful in taking the vehicle, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pair fled the scene. Unconscious and not breathing: Man shot in Southeast DC Hours later, just before 5 a.m. on March 26, the suspects approached another person who had just exited their car in the 3900 block of Fort Lincoln Drive, NE. Once again, police said one of the suspects brandished a handgun and demanded the persons property. After taking their belongings, Robinson and the boy fled the scene in the carjacked car, according to MPD. A short time later, MPDs helicopter, Falcon 1, started tracking the carjacked car and saw it stop near 16th Street and Galen Street, SE. Coordinating with the helicopter, officers on the ground found Robinson and the 16-year-old boy and arrested them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MPD noted that officers recovered the carjacked car and the stolen belongings, along with a handgun. Authorities charged Robinson and the boy with two counts of armed carjacking (gun). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. LEWIS COUNTY, N.Y. (WWTI) A pair of teens are facing charges after being arrested for an alleged burglary spree in Lewis County. A joint investigation involving the New York State Police BCI at the state police headquarters in Lowville and the Lewis County Sheriffs Office resulted in the arrest of two juveniles, ages 15 and 13, for an alleged string of burglaries. Boonville man charged with alleged stalking, luring juveniles in Lewis County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This also included the alleged theft of two handguns and a motor vehicle, that occurred between March 17-19 in the Port Leyden and Lyons Falls areas of Lewis County. The juveniles were charged with the following: Three counts of grand larceny 4th degree, a class E felony Seven counts of petit larceny, a class A misdemeanor Two counts of burglary 3rd degree, a class D felony Two counts of criminal possession of stolen property 4th degree, a class E felony One count of criminal possession of a weapon 4th degree, a class A misdemeanor A subsequent investigation determined that the juveniles allegedly stole items from numerous unlocked cars they entered during the late night and early morning, while the vehicles were parked at residences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also broke into and stole items from several storage units at Shue Box Storage on State Route 12 in Port Leyden. The juveniles also allegedly stole a vehicle from a residence in Port Leyden and were involved in a rollover crash on State Route 12 in Martinsburg. The teens fled the vehicle before authorities arrived. The teens were issued appearance tickets for family 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 WWTI - InformNNY.com. Mar. 27PECOS The Texas Department of Transportation will host a virtual public hearing with an in-person option April 8 for the Pecos East Relief Route. A pre-recorded presentation will be available for viewing, and community members are invited to come and go at their convenience. TxDOT is proposing to construct a new four-lane divided highway, including two mainlanes and a one-way frontage road in each direction, separated by a grassy median. The project would also include new interchanges at major intersections and shared-use paths. The overall project length would be approximately 10 miles. A virtual public hearing will be available on Tuesday, April 8, by 5 p.m. To view the hearing materials, visit www.txdot.gov, keyword search "Pecos East Relief Route." The materials will be available online through Wednesday, April 23. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The in-person option will be held on Tuesday, April 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Reeves County Civic Center, 1500 S. Cedar St., Pecos. Attendees will be able to review project materials, ask questions of TxDOT staff and leave written comments. Comments regarding the project may be submitted by mail to TxDOT Odessa District, Attn: Pecos East Relief Route, 3901 E. Highway 80, Odessa, TX 79761 or by email to [email protected]. Additionally, members of the public may call (432) 287-0070 and provide verbal testimony. Comments must be received by Wednesday, April 23, to be included in the official record of this public hearing. Responses to comments received will be available online at www.txdot.gov, keyword search "Pecos East Relief Route" once they have been prepared. For media inquiries, contact [email protected] at 432-498-4746. On Wednesday a Congressman from Michigans Upper Peninsula took to Facebook to get answers around the mass layoffs at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) said he was worried about potential impacts to a critical sportfishing program in the Great Lakes that relies on USFWS employees to keep the fishery healthy. My office and I have heard from hundreds of [constituents] who are concerned about recent staffing reductions at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and how that might impact the Great Lakes Fishery Commissions sea lamprey control program, Bergman wrote, echoing other concerns across the country regarding federal fish-and-wildlife programs that were handicapped or otherwise affected by the mass firings. Those anxieties, along with answers to Bergmans questions, were finally allayed yesterday, when the USFWS announced that all terminated probationary employees will be reinstated with back pay. This announcement follows a federal judges ruling earlier this month to curb the layoffs at six of the federal agencies, including the USFWS and the National Park Service, that fall under the Department of the Interior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge William Alsup said in early March that those layoffs were not only illegal, but so aberrant in the history of the country and so chaotic that they were likely to inflict immediate, foreseeable harm on our nations wildlife and their habitats. Alsup pointed to a mountain of evidence showing that many of the probationary employees had been wrongly terminated. And on March 13, he ordered the DOI to send out reinstatement offers to the more than 16,000 probationary employees that were laid off across the six affected agencies. Crowds of demonstrators gathered in Washington D.C. last month to protest the mass firings at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies. Photo by Bryan Dozier / AFP via Getty Images On Monday, the Trump Administration filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to halt Alsups decision, arguing that a federal judge cannot force the executive branch to rehire employees. That appeal was rejected Thursday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to the Associated Press. The DOI issued a statement later that afternoon saying it would not only comply with Alsups order, but would pay employees for the work they missed over the last 40-plus days since they were fired. Read Next: As Trump Attempts to Reform Federal Government, Hunters and Anglers Face Unintended Consequences The Department of the Interior remains committed to its mission of managing the nations resources and serving the American people while ensuring fiscal responsibility, the DOI said in its statement to TV-6 News in Michigan. In compliance with court orders, the Department of the Interior is reinstating probationary employees. All employees will receive backpay, and the Department will ensure continued compensation as the White House pursues its appeals process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although other legal challenges around the mass firings are still working their way through the courts, the DOIs announcement means the sea lamprey control program, along with other federal programs that benefit Americas fish and wildlife, should move forward this spring with adequate staffing. We all saw during COVID what happens when lamprey spraying efforts are delayed unchecked spawning wreaks havoc on our Great Lakes fisheries, Bergman wrote Wednesday, before he learned about the appeals courts decision and the DOIs subsequent announcement. My team and I remain committed to finding a resolution to the situation that allows this essential work to continue without disruption. Bergmans concerns over the Great Lakes lamprey program reflected the distress thats been felt across the U.S. since Feb. 14, when more than 400 of the USFWS probationary employees were fired at once. Although probationary might sound like those employees were already on thin ice, this is a normal phase in the federal hiring process that all workers are subject to. These were either new hires or long-standing federal employees who were moved or promoted into new roles, and many of them represented the next generation of career public servants. Read Next: This Former Game Warden Could Be the New USFWS Director. Heres His Record on CWD, Wolves, and Grizzlies Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The purge affected all levels of the federal agency, from the researchers working on black-footed ferret recovery to the wildlife refuge staff who manage critical waterfowl habitat and provide access for duck hunters. The National Wildlife Refuge Association called the mass firings a direct attack on science-based conservation and the future of Americas wildlife, while Steve Williams, a former USFWS director, called the sweeping cuts a breathtaking level of incompetency that will take years and maybe even decades to repair. This profession is arguably not even 100 years old, but we have a system in place that has restored wildlife throughout the country in a spectacular fashion, Williams said in an interview with The Wildlife Society on March 14, referring to the critical conservation work that USFWS employees do. This is shaking that entire system. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A federal trial to determine the future of a casino in Pope County concluded oral arguments Thursday, but it will be weeks before a decision is made. U.S. Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas D.P. Marshall Jr. said he usually likes to make decisions from the bench but stated he has much to think about. Federal trial underway to restore Pope County casino license or keep it revoked Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He asked for post-trial briefs from both the plaintiff Cherokee Nation Business and the defense, the State of Arkansas. Cherokee held the casino license from the state before a ballot initiative collected enough signatures and passed in the 2024 election. In closing arguments, Cherokee attorneys argued that the initiative, now Amendment 104 of the Arkansas Constitution, unconstitutionally punishes them and the millions they invested into attaining a license and preparing to build Legends Casino & Resort in Pope County. Cherokee Nation files suit against Arkansas after Issue 2 passage revokes Pope County casino license Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witness testimony and court evidence showed Local Voters in Charge, the group behind the ballot Issue 2 in 2024, was funded almost entirely by Oklahoma casino rival Choctaw Nation. Other testimony showed counter-groups against the ballot were funded by Cherokee Nation affiliates. Attorneys for the state argue that nothing is wrong. Arkansas motto is Let the people rule, and they say the amendment does that for people interested in either getting a casino out of Pope County or preventing a future one in any county without a local final say. Group claims fraud in anti-casino petition drive, sues Secretary of State Thurston in Arkansas Supreme Court Arkansas attorneys also said the amendment provides an avenue to attain a license in future election years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Marshall has given both sides until April 11 to submit post-briefs to aid him in making a decision. The judge added he wants to hear more about whether amendments made to the Constitution should be presumed unchangeable. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. This story was originally published on Manufacturing Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Manufacturing Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Automation manufacturer Schneider Electric plans to invest $700 million in its U.S. operations through 2027, the company announced Tuesday. The money will go toward facility upgrades, expansions and openings across eight sites in Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Missouri. Schneider expects to create more than 1,000 jobs. The move marks Schneider's largest-ever investment in the U.S., as the company aims to meet rising demand across its data center, utilities, manufacturing and energy infrastructure segments. Dive Insight: Schneider's announcement is part of a larger $1 billion investment the company is making in the U.S. this decade. Artificial intelligence-driven demand for data centers and electrical infrastructure is driving the need for heightened spending on electrical grid-related needs. Data center electricity demand could double by 2030 consuming up to 9% of the country's electricity generation, according to a May 2024 study by the Electric Power Research Institute. "We stand at an inflection point for the technology and industrial sectors in the U.S., driven by incredible AI growth and unprecedented energy demand," Aamir Paul, president of North America Operations for Schneider Electric, said in a statement. Schneider has been pushing a localization strategy in recent months, with a goal to locally source and produce roughly 90% of sales in each region. That push could help the company weather the Trump administration's tariffs on Mexico, where Schneider has much of its North American production. CFO Hilary Maxson said on a recent earnings call that the company is watching for any reciprocal tariffs that may impact their operations. If the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement remains in place, Maxson said the impact to Schneider would likely be immaterial. If the trade deal and free trade zones are repealed, however, the CFO added that the hit to the company could be greater. We're really preparing the commercial actions that we would put into place to protect our profitability, Maxson said on the call. The company plans to invest across its U.S. supply chain, including at the following sites: American officials went door to door in Greenlands capital looking for residents who would welcome a visit from Usha Vance during her upcoming tripand every single one of them said no, according to a Danish TV report. The second lady and her husband, Vice President JD Vance, are headed to Greenland on Friday to visit Pituffik Space Base, but they will follow a pared-back itinerary after Usha Vances original plans to meet with locals and attend a world-famous dogsled race were met with widespread condemnation. With President Donald Trump increasingly calling for Greenland to come under U.S. control, officials couldnt find anybody in Nuuk who was interested in Vances visit, despite a week of canvassing, according to Danish reporter Jesper Steinmetz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Americans charm offensive has failed, he said during a TV2 broadcast, as reported by The Hill. They have finally understood what the Greenlanders here in town have been trying to tell them for a little over a week: We dont want visitors right now. A White House official told The Hill the report was categorically false. The Second Lady is proud to visit the Pituffik Space Base with her husband to learn more about arctic security and the great work of the Space Base, the official said. Originally, Usha Vance had planned to travel with National Securtiy Adviser Mike Schultz and one of her sons to visit historical sites, learn about Greenlandic heritage, and attend the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenlands national dogsled race, the White House announced Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The news was met with condemnation from officials in Greenland and Denmarkthe former being an autonomous region of the latterbut on Tuesday, her husband said he would be joining her. There was so much excitement around Ushas visit to Greenland this Friday, that I decided that I didnt want her to have all that fun by herself, and so Im going to join her, JD Vance said Tuesday in a video posted to X. About 1,000 Greenlanders gathered in the city center of Nuuk earlier this month to march to the US consulate building in protest of Trump's recent remarks on the sovereignty of their country. / Anadolu / Anadolu via Getty Images His announcement came just one day after a bombshell report that Trump administration officialsincluding Vance and Waltzhad coordinated a military strike on Yemen via an unsecured group chat on the commercial messaging app Signal. As the fallout continued this week, it wasnt clear if Waltz still planned to accompany the Vances to Greenland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Greenlands Prime Minister Mute B Egede had said Waltzs presence in particular was aggressive, while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen accused the U.S. of putting unacceptable pressure on Denmark and Greenland. What is the US national security adviser doing in Greenland? The only purpose is to demonstrate power over us, Egede told local media, according to The Telegraph. The locals apparently agreed, as a tourism business that had originally agreed to host Usha Vance rescinded its invitation on Wednesday over the groups underlying agenda. Describing all the doors U.S. officials had knocked on in vain, the Danish reporter Steinmetz said, Theyve gotten no, no, no, no, no, every single time. HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) Tri State students will head overseas to launch a physical therapy initiative. In May, some students at the University of Evansville will travel to Kenya to expand rehabilitative care in the region. Officials say in many rural areas, preventative care is uncommon, and treatment is often sought only when conditions become severe. The UE team aims to address the gap by improving awareness and access to physical therapy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is more of a startup kind of initiative, said student Sydney McClary. Our main goal is going to be education. Our idea is to make it sustainable for the community even once we leave. The group of students will be in Kenya for about two weeks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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). Ukrainian, British and French general staff representatives will hold a meeting in Ukraine within a week to discuss the potential deployment of foreign troops to the country, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 28. He said that other countries would also participate but did not specify them. The news came a day after a Paris summit where a number of European countries moved forward with plans to send soldiers to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" in case of a ceasefire with Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initiative is co-led by France and the U.K., which will both send military delegations to Ukraine to discuss the so-called "reassurance force," as well as the future shape of Ukraine's army, French President Emmanuel Macron said. According to Zelensky, the meeting will be attended by countries that "will be 100% in favor of (a peacekeeping) contingent on the territory of Ukraine." "Not all of them will come, there will be a narrow circle. France, the U.K., and Ukraine will definitely be there," the president told reporters. The next meeting will be held at the level of national security advisors soon after, Zelensky said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In mid-March, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented plans to send 10,000 peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, which is significantly smaller than the 30,000 troops he reportedly pitched to U.S. President Donald Trump during their White House meeting on Feb. 20. Though Starmer still publicly held out for a coalition deployment to be supported by a U.S. "backstop," Macron said that it could take place "with or without" Washington's involvement. Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine has recovered the bodies of a further 909 fallen defenders through repatriation efforts. Source: Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on Telegram Details: Reports indicate that the bodies of Ukrainian defenders killed in action have been recovered from the following fronts: Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and from morgues in the Russian Federation. The sticker reads: "The evacuation of the fallen". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photo: Coordination Headquarters The transfer of the bodies of fallen soldiers is carried out in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. Repatriation personnel. Photo: Coordination Headquarters Ukraine's Armed Forces will transport the repatriated bodies and remains to designated state institutions. Law enforcement officials and forensic experts will identify them. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 909 soldiers who died fighting against Russias full-scale invasion, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported on March 28. These were soldiers who fought in the Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia directions. Some bodies were returned from Russian Federation morgues. The effort to retrieve the fallen soldiers was conducted in collaboration with several government and military agencies, including the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Interior Ministry, the State Emergency Service, the Armed Forces, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Office for Missing Persons in Special Circumstances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The headquarters also thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for their assistance. The Geneva Conventions dictate that people who lose their lives during war are entitled to a dignified burial. Over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed on the battlefield since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with NBC published on Feb. 16, 2025. Nearly 380,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been injured since the start of the all-out war, Zelensky told NBC. "Ten of thousands" of Ukrainian troops were missing in action or being held in Russian captivity, according to the president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of March 28, Russia has lost 910,750 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported. Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Key developments on March 28: Russia intensifies assault in Zaporizhzhia, increasing pressure on Ukraine's southern positions, military says Russia makes excuses to break ceasefire on energy infrastructure strikes EU preparing 17th package of Russia sanctions, EUobserver reports UK, French military officials to meet in Ukraine to discuss troop deployment Russia has intensified assault operations in the Zaporizhzhia sector, increasing pressure on Ukraine's southern positions, Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn said on March 28 during Ukraine's state-run telethon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ukrainian military reported escalating hostilities and a rise in attacks on key areas. Zaporizhzhia Oblast holds strategic importance for Russia, underscoring its efforts to advance in the region. Voloshyn said Russia seeks to strengthen its position ahead of potential truce or ceasefire negotiations. "The Russians want to get as much of a head start or advance as much as possible in Zaporizhzhia Oblast," he said. According to the spokesperson, Russian forces have massed troops for assault operations using small infantry groups. This tactic, deployed in other sectors, has yielded some results in Zaporizhzhia, particularly near Orikhiv and Hulyaypole. The number of such attacks has risen significantly since the beginning of spring, Voloshyn said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zaporizhzhia Oblast, in southeastern Ukraine, borders Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the north, Donetsk Oblast to the east, and Kherson Oblast to the south. It is also home to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, one of Europe's largest. Read also: Trump looks at Putin as a friend Expert negotiator dissects Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks Russia makes excuses to break ceasefire on energy infrastructure strikes Moscow on March 28 insisted it was adhering to a ceasefire on striking energy infrastructure, whilst simultaneously laying the groundwork for breaking it. Ukraine and Russia had announced a halt on energy strikes after consultations with the U.S. in Riyadh earlier this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There have been no reported Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure since but Russia has accused Kyiv of targeting the Sudzha gas metering station, which used to be critical transit point for Russian gas exports to Europe. Ukraine's General Staff denied the allegations, saying: "Ukraine's Defense Forces strictly adhere to the agreements reached with partners to stop attacks on energy facilities. "Fire is carried out exclusively on military targets." Ukraine had previously accused Russia of deliberately striking the Sudzha gas station in Kursk Oblast on March 21 to frame Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking on March 28, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia "reserves the right, in case the Kyiv regime does not comply with this moratorium, of course, not to comply with it either." "It would be illogical for us to comply and face attempts to strike our energy infrastructure facilities every night," he added. Read also: White House dismisses Putins proposal for temporary government in Ukraine EU preparing 17th package of Russia sanctions, EUobserver reports The European Union is preparing its 17th package of sanctions against Russia amid Moscow's demands for lifting some Western restrictions as part of its ceasefire terms, EUobserver reported on March 27, citing four unnamed EU diplomats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Work on a new round of EU sanctions against Russia has started and is at a very early stage, one of the sources told EUobserver. The European Commission is expected to present its proposals in early summer, another diplomat told the media outlet. Commenting on the timeline, one of the diplomats told the outlet that "its too speculative at this point," adding that the bloc will be watching how the ceasefire talks between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia will unfold. "Keep up the pressure on Russia. It was very clear that the sanctions stay in place. What we want is a just and lasting peace agreement. That is the goal," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on March 27 following a "Coalition of the Willing" summit in Paris. Read also: Russias allies including North Korea could join Ukraine ceasefire talks, Putin says UK, French military officials to meet in Ukraine to discuss troop deployment Ukrainian, British and French general staff representatives will hold a meeting in Ukraine within a week to discuss the potential deployment of foreign troops to the country, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 28. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that other countries would also participate but did not specify them. The news came a day after a Paris summit where a number of European countries moved forward with plans to send soldiers to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" in case of a ceasefire with Russia. The initiative is co-led by France and the U.K., which will both send military delegations to Ukraine to discuss the so-called "reassurance force," as well as the future shape of Ukraine's army, French President Emmanuel Macron said. According to Zelensky, the meeting will be attended by countries that "will be 100% in favor of (a peacekeeping) contingent on the territory of Ukraine." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Not all of them will come, there will be a narrow circle. France, the U.K., and Ukraine will definitely be there," the president told reporters. The next meeting will be held at the level of national security advisors soon after, Zelensky said. Note from the author: Ukraine War Latest is put together by the Kyiv Independent news desk team, who keep you informed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you value our work and want to ensure we have the resources to continue, join the Kyiv Independent community. Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine will not sign a minerals deal with the U.S. if it threatens its accession to the European Union, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 28. Zelensky's remarks came a day after details of a new alleged draft of a mineral agreement between Kyiv and Washington emerged. The Financial Times reported on March 27 that the latest version of the agreement proposed by the U.S. includes terms that would grant Washington unprecedented control over Ukraine's natural resources through a joint investment fund. Ukrainian online newspaper European Pravda reported that the deal may contradict Ukraine's EU accession due to severe restrictions that affect Ukraine's economic sovereignty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Constitution of Ukraine makes it clear that our course is towards the EU," Zelensky told reporters. "Nothing that could threaten Ukraines accession to the EU can be accepted." According to Zelensky, Ukraine officially received a new version of the minerals deal from the U.S. on March 28. Read also: As Ukraines fate hangs in the balance, Soviet command culture damages war effort Zelensky will consider the deal when there are "no relevant legislative threats," adding that lawyers should compare the all versions of the deal and give their assessment. "There are a lot of things (in the new version of the deal) that had not been discussed before. And there are also some things that the parties had previously rejected," the president added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Washington had initially planned to sign the agreement on Feb. 28, but the process was delayed after a heated dispute between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelensky at the White House. Zelensky confirmed on March 25 that the U.S. had proposed a "major" minerals deal based on a previous framework agreement, but he did not specify a signing timeline. A day earlier, Trump had said he expected the deal to be signed "soon." According to the initial version, the agreement would establish a fund to which Ukraine would contribute 50% of proceeds from the future extraction of state-owned resources, including oil, gas, and logistics infrastructure. The version Kyiv approved earlier does not include security guarantees but says that the fund "will be reinvested at least annually in Ukraine to promote the safety, security, and prosperity of Ukraine." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House has described the minerals deal as a mechanism for the U.S. to "recoup" some of the financial aid it has provided to Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Read also: 89 hours of non-stop work Ukrainian Railways battle against a cyberattack by the enemy Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraines defence forces strictly adhere to agreements reached with partners regarding the halt of strikes on energy facilities, while Russia systematically violates these agreements and spreads fake reports about strikes launched by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook; Ukrainska Pravda source in military circles Quote from the General Staff: "The Russian Ministry of Defence continues to produce fakes about alleged Ukrainian attacks on energy facilities in the Russian Federation and the territories it occupies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We emphasise that Ukraines defence forces strictly adhere to the agreements reached with partners regarding the halt of strikes on energy facilities. Firepower is directed exclusively at military targets of the Russian occupation army. We expect an appropriate response from our partners. The daily information attacks and disinformation spread by the Russian Defence Ministry aim to discredit Ukraine and the diplomatic efforts of Ukraine and its partners. Russias strategy of prolonging the war remains unchanged." Details: The General Staff highlights specific violations of these agreements by the Russian army. On 27 March alone, Russian strikes damaged energy facilities in the city of Kherson and Poltava Oblast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainska Pravda source said that Ukraine refrained from drone strikes deep into Russian territory for two days but resumed them on 28 March due to Russias failure to comply with the agreements. However, Ukraines defence forces continue to refrain from targeting Russian energy infrastructure. Background: The Russian Ministry of Defence once again claimed that Ukraine is not adhering to the terms of the energy truce, accusing Kyiv of attacking energy facilities in Kursk and Saratov oblasts. Meanwhile, Russia says that it does not target Ukraines energy infrastructure, despite regularly doing so. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to drop its appeal in the Ripple case, marking a significant moment for the crypto industry. After years of legal battles, the SEC's decision not to appeal the 2023 ruling by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres brings clarity to the issue of whether XRP, the cryptocurrency issued by Ripple, is a security. The ruling stated that Ripple's "programmatic sales" of XRP via secondary exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken did not violate securities laws. However, direct sales of XRP to institutional investors were deemed securities violations, resulting in a $125 million fine for Ripple. Samson Enzer, a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, highlighted the importance of the Ripple case. Unlike other dropped cases, such as those against Coinbase and Kraken, which were in the early stages, Ripple's case had progressed further, covering larger legal issues. Enzer noted that this dismissal could have more impact on the crypto industry since it set a broader legal precedent. With the legal battle over, attention now turns to the possibility of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF). Multiple firms, including Grayscale, WisdomTree, and Bitwise, have filed for XRP ETFs, and there is growing optimism within the industry that the SEC will approve one soon. Prediction platform Polymarket shows an 80% chance of an XRP ETF being approved this year. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed confidence, stating that he believes the SEC will approve an XRP ETF in the second half of 2025. Enzer believes the shift in the SEC's approach to crypto could pave the way for more crypto-related products, including ETFs. He added that secondary market sales of cryptocurrencies like XRP are now considered commodities or property, meaning exchanges will not need to register to trade these assets. He emphasized that the SEC's decision not to appeal the ruling was a huge development for the crypto industry, marking the end of years of litigation on the matter. However, the SEC's stance on direct sales of XRP to institutional investors still stands. Ripple will retain $50 million of the $125 million fine for these violations. Meanwhile, state-level enforcement of crypto regulations could still occur, especially if fraud or market manipulation is involved. The SEC's actions under new leadership suggest a shift toward a more cooperative approach with the crypto industry, and some expect the regulatory environment for digital assets to become more flexible. While there may still be enforcement at the state level, Enzer noted that the federal government seems to be moving in a more positive direction for the crypto market. The deputy head of Ukraine's GUR said the Kremlin forecasts a need to end the war by 2026. Vadym Skibitsky said Moscow is likely concerned about its long-term ability to compete with the US. If the war drags on, its relevance could be relegated just to Eastern Europe, Skibitsky said. Ukraine's intelligence agency said on Tuesday that Russia likely believes it must resolve its war with Kyiv by 2026, or eventually lose its chances of competing with the US and China on the world stage. Maj. Gen. Vadym Skibitsky, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence agency GUR, referenced forecast documents from the Kremlin at a press event in Kyiv about European security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Business Insider could not independently verify the existence and authenticity of these documents. "We can say that the Russian Federation has clearly defined in these documents that the Ukrainian issue must be resolved by 2026," said Skibitsky, who is also deputy head of GUR. Skibitsky, pictured here during a separate January 2024 interview, is deputy head of the GUR. Global Images Ukraine/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images "Because if the war continues for another five to 10 years, Russia will never be able to catch up and reach the same level as the United States and China," he added. Should this happen, Russia could stand to "forever remain a regional player" in Eastern Europe, Skibitsky said. "And the Russian Federation clearly understands this today. That is why it foresees this in the future," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Skibitsky said such Russian forecasts typically combine work from government ministries, federal agencies, and research institutions, and that the Kremlin's plans had described war scenarios as far in the future as 2045. These included conflict scenarios with Northern European states, Poland, and the Baltics, Skibitsky said. The deputy spy chief's comments come as the White House has sought to push Ukraine and Russia toward a cease-fire. The effort has surfaced new questions about how long the war will last and concerns in Ukraine that the resulting peace might only be achieved by giving Russia outsize concessions. In early March, The Washington Post reported that an influential think tank in Moscow had assessed that a "peaceful resolution" to the war by 2026 would be impossible. According to the Post, the analysis recommended a hardline, maximalist stance toward negotiations with the US and Ukraine. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the outlet that the federal government "was not aware of such recommendations" and was working with "more considered options." Ukraine thinks Russia's costs are too high The head of GUR, Kyrylo Budanov, recently voiced a similar assessment of Moscow needing a 2026 deadline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If they don't end this war by 2026, they lose even a chance for global leadership," he told state broadcaster Ukrinform on February 27. "They will be left with, at most, a regional leadership level, which is absolutely unacceptable to them." Budanov said that a protracted war would undermine Russia's ability to innovate in tech and compete with the US on the world stage, especially with its ability to contest the Arctic regions. "The cost of the war is too high the financial cost," he told Ukrinform. Washington's leaders consider Russia as one of two near-peer competitors or potential adversaries, meaning that it has a chance of being comparable to US military might. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The other is China, which leaders in both the Biden and Trump administrations have repeatedly said is the Pentagon's main priority for preparing against threats. The Russian Defense Ministry and the Kremlin's press office did not respond to requests for comment sent by BI. Read the original article on Business Insider Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 163 Shahed attack UAVs and various types of decoy drones on the night of 27-28 March. Ukrainian air defence shot down 89 drones. Source: Air Force on Telegram Details: The Air Force reported that as of 09:00, 89 Shahed and other types of attack UAVs were confirmed to have been shot down in Ukraines south, north and centre. Fifty-one Russian decoy drones disappeared from radar (without adverse effects). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Russian attack affected Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. The air attack was repelled by Ukrainian aircraft, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian defence forces. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko has stated during a government session in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) that Ukraine has received a new draft of the mineral resources agreement from the United States, describing it as a "working version" currently under review. Source: Interfax-Ukraine, as reported by European Pravda Quote: "This is a working version that essentially reflects the position of the American legal advisers. We are forming our own position, and the process is currently formalised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whenever necessary, we will of course consult with the Verkhovna Rada. At this stage, any public discussions about the text of this agreement only harm the negotiations and hinder us in conducting constructive dialogue with our American partners." Details: Svyrydenko added that once a consensus is reached, the government will present a public position to members of Parliament. Background: On 28 February, the minerals deal was reportedly ready for signing. After tense negotiations, Ukraine and the US reached a compromise, and the document was supposed to be signed in Washington with both presidents present. However, the meeting in the Oval Office began with a public clash between Zelenskyy and Trump. As a result, the presidential negotiations were cancelled. On 27 March, Zelenskyy said there was still no finalised version of the deal on mineral resource use, though the Trump administration is expecting it to be signed soon. European Pravda earlier reported that the Trump administration had reinserted into the agreement a provision requiring Ukraine to repay the full amount of aid the US provided since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion in 2022. It was also reported that the new version of the deal with the US could conflict with Ukraine's intention to join the European Union due to the strict restrictions that significantly affect Ukraine's economic sovereignty. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! A man's body was found by the side of a road in the city of Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, on March 28, the National Police reported. Multiple Ukrainian media outlets reported, citing law enforcement sources, that the deceased was Oleksandr Plakhotnik, a member of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party and a former deputy mayor of Kamianske. According to the police, the man had a gunshot wound to the head. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We believe that this is a contract killing, we are all shocked," Volodymyr Fedorov, head of the information and analysis department of Batkivshchyna's regional branch, told Suspilne. The police launched an investigation into the incident under the article on premeditated murder. Plakhotnik, 49, ran for the Verkhovna Rada on the Batkivshchyna party ticket in 2014 and 2019 but was not elected to parliament. He was elected to the Kamianske City Council in 2015 and served until 2020. Read also: White House dismisses Putins proposal for temporary government in Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. In the front line city of Kramatorsk, a Ukrainian woman who endured torture and humiliation in Russian captivity is making a vow of revenge. Before captivity, I was angry at the Russians, said Snizhana Vasylivna Ostapenko, a 23-year-old soldier who was held by Moscow for five months. Now its true hatred and a desire to have revenge for what theyve done to our country and our people. Earlier this year, Ms Ostapenko spoke out on the horrors she had been subjected to during her incarceration. Her account, along with those given by several other women taken as POWs, revealed a systematic campaign of abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They described being beaten and denied medical care, as well as being forced to march naked in the snow and expose themselves to their captors evidence of what are almost certainly war crimes. The Telegraph travelled to Ukraine to find out how these women had learned to live with their trauma and found they had thrown themselves back into the fight against Russia and were more determined than ever to thwart Vladimir Putins invasion. Far from letting their trauma beat them, they have turned their experiences into a source of strength. My suffering as a prisoner of war has become fuel, Ms Ostapenko said. We will not let them win. Snizhana Vasylivna Ostapenko 23, was held as a prisoner of war after the battle for Mariupol - Heathcliff O'Malley Ms Ostapenko fought in the battles for Mariupol and the Azovstal steel plant, where she was captured. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She soon found herself in a cramped cell inside the notorious Olenivka prison, where the Russian national anthem blared through loudspeakers around the clock, depriving her of sleep between gruelling interrogations that went on for hours. For me, it is important to continue my fight, she said. I dont want anyone else to have the same experience as I did. Since her release in a prisoner exchange, Ms Ostapenko has rejoined her comrades and now serves as a physical rehabilitation officer helping wounded soldiers to be able to return to the battlefield. Among them are soldiers who have, like her, suffered in Russian captivity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why am I working so hard and keep pushing and fighting? It is for them, she said. I want to be here, dressed in my uniform, to greet my comrades-in-arms in person when they are released. While her mother urges her to come home to safety Kramatorsk comes under frequent attack from Russian missiles and drones Ms Ostapenko refuses to leave This is my way of fighting, she said. Right now, my position means I cant get revenge directly. But I understand that the boys and girls coming to me, those who were in captivity like me, will do everything to take revenge. Ms Ostapenko was captured at the Azovstal steel plant, which was seized by Russians - SERGEI ILNITSKY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock But Ms Ostapenko is not the only woman to survive Russian captivity and turn her own experiences into a powerful motivation to help others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a military hospital in the central city of Vinnytsia, some of Ukraines most severely wounded soldiers lie in beds, clinging to life. Some have lost limbs in combat or suffered devastating head wounds leading to severe mental health problems. Many, too, have been scarred by the horrors of Russian captivity. The men who come to us are skin and bones, said Valentyna Zubko, a 32-year-old medic working long shifts in the hospitals intensive care wards. We see some of the worst cases in the country. We work constantly, but war is never without sacrifice. Her dedication to these soldiers is remarkable by any standard, but for Ms Zubko who endured torture at the hands of Russia her commitment is all the more resonant. Valentyna Zubko spent more than five months in captivity after she was captured during the siege of Mariupol - Heathcliff O'Malley/The Telegraph Speaking to The Telegraph during a break outside the hospital, she said her harrowing five and a half months in captivity, spent across four different prisons, had given her a level of empathy and understanding few others possess. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our pain, our sadness, is the war. It unites us, Ms Zubko said, who was captured at the Illich Steel Plant during the siege of Mariupol in 2022. It is difficult to cope with the pressured environment and my own trauma, but I know it is my purpose in my countrys fight. Ms Zubko can spot which soldiers were in captivity instantly. They often walk and stand with their hands behind their backs a habit developed during long periods spent in handcuffs and have difficulty speaking because of being punished for doing so. These habits have stayed with me as well, she said, adding that the soldiers are often fearful of what might come next, or under the illusion that they are no longer wanted by their country due to their injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In captivity, they have constantly been told that no one needs them, every day that they are nobody. When they have been there for years, this becomes their reality. Medic Valentyna works long shifts in the intensive care wards of a military hospital - Heathcliff O'Malley Like those she cares for, Ms Zubko was also told that she was worthless as she was tortured in captivity, including electrocution, stress positions and beatings. There were some interrogations where I thought I wouldnt make it out alive, Ms Zubko said, looking at the snow which blanketed the ground. When I speak to these men I get a lot of flashbacks. They describe something from captivity and instantly I see the picture of my own similar experiences in front of me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trauma of war continues to haunt both Ms Zubko and Ms Ostapenko, and they know it is likely to remain with them for the rest of their lives. I know healing wont take a year or two; it will stay with me until I die, said Ms Zubko. Even though her voice was steady, something about the way she spoke gave away the toll her ordeal had taken. With no end to the war in sight despite Washingtons haphazard pursuit of a quick ceasefire deal, the fight is far from over. Yet Ms Ostapenko, who is still plagued by nightmares from her time as a POW, is hopeful that she will one day be able to return to Mariupol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not to fight, but to plant flowers, she said. I believe victory will be ours. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security 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. STORY: At a Ukrainian rehabilitation center for children in Kherson, Director Volodymyr Sahaidak looks at photos of some of the more than 50 kids who have been in his care there. When Russia invaded in 2022, he sent many of them to live with relatives and staff though a handful were taken to Russian-occupied territory. Now hes frustrated that the perpetrators may not face justice after U.S. President Donald Trump suspended funding for a Yale University research project into Russia's abduction of children from Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am angry that one person can undo all the work conducted by dozens of people. (FLASH) There needs to be criminal responsibility for this, but the United States are now showing us otherwise. Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab had been part of an initiative that under President Joe Biden began to document potential violations of international law and crimes against humanity by Russian authorities in Ukraine. Ukraine says that more than 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory during the war without the consent of family or guardians, calling the abductions a war crime that meets the U.N. treaty definition of genocide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The chief doctor at Khersons main childrens hospital Inna Kholodnyak fears what the lack of funding will bring. To stop financing such an important project, which is related to taking away and kidnapping children from the territory of Ukraine, will lead to everyone understanding that whatever crime they commit, nothing will happen to them and this will cause a disgraceful chain reaction round the world. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the deportation of the children. Russia says it evacuated vulnerable children from war zones for their own safety. The White House did not respond to questions about ending support for the Yale initiative. It said earlier this week it would seek to return abducted children to Ukraine, but did not give details. Officials with SC crisis pregnancy centers spoke in favor of income tax credits that could spur more charitable donations to their organizations. They also shared statistics on their provided services as legislators question how the centers have spent millions in state funding. (File photo by Getty Images) COLUMBIA Each year, faith-based pregnancy centers in South Carolina administer more than 10,000 free pregnancy tests, more than 5,000 ultrasounds and more than 1,600 tests for sexually transmitted diseases and infections, according to administrators. Statistics from these centers, which aim to deter pregnant women from having an abortion, come as some legislators question how the centers have spent millions in state dollars funneled to them in the last three state budgets. Kathryn Wade, chairwoman of the S.C. Association of Pregnancy Care Centers, testifies at a Senate committee hearing Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in favor of state income tax credits on charitable donations to crisis pregnancy centers in South Carolina. (Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream) Due to lax reporting requirements for these and other nonprofit recipients of state dollars, the only information made available previously is that the money paid for provision of pregnancy related care and resources, as written on a form provided to the states Medicaid agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, in addition to $8 million in the last three budgets and $2.4 million proposed in the coming budget year, legislators are considering state income tax breaks for South Carolinians who make donations to these centers. Speaking in favor of the tax credits that could encourage more private donations, as well as state budget funding, Kathryn Wade, chairwoman of the association that represents 18 such centers around the state, said the association divided past dollars among 15 of its member centers. The statistics on services Wade provided are from 2022, before the centers received state money and before the Legislature enacted the states so-called fetal heartbeat law that essentially bans abortions six weeks into a pregnancy, though that timeline is the subject of a legal challenge before the state Supreme Court. Weve only increased in our ability to provide these services, Wade told a Senate panel last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wade went on to say that when the centers received the state funds, legislators and state agency personnel gave little guidance on how the centers could spend it. The first year was probably the most difficult because we were scared to spend it on anything, Wade said. Her comments to senators came the day after Rep. Heather Bauer criticized the meager information provided in state-mandated reports. Its very vague at best. I think we deserve to know what theyre using their money on, the Columbia Democrat said. How many people have they helped? What kind of resources and programing are they giving these people? And Id like to see evidence of what outcomes they have for pregnant women in our state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bauer gave the example of a travel van, owned by non-profit A Moment of Hope, which parks in the parking lot of Columbias Planned Parenthood clinic and seeks to divert and dissuade women from entering the clinic. Rep. Heather Bauer, D-Columbia, pictured in the South Carolina House chamber on Dec. 4, 2024 (Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette) But according to A Moment of Hope director Mark Baumgartner, his organization is not a member of the pregnancy center association, and therefore not a recipient of state funding. But he told legislators the tax credits under consideration would be beneficial to his group, which he said has worked with nearly 400 pregnant women since its foundation in 2012. That includes the ultrasound van, as well as church-based teams who, for a year during a womans pregnancy, drive her to doctors appointments, throw her a baby shower, do weekly check-ins and invite her to prayer groups and church functions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When it comes to the pregnancy center association, Wade said the group has reported what we were instructed to report. The association also hired an executive director to oversee where the money is going and an attorney who drew up a contract with member centers saying they would not spend the funds on executive salaries. In addition to testing and ultrasounds, Wade said the centers offer parenting and prenatal classes, which she valued at $2.6 million annually. The centers also hand out donated diapers, cribs and clothing. A dozen of the centers, Wade said, are staffed by registered nurses, physicians assistants or nursing assistants. The state funding, she said, has prompted more centers to consider adding ultrasounds to their list of services, as well as researching the potential for opening more centers in rural areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultrasounds and pregnancy tests do not equate to medical help, Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Vicki Ringer told legislators in opposing the tax credits. We have got to provide better health care for women who are pregnant and for the babies than they have. And when it comes to state income taxes, the only credits currently given for charitable contributions are related to donations of venison to food pantries and monetary donations to a fund for education of special needs children. The bill, which advanced Tuesday to the Senate floor, would add pregnancy centers, maternity homes, foster care and adoption charities and organizations that aid victims of human trafficking to that short list. The states fiscal analysts estimate the tax credit could reduce state revenues by $10 million annually. That estimate accounts for donations to crisis pregnancy care centers and adoption and foster care charities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Planned Parenthood provides ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, and STD testing, as well as birth control, cancer screenings and vaccines. But because it also provides abortions, donations to the organization are specifically excluded from the proposed tax credit. There are 33,000 nonprofits in South Carolina and weve cherrypicked one group to give contributions to, said Ringer, who was spokeswoman for the states tax collection agency before joining Planned Parenthood. By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a peace agreement in South Sudan was in a shambles, telling the country's leaders to put down the weapons and put all the people of South Sudan first. "Let's not mince words: What we are seeing is darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 civil wars, which killed 400,000 people," Guterres told reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First Vice President Riek Machar was put under house arrest in the capital Juba on Wednesday, in effect voiding a 2018 peace deal that ended a five-year civil war and brought Machar and President Salva Kiir into a fragile power-sharing government. On Friday, the information minister accused Machar of seeking to launch a rebellion against the government. "All the dark clouds of a perfect storm have descended upon the people of the world's newest country and one of the poorest," said Guterres, listing a security emergency, political upheaval, "a humanitarian nightmare", a displacement and funding crisis and an economic meltdown. "Meanwhile, ethnic and political targeting by security forces coupled with the spread of misinformation on social media is lighting the fuse for even worse," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.N. Mission in South Sudan "is working around the clock to ease tensions engaging all parties and boosting protection of civilians," Guterres said. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Ros Russell) Similarly, in mid-February, Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, discussed a potential shift from mega-cap tech stocks toward smaller technology companies. While he remains optimistic about the long-term prospects of the Mag 7, he believes that smaller tech firmsparticularly those with a market cap below $500 billion could start outperforming as investors look for new growth opportunities. Affordable tech stocks are often found in the small- and mid-cap space, particularly within the $10-$50 range, which is the focus of this article. Recently, interest in small- and mid-cap stocks has increased following the volatility in the Magnificent 7 (Mag 7) mega-cap tech stocks. Chris Retzler, portfolio manager of the Needham Small Cap Growth Fund, discussed the outlook for small-cap stocks on CNBCs Squawk Box on January 17. He noted that while small-cap stocks have underperformed broader market indexes, recent momentum in the Russell 2000 suggests a potential shift. Chris emphasized that small-cap companies are seeking greater economic stability, which, once established, could drive broader market participation and growth. He also highlighted ongoing innovation in industries such as electric vehicles, semiconductors, and data infrastructure, which could benefit smaller firms. However, a stocks affordability alone does not determine its quality or long-term potential. Key factors such as financial stability, business execution, and overall market conditions play a crucial role in a stocks performance. Stock affordability can be assessed in multiple ways. The most common approach is considering stocks with a market price below a certain threshold. Another method is evaluating stocks based on relative valuation metrics, such as a low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio or other similar multiples. While we have earlier written about undervalued stocks based on P/Es (Read: Most Undervalued Tech Stocks to Invest ), the focus for this article is a blend of both the approaches. Apart from low valuation, investors are often drawn to lower-priced stocks, particularly those under $50, because even small price movements can lead to significant percentage gains. Additionally, many investors prefer owning a larger number of shares in lower-priced stocks rather than a few shares in higher-priced ones. We recently published a list of 12 Best Affordable Tech Stocks to Buy According to Analysts . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) stands against other best affordable tech stocks to buy according to analysts. Story Continues Identifying the best affordable tech stocks is particularly challenging, given the sectors dynamic nature and recent volatility. To gain further insights, we look at another discussion on CNBC from March 24, where Gene Munster again shared his outlook on the tech sector. He pointed to April 2 as a key event, as new tariffs are set to take effect. While acknowledging short-term volatility, Munster remains bullish on tech stocks for the next two years, viewing the market as still in the early stages of an AI-driven growth cycle, unless disrupted by a potential recession. Despite short-term fluctuations and external factors like tariffs, the long-term outlook for tech remains strong, especially for companies positioned to capitalize on AI-driven growth and broader industry trends. That said, given the recent volatility in large tech stocks, opportunities in small- and mid-cap tech companies have come to the fore, particularly for those with strong financials and innovative offerings. As investors look beyond the Magnificent 7 and large cap tech companies, affordable tech stocks in sectors like AI, semiconductors, and data infrastructure could benefit from increased market attention. Our Methodology To identify the best affordable tech stocks to buy according to analysts, we screened for U.S.-listed companies with a share price between $10 and $50 and a market capitalization above $1 billion. These criteria helped us avoid volatile small-cap stocks. Next, we narrowed the selection to stocks trading at or below a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20 while also having an upside potential of at least 20%. From this refined list, we further filtered companies that are widely held by hedge funds, using data from Insider Monkeys Q4 2024 hedge fund holdings database. Finally, we ranked the top 12 stocks based on their upside potential, placing those with the highest projected gains at the top. Note: All pricing data is as of market close on March 21. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). Is Sensata Technologies Holding plc (ST) the Best Affordable Tech Stock to Buy According to Analysts? A research and development laboratory with scientists examining sophisticated electronic components. Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) Current Share Price: $28.0; Forward P/E: 8.5 Upside Potential: 32% Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40 Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) is a global supplier of sensors, electrical protection devices, and power management solutions. The company serves the automotive, industrial, aerospace, and heavy vehicle markets. The company is experiencing strong growth driven by rising demand for safer, cleaner, and more efficient products, fueled by both global regulations and changing consumer preferences. These market shifts create significant expansion opportunities, and the company is well-positioned to capitalize on them by leveraging its core strengths and global presence. In 2024, this growing emphasis on safety, sustainability, and efficiency represented a total addressable market of $15.6 billion. Acknowledging the growth prospects, TD Cowen analyst Joseph Giordano recently reiterated a Buy rating on Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) with a price target of $45, highlighting managements strategic improvements under new CEO Stephan von Schuckmann. The analyst emphasized Sensatas disciplined restructuring, including exiting non-core and unprofitable segments, which has strengthened its cost structure and positioned it well in the challenging automotive sector. He remains optimistic about Sensatas global growth potential. Joseph further emphasized that the Gigavac acquisition enhances its EV offerings in Europe and aligns with the shift to next-generation vehicles. In China, the CEOs expertise is expected to drive deeper market penetration, despite hurdles for multinationals. In the U.S., Sensata benefits from the rising adoption of hybrid vehicles. Additionally, the analysts view is also bolstered by strong cash flows and an undemanding valuation at P/E of 10. Overall, ST ranks 8th on our list of best affordable tech stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of ST to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ST but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Rachel Maddow shares the results of a new Gallup poll that shows Donald Trump underwater (with a bigger "disapprove" number than "approve") on every category of performance in the poll. In practical terms, that means Trump had to withdraw his nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik to be UN ambassador because he is afraid of not being able to replace her House seat with another Republican and the House margin is too close to risk it. The man accused of killing a Cobb County mother of five earlier this month has been indicted and now faces new charges. Hector Sagastume Rivas, 21, is accused of killing Camillia Williams and dumping her body in a bush in a neighborhood. According to the indictment obtained by Channel 2 Action News, Sagastume Rivas has been indicted on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, rape, aggravated sexual battery and necrophilia. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Williams family spoke exclusively to Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell and said that in the days before her death, Williams expressed concern about a man she said had been following her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She called the dude a weirdo and, from my understanding, he pretty much waited until he caught her by herself and did what he done, her brother, Arsene Williams said. Sagastume Rivas is accused of putting Williams in a chokehold until she lost consciousness. The arrest warrant, obtained by Channel 2 Action News, alleges that he then put his full body weight on her neck, which killed her. RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that Sagastume Rivas entered the country illegally from Honduras on March 17, 2021 and was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol. He was later ordered to be removed from the country on July 11, 2023. ICE says they have lodged an immigration detainer with the Cobb County Jail to ensure he remains in custody for removal proceedings. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) Dorchester County deputies said Thursday that an undocumented immigrant scammed several clients out of thousands of dollars. Marcos Arthur Pinheiro was arrested on Wednesday by the Dorchester County Sheriffs Office on charges of obtaining goods under false pretenses and forgery. Given the charges, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division contacted ICE to place a detainer on Pinheiro. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On January 8, the sheriffs office received a complaint detailing how Pinheiro faked unexpected expenses, delays, and manufacturing issues, causing the victim to lose $45,000. Investigators discovered that Pinheiro had signed contracts with numerous others in the tri-county area, completed demolitions, and then taken the customers money without finishing the job. It is estimated that Pinheiro has stolen tens of thousands of dollars from different victims across the Tri-County area, according to Steven Wright with the sheriffs office. He has carried out similar scams using the company identity of a former employer as well as fabricating multiple LLCs with the intent of gaining the trust of homeowners to initiate his scams. Victims gave detectives multiple documents from their deals with Pinheiro, including fake tax papers, insurance liability coverage, and passports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A critical tip sent in anonymously led to the arrest of Pinheiro. Our Criminal Investigations Division worked tirelessly to solve this case and deserves commendation, Sheriff Sam Richardson said. Let me be abundantly clear: If anyone attempts to steal from the citizens of this county, we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. If you are here illegally, we will use every available resource to hold you accountable and deport you. I have no tolerance for those who wish to violate the trust of our citizens. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) The United Way of Northern New York has announced a $25,000 Impact Grant to help the Watertown Family YMCA. The grant is in support of its Gateway Financial Assistance Program. According to the United Way, the funding helps to ensure that all children, families, and individuals, regardless of their ability to pay, have access to essential programs that help to improve quality of life. Downtown Watertown YMCA celebrating one-year anniversary Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watertown Family YMCAs Gateway Financial Assistance program provides critical support that allows families to thrive by enabling access to affordable childcare, youth programs, and health and wellness activities. By the end of the 2025 grant period, over 250 working families will remain employed, confident that their children are safe and cared for. Additionally, more than 1,100 individuals will engage in YMCA programs, improving their Social Determinants of Health Index and contributing to a stronger, healthier community. The Watertown Family YMCA is immensely grateful for the Community Impact grant from United Way. This grant will significantly enhance our scholarship program that allows us to ensure that all families in our community, regardless of financial circumstances, have access to vital programs and services that promote healthy living, youth development, and social responsibility. By investing in our youth and families, we strengthen our community and fulfill our mission of fostering a supportive environment for all. Shawna Cutuli, Watertown Family YMCA CEO This year, United Way of NNY will direct more than $315,000 toward local initiatives that promote health and wellness, support child and youth success, and strengthen economic stability, including $225,000 in Community Impact grants. Staying true to the United Way model, funding decisions are guided by community input: dedicated volunteers from across the North Country thoughtfully review and evaluate each application to determine where the need is greatest, setting the gold standard in grant-making. These vital programs are made possible thanks to the generosity of donors who believe in creating opportunity, empowering families, and building a stronger, more resilient region. To learn how you can be part of this positive change, contact United Way at (315) 788-5631. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWTI - InformNNY.com. ALBANY After six years of service, Shaunae Motley announced she will step down as president/CEO of United Way of Southwest Georgia. Motley took on the role in 2019, thus beginning six years of guiding the most vulnerable in southwest Georgia through some of their toughest challenges and greatest successes. Motley expanded the organizations reach and deepened its impact across the region. Under her leadership, UWSWGA has strengthened its investment in rural communities, forged critical partnerships, and mobilized resources to tackle some of southwest Georgias most pressing challenges. Serving as president and CEO of United Way of Southwest Georgia has been one of the greatest honors of my career, Motley said. This work has been both strategic and heart-driven guided by a deep love for community and a commitment to creating lasting change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Motleys tenure has been defined by a commitment to equity, innovation and collaboration. She played a pivotal role in securing transformative funding to support regional recovery efforts and capacity-building initiatives, ensuring local nonprofits and community programs have the resources to thrive. During her tenure, Motley spearheaded numerous milestones in COVID-19 response, financial growth and stability, organizational visibility, and addressing mental health and violence among youths and schools. Under Motleys leadership, the UWSWGAs role was emphasized as more than just a grantmaker. It was centered as a key connector for the community and a catalyst for change. She expanded the area United Ways annual budget to $1.3 million, doubling revenue and securing more than $3 million in grants to support regional programs. Her efforts reversed a near six-year decline. She also increased the UWSWGAs staff and brought on interns and volunteers to help expand programming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Motley led the United Way of Southwest Georgias crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic, raising $800k in relief funding to support regional families, businesses and nonprofits. She established the Youth United Teen Mental Health Coalition as part of Resilient Southwest Georgias trauma-informed practices in building up southwest Georgia communities. Youth United is made up of teens, hosting events and working together to improve the health and well-being of the community by addressing adverse childhood experiences. Motley launched local school districts participation in the nationally recognized Sandy Hook Promise initiative to prevent school violence and promote positive school climates. Motleys impact extends statewide through her board service with the Georgia Foundation for Public Education and the Georgia Grantmakers Alliance, where she has advocated for bridging the resource gap between metro Atlanta and rural Georgia. She also serves on local boards including: 4C Academy Foundation, Randolph County Family Connection (former Board Chair), and Flint River Fresh. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Georgia Womens Legislative Caucus Nikki T. Randall Servant Leadership Award (2023) and the Trailblazer in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award from United Way Southeast Region (2022). She has also been honored as a national American Express NGen Fellow (2019) and Zell Miller Leadership Institute participant (2019). In 2023, she led the UWSWGA to being recognized as Nonprofit of the Year by the Albany Area Chamber. Shaunaes leadership has left an indelible mark on United Way of Southwest Georgia, Mark Johnson, the chair of United Ways Board of Directors and Business Development Officer at Georgias Own Credit Union, said. Her passion, vision, and unwavering dedication have strengthened our organization and positioned us for continued impact. While we are sad to see her go, we celebrate all she has accomplished and wish her the best in her next chapter. United Way of Southwest Georgia will announce plans for leadership transition in the coming weeks. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) UnitedHealthcare and the Oregon Health and Science University have reached an agreement that will mean patients are no longer at risk of having delayed care at the hospital. The news follows a period of stalled negotiations between the insurance agency and hospitals that left an estimated 74,000 patients hanging in the balance. Old Town residents furious that outreach group is blocking roads, parking lots Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UnitedHealthcare and OHSU have reached a multi-year agreement that ensures the people we serve have continued, uninterrupted access to OHSUs hospitals and physicians, a UnitedHealthcare spokesperson said. Our top priority throughout the negotiation was ensuring families and employers have access to the care they need from the doctors and care providers they know and trust, and this agreement accomplishes that goal. The official agreement comes exactly after UnitedHealthcare and OHSU reached a good faith agreement that ended OHSUs decision to stop taking appointments with the insurance agency. East Burnside Street to see weekend closure for repaving Those who rely on employer-sponsored and individual commercial plans, Medicare Advantage and Group Retiree plans, or Dual Special Needs Plans (DSNP), can expect to continue receiving care at OHSU Hospital, Adventist Health Portland Hospital, Hillsboro Medical Center, OHSU Medical Groups, Tuality Medical Groups, Adventist Medical Groups, and Tuality Health Plan Services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow this 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 KOIN.com. TUSCALOOSA, Ala (WIAT) University of Alabama students are expressing their opinions following the detainment of UA doctoral student Alireza Doroudi. ICE detained the Iran national off-campus Tuesday morning. Hes being held in the Pickens County Jail for the meanwhile. Its heartbreaking to hear that this happened to a UA student. My prayers go out to him and is family, UA student Samantha Lim said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doroudis fiancee, Sama Ebrahimi Baigani, started a GoFundMe to help cover the legal costs. The international student is being represented by Rozas and Associates based out of Louisiana, Baigani said. DHS: Alabama student Alireza Doroudi posed significant national security concerns prior to ICE detainment Im not going to comment on his case, but I am going to fight for him and do the best I can for him to be released and back to me, Baigani said. Rozas Associates cannot provide comment at this time the law firm said. However, the Department of Homeland Security provided CBS 42 News with this statement Thursday evening: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE HSI made this arrest in accordance with the State Departments revocation of Doroudis student visa. This individual posed significant national security concerns. However, those who know Doroudi describe him as a smart, kind man with a strong work ethic. If something like this can happen to such a hardworking and harmless student it makes us all wonder if it could happen to anyone, said Sam Saberi, a friend of Doroudi and his fiancee. Alirezas fiancee is extremely worried, and the entire international student community is confused and unsettled, Saberi added. Brady Engel is an undergraduate student at UA who began working alongside Doroudi last semester. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know hes extremely smart and hardworking, Engel said. A lot of the students who worked alongside Doroudi are also studying at the University on a student visa. This whole situation has everyone distraught, Engel said. It has seriously impacted an amazing community of people. UA student Liam Kinnaird lives with international students who are from the United Kingdom. They were really concerned about it, Kinnaird said. I didnt know what to think about it, honestly. However, The UA Republicans Vice Chair Luke Mintz said the organization supports the agencys arrest. Theyre just doing their job, Mintz said. If they arrested him, they have good reason to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mintz talked with CBS 42 News hours before ICE HSI released reason for Doroudis arrest. Prior to the ICE HSIs statement, The UA College Democrats posted on social media: As far as we know right now, ICE is yet to provide any justification for their actions, so we are not sure if this persecution is politically motivated, as has been seen in other universities across the country. The President over UAs democratic organization, Braden Vick, urges the University to take a stronger stance on Doroudis arrest. Get him free of ICE custody, Vick said. The University has a job to protect their students, even if that threat is from a governmental organization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, UAs Republican organization disagrees to some extent. The University has a job to protect their students, and that would best be accomplished by supporting ICE and supporting federal institutions, Mintz said. ICEs actions have rattled the international community on UAs campus, and many are hopeful for a positive outcome. We hope this misunderstanding is resolved soon so he can return and continue his research, Saberi 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 CBS 42. Alireza Doroudi, a University of Alabama graduate student, is seen standing in front of a building in this undated photo. Immigration and Customs Enforcment officials took Doroudi into custody on Tuesday. Doroudis fiance, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani, raised over $21,000 in a day through GoFundMe for his legal expenses, stating he is set to defend his dissertation next year and is fully engaged in his research. (Courtesy of Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani) Federal immigration officials have moved an University of Alabama graduate student to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Jena, Louisiana. An attorney for Alireza Doroudi confirmed Friday afternoon after the ICE detainee locator listed where he was detained. For several days, the detainee locator only stated he was in ICE custody but did not list any location. The facility in Jena is holding several international students targeted by federal authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Rozas, Doroudis attorney, disputed claims by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that his client posed a national security concern. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Doroudi, an Iranian national pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering, was taken into custody by ICEs Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit on Tuesday around 3 a.m., Rozas said in a statement sent on Friday. Immigration authorities cited the U.S. State Departments revocation of Doroudis student visa as the reason for his arrest. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Doroudi posed significant national security concerns. The spokesperson declined to provide further details about what the concerns were, saying That is all we are able to share at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rozas challenged that characterization, saying he was unaware of any allegations concerning significant national security issues. He has not been arrested for any crime, nor has he participated in any anti-government protests, the statement from Rozas said. He is legally present in the U.S., pursuing his American dream by working towards his doctorate in mechanical engineering. Rozas added that Doroudis student visa was still active and that he was in the early stages of applying for permanent residency as a researcher. Student organizers from the Students for Justice in Palestine, a student organization at UA, said Thursday that Doroudi had no involvement in recent pro-Palestine protests at the university or with the organization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doroudis fiance, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani, started a GoFundMe to help cover his legal expenses, garnering over $21,000 in about a day. She said in a LinkedIn post that Doroudis is set to defend his dissertation next academic year and has been fully engaged in academic work and research projects in the department. His dedication and achievements have earned him recognition in his field and led to his selection to apply for permanent residency, she wrote in a post. The University of Alabama has not provided further details about the situation. Spokesperson Alex House did not respond to messages Friday after initially stating that the university was cooperating with immigration authorities. House did not address whether the university was offering Doroudi any assistance. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A sign for the University of Alabama on University Blvd. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Aug. 24, 2024. (Photo by Will McLelland/Alabama Reflector) A student at the University of Alabama was taken into custody by federal immigration authorities Tuesday, according to a university spokesperson. The university did not name the student because federal privacy laws [that] limit what can be shared about an individual student. Alex House, a spokesperson for UA, said in the statement that international students are valued members of the university, but that UA will continue to cooperate with immigration officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House did not respond to questions about whether the university is assisting the student or the family with legal assistance. UA has and will continue to follow all immigration laws and cooperate with federal authorities, House said in a media statement. The students identity was not shared by the university, but Crimson White, the universitys student-run newspaper, reported Wednesday evening that Alireza Doroudi was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) early Tuesday morning. According to ICE detainee locator, as of Thursday morning Doroudi was in ICE custody, but it does not list the detention facility. House did not respond to whether UA is trying to locate the student, but a person at the Pickens County Jail confirmed late Thursday morning that he was being held at the facility and should be transported to an ICE facility in the next couple of days, though they declined to provide their identity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its unclear why Doroudi was detained, but Christian Martin, a student organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine, said in a statement that Doroudi had no involvement with the organization or the protests related to the organization. We recognize that there is minimal information about the cause for M. Doroudis detainment, Martin said in a statement, adding that Doroudi was not nor has ever been involved with Students for Justice in Palestine. International students across the country have been detained by ICE in recent weeks. Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia student, was detained by immigration officials in early March for his role in negotiations with the university over protests due to the war in Gaza. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student, was taken Tuesday night by immigration officials who had their faces covered. One resident who witnessed Ozturk said it looked like a kidnapping. Barnard College student Yunseo Chung was detained after she participated in the protests against the war. Chung has sued to prevent deportation. According to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, 1,207 international students were enrolled at the University of Alabama in Fall 2024. Reporter Anna Barrett contributed to this report. University of Michigan | Susan J. Demas A decade after taking the lead on matters of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, at the university level, the University of Michigan announced Thursday it will cease all formal efforts in that regard. In an email sent to faculty, staff and the university community, officials said they were closing U of Ms Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, while also halting its DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The changes, which are effective immediately, come in the wake of executive orders from President Donald Trump ending all DEI mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the federal government, and forbidding federal contractors from considering race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin in employment, procurement, and contracting practices. These decisions have not been made lightly. We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting, stated an email signed by university officials, including President Santa J. Ono and Provost Laurie K. McCauley. Noting that federal actions against DEI programming had intensified in recent weeks, including another executive order to facilitate the closure of the U.S. Education Department, university officials said the decisions were made after an assessment of input from various stakeholders regarding our DEI programsand after conversations with Regents, university leaders, deans and government officials. Its not known exactly how many employees will be impacted by the changes, but a 2021 report by the Heritage Foundation, the same organization that produced Project 2025, U of M employed 163 people on DEI initiatives. The announcement is a complete turnaround for the university which previously touted itself as having led an unprecedented campus-wide DEI Strategic Plan in 2015, in which it had shown uncommon leadership in its commitment to higher education access, equity, and positive cultural change. That initial plan ran from 2016 to 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The universitys DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, launched in 2023 and initially set to continue through 2028, will be halted immediately. It had a stated commitment to ensuring a diverse, equitable and inclusive community with even more sharply defined goals, new innovations and investments, and enhanced measures of accountability. U of M Board of Regents Chair Sarah Hubbard, a Republican, defended the changes, posting on social media that the money being saved by ending its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives would instead be used to support making Michigan more affordable for our students and families through expansion of the Go Blue Guarantee to family incomes of $125,000 or less and other student facing supports. Hubbard insisted that eliminating bureaucratic overspending would make U of M more accessible. That was echoed by Regent Jordan Acker, a Democrat, who said the policy changes were fundamentally about improving our diversity efforts to make them work better. Acker, who began voicing concerns over the universitys DEI programs last year, said the university had spent $250 million on diversity efforts in recent years, much of it to administrative overhead, while the population of minority students had seen little growth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Michigan, the focus of our diversity efforts needs to be meaningful change, not bureaucracy, he posted. However, the decision has also drawn criticism, including from ACLU Michigan, which released a statement late Thursday condemning what it viewed as acquiescence to authoritarianism. In a moment when we need leaders to be vigilant in defending our collective communities, it is extremely disappointing to see a public institution like the University of Michigan succumbing to authoritarian bullying of the Trump administration without a fight, read the statement. While the University certainly did not make this decision lightly, many of our community institutions such as our local libraries, schools and other institutions of higher education are fighting to adhere to their values under enormous pressure, while one of our largest, most well-resourced institutions with a history and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, has capitulated, it stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rebekah Modrak, the chair of the universitys Faculty Senate and a professor at the Stamps School of Art, referred to the sweeping executive orders as the power of the government to engineer a sweeping culture change towards white supremacy, and said the universitys leadership seem determined to comply and to collaborate in our own destruction. Modrak questioned what the ultimate outcome of this decision would be. These missteps by our university will not end here; they will lead, as they have done in Texas and Ohio, to the censorship of course and program content, she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Shell has announced the discontinuation of its solar and onshore wind power generation projects in Brazil, citing a portfolio adjustment, as reported by Reuters. The decision reflects the challenging environment for renewable investments in the country, characterised by an oversupply of energy, sluggish demand growth and regulatory uncertainties. The company's move aligns with a broader strategy that includes a reduction in expenditure on low-carbon and renewable businesses. Shell said in a statement: "We are always exploring ways to create value from our power generation portfolio, including exiting activities that do not fit into our strategy or do not generate sufficient returns." Documents from the Brazilian government's official gazette indicate that Shell has been seeking to revoke its rights to operate certain solar plants in central-west and northeastern Brazil with the country's energy regulator. These operations pertain to large-scale centralised power generation plants. Despite this shift, Shell will maintain its presence in Brazil's renewable sector through Prime Energy, which manages smaller solar generation assets within the distributed generation segment. In December 2024, Shell announced plans to scale back its offshore wind investments and reorganise its power division after a thorough review. Throughout 2024, Shell continued to develop its portfolio of renewable and low-carbon solutions, focusing on energy storage, flexible generation and power trading. The objective is to optimise returns from onshore assets by employing capital-light business models, debt financing and strategic partnerships. In a related development, Shell Energy North America, a subsidiary of Shell, signed a sale and purchase agreement in October 2024 to acquire a 609MW combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Johnston, Rhode Island, US. "Shell discontinues solar and onshore wind projects in Brazil" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The University of Michigan one of the leading academic bastions of diversity, equity and inclusion in the country is shuttering the doors of its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and shutting down its model DEI program. In an email on Thursday, the universitys leaders pointed to the court-order enforcement of President Donald Trumps executive orders on restoring merit-based opportunity and ending DEI programs across the country, as well as the Dear Colleague letter from the Department of Education that threatened to eliminate federal funding for universities that did not eliminate their DEI efforts. As a result, the universitys DEI office which launched in 2016, the start of the first Trump administration and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion will close. The universitys DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, the reimagined version of their original umbrella strategy for DEI across their schools and colleges, will be discontinued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These decisions have not been made lightly. We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting, the announcement said. Multiple universities and school systems across the country have caved under scrutiny from the Trump administration, removing DEI content from their websites and shutting down DEI programs. But the University of Michigan has long been considered a model for DEI initiatives across the country. The end of its DEI office signals a big win for the Trump administration as it moves to end the focus on DEI in the American education system. Its a stark contrast from the launch of the DEI 1.0 program a decade ago when the university began to enact far-reaching foundational change at every level, in every unit and poured nearly $250 million into the program, according to an investigation from the New York Times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The program made Michigan a national example, and in the face of backlash on critical race theory and widespread protests over the war in Gaza, the university strengthened those efforts. They hired more people in DEI offices and expanded the program. Their DEI initiatives have not been without controversy, especially in their struggle to enroll Black students and to address complaints over campus protests following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. But university leaders noted Thursday that first-generation students have increased by 46 percent, and Pell Grant recipients increased by more than 30 percent. Even as other universities started ending the use of diversity consideration across all hiring and admissions in the last year, Michigan had yet to enact widespread changes. Now diversity statements will not be allowed for hiring, which they announced in December, but also for admissions, promotion, awards or any other assessments. Theyre also updating their websites to ensure compliance with federal law. The White House is celebrating the win, calling it a "a huge victory for merit, excellence, and common sense." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This marks real progress in ensuring that students are rewarded for their initiative, skills and performance rather than divisive DEI policies. White House spokesperson Liz Huston told POLITICO in a statement. Going forward, the university will be increasing investments in financial aid, expanding scholarship programs for students and expanding mental health support. Certain student multicultural spaces will remain open, according to the university. We are deeply grateful for the meaningful contributions of leaders, faculty and staff who have advanced our ongoing efforts to create an ever-more inclusive and respectful community, the announcement said. The University of Michigan said it would close its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office on Thursday in an effort to comply with President Trumps executive order outlawing the practice. These decisions have not been made lightly, the announcement from top university officials reads. We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting. The memo was signed by university President Santa Ono; Laurie McCauley, provost and executive vice president; Marschall Runge, executive vice president for medical affairs; and Geoffrey Chatas, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to the closure of its DEI office, the school will also terminate the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion and discontinue its DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan despite success rates, according to the release. The move follows the universitys decision late last year to no longer require diversity statements for faculty hiring, promotion or tenure. The Supreme Court also issued a decision in 2023 limiting the use of race as a factor in admissions, upending decades of affirmative action programs used by U.S. institutions. The latest statistics from the University of Michigan show DEI programs boosted first-generation undergraduate enrollment by 46 percent while documenting an increase in undergraduate Pell recipients by more than 32 percent, per the memo. We have also heard concerns about the balance of resources between administration and direct student support, the message from campus leadership said. Some in our campus community have voiced frustration that they did not feel included in DEI initiatives and that the programming fell short in fostering connections among diverse groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, the Heritage Foundation reported the University of Michigan had the most DEI staff members in the nation, with 163 employees. Its decision comes after the Education Department earlier this year sent a Dear Colleague letter to universities warning them of funding cuts if they did not shut down DEI programs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The University of Michigan - long seen as a bastion of diversity, equity and inclusion programs - said on Thursday it was closing its DEI office, citing executive orders from President Donald Trump and a warning from the federal Education Department. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Since taking office on January 20, Trump has passed executive orders aimed at dismantling DEI in the government and private sector. The U.S. Education Department, in mid-February, warned of cuts in federal funding for universities if they continued with DEI programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The university said on Thursday it did not make its decision lightly and acknowledged its changes will be challenging for many people who support the programs. Its DEI office was launched almost a decade ago. KEY QUOTES "The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion will close. Student-facing services in ODEI will shift to other offices focused on student access and opportunity," the office of the university's president said. "The DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, the umbrella strategy for schools, colleges and units, will be discontinued." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CONTEXT Rights advocates say DEI programs help uplift marginalized communities by addressing historic inequities. Trump and his allies call the programs anti-merit and discriminatory against white people and men. DEI programs have been part of workplace diversity efforts to ensure fairer representation for groups seen as historically marginalized, such as African Americans, LGBTQ+ community members, women, disabled people and other ethnic minorities in the United States. DEI efforts picked up pace, including in the private sector, in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. By last year, the university had spent more than $250 million on DEI efforts, the New York Times reported. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates) The University of Michigan is closing its diversity, equity and inclusion offices amid President Donald Trumps tirade against the programs. The public university in Ann Arbor is closing its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, according to a Thursday statement. The university attributed the changes to recent federal executive orders. Trump issued an executive order shortly after taking office seeking to end DEI programs, including those at higher education institutions. His administration also launched investigations into dozens of universities this month, alleging they violated civil rights laws with race-based scholarships and programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These decisions have not been made lightly, the universitys statement reads. We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting. The University of Michigan is closing its DEI offices, citing 'federal executive orders' (Getty Images) The university will now be investing more money in financial aid, scholarships and mental health support. The school was once a flagship for DEI programs and was considered a model for other schools. The University of Michigan poured more than $250 million into its DEI program since it started a decade ago, The New York Times reports. The University of Michigan isnt the first school to cave to Trumps efforts to dismantle DEI programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Case Western Reserve University, a private school in Cleveland, shuttered its DEI office on Wednesday. University President Eric Kaler cited Trumps executive orders in his announcement, local outlet Signal Cleveland reports. We have watched the evolution of the legal challenges to these executive orders, and, as we have seen among some of our peers already, it is clear we must be in compliance with them to receive the federal funding that is critical to our present and future, Kaler said. The University of Colorado, which took down its DEI webpage and posted a new one for an Office of Collaboration. The University of Akron similarly announced it would no longer host a long-standing Rethinking Race forum, citing federal and state guidance, according to The New York Times. University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook gives remarks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the university's new applied engineering building on March 28, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Mary Braun) Surrounded by students, faculty and staff, University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook told a crowd Friday they werent gathered merely to celebrate a building, but to honor what it will bring to those who use it. The universitys renovated and expanded applied engineering building, which opened Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony, will offer cutting-edge lab and learning spaces and hands-on learning opportunities, Nook said. He said it will help students be prepared to fill critical roles in the state and countrys workforce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We didnt build a building to have a pretty building, Nook said. We built a building to be able to help these young people, through the faculty and staff that you see up here, reach their educational goals, start them on their ways to meeting their professional goals, and help them understand how to build lives of purpose in their personal lives. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The building renovation project, which came with a $44.7 million price tag, began just over a decade ago, Nook said, when UNI Facilities Management identified the need to renovate the building, which is now almost 50 years old. State appropriations totaling $40 million helped fund the facility, alongside $3 million in private donations. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a video played during the ceremony the renovations eliminated $10 million in deferred maintenance as well as providing necessary facilities for students to train for high-need jobs under the expertise and programming developed by the university and its industry partners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With a job placement rate of 95% overall and 85% in Iowa, Reynolds said with the opening, UNI will be able to accommodate demand that has increased enrollment by 20%. It also will address changing needs from the engineering and construction industries, she said. Reynolds said the new facility will create a significant talent pipeline to these critical sectors, and she cant wait to see what the next 50 years has in store for UNIs applied engineering programs. Protesters rally outside of a University of Northern Iowa ribbon cutting event on March 28, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Mary Braun) It goes to show whats possible when the state and our outstanding regents universities work together on the most important issues facing Iowa, Reynolds said. Students gathered outside of the ceremony to protest Reynolds, holding signs supporting transgender people and calling for an end to attacks on education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Originally 60,000 square feet, the renovations modernized the existing building and added 40,000 more square feet of new lab and collaborative spaces for programs in applied engineering, construction management and more, according to a news release. Jim Kiesey, vice president of Estes Construction as well as a UNI alum and chair of the Construction Management Advisory Board, said during the ceremony the new facility cements UNIs legacy in applied engineering and construction management, but goes beyond just the renovated buildings footprint on campus. Through the legacy UNI is forging, Kiesey said the university is providing an education to future, competent leaders, helping them grow and learn how to advocate for themselves in their industry. The new spaces have also brought an energy fit to inspire the people in it. Prior to embarking on this rehabilitation, the 50-year old Applied Engineering Building received its AARP card in the mail, and through the efforts by many, this facility now has a youthful personality and energy that matches and serves the students that reside in this facility, Kiesey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John Deere vice president and factory manager Fabio Castro said during the ceremony the long partnership between John Deere and UNI has yielded a bountiful harvest, with the corporation employing more than 1,200 UNI alumni and 90 part-time students. Deere also helps UNI through providing guidance on academic programs, Castro said, ensuring the curriculum will adequately prepare students for the field. He said the company and university share many values, like integrity and commitment to excellence, and the pursuit of excellence both organizations push for is evident in the new facility. Not only does this physical building monumentalize that ambition, but the individuals whose educations, careers and lives will be impacted here carry on that legacy, that drive, that value of never settling, Castro said. I hope they will be inculcated with the burning passion to fight off complacency and move our world forward through the application of innovative solutions to our most complex problems. It is clear that our future workforce will need these critical skills to navigate the turbulent, unpredictable and somewhat novel challenges of our future. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SPRINGFIELD With spring turkey season just around the corner in Missouri, now is the time to get new hunters the education necessary to be as safe as possible. The Missouri Department of Conservation is offering several in-person classes at the beginning of April. Missouris hunter education course is required for any hunter born on or after January 1, 1967. There are two steps to complete your Missouri Hunter Education Program. STEP ONE is the knowledge portion, and there are three ways to complete it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Online options: Traditional Knowledge Course ($24.95) or the Interactive Knowledge Course ($39.95). Must print copy of certificate to or display PDF of certificate on device to enter skills session. Self-Study Guide: Free. Can be ordered online, or picked up at an MDC office. Complete chapter review questions and present to an instructor at the in-person skills session in step two. Classroom Session: Free. Register and attend a four-hour classroom session in person. Note: Anyone age 16 or older at the time of registration who completes the online portion does not need to complete Step #2. STEP TWO is the Skills Session and Final Exam. Must register and attend a four-hour skills session. Must be 11 years of age & older to attend. Must bring study manual or show certificate from step one to gain entry. After passing the skills session, and passing the 35-question, multiple choice final with an 80% score or better, you get a temporary certificate. You may then buy a permit and hunt immediately. Next week, there are multiple locations holding the in-person Hunter Education Skills Session. To register for one of these sessions, click here. Location Date Time Clinton (Clinton MDC Office) 2010 S 2nd St, Clinton, MO 64735 Saturday, March 29 12 p.m. 4 p.m. Ava (Ava First Southern Baptist Church) 714 Johnson Ave, Ava, MO 65608 Saturday, March 30 2 p.m. 6 p.m. Springfield (Springfield Conservation Nature Center) 4601 S Nature Center Way, Springfield, MO 65804 Tuesday, April 1 6 p.m. 10 p.m. Versailles (Versailles Middle School (Morgan County R-II) 913 W Newton St, Versailles, MO 65084 Wednesday, April 2 6 p.m. 10 p.m. Joplin (Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center) 201 Riviera Dr, Joplin, MO 64804 Thursday, April 3 6 p.m. 10 p.m. Ash Grove (Andy Dalton Shooting Range) 4897 N Farm Rd 61, Ash Grove, MO 65604 Saturday, April 5 8 a.m. 12 p.m. Branson (Shepard of the Hills Conservation Education Center) 483 Hatchery Rd, Branson, MO 65616 Saturday, April 5 9 a.m. 1 p.m. Here are the dates Missouris Spring turkey hunting seasons, which begin in April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youth: April 12-13. Limit of one male turkey or turkey with visible beard. Ages 6-15. Youth may also hunt during regular Spring turkey season. Spring turkey season: April 21-May 11. Limit of two male turkeys, only one in the first week. If you do not take one turkey during the first week, you may take two in the second and third week. Hunters can not harvest two turkeys on the same 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 KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. U.S. Army Stryker armored vehicles began rolling to locations along the Mexican border in El Paso and the Big Bend regions of West Texas, the military's Joint Task Force Southern Border said. The M1126 armored infantry transport vehicles were deployed Wednesday, March 26, as part of President Donald Trump's order to deploy military forces to the border to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The deployment of armored vehicles comes as illegal border crossings have dropped drastically. Local community concerns have risen about the dehumanization of migrants and an increased militarization of the border, criticized as costly, unnecessary, and political theater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Mexico deployed 10,000 troops to Juarez and other cities along the U.S. border in an effort to crackdown on drug trafficking named Operacion Frontera Norte (Operation Northern Border). More: Trump administration creating plan to militarize New Mexico border The Stryker is an eight-wheeled vehicle that can carry up to 11 people, according to the U.S. Army. The number of vehicles deployed was not disclosed. A U.S. Army Stryker armored vehicle in Fort Bliss, Texas, on March 24, 2025, is part of military forces deployed to assist with border security along the Mexico border in the El Paso and Big Bend border regions of Texas as part of Joint Task Force Southern Border. Strykers, military tactical vehicles and advanced optical sensors will give soldiers greater capability and mobility that will enhance patrols in vehicles and on foot to "detect, track, and monitor suspected illegal activity" in support of the U.S. Border Patrol, Joint Task Force Southern Border said in a new release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: 'Thug mode.' US Army soldiers plead guilty to migrant smuggling in West Texas border chase Joint Task Force Southern Border added that CBP and Border Patrol agents will conduct any necessary law enforcement activity. The border deployment includes about 2,400 soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat team, 4th Infantry Division from Fort Carson, Colorado, Task and Purpose reported. The infantry soldiers arrived at Fort Bliss earlier this month. On March 20, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the U.S. military to support border law enforcement with mobile ground-based monitoring, the task force stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The goal is "to control every inch of the Southern border," Hegseth said in a February visit to the border in El Paso and neighboring Sunland Park, New Mexico, accompanied by Border Czar Tom Homan. "Everything is on the table when it comes to securing the border and dealing with cartels," Hegseth said. There were 2,110 migrant encounters in February compared with 23,919 that same month a year ago in the Border Patrol's El Paso sector, which covers westernmost Texas and all of New Mexico, according to CBP data. The city of El Paso's border emergency declaration expired in February. It was first issued by former Mayor Oscar Leeser as a form to obtain federal funding and support during the humanitarian migrant crisis in December 2022. Since 2021, Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers have been patrolling behind miles of new razor-wire barriers, part of Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star, to deter migrants from reaching the U.S. border to seek asylum or other immigration relief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: US Army Stryker armored vehicles deploy along US border in West Texas The ruling team of Armenia continues to thoughtlessly escalate the situation in search of allies or at least sympathizers. Yerevan is trying to take out as much rubbish as possible from the conditional hut, instead of trying to come to its senses. I think this is how the Pashinyan government hopes to absolve itself of responsibility for a possible escalation, which Yerevan itself provokes. It's like a spoiled, cowardly child doing dirty tricks and instantly running to complain about others in order to deflect the anger of the elders and seem like a good girl. Yerevan also wants to appear to be a peacemaker and thinks that it succeeds. In fact, as in the case of the pampered tattletale, these attempts look pathetic and are visible through and through to everyone who is in the know. Those who have no idea what is happening in our region are not interested in all this at all. However, you need to clarify - you are not interested until you start paying for your interest. In an interview with the Brazilian news channel Correio Braziliense, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan addressed his statements to those who are not aware of the situation and will easily fall for Armenian insinuations. Answering a question about the peace agreement, Mirzoyan made sad eyes and stated that Armenia immediately publicly declared its readiness to start consultations with Azerbaijani partners to determine the place and date of signing the peace agreement. But the Azerbaijani partners set preconditions. They concern the preamble to the Constitution of Armenia and the limitation of the militarization of this country. Armenia, for its part, has made "mutually beneficial" proposals on the creation of a bilateral mechanism for the control and verification of weapons and border incidents. But Azerbaijan did not give a positive answer here either, Mirzoyan said. Azerbaijan did not jump for joy when it heard Armenia's proposals, because they are absurd. Does the occupying country, which owes billions to Azerbaijan, expect Baku to allow it to control its weapons? It's not even stupid, it's a typical manipulation. Yerevan knows that Baku will not agree to such "mutually beneficial" proposals and is trying to demonstrate to uninformed members of the international community that the two countries are on equal terms and in equal status. Yerevan and its guardians have done enough to ensure that the Karabakh conflict in the minds of the majority of the European and overseas public began on September 27, 2020, and not in November 1987, when ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis in Armenia began. The Armenians have done and are doing everything possible for this. But the neighbors do not take into account the most important thing - the First Karabakh War, ethnic cleansing, genocide, vandalism of Armenians and occupation are not going to be forgotten in Azerbaijan. If Armenians manage to deceive the public in other regions, it will not help them solve problems on earth in any way. Azerbaijan and Armenia will not have equal status even after the signing of the peace treaty. Based on international law and world precedents, Armenia, as an aggressor and occupier who has committed crimes against humanity, cannot have an army at all, much less purchase weapons from around the world with the expectation of revenge. But all this is due to the money of the diaspora and the various phobias and manias that exist in the West. Nevertheless, Armenia will still have to talk with Baku, no matter to whom it complains or where it seeks support. Once again, frivolous proposals on arms control are pure manipulation designed to further confuse the already difficult path to peace. Let's move on. In an interview with Brazilian media, the Armenian Foreign Minister complained that Azerbaijan does not accept the Armenian side's proposals to open communications. Azerbaijan needs a road to Nakhchivan, Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea, which it can receive in exchange for "mutual access to Azerbaijan's railway infrastructure." However, Baku again did not give a positive answer on this issue, Mirzoyan complained. Once again, we are not dealing with short-sightedness and stupidity, but with targeted political manipulation. Yerevan knows well what they have to do, but they don't want to do it. To get the subject off the table, "crossroads of the world" are emerging, frivolous alternatives to the Zangezur corridor, and Pashinyan is running around with painted maps. In fact, everything is simple: Armenia fulfills its obligations and opens the Zangezur corridor - Azerbaijani communications open for it; Armenia does not open the corridor - and remains isolated. There are no other "mutually beneficial" options. The eloquence of Pashinyan or Mirzoyan will not help here. The main thing for Armenia is the opinion of Azerbaijan, not someone else. She can show off to anyone, but no roads will open for her until she restores the Zangezur corridor. In an interview with Brazilians, Mirzoyan tried to assure that Armenia "has no intention, no reason, no motive to start a new war or escalate the situation," and peace, they say, "may be jeopardized because of Azerbaijan." Let's put it briefly: Armenia has both motives and intentions to launch a new aggression, but it does not have the strength to do so. Armenia has no way to stand up to Azerbaijan, and this is the only reason for its alleged peacefulness. One must be able to tell the truth. This story was originally published on C-Store Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily C-Store Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: SQRL Service Stationss non-real-estate assets from 406 convenience stores it used to operate are set to be auctioned off next month, according to a motion filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. Although the leases for all SQRL c-stores were terminated last year, each lease was only for the property itself, according to the motion. This means anyone can acquire the non-real-estate assets, which are now up for sale about four months after SQRLs owner, Gas Hub LLC, was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Suitors have until the end of the month to submit a bid, although theres no set date for the auction, according to the motion. As of March 26, the only bid has come from Jamal Hizam, Gas Hubs CEO, who is attempting to recoup some of the assets he lost in bankruptcy last year. Dive Insight: When SQRL shifted to Chapter 7 bankruptcy last November, the companys trustee, Ann Burns, determined that the only way to recoup value from the business would be liquidating its assets. This included SQRLs non-real-estate property, which may include any furniture, fixtures or equipment. Although anyone can bid for these assets, Burns is notably inviting the landlords for these c-stores to do so. Many of these landlords including individuals and real estate companies have lost millions due to SQRLs negligence and mismanagement over the past two years. Hizam, whose Gas Hub business acquired the leases for hundreds of SQRL c-stores for $17 million last April, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last August with over $1 billion in debt. By November, after failing to establish a debtor-in-possession bank account and provide proof of adequate insurance, Gas Hub was forced to liquidate its assets, which included all of its ties to SQRL. Although he no longer has the leases, Hizam is looking to recoup the non-real-estate assets for 100 of the SQRL properties he lost, according to the motion. Instead of Gas Hub, hes submitting his $50,0000 auction bid through a company called BZ Mart Inc. Nearly half of these 100 c-stores are in Louisiana, while the rest are scattered across Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas. Burns emphasized in the motion that there is no warranty of any kind that SQRL Service Stations owns any personal property at any of its former convenience stores. By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy is weighing cuts of hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to two projects in Texas and Louisiana aimed at demonstrating technology to capture carbon from the atmosphere at commercial scale, three sources familiar with the matter said. The Direct Air Capture hubs, part of former President Joe Biden's effort to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, were launched by the DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to help commercialize the expensive and nascent carbon removal technology. At full operation, the two hubs could remove more than 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions per year, far more than the world's biggest operating DAC plant in Iceland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two largest U.S. hubs are Louisiana's Project Cypress, run by research and development firm Battelle, Climeworks Corporation and Heirloom Carbon Technologies, and the South Texas DAC Hub, proposed by Occidental Petroleum subsidiary 1PointFive, Carbon Engineering and engineering firm Worley. The projects are on a list of Biden-era programs targeted to be eliminated to fund tax cuts in Congress's budget reconciliation bill, which is being reviewed by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the sources said. They requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. The two hubs were awarded $550 million and $500 million respectively under Biden, but have so far only received their first tranche of $50 million each. An Energy Department spokesperson said it was conducting a department-wide review to ensure programs align with the Trump administration's priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This review is ongoing, and speculation by anonymous sources about the results of the review are just that speculation," the spokesperson said. The roughly 20 smaller DAC research projects identified by Biden's administration for grants were not on the list, and their status was unclear, the sources said. The capital-intensive demonstration projects cannot continue without receiving the rest of their grants and cannot survive even two more months of uncertainty as Wright makes his final funding decisions, said a source involved in one of the projects. Louisiana state officials turned up the pressure on Wright and the state's congressional delegation this week to save funding for its DAC hub. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I urge you to contact DOE Secretary Chris Wright and ask him to take every necessary step to advance this critically needed federal grant," Louisiana's Secretary for Economic Development Susan Bonnett Bourgeois wrote in a letter on Thursday to the state's U.S. senators and representatives, which was seen by Reuters. Occidental did not respond to a request for comment on the potential DAC hub cuts but said on the company's February investor call that it has had several conversations with President Donald Trump about the need for DAC technology and for subsidies. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Rod Nickel) By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) -Donald Trump can - for now - remove Democratic members from two federal labor boards, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday, handing the Republican president a victory in his efforts to bring independent federal agencies under his control. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a 2-1 decision paused rulings by two judges who had deemed unlawful Trump's removal of Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board and Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two Republican-appointed judges on the panel decided that laws passed by Congress shielding members of those boards from being removed without cause likely violate the U.S. Constitution by encroaching on presidential powers. "The people elected the President to enforce the nation's laws, and a stay serves that purpose by allowing the people's chosen officer to control the executive branch," wrote Circuit Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee. The decision will be in place pending the outcome of the Trump administration's appeals, which the D.C. Circuit is scheduled to hear in May. Without Wilcox and Harris, the five-member NLRB and three-member Merit Systems Protection Board will not have enough members to decide cases, bringing much of the work of the agencies to a standstill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House spokesperson Anna Kelly in a statement called the decision "another major court victory, vindicating (Trump's) power to control the executive branch." Harris in a statement provided by her lawyer said: "I respectfully disagree with this decision and will be filing papers very soon that ask the full Court of Appeals to review it." The merit board and lawyers for Wilcox did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An NLRB spokesman declined to comment. The NLRB hears cases in which private-sector employers and labor unions are accused of illegal labor practices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The merit board hears appeals by federal employees when they are fired or otherwise disciplined. The board has been inundated with new cases as a result of Trump's ongoing purge of the federal workforce. More than 8,400 appeals have been filed with the board since Trump returned to office in January, which is roughly the number the agency typically receives in two years. LEGAL LIMBO D.C. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, who dissented on Friday, said that hundreds of those pending cases will languish as a result of the court's decision. Millett said her colleagues had rewritten U.S. Supreme Court precedent that upheld protections for members of independent federal agencies from removal. "I cannot join a decision that uses a hurried and preliminary first-look ruling by this court to announce a revolution in the law ... and to trap in legal limbo millions of employees and employers," wrote Millett, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The panel also included Circuit Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of Republican former President George H.W. Bush. Like several other agencies, both boards were set up by Congress to be independent from the president in order to maintain impartiality when they decide individual cases. Congress passed laws giving job protections to members of these boards, allowing them to be fired by a president only for "neglect of duty or malfeasance in office" and, in the case of the merit board, also for inefficiency. Trump fired Wilcox and Harris soon after he took office in January, the first time a president had acted to remove members of either board. Harris and Wilcox filed lawsuits separately accusing Trump of violating the statutory job protections in firing them. The Trump administration acknowledged violating the laws, but said the protections from removal for members of the two boards ran afoul of the powers given to the president under the Constitution. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Will Dunham) (Reuters) - Five Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren, sought answers regarding World Liberty Financial, a crypto project backed by President Donald Trump and family, and its newly announced plans to issue a stablecoin, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing a letter. The lawmakers warned U.S. financial regulators of a potential "extraordinary conflict of interest" in overseeing the cryptocurrency entity, the Wall Street Journal said. The letter was sent early Friday, addressed to the Federal Reserve's vice chair of bank supervision Michelle Bowman and acting comptroller of the currency Rodney Hood, according to the Journal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The senators questioned how regulators would manage oversight given the company's ties to the sitting president, the report said. Legislation moving through Congress would set up a regulatory structure for stablecoins, digital currencies that act as dollar-like instruments for storing value or purchasing other crypto assets, as per the report. The bill would designate the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) as overseers, while laying out specific standards for reserves and consumer protections, the report added. The Federal Reserve declined to comment. The White House and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) didn't immediately respond to Reuters request for comments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Founded two months before Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, World Liberty's creation was announced by Trump, his three sons and the wealthy real estate businessman Steve Witkoff, who is now Trump's Middle East envoy. Trump's aides have said he has handed over control of his business ventures, which are being reviewed by outside ethics lawyers On Tuesday, World Liberty Financial said it will launch a stablecoin, called USD1, adding that it will be fully backed by U.S. Treasuries, dollars and other cash equivalents and is designed to keep a value of $1. (Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Michigan State University | Susan J. Demas Michigan State University announced this week that the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, or DOE-SC, approved the construction of a $48.5 million project to improve studies of neutron-rich isotopes. Housed on MSUs East Lansing campus, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, has received more than $1.5 billion from the DOE-SC, the university said in a news release, leading to discoveries in nuclear physics and furthering research in medicine, national security, materials science and industry. It officially began operations in 2022. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm poses with FRIB Director Thomas Glasmacher, MSU President Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., MSU Board of Trustees Chair Dianne Byrum and federal lawmakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for MSUs Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, May 2, 2022 | Laina G. Stebbins With this new investment construction of a High-Transmission Beam Line, or HTBL, will commence with the expectation it will be completed in April 2030. The HTBL will aid in the High Rigidity Spectrometer project, which aims to allow scientists to examine neutron-rich isotopes normally only created when stars collide or explode. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new beam line is crucial to future experiments at FRIB, the facilitys Laboratory Director Thomas Glasmacher said in a news release Wednesday. HTBL will greatly expand FRIBs scientific reach, enabling groundbreaking discoveries in nuclear physics, Glasmacher said. HTBL is made possible by the continued support of the federal government and the American public, whose investment in basic research infrastructure is vital to advancing knowledge for American competitiveness. We are deeply grateful for their commitment to scientific excellence and the future of discovery science. FRIB employs 565 employees, 153 graduate students, and 134 undergraduate students, according to the university. As one of 71 American research universities in the Association of American Universities, with research efforts in nuclear physics, food systems, environmental science and more, MSU has committed to reach $1 billion in annual research expenditures by 2030. The universitys Strategic Plan outlines the financial commitment as a dedication for the common good to produce research to address issues in society across sectors. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SCHOENEICHE, Germany (AP) The U.S. government is on a global egg hunt, seeking exports from countries in Europe and elsewhere to ease a severe shortage that has caused egg prices at grocery stores to hit record highs. Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden are among the nations the U.S. Department of Agriculture approached to address the shortage brought on by a bird flu outbreak, according to European industry groups. But supplying Americans with eggs would be complicated for foreign producers and not because of political tensions over the myriad import tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed or threatened to impose on his nation's top trading partners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even if they were eager to share, European countries dont have many surplus eggs because of their own avian flu outbreaks and the growing domestic demand ahead of Easter. One of the biggest obstacles, however, is the approach the United States takes to preventing salmonella contamination. U.S. food safety regulations require fresh eggs to be sanitized and refrigerated before they reach shoppers; in the European Union, safety standards call for Grade A eggs to be sold unwashed and without extended chilling. These are two systems that could not be more different, said Hans-Peter Goldnick, the president of the German Egg Association. Feathers on eggs at the supermarket Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is common in parts of Europe, for example, for consumers to buy eggs that still have feathers and chicken poop stuck to them. Farmer David Karlsch described the simple process that gets eggs from hens to customers of the family-owned Saballus poultry farm in Schoeneiche, a town just outside Germanys capital: The eggs are taken from nests, placed into cartons and sold on the premises or from a refrigerated vending machine just outside the property. The demand at Easter time is of course very, very high, as many children naturally want to paint eggs, Karlsch said. Poland, a major egg exporter, fielded a U.S. query about the availability of eggs, according to Katarzyna Gawronska, director of the National Chamber of Poultry and Feed Producers. The issue of washed vs. unwashed was a crucial factor as European officials considered such requests, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eggs are not cleaned in most of the 27 EU nations because of concerns that removing the natural protective coating from eggshells makes them more vulnerable to bacteria, Gawronska said. Polish veterinary officials are trying to determine if the country and its farmers can meet U.S. requirements, such as whether the exporting nation has a comparable food safety inspection system or a significant bird flu outbreak. Powdered egg products Although European Union regulations state that table eggs shall not be washed or cleaned, member countries have some leeway if they authorized egg baths at packing plants decades ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Danish Egg Association CEO Jrgen Nyberg Larsen said national customs are part of it; washed eggs are the norm in Sweden, for example. But Sweden and Norway have informed the U.S. they don't have extra eggs to export, Larsen said. For now, any increased U.S. egg imports from Europe are more likely to arrive in powdered form or other products that can be shipped frozen or dried, Larsen said. That's the response Poland's trade association gave U.S. officials. If the U.S. certifies Poland as a source, the organization's members would have a limited number of shell eggs to sell but could supply very large volumes of egg processing products, Gawronska said. Processed eggs usually are pasteurized to prevent foodborne illnesses and then used in food manufacturing or by restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baked goods, pasta and sauces like mayonnaise are some of the commercial products made with egg powder. Europe's own production problems U.S. officials also tried to sound out farmers in northern Italy's Veneto region for emergency egg supplies, according to Coldiretti, the main Italian agricultural lobbying organization. But Italy only produces enough eggs to cover the national demand so most of the region's producers said they could not help. Bird flu outbreaks since the start of last year also have taken a toll on the Italian poultry industry. Germany cannot contribute much either. Its domestic poultry industry generates about 73% of the eggs consumed in the country, and we ourselves essentially have to import eggs from Holland every day to keep everyone satisfied," the German Egg Associations Goldnick said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have around 45 million eggs that we can collect from the chicken coops every day, and in America, theres a shortage of around 50 million eggs a day. That shows how difficult it is, he said. An improving US market and Easter demand Other countries the U.S. government contacted include Austria, Norway, Spain and Denmark. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it secured new egg commitments from South Korea and Turkey in recent months, although it did not specify the amount or type. Brazil, which traditionally exports less than 1% of its total egg production, increased its February shipments to the U.S. by 93% compared to a year earlier, according to the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The detection of Newcastle disease, a viral condition often fatal to chickens, in some parts of Brazil impedes the South American nation's ability to become a significant U.S. egg supplier, market insiders say. Imports of liquid, frozen and dried eggs may help free up some domestic shell eggs for consumers, but the U.S. made its appeal for foreign eggs amid a significant deficit; last month, the country produced 720 million fewer table eggs than in February 2024, a decline of nearly 10%. The U.S. also cut its own egg exports to boost supplies at home, the Agriculture Department said. While the informal trade talks continue, the U.S. market has shown signs of improvement. Its been nearly a month since a major bird flu outbreak impacted egg-laying hens, the department said. It reported the national wholesale price for large eggs dropped to $3.27 per dozen as of March 21, or less than half its peak of $8.15 per dozen on Feb. 21. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. consumers are just starting to see those falling wholesale prices translate to lower prices on grocery shelves, the department said. The big demand for eggs that usually accompanies Easter and Passover could cause prices to edge up again next month. Business is business Trump hasn't exactly walked on eggshells with the people of Europe since starting his second term. The president's repeated threats to seize Greenland, a Danish territory, infuriated many in Denmark. His posture toward Ukraine and disparaging remarks from top members of his administration have alarmed America's European allies. The European Union, which is the third-largest trade partner of the U.S., was not exempted from the tariffs Trump ordered on steel, aluminum and automobiles. Bracing for more, it has prepared counter-tariffs on American products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But many officials in Europe say none of that would rule out exporting eggs. Goldnick said an egg producer friend recently told him that if the price is right, then Ill deliver. Any deals made or not would come down to business decisions, he said. I have two souls in my chest. On the one hand, I would say, 'No, we cant support this system,' but thats not the right answer," he said, referring to new U.S. tariffs on European goods. The right answer is we have to help where we can, Goldnick continued. "It doesnt concern the government. You wouldnt prop them up or anything, but its just peoples demand at Easter, for eggs, and thats just as important to satisfy in America as it is here. ___ Gera reported from Warsaw, Poland. Pietro De Cristofaro in Schoeneiche, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit, Giada Zampano in Rome, Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report. Canadian license plates are common on Florida roads during "snowbird" season when visitors head south to avoid the worst of the winter weather. Some changes are coming when it comes to Canadians and other foreign nationals who like to visit the United States. Beginning April 11, Canadians who stay in America for more than 30 days will have to register with the U.S. government. Canada updates its US travel guidance, adds registration rule Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Time will tell whether that will change the number of annual visitors to the Sunshine State. The number of visitors from Canada has been growing, but as of 2024, they haven't reached pre-COVID levels, according to VisitFlorida. Here's what you should know. How many Canadians visit Florida each year? Preliminary estimates indicate Canadian visitors totaled 3.271 million in 2024, up by +1.2% over 2023, according to a report from Visit Florida. "While down 20.0% from pre-pandemic 2019, this marks the closest that Canadian visitation has come to prepandemic levels," VisitFlorida said. Of the almost 3.3 million, 2.143 million Canadians traveled by air and 1.128 million by other means. Canada adds registration requirement if in US for more than 30 days Canadians along with other foreign nationals who stay in America for more than 30 days have to register with the U.S. government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most Canadian travelers do not have to provide fingerprints, Canadas guidance said. Registration requirement takes effect April 11 The rule will take effect on April 11. Canada updates its travel guidance website about registration "Canadians and other foreign nationals visiting the United States for periods longer than 30 days must be registered with the United States Government. Failure to comply with the registration requirement could result in penalties, fines, and misdemeanor prosecution," according to travel.gc.ca. "Upon entry into the United States, non-U.S. citizens must provide biometrics, such as digital fingerprints and a photograph. Most Canadian citizens are exempt from this requirement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Every country or territory decides who can enter or exit through its borders. The Government of Canada cannot intervene on your behalf if you do not meet your destinations entry or exit requirements. President Trump directs Homeland Security to ensure non-citizens comply with Immigration and Nationality Act On his first day in office, Jan. 20, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to enforce the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that requires anyone who plans to stay in the U.S. for 30 days or more to register with the U.S. What does the Alien Registration Requirement say? The Alien Registration Requirement reads: "With limited exceptions, all aliens 14 years of age or older who were not registered and fingerprinted (if required) when applying for a U.S. visa and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer, must apply for registration and fingerprinting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Similarly, parents and legal guardians of aliens below the age of 14 must ensure that those aliens are registered. "Within 30 days of reaching his or her 14th birthday, all previously registered aliens must apply for re-registration and to be fingerprinted. "Once an alien has registered and appeared for fingerprinting (unless waived), DHS (Department of Homeland Security) will issue evidence of registration, which aliens over the age of 18 must carry and keep in their personal possession at all times." Existing law has not been applied consistently in the past The existing rule requiring all foreign nationals to register with U.S. authorities has not been applied consistently for Canadians coming to America, according to The Guardian. How do you register if you'll be in the US for more than 30 days? The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services explained the process to register on its website. It made a special note that Canadian visitors and those under 14 years of age will not be required to appear for a biometric services appointment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Create a USCIS Online Account : To register, you must first create a USCIS online account. Each person registering must have their own individual USCIS online account. This includes those under the age of 14. If you are the parent or legal guardian of an alien under the age of 14 who needs to register, you will need to set up an individual USCIS online account on your childs behalf and in their name. Step 2: Submit Form G-325R : Fill out an electronic version of the Form G-325R, Biographic Information (Registration). Form G-325R must be filed online through a USCIS online account. It cannot be filed by mail or in person. USCIS review of Form G-325R : USCIS will review the information you provided and any DHS records that are available about you. If it appears that you have already complied with the registration requirements in some other way and do not need to submit Form G-325R, USCIS will notify you that you have already complied with the registration requirement. If it appears that you are required to register, USCIS will review your Form G-325R to determine if you are required to appear for a biometric services appointment. If you are not required to appear for a biometric services appointment (for example, Canadian visitors and people under 14 years of age), USCIS will provide you with evidence of registration Attend appointment for biometrics collection : If you are required to register and provide biometrics, USCIS will schedule you for a biometric services appointment. There is no fee. Receive registration documentation: Once you have registered and provided your biometrics (if required), we will post a notice that provides proof of your registration to your USCIS online account.In your USCIS online account, you will be allowed to download a PDF version of the notice and can print it. What happens if you don't register? "Any alien who willfully fails or refuses to apply to register or be fingerprinted (if required), and any parent or legal guardian who is required to apply for the registration on behalf of an alien less than 14 years of age and who willfully fails or refuses to file an application for the registration of such alien, will be guilty of a misdemeanor and will, upon conviction, be fined not to exceed $5,000 or be imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both," according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Canadians staying in US longer must register. See requirement The U.S. State Department announced on March 27 that it would provide short-term funding to an initiative documenting Ukrainian children abducted by Russia after White House terminated the program, Reuters reported. The program, run by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab under the State Department's Conflict Observatory, used biometric data and satellite imagery to track Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children. At least 19,500 Ukrainian children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion, with only about 1,200 returned, according to Ukraine's Children of War database. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yale's research funded by the U.S. government has helped track thousands of these cases. Researchers reportedly lost access to the database last month after officials terminated the contract, cutting off critical evidence for war crimes investigations. A State Department spokesperson said the short-term funding would allow program implementers to ensure that essential data on abducted children is properly transferred to the relevant authorities. "It is part of the standard close-out procedures for terminated programs," the spokesperson said. The comments come amid U.S. President Donald Trump administration's efforts to cut various agencies and initiatives, including foreign aid, calling it "waste, fraud, and abuse." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The multiple cuts to foreign funding have begun to affect international efforts to hold Russia accountable, including for war crimes committed in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, 2023, for the deportation of Ukrainian children. As part of ongoing U.S.-Russia negotiations, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Walz said that returning kidnapped Ukrainian children is among several "confidence-building measures" being discussed. Ukrainian officials have named their return as a key condition for any future peace agreement with Russia. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The U.S. Department of State is warning citizens to reconsider travel to the island of Trinidad and Tobago. The country has been under a state of emergency since December 30, 2024 due to ongoing criminal activity that could threaten public safety. On January 13, 2025, T&T Prime Minister Stuart Young extended the emergency declaration until April 2025. Here is why the State Department has issued the travel warning. Why is Trinidad and Tobago under a travel advisory? According to the State Department, there is a risk of gang violence in the country. The department currently has Trinidad and Tobago under a level 3 travel advisory, meaning people should reconsider travel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The types of violent crime the advisory lists include: Murder Robbery Assault Sexual assault Home invasion Kidnapping The State Department said the following places could be targets for criminal activity in the country: Tourist locations Transportation centers (airports) Markets and shopping malls Local government buildings Hotels and clubs Restaurants Places of worship Parks Major sporting and cultural events Schools Where is the main area of criminal activity happening in Trinidad and Tobago? According to the State Department and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT), peak violence occurs at Port of Spain, the capital of T&T. During the emergency declaration, the GOTT has imposed the following measures: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service has the authority to arrest people on suspicion of involvement in illegal activities. Search and enter public and private properties as needed. Bail is suspended for those suspected of committing a crime. Members of the Defense Force are following similar regulations as the local police. There are currently no curfews or restrictions on public gatherings. Due to the risks, U.S. government employees working in Trinidad and Tobago are prohibited from travelling to the following areas in Port of Spain during the day and especially after dark: Laventille The southern end of Charlotte Street between Oxford Street and Park Street (past the General Hospital) Piccadilly Street Besson Street Beetham, Sea Lots, Cocorite, and the interior of Queens Park Savannah. Downtown Port of Spain Fort George overlook, and all beaches There are 4 levels of travel warnings. Here's what they mean Level 1: Exercise normal precautions: This is the lowest advisory level for safety and security risk. There are some risks in international travel. Level 2: Exercise increased caution: Be aware of heightened risks to safety and security. Level 3: Reconsider travel: Avoid travel due to serious risks to safety and security. Level 4: Do not travel: This is the highest advisory level due to a greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. What destinations are safe for vacationing? Here are the countries listed that are under level 1 advisory: Level 1 travel advisory Andorra Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Barbados Belgium Belize Bhutan Botswana Brunei Bulgaria Canada Chile Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Fiji Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Japan Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Mauritius Monaco Netherlands New Zealand Norway Poland Portugal Qatar San Marino Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan United Kingdom Uruguay Vatican City This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: US issues level 3 travel advisory for Trinidad & Tobago. Here's why ABOARD BRP JOSE RIZAL, South China Sea (AP) The United States, Japan and the Philippines on Friday staged joint naval drills to boost crisis readiness off a disputed South China Sea shoal as a Chinese military ship kept watch from a distance. The Chinese frigate attempted to get closer to the waters, where the warships and aircraft from the three allied countries were undertaking maneuvers off the Scarborough Shoal in an unsettling moment, but it was warned by a Philippine frigate by radio and kept away. "There was a time when they attempted to maneuver closer but, again, we challenged them, Philippine navy Commander Irvin Ian Robles told reporters on board the frigate BRP Jose Rizal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest naval drills, called the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity, were opened for the first time to a small group of Manila-based media, including an Associated Press photojournalist, since such high-seas maneuvers and joint naval sails began last year. During the daylong maneuvers, the BRP Jose Rizal, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, the DDG Shoup, and a Japanese multi-mission frigate, the JS Noshiro, sailed in formation and communicated by radio. U.S. and Philippine helicopters flew around. A small group of American sailors from the DDG Shoup used a speedboat to transfer to the BRP Jose Rizal and hold discussions with Filipino counterparts. "We are here to support our allies and support a free and open Indo-Pacific for everyone, U.S. Navy Lt. Alexander Horvath told the AP. Such naval drills result in the vital improvements in our coordination, tactics and shared maritime awareness, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Every iteration strengthens our capacity to respond to maritime security challenges while reinforcing our collective ability to safeguard our national interests, Brawner said. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea. A 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidated those claims, but Beijing refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected the outcome and continues to defy it. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also been involved in the long-seething territorial disputes but confrontations between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces have particularly spiked in the last two years. The United States, Japan and the Philippines have been strengthening a security alliance and pressing efforts to bolster deterrence against Chinas growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, a key global trade route. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trilateral security bloc emerged during the previous Biden administration. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who visited Manila on Friday for talks with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said such security blocs should be strengthened to boost deterrence against Chinese aggression in the disputed sea. After the Philippines, Hegseth would travel next to Japan, another staunch U.S. treaty ally. All three countries are sailing together right now in the regionsending those signals of cooperation, Hegseth said. The broader our alliance, the better. The more security cooperation, the betterthe more strategic dilemmas for our adversaries, the better. ___ Associated Press journalist Jim Gomez contributed to this report. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States needs Greenland for international security peace, President Donald Trump said on Friday, adding that there were Chinese and Russian ships in the area that Washington could not leave to Denmark or anyone else to "take care of." "We need Greenland. Very importantly, for international security, we have to have Greenland," Trump told reporters at the White House. "If you look at the waterways, you have Chinese and Russian ships all over the place ... we're not relying on Denmark or anybody else to take care of that situation," he added. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Doina Chiacu) Kevin Carter / Getty Images Key Takeaways Tommy Bahama owner Oxford Industries warned consumers are pulling back on their spending and new tariffs will impact results. The company gave full-year profit guidance that missed forecasts. CEO Tom Chubb said deterioration in consumer sentiment impacted demand. Oxford Industries (OXM) warned of slowing sales, giving worse-than-expected guidance that sent shares of the owner of Tommy Bahama and other clothing brands sinking. The company sees fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.60 to $5.00, while the Visible Alpha forecast was for $6.92. CEO Tom Chubb explained that after a strong close to 2024, "trends moderated in January as there was less of a reason to shop, a pattern we've witnessed for the past several quarters, as well as a deterioration in consumer sentiment that also weighed on demand." Chubb added that those trends "accelerated into February," and believes they "are likely an indicator of what we can expect in the first half of fiscal 2025." In addition, CFO Scott Grassmyer told analysts on the conference call that the company anticipates full-year gross margin will decline 50 to 100 basis points (bps), "primarily driven by the impact of tariffs and the expectation of lower proportion of full-priced direct-to-consumer sales," according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense. Q4 Results Top Estimates The news offset solid fourth-quarter results. Oxford reported adjusted EPS of $1.37 on revenue that declined 3% year-over-year to $390.5 million. Visible Alpha consensus estimates were for $1.27 and $383.9 million, respectively. Tommy Bahama sales dropped 3% to $237.6 million, they were down 6% to $74.0 million for Lilly Pulitzer, and they slid 9% to $47.4 million for Johnny Was. Even with the declines, Chubb said Oxford was pleased with the performance, calling it a "successful holiday season." Shares, which dropped 4% Friday morning, have lost nearly half their value in the past year. TradingView Read the original article on Investopedia The U.S. government has not restored funding for a program documenting Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press conference on March 28. Rubio's statement came a day after the U.S. State Department announced that it would provide short-term funding to the initiative after the White House terminated the program. "The program is not funded. It was part of the reductions that were made," Rubio said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initiative, run by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab under the State Department's Conflict Observatory, used biometric data and satellite imagery to track Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children. At least 19,500 Ukrainian children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion, with only about 1,200 returned to Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Children of War database. Yale's research funded by the U.S. government has helped track thousands of these cases. Researchers reportedly lost access to the database last month after officials terminated the contract, cutting off critical evidence for war crimes investigations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Rubio, the U.S. has secured the data and ensured that it can be transferred "to any appropriate authorities." The multiple cuts to foreign funding have begun to affect international efforts to hold Russia accountable, including for war crimes committed in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova in 2023 due to their participation in the deportation of Ukrainian children. As part of ongoing U.S.-Russia negotiations, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Walz said earlier in March that returning kidnapped Ukrainian children is among several "confidence-building measures" being discussed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian officials have named their return as a key condition for any future peace agreement with Russia. Read also: USAGM withdraws termination of RFE/RL grant, funding back in effect Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. By Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Friday Israel was defending itself from rocket attacks that came from Lebanon and that it was incumbent upon the Lebanese government to disarm militant groups such as Hezbollah. The comment from a State Department spokesperson came in a press briefing when asked about Israel conducting its first strike on Beirut's southern suburbs since a shaky ceasefire deal was struck in November. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel's airstrike came after a rocket launch from Lebanon in the most serious test of the ceasefire. The strike targeted a building in a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh that Israel said was a drone storage facility belonging to the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militant group. "Israel is defending its people and interests by responding to rocket attacks from terrorists in Lebanon," the State Department spokesperson said. "As part of the cessation of hostilities agreement, the government of Lebanon is responsible for disarming Hezbollah and we expect the Lebanese Armed Forces to disarm these terrorists to prevent further hostilities." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No group has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire from Lebanon. The Lebanese army said it was able to locate the launch site of Friday's rocket attacks and began an investigation. Israel's war in Lebanon last year displaced more than 1.3 million people, destroyed much of the country's south and eliminated Hezbollah's top leadership. Israel is separately engaged in a military assault on Gaza that has killed over 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while also triggering accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies. Nearly Gaza's entire 2.3 million population has been internally displaced and the enclave faces a hunger crisis. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Rod Nickel) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Friday it was "not surprised" that China would be upset by Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison's (0001.HK) deal to sell its two port operations near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group, after China's market regulator said it would conduct an antitrust review of the deal. "We are aware of the comments made by China. It's also no surprise that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is upset at this acquisition, which will reduce their control over the Panama Canal area," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a news briefing. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Michael Martina; editing by Diane Craft) The News The age-old Europe-to-US brain drain may be reversing in the wake of President Donald Trumps funding cuts and research restrictions, as US researchers look across the Atlantic for sanctuary. Several major US research institutes face the risk of losing federal funding, and DW noted that the uncertainty is so great that many researchers want to leave: A Nature poll found that 75% of US-based scientists are considering emigrating, likely to Canada or Europe. A chart showing the percentage of US researchers who said they were considering leaving the country. German institutions are trying to lower the bureaucratic hurdles to hiring them, while research institutes in France are offering positions to American scientists who lost their jobs in the cuts, and academics in Britain are urging their government to do the same. By Bo Erickson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republicans in the U.S. Senate are calling on President Donald Trump's administration to turn to them to make his proposed government spending cuts official in law, rather than unilaterally withholding funds as he has been doing. Ten Republican Senators representing a broad swath of the party said in interviews they want to see Trump's administration start the legal process called rescission to permanently withhold funds already approved by Congress for fiscal year 2025. This process requires the administration to send specific cuts and their budgetary effect to lawmakers for approval. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Republican advocacy represents one way some legislators are trying to reassert congressional authority over federal government funding, while at the same time supporting the proposed cuts from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and in other federal departments. "I think the only way to make spending cuts real is to vote on them," said Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky. Others this week, noting the process complexity, called for fast action. "I'd like to be voting on them weekly, if not monthly," said Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, while Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa said, "I'd like to see it yesterday." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is unclear if the administration will start this legislative move, as Russ Vought, who runs the White House Office of Management and Budget, has repeatedly challenged this appropriations process by arguing the underlying 1974 law that established the rescission procedure is unconstitutional. That law was put in place following concerns by Congress that Republican President Richard Nixon abused his power by refusing to spend funds authorized by Congress. Trump and Musk so far have bypassed Congress as they have moved to push out more than 100,000 government workers and attempt to close some government departments outright, moves that have drawn legal challenges. Vought has had a powerful ally in his fight: Trump, who on the campaign trail -- to little fanfare -- promised to challenge this appropriations law. TRUMP PROMISED TO CHALLENGE FUNDING PROCESS Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rescission process was established in the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to give the executive branch a legal and public mechanism to temporarily withhold or permanently eliminate already approved funding by Congress. Trump used this process in his first administration but the proposed cuts to foreign aid were rejected by Congress. "I will fight to restore the president's historic impoundment power," Trump said at a New Hampshire campaign stop in June 2023, resisting this process. "We are gonna bring it back and we will squeeze the bloated federal bureaucracy." After meeting with Republican senators on Thursday, Vought did not respond when asked by a reporter if the White House will send a rescission package to the Hill. In the meeting, Montana's Senator Steve Daines said the discussion included a "very good back and forth" on rescissions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OMB officials did not respond to a request for comment. LEGAL AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES Rescissions require a simple majority vote in each congressional chamber, both now controlled by Republicans, and could codify the cuts from Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and other federal departments. But sending a rescission package now could create a "conundrum" for the administration, said Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming, who advocated for codifying the funding cuts. "It's pretty hard for them to argue in court that it's unconstitutional and then use this so-called unconstitutional provision to implement rescissions." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gillian Metzger, a constitutional law professor at Columbia University, agreed, saying, if Congress passes a rescission measure that basically removes that statutory requirement to spend the funds, then the legal basis for the court's ruling is gone." "The basic fact that Congress has the power of the purse is something Republicans and Democrats agree on," Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the appropriations committee, said in a speech on Thursday. "It wont change no matter what Trump, or Russ Vought, or Elon Musk claim. Their legal theories are plain outlandish and so are their facts." Murray, along with Republican Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, spoke out against the administration's move this week to partially withhold more emergency funds that were approved by Congress in this month's stopgap funding bill. The independent and non-partisan government watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office, started investigating the held-up funds last month, as the 1974 law mandates the agency to do, according to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Super, a professor of law and economics at the Georgetown University Law Center, said while some statutes may give the administration more flexibility to withhold funds, the "great majority" -- like funding for U.S. Agency for International Development - do not. "I have no doubt it will be held to be an impoundment," Super said. "We got to start codifying the cuts because people back home are pitching a fit about it," Representative Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, said, "Everywhere I go." (Reporting by Bo Erickson, additional reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell) By Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that short-term funding was being given to an initiative documenting abducted Ukrainian children, after Republican President Donald Trump's administration decided to pause the program on January 25. The U.S. government-funded initiative led by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab helped track thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision to terminate the program, called the Ukraine Conflict Observatory, came after Trump ordered a broad review to prevent what he says is wasteful spending of U.S. taxpayer dollars with causes that do not align with American interests. Ukraine says that more than 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory during the war in Ukraine without the consent of family or guardians, calling the abductions a war crime that meets the U.N. treaty definition of genocide. Russia has said it has been evacuating people voluntarily and to protect vulnerable children from the war zone. "Funding is being provided for a short period while the Conflict Observatory implementers ensure the proper transfer of the critical data on the children to the appropriate authorities," a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It is part of the standard close-out procedures for terminated programs." Earlier this month, Democratic lawmakers called on the Trump administration to restore the program. The program's end raised concerns about the potential loss of access to a trove of information, including satellite imagery and other data, about some 30,000 children taken from Ukraine. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the deportation of the children. Russia denounced the warrants as "outrageous and unacceptable." (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Ross Colvin and Saad Sayeed) The US Department of State has announced that it will provide short-term funding for an initiative documenting the abduction of Ukrainian children in order to facilitate the transfer of data about the children to the appropriate authorities. Source: Reuters Details: A spokesperson for the US Department of State stated that the funding is being provided for a short period while the programme implementers ensure the proper transfer of critically important data about the children to the relevant authorities, "It is part of the standard close-out procedures for terminated programmes". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic lawmakers called on US President Donald Trump's administration to reinstate the programme earlier this month. The US government-funded initiative, led by the Yale University Humanitarian Research Laboratory, has helped track thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Background: The closure of the programme raised concerns about the potential loss of access to a vast amount of information, including satellite images and other data, on approximately 30,000 children taken from Ukraine. The decision to end the programme was made after Trump ordered a wide review to prevent what he described as wasteful spending of American taxpayers' dollars on goals that did not align with US interests. Ukraine reported that over 19,500 children had been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territories during the war in Ukraine without the consent of their families or guardians. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! By Tom Little, Leonhard Foeger and Nandita Bose NUUK, Greenland/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not doing a good job keeping Greenland safe and suggested the United States would better protect the semi-autonomous Danish territory that President Donald Trump has pressed to take over. During a visit to the U.S. military base at Pituffik in the north of the Arctic island, Vance said the U.S. has no immediate plans to expand its military presence on the ground but will invest in resources including additional naval ships. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He pledged respect for Greenland's sovereignty but also suggested the territory would come to see the benefit of partnering with the U.S., in remarks the Danish prime minister called unfair. "Denmark has not kept pace and devoted the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and other nations," Vance said. He gave no details of the alleged incursions. Trump has frequently said that the United States has a security imperative to acquire the island, which has been controlled by Denmark since 1721. Vance's sharp attacks against Denmark - a longtime U.S. ally and NATO member - offered another example of the little regard the Trump administration holds for traditional U.S. alliances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance, in particular, has not held back in his messaging. He lectured European officials on free speech and illegal migration on the continent during an overseas trip last month and later accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of not showing enough gratitude to Trump during a contentious meeting at the White House. In Greenland on Friday, Vance said Russia, China and other nations are taking an "extraordinary interest" in Arctic passageways, naval routes and minerals in the region. He said the U.S. will invest more resources, including naval ships and military icebreakers that will have a greater presence in the country. As Greenlanders expressed deep unease about the visit, Vance vowed the people of Greenland would have "self-determination" and the U.S. would respect its sovereignty. "I think that they ultimately will partner with the United States," Vance said. "We can make them much more secure. We could do a lot more protection. And I think theyd fare a lot better economically as well." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His remarks came just hours after a new broad government coalition that aims to keep ties with Denmark for now was presented in the capital, Nuuk. Greenland's new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said the U.S. visit signalled a "lack of respect," while Danish leaders expressed their commitment to Greenland. "For many years we have stood side by side with the Americans under very difficult circumstances. Therefore the vice president's description of Denmark is not a fair one," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement to Danish news agency Ritzau. Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Vance "has a point that we haven't done enough, but I'm a little provoked because it's also the Americans who haven't done enough." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rasmussen said that the U.S. today has a base with 200 soldiers, while during the Cold War the Americans had 17 military installations in Greenland with 10,000 soldiers. As Vance's visit was underway, Trump told reporters at the White House the U.S. needs Greenland to ensure the "peace of the entire world." "We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland. It's not a question of, 'Do you think we can do without it?' We can't," Trump said. Trump said Greenland's waterways have "Chinese and Russian ships all over the place" and the United States will not rely on Denmark or anybody else to handle the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SCALED-BACK TRIP Vance greeted members of the U.S. armed forces shortly after his arrival, thanking them for their service on the remote base located 750 miles (1,200 km) north of the Arctic Circle. The outside temperature at Pituffik was minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-19 C). Vance's wife Usha, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright accompanied him on the trip. Under the terms of a 1951 agreement, the U.S. is entitled to visit its base whenever it wants, as long as it notifies Greenland and Copenhagen. Pituffik is located along the shortest route from Europe to North America and is vital for the U.S. ballistic missile warning system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The island, whose capital is closer to New York than it is to the Danish capital Copenhagen, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth, but development has been slow and the mining sector has seen very limited U.S. investment. Mining companies operating in Greenland are mostly Australian, Canadian or British. A White House official has said Greenland has an ample supply of rare earth minerals that would power the next generation of the U.S. economy. The question now is how far Trump is willing to push his idea of taking over the island, said Andreas Oesthagen, a senior researcher on Arctic politics and security at the Oslo-based Fridtjof Nansen Institute. "It is still unlikely that the United States will use military means," he told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "But it is unfortunately likely that President Trump and Vice President Vance will continue to use other means of pressure, such as ambiguous statements, semi-official visits to Greenland, and economic instruments," he added. Polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the United States. Anti-American protesters, some wearing "Make America Go Away" caps and holding "Yankees Go Home" banners, have staged some of the largest demonstrations ever seen in Greenland. On Thursday, residents in Nuuk planted Greenlandic flags in the snow and a cardboard sign in English that said "Our Land. Our Future". Nielsen on Friday urged political unity. His pro-business party, the Democrats, which favours a gradual independence from Denmark, emerged as the biggest party in a March 11 election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "At a time when we as a people are under pressure, we must stand together," Nielsen told a press conference. (Reporting by Tom Little and Leonhard Foeger in Nuuk, Gwladys Fouche and Terje Solsvik in Oslo, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Louise Breusch Rasmussen and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen and Nandita Bose, Katharine Jackson and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Nandita Bose; Editing by Alison Williams, Andrew Heavens, Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell) A fuel station supplier has filed a lawsuit against Trive Capital and two of its portfolio companies in federal court in Iowa claiming that the companies restricted competition in the US Midwest for gas pump distribution and servicing, which led to increased fuel prices, reported Reuters. According to the complaint, Trive, Seneca Companies and OWL Services effectively blocked JF Petroleum Group from entering the Iowa and southern Illinois market using acquisitions to consolidate US pump distribution and servicing. JF Petroleum Group claimed the action to be in violation of the US antitrust law. The complaint further alleges that the defendants tried to obstruct Caseys, the third-largest convenience store chain in the US, from engaging in business with JF Petroleum. Dallas-based Trive, which manages more than $8bn in investments, responded to the allegations by stating, the case and claims against Trive, OWL Services, and Seneca Companies are without merit. The company expressed its intention to contest the lawsuit. A lawyer for JF Petroleum at the McGuireWoods law firm has yet to respond to a request for comment. Headquartered in North Carolina, JF Petroleum supplies and maintains fuel pumps for petrol and diesel at prominent retail stations nationwide. This lawsuit escalates the ongoing conflict between Trive's Seneca, which offers fuelling equipment and support services, and JF Petroleum. In a separate lawsuit, Seneca has accused JF Petroleum of interfering with existing and potential agreements with customers and employees, a claim that JF Petroleum has denied. JF Petroleum claims to have invested millions of dollars in expanding into Iowa and southern Illinois, only to face illegal obstacles at every turn. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a court order to halt the alleged anti-competitive business practices. In a related development, Steelhead liquefied natural gas (LNG) initiated legal proceedings in December last year against Cedar LNG, Pembina Pipeline and ARC Resources in British Columbia, Canada. The Vancouver-based LNG company alleges that the defendants wilfully exploited proprietary information for the benefit of the Cedar LNG project. "Trive Capital faces lawsuit over alleged fuel infrastructure scheme" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. US Vice President JD Vance on Friday accused Denmark of neglecting Greenland's security in sharply worded criticism delivered during a controversial visit to that Arctic island, which President Donald Trump has set his sights on annexing. Vance and his wife Usha met soldiers at a US military base on the Danish territory's remote north-western coast, where he thanked the military personnel for their service and noted: "It's cold as shit here. Nobody told me." The Pituffik Space Base - the northernmost US military facility in the world - provides missile warning and space surveillance capabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance's office said the vice president received a briefing on "Arctic security issues" during the visit to base, where temperatures reached a high of around minus 18 degrees Celsius on Friday. Vance blasts Denmark: 'You have not done a good job' Vance lashed out at Denmark during a prepared speech at the base, saying it has "underinvested" in the semi-autonomous territory's people and security. "Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland," he said. "You have underinvested in the people of Greenland and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful land mass filled with incredible people." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That has to change. Because it hasn't changed, this is why President Trump's policy in Greenland is what it is." He said that "Denmark has not kept pace" with military spending that would keep the base, US troops and the people of Greenland "safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and from other nations." President Trump has said he wants to bring the resource-rich island under Washington's control "one way or the other," a move that has sparked indignation from leaders in Greenland and Denmark. Vance downplayed Trump's suggestion that Greenland should belong to the US, saying the remark reflected concerns over the island's safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that Greenland's people could choose their own "self-determination" and expressed hope for a partnership without military force. However, unlike Vance, Trump had not ruled out using military means to acquire Greenland. Trump: 'We need Greenland' Just before Vance made his comments, the president had doubled down on his ambitions to control Greenland "We need Greenland, very importantly for international security," Trump said at the White House. "We have to have Greenland. It's not a question of, 'Do you think we can do without it?' We can't." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said Chinese and Russian ships were in the critical waterways all around Greenland, claiming that Denmark cannot be trusted to manage the high-stakes situation. Trump said US control of Greenland was critical to international security: "We are not talking about peace for the United States. We're talking about world peace." The president's son Donald Trump Jr also visited the territory in January, raising concerns among the Greenlandic government, which emphasized that no invitation had been extended to the US delegation. On the day of Vance's visit, four Greenlandic parties signed an agreement to form a broad coalition government in a move widely seen as a response to Trump's interest in the territory. Scaled back trip by the Vances Usha Vance had initially planned to travel without her husband to attend a popular annual dog sled race and visit the capital Nuuk, along with other cultural activities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But her husband on Tuesday announced he would accompany her, saying he wanted to assess the regions security situation. The trip was also scaled back to one day and now only features the base visit. The dog sled race visit was cancelled. Greenland, a largely autonomous territory of Denmark, is the worlds largest island and strategically important due to its Arctic location, as well as its raw materials. In addition, important shipping routes run through the region - and more could be unlocked as the Arctic warms due to climate change. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) A Maryland man was sentenced to just over five years in federal prison Thursday for selling fentanyl and cocaine, according to the United States Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia (USADC). The USADC said Derek Gaines, 37, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for unlawful distribution of 40 or more grams of fentanyl after he pled guilty in December 2024. FBI arrests leader of MS-13 gang in Prince William County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gaines will also serve four years of supervised release after his prison sentence. According to the USADC, Gaines sold thousands of fentanyl pills and cocaine to an informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Court documents state that, on April 4, 2024, Gaines asked the confidential informant (CI) if they wanted the two (two ounces of cocaine) and the blues (fentanyl pills), or just the blues, to which the CI said they wanted both. Around 5 p.m. that day, the CI met Gaines in the 1600 block of Maryland Avenue NE and paid him $4,000 for cocaine and five baggies of fentanyl pills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the DEA, the suspected cocaine was determined to be 55.78 grams of the drug. The five plastic baggies contained 502 blue M/30 fentanyl pills. Court documents continue, stating the CI contacted Gaines on June 4, 2024, for more fentanyl and cocaine. Two days later, the CI paid $6,500 for the drugs. The DEA found the suspected cocaine was proven to contain 56.44 grams of cocaine, and the blue pills were determined to be 106.69 grams of fentanyl. Court documents say the CI arranged for a third drug exchange with Gaines in July 2024, where he sold them 2,000 blue M/30 fentanyl pills for $8,000 at the same Maryland Ave. location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gaines was arrested on August 29, 2024, in Severn, 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. As wildfires continue to flare across Georgia, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a campfire ban in northeast Georgia. More specifically, campfires are banned in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The Gainesville, Ga. office of the USDA Forest Service said the ban came in response to heightened fire danger caused by dry conditions due to weeks of high winds and low relative humidity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The restriction is forest-wide and is intended to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires in the area. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The ban itself took effect Thursday and does not have a set expiration time yet. It is a Stage II fire restriction, which USDA said meant all campfires, including charcoal-based fires, and any other open flames are prohibited across all four Ranger Districts on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. There is also a ban on fireworks, though visitors at the forest will be able to use commercially available fuel stoves for cooking. Most people dont realize how frequent wildfires are in the South, Forest Supervisor Judy Toppins said in a statement. Since the beginning of the month, multiple fires have ignited on this national forest, along with large fires spreading on private and public lands in neighboring states. RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fire officials for the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest said that wildland firefighters and emergency responders are still on high alert and working to protect communities and battle fires. Even small fires can quickly spread out of control, especially when conditions are this dry, Mike Davis, fire management officer for the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, said. We urge residents to clear leaves and debris at least 30 feet away from buildings and to avoid any outdoor burning until conditions improve. According to the USDA, human activity is the cause of 87% of wildfires, on average, often from escaped debris burns, unattended campfires and even sparks from vehicles or equipment. The federal agency urged people to take simple precautions, like ensuring cigarettes are fully put out, keeping vehicles on designated roads and avoiding outdoor flames to help reduce the wildfire risk. Anyone who sees any suspicious activity involving fire in the forest is asked to call the Georgia Forestry Commission Arson Hotline at 1-800-428-7337. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] NEW MEXICO (KRQE) Some New Mexico farmers and ranchers will be able to apply for emergency loans due to a recent USDA decision. Endangered Mexican wolf tracked roaming north of I-40, what to do if you see it A total of 11 New Mexico counties were designated by the USDA as Primary Natural Disaster Areas for Drought. This natural disaster designation allows the USDA Farm Service Agency to offer emergency loans that can be used to meet various recovery needs, including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or to refinance certain debts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Below you will find a list of New Mexico counties that are eligible for loans: Primary Counties Eligible: Catron Chaves Dona Ana Eddy Grant Hidalgo Lea Lincoln Luna Otero Sierra Contiguous Counties Also Eligible: Cibola De Baca Guadalupe Roosevelt Socorro Torrance According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for eight or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional. Eligible applicants include farmers and ranchers who operate in a disaster-designated county and have experienced substantial damage or loss. Applicants must demonstrate an inability to obtain sufficient credit from other sources to cover their disaster-related needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability. The application deadline is Nov. 25, 2025. Additional resources and how to apply for a loan The Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Loan Assistance Tool can help you determine program or loan options. To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs, contact your local USDA Service Center. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. An effort to find willing hosts for Usha Vances visit to Greenland went embarrassingly awry, according to a Danish report. U.S. officials went door to door in Greenlands capital of Nuuk looking for residents who wanted to greet the second lady, Jesper Steinmetz from Denmarks TV 2 reported. But everywhere they went, they were rejected. The unwelcoming response forced the second lady to change her plans, Steinmetz said, ahead of her arrival with Vice President JD Vance on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her office had announced earlier she would attend the national dogsled race and visit historical sites over several days. Apparently she had planned to meet with locals in Nuuk as well. The itinerary was scaled back drastically. Now the Vances are jointly visiting the U.S. Space Force base at Pituffik, which is more than 900 miles away from the capital. A senior White House official pushed back hard at the Danish report, telling The Hill in an email: This is categorically false. The Second Lady is proud to visit the Pituffik Space Base with her husband to learn more about arctic security and the great work of the Space Base. ABC News had previously suggested that the addition of national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright to the delegation was also a factor in the shifting plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has continued to agitate the semi-autonomous Danish territory with threats to take it over. He tried a more diplomatic tone to express his intent earlier this month, but on Wednesday warned that Americans will go as far as we have to go to get control of the island for security reasons. Related... The U.S. Navys eldest aircraft carrier set sail out of San Diego on Wednesday for what is sure to be its final trip. The Nimitz, which was first commissioned in 1975 and given a service lifespan of 50 years, left Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego once its homeport for 11 years for a regularly scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific region, according to a Navy social media post. The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group arrived in California after leaving Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, on March 21. Seeing our Sailors man the rails today with reflections from our very first deployment in 1976 reminds us how far weve come, and how strong our legacy remains, the post read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group includes the aircraft carrier Nimitz, as well as the nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 17 and the four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers of Destroy Squadron 9. The Nimitz most recently completed a six-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific in June 2023, where it visited Japan and India, took part in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Commands Large Scale Global Exercise and provided disaster relief to Guam after Typhoon Mawar. During its newest deployment, the strike group will focus on protecting security, freedom, and prosperity for the United States, our allies and partners, and demonstrating the U.S. Navys unwavering commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to a Navy release. One of the largest ships in the world, the Nimitz was first deployed on July 7, 1976, to the Mediterranean, according to a Navy website on the Nimitz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aircraft carrier Nimitz returns to sea after maintenance stint Two years later, the carrier was sent to the Indian Ocean after Iran took 52 U.S. hostages following an attack on the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Eventually, the carrier assisted with Operation Evening Light in an attempt to rescue those hostages, though the mission was called off after the U.S. wasnt able to secure enough helicopters to pull off the rescue. All 52 hostages were eventually released and returned to the U.S. The carrier provided support for Operation Desert Storm in the Arabian Gulf in 1991 and Operation Southern Watch in 1993 and 1997. Nimitz spent 12 years at Naval Station Norfolk until 1987, when it relocated to what is now Naval Base Kitsap, Washington. Then, in 2001, the Nimitz found its newest home at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, where it set off from in 2005 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2012, the Nimitz relocated again to another homeport in Everett, Washington, and deployed in 2013 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Nimitz also etched its name in the annals of Navy lore when it fielded the Navy F-35 Lightnings first carrier landing at sea. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nimitz embarked on a historically long 341-day deployment the longest since the Vietnam War and returned home in March 2021. Nimitz, in its 50th year of service, continues and celebrates its legacy of strengthening alliances and partnerships, demonstrating the power of teamwork and cooperation in maintaining peace and security, the Navy release said. The Nimitz will eventually return to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, in 2026, before it is set to be decommissioned. Utah has become the first state to ban adding fluoride to public water. The law was signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, among 77 other bills. The ban, which still allows pharmacists to prescribe fluoride, will start on May 7. Cox had previously announced he would sign the bill despite saying he did not feel strongly about the issue. He said he had grown up and raised his children in an area without fluoride in the water. Around 44 percent of Utahans who were provided with public drinking water consumed fluoridated water in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve ran this natural experiment you think you would see drastically different outcomes with half the state not getting it, and half the state getting it. Ive talked to a lot of dentists, we havent seen that. Its got to be a really high bar for me, if we are going to require people to be medicated by their government," Cox told ABC4. And, what they also did was make it easier for families to get fluoride. If thats what you want to do, you can get it, he added. Opponents warn Utahs ban will disproportionately affect low-income residents, who may rely on public drinking water having fluoride as their only source of preventative dental care. There is strong evidence that fluoride works to protect peoples teeth, replacing minerals lost due to wear and tear. More than 200 million people in the U.S. receive fluoridated water through community water systems. The American Dental Association said studies prove fluoridation reduces dental decay by at least 25 percent in children and adults. The association sent a letter asking Cox to veto the bill. Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill that makes his state the first in the nation to ban adding fluoride to public water. Dentists support its use (AFP via Getty Images) Experts also say the benefits outweigh any risks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fluoride intake has both beneficial impacts and risks, according to the World Health Organization. It can reduce tooth decay and cavities, and it can cause bone disease after lengthy exposure to high amounts. It is estimated that excessive fluoride concentrations in drinking water have caused tens of millions of dental and skeletal fluorosis cases globally. Research on other impacts, such as bone fractures, is divided. The National Toxicology Program previously determined with moderate confidence that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children. Other studies have found no link between fluoride and IQ although some Americans are exposed to higher than recommended levels because of natural fluoride contamination. There is still no evidence that community water fluoridation, with the fluoride levels used in the United States, is associated with any adverse health effects, Dr. Scott Tomar, a public health dentist and oral epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry, told The New York Times in February. Utahs move comes amid renewed scrutiny of the mineral, which has been added to U.S. drinking water for decades. Nearly all water contains some naturally occurring fluoride, but at levels too low to prevent the holes in teeth caused by bacteria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newly-appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., shone a light on the issue, saying in November that the Trump administration would advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water because of potential health risks. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said last year that the Trump administration would advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. He cited potential health impacts (AP) Anti-fluoridation bills have also been introduced in three other states: North Dakota, Tennessee and Montana. According to the Fluoride Action Network, 37 states give local governments and residents authority over fluoridation decisions, and 13 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, have laws to mandate statewide fluoridation. Some communities have rejected it, the group noted. Weve got tried and true evidence of the safety and efficacy of this public health initiative, American Dental Association President Brad Kessler told The Associated Press earlier this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said cavities could start emerging in children within months or years of Utah stopping fluoridation. Utah children consume more sugary drinks than the national average. Sugar causes cavities. The science proves that it is effective at reducing cavities with little to no risk of other problems, he said. With reporting from The Associated Press PROVO, Utah (ABC4) Six more child sex abuse charges have been dismissed against David Hamblin, the former Utah therapist accused of ritualistic child sex abuse. While this is not the first time charges have been dropped, the Utah County Sheriffs Office said it was shocked by the judges decision. Utah County Judge Roger Griffin ruled to grant a motion issued by the State of Utah to dismiss the case on March 20, which was brought forward over evidentiary concerns and discovery problems. Despite the State asking the Court to dismiss without prejudice, which would allow for charges to possibly be brought up in the future, Griffin ruled to dismiss the charges with prejudice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his ruling, Griffin said the decision to dismiss the case with prejudice was not made lightly. PREVIOUS: Former Utah therapists child sex abuse charges dismissed in Utah County again Allegations like the ones raised in this case require careful scrutiny. Sexual abuse is abhorrent and elicits a sense of deep horror and revulsion, wrote Griffin. However, it is our respect for fundamental rights protected by our constitutions that requires that a criminally accused defendant be given a fair trial. Griffin said it was issues over alleged failures to disclose evidence that resulted in the impossibility for a fair trial and process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the Utah County Sheriffs Office argued its investigators had provided all relevant evidence to the prosecution in a timely fashion. They further say the previous prosecutors office had even reviewed evidence with the defense and the defense attorney acknowledged that they had received everything. Despite this acknowledgment, the defense later alleged that a specific report detailing an interview with the victim had been withheld, the Utah County Sheriffs Office said in a statement. The court relied on this allegation to support its dismissal order. But the Sheriffs Office had sent this specific report, along with the entirety of this case, to the prosecutor in September of 2022, shortly following David Hamblins arrest. RELATED: Ex-wife of Utah former therapist accused of ritualistic child sexual abuse arrested The sheriffs office said the prosecutor had then confirmed that all discovery, including the interview with the victim, had been disseminated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Judge Griffin said he considered arguments from counsel from both the defense and the State, the sheriffs office claimed an evidentiary hearing to discuss any issues with discovery was never held. The sheriffs office said if an evidentiary had been held, the alleged victim in the case would have been able to provide critical context in the case that would have been able to resolve issues raised by the defense. This complete lack of due process resulting in the dismissal of heinous charges of sex abuse of a child based on an incomplete evidentiary picture is extremely concerning, The sheriffs office statement continues, later adding, The fact that the court dismissed with prejudice these charges against David Hamblin without one word of testimony from the victim or the investigators is abhorrent. ABC4 has reached out to the Fourth Judicial District Court in Utah County for comment who said they were unable to speak on specific cases. The Court instead pointed ABC4 toward the case history saying, Let the record speak for itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court records show Hamblin still faces several second-degree felony child sex abuse charges in a Sanpete County court. His next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2. The Office of the Utah Attorney General told ABC4.com it was unable to comment on the statement released by the Utah County Sheriffs Offices, citing the ongoing case in Sanpete County. However, the AGs Office added that the prosecutors acted appropriately and ethically in their efforts, given the information available to 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 ABC4 Utah. Senate Utilities Committee Chair Sen. Eric Koch listens during a meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Legislation setting standards for new, big electricity users plus, complicating coal-powered closures and benefiting nuclear reactor efforts drew criticism from utility customer advocates Thursday. Proponents maintained the changes are critical to continued economic growth. Jonathan Neal, a Lafayette resident, told a Senate committee that the legislation doesnt protect customers enough. He asserted that regulators have repeatedly failed Hoosier customers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like many ratepayers, I dont have a lot of confidence in the (Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission) to protect the ratepayers, he said. Sometimes it feels like theyre really in the pocket of the utilities and just cover the costs of utility shareholders and consumers are too busy to complain. But Rep. Ed Soliday, the measures author, said opponents want a zero-growth economy. Rep. Ed Soliday speaks before a committee on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) If you dont want a growth economy, then vote against the bill, Soliday, R-Valparaiso, said. His House Bill 1007 would expedite approval processes for large-load customers like data centers and set out cost recovery mechanisms for projects utilities undertake to serve those big customers. It also would require a big prospective grid addition to make significant and meaningful financial assurances for such projects reimbursing at least 80% of costs and protecting other existing and future customers from the expenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We think its fair that they accept 80% of the responsibility. Now, if they build and keep their word, then all theyre doing is buying the electricity they said they want, Soliday. But weve given about 20% latitude in here, that we think is fair. Multiple witnesses feared customers would still take the brunt of costs. Im afraid that theres too many ways to get around that 80-20 split for those large-load customers, that theres no guarantee that those customers would actually be paying that, said Hoosier Environmental Council Executive Director Sam Carpenter. (Maybe) if they could pay those costs upfront, if they could be put into long-term obligation contracts what if the data center operator or the customer goes bankrupt? Advocates for residential and existing industrial ratepayers said the expedited processes didnt offer them or regulators enough time to review materials and assemble responses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Citizens Action Coalition Executive Director Kerwin Olson noted that some provisions require regulators to approve a utility plan within 90 or 150 days, and afford it just seven business days or less to deem filings complete. Thats although the utility may have spent months constructing the plan, and it may take stakeholders like Olsons organization 60 days to to put a case together, to find funding, to find experts. Indiana Industrial Energy Consumers representative Joseph Rompala testifies in committee on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) If the commission doesnt hit that 90-day timeline or that 150-day timeline, guess what? Its approved (automatically), Olson continued. Why have regulated monopolies when effectively well have unregulated monopolies? Indiana Industrial Energy Consumers representative Joseph Rompala said thats a quick turnaround. Rompala also litigates on behalf of industrial customers before the IURC. He said transmission, distribution and storage improvement charges seven-year plans utilities can bring for those improvements have a 210-day clock. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While I understand the need for speed to market and to meet customer demand, we are talking about at least comparably sized investments, Rompala added. Certainly, more time is beneficial. But, he said any IURC order including approval, cost-recovery and any trackers could be appealed to a higher court. Koch and Soliday emphasized that they developed the deadlines in collaboration with regulators. They said they could do it, Soliday told the committee. Scrutinizing transitions from coal House Bill 1007 also gets tough with utilities planning to close or convert to natural gas any coal-fired plants of at least 125 megawatts. Current law adopted during the 2024 legislative session mandates utilities that are not generating at least 85% of peak demand to report three-year projections to the IURC. Indiana Energy Association leader Danielle McGrath testifies in committee on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) The legislation would instead require all utilities to annually report the amount of resource generating capacity they plan to take offline. If, after an investigation, the IURC doesnt think a utility can provide reliable service, it would have to block the utilitys plan or order it to either acquire or build capacity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That makes the process very empirical. You cant just shut them down willy-nilly, Soliday said. Indiana Energy Association President Danielle McGrath said the requirements would complement utilities existing integrated resource plans, several other required reports and IURC-hosted reliability forums. Thats why, in providing this additional information, we stand by our analysis, and well demonstrate how that planned retirement is going to be able to meet the requirements set forth in this bill, she told lawmakers. Going nuclear Other provisions are intended to boost small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) development as electricity demand rises, including a 20% sales tax credit for SMR manufacturers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soliday said one such company which hed seen represented in the audience has Indiana high on the list for an SMR. That factory will be at least 500 jobs, over $100,000 and Id like to see them here. So, hence the incentive, he told the committee. Rolls Royce, which has a major manufacturing footprint in Indiana, is exploring construction of an SMR with a capacity of up to 470 megawatts. But numerous witnesses complained SMR technology is experimental and unproven. The United States hosts no operational SMRs. Across the globe, only China and Russia have functional ones. Some want Indiana to lead, but nuclear development is pricey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A large part of the legislation would let public utilities ask regulators for permission to spend money on SMRs and start recovering costs from customers before getting certificates of public convenience and necessity. The language is identical to Kochs Senate Enrolled Act 424. Included are expenditures for design; engineering; environmental analyses and permitting; federal approvals, licensing and permitting; equipment purchases and more. A utility could recover 80% of approved costs under the resulting rate schedule within three years at most. It would defer the remaining 20% for recovery as part of its next general rate case. Soliday said the pay-as-you-go approach would let utilities take out the debt more cheaply or avoid bonding at all. He added, Its in our favor as consumers to keep that bond rate low or zero. Overspending would have to meet additional criteria to get passed onto customers. So would expenditures on canceled or abandoned projects and a utility wouldnt earn returns for such failed undertakings unless regulators also find the decision was prudently made for good cause, that profit is appropriate to avoid harm to the utility and its customers; and that costs will be offset or reimbursed through other, listed means. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To have reliability, you cant have utilities going bankrupt, Soliday said. House Bill 1007 advanced on an 8-3 vote. Its heading to the Senates Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee. Im glad that its going to be recommitted because what we really need to be focused on is the fiscal impact, said Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis. Debate, she added, isnt about nuclears merits because Indiana legalized SMRs years ago. What this bill is talking about is the funding structure for how were going to fund small modular reactors. And thats what I have an issue with is that were doing it on the backs of ratepayers, that were doing it in a way that is not fiscally responsible, Hunley said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly misattributed a quote. The speaker was Hoosier Environmental Council Executive Director Sam Carpenter. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX President Trump is applying the brakes to the profit engines of global automakers. Trump said Wednesday the US will impose 25% tariffs on imports of cars and car parts, to take effect on April 3. The measures will apply to both finished cars and trucks. This will continue to spur growth that youve never seen before," Trump said from the White House about the new tariffs. Investors and Wall Street don't appear to agree, given the response early on Thursday in stock markets and analyst takes. The tariffs could raise the cost of production for automakers and stunt demand through higher prices for consumers. About half of all vehicles sold in the US are imported. Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet President Donald Trump waves after speaking at a reception celebrating Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) ASSOCIATED PRESS Shares of the Big Three US automakers, which build vehicles abroad, dropped in premarket trading on Thursday. General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) were down 7% and 3%, respectively, while Europe-focused Stellantis (STLA) fell 2%. "In reality, these [US] carmakers would likely price vehicles much higher, which would result in lower volumes and a lower negative impact to earnings," RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan said. Interestingly, Tesla (TSLA) shares rose 1%. The EV maker, headed by Trump's DOGE leader Elon Musk, makes the bulk of its models in the US. Meanwhile, Japanese automakers Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) US-listed stock slid 2% each. Europe's Ferrari (RACE) declined 1%. Shares in auto-parts suppliers also slipped, with Magna International (MGA) and Dana (DAN) each down by 2%. Longtime auto journalist Jamie Butters said on Yahoo Finance's Market Domination (video above) that Ford executive chairman Bill Ford and GM CEO Mary Barra will be meeting with Trump within the week to discuss the new tariffs. Here is some of the early analysis from Wall Street of Trump's new auto tariffs. JPMorgan head of Japan equity research Akira Kishimoto "We calculated that the maximum negative impact of a 25% tariff on Japanese automakers in aggregate to be 4.46 trillion. Among particular automakers, we also estimated that, in light of their high ratios of imports from Canada, Mexico, and Japan, as well as the size of their overall earnings on autos, Nissan Motor would be the most heavily affected company, followed in order by Mazda Motor, Subaru, Mitsubishi Motors, Honda Motor, and Toyota Motor. "There could be a near-term correction in sector share prices in the wake of the 25% tariff announcement, but we can also envision the market pricing in a scenario of the tariff being negotiated lower. Realistically, the imposition of a 25% tariff would inevitably put upward pressure on auto prices, so in our view, a tariff this high probably cannot be maintained. ABC for Health, a public interest law firm, argues that a Dane County health assessment should have addressed the problem of medical debt. (Getty Images) ABC for Health, the public interest law firm, has filed a complaint with the IRS, charging a team of hospitals led by UW Health of falling short of federal standards when they filed a Community Health Needs Assessment required of health nonprofits under federal law. Late last year, the hospitals released their report on the health needs of Dane County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal law requires nonprofit health care providers to file such a document every three years. The December report covered reproductive care, chronic illness, mental health and substance abuse, along with special sections about health concerns for children and youth as well as the elderly. But in 63 pages, the report included no discussion of how the cost of care and medical debt have burdened people without money and hampered their access to the health care system. Bobby Peterson, ABC for Health founder and executive director. (Wisconsin Examiner photo) For Bobby Peterson, that was a glaring omission and on Thursday, Peterson and ABC for Health, the firm he founded and directs, filed a complaint with the IRS, charging the report doesnt live up to the federal laws requirement for a Community Health Heeds Assessment (CHNA). ABC for Health focuses on health care access along with helping people overcome or avoid medical debt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The organizations complaint argues that failing to address that issue in the Dane County health needs document violates the collective responsibility of UW Health and the other three nonprofit hospital systems that produced it. Their insistence to exclude medical debt from consideration during the CHNA betrays many principles and requirements of non-profit hospitals, the complaint states. We maintain that UW Healths intentional indifference towards the medical debt epidemic stems from a value for their own revenue at the expense of their community. That value is at odds with UW Healths duty towards its community. Sara Benzel, media relations manager for UW Health, defended the report Thursday as well as the hospital systems handling of medical debt. UW Health stands behind the priorities identified in the community health needs assessment process, Benzel told the Wisconsin Examiner in an email message. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Regarding the UW Health Financial Assistance Policy, we are proud of the work we do every day to make this support accessible, and the work we have done to simplify the process and lower barriers to accessing financial support. She said the hospital systems financial assistance program is posted online in English and Spanish. The application has been simplified over the years using an equity lens, requires minimal supporting documents, and goes up to 600% of the federal poverty level, well above others in the state, Benzel said. Medical debt critic ABC for Health has been a longstanding critic of hospitals handling of medical debt and has published several reports finding fault with how hospital systems address the problem of patients unable to pay their health care bills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While hospitals have programs for financial help when a patient has no insurance and cant afford to pay out of pocket, ABC has argued those programs are too often needlessly complex. The organization also contends that hospitals financial counselors dont take actions that could circumvent a problem such as helping patients enroll in Medicaid if they qualify. The requirement for a Community Health Heeds Assessment is a little-noticed provision in the 2010 Affordable Care Act the legislation nicknamed Obamacare that has helped drive down the numbers of uninsured Americans since its passage 15 years ago. Nonprofit health care systems must produce a CHNA report for their communities every three years. The IRS is regulating this because they are looking at their tax-exempt status, Peterson said Thursday. And to be a tax-exempt organization, to be able to step away from all the property tax requirements that many of us face, they have a responsibility then to give back. He sees a hospitals approach to medical debt as a direct measure of how they give back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They have a community benefit that they need to provide, and part of that benefit is making sure that theyre providing enough charity care and services to the vulnerable in a community, Peterson said. The 2025-2027 CHNA report, like several previous editions, was the work of Healthy Dane Collaborative, a coalition of the countys four hospital systems: Unity Point-Meriter, SSM Health-St. Marys Hospital, Stoughton Health and UW Health. The reports drafters conducted a survey, collected and analyzed data, met with a variety of community organizations and held focus groups The final report included discussions of health care disparities by race, income and gender. It called attention to the health care needs of the LGBTQ and immigrant communities, including undocumented migrants. Early on, the text of the report emphasized concern for health equity ensuring fair distribution of health resources, outcomes, and opportunities across different communities. Seeking a voice At an ABC for Health symposium Thursday on Medicaid and health care access, Peterson said the reports priorities were good things and were all important. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But what we wanted to see was access to health care coverage, Peterson said, along with a discussion about improving financial assistance policies and better coordination among providers. It wasnt there. Thats not part of what they wanted to give out to the community. Peterson said ABC started reaching out more than a year and a half ago to offer input for the CHNA report. We wanted to make sure that the people that are in the planning process understand what the access to health care coverage needs are, what the barriers in the financial assistance process are, and how can we make it better. What can we do to improve that process? Peterson said. We thought this is a real opportunity for us to make sure that all these issues that we see every day can be put up in this Community Health Needs Assessment process, he added. We wanted our voice and the voice of our clients to be heard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IRS complaint includes email messages ABC Health sent various people about the assessment process starting in mid-2023. In a message Aug. 13, 2024, Peterson told Adrian Jones, UW Health Director of Community Health Improvement, ABC remains eager to engage in Dane Countys 2024 CHNA process. The message asked for updates on the CHNA process and timeline and mentioned that ABC for Health was preparing a report with recommendations to provide input, from the perspective of our clients, to inform Dane Countys CHNA process. In her Aug. 14 reply, Jones invited Peterson to share your report with us. She wrote that we have also held our own community input sessions and survey and have analyzed a lot of quantitative and qualitative data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peterson followed up with an email Aug. 16 that included a half-dozen questions about the data being collected, when and where community meetings had been conducted, whether more community meetings were planned and the timeline for completing the assessment document. ABC for Health is eager to continue engagement with the Dane County CHNA process, Peterson wrote. Please keep us posted about future community input sessions and meetings. Correspondence ends There was no further response, and the Dane County hospitals quietly released the CHNA report in late 2024, without ABCs input that we maintain failed to take into account the perspective of the many communities we represent, the complaint to the IRS states. Unsurprisingly, this report ignored access to health care coverage issues. The report lacks any recommendations to improve financial assistance policies, practices, and processes to equitably serve populations negatively affected by health disparities. It fails to address the impact of medical debt on Dane County patients, the complaint states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It lacks broad community input and instead reflects a hospital-driven marketing piece that ignores and sidesteps Affordable Care Act requirements. ABC was largely shunned despite our multiple efforts over the past 2 years to provide client-based input. ABC for Health released its report shortly after Peterson learned that the CNHA report was published. Its critique was unsparing. Dane County hospitals must do more to justify extensive tax breaks and better serve patients impacted by health disparities, the report states. In 2023, Dane County hospitals spent an average of only 0.7% of their gross patient revenues on charity care. The national average is 2.3%. ABC for Health bases its calculations for Dane County charity care on Wisconsin Hospital Association data, and the national average on a 2022 Wall Street Journal report. Peterson sent a letter reiterating ABC for Healths concerns and the organizations complaint about its lack of input in the CNHA report to UW Healths CEO, Alan Kaplan, in January. He said there was no response. ABC for Health also invited Kaplan and other hospital leaders to the ABC for Health event Thursday. The invitations were ignored or declined, Peterson said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The sudden cancelation of federal COVID-19 funding by the Trump administration is already having an impact on healthcare services in the Twin Cities. The State of Minnesota announced earlier this week that congressionally-approved federal grants worth $226 million had been suddenly withdrawn by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), part of $11.4 billion in funding it's clawing back from states and local public health department as it declares the COVID pandemic "over." But the funding was being used to provide services beyond COVID-19, with the City of Minneapolis using it for free adult and pediatric vaccination clinics that offershots not just for COVID, but also influenza and monkey pox (Mpox), as well as educational campaigns on the importance of immunizations, and updating immunization records for Minneapolis Public School students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result of the funding being pulled, the city said that all the work related to vaccination clinics and vaccine education "must cease immediately." Five free vaccine clinics scheduled for April have been canceled as a result, with the funding also "directly" impacting three staff with the city's health department who were working on the immunization program. As things stand, the "critical" staff are being retained by the city and funded by other sources, but the city is having to "evaluate all options." "The impact on our community is substantial. We are canceling five free vaccine clinics scheduled for April, and the future of our vaccine services in underserved communities is uncertain," said Commissioner Damon Chaplin, Minneapolis Health Department. "Decisions at the federal level threaten public health now and in the future." CDC As well as flu, COVID and Mpox vaccines, the city has also held more than 20 vaccine clinics for childhood immunizations in 2024, with the city saying only 70% of Minneapolis' 6-year-olds are up-to-date on their childhood shots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scene in Minneapolis is being replicated elsewhere in the Twin Cities, withKSTP reporting an upcoming free vaccination clinic in St. Paul has been canceled, along with a pop-up clinic provided by Neighborhood Healthsource scheduled for Anoka County. The Minnesota Department of Health told the TV station that the $226 million cut in funding is likely to result in the laying off of around 200 employees. "Decisions at the federal level are impacting lives and hurting employees dedicated to making Minneapolis a healthy place to live. Their work on our vaccine program has saved lives and prevented illnesses throughout the city," said Commissioner Damon Chaplin. "Eliminating federal support for these positions hurts our community and puts more burden on Minneapolis to deliver our mission to improve the health and well-being of every community member." COVID-19 has killed more than 8,000 Americans since the start of 2025 despite the prevalence of the deadly virus being lower than in previous years. Flu deaths since September have topped 24,000. VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas (KETK) A 43-acre battery energy storage facility started construction in December, but soon, that work could be brought to a halt. Van Zandt County residents file lawsuit over threat posed by lithium battery storage facility The Van Zandt County Fire Marshal has issued an order to Taaleri Energia, the company behind the Amador Energy Storage project, to follow all state fire codes or face the consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, that just tells us what weve kind of already come to know, Van Zandt County Resident Shane Lane said. Lanes ranch borders the land the battery facility is being built on and is currently suing the Finnish-owned company over safety concerns. We run a cow calf operation and they dont have any type of evacuation, they dont have any plans for anything, theres no safety protocol whatsoever for this facility, Lane said. Van Zandt County seeks Trumps support for unwanted foreign-owned lithium battery storage Before construction started at the end of December, the county sent Taaleri Energia a letter requesting the documents required for the facility to be built, but they didnt receive a response until February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I find that very interesting that a foreign-owned entity can come in here with a $90 million project and cant do something as little as turn in a few documents on time, Lane said. Some documents were sent back, but after reviewing them, new Fire Marshal Kevin Palmer said they didnt meet the requirements. Its not because I didnt like them. Its really because they failed some test or because they werent up to standard, Palmer said. This led the fire marshal to request new documentation. Palmer said he felt the company didnt see a reason to be quick about turning in the documents. So, he issued an order to have everything submitted by April 7 and added a condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under no circumstances may any of the batteries enter Van Zandt County until all requirements have been met, Palmer said. Weve run out of space: Van Zandt Co. leaders plan to move out of old courthouse Taaleri Energia now has two weeks to get all required forms, surveys and safety plans to the fire marshals office, or there will be a penalty. When a fire marshal issues you an order, if you fail to comply with that order, its actually a Class B misdemeanor until after the second conviction, and then becomes a state jail felony, Palmer said. Palmer added that the Van Zandt County District Attorney can also file a temporary injunction to halt all construction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its time to let them know that foreign entities are not welcome in this county to build a project of that scale, Lane said. KETK reached out to Taaleri Energia for a statement: Since September 2024, we have been working in close collaboration with the Van Zandt County Fire Marshals Office and will continue to do so, Ville Rimali, investment director for Taaleri Energia said. Project Amador fully complies with all applicable fire codes required by the State of Texas. We have received the request from the Van Zandt County Fire Marshal and will provide requested documentation to ensure compliance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Bloomberg) -- Denmarks foreign minister responded to the tone of US remarks after Vice President JD Vance visited Greenland, the remote and resource-rich Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Denmark is open to discussions with the US, but urged an end to Washingtons hostile messaging. Of course, we are open to criticism, he said in a three-minute video posted on social media. But let me be completely honest: We do not appreciate the tone in which its being delivered...this is not how you speak to your close allies. Speaking Friday afternoon during a tour of the Pituffik Space Base, Vance chided fellow NATO member Denmark. You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland, you have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful land mass, filled with incredible people, Vance said. The scolding came as Greenland formed a government that excludes the hardliners seeking fast independence. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the new prime minister and winner of March elections, has spelled out clearly that Greenland isnt for sale. Vance on Friday said US control of Greenland would be a lot better economically for the islands 57,000 residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rasmussen said Denmark respects the US position that it needs a greater military presence in Greenland. He noted that the US once had 17 military installations and thousands of troops stationed there; the Pituffik is the remaining outpost. We Denmark and Greenland are very much open to discussing this with you, with an open mind, Rasmussen said. He added that Greenland is also part of NATO and covered by NATOs security guarantees, and that Denmark has recently increased its own spending on Arctic defense. Back in Washington, Trump said the US needed control of the semi-autonomous Danish territory for international security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have to have Greenland, Trump said. At the Pituffik Space Base, Vance said the president believed this island is not safe. Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops and in my view to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and from other nations, he said. The campaign has left the 33-year-old Nielsen in an uncomfortable position at the center of a geopolitical battle for possession of mineral wealth as melting ice caps open up shipping routes in a remote and once inaccessible region. The stakes were made clear by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who weighed in on the eve of the visit from the Arctic port of Murmansk to say he was watching the situation very closely and that Trumps claim was serious. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia and US are engaged directly in negotiations over Ukraine and Putins decision to opine on Greenland, given all the sensitivities around it, signposted his own strategic interest in the Arctic as the one-time Cold War foes take stock of their own spheres of influence. Trump himself underscored the strategic importance of the island as he spoke to reporters on Friday. If you look at Greenland right now, if you look at the waterways, you have Chinese and Russian ships all over the place, and were not going to be able to do that, he said. Were not really not relying on Denmark, or anybody else to take care of that situation. This is the charged political climate that Vance flew into. He was joined by his wife, Usha Vance, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright who were originally on the trip, then off, then put back on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement European officials are inherently suspicious of Trumps second in command and his antipathy for Europe. At the Munich Security Conference, he eviscerated the continent and told them they were afraid of their own voters. This trip makes him the highest-ranking US official to visit Greenland. The way he joined the Greenland tour was unusual. It was originally envisaged as a delegation led by his wife, along with Waltz and Wright. It was also marketed as a friendly-family excursion to take in the sights, including a national dog sled race. But Danish and local officials were triggered both by the size of the party and the real intentions of the trip. The backlash led to the group and itinerary being reduced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The end result was an actual upgrade to the scope of the visit one that Vance sought to downplay. He said on on video message that he didnt want to let his wife have all that fun by herself. And at early stops, Vance kept things lighthearted employing an expletive to complain about the below-freezing temperatures, eating lunch with service members and ribbing the bases colonel about her participation in a polar bear plunge. And Trump himself sidestepped a question of how forcefully he would pursue the territory by underscoring the historic ties between the US, Greenland, and Denmark. We get along well with Greenland we get along very well with Denmark, he said. Weve always had Denmark. Theres a lot of business in the United States. We dont do so much there, but they do a lot of business in the United States, and I think they want to see, I think everybody wants to see that work out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But that approach had curdled by a press conference later in the afternoon. While Vance said there were no immediate plans to expand the US military presence on the island, he also discounted allied outrage over Trumps intentions and suggestions that administration officials had disrespected European contributions to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recognizing that there are important security partnerships in the past does not mean that we cant have disagreements with allies in the present about how to preserve our shared security for the future, Vance said. Its not clear theres support within Greenland for the US to seize the island. A poll found that 85% dont support the initiative. But Trump remains unconvinced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont know, Trump said in interview on Wednesday with conservative talk show host Vince Coglianese. I dont think theyre un-eager, but I think that we have to do it, and we have to convince them. --With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron. (Updates with additional Vance comment in fifth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Vice President JD Vance on Friday did not rule out using military action to bring Greenland under U.S. control, but said it wouldnt be necessary if Greenlanders choose to break from Denmark and cut a deal with the United States. Speaking from the U.S.s Pituffik Space Base on Greenlands northeastern coast, the vice presidents comments moderated increasingly aggressive rhetoric from President Donald Trump this week that he would go as far as we have to go for the worlds biggest island. Still, Vance framed expansion into Greenland as a top U.S. security priority, blasting Denmark for failing Greenlands people. We respect the self determination of the people of Greenland, Vance said. My argument to them is I think that you'd be a lot better coming under the United States security umbrella than you have been under Denmark's security umbrella. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, can vote to declare independence at any point, but has resisted doing so since it relies on Denmark to support much of its economy and security. But Greenlands leaders have made clear that they do not intend to trade Denmark for the U.S. The Greenlandic government emphasized earlier this week that the U.S. delegation originally scheduled to meet with Greenlanders, not just Americans on the base had not been invited. What we think is going to happen is that the Greenlanders are going to choose through self determination to become independent of Denmark, and then we're going to have conversations with the people of Greenland from there, Vance said. A recent poll found that only 6 percent of Greenlanders are in favor of becoming part of the U.S. Vance cautioned that Greenland is extremely vulnerable right now and that there is very strong evidence" that Russia and China are interested in moving on Greenland if the United States doesn't. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the president says We've got to have Greenland, he's saying this island is not safe, Vance said. A lot of people are interested in it. A lot of people are making a play. Asked if the U.S. had made military preparations to forcibly take Greenland, he said he didnt think that would ever be necessary, because the rational and good people there would cut a deal, Donald Trump style, to ensure the security of this territory, but also the United States of America. The U.S., the vice president added, is the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Vice President JD Vance says getting Greenland is in the U.S. interest but he argues its also in the interest of the people of Greenland. He says Denmark has let them down. Denmark hasnt done a good job at keeping Greenland safe, said Vance. Vance spoke from the top of the world, Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. President Donald Trump says he wants the U.S. to take it over for critical minerals and international security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have to have Greenland. Its not a question of, do you think we can do without it. We cant, said Trump. Melting ice in the Arctic opened new waterways near Greenland and new opportunities for adversaries the president says. Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia will increase its military capability in that area and China has expressed interest in Arctic oil. Were not talking about peace for the United States, were talking about world peace, said Trump. Greenland is self-governed but considered a territory of Denmark. The Danish prime minister says Greenland will not join the U.S. She said in an Instagram post, You have stood up for who you areand you have shown what you stand for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rhode Island Representative Seth Magaziner, a Democrat, says President Trump shouldnt be able to invade Greenland without a vote from Congress. The American people want Donald Trump and JD Vance to focus on lowering costs and keeping America safe, not trying to take over other countries, said Magaziner. The Vances only visited the military base. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. Vice President Vance in a speech from a U.S. base in Greenland said Friday the U.S. is not likely to use military force in President Trumps pursuit of taking over the territory. Vance also said the U.S. respects Greenlands sovereignty, despite Trumps repeated comments that America would take ownership of the Arctic island away from Denmark. We do not think military force is ever going to be necessary, Vance said in response to a reporters question on whether there are military plans to take over the island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What we think is going to happen is that the Greenlanders are going to choose, through self determination, to become independent of Denmark, and then were going to have conversations with the people of Greenland from there. Vance made his remarks from the Pituffik Space Base, an American military installation that is a critical front line in missile defense, missile warning and space surveillance. It is located in the northwestern part of Greenland. Trump has repeatedly discussed acquiring Greenland, arguing it would strengthen U.S. security and combat threats ranging from Russias access to the Arctic to Chinas attempts to make inroads in the region. We need Greenland for international security. We have to have Greenland, Trump said in remarks from the White House on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance shifted attention to Denmarks responsibility for Greenlands security, saying that the Danes have not done their job in keeping this area safe. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, which criticized Vances trip to the island and has repeatedly said the territory is not for sale. Vance said the U.S. had no plans to expand its military presence on the island and suggested that any change in security in Greenland would be done in consultation with its capital Nuuk. We hope that they choose to partner with the United States because were the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The March election victory of Greenlands Demokraatit party, which advocates a long-road toward independence, signals the islands population is not looking to break with Denmark anytime soon. And attitudes toward the U.S. among Greenlands population of 57,000 are at a nadir. The Pituffik visit was arranged after the White House decided to cancel a heritage tour of the island for second lady Usha Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright amid intense backlash from officials in Nuuk and Copenhagen and an apparent cold shoulder from Greenlanders. Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen called it a positive decision for the U.S. to cancel the tour among Greenlandic society and said there was no problem with having American officials visit the Pituffik base. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vances trip to northern Greenland came while he is under intense scrutiny for his participation in a text chain on commercial messaging app Signal in which officials discussed sensitive information about a planned military strike in Yemen. The group chat inadvertently included a journalist, and has been widely criticized for putting sensitive and perhaps classified information about the military strike at risk. Vance said there will be an update soon on the Trump administrations findings of an internal investigation into the chat but, unprompted, said that no one would be fired for participation in the chat. President Trump has said on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday, and Im the vice president saying it here on Friday, we are standing behind our entire national security team, he said. Vances Greenland trip provided a rare opportunity to spotlight the American presence, 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in one of the harshest environments on the planet for American service members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The temperature was minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit when the U.S. officials landed at Pituffik, and Vance expressed surprise at the chill when joining U.S. Space Force Guardians for lunch. Its cold as s here. Nobody told me, he said. Vance received a military briefing on Arctic security but also learned that service members participate in a traditional polar plunge, diving into the Arctic waters where the temperature never reaches above 41 degrees and are awarded a certificate for stupidity. And let it be known that this task of questionable sanity was accomplished despite near freezing temperatures, the threat of collapsing icebergs and lusty seals, Vance said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alex Gangitano 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. Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Denmark and other European allies during his visit to Greenland on Friday, as the Trump administration continues to push U.S. ownership of the semi-autonomous territory. Speaking to servicemembers at Pituffik Space Base, a U.S. Space Force base on the northwestern coast of Greenland, Vance argued that Greenlanders would be better off being under the protection of the U.S. than under Denmark. Our message to Denmark is very simple you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland," Vance said. "You have under-invested in the people of Greenland and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful land mass." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Days after President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would go as far as we have to to take ownership of territory, Vance made a pitch to the people of Greenland: "I think that youd be a lot better coming under the United States security umbrella than you have been under Denmark's security umbrella." Asked if the Trump administration had plans to expand the U.S. military's presence in Greenland, Vance said there aren't, but said they do plan to invest more resources such as ice breakers and additional naval ships in the area. He argues it's part of an effort to put an end to ignoring encroachment from other countries, which he said the U.S. has done for the last 40 years. Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance arrive in Greenland on Friday. "We cant just bury our head in the sand or in Greenland, bury our head in the snow and pretend that the Chinese are not interested in this very large land mass. We know that they are," he said. Vance was asked by reporters several times whether the U.S. would ever use military force to acquire Greenland and he said he doesn't think that will ever be necessary. The vice president said he envisions that Greenlanders will become independent from Denmark and then he said the U.S. will discuss their future with them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance is traveling with his wife, second lady Usha Vance, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and national security adviser Michael Waltz. After landing in Greenland on Air Force Two, the vice president and his wife were greeted by personnel at the Space Force base. "It's cold as s--- here! Nobody told me!" Vance said in a mess hall on the base as he sat down to eat with servicemembers. Weather websites showed single-digit subzero temperatures at the time. Vance said he's the first vice president to visit Greenland and remarked he had had a "beautiful flight." The vice president said he and his team would speak to officials on base to understand how their work contributes to U.S. national security which has been President Donald Trump's stated reasons for his interest in the U.S. taking control of the Danish territory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Were gonna get a briefing, of course, about, you know, what you guys do every day, and then were gonna talk just about, as youve heard, we have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration," Vance said. He added that the administration and the president specifically were interested in "Arctic security." Trump reiterated his desire to acquire Greenland while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Friday. "We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland. Its not a question of, 'Do you think we can do without it?' We cant." Hours before Vance and his wife took off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday night that he had no problem with Trump's proposed land grab of the world's largest island. Trumps desire to take Greenland has long historical roots, Putin said Thursday at Russias Arctic Forum in Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle. This is an issue that concerns two specific nations and has nothing to do with us. Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Arctic port city of Murmansk on Thursday. Trump has for years stated his desire to take over the territory, two-thirds of which sits above the Arctic Circle, and whose melting ice hides a bonanza of rare-earth elements, oil and natural gas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denmark fully controlled the island for 300 years until it became a semi-autonomous territory in 1953. Although Greenland gained home rule in 1979, Copenhagen still controls its foreign and defense policy and contributes just under $1 billion to its economy. It is a vast, sparse land around the size of Alaska and California combined but with only 56,000 people. NBC News traveled there this week ahead of Vance's visit and locals said they felt betrayed by their giant North American neighbor. Patrick Abrahamsen, 45, a search-and-rescue hoist operator for Air Greenland, told NBC News that his opinion of his countrys relationship with America has changed since Trump took office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres been said some stuff from the administration of Trump, and some of that hasnt been that polite, I would say, he said. The way that theyve just invited themselves, for example, and the way that theyve spoken about Greenland has changed the sentiment up here about how Americans are portrayed and how we look at them. Abrahamsen added that he used to view the U.S.-Greenland relationship as always close, but said, Now, its a different story. Anders Laursen, 41, owner of a local water taxi company, had a similar take. We have always looked at America like the nice big brother to help you out and now its like the big brother is bullying you, Laursen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That anger saw the U.S. delegation's visit vastly downscaled, albeit with the addition of the vice president. Originally intended to encompass a visit to the capital, Nuuk, and with cultural elements such as a dog-sled race, it will now only last one day and be confined to U.S. Pituffik Space Base, which is hundreds of miles from the capital and likely any dissenting locals. One person not raising objections is Putin. He used his speech in Murmansk to detail past U.S. attempts to annex Greenland dating to the 1860s. The Russian leader has often used his own reading of Ukrainian history which experts say is replete with ahistorical inaccuracies to justify his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Scenery in Nuuk, Greenland, on Thursday. On the eve of the visit, Greenland's political parties banded together to form a coalition government following elections there last month, according to local media reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of Demokraatit, the largest party in the legislature, had urged his rivals to put aside their domestic differences and form the broadest possible coalition to resist the prospect of a hostile Trump takeover. That appears to have come to pass, with four of the five parties in the legislature involved in the new coalition, local media reported. During the Greenlandic election, Nielsen, the eventual winner, told NBC News international partner Sky News that we dont want to be Americans. No, we dont want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Paul Atkins, nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, faced scrutiny for potential conflicts of interest during a hearing Thursday before the Senate Banking Committee. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., while questioning Atkins, noted that as SEC chair he will be in a prime spot to deliver for all those clients who have been paying you millions of dollars for years. She referred to Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm founded by Atkins that has served financial institutions including digital-asset firms. Decrying breathtaking potential conflicts, Warren called on Atkins to commit to a higher standard of government ethics. Senator Warren, I have abided by the Office of Government Ethics process, said Atkins, who served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 until 2008. In response to a question from Warren, he declined to say whether, after his confirmation, he would reveal the names of entities that purchase Patomak. Dive Insight: Atkins in a March 20 letter to OGE said that he would resign his position as chief executive of Patomak and divest his interest in the firm within 90 days of his confirmation as SEC chair by the Senate. Atkins also said he has resigned from the advisory board at Securities Inc., a financial services company that tokenizes private funds, and will divest his vested stock options in the firm within 90 days of confirmation. The OGE filing by Atkins left Warren unimpressed. Mr. Atkins has spent almost his entire career helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried, who committed one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history as the CEO of the failed crypto platform FTX, Warren said. It is the SEC job to ensure that our capital markets remain an engine for economic growth and innovation that requires stamping out fraud and self-dealing in our markets so that giant corporations don't scam average investors out of their retirement savings, she told Atkins and the other senators on the committee. Atkins, in opening remarks, said he believes financial companies that deal in digital assets lack adequate federal oversight. Since 2017, as I have led industry efforts to develop best practices for the digital asset industry, I have seen how ambiguous and non-existent regulations for digital assets create uncertainty in the market and inhibit innovation, he said. (NewsNation) Vice President JD Vance and an American delegation are going on a trip to Greenland on Friday, but those from the country have already been protesting the visit. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants the United States to acquire Greenland, which hasnt sat well with those who live there. Its depressing to me to watch the way the Trump administration talks about our allies, so I am frustrated by it, former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford, who served under President Obama, said on NewsNation Now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Social Security requirements call for in-person checks Greenland, Gifford said, would love nothing more than to have a closer relationship with the United States. They would love more American tourists to visit them, Gifford said. They would love more American investment. They would welcome a greater military presence on Greenland. This is why Gifford wants nothing more than for the United States and Greenland to negotiate. Sometimes youre going to agree, sometimes youre going to disagree, but treat them with respect, Gifford said. Frankly, what I have seen from the Trump administration ever since Donald Trump tweeted that he was planning to take over Greenland is nothing but disrespect for our allies. 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 NewsNation. Vice President JD Vance has a new job: erasing what the White House considers improper ideology from the Smithsonian, a task that allows him to cast aside the progressive ideas he has decried since long before he was elected to public office. The vice president, who sits on the museum networks board, has been tasked with slashing funding for exhibits or programs that promote ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy, including those that recognize trans people, degrade shared American values, or divide Americans based on race, according to an executive order President Donald Trump signed behind closed doors on Thursday. Its part of a growing list of mandates for the vice president, whom Trump has assigned to help broker a TikTok deal and push controversial nominations through the Senate, and who acts more broadly as one of the America First movements top communicators and attack dogs. And although the Smithsonian project is comparatively small for Vance, it offers him the opportunity to make headway on his yearslong battle against progressive principles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Smithsonian Institution did not respond to a request for comment. Vance has asserted for years that progressive ideologies, particularly those that posit that the U.S. was built on systemic racism, undercut Americans sense of national pride and contribute to stagnation and despair. Its not about correcting systemic racism or systemic wrong, its about making us easier to control, its about making us ashamed of where we came from, Vance said in a speech in September 2021, nearly two years before he was sworn into the Senate, about what he saw as an American civilizational crisis. In Hillbilly Elegy, the 2016 memoir that launched Vance into the American imagination as a whisperer of the white working class, he wrote that a breakdown of patriotism in the U.S. was, for many people in his Appalachian and Rust Belt communities, like losing something akin to a religion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tie that bound them to their neighbors, that inspired them in the way my patriotism had always inspired me, had seemingly vanished, Vance wrote. In subsequent years, as Vance transformed from a never-Trumper to an America First crusader and Senate candidate, he increasingly blamed that disappearing patriotism on ideologies and frameworks such as Critical Race Theory that were constructed in liberal universities and had seeped into the national consciousness. So often, the systemic racism conversation is a distraction, Vance said on Fox News in April 2021. In a speech in November of that same year, Vance slammed universities for teaching students that this country, built by our fathers and grandfathers, is an evil and terrible place. Ladies and gentlemen, we are giving our children over to our enemies and its time we stop doing it. Its a posture many Republicans have embraced and in recent years, the Smithsonian has been a target of their ire. In 2023, as the GOP-controlled House squabbled over what lawmakers called culture war riders in the governments spending bills, the House moved to slash funding for the Smithsonians planned National Museum of the American Latino after Republicans said a precursor exhibit portrayed Hispanics as victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January, the Smithsonian most of whose employees are federal workers and whose budget comes from federal appropriations moved to close its diversity office and freeze federal hiring. Republicans on Friday celebrated Trumps order. Who else wants the Smithsonian Institution to stop being woke? Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on X. President Trump is restoring patriotism and pride in American history to our greatest public museums and protecting taxpayers from having their money wasted on divisive ideologies, Vances press secretary, Taylor Van Kirk, said in a statement to POLITICO. But Democrats cautioned that the move was an attempt to further control a powerful institution responsible for knowledge dissemination in the country. Trumps administration has already flexed its power against universities nationwide, targeting some it says promote liberal ideology with crippling funding freezes. The Smithsonian has been preserving and sharing the American story for over 175 years, and Ill continue to support the independence of this critical institution, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who sits with Vance on the Smithsonians board, said in a statement to POLITICO. (NewsNation) Vice President JD Vance, his wife Usha and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz arrived in Greenland on Friday, kicking off a controversial trip to the self-governing Danish territory. Vance took the opportunity to slam Danish leaders for their treatment of Greenland during the visit. In remarks while visiting a U.S. military base, the vice president also said Denmark has underinvested in the islands security and demanded changes to the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance trip to Greenland a mistake: Ex-ambassador Our message to Denmark is very simple, Vance said. You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. What started off as a three-day cultural visit is now a one-day stop. The brief trip to the Space Forces Pituffik Space Base comes as President Donald Trump continues to push for the U.S. to annex the mineral-rich island. Speaking from the White House on Friday, Trump doubled down on his push to take Greenland. And right now you look at it, you have warships all over the place going through right along Greenland, Trump said without giving specifics. We cannot let that happen or if its going to happen, we have to be protective of our country and more protection not only of our country but the world. Greenland is very important. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soon after arriving, Vance briefly addressed U.S. troops stationed at the base as he and his wife sat down to lunch with them, saying that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is very interested in Arctic security. He and his entourage, including national security adviser Mike Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, then received briefings from military officials. Denmark cant defend Greenland, former ambassador says Greenlands outgoing Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede said the U.S. delegations visit was planned without any invitations or input from the territory. JD Vance has supported the idea of America owning Greenland and is aligned with Trumps vow to go as far as we have to go to obtain the island for national security purposes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carla Sands, the former ambassador to Denmark and Greenland under Trumps first term, told NewsNation that the U.S. acquisition of Greenland is necessary for the security of the United States and its allies in Europe. This delegation has gotten pushback from officials in Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. Egede criticized the trip before JD Vance announced his participation, calling the U.S. delegations visit very aggressive. The only purpose is to show a show of power to us, and the signal is not to be misunderstood, Egede told the Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq on Sunday. Thats a sentiment Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen echoed Tuesday. Frederiksen accused the U.S. of placing unacceptable pressure on both Greenland and Denmark. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its depressing to me to watch the way the Trump administration talks about our allies, so I am frustrated by it, former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford, who served under former President Obama, said on NewsNation Now. RFK says 10,000 job cuts necessary at sprawling HHS agency Even Russia has weighed in. The U.S. rival has said it will put more military personnel in the Arctic to defend its interests in the region, President Vladimir Putin said at the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk on Thursday. Denmarks TV 2 reported Wednesday that U.S. representatives couldnt find anyone on the island interested in welcoming second lady Usha Vance for a visit. After allegedly knocking on doors across the capital, the trips itinerary was shortened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House team called the story categorically false, according to New Republic reporting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Vice President JD Vance and other senior Trump administration officials were due to visit a U.S. military base in Greenland on Friday hundreds of miles away from any Greenlandic officials or a major civilian population. Vance, his wife, Usha; national security adviser Mike Waltz; and energy secretary Chris Wright were traveling to the the Danish territory as President Donald Trump continues to openly talk about acquiring Greenland. The visit has raised eyebrows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friday's trip is a scaled-back version that was supposed to see the second lady and her son attend cultural events, a dog-sledding race and spend time talking to Greenlanders in the capital Nuuk. The high-powered U.S. delegation revised its itinerary amid a backlash from Greenlandic and Danish officials because of Trump's repeated comments. Here's what you need to know about the scrambled trip and what threatened to be a frosty reception. Why did the U.S. change its Greenland plans? The initial plan called for the second lady to visit the Avannaata Qimussersua, a popular dog-sled race, together with Waltz. But they were not invited by official authorities in either Greenland or Denmark. Officials in both places said the visit appeared like an effort to meddle in the island's internal politics and rally support for closer U.S. ties. Vance goes to Greenland: trip raises questions over Trump bid for island Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede called the visit a "provocation," partly because the territory has not yet formed a new local government after a March 11 election, though a pro-business party that emerged as the winner of the vote was poised to formally announce a coalition Friday, Greenland's public broadcaster KNR reported. What will the Vances do in Greenland now? The American delegation was expected to fly directly to the U.S. Space Force base at Pituffik in the remote northern part of the Arctic island, about 750 miles away from the North Pole. While there, they will receive a briefing on security issues and meet with U.S. service members. It's unclear if one of the Vances' sons will still travel with them. Pituffik Space Base has about 650 personnel. This includes U.S. Air Force and Space Force members, as well as Canadian, Danish and Greenlandic civilian contractors. Vice President JD Vance speaks during a visit to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia, on March 26, 2025. Some Greenlandic and Danish media reports suggested that one of the reasons why the White House downgraded the trip to a single day was because they had a hard time finding locals willing to greet the second lady. One travel agency based in Nuuk said it rescinded its offer to receive the second lady after initially saying it would. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 'No, thank you': Greenland residents asked if they want to greet Usha Vance "After closer consideration," the travel agency based in Nuuk said in a Facebook post, "we have now informed the (U.S.) consulate that we do not want her visit, as we cannot accept the underlying agenda and will not be part of the press show that of course, comes with it." The firm added: Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. There were also protests planned at the dog-sledding race, according to Martin Breum, a Danish journalist and author who specializes in Greenland and Arctic affairs and is currently in Nuuk. He said protesters intended to turn their backs at the second lady at the event Saturday in Sisimiut, Greenland's second-largest city. Why does Trump want to control Greenland? A longstanding defense agreement between the U.S. and Denmark gave the U.S. the right to construct military bases in Greenland and move around the island freely, provided Denmark and Greenland are notified. A man passes a state housing building with an Inuit mural, in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 27, 2025. Trump: Greenland officials invited US delegation. Not true, says Greenland Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Trump says and Denmark rejects the U.S. needs to exert more control over the territory so it can expand a ballistic missile warning system capable of shooting down missiles from American adversaries. Greenland also boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth. There are mining companies operating in Greenland. They are mostly Australian, Canadian or British. The White House wants more U.S. companies to operate in Greenland so they can provide the U.S. with so-called rare earth minerals used in the production of cellphones, electric vehicles and other technology and defense systems. The U.S. currently gets most of its rare earths from China. Who invited the Vances to Greenland? According to his own admission, it was Tom Dans, a former member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission during Trump's first presidency, who invited the U.S. delegation. Dans runs a company called American Daybreak that promotes closer U.S.-Greenland business ties. Dans said the visit would help the Trump administration understand where it could collaborate further with Greenland. USAID cuts fallout: Wasted food, 'free-for-all' ISIS camps, less HIV prevention Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dans was also a sponsor of the dog-sled race, along with the U.S. State Department, according to an NPR report. The outlet said the State Department provided a grant to transport the dogs, sleds and racers by air from around Greenland for the race. NPR noted that the grant, which it reported was in the "range of tens of thousands of dollars," came at a time when Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cancelled more than 80% of foreign aid grants. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Greenland prepares for visit from JD Vance, Usha Vance, Mike Waltz Vice President JD Vance on Friday made the highest-profile case to date for American control of Greenland during a controversial visit to the semiautonomous island, which its residents had resisted and its leaders said was unwelcome. We want to have good relationships with everybody, Vance said during a visit to an American military installation high above the Arctic Circle. But part of having good relations is showing your strength when you have to. It was the clearest message yet to Greenlanders who have been watching with anxiety as President Donald Trump vows to acquire their land one way or another. Vance, who only decided in the last few days to make the trip, said Denmark had neglected its territory and that America could no longer ignore Russian and Chinese alleged designs on the island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our message to Denmark is very simple, Vance said. You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. He repeatedly claimed the island was vulnerable and that the United States had no other option than to ramp up its presence there. Greenland would be better off coming under the United States security umbrella than you have been under Denmarks security umbrella, he said, saying it was the policy of the United States to see changes to the islands Danish leadership. Still, he acknowledged the future of the island should be up to its residents. Yes, the people of Greenland are going to have self determination. We hope that they choose to partner with the US because were the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security, because their security is very much our security, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vances visit was a very different trip than the cultural foray White House officials had originally planned for his wife, second lady Usha Vance. Instead of viewing a dog sled race as she had originally planned, the Vances visited the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, 1,000 miles from the capital of Nuuk. Miles away from any civilian population center, they were greeted by enthusiastic troops in the sub-freezing weather. Its cold as sh*t here! Vance exclaimed when he arrived. Why the VP decided to join the trip What the White House initially characterized as a visit by the second lady to learn more about the culture of the island, quickly became contentious earlier this week with the outgoing leader of the semiautonomous Danish territory Mute Egede describing it as highly aggressive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As JD Vance watched the outrage over his wifes trip grow, he decided to join her, a senior White House official told CNN on Thursday. It was a combination of a little bit of commotion from Danish leaders combined with Vance wanting to go for a while, said the official. I decided I didnt want her to have all that fun by herself and so Im going to join her, Vance said in a video announcing his participation earlier this week. Vances 11th-hour decision elevated the US delegation visit, with the vice president becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit Greenland, and in so doing, traveling further north than any senior American leader has ever gone on an official visit, the White House official said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the shortened trip also carried a more overtly militaristic tenor and kept the American visitors sequestered away from any planned protests. Vances first trip abroad to conferences in Paris and Germany was notable for his tough rhetoric about Europe, a viewpoint reinforced by his texts revealed this week in a private Signal chat about military action in Yemen. His message on this second trip overseas struck a similar tone. The visit to the American military base avoided any potentially embarrassing incidents between the Vances and either members of the public or government officials, many of whom openly spoke out against Usha Vances original plans. Protests had been planned in the capital Nuuk, where about a third of Greenlanders live, and Greenlands second largest city Sisimiut, where the dog sled race is taking place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps talk of annexation and the visit of the Vances has united Greenlanders in defiance, with Greenlanders rallying together to protest, Dwayne Ryan Menezes, director of the UK-based think tank Polar Research and Policy Initiative, told CNN in an email. The Vances clearly realised that if they visited Nuuk or Sisimiut, the strategy would backfire even more than it has: it would be a PR disaster, as all footage would likely feature protestors with placards of the sort we saw earlier this month (Yankee Go Home, and Make America Go Away), and would expose to the US electorate the misinformation they were fed about how enthusiastically Greenlanders wished for Greenland to join the US, he said. The White House official pushed back on that assertion, telling CNN, The itinerary changes had nothing to do with any potential protests. The official argued that Usha Vances original plans were scrapped because her itinerary was not compatible with her husbands schedule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her visit to Nuuk, for example, was off the table because Greenland was still forming its government after recent elections and did not have the officials in place to receive him, the White House official said. Meanwhile, the dogsledding race was in a remote part of Greenland, and installing the vice presidents full security footprint wasnt possible on just a few days notice, they added. A visit far away from anyone Greenlandic Just hours before the Vances were due to arrive, a new coalition government with Greenlands four leading parties was announced Friday, shutting out a staunch pro-independence party that expressed interest in working with the United States. Demokraatit party leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen will be the next prime minister and has urged unity in the face of pressure from the United States. The coalition agreement could not have come at a better time as it will signal to the Vances the unity forged in defiance of Trumps aggressive rhetoric and their ill-timed visit, Menezes said in a statement Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The visit to the space base was less likely to put the Vances near Greenlanders who may be expressing those opinions. Ulrik Pram Gad, senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said that Vance going to Pituffik Space Base from a Greenlandic perspective, is a lot less aggressive, because thats a place where Greenlanders are used to American officials. Its far away from anyone Greenlandic, basically. Usha Vance has largely remained above the political fray since her husband took office, assembling a small team of staff, transitioning her three children to life at the Naval Observatory, and settling into the public role, for which she will have her own platform and responsibilities. Her original visit to Greenland for the dogsled race appeared to originate with an invitation from American Daybreak, a group founded by Tom Dans, who worked on Arctic issues in the first Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a sponsor and supporter of this event I encouraged and invited the Second Lady and other senior Administration officials to attend this monumental race. This visit was always intended to be purely personal in nature and in the spirit of the friendship between our two nations, Dans wrote on X, describing himself as very disappointed by the negative and hostile reaction to the visit. Organizers for the race said they didnt invite Usha Vance specifically, but that anyone could attend. But residents in Sisimiut planned to silently demonstrate her visit by turning their backs to her motorcade, according to Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq. We want to show the world that we dont want to be a part of America, said Minik Lange, a resident of Sisimiut, who helped organize the protest against Vances now-cancelled visit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are also aware that there are a lot of propaganda from the president to the American population that we want to be American citizens. That is one huge lie from him, Lange told CNN. And we see it as a very disrespectful action for the Greenlandic population. All we want is to be respected as a Greenlandic population from all sides. Jakob Nordstrm, who runs a local pilot business in Nuuk, said he thinks Greenlanders were relieved that the original visit to Sisimiut and Nuuk was cancelled. Most Greenlanders welcome tourists from the United States, but obviously this was not a tourist visit, Nordstrm said. American officials have downplayed the role potential protests played in altering plans for the trip. One person close to JD Vance said he had wanted to go to the island since Donald Trump Jr. returned from a visit earlier this year and raved about how cool it was. Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance are proud to visit the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland this Friday, said Taylor Van Kirk, Vances press secretary. The US Consulate in Nuuk declined to comment, referring questions to the vice presidents office. Also part of the delegation were national security adviser Mike Waltz who has been at the center of this weeks scandal over top Trump Cabinet officials discussing strikes in Yemen in a Signal chain that included a reporter and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, as well as Republican Sen. Mike Lee, a vocal supporter of Trumps desire to control Greenland. White House officials have argued for months that the presidents fixation with acquiring Greenland has dual benefits, both economic and for national security. Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric in recent months, insisting his administration will acquire the territory despite Greenland and Denmarks leaders repeatedly making clear the island isnt for sale. We have to have it, he said on the VINCE podcast earlier this week. And I think we will have it. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs Lauren Kent contributed to this story. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Vatican on Friday said Pope Francis' health has continued to improve after his release from hospital. The 88-year-old is still receiving oxygen through a tube in his nose, but at a lower dose, a Vatican spokesman said. Francis is also having fewer problems speaking than earlier this week, the spokesman added. The pontiff returned to the Vatican on Sunday after more than five weeks in a Rome hospital due to a series of respiratory illnesses including severe pneumonia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His life was twice in acute danger, but he has recovered enough to receive treatment at his Santa Marta residence. It remains unclear whether Francis will be able to take part in traditional Easter celebrations next month. He has not been seen in public since being discharged from hospital. At the age of 88, Francis is now the second-oldest pope in history. Born in Argentina, he succeeded the German Pope Benedict XVI in March 2013. European Pravda has analysed the new text of the mineral agreement with the US, which may conflict with Ukraine's intention to join the European Union due to the strict restrictions that significantly affect Ukraine's economic sovereignty. Source: article by European Pravda Details: The article states that in February, a significant problem with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's agreement was the requirement that US companies receive exclusive rights to develop new Ukrainian subsoil, from ore to natural gas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was noted that Ukraine has the right to offer a licence to Ukrainian and European businesses only if no American investor is interested in a particular deposit. Even then, 50% of the licence fee and royalties go to the Fund. This is clearly not compatible with either Ukraine's existing agreements with the EU or with the principles of competition in the EU, which Ukraine is seeking to join. The February version of the agreement resolved this problem, but now it has returned. The text of the new agreement contains severe restrictions that significantly affect Ukraine's economic sovereignty. The document provides for the exclusive right of US companies to develop Ukrainian subsoil and key infrastructure projects. According to the text of the March agreement, US companies would receive priority rights to all future investments in natural resources and infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only if they refuse will Ukraine be able to offer participation to other investors, including European ones. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is obliged to disclose all confidential details of such negotiations to the United States. In addition, the agreement prohibits Ukraine from offering any other investor better terms than those offered to the Americans within a year of their refusal. A separate clause of the agreement obliges Ukraine to add to its licences for the extraction of "critical minerals" a ban on their sale to buyers from countries which the US Development Finance Corporation (US DFC) defines as strategic competitors of the United States. There is therefore a risk that the European Union may also fall under this definition. This would set a precedent where Ukraine, which is seeking EU membership, would have to restrict trade with its European partners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most controversial clause is the one that deprives Ukraine of control over the Fund, which will be used to reimburse the US for the value of the assistance provided: the general partner of the Fund, who will manage its activities, will be appointed by the DFC without the consent of Ukraine; the majority of the Fund's board will consist of US representatives, and their votes will be sufficient to make decisions without the consent of Ukrainian representatives; the two Ukrainian representatives on the board can only try to break the quorum, but their candidacies must also be approved by the DFC; the Fund, which will be financed by Ukrainian natural resources and infrastructure, is more similar to a US organisation. It will pay taxes in the US, not in Ukraine. If Ukraine has any claims or wants to challenge the Fund's actions, it will have to go to court in New York, not the Ukrainian courts. Background: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration also returned to the mineral deal a requirement for Ukraine to reimburse all the aid the US provided after Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the United States had offered Ukraine a new version of the minerals deal which would immediately require ratification in parliament beyond the original framework agreement. On 27 March, he said that there is currently no final version of the agreement on the use of Ukrainian mineral resources with the United States which the Trump administration expects to sign soon. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Apple CEO Tim Cook at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5, 2023 in Cupertino, California. - Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images) Finding a balance between marketing and financial performance typically boosts a brands value, according to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance but in 2025, that value lies in whether a company can strengthen its brand while expanding globally. Politics and economic uncertainty also play roles in a brands value, the U.K.-based consulting firm said, and tech companies, specifically, have been able to find opportunity in that. While the industry attracts colossal wealth and wields tremendous influence, big tech companies are magnets for political intervention, Brand Finance said. Tech CEOs may dream of amassing world-changing power, but not everyone is on board with them actually changing the world. Therefore, its no surprise that tech companies made up eight of the top 10 most valuable brands in the world, according to the Brand Finance Global 500 list for 2025. Here are the top 10 most valuable companies in the world this year, according to Brand Finance. 10. State Grid Corporation of China The central business district of Beijing, China on August 3, 2013. - Photo: Feng Li (Getty Images) Chinas state-owned electric utilities company, State Grid Corporation of China, is valued at $85.6 billion for 2025. The Beijing-based company, which is one of the largest utilities companies in the world, builds and operates power grids in China. It was valued at $71.1 billion by Brand Finance in 2024. 9. Nvidia Nvidia headquarters on May 30, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. - Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images) U.S.-based Nvidia (NVDA) is valued at $87.9 billion for 2025 the companys first time in the top 10. The AI chipmaker is the second-fastest growing brand in the world, and demand for its chips will likely continue to be strong, Brand Finance said. It was valued at $44.5 billion by Brand Finance in 2024 a 98% increase. 8. Facebook The Facebook logo on display at the 2018 CeBIT technology trade fair on June 12, 2018 in Hanover, Germany. - Photo: Alexander Koerner (Getty Images) The Facebook (META) brand, which is owned by Meta (formerly called Facebook), is valued at $91.5 billion for 2025. It was valued at $75.7 billion by Brand Finance in 2024. 7. TikTok The TikTok app displayed on a smartphone screen. - Illustration: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images) Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok is valued at $105.8 billion for 2025, and is considered a high-growth brand due to a 79% value increase over four years. However, TikToks potential ban in the U.S. will likely impact its brand value, Brand Finance said, and could lead to another social media brand growing quickly. It was valued at $84.2 billion by Brand Finance in 2024. 6. Samsung The Samsung office in Seoul, South Korea on August 25, 2017. - Photo: Chung Sung-Jun (Getty Images) South Korean electronics giant Samsung is valued at $110.6 billion for 2025. It was valued at $99.4 billion by Brand Finance in 2024. 5. Walmart A Walmart shopping cart outside the store on February 20, 2024 in Hallandale Beach, Florida. - Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images) U.S.-based retail conglomerate Walmart (WMT) is valued at $137.2 billion for 2025. Currently the largest retailer in the world, Walmart was valued at $96.8 billion by Brand Finance in 2024. Abortion rights advocates rallied in the Capitol on Feb. 13, more than a month before clarifications to the state's abortion ban were proposed. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) FRANKFORT The Kentucky General Assembly has overturned Gov. Andy Beshears veto of a bill meant to clarify the states abortion ban, which some doctors said fell short of that goal. House Bill 90 will immediately add to Kentucky law an itemized list of certain conditions under which doctors can legally end a pregnancy including during hemorrhage, ectopic and molar pregnancies. It will also make it possible for Kentucky to have freestanding birth centers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doctors previously told the Lantern that the bill doesnt clarify the ban for them and causes more confusion about when they can legally perform an emergency abortion. Lawmakers voted to overturn Beshears veto largely along party lines. The governor had said the bill threatens the life of pregnant women in Kentucky. Planned Parenthood called the legislatures override of Beshears veto unforgiveable. Tamarra Wieder, Planned Parenthoods Kentucky director, said it is a a devastating blow to the health and dignity of Kentuckians. Lawmakers had the opportunity to course-correct to listen to doctors, to trust patients, and to put people above politics. Instead, they doubled down on cruelty and control, Wieder said. These power grabs do nothing to serve public health. They are a calculated attempt to cement government interference in the most personal, life-altering medical decisions whether its denying care to someone facing a pregnancy crisis or medical care for trans Kentuckians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kentuckys near-total ban on abortion has exceptions only to prevent death or the permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ. Doctors charged with violating the ban could be charged with a felony punishable by prison. Lawmakers debate In the house, Rep. Lindsey Burke, D-Lexington, said she couldnt support the bill because of the abortion language. Burke has tried unsuccessfully in recent years to reverse the states abortion ban. We cant gamble with another Kentucky mother, said Burke, calling womens lives too sacred to blunder again like we did before. Weve made an exhaustive list in a place where an exhaustive list is unhelpful and limiting, she said. There were so many missed opportunities, and it just does not sit well with me that we couldnt do better for you, Kentucky moms, so Im sorry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, called the new abortion language a calculated attack on womens health disguised as legislative clarity. Rep. Ashley Tackett Laferty of Martin was the only House Democrat voting to override Beshears veto of HB 90. (LRC Public Information) Rep. Ashley Tackett Laferty, D-Martin, sided with Republicans in voting to override. I strongly feel we should unequivocally be protecting the life of a mother in these situations, she said. While very legitimate concerns have been raised by both knowledgeable and compassionate people, I do genuinely feel that this legislation will save lives. In the Senate, Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, said the effort may have been well intentioned, but you cannot clarify what people are allowed to do medically, if you only use totally nonmedical terms that mean nothing to the health care profession. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, said she hopes the legislature works on improving the language in the future. Im glad to see that people want to make sure our laws arent causing pregnant women to die because we dont allow doctors to effectively manage miscarriages, she said. Im glad to see that this body has an appetite to address that serious life or death problem, and I hope that we can continue to work together to address that problem, to save pregnant womens lives, but the way to do that is by making sure that we are including the medical community at the outset, so that we can make sure the language does what were seeking to accomplish. Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, called the bill the beauty of life. Funke Frommeyer has worked on freestanding birth center legislation since joining the General Assembly in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to ending a regulatory impediment to freestanding birth centers, we were able to so clearly articulate some of the significant challenges that come along with pregnancy and natural abortions abortions that you didnt intentionally cause, these unintentional and dangerous situations, she said. Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, called reproductive health an oxymoron when praising the bill. We want to be a pro-life state, she said. And when we talk about reproductive health, thats really just an oxymoron, because health is not ending a life, obviously, and if youre not reproducing, then youre ending that life. So its not reproductive when you talk about abortion rights. Tichenor also said shes had family members with premature birth and ultimate ending of their childs life who were unsure how the abortion ban would affect them. So this brings clarity for women to know that they are going to be protected if their health is at risk and if any of these instances come up and they need to just make the discussions about how they can protect their life, she said. Stivers: A political issue Senate President Robert Stivers speaks with reporters over coffee, March 26, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said Wednesday during a conversation over coffee with several reporters that there had been a lot of misinformation around the abortion ban and he blamed Beshear for contributing to it. Beshear took issue with the new language that he said could jeopardize in vitro fertilization, among other issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think hes trying to create a political issue, Stivers said, saying he believes IVF to be protected in Kentucky. People were saying, oh, theres no exceptions to abortion. Well, thats not accurate. There has always been the life of the mother. And then people were trying to say, Well, what does that mean? Clarify that, what is the life of the mother? Is that physical life? Is it mental health? Those types of things, Stivers said. He specifically wanted to clarify the issue of ectopic pregnancies, he said, since his family experienced that very issue in 2015, years before the United States Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion and Kentuckys ban went into effect. My daughter-in-law had one and had to be terminated, because, if not, she and the baby well, the baby had no chance but she would have been very at risk if they let that go through, Stivers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also admitted there always will be bipartisan appetite in the legislature to add exceptions for rape and incest, and he understand the arguments in favor of them. Despite that, he said, when there has been a heinous act with rape or incest, there is a being created and that being had nothing to do with this, but that being gets punished by the loss of life. Both Republicans and Democrats have tried to add rape and incest exceptions to the abortion ban, but all attempts have failed. Meanwhile, Wieder with Planned Parenthood said the legislatures override made it clear: political posturing matters more than preventing needless suffering, more than protecting medical providers, more than saving lives. VICKSBURG, Miss. (WJTV) The Vicksburg Shipyard will establish vessel repair and maintenance operations in Vicksburg. The project represents a $26 million corporate investment over the next five years and is expected to create at least 44 jobs in Warren County. A subsidiary of Louisiana-based Terral RiverService, Vicksburg Shipyard is purchasing assets and land at the Port of Vicksburg. Vicksburg Shipyard will service most of Terral RiverServices 42 boats and more than 200 barges, as well as service many other maritime companies boats and barges that may have previously gone out of state for repairs and maintenance. Ergon Refining invests $400 million to expand Vicksburg operations Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We believe Vicksburg Shipyard will not only help Terral RiverService operate more efficiently but will help many of the towing companies and barge lines operating in and around Mississippi and along the Mississippi River. Bringing jobs to the communities we live and operate in has always been a focus of Terral RiverService, and we look to continue that with the growth of Vicksburg Shipyard, said Tom Gattle, CEO of Terral RiverService. Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) is providing assistance through the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive, or MFLEX, program. The Vicksburg Warren Economic Development Partnership also is providing assistance for the project. Vicksburg Shipyard will be a shot in the arm for the shipbuilding industry in the State of Mississippi and in Vicksburg. These are good-paying jobs for our community that will continue to build on the strength of our local economy and the areas long term economic strategy, said Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs, Jr. Vicksburg Shipyard plans to begin operations immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. Veterans of the Vietnam War shared their stories during a ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial on Friday honoring those who served. ESCONDIDO, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) The family of a North County teenager tragically killed in a hit-and-run last summer came together Thursday night to honor his memory on what wouldve been his 15th birthday. Dozens of community members, family and friends of Angel Ornelas Ponce gathered at a memorial on Fig Street and Farr Avenue in Escondido to honor the life taken too soon. Thank you for coming. Thank you for remembering him, said Angel Ornelas Sr., the teens father. Its not how the his parents ever imagined celebrating their sons birthday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would be cooking his favorite dish, whatever he wanted, and Id be shopping for him and he would be so excited because he knows its all about him, said Angels mother, Miriam Ponce. Balloons, candles and music filled the street corner in honor of the bright young soul no longer with us. The crowd was bursting with support for a family in mourning. He should be remembered as just a loving person because thats who he was. He cared about everyone that he knew and he made sure that other people were aware of that, said Angels cousin, Haley June McCunn. Its been more than seven months since Angel Jr. was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his skateboard the night of Aug. 8, 2024. It happened near the intersection of N. Fig Street and Millbrook Place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Escondido Police released a picture along with video of a newer gray Honda Civic that they believe may be the suspects vehicle but so far, no arrests have been made. However, this community isnt giving up hope. We are a united community here in Escondido. Lets bring justice for the family. Lets find out as much details as possible so that we can close this case and bring closure to the family, said Consuelo Martinez, Escondidos deputy mayor. The family is offering a $14,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. Meanwhile, each passing day is coupled with an undeniable void. Sometimes I feel like its not really happening. Like Im going to wake up and hes coming in my room to lay in bed before he has to go to school, said Ponce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their pursuit for justice keeps them going along with keeping Angel Jr.s memory alive. He deserved everything everything and its not fair what happened to him. Its not right, Angels mother continued. According to Escondido Police, investigators are still on the case but are not close to making any arrests. Anyone with information is asked to come forward. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SHELDON, Iowa (KCAU) A big birthday is being recognized this year in Sheldon. Village Northwest Unlimited is celebrating 50 years. In 1974, a vision to create a supportive community for disabled adults started to come together, with a $2.5 million project for mentally and physically disabled adults announced. Railroad played major part in Sheldons growth Since then, the Village has continued to grow just recently adding new buildings. Team members share a passion to empower adults with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and traumatic brain injuries to lead active, fulfilling lives aligned with their god-given potential. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats one of the neat things about the Village; its been a very much community-based organization. We have people working out in the community, we have our staff, and we have a big volunteer program, said the Village Northwest Unlimiteds President and CEO Barry Whitsell. One of the biggest ways were part of the community is every year we have an Independence Day celebration. So this years well be shooting off double the number of fireworks in the same amount of time. The fireworks show will part of the Villages 50th anniversary. Plan to be in Sheldon on Thursday, July 3, to help celebrate this great Sheldon tradition. For more of KCAU 9s Hometown Proud stories, 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) Attorney General Jason Miyares is urging Virginians to check if they are eligible for compensation for buying certain generic drugs. According to a release, Virginia recently joined 50 states and territories in an effort to seek approval for a more than $39 million settlement with generic drug manufacturer Apotex, along with a $10 million settlement with Heritage Pharmaceuticals. Miyares states the companies are accused of inflating prices and limiting competition. These pharmaceutical companies conspired to drive up drug prices, harming consumers and jeopardizing our families financial well-being, Miyares said. Virginians shouldnt have to choose between their health and their wallets. I encourage every Virginian who purchased a generic medication between May 2009 and December 2019 to check their eligibility for compensation. I will continue to ensure that all companies operate within the bounds of the law, protecting competitive markets and protecting the interests and wellbeing of Virginia consumers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The release states that both companies, Apotex and Heritage, agreed to the settlements and will cooperate with ongoing litigations and the prevention of further misconduct to ensure fair competition. Those who have purchased the generic drugs listed here between May 2009 and December 2019 are asked to call 1-866-290-0182, email info@AGGenericDrugs.com or visit the settlement website here to see if you are eligible. 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. NEW YORK A Rockefeller Center law firm representing Voice of America and its affiliates is claiming victory after winning a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration, which hopes to silence the broadcasting network thats shared U.S. messaging globally for over 80 years. Andrew G. Celli, Jr., founding partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, called the decision a decisive victory for press freedom and the First Amendment in an announcement celebrating litigation put before Manhattan federal court. Our clients are at the forefront of delivering independent news and diverse perspectives to the world, especially in countries where press freedom and independent journalism are either suppressed or nonexistent, Celli said on Friday. Today, their vital role has been vindicated, and their jobs preserved at least for now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement VOAs suit specifically targets MAGA advocate Kari Lake, who serves as the Trump administrations senior advisor to the acting CEO of the federal agency that oversees government broadcasting agencies. Under Lakes direction, the Trump administration is accused of taking action against VOA because it perceives the organizations journalistic output to be inconsistent with this administrations favored viewpoint and political agenda. Lake, a conspiracy theorist who worked for Fox 10 Phoenix before launching a political career including unsuccessful gubernatorial and Senate runs in Arizona regularly claims without evidence that elections that dont go her way were the result of fraud. Since being tapped by Donald Trump to manage government media for the administration, shes used right-wing outlets, including Fox News and X, to push for the end of VOA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From top-to-bottom this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer a national security risk for this nation and irretrievably broken, she alleged on March 17. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule. VOA broadcasts in nearly 50 languages throughout the world. It began operating in 1942 to combat fascist propaganda during World War II. The Trump White House has called VOAs reporting radical propaganda by journalists it accuses of posting anti-Trump content on social media. _____ Mar. 28AUSTIN Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board (VLB) Chairwoman Dr. Dawn Buckingham introduced the next installment of the series highlighting the VLB's Voices of Veterans oral history program. This week, they highlight the service of Captain Mary Dale who served in the U.S. Army. Mrs. Dale is the current Vice Chair of the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC). She is also an attorney at Deitch Law Offices in Austin, Texas, and a member of the State Bar of Texas, all federal Texas Districts, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Before serving Texas' Veterans community with TVC and serving in the U.S. Army, Mrs. Dale was a high school graduate looking to make a difference for the country she loved. "I was just out of high school. I wanted to be in a job that was honorable. I was very patriotic. I actually applied to the police academy out of high school." Even though she did well on the entrance test, the academy required applicants to be 21 to be considered. In 1989, Mrs. Dale was still in her first year of college when she passed by the Army Recruiting Center and decided to drop in. She learned she could serve her country and pay for college by joining the military. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mrs. Dale's father served in the Army Reserves and several of her uncles and family members served on active duty. Her mother was worried when she joined up, a reaction she understands better now as a mother herself. However, she was determined to serve her nation and would not be stopped from pursuing her dreams. Mrs. Dale served four years in the Army Reserves and four years on active duty. She served as a Legal Specialist in a JAG unit in the Army Reserves and as an Ordinance Officer during her active duty. As a Legal Specialist, she would help compile various legal documents like wills and estate planning documents for Military Members who deployed to the first Gulf War. While training to become a Legal Specialist in the Army Reserves, she met her husband, Tony Dale, the current Executive Secretary of the Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB). In 1993, she transferred to Ohio State University to be with Tony and join the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). She graduated in 1993 and was assigned to a maintenance unit as an Ordinance Officer. Her initial responsibilities were to ensure the unit was ready to be deployed, but they eventually expanded to ensuring the entire division was prepared for deployment. When Mrs. Dale was deployed to Kuwait in 1994, she was the highest-ranking Logistics Officer on the ground. After the U.S. entered a ceasefire agreement, the soldiers were to perform peacekeeping missions on a 30-day rotating basis. However, she described a breakdown in the agreement that changed everything: "While I was there, Sadam crossed into [Kuwait] and broke the treaty, and we turned into a combat operation, Operation Desert Strike, and we ended up being there for six months." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She discussed how the swift transition from a short peacekeeping mission to a more extended combat mission felt and how she stepped up to the situation. "My first thought was, 'We have a lot to do' because we did not necessarily have the resources or the people we needed to be in a combat operation. So, I went into work mode. You do the math and realize, oh, I'm not going to make it home for Halloween or Thanksgiving. Hopefully, I'll be home by Christmas. That unknown was a little unsettling [...] We always knew it could happen, so it wasn't a lot of shock; it was more ensuring that my family and my parents and husband knew what was going on." While Mrs. Dale determinedly took on this altered mission and was unsurprised by the events, it was still stressful to suddenly be immersed in a combat operation. "There wasn't much sleep, so I slept when I could. We were doing LOGPACs [logistics packages] pretty much daily. Thank goodness we did get backfilled with the entire battalion versus the small group of peacekeeping folks that we had, so that was helpful. I was tired because it was so busy, but I was so focused on what needed to happen that I didn't worry or stress too much. When I did, I relied on my faith. I went to church, found my group of friends, and we prayed together and all that good stuff: focus and faith." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keeping in touch with her family was crucial for Mrs. Dale, and she always found ways to contact them, usually by sending letters. However, she remembered a special time when her husband Tony was at a National Training Center and could speak with her on the phone. Mrs. Dale also recalled a unique event on Thanksgiving Day while she was deployed in Kuwait. "The Secretary of the Army came out on his plane, and all of a sudden, all these turkeys arrived. We actually got to eat a real, hot Thanksgiving meal. That definitely helped morale." When asked about the challenges she faced as a woman in the military, Mrs. Dale discussed her experiences with culture clashes and the difficulties of so few female officers being present. "It wasn't difficult with the unit I was in because we knew each other. They knew me, and I knew them [...] It was definitely much more challenging to work with what they called 'third-world nationals' at the time. Folks who would come in from other countries, not from Kuwait [...], and their culture was not to take orders from a woman. That was probably the most challenging part. The other thing was that there were not a lot of other female officers I could bond with. One of the challenges was finding my people to talk to, to de-stress with." Mrs. Dale left the Army in 1997 and took many vital lessons away from her time in the military. She treasures the friends she made and tries to keep in touch with them by seeing them every few months. She said she learned that at 20 years old, she was not, in fact, "invincible." While laughing at her young hubris, she said, "I have a huge respect for enjoying life and perspective because not only do you not want to take things for granted, but every day you're not sitting in 130 degrees or being shot at or threatened, that's pretty cool. So, I try not to sweat the small stuff." Click here to listen to Captain Mary Dale tell her story. ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) Six months after Hurricane Helene hit the region, the Riverside Community Church of Jesus, with the help of volunteers, is making progress on their building after it was majorly flooded. The Watauga River flows right behind the Riverside Community Church of Jesus building in Elizabethton. On September 27, 2024, the river engulfed the building and flooded the inside. That day was a surprise, Ben Johnson, Riverside Senior Pastor, said. We prepared for four inches of water, and we got four feet of water and it come up in maybe an hour, in two hours it was it was all inside the church, going through the church. The church was in the middle of the river. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The inside and outside of the church building received extensive damage. It destroyed everything in the church, Johnson said. We had to take all the sheetrock out, four feet up. Our church pews were destroyed. The carpet in here, everything had to be ripped out. We had, I think, seven 40-foot dumpsters full of our supplies from the last 40-plus years of all decorations, all Sunday school supplies, kitchen, everything was destroyed. A lot of instruments, pianos. Johnson said he didnt know what to do when he initially saw all of the flooding surrounding the church. I asked God, you know, I know I dont have a plan, but I know you do. I got almost instant peace of mind and that [God] was going to take care of it, Johnson said. And [God] has. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the flooding went down, Johnson said volunteers were ready to help. More than 250 volunteers from 30 churches have helped clean up and make repairs at Riverside. 52 pastors that have helped us in some way, shape or form to pray for us or help us with volunteers or monetary help, Johnson said. But weve had an abundant supply of help here from the community and the body of Christ. Thats all God. A group of volunteers helping this week came from Wapakoneta, Ohio. Volunteer Corey Craig said he is blessed to be able to serve others in this way. PREVIOUS: Elizabethton church continues to host hurricane recovery volunteers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive never been on a mission trip before, and I decided to come on this one, Craig said. I am so glad that I could come here to help other people. I enjoy volunteering and helping other people, but this has been so satisfying and seeing other people, helping other people and what God can do is amazing. Craig has experience with construction, so hes able to help other volunteers. Theres a lot of work doing drywall and not everybody knows how to do it. But I feel very fortunate that Ive done it for a living for several years and that was my place here, Craig said. Thats what the Lord brought me down here to do. Because really nobody else had that much experience at that part and we wouldnt be able to do that much here. Craig told News Channel 11 that he and others from Harvest Baptist Church in Wapakoneta are thinking about coming back again in the fall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said its a pleasure getting to work along with Pastor Johnson, who has been doing a lot of the repairs himself. Hes been here with us, hammering nails with us, hanging drywall with us, Craig said. Hes going to after were gone next week; hes probably going to be the one to do a lot of the painting. Hes got to be so overwhelmed, but his spirit is so high. Johnson is thankful for the abundance of support. Its been really an amazing thing to watch the body of Christ rise up and help a small church on the river that I didnt think anyone really knew we were here, Johnson said. What God did, not just helping us rebuild our building, but what hes doing inside our hearts while were building his house is whats the most important thing thats happened here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Riverside congregation was blessed to worship back in their sanctuary just 42 days after the flooding. In the meantime, they worshipped at the Redemption House Recovery Soldiers Ministries building. Overall, Johnson said Riverside still needs prayers. They still have much-needed repairs. That opens the floodgates of heaven to help us, and prayer changes everything, Johnson said. So any kind of donation would help too. Were still lacking in some of our supplies and our nursery needs furnished. It needs the furnishings in there for a nursery and we need some things for our bathrooms, like changing tables to be installed. Just the basic things and monetary help would help too, to buy paint and flooring for our fellowship hall to finish it out and all. To volunteer or help out in any way, you can get connected with Riverside Community Church of Jesus by emailing riversideccj@gmail.com or calling 423-297-2582. They also have donation options below: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. The largest animal welfare charity in the UK and a wildlife rescue team saved 11 ducks from an oil spill. As the BBC reported, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Warsop Wildlife Rescue Team volunteers retrieved the ducks from polluted waters near a business park. The ducks lived in a pond covered in thick, black oil caused by a suspected oil leak in Bilsthorpe, Nottinghamshire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rescuers initially rescued seven ducks and then pulled four more out of the oil-filled water days later. Warsop Wildlife Rescue took in the rescued ducks, washing oil off their feathers and caring for them until they were healthy enough to be released back into the wild. Staff members near the polluted water informed animal welfare groups about the ducks, helped block off areas, and rescued the ducks. Authorities continued to monitor the area in the event additional wildlife was affected by the oil spill. Meanwhile, the Environment Agency worked to clean up the oil spill and is investigating what caused it. Oil spills like this one are concerning because they cause serious harm to marine animals, people who live nearby, and broader ecosystems. Whether an oil spill is large or small, an immediate response can mean the difference between life and death for vulnerable species and long-term health and environmental impacts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oil contains many toxic substances, causing health risks to wildlife and humans who eat seafood. Oil spills also have the potential to impact fishing and tourism industries, thereby damaging local economies. Polluting companies are often to blame for oil spills and held accountable for cleanup efforts and costs. Fortunately, technology is advancing to clean up oil spills to minimize their harmful effects. When concerned citizens take local action to alert authorities about oil spills and animals at risk, volunteer groups can quickly step in to save lives and restore healthy waterways. RSPCA animal rescue officer Daniel Holman said, "This rescue was a great example of people coming together, and it is more important than ever that we work together as a sector to help our wildlife." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Warsop Wildlife Rescue's Glenn Slaney added, "Incidents like this should never happen." 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. (Reuters) -Britain's competition regulator said on Friday five airlines, including British Airways and American Airlines, have offered commitments to resolve concerns over their agreement to cooperate on passenger routes between the UK and the U.S. The group of airlines, which also includes Iberia, Aer Lingus and Finnair, has agreed to give their competitors' slots for take-off and landing at London airports on routes to and from Boston, Miami and Chicago, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. The five carriers together form the Atlantic Joint Business Agreement, which allows them to coordinate their transatlantic flights and make business decisions on prices and schedules. American Airlines and British Airways owner IAG told Reuters that the companies were cooperating with the regulator's review. Aer Lingus was yet to comment, while Iberia and Finnair were not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil , Shashwat Awasthi and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Anil D'Silva) Office of Budget Management (OMB) Director Russell Vought shared his support for workforce reductions at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) while applauding Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his leadership of the agency. No, its fantastic, Vought said late Thursday when asked about the layoffs on Fox Businesss Kudlow. I talked with Secretary Kennedy about an hour ago, and he is really excited about what theyve unveiled today, the extent to which theyve [reorganized] the department, the number of people that theyre able to let go and be able to find efficiencies at HHS. And so, its really exciting what youre seeing, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vought, a co-author of the conservative Project 2025 agenda, has been a staunch advocate and strategic partner in the Trump administrations plans to reduce the size of the federal government. HHS employs around 91,058 people, and Kennedy has identified a way to cut up to 20,000 workers, or nearly a fourth of the workforce. We arent just reducing bureaucratic sprawl, Kennedy said in a statement announcing the layoffs. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic. Democratic lawmakers have vehemently opposed the cuts, citing concerns for public health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a catastrophe for the health care of every American, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said of the effort. Early in Voughts confirmation process, leaders called out his intent to inflict a conservative mandate through government entities. Hes the wrong man. He seems to care little about the needs of American families; at the wrong place at powerful OMB, where his decisions will be felt in every corner of the country; with the wrong agenda the horrible Project 2025, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said from the floor ahead of the confirmation vote. Overall, Kennedy confirmed that HHSs 28 divisions will be consolidated down to 15, and 10 regional offices will become five. He also announced the creation of a new Administration for a Healthy America, which the former independent presidential candidate said will coordinate chronic care and disease prevention 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 The Hill. Walgreen Co. has agreed to pay more than $2.8 million to resolve allegations that it violated federal law by submitting inflated prices for certain generic medications to the Massachusetts and Georgia Medicaid programs, the U.S. Attorney said. The Massachusetts Medicaid program (MassHealth) and the Georgia Medicaid program are jointly funded and administered federal and state programs that cover medical costs, including medication costs, for persons with limited income, U.S Attorney Leah Foley said in statement. The MassHealth and the Georgia Medicaid program reimburse Walgreens pharmacies for dispensing generic medications to beneficiaries using the lowest of four reporting price points. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the four price points is each pharmacys usual and customary price, which is generally the amount of money the pharmacy is willing to accept for a medication on that date of service, Foley said. The United States, Massachusetts and Georgia allege that, between 2008 and 2023, Walgreens pharmacies submitted a higher usual and customary price to the MassHealth and Georgia Medicaid programs for certain generic medications at certain times. By failing to report the correct usual and customary price, Walgreens pharmacies allegedly caused the MassHealth and Georgia Medicaid programs to pay more for these generic medications than they should have, prosecutors said. The settlement resolves, in part, claims brought by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the federal, Massachusetts, and Georgia False Claims Acts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under all three False Claims Acts, private parties may sue on behalf of the government and receive a share of a recovery. 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 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) Sky-high water bills have been draining the bank accounts of many St. Petersburg residents. Some bills jumped hundreds of dollars within the last few months. Sierra Club warns of pollution causing murky water in Kings Bay The dismissiveness and lack of transparency is absolutely insulting, said Noreen McClure. McClure is demanding answers and took her complaints to the St. Petersburg City Council meeting Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes just one of many residents coping with sticker shock after their water bills reached new heights, especially after the storms hit last fall. Due to late fees, its right under $11,000, McClure said. $10,888 for a vacant home. Its a battle McClure has been fighting for months. She says the alarming bills started to trickle in last April. Theres no way that 200 gallons of water ran for a 30-day period and then just halted without anyone trying to correct it, McClure said. At one point, city leaders suggested residents apply for utility assistance, but some say that doesnt address the reason why the bills are so high. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hundreds of citizens are asking questions, said attorney Matthew Weidner. Zero response. Weidner also addressed city council members during the meeting Thursday. The failure to provide basic answers is unconscionable and Im calling upon elected officials to do something real, Weidner said. McClure is now taking her questions to Mayor Ken Welch. She was told that her case will be reviewed. However, her bill has already been sent to collections, and shes worried a lien could be placed on her house because of it. I want an apology, and I want the bill to go away, McClure said. Thats what I want and Im not going to stop until its done. 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. In its latest move to dismantle environmental regulation under the Trump Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it would speed up the process by which industry can bypass provisions of the Clean Air Act and other rules designed to limit air pollution with a simple offer: email us for a presidential exemption. Businesses that would like to avoid complying with certain EPA rules can email the agency with a reason justifying why it should be allowed an exemption and how it is in the best interest of the national security of the United States. According to the EPA website, all emails do not entitle the submitter to an exemption, but the president "will make a decision" based on the merits of the request. The EPA said in a statement to CBS News that section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act "specifically states that the President may exempt any stationary source 'if the President determines that the technology to implement such standard is not available and that it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so.'" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But many in the environmental sector were stunned by the proposal. "This section of the Clean Air Act is designed to protect people from exposure to the most toxic chemicals -- the ones that are dangerous in the smallest concentrations," environmental law expert Michael Gerrard said in an email. "It's shocking that EPA is now providing industries with a simple form they can use to get out of these rules and keep on emitting these harmful substances." For years, heavy industry has abided by rules and regulations set by the EPA to comply with the Clean Air Act, which has often led companies to invest heavily in expensive technology to reduce toxic air emissions, an expense critics have often derided as onerous. So, on March 12, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the "greatest day of deregulation" and said the agency was reviewing 31 rules that, he claims, amount to "trillions of dollars in regulatory costs and hidden taxes." The mission of the rollback is to reduce costly regulations that burden the industry. By reviewing the rules, Zeldin said in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that "As we unleash American energy, revitalize domestic manufacturing, cut costs for families, and restore the rule of law, we do so with the firm belief that America's greatest days lie ahead." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rollbacks were cheered by Republican leaders and industry alike, "The action taken by the Trump EPA today is exactly what needs to be done to secure American energy dominance and restore the communities who have been negatively impacted by regulations and overreach from the Biden administration," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said in a statement. Capito is also the chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the EPA. It could take years for the agency to finalize new rules to reduce the costs of environmental compliance, let alone the legal challenges it will face. In an attempt to fast-track this process, the EPA is offering this unique "hall pass," as some describe the presidential exemption, to enable companies to stop complying now, rather than years later when the updated rules are complete. "Under Administrator Zeldin, the EPA is now the Environmental Polluter Agency. His invitation for companies to put arsenic and mercury into the air if they claim it enhances 'national security' is a vast abuse of the President's given authority," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said in a statement to CBS News. Merkley also sits on the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works and its first priority is to review legislation on air pollution. Merkley's fellow committee member, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), had similar concerns, "Trump and his puppets at EPA are giving the most toxic polluters carte blanche to poison our air," he said in an email to CBS News. " As corrupt as this is, no one can have any confidence that either the technology or national security standards will be met." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Science Committee, said in a statement, "The idea that some obscure, rarely-used provision of the Clean Air Act empowers EPA to grant sweeping exemptions to polluting companies because they send an email is preposterous. It's clearly illegal - no doubt there." Environmental law experts believe the policy will be challenged in court. "I've never seen anything like this before," said Mary Nichols, a distinguished counsel for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA Law School. Nichols says because the statute is so broad, it is subject to abuse. "I think the likely first lawsuit is a blanket challenge to the entire procedure," she said. CBS News asked the EPA if it could explain how all the emails will be processed and assessed, whether each one will be individually considered by President Trump, and how many emails the agency has already received, but the EPA did not address those questions. But sending the email request to the EPA does create a paper trail that companies may want to consider. "This is something that we will fight to make public," said Joe Bonfiglio, executive director of the U.S. region of the Environmental Defense Fund, a prominent environmental nonprofit. "For companies who take advantage of this hall pass, there are organizations like ours who will make sure communities around those facilities know about the requests." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Companies have until March 31 to email the EPA with the required information for the president to consider. Hegseth reacts to Atlantic releasing his Signal texts to Trump team detailing Yemen bombing Hegseth doubles down on Signal chat texts not being "war plans" Former National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster reacts to Trump administration leak TUPELO With the primary election just days away, residents of Ward 7 are primed to choose between an incumbent vying for her second term and the candidate from whom she previously wrested the seat. Former Tupelo City Council member Willie Jennings will face incumbent Rosie Jones in the Democratic primary elections on Tuesday in an attempt to reclaim his seat. Jennings previously served three terms as Ward 7 councilman. Jones seeks to continue the momentum she gained into a second term. The Ward 7 race is one of five of a total of seven that will be decided during the primary. Other council races that will be determined next month include those in Ward 2 and Ward 4, which have multiple candidates from the same party, and wards 1 and 6, which have incumbents Chad Mims in Ward 1 and Janet Gaston in Ward 6 who are running unopposed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ward 7 is bounded by Thomas Street and Coonewah Creek in the west, Highway 6 and Green Tee Road in the south, South Gloster Street in the east and Green Street, Cliff Gookin Boulevard and Holmes Street in the north. Jennings touts prior accomplishments, looks to retake position Jennings moved to Tupelo 49 years ago and has lived in Haven Acres since 1977. He said he has been active in the neighborhood since moving there, going through its annexation and years of growth before being convinced to run for public office. On his third attempt, he was elected in 2009. Im the type of person that likes to be a part of solving problems, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After working in both manufacturing and independently as a painter and repair man, Jennings has been partially retired for 25 years, managing rental properties. Before being elected, he said he was highly involved in the community and assisted in the building of the community center that now houses the Boys & Girls Club. That was one of the first things we accomplished that people said we couldnt accomplish, Jennings said of the community center. It is still a beautiful building. One of the first projects he said he was proud of in his tenure was championing significant sewage upgrades for Haven Acres. At the time, he said, the area was backed up with raw sewage. We went on years trying to get help ... and we werent getting anywhere, he said. That was the No. 1 thing I said I would tackle When I brought it up, my colleagues were on board right off. We were able to get a 50/50 match. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Touting his previous efforts to bring cameras to Ward 7 parks, a storm shelter, splash pads, and being a driving force in getting body cameras for police officers, Jennings said his success in getting sewage upgrades to the area gave him motivation to do more, canvasing his neighborhoods for long-term and short-term goals. On cameras, Jennings said getting permanent cameras to Theron Nichols Park did a lot to increase safety in the park. Before he left office, Jennings noted Tupelo had a program in which teenagers could work for the city's various departments. Jennings hopes to restart that program, which placed young adults in all departments to learn about their workings from the fire and police departments to Tupelo Water & Light and the Public Works department. I feel like if I was still in office, that program would still be going, he said. I want them to see something better Right now, we have two full-time firemen that came through that program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To Jennings, Ward 7s continued growth has been a top priority, through safety upgrades, infrastructure improvements and quality-of-life updates. I want to continue the work I had started from the time I left office, he said. Jennings also noted he wants to expand the citys public transportation system, noting that the system helps those unable to drive travel to important places, such as the doctors' office or to their place of employment, at affordable rates. Affordable housing is also something Jennings hopes to tackle, noting that he previously played a role in the demolition of the apartments along Ida B. Wells Street and the construction of 78 homes in their place. He also said he hopes to further support Northeast Mississippi Habitat for Humanity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On homelessness, Jennings said he wants to enhance the relationship with Mississippi United to End Homelessness to further support homeless individuals seeking help. Jones wants to continue advocating for her area, learn about new residents Jones, a registered nurse, is finishing up her first term in office and hopes to secure her second, noting that there are many unfinished projects she wants to see completed. She said she wants to better learn about the area she obtained following the recent redistricting. The new area includes portions of Holmes Street, Thomas Street and the area surrounding the West Main Walmart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everyone heard me and knows my stance on communities being first let's tax some of their tax dollars and bring up all neighborhoods to par and make sure all of them have quality of life, she said. Trying to bring (neighborhoods) up to a standard where it does fit into the city of Tupelo. Kind of like, No neighborhood left behind. Though Jones said it was a rocky start when she joined the council in 2021, she now believes there is an understanding between her, the council and the administration that has led to significant progress for the city and her ward in particular. She noted that her focus is not on private projects but on community-driven ones. I think we are getting there, but the first step is, See something, say something. she said. I am going to continue to stand up and fight for Ward 7 and all neighborhoods in Tupelo because I work for the city. One of her specific goals is to continue cleaning up neighborhoods in Ward 7 through litter cleanup, drainage work and other safety upgrades, such as more cameras in public areas. She noted that sewer and drainage were a high focus in her last term with the American Rescue Act funding injecting life into the aging systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im grateful, and Im proud, and I have seen a lot of progress in helping the underserved area, she said. Something else Jones hopes to accomplish with the council and mayor is placing more minority candidates in department positions, noting that shes felt many are overlooked for other individuals. Jones said she prefers department heads and city leaders to be from the area and move up the ranks rather than come from outside the city. With the campaign, Jones said she has canvased the newly added areas of her ward. She said she believes it needs more attention and hopes to give it just that in a potential new term. I think that area will be first on my list for this term, all while looking at a playground area for the Haven Acres kids, she said. I would like to tie the whole ward together so we can communicate You dont have to know everybody, but you should know your neighbors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Increased code enforcement, encouraging homeownership, beautification, cameras and lighting are all goals for the new portion of Jones' ward. I will be the bridge between the community and the city to help you better take care of your kids and help you better with resources because we have to know what is happening to be able to throw out a lifeline, she said. HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) The Washington Police Department announced the arrest of an Evansville man following an investigation into an alleged sexual assault on a minor. According to a post from the police departments Facebook page, Jonathan Thomas, 24, allegedly sexually assaulted a child that was left in his care at Eastside Park. Thomas was located at his home in Evansville and taken into custody. Thomas is charged with felony child molestation. 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). TOPEKA (KSNT) Capitol Police are on standby in preparation for a Black Mass demonstration and counter-protest by a Kansas Satanic organization and other religious groups on Friday. 27 News will be covering the events as they unfold. Catholics and Christian groups across the state are responding to the satanic ritual on March 28. Theyre hosting the counter-protest on the south steps of the capitol. The Black Mass will be on the east side. Tradition Family and Property of America is hoping for hundreds if not thousands across the state to come out and support. Capitol Police and the Kansas Highway Patrol are expected to be on high alert. As of 9 a.m. on March 28, dozens of Capitol Police and KHP cruisers are providing support in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Vice President Vance and second lady Usha Vance are in Greenland on Friday as the White House deals with backlash over President Trumps proposal for the U.S. to purchase the island territory from Denmark. Vance gave remarks to U.S. troops at Pituffik Space Base on the northwest coast of Greenland. White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, who has been under scrutiny following controversy around a Signal chat breach, was also on the visit to the Arctic island. Greenland and Danish officials alike have argued against the acquisition and denounced the visit. Greenland Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede called Waltzs visit in particular highly aggressive and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called it an unacceptable pressure and vowed resistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The event was scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. EDT. Watch the video replay 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 The Hill. President Trump hosted the annual Iftar dinner, a feast of breaking bread common for Muslims during the month of Ramadan, at the White House Thursday evening. The dinner came as war rages in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas after a fragile ceasefire, brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, was halted in Gaza as Israel pushes the Palestinian militant group to release hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on its southern border. The White House is also under pressure after a Signal group chat with top Trump administration officials about recent strikes in Yemen inadvertently included a prominent journalist. The breach has prompted concerns about national security and whether the information was classified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The dinner was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. EDT. Watch the video replay 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 The Hill. The UKs car and commercial vehicle production registered an 11.6% decline in February 2025, compared to February 20244, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This marks the 12th consecutive month of decline in car manufacturing. The decrease to a total output of 82,178 units represents a reduction of 10,787 vehicles compared to the same period a year ago, influenced by factors such as subdued local and international markets, model transitions, and plant restructurings. In a press statement, the SMMT said: The overall performance reflects the challenges the sector faces globally. Measures are needed urgently to bolster the UKs competitiveness and drive consumer demand. Despite the overall downturn, exports continued to dominate production, with more than 80% of vehicles manufactured in February destined for international markets. Export volumes saw a slight increase of 1.3%, totalling 60,034 units. However, production for the domestic market plummeted by 33.3% to 13,780 units. The European Union remained the UK's largest car export destination, accounting for 53.5% of exports, followed by the US (19.7%) and China (6.3%). While exports to the EU and China saw dip of 9.6% and 10.9% respectively, exports to the US rose by 34.6%. Turkey and Japan also saw substantial growth in exports from the UK, with increases of 75.5% and 119.2%, respectively. However, car production for the UK market saw a significant reduction of 33.3% to 13,780 units. Production of electrified vehicles, including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid cars, dropped by 5.6% to 27,398 units. These vehicles, however, have increased their production share year-on-year and now represent 39.6% of the total output. The decrease in electrified car volumes is less pronounced compared to the overall production decline. Commercial vehicle (CV) production experienced a more severe downturn, falling by 35.9% to 8,364 units, largely due to a reduction in van production. This follows an exceptional performance in February 2024, which was the best since 2008. Domestic demand drove CV output, with a 55.2% share and a significant increase in units produced for the UK market. Conversely, CV exports plummeted by 62.7% to 3,743 units, with the vast majority destined for the EU. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: These are worrying times for UK vehicle makers with car production falling for 12 months in a row, rising trade tensions and weak demand. The market transition is not keeping pace with ambition and, while the industry can deliver growth and green growth at that it needs policies to deliver that reality. COURTESY PHOTO Hannah Springer COURTESY PHOTO Hannah Springer Gov. Josh Green has reversed course on a controversial path to fill a state water commission seat reserved for a traditional Native Hawaiian water management expert. Green on Thursday appointed Hannah Kihalani Springer to fill the special seat on the Commission on Water Resource Management after twice previously passing her over in moves that led to litigation. Springers appointment was effective immediately, though she is subject to confirmation by the state Senate to serve a full term through June 30, 2028. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green informed the Senate of his appointment in a memo Thursday, and in a news release praised Springer for work championing the integration of traditional knowledge and community voices into decisions affecting land and water in Hawaii. Hannah Springers lifelong commitment to aina (land ) stewardship, cultural wisdom and public service makes her an invaluable addition to the Commission on Water Resource Management, Green said in a statement. Her perspective will help ensure that our approach to managing water resources reflects the values and priorities of Hawaiis people and places. I am proud to appoint her to this important role. Springer is a former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee who also has served on numerous advisory councils, nonprofit boards and state commissions, including the Hawaii County Planning Commission, the Ka upulehu Marine Life Advisory Committee, the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests and the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. In a statement, Springer, who is from Kaupulehu on Hawaii island, said she looks forward to bringing the sensibility of a kamaaina of a water-scarce and fire-prone region, to the work of the commission if confirmed. By picking Springer, Green appears to have defused litigation over how he handled the selection process for a unique position. The seven-member commission attached to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources governs the state water code, which can include determining how the public-trust resource is divided by competing interests such as developers, industrial agriculture, small farmers and natural ecosystems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One seat on the commission, sometimes referred to as the loea, or expert, seat, must be occupied by a person who has substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques, including riparian use. In February 2024 a nominating committee sent Green a list of four candidates to succeed Neil Hannahs, who was leaving June 30 after completing two four-year terms. Green, however, declined to make an appointment after two candidates withdrew, leaving Springer and Lori Buchanan as his remaining choices. State law governing commission selections requires that the nominating committee give the governor a list with at least three candidates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governor claimed that by law he needed at least three candidates from which to choose a new commission member, so he requested that a new selection committee be formed to recommend at least three more candidates. After the commission solicited new applications in September, about 70 Hawaii environmental and Hawaiian cultural organizations expressed concern in a letter to Green about his candidate list do-over. The new committee submitted a list of three candidates, one of whom was Springer. In October, Green appointed V.R. Hinano Rodrigues, a Native Hawaiian from Maui who grows his own taro and previously served as the History and Culture Branch chief at the State Historic Preservation Division of DLNR. A group of Hawaii residents responded in January by filing a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the appointment of Rodrigues and force Green to pick from the two leftover candidates from the original list. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit, filed by environmental law firm Earthjustice on behalf of community group Hui Kanawai Oia i o, in part contended that Green unlawfully circumvented state law because he didnt want to appoint Springer or Buchanan, a former chair of the Molokai Planning Commission. The lawsuit cited a Hawaii News Now interview in which Green referred to Springer and Buchanan as great people who would bring an ideological perspective that was going to cause chaos amid an effort to find compromises between competing interests that include restoring streams and building homes. On March 11, DLNR announced that Rodrigues had resigned and that new applications to be reviewed by a new nominating committee would be sought. On Thursday, Earthjustice attorney Harley Broyles thanked Green for selecting Springer instead of pursuing a second do-over list. We are happy that the governor has finally made a lawful appointment, she said. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) In south Middle Tennessee, the Duck River is considered to be one of Tennessees hidden gems and is one of the most biodiverse rivers in North America. But it also supplies water for a large part of the area, and with all the growth in the region, its future is at stake. So, last November, Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order to preserve the Duck River and ensure its long-term sustainability. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts One of the clauses in Governor Lees executive order directed the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to evaluate large-scale engineering projects that could include a pipeline to bring water to the area. On Monday, Commissioner Jim Bryson with the Department of Finance and Administration briefed the Tennessee State Senate on beginning funding for a possible pipeline to bring water from the Cumberland River to the Columbia area and the surrounding region. Courtesy of the State of Tennessee This is one hundred million dollars that is seed money toward about a one-billion-dollar water project that would connect the Cumberland River to southern Middle Tennessee, Bryson explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The seed money Commissioner Bryson referred to is sort of like a down payment, showing that the state is serious. As you know, southern Middle Tennessee is growing very rapidly, Bryson continued. And theres a lot of need for more and more water as the region grows. The Duck River is currently the source of water for that region. The Duck River will not be able to support that region for the long term, and theres going to need to be a separate water line. Gov. Lee pledges $100 million to help preserve the Duck River There is a plan on the table to bring a water line from the Cumberland River down to the Columbia area to serve that entire region, Bryson said. The benefit of that is not only that it provides the opportunity for economic growth in that region because of the infra-structure and the utilities and the water that is there, but it also will serve to take pressure off of the Duck River and preserve one of Tennessees treasures which is the Duck River, which as you know is one of the most biologically diverse rivers in the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commissioner Bryson wanted to emphasize that this pipeline would benefit the entire region. So, theres been some confusion that this is simply for the Duck River, and I want to stress that what this really is, this is about getting water to that region, Bryson said. With this seed money, we will work with the utilities to develop the pipeline, and they will come up with the additional funds to be able to complete it and serve that region. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WATERBURY, Conn. (WTNH) It is a disturbing case that sent shockwaves through Connecticut and beyond. Waterbury stepmother Kimberly Sullivan is accused of holding her stepson captive for decades in a house on Blake Street. Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo spoke to News 8 in his first sit-down interview about the case, which he called, One of the worst treatments of humanity that I have witnessed in 32-plus years of law enforcement work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And to think that it was allegedly committed by a guardian, a step mother, someone that was responsible for the care of a minor is really hard to get your head around. Spagnolo noted how the night of the fire rescue on Feb. 17 was a chaotic scene. It was right at that moment that the evolution of this case began with statements from the victim to the first responding officers, Spagnolo said. I give those officers a lot of credit for not discounting what the victim was saying at that time. The alleged victim, a 32-year-old man weighing only 68 pounds, allegedly risked his life for freedom, by setting the fire. Early in the investigation, the chief says he walked thru that house, and described the small room the young man was held in since he was 11 years old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a very small room on the second floor of the house, almost a storage area almost, Spagnolo said. More so than a bedroom, but it was being utilized as a bedroom. Spagnolo continued that the vision that still sticks out the most are the exterior locks that were on that room. You could witness the evolution of the locks, he said. There were remnants of locks that had been replaced, maybe through the years, through time for sure. Up unto the current lock, which was a sliding deadbolt which was just shocking. Spagnolo shared how investigators built a rapport with the victim, and described how he was during the police interview, and how he is doing now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was very pure, very innocent, very truthful, Spagnolo said. Hes doing quite well, physically. His physical and medical needs are being cared for. That being said, hes got a long road ahead of him to really cope with his isolation, the decades of life that he missed and that learning experience. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) had reportedly been involved with the victim before, in the early 2000s. DCF initially released a statement to News 8 saying they had no records related to the family. However, the chief had new information. I have been made aware that there are old records that have been located at this point, Spagnolo said. Those records are still being gone through by the commissioners office and legal staff at DCF. Sullivan, the main suspect in the criminal case is due back in court Friday 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 WTNH.com. House GOP leadership are reviewing a tense confrontation between Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, and Rep. Andrew Farmer, R-Sevierville, during a committee after Pearson charged at Farmer after a heated conversation over a gun reform bill. The incident occurred after Farmer jabbed Pearson for his absences at the Capitol this year, as the Memphis lawmaker has spent time in his home district handling family matters in the aftermath of his brother's sudden suicide in December. One member of Tennessee's congressional delegation called for Pearson's expulsion after video of the confrontation began to spread, though House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, appeared to brush off the charged comments and did not echo the same rhetoric. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pearson returned to Nashville and presented a bill to end permitless carry of firearms. In presenting the bill, Pearson suggested lawmakers haven't done enough work to address gun violence in Tennessee. We have the power to do something about the gun violence epidemic and we dont just have to offer some empty thoughts and prayers, Pearson said. Farmer retorted that Pearson has not been around to do work this year. I know every member in this committee has been here this year working during committee, during session, voting on bills. And I know you may have some things going on, but you have not, Farmer said. I dont think its fair for you to come in front of this committee and lecture us on hard work and convictions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pearson bristled at the accusation. Rep. Justin Pearson D- Memphis speaks to the crowd after representatives voted on HB 739 in a committee hearing at Cordell Hull State Office Building in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, March 26, 2025. "It is a pathetic excuse for you to not answer the question of why we are doing nothing about the gun violence epidemic, then to personally attack me. But let me explain to you what I have been doing, representative, since you asked," Pearson said. "My brother, Timphrance Darnell Pearson, one of the loves of my life, passed away from gun suicide on December 1st of 2024. Since that happened, its shattered my family like gun violence has shattered so many families." Pearson continued on, his voice rising in volume, to outline the family responsibilities that followed his brother's death, including handling school duties for his nephews and addressing their mental health needs. Once Pearson was eventually cut off, he began to leave the committee room but instead swerved to quickly climb the dais where Farmer was sitting, jabbing his finger in Farmers face while yelling at him. House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, got between the two until sergeants at arms intervened. Pearson left the committee shortly after. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to The Tennessean, Farmer said he will continue to pray for Pearson, and he hopes Pearson finds peace and healing." There is not a single member of our body who doesnt have tremendous sympathy for Rep. Pearsons loss. Every one of us has struggled with personal tragedy at some point and we have all offered grace and compassion while he took these last few months off to grieve, Farmer said. Unfortunately, on his first day back, Rep. Pearson took the first available opportunity to attack and demean his colleagues and then attempted to confront me physically. Its not the first time that Farmer has criticized Pearson. During expulsion proceedings in 2023, Farmer encouraged colleagues to expel Pearson after the then-freshman lawmaker launched a gun reform protest on the House floor, describing his actions as a temper tantrum with an adolescent bullhorn. Rep. Martin Daniel, left, Chairman Mike Carter, center, and Rep. Andrew Farmer confer about a bill that would allow school employees to carry guns Wednesday, Feb. 28 2018, at the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville. On Thursday, House Republican leadership denied Farmer made an innapropriate comment and commended Farmers patience during the incident. Though leadership didn't appear interested in taking the incident further, House GOP Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison suggested Pearson may be intentionally provoking Republican colleagues as a publicity stunt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Faison, R-Cosby, said Pearson has been "out and about" at Shelby County school board meetings and other locations. He's been out and about. My question to him would be, are you hoping to get kicked out? Youre traveling all around America and you finally come here, and the first time youve been here other than being sworn in, you want to act a fool and charge the dais and get in somebodys face like youre going to hurt him? Faison said. Its almost like he wants to victimize himself and inflict a wound on himself behaving in such a way. In a statement, Pearson hit back at the suggestion he hasn't been doing his job, noting he has been fully engaged with local leaders and constituents in Memphis during his excused absence in Nashville. "I took issue with how Rep. Farmer mischaracterized my service and commitment to the people who elected me," Pearson said. "Not being physically present in Nashville this session does not mean I have shirked my responsiblities as a state representative. To the contrary, I have been in my district serving my constitutents every day." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Democrats on Thursday defended Pearson, with Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, noting the Pearson was "suddenly thrust" into balancing parental duties like school meetings and extracurricular activities with his legislative job. I wish calmer heads would have prevailed, but imagine somebody being in that situation, McKenzie said. For Rep. Farmer, who has already had previous conflict (with Pearson) during the Tennessee Three debacle, for him to come at him with such a hurtful statement, I think is reprehensible. Members of Tennessees congressional delegation lashed out at Pearson earlier, with U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Kingsport, calling Pearson a extreme leftist and an embarrassment to the great State of Tennessee." Harshbarger also falsely claimed that Pearson tried to attack Farmer, in a response to calls for violence from Democrats across the country. In response to inquiries from The Tennessean, a spokesperson for Harshbarger said Democrats across the country have resorted to violence at every turn whether by calling for it or outright acting on it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, called for Republicans to kick him out. Burchetts office did not respond to questions from The Tennessean. Sexton did not echo the delegation's comments on Thursday, though he said he did not feel Farmer's comments were directed at Pearson's family. "They're entitled to their opinion, the congressional delegation, whatever they want to say. We're going to keep looking at it, review it," Sexton said. "I know there's a lot of claims that something was mentioned about family and so forth. But everything I've seen, there's been nothing mentioned that Rep. Farmer said about family. I just think that when people are going through emotional distress, it may lead to behavior that may be a little bit different." Senate passes bill requiring schools to teach success sequence: graduation, job, marriage, children Senate Republicans passed a bill to require school-aged children be taught the social and economic benefits of following a success sequence as part of the states family life curriculum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Widely accepted in conservative circles as a formula to avoid poverty, the success sequence recommends students accomplish certain life milestones in order: graduate high school, join the workforce, get married, and have children. Sen. Janice Bowling, R- Tullahoma stands in the Senate chambers on the third day of special session at the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. Senate Bill 471 passed along party lines Thursday. Its sponsored by Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, and Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, and is up for consideration in the House Education Committee. Bowling argued that statistics show children raised by married parents are twice as likely to graduate from college than children from single-parent households. Meanwhile, children from single parent households are twice as likely to go to prison before 30 years of age, and three times more likely to live in poverty. If its in your purview to get married, then you need to get married and then have children, Bowling said. But [the bill] certainly does not create the requirement that you get married. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, called the bill a step too far. I graduated from high school, obtained my law degree, entered the workforce, and did not complete the last two steps, marriage or children and I still think that Im successful, Akbari said. I dont understand why its important to incorporate this level of indoctrination into our schools. Sen. Raumesh Akbari D- Memphis raises her hand to speak during the third day of special session at the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, said after the bill passed that while "nothing is absolute," the sequence is "known to be successful for helping people move through socio-economic strata." "Delaying some of these behaviors until later in life has been proven in social science helps people be much more successful," Watson said. "I was surprised to see the Democrats arguing against that." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, who is a single mother and the daughter of a single mother, called the bill a misguided and very offensive effort to make kids feel bad about what situation they were born in, or what situation they choose to go into. Sen. London Lamar D- Memphis, speaks on the third day of special session at the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville , Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. Being a single parent doesn't preclude your children from being successful, while the path may be a little bit harder, Lamar said, adding that she knows many children from two-parent households who are unemployed or even in jail. [Marriage] Is not a for-sure indicator of a child's success. It's about the mentality of the parents, not the status of their relationship. I'm living proof that this bill has no merit, she added. Bill to cut candy, soda from SNAP dead for the year Candy and soft drinks will remain available in Tennessees food aid program for another year, as a bill seeking federal permission to exclude those products from food assistance programs is dead for the year. Soda is one of the most frequently bought items in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and about 11% of dollars in the program nationwide are used to purchase sweetened beverages and candy. Tennessee House Republicans passed a bill earlier this month to ban candy and soda from the SNAP program, but members of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to delay the bill until next year. Sen. Becky Massey, R- Knoxville, gives her reasoning for supporting an immigration bill during the third day of special session at the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. It is something that I think weve got to do more on, but I think right now wed be picking winners and losers, said Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knoxville, adding that the state should wait to see what actions are taken on the federal level. Child care bill bumped Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, hoped to present a child care facility bill on the Senate floor on Thursday. But she said she was asked to bump it off the calendar to accommodate a nearly identical bill from a Republican chair, a request that clearly exasperated the lawmaker who has filed extensive legislation to address what she calls a child care crisis. "Even when we try to work together, they want to bully us and block us at every time. Where is the bipartisanship, when we do have good ideas that we agree on," Oliver said. "It's just about whose name gets put on it." Senate Bill 1014 would allow certain child care facilities to lease unused or vacant public school property, an effort Oliver said is necessary to help child care facilities lower costs while grappling with skyrocketing rent and mortgage costs. The bill had received bipartisan support through committee, but it was bumped back to Calendar Committee on Thursday morning. Though Oliver did not name the GOP senator who requested she delay her bill, Watson is running a nearly identical bill that is awaiting a Senate floor vote. Oliver said she wanted to be a "team player" and acquiesced to the request, but she has no plans to kill her bill until she see how the similar bill, SB 1379, advances. But Oliver said she wanted to highlight the situation to counter a narrative that Tennessee Democrats "aren't doing anything." "We just can't get our bills out of committee, out of the floor, to even have the debate, because we are even blocked from working on good bills," Oliver said. "I just think it's unfortunate." $10M for AI initiatives would be preparatory money Gov. Bill Lee requested $10 million in new funding to implement artificial intelligence initiatives at the state Department of Finance and Administration. Watson, who sits on the states AI Advisory Council, described the funding as preparatory money to fund pilot programs to allow us to experiment with different AI tools. We may or may not use that resource. If we do, its looking at ways that you can use AI to enhance a citizens interaction with their state government, and make it run more efficiently, Watson said. Sen. Bo Watson R-Hixson speaks during the third day of special session at the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. He added that AI could be incorporated to expedite the process of providing information around licensure issues. One of the things the council is looking at is in the use of AI protecting information, being sure that it doesnt allow for data breaches, he said. The AI Advisory Council has not yet issued its first report after being established late last year. We are conducting several AI pilots with multiple vendors to identify areas where AI technology can enhance existing processes and expand service capabilities to benefit the people of Tennessee, Finance and Administration spokesperson Gina Long told The Tennessean in an email. These funds will be used to implement successful AI pilot programs that promise to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state government. House GOP leadership will support bill to open carry high-capacity magazine, automatic weapons House Republican leadership said Thursday they support legislation that will replace the word "handgun" with "firearm" in some state gun code, opening the door for permit holders to openly carry long guns with high-capacity magazines in public areas. HB 1189 passed out of its first subcommittee and is up for a full committee hearing in the House and Senate in the coming days. Bill sponsors have argued the constitutional right to bear arms means the state should not regulate what type of gun. In the House Civil Justice Subcommittee, the Tennessee Department of Safety, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and a lobbyist for state sheriff and police chief associations all opposed the bill. Officials argued even if a gun carrier has no ill intent, the sight of these weapons in areas near schools or in everyday locations like grocery stores will spark alarm from the general public. "Our concern is the bill would allow extremists the ability to intimidate," Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Matt Perry said. "In Texas, someone was in front of a school walking around with a rifle that was loaded. That's our biggest concern, the chaos and the fear it will create. We don't believe high-capacity magazines and extra ammunitoin is necessary to walk around Tennessee." Sexton disagreed on Thursday. "It's their right, if they haven't committeed any felonies or don't have any restrictions on their ability (to carry,) it's their right. Especially if they have a permit to carry it," Sexton said. "We heard when we passed constitutional carry for handguns, we heard the sky was going to fall and all this stuff was going to happen. Nothing happened, right? You allow people their constitutional rights. I don't see a problem with this." When asked if multiple law enforcement agencies were mistaken in opposing the bill, Sexton said they "have their opinions." "And they're entitled to it, and we'll sit down and listen to them. But we can also have our opinions from the people we represent as well, knowing sometimes that we're not going to be in total agreement," Sexton said. Constitutional amendment to ban state property tax passes Senate A proposed Tennessee constitutional amendment to forever ban a statewide property tax will likely go to voters on the gubernatorial ballot next November, after the Senate passed a measure with two-thirds majority. It now goes to the House of Representatives for final approval. Tennessee has not levied property taxes at the state level since 1949, when the legislature replaced the state property tax with the current sales tax. Catch up on the week Key Tennessee committee passes bill that could bar undocumented kids from schools Bree Smith said she's the victim of a semi-nude deepfake. Now, she wants the law changed Tennessee bill to penalize CoreCivic for death rate advances in Senate Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee files a $343M budget update. Heres whats in the plan. Tennessee House passes bill to make juvenile records of deceased school shooters public Got a question for us? Got a question about state politics you would like us to tackle? Let us know. Email us at mabrown@tennessean.com, vjones@tennessean.com or statehouse@tennessean.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee politics: Pearson, Farmer clash, incident under review WELLS, Maine The town is considering a merger of the Wells Fire Department and Wells Emergency Medical Services. In a recent letter to residents, the town said local officials were considering the merger to sustain finances, improve operations and coordination, and meet a growing need for medical and safety services. A merger could create cost-saving opportunities and maximize efficiency, the town stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Wells Emergency Medical Services board of directors asked the town to explore a possible merger with the Fire Department, and in December the Wells Select Board unanimously authorized Town Manager Michael Pardue to begin assessing the ideas likely impacts on municipal finances and personnel. The Town of Wells is considering a merger of the Wells Fire Department and Wells Emergency Medical Services. Our goal is to have a recommendation to the Select Board in early September, Pardue said on Wednesday. More: Wells makes big changes to beach parking rules Why Wells Emergency Medical Services wants merger Wells Emergency Medical Services was founded and incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1990. It is governed by a volunteer board, whose members are appointed by the Wells Select Board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Wells Emergency Medical Service Board Chair Brian Toomey said staffing EMTs and offering an attractive per-diem rate has become challenging an issue not just for Wells but for communities throughout the state. Also, the cost of medical supplies is increasing, as well as the amount for the space that Wells EMS leases at York Hospitals local campus on Sanford Road, Toomey noted. Toomey said they are also faced with a local population that swells to as many as 50,000 people during the tourist season and, within it, an aging demographic with significant needs for services. The Town of Wells is considering a merger of the Wells Fire Department and Wells Emergency Medical Services. Toomey said the group wants to address its concerns sooner, rather than later, so that the organization can continue its outstanding record of excellence in providing service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were really proud of our reputation of having a high-quality, loyal staff that really cares about our town, Toomey said. We want to maintain what people have come to expect. We want people to know well be there. Wells on track: $11.8M Amtrak Downeaster expansion underway Wells eyes potential cost savings with merger Legal counsel is researching whether such a merger, if recommended, would need voter approval, according to Pardue. The town already provides a significant subsidy to the Wells Emergency Medical Service's budget, leading to the question of whether combining the medical service and Fire Department could enhance resource allocation and reduce operational costs, the letter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the fiscal year of 2022, the towns funding to help Wells EMS with its operating costs has ranged between $390,000 and $486,000, according to Pardue. For the coming fiscal year, which starts on July 1, Wells EMS is requesting $887,000 from the town, Pardue added. In addition, the town provides them with approximately $200,000 each year for capital improvement projects and other related expenses. In sum, the subsidy requested from the town by Wells Emergency Medical Service in the proposed (Fiscal Year 2026) budget equates to over $1 million, Pardue said. Combining both entities into one department also could streamline emergency response efforts and improve such service, the town added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A unified department may allow for streamlined administrative functions, as well as shared training, resources and personnel management, the town said in its letter. Or, as Toomey put it, There are some synergies to be had. More: Wells eyes major fee hike for hotels and campground licenses to deal with tourist impact Strategic Planning Committee formed to vet potential merger A newly formed Strategic Planning Committee is evaluating the merits and logistics of the proposed merger. The group consists of representatives of Wells Emergency Medical Service and the Fire Department, as well as members of the Select Board and town management. In its letter, the town encouraged residents to check online, follow Select Board meetings, and attend public forums to stay informed on the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public input is valuable as we assess the best path forward for emergency medical and fire services in Wells, the letter concluded. The Strategic Planning Committee will meet next on Monday, April 14, at the Wells Town Hall at 208 Sanford Road. The public is welcome to attend. The meetings are not broadcast, although we are sending out information with great frequency on the towns website and other social media platforms, Pardue said. An upcoming special edition of the towns newsletter will provide more information about this potential merger, Pardue added. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wells eyes potential Fire Department and EMS merger Del. J.B. Akers, R-Kanawha, said House Bill 3016, which limits what forms of photo ID are acceptable to use while voting at polling places, seeks to prevent voter fraud. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography) At the urging of the Secretary of State, West Virginia could tighten laws on acceptable forms of photo identification that can be used at polling places. The House of Delegates passed a Republican-sponsored measure, House Bill 3016, on Friday that would require a photo ID typically a drivers license, passport or a resident identification card to vote in-person. It would eliminate several current options accepted at polling places that can validate identity, including a Medicaid card and utility bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What this bill seeks to prevent is voter fraud of any kind to the extent that its able, said Del. J.B. Akers, R-Kanawha, who said the Secretary of States office said people have voted illegally with a photo ID. We did hear that, he said. The measure, sponsored by Del. Erica Moore, R-Roane, passed the House with a vote of 84-8. It now goes to the Senate for consideration. Its one of several GOP-backed elections bills this session, some supported by Secretary of State Kris Warner, that Republicans say are in order to protect election integrity. House Democrats say conspiracy theories have driven the measures that could keep people from accessing the polls. West Virginia has abysmal voter turnout. Opponents of this legislation worry that it will make it difficult, particularly for older West Virginians and those who dont drive or lack access to the internet, to vote in the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No evidence exists that a photo voter ID requirement would address any problem. Like non-citizens voting, voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent, the West Virginia Citizens Action group said in a statement. Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, emphasized that the state already has voter ID laws. We havent had any issues, he said. I think this is likely to disenfranchise some of our older members of our society, and for what? Were preventing a problem thats not taking place. Bill supporters said West Virginia voters will still have options for proving identification on election days, including a voter registration card with a photo that can be obtained free of charge from a county clerks office. A resident must request this option. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This bill clarifies that if you request a voter ID from the Secretary of State, it is free of charge, Akers said. Del. Gary Howell, R-Mineral, added, There is no excuse not to have a photo voter registration card, which is a photo ID that can be used to vote, and it secures our election. The measure permits voters 65 and older to use an expired ID, including an expired drivers license, as long as it was valid on their 65th birthday. Additionally, poll workers may allow a voter, whom the poll worker has known for at least six months, to vote without presenting a valid ID. Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, said the bill would result in fewer legal West Virginians voting in-person on Election Day or during early in-person voting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the Republican supermajority is turning their attention to in-person voting, he said. Fewer votes will be cast. This is one of a series of bills that restricts West Virginians access to vote, Hansen continued. We should be passing bills that actually expand peoples right to the ballot and not restrict it. Akers said that if people cant access a photo ID, they can vote using an absentee ballot without a photo ID. The ability to vote is not minimized at all, he said. The House already passed House Bill 2117, which would prohibit people from mailing or handing out more than 10 absentee ballot applications to people who did not ask for them, including people who may hand out the applications in nursing homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would also change how the state handles absentee ballots, including setting a deadline of 7:30 p.m. on Election Day for absentee ballots to be received. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Vice President JD Vance accused the government of Denmark of underinvesting in Greenland while he was making a visit to an American military base on Friday in the Danish territory, which President Trump has repeatedly insisted should become part of the United States. Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland, he said. Vance had traveled to Greenland along with his wife, Usha Vance, and a delegation of high-ranking Trump administration officials, including national security adviser Mike Waltz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Usha Vance initially announced that she would travel to the island without her husband, but he joined the trip a few days later. The itinerary for the visit was also revised amid backlash from Greenlandic and Danish officials, including Mute Egede, Greenlands former prime minister, who warned against American aggression after the trip was announced. We must face the seriousness of the situation and acknowledge that every minute counts, to ensure that the Americans dream of annexing our country does not become a reality, Egede told a local newspaper on Sunday. Since returning to the White House, Trump has set his sights on annexing Greenland. We need Greenland, he said on Friday. It's not a question of, Do you think we can do without it? We can't. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For now, Greenland belongs to Denmark. Although the island was treated as a colony for hundreds of years, its citizens have had authority over what happens within its borders since the late 1970s. That freedom includes the power to decide whether it wants to remain a part of Denmark, join the U.S. or become an independent nation. Trump first floated the concept of acquiring Greenland during his first presidential term, but there has been much more sustained focus on the concept since he returned to the White House in January. His joint address to Congress earlier this month included a message for the incredible people of Greenland in which he said he strongly supports their right to determine your own future. But about 20 seconds later, he said he thinks the U.S. will acquire the territory one way or another. Earlier this year, he refused to rule out taking Greenland by force. For their part, Greenlanders appear to have little interest in joining the U.S. voluntarily. Polls show that 85% of the islands citizens oppose the idea, and nearly half of them see Trumps interest in Greenland as a threat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Egede has bluntly stated, We don't want to be Americans. The island has new leadership, but its position on U.S. annexation wont change. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who was sworn in as Greenland's new leader on Friday, is seeking a different path for his country. We want to be Greenlanders, and we want our own independence in the future, he said earlier this month. Greenland is not a major economic power, nor does it have a strong military to bolster U.S. forces. Its population is tiny and would clearly not welcome American ownership with open arms. So why does Trump want it so badly, to the point where hes floated military action against a NATO ally to get it? For one thing, its huge While many maps tend to exaggerate Greenlands size, its still massive at 836,330 square miles, its more than three times the size of Texas. Its considered to be the worlds largest island and, on its own, would be the 12th-largest nation on Earth. It is also the least densely populated territory on the planet. More than 80% of its 56,000 residents occupy about a dozen towns along its coast; its vast, icy interior is essentially uninhabited. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adding Greenland would allow the U.S. to leapfrog Canada and become the second-largest country in the world although it would still be a distant second to Russia. Location, location, location Not only is Greenland big, its also in a highly strategic area. Key sea routes that connect Northern Europe to North America run along its coastline, making it a critical location for managing both international shipping and military power in the Arctic. The fabled Northwest Passage to the northern edge of Canada and the Arctic Bridge route, which connects Scandinavia and Russia to North Americas East Coast, both hug Greenlands southern tip. Greenland is also home to an American military missile defense base located far north of the Arctic Circle, a prime position to monitor or potentially intercept any Russian rockets headed toward the U.S. mainland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because of climate change, which has made many areas of the Arctic impossible to navigate due to melting ice, Greenlands position will only become more important. Within the next 25 years, experts predict that enough ice will melt to open up the Transpolar Sea Route, a shipping lane that would cut straight across the North Pole and create a more efficient path between Asia and the Atlantic. The U.S. and its allies are already jockeying with Russia and, to a certain extent, China, over control of this swiftly evolving area of the globe. Owning Greenland would give the U.S. an enormous advantage in this geopolitical tug-of-war. Its changing Like the sea ice that surrounds it, the ice that blankets Greenlands vast interior is also melting. Nearly 2,000 square miles worth of ice has disappeared from the islands surface over the past four decades. NASA refers to Greenland as a canary in a coal mine for climate change. Greenlands melting ice is one the biggest drivers of global sea level rise. Its also causing a key ocean current known as the great global ocean conveyor belt to slow down, which could have huge implications for weather around the world. But where climate experts see reasons to worry about Greenlands ice melt, others see opportunity. Thats because Greenland is home to huge yet largely untapped stores of rare earth minerals needed to make a wide range of high-tech products everything from smartphones to computers to fighter jets to green energy technologies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. used to be the worlds top producer of rare earth minerals. That title today goes to China. To counter Chinas dominance, U.S. leaders have moved to increase the United States' own mineral mining, while also working to open up foreign sources for the materials. Greenlands receding ice could set off a mineral gold rush, as large deposits of high-value minerals become accessible for the first time. Greenland currently puts strict limits on mining within its territory and has banned oil and gas extraction entirely over environmental concerns. Full command of the island could give the U.S. the power to roll back those restrictions, make larger swaths of the island available for development and seize a larger share of the profits that result. Many Greenlanders see a ramped-up mining industry as a key to their economic future, but even local support might not be enough to turn the dream of a mineral windfall into a reality. Foreigners have been coming to Greenland seeking to extract its riches for centuries, only to be turned away by its harsh terrain and brutal climate. Some experts believe that even with modern technology, tapping Greenlands mineral resources may be too difficult and expensive to make large-scale mining economically viable. The White House says President Trump's administration will comply with a federal judge's ruling ordering the preservation of Signal texts on the bombings against Houthi rebels in Yemen. CBS News' Willie James Inman reports. The White House has dimissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to establish a temporary government in Ukraine under United Nations supervision, Reuters reported on March 28. Putin suggested a transitional administration, overseen by the U.N. and several countries, could be formed in Ukraine to organize elections. "This is only one of the options. I am not saying that there are no others... This is one of the options, and such practice exists in the work of the U.N.," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A White House National Security Council spokesperson dismissed the proposal, emphasizing that Ukraine's governance is determined by its constitution and its people. Ukrainian presidential advisor, Dmytro Lytvyn, suggested that if Putin struggles to understand who to engage with for peace talks, he might need "some pills to kickstart his brain activity." Russian officials have repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine's sovereignty. Meanwhile, Russia itself is classified as a consolidated authoritarian regime with manipulated elections, according to Freedom House. Putin has systematically eliminated political opposition by imprisoning, exiling, or silencing his rivals. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, one of Putin's most prominent critics, was killed in an Arctic prison in February 2024 under suspicious circumstances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia's government has also banned opposition candidates from elections, cracked down on dissent, and labeled critics as "foreign agents" to suppress political competition. Putin claimed that Ukraine's current leadership is illegitimate because elections were not held after Zelensky's term expired. "If he himself is illegitimate, then all the others are too," he said, arguing that new elections could be held under foreign supervision to install a government that "enjoys the people's trust." Ukraine's constitution prohibits elections during martial law, which has been in place since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moscow has shown little willingness to negotiate a peace deal, making maximalist demands in ceasefire talks with Ukraine and the U.S. Despite claiming to uphold an informal ceasefire on energy infrastructure since March 18, Russia struck energy targets in Kherson on March 27. Zelensky said Ukraine had honored a March 25 agreement on halting strikes on such facilities. The U.S. has been mediating negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire, announcing on March 11 that it is ready to implement the measure if Russia reciprocates. Moscow has so far refused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia preparing for new spring offensive in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, Zelensky says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Going through airport security can be an irritating enough experience at the best of times. But one thing that makes the process more complicated than it needs to be is the tendency for the rules to change seemingly without rhyme or reason. Its something that I experienced earlier this year when I flew from Heathrow in consecutive months. On the first occasion, I was told that I was fine to keep my laptop and liquids in my bag when going through security and to ignore any signs to the contrary. But my pleasure at the more convenient process turned to frustration just three weeks later when I arrived at Terminal 5, only to be told that the old rules were still in place with both liquids and laptops placed in a separate tray to my main hold-all bag. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It isnt the only quirk when it comes to airport security. When you fly often, the protocol on using separate trays for different items coats, bags, boots seems to change from one week to the next, as does the perennial question of whether you need to remove your shoes or not. In my experience, the inconsistency just creates longer waiting times, says frequent flyer Gilbert Ott, editor of the air travel website God Save the Points. People spend so much time adjusting to the rules and when you add up the time it takes to recalibrate, it means you end up going through security slower. Where do these rules come from in the first place? In theory, its up to national governments to set the rules for airport security. In reality, though, those rules might as well be set by the United States, given that the country has mandatory security requirements for any planes looking to land on American soil like the need for passengers and their bags to be screened before getting anywhere near the plane. The United States made it a requirement for all passengers and their bags to be screened before getting on the plane Most of these rules hark back to the fall-out from 9/11 and resulting Aviation and Transportation Security Act (which created the Transportation Security Administration, who handle these things in every US airport). From time to time, the rules are updated to take account of new intelligence: like the ubiquitous size limits for carry-on liquids, which were instigated after a failed terror plot in 2006. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So given most of the standards are set in Washington DC, why isnt the security experience identical from one airport to the next? Given the massive difference between airports across the world, the US approach gives airports discretion as to exactly how they meet the required standards, and, in particular, what technology they use. When it comes to screening passengers, most airports use a variation of the full body scanner, which uses tiny millimetre waves to identify any objects on your body. They will detect all kinds of objects, metallic or otherwise, that are within your clothing or hidden on your body, says security consultant Wilfried Covent, who previously headed up security for the Brussels Airport group. Despite what some passengers might fear, the scanners dont produce any kind of physical image of your body and they certainly dont allow the security officers to see below your clothes. Instead they will map any discrepancies onto a generic outline of a human body, using colour-coding to let security know which part of your body needs their attention. What does a pat-down detect that a multimillion-pound millimetre wave scanner cant? In short, it is the only way of knowing whether that unexpected shape in your left pocket is the harmless nail file that you forgot to remove or a makeshift plastic knife that might be used in a hijack situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the machines have been in place for 20 years, the technology is still improving, albeit rather slowly. Screening some footwear, like boots, remains a bit of a challenge, says Mr Covent. This is why some countries in Europe ask you to remove your shoes and put them through with your bags instead. The process for scanning bags is slightly different, given that airports now have more choice over the particular technology they use. For much of the 2000s and early 2010s, it was standard for airports to use X-ray scanners, which could help flag potential suspicious items for security officers to take a closer look at. While the X-ray machines are capable of producing a 2D, colour-coded image of the bags, they do have some limitations. Generally, they are unable to see through dense objects like laptops (hence the instruction to remove them from your bag) and also have a tendency to incorrectly flag food items as liquids, resulting in luggage being sent for a manual check. Usually between 5 and 15 per cent of cabin bags are sent for secondary checking with X-ray machines, says Mr Covent. Typically, around half of those will be because someone has forgotten to remove their liquids, but there are also a large number of false positives, sometimes because the X-ray mistakes food items for liquids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youve encountered any particularly fussy instructions when it comes to using the X-ray scanners, it might be due to the age of the machines. Security insiders say that the older machines are usually more cumbersome to use, making it more important to separate items from each other in order to ensure a decent image. Over the past decade, airports have been gradually replacing these older machines with more modern alternatives known as CT (or computed tomography) scanners, which are capable of producing a more detailed 3D image. These CT scanners are not only quicker, but are also able to use sophisticated algorithms to identify different types of liquids. Airport CT scanners are capable of producing a more detailed 3D image Like other countries, the UK has been encouraging airports to switch to the newer, superior scanners. Back in 2022, it even put in place a legislative deadline of last summer, but that was eventually scrapped in order to give the bigger airports more time to make the change. Heathrow says it is in the process of installing CT scanners across its 146 security lanes, with the new machines up and running in several terminals. Gatwick and Manchester have also invested millions in installing the scanners. Some smaller airports, like London Luton, have completed the transition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once the changeover is completed, it could allow for the end of the 100ml liquid rule, which has become a bugbear of regular travellers. But security experts say that the path to liquid freedom isnt entirely clear yet, even if the airports were able to miraculously install enough CT systems overnight. Despite saying they would scrap the 100ml rule to some fanfare in 2022, the UK, US, and the EU all changed course last year. This was supposedly due to concerns about the accuracy of the algorithms when it came to scanning different types of liquids. Once that has been solved, the rules might finally loosen, says Mr Covent. Great news, then, for anyone who is fed up with cramming their toiletries into a tiny little bag or paying over the odds for a travel-sized deodorant. But given the uneven speed at which the changes have been happening so far, it may mean putting up with a few more years of inconsistent rules when it comes to security procedures. 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. UOB has launched its 11th Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Advisory Centre in Seoul to support the growing number of Korean businesses expanding into Southeast Asia. This move comes as Korean investment in the region more than doubled from US$5bn in 2017 to US$10.9bn in 2023. The office builds on UOB's Korea desk in Singapore, which launched in 2023 to satisfy growing demand from Korean companies seeking global development opportunities. It will offer bespoke solutions like as market entrance guidance, regulatory support, finance, and risk management, drawing on UOB's wide network and expertise in ASEAN. Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and chief executive officer, UOB, stated: South Korea is one of ASEANs top trading partners and a leading investor in Southeast Asia. FDI flows from South Korea into Southeast Asia have grown significantly in recent years driven by companies strategic expansions into key markets such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore. With our strength in regional connectivity, deep local knowledge, and sector expertise, UOB is well positioned to help our clients tap these cross-border opportunities. Since establishing its FDI Advisory Unit in 2011, UOB has assisted over 150 Korean companies with their Southeast Asian development, supporting almost S$3bn in expected investments. The bank anticipates this trend to accelerate as supply chains shift, trade tensions rise, and the region's digital economy expands. Furthermore, its launch coincided with the Korea-ASEAN Business Forum in Seoul, which UOB co-hosted with PwC, law firm Kim & Chang, and government agencies from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The gathering brought together 120 people to discuss investment potential in the region. UOBs FDI Advisory Unit has helped 5,000 companies expand regionally, with investments exceeding S$50bn and creating over 250,000 jobs since 2020. The Seoul centre is expected to further strengthen economic ties between South Korea and ASEAN, reinforcing the regions role as a key destination for Korean businesses. "UOB opens FDI advisory centre in Seoul" was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. Yesterday, King Charles had a brief visit to the hospital due to side effects from his ongoing cancer treatment. While royal aides called it a minor bump in the road," Buckingham Palace waited until 9 p.m. (5 p.m. E.T.) to share the announcement. The reason why the staff waited so long to release the information to the public is reportedly because King Charles's "medical team was"working with his staff" to decide whether or not to proceed with his planned engagements in Birmingham, per The Express. For the king's health and recovery, they decided to postpone the event. A royal source added that his "recovery path continues in a positive direction" and that there was "no drama" behind the trip to the London Clinic. Getty Images Yesterday, Buckingham Palace confirmed the king's hospitalization, though, noted that he had returned home to Clarence House. "Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, the king experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital. His majesty's afternoon engagements were therefore postponed," the palace said in a statement shared with People. "His majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow's diary programme will also be rescheduled." Getty Images This morning, Charles was spotted leaving Clarence House in his black Audi while royal fans and well-wishers greeted the king. The monarch smiled and waved, seemingly in good spirits following the brief hospital stay. According to Hello!, King Charles was heading to his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire. Shortly before, Charles was reportedly visited by his sister Princess Anne ahead of her engagement at Buckingham Palace. Read the original article on InStyle COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) The Columbus Division of Fire is running out of vehicles, and union members caution the shortage may soon affect residents. Emails shared with NBC4 Investigates show the divisions fleet finance department has been asking for funding for years. With requests unfulfilled, union members worry neighborhoods could be left underserviced, and the upcoming graduation of current trainees is now uncertain. However, the city says the fleet is fine and there is no need for concern. Thursdays training was canceled after the 103 recruits, 39 cadets and 421 apprentice program members of the 122 Class were left with only three outdated vehicles. The union said CFD members were given a choice between potentially taking a truck away from a neighborhood to train with or undertraining recruits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both options are unacceptable, and neither should be normalized, fire union President Steve Stein wrote in a union statement sent to the city Thursday. According to CFD records, funding for fire vehicles has been underbudget by $7 million-11 million for the past 10 years. City records show CFD only has $7.518 million budgeted each year for any vehicle replacement or facility updates, and this number is not scheduled to increase year over year through 2030. Just fulfilling the most recent fleet replacement recommendation would cost nearly $19 million. Cities across the country, including Columbus, are facing drastic price increases for emergency vehicles, and significantly longer production/delivery times, A city spokesperson said. As those costs and delays increase, we must still responsibly manage taxpayer dollars and work within the budget we have. After the pandemic, the time required to manufacture vehicles increased from about 12 months to anywhere between two and four years. A 2024 fleet analysis found manufacturing prices have also increased by 45% each year, with CFDs fleet budget only increasing by 26%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city provided examples of long wait times for vehicle delivery including an order for ambulances in December 2023. That was received this March. Two pumpers were ordered in November 2022 and again, received this month. The Department of Public Safety also pointed to three pieces of legislation, one that passed on Monday, March 24. This one was for the purchase of 1 ladder vehicle, two medics and three re-chassis of existing medics. Two pending ordinances will go before council in April for the purchase of two engines and one ladder vehicle. The department sent along a statement from the Division of Fleet Management saying: City of Columbus Fire apparatus is in better condition than it has been in many years because of the capital commitments from the administration over the last 10 years. By the end of 2024, the fleet analysis found 31 medics, 19 fire engines, four ladder vehicles and 11 specialty vehicles need replaced immediately. Of the remaining vehicles, 13 are categorized under should be replaced soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The union provided NBC4 Investigates with messages from 2022 cautioning CFD and city leaders about the state of its fleet. Members say that gap was not bridged three years ago, and the need has only deepened. City officials said fleet life expectancy is a conservative estimate and vehicles are in relatively good shape. In July 2024, Mayor Andrew Ginther approved funding for $10 million, after which members reiterated the need for fleet upgrades. However, union members said these requests were unfulfilled, and it would be 6% more expensive to purchase them now. In 2022, CFD members requesting vehicle funding said the division has minimized costs wherever possible, such as introducing a driving simulator, changing its non-emergency use policy and aggressively seeking grant funding. During that 2022 presentation, CFD members said 54 of its 97 front line vehicles were beyond their life expectancy. Since then, vehicles have continued to be used beyond their life cycles, and the monthly average of available extra vehicles in 2024 hit negative numbers. Union members say this was accompanied by increased demand on CFD as Columbus grows rapidly and COVID increased cardiac calls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is important to stress: there is no decrease in Columbus Fires response capability. We continue to work on long-term solutions to these increased expenses amid current financial conditions, a Department of Safety spokesperson said. The 122 Class of recruits was set to graduate on April 11, but CFD leadership said their graduation may face eight to 10 week delays because of the vehicle shortage. Currently, their hundreds of trainees are sharing three vehicles from 2005. Stein plans to sit down with NBC4 Investigates Isabel Cleary on Monday, who will share updates as she uncovers them. NBC4 also requested an interview with the city about the issue, but have not yet been granted one. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. X / @justinbwells Donald Trump wants the United States to buy Greenland for its strategically vital resources, to bolster US security and give China a bloody nose. But he also wants to strike his largest ever real estate deal because Greenland is massive, he loves maps and because he is very, very stubborn. Who owns Greenland? Mr Trumps desire to swell the US with a territory roughly the size of Texas and Alaska combined is nothing new. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He tried to bounce Denmark into selling Greenland, which is geographically in North America, during his first presidency but was rebuffed. Mr Trump cancelled a 2019 state visit and branded Mette Frederiksen, Denmarks prime minister, nasty after she said the idea was absurd. Like all hard-nosed negotiators, Mr Trump doesnt take no for an answer and took the chance of naming his ambassador to Denmark to revive the demand this weekend. As his son Donald Trump Junior arrived for a visit to Greenland, Mr Trump declared: I am hearing that the people of Greenland are MAGA. Credit: @OJoelsen/@DonaldJTrumpJr/X Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added: Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!. Worlds largest island Greenland is a very large, strategically important landmass. You take a look at a map. Im a real estate developer, Mr Trump said in an interview for The Divider, a book by The New York Times Peter Baker and The New Yorkers Susan Glasser. I love maps. And I always said: Look at the size of this. Its massive. That should be part of the United States, he added. However, Greenland is actually much smaller than it appears on maps because of the Mercator projection, which makes it look a similar size to Africa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The projection is used to create flat maps but makes landmasses larger the further away from the Equator they are. To impress his billionaire allies Mr Trump reportedly insists that the idea of making Americas largest land buy since the Alaska Purchase in 1867 is all his own. But according to The Divider, Mr Trump got the idea from Ronald Lauder, a billionaire heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune. Mr Lauder, 80, a longtime friend of Mr Trump and a New York-born political activist, reportedly offered himself as a back channel negotiator with the Danish government. Donald Trump Jr visited Nuuk, Greenland - Emil Stach Some Left-leaning commentators have branded Mr Trumps coveting of Greenland as a neo-colonist urge to emulate nationalist autocrats like Vladimir Putin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The United States has history when it comes to buying land. Its last land purchase was 1917s acquisition of the US Virgin Islands from Denmark. Before then it bought Alaska from the Russian Empire (which was widely seen as an expensive mistake until gold and oil were discovered there), Louisiana from France, as well as territory from Mexico and the Philippines, now independent, from Spain. Space base and missile defence The US offered Denmark $100 million (79 million) for Greenland after the Second World War. Washington instead secured a defence treaty centred on a US military base on Greenland. Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, has been strategically vital ever since the first years of the Cold War. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is the US militarys most northerly outpost and is a vital location for missile defence and space surveillance, housing Americas solid state phased array radar system, known colloquially as the ballistic missile early warning system radar network. Buying Greenland would ensure continued access to the base, although there is no suggestion that it is at risk. Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, in northern Greenland, has been strategically vital ever since the first years of the Cold War - Ritzau Scanpix/Reuters Mr Trump, nevertheless, is adamant he wants Greenland for national security reasons. For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity, the president said on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aside from the base, Greenland is on strategic sea lanes like the Northwest Passage and the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap, and is beneath Arctic flight paths. It is on the shortest route from North America to Europe. Russia and Chinas Arctic alliance Moscow and Beijing have been working hand in glove to bolster their influence in the Arctic, which is a key region for transportation and resources. Climate change could mean new waterways and new territories for settlement being opened, raising the likelihood of a race for the Arctic amid competing superpowers. Chinese leaders see the region as a new crossroads of the world, a new source of raw materials and new avenues for manifesting its growing power, the US defence department has said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2019, Republican politicians warned China was trying to build airports on Greenland and even buy an old American naval base there. There is no guarantee that the almost 57,000 Greenlanders will be willing to become part of the United States - IDA MARIE ODGAARD/AFP Beijings activities are being facilitated by Russia, which continues to invest heavily in both military and economic terms in the Arctic despite its illegal war in Ukraine. US officials have also been concerned by joint Russian-Chinese military drills in the area, which seem aimed at Washington and its Nato allies. Buying Greenland would be a show of strength from the US at a time when its rivals are encroaching into the region. Treasure trove of rare minerals Greenland is a potential treasure trove of natural resources, including rare earth minerals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These minerals are vital for high-end military, green energy and industrial technologies but their production and supply is dominated by China. Beijing last month imposed export controls on the minerals in response to US controls on advanced semiconductors. Greenland is a potential treasure trove of natural resources, including rare earth minerals. - Arctic-Images/Digital Vision Some 37 of the 50 minerals seen as critical by the US could be found in moderate or high quantities in Greenland, based on a 2023 survey. Lessening US dependence on Chinese supplies would be a geopolitical boost but some experts point out that buying Greenland would mean subsidising an area with the lowest per capita disposable income of any Arctic region except Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Greenlands ice-sheet boasts 7 per cent of the worlds fresh water and its undeveloped oil and gas resources are thought to be the third largest in the Arctic. Can Trump even buy Greenland? There is no guarantee that the almost 57,000 Greenlanders will be willing to become part of the US. In 2009, the island assumed self-rule from Denmark under an agreement that gives it the right to one day declare independence. By becoming part of the US, Greenland would gain independence from one country while coming under the control of another. In 2009, the island assumed self-rule from Denmark under an agreement that gives it the right to one day declare independence - IDA MARIE ODGAARD/AFP It would also be an expensive acquisition. In 2019, the Washington Post estimated that Greenland could cost up to $1.7 trillion on the assumption that the island was up for sale. What is Greenlands response? Mute Egede, Greenlands prime minister, has rebuffed all advances to date. We are not for sale and we will not be for sale, he said in response to Mr Trumps comments, adding: We must not lose our long struggle for freedom. 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. Elon Musk has taken a sudden, intense interest in the Wisconsin Supreme Court this year, plowing at least $18m into the campaign of conservative circuit judge Brad Schimel ahead of the states election on April 1 to find a replacement for the retiring liberal Ann Walsh Bradley. The court currently has a four-three liberal majority but, with Bradley stepping down, Schimels election in her stead would swing the ideological balance in favor of the right although the race is, technically speaking, nonpartisan. He is up against a more moderate rival in Susan Crawford. Musk is so committed to flipping the balance of power that he has been offering local voters $100 to sign a petition denouncing activist judges and handing one lucky signatory $1m as part of a last-ditch effort to publicize his cause. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk also gave a speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Sunday, where he handed out $1 million each to two people in the crowd who will be spokesmen for his petition against activist judges. Elon Musk speaks in Green Bay, Wisconsin ahead of a pivotal Supreme Court election (AP) "I should say the reason for the checks is to get attention," Musk told the crowd. "It's like we need to get attention." Other high-ranking Republicans, including Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, also campaigned in Wisconsin over the weekend. "If you don't want to stop winning, this Tuesday is how you do it," Duffy said. "This election couldn't be more important. The country is watching what is going to happen in Wisconsin." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The worlds richest man might be assumed to have enough on his plate already, running Tesla, SpaceX and X while simultaneously assisting President Donald Trump in overhauling the federal bureaucracy through his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and caring for 13 children. So why is the Big Tech boss making record-breaking campaign donations to influence a judicial contest in the Badger State? Elon Musk attends a Trump cabinet meeting at the White House on Monday (AFP/Getty) While it might appear, at first glance, a pretty parochial concern compared to some of Musks other ventures, he stressed his belief in the importance of the outcome during an X Spaces event on Saturday with Schimel and Johnson. After overcoming the now-customary technical glitches, Musk said: This is a very important race for many reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most consequential is that [it] will decide how congressional districts are drawn in Wisconsin, which if the other candidate wins, instead of Justice Schimel, then the Democrats will attempt to redraw the districts and cause Wisconsin to lose two Republican seats. In my opinion, thats the most important thing, which is a big deal given that the congressional majority is so razor-thin. It could cause the House to switch to Democrat if that redrawing takes place. His concern is that a Crawford win would mean a progressive-majority Supreme Court in Wisconsin, which would empower it to pass revisions to the current electoral map, which currently sends six Republican representatives and just two Democrats to Washington. Wisconsin Supreme candidates Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford (AP) A change in favor of the opposition could potentially loosen the GOPs stranglehold over the lower chamber, allow the Democrats to retake the House, and, therefore, more easily thwart Trumps legislative agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another reason not cited by the billionaire but highly relevant is that Tesla, his electric vehicle brand, is battling Wisconsin in court over laws prohibiting auto manufacturers from selling directly to consumers through their own dealerships. The lawsuit, filed January, came just days before Musk began pumping cash into the state in support of Schimels candidacy,The New York Times reported. A former state attorney general and Waukesha County circuit judge, Schimel has been a willing accomplice in all of this, according to Mother Jones, attending Trumps inauguration in January and lobbying hard for the presidents endorsement, which finally arrived last week. All Voters who believe in Common Sense should GET OUT TO VOTE EARLY for Brad Schimel, Trump posted on Truth Social. In order to win the presidents favour, Schimel reportedly attended a Mega MAGA rally last March at which he posed in front of a 50-foot blow-up doll of Trump, wore a garbage man costume on Halloween, and has been pictured on a boat wearing a T-shirt that reads: Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has also criticized the Wisconsin Supreme Court over its handling of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden, saying the Republican had been screwed over by its decision to keep a Green Party candidate off the ballot. He also called liberal justice Brian Hagedorn soft-headed and the courts three female progressives dumb as a sack of hammers, addled, and crazy. Elon Musk and Donald Trump shake hands at a NCAA wrestling match in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Saturday (Getty) In addition, Schimel has parroted Trumps calls for electoral reform, recently telling a conservative radio host it was crucial to shore up the process against alleged Democratic malfeasance, So we dont have to worry that at 11.30 pm in Milwaukee, theyre going to find bags of ballots that they forgot to put into the machines. Musk has likewise resorted to election scaremongering to win the day, posting on X in January that it is very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud! He was referring to the courts decision to reinstate mail-in vote drop boxes last July ahead of Novembers vote, although there is no evidence to suggest the boxes are vulnerable to tampering or manipulation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like Trump, Musk has increasingly turned on the judiciary in recent weeks and called for the impeachment of federal judges whose decisions have blocked the presidents executive orders, with D.C. District Court Judge James Boasberg coming in for particular abuse after ruling against Trumps deportation flights carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has demanded an end to public calls of this nature, but neither man has taken much notice. Musk is likely to run up against Boasberg again now that both men have been assigned to examine the Signalgate scandal that has engulfed Trumps top security officials. As you go about your day today, you may notice Texas flags flying at half-staff across the state. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the flags at half-staff for the memorial of former Comptroller of Texas. Flags will remain at half-staff until sunset Friday, March 28, and should return to full-staff by sunrise Saturday. Who is Carole Keeton Strayhorn? Former Austin Mayor, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton dies and longtime public servant, known for breaking barriers in state and local government. She made history as the first woman elected as both the mayor of Austin and the Texas state comptroller. Throughout her career, Strayhorn was known for her independent streak, bold leadership, and commitment to fiscal responsibility. Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a candidate for mayor, talks with a Ryan Segall and his dog Peebs at the Waterfront Condominiums on Saturday, April 11, 2009. In addition to serving as Austins mayor from 1977 to 1983, and then Railroad Commissioner from 1994 to 1999, she held office as Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts from 1999 to 2007. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She also ran as an independent candidate for governor in 2006, challenging then-Gov. Rick Perry. Strayhorn was the mother of former White House press secretary Scott McClellan and came from a family deeply involved in public service. She died Wednesday at the age of 85. "Texas has lost a longtime leader and dedicated public servant with the death of Carole Keeton," a release from the governor's office states. "As a mark of respect for her public service as school board president, state insurance commissioner, mayor, railroad commissioner, and comptroller, it is fitting that flags be lowered to half-staff in her honor." When are flags flown at half-staff? There are specific holidays and events when flags are flown at half-staff in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs website. That includes: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Memorial Day, when the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff. Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless that day is also Armed Forces Day. Patriot Day. National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. National Firefighters Memorial Day. President Dwight Eisenhower also issued a proclamation on the proper times for flying the flag at half-staff when government officials die. That includes: 30 days at all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and its territories and possessions after the death of the president or a former president. 10 days at half-staff after the death of the vice president, the chief justice or a retired chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, or the speaker of the House of Representatives. From the date of death until interment for an associate justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the Cabinet, a former vice president, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, or the minority leader of the House of Representatives. The date of death and the following day of a United States senator, representative, territorial delegate, or the resident commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It should also be flown at half-staff on all federal facilities in the state, congressional district, territory, or commonwealth of these officials. From the date of death until interment for the governor of a state, territory or possession. The president may also order that the flag be flown at half-staff to commemorate the death of other officials, former officials or foreign dignitaries, in addition to tragic events. For instance, on Oct. 7, Abbott declared Monday a statewide Day of Observance for Israel in Texas and asked residents to hold a moment of silence for the people of Israel and the seven Americans who remained hostages. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Why are flags at half-staff in Texas? Honoring Carole Keeton Strayhorn When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Getty Images For nearly 20 years, Prince Harry has been working with his charity Sentebale, which he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. The charity helps children who have been diagnosed with HIV and AIDS, and it was founded in honor of Harry and Prince Seeiso's late mothers, both of whom participated in charity work themselves. Now, though, Harry and Seeiso have both suddenly resigned from the charity amid conflict within the organization. And according to someone close to the situation, the decision has left both men "torn apart" at the idea that they are abandoning the children they supported. As reported by People, on March 26, Harry and Seeiso released a joint statement explaining that they were resigning and were "in shock that we have to do this." According to their statement, there is a conflict between the chair of the board, Dr Sophie Chandauka, who was appointed in 2023, and the trustees. Chandauka filed a lawsuit against the charity after being asked to step down by the trustees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two princes continued, "With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same. It is devastating that the relationship between the charitys trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation." The charity is being investigated by the U.K.'s Charity Commission. In a statement published by People, Chandauka said in part, "There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card and use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct." She also said that she was "a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir." U.K. publication The Times reports that these claims have been "strenuously denied." Prince Harry and Dr. Sophie Chandaukaphotographed here with Nacho Figueras and Lawrence Khong Kin Hoongboth attended a Sentebale charity polo match in August 2023. | Credit: Getty Images In an interview The Times, Dr. Kelello LerotholiSeeiso's cousin, a now-ex-trustee who has worked with the charity since its founding in 2006said he was "worried about the emotional well-being of both princes" in light of their resignation. "I think given their commitment to the welfare of kids, they are torn apart at the thought of looking like theyre abandoning them when they know that theyre not abandoning them," Lerotholi said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In their statement, Harry and Seeiso made their feelings about the children clear. "Nearly 20 years ago, we founded Sentebale in honor of our mothers," they wrote. "Sentebale means 'forget-me-not' in Sesotho, the local language of Lesotho, and its what weve always promised for the young people we've served through this charity. Today is no different." Lerotholi said that he thinks it's possible that Seeiso and Harrywho he views as "family"could eventually regain control of Sentebale. "Theyre not adverse to working for the kids. That is their commitment and thats what they want to see happen," he told The Times. For now, everyone involved must wait on the outcome of Chandauka's lawsuit and the Charity Commission's investigation. A bit like OJ Simpson commenting on Scott Peterson (who was found guilty of murdering his wife), Hillary Clinton has blessed us with her thoughts on the Trump administrations Signal-gate scandal. Its not the hypocrisy that bothers me; its the stupidity, wrote Clinton in a New York Times op-ed. Were all shocked shocked! that President Trump and his team dont actually care about protecting classified information or federal record retention laws. But we knew that already. Whats much worse is that top Trump administration officials put our troops in jeopardy by sharing military plans on a commercial messaging app and unwittingly invited a journalist into the chat, she continued. Thats dangerous. And its just dumb. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Substantively, theres little to dispute there. But for Clinton who managed to avoid prosecution for her extremely careless handling of very sensitive, highly classified information via her private email server to weigh in so self-righteously is galling. Any reasonable person in Secretary Clintons position, or in the position of those government employees with whom she was corresponding about these matters, should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation, declared FBI director James Comey in 2016 at the conclusion of a long investigation into her use of several different [private] servers to conduct government business while she served as secretary of state. He went on to say that the FBI could not determine whether or not Clintons emails had been accessed by hostile actors, and to admit that despite his ultimate recommendation not to throw the book at her, that was not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. So only Hillary Clinton and her professional admirers at the Times could think her qualified to dunk on Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and the rest of the denizens of the Houthi PC small group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Clinton, in her typically crass manner, distracts from the Trump administrations mistakes by reminding America of her own, one of her husbands old advisers has charted another, less hubristic course that Democrats would be wise to take. With no clear leader to voice our opposition and no control in any branch of government, its time for Democrats to embark on the most daring political manoeuvre in the history of our party: roll over and play dead, submitted James Carville in another essay for the Gray Lady last month. Allow the Republicans to crumble beneath their own weight and make the American people miss us. Only until the Trump administration has spiralled into the low 40s or high 30s in public approval polling percentages should we make like a pack of hyenas and go for the jugular. Until then, Im calling for a strategic political retreat, he urged. Its a wiser approach than we pursued in the first Trump administration, when Democrats tried and failed at the art of resistance politics, observed the veteran operative. We fought Mr Trump at every corner, on every issue imaginable and muddied up our message in an unwinnable war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its hard to argue with his logic. Clinton is still operating as if Americans are comparing Trump to a Democratic Party that is practically irreproachable. Carville recognises that voters are picking between two poor options seemingly intent on outdoing each other in the most dispiriting manner imaginable. With Signal-gate, the Trump administration has genuinely made a massive mistake. It was a chance for the Democrats to sit back and allow the White House to wallow in its own failures. Why did Hillary Clinton have to dredge herself out of the wilderness to ruin it? Isaac Schorr is a staff writer at Mediaite and a Robert Novak fellow 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. In the telling of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, he was only executing his duties when he shared plans about a forthcoming attack on Yemen in an unclassified group chat on the Signal messaging app. My job, he told reporters during a swing through Hawaii, is to provide updates in real time. The implication: Nothing to see here. The reaction inside the Pentagon to Hegseths communicationsdisclosed this week by The Atlantic after the editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to the chattold a different story, as security specialists raced to reiterate rules about the proper channels for classified information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Incidents like this make my job significantly harder, a Department of Defense operations security, or OPSEC, official told us this week, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the matters sensitivity. When senior leadership disregards OPSEC and security protocols without consequences, it undermines the work we do to enforce these standards. [Read: Trump goes after the messenger] The OPSEC official added, Now we have to spend hours retraining and reiterating rules to personnel who see these double standards and question why they should be held accountable when leadership is not. In the days since The Atlantic published the contents of the group chat, a gulf has opened between the public posture adopted by senior members of the administration and the private reaction of rank-and-file national-security officials aghast at the severity of the breach and troubled by the lack of repercussions. The disparity is likely to deepen if Donald Trump continues to resist holding anyone accountable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The presidents instructions to his team late this week remained to attack Goldberg and The Atlantic, and not produce a scalp by firing any members of his Cabinet, in the words of one outside adviser consulted by the White House who described the discussions to us. Senior Democrats have called on both Hegseth and the presidents national security adviser, Michael Waltz, who created the Signal group and added Goldberg, to resign or be fired. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to rule out the possibility of terminations but told reporters this week that Trump continues to have confidence in his national-security team. Trump, speaking in the Oval Office yesterday, said of his defense secretary, Hegseth is doing a great job. He had nothing to do with this. And the White House today confirmed plans for Waltz to join Vice President J. D. Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, on a visit to Greenland, in an apparent show of confidence in the national security adviser. In Congress, the reactions mostly reflected partisan differences, with some exceptions. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined the panels top Democrat, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, in asking the Defense Departments acting inspector general to investigate the incident. The acting inspector general, Steven A. Stebbins, was appointed principal deputy inspector general in 2023, under President Joe Biden, and took over leadership of the office on an acting basis following Trumps dismissal of the inspector general, Robert Storch, in Januarypart of a broad expulsion of inspectors general. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not clear whether or how quickly an investigation will take place. A spokesperson for the inspector generals office confirmed receipt of the request and told us it was being reviewed. Its also not clear whether there will be other investigations. In response to questioning this week before the Senate and House intelligence panels, FBI Director Kash Patel declined to say whether he would open an investigation. At an unrelated news conference earlier today, the attorney general, Pam Bondi, dismissed the prospect of an investigation. Bondi echoed Trump-administration talking points in describing the contents of the Signal chat as sensitive information, not classified, and sought to shift the focus to the success of the mission in Yemen. She then blamed Hillary Clinton and Biden for mishandling classified information. Both politicians faced probes into their conduct by the Justice Department, the agency traditionally responsible for enforcing the Espionage Act and other federal laws governing national defense information. Wicker, speaking to reporters this week, said he believed that the information shared in the chat should have been classified, contradicting senior Trump-administration officials who insisted they had heeded classification rules. But Wicker stopped short of calling for resignations. So, too, did Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who described the conduct as an egregious security breach that should serve as a wake-up call. Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska also delivered a blunt assessment, calling the Signal chat a gross error. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, told us that his Republican colleagues are more concerned about the breach than they let on publicly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think they are much more concerned privately, because they saw the text messages just as I did, he said in an interview. They saw the unredacted messages, and they are astonishing. Krishnamoorthi also said that the breach has broken through to the public in a way that demands consequences. They want to know that theres a uniform application of the law, the lawmaker told us. According to a YouGov poll released this week, 60 percent of Republicans view the conduct by Trump officials in the Signal chat as somewhat or very serious. Nearly 90 percent of Democrats said the same. Some conservative influencers broke ranks to warn of public perceptions about the incident. In a lengthy video posted to his more than 3.6 million followers on X, Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, called on Trump to fire someone. Somebody has to go down, he said. Tomi Lahren, another popular conservative-media personality, took issue with the administrations efforts to draw a distinction between war plans and attack plans, and to imply that the latter is less sensitive. Trying to wordsmith the hell outta this signal debacle is making it worse, she wrote on X. It was bad. And Im honestly getting sick of the whataboutisms from my own side. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Trump, for his part, has been angered by negative news coverage that he believes paints his White House as sloppy and that has distracted from his plans to implement further tariffs on American trading partners, two aides told us. Inside the White House, the episode brought back memories of the scandal surrounding Mike Flynn, Trumps national security adviser in the early days of his first term, as the presidents aides vowed to ensure a different outcome this time around. Flynn was forced to resign in February 2017 after he was revealed to have lied to thenVice President Mike Pence about conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Listen: Classified, or not classified?] Trump, who loathes admitting errors or issuing apologies, has expressed private regret about Flynns dismissal and has told advisers over the years that he thinks he gave up too easily. Some in the presidents orbit dont want another national security adviser thrown overboard so quickly. Still, some Trump allies believe that Waltz is more vulnerable than the secretary of defense. The bare-knuckle fight to get Hegseth narrowly confirmed reminded the presidents supporters of the push to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which became a significant victory for the MAGA movement. Hegseth is also receiving the most heat from Democrats, which may make the GOP more likely to try to rally around him. Waltz, meanwhile, is viewed with more suspicion by some of the presidents loyalists, who are directing blame at him not for initiating the Signal chat but for seeming to have the contact details of a journalist stored in his phone. (He has denied this while not explaining how he came to add Goldberg to the chat.) Trump advisers expressed anger toward Wicker and other Republicans on the Hill who have broken ranks. As a contrast, they held up Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican and longtime national-security hawk, who declared that no one should lose their job over the Signal debacle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grahams reward came last night in the form of a presidential endorsement on Truth Social in his reelection race, which is more than a year away: Lindsey has been a wonderful friend to me, and has always been there when I needed him. Article originally published at The Atlantic A protester waves Turkey's national flag before riot police as protesters flash the grey-wolf salute during a demonstration outside Istanbul's city hall to support Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu following his arrest. Credit - Kemal AslanAFP/Getty Images Once again, Turkey faces political turmoil. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of Turkeys main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) was detained on March 19 and then formally arrested on March 23. He stands accused of a host of poorly evidenced charges: establishing and managing a criminal organization, taking bribes, extortion, unlawfully recording personal data, and rigging a tender. Imamoglu, who called the charges a black stain on our democracy, has also been suspended from his position as mayor. If convicted, as is expected, he will not be allowed to run for President. Despite this, the CHP, which says the arrest is politically motivated, held its previously scheduled primary and named Imamoglu as its presidential candidate for the 2028 election. Meanwhile, protests continue to rock Turkey. Police have moved to try to contain them in Istanbul, the largest city; Ankara, the capital; Izmir; and other cities around the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve seen this scenario before. Erdogan has now been in power for 22 years, and he intends to remain there. He has tightened his governments control of the military, which launched a failed coup against him in 2016, the countrys justice system, and its media. Against that backdrop, the arrest of the candidate most likely to defeat Erdogan is unsurprising. When Imamoglu was first elected Istanbuls mayor in 2019, Erdogan claimed the election had been stolen and ordered a do-over. But Imamoglu won the rerun by a wider margin, and the CHP has since won control of every major city in Turkey. Erdogan is calculating that he can ride out the protests. Hes done it before. When his government announced in the summer of 2013 that Istanbuls Gezi Park, one of the citys few green spaces, was to be redeveloped to include a rebuilt Ottoman military barracks and a shopping mall, demonstrators began occupying the park. When police launched a harsh crackdown on those who had set up tents, public anger at Erdogans response triggered startlingly intense nationwide protests. Erdogan was able to let them pass, and nearly a dozen years later, he has a much firmer grip on the country. Still, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel and other opposition politicians are trying to keep Imamoglus story in the public eye by mobilizing the CHPs 1.7 million members. On March 24, Ozel called for a boycott of any media outlet that refuses to cover the protests. It will once again accuse Erdogan of using the power of the state against Turkeys democracy. But the Turkish Presidents ability to quell those protests make any threat to his government unlikely to succeed. By March 27, nearly 1,900 protesters had been arrested since Imamoglus detention. Erdogan himself has accused demonstrators and protest organizers of stirring unrest to disturb the peace and polarize our people. The government has so far largely tolerated the mass protests in Istanbul, where hundreds of thousands have been gathering. But elsewhere around the country, further from the public eye, they look set to be suppressed by any means necessary. There are also moves to push opposition voices off social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Erdogan isnt facing much international pressure to change course. The European Commission has issued a statement calling on Erdogans government to uphold democratic values, but it doesnt have leverage here. Turkeys President has a strong relationship with Donald Trump. All who want less volatility in the Middle East also want Erdogan to help stabilize the new government in Syria, and Europe wants NATO member Turkey to back its security guarantees for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Imamoglus arrest marks one more big step toward authoritarianism in Turkey, where democracy already came with an asterisk. Contact us at letters@time.com. Egg prices have dropped a lot in the last month, down 40% from the end of February, according to the American Enterprise Institute. But its a real shame that eggs dont stay fresh for a long, long time so folks can stock up, because some predict that prices will rise again as wild birds start circulating broadly in warm weather, potentially creating a surge in bird flu. That could create another egg-price crisis and leave consumers shell-shocked yet again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newsweek reported that prices have been volatile. On March 3, they were at a historic high of $8.17 a dozen, attributed to tight supplies and seasonable demand. The article takes its numbers from Trading Economics, which uses government data and showed the prices have fallen to $2.92. In early January, eggs were $5.81. Theyve slid up and down since. Bird flu and breakfast Theres a very strong link between H5N1 avian influenza and the cost of eggs. Since the virus began circulating broadly in the U.S., 166 million egg-laying hens have been from infected farms. Thats greatly reduced the number of eggs, which has in turn driven up prices. FactCheck.org, which is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, has slightly different numbers but points to the same issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Per the article, What is now the largest bird flu outbreak since 2015 has caused an egg shortage, as tens of millions of egg-producing hens have had to be killed to prevent further spread of the virus. As of March 20, more than 168 million birds had been affected in total, according to USDA data. Over 30 million birds from commercial egg layer flocks have been lost in 2025 alone." Writes AEI senior fellow Scott Gottlieb, Demand for eggs will likely remain strong, particularly with the Easter holiday drawing near. And our current respite from avian flu outbreaks may prove short-lived. The avian influenza strains now in circulation have persisted continuously among birds and mammals for nearly two years, and theres growing evidence that it could become a permanent feature of North America part of a new normal to which the poultry industry must inevitably adjust for both the physical and economic health of Americans. Bird flu is spread primarily by wild birds, which infect other animals, including those that eat wild birds. The virus has infected a number of different mammals, including a few humans in the U.S. who have come in close contact, primarily on dairy or poultry farms. Both dairy cows and poultry farms have experienced recent, serious outbreaks. Deciding what to do A number of approaches have been suggested to deal with the egg price conundrum, which is definitely tied into the question about how to tackle bird flu. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A week ago, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now the countrys top health official in his role over the Department of Health and Human Services, suggested that instead of killing infected birds and removing them, farmers should consider maybe the possibility of letting it run through the flock so that we can identify the birds and preserve the birds that are immune to it, as reported by both The New York Times and Fox News. Others worry that it would decimate the egg industry as so many hens became infected and could no longer supply eggs. And since viruses tend to mutate, allowing bird flu to run unchecked could ramp up the risk that it will change in ways that make it easier to infect other species, including humans. Per the Times, each infection gives the virus a chance to become more virulent. So far, it doesnt easily spread among people. But if H5N1 were allowed to run through a flock of 5 million birds, thats literally 5 million chances for that virus to replicate or to mutate, Dr. Gail Hansen, former Kansas state veterinarian, told the Times. Critics also note that its not known if there would be any hens that are naturally immune. And if so, they might not be immune to a subsequent mutation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others, including Gottlieb, believe that strategies to vaccinate egg-laying hens could be explored, though there are potential downsides like technological feasibility of mass vaccinations and trade objections; however, they can be addressed by advancing vaccine innovations and increasing biosecurity, as he put it. Newsweek notes that in February, the (U.S. Department of Agriculture) unveiled a $1 billion, five-point plan to tackle the price of eggs which included an additional $500 million for biosecurity measures, $400 million in financial relief for affected farmers, $100 million for vaccine research, action to reduce regulatory burdens and exploring temporary import options. President Donald Trump had called for importing eggs from other countries while U.S. prices are high, and this week, Newsweek reported the administration has reached an agreement to import eggs from Turkey and South Korea to help keep prices down. Easter, by the way, is likely to increase demand, which could also raise egg prices somewhat. As Newsweek reported, The USDA has predicted egg prices could soar more than 40% in 2025 and (Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke) Rollins said the Easter season would increase egg demand, resulting in spiking prices. As concerns over new tariffs and other potential duties hang over consumers heads, UPS wants to be transparent to shoppers on what they will pay if they buy a product from an overseas website. The logistics giant is launching UPS Global Checkout, a feature for e-commerce retailers that gives online shoppers an upfront view of the amount they will pay in duties, customs fees and taxes at checkout. In particular, the package courier seeks to eliminate a problem consumers often have upon receiving an international purchasegetting an additional bill for unpaid import costs. More from Sourcing Journal Available in 43 origin countries and delivering to more than 200 destinations worldwide, the service covers major markets in North America, Europe and Asia. The service adjusts to policy changes, international tax laws, duties and tariffs in real time, UPS says, effectively allowing shoppers to view the guaranteed total landed cost before completing the purchase. According to the company, the feature leverages artificial intelligence to assess items in the shopping cart and calculate the correct duties and taxes. Online shoppers can now enjoy full transparency and peace of mind with no surprises, knowing what they pay at checkout is the total cost for a cross-border purchase, said Kate Gutmann, executive vice president and president of international, healthcare and supply chain solutions at UPS, in a statement. This, combined with our total UPS premium delivery experience, benefits our customersthe retailersby helping to drive additional sales. Given trade shifts around the world, expanding growth opportunities in new markets can now be seamless. According to a survey from e-commerce personalization platform Nosto, 41 percent of 2,000 U.S. and U.K. shoppers, were deterred from buying from an international e-commerce site if the amount of duties and taxes was not clear at checkout. Consumer confidence on the whole is slipping as the tariffs come into play and shoppers lament their own personal finances. The latest data from The Conference Board on consumer confidence, released Tuesday, slipped for the fourth straight month in March. The Consumer Confidence Index sank 7.2 points to 92.9. Consumers expectations were especially gloomy, with pessimism about future business conditions deepening and confidence about future employment prospects falling to a 12-year low, said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement. Consumers optimism about future incomewhich had held up quite strongly in the past few monthslargely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers assessments of their personal situations. EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) With just 5 days until the Spring Election, both state Supreme Court candidates are continuing their campaign trails across the Badger State. After meeting with voters at the Republican Party Headquarters in Altoona the previous night, Judge Brad Schimel and former Governor Scott Walker stopped at the Menards Distribution Center in Eau Claire. When asked about his opponent Susan Crawford, Schimel suggested she hasnt been transparent with Wisconsin voters, She hasnt told them an awful lot about her history, hasnt told them about her time as Governor Doyles chief legal counsel, hasnt talked much about her time in private sector where she spent a lot of time suing the people of Wisconsin over laws that were passed. Judge Schimels Save Wisconsin bus tour also made stops in La Crosse and Marquette Counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Susan Crawford held an event in Oneida County, holding a meet and greet in the town of Woodruff. She talked to voters about her past growing up in a working-class family and how that has impacted her decisions as a judge. Crawford says, if elected, she would be a fair and impartial justice, adding that she believes her opponent does not have the best interests of Wisconsinites in mind, The other choice, the other person on the ballot is running to advance a partisan agenda, hes said hes going to be part of Donald Trumps support network on the court, thats not what our courts are for, we need to make sure that were standing up for the integrity of our courts as well. The Spring Election is Tuesday, April 1st. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX2548 & WIProud. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) Wichita Mayor Lily Wu took the opportunity Thursday during her weekly briefing to blast the newspaper and three TV stations, saying that they repeatedly misreported that I either refused or declined to sign a proclamation. Id like to ask each of them to cite their source, Wu said Thursday. Wu, a former journalist herself, is referring to the proclamation that declares March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility in Wichita, presented during the Wichita City Council meeting on March 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the meeting, Wu did not read or sign the proclamation, according to video of the meeting and council members who were in attendance. A city ordinance we cited in our reporting describes presenting the scheduled awards and proclamations as one of the mayors duties. Another ordinance states that the mayor shall sign all resolutions, proclamations, minutes. KSN reached out to Wu on at least two occasions last week for clarification on the vote and lack of signature or to offer an on-camera interview, with no response. KSN has interviewed her twice on other issues, since the city council meeting on March 18. In those interactions, she has not told us that any facts were reported incorrectly. Her only on-camera response was last Thursday at her weekly briefing with the media, when she read the following statement twice: All proclamations are electronically signed and added by staff. I do not print the documents, and I did not ask for my signature to be removed, she said. I did not vote for the proclamation, which was the first time ever Wichita has segregated the transgender community. KSN aired that statement in its entirety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What Wichita is doing to stay out of Stage 3 of drought plan Wu said again Thursday that she did not vote for the proclamation and did not ask for her signature to be removed. She said city staff determined it was a clerical error. Two other proclamations presented at that meeting were read by Wu and included her signature. Wu said city staff has implemented a new internal process for proclamations so this does not occur in the future, saying there will be a discussion on proclamation procedures at the next meeting on April 1. She also addressed her comment from two days after the March 18 council meeting, saying the proclamation was the first time ever Wichita has segregated the transgender community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many in the community took offense to that comment. She then defined segregate: to set apart from the rest or each other, isolate or divide. Clearly, this proclamation has divided our community. Mission accomplished for those who submitted it, Wu said. She said in 2024, she read an inclusive proclamation on LGBTQIA+ pride month. Wu wrapped up Thursdays briefing, accusing her critics of being more interested in trying to score political points than addressing Wichitas actual needs. Let me be clear, I believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility, she said. How you choose to live your life is none of my business. Please dont expect me to cheerlead for it. MORE Continuing Coverage Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Wichita Mayor Lilly Wu as a reporter in 2023 - Wichita Mayor Lily Wu is accusing three local TV stations along with a newspaper of misreporting whether or not she refused to vote for a city ordinance about Transgender Day of Visibility. Wu is a former local TV reporter who left Wichita CBS affiliate KWCH in 2023 order to run for mayor. The claims seem to center around, to paraphrase Bill Clinton, what the definition of is is, whether Wu refused to sign a the proclamation or just didnt vote for it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, Wu said the Wichita Eagle, along with KSN, KWCH and KAKE News, all "repeatedly misreported" that she refused or declined to sign the proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility on March 18. "Id like to ask each of them [news outlets] to cite their source," Wu said. "Let me repeat: while I did not vote for this proclamation, I also did not ask for my signature to be removed. City staff has determined this was a clerical error, and they have implemented a new internal process for proclamations so this does not occur in the future." All proclamations are electronically signed and added by staff, Wu said last week. I did not print the document. I did not ask for my signature to be removed. I did not vote for this proclamation, which was the first time Wichita has ever segregated the transgender community. Let me be clear, I believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility," said Wu. "How you choose to live your life is none of my business. Please don't expect me to cheerlead for it." Wildfire season in Eastern Washington hits hard in the summer. Last summer, numerous fires blazed in the region, including one near the Hanford site, one near Lyons Ferry State Park, and others closer to Yakima. Then-Governor Jay Inslee declared a statewide emergency in August due to a series of fires across the state. But wildfires begin before summertime, with fires starting in early spring most years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this week, a fire near Richland off Highway 240 surfaced and rekindled a couple days later. With high wind, its possible the fire could reignite yet again. Highway 240 fire The 20+acre fire broke out early Sunday in the delta between the Yakima and Columbia rivers. It took several agencies a couple hours to stop the fire from growing, according to Richland Fire Battalion Chief Michael VanBeek. He said the terrain made it difficult to access the fire. The fire grew again on Wednesday. Fire officials expect the fire to continue burning for at least a few days depending on the weather. For now, the fire has been deemed 100% contained by the fire breaks created by fire crews. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The remaining blaze is being monitored for public safety. The nearby bike path was closed for a time but has reopened after officials check the area for fallen or weakened limbs. Contained vs. controlled fires What does contained even mean? Fire containment refers to the perimeter, not the full fire, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Responding firefighters work to implement control lines, or man-made barriers that cannot catch fire. Sometimes this means removing all burnable material, or digging a pit. Control lines can also be created by setting controlled fires around the perimeter, which was done around this fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A fires containment percentage reflects how much of its perimeter has effective control lines in place. Its considered effective when firefighters are confident the fire will not grow past that barrier, barring a particularly large gust of wind or other severe complication. When entirely contained, the fire will have nowhere to go. At this point, fire crews will work to extinguish remaining flames, knowing the fire isnt spreading. A fire can be deemed controlled when it has burned out or is mostly extinguished. A controlled fire can have hot spots or embers, but is no longer a public safety issue. A fire is considered out when there are no signs of smoke or fire activity. That could take days or weeks in the Yakima River Delta near Richland, say fire officials. As rain continues to elude most of Florida, the number of wildfires continues to grow across the state, and several counties were placed under a red flag warning Friday, March 28. As of Friday morning, there are 61 wildfires in the state, up from 59 Thursday morning, according to the Florida Forest Service. Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Martin County Sheriff's Office evacuated about a dozen homes in Palm City Thursday as firefighters battled two brush fires that have burned 210 acres. As of Thursday night, the Gator Fire was 50% contained. It was the second time in two days homes were evacuated as wildfires neared homes. A fire in Collier County Wednesday threatened homes and a park, prompting evacuations. The biggest fire in the state continues to be the 344 Fire in south Miami-Dade County, which has burned almost 27,000 acres as of March 28, according to the Florida Forest Service. It is now 95% contained. Most of Florida's peninsula is abnormally dry, with two large sections of the state under severe drought conditions, according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Map: See where wildfires are burning right now in Florida Interactive map: Enter your address to find closest wildfire risks Current drought conditions in Florida The Keetch-Byram Drought Index average for Florida continues to climb again, jumping to a statewide average of 339 Thursday from 332 on Wednesday. Red flag warnings extend along the West Coast into portions of Central Florida. The drought index uses a scale from 0, which is very wet, to 800, which is very dry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Thursday, March 27, there were 14 Florida counties with an average Keetch-Byram Drought Index over 500, which means drought or increased fire danger. Highlands and Sumter counties were the newest additions. Broward: 660 Charlotte: 539 Collier: 610 Glades: 582 Hardee: 521 Hendry: 595 Highlands: 504 Lake: 514 Lee: 575 Manatee: 511 Miami-Dade: 609 Monroe: 584 Palm Beach: 609 Sarasota: 515 Sumter: 503 Another 14 of Florida's 67 counties have index numbers in the 400s. Red flag warnings issued for 14 counties as drought conditions worsen Red flag warnings have been issued for 14 counties March 28, 2025. The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings for 14 counties: Charlotte Citrus DeSoto Hardee Hernando Hillsborough Lake Lee Manatee Pasco Pinellas Polk Sarasota Sumter What is a red flag warning? A red flag warning is issued when "critical fire weather conditions" are in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "A red flag warning means warm temperatures, very low humidity, and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger," the National Weather Service said. Homes evacuated in Palm City as brush fires burn 210 acres Officials in Palm City urged residents of about a dozen homes to evacuate as firefighters fought two brush fires Thursday. Friday morning, the Florida Forest Service said the Gator Fire in Martin County had burned 210 acres and was 50% contained. The second fire burned about an acre in Hobe Sound. Brush fire in Collier County burns 10 acres. Residents urged to evacuate A fire near the Naples community of Wilshire Lakes prompted officials to ask residents to evacuate. North Collier Regional Park was closed, along with several roads in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There were huge flames in people's backyards, in our neighborhood, and the smoke just kept rising and rising," said Kristin Milewicz, a resident of the Wilshire Lakes neighborhood. The Collier Regional fire, which grew to 10 acres, was 99 percent contained Friday morning, according to the Florida Forest Service. Florida weather radar: Are any storms expected in Florida today? Florida forecast into the weekend Expect temperatures to climb into the upper 70s to middle 80s across the state through Friday, with coastal areas keeping slightly cooler compared to inland areas with the sea breeze developing. Low temperatures will reach the 50s and 60s overnight, with Southeast Florida and the Keys falling into the lower 70s, the Florida Department of Emergency Management said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rain chances increase Saturday across the Panhandle and eventually the Big Bend. The Weather Prediction Center is predicting a marginal risk (level 1 of 4) for flash flooding along the far western Panhandle counties on Saturday for potentially locally heavy rainfall, but there remains low confidence about the overall set up and systems development. There could also be a chance for an increase in spotty or isolated showers during the late afternoon and into the evening hours throughout the Florida peninsula, confidence remains low due to ongoing dry conditions from the nearby high pressure (15-20% chance of rain). High temperatures will reach the middle to upper 70s along the coastlines and lower to middle 80s across inland areas. Low temperatures will only fall into the 60s and lower 70s overnight in the wake of a warm front pushing northward, the Florida Department of Emergency Management said. Stay informed. Get weather alerts via text What's next? We will continue to update our weather coverage as conditions warrant. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And look for our special subscription offers here. Contributing: Tayeba Hussein, Naples Daily News This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida brush fires, drought prompt red flag warnings Williamson County commissioners have chosen Liberty Hill school district Superintendent Steven Snell as the new county judge. Snell will replace former county Judge Bill Gravell, who resigned March 10 to take a job with the Trump administration. Snell will serve until the next general election on Nov. 3, 2026. The commissioners interviewed Snell as well as three other candidates in an executive session on Thursday before approving Snell with a 3-1 public vote. Commissioner Russ Boles voted against Snell but made no comments at the meeting about his decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The choice has got to carry us into the future and it's coming at us hard and fast, and I think Steven Snell is ready to take us there," Commissioner Terry Cook said at the meeting. Steven Snell More: Commissioners to interview 4 candidates to become next Williamson County judge Snell, 55, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. He previously told the Statesman that if appointed as county judge he would be "a champion for Williamson County and a champion for the interests of the economy for the county and a champion for all 17 school districts inside Williamson County." The other three candidates who commissioners interviewed for the job were Andrew Webb, the executive vice president of Watkins Insurance Group and a former Georgetown school board member; Matt Powell, a former Cedar Park mayor and a former Cedar Park City Councilmember and Elvis Lossa, who is the policy director for the Texas Speaker of the House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell resigns to take position in Trump administration The entire court was dedicated to promptly selecting a highly qualified candidate who could hit the ground running as we are in a crucial time in our budget season, Commissioner Valerie Covey said in a county news release. We are excited to work alongside Steven in setting the priorities for Williamson County through our budget and our strategic plan. Snell has been the superintendent for the Liberty Hill school district for six years. The enrollment in the district has grown by 126% in the past five years, according to the release. "As superintendent, he led the community through two successful bond elections with construction projects totaling more than $1 billion," the release said. Snell is a Leander resident who is an active community member participating on several boards and councils, including the Liberty Hill Economic Development Council Board and Liberty Hill ISD Education Foundation, according to the release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gravell had served as county judge since 2019. He resigned to take a position as the Region 6 advocate for the U.S. Small Business Administration's office of advocacy. Snell will step down from his job as superintendent to serve as the county judge, officials posted on the Liberty Hill school district website. Steven Snell has been a tremendous leader for Liberty Hill ISD, always keeping students at the heart of every decision, school board president Megan Parsons said in the posting. His ability to build relationships, listen to our community, and lead with vision, honesty and sincerity has left a lasting impact on our district. While we will certainly miss his leadership, we are excited to see the great things he will accomplish for Williamson County in his new role." The Liberty Hill school board will meet in April to discuss next steps, including the timeline and process for selecting a new superintendent, officials said. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Liberty Hill Superintendent Snell named new Williamson County judge WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) In Wilson County, growth continues to be a headline. About 60% of that growth has been in the city of Lebanon over the last six years. While its considered a desirable location, Wilson County also ranks No. 1 in the state when it comes to public safety, education, and agriculture, according to data from the mayors office. Of course we want to be the best in the state of Tennessee when you compare us to all 95 counties, Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Huttos annual State of the County Address on Wednesday, March 26, he pointed out Wilson County is the 27th fastest growing county in the nation. Meanwhile, as News 2 reported last year, Lebanon was named the 12th fastest growing city in the country. Lebanon family has no regrets going cold turkey from screen time According to Hutto, the county is No. 1 in the state when it comes to public safety based on several factors. Weve just doubled the size of the jail here in Wilson County. With that double in size of the jail, we put a 911 location center there, Hutto said. Last week, law enforcement and first responders across the county trained for an active shooter situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a big process, something weve never been through, but its something that can happen any day, Capt. Scott Moore with the Wilson County Sheriffs Office told News 2 on Thursday, March 20. Wilson County is one step closer to building new middle school On top of safety in schools, officials had license plate recognition cameras installed across the county, with cameras in both Mt. Juliet and Lebanon catching criminals from surrounding areas. According to recent data, more than 88% of the people arrested in Mt. Juliet this month were not Mt. Juliet residents. In fact, the majority of them were from the Nashville area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hutto said Wilson County also leads in education as the growing population demands more schools. In the last 12 years, the county built 12 schools. I know the most asked question I get all the time is, Im driving down the road and I see that construction site and everybody says, Whats over there?' Hutto said. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com When it comes to new development, from the Costco Wholesale in Mt. Juliet to the In-N-Out Burger coming to Lebanon, just to name a couple, Hutto said the county has seen a 44% increase in jobs, which has brought more people to Wilson County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were the second lowest unemployment rate in the state of Tennessee, and that was as of August of 24, Hutto 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 WKRN News 2. Wisconsins attorney general has taken action in court to block Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks to voters over the weekend before the states Supreme Court election. Attorney General Josh Kaul asked the Dane County Circuit Court to issue an emergency injunction to stop the action at an event hosted by the worlds richest man, which Musk previously announced on his social media platform X. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair, Kaul wrote in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend. Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening, wrote Kaul. Its illegal in Wisconsin to pay voters to vote for a particular candidate in state elections, or even to pay residents to turn out to vote. The tech billionaire has become active in the state supporting a conservative candidate for the state Supreme Court. Federal law also prohibits the payment of U.S. citizens in exchange for registering to vote or casting ballots. Musk initially announced that two mega prizes $1 million each would be given to two voters casting ballots in the Supreme Court race. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote, Musk wrote on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is super important, he added. He later deleted the post, saying that the money would instead go to signers of his petition targeting activist judges. Musk announced on X he would be handing out two $1 million awards for voting in the Wisconsin Supreme Court elections in person, but later deleted the post (AP) Earlier this week, Musks America PAC gave $1 million to a man from Green Bay, Wisconsin, who urged voters to cast their ballots for conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel. Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, has the endorsement of both Musk and Donald Trump. He faces the Democratic-backed Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford in the election taking place on April 1. Kauls injunction request was randomly assigned to Crawford though her spokesperson said she would recuse herself from the case, The Associated Press reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk has previously faced similar legal issues and controversy while courting conservative-leaning voters during the presidential election by offering $1 million payouts in a sweepstakes to those who agreed to sign a conservative petition. Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ban Winkler accused Musk Friday of blatantly illegal behavior in the election, calling it a chainsaw attack on democracy and the rule of law in Wisconsin and our nation, Wikler said in a statement. Musk has yet to respond. Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, said its illegal for Elon Musk to cut $1 million paychecks for voters who support Brad Schimel, a Republican candidate for the states Supreme Court. Elon Musk has committed a blatant felony by offering money for votes in order to help Brad Schimel, Wikler said in a Friday statement. Musks illegal election bribery scheme to put Brad Schimel on the Supreme Court is a chainsaw attack on democracy and the rule of law in Wisconsin and our nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tech giant deleted his early Friday post outlining plans to travel to Wisconsin to personally deliver funds. On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election, Musk said in a post on the social platform X, which has now been taken down. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important, he added. Later in the day, he clarified the earlier post to say he would pay spokespeople $1 million to support Schimel. On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges, Musk said in a separate post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition, he added. Wikler alleges Musks first statement violates the law and has encouraged law enforcement to hold the Tesla CEO accountable for attempts to sway the publics vote. Elon Musk should be brought to justice for his illegal attempt to buy votes for Brad Schimel, and Brad Schimel should immediately condemn Musks crimes and disavow his continued involvement in his campaign. If Schimel does not immediately call on Musk to end this criminal activity, we can only assume he is complicit, Wikler said. Law enforcement must act now before this goes any further. Musks crime to assist Brad Schimel has already been committed, and if Elon Musk sets foot in Wisconsin, he should be placed in handcuffs and held accountablejust like any other criminal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk notably gave out $1 million to voters in swing states during the 2024 presidential election through his pro-Trump America PAC despite receiving a warning letter from the Department of Justice. Its unclear whether Democrats will file a lawsuit over Musks recent swipe at voters but some say they would have a strong reason to bring forth a case. Earlier payments were for registering but this is for voting. A clear violation of the states election bribery law, Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin Madison, wrote in a post on X. Updated at 2:27 p.m. EDT 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. Armenia has once again harassed the members of the OSCE Permanent Council over nonsense. Recently, according to Armenian media with reference to Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Abisoghomonyan, a special OSCE meeting was held, convened at the request of Yerevan. The Armenian authorities hastened to complain to the international organization about Baku in connection with "alarming signs of a possible military escalation on the part of Azerbaijan." It seems that the real reason for Armenia's concern was not the imaginary "alarming signs of military escalation", but the fact that the provocations of the Armenian side on the border became too widely known. At any other time, these facts would not have attracted much attention, but after the statements about the readiness of the text of the peace treaty, every shot on the conditional border raises questions, and Yerevan ran ahead so that the role of the lamb in this situation would go to him. In his denunciation, Abisoghomonyan said that Yerevan had proposed to Baku to create a joint mechanism to investigate the incidents, as well as to withdraw troops from the border and establish arms control. "However, Azerbaijan has not given a constructive response, which casts doubt on the sincerity of its statements and raises the question of the real goals of official Baku," the Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister said. Abisogomonyan calls the reports of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on the violation of the ceasefire regime by the Armenian Armed Forces "disinformation", allegedly anticipating a "new wave of tension." The Armenian official called on the international community to immediately cover Armenia with its broad chest. In the messages of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, he saw analogies with the events of 2020 and 2023. It should be recalled that in recent days, after a certain lull, the Armenian side has again begun to violate the ceasefire. As soon as it became known about the approval of the text of the peace treaty, the neighbors started shooting. The Armenian Defense Ministry made a very strange statement about this, announcing that shots were heard at the border, but they were not aimed at Armenian territory. These explanations have confused everything even more, because the residents of Goris themselves report on social networks about the shooting. An unpleasant note was introduced into the situation by the EU observation mission, which "did not hear" not only the exchange of fire, but even those incomprehensible shots mentioned by the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. From the point of view of Europeans, everything is quiet and peaceful. It is not at all necessary that the order for provocations was given personally by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Nikol Pashinyan. But that doesn't change the case. The Azerbaijani side doesn't care who gave the orders, even if the provocations were the work of the Yerkrap extremists, who are known to be stationed on the conditional border and have already seriously paid for their "patriotic" incontinence. It should be noted that the OSCE Permanent Council already meets in Vienna once a week, and Yerevan should not have bothered the members of the structure. Extraordinary meetings are held on extraordinary occasions, but is there one in this case? There is no reason for an urgent meeting, but there are Armenian fears. Such fears are experienced by a thief who is in a hurry to call another a thief in order to deflect accusations from himself. Having enlisted the support of European observers, Armenia hastened to divert the fire from itself and redirect it to Baku, which, they say, invented everything to find a reason for "aggression." It is worth emphasizing that Azerbaijan has never demanded that the OSCE convene special meetings, while Armenia haunts the members of the structure with its complaints, whining and fantasies. After the escalation in September 2022, when, in response to the provocations of the Armenian Armed Forces, the Azerbaijani Army defeated the Armenian positions, Yerevan established an emergency meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council. It should be recalled that on the night of September 13, 2022, the Armenian Armed Forces staged a large-scale provocation in the Dashkesan, Kalbajar, Lachin and Zangilan directions. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces retaliated, as a result of which the Armenian side suffered heavy losses, and the Azerbaijani side took advantageous positions. As President Ilham Aliyev said about those events, as a result of the September clashes on the border, "we managed to insure ourselves against big problems in the future," because revanchist forces are raising their heads in Armenia. The purpose of that provocation was to disrupt the negotiations between the heads of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Prague, as well as the unwillingness to withdraw the Armenian gangs from Karabakh. Armenia demanded an emergency OSCE meeting even after the start of the counter-terrorism operation in September 2023. Ambassador Papikian was zealous in his desire to convey to the members of the organization the full "horror" of the "aggression" experienced by the separatists, being sure that the colorful pictures of Armenian pseudo-suffering would make an impression, as it happened before, and encourage action. Papikyan demanded immediate intervention and sanctions against Baku. But none of this happened. The screams and snot were ignored. In the following days, the Armenian side reconvened an extraordinary OSCE meeting on the issue of Armenians voluntarily leaving Karabakh, hoping to incline the organization to sanctions and specific accusations of "ethnic cleansing." And again, nothing happened. What was Yerevan counting on, interrupting the members of the OSCE Permanent Council from important matters this time? Hardly anyone expected that in the situation with the shelling complicated by the Armenian side, someone would make loud statements and, moreover, take measures. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the Armenian shelling recorded on the eve and during the Novruz holiday an "information attack" by the Azerbaijani side. However, he stated that Yerevan was ready to investigate everything if "specific information" was provided. Didn't the information provided by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense contain specifics? The messages of the Ministry of Defense indicate very clearly in what time period and from which directions the fire was conducted. Does Pashinyan want the agency to tell him the names of the shooters? Yerevan itself should find out which scumbag gave the order for provocations, if, as the Armenian prime minister claims, he so dreams of peace in the region. The Armenian special services should also investigate why the provocations broke out precisely after the completion of work on the text of the peace treaty was announced. It can't be an accident. Nor is the unexpected "blindness" of European observers accidental. Everything that the Armenian side is trying to do is meaningless. And it is also ineffective if Yerevan thinks that such behavior contributes to achieving peace through pressure on Baku. It is time for Armenia to stop looking for advocates in international organizations, parliaments and political circles of third countries. Because in any case, it will have to deal exclusively with Azerbaijan and adapt to its fundamental approaches and views on the future of the region. The main concern of the neighbors today is to behave in such a way that there is a place for Armenia in this future. State superintendent Jill Underly has been more than clear about her stance on Wisconsin's school choice program, most recently saying shed like to see the 35-year voucher program ultimately eliminated. Her opponent has been less clear. Education consultant Brittany Kinser is vocal about her support for school choice but has repeatedly dodged questions about whether the program should expand for state taxpayers to cover Wisconsin's wealthiest families sending their children to private schools. The 2025 state superintendent of public instruction candidates include, from left, incumbent Jill Underly and education consultant Brittany Kinser. The two candidates face off in the April 1 election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state superintendent cannot expand the voucher program. Expanding or contracting it would fall to the Legislature and governor. But candidates' positions are frequently a fault line in the superintendent race and informative to voters. Kinser calls herself a moderate. She is backed by Republicans, who have pushed to expand the state's private-school voucher program to include wealthier students and to areas outside of Milwaukee. "I don't have the answers to all of this," Kinser told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week when asked whether she supports a universal voucher program. "I really got into this because kids can't read and because I believe parents should have a choice." Kinser taught special education in Chicago Public Schools before shifting to teaching and administrative roles in charter schools. More recently, she led City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee nonprofit that supports charter and voucher schools. She is currently a literacy consultant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Underly, a Democrat in her first term, is an advocate for traditional public schools, which, by law, must serve all students. Private schools have the option to turn away students they say they cannot support. Ultimately, yes. I would like to see (school choice) eliminated, Underly, a Democrat, told PBS Wisconsin in an interview published this week. We are spending so much money on it that its taking money from our public schools. Wisconsin has a long history with vouchers Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to launch a private-school voucher program for children living in low-income households in Milwaukee in 1990. It was open to families with family income less than 175% of the federal poverty level. The schools receive tax-funded vouchers for these students, who are not charged tuition. The program expanded over the years, both in terms of enrollment and eligibility. There's now a Racine choice program, as well as a statewide program. Last school year, about 29,000 students got vouchers for the Milwaukee program, 4,000 for the Racine program, and 19,000 in the statewide program. Voucher payments were $9,893 for K-8 students and $12,387 for high school students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2022, the GOP-controlled state Assembly passed a bill that would establish a universal voucher program. The state Senate did not take it up. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in 2023 signed into law a bill increasing voucher payments by as much as 41% for some students. It was part of a larger deal with GOP leaders to save Milwaukee from a fiscal crisis. Kinser lobbied in support of the bill, which also included higher payments for charter schools and a bump for public school districts that get the least amount of funding. Eleven other states, most of which are politically conservative, offer universal school choice programs, according to Ballotpedia. Wisconsin's remains income-restricted. State superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser said she has no position on universal voucher program Again and again throughout the three months of the campaign, Kinser has declined to take positions on a universal voucher program or income limits in the state's existing program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I haven't looked into that directly," she told WDJT-TV (Channel 58) in January when asked whether she supports income limits for vouchers. "I'm thinking about what kids need in the classroom." "I don't have all of those details," Kinser told WISN-TV (Channel 12) in an interview aired March 23. "I support that all families should have a choice on where they send their child. There are 30 other states where blue states, red states, purple states where the money follows the child." In a Journal Sentinel interview on March 5, Kinser sidestepped a question on income limits, saying she was not a lawmaker. She also declined to say whether she would testify in support of a bill in front of the Legislature, something the DPI often does when lawmakers hold hearings on education bills. "I'm going to be welcoming of any school that is educating kids," she said. "Right now, a lot of people, a lot of charter and schools that are private, that are using the scholarships, don't feel welcomed by DPI." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kinser and other school choice supporters say families deserve options when public schools are underperforming. "We should be listening to our families and asking, 'What is it that you need for your children?'" Kinser said at a public forum this week hosted by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Press Club and WisPolitics.com. "Why are you leaving the traditional public schools?" Kelly Meyerhofer covers higher education in Wisconsin. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin superintendent Jill Underly calls for cutting school choice MADISON, Wis. (AP) Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a Republican-authored bill Friday that would have required state education officials to score standardized student tests according to the scale they used years ago. State schools Superintendent Jill Underly, a liberal who faces conservative Brittany Kinser in Tuesday's spring election, changed student standardized testing benchmarks and scoring thresholds for school district performance report cards last year. She has said that she made the performance changes at the request of Wisconsin teachers and how they felt their students can perform. Republicans argue the changes watered down standards in an effort to artificially inflate performance grades and made it harder to compare Wisconsin students and districts to their peers around the rest of the country. Evers has said Underly made a mistake because she didn't cerate a public dialogue about the changes before she imposed them, but online legislative records indicate he vetoed the bill on Friday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governor said in his veto message that while he's been critical of the process, he objects to legislators trying to undermine the state superintendent's authority and independence. Evers served as state schools superintendent before he became governor in 2019. The measure would have required education officials to apply performance levels established by the National Assessment of Educational Process when rating the Wisconsin Forward exam, a standardized English and math test. They also would have had to use terms from the 2021-22 school year to rate student performance on two other standardized tests, the PreACT and ACT with Writing in English, Reading and Mathematics. The categories would be called below basic, basic, proficient or advanced. DPI now describes student performance levels as advanced, meeting, approaching and developing. The state Department of Public Instruction would have had to use the same scoring system for school district report cards as the agency used during the 2019-20 school year. LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) A Las Cruces man is sharing his experience as a deadly shooting played out before his eyes, and how he tried to help. That man happened to stop at Young Park, where people were gathered for a car meet, but it wasnt long before gunshots were fired. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was late Friday night on March 21 at Young Park in Las Cruces when sounds of gunshots erupted during an unsanctioned car meet. I was only there for less than 10 minutes when the shooting happened, I just heard gunshots and everybody running, said Toby Mondragon. He initially was out for a drive to get some food and decided to stop and check out the car meet. When the shots first happened, I thought they were just cars revving their engine to backfire, but then I just saw a lot of people running away, said Mondragon. Mondragon said that in the midst of the chaos, he saw 19-year-old Dominick Estrada wounded on the ground and rushed over to help. Honestly, I think just in that moment, I just went over there, saw him on the ground just bleeding, so I just try to do the best that I could, said Mondragon. He works at a local hospital as an ICU and ER tech and said Estrada didnt have a pulse, so he called 911 and started performing CPR until first responders got there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Estrada, along with 16-year-old Andrew Madrid and 18-year-old Jason Gomez, were killed, and dozens of others were injured. Mondragon said it was especially hard to see this happen to someone so young. Thats the one thing that bothered me because he was still young. 19, about to start his life, and then out of the blue it was taken away, said Mondragon. He said he has great appreciation for the first responders and a message for Estradas family. Im sorry for your loss, hopefully we get justice for what happened, said Mondragon. Meanwhile, all four suspects in the shooting will remain locked up until trial. In a motion filed Wednesday, 20-year-old Tomas Rivas waived his pretrial detention hearing and agreed to be detained. The juveniles are two 17-year-old boys and one 15-year-old boy. They have not been publicly identified. All four suspects are facing three counts of murder. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) Police are searching for a man accused of pushing an 86-year-old woman inside a supermarket in Manhattan on Sunday. It happened at the Morton Williams Supermarket on Third Avenue on the Upper East Side around 1:30 p.m., according to authorities. The woman was pushed to the ground from behind, causing her to fall to the ground, police said. More Local News She suffered injuries to her left eye and back and multiple teeth were broken, according to authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center by EMS, police said. The suspect was last seen wearing a gray and burgundy jacket, a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and gray 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). Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her 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 PIX11. NEW YORK (PIX11) A woman in Florida was arrested and charged in connection with illegally receiving financial benefits from Section 8 while subletting an apartment in the Bronx, according to the New York City Department of Investigations. Australia Gonzalez, 65, was charged with grand larceny, petit larceny and offering a false instrument for filing, authorities say. More Local News The New York City Housing Authority paid more than $50,000 in benefits to Gonzalez between 2019 and 2024 for her Bronx apartment while she was actually living in Florida, investigators report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This defendant, a Section 8 recipient, obtained tens of thousands of dollars in rental subsidies to which she was not entitled, by omitting and misrepresenting to NYCHA key facts about her residency and household income, according to the charges, said DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber. More Crime News In the criminal complaint, Gonzalez is accused of subletting the apartment to two people who paid between $750 to $800 in rent. She reportedly failed to report that income to NYCHA and even claimed that she was unemployed, resulting in Gonzalez receiving more in housing benefits, investigators say. The Section 8 Housing Voucher Program, is meant to provide rental assistance to low-income families. NYCHA administers the largest Section 8 program in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If convicted, Gonzalez could face almost 30 years in prison. Her next court date is set for May. 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (WFRV) Authorities in southwestern Wisconsin say a woman was arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with an inmate while working at a detention center. According to the Vernon County Sheriffs Office, on March 27, around 3:30 p.m., a 32-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with an inmate. The inmate was reportedly at the Vernon County Detention Center. The alleged incident happened while the woman was employed by the contracted food service vendor. Authorities say correctional staff were made aware of the incident(s) late March 27. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Business owner who brought 15+ kilograms of cocaine into Wisconsin community sentenced for trafficking The woman is expected to appear in court on March 28. The release also mentioned the woman is being held for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections stemming from a conviction in Richland County where she was also serving time on the electronic monitoring program. Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson thanked his team for working efficiently during the ongoing investigation. Any event that would compromise the safety and security of anyone in our facility is taken with the utmost seriousness. I would like to thank my entire team for working efficiently during this ongoing investigation. This will include a review of all protocols in an effort to prevent any future incidents. Although not a mandated report, Sheriff Torgerson has notified the state jail inspector of the incident(s). Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson Authorities say the victim is receiving services and is not one of the estimated 56 contracted state inmates. The woman was not a Vernon County employee, according to the release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Manitowoc County Sheriffs arrest alleged meth dealer and supplier, various other drugs seized No additional information was 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. Woman arrested in child abuse incident GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) A woman was arrested Friday after law enforcement learned about a staff member allegedly abusing a child at a local business. The Grand Junction Police Department initially received a report of child abuse at a business in the 500 block of 25 1/2 Road. The name of the business wasnt identified in the news release. Sierrah Cordova On March 20, GJPD officers and detectives began investigating the child abuse allegations. Through the investigation, detectives found probable cause to arrest the suspect, 21-year-old Sierrah Cordova. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cordova is charged with child abuse and second-degree assault with the intent to cause bodily injury by strangulation. She was taken into custody and transported to the Mesa County Detention Facility. The police department said it believes theres no further danger to the community. The investigation is ongoing. The Grand Junction Police Department takes incidents of this nature seriously and encourages community members to report any criminal activity, the release said. GJPD said due to Colorado law it is unable to release the exact address of where the incident occurred. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PAW PAW, Mich. (WOOD) As family, friends and neighbors in the Amish community set up for the funeral of an 8-year-old girl, the woman accused of crashing into a horse and buggy and killing her appeared in a Van Buren County courtroom Friday. Its a case that the family of 8-year-old Alma Yoder, who was killed in the crash, will not likely follow. Im sure theyre totally, I mean, they forgive her. They know its the hand of God, said Rudy Miller, a member of the local Amish community who is arranging the girls funeral. Im sure they dont hold absolutely anything against her for doing that, you know. Of course, its sad that their daughter is no longer here, but we just feel it was the hand of God. DRIVER CHARGED WITH OWI, MANSLAUGHTER On Friday afternoon, 31-year-old Sheila Kershner of Mattawan was charged with eight criminal counts: operating while intoxicated causing death, reckless driving causing death, manslaughter with a motor vehicle, operating while intoxicated causing a serious injury, reckless driving causing serious impairment of a bodily function, misdemeanor fourth-degree child abuse and two counts of operating under the influence with a passenger under the age of 16 years. The most serious of the charges are punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She showed no emotion in a video hookup from the Van Buren County Jail. Sheila Kershner appears in a Paw Paw courtroom via video linkup for arraignment on March 28, 2025. Court officials said Kershner is accused of being under the influence of several prescription controlled substances. During the arraignment, Judge Michael McKay said that intoxicated driving is a serious threat in Van Buren County. Statistically (its) more serious than any of the assault crimes. In this case, with the worst possible outcome: We have an intoxicated driver with two of her own (children) in the vehicle hit someone elses vehicle and kills one of their children and seriously injured a second She represents the most serious kind of risk to the public, McKay said before setting Kershners bond at $500,000 cash surety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MSP: Amish child killed when SUV hit buggy near Lawrence The crash happened a little after 8 a.m. Wednesday in the area of County Road 215 and 60th Avenue near Lawrence. Preliminary investigation was that the buggy was traveling northbound on County Road 215 before it was rear-ended by the SUV, Michigan State Police Lt. DuWayne Robinson said at the scene. Police say the womans two young children were in the SUV with her. When troopers got there, one of the children (from the buggy) was on the hood of the intoxicated drivers vehicle, and I dont know if your children saw that, but I cant imagine how traumatic that was for them, the judge said in court. GIRL REMEMBERED AS SWEET, SMILING Alma Yoder was a passenger in the buggy operated by her big brother, 12-year-old Joey, who was injured in the crash. The familys horse died. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were about a mile from their home in Lawrence Township, headed to school. Rudy Miller is the Amish community member arranging Saturdays funeral in a large white tent at the home of the girls family. As they prepared Friday, Amish children played on a swing set in the familys yard and tossed a football. She was a sweet little girl, always had a smile on her face, he said. She actually almost every day went by my house going to school, so I wont be seeing that anymore. He said the boy was released from the hospital Friday. Hes fine. Hes actually home, he said. They brought him home this morning, so he should be able to be at his sisters funeral. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The funeral is expected to draw hundreds from around the Midwest. Miller said local Amish families are overwhelmed by the support from those outside the community. We had an unbelievable amount of people who are bringing food and offering rides, he said. We have a list of people, there must have been at least 60 people on that list. People (are) offering up their homes because theyre going on a vacation. Theyre like, just go in and help yourselves. People (are) just showing compassion, we just really, really appreciate it that; you know, people doing that. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Yoder family pay for medical expenses for the 12-year-old and funeral expenses for Alma. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspect is scheduled back in court April 9. She has no previous driving record, according to the Michigan Secretary of State. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A woman is expected to be charged after running naked through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and attacking airport staff on March 14, according to a police report. Police responded to the airports Terminal D at around 3:30 p.m. in regard to a welfare check, according to the report. Upon opening a fire exit door, they located the woman, who was surrounded by blood. Witnesses told officers that she had stabbed someone with a pencil, according to the report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While suffering from an apparent mental health episode, the woman stripped off her clothing and began to attack people, police said. A nearby restaurant kitchen manager tried to subdue the woman and was bitten on his right forearm, causing him to bleed, according to the report. The woman then grabbed a pencil out of the restaurant managers shirt pocket and stabbed him multiple times in the face and head, police said. While speaking to police, the woman told officers she was a goddess, and had come from hell, according to the report. She told police she arrived at the airport in a car that she had manifested, and admitted to wanting to hurt others, according to the report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police later learned she was traveling with her 8-year-old daughter, according to the report. Police contacted the childs father. The woman was hospitalized on an emergency mental health hold, police said. She faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A judge issued a warrant for a woman accused of giving a man fentanyl, leaving him to die in a Las Vegas hotel room, and stealing his car and debit card to go shopping, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. A Clark County grand jury indicted Cori Lynn Perkins in connection with the overdose death of Ricardo Ortiz on May 1, 2024, according to court documents. Clark County District Court Chief Judge Jerry Wiese issued the warrant and set bail at $1 million Thursday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perkins is charged with 15 felony counts, including second-degree murder while failing to render or seek medical assistance for a person injured or killed by the use of a controlled substance, administration of a drug to aid in the commission of a felony, residential burglary, burglary of a motor vehicle, grand larceny auto, theft, five counts of use of a credit or debit card, and four counts of burglary of a business. Clark County Deputy District Attorney James Puccinelli called the allegations particularly egregious. Ortiz was found stripped naked and dead in a hotel room after a call for service was made about an overdose at the Rio Hotel, according to Puccinelli. Ortizs wallet was emptied, Puccinelli said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives reviewed surveillance video which showed Ortiz and Perkins entering the hotel room on the 18th floor, Perkins leaving alone, and then entering Ortizs mothers gold Nissan Sentra, according to Puccinelli. Perkins spent more than $2,000 with Ortizs debit card at businesses including Smiths Grocery, Target, Sprouts, Walmart, and Pizza Hut, according to the indictment. Perkins confessed to the murder and said she provided the fentanyl for Ortiz to smoke and ingest, according to Puccinelli. Puccinelli called Perkins a danger to the community, as he explained she targets individuals on the Las Vegas Strip to give them fentanyl and then take their belongings, and in the current case, she did not attempt to seek or render medical assistance for the victim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Thursday afternoon, it appeared Perkins was not yet in custody. If Perkins posts bail after her arrest, she will be required to comply with high-level electronic monitoring. Perkins has a history in Las Vegas Justice Court, according to records. She pleaded guilty to drug charges in cases in 2013 and 2014 and received no prison time, records show. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Circles USDC stablecoin has reached a new all-time high, surpassing $60 billion in market capitalization. Over the past three months, its market share has grown to 25.4%, up from 20.7%. In the same period, $16.5 billion worth of new USDC was minted, compared to $4.7 billion in new USDT. Despite this, Tether remains the dominant stablecoin with a market cap of $144 billion, holding about 63% of the market. A key factor driving USDCs growth is the regulatory environment. In Europe, MiCA regulations came into full effect on Dec. 31, 2024. Circle was the first stablecoin issuer to comply, selecting France as its European headquarters. Meanwhile, Tether has been delisted from several exchanges in the EU due to the lack of an e-money license. Coinbase Europe removed USDT from its platform in December, and Binance followed suit earlier this month. Some exchanges have been offering incentives for users to transition from USDT to USDC. In Japan, Circle secured approval after two years of discussions with regulators. Circle Japan KK has partnered with SBI Holdings to offer USDC, starting with a listing on SBI VC Trade on March 26. Binance Japan and Bitbank are also expected to list USDC soon. Solana has played a significant role in USDCs adoption. The total value of stablecoins on the network recently crossed $10 billion, with USDC making up nearly 80% of that. Data from Artemis Analytics shows that USDC has outpaced USDT in growth, adding $16.3 billion to its supply in the last three months, while USDTs supply grew by only $4.4 billion. Stablecoins have gained more traction overall. In 2024, stablecoin transactions surpassed those of Visa and Mastercard combined by nearly 8%. The total stablecoin supply grew by 59% over the year, exceeding $200 billion and pushing their share of the total U.S. dollar supply to 1%, up from 0.63% at the beginning of 2024. In the U.S., lawmakers are focusing on stablecoin regulation. The GENIUS Act, currently under review in Congress, proposes stricter reserve and audit requirements. Tether has faced scrutiny over the transparency of its reserves. JPMorgan recently suggested that Tether might have to sell off some of its Bitcoin holdings to comply with potential new regulations. A Tether spokesperson said the company would adapt to any new requirements. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Tether is in talks with a Big Four accounting firmPwC, EY, Deloitte, or KPMGfor an independent audit. New stablecoins continue to enter the market. PayPals PYUSD and Ripples RLUSD have launched as alternatives, while World Liberty Financial Inc. has introduced USD1, a stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasuries and cash deposits. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao responded to concerns about competition, saying that more stablecoins mean more liquidity and greater investor demand. DELHI, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) A Delaware County woman admitted to burglarizing a Town of Roxbury business during her court appearance on Tuesday. Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith announced that 40-year-old Elizabeth Motts pleaded guilty to Burglary in the Third Degree. On February 13, New York State Police responded to Mountainside Creamery for a report of stolen items. The items taken included steel press plates, cooper wire rolls, and yellow brass solids. Signs of forced entry were discovered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Troopers noted that a former employee had stolen copper wire in November 2024. Troopers interviewed the owner of a local scrap yard. On February 10, law enforcement was sent to the scrap yard for an ongoing domestic dispute. Motts was fighting with a male while unloading several metal sheets onto the scales that would later be confirmed to be stolen. Motts admitted to assisting in the burglary of Mountainside Creamery and to the transportation of the stolen metal materials to the scrap yard. I want to thank Troopers Carey and Carron of the New York State Police for their diligent work on this case. Not only was a burglary of a prominent local business solved, but a whole separate business was able to have their property returned to them, said Smith. 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. Police have arrested two people in connection with an alleged hate crime which occurred inside a New York subway station. According to reports, a Black teenager walked into the Coney Island-Stillwell subway station as he usually does to get to school. But this time, the 16-year-old was met with a white mob who would scar him forever. The alleged attack, which happened around 8 a.m. on Monday (March 24), was initiated when at least three white teens spotted the Black boy in the stations mezzanine and began hurling racial slurs at him, according to the New York Post. The teen was able to run away, but soon, the mob caught up to him and allegedly began beating him. Community leaders told News 12 the alleged attackers were white Uzbekistan teens. The exactly timeline and order of the attack is unclear as of Friday (March 28), but at some point, police say one of the attackers threw a banana at the victim. They went on to physically assault the victim, punching and kicking him repeatedly in the middle of the station, the Post reported. During the attack, one of the victims shoes was allegedly stolen and later found in the mezzanine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of the attack was caught on cell phone footage and shared on Instagram. It has since been taken down, but Pix 11 News obtained and reviewed the clip. In it, per the outlet, the Black teen can be seen curled in a fetal position as at least three white males jump on him. The group eventually ran off, leaving the victim with minor injuries at the scene. When officials finally arrived to the station, the teen refused medical attention. According to reports, he was later treated for head injuries at a south Brooklyn hospital. Pix 11 spoke to the victims mother, and she said although a few witnesses tried to intervene, her son is still traumatized after the vicious attack. Now, she wants justice. The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force continues to investigate the incident. So far, two arrests have been made. The identities of the suspects have not been released citing their minor ages, 14 and 16 years old. Police suspect at least one more attacker is still at large, according to Pix 11. Some reports suggest up to nine teens were part of the mob, but that has not been confirmed. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The World Central Kitchen (WCK) said that an Israeli military strike killed one of the charity groups volunteers working in the Gaza Strip and injured six other people. Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the loss of one of our volunteers in Gaza. Israeli strikes hit near one of our WCK-supported community kitchens just as meals were being distributed. Jalal was tragically killed and six other people were injured, WCK said in a news release Thursday. We will continue to support community kitchens throughout the region and operate our field kitchens where possible, based on daily assessments, wrote the nonprofit organization, founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres. We hope for peace for all and a lasting ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson told The Hill that the event is under review. The IDF is in contact with the organization to verify the details thoroughly, the spokesperson added in an email. Andres reposted the message, adding, The people of Gaza must have a future free of Israeli attacks against civilians, humanitarians, childrenjust as the people of Israel deserve to live without fear of terror and attacks by Hamas. EnoughLets build peace.lets free the hostages ,lets restart a ceasefire and let free flow of the humanitarian aid again and start hoping of a better tomorrow. Israel has been striking the war-torn enclave since last week after ending the roughly two-month ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel threatened to intensify its offensive against Hamas, designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S., if the militant group did not free the remaining hostages and depart Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamas ignited the conflict in the Middle East after its Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 Israelis and taking roughly 250 hostages. Israels offensive since then has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The tally does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. This weeks strike came less than a year after an Israeli strike killed seven of WCKs volunteers on April 1, 2024. The nonprofit organization halted its operations in the enclave after the April 1 strike. Later that month, World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore said the charity group would resume operations to continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible, Gore said at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Israeli military said Thursday that it killed Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua. He spent years advancing the terrorist organizations agenda, which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel, the Israeli military said in a Thursday post on social platform X. The [Israel Defense Forces] and ISA [Israel Security Agency] will continue to operate to dismantle Hamas governmental and military capabilities. Updated on March 28 at 9:07 a.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Since Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order to allow religious exemptions for vaccines in January, the state has received 186 requests for exemptions. The West Virginia Department of Health said all 186 requests have been approved. (Getty Images) More than 180 religious or philosophical exemptions to the states school immunization requirements have been requested in the approximately two months since Gov. Patrick Morriseys executive order, and all of the requests have been approved, health officials say. The West Virginia Department of Health released the number of exemptions approved this week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from West Virginia Watch. The response included the number of requests, but no identifying information about the nature of the requests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morrisey issued an executive order Jan. 14 directing the state, through the 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act, to allow religious exemptions to the states vaccine requirements. The department said 186 exemptions have been made and approved between then and Monday. All states require school children to be vaccinated against a number of infectious diseases, including measles, polio and chicken pox. Until January, West Virginia was among only five that did not allow religious or philosophical exemptions to those requirements. West Virginia state code currently allows only exemptions for children who have a medical reason, such as an allergy or a previous severe reaction to a vaccine. Morriseys executive order also directed the state health officer, a position thats currently not filled, to come up with rules and legislation to facilitate religious exemptions. The state House of Delegates on Monday rejected Senate Bill 460, a bill Morrisey requested that would have established those religious exemptions in state code. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morrisey said Monday he would not rescind the order, setting up a potential clash between the states executive and legislative branches. The Department of Health said it would continue to abide by Morriseys order, despite the Legislature rejecting the bill. The Senate easily passed Senate Bill 460 last month with a vote of 20 to 12. In the House, the Health Committee had pared down the legislation, aiming to change the medical exemption process only. The religious exemptions were added back into the bill on the House floor last week. During an interview with HD Medias Outside the Echo Chamber this week, House Health Committee Chair Evan Worrell, R-Cabell said that Senate Bill 460 is dead, but that lawmakers could continue to have conversations about whether to change the medical exemption process for vaccines. I think ultimately some people had a lot of consternation around the religious exemption, that you could just write a letter and you could have that exemption, Worrell said. I personally believe that we should be able to do that, but thats just my vote and thats why we have this debate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 186 exemptions represent a minuscule portion of the states school age population, estimated to be about 250,000. But its more than three times the 53 medical exemptions requested in 2023, according to a report from the state Department of Health. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE (NewsNation) A group of World War II veterans will make their final journey back to Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa to mark the 80th anniversary of these historic battles. Seven veterans will participate in the U.S.-Japan Reunion of Honor Ceremony, joined by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Japanese officials. The Eagle Society will escort the veterans of the Pacific Theater as they retrace the paths where they fought 80 years ago. Walter LaSota, a 99-year-old veteran who served in Okinawa, shared his excitement about retracing the steps he took 80 years ago. He expressed a long-held desire to visit the places where he was in combat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senators press FAA, Army on policies prior to DC plane crash When youre there, its one thing. When youre not there, its another feeling. Not that you enjoyed a war, but at least I enjoyed being here and seeing things that Id never seen it before in my life, and experiences that I never experienced, except in combat, he told Morning in America. LaSota and other veterans will travel to Gwam, Iwo To, formerly Iwo Jima, to participate in the Reunion of Honor Ceremony before continuing to Okinawa for a commemoration of the Battle of Okinawa. Michael Davidson, founder of the Eagle Society, organizes these trips to educate todays leaders on American history, heroes, and heritage. He previously took veterans to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, but this marks the first journey of this scale in the Pacific. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What they did for us, were still living on the endowment of what they built and what they fought for, Davidson said. I think its important for my kids and other kids to also see us as a nation immersing ourselves in these types of experiences. More than 6,800 American lives were lost in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Okinawa, the final and bloodiest battle of the war, saw more than 12,000 American lives lost. The Reunion of Honor ceremony serves as a solemn reminder of the enormous sacrifices. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WYANDOTTE, Okla. Beginning next school term, Wyandotte students will have a modified four-day school week, school superintendent Brad Wade said on Friday. The modified school week has been very well received by students and parents, Wade said. Wade said students will go for the same number of days, 165. We have rearranged the calendar, Wade said. We are adding a couple of days at the beginning and end of the school calendar and reducing the length of Fall Break and Thanksgiving Break. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only five-day school weeks are August 25, December 15, and January 12. The other Mondays during that stretch are the Fall and Thanksgiving Break weeks, designated for special district activities, such as Wyandotte Nation Days and similar celebrations and cultural events. From March until the end of school in May 2026, Wyandotte schools will follow an early release schedule. Students will attend school five days a week, but are released from school on Friday at 1 p.m. Wade said teacher recruitment is one of the benefits of this new calendar. It is a new reality that education is not a career that very many young people are going into now in Oklahoma, Wade said. This is placing a strain on the ability of schools to recruit new teachers. In talking with other area schools that have gone to the 4-day calendar, that is the biggest plus: there are more quality applicants for available positions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other benefits include fewer discipline problems because the weeks are shorter, and there is less frustration. On those Mondays, the district will actually be running a bus to pick up students and student-athletes for their practices. Key Dates: Aug. 12: First Day of School Oct. 16-17: Fall Break Nov. 26-28: Thanksgiving Break December 22-January 5, 2026: Winter Break March 16-20, 2026: Spring Break May 22, 2026: Last Day of School May 23, 2026: Graduation Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping called on global business leaders to push back against protectionism, seeking to take advantage of growing backlash to rising US tariffs to promote his country as a reliable partner. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Xi on Friday made a veiled critique of Donald Trumps trade actions, touting Chinas stability at a meeting in Beijing with some 40 corporate leaders including Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone Inc., Judy Marks of Otis Worldwide Corp and Jay Y. Lee of Samsung Electronics Co. His comments came a day after the American president intensified his trade war and prompted threats of retaliation from the EU and other allies. Some countries are building a small yard with high fences, erecting tariff barriers, politicizing business issues, using them as tools and weapons, Xi said at the Great Hall of the People, without naming any nation. I hope you will share your sensible views and take actions to push back against the retrogressive rules and the zero-sum games, he said. Xis remarks are part of a campaign to court investors as slowing growth and mounting geopolitical tensions hurt the draw of the worlds second-largest economy, with inbound investment tumbling last year to its lowest in over three decades. He promised to improve market access and address their challenges of operating in the country. We are providing a transparent, steady and predictable policy environment, Xi said, calling the nation a favorite destination for foreign investors. Embracing China is embracing opportunities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The expanded guest list reflects Xis ambition to direct his message to a wider audience. The number of attendees spanning finance, manufacturing and technology more than doubled that of last years event, when Xi met about 20 mostly US business figures. The benchmark CSI 300 Index of onshore Chinese stocks pared some losses to close 0.4% down, while the offshore yuan also trimmed its decline versus the US dollar. Unlike in 2024, Xi invited reporters into the room when he gave a closing statement. Seven executives spoke in the meeting, including Aramcos Amin H. Nasser, who pledged to expand investment in chemical production in China and praised the country for becoming an oasis of certainty. Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on US-China Relations, who attended the meeting, said Xi sought to put a personal touch on his relationship with the companies, recalling when he first met their representatives or visited their factories even before he became Chinas leader. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Executives of FedEx Corp, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Sanofi SA, HSBC, Hitachi and SK Hynix also spoke, he said. Sean Stein, president of US-China Business Council, who also attended, said Xis response to each speaker was extensive, with a level of specificity that was quite impressive. The message coming from the Chinese side was detailed. It was focused, and really took the time to analyze and discuss some of the issues that have been key pain points for multinational corporations, he said. Chinese officials overseeing the economy, finance, trade and national development joined the meeting, highlighting the importance Xi attached to the event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Xi didnt disclose in his public remarks specific new measures to benefit foreign investors in the country, who have long complained of unfair competition and policies that favor Chinese companies. Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said foreign companies maintain significant interest to operate in China, but worsening trade tensions are giving some pause. Barriers still remain and companies fear tit-for-tat actions because of the trade war, Hart said. China needs to deliver for companies who have already met them at least halfway. Several US firms have already been caught in the crossfire. Chinese authorities summoned Walmart Inc. executives this month over reports it asked suppliers to bear rising costs incurred by increased US tariffs. Beijing earlier placed Calvin Klein owner PVH Corp. and US gene sequencing company Illumina Inc. onto a so-called blacklist of entities as US tariffs took effect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More headwinds may come next month, when the US is set to complete a review of Beijings compliance with the phase-one trade deal struck during US President Donald Trumps first term and impose reciprocal duties globally. China is almost certain to retaliate any new levies on Chinese products. Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday said the country is prepared for shocks that exceed expectations as the government targets an ambitious growth target of about 5% this year. Economists estimate that Beijing would need to unleash trillions of yuan in stimulus to hit that goal if tariffs surge. Many global CEOs had traveled to China for the annual China Development Forum and the Boao Forum for Asia, which concluded Friday. The meeting marks an upgrade from earlier years when Chinas No. 2 official met executives on the sidelines of the CDF, although Xi broke precedent last year to meet a group of US businesspeople. Republican Senator Steve Daines, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, met with several Chinese leaders including Premier Li earlier this week, in what has been seen as an initial step to set up a summit between Xi and Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his speech, Xi said friction in China-US ties should be managed through dialog and called on companies to work with China to uphold the global economic order. Blowing out another lamp wont make your own glow brighter, blocking anothers path and you will ultimately block your own, Xi said. --With assistance from Abhishek Vishnoi and Kari Lindberg. (Updates with executive comment in 11th paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. An organizational restructuring could cost dozens of Yale New Haven Health administrators their jobs, though it could not be determined Thursday how many of them, if any, might be at Lawrence + Memorial and Westerly hospitals or at affiliated medical practices in the region. Yale New Haven Health includes L+M, Westerly and three other hospitals in the state Bridgeport, Greenwich and Yale New Haven as well as Northeast Medical Group, a collection of health care providers. Yale New Haven Health is redesigning its operating model, including inpatient care and ambulatory operations organizational structures, the health care system said in a statement provided by Dana Marnane, director of public relations and communications. It added, These changes will impact management and administration, as we redefine and consolidate our leadership team to streamline decision-making and drive growth across the Health System. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of those affected by the reorganization will be given an opportunity to occupy new positions, Marnane said. In some cases, there may not be new roles for individuals, she said. Pending individual decisions, up to 38 individuals in management and administrative positions may no longer have a position within the organization. Earlier this week, WSHU, a public radio station operated by Sacred Heart University in Fairfield County, reported that about 150 Northeast Medical Group employees had been told they could be laid off amid the reorganization. Marnane, asked about the report and about whether and how many positions are in play at L+M and Westerly hospitals and at Northeast Medical Group locations in southeastern Connecticut, said she could provide no specifics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Messages seeking comment were not returned by supervisors at Northeast Medical Group locations in New London and Waterford. In its statement, Yale New Haven Health said its reorganization was being undertaken to ensure we remain nimble in delivering compassionate, safe, high-quality care to everyone we are privileged to serve. b.hallenbeck@theday.com BURNSVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) The carpentry program gives Mountain Heritage High School students a building block for their future. But because of urgent circumstances, their help is needed right now. Most of them have already been accepted to a college for project management. Several want to become contractors, says instructor Jeremy Dotts. Long before the chorus of power tools begins on each project, the foundation of construction is planning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But what theyre working on is in response to something catastrophic that no one in western North Carolina couldve planned for: Hurricane Helene. Nearly six months after Helene slammed into the mountains, causing historic flooding, mudslides and loss of basic resources, many people are still without homes. MORE FROM QUEEN CITY NEWS Helene six months later The class is pitching in by hammering away at a vital project. I like seeing the project go to someone that has lost a house, said student Hensley England, who has seen so much suffering since last September. All of the students have been impacted some way by this storm, Dotts told Queen City News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The storm left hundreds of houses in Yancey County unlivable. At a time of such enormous need, it takes many hands to do the work needed to help the area recover. Thats where Mountain Heritage comes into play. The teens are building a 600-square-foot tiny home for a woman who lost everything. Its a partnership with Rebuilding Hollers, which continues to raise money to cover construction costs. The blueprint for Mountain Heritages tiny home. Right now were putting in the walls, we already have the floor system done, says senior Sawyer Silver. One bedroom, one bath with a loft, Dotts said, describing the structure. Its going to have a good-sized living room. Its going to be plenty of space for one person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With more donations, the nonprofit wants to work with Mountain Heritage on more small homes. So, I think its the perfect blend, because we need these kids to learn everything and build, says founder Stephanie Johnson. And theyll be rebuilding our community for years to come. Its really amazing to be able to supply for the community the way we are, especially at a time of need, Silver said. The tiny home is part of a bigger mission to not only teach job skills but also give back. The mission statement for this program has always been to build a house and donate a house, explained Dotts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The carpentry program earns revenue through contract work. Dotts says the idea is to invest the cash earned back into the community. We have built the house, sold it, taken the proceeds from that house and donated it to someone in need, he said. The blueprint that was in place long before Helene, now gives the Cougar Carpenters something to build upon. Not only are we learning along the way, but were also driven because were helping someone, Silver says. Knowing that they are participating in the rebuilding process of their community is absolutely something that they bought into and are thrilled to be a part of, said Dotts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The goal is to finish the tiny home by this fall. With additional funds, Dotts hopes the carpentry class can build several 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 Queen City News. After a morale-shattering performance at the 2024 ballot box, a panel of Texas Democrats are about to choose the partys next leader, someone who they hope will put back the pieces and restore faith in its future. The State Democratic Executive Committee will meet on Saturday to elect the successor to party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa and complete the remainder of his term. He served nearly 13 years as the party figurehead leading Democrats efforts to end more than two decades of Republican control in Texas. That goal seemed within reach in 2018 and 2020. But after President Donald Trumps resurgent victory in November, and as Hispanic voters in South Texas drifted further to the right, Democrats worry theyre losing ground on the gains they made throughout Hinojosas tenure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were at a crossroads right now, said Texas Democratic Party Treasurer Odus Evbagharu. We know that were the right ones in this moment to lead, but in order to do that, we have to win, and we have to go get power. Thats why this TDP chair race is so important. Hinojosa announced his resignation shortly after the election last year, acknowledging Democrats dismal performance up and down the ballot. It is imperative that our Democratic leaders across the country reevaluate what is best for our party and embrace the next generation of leaders to take us through the next four years of Trump and win back seats up and down the ballot, he said at the time, calling on Democratic leaders at all levels to join me in lifting up the next generation in order to unite our party. Matt Angle, a veteran Texas Democratic operative and director of the Lone Star Project, said the leadership race gives the party an opportunity to reset and elect someone who can internalize the responsibility to help other people get elected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The expectations are not that any chair regardless of who wins is able to turn everything around on their own, he said. Its a matter of being able to create a sense of confidence that the party is run competently, to create some financial stability and to create a real incentive for others to step up and do their part. Because Hinojosa resigned before the end of his term, his successor will be decided by the partys 121-member governing board, rather than a larger group of delegates at the partys convention. Eight candidates are running for chair. The top candidates The leading contender is Kendall Scudder, the partys current vice chair for finance and an East Texas native from a family with lesbian moms. He said he comes from the type of nontraditional family Democrats should be advocating for. He worked in affordable housing and real estate analytics, and came onto the state party stage through the executive committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scudder says his role would be to listen to the will of the party and build confidence that the party is advocating for working-class people. But Scudder also has a reputation among some in the party as being divisive, including for his past willingness to criticize leadership for not listening to the grassroots. Its important that our leadership listens to activists and grassroots on the ground when they tell us things are important to them, and that hasnt been happening, Scudder said. In May, Scudder was elected to the Dallas Central Appraisal District board after two unsuccessful bids for the Legislature. However, he resigned that seat on Thursday to quell concerns after the Texas Democratic Partys lawyer issued an opinion saying he couldnt hold the DCAD and run for party chair at the same time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scudders top opponents include Lillie Schechter, who chaired the Harris County Democratic Party from 2016 to 2020, and Patsy Woods Martin, who for four years led Annies List, an organization that helps elect progressive women in Texas. Schechter, a native Houstonian and 7th generation Texan, pointed to her experience flipping local elected seats blue, reaching voters and fundraising as chair of the Harris County Democratic Party during the 2018 and 2020 elections. She said she was devastated by Trumps reelection, and felt the Texas Democratic Party wasnt acting as the central hub for organizing and volunteers that she thought it could be. We need to continue to show Democratic voters that they have an alternative, she said. We cant just be the minority party. We need to be the opposition party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her roadmap to power for the state party stretches through 2032, when she hopes Democrats will have a fighting chance after redistricting in 2031 and gains over the next two election cycles. She wants to turn the party into a year-round organizing machine, breaking the state down by region and population to meet and galvanize voters in their communities. Woods Martin began her career in politics as a state Senate campaign volunteer in Lubbock and later worked with Ann Richards before she became governor. Since her time with Annies List, Woods Martin helped launch a political action committee for state House Democrats in 2020 and was former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourkes finance chair at the start of his gubernatorial campaign. The party needs to provide help, assistance and guidance to Democratic activists, she said. One of her top priorities is to address the partys losses among Hispanic voters in South Texas, but also in cities. She plans to do that with year-round investment and organizing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My sense is we have taken our voters for granted, Woods Martin said. We have not listened to them. We have talked to them with a more nationalized message than we should have. Thanks to her time at Annies List, she boasts being the only party chair candidate who has run a winning Democratic statewide organization and has a track record of raising millions of dollars, an important point at a time when the party is strapped for cash, and donors could be weary about a change of personnel at the party. What makes this race different Most party chair races are decided in midterm election years on a loud, bustling convention floor where thousands of delegates gather to vote. The election becomes a contest shaped by region and race. This time, however, Democrats will meet at a union hall in Austin at 8 a.m. on a Saturday, where only the 121 members of the SDEC will cast a vote in the party chair pageant. If you are on a convention floor or in an election writ large, you can sort of speak in platitudes and really try to jazz people up and get them excited, Scudder said. But here you are held accountable to intricacy, and that is, I think, to the advantage of the party not to the advantage necessarily, if youre wanting someone that just feeds a bunch of red meat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By contrast, chair candidates will have to speak to party governance, party finances and the programs that the party should invest in. The group casting votes on Saturday is an insular one, and many members are progressive activists dissatisfied with the direction of the party. That electorate changes the nature and possible outcome of the race. Its an insidery game, Evbagharu said, while noting that SDEC members were elected in 2024 to represent broader delegations in situations like this. The party has gradually expanded the SDEC to include more stakeholders, and in 2022, it shifted the SDECs building blocks from the 31 state Senate districts to Texas now-38 congressional districts. Additionally, the SDEC added state Democratic National Committee members as voting members, together opening up more than two dozen new SDEC seats. The expansion plus redistricting, which forced other members off, brought young blood onto the panel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andre Treiber, a staffer for Austin City Council member Zo Qadri, speaking in his capacity as a DNC member and an SDEC voting member, helped put together the redistricting rule, which took effect at the 2024 TDP convention. Theres a lot of fresh voices on the body, which I think is good for our party, ultimately, but it does also mean that some of these folks are learning the ropes, Treiber said. Now theyre thrown into probably the most consequential vote that they will ever cast in this term. Thats definitely got to be quite the whiplash for a new member. 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. Warren Buffett, seen here speaking at an investor meeting in 2019, is having a killer year in 2025. AP Berkshire Hathaway stock has jumped 16% this year while the S&P 500 has dropped 2%. Investors are flocking to Warren Buffett's company because of its huge cash reserves and reputation. Buffett is known for capitalizing on market chaos and has assuaged succession concerns. Warren Buffett is off to a roaring start to 2025 with shares of his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate up 16%, trouncing the benchmark S&P 500's 2% decline. The stock surge has boosted Buffett's net worth by an unmatched $23 billion, vaulting him past Bill Gates into sixth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a $165 billion fortune. The 94-year-old business icon and his company are riding high as investors seek shelter from roiling markets, trusting the legendary bargain hunter to pounce if asset prices crash and the economy tanks. They're also cheering a rebound at Geico, which is owned by Berkshire, and banking on Buffett's planned successor to deliver when the time comes. Port in a storm "Berkshire is a stable, solid ship in a sea of uncertainty right now," Paul Lountzis, the president and founder of Lountzis Asset Management, told Business Insider. The longtime Berkshire shareholder pointed to the company's "rock of Gibraltar" balance sheet, which boasted more than $320 billion in cash, Treasurys, and other liquid assets at the end of December, and stocks worth more than $270 billion. During his 60 years in charge, Buffett has transformed Berkshire from a failing textile mill into a $1 trillion juggernaut. He's acquired scores of businesses across myriad industries, including See's Candies, Precision Castparts, and the BNSF Railway, and built multibillion-dollar stakes in blue-chip stocks such as Apple, Coca-Cola, and American Express. Berkshire stock has soared in value by more than 5,500,000% during Buffett's tenure, crushing the S&P's roughly 39,000% gain over the same period. The stock has compounded at about 20% a year for six decades almost twice as fast as the benchmark. The billionaire philanthropist is also known for prudently managing Berkshire, prizing long-term success over short-term gains. "In an uncertain world, investors place a higher value on the certainty that Berkshire offers," Darren Pollock, a portfolio manager at Cheviot Value Management and another longtime shareholder, told BI. "Consistency and reliability often get a bid when froth exits financial markets." Cathy Seifert, a senior vice president at CFRA Research and a longtime Berkshire analyst, said there's been a "flight to quality amid an upswing in market and geopolitical volatility," and investors see Buffett's sprawling empire as a safe haven. This story has been updated to add comments from Rep. Phil Jensen. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) More than a decade ago, the South Dakota Legislature made a seemingly small rule change. Starting with the 2014 session, lawmakers could withdraw any of their bills and resolutions, provided they did so ahead of the proposals first public hearing. TenHaken unsure when mayoral term ends due to new law The idea was that lawmakers would no longer have to go to a committee hearing and directly ask other legislators to set their bill aside, a process formally known as tabling or, as some lawmakers put it, having to go out in public and shoot your own dog. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turns out, for some of them, the change wasnt small at all. Withdrawing a bill has become somewhat commonplace for a handful of lawmakers. During the 12 years that the withdrawal rule has been in place, lawmakers have taken back a total of 285 bills and resolutions. How many get withdrawn varies session to session, but has clearly been edging up. The first three years saw 10, 19 and nine. The 2024 session saw a record 38. The 2025 legislative session, which wraps up on Monday, saw 30 withdrawals, marking the first time of back-to-back years with 30 or more. Those were from a 527 bills and resolutions introduced in 2025 and 511 in 2024. One lawmaker is still serving who was on the 2014 panel that recommended adding the withdrawal rule. KELOLAND News asked Republican Rep. Al Novstrup for his thoughts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yes, the rule is working as intended, Novstrup said. I believe the most common reasons a legislator chooses to withdraw a bill is the bill is flawed or not needed. As an example, Novstrup pointed to a bill he sponsored this year, only to withdraw it. House Bill 1233 called for increasing the annual appropriation to the state Department of Social Services by $300,000 to provide hearing aids to children, based on a recommendation from a certified audiologist. Novstrup said he brought HB 1233 because he had been told that state government intended to stop paying for cochlear implants for children who have hearing difficulties. A former lawmaker, Democrat Paul Dennert, had brought the original cochlear-implant legislation in 2005. This changed everything for the hearing impaired, Novstrup said about Dennerts effort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So when Novstrup heard state government was possibly going to stop the funding, he asked for a bill to be written to not only preserve the cochlear implant funding that Dennert had fought for, but also to expand the funding to cover hearing aids for children if their familys insurance doesnt provide for them. Novstrup said he withdrew his legislation after receiving assurance from the Department of Social Services that the hearing devices could be provided through another program. Withdrawing a bill allows the Legislature to reduce the work load and focus efforts, Novstrup said. Current and former lawmakers say there can be a variety of motivations for walking back a bill or a resolution. Sometimes they are introduced as placeholders, in case there might be a need later in the session for a major amendment, a process known as a hoghouse at the South Dakota Capitol. These just in case vehicles typically, but not always, come from Republican leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sometimes bills are simply ahead of their times. Sometimes they are intended to send political messages and are never meant to be passed. Sometimes they reflect a sponsors deepest beliefs. And sometimes they are duplicates or result from misunderstandings. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was common for the House and Senate sponsors of a bill to introduce two identical versions, so that each chamber could consider the original version. That practice has become rare. Each lawmaker has her or his own story to tell about why a bill was withdrawn. Republican Sen. Sue Peterson holds the record for most withdrawals in any one session. She withdrew five bills this year. They included: Senate Bill 160, which sought to make violations of state election laws a petty offense. Senate Bill 168, which sought to prohibit non-disclosure agreements in settlement cases involving the Associated School Boards of South Dakota Protective Trust Workers Compensation Pool. Senate Bill 182, which sought to require every permanent or emergency administrative rule proposal to receive the approval of an elected official such as the governor before submission to the Legislative Research Council. Senate Bill 183, which sought to establish requirements that state agencies must follow when applying for federal grants, including a requirement that the grant application have the governors consent. Senate Bill 210, which sought to clarify the Legislatures Interim Rules Review Committees oversight of emergency rulemaking. It would have provided that an emergency rule couldnt take effect without the committee declaring the rulemaking process complete at an emergency meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KELOLAND News asked Peterson about them. SB 182, 183 and 210 were a package of bills related to executive branch processes, Peterson said. The executive branch indicated to me that they are already doing some of these things internally and are working on others. As a courtesy to the new administration I withdrew these bills this year to allow them time to implement their processes and procedures. SB 160 was an election integrity bill very similar to one proposed by Attorney General Marty Jackley in 2023, Peterson said. In working with the attorney general, we determined that a more in depth review of Title 12 is needed prior to implementing the provisions of SB 160. She continued, In addition, over twenty new election integrity bills were introduced this session that contain provisions potentially duplicating certain provisions of SB 160. I withdrew this bill in order to allow for a review of Title 12 in the interim, and ensure that there is not duplication or conflict with bills signed into law this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for SB 168 relating to non-disclosure agreements for insurance pool arrangements, Peterson said, This bill was withdrawn because I had other bills that were requiring more time than I had anticipated and took precedence. Peterson was prime sponsor of 13 bills this session; one became law: Senate Bill 116, which strengthens penalties for street racing. Altogether, she has withdrawn 10 bills in her nine years as a state lawmaker. That puts her second on the all-time list. Rep. Phil Jensen has withdrawn 17 bills Number one on that list is Republican Rep. Phil Jensen, now in his 17th year as a lawmaker. He used the withdrawal rule 17 times, including twice this year: House Bill 1224, which sought to punish the Huron school district by taking away its state aid funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 1269, which sought to authorize display of certain flags on public property. Its final sentence said, A flag representing a political viewpoint, including gender, political ideology or party, race, or sexual orientation may not be displayed on public property. For what its worth, Peterson was the lead Senate sponsor of HB 1269. Jensens defunding-Huron bill led to House leadership removing him as vice chair of the House Education Committee. He was prime sponsor of six House bills this year. None of them managed to get through the House, much less reach the governors desk or become law. Heres a look at 15 other bills and resolutions which Jensen withdrew in past years: House Bill 1167 (2024) dealt with legal rights of people who decided against receiving COVID-19 injections. The legislation which would have allowed those people to sue their employers for damages if the employer terminated, demoted, disciplined or took other adversarial action against the employee based on that decision. House Bill 1170 (2024) sought to allow a licensed distiller to sell and ship distilled spirits directly to a consumer. House Resolution 7002 (2022) sought to celebrate Black History Month. The resolution included statements arguing that the U.S. Constitution was not a pro-slavery document, as well as recognizing Republicans for positive steps regarding African-American rights and pointing out how Democrats at times stood in the way of African-American rights. House Bill 1157 (2021) sought to tell the state Board of Education Standards that it shall not allow instructional standards and curricular materials that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government or (p)romote division between, resentment of, or social justice for a race, gender, political affiliation, social class, or identifiable group of people. House Bill 1158 (2021) sought to prohibit the use of curricular materials that promote racial divisiveness and displace historical understanding with ideology. The legislation specifically named the 1619 project assembled by staff of The New York Times newspaper. House Bill 1213 (2021) sought to appropriate $250,000 to what then was known as the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources to contract with the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology to assemble an inventory of known abandoned mined lands in the Black Hills. This came in part because of underground subsidence that led to problems in a Black Hills housing subdivision. Senate Bill 86 (2020) sought to allow the South Dakota Department of Social Services to request that an employee of the Division of Child Protection Services be accompanied by a law enforcement officer during the time the employee is conducting an initial family assessment for the purpose of investigating a report of child abuse or neglect. Senate Bill 87 (2020) sought to add information required to be provided to a woman receiving an abortion. Specifically it would have allowed the woman to request to view the aborted fetus after the abortion is performed up until the time the hospital, clinic, or medical facility disposes of the aborted fetus, Senate Bill 93 (2020) dealt with transgender children. Specifically it would have allowed a parent to refuse consent for the provision of any health care service to a minor child if the parent reasonably believes that the service would induce, confirm, or promote the childs belief that the childs gender is different from that which it was at birth or that the gender with which the child identifies is different from that which it was at birth. Senate Bill 107 (2018) sought to repeal licensing requirements for barbers. Senate Bill 201 (2018) sought to prohibit certain persons and organizations from entering the campus of any public institution of higher education or postsecondary technical institute. It said, No institution of higher education under the authority of the Board of Regents and no public postsecondary technical institute may allow on institution or institute premises any person or organization with documented ties to any person on the specially designated nationals and blocked persons list compiled by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury. Senate Concurrent Resolution 8 (2017) asked that the Legislature respectfully request that the South Dakota attorney general appoint a special prosecutor to pursue all losses that the South Dakota taxpayers sustained as a result of the GEAR UP and EB-5 scandals. Senate Bill 164 (2015) sought to require that all South Dakota students take the citizenship test required of immigrants and correctly answer at least 70 of the 100 questions in order to receive a high school diploma. Senate Bill 133 (2014) sought to prohibit political subdivisions from restricting firearms, to assert the sovereignty of the State of South Dakota with regards to the regulation of arms and weapons, and to provide recourse and penalties for violations. It would have beefed up penalties for violations of existing laws to Class 5 felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Senate Bill 148 (2014) sought to ensure that parents may direct the rearing of their children without undue governmental infringement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KELOLAND News requested comment from Jensen. He responded on Saturday afternoon. Several of those bills Id like to refile, Jensen said. Some were withdrawn due to having too many bills on my plate. Others were withdrawn because it was obvious that they would go nowhere due to who was in leadership. For others it was a matter of timing. Petersons five other withdrawn bills in prior years were: House Bill 1139 (2023) sought to legally recognize the fundamental right of a parent. Peterson attempted a similar concept through a slightly different approach that same year in House Bill 1237, which she also withdrew. House Bill 1245 (2021) sought to extend under specific circumstances the requirement that the Legislatures Government Operations and Audit Committee review each state agency at least once every three years. Her provision stated, If the Governor declares a state of emergency and the committee determines that circumstances preclude it from conducting an adequate performance management review according to the established schedule, the committee may extend the schedule for review by up to one hundred eighty days. House Bill 1281 (2020) was a placeholder measure that sought to send state government funding to the dual-credit program where high school students earn college credits. House Bill 1271 (2019) sought to change how some insurance plans covered autism spectrum disorders. Pischke, Haugaard have 8 withdrawn bills Next on the list for were Republican Sen. Tom Pischke and Republican former Rep. Steven Haugaard, with eight apiece. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pischke offered multiple reasons for why legislation might be withdrawn. They found out someone else is bringing the same legislation, Pischke said. They found out more information. Maybe the legislation was brought forward in the past and they didnt realize the results. Maybe someone told them some unintended consequences, and they didnt like those. Maybe someone else is bringing the same legislation the same year or in the future. The possibilities are really endless, he said, then offered a few more. They ended up working with the administration to figure out a solution that wouldnt require a new law, possibly through rule-making authority. They intended the legislation to get the attention of someone, but never really intended to actually run the bill. The measures which Pischke withdrew were: Senate Joint Resolution 503 (2024) wanted the Legislature to call for for a convention of states under Article V of the Constitution of the United States, to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and to limit the terms of office for members of Congress and other federal officials. House Concurrent Resolution 6002 (2021) called for legislators to behave in such a way that never, under any circumstances, causes a question to be raised about integrity or preservation of the public trust. House Bill 1148 (2020) sought to substantially revise protection orders. House Bill 1100 (2019) was a placeholder regarding landowner rights. House Bill 1101 (2019) was a placeholder regarding the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department programs. House Bill 1108 (2018) sought to require written consent for someone to resell or redisclose a persons personal information from state motor-vehicle records. House Bill 1208 (2018) sought to reduce the obligors hardship threshold for child support to 40% from the 50% already in law. House Bill 1212 (2018) sought to establish shared parenting plans for minor children in divorce proceedings or from a relationship. Haugaard, who last served in 2022, said he would need to review each of the bills he withdrew as to why. But, as a general observation, he said that placeholders are commonly used to potentially address unexpected issues that develop during the session. Also, it is not unusual to find that priorities shift during a legislative session and other bills can become far more important and time consuming, Haugaard said. As a result, I have set aside some bills to focus attention elsewhere. Then theres also the challenge of having limited and often overworked resources: The Legislative Research Councils full-time staff of 32 draft hundreds of bills at the request of 105 lawmakers. Also bear in mind that the Legislature has very limited staffing and our LRC staff work tirelessly to meet the needs of the legislative members, Haugaard said. Even as speaker of the House, I had little to no personal staff assigned to assist me. Oftentimes I would use my own resources to pay for assistance and expenses to get the work done. Haugaards eight withdrawn measures included: House Bill 1212 (2022) sought to prohibit state and local governments and private employers from disclosing information regarding a persons COVID-19 vaccination status. This came two years after the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe. House Bill 1247 (2022) sought to reduce the state sales and use tax rate to 4% from the 4.5% rate that was in effect at the time. The Legislature in 2023 reduced the rate to 4.2%. House Bill 1251 (2022) was a placeholder regarding lobbyists. This came in the wake of a dispute over clothing worn by a lobbyist while Haugaard was House speaker. House Bill 1190 (2020) was a placeholder for possible changes in revenue reporting. House Bill 1191 (2020) was a placeholder for possible changes in legislative authority. House Bill 1192 (2020) was a placeholder for possible changes in criminal justice laws. House Bill 1134 (2019) sought to change when elected officials could begin serving their terms. Haugaard ran for governor in 2022. House Bill 1212 (2015) sought to expand the definition of abusing a minor to include those who had been conceived but not yet born. Haugaard raised another point: When I served on the Rules Review Committee I found there were many issues that could have (or) should have resulted in corrective legislation, but, again, there was not enough time or staff to address all of those matters, he said. Hed like to see that crunch fixed. It is my understanding that South Dakota has the smallest legislative staff of any state in the nation, Haugaard said. I dont think that is a badge of honor for us and it should change, so we can deliver the best for South Dakota, and save millions of tax dollars in the process. At A Glance Heres a year-by-year look at all of the withdrawn bills and resolutions since the rule change in 2014. To see the complete list of withdrawals each session, click on the year, shown in blue. 2025 House 18 bills Garcia 2, Weisgram 2, Overweg, Kull, Mulally, Hughes, Walburg, Lems, Fitzgerald, Phil Jensen 2, Al Novstrup, Mortenson, Schwans, Rehfeldt, Uhre-Balk, Senate 12 bills Sydney Davis 2, Sue Peterson 5, Liz Larson 2, Hohn 2, Kevin Jensen. 2024 House 22 bills Krohmer 2, Drury, Jack Kolbeck, Deutsch, Callies, Massie, Blare 2, Kevin Jensen, Shorma, Carl Perry 2, Venhuizen, Eric Emery, Phil Jensen 2, Scott Moore, Wittman, Rehfeldt, Heermann, May. Two resolutions Mulally, Krohmer. Senate 16 bills Tobin 2, Duhamel, Rohl 2, Schoenbeck, David Johnson, Sydney Davis, Reed, Foster, Nesiba, Frye-Mueller, Bordeaux, Schoenfish, Zikmund, Stalzer. One resolution Pischke. 2023 House 14 bills Blare, Perry 4, Fitzgerald, Lems, Deutsch, Pinnow, Weisgram, Sjaarda 2, S. Peterson 2. Senate 3 bills Regents, Dept. Of Education, Bolin. Three resolutions Bordeaux, Schoenbeck, Frye-Mueller. 2022 House 21 bills Milstead 2, Deutsch, Weisgram, Chase, Spencer Gosch, Weis, Bordeaux 2, Haugaard 3, Soye, Jon Hansen 4, Tidemann 2, Odenbach, Howard. Two resolutions Phil Jensen, Spencer Gosch. Senate 5 bills Frye-Mueller, Tobin, Klumb, Johns, Castleberry. 2021 House 17 bills Deutsch, Willadsen, Bordeaux, Lana Greenfield, Sue Peterson, Duba 2, Chaffee, Phil Jensen 3, Hansen, Ernie Otten, Charlie Hoffman 2, Howard, Soye. One resolution Pischke Senate 1 bill Wheeler. 2020 House 21 bills Johns, Brunner, Pischke, Randolph 4, Jon Hansen, Haugaard 3, Chaffee, Miskimins, Livermont, Howard 2, Reimer, Jamie Smith, Sue Peterson, Spencer Gosch, Sullivan. Senate 14 bills Lance Russell, Monroe, Klumb, P. Jensen 3, Brock Greenfield, Nesiba, Stalzer, Lake, Wiik, Bolin, V.J. Smith, Langer. One resolution Castleberry. 2019 House 20 bills Bartels, Reed, Lake 2, Pischke 2, Tim Rounds, Frye-Mueller 2, Haugaard, Spencer Gosch, Bordeaux, Pourier, Kevin Jensen, Qualm, Lana Greenfield, Finck, Marty, Karr, Sue Peterson. One resolution Weis. Senate 6 bills State Treasurer, Lance Russell, Schoenbeck 3, Stace Nelson. 2018 House 13 bills Ahlers, Pischke 3, Johns, Wismer, Hawley, Frye-Mueller, Brunner, Rasmussen, Spencer Gosch 2, May. One resolution Leslie Heinemann. Senate 9 bills Phil Jensen 2, Wiik, Nesiba, Solano, Jack Kolbeck, Brock Greenfield, Curd, Langer. One resolution Kennedy. 2017 House 14 bills Chief Justice, House Appropriations, Kent Peterson 3, Mark Mickelson, Ahlers, Goodwin, Brunner, Livermont, Leslie Heinemann, Don Haggar, Campbell 2. One resolution Don Haggar. Senate 6 bills Deb Peters, Bolin, Stalzer, Lance Russell, Cronin, Heinert. One resolution Phil Jensen. 2016 House 4 bills Alex Jensen, Schoenbeck, Lana Greenfield, Tulson. Senate 5 bills Betty Olson, Cory Brown 2, Holien, Buhl ODonnell. 2015 House 8 bills Hickey 2, Partridge, Latterell, Zikmund, Don Haggar 2, Haugaard. Senate 11 bills Agricultural Land Assessment Task Force 2, Ewing, Holien, Betty Olson, Monroe, Deb Peters, Billie Sutton, Brock Greenfield, Phil Jensen, Tieszen. 2014 House 2 bills Wick, Bartling. One resolution Lance Russell. Senate 8 bills E. Otten, Tieszen, P. Jensen 2, Lederman, Holien, Tidemann 2. Source: South Dakota Legislative Research Council records. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Claims that former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration initially authorized the use of Signal by government officials spread in late March 2025 after The Atlantic reported national security officials in President Donald Trump's administration accidentally added the magazine's editor-in-chief to a Signal group chat about military strikes in Yemen. While the Biden administration may have allowed some use of Signal based on public guidance from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency it explicitly did not allow use of Signal to communicate "non-public" Department of Defense information, which would have included the conversations Trump administration officials had in their group chat. An anonymous former national security official told The Associated Press that those with permission to download Signal on their White House phones were "instructed to use the app sparingly." It was not possible to independently verify this claim, and it was unclear whether intelligence agencies aside from DOD and the cybersecurity agency issued policies or guidance about using Signal under the Biden administration. After The Atlantic's March 24, 2025, report (archived) that U.S. national intelligence officials included the magazine's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, in a group chat about military strikes in Yemen, CIA Director John Ratcliffe claimed that former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration also used Signal for government communications. "One of the things I was briefed on very early was by the CIA records management folks about the use of Signal as a permissible work use," Ratcliffe said during a March 25 Senate Intelligence Committee hearing (see 45:05). "It is. That is a practice that preceded the current administration to the Biden administration." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the same day, Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, made a similar claim (archived) during an interview with Fox News. "The Biden administration authorized Signal as a means of communication that was consistent with presidential record-keeping requirements for its administration and that continued into the Trump administration," said Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Claims similar to Cotton and Ratcliffe's appeared on X, Facebook and Reddit. While it is true that the Biden administration may have allowed use of Signal in some cases, it also explicitly prohibited using Signal for "non-public" Department of Defense information; furthermore, a DOD investigator wrote in a report during Biden's term that the use of Signal "does not comply" with record-keeping laws and DOD policy. As Ratcliffe, Cotton and others were defending the use of Signal by Trump administration national security officials for what appeared to be sensitive information, including detailed attack plans sent by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, their claims are misleading. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has repeatedly stated (see 2:26) that the information discussed on Signal was not classified; on X, she called the story a "hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well known for his sensationalist spin." The White House, the CIA and Cotton did not immediately return requests for comment; it was not possible to reach Biden as of this writing. Signal in the Biden administration and beyond Guidance from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency released in 2024 under Biden recommended that "highly targeted" individuals "who are in senior government or senior political positions" should "use only end-to-end encrypted communications" and suggested using an app "such as Signal." It also said Signal and other encrypted apps with "features like disappearing messages and images" help "enhance privacy." CISA published these recommendations in response to cyber espionage activity from Chinese government-affiliated actors. While the guidance does not explicitly say it is for either personal or government devices, a news release from CISA announcing the guidance notes highly targeted individuals "should assume that all communications between mobile devices including government and personal devices and internet services are at risk of interception or manipulation." A March 2025 Associated Press review in all 50 states found Signal accounts for state, local and federal officials in nearly every state, adding up to more than 1,100 government workers or elected officials. AP's report noted that the app is increasingly popular among government officials, but that it can sometimes skirt public records laws because of its auto-delete function. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, a CISA spokesperson told Snopes via email that the CISA document "is public guidance, not policy," and directed policy questions to individual agencies. Furthermore, a Department of Defense memo from 2023, also released under Biden, explicitly prohibits Defense Department personnel from using Signal to discuss "non-public" DOD information. The relevant portion of the memo, which applies "to all DoD component civilians, military, and supporting contractors and all apps running on unclassified government-owned mobile devices" on Page 3 reads (emphasis ours): Unmanaged 'messaging apps,' including any app with a chat feature, regardless of the primary function, are NOT authorized to access, transmit, process non-public DoD information. This includes but is not limited to messaging, gaming, and social media apps. (i.e., iMessage, WhatsApps, Signal). An Exception to Policy (E2P) request must be submitted by the appropriate Component for use of an unmanaged messaging app that is critical to fulfilling mission operations at https://rmfks.osd.mil/dode2p. It is worth noting that the DOD memo said it does not apply to apps "on traditional desktop operating systems"; Ratcliffe said during the Senate hearing that "Signal was uploaded onto my computer at the CIA" (see 45:05). It is not clear whether officials only used Signal on computers, rather than their phones; Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence and a purported member of the Signal group chat, refused to answer a question about whether she used her "private phone or public phone" for the discussions. (She also refused to say whether she was in the group chat, unlike other officials.) However, a June 2021 Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General investigation into a senior Pentagon official explicitly called Signal and not just Signal on the phone an "unauthorized electronic messaging and voice-calling application." The same investigation concluded the official, Brett Goldstein, used Signal "in violation of DoD policies" (Page 10) and found "no evidence" that Pentagon officials approved Signal for use by Goldstein or any other employee at the Defense Digital Service, the office Goldstein led within the Defense Department (Page 9). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The use of Signal to discuss official DoD information does not comply with Freedom of Information Act requirements and DoD's records retention policies," the investigator wrote in a footnote (Page 2). While the DOD documents may not apply specifically to the CIA and Ratcliffe's claims, it does refute Cotton's claim that the Biden administration's Signal authorization policy continued into the Trump administration, as Hegseth, a member of the group chat, was not following the guidelines set by DOD during the Biden administration. The Defense Department and the Office of the Inspector General for the department did not immediately return a request for comment. Policy under the Biden administration was unclear as of this writing for the CIA, FBI and other agencies whose leaders were in the Signal chat. However, according to The Associated Press, the Biden administration told officials to use the app "sparingly": In the Biden administration, some officials were given permission to download Signal on their White House-issued phones, but were instructed to use the app sparingly, according to a former national security official who served in the Democratic administration. The official, who requested anonymity to speak about methods used to share sensitive information, said Signal was most commonly used to communicate what they internally referred to as "tippers" to notify someone when they were away from the office or traveling overseas that they should check their "high side" inbox for a classified message. The app was sometimes also used by officials during the Biden administration to communicate about scheduling of sensitive meetings or classified phone calls when they were outside the office, the official said. It was not possible to independently verify the anonymous official's identity as of this writing; the three reporters on the story did not immediately return an inquiry from Snopes. This story will be updated if we learn more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thus, while Biden administration officials may have used Signal for some correspondence, there is no evidence the administration authorized its use for sensitive information aside from a public guidance document from CISA encouraging its use for privacy reasons. Furthermore, Department of Defense officials under Biden were explicitly not authorized to use Signal, and The Associated Press, a reputable news outlet, reported that an official who served in the Biden administration denied that officials under the former president used Signal on a frequent basis for sensitive information. Sources: Boone, Rebecca, and Claudia Lauer. "Encrypted Messaging Apps Increasingly Keep Government Decision-Making Private." AP News, 20 Mar. 2025, apnews.com/article/encryption-apps-government-transparency-sunshine-week-ad26ecdee91c8f99f15228bbe7989ede. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. C-SPAN. "DNI Director Gabbard, FBI Director Patel and Other National Security Officials Testfy on Global Threats." C-SPAN.org, C-SPAN, 25 Mar. 2025, www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/dni-director-gabbard-fbi-director-patel-and-other-national-security-officials-testfy-on-global-threats/657476. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. CBS News. "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Says Signal Messages Posted by Atlantic Were Not 'War Plans' #Shorts." YouTube, 26 Mar. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLuQY2K5-CY. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "CISA Releases Best Practice Guidance for Mobile Communications | CISA." Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 18 Dec. 2024, www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2024/12/18/cisa-releases-best-practice-guidance-mobile-communications. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Copp, Tara, et al. "Trump Officials Texted War Plans to a Group Chat in a Secure App That Included a Journalist." AP News, 24 Mar. 2025, apnews.com/article/war-plans-trump-hegseth-atlantic-230718a984911dd8663d59edbcb86f2a. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Goldberg, Jeffrey. "Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared on Signal." The Atlantic, theatlantic, 26 Mar. 2025, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-group-chat-attack-plans-hegseth-goldberg/682176/. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. ---. "The Atlantic." The Atlantic, theatlantic, 24 Mar. 2025, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Mobile Communications Best Practice Guidance." America's Cyber Defense Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Dec. 2024, www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/guidance-mobile-communications-best-practices.pdf. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. News, PBS. "WATCH: Gabbard Questioned on Participating in Signal Chat Where War Plans Allegedly Leaked." PBS News, 25 Mar. 2025, www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-gabbard-questioned-on-participating-in-signal-chat-where-war-plans-allegedly-leaked. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. "REPORT of INVESTIGATION | MR. BRETT J. GOLDSTEIN, DEFENSE DIGITAL SERVICE DIRECTOR ." U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, 21 June 2021, media.defense.gov/2021/Jun/21/2002745247/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2021-092.PDF. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Sherman, John B. "MEMORANDUM for SENIOR PENTAGON LEADERSHIP COMMANDERS of the COMBATANT COMMANDS DEFENSE AGENCY and DOD FIELD ACTIVITY DIRECTORS ." Chief Information Officer | U.S. Department of Defense, 6 Oct. 2023, dodcio.defense.gov/Portals/0/Documents/Library/Memo-UseOfUnclassMobileApps.pdf. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025. Yolanda Saldivar, who has spent nearly 30 years behind bars for the murder of Tejano music legend Selena Quintanilla-Perez known simply as "Selena" will remain in jail following a recent parole review. A three-member panel of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Saldivar's release Thursday, citing concerns that she still poses a threat to public safety. The board also noted that the nature of the crime demonstrated "a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others," according to NPR. The decision comes just days before the 30-year mark since the fatal shooting of the young music icon outside of a Days Inn Hotel in Corpus Christi in a tragedy that devastated millions of Latinos, Texans and Tejano music fans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Selena was one of the first Mexican-American artists to break into the mainstream music scene and was on the verge of crossing over into the English-language pop market at the time of her death. Will they review Yolanda Saldivar's parole again? Although the decision means the 64-year-old will continue serving a life sentence at a prison in Gatesville, her case will be eligible for parole review again in 2030. Saldivar was 34 at the time of Selena's death. She had been president of the Selena fan club and managed Selena's clothing boutique. When did Selena die? Selena was pronounced dead from hypovolemic shock at Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital on March 31, 1995. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was 23 years old and just less than three weeks away from her 24th birthday on April 16, the Austin-American Statesman previously reported. The events leading to Selenas tragic death began when her father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., discovered that Saldivar had been embezzling money from the Selena projects she managed. Fans had begun sending letters and emails complaining that they had paid enrollment fees but received nothing in return. After an investigation, Quintanilla uncovered that Saldivar had used forged checks to embezzle $30,000 through the fan club and boutiques. On March 9, 1995, the Quintanilla family held a meeting to discuss the missing funds. Unable to convince her of her innocence, Saldivar was banned from contacting Selena the following day. She then purchased a gun, lying to the clerk by claiming she was a nurse whose patients' relatives had threatened her life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weeks later, the day of Selena's death, Saldivar convinced Selena to meet her alone in the hotel room. Selena emptied Saldivar's satchel, which contained documents related to the boutiques and the fan club, as well the .38 revolver. Saldivar then grabbed the gun and pointed it at Selena, who attempted to flee. Saldivar shot Selena as she was running away, with the bullet entering her upper back near her shoulder and passing through her chest cavity, severing an artery and causing Selena to go into cardiac arrest. For more than two decades, rumors circulated that her father, Abraham Quintanilla, had refused the transfusion due to his affiliation with the Jehovah's Witness religion. However, he told Corpus Christi station 3 News in 2021 that this claim was false. "Selena was given blood by the doctor. When she arrived at the hospital at the emergency room after she was shot," Quintanilla told the news organization, adding that he had also retrieved all transcripts of Saldivar's trial and "the doctor testified that when Selena came in, when they brought her in, she was dead already. She had bled to death, but he knew who she was and as a last resort he gave her blood to see if something would happen." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: 'Selena y Los Dinos' at SXSW reveals Tejano pop icon's family, fame and cultural impact Who is Selena Quintanilla-Perez? Born and raised in Texas, Selena was a beloved Tejano musician who was named Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1986 Tejano Music Awards, a title she earned 11 times in total, including several posthumously. She ranks second only to Elida Reyna, who claimed the title 13 times between 2000 and 2019. In 1994, Selena won the Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album. Songs like "Como La Flor," "I Could Fall In Love," and her signature hit, "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom," endeared her music to both Spanish and English-speaking audiences, stamping her success as a crossover star. In 2001, Selena was posthumously honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2010, at the 30th Anniversary Tejano Music Awards, she was named Female Vocalist of the 1980s and Female Vocalist of the 1990s. Selena Quintanilla Perez performs at the 14th annual Tejano Music Awards on March 14, 1994. With her success in pop culture and her philanthropic efforts in the community, Selena has become a significant inspiration for young girls and women, championing confidence and empowerment. From Halloween costumes to Selena-themed trivia and parties, her legacy continues to influence new generations, keeping her spirit alive. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas denies Yolanda Saldivar parole. When did Selena die? New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said she believes that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and other officials embroiled in the Signalgate security breach will not be fired. Haberman, known for regularly breaking stories about the Trump administration, told CNNs Kaitlan Collins Thursday that President Donald Trump will resist firing Waltz because he doesnt want to be seen as giving in to Trump the media. Trump is very clear that, according to a number of people Ive spoken to, he does not want to fire someone because he sees that as giving in to the media, Haberman, who also serves as a political analyst for CNN, explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People around him see that as weak and I think you will hear that for a while. Whether this is sustainable for them is another story. Haberman argued that the Trump administration is keeping the story on the front pages by constantly trying to pass the buck and downplay the scandal. Maggie Haberman laid into Donald Trump Thursday and explained why she thinks he will not fire any of the Signal group chat officials (Getty Images for The New York Times) Nobody wants thisin the Trump administrationto continue, she said. They have tried talking about a number of other issuestariffs, executive orders, about law firms, executive orders about history and cultural institutions. This is not going away. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have called for the president to take action against those involved in the leaks, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Waltz admitted sole accountability for the security lapse, telling Fox News: I take responsibility. I built the group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The journalists comments come as a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to preserve records of the Signal message chat where senior national security officials discussed sensitive plans for a U.S. military strike in Yemen in front of The Atalantics editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg after he was mistakenly invited to the group by Waltz. President has repeatedly attempted to brush aside the Signalgate saga and defended those in the group chat (AFP via Getty Images) U.S. District Judge James Boasberg barred administration officials from destroying messages that were sent over the encrypted messaging app earlier this month. A government attorney said the administration is already taking steps to collect and save the messages. The order was requested by nonprofit watchdog American Oversight, which sued this week to ensure that the records are kept per the Federal Records Act. The group suspects that administration officials routinely use Signal to communicate. Defendants use of a non-classified commercial application even for such life-and-death matters as planning a military operation leads to the inevitable inference that Defendants must have used Signal to conduct other official government business, American Oversights attorneys wrote in a court filing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boasberg limited his order to messages sent between March 11 and March 15. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg barred administration officials from destroying messages this week (AP) The Atlantic went on to publish the entire Signal chat on Wednesday. Goldberg, its editor-in-chief, had been added to a discussion that included Hegseth, Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. On the chat, Hegseth provided the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop before the attacks against Yemens Houthis began earlier this month. Hegseth laid out when a strike window would open, where a target terrorist was located and when weapons and aircraft would be used. The images of the text chain posted by The Atlantic show that the messages were set to disappear in one week. The Associated Press contributed to this report. NEW MEXICO (KRQE) A group of 17 different foundations wants to get more young people involved in helping northern New Mexico communities. They are doing it by letting its youngest members help decide who gets the grant money. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a way to get youth involved in decision-making. We want to see young people that understand who they are, what their future holds, and then drive that and claim it, said Roger Montoya Seventeen different foundations have partnered together to create a youth fund for the northern New Mexico pathways to opportunity strategy table. Its offering over $1 million in grants distributed to different organizations supporting education, work training, and youth leadership across northern New Mexico. Its youngest members are taking the helm in deciding who gets the funds. The youth are the future leaders, and theyre going to be taking over one day, so they need to learn the ropes so that they can be good leaders when its their time, said one youth leader from Ohkay Owingeh, Veronica Rameriez. These young leaders gain the skills and experience by reviewing applications and divvying up the grants. They also gain an understanding of their influence on the community by relying on their own lived experience and how it might differ from an older generation. These young leaders are working with the Los Alamos National Labs (LANL) Foundation, Moving Arts Espanola, the Semilla Project, and other stakeholders to hone those skills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want to make sure that every young person, especially the young people who are not being served as well by our systems, including native youth, young parents, youth who are not working or who are not in school, we want to make sure nobody falls through the cracks, said Alvin Warren. The stakeholders say this is a great way for the youth of northern New Mexico to have more opportunities in the future. We have a lot of youth who sort of move out of state for education, for career opportunities, and we want them to be involved in decision making, said youth leader from Mora, Joaquin Romero. For the youth members themselves, they echo the sentiment and also feel they can help the communities they love. Theres many ways to get involved, but its important to recognize that you have agency and that you can make a difference even just with your voice, said Romero. For more information on the partnership and grant program, click this link. 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. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson is reacting to President Trumps new immigration policies for America. Read next: Mercy Health responds to lawsuit of woman who miscarried YSU is home to more than 1,200 international students. Johnson said each one is an integral part of the Penguin family and they are all here legally. He acknowledged these new policies could cause anxiety but they are committed to helping every student succeed in their academic journey. Our international students are an integral part of the YSU Penguin Family. While we understand that some of the recent media reports about U.S. immigration policies could cause anxiety, we continue working closely with YSUs international students to ensure they have followed all applicable immigration lawsthey are here legally. YSU remains firmly committed to supporting our international student community, and will continue to provide clear, compassionate guidance to ensure our international students feel safe, secure, and valued. Additionally, YSU has an International Student Services team dedicated to providing personalized support and guidance should any questions or concerns arise. Ultimately, while political landscapes may shift, YSUs commitment to our international students remains constant. YSU is the home away from home for over 1,200 international students, and we are committed to helping each and every one of them succeed in their academic journey. YSU President Bill Johnson There is more information on YSUs International Student Services online. 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 WKBN.com. (FOX40.COM) Following a Marysville police officer killed in the line of duty on Wednesday morning, the impact is being felt throughout a tight-knit community. Many first responders and community members are left in shock and are grieving the passing of Officer Osmar Rodarte. Since the incident happened, the Yuba County Sheriffs Office spoke to FOX40 on Thursday about the resources that they are providing officers during this difficult time. During these tragedies, people in law enforcement including their families may feel multitude of emotions and officials remind us that everyone reacts to trauma differently. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Katy Goodson, Yuba County Sheriffs Spokesperson said, When these deputies wake up in the morning to go to their job, or at night or whatever it may be, they might not know if theyre coming home. Shooting suspect in Marysville police officers death identified Every time we have a situation with our officers, its always because its the worst time in somebodys life, said Mindi Russell, Law Enforcement Chaplain and Executive Director of Chaplain California Core. Russell said that shes been receiving more calls since the announcement of the fallen officer. On a day-to-day basis, our law enforcement officers and their families really never know what theyre going to get into but they do understand the fact that they are in harms way, said Russell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just like many other agencies, the Yuba County Sheriffs Office has programs that provide a safe space during painful times like this. Denton Carlson, the San Ramon Chief of Police and Executive Committee Member of the California Police Chiefs Association said, In the last decade in the policing profession, we have grown by leaps and bounds in really addressing the mental health traumatic injuries that come with being in this profession. YCSO has taken over all Marysville Police Department calls for service to give them time to grieve and the community should not be alarmed if they respond to MPD calls for service. Officials said that this is one of many examples of how law enforcement comes together when it matters the most. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) Pete Leaming continues to devote his life to serving others after serving in two wars for two different countries, his native New Zealand and the United States. Leaming, a two-time war veteran, says you are never too old to learn something new; hes 97. His friends call him Picasso Pete; hes been an abstract painter for several years. From his apartment in Maryville, the New Zealand native has led a colorful life. He was 18 years old when he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1945, just before WWII ended in the Pacific. Pete Leaming at 18 years old. I went first to Manus, then onto Guadalcanal, said Leaming. They were very strict about making us wear long-sleeve shirts so the mosquitoes couldnt bite us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Private Leaming was a ground crew member. With other airmen, they prepared the planes for combat. Our airstrip was covered with steel. The pieces were locked together, said Leaming. When the airplane landed, you can imagine the rattling of steel. Oh dear, it was awful. But it was better than landing on the coral that chewed up the tires. Sheriff: 80,000 pounds of beef stolen from Bean Station meat processing facility Victory in Japan Day, what was that like for you guys serving in the South Pacific? asked Dare. Somebody came in and said theyve dropped an atom bomb on Japan. We all turned around and looked at each other and said, what the hell is an atom bomb? We didnt know, said Leaming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the war over, Leaming returned to his family farm in New Zealand. Then, he got the bug again and joined the British Merchant Marine. I was supposed to be a cook, but I ended up being a scullion. Do you know what that is? Its a person who washes the pots and pans, said Leaming. You are in the British Merchant Marine, you find yourself docked in New York City, what happens? asked Dare. I jumped ship, said Leaming. His next adventure was the United States Army. After months of training, U.S. Army Private Leaming was sent to Korea in 1951. He describes his time as a mortar man in Korea as cold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result of severe frostbite to his feet, Leaming is 100 percent disabled. This military decoration in the middle of his cap is called a Combat Infantryman Badge. Leamings unit fought in two battles. A Combat Infantryman Badge on Leamings cap. (WATE) We were up on the front for five or six months, said Leaming. Leaming served in the Army from 1951 to 1953 and remained in the reserves for another four years. He is most proud of his Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army. Married for 62 years, he and his late wife Brenda had two daughters. He would serve again, wearing another uniform of the Rochester, New York Police Department where he retired as a patrolman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Raw meat found in dirty containers during Knoxville food trucks health inspection Im helping wounded soldiers trying to find a life, said Leaming. Today, Leaming donates the sale of his abstract paintings and his dried flora artwork to the Wounded Warrior Project. His artistry is created from the heart and he salutes those who serve in the military today. Theyre doing a good job, a job that has to be done. I am proud to have been just a small part of it, said Leaming. Veterans Voices: Hear the stories of those who served If you know a Veteran who could be recognized, send Don Dare an email at ddare@wate.com or give him a call at 865-633-6923. 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. Ukraine is firmly rejecting the classification of US military aid in its fight against Russia's invasion as a loan. "We are grateful for the support, but this is not a loan, and we will not allow it," President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists in Kiev on Friday. Zelensky also confirmed that Ukraine has received a new draft of a stalled mineral resources agreement from the US. Shortly after taking office in January, US President Donald Trump tied military aid to Ukraine's access to its valuable rare earth minerals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, a deal that was set to be signed collapsed in February following a heated public dispute between Zelensky and Trump at the White House. Zelensky described the latest version of the agreement as "completely different from the previous framework" and noted that it now includes provisions Ukraine had already rejected in earlier negotiations. According to reports from The New York Times, Financial Times and Bloomberg, Washington has increased its financial demands on Kiev. The new draft also reportedly expands US control over Ukraines natural resources, including minerals, oil, gas and critical infrastructure. This has raised concerns that the deal could undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and create legal obstacles to its bid for European Union membership, as some provisions may conflict with EU regulations. Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would not sign any agreement that could jeopardize its EU accession process. Planning for retirement involves more than just building up savings where you choose to live can significantly affect how far your money will go. A recent study from GOBankingRates analyzed how far $1.5 million in retirement savings, combined with Social Security benefits, would last retirees in each U.S. state. While $1.5 million may seem like a comfortable nest egg, the cost of living widely varies from state to state, making some locations much friendlier for retirees' wallets than others. Don't Miss: Top 5 States Where Retirement Savings Last the Longest If you want to stretch your retirement savings as long as possible, the study shows that these states offer the lowest cost of living, allowing your funds to last decades. West Virginia With an annual cost of living after Social Security of $27,803, $1.5 million would last about 54 years the longest of any state. Kansas The annual cost of living after Social Security is $28,945, which means $1.5 million would last approximately 52 years. Mississippi Retirees can expect their savings to last about 51 years, thanks to a modest annual cost of living of $29,426 after Social Security. Oklahoma With an annual cost of living of $29,666 after Social Security, $1.5 million would last roughly 51 years. Alabama Retirees in Alabama would see their savings last about 50 years due to an annual post-Social Security cost of living of $30,207. Trending: Can you guess how many retire with a $5,000,000 nest egg? The percentage may shock you. Top 5 States Where Retirement Savings Run Out Fastest At the other end of the spectrum, certain states see much higher living costs, meaning that even a larger retirement fund will be depleted more quickly. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine will not sign an agreement on mineral resources with the United States if it poses a threat to the countrys accession to the EU. Source: Zelenskyy at a press briefing on Friday 28 March, as reported by European Pravda. Details: The president stated that the Ukrainian side officially received a draft of the mineral resources agreement from the US today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "Officially, and this is important, the Ukrainian side namely the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and my Office officially received a note today with a draft or proposals from the US. Yuliia Svyrydenko [Ukraines First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy] is in bilateral contact with US Treasury Secretary Bessent, but it is necessary to compare whether this is the same agreement. I asked her some questions. She said it is very difficult to comment because this is a completely different document, with many new provisions that were not previously discussed, as well as some aspects that had already been rejected by both sides." Details: Zelenskyy emphasised the need for "a concrete legal review at the highest level". "Let them compare all these agreements there are already many and I will consider the one that our side has officially received," he noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would not sign the agreement if it threatened the countrys accession to the EU. "The Constitution of Ukraine clearly states that our course is towards the EU There are very important reforms and corresponding steps. Nothing that could endanger Ukraines accession to the EU can be accepted," Zelenskyy stated. He added that he would consider the agreement "when there are no relevant legislative threats in it". Background: Earlier, European Pravda reported that the new text of the US mineral resources agreement could contradict Ukraines EU accession plans due to strict restrictions significantly affecting Ukraines economic sovereignty. Additionally, the Trump administration reintroduced a clause into a proposed agreement on Ukrainian subsoil resources that obliges Ukraine to repay the full amount of US aid provided since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion in 2022. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a meeting at the level of general staff representatives in Ukraine to discuss the future deployment of a military contingent. Source: Zelenskyy at a press briefing on Friday 28 March, as reported by European Pravda Details: Zelenskyy said that Ukraine reached an agreement with its partners to hold this military-level meeting during the summit of the "coalition of the willing" in Paris. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "We agreed urgently within a week to hold a meeting in Ukraine with a select group of general staff representatives from key countries that are fully prepared for a contingent on Ukrainian territory." Details: The president did not specify who exactly would participate at the meeting but confirmed that representatives from France, the United Kingdom and Ukraine would be present. Quote: "We will show our infrastructure, work with our partners and refine our joint vision. We have agreed that following this, there will immediately be another meeting, not at the military level, but at the level of NSA [national security advisors ed.]. This will then lead to a final meeting on security guarantees." Background: The "coalition of the willing", led by France and the United Kingdom, has been working for several weeks on a plan to deploy thousands of troops to Ukraine to ensure a future ceasefire. French President Emmanuel Macron stated at a briefing following the coalition of the willing summit in Paris on 27 March that the foreign ministers of Kyiv's allies will prepare legal positions regarding monitoring the ceasefire in Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The ceasefire in the Black Sea, agreed upon by Ukraine and Russia during talks with the United States, could be monitored by representatives from Black Sea countries. Source: Zelenskyy at a press briefing on Friday 28 March, as reported by European Pravda. Details: Zelenskyy stated that monitoring is necessary for the ceasefire regime in the Black Sea because "without monitoring, theres nothing to say". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that during negotiations in Saudi Arabia, the issue of who would be responsible for monitoring was raised, and named Turkiye as an example of a country that could take on this role. Quote: "Monitoring this [ceasefire in the Black Sea ed.] could be done by the US, the British, or the French. And also, Black Sea coastal countries both the Romanians and the Bulgarians, which is absolutely clear to us because they know their region and have worked on the Black Sea demining coalition." Background: Recently, Bulgaria proposed establishing a multinational centre on its territory to ensure the safety of shipping in the western part of the Black Sea. Following negotiations in Saudi Arabia on 23-25 March, the United States, Russia and Ukraine agreed on ensuring the safety of shipping, excluding the use of force, and preventing the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea. However, Russia subsequently put forward a list of demands, including the easing of several sanctions on the agricultural sector. The US stated it would review the demands, while European countries rejected the idea of easing sanctions. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine is not ready to recognise the US military aid provided in recent years as a debt within the framework of the mineral resources agreement with the United States. Source: Zelenskyy at a press briefing on Friday 28 March, as reported by European Pravda Details: The president noted that the key compromises with the American side were outlined in a framework agreement, which failed to be signed at the end of February. At that time, it was ruled out that Ukraine would repay the United States for the aid provided since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We will not accept debts, as I said. These are absolutely clear things to me. At least we are talking about the past," Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile, he made it clear that Ukraine is ready to reimburse the United States for future assistance if the Trump administration provides it. "If there are any prospects, new support, new packages of support, then the US can certainly set certain conditions. We understand that this team wont do anything for us for free. They say that officially," Zelenskyy stated. Background: Earlier, European Pravda reported that the Trump administration reintroduced a clause into a proposed agreement on Ukrainian subsoil resources that obliges Ukraine to repay the full amount of US aid provided since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion in 2022. The draft of the large agreement specifies that Ukraine would be obligated to reimburse the US for all assistance including budgetary, military and humanitarian aid provided since the start of Russias full-scale war. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine's defence forces are carrying out their tasks in Russia's Kursk Oblast without risks of encirclement. Source: Zelenskyy at a press conference on 28 March, broadcast by the national joint 24/7 newscast Quote: "On the Kursk front, our guys are doing everything possible and impossible. We are physically present there, unimpeded by any encirclement. As long as we are there, it acts as a deterrence to a Russian invasion of Sumy Oblast. This is our analysis; it is not certain, but we are preparing for it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are preparing by taking proper steps to reduce the build-up of their forces. For this reason, we have taken suitable precautions slightly below Kursk Oblast. And as for the fact that it geographically extends into [Russias] Bryansk Oblast we don't care what happens to their oblasts However, we are acting simply because we have observed their military buildup and intercepted relevant audio recordings of their preparations." Details: Zelesnkyy said that the situation in the eastern part of Ukraine has improved, and the Russian forces present there will not be sufficient. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The United States will hold consultations with Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and several European countries regarding the monitoring of the partial ceasefire regime. Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a briefing on Friday 28 March, as reported by European Pravda Details: Zelenskyy noted that the US has informed Ukraine about its plans to hold the relevant consultations with certain states. Quote: "We have learned that the American side will conduct consultations with Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and also with some European countries regarding their readiness to conduct monitoring. I do not yet know the results of all the discussions our American partners have not informed us about them so far but they have stated this, and we have made it clear to them that without monitoring, the [partial ceasefire] will not work". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Zelenskyy emphasised that monitoring is the most crucial issue and that he has asked Defence Minister Rustem Umierov to provide the American side with all the evidence of Russia violating its commitments. "So far, there are no other third countries responsible for monitoring. For us, the main mediator is the United States of America," Zelenskyy noted. Background: Earlier, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine would prepare evidence of Russia violating the ceasefire in the energy sector and provide it to the United States, expecting an appropriate response. He had previously said that if Russia breaches the ceasefire, Ukraine expects action from the Trump administration, as the agreements were reached with it. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! 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. Police block traffic as demonstrators march through the streets of downtown Chicago to protest the police killing of Sonya Massey on July 27, 2024, in Chicago. Massey was shot and killed by police in her home last July 6 after she called them about a possible intruder. Editors Note: The story is updated with pricing details of the equity offering. NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO) shares traded lower on Thursday. The stocks of automakers declined after the White House announced that President Donald Trump would introduce new tariffs on auto imports during a press conference on Wednesday. Also, on Thursday, NIO disclosed its intention to offer up to 118.79 million Class A ordinary shares. The company priced of its expanded equity placement and raised around HK$4.03 billion ($518.27 million). The offering includes 136.8 million Class A shares at a price of HK$29.46 ($3.79) per share. The transaction is expected to close around April 7, 2025, upon fulfillment of customary closing conditions. NIO plans to use the net proceeds from this equity placement to fund research and development of smart electric vehicle technologies and new products, strengthen its balance sheet, and support general corporate purposes. This week, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer informed investors to expect underwhelming first-quarter results. The company reportedly expects to deliver up to 43,000 vehicles by March 31, with a projected revenue of approximately 12.9 billion yuan ($1.8 billion). Nio has also received funding from strategic investors, including a 3.3 billion yuan (~$455 million) investment from Hefei government-backed funds and a $2.94 billion capital injection from Abu Dhabis CYVN Holdings in 2023. Last week, the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of 19.70 billion Chinese yuan ($2.70 billion), up 15.2% year-over-year and up 5.5% sequentially. Analysts, on average, estimated revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter. NIO reported an adjusted loss per share per ADS of 3.17 Chinese yuan or 43 cent loss compared to a 2.81 Chinese yuan loss in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had called for a loss of 42 cents per ADS. Price Action: NIO shares are down 7.58% at $3.90 premarket at the last check Thursday. Read Next: Photo by Sundry Photography on Shutterstock. Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Why Is Tesla's Chinese Rival NIO Stock Diving Today? (UPDATED) originally appeared on Benzinga.com 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Good morning! Return-to-office mandates continue to infuriate workers around the country, and implementing them remains a major concern for HR departments. But real estate marketplace Zillow is trying a different approach: letting employees work from wherever they want. We like to think we hire adults. We like to treat people like adults, Dan Spaulding, chief people officer at Zillow, tells Fortune. The company began implementing their remote-forward strategy in autumn of 2020, when they first told employees that they would not be asked to return to the office full-time. Hundreds of workers then began to relocate to different parts of the country, leading Zillow to establish their official CloudHQ model: The company considers its headquarters to be online, not in one physical location. We want employees to have the ability to choose where they live and work [based on] what is most effective for them on a daily basis, Spaulding says. And then we want to be hyper-intentional about when we are together in person. Prior to 2020, Zillow had 11 offices across the country, with 95% of their employees living within commuting distance to one of the offices. Today, they have six offices in major U.S. hubs, including San Francisco, New York, and Seattle. Spaulding says he goes into the office about four or five days a month, though never consecutively. Taking a risk on remote work has paid off, he says. The company has seen a four fold increase in the number of applications for open roles since they began rolling out the CloudHQ model. The number of women employees has also increased by 5% as the company has expandedperhaps unsurprising considering how much that cohort values flexible schedules. I've worked in HR for 25 years, I've never seen the demographic shift that I've seen since moving to Cloud HQ, says Spaulding. We believe that's a differentiator for us in terms of not just attracting those employees to Zillow, but retaining them for a longer period of time. You can read more about Zillows approach to work here. Sara Braun Sara.Braun@fortune.com This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Some federal student loan borrowers are eligible for student loan forgiveness through programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF), and after making years of payments under an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. These programs provide significant relief. As of the end of 2024, PSLF forgiveness eliminated $79.4 billion in combined outstanding loans for over 1 million borrowers. However, student loan forgiveness isn't always a clean break. Depending on the type of loan forgiveness you qualify for and when the loans are discharged, that debt relief is not necessarily tax-free. Do I have to pay income taxes on student loan forgiveness? According to the most recent data released by the Federal Student Aid Data Center, 42.7 million people have outstanding federal student loans. For those struggling to manage their payments, loan forgiveness can seem like a dream come true. But student loan forgiveness could lead to a surprise tax bill sometimes referred to as the student loan tax bomb when borrowers submit their tax returns. The IRS considers canceled debt, including most forms of student loan forgiveness or discharge, as taxable income. However, borrowers working toward loan forgiveness have been exempt from taxes thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This measure made forgiven student loans exempt from federal income taxes, but it only applies to loans discharged between Jan. 1, 2021 and Dec. 31, 2025. The American Rescue Plan applies to all student loan forgiveness programs, but it only affects federal income taxes. Although some states adopted similar measures for state income taxes, not all followed suit. As of 2025, five states tax the discharged amount of forgiven student loan debt: Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Wisconsin. Student loan forgiveness tax consequences after 2025 Currently, the American Rescue Act's provisions regarding taxes on forgiven debt will end on Dec. 31, 2025. From Jan. 1, 2026, onward, how student loan forgiveness and discharge programs are taxed depends on the program: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Federal loan borrowers that work for nonprofit organizations, government agencies, or public service groups may qualify for PSLF. They must work for a qualifying employer full time for 10 years and make 120 qualifying monthly payments. After reaching those milestones, the government eliminates the remainder of their federal loan balance. PSLF is one of the few programs that is excluded from federal income taxes; none of the forgiven loan amount is taxable as income, even after the American Rescue Plan expires at the end of 2025. Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) Under the TLF program, teachers employed full time at a qualifying school for at least five full and consecutive academic years can qualify for up to $17,500 of loan forgiveness for federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans. As of Jan. 1, 2021, the amount forgiven under TLF is not considered income by the IRS, so you don't have to pay federal income taxes on the amount of debt forgiveness. Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) discharge IDR plans are for federal loan borrowers who have trouble affording their student loan payments under the standard 10-year repayment plan. Income-driven repayment plans extend the loan terms and base the borrower's monthly payments on a percentage of their discretionary income. Currently, there are three active repayment plans: Income-Based Repayment Income-Contingent Repayment Pay As You Earn If the borrower still has a balance at the end of their loan term which can be 20 or 25 years, depending on the plan the government will discharge the remainder. Under the American Rescue Plan, the discharged amount was exempt from federal taxes. However, once it expires in 2026, the forgiven loans will be taxable as income at the federal and state levels. Borrower Defense to Repayment Discharge Borrower Defense to Repayment Discharge is a program that eliminates federal student loans for borrowers who were misled by their colleges, or if their schools engaged in misconduct and violated state laws. The IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued notices clarifying that loans discharged through borrower defense to repayment are not taxable as income. Total and Permanent Disability Discharge (TPDD) TPDD applies to borrowers who become totally and permanently disabled. The government will discharge the remaining loan balance for eligible federal loan borrowers. Depending on where you live, the amount discharged may be taxable at the state level. For federal taxes, whether the discharged balance is taxable depends on when you qualified for TPDD: If you received discharge before Jan. 1, 2018: The discharged loan amount is subject to federal income taxes. If you received discharge between Jan. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2025: These loans are exempt from federal income taxes. If you receive discharge in 2026 or later: Tax treatment in 2026 and beyond is not clear at this time. What is the tax on private student loan forgiveness? Private student loans aren't eligible for federal loan programs like PSLF or TPDD. But borrowers with private student loans may qualify for other loan forgiveness or discharge programs. For example, some private lenders offer loan cancellation for borrowers who become totally and permanently disabled. The American Rescue Plan specifies that forgiven private student loans are also exempt from federal income taxes through the end of 2025. However, they may be subject to state income taxes. Unless the American Rescue Plan is extended, discharged private student loans will also be considered taxable as income on federal taxes. Taxes on student loan forgiveness FAQs Can I pay down my balance to lower my tax bill? Technically, you can pay down your loan balance to decrease your tax bill if you're expecting a loan discharge after 2025. But because those taxable programs are based on your income, if you pay down the debt, there's a chance your payments will go up in the future, decreasing the effectiveness of the forgiveness program. How can I estimate how much I will owe in taxes due to student loan forgiveness? How much you will have to pay in taxes depends on the amount of loan forgiveness you receive and your tax bracket. You can review the current income tax rates and brackets on the IRS website. If you are expecting a large tax bill, setting aside a little cash every month in a high-yield savings account or CD can help you prepare. If Congress extends the Rescue Plan past 2025, how will that affect borrowers? If Congress extends the American Rescue Plan past 2025, borrowers seeking loan forgiveness through IDR discharge, TPDD and private loan forgiveness programs would be exempt from federal income taxes. Under current rules, PSLF is never taxed as income, so any extensions wouldn't impact borrowers working toward loan forgiveness through that program. The Budapest Metropolitan Government Office has told residents of Rackeve, in Pest County, not to drink local water as arsenic levels are above the acceptable threshold. Also, the local water provider has been told to identify the cause of the problem and eliminate it, the government office said in a statement on Thursday. It must also deliver drinking water to local residents and keep them abreast of developments, it added. The government office is investigating whether the service provider bears responsibility and is monitoring compliance. A fine of up to 5 million forints can be levied for non-compliance, it said. The ban will remain in place until measurements show that water quality has returned to acceptable levels, the statement 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. Ana Maria Vargas took home the Expat CEO Award 2025 at the BBJs 11th annual CEO Gala held on Mar. 21 at the Grand Ballroom of the Corinthia Hotel Budapest. The Community Award this year went to Robert Keszte. The prestigious award recognizes the foreign CEO working and living in Hungary who has made the most significant contribution to the countrys economic development and international reputation in the past year. As in previous years, the award was decided by a five-member professional jury shortly before the start of the gala. This years jury included Irisz Lippai-Nagy, CEO of the Hungarian-American Chamber of Commerce; Rita Szep-Tuske, deputy CEO of Hipa; Andras Savos, president of the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce; and Balazs Roman, CEO of BBJ. The panel was completed by last years winner, Chresten Bruun, who played an active role in selecting his successor. Following the opening of the gala, BBJ editor-in-chief Robin Marshall welcomed attendees, setting the stage for an evening of celebration and recognition. Hipas Rita Szep-Tuske addressed the audience, thanking the expat business community which continues to play a major role in shaping Hungarys economic landscape. We are living in a time of relentless transformation, she said, emphasizing the importance of adaptability as a key quality in business today. In this environment, the ability to adapt is not just an advantage, its a must. She highlighted Hungary as the meeting point where West and East can cooperate, which is the cornerstone of the Hungarian economys adaptability. Following Szep-Tuskes speech, guests were treated to a captivating performance by the Csillagszemu Dance Ensemble. Renowned for their vibrant interpretations of Hungarian folk traditions, the award-winning group brought youthful energy and artistic precision to the stage. Their dynamic choreography and colorful costumes offered a stirring tribute to Hungarys rich cultural heritage, earning enthusiastic applause from the audience and adding a festive spirit to the evenings celebrations. Community Award Recognizes Corporate Responsibility In addition to the Expat CEO of the Year Award, the Budapest Business Journal also presented the Community Award. The Community Award recognizes a business leader who plays a strong community-building role, serves as a positive role model, and has a meaningful impact both socially and economically in Hungary. Candidates must be successful in national and international markets, demonstrate outstanding commitment as representatives of their company in Hungary, and influence issues with broader social relevance The jury for this category comprised last years winner, Spar Hungary president-CEO Gabriella Heiszler; BBJ publisher Tamas Botka; and Shell Hungary country chair-president and HBLF president Andrea Solti Istenes, who was the first recipient of the award. The nominees this year were Zsofia Beck, managing director at Boston Consulting Group Hungary; Nikolett Blasko, founder, co-owner and CEO at Advanced Communication Group; and Robert Keszte, head of global operations at Continental. This years Community Award, presented by last years winner Gabriella Heiszler, went to Robert Keszte. Keszte is an experienced general manager in the automotive industry well-known in both expat and CEO circles. He was also voted the Most Inspiring Leader of 2023 by the 297 CEOs responding to PwCs 13th Hungarian CEO survey last year. After accepting the award, he urged the expat CEO community in Hungary to engage with local communities wherever they are and noted that despite the fact that we are living in crazy times, there are still people who managed to keep their good sense. Honoring a Decade of Business Leadership The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the Expat CEO Award 2025. Over the past decade, this accolade has become one of the most prestigious awards on the Hungarian business scene, recognizing outstanding leadership and international collaboration. The winners over the years have come from a diverse array of industries and backgrounds, reflecting the dynamic and international nature of the Hungarian business environment. After guests enjoyed their main course, Robin Marshall introduced this years nominees: ExxonMobil Hungary lead country manager and lead controller Byung Kim, J&J Innovative Medicine Hungary country director Ana Maria Vargas, and E.ON Hungaria CEO and chairman Guntram Wurzberg. As anticipation mounted, last years winner, Chresten Bruun, stepped onto the stage with the sealed envelope. Ana Maria Vargas Wins Expat CEO 2025 Title The moment of the evening arrived as Bruun opened the envelope and announced Ana Maria Vargas as the winner of the Expat CEO Award 2025. Taking the stage, she expressed gratitude for the recognition. I work in the healthcare industry, and for the past 32 years, Johnson & Johnson Hungary has been fully dedicated to partnering with stakeholders in achieving one clear purpose, which is to provide and change the further care of patients with chronic diseases, she said. This recognition also goes to my team in Johnson & Johnson Hungary, a group of Hungarian individuals who put their hearts out every day, she remarked. Lets continue to work for a healthier Hungary together, she concluded. Originally from Columbia, Vargas is a global leader with almost two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical market in Europe, the United States, and Latin America, who has led the Budapest operation since October 2022. She is a firm advocate for embracing digital advancements, believing in its potential to revolutionize business, uncover new opportunities, streamline processes, and deliver better value to customers, stakeholders, and the wider community. The gala continued well into the night, with guests mingling in the Corinthias elegant foyer. Attendees enjoyed exquisite desserts, fine drinks, as well as live music by Aliz and Karoly Nyari, making the evening a memorable celebration of business excellence and international cooperation. Event Partners The 2025 CEO Gala was supported by strategic partner Hipa alongside PwC, Citi, Heineken, Penny, TaylorWessing, Synergy, Phoenix Pharma, and BDO. ********************************* 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. The government will provide up to Ft 3 million in grants for shops operating in villages with less than 2,000 inhabitants, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Facebook after Wednesdays cabinet meeting. This follows a similar measure, also offering up to Ft 3 million in state funds for pubs in villages with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. Almost everything at the cabinet meeting was about villages, according to Orban, as we believe that villages are not the past, but the future, so 2025 will be a breakthrough year in villages as well. The government is also ordering banks to install ATMs in small villages and has launched a church renovation programme. ********************************* 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. Patanjali Ayurveda has transformed the way people in India think about health and fitness. Founded by Swami Ramdev, it has brought Ayurveda into the modern world by combining it with modern science, making it recognized worldwide. As a result, big foreign companies have faced strong competition. Patanjali, founded by Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna in 2006, has now built a multi-billion-dollar business in India. But, what role has Patanjali played in saving and adapting Ayurveda to todays world? Lets understand this. Patanjali Changed Peoples Lifestyle When Patanjali Ayurveda started, it initially sold only Ayurvedic medicines under the name Divya Pharmacy. But later, the company introduced a range of products like toothpaste, shampoo, soap, and other daily essentials under the Patanjali brand. Among these, the toothpaste "Dant Kanti" became extremely popular and turned into Patanjalis hero product. Patanjalis products became so popular that sales of most existing toothpaste brands began to drop. This led big companies to launch "Ayurvedic versions" of their famous brands to stay competitive. In this way, Patanjali didnt just sell products but brought Ayurveda back into people's lives, changing their lifestyle for the better. How Patanjali Became Peoples Favorite Indians have always known the benefits of spices, grains, and home remedies. Initially, Ayurveda was seen as something from grandmas remedies or old local practitioners. Patanjali trusted this and educated people that their products were made using pure, Ayurvedic methods. Baba Ramdev even took people through videos inside the companys factories to show them how things were made, which built trust. Moreover, Patanjali changed traditional marketing methods. Instead of selling products in malls or general stores, the company opened exclusive "Patanjali stores." Ayurvedic doctors were also stationed at these stores, offering free check-ups and advising people on Ayurvedic treatments and Patanjali products. Patanjali Gave Desi Products a Modern Look Before, people were hesitant to use products like Amla and Giloy, but Patanjali introduced them as ready-to-drink juices. This made buying Ayurvedic products more exciting for people because they were now easy to use without any hassle. Similarly, Patanjali didnt limit Ayurvedic herbs like Ashwagandha and Triphala to just powders. They introduced them in tablet form, making consumption even more convenient. During the COVID pandemic, Patanjali launched immunity booster products, further strengthening peoples trust in Ayurveda. Why People Quickly Adopted Yoga and Ayurveda Baba Ramdev was already a popular "Yoga Guru," and when his name became associated with Patanjali, people quickly adopted both Yoga and Ayurveda. Yoga had already shown tremendous health benefits, but Baba Ramdev connected Ayurveda with it through Patanjali. This made people believe that together, Yoga and Ayurveda could improve their health even more. Gradually, people began incorporating both into their daily lifestyle. During this time, the craze for Yoga and Ayurveda spread globally. The United Nations declared June 21 as "International Yoga Day," which brought worldwide recognition. Big events related to Yoga started happening in different countries, which directly led to more people getting drawn to Yoga and Ayurveda. Patanjali, through its combination of Ayurveda and modern practices, has successfully brought an ancient tradition into the lives of millions, improving their health and lifestyle. (This article is part of IndiaDotCom Pvt Lts consumer connect initiative, a paid publication programme. IDPL claims no editorial involvement and assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of the article.) Chaitra Navratri, one of the most auspicious and vibrant festivals in India, is set to begin in 2025, and it is a time to honour the nine forms of Goddess Durga, the symbol of power, strength, and protection. The festival, which spans nine days, is dedicated to the worship of Maa Durga, her divine energies, and the victory of good over evil. As the celebration of devotion, spiritual rejuvenation, and purity, it is the perfect time to embark on a spiritual journey and align oneself with the divine energy of the goddess. If you're looking for destinations that resonate with the spiritual essence of Chaitra Navratri, here are nine sacred places across India where you can experience Maa Durgas divine presence. 1. Vaishno Devi, Jammu and Kashmir Vaishno Devi is one of the most revered pilgrimage destinations for Hindus, especially during the festival of Navratri. Nestled in the Trikuta Hills, the temple is dedicated to Maa Vaishno Devi, an incarnation of Maa Durga. Pilgrims undertake a challenging but rewarding trek to the temple, and the atmosphere during Navratri is filled with spiritual fervor, chanting, and prayers. The temples divine energy is believed to bring peace, prosperity, and protection to the devotees. Why Visit: - Spiritual significance as one of the most important Shakti Peeths. - Beautiful location amidst the mountains, enhancing the divine experience. 2. Kali Ghat, Kolkata Kolkata, the cultural heart of India, celebrates Durga Puja with immense enthusiasm and devotion. During Chaitra Navratri, the Kali Ghat Temple, dedicated to Goddess Kali (a form of Durga), attracts countless devotees who visit to seek the blessings of the goddess. The spiritual energy in Kolkata during Navratri is unparalleled, as the city comes alive with religious rituals, dance, music, and vibrant celebrations. Why Visit: - Immersive Durga Puja celebrations and spiritual atmosphere. - Explore the rich cultural heritage of Kolkata during Navratri. 3. Chamundeshwari Temple, Mysore Perched atop Chamundi Hill, the Chamundeshwari Temple is dedicated to Goddess Chamundeshwari, an incarnation of Maa Durga. It is believed that the goddess slayed the demon Mahishasura on this very hill, making it a highly revered place during Navratri. The temple offers a panoramic view of Mysore, and the festival of Navratri here is marked by grand rituals and ceremonies. Why Visit: - Beautiful hilltop temple with a serene and spiritual ambiance. - A strong connection to the legend of Mahishasura Mardini, the slayer of demons. 4. Durga Mandir, Varanasi Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India, is home to several temples dedicated to Maa Durga. The Durga Mandir, located in the holy city of Varanasi, attracts numerous devotees, especially during Navratri. The temple is believed to be one of the most powerful places for worshiping the goddess, and the citys spiritual energy during Navratri is both palpable and awe-inspiring. Why Visit: - Holiest city for Hindus with deep spiritual significance. - Experience the mystical connection between Maa Durga and the city of Varanasi. 5. Jwala Ji Temple, Himachal Pradesh Situated in the Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh, the Jwala Ji Temple is dedicated to Jwala Ji, a form of Goddess Durga who is worshiped here as the goddess of fire. This temple is unique as the deity is believed to reside in the eternal flame that burns here without any external fuel. It is a great place to visit during Navratri, where devotees experience divine energy through the temple's sacred fire. Why Visit: - Unique flame worship, symbolizing the eternal power of Maa Durga. - A peaceful location surrounded by the natural beauty of Himachal Pradesh. 6. Maa Shakti Peeth, Haridwar Haridwar, one of the seven holiest places for Hindus, is home to numerous temples dedicated to various forms of Goddess Durga. Maa Shakti Peeth in Haridwar is a revered site for Navratri devotees. Haridwar itself is an important place for spiritual rituals, and during Navratri, the city becomes an even more vibrant center for worship, rituals, and prayers. Why Visit: - Spiritual experience amidst the holy banks of the Ganges. - Famed for its peaceful yet spiritually energizing atmosphere. 7. Saptashrungi, Nashik Saptashrungi is a sacred hill located near Nashik in Maharashtra, home to the Saptashrungi Mata Temple, which is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths of India. Devotees travel through rugged paths to reach this temple, dedicated to Goddess Saptashrungi, and experience an intense spiritual connection during the Navratri period. This is a unique destination that offers both physical and spiritual elevation. Why Visit: - Dedicated to the powerful Goddess Saptashrungi, with mythological significance. - A challenging yet rewarding pilgrimage for devotees. 8. Shakambhari Devi, Rajasthan The Shakambhari Devi Temple, located in the Aravalli hills of Rajasthan, is dedicated to Goddess Shakambhari, another form of Maa Durga. It is believed that the goddess provided food and nourishment to the world. Visiting this temple during Chaitra Navratri offers devotees the opportunity to align with the nurturing and protective energy of Maa Durga. Why Visit: - Sacred site with a connection to the earths fertility and nourishment. - A tranquil atmosphere perfect for meditation and spiritual rejuvenation. 9. Kamakhya Temple, Assam Located in the hills of Assam, the Kamakhya Temple is one of the most famous Shakti Peeths in India. Dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya, a form of Maa Durga, the temple is known for its unique rituals and the famous Ambubachi Mela, which occurs during the monsoon. The temple is revered by devotees for its immense spiritual energy and is a prominent destination for worship during Navratri. Why Visit: - Known for its powerful tantric rituals and divine aura. - A sacred site with deep spiritual and cultural significance. Chaitra Navratri is an ideal time to deepen your connection with Maa Durga and seek her blessings for strength, prosperity, and protection. These nine destinations, each with its unique connection to the goddess, offer devotees an opportunity to align with her divine energy during this auspicious period. Whether youre looking to embark on a physical journey or simply immerse yourself in the spiritual atmosphere, these sacred temples and shrines will help you experience the true essence of Maa Durgas power during Navratri. New Delhi: The Ministry of Law and Justice has forwarded a summons from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to a Gujarat court, requesting it to be served on industrialist Gautam Adani in connection with a bribery case. The US SEC has accused Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, of running a bribery scheme worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The allegations state that bribes were paid to Indian government officials to secure energy deals at inflated rates. The SEC has also charged Cyril Cabanes, an executive at Azure Power, for his role in the alleged scheme, said reports. Adani Green and Azure had facilitated investments from American investors, but Adani is facing corruption allegations in securing the contract. The summons was sent under the Hague Convention in February following a request from the US governments Central Authority. According to reports, the Law Ministry issued an internal note on February 25, directing the Gujarat sessions court to take necessary action. Zee 24 Kalak reached out to the District Court Registrar and the Public Prosecutor for comments on the matter, but neither was willing to speak, as the case is sub judice (under judicial consideration) and falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Law. According to sources, the Ahmedabad court is expected to issue a notice to Gautam Adani soon. The court has already initiated the process of sending the notice. The letter states that two sets of the request, along with supporting documents, have been enclosed, asking for a report on the proof of service (along with the second set of the case) to be sent to the department in New Delhi. Once received, the response will be forwarded to the relevant foreign authority. The letter further states, Since the matter requires correspondence with foreign authorities, it is earnestly requested that the report on the proof of service be in English. Further, in this case, the bailiff/process servers report is in the regional language, it is requested that an English translation of the report be attached thereto. The case involves an American district court where the US market regulator has named Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and others in an alleged bribery scheme. Both Gautam Adani and the Adani Group have denied any wrongdoing in the matter. Adani and others are charged under a law that was put on hold by former US President Donald Trump through an executive order on February 10. As per the White House, the now-paused foreign bribery law is considered overexpansive and unpredictable and is said to be actively harming American economic competitiveness and, therefore, national security. In November, the New York Eastern District Court summoned Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani to respond to allegations by the US regulator that they paid $265 million in bribes to secure profitable solar power deals. The notice, dated November 21, required them to submit a reply within 21 days after receiving the summons (excluding the day of receipt). According to details made public by the New York court, Adani and seven other defendants, including Sagar Adaniwho serves as a director at Adani Green Energyallegedly agreed to pay approximately $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024. This was reportedly done to secure solar energy contracts expected to generate $2 billion in profits over 20 years. Following these claims, an Adani Group spokesperson denied the allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the SEC against Adani Green directors, calling them "baseless." The spokesperson said the group would pursue "all possible legal recourse." Who Are the Individuals Named in the Case? As per US authorities, the following individuals have been named as defendants in the case: - Gautam S Adani - Sagar S Adani - Vneet S Jaain - Ranjit Gupta - Cyril Cabanes - Saurabh Agarwal - Deepak Malhotra New Delhi: India has strengthened its position among the worlds wealthiest nations. It has secured third place globally with 284 billionaires on the 2025 Hurun Global Rich List with an increase of 13 from last year. Mukesh Ambani, leading the charge has reclaimed his title as Asias richest person with a net worth of 91.8 billion dollars and ranked 18th worldwide. Meanwhile, Gautam Adani follows India's second richest with his wealth rising 13 per cent to 53.5 billion dollars. This makes him the countrys biggest wealth gainer this year. Indias Billionaire Wealth Surpasses Saudi Arabias GDP Indias billionaires now have a combined wealth of Rs 98 lakh more. This makes it one-third of the countrys GDP and surpassed Saudi Arabias entire GDP. This marks a 10 per cent increase from last year. Out of the 284 billionaires in India, 175 saw their wealth grow while 109 either lost wealth or saw no change. Mumbai, home to 90 billionaires, welcomed 11 new names but lost its title as Asias billionaire capital to Shanghai, which now leads with 92 billionaires. Meanwhile, Beijing added eight billionaires, and London gained seven. Roshni Nadar Becomes Worlds 5th Richest Woman Roshni Nadar of HCL has made history as the fifth richest woman in the world and the first Indian woman to enter the global top 10. This comes after her father, Shiv Nadar transferred a 47 per cent stake in HCL to her which boosted her net worth to Rs 3.5 lakh crore. Top Billionaire Sectors in India Healthcare leads as Indias top billionaire sector with 53 billionaires, followed by consumer goods (35) and industrial products (32). Indias Youngest Billionaires Razorpay founders Shashank Kumar and Harshil Mathur, both 34, are Indias youngest billionaires each with a net worth of Rs 8,643 crore. Interestingly, Chinas youngest billionaire, 29-year-old Wang Zelong holds the same net worth. Global Billionaire Rankings On the global front, the United States leads with 870 billionaires, followed by China (823) and India (284). New York City remains the worlds billionaire capital with 129 billionaires, ahead of Shanghai (92) and Beijing (91). Elon Musk Still the Worlds Richest India has seven billionaires under 40 with four from Bengaluru and three from Mumbai. The list also features 22 Indian women who together hold a combined wealth of Rs 9 lakh crore. On the global stage, Elon Musk remains the worlds richest person with a 400 billion dollars net worth, despite a 100 billion dollars drop. According to the Hurun Research report, Musk has held the top spot four times in the last five years and is the first person ever to surpass 400 billion dollars. New Delhi: To improve the ease of doing business, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday announced that it has extended the timelines for mutual funds and portfolio managers to submit their offsite inspection data to the market regulator. This move is expected to provide more flexibility to fund houses and portfolio managers while ensuring regulatory compliance. According to SEBIs latest circular, mutual funds will now have 15 calendar days from the end of each quarter to submit their daily data in a monthly file. Earlier, this deadline was 10 calendar days. The change will help fund houses manage their reporting processes more efficiently. Additionally, Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs) will continue to submit data on an ongoing basis. SEBI has structured this data submission process as part of its offsite inspection and surveillance mechanism. The data helps the regulator monitor compliance with mutual fund norms and maintain transparency in the market. Mutual funds and the RTAs associated with them must submit data in the prescribed format as per SEBIs guidelines. Similarly, portfolio managers will also get 15 calendar days from the end of each quarter to submit their data. They must furnish detailed reports for all clients, including day-wise data for categories such as Client Folio AUM and Client Holding Master. SEBIs decision to extend the submission timelines is based on feedback from the industry. "It has been decided to extend the timelines for submission of offsite inspection data," the SEBI stated. The move is aimed at reducing compliance pressure while maintaining proper regulatory oversight of mutual funds and portfolio management services. The decision will come into force with immediate effect, the market regulator said. Meanwhile, according to reports, the market regulator is working on a new penalty system that would prevent brokerage firms from being fined multiple times for the same violation. KOLKATA/LONDON: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during her official visit to the United Kingdom, disagreed with a prediction that India would become the world's largest economy by 2060, drawing flak from the BJP, which accused her of tarnishing the nation's image on foreign soil. Banerjee made the remarks during a conversation at Kellogg College, Oxford University, late on Thursday. The interviewer mentioned that India had already overtaken the UK to become the fifth-largest economy and was projected to become the third-largest soon, with predictions indicating that the south Asian nation would top the global economic rankings by 2060. In response, Banerjee said, "I will differ from that. There are so many things about which I should not speak here... Internal and external affairs matters... I cannot disclose. I have some other opinions." She went on to explain, "Because every country is facing trouble after COVID-19, and with the turmoil going on in the world... If an economic war-like situation is underway in the world, how do we expect that we will gain? Let us hope for the gain, we can only hope. It is our dream to see my country our best. But it depends..." BJP leaders criticised the Trinmool Congress supremo's remarks, accusing her of tarnishing India's reputation on foreign soil. Union minister and BJP's state unit president Sukanta Majumdar expressed his disapproval, calling her response an "insult" to the office she holds. "India has surpassed the UK to become the world's fifth-largest economy, a moment of pride for every Indian! Yet, Mamata Banerjee is tarnishing India's reputation on foreign soil...Her anti-India rhetoric is not only shameful for every Indian but also an insult to the constitutional office she holds. It is evident that you have failed as a chief minister, but do you even hesitate to call yourself an Indian? Are you truly an Indian? @MamataOfficial. Disrespecting the nation on foreign soil is equivalent to openly opposing India," Majumdar wrote on X. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has a problem with India becoming the worlds largest economy This is truly shameful. She is a disgrace to the constitutional office she holds. Who behaves like this on foreign soil? pic.twitter.com/XupCVb4C2i Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 27, 2025 The BJP's IT Cell head, Amit Malviya, also criticised Banerjee's stance, sharing a video clip of her comments on X. "West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has a problem with India becoming the world's largest economy. This is truly shameful. She is a disgrace to the constitutional office she holds. Who behaves like this on foreign soil?" Malviya wrote. New Delhi: Days before US President Donald Trump's "tit-for-tat" tariff kicks in, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Friday spoke with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, focusing on the bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, defence and migration. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both sides agreed to remain engaged on matters of "mutual concern". Congratulating Deputy Secretary Landau on his recent confirmation by the US Senate, the foreign secretary underlined the deepening convergence of India-US strategic interests, it said. The two also touched on the growing bilateral trade, defence and technology cooperation, and issues relating to mobility and migration, it said. Misri also extended an invitation to Landau to visit India at his earliest convenience, the MEA added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Friday that his government is committed to Bihar's all-round development following the inclusion of the state's Kosi Mechi Intra-State Link Project under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana-Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (PMKSY-AIBP). After the Union Cabinet headed by him took the decision, PM Modi said the scheme will provide water for irrigating a large area and boosting the income of farmers. The project envisages diversion of a part of surplus Kosi river water for extending irrigation to Mahananda basin in Bihar by remodelling existing Eastern Kosi Main Canal. Referring to the Cabinet's approval for a four-lane greenfield and brownfield Patna-Arrah-Sasaram corridor, he said it is a great news for the people of the state and will encourage economic growth and reduce traffic congestion as well. He said on X, "Boosting Bihar's progress!" Reacting to another decision, the prime minister said, "A strong impetus to self-reliance and making India a hub for electronics component manufacturing! The Cabinet approval for Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme will attract investments and boost job creation. It will encourage innovation as well." The approval for fertiliser subsidy will ensure food security, he added. BENGALURU: Targeting the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government over the milk price hike, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, R Ashoka, on Friday accused the Congress of increasing milk prices three times since coming to power, resulting in a total hike of Rs 9 per litre, thereby "looting" the people. Milk prices in Karnataka will rise by Rs 4 per litre starting April 1. Earlier, prices were increased by Rs 3 in July 2023 and Rs 2 in June 2024. In 2024, however, the Karnataka Milk Federation increased the price of milk by Rs 2 per packet while also increasing the quantity per packet by 50 ml. The federation maintained that this was not a "price hike" since consumers received additional milk. Criticising the government for raising milk prices just before the Ugadi festival on March 30, Ashoka said the BJP would organise protests across the state against the hikes, with dates to be decided after the festival. He alleged that while previous price hikes benefited farmers, incentives remain pending. "It's unclear how much of the increased price will go to farmers. The Congress promised increased incentives in its manifesto, but it has not been implemented yet," he claimed. Before the elections, the Congress promised free services, but after coming to power, they have raised all prices, Ashoka alleged. Pointing out that consumers in Karnataka will have to pay an additional 36 paise per unit of electricity as a surcharge from April 1, with the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) allowing energy supply companies (ESCOMs) to recover the government's share of pension and gratuity (P&G) contributions from them, Ashoka said the government has tried to justify the power tariff hike by citing a court order. "Instead of the government covering employees' pensions, the burden has been shifted to the public. This hike will drive up the prices of all goods. People trusted Congress and voted for them based on their promises, but they've made life hell," he alleged. Noting that no taxes were imposed in the budget, but milk prices, power tariffs, and bus and metro fares were later increased as part of the government's "hidden agenda," he questioned, "If the government isn't bankrupt, why have prices been raised so much?" Accusing the government of deception to gain media praise for its budget, Ashoka claimed Siddaramaiah is "number one" in deceit. "If they had the courage, they should have announced the hikes in the budget," he added. Kunal Kamra Joke Row: The Madras High Court has granted interim anticipatory bail to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on Friday. This comes as he is facing backlash over his jokes on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. He was granted the bail on the condition that he should execute a bond to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrate at Vanur in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu, according to PTI. Earlier, the comedian submitted in the court that he had moved to Tamil Nadu from Mumbai in 2021 and has been "ordinarily a resident of this State since then". He also said that he feared arrest by the Mumbai Police. Also Read: Kunal Kamra Takes A Jibe At FM Nirmala Sitharaman, Calls Her 'The JNU Student The Country Deserves...' Kamra has been summoned twice by the Mumbai Police for his comments on Shinde. The 36-year-old standup comedian often finds himself a part of some controversy, performed his show 'Naya Bharat' at a venue in Mumbai and later uploaded the video on his YouTube channel. In the video he referred to the Maharashtra Deputy CM as "gaddar" (traitor) and that turned into a row. Later, on March 23, the alleged venue was vandalised by supporters of Shiv Sena claiming to be political activists. The police arrested over 10 people for vandalism, as per media reports. Furthermore, Kamra on Monday released a statement on his official social media handle regarding the row and said, I will not apologise. (with PTI inputs) Amid the controversy over his jokes on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, moved the Madras High Court on Friday seeking transit anticipatory bail in the matter. Kamra, originally from Tamil Nadu's Vullupuram district, expressed fear of arrest by the Mumbai police. The 36-year-old stand-up comedian, who was twice summoned by the police, faces controversy over his sharp remarks on Shinde during his recent show in Mumbai, sparking a major uproar. On Tuesday, he shared a new video criticizing Shiv Sena workers for vandalising The Habitat comedy club of Mumbai. Declaring it as "Vikshit Bharat anthem", he sings "'hum honge kangal ek din, man me hai andhvishwas, desh ka satyanash' (we will be poor one day, there is blind faith in the heart, the country is heading towards destruction)," The song was played alongside visuals showing Sena workers throwing chairs and vandalising the property at Mumbai's popular comedy club. Kamra shared a video on his official Instagram handle and introduced this song as "another anthem for Viksit Bharat". Earlier, Kamra also stated that no political party controls his comedy and emphasized that making fun of leaders is not against the law. Indian Army is making significant efforts to be combat-ready while implementing learnings from global conflicts and attacks. Taking lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war where drones are actively being used, the Indian Army has successfully tested a munition drone that can be used to destroy tanks. In a first-of-its-kind project, the Indian Army's Fleur-De-Lis Brigade successfully tested a First Person View (FPV) drone equipped with an impact-based, kamikaze-role anti-tank munition. The test was carried out in the general area of Pathankot in Punjab. #WATCH | In first of its kind project, Indian Army's Fleur-De-Lis Brigade successfully tests an FPV drone equipped with an impact-based, kamikaze-role anti-tank munition (Source: Indian Army) pic.twitter.com/Q4j9rFOTxU March 28, 2025 The Fleur-De-Lis Brigade has achieved a milestone in tactical drone warfare by successfully developing, testing, and validating an FPV drone equipped with an impact-based, kamikaze-role anti-tank munition. This FPV drone is developed in collaboration with DRDO's Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh. This initiative, launched in August 2024, has undergone extensive research, development, and trials to enhance the capabilities of low-cost, high-impact aerial strike systems. The FPV drone was entirely assembled in-house at the Rising Star Drone Battle School, which has fabricated over 100 drones within the formation as of March 2025. This self-reliant approach ensured complete control over build quality, component integration, and real-time modifications as per TBRL directives. It also optimized structural integrity, weight distribution, and flight dynamics, making the drone highly manoeuvrable and efficient for operational deployment. To enhance operator safety, a dual-safety mechanism has been incorporated into the payload system. This prevents accidental detonation during transport, handling, and flight, significantly increasing reliability and minimizing risks for pilots and personnel handling the drone. The system underwent rigorous trials, beginning with explosive testing, followed by aerial vehicle assessments and trigger system evaluations. Each phase was validated by TBRL scientists, confirming the drone effectiveness, accuracy, and reliability in payload delivery. The successful results mark this first-of-its-kind FPV drone project as a game-changing force multiplier in modern tactical engagements. (With ANI inputs) Kerala Lottery Results Friday 28-03-2025 LIVE: The Kerala Lottery Department, on behalf of the Keralan government, announces the "Nirmal NR-425" Lucky Draw Result today Nirmal NR-425, March 28, 2025. The draw will be held at Gorky Bhavan near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala Lottery Result 2025 for "Nirmal NR-425" will feature 12 series, with changes in series possible each week. A total of 108 lakh tickets are available for purchase weekly. The ticket prices may vary. Check the Nirmal NR-425 results right here to see if youre the first-place winner of 70 Lakhs. Stay tuned to this website for the live update of Kerala Lottery Nirmal NR-425 results today. Kerala Lottery Result 28-03-2025 March: FULL LIST OF WINNING NUMBERS FOR NIRMAL NR-425 Draw LUCKY TICKET NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE OF RS 70 LAKHS IS:NX 191941 LUCKY TICKET NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE OF RS 10 LAKHS IS: NP 298211 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 3RD PRIZE OF RS 1 Lakh ARE: 1) NN 490748 2) NO 216296 3) NP 328850 4) NR 508223 5) NS 165954 6) NT 594274 7) NU 905019 8) NV 355161 9) NW 269477 10) NX 906739 11) NY 449931 12) NZ 622050 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR CONSOLATION PRIZE OF RS 8,000 ARE: NN 191941 NO 191941 NP 191941 NR 191941 NS 191941 NT 191941 NU 191941 NV 191941 NW 191941 NY 191941 NZ 191941 (For The Tickets Ending with The Following Numbers below) LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 4TH PRIZE OF RS 5,000 ARE:0255 0293 1634 1982 2569 3120 3864 4186 4521 4683 5183 5472 6136 6930 7020 7039 7983 8654 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 5TH PRIZE OF RS 1,000 ARE: 0258 0269 0331 0447 0694 1029 2243 2443 3018 3843 3885 4583 4589 4651 4904 4967 5036 5139 5142 5300 5504 5856 6272 6485 6656 6744 6999 7607 7838 8057 8764 8861 9349 9376 9450 9949 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 6TH PRIZE OF RS 500 ARE: 0078 0635 0702 0762 0802 1514 1782 1795 1945 1950 1967 2035 2174 2224 2311 2565 2566 2616 2692 2770 2885 2951 3012 3014 3140 3323 3331 3350 3390 3542 3753 3768 3860 4391 4494 4565 4590 4766 4855 4893 4894 5188 5207 5244 5289 5316 5762 5810 5879 6006 6081 6294 6517 6752 6772 6786 7038 7072 7105 7139 7350 7485 7649 7669 7772 7897 8001 8170 8348 8374 8379 8545 9307 9502 9574 9610 9708 9790 9879 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 7TH PRIZE OF RS 100 ARE: 0099 0140 0232 0731 0736 0792 0809 0853 0965 0969 0974 0981 1097 1171 1179 1254 1290 1299 1555 1608 1705 1746 1839 1985 2063 2111 2135 2155 2182 2209 2278 2372 2393 2466 2738 2780 2832 2904 3201 3203 3379 3427 3457 3477 3583 3606 3721 3739 3878 3921 4178 4179 4258 4282 4304 4335 4370 4436 4450 4496 4591 4889 4930 5016 5123 5216 5312 5343 5398 5458 5585 5604 5634 5817 5956 6037 6054 6308 6324 6354 6388 6437 6511 6760 6839 6948 6965 6972 7084 7251 7276 7312 7477 7605 7636 7740 7834 7851 7876 8105 8150 8156 8206 8243 8288 8432 8483 8603 8617 8729 8748 8916 8966 9160 9309 9360 9523 9539 9616 9688 9727 9848 KERALA LOTTERY RESULT TODAY 28-03-2025 March: NIRMAL NR-425 LOTTERY PRIZE DETAILS 1st Prize: Rs 70 Lakhs 2nd Prize: Rs. 10 lakhs 3rd Prize: Rs. 5,000 4th Prize: Rs. 2,000 5th Prize: Rs. 1,000 6th Prize: Rs. 500 7th Prize: Rs. 200 8th Prize: Rs. 100 Consolation Prize: Rs. 8,000 (NOTE: Lottery can be addictive and should be played responsibly. The data provided on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or encouragement. Zee News does not promote lottery in anyway.) Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Friday in the State Assembly asserted that Hindi language cannot be imposed on the state as long as Chief Minister MK Stalin continues to be at the helm. During his speech in the assembly, the Deputy CM talked about how the Tamil Nadu government, in the official state budget logo, replaced the Indian rupee symbol (), with Tamil letter for "Ru" and he praised the CM's defence of the dual-language policy, reported news agency PTI. He said, "Usually, before commencing to write, some people affix the Tamil letter 'U' and put two lines below it. But our chief minister started the Budget with one Ru and startled them. No matter how many rules the fascists impose to subdue us, Hindi and any other policy cannot be forced on us so long as our leader continues at the helm." The symbol change had prompted reactions from the Opposition. As per the news agency, Udhayanidhi, son of CM Stalin, also said that after the success of the 'Vazhndhu Kattuvom' project, the government would launch the 3.0 of this World Bank-assisted initiative to transform rural areas in the state, at an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crore. The Tamil Nadu CM has been locking horns with the Centre over various issues, including the delimitation and triple-language policy. (with PTI inputs) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bangkok from April 3 to 4 to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, hosted by Thailand, the current BIMSTEC Chair, and for an official visit. Following the Thailand visit, the Prime Minister will travel to Sri Lanka on a State Visit from April 4 to 6. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, "At the invitation of the Prime Minister of Thailand, H.E. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Bangkok, Thailand from 3 - 4 April 2025 to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit to be held on 4 April 2025, hosted by Thailand, the current BIMSTEC Chair, and for an Official Visit. This will be Prime Minister's third visit to Thailand." This would be the first physical meeting of the BIMSTEC Leaders since the 4th BIMSTEC Summit, held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2018. The 5th BIMSTEC Summit, held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was conducted virtually on March 22. The theme of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit is "BIMSTEC - Prosperous, Resilient and Open". The leaders are expected to deliberate on ways and means to infuse greater momentum into BIMSTEC cooperation during the summit. In a statement, the MEA stated, "The Leaders are also expected to discuss various institution and capacity building measures to augment collaboration within the BIMSTEC framework." "India has been taking a number of initiatives in BIMSTEC to strengthen regional cooperation and partnership, including in enhancing security; facilitating trade and investment; establishing physical, maritime and digital connectivity; collaborating in food, energy, climate and human security; promoting capacity building and skill development; and enhancing people-to-people ties," it added. During his visit, PM Modi is scheduled to hold a meeting with his Thailand counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra on April 3. During the meeting, the two leaders are expected to review bilateral cooperation and chart the way for future partnership between the countries. India and Thailand are maritime neighbours with shared civilizational bonds which are underpinned by cultural, linguistic, and religious ties. After concluding his visit to Thailand, PM Modi will travel to Sri Lanka on a State Visit from 4 - 6 April 2025, at the invitation of Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Disanayaka. During the visit, PM Modi will hold discussions with Disanayaka to review progress made on the areas of cooperation agreed upon in the Joint Vision for "Fostering Partnerships for a Shared Future" adopted during the Sri Lankan President's State Visit to India. Prime Minister will also have meetings with senior dignitaries and political leaders. As part of the visit, He will also travel to Anuradhapura for the inauguration of development projects implemented with Indian financial assistance. PM Modi's last visit to Sri Lanka was in 2019. Earlier, Sri Lanka's President paid a State Visit to India as his first visit abroad after assuming office. MEA noted that PM Modi's visit to Thailand, Sri Lanka and his participation at the BIMSTEC Summit will reaffirm India's commitment to its 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Act East' policy. In a statement, MEA stated, "India and Sri Lanka share civilizational bonds with strong cultural and historic links. This visit is part of regular high-level engagements between the countries and will lend further momentum to deepening the multi-faceted partnership between India and Sri Lanka." "Prime Minister's visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka, and his participation in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit will reaffirm India's commitment to its 'Neighbourhood First' policy, 'Act East' policy, 'MAHASAGAR' (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision, and vision of the Indo-Pacific," it added. The Supreme Court on Friday quashed an FIR lodged by the Gujarat Police against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi for allegedly posting an edited video of a provocative song. While pronouncing its decision, the top court observed that freedom of speech and expression is an integral part of democracy. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said it is the duty of court to protect the fundamental rights of citizens. "Even if a large number of persons dislike the views expressed by another, the right of a person to express the views must be respected and protected. Literature, including poetry, drama, films, satire, and art, makes the life of human beings more meaningful," the bench said, as quoted by news agency PTI. The Congress leader had challenged the January 17 order of the Gujarat High Court, which dismissed his petition for quashing the FIR filed against him, saying the investigation was at a very nascent stage. On January 3, Pratapgarhi was booked for the alleged provocative song in the backdrop of a mass marriage function he attended in Jamnagar. Among other sections, Pratapgarhi, national chairman of the Congress' minority cell, was booked under Section 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, etc.) and 197 (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The 46-second video clip, uploaded by Pratapgarhi on X, showed him being showered with flower petals as he walked, waving his hands, and a song playing in the background, which the FIR alleged had lyrics that were provocative, detrimental to national unity, and hurt religious feelings. On the other hand, the Tamil Nadu assembly has passed a resolution against the amendment of the Waqf bill moved by Chief Minister MK Stalin. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin stated that the Waqf Amendment Bill is against Muslims. "The Central government is inserting schemes that are against state rights, culture, and tradition. In India, various cultures, traditions, and languages are present, but they are doing it with the intention of taking revenge on the states. The Waqf (Amendment) bill is against Muslims," CM Stalin said in the Assembly. Thousands of people took to the streets in Budgam and Magam towns of central Kashmirs Budgam district on the last Friday of Ramazan, observed as Al-Quds Day, to express solidarity with Palestine. The demonstration, which included significant participation from women and members of the Shia community, saw calls for the liberation of Masjid-al-Aqsa and an end to Israeli control over Palestinian territories. Protesters marched through the busy markets of Budgam and Magam, chanting pro-Palestine slogans and denouncing what they described as Zionist occupation. Speakers at the rally criticised the international community for its perceived silence on the situation in Gaza, alleging ongoing atrocities against Palestinians. Al-Quds Day, an annual event originally initiated to support Palestinian resistance, has gained momentum in several parts of the world, including Kashmir. For many participants, the observance held both religious and political significance, linking their faith with a broader call for global justice. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Friday that India follows and tracks "very closely" the treatment of minorities in Pakistan and takes it up on an international level also. While speaking in the Lok Sabha, the EAM mentioned several cases of minorities to explain the situation of minorities in the neighbouring country. Responding to a query on 'Crime and atrocities against minorities in Pakistan' during Question Hour in the Lower House, Jaishankar cited 10 cases of atrocities that were committed in Pakistan in February, including seven of them related to abduction and forcible conversion, two of them related to abduction and one related to police action against students who were celebrating Holi. "I sympathize with the sentiments expressed by the honourable member. There are two parts to the question. One, whether we follow what are the crimes and atrocities against the minorities in Pakistan. And secondly, what are we doing about it internationally? So, the first part of it is yes, sir, we follow very closely, we track very closely the treatment of minorities in Pakistan. And as an example, I would like to apprise the House that just in the month of February, there were 10 cases of atrocities against the Hindu community, seven of them related to abduction and forcible conversion, two related to abduction, one related to police action against students who were celebrating Holi," the EAM said. He said that there were three incidents related to the Sikh community in Pakistan and two cases pertaining to the Ahmadiyya community. He stated that a Christian person, who reportedly was mentally unstable, was charged with blasphemy in Pakistan. Jaishankar said, "There were three incidents relating to the Sikh community in Pakistan. In one case, a Sikh family was attacked. In another case, a Sikh family was threatened because of the reopening of an old gurdwara. There was also an abduction and conversion issue with one girl from that community. There were two cases pertaining to the Ahmadiyya community. In one case, a mosque was sealed, and in another case, 40 graves were desegregated, and there was one case pertaining to the Christian community, where a Christian person who reportedly was mentally unstable was charged with blasphemy." He said that India takes up the issues at the international level and cited the remarks of India's representative at the UN Human Rights Council and India's ambassador in the UN General Assembly. Elaborating on how New Delhi takes up the issue on international level, the EAM said, "So the answer to the Honorable Member Sir is, yes, we track it very, very closely. We take it up, and we take it up at the international level also. Again, to give two recent examples, Sir, in the month of February, our representative at the UN Human Rights Council pointed out that Pakistan is a country where I quote him, where human rights, abuses, persecution of minorities and systematic erosion of democratic values are state policies, they constitute state policies which brazenly harbors UN sanctioned terrorists and Pakistan is in no position to lecture anyone. Instead, Pakistan should focus on providing actual governance and justice to its own people. Our ambassador in the UN General Assembly also just two weeks ago underlined the fanatical mindset of Pakistan which he said was very well known and its record of bigotry. So, we are taking it up at the international level." On March 26, Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) released a report on the first quarter of 2025, spotlighting a sharp rise in victimization rates and challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan. The organisation condemned the escalating abuses, noting that relief and justice remain elusive due to resource constraints and the emboldened mindset of perpetrators, often backed by influential religious and political figures. HRFP President Naveed Walter, addressing the findings, stated, "Religious minorities in Pakistan are easier targets for attacks, murders, blasphemy charges, abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages. The lack of attention to their suffering and neglect is even more painful." He pointed to a surge in incidents since January 2025, citing cases like Wasif Masih, a Christian youth from Chak Jhumra, Faisalabad, falsely accused of theft, assaulted, and publicly humiliated with black paint on his face. (With ANI Inputs) AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said on Friday that Muslims will not forgive Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan, and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary for allowing the BJP to attack Shariat with the Waqf Amendment Bill. Owaisi said that Muslims will never forgive them as they were allowing the BJP to attack the Shariat. If these four leaders want, they can stop the Bill, but they are allowing BJP to finish off our mosques and Waqf, he said. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President was addressing Jalasa Youmul Quran at Hakeem Mir Vazeer Ali Masjid on the last Friday of Ramzan. The AIMIM chief said that the Bill was aimed at snatching the Waqf properties as per Hindutva agenda so that Muslims do not practise their Shariat. Calling it a black bill, he said this would destroy Waqf properties. He made it clear that Muslims would not keep quiet as Waqf properties are the properties of their ancestors and they do not belong to the government. Muslims wore black armbands on Jumatul Vida or the last Friday of Ramzan on a call given by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board to protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. People attending Friday prayers at mosques across Hyderabad and other towns in Telangana wore black bands as a silent protest. Thousands of worshippers who offered Friday prayers at the historic Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad were seen wearing black armbands to register their protest. Owaisi, who was also wearing a black armband, slammed the Narendra Modi government over the Waqf Bill. Through this Waqf Bill, Narenda Modi is shooting us on our chests, our faith, our mosques, our dargahs and khankhas, he said. The MP questioned, If only Hindus can become members of committees managing their temples and religious institutions, then how can non-Muslims become members of the Waqf Board. If anyone occupies the property of a temple, a gurdwara, or a church for 12 years, he does not become the owner of that property, but if somebody occupies the property of a property given in the name of Allah, the encroacher will become the owner of that property. This is what Modi is saying, he said and asked why Muslims were being discriminated against. Owaisi said collectors are being given powers under the Waqf Amendment Bill to take away Waqf properties. Owaisi slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that if there are 100 Muslims and 50 Hindus in an area, Hindus do not feel safe. The MP said that in India, Hindus face no threat from Muslims and Muslims face no threat from Hindus. If there is a threat to Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and the Constitution of this country, it is from RSS, its ideology, Modi and Yogi. He reminded Yogi that the right to life is a fundamental right in the Constitution of India. The Punjab's self-styled Christian pastor Bajinder Singh was convicted in a 2018 sexual harassment case by a local court in Punjab's Mohali on Friday. The court will pronounce the sentence on punishment on April 1. 2018 Sexual Harrasemnt Case The court found Singh guilty of sexual harassment, while six others have been acquitted in the case, according to reports. PTI reported that Pastor Bajinder Singh, popularly known as the 'Yeshu Yeshu Prophet', was booked on the sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) concerning sexual harassment, based on the complaint filed by a woman at Zirakpur police station in Mohali in 2018. The complainant had alleged that the 42-year-old Pastor lured her with the promise of assistance for travelling abroad. The accused had raped her and made a video of the act. As per reports, she also claimed that the pastor threatened her that he would release the video if she reported the incident. 2025 Sexual Harrasment Allgeations The self-styled preacher was booked in another sexual harassment case, which was filed by a 22-year-old woman on February 28, 2025. Bajinder Singh's Viral CCTV Footage Earlier, CCTV footage of the Yeshu Yeshu Prophet went viral on social media. In the footage, he is seen throwing his phone and other objects at a man in his office. Later in the video, he also slaps a woman after an argument broke out. Pastor Bajinder Singh runs two churches- The Church of Glory and Wisdom at Tajpur in Jalandhar and another in Majri in Mohali district. (with PTI inputs) Mumbai: In a significant development in the Disha Salian case, Nilesh Ojha, the lawyer representing her father, Satish Salian, has called for a scene recreation of the incident and a narco test of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, along with other accused individuals. Disha, the former manager of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died in June 2020, after falling from the 14th floor of a residential high-rise here in the Malad area. Ojhas demand came after a meeting with Joint Commissioner of Police, Lakshmi Gautam, where he outlined three major requests regarding the investigation. Ojha spoke to IANS, stating: "We met Joint CP Lakshmi Gautam ji, and we had three key demands. First, our complaint has been officially taken into record by the minister and the government. The government confirmed that the complaint will be handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT). However, the government mentioned that a technical issue needs to be addressed firstthis is a complaint of gang rape and murder, and it requires a formal crime number before the process can proceed." He further elaborated: "Our second demand was that police protection must be provided for everyone involved in this case, especially the witnesses. We have pointed out that some individuals might be labeled as having suffered accidents, while others may be labeled as suicides. Weve requested that the police ensure protection for the witnesses to encourage them to come forward." Ojha also expressed his frustration with the inaction of the SIT in the past 15 months. "The SIT has done nothing significant. It neither served any notice to the family, nor conducted any 'scene recreation' to challenge the narrative being put forward -- where Disha allegedly fell from a height of 20 feet. This should be recreated to prove whether the story holds any truth. We want directions for this scene recreation," he added. The lawyer also emphasised the need for a narco test of key accused individuals in the case. Disha Salians father, Satish Salian, has requested that a narco test be conducted on the accused, including Aaditya Thackeray. Its up to them whether they agree to it or not, Ojha said. Ojha went further to allege that there were eyewitnesses who had seen prominent actors such as Aditya Pancholi, Dino Morea, and Aaditya Thackeray, along with his bodyguards, involved in the alleged gang-rape of the celebrity manager. "We have five eyewitnesses who are willing to testify in court, but their lives are at risk, and the police must provide them with adequate protection, he added. The lawyer also pointed fingers at former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, accusing him of trying to suppress the case. "Param Bir Singh attempted to cover up the incident. He held a press conference and claimed that Aaditya Thackeray was not at the scene, and he even said he had seen the CCTV footage. However, I want to point out that mobile tower locations for Aaditya Thackeray, Aditya Pancholi, and Dino Morea indicate that they were indeed at the location. Param Bir Singhs statements are completely false," Ojha concluded. Mumbai: Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu, known for her love of nature and animals, delighted fans with glimpses from her Australia vacation. The actress visited Featherdale Wildlife Park, where she enjoyed feeding kangaroos and spotting sleepy koalas. Sharing her experience on social media, Samantha expressed her joy in spending time with wildlife, embracing the serenity and charm of nature. Sharing her series of her photos, Samantha wrote in the caption, Nature, animals, and good vibes! From feeding kangaroos to spotting sleepy koalas, it was such a lovely time! Major shoutout to the team at @featherdalewildlifepark for all the amazing rehab work they do for Aussie wildlife. In the first candid image, the Oo Antava girl is seen striking a candid pose for the camera. The next video shows her feeding kangaroos. Other photos from Samantha's trip capture stunning landscapes, diverse wildlife, and the serene Australian weather. From majestic kangaroos and adorable koalas to stunning natural scenery, her vacation album is surely a visual treat for her followers. The Khushi actress opted for a casual yet stylish look, sporting a long-sleeved grey shirt paired with classic blue jeans. She accessorized with a hat. One snapshot captured her admiring the breathtaking mountain views, fully soaking in the serene landscape. Another clip showcased a curious koala effortlessly leaping onto a tree branch. On March 16, Samantha offered a glimpse of her rare night out with behind-the-scenes look into her personal and professional life. The post captured the actress in various moods and roles, from a focused professional to a playful, carefree individual. Among the captions, she mentioned "a rare night out," hinting at a special evening away from her busy schedule. In terms of work, Samantha has wrapped up filming for her maiden production venture, Subham. Expressing her excitement, she took to Instagram to share the news, stating, With utmost excitement, we at Tralala Moving Pictures are proud to announce our first theatrical production, Subham, ready for release. Stay tuned!!!" Beyond her production debut, she has an exciting slate of projects lined up. The Shaakuntalam actress will be seen in the upcoming web series "Rakt Brahmand," where she stars alongside Aditya Roy Kapur. Helmed by Rahi Anil Barve, the series boasts an ensemble cast, including Pushkal Puri, Wamiqa Gabbi, and other notable actors. New Delhi: Sara Ali Khan, one of the most talented and beloved actresses in Bollywood today, has steadily carved a niche for herself with her exceptional performances and undeniable charm. Since her debut in Kedarnath, the actress has consistently impressed audiences, becoming a prominent figure in the industry. Known not only for her acting prowess but also for her spiritual depth, Sara has often expressed a deep connection to the sacred town of Kedarnath. While many assume her bond with the place began during the shooting of her debut film, the actress recently revealed that her attachment to Kedarnath goes far beyond that. In an emotional recount, Sara shared her first visit to Kedarnath, revealing that it was long before she became an actor. I feel a sense of home and discovery there., she said. When I first went to Kedarnath, I wasn't an actor. I studied in New York and hadn't been out and about in our country. It was one of the first times I saw those mountains and valleys, felt that energy in the temple and the valley in general. The actress went on to reflect on how Kedarnath holds a profound significance in her life. I can't imagine that there were two whole decades of Sara without Kedarnath. I can't imagine that today. It is a very humbling feeling to go to Kedarnath. I discovered myself as an actor, an adult, a working girl, and as someone who is spiritually inclined, she explained, acknowledging the deep personal transformation the place sparked in her. Saras spiritual journey is evident in her performances, and her connection to Kedarnath remains a cornerstone of her personal and professional life. The actress has experienced a remarkable growth trajectory since the success of Sky Force and is now gearing up for an exciting array of new projects. One of her highly anticipated upcoming films is Metro... In Dino, an anthology by Anurag Basu, where she will star alongside Aditya Roy Kapur. The film, a spiritual successor to Life in a... Metro, delves into modern love stories, showcasing Sara's versatility in diverse roles. Additionally, fans are buzzing about her upcoming collaboration with Ayushmann Khurrana, a project that is already generating significant excitement. Sara Ali Khan's journey from Kedarnath to Bollywood is one of self-discovery, spirituality, and unmatched talent, making her one of the most promising and inspiring actresses of her generation. New Delhi: Employees can withdraw their Provident Fund (PF) balance for various reasons. Under these circumstances, the EPFO will process your claim and transfer the funds to your bank account. The EPFO has taken several steps to expedite the claim settlement process and improve accessibility for EPFO subscribers. The EPFO has taken several steps to expedite the claim settlement process. Earlier this month, Union Minister of State for Labor & Employment Shobha Karandlaje provided this information in a written response to the Lok Sabha. Here are the 8 major steps taken by EPFO to streamline the claim settlement process, knowing which can help you withdraw your PF hassle-free and use it for various purposes. 1. Auto mode processing of claims The amount limit for auto mode processing of advance claims has been raised to Rs one lakh. In addition to the advancements for illness and hospitalization, auto mode processing is also enabled for the advancement of housing, education, and marriage. 60% of advance claims, according to the minister, are processed automatically. Claims submitted in auto-mode are processed within three days. 2. Member details correction process simplified The process for correcting member details has been streamlined. Members with Aadhaar-verified UANs can update their IDs on their own without assistance from EPFO. According to the minister, about 96% of modifications are currently made without the assistance of the EPF office. 3. Attestation of Aadhaar-verified UANs eliminated Employers attestation of Aadhaar-verified UANs is no longer required for transfer claim submission requests. According to the minister, just 10% of transfer requests need the attestation of both the member and the employer. 4. Relaxation of cheque-leaf requirement The requirement to include a cheque-leaf with the claim form has also been relaxed for KYC-compliant UANs meeting prescribed criteria, the minister said. 5. Upfront validations developed To make sure members don't submit ineligible claims, several upfront validations have been created to guide members regarding the eligibility and admissibility of claims. 6. Centralized IT-Enabled System The claim settlement process is being further streamlined with the Centralization of member databases under the Centralized IT Enabled System (CITES 2.01). 7. De-linking facilities for erroneous/fraudulent accounts Additionally, EPFO has offered de-linking facilities to members whose EPF accounts were fraudulently or incorrectly linked by the establishments. Over 55,000 customers have de-linked their accounts as of the end of February 2025, since the introduction of the service on January 18, 2025. 8. Online claim submission There is no longer a need to visit the field office as more than 99.31% of claims are now submitted online. As of March 6, 2025, there have been 7.14 crore online claims submitted for FY 20242025, informed the minister. New Delhi: The income tax department will have the legal right to access your accounts, such as social media, bank accounts, online investment accounts, trading accounts, and personal mail, starting April 1, 2026, if they suspect tax evasion or think the person has unreported income, money, gold, jewelry, or valuable property that has not been taxed. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the new Income Tax Bill will be taken up for discussion in the monsoon session of Parliament. The Income Tax Bill, tabled in Lok Sabha by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 13, seeks to replace the existing Income Tax Act, 1961 and introduce changes that affect different categories of taxpayers, including individuals, businesses, and non-profit organisations. However, Clause 247 of the new Income Tax Bill has raised a few eyebrows, with arguments following that it gives more teeth to the Income Tax Department. What Does Clause 247 of the new Income Tax Bill Say? Where the competent authority, in consequence of information in his possession, has reason to believe that (a) any person to whom a summons under section 246 (1) or a notice under section 268(1), (i) was issued to produce, or cause to be produced, any books of account or other documents or any information stored in any electronic media or a computer system, has omitted or failed to produce, or cause to be produced, such books of account or other documents or such information as required by such summons or notice; or (ii) has been issued or might be issued, will not, or would not, produce or cause to be produced, any books of account or other documents or any information stored in an electronic media or a computer system which will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceedings under this Act; or (b) any person is in possession of any asset or information in relation to any asset and such asset represents either wholly or partly, income or property which has not been, or would not be, disclosed, for the purposes of this Act, or the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, (herein referred to as the undisclosed income or property in this section), then the approving authority may authorise any Joint Director or Joint Commissioner or Assistant Director or Assistant Commissioner or Income-tax Officer, or any Joint Director or Joint Commissioner, so authorised, may authorise any Assistant Director or Assistant Commissioner or Income-tax Officer, hereinafter referred to as the authorised officer to (i) enter and search any building, place, vessel, vehicle, aircraft where he has reason to suspect that such assets, books of account, other documents, or any information stored in an electronic media or computer systems are kept; (ii) require any person, who is found to be in possession or control of any books of account or other documents maintained in the form of electronic record [as defined in section 2(1)(ha), (i), (j), (k), (l), (r), and (t) of the Information Technology Act, 2000], on computer systems, any information stored in an electronic media or computer systems, to afford the authorised officer with such reasonable technical and other assistance (including access code, by whatever name called) as may be necessary to enable the authorised officer to inspect any information, electronic records and communication or data contained in or available on such computer systems; (iii) break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe, almirah, or other receptacle for exercising the powers conferred by clause (i), to enter and search any building, place, etc., where the keys thereof or the access to such building, place, etc., is not available, or gain access by overriding the access code to any said computer system, or virtual digital space, where the access code thereof is not available; (iv) search any person who has got out of, or is about to get into, or is in, the building, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft, if the authorised officer has reason to suspect that such person has secreted about his person any such books of account, other documents, computer systems or asset; (v) place marks of identification on any books of account or other documents or make or cause to be made extracts or copies therefrom and also from computer systems; (vi) make a note or an inventory of any such asset, and stock-in-trade of the business, found as a result of such search; Search and seizure. (vii) seize any such books of account, other documents, computer systems, or asset (other than stock-in-trade of the business), found as a result of such search; (viii) serve an order of deemed seizure, on the owner or the person who is in immediate possession or control thereof, of any valuable article or thing, which is not stock-in-trade, not to remove, part with or otherwise deal with it, except with the previous permission of the authorised officer, if it is not possible or practicable to take physical possession or removal to a safe place of such article or thing, due to its volume, weight, or other physical characteristics or it being of a dangerous nature. According to the Income Tax Bill, what is considered virtual digital space? The Income Tax Bill defines virtual digital space as encompassing social media, email, bank accounts, trade, investment accounts, and remote servers, says the report. How can it affect you? The Income Bill has given officers the powers under search and seizure provisions to access virtual digital space to look for instances of tax evasion online. Tax authorities may look into your emails, bank accounts, trading platforms, and social media activities if they believe you have not fully disclosed your income or assets. New Delhi: Indias real estate sector, which contributed 7.3 per cent to the GDP in the calendar year 2023, is projected to contribute 13 per cent to the country's economic growth by 2030, a report showed on Friday. The sector is set to grow from Rs 40 lakh crore in 2023 to Rs 83 lakh crore by 2030, driven by urbanisation, rising incomes and government initiatives like Housing for All and Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), according to the report by CareEdge Ratings. The commercial real estate segment is bouncing back, with office leasing activity hitting 71.9 million square feet in 2024, driven by IT, BFSI, and multinational corporations. The sector is further projected to grow at a robust CAGR of 15.4 per cent through 2030. Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai led this growth, with Hyderabad and Pune emerging as hubs. The rise of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), hybrid work models and coworking spaces largely supported this growth momentum. The interior fit-out market, a vital part of commercial real estate, is set to grow from Rs 277 billion in 2023 to Rs 805 billion by 2030, reflecting a robust CAGR of 16.5 per cent, the report mentioned. Emerging trends like green fit-outs, tech-enabled designs, and hybrid workspace solutions are redefining modern office environments in India. India's urban population, projected to reach 600 million by 2030, will drive demand for customised workspaces, especially in tier 1 and 2 cities. Tanvi Shah, Director and Head of CareEdge Advisory and Research, states, "The office fit-out sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent over the next five years, driven by multinational corporations and high office space absorption in the IT, BFSI, and e-commerce sectors. The interior fit-out industry is driving innovation with a focus on sustainability, technology, and employee-centric designs. Additionally, government initiatives, such as support for smart cities, are beneficial to the real estate industry, the report mentioned. A yoga mat of high quality serves as the basic requirement for conducting exercises with proper comfort. Exercise mats create conditions of safety while supporting the user in yoga practice or Pilates sessions. Among the many yoga mats available on Flipkart, consumers face challenges when selecting the perfect one. We have selected four excellent mats that meet different user requirements to help you make an easier choice. 1. BOLDFIT 8mm Yoga MatThick and Comfortable Image Source: Flipkart Order Now An 8mm version of the BOLDFIT Yoga mat exists to provide maximum cushioning support for exercise activities. Each workout demands its own mat to ensure users receive proper assistance and comfort for their activities. Key Features Increased Thickness8mm thickness delivers extra cushion to joints. No SlippingNo slipping when exercising vigorously. Long-lasting MaterialConstructed of long-lasting NBR material. Easy MaintenanceSweat-free, easy maintenance. PortableIncludes a carry strap to make it portable. Thickness makes it quite heavy to carry. 2. VIFITKIT 6mm Yoga MatAnti-Skid and Versatile Image Source: Flipkart Order Now The VIFITKIT 6mm Yoga Mat functions perfectly as an exercise mat for indoor and outdoor activities. Users can obtain the best combination of thickness with portability through this mat, which makes it ideal for novices to experts in yoga practice. Key Features 6mm Thickness Provides even cushioning for comfort and support. Anti-Skid SurfaceProvides stability on various floor surfaces. Lightweight & Portable Provided with a carry bag for easy portability. Sweat ResistantThe mat is easily maintained as well as easily cleaned because of its sweat-resistant properties. It may be too thin for those with sensitive joints. 3. Yogarise Anti-Slip 6mm Yoga MatAttractive and Durable Image Source: Flipkart Order Now For performance-driven as well as style-conscious individuals, the Yogarise Anti-Slip Yoga Mat is a perfect choice. Its two-tone design and high-quality material elevate your yoga session to a new level of comfort and looks. Key Features Anti-Slip TechnologyOffers a strong grip for a secure workout. 6mm Thick PaddingProvides adequate comfort without bulk. High-Density TPE MaterialLong-lasting and environmentally friendly. Comes with a carry strap & bagvery easy to take everywhere with you. Waterproof & Easy to CleanQuick and easy to wipe clean for hygiene. The surface is a bit firm for some who prefer it extra soft. 4. DE JURE FITNESS Dual Color 6mm Yoga Mat Eco-Friendly High-Quality Choice Image Source: Flipkart Order Now If you need an eco-friendly yoga mat with a stylish look, then the DE JURE FITNESS Dual Color Yoga Mat is the optimal option. The mat, being of long-lasting TPE material, gives an anti-skid surface for a secure workout. Key Features Dual-Color DesignNew and reversible look. Eco-Friendly MaterialNon-toxic and biodegradable TPE construction. Non-Slip SurfaceEnsures grip and avoids slipping. Lightweight & PortableComes with a carrying bag. Water-resistantsimple to clean and maintain. A bit more expensive than the other 6mm mats. A yoga mat is a necessity in any exercise routine, and your choice is based on what you require. If you want more cushioning, then the BOLDFIT 8mm Yoga Mat is the way to go. For a well-balanced mat with anti-skid features, the VIFITKIT 6mm Yoga Mat is a great choice. The Yogarise Anti-Slip Mat is ideal for those who need durability and appearance, and the DE JURE FITNESS Dual Color Mat is unique for its eco-friendly material and premium design. All these yoga mats are also found on Flipkart, so it's easy to find the best one that suits your fitness process. Select the most suitable one for your needs and have a convenient and secure workout experience. 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. Myanmar Earthquake: A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, causing widespread destruction and loss of life. A 1,000-bed hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, has been designated as a mass casualty area, news agency AFP reported. The full extent of casualties at the hospital remains unconfirmed, but at least 20 deaths have been reported across the country, including 10 fatalities at a mosque in Mandalay that collapsed during prayers. The hospital, one of the largest in the city, witnessed chaotic scenes as medical teams struggled to manage the influx of injured patients. Visuals from the site showed wounded individuals being treated on the streets, with intravenous drips hanging from gurneys. I havent seen something like this before. We are trying to handle it, but Im so exhausted, a doctor at the hospital told AFP. The earthquake, which struck near Sagaing, approximately 260 km from Naypyidaw, caused significant damage in multiple regions. A series of powerful earthquakes struck Myanmar and Thailand today, causing significant damage to life and property. The first quake, measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale, was followed by a 6.4-magnitude tremor just 12 minutes later. An aftershock of 4.4 magnitude was recorded nearly an hour afterward. Strong tremors were also felt in parts of Thailand, northeast India, and China. In response to the disaster, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over the devastation. Rescue and relief operations are currently underway. Earthquake In Bangkok: A massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Thailand and Myanmar, causing a high-rise building under construction to collapse in Bangkok on Friday. According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquakes epicenter was 16 km northwest of Sagaing, at a depth of 10 km. A video shared on social media captured the moment a multi-story building in Bangkok, with a crane on top, crumbled into a massive cloud of dust as people screamed and ran for safety. In Myanmar, the ruling junta has declared an emergency and is seeking international help. Meanwhile, in Thailand, tremors were felt in the northern region, leading to the temporary suspension of some metro and rail services in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has called for an urgent meeting and declared a state of emergency in the capital. China's Yunnan province also reported strong tremors, with its earthquake monitoring agency measuring the quake at 7.9 magnitude. Earthquake sum up 3pm (Mynamar/Thailand) - 7.7 quake hit near Mandalay/Myanmar - Hundreds of homes collapsed (various Myanmar cities) - Strong shocks in Thailand + multiple building collapse in Bangkok - USGS predicts thousands of people dead (Bangkok clips from social media:) pic.twitter.com/kJodTn6BIg Florian Witulski (@vaitor) March 28, 2025 Earthquake in 2016 In 2016, a strong 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Bagan in central Myanmar, claiming three lives and injuring several others. The country, which borders India and is currently facing a civil war, struggles with an already strained medical system. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep concern over the devastating earthquake and assured that India is ready to provide all possible assistance to Myanmar and Thailand. PM Modi said on X, "Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone. At least 144 people have been killed and 730 others injured in Myanmar after six earthquakes shook the country on Friday, reported AP. The death toll and injuries are expected to rise, AP quoted the head of Myanmars military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. He also said on television that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured in Myanmar. The first earthquake with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar, measured at 7.7 magnitude on the Richter scale and it hit at midday. The second quake with 6.4 magnitude was recorded just 12 minutes later. Another aftershock of 4.4 magnitude was recorded nearly an hour later. The others followed. Death Toll In Bangkok Climbs To 10 The earthquake's tremors were felt across neighbouring Thailand and some Chinese provinces. According to AP, the Bangkok city authorities informed that 10 people were killed, 16 were injured, and 101 are missing from three construction sites, which included a high-rise. PM Modi Assures All Possible Assistance On social media platform X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he is concerned by the situation in Myanmar and clarified that India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. Concerned by the situation in the wake of the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Also asked the MEA to remain in touch Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 28, 2025 Indian Embassy Releases Helpline Number The Embassy of India, Bangkok, issued an emergency number, +66 618819218, for Indian nationals in Thailand, which they can use in case of any emergency. In the X post, the Embassy wrote, "All members of the Indian Embassy in Bangkok and Consulate in Chiang Mai are safe." After powerful earthquake tremors recorded in Bangkok and in other parts of Thailand, the Embassy is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the Thai authorities. So far, no untoward incident involving any Indian citizen has been reported. In case of any emergency, India in Thailand (@IndiainThailand) March 28, 2025 Videos Show Heavy Destruction The videos and photos that emerged from the earthquake-hit areas in Myanmar show the devastation of lives and property. Metro train violently shakes in Bangkok Tyland after a major earthquake in Myanmar, Tyland pic.twitter.com/cs7wOxiOWS Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) March 28, 2025 The United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also posted on X and assured that the UN system in the region is mobilising to help those in need. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced strong criticism against foreign students involved in political activism on American university campuses. He emphasised that the US government grants visas for academic purposes, not for students to engage in disruptive activities. 'We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses,' Rubio said. Following US President Donald Trumps announcement of steep auto tariffs starting next month, Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday that the era of deep economic, security, and military ties between his country and the United States "is over." Trump raised tariffs on imported automobiles and parts to 25 percent and indicated that the reciprocal tariff system that goes into effect on April 2 will be lenient. His planned tariff on vehicle imports to Washington is to come into force next week and could possibly turn out devastating for the Canadian auto industry. Trumps latest announcement pertaining to tariffs prompted Carney to pause his campaign ahead of Canada's April 28 election to head back to Ottawa for a meeting of cabinet members chalking out plans in the trade war with Washington. Dubbing Trumps auto tariffs "unjustified," the Canadian PM stated that they were in breach of existing trade deals between the countries. He also warned Canadians that Trump had permanently altered relations with the United States and that, regardless of any future trade deals, there would be "no turning back." "The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over," Carney said, as quoted by news agency AFP. He said Canada would retaliate against the auto tariffs. "Our response to these latest tariffs is to fight, to protect, and to build," Carney said. "We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada," he further stated. Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister on March 14. He said Thursday that the White House had reached out to schedule a call and that he expected to speak to Trump in the "next day or two." Carney also stated that while he is willing to talk to Trump, he will not participate in substantive trade negotiations with Washington until the president shows Canada "respect," particularly by ending his repeated annexation threats. "For me, there are two conditions, not necessarily for a call, but for a negotiation with the United States. First, respect, respect for our sovereignty as a country... apparently it's a lot for him," Carney said. "There has to be a comprehensive discussion between the two of us, including with respect to our economy and our security," he added. (With agency inputs) By Alimat Aliyeva The U.S. administration will impose 25% import duties on all cars manufactured outside the country, President Donald Trump announced during a conversation with reporters at the White House. We will actually charge a tariff of 25%. But if you assemble cars in the United States, there will be no tariffs, he stated. According to Trump, the new tariffs will take effect on April 2. The announcement signals a continuation of the Trump administrations America First trade policies, aimed at incentivizing domestic production and reducing the U.S. trade deficit. The tariffs could have significant effects on foreign automakers, many of which have large manufacturing plants in countries like Mexico, Canada, and various European nations. Companies like Toyota, Volkswagen, and BMW that import cars into the U.S. may need to reconsider their supply chains or invest in more domestic production to avoid the tariff. The town of Palmer Lake has retained an elections consultant after receiving notice of recall petitions for three current trustees Shana Bal Colorado Court of Appeals Judges (from left) Sueanna P. Johnson, Pax L. Moultrie, and Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov answer questions from students in the Green Mountain High School auditorium after hearing two cases as part of a Courts in the Community event on Feb. 27. The Republican members of Colorado's congressional delegation on Wednesday called on Gov. Jared Polis to veto legislation that would require purchasers of certain firearms to undergo gun safety training. A federal judge on Wednesday scheduled a hearing for next week on the petition filed by prominent Denver immigration advocate Jeanette Vizguerra, who authorities took into custody this week. Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a Colorado Democrat, speaks at a reception welcoming him home after nearly four years serving as U.S. ambassador to Mexico, on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at the Denver Art Museum in Denver. Speaking to a supportive crowd of over 11,000 people packed into an arena in Greeley on Friday, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she wanted to deliver a message to the city's Republican congressman, freshman Rep. Gabe Evans. After the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called for more service members to teach at the military academies, senators closely questioned the schools' superintendents about their civilian faculty at a hearing this week. Air Force Academy Superintendent Tony Bauernfeind, the leaders of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., faced questions during a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel hearing about how many civilians they employ, whether they offer tenure and if they have the authority to fire tenured faculty. The military academy leaders also faced questions about how they implemented President Donald Trump's recent executive order calling for the end to diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government. The pointed questions at the hearing followed Hegseth's statement during his confirmation hearing in January about civilians pushing "woke" ideas at the academies. "We need more uniformed members going back into West Point, the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy, as a tour-to-teach, with their wisdom of what they have learned in uniform, instead of just more civilian professors that came from the same left-wing, woke universities that they left, and then try to push that into service academies," Hegseth said. The superintendents told the senators that the civilian faculty bring important expertise to their institutions, particularly in technical fields. "The civilian faculty bring a depth of knowledge within disciplines that we are able to use for the benefit of the education of our cadets," said Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland. At West Point, civilians make up 26% of the faculty and uniformed members make up 74%, he said. More than half of the civilian professors work in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics fields, also known as STEM fields. The Air Force Academy employs a faculty composed of 40% civilians, and at the Naval Academy, it's close to a 50-50 split, the superintendents said. Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, who leads Annapolis, defended both the mix of civilian and uniformed instructors and current hiring and tenure practices. All three institutions offer tenure, which helps with recruiting top teaching talent, she said. All three can fire tenured professors, they said. "We have a proven formula that works," she said. Subcommittee chairman Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., asked the superintendents if the Senate should weigh in on civilian hires in the same way they confirm military promotions. Tuberville was recently appointed to the Air Force Academy's Board of Visitors. Bauernfeind said he is comfortable with the current process that does not require confirmation, but he would be open to a Senate review. "If our elected leaders want to have a voice in that I am also very comfortable working with our elected leaders to detail a process," he said. Lawmakers also asked the academy leaders about ending diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Gilland said two classes have ended at West Point, a history class called Race, Ethnicity and Nation and an English course called Power and Difference out of the 600 classes offered. The Naval Academy ended Gender Matters, a leadership course, and an English class on gender and sexuality studies, Davids said. The school also modified 18 other classes, of its 870, to come into compliance. Bauernfeind said the Air Force's 735 classes are still under review, but only three could be suspended. He did not name them, since he has not made a decision on ending them. While the superintendents steered clear of political comments on the DEI orders, senators offered opposing views, particularly on their value in an academic setting. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he hoped the military's history would be passed on to cadets and midshipmen. "The military has an extraordinary and proud record of leading our nation on desegregation. ... We should be teaching that history so that our military can be not only proud but continue to lead the nation." On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said he was concerned about diversity, equity and inclusion efforts or "critical race theory" leading to anti-Americanism in service academies. "We want our military service academies focused on warfighting, lethality patriotism," Sullivan said. This story has been updated to correct Blumentha's home state and state that the superintendents steered clear of political statements on DEI orders. Twelve of Colorado's 14ers' summit trails are about to get a make over. The 12 trails to some of the state's most popular 14,000-foot peaks received a quarter of a million dollars for restoration projects awarded by a yearly grant program, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced in a statement on Wednesday. Gov. Jared Polis and the CPW announced the Non-Motorized Trail Grant Program recently awarded $2,438,000 for 26 projects that will connect Coloradans and visitors to the outdoors with new and improved opportunities to get outside, including restoring trails on 12 of Colorados 14ers. The Parks and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved the grants during a March meeting. The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative was awarded a $250,000 grant to reconstruct and restore 12 summit trails on the 14ers. This will include basic maintenance, intensive trail reconstruction and thousands of feet of closure/restoration. Reconstruction will include boardwalk repair, backwall supporting tundra beds, installation of timer check and rock steps. The 12 summit trails included in the maintenance plan: Featured Local Savings Mt. Bierstadt Mt. Blue Sky Quandary Peak Mt. Democrat Mt. Princeton Mt. Massive Capitol Peak Mt. Columbia San Luis Peak Redcloud Peak Wetterhorn Peak Mt. Sneffels Our iconic 14ers will now be even more accessible and safe to summit," Polis said. "In Colorado, we are focused on expanding outdoor recreational opportunities for all Coloradans, while protecting our natural resources and public lands. This funding will help Coloradans have fun, get outside, and be active while protecting our awe-inspiring natural landscapes, keeping Colorado beautiful for generations to come. CPW Director Jeff Davis said the Non-Motorized Trail Grants will empower local agencies to create and maintain accessible trails. Our agency is tasked with providing wildlife management and world-class outdoor recreation opportunities," Davis said. "To deliver on this mission, we recognize that recreation and conservation goals can often support each other, and that funding partnerships with other organizations and agencies across the state are critical to accomplish those goals." Other groups who received various grants include: Countywide Trail Maintenance Crew (Trail Stewardship grant) Trail Conservation Services (Trail Stewardship grant) 2025 Crested Butte Conservation Corps (Trail Stewardship grant) Mesa County Trail Sustainability (Trail Stewardship grant) Routt County Riders/Hahns Peak Bears Ears Trail Crew 2025 (Maintenance grant) Austin Bluffs Open Space Improvements (Construction grant) Backcountry Trail Maintenance Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness (Maintenance grant) Toivo Malm Trail Maintenance (Maintenance grant) Poudre River Trail Realignment & Trailhead Design (Planning grant) The Non-Motorized Trails Grant Program is a multi-agency partnership that includes CPW, Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado Lottery and the Federal Recreational Trails Program. SplxAI, a cybersecurity company specializing in agentic AI systems, has successfully raised 6.45 million in seed funding, Azernews reports, citing Intelli News. The funding round was led by LAUNCHub Ventures, with participation from Rain Capital, Inovo, Runtime Ventures, DNV Ventures, and South Central Ventures . This investment will be used to accelerate the development of SplxAIs platform, which provides automated security testing, remediation, and monitoring for AI agents and applications. As organizations increasingly adopt advanced AI systems, new and often poorly understood security risks are emerging. SplxAIs platform helps address these vulnerabilities by simulating potential attack scenarios and analyzing AI behavior across various types of agents, including text-based, image-based, and voice-based. Additionally, the platform offers continuous real-time monitoring to detect and respond to threats swiftly. Stan Sirakov of LAUNCHub Ventures has joined the companys board, while Sandy Dunn, the former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Brand Engagement Network, has been appointed as SplxAIs new CISO. Dunn will lead the company's governance and compliance efforts, strengthening its focus on security standards. SplxAI launched its platform in August 2024 and has already reported an impressive 127% quarter-on-quarter growth. Its clients include notable names such as KPMG, Infobip, Brand Engagement Network, and Glean. The company has also released an open-source tool called Agentic Radar, which is designed to identify security gaps in AI agent workflows through static code analysis. The platform is positioned as a more efficient and scalable alternative to traditional manual security testing, which tends to be slower, more expensive, and less adaptable to the rapid advancements in AI technology. LAUNCHub Ventures, based in Sofia, is a venture capital firm known for its investments across Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, with a focus on countries like Bulgaria and Croatia. As AI systems become more integrated into critical business functions, the need for specialized cybersecurity solutions becomes more urgent. SplxAI is tapping into this growing demand by focusing specifically on the vulnerabilities that arise from agentic AIAI systems capable of acting autonomously and making decisions based on their environment. Parents Challenge, a nonprofit educational-choice organization marking its 25th anniversary this year, is expanding beyond Colorado Springs to enable more schooling options for low-income families in Eastern El Paso County, Teller County and Pueblo County. Our mission is to provide true choice to parents in their childrens education, said Deborah Hendrix, executive director. The organization offers grants and scholarships to qualifying families to help pay for their children to attend a school that best fits their individual needs and preferences. A recent infusion of $1.7 million in grants is driving the program's growth. Parents Challenge was selected as one of 25 semifinalists for a national award, the Yass Prize, a ranking that included an award of $200,000. The program recognizes and rewards education providers who demonstrate Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless education. Also, a $1 million grant from the local John E. and Margaret L. Lane Foundation, and an anonymous donation of $500,000, constitute the largest collective contribution to the organization in its history, Hendrix said. "We are proud to invest in an organization that places parents at the forefront of educational choice, Phil Lane, board chairman and secretary of the Lane Foundation, said in a statement. Their commitment to empowering families aligns with our foundation's mission to foster sustainable and transformative initiatives in our community." The show of support means Parents Challenge will add up to 60 young scholars to its current roster of 355 kindergarten through high school clients in central El Paso County, she said. Parents know their children best, and there should not be a debate over school choice or educational freedom, Hendrix said. At the end of the day, parents have to be the deciding factor in whats working, whether its private school, the neighborhood public school, a charter school, homeschooling, online schooling or micro schools. The money families receive can be applied to school tuition for private schools or to defray expenses related to school uniforms, extracurricular activities and other out-of-pocket costs for public, private or at-home learning. Featured Local Savings Participants also receive mentoring, study tools including free tutoring, career preparation and other support to help them realize their educational goals. The organization assists parents by providing seminars and trainings on topics such as education, health and wellness, money management and career preparation. In addition, parents are asked to volunteer 20 hours annually and are held accountable for their childs academic performance. Parents Challenge works with 195 families and will add up to 35 more families as its service area widens, Hendrix said. The 17% increase in clients wont come with high administrative costs, though, she said. Operations will continue from a central office in Colorado Springs, and the three and a half staff members will grow by one and remain lean and efficient, she said. After a quarter of a century promoting educational options for low-income families and successful outcomes for students regardless of where they attend school, Parents Challenge is recognized as one of the longest-standing parent-focused organizations in the nation, according to the Yass Award. The organization differs from others in that it doesnt push families to private schools but rather advocates for families to choose whatever education they deem best for their child, according to Hendrix. This year's $1.3 million budget is entirely funded by private donations and grants, so families are not at risk of losing their support in relation to whatever happens with the United States Department of Education, she added. Colorado Springs developer Steve Schuck and his late wife, Joyce, founded the organization in 2000. Schuck now serves as the chairman of the board, a role he works on daily, according to Hendrix. Were continuing to do what he and Joyce put into place to support low-income families around what they decide is best for their children and are excited to be able to expand this opportunity to more families, she said. A 56-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after escaping from a community corrections residential facility in Colorado Springs 12 years ago, according to El Paso County court records. Robert Austin was sentenced to COMCOR after being convicted of sexual assault on a child in June 2011. He was placed into a COMCOR facility in the 3900 block of North Nevada Avenue in November 2011. The victim in the sexual assault on a child charge was 11 years old at the time of the incidents in 2007. She claimed Austin had been sexually assaulting her for months. Austin was also involved in traveling seminars for ministries in Colorado Springs before his initial arrest, according to the arrest affidavit. Austin signed out of COMCOR at 6:30 a.m. Oct. 29, 2012, and was due back at 6 p.m., but he never returned. He was found Tuesday and arrested on suspicion of escape. Austin is being held at the El Paso County jail on a $10,000 bond. His next court appearance is at 8:30 a.m. April 1. Limited body camera footage of the March 11 officer-involved shooting has been released by the Colorado Springs Police Department. Avery Denton, 42, was arrested for shooting a handgun at an officer. He faces a menacing charge, according to court records. In a video briefing, Patrick David, commander of CSPDs Professional Standards Division, recited the events leading up to the shooting and provided body-worn camera footage. Officer Tanner Rickman, assigned to the Colorado Springs Police Department Falcon division, was placed on administrative leave. He has been employed with the department for two years. Warning, violent footage: At about 3:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to a road rage incident in Colorado Springs involving a firearm, David said. Police developed suspect information through the reporting party that led them to the Whitney Young Manor Apartments in the 2100 block of Delta Drive on the city's southeast side. At the start of the video released Friday , it is shown that two officers were present during the incident. As officers were attempting to contact Denton at about 9:30 p.m., they said he opened the apartment door with a raised handgun and pointed it at officers. Officer Rickman fired one shot in response, David said. Police said no one was struck by the gunfire or injured in the shooting. Denton was taken into custody at the El Paso County jail, and he bonded out. He has a court appearance scheduled April 29 . In accordance with state law, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office is the lead investigative agency for this officer-involved shooting. After the investigation into the officer's use of force is completed, it will be sent to the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office to determine if the officer's use of force was in compliance with Colorado law. Four people and three dogs were displaced in a house fire Friday morning at 252 S. Murray Blvd., according to a social media post by the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Crews responded to the fire at about 8:20 a.m. and had it contained within minutes, the post on X stated. Firefighters rescued the dogs from inside and provided one of them with oxygen, according to fire crews. They said no injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation. A Russian citizen planning to carry out explosions in crowded areas of Moscow has been arrested, according to the countrys Federal Security Service (FSB),Azernews reports, citing the local media reported. The suspects identity has not been disclosed, but he is reportedly a 1972-born individual with a criminal record, having previously served time for murder, extortion, and robbery under Russias Criminal Code. The FSB claims that the planned attack was orchestrated at the request of Ukrainian intelligence services. A one-story-high home such as this one on East Caramillo Street would be ideal for an accessory dwelling unit in the backyard of a larger single-family home. That is the opinion of a group of Colorado Springs homeowners associations that want ADUs to be limited in size to one story high and less than 1,000 square feet. The City Council will decide the issue. After pulling back last month, developers have resubmitted a controversial request that would pave the way for the state's second Buc-ee's. A 60-year-old Albany man was sentenced for attempted murder and other charges at the Linn County Courthouse on Thursday, March 27. Two weeks ago, a jury found Michael Keith Iverson guilty of felony second-degree attempted murder and domestic violence strangulation, and misdemeanor interfering with making a report to law enforcement. Judge Rachel Kittson-MaQatish sentenced Iverson to 7 years in prison, the mandatory minimum under state law. Iverson was given an opportunity to address the court, saying the incident was an unfortunate fight between a wife and a husband and denying that it reached the point of attempted murder. He also said he wished he had a better defense, which might have led to a different outcome. Kittson-MaQatish was not receptive to Iversons remarks about his defense, which was provided by attorney Charles Peters. It's hard to have a better defense when your hands were around your wife's neck, saying you were going to kill her, and you have your son who comes in and has to stop it, Kittson-MaQatish said. I dont know how one could have a good defense for that. Kittson-MaQatish also took issue with Iversons statement about it being an unfortunate marital fight, pointing out that she was his ex-wife at that point, and noting the size difference between them Iverson is a foot taller and has 150 pounds on the victim. Thats not an unfortunate fight thats abuse, she said. This lack of accountability for your actions is disgusting. You'll have plenty of time to sit there and think about all the things you need to change in the way you think to understand that this was abuse, and that you are entirely responsible for what you do with your hands and what you say from your mouth. Prior to the sentence being issued, Iversons brother, Dave Iverson, asked the judge for leniency on his brothers behalf. He said his brother is not a bad person and the incident was totally out of character, adding that he did not believe everything that was said in the case was true. I think it took two people to have this happen, he said. Iversons attorney argued at trial that his client did not intend to murder his ex-wife when he choked her on their front porch last year. That followed a heated argument that was sparked by Iverson demanding that the victim make him a dental appointment for an abscessed tooth. Iverson reportedly made threats to kill the woman during the incident. The victim had told officers she had experienced many domestic violence incidents during their marriage and finally divorced Iverson, but he refused to move out, so she was planning to evict him. According to an Albany Police Department affidavit, Iverson got angry at the the victim when she declined to make a dental appointment for him. She said he got very angry, so she tried to put some distance between them. The woman ran out to the porch, but Iverson followed and grabbed her by the neck, squeezing until she began losing consciousness, according to the affidavit. He reportedly said multiple times that he wanted to kill her during the incident. The couple's adult son intervened, physically separating them. She said she would have died if not for their sons quick actions to separate her and her ex, adding she recently suffered a stroke. Another stroke would likely prove fatal, she told officers. While she was trying to call 911, Iverson threw bottles of water at her, knocking her cellphone from her hand and hitting her in the leg, leaving a mark on her left thigh. Four Albany officers, accompanied by a K-9, arrested Iverson at home, according to the affidavit, but not before he locked himself in a bedroom and cursed at police. Related stories: A group representing a broad mix of businesses, community groups and government entities involved in the cleanup of the East Helena smelter site have asked the governor to reappoint a longtime trustee for the project before a June deadline, noting its been effective and asking they get another five-year term before the deadline expires later this year. Or as one person who signed the letter put it: Why change horses midstream when almost out of the creek? The five-year reappointment is due in 2025 and we write today to strongly urge you as the State of Montana Trustee to reappoint (Montana Environmental Trust Group, aka METG) as the trustee to complete the environmental remediation and restoration and to dispose of the remaining assets at the former ASARCO East Helena site, the group wrote in its Dec. 5 letter to Gov. Greg Gianforte. It is important to maintain the established relationships at this critical time of closure in the cleanup and redevelopment process, the letter states. Gianfortes staff released a March 5 letter to the Independent Record from the state Department of Environmental Quality and Natural Resource Damage Program to the EPA, which is overseeing the trusts cleanup of the East Helena site. We commend METG for their work on this aspect of the custodial trustee duties and appreciate that METG works so well with the community of East Helena, it states. But as you know, the State also has legitimate concerns about timelines, costs, and potential engagement of other vendors who might better serve Montanans. We'd like to work with you to develop a plan to address those concerns. They say the concerns were addressed by the state and EPA in November. We'd like to continue these conversations to help us better understand each other's positions on trustee reappointment and help us develop metrics that we can agree need to be met to complete the remaining cleanup at the EPA and State-led Montana Sites." The Dec. 5 letter from the group in support to METG to the governor notes METG oversees State Lead cleanups at Back Pine near Phillipsburg, Iron Mountain near Superior, Mike Horse Mine near Lincoln and the former ASARCO site in East Helena. METGs role is to protect human health and the environment and to fulfill the environmental obligations of ASARCO and to redevelop the former ASARCO properties, the letter states. Those signing the letter include members of the East Helena City Council, East Helena Public Schools, Helena Area Habitat for Humanity, Prickly Pear Land Trust, the Oakland Development, Mountain View Meadows, American Chemet and state Democratic lawmakers Jill Cohenour and Mary Ann Dunwell, who represent East Helena in the Legislature. Future uses include 1,230 single- and multi-family homes, a light manufacturing center with rail access, commercial development, city services and a rodeo arena. Habitat and Oakland have large housing projects planned for the East Helena site. The American Smelting and Refining Co. (ASARCO) filed for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005. At one time the lead smelter, which operated from 1888-2001, processed 70,000 tons of lead bullion a year and provided a livelihood for thousands. Contamination, including arsenic and selenium in soils at the site, caused groundwater plumes and levels above safe drinking water standards. In 1984, the EPA declared East Helena a Superfund cleanup site. The smelter closed in 2001, and after later declaring bankruptcy, ASARCO placed about $96 million in a trust managed by METG. The original five-year appointment occurred in 2009, following an interview process with several environmental trustees. METG has been reappointed by the U.S. and state of Montana in 2014 and 2020. The public is updated at least annually on cleanup progress. The Dec. 5 letter to the governor notes METG has substantially completed cleanup measures at the former smelter and has donated, sold or transferred 1,663 acres of the approximately 2,000 acres of former ASARCO properties since 2009. They also said East Helena has benefited greatly from the partnership with METG. East Helena has two new schools, the City of East Helena has a new drinking water well and numerous infrastructure improvements to the drinking water and wastewater systems, they wrote. Finally, the last remaining component of the final cleanup is the slag pile cover and preliminary design work has already begun. Cindy Brooks, East Helena director of cleanup and redevelopment for METG, said she met Wednesday with Gianfortes staff to discuss the project. But she did not want to offer details about what will be ongoing discussions, other than to say she remains hopeful. I would love to be able to finish the work we have started and to work with our project partners, she said earlier in the week. East Helena Mayor Kelly Harris noted Friday that every member of the council signed the letter. The environmental cleanup has been a great success up to this point and we want those people who have that institutional knowledge to continue in that capacity, he said. The work, effort, care and concern for the community the trust group has shown every step of the way has been amazing. Jacob Kuntz, executive director of Helena Area Habitat for Humanity, said METG has nearly 15 years with this project and is in the final stages. He said the last major hurdle is capping off the slag heap. Montana Environmental Trust Group and Cindy Brooks have been phenomenal to deal with in a very complex process, Kuntz said, adding their knowledge of the site is unmatched. We are eager for them to finish up with what they started, he said. Kuntz said if METG was not reappointed, another trustee would have to be named. Cohenour, a state representative, said there is widespread community concern that the reappointment of METG has not been done yet as a June 1 deadline looms. She said there appears to be a huge lack of communication. We have had them there 15 years and they work well with the community, Cohenour said. She said if METG is not renewed, East Helena will lose all of the experience and relationships that have been built for 15 years. The thing I am most worried about is losing someone with the most experience, Cohenour said. She said DEQ has asked for more details on plans for the slag pile. She said METG has been talking to a couple buyers who could reduce the size of the pile, making it easier to cap. Cohenour said as she talks to constituents she is frequently told they are amazed as to how much lower the slag pile is. The EPA is working on soil remediation in East Helena, removing dirt from yards. Plans are to move the soil to the slag pile, which would assist in the capping. If a new trustee were to be appointed, they would have be approved by a bankruptcy court, officials said. Bridget Williams, the EPAs remedial project manager for the East Helena site, said the EPA is working with the state to develop a framework for reappointment of METG. We support reappointment of METG to complete the work in East Helena, she said. She said remediation of the site is almost near the end and will likely be completed before the next five-year sunset. From the EPAs perspective, the work METG has done at the site is excellent, she added later. She noted the smelter has been capped, process ponds removed, wetland has been created and the groundwater level has been lowered at the former smelter site. Williams said groundwater plumes have decreased in concentrations of arsenic and selenium. She said the selenium plume, which used to stretch to Canyon Ferry Road, has receded by 4,000 feet. She said the last remaining action is to cap the slag pile. Williams said there is material on the slag pile that contains high levels of zinc and is valuable, but the pile is also leeching selenium into the groundwater. She said efforts are being made to find a new buyer for the slag and remove it or cap it. An earlier buyer who was moving it to South Korea did not work out. The South Korean Zinc Smelter had ended its contract with Metallica Commodities Corp. of White Plains, New York, which was shipping the slag by rail from East Helena to Canada, and then on to South Korea. The South Korean smelter wanted 20,000 tons of slag a month and Metallica was only able to ship 5,300, METG officials said. The global pandemic also caused issues. Rail car issues have made it difficult to deliver, and that was coupled with a longshoreman strike in Canada. Williams said $94 million has been set aside for the cleanup effort. Of that, $50 million remains to cap the slag pile. She said if a buyer was found for the slag, that money will go back into the cleanup account and help defray costs. Tight cattle supplies and unwavering consumer demand for beef have pushed cattle prices to new record highs. Dairy producers have taken notice of these higher cattle prices and accelerated the use of beef genetics on their dairy cows over the past seven years. According to the National Association of Animal Breeders, 7.9 million units of beef semen were sold to dairy farmers in 2024, trailing the top category of sex-sorted dairy semen, which sold 9.9 million units. This marks back-to-back years that U.S. dairy farmers purchased a record number of beef semen units to use on their dairy herds. Roughly 20% of the beef supply originates from the U.S. dairy herd, and with the lowest U.S. beef cattle numbers since 1951, that percentage is inching higher. As dairy farmer mindsets shifted from producing extra replacements to producing more calves primed for the beef supply, U.S. dairy-bred fed slaughter has grown to be more than 4 million head annually, and over half are beef-on-dairy, according to CattleFax. The cattle herd is shifting to fewer purebred dairy animals and more dairy-beef crosses, with more details in a new report by CoBank, Beef-on-Dairy Data Suggests Opportunity for Feedlots and Processors. Replacement heifer versus crossbred beef The dairy industrys primary source of income comes from selling milk, followed by cull cow sales, then selling dairy-beef calves. Multiple sources have described 1-week-old dairy-beef calves being sold for $600 to $800 per head; some even touch $1,000. On the flip side, the cost to raise dairy replacement heifers remains rather stiff at well over $2,000 per head from birth until she enters the milking string. With growing beef-on-dairy numbers, dairy replacements have become tight, and values to purchase have pushed over $3,000 per head. This dilemma presents a strategic opportunity for dairy producers to determine which heifers and cows, and how many of them, will be bred to produce the next generation of replacement dairy heifers while the rest are bred to beef semen to capture market premiums for dairy-beef crosses. High-quality proteins are in strong demand Consumer protein demand has been exceptional in recent years, and a major reason is quality. Dairy cattle traditionally produce top-quality meat that grades Prime and Choice, as well as dairy products like butter, cheese, milk, and yogurt. Beef cattle ranchers have also worked collectively in delivering high-quality beef. A prime example is the top grade of beef, USDA Prime. One decade ago, only 4.4% of U.S. beef production graded Prime. In 2024, Prime-grade beef was 9.6% of total production at 2.02 billion pounds. Choice beef grew 20% and makes up over three-quarters of market share with 15.77 billion pounds produced in 2024. Production of lower grade meat like Select was cut by 37% from 2014 to 2024 to end at 3.17 billion pounds. This upward movement in high-quality dairy and beef protein production has been in response to and preparation for strong consumer demand. The dairy industry can continue capitalizing on high prices in the cattle market with dairy-beef calves and through traditional dairy products until those cows enter their second career in the cull cow market. Farmers rely on pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics to treat sick or injured cows, and maintaining a quality client-patient relationship with your veterinarian is critical. The better they understand you and your herd, the more they can treat illnesses accordingly. Currently, there are four classes of veterinary drugs: prescription (Rx), over-the-counter (OTC), veterinary feed directive (VFD), and unapproved products. Rx, OTC, and VFDs are all approved by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA). What is ELDU? In an Iowa State University Dairy Extension webinar, Allison Vander Plaats, D.V.M., explained extra-label drug use (ELDU), its limitations, and concerns that come along with it. Vander Plaats defined ELDU as using drugs for indications not mentioned in the label, at a different dose, route, or frequency that is not indicated on the label. Under the American Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act (AMDUCA) of 1994, veterinarians are allowed to use drugs that have been FDA approved for extra-label indications following certain guidelines. These limitations allow drug usage only if treatment will prevent suffering or death, if no drugs are labeled for such use, labeled drugs have proved to be ineffective, or the drug is unavailable in required concentration, Vander Plaats explained. She emphasized that ELDU should be used as a last resort. If used, it is important to note that withdrawal times must be extended. Determining if a drug is FDA approved Since 2018, all veterinary prescriptions, including over-the-counter and veterinary feed directives, are labeled with a new animal drug application (NADA) or approved new animal drug application (ANADA) number. This number can be found on the outer packaging, the paper insert, or on the bottle. Looking for this number makes it easy for users to determine if it is an FDA approved drug. For example, Banamine is marked as approved by FDA under NADA #101-479 on the label. If unsure, the U.S. Food and Drug administration website has an online database of every approved animal drug, making it easy to search for what youre looking for. Vander Plaats recommended using the American Association of Swine Vets (AASV) interactive exercise to determine whether or not to use a drug for extra-label use by answering a set of questions. She encouraged follow-up testing to make sure the AASVs predictions are correct. Restrictions and concerns Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been on the rise in recent years in dairy cattle and other animal species. Symptoms in dairy cattle include a high fever of up to 107F, drop in milk production, lower rumination, diarrhea, and thick brown or yellow milk. These symptoms can cause severe dehydration. Vander Plaats explained the two treatments used for HPAI in dairy cattle has included fluid therapy or, in some cases, aspirin. Many herds have been resorting to aspirin when fluid therapy is ineffective. Vander Plaats encouraged farmers to read drug labels and spend time understanding what each one means. It helps in understanding each drugs purpose, limitations, and restrictions, such as if it can be used for ELUD. Following procedure and rules are key for staying in compliance when managing dairy cattle, striking the balance of animal care in food animal production. Measuring cortisol in blood is challenging because the process of collecting the sample itself can increase cortisol levels. Cortisol, often called the stress hormone, rises when people or animals experience stress, pain, or discomfort. At Virginia Tech, we conducted a study during the summer of 2024 in which cows were subjected to four different treatments: no handling (negative control), artificial insemination, ruminal incubation, and esophageal tubing. We chose these interventions because they have potential to stress cows, especially stomach tubing, which we expected to raise cortisol levels. Although our hypothesis was that cortisol concentrations in blood would be significantly higher after these interventions relative to before the interventions, we encountered two unexpected results. First, cortisol levels in blood were not elevated 30 minutes after the interventions. It is possible, however, that waiting 30 minutes might have been too long to detect elevated cortisol levels, which could be a flaw in our study design. We based this timing on another study, but it may not have been appropriate for our purposes. Second, cortisol concentrations in blood before the interventions were low to normal. This made us question the initial assumption that blood sampling itself raises cortisol levels. We collected blood samples while the cows were voluntarily eating and locked in headlocks, either after feeding or milking. The blood collection process took less than 15 seconds in most cases, suggesting that we did not stress the cows. This finding challenges the common belief that cortisol levels rise simply by inserting a needle into a blood vessel. Upon reviewing the literature, we found an article in the Journal of Dairy Science stating that handling and restraining dairy cattle rapidly boosts cortisol concentration in the blood. However, this statement was based on studies involving wild animals, such as white-tailed deer and buffalo. In the deer study, restraining the animals took five to 10 minutes, which is much longer and more stressful than our quick blood sampling process on cows. In the buffalo study, the animals were restrained in a chute, which is also more stressful than our method of restraining cows in headlocks while they ate. An interesting observation from our study was related to the insemination process. Some cows were inseminated in the familiar environment of the freestall barn, while others were inseminated in the palpation rail outside their pens, which is less familiar to cows. Cows inseminated in the freestall barn had lower cortisol levels compared to those in the palpation rail, both before and after insemination. This suggests that the environment plays a significant role in stress levels, and further research is needed to determine whether the palpation rail itself or the process of moving cows to the rail causes stress. There are many misconceptions about animal stress and welfare, even within the scientific community. Our research team is committed to conducting additional studies to better understand how handling affects stress and welfare in dairy cattle. We hope to provide useful information for dairy farmers and consumers in the near future. Have you been shocked by the price of eggs in the grocery store this year? While there are many factors at play, including the ongoing avian influenza outbreak, it has lawmakers considering the role of animal housing requirements, specifically cage-free egg mandates. The current issue may be specific to eggs, but we could see this trickle into other areas of animal agriculture, too. In California, I recently priced an 18-pack of extra-large eggs more than $15 at the local commissary, a place where groceries are typically discounted compared to traditional grocery stores. These 18-packs of extra-large eggs were the only options available that day as the other shelves had been cleared out. Similarly, when I ventured to another grocery store to check out their egg supply, the egg section was marked with black and yellow caution tape and a sign that noted there was a purchasing limit of only two cartons per person. The egg shortage and sky-high prices are real. In 2018, California passed Proposition 12, which impacted the way farmers and ranchers raise and care for their animals on the farm. This included forcing egg farmers into cage-free housing systems, as well as establishing minimum spacing requirements for veal farmers, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens. This initiative was widely lobbied for by animal rights groups, including Humane World for Animals (formerly known as the Humane Society of the United States), Mercy for Animals, The Humane League, and more. California wasnt the only state to pass animal housing mandates, though. In states like Arizona and Colorado, animal rights groups were threatening similar ballot measures. As a compromise, the states ended up passing their own legislation and regulations to ward off more strict requirements that would have been included in a ballot campaign. Not only are these animal housing mandates adding to the cost of production for farmers and ranchers, but they are also raising prices in the grocery store and limiting supply of products. Lawmakers in several states have introduced legislation this year to delay implementation of these requirements or reverse them altogether to help alleviate some of these pain points. In Nevada, the Department of Agriculture temporarily suspended the states cage-free retail requirements. In Arizona, cage-free requirements were set to begin in 2025 but have now been delayed until 2026, and a bill is seeking to repeal the requirements altogether. Michigan is considering similar legislation, while Colorados bill to repeal cage-free requirements failed. Animal rights groups that lobbied mercilessly for these requirements are not happy about the potential roll backs. Humane World for Animals has already threatened a ballot measure if the state repeals the earlier regulations. Although, this current issue may be specific to eggs, other areas of animal agriculture could be affected in the future. Its a stark reminder of the outcome of animal rights groups activism, which in turn drives up the cost for livestock and poultry growers to stay in business, and raises the price of animal products in the grocery store. The Animal Agriculture Alliance will continue to monitor and shine a spotlight on the true intentions of these groups and their pressure campaign tactics to force change. To learn more, visit www.animalagalliance.org/initiatives/monitoring-activism. Record prices for dairy-beef crossbred calves have made it easy to swing the pendulum to using more beef genetics for cash flow. Creating the correct number of replacement heifers that carry the right genetics for the herd takes strategic forethought. Additionally, record prices for replacements make culling decisions for replacement heifers worth the time invested to keep the very best. The first step in this strategy is a genetic ranking of the herd. This important step determines which females will contribute their genetics to be dams of replacements. Many tools in the industry can assist in this process to ensure top genetics and the number of replacements created are the right fit for your herd goals. Beyond the right calves hitting the calving pen, it is still a long road to a first lactation heifer, and genetics is 50% of the equation. In a recent Penn State University Extension newsletter, Andrew Sandeen, extension specialist, evaluated which heifers are worth the investment and what factors outside of genetics can affect the value of a heifer as a worthy replacement. Sandeen first noted that health from day one is significant. Even the top genetic potential will be limited in animals that didnt receive adequate and timely colostrum. Heifers with recurring respiratory problems are another group that will be challenged in performance. These are the types of animals to target for strategic marketing to lessen any heifer surplus. Sandeen also evaluated recent research studies, providing some considerations to weigh when evaluating breeding and heifer inventory decisions. In a 2021 New Zealand study, the daughters of dams at least 9 years old had lower milk production than offspring from younger cows, presumably because of lower genetic merit. This follows the general understanding that, as genetic progress advances, genetics and production of offspring from younger animals exceeds that of older cows. In a 2020 University of Florida study, daughters of primiparous (first lactation) cows saw advantages over daughters from multiparous cows. They had lower death loss rates as heifers, became pregnant earlier, had about 5% less pregnancy loss, calved earlier, and were less likely to have a clinical disease (retained placenta, metritis, mastitis, lameness, digestive problems, or respiratory challenges) during their first lactation. In the same study, daughters of cows that had clinical diseases when pregnant with a replacement experienced a lower incidence of clinical disease as a young heifer and first-lactation cow, presumably due to altered factors in the uterus during pregnancy that improved resilience to health challenges later in life. The cows with no clinical disease had offspring which were approximately 10% more susceptible to clinical disease. From this study, it appears replacement heifers from first lactation cows and from older cows that had health challenges during their lactation may be favorable over replacements from healthy, older cows. In another 2020 University of Florida study, daughters of cows that were heat stressed during their dry period produced 5 pounds less milk per day, on average, during their first three lactations than heifers from cows that were more adequately cooled during the dry period. Even granddaughters of the heat-stressed cows were less productive. Therefore, heifers born to cows that have experienced heat stress in their dry periods could be moved higher on the list for potential culling when numbers need an adjustment. Sandeen concluded that results from these recent research studies might not lead to clear-cut selection protocols for ensuring successful prioritization of dairy heifers, but they do provide more clues to some factors that can affect dairy efficiency. GUEST OPINION: People interested in their genetic composition can learn about their DNA structure. The DNA molecule is a fundamental substance throughout human bodies, plants, plant organisms, and all microorganisms. People who enjoy studying history should use DNA testing as their ideal tool. DNA acts as a life blueprint that displays information about eye and hair color, genetic diseases, and maternal details. The genetic term haplogroups provides critical knowledge about DNA structure. An ancestral collection of gene information exists as population group subdivisions. Understanding ancestral roots and ethnic family ties allows you to discover your ancestors' rich traditions, fascinating stories, and cultural heritage. DNA sequences enable researchers to identify haplogroups through the information they contain. What are Haplogroups? Genetic classification within a population or community is called a haplogroup. Inherited genetic markers, mutations in genes, or shared DNA define haplogroups. These type of markers passes from generation to generation. These haplogroups are beneficial in providing details about migration among the human population and help genealogists and researchers. Genealogists and researchers can study genetic relations and ancestral roots of people or families. Formation of Haplogroups: Mutations in DNA and gene sequence modifications develop new haplogroups over time. Genetic markers appear individually in each generation as mutations transition from one generation to the next through offspring. Moreover, genetic markers help in research and studies related to the movement of ancient societies. Check what is in your DNA if you want to see your haplogroup. Knowing your haplogroup will clarify things about your roots and ancestors. Types of Haplogroups The following are the two main types of haplogroups found in organisms. mtDNA/Maternal Haplogroups: Haplogroups identify ancestry, which is inherited from the mother to the child. This haplogroup is made possible through a mothers mitochondria. Mitochondrial haplogroups aid in the geolocation of maternal ancestry. Your direct maternal haplogroup will be the same as every person in the maternal lineage from your mother, including yourself, siblings, aunts, and grandmother. Researching the evolution of maternal haplogroups leads scientists to a single transforming mutation in historical times. Y-DNA/Paternal Haplogroups: It passes down from a father to a son. The Y-chromosome is the carrier for Y-DNA haplogroups. It helps track down paternal roots. Women do not naturally carry Y chromosomes, thus lacking paternal haplogroup inheritance. However, they can discover their paternal haplogroup by testing their male relatives who share a family relationship with their father. Relation Between Haplogroups & Ethnicity Ethnicity combines your history, culture, and genetic information. Haplogroups work great if you want to find out bout your ancient ancestors. It provides clues that help you relate to your roots. Haplogroups connect you with your ethnicity by linking you with geographical places and ancient populations. Haplogroup H is common in European people. It is the most common maternal haplogroup in the West. You can also find traces of it in North Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Asia. Haplogroups L1, L2, and L3 are shared in Africa. All the L haplogroups are maternal. Moreover, haplogroups M, C, D, B, and Y are commonly found in South East Asia. Members of the Haplogroup J show significantly greater distribution within the geographical region of the Middle East. The Y-DNA haplogroups contain R1 and other haplogroups found primarily in European regions. Similarly, the frequencies of Haplogroup J reach their highest levels across the Middle East region. Other haplogroups are O and Q, which are standard in Asia and America Can Different Haplogroups Have Common Ethnic Groups? Language, culture, and history impact an individual's ethnicity. While a modern haplogroup hints at a person's origin, it does not define their cultural identity. For instance, a person with haplogroup J may have Middle Eastern ancestry, but their culture can be European or African. DNA tests that display genetic heritage cannot establish someone's actual personal identity while performing this genetic analysis. The paternal ancestors of various ethnic groups retained their positions in the same regions, hence their shared haplogroup markers. Time brought migration, conflicts, and trading activities between humans, which evolved into a diverse population today. People with European or specific Middle Eastern backgrounds carry haplogroup R1b since their shared ancestors lived in the same area until migrating thousands of years ago. Native American populations contain East Asian ancestry in their genealogy because members from Asia moved into their territory carrying haplogroup Q. How To Find Your Haplogroup? You can find your haplogroup with the help of genetic DNA testing. Follow the steps below to find your accurate haplogroup. Research your recent ancestry. You can get help from relatives or visit local libraries to uncover the history of the past 500 years of your predecessors. Perform DNA testing to find out about your sub-regional ancestors. It helps you find out the places in which your ancestors were populated. Genetic tests can help you determine your extended ancestry, allowing you to examine thousands of years of tales, culture, and traditions followed by your roots. Can You Share Haplogroup With Someone Else? Since most haplogroups originated thousands of years ago, these DNA markers tend to showcase your most distant heritage. Two people can share a haplogroup assignment and have no recent common ancestor. A large portion of your DNA comes from the mitochondrial DNA, and this form of DNA is subject to recombination from one generation to the next. As such, the results from the analysis of your autosomal DNA cover an ethnicity from the last 5 to 10 generations. For this reason, it is normal for the ancestry associated with your haplogroups or the Ancestry Composition to be different from what you have. No inaccurate conclusions were made regarding these components; teach stems from distinct parts of your beautifully complex ancestry. Conclusion Haplogroups are an excellent tool for examining heritage. They help follow ancient migrations and link individuals to specific populations. Still, they do not classify ethnicity or culture. Learning about forks in humanitys family tree makes us cherish our history more than ever. DNA testing can be a great entry point for those interested in ancestry. What is in your DNA? An array of surprises that come with an adventurous trek through history is what your haplogroup holds! GUEST OPINION: Meeting with a personal injury lawyer for the first time can feel a little intimidating, especially when youre still dealing with the physical and emotional toll of an accident. There are many details that top-rated Pompano Beach personal injury lawyers will need to assess your claim, outline your options, and begin fighting for fair compensation. Being prepared can help you feel more confident and make the most of that first conversation. In a place like Pompano Beach, where accidents are unfortunately common, knowing what to bring can set the tone for a smooth legal process. From medical records to insurance information, the right documents give your attorney a head start in building your case. Lets break it down so you can walk into your consultation feeling ready and informed. Relevant Documentation As part of the prep, obtaining relevant documents is necessary. These documents give the lawyer a perspective of the incident, allowing them to evaluate the case. Police records, medical reports, and photographs related to the incident are a few examples. These documents present a chronological timeline that provides the lawyer insight into the context needed to build a case strategy. Detailed Medical Records These records indicate how bad the wounds were and how the person was treated. Proof of evidence in the form of recent medical reports, doctors notes, and hospital bills will help strengthen the case. In addition, one may include receipts for medications or therapy sessions, further showcasing the toll on ones finances from the injury and the necessity to be compensated. Insurance Information Another important topic in this meeting is insurance information. Copies of any relevant insurance policies may help identify coverage or benefits. You will also want to bring any communications with the insurance companies. This information will help the lawyer know the insurance company's position and whether or not it will pay for the claims. Evidence of Financial Loss Financial losses typically follow personal injuries. Showing evidence of lost wages or income can illustrate the economic toll that the injury had. You can provide this information through pay stubs, tax returns, or other documentation from your employer. Showing economic need can firm the case, stressing adequate compensation is warranted. Gather Information of Witnesses Witnesses provide a significant plus to personal injury cases. It is a good idea to compile a list of all the people who saw the accident and their contact information. Witnesses can substantiate the victim's version of events, providing further support for the prosecution. The lawyer can contact these people to obtain other evidence and information. Questions and Concerns Writing down questions beforehand makes for a better meeting. Use a list to keep the conversation on track and to get answers to any lingering questions about the law. Asking about other similar instances, things to expect, and timelines can be illuminating. It can also help the lawyer explain their initial approach and establish rapport. Individual Journals or Diaries It can also be helpful to keep a personal diary documenting the experience and everything that follows. This documentation will help to encompass the full journey of living with pain, emotional distress, and daily disruptions. Personal insights can bring humanity to the case, providing more information on how this affected you on a day-to-day basis. Photographic Evidence What cannot be denied can avoid a dispute. If an accident led to the claim, photographs of injuries, where the accident happened, or property damage can serve as evidence of the severity of the situation. These photos can give the attorney a better visual context about what happened so he or she can further support your compensation claims. Legal Correspondence If you spoke with other attorneys or even with a non-lawyer-type legal entity, it is advisable to bring the written correspondence that shows this. These documents may provide details on what had been previously discussed or finalized. They also provide the lawyer with a background on the case, helping the lawyer take a holistic view of what lies next. Conclusion Preparation is key when coming in for an initial meeting with a personal injury lawyer. Preparing to have a fruitful discussion includes gathering relevant documents, organizing personal notes, and preparing questions. This would help the lawyer assess the case correctly. Being prepared and knowledgeable removes anxiety and inspires confidence in the legal services selected. GUEST OPINION: When a car accident in Independence, Missouri, happens, its easy to feel frozen, stuck between recovery, paperwork, and unanswered questions. Thats why its wise to consult an experienced Independence car accident lawyer as soon as possible after a crash. The reason why is that while taking time to heal physically is important, waiting too long to act legally can cost you far more than you think. Evidence can disappear, memories fade, and deadlines sneak up fast. For residents of Independence, MO, this urgency is even more critical. Missouri laws set strict time limits on filing claims, and missing them could mean forfeiting your right to compensation entirely. Heres how quick action can protect your rights and strengthen your case. Why Seek Medical Attention Immediately Prompt examination after a vehicular mishap is significant. There may be no physical signs that show injuries existed, and a complete exam confirms that any issues that may be hidden can be treated. Medical records also serve an important purpose during the legal process by providing evidence of your injuries and how much treatment costs. Preserving Evidence It is crucial to gather and document the evidence immediately after an accident occurs. Witness statements, pictures of the scene, and video recordings play an important role in building a strong legal case. These play a significant role in fabricating an accurate retelling of the events, giving the victim an upper hand. Things are forgotten, memories change, and scenes shift, which is why documenting early is so invaluable to the task at handcreating memories. Understanding Missouris Car Accident Statute of Limitations Many legal systems have statutes of limitations, which are time limits within which a victim must pursue a claim. These timeframes depend on the jurisdiction and specifics of the accident. Working within the boundaries of this is important so that you do not lose out on your right to claim compensation. Consulting legal counsel early acquires compliance with these deadlines so one does not lose legal ground. Seeking Legal Counsel Victims benefit from working with an attorney with personal injury law knowledge right after the incident. Lawyers provide guidance through intricate legal pathways and offer insight into what types of compensation you may be eligible for, including medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. Early consultation also helps create a strong case, providing the best chance of a positive resolution. Avoiding Common Pitfalls If you contact insurance companies without consulting a lawyer first, you may end up with a less-than-ideal settlement. If you speak to an insurer, they usually are looking to pay as little as possible, and victims, without legal aid, can find themselves accepting poor offers before too long. Having an attorney minimizes this risk to an extent, as they will advocate for you to get the compensation you deserve. Insurance Companies Role Insurance companies are significant players in post-accident matters. Familiarizing oneself with the terms of the insurance policies available helps clarify many misunderstandings and entitlements to payouts. It is essential to immediately contact insurers, provide any information insurers may require, and comply with losses covered under policies. In this process, legal advisors can help ensure the arrangements are compliant with laws and regulations and that the victims are protected. The Emotional and Psychological Impact In addition to physical injuries, you could suffer from emotional and psychological effects long after your collision. These also need to be addressed to recover fully. Providers of mental health services can help, in particular, by assisting victims in dealing with trauma and stress. Identifying and remedying psychological impacts helps strengthen the claims because it makes clear the extent to which an accident disrupts victims' lives. Financial Ramifications Such accidents come with a financial burden no one expects. Medical bills, car repair costs, and lost wages all add up quickly. Taking legal action will help ease some of the financial burdens by allowing you to receive damages for your losses. Timely action maximizes the possibility of recovering such costs, offering victims the relief they need during such times. Conclusion Following a vehicle accident, it is critical for those involved to act as soon as possible to preserve their legal rights and recover fair compensation. The most important steps are getting medical assistance, preserving evidence, and contacting a lawyer promptly. By learning the intricacies of certain legal systems, victims can effectively advocate for themselves, keeping their rights protected. Organisations can now benefit from Rimini Street's expert management services to streamline Workday operations, address staffing needs, and drive better business outcomes Rimini Street, a global provider of end-to-end enterprise software support and innovation solutions, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle, SAP and VMware software, today announced that it is now a Workday Application Management Services (AMS) Partner and has launched its Rimini Manage for Workday services with immediate availability. Seamless Workday Operations, Enhanced Business Outcomes Rimini Manage for Workday facilitates smooth day-to-day operation of Workday Financial Management, Workday Human Capital Management (HCM), and Workday Adaptive Planning, helping organisations operate their businesses more efficiently, better manage operating costs, improve profitability, enable growth and gain greater competitive advantage. With Rimini Manage for Workday, a clients IT group can dedicate more focus to implementing new functionality to further leverage the value of their Workday investment, strategically shifting their teams attention, time and budget towards critical innovation initiatives such as enterprise AI, workflow and automation to maximise the potential and output of their in-house talent. Rimini Manage for Workday: Expert Application Management Rimini Street now brings to Workday customers, the full power of its proven, multi-lingual, 24/7/365, global service delivery model with engineers in more than 20 countries, allowing clients to scale expert staffing up and down as their business needs change. Recruiting, hiring, and retaining knowledgeable Workday support staff is a challenge, yet having expertise available on an ongoing and timely basis is critical to supporting business agility and efficiency in organisations that rely on Workday, said Rebecca Wettemann, principal analyst at Valoir. "A partner offering such as Rimini Street makes perfect sense, reducing the support burden for existing teams and providing organisations with outside expertise to help them maximise the value from their Workday investment." "Rimini Street's addition as a Workday AMS Partner will provide our community with valuable new capabilities for optimising their Workday environments, said Rogerio Almeida, group vice president, Global Partner Sales, Workday. Their established expertise in delivering excellent service and helping clients maximise their IT investments will empower Workday customers choosing to work with them to achieve greater efficiency and derive more value from their deployments." As a global company that also leverages Workday solutions, Rimini Street is pleased to offer other organisations our ultra-responsive, proven support and services, providing an alternative to the complexities of directly managing Workday-knowledgeable staff, delivering significant cost efficiencies and greater operational leverage from their Workday investment, said Seth Ravin, CEO of Rimini Street. Today we serve more than 300 clients who also leverage Workday and have helped Workday customers with a variety of needs. With the launch of Rimini Manage for Workday, clients can achieve better business results with their Workday investments. In addition to its services for Workday, Rimini Street also offers a full set of services to support, optimise and transform organisations within existing budgets, using its unique and proven Rimini Smart Path methodology. Learn more about Rimini Streets services here and connect with us to schedule a Rimini Smart Path workshop led by Rimini Streets expert Regional CTOs in your time zone. A year-old study that put Winston-Salem atop an alarming national list resurfaced recently in North Carolinas two largest-circulation daily newspapers. A news story this week in the Raleigh News & Observer and Charlotte Observer, citing a 2024 report from a Las Vegas injury law firm, again proclaimed Winston-Salem the deadliest U.S. city for rush hour driving. Trouble is, that conclusion was dead wrong a year ago when media outlets across the state first blindly ran with H&P Laws sensational findings, and it still is now. Its a misuse of statistics, its mathematically wrong, and it leads to a false conclusion, said Rob Erhardt, a professor and chair of Wake Forest Universitys Department of Statistical Sciences, this week. But it feels like it could be true at first glance because theres numbers and data and percentages and tables. The firm followed a familiar formula in manipulating legitimate data to craft a sensational study that is distributed as ready-made news to media outlets. In this case, H&P Law tapped four years of data from the National Highway Safety Administrations Fatality Analysis Reporting System to determine that nearly one-third (40) of all vehicle fatalities in Winston-Salem (124) during that period took place from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. or between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The proportion of rush hour fatalities within Winston-Salem is almost, shockingly, 40% (39.08%) higher than the national average of 23.19%, H&P Law proclaimed. Those figures were accurate. The firms analysis of them was not. Because Winston-Salem has the nations highest percentage of commute-time fatalities, it is the deadliest city for rush hour driving, the firm concluded. Thats an egregious incomprehension of the data, Erhardt insisted. We should not compare percentages of fatalities for different cities because it ignores how much actual driving is happening in each city, he explained. A credible comparison would need to consider deaths per total miles traveled during and outside of rush hour. Those rates would capture the actual risk of driving in each city and would be comparable across different cities, Erhardt said. The bigger picture Ryan Thornburg, a professor who teaches data-based reporting at UNC Chapel Hills Hussman School of Journalism and Media, was equally blunt in assessing the firms (mis)analysis. This is silly, right? he said of H&P Laws methodology. What people want to know is whether driving in Winston-Salem during rush hour is deadlier than driving in another city during rush hour. Or maybe they want to know how much riskier it is to drive in Winston-Salem during rush hour than driving in Winston-Salem during another part of the day. These stories (generated by the H&P Law report) answer neither of those questions. Erhardt, meanwhile, noted that if the firms deadliest conclusion were valid, Winston-Salem also would be the safest place to drive outside of rush hour. After all, the city with the highest percentage of traffic fatalities occurring during rush hour must also have the lowest percentage of traffic fatalities occurring outside of rush hour, he explained. These two percentages have to add up to 100%, for every city. Examining road safety risks and using the findings to compare communities is complex and requires multiple sources of data, added Dan Gelinne, senior research associate at UNC Highway Safety Research Center. It is challenging to isolate a single factor responsible for increasing the risk of death or serious injury, whether thats time of day, day of week or some other variable, said Gelinne, who emphasized that he wasnt addressing the H&P report specifically. Its always important to consider how data fits into the bigger picture, and whether there are other data sources that can help contextualize the findings. For example, the North Carolina Department of Transportation considers 10 factors when it assembles its annual city vehicle-crash rankings. Greensboro has finished first which in this case means worst for three straight years. Winston-Salem checked in at No. 6 on the most-recent list, which was based on statistics from 2023. From 2020 through 2023, Winston-Salems all-hours total of 94 vehicle fatalities was fourth most in the state behind Charlotte (339), Raleigh (137) and Greensboro (132). Shocking but totally misleading Flawed though it was, H&P Laws sensational March 2024 report duped media outlets across the state (including the Winston-Salem Journal, Greensboro News & Record, High Point Enterprise and television stations WXII and FOX8 in the Triad; as well as the Raleigh News & Observer and Charlotte Observer, who referenced it again this week). Ive got to hand it to the personal injury law firm that created this shocking but totally misleading report, Thornburg said. They know that local news organizations have two problems they are understaffed and love to scare their audiences. Thats because frightening stories, particularly those that portray local danger (like deadly rush-hour roadways) are prime clickbait. The law firm sent these news organizations a pre-made dish of fear, Thornburg explained. The news organizations are happy to report stories that dont cost much effort or money and give them the eyeballs they need to sell advertising. When this happens, hedge funds that own the papers and TV stations get rich, and the community starts living in irrational fear. Oh, he added, and the law firm gets free advertising whenever their name is mentioned on TV or in print. Happy Friday. Good weekend to tune the mower. A dispute over a handful of parking spaces near a mom-and-pop diner seems trivial. A nothing-to-see-here squabble over a couple hundred bucks. But to fans of Dukes Restaurant, it's a classic David vs. Goliath struggle that, if not resolved, potentially endangers elderly customers and those with small kids who choose to park across busy County Club Road rather than risk having their cars towed. It can be like playing Frogger getting across, a waitress said earlier this week after the breakfast crunch slowed to a crawl. The disagreement spilled into public view recently when the neighboring Forsyth Humane Society of North Carolina posted a security guard next to a line of orange cones put out to prevent people from parking in a dozen or so parking spaces it owns near the back of the restaurant. Attention customers: In lieu of yesterdays events, we sincerely apologize about our new parking situation, reads a notice posted March 19 on social media. When visiting our restaurant please try to stay to the front or to the side of our building directly. The actions of individuals (have) become beyond our control and you may see a member of staff for more details. Those include, staff said, a proposed doubling (or more) of the $1,400 or so monthly rent Dukes paid so customers could use them. The lease expired recently, and anyone whos ever lived in an apartment can tell you, rents can (and do) increase when it's time to renew. As word spread among regulars, some took to social media to express their displeasure. And thats putting it mildly. Its a shame that a powerhouse like the Humane Society who would be nothing without charitable donations from (residents) in Forsyth and surrounding counties feels the need to apply pressure to one of the most talked about diners in this area, wrote Chuck Reich on the Dukes Facebook page in response to a post about parking. Adjourning businesses JuggHeads Growlers and Pints beer bar and Salem Gymnastics responded in a neighborly way, Dukes management said, by allowing overflow parking in their lots. The Humane Society has its own supporters, of course, some of whom were quick to fight social media fire with fire. Its a shame a for profit business would take advantage of a nonprofit, Amber Nick posted in the back-and-forth. While the for-profit vs. nonprofit description is accurate, there are other factors in play. The Humane Society does a lot of good work caring for and rescuing cats and dogs, which engenders a lot of goodwill and support to the tune of more than $3.3 million in contributions in 2023 and nearly $500,000 spent each year on fundraising. Dukes, on the other hand, is a local joint, a family-run standalone restaurant thats steadily built its business one home-cooked meal at a time for nearly 50 years. Humane Society president and CEO Mark Neff, reached via email Tuesday, responded briefly by writing that he was traveling and would ask the board president to provide a statement. I appreciate you reaching out and giving us the opportunity to provide the facts, he wrote. (We hadnt seen it by midmorning Friday. Within minutes of this appearing online, a response landed and it made sure to say that it had been prepared with the help of the Humane Societys lawyer.) It noted that the Humane Society agreed last year to lease 14 spaces to Dukes but decided not to renew the agreement when it expired March 15. Unfortunately, over the term of the parking license, Dukes did not adhere to the terms of the agreement, the statement reads in part. As a result of Dukes patrons parking in unauthorized spaces, FHS has incurred significant costs due to property damage, including repeated lighting repairs, a costly water leak, and fees associated with blocked waste collection access. Furthermore, the spaces are essential to ensure the mission of providing opportunities to provide a homeless pet with a second chance. Maybe. Maybe not. To the untrained eye, the lot looks plenty big. Even with a budget that it posts for anyone to see, the Humane Society at times has felt financial strain. That includes a valiant effort to operate the Forsyth County Animal Shelter from 2018-2023. The county agreed to pay $600,000 a year to do so, but leadership at the Humane Society learned that it wasnt nearly enough. They asked the county in the fall of 2022 to triple that amount to $1.85 million, and that resulted in a failed negotiation which led the county to resume responsibility. Meanwhile, back in the no-mans land of the parking lot, a lone security guard found himself shooing away hungry workmen. Dont ask me, man, he said at the peak of a midweek lunch rush. Im here for the week. Maybe itll be longer. But I dont know. No one on either side disputes that the Humane Society is well within its right to use its property and parking as it sees fit. And as anyone whos ever run a business (or nonprofit) of any size knows, every dollar counts when meeting payroll. But surely something can be worked out that doesnt require lawyers. Seniors carrying styrofoam boxes full of leftovers through traffic certainly hope so. State rolls out the welcome mat RALEIGH - Whether publicity stunt, a sincere job offer, attempt to score political points or some combination of all three, Gov. Josh Stein is plowing ahead with an effort to recruit displaced federal employees. A jobs portal was launched last Friday targeting workers whacked by a deluge of cuts launched by the Trump administration through billionaire attack dog Elon Musk and his DOGE team. Public servants help make our state everything that it is, and there are many talented people looking for work right now, Stein said in a news release. The State of North Carolina is proud to welcome smart and dedicated public-spirited people to join our team. Yeah. But heres the thing. Stein isnt the first governor to swoop in and try to scoop up fired federal employees. Pennsylvania and Virginia, among other states, did so, too. But Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose state would seem literally well positioned to fill vacancies with its proximity to Washington D.C., found out that the wages being offered often dont come close to covering the cost of living in northern Virginia. Still, that hasnt so far deterred North Carolina officials from plowing ahead. If you have recently been displaced from your career of service, North Carolina encourages you to apply, said Staci Meyer, the states director of human resources. The state Senate cleared Thursday with wide bipartisan support Senate Bill 316, which aims to lower some healthcare costs for North Carolinians through increased pricing transparency from hospitals and providers. The bill passed by a 44-2 margin after legislation from Senate Bill 315 was inserted as planned during the floor debate. The bills fate in the House is uncertain, although House Republican leadership has tended to be more supportive of healthcare innovation legislation in recent sessions, foremost the states Medicaid expansion bill. The combined SB316 represents Republican legislative leaders attempt to import and fast-track Trump administration priorities to the state. Unlike several cultural-war bills spawned from the White House, there is significant support for healthcare transparency from Senate Democrats. Near the end of the first Trump administration, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched on Jan. 1, 2021, a hospital price transparency initiative where every hospital is required to provide clear, accessible pricing information online about the items and services they provide. The Triads three primary hospitals are failing to fully meet federal standards for transparency pricing, according to the seventh semiannual report produced in November by public health advocacy group Patient Rights Advocate.org. The parent systems of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Moses Cone and Forsyth Medical Center have disputed the findings in various degrees of opposition. North Carolinians need to have the most information possible when they receive any medical bills, said Sen. Jim Burgin, R-Harnett. These reforms are part of a nationwide conversation, with President Trump highlighting the need for accurate and actionable healthcare pricing information. Sen. Benton Sawrey, R-Johnston, said SB316 is the first step in dismantling the unreasonably high healthcare costs in North Carolina. For years, North Carolinians have been forced to navigate their medical expenses blindly. This bill will result in real, tangible change that North Carolinians will feel in their daily lives and pocketbooks. Will it work? Full transparency will give patients the freedom to seek the treatment that is best for them, said Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance. This empowers North Carolinians to take a more active role in their healthcare and prevents unpleasant surprise bills. Yet, it appears that you can lead healthcare consumers to comparative pricing, but can you get them to shop for a hip replacement, annual physical or colonoscopy? The CMS is responsible for determining overall compliance in 15 different categories that include: complete standard charge file; codes (of any type); gross charge; discounted cash price; negotiated minimum; negotiated maximum; negotiated rates; all payers and plans; 300 most common shoppable list; price estimate tool; and price estimate tool provides cash price. The federal rule requires hospitals to post all prices online, easily accessible and searchable, in the form of a single machine-readable standard charges file pricing for all items, services and drugs by all payers and all plans. SB316 expands required disclosures for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to include each billable item and service associated with a patients care, whether in-network or out-of-network. This gives patients a clear sense of what theyre paying for and demystifies bills and estimates, according to the bill sponsors. SB316 addresses surprise medical bills by requiring that patients receive written notice of any additional bills they may incur. The written notice is to include any information about out-of-network providers who may provide care to the patient, as well as requires a facility to provide an itemized list of charges to any patient before it can refer an unpaid bill to a collection agency. I dont know a single person who hasnt received a medical bill that left them with more questions than answers, Burgin said. SB316 enables patients to obtain a good faith estimate of any charges theyd be obligated to pay for non-urgent services scheduled in advance. The proposal requires that a patients bill not exceed 5% of that estimate. Other key components of SB316 are: requirements that urgent health care services be reviewed by health insurers within 24 hours or less; codify the appeals process; and any doctor conducting a review be actively licensed in that specialty for at least three consecutive years. Health insurers would be required to publicly post in a timely manner any amendments to their terms for review, or if they intend to impose new restrictions. A denial would not be allowed if the new requirements or changes havent been publicly posted on the insurers website. It also prohibits the sole use of artificial intelligence for utilization review determination to deny, delay, or modify any service. We do not need an algorithm thats proprietary that might be putting the thumb on the scale one way or another, making sole decision when there is a life at stake, Sawrey said. A likely popular with patients component prohibits providers from collecting a facility fee unless the services are provided at a hospitals main campus, at a remote location of a hospital, or at a facility that includes an emergency department. The State Auditors Office would have the authority to examine facility prices charged to out-of-network and uninsured patients, and to ensure compliance with transparency requirements. One potential obstacle to bipartisan passage of SB316 involves more chipping away at the states certificates of need laws, this time affecting inpatient rehabilitation services, facilities and beds that could be provided by smaller nonprofit groups and by for-profit providers. The state House has been reluctant to weaken the certificate of need laws, which are designed to prevent unnecessary duplication of services in communities. This bill would allow for treating more patients with strokes, spinal card injuries, traumatic brain injuries and diseases, Burgin said. The need for inpatient rehab beds has been increasing, but the growth in the states inventory lags. Whether Nebraska lawmakers can or should make changes to state statutes enacted through petition initiatives remained at the center of floor debate at the Legislature on Thursday. Backers of Sen. Paul Strommen's amendment to limit which Nebraska workers qualified for paid sick leave said the state lawmakers had the authority to amend citizen-led initiatives if they had the support of 33 of 49 state senators. But opponents to the Sidney lawmaker's proposal said a constitutional amendment passed in 2004 to increase the threshold from a simple majority to a supermajority indicated Nebraska voters did not trust the unicameral body to leave alone laws passed outside of the Capitol. The Legislature continued debate over LB415 from Lincoln Sen. Beau Ballard, which offered small changes to Initiative 436, the ballot measure requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to eligible employees which was supported by 74.5% of Nebraska voters last fall. Strommen's amendment, which was introduced as a standalone bill (LB698) this year and included in a Business and Labor Committee amendment, would remove independent contractors, seasonal or temporary agricultural workers and Nebraskans under the age of 16 from the paid sick leave law. The amendment from Strommen, a Republican whose Panhandle legislative district supported Initiative 436 on a 2-1 margin, also removes three paragraphs from state statute allowing employees to file a complaint in court against businesses that do not follow the law. Opponents of the amendment said it would undermine the clear will of the voters, while also running afoul of the Nebraska State Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to pass laws through the petition process and without interference from the Legislature. "The Legislature shall not amend, repeal, modify, or impair a law enacted by the people by initiative ... except upon a vote of at least two-thirds of all members of the Legislature," Article III Section 2 reads. Supporters of Strommen's amendment indicated that clause in the state constitution allows for the Legislature to take action if two-thirds of members agree to do so. "There is nothing in that provision that prevents us from acting," said Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse, a Republican, "but it does require a supermajority, more diligence, more forethought before we make any changes to what the people indicated." Lincoln Sen. Jane Raybould, a registered Democrat in the officially nonpartisan Legislature who represents a district where 84% of voters supported the paid sick leave initiative, referred to voters as "co-equal" to the Legislature in crafting public policy. "The power of the initiative is given to the people, and power to enact changes to those initiatives are given to the Legislature upon a vote of at least two-thirds of all the members," said Raybould, who supports the amendment. "That is the balance we seek to provide. That is our job to do that." But Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad, who is also a Democrat, said the text of the constitution and the intent of Nebraska voters when it was passed remain clear. "The very reason this measure was put in place was to make the bar higher, to prevent legislative meddling with the will of the people," she said. "Not to facilitate it, to make the bar higher." Constitutional history lesson That section of the constitution was approved by voters in 2004 as part of a sweeping effort by Keep the Money in Nebraska, a ballot committee that pushed to legalize casino gaming in Nebraska in the early 2000s and beyond. Anticipating the Legislature would repeal any initiatives to legalize gambling approved by voters in the following legislative session, Keep the Money in Nebraska also qualified Initiative 418, which raised the threshold to change any citizen-led statute changes. During the lead-in to the November 2004 general election, much of the attention was on the gambling initiatives, but several groups warned Initiative 418 would tie the hands of the Legislature moving forward beyond the gambling issue. The Nebraska Farm Bureau and Nebraska State Education Association both opposed the measure, saying it would make it difficult for lawmakers to pass even a small housekeeping amendment on laws adopted through the initiative process. The Farm Bureau also said the 33-vote threshold would make it nearly impossible to change laws passed by initiative that directly affected a minority group. "Conceivably, a proposed statute change with far-reaching effects on agriculture could be initiated by petition, placed on the ballot and adopted," the advocacy group's vice president of public relations wrote in an editorial. Initiative 418 was ultimately successful, however, passing with 54.8% of the vote. A total of 402,709 Nebraskans voted in support of the constitutional amendment. In the days following, several Nebraska lawmakers seemed untroubled by the result. I see the voters being enormously discerning in analyzing these issues, then-Gov. Mike Johanns said, commenting on Nebraska voters raising the votes needed for the Legislature to alter ballot initiatives while also rejecting several measures to legalize gambling. When you think about it, it takes 33 votes to break a filibuster and 30 votes to override a governors veto, Johanns told the Journal Star at the time. This (super-majority) is not a foreign concept. Auditor Mike Foley, who was then a state senator from Lincoln, said he agreed with voters trying to protect the initiative process: If people go to the trouble of changing a law by the initiative, it ought to stick. Im not offended by that. Former Sen. Don Pederson of North Platte said he was puzzled voters chose to place additional restraints upon the Legislature. Hopefully, they understand the ramifications of that, Pederson said. I dont like those kind of restrictions. But Paul Schumacher of Columbus, who backed the casino measures and would later go on to serve two terms in the Legislature representing District 22, said the passage of Initiative 418 reflected Nebraskans' feelings about their representatives. "Simply, the people must trust themselves more than they do the Legislature," he said. Vote likely to come Friday Current senators said Thursday that attaching Strommen's amendment to LB415 which many called a reasonable bill that added clarity to Initiative 436 would mark a "clear overstep" by the Legislature on the people's right to the initiative. "It undermines the entirety of the ballot language by taking out the actual mechanism that gives effect to the will of the people," Omaha Sen. John Cavanaugh said. Sen. Ashlei Spivey, also of Omaha, said Strommen's amendment, along with ignoring the will of the people, would remove Nebraskans from the paid sick leave law who needed it most. Strommen, near the end of Thursday's debate, said it wasn't his intention "to defile the will of the voter," but rather to protect businesses that may not be able to afford providing paid sick leave to their employees. "What we're trying to do here is ensure the smallest businesses and the individuals who work for the smallest businesses are in a place where they do not lose their jobs," he said. The Legislature will continue debating Strommen's amendment for about an hour and a half Friday morning before reaching the eight-hour limit for first-round debate. Strommen will need a total of 33 votes to shut off debate in order to attach his amendment. (Getty Images) Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has applied his veto pen to several 'gun control' bills, once again nixing attempts by Democrats to penalize law-abiding citizens and open up avenues for harassment lawsuits against the firearms industry in the Old Dominion. The Washington Post is reporting that Youngkin has rolled up "the biggest number of vetoes of any Virginia governor." The Associated Press described the measures as "gun reform." "The General Assembly is unlikely to override any of those vetoes when it convenes next week to take up the governor's actions on measures passed during this year's regular legislative session, which ended Feb. 22," the newspaper reported. "Democrats have slim advantages in both the Senate and House of Delegates but aren't likely to muster the two-thirds majorities needed to undo a veto." Among the vetoes Gov. Youngkin administered: ..... Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Pediatric neurologist Paige Kalika discusses her article, Learning the language of medicine: from student to fluent physician. Paige compares mastering medicine to learning a language, from grasping basic vocabulary like anatomy to becoming conversational during clinical rotations and fluent in residency. She highlights the challenge of translating complex medical jargon into plain English for patients, emphasizing that true fluency lies in effective communication. Paige offers actionable takeaways, urging aspiring physicians to immerse themselves in specialties and refine their ability to connect with patients clearly and compassionately. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Want to streamline your clinical documentation and take advantage of customizations that put you in control? What about the ability to surface information right at the point of care or automate tasks with just a click? Now, you can. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Offering an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform, Dragon Copilot can help you unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, its backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise and its part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcareand its built on a foundation of trust. Ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended Transcript Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show. Subscribe at KevinMD.com/podcast. Today, we welcome Paige Kalika. Shes a pediatric neurologist, and todays KevinMD article is Learning the language of medicine from student to fluent physician. Paige, welcome to the show. Paige Kalika: Thank you so much for having me. I really love your website, the articles, everything. Its a pleasure to be here. Kevin Pho: Well, thank you so much for writing and for coming on. Now, for those who dont know you, just share a little bit about yourself and then talk about the article that you wrote on KevinMD. ADVERTISEMENT Paige Kalika: Im a pediatric neurologist, which means I see babies, children, and adolescents for any disorders of the nervous systemheadache, epilepsy, developmental delay, autism, ADHD, all these things. Im an academic physician, which means I work at a med school. I work with med students, residents, fellows, so I work with a lot of trainees, a lot of learners. As I was seeing all my patients and as I was working with my learners, I realized one of the biggest problems that everyone had was talking to patientsnot being empathetic or being kind or having bedside manner. Those are different things, which we also need to learn. But our patients and their families werent understanding what we were saying because medicine is a language. I realized this, and this is something that occurred to me as I was driving on my commute, which was at that point pretty lousy, and I had a lot of time to formulate this idea: We learn medicine in much the same way that we learn a second language. We go to school, we learn the basics, we learn the vocabulary, and the vocabulary is, of course, all of our fancy technical words. But its also the conceptsour physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, biochemistryand we build on that. Were building on the concepts, making these words into phrases, phrases into sentences, and sentences into paragraphs. Were building this whole language in our minds, and it all makes sense. I like to jokeand Im sure Im not the only oneabout the real Krebs cycle being learning the Krebs cycle, forgetting it, learning it again, forgetting it again. But the thing is, we do learn it. Even though we have to relearn it every time to remember the details, its still in there, and we build on it. We understand everything thats built on that foundation. Thats what we carry with us when we talk to our trainees and when we talk to our patients and their families. Our trainees are learning the language also, so were teaching it to them, but our families dont have that background for the most part. When we start rattling off our jargon, they get lost; they get confused. Sometimes theyll ask questions, other times they just shut down and figure theyll Google it later or ask their friends, or just give up. One of the most important things we can do as clinicians is to take the time to translate back from medical jargon into plain language. I have to say plain English, but I work in South Florida, so plain Spanish, plain Portuguesewhatever language the patients are speaking. We have to be able to communicate these very complex concepts in clear language. One of the things that prompted me on this was back when I was very early in my career. I saw a very cute little girl for evaluation of epilepsy seizures. So, OK, not a big deal. I know how to do that. I explained the diagnosis: I explained, oh, were going to do this test and that test, were going to start this medicine, were going to start Keppra (levetiracetam). And the father asked me a very simple question: What does the medicine do? I was taken abackhe really wanted to know the mechanism of action of Keppra? OK. I did my best to explain it, and he listened. He was very kind, but I could tell it was going over his head. To be fair, it had been a while since Id taken my boards, so I probably wasnt explaining it as well as I could have. At the very end, he just smiled and said, Yeah, I once spoke to a doctor who said that the mark of someone who truly understood was someone who could explain it to a layman. That really made an impact because I realized he didnt want to know what the Keppra was actually doing on a biochemical level. He wanted to understand what it meant for his daughter. Thats not the same thing as understanding exactly what the medicine is doing in her body. He wanted to understand the concept behind it: The medicine is protecting her from seizures. I like to tell parents nowafter having had that experienceIll say, OK, the medicine works like an umbrella. This is not how it works in real life; there are no seizure waves raining down on you from above. But imagine seizure waves raining down on your child from above. If they hit your child, she might have a seizure. So you hold up your umbrellathe medicine is your seizure umbrella. The medicine protects you from the seizure waves. As long as youre taking the medicine, its harder for the seizure waves to get through and make a seizure happen. If you stop taking the medicine, that puts holes in the umbrella, and the seizure waves can get through. But sometimes, even when youre doing things perfectlytaking the medicine exactly the way youre supposed tosometimes the rain gets through anyway. Weve all been out in big storms where the rain is splashing up and getting our feet wet no matter what we do. That happens sometimes, but were still better off with the umbrella than without it. People seem to appreciate that because they want to know what the medicine is doing on that conceptual level. So I picked up a bunch of scripts that I use for my most common conditions, and that seems to help my families understand whats going on. Kevin Pho: Now, how does it get back to you that patients in general arent understanding a lot of what their clinical staff says? Do you get surveys, feedbackhow does that get back to you? Paige Kalika: A lot of times theyll tell me themselves. A lot of times its very flattering: Oh, I never understood this before I spoke to you. Of course, I love to hear that. But a lot of times I see it when Im with my trainees, because I figure that the best way to learn is to do. Ill try to model as much as I can, but then Im like, OK, you talk to the families. Im here standing beside you, supporting you. I will jump in if you need me, I promise. And Ill see them talking, and Ill see the expressions on the families and patients faces glazing over. They get that lookIve been on the other side of that look, like when Im in a complicated calculus class: Im not sure about these variables, Im not sure whats going on. You can tell. Sometimes Ill give the trainee some time to course-correct, and other times Ill try to slide in. Yes, we get feedback. We have our beloved Press Ganey scoreswhich, again, usually these days Im very pleased and flattered to see that people are understanding me. But when I see other people sharing them, it seems to be a common complaint. Its so easy for us as doctorsas cliniciansto slip into the language we speak to each other, because this is an efficient language. If I say, Oh, I see nonspecific FLAIR hyperintensities on the MRI to another neurologist, they know what Im talking about. But then I have to sit there and try to explain this to a parent. That sounds terrible. And then I have to say, No, no, its not that bad. But the parent says, What does it mean? It means bright spots on the brain. Oh my God, bright spots, thats terrible! No, no, really, its nonspecific. What does nonspecific mean? It doesnt really mean anything; it just means its kind of there, probably not bad. This language can be very intimidating, but for us, as fluent speakers, its so easy and so clear that its hard for us to remember whats normal language or common usage and what isnt. Kevin Pho: Now, what are some of the root causes of why you think there is that communication disconnect? Is it simply a lack of training? Is it, as my daughter says, a skill issue? Is it time pressure? What are some of the reasons why you think that disconnect exists? Paige Kalika: I think its a bit of everything. Theres always going to be some people who like to sound smarthopefully not too many; hopefully were learning better than that. But, yeah, were in a rush. Were hurrying, and we slip into the language that its easiest to explain this in. But I think a lot of it is a skill issue because were not taught this. Were taught medicine, were taught the concepts, were taught how to treat. Were even getting better at learning bedside manner. This is not exactly the same as bedside manner, although of course theyre related. I was thinking about it recently, and I decided for myself that bedside manner is making sure that the patient feels heard, and this kind of effective communication is making sure that the patient hears you. Theres a lot of back and forth, because sometimes well be speaking with patients who have a strong medical or scientific background, so we can speak a little more medical. But even then, we still need to be careful, because when were talking about our own medical issues or our childrens medical issueseven if its our own fieldits hard, because were not processing as a clinician; were processing as a patient or as a parent. Thats a very different thing. This is why we dont treat our own family members (or we shouldnt), because we cant relate to them on that purely clinical level in the way we need to when we practice medicine. Kevin Pho: What are some of the tips that you give the trainees when it comes to communicating medicine in plain language? Paige Kalika: The most important one is to stop and listen, because we tend to go off on long tangents because its efficientLet me pack all of this information into one run-on sentence. No. Speak slowly, speak clearly, speak in shorter sentences. Think about it, respond. If youre going to use jargonI tell the parents this, tooIll say, Im going to say this in medical first, and then Im going to translate it for you. That way, if they happen to look at that scary MRI report later, theyre not going to freak out because theyre seeing unfamiliar language. Theyll say, Oh, she said that word and she explained it. I may not quite remember what it means, but I remember it wasnt that bad. Do your best to break it down into common language, and ask for feedback. Dont be afraid to say, Do you understand me? I know we talked a lot. I know this was complicated and theres a lot going on. What else do you need me to explain? Then I also tell my familiesand I tell the trainees to do thisLet me write it down for you. I call them my cheat sheets. I have cheat sheets for a lot of things, and I say, Here, read this later, because I know as soon as you leave, half of this is going to fly out of your head. I know it happens to me. These are the important points; this is what you need to do. If its not clear, call me or send me a message through the patient portaleveryone loves to message me through the patient portaland we can always go through it again. But when its written down for them, it seems to help, because it prompts them, and then Im sure everyone goes and Googles things and finds scary things, and they come to me with those scary things. But I tell them, If you find something scary, tell me. I promise if were going to panic, well panic together, but were not going to panic, because well have a plan and well go through it. Kevin Pho: Now, it sounds like this is a pretty important skill that needs to be taught better in medical school and residency. Obviously you work in an academic medical center, so are these students and residents not formally taught how to communicate in plain language? Is this something they just need to learn based on the models that they see in their clinical rotations? Paige Kalika: I think things are changing. I know that my medical school changed the curriculum a few years back to be much more integrated, much more holistic. The medical students are going out into the clinical world much earlier. Im getting these medical students when theyre still babieswhat I used to call an MS1 or MS2. Before, I didnt see med students until they were MS3s or possibly MS4s. Now these brand-new medical students are out there seeing patients. Theres a big push to have them working with patients much earlier. I think that helps, because when we spend those first two years locked in a classroom learning all of our languagelearning our jargonwe forget, and we have to relearn later how to speak to actual people. This way, if theyre learning the jargon and the language as theyre actually seeing patients, theyre putting it into practice. I do think thats helping, and I think Im seeing a shift in my med students. I think I am. Kevin Pho: What do you say to those busy clinicians? Everyone, of course, is time-pressuredin primary care, we have five to ten minutes to see patients, and sometimes communication is not at the top of our list of things to do. How do you advise those time-pressured physicians to still communicate clearly despite everything else they have to do in that visit? Paige Kalika: That is so hard. I feel for everyone. This is why Im not doing primary careIm not smart enough to know everything, do everything, communicate everything, and boil one entire complex human being down into a 10-minute visit, if youre lucky to get 10 minutes. Its hard. I would say, in your copious amounts of spare timeI know that doesnt existtry to make your cheat sheets. I know my most common conditions, so I was able to take some time to write it down. If youre in primary care, you know youre going to be seeing people with diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemiaall these thingsover and over all day. Take a few minutes, write it up in plain language: This is what you have, this is whats going on, these are the most common interventions. Again, its hard. I dont know how anyone fits all of this into one tiny visit. Im very spoiled; I usually have an hour for new patient visits. I realize what a luxury that is. But do your best to say, This is the 30-second summary of whats going on. Here is what I have for you, written down. Take a look at it. If you have questions, check back in with my office. Tell me what the questions are, and either Ill address it or hopefully, if you have good support staff, my team will assist you. I dont have a great answer otherwise, other than to say the system is very broken, and its very hard to provide appropriate care like this. I know everyones out there doing their best, and I hope we see some positive change soon, because were all feeling very, very squeezed. Kevin Pho: Were talking to Paige Kalika. Shes a pediatric neurologist, and todays KevinMD article is Learning the language of medicine from student to fluent physician. Paige, lets end with some take-home messages that you want to leave with the KevinMD audience. Paige Kalika: For clinicians, do your best. Its not going to be perfect, and thats OK. Over time, youll figure out more effective ways to communicate, and its going to change over time. My communication strategy certainly has. I know that ten years from now, Ill look back and think, Wow, I wasnt that great then, either, but were evolving, were growing, and our patients appreciate it. So do your best with it. Dont beat yourself up, and always leave space for your patients and their families to ask questions. Even if its just 30 seconds at the end of the visit, try to give them that space. Theyll remember that, even if they dont have a question, theyll appreciate that you gave them the opportunity. Kevin Pho: Paige, so much for sharing your perspective and insight, and thanks again for coming on the show. Paige Kalika: Thank you so much. Its a pleasure to be here. PORTLAND, Ore. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a petition filed by young climate activists who argued that the federal government's role in climate change violated their constitutional rights, ending a decadelong legal battle that saw many of the plaintiffs grow from children and teenagers into adults. The landmark case was filed in 2015 by 21 plaintiffs, the youngest 8 years old. They claimed the U.S. government's actions encouraging a fossil fuel economy violated their right to a life-sustaining climate. The case called Juliana v. United States after one of the activists, Kelsey Juliana was challenged repeatedly by the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, whose lawyers argued it sought to direct federal environmental and energy policies through the courts instead of the political process. Julia Olson, chief legal counsel for Our Children's Trust, the nonprofit law firm that represented the plaintiffs, said the impact of the lawsuit cannot be measured by the finality of this case alone. Juliana sparked a global youth-led movement for climate rights that continues to grow," Olson said in a statement this past week. It has empowered young people to demand their constitutional right to a safe climate and future. Weve already secured important victories, and we will continue pushing forward. The plaintiffs wanted the court to hold a trial on whether the U.S. government was violating their fundamental rights to life and liberty by operating a fossil-fuel based energy system. The case wound its way through the legal system for years. At one point in 2018, a trial was halted by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts just days before it was to begin. The high court declined to hear the petition Monday. In 2020, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the case dismissed, saying the job of determining the nations climate policies should fall to politicians, not judges. But U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene, Oregon, instead allowed the activists to amend their lawsuit and ruled the case could go to trial. Last year, acting on a request from the Biden administration, a three-judge 9th Circuit panel issued an order requiring Aiken to dismiss the case, and she did. The plaintiffs then sought, unsuccessfully, to revive the lawsuit through their petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. Our Children's Trust, responding to new developments at the federal level, is now preparing a new federal action that is rooted in the same constitutional principles that guided the Juliana case," Olson said. The plaintiffs now range from 17 to 29 years old and have continued their climate advocacy to various degrees, Olson said, adding that some are still in college. About half are from hometowns in Oregon, according to Our Children's Trust's website. They all have incredible stories, Olson said. They're all doing incredible work. Juliana, who is now 29, became a primary school teacher in Oregon, said Helen Britto, associate communications director for Our Children's Trust. Other plaintiffs include Alex Loznak, who became a lawyer focused on environmental and immigration work, and Nathan Baring, who now serves as the program director of a reindeer herding association in Alaska. Were part of a wave, so this is not the end of the road by any means, Baring said of the high court's move. Miko Vergun, who was born in the Marshall Islands and grew up in Beaverton, Oregon, is fighting for a future where the Pacific island nation can stay above sea level, according to Our Children's Trust's website. She recently graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in cultural anthropology, Britto said. In Monday's statement, Vergun said the U.S. Supreme Court decision wasnt what the plaintiffs had hoped for, but there had been many wins along the way. For almost 10 years, weve stood up for the rights of present and future generations, demanding a world where we cannot only survive, but thrive," she said. "All great movements have faced obstacles, but what sets them apart is the perseverance of the people behind them. Weve shown the world that young people will not be ignored, and Im incredibly proud of the impact Juliana v. United States has made. Our Children's Trust has filed climate legal actions on behalf of young people in all 50 states, including active cases in Florida, Utah and Alaska. In a Montana case, the state Supreme Court in December upheld a landmark climate ruling that said the state was violating residents constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects without regard for global warming, and that regulators must consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when issuing permits for fossil fuel development. The case, brought by 16 youth plaintiffs, had gone to trial in state district court in 2023. The Montana Constitution requires agencies to maintain and improve a clean environment. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality, which issues permits for fossil fuel projects, has to abide by the state Supreme Court decision, Olson said, adding that Our Children's Trust will seek to enforce the ruling in the event it is violated. In a Hawaii case brought by 13 youth over the threat of climate change, both sides reached a settlement last year that requires the state government to achieve zero emissions in its transportation system by 2045. The settlement agreement applies to ground transportation, as well as sea and air transportation between islands. The court will supervise the implementation of the agreement for the next 20 years. Internationally, the Oregon case has inspired over 60 youth-led climate lawsuits across the world, according to Our Children's Trust. CESL Asia is advancing its vision for a new Macau and a new economy with the introduction of cutting-edge services and technology, president and CEO Antonio Trindade revealed at this years Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF). We have been preparing for the past few years, introducing new tools, new partners, and new capacities, Trindade told the Times. This includes AI technology from mainland China, our own innovations, and collaborations with European partners. We [are at] MIECF this year to show that we are now at the deployment stage. According to Trindade, CESL Asia has been involved in projects related to industrial design, public infrastructure, and advanced energy management solutions. We are integrating with partners from the Greater Bay Area, which provides capacities that we cannot develop in Macau alone. This applies to new infrastructure projects like tunnels, bridges, and AI-driven energy management systems, he explained. The company hosted a dedicated event at MIECF, bringing together clients and partners to showcase its latest technological advancements. It was quite exciting to see the level of engagement and interest in what we are doing, Trindade noted. On AI and sustainability Discussing the role of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies in sustainability, Trindade emphasized that technology is now central to environmental and economic transformation. Sustainability is the new way of life and the new way of working, he said. By using AI and data-driven solutions, we can gather more information from sensors and other smart tools, process it efficiently, and use it to improve energy efficiency and environmental quality. Trindade highlighted how these innovations allow for better urban planning and infrastructure adaptation. This is not just an incremental change; we are now looking at disruptive solutions that enable us to plan spaces more effectively. These spaces can adapt to evolving economic and social conditions, especially with the changes in Macaus gaming industry, he remarked. Analysis In a landmark report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on March 26, the world saw its largest-ever leap in renewable energy installations in 2024. An overwhelming 92.5% of all new electricity added globally last year came from clean sourceschief among them solar and wind energy. Notably, nearly two-thirds of this growth was driven by one country: China, According to an AP dispatch this week citing the report, China alone accounted for 374 gigawatts (GW) of newly installed renewable capacity, with solar comprising approximately 280 GW of that. To put this into perspective, Chinas 2024 solar addition was more than eight times that of the United States and five times Europes combined efforts. With this, Chinas total installed solar capacity soared to nearly 887 GWsolidifying its dominance in the global clean energy space. GBA: A microcosm of the countrys green future Often dubbed Chinas Silicon Valley, the Greater Bay Area is not just a financial and technological hubit is increasingly positioning itself as a green energy leader. The regions role in Chinas solar dominance is both direct and strategic. Shenzhen and Guangzhou, two core cities in the GBA, are home to some of the largest photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers and battery storage innovators in the world. Companies like BYD, Trina Solar, and Huaweis Digital Power division are actively exporting technology while supporting domestic deployment. BYD, for example, not only leads in electric vehicle production but has significantly expanded its solar panel and energy storage businesses. According to Chinas National Energy Administration (NEA), Guangdong Province alone installed over 38 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2024, of which solar contributed more than 22 GW. Over 30% of that came from the GBA cities. With land constraints in urban centers, the region has turned to creative solutions such as floating solar farms, rooftop solar installations, and integrated urban solar technologies. In Shenzhen, all new public buildings are now required to include solar rooftops. In Zhuhai, the development of floating PV systems on reservoirs is part of a broader strategy to blend water resource management with clean energy goals. Dongguan, traditionally an industrial powerhouse, is rapidly converting factory roofs into solar farms, taking advantage of its sprawling manufacturing zones. IRENA noted that 46% of the worlds electricity is now sourced from renewables. In China, that figure is even higher in some regions. Guangdong province reported that renewables (including hydro and nuclear) accounted for more than 52% of electricity generated in 2024. Ambitions vs. reality Despite record-breaking figures, IRENA cautions that the current pace still falls short of the international goal to triple renewable capacity by 2030. The world is on track to fall 28% short if the current rate continues. Yet, Chinas momentum gives room for cautious optimism. The country has committed to peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. President Xi Jinping reaffirmed these targets at COP28, underscoring the role of innovation and green finance in accelerating the transition. The GBA, as a pilot region for Chinas dual carbon goals, plays a pivotal role in testing scalable solutions. Green bonds issued in Hong Kong and Shenzhen exceeded 380 billion ($52 billion) in 2024, much of it allocated to renewable infrastructure, electric transportation networks, and energy efficiency upgrades. Innovation as an accelerator One factor behind Chinas outsized success is the synergy between manufacturing scale and technological innovation. For example, perovskite tandem cells a new generation of solar panels promising over 30% efficiency are being mass-produced in labs and startups across GBA cities like Foshan and Shenzhen. Likewise, advances in energy storage, driven by lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, are helping smooth out the intermittency of solar power. BYD and CATL, both with massive footprints in Guangdong, have developed battery storage solutions deployed not only across China but in international markets from Europe to Southeast Asia. The integration of 5G, AI, and big data in grid managementled by companies like Huaweihas also allowed for smarter balancing of electricity loads, real-time monitoring of energy use, and predictive maintenance of solar infrastructure. Challenges on the horizon However, the road to a carbon-neutral future isnt without hurdles. The GBA faces urban land constraints, rising electricity demand due to tech-intensive industries, and the challenge of integrating massive renewable input into an aging grid infrastructure. To address this, Chinas State Grid is investing in ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission lines connecting inland solar and wind resources to coastal demand centers. One such line connects Gansu and Inner Mongolia to the Pearl River Delta, ensuring power reliability even during solar intermittency. Moreover, policy shifts are needed to balance local government interests, private sector innovation, and national decarbonization goals. Electricity pricing reforms, subsidies for rooftop solar, and integration of carbon pricing are being tested in cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Global challenge, regional opportunity As United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted, renewable energy is powering down the fossil fuel age. But for that momentum to be sustained, especially to meet the 2030 tripling goal, more regions must follow Chinas lead. Simon Stiell, the UNs top climate official, pointed out that as some nations backtrack on climate leadership, it opens space for others to lead. The GBAand China more broadlyis seizing that space, not just in solar panels, but in policy experimentation, financial innovation, and technology export. The GBA is uniquely positioned: it is a testbed for green innovation, a hub for solar manufacturing, a magnet for sustainable investment, and a gateway to both mainland and international markets. If the world is to accelerate toward its climate goals, regions like the Greater Bay Area will need to continue setting the pace. MDT Numbers that matter Global renewable energy added in 2024: 585 GW Chinas share of new renewable capacity: 374 GW (~64%) Solars share in Chinas new capacity: ~280 GW (~75%) GBA contribution to Chinas new solar installations: ~30 GW (estimated) Total global renewable energy market value (2024): $2 trillion Chinas solar industry market share: Over 80% of the global PV manufacturing capacity Chinese researchers are reporting new steps in the quest for animal-to-human organ transplants with a successful pig kidney transplant and a hint Wednesday that pig livers might eventually be useful, too. A Chinese patient is the third person in world known to be living with a gene-edited pig kidney. And the same research team also reported an experiment implanting a pig liver into a brain-dead person. Scientists are genetically altering pigs so their organs are more humanlike in hopes of alleviating a transplant shortage. Two initial xenotransplants in the U.S. two pig hearts and two pig kidneys were short-lived. But two additional pig kidney recipients so far are thriving an Alabama woman transplanted in November and a New Hampshire man transplanted in January. A U.S. clinical trial is about to begin. Nearly three weeks after the kidney surgery the Chinese patient is very well and the pig kidney likewise is functioning very well, Dr. Lin Wang of Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University in Xian told reporters in a briefing this week. Wang, part of the hospitals xenotransplant team, said the kidney recipient remains in the hospital for testing. Chinese media have reported she is a 69-year-old woman diagnosed with kidney failure eight years ago. But Wang pointed to a potential next step in xenotransplantation learning to transplant pig livers. His team reported Wednesday in the journal Nature that a pig liver transplanted into a brain-dead person survived for 10 days, with no early signs of rejection. He said the pig liver produced bile and albumin important for basic organ function although not as much as human livers do. The liver is a complex challenge because of its varied jobs, including removing waste, breaking down nutrients and medicines, fighting infection, storing iron and regulating blood clotting. We do find that it could function a little bit in a human being, Wang said. He speculated that would be enough to help support a failing human liver. In the U.S. last year, surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania attempted that sort of bridge support by externally attaching a pig liver to a brain-dead human body to filter blood, much like dialysis for failing kidneys. U.S. pig developer eGenesis is studying that approach. In China, Wangs team didnt remove the deceased persons own liver, instead implanting the pig liver near it. That clouds the picture, said Dr. Parsia Vagefi, a liver transplant surgeon at UT Southwestern Medical Center who wasnt involved with the work. Its hopefully a first step but its still, a lot like any good research, more questions than answers. Wang said his team later replaced the human liver of another brain-dead person with a pig liver and is analyzing the outcome. MDT/AP Total merchandise exports reached MOP1.25 billion in February, a significant year-on-year increase of 29.7%, while imports rose by 5.5% to MOP9.13 billion, according to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), As a result, the trade deficit stood at MOP7.88 billion. From January to February, total exports grew by 13.8% year-on-year to MOP2.38 billion. Meanwhile, imports declined by 5.0% to MOP19.88 billion, reducing the merchandise trade deficit to MOP17.51 billion, down MOP1.33 billion compared to the same period last year. Re-exports experienced a notable rise of 31.8%, driven by increased exports of perfumes and non-diamond jewelry, which surged by 310.1% and 113.3%, respectively. However, exports of beauty products and casino-related items fell by 31.4% and 20.8%. Domestic exports also grew by 9.1%, supported by increased exports of copper products and pharmaceuticals. Imports of optical instruments and casino-related items saw growth, increasing by 113.3% and 66.2%, respectively. However, imports of construction materials and mobile phones decreased by 27.4% and 24.2%. Exports to Hong Kong and the EU increased by 24.2% and 2.3%, while exports to mainland China, Belt and Road countries, and the USA declined. Imports from the EU, mainland China, and Belt and Road countries fell, while imports from Japan rose by 10.1%. Macaus external merchandise trade totaled MOP22.26 billion from January to February, a 3.3% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. LV French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot began a two-day visit to China yesterday during which he is to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart on Ukraine and longstanding trade disputes between China and Europe. Barrot went into a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shortly before noon, to be followed by a news conference and luncheon. Tomorrow, he will travel to Shanghai for meetings with local officials and business leaders. In opening remarks, Wang called on both countries to choose multilateralism over unilateralism and pursue mutual benefit and win-win outcomes instead of decoupling and isolation. That echoed language frequently used by China in criticizing U.S. foreign policy and the Western-led political order. France has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its struggle against Russian invasion, while Beijing has backed Russia diplomatically and provided an economic lifeline by buying Russian natural resources. Barrots visit is an opportunity to gauge Chinas attitude on Ukraine ahead of a major French-hosted meeting on a possible peacekeeping force for the country. The talks come as fissures are showing between the U.S. and Europe over support for Ukraine, with Washington increasingly seen as backing Moscow. French President Francois Macron said yesterday [Macau time] that a proposed European armed force could be deployed in Ukraine in under an eventual peace deal, and could respond to a Russian attack if Moscow launched one. Europe has long complained of unfair Chinese trade practices that it says force European companies to take on Chinese partners, share business practices and result in a major Chinese trade surpluses. The sides also issued a joint statement reaffirming cooperation on climate change marking the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, saying the agreement and its long-term goals even more requires all parties to inject political impetus into the international cooperation on jointly fighting climate change (and) protecting biodiversity and ecosystems. China is both the largest producer and consumer of fossil fuels, mainly coal. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has started the one-year process to once again pull out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement and, formalizing another withdrawal from both climate and foreign aid programs, the Trump administration has told world financial institutions that the U.S is pulling out of the international climate Loss and Damage Fund. In its first 50 days, the Trump administration has eliminated or cut funding for environmental justice domestically, foreign aid, climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion. MDT/AP * Go green with GBA Vice Minister for Ecology and Environment calls for a greener Macau at MIECF, as China emerges as the major contributor to global alternative energy * Gaming | Casinos to undergo approval process for new gaming equipment: govt * Taste of Edesia * The police arrested 33 individuals involved in an illegal remittance syndicate, facilitating money transfers for gamblers * Tourism: South Korea sees surge in arrivals as mainland tourist numbers decline * Chinese researchers report a pig kidney transplant, and conduct first-step liver experiment DOWNLOAD PDF Friday, March 28, 2025 edition no. 4690 The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) announced that it will cease financial support for Smart Nursery after August 26, reclaiming its subsidized premises and related equipment. IAS emphasized that the decision was not due to issues with childcare quality but rather a failure to reach a consensus with the nursery operator, the Zonta Club of Macau. The conflicting messages from IAS and Smart Nursery have left parents confused and concerned. Listeners of the radio program Macau Forum reported receiving notifications from the nursery stating that it would continue operations, while IAS has informed parents of its closure. A mother expressed her frustration, saying, The nursery told us they would continue operating, but IAS is already notifying parents of its closure. My child has been attending since last August, and although there was some initial reluctance, they are now happy. Having to readjust to a new environment would be difficult. As cited in a TDM report, IAS clarified that the decision came after prolonged discussions with the Zonta Club of Macau, which failed to establish agreement on key operational principles. While the association has the right to appeal, IAS has not disclosed further details. Currently, Smart Nursery has over 80 children enrolled, with around half set to enter kindergarten in September. IAS assured parents that alternative childcare placements are available, particularly in the outlying islands, and encouraged them to contact its childcare services department for assistance. Staff Reporter Macau, in its roles as an internationalization platform and one of the leading cities of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), has much to gain from assuming a greener and more sustainable approach to its development, Gino Van Begin, the Secretary General of the non-governmental organization Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), said yesterday in an interview on the sidelines of the 2025 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF). I think that Macau has a unique position in terms of the large business cooperation that is possible from here, from the Greater Bay [Area] location, as well as an opportunity to create Macau to become a greener city, a city that is more sustainable and that integrates particular strategies for future carbon climate neutrality in [its] urban policies, Van Begin said. I think that the cooperation that is already ongoing in the Greater Bay Area with Hong Kong, with China, allows for a rapid transformation also from Macau, and the particular international image of Macau can only benefit from a greener and sustainable approach in the city, he added. The ICLEI Secretary-General noted that while Macau is not yet part of the network of cities committed to sustainable urban development, low emissions, and nature-based policies, the neighboring region of Hong Kong has already joined. He believes this could influence the local government to also adhere to these commitments, as part of a group of 2,500 local and regional governments. I am certainly extending my invitation to the Macau government to join our network, Van Begin remarked, adding that through this network, Macau would be in a position to cooperate and exchange, particularly in greener and more sustainable development areas. Steps back from US can lead China to a more prominent role Questioned by the media on a topic mentioned earlier during his keynote speech, when Van Begin noted some steps back taken by some countries on the commitment to the policies earlier signed in the Paris Agreement on climate change, Van Begin explained, One of the countries that has taken an extreme position in this [matter] is the United States of America. After President Trump took office, he declared that he would step out of the climate agreements, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Sustainable Agenda 2030 of the United Nations. So, through his particular approach, stepping out of all those multilateral agreements, he showcased, unfortunately, a step back from international cooperation to international solidarity, he explained. He also believes that the US delinking itself from these treaties creates an opportunity for a large economy like China to take a more critical role in leading this process. We will see if China is willing to take a more important role. At Brazil at the end of this year [UN Climate Change Conference in November], maybe China can take a more leading role now that the US has backed out from the agreements, he noted. While the United States has a strong economic background, working with other countries worldwide is important because we are all interconnected. Because of globalization, we have a global world of imports and exports. We trade with all countries around the world. In that sense, we also need to take responsibility globally, all of us and all our governments, for the degradation and pollution, and tackle the global issues around climate change as it is happening and impacting any and all of us. He remarked that the USs unilateral decision to step out of the agreements, likely caused by economic reasons, will impact the policy results. However, he claims that, on the other hand, the subnational governments in the US are stepping up and preparing already. Many of our members are in the US, and we work with around 600 cities nationwide. They have stepped up to fill the void that the federal government is now creating in the international climate process. Carbon Tax works as an incentive to change Questioned by the media on his opinion on the establishment of so-called carbon taxes, the ICLEI Secretary-General said, I agree. It is good to tax polluting production methods, whether via a carbon tax or a pollution tax. All these taxes are necessary to pay for the pollution or the cost of the pollution that these unsustainable production patterns create. So, implementing carbon taxes is an important part of the incentives to transform and transit to greener production patterns. The police have arrested 33 individuals involved in an illegal remittance syndicate that operated near casinos, facilitating unauthorized money transfers for gamblers. Among those detained were 22 locals and 11 mainland Chinese nationals, identified as salesmen and business operators. In a press conference yesterday, the Judiciary Police (PJ) deputy director Sou Sio Keong disclosed that the syndicate ran eight jewelry stores near casinos to conduct fraudulent transactions. They used fake sales accounts and sold goods on a return basis to disguise illegal remittances, he explained. The syndicate also provided cash in Hong Kong dollars to gamblers and later converted their winnings into Renminbi for transfer to mainland bank accounts. The group carried out remittances through three methods, one of which involved using PostGate, a local payment platform, to process fake purchases. In these transactions, they provided cash to gamblers while making it appear as if a legitimate sale had taken place, So said. To cover up their activities, they created fake transaction documents to prevent police detection. On Tuesday, city police deployed over 80 detectives in raids across Cotai, targeting jewelry stores, offices, and residential units. Officers seized over HKD18 million in cash, a small number of casino chips, 48 electronic devices, 12 financial books, and false transaction records. According to the PJ, the syndicate has been operating since 2019, working with underground money changers to manipulate exchange rate differentials for profit. They formed a complete chain of illegal capital flows, evading financial regulations through a sophisticated system, So said. An ancient wasp may have zipped among the dinosaurs, with a body like a Venus flytrap to seize and snatch its prey, scientists reported yesterday [Macau time]. The parasitic wasps abdomen boasts a set of flappy paddles lined with thin bristles, resembling a small bear trap attached to the end of it, said study co-author Lars Vilhelmsen from the Natural History Museum of Denmark. Scientists uncovered over a dozen female wasps preserved in 99-million-year-old amber from the Kachin region in northern Myanmar. The wasps flaps and teeth-like hairs resemble the structure of the carnivorous Venus flytrap plant, which snaps shut to digest unsuspecting insects. But the design of the wasps getup made scientists think its trap was designed to cushion, not crush. Instead, researchers suggested the flytrap-like structure was used to hold a wriggly insect still while the wasp laid an egg, depositing a baby wasp to feed on and drain its new host. Its a playbook adapted by many parasitic wasps, including modern-day cuckoo and bethylid wasps, to exploit insects. But no known wasp or any other insect does so with bizarre flaps quite like this one. Ive seen a lot of strange insects, but this has to be one of the most peculiar-looking ones Ive seen in a while, said entomologist Lynn Kimsey from the University of California, Davis, who was not involved with the research. Scientists named the new wasp Sirenobethylus charybdis, partly for the sea monster from Greek mythology that stirred up wild whirlpools by swallowing and expelling water. The new study was published in the journal BMC Biology and included researchers from Capital Normal University and the Beijing Xiachong Amber Museum in China. Its unclear when the wasp went extinct. Studying unusual insects like this one can help scientists understand what insects are capable of and how different they can be. We tend to think that the cool things are only found today, said Gabriel Melo, a wasp expert at the Federal University of Parana in Brazil, who had no role in the study. But when we have this opportunity, we see that many really exceptional, odd things already happened. ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN, NEW YORK, MDT/AP The citys inbound tourism sector showed positive growth in February, with a rise in international tour visitors, according to the latest data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). A total of 145,000 package tour visitors arrived in Macau, marking a 3.8% year-on-year increase. The number of international tour visitors surged by 44.8% to 19,000, with the Republic of Korea contributing 11,000 arrivals, a 64.8% increase. In contrast, tour visitors from mainland China saw a slight decline of 0.7% to 124,000. The hotel industry experienced strong occupancy rates despite a decrease in available guest rooms. The number of guest rooms in Macaus 147 hotel establishments dropped by 5.7% year-on-year to 44,000. However, the average occupancy rate climbed by 5.5 percentage points to 90.6%. Five-star hotels led the way with an occupancy rate of 93.6%, followed by four-star hotels at 85.1% and three-star hotels at 87.2%. While the total number of hotel guests declined by 7.8% year-on-year to 1.13 million, international guests rose by 17.5%. Visitors from the Republic of Korea (30,000), Japan (8,000), and Malaysia (6,000) saw respective increases of 22.6%, 11.6%, and 20.5%. Other Southeast Asian markets, including Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia, also showed strong growth. For the first two months of 2025, Macau welcomed 304,000 inbound package tour visitors, an 11.2% increase from the previous year. In a recent reply to a written inquiry by lawmaker Lei Chan U, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said that the bureau is stepping up its efforts to draw more international visitors by offering a variety of incentives, including travel discounts for foreign tourists arriving via Hong Kong International Airport. However, it has not yet specified when discounted bus and ferry fares from Hong Kong to Macau will be reinstated. MGTO has previously stated that it is also reinforcing its outreach in Southeast and Northeast Asia. Additionally, efforts will be ramped up in Europe, the United States, and India, with further exploration of emerging markets in the Middle East. More than three months after the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School on Madisons East Side, people with differing views are coming together at the Overture Center to seek common ground on gun rights and violence prevention. Stories from community members is where problem-solving happens, said Tori Larned, spokesperson for Builders Movement, which is hosting the event at 1 p.m. Sunday in Promenade Hall. The event will start with a screening of The Tennessee 11, a documentary that depicts people working across divides to create policy proposals that balance community safety and Second Amendment rights. At 2:30 p.m., two people from the film and local leaders will take part in a panel discussion. The event, recommended for ages 14 and up, is free but requires an RSVP that can be made at Overture.org. Close to 100 people are signed up so far, including leaders from gun safety organizations and firearm shop owners, Larned said. Its important for people to know its not just the what, its also the how. And I hope this event helps to start exercising our bridge-building muscles, said Steven Olikara, one of the panelists. Olikara ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin in 2022 and founded Future Caucus, which works with young policymakers on a federal and state level to bridge the partisan divide. He grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield and now splits his time between Milwaukee and Los Angeles. During past Builders Movement panels hes been involved in, genuine listening happens across the political spectrum and people are interested in finding solutions to complex problems and pushing those ideas forward, he said. I really want to help exercise those muscles and at a time thats really important in Madison, he said. Builders Movement is a nonpartisan organization designed to help people overcome polarization. With this event, its attempting to broaden the often entrenched conversation about guns, said Larned. Also on the panel are Charles Franklin, a former political science professor at UW-Madison who has been director of the Marquette Law School poll since it began in 2012, and Steve DOrazio, founder and president of Max Creek Outdoors, a gun shop and range in Oregon and a firearm safety instructor. The two panelists from the film scheduled to appear are Alyssa Pearman, a teacher from Jackson, Tennessee, who lost two of her students to gun violence less than a year apart, and Adam Luke, a family therapist from Columbia, Tennessee, who grew up hunting and supports the Second Amendment that protects the right to keep and bear arms. The event will be led by Madison School Board member Ali Muldrow; Bria Halama, a counselor in Port Washington outside Milwaukee; and Jacob VandenPlas, who operates a farm south of Sturgeon Bay. VandenPlas, a supporter of gun rights, said Sundays forum is an extraordinary opportunity to start having a proper conversation and begin solving a divisive issue. Hes impressed with the panels diversity of ideologies, he said. More often than not, when we are having a lot of these tough political issues, we speak from the language of right versus left, and thats not going to solve anything, he said. We have to start retraining our minds to think about solutions and taking care of our neighbors and being there for one another. And this is the perfect platform. VandenPlas, an Army veteran and founder of Door County Farm for Vets, who ran as a libertarian candidate in Wisconsins 8th district in 2022, said solutions regarding gun issues arent going to come from any type of legislation. Its going to come from us looking within the community. Olikara graduated from UW-Madison in 2012 and said doing this event at the Overture Center in Madison is a full circle moment. It was in college where he first found his calling as a bridge builder, he said. He double-majored in political science and environmental studies, with a certificate in global health, and grew up playing music. His first band was a 90s rock band. Then he got into jazz and learned from the late, legendary UW-Madison jazz professor Richard Davis, who talked about the connection of music and unity, and taught a class called The Oneness of Humankind. My whole inspiration to become a bridge builder was really those experiences as a musician, Olikara said. Seeing how communities across cultures and races and ethnicities and political affiliation were able to build and create arts together, and that art was enriched by the fact that we had all these divergent life experiences. SINGAPORE, March 28 A 64-year-old man who stabbed his former lovers new boyfriend at a Choa Chu Kang void deck was sentenced to 13 years and eight months in jail on March 27. According to The Straits Times, Ong Eng Siew also punched his ex-lover, identified as Berlin, before fleeing the scene in June 2021. He later sent her voice messages urging her not to call the police, blaming her for the attack, and telling the victim, Ku Teck Eng, to settle the matter without police involvement if he was (a) man. In January, Ong pleaded guilty to attempted murder and voluntarily causing hurt, with three other charges considered in sentencing. ADVERTISEMENT High Court Judge Mavis Chionh cited the attacks severity, public alarm, and Ongs alcohol intoxication as aggravating factors. She noted Ong continued stabbing Ku, 52, even after he fell. The prosecution sought a jail term of 10 to 12 years, while the defence argued for seven to eight years, citing Ongs adjustment disorder. The judge accepted the disorder had a role but gave it limited weight in mitigation. However, she considered Ongs guilty plea and his S$2,000 (RM6,600) compensation to Ku. Manila, PhilippinesUS defense chief Pete Hegseth met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Friday, saying the two countries must stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of the threat represented by China. Hegseths meeting at the presidential palace in Manila comes as he opens a tour of Pacific allies that risks being overshadowed by a mounting scandal over leaked plans for military strikes. - Advertisement - Deterrence is necessary around the world but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the Communist Chinese, he said. Hegseths Manila visit, to be followed by trips to Tokyo and World War II battleground Iwo Jima, follows months of confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing claims almost the entirety of the crucial waterway, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit. Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict to ensure that theres free navigation, whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea, Hegseth said. Peace through strength is a very real thing, he added. The trip, aimed at bolstering ties in the Asia-Pacific region as tensions are rising with Beijing, comes as Hegseth faces calls to resign by Democratic lawmakers and a Republican congressmans push for an independent report. The US defense chief revealed details of strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen in a group of top administration officials on the messaging platform Signal, according to a senior journalist added to the chat by accident. On Wednesday, Hegseth mocked Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldbergs initial description of the texts as war plans, saying they included no names, targets or classified information. We will continue to do our job, while the media does what it does best: peddle hoaxes, he said on social media platform X. Hegseth is expected to meet his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro later Friday. Deepening cooperation In response to Chinas growing influence, the United States has been strengthening alliances with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines. Manila and Washington have deepened their defense cooperation since President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijings sweeping South China Sea claims. In recent years, top US officials have warned that an armed attack against the Philippines in the waterway would invoke the two countries mutual defense treaty. The two countries have expanded the sharing of military intelligence and boosted to nine the number of bases US troops have access to on the archipelago. Given the Philippines proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, Manilas cooperation would be crucial in the event of a conflict with China. Hegseths visit overlaps with bilateral military exercises that will expand next month to include the countries navies and air forces. Witch hunt Despite mounting pressure over the Signal leak, US President Donald Trump has defended Hegseth. Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this, Trump said when asked by Agence France Presse (AFP) whether the defense secretary should be considering his position. How do you bring Hegseth into this? Look, look its all a witch hunt, Trump added in the Oval Office. He also repeated his insistence that no classified information was shared in the breach, adding that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz took responsibility for the error. Waltz added Goldberg to the group chat that included Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard and others. Apart from the timing of the strikes in Yemen, Hegseth also identified the type of aircraft, missiles and drones used, according to the Atlantic, which later released screen grabs of the chat. Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth has said Trump should sack all the officials in the chat and called Hegseth a liar who couldve gotten our pilots killed. But the White House and its allies have largely held firm in their messaging, praising the success of the attacks and slamming Goldberg as an anti-Trump hater. Only Secretary of State Marco Rubio has conceded there was a big mistake. The Wurzburg public prosecutor has dropped the charges against our comrade Adrian. They no longer consider the exclamation Yallah Intifada, Intifada until victory!, which was contained in his speech at a pro-Palestine demonstration, to be a criminal offense. This is a great success for the entire Palestine movement! Israeli bombs are raining down on Gaza again. The ceasefire negotiated by US President Donald Trump is now history. Once again, it has become abundantly clear that the Palestinian people cannot rely on the ruling classes and their institutions to stop the killing. Neither countless UN resolutions nor an international arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu have brought the Palestinians any closer to their liberation. Over 50,000 have now fallen victim to Israel's genocide. There is only one way to end the slaughter: class struggle. Class struggle in the West against the imperialists who arm the Zionist regime; in the Middle East against the Arab rulers who stand idly by; and, of course, against the Israeli state and its occupation of Palestine. The ruling class trembles The First Intifada is an example of the exploited rising up together against their oppressors and taking their destiny into their own hands. This is why the ruling class wants to bury this revolutionary movement under a mountain of lies. Class struggle is in the air everywhere because capitalism is in a deep global crisis. The workers and the poor are being asked to tighten their belts in order to save corporate profits. At the same time, the crisis is intensifying international competition for markets, resources and spheres of influence. Therefore, the western imperialists are massively increasing military spending and are unconditionally supporting Israel in order to maintain control over the Middle East. Broad sections of the working class and youth want to prevent this. The Arab regimes, on the other hand, are completely economically dependent on the USA and Europe. They have to submit to their will, while the masses want to stand by their Palestinian brothers and sisters. Moreover, none of the problems that drove them onto the streets in the Arab Spring have been solved. In Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, a spontaneous, joint general strike by Palestinians broke out in 2021 when the Zionist regime escalated the conflict back then. Large parts of the Israeli economy came to a standstill. The strike was mainly led by the youth, not by Hamas or Fatah. The Wurzburg public prosecutor has dropped the charges against our comrade Adrian. They no longer consider the exclamation Yallah Intifada, Intifada until victory!, which was contained in his speech at a pro-Palestine demonstration, to be a criminal offense / Image: Revolutionare Kommunistische Partei For the first time in decades, there was collective action by the Palestinian masses from all areas. These are the methods of class struggle that show the way towards the liberation of Palestine! We must build on this. If such a movement were to declare war on the ruling classes, their crisis and their imperialist wars, it would spread like wildfire. This prospect terrifies the exploiters. We will not be intimidated! We talk about a new intifada because it could be the spark for such a revolutionary conflagration. This is why our comrades Alyona and Leonard were dragged to court in Munich and Adrian was charged in Wurzburg. The German ruling class tried to intimidate us by equating the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 with the First Intifada. They slanderously accused us of glorifying terrorism. But we won our trial in Munich at the district court, the first level of jurisdiction. Now, Adrian's charges have also been dropped because there is no reference to specific criminal acts in the accused's entire speech, as the public prosecutors office in Wurzburg itself has now admitted. The prosecutor refers to the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court, according to which if there are several possible interpretations of a statement, it is not automatically possible to refer to one punishable interpretation. All other possible interpretations, which may not be punishable, must first be ruled out with convincing reasons. This clearly means that intifada cannot be equated with terrorism, as those in power have tried to do. The investigations against Adrian were purely an attempt at intimidation. We did not give in to this. As we wanted to obtain an acquittal, we also rejected the public prosecutor's offer to to dismiss the case by mutual consent. Now they themselves have dropped the ridiculous charges. But the fight goes on: Alyona and Leonard are still facing a trial at the Bavarian Regional Court, the second level of jurisdiction. That is why we're continuing to raise money to cover potential court costs. On the offensive! At the same time, the genocide continues. The Palestine movement needs a revolutionary perspective to bring the massacre to an end. Every step that helps to spread this perspective is an important success for the Palestinian liberation struggle. This is why we are defending the First Intifada in court. Moreover, we refuse to accept that the ruling class is free to interpret our rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press as they see fit. They are trying to prevent any resistance to their attacks. But our victories in Munich and Wurzburg show that if we do not allow ourselves to be intimidated, we can fend off such attacks! The fight goes on: Alyona and Leonard are still facing a trial at the Bavarian Regional Court, the second level of jurisdiction. That is why we're continuing to raise money to cover potential court costs / Image: Revolutionare Kommunistische Partei However, we cannot fight these court cases as individuals. As members of the Revolutionare Kommunistische Partei and the Revolutionary Communist International, Alyona, Leonard and Adrian have had the solidarity of their comrades in Germany and around the world behind them. We asked for support from the Palestine movement, the working class and the youth worldwide. Donations came back that helped us cover our legal costs along with many encouraging messages. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us so far. Only this has enabled our comrades to remain steadfast in the face of repression. Above all, however, we are fighting as an international to put forward a revolutionary programme in movements, schools, universities and workplaces all over the world. If you want to fight against war, genocide and capitalism, join us! The U.S. Congress has introduced a resolution celebrating enduring friendship and strong strategic partnership existing between the United States and Morocco, the first country to recognize the independence of the U.S.A. Submitted by influential representatives Brad Schneider (Democrat) and Joe Wilson (Republican), the house resolution says December 1, 2027 will mark the 250th anniversary of the Peace & Friendship Treaty which remains the longest unbroken diplomatic relationship in United States history. On December 1, 1777, Sultan Sidi Muhammad Ben Abdullah established relations with the United States, opening Moroccan ports to American merchants during the War for Independence. Three years later, the Continental Congress sent its first diplomatic correspondence to the Kingdom of Morocco, expressing a desire for peace and friendship. On July 18, 1787, the United States ratified the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, also known as the Treaty of Marrakech, establishing formal diplomatic and commercial relations between the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco. In 1821, Morocco gifted the Tangier American Legation to the United States, making it the first American diplomatic property abroad and a lasting symbol of United States-Morocco friendship. The resolution recognizes Moroccos commitment to religious coexistence, saying that the United States and Morocco have built a multifaceted partnership based on shared strategic, economic, and cultural interests. Furthermore, Morocco remains the only African country with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. The two countries cooperate closely on regional security, counterterrorism efforts, and military coordination, including participation in joint military exercises such as African Lion. They also cooperate in nuclear nonproliferation, countering illicit arms trafficking, and enhancing regional security initiatives; The resolution stresses the importance of the United States-Morocco relationship in promoting mutual economic and security interests. It commends Moroccos engagement in regional diplomacy, including its participation in the Abraham Accords to promote regional stability The text encourages continued United States-Morocco cooperation in trade, security, digital transformation, and humanitarian efforts, recognizing both shared opportunities and challenges It also supports efforts to commemorate this milestone in the lead-up to 2027, highlighting the historical and strategic importance of the United States-Morocco alliance. Former South African Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is facing a corruption trial in the Pretoria High Court after being accused of accepting R4.5 million in bribes from a defense contractor during her tenure. The case, which resumed following a three-month break, will move forward after the state disclosed key documents requested by the defense, including correspondence between investigators and prosecutors. The trial is now set to proceed with the aim of bringing the matter to a swift resolution. The Gauteng High Court ruled that delays in providing timely radiation oncology treatment by the provincial health department were unconstitutional and unlawful. A backlog of over 2,400 cancer patients, some waiting for treatment for more than three years, led to the legal challenge. Despite receiving R784 million in funding to address the issue, the department delayed appointing a service provider and has been ordered to update the backlog list and provide progress reports on treatment services within 45 days. The South African Weather Service has forecast a drier and warmer winter for the Western Cape, with below-average rainfall and higher-than-usual temperatures. Lead scientist Christien Engelbrecht cautioned that the reduced precipitation would likely result in smaller snow coverage, disappointing snow enthusiasts as cloud cover diminishes. The forecast indicates significant changes in the regions winter weather, with less chance of snowfall and higher temperatures across the province. Major opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo have refused to participate in political consultations initiated by President Felix Tshisekedi aimed at forming a national unity government, dismissing the effort as a political charade. The boycott includes Ensemble pour la Republique led by Moise Katumbi, Martin Fayulus ECIDE, Matata Ponyo Mapons LGD, Delly Sessangas Envol, and former President Joseph Kabilas FCC political family. All have aligned behind an alternative dialogue process proposed by the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC). These ecclesiastical authorities have managed to engage with all stakeholders, including both armed and unarmed opposition, explained Herve Diakese, spokesperson for Ensemble pour la Republique. The situation in our country no longer requires cosmetic solutions or a musical chairs game with positions to assign. The FCC questioned the necessity of yet another initiative when several others are underway, refusing to participate in what it characterized as an attempt to legitimize and defend a government, rather than serve the cause of lasting peace. The political standoff unfolds against escalating violence in eastern Congo. Since January, M23 rebels have captured major cities including Goma and Bukavu, raising fears of regional conflict. Ceasefire talks collapsed after rebels withdrew from Angola-facilitated negotiations following European Union sanctions on their leaders. Regional mediation efforts continue to evolve. After Angolas president withdrew as lead mediator, southern and eastern African leaders announced plans for a panel of five former African presidents to seek peaceful resolution to the deepening crisis. The Sudanese army intensified shelling in Omdurman Thursday, pursuing Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters after declaring victory in Khartoum, marking a potential turning point in the two-year conflict that has devastated Sudans capital region. Khartoum is free, proclaimed army chief Abdul Fattah al-Burhan from the recaptured presidential palace. For residents like teacher Ahmed Hassan, the announcement offers relief after prolonged suffering. During the last two years, the RSF made our life hell, killing and stealing. They didnt respect anybody, he stated. While the army controls most of Omdurman, located across the Nile from Khartoum, RSF fighters maintain positions in southern districts. Witnesses reported RSF troops retreating via the Jebel Aulia dam south of Khartoum, with some redeploying to reinforce Omdurman and others heading westward toward Darfur, where fighting continues around al-Fashir. The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between former coup allies Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), has exacted a catastrophic toll. More than 12 million Sudanese have been displaced, half the population faces acute hunger, and estimated deaths reached 61,000 in Khartoum state alone during the first 14 months. Both sides now appear positioned to establish rival administrations. The armys capture of Khartoum could pave the way for its government announcement, while the RSF, which has consolidated control in western Sudan, has indicated support for a separate civilian administration. The war has amplified regional instability, affecting neighboring countries already struggling with internal conflicts, including Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, and South Sudan. The induction meeting for new members of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC), held this week in Arusha, Tanzania, under the chairmanship of Morocco, resulted in the adoption of several recommendations to serve as a roadmap for improving the Councils effectiveness. The meeting highlighted PSCs role in regularly monitoring and evaluating the implementation of its decisions, as well as the Councils part in strengthening collaboration and coordination with the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs). This also includes the need for the Council to focus on promoting and defending a continental agenda for peace and security, and the necessity of promoting resource mobilization efforts, notably through securing predictable and sustainable funding for the AU Peace and Security Agenda. Bolstering conflict prevention mechanisms, notably through the use of all available mediation tools, such as the Panel of the Wise, Youth Wise and FEMWISE, was also highlighted in the Arusha recommendations. The meeting then focused on close cooperation and coordination between the PSC and the Chairperson of the Commission on conflict prevention, management and resolution, involving all relevant departments of the AU Commission, calling for promoting multidimensional and integrated approaches (peace-security-development nexus) to effectively address the structural causes of conflict. Promoting the integrity and credibility of the Council, as well as a handover process between PSC Chairmen to ensure synchronization and complementarity of monthly PSC activities were highlighted in turn, thus facilitating effective follow-up of pending decisions and activities. The recommendations also tackled the full implementation of the African Standby Force, guaranteeing a collective commitment, in addition to prioritizing democratic governance as a conflict prevention measure, notably by establishing benchmarks on the credibility of elections in member states. Additionally, the meeting spotlighted African leadership and financing of peace and security efforts on the Continent. 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: Gustavo Fring from Pexels Embedding nurse practitioners into specialist homeless services can help to improve health care access for vulnerable children, a unique pilot program has shown. Led by researchers at Flinders University's Caring Futures Institute, the team established a clinic led by nurse practitioners (NP)specialized nurses who can diagnose and prescribe medicationwithin one of South Australia's faith-based homeless services. Between December 2019 and March 2021, 66 children of parents experiencing housing instability were able to receive health assessments and appropriate referrals, while the researchers assessed the clinic's use. "Children aged under 14 represent almost a quarter of Australians accessing homelessness support, which often leads to them missing crucial health checks, vaccinations, and suffering from untreated conditions," says Associate Professor Yvonne Parry, whose work aims to improve health access for children. "Alongside homelessness, the children and their families can also be experiencing financial hardship, lack of transportation, and social stigma, all of which make it harder for them to receive timely medical attention. "An NP-led clinic such as this can help to bridge that gap, ensuring vulnerable children receive timely and comprehensive health care." The researchers found the most common conditions identified among the children were developmental delay, low immunization rates, and tooth decay. Many had urgent health concerns requiring immediate intervention, with 40% of the children receiving a referral to a specialist. "These results highlight the pressing need for targeted health care models designed to reach vulnerable populations," says Associate Professor Parry. "Nursing practitioners are trained to provide comprehensive care, including diagnosing conditions, prescribing treatments, and ordering tests, making them well-equipped to address the complex needs of children in high-risk situations. "Our study's findings suggest that expanding NP-led models could be an effective strategy for improving child health outcomes and reducing long-term health care costs." The authors of the article published in Primary Health Care Research & Development say that in addition to its health care benefits, the NP-led model presents a cost-effective alternative to traditional health care delivery for governments, with the nurse practitioner Medicare rebate significantly lower than that of general practitioners. "The lower cost of NP-led services enables more children to receive necessary care without placing additional financial strain on the health care system," says Associate Professor Parry. "This, combined with the service's effectiveness demonstrated in our pilot, makes a strong case for policy changes that support the wider implementation of NP-led health care services across Australia. "Without NPs, these children remain invisible to the health system with unaddressed health and developmental needs. "We need policymakers, health care providers, and community organizations to work together in a bid to improve the long-term health and well-being of this vulnerable population." More information: Alicia Bell et al, An innovative nurse practitioner-led service for children from families living in housing instability, Primary Health Care Research & Development (2025). DOI: 10.1017/S1463423625000118 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: Coffee adapted the Advanced Practice Provider conceptual model to focus on a multilevel systems approach to augment nurse practitioners' role and improve care for patients with opioid use disorder, beginning with strategies to enhance engagement and motivation for nurse practitioners and improve nurse-patient interaction, supported by organizational, education and policy refinement. Credit: Zhanette Coffee Zhanette Coffee, Ph.D., MSN, APRN, spent years working as an advanced practice nurse with certifications in family practice and addictions nursing and saw firsthand the challenges faced not only by patients with opioid use disorder, but also by the health care professionals providing treatment to those patients. "I grew up with a parent who struggled with substance use, chronic pain and mental health," said Coffee, who is now a member of the Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. "When I started working specifically in the substance use field, I quickly realized my deep passion for it. Having grown up witnessing these struggles firsthand and later caring for individuals facing similar challenges, my commitment to this work was solidified. We need better solutions. We need innovative, compassionate approaches to effectively treat this vulnerable population." In 2021, research showed that only 22% of approximately 7 million Americans with opioid use disorder received evidence-based treatment. That gap in care is widened by a critical lack of providers in primary care, mental health and addiction medicine. As a nurse practitioner, Coffee was already filling a critical need for skilled health care providers to treat substance use disorders, but her experiences ignited a passion within to do more. She wanted to break down barriers and improve patient care. "My nursing career really gave me that firsthand clinical insight and immersed me in the field," Coffee added, "but I realized I wanted to be on the other end of developing interventions to really shift addiction science and improve outcomes for patients." Breaking down the barriers With that goal in mind, Coffee found herself at the U of A College of Nursing, where she earned her doctorate and is now a postdoctoral research associate. She hit the ground running as a new researcher. Her first paper, "Empowering Primary Care Nurse Practitioners: A Multilevel Approach to Combating the Opioid Crisis," was published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing. The position paper was designed to drive change at the individual level (nurse practitioner), the dyadic level (provider-patient relationship), and the systems level (organizational culture, education and policy). The end goal is to strengthen nurse practitioners' capacity to deliver optimal care for opioid use disorder. "Access to evidence-based treatment remains a significant barrier for people in the United States with opioid use disorder," said Todd Vanderah, Ph.D., director of the Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction and Regents Professor and head of the Department of Pharmacology at the College of MedicineTucson. "Dr. Coffee's work in identifying barriers to care is a powerful first step in empowering nurse practitioners to deeply impact patient lives by transforming care for opioid use disorder." At the individual level, barriers to optimal opioid use disorder care included low motivation and personal acceptability to treat opioid use disorder. Nurse practitioners might be influenced by their experiences with a family member who was affected by alcohol or other drugs, beliefs about personal responsibility, perceptions of stigma, perceived danger, work experience or availability of continuing education on substance use, and other factors. The consequences can be severe, including higher recurrence of drug use among patients with opioid use disorder and an increased likelihood of patients discontinuing treatment prematurely. "At the personal level, there can be low motivation, reluctance to treat this population or even ambivalence towards people who struggle with drug use," Coffee said, explaining that addiction stigma results from the persistent and pervasive belief that addiction is a personal choice reflecting a lack of willpower or moral failing. Stigma also rose to the surface as a significant dyadic barrier, not only within the provider-patient relationship but also between providers. Negative attitudes and views toward patients with opioid use disorder can extend to the providers who choose to care for them. "Nurse practitioners often work in settings where colleagues may treat them differently or hold stigmatizing beliefs about providers specializing in addiction, questioning their credibility as clinicians," said Coffee, who is a member of the university's BIO5 Institute. Negative provider-to-provider interactions can add job-related stress and be a symptom of poor organizational culture, both of which can lead to clinician burnout. Two cited research studies found that approximately 25.3% of primary care nurse practitioners report feeling burned out and nearly 46.2% of nurse practitioners report working in poor organizational climates. "The area in which you work can really impact the quality and accessibility of how you can treat opioid use disorder, because administrators and leadership within that clinical setting can significantly impact your overall work environment and workplace support," Coffee said. Additionally, many nurse practitioners do not feel adequately trained to provide whole-person, evidence-based care for opioid use disorder. The standard generalized education training nurses receive varies significantly in how it addresses substance use disorders, Coffee said. "What if the patient has chronic pain and they've been using opioids to manage their pain for a very long time? What if the patient is also struggling with mental health?" Coffee said. "Those are complex factors that you need training and support for in order to effectively treat that patient." Taking a stance to ignite change Coffee wrote the paper with her mentors, Vanderah and Judith Gordon, Ph.D., professor emerita at the College of Nursing, as well as a broad national network of nurse-scientists with first-hand clinical experience treating opioid use disorder. The result was a position paper empirically informed by the authors' personal experiences and supported and backed by the scholarly work of researchers around the world. "There are multilevel factors that can hinder nurse practitioners from treating opioid use disorder. We have lived experience, and we recommend that academic and clinical settings develop a cross-sector response to the opioid crisis," Coffee said. "We need to educate and train providersespecially new providers who are going into the workforceand equip them to effectively treat substance use disorders." There were approximately 385,000 licensed nurse practitioners in the U.S. in 2023, according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Coffee is one of only 1,484 nurses in the U.S. and Canada have completed the process to become a Certified Addictions Registered Nurse or Certified Addictions Registered Nurse-Advanced Practice, according to the Addictions Nursing Certification Board's website. "About 70% of nurse practitioners work in primary care. We're a large workforce, and we are the No. 1 trusted profession," Coffee said. "If a patient who is struggling with substance use disorder goes into primary care, they should be able to trust their provider to offer that care. This research sheds light on the barriers that prevent that from happening, especially for nurse practitioners." At the end of the day, Coffee is excited to think about the ways her paper could be used to invoke change. She believes nurse practitioners may find valuable insights to inform their own careers, while the overarching message posits a necessary shift in addiction medicine and science. She launched her next study and is currently recruiting participants for a brief 10-minute survey exploring the barriers, facilitators and attitudes of nurse practitioners and advanced practice registered nurses in treating adults with opioid use disorder. She recently received a BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellowship to help fund the project. "If providers face barriers, the patients will receive lower-quality and less effective opioid use disorder care," Coffee said. "My experience treating patients, witnessing their recovery, and being deeply immersed in the field, both as a clinician and a researcher, continues to inspire me. We still have work to do, and as the science evolves, we must continue advancing solutions to better support this population and address the opioid crisis." More information: Zhanette Coffee et al, Empowering Primary Care Nurse Practitioners: A Multilevel Approach to Combating the Opioid Crisis, Journal of Advanced Nursing (2024). DOI: 10.1111/jan.16694 Journal information: Journal of Advanced Nursing 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 Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is associated with significantly improved HIV outcomes for transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-diverse (trans) people in the U.S., according to a new study published in The Lancet HIV. The study, part of the LEGACY cohort, which analyzed data from more than 8,000 trans patients receiving care at federally qualified health centers, found that compared to trans patients not prescribed GAHT, patients prescribed GAHT had a 37% reduced risk of acquiring HIV, and a 44% lower risk of viral non-suppression (where levels of the virus in the blood are high and can lead to disease progression and HIV transmission to others) for those living with HIV. In the U.S., trans people (who have a gender identity that differs from the sex assigned to them at birth) have higher rates of HIV and worse HIV treatment outcomes compared to cisgender people, including higher viral non-suppression rates. Previous research has found that GAHT is medically necessary for many trans people and is thought to improve health outcomes. However, few studies have assessed the association between GAHT and HIV acquisition in trans individuals. The study highlights disparities in HIV rates among racial and ethnic minority groups, with Black, Latinx, and multiracial trans people experiencing disproportionately high rates of HIV, which may be linked to structural barriers in health care access, such as having lower socioeconomic status or living in poverty. The study also found low rates of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake in the cohort, which the authors say represents another future intervention target to reduce HIV rates, and that integrating GAHT with services such as PrEP and HIV treatment may help to further reduce transmission rates and improve health outcomes for trans people in the U.S. These findings support the evidence for the medical use of GAHT in trans adults and call for expanded access to gender-affirming care as part of national HIV prevention and treatment strategies. In an accompanying Viewpoint, also published in The Lancet HIV, the authors outline the Situated Vulnerabilities and Resiliencies Framework, which explores why trans people face high rates of HIV and what could be done to address these inequalities. The authors suggest that trans people have a higher risk of contracting HIV due to various social, economic, and health care barriers, including high rates of mental health conditions, exposure to sexual violence, economic instability, homelessness, and systemic oppression. Their Framework calls for solutions beyond medical treatment, including legal protections, community support, and improved access to gender-affirming care. It also emphasizes the importance of working directly with trans communities to create effective and inclusive HIV prevention and care programs. The authors call for more research and funding into research for trans people living with HIV, especially in regions outside of North America and Europe, and to ensure that all trans people have access to appropriate health care. More information: Sari L Reisner et al, HIV seropositivity and viral non-suppression in transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse people in primary care receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy in the USA between 2013 and 2019 (LEGACY): an observational, longitudinal, cohort study, The Lancet HIV (2025). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(25)00004-9. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan (25)00004-9/abstract Sari L Reisner, The Situated Vulnerabilities and Resiliencies Framework: a call for integrated strategies to address global HIV inequities for transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse populations, The Lancet HIV (2025). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(24)00299-6. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan (24)00299-6/abstract Journal information: The Lancet HIV 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 a measles outbreak spreads across the U.S., doctors are now seeing a new and unexpected danger: children getting sick from taking too much vitamin A. At Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, several unvaccinated children showed signs of liver problems after taking large amounts of vitamin A, according to Dr. Lara Johnson, the hospital's chief medical officer. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promoted vitamin A during the outbreak, even suggesting it might help prevent measles. But doctors say this isn't true. "If people have the mistaken impression that you have an either-or choice of MMR vaccine or vitamin A, you're going to get a lot of kids unnecessarily infected with measles. That's a problem, especially during an epidemic," Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN. "And second, you have this unregulated medicine in terms of doses being given and potential toxicities." The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is the only proven way to prevent measles. It is 97% effective after two doses. Kennedy has said he encourages vaccines, but considers vaccination a personal choice. Vitamin A can be helpful for people with measles when given the right dose by a doctor. But taking too much, especially without medical supervision, can be dangerous. Vitamin A is fat-soluble and can build up in the body. This can lead to dry skin, blurry vision, bone problems and liver damage. In pregnant women, it can even cause birth defects. Dr. Lesley Motheral, a pediatrician in Lubbock, said kids in Texas are generally well-nourished and don't need extra vitamin A. "Recovery for patients with acute toxicity can be rapid when the vitamin is discontinued," Motheral said. "Sadly, some of the more serious problems with vitamin A toxicity are not always reversible." The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a group representing supplement makers, also warned parents not to give their children high doses of vitamin A. "While vitamin A plays an important role in supporting overall immune function, research hasn't established its effectiveness in preventing measles infection. CRN is concerned about reports of high-dose vitamin A being used inappropriately, especially in children," it said in a statement. Johnson said some parents may be following questionable advice from social media or health influencers. "It's coming out of the health and wellness influencer industry that downplays the importance of vaccines and tries to promote various spectacular cures like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine or vitamin A," Hotez added. In a recent interview with Fox News, Kennedy promoted a treatment plan that includes vitamin A, a steroid, an antibiotic and cod liver oil, but doctors say there's little to no proof this works for measles. The measles outbreak has now affected at least 378 people in 17 states, from Texas and New Mexico to Vermont, New York and Washington. More information: The Mayo Clinic has more on measles, including symptoms and causes. 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved. 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 average wait time for the first session of treatment in Australia could be further harming the mental health of teens, a study has found, prompting calls to introduce national standards. The study, published in BMJ Open, is based on a survey of 375 Australians aged 1317 years. Professor Bridianne O'Dea is one of the lead researchers, based at the Black Dog Institute, UNSW Sydney and Flinders University Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing. She says the average wait time for teens to see a treatment provider for anxiety and depression is 99.6 dayshighlighting a pressing need for systemic reform in mental health service delivery for young Australians. "We are now in the midst of a crisis where the demand for youth mental health care has increased rapidly in the past two decades," Prof. O'Dea says. She says just qualifying for a referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist indicates that the young person is experiencing mental distressso waiting more than three months for care is extremely concerning. "We have more and more young people seeking help for mental health problems in Australia. The first line of treatment is psychological therapy. There is a huge demand for it and we do not have the number of clinicians required to meet that demand." When the researchers asked young people in the study about their coping methods during the wait period, many reported they had turned to maladaptive strategies. These included increased social withdrawal and risky behaviors such as self-harm and substance use. Lead author Dr. Mirjana Subotic-Kerry is a provisional psychologist based at the Black Dog Institute and UNSW Medicine & Health. She says wait times are a particularly critical period of help-seeking. "This is because symptoms are acute, but treatment hasn't yet begun," Dr. Subotic-Kerry says. "Young people reported that they experienced a high level of psychological distress during this period. They felt a strong sense of abandonment and a loss of hope," she says. "In an effort to manage or alleviate their distress, some teens were engaging in unhelpful behaviors that can have both short- and long-term negative outcomes." A bright spark Nearly 40% of teens surveyed indicated they received little to no support while waitingbut some also demonstrated resilience during this time. "Many young people also adopted healthy coping behaviors during the wait time," Dr. Subotic-Kerry says. "They were engaging with informal support, such as seeking out information or reaching out to their family and friends. Others found comfort in physical activity, journaling, or simply finding ways to keep themselves occupied and mentally engaged while they waited." "This shows us that young people can self-manage and engage in healthy coping behaviors and find strength during the wait time." However, she says, the current system still fails to provide critical, timely support. Easing the burden of wait times When asked how their waiting experience could be improved, approximately 50% of the young people surveyed said better communication and regular check-ins from service providers could help alleviate their distress. Simple yet effective strategies based on more frequent and transparent communication could be easily implemented during this critical waiting period, says Dr. Subotic-Kerry. "Interestingly, young people didn't propose complex structural systems or interventions during the wait time," she says. "They had really simple suggestions, such as increasing the amount of contact they received, and receiving information and communication about the wait time. "Essentially, they just wanted more frequent contact from their providers." Lifting the standard Prof. O'Dea says reducing wait times should be a priority. She calls for the introduction of national wait time benchmarksevidence-based goals, or standards, that define the appropriate time to wait for mental health treatment, with the aim of minimizing risks to individuals' health. "Governments introduced national standards for wait times in the UK and other countries," Prof. O'Dea says. "These are benchmarks around the acceptable wait that young people should experience when seeking mental health treatment." Prof. O'Dea says this is a critical time in Australia, as the mental health crisis among younger generations intensifies. Providing greater transparency and accountability through the introduction of standards offers young people and their families the insight they need into the realities of service delivery and expected wait times. "Our finding that young people are waiting a long time to access mental health services is not surprising," she says. "Yet, while we can work with young people to improve their self-management, the time is right for Australia to seriously consider the use of national standards." More information: Mirjana Subotic-Kerry et al, While they wait: a cross-sectional survey on wait times for mental health treatment for anxiety and depression for adolescents in Australia, BMJ Open (2025). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-087342 Journal information: BMJ Open 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: Visual Abstract. Credit: Journal of Nuclear Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.124.268525 A novel PET imaging approach can effectively quantify a key enzyme associated with brain inflammation, according to research published in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The first-in-human study, which imaged the COX-2 enzyme, offers a never-before-seen view of inflammation in the brain, opening the door for COX-2 PET imaging to be used in clinical and research settings for various brain disorders. COX-2 is an enzyme in the brain that can be markedly upregulated by inflammatory stimuli and neuroexcitation. Researchers say that the density of COX-2 in the brain may be a biomarker and effect of inflammation, even if it is not a mediator of the inflammatory process. "While COX-2 has been widely studied in peripheral inflammation, its role in neuroinflammation has been difficult to quantify in vivo," stated Robert B. Innis, MD, PhD, senior investigator in the Molecular Imaging Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. "We sought to establish a non-invasive imaging method to measure COX-2 in the living brain to enable earlier disease detection, monitor disease progression, and assess anti-inflammatory treatments." This study evaluated the ability of 11C-MC1 to measure COX-2 levels in the healthy human brain. First, 11C-MC1's affinity for human COX-2 was assessed by conducting PET imaging in rats injected with lipopolysaccharide and in humanized transgenic COX-2 mice. Specific binding to human COX-2 was confirmed. Subsequently, 27 healthy human volunteers were imaged with 11C-MC1 PET to quantify the density of COX-2 in the human brain. PET protein atlases for various [11C]MC1 positron PET imaging metrics targeting COX-2. Credit: Original image generated for this paper by Martin Noergaard, 1 Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, U.S.; 2 Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, 1165 Copenhagen, Denmark. Edited by Robert B. Innis and Xuefeng Yan, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, U.S.. Among study participants, 11C-MC1 efficiently crossed the bloodbrain barrier, bound to its designated target, and demonstrated high specificity for human COX-2. The radiotracer also had a moderate ratio of specific to background uptake binding potential in cortical regions. "Neuroinflammation plays a critical role in many neurological and psychiatric diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and major depressive disorder," noted Innis. "This could be a game-changer for personalized medicine and therapeutic development. It also demonstrates the potential for developing other PET tracers to investigate neuroinflammation, broadening the applications of nuclear medicine in neurology and psychiatry." More information: Xuefeng Yan et al, PET Quantification in Healthy Humans of Cyclooxygenase-2, a Potential Biomarker of Neuroinflammation, Journal of Nuclear Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.124.268525 Journal information: Journal of Nuclear Medicine Provided by Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging The Supreme Court of India on Friday delivered a landmark verdict on the protection of free speech in India as it quashed a Gujarat Police case against Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Imran Pratapgarhi over a poem uploaded by him on social media. The bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan stressed that the courts must be at the forefront to protect the fundamental rights of citizens facing repercussions for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Here are the five major observations of the top court. 1. Impossible to lead dignified life without free speech The Court said that the free expression of thoughts and views by individuals or a group of individuals is an integral part of a healthy, civilised society. "Without freedom of expression of thoughts and views, it is impossible to lead a dignified life, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution," it added. In particular, the Court said that literature, including poetry, dramas, films, stage shows, satire, art make the life of human beings more meaningful. 2. Counter views with views In a healthy democracy, views, opinions or thoughts expressed by an individual or a group of individuals must be countered by expressing another point of view, the top court said. It further said that even if a large number of persons dislike the views expressed by another, the right of that person to express the views must be respected and protected. 3. Don't judge free speech standards on basis of insecure people The Court also laid down when Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) can be invoked. The provision penalises actions or speech that promote disharmony, enmity, or hatred between people. In this regard, the top court followed a decision of the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court. "When an offence punishable under Section 196 of BNS is alleged, the effect of spoken or written words will have to be considered based on the standards of reasonable, strong-minded , firm and courageous individuals and not based on standards of people with weak and oscillating minds. The effect of spoke or written words cannot be judged on the basis of standards of people who always have a sense of insecurity or those who always perceive criticism as a threat to their power or position," it said. Justice Bhuyan also revealed that today's judgment makes it clear that reasonable restrictions on free speech must remain reasonable. "It cannot be fanciful or oppressive," the judge said. 4. Courts must be at forefront to protect free speech The courts are duty-bound to uphold and enforce the rights guaranteed under Constitution of India, Justice Oka said while pronouncing the decision. He added that even when judges themselves may not like the spoken or written words, it is their duty to protect the fundamental rights. "We, judges, are also under an obligation to uphold the Constitution," the Court said. It further said that when the police and executive failed to uphold the free speech, it is the duty of the courts to step in. "There is no other institution which can uphold the fundamental rights of the citizens. The Courts, particularly the Constitutional Courts, must be at the forefront to zealously protect the fundamental rights of the citizens...It is the bounden duty of the courts to ensure that the Constitution and ideals of the Constitutions are not trampled upon. Endeavor of the courts should always be to protect and promote the fundamental rights including the freedom of speech and expression which is one of the most cherished rights of citizens in a liberal constitutional democracy." 5. Police must abide by Constitution The Court stressed that police officers must abide by the Constitution as they are bound to uphold the rights of people. It observed that philosophy and ideals of the Constitution are in the preamble itself. "The preamble lays down that people of India have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic ... and to secure all its citizens, the liberty of thought. Therefore, liberty of thought and expression is one of the ideals of our Constitution," it added. The ever-alert Ms Bhuvaneswari found that the file she received was an Android package kit (.apk) used for installing apps on most mobile devices. She immediately deleted the file and blocked and reported the unknown user. Smart move, indeed! A few days ago, Bhuvaneswari, a retired banker and counsellor at Moneylife Foundation, told us about a message she received on WhatsApp. The message file received from an unknown sender was named as a wedding invitation. However, it was neither a portable document format (PDF) file nor an image file like JPEG or PNG.The ever-alert Ms Bhuvaneswari found that the file she received was an Android package kit (.apk) used for installing apps on most mobile devices. She immediately deleted the file and blocked and reported the unknown user. Smart move, indeed! But I am not surprised. In an age where digital communication is at the centre of our personal and professional lives, cybercriminals are constantly devising new ways to exploit unsuspecting users. One of the most common and effective tactics is using malicious attachments, leading to data theft, financial loss and even complete device compromise. Last month, I wrote about emails containing an SVG (scalable vector graphics) format files (https://moneylife.in/article/fraud-alert-the-svg-image-file-scam-you-need-to-watch-out-for/76388.html). You open it, and it redirects you to a website that looks just like DocuSign, Dropbox, or SharePoint, asking for your login details. Without realising, you enter your credentialsonly to find out later that your account has been hacked. Over the years, cybercriminals have been using file attachments as a tool to exploit or loot gullible users. It is the same reason why all security experts warn against clicking on a link or opening any file attachments received on messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, SMS or emails. Let us first understand what malicious attachments are and how cybercriminals are using these attachments. Malicious attachments are files containing harmful software, often called malware, which can infect a device once opened. Cybercriminals use different types of file formats and social engineering tactics to trick victims into downloading and installing these files. Here are some common types of malicious attachments: apk files: These are installation files for Android applications. Attackers disguise them as legitimate apps, such as wedding invitations, job offers, or banking apps, to lure victims into installing malware on their devices. These are installation files for Android applications. Attackers disguise them as legitimate apps, such as wedding invitations, job offers, or banking apps, to lure victims into installing malware on their devices. pdf and .doc files: Cybercriminals embed malicious code in PDF documents or Word files that exploit vulnerabilities in software to install malware on opening. Cybercriminals embed malicious code in PDF documents or Word files that exploit vulnerabilities in software to install malware on opening. zip and .rar archives: Compressed files can be used to hide malware. When the attachment is extracted, the malware is installed on the device, mostly without the knowledge of the user. Compressed files can be used to hide malware. When the attachment is extracted, the malware is installed on the device, mostly without the knowledge of the user. exe files: These executable (.exe) files can install viruses, keyloggers, or ransomware on a Windows system. Image and audio files: Though less common, attackers sometimes embed malicious code in images (JPEG, PNG) and audio files to exploit system vulnerabilities. Anyone who uses a digital communication device, like, a mobile is susceptible to dangerous attachments. It is common knowledge that cybercriminals often target senior citizens and less tech-savvy individuals because they may lack awareness of cybersecurity threats. However, we have seen even highly educated and wise people become cyberfraud victims in several cases. So there is no limit. However, senior citizens and people with limited technical knowledge may not recognise phishing attempts or suspicious file extensions which makes them more vulnerable to scams. Further, criminals are often found using emotional manipulation, urgency and impersonation tactics to create a sense of trust and urgency. Here are some common tricks used by fraudsters... Fake wedding invitations: Cybercriminals send APK or .apk files disguised as wedding invitations, which, when installed, steal banking credentials and personal data or remotely control the device. Fake job offers: Fraudsters send job application forms or links for the 'dream' job that installs malware when clicked. Lottery scams: Messages claiming a user has won a lottery prize prompt them to download a form or install an application to claim it. Bank fraud messages: Fake emails and SMS messages claiming to be from banks request users to install an app for security verification which turns out to be credential-stealing malware or spyware. Opening a malicious attachment can have devastating consequences, including financial loss, identity theft and takeover of the device. As I mentioned above, malware can steal banking credentials, credit card information and payment details, leading to unauthorised transactions. Cybercriminals can also access personal information, such as ID proofs, phone numbers and addresses, to commit fraud in the user's name. Some malware grants cybercriminals remote access to a user's phone or computer, allowing them to control files, record keystrokes, and even use the camera and microphone. Some malware automatically forwards itself to users' contacts, perpetuating the attack. Ransomware can lock all files on the device, demanding payment to restore access. However, ransomware attacks are primarily used on corporations and not many cases have been reported of individuals becoming victims. It brings us to the most important question: How can you protect yourself from malicious attachments sent by fraudsters and cybercriminals? Remember, while cybercriminals continue to develop sophisticated scams, users also can take proactive measures to protect themselves from falling victim to such fraud. Here are a few suggestions... 1. Never open unknown attachments If you receive an attachment from an unknown sender, do not open it. Even if the sender is someone you know, verify with them before opening any unexpected file attachments. 2. Be wary of .apk files and other executable attachments Never install APK files from unofficial sources. Only download apps from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. If someone sends you an APK file, be highly suspicious and avoid installing it, unless verified from a trusted source. 3. Enable security features on your device Keep your operating system and apps updated to patch security vulnerabilities. Enable Google Play Protect on Android devices to scan for harmful apps. Use an updated antivirus and anti-malware solution for additional protection. 4. Double-check email and message authenticity Look for misspellings, grammatical errors and unusual sender addresses in emails. If an email claims to be from your bank or another institution, contact them directly instead of clicking any links or opening attachments. 5. Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) Enable MFA on all accounts to add an extra layer of security, reducing the risk of account takeovers. 6. Educate yourself and your family Regularly educate yourself and your family members, especially senior citizens, about cyber threats and how to recognise suspicious messages. Teach them how to verify information before taking any action online. 7. Report suspicious messages If you receive a suspicious message, report it to the platform (WhatsApp, Telegram, email-provider) to help prevent others from being targeted. Report any financial fraud attempts to your nearest police station or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) http://cybercrime.gov.in or call the toll-free national helpline number, 1930. With cybercriminals constantly innovating their attack methods, users must stay vigilant and practice caution while handling attachments on WhatsApp, Telegram, emails and SMS messages. Scams like the recent .apk wedding invitation highlight the dangers of unquestioningly trusting digital messages. By staying informed, verifying sources and implementing security measures, individuals can protect themselves and their loved ones from falling victim to these fraudulent tactics. Remember, scepticism and awareness are your best defences in the digital world. Stay Alert, Stay Safe! How To Report Cyber Fraud? Do report cyber crimes to the NCCRP http://cybercrime.gov.in or call the toll-free National Helpline number, 1930. To follow on social media: Twitter (@Cyberdost), Facebook (CyberDostI4C), Instagram (cyberdostl4C), Telegram (cyberdosti4c). Are you a victim of Online Financial Fraud? Immediately call helpline Number 1930 and register your complaint at https://t.co/cr6WZMOi4c pic.twitter.com/HZqUMKSDNF Cyber Dost (@Cyberdost) October 12, 2022 If the fraud is related to your bank account, you need to immediately send an email to the official email ID of your branch (you can find it on the bank's website or your passbook) with a copy to the bank's customer care. Even if you have called the official number for customer care, you must still send an email describing your conversation with the bank executive, along with the time, date, and duration of the call. This will be helpful if you face a liability issue with the bank. Report suspects Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred Mohit Gupta, proprietor of Safe Trading, for one year for providing unregistered investment advisory services. While imposing a fine of Rs6 lakh, SEBI also asked Mr Gupta to refund Rs23.94 lakh collected as fees from clients, investors or complainants. In the order, G Ramar, chief general manager (CGM) of SEBI, says, "As a regulator of the capital markets, SEBI has the duty to safeguard the interests of investors and protect the integrity of the securities market. Since, the conduct of Mr Gupta is not in the interest of investors and the securities market, necessary action has to be taken against him. Therefore, I find that Mr Gupta has violated the provisions of Section 12(1) of SEBI Act of the IA Regulations and Regulation 3 (b), (c) & (d),4 (2)(k)and(s) of the PFUTP Regulations." SEBI initiated an investigation against Mr Gupta and his firm Safe Trading after receiving two complaints, one dated 22 August 2019 and another on 12 March 2020. The complaints alleged that Mr Gupta was carrying out investment advisory activities without proper registration, violating multiple provisions of the SEBI Act, 1992, the SEBI Investment Advisers (IA) Regulations, 2013 and the SEBI Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Regulations, 2003. The first complaint was filed by Kirit Koshti, who paid Rs10,000 for intraday trading tips but suffered a Rs8,000 loss instead of the promised Rs22,000 profit. Despite multiple refund requests, Mr Gupta blocked all communication and refused to refund the money to Mr Koshti. The second complaint was filed by Praneeth Reddy Padamati, who paid Rs10,000 for crude oil trading tips but incurred losses of Rs14,000. Mr Gupta initially promised recovery but stopped communication when Mr Padamati asked for a refund. SEBI's investigation into Mr Gupta's bank accounts revealed transactions indicative of advisory fees. Bank records showed Rs1.64 crore in credit transactions in a current account associated with Safe Trading and an additional Rs72 lakh in a savings account under Mr Gupta's name. Specific transactions referenced investment-related terms such as fee, algo, crude, stock, nifty and tip, confirming that Mr Gupta collected money for investment advisory services. The total amount linked to unregistered investment advisory services was Rs23.94 lakh. Further scrutiny of Mr Gupta's activities on social media and other platforms reinforced SEBI's findings. His Telegram channel, named 'Safe Trading Mohit Gupta', has been operational since 22 September 2019, with over 1,357 subscribers. SEBI found that the channel was actively promoting investment advisory services, providing stock market tips, and guaranteeing accuracy in predictions. Further, SEBI found that the Telegram channel also encouraged investors to share their demat account details for an algo trading service in exchange for a registration fee and monthly maintenance charge. Mr Gupta also maintained an Instagram account under the handle @safetrading.in, which had 2,288 followers and was used for similar promotional activities. His website, 'safe-trading.in' explicitly described his advisory services and contained claims of a large client base and successful trading history. SEBI also inquired about Mr Gupta's registration status with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). NSE confirmed that Mr Gupta was an authorised person (AP) with RKSV Securities India Pvt Ltd but was no longer associated with them. BSE found no records of his registration as an AP. Depositories such as CDSL and NSDL were also approached, and while CDSL found multiple demat accounts in Mr Gupta's name, NSDL did not have any records. SEBI examination of Mr Gupta's website and promotional materials showed that he falsely projected himself as an expert trader with extensive experience in technical analysis. His website encouraged people to join his Telegram group and claimed he could generate significant profits from crude oil trading. SEBI determined that these claims were misleading and part of an unregistered investment advisory scheme designed to collect money from unsuspecting investors. Based on the evidence gathered, SEBI concluded that Mr Gupta provided investment advisory services without proper registration. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed penalties of Rs25.95 lakh on nine cooperative Banks and one non-banking financial company (NBFC) for noncompliance with the directions issued by the banking regulator. The highest penalty of Rs15 lakh has been imposed on Mumbai-based NKGSB Cooperative Bank Ltd. Other entities penalised by RBI include Maharashtra-based Jalna People's Cooperative Bank Ltd, Karnataka-based Sri Ganesh Cooperative Bank Ltd, Tumkur Veerashaiva Cooperative Bank Ltd, Bagalkot District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd and Kerala Mercantile Cooperative Bank Ltd. Other penalised lenders include Odisha-based Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd, Tamil Nadu's Sholinghur Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd and Telangana-based Nizamabad District Cooperative Central Bank Ltd. Mikhael Capitalize Pvt Ltd, an NBFC from Kerala, is also penalised. NKGSB Cooperative Bank has been penalised for noncompliance with directions issued by RBI on the management of advances-urban cooperative banks (UCBs). RBI's statutory inspection revealed that the lender had sanctioned or granted certain loans for the purchase of gold. Further, Jalna People's Cooperative Bank has been penalised Rs75,000 for noncompliance with the RBI Directions on gold loan bullet repayment Primary UCBs. RBI discovered that the lender had sanctioned gold loans under the bullet repayment scheme beyond the prescribed regulatory limit. RBI conducted a statutory inspection of Sri Ganesh Cooperative Bank and found that the lender breached the prudential inter-bank (gross) and counterparty exposure limits and made some donations in excess of the prescribed regulatory limit. As a result, RBI imposed a penalty of Rs2.50 lakh on Ganesh Cooperative Bank. Bagalkot District Central Cooperative Bank and Nizamabad District Cooperative Central Bank have been fined Rs1 lakh each for contravention of provisions of Section 20 of the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act). Both the lenders had sanctioned certain loans to their directors. Tumkur Veerashaiva Cooperative Bank has been fined Rs50,000 for failing to comply with specific RBI directives under the supervisory action framework (SAF). The lender violated regulations by sanctioning fresh loans and advances with a risk weight exceeding 100%, failing to reduce its exposure to sectors with high levels of non-performing assets (NPAs) and not controlling its operating and administrative expenses. Mikhael Capitalize, an NBFC from Kerala, has been fined Rs1 lakh for noncompliance with some provisions of the master direction NBFC non-systemically important non-deposit taking company RBI Directions, 2016, along with the master direction RBI NBFC-Scale Based Regulation Directions, 2023. RBI found that Mikhael Capitalize failed to obtain prior written permission for a change in shareholding exceeding 26% of its paid-up equity capital. Additionally, it did not inform the RBI about the appointment of an independent director within the prescribed timeline. Kerala Mercantile Cooperative Bank has been fined Rs50,000 for noncompliance with specific directions issued by RBI under SAF. The lender incurred capital expenditure, much in excess of the permitted limit, without prior approval of RBI in non-adherence to specific directions issued under SAF. Odisha-based Cooperative Urban Bank has been penalised Rs2.70 lakh for noncompliance with directions issued by RBI on exposure norms and statutory or other restrictions- UCBs and credit information companies (CICs) membership by cooperative banks. RBI found that the Odisha-based lender had breached prudential inter-bank (gross) and counterparty exposure limits and failed to obtain membership in two CICs. Sholinghur Cooperative Urban Bank from Tamil Nadu was fined Rs1 lakh for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on exposure norms and statutory or other restrictions - UCBs and know-your-customer (KYC). RBI statutory inspection revealed that the lender had sanctioned loans to nominal members more than the prescribed regulatory limit and failed to upload the KYC records of customers onto the central KYC records registry (CKYCR) within the stipulated timeline. In all ten cases, RBI said penalties are based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and are not intended to pronounce on the validity of any transaction or agreement they entered into with their customers. Kenya has received a Ksh.1.8 billion (RMB 100 million) grant from China to support its healthcare sector. On Thursday, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi signed the agreement with Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Guo Haiyan, in Nairobi. The funds will go toward upgrading key medical facilities, including Londiani Referral Hospital in Kericho County, Baringo County Referral Hospital, Kilifi Hospital, and Misikhu Hospital in Bungoma. Additionally, Bildad Kagia Hospital in Muranga County and Kaimosi Farmers Training College in Vihiga will benefit from the grant. The funding comes at a time when Kenya is reassessing its reliance on foreign aid due to increasing debt and shrinking financial support from international partners. Things are not easy our fiscal space has no legroom anymore, especially as foreign countries like the USA have stopped funding us, and we soon expect the EU to follow suit, Mbadi said on Tuesday. He warned that the country is facing a tough financial period as previous borrowing decisions have led to soaring debt repayments. We will be left to look inward, and this is the worst period for Kenya. Some time back, we decided to take loans as a country, and these loans have now reached their peak, he added. CS Mbadi thanked the Chinese Government for its continued support, noting that the partnership underscores strong bilateral ties between Kenya and China. Nominated Member of Parliament Sabina Chege was taken aback by the sight of mud houses in Bungoma during a January burial ceremony for the mother of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula and Westlands MP Timothy Wanyonyi. Speaking on Spice FM on Thursday, Chege shared her shock at the level of underdevelopment in Bungoma County, noting that such living conditions are rare in Central Kenya, where residents generally enjoy higher standards of living. When we attended the burial of the mother of our Speaker of the National Assembly, I was shocked to see that in Bungoma County, there are still many mud houses, and even an entire shopping centre made of mud, Chege said. She attributed this stark contrast in development to the income sources available in different regions. In Central Kenya, she explained, cash crops like tea and coffee have played a major role in uplifting local economies, enabling families to improve their livelihoods. Reflecting on her childhood, Chege highlighted how tea farming shaped her upbringing and provided financial stability for her family. We would wake up early before school to pick tea and work late into the evening. We worked very hard. We farmed, she recalled. However, she clarified that her observations were not meant to pit one region against another but to highlight the root causes of economic disparities. Chege shared a personal anecdote about how her mother would often hand her a cheque from tea bonuses to take to school. She emphasized that many families in Central Kenya have long used income from cash crops to uplift their lives. The cash crops in Central Kenya have helped people upgrade their lifestyles, she said, adding that these earnings have enabled residents to secure bank loans and build modern homes. She pointed out that development disparities are not necessarily due to peoples effort or dedication but rather the type of income-generating opportunities available in different regions. In her view, cash crops have been a driving force behind Central Kenyas progress, while other regions may struggle due to limited access to similar economic avenues. Nyanzas Lack of Development Sabina Chege at the same time noted that large parts of Nyanza lag behind in development, with residents attributing the situation to their history of being in the opposition. When I visited Nyanza, I discovered that many areas lacked clean water. A resident told me they had never had access to clean water because they had always been in the opposition and had never supported the government. This deeply concerns me, even for my own people in Mount Kenya, Chege stated. She then posed a thought-provoking question: Do you want to join the opposition and miss out on the benefits of being in government? Chege also put county governors on notice, emphasizing their responsibility to improve the living standards of the people in their regions. I do not understand why Turkana still lacks access to clean water, despite having the largest aquifer and receiving substantial county funding every year. Where are the priorities? she questioned. She further stressed the urgent need for equitable distribution of national resources to ensure all regions benefit. We must acknowledge that other communities exist in this country, and we should distribute resources fairly, Chege stated. Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo has sharply criticized President William Rutos latest cabinet reshuffle, accusing the administration of appointing incompetent individuals to key government positions. During a live TV interview on Thursday, March 27, 2025, Maanzo condemned Rutos habit of placing unqualified people in critical roles, only to later fire them when they fail to perform. He cautioned Kenyans against expecting significant changes from the reshuffle, which introduced Geoffrey Ruku and Hannah Wendot to crucial ministerial positions. The bigger trouble is with the PSs and CSs. We have a lot of incompetent PS and CS in the country. I have seen this PS come before the house. Most of them are clueless as to what they are coming to do. A lot of them present materials to the house that are substandard and illegal in the house, and sometimes the government forces people to pass, like what happened with the SHA and SHIF. This is the problem, Maanzo asserted. Maanzo contrasted Rutos leadership with that of former President Mwai Kibaki, arguing that Kibaki maintained a stable government, while Rutos administration is plagued by constant instability due to frequent ministerial changes. He also criticized the creation of new government positions, claiming they are driven by political survival rather than a genuine effort to improve service delivery. The continuous reshuffling and introduction of new posts are clear signs of a collapsing government. Kenya Kwanza is struggling to hold itself together, he remarked. Maanzo Backs Duale as the Only Competent CS Despite his criticism of the government, Maanzo singled out newly appointed Health CS Aden Duale as the only functional minister in Rutos Cabinet. He praised Duales track record, citing his effectiveness in previous roles, including his tenure as Defense CS, Environment CS, and Majority Leader in Parliament. The only person I will say knows his job well is Duale. He is the only functional CS I know in the cabinet. The rest Im sorry. From his presentation as the CS for defence, environment and as the majority leader during his functional PS in the cabinet, he brought six regulations thoroughly researched and complied with the law, Maanzo stated. The senator urged Duale to prioritize tackling corruption in the health sector, particularly within the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). We want him to tell us who stole Kenyan money in NHIF, prosecute them, recover the money, and bring it back to Kenyans. He has a huge challenge ahead of him, but he can do it, he asserted. Popular TikToker Maria Rish Kamunge has landed in police custody over allegations of running a fraudulent overseas job placement scheme that defrauded Kenyans of millions. On Wednesday, March 26, a group of angry victims stormed Kamunges office in Nairobis CBD, demanding answers. Many carried documents proving they had paid hefty fees to her agency, Trust Pin Verified Agency Limited, for job placements that never materialized. In response to their complaints, police swiftly moved in and forcibly escorted Kamunge from her office on Moi Avenue to Central Police Station, where authorities have now launched a full investigation into her agencys operations. Nairobi Central Sub-County Commander Stephen Okal urged more victims to come forward and record statements to aid in the probe. Kamunges lawyer defended her, claiming that rogue associates had misrepresented her agency. The lawyer also assured the public that she would refund clients who failed to secure jobs. How the Alleged Scam Worked Many victims say they discovered Trust Pin Verified Agency Limited through Kamunges TikTok videos and social media posts, which promised lucrative job opportunities abroad. Speaking to the media, victims revealed they each paid between Ksh 200,000 to Ksh400,000 for a supposed job placement in Mauritius. The payment, according to the agency, was meant to cover airfare, agency fees, and other processing costs. However, upon arrival in Mauritius, many job seekers discovered that the hotels they were supposed to work at did not exist, leaving them stranded in a foreign country without any assistance. Victims Speak Out One victim, Nasimiyu, shared her distressing ordeal with NTV, explaining how she was left stranded at the airport despite following all the required procedures. I did everything they asked, but it still failed. When I came back to demand a refund, they refused, saying I could try another country instead. I declined because it had failed too many times. When I insisted on my refund, they even threatened to call the police to kick me out to Central Police Station, she recalled. Another victim, Harrison Bhagwasi, boarded a flight to Mauritius on March 13, 2025, hopeful about securing a job at a five-star hotel. However, his dreams were crushed when he arrived and realized the job did not exist. Authorities continue to investigate as more victims come forward, seeking justice. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has defended the governments decision to prevent the Kenyan shilling from appreciating too much against the US dollar. Speaking before the Parliamentary Budget and Appropriations Committee on Thursday, March 27, Mbadi cautioned that an overly strong shilling could harm the countrys export sector. He warned that if exports decline, Kenyas foreign exchange reserves would take a hit, increasing the countrys economic vulnerability. We cannot allow the shilling to appreciate too much; we assess that the shilling at 130 units is the most reasonable for our economy because if you make the shilling too strong, you discourage exports, Mbadi stated. He further explained that weaker exports would directly impact the countrys ability to meet its debt obligations. The moment you discourage exports, you will not have foreign exchange reserves, and you will be more exposed because now you cannot even pay your debts, he added. To strike a balance, Mbadi revealed that the government is actively managing the exchange rate to ensure both exporters and importers benefit. While a stronger shilling makes imports cheaper, it also reduces Kenyas competitiveness in global markets, which could have long-term economic repercussions. Beyond currency stabilization, Mbadi pointed out that the shillings recent appreciation had helped cut Kenyas external debt. He noted that the stronger currency had reduced the countrys foreign debt from Ksh6 trillion to Ksh5 trillion. By the shilling just appreciating, that debt has come from Ksh6 trillion to Ksh5 trillion; the effect of this is that you pay less of the principal amount, and the interest charged is also less, he explained. To further address the countrys growing debt, Mbadi stated that the government was securing cheaper loans to replace expensive ones. You cannot just wake up one morning and decide to pay all your debts; it is not practical, so whatever debt you take must be cheaper than what you had for you to retire the old one, he noted. The finance minister also revealed that Kenya would turn to domestic borrowing, as multilateral lenders have started reducing their loan offers to the country. A display featuring dresses on loan from drag queens Jodie Santana and Blanche Dubois is being installed as part of an exhibition that opens Friday, April 4, in Sharp Museum. (Photo by Todd Duermyer) SIUs Sharp Museums new exhibitions include celebrating LGBTQ+ community by Pete Rosenbery CARBONDALE, Ill. Southern Illinois University Carbondales Sharp Museum will open three new exhibitions in April, including one that celebrates the regions LGBTQ+ community. In a time of great erasure, it is important to preserve our histories, said T Lance, the museums curator of exhibits. I look forward to bringing visibility of our greater communitys experiences by telling their stories through these exhibitions. Sharp Museum is not only for those on campus. but we are also the greater Southern Illinois regions museum. The exhibitions are: April 4-Oct. 31 West Gallery: Multiple artists, Queer Stories, Queer Spaces Southern Illinois Histories and Queertographies. Reception: 4:30-7 p.m. Friday, April 4. April 11-Sept. 25 Saluki Gallery: Nicholas Blair, Castro to Christopher, Gay Streets of America, 1979-1986. Reception: 4:30-7 p.m. April 11. Blair will discuss his work at 3:30 p.m. in the museum auditorium. April 18-May 31 Hall of Art: Monica Turner, The Way Out is in Deeper. Reception: 4-6 p.m. April 18. As with all exhibitions, the artwork represents the viewpoints of its creators, not SIU. SIU complies with the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act and State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Queer Stories, Queer Spaces Lance said Queer Stories, Queer Spaces is a celebration of two years of researching, compiling and designing a collaborative exhibition. The reception will allow visitors to listen to the rich oral histories, experience the collective memories and learn the facts and figures of our local queer community in the greater Carbondale area in the 1970s and 1980s, they said. The event is cosponsored by Sharp Museum and SIU Carbondales Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center. Lance added that visitors will be encouraged to leave their queer histories in the story booth that is a part of the exhibition, and that resources will also be available for people to learn how to become involved and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Castro to Christopher Photographs by visual artist Nicholas Blair capture the period after Stonewall and before the worst days of the AIDS epidemic illustrating what life was like for gay Americans. The exhibition features nearly 60 photographs of his work. Blairs book, Castro to Christopher, Gay Streets of America, 1979-1986, features 126 photographs and notes that if the specter of AIDS were not hanging over these photographs, it would be as if they were showing us a parallel universe where full equality under law for LGBTQ people could have come so much sooner. As they stand, these historic images are time capsules of a few places in America, where, for the very first time, and for a very short while, it was ok to be gay. Blair earned his MFA in photography in 1981 from the San Francisco Art Institute. The Way Out is in Deeper Turners work focuses on constructing environments that simulate memories of moments in time when it felt like the space the viewer was inhabiting was not made for them, or does not want them there, or both, Lance said. Lance said Turners pieces use forced perspective and a combative relationship with gravity to disorient the viewer and utilize highly saturated colors to display a heightened sense of reality. Turner used cardboard, paper, paint, drawings and sometimes photorealistic landscape images to build the scenes for this work. Turner earned a bachelors degree in ceramics in 2017 from the Kansas City Art Institute and is working toward a Master of Fine Arts degree in ceramics from SIU Carbondale. Museum hours For more information, contact T Lance at 618-453-5388 or t.lance@siu.edu or visit museum.siu.edu. Sharp Museum hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1-4 p.m. Saturday. The museum is closed Sunday and Monday and during all SIU breaks and holidays. India's industrial and logistics (I&L) sector is expected to witness strong growth in 2025, driven by increasing demand for warehousing, particularly from e-commerce companies, according to a report by CBRE. The report highlighted that the sector's positive momentum, which picked up in the latter half of 2024, will likely continue in the coming year. It said, "This activity is expected to be driven by the influx of investment-grade supply, the finalisation of pending transactions, and the growth in warehousing demand by e-commerce players". The report attributed this growth to multiple factors, including the availability of high-quality supply, the completion of pending transactions, and rising demand from e-commerce players. The third-party logistics (3PL) sector is expected to remain the largest occupier group, alongside continued leasing demand from the engineering & manufacturing (E&M), e-commerce, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors. The report also noted that the institutional investors are expected to play a crucial role in this expansion, with many backing developers to construct modern, sustainable warehouses. These developments will help meet the increasing need for advanced warehousing solutions. Major cities such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai are already seeing significant warehouse construction activity, ensuring a strong supply pipeline in 2025. However, the report also pointed out that some challenges could impact project completion timelines. Factors such as rising land acquisition costs, extended acquisition processes, complicated land ownership structures, and ongoing legal proceedings may delay developments. To counter these hurdles, developers are likely to explore new locations, particularly in peripheral areas and along key infrastructure corridors. Investment in India's I&L sector has seen steady growth, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent from 2019 to 2024. Foreign investors have been the main contributors, accounting for about 68% of the total investment during this period. In 2025, investor sentiment is expected to remain positive, though there may be a more detailed approach to deal execution and due diligence. With strong demand from e-commerce, growing investor confidence, and an increasing supply of modern warehouses, India's I&L sector is set to maintain its upward trajectory in 2025. (ANI) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], March 28: Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), a premier S&T organization of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, successfully hosted SANGAM 2025-a landmark event celebrating innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital transformation. Held at the Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre, New Delhi, this flagship initiative under MeitY's Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) brought together an inspiring confluence of startups, investors, industry leaders, mentors, and policymakers committed to nurturing India's vibrant startup ecosystem. The highlight of the event was the felicitation of 16 Rising Star startups which are NGIS beneficiaries. These startups represent a new wave of Indian innovation across a wide range of sectors including healthtech, fintech, edtech, agritech, cybersecurity, deeptech, and social impact technologies. With STPI's extensive incubation support, mentorship, and funding assistance, each of these ventures has scaled new heights-creating impact at national and global levels. Speaking at the event, Shri Arvind Kumar, Director General, STPI, said, "At STPI, we believe startups are the driving force of India's digital economy and innovation-led future. Through NGIS, we've created an enabling platform where disruptive ideas are nurtured, mentored, and brought to life. The startups we felicitated today are not only solving real-world problems but also making India proud on the global stage. Their success is a testament to the power of public-private collaboration and India's unstoppable entrepreneurial spirit." Among the recognized ventures was Arficus Pvt. Ltd. (Bhilai), which has revolutionized healthcare diagnostics through AI-driven genomics with its MEDHINI platform, while Coratia Technologies (Bhubaneswar) is pioneering unmanned underwater vehicles for critical environmental and defense applications. From Devnagri AI (Mohali) redefining multilingual communication using neural machine translation, to IntelleWings (Mohali) advancing AML and fraud detection solutions globally-these startups are reshaping industry frontiers. Nayan India (Lucknow) is leveraging crowdsourced data for road safety and smart mobility, and Sequretek (Guwahati) is simplifying enterprise cybersecurity for global clients. Women-led startups like Empfly Services (Mohali) are innovating in AI-driven healthcare, while Ezymind Healthcare (Dehradun) merges neuroscience and wearable tech to promote mental wellness through its InnerGize device. In the field of clean tech, Felis Leo Widgets (Bhubaneswar) is producing biodegradable EV batteries from agricultural waste, and Nemocare Wellness (Vijayawada) is transforming maternal and neonatal healthcare with its flagship wearable solution. Paymart India (Mohali) is enhancing financial inclusion with India's first Virtual ATM for cardless cash withdrawals in underserved areas. Making strides in inclusive innovation, DeepVisionTech (Bhubaneswar) is empowering the Deaf community through accessible AI-driven communication platforms. In agri-tech, Ekosight Technologies (Dehradun) is enabling real-time soil diagnostics to drive sustainable farming, and Innogical Innovation (Dehradun) is advancing rural education and e-governance through tech-enabled science centres. Furthering employment and learning, Kaushal Circle (Bhubaneswar) is connecting blue and grey-collar workers with dignified jobs, and Schooglink (Patna) is transforming rural education through affordable hybrid learning solutions designed for underserved communities. The event was graced by distinguished dignitaries including Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, as Chief Guest;, MeitY; Shri Arvind Kumar, Director General, STPI; Shri K.K. Singh, Joint Secretary, Ms. Farzana Haque, Investor and Global Business Leader; Shri Pradeep Gupta, Chairman & MD, CyberMedia; Shri Sanjay Shah, Chief Operating Officer - India & Southeast Asia, Wadhwani Foundation; Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder, Venture Catalysts++ and others. In addition to the felicitation ceremony, SANGAM 2025 featured, Inaugural session, investor-connect sessions, Thematic sessions showcasing innovative solutions by successful startups, and networking forums. It served as a platform to celebrate achievements, unlock new partnerships, and spark conversations on emerging technologies, scalability, and inclusive innovation. With 24 Centres of Entrepreneurship and multiple NGIS hubs spread across the country, STPI continues to democratize innovation by enabling promising entrepreneurs not only from Tier I cities but also from Tier II and Tier III cities to access world-class infrastructure, expert mentoring, growth capital and more. SANGAM 2025 proved to be more than just an event-it was a celebration of India's spirit of innovation, a reaffirmation of STPI's mission, and a bold step forward in realizing the vision of a self-reliant, tech-driven nation. (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) New Delhi [India], March 28: DuDigital Global Ltd is proud to announce its appointment as a Designated Agency for processing Group Visa Applications to the Republic of Korea. This prestigious designation empowers DuDigital Global to facilitate streamlined group visa submissions directly at the Embassy of South Korea in New Delhi. "We are honored to be recognized as a trusted partner by the Embassy of South Korea. This designation is a testament to our consistent efforts in simplifying global travel and delivering secure, seamless visa services across borders," said Manoj Dharmani, Group CEO of DuDigital Global Ltd. This appointment marks a significant milestone in the company's ongoing commitment to strengthening global mobility services and diplomatic facilitation. Key Highlights of the Group Visa Program: * Submission Point: Direct submission at the Embassy by DuDigital Global* Simplified Minimum Requirements* Express Visa* Eligibility: Groups from anywhere in India may apply through the Delhi route* Group Size Requirements:* Minimum: 1 Leader + 5 Members (6 total)* Maximum: 1 Leader + 49 Members (Multiple groupings allowed)* School Groups also welcome Required Documentation: Please contact our sales team for a full list of required documents and assistance in preparing your application. DuDigital Global Ltd, a publicly listed company on the NSE, continues to expand its footprint in consular and visa processing services across multiple geographies. This new role as a designated visa facilitator for South Korea affirms our dedication to operational excellence and international cooperation. For inquiries or to initiate a group visa application, please contact:Email: southkorea@dudigitalglobal.com Website: www.dudigitalglobal.com (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) VMPL Katra (Jammu & Kashmir) [India], March 28: A recent wedding held at the foothills of Mata Vaishno Devi in Katra has sparked interest in the region as a new and unique destination for grand celebrations. Against the picturesque Trikuta Mountains, this event seamlessly blends spirituality, luxury, and breathtaking natural beauty, offering an alternative to the conventional wedding hubs of Jaipur, Udaipur, Jim Corbett, and Goa. The wedding, hosted at the luxurious Taj Vivanta, featured a couple from Delhi and Gurgaon who chose Katra over more traditional options. This decision, once considered unconventional, has now positioned Katra as an emerging wedding destination, demonstrating its ability to offer an exclusive and serene atmosphere for nuptials. A Blend of Hospitality, Spirituality, and Luxury Set against a backdrop of misty peaks and lush greenery, the wedding highlighted Katra's potential as a location that provides both opulence and tranquility. Unlike bustling wedding venues where multiple events take place simultaneously, Katra offers a more intimate experience with exclusivity and peace, ideal for families seeking a spiritually enriched yet grand celebration. A key highlight of the event was the hospitality provided by the team at Taj Vivanta. Destination weddings often require seamless coordination due to guests arriving at different times and schedules varying throughout the celebrations. The attentive staff ensured a personalized experience, catering to both the young revelers enjoying late-night festivities and the elders seeking a spiritual retreat at sunrise. Culinary Excellence Showcased at the Wedding One of the most talked-about aspects of the wedding was the diverse and carefully curated culinary experience. With an extensive menu featuring Pan-Asian, Mughlai, Chinese, and authentic Kashmiri cuisine, the wedding feast stood out as an unforgettable gastronomic journey. The head chef, Mr. Joginder Sharma, led the team in crafting a menu that garnered widespread praise, with guests lauding the exquisite flavors and meticulous presentation. A Stunning Visual Spectacle The wedding's design and decor were meticulously executed by event planners Rishabh and Diksha, who transformed the space to reflect the couple's vision. Vibrant turquoise and yellow themes set the stage for the Haldi and Mehendi ceremonies, while an ethereal lighting arrangement illuminated the grand Sangeet night. The wedding ceremony itself was a visual masterpiece, featuring a pristine white mandap beneath a majestic tree, adorned with cascading flowers and immersed in the divine aura of Mata Vaishno Devi. From choreographed dance performances to traditional rituals, the wedding successfully demonstrated how Katra's natural beauty and spiritual energy enhance the essence of a once in a lifetime celebration. Katra: A New Chapter in Destination Weddings With its scenic landscapes, strong spiritual presence, and increasing accessibility via direct train routes, Katra is poised to attract couples looking for an extraordinary wedding venue. While popular destinations like Goa and Udaipur continue to dominate the wedding industry, Katra presents a unique alternative, offering a blend of tranquility, exclusivity, and divine blessings that few other locations can match. As wedding trends evolve, Katra is now on the map as a premier wedding destination, providing families with an opportunity to celebrate love in a setting that is both magnificent and meaningful. (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) VMPL New Delhi [India], March 28: Everyone likes to travel and in the last few years, the trend of travelling by bike has increased a lot among the youth. Every year, millions of tourists from not only India but also from abroad come to India just for Travel and sightseeing and they prefer to travel by motorcycle. Keeping these trends in mind, a few years ago MotozRide started bike rental, bike guided tours carnet international shipping, personal used bikes shipping and export services. In those few years, Motozride has emerged as a leading company in the field of motorcycle guided tours and is providing national and international tourists a tour of India by motorcycle And today with 40000 associates, it is functioning as a trusted organization for country's leading bike guided tours, bike carnet international shipping & export and bike rental. Motozride, with its efficient leadership team and excellent network, can ship tourist carnet motorcycles to any port of delivery in the world under motorcycle international shipping and export service. Carnet bikes are also imported and exported through air or waterways. Before exporting a bike to any country, the team of Motozride clarifies all the export rules of that country & all the documents including all the relevant documents related to the bike are prepared in advance so that the customer does not face any problem at the time of delivery at his port in his country. A scanned copy of the original shipping papers of the bike is made available to the tourist or his associate in advance. Specially designed for bike lovers across the globe, Motozride services are also very popular for its reliable bike rental services along with hassle-free bike carnet international shipping services. For bike ride enthusiasts, their favourite bikes are also made available to travel to places across India such as Leh & Ladakh,Spiti Valley, Char Dham, Rajasthan as well as Nepal and Bhutan etc (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) The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is currently rolling out 1,00,000 fully indigenous 4G towers under the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme, which includes Core technology by C-DOT (a government entity), RAN (telecom towers) by Tejas Networks and System integration by TCS. Speaking at the Times Now Summit 2025, Union Minister for Communication Jyotiraditya Scindia stated that the government aims to complete the target by June this year, and once the target is achieved, these towers will be switched to 5G. "Currently, only four countries--China, Finland, Sweden, and South Korea--have companies producing a telecom stack. India is now the fifth country to achieve this with our indigenous 4G telecom stack. BSNL is rolling out 100,000 fully indigenous 4G towers under Atmanirbhar Bharat. This includes: Core technology by C-DOT (a government entity), RAN (telecom towers) by Tejas Networks and System integration by TCS. We aim to complete this by June. Once that is done, we will switch these 100,000 towers to 5G. Simultaneously, we are already working on 6G", Jyotiraditya Scindia said during the event. Scindia further opened up on BSNL's profits and said that the government has already launched Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite messaging services. "BSNL is already ahead of the curve. We have launched Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite messaging services. More importantly, after 18 years, BSNL has finally turned profitable. In the October-December quarter, BSNL posted a Rs262 crore net profit, compared to a *Rs1,262 crore loss* in Q3 last year. At the same time, we have cut costs by 18%, leading to a **3x growth in EBITDA, from Rs450 crores to Rs1,500 crores. India remains one of the few countries with four competing telecom operators. While global markets are seeing telecom consolidation, India is experiencing rapid telecom expansion," Scindia stated. Scindia credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for giving importance to telecom and IT and said if India needs to become a global market leader, these sectors shall always be at the forefront. "Bharat today is firing on all cylinders. What the industrial revolution was a hundred years ago, today the communication revolution is going to make an exponentially bigger change on that same paradigm. What used to be physical highways are now communication highways, and these communication highways will change every facet of human life over the next decade", Jyotiraditya Scindia said. "This is why the Prime Minister has placed primary importance on telecom and IT--because if India is to become a global market leader, these sectors must be at the forefront. In 2014, we had 900 million mobile subscribers. Today, we have over 1.2 billion. Back then, we had 250 million people connected to the internet--equivalent to the entire population of the United States. Today, we have 970 million Internet users. In 2014, only 60 million people were on broadband (2GB or more). Today, that number stands at 940 million. The jump has been exponential. India has historically been a services-led communication giant. However, the Prime Minister has made it clear that we must evolve into a telecom product nation. To become a major player in telecom product manufacturing, we need to enter the league of nations that produce telecom stacks", he added. The Union Minister also informed about government's plans on 6G technology saying that India will lead the world in 6G. "In late 2022, early 2023, the Prime Minister launched the Bharat 6G Alliance (BG6A). This initiative brings together equipment manufacturers, telecom operators, ISPs, IITs, and academicians to ensure that India contributes at least 10% to the global 6G standards (IMT-3GPP 6G). We have 100 5G test beds, 6G test beds and the 'Bharat 6G Alliance' collaborating with international counterparts from the US, Germany, South Korea, EU, and the UK. We followed the world on 4G. We marched with the world on 5G. But we will lead the world in 6G", Jyotiraditya Scindia said. The Minister also spoke on satellite communication saying that it only increases the choices available for consumers. He stated that satellite can enable connectivity in remote areas where towers can't be set up. "To survive, we must always stay ahead of the curve. Satellite technology is here, and as Telecom Minister, I see it as complementary, not just competitive. Satellites provide two key advantages: they enable connectivity in remote areas where we cannot set up towers or lay fiber, and in the event of natural disasters where terrestrial networks fail, satellite communication becomes critical. So, for me, satellite technology expands consumer choice," he said. Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the in the satellite space the government has granted licenses to Reliance and Bharti Airtel. "We have moved from GEO to LEO and MEO, which offer lower latency and higher bandwidth. We have already granted licenses to Reliance and Bharti Airtel. Several more companies have applied. As I've said before, our policy is simple: tick the boxes, get spectrum, start operations--India is open for business", he said. (ANI) VMPL Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], March 28: Merakkee Life & Beauty Pvt Ltd, a rising luxury skincare startup, has successfully raised Rs 4.5 Crore ($530K) in its additional seed funding round. The investment was led by a Bangalore-based family office. Founded by Ajit Kurien and Robin Kurian, and co-founded by Ajith Alex George, Merakkee began its ideation and formulation process in late 2022, undergoing multiple iterations and testing. Officially registered in 2024, the company is set to launch its products in 2025. Merakkee is gearing up to introduce a new range of luxury skincare products, tailored to diverse skin types and specific concerns. With strong manufacturing facilities in France and India, the brand is strategically positioned for international expansion. Merakkee aims to expand its product line, scale operations, and reinforce its commitment to innovative natural and wellness solutions. The recent funding will support pilot order fulfillment, strengthen the sales and operations teams, and enhance platform technology to improve customer engagement and satisfaction. "We are thrilled to have secured this funding, which will allow us to accelerate our growth journey and introduce innovative skincare solutions to our customers," said the founders of Merakkee. "Our mission is to help individuals make the right choices for a balanced life. At Merakkee, we eliminate the confusion around wellness by offering products formulated with active and energized ingredients in the perfect combination. Emphasizing inner balance, we strive to build and empower a community by providing solutions tailored to each person's unique needs and values." "Merakkee's commitment to innovation and sustainable skincare solutions aligns perfectly with our investment philosophy. We believe this partnership will help them unlock significant growth potential in the Indian skincare market," said the family investor. Key Features of Merakkee's Products: - Natural Ingredients: Crafted with premium natural ingredients that nourish and rejuvenate the skin. - Rejuvenate your Premium Soul: Achieving self-worth is the ultimate luxury. Merakkee embraces authenticity, helping individuals cultivate a harmonious balance of body and soul, enhancing -never concealing -natural beauty. - Resonate a Mindful Living: Every product is meticulously designed to offer a personalized touch, promoting a tranquil and mindful lifestyle that celebrates individuality. - Reflect the Right Balance: Merakkee inspires self-evolution, aligning seamlessly with nature's rhythms to empower individuals in preserving and enhancing their unique essence. - Sustainability Focus: Committed to eco-friendly packaging and sustainable practices for a greener future. Merakkee has rapidly established itself as a distinguished name in the skincare industry, recognized for its innovative natural products and unique wellness philosophy. Equality is a core value, as Merakkee promotes inclusivity by honoring diverse healing traditions like Ayurveda, Allopathy, Naturopathy, and Homeopathy without bias. The wisdom of self-care relies on the combined essence of each knowledge. The recent funding marks a significant milestone for Merakkee as it strengthens its presence in the Indian skincare market Middle East, Europe and Africa. With an expanded product line and enhanced platform capabilities, the company is set to deliver greater value to customers while maintaining its commitment to innovation and quality. By investing in advanced formulations and eco-friendly packaging, Merakkee aims to meet the growing demand for sustainable and effective skincare solutions. As a Startup India-registered company, Merakkee remains committed to sustainability, delivering skincare solutions that align with the needs of modern consumers. (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 Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 28: Indian weddings have been a long tradition in India, celebrated for their grandioseness as well as the length and detail of these multi-day celebrations. There was a time when they had been viewed as extravagant and a show of wealth. In 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned his eye to destination weddings and appealed to NRIs as well as affluent Indians taking their baraats abroad, to instead explore newer locales in India for destination weddings. "The statements brought more attention to the multi-crore wedding industry with many now seriously looking at its larger economic impact, which would once have been brushed off as 'fluff', says Parthip Thyagarajan, CEO of WeddingSutra.com. "The 'Wed in India' movement is not just about logistical convenience. It is part of a broader shift fuelled by government initiatives to promote domestic tourism and tapping into a deeper desire among couples to reconnect with tradition and family roots," he adds. Weddings may be an all year affair but the peak season ends around end February or mid March every year. At the end of this peak season luxury wedding planners and influencers in the WeddingSutra network speak about how the market has evolved and new opportunities ahead. Rajasthan, Goa and Kerala have always been the top choices but some of India's locations that one wouldn't have considered a decade ago-Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu and Dehradun in Uttarakhand-are prime examples. "They have ridden the wave of destination weddings to attract couples from across states and cultures," states Neha Seth Arora, cofounder of Saffron String. "Destinations like Kashmir, Hampi, and Rann of Kutch offer more than beauty--they promise immersive experiences. Hotel chains and Tourism boards should work with wedding planners and event curators to bring these venues to global audiences," she adds. Decor Experts Embrace the Movement "Earlier, a lot of our work involved replicating global trends, often with imported materials. Now, we are sourcing everything locally," shares Chetan Chouhan of Mokshiva Wedding & Events. "Our work with traditional craftsmen has not only enriched our designs but also created more opportunities for communities. When you see a guest admiring a hand-painted mural and then learn it was made by a local artist, it adds a layer of depth to the celebration," states Aakash Doshi, Founder, Zesst Events & Weddings. Photography Through a New Lens Photographers, too, are finding fresh inspiration. "Indian weddings have always been vibrant, but now, they are also deeply personal," says Rajesh Satankar, co-founder Knotting Bells. "One of my favourite assignments was a wedding in Rajasthan. The couple wanted their love for nature to reflect in their photos. We took portraits in a mustard field at sunrise, and those images felt timeless." "We're now doing more than just capturing moments. We're crafting visual stories that highlight the beauty of Indian culture and landscapes. Every frame is an opportunity to showcase not just the couple but the place they chose to celebrate their union," says Megha Israni of Israni Photography. Employment Opportunities and Women Entrepreneurs in Weddings Celebrating traditions, discovering new vibrant locations all adds to one thing - money being poured into destination wedding hotspots. "Every wedding generates employment for hundreds of people, from caterers and florists to local entertainers and transportation providers," says Chetan Chouhan Ekta Saigal Lulla of Weddings by ESL highlights the significant presence of women entrepreneurs in the wedding industry. She notes, "From local artisans to mehendi artists, makeup artists, clothes and decor designers, women form the backbone of this industry." The India Story "There is a desire to bring in 'The India Story' into everything- live experiences like ittar counters, block printing and bangle making at the Mehendi, to mandap decor, and regional Indian food at every function," says Anvi Thaker of The Creative Company. Abhirath Shah of ANS Weddings who recently organised a magnificent wedding in Vrindavan, states, "When you get married in India, your wedding isn't just another event. It becomes a living tapestry of tradition, love, and culture. Guests leave not just with memories but with a piece of India woven into their experience." Vithika Agarwal of Bengaluru based Divya Vithika Wedding Planners tells us how at destination weddings that she organises all over South India, they always team up with local businesses to offer guests a unique experience. "For a recent celebration in Coorg, we organised a coffee-tasting session with a local plantation. Guests also took home custom coffee blends as wedding favours." Concludes Abhirath Shah: "The 'Wed in India' movement has not only showcased the beauty of Indian destinations but has also reaffirmed the country's status as a global hub for luxury and celebration. It proves that when it comes to weddings, India offers not just venues but experiences that are deeply rooted in heritage, yet bursting with modern charm." About WeddingSutra Founded in 2000, WeddingSutra.com serves as the ultimate guide for couples and their families, connecting them with top-tier wedding planners, caterers, entertainers, photographers, makeup artists, decor designers, and more, to create truly unforgettable weddings. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2652505/WeddingSutra_Favorites_market_trends.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) PRNewswire Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 28: The Levi's brand continues to push the boundaries of style and culture with its latest campaign, 'Easy in Levi's'. Featuring Global Brand Ambassador, music icon and fashion trailblazer, Diljit Dosanjh, the campaign brings relaxed and loose fits to the forefront, redefining effortless style with confidence and ease. CULTURE MEETS STYLE This association isn't just about style--it's a cultural moment. Few stars today shape trends like Diljit Dosanjh. From sold-out world tours to turning heads in film and fashion, his influence transcends borders. This partnership reflects the brand's ongoing commitment to blending denim heritage with contemporary style in India. FITS THAT REDEFINE COMFORT AND CONFIDENCE Denim trends are evolving, and relaxed & loose silhouettes are taking centre stage. The 'Easy in Levi's' campaign introduces a range of new relaxed and loose fits that deliver a fresh take on comfort and self-expression. A timeless straight-leg fit, the 555 Relaxed Straight comes with just the right amount of room for effortless, everyday wear. With a '90s inspired feel, the 568 Loose Straight is relaxed with a straight leg, that delivers easy cool vibes. The 578 Baggy, the boldest of the bunch, features an oversized, slouchy fit with stacked ankles that revive unapologetic '90s streetwear aesthetics. DILJIT DOSANJH IN HIS ELEMENT The campaign unfolds through a series of dynamic montage films that capture Diljit Dosanjh in his comfort zone--at soundcheck, effortlessly moving through his world in Levi's Loose Fits. His style is unfiltered, authentic, relaxed and Easy, perfectly embodying the campaign's message: Loose Fits aren't just about what one wears, they're about how one feels. These jeans are designed to let one move easy, chill easy, and live easy. "With 'Easy in Levi's ', we're tapping into the growing demand for relaxed and loose silhouettes that marry comfort with style," says Amisha Jain, Managing Director and SVP, South Asia, Middle East and Africa at Levi Strauss & Co. "Diljit Dosanjh brings this vision to life, proving that when you feel good in what you wear, effortless style follows." Crafted for movement and versatility, Levi's Loose Fits deliver a fresh approach to casual dressing. Whether one's drawn to the clean-cut vibe of the 555 Relaxed Straight, the carefree energy of the 568 Loose Straight, or the bold attitude of the 578 Baggy, these fits are designed to be lived in and styled in one's own way. Levi's Loose Fits are available now across Levi's stores in India and online at www.levi.in - VIDEO About the Levi's brand The Levi's brand epitomizes classic American style and effortless cool. Since their invention by Levi Strauss & Co. in 1873, Levi's jeans have become one of the most recognizable garments of clothing in the world--capturing the imagination and loyalty of people for generations. Today, the Levi's brand portfolio continues to evolve through a relentless pioneering and innovative spirit that is unparalleled in the apparel industry. Our range of leading denim and accessories are available in more than 110 countries, allowing individuals around the world to express their personal style. For more information about the Levi's brand, its products and stores, please visit levi.in. About Levi Strauss & Co. Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world's largest brand-name apparel companies and a global leader in denim. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi's, Dockers, Levi Strauss Signature and Beyond Yoga brands. Its products are sold in more than 110 countries worldwide through a combination of chain retailers, department stores, online sites, and a global footprint of approximately 3,400 brand-dedicated stores and shop-in-shops. Levi Strauss & Co.'s reported 2024 net revenues were $6.4 billion. For more information, go to http://levistrauss.com, and for company news and announcements go to http://investors.levistrauss.com. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2651752/Loose_Fits_Levis.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) NewsVoir Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 28: Metropolis Foundation, the CSR arm of Ameera Shah-led Metropolis Healthcare Limited, India's second-largest diagnostic laboratory chain, successfully hosted the Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) Conclave in Mumbai. As part of its flagship CSR initiative 'Too Shy to Ask' (TSTA), the conclave reaffirmed the Foundation's commitment to adolescent health awareness and empowerment. The Too Shy to Ask initiative is a comprehensive adolescent outreach program designed to educate, empower, and encourage young girls through a dual approach--physical and digital outreach. The physical outreach, implemented under the ARSH initiative, addresses critical gaps in reproductive and sexual health education by directly engaging with adolescents through on-ground interventions. This is further complemented by the award-winning 'Too Shy to Ask' App, which provides confidential, science-backed health information, supported by medical experts. Since its inception in FY 2021-22, the ARSH initiative has made a significant impact in collaboration with community-based organizations across rural and urban areas of Maharashtra and Chennai. Over the past three years, it has reached 17 blocks, 606 villages, and 238 panchayats, directly empowering more than 2.2 lakh adolescents, while indirectly benefiting 1.1 million individuals, including their families and communities. The program is built on three core pillars: capacity-building in reproductive & sexual health and life skills, the formation of Kishori Manch advocacy groups consisting of 10 to 15 girls at the community or school level, and the engagement of key influencers, including Panchayat members, ASHAs, teachers, and village development committees, to create a supportive environment for adolescent well-being. A pivotal element of the initiative is the Kishori Manch, adolescent-led advocacy groups trained in reproductive health and life skills. These groups serve as agents of change, leading community-driven initiatives to address pressing social issues such as child marriage, menstrual hygiene, and access to ARSH education. By taking ownership of these challenges, Kishori Manch members develop and implement actionable solutions, ensuring a sustainable micro-level impact that contributes to broader societal change. The involvement of key influencers has been instrumental in ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of these efforts. By actively supporting adolescents as they implement their action plans, these stakeholders help create an enabling ecosystem that fosters lasting behavioral and social transformation. Commenting on the program's impact, Dr Duru Shah, Chairperson, Metropolis Foundation, said, "Adolescents must be at the centre of conversations shaping policy and social attitudes. Through this initiative, we have directly observed the remarkable potential of young girls when they are equipped with the right knowledge and support. They are not just beneficiaries of awareness programs; they are emerging as leaders, challenging deep-rooted societal norms, and driving meaningful change in their communities. By fostering their confidence and empowerment, we are not only securing their future but also laying the foundation for a healthier and more progressive society." The Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) Conclave brought together over 100 adolescent leaders, NGO partners, Panchayat members, and healthcare experts to discuss practical solutions for adolescent health and rights. The event featured skits, role plays, and testimonials from Kishori Manch members, who have been actively working to bring change in their communities. Their stories highlighted how adolescents are taking the lead in addressing key social issues at the grassroots level. The conclave also showcased success stories from the program. In Mumbai, Ayshea rejoined school after Kishori Manch members intervened and convinced her parents to delay her marriage. In Palghar (Maharashtra), young girls organized a rally against child marriage, prompting the Gram Panchayat to pass a resolution against the practice. In Pune, adolescent leaders collaborated with local authorities to ensure the installation of proper sanitation facilities in schools, preventing girls from dropping out due to inadequate infrastructure. In Nandurbar, an aspirational district of Maharashtra, the program has empowered 88,000 adolescent girls, formed 1,937 Kishori Manchs, and developed 1,923 action plans focusing on health, hygiene, and nutrition. Recognized for its impact, the initiative in aspirational district was recently felicitated at an event attended by representatives from government and industry bodies, reinforcing its role in driving sustainable adolescent health interventions. The discussions at the conclave emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in creating lasting impact. Representatives from nine NGOs, including Digantar Swaraj Foundation (DSF), Child Help Foundation, Manthan Foundation, Family Planning Association of India, SHARP, Bharat Cares, Astha Parivar, and Citizen Association of Child Rights (CACR), participated in the event, sharing insights on strengthening the ARSH initiative. Launched in 2017, Too Shy to Ask (TSTA) is an award-winning digital platform dedicated to adolescent health awareness. Designed to provide confidential, science-backed information, TSTA serves as a trusted resource for young individuals seeking guidance on reproductive and sexual health, nutrition, gender rights, and legal awareness. Available in five languages--Hindi, Marathi, English, Gujarati, and Tamil--TSTA is free to download on iOS and Android. It features an "Ask the Expert" tool for anonymous queries and a Parents' Corner to encourage open conversations between parents and adolescents. With 1.9 lakh installs, a 4.5-star rating, and engagement from 10+ NGOs, TSTA continues to empower adolescents across India. Beyond its mobile and web apps, TSTA also offers a dedicated website with a language translation tool for broader accessibility. For more information, visit: www.tooshytoask.org Metropolis Foundation is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of Metropolis Healthcare, which is focused on positively impacting the lives of the people. In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, (i.e., SDG 3,4,5), Metropolis Foundation's CSR initiatives are aimed towards imparting education, creating awareness on Gender, Equality, Health, and Women Empowerment. For the past 3 decades, Metropolis has been at the forefront in conducting impactful camps and driving numerous workshops for different sections of the society. The company has partnered with societies, corporate groups, educational institutions, government bodies, NGOs, wellness foundations and a host of other organizations to make a difference to the lives of people. Metropolis is currently driving three CSR programs i.e., Too Shy to Ask (TSTA), MedEngage Scholarship Program, and Preventive Healthcare Programs. (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) SMPL New Delhi [India], March 28: The five-day-long Pran Pratishtha Mahotsava was celebrated at Noida Jagannath Temple with much pomp, spectacular splendor, and massive fanfare. Commencing on 29th January, the ceremony continued till 2nd February 2025. The brand-new temple at Sector 121 in Noida was elegantly and aesthetically decked up befitting the grand occasion. The entire ambience was agog with festive fervor with colorful decorations of flowers, cottons, and lights. Unusual interest, unexpected enthusiasm, and unprecedented excitement were seen among the servitors, organizers, and spectators during the five-day-long celebration. Lakhs of devotees gathered to witness the consecration ceremony of Four Deities here. The entire arrangements of the Mega Event were conducted smoothly by the Office bearers and Organisers of Temple's Management Committee Sri Jagannath Samiti under the able and active stewardships of President Biswanath Tripathy, General Secretary Dr. Manoranjan Mohanty, Vice President Pramod Bhal, and Joint Secretary Dhaneswar Nayak. The real credit for the astounding success of the ceremony goes to the hundreds of unsung volunteers, who put in their sweat and toil by burning midnight oil for several days during the preparatory period. The much-expected Pran Pratishtha ritual was performed during the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami on 2nd February by the Chief Guest Gajapati Maharaja of Puri Shri Dibya Singha Deb. As the Adya Sevak of Mahaprabhu, He also offered the first puja after the consecration of Deities.Other dignitaries who graced the Pran Pratishtha Mahotsava during the five days include M.P.s Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Dr. Rabindra Narayan Behera, Surender Nagar, MLA Pankaj Singh, and senior BJP leaders Shaym Jaju and Upender Singh. Ravi Roshan, Dinesh Khade, Chairman of World Odisha Society Kishore Dwibedi, noted industrialists Rajesh Sahay and Brahma Mishra, woman leader Dr. Chidatmika Khatua, Spiritual Gurus Acharya Sailesh Tiwari, Sant Gautam Rishi and Delhi Minister Sanjay Gehlot. Pran Pratishtha is a significant and sacred ritual in the Hindu tradition of undertaking the consecration of the Deities' Idol. Series of special religious rituals, Bhajans, Kirtans, cultural programs, spiritual preachings, and community gatherings were the high points of the ceremony. The much-awaited ritual of Pran Pratishtha was solemnized by the team of priests deputed by Mukti Mandap of Puri.The Mega Religious Event witnessed a congregation of religious and spiritual top brass such as Sadhus, Santhas and Mahatmas from all Devasthanas in India like Ayodhya, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Puri and Banaras. After the Pran Pratishtha ritual, the majestic and mesmerizing view of the Four Deities stationed on the attractive and alluring Ratna Singhasana was a pure and perfect delight for the devotees. The Noida Jagannath Mandir has been named "SHRI RATNA KSHETRA," reflecting its significance for devotees. This highlights the temple's dedication to spiritual and cultural values. Renaming such places often aims to enhance their identity and connection to the community, making them more meaningful for worshippers and visitors. The Temple opens at 6 am in winter and 5 am in summer, with daily Mangal Arati at 6.15 am in winter and 5.15 am in summer, daily Prasad Sevan Timing starts at 1 PM, the Mandir closes at 1.30 pm and reopens at 4 pm, Evening Arati is at 6-7 PM, daily Evening Prasad is at 8 pm, and the Mandir closes by 9-9.30 PM. Mandir Management has decided to celebrate every year "Mandir Pratistha Diwas" on Basant Panchami. Now all festivals, including the annual Ratha Yatra, will be celebrated every year as per the Tithi. Devotees can come and do the rituals before Lord Jagannath's birthday, Anniversary, Namkaran of their child, Marriage, Brata function, Shradha barsik, Rudrabhishek, Bhandara, Bhagavat Katha, any type of gathering of their offices, Bhajan Samaroha, meetings, etc., with very nominal charges. Management Committee has a future vision of constructing a 40-50 room Dharamsala for the devotees visiting from distant places, including Odisha. This "SHRI RATNA KSHETRA" shall be an alternative for those devotees who are not able to visit Puri Jagannath Temple, and it will be soon included as a tourist place for Lord Jagannath devotees around the world. For more information, you can visit www.jagannathmandirnoida.com. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by SMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PRNewswire New Delhi [India], March 28: Recently released on YouTube, Duro Design Disruptors is a video series that uncovers 11 built environment practitioners pushing the boundaries of design. Today, with carbon emissions at a record high and climate change threatening ecosystems, biodiversity, and resource security, sustainability is more critical than ever. From architects and designers to engineers and social impact leaders, the series shines a spotlight on people working in this domain. "We firmly believe that our actions today will shape our world tomorrow," says Akhilesh Chitlangia, Managing Director & CEO at Duroply Industries Limited, a premium plywood and veneer manufacturer with a business legacy of almost 7 decades in India. "The series is our way of taking this idea forward." Presented by Outlook Business in partnership with Epistle, one of South Asia's oldest communications consultancies for built environment stakeholders, the series moves beyond conventional narratives of sustainability and highlights fresh voices and alternative forms of practice. "We are looking at sustainability in a non-tokenistic way," says Suneet Zishan Langar, Host and Director of the series and Editorial Director at Epistle. "It's important to highlight how design can change lives and heal the planet." Covering over 5,000 kilometres -- spanning from remote villages in Uttarakhand and Haryana to the salt plains of Kutch and the lush landscapes of Goa -- the search for these disruptors yielded conversations with 11 remarkable practices, featured in the first season: Grounded, Zero Energy Design Lab, Carbon Craft, Mahila Housing Trust, AtArchitecture, Compartment S4, EDS Global, Hunnarshala Foundation, A Threshold, Malba Project, and Better Bhalswa. The series examines how architects and designers are shaping a more sustainable built environment through practical solutions that strengthen ecological resilience, decarbonise construction, and address socio-economic challenges. It highlights the importance of data-informed actions, cultural sustainability, and advocacy in shifting industry standards and perceptions. Whether through net-zero energy buildings, adaptive architecture, or community-driven housing models, each featured practice offers a different lens on what it means to build sustainably for the future. About Duroply: With almost 70 years of pioneering innovations, Duroply Industries Limited stands as India's premier plywood and veneer manufacturer. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2652533/Duro_Design_Disruptors_conversations.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) SMPL Pune (Maharashtra) [India], March 28: The Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS) successfully concluded its prestigious International Lecture Series, held from December 9, 2024, to March 31, 2025. Conceptualised by Brig. (Dr.) Rajiv Divekar, Director, SIMS & Dean, Faculty of Management, SIU, the series provided a platform for students to engage with global thought leaders on critical topics such as leadership, entrepreneurship, sustainability, global economic policies, and digital transformation. This initiative equipped participants with valuable insights to navigate today's dynamic professional landscape. Exploring Global Perspectives and Expertise The series began on December 9, 2024, with Dr. Rumpa Roy, Director at Gulf University, Bahrain, presenting "Shattering the Glass Ceiling at Work." Moderated by Dr. Reena Lenka, the session addressed barriers to leadership for women and marginalized groups, offering strategies to promote workplace equity. On December 12, 2024, Dr. Raunica Ahluwalia, Professor at Seneca Polytechnic, Canada, delivered "Entrepreneurship: Expanding Business Overseas," moderated by Dr. Sanjay Mangla. She explored global market expansion strategies, emphasizing adaptability and cultural flexibility through real-world case studies. Dr. Sotheeswari Somasundram, Head of Business School at the University of Wollongong, Malaysia, led the December 13, 2024, session on "Sustainable Heritage: A Case of Lenggong Valley, Perak, Malaysia." Moderated by Dr. Ruby Chanda, the session highlighted the importance of preserving cultural heritage and its economic and social impact. A key session followed on December 26, 2024, with Dr. Kishore G. Kulkarni, Distinguished Professor of Economics at Metropolitan State University, USA, presenting "Biden vs. Trump: Diverging Economic Policies and Their Impact." Moderated by Dr. Smita Mehendale, the session analyzed the contrasting economic approaches of the two leaders and their global implications. Insights into Business and Technology The new year commenced on January 10, 2025, with Ms. Deepti Karan Pandey, Mentor at MIT Sloan School of Management and Associate Vice President at Mphasis Corporation, USA, discussing "Global Trends in Business Management." Moderated by Dr. Jaya Chitranshi, she examined the impact of AI, digital transformation, and data-driven decision-making on modern business environments. On January 15, 2025, Jayshree Ravi, Head of Strategy and Architecture at Lagom Group, New Zealand, presented "Using Technology to Drive Supply Chain Best Practices." Moderated by Dr. Pradnya Chitrao, the session explored how AI and automation enhance supply chain efficiency and risk management. Ganapathy Iyer, a leadership development consultant from New Zealand, delivered "Being Tight-Loose with Your Summer Internship" on January 22, 2025. Moderated by Dr. Pradnya Chitrao, the session provided students with strategies to maximize learning and career growth during internships. On January 27, 2025, Professor Fiona Moore from Royal Holloway, University of London, captivated the audience with "Leadership Lessons from Game of Thrones." Moderated by Dr. Suruchi Pandey, she explored leadership styles, resilience, and power dynamics using references from the popular television series. Fostering Research and Academic Excellence On January 28, 2025, Dr. Ruwan Abeysekara, Professor at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, delivered "Case Study as a Method of Qualitative Research," moderated by Dr. Hemlata Gaikwad. The session provided practical insights into qualitative research methodologies and business analysis. Dr. Swati Vispute, Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, led a session on February 4, 2025, titled "Contemporary Best Practices in Academic Research Writing - Perspectives for Business Management Students." Moderated by Dr. Sanjay Pawar, the session covered research integrity, AI-driven academic writing tools, and publishing best practices. On February 26, 2025, Dr. Jeyasushma Veeriah, Assistant Professor at Xiamen University, Malaysia, presented "How AI is Changing the Media - A Look at Malaysia." Moderated by Dr. Komal Chopra, the session examined AI's impact on journalism, misinformation detection, and audience engagement. Bridging Academia and Industry The International Lecture Series at SIMS effectively bridged the gap between academia and industry, fostering a platform where students engaged with global experts. The sessions featured active participation, stimulating Q&A segments, and enriching discussions that broadened the students' perspectives. The seamless execution was ensured by the diligent efforts of the Branding Cell. The success of this year's International Lecture Series lays a strong foundation for future initiatives that will continue to enhance the learning experience at SIMS. With its commitment to academic excellence and global collaboration, SIMS is shaping the leaders of tomorrow by providing exposure to world-class thought leadership. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by SMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) Director Amit Joshi recently interacted with the students of Actor Prepares, an Institute which was founded by actor Anupam Kher in 2005. During the session, Joshi reflected on his experience in the film industry and said that passion for cinema plays a big role in an actor's success. Amit Joshi is known for co-directing the film 'Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya,' which starred Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles. He has also written movies like Trapped and Babli Bouncer. After spending years in the Bollywood industry, the director-writer Joshi believes talent and passion are two factors which are often responsible for the success of an actor in the film industry. He says talented people are bound to be recognised if they passionately follow their art form. "If you are talented in this film industry, I can assure you today, you are bound to be recognised, you're bound to be seen. Obviously, there is a luck factor; it can take time. And that is, there is no limit to that. It can take, maybe it can happen in a month," Amit Joshi said. The director cited the example of actor Vineet Kumar, who gained fame with the film Mukkabaaz in 2018. Joshi acknowledged that Vineet's success came after years of hard work, reinforcing the idea that perseverance and following one's passion ultimately lead to recognition. "It (success) can happen like Vineet Kumar. It just happened now. You know he's been trying for so long. I know him from such a long time but it will if you're like really following your journey, path and passion. Eventually, things will take place," he added. The 'Trapped' writer had a jam-packed interactive session with the Actor Prepares students. Taking to his Instagram handle, the Actor Prepares shared glimpses of the director's session with the students. "What a power-packed session with @real.amitjoshi ! From the making of #trapped and #teribaatonmeinaisauljhajiya to what directors really look for in audition tapes, he broke it all down with honesty and insight. His journey--from corporate life to theater, writing, and directing--was nothing short of inspiring," captioned Actor Prepares on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DHtGl2vKAp9/?img_index=1 Earlier, the Award-winning writer and actor Manu Rishi Chadha also held a special session for students at Actor Prepares. While speaking to ANI, Chadha described his experience as being similar to that of a teacher and also expressed the joy he felt while interacting with young actors. "It felt just like being a teacher. I was very happy. You always get good energy from young students, and it reminds you of the time when you had many questions," he said. "I might have come to give a masterclass, but I completely merged with them. Actors come prepared, but sometimes teachers come too prepared, which makes it less fun. So, I decided to come as an actor rather than as a teacher, and that made our understanding truly beautiful," he added. Best known for his roles in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Ankhon Dekhi, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, and Mirzapur, Chadha shared his industry experience and the importance of skill development and on-set behaviour. (ANI) The movie, directed by Siddharth Anand, promises to deliver high-octane action, suspense, and intrigue. The makers of the film shared a new poster of the upcoming film on social media. "The bigger the risk, the sweeter the steal. Aa raha hai the incredible- Jewel Thief. Watch Jewel Thief, out 25 April, only on Netflix," the caption read. https://www.instagram.com/p/DHuss5ey1vo/ The film boasts an ensemble cast, including Jaideep Ahlawat, Kunal Kapoor, and Nikita Dutta, alongside Saif Ali Khan. The teaser, released in February, offered a glimpse into the movie's plot, showcasing Saif and Jaideep's characters joining forces to steal the coveted African Red Sun diamond. According to the official synopsis, "A Jewel thief is hired by a powerful crime lord to steal the world's most elusive diamond - The African Red Sun. His perfectly planned heist then takes a wild turn. Chaos, twists, and unexpected alliances unfold in this high-stakes race making it a deadly game of deception and betrayal." Producers Siddharth and Mamta Anand expressed their excitement about the project, stating, "We at Marflix are thrilled to make our streaming debut with Netflix through The Jewel Thief... Partnering with Netflix allows us to share this thrilling journey with audiences across the globe, transcending borders and redefining how stories are experienced," in a press note. (ANI) French actor Gerard Depardieu is facing a request for an 18-month suspended prison sentence, three years of probation, and a Euro 20,000 fine following a sexual assault trial this week. The charges relate to incidents that allegedly took place during the filming of The Green Shutters in 2021. According to Deadline, the Paris prosecutor's office has also requested that Depardieu undergo psychological treatment and be placed on France's sex offenders list. The trial marks a significant moment for the 76-year-old actor, who has faced more than 20 allegations of inappropriate behavior throughout his career. As per Deadline, the accusations in the current trial involve two women: a set dresser named Amelie and a third assistant director, referred to as Sarah. Amelie testified that Depardieu physically seized her and made sexually explicit comments, while Sarah claimed the actor touched her buttocks and breasts on two separate occasions during the shoot. Depardieu has denied all allegations, asserting that his actions were misinterpreted and were not intentionally sexual in nature. The prosecution, led by Laurent Guy, emphasized that the plaintiffs had maintained their original accounts throughout the trial, while Depardieu's version of events had changed. The prosecutor pointed to eyewitness testimony that confirmed sexual assault had occurred. "We have three eyewitnesses to the gestures made against Amelie at the crucial moment. This undeniably constitutes sexual assault," Guy said, as per Deadline. Depardieu could face additional legal challenges, with another trial scheduled for the coming months in connection with rape allegations by actress Charlotte Arnould, dating back to 2018. The actor has denied these allegations as well, according to Deadline. This trial has sparked broader discussions about the culture of silence surrounding sexual harassment in the film industry. Carine Durrieu-Deibolt, the lawyer for Amelie, criticized the industry's collective responsibility for allowing such behavior to persist for years. "For decades, with regards to Gerard Depardieu, everyone knew," she said, adding, "There are reprisals... if you become the pain in the neck, they don't recruit you anymore." The case comes amidst several other high-profile sexual abuse trials in France, including the mass rape case of Gisele Pelicot, and the conviction of director Christophe Ruggia for assaulting actress Adele Haenel. A judge will now deliberate on the sentence request, which could see Depardieu facing a prison term of up to five years, along with a fine of Euro 75,000, if convicted. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State President and Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi on Thursday expressed gratitude to those who supported the 'Bandh' called by the party in response to the murder of BJP leader Anil Tiger in Ranchi. Addressing the media, Marandi said, "Firstly, on behalf of BJP, I extend my gratitude to all those who contributed to today's 'Bandh.' This Bandh was especially over the law and order situation in the state." He also apologised for any inconvenience caused to the public during the protest. "I apologise to all those who faced any problems during the Bandh. The law and order situation is in chaos in the state. That's why crimes like killings, robberies, kidnaps...are happening in the daylight," he added. Earlier in the day, BJP leaders protesting against the murder of Anil Tiger were detained by the police. The protest was part of the Ranchi bandh called by the BJP in response to the killing of their leader. Union MoS Defence Sanjay Seth also participated in the protest against Anil Tiger's murder. Reacting to the incident, Seth said, "I, as a public representative, cannot be a mute spectator. Ranchi has become a capital of crime. The rule of law has collapsed under Hemant Soren's government. This is jungle raj. I say the 'Yogi' model should be implemented here. In the morning, DSP came to my residence. I don't need security or need to sit in a guest house, as I am a public representative." SP City-Ranchi Raj Kumar Mehta said, "Police action is underway in the case. There is no place for criminals here. We are trying to restore normalcy and open the shops here, as implementing a 'Bandh' is not a constitutional right." Earlier, BJP leader Pratul Shahdeo was detained by the police during the protest against the murder of Anil Tiger. Speaking to ANI, he said, "Instead of catching criminals, political leaders who are protesting peacefully are being taken away by the police." The BJP leader called the murder of the party's senior leader Anil Tiger "unfortunate" while dubbing Ranchi the crime capital. "The way Anil Tiger was killed, he was a senior BJP leader... It is very unfortunate. Ranchi is becoming the crime capital. Just 25 meters away from the police station, in broad daylight, a public representative was killed... Today, the police are here to detain me... I wish the police had shown this effort when bullets were fired at him," Shahdeo told ANI. Jharkhand BJP leader Anil Tiger was murdered in Ranchi on Wednesday. An accused in the murder has since been arrested following an encounter with the police, an official confirmed. (ANI) The Delhi Assembly is set to deliberate on key issues this Friday, as outlined in the List of Business (LoB). Among the scheduled discussions are the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit report on the functioning of the Delhi Transport Corporation, as well as the name change of the Mustafabad Assembly Constituency. According to the LoB, the Delhi Assembly will focus on the "CAG Audit Report on Functioning of 'Delhi Transport Corporation'" as part of the session's agenda. The Assembly will also discuss a resolution moved by BJP MLA and Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht "to change the name of Mustafabad Assembly Constituency to Shiv Vihar Assembly Constituency, in view of the sentiments of constituency voters," read the LoB Additionally, AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha will present a resolution on the "implementation of free distribution of gas cylinders on special occasions by the Delhi government," it added. Earlier in the day, the Delhi Legislative Assembly, under the leadership of BJP MLA Abhay Verma, passed a motion to dispose of long-pending cases referred to the Committee on Privileges, the Committee on Petitions, and the Committee on Questions and References from the Sixth and Seventh Legislative Assemblies. The motion, which was presented by Verma with the Speaker's permission, was adopted during the ongoing session of the Eighth Legislative Assembly. Addressing the House, Abhay Verma, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Laxmi Nagar, highlighted the context of the motion, "Whereas, in its meeting held on December 4, 2024, the Seventh Legislative Assembly passed three resolutions that the pending works of the Committee on Privileges, the Committee on Petitions, and the Committee on Questions and References be examined by the respective committees of the Eighth Legislative Assembly under Rule 183; whereas, the provision under Rule 183 is rarely invoked and only in exceptional cases where a committee is unable to complete its work before the dissolution of the House." Verma further emphasized that many cases had either not been examined by the respective committees or had remained unresolved for years without any reports being submitted. Some of the cases involving Delhi Government officials had even escalated to the Delhi High Court, complicating their resolution further. The motion concluded with a resolution stating, "Therefore, this House resolves that no further action be taken on the pending cases referred to the Committee on Privileges, the Committee on Petitions, and the Committee on Questions and References during the Sixth and Seventh Legislative Assemblies, and that they be considered as disposed of." The Delhi Legislative Assembly, on March 27, adopted a motion to dispose of eight pending court cases, including those filed by officers of the Delhi government. These cases were previously under review by various committees, such as Privileges, Questions and References, and Petitions. (ANI) Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik paid a heartfelt tribute to former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan, who passed away on March 17 at the age of 84, by creating a beautiful sand sculpture at Puri Beach in Odisha. The sculpture featured an image of Dr Pradhan along with the message "Siddha Purusha." Earlier today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also paid his respects to the late Union Minister. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi was present at the tribute ceremony. Speaking to ANI, Manjhi said that the tribute was held on the 'ekadasha' of the late Debendra Pradhan. "This is the 'ekadasha' of late Debendra Pradhan. So, we reached his residence in Talcher and paid him tribute. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also came here with me. All of us paid tribute to him," Manjhi said. On March 26, the Lok Sabha also paid tribute to the late Union Minister. The House observed a moment of silence in his honour. "Tributes were paid to former Union Minister and social worker Dr. Debendra Pradhan ji on his demise today on behalf of the House. Dr. Pradhan was a member of the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha from the Deogarh parliamentary constituency of Odisha. The Assembly observed silence for the departed soul and prayed for his peace,"* Om Birla said in a post on X. Debendra Pradhan, who passed away at the age of 84, was the father of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and served as a member of the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha from the Deogarh parliamentary constituency of Odisha. Pradhan had a long political career, having served as the BJP Odisha unit president three times--1988 to 1990, 1990 to 1993, and 1995 to 1997. He also held the positions of Union Minister of State for Surface Transport and Minister of State for Agriculture. (ANI) In view of Alvida Juma, the last Friday of Ramzan, security has been significantly increased across Uttar Pradesh, police officials said. Giving details of the security arrangement, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abhishek Bharti outlined the security measures, mentioning that Quick Reaction Teams (QRT), along with Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and the Rapid Action Force (RAF), have been deployed in sensitive areas to maintain law and order. "The entire city has been divided into sectors and zones in view of the Alvida prayers. QRT teams have been deployed in sensitive areas. PAC and RAF are also being stationed. Surveillance is being conducted using drones. Foot patrols are being carried out," DCP Bharti told ANI. Meanwhile, Joint Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Babloo Kumar, added that over 1000 police personnel and nine companies of PAC have been deployed in Lucknow for security. He further mentioned that monitoring will be done through CCTV cameras and drones. "Proper security and traffic arrangements have been made in Lucknow in view of Alvida Namaz. More than 1000 police personnel and nine companies of PAC have been deployed in the district. Proper traffic diversions have been made to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. Police officials also held peace committee meetings with the religious leaders and also appealed to offer namaz in their religious places. Monitoring will be done through CCTV cameras and drones," Joint CP Law Kumar said. Alvida Juma, which falls on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramzan, holds special religious significance for Muslims. Ramzan, also known as Ramadan, Ramzaan, or Ramazan, is the most sacred month in the Islamic calendar that falls in the ninth month of the Hijri (the Islamic lunar calendar). During this holy period, Muslims observe fasting from dawn until sunset, a practice called Roza, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, signifying values of devotion, self-restraint, and spiritual contemplation. In 2025, Ramadan commenced on March 2 (Sunday) after the sighting of the crescent moon on Saturday. Ramzan is marked by the breaking of the dawn-to-dusk fast, called the 'Iftar'. This annual observance lasts between one sighting of the crescent moon and the next, after which the festival of Eid begins with full fervour. (ANI) Congress leader Salman Khurshid has raised concerns over the reliability of government data, stating that there are significant doubts regarding its integrity. Speaking to ANI, Khurshid said, "There are many questions about the integrity of government data. There are many doubts about government data. It is the responsibility of the government to protect the integrity of the data." Khurshid's remarks came after Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of relying on NGO-generated data instead of official government reports. "Since Rahul Gandhi has become a leader of the INDI alliance, he looks for the data issued by NGOs apart from the government. Sometimes, he reads speeches written by NGOs," Shah said. Shah was responding in the Lok Sabha to the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, which was later passed by the House. Shah's comments followed Rahul Gandhi's allegation that he was often not allowed to speak in the House. "I am never allowed to speak. I don't know what they are scared of?" Gandhi said to reporters. Following this, a delegation of INDIA bloc leaders gave a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker stating how the ruling party is violating the traditions, rules and culture of the House. Replying to the debate in Lok Sabha on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, Amit Shah said India is not a 'Dharamshala' and those who pose a threat to national security will not be allowed to enter the country. "Those who pose a threat to national security will not be allowed to enter the nation. The nation is not a 'Dharamshala'(rest house)...If someone comes to the nation to give its contribution to the development of the nation, they are always welcome," he said. Shah said that it is very important to know who enters the nation's border. "Immigration is not a separate issue. Many issues of the country are linked to it. From the point of view of national security, it is very important to know who enters the nation's borders. We will also keep a close watch on those who will endanger the security of the country," he added. The second part of the budget session of Parliament began on March 10 and will continue till April 4. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Jagdambika Pal said that infiltration in West Bengal will come to an end when the party forms a government in the state. Pal's comments come as part of the ongoing debate surrounding illegal immigration, particularly from Bangladesh, into India via West Bengal. Speaking to ANI, Pal said, "Union Home Minister Amit Shah has explicitly said in the Lok Sabha that he has urged the West Bengal government almost 10 times to give 450km of land for border fencing. But the state government has not done that so far. This is why we have illegal immigrants across the country. They enter through West Bengal, get their Aadhar cards made there and then and move to other parts of the country," he said. Pal asserted that once the BJP forms the government in West Bengal, the issue of infiltration will be dealt with decisively. "Infiltration will stop the day the BJP forms a government in West Bengal. We will set up border fences to stop the illegal immigration of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis," he added. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday slammed the Trinamool Congress, saying Bangladeshi infiltrators or Rohingyas enter India through West Bengal and fencing work of 450 km is pending because the state government is not giving land for it. Replying to the debate in Lok Sabha on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, which was later passed by the House, Amit Shah also expressed confidence that the BJP will win next year's assembly polls in West Bengal. He alleged that Aadhar cards are issued to illegal migrants from Bangladesh in a district of West Bengal, and they then travel to other parts of the country. "Whether Bangladeshi infiltrators or Rohingyas, earlier they used to enter India through Assam when Congress was in power. Now, they enter India through West Bengal, where Trinamool Congress is in power. Who issues them Aadhaar cards and citizenship? All the Bangladeshis who have been caught have Aadhaar cards from the 24 Parganas district. You (TMC) issue Aadhaar cards, and they come to Delhi with voter cards. In 2026, the BJP government will be formed in West Bengal, and we will put an end to this," he said. Shah said fencing work of 450 km is pending because the West Bengal government is not giving land for it. "Whenever the process of fencing is done, the ruling party workers indulge in hooliganism and religious sloganeering. The fencing work of 450 km of border has not been completed because the West Bengal government is showing mercy to the infiltrators...our border with Bangladesh is 2216 km. Out of that, 1653 km has been fenced. The road near the fence has also been built, and checkposts have also been built. Of the remaining 563 km, there cannot be fencing on 112 km due to difficult terrain such rivers, drains and hills. Fencing on 450 km is pending as the Bengal government does not give land... Seven meetings have been held," he added. Amit Shah also said India is not a 'Dharamshala' and those who pose a threat to the national security will not be allowed to enter the country. "Those who pose a threat to the national security will not be allowed to enter the nation. The nation is not a 'Dharamshala'(rest house)...If someone comes to the nation to give its contribution to the development of the nation, they are always welcome," he said. (ANI) TOL emphasizes sustainable relocation sites for displaced communities Quezon City - Senate Majority Leader Francis 'Tol' Tolentino stressed the importance of ensuring safe and sustainable relocation sites for communities affected by natural calamities and development projects. At the turnover of three newly constructed multi-purpose buildings in different barangays, Tolentino shared with Quezon City residents his advocacy to provide decent housing and sustainable relocation sites for displaced communities. "It is not enough to relocate the residents from hazard zones to safer places. We must also ensure that their basic needs would be addressed in their new homes in the relocation site," he stressed. Among the senator's initiatives was the provision of housing units for 450 families displaced by Taal volcano's eruption in 2020. Located in Talisay, Batangas, the housing project was inaugurated by Tolentino in 2023. "The 450 families were relocated from their community in Volcano Island, and are now safely residing outside Taal's 14-kilometer danger zone, where there's a school and a barangay to cater to their needs," he pointed out. The senator said that he likewise pushed for a housing project for residents of Brgy. Mauraro, Guinobatan, Albay, to keep them safe from Mt. Mayon's continuous volcanic activity. He led similar initiatives in Cagayan De Oro and Manggahan Floodway, Pasig. At the turnover ceremonies in Quezon City, Tolentino said that the new multipurpose buildings will provide additional space for the delivery of basic services to members of the community. "These can serve the barangay in times of calamities and community events," Tolentino noted, referring to the two-storey buildings that were turned over to Barangays Holy Spirit, Payatas, and Bagong Silangan, respectively, on Thursday afternoon. Quezon City second district Councilor Mikey Belmonte, who was present at the turnover, thanked Tolentino for helping the city government look after the welfare of its constituents. A former Mayor of Tagaytay City and Chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Tolentino has extensive experience in disaster management and community rehabilitation. Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Basavaraj Bommai has criticised the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government over the milk price hike, claiming the increase is a tactic to cover up the financial troubles caused by their guarantees. Speaking to ANI, Bommai said, "Karnataka is very well-known now for bankruptcy, corruption, and price rise. Almost all community prices have been increasing on a day-to-day basis." "Today itself, they have increased the price of milk by Rs 4, and this is the third time in one year. There is a huge financial burden on every family, especially the poor. They want to cover up the bankruptcy (caused by their) guarantees. It is the failure of this government," Bommai added. On Thursday, the Karnataka government announced a price hike for Nandini milk and curd by Rs 4 per litre, set to take effect from April 1. This decision was made during a Cabinet meeting led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting held by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The move aims to encourage dairy farming in the state, considering the cost of milk production and processing. Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) Chairman Bheema Naik on Thursday defended the move of the state government to increase the price of Nandini milk by Rs 4 per litre, stating that the additional cost will go directly to the farmers. "We were selling milk in Karnataka at a price lower than that elsewhere in the country. KMF procures 86 lakh-1 crore (milk) every day. 1 litre of milk is sold at Rs 42 (Karnataka). In Gujarat, it is Rs 53, in Andhra & Telangana, it is Rs 58, in Delhi and Maharashtra, it is Rs 56, in Kerala, it is Rs 54. This decision has been taken in the interest of herders. These 4 Rupees are going to farmers," he told ANI. Karnataka BJP denounced the move in a social media post on X and termed the Congress government "anti-poor." "Milk prices hiked by Rs4/-, and the cost of daily essentials is skyrocketing. Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress leaders are busy with honey-trap scandals. Farmers have been waiting for milk subsidies for years, but the government prioritises Waqf compound renovations instead. Congress isn't just anti-farmer; they're anti-poor!" Karnataka BJP said on X. BJP Karnataka President Vijayendra Yediyurappa accused the Congress government of continuing to impose price hikes on the common people of the state. "These 4 rupees are going to farmers": Karnataka Milk Federation defends milk price hike In a post on X, Yediyurappa said, "The Congress government, which is struggling to manage the five blessings, has been continuously imposing the misfortune of price hike on the common man ever since it came to power. At a time when people are suffering from the heat of price hikes in drinking water, electricity bills, transportation, essential items, etc., this government seems to have entered the race to increase the price of milk for the second time after coming to power." "The current decision to increase the price of milk by Rs 4 and cut into the pockets of the common man is nothing but daylight robbery," Yediyurappa added. (ANI) The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has appealed to Muslims across the country to wear black armbands on Alvida Juma, the last Friday of Ramzan, in protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024. Sharing a letter on X, AIMPLB stated, "Alhamdulillah, the strong protests by Muslims at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and Dharna Sthal in Patna have at least caused a stir among BJP's allied parties. Now, a massive protest is also scheduled to take place in Vijayawada on March 29, 2025." The AIMPLB expressed its concerns over the bill, describing it as a "sinister conspiracy" that aims to deprive Muslims of their religious and charitable institutions. "The Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 is a sinister conspiracy aimed at depriving Muslims of their Mosques, Eidgahs, Madrasas, Dargahs, Khanqahs, Graveyards, and charitable institutions. If this bill is passed, hundreds of Mosques, Eidgahs, Madrasas, Graveyards, and numerous charitable institutions will be taken away from us," the letter read. "Therefore, it is the responsibility of every Muslim in the country to strongly oppose this bill. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board appeals to all Muslims to wear a black armband while coming to the mosque on Jumu'atul Wida as a silent and peaceful expression of grief and protest," the letter read. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 moved by Chief Minister MK Stalin. Speaking in the Assembly, the Tamil Nadu CM said that the Waqf Amendment Bill is against Muslims. "The Central government is inserting schemes that are against state rights, culture, and tradition. In India, various cultures, traditions, and languages are present, but they are doing it with the intention of taking revenge on the states. The Waqf (Amendment) bill is against Muslims," CM Stalin said in the Assembly. "This Waqf (Amendment) Bill is destroying the rights of Muslims. The Central government never thought about the welfare of the Muslims and their Rights. So we are in the place to pass a resolution against it," CM Stalin added. The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address key challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties. (ANI) Delhi's Patiala House Court recently acquitted an officer of the Indian Air Force of rape charges. The court noted that the relationship between the accused and the prosecutrix was one of love, but the marriage could not be decided. An FIR was registered at the Vasant Kunj Police Station in the year 2018. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Pawan Kumar honourably acquitted the accused Pramod Kumar giving him benefits of doubt as the allegations of rape could not be proved on record by the prosecution. "It is the case of a love relationship between two adults, who agreed to marry each other and, consequently, both families met to discuss the prospect of marriage. The families could not agree upon the marriage, and this FIR was lodged out of vengeance. The alleged incident of rape could not be established on record," the court said in the judgement of March 7. It was the case of prosecution that the accused and the woman had met on a matrimonial site and agreed to marry. It was alleged that on February 16, 2018, the accused persuaded the woman to accompany him to a hotel room, where he allegedly established a physical relationship with her after allegedly giving her a spiked drink. Later on, their families did not agree on the marriage, and the accused also refused to marry her. The judge noted that there were "candid and intimate chat" between them, which contradicted allegations of rape on the night of Feb 16-17, 2018. The court observed, "It is highly improbable that someone would engage in such a chat after an alleged rape. In the hotel room, they enjoyed music. The prosecutrix took selfies of private intimate moments and even attempted to peek into the washroom while the accused was using it. Even after the alleged incident, she clicked selfies in the car." The judge also noted that the woman's testimony was full of contradictions and inconsistencies. Her statements were inconsistent throughout the investigation and trial, it was further noted. "The testimony of the prosecutrix is far from being of sterling quality. Given the surrounding facts and circumstances, it would be highly unsafe to convict the accused based solely on the uncorroborated testimony of the prosecutrix," the court held. (ANI) The fire incident was reported during an anti-terrorist operation by the forces in the Suffain area of Kathua. Security forces have cordoned off the area and a search and operation is underway, the Indian Army said. Further details awaited. On Thursday, a firing incident was reported in the same area after some terrorists were spotted, said police officials Earlier on March 23, firing was reported at the Hiranagar area in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua while security forces were conducting a search operation. After this, Jammu and Kashmir (J-K) Police and troops of the Rising Star Corps of the Indian Army had launched an intelligence-based joint operation in Hiranagar, Kathua. "Based on Intelligence Input regarding presence of terrorists, a Joint Operation has been launched by @JmuKmrPolice & troops of #RisingStar Corps on 23 Mar 25 in general area Saniyal #Hiranagar. Operations in Progress," Rising Star Corps, Indian Army informed in a social media post on X. (ANI) A Bangladeshi Hindu man, Bidyut Majumdar, says he has been living in fear and hiding for over seven months in India, claiming that he is unable to return home due to rising communal violence in his home country. Majumdar, who previously brought his family to India, was forced to send them back to Bangladesh, leaving him in a desperate and uncertain situation. "I have not been home since August 5, 2024. My family was with me in India for some time, but I had to send them back. Now, I live in constant fear, avoiding public places because anything could happen at any time," Majumdar said on Thursday, appealing for global attention on the situation. According to him, the situation for Hindus in Bangladesh has deteriorated significantly. "In the past, we were much safer. But now, mob justice is taking lives in broad daylight, even in front of the authorities," he said. Reports of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh have raised concerns among human rights organisations. Majumdar's separation from his family has taken an emotional toll on him, leaving him unable to assist them with their health issues. "I have a little daughter who cries and tells me, 'Baba, I haven't seen you in so long.' Every time she says that, tears fill my eyes. My mother tells me, 'If you come back, my diabetes will get better,' but her condition is worsening," he shared. With no immediate solution in sight, Majumdar has made a heartfelt plea to the international community, saying, "I sincerely appeal to all the powerful nations of the world to pay attention to what is happening in Bangladesh. The country is suffering under extreme oppression." Human rights activists have repeatedly called for greater protection of minority communities in Bangladesh. However, cases like Majumdar's highlight the urgent need for intervention. As communal violence continues, many fear that more families will be torn apart and forced into hiding. (ANI) Pandher strongly condemned the AAP-led Punjab government for "destroying" farmers' front. "I have been released from Mukhtsar Sahib prison, and I will reach Bahadurgarh Fort around 9 am and will hold a press conference there... I strongly condemn the Punjab government and the way our fronts were destroyed... We will hold discussions on our future course of action with our partners," Pandher said in the self-made video. Several farmer leaders, including farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on an indefinite fast and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarvan Singh Pandher, were detained by the Punjab Police on March 19. Earlier on March 24, the Punjab government released 450 more farmers from police detention. "Adopting a considerate approach towards farmers, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has decided to immediately release 450 more farmers from police detention," the Information and Public Relations Department, Punjab said in a press release. Sharing details, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Headquarters Sukhchain Singh Gill informed that the Punjab government has already released approximately 800 farmers from police custody. Earlier, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) leader Harinder Singh Lakhowal and Samyukt Kisan Morcha leader Raminder Singh refused to attend a meeting called by the Punjab government and announced a protest at district headquarters across the state on March 28, alleging repression by the state government. The decision came after key farmer leaders accused the Punjab administration of using excessive force against protesting farmers and unlawfully detaining several leaders. They also cited unfavourable conditions for not participating in the meeting. Notably, two days after Punjab police cleared the Sambhu and Khanauri border and removed the temporary structures erected by the protesting farmers on March 19, the state's Agriculture Minister, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, called for a meeting of farmer leaders on March 21 in Chandigarh. (ANI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu is set to visit Chennai on Friday to participate in the 'All India Research Scholars Summit-2025,' organised at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. The event aims to "foster research collaborations, industry engagement, and academic excellence," bringing in various scholars, academicians, industry leaders, and innovators from diverse fields. The event is also a job fair for the students of IIT Madras. According to the Andhra Chief Minister's itinerary, he will depart from Gannavaram Airport to Chennai at 10.15 AM today, and will arrive at the IIT Madras campus by 11.30 AM. He is set to spend the next three hours, till 2.30 PM, at the summit. The Summit and job fair is being held for 4 days and started yesterday, on March 27, and will conclude on March 30 (Sunday). The director of IITM, Kamakoti Veezhinathan, underlined the importance of the platform to serve as a way for researchers to collaborate with each other. "Research and innovation are the cornerstones of a progressive society. AIRSS 2025 serves as a platform for young scholars to exchange ideas, collaborate with industry leaders, and contribute to the nation's scientific and technological advancements. IIT Madras is proud to host this summit, fostering an environment of knowledge-sharing and academic excellence. We invite researchers from across India to participate and make this event a grand success," the IITM Director said. Apart from the Andhra CM, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and former Special Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Sivagami Sundari Nanda are also speakers at the event. Apart from that, the Directors of IIT Guwahati, Bombay, Kanpur, Jammu, and BHU are also set to speak at the event. Earlier on March 27, CM Naidu, while reaffirming the importance of the Polavaram project, said that it is the state's lifeline and that it is the state government's responsibility to do justice to the displaced who sacrificed everything for the project. "Rehabilitation of all the displaced will be completed before the water is released from the project. The project will be inaugurated only after that," Chandrababu Naidu, who is on a visit to Polavaram, said during an interaction with the displaced. The Chief Minister had inspected the ongoing project works from an aerial view. The Chief Minister told the displaced that very little compensation was paid to the displaced before the TDP-led NDA came to power in 2014 and stated that after the NDA came to power, Rs 4,311 crores were paid to them. He remarked, "The party that assumed power in 2019 did not even think about the displaced even once in the five-year term, and there are no indications that it even considered even once the problems being faced by the displaced." (ANI) BJP MLA and West Bengal Legislative Assembly leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari wrote a letter to Governor CV Anan Bose and urged him to direct the state government to deploy Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) Mothabari, Malda District, on an urgent basis. In his letter to CV Ananda Bose, Suvendu Adhikari stated that a large group of miscreants belonged to a particular community had targeted 'Hindus' in the Mothabari area of Malda. Adhikari attacked the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government and alleged that there was 'lawlessness' in the state. He added that there is an urgent need to deploy the CAPF force in the area to protect the "Hindus" in the Mothabari area from such miscreants. "This is to inform Your Excellency that a shocking incident has taken place on 27th March 2025 at Mothabari, Malda where a large group of miscreants belonging to a particular Community has targeted and launched a vicious attack on the Sanatani Hindus of the aforesaid area", Suvendu Adhikari's letter read. "Such despicable acts reflects a complete state of lawlessness in West Bengal and there is urgent need of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to protect the Santani Hindus from such attack at the hands of the aforesaid miscreants. Therefore, I request your good office to kindly take immediate measures to deploy paramilitary forces for the purposes of protecting the Santani Hindus at Mothabari, Malda", it added. Earlier, West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arjun Singh has alleged that around 50-60 people attacked his house in North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday night. Speaking to ANI, Singh accused the police of not taking any action on the incident, claiming that the incident occurred in front of them. Singh also alleged that two bombs were thrown at his house. However, security forces were later deployed at his house following the alleged attack. "I don't understand what's happening. On 4 October also, Namit Singh, Saddam and his team attacked here. They threw bombs, and I got injured. Today, around 10:20 pm, we heard a gunfire... By the time we went outside to inspect, 50-60 people were already at the location, including the Police. When we got back, we saw that two bombs had been thrown at my house. One burst, and the other is still live ammunition. Namit Singh, Saddam Ansari, and Prem, along with 50-60 other people, are involved in this... Namit Singh is just a scapegoat... There's no Police action (on these attacks). This incident happened in front of them..." the BJP leader told ANI. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Thursday attacked Kunal Kamra over his remarks on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and said that the police should catch the stand-up comedian and make his life a comedy. "The police should catch him and make his life a comedy. You cannot say anything in the name of Freedom of Speech... Everybody has the right to self-respect... Ketki Chitale was in jail for 30 days... The opposition has no right to school us," Mungantiwar told ANI. Earlier on Thursday, Kunal Kamra lambasted the mainstream media, accusing it of serving as a mouthpiece for the ruling party. Kamra labeled the media as "vultures" and expressed his disdain for the media's role in perpetuating misinformation and distracting from pressing issues. "To all those hounding for a quote - "The mainstream media at this point is nothing but a miscommunication arm of the ruling party. They are vultures who report on issues that don't matter to the people of this country. If they all shut shop from tomorrow till eternity, they will be doing a favour to the country, its people, and their own children," Kamra posted on X. Mumbai police issued him a second summons, rejecting his request for a week's time to appear for questioning. Kamra failed to appear on the first date, and his lawyer had requested seven days. However, after he did not appear, the Mumbai Police issued another date after taking legal opinion. Mumbai Police are investigating allegations that before making a mockery of former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Kamra made satirical remarks about several other noted personalities. According to the police, if the investigation reveals that Kamra has previously made satirical comments about any politician, actor, or sportsperson, action will be taken against him. Officials clarified that while Kamra's lawyer has contacted them, the comedian himself has not been in touch with police officials. (ANI) Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy on Friday condemned the behaviour of a group of people who protested against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Oxford University's Kellogg College in London and said that the Students Federation of India in the UK (SFI UK) did this to get "publicity." "I totally condemn this (behaviour by the students with Mamata Banerjee at the university where she was giving a speech). Oxford University is not Mamata's owns place, she went there on her own invitation. So what can we do it. It is for the university authority and England police to take steps in this matter. There is no reason they have done this except to get publicity. Mamata Banerjee is an elected Chief Minister of the state," Roy told ANI. This comes after CM Mamata Banerjee faced protests by a group of people at Oxford University's Kellogg College in London on Thursday, where she was questioned regarding the RG Kar College case and post-poll violence in West Bengal. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya shared a video where he claimed that the people seen in the video, purportedly belonging to the Bengali Hindus community had confronted CM Mamata Banerjee at Kellogg College in London. "Bengali Hindus confront West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Kellogg College in London, raising angry slogans calling her out for the rape and murder of the lady doctor at RG Kar, crimes against women in Sandeshkhali, the genocide of Hindus, and widespread corruption," Amit Malviya posted on X. The BJP leader further called Mamata Banerjee a "disgrace" to West Bengal. "Just a few posters that were held up to Mamata Banerjee... She is a disgrace to West Bengal. The Hindu Bengali diaspora wants her out as the Chief Minister for destroying Bengal's legacy and putting them through such ignominy," he added. The Video posted by the BJP showed the West Bengal CM facing several interruptions during which someone in the audience raised a question about the Hindus in Bengal. "I am for all, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians," Banerjee responded, which was followed by "Go back" slogans from a section of the audience. The Chief Minister addressed one of the protesters as "brother" and said, "Please remember this... and don't do politics. It's very easy to do politics here and create negative narratives." In a video from the interaction posted by the Trinamool Congress, the Chief Minister then responded to the protestors saying, "You encourage me, Please smile with a hope that Didi will come every time, Didi don't get bothered, Didi don't bother anybody, Didi walk just like a Royal Bengal Tiger and if you can catch me me." Posting the video, Trinamool Congress said, "She (Mamata Banerjee) doesn't flinch. She doesn't falter. The more you heckle, the fiercer she roars. Mamata Banerjee is a Royal Bengal Tiger!" In a statement, the Students Federation of India in the UK (SFI UK) took responsibility for the protests, saying, "SFI-UK held a demonstration in Kellogg College, Oxford against Mamata Banerjee's speech. We opposed her blatant lies by asking her for evidence of the social development she claims to pioneer. Instead of allowing us to peacefully express our opinions, the police were called...In support of the students and working masses of West Bengal, SFI-UK raised its voice in opposition to Mamata Banerjee and the TMC's corrupt, undemocratic rule." (ANI) Expatriate Assyrians From Iraq Who Choose to Go Back "It's time to come back." This is the slogan of the NGO "The Return." A blue and white logo represents the paths of the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, with the borders intentionally erased "to send a message of unity, without distinction between various communities, including Christians," explains Dilan. A Chaldean of Franco-Iraqi origin, Dilan is the founder of the project. "I was born here, in Ankawa [a Christian village in the suburbs of Erbil, Editor's note]. We left Iraq with my family when I was a year old. We always kept connections, traveling back regularly after 2003 and the fall of Saddam Hussein. This gave me the desire to come back and settle here at an early age." His "obsession" earned him numerous reproaches from his colleagues, but Dilan is a man of conviction. "It's not all rosy, but it's our home." With his law degree in hand and after two years of evening Arabic classes, he finalized his return. It was in 2019, at the start of his 30s, driven by an ambition that went beyond his own story, he began "to facilitate the return of Christians and other minorities to Iraq." A "repatriation" "Some people in the community view returning as a failure to integrate in the other country. We want to show that there's no shame in coming back, it's a choice." A "repatriation." The English word, already used by the Armenian community, well summarizes, according to Dilan, their "atypical situation: a return without ever having lived in the country." Sitting in a traditional cafe in old Ankawa -- whose owner is also a "returnee," Nicholas nods in agreement. He is part of the "movement." "I was born in Australia, I don't have Iraqi nationality, and I only discovered the region at 18," explains this now forty-something, a doctor in Syriac studies. With a perfect knowledge of Aramaic, a beard almost as long as his hair, Nicholas nevertheless gives the impression of being a child of the country. "I never really felt Australian. I grew up in an Assyrian culture at home. Our families left because of wars, persecutions. We inherit transgenerational traumas and, unless we address our issues here, we will never get over them," he says. Jennie, Jessy, Melinda, and many others are of the same opinion. The NGO has listed more than 50 returnees, mostly settled in the north of Iraq. A common will to live on the land of their ancestors but with varied profiles, they are divided into three categories: the permanents, the semi-permanents -- "those who make back-and-forth trips before a definitive settlement" --, and the future returnees. "Coming back to find our loved ones and support the community" There exists a fourth, more discreet category: families. A step less contending than individual, especially "more likely to be sustainable," says Dilan. Forced into exile in recent years, they attempt the return to a more peaceful Iraq. The cities and villages of the Nineveh Plains, once inhabited mainly by Chaldean, Syrian and Assyrian Christians, had emptied due to the occupation of the Islamic State that was gradually driven out beginning in 2016. Only 45% of the original Christian community has returned to the Nineveh Plains. There were 102,000 Christians living there in 2014. But their number has dwindled to 36,000 and is expected to plummet even further by 2024 due to political instability and lack of security, as well as family and economic reasons. "We left the country in 2014 because we were persecuted by ISIS, and I was pregnant," says Vana, now a mother of two. "We spent six wonderful years in Canada, but we decided to come back to find our loved ones and support the community." A positive return, this family estimates. The children are enrolled in a Catholic school, and Vana runs a humanitarian aid NGO supported by the Chaldean Church. Each "repatriation" has its specificity and challenges. Nicholas faces the difficulty of the Iraqi administration to obtain nationality. "For others, it's about finding a source of income, housing, or even learning the local languages, starting with Arabic. Aramaic is not enough to integrate," Dilan points out. Nonetheless it is "to show that this step is possible." A "returnee's guide" is in preparation, and the first testimonials on the NGO's Instagram page are encouraging: "Despite all the difficulties they will face, tell them that, here, they will find 'life'." Actor Vijay's party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) will hold its first general council meeting in Thiruvanmayur on Friday, following the party's one-year completion. The meeting will be held at Ramachandra Convention Hall in Thiruvanmayur. Massive cutouts welcoming the party chief, Vijay, have been put outside the venue, and its entrance has been designed to resemble the entrance of Tamil Nadu Secretariat. The venue has been adorned with several banners and posters depicting Vijay's political career. All arrangements have been put in place and the venue echoed with the sounds of dhol and nagadas. In 2024, Vijay announced his entry into the political domain. Earlier, on February 26, actor Vijay's party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam completed its first anniversary. Jan Suraj Chief Prashant Kishor attended the celebration. Kishor is an advisor to Vijay, who is aiming to displace the two Dravidian Parties in the next assembly polls. Speaking on the occasion, Vijay said that the TVK was emerging as a political force, "We are emerging as the primary political force in Tamil Nadu politics with a firm commitment to creating history in 2026 like 1967 and 1977 without compromising ideological principles at any cost. " Addressing the public at the event in Chennai, Vijay said that there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics. "This is politics at a different level because we don't know when someone will support, someone will oppose. We can't predict that, and that's why it has been said there is no permanent friend or enemy," Vijay said. Vijay, speaking on the recent controversy on the three language policy, said that the state and the centre are fighting like Kindergarten students . "Funds to education have been stopped for the State Government. This is like LKG - UKG students fight. Their responsibility is to give, state responsibility is to get that is our rights. Amid these big problems, two (BJP and DMK) are playing with Hastag," Vijay said. (ANI) TMC West Bengal Vice President Jaiprakash Majumdar took a dig at the BJP, calling its flagship initiative, Ayushman Bharat, a "failed project" and dismissed the prospects of the party coming to power in the state. Jaiprakash Majumdar said that the BJP's position in the state is in a "downward trend." Speaking to ANI, the TMC leader said, "Ayushman Bharat is a failed initiative. In the past 75 years, why hasn't the BJP been able to form a government in West Bengal? Even Syama Prasad Mukherjee, one of the founders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, couldn't bring the party to power in the state. This is something the BJP should reflect upon." "The current situation of the BJP in West Bengal is critical; the party is on a downward trajectory. In 2019, the BJP secured 18 seats and appeared to be gaining ground, but this number dropped significantly in 2021. The BJP has lost every by-election since then, and in 2026, its prospects will diminish even further. Will they even win any seats in 2026?" he added. Adding, he said, "People in West Bengal want to live peacefully, and there's no room here for those who practice divisive politics. The BJP needs to rethink its approach, adopt a secular stance, and focus on moving the people forward. We don't see the BJP making any real impact here." Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday slammed the Trinamool Congress, saying Bangladeshi infiltrators or Rohingyas enter India through West Bengal and fencing work of 450 km is pending because the state government is not giving land for it. Replying to the debate in Lok Sabha on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, which was later passed by the House, Amit Shah also expressed confidence that the BJP will win next year's assembly polls in West Bengal. He alleged that Aadhar cards are issued to illegal migrants from Bangladesh in a district of West Bengal, and they then travel to other parts of the country. "Whether Bangladeshi infiltrators or Rohingyas, earlier they used to enter India through Assam when Congress was in power. Now, they enter India through West Bengal, where Trinamool Congress is in power. Who issues them Aadhaar cards and citizenship? All the Bangladeshis who have been caught have Aadhaar cards from the 24 Parganas district. You (TMC) issue Aadhaar cards, and they come to Delhi with voter cards. In 2026, the BJP government will be formed in West Bengal, and we will put an end to this," he said. Shah said fencing work of 450 km is pending because the West Bengal government is not giving land for it. "Whenever the process of fencing is done, the ruling party workers indulge in hooliganism and religious sloganeering. The fencing work of 450 km of border has not been completed because the West Bengal government is showing mercy to the infiltrators...our border with Bangladesh is 2216 km. Out of that, 1653 km has been fenced. The road near the fence has also been built, and checkposts have also been built. Of the remaining 563 km, there cannot be fencing on 112 km due to difficult terrain such rivers, drains and hills. Fencing on 450 km is pending as the Bengal government does not give land... Seven meetings have been held," he added. Amit Shah also said India is not a 'Dharamshala' and those who pose a threat to the national security will not be allowed to enter the country. "Those who pose a threat to national security will not be allowed to enter the nation. The nation is not a 'Dharamshala' (rest house)...If someone comes to the nation to give its contribution to the development of the nation, they are always welcome," he said. (ANI) BJP MLA and the Deputy Speaker of Delhi Assembly Mohan Singh Bisht has reiterated his demands to change the name of Mustafabad assembly constituency, stating that everyone is demanding the renaming of the Mustafabad constituency to Shiv Vihar. The Delhi Assembly is set to discuss a resolution moved by Bisht "to change the name of Mustafabad Assembly Constituency to Shiv Vihar Assembly Constituency, in view of the sentiments of constituency voters" on Friday. Speaking to ANI, Bisht stated that the Mustafabad constituency, which was formed after delimitation in 2008, was named so by some people for "political gains." "I have given a proposal to change the name of Mustafabad Assembly constituency. Between 1998 and 2008, when I was the MLA, the constituency was known as Karawal Nagar. Mustafabad is not named after any religious guru. There used to be a property dealer here by the name of Mustafa, who, along with some political persons, changed the name of the constituency to Mustafabad for political gains, after I went to another constituency. Today, everyone is demanding the renaming of the Mustafabad constituency to Shiv Vihar," Bisht told ANI. Bisht further asserted that the "illegal" meat shops near temples should be sout particularly during Navratri. He said, "Illegal meat shops near temples should be shut (particularly during Navratri) to ensure the religious sentiments of people are not hurt." This issue has sparked criticism from the opposition Aam Aadmi Party. AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha launched scathing attack on the BJP government, stating that the public has elected them to work and not to just change names. Jha stated that changing names won't benefit people as there are thousand such places in Delhi which bears Urdu name. "The public has elected them for work. This is a government that just changes names. They change the name wherever they are elected... There are thousands of Urdu names, change them all. What good will it do to the people? When will women in Mustafabad get Rs 2500?... It would be good to discuss how the people of Mustafabad will develop ... There are thousands of places in Delhi which have Urdu names. Changing the name will not benefit Delhi. Delhi is a city of kind-hearted people, do not sow the seeds of hatred in it..." Jha said. (ANI) Baramulla Police Rashtriya Rifles and 53 Battalion the Central Reserve Police Force, launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in the Namblan forest area and recovered a significant cache of arms and ammunition. According to the release, two Chinese hand grenades,104 AK-47 rounds, two AK-47 magazines (one damaged), six pieces of RDX, one detonator set with wire, one pouch, two pithoo bags, one pressure IED were recovered during the search operation. Following the recovery, an FIR was registered at Police Station Sheeri, and further investigation is underway On Wednesday, security forces uncovered a militant hideout in the Namblan forest area of Baramulla on Wednesday. According to a release, the joint search operation was conducted by Rashtriya Rifles (RR), the Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). During the search, security forces recovered a cache of arms and explosives, including an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) with a fuse, plastic explosives, 104 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, two AK-47 magazines, two hand grenades, a combat pouch, and two bags. Earlier on March 26, in a significant operation, security forces uncovered a militant hideout in the Namblan forest area of Baramulla on Wednesday. The joint search operation was conducted by the Baramulla Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). During the search, security forces recovered a cache of arms and explosives, including an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) with a fuse, plastic explosives, 104 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, two AK-47 magazines, two hand grenades, a combat pouch, and two bags. Following the recovery, an FIR was registered at Police Station Sheeri. On March 27, Baramulla Police registered an FIR against individuals found involved in unlawful activities despite a Government-imposed ban on their organization. According to the police statement, "Jammu and Kashmir Itihad-ul-Muslimeen (JKIM), affiliated with Masroor Abbas Ansari, has been found involved in activities that pose a serious threat to the integrity and sovereignty of the nation. The organization's members have been linked to militancy-related incidents, stone-pelting on security forces, and inciting public unrest against the Union of India. Considering these subversive activities, the Government of India, through MHA Notification No. 14017/1/2025/NI-MFO dated 11.03.2025, has declared the organization unlawful." "Despite the ban, credible intelligence indicates that certain leaders and members of JKIM continue to involve in anti-national activities. They have been actively instigating the public against the nation, spreading misinformation and hatred. Taking due cognizance of these violations, Police Station Pattan has registered Case FIR No. 45/2025 under Sections 10 & 13 of UAPA and Sections 147 & 148 of BNS.Further Investigation has been set into motion," the Police statement added. (ANI) Calling West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "anti-Indian," Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sanjay Jaiswal on Friday said that like Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Banerjee had gone abroad with an "anti-India agenda." "Just like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee also went abroad with an anti-India agenda... politics of people like Mamata Banerjee is on how to let Bangladeshis enter Bengal and the country, how to give them Aadhar cards...She has shown there that she is anti-Indian," Jaiswal told ANI. Earlier today, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy condemned the behaviour of a group of people who protested against Mamata Banerjee at Oxford University's Kellogg College in London and said that the Students Federation of India in the UK (SFI UK) did this to get "publicity." "I totally condemn this (behaviour by the students with Mamata Banerjee at the university where she was giving a speech). Oxford University is not Mamata's own place, she went there on her own invitation. So what can we do. It is for the university authority and the England police to take steps in this matter. There is no reason they have done this except to get publicity. Mamata Banerjee is an elected Chief Minister of the state," Roy told ANI. This comes after CM Mamata Banerjee faced protests by a group of people at Oxford University's Kellogg College in London on Thursday, where she was questioned regarding the RG Kar College case and post-poll violence in West Bengal. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya shared a video where he claimed that the people seen in the video, purportedly belonging to the Bengali Hindu community, confronted CM Mamata Banerjee at Kellogg College in London. "Bengali Hindus confront West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Kellogg College in London, raising angry slogans calling her out for the rape and murder of the lady doctor at RG Kar, crimes against women in Sandeshkhali, the genocide of Hindus, and widespread corruption," Amit Malviya posted on X. The BJP leader further called Mamata Banerjee a "disgrace" to West Bengal. "Just a few posters that were held up to Mamata Banerjee... She is a disgrace to West Bengal. The Hindu Bengali diaspora wants her out as the Chief Minister for destroying Bengal's legacy and putting them through such ignominy," he added. The video posted by the BJP showed the West Bengal CM facing several interruptions during which someone in the audience raised a question about the Hindus in Bengal. "I am for all, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians," Banerjee responded, which was followed by "Go back" slogans from a section of the audience. The Chief Minister addressed one of the protesters as "brother" and said, "Please remember this... and don't do politics. It's very easy to do politics here and create negative narratives." In a video from the interaction posted by the Trinamool Congress, the Chief Minister then responded to the protestors saying, "You encourage me, Please smile with a hope that Didi will come every time, Didi don't get bothered, Didi don't bother anybody, Didi walk just like a Royal Bengal Tiger and if you can catch me." Posting the video, Trinamool Congress said, "She (Mamata Banerjee) doesn't flinch. She doesn't falter. The more you heckle, the fiercer she roars. Mamata Banerjee is a Royal Bengal Tiger!" In a statement, the Students Federation of India in the UK (SFI UK) took responsibility for the protests, saying, "SFI-UK held a demonstration in Kellogg College, Oxford against Mamata Banerjee's speech. We opposed her blatant lies by asking her for evidence of the social development she claims to pioneer. Instead of allowing us to peacefully express our opinions, the police were called...In support of the students and working masses of West Bengal, SFI-UK raised its voice in opposition to Mamata Banerjee and the TMC's corrupt, undemocratic rule." (ANI) Firing was exchanged between Delhi Police special staff outer district and criminals in the Tilak Nagar area of New Delhi. According to the Delhi Police, while acting upon the credible information, during the intervening night of March 27 and 28, a raid was carried out by Special Staff Team Outer Distt to nab the criminals wanted in case FIR no 210/25 in Sultanpuri police station under section 309(4)/311/3(5) Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS), wherein the perpetrators robbed a mobile and cash on gun point and knife. The police received information about wanted criminals hiding in a house in the Tilak Nagar police station area. Upon receipt of information, a raid was immediately planned, comprising team members Inspector Rohit, Sub Inspector Vipin Kumar, Sub Inspector Ankit, Head Constable Vikas Kumar, Head Constable Rohit, Head Constable Manjeet, Captain Vijay Khatri, Captain Vijay Loura, Captain Sandeep, Captain Aman, Captain Anuj Dalal and Captain Harkesh. The police team approached the spot after verifying the received information. At around 12:00 AM, upon sensing the police presence around the spot, the wanted criminals attempted to flee. Team members, Constable Sandeep and Head Constable Vikas, pursued two of them for about 400 meters, and one criminal opened fire twice at the police team. In self-defence, police personnel returned fire. Constable Sandeep sustained gunshot injuries in the abdomen and left hand. He is presently stable and safe and undergoing treatment at the Hospital. During the proceedings, two criminals were nabbed with 02 loaded CMPs. A Yamaha R15 motorcycle, used by the criminals to flee, was also recovered. Further legal action is being taken, and an investigation is ongoing. In another operation, Delhi Police have arrested a notorious robbery accused following an exchange of gunfire during an operation to apprehend him for attempting to extort money in the Vikaspuri area.The accused, identified as Akash Jha, alias Monu, 25 years old, a resident of Indra Camp No 5, Vikaspuri, was injured in the encounter and is currently receiving treatment at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital. Police said that Akash Jha, who was previously arrested in 2024 for a firing incident in Mayapuri, had recently been released from jail in November 2024. (ANI) As the residents of Jagatpur village in Burari staged a protest against Delhi's electricity department, claiming to face prolonged power cuts, Aam Aadmi Party's chief Arvind Kejriwal slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Delhi government on Friday for "making the power situation worse" in the national capital. Claiming that the previous AAP-led government had set up the power system with "great difficulty," Kejriwal, in a post on X said, "We had set up the power system in Delhi with great difficulty, we had worked very hard. And we kept an eye on it daily. There was no power cut anywhere for ten years. These people have made the power situation worse in just one and a half months." The residents of Jagatpur village had reportedly blocked the outer Delhi Ring Road, claiming to be facing prolonged power outage in the area. The protest comes amidst the Delhi government presenting their 2025 budget of Rs 1 lakh crore, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta calling it the "biggest increase" of budget in the country. However, the Opposition AAP has criticised the budget for being presented "without an economic survey." Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Atishi had also written to the assembly speaker, urging for a discussion on the budget. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta presented the budget as a "historic" step towards transforming Delhi into an investment and innovation-friendly city. With a total allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore, the budget aims to drive growth, development, and improvement in the quality of life for Delhi's residents. Rs 19,291 crore has been allocated for education, an increase of 17 pc from last time. Similarly, the budget for the transport sector, including for roads and bridges Rs 12,952 crore, an increase of 73 pc. Housing and Urban Development projects budget has been increased by 9 pc from last year. The Delhi CM said earlier, "In 2024-2025, the budget was Rs 76,000 crore, and this time, the budget is Rs 1 lakh crore, which is an increase of 31.58 per cent. We can call it the biggest increase in any budget in the country." (ANI) TVK, in the meeting, decided that they would ask the Centre to withdraw the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The resolution on the language policy stated that the party will remain dedicated to the two-language policy and proposed a three-language policy under the New Education Policy is against "federalism" and TVK will never accept "imposition" of another language politically. Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) also passed a resolution against the proposed delimitation, calling it "not necessary." The resolution states that the proposed delimitation will reduce the seats of the southern states. During the meeting, TVK also condemned the ruling DMK government for not controlling drugs in the state. They accused DMK of making "false promises" on Old pension scheme to government employees. Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam also raised the issue of fishermen arrested by Sthe ri Lankan Navy and demanded a permanent solution for it. The party extended its firm support to the fishermen. The party also condemned the Union and Tamil Nadu government for not bringing of a permanent solution for fishermen issue. The resolution stated that "Prime Minister Narendra Modi should consider Tamil fishermen equal to Gujarat fishermen" and should bring permanent solution for fishermen problems." A resolution was also passed against new Chennai proposed airport in Parandhur. The first general council meeting of TVK is underway at Ramachandra Convention Hall in Thiruvanmayur. Massive cutouts welcoming the party chief, Vijay was put outside the venue, and its entrance has been designed to resemble the entrance of Tamil Nadu Secretariat. The venue has been adorned with several banners and posters depicting Vijay's political career. All arrangements have been put in place and the venue echoed with the sounds of dhol and nagadas. In February 2024, Vijay announced his entry into the political domain. Earlier, on February 26, actor Vijay's party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam completed its first anniversary. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party leader Khagen Murmu on Friday attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and said that the latter does not think about the economy, she only thinks about her chair. "Mamata Banerjee's only goal is to retain her chair... She (Mamata Banerjee) does not think about the economy; she only thinks about her chair. Fake identity cards are being made by infiltrating infiltrators from Bangladesh... Her (Mamata Banerjee) only goal is to loot whatever financial support is being received from the central government for the people of West Bengal," Khagen told ANI. This comes after CM Mamata Banerjee faced protests by a group of people at Oxford University's Kellogg College in London on Thursday, where she was questioned regarding the RG Kar College case and post-poll violence in West Bengal. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya shared a video where he claimed that the people seen in the video, purportedly belonging to the Bengali Hindus community had confronted CM Mamata Banerjee at Kellogg College in London. "Bengali Hindus confront West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Kellogg College in London, raising angry slogans calling her out for the rape and murder of the lady doctor at RG Kar, crimes against women in Sandeshkhali, the genocide of Hindus, and widespread corruption," Amit Malviya posted on X. The BJP leader further called Mamata Banerjee a "disgrace" to West Bengal. "Just a few posters that were held up to Mamata Banerjee... She is a disgrace to West Bengal. The Hindu Bengali diaspora wants her out as the Chief Minister for destroying Bengal's legacy and putting them through such ignominy," he added. The Video posted by the BJP showed the West Bengal CM facing several interruptions during which someone in the audience raised a question about the Hindus in Bengal. "I am for all, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians," Banerjee responded, which was followed by "Go back" slogans from a section of the audience. The Chief Minister addressed one of the protesters as "brother" and said, "Please remember this... and don't do politics. It's very easy to do politics here and create negative narratives." In a video from the interaction posted by the Trinamool Congress, the Chief Minister then responded to the protestors saying, "You encourage me, Please smile with a hope that Didi will come every time, Didi don't get bothered, Didi don't bother anybody, Didi walk just like a Royal Bengal Tiger and if you can catch me me." Posting the video, Trinamool Congress said, "She (Mamata Banerjee) doesn't flinch. She doesn't falter. The more you heckle, the fiercer she roars. Mamata Banerjee is a Royal Bengal Tiger!" BJP leader Amit Malviya also posted another video from the interaction in which Mamata Banerjee was seen engaged a conversation on 'Social Development - Girl, Child and Women Empowerment in West Bengal' at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, during which she disagreed with the claim that India will become the world's first economy by 2060. "India has already overtaken the UK; we are now the 6th largest economy, and India is the fifth largest economy. Soon, it will be the third largest economy in the world. By 2060, it is predicted that it will be the first economy in the world," the host of the discussion remarked, to which Mamata Banerjee said, "I will differ that." In his post Amit Malviya said that the West Bengal Chief Minister has a problem with India becoming the world's largest economy. "West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has a problem with India becoming the world's largest economy... This is truly shameful. She is a disgrace to the constitutional office she holds. Who behaves like this on foreign soil?" Malviya posted on X.(ANI) The police recovered 700 chips/coins worth Rs. 3.5 lakh, which were kept at stake for gambling, along with other gambling articles. The accused were caught red-handed at Hotel Mansion, where they were running an illegal gambling operation. According to the police, the kingpin, Rajesh Bansal (45), was the mastermind behind the operation. Earlier today, Delhi Police arrested a notorious robbery accused following an exchange of gunfire during an operation to apprehend him for attempting to extort money in the Vikaspuri area. The accused, identified as Akash Jha, alias Monu, 25 years old, a resident of Indra Camp No 5, Vikaspuri, was injured in the encounter and is currently receiving treatment at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital. Police said that Akash Jha, who was previously arrested in 2024 for a firing incident in Mayapuri, had recently been released from jail in November 2024. Despite ongoing complaints from locals about his involvement in extortion activities, no formal complaints were made against him. Acting on intelligence, the West District Operations team identified his hideout in Indira Camp No-5, Vikaspuri, and launched a raid at approximately 1:30 AM on March 28. Upon being confronted, Jha opened fire on the police, hitting one officer's bulletproof jacket. The police returned fire in self-defence, injuring Jha in his left leg just below the knee. The accused, with a criminal history of multiple robbery, firing, and assault cases, is also wanted in connection with the Gunda Act in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. Legal proceedings have been initiated against him at Police Station Vikaspuri. Further details on the matter are awaited. (ANI) Anglican Church of Melbourne to Lead Commemoration of Greek, Armenian and Assyrian Genocide Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Dr Philip Freier. ( Aaron Francis) The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne will host a historic Evensong Service in the heart of Melbourne's CBD at St Paul's Cathedral on Sunday, 6 April 2025 to mark the 110th Anniversary of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides. Following the Ecumenical service, the Armenian National Committee of Australia's Edith Glanville Humanitarian Award will be presented to Bishop Genieve Blackwell, the Administrator of the Diocese, honouring the Church's exemplary history and ongoing contributions to the advancement and protection of human rights for all peoples. The event is supported by the Joint Justice Initiative, a body which advocates for federal recognition of the genocide and is comprised of the Australian Hellenic Council, the Armenian National Committee of Australia and the Assyrian National Council -- Australia. Edith May Glanville (1871--1966) was a well-known Sydney social worker and philanthropist who helped to establish the Armenian Relief Fund, and later the 'Friends of Armenia', as part of the relief movement in Australia in response to the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey. 'Aid for Armenia' became a common catch cry in Australia at this time and as the noted Greek-Australian historian, Professor Joy Damousi, has written the cause of the refugee children generated a form of humanitarian relief effort in Australia that can be described as a combination of "Christian humanitarianism, feminist internationalism (and) an intersection of national and international perspectives and an educative endeavour to impart information to the public". Victoria was at the forefront of the Armenian relief movement which embraced many of its political, civic and religious leaders. In a letter to the Victorian government in 2024, Archbishop Philip Freier recalled the historical commitment Victoria showed to those affected by the genocides and noted that the Melbourne diocese was on the forefront of raising funds and providing relief. The Anglican Church of Melbourne and the Joint Justice Initiative have joined forces to maintain the spirit of that spiritual and humanitarian effort. The event will be attended by high-level Ministers from the Victorian State Parliament as well as clergy of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. The President of the Australian Hellenic Council Victoria, Peter Stefanidis, said: "I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Anglican Church of Melbourne for standing with us in honouring our ancestors. Their support is a powerful acknowledgment of truth and justice." "The will of the Victorian people is clear: genocide did take place, and it must be accurately remembered and commemorated. The time has come for the Victorian Government to follow the example set by the Anglican Church of Melbourne, as well as their counterparts across Australia, in formally recognising the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocides," he added. "We owe it to the memory of those who came before us -- and to future generations -- to ensure that this truth is neither denied nor forgotten. Together, we move forward in the spirit of recognition, reconciliation, and respect," Stefanidis concluded. The Very Reverend Dr Andreas Loewe, Dean of Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral said: "Our Ecumenical Service of Evening Prayer is an important opportunity to stand with our Armenian, Assyrian and Greek sisters and brothers in remembrance, solidarity and hope. As we mark the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, we honour the lives lost, give thanks for the resilience of the Armenian people, and celebrate the long-standing friendship between the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne and the Armenian Church." "I give thanks for this opportunity to pray together for healing, reconciliation and peace, and to renew our shared commitment to justice and human dignity for all people, as beloved children of God," he added. Members of the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities and the general public are invited to attend both the Evensong Service and the Award Presentation taking place at St Paul's Cathedral to honour the sacred memory of the victims of the genocides. George Vardas is the Arts and Culture Editor of Greek City Times. In his capacity as Secretary of the Australian Hellenic Council NSW he is also a member of the Joint Justice Initiative. BJP MP Dinesh Sharma attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her remarks in a college during her UK visit. Sharma said only two to four parties in India can defame the country by going abroad, and a patriotic person cannot adopt such an act. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is currently in United Kingdom and attended an event at the Kellogg College of the Oxford University in London. Mamata faced protests by a group of people during the event on Thursday, where she was questioned regarding the RG Kar College case and post-poll violence in West Bengal. "...Going abroad and defaming the country can only be done by these 2-4 parties. No patriotic person can adopt such conduct", Dinesh Sharma said to ANI on Friday. Furthermore, he reacted to Uddhav Thackeray's 'Saugat-e-Satta' statement on the Union Government's 'Saugat-e-Modi' scheme and stated that the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief has daviated from his ideology and he is going to be in trouble for a long time. "... PM Modi has given many gifts to all the countrymen without any discrimination of religion, rich and poor... Uddhav Thackeray is going to be in trouble for a long time because he has deviated from his ideology", Dinesh Sharma said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minority Morcha is set to launch its "Saugat-e-Modi" campaign, aiming to distribute special kits to 32 lakh underprivileged Muslims across the country ahead of Eid. The initiative, kicking off from Nizamuddin in Delhi on Tuesday under the guidance of BJP National President JP Nadda, seeks to ensure that poor Muslim families can celebrate the festival without any hardship. As part of the campaign, 32,000 Minority Morcha workers will collaborate with 32,000 mosques nationwide to reach the needy. National President of the BJP Minority Morcha, Jamal Siddiqui, outlined the campaign's broader vision, stating that during the holy month of Ramadan and upcoming occasions like Eid, Good Friday, Easter, Nauruz, and the Indian New Year, the Minority Front will reach out to those in need through the "Saugat-e-Modi" campaign. Eid Milan celebrations will also be organised at the district level, he added. (ANI) Bhopal Central Jail management has restricted the open meeting of inmates with their family members on the upcoming festival of Eid citing ongoing construction work inside the jail and security concerns. Nonetheless, the normal visits to the jail will continue as usual. The jail management has also pasted a notice on the gate for the purpose which reads "Open meeting will be prohibited on Eid but normal meeting will be allowed." Bhopal Central Jail Superintendent Rakesh Kumar Bhangre told ANI, "Bhopal Central Jail management has restricted the open meeting system, facilitating from the past during festivals, this time due to security concerns as construction works are going on at a large scale at three different places inside the jail. There are many prisoners associated with various banned outfits, including SIMI, PFI lodged here in Jail. Currently, there are 3400 inmates and bringing all of them along with around 9000 public who visit from outside in the jail and holding their meeting does not seem appropriate for the sake of security." "Keeping in view that there should not be any major incident, it has been decided that there should not be an open meeting on Eid, instead allow the normal meeting. But still if any instruction is received from the higher ups or the state government, it will be considered to allow an open meeting," Bhangre said. He further clarified that the decision was not taken under any kind of pressure. If the situation appeared during the festival of Rakshabandhan, then also they would have taken the same decision to prohibit open meetings of inmates and permit only normal meetings. "We are aware that prohibiting the open meeting on Eid will hurt the sentiments of many Muslim brothers. We also feel sad that the family will not be able to meet the inmates here but we and our department are trying to ensure that this system works smoothly in any way. The situation is the contrary this time. After the construction work, an open meeting will be started again in future but currently we have taken the decision to prohibit it," he added. Meanwhile, the decision has sparked a debate between the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress party accused that such decisions were taken under the pressure of ruling BJP government and its a violation of human rights. "I had made allegations before and I am still on it that such decisions are being taken under the pressure of the government. This decision prevents people from meeting their families. Open meetings took place on festivals of Diwali, Rakshabandhan, Holi, Eid etc. This time too, make an arrangement on Eid, so that there should not be a violation of human rights. The BJP should not do politics in the name of arrangements," said Abbas Hafeez, Congress Spokesperson. The Congress leader also said that during the recently concluded Holi festival an open meeting was held and family members met with inmates. Similarly, open meetings are held during Eid every year but this time, it is prohibited on the pretext of maintenance. "We demand to make alternative arrangements and allow open meetings. I will meet the DG Jail and ask him to take back the decision and instruct Jail Superintendent to hold an open meeting. The festival of Holi concluded a week ago, the construction work was not going on at that time. Even before this, all the festivals came, there was no issue. When you know that Eid is coming, you should either stop the construction work or start it later, now arrange that it should be stopped for a while. It is in your hands to make arrangements. You will not say that there can be no arrangement. Arrangements can be made and do arrange it to hold open meetings for a day," he added. On the other hand, BJP spokesperson Ajay Yadav targeted the Congress party saying that the decision was made due to ongoing construction work inside the Jail but the Congress party only did politics on sensitive issues. "The Congress party is doing appeasement politics. Bhopal jail is a very sensitive jail and many serious inmates are lodged here. In such a situation, the Jail management made such a decision in view of the safety of prisoners as well as any serious prisoners could not escape by taking advantage of any kind of situation. Construction work is going on, so there is a possibility of such an incident. The Congress party, which maintains an irresponsible attitude, does politics only on sensitive issues," Yadav told ANI. When the situation in jail becomes normal, there will be provision made for special meetings as before and currently, normal meetings are going on, he said. When asked about the Congress accusing the state BJP government over making such a decision, he said, "It is the responsibility of the state government to take decisions in accordance with the rules and regulations and whatever decision has been taken by the Jail management has been taken based on the rules and based on the intelligence inputs. The Congress party even stands with terrorists and criminals. We do not need to answer to the Congress party." (ANI) Karnataka Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday attended a meeting with the Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge and other PCCs. After the meeting, Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar stated that the party has come up with a new formula to strengthen it in the country. Shivkumar also said that trainings have been given to Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) on how to get membership, monitor social media, to take care of party assets, etc. "They have come out with a new formula to strengthen the Congress party in the country. I am very happy that Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have taken this initiative. The party has given training to Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) on how to get membership, monitor social media, to take care of party assets, etc," DK Shivkumar told reporters. Earlier on Thursday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge took a dig at the BJP, saying the party's dependence on two allies is a significant blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim of winning 400 seats. Kharge emphasised this point while addressing District Congress Committee Presidents in New Delhi. Kharge discussed the importance of winning elections at the state level, with a focus on unity and long-term strategy. "Most importantly, we must remember to work in unity with a long-term strategy to win elections at the state level. Our ideology is strong, but without power, we cannot implement it," Kharge emphasised. Kharge also discussed the need for stronger organizational structures at the state level, ahead of upcoming elections in several states. "Next year (March-April 2026), elections will be held in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu. It is your responsibility to ensure victory for every candidate in your district. We will work together, but you are our first line of defense on the ground. Your inputs will be crucial in planning our strategy, and we will take them into account," Mallikarjun Kharge said. (ANI) Stressing the importance of protecting freedom of speech and expression, the Supreme Court on Friday quashed an FIR registered against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi by Gujarat police over a social media post with a poem 'ae khoon ke pyase baat suno..." A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan allowed the petition filed by Pratapgarhi against the FIR while observing that no offence was made. The apex court said free expression of thoughts and views by individuals or groups of individuals is an integral part of a healthy civilised society. Without freedom of expression of thoughts and views, it is impossible to lead a dignified life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, said the bench. "In a healthy democracy, the views of thoughts expressed by an individual or group of individuals must be countered by expressing another point of view. Even if a large number of persons dislike the views expressed by another, the right of the person to express the views must be respected and protected. Literature including poetry, dramas, films, satire, and art make the life of human beings more meaningful," said the apex court in its verdict. The verdict further stated that courts must uphold rights even if they don't like what was expressed. "The courts are duty bound to uphold and enforce the fundamental rights guarantee under the constitution of India. Sometimes we the judges may not like spoken or written words but still it is our duty to uphold the fundamental rights under Article 19(1). We judges are also under an obligation to uphold Constitution and respective ideals," it added. It is the duty of the court to step in and to protect the fundamental rights, particularly the constitutional courts must be at the forefront to zealously protect the fundamental rights of the citizens, said the top court. "It is the bounden duty of the court to ensure that the Constitution and ideals of the Constitution are not trampled upon," it added. Endeavour of the court should be to always protect and promote the fundamental rights including the freedom of speech and expression which is the most important right citizens can have in all liberal constitutional democracies, the verdict further stated. Quashing the FIR, the apex court said Police officers being citizens are bound to abide by the Constitution and to uphold the rights. It said that Police must first go through and understand the meaning of written or spoken words before lodging FIR in such cases. The offence of promoting enmity between religious groups under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) cannot be invoked based on the standards of insecure people who take offence at every slight criticism, it said. "In the preamble it is laid down that the people of India solemnly decided to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic and to secure all its citizens liberty of thought. Therefore, Liberty of thought and expression is one of ideals of our Constitution," the verdict stated. It further said "the effect of spoken or written words cannot be judged on the basis of standards of the people who always have the sense of insecurity or those who always perceive criticism as a threat to their power or position," the Court observed. Pratapgarhi was facing charges of promoting communal disharmony by posting a video clip on his social media handle with poem "ae khoon ke pyase baat suno..." The apex court had earlier granted protection to Pratapgarhi from arrest after Gujarat Police registered FIR against him over a social media post with poem "ae khoon ke pyase baat suno..." On January 3, the national chairman of Congress' minority cell Pratapgarhi was booked by Jamnagar police for promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, statements prejudicial to national integration, insulting religious group or their beliefs, abetting the commission of an offence by the public or by a group of more than ten people, among other charges. The FIR alleged that the Rajya Sabha MP was booked after he posted the 46-second video clip on December 29 on X handle with a poem "ae khoon ke pyase baat suno..." running in the background. A Jamnagar resident filed an FIR alleging that Pratapgarhi used a song which was "provocative, detrimental to national integrity and hurt religious sentiments". Thereafter, he moved the High Court for quashing the FIR, saying that the poem, based on which the FIR was filed, "is a poem spreading a message of love." The High Court on January 17, 2025, refused to quash the FIR, saying there was need for further investigation and that he had not cooperated with the investigation process. Before the High Court the Congress MP maintained that "reading of the song-poem, it is a message of love and non-violence." (ANI) Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will likely visit Bihar on April 7 and attend the 'Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan' in Patna. According to the sources, after the conference, Rahul Gandhi is likely to join Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar's 'Naukari Do Yatra.' On Thursday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with party leaders from Bihar in the Indira Bhawan. "An important meeting of District Congress Committee (DCC) Presidents was held in the presence of Congress President Shri @kharge ji, Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi ji and senior Congress leaders. In this meeting, there was an in-depth discussion on strengthening the Congress organization at the district level." the Bihar Congress posted on X. Earlier, the Congress leader visited Bihar on January 18 and February 5. In a February 5 address in Patna, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing them of tokenism in Dalit representation. He claimed that while Dalits are being given representation, they are being denied any real power in decision-making processes. During the programme in Patna on the occasion of Jaglal Choudhary Jayanti, he pointed out, making Dalits sit on the stage has no meaning if the decisions are made from behind the stage. "In India's power structure today, whether it is education, health, corporate, business, judiciary, how much is your participation?... Dalits have been given representation but it means nothing if there is no participation in the power structure. Making you sit on the stage has no meaning if the decisions are made from behind the stage. Today, it has become a fashion to give tickets to people from different castes, PM Modi also says this. But then, you (PM Modi) snatched the powers of the MLAs. Even the Lok Sabha MPs have no power to make any decisions. You made ministers but the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) is from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The question is about control and participation...," he said. Rahul Gandhi further emphasized the lack of representation and participation of Dalits in various sectors, including healthcare. He questioned why hospitals are being built in the names of Adani and Ambani, but not in the names of Dalit leaders. He pointed out the stark contrast between the privileges enjoyed by corporate giants like Adani and Ambani, who receive government land and resources to build hospitals, and the absence of institutions dedicated to Dalits. He also emphasised the significance of the importance of the Indian Constitution and warning against the BJP's alleged attempts to undermine it. "I know the Delhi election is important, but this function is also crucial. After casting my vote, I came here directly. The Constitution, crafted by our Dalit leader Dr Ambedkar, is a testament to our rights. It is this Constitution that guarantees participation for all. However, the BJP is working to undermine the Constitution, which is something we cannot allow," he said. Assembly elections in Bihar are due in October this year. The Election Commission of India has not yet announced the dates of the polls. (ANI) The Punjab Government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has cleared the protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri borders near Haryana and farmers' leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal who was on fast unto death also broke his fast. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotishwar Singh was informed by the Advocate General of Punjab Gurminder Singh that the national highway was free for traffic movement. Punjab government has cleared the protestors first from the site and Haryana government has cleared the highway and restored the traffic. "I said it, highways are not supposed to be (occupied). National highways are lifeline of the country," said Justice Kant. With regard to Dallewal, Punjab's Advocate General said he has ended his hunger protest (started in November last year) today. "Mr. Dallewal accepted water today and broke fast," Singh said. The top court also declined to entertain a contempt petition filed against the Punjab authorities for clearing the protesters in alleged violation of a status quo order passed by the apex court. To this, the bench told the lawyer who filed the contempt petition, "We have been asking them to clear highway, the contempt petition is misconceived." The advocate then withdrew the contempt petition from the court. The bench also dropped the contempt proceedings initiated earlier against the Punjab Chief Secretary and the DGP for not taking steps to hospitalise Dallewal, who was on fast-unto-death then. It further directed the High Powered Committee, constituted by it to hold negotiations with the protesting farmers and the governments, to file its supplementary report. The top court had earlier asked Punjab authorities to swiftly tackle the health situation of Dallewal who was on fast unto death. It had also asked the states of Punjab and Haryana to continue their meetings with the protesting farmers, to persuade them to clear the highway along Shambhu border. In February last year, the Haryana government had set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway farmers bodies announced that farmers would march to Delhi in support of various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. (ANI) Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Friday backed Uddhav Thackeray's remarks on 'Saugat-e-Modi' kit, stating that these gifts are being distributed with taxpayers' money but the credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When asked to comment on Thackeray's remarks, Chaturvedi said, "Sahi baat hai (That is correct). The way they say things about Muslims and do polarization. But as soon as Eid comes, they are being given this 'Saugat-e-Modi'. What is 'Saugat-e-Modi'? These gifts are being distributed with taxpayers' money, but the credit goes to PM Modi. Uddhav Thackeray explained this difference." Thackeray, on Thursday, attacked the BJP for its newly-launched Saugat-e-Modi scheme, alleging that the party has forsaken Hindutva and resorted to 'satta jihad' (power jihad). Thackeray criticised the move, branding it as 'Saugat-e-Satta' (a gift of power) and accused the BJP of appeasement politics for electoral gains in Bihar. Earlier, Union Minister Chirag Paswan and senior BJP leaders and NDA allies in Bihar defended the distribution of 'Saugat-e-Modi' kits, asserting that the initiative aligns with the government's commitment to inclusive development. On the Opposition's allegations that 'Saugat-e-Modi' kits are an electoral stunt, Chirag Paswan underscored Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and accused the Opposition of "destroying" Bihar when they were in power. The BJP's initiative has drawn attention as political parties in Bihar gear up for the upcoming elections. Opposition parties have raised concerns over the timing of the distribution, alleging it as a political move ahead of the polls. BJP Minority Morcha launched its "Saugat-e-Modi" campaign, aiming to distribute special kits to 32 lakh underprivileged Muslims across the country ahead of Eid. The initiative, kicked off from Nizamuddin in Delhi on Tuesday under the guidance of BJP National President JP Nadda, seeks to ensure that poor Muslim families can celebrate the festival without any hardship. As part of the campaign, 32,000 Minority Morcha workers collaborated with 32,000 mosques nationwide to reach the needy. Earlier, Jamal Siddiqui, the National President of the BJP Minority Morcha, outlined the campaign's broader vision, stating that during the holy month of Ramadan and upcoming occasions like Eid, Good Friday, Easter, Nauruz, and the Indian New Year, the Minority Front will reach out to those in need through the "Saugat-e-Modi" campaign. Eid Milan celebrations will also be organised at the district level, he added. The National Media Charge of the Minority Morcha, Yasir Zilani, explained that the "Saugat-e-Modi" scheme is a campaign launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the goal of promoting welfare schemes among the Muslim community and gathering political support for the BJP and NDA. (ANI) Police Commissioner B Dayanand of Bengaluru said the incident occurred in the early hours of March 16, when the accused broke into a lodge room occupied by a complainant's relative during a wedding event. The suspect made off with a gold chain with black pearls, two mobile phones, and other items, following which the theft was reported at Bagalur Police Station, and an investigation was promptly launched. Police gathered reliable information from informants and, on March 22, detained the suspect near Hegganahalli Circle. During interrogation, the accused confessed to the theft and revealed the location of the stolen items. A raid on the suspect's residence in Hegganahalli led to the recovery of the 35-gram gold chain, two mobile phones, and two two-wheelers. The recovered items have been valued at Rs 3,15,000. The arrest also helped solve two additional two-wheeler theft cases in the region. The accused was remanded to judicial custody after being presented in court on March 24. The successful operation was led under the guidance of North-East Division Deputy Commissioner of Police Sajith VJ, IPS, and supervised by Assistant Commissioner of Police Sampigehalli Sub-Division, Muragendraiah. The Bagalur Police Station team, including Inspector VS Shabarish, played a vital role in the investigation. Meanwhile, the body of a 32-year-old woman, Guri Khedekar, was discovered inside a suitcase near Ambedkar Apartment in Doddanekundi Village, Bengaluru, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) South-East Bengaluru, Sarah Fathima. Khedekar, a native of Maharashtra, was married to Rakesh Rajendra Khedekar, 36. The couple resided within the Hulimavu police station limits. Authorities have sent the body for a post-mortem to determine the cause of death. DCP South-east Bengaluru said, "The body of a 32-year-old woman, Guri Khedekar, was found near Ambedkar Apartment in Doddanekundi Village, Bengaluru. She was the wife of Rakesh Rajendra Khedekar (36 years). Her body was found in a suitcase. The husband and wife were living within Hulimavu police station limits. Both belonged to Maharashtra. The body has been sent for post-mortem." The police have launched an investigation into the case. They are also working to locate the woman's husband, who is currently untraceable. Further details are awaited. (ANI) New Delhi [India] March 28 (ANI) In a notable instance, an individual made a mention before the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, seeking an investigation into the conduct of Justice Yashwant Varma. The man asserted in his submission that his complaint to the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), calling for a civil investigation against Justice Varma, had not been addressed. Expressing his grievance, he urged the court to consider his concerns. When the Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay inquired, "What do you want? Have you filed any matter here?" the man responded with a plea for the court to issue suo moto directions on the matter. However, the Chief Justice firmly clarified, "That is not to be suggested by you. Suo moto cognisance is for the court, not for you." The man, expressed his commitment to the judiciary's integrity and said, "I don't want hundred judges to be maligned. If necessary, I will file a public interest litigation," he stated and left the courtroom. The Supreme Court on Friday is set to hear a petition requesting directives for the Delhi Police to file an FIR against Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. This follows the discovery of a substantial amount of cash at his official residence during a fire incident on the night of March 14. Earlier on Thursday, Presidents' of High Court Bar Associations met the Supreme Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna to discuss the Justice Yashwant Varma issue.Presidents of Bar Associations of High Court met with and requested the Chief Justice and the Collegium to withdraw the transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma and to withdraw all administrative work in addition to the Judicial Work which was already withdrawn on Thursday, a statement said. The Delhi High Court had released an official update to its supplementary cause list, announcing the immediate withdrawal of judicial responsibilities from Justice Yashwant Varma until further notice. (ANI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday met children affected by food poisoning at Lok Bandhu Raj Narayan Combined Hospital in Lucknow. During this visit, he went to the beds of all the children admitted to the hospital and enquired about their well-being. He also instructed doctors and officials to treat the children properly. He also instructed to provide food to the children as per their health. Due to food poisoning, the children were admitted to Lokbandhu Hospital on Thursday after their health suddenly deteriorated. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reached Lokbandhu Hospital at 10 am to enquire about the well-being of 16 children admitted there. During this, the Chief Minister went to the bed of each child and talked about their treatment and improvement in their health. During the inspection, CM Adityanath also instructed the officials and doctors to provide proper treatment to the affected children. He said that no negligence should be done in the treatment of children and they should be discharged only after they become healthy. Apart from this, he also instructed to make proper arrangements for food and drink for the children. Hospital MS Dr. Ajay Shankar Tripathi said that 16 children affected by food poisoning were admitted to the General Male Ward under Ward No. 30 on Thursday. At present, the condition of all the children is normal. Regular monitoring of all the children is being done. During this visit, Principal Secretary Sanjay Prasad, Leena Johri, Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Dr Roshan Jacob, District Magistrate Vishakh Ji, Hospital MS Dr. Ajay Shankar Tripathi, Dr. Saroj and Dr. Rajiv Dixit were present. Earlier today, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended the Viksit Bharat Youth Parliament in the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly. While addressing the event, CM Yogi highlighted the key to how a legislature functions and informed about the procedure of laws passed in the house. Yogi Adityanath stated that the work began in 2019 to take forward the new resolution of the youth parliament objective of developing leadership qualities in every sphere of life. He added that more than 240 students have come to take part in the event by participating in various programs. "Keeping in mind how to outline the future of youth, work has begun from 2019 to take forward this new resolution of Yuva Sansad with the objective of developing leadership qualities in every sphere of life. My Bharat Abhiyan, on which there was constant discussion for the last two years, and 240 such youth from across the state who have participated in various competitions are today participating in this program in the largest legislature of any state of the country", CM Yogi said. (ANI) Delhi's Tis Hazari court has called for a report on the status of investigation from Delhi Police in Manoj Vashist Encounter case of 2015. Vashist was killed in an encounter in Sagar Ratna Restaurant in Rajender Nagar Delhi on May 16, 2015. An FIR had been registered in Baghpat Police Station (Uttar Pradesh) on the complaint of the family members of Vashist. The same was sent to Delhi police by the Uttar Pradesh police as the place of occurrence was Delhi. Judicial Magistrate of First Class (JMFC) Preeti has called for a status report from Station House Officer (SHO) Rajender Nagar on the application moved by the family member of Manoj Vashist. "This is an application seeking status report for the FIR no. 640/2015 under section 147, 148, 149, 302 and 506 IPC, the court noted in the order of March 26, 2025. SHO is directed to file a reply on April 2, 2025. An application was moved through advocate Parikshit Sharma and stated that the instant matter was previously adjudicated by Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Rishabh Kapoor on January 17, 2020, directing the concerned SHO to file a detailed status report regarding the investigation. It is further submitted that on 31.01.2021, further directions were issued by the court. Subsequently, inspector Devender Singh Oberoi had submitted that a reply of December 29, 2020 had been received from SSP Baghpat. It was further submitted that an inquiry from DCP (HO) revealed that the documents pertaining to FIR No. 640/15 under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 506 IPC had been transferred to the CBI for further investigation, the plea said. It is further stated that there was a petition before the CBI Court, Rouse Avenue Court, for further proceedings. However, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari of Rouse Avenue Court had observed on March 4 of this year, "A perusal of the report shows that a xerox copy of FIR No. 640/15 of PS Baghpat, UP was received in CBI, SC-I Branch, New Delhi, through a forwarding letter dated 24.10.2015 of DCP, Central, Delhi Police. The letter was addressed to DSP, CBI, SC-I, wherein it is mentioned that the zero FIR, along with relevant documents, was being sent to CBI for necessary action, to be taken at the end of CBI." The plea has submitted that the matter in question is of utmost importance as it pertains to a grievous act of custodial killing and police brutality, which is an affront to the rule of law and the principles of justice enshrined in the Constitution of India. The failure to conduct an impartial and time-bound investigation in such a serious case amounts to a violation of the fundamental rights of the complainant and the victim's family, the plea read. (ANI) According to S Girish, Deputy Commissioner of Police, West, Bengaluru, the video, which was shared as a reel on Instagram under the account "Bujji," quickly gained attention on social media and drew criticism for violating public safety norms. An FIR was registered at Basaveshwar Nagar Police Station after the video went viral. According to the police, holding weapons in public and filming such content is an offence under the Arms Act and can incite fear among the public. The duo was arrested under the Arms Act, 1959, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, following a complaint. S Girish, DCP West Bengaluru, stated, "Carrying and reeling weapons in public, creating an atmosphere of fear, is an offence under the law. An FIR has been registered against the accused accordingly." Both Vinay Gowda and Rajath Kishan now face legal consequences for their actions. Further details on the matter are awaited. In another incident, the Bengaluru Police arrested a man for allegedly breaking into a lodge room and stealing valuables worth Rs 3.15 lakh. Police Commissioner B Dayanand of Bengaluru said the incident occurred in the early hours of March 16, when the accused broke into a lodge room occupied by a complainant's relative during a wedding event. The suspect made off with a gold chain with black pearls, two mobile phones, and other items, following which the theft was reported at Bagalur Police Station, and an investigation was promptly launched. Police gathered reliable information from informants and, on March 22, detained the suspect near Hegganahalli Circle. During interrogation, the accused confessed to the theft and revealed the location of the stolen items. The accused was remanded to judicial custody after being presented in court on March 24. (ANI) A jawan was injured and hospitalised after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Friday. Sharing information, Bastar Inspector General Sundarraj P said, "One jawan injured during an IED blast planted by Maoists towards Bedmakoti. The injured soldier is being given first aid at the District Hospital in Narayanapur." "After initial treatment, the condition of the injured soldier is in a better condition," said the IG. A search operation is underway in the operation area. Earlier last week, two security personnel were evacuated after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast set off by Naxals in the Abujhmad area of Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, police said. The blast caused dust and debris to enter the eyes of a jawan and an officer, both of whom were promptly evacuated for medical treatment. According to Narayanpur Police, no serious injuries were reported in the explosion. Security forces intensified search operations in the area to trace the insurgents responsible for the attack. Earlier, on March 21, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that 2,619 Naxalites had either been arrested, surrendered, or killed in the past year due to the BJP government's approach in Chhattisgarh, which came to power in December 2023. Replying to the debate in Rajya Sabha on the working of his ministry, he said Naxalism will be eliminated from the country by March 21, 2026."Let me tell you that by March 21, 2026, Naxalism will be completely eradicated from our country. This is the result of the hard work of the Modi government over the past 10 years," he said. Amit Shah said the BJP government in Chhattisgarh was tackling the problem of Naxalism with a different approach compared to the Congress, and the number of active Naxals went down by 2619. (ANI) CPI Member of Parliament P Sandosh Kumar weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding the Waqf Amendment Bill on Friday, following the All India Muslim Personal Law Board's (AIMPLB) appeal to Muslims to wear black armbands as a form of protest and clarified that the issue is not about religion but about the broader question of India's secularism. "We oppose this bill not because it is a religious issue but because it is an issue of India's secularism," Kumar told ANI, emphasising that the bill's implications go beyond religious boundaries. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board's (AIMPLB) call to Muslims to wear black armbands as a mark of protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill while offering namaz on the occasion of Alvida Jumma drew a significant response. Several people were seen wearing the armbands while offering the Friday prayers in Lucknow, Hyderabad and other cities. In Hyderabad, AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who is also part of the JPC on the Waqf bill, joined in the symbolic protest wearing a black armband as he offered prayers on Friday. Visuals from Hyderabad showed hundreds of people wearing black armbands along with Owaisi while offering prayers. Ahead of the prayers, police personnel were also deployed in parts of the city to maintain peace in the region. Meanwhile, in Lucknow, joining the protest, AIMPLB member Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, along with representatives of other Muslim organisations, wore the black armband. "On the proposed Waqf amendment bill, AIMPLB and other muslim organisations had put forward their opinion to the (Joint Parliamentary) committee that the amendment is not agreed upon by us. Waqf is a muslim matter, and there should not be any changes to it so that waqf properties cannot be in the danger zone," AIMPLB member Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli told ANI in Lucknow. He claimed that they had objected to the proposed changed to the Waqf Board to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, but their objections were not taken into consideration. "We had pointed out that 90 percent of properties under Waqf are of Masjid, Dargahs, and cemeteries, but our points were not taken into consideration. On this issue, AIMPLB has started nationwide protests, appealing to all to wear a black band on the day of Jamat ul Vida, wear a black band in protest and read the namaz," Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli added. Highlighting the other protests across the country, the Law board member reiterated that there is no call for a street protest, just an appeal to personally wear black bands while offering namaz and peacefully go to their homes after. "There are already big protests ongoing in Delhi, Patna, and on this day there is no appeal for a street protest, just a peaceful protest of wearing the band and reading the namaz, and peacefully go back to their home," he said. Earlier on March 27, AIMPLB had appealed to Muslims to wear black armbands in protest on Alvida Juma, the last Friday of Ramzan. Sharing a letter on X, AIMPLB stated, "The strong protests by Muslims at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and Dharna Sthal in Patna have at least caused a stir among BJP's allied parties. Now, a massive protest is also scheduled to take place in Vijayawada on March 29, 2025. The AIMPLB expressed its concerns over the bill, describing it as a "sinister conspiracy" that aims to deprive Muslims of their religious and charitable institutions." The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address key challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties. (ANI) Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma chaired a meeting with the Delhi Jal Board officials and MLAs to discuss the steps that needed to be taken ahead of the rising hot summer season. One of the issued discussed was the appointments of nodal officers in every department to solve the water problem in every assembly so that coordination can be established between the MLAs and the officers. Parvesh Verma spoke about the Delhi Government's summer action plan and stated that there will be many tankers needed in Delhi so that there is no scarcity of water in this summer season. He added that the Delhi water system had deteriorated, and the government is structuring it and improving it so that water is equally available for everyone. Verma stated that the government's priority is to stop the water crisis, which happens every year. "Wherever we see a greater need for water tankers, we will increase the number of tankers... Delhi's water management system had deteriorated... We are improving it structurally and making water available to everyone equally... Water leakage is also being eliminated... Many steps are being taken. If the governments before us had taken these steps, perhaps our situation would have been better today. Our effort will be to stop the water crisis that happens every year ...", Parvesh Verma said to reporters on Friday. While the Delhi Government is working on its summer action plan, they have also been monitoring the situations of various drains so that waterlogging can be prevented in the monsoon season. On March 16, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, along with minister Parvesh Verma and LG Vinai Kumar Saxena, monitored the Barapullah, Kushak, and Sunehri Pullah in the national capital and issued strict instructions to officials to complete the desilting work on time before the monsoon. (ANI) After paying tribute, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said, "...Dr Debendra Pradhan has made a significant contribution to Indian politics and especially to the politics of Odisha. His son, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, is playing an important role in the central government." BJP senior leaders from across the country paid tribute to the late Pradhan, father of current Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. After paying tribute to Pradhan, BJP leader Raman Singh said, "We paid tribute to former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan... I got the opportunity to work closely with former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan. He was a very humble and knowledgeable person..." Terming late Pradhan's passing away as an "irreparable" loss, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said, "Dr Debendra Pradhan was like a father figure for our party... He dedicated his whole life to the party... His passing away is an irreparable loss for the party." Earlier today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also paid his respects to the late Union Minister. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi was present at the tribute ceremony. Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik paid a heartfelt tribute to former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan, who passed away on March 17 at the age of 84, by creating a beautiful sand sculpture at Puri Beach in Odisha. The sculpture featured an image of Dr Pradhan along with the message "Siddha Purusha". On March 26, the Lok Sabha also paid tribute to the late Union Minister. The House observed a moment of silence in his honour. Debendra Pradhan, who passed away at the age of 84, was the father of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and served as a member of the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha from the Deogarh parliamentary constituency of Odisha. Pradhan had a long political career, having served as the BJP Odisha unit president three times - 1988 to 1990, 1990 to 1993, and 1995 to 1997. He also held the positions of Union Minister of State for Surface Transport and Minister of State for Agriculture. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a PIL seeking registration of an FIR into the alleged recovery of a stash of cash from the official residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the issues raised by advocate Mathews Nedumpara are premature because an in-house inquiry is going on. After the report of in-house inquiry all options are open, said the bench. The top court said, "After the in-house inquiry is over, several options are open. CJI can direct the register of the FIR or refer the matter to the Parliament after examining the report. Today it is not the time to consider this petition. After the in-house report, all options are open. The petition is premature." The Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna last week constituted a three-member Committee consisting of High Court judges to conduct an inquiry into the allegations. The committee consists of Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana, Justice GS Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and Anu Sivaraman, judge of the High Court of Karnataka. As the in-house committee is already probing the incident, the apex court refused to entertain the plea. In its order, the bench stated, "Heard petitioner in person. As far as the grievance regarding the third respondent is concerned as can be seen from the Supreme Court website the in house-inquiry proceedings are underway. After the report is submitted by the committee there will be several options open for the CJI. Therefore, at this stage it is not correct to entertain the plea at this stage... Plea disposed of." During the hearing today, advocate Nedumpara asked why an FIR was not registered and no arrest was made into the incident. "Today, we cannot interfere at this stage. Let the in-house procedure be over and after that, all options are open to the Chief Justice of India," said the bench. The petition challenged the Supreme Court's judgment in K Veeraswami vs Union of India, which mandates prior consultation with the Chief Justice of India before filing a criminal case against a sitting High Court or Supreme Court judge, as per incuriam. It further called for a declaration that the recovery of cash constitutes a cognizable offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, warranting a police investigation. The petitioner sought the enactment of the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010 to address judicial corruption. Justice Varma has been in the controversy after a stash of cash was allegedly recovered from his official residence here. As per the media reports, a fire at the judge's house had inadvertently led to the recovery of cash by the firefighter. Media reports said the cash was found initially by fire tenders when a fire broke out in the judge's residence on March 14. The judge was not present at his house. The Supreme Court released the inquiry report of the High Court Chief Justice into the controversy relating to Justice Varma. Delhi High Court Chief Justice in his report said that he is of the prima facia opinion that the entire matter warrants a "deeper probe". It had also released the response of Justice Varma who has denied the allegations and said that it clearly appeared to be "conspiracy to frame and malign" him. The Supreme Court Collegium had also recommended the transfer of Justice Varma back to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court. (ANI) Congress leader and MP Karti Chidambaram met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his Parliament House office on Friday, highlighting the growing health and safety concerns posed by stray dogs in the country. Taking to X, Chidambaram noted that India has over 6.2 crore stray dogs, one of the largest populations globally, and remains endemic for rabies, accounting for 36 per cent of the world's rabies-related deaths. "Met the Hon'ble Prime Minister today in his Parliament House office to bring to his notice the growing health & safety concerns posed by stray dogs. India is home to one of the largest stray dog populations globally, with over 6.2 crore stray dogs. India is also endemic for rabies, responsible for 36% of the world's rabies-related deaths," he posted on X. "Despite the introduction of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, the implementation has been ineffective," he added. The Congress leader proposed forming a National Task Force to develop a "holistic, humane, and scientific solution" while working closely with local bodies. He also emphasised the need for dedicated shelter houses and a long-term plan to manage the crisis. "I raised concerns about the inadequacy of the current system, where local bodies lack the resources, funding, and technology to tackle this issue effectively. It's clear that urgent action is required. I suggested establishing a National Task Force to provide a holistic, humane, and scientific solution while working closely with local bodies. Additionally, dedicated shelter houses and a long-term plan must be in place to address this challenge," he mentioned in the post. Rabies remains a significant public health challenge in India, accounting for 36 per cent of global rabies deaths and causing an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 fatalities annually, with a disproportionate impact on children under 15. Despite these alarming statistics, rabies deaths are entirely preventable with prompt and complete post-exposure prophylaxis. (ANI) Bilateral trade between India and the US is likely to be signed by the end of the year, said Arvind Virmani, Member Niti Aayog, while releasing the government think tank's 'Trade Watch July -September 12 FY25' report. The report added that geopolitical shifts are increasingly shaping the global trade landscape, and tariffs are now the main factor dictating trade patterns. Tariffs may offer short-term relief, but they raise costs, distort resource allocation, and weaken long-term competitiveness across countries. History shows that tariff wars have led to higher consumer prices and economic stagnation rather than protecting domestic industries. The economic strategy will involve a detailed analysis of the Reciprocal Tariff Plan's impact on India, which will bring both challenges and opportunities. In response to rising geopolitical tensions and trade wars, Western countries are increasingly shifting their supply chains to politically aligned nations, a strategy now referred to as 'friendshoring'. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has observed a growing fragmentation in global trade, especially between the US and China, as countries seek to prioritize trade within their geopolitical blocs. The report added that while this shift disrupts traditional trade patterns, it creates new opportunities for emerging economies like India, particularly in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, IT services, and manufacturing. However, increasing competition from Vietnam, Mexico, and Poland, along with stringent labour and environmental regulations, requires India to enhance its ease of doing business effectively. The expansion of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to include energy-rich nations like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Argentina in 2024 will present both challenges and opportunities for India. Deeper trade ties within BRICS can enhance economic cooperation, but India's trade balance with China remains a concern. Ensuring balanced benefits for all members will require carefully structured internal trade policies, particularly in sectors where China holds a dominant position. Africa's rapid economic growth, bolstered by increasing trade liberalization efforts such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), has made the continent a key focus for global trade partnerships. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to eliminate tariffs and trade barriers, is gaining momentum. It will create one of the world's largest free trade areas with a combined GDP of over USD 3.4 trillion. Africa's total consumer and business spending is projected to surpass USD 6.7 trillion by 2030. India has the potential to strengthen its presence in major global trade regions as it currently accounts for only 8 per cent of its trade in regions that make up 77 per cent of world trade, presenting opportunities for growth in high-value markets. (ANI) Members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Lucknow held a protest on Friday against the Samajwadi Party over Dalit MP Ramji Lal Suman's statement on Rajput king Rana Sanga. Earlier, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief Mayawati strongly condemned the Samajwadi Party (SP) for its "dirty politics". In a post on X, she wrote, "The dirty politics that SP is doing by putting forward its Dalit leaders for its political gains, that is, it is trying to harm them, is not right. Dalits should be cautious of all their tactics. The incident that happened in Agra is very worrying." Mayawati also criticised the Samajwadi Party, asserting that it is wrong to insult any community for the sake of political advantage. "It is not right for SP to demean any community to serve its own interests. They create a negative image of one community while favoring another. This behavior will disrupt the peace and harmony in society, which is not acceptable," she added on X. Mayawati's remarks came after Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman sparked controversy with his statement on Rana Sanga, a 16th-century Rajput king, calling him a "traitor" for allegedly bringing Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, to defeat Ibrahim Lodi. Following Suman's statement, violence erupted at his residence in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday as unidentified individuals resorted to stone-pelting, smashing window panes, and vandalising vehicles parked outside. Rana Sanga, also known as Sangram Singh I, was the ruler of Mewar from 1508 to 1528 and is revered for his bravery and sacrifices. Suman's statement has been widely criticised, with many calling for an apology and action against him. Agra Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sanjeev Tyagi said that the people resorted to pelting stones, breaking window panes and vandalising vehicles parked outside of the MP's house, following Ramji Lal Suman's statement. "Some people belonging to Karni Sena got angry after a statement of Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman. They went to his residence, pelted stones and broke glasses. Several people have been taken into custody. The entire incident is being investigated. Some police officials were also injured in the incident," ACP Tyagi said. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was also in the district during the attack, gave consent for this attack. Akhilesh Yadav said, "The incident with Ramji Lal Suman is sad and should be condemned. Ramji Lal Suman is a Dalit MP and has a lot of experience and his residence was attacked when the Chief Minister himself was in the district. This attack took place with the consent of the Chief Minister of UP." (ANI) Muslims in India are staging a peaceful protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill by wearing black armbands during Alvida Namaz on Friday. All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) spokesperson Dr Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas said that this form of protest is a democratic way to express dissent. "This is a way to mark protest in a democracy. Today, you will see Muslims wearing black armbands come to offer namaz. This will send a clear message that the community is against this bill," AIMPLB spokesperson Rasool IIyas told ANI. By wearing black armbands, Muslims aim to convey their opposition to the bill and assert their voices in the democratic process. Muslim leaders also joined the protest. In Hyderbad, AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who is also part of the JPC on the Waqf bill, joined in the symbolic protest wearing a black armband as he offered prayers on Friday. Similarly, in Lucknow, AIMPLB member Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, along with representatives of other Muslim organisations, wore black armbands. "On the proposed Waqf amendment bill, AIMPLB and other muslim orgs had put forward their opinion to the (Joint Parliamentary) committee that the amendment is not agreed by us. Waqf is a muslim matter, and there should not be any changes to it so that waqf properties cannot be in the danger zone," AIMPLB member Mahli told ANI. The protest follows an earlier appeal by AIMPLB on March 27, urging Muslims to wear black armbands to mark Alvida Juma, the last Friday of Ramzan. Sharing a letter on X, AIMPLB stated, "The strong protests by Muslims at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and Dharna Sthal in Patna have at least caused a stir among BJP's allied parties. Now, a massive protest is also scheduled to take place in Vijayawada on March 29, 2025." The AIMPLB expressed its concerns over the bill, describing it as a "sinister conspiracy" that aims to deprive Muslims of their religious and charitable institutions. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath criticised the opposition for spreading misinformation about the BJP's stance on mosques and Waqf properties. In an exclusive interview with ANI, CM Yogi Adityanath questioned the opposition's motives, asking how much land they intend to take over in the name of Waqf and what welfare initiatives they have undertaken using Waqf properties. Adityanath alleged that Waqf properties have been misused for personal gain, with some properties being sold multiple times, leading to disputes. "What will the BJP do by taking over the Masjids? I think they (the Opposition) are trying to mislead. In the name of Wafq, how much land will you take over? Secondly, have they done any welfare in the name of Waqf? You can't even name one. Look, they have misused that property for their personal selfishness. It has been sold at any cost. What is the situation today? They have sold one property to many people. Now there's a dispute because of it." Yogi Adityanath said. He emphasised that the BJP's goal is to free Waqf properties from encroachment and misuse and ensure their utilisation for the welfare of the community. The party has been pushing for greater transparency and accountability in the management of Waqf properties, which are meant to serve the Muslim community. BJP MP and chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Jagadambika Pal, criticised AIMPLB for its nationwide agitation, accusing the board of politicising the issue. The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address key challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties. (ANI) The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from January 1, 2025 representing an increase of two per cent over the existing rate of 53 per cent of the Basic Pay or Pension to compensate against price rise. Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the union cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the decision will benefit about 48.66 lakh Central Government employees and 66.55 lakh pensioners. The combined impact on the exchequer on account of increase in both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be Rs. 6614.04 crore per annum This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the seventh Central Pay Commission, an official release said. In another decision, the Union Cabinet approved the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme with a funding of Rs.22,919 crore to make India "atmanirbhar" in electronics supply chain. The scheme aims to develop a robust component ecosystem by attracting large global and domestic investments in the electronics component manufacturing ecosystem, increasing Domestic Value Addition (DVA) by developing capacity and capabilities, and integrating Indian companies with Global Value Chains. The scheme envisages to attract investment of Rs.59,350 crore, result in production of Rs.4,56,500 crore and generate additional direct employment of 91,600 persons and many indirect jobs as well during its tenure. Electronics is one of the highest-traded and fastest-growing industries globally and is expected to play a pivotal role in shaping the global economy and advancing a country's economic and technological development. (ANI) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya paid a heartfelt tribute to former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan. Former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan passed away on March 17 at the age of 84. Speaking to the media, Deputy Chief Minister Maurya said, "Former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan was a very respectable person for us. He dedicated his entire life to the service of the nation. I paid tribute to former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan. He will continue to inspire us." Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Manoj Tiwari also paid tribute to former Union Minister Debendra Pradhan in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. After paying tribute, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said, "Dr Debendra Pradhan has made a significant contribution to Indian politics and especially to the politics of Odisha. His son, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, is playing an important role in the central government." BJP senior leaders from across the country joined in paying tribute to the late Pradhan, father of current Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. After paying tribute to Pradhan, BJP leader Raman Singh said, "We paid tribute to former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan. I got the opportunity to work closely with former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan. He was a very humble and knowledgeable person." Terming late Pradhan's passing away as an "irreparable" loss, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said, "Dr Debendra Pradhan was like a father figure for our party. He dedicated his whole life to the party... His passing away is an irreparable loss for the party." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also paid his respects to the late Union Minister. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi was present at the tribute ceremony. Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik paid a heartfelt tribute to former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan, who passed away on March 17 at the age of 84, by creating a beautiful sand sculpture at Puri Beach in Odisha. The sculpture featured an image of Dr Pradhan along with the message "Siddha Purusha". On March 26, the Lok Sabha also paid tribute to the late Union Minister. The House observed a moment of silence in his honour. Debendra Pradhan, who passed away at the age of 84, was the father of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and served as a member of the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha from the Deogarh parliamentary constituency of Odisha. Pradhan had a long political career, having served as the BJP Odisha unit president three times - 1988 to 1990, 1990 to 1993, and 1995 to 1997. He also held the positions of Union Minister of State for Surface Transport and Minister of State for Agriculture. (ANI) Congress MP Mohammad Jawed on Friday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Central government over the Waqf Amendment Bill, alleging it was taking the country gradually towards civil war. Speaking to ANI, the Congress MP said, "They (JPC on Waqf Bill) spoke with everyone, but what was the need of non-stakeholders there? The talks were not even complete. It was an eyewash in an undemocratic way. When a neutral person watches this, they would find they have left the scope for dispute... The current Government wants to take this country gradually towards civil war..." The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) called on Muslims to wear black armbands as a mark of protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill while offering namaz on the occasion of Alvida Jumma drew a significant response. Several people were seen wearing the armbands while offering the Friday prayers in Lucknow, Hyderabad and other cities. In Hyderabad, AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of the JPC on the Waqf Bill, joined the symbolic protest wearing a black armband as he offered prayers on Friday. Hundreds of people were seen wearing black armbands along with Owaisi while offering prayers. Ahead of the prayers, police personnel were also deployed in parts of the city to maintain peace in the region. In Lucknow, joining the protest, AIMPLB member Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, along with representatives of other Muslim organisations, wore the black armband. "On the proposed Waqf amendment bill, AIMPLB and other muslim orgs had put forward their opinion to the (Joint Parliamentary) committee that the amendment is not agreed to by us. Waqf is a muslim matter and there should not be any changes to it so that waqf properties cannot be in the danger zone," AIMPLB member Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli told ANI in Lucknow. He claimed that they had objected to the proposed change to the Waqf Board to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, but their objections were not taken into consideration. "We had pointed out that 90 cent of properties under Waqf are of Masjid, Dargahs, and cemeteries, but our points were not taken into consideration. On this issue AIMPLB has started a nationwide protest, appealing to all to wear a black band on the day of Jamat ul Vida, wear a black band in protest and read the namaz," Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli added. Earlier, on March 27, AIMPLB had appealed to Muslims to wear black armbands in protest on Alvida Juma, the last Friday of Ramzan. Sharing a letter on X, AIMPLB stated, "The strong protests by Muslims at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and Dharna Sthal in Patna have at least caused a stir among BJP's allied parties. Now, a massive protest is also scheduled to take place in Vijayawada on March 29, 2025." The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address key challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties. (ANI) The Indian Minorities Federation (IMF) hosted a 'Sadbhavana Iftar' at the residence of Rajya Sabha MP and IMF Convener Satnam Singh Sandhu in New Delhi, bringing together ambassadors from 19 Muslim-majority nations to celebrate the spirit of Ramadan. The gathering reinforced India's long-standing ties with the Islamic world, with diplomats acknowledging Prime Minister Narendra Modi's role in fostering strategic, economic, and cultural partnerships with Muslim nations. The event was attended by ambassadors and diplomats from Somalia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Syria, Gambia, Mali, Bangladesh, Sudan, Djibouti, Algeria, Malawi, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Iraq, Cote d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Nigeria, Iran, and the UAE. Also present were Islamic scholars, religious leaders, intellectuals, and social reformers, including Majid Alnekhailawi, Maulana Syed Kalbe Rushaid Rizvi, Haji Syed Salman Chishty, and IMF co-founder Himani Sood. Before breaking their fast, attendees offered prayers for peace, harmony, and prosperity in India and across the world. Addressing the gathering, ambassadors from Muslim-majority nations highlighted the strong ties India shares with the Islamic world, emphasising how these relationships have deepened under PM Modi's leadership over the past decade. They noted India's growing engagement with South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, particularly in strengthening security and economic cooperation. "India's engagement with the Gulf region, which supplies over 60 per cent of its crude oil, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) nations, with which bilateral trade exceeds USD 200 billion, has become more robust and multifaceted under PM Modi's leadership in the past 10 years," they stated. They further acknowledged India's increasing diplomatic presence in global affairs, with PM Modi receiving the highest civilian honours from several Muslim-majority countries. The ambassadors highlighted India's consistent stance in promoting peace and stability in global conflicts involving Muslim nations. They noted that "India has long positioned itself as a strong advocate for peace, stability, and dialogue in global conflicts involving the Muslim world, from Palestine to Afghanistan." They emphasised India's support for a two-state solution for Palestine and humanitarian aid to Gaza. They also commended India's role in Afghanistan, stating, "India has played a constructive role by investing in critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare to improve the lives of the Afghan people." The ambassadors pointed out that India has never engaged in military aggression against any Muslim-majority country and has upheld diplomacy as a guiding principle in its foreign policy. Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu, who hosted the Iftar, underscored India's tradition of coexistence and inclusivity, stating, "Ramadan is not just a religious observance; it is a time for reflection, generosity, and community bonding--a sentiment that India deeply values and upholds. India has always been a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious society, where every faith has co-existed in harmony for ages. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has further strengthened this spirit of oneness and brotherhood amongst Indians over the past decade by ensuring the progress of every community irrespective of any discrimination through his 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' mantra, reflecting India's inclusive ethos." Ambassadors also spoke about India's growing role in the Global South and its contributions to developing nations. Sudan's Education Counsellor, Mohamed Ali Fazari, said, "India is championing the cause of the Global South along with other developing and developed countries. India is a leading country in the world in terms of helping many other nations across the world. The relationship between India and African nations has strengthened over the years. We have seen how India helped many countries during the Covid-19 pandemic." Edson Moyo, Minister Plenipotentiary of Zimbabwe, praised India's technological advancements and its impact on global development. "India and Zimbabwe share strong bilateral ties. India has always stood by Zimbabwe. We have focused on economic diplomacy and continued to move together. Artificial intelligence is one new area where India is moving forward rapidly. India has become the fastest developing country in the world. India can help in technology transfer. We have a lot to learn from the social sector and particularly the IT sector in India. India's role as a technology transfer hub is very important. We are very excited to learn about the UPI payment system in India; it indeed is a great experience to pay by UPI. You don't have to carry cash; everything is done electronically. We are also working to introduce a UPI-like system in our country. We are looking to establish more collaborations with India." High Commissioner of Gambia, Mustapha Jawara, credited India's leadership in global peace efforts and its role in international diplomacy. "During Covid, India donated Gambia lots of vaccines, and that saved so many lives. We are grateful to the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and his government for that." He added, "He (PM Modi) is the leader of the Global South. I will say that the Prime Minister (Modi) is the best of the best. In the Global South, we love him. He is a global leader. He has shown this during the G20, and we in the Global South are proud of him for his role. It's because of him, our Continent, Africa, has a representation in the G20. So we are grateful for that. He is championing our rights at all levels. So we have nothing but to thank him." On India's commitment to peaceful coexistence, he remarked, "India is an example as the second-largest Muslim country as far as I know. Me as a Muslim, has been invited to a function by a non-Muslim. That is a testament to that." He also praised India's diplomatic efforts, stating, "Because of India, there is peace in the world. If it were not India and the Prime Minister (Modi), the issue between Russia and Ukraine would have gone to another level." Cultural Counsellor of Iran, Fariduddin Faridasr, emphasised the cultural and historical ties between India and Iran, saying, "What is common between India and Iran is that Prime Ministers of both the nations are connected to their soil, rooted in their culture, heritage and value system. India and Iran shared strong bilateral ties in the past and they will continue to strengthen it further in future as well. Due to these shared beliefs of PMs of both the nations, bilateral relations between India and Iran will be strengthened further. Supremacy of law is the soul of secularism, and India has that unique power of secularism which is one amongst the many reasons that India will progress further as it gives respect and love to people from all communities equally." A representative from Iraq attending the event also echoed the sentiment that India remains committed to inclusive development. "India is a multi-cultural, multi-religion and multi-community nation, but under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the whole country is united to work for one cause of Viksit Bharat. The relationship between India and Iraq is growing in all the fields. The minority communities have been looked after with care and affection in India." (ANI) The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik as US ambassador to the United Nations, citing concerns over the Republican Party's narrow majority in the House of Representatives. The decision, announced by President Donald Trump on Thursday, aims to preserve stability in the GOP-controlled chamber, ensuring that the party maintains enough votes to pass key legislative initiatives, CNN reported. Trump stated that Stefanik's nomination, which had been stalled for months, would no longer move forward due to the importance of preserving the slim Republican majority in the House. He emphasised that keeping Stefanik in Congress was crucial for advancing his policy agenda and avoiding the potential risk of a special election in her district. He also pointed to Stefanik's strong popularity among voters in her upstate New York district as a reason for the decision. "The people love Elise, and with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations. Therefore, Elise will stay in Congress, rejoin the House Leadership Team, and continue to fight for our amazing American People," Trump wrote on Truth Social. The sudden withdrawal of Stefanik's nomination came as a surprise to many within the House Republican leadership and the New York congressional delegation. Lawmakers had already been discussing the logistics of a potential special election to fill her seat, and her nomination was widely expected to proceed. Some Republicans noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson had not faced significant difficulties in navigating tight votes, making the decision to pull her nomination unexpected. Stefanik, who had previously served as the No. 3 House Republican, had stepped down from that leadership position last year in preparation for joining Trump's Cabinet. She had attended at least one Cabinet meeting and had been engaged in events in her district that were widely viewed as a farewell tour. Although she was sworn in for the 119th Congress, she had maintained only a minimal staff and had no major committee assignments, reported CNN. House Speaker Mike Johnson, in response to the development, expressed gratitude for Stefanik's decision to remain in Congress and confirmed that she would be reintegrated into the House GOP leadership. However, it remains unclear what her new role will be, as the leadership position she previously held is now occupied by Rep Lisa McClain. "It is well known Republicans have a razor-thin House majority, and Elise's agreement to withdraw her nomination will allow us to keep one of the toughest, most resolute members of our Conference in place to help drive forward President Trump's America First policies," Johnson said in a statement. "I will invite her to return to the leadership table immediately." The House GOP majority remains narrow, with Republicans currently holding 218 seats to Democrats' 213, and four vacancies yet to be filled. Under this breakdown, Republicans can afford only two defections on party-line votes. While two special elections are set for Tuesday to fill vacant GOP-held seats, the Republican majority will still be tight. This has complicated legislative efforts, particularly as the party seeks to advance a major tax cut package central to Trump's economic agenda. Senate Republicans acknowledged the political considerations at play. Senate Majority Whip John Thune said Stefanik "would have been a good UN ambassador" but noted that the Republican leadership in the House is dealing with a difficult vote margin. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch also confirmed he was informed of the nomination withdrawal earlier in the day, CNN reported. Senator Lisa Murkowski reacted to the White House's reasoning with scepticism, saying, "They just realised that now?" Democrats were quick to criticise the decision, interpreting it as a sign of Republican insecurity over their House majority. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries questioned the party's confidence, stating, "Republicans are running scared. What happened to their so-called mandate?" The House Majority PAC, aligned with Democratic leadership, also attacked the move. Spokeswoman Katarina Flicker suggested that Republicans were increasingly concerned about the upcoming midterm elections, stating, "House Republicans are in a full-blown panic over their razor-thin majority, worrying about holding on to a seat that Trump won by 21 per cent. They know they're screwed in 2026." Trump initially announced Stefanik as his pick for the UN ambassador role shortly after the November 2024 election. However, the prolonged nomination process, combined with the need to maintain Republican unity in the House, ultimately led to the decision to keep her in Congress. (ANI) In a dramatic shift in Canada''s foreign policy, Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday declared that the long-standing economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States has ended, responding to US President Donald Trump''s announcement of new auto tariffs that could severely impact Canada''s economy, Politico reported. "The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over," Carney stated on Parliament Hill after breaking from the federal campaign trail in response to Trump''s latest threats. Trump announced Wednesday that his administration would impose a 25 percent tariff on auto imports from Canada, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea. He also threatened to introduce additional tariffs targeting major US trading partners. In reaction, Carney said that he would speak with Trump in the coming days but made clear that any discussion must respect Canada''s sovereignty. "We must fundamentally reimagine our economy. We will need to ensure that Canada can succeed in a drastically different world," he said. Carney convened his Cabinet''s committee on Canada-US relations upon returning to Ottawa. Canada has indicated it is ready to retaliate but has not revealed specific countermeasures. "We are facing a comprehensive and broad negotiation," Carney said, adding that he would not disclose Canada''s response strategy prematurely. Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association of Canada, warned that if the tariffs proceed, both countries'' auto industries would be paralysed within a week. "One day, two days, three days where you hope the president shows you mercy. You''re a publicly traded company whose share price is taking a beating, and you have a fiduciary obligation to shareholders," Volpe told Politico. Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday about the potential impact on his province. According to Ford, Lutnick explained that tariffs on vehicles from Canada and Mexico would be adjusted based on US content. For example, if a car built in Mexico contains 50 percent American parts, the tariff rate would be reduced to 12.5 percent instead of the full 25 percent. "He''s reassuring us that there''ll be no plant closures. My response was Ronald Reagan''s response: Trust but verify," Ford said. "If they''re opening or closing, it''s going to be up to the CEOs." Ford also confirmed that he spoke with Carney and that both agreed Canada would fully retaliate if necessary. Ottawa has previously stated that it could impose up to CAD 155 billion in counter-tariffs on US goods. Trump responded on Truth Social early Thursday, warning that if Canada and the EU coordinated against the tariffs, the US would introduce even harsher trade measures. "If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large-scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had!" Trump wrote. Carney dismissed Trump''s threat, asserting that Canada would act in its own national interest. "What is clear is that we as Canadians have agency, we have power. We are masters in our own home," he said. "We can control our destiny." Since becoming Liberal Party leader on March 9, Carney has not spoken directly with Trump. While members of his Cabinet may travel to Washington, he stated that he has no immediate plans to do so. Volpe suggested that a phone call would be preferable to an in-person visit. "I don''t think it''s in anybody''s interest in Canada to get Zelenskyy-ed," Volpe said, referring to how the Biden administration has handled Ukraine''s leader. "They''ve shown that they lack the class to treat an ally whose people are dying with any respect. I imagine that we''d be risking that as well." He also advised that Canada remain patient and allow the economic fallout in the US to take effect. "What if we go to the other side and everything shuts down, and 950,000 US auto workers are sitting around? That''s ugly, but that''s also hopeful," Volpe said. "That''s a whole group that people are going to have to hear from, and they''re not going to talk about the price of eggs. They''re going to talk about how to make rent." Lana Payne, president of Unifor, Canada''s largest private-sector union, called on the government to protect auto workers and warned the US against trying to shift manufacturing southward while maintaining access to Canada''s market. "If you think you can shift production, factories, mills and reinvest in the United States out of Canada and think that you''re going to have open access to our market, you need to think again," Payne said. Canadian premiers have also voiced concerns. "Here''s the thing: Donald Trump is trying to create uncertainty all over the world, in Canada included. And he''s trying to make people panic so that he can get a deal that takes advantage of us," said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew. Quebec Premier Francois Legault called for an immediate renegotiation of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA) but acknowledged that might not be realistic under Trump. "It has to happen as soon as possible because right now, we cannot start negotiating piece by piece a new agreement," Legault said. "But we have to be realistic. Is Mr. Trump open to this negotiation?" Mexico, Canada, and South Korea currently benefit from duty-free access to the US auto market under trade agreements that Trump renegotiated during his first term. However, the new tariffs could significantly disrupt North America''s integrated auto supply chains, Politico reported. Mayors from Canada, Mexico, and the US are set to meet in Washington on Friday for a trade summit, where they will advocate for tariff relief. Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, criticised the tariffs as a reckless economic move that could cost thousands of jobs in both countries. She noted that the Ontario-Michigan supply chain alone produces nearly a quarter of North America''s vehicles and warned that Trump''s tariffs would significantly increase vehicle costs. "Under Trump''s tariffs, the cost of a pickup truck would rise by USD 8,000," she said. According to US Commerce Department data, the United States imported USD 214 billion worth of passenger cars in 2024. The US government has stated that the new tariffs will take effect on April 3, just one week away. (ANI) In a significant gesture of mercy during the holy month of Ramadan, the UAE has announced a large-scale pardon for prisoners, with over 500 Indian nationals among those released. The decision, which was implemented in late February, saw President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan order the release of 1,295 inmates, while Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum granted clemency to 1,518 prisoners. This annual tradition of pardoning prisoners during Ramadan reflects the UAE's commitment to justice, compassion, and maintaining strong diplomatic relations with India. It is a significant symbol of mercy and reconciliation in line with the spirit of the Holy Month. The clemency granted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid applies to individuals of various nationalities who were held in Dubai's correctional and punitive facilities. The pardon is aimed at allowing them to reunite with their families and reintegrate into society. Attorney General of Dubai, Chancellor Essam Issa Al-Humaidan, stated that the decision reflects Sheikh Mohammed's dedication to offering a fresh start to those who have served their sentences. He confirmed that Dubai Public Prosecution, in coordination with Dubai Police, has already begun implementing the legal procedures for their release. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed's initiative extends beyond granting clemency, as he has also pledged to settle the financial obligations of the released prisoners. This move is intended to alleviate the burdens on both the inmates and their families, fostering stability within households and ensuring they can begin anew without financial constraints. The annual Ramadan pardons are part of the UAE's tradition of showing mercy and providing second chances. The initiative aligns with the values of the Holy Month, promoting forgiveness, compassion, and rehabilitation. The mass release also serves a practical role in reducing prison populations while reinforcing social stability. (ANI) King Charles III was briefly hospitalized on Thursday after suffering side effects from his cancer treatment, according to a statement released by Buckingham Palace, The New York Times reported. The palace said that Charles (76) has now returned to his residence in London, Clarence House, and all his public schedule for Friday would be cancelled as a precaution. In February last year, the King said that he has been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer and has been undergoing treatment since then. The palace did not mention the nature of the side effects. However, they said they were temporary and "required a short period of observation in hospital." In recent months, King Charles has been following a vigorous schedule, playing host to leaders from abroad, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and visiting an aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales. The palace has not given any updates on his prognosis or the nature of his treatment. His cancer was detected during surgery for an enlarged prostate in February last year. The palace has said that he does not have prostate cancer but did not share any details regarding his illness. Meanwhile, King Charles' daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, who was also diagnosed with cancer last year, announced in January that she was cancer-free after several months of chemotherapy. The palace has said that King Charles' recovery continued on a positive track and that the side effects were not unusual for patients receiving treatment, The New York Times reported. Palace officials said they did not expect Charles to make major changes to his schedule, which includes travelling to other nations and domestic travel. King Charles plans to travel to Italy in April for a state visit. Earlier this week, the palace announced that he and his wife, Queen Camilla, would not visit Pope Francis at the Vatican as Francis is still recovering from pneumonia and a severe respiratory illness. In a statement, the palace said, "His Majesty was due to receive credentials from the ambassadors of three different nations this afternoon." It further said, "Tomorrow, he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion." The statement reads, "He very much hopes that they can be rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible." In recent months, King Charles has returned to an active schedule, including a nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa last year, The New York Times reported. However, the palace did not rule out further minor adjustments to his schedule, which it said would be made after consultation with his doctors. Officials said that the UK monarch enjoyed his public duties and that they contributed to his well-being. (ANI) Ambassadors and diplomats of Muslim-majority nations hailed India's strong ties with the Islamic world, emphasising how these relationships have deepened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership over the past decade. The ambassadors and diplomats of 19 Muslim-majority nations had gathered at the 'Sadbhavana Iftar' hosted by the Indian Minorities Federation (IMF) at the residence of Rajya Sabha MP and IMF Convener Satnam Singh Sandhu in New Delhi on Thursday evening. The gathering reinforced India's long-standing ties with the Islamic world, with diplomats acknowledging PM Modi's role in fostering strategic, economic, and cultural partnerships with Muslim nations. The event was attended by ambassadors and diplomats from Somalia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Syria, Gambia, Mali, Bangladesh, Sudan, Djibouti, Algeria, Malawi, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Iraq, Cote d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Nigeria, Iran, and the UAE. Also present were Islamic scholars, religious leaders, intellectuals, and social reformers, including Majid Alnekhailawi, Maulana Syed Kalbe Rushaid Rizvi, Haji Syed Salman Chishty, and IMF co-founder Himani Sood. Before breaking their fast, attendees offered prayers for peace, harmony, and prosperity in India and across the world. Addressing the gathering, ambassadors from Muslim-majority nations highlighted India's strong ties with the Islamic world. They noted India's growing engagement with South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, particularly in strengthening security and economic cooperation. "India's engagement with the Gulf region, which supplies over 60 per cent of its crude oil, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) nations, with which bilateral trade exceeds USD 200 billion, has become more robust and multifaceted under PM Modi's leadership in the past 10 years," they stated. They further acknowledged India's increasing diplomatic presence in global affairs, with PM Modi receiving the highest civilian honours from several Muslim-majority countries. The ambassadors highlighted India's consistent stance in promoting peace and stability in global conflicts involving Muslim nations. They noted that "India has long positioned itself as a strong advocate for peace, stability, and dialogue in global conflicts involving the Muslim world, from Palestine to Afghanistan." They emphasised India's support for a two-state solution for Palestine and humanitarian aid to Gaza. They also commended India's role in Afghanistan, stating, "India has played a constructive role by investing in critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare to improve the lives of the Afghan people." The ambassadors pointed out that India has never engaged in military aggression against any Muslim-majority country and has upheld diplomacy as a guiding principle in its foreign policy. Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu underscored India's tradition of coexistence and inclusivity, stating, "Ramzan is not just a religious observance; it is a time for reflection, generosity, and community bonding--a sentiment that India deeply values and upholds. India has always been a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious society, where every faith has co-existed in harmony for ages. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has further strengthened this spirit of oneness and brotherhood amongst Indians over the past decade by ensuring the progress of every community irrespective of any discrimination through his 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' mantra, reflecting India's inclusive ethos." Ambassadors also spoke about India's growing role in the Global South and its contributions to developing nations. Edson Moyo, Minister Plenipotentiary of Zimbabwe, praised India's technological advancements and its impact on global development. "India and Zimbabwe share strong bilateral ties. India has always stood by Zimbabwe. We have focused on economic diplomacy and continued to move together. Artificial intelligence is one new area where India is moving forward rapidly. India has become the fastest developing country in the world. India can help in technology transfer." He added, "We have a lot to learn from the social sector and particularly the IT sector in India. India's role as a technology transfer hub is very important. We are very excited to learn about the UPI payment system in India; it indeed is a great experience to pay by UPI. You don't have to carry cash; everything is done electronically. We are also working to introduce a UPI-like system in our country. We are looking to establish more collaborations with India." High Commissioner of Gambia to India, Mustapha Jawara, credited India's leadership in global peace efforts and its role in international diplomacy. "During Covid, India donated Gambia lots of vaccines, and that saved so many lives. We are grateful to the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and his government for that." He further said, "He (PM Modi) is the leader of the Global South. I will say that the Prime Minister (Modi) is the best of the best. In the Global South, we love him. He is a global leader. He has shown this during the G20, and we in the Global South are proud of him for his role. It's because of him, our Continent, Africa, has a representation in the G20. So we are grateful for that. He is championing our rights at all levels. So we have nothing but to thank him." On India's commitment to peaceful coexistence, he remarked, "India is an example as the second-largest Muslim country as far as I know. Me as a Muslim, has been invited to a function by a non-Muslim. That is a testament to that." He also praised India's diplomatic efforts, stating, "Because of India, there is peace in the world. If it were not India and the Prime Minister (Modi), the issue between Russia and Ukraine would have gone to another level." Sudan's Education Counsellor, Mohamed Ali Fazari, said, "India is championing the cause of the Global South along with other developing and developed countries. India is a leading country in the world in terms of helping many other nations across the world. The relationship between India and African nations has strengthened over the years. We have seen how India helped many countries during the Covid-19 pandemic." Cultural Counsellor of Iran, Fariduddin Faridasr, emphasised the cultural and historical ties between India and Iran. He said, "What is common between India and Iran is that Prime Ministers of both the nations are connected to their soil, rooted in their culture, heritage and value system. India and Iran shared strong bilateral ties in the past and they will continue to strengthen it further in future as well. Due to these shared beliefs of PMs of both the nations, bilateral relations between India and Iran will be strengthened further. Supremacy of law is the soul of secularism, and India has that unique power of secularism which is one amongst the many reasons that India will progress further as it gives respect and love to people from all communities equally." A representative from Iraq attending the event also echoed the sentiment that India remains committed to inclusive development. Iraq's representative said, "India is a multi-cultural, multi-religion and multi-community nation, but under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the whole country is united to work for one cause of Viksit Bharat. The relationship between India and Iraq is growing in all the fields. The minority communities have been looked after with care and affection in India." (ANI) The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), in conjunction with the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, hosted a briefing on the US-India strategic partnership and on strengthening the relationship across defence, trade, and technology. The event took place at Capitol Hill on March 26, with 11 Members of Congress, including Co-Chairs Congressmen Rich McCormick and Ro Khanna, co-vice-chair Marc Veasey, Jim Costa, Glenn Grothman, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ed Case, Congresswoman Kim Schrier, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum, and Congressmen Derek Tran and Herb Conaway, according to the statement released by USISPF. India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, attended the briefing. During the event, he spoke about the strength of the strategic partnership between the two nations. He called the foundation of the India-US relationship "strong" and appreciated the bipartisan support of the US Congress. Expressing India's commitment to expanding bilateral ties into new areas, Kwatra said, "The foundations of the India-US relationship are strong, and we appreciate the bipartisan support of the US Congress. We have set an ambitious agenda across defense, trade, technology, science, education, and people-to-people ties. We are committed to grow and expand this relationship into new territories and new areas, including USD 500 billion in trade in the coming years." In his remarks at the event, USISPF CEO and President Mukesh Aghi stressed that the event with members of Congress showcases the bipartisan nature and strategic heft that the ties with India have been given, particularly in these venerated halls of Congress and in policy-making discourse. Aghi said, "The strategic partnership between our two democracies has been defined by past presidents as the most important strategic partnership of the 21st century. Our event with Members of Congress reflects both the bipartisan nature and strategic heft that the relationship with New Delhi has been given, especially in these venerated halls of Congress and in policy-making discourse." "There is a sense of strategic continuity, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, as both Washington and New Delhi remain committed to strengthening their joint initiatives and collaboration through the Quad, I2U2, and IMEC," he added. Rich McCormick called India a "critical ally" of the US in trade and defence sectors. He said, "As the largest democracy in South Asia, India is a critical ally of ours in trade and defense, and our bipartisan discussions today emphasize the need to continue this relationship." McCormick further said, "As a co-chairman of the India and Indian-American Caucus and the representative of many hard-working Indian-Americans, I have the privilege of seeing these hard-working folks embody the values of the American dream. I'm committed to building mutual cooperation between our two nations in the years to come while advocating for the Indian-American diaspora here at home. I appreciate the work the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum does and enjoyed being part of their briefing today." Rich McCormick thanked USISPF for hosting the US-India Briefing. In a post on X, he wrote, "Thank you to USISPF for hosting a US-India Briefing. As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, it was a pleasure to lead the panel. I have had the privilege of serving many hard-working Indian-Americans in my district and will continue to strengthen our relationship with India." https://x.com/repmccormick/status/1905292409962889438 During the event, Ro Khanna emphasised that the partnership between the US and India will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century. He said, "The US-India partnership will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, I was honored to participate in the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum briefing alongside USISPF President and CEO Dr. Mukesh Aghi and Indian Ambassador Vinay Kwatra." "We had a meaningful discussion on the importance of this strategic alliance and reaffirmed our shared commitment to advancing national security, economic prosperity, and technological innovation," he added. According to the statement released by USISPF, a US-India Trade Staff briefing will be held on The Hill on April 22. The USISPF is committed to creating the most powerful partnership between the United States and India. (ANI) As Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) continues to report the arrest of Baloch activists, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, Babu Ram Pant, has said that Pakistani authorities' crackdown on Baloch activists and continued detention of protesters and Baloch activists, including Sammi Deen Baloch and Mahrang Baloch, demonstrates a "systematic attack" on the rights of the Baloch community. Pant called on Pakistani authorities to release all Baloch activists detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression and reiterated its call for a "prompt, thorough and impartial investigation" into the use of unlawful force during the peaceful protests held on March 21. He called the crackdown a "weaponization of the legal system" through various "bogus" FIRs and preventative detentions despite activists being granted bail a "gross violation of their right to due process and fair trial." Babu Ram Pant said, "The Pakistani authorities' relentless crackdown on Baloch activists over the last week and continued detention of several protesters and Baloch activists, including Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and Bebarg Zehri, speaks of a systematic attack on the rights of Baloch community." "Amnesty International is concerned by reports from family members that Mahrang and Bebarg - who is a person with disabilities, are not being given access to medical assistance despite their health severely deteriorating during custody," he added. Amnesty said that that Pakistan's law enforcement agencies were showing disregard for the rights of the Baloch people. "The weaponization of the legal system, through multiple bogus First Information Reports (FIRs) and preventative detentions under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, despite activists being granted bail, is a gross violation of their right to due process and fair trial. It shows wanton disregard by the law enforcement agencies for the rights of Baloch people under Pakistan's Constitution and the country's obligations under international human rights law," the statement said. "The weaponization of the legal system, through multiple bogus First Information Reports (FIRs) and preventative detentions under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, despite activists being granted bail, is a gross violation of their right to due process and fair trial. It shows wanton disregard by the law enforcement agencies for the rights of Baloch people under Pakistan's Constitution and the country's obligations under international human rights law," he added. Calling for the release of Baloch activists and probe in use of force during the March 21 protests, Babu Ram Pant said, "Pakistani authorities must immediately release all Baloch activists being detained simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Amnesty reiterates its call for a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the use of unlawful force during the 21 March peaceful protests and ensure those responsible are held to account and the violations are effectively remedied." On March 27, BYC announced that security forces arrested two Baloch activists - Mahzaib Baloch and Fozia Baloch at Gaddani Cross while returning from the Uthal protest and said that Pakistan's "relentless targeting of women activists proves its desperation to crush the resistance." In a post on X, BYC stated, "Two of our female activists Mahzaib Baloch and Fozia Baloch Arrested by security forces. The crackdown on Baloch activists continues. Today, two female activists, Mahzaib Baloch and Fozia Baloch, were arrested by security forces at Gaddani Cross while returning from the Uthal protest. The state's relentless targeting of women activists proves its desperation to crush the resistance. But Balochistan stands firm--every arrest only strengthens our resolve. No to Oppression, No to Pakistan's Tyranny!" https://x.com/BalochYakjehtiC/status/1905294211131244604 In a separate post on X, BYC announced that on March 28 protests will be held in Kathur, Kashmore and Panjgur against the arrest of Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, Lala Wahab, Bebigar and other activists and against state terrorism. BYC said that the slogan of the protest will be "No To Oppression, No To Pakistan's Tyranny". https://x.com/BalochYakjehtiC/status/1905348259557540044 BYC has released a statement on the social media platform X, where it said that the entire Balochistan region is currently protesting against the terrorism, brutality and atrocities of the Pakistani state in Balochistan. It also mentioned the arrest of Baloch activists, including Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch and other leaders. In a post on X, BYC stated, "Popular resistance against state terrorism in Balochistan is making history - Baloch Solidarity Committee The entire Balochistan is currently protesting against the terrorism, brutality and atrocities of the Pakistani state in Balochistan. The state has arrested the head of the Baloch Solidarity Committee, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, Sami Din Baloch, Bebigar Baloch, Bebo Baloch and many other leaders and activists to suppress the voice of the Baloch people. However, despite the arrest of these national leaders, the public voice has emerged with more intensity instead of being suppressed." "For the past five days, thousands of people from every city and village of Balochistan have been taking to the streets and expressing their hatred against this oppressive and cruel system. We believe that the current popular resistance in Balochistan is a public referendum against the oppressive and tyrannical system of the state of Pakistan, in which the people of Balochistan are clearly expressing their opinion against this system," it added. BYC said that "state oppression" is currently at its peak in Balochistan, where the state is trying to establish dominance over Baloch people using force, guns and violence. BYC said that Pakistani authorities aim to create fear among the people of Balochistan. It called public resistance against oppression only way out. "Currently, state oppression is at its peak in Balochistan, where the state is trying to establish its dominance over the Baloch people through force, guns and violence instead of ruling them through the constitution and law. Its clear aim is to create fear and panic among the Baloch people and keep them as slaves and third-class citizens. But the Baloch people, instead of remaining silent in the face of state oppression or accepting rule by force, have challenged this oppressive system and are putting up strong public resistance against it. The Baloch Solidarity Committee believes that the current organized public resistance against the oppressive and tyrannical system of the Pakistani state in Balochistan is a sign that the Baloch people will uproot this system of state oppression and tyranny," BYC posted on X. "The way the people have held up the flag of resistance against this system of oppression, the state has become panicked and in its desperation is making the people the target of its oppression and tyranny indiscriminately. This is proof that the state system based on oppression and tyranny is taking its last breaths in Balochistan. The Baloch Solidarity Committee urges all its zones and workers to mobilize as many people as possible to further organize this public resistance in every city and village of Balochistan and to further accelerate the pace of this resistance. At this time, public resistance against oppression is the only way out and success in this struggle will belong to the oppressed Baloch people," it added. https://x.com/BalochYakjehtiC/status/1905331691755110678 BYC's central leader, Mahrang Baloch, and 17 other protesters were detained on March 22. Mahrang and Bebarg remain under preventative detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO), with separate terrorism charges also brought against Mahrang. On March 24, at least six Baloch activists, including Sammi Deen Baloch, were detained for disregarding a blanket ban on assemblies in the city following a protest in Karachi in Sindh province. On March 25, BYC accused police of blocking Sammi Deen Baloch's release despite the court ordering her release. The BYC called the targeting of Sammi Deen Baloch an "attempt to suppress the Baloch resistance" and vowed to continue the struggle against oppression. (ANI) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that the federal election will be held on May 3 and urged people to vote for the Labor Party. In a post on X, Albanese stated, "On 3 May, vote Labor to keep building Australia's future." https://x.com/AlboMP/status/1905364884013109658 Both major parties have been engaged in campaigning for most of the year already. However, Albanese visited Governor-General Samantha Mostyn on Friday to request the election and kick off the official campaign, Australia, local media outlet 9 News reported. Anthony Albanese's call for an election comes just days after the government handed down the federal budget. The announcement also comes after opposition leader Peter Dutton's budget reply speech on Thursday night, which analysts termed an attempt to overshadow. In his speech on Friday morning, Albanese said, "Over the last few years, the world has thrown a lot at Australia." He stated, "In uncertain times, we cannot decide the challenges that we will face, but we can determine how we respond." He stressed that the Labor Party is focused on the cost of living, including energy bill relief, childcare support, and medicare, as reported by 9 News. Australian PM said, "At this election, I'm asking for the support of the Australian people to keep building on the hard work that we have done and the strong foundations that we have laid," 9 News reported. He also addressed the possibility of disinformation and misinformation around the election campaign after social media firms' abandonment of fact-checking, along with allegations of election interference around the world. Albanese said, "Anyone who tries that, I say back off." He further said, "We have an extraordinary capacity to look after our nation." The Labor Party currently holds 77 seats in the House of Representatives while the opposition has 53 seats. Elections in the first two months of the year indicated two-party-preferred swings towards the Coalition, which implies that Labor is at risk of becoming the first Australian government to be removed from power after just one term since 1931. Polls in the first two months of the year indicated people were in favour of two-party swings towards the Coalition, with Labor facing the risk of becoming the first Australian government to be removed from power after just one term since 1931. However, the government has performed better in recent weeks in opinion polls than it had at the start of the year. In his remarks on Friday morning, Albanese said he intends to lead a "majority government" and serve a full term if he is re-elected as Australia's PM, 9 News reported. Dutton has not yet issued a statement on the election announcement. However, Dutton's Liberal Party's official Instagram page shared an image stating "It's on". The caption of the post reads, "On May 3rd, you can vote to get Australia back on track." (ANI) Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) on Thursday announced that security forces arrested two Baloch activists - Mahzaib Baloch and Fozia Baloch at Gaddani Cross while returning from the Uthal protest and said that Pakistan's "relentless targeting of women activists proves its desperation to crush the resistance." In a post on X, BYC stated, "Two of our female activists Mahzaib Baloch and Fozia Baloch Arrested by security forces. The crackdown on Baloch activists continues. Today, two female activists, Mahzaib Baloch and Fozia Baloch, were arrested by security forces at Gaddani Cross while returning from the Uthal protest." It further said, "The state's relentless targeting of women activists proves its desperation to crush the resistance. But Balochistan stands firm--every arrest only strengthens our resolve. No to Oppression, No to Pakistan's Tyranny!" The BYC stated that the state's focus on arresting female activists reflects its growing anxiety, but they assured that Balochistan remains resolute, The Balochistan Post reported. They declared, "Each arrest only strengthens our determination. We will not tolerate oppression! We oppose Pakistan's oppression!," The Balochistan Post reported. Recently, Pakistani security forces arrested several Baloch leaders and activists, including Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and Lala Wahab, during a protest in Quetta. The activists condemned the violent crackdown on a peaceful Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) demonstration, where Pakistani forces opened fire. The attack resulted in three fatalities and left several others injured. The activists strongly criticized the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, highlighting the ongoing repression faced by the Baloch people and their continued fight for justice and rights in the region. Activists in Balochistan have regularly organized protests and campaigns to raise awareness about the region's marginalization. In response, authorities have launched harsh crackdowns, often leading to the arrest of Baloch leaders and activists. The region has faced severe human rights violations, including killings, sexual violence, and forced displacement. Despite its vast natural resources, local communities see minimal benefits. On March 26, United Nations experts called for the release of detained Baloch activists and the cessation of its crackdown on peaceful protesters, according to the United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures press release. In a press release, the experts said, "We have been monitoring with growing concern reports of alleged arrests and enforced disappearances of Baloch activists over the past number of months, and the violent incidents in the past few days have significantly increased our concerns." The experts expressed concern about an escalating series of actions by the Pakistan police against the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). These actions intensified after a terrorist attack by Baloch separatists on a passenger train on 11 March 2025, after which several prominent Baloch human rights defenders from the BYC were allegedly arrested by Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department or forcibly disappeared. According to the release, experts have voiced deep concern for the welfare of those detained, including Mahrang and Sammi Deen Baloch, and have urged the Pakistani authorities to release all detained activists immediately. They also called for an end to the use of counter-terrorism laws to target human rights defenders and demanded clarity on the fate of those who have disappeared. (ANI) Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will travel to the US from April 19. According to sources, he will visit Brown University and interact with the Indian diaspora in Boston. Earlier in September 2024, Rahul Gandhi was on a three-day visit to the US. During his visit, he travelled to Dallas, where he interacted with students and teachers at the University of Texas. He also addressed the members of the Indian diaspora. From Dallas, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi travelled to Washington, DC, where he interacted with students and faculty at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. It was Rahul Gandhi's first visit to the US after he became Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Earlier in Parliament, the Lok Sabha LoP reiterated that he is never allowed to speak in the House. Expressing skepticism, Gandhi said that he doesn't know what the ruling party is "scared" of. "I am never allowed to speak. I don't know what they are scared of?" said Rahul Gandhi while heading towards the Parliament. On Wednesday, Gandhi had alleged that he was not allowed to speak in the House.The LoP claimed that it was an "unsubstantiated remark" about him and that there is a convention that the Leader of Opposition is allowed to speak when he rises to do so. "I don't know what is going on...I requested him to let me speak...This is no way to run the House. Speaker just left and he did not let me speak...he said something unsubstantiated about me...he adjourned the House, there was no need...it is a convention, LoP is given time to speak. Whenever I stand up, I am stopped from speaking...I did nothing, I was quietly sitting," Rahul Gandhi told reporters. He said that in a democracy, there is a place for government and opposition, but here, "there is no place for opposition".Rahul Gandhi said that he wanted to speak on the Maha Kumbh Mela and unemployment, but he was not allowed to speak. (ANI) Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting in Beijing on Friday and discussed bilateral issues, including trade and investment. Shariqul Alam, Press Secretary to the Chief Advisor, termed the meeting between the two leaders as "most important and successful." He said that Yunus highlighted Bangladesh's historical ties with China. "Professor Yunus' meeting with Xi Jinping was the most important and successful. The meeting was very cordial. Professor Yunus highlighted Bangladesh's historical connection with China and mentioned the 50-year anniversary of the diplomatic relations between our two countries," Alam said. "He (Yunus) discussed about our issues with China and the important thing is that the Chinese President responded positively about each issue and said China is fully supportive about Professor Yunus's government", the Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser said. According to Alam, Xi Jinping said he will encourage Chinese investors to invest in Bangladesh. "An important aspect of this visit was to invite Chinese investors to Bangladesh. Professor Yunus mentioned it at the meeting. Xi Jinping responded saying that he will encourage Chinese investors to invest in Bangladesh," the Press Secretary to Yunus said. He said that discussions have been held on undertaking a project on the Teesta River in Bangladesh with Chinese assistance. Alam expressed hope that Bangladesh's relations with China will move to a new scale and a new chapter will be opened. "There was a discussion on water resource management and the issue of Teesta also came up", he said without elaborating. Both India and China have shown interest in implementing the water management project on the Teesta river. In a statement, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Xi Jinping pointed out that the friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Bangladeshi peoples have a long history, and the ancient Silk Road has closely linked the two countries. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two sides have always supported each other, treated each other as equals, and cooperated for mutual benefit. China's good-neighborly and friendly policy towards Bangladesh remains highly stable and continuous." According to the statement, Xi Jinping emphasised that China and Bangladesh should continue to deepen political mutual trust and firmly support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns. China expressed willingness to work with Bangladesh to promote high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road", explore cooperation in various sectors like digital economy, green economy, marine economy, infrastructure construction, water conservancy, enhance cultural exchanges, and promote mutual understanding and friendship between the people, according to Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. During the meeting, Yunus said that Bangladesh and China have a "profound friendship, and they have always understood, respected and trusted each other. China is a reliable partner and friend of Bangladesh." He said that Bangladesh supports the one-China principle and opposes "Taiwan independence". (ANI) Usman, a prominent journalist, was detained by Pakistani authorities at Bismillah Market in Quetta, and his whereabouts remain unknown. His family is extremely worried about his safety and well-being. In a post on X, Paank stated, "His father has confirmed his arrest and stated that he has been subjected to enforced disappearance following his detention, a practice that continues to target voices with impunity." Recently, there has been a troubling increase in the enforced disappearances of notable journalists, human rights activists, scholars, doctors, and other professionals throughout Balochistan. This wave of abductions highlights a systematic attempt by Pakistani authorities to stifle the Baloch nation's right to free expression and limit access to independent viewpoints. Paank further highlighted, "We strongly condemn this latest act of enforced disappearance and call on the Pakistani government to immediately disclose the whereabouts of Muhammad Usman Kakar, ensure his safety, and uphold his fundamental rights. The ongoing campaign of enforced disappearances must end, and those responsible must be held accountable under international human rights standards." Paank has called on the international community, human rights groups, and press freedom advocates to urgently address this growing crisis and demand the immediate release of all individuals subjected to enforced disappearance in Balochistan. Balochistan has long faced severe human rights violations under Pakistani rule, including reports of killings, sexual violence, and forced displacements. Despite the region's abundance of natural resources, local communities rarely benefit from them. Restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly, and movement are widespread, with dissent harshly suppressed. The Baloch people continue to endure immense suffering, yet the international community has largely ignored their plight. Efforts to address these abuses have been limited, leaving the Baloch population vulnerable and their fundamental rights consistently violated without adequate international intervention or support. (ANI) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) has hosted the 6th Balochistan International Conference in Geneva, gathering political leaders, journalists, and intellectuals to address the continuing human rights abuses and the exploitation of Balochistan by both Pakistan and China. In a post on X, BNM stated, "Dr Naseem Baloch, Chairman of BNM, underscored the severe human rights abuses in Balochistan, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the exploitation of the region's natural resources by Pakistan and China." Baloch highlighted the historical importance of the day, reminding that 77 years ago, Pakistan forcibly integrated Balochistan. He stressed that this was not a peaceful incorporation, but rather an act of aggression against the Baloch people, betraying the region's sovereignty. Since that time, the people of Balochistan have suffered from harsh military actions, economic neglect, and widespread violence, as stated by BNM. Baloch said, "Our homeland is bleeding. The so-called 'kill and dump' policy has transformed our land into a graveyard. Thousands of Baloch men, women, and children have been abducted, tortured, and left lifeless in the wilderness as a warning to those who dare to demand freedom. Thousands remain missing, with families left in a perpetual cycle of grief and uncertainty." BNM highlighted that the conference also spotlighted the increasingly violent methods used by the Pakistani state, especially in its targeting of Baloch women. Historically, Baloch women have been at the forefront of resistance movements, but Baloch pointed out that they are now facing some of the most brutal forms of state violence. Baloch shared the stories of two prominent women activists: Mahrang Baloch, who was abducted and imprisoned on false charges, and Sammi Deen Baloch, who was arrested and severely beaten for peacefully protesting. He stressed that these incidents are not isolated but part of a broader campaign to suppress the Baloch struggle for freedom, as cited by BNM. Baloch emphasized that the ongoing repression in Balochistan is not just a series of human rights violations but clear crimes against humanity. He condemned Pakistan for violating international laws, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a signatory. "How can Western democracies preach human rights while continuing to support a state that is committing genocide in Balochistan?," Baloch asked. "The silence in the face of these atrocities is not neutrality--it is complicity." The BNM Chairman called for immediate international action, urging the United Nations to send an independent fact-finding mission to investigate Pakistan's actions in Balochistan. He also called on human rights organizations, international media, and democratic nations to speak out against Pakistan's repression and support the Baloch people's right to self-determination. In closing, Baloch made it clear that no amount of violence or oppression would break the Baloch spirit. "Despite the disappearances, massacres, and suffering, the Baloch struggle for freedom remains unshaken. We will not be silenced. We will not surrender," he declared. BNM stated that the conference concluded with a call to action: "Let this gathering be more than just words. Let it be a commitment to raise awareness, take action, and stand with the oppressed. We owe it to the martyrs, the families searching for their loved ones, and the brave daughters of Balochistan who continue to resist tyranny." According to BNM, the event featured speeches from notable figures such as Naseem Baloch, Willem Marx (Author and Journalist), Eleonora Mongelli (VP, Italian Federation for Human Rights - FIDU), John McDonnell (Member, British House of Commons), Naseer Dashti (Author and Historian), Said Alam (Pashtun Rights Advocate & PTM Leader), Lakhu Lohana (Secretary General, World Sindhi Congress), Ayesha Siddiqa (Political Scientist and Author), Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur (Veteran Baloch Activist and Columnist), Reed Brody (Commissioner, International Commission of Jurists), and Iman Mazari (Advocate and Human Rights Lawyer). (ANI) The Czech government has prohibited an investment from a Chinese firm in a satellite station due to concerns over potential espionage, as reported by TVP World. The company, Emposat, which is headquartered in Beijing, intended to install a satellite dish at a location in the village of Vlkos in the Moravia region of eastern Czechia, according to the report from TVP World. During a private meeting last week, the ministers finalised an order to halt the venture. This marks the first instance in which Czech authorities have applied the most stringent measures allowed under a 2021 law aimed at reviewing foreign investments, media reports indicate. The leaked document, initially reported by the Seznam Zpravy website, noted that Emposat's involvement "may pose a threat to the security of the Czech Republic," with sources revealing that the decision stemmed from alerts by the nation's intelligence agencies, as indicated in the report by TVP World. Marek Vosahlik from the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade mentioned, as quoted by TVP World, that "the investment has minimal impact on employment and the economy, but due to the nature of the facility, it may have significant security implications." According to Seznam Zpravy, Emposat's dish, which is a 7.3-metre-wide parabolic antenna, has already been set up but might now require dismantling. Pekasat, the company based in Brno that operates the ground satellite station in Vlkos, denied any operational or financial ties to the Chinese firm, asserting that Emposat was merely a tenant renting space at the location. Last year, Sikyong of the Central Tibet Administration (CTA), Sikyong Penpa Tsering, visited the Czech Republic to participate in a significant conference held at the Prague Congress Centre, according to a report from the CTA. Sikyong Penpa Tsering highlighted an important aspect of the economic relationship between the Czech Republic and China, pointing out that while China gains considerably, the Czech Republic is still dealing with a trade deficit. The CTA reiterated that he underscored China's overarching strategy of fostering dependent and stagnant economies globally, highlighting the long-term repercussions of these economic connections. (ANI) The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has classified China once again in its 2025 report as one of the leading offenders of religious freedom globally. The report emphasizes the ongoing repression of religious minorities by the Chinese government, which employs oppressive measures to stifle faith communities nationwide. The situation of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang remains a significant concern. The USCIRF report outlines widespread violations of human rights, including mass detentions, forced labour, and monitoring of religious activities. The government has attempted to eliminate Uyghur identity through limitations on Islamic practices, the demolition of mosques, and coercive actions that enforce adherence to Communist Party ideology. Tibetan Buddhists are also experiencing heightened constraints, with authorities increasing control over monasteries and even trying to interfere in the process of selecting the next Dalai Lama, as noted in the report. Christians in China, especially those worshipping outside government-approved churches, have faced escalating persecution. The report indicates that underground congregations are routinely raided, and pastors along with church leaders frequently face detention, with religious symbols like crosses being removed from public spaces. Censorship online has limited access to religious teachings, and the authorities have imposed substantial fines on individuals who practice their faith outside state-sanctioned regulations, according to the USCIRF report. Another significant issue highlighted in the report is the persistent repression of Falun Gong practitioners. This group has long been targeted by the Chinese government, enduring severe persecution, arrests, and allegations of forced organ harvesting. The USCIRF points out that, despite global condemnation, the Chinese government has shown no willingness to halt its harsh campaign against Falun Gong members. The government's broader strategy of "Sinicization" of religion is fundamental to its crackdown. Religious institutions have been compelled to align with Communist Party principles, with religious texts being rewritten and clergy obligated to affirm loyalty to the state. The USCIRF has called for more robust actions from both the US government and the international community, advocating for targeted sanctions and heightened diplomatic pressure. As repression of religious practices in China persists, the report serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing fight for basic freedoms in the nation. (ANI) The second Golden Panda Awards will be held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, in September, recognizing outstanding films and TV series while promoting the giant panda cultural brand, organizers announced on March 25. Organizers attend a press conference to brief the media about the second Golden Panda Awards in Beijing, March 25, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Golden Panda Awards Organizing Committee] Xie Li, a member of the organizing committee for the 2025 Golden Panda Awards and secretary of the secretariat of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, said the ceremony will take place in Chengdu on Sept. 12, 2025. "There are 27 awards in four categories: film, TV drama, documentary and animation," he said. "These awards cover best picture, director and screenplay, among others. The event aims to promote cross-cultural understanding through the selection of film and television works." Li Junchen, deputy secretary-general of the Sichuan provincial government, outlined the awards' "3+3+1" framework, which includes three main events, three side activities, and one extension activity. According to Li, the main events include the "Golden Panda Night" welcome, the "Golden Panda International Cultural Forum," and the "Golden Panda Awards Ceremony." The forum will gather politicians, scholars, and industry leaders to explore cross-cultural exchange and technology-culture integration. Winners in four categories will be announced at the awards ceremony, which will feature cultural performances. Li also disclosed that side activities include the "See the World with Panda" international film and TV exhibition, which will promote project cooperation and exchanges, as well as the "Let's Watch Movies Together" film panorama featuring classic works via screenings. Additionally, the "Face-to-Face with Pandas" tour will offer close encounters with giant pandas while showcasing Chinese culture. The extension activity, "Our Panda," invites global submissions of short videos, photos and written works featuring panda-inspired creative pieces that highlight harmony between humans and nature. Gao Zhongwei, deputy director of the Golden Panda Awards organizing committee office and director of the executive committee office, updated the status of global submissions as of the prior day: 1,788 entries were received, comprising 71 films, 385 TV dramas, 854 documentaries and 478 animations. Of these, 1,373 foreign entries 77% of the total originated from 104 countries and regions across five continents. Eligible works are outstanding film and television productions that premiered or screened between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2025. With the submission deadline set for April 25, 2025, organizers encourage more film and television institutions and industry associations to participate, Gao said. Organizers noted that the jury panel covers five continents, with overseas experts making up over 40% of the jurors. The panel includes internationally renowned film and television experts to ensure professional evaluations and authoritative results. A poster for the second Golden Panda Awards. [Image courtesy of Golden Panda Awards Organizing Committee] Organizers noted that the Golden Panda Awards will be market-driven, featuring enhanced industrial functions such as project incubation and copyright trading to encourage cooperation in the global film and television industry. Additionally, they plan to develop "film and television plus culture plus ecosystem" experiences based on the giant panda's intellectual property and Sichuan's cultural tourism resources. The biennial Golden Panda Awards aim to uphold standards by collecting and selecting works that reflect shared human values, while facilitating cross-cultural exchanges and learning through film and television, the organizers said. The inaugural Golden Panda Awards in 2023 drew 7,024 submissions from 104 countries and regions. Foreign entries made up 70% of submissions, and foreign works accounted for 60% of the winners, demonstrating the event's extensive global reach. Higlighting a positive outlook for the India-US tariff talks, President Donald Trump said 'tariffs are going to work out well between New Delhi and the Washington, DC,' expecting a favorable outcome. While answering questions during an Interaction with reporters at the swearing-in ceremony of the US attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, on Friday (local time), Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to him as a "very smart man" and a "great friend." Trump said, "Prime Minister Modi was here just recently, and we've always been very good friends." He added, "India is one of the highest tariffing nations in the world... They're very smart. He (PM Modi) is a very smart man and a great friend of mine. We had very good talks. I think it's going to work out very well between India and our country. And I want to say you have a great prime minister." This week, Trump made a major policy announcement from the Oval Office by declaring a 25 per cent tariff on all imported vehicles entering the United States, a move he described as "very exciting" for domestic manufacturing. The tariffs, set to take effect on April 2, will impact nearly half of all vehicles sold in the United States, including American brands assembled overseas. The wide-ranging measure aims to incentivise car manufacturers to establish more production facilities within US borders. Earlier, on several occasions, Trump had targeted India, saying "they have the highest tariffs" and "it is a hard place to do business." In February, US President Donald Trump announced that he would soon impose reciprocal tariffs on countries like India and China, asserting that the United States would charge the same tariffs these nations impose on American goods. Trump said, "We will soon impose reciprocal tariffs- they charge us, we charge them. Whatever a company or a country, such as India or China, charges, we want to be fair; hence, reciprocal." He added, "We have never done that. We were getting ready to do it until Covid hit." Trump also specifically targeted India's tariffs on automobile imports, saying, "India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent." While addressing a joint session of the US Congress, Trump said that the reciprocal tax will kick in on April 2. He had said that the US has been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on earth and vowed not to "let that happen any longer." He also discussed the tariffs imposed by the European Union, China, Brazil, and Mexico and announced that the US would impose tariffs on other nations based on their actions toward the US. (ANI) UK Conservative MP for Harrow East, Bob Blackman, on late Thursday said that he demanded that the UK government tenders an apology to India on the anniversary of the grim Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. Speaking in the UK Parliament, Blackman highlighted the events of April 13, 1919, and said that thousands of innocent civilians were killed and injured in the shooting at Jallianwala Bagh. "Today, I raised the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. I asked the Govt to formally give an apology to the people of India ahead of the atrocities anniversary," he said. https://x.com/BobBlackman/status/1905319407791862115 In a video attached to the post, Blackman was seen saying that on April 13, 1919, General Dyer ordered the British troops to fire at innocent civilians who were gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh peacefully. "Now, on the 13th of April, 1919, families gathered very peacefully in the Jallianwala Bagh to enjoy the sun, enjoy a day out with their families. General Dyer, on behalf of the British Army, marched his troops in and ordered his troops to fire on those innocent people until they ran out of ammunition. At the end of that massacre, 1,500 people were dead and 1,200 injured," he said. Blackman said that in 2019, then Prime Minister Theresa May recognised this massacre, but it did not elicit a statement from her. "Eventually, General Dyer was disgraced for that stain on the British Empire. In 2019, then Prime Minister, Theresa May, recognised this was a stain on British colonial rule in India. But could we have a statement in government time? The anniversary of this will be on the 13th of April this year, when we're in recess. So could we have a statement from the government admitting to what went wrong and formally giving an apology to the people of India," he said. Another MP in the Parliament expressed gratitude to Blackman for raising the issue, referring to the massacre as one of the most notorious and shameful episodes in the history of British colonialism. "Can I thank him for raising this important matter of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which, as he says, is one of the most notorious and shameful episodes in the history of British colonialism, particularly in India. But I think probably wider than that," she said. She said that she will make sure that the foreign office ministers will bring a statement in advance of the anniversary. "I will absolutely make sure that the foreign office ministers have heard his question today and I will suggest that perhaps they bring forward a statement in advance of the anniversary," she said. The Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Punjab commemorates the 2,000 Indians who were killed or wounded, shot indiscriminately by the British under the command of Gen Michael O' Dyer on April 13, 1919, while participating in a peaceful public meeting. This was one of the major incidents of India's freedom struggle. The story of this appalling massacre is told in the Martyr's Gallery at the site. A section of wall with bullet marks still visible is preserved along with the memorial well, in which some people jumped to escape. "The impossible men of India shall rise and liberate their mother land", declared Mahatma Gandhi after the Jallianwala massacre. "This disproportionate severity of punishment inflicted upon the unfortunate people and method of carrying it out is without parallel in the history of civilized government", wrote Rabindranath Tagore, the noble laureate, while returning knighthood. (ANI) SAPPORO, Mar 28 (News On Japan) - A project using artificial intelligence to produce branded wagyu beef is set to begin at Hokkaido University, aiming for a more sustainable and labor-efficient livestock industry. The initiative is based in the town of Shiraoi, located in the Iburi region of Hokkaido, an area known for producing wagyu under the brand name "Shiraoi Beef." While the brand is nationally recognized, its production requires large amounts of feed, energy, and labor. To address challenges such as a shortage of workers and soaring feed costs, the university will begin a new project that leverages AI technology to improve wagyu production. The key concept is "smart grazing." According to Professor Takafumi Goto of the Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere at Hokkaido University, "Remote automatic management of grazing via smartphone can reduce the workload for farmers. Grazing also makes it possible to produce grass-fed beef, which could lead to the development of a new brand." Cattle will be fitted with GPS sensors and raised in natural pasture environments, allowing farmers to reduce reliance on imported feed. AI will analyze data from the sensors to monitor the amount of grass the cattle consume and changes in their physical condition. The information will then be sent to the producers smartphones, enabling them to manage the herd with fewer staff and more free time. The university plans to launch this trial in spring 2025 at a ranch in Shiraoi, with the goal of building a sustainable agricultural system. Source: HBC NEW YORK, Mar 28 (News On Japan) - ChatGPT's new image generation feature, released by U.S.-based OpenAI, is fueling a trend on social media where users are creating illustrations in the style of Studio Ghibli, raising concerns over copyright infringement. On March 25th, OpenAI announced the launch of a new image generation tool for paying subscribers of ChatGPT. The feature allows users to upload an image and give prompts such as "Ghibli-style" to generate artwork in that specific style. Social media has since been flooded with AI-generated images mimicking Studio Ghiblis signature look, including depictions of U.S. President Donald Trumps meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and scenes portraying the aftermath of Trumps shooting incident last year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also changed his own profile picture on social media to a Ghibli-style image. Amid the viral trend, U.S. media outlets have raised questions about whether OpenAI has trained its AI on Studio Ghiblis copyrighted works, potentially setting the stage for legal disputes over intellectual property rights. Source: TBS Never let the guy with the broom decide how many elephants can be in the parade. Even if I was the guy with the broom, Id have 10 elephants. Youve got to love a parade, and if you or your kids or your grandkids havent already done so, this is the year to be part of the walking party cal This photo taken on April 26, 2024 shows a BMW electric vehicle displayed at the signing ceremony for deepening strategic cooperation between BMW and Shenyang, in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. [Photo/Xinhua] Riding the wave of China's high-level opening-up, foreign companies are leveraging the advantages of the world's second-largest economy and participating in its innovation pursuit, to achieve win-win cooperation. In Shanghai, Takeda R&D China and Asia-Pacific Region Headquarters has achieved simultaneous global development and regulatory submissions for new drugs, allowing Chinese patients to enjoy innovative products faster. This month, in the biopharmaceutical company's global pivotal study for a drug treating immune thrombocytopenia, the first patient enrollment took place in China, led by a local team. "The enrollment highlights China's role in our global clinical development," said Wang Lin, senior vice president of Takeda R&D. "China has become one of Takeda's four key R&D hubs, playing an increasingly prominent role in our innovation efforts." Over the years, China has been fostering emerging and future industries and advancing green and low-carbon development, while attracting increased foreign investment in innovation across sectors such as biomedicine, new energy vehicles, and other cutting-edge fields. Earlier this year, Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. announced plans to build a new wholly-owned company to develop and produce battery electric vehicles under the Lexus brand, with production scheduled to begin from 2027 onwards. On Tuesday, German auto giant BMW announced the launch of its 360-degree AI strategy in China, aiming to improve user experience, optimize business processes for greater efficiency, and foster win-win supply chain cooperation. With R&D centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Nanjing, BMW has built its largest R&D network outside Germany in China. Foreign investment plays a significant role in fostering new quality productive forces, and China supports foreign enterprises to participate in its new industrialization, with a focus on high-tech fields, according to an action plan to stabilize foreign investment in 2025, which was approved by a State Council executive meeting in February. "The action plan has reaffirmed our confidence in investing in China," said Pu Qing, chairman assistant of Misumi (China) Precision Machinery Trading Company, whose supply chain industrial park, with a total investment of 450 million yuan (about 62.7 million U.S. dollars), began operations in Shanghai last year. The company has established in-depth cooperation with over 800 domestic enterprises in the industrial automation sector, and contributed to their product development, as well as overseas business expansion. "This year, we will actively make efforts to accelerate the development of China's intelligent manufacturing," he added. According to Gao Yuning, deputy dean of the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, China's efficient trade channels, advancing production capabilities, and stable, reliable supply chains have encouraged more foreign-funded enterprises to establish research, development and production operations for their cutting-edge products in the country. This photo shows Megapack energy-storage batteries in east China's Shanghai, March 21, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] In Tesla's case, the company's new Megafactory in Shanghai, which began production in February, made its debut export last week, shipping its first batch of Megapack energy-storage batteries to Australia. With a total investment of approximately 1.45 billion yuan, the new Megafactory is Tesla's first of its kind outside the United States. According to Mike Snyder, Tesla's vice president, the facility can help enhance efficiency, scale up production, reduce logistics and product costs, and expand the company's reach into new markets. Last year, 59,080 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, up 9.9 percent year on year. Over the past five years, the return rate of foreign direct investment in the country has remained at approximately 9 percent, ranking among the highest in the world. "China is committed to open and win-win cooperation and provides foreign-funded enterprises with a friendly environment and vast market. This is why investing in China is charming," said Sang Baichuan, dean of the Institute for International Economy of the University of International Business and Economics. Stephanie Williams, the former United Nations envoy to Libya, has revealed the upcoming release of her highly anticipated book, Libya Since Gaddafi, set for publication on April 17. The book offers an in-depth analysis of Libyas political situation since the assassination of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011, drawing on Williams personal experience during her tenure as a UN diplomat in the country. The work provides readers with a unique perspective on the challenges Libya has faced over the past decade, including the various internal and external factors that have shaped the countrys tumultuous path. In her book, Williams explores the root causes of Libyas ongoing conflict, examining the role of international stakeholders and the deepening internal divisions that have hindered progress towards stability. A significant portion of the book is dedicated to analyzing Khalifa Haftars 2019 offensive on Tripoli, which, Williams argues, severely disrupted UN-led peace efforts. She delves into the complexities of the conflict, offering insights into the international communitys efforts to mediate a solution. Williams also reflects on her personal involvement in the peace process, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she played a crucial role in facilitating the October 2020 ceasefire agreement. In addition, she examines the growing influence of digital media in exacerbating Libyas instability, highlighting how misinformation and hate speech have deepened the countrys divisions. This book provides a critical reflection on Libyas post-Gaddafi journey and the ongoing challenges that continue to impede its peace and reconstruction efforts. Algerian-French novelist Boualem Sanal was sentenced to five years in prison, in a verdict that was denounced by the French president, the political class, intellectuals, and independent human rights defenders. Sansal, 80, was arrested in November upon his landing from France where he had given an interview mentioning that parts of current western Algeria had been historically part of Morocco before French colonialism. That statement led to his trial behind bars, as he was also combating cancer. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, had urged his release saying his arrest was dishonoring Algeria. Tebboune, prior to the trial, called Sansal a thiefsent by France. After the verdict, president Macron said the charge of undermining national security was not serious, voicing hope to see the novelist released. He also- ironically- appealed to Algerian authorities good sense of humanity. Sansal was sentenced under an anti-terrorism law that has been used by the regime to crackdown on critics. He has told the court that he was only practicing his right to free speech. He has unwillingly become a pawn in the troubled relationship between Paris and Algiers, a committee of his supporters in France, including renowned writers, politicians and intellectuals said recently. His ordeal drew a wave of solidarity from international writers such as Moroccan novelist Tahar Benjelloun, Nigerian Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka, Indian-British novelist Salman Rushdie, his countryman and recent winner of Goncourt Prize Kamel Daoud, and others. Marine Le Pen has called Sansal a fighter for liberty and a courageous opponent of Islamism. His arrest and hefty sentence led many French political leaders to demand a tougher stance against the Algerian regime, amid a worsening diplomatic crisis, triggered by Algiers in reprisal for Pariss support for Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara. Algeria has declared Moroccos consul to Oran persona non grata without offering whatsoever explanation, in yet another diversionary tactic at a context Algiers is engulfed in diplomatic turmoil. The decision came the same day Algeria handed a five-year jail sentence to a writer who recalled that France amputated lands and attached them to current Algeria. The Moroccan deputy consul in Oran Mohamed El Soufiani was given 48 hours to leave the country, the Algerian foreign ministry said, citing suspicious acts without giving whatsoever explanation. The hostile act shows that Algeria is running out of cards in its escalatory moves against Morocco, which has helped the military junta divert attention from the daily woes of the Algerian people. Expelling the Moroccan diplomat is also meant to redirect spotlights away from the hefty sentence given to Boualem Sansal, a verdict that was reported in international news outlets portraying Algeria as a brutal state condemning people for free speech and for saying historical facts. The Algerian regime, which braces for using Sansal as a bargain that may end with his release, hopes to make the Moroccan diplomat as a scapegoat in yet another impulsive move that shows that Algeria has hit the bottom of the absurd in its diplomatic ties. The move came in a series of hostile acts. In 2021, Algeria unilaterally cut ties with Morocco without offering whatsoever evidence for the hostile acts it cited. Morocco said back then Algeria was unjustified in such a move, calling the accusations absurd. Algeria doubled down instigating its Polisario proxies to violate the UN-brokered ceasefire, halting the flow of gas the same year, banning Moroccan flights from crossing Algerian airspace, ordering an academic boycott, banning trade with Moroccan ports and most recently re-imposing visa requirements on Moroccan nationals. Morocco has not responded to any of the Algerian hostile acts. As Algeria prepares to concede in its feud with France, the deadline set by the French government for Algeria to cooperate on repatriations of its nationals is approaching, throwing the Algerian nomenklatura into disarray. Hence the impulsive scapegoating acts that further show the Algerian regime as warmongering and inconsistent. Abdourahamane Tchiani, the leader of Nigers military junta, has been officially sworn in as the Sahel countrys transitional president, marking the beginning of a five-year rule under a new charter that replaces the constitution. The ceremony took place in Niamey on Wednesday (26 March), and Tchiani, who led the July 2023 coup that ousted democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum, was also promoted to the rank of army general. This move defies regional pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which had rejected the military juntas initial proposal for a three-year transition and threatened military intervention to force Niamey to restore democracy. The new five-year flexible transition period can be extended depending on security conditions or the pace of reforms, according to government officials. Tchianis assumption of power follows a troubling trend of prolonged military transitions in the Sahel region, with similar situations unfolding in Mali and Burkina Faso. His government has dissolved all political parties, consolidating power within the military establishment. Niger has also shifted its alliances, severing ties with traditional partners like the United States and France, and strengthening its relationship with Russia, which has supported the junta. As Nigers military regime consolidates its power, critics argue that the junta has failed to address the escalating jihadi violence that initially justified their coup, while continuing to clamp down on civil rights. The long transition period could further isolate Niger within the region and lead to strengthened ties with Russia at the expense of West African unity. The United Nations has raised alarm over the growing control of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with fears that the group could seize additional provinces. Bintou Keita, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUSCO), briefed the UN Security Council on Thursday (27 March), revealing that M23 rebels now control significant parts of North and South Kivu and are threatening to expand into the neighboring provinces of Tshopo and Maniema. The M23s territorial gains, which include the installation of a parallel administration in South Kivu, have raised concerns about further instability. Keita highlighted the dire human rights situation, including mass displacement, summary executions, forced recruitment of children, and rampant sexual violence, particularly against women and children. More than 7 million people have been displaced by the violence, exacerbating one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises. Despite the recent Qatar-brokered ceasefire deal agreed to by Congolese and Rwandan leaders, violence has continued unabated, with M23 forces reportedly receiving support from Rwanda, though Kigali denies the presence of its troops on DRC soil. This has led Keita to also called on African Union to appoint its own mediator to try to facilitate a ceasefire. Meanwhile, humanitarian aid efforts are severely hampered by ongoing conflict, with the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan only 8.2% funded. The international community faces significant challenges in containing the violence and providing relief to affected civilians. M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern DRC near the border with Rwanda. A deadly incident occurred in Egypts Red Sea on Thursday March 27 when a tourist submarine sank during a trip to the resort city of Hurghada. The submarine, named Sinbad, was carrying 45 foreign tourists, including Russians, Indians, Norwegians, and Swedish, as well as five Egyptian crew members. Six Russian nationals tragically lost their lives in the accident, while 39 others, including minors, were rescued. The vessel sank at its marina, located in front of a prominent hotel, leaving a scene of chaos for emergency responders. Twenty-three injured passengers were taken to five nearby hospitals, with many suffering fractures and bruises. Four individuals were placed in intensive care due to critical injuries, while the others, in stable condition, were discharged and returned to their hotels. Thankfully, no passengers were reported missing following the incident. The Red Sea Governorate confirmed that the submarines license was valid, and the crew leader held the required qualifications, suggesting that the incident may have been an unfortunate accident. As investigations continue into the cause of the sinking, confusion initially arose when the Russian Consulate in Hurghada stated that all passengers on board were Russian citizens. However, further clarification revealed that tourists from multiple countries were aboard. The tragic event has cast a shadow over the regions thriving tourism industry, with officials vowing to determine the exact cause of the sinking to prevent such incidents in the future. South Sudans fragile peace is under serious threat after the arrest of opposition leader Riek Machar, with his party declaring that the 2018 Peace agreement, which ended a five-year civil war, has effectively collapsed. The South Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Opposition accused the Government of undermining political goodwill, which is essential for lasting stability. Machar, one of the countrys five Vice-presidents, has been detained by Government forces under unclear charges, sparking fears of renewed conflict. The United Nations has warned that this development takes South Sudan closer to a return to civil war. Tensions have been escalating in recent months, particularly after clashes between Machar-aligned forces and government troops in Upper Nile state. The governments response, including airstrikes on areas held by Machars supporters, has resulted in civilian casualties and further destabilised the region. The UN has urged both sides to adhere to the 2018 peace agreement, stressing the urgency of restoring Machars freedom and preventing further violence. The international community has strongly condemned the arrest, with both the US and the African Union calling for immediate de-escalation and dialogue. The US State Department has urged President Salva Kiir to reverse Machars house arrest, while the African Union pledged to send a delegation to mediate the crisis. As tensions rise, South Sudans future hangs in the balance, with political leaders facing a critical moment that could either pave the way for peace or plunge the country back into devastating conflict. Sudans Sovereign Council leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, reaffirmed, on Thursday March 27, the militarys commitment to paving the way for a civilian Government to take power, following a meeting with Germanys envoy to the Horn of Africa, Heiko Nitschke, in Port Sudan. The meeting discussed efforts exerted by the Sudanese government to achieve peace and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need, the Sovereign Council said in a statement. Al-Burhan, who also heads the Sudanese armed forces, reiterated that the military is not interested in politics but is focused on creating the necessary conditions for a democratically elected civilian government. This declaration comes amidst ongoing efforts to foster peace and facilitate humanitarian aid for those affected by Sudans brutal conflict. The discussions between al-Burhan and Nitschke centerd on Sudans peace initiatives, including the countrys efforts to provide aid to the millions of displaced and war-affected civilians. Additionally, the two officials touched upon the importance of initiating an inclusive dialogue among all Sudanese groups to form a transitional technocratic government that could lead the nation toward free and fair elections. Despite al-Burhans assurances, many remain skeptical, given the militarys central role in the ongoing civil war and its history of involvement in Sudans politics. Since the outbreak of the war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, over 20,000 people have been killed, and 14 million displaced, according to the UN. However, other reports suggest the true death toll may be as high as 130,000. With the war continuing to spread across 13 of Sudans 18 states, the international community, including the UN and Germany, has urged an end to the violence and warned of a growing humanitarian crisis. As the country grapples with the aftermath of this devastating conflict, the promise of a civilian-led government offers a glimmer of hope, though the path ahead remains uncertain. Demonstrators at a rally for Rumeysa Ozturk following her arrest in Somerville, Massachusetts. Photo: Faith Ninivaggi/Reuters Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Tufts University doctoral student, was leaving her apartment in Somerville, Massachusetts, on Tuesday to join friends in breaking her Ramadan fast when she was arrested by ICE agents. Video of the agents in masks accosting Ozturk on the street generated a new wave of public outrage just two weeks after the Trump administration sought to deport other pro-Palestinian activists holding green cards and visas. By most accounts, Ozturk was not a prominent activist on campus, which has prompted questions as to why she was arrested. Her most significant foray into politics appears to be a jointly written March 2024 op-ed in the student newspaper that urged the university to engage with a student-led push for Tufts to divest from Israel. But the editorial was enough for Ozturk to be highlighted by Canary Mission, a website dedicated to calling out people and organizations it accuses of taking part in antisemitic or anti-Israel behavior by compiling and publishing detailed dossiers on them. (Canary Mission did not respond to a request for comment.) Days after Ozturks arrest, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the U.S. had revoked her student visa, linking her case to the administrations ongoing crackdown on student activism and implying she is a protester. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. If weve given you a visa and then you decide to do that, were going to take it away, he told reporters during a press conference. Ozturks lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, has filed a petition in court alongside the ACLU, seeking her immediate release. Rumeysa Ozturks experience is shocking, cruel, and unconstitutional. For nearly 24 hours, we could not locate her, and despite a court order to prevent the government from taking her out of Massachusetts, we finally learned the Trump administration had shipped her to Louisiana, she said in a statement. Criticizing U.S. foreign policy and human-rights violations is neither illegal nor grounds for detention. The government must immediately release Rumeysa to continue her studies and rejoin her community. Several other more prominent activists detained by the Trump administration are similarly profiled on the site. Canary Mission lists Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student and legal permanent resident arrested earlier this month, accusing him of leading pro-Hamas protests on campus the same rationale the U.S. has used to begin his deportation proceedings. Also featured is Mapheze Saleh, the Palestinian American wife of Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown University graduate student who was detained. Suris lawyer has argued that his client has no criminal record and that his arrest was due to his father-in-law being a former adviser to a Hamas leader, according to the New York Times. Canary Mission emerged in 2015 with a focus on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS, movement to document individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses and beyond. But the site quickly gained prominence with the rise of on-campus protests after the October 7 attacks on Israel, as it trained its focus on student activists demonstrating against the conflict in Gaza. The group behind the site has been accused of conflating pro-Palestinian activism with hate speech and for doxxing the people it highlights. On Canary Mission, Ozturks profile includes a photo of her as well as a description of the region where she lives. The page also features screenshots of the op-ed and her LinkedIn page as well as descriptions of college courses she was slated to teach this year. Attempts to determine who funds and leads Canary Mission have been notably murky. In 2018, The Forward reported that the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco had donated $100,000 to the cause through its foundation via an Israeli charity called Megamot Shalom. The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles ended its grants to Megamot Shalom after its ties to Canary Mission were reported. The Nation reports that the charity is run by Jonathan Bash, a British-born resident of Jerusalem who has denied a connection with the organization. Canary Missions work has also been used to detain students in Israel. Lara Alqasem, a Palestinian American graduate student, was barred from entering the country to study at a local university in 2018 because of her past work with the University of Floridas chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Alqasems attorneys said the governments file on their client was largely based on her profile on Canary Missions website, according to the Times. She would later win an appeal to stay in the country. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. 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 Boao Forum for Asia International Conference Center in Boao, Hainan province, March 26, 2025. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn] Over the past two decades, Global South countries have contributed nearly 80% of world economic growth, solidifying their role as a key driver of global development. Their growing influence has made them a focal point at the 2025 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, held from March 25 to 28 in Boao, south China's Hainan province. At a panel discussion during the forum on March 26, experts explored the diverse paths to modernization for the Global South, emphasizing collaboration, self-reliance and inclusive development. Xiaojun Grace Wang, trust fund director at the U.N. Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), highlighted the varied modernization trajectories of these nations. "Each country has distinct concerns and priorities. Least developed nations and small island states, for instance, have unique considerations," Wang noted. "We must listen to their collective voices, recognize their varying stages of development, and acknowledge that real strength comes from unity amid diversity." She emphasized that cooperation should extend beyond the traditional North-South divide. "We must leverage the expertise and technology of developed nations," she said, stressing that collaboration in diversity is key. Kirill Babaev, director of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, underscored the shared aspirations of Global South nations despite their regional differences. "From the Eurasian Economic Union and Shanghai Cooperation Organization to ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council, these nations share common values in globalization, forming the foundation for a broader global economic mainstream," he said. Zheng Yongnian, dean of the School of Public Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, identified two major challenges facing the Global South. The first is internal: "These countries often express concerns but struggle to translate them into concrete actions," he observed. The second challenge is external, particularly disruptions to the global trade system initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. "If globalization is hindered, poverty will deepen, leading to instability," he warned. Zheng also criticized Western-style modernization for its exclusiveness and lack of inclusiveness. He argued that while Western nations have achieved prosperity, they have not actively helped poorer countries develop. "Economic disparity is detrimental to human rights," he stated. Citing a Chinese proverb "in adversity, perfect oneself; in success, perfect all under heaven" Zheng said that this philosophy is reflected in China's modernization approach. China worked hard to develop when it was poor and now seeks to assist other nations through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and the New Development Bank, he explained. Danny Quah, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, stressed the importance of self-reliance. "Global South countries must demonstrate leadership in their own development," he said. Quah underlined that economic growth and capacity building are essential for ensuring these nations control their own destinies. True development, he added, involves creating value building infrastructure, improving public health, and unlocking the creativity and potential of people. Elon Musk and Donald Trump with a Tesla at the White House. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images On Monday, the FBI announced a new task force to crack down on what Elon Musk has described as evil attacks against Tesla vehicles and facilities. This is domestic terrorism, director Kash Patel wrote of the more than 80 instances of vandalism, arson, and gunfire that have targeted Musks signature cars since January. Patel was joining a chorus of such statements from Trump officials. On March 20, Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to use the full force of the Justice Department against anyone who joined this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties. On March 21, the FBI urged the public to to look out for suspicious activity around Tesla-related buildings. And during an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, Bondi accused Texas congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of promoting violence for telling a virtual gathering of Tesla boycotters that she wanted Elon to be taken down, even though it was clear she was referring to his money. The car attacks, while not legal, have not physically harmed anyone usually a component of what we think of as a terrorist attack. But because domestic terrorism is so loosely defined under federal law, Trump and Musk have been able to manipulate it to serve their ends. By expanding the definition to encompass everything from graffiti to partisan speech, the administration has recast what have typically been misdemeanors and First Amendment activity as 9/11-in-miniature. And they are not the first to do so: Trump & Co. are borrowing from a playbook that has already allowed local municipalities to charge people who have not injured anyone with terrorist offenses a chilling portent for everyday Americans who have so far been spared from Trumps weaponization of the justice system. In 2018, after years of protests and riots linked to the Black Lives Matter movement, Republicans in Georgia were eager for new ways to criminalize protests more easily. They passed a law expanding the legal definition of domestic terrorism to include damaging certain types of property. All of a sudden, breaking a window near a political demonstration which in the past would have earned a criminal damage to property charge or something similar, according to civil-rights attorney Tiffany Roberts could be prosecuted as terrorism. Furthermore, the legal dragnet was widened so that even someone in the vicinity of politically coded property destruction could be labeled a terrorist, too. Which is exactly what happened in 2021, when activists from around the world converged on the region to stop a proposed police training facility dubbed Cop City. Amid the ensuing clashes, protesters threw rocks at cops and set fire to construction equipment providing local authorities with the perfect opportunity to trial-balloon Georgias new anti-terrorism law. By Christmas 2022, cops had arrested five people for alleged domestic terrorism. Why is an individual from Los Angeles, California, concerned about a training facility being built in the state of Georgia? asked the assistant chief of the Atlanta Police Department at the time. And that is why we consider that domestic terrorism. Atlanta has since become a laboratory for manufacturing alleged terrorists who do not actually terrorize. When militants set fire to more construction equipment, cops simply began arresting whoever was in the general area, claiming that anyone with mud on their shoes was probably fleeing and therefore guilty. This round of arrests carried out by Democratic-run law-enforcement agencies, it is worth noting formed the basis for the massive, 42-defendant domestic-terrorism indictment filed by Georgias Republican attorney general that September, which is still pending to this day. The influence of Georgia Republicans is all over the Trump administrations modus operandi. You can scarcely throw a rock at a gathering of progressives these days without hitting a supposed terrorist. Even though federal law does not allow the Department of Justice to charge people with domestic terrorism specifically, the law is already being contorted to justify arresting and deporting noncitizen activists for exercising their free-speech rights, such as Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestine green-card holder about whom Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Troy Edgar told NPR, If he would have declared hes a terrorist, we would have never let him in. The administrations list of alleged terrorists seems likely to keep growing as with the Tuesday addition of Ruymesa Ozturk, a Tufts University graduate student who wrote a pro-Palestine op-ed and is now being held in ICE custody for glorifying and supporting terrorism, according to a DHS spokesperson. Similarly, as an act of acquiescence to Trump, Washington, D.C., is considering charging alleged Tesla vandals with hate crimes. Meanwhile, the administration has been silent about more recognizable acts of terrorism that align with Trumps ideological goals. According to Joan Donovan, an organizer of the Tesla Takedown movement, Musk has developed his own private army of networked harassers, who are calling me a domestic terrorist for picketing Tesla. The tenor of this picketing is anything but terroristic. Many of the protesters appear to be retirees who are eager to recapture the energy of the heyday of the resistance. But that is not how Trumpists are being trained to see them. The insistence that they are domestic terrorists is the sort of blanket propagandizing impressionable Trump supporters can be trusted to act on. Sure enough, on Saturday, shortly after the FBI issued its warning about subversive activities near Tesla facilities, a group of about 100 protesters from the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Palm Beach County, Florida, was picketing on the sidewalk outside a local Tesla dealership when a man driving a black Nissan SUV drove by and started screaming at them. Suddenly, the driver jumped the curb, forcing several protesters to move out of his way to avoid being hit an act of intimidation that called to mind recent vehicular terrorist attacks, like the one in New Orleans on January 1. The 44-year-old driver, Andrew Dutil, reportedly exited the vehicle and walked into the dealership, where, one of the employees later told investigators, he announced that he supports Tesla and left. Dutil was arrested by local sheriffs deputies and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. But one of the looming crises of the Trump era is that it is not totally clear, between Dutil and the picketers, who is more likely to be considered a terrorist. This isnt a joke, unfortunately. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Illustration: @WhiteHouse/X Theres understandably a lot of talk in the air about significant numbers of 2024 Trump voters feeling some buyers remorse as the 47th presidents actual agenda unfolds. Those who backed him because they wanted a return to economic normalcy, for example, are not going to be very happy with the price-inflating trade war he has launched or the public-sector austerity program he has undertaken to the detriment of popular federal programs and benefits. And swing voters surely did not think they were electing a dictator. Yet it is increasingly clear that Trumps key advisers think of him exactly that way. To some extent, people paying close attention knew that Team Trump had radical ideas about presidential power over the executive branch, as reflected in the unitary executive theory common among so-called conservatives these days. This theory holds that the president should have total control of federal-agency operations, even in cases where Congress has endowed agencies with independent status. But Trump 2.0 has already gone far beyond the executive branch in its claims of presidential authority, trampling the Constitutionally established powers of the legislative branch and now threatening the judicial branch as well. The former power grab is exemplified by DOGEs reign of terror over the federal bureaucracy, threatening its ability to discharge its statutorily established responsibilities, and also by OMB Director Russell Voughts belief in a virtually unlimited presidential right to impound (i.e., refuse to expend) congressional appropriations in defiance of Article Is clear grant of the spending power to the national legislature. The latter is implicit in the ever-growing threats being issued by Trump and his supporters to federal judges who have the temerity to exercise the judicial-review authority theyve enjoyed since 1803, when Marbury v. Madison was handed down. But if you listen closely to some of Trumps most important advisers, we may not have seen anything just yet: they recognize virtually no limits to presidential authority, based on the dangerously exotic idea that he was elected to carry out a literal revolution against the established order of things. Heres how White House policy director Stephen Miller put it last month in what Fox News described as a civics lesson: A president is elected by the whole American people. Hes the only official in the entire government that is elected by the entire nation, right? Judges are appointed. Members of Congress are elected at the district or state level. The Constitution, Article II has a clause known as the Vesting Clause. And it says the executive power shall be vested in a president, singular. The whole will of democracy is imbued into the elected president. That president then appoints staff to then impose that democratic will onto the government. Aside from Millers self-serving view that he, himself, is empowered to impose the democratic will on the entire federal government, the idea that the 49.9 percent of the electorate who voted for a particular presidential candidate intended (and are entitled!) to give him unlimited power is very much unprecedented. No wonder the people around the president have gone to such laughable lengths to exaggerate the size of his election victory and his alleged mandate. It should take a lot of votes to authorize a dictatorship. Miller is hardly alone in believing Trump 2.0 represents something of an elected dictatorship. OMBs Russ Vought, who occupies what he has called the nerve center of the federal government, has long argued that we are in a post-constitutional era in which drastic presidential measures are necessary to restore the limited government envisioned by the Founders. In an extensive review of Voughts public utterances (particularly a 2022 essay he penned for The American Mind, the online publication of the notoriously radical Claremont Institute), Georgetown professor Thomas Zimmer sums up Voughts rationale for a massive expansion of presidential power: Vought is convinced that America is facing an existential threat a situation he has likened to 1776 and 1860: (Counter-) Revolution and total war, that is what America must face if it is to survive. What gives Vought hope is his devotion to Donald Trump, uniquely positioned to serve this role as the leader of such a revolutionary counter-offensive against the evil forces of unnatural leftism. Literally, in Voughts words, a gift of God. It must seem like a gift of God to those who want a counterrevolutionary dictator that someone like Trump arrived on the scene. Its not every year, or even every century, that you get a leader whose supreme narcissism stands out starkly in the narcissistic world of politics, and who openly claims that He who saves his Country does not violate any Law and believes that Article II of the Constitution gives him the right to do whatever I want as president. Trump is the perfect vehicle for the authoritarians he has attracted to his banner. From that perspective, all the high-speed norm-shattering power grabs weve seen in the past nine weeks make terrifying sense. As New York Times columnist and old-school conservative David French observes, the judiciary that Team Trump is clearly contemplating a collision with is the last barrier to total power: Trumpists are ultimately hoping to replace the separation of powers with executive primacy, but if they hope to swallow the other branches, theyre right to identify the judiciary as their primary foe. Republicans in Congress exist to serve Trump. But the judiciary knows its role. The primary protection of individual liberty in our constitutional system comes from the separation of powers in the Constitution, Brett Kavanaugh, argued in a speech at Notre Dame before his appointment to the Supreme Court, the separation of the power to legislate from the power to enforce from the power to adjudicate. Lets hope Kavanaugh remembers that when the administrations claims of total power reach the Supreme Court. An Opelika man has been convicted of murdering and abusing Ivy Baker, a 2-year-old girl who died in November 2021 from multiple blunt-force trauma injuries, including a skull fracture. Jamario Emanuel Mitchell, 32, has been found guilty of felony murder-child abuse in the death of his then-girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter. His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for April 30 at the T.K. Davis Justice center. In November 2021, Mitchell and Chasity Umeko Baker, the victim's mom, were both arrested on murder charges. Chasity Baker and Mitchell are being tried separately. The mother has not yet gone to trial. The charges came three days after Baker died on Nov. 12 with bruises on her body and a fractured skull, rib and collarbones. First responders received a call at about 7 a.m. that day when the child was found unresponsive at an Opelika home on Cherry Circle. Mitchell's trial began with jury selection on Monday followed by the presenting of evidence and witnesses by the prosecution on Tuesday and Wednesday. The prosecution was handled Chief District Attorney Clay Thomas and Senior Trial Assistant District Attorney Madison Grantham. Mitchell's defense attorney Andrew Maddox called witnesses to the stand on Thursday. He fractured the child's skull and collarbones On Wednesday, the prosecution called to the stand Dr. Edward Reedy, chief medical examiner at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Reedy said that X-rays of Ivy Baker revealed that both of her clavicles, or collarbones, were fractured. Reedy said Ivy Baker also suffered from one fractured rib, with no evidence of healing. He added that there was also a deep bruise on Ivy's lower back. "It's very, very unusual for a 2-year-old child to have both collarbones fractured at about the same time. There was no evidence of healing in either of them, and this would require a considerable amount of force to be exerted on the shoulders," Reedy said. With the fracture collarbones, Reedy said that Ivy Baker would not have been able to raise her arms sideways or above her. Reedy said he fractured his collarbone once and said the injury for Ivy would have been "exquisitely painful." According to Reedy, the inside of the scalp revealed multiple areas of bleeding and bruises with five or six impact points. Once the skull was removed, Reedy said the brain was swollen with too much water, and there were areas on the brain itself that were injured with hemorrhages. Once the brain was removed, Reedy said there was evidence of a subdural hemorrhage and a skull fracture. "A toddler's skull is plastic. It's bendable, and it doesn't fracture very easily," Reedy said. "I would generally say that it would require the force of maybe an automobile accident to cause a fracture in a toddler's skull." Reedy said the bleeding in the brain would eventually lead to hypoxia, where there is a lack of oxygen in the blood delivered to the brain. The brain tissue then dies and swells with water. Reedy said it could take between six and 18 hours from the point of impact to death. Reedy said Ivy Baker would have been "symptomatic" following the skull fracture, with crying initially, then general lethargic behavior, sleepiness and toward the end of Ivy Baker's life, labored breathing. He also said with the skull fracture, there was a possibility of blood and spinal fluid, which could be confused for mucus, coming through Ivy Baker's nose. Chasity Baker searched the Internet for answers to her child's pain Grantham said Ivy Baker was healthy when she had a checkup at a pediatric clinic on Oct. 27. Prosecutors called Opelika Police Sgt. Brandon Hutto to the stand. He walked through the data that was recovered from the phones of Chasity Baker and Mitchell. Included in that data were call logs of both phones and the search results from Chasity Baker's phone, which were presented to the jury by Hutto. Hutto said data on Baker's phone revealed her searching questions related to Ivy's possible injuries. According to the data, Hutto said that in the days leading up to Ivy Baker's death, Baker searched the following: "Why would a child be in pain when I touch their neck" "Why would a child be in pain when I touch their arm" "How would a two-year-old's neck and shoulder be swollen" She also searched if lidocaine patches could be placed anywhere, and why a child would keep crying when picked up, Hutto said. Grantham said that Baker filled out new patient paperwork on Nov. 9 to take Ivy to another pediatric doctor. Hutto said they also recovered text messages from Mitchell to Baker on the morning of Nov. 12 when he went to work, and she asked if he checked on Ivy. Then a series of calls between the two, as well as some calls to others, were made before 911 was called at 7:08 a.m. on Nov. 12. When EMS arrived, Ivy Baker was cold to the touch, Grantham said. Several testified against Jamario Mitchell On Wednesday, the state called Ivy Baker's babysitter Kimecia McCord, Ivy Baker's great aunt Kishina Johnson and Ivy Baker's father LaDerrian Prince. McCord said that she last saw Ivy Baker on Halloween and that while Ivy was not experiencing any noticeable health issues at the time, McCord said she was more fussy than usual. Johnson said she saw Ivy with Mitchell and Baker at the Cherry Circle apartment, and that she found it odd that Ivy was not sitting with her mother considering how close they normally were. Prince, who fought back tears while on the witness stand, said he last saw Ivy sometime in October. On Thursday, the defense called two witnesses to the stand: Arlicia Mitchell, Jamario Mitchell's mother, and his aunt, Shirley Swanson. Arlicia Mitchell said Ivy loved Jamario and Chasity. She said that the last time she saw Ivy alive, it looked like something was wrong with her shoulders, and she was a little more fussy than normal. Swanson took the stand next and said that Chasity, Jamario and Ivy were a family and were happy. She said Jamario and Chasity loved each other. Mitchell did not testify, and the defense rested its case on Thursday. A contrast in closing arguments Grantham began closing arguments by explaining the law in relation to the case, and she said it is a case where Ivy Baker died as a result of aggravated child abuse. She also presented the jury with a timeline in the days leading up to Nov. 11 where, according to Grantham, Ivy Baker started showing symptoms, and to the morning of Nov. 12, when Ivy was not responding and Baker called 911. Grantham played the 911 call for the jury. During that call, Baker can be heard crying out that her "baby is not responding." Grantham also showed body camera footage of OPD officers arriving on the scene. In the defense's closing argument, Maddox said there is no question that the case involves heartbreaking loss, but he asked the jury to not decide the case based off emotion. In response to the timeline created by Grantham, Maddox said the jury has the evidence and exhibits to look over, and he asked them to create their own timeline. He said the most credible witnesses were Reedy and those from Opelika police. He then said that some of the witnesses were there to stir up emotion, including Prince. "This is not about how we feel. This is about the law," Maddox said. Thomas took the opportunity for a rebuttal and reinforced many of the points Grantham had touched on. "Ivy is here; she is speaking to you. She is crying out for justice. She is telling you through her battered broken body how she died," Thomas said. Victim's father feels justice was served The jury began deliberations on Thursday evening at around 4 p.m. and opted to head home at 6 p.m. and return in the morning. The verdict was reached before 10 a.m. Friday. When the verdict was read by Lee County Circuit Judge Christopher J. Hughes, there was applause from some in the courtroom for a brief moment. Once Mitchell was taken into custody and court adjourned, the family of Ivy Baker, including Prince, gathered in the hall outside of the courtroom. "I love it. The DA's office did their job. I really appreciate it. Justice got served and we just pray that this does not happen to anybody else," Prince said of the verdict. "She's a loving child. She was a daddy's girl, my first born. Even though he was found guilty, I still can't get my daughter back. I'm glad that she got her justice and that's what we were praying for." Prince declined to comment on the trial of Chasity Baker, which has not been scheduled yet. In a statement on Facebook, Ventiere thanked the staff at her office, OPD and others. "I am extremely proud of the tireless efforts of Chief Assistant District Attorney Clay Thomas and Senior Trial Attorney Madison Grantham. Their dedication, skill, and pursuit of justice on behalf of 2-year-old Ivy Baker were instrumental in securing this verdict," Ventiere said. "Todays conviction is a testament to the hard work of our prosecutors and law enforcement officers who stand up for victims who can no longer speak for themselves." Bebe Rexha talks about relationship dynamics: Im all about guys being in touch with their feminine side, like I love that for you, but its hard to be in your Soft Girl era when all the guys are in their Soft Girl eras like, do I gotta be the boyfriend and the girlfriend? [image or embed] This is a coup in the port world, and its geopolitical tentacles will not go unnoticed. Its a direct challenge to China. What Arab media is pointing out, however, is a nuance that is very interesting: This was not directly a geopolitical move. This is private business. Of course, it is a private business that is fully aware of what its just done and the geopolitical leverage it just bought for $22 billion. Even beyond this, the deal was atypical because it also wasnt a normal business deal, from MEEs perspective: it was sealed between the ultra-rich, underscoring how global corporations and industry A tie-up between American megafund Blackrock and Italian-owned Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) creates something bigger than Dubai Ports World or even Chinas Cosco. This tie-up is a ~$23B deal that will control 43 ports belonging to Hong Kong-listed CK Hutchison (billionaire Li-Ka-shing). In more precise terms, as Middle East Eye (MEE) points out, this gives Blackrock/MSC control over two key ports of strategic value, with one at each end of the Panama Canal. In total, it will control 12 ports, making a strategic maritime line that traverses Egypt, Iraq, Oman, and the UAE. The next conflicts will be directly over ports and waterways, and the Red Sea has only brought that into clearer focus. From the wildly coveted Horn of Africas access to the Gulf of Aden. But this week, were looking at a backdoor port deal thats captured the attention of Arab media. The next conflicts will be directly over ports and waterways, and the Red Sea has only brought that into clearer focus. From the wildly coveted Horn of Africas access to the Gulf of Aden. But this week, were looking at a backdoor port deal thats captured the attention of Arab media. A tie-up between American megafund Blackrock and Italian-owned Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) creates something bigger than Dubai Ports World or even Chinas Cosco. This tie-up is a ~$23B deal that will control 43 ports belonging to Hong Kong-listed CK Hutchison (billionaire Li-Ka-shing). In more precise terms, as Middle East Eye (MEE) points out, this gives Blackrock/MSC control over two key ports of strategic value, with one at each end of the Panama Canal. In total, it will control 12 ports, making a strategic maritime line that traverses Egypt, Iraq, Oman, and the UAE. This is a coup in the port world, and its geopolitical tentacles will not go unnoticed. Its a direct challenge to China. What Arab media is pointing out, however, is a nuance that is very interesting: This was not directly a geopolitical move. This is private business. Of course, it is a private business that is fully aware of what its just done and the geopolitical leverage it just bought for $22 billion. Even beyond this, the deal was atypical because it also wasnt a normal business deal, from MEEs perspective: it was sealed between the ultra-rich, underscoring how global corporations and industry titans are positioning themselves for a more unpredictable and nationalistic trading system. Its a highly astute observation, and it is going to reverberate more than observers will be expecting it to. Adding to the geopolitical occupation theme, the U.S. vice president was set to visit Greenland, which Trump is attempting to purchase for its strategic potential as a buffer against China and Russia in the Arctic. (All of this should also put Russias annexation of Crimea into a different perspective.) In the meantime, in Somalia, where a game of alliances has intensified in recent months, Egypt and Ethiopia continue their battle for influence, with Egypt eyeing a weapons deal for Somalia to go tit for tat with Ethiopias MOU with breakaway Somaliland for a port on the Red Sea, potentially leading to a full-on proxy war which will involve other external/proxy actors, all of whom must control these waterways and ports for geopolitical leverage. India is weighing the option to scrap its import tax on American liquefied natural gas to increase U.S. LNG imports and reduce its trade surplus with the United States, sources from Indian industry and government have told Reuters. Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has been on the offensive to impose tariffs on countries with which the United States has large trade deficits. India is one of these. India could make U.S. LNG more competitive in its market if it removes the import tax, a government source told Reuters. We are considering ending the import tax on U.S. LNG under the bilateral trade agreement, similar to our model with the UAE, another source with knowledge of the deliberations told the news agency. India will aim to buy more American oil and LNG to reduce the surplus and avoid potential tariffs from President Trump, the fast-growing Asian economy said last month. India is likely to significantly increase its energy purchases from the U.S., Indias Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in February in Washington after a meeting between President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I think we purchased about $15 billion in US energy output, Bloomberg quoted Misri as telling a news conference. There is a good chance that this figure will go up as much as $25 billion, the Indian official added. Ahead of the Trump-Modi meeting, Indian companies were already discussing increased purchases of oil and LNG from the U.S. Indian Oil Corporation is in discussions to agree on a long-term supply deal with U.S. Cheniere Energy, in what could be one of many new LNG supply agreements between India and America. GAIL India, the biggest natural gas distributor in the country, is reviving plans to procure U.S. LNG supply in the long term by either buying a stake in an American export project or signing a long-term offtake agreement, a top company official told Reuters last month. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Israel continued to reign destruction on Gaza this week, but the media was largely overtaken by an expose after The Atlantic editor-in-chief was accidentally added to a private Signal chat by Michael Waltz (Trumps national security adviser) during which time Israel was sharing crucial intelligence on Houthi targets in Yemen to aid U.S. air strikes. While this is an open secret for the most part, the Houthis will seek to leverage this and rally friends around it. U.S. airstrikes pounded Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen early on Friday, including the capital, Sanaa. As of the time of writing, the extent of the damage was not clear, but this launch appeared to be an escalation of an airstrike campaign that was launched almost two weeks ago. Sudan's army intensified its offensive on the city of Omdurman (across the Nile from Khartoum) in an attempt to rout the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary forces after having declared victory in the capital. This is the most significant movement in this conflict that we have seen in two years of bloody stalemate. The RSF still holds parts of Omdurman and has shifted its focus to western Sudan. Despite the victory in Khartoum claimed by the Sudanese army, the RSF is still entrenched in its positions outside of the capital, and the situation in Darfur is particularly intense. Politics, Geopolitics, & Conflict Sudan's army intensified its offensive on the city of Omdurman (across the Nile from Khartoum) in an attempt to rout the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary forces after having declared victory in the capital. This is the most significant movement in this conflict that we have seen in two years of bloody stalemate. The RSF still holds parts of Omdurman and has shifted its focus to western Sudan. Despite the victory in Khartoum claimed by the Sudanese army, the RSF is still entrenched in its positions outside of the capital, and the situation in Darfur is particularly intense. U.S. airstrikes pounded Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen early on Friday, including the capital, Sanaa. As of the time of writing, the extent of the damage was not clear, but this launch appeared to be an escalation of an airstrike campaign that was launched almost two weeks ago. Israel continued to reign destruction on Gaza this week, but the media was largely overtaken by an expose after The Atlantic editor-in-chief was accidentally added to a private Signal chat by Michael Waltz (Trumps national security adviser) during which time Israel was sharing crucial intelligence on Houthi targets in Yemen to aid U.S. air strikes. While this is an open secret for the most part, the Houthis will seek to leverage this and rally friends around it. Discovery & Development DNO (OSL: DNO) just logged its tenth North Sea discovery since 2021, striking oil and gas in licence PL1182 S via the Kjttkake well. Preliminary recoverable volumes range from 3975 MMboe, averaging 55 MMboe, in Paleocene injectite sands. The find sits near existing infrastructure27km from Troll Cwhich could fast-track development. DNOs also beefing up its portfolio with the $1.6B acquisition of Sval Energi, adding cash flow to fund its Norwegian expansion. Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) just hit another pre-salt milestone with a hydrocarbon find in the Norte de Brava block, offshore Campos Basin. Drilled at 575m depth, the 1-BRSA-1394-RJS well confirmed oil via logs, gas shows, and samplingfull reservoir details are pending. The discovery strengthens Petrobras $77.3B five-year E&P strategy, with 60% earmarked for pre-salt, and follows another recent strike in the Santos Basin. With full ownership of Norte de Brava and drilling now wrapped, Petrobras is reinforcing its dominance in Brazils deepwater game. ReconAfrica is fast-tracking the spud of its Prospect I well in Namibia to Q2 2025, following solid progress on prep work including surveying, debushing, and upcoming demining. The targetone of the largest mapped structures in the Damara Fold Beltshows four-way dip closure and is backed by encouraging data from the earlier Naingopo well. Prospect I is aiming for 365 MMbbl unrisked (32 MMbbl risked) or 1.7 Tcf unrisked (126 Bcf risked) prospective resources, per NSAIs latest report. Drill pad and road construction are next as ReconAfrica moves closer to testing this high-impact play. Sinopec has confirmed over 140 million tons of proven shale oil reserves in Shandong's Jiyang zonethe first such certified shale oilfield find in China to top 100 million tons. This breakthrough boosts the estimated shale oil resource base in the area to 10.5 billion tons, with cumulative output now past 1 million tons. The find ties into the Shengli Oilfield, a legacy asset dating back to the 1960s. It marks a key milestone for China's push to scale up shale production across its three national demo zones. Deals, Mergers, & Acquisitions Armenia is in advanced talks to import up to 1 bcm of gas from Turkmengaz via a swap arrangement through Iran, according to a senior advisor to PM Pashinyan. The proposed dealstill under price negotiationswould deliver gas to the Iran-Armenia border, with Iran already on board. Georgia has also agreed in principle to receive Turkmen gas via the same route, potentially opening access to Black Sea markets. Talks also include supplying Turkmen petroleum products to Armenia and possibly beyond. BP (LSE: BP) has secured final Iraqi government approval to redevelop the massive Kirkuk oil fields, targeting 3 billion boe in initial output. The deal covers the Baba and Avanah domes plus three nearby fieldsBai Hassan, Jambur, and Khabbazand follows a series of agreements over the past year. BPs compensation is tied to incremental production, pricing, and cost metrics, allowing it to book a portion of reserves. A new operator, combining Iraqi NOC and NGC staff with BP secondees, will oversee the project. Repsol (REP.MC) and NEO Energy are merging their UK North Sea assets to form NEO NEXT, a JV expected to produce 130,000 boepd in 2025. Repsol will hold 45%, with NEO taking 55%, and the tie-up is projected to unlock over $1B in synergies. The move follows a wave of North Sea consolidation after the UKs windfall tax and positions NEO NEXT for further M&A. The deal is set to close by September, solidifying Repsols full exit from its prior JV with Sinopec. The United States and Ukraine have not agreed yet on any draft of a minerals deal, Ukrainian officials said on Friday amid reports that the U.S. pushes for an agreement to have all income from Ukraines mineral resources contributed to a joint fund. The U.S. has revised its original proposal, according to a summary of a draft seen by Reuters. The new proposal does not include security guarantees but includes a proposal to have all revenues from the Ukrainian mineral sources contributed to a joint investment fund. In previous proposals, the U.S. sought Ukraine contributing 50% of the mineral revenues to a joint fund. The latest U.S. proposal seeks to recoup the cost of all U.S. military aid sent to Ukraine since the beginning of the war, plus interest, according to the draft seen by Reuters. Consultations and negotiations continue, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior official in President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, told Reuters, noting that there isnt a finalized draft agreement yet. Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, said on Friday that An agreement with the United States to establish an economic recovery fund (known as the Minerals Agreement) is under discussion. The Government of Ukraine is working to ensure that the agreement reflects all of our interests and is in the spirit of a strategic partnership with the United States, Svyrydenko wrote on social media. At this point, public discussions about the text of the agreement will only harm the negotiations, the Ukrainian official added. Given the importance of the agreement, a constructive dialogue with our American partners is extremely important to us. This week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that the Ukrainian government is reviewing a new U.S. proposal for an economic partnership. It is currently being reviewed by the Ukrainians and we hope to go to full discussions and perhaps even get signatures next week, Bessent said. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Europes gas storage levels this week reached an uncomfortably low level of some 34% full. Germanys alone has dropped to 29%. Yet LNG imports are about to pick up and, for a change, prices might not surgethanks to China. Earlier this month, Kpler data showed that Chinas imports of liquefied natural gas had slumped to the lowest level in five years. At 4.5 million tons in total, these imports reflected a milder February, ample gas inventories that China has been building conscientiously ever since its 2017 gas crunch, and slower industrial activity. Also, they reflected the Chinese response to Donald Trumps tariffs, which took the form of retaliatory tariffs specifically targeting U.S. energy imports, with LNG subjected to a 15% import tariff. New data from Kpler, cited by Reuters Ron Bousso, suggests quarterly imports of liquefied natural gas into China are going to be 22% lower than a year earlier, which will be a true boon for Europe, boosting the availability of LNG for the continent that keeps struggling with its energy security despite bold plans to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons and increase reliance on domestic wind and solar generation. While Europe waits for this to happen, it is looking for diversification of its LNG supply due to the fresh tensions between Washington and Brussels, plus assorted European capitals. Drewry Research recently reported that it expected Europe to boost relations with other LNG suppliers, notably from Africa and Qatar. Indeed, the maritime research company said Europe was only going to become more, rather than less, dependent on imports of liquefied gas in the coming yearsand U.S. LNG producers will remain the primary source of the fuel for European buyers. Related: BP Approves Major Trinidad and Tobago Natural Gas Project One obvious reason is the relative proximity of Gulf Coast LNG plants and the European LNG import terminals. Then there is the convenience of the spot market, where U.S. sellers often offer their production, and European buyers are eager to snap any available cargo when demand is on the rise. The EU had an idea of joint gas procurement after the big gas crunch of 2022, but it appears that evidence suggests only partial success for the scheme, and partial here means tiny. The FT reported in September last year that, ultimately, the joint buying scheme only covered a very modest 2% of the European Unions total demand for natural gas. Even so, the European Union itself has called the scheme hugely successful and has even completed a new round of joint gas bids for this year. The period of the bids covers the next five years in recognition that the LNG spot market may be a nice place to be when youre in urgent need of some gas, but it pays to plan your longer-term consumption as well. It is impossible to say for how long Chinas LNG imports will remain subdued, so this is really an opportune time for European buyers to strike years-long deals for liquefied gas. Over the short term, Europe will likely avoid stratospheric gas prices as it starts replenishing its gas inventoriesthese are currently so low that the continent will need to buy an additional 20 million tons of LNG this year, according to Reuters calculations cited by Bousso in his column. That translates into some 250 cargos, which, thanks to Chinas weaker demand, will be more readily available for European buyers. Even so, Europe cannot afford any sense of false security just because Chinas LNG imports are lower. First of all, this may be temporary. Second of all, LNG supply, based on historical evidence, often gets interrupted by various technical problems and outages, tightening supply. Third of all, there are other countries with healthy demand for LNG just waiting for the price to turn rightmeaning that at some point, Europe might once again become the top bidder for LNG cargoes to price out the competition. And this means the cost of its energy will remain challenging despite all the efforts being directed at lowering that cost. One way of reducing its vulnerability to Chinese LNG imports is the so-called Japanese model, which involves direct investment in overseas LNG projects and long-term supply contracts. Climate think tank the Institute for Energy Economics and Finance was quick to slam the idea as unsuitable for Europe in the context of its transition plans for wind and solar. However, the fact that Chinas slump in LNG purchases is being interpreted as a godsend for Europe should give LNG critics a pause. Perhaps it is time for Europe to admit that it lacks any viable alternatives to natural gas when it comes to reliable power generationunless it counts local coal, which is what Germany leaned into after it closed its last remaining nuclear power plants. But that looks even more awkward in the context of the transition push. The Japanese model might turn out to be a good idea to avoid having to keep fingers crossed that China will start importing less LNG next winter. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Russias central bank issued a warning to the government that oil prices could enter a prolonged slump on the back of higher U.S. and non-OPEC production this year. The warning came earlier this year and was quite likely linked to the multiple forecasts anticipating just such a development. These forecasts, however, are unlikely to prove true, as signaled by the U.S. oil industry itself. Reuters reported the news about the Central Bank of Russia earlier in the week, saying the warning was included in a presentation that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin had prepared for a cabinet discussion. A significant risk is the oil price, Reuters cited one slide from the presentation as saying a significant increase in production in the United States and outside OPEC. It is quite unsurprising to get such a warning from a central bank that, like other state financial institutions, quite unsurprisingly follows commodity market forecasts. Such behavior is even less surprising from the central bank of one of the worlds largest oil producers. Moreover, Russian budget drafters tend to be conservative in their oil price estimates traditionally, so the central bank is likely to also err on the side of caution. In fact, the bank forecast the average price of Brent crude this year at $60 per barrel in a recent update. Thats down from $68 per barrel for 2024 and $60 for both 2026 and 2027. Related: Dallas Fed Survey Respondents Bearish on Short Term Oil Prices However, all these bearish forecasts hinge on the materialization of significant production growth outside of OPEC, especially in the United States. President Trump wants itbut oil executives dont. Trump has campaigned for cheap energy at home and energy dominance abroad, but these targets are at odds with the priorities of the oil industry, the top of which is making money for shareholders. This would be harder in a lower oil prices environment, and the executives have not tried to conceal that. Confirming this sentiment, the latest Dallas Fed Energy Survey cited industry executives as saying that oil producers had little motivation to spend more on production ramp up and that some would even reduce output should oil fall further. The surveys comments section featured feedback such as There cannot be U.S. energy dominance" and $50 per barrel oil; those two statements are contradictory and Oil prices have decreased while operating costs have continued to increase. To stimulate new activity, oil prices need to be in the $75-$80 per barrel range, as well as Drill, baby, drill is nothing short of a myth and populist rallying cry. These comments, which come in the company of executives complaining about the heightened uncertainty in the energy space due to Trumps tariff push, suggest strongly that there will be no major additions to U.S. oil production this year at the current level of oil prices. Yet price movements from the past two years have shown that traders dont need actual supply changesor the absence of such changesto shift from bearish to bullish in a blink. All they have needed is the perception of too much or too little supply. This means that price volatility will remain greater than what it used to be in pre-algo trading times, with considerable downward risk based on supply perceptions. As regards Russia specifically, it is in a delicate position because any talk of sanction lifting will pummel oil prices, which would be a disadvantage to Russian producers. The effect might be transitory, until the market calms down that Russia will not be flooding the world with oil, but for now, it seems that, quite ironically, sanctions are better for Russian oil pricesand U.S. oil prices, too. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com You are here: China This photo taken on March 27, 2025 shows the release of scientific and technological achievements during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua] The National Natural Science Foundation of China released the country's top 10 scientific advances of 2024 during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) Annual Conference in Beijing on Thursday. The advances were mainly achieved in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, information science, chemistry, materials science, energy, earth and environmental science, and life and medical science. The list includes the Chang'e-6 mission's returned samples, which revealed volcanic activity on the far side of the moon dating back 2.8 billion years, the realization of intelligent reasoning and training using large-scale photonic computing chips, and the discovery of key evidence that supermassive black holes affect the formation and evolution of their host galaxies. The annual selection of China's top 10 scientific advances began in 2005, said Dou Xiankang, director of the foundation. This year's top 10 advancements were chosen from over 700 groundbreaking basic research achievements. The 2025 ZGC Forum runs from March 27 to 31, focusing on cutting-edge fields from large AI models to quantum technology. Europe is taking advantage of weak Asian demand for liquefied natural gas and has boosted its LNG imports to the highest level ever for this time of the year, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The lower Asian demand and spot prices are incentivizing cargo re-selling in Europe, which is at the end of the heating season but needs a lot of LNG to arrive in the April-October period to refill gas storage levels, which have dropped significantly this winter that was colder than the previous three winters. In the early Friday afternoon in Amsterdam, Europes benchmark natural gas prices were on track to book a weekly decline amid milder temperatures and high LNG import levels in Europe, which eased the immediate concerns about gas supply. The front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures have also been falling this week after news broke that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea. The ceasefire, however, remains elusive as Russia set conditions for implementing a naval ceasefire in the Black Searemoval of some sanctions on Russian banks and agriculture and fertilizer trade. Despite the recent drop in European gas prices from the a two-year high in the middle of February, Europe continues to draw LNG while spot LNG prices in Asia remain close to the three-month low amid weaker demand. Europe could have easier months ahead for LNG procurement as Chinese LNG imports are expected to drop this year, according to the latest estimates from BloombergNEF. China is set to see the first annual decline in LNG imports since 2022. European gas prices have retreated since mid-February as the heating season and winter are coming to an end, and solar and wind power generation is picking up to regain some share of the European power generation mix, following prolonged periods of wind speed lulls and little sunshine in Europe during the winter. The recent decline in natural gas prices in Europe could also offer some relief to power prices, which have remained high this winter on the back of the high natural gas price. By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Kuwait has approved a financing and liquidity law that will allow one of OPECs top producers to return to the debt market after eight years, with borrowing expected to fund projects to diversify its dependence on oil revenues. While the other OPEC Gulf heavyweights, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are investing and borrowing to invest in major infrastructure, AI, and technology projects, Kuwait has been lagging behind. Over the past few years, Kuwait OPECs fourth-largest exporter behind Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and UAE has been more vulnerable to oil price slumps than its fellow Gulf producers as it hasnt been able to borrow since 2017. Kuwaits economy remains in recession due to OPEC+ production cuts, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in December 2024. The economy is highly exposed to a variety of global risks through its oil dependence, in particular to commodity price volatility, a global growth slowdown or acceleration, and the intensification of regional conflicts, the IMF said. Now the newly adopted law to regulate public borrowing is expected to boost spending in projects in the non-oil sector. The financing and liquidity law allows Kuwait to issue up to $97.3 billion (30 billion Kuwaiti dinars) in total in debt instruments in local or major foreign currencies, with debt maturities of up to 50 years. This marks a crucial step in ongoing financial and economic reforms aimed at building a more diversified and sustainable economy that benefits both the state and its citizens, Noura Al-Fassam, Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment, said in a statement carried by Kuwait Times. Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah, a member of the royal family and CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, told the Financial Times that a heavily oil-dominated revenue wouldnt spell a sustainable future for Kuwait. The state budget will have to find different sources of revenue than oil, the executive told FT days before the liquidity and debt law was passed. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Crude oil prices were on course for their third weekly rise as concern grew about supply after President Trump threatened 25% tariffs on any country buying Venezuelan crude while stepping up sanctions on Iranian entities. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $73.91 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate was changing hands for $69.80 per barrel, both set to end the week about $1 per barrel higher than they started it. The potential loss of Venezuelan crude exports to the market due to secondary tariffs and the possibility of the same being imposed on Iranian barrels has caused an apparent tightness in crude supply, Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh told Reuters. On Monday, President Trump said in an executive order that On or after April 2, 2025, a tariff of 25 percent may be imposed on all goods imported into the United States from any country that imports Venezuelan oil, whether directly from Venezuela or indirectly through third parties. This caught many traders and refiners off guard, especially in China, which is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude. It is also the biggest buyer of Iranian crude, which also came under attack from the Trump administration as soon as this administration took office. Energy consultancy Rystad Energy recently warned in a report that the Iranian sanction push could have a destabilizing effect on global oil markets and push prices higher. Noting that almost all Iranian crude exports make their way to China, so achieving effective maximum pressure would require cooperation from the Chinese government, Rystad went on to point out that it was Chinese refiners that turned into a U.S. sanction target earlier this year. There have been fundamental justifications for the recent bounce in oil, yet one cannot help but conclude that it is the US trade policy that will be the ultimate and anxious judge of the direction of the next $10 to $15-a-barrel move, PVM analyst Tamas Varga told Bloomberg. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The price of Russias ESPO crude blend, the flagship grade exported from the Russian Far East, slumped to the lowest level since June 2024 and flipped to a discount to the international benchmark as demand from Chinese state-owned firms has weakened, trading sources told Reuters. Cargoes of ESPO for April loadings are now being traded at a discount of some $1.50 a barrel against ICE Brent on a delivered basis to China, according to Reuterss sources. This discount, the first in 10 months, compares with a premium of about $2 per barrel over ICE Brent at which the ESPO crude sold in China for March loadings, per Reuters data. The weaker demand from China comes as a result of the reduction or halt of purchases of Russian crude by major Chinese state oil companies and refiners, which avoid sanctioned vessels and shipments. The state firms began shying away from Russian crude in March and this continues for loadings for April and early May, according to the traders who spoke to Reuters. While state oil firms in China either halt or reduce Russian oil volumes, at least for now, the independent refiners in China are picking up the slack. Chinese oil majors have adopted a more cautious approach toward Russian grades following the U.S. sanctions, Emma Li, senior market analyst at Vortexa, wrote in an analysis earlier this month. Even when transported via non-sanctioned tankers, their ESPO Blend purchases were limited. Market sources indicate that some state-owned companies have completely halted Russian crude purchases in March after scaling back in February, Li added. The independent refiners, for their part, boosted purchases of ESPO and more February-loading cargoes were delivered to the Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, primarily to teapot refiners, Vortexa has estimated. In January, the independent refiners preferred to reduce runs rather than seek alternative barrels amid uncertainties surrounding ESPO supply, Li noted. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The EUs ban on re-exporting Russian LNG is now officially in effect. It essentially halts ship-to-ship transfers at EU ports meant for third-country buyers and the optics are attractive--it's another cut into Moscows energy revenue stream. Whether that translates into pain for Russia is another story. The re-export ban, passed back in June 2024, only targets Russian LNG cargoes passing through EU ports en route to Asia and other markets. These trans-shipments made up a paltry 2.7 million tons last yearunder 10% of Russias 34.7 million-ton LNG export total. Gas analysts say much of that could be redirected to European buyers, who continue to quietly increase their own purchases from Russia despite loud political promises. In fact, EU imports of Russian natural gas rose 18% in 2024, according to Reuters who cited Ember, and February 2025 data shows no signs of slowingaveraging 74.3 million cubic meters per day, up 11% from the month before. So while the EU wants to wean off Russian gas by 2027, for now, the addiction is alive and well. The real twist is logistical. Icebreaker vessels from Novateks Yamal LNG cant access Arctic terminals during the NovemberJune freeze, so they offload at EU terminals like Zeebrugge and Montoir for re-export. About 47 such transfers occurred in 2024, according to ICIS, mostly under long-term contracts with players like Shell, TotalEnergies, and Gunvor. The new ban forces Moscow to get creative, likely leaning more on Murmansk, Kaliningrad, or even Mediterranean alternatives. It wont strangle Russian LNG, but it will raise costs and complicate things for Novatek and its partnersperhaps a death by a thousand logistical cuts. The EU gets a symbolic win, Russia loses a convenient logistics channel, but the gas will keep flowing. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com This simulated image captured at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Nov. 16, 2024 shows China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-8 docking with the orbiting Tiangong space station. [Photo/Xinhua] After zebrafish and fruit flies, China's Tiangong space station is set to host a new life form planarians, according to Chinese scientists. Zhang Wei, director of the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told China Youth Daily in a recent interview that an upcoming Chinese manned spaceflight will carry dozens of planarian fragments into orbit. Planarians are flatworms renowned for their extraordinary regenerative ability. When their bodies are severed, they can regrow complete heads or tails, making them ideal models for studying tissue regeneration mechanisms, Zhang said. The experiment will include the use of the small universal biological culture module in the space station's life and ecology experimental cabinet. Different planarian segments will be studied as they initiate regeneration in orbit, with samples collected at critical intervals for fixation and imaging analysis. "Using planarians as model organisms, we aim to investigate how space environments affect their regenerative patterns and physiological behaviors," Zhang was quoted as saying by China Youth Daily. "The study will explore the molecular mechanisms behind space-induced changes in regeneration processes and examine gravity's impact on cell proliferation, migration and differentiation, ultimately enhancing our understanding of fundamental regeneration principles." Experts have explained that, with a 520-million-year evolutionary history, planarians are widely used in biological research due to their astonishing tissue repair abilities. Even when bisected, both segments can regenerate new muscles, skin, intestines and even complete brains, a process that can theoretically repeat indefinitely. Studying planarians holds significant implications for combating cellular aging and age-related degenerative diseases in humans. Meanwhile, Wang Yifeng, a senior mission planner at the center, said that upgraded experiments involving zebrafish, which were brought to Tiangong during previous manned missions, will continue. "Zebrafish share 87 percent genetic similarity with humans. This research not only addresses microgravity-related health issues but may also unlock new osteoporosis treatment methods on Earth," he told China Youth Daily in the same report. In April last year, four zebrafish measuring about 3 centimeters were brought aboard the Tiangong space station by the Shenzhou XVIII crew. They lived 43 days in orbit, setting a record for being the longest surviving fish in space. Chinese astronauts have also performed fruit fly experiments to help researchers better understand the creature's growth, development, locomotor characteristics and biological rhythms under space microgravity and hypomagnetic conditions. According to Zhang, Chinese scientists plan to conduct experiments on mice aboard Tiangong in the near future, focusing on neural, skeletal, muscular and immune systems studies. They will be parts of long-term orbital survival experiments with mammals that will help scientists better prepare China's future crewed lunar and Mars missions. LINCOLN After a heated four-day filibuster, Nebraska lawmakers gave the green light on a controversial bill that would water down a new paid sick leave mandate voters approved in November. Legislative Bill 415 overcame the filibuster Friday on a 34-15 vote, advancing it to the second of three rounds of floor debate. The vote was nearly party line, save for Democratic State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, who voted in support of the measure. The original LB 415 was not the root cause of the filibuster and was described as a good faith compromise by some opponents. The opposition was largely focused on an amendment that was officially added into the bill Friday. The amendment reflected a separate bill from Sen. Paul Strommen of Sidney, LB 698. The amendment would exempt businesses with 10 or fewer employees from the requirement to offer paid sick leave and would remove temporary agriculture workers and workers under 16 from the same benefit. In November, nearly 75% of Nebraska voters passed Initiative 436, which will require employers with fewer than 20 workers to offer at least five days of paid sick leave per year, or one hour for every 30 hours worked, starting Oct. 1. Employers with 20 or more workers must offer at least seven days per year. LB 415 and the actions taken so far by the Legislature fly in the face of the voters decision in 2024 by significantly rolling back the protections voters overwhelmingly approved throughout the state, with majority support in every legislative district, Nebraska Appleseed officials wrote in response to Fridays vote. Strommen said the amendment is meant to shield both small businesses and Nebraska workers from unintended consequences of the initiative. The paid sick leave mandate would make it nearly impossible for businesses to hire young people, and would be a jackboot to small businesses, putting them at a competitive disadvantage compared to bigger businesses that can absorb the new costs easier. It is incumbent on the Legislature to make sure (the initiative) is workable, Strommen said. Opponents argued the amendment intentionally undermines the will of the Nebraska voters. Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha said not one legislative district in the state had less than 63% support for Initiative 436. Opponents filed defensive motions in an attempt to delay a vote on the amendment, but supporters countered that by frequently calling for votes on their motions. This prompted outcry that supporting senators were trying to stifle full and fair debate. Cavanaugh and Speaker of the Legislature John Arch had a tense moment Wednesday over this issue. Cavanaugh was protesting the strategy, and Arch cut off her mic before their discussion had concluded, leading Cavanaugh to shout for a point of order. Senators shared concerns about a perceived trend in the Nebraska Legislature this year regarding intentional attempts to ignore voters, which could lead to eroding public trust in the Legislature. Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln said hes heard similar concerns from voters themselves, who feel like their votes dont matter to their senators. Theres a fear from these people that were not going to do what they want, Dungan said. Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington added that voters have the right to be dead wrong, and said that is a fundamental piece of self-governance. Just because lawmakers disagree with the voters decision, she said, that doesnt give them the right to tell them they cant do it. If there is a higher power ... in this state than the people, then the people are no longer the ones in charge, DeBoer said. Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus, a small-business owner, said he doesnt like it when the government mandates worker benefits, like minimum wage and paid sick leave, without consideration of the merit of the workers themselves. He said that business owners are not bottomless wishing wells and that the full initiative could become a factor in whether businesses choose to cut corners or hire new employees. Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, another small-business owner, called Mosers argument insulting and embarrassing. She said if businesses cant afford to stay open if one of their employees takes a sick day, then thats a sign of a larger problem. Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha accused supporters of fear mongering about the initiatives impacts on small businesses. He noted that under the initiative, workers would accrue one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours of work, and they cant bank time. He argued the amendment might hurt small businesses more, because they could lose prospective employees to bigger businesses that do offer paid sick leave. Senate Bill 712 raises property taxes By Taxpayers Association of Oregon OregonWatchdog.com There was a property tax bill hearing this week on Senate Bill 712. This Senate Bill 712 pushes more property owners to pay the maximum 3% tax increase every year based on maximum assessed value. This will cost some property owners thousands. The laws limiting how much value of your property can be taxed (Measure 50) was secured into the State Constitution by voters and require voters to make changes. Promoters of this Senate Bill 712 property tax increase say that this tax increase is an adjustment on what is taxed, and therefore, in their explanation, does not need to involve voter approval. Under this, the bill would not require a super-majority 60% vote in the House and Senate (another Constitutional rule for all tax increases). This bill would then be easier for lawmakers to pass with a simple 51% vote threshold. Even though this bill is claimed not to be a legal tax increase, it will indeed bring in tens of millions in higher property taxes. Here is the testimony Taxpayers Association submitted to the hearing on the property tax increase Senate Bill 712: - [START TESTIMONY] Taxpayers Association of Oregon urges No on SB 712 It is unfair to raise property taxes during our affordable housing crisis when we rank the top 5 most expensive cost-of-living states when utility prices jumped 40% since 2021 when gas taxes rose 5%, DMV fees +50% last year alone when local governments raised a billion in new property taxes last year! At the same time, local governments are abusing our property tax dollars our property tax dollars being lost by the hundreds of millions to urban renewal projects that mostly benefit private businesses? Tens of millions of property tax dollars spent buying vacant land (for unused public purposes) making affordable housing crisis worse while taking property revenue off the tax rolls Local governments tax dollars spent on building $100 million dollar bridges that dont allow cars ? [END TESTIMONY] Senate Bill 712 official summary, Requires the maximum assessed value of a property to increase by three percent per year. Applies to property tax years 2026-27 and after. Senate Bill 712 official background explanation, M50 fundamentally changed Oregons property tax from a levy-based system to a rate-based system, reduced the 1997-98 assessed value (AV) of a property to 90 percent of the 1995-96 AV, and capped future growth in the maximum assessed value (MAV) of a property at three percent per year. The implication of the MAV is that the AV and the associated tax bill grow at three percent per year in most situations. However, during an economic downturn the AV of a property can decrease or increase by less than three percent a year. Furthermore, the AV of a property can increase by more than three percent a year during the recovery from an economic downturn. Was this helpful? If so, Contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty). By Taxpayers Association of Oregon OregonWatchdog.com The U.S. Department of Education has revoked waivers for Oregon universities and colleges that have been utilizing federal funds for illegal migrants. This is targeting the the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth program. Details below: Here is the U.S. Department of Education Press release. U.S. Department of Education Revokes Waivers to California and Oregon Universities Using Federal Funding to Provide Services to Illegal Immigrants March 27, 2025 Today, the U.S. Department of Education revoked waivers to California and Oregon colleges and universities that are using federal funds to provide services to illegal aliens under the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3). The mission of the P3 Program is to allow states and localities to integrate program funding across federal agencies to improve the systems serving disconnected youth, not provide entitlements to illegal immigrants. Through P3 waivers approved during the Biden Administration, colleges and universities diverted taxpayer-funded TRIO program services meant for low-income students, first generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to illegal immigrants. American taxpayer dollars will no longer be used to subsidize illegal immigrants through Department of Education programs, said Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron. The TRIO Program was designed to provide support and guidance to disadvantaged Americans as they navigate the road to and through postsecondary education. The Department will not allow the true purpose of the program to be corrupted to advance an American-last agenda. The U.S. Department of Education sent notices to the impacted colleges and universities through the California Higher Education Collaborative and Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission today. Background: The Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2014 created the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3), which authorizes states to enter into pilots to use funding from across multiple federal discretionary programs to support efforts to improve the systems serving Americas youth and their outcomes. Under the Biden Administration, the Department approved a P3 waiver allowing illegal immigrants to receive TRIO Program services. The TRIO Programs are federal student aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act designed to identify and provide additional academic and career services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. TRIO includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities through the academic pipeline from middle school to postbaccalaureate programs. Californias waiver began in November 2022 and was set to expire in September 2026. Oregons waiver began in October 2023 and was set to expire in in September 2027. [END RELEASE] - Was this helpful? If so, Contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty). NORMAL Alexis Pina began started learning trumpet when he was 10 years old. Since then, the 25-year-old said his music journey has taken him to places I never thought Id go. Pina is studying for his masters degree in music performance as a second-year graduate student at Illinois State University. On Sunday, the ISU School of Music student-trumpeter will herald in a not-often-heard performance in the Center for the Performing Arts concert hall. In addition to participating in the wind symphony, Pina is also a member of Mariachi Tesoro de Mexico, a Chicago-based mariachi band that will join the ISU Wind Symphony for a 4 p.m. Sunday performance titled, "La Fiesta Mexicana: A Reimagining of a Wind Band Classic. Pina said the ISU music schools director bands, Anthony Marinello, had occasionally asked him about working on a mariachi collaboration. In the fall, Pina had been with his current mariachi band for at least four months when Marinello told him, I really want to do this. Pina agreed and facilitated the collaborative arrangement between the bands, with support from Marinello and a mariachi bandmate. It was just a long time coming, Pina said. Marinello is also conductor of the wind symphony. In an email, Marinello noted such a collaboration is a very rare experience at ISU. He said Pina and his band worked with the symphony on careful edits to various aspects of the music to enhance the listening experience while adding elements of authenticity. The director of bands also said Pina has been an absolute asset as we learn more about this music and the culture to which it belongs. Im so proud to know Alexis and get to collaborate with him on this project, as well as learn more about his life and development as a musician of Mexican heritage, Marinello said. Pina said he joined of Mariachi Tesoro de Mexico less than a year ago after coming across an Instagram post of a mariachi trio performance of The Star-Spangled Banner at a Chicago Bulls game. He reached out to the group and learned they had an opening for a trumpet player. After borrowing a friend's car, Pina said he drove up to the band and they clicked. About heartbreak & love Its been a long road in Pinas music journey to reach this level of symphonic collaboration. He said he played in mariachi bands in middle school, high school and a bit in college before joining this act. My middle school had just started their mariachi program. We didnt even have suits. We only wore a white shirt and a mono (bow tie), Pina recalled of his eighth grade mariachi concerts in Laredo, Texas. He said his current mariachi band includes violins, trumpets, vihuela, guitar and guitarron; the band members sing, too. Pina said his band is missing a harp, however, and also has an opening for a trumpeter. According to a band biography provided by Pina, the term Tesoro in the Marichi Tesoro de Mexico means treasure. That references how the members are all treasures from our ancestors/families in Mexico. Pina said full mariachi attire is heavily ornamented and uses lots of embroidery, which denotes a groups initials. He added professional mariachi bands love to play in different colors for different occasions. Every suit is different, Pina said, noting his band currently uses black suits with silver beads, or galas. Pina said his favorite kind of mariachi tunes to play are rancheras, which are the slowest pieces of music. They're about heartbreak, about love, and people just really love to sing," he said. Other tune types played in mariachi are polkas and boleros. He said his favorite part of mariachi performance is seeing audience members becoming engaged in the music. He said people really get into mariachi music at parties, but his band can also perform in more serious settings, such as funerals. Theres a lot of emotion involved in the art, and I really appreciate that, Pina said. Sundays concert will feature five tunes, with two ISU faculty playing in the symphony, and a guest conductor, Christopher Bulding. Pina will be playing with his mariachi band. The show will conclude with H. Owen Reeds composition, La Fiesta Mexicana. The piece was inspired by a 1948 Guggenheim Fellowship, in which Reed studied Mexican folk music for six months in Mexico. The music depicts sights and sounds Reed encountered, including mariachi bands, bull fights, ancient Aztec ceremony and the liturgical music of Mass, according to a statement from Marinello. Pina said audience members may get a chance to sing along at the end of the night, as a special surprise. Pina said he attended his undergraduate at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. He had moved to Laredo from Mexico when he was 10 years old. When asked what brought him to Normal, Pina said he studied under a professor who had studied for their masters degrees at ISU. One thing that separates ISU from many other universities the professors here genuinely care about your journey as a musician, he said. Theyll be there for you. If you make it known that you need assistance theyre more than willing, more than happy to help you achieve your goals. To Pina, the wind symphonys new rendition of La Fiesta Mexicana is an example of that kind of achievement. We made it happen here, Pina said. To stay updated on Pina's mariachi band, follow them on Instagram at instagram.com/mariachitdm. IF YOU GO WHAT: "La Fiesta Mexicana: A Reimagining of a Wind Band Classic WHEN: 4 p.m. Sunday WHERE: Illinois State University Center for the Performing Arts, 351 S. School St., Normal TICKETS: Student and faculty tickets are $8; seniors are $10; adults are $15. Available online at illinoisstatefinearts.evenue.net; in person at the CPA box office or by calling 309-438-2535. BLOOMINGTON For mother-daughter duo Barb Broach and Amy Moser, opening Montessori Children's Centre in 1997 was "a dream come true." Broach's daughter-in-law, Rachel Broach, joined the business in 1999, and now, the school at 3 Yount Drive in Bloomington is celebrating 28 years of operation. An added benefit of running the family-owned business? It's brought the three women even closer together, they said. Montessori Children's Centre is one of several-women-owned businesses The Pantagraph is featuring this month in recognition of Women's History Month. Moser said ever since she was young, she knew she wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a teacher. "Mom, someday we're going to open a school, just us," Barb Broach recalled her daughter telling her. At the time, Barb didn't think much of it. Barb Broach said she was inspired to become a teacher when her son was involved in a co-op in town. While volunteering with her son's program, she realized how much she loved working with young children. Then, when both of her children were old enough to be in school, she saw a blind ad in The Pantagraph from someone looking for a preschool teacher. "I didn't even know what school it was for, but I sent in my resume to The Pantagraph," Barb Broach said. A couple of days later, she received a call to meet for an interview with the Montessori School of Bloomington-Normal. She was offered a job, and accepted it. She began learning about the Montessori teaching method through this job, and decided she wanted to continue her education with a certificate in teaching. In 1988, Barb Broach completed her Montessori teacher training from the St. Nicholas Training Center for the Montessori Method of Education. The center is based in London, and she took her courses through distance-learning lessons, with help from tutors in the United States. By the time the Montessori School of Bloomington-Normal closed in the late 1980s or early '90s, Barb Broach had 15 years of teaching under her belt, but said she "knew she wasn't done." By then, Moser was in her junior year at Millikin University in Decatur, where she was studying elementary education. She told her mother, "We better get busy if we're going to open a Montessori school." "I said, 'You were serious?' And she said, 'Mom, have I not said that all of my life?' and yes, she had," Barb Broach said with a laugh. Moser graduated from Millikin in 1997 and attained her Montessori certification in 2000 from the same school as her mother. With help from Barb's husband and Moser's dad, Jim Broach, the women found a space for their school at 12 Westport Court in Bloomington. It had previously been a dance studio with two large rooms that the women converted into classrooms. Montessori Children's Centre opened with 14 students in March 1997. By that August, enrollment had skyrocketed to its capacity of 40 students, Barb Broach said. Two years later, Rachel Broach, who had married Barb Broach's son, Jim Broach, moved back to the Bloomington-Normal area from Memphis, Tennessee, and asked to join the mother-daughter team. "It just seemed right," Rachel Broach said. "Three-, 4- and 5-year-olds, I just love them." Rachel Broach said she'd had a glimpse into the world of teaching from a young age, as she'd known Barb Broach since she was a teenager. Rachel Broach graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1995 and earned her Montessori certification in 2003, also from St. Nicholas Training Center for the Montessori Method of Education. Montessori Children's Centre has had three different locations over the years, and moved to its current location on Yount Drive in 2004. It currently has 60 students enrolled. Montessori, a teaching method named after its founder, Dr. Maria Montessori, emphasizes self-directed learning through hands-on activities. The method includes toys with "built-in correction of error," which the teachers refer to as "work," because the kids are learning, instead of just playing with the toys. The Broaches further described the toys as puzzles that help children see and feel where they have made an error, and then self-correct. Through this method, the Broaches said they believe children build confidence and a love for learning. "You might be a visual learner. Someone else might need to be hands-on, to touch and feel. I need to hear. (Maria Montessori) incorporated as many of the senses in each one of her (toys) so that you would be able to learn the way you can learn the easiest," Barb Broach said. "We set children up for success." The tools also are designed to help the development of fine motor skills and practical life skills such as buttoning and snapping, Barb Broach said. "Adults like to do things for (children), and I understand, it's quicker and easier, but this is how you can start teaching those skills early on," Rachel Broach said. Montessori Children's Centre is for kids ages 3 to 5, and offers full-day programs in either two, three or five days of of the week. The school has mixed-aged classrooms, which Barb Broach said allows children to mentor one another through peer-to-peer learning, and also fosters socialization and encourages older children to show leadership skills. Barb Broach and Rachel Broach said they love working with their family, adding that it provides an opportunity for them to grow even closer. "We have such a respect and we listen to one another," Barb Broach said. Added Rachel, "Everyone has their own life story, and this happens to be ours." To learn more about the school, visit montessorichildren.net or call 309-663-8736. 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: Brett Sayles from Pexels New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that atheists in some of the world's most secular countries show an intuitive preference for religious belief over atheism. The study, by academics at Brunel University of London, Royal Holloway, University of London, and other institutions, was conducted across eight countries with low levels of religion, Canada, China, Czechia, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the U.K., and Vietnam. It provides compelling cross-cultural experimental evidence that pro-religious intuitions happen even in societies that have become largely secular. Using a simple task based on the "Knobe effect," the researchers examined how people infer intentionality in circumstances where a person's actions knowingly caused individuals to either become religious believers or atheists. The Knobe effect is a well-established psychological phenomenon demonstrating that people are more likely to attribute intentionality to an action with harmful (versus helpful) consequences. Across all countries, participants were more likely to judge that an action knowingly causing a shift toward atheism was intentional, suggesting people intuitively see religious belief as preferable. Notably, even self-identified atheists exhibited this. Dr. Will Gervais, from Brunel University of London, who led the study, said, "Even in societies where explicit religious belief has rapidly declined, the idea that belief, in itself is good, appears to persist at an intuitive level. "Belief might be on the decline in many places, but belief in the goodness of belief lives on." Professor Ryan McKay from the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London, who contributed to the study, added, "This research suggests that the legacy of religious influence endures in ways we might not expect. "Even in highly secular environments, peopleincluding nonbelieversseem to harbor a preference for belief over atheism." The study offers new insights into the evolving landscape of religious and secular belief, challenging the assumption that cultural shifts away from religion necessarily erase pro-religious intuitions. Professor McKay concluded, "Our work suggests that secularization may be a more complex process than previously thought. While explicit religious belief may be fading, underlying intuitions favoring belief could persist for generations." More information: Will M. Gervais et al, Belief in belief: Even atheists in secular countries show intuitive preferences favoring religious belief, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2404720122 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 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 track of Storm Daniel across the Mediterranean Sea and the heavy rainfall it triggered in Libya. Dozens of mm of precipitation fell in the Wadi Derna catchment (blue line) which triggered the flood. Credit: Moshe Armon, Yuval Shmilovitz and Elad Dente A new study reveals that the devastating 2023 flood in Derna, Libya, was not merely the result of extreme rainfall but was drastically intensified by a major design shortcoming and its resulting collapse of two embankment dams. Through advanced hydrological modeling and satellite data analysis, researchers found that while Storm Daniel brought heavy rainfall, the catastrophe stemmed from dam failures and flawed risk assessment and communicationamplifying the destruction nearly 20-fold. The findings highlight the urgent need for improved flood mitigation strategies, especially in dryland regions where high uncertainty in risk analysis, coupled with vulnerable infrastructure, pose an ever-growing threat. The new collaborative study by Dr. Moshe Armon from the Institute of Earth Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Dr. Yuval Shmilovitz from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder and Dr. Elad Dente from the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Haifa, published in Science Advances, sheds light on the catastrophic flood that struck Derna, Libya, in September 2023. The research challenges the idea that this disaster was an unavoidable natural event, demonstrating that poor infrastructure planning played a crucial role in the devastation. The study examines the deadly combination of extreme rainfall from Storm Daniel, a Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone, and the structural failure of two embankment dams in Wadi Derna. The research team used a combination of atmospheric reanalysis, satellite data, and hydrological modeling to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the flood and the destruction in the city of Derna. Their findings reveal that while the rainfall intensity was high, it was not an unprecedented event. In fact, such storms are expected in the region once every few decades, indicating that this flood was foreseeable. Results of the hydraulic simulations show the difference in flood impact when comparing the actual, dam-breaching flood (right) with the hypothetical scenario of no dams upstream of the city (left). Darker purple colors indicate higher flood power. The collapse of the two dams created a catastrophic flood, hitting the city extensively and destroying buildings (red dots). Without the dams the flood impacts would have been greatly reduced and focused in the stream channel. Damaged building analysis is based on the UN-Habitat's report. Credit: Moshe Armon, Yuval Shmilovitz and Elad Dente Hydraulic simulations conducted in the study show that, had the dams not been built, the flood's impact on the city of Derna would have been significantly lower. Instead, the presence of these dams created a false sense of security, encouraging construction and habitation in vulnerable areas. When the dams collapsed, the resulting flood surge caused severe destruction, sweeping away entire neighborhoods and claiming thousands of lives. "Our findings make it clear that the disaster in Derna was not solely the result of extreme weather but a failure in risk management. While storms like Daniel are uncommon, they are not unprecedented," say the authors. "If the dams had been properly designed or a different flood prevention strategy had been used and communicated properly to the downstream community, this tragedy could have been significantly mitigated. This disaster is a stark warning that over-reliance on infrastructure without proper risk assessment can have catastrophic consequences." The study highlights the urgent need for improved risk assessment and flood mitigation strategies, particularly in dryland regions where the weather is especially variable and extreme events are much larger than the common event. The researchers emphasize that over-reliance on flood protection infrastructure without proper risk communication can lead to catastrophic failures. Instead, they advocate for nature-based flood prevention solutions and robust early warning systems to better protect communities from similar disasters. This research serves as a stark reminder of the problems and challenges in relying on infrastructures to prevent flood disasters. Without proactive risk management, proper maintenance, and transparent communication with the public, even well-intentioned flood protection measures can become the very cause of tragedy. More information: Moshe Armon, Anatomy of a Foreseeable Disaster: Lessons from the 2023 Dam-Breaching Flood in Derna, Libya, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adu2865. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu2865 Journal information: Science Advances 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 A longtime surfer and marine wildlife advocate was "left shaken" to his core after a relentless and horrifying encounter with a deranged sea creature in California. RJ LaMendola shared what he called "the most harrowing and traumatic experience" in all his 20 years of surfing in a March 21 post on Facebook. He was "riding the waves in solitude" about 150 yards from the shore when "out of nowhere, a sea lion erupted from the water, hurtling toward (him) at full speed," he said in the post. LaMendola managed to dodge the creature's chargebut it popped back up moments later with its "teeth bared like some deranged predator" and slammed into his board "with unbelievable force," he said. By now he'd realized "this was no playful encounter," he said. "This was something else entirelysomething wrong." LaMendola paddled toward shore with all his might and tried "shouting in a desperate bid to scare it off," he said. It didn't even flinch. In fact, it appeared "more enraged than before," he said. "It kept coming, unstoppable, its jaws snapping closer," he said. At the last second, LaMendola swung his arm, trying to fend it off in a clumsy punch, but "it twisted its neck with eerie agility," dodging his strike and lunged at him, clamping its teeth into his left buttock, piercing through his wetsuit "like it was nothing." "The pain was sharp and immediate, but the terror was worseit shook its head violently, tugging me off my board by my flesh, dragging me into the water," he said. "I don't know how to describe the fear that gripped me in that moment. So far from shore, so helpless, staring into the face of this creature that looked like nothing I'd ever seenits expression was feral, almost demonic, devoid of the curiosity or playfulness I'd always associated with sea lions." LaMendola clawed his way back onto his board and desperately headed for shore, "paddling harder than (he) ever had in (his) life," he said. "But it wasn't over," he said. "The sea lion stalked me, swimming alongside, charging again and againthree, maybe four more times." When he finally reached the shore, the creature seemed almost to mock him"swimming back and forth along the shoreline, pacing like it was daring me to return," he said. "The sight was chilling, a haunting image burnt into my mind," he said, adding that he was "still reeling from the ordeal" as he rushed himself to the emergency room. Later on, LaMendola reported the attack to the Channel Islands Marine Wildlife Institute, which told him the organization is "dealing with a wave of incidents across Santa Barbara and Ventura County involving sea lions and other marine animals affected by Domoic Acid Toxicosis," he said. "It's a neurological condition caused by toxic algae blooms, and it's driving these creatures into aggressive, uncharacteristic behavior," he said. "The sea lion that attacked me wasn't just acting outit was sick, its mind warped by this poison coursing through its system. Knowing that doesn't erase the terror, but it adds a layer of sadness to the fear." LaMendola said he's still dealing with PTSD from the encounter. "I can't shake the memory of its quivering lips, the relentless pursuit, the feeling of being hunted in a place I've always loved," he said. And as a nature and wildlife lover, he said he feels terrified for the health of the ocean and its marine life. "Something's wrong. I don't have answers yet, but I'm determined to find them," he said in a follow-up post on March 25. "My life has been shaped around bringing awareness and protecting the world's oceanit's my heart, and all its creatures are, too. Please, let's raise awareness together. We can't lose what we love." Santa Barbara is about a 95-mile drive northwest of Los Angeles. 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. What to know about domoic acid poisoning There has been an "alarmingly high number" of sea lions and dolphins suffering from domoic acid poisoning found along the Southern California coast for this time of year, according to a March 26 Facebook post from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. Domoic acid is produced by the algae Pseudo-nitzschia australis, according to The Marine Mammal Center. "When conditions are right, waters off the coast of California can experience large-scale toxic algal blooms that are capable of sickening hundreds of sea lions in a matter of weeks, causing them to wash ashore at an alarming ratesometimes a dozen a day," according to the Marine Mammal Care Center. Some symptoms of domoic acid poisoning are "seizures, bobbing head, erratic behavior and lethargy," the Marine Mammal Center says. With some domoic acid poisoning cases, the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute said it removes sea lions from the beach. In other cases, however, the organization leaves the sea lion on the beach to "give the animal space and time to work through the acute phase of the toxin," the organization said, adding that it continues to monitor the animal. The organization warned those who come into contact with a "marine mammal in distress" to keep a distance of at least 50 feet. 2025 The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Flash Editor's note: March 28, 2025 marks the 66th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. Since 1980, a total of seven National Meetings on Xizang have set key policies shaping economic growth, social progress and long-term stability, providing guidelines for the region's modernization and governance. Here, China.org.cn reviews key policy takeaways from these meetings, providing insight into the strategies that have driven Xizang's transformation. 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 graphic shows an illustration of a prototype astronaut suit, left, along with suit samples included aboard NASAs Perseverance rover. They are the first spacesuit materials ever sent to Mars. Credit: NASA NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars in 2021 to search for signs of ancient microbial life and to help scientists understand the planet's climate and geography. But another key objective is to pave the way for human exploration of Mars, and as part of that effort, the rover carries a set of five spacesuit material samples. Now, after those samples have endured four years of exposure on Mars' dusty, radiation-soaked surface, scientists are beginning the next phase of studying them. The end goal is to predict accurately the usable lifetime of a Mars spacesuit. What the agency learns about how the materials perform on Mars will inform the design of future spacesuits for the first astronauts on the red planet. "This is one of the forward-looking aspects of the rover's missionnot just thinking about its current science, but also about what comes next," said planetary scientist Marc Fries of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, who helped provide the spacesuit materials. "We're preparing for people to eventually go and explore Mars." The swatches, each three-quarters of an inch square (20 millimeters square), are part of a calibration target used to test the settings of SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals), an instrument on the end of Perseverance's arm. The samples include a piece of polycarbonate helmet visor; Vectran, a cut-resistant material used for the palms of astronaut gloves; two kinds of Teflon, which has dust-repelling nonstick properties; and a commonly used spacesuit material called Ortho-Fabric. This last fabric features multiple layers, including Nomex, a flame-resistant material found in firefighter outfits; Gore-Tex, which is waterproof but breathable; and Kevlar, a strong material used in bulletproof vests that makes spacesuits more rip-resistant. Martian wear and tear Mars is far from hospitable. It has freezing temperatures, fine dust that can stick to solar panels and spacesuits (causing wear and tear on the latter), and a surface rife with perchlorates, a kind of corrosive salt that can be toxic to humans. There's also lots of solar radiation. Unlike Earth, which has a magnetic field that deflects much of the sun's radiation, Mars lost its magnetic field billions of years ago, followed by much of its atmosphere. Its surface has little protection from the sun's ultraviolet light (which is why researchers have looked into how rock formations and caves could provide astronauts some shielding). "Mars is a really harsh, tough place," said SHERLOC science team member Joby Razzell Hollis of the Natural History Museum in London. "Don't underestimate thatthe radiation in particular is pretty nasty." Razzell Hollis was a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California from 2018 to 2021, where he helped prepare SHERLOC for arrival on Mars and took part in science operations once the rover landed. A materials scientist, Razzell Hollis has previously studied the chemical effects of sunlight on a new kind of solar panel made from plastic, as well as on plastic pollution floating in the Earth's oceans. He likened those effects to how white plastic lawn chairs become yellow and brittle after years in sunlight. Roughly the same thing happens on Mars, but the weathering likely happens faster because of the high exposure to ultraviolet light there. The key to developing safer spacesuit materials will be understanding how quickly they would wear down on the Martian surface. About 50% of the changes SHERLOC witnessed in the samples happened within Perseverance's first 200 days on Mars, with the Vectran appearing to change first. Another nuance will be figuring out how much solar radiation different parts of a spacesuit will have to withstand. For example, an astronaut's shoulders will be more exposedand likely encounter more radiationthan his or her palms. 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. Next steps The SHERLOC team is working on a science paper detailing initial data on how the samples have fared on Mars. Meanwhile, scientists at NASA Johnson are eager to simulate that weathering in special chambers that mimic the carbon dioxide atmosphere, air pressure, and ultraviolet light on the Martian surface. They could then compare the results generated on Earth while putting the materials to the test with those seen in the SHERLOC data. For example, the researchers could stretch the materials until they break to check if they become more brittle over time. "The fabric materials are designed to be tough but flexible, so they protect astronauts but can bend freely," Fries said. "We want to know the extent to which the fabrics lose their strength and flexibility over time. As the fabrics weaken, they can fray and tear, allowing a spacesuit to leak both heat and air." More about Perseverance A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover is characterizing the planet's geology and past climate, to help pave the way for human exploration of the red planet, and is the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. NASA's Mars Sample Return Program, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), is designed to send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program (MEP) portfolio and the agency's moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the red planet. Provided by NASA 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 Researchers at the University of Toronto's Youth Wellness Lab say they've identified key policies and practices that are contributing to the over-representation of Black children and families in Ontario's child welfare system. The "Mapping Disparities for Black Families" report, which is available as a series, includes recommendations for change that offer child welfare policymakers, frontline workers and leaders a roadmap to meaningfully address the inequitable experiences of Black families in the province. The report comes on the heels of existing research that found Black families are more than twice as likely as white families to be referred to and investigated by the province's child welfare agencies, with anti-Black racism likely playing a key role. "We know that anti-Black racism is a crucial part of the picture, but what we didn't know before was how, where and when it happens across the system," says Bryn King, an associate professor in U of T's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work who is the principal investigator on the research project. "Our new study is the first that speaks directly to people working in child welfare in Ontario about how they make decisions about Black families." The report's recommendations include strengthening support for Black families experiencing poverty, revising or replacing current eligibility criteria for child welfare services that discriminate against Black families, investing in more community-based parenting support for Black families and providing training to child welfare supervisors in areas related to anti-Black racism, racial trauma and diverse cultural needs. King launched the study in 2021 with co-investigator Travonne Edwards, a recent U of T social work Ph.D. graduate who is now an assistant professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at Toronto Metropolitan University. They worked with a team at the Youth Wellness Lab, a research collaborative that engages youth and community partnersin this case, One Vision One Voice, a program that's housed at the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies (OACAS) and informed by the Black community. "This is an understudied area that requires urgent attention," says Edwards, who began his career as a child and youth care practitioner in the Greater Toronto Area. As a practitioner, Edwards says he saw the child welfare system intervene more frequently and intensively in Black families, citing statistics from the 2018 Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect: 14% of investigations involve Black children despite making up just 7% of the populationand they are more than twice as likely as white children to be placed in out-of-home care. 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. Vania Patrick-Drakes, a 2006 graduate of U of T Scarborough and manager of One Vision One Voice, says the Mapping Disparities for Black Families study was launched to bridge a gap in knowledge. "We needed an understanding of how child welfare service delivery perpetuates disparities for Black families, and we knew from partnering with Travonne and Bryn previously that they were passionate about this subject," she says. The research team interviewed individuals and conducted focus groups with 79 people employed inor adjacent tothe child welfare system, including social workers, supervisors, agency leaders, lawyers and more. "We mapped out the points in the system where influential decisions get madescreening, investigation, service provision, placement and reunificationand then asked people involved in each of these areas about their decision-making processes," says King. After conducting a preliminary analysis, the research team and One Vision One Voice identified four initial themes for further analysis and consultation with the sector: The strong role of rigid eligibility criteria for child welfare intervention on the over-investigation and treatment of Black families The over-surveillance of Black families for concerns about physical abuse The connection between high rates of poverty in Black families and child welfare intervention The powerful effect of supervisors, especially those familiar with anti-Black racism, in shaping the treatment of Black families The research team then invited the research participants and community-based representatives from child welfare to review the findings, refine the analysis and generate practical solutions to manage the concerns that were identified. For example, many research participants said Black families who experience poverty are susceptible to allegations of neglect, leading to referrals for investigation rather than guidance on resources or connections to community supports. "One of our key recommendations is really interrogating and slowing down referrals," says Edwards. "This involves speaking to the referral source, assuring that they've done their due diligence and supporting them in exploring external resources that may mitigate the risk or safety concern." The study participants also described how current child welfare eligibility standards are based on a Eurocentric parenting framework that doesn't account for cultural differences or the strengths and safety within Black families. Edwards and King are now embarking on a related project, supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, that will bring Black families, communities, One Vision One Voice and researchers from across the GTA together to explore how Black families experience child welfare interventions, with the goal of improving their realities and outcomes. "We also hope to find out what community supports beyond the child welfare system are helpful and effective in strengthening Black families," Edwards says. The Mapping Disparities for Black Families project is planning to hold a second round of community consultations on additional study findings such as the screening and over-surveillance of Black families and training for child welfare workers and leaders. "This is just a first step," says King. "We now have a lot of data about how anti-Black racism is operating on multiple levels of the child welfare systemin policies, structures and individual decisionsand outside the system. But we also have practical suggestions for how to interrupt the practices and decisions that lead to disparities, and we're going to keep sharing and expanding on these strategies." More information: Mapping Disparities for Black Families in the Child Welfare System. www.youthwellnesslab.com/resea child-welfare-system TRENTON With electricity prices set to increase significantly this summer, energy has become a hot political issue in New Jersey, one that could help determine which party wins the governor's office and controls state government in the fall elections. Legislators held a joint hearing Friday on energy prices, with Republicans blaming Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's energy policies for the price spikes, and Democrats defending their efforts to help lower-income customers pay their bills while pursing cleaner power. But even some Democrats acknowledged the state needs to look beyond clean-energy solutions to keep the lights on and the economy running in the coming years. And virtually no one predicted that offshore wind, into which New Jersey has poured so much time and money, will become a major part of the state's energy future. Atlantic City Electric has been granted a rate hike of over 17%, set to take effect in June, and the company is seeking an additional 8% increase to help pay for smart meters. "There are people here, the governor, some of my colleagues, that want New Jersey to be the California of the East Coast," said Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, Passaic. "Me and my colleagues have been sounding the alarm on the governor's energy plan and the costs for the past five years." Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, R-Monmouth, suggested reopening the shuttered Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey Township; others proposed turning it into a gas-fired power plant already connected to the power transmission grid. Christine Guhl-Sadovy, president of the New Jersey Board of public Utilities, said she asked federal energy regulators about restarting Oyster Creek but was told the cost of recommissioning it would be prohibitively expensive. NJBPU seeks energy bill equity through higher 'societal benefit' fees The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is proposing giving more help paying electricity and gas bills to lower-income households by increasing the Societal Benefits Charge all ratepayers pay monthly. Sauickie said New Jersey should concentrate on large-scale power plants, including gas-fired ones. "Why aren't we focused on natural gas and nuclear?" he asked. "Why aren't we going all in on these projects?" Sen. Michael Testa, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, warned of "an energy cost crisis that is looming this summer." He noted that Guhl-Sadovy said it takes five to seven years to build a new power plant. "Why wasn't this addressed five years ago?" Testa asked. "Five years ago we were on a trajectory to get thousands of megawatts from offshore wind," Guhl-Sadovy replied. Asim Haque, senior vice president of PJM Interconnection, the regional power grid operator, said offshore wind has been a big part of New Jersey's plan to reduce the amount of electricity it imports from other states, currently about 35%. "But as we sit here right now, that has not materialized," Haque said. Haque said additional nuclear power from New Jersey would help the regional grid. The offshore wind industry in New Jersey is reeling. Its first big projects, proposed by Danish wind giant rsted, collapsed in 2023. The next project to get as far as rsted did, Atlantic Shores, lost its joint venture partner, Shell, and was stripped of a key federal permit as part of President Donald Trump's executive order to try to end wind energy projects. Other projects have also experienced serious financial and logistical difficulties. Several Democrats, whose party has been staunch backers of offshore wind, said Friday the state needs to be more accepting of other power sources, even dirtier ones, at least in the near term. "We have to look at renewable energy," said Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen. "But we can't sit here for five to seven years and not look at other concepts. We need to look at every available option we have." Sen. John Burzichelli, D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland, blamed PJM for allowing exorbitant power generation prices during its most recent auction. "You do a fine job transporting electricity," he said. "You're not doing a good job on the affordability side. That message has to get back to you." Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, said PJM should redo its generation auction to obtain more reasonable prices. Legislators set hearings on rising utility costs as officials call for BPU shakeup New Jersey legislators on Friday announced a hearing next week on rising utility costs, while officials called for action as extreme as abolishing the Board of Public Utilities. "I think your numbers are based on nonsense," he said. "To have a 20% increase in one year is an abomination." Gulh-Sadovy said the state approved a $175 bill credit for low-income customers last year and is proposing the same credit this year. The board is also moving toward requiring power companies to enroll more customers in energy assistance plans. Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, R-Ocean, said the Murphy administration is philosophically wedded to 100% clean energy instead of making sure power is as affordable as it can be. "It's an ideological thing," he said. "When is this administration going to admit that there probably won't be a turbine built off the New Jersey coastline in the near future?" U.S. Rep Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, issued a statement Thursday criticizing Atlantic City Electric's request to raise rates even further to recoup the cost of smart meter installation. "South Jerseyans are not a piggy bank that ACE can raid whenever they feel like it," he said. "These meters will only drive up costs, and there is no reason to force people to pay for something they do not want. I do not blame people for rejecting these meters and choosing to pay the $15 a month penalty instead." A Muscatine woman with a criminal history that includes serving a federal prison sentence for trying to drive a load of marijuana from Mexico into Texas was arrested by Davenport police on Wednesday for allegedly trafficking in ecstasy. Jessica Marie Wiegand, 39, is charged in Scott County District Court with one count of possession with the intent to deliver more than 5 grams of methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, known as ecstasy. The charge is a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 25 years. According to the arrest affidavits filed by Davenport police officer Robert Farra and Mason Pauley, police responded to a disturbance involving a firearm at a home in the 1400 block of West 7th Street. When officers arrived on the scene, a person who lives in a detached garage of the home said that Wiegand knocked on the main garage door. When the victim opened it, Wiegand pushed her way into the garage and threatened the victim. Wiegand was trying to get a motorcycle that allegedly belonged to her. The victim told Wiegand to get out. Wiegand then kicked on the door damaging a hinge on the door. Wiegand then allegedly forced her way in and threatened the victim with a firearm. Police did not locate a weapon. The victim gave a description of Wiegand to police and the path the vehicle she was riding in had taken. Police located a 2023 Kia Sportage in the 1300 block of West 8th Street and blocked it. A man was driving the vehicle while Wiegand was the front seat passenger. A woman with her two children were in the back seat. The man got out of the driver's side and lay flat on the ground. Wiegand, according to the affidavits, made furtive movements under her seat before getting out of the vehicle. Instead of listening to officers commands, Wiegand got into the driver's seat and tried to drive off, nearly hitting the man who had been driving and a police officer. In attempting to drive away she struck two police squads, endangering the woman and two children in the back seat. Wiegand tried to flee on foot, but officers chased her and tackled her to the ground, according to the affidavits. During a search of the vehicle, officers seized from under Wiegand's seat 74 tablets, or 36.45 grams, of ecstasy, according to the affidavits. In addition to the drug charge, Wiegand is charged with second-degree burglary, a Class C felony that carries a 10-year prison sentence. She also is charged with two counts of interference with official acts and one count of assault on persons in certain occupations, each of which is a Class D felony that carries a 5-year prison term. She also is charged with two counts of child endangerment, and one count each of driving while barred, first-degree harassment, and assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Each of those charges is an aggravated misdemeanor that carries a prison sentence of two years. During a first appearance on the charges Thursday in Scott County District Court, Magistrate Peter Gierut scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 4. Wiegand was being held Thursday night in the Scott County Jail on a $100,000 bond, cash or surety, set by Gierut. According to records from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Laredo Division, on Sept. 28, 2004, at 5:35 p.m., Wiegand was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee while trying to cross the U.S. border from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, into Laredo, Texas. Inspectors located two metal compartments in the Jeep's gas tank, which contained 45.18 kilograms, or 99.4 pounds, of marijuana. In a post-Miranda interview, she said the knew she was transporting marijuana and said she was taking it from Nuevo Laredo to Muscatine, Iowa, where she is from. She said her cousin helped her put the deal together and he was waiting for her at the Rio Grande Plaza Hotel in Laredo. On Dec. 14, 2004, she pleaded guilty to the charge of possessing with the intent to distribute 45.18 kilograms of marijuana. On March 3, 2005, Wiegand was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison to be followed by three years on mandatory supervised release. On Dec. 15, 2005, her supervised release was transferred to the Southern District of Iowa, and she returned to Muscatine. She violated the terms of her supervised release and on March 21, 2008, she was sentenced to nine months in federal prison. She last was released from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Dec. 12, 2008, according to online records. Wiegand also has served time in prison in Iowa on a Class D felony theft conviction. Guests mingle at "The Night of Lights" cultural exchange event in Beijing, March 23, 2025. [Photo by Liao Jiaxin/China.org.cn] A vibrant cultural exchange event titled "The Night of Lights" was hosted in a Beijing cultural space on March 23, bringing together diplomats, students and business professionals from Pakistan, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkiye and other countries. The gathering, centered on themes of "unity and inclusion," created a warm atmosphere for cross-cultural dialogue through culinary delights, traditional attire and artistic performances. The evening buzzed with intercultural energy as participants sampled international delicacies like Pakistani samosas, Moroccan harira soup and Argentine madeleine cakes. Many of the attendees dressed in colorful national costumes, exchanging stories about their home countries and sharing their experiences of living in China. Safaa Merzane, a Moroccan student at Capital University of Economics and Business, has developed a deep appreciation for Chinese cuisine during her year and a half in the country. When asked about her most memorable cultural experience in China, she enthused: "The first idea that comes to my mind is the Chinese food. When I try spicy food, I think it's so delicious!" Moroccan student Safaa Merzane shares her impressions of Chinese cuisine during the cultural event, March 23, 2025. [Photo by Liao Jiaxin/China.org.cn] Hina Shaikh, a teacher at the Pakistan Embassy College in Beijing, expressed her delight in participating. "There are many different foods, culture traditions and cultural performances I see today," Shaikh remarked. "That has really amused me how people interact with each other, how they respect each other's culture. And I feel very happy when I'm a part of such an event." She particularly noted the eagerness of the young performers to showcase their cultural heritage through dance, music and traditional dress. Shaikh, who regularly participates in cultural activities through her work, added: "The students of the college are normally taking part in many cultural programs. Even in our college, there are lots of Chinese students come to perform. And we have culture programs." In her opinion, these events act as vital bridges fostering international understanding and friendship. Tunisian students Sirin Jridi and Khaoula Louhichi from Minzu University of China enthusiastically shared their perspectives on China's inclusive cultural environment. "I came to this event at my friend's invitation," Jridi explained. "We try to showcase our traditional clothes and some of our food and introduce them to a lot of nationalities. Of course, we have tried other people's food and we really like it. We are willing to have more of this kind of events to participate in." Tunisian exchange students Khaoula Louhichi and Sirin Jridi showcase their traditional attire at the cultural gathering in Beijing, March 23, 2025. [Photo by Liao Jiaxin/China.org.cn] Louhichi also described how her understanding of Chinese society has transformed: "I used to think that Chinese people are cold. But when I came here, I just figured out it was totally wrong. I felt like really welcomed here." She expressed admiration for China's social harmony, where 56 ethnic groups coexist peacefully. "They're all living in peace here, and Chinese culture is really immense. I really like it here. Chinese people are also very proud of their culture." Louhichi credited Chinese government scholarships for enabling international students to experience the country firsthand. "Thanks to the scholarship that the Chinese government gives to other students, many people can come to China and experience the real China," she said. She also praised China's academic initiatives promoting cultural exchange. "Many universities host 'cultural days' during which students from all over the world will have stands and they will share with others their culture. I think in China, it's so convenient to know other people's culture," she said. Attendees sample international delicacies at the cultural event in Beijing, March 23, 2025. [Photo by Liao Jiaxin/China.org.cn] The event ended on a hopeful note, as participants called for more cultural exchanges. The lively gathering showcased how such initiatives celebrate diversity while creating genuine international bonds. As a reflection of China's vibrant multiculturalism, it highlighted the country's growing role in fostering cross-cultural understanding through openness and mutual respect. Scott County is out of room in its courthouse and running out of room in its administrative building, according to a report on county facilities presented to the Scott County Supervisors this week. The report took stock of the county's properties and operations and laid out recommendations to address its space needs across departments in the short and long term. But because moving department staff may impact other operations or buildings, supervisors said Tuesday they wanted more discussion with county departments and the public before final decisions are made. Supervisors asked for the space needs study after the Treasurer's Office purchased space in Paul Revere Square on East Kimberly Road with a currently paused plan to move its "general store" there, as well as the construction of the new Youth Justice Rehabilitation Center at 4715 Tremont Ave., Davenport. To build the new YJRC required the demolition of an on-site warehouse and led to the purchase of warehouse space in Eldridge. The new building also has a second floor county training space and it will leave vacant the current juvenile detention facility downtown. The county hired Wold Architects and Engineers to do the space-needs report. Scott County has more than 500,000 square feet of facilities, said Matt Bickel, who presented the report Tuesday for Wold. The most recent county space study was conducted in 2013, which focused primarily on the jail. Scott County administration building 'mostly at capacity' The Scott County Administrative Center, 600 W. Fourth St., Davenport, is "operating fairly well, but is mostly at capacity," Bickel said. Departments are at the limits of their space needs, without much opportunity for growth. A common concern at the center is having available meeting spaces, Bickel said, especially during election season. For about three to six months every year, the auditor uses all conference room space available in the building, according to the report. Recommendation: move HHS and Treasurer's General Store One of the recommendations from the report was to move some Health and Human Services staff and the treasurer's office "general store" to Paul Revere Square. The county bought a building at Paul Revere Square, 2322 Kimberly Road, Davenport, for $360,000 with the intent to move the treasurer's general store there from its current location behind the Village Shopping Center on West Kimberly. It shares the current location with the Iowa Department of Transportation, which is looking to move. The general store serves as a satellite office for the county treasurer for residents to access services for motor vehicle transfers, renewals and property tax payments. The facility needs study recommends the county go ahead with the plans to move the general store to Paul Revere. And, it's recommending the county move some Health and Human Services staff there too to relieve pressure on the downtown county administrative center. Tammy Speidel, the county facility and support services director, said staff who perform social work duties and interact regularly with the courts were not recommended to be moved. Speidel said Health and Human Services occupies all of third floor and part of the second floor. It's the second floor, Speidel said, that is underutilized. The second floor could then be freed up for the relocation of community services, which would in turn free up space on the fourth floor for health department operations. County Supervisor Ross Paustian said he thought splitting up HHS was a mistake, and suggested combining the downtown treasurer's office with the satellite office at Paul Revere. Bickel said from discussions with the treasurer's office, there would be challenges of moving the downtown treasurer's office because of payment collections and revenue that occurs with all the departments. Paustian said considering the treasurer's office already has two separate locations satellite office, he believed the payment collection process challenge could be overcome. Relocate custodial staff to former juvenile detention center With the opening of the YJRC, the former juvenile detention center at 500 W. Fourth St., Davenport, will be free for another use by the county. The report suggested relocating the custodial staff there. That move "would give them much needed space that they don't have dedicated to that group today." County Supervisor Ken Beck questioned how long the current useful life of the former juvenile detention facility would be and urged the county supervisors to keep the long-term in mind. "I hate to move a department there and then five to 10 years down the road, we've got to move again because that building's functionally not capable," Beck said. Speidel said the county believed they could move to the old juvenile detention facility inexpensively as the east side of the building had recently been renovated. Move IT, planning to Eldridge warehouse Currently, the county's information and technology staff are located in the basement of the courthouse. It was a makeshift location when IT became a new need for the county, but the county's IT needs have only grown, Bickel said. The report recommends constructing a main distribution space for the county at its Eldridge warehouse. Another recommendation is to move planning and development and some assessors office functions to the east side of offices at the warehouse facility at 1400 Lancer Court, Eldridge. That would allow the auditor's office to expand the auditor's office footprint on the fifth floor of the county administrative building. Speidel said the goal of moving other offices on the fifth floor is to have better election security for the auditor's office on that floor. Staff have 24-hour access into the offices on the fifth floor, and Speidel said it would be preferred if staff from other offices couldn't wander undetected into the elections offices. Supervisors questioned where the Davenport city assessor would go, since it shares space with the county assessor's office. Speidel suggested both offices could move to Eldridge or the county could work out another solution with the city of Davenport. The report also recommends to remodel existing office space at the Eldridge warehouse for the auditor's office election-related functions and remodeling of the lower-level courthouse space for improved county IT office space. Long-term recommendations include considering new courthouse One report recommended considering, long-term, moving some county attorney and sheriff staff away from the current courthouse site to accommodate other functions of the courthouse. Bailiff staff would remain, Speidel said. Alternatively, the report suggests evaluating constructing a new courthouse facility. "Something will likely need to be done in terms of expansion and renovation with the existing jail facility," Bickel said. The previous space needs study focused on the courthouse, and some renovations were completed, Bickel said. But there are still significant needs for the courthouse. Currently, 11 out of 16 judges in Scott County have chambers, meaning the other five judges chamber out of conference rooms or offices. Also, third floor courtrooms are undersized and don't meet Americans with Disability Act requirements. "We've also heard that there are thoughts that there could be additional judges assigned to the county in the future," Bickel said. "With that growth, obviously comes a demand on the need for more courtroom spaces." A 2018 study of bed space in the jail found that it was expected to exceed capacity. "In its current configuration, the ability to meet the needs of the classifications and special occupancies that occur within the jail are challenged by its current layout," Bickel said. Supervisor John Maxwell asked whether there were additional steps the county could take between doing nothing and building a new courthouse and jail. Secondary roads and MEDIC facilities The county needs more space for vehicles. The report recommends rebuilding and replacing existing Secondary Road sheds, which store road project equipment and vehicles, and expanding storage facilities. Speidel said there are six satellite road shed facilities across the county used for storing road equipment and deploying for snow emergencies and road work projects. "Those sheds are primarily old barn construction-type and are all of an age where they are in need of repairs and/or replacement," Bickel said. Another consideration is the MEDIC location in LeClaire, which is located in the downtown. Bickel said it "is not a great location from a response-time perspective, given its proximity to the river and just being in a downtown area."